《Grand Ancestral Bloodlines》


 Chapter 1: Shrine Mountain

    On a cliff that stood above the world, a young man with skin as pale and pure as ice looked out and into the horizon.


    The beautiful yellows, reds and oranges of the morning sky shone without hindrance, dancing over the pristine white clouds below his feet.


    This place was known as Shrine Mountain, the highest peak of not just this Plane, but all of existence. It stood so tall that the sun called it friend and even the clouds could only hug its feet.


    Throughout the lower planes, millions of geniuses were born everyday, each with the dream of standing at the pinnacle of the world¡­ Each with the dream of sitting in this young man''s very place.


    However, this young man remained indifferent. His silver, sometimes pale blue, eyes seemed to pierce through all things. To call his brows sword-like was to sell them short, to describe his demeanor as being that of an Emperor was to insult him, to define him as handsome was to call him ugly.


    The cool morning wind blew his long white hair gently, yet not a speck of dust could be found within it. Or, maybe nothing dared to blemish him in any way.


    ''One thousand years.'' The young man thought to himself, devoid of emotion.


    Today was his thousandth birthday, a happy occasion for lack of a better descriptor. Kings, Emperors, Queens and Empresses would all converge today, all to pay respects to him.


    It wasn''t very much of a surprise considering who his parents and grandparents were. However, such a truth wasn''t enough to require such fanfare. Simply put, the importance of this young man himself warranted respect regardless of his lineage.


    "Elena." The young man spoke this name abruptly. His voice was soothing and calm but held a hint of biting cold that made them contradictorily sharp. Yet, it was very clear by how his eyes softened that he cared for the woman holding this name.


    "You always know¡­" A sound that seemed bestowed to the world by a Fairy Goddess filled the young man with a sense of comfort.


    The beauty floated to his side, descending onto his lap. Her violet dress wafted a heavenly fragrance toward him with its every flutter, matching his black robes to perfection.


    Holding onto her slim waist, the young man''s nonchalant attitude toward the view rescinded as a light smile played his perfect features.


    His hand reached upward, caressing the beautiful strands of diamond pink hair that cascaded from Elena''s head.


    She couldn''t help but rest her ear to his chest in response, breathing in his scent.


    "Ryu, what kind of gift would you like?"


    A slight chuckle escaped from the lips of the young man. It was a laugh filled with warmth, but one he rarely showed anyone. Other than his parents and grandparents, Elena was the only other to have heard this laugh.


    "This isn''t proper etiquette, no?"


    Elena pouted adorably, a sight that would have shocked the billions of subjects she ruled over. The heiress of the Holy Wing Clan, behaving like nothing more than a little girl.


    "I have everything in the world, do I not?" Ryu sighed. "The Shrine Plane dances at the palm of my hand, my woman is an unrivalled beauty and genius, my parents love and dote upon me¡­ What else could I ask for?"


    Despite his words, the undertone of sadness would never be missed by Elena. She knew her fianc¨¦ too well, well enough to know that these words were nothing more than self-mockery.


    In the martial world, there were three mortal planes and three immortal planes. Those below constantly fought to reach a higher level of existence, to have their names written into the fabric of history for trillions of years to come and for their bloodline to flourish into eternity.


    Yet, Ryu had no such aspirations. It wasn''t that he was lazy or without drive. In fact, if a fool spouted such nonsense about Ryu Tatsuya, even commoners would swarm you with whatever weapons they could find, all to protect his name.


    The truth was that Ryu didn''t have such aspirations because he already had it. The Shrine Plane wasn''t just among the three immortal planes, it was the highest immortal plane. The Tatsuya Clan wasn''t just powerful, it was the most powerful.


    Ryu''s life was comically easy. Still, he fought for it to have meaning.


    He delved into the world of archeology, prying out secrets long since lost from ruins many clans had given up on. He studied botany with a passion few could match, even breathing life into long extinct species. He even mastered arts of feng shui, applying them to create some of the most beautiful works of art and architecture to ever appear in the martial world.


    This was Ryu''s life. He found meaning where there was none. When others would have resigned themselves to an existence of meaningless comfort, he sought for something more.


    At this point, one might think Ryu ungrateful. To be saddened when everything in the world was given to you on not a silver, but gold plater.


    However, there was a reason that despite having been betrothed to Elena for more than 600 years, they had never married.


    Ryu, a man who had everything in the world, a man who could command the waves with one hand and the sunset with the other, couldn''t cultivate.


    His fianc¨¦e would live for billions, even trillions of years given her talent. But he, even with so many priceless treasures sustaining his life, would be lucky to live a thousand more.

 Chapter 2: Nuri

    How could Elena be unaware of how Ryu was feeling? Although they hadn''t completed the traditional ceremonies and melded their souls together as husband and wife, Elena still felt like she could read her fianc¨¦''s mind just by looking into his eyes.


    In her mind, she would rather a few hundred years of bliss with her love than a few billion years of emptiness.


    Elena was a very pragmatic woman. While Ryu only reached his thousandth birthday today, it wouldn''t be very long until her millionth year of existence. Unlike Ryu, she was very much aware of how rare it was for her heart to be swayed.


    ''So what if you can only be by my side for a fraction of my life? These are moments I''ll never forget¡­'' Elena thought to herself.


    Matching her thoughts, Elena didn''t dwell on sadness. Today was meant to be a day of celebration!


    "How about I allow you to take a concubine? Aren''t I magnanimous?" Elena said with a naughty grin.


    Ryu nearly choked on his breath, shattering his elegant demeanor. He had known Elena since he was born, yet he still couldn''t combine her public persona with her private one.


    To the world, Elena was a holy princess, lofty and beyond mortal impurities. But, to Ryu, she was a lewd prankster and bonafide pervert. Ryu often found himself having to protect his chastity from her, it was almost depressing.


    Ryu could still remember the day Elena decided that she fancied him. She infiltrated his room at night and stripped down naked. Without any cultivation to speak of, how could Ryu have stopped her?


    Then, standing proudly without a hint of shyness on her face she said: "You''re the first man to see my everything, now you have no choice but to take responsibility. Come, put a child in me!"


    Cold sweat matted Ryu''s back when he recalled the memory. He still had no idea how he managed to weasel out of that situation. Still, in the end he took her as his fianc¨¦e. It had already been six hundred years since then.


    "There are many beauties comparable to me in the Shrine Planes. In fact, there are many with outstanding potential that we could pluck from the lower realms as well." Elena continued to rattle on as though Ryu''s opinion didn''t matter.


    "My Holy Shrine alone has three subordinate clans and sects within the Blossom Plane who each have eight or so more extensions within the Pedestal Plane. If I recall correctly, there are nine Holy Winged Saintesses born to them within the last hundred thousand or so years, they have great potential!"


    Ryu frowned. "Nine? That many?"


    "Now that you mention it, nine is quite a lot. Usually, even one in ten times that span would be pretty good¡­" After acknowledging Ryu''s point, Elena continued to ramble on about what must have been hundreds of viable candidates.


    While Elena spoke, Ryu looked up at the receding night sky, the faint flicker of stars just barely visible.


    His eyes flashed with a fierce light. Their silver hue waned, giving way to what could have been confused with the very depths of space itself.


    The stars became reflected within Ryu''s eyes as he held his fianc¨¦e''s delicate frame to his body.


    Fate. It was something even the greatest masters of karma struggled to understand. However, in the martial world, those who could read the alignment of the stars were all highly respected.


    It was this fate that gave Ryu almost unrivaled intelligence and constitution, yet also an inability to cultivate. Ryu found that the heavens had quite the sense of humor due to this. That said, it didn''t mean he took the alignment of the stars any less seriously than anyone else.


    The moment he heard Elena''s words, something fierce stirred within him. A normal individual might not understand what it meant to be a Holy Winged Saintess, but he did.


    Within the martial world, the pinnacle of cultivation was found on the Shrine Plane. This namesake was earned due to the various hundreds of Shrines that graced these vast lands, together representing the vicissitudes of life and death.


    Elena''s Holy Wing Clan presided over the Shrine of Light. To be named a Saintess of any clan required acknowledgement of at least one such shrine. One could imagine just how rare it was for the representation of all Light to choose you as an arbiter of its will. Yet, this happened nine times in a hundred thousand years? It was too ridiculous.


    Ryu didn''t like looking at the alignment of the stars. In fact, despite being born with the first-ranked heavenly pupils: Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, he had only used its ability to read the lines of karma two times before. Once when they were awakened and once when his meridian awakening ceremony failed.


    The moment Ryu sunk into this state, the first star he saw was his own. It was larger than all those in its near vicinity, blazing with mercury-like fires and beautiful silver hues.


    Ryu sighed when he saw it. His Fate Star looked dazzling, but he knew what it represented. It would burn brighter and larger than the rest, but also dim and die sooner as well.


    Shifting his attention away, Ryu''s view expanded, widening his scope.


    ''This¡­'' Ryu''s breath hitched in his throat.


    "Ryu? Is something wrong? I just remembered that we don''t need to go concubine hunting in the lower planes, I know of one lady here that would die of happiness if you took her into our bedchambers." Elena''s sparkling pink eyes flashed with a hint of deviousness. Bringing up this lady was clearly her plot all along. "Don''t you remember your Death Guard? Nuri, I believe her name was."


    Hearing this name, Ryu was stunned out of his thoughts. In fact, he wasn''t the only one. A shadow hidden in the void choked on air as well despite the fact there was no such thing to speak of within the void!

 Chapter 3: Father

    Elena sent a sly gaze toward seemingly empty space before winking as though to say: ''I have your back.''


    Not every woman would be straight forward as Elena, backing Ryu into a corner and not allowing him to refuse her advances. In fact, Elena dared to say that if it wasn''t for this personality of hers, she would have never become Ryu''s fianc¨¦e. He was so young, but his heart was as stubborn as an old fogie.


    Of course, Nuri''s Presence couldn''t be hidden from Ryu. Although he couldn''t cultivate his body, his mind had reached a state few could match. In fact, his Grandpa Kunan had once said a tribulation cloud could vent all of its anger within his Mental Realm yet still come out on the losing end. If others said it, it wouldn''t mean much. But, considering his maternal Grandfather was the Priest Saint of the Lightning Shrine, no one dared take his words lightly.


    However, the role of a Death Guard didn''t allow cordial interactions between them.


    With a sigh, Ryu stood. He had tried to release Nuri of her duties many times, but she was more stubborn than he was.


    Elena defiantly dove into his arms, insisting that he carry her despite the weakness of his body. It was lucky that she was as light as a feather, otherwise Ryu would have collapsed.


    ''You think I don''t know that you''re purposely lowering your weight? How did I end up with such a fianc¨¦e?''


    With those last thoughts, Ryu began a slow trek down the highest peak, his fianc¨¦e in his arms and a blushing shadow to his back.


    **


    Within a delicate spring garden, nature''s energy flowed with unmatched fluidity and swiftness.


    Precious heavenly medicines graced the lush green grass as nothing more than pretty fixtures. The small stream gushed with Resplendent Spring Water, capable of extending a life by months with a simple sip. Even the meditation platforms, small chairs and tables were made of Essence Jade, the most valuable material in all of existence.


    Blending into the grace of this garden, a heavenly couple leisurely reclined.


    A man of bold Presence sat on a high meditation platform, his every inhale and exhale seeming to match the breath of existence itself.


    His robes were a blazing red, matching his hair and eyes that danced with heavenly flames. His features were handsome beyond compare, looking like nothing more than a 30-year-old man despite having lived for billions of years.


    The woman seemed to be the polar opposite. Her Presence was akin to a calm lake, sparkling with a refreshing coolness yet flickering with arcs of blue lightning every so often.


    Her hair matched her pure white gown as her blue pupils flickered with a pensive expression toward the small booklet held in her delicate hands.


    If one said that she was the number one beauty in the world, no one would dare to deny. Even the beautiful Elena and shy Nuri fell several levels short. They simply hadn''t had the time to refine themselves to this extent.


    "Mother! Father!" Unsurprisingly, it wasn''t Ryu greeting his parents so warmly, it was Elena. She didn''t seem to care that she was interrupting their cultivation in the least.


    Elena leaped from Ryu''s arms gracefully, rushing to her mother-in-law''s side. It wasn''t even until several minutes later that his own mother realized he was here too.


    Ryu sighed when he looked at his father''s figure. Calm, immovable like a towering mountain. His heartbeat was akin to the rumbling of the earth and his blood was the raging waters of the fiercest river.


    "You''re thinking about it again." Ryu''s father suddenly spoke in a voice so deep it resonated with the ground beneath their feet. His didn''t open his eyes to look at his son, but he knew he was there. "Don''t ever ask me to take back the things I''ve given."


    "Maybe if it was just about your choice, it wouldn''t matter so much. But, your decision has shaken the foundation of the Shrines." Ryu''s voice was cold. If it wasn''t for the slight affectionate glint in his eye, no one would ever guess that he was speaking to his father.


    Ryu''s father snorted. "No one can tell me what I can and cannot do. If I could not gift my own flesh and blood treasures as a pleased, what was the point of my years of cultivation? It would mean nothing more than dog shit."


    In the end, Ryu decided not to respond. Those who wondered where his stubbornness came from only needed to take one step down his bloodline to find his father.


    Titus Tatsuya was a man who really dared to do anything. His birth was a product of an alliance between the Emperor Fire Dragon Clan and the Fire Phoenix Clan. He embodied fire itself without remorse and left carnage in his path. Even if it was an Elder of the Fire Shrine who dared to raise a word of complaint, Titus Tatsuya would kill him without blinking an eye.


    However, this time, Ryu knew his father had gone too far. Maybe he wouldn''t place such seriousness on the matter before¡­ But the alignment of the stars truly worried him.


    Ryu silently laughed at himself. Hadn''t he resigned himself to fate long ago? Wasn''t that exact why he, a man with everything, was still so scared of this enigmatic something?


    Since fate told him he would die, he would die. And now that fate told those around him might suffer, wouldn''t he just have to accept that as well?

 Chapter 4: Third Phoenix Clan

    Later that day, guests began to slowly arrive, filling Fire Shrine with a lively atmosphere. Ryu, however, was content to continue to spend time with his family.


    "Look at you, you''ve grown more handsome since grandma saw you last." A beautiful woman who seemed to about in her late 50s lovingly caressed Ryu''s cheeks. Despite her age, her looks could still topple a nation. Everything from her pure white hair to her demeanor was refined to an extreme. "Tell me, has that little vixen vexed my little boy?"


    Ryu smiled lightly, taking his maternal grandmother''s arm as they strolled through the palace.


    "Of course not, grandmother. Elena is lovely."


    "Hmph. Those Holy Wing tramps are no good. My grandson deserves better. There are many nice young ladies in grandma''s Ice Phoenix Clan. Grandmother will introduce you to them all today. Hmph, hmph."


    Ryu knew quite well that this grandmother of his wasn''t venting her hatred for Elena, but rather, Elena''s own grandmother. The two of them had been rivals ever since their youth. It was their worst nightmare for their grandchildren to be bonded in such a way.


    Those of the Holy Wing Clan weren''t supposed to marry. Much like ancient era Amazonians, they used men like tools to continue their lineage. If the child was a boy, he would become the "property" of the father. If the child was a girl, the Holy Wing Clan would take her in.


    In the past, Ryu''s grandmother and his grandmother-in-law were love rivals. The result was his maternal grandfather choosing his grandmother. However, in a very domineering fashion, his grandmother-in-law cornered his maternal grandfather and poisoned him with a potent aphrodisiac. In the end, the result was a female child that she subsequently barred Ryu''s maternal grandfather from seeing. This child was the current Priest Saintess of the Light Shrine.


    Luckily, this child wasn''t Elena''s mother, or that would make Ryu related to his fianc¨¦e by blood. Elena''s father was actually unknown to her, or anyone, for that matter. For some inexplicable reason, his grandmother-in-law refused to tell anyone, something that was a far cry from her usual domineering openness.


    This aside, for obvious reasons, these matters sent his usual lovable grandmother into a rage whenever she thought about them. Such a culture was the darkest secret of the Holy Wing Clan. On the surface, they were maidens of the light, unblemished by worldly affairs. But, in the dark they were suffused with ancient and outdated practices.


    Ryu only smiled, continuing to accompany his grandmother.


    "Speaking of the Clan, grandmother, I''ve found some clues about that ruin you asked me about."


    "Oh?" The Mistress of the Kunan family, Vorena Kunan, sighed. "The Ice Flame has been in decline for a long time, yet the Holy Wing Clan seems to pump out a new Saintess every year. Grandma really might die of frustration. The heavens really don''t have eyes."


    Ryu didn''t need to meet his grandmother''s gaze to know that she meant more than what it seemed by her last words. By all rights, Ryu had the perfect constitution for cultivation. Yet, his meridians lay dormant. If one couldn''t say the heavens were blind because of this, then when could you?


    "This ruin should have a small spark of hope." Ryu spoke with an eerie calm. "It''s actually not an Ice Flame ruin, but rather a Phoenix ruin."


    "A phoenix ruin?" Mistress Kunan responded in surprise.


    Ryu nodded, his eyes lighting with passion that was completely out of place for his usual apathetic appearance.


    Mistress Kunan''s heart warmed when she looked toward this grandson of hers. He was usually so cold, but it all seemed to melt away when he spoke about his hobbies.


    Ryu''s comprehension of archeology had reached a level that could no longer be properly classified. He put those Ruin Master old fogies to shame.


    "As you know grandma, I have Ice Phoenix blood from mother and Fire Phoenix blood from father running through my veins. But, according to a few historical documents I''ve pieced together, there was a final, third species of phoenix that have been long forgotten."


    "A third?"


    "Mm. Usually, the elements are the simplest of heaven''s laws to comprehend. There are only two exceptions to this rule."


    "Lightning and Fire."


    Ryu nodded. "Right. The flame, in particular, is quite enigmatic. It''s the root of all life however¡­ it''s also the root of all death."


    Mistress Kunan fell into a contemplative state. Her Ice Phoenix Clan controlled the Ice Shrine and the Life Shrine. This was entirely due to the special characteristics of their Ice Flame.


    At the same time, Ryu''s paternal grandmother''s Fire Phoenix Clan controlled the Reincarnation Shrine. If it wasn''t for Ryu''s paternal grandfather''s Fire Dragon Clan controlling the Fire Shrine, they would also monopolize it.


    Simply put, while their flames were known for the cold and heat respectively, their true root was control of Life and Reincarnation. The strongest flames in the world would always preside over such lofty quintessence.


    This was the secret behind the power of the Tatsuya Clan. Their marriage alliance with the Kunan Clan brought not just two, but five Shrines into a single family! While a single clan might not even control a single Shrine, the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans controlled the Fire, Ice, Reincarnation, Life, and Lightning Shrines!


    "So by death you mean¡­"


    "Yes." Ryu said with a slight coldness. "A Dark Phoenix Clan once existed."

 Chapter 5: Dormant Shrine

    In the martial world, high grade beasts had long since gone extinct. What many knew as "beasts" today were unintelligent and savage creatures without scruples and inhibitions.


    The so-called "Phoenix" and "Dragon" blood, not to mention the Lightning Qilin heritage that ran through Ryu''s veins from his maternal grandfather, were actually human bloodlines, not beast bloodlines.


    Before the rise of the human race, beasts ruled the lands. Mighty Dragons could shake the planes with a single roar, the cries of the Majestic Phoenix could decide life and death, while Qilins could shatter the earth with a simple step.


    However, such an era had long since come to pass. The Human Race rose so fiercely that the Shrines the Beasts once lay claim to were taken by them, one by one.


    Human Bloodlines evolved and matured. Suddenly, it was possible for their souls to manifest bestial auras surpassing even that of ancient beasts.


    In the end, the era of the ancient beast ended and their bloodlines slowly diffusing as they married into human clans. The result was the present system where humans retained their cultivation talent, yet gained the robust bloodlines and sturdy bodies of their beast ancestors.


    Clans like Ryu''s Grandmother''s Ice Phoenix Clan could evoke abilities of their Ice Phoenix predecessors. One such ability was the Ice Flame. Not only did this flame have the potential to freeze all things, it also had heaven defying healing capabilities that rivalled and often surpassed Saintesses of the Light Shrine.


    Still, aside from Ryu''s mother, the remaining descendants of the Ice Phoenix Clan were mere average talents. Currently, Mistress Kunan took the role of Priest Saintess of the Life and Ice Shrines. However, she felt that it was time for her to retire and live out her days in peace. The problem was that the only viable successor was her daughter, but according to the Laws of the Heavens, a single person could not preside over three Shrines.


    Normally, this wouldn''t be an issue. However, the successor of the Lightning Shrine was also in question. Would the Kunan Clan really have to give up one of the Shrines they had protected for so long?


    Mistress Kunan had hoped that the birth of her daughter''s child would solve this issue, but her poor grandson didn''t have any cultivation. How could he help?


    Fertility rates among high class clans were simply too poor. For someone with such a dense bloodline concentration as Ryu to be born, one can imagine how low the chances were. Ryu''s parents tried for tens of millions of years before Ryu was finally born.


    Ryu was highly intelligent. Before he even became of age for his meridian awakening ceremony, he had seen through this problem. At the time, he had sworn to become good enough to be acknowledged by at least one of those three shrines so he could alleviate the burden of his grandparents. But¡­ Who knew that the heavens would play such a trick on him?


    Although his grandmother would never express her disappointment over the matter to him, the feeling of uselessness overwhelmed Ryu so much so that after his awakening ceremony ended in failure, he spent the next half decade in seclusion.


    At the time, many jealous of the Tatsuya Clan and Kunan Clan sneered as though Ryu''s plight served him right. The little boy born with a spoon made of essence jade in his plump lips couldn''t handle one set back? How pathetic.


    No one believed that Ryu had truly entered seclusion. After all, how could one believe that a seven-year-old could withstand such a thing?


    However, when Ryu emerged, he was a changed boy. Despite being only twelve years of age, his eyes had gained the depths of the world.


    For the last five years, he had spent his time within the Shrine Library which had a repertoire of knowledge so dense that it stretched for thousands of miles long and wide, and tens of miles high. This was the place a seven-year-old boy had locked himself in.


    Those years fueled an endless desire within him.


    Alchemy? A waste of time. Why would I read about things I can''t practice? Cultivation techniques? I''ll ignore them, they have no use to me anyway. Formations? I''ll only learn how to crack them, I would never be able to lay them down with my handicap.


    A little boy spent five years not gaining knowledge, but gaining an understanding of what paths he could take as a cripple.


    When he emerged, Ryu did so with determination in his eyes. There were so many things that he couldn''t do, so he wouldn''t waste his time. He''d pour his energy into what he could, he''d find ways to help his family even without an ounce of power.


    Ryu became a Ruin Master, learning several trillion years of history. He then learned botany ¨C there wasn''t a single plant in existence or non-existence that he couldn''t recognize, not a single heavenly flower he didn''t know how to grow and nurture. Soon, after, he became a master of feng shui, grasping the world''s beauty in his right hand.


    With his skills in botany, he revived long-extinct species, blessing the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans with resources they could only dream of.


    With his skill in feng shui he built the greatest cultivation rooms to ever exist, he reconstructed Tatsuya Palace to become the number one martial world wonder, and he became famous for the heavenly laws within his paintings.


    And today¡­ After more than nine hundred years of effort, he had finally found the path to reviving the Ice Phoenix Clan. Today, he''d use this skill he toiled over to alleviate a weight on his grandmother''s heart.


    "Dark Phoenix Clan?" Mistress Kunan''s beautiful blue eyes widened.


    Ryu smiled. "If I''m correct, the key to reviving the Ice Phoenix Clan fully is in these ruins. There''s even a possibility of our Clans gaining yet another Shrine."

 Chapter 6: Forgotten

    Mistress Kunan''s eyes widened as she gazed at her grandson. She knew Ryu''s personality well. He was cold, calculating, and treated his words like gold. In truth, she was worried that if she wasn''t his grandmother, he might not speak to her at all. The fact that this very same Ryu was saying these words meant that if he wasn''t 100% confident, he was at least 99% so.


    "A Dormant Shrine?" Mistress Kunan probed.


    Such Shrines were coveted by Clans of all kinds. With the system of things having been set for so long, Dormant Shrines were among the only resources capable of shifting such a stable situation.


    Shrines themselves not only provided Clans with protection, they also dictated the Faith tied to a lineage. Said Faith is responsible for the prosperity of Clan, its potential for growth, but most importantly, its longevity.


    The Faith of the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans were unrivaled. With such a level of protection, they had an unshakeable foundation.


    Of course, one might then wonder just why such blessed Clans birthed a cripple like Ryu, but this was an inappropriate way to view things.


    For one, the prosperity Ryu brought his maternal and paternal Clans couldn''t be underestimated. Due to his aid, his Father, Titus Tatsuya, had already become the number one expert of the Shrine Plane with his mother acting as a close number two.


    Secondly, if one analyzed Ryu''s body, you''d be shamed if you dared to say he wasn''t a blessed young man.


    Not only was Ryu born with a perfect balance of four Ancestral Grade bloodlines, he awakened the number one ranked Heavenly Pupils. And, although his meridian awakening ceremony failed, he was also born with Ancestral Grade meridians.


    How could a young man born with so much talent be classified as anything other than blessed?


    "Mm." Ryu retracted the excited glint in his eye, his expression darkening slightly. "Our next movements have to be extremely calculated."


    "Do you sense something?"


    Ryu looked off into the distance, gently holding his grandmother''s arm. "We have the most accumulated Faith in the martial world, yet it seems that other Clans are surging while ours have stalled. Something is amiss."


    "Have you¡­" Mistress Kunan hesitated.


    She knew quite well what abilities of her grandson''s eyes. Often times, Elders of their Kunan and Tatsuya Clans would attempt to exploit Ryu''s abilities, but his grandparents and parents never had. They understood quite well how much Ryu hated reading Fate, so they never forced him to do such things. However, judging by the way he was speaking¡­


    "After what father did yesterday, I''ve felt uneasy." Ryu replied seriously. "If it''s for the sake of my family, any discomfort is irrelevant."


    Mistress Kunan''s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she tightened her grip on her grandson''s arm.


    ''Am I really cursed to live longer than my grandson?'' Her heart ached uncontrollably.


    "If your father hadn''t done what he did, I would have never allowed him to marry your mother. I want my grandson by my side for as long as possible."


    Ryu sighed. "The heavens are in turmoil. So much so that even my eyes can''t make sense of anything. There''s a possibility that this is because I have no real practice reading the stars. But, my instincts tell me that it wouldn''t matter."


    Mistress Kunan shook her head. "Reading the stars has never been entirely reliable¡­" After a pause, Mistress Kunan continued, "What have you understood about this ruin?"


    "Not much¡­" Ryu lowered his voice. "I''ve cross-referenced a few ancient texts and am fairly confident about its general location and its importance. That''s all."


    "A few?"


    Seeing his grandmother looked at him skeptically, Ryu rubbed his nose. He had been working on this for hundreds of years, how could it qualify as "a few". Just by virtue of the fact no one else knew about this ruin, one could understand the difficulty of finding this information.


    Mistress Kunan smiled knowingly. "You''ve grown old now and think you can lie to your grandmother?"


    With a cough, Ryu changed the subject. "The location is very sensitive¡­ It''s not located in this layer, it''s¡ª"


    Suddenly, Mistress Kunan''s head snapped toward a particular direction. "How dare you?!"


    An oppressive aura erupted from Mistress Kunan''s frail looking body. In that moment, she had regained her majesty as Priest Saintess of the Life and Ice Shrines.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. The reason he spoke so freely about such a sensitive topic out in the open like this was because no one dared to eavesdrop. Even if someone had the courage to do something so stupid, was his grandmother some frail woman? She was a Priest Saintess!


    A shadow stumbled from the void coughing up blood and revealing a red robed elder.


    Mistress Kunan was livid. Someone actually dared to impugn upon her prestige in such a fashion? And worst yet, it was a mere Shrine Elder?!


    She already so rarely got to spend time with her grandson. How could she take this lying down?!


    "Your courage has grown Sixth Fire Shrine Elder Ciaran!"


    Elder Ciaran smiled wryly. "Ah, it''s Priest Saintess Kunan. My apologies, I was simply in a rush and happened to encroach upon your Void Domain. The mistake is entirely my fault."


    The sheer lack of sincerity in his voice caused Ryu''s grandmother''s rage to shake the very foundation of the Palace. "It seems that the last time I killed someone was over a billion years ago. Maybe some fools have forgotten my name!"

 Chapter 7: Supreme Priest Adofo

    An illusory hand of shimmering blue appeared in the skies. Although it had the delicate and slender features of a woman, it blossomed with an unbridled and domineering power. No matter how beautiful it looked, one couldn''t help but shiver at its sight.


    Elder Ciaran panicked, his casual demeanor shattering in the face of absolute strength.


    He was a complete fool. He actually dared to anger Mistress Kunan when she was in a terrible mood. She had just been feeling helpless about her lack of ability to help her grandson and now someone provoked her? This was no less than poking at a sleeping bear.


    "Ah, Priest Saintess. Please give me some face and stay your hand."


    Ryu inwardly sneered when he heard this newcomer''s words.


    Wearing the same red robes as Elder Ciaran, aside from the gold etchings, a seemingly young man appeared within the Palace Hallway.


    Although he seemed young, this was only because of the depth of his cultivation. In reality, he was several million years Elder Ciaran''s elder. This man was none other than one of the Grand Elders of Fire Shrine, Third Grand Elder Eloysius.


    ''As expected, this really does have something to do with father''s actions. But, to think Third Grand Elder would be so bold.'' Ryu''s expression never changed, glancing from Sixth Elder''s shivering body to Eloysius.


    Any normal mortal wouldn''t be able to meet the eyes of an immortal. In fact, mortals of the lower realm shivered in the face of even those Ryu saw as mediocre cultivators. However, Ryu showed no such reaction in the face of these immortals. His pride was staunch even in the face of his quaking inner organs.


    Seeing that Mistress Kunan''s technique hadn''t paused, Third Grand Elder continued elegantly.


    "Although your son-in-law is the Priest Saint of Fire Shrine, it wouldn''t bode well for his mother-in-law to kill one of our elders, right?" A small smile played his handsome lips. "After all, Priest Saint Titus'' rule is¡­ Well, it''s best we don''t speak of this with those not of this Shrine. It would be inappropriate."


    Mistress Kunan didn''t have the normal reaction a person would have to such provocation. Instead, she turned to her grandson.


    "What''s the worst I can do without causing trouble?"


    Ryu''s eyes flashed. "Cripple Sixth Elder. Slap Third Grand Elder and sever his left arm."


    "Okay!" Without hesitating, Mistress Kunan did exactly that.


    Third Grand Elder''s eyes widened. What kind of situation was this?


    His calm expression crumbled into darkness. He had miscalculated.


    During Ryu''s life, who had dared to provoke him? The answer was obvious: No one. His mother was the heiress to three potential Shrines while his father was the Priest Saint of the Fire Shrine. This didn''t even need to mention his grandparents. Who would dare touch him?


    This caused a misconception that began the moment Ryu went into seclusion at seven years old. Many believed that he was weak willed and sheltered. They had no clue about his decisiveness, nor his ruthlessness. Today, they would learn.


    The illusory light blue palm fell from the skies.


    "No! No please! I was wrong!" Sixth Elder screamed almost incoherently. He couldn''t believe what was happening. His only job was to probe Ryu. Maybe if they could make the son give up what his father had given him, then the father would say no more. Yet this resulted in him being crippled?!


    Mistress Kunan couldn''t seem to hear a thing. In one swift motion, the massive hand slammed into Sixth Elder''s body, burying him into the ground.


    Just how sturdy was the Fire Shrine Palace? It was made of some of the greatest and strongest materials known to the martial world. Yet, it blasted apart like wet cardboard in the face of Mistress Kunan''s strength.


    Sixth Elder convulsed on the ground, unable to stop the cold energy from seeping into his body, freezing his meridians and shattering them one by one.


    His Spiritual Foundation shook in indignation, unwilling to leave the world so soon. But, with its tether to the Living Plane severed, it faded into non-existence.


    Third Grand Elder eyes contracted. The Faith a Priest Saintess of two Shrines could maneuver was too fierce. Even if he was in his home territory, it wasn''t enough to fend off Mistress Kunan!


    "Entering the private property of the Tatsuya Clan without permission. Showing disdain for the heir of the Tatsuya Clan. Insulting the ruling Priest Saint. Eavesdropping on Council Grade information." Ryu''s voice was akin to the surface of an undisturbed lake. But, beneath its surface, it was clear¡­ So devoid of life that one could see clear through to the bottom yet remain unable to fathom its depth. This was Ryu!


    Third Grand Elder shivered when he heard Council Grade information. The Council referred to the highest order experts of any given shrine. The lowest acceptable rank for a member of The Council was Priest! A Grand Elder was still two ranks from such prestige!


    "Lies!" Third Grand Elder lost control of his emotions, uttering something he never should have.


    "You can cripple him now too, grandmother." Ryu said casually as though he was speaking about the weather.


    Mistress Kunan smiled lightly, raising her fallen palm and slamming it into the aggrieved First Grand Elder. In the next instant, one Elder lay unconscious on the ground while the other became stuck in the wall. It was a truly pitiful sight.


    "His father will be quite unhappy." Mistress Kunan spoke gleefully.


    "Supreme Priest Adofo should have taught his son better, then."

 Chapter 8: Old Monster Couples

    As the evening set upon the Shrine Plane, the Central Pavilion of Fire Shrine was bustling with countless guests. Not only had the various Clans of the Fire Shrine coalesced, masters of the Wind, Earth, Water and Wood Shrines had also made appearances along with many others.


    Aside from the bosses of Shrines, Guild leaders and Sect Patriarchs also attended. Alchemy Gods not seen for millions of years resurfaced, Formation Masters of ancient times left their dens, and even cultivation experts, after being in seclusion for countless years, had come to remind the world of their existence.


    Many of these individuals hadn''t even seen or heard of this "Ryu" before. After all, this was Ryu''s thousandth birthday, a time that was a mere blink of an eye for these old men and women. Still, they came. The call of the Tatsuya Clan wasn''t something that they could ignore.


    At the head of the pavilion, a domineering roar of a laughter shook the foundation below their feet. Yet, the party continued as though the guests had heard nothing. They were too used to powerful experts like this involuntarily influencing their surroundings.


    "My grandson did that? Truly me boy!" An older man who looked to be in his 50s roared with laughter. His head of hair was a fierce blue, shimmering with a lightning so powerful that it sometimes appeared white due to the blinding light. This man was none other that Priest Saint Kunan, Ryu''s maternal grandfather. "Decisive and ruthless, just like his grandfather!"


    An older woman of about the same age sighed. Her hair flickered with the embers of an undying fire, making her already red hair even more valiant and awe inspiring.


    Despite her appearance, this older woman''s demeanor was calm and serious, similar, yet, at the same time so very different from Mistress Kunan''s calm and lovable demeanor. This woman was decidedly colder. However, there was clear love in her eye when she spoke of Ryu. She was none other than Ryu''s paternal grandmother and current Priest Saintess of the Reincarnation Shrine, Old Mistress Tatsuya.


    "This Third Grand Elder doesn''t have a small background." Old Mistress Tatsuya spoke, trying to pour cold water over Kunan''s party.


    "You come from a mighty Phoenix Clan, yet you''re worried about some inferior fire bird clan?"


    A severe pinch contorted Priest Saint Kunan''s facial expression. He wanted to rage, but the moment he noticed that it was his wife''s hand to his side, he ducked down like an obedient child. Ever since that incident with Elena''s grandmother, he had been practically begging for forgiveness for the last few billion years. Even after all this time, he didn''t dare to go against his wife.


    Mistress Kunan sent a look of disdain toward her husband, causing the quiet-until-now Old Man Tatsuya to chuckle lightly, but he too received a glare from his wife that forced him quiet once more.


    "The Scarlet Clan isn''t a normal inferior fire bird clan. Many ancient texts place them above the Phoenix among the Fire Bird species."


    Old Man Kunan wasn''t convinced although he remained quiet. The Scarlet Clan were the descendant of the Scarlet Sparrow. It wasn''t that they were weak, he knew well that they were very strong. It was just that a Phoenix''s wings could cover hundreds of miles at maturity while a Scarlet Sparrow would never be more than two palm lengths. It was difficult for someone with his personality to take such a creature seriously.


    During ancient times, the Scarlet Clan once controlled the Blood Shrine. At that point, everyone had no choice but to take them seriously, despite their size. However, they hadn''t birthed a descendant capable of taking the role of Priest Saint or Saintess for many generations, forcing their Legacy Shrine into being a Dormant Shrine.


    They were quite amazing creatures. While Ice Phoenixes wielded Life and Fire Phoenixes wielded Reincarnation, Scarlet Sparrows were masters of Vitality. Their flames had the ability to bestow and take away bloodlines. They were no less important to the structure of the martial world in comparison to Phoenixes.


    Now, however, the Scarlet Family was a subordinate clan of the Fire Shrine due to the fact their only remaining ancestral ability were their scolding hot flames.


    "Look at you." Mistress Kunan frowned, reprimanding her husband. "Didn''t your Kunan Clan lose the Tribulation Shrine? Just like the Scarlet Clan, you haven''t birthed any descendants who can take it over. Why do you look down on the Scarlet Clan for a plight you yourself have?"


    "But¡ª"


    "No buts." Mistress Kunan continued. "I know you want to say that Little Himari can gain the Tribulation Shrine''s acknowledgement, but how is our little girl going to preside over four Shrines? Aren''t you a little too useless?"


    Old Mistress Tatsuya glared at her own husband as well. "What are you snickering for? I''m still not satisfied with the fact you handed your duties to Little Titus so soon. You''re his father, you should have beared the burden for longer no matter how talented he is. But, all you Dragons are so lazy!


    "You wanted to do what he did for Little Ryu, but you didn''t want to bear the headache, so you passed of your duties on him. What kind of father are you?!"


    In the distance, Mistress Tatsuya and her husband Priest Saint Tatsuya coughed awkwardly as they watched their parents bicker, not daring to get in the middle of it.


    Even for experts of their caliber, billions of years of marriage wore on them. It would be impossible to find any couple that had been together for so long that weren''t like this.


    "You won''t ever treat me like this, will you?" Titus looked toward his beautiful wife, but only received a mysterious smile. Still, it made his heart flutter.


    "Will everything be okay?" Himari suddenly asked, changing the subject.


    Titus snorted. "Since I''ve decided to give my son the Origin Flame, even the Sky Gods themselves can''t stop me!"

 Chapter 9: Loss

    "Introducing the heir to the Tatsuya Clan and his fianc¨¦e, Saintess Elena!" A loyal servant of the Tatsuya Clan happily introduced Ryu and Elena. In that moment, thousands of gazes had fallen upon the heavenly couple.


    Although Ryu preferred black robes, today, he wore traditional Tatsuya warrior garments. His robes were split into three layers, starting with an underlayer of golden cloth, partially covered with pristine white fabrics, before finishing with a fierce embroidered red. The design was simple yet exuded an air of majesty only a young man with the world in his hands could replicate.


    To his side, Elena''s beauty was beyond words. Her diamond pink eyes sparkled with happiness, reflecting everything good about the world. Her hair shimmered like crystals, sometimes appearing as a soothing lavender, and at other times like a gentle pink, yet it flowed like calm stream.


    She was dressed in traditional Kori Clan robes, representing the Clan of Ryu''s maternal grandmother. The elegant gown shimmered with light blues and pristine whites, exuding a graceful and comforting air.


    Ryu walked forward holding Elena''s arm, his white hair falling with a beautiful sheen and reaching to the middle of his back without a speck of dust. His silver eyes were steady with a cold indifference as though he was completely unaffected by the numerous sensory sweeps that touched his mind.


    Still, he felt every single one. It was akin to an uncomfortable bombardment hands, each vying for space to greet Ryu. However, to those whose senses touched him, they felt his lack of a reaction was due to the fact he didn''t realize what was happening at all. If Ryu had the cultivation of his father, would they dare to be so rude?


    It was clear that they all wanted to confirm whether or not the son of the mighty Titus Tatsuya and elegant Himari Tatsuya really was a cripple. And it was just as clear that his reaction, or lack there of, confirmed the rumors.


    Elena''s brows twitched in anger. To her, an insult on her future husband was an insult to her. However, if she stepped forward to protect Ryu, wouldn''t that just give these bastards capital to talk ill of him more? Giving her fianc¨¦ the title of a man who hid behind a woman would only harm him.


    ''These fools have no idea how much he''s done for you all¡­'' Elena thought with disdain.


    One would think that the birth of a child as a result of a union between the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans would cause an uproar, but this was the case only for those of the younger generations. Those of the older generation didn''t care for such matters.


    Well, this wasn''t entirely accurate. This union affected them too, but their uproar had already occurred when Titus and Himari announced their engagement. After this matter was closed, wasn''t it a foregone conclusion that they would eventually be with child? Such a child wouldn''t be worth the older generation giving a second glance to until he grew through several millennia.


    It wasn''t too much of an exaggeration to say that of the older generation, only Ryu''s grandparents had been aware of his birth.


    As a result of this, many of these old fogies weren''t aware of Ryu''s deeds. To them, the thousand years since his birth was nothing more than a nap to them. How much could someone accomplish in that time? This was how they thought.


    Since they often spent millions of years stuck at a cultivation realm, this was how they began to view time. If they couldn''t accomplish much of anything in a thousand years, how would a youngster, wet behind the ears, do so? If it wasn''t for the Tatsuya Clan''s call, they wouldn''t have even come here.


    A small smile played Ryu''s lips. But, those who knew him knew that this wasn''t his true smile. In fact, just looking at it made their backs stiffen with a frosty cold.


    "I must say," The crowd quieted down for Ryu to speak a few words to begin the festivities, "With so many seniors here, I, Ryu Tatsuya, can smile sincerely. The face you''ve given me today is one I can wear proudly for the rest of my life. Thank you."


    Hearing Ryu''s amiable and humble introduction, some felt bad about their actions, even blushing in shame. However, others sneered inwardly. This was the martial world, the weak would always be taken advantage of, what did they have to feel bad about? Even if Titus'' father was the number one expert of the Shrine Plane, he wouldn''t wantonly offend so many of them for something so petty.


    In the distance, Ryu''s parents and grandparents, the six who knew him best, also inwardly sneered. However, their reasons were far different. In Ryu''s thousand years of life, when had he ever taken a loss?!


    "Please feel free to enjoy yourselves." With that, Ryu took a step forward before pausing. "Oh! I almost forgot."


    Just these words were enough for Ryu''s family members to start uncontrollably chuckling. Elena, who was trying her best to keep it together, couldn''t control the quivering of her upper lip. Even Nuri smiled sweetly from within the void, following behind Ryu and Elena in silence.


    "There''ll be a gift ranking competition later tonight. My father plans on opening the festivities by gifting me the Origin Flame, I hope that you all can continue to enlighten this junior about the older generation''s prestige!"


    Hearing this, the eyes of those old fogies widened before raspy coughing and paled faces filled the room.


    A gift ranking competition with such an opening? He wanted to wring them dry!

 Chapter 10: Folk Lore (1)

    Ryu pretended as though his words had no deep hidden meaning, disappearing into the crowd of guests with Elena by his side.


    With the appearance of so many of the older generation, there were of course many who brought their disciples with them. In addition, there were many heirs to numerous Clans and Shrines present as well. It was these individuals that he and Elena began to mingle with, ingratiating themselves well as a young host and hostess.


    Although this action seemed simple on the surface, it was yet another message to those who had been arrogant enough to so brazenly investigate the secrets of the Tatsuya Clan Heir. ''We are but youths, no? So wouldn''t it be beneath your lofty statuses to take out your anger on us?''


    Just like this, those old fogies hadn''t even begun their counterattack before they suddenly ran into soft clouds. Their rage could only hang in the air with nowhere to be vented.


    That said, there were some of this very same generation who found great pleasure in the proceedings.


    "That little rascal is too vicious." Despite her words, Merula Tatsuya, Ryu''s paternal grandmother, couldn''t hide the smile hidden deep within her eyes.


    Priest Saint Kunan was clutching his stomach at this point, trying his best not to let his laugh be heard. If those old bastards heard him now, they really might throw a fit.


    Ryu''s words might have seemed simple, but they weren''t at all. There was nothing that old fogies cared about more than their faces. Public perception was everything. They had little else to hang their prestige upon.


    A gift ranking competition was usually used in such ceremonies so that a ruler could distinguish their retainers from the rest of their kingdom. In these cases, the supposed "rank" of the gift would be decided in advance. One of low status wouldn''t be allowed to bring a gift that was too valuable, while those of high status wouldn''t be able to bring a gift that was too mundane.


    The mere fact that such a practice existed in the martial world showed just how important these symbolic and abstract showings meant to the upper echelon of society. Often times, the best Emperors and Kings were capable of manipulating these seemingly meaningless occurrences to perfection.


    However, Ryu broke all of the unspoken rules of the gift ranking competition. Those who had been invited didn''t know whether they could be considering as retainers of the Tatsuya family or not, so how could they know just how valuable their gift should be? They had no guidelines to follow.


    So, imagine for a moment if one purposely gave a mundane gift. Wouldn''t you thus be saying that you had no interest in being close friends with the Tatsuya Clan? Wouldn''t you essentially be spitting in the face of the number one clan of the Shrine Plane? Who could bear such a burden?


    The worst part about it all was the fact that Ryu had already named the so-called ''headlining gift'', a gift by which all standards were set. Whether a gift was valuable or mundane was decided by this headliner. Yet, this headliner was among the most valuable treasures in all of existence!


    If they purposely gave a poor gift, they''d be slapping the face of the Tatsuya Clan. If they gave an appropriate gift, they''d be giving up their most treasured possessions. Ryu had driven them into a corner with just a few sentences!


    Mistress Kunan couldn''t help but smile either. On this rare instance, she didn''t reprimand her husband. When it came to things involving her precious grandson, she was much more relaxed. However, the matters they had spoken of earlier today weighed on her heavily, still.


    "There may be large, sweeping changes soon." She said with a sigh.


    "You spoke of what led to that Third Grand Elder child''s crippling, but you didn''t go into details. Just what is worthy of a Council Grade evaluation from Little Ryu?" Merula questioned.


    "If Little Ryu is correct, I believe it''s time for your Fire Phoenix Clan and my Ice Phoenix Clan to come together once more."


    "It''s this serious, Vorena?"


    "Mm." Mistress Kunan nodded in affirmation. "These ruins house not only the secret to rekindling our flames, but also an opportunity to grasp a third flame and a Dormant Shrine. The movement of Faith has been too odd in recent times. We''ve been far too unlucky in comparison to our standing, while others have been the exact opposite in comparison to theirs. I think it''s for the best if we accomplish this task for the sake of the future generation."


    The two clan mistresses spoke seriously while their husbands stood on the sidelines. Although they were married, when it came to matters of the Phoenix Clans, they were obviously handled by their two Clan Matriarchs.


    One had to know that it wasn''t only the Ice Flame that was weakening, the Rebirth Flame was also weakening. In fact, before Old Man Tatsuya''s Clan took control of the Fire Shrine, it was his wife''s Clan that had it. Although they were Fire Dragons, their strength lied in their battle prowess and strong bodies, not the potency of their flames. It wasn''t until the Fire Phoenix Clan''s flame weakened that the Fire Dragons grasped the Shrine.


    Simply put, Merula was just as interested in these ruins as her sworn sister Vorena. If something wasn''t done, it could be that soon the Reincarnation Shrine wouldn''t be theirs to control anymore.

 Chapter 11: Folk Lore (2)

    The four old monsters of the previous generation spoke leisurely. Even though they didn''t restrain the volume of their voices, not a single word floated outside of their vicinity. With the tacit understanding between them, it was impossible for anyone to overhear their conversation.


    "According to Little Ryu, about a few hundred years ago, he stumbled upon a folk tale. Usually, these folk tales describe fanciful and embellished stories of the past while holding the barest modicum of truth, if that. Often, you could read a thousand lies before unknowingly sweeping past a factual recollection of events. However, Little Ryu found something interesting within this tale, something you might raise an eyebrow at, Merula."


    Mistress Kunan took a pause before continuing. "Like many other folk tales, this one recounted stories of the Sky Gods. In fact, there were hundreds of tales depicting adventures of at least half a dozen of these legendary figures. The one that caught Little Ryu''s attention was one about the Fire Sky God.


    "According to the tale, unlike the other Sky Gods, Gracchus was born feeble and weak. Not only was he unable to fend for himself, he was doomed to live a short life due to his frail body."


    Ryu''s grandparents couldn''t help but tremble when they heard these words. They were all experts who had lived through billions of years of life, how could they not immediately pick up why this story caught their grandson''s attention? The reality of the matter made them feel powerless and weak.


    Taking a deep breath, Vorena managed to stabilize her emotions.


    "This folk lore, instead of telling a tale of glory, it told one of sadness and despair. The story simply ended with the death of Gracchus, alone and destitute, having committed suicide due to his own uselessness."


    "But then¡­ Isn''t it obvious to ignore this story as a lie?" Priest Saint Kunan couldn''t help but ask his wife. "Sky God Gracchus obviously became a great man, he was among the pioneers that led the human race to subvert the rule of the Ancestral Beasts. How could his life have simply ended like that?"


    "If finding the puzzle pieces that connected to this ruin was so simple, wouldn''t someone have found it long before our Little Ryu?" Vorena glared at her husband. She was trying to tell a touching story yet this blockheaded man wanted to interrupt. One should never stop a grandmother when she''s in the middle of praising her grandson.


    Kunan shrunk back, the blue and gold lightning flickers in his eyes and hair dimming considerably.


    "Anyway. Little Ryu also ignored this tale originally. However, a few decades later, he was doing research on Spiritual Foundations in order to help Little Titus breakthrough to the next stage. He wanted to find what heavenly treasures were capable of solidifying an already mature Spiritual Foundation¡­"


    The three grandparents listened to Vorena''s tale intently, hanging on her every word, not because she was a good storyteller, but because they loved their grandson very much. His short lifespan only made them cherish him all the more. Even if he had turned out to be a useless debauchee, they would have loved him regardless.


    To them, the words ''Spiritual Foundation'' were practically taboo for that exact reason. Ryu was born with talent that could shake the very foundation of the Shrine Plane. The momentum of his birth was so momentous that the entire Plane was shrouded in dark clouds for months. Yet, all of that talent was wasted on account of the fact he was born with a False Spiritual Foundation.


    In the Martial World, it could be said that there were four pillars that decided one''s future. The first was bloodline grade. The second was skeletal grade. The third was meridian grade. Yet, the place where all of these things took root, and the fourth and most important aspect, was one''s Spiritual Foundation.


    As the Legatee of four Ancestral Grade bloodlines, Ryu passed this first test with flying colors. For this same exact reason, his skeletal grade was off the charts, also being of the Ancestral Grade. Finally, his meridian grade fell behind in no way, also being evaluated at the Ancestral Grade.


    These rankings might seem meaningless to many, but for those of the Shrine Plane, this sort of event was unprecedented!


    Common grade, Black grade, Earth grade, Heaven grade, Sovereign grade, Ancestral grade and the legendary Origin grade. These seven rankings alone decided the future of young geniuses everywhere, yet Ryu topped them time and time again.


    One had to understand that the Origin Grade was rare even among the Sky Gods. In fact, only one of them could claim to have reached such a level! Only a single person in history! For all intents and purposes, Ryu was unmatched in talent.


    However¡­ The Spiritual Foundation was all encompassing. It was difficult to explain in just a few words, but it was the method by which all cultivation took root. Those born with False Spiritual Foundations were doomed to a life of mediocrity no matter how profound their remaining talent was.


    "¡­ During this research, Little Ryu managed to succeed, of course, making Little Titus practically unmatched in the Shrine Plane, but, at the same time, he came across something curious.


    "Once more delving into folk lore to find clues about these magical herbs, Little Ryu found another tale about the Gracchus. It was seemingly disconnected. In fact, it seemed like a completely different story entirely, as though it wasn''t even the same character at play.


    "The first portrayed Gracchus as a poor, but loving boy. He couldn''t bear the idea of his parents struggling to keep him alive, so he committed suicide when he realized that his efforts toward becoming stronger were useless.


    "However, the second folk lore described him as a cruel war lord. A man who took women as he pleased and killed men for leisure.


    "The entire tale was disgusting and off-putting, however, the curious part was that at the end of his life, Sky God Gracchus reached a level of being where his Will was accepted and melded into the Will of the Heavens. Just like the other Sky Gods, he became immortalized and as such, became capable of choosing successors by Spiritual Foundation Rebirth.


    "What caught Little Ryu''s attention was the fact that the requirement for this Second Awakening was suicide!"

 Chapter 12: Folk Lore (3)

    The old monsters collectively sucked in a cold breath.


    This so-called Second Awakening was an incomparably rare opportunity to gain the Legacy of one of the Sky Gods.


    At birth, one would have a particular grade of Spiritual Foundation attached to you. This grade would decide your life in many aspects and often weighed heavier than the grades of your other talents. It acted as a bottleneck of sorts for how much potential you could glean from your abilities.


    In ten thousand out of ten thousand cases, it was impossible to change your Spiritual Foundation. The herbs that Ryu found to improve his father''s foundation didn''t directly raise the grade of Titus'' Spiritual Foundation, instead, it increased the strength of the cultivation he built atop of it, deepening their roots and allowing Titus to build higher.


    However, in very rare instances that only occurred once every several epochs, one would successfully undergo a Second Awakening, causing a qualitative change in their Spiritual Foundation. After this, this person would come to be known as a Sky God Descendent, gaining access to a door holding the understandings of their Sky God.


    According to ancient texts, there were two facets to this Second Awakening. The first was to have been lucky enough to be chosen by a Sky God. The second was to successfully complete the trial set out by this Sky God.


    As for what these trials would be, there were numerous possibilities, most of which were lost in time. However, they all shared the characteristic of being mind numbingly difficult. Even the number one expert of the Shrine Plane, Ryu''s father, wouldn''t dare take on these trials lightly.


    This said, there were a few trials that had survived the test of time. The Lightning Sky God required one to bathe in the highest form of tribulation lightning, White Lightning. The Wind Sky God required her successor to breathe in the Heavenly North, South, West and East Winds located at the end of existence. In fact, the Fire Sky God''s trial was thought to have survived as well. According to ancient texts, one was meant to immerse themselves in the Core Flames of an Immortal Plane.


    What was truly troubling about these trials, aside from their high fatality rate, was the fact that one wouldn''t know if they were chosen until after completing it! Many had been forced to cast aside their lives on a simple gamble¡­


    "I know what you''re all thinking. The Fire Sky God''s trial is well documented. There are even records of the last legend to successfully undergo a Second Awakening. However, this is where things become interesting¡­ In this tale, although they also referred to this Sky God as Sky God Gracchus, instead of being known as the Fire Sky God, he''s known as the Phoenix Sky God!"


    When Vorena reached this point, Merula unconsciously trembled. The Phoenix Sky God was an absolute existence, transcending the elemental Sky Gods and reaching a plane beyond. Sky Gods who took on the namesakes of Ancient Beasts were the true rulers of their time! Whether it be the Dragon Sky God, the Qilin Sky God, or the numerous others, they could only be matched by the Sky Gods of quintessence that embodied heavenly laws.


    The reason the Phoenix Sky God was so special was because he or she was both! Not only did the Phoenix Sky God embody an Ancient Beast, he or she also embodied the three pillars of existence, Life, Death and Reincarnation.


    Whether it was the Ice or Fire Phoenix Clan, they knew very little about this entity, but worshipped them regardless.


    "How can this be¡­ Any mention of the Phoenix Sky God has long since been taken into our families. How did Little Ryu find this? And why is this tale so cruel?..." Merula muttered to herself.


    These old monsters didn''t need much prompting. They understood very well how cruel a trial that required you to take your own life was.


    Since you had no idea whether you were chosen or not beforehand, how many people had sent themselves to death in vain? Although the other trials were difficult, at least there was a sliver of a chance for survival! The Phoenix Sky God''s trial had no such backdoor¡­


    "This was what Little Ryu had to speculate about." Vorena explained. "The words Phoenix Sky God were never explicitly stated."


    "Then¡­"


    "How did Little Ryu know? When he explained, this old woman couldn''t help but hold her grandson in awe. It was truly too shameful." Despite her self-deprecating words, Vorena''s smile was so wide you''d think she had just received a compliment.


    "The first folk lore was written in the Sky God Era, but the second was written in the Shrine Era, several trillion years apart and the ancient characters were several dialects apart.


    "In the first folk lore, Gracchus was spelt with the ancient characters for pitiful and weak. However, in the second folk lore, Sky God Gracchus was written with the characters for life, death and reincarnation!


    "Little Ryu speculated that this was an embedded clue, so he began to cross reference words that were similar between the two folk tales. Over time, he came to find that these weren''t just two connected stories across eras, but exactly nine of them.


    "Nine tales. All about the same man. Written across three different Eras. The Sky God Era, the Shrine Era and the Blossoming Era.


    "What all nine of these ancient texts had in common was that they didn''t just detail two Phoenix Clans, they detailed three of them! The Ice Phoenix Clan, the Fire Phoenix Clan, and the Dark Phoenix Clan. Little Ryu believes that he''s found the Death Shrine!"

 Chapter 13: Ventus Clan Heir

    While the old monsters spoke of serious matters, Elena and Ryu continued to float around from social group to social group.


    It wasn''t difficult for Ryu to notice the jealousy in the eyes of the young men he interacted with, but not many dared to show it outright. Although Elena was a young maiden in many of their hearts, it wasn''t as though Ryu was a country bumpkin. In fact, if there was ever a direct opposite of such a term, Ryu would likely be the first choice for such a title.


    Normally, after more than six-hundred years since their engagement, the hearts of these young men would have cooled off by now. However, it was exactly because it had been so long that such sparks relit.


    Who didn''t know about Ryu''s limited lifespan? Who didn''t know about the Light Shrine''s dissatisfaction with their young Saintess? Many began putting pieces together and fabricating stories to help themselves sleep at night.


    Some believed that Elena was a kind-hearted goddess who simply pitied Ryu''s plight. They thought that Ryu had likely confessed to her, causing her to feel uncomfortable rejecting him. To them, Elena just saw this as a small investment for her conscience. After all, this cripple wouldn''t live that much longer anyway.


    Other, slightly older individuals remembered past circulated rumors about Elena''s grandmother. According to these stories, Elena''s grandmother had forced Ryu''s grandfather into a corner utilizing a potent aphrodisiac even after he had married Mistress Kunan. As the theory went, they believed that Elena wanted to repay the debt of pain her grandmother had caused to Ryu''s family by promising herself to Ryu.


    Although these beliefs were somewhat reasonable, there were obviously foolish reasonings among them as well. For example, some thought that Ryu''s parents, being blindly despondent with their poor son''s plight, were willing to use their influence in evil ways. So, they had pressured the Holy Wing Clan and the Light Shrine into betrothing their Saintess to their son on threat of war.


    The worst of these conspiracy theories were always centered around Ryu being a good-for-nothing who only relied on his parents since he couldn''t build up any power of his own. These foolish individuals didn''t even realize that if the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans were even a tenth as despicable as these rumors claimed, anyone even thinking these thoughts would be grinded to dust under their rage.


    "Well, if it isn''t Sister Elena and Brother Ryu. I have to say, you two truly match the image of a heavenly couple. This poor Wind Shrine Heir toasts to you two."


    A young man with light green hair reminiscent of distilled tea bowed slightly toward the couple, his handsome features gleaming with arrogance. To his left and his right were two close friends of his.


    The young man himself was the leader of the current generation of his Ventus Clan, Gale Ventus. As for his friends, one was the heir of a subordinate Clan of the Ventus ¨C similar to the relationship the Tatsuya Clan shared with the Scarlet Clan ¨C The Eurus Clan''s Zephyr Eurus. The other had status equal to that of Gale, having a family that controlled the Water Shrine, the Unda Clan''s Lacus Unda.


    Ryu emotionlessly looked toward the three young men before him. Although they could be considered members of the younger generation, they were several million years older than Ryu. Truth be told, someone Ryu''s age wouldn''t normally be allowed to come to such events as they spent much of their early lives training. But, for obvious reasons, Ryu couldn''t do this.


    The short of it was that these young men essentially grew up along with Elena, so the reason for their clearly fake smiles was evident.


    That said, Ryu didn''t care about this, what he was actually noting was the arrogance of this young man. One had to understand that naming yourself the Heir of a Clan and naming yourself the Heir of a Shrine were two wholly different concepts. The fact this Ventus Clan Heir dared to say that he would inherit the Wind Shrine, and in front of one of his competitors, Zephyr, made this young man''s personality clear and obvious.


    Calling himself "poor" before directly contradicting this statement mere syllables later to raise up his status so high¡­ This young man liked to lay traps within his words.


    "I see¡­" Ryu spoke slowly. "I have long since heard the name of the Ventus Clan''s young rising star. I believe it won''t be long before you surpass your elder brothers. A great talent indeed! It''s unfortunate that I won''t be alive to see you sprout your wings fully."


    Although Gale''s face remained neutral, there was a clear flash of anger in his eyes. Not only did Ryu diminish his role to "rising star" of the Ventus Clan, he even mentioned his elder brothers in making it clear that his road wasn''t easy by any stretch. Then, to top it all off, Ryu removed the best counter Gale had available to him by mentioning his inability to cultivate outright. At the same time, this implied that Gale was very far away from succeeding in his ambitions since Ryu wouldn''t even live to see it.


    How could there be such airtight words?!


    Elena smiled lightly as he looked toward this fianc¨¦ of hers. Getting into a war of words with Ryu? It was like attacking an impenetrable empire from their strongest point. Nothing but the epitome of foolishness.


    Of course, Gale didn''t see it this way. After all, to him, Ryu was not only a cripple, he had barely lived a millennium. Gale himself had already lost count of the sets of thousand year spans he had lived through. How could he take Ryu seriously? Yet, it was clear to everyone that he had suffered a loss.


    To the side, while Zephyr displayed a fiercer anger than Gale, Lacus'' eyes shone with a sparkle of intelligence as he calmly gazed toward Ryu. ''This Ryu¡­ Why does he seem so unfathomable?''


    Before Gale could retort, the sound of a soft chime rang through the ceremonial halls.


    "It''s about time that we begin the festivities!" Titus Tatsuya stood out grandly, the beautiful Mistress Tatsuya by his side wearing an unblemished white gown. "First, we eat. And then, I''ll present my gift to my son and Sole Heir!"

 Chapter 14: Unfilial Grandson

    "How is it?"


    This voice floated through the hall seamlessly, completely undetected. It had been several hours since exotic delicacies the likes of which even these immortals had yet to see began being served, so the atmosphere was very lively and warm. No one had time to pay attention to such trivial secret conversations because there were easily hundreds occurring just like this one.


    That said, even if someone wanted to detect this conversation, it would be near impossible. This was because the speaker of the voice was the Shrine Plane''s foremost expert in the Laws of Wind! The air was his domain, even Ryu''s parents and grandparents would have to concede this fact.


    Of course, this man was none other than Priest Saint Ventus, Gale''s grandfather.


    "He''s an arrogant bastard!" Gale did his best to hold back from gritting his teeth, trying to keep his practiced smile plastered on his face.


    Priest Saint Ventus almost couldn''t refrain from rolling his eyes as he ingratiated himself with the older generation. He loved this grandson of his, but Gale was too arrogant. Truth be told, Gale often had the ability to back up his words. His talent surpassed his elder brothers, so he had earned his place in his grandfather''s heart. But¡­ It''s because all he knew was success that he was so vulnerable to those who were his equal.


    One had to understand that familial love like what Ryu experienced was incredibly rare on the Shrine Plane. These experts were practically immortal so they often watched those less talented individuals of their families rise and fall through the epochs. Over time, those of the elder generation grew calloused hearts. It was just a form of self-protection.


    Still, when talented youths like Gale were born, all of this pent of affection they withheld from others of their family poured outward. This led to youths like Gale being pampered and protected from birth. Unfortunately, this often had ill effects including overwhelming haughtiness.


    Today, Priest Saint Ventus sent his grandson on an important mission to probe the limits of Ryu. But how was this response helpful? It was practically nothing.


    "You unfilial little brat!"


    The roar of his grandfather made Gale''s countenance pale. He knew that if his grandfather hadn''t held back, that simple roar could have directly killed him. Still, although it was simple, it was effective so Gale managed to recollect his emotions.


    "Grandfather, I don''t know why you''re so worried about this cripple. And, even if you want to be worried, just wait another thousand or so years. No matter how many heavenly treasures they pump into him, he''ll become an old, decrepit man with one foot in the grave at that point."


    "You think putting a simple pause on things is so simple? Do you believe reversing the flow of Fate is so easy?! Such things are more profound than a boy with his lips still wet from his mother''s milk could understand." Priest Saint Ventus scolded ferociously.


    Thinking about it, Ryu''s birth truly was ill-timed. Their plans had started well before his birth. In fact, hundreds of thousands of years before. Yet, he was born at the perfect, key moment to flip everything.


    This was why reversing the tides of faith was so difficult. Even though they had succeeded for so long, the Heavens had thrown them a curve ball at the final moment, lodging the wrench that was Ryu into their gears.


    If they stopped now and waited for Ryu''s death, everything would be for naught. On top of this, they''d suffer a severe backlash that would result in all of their deaths! In fact, to balance all of the Chaos they had caused, the prosperity of the Tatsuya and Kunan Clans would skyrocket. Stopping now wasn''t something they could afford.


    "I still don''t get it." Gale said defiantly. "What waves could a cripple cause?"


    "You fool! Did you fill your head with nothing but shit and water?! Where did all of your brains go?!" Priest Saint Ventus began hyperventilating. He downed an entire glass of strong wine just to regain his composure. This grandson really could be the end of him.


    "Who is responsible for the revival of several thousand long extinct heavenly treasures? Who is the sole reason that bastard''s son Titus and his slut wife Himari have already matched us of the oldest generation in cultivation? Who allowed that whore''s granddaughter Elena to monopolize the long-lost Holy Ruin? Who cracked the final three layers of the Nine Core Enigmatic Sphere? WHO?!


    "I''ve told you this many time you unfilial grandson of mine, you''re talented, but you''re far too arrogant! You''ll run my Ventus Clan into the ground if I were to hand it to you! You can forget about becoming the official heir until I see some true changes in you!


    "What I fear isn''t that cripple Ryu. I could pinch him dead with a single fart! What I fear are the eyes he was born with! Do you believe that they''re the first ranked heavenly pupils for show?!"


    "But grandfather¡­" Gale''s voice was decidedly softer. His grandfather''s refusal to name him the heir of the Clan had always been a sore spot for him. "Don''t you need profound cultivation to make use of heavenly pupils? He has none to speak of¡­"


    "That''s exactly what''s so fearsome about it, brat. He doesn''t have an ounce of cultivation, yet he''s accomplished so much. This is the prowess of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    "Even the best Fate Readers would be unable to derive our plans. But, everything is laid bare before these first ranked pupils. Nothing can be hidden from them! Our only saving grace is that he is a cripple and as such, is unable to use their true abilities. However, he is still intelligent and resourceful¡­


    "I need you to probe him appropriately. I want to understand the extent of his abilities. If he is deft in their use, we need to make countermeasures immediately or else our Clans are doomed¡­


    "¡­ It''s time for the Golden Era to come to an end. We''ll burn everything down if we have to because when they come back¡­ It''s either we''re on their side, or we die."

 Chapter 15: Heavenly Pupils

    Ryu ate leisurely. His plate was different from others since he couldn''t withstand strong, spiritually rich dishes. However, he enjoyed many delicacies as well.


    His mother, despite her calm demeanor, was far more overprotective of him than his father, so it was often her that arranged his meals. Such a thing was unheard of for a woman of her stature, but she refused to allow others the right for fear that they would make a mistake and end up injuring her son.


    Currently, the family sat at a long table. Ryu''s father sat at the left head while his mother sat at the right. Directly to her right, starting the very edge of this long table, Ryu sat with Elena to his own right. As for the shy and reserved Nuri, Ryu would always sneak food to her against her wishes, resulting in her adorably nibbling away with a happy smile on her face while hidden in the void.


    Directly across from Ryu were empty chairs where his grandparents had been, but it seemed that they were taking this time to mingle with friends of theirs. As for Elena''s family, they were nowhere to be seen. But, Ryu had expected this. Maybe only the Holy Wing Clan would dare to reject a Tatsuya Clan invitation.


    "Little Ryu, do you have something on your mind?" Himari lovingly brush her son''s long white hair with a delicate palm. Others might not notice, but how could she not? Ryu''s expression seemed to be just as cold as usual, but Himari noticed that something was off.


    Himari didn''t seem to care that she was perpetuating rumors by treating Ryu like this in public. She wanted to see who dared to tell her to refrain from loving her son just for the comfort of others.


    Many saw the Himari that was as gentle as a lake, but Titus knew quite well that his wife was even more domineering that he was. It was a large portion of the reason he fell for her. How could a Mistress of the Tatsuya Clan be weak?


    "Your grandmother told me about the ruins... But you shouldn''t put too much stock in folk lore, okay?" Himari''s words were meaningful and deep. She didn''t doubt her son''s intelligence for even a moment, but what she did worry about was his wellbeing.


    Could it be that her Little Ryu was thinking about seeking out this Second Awakening? After all, who in his position wouldn''t be tempted? Ryu had two of three Phoenix bloodlines within him, if the Phoenix Sky God was going to pick someone¡­ Shouldn''t it be him? It made sense, no?


    Hearing these words, the idle Titus and Elena looked toward Ryu simultaneously. Although Titus tried to hide it, a flash of emotion lit his eyes. As for Elena, she was far less capable, resulting in the air around her becoming slightly misty. Even Nuri stopped nibbling at her food to look at Ryu was a painful sorrow.


    Truth be told, Ryu''s heart warmed at the reaction of his family. Other large Clans would be clamouring to find out the details of such a large treasure trove, yet Ryu''s family only wanted him to not lose himself.


    Ryu shook his head, looking toward his mother''s beautiful and worried visage. "I have no plans to seek out my end, mother. I''ll be by your sides for as long as I can."


    Himari''s heart ached at these words, but she could only begrudgingly accept them.


    "What I''m worried about is something entirely unrelated¡­ The movement of things, isn''t it far too odd? I hadn''t noticed anything until this morning, but when Elena mentioned the sudden rise in Light Saintesses, a lot of seemingly unrelated events started circulating in my mind..."


    "Unrelated events?" Himari''s brows furrowed.


    "Mm." Ryu fell into what almost looked like a trance. "The Ice Flames'' weakening. The Rebirth Flames'' weakening. The sudden rise of Supreme Priest Adofo and his Scarlet Clan. Nine Light Saintesses in less than one million years. My birth. Old Mistress Holy Wing''s hatred. My interaction with Gale Ventus. The Unda Clan Heir''s gaze. The Grand Elder''s eavesdropping. The birth of Gale. The birth of Lacus. The birth of Elena''s mother.


    "They''re all linked by a ribbon of gray, filled with peaks and valleys, bathed in the blood of the heroic and innocent¡­"


    Ryu awoke with a start, a violent cough erupting from his frail chest. If it wasn''t for Elena''s delicate hand shooting forward to rub his back and send a steady stream of energy to him, Ryu felt that he would have lost consciousness in that instant.


    "Little Ryu!" Himari appeared by her son''s side. Truthfully, this incident had gone completely unnoticed given the gathering''s atmosphere. If even the laugh of a powerful expert like Priest Saint Kunan couldn''t interrupt it, how could the cough of a mere mortal like Ryu do so?


    However, Himari had to take her son''s face in her hands because¡­ His eyes were bleeding!


    Titus'' frown solidified as his jaw clenched. He didn''t understand his son''s words either, but he didn''t need prompting to know that this was a big matter.


    These so-called ribbons of gray¡­ Weren''t those the Lines of Karma? What sort of Lines of Karma could possibly tie all of these things together?


    They didn''t know and neither did Ryu. However, had the Tatsuya Clan not been suspicious themselves, why would they send out invitations for today''s event? Even to the point of calling out so many secluded members of the older generation?


    Having no choice but to do his best to cover up his son''s situation, Titus stood and made an announcement.


    "It''s about time we begin, honored guests. Bring in the Origin Flame!"

 Chapter 16: Valiant Old Woman

    Himari and Elena quickly helped Ryu recover as all eyes focused on Titus. If it was a normal injury or even a normal gathering, they wouldn''t care to end all festivities right now for Ryu''s sake. However, neither of these things were the reality.


    For one, a wielder of the heavenly pupils bleeding from their eyes only represented one thing: over-exertion! Who here didn''t know that Ryu was born with the first ranked heavenly pupils? A wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth being injured in such a way meant that there was a massive upheaval on the horizon, one that none of them could ignore. How could they allow such information to leak at this time?


    Secondly, this event was put together by the Tatusya Clan to probe the current Shrine Plane''s situation and solidify bonds. They all understood the importance of this. Whether it was for familial love or practicality, Ryu had to hold it together!


    "I''m sure that many of you are wondering why the Tatsuya Clan issued this summons. Truthfully, it isn''t because this old man believes his son''s birth date is so important. The matters of the younger generation are trivial and are unworthy for such esteemed and honored guests to be involved in. Rather, I called you all here to witness a moment in history and to benefit from this rare opportunity!"


    Titus'' words alleviated many of the doubts and pent up frustration many there had. Honestly, they had forgotten this anger after seeing friends of old, however, Titus'' words reminded them that these theatrics were actually all for a boy with his mother''s milk still leaking from his lips.


    This said, the fact Titus was admitting all of this himself made them feel inwardly comfortable. Before, they had no choice but to come for fear of offending this powerful Clan, but now it could be said that they were happy they came. It was clear that Titus had the charisma of a leader.


    After collecting himself, other than slightly reddened eyes that ached with he looked at the light, Ryu was fine. He couldn''t help but look toward his father with a hint of pride in his eyes. Ryu was well aware that he didn''t have the disposition of a leader¡­ he was too cold, too calculating and completely unsociable. So, he had always admired his father''s leadership talent.


    "You may have all guessed reason since that silly brat of mine let the cat out of the bag, but today the Tatsuya Clan will allow you all to be witness to the bestowment of a treasure we''ve kept for generations, the Origin Flame!


    "As legends would have it, the Origin Flame is a source of enlightenment. Many tales claim that in the moment it chooses a master, it will release a wave of Heavenly Law, making comprehension of higher realms far easier." Titus smiled lightly, allowing the weight of his words to build up. He didn''t have to fabricate these tales, these were truths everyone who had heard of this flame knew.


    The Origin Flame was a miracle of the heavens. It had the ability to bestow enlightenment to those in its presence, making resonating with the Natural Order far easier. The Master of these flames would be the greatest beneficiary of this, allowing them to see through the essence of all things.


    This flame was by no means the greatest offensively, such a title was reserved for Core Flames. This flame was also not the best for alchemy or blacksmithing, such an honor was harbored by Earth Flames. It didn''t have any special healing abilities either, such a thing was exclusive to Holy Flames.


    Not only could this flame not harm a fly, it was completely docile! However, what it did have was absolute control and sovereignty!


    Raging energies became as calm as a peaceful rivers. Impossible to comprehend concepts slowed before your eyes, awakening within your mind. Nature would grow fond of you, causing rampaging beasts to bow and heavenly treasures to present themselves.


    Origin Flames were the last sparks that remained from the beginning of all things¡­ Whether these rumored abilities were true extent of their capabilities, even these immortals were unaware. But, wasn''t coming out of their secluded practice worth it for just the possibility?


    "Our Tatsuya Clan could have taken advantage of this moment alone, but the Golden Era of our Shrine Plane wasn''t ushered in by selfishness. The foundation of this Era is comradery and brotherhood, it''s because we come together that the state of affairs today is so harmonious and peaceful.


    "I share this opportunity with you all to continue facilitating this culture. The Tatsuya Clan will never treat you poorly, so I hope that you take care of us as well."


    Those here were moved by Titus'' words. They almost simultaneously hung their heads in shame for how poorly they reciprocated this kindness. Those who gone out of their way to humiliate Ryu earlier in the night felt even worse¡­ None doubted Titus'' word. Even if he was lying, they were certain that there weren''t any malicious intentions behind his true purpose. Thinking to this point, those of the older generation who had been stuck at bottlenecks for an ungodly number of years couldn''t help but sit up straighter.


    Servants with cultivation so profound that many raised eyebrows glided into the room, holding a box so black that it reflected no light whatsoever.


    This box was quite larger, requiring six such servants to hold. Yet, despite the number of them, the strain on their features was clear.


    "Neutron Star Core!" Those of the Weapon''s Forging Guilds all but fainted in shock. The material this box was made out of was none other than the densest and hardest mineral in existence. A single cubic centimeter weighed millions of jin! Who could even imagine how heavy this large box was?


    However, to hold the Origin Flame, such measures weren''t just warranted, they were necessitated.


    "Haha! I hope I''m not late!"


    Just as the black box was placed before Titus, the domineering voice of a valiant middle-aged woman shook the hall. Everyone could only look over to find Old Mistress Holy Wing standing in gold, silver and pink diamond armor, a short sword to her hip.


    She strode forward as though she was walking into her own home, a domineering sneer hanging from her well maintained cherry lips.

 Chapter 17: Old Mistress Holy Wing (1)

    Old Mistress Holy Wing was indeed valiant. Although she had retired from her position of Priest Saintess, handing it down to her daughter ¨C Elena''s mother''s half-sister and Ryu''s half-aunt ¨C she was no older or less powerful than Ryu''s grandmothers.


    Her beauty was clear. Despite looking about fifty or so years old, her skin was soft and supple, not to mention healthy. Her hair still swayed with a shimmering crystal light and her pink eyes pierced through the very air itself.


    Seeing her rival walk in, Mistress Kunan''s eyes flashed with anger while Priest Saint Kunan''s became filled with a complicated light. At one point in time, he had loved this woman as well, but he chose his Vorena instead. However, instead of respecting that decision, Old Mistress Holy Wing forgot all boundaries and realms of etiquette to forcibly take his seed. As a result, he had a daughter in this world he could count on a single hand the number of times he had seen¡­ A daughter he had never even held in his arms.


    This sort of pain bore a hatred for this woman deep in Priest Saint Kunan''s heart. All tethers of love had been shattered by her eons ago. If it wasn''t for that fact she was still a mother of his child, Priest Saint Kunan would have drawn his weapon and cleaved her in two!


    As for Mistress Kunan, she understood the feelings of her husband well. Although she gave him a hard time, these were wounds she would never tread on. She despised this woman to the depths of her soul. If it wasn''t for her love''s sake, she too would have cleaved this wench in half!


    Titus showed no obvious reaction to Old Mistress Holy Wing''s entrance. His eyes were calm, but the slight swaying of his flaming red hair told anyone who knew him that he was truly angered.


    "Valeska, what brings you here?" Titus asked apathetically.


    Old Mistress Holy Wing tilted her head. "Little boy, you''re still ten billion years too young to address me in such a way."


    "Grandmother!" Elena stood with a rage deep in her eyes. "Must you do things this way?!"


    "Grandmother? You still have the face to call me by that title when you''ve spit in the face of everything I''ve built?! You''re no granddaughter of mine!"


    Who didn''t know the teachings of the Holy Wing Clan? Marriage was forbidden. Men were to be used, not fallen in love with. Their doctrines were so simple to remember that only a fool would forget. Yet, one of their Saintesses ignored these rules entirely, rules that had been in place for several Eras!


    If it was up to Old Mistress Holy Wing, she would have tied Elena up and locked her away until that little bastard cripple Ryu died a rotten death. But, Elena was too intelligent and the Tatusya and Kunan Clans were too powerful. Since Elena decided to stay of her own accord, would Mistress and Priest Saint Kunan allow Valeska to do as she pleased? Would Titus and Himari allow their son''s lover to be taken right before their eyes? Of course not!


    No matter how valiant Old Mistress Holy Wing seemed, she was simply a cornered chicken with barely the ability to squawk.


    A normal granddaughter would have been hurt to hear these words, but Elena had heard them too often. Even the greatest of insults fell on deaf ears when used to impunity. Elena only felt a deep seeded disgust for her grandmother''s ways.


    The truth of the matter was that this was more serious than it was made out to be. When a Clan was formed there were a few things it needed. The first was a Holy Land, the second were Founding Members, and the third were Clan Texts.


    The Holy Land was simply a place adequate enough to birth a prestigious Clan. They were usually areas of resounding Feng Shui or markers of auspicious events.


    The Founding Members were even simpler to explain. They were the core members of the soon to be formed Clan. The more powerful they were, the more binding the Clan Texts would be.


    Then, there were the so-called Clan Texts. These were ancient rules put in place by the Clan''s founders and a proxy by which the standards of the future generations were measured. They were also the means by with Core Teachings or techniques of a Clan could be stored.


    What did the act of Elena''s defiance mean? It was no less than slapping the faces of these Founding Members.


    If it was a small clan or if Elena was an insignificant branch member, this would hardly matter. But, the fact that the Holy Wing Clan was a Founding Clan of the Shrine Planes and Elena was a Saintess of their ranks made this problem massive!


    When the Clan Texts are disobeyed, the Fate that the Founding Members provided takes a hit. If these rules continue to be violated, there will be a time that this Ancient Fate will cease to recognize its current generation members entirely! If this were to happen, the ability for the Holy Wing Clan to protect itself and birth future talents would take a major hit, one substantial enough to cripple and even destroy them!


    Simply put, while Elena found these rules barbaric and disgusting, Old Mistress Holy Wing saw them as necessary for the survival of their Clan!


    One could debate about what fools the Founding Members were all they liked, but the Clan Texts were set in stone several Eras ago. It was then the obligation of the current generation to either fall in line like Old Mistress Holy Wing or destroy it all and start from scratch.


    It might sound valiant and noble to choose the latter, but how many could really afford to do so? It simply couldn''t be helped that the values of the past generations wouldn''t be in line with that of those today¡­ But, without the protection of these past generations, a Clan''s only option was to become a subordinate to others or risk destruction.


    Seeing that her granddaughter only sneered at her comments, Old Mistress Holy Wing''s gaze turned cold before snapping away entirely.


    "I''ve simply come to partake in the festivities, you wouldn''t turn this old woman away, would you?"

 Chapter 18: Old Mistress Holy Wing (2)

    Ryu suddenly stood, his eyes closed, and his hands clasped behind his back. In that moment, he inexplicably became the center of attention. This was a dispute between the strongest cultivators of the highest Immortal Plane, yet a mere mortal took center stage!


    His footsteps were deliberate, and slow, resounding through the hall steadily.


    The blood that had just coated his cheeks had long since been wiped away, revealing his devilishly handsome appearance to the fullest extent. If one didn''t sweep their senses over his meridians, they would be certain that he was an expert of experts, a man who stood above the world loftily¡­ A man who saw them all as nothing but ants.


    Priest Saint Ventus'' eyes narrowed at this display. It was clear to him and those of the older generation that this wasn''t an act, and even if it was an act, who could say they could fulfill such a role so perfectly?


    Although Priest Saint Ventus hadn''t told his grandson this, the moment he heard that the Origin Flame was being gifted to Ryu, his probing became meaningless, this was why he didn''t have his grandson continue.


    While others might not understand the full history of the Origin Flame, he and many others of the oldest generation did. Think about it for a moment¡­ Why was Titus so certain that the Origin Flame would accept Ryu as its master? No matter how docile such a flame was, could it really be accepted by just anyone? Could it really call anyone ''Master''? Of course not!


    The reason Titus was so certain was because those with heavenly pupils ranked within the top ten were said to be the Masters of Origin. Each were given a heaven shaking ability that had existed since the beginning of time itself, allowing them to be the only ones an Origin Flame would accept.


    If the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were paired with the Origin Flame, the results would be catastrophic for their movement!


    For Titus, giving this flame to his son was just another method of prolonging his life. It would bide them at least a few more hundred years to find a cure for Ryu''s False Spiritual Foundation. However, to Priest Saint Ventus, this was akin to giving wings to a tiger.


    So, even without knowing what the full extent of Ryu''s abilities would be after this event, he had resolutely decided that they couldn''t delay matters any longer. The problem was that after seeing Ryu''s current demeanor, he feared that it was already too late¡­ Would such a man really need the Origin Flame? He seemed as though he already had the world in the palm of his hand!


    To Ryu, however, he didn''t mind any of this. He usually restrained his aura to the utmost, not because he was scared to unleash it, but rather because he found doing so useless. His eyes always seemed to see much clearer when everyone thought he was a good-for-nothing cripple. It was just that right now¡­ He was very angry. In fact, his blood was boiling.


    "Why did you come here?" Ryu made his way to the black box of neutron star core, resting his eyes on it. Although he was speaking to Old Mistress Holy Wing, he wasn''t facing her at all.


    The Old Mistress sneered. "Didn''t you hear what I just said to your father? Or are your ears crippled as well? He has no right to question me, so since when was it yours?!"


    "Oh? He doesn''t have the right to? I see¡­" Ryu''s hand glided across the exterior of the black box. It seemed smooth on the outside, but it was actually incomparably rough, like fine grade sandpaper. Ryu''s frail hands became cut in an instant, but he didn''t seem to notice the blood dripping from his palm.


    "There are twenty-three Founding Clans of the Shrine Plane. Of these twenty-three, six currently control nine Shrines. Of these nine Shrines, my Tatsuya Clans controls two and have a marriage alliance with the only other Clan that supersedes this feat." Ryu spoke with an eerie calm, in fact, his speech was almost too slow, yet it somehow stifled others from speaking atop of him.


    "You protect your Clan Texts for the sake of self-preservation. You''re a coward who hides behind your bravado and childish heart. Yet, you dare to provoke a Clan that could obliterate yours ten times over. You tell me, is that valiant? Or is it the epitome of stupidity? I wonder how your Founding Members would feel, hearing about a descendant of theirs who seemed hell bent on destruction?"


    The temperature of the room dropped several dozen degrees. The words Ryu had just spoken were absolutely taboo. Speaking of war and the destruction of Clans so nonchalantly?! Wasn''t he afraid of bringing about public outrage?!


    Old Mistress Holy Wing''s beautiful face contorted in anger, her ample chest heaving. However, her control over her emotions made it clear to everyone just how true his words were. Of course, a destruction of ten times over was a massive exaggeration. In fact, the Tatsuya Clan would have to ally with all four Clans bonded together by marriage to have assurance of erasing the Holy Wing Clan from their Plane.


    Of course, these four Clans were represented by Ryu''s four grandparents. Such a movement toward war would be unprecedented. But, seeing the look of love and pride the four old monsters had when they looked toward this grandson of theirs, those in the surroundings couldn''t help but shiver.


    Didn''t you all like spreading rumors about how domineering Ryu''s backers were in helping their precious son and grandson fulfill his wishes? How do you like it now that your false bullshit has become reality?


    Ryu lifted his hand, looking at his bloody palm. "Of course, I don''t say any of this seriously. I only felt the need to correct Old Mistress Holy Wing about the appropriate seniority here. Age means nothing in the face of the larger fist, don''t you think?"


    In the end, Old Mistress Holy Wing shook her head, her anger becoming replaced with a smile.


    "So you mean to say that I couldn''t have come simply to celebrate my grandson-in-law''s birthday?"


    "You could have." Ryu said indifferently. "But, I seem to remember that you''re very good at separating and cleaving families apart. In fact, thousands just bore witness to your severed relationship with my fianc¨¦e. Your face is quite thick to call me your grandson-in-law."


    Surprisingly, Old Mistress Holy Wing ignored the jab toward her and Priest Saint Kunan''s past.


    "Fine, fine. I''m here to recollect a debt. The oh so grand Tatsuya Clan wouldn''t be so shameless as to renege, right?"

 Chapter 19: Old Mistress Holy Wing (3)

    Ryu''s silver eyes flashed blue for a moment as they opened, swinging toward Old Mistress Holy Wing''s figure.


    "And what debt is that?" Ryu asked faintly.


    "There are many." Old Mistress Holy Wing stretched her voluptuous body. The armor that covered her seem flexible beyond reason, following her movements as though made of latex.


    "For one, I heard my son was crippled by your cuckold grandmother today. My Holy Wing Clan might have laws that bind us mothers to give our sons away, but does that dampen my motherly love? I''m truly hurting."


    "WHORE!" The news that Supreme Priest Adofo was yet another man Old Mistress Holy Wing had lured into her bed sent Priest Saintess Kunan into a rage. Lightning crackled ceremonial hall, followed by an overwhelming presence. The weak immediately foamed at the mouth, unable to handle such an expert''s anger.


    A flash of pain lit Mistress Kunan''s eyes. For her husband to still be so enraged by the actions of this woman, could it mean that he still had feelings for her? Losing control of his emotions like this before everyone¡­ Even if he didn''t have such feelings, who would believe him?


    As for Old Mistress Holy Wing, she didn''t care about her old lover''s outburst. Considering how many years her granddaughter and Ryu had been engaged, how could she not be used to sparring with this little cripple? The first time, she took a massive loss. But, would she continue to allow that to happen? Of course not. She adapted, learned how to push Ryu''s buttons, learned to goad him, how to properly attack and retreat seamlessly. Her title of genius was not empty!


    "The second debt involves my granddaughter. Since she''s clearly been recruited by the Tatsuya family, the Holy Wing Clan would like an appropriate price for her head. I''ve spent 600 years trying to change her ways, but it''s now clear to me that this is impossible. I don''t think my words are unreasonable, or is it that the Tatsuya Clan is so big and strong that they can take the disciples of others as they please?


    "Do remember that Elena has lived more than nine cycles of one hundred thousand years? If we calculate the number of resources she''s cost our Holy Wing Clan in that time, it''s quite a sum. In addition, this number doesn''t include blessings she''s received from the Light Shrine as a Saintess and it also doesn''t include the value of the Core Teachings she''s taking with her. Totaling all of this together and I''d say it''d cost an arm and a leg even for your lofty Clan."


    Hearing these words, the calloused Elena trembled, her eyes involuntarily watering. She had thought that by now, she would have been used to all of the words her grandmother could throw at her. But, the thought of her own flesh and blood selling her off like some cheap slave, even tallying things down to the final penny¡­ It hurt. It truly hurt.


    "The third debt is even more momentous. It can''t be that your Tatsuya Clan forgets the history of this Origin Flame, right? Origin Flames themselves are the last sparks from the beginning of all things, even a Clan as powerful as yours can''t lay claim to a treasure like this alone. Did you think you could just hand it out as you pleased? In case you forgot, this Origin Flame was given to the then Leader of our Founding Shrine Plane Clans, your Tatsuya Clan ancestor. It''s meant to be used in the event of crisis. You can you ignore my Clan Texts, but can you ignore your own as well?


    "You believe that we should sit idly by as you use such a precious heavenly treasure on a cripple who''ll be dead before the next time I have an itch for a strong burly man?" The Old Mistress Holy Wing''s features grew obscene as though she was imagining the next man she''d con into her bed.


    By this point, there wasn''t a single member of Ryu''s family that wasn''t trembling in rage or suffering the effects of deeply concealed scars opening once more. To describe this woman as vile¡­ It was too good for her! Still¡­ The only one whose visage was as calm as an iceberg was Ryu.


    "Your first debt is inconsequential. You seem to love to speak of Clan Texts, so how could it be that you don''t know that your Clan''s laws don''t simply describe ''giving your son away''. Actually, the true law of your Clan requires you to slay all male offspring. The reason you don''t follow this law anymore is because a truly valiant woman of your past paid a heavy price in order to change the wording."


    Old Mistress Holy Wing''s playful expression froze. This was an absolute secret of their Clan''s upper echelon. Even Elena wouldn''t know something like this. How the hell did he find out?!


    "That said, the price she paid wasn''t heavy enough, so the wording only changed from sever life to sever all ties. According to your Clan''s laws, he''s no longer your son. Why you would bring this up knowing this truth is beyond me. Did you simply want to flaunt how far the legs an expert of your caliber can spread?"


    A chilly light involuntarily emanated the moment she heard these words, but the response was eight immediate killing intents locking onto her body. Even Old Mistress Holy Wing couldn''t remain nonchalant when she realized the eighth aura was her own granddaughter''s.


    "Your second debt is even more shameless. I seem to remember Elena selflessly sharing the Holy Ruin I found for her with your Clan. In case you forgot, it was an Origin Grade Ruin. I hadn''t sought any remuneration because I had thought that we were family. But, since this is apparently not the case, after deducting the resources the Holy Wing Clan poured into Elena, I believe you are the one who still owes us the astronomical price, no? Of course, this doesn''t include my personal expert''s fee as the highest ranked Ruins Master of the Shrine Plane."


    Old Mistress Holy Wing''s features distorted. But, in the end, she gritted her teeth. She had only brought up the first two debts in order to anger Ryu''s family, she had never expected to get any real compensation for it. But, the fact Ryu answered to them seriously made it feel like he was belittling her, like she was the cripple and he was the supreme expert!


    However, her hopes in the third debt came crashing down in the next instant.


    "As for your third debt, unfortunately for you, this Origin Flame isn''t the same one you speak of. That Origin Flame is mature while this one is a mere embryo. This was found, once more, by my hand and it was by my father''s prowess that it was collected.


    "To claim it as the work of your vile ancestors, aren''t you too shameless?"

 Chapter 20: Inner Devil (1)

    In the beginning, those few thousand guests who hadn''t dared to make a sound until now were wondering why it was that the lofty Tatsuya and Kunan Clans were allowing a little boy to handle their problems. Weren''t you powerful Clans? Weren''t you the number one and two existences on this Plane? How could you allow a baby to do your bidding?


    However, the more Ryu spoke, the more shocked those in attendance became. Even someone as experienced and intelligence as Old Mistress Holy Wing was pushed into a corner in just a few moves.


    It wasn''t just that Ryu had won a battle of words, but he also understood propriety in his measured attacks. He never went forward too fiercely, but he also didn''t hold back too much either.


    For instance, Ryu revealing the dark and disgusting past of the Holy Wing Clan could be considered a severe punishment. In fact, many began to look upon the Holy Wing Clan with contempt. It was one thing to hand baby boys to their fathers, but to kill them?! How inhumane!


    Did your vile ancestors really hate men so much? It wasn''t as though the Holy Wing Clan practiced techniques of lovelessness or abstinence. If they had, they wouldn''t choose men at all, instead, they would recruit young women from society and become a Sect. However, they didn''t do this because there was no need to.


    What did this mean? Didn''t it mean that the Founding Members of the Holy Wing Clan were simply immoral deviants of society? What was the difference between them and a Cursed Cult? And they actually dared to take the namesake of ''Holy''? Did they believe that their shit smelled of roses and lavender too?!


    It could be said that this was a heavy blow for the Holy Wing Clan. Whether it be prestige or Secular Fate, both would take a substantial hit, all because of Ryu''s words.


    Still, this wasn''t so far that it caused irreconcilable hatred. This was why Ryu''s attack could be considered to be measured. Didn''t Old Mistress Holy Wing dare to call his grandmother a cuckold? Dare to call him a cripple? Dare to sell off her granddaughter like a slave? It was clear to everyone here that Ryu''s counter was what she deserved! At the same time, this meant that if the situation escalated, the moral high ground would still lie with the Tatsuya Clan!


    These sort of trivial nuances about moral superiority and equivalent exchanges might seem meaningless to normal society. But, in an Era where Fate was the most important commodity, and public image was something it was heavily reliant upon, these things were necessary.


    At the same time, Ryu''s family members suddenly felt incomparably comfortable, as though all of their grievances had found a debt and debtor all at once. Their Ryu had protected not only their honor, but he had desecrated the honor of this vile woman.


    "Since the debts have been laid out appropriately, why don''t you tell me the real reason you came here today?" Ryu watched as his once bloody palm dried, flaking with red and white before revealing a completely healed hand beneath. After eating so many heavenly treasures, it was quite easy for Ryu''s weak body to heal.


    Ryu''s words made those who heard them tremble. He''s still unwilling to let her go? Isn''t it obvious that she came to make trouble about the Origin Flame? Since you''ve already exposed the hoax, is there a need to continue? You''ll just embarrass her more!


    Anyone with intelligence could understand Ryu''s meaning. ''It can''t be that someone of your stature came here to make trouble about something so trivial, can it? Go ahead, tell me the real reason you came.''


    Ryu was pretending not to understand her true purpose, but if Old Mistress Holy Wing admitted that this was all she came for, wouldn''t she be slapping her own face?


    Old Mistress Holy Wing''s face shook violently, but she didn''t have a response. She could only feel the several thousand gazes on her as her skin flew through all the colors of the rainbow before settling on a deep black.


    She didn''t want to take a step back, but at the same time, she didn''t want to take a step forward. Had she really lost to a cripple again?


    However, that was when her eyes lit with a disgustingly contorted light.


    "Young Master is correct, I have been quite shameless and thick-skinned today. Your Third Grand Elder can''t be considered my son, I''ve cut ties to him. I also concede that you are an outstanding Ruin Master, I don''t doubt for a moment that your words are the truth. Truly amazing, to actually find an Origin Flame on your own, I must say that I''m very impressed."


    Many felt like cleaning out their ears, were they hearing all of this properly? Had she lost her mind? Or was she truly taking a step back?


    "And finally, I lost my mind in anger. My precious Elena will always be my little granddaughter. It was I who held her small body in my arms, it was I who nurtured her and watched her grow, how could I ever sell her off to another family?"


    Black lines grew on the faces of those watching this spectacle. She was clearly only saying all of this so that she wouldn''t have to reimburse Ryu for the Holy Ruin.


    "I apologize. I''ve never been very good at tempering my Mental Realm. In fact, it''s a terrible weakness of mine. You''re right, I did forget my true purpose in coming here.


    "About six or so cycles of one hundred thousand years ago, I had a meeting with Priest Saint Ventus. Of course, this was before I abdicated my position to my lovely daughter and Elena''s mother, so we spoke as equals then. At the time, young Gale had just completed his Core Training and Little Elena was just about to exit hers.


    "Back then, we had decided Little Elena''s first male partner." Old Mistress Holy Wing paused. "I''m aware that I''ve told you this story before and it was handled properly then, I wouldn''t be so foolish as to bring the same issue before such a mighty Ruin Master once again, it would be an insult to you and me.


    "Instead, I bring this up for the sake of Little Gale. He''s given way to Young Master Ryu already, allowing a lady he saw as his own to be taken away, but the affair left a dark shadow over his heart, making his cultivation slower than it ought to be.


    "Would the esteemed Tatsuya Clan would allow this young man the chance to remove his inner devil?"

 Chapter 21: Inner Devil (2)

    Hearing these words, even Priest Saint Ventus was caught completely off-guard. It was true that Elena''s first partner was slated to be Gale, but the last time they raised an uproar about this, Ryu had shamed them to no end. Although today was the first time Gale had met Ryu, his anger toward him had been brewing from long before.


    This so-called choosing of the first partner was a tradition of the Holy Wing Clan. Back in Old Mistress Holy Wing''s day, her elders had chosen Priest Saint Kunan as her first partner. However, he chose Vorena, causing her to have to take matters into her own hands.


    Weren''t you just a measly man? Why do you care how many women you bed? Why are you suddenly being such a prude? Could it be that you''re actually a woman?


    These were just some of the distorted and depraved thoughts Old Mistress Holy Wing had had back then. She felt enraged and embarrassed that a man had actually turned her down. After learning from her birth about just how horrible and vile men were, how could she not feel embarrassed? One of those lowly creatures actually believed himself to be her better!


    As for the end of that story, everyone already knows it. This was the reality of this tradition.


    Since every Holy Wing Clan woman before her had had her first partner chosen, Elena was obviously no different. This first partner was incredibly important because the first daughter had a special status and as such had to come from good pedigree. So, the talented Gale was chosen for Elena.


    Of course, even as a cripple, Ryu''s pedigree was far better than Gale''s. It didn''t matter that he couldn''t cultivate, he still had four Ancestral Grade bloodlines within him. In fact, it was this argument that Ryu used when this was last brought up. It was irrefutable.


    Back then, Old Mistress Holy Wing had countered with the fact that this was no longer a matter of pedigree. After all, the agreement had been decided upon. You couldn''t just switch out when you found a better candidate, wouldn''t that stain the reputation of their Holy Wing Clan?


    However, this matter was irrelevant now. All that was important was the fact that Old Mistress Holy Wing suddenly used a different approach entirely, one that played on the sympathies of everyone. Wasn''t Gale the truly pitiful one here?


    It had to be said that not every member of the Holy Wing Clan had multiple partners like Old Mistress Holy Wing. Many only have a single partner for life, it was just that Old Mistress Holy Wing went out of her way to anger Priest Saint Kunan. This was all to say that Gale technically had the right to see Elena as his woman in name, although it wasn''t exactly like that.


    In fact, many men here had been chosen as the first partner of a young mistress of the Holy Wing Clan. They understood the ins and outs well.


    Gale''s face turned several shades of red, white and black. Would someone as arrogant as him agree to be portrayed as a pitiful lovesick puppy? Of course not! Yet that was what was happening.


    Even his grandfather had grown angry. ''What is this whore doing!? Involving my grandson is such nonsense?! I''ll have her head on a platter!"


    However, neither he nor Gale had anywhere to vent their anger. If Gale or his grandfather called out Old Mistress Holy Wing for her antics, it would come off as trying to hide behind their anger. Even if her words were untrue, many would start believing them simply because of their reaction. They had been caught between a rock and a hard place and it was all this wench''s fault. She wanted to save her own face so badly that she decided to throw them into the fire with her?!


    With nowhere to aim his anger, Gale stood, an eerie calm having taken over his features.


    "Old Mistress Holy Wing is correct, this matter has been weighing on my heart. Although I have no romantic feelings or tender love for Elena, it''s difficult for a man to forget a woman that should have been his first.


    "I agree that the Clans that back me aren''t as powerful as Young Master Ryu''s. My father is an average talent and my mother is practically a mortal as well, so how could I look down on his plight? My only backer is my grandfather, a man who''s given me all the love he has. It was because of this love that he did his best to find me a worthy first woman, and even though Elena chose another man, it is an objective fact that she is more than worthy."


    Gale''s words were eloquent and heart felt. He seamlessly played on the hearts of those listening, evoking his seemingly normal pedigree and inciting his grandfather''s love. It made him come off as sincere, people could see portions of themselves within him.


    Plus, which man here didn''t understand his words? Sometimes men even became territorial over women in brothels, disallowing their favorites from playing with others. They''d probably go on a murderous rampage if they ever found their favorite prostitutes in bed with another man.


    Compared to this, a young man''s first woman was on an even higher pedestal.


    "However, even with all of these pent-up feelings, I didn''t dare to bring them up and only remained quiet. I hadn''t expected that Old Mistress Holy Wing would come for such a reason. However, she and my grandfather have been close for a long time, they could be considered childhood friends. So, in a lot of ways, she treats me as her grand nephew." Gale bowed gracefully before the Tatsuya family, having reached a single step ahead of Old Mistress Holy Wing, facing Ryu. "I hope that the Tatsuya family will be magnanimous in forgiving my grand aunt for fighting for her grand nephew."


    Gale rose with a slight, amiable smile. His features were warm as his light green hair and eyes twinkled.


    Ryu watched their theatrics emotionlessly, allowing Gale to finish his speech to completion.


    "So, what are you plans here?" Ryu finally asked, his voice calm, but filled with a biting chill.


    "I''d like to find out once and for all who among the two of us is better." Gale said straightforwardly. "Obviously, I don''t mean in combat. Whether I win or lose, Elena will remain your fianc¨¦e. After all, she''s made her choice. However, I would like to wager something so in the case that I do win, I could receive something back as a token of my victory. In this way, my inner devil will finally disappear."

 Chapter 22: Inner Devil (3)

    Although those around him showed astonished expressions, Ryu didn''t have much of a reaction himself. He may have evaluated Gale as too arrogant, but how did others see Ryu? His arrogance pervaded the lands, infused the heavens and shook the earth. This was Ryu! A man who, even as a cripple, wouldn''t bat a single eyelash when challenged by an immortal. This was his pride.


    Titus felt his chest thump when he looked at this son of his. ''How great would my son be if the heavens hadn''t cursed him? Wouldn''t he force the Shrine Plane to play on the palm of his hands?''


    However, to Ryu, he wouldn''t describe himself as arrogant. Wouldn''t such a title imply that he was overconfident? This evaluation was wrong. Ryu knew the extent of his abilities. His disposition was nothing short of warranted and earned!


    To the side, Old Mistress Holy Wing almost couldn''t refrain from giggling in madness. She had come of with this plan on a whim but hadn''t expected Gale to adapt and react so perfectly. But then again, if he wasn''t an outstanding youth, he would have never been chosen for Elena.


    "And what did you have in mind?" Ryu replied.


    Gale''s face twitched slightly in response to Ryu''s calm response. ''Does this cripple really think that it only makes sense for me to challenge him? Does he believe that he''s worthy of such a thing?! FUCK! If it wasn''t for this old hag, do you think that I would be in this predicament?!"


    "Nothing complicated. It''ll be a simple test of disposition. As much as I''d love to settle this with the ancient rules of the martial world, your body is too frail. I had also thought of challenging you in your domain, but I have no experience in secondary professions. Instead, I''ll choose something completely neutral and benign."


    Gale''s poisonous words were clear to everyone, but they still remained sympathetic to him. Which of them wouldn''t feel insulted if a mere mortal showed no reaction to their challenge? This was a sort of slap in the face too. Gale had clearly managed to grasp the crowd''s momentum. The Faith of this room was now biased toward him.


    "Is that so?" Ryu nodding faintly.


    "Of course." Gale nodded. "There''s still the wager portion. I would like you to wager this Origin Flame Embryo!"


    The room fell into such a devasting silence that even a pin dropping wouldn''t dare to make a sound. This wager¡­ It was too venomous! Did Gale believe an Origin Flame was a normal treasure?! How could such a thing be used in a wager?


    "Alright."


    However, Ryu''s answer was swift and decisive. He didn''t even ask what Gale would bring to the table. In fact, he didn''t care. The idea of losing never crossed his mind, even for a single moment.


    "It''s difficult to put a price on Young Master Gale, and it''s even more difficult to place a value upon your heartfelt emotions. In comparison to the Origin Flame, I fear that your plight heavily outshines it. As such, I have no qualms placing this small flame forward. In fact, I would feel ill-at-ease if you also wagered something. I would feel much better if you didn''t."


    Ryu''s words caused his family''s lips to quiver. It was a serious matter, but Ryu''s words were too funny.


    Gale had gone through all that trouble to make sure others knew that he didn''t care for Elena. He was only doing this for what she represented, not her herself. Yet, Ryu''s words had shattered that fabricated reality.


    By implying that Gale''s emotional trauma over Elena was even more valuable than an Origin Flame, he was portraying Gale as some frail, porcelain doll that needed to be coddled and protected, even to the point of gaining his rival''s sympathy! If Gale''s words were poisonous, Ryu''s were deadly!


    "There''s no need, this young master wouldn''t be so shameless." Gale spoke through his clenched jaw.


    "Oh? So you have something of comparable value to an Origin Flame? I wonder what hidden vault treasure of the Ventus Clan this is?"


    Ryu''s words tore another hole in Gale''s gut. While Ryu''s own efforts brought his clan this Origin Flame, wouldn''t Gale only be able to bring out a treasure his Ventus Clan had gotten for him?


    With just a few words, Ryu was sneering toward Gale despite his face remaining cold and neutral. ''You dare challenge me to a wager to decide which of us is better? Isn''t it already clear which of us deserves that title? You can''t even bring out something you''ve taken with your own two hands!''


    Gale''s chest heaved as he felt many looks of pity fall upon him. He had tried to start a war of words with the Tatsuya Clan''s Young Master, yet it had ended with him getting beaten down time and time again. Wasn''t this too pitiful?


    Soon, Gale forced himself to regain his calm once more. He had lost count of the number of times he had to do this in just the last few minutes. This Ryu''s words were too sharp¡­


    "I''m sure that Young Master Ryu won''t be disappointed. While the Origin Flames are the last sparks from the beginning of all things, there are other vicissitudes of that age still remaining." A crafty glint lit his eye as his back straightened, a look of pride in his eyes.


    "As you all know, the Wind Sky God mandates that her successor inhale the winds located at the ends of existence, the Heavenly North, South, East and West Winds. What this young master has here is an Embryonic North Heavenly Wind!"


    The guests began to clamor, unable to hold down their excitement. They had come here in low spirits, feeling it beneath them to attend the birthday party of a toddler. But, to think that they''d see so many great things! This was unprecedented!


    An Origin Flame and a Heavenly Wind?! These two treasures were indeed comparable. Although the Origin Flame was actually a few tiers higher, when all four Heavenly Winds were combined, they wouldn''t lose out in any way!


    This was truly a worthy wager!

 Chapter 23: Inner Devil (4)

    Not only did Ryu understand the significance of a Heavenly Wind, he likely knew more about them than almost anyone else. This was because the name of Elena''s Holy Wing Clan wasn''t for show. They were descendants of a heavenly bird race and as such, were well known for their speed. Through his research, Ryu was able to find a lesser wind for Elena to incorporate into her Spiritual Foundation, causing an explosive increase in her Sky Dominion.


    Each Heavenly Wind had an earth-shattering ability the likes of which were rarely seen. Many of these so-called ''lesser winds'' attempted to replicate these abilities in part, but couldn''t do so perfectly. Still, these lesser winds were highly sought after. Since this was the case, one didn''t need to explain just how much value a true Heavenly Wind had.


    The East Heavenly Wind was known as the Wind of Sharpness. It was among the most dangerous of the four falling short to only the West Heavenly Wind. One wielding this Heavenly Wind would gain a sharp and defined aura, not to mention a special Dominion the likes of which those who devoted their lives to an edged weapon would kill over.


    The West Heavenly Wind was the most violent, earning the Wind of Tribulation namesake. This was the most dangerous wind and it was the combination of this wind and the East that made the Wind Sky God''s trial almost impossible to complete. One wielding this Heavenly Wind would gain control over the weather, able to call down destruction with a single roar. The Dominion gained from this Wind would explosively increase one''s hand to hand combat and was the treasure of tyrannical war lords.


    The South Heavenly Wind was known as the Breath of Life. This Wind was the most docile of the four and gifted its wielder near endless stamina. The Dominion gained by this Wind would be one of healing. Legends say that a master of this Wind could fight for an entire epoch without a moment of rest.


    As for the Wind Gale brought forward, it wasn''t to be underestimated at all. The North Heavenly Wind was known as the Wind of Natural Order. One had to know that the term ''Natural Order'' was never to be taken lightly. Its definition encompassed the quintessence of heavenly laws!


    Those who wielded the North Heavenly Wind would become akin to wind itself! Simply put, their swiftness would be unmatched, their flexibility would be uncanny, and their stealth would be impossible to see through! The Dominion of this Heavenly Wind allows its wielder almost unmatched movement. This was the North Heavenly Wind.


    Gale sneered at Ryu''s lackluster reaction. He had adapted to his opponent''s apathetic appearance and was no longer bothered by it. Instead, he began to sharpen his mind. His Ventus Clan couldn''t afford to lose this Wind!


    Considering his grandfather hadn''t sent him messages scolding him, it was clear that he found this to be a worth while risk as well. Why? Because Gale was also a wielder of one of the ten heavenly pupils! One didn''t need to follow the Fire Natural Order to make use of an Origin Flame. Gaining this would greatly benefit his cultivation.


    "The contest I have devised is simple. We are both wielders of one of the top ten heavenly pupils, as such, Objects of Origin have a certain fondness toward us. We''ll both release our wager items, you your flames, and me my wind. The first to gain acknowledgement of one or both heavenly treasures is the winner!"


    The mouths of those listening nearly dropped. Only a single word rung in their minds: Shameless!


    Who didn''t know that one''s heavenly pupils evolved with cultivation? Although Gale''s were only ranked seventh, while Ryu''s were ranked first, the disparity in cultivation more than made up for this! It was no wonder this young master was so confident!


    At this point, Ryu had his first change in expression. His brows wrinkled into a frown, his handsome features slightly contorting.


    When Gale saw this, his sneer deepened. "It can''t be that the Tatsuya Clan Young Master is scared, is it? With the difference between me and you, isn''t this the most fair competition possible?"


    Many felt like Gale''s words made sense. There were only so many forms of competition a mortal and immortal could undergo. It was impossible for it to be perfectly fair. Since Ryu accepted so easily, shouldn''t he have to pay the price for his arrogance?


    However, Ryu didn''t mind Gale''s words, instead he looked toward Elena apologetically.


    "I''m sorry."


    Many thought he was conceding when he said these words and couldn''t help but sigh. As for Old Mistress Holy Wing and Gale, they almost couldn''t refrain from laughing uproariously. In fact, Valeska''s faint giggle still filled the ceremonial hall. That is¡­ It filled the hall until Ryu''s next words resounded.


    "I''ll try to find a way method to extract it from myself later. After all, it''s much more useful to you."


    Elena smiled sweetly when she heard these words, her heart warming. However, for others, they nearly fell off their seats, suddenly understanding what Ryu was trying to say.


    Ryu never had a doubt that he would win. In fact, he had wanted to win the Heavenly Wind so that he could gift it to Elena. However, with the rules as is, it would mean that he and not Elena would become the Master of the Wind. This was something that was almost impossible to undo once the deed was complete. The easiest way was to simply kill the host, but obviously, Ryu couldn''t do that to himself.


    "Let''s begin!" Gale roared, failing to control his anger once more. Wasn''t speaking to this man far too infuriating?! How could there be such a man in existence?!


    With one movement, Gale and Ryu shifted simultaneously. Ryu pressed a hidden mechanism on the large black box, unleashing the Origin Flame Embryo in the world. Gale wasn''t far behind, his eye dimming slightly as a whirlpool appeared before them, releasing the Heavenly Wind.


    The display was absolutely beautiful. The Heavenly Wind released a fragrance that sent those present to another world¡­ It was as though they had entered a land of fairies, fluttering with a golden and unblemished beauty.


    The Origin Flame fell behind in no way. It flickered in reds and pinks, before shifting to blues and violets, before touching upon golds and silvers. Its mere presence forced many into an involuntary state of enlightenment¡­ Just looking at it made one feel as though they were riding atop a soft cloud.

 Chapter 24: Inner Devil (5)

    The two heavenly treasures floated into the air, exuding auras of absolute dominance. Lower caliber treasures would attempt to run at this moment, but these Origin Grade treasures felt that it was far beneath them to do such a thing. They could sit completely still and still have the arrogance to say that no one could catch them. This was the pride of a heavenly treasure!


    As for the fact the Ventus and Tatsuya Clans had technically done exactly that, this was ignored by them. To such sentient treasures, they didn''t consider being ''claimed'' by a Clan to be akin to being truly captured. To them, the only way to lay claim to them was to become their master!


    The Heavenly Wind sparkled with an arrogant gold, fluttering in the air aimlessly. Not to be outdone, the Origin Flame bared its prowess. Its flame wasn''t hot, but it bathed the ceremonial hall in a rainbow of bright colors.


    Gale''s expression became serious. His feet left the ground, allowing him to meditate in the air. Soon, his body seemed to disappear despite the fact one''s eyes could clearly see him in the same position.


    "To enter a meditative state so quickly. Truly a heavenly genius." Someone of the crowd murmured. "The Ventus Clan must have done its absolute best to nurture this young man."


    Similar evaluations spread out amongst the guest. There was no doubt that they were well warranted. However, it could only be expected for someone with cultivation as deep as Gale''s to enter this first stage of meditation so easily.


    Gale silently adjusted his mental state. He felt absolutely no pressure in this competition. He already knew exactly how difficult it was to gain the acknowledgement of these heavenly treasures because he had yet to gain the acknowledgement of the North Heavenly Wind!


    Why was it that Gale had this treasure with him yet had not used it? Obviously, this ordeal caught him off guard so he hadn''t been saving it for this occasion.


    The truth was that Gale had been accumulating momentum to gain the Heavenly Wind Embryo''s acknowledgement for several months now. Everyday, he would constantly nurture it with his own qi, this was exactly why it was stored in his eyes'' inner world. Of course, this was yet another shameless ploy. After all, Gale had specified that they could gain the acknowledgement of one or both!


    Those who hadn''t become enamoured by the presence of the heavenly treasures immediately realized that something was fishy the moment Gale evoked his inner world. This realization caused the anger of the Ryu''s family to boil once more, but there was nothing they could do. No matter how shameless Gale wanted to be, it was Ryu who had already accepted the conditions. If he had had a problem with it, he should have said so before.


    Gale''s eyes finally snapped open, flooding the room with an enigmatic presence only those with Heavenly Pupils could match.


    His eyes flashed with aggression, sparking with a fierce green light that seemed to carry the depths of the universe itself. One couldn''t help but become hypnotized by his gaze¡­ This was truly the seventh ranked Heavenly Pupils, The Eyes of Truth!


    There was not a single pair within the Heavenly Pupils ranking that could be looked down upon. In fact, The Eyes of Truth could be said to be the most feared without exaggeration!


    The reality was that these pair of eyes were only arbitrarily ranked so low because their combat abilities were marginally lower than the six that outranked it. However, its abilities were wholly devastating.


    Some of the most devastating techniques of the martial world were those of the mind. These so-called Mental Realm Masters were so taboo that Clans banded together to eradicate them from existence entirely. In fact, to many, Mental Realm techniques were more atrocious than even Fiend Path ones.


    It may sound silly to compare sacrificing virgins for the sake of cultivation to mental tricks, but imagine this for a moment. What if a virgin was completely aware that the man they were with only wanted to use them as tools before discarding them, yet did so happily anyway, thinking that it was their own will?


    This was the devastation a master of the Mental Realm could inflict upon a person. One wasn''t even safe within one''s own mind!


    Today, the so-called Mental Realm that Old Mistress Holy Wing referred to simply involved a calm mental state, it was about tempering one''s will from within instead of projecting it outward.


    All of this said, there was one staple of the Mental Realm Master that survived to this day, and that staple referred to the Eyes of Truth!


    With his eyes, the range of abilities Gale had was frightening. For one, his Mental Realm was perpetually far above what his cultivation dictated, allowing him more Spiritual Qi. This permitted him to meditate, maintain focus, and contemplate for values of time far exceeding those of his cultivation level. However, this wasn''t the end of it.


    Gale''s eyes had the ability to influence the Mental Realm of others, even peering into them. Not only did this allow him to tell falsehoods from truth, he could employ suggestive abilities on the psyche of others. Of course, he wouldn''t dare to do the latter now due to taboos, but who''s to say that he''s never done so before in secret?


    If Gale was given a set of Mental Realm Techniques, his abilities would soar far beyond imagining. In fact, it''s because these techniques were all destroyed that the ranking of his pupils fell from the fourth rank to the seventh. However¡­ Legend has it that each set of Heavenly Pupils comes with a hidden legacy. Once Gale''s cultivation reached a high enough level, wouldn''t he gain exactly what he was missing now?...


    Still, there were two restrictions on Gale''s abilities that made Ryu not fear him in the least. The first was that those with cultivation far above his rendered his eyes completely useless. And the second was that the Eyes of Truth couldn''t exert their dominance over pupils ranked above it! While the fourth, fifth and sixth ranked eyes were exceptions to this due to the fall of the Eyes of Truth from fourth to seventh, the top three Heavenly Pupils were completely unaffected!


    Unfortunately, this truth did nothing to stop the fact that the Heavenly Wind had stopped moving entirely¡­ And it definitely did nothing to stop the fact that this very same Heavenly Wind then began to fly toward Gale at blinding speeds¡­

 Chapter 25: Inner Devil (6)

    The Heavenly Wind reacted like a lost child who had just found its parent. How lucky was it? Not only did it find a wielder of the Heavenly Pupils, this person actually had such a high wind affinity!


    While many Clans of the Shrine Plane were descendants of Ancient Beasts, there were other races that had their lineages survive until now. The Ventus Clan, for example, were descendants of Spirits. These were a legendary species that descended from humans to gain high affinity with the Natural Order.


    Spirits were born with special Spiritual Foundations that allowed them to accelerate along certain Natural Order Paths far easier and further than those of other species. While Ancient Beast descendants were blessed with strong bodies and special innate abilities, the descendants of Spirits had comprehension that made even the Heavens themselves jealous!


    The Ventus Clan were descendants of Wind Spirits. Knowing this, how could the Heavenly Wind not be excited? Gale was simply the perfect host! It also helped that it felt an innate familiarity with this potential Master, as though it had known him all its life. Of course, this was due to Gale''s nurturing.


    Seeing the North Heavenly Wind''s near ecstatic reaction, many felt that this competition was all but over. It had only been thirty or so minutes since it began, yet, Ryu''s fate was sealed.


    What none of them realized was that there was a fog over their perspective of events. It was as though they only had eyes for Gale, as though he didn''t have any opponent to speak of. But, was this correct? Why was it that they had been continuously commenting on Gale but hadn''t spoken a single word about Ryu?


    Even Ryu''s family didn''t notice that their nervous expressions had been trained on Gale this entire time. Although their thoughts were filled with hopes that he would somehow fail, it was still a fact that all of their beings were focused on Gale.


    Whether it was realizing which Heavenly Pupils Gale wielded, or commenting on his meditative state, or realizing he had nurtured the Heavenly Wind for this very moment, everyone was entirely focused on Gale. The name Ryu hadn''t crossed their mind a single time from the very beginning!


    It was in that moment, just as the Heavenly Wind was about to reach Gale, a sigh rang out from a completely unknown source.


    The sigh was filled with a sense of loneliness and sorrow, as though it was a peak that stood atop the world without rival, without foe and without friend. It held the vicissitudes of life and death, carried an arrogance of such unmatched proportion that those who heard it felt inferior. Whether it was the youngest genius here or the oldest monster, each felt their souls shake.


    Thousands of pairs of eyes uncontrollably shifted to a single young man. His features were so unbearably handsome that they should never have appeared on a mortal. His demeanor was so ethereal, so otherworldly that he almost seemed to not be standing there at all. He was above it, above this petty competition, above the remarks and speculations of those watching, above even these Origin Grade Heavenly Treasures themselves.


    To him, these things were meaningless. So what if his life was short? If he had been given the same length of time as all of you, it would be too unfair. So what if he had no cultivation to speak of? If he had the power to flip the tides of the oceans and force the stars to set at his whim, what piece of this world would be left? So what if his opponent was an immortal? If he faced someone of his own stature, would there even be a point to all of this?


    This arrogance¡­ The kind that stood above even the Shrine Plane itself, the kind that could look down from the highest peak in existence apathetically, the kind that could take the number one beauty of the younger generation for himself without batting an eye.


    Wasn''t this the true Ryu? His own death didn''t faze him. Was he sad that he wouldn''t be able to continue and live a full life alongside his family? Yes. But it wasn''t for himself, it was for them. Wasn''t this yet another kind of arrogance? The kind that didn''t even skip over your closest loved ones? The kind that was so suffocating and perpetual that it seeped into his very being?


    You dare to look down on me as Origin Grade Treasures? Well¡­ The reality of the matter is that I look down on you. Did I bat an eyelash when Gale raised his wager item? Was I shocked when I learned of the location of an Embryonic Origin Flame?


    The Heavenly Flame stopped abruptly even as the Origin Flame twitched.


    "Come." Ryu''s voice was just as calm as it always was. However, it wasn''t until he spoke that those around him finally understood why they had only had eyes for Gale.


    Why was it that even Ryu''s family had seemingly forgotten about him? Why was it that Gale seemed to have become the center of attention despite the fact Ryu''s earlier anger made even those of the oldest generation raise an eyebrow?


    "Breath of Earth¡­" Silence pervaded the ceremonial hall as the Origin Grade treasures disappeared into Ryu''s body.


    States of meditation had nine distinctive levels. These levels also came to be known as states of enlightenment. The higher the level, the deeper one''s selfless state, and thus the stronger the enlightenment. The issue was that such levels were often only crossed due to fortuitous events. Only the greatest geniuses like Gale could directly evoke these levels at a whim.


    The issue was that Gale took tens of thousands of years of strict training to be able to evoke the first level at will ¨C the so-called ''Meditation State''. However, not only was Ryu a mere fraction of his age, he had the ability to evoke the second stage, Breath of Earth!


    How could a mortal accomplish such a feat? It was impossible! No, it had to be something more than impossible!


    Ryu fell into a dormant state, he could feel the treasures melding themselves to his soul. His body suddenly felt light, almost impossibly so. In the next moment, his eyes blazed to life. He could feel the Origin Flame coursing through the veins of his pupils, dilating them before resting comfortably.


    "You¡­" Gale looked on in shock, even to the point where he fell out of the air, almost crashing to the ground. At that moment, all he saw was red. The combination of embarrassment and rage was too much to handle. "I''LL KILL YOU!"

 Chapter 26: Void Beauty

    Gale had thoroughly lost himself in rage. The thought of having lost to a mortal was one thing, but the fact that it had been so easy and casual, even when he tipped the balances in his favor, was a humiliation his Martial Way couldn''t withstand.


    If at the start of all of this Gale''s inner devil was fabricated, it was entirely real now. His arrogance crumbled in a mere instant, leaving behind a seething and boiling animosity he didn''t have anywhere to place.


    It bubbled over, causing his eyes to redden with a light of madness. A wave of Spiritual Qi erupted along with his aura, pervading the ceremonial hall. Many weaker individuals immediately fainted, unable to handle the assault on their Mental Realm.


    At this moment, Ryu was in a trance, a flood of information overwhelming him. A dull ache started slowly, before growing outward. His Heavenly Pupils seemed primed to evolve, but he simply didn''t have the cultivation to sustain such a change. In the end, he hit an insurmountable barrier. The Origin Flame knew that if this bottleneck was forcefully shattered, Ryu''s only path would be death.


    It was in that instant that a wave of Spiritual Qi raged toward Ryu. No matter how talented he was, he was still a mortal. Ryu''s Mental Realm was mature, but his Spiritual Qi was far too weak because he didn''t have the realm to sustain it. If Gale''s wave of rage hit him in such a vulnerable state, Ryu''s only path would once more be death!


    What Gale was doing was absolutely reckless. Putting aside the fact Ryu''s death would cause irreconcilable hatred between the Ventus and Tatsuya Clans, the mere fact he was using his Spiritual Qi to attack without form was practically suicidal.


    One''s Spiritual Qi was the most fragile part of one''s body. It could only be transformed into a weapon for attack if coupled with Mental Realm techniques. But, such techniques were all destroyed!


    However, how could Gale care about such a thing? Spiritual Qi was undoubtedly the fastest attack in existence. If he attacked normally, Ryu''s family would have far too much time to react. After all, although Gale was talented, he was still a member of the younger generation. Plus, didn''t it also help him that no one would expect him to do something so stupid?


    This wasn''t all either. Ryu was nothing but a mortal. Even if he hadn''t been in a trance-like state, it was impossible for him to do any real damage to Gale. Even his ability to defend his own self would be nothing but a fleeting dream. In Gale''s mind, Ryu was dead without a doubt!


    The closest individual and the one most capable of stopping Gale''s actions was Old Mistress Holy Wing. In fact, this Old Mistress was just a single step behind Gale and had been from start to finish. If she wanted to, she could simply reach out and touch his back. With her cultivation, stopping him would be as easy as thinking it. But¡­ Would she do such a thing?


    Old Mistress Holy Wing''s eyes flashed with a light of hesitation before becoming decisive. She pretended not to notice anything wrong despite the fact she was the closest. After the deed was done, even if Titus and Himari wanted to declare war on the Holy Wing Clan and the Ventus Clan, would their various Priests, Grand Priests and Supreme Priests allow it? Especially for a dead cripple?


    She sneered when she thought to this point.


    In fact, Gale''s thought process wasn''t too different. Would they dare?!


    The Golden Era had been far too peaceful. The last war was several trillion years ago. Their people had long since forgotten what it meant to struggle, what it meant to live with their lives on the line. Would the people of the Shrine Plane who had grown accustomed to comfort sit idly by as the Tatsuya Clan waged war for a cripple? The public outrage would cause a severe drop in their Faith!


    ''Your life is worth nothing! DIE!'' Gale roared in his mind.


    However¡­ In all the sinister and vile schemes Gale and Old Mistress Holy Wing concocted, they had both forgotten one very important thing.


    From birth, she had always been by Ryu''s side. She was there when Ryu was a bright-eyed little boy with a smile that could light the world. She was there when this smile faded into an unending coldness the day his meridian awakening ceremony failed. She was there when Ryu entered the Shrine Library with the determination of an unrivaled expert, and she was there when he exited with the knowledge of one. She was there when Ryu conquered his first ruin, saved his first extinct species, cracked his first formation, even when he fell in love for the first time. She was there for all of these things, so how could she not be here now?!


    A supreme beauty stepped out from the void, appearing before Ryu as though she was nothing but a wisp of heavenly fragrance.


    Her hair was as black as the night, falling to the small of her back like a calm and steady waterfall. Everything from the gentle slope of her small nose, to the delicate lining of her soft cherry lips, to the shapely contours of her holy body caused the eyes of those who landed on her to shiver.


    Still, their thoughts remained pure. Even the most perverted, unscrupulous individual wouldn''t be able to scrounge up a single obscene thought when looking at this beauty¡­ She was simply an angel, impossible to blaspheme on penalty of death!


    However, at this moment, this otherworldly beauty''s soft features were contorted in anger. How dare these vile individuals attack her Ryu?! Her heart wouldn''t be able to rest unless they were both dead!


    Nuri''s sky-blue gown fluttered as her aura rose, her face, even contorted and reddened with anger, the epitome of beauty itself.


    A small grunt of rage escaped her perfect lips, unleashing a torrent of qi Gale was no match for.


    Caught completely unawares, Gale hadn''t even registered Nuri''s appearance before his Spiritual Qi was sliced apart with vicious abandon.


    His face paled, blood flowing from his lips as he collapsed to his knees. His vision blurred, causing him to only be capable of seeing the faint image of the beauty before him. In his eyes, she looked no difference from the God of Death.

 Chapter 27: Heavenly Couple

    Silence completely covered the ceremonial hall. The gravity of the situation was clear to anyone with half a mind to realize just what had just happened. Although an attack of Spiritual Qi was the fastest in all of existence, it also had very clear and obvious markers when so unrestrained. Everyone realized exactly what happened the moment Nuri''s figure came fully into view.


    While some were stunned that Ryu had such a beautiful Death Guard, others were far more worried about exactly what the fallout of this situation would be. And, maybe exactly due to the gravity of the situation, they didn''t need to wait very long for an answer.


    Elena paled with rage, immediately stepping to Nuri''s side to protect Ryu to her back. However, she didn''t even get the chance to attack Gale in her rage because the Tatsuya Clan heavenly couple had completely lost their minds at the thought of how close they had come to losing their son. Today would be the day the Shrine Plane learned that as domineering as Priest Saint Tatsuya was, Himari Tatsuya was even more so!


    A flash of blue and red erupted with a rage that shook Tatsuya Palace. Minerals the likes of which were rare even in their society shattered to mere particles of dust. The sky quaked and the earth splintered as though the heavens were personifying their anger.


    "Please, have mercy!" Priest Saint Ventus stood quickly. With how the situation had devolved, he had no choice but to act like this. His grandson had truly brought shame to their family. He had not only lost to a mortal, but he even refused to accept it even in the face of so many witnesses. Then, he had the audacity to attempt to murder the heir of the Tatsuya Clan before not only his parents, but his grandparents as well!?


    Priest Saint Ventus was filled with infinite regrets. If only he had known, he wouldn''t have spoiled his grandson so much, he would have refined his Mental Realm more, he would have cultivated his Martial Way to a greater extent. But it was all too late, much too late.


    Gale could only watch as two palms ¨C one fierce and tyrannical, the other gentle and deadly ¨C collided with his head. Despair colored his foggy eyes. Would he really die like this? To die at the hands of the number one and two expert of the Shrine Plane was a sort of honor, was it not? So why did he feel so bitter?


    There was no suspense in the matter. Although Gale''s Death Guard too stepped forward, his body was obliterated along with his young master. Maybe this poor old man''s silver lining was that unlike Gale, he could take appropriate pride in the hands by which he died.


    "NO!" Priest Saint Ventus'' chest convulsed, pulsing with rage and sorrow. Blood infused with his anger flew from his lips, coating his green robes. If it wasn''t for the members of the Ventus Clan catching his falling body, he would have graced the ground.


    "VALESKA!" Two roars pierced through the Heavens.


    Titus'' red robes fluttered with his rage, his fiery hair projecting backward akin to the backdrop of a bloodthirsty demon. Flames the likes of which rarely appeared in the world erupted along his valiant figure, bathing the ceremonial hall in a heat so profound that the ground beneath him burnt to ash. It was clear that if it wasn''t for Nuri''s protection, even Ryu himself would have died to his father''s rage!


    Himari stood directly to her husband''s side, her white gown making her the picture of a heavenly goddess. Sparks of blue lightning shattered the tiles beneath her feet even as a blue flame enshrouded her seemingly delicate body. Her blue eyes shook with a piercing cold, staring daggers at the Old Mistress before her.


    A beautiful array of blues and reds swirled around the angered heavenly couple. To dare to attempt to lay hands on their son right before them, were these fools tired of living?!


    Who here didn''t understand the meaning behind Old Mistress Holy Wing''s inaction? Did she take them for children who didn''t know the ways of the world? Or did she think that she was so far above reproach that her actions didn''t matter?


    Old Mistress Holy Wing wanted to sneer and make a snide comment about how she had no obligation to protect their son for them, but she never got that opportunity. Himari and Titus cared little for her explanations and wanted to hear her petty words even less. Ryu might have entertained her nonsense, but that was only because his fists weren''t large enough to teach her a lesson. However, did they have such an issue? Of course not!


    Above Himari''s fluttering white hair, the call of a phoenix and the roar of a qilin sounded. In the next moment, a beautiful heavenly bird covered in sapphire flames appeared right beside a sturdy four-legged creature with a majestic aura and shining blue, gem-like scales.


    To her side, Titus evoked the same call allowing an untouchable heavenly bird covered in ruby-like flames to appear. However, the roar that coupled it was far more domineering. The presence of the sovereign dragon overwhelmed the ceremonial halls, appearing with it a crimson-scaled emperor of the skies.


    Old Mistress Holy Wing''s pink diamond eyes widened before constricting to the size of mere pinholes. Had the Tatsuya heavenly couple really improved this much?! It was impossible! She was a member of the oldest generation, she had reigned supreme for billions of years, she shouldn''t be feeling so suppressed!


    A roar escaped her lips as she tried to shake herself of this feeling. She pulled her short sword from her hip, taking a step forward to meet this couple head on.


    A collision the likes of which rarely seen in the Shrine Plane eviscerated the palace hall. A cacophonic eruption of earth-shattering noise and destruction blew out in every direction. Directly behind it, a wave of blue, red and white plumes of flames shot into the sky, finally destroying the oppressed ceiling of Tatsuya Palace.


    By the time the smoke settled, the only thing that remained was a devastated ceremonial hall and a scene that shocked those of every generation. To one side, a heavenly couple stood shoulder to shoulder, the ten-meter radius around them completely unaffected, protected by their valiant auras. However, to the other, a once gallant woman of the oldest generation lay.


    Valeska lay on the grown sprawled, her life and death unknown as fresh blood flowed from her depressed chest.

 Chapter 28: Aftermath

    The events of the Tatsuya Clan Heir''s birthday shook the Shrine Plane. The death of a young genius and leader of the youthful generation, his loss to a mere mortal, and the fatal injury to an Old Mistress of the oldest generation¡­ Even alone these pieces of news would cause an uproar, but together? It was enough to light the world on fire.


    There were other shocking revelations even beyond this as well. The first was the news of the battle prowess of the so-called Heavenly Couple.


    One had to know that when Titus and Himari were betrothed to each other, the entirety of the Shrine Plane became awashed with elation and celebration. While there were a minority of jealous and callous individuals, the vast majority were genuinely happy. It was as though these two were a match made in Heaven, a truly worthy pairing.


    However, it had to be said that these two were still very young in relation to the true experts of the Shrine Plane. While they had potential, it couldn''t be said that this potential had fully blossomed.


    Of course, despite this, Titus and Himari still earned the title of the number one and two experts of the Shrine Plane. In fact, many believed that they were perfectly equal in battle prowess. The only reason Titus took first place was because he displayed his abilities in the public eye more often. This, also coupled with the fact that Titus took his father''s mantle as Priest Saint while Himari had yet to do the same, allowed the world to reach this conclusion about their ranking.


    One had to understand that these titles were meaningful, but only to a certain extent. They were passed along to members of the younger generation by the oldest because many old monsters had long since graduated from the need to take such titles for themselves. In one''s youth, fighting for prestige was a matter of pride and a rite of passage, but after one passes a certain point, fighting it out with youths starts to become beneath them.


    This was the way of the martial world. Or, at least it should have been until Titus and Himari shattered the notion completely! The battle prowess they displayed made it clear that whether it was the younger or elder generations, they were worthy of crushing both!


    When hidden enemies learned of this truth, they became dormant. The impact of Ryu''s presence on this timeline was so forceful that matters of up became down and those of left became right. Nothing made sense anymore¡­ If they wanted to take a single step forward, they''d have to take three steps back!


    Still, there was another piece of news that partially flew under the radar due to the pomp and circumstance of the first four. But, this one wasn''t any less intriguing.


    The appearance of Nuri shook the souls of those learned enough to understand.


    Why had Gale attacked with such naked abandon? Why had Old Mistress Holy Wing not acted to stop him even knowing the rage that would ensue? Wasn''t it obvious that bearing the brunt of the Tatsuya Clan''s rage was not worth it if Ryu survived anyway?


    It was simple. Despite their cultivations, despite their experience, none of them sensed Nuri!


    How could there be such a powerful expert hidden away in the Tatsuya Clan? To even be able to hide amidst thousands of members of the oldest generation without a single one sensing her?... How?!


    **


    Days later, Ryu''s eyes blinked open to find himself staring at a familiar ceiling. To his side, Elena laid like a small kitten, holding onto his arm tightly as though he would disappear at any moment.


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile, she was too adorable.


    A small hint of sunlight illuminated her pink, crystal-like hair. To the side of her soft lips, a clear line of drool fell to the pillow she rested her head on. However, maybe the most alluring part was the curve of her body. Wrapped in a gauze-like fabric that showed off the perfection of her figure, she slept soundly.


    Of course, immortals with cultivation as deep as Elena didn''t need sleep. Even if she was required to stay awake for thousands of years, it would be an easy task. But, she had gotten into the habit of doing so because Ryu was a mortal who couldn''t do such things. Every night, without fail for the last six-hundred or so years, she had slept by his side.


    "Mm." Elena shifted in her sleep, stirring awake before absentmindedly wiping the drool from her face. "Hubby? You''re awake!"


    Elena''s face lit up with elation, grabbing Ryu''s face and kissing his cheek happily. With Ryu''s frail body, how could he stop her from doing as she pleased?


    Even after so many years, Ryu couldn''t get over Elena''s¡­ Free spirit, for lack of a better term. She was jumping around so fiercely, but didn''t she realize that her bountiful chest was putting him under a hypnotic spell? No matter how cold he was, wasn''t he still a man? Must she subject him to such torture?


    Her gown was incapable of hiding anything. Aside from the beautiful laced underwear that hid her most precious parts, her breasts were practically laid bare to Ryu. Everything from their soft elasticity, to the erect pink and healthy point that graced their center, it was all there.


    Elena covered her lips with a delicate hand, giggling coquettishly. "If you stare so much, I''ll blush."


    Ryu coughed, looking away and rolling his eyes. The day this woman blushes is the day the world comes to an end and the sun rises no more.


    "If you wanted me to be your nice, obedient little wife, you could have taken me long ago." Elena said with an adorable pout, her waist rippling upward as her arms raised above her head in a long stretch.


    "What happened?" Ryu asked, trying to change the subject.


    "Mother and father," Elena spoke, obviously referring to Ryu''s parents, "Were very angry and taught that old lady a lesson. As for Gale, he''s dead, but the Ventus Clan has been oddly silent. It seems that Priest Saint Ventus suffered a small injury in his anger."


    "I see¡­" Ryu sighed. He had completely lost consciousness at the time, but he faintly understood what must have happened for his parents to react so violently.


    "The good news is that you received a lot of goodies!"

 Chapter 29: Unique Grade

    After Gale died and the Old Mistress was brought to the doors of death, many in attendance wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but no one dared to do so without making their well-wishes known. After seeing the Heavenly Couple''s true battle prowess, they no longer harbored any thoughts of disdain or complacency. So, how could they leave without parting with presents for the young heir?


    Elena giggled. "They were all scrambling to see who could curry the larger favor. That coupled with that evil plot of yours and the Tatsuya Clan reaped quite a few rewards."


    Ryu smiled lightly. His so-called evil plot was just something he had said on a whim to vent some of his frustration. He had been planning to let them off the hook after allowing them to squirm a little, but it seems that even if he had been awake to do so, they wouldn''t have dared accept his mercy.


    "Just hand everything to the Clan Treasurers, I don''t need such things anyway. It''s better if the Clan can make use of them." Ryu''s words seemed nonchalant and light, but Elena frowned, catching a double meaning within them.


    "Are you trying to say that the Clan will need such treasures?"


    Ryu was a bit surprised by how sharp Elena was. Truthfully, he should have long since been used to this by now. Elena had always been a free spirit who lived life as she saw fit, but with that came a deep sensitivity to those around her. She was so in tune with herself that she often reached out to others to share. It was a subconscious dream of hers for everyone to taste the freedom she had. Her heart was simply that large.


    From the outside looking in, Elena and Ryu should have never been together. To call their personalities polar was inappropriate only because the description didn''t go far enough. It wasn''t a simple matter of opposites attracting one another because their dispositions were so different that they couldn''t be considered mere opposites.


    Still, what brought them together was exactly this virtue of Elena''s. She saw Ryu as a man who seemingly had everything, yet was shackled more than anyone else. While others saw a pampered young master, she saw a frail heir with a shadow over his soul. While for Ryu¡­ Maybe he was subconsciously attracted to this freedom Elena had, maybe he wanted to understand just what it meant.


    Ryu was arrogant. He felt that he was beyond this arrogance, believing that he deserved a loftier label. But, did he? Wasn''t his disposition just as shallow as the nine lettered title attached to him? How could such a seemingly strong individual could be so weak?


    Ryu seemed to take pride in his will to fight. He seemed to find light where there was none and victory where there was only defeat. He repeated these feats countless times in his mere thousand years of life. Yet, this very same Ryu feared his ability to read fate. This very same Ryu refused to take his woman into his arms and give her the love she deserved. This very same Ryu accepted his mortality without an ounce of resistance.


    How can both things be true in a single person? How can you claim to be above all things yet have such a profound weakness within you? How can you claim to be mighty when you''re really so frail?


    This was Ryu''s life. He was a man without freedom. A man shackled by his own insecurities. A man unwilling to fight.


    Ryu blinked at Elena''s question, his vision slightly blurring. He felt a swarm of enlightenment bombard him. It was as though his life was laid out and its every scene could be easily picked apart by him.


    The first thing Ryu realized was that his memory was never this good. As a mortal, he had never had perfect recall. Such a thing was reserved for those with the highest levels of cultivation and was also restricted by the complexity of the material being remembered. For example, an expert of his father''s caliber could remember a common grade technique with a single glance, but an origin grade technique was something even Titus wasn''t capable of memorizing.


    ''This¡­ Is this the Origin Flame''s doing¡­?''


    "Ryu? Hubby?" Elena lay a delicate hand on Ryu''s forehead when she noticed his breathing quicken. Could it be that the Origin Flame isn''t as docile as records say? Why else would her fianc¨¦ have been unconscious for three days yet still react like this?


    Ryu cleared his throat. "I''m fine." His voice carried a slight weakness, but it had a foundation of firmness. "I only meant that the movements of the Clans during that night were too odd. The most obvious was Gale''s recklessness. That has to stem from somewhere. It''s better to be safe than sorry. Too many Kingdoms in history have fallen during their absolute peaks¡­"


    "Oh¡­" Elena''s flashed with an odd light, but she didn''t pursue it. "I knew you would say that about the treasures, but I kept a few for you that actually could be useful."


    "Useful to me?" Ryu laid on the bed, looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression. "Are you sure?"


    Elena giggled. "If your lovely fianc¨¦e says so, shouldn''t you believe her? One is a Mystical Grade Treasure, another is an Origin Grade Treasure, and the last is a Unique Grade treasure!"


    Ryu''s eyes had been slowly closing before those last words left Elena''s lips. But, the instant he registered them, they snapped opened with an added vigor. "What''d you just say?"


    "I thought you weren''t interested? Hm?" Elena looked away, pretending not to notice Ryu''s gaze. In the void, Nuri''s beautiful laughter sounded before she covered her delicate red lips and blushed. It was truly an odd sight considering no one could hear her anyway.


    The grading of treasures was very similar to the grading of bloodlines. The only difference here is that the Sovereign Grade is replaced by the Mystical Grade. Aside from this, it follows the same pattern. Common, Black, Earth, Heaven, Mystical, Ancestral and Origin.


    However, what''s obvious here is that the Unique Grade isn''t mentioned at all. This is because a Unique Grade treasure is impossible to properly categorize. It wasn''t necessarily more powerful than an Origin Grade treasure either. In fact, in some rare cases, it wasn''t even worth the Common Grade label. Still, what one could never doubt was that the fact that these were all treasures that existed outside the bounds of heavenly laws.

 Chapter 30: Black Cloak and Incubator

    Ryu smiled bitterly. This fianc¨¦e of his truly was far too willful. However, he couldn''t say that he didn''t deserve it. Even he realized that he neglected her. Why she had chosen him even to the point of falling out with her family? He had no idea.


    There was a small part of Ryu that still believed she was only throwing a small temper tantrum. He would only live for a fraction of her life anyway, by the time he died, she''d have more than long enough to reconcile with the Holy Wing Clan. In fact, although such a thought caused a dull ache in his chest, he hoped that it was true if for nothing else but her sake.


    "I''m sorry." Ryu grasped Elena''s waist, pulling her into his arms and allowing her to rest on his chest. Despite being an immortal, Elena weighed as light as a feather. Of course, this was in part due to her special skeletal structure. It was a simple task for Ryu to lift her even with his frail body.


    In his life, Elena was the only one who deserved to hear these words from him.


    "Good." Elena harrumphed triumphantly, curling into Ryu. "They''re all very good treasures, even the Mystical Grade one. Although its rank is low, its abilities are very interesting. I believe it would be very difficult to make a treasure that replicated its abilities but also had a higher grade."


    "Oh?" Ryu would be lying if he said he wasn''t intrigued. He was certain that if Elena picked these three out of the thousands that were likely given, they likely had the ability to give him an added layer of protection. Elena was obviously no less protective of him than his parents.


    "Mm. The only reason it''s not a higher grade itself is because its usefulness is reliant on both the skill and cultivation of the person who uses it."


    Ryu smiled wryly. "I have no cultivation to speak of, how could I make full use of this?"


    "Silly hubby, how could I not know that? Although you don''t have cultivation, what you do have is a very strong Mental Realm foundation. This treasure can feed off this as well which was why it caught my eye."


    Elena reached her arm out, not bothering to sit up as a silver ring on her hand warped slightly to reveal a black cloak. Its fabric was incomparably smooth, almost like satin fur. However, the most intriguing part was that the cloak itself seemed ethereal despite the fact it was clearly laying on his chest.


    "It''s also good because I know how much you like to wear black. From my tests, if you entered the Breath of Earth state while wearing this cloak, it would be difficult for even me to find you as long as you remained still."


    Ryu took the cloak into his hands with a pensive expression. He knew that he could only enter the Breath of Earth state for only a few seconds because his Spiritual Qi couldn''t sustain it, but to say that he could hide from an immortal as a cripple, even if it was just a few seconds, was astounding!


    Of course, there were numerous caveats such as remaining still and likely not allowing any intent he had to leak, but it was still an astounding feat, nonetheless. The only thing holding this cloak back from a higher grade was the fact it relied on its user. Higher grade treasures were amazing no matter how unskilled their master was.


    "Don''t think of using it to peep on me in the bath, okay?" Elena stuck her small pink tongue out playfully.


    Ryu shook his head, involuntarily smiling himself as he took the cloak into his heavenly pupil inner world. He had never bothered to carry around a spatial ring because of this innate ability he and all other heavenly pupil wielders were born with. Of course, this ability was a big deal in the Mortal Planes where spatial rings were rare and expensive, but here, it was inconsequential.


    "That first one is for your protection, but this second one is one I think you''ll take a fancy to. It''s an Origin Grade incubator. It''s able to accelerate the speed of growth in both beasts and spiritual plants alike by a hundred times."


    Ryu raised another eyebrow. "Don''t we have plenty of those already? What''s special about this one? This Origin Grade evaluation seems a bit high for what amounts to only a hundred times."


    Elena seemed to be enjoying this side of their interactions far too much. Usually, Ryu was the one with all the answers while she asked all the questions. She couldn''t help but revel in this flip.


    This aside, Ryu wasn''t wrong. The Tatsuya Clan even had such incubators that multiplied maturing speed by a thousand, even ten and hundred thousand times. This seemed like a lot, but for some spiritual plants, it took several trillion years to fully mature. Cutting the time down by this much wasn''t a luxury, it was a necessity.


    The issue was that even those incubators didn''t receive Origin Grade evaluations. One had to understand just how rare an Origin Grade treasure was. Even their large Clans would only have two or three and they were the highest existences in the Martial World! How could such an evaluation be given out so easily?


    Elena smiled deviously. "What makes this one special despite its low acceleration is the fact it can one: fuse into its master''s body and two: directly process spiritual plants into pure qi to speed up anything from healing to cultivation. Also, you can directly control the pace of flow of the already processed qi. With it, you''ll have no restrictions on the spiritual plant grades you can intake and you won''t have to worry about exploding from excessive energy."


    Hearing this explanation, Ryu''s heart warmed. Why else would Elena be so eager to give him this treasure if not to lengthen his life? The most troublesome part about extending a mortal''s life was finding treasures docile enough to not directly kill them. This completely eliminated this issue!


    This was what it meant to be an Origin Grade treasure. This incubator had no need for Ryu to be some elite expert because it covered for his flaws itself!


    "But who¡­" Ryu suddenly said. "Who would give up an Origin Grade treasure?"


    Before, Ryu had been caught off guard by the Unique Grade title. But it had to be said that the Origin Grade should have been just as shocking to him. His own Tatsuya Clan only had three under complete lock and key. Even he couldn''t see them whenever he wanted. On the entire Shrine Plane, there were likely only a bit more than a dozen of them total.


    Elena''s eyes flashed with an angered light. "Mother and father forced the Holy Wing Clan to cough it up in exchange for that old witch''s life and in apology for her actions."

 Chapter 31: Blades

    Elena''s words alluded to a story Ryu knew little about. This incubator of the Holy Wing Clan had long been known to his Tatsuya Clan. Years ago, during Titus'' first stay at the Shrine Library and directly after his meridian awakening ceremony failed, his Grandma Kunan had put aside her pride and hatred to ask if it was possible to trade for this treasure.


    One had to understand that although this Origin Grade incubator was a heavenly treasure few could match, its use was still highly limited. In fact, the only way to make full use of it was to give it a single master. But, obviously, something like this was less useful for such a large clan. A defensive or offensive Origin Grade treasure was simply far more valuable.


    However, Old Mistress Holy Wing would never miss an opportunity to scorn her old rival. Even knowing that this involved the life and death of a child, even knowing that accepting this Origin Grade treasure trade would greatly benefit her Clan, she rejected the offer after humiliating Ryu''s grandmother.


    Now, she was forced to exchange this treasure for nothing, simply to save her own life. It could be said that justice had been meted out.


    "I see¡­" Ryu said softly. Elena didn''t need to say anything more. With Ryu''s intelligence, he immediately understood what must have happened. Although he didn''t have the exact details, the scenario he built in his mind wasn''t far from the truth.


    "Here." Elena''s spatial ring warped once more, revealing what looked like a beautiful globe with a world hidden within. Even with his mortal vision Ryu could see endless flowing rivers and grassed lands. But, there were no trees or spiritual plants to speak of. Even the water was normal, without any special properties.


    Elena shook her head. "It''s only to be expected. The Holy Wing Clan definitely took everything valuable out before handing it over. It should be fine though, with your abilities, you''ll be able to fill it with even rarer spiritual plants. Be a little selfish for me, okay? Don''t always hand your achievements off to those old Council fogies. Keep some for yourself¡­"


    A rare air of seriousness took control of Elena''s tone. She didn''t know why she suddenly felt so uncomfortable, as though a weight was slowly increasing on her chest, but she always believed in her instincts, it was part of why she always felt so free.


    "Be a little selfish, huh¡­" Ryu muttered to himself as he took the globe in his hand.


    The heavenly pupil inner world was quite bland. It seemed to be an odd grey box that increased in size along with your cultivation. Yet, even as a mortal, Ryu''s space was about ten meters in every direction. Aside from the cloak that now sat neatly folded in a corner, there wasn''t much else to see. All that remained was the Fire Dragon Emblem of the Tatsuya Clan, the Phoenix Emblems of the Ice and Fire Phoenix Clans, and the Lightning Qilin Emblem of the Kunan Clan.


    These Emblems were Mystical Grade treasures that allowed access to the various Clan Holy Lands, but other than that, they had no other function.


    "I believe you should be able to replace your heavenly pupil inner world with this one. At least in theory." Elena explained lightly.


    As Elena expected, the process was seamless. The globe entered Ryu''s forehead, slowly changing his inner world. Now, it world could accommodate living beings. Unfortunately, though, his cultivation was non-existence, making it impossible for him to withstand the burden of warping in large objects.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Elena smiled. "The last treasure is probably one you''ll have some push back against, but do remember that it''s a Unique Grade treasure."


    "Some push back?" Ryu''s mind immediately went to the worst possible place. This fianc¨¦e of his didn''t get him some kinky toy, did she?


    Elena giggled as though reading Ryu''s mind. "Don''t worry, it''s nothing like that. Instead, they''re weapons. Twin daggers, actually."


    Ryu frowned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. What the hell would he do with weapons? Right now, Ryu had no fighting experience whatsoever other than basics his father taught him when he was a toddler. What use would he have for daggers?


    "I know, I know. But I''ve thought about this seriously. The black cloak has a passive ability to conceal, but it''s very weak. Without cultivation, the only way you can evoke its true abilities is to use your Spiritual Qi and enter the Breath of Earth realm. However, that only lasts for a few seconds. Do you think that your enemy would disappear in that time? You need to take action!" Elena said seriously.


    Ryu sighed. "Your words make sense. But, in a case where I assume something has happened to Nuri and I''m forced into such a corner, even if I have an Origin Grade dagger, I''m afraid that such an enemy would only laugh at my attack."


    "This is why these daggers are special. They''re capable of accommodating all forms of energy, including Spiritual Qi. Their weight also changes in accordance with the energy type and amount you use."


    "You mean?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    "Mhm. You can attack an opponent''s Mental Realm directly. This won''t guarantee a kill considering even someone like Nuri couldn''t instantly end Gale''s life, but it''s the most effective attack you have. It''s better than nothing."


    Listening to this point, Ryu couldn''t disagree. This was indeed the most effective form of attack he had. If these daggers really could accept Spiritual Qi, then they could protect Ryu''s mind while he attacked others. Simple put, they were better than having nothing at all, so, for the sake of his fianc¨¦e''s peace of mind, he accepted the daggers.


    Ryu watched as Elena handed him two beautifully finished daggers. Each had a black spine, but edges that shone a crystalline and translucent blue. These edges were serrated into three portions, making the daggers look like a slanted set of triplet canine teeth. Their handles were long and slender, curving near the end into spherical bulbs.


    The entire length of each blade was only about a foot and a half, hilt included. But, they gave off a menacing light.

 Chapter 32: Scenes of the Past

    The night of that very same day, Ryu sat under the cool dark air, his black robes fluttering along with the thin drapes that whipped in the wind behind him. He was currently on a balcony extending from his and Elena''s room. While she slept soundly once more, he couldn''t bring himself to.


    Scenes of his life kept replaying in his mind like a record, memories he hadn''t thought of in centuries were suddenly becoming crystal clear whether he wanted them to or not.


    He could remember how excited his father was after his birth. A man with the weight of an entire Plane on his shoulders ignored it all to spend time with his son. Ryu remembered the early morning hikes to Shrine Mountain, he remembered how diligently his father taught him the Tatsuya Clan Martial Forms, he remembered the bright smile of pride on his face when he became convinced that his son would shake the Shrine Plane even fiercer than he had.


    But, with those memories of good, came memories of anguish. He could remember his father''s despair when his meridian awakening ceremony failed. He remembered feeling pain because he knew that his father wasn''t hurt by having a crippled son, but hurt by the prospect of what it meant for Ryu himself. The love in his father''s eyes never faded, it just became balanced with a pain that Ryu couldn''t ignore, a pain that Ryu, a young boy who was so used to seeing a single side of his father, couldn''t help but run away from.


    Ryu also remembered his mother. He remembered laying in her arms and clinging to her breast''s milk desperately. Imagine that, a woman of her stature personally feeding her own child¡­ This was the love his mother had for him. Suffering through the pains and aches of an overly eager, oversized baby boy with a loving twinkle in her eye.


    She never lost that desire, that desire to provide and protect. Not once had she ever.


    His grandparents were another light of his life. His Grandma Kunan was always the soothing voice in his ear, it was she who chased away his father and grandfathers when their training became too harsh back in those days. His Grandma Tatsuya was a far more reserved and stoic lady, but her smile had long since been reserved for her baby boy. It was her who gifted Ryu his best toys even though a toddler had no business playing around with Heaven Grade treasures.


    His Grandpa Tatsuya was a man of very few words. In fact, Ryu could likely count the number of times he''d spoken to this grandfather of his to an accurate estimate. However, it was because he was so silent that he conveyed his love through his actions. It was he who had found the most herbs and spiritual treasures capable of extending Ryu''s life, even spending decades and sometimes centuries away in pursuit of them.


    Grandpa Kunan was likely the polar opposite of Grandpa Tatsuya. He was rambunctious and loud, but his heart was just as big as his personality was. It was he who found Ryu first after his meridian awakening ceremony failed, slapping him on his small shoulders and hugging him tightly. At that time, he told Ryu that a man never gives up, that a man finds a way to succeed no matter what cards he was dealt. If it wasn''t for Grandpa Kunan, Ryu didn''t know if he would have recovered enough to set a new path for himself by entering Shrine Library.


    Then there was Nuri. Ryu had always seen her as his big sister, a woman always there to protect him. The truth was that Nuri was a little girl his parents had adopted before his birth. At the time, they had been trying for several millennia to birth a child to no avail. It was then that Nuri fell like a heavenly treasure from the skies. They fell in love with the little baby girl immediately, taking her in as one of their own.


    When Nuri grew and Ryu was finally born, she wanted to repay this debt of gratitude. Having never known her own parents, to her, the Tatsuya Clan was the only family she''d ever recognize. She didn''t even blink an eye when she swore a Tribulation Oath to protect Ryu for life.


    Ryu remembered patting his little chest as a boy no more than three or four years old, swearing that when he grew up, he would take Nuri as his wife, then it would be his turn to protect her. Nuri had smiled brightly, that beautiful smile of hers¡­ She rubbed his small head and nodded with happiness.


    And Elena¡­ She had a place in Ryu''s heart that was unshakeable. When she came into his life, he hadn''t thought that he would ever open up that side of himself to anyone until his death took him from this world. Was it even fair of him to do so? How could he promise love to a woman he wouldn''t be able to sustain? It was then that Elena had said those ill-fated words to him¡­ Be selfish.


    What a funny idea. Words with such a negative connotation used to light a path to happiness in a man who had all but given up on everything.


    Ryu''s face shifted up, allowing him to catch a glance at the three moons in the sky. The two smaller shone a beautiful red and blue, but the largest was seemingly reminiscent of Ryu''s Fate Star, blazing with a grey-white color. Ryu had heard that Shrine Plane had three suns as well, but the largest was so bright that the smaller two were impossible to see.


    A slight breeze passed, causing Ryu to frown. He lifted his hand to his cheek, only to be shocked to find that it was wet.


    "Ha¡­" Ryu''s voice croaked. He couldn''t remember the last time he felt so weak. Could it be that he hadn''t felt this way since that day nine hundred ninety-three years ago? The very day his ceremony failed and his remaining prospects became bleak?


    Ryu knew what he had to do. He had known since the moment the Embryonic Origin Flame fused and enlightened him with the will of the universe. Formerly confusing lines of fate and karma became clear and obvious. Ambiguous and abstruse paths forward fused into a single heavenly lane¡­


    Things couldn''t continue as they were. It wasn''t a simple matter of Ryu''s happiness, it about the life and death of the four Clans that mattered most to him along with countless others.


    But he was scared. He was scared to the point of trembling ¨C of tears falling down his face¡­ Even to the point of wanting to vomit both in disgust toward his own cowardice and anguish at the prospect of what lay ahead.


    Ryu closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. Moments later, he stood and walked back into the room he shared with Elena. With a heavy weight laying on his heart, he kneeled beside her sleeping body to gently stroke her soft cheek.


    The instant Elena moaned awake, he lowered his lips to hers.

 Chapter 33: Two People - One Soul

    "Hubby?" Elena awoke fully to a set of cold lips on hers. Yet, she felt a sense of warmth and comfort when she saw that set of silver eyes looking down at her.


    Ryu''s eyes were slightly red, still lingering with remnants of his stored emotions. Still, they had an outpouring of tenderness and love that was rare for him. How long had Elena waited to see this very gaze? How many nights had she dreamt of being awoken by this very kiss that still tingled along her lips? So why did she feel her eyes watering? Why was her chest aching with this disgusting bitter-sweet feeling?


    "Elena.." Ryu''s voice was barely a whisper as though he feared a louder volume would betray its trembling. "Will you allow me to be selfish?"


    The fluttering of Elena''s heart quickened. She cupped her fianc¨¦''s cheeks, sinking her warmth into their cold.


    Without a word, she pulled Ryu down to her, almost melding their bodies into one.


    Elena pretended not to notice the moistness that now coated her palms, nor did she hold back her own. She simply immersed herself in the feeling of Ryu''s body, delicately removing his robes to reveal his broad but frail chest.


    Ryu tried to reciprocate, but his attempts at a gentle, caressing touches were thwarted by his shaking hands. Voices of doubt and discontent rang in his ears. Is this really how you want to do it? She deserves better than this. Can you even call yourself a man?


    Maybe it was due to these voices, or maybe it was because he so wanted to forget his own thoughts, but the trembling slowly disappeared. Elena''s soft body fell into his embrace, not an ounce of which was lost on him.


    Her gown was pulled over her head, revealing skin so soft Ryu almost felt as though he was sinking into a warm cloud. His lips dotted her curvature as he breathed in her intoxicating fragrance.


    Elena squirmed under his touch, eagerly lifting her hips to rid herself of the final layer that separated them.


    No matter how cool-headed Ryu was, it was impossible for him to remain unaffected. To those residing in the Mortal Plane, such a sight was impossible to see. In their eyes, the cultivators who resided here were their Gods and Goddesses. If Elena appeared, she would be no less than an immortal fairy in their eyes because this was how even Ryu saw her!


    This wasn''t the first time Ryu had seen his fianc¨¦e naked. In fact, it wasn''t even the hundredth or thousandth. But, something about the sheen of fragrant sweat on her delicate skin, the faint blush on her healthy cheeks and the almost pleading expression in her eyes lit a fire within Ryu.


    He caressed her cheek, tender affection clear in his eyes. "I want you to know that I''ll never leave you. No matter what happens, can you promise me that you''ll remember this?"


    Elena''s pink, crystalline eyes reflected the moonlight as she looked at her fianc¨¦. Unable to trust her words, she nodded.


    A sudden nervousness overtook Ryu. Not only was he completely inexperienced, seemingly inconsequential thoughts suddenly felt that now was the time to make their presence known.


    Would he hurt her? How fast should he go? He was just a mortal, what if he couldn''t satisfy his immortal fianc¨¦e? Did Elena care about such things? Should he assume that she wanted to have a child now, or should he take precautions? Dammit, he hadn''t prepared, what precautions could he possibly take now?


    It wasn''t until a light giggle sounded in Ryu''s ears that he realized his cold, handsome features had given way to panic. He couldn''t help but blush slightly. Still, those feelings were washed away the moment he felt a soft hand grab onto him from below, guiding him toward a wonderful place filled with moist warmth, love and desire.


    "I''m willing to allow you to be selfish, but I need one thing from you first." Elena said softly. Her voice was a bit haggard, suffused with a raspy breath that rose and fell along with her ample chest. Even though her hair had also become an absolute mess, it only made her all the more alluring as it clung to her sweat matted forehead.


    Ryu didn''t let her finish. He knew her next words and she accepted them wholeheartedly.


    In the martial world, marriage more than just a simple ceremony. What distinguished wives from concubines was a tradition that dated back several Eras even to the start of the first human civilizations.


    A husband and wife weren''t just a man and woman, they were two sides of the same coin. It was a union that was wholly sacred, one that bound that fates of two people together for a lifetime and lifetimes.


    For the first time in his life, Ryu fully opened his soul to another. Although Elena trembled at the sight she saw, she too reciprocated. In the next moment, their thoughts became one. Nothing of Ryu''s was hidden to Elena, nor was anything of Elena''s hidden to Ryu. They had come to have a perfect understanding of each other the moment a dull pain pierced Elena''s senses.


    "You, Elena Tatsuya, will forever be my, Ryu Tatsuya''s wife. In life and in death, we walk together. In sadness and happiness, we feel together. In this reincarnation and the next, our souls will always be one."


    A swirling of turbid Primordial Yin and Yang filled the room. Moans of passion and fervent desire ricocheted across the walls. Ryu''s nervousness had fled as a sense of freedom pervaded his mind. Elena''s wants and needs were no longer a mystery to him¡­


    In the end, Elena fell into his embrace and a satisfied sleep, once more clinging to her fianc¨¦''s arm as though she was afraid he would disappear.


    Maybe ironically, this fear that Elena had irrationally held for so long became reality the next morning.


    Nuri''s shrill cry of sorrow and pain shook Tatsuya Palace. Elena didn''t even need to open her eyes to know that her husband was no longer by her side. An empty void the likes of which seemed to encompass the whole of existence was all that was left behind.


    She knew exactly what had happened. She had felt his fear and hesitation, his tears and resolution. And finally, she had felt his death.

 Chapter 34: Contorted

    [The Legacy of a Sky God is not so easily attained. The next few chapters will be just as difficult to read. Whether or not you have the fortitude to make it through and watch Ryu rise... well maybe only you have the answer to that]


    The matters of the Shrine Plane became a blip in history. However, this wasn''t because Ryu was too insignificant, but was simply due to the fact that the occurrences after his death were simply far too tragic. An event the likes of which hadn''t been seen since the Great Ancient Beast War ravaged the Shrine Plane...


    In the face of such a reality, the death of a mortal man who had only lived to his thousandth birthday was inconsequential. While his death was absolutely devastating to a minority, in the grand scheme, he became yet another forgotten hero.


    These matters would remain unchanged for nine cycles of one hundred million years.


    **


    The wail of a woman shook a grandly decorated Imperial Harem. One couldn''t help but be shocked at the power hidden in her lungs. Who would have thought that a woman without much cultivation to speak of could make such a sound?


    Three middle-aged doulas sprinted as fast as their chubby and short legs could carry them, rushing to and from the woman''s bed side. One carried buckets of water, another brought fresh and replaced worn towels, while the last massaged the protruding belly of the wailing woman, her palms glowing as she muttered under her breath.


    It was clear by the expressions of the three doulas that they had never dealt with such a severe labor period. It had already been three days since First Concubine Leilani had been appropriately dilated to begin actively pushing. Yet, in all this time, there had been no real progress.


    This was supposed to be a happy occasion. The King''s favorite concubine was finally giving birth after more than a decade of failure. If they were on duty and became responsible for the King''s loss of a son, execution would be the least of their worries.


    Who didn''t know how much the King treasured his heirs? There was a long stretch of time, decades, in fact, where the King only had two daughters to speak of. Although this had changed in just the last four or so years, the King still retained some of that latent anxiety.


    They couldn''t afford to fail!


    **


    In the largest courtyard of the Imperial Harem grounds, a beautiful young woman leisurely reclined as though the wails of First Concubine Leilani were nothing but music to her ears. It was at that moment that a shadow flashed into the room, appearing behind the woman silently.


    "Why have you come?" The young woman''s eyes flashed coldly.


    "There''s been a problem."


    "A problem?" Her eyes narrowed, clearly unhappy with these words.


    "Although Imperial Doula Miriam is an insignificant creature, her skill in childbirth and rearing is unmatched in our Tor Kingdom. With her pride, if the child had died, even if it meant her death, she would have announced as much."


    "Are you trying to tell me that a mere unborn child could survive such a poison?" The young woman sneered. It was obvious what she was implying. There was not a chance in hell such a thing was possible. If there was a failure, it was human. Meaning whoever administered the poison was the one responsible. And the one who was tasked with this was none other than the shadow that stood to her back.


    The shadow didn''t know how to respond. His life and death rested on a mere word from this Queen. If she truly decided to blame him, there wasn''t a place in the entire Plane he could hide.


    Wiping away his cold sweat, the shadow immediately explained himself. "Queen Tor, please understand. I am certain that I''ve done my job appropriately. If the child has survived the Meridian Severing Poison as an unborn, this simply means that he is, or rather, was, an astounding talent. Whether he is born or not, he will no longer be a threat."


    The young woman remained quiet for a long time. To the shadow, it felt like an eternity, but in truth, it was no more than a handful of minutes.


    "Return to the Clan and give yourself ten lashes of the punishment rod. I''ll forgive this matter for now¡­ Indeed, watching her crumble due to having birthed a useless son will be far more gratifying¡­" The young woman laughed to herself as the shadow bowed and disappeared. No one noticed that fact a man who wasn''t a eunuch had entered where he shouldn''t have.


    **


    First Concubine Leilani pushed with what remaining strength she had. In all honesty, she had long since wanted to give up. Why was she of all people given the trial of such a difficult labor? She had been pampered her whole life, nothing had ever been difficult, but suddenly an impossible to scale mountain had landed directly before her.


    She wanted to sleep and rest. She wanted to take a bath and wipe this crusted sweat from her body. But, this old hag kept applying pressure on her womb. Why wouldn''t she just stop? Let me just lie here! She screamed in her mind.


    It was then that the cry of a child sounded throughout the Imperial Harem. It seemed that this child inherited his vocal cords from his mother.


    His loud bellowing was followed by the abrupt opening of the courtyard''s doors. A man of imposing aura and will rushed into the room, ignoring all ceremony to reach the bedside of the now collapsed First Concubine Leilani.


    "Your Majesty, it isn''t the right time for you to enter. The poor boy still needs to be cleaned and prepped." Imperial Doula Miriam tried to explain. This wasn''t the first time the King had had a child. He should know these things by now!


    Usually, King Tor would have awkwardly scratched his head at the berating of this older, middle-aged woman. Yet, at the moment, his face had contorted at the sight of his son.


    Imperial Doula Miriam panicked, looking at the baby in her harms to see if he had any obvious defects, but her only conclusion was confusion. Why did such a healthy baby evoke such a reaction?

 Chapter 35: Imperial Censors

    It should have been a happy occasion.


    These were words many aware of the situation likely thought. The birth of the fourth Prince of the mighty Tor Kingdom! The King who had spent so long without an heir suddenly had four of them! He should have been ecstatic. However, there was a looming dark cloud over Tor Palace.


    It had to be said that even Imperial Doula Miriam was confused by this turn of events. She was well aware of her own abilities, as was everyone else. She had helped hundreds of noble women give birth over her lifetime. In fact, she had even waited on the previous Queen in giving birth to the current King Tor. To say that she was experienced was a severe understatement.


    When she received the young baby in her arms, she found not a single defect. In fact, after a few days passed and the young boy''s skin cleared and stretched, she was certain that he would grow to be even more handsome than his father.


    After some thought, she decided to do a deeper inspection. After all, the King''s cultivation was far more profound than her own. The only martial techniques she knew were related to healing, while her cultivation was still at the Pulse Opening Realm. However¡­ The seasoned Miriam was still very much confused. Even though the King''s cultivation was deeper than hers, her sensory abilities, especially in relation to babies and their mothers should have been unmatched¡­


    As she expected, after doing a deeper examination of the child, she found him to be the picture of health. His bones were strong, his blood was pure, and his meridians were actually a great surprise. Usually, the meridians of newborns were very frail, this was why the Meridian Awakening Ceremony didn''t take place until seven years old. However, this young boy here seemed as though he could take his Ceremony right this moment and come out perfectly fine!


    Of course, there were other restrictions as well, such as one''s Spiritual Foundation. It was a combination of meridian maturity and this that made it general consensus to wait until the age of seven.


    "The mother will survive¡­ The boy is not only healthy, he''s even far more talented than his elder brothers and sisters¡­ Even though I''m just a weak old lady, I''m certain that if the Heavenly Body Sect knew of this boy, they would come snatch him up immediately¡­ So why did the King react in that way?..." Imperial Doula Miriam muttered to herself.


    Shaking her head, she decided that matters of the royal family were no business of her own.


    "Call Lilliana in here, the boy is hungry!" She suddenly called out, walking with the little boy in her arms with a doting expression. She didn''t know why, but she was very fond of this baby boy. Because she felt this way, how could she not choose the wet nurse with the perkiest breasts for her little treasure?


    **


    "Forgive me for my candour, your majesty, but we must take drastic measures! I understand that he is your son, but the heavens have blessed you with three other heirs¡­" A Minister of the Imperial Palace spoke slowly, standing within the Imperial Court.


    While the others of the Palace had no idea why such a happy occasion had turned so foul, the upper echelons definitely understood. In fact, they had begun taking the utmost precautions in dealing with the matter. Although they hadn''t said it, their eyes displayed their emotions clearly: kill the boy!


    A baleful aura erupted from the King. Had these fools never fathered children of their own?! What kind of nonsense was this?! I have three others so it''s fine to kill the fourth?!


    "Censor Digby. Censor Orson. Censor Briggs. What are your thoughts on the matter?" The King''s expression was grave and his eyes were sharp. In just the last few days, his healthy black beard had become rife with strings of grey and white. It was clear to everyone how much this situation weighed on his mind.


    He was a handsome young man in his own right. Although he was already fifty or so years old today, his cultivation was deep enough to maintain his looks. He wouldn''t have to worry about the end of his life for another one hundred fifty years. Yet, he had gained the heart of an old man in what amounted to less than a week.


    In reality, this meeting should have taken place immediately, but he had put it off¡­


    Censor Digby stepped forward first. He was an old, wizened man with a beard as long as his lengthy head of white hair. In truth, he was only ten or so years older than the King, but he had no cultivation to speak of, so this was his appearance.


    "Your Majesty," Censor Digby bowed deeply, "You have known for a long time that the role of Imperial Censors is to uphold the moral code and culture of our wonderful Kingdom. On the one hand, this old servant believes that it is morally reprehensible to kill a newborn child no matter the reason. On the other, there needs to be measures taken. The Fourth Prince cannot live a normal life, the cards he''s been dealt are too cruel to ignore."


    Censor Orson was the newest of the Imperial Censors, having only recently been promoted from a certain Minister rank. As such, he was relatively young, being only forty or so years old. However, he suffered from the same lack of cultivation and frail body Censor Digby did.


    "Your Majesty," Censor Orson bowed, "I am young and rash, I hope that my words do not offend you. However, it must be said that the world is cruel and the time is nigh. Although the boy was born with this cruel Fate, Imperial Doula Miriam has reported that he''s a heavenly talent the likes of which few have ever seen. If he is allowed to grow, I fear that Tor Kingdom will suffer from internal strife¡­"


    The King''s finger twitched. If he didn''t know the fallout it would cause, he would have immediately killed this man for daring to speak such words before him. But, in the end, he simply allowed the morbidly obese Censor Briggs to step forward.


    "Your Majesty," Despite his size, Censor Briggs too made the effort to bow, "This lowly servant will speak his opinion now.


    "Although the matter is as dangerous as Censor Orson describes and is as sensitive as Censor Digby portrays, we must also not forget that a father killing his son will also stain the morale of the Kingdom. In fact, even if this information never spreads and the Fourth Prince comes to be known as a stillborn, it will still have ill affects. This lowly servant suggests that we use more¡­ roundabout methods."

 Chapter 36: Kings Garden

    One might wonder why a King with so much power in his hands would ever care to listen to this opinion of those who amounted to simple mere mortals. However, it was important to understand just how critical the role of an Imperial Censor was. In fact, they''re purposely chosen to be mortal so that they can maintain proper perspective.


    When a country or Kingdom is formed, the most powerful strength its leaders can wield is nationalism. This fervent and almost basal instinct of a person born in a certain place to be biased toward their home. It is because of this nationalism and loyalty that governments can maintain themselves over generations, while it''s often due to a lack of it that they fall prematurely.


    No matter how much individual strength King Tor wields, there would come a day where he would have no choice but to hand his life''s work to the next generation. When this occurs, he needs to ensure that the people still believe in the royal family and are willing to pledge their loyalty for another ruler''s span. After this, it then becomes the next ruler''s duty to maintain this tradition.


    The date of this event was closer than one might think. Although King Tor''s current lifespan was more than two hundred years, this didn''t mean that he would rule for one hundred fifty more. According to the rules and regulations of their Plane, experts of a certain cultivation must recede from the so-called ''Secular World''. Given King Tor''s talent, it wouldn''t be much more than fifteen to twenty more years before he would be forced by these ancient traditions to abdicate.


    Knowing this, King Tor couldn''t in good conscience leave his Kingdom in turmoil. Even if he slowed his cultivation purposely to match the upper limit of this time ¨C something that was morally grey according to the rules they followed ¨C his eldest son wouldn''t even be twenty-five years old. This simply wasn''t enough time to resolve this conflict!


    This wasn''t the worst of matter either. Up until now, only abstract matters such as nationalism and loyalty were touched upon. However, there was a very real and tangible measure of this in the martial world: Fate!


    This was the greatest task of the Imperial Censors, to ensure that Tor Kingdom''s Faith was always maintained at the highest possible levels. Without the protection of such Faith, a Kingdom could face many potential issues. These matters could include crop failures, the spread of disease, lower fertility rates¡­ The list was simply too long and catastrophic to comb through.


    King Tor squeezed his forehead between his fingers, his jaw clenching. Flashes of pain, remorse and hesitation crossed his deep brown eyes. This was his son. No matter how many wives or concubines he had, he had never elevated one above the other.


    How could he not know the kind of dirty schemes and backstabbing occurred in the Imperial Harem? He had tried his best to put an end to it all, but the Pillar Clans of his Tor Kingdom were simply too conniving. While he wanted to destroy them all from the root, such a thing would cripple his Kingdom as well.


    Now, he was thrust into a situation where he was wrong no matter what he did. How could he ever look his son of his in the eye again?


    "This matter concludes today." King Tor finally spoke, not looking up. "No one will lay a hand on the Fourth Prince."


    The eyes of the Ministers and Censors widened. "Your Majesty!"


    "SILENCE!" King Tor''s roar shattered the floor beneath his feet, causing the mortals in front of him to bleed from their ears, unable to withstand his might.


    "Seven years from now¡­" King Tor continued solemnly, "It will be revealed to the public that the Fourth Prince''s Meridian Awakening Ceremony has failed. He will live a simple life without cultivation. When the Coronation Games begin, he will not have the power or backing to succeed¡­ His life or death will be up to his own luck.


    "Should he survive, he will be allowed to live out the rest of his life in quiet. If I hear of him suffering even a single grievance, I will eradicate you and your families!" King Tor''s growl shook the scholarly Ministers from head to toe. How could they withstand such killing intent? "Should he die¡­"


    King Tor didn''t finish his words. He turned his back to the Ministers, disappearing from the Imperial Court it was seemed like just a single step.


    **


    The back of Tor Palace was a wonderland of sorts. It didn''t have any heavenly treasures or overwhelming qi density, but it did have a calm ambience that helped one to clear their minds. This place was the only area of the Palace the King could come to be alone as everyone else was barred from entry.


    That said, these truths were just by the standard of the Shrine Plane. To the Higher Mortal Plane, this small garden was akin to heaven on earth.


    King Tor entered the Garden of Kings to stand beside a small stream of Elevated Water. This treasure wasn''t too astounding, but it was definitely far better than a normal stream. It was charmed to have the capability of absorbing qi from the air before releasing it slowly over time in the form of a comforting fragrance. The result of this was increased qi density and purity in a given area.


    The King mindlessly stared at this stream, following its meandering and benign path of meaninglessness. It simply continued to do its job. Absorbing qi. Storing qi. Releasing qi. Absorbing qi. Storing qi. Releasing qi¡­


    In a lot of ways, it was a reflection of the pointless lives they led. Why did he become King? To protect the Kingdom. Why does he protect the Kingdom? To secure his family''s future. Why does he want to secure his family''s future? For the sake of the Kingdom. So why did he sacrifice his son today? For the sake of the Kingdom. But wasn''t the sake of the Kingdom supposed to protect his family?


    Shaking his head, King Tor walked to the end of the Garden to an unassuming fountain. He gripped the edge of its grey stone with a sturdy hand. The small prick of something sharp cut his hand, but in the next moment, the grey fountain began to turn, revealing a dark staircase below.


    It wouldn''t be long before King Tor realized that what he thought was saving his Kingdom had guaranteed its destruction. In the future, when he remembered that he made this decision because his son was born with a head of pure white hair and silver-blue eyes, it was likely that he wouldn''t want to live anymore.

 Chapter 37: First Prince

    Three years later, Tor Palace had long since forgotten the oddity surrounding the Fourth Prince''s birth. In fact, today was a true day of celebration. The First Prince''s Meridian Awakening Ceremony was to take place!


    At this moment, a small boy not even a meter tall sat on a short stool, his little slender legs swinging back and forth. Behind him, Imperial Doula Miriam sat. Her actions were odd ¨C she seemed to be applying some sort of dark pigment to the small boy''s long white hair. Considering the toddler didn''t say much to these events, it was clear that he was used to it by now.


    Still, the oddities persisted. The little boy''s eyes were closed. Even after several moment, they remained as such. One would have thought that he was taking a nap, but would someone who was asleep swing their legs in the way he was?


    "Little Ryu, you must be more careful." Imperial Doula Miriam chided. "After your elder brother awakens his meridians, at least until your own ceremony, you must try not to antagonize him, okay?"


    "If he''s smart, he''ll stay very far from me no matter what his cultivation is." The cold reply of the small boy was nothing like what one would expect from a toddler. Somehow, he had already gained the demeanor of an absolute expert, the kind that one would make certain to exterminate from the root after even the slightest offense for fear of one''s own death.


    Imperial Doula Miriam sighed. "Just ignore his words. He''s young and rash, there''s no need for you to create a life-long enmity between siblings over frivolous nothings. It''s best to forgive and forget, to be magnanimous for the sake of your own health."


    One would never expect an adult to speak to a child in such a way. Imperial Doula Miriam described First Prince Amory as the seven-year-old child that he was, but pretended as though Ryu wasn''t the three year old toddler before her. She had begun subconsciously treating this boy as an equal for a very long time now.


    "Aunty Miriam, you''re very na?ve." The small Ryu suddenly said. "Do you believe that first brother''s animosity toward me is organic? Did I offend him in any way? Is he even old or mature enough to understand that he will have to compete with us three younger brothers for the throne?


    "This first brother of mine has an aptitude that I understand well. He may very well be better than the average child, but his world view is limited and shallow. The things he understands aren''t by virtue of himself, nor are his thoughts his own. If all of these things are true, then who do you think is responsible for molding him?"


    Imperial Doula Miriam shivered, but didn''t dare to reply. It was one thing for a Prince to say such stinging words about another Prince''s upbringing, but for her to comment could result in execution. This was especially the case considering the person Ryu was alluding to was none other than the Queen of their Kingdom, Olivia Tor.


    Still, the scope of understanding this mere three-year-old boy had was astonishing. To understand the politics of the Kingdom so clearly already, it was shocking to her even now. However, Ryu was right. No matter how Ryu reacted, Amory and his third brother would never reciprocate in good faith. Their minds had already been corrupted by their mother. Maybe only second brother deserved Ryu''s hope for now, but who knows what would happen in the future?


    Of course, there was always a chance that his first and third brothers would break from the control of their mother in the future. However, that wouldn''t happen until they both matured and learned to distinguish right from wrong themselves. For now¡­ It was impossible.


    With a deep sigh, Imperial Doula Miriam stood to wash her hands in a bucket nearby.


    "Alright, let''s go take you to your mother."


    **


    "Be sure to stay quiet for mommy, okay?" The beautiful First Concubine Leilani smoothed her dress and hair, making final adjustments before taking Ryu''s small hands in hers. "Also remember that you must stay respectful in front of your father. The future of the Agnes Clan rests on your shoulders, so you must find favor with him, okay?"


    Little Ryu didn''t reply, simply following after his mother as they walked into a large ceremonial hall outlined with beautiful glass artwork. Of course, he could see none of this due to the fact his eyes were closed.


    Although his vision was covered by darkness, he could feel the gazes that turned toward him and his mother. He remained unaffected, but many thought that this was due to his blindness. They probably believed he couldn''t sense their emotions or understand their animosity simply because he was young and supposedly disabled. However, it would be more accurate to say that Little Ryu was the sharpest person here.


    "First Concubine greets Queen Tor." Leilani said with a light smile. "I''d like to be one of the first to congratulate you and Little Amory. He has a very bright future ahead of him."


    Queen Tor greeted Leilani. "Thank you for your kind words. I wouldn''t like to get too far ahead of myself. There''s a saying that expecting too much can end in devastation. Even if my Little Amory fails, I hope that he can lead a calm and quiet life."


    "Big Sister Olivia''s words are truly grand. I hope to one day cultivate my own Mental Realm to be as broad minded as your own."


    The light conversation between Queen and Concubine was the center of attention for most. There didn''t seem to be any out of bounds occurrences, but it felt uncomfortable to watch from the sidelines. Maybe it was because the entire time, two young boys stood to Queen Tor''s back ¨C one seven years old, the other four years old ¨C making faces of disdain and disgust toward the blind Ryu.


    Seeing the innocent boy with only a light smile on his face, completely oblivious to the torment of his elder brothers made those of the royal court uncomfortable. The young boy''s plight was quite pitiable. Still, that didn''t stop others from believing that this was how things should be. In fact, many believed that Ryu should be appreciative for even being alive while others still believed he should still be killed¡­


    "Introducing His Majesty, King Tor!" A herald''s voice shattered the building tension.

 Chapter 38: Royal Father

    Everyone present stood respectfully, including the formerly quiet Second Concubine Catalina and Ryu''s second brother, Second Prince Jedrek.


    King Tor didn''t seem to have aged even a single day. Still, his youthful exuberance didn''t stifle his commanding and oppressive aura.


    His sons looked up to him in awe. In their eyes, he was the greatest man in existence. They didn''t need to fake it, nor were these the teachings of their mothers, it was just how they felt. Being the son of the King was something they were proud of and their expressions reflected this. This said, Ryu showed no particular reaction.


    The King continued to walk along the path laid for him, receiving the bows of everyone. With each step, another column of individuals would lower their heads. The coordinated dance of decorum had a slight, unblemished beauty to it that was hard to describe. Whatever flaws he might have, it was clear that Shuren Tor was born to be a ruler.


    Soon, he had made his way to the head of the Imperial Court, receiving the slight bows of his Queen and two Concubines, along with his sons. It was at this moment that King Tor turned a sharp gaze toward his fourth son.


    Leilani tried to subtly nudge her son. She knew that if it was only under her insistence that he showed due deference, it would leave a poor impression. She couldn''t help but silently scold her son in her mind, even if this was his first public event, and he was only three years old, he had been schooled in matters of decorum since birth.


    Unfortunately, Olivia and her sons wouldn''t be themselves if they were to miss such an opportunity.


    Amory scuttled over like a proud little soldier, his royal blue robes making him look quite dashing despite his young age. Much like his father, he had a strong head of brown hair and eyes, not to mention flawless bronzed skin. It was clear that he was well taken care of.


    He leaned over and whispered into his fourth brother''s ear. "Fourth brother, father is before you now."


    In all fairness, his words really were soft. However, in a quiet hall specifically designed to project the voices of those who spoke at its head, such precautions were inconsequential. To Ryu, it was obvious that Amory hadn''t planned this. The simple optics of him whispering to Ryu was enough to convey the necessary message. But, that didn''t stop sycophant fools from relishing in the ''intelligence'' of the First Prince as well as his ''kindness''.


    "Oh." Ryu responded with an embarrassed smile. "Hello father."


    Ryu''s response caused black lines to form on his mother''s delicate forehead even as some Ministers nearly fell from their seats. Did this young man forget everything he was taught? What had he been doing for the last three years?


    First, he hadn''t bowed. Then he called King Tor father instead of royal father. And, even after his mistake was pointed out, he still didn''t bow.


    It was one thing for First Prince Amory to call him father in what should have been a whisper, such a mistake could be forgiven. But to speak aloud in such a way was yet another breech of decorum.


    King Tor didn''t react much to Ryu''s words, or rather, he didn''t get the chance to because First Concubine Leilani had no choice but to take matters into her own hands. The miseducation of a Prince was never the fault of a father, but rather was always on the mother''s shoulders. After all, a King had too many other matters to attend to. At the very least, she had to make it clear that Ryu''s actions were innocent mistakes and not the occurrences of her teachings.


    "Little Ryu, whenever you see your royal father in such a setting. You must bow, okay? It''s okay to treat him as a normal father in private settings, but in public, he is a King."


    Ryu tilted his head to side, displaying his confusion. "But¡­ I can''t see, mother."


    The seemingly innocent words of the Prince caused those who sat on the fence about such matters of the royal family to feel dull aches in their hearts. However, those who were already against his existence to begin with sneered in their hearts. How stupid did this child have to be to take such words literally? Even if he was only three years old, it wasn''t too much to expect a higher level of education in subtlety.


    First Concubine Leilani did her best to remain calm and continued explaining with a smile. "This mother of yours only meant those words figuratively. Simply put, in the presence of your royal father, showing proper respect is important."


    Ryu''s small head nodded. "Ah, sorry royal father, but I can''t bow to you out of respect."


    Leilani had almost released a breath of relief, but the end she choked on that very breath, unable to believe what she was hearing.


    The First Prince and his full-blooded younger brother, Cayden, almost couldn''t hold back their laughter. Queen Tor remained completely silent, pulling her boys back from making fools of themselves all while Second Concubine Catalina had no particular reaction to the situation aside from a raised eyebrow. Her son, however, seemed to be trying to take a nap on his feet, using his mother''s hand for support.


    "Little Ryu¡­" First Concubine Leilani tried to teach her son once more, but this time, she was the one who was interrupted.


    "And why is that?" Surprisingly, it was actually the King who spoke. His voice was filled with majesty and the smallest hint of curiosity. He really did want to know what this son of his would say.


    "It''s simple, really." Ryu explained unperturbed by his father''s presence. "I''m blind. If I bowed, I have no way of knowing if I''ve done so in the proper direction. I could follow your voice, but if I miss by even a hair, and grace a Prince''s bow to the wrong person, wouldn''t that be more catastrophic than not bowing at all? Isn''t my not bowing the highest form of respect I could give you, royal father?"


    A pin drop of silence filled the hall, stunned expressions coloring the faces of those present. This was the first public ceremony the Fourth Prince had attended. It could be said that Imperial Doula Miriam and his mother were the only ones who interacted with him with any relative consistency. No one understood just what kind of Prince he was.


    They had thought he was a fool¡­ But did he just play them all? Was a three-year-old making his dissatisfaction with the Kingdom known in its Imperial Court of all places?

 Chapter 39: Good

    Pa!


    The crisp sound of a slap not only made Ryu''s ears ring, but also caused his face to sting with a deep and reverberating pain. Maybe it was due to the fact his eyes were closed, but he felt every moment. The whooshing of the air, the vacuum that formed in his ear, even the shock of what happened were each multiplied many times over. He felt stuck in the moment, replaying the sensations in his mind again and again.


    Amory''s meridian awakening ceremony had long since come to an end. In fact, the awkwardness of its start was washed over by the outstanding news related to his meridian, skeletal, bloodline and spiritual foundation grades. However, it was clear that First Concubine Leilani hadn''t forgotten what happened. It had festered in her to the point where she hit her son for the first time in her life.


    "Do you not understand the gravity of what you''ve done today?!" Leilani''s shrill voice filled the mother and son''s private courtyard. "Do you believe that you were very clever?! Did you think that even if you meant your words with the utmost sincerity that it would matter?!"


    Ryu didn''t respond. His face didn''t show the change in expression or borderline crying contortion a three-year-old should have probably displayed. His eyes remained closed, his hands didn''t even clench into fists, and aside from the gradual reddening of his left cheek, his features practically remained at their baseline.


    Even at three years old, Ryu had an arrogance that no one could shake. Today, he could have bowed, but he did no such thing. Since he was capable of beating up his elder brothers, something he had done on several occasions already, how could he not be capable of aiming a bow properly? He didn''t do it because he didn''t want to.


    According to their martial world''s tradition, there was no shame in bowing to one''s parents. In fact, it was dutiful and filial of a child to do so. The problem was that Ryu never saw King Tor as a father. He saw him as a weak and spineless man who didn''t deserve his respect. His brothers saw the King as the perfect and best man in the world, but to Ryu, if this was what the pinnacle of manhood was, the human race would have been extinct long ago.


    "Do you not understand that this isn''t just about you?" Leilani trembled at her son''s lack of a reaction. She had half a mind to raise her hand and slap him again, maybe this time the message would ring true to his mind. However, something told her that even if she skinned Ryu alive, it would make no difference to his demeanor whatsoever.


    **


    The years passed slowly. On the fourth year since Ryu''s birth, his second brother''s meridian awakening ceremony took place. On the fifth, it was his third brother''s turn. And finally, the seventh year came around, leaving just three days until Ryu''s own.


    In these times, the Kingdom was truly blessed. It seemed like all of the King''s heirs were heavenly talents the likes of which their Plane rarely saw. However, there was an undercurrent of competition that shook Tor Kingdom. It could be said that this generation of Tor heirs had no choice to be great. If they had been any less talented, the threat of the Six Pillar Clans would have been too great to bear.


    Young geniuses sprang up not only in the royal family, but also Tor Capital City''s upper echelon. Not only were the Prince''s heavenly talents, but so were the young masters of those six Clans.


    Still, the Third Prince shockingly stood above them all, including his eldest full-blooded brother. He was actually born with an Earth Skeletal Grade! The moment this news became public knowledge, the various elders of the Heavenly Body Sect practically tore each other apart in competition to be his master.


    According to tradition, there were only two ways to enter the four sects of their Plane. The first was to reach a certain cultivation threshold. No matter which sect was in question, this threshold was the Spiritual Severing Realm. One wouldn''t be considered a true cultivator until this realm was reached. It was also those of this threshold that were no longer allowed to interfere in the matters of the ''Secular World''.


    The second method was actually far more difficult. This second path required one to be born as a heavenly and undeniable talent. Being of the Earth Grade in one of the so-called Foundations of Cultivation was the minimum requirement!


    In truth, King Tor was also born with an Earth Skeletal Grade. In his youth, he had been taken away. But, after all of his brothers crossed the age of eighteen, he came back to participate in the Coronation Games. After this, he was crowned as King and had ruled ever since. This said, once he stepped into the Spiritual Severing Realm, he too would have to return to the sect after abdicating.


    For the Tor Clan to have birthed not just one Earth Grade genius, but three for consecutive generations of them caused an uproar the other sects could no longer ignore. If it had just been the now abdicated Amell Tor, it was fine. Their sects also had one such talent each. But now adding Shuren Tor and his son, Third Prince Cayden Tor¡­ It was too much!


    On top of all of this, recent rumors had it that Amell Tor had just stepped into the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm. Even the sects of the Immortal Planes had started to show interest in recruiting him. Now, the Tor Clan had only become far more untouchable¡­


    It was in the midst of this shockingly good news that Ryu''s own meridian awakening ceremony approached. Using the former King Amell Tor''s cultivation increase as a pretext, Shuren Tor took his four sons with him on a trip, waving Leilani off and claiming that he could handle his own son''s awakening ceremony. After all, even the poorest of family''s could arrange such a ceremony for their children. Although it often failed due to their poor talents, that didn''t mean that such unlucky Clans didn''t still treat their newborn children as potential lottery tickets to a grander life.


    Ryu didn''t speak for the entirety of this trip. Even when he entered the Heavenly Body Sect and met this shadow-like grandfather for the second time, he didn''t show much of a special reaction.


    When the day of his ceremony finally arrived, Ryu stood before his brothers, father and grandfather, a cold expression on his small, immature face. While his brothers, especially his first and third, stood nervous, each entirely certain that this fourth brother of theirs was the most talented of them all, Ryu somehow knew exactly what would happen.


    When his father pretended to pull a long face as the ceremony fizzled out, he didn''t so much as tremble.


    "To not even allow me a path to live?... What a good father you are." Those were the only words Ryu spoke during the entire trip, and it earned him the second slap of his life.

 Chapter 40: Elder Sisters

    Like this, another four years came and went in the blink of an eye. The three eldest Princes of the Tor Royal Family began to grow into their own, claiming milestones the likes of which few had ever seen.


    The First Prince, although a far inferior martial talent in comparison to his full-blood younger brother, became a scholar of worthy note. At just fifteen years old, he graduated from the Four Kingdoms'' Institute with top honors and had already begun to take on large responsibilities in the Tor Royal Court. Many claimed that even if he didn''t gain great combat prowess, his charisma and steadily growing faction would be enough to make a mark during the Coronation Games.


    Still, this was just a matter of perspective. Even though the First Prince was inferior to his third brother, in comparison to the other young talents, even among all four Kingdoms, he wouldn''t fall out of the top twenty.


    The Second Prince was far more lowkey than his elder brother. He seemed to have an inherent laziness to him that drove his mother, Second Concubine Catalina, crazy. That said, his love of money shone through with a fierceness. He seemed to believe that only when one was rich would they be able to recline as they pleased. Who cared about power? Power led to responsibility which only led to more work. This philosophy ironically resulted in him working himself to the bone, but now he had the financial matters of Tor Kingdom in his grasp. In fact, there were rumors that he had already infiltrated the economies of Opes, Lantes and Viri Kingdom as well.


    Then there was the Third Prince. Truth be told, of the three, the general population knew the least about him. This could only be expected considering sects were barred from taking part in worldly affairs for the most part. However, there were still some cases where the curiosity of the public could be satisfied.


    Just three years ago, a beast hoard ravaged the outer fringes of Tor Kingdom. It became clear very soon that the secular army didn''t have a chance against them. As such, the Heavenly Body Sect had no choice but to dispatch a group of disciples in order to fulfill their responsibilities.


    After years of being hidden from the world, Third Prince Cayden finally reappeared. He swept through the battlefield valiantly, bearing the crest of Inner Disciple with pride. At just ten years old, the Third Prince had not only already become an eighth stage Awakening realm expert, but he was actually capable of fighting second order beasts already!


    One had to understand that beasts were more powerful than humans. A first order beast was too much for a normal Awakening realm expert to handle, while the second order was far out of reach. Yet, the Third Prince shattered this notion completely!


    If this was all there was, it would be shocking enough, yet the Third Prince made a second appearance just one year ago during the Sect Gathering Tournament. At just twelve years old, he placed top twenty against competitors double and sometimes triple his age!


    A twelve-year-old Pulse Opening realm expert had actually been birthed to the Tor Royal Clan!


    As for the Fourth Prince, he had faded into the background. It was to the point where no one wasted their sneers or holier-than-thou words on him. He was simply a forgotten entity, one that maybe only a few individuals remembered the existence of.


    At this moment, this forgotten Prince sat clad in black robes, his face expressionless and his eyes closed.


    There was an atmosphere of calm relaxation around him. A small girl who was at most five years old splashed her feet near a stream while a breath-taking woman who seemed like an older version of her danced freely as her cascading dark hair flowed in the wind.


    "Fourth Brother, tell me, is your big sister beautiful?" Second Princess Isla spun in a mesmerizing yellow dress. Despite her childish demeanor, she was already a woman who had a child half as old as Ryu. That said, one would never assume so by her high-pitched whining.


    "Second sister, how could I possibly answer that question?" Ryu''s lips slanted into a bitter smile.


    "Your second sister believes you have the best eyes on this entire Plane, is that not enough?" Isla took a seat beside her little brother, ruffling his black-dyed hair. "Look at you, you''re so handsome. Don''t you want big sister to find you a little wife?"


    In the corner of the courtyard, kneading away as god knows what, was Imperial Doula Miriam. She smiled at the Second Princess'' adorable nature. It was rare that the two Princesses came down from the Heavenly Body Sect, but when they did, the aging Doula felt gratified. Among those of Tor Palace, they were the only ones who actually acknowledged Little Ryu''s existence.


    One might wonder which of the two requirements the Princesses of the Tor Kingdom met to be allowed to enter the sect. Well, the truth was neither. Instead, they actually both married experts of the Sect, thus fulfilling the requirements for an unspoken third rule for allowed entry. Their husbands were quite powerful also, having both become Outer Elders of the Sect at relatively young ages.


    Ryu smiled lightly. "And which little girl would you sentence to become a widow?"


    The Second Princess pouted, knocking Ryu on the head. "Don''t say such depressing things. Does this big sister of yours look like the type to allow you to die? Now be serious.


    "The little girl of second brother''s Garis Clan is quite cute. She''s only a year older than you and this big sister''s intuition tells her that she''s taken a liking to you. There''s also the Kunal Clan''s young miss. She''s already five years older than you, but that''s okay. When you two get older and she gets droopy, big sister gives you permission to take a young and ripe concubine."


    Ryu didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. Were these really the kind of words a mother should say when her five-year-old daughter was just a few meters away? The value system of this Kingdom really was too backwards.


    Before Ryu could answer, the gate of his courtyard banged open, revealing the disheveled appearance of a beauty that lost out to the Second Princess in no way. In her arms, a small boy clung to her neck, clearly perturbed by his mother''s erratic behavior.


    "First Sister?" Ryu and Isla spoke simultaneously.


    First Princess Dahlia did her best to catch her breath, taking in a deep gulp of air before speaking. "The Natural Order Sect has been destroyed!"

 Chapter 41: Natural Order

    Ryu''s forehead wrinkled as he allowed his First Sister''s words to sink in. But, even after a few moments, even the premise was difficult to accept.


    In the martial world, there were six Planes ¨C three mortal and three immortal. The Plane the Tor Kingdom resided on might be mortal, but it was the highest of the three Mortal Planes. This meant that among mortal cultivators, the experts of the Natural Order Sect were the very best. Simply put, no one on this Plane had the power to destroy them, especially not so quickly that information of an attack wouldn''t be disseminated before information of its destruction was.


    This meant one thing and one thing only: Whoever destroyed this sect did it so swiftly that not even a call for help could be levied.


    The Second Princess showed a rare serious expression while Imperial Doula Miriam''s frail, old hands trembled. Ryu''s little niece didn''t seem to understand the gravity of the information, so she only continued to play. But, it was clear that her demeanor didn''t speak for everyone.


    The First Princess released her son, allowing the two little cousins to play with one another as a tight frown took over her beautiful features.


    "Who could have done this?" Isla finally asked.


    How could Dahlia have an answer? The only reason she knew this information was because their husbands had sent a messenger beast. In the letter, they all but commanded their two wives to not travel back to the Sect at this time in case whoever was responsible was still at large. The truth was that if the Natural Order Sect couldn''t survive, Tor Kingdom had no chance. But, it was at least safer than being alone on the road.


    "It was likely an Immortal Plane expert."


    The casual, nonchalant voice shattered the tense atmosphere. After he finished speaking, Ryu had already gone back to meditating as though his words needed no more explanation.


    Suddenly, a twist at his ear snapped him out of focus. "Don''t leave your big sisters hanging. Do you want me to teach you a lesson, little brat?"


    "Ah, ah, okay." Ryu rubbed his ear, full of grievances. One of his sisters was a toddler in a woman''s body while the other was still a school bully. When would they ever grow up?


    "There''s not much explanation needed. The Mortal Plane doesn''t have experts capable of taking out a Sect. Even if the three remaining Sects joined forces against one, although the one would surely be defeated, it wouldn''t end so quickly that news of an attack wouldn''t reach us."


    "What about a beast hoard?" The Second Princess asked.


    Ryu shook his head again. "That''s even more unlikely. Even the so-called "King" beasts of this Plane are only of the Fourth or Fifth Order at most while not even a Sixth Order beast could fulfill the task so cleanly and quietly."


    "How can you be so sure?" First Princess Dahlia couldn''t help but asking. Although she loved this little brother of hers, he was a blind cripple who hadn''t cultivated a day in his life. To top it off, the strength of individual sects was a closely guarded secret ¨C no one but they knew their limits.


    "Their secrets aren''t so hard to see through." Ryu calmly explained. "The three sects, or now, I guess, two, were both wary of your Heavenly Body Sect because our Tor Clan birthed three Earth Skeletal Grade experts. This is public knowledge. Everyone knows it.


    "Father is turning sixty-three soon yet hasn''t been taken away by the sect, which means he hasn''t entered the Spiritual Severing Realm. This is also public knowledge. Everyone knows it.


    "Judging by that, we can say that Earth Grade talents are rare. We can also judge their cultivation speed by using third brother, father, and grandfather as measures. If we factor in their lifespans, a good estimate isn''t impossible. Even if I overestimate, I''d still be correct."


    The two Princesses and Imperial Doula Miriam sighed. Why was it impossible for them to have one conversation with this little boy without being awed? Was he really trying to convince them that such closely guarded secrets were easily revealed simply by using public knowledge everyone should be aware of? Wouldn''t those old ancestors of the sect commit suicide if they understood this?


    "Doesn''t this mean that we''re all doomed?" The Second Princess said worriedly. "If this matter was caused by the Immortal Plane, what chance do the rest of us have?"


    Ryu remained silent for a moment. The truth was that the Immortal Plane would never get involved in conflicts of the Mortal Plane as long as a certain balance was maintained. In fact, the current system of the Mortal Plane was put in place by Immortal Sects and Clans in order to facilitate a greater flow of talents to their pool of experts.


    Many epochs ago, the Mortal Planes were awashed with war and blood. In the beginning, the Immortal Plane ignored these matters as it had nothing to do with them, but soon even the Immortal Plane became embroiled in their own struggles. As a result, various Immortal Clans and Sects began to seek out talent from lower Planes. However, with them all dying so frequently, it was impossible to do so with any sort of efficiency.


    It was in response to this need that the Immortal Planes set out to reform the Mortal Plane. In the end, the Four Kingdom and Four Sect system was put in place. Each Kingdom would be backed by a single Sect, thus separating the matters of cultivators and mortals. Kingdoms would funnel resources to the Sects by various means while the Sects would provide a baseline of protection.


    This system set a delicate balance, allowing Sects and Kingdoms to compete within their own lanes, but also controlling the level of bloodshed to acceptable levels. So, it was obvious why while his elder sisters worried over the potential attacks of this mysterious Sect destroyer, Ryu was more worried about the impact the unbalancing of this system would cause. With its backer gone, what would happen to the Opes Kingdom? How would the other Kingdoms react? Would the now ancient laws still be followed?


    Eventually, Ryu shook his head, suddenly laughing.


    "Why are you laughing?" The First Princess frowned, pulling on her little brother''s already reddened ears.


    Ryu coughed lightly, pulling himself away. "I just had a funny thought. Wouldn''t it be amusing if the only reason the Natural Order Sect was destroyed was because their name was too arrogant?"

 Chapter 42: Unknown Consultant

    When the Kingdom learned of the reason surrounding the destruction of the Natural Order Sect, the three women who had been with Ryu when he said those ill-fated words nearly died of shock. To think that even the words Little Ryu said in jest could still be so bone chillingly insightful.


    According to spies hidden with the Opes Kingdom, the wreckage of the Sect only included the destruction of their Sect''s entrance stone. It had stood for thousands of years, yet now it was nothing more than ash.


    Although normal humans couldn''t cross the barrier to the Sect, reports stated that the inner structures were completely untouched. However, dead bodies of experts filled the paved roads with blood and a terrible stench.


    Still, the ones who took this news the worst were the Noble Clans of Opes Kingdom and the Opes Royal Clan themselves. To have lost their backer in such a way and for such a frivolous reason¡­ How heart wrenching was that? The worst part was that until their current King crossed into the Spiritual Severing Realm, access to the Sect and the treasures they left behind were completely barred to them. As a result of this, several greedy eyes trained toward the East, each with various thoughts of their own.


    However, there were too many barriers to satisfying this greed. For one, only those of the Opes Clan and the descendants of the Natural Order Sect knew how to breach the barrier to the Sect. Secondly, even if they were able to pry such information out of King Opes, it would require war with the Opes Kingdom. Thirdly, if one assumed that this war ended swiftly and didn''t raise the ire of the Immortal Plane experts who built their system of balance, how would the treasures of the Natural Order Sect be split?


    For now, peace was kept. The fear of breaking ancient rules set by the Immortal Plane Clans and Sects weighed heavily on their minds, wiping out whatever greed they might have had. That said¡­ Who knew how long such peace would last? Even in the face of danger, humans always found a way to justify their actions for the sake of wealth.


    **


    "Grandpa!" Two adorable five-year-old children sprinted into the arms of King Tor, the little boy monopolizing his right arm while the little girl took over his left. A rare smile graced the King''s face, the likes of which hadn''t been seen in public for decades.


    Behind the two children, Princess Isla and Dahlia walked into the King''s Study, neither of them surprised by this side of their father. Whenever it came to matters not pertaining to succession or the betterment of the Kingdom, he left such Kingly matters behind. Since their children would never be in line for the throne, King Tor had no reservations toward them.


    "Okay, okay, you two little mushrooms. Go off to the garden and play, grandpa has something to speak with your mothers about."


    The two toddlers ran out without a worry in the world. Soon, with how powerful their fathers were, they''d be given their own awakening ceremonies and soar into the skies. The best resources of the Mortal Plane would be funneled into them and they''d soon become pillars of the Sect themselves. Even with how tumultuous the times had suddenly become, it was doubtful that they''d ever be affected. They deserved to be the envy of many.


    "How are Adorjan and Cato?" The King asked absentmindedly, taking a seat.


    "Our husbands are doing well, father." First Princess Dahlia responded, a light smile on her face.


    At first, her and her younger sister hadn''t been too excited to be married off into the Sect, but their husbands were good men who treated them well. Just like there were Clans to manage in Tor Kingdom, the Heavenly Body Sect also had various Clans that had grown over the years. The ancestors of such Clans had once come from nothing, but due to their cultivation talent, were accepted into the fold by the upper echelons of the Sect. Over time, they gave birth to their own factions that had grown to this point today.


    Back then, two Princesses had no choice but to marry into these factions in order to consolidate the Tor Clan''s power in the Sect. Of course, this was well before Third Prince Cayden''s birth. If Cayden had been born earlier, their sacrifice wouldn''t have been needed at all simply by virtue of his talent. With three Earth Grade experts, the Tor Clan would be unshakeable. That said, although this matter was slightly unfortunate, it couldn''t be said that the two Princesses were unhappy.


    "That''s good. Has the Sect done anything special in response to the Natural Order Sect''s destruction?"


    "If you want to ask us how Little Ryu thinks you should respond, then just be straight forward." Second Princess Isla responded. Her voice didn''t have any odd fluctuations to it. In fact, it sounded just as light and playful as it usually did. But the weight of her words was fairly clear.


    King Tor shrugged. "If he can predict the reason for its destruction without ever taking a step outside, then his insight really is frightening."


    "That''s why us monitoring him is useless. If we waste even a single word trying to lead the conversation, he will realize it. The Agnes Clan has already forever earned his bad side, even his foolish mother is no exception. I don''t know how you could expect us to help you." The First Princess interjected.


    "That''s where you''re wrong." King Tor shook his head. "No matter how intelligence the Fourth Prince is, he is still only a child. Every child is the most susceptible to manipulation at this age and not a single one is indifferent to living a life without warmth. His IQ is irrelevant to the matter at hand."


    "You haven''t interacted with him much. Speaking with that child is like walking into a lion''s den." Dahlia''s eyes flashed with a complicated light. Why were they tasked with treating their little brother like an enemy?


    For years now, these two Princesses would visit their fourth brother only to bring news of their interactions to their father. Who knew how many Kingdom matters Ryu had unknowingly consulted on? While others assigned the rise of Tor Kingdom to his three elder brothers, these three here knew exactly who should be thanked¡­ A boy who hadn''t experienced a sliver of true familial love in his pitiful life.


    "My asks of you two are simple. It''s okay if he believes that I sabotaged his meridian awakening ceremony, but it isn''t okay that he confirms it or finds proof. You must also ensure that the Agnes Clan cannot make a secret attempt of their own to redo the ceremony. The best-case scenario is that he trusts you two enough to ask for help. In that case, you know what you must do¡­" King Tor said softly.


    After a moment of complicated silence, the two sisters nodded. For the good of the Kingdom, they had already sacrificed themselves. They didn''t find it odd for it to be their younger brother''s turn.

 Chapter 43: Yaana

    As his two elder sisters were meeting with his father, Second Concubine Leilani had travelled with her son to the Agnes Clan. Unfortunately, this change in title was not a mistake.


    Within a Kingdom''s Imperial Harem, there was a hierarchy. However, this hierarchy wasn''t decided by the order in which women married into the harem. Instead, they were decided by the importance of the woman to the royal clan.


    In her youth, Leilani had competed with Olivia for the title of Queen. Unfortunately, she lost despite being the King''s favorite due to the fact Olivia was simply more suited to be Queen. Still, after entering the Imperial Harem, she had immediately been given the First Concubine rank in acknowledgement of the King''s affections. Alas, these matters were destined for change.


    After Ryu''s meridian awakening ceremony failed, he immediately became the least suitable heir to the throne. Although Leilani still kept this rank for a time afterward, Ryu''s lack of care for the matters of the Kingdom caused the Ministers to once more pressure their King into lowering Leilani''s rank.


    The Imperial Censors stood at the forefront of this change, imploring King Tor to maintain proper traditions. The ranks of the Imperial Harem were highly important and couldn''t be ignored. The royal marital household was to be held in the highest regard to the public, what would happen if the people began to ignore these hierarchal standings as well? Plus, the Second Prince was so outstanding. How would he feel if, despite his splendor, his mother continued to be ranked so low? Would he not grow a dislike of the Kingdom and its ways? If this happened, wouldn''t there be inner turmoil within the royal clan?


    Under this pressure, King Tor relented once more, officially demoting Leilani to the Second Concubine title. As of now, the only concubine who ranked below her was Third Concubine Selene, a reclusive woman who happened to be the mother of their Kingdom''s two Princesses. Due to a disease she contracted giving birth to Isla, she rarely appeared in public.


    It didn''t need to be said how much rage this induced within the Agnes Clan. As a Pillar Family ranked only below Queen Tor''s Cedar Clan, having their young miss be a First Concubine, even of the Royal Clan, was insulting enough. But, to now have her be demoted to the second rank? It caused an uproar within their upper echelons.


    Patriarch Agnes, an older man who happened to be Ryu''s maternal grandfather, stormed into the Imperial Court to raise havoc. However, even after drowning the King and his Ministers in a torrent of spittle and curses, nothing changed.


    This sort of failure led to the Agnes Clan turning their pitchforks toward the mother-son duo. If Leilani had been more scheming and clever, she would have earned the title of Queen and wouldn''t have to deal with this ranking nonsense no matter how useless her son was. In that case, the face of the Agnes Clan would be saved, and they wouldn''t have turned into the laughingstock of the six Pillar Clans.


    Then there was Ryu. If he hadn''t been born a cripple or had at the very least been capable of awakening his meridians, this too would have never happened. What a useless pairing of mother and son they were, bringing not an ounce of good to the Clan.


    If it wasn''t for the fact they would incur even more sneers of disdain for it, they would have long since disowned the both of them.


    Still Ryu and his mother were offspring of the Agnes Clan, and as such, had no choice but to return every year for their gathering. Currently, Ryu sat at the edge of a vast outer expanse, crossing his legs atop a grey stone in silent meditation.


    In the distance, many branch and main bloodline members of the Agnes Clan younger generation horsed around. Some spoke amongst each other, some started friendly sparring sessions, while others introduced some of their close friends or love interests to one another.


    The Clan gathering was held for reasons similar to why Imperial Censors existed. It was meant to instill a connection to the family and remind everyone, even branch members, that loyalty to the Clan was of the utmost importance. It was for this reason that this gathering was mandated.


    "Ryu? Is that you?" Suddenly, a sweet voice interrupted Ryu''s calm state of mind. It wasn''t that the voice stirred emotions within him, but rather he hadn''t expected to hear this voice here. This was because it was the voice of the Garis Clan young miss and cousin to his second brother Jedrek. It was odd to meet someone of another Pillar Clan at an event like this one. Plus, her question itself was weird.


    "Yaana? I didn''t expect to hear your voice here." Ryu said with a light smile.


    Yaana blushed slightly at Ryu''s words, feeling a light fluttering in her heart. She was only twelve years old this year, so she still had a lot of room to grow, but she had taken a liking to Ryu many years ago. It was at this moment that she felt gratified that Ryu was blind so he couldn''t see her in such an embarrassing state.


    "You remembered the sound of my voice? Yaana is very happy." She said, her words almost dripping with honey. They hadn''t seen or spoken to each other in more than a year now, so she had been prepared for the worst. But, hearing that Ryu not only remembered the sound of her voice but also her name made her happy beyond compare.


    Ryu almost chuckled. It seemed his second sister''s intuition when it came to the hearts of young girls was fairly spot on. He didn''t know what he had done to gain this little girl''s affections, but he seemed to have cast a shadow over her heart.


    Those around could almost see Yaana''s young maiden heart fluttering before them. Her fairy-like appearance had been the object of their hopes and dreams for several years already, but it seemed she had already found someone she liked. Clearly, they hadn''t bothered to ask Ryu''s opinion on the matter. None of them thought he was worthy of her to begin with, how could they fathom a reality where he would reject her?


    Still, technically speaking, since Patriarch Agnes only had one daughter and no other children, even if Ryu lost the Coronation Games, he could still become Clan Patriarch if he renounced all rights to the throne. So, among their generation, he was still the highest ranked no matter how much the upper echelon hated him. Simply put, if he wasn''t worthy of her, then neither were they.


    "The Clan Patriarch summons Young Master Ryu to his study." Before Ryu could properly respond to Yaana, a servant came to deliver a message.

 Chapter 44: Old General

    Yaana felt saddened as she watched Ryu slowly follow the servant away, but there was nothing she could do about the matter. She was far too young to understand what love was, but she knew enough to know that she enjoyed being around Ryu. Was that not enough for now?


    As for Ryu, he had no such things on his mind. He was too mature to fall for someone like Yaana. At the same time, he felt that her endeavours would only lead to her own heartbreak ¨C something he cared little for.


    Of the young mistresses of this generation, Yaana and the Kunal family miss Ryu''s second sister mentioned were number one and two. Simply put, they were almost guaranteed to marry into the royal clan as tools for their families. This was almost written in stone considering the Garis and Kunal families'' fairly low ranked among the six Clans.


    While this sounded like good news for Yaana, it wasn''t. The top young maidens of a generation almost always married the King. Whether they became Queen or Concubine was the only matter up for questioning. This was exactly what happened with Ryu''s mother and Olivia of the Cedar Clan. And, obviously, as things stood now, Ryu would never become King.


    Truth be told, even if Ryu had the power to fight for Kingship, he had no interest in the title, nor did he have interest in collecting beauties. He didn''t fully understand why, but every fairy-like lady he interacted with, no matter how beautiful or elegant, seemed plain and uninteresting. None of them were capable of moving his heart. It probably also didn''t help that he never actually laid eyes on them, he only listened to others describe how beautiful they were¡­ He found the whole affair meaningless and uninteresting.


    Ryu silently followed servant who continuously looked back with an expression of curiosity. The servant boy couldn''t help but wonder how it was that Ryu followed him so easily. He suddenly thought of fantastical stories he read about heavenly cultivators capable of ''seeing'' an ant crawling along the grass from hundreds of yards away, but he immediately shook his head. Didn''t their young master fail to awaken his meridians? How could he be such an expert?


    Soon, the two of them had made their way to the Agnes Clan''s Main House, a towering structure with ancient aesthetics and a tall set of wide stairs to its front door. It just so happened that as they were making their way in, an escort of five was making their way out.


    "Ah, Patriarch Garis." The servant boy bowed hurriedly.


    A bold elder gentleman walked ahead, sweeping a cold glance over the servant boy and Ryu who followed behind him. Despite being his grandfather''s age, Patriarch Garis only had a few streaks of grey in his reddish-brown beard. Plus, his valiant appearance was only helped by the fact he stood well over six feet tall.


    The servant boy looked toward Ryu nervously. He had purposely said this Patriarch''s name aloud to help out Ryu so he could only panic when he saw that Ryu didn''t react appropriately.


    Ryu smiled lightly. "Patriarch Garis, I hope you''ve enjoyed your stay at our Agnes Clan. Forgive this blind young master for being unable to see you out."


    The brows of the four guards who followed the patriarch frowned. They were all middle-aged men of decent cultivation, so they knew ways of the world well. Although this young man''s disposition was clearly quite good, he didn''t have the power to backup his arrogance. In the case that this was true, the best course of action was to lower one''s head. The fact that this young master of the Agnes Clan refused to do so would only ensure his demise. It was the epitome of stupidity.


    Patriarch Garis snorted in disdain. "My granddaughter won''t be marrying a cripple like you no matter how many airs you put on. Do tell your useless grandfather that."


    With a wave of his robes, Patriarch Garis turned to leave. As the retired General that he was, it wasn''t much of a surprise that his personality was so abrasive.


    "Oh, is that so? Do tell her that I wish her the best then." Ryu said without care. Where did these people get off? Did everyone assume that Yaana falling for him was his own blessing? Did they really never consider the idea of him not wanting her love to begin with?


    "What did you just say?" The former General''s temper flared. It was one thing for his granddaughter to reject Ryu, but the words this young man just said made it sound as though it was the opposite. Had his ears heard incorrectly?!


    Ryu didn''t seem to be listening. Instead, he had patted the servant boy''s shoulder. "Do remember, brother Parios. Within the Agnes Clan, even pigs and chickens must have their own pride. If I find that you''ve bowed to another person not of the Agnes Clan, I''ll be forced to punish you."


    A cold sweat dripped down Parios'' forehead and back. On one hand, his heart warmed that their Clan''s young master remembered his name and even called him brother. But, on the other, he couldn''t help but steal glances toward the five valiant men who had stopped in their tracks at Ryu''s words.


    He started praying to the gods above. ''Please save me, oh Sky Gods. I''ve lived a good life. Other than one or two trips to the local brothels, I swear I''ve committed no other wrongs. I don''t deserve to die so young.''


    However, Ryu didn''t sense his plight. In fact, he had already continued up the stairs, passing by the General as though there wasn''t a murderous rage locked onto his body. Before any could even realize what had happened, he had already made it to the top of the stairs without incident and was headed toward the doors.


    Before he entered, he paused once more. "I have to say, Commander General Garis, I''m quite disappointed. The fact you allowed me to reach the top of these stairs could only mean that you''ve dulled in your old age."


    Ryu''s words were like a resounding slap to the face of the five-man escort team. Weren''t the just thinking about how misplaced Ryu''s arrogance was? Weren''t they just thinking about how he didn''t have the power to back it? Yet, he was blatantly disrespectful to their Clan Patriarch and they hadn''t dared to retaliate. Wasn''t this the clearest form of contradiction?


    Parios scurried up the stairs, almost falling to all fours multiple times before he finally dived through the large double doors to duck behind his knees and hands as though an explosion was coming. By the time he came to, not only had Ryu disappeared, but the Garis Clan escort had left in defeat.

 Chapter 45: Disown

    The enraged roar of Patriarch Agnes shook the Clan''s Main House. His cultivation couldn''t compare to the King, but he was still a Qi Refinement realm expert. When he was angry, the trees swayed and ground shook. This was the way of the world.


    In the corner of his study, Second Concubine Leilani stood with her head lowered, unable to face her father''s scrutinizing look. After holding in his anger until he was sure the Garis Clan bastards were gone, Old Man Agnes couldn''t control it any longer.


    "What did I do to deserve this?! A useless daughter! A useless grandson! My entire main bloodline is filled with useless fools! Do I really have to hand the Clan to my younger brothers?!"


    By now, Leilani''s good looks had begun to slowly fade. She was still an outstanding beauty due to her cultivation, but the war age waged was one it always took victory in. Coupling this with the stress she faced due to her own son''s inability to help the Clan and the process only sped up. She was already forty years old with nothing to show for it.


    All her life, she had done nothing but lose. She was raised to become Queen but had failed. She was then tasked with at least birthing the King''s first son, but she had failed once more. Then, her own son was finally born and she thought it was finally her time to shine. Ryu was not only handsome, but a child with rare intelligence. But, that had ended in failure once more. She couldn''t help but feel that the entirety of her life was meaningless.


    Just now, her father had tried a last-ditch attempt to revitalize Ryu''s potential usefulness to the Clan. At the very least, if he could leverage the Yaana girl''s apparent affection for his useless grandson, the Agnes Clan would gain the backing of a third of the Kingdom''s military. This would solidify their rank for at least one more generation where hopefully a worthy successor would be born. However, it was clear how that attempt ended.


    Patriarch Garis had all but laughed in his face. The Garis Clan was eyeing the Queen position for themselves, how could they allow themselves to become tool of the Agnes Clan? Why? Just so that they could remain ranked last while the Agnes Clan remained the second ranked Clan? What an absolute joke.


    The Garis Clan men often devoted their lives to the military. It was for this reason that they were ranked so low to begin with. But, after a series of events the Imperial Censors had banned from being disseminated, the upper echelon of the Garis Clan realized that the power they held was meaningless. If they wanted to avoid ever being disrespected again, they needed more power!


    Still, even if Patriarch Agnes understood the reason behind the rejection of the marriage proposal, how could he accept the reality of his Clan''s decline so easily? The Clan Patriarch was thoroughly enraged.


    "What are you worth if not the hole between your legs?!" He turned his ire toward his daughter, swinging his palm toward Leilani with barely a regard for her life.


    A resounding slap sent the Second Concubine crashing into a bookcase that leaned against the wall. Books flew into the air, flying upward only to land of Leilani''s frail body as she slumped to the floor.


    Ryu''s mother''s face slightly deformed, her delicate cheeks swelling so quickly that her left eyes sealed shut at a pace that was visible to the naked eye.


    It was at this moment that Ryu entered the study¡­


    Although his eyes were blind, he didn''t need them to know what had happened. He had heard everything from the yelling to the loud slap. Still, he didn''t show much of a reaction.


    "You summoned me?" Ryu''s cool voice directed a question toward his grandfather.


    Patriarch Agnes'' brow twitched. He had half a mind to slap this grandson of his as well, but when he thought about what he had planned, he hesitated. He would need that handsome face to succeed.


    "You have one more opportunity to be useful to me." Patriarch Agnes responded coldly. "For the next three days, the Garis Clan will be here. Although they can reject my offer of marriage, they cannot toss away all decorum. They must allow us to play host. During this time, the Garis Clan young miss will likely cling to you as she always does, you must ¨C"


    "No." Ryu didn''t allow his grandfather to finish. In fact, his face as twisted into a look of sheer and unbridled disdain.


    "What did you say?!" The chest of the old man rose and fell at astonishing rates. His skin reddened and one could almost see billowing smoke coming from his now crimson ears.


    "I have no intention of making use of a little girl''s affection to corner her future. In addition, Yaana may be immature, but she isn''t stupid. She understands the value her body holds which means the only way to succeed would be if I raped her. You really have the face to stand before your grandson and ask him to commit a crime to force the hand of the Garis Clan?"


    The fact that this was even an idea his grandfather was comfortable enough to say aloud filled Ryu with a deep disgust. If he was willing to say such things now, what other horrible things had he done in his life that Ryu had no idea about? What land of white bones was the Agnes Clan''s number two ranking built upon?


    These thoughts caused a searing pain time to climb up from his stomach with such ferocity that Ryu almost vomited from where he stood.


    Without another word to his grandfather who was currently pointing at him in mute anger, Ryu attempted to go and help his mother to her feet. But, who would have known that he would be greeted with a piercing wind headed directly to his gut.


    Before the blind Ryu could react, the small foot of a woman cracked three of his ribs, sending him flying to the opposite wall... The small foot of his own mother.


    "You useless, unfilial child! Do as your grandfather says!" A shrill cry filled with desperation, rage, embarrassment, but most shocking of all, resolution, filled Ryu''s ears.


    He coughed weakly, blood falling from his lips as he struggled to stand. In the end, a self-deprecating laughter left his lips.


    "I hope after I leave today¡­" Ryu spoke softly, "That the Agnes Clan disowns me completely. I never want anything to do with you all again¡­" With nothing but a lonely back, Ryu walked out of the room.

 Chapter 46: Punishment Grounds

    Ryu didn''t know how he had expected those matters to conclude, but what he did know was that it was far worse than he imagined. He had barely taken a single step out of his grandfather''s study before he found himself flying backward after a hand grabbed the back of his collar.


    His grandfather''s rage reached a fever pitch, causing him to punish Ryu by the strictest laws allowed by the Clan Texts.


    Ryu was stripped to his barest undergarments and dragged to the Clan Punishment Grounds. With the Sun burning high in the sky, the earth beneath his feet crunched with a coarse heat, burning the soles of his feet. His frail, ice-white skin took the brunt of the punishment, facing the beading streams of light without protection. Ironically, the only thing that protected him from a next day filled with red, painful blisters was the crimson blood that soon flowed from his wounds.


    The sound of a cracking whip violently tore through the ambience of the Clan Gathering. Confused expressions colored the faces of those attending, many of whom didn''t understand how to properly react to this abrupt change. Whenever there was punishment to be doled out, proper announcements would be made, and crimes would be listed off as a deterrence. But, clearly, none of this had happened this time around.


    Crowds of Agnes Clan main and branch members hurried to follow the source of the noise, putting down what they were doing for the sake of curiosity. However, none of them expected the sight they saw upon reaching the sand and dirt field of the Punishment Grounds.


    Ryu''s small wrists were bound tightly by blood-soaked ropes and then attached to a short pole before him. His bare knees were scraped by the earth beneath them, having been forced to kneel by the position of his tied hands. By now, his frail and delicate back was nowhere to be seen. Instead, its view was replaced by what looked like a fresh carcase, torn apart by the teeth of ravenous wolves.


    His face was partially covered by his black-dyed hair, sticking to his face due to some sick sweat and blood mixture. In the end, the only thing that left him the slightest bit of dignity was the pair of loose, now reddened underwear that could hardly cling to his skinny waist.


    Many gasped in the horror of what they were seeing. A hesitating servant brandished a thorn laced beast tendon whip, too scared to swing once more, but even more scared of the glaring Clan Patriarch that stood to his side. In the end, his fear of killing Ryu was outweighed by what he feared Patriarch Agnes would do if he tried to back out of his duties.


    The whip continued to crack forward, snapping through the air with a ferocity that made those who witnessed every flesh and blood connection cringe.


    It was at that moment that the Garis Clan entourage also made their way to the Punishment Grounds. How could the former General miss a chance to poke fun at the Agnes Clan? He still had some built-up anger toward Patriarch Agnes for his negotiating tactics, but he was even more angered toward Ryu for so blatantly disrespecting him.


    At first, when he noticed that it was Ryu, he almost laughed. In fact, the four guards who always followed him and his granddaughter actually did. They found it hilarious that the kid who was acting as though he had the whole world in his palm just minutes earlier was essentially being spanked before the eyes of everyone. However, Patriarch Garis somehow didn''t find this scene funny at all.


    To his side, Yaana nearly fainted in horror. If it wasn''t for her grandfather''s palm stopping her fall backward, the frail beauty would have collapsed entirely.


    The sounds of the cracking whip didn''t cease even as the crowd grew. Maybe it was only after ten whips became twenty, and twenty whips became thirty, that those watching suddenly felt that something was off. What could a Clan Heir have possibly done to earn such a severe punishment? It simply didn''t make any sense.


    Even for the worst crimes committed by those of the main branch ¨C things like thievery or **** ¨C would only result in ten lashes at the most. Of course, matters were different if you were of a branch family, but this was the young heir they were talking about! Plus, he was a young man that only came back to these ancestral grounds once a year for a week at most. Up to now, he had only been here for a few hours. What crime could he have possibly committed in this time frame?


    Tears fell like torrential rain from Yaana''s small face. "Grandfather, help him!"


    Her voice was drowned out by the sound of the cracking whip, but it was obvious what she wanted by how she tugged on her grandfather''s sleeve.


    Patriarch Garis frowned. He came here to laugh, but it wasn''t his place to interfere in the matters of another Clan. Even if their trajectories were different, the Agnes Clan was still far more powerful than his Garis Clan, especially within the capital city. The truth was that even if Patriarch Agnes wanted to kill his grandson right before him, he''d still have no right to interfere.


    Still, it was clear that the old man had lost his mind. Even if Ryu''s mother was an Agnes, Ryu''s last name was still Tor! You couldn''t simply whip a Prince like this in public without facing consequences. What do you think would happen to the Cedar Clan if they suddenly found out that the First Prince was punished by his mother''s Clan? All hell would break loose.


    At this thought, the former General hesitated. Would the Royal Clan really react the same way for this Fourth Prince of theirs? Who would ostracize such a powerful Clan for a useless Prince? If it was a lesser Clan, it could be justified to protect the prestige of the royal family, but the Agnes Clan was no normal family¡­


    By the time the fiftieth crack resounded through the Clan''s land, even those who had been laughing began to feel their smiles freeze. Wasn''t this too far? Come to think of it, they hadn''t heard this boy make a single sound from beginning to end¡­ Could it be that he was already dead?


    The mixture of sweat and blood dripped from Ryu''s body. Eventually, the dye that coated his hair couldn''t withstand the onslaught of tortured liquid, causing a dense blackness to join them. The darkness colored the ground beneath his lowered head as his hair''s true whiteness began to slowly shine through.


    "Stop." It was only then that Patriarch Agnes called for the servant to stop. He didn''t do this to protect Ryu''s dark secret, but rather didn''t want such a stain to attach itself to his Agnes Clan. "Toss him into the dungeon."

 Chapter 47: ...

<< The Legacy of a Sky God is not so easily attained. The next few chapters will be just as difficult to read. Whether or not you have the fortitude to make it through and watch Ryu rise... well maybe only you have the answer to that >>

 Chapter 48: Bloody Cross

    When the former General heard these words, his frown deepened. "You don''t think this is too far, Old Man Agnes?"


    A rage prickled the old Patriarch''s brow. "It isn''t your place to question the matters of the Agnes Clan!" This roar was filled with such a deep anger that Patriarch Garis said no more. There was simply no point. He had clearly already made up his mind.


    The servant stepped forward, untying the ropes from Ryu''s wrist and being perfectly prepared to have no choice but to carry the young heir''s body away. But, before he could, a bloodied hand connected to a contorted wrist of blood and mangled meat pushed his hand away.


    Under the astonished gazes of those present, Ryu slowly stood. His legs wobbled beneath him, nearly collapsing more times than they cared to count, but in the end, he raised up to his full height.


    An ugly bruise of purples, greens and blacks covered his chest, making it obvious at a glance that several of his ribs were broken. His back was so mangled that pieces of whole flesh fell from his exertion, leaving a path of meat chunks behind him.


    His lips formed a thin line, but his jaw somehow remained relaxed. His eyes remained closed without a hint of tears or quivering. Even his steps were far steadier than they should have been. A deep pride and disdain for the world followed his slow pace. He didn''t sweep his head left or right, he simply followed a singular straight line. However, this straight line wasn''t to the dungeon as his grandfather said, instead, it was very clearly toward the outside of the Clan.


    "Where do you think you''re going?!" Patriarch Agnes roared.


    Ryu''s steps paused. Pressing his thumb firmly against the side of his pointing finger, he caused his nail to protrude as far out as it would go. Without a hint of hesitation, he stabbed this thumb over his heart, drawing a cross upward before crossing back once more to form a bloody X.


    There were no more words needed. The reddening then subsequent blackening of Patriarch Agnes'' face was all that was needed to understand the gravity of what Ryu had just done.


    In the martial world, there was no fiercer symbol than this bloody cross. It signified the cutting of ties to the deepest level.


    Without a look back, his steps continued forward, crossing a sea of spectators unable to withstand his steady steps. Still, his grandfather''s rage reached a fever pitch. The eyes of those spectating could only widen as a sword appeared in his hand.


    "YOU UNFILIAL ¡­ DIE!"


    "You fool!" The former General stepped forward, slapping Old Man Agnes'' attack away. "Do you even understand what it means now that he''s cut off ties from the Agnes Clan?! He''s solely a member a of the Tor Clan now! Do you think the Imperial Censors could allow you to trample on that truth?!"


    Before Old Man Agnes could even understand the gravity of his own actions, Ryu''s back view had disappeared from the eyes of many. The events of today¡­ It was impossible for them to remain hidden.


    **


    "Your Majesty, this has gone too far!" The Imperial Court had once more descended into chaos. The last time it suffered such a tsunami of complaints was just after Ryu''s birth, and now, ironically, just eleven years later, it was facing another dispute surrounding the very same young man.


    King Tor sat on his throne with yet another deep frown on his face. As much as he''d like to summon Ryu here to explain himself, the boy had slipped into a coma the moment he closed his courtyard door. He spoke to no one, he made no sounds, and in the end, it was just a few hours later that the news spread like wildfire.


    To think that not only had he cut off all ties to the Agnes Clan, he had made his way back to the Palace by walking the streets of the of the capital city. A matter that would have already been terrible became even worse by the news of a bloodied, half-naked Prince bleeding through the streets of Tor City!


    "Shouldn''t you look into why the Prince is in a coma before your start complaining about his actions?!" A Minister who stood in a minority faction retorted. He and his colleagues had long been dissatisfied with the way the Tor Imperial Court functioned. The Prince comes back to the Palace half dead and your first reaction is to scold him for cutting ties to the Clan that likely did this to him?!


    "You na?ve fool!" The other Ministers pounced on this man like a fresh piece of meat. "How many miles are there between the Agnes Clan grounds and the Royal Palace? Over a dozen! You expect me to believe that a critically injured blind boy without an ounce of cultivation made his way such a distance alone?!"


    Imperial Censor Orson sneered. "This is obviously another temper tantrum being thrown by the Fourth Prince! He doesn''t understand matters of importance and can only act like a selfish and petulant child! He''d rather see the Tor Clan burn to the ground than face the fact he simply isn''t as good as his elder brothers."


    This matter of the Agnes Clan was no joke. In fact, it was quite serious. This meeting was called immediately after everything was brought to light.


    What was the purpose of the King marrying the young mistresses of the pillar Clans? Was the purpose not to solidify ties for future generations? If a Prince unceremoniously cut off ties with the Clan his mother had married into the Royal Clan to connect them with, then what was the point?! Ryu''s actions could cut off an entire generation''s worth of carefully planned politics.


    Although they didn''t say the words aloud, many Ministers couldn''t help but look forward with an ''I told you so'' expression. If they had killed Ryu at birth, how could this mess have happened?


    Seeing his moment to shine, Imperial Censor Brigg''s round belly rippled, swooping in at the key moment once more.


    "I believe that with these events, we''re justified in accepting the proposal of the Lantes and Viri Kingdoms, Your Majesty¡­ We''ve given the Fourth Prince enough leeway and he''s responded by slapping our faces. There''s no need to stall the very first Co-Kingdom Coronation Game for his sake."


    Imperial Censor Digby sighed, his old frame shaking while a flash of killing intent emitted from Imperial Censor Orson. A moment of silence washed over the court as they all looked toward the King.

 Chapter 49: Death Date

    The King sat silently, his forehead practically glued to his hand as he stewed.


    Just days ago, news of the destruction of the Natural Order Sect took the Kingdoms by storm and was obviously not a matter that could be ignored. Although the various Clans and Sects were hesitating with the Immortal Plane in mind, everyone was very much aware of the fact everything was now working on a very fast timeline, one that was taking them all for a ride.


    When the Kingdoms learned of the reason behind the Natural Order Sect''s destruction, they felt emboldened. Not only did this news likely mean that their other Sects weren''t in danger, but it also proved that it wasn''t their fault that the Ores Kingdom lost their backer.


    With these reasonings in hand, the Kingdoms felt justified in splitting the resources of the Natural Order Sect among them, but there were a few problems that still lay in wait for them.


    For one, although they dared to split the resources of the Natural Order Sect, they didn''t dare to do so while stepping outside the rules set by the Immortal Plane. Since the Natural Order Sect had been destroyed, this meant that the matter of splitting their resources was entirely left to the ''Secular World''. This was because it was Ores Kingdom ¨C a secular world construct ¨C that was defending this now abandoned land. Essentially, this meant that remaining Sects could only have minimal involvement in the coming events.


    Secondly, they were on a timeline. King Ores was already very close to the Spiritual Severing Realm. The moment he stepped into this realm, all of their planning would be for naught. As for the reason this was true, it was simple. If the resources of an entire Sect were suddenly funneled into the Secular World, not only would the three remaining Sects be unallowed to retaliate, but the Ores Royal Clan would suddenly become far stronger than their respective Kingdoms. Although it was true that even if this came to fruition, the Ores Kingdom would never take the initiative to attack three enemies, it would be more than enough to hold them off until the Sect could be rebuilt.


    Simply put, if King Ores succeeded, the Ores Kingdom would gain great power while still following the rules imposed by the Immortal Plane. At the same time, the Sects would be unallowed to interfere since Ores Kingdom would still technically be part of the Secular World. The only caveat would be the King Ores also wouldn''t be allowed to interfere directly. If these events occurred in this way, it could actually become a blessing for Ores Kingdom.


    Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, if they wanted to band together to deal with Opes Kingdom now, they had to minimize as much infighting among them as possible. The only way to do this was to decide a method of splitting their treasures without causing internal disputes. And this, this was where the Co-Kingdom Coronation Games came into play.


    According to the plan, the Kingdoms would introduce their Coronation Games together, allowing all of their heirs to compete with one another. This would work out perfectly since all of their heirs would be eighteen long before King Ores was estimated to breakthrough. Plus, with the competition that often occurred between these four Kingdoms, this seemed like a logical next step.


    None of them believed the Ores Kingdom would reject this chance either. This was because after the Natural Order Sect was destroyed, their Fate took a massive hit. If nothing was done soon, they would begin experiencing terrible natural disasters in the coming years. However, if they did well during these games, then they''d be able to raise the confidence their citizens had in them and their future.


    The final step of this plan simply relied on the rankings. Simply put, they''d give the Opes Kingdom a lane for survival. If they placed first amongst them all, then their Kingdoms would back off and never think of the Natural Order Sect''s resources. However, if they placed anywhere but first, the treasures would split four ways based on rankings. This way, a war didn''t even need to be fought!


    Still, there was only one problem¡­ These events had to take place before King Opes'' breakthrough or else it would all be meaningless. And unfortunately for Ryu¡­ He was by far the youngest of the Royal Clan heirs¡­ While all others would reach the eighteen-year-old threshold, Little Ryu wouldn''t.


    When some Ministers raised this issue, they were received with disdain. So what if the Coronation Games were supposed to happen when one turned eighteen, did anyone here believe that Ryu would be able to improve enough to have any sort of mark with just an extra few years? Raising this point was laughable.


    After multiple rounds of debates, many pointed out that the Third Prince was only two years older than Ryu, yet no one was worried about him. Clearly this was a matter of lackluster abilities and not youth. Why would you pity a young man born with everything who decided to do nothing with his life? Such an existence shouldn''t be allowed in the Royal Clan to begin with.


    Others still argued that the Third Prince was actually closer to three years older than Ryu, having been born slightly more than two years and a half earlier than Ryu. If they went through with the timeline as it currently stood, Ryu would be by far the youngest at fifteen while the Third Prince would have already crossed the appropriate eighteen-year-old boundary. But¡­ These arguments fell on deaf ears¡­


    By the end, King Tor managed to push off such talks until today. And obviously, this now had an evident ending.


    Finally, King Tor spoke solemnly. "Tell the Kingdoms that we accept their proposal. Four years from now, the first Co-Kingdom Coronation Games will take place¡­ It''s best to not tell the Fourth Prince about this in order to avoid any more mishaps, write it into law if you have to¡­"


    With those words left lingering in the air, the King turned and left.


    **


    While his death date was being decided, Ryu had slipped into what would become a coma of several months. By the time he awoke, he would find only Imperial Doula Miriam by his side.


    The old Doula was so excited when Ryu''s eyes finally fluttered open that she almost threw a small party for the two of them. It was only under Ryu''s insistence that she gave up on the idea.


    Still, Ryu felt a comforting warmth. Maybe others would be hurt by this reality, but, at least in the endless cold he faced, there was at least someone who was by his side.

 Chapter 50: Dream

    Imperial Doula Miriam slowly helped Ryu sit up. "Slowly, slowly. You''ve been asleep for so long that you''re definitely suffering from more than a few bedsores. Also, your muscles have significantly weakened ¨C it''s okay to rely on this old lady. I might look frail, but I''m still a Pulse Opening realm expert."


    Ryu coughed slightly under the strain, but still managed a small smile. "Aren''t there babies out there who need your help far more than me?"


    "I''m retired, this old lady can spend her time as she pleases." She spoke dismissively, raising a cup of water to Ryu''s dry lips. She had tried to keep him hydrated during his coma, but it was extremely difficult. In the end, she had no choice but to sustain his life with her own energy. She felt gratified that she had given her life to the medical field.


    Taking Ryu''s weak body into her arms, she carried him into the bath house, meticulously stripping away his dirtied clothes. Ryu didn''t seem too embarrassed by this prospect as he had long since treated the old Doula as his grandmother. Plus, if he didn''t receive this help, he didn''t believe that he could do it alone.


    Imperial Doula Miriam sighed when she saw the sight of Ryu''s bare back. His spine protruded outward along with his ribs and his skin had become so sickly that thinned veins of blue and green were clearly visible. But, by far the worst part was the visage of terrible scars that ran across his shoulders and back like the trenches of a muddy battlefield.


    "Is it that bad?" Ryu said through a pained chuckle. How could a mortal body not scar in the face of such torture? Ryu had already expected as much.


    "It''s bad, but it isn''t the end of the world. A man with battle scars is the dream of any woman." Having learned that lying to her Little Ryu would accomplish nothing, she used a different tactic.


    "Maybe if the scars were earned on the battlefield¡­" Ryu said softly. "I''m not sure if there''s a market for men who gained scars being beaten by their own grandfather and mother."


    A pained expression colored the old Doula''s face as she brought a warm, moist toilette to Ryu''s back to begin wiping the accumulated dirt and grime from him. Although a sort of phantom pain overwhelming Ryu as he felt each bump of every one of his scars, he bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from crying out.


    Maybe in the face of his pride, keeping silent was easier for him. But he had always been the most vulnerable around Miriam.


    "Would you like to listen to a story?" Imperial Doula Miriam asked. The truth was that Ryu had been banned from the royal library ever since he was old enough to read. Of course, this didn''t make too much of a difference considering he was blind, but there were many sections of the library he was still unallowed to send his own servants to. In the end, much of his entertainment came from the old Doula telling him stories.


    Truth be told, it was because of Miriam that Ryu was able to gain a scope of what the world held. He learned about concepts he had never experienced himself, broadening his horizons to new heights. Maybe the only thing the old Doula had never told him was just why he was ostracized by his family.


    Still, Ryu was intelligent. Was he really born blind? Why did he have such vivid memories about what things looked like, then? Plus, why was it that his hair was forcibly dyed everyday? Why was it that his third brother had called his mother a whore back then? Anyone with half a mind could begin to piece together the meaning behind all of these things¡­


    Even without knowing the true story, Ryu''s guess wasn''t too far from the reality. It was a truth he found hilarious if not utterly enraging ¨C but it was somehow his truth, nonetheless.


    "How about I tell you a story instead?" Ryu smiled.


    "Where did you come by this story?" Miriam said with a surprised expression.


    Ryu looked off into the distance. While he was in his coma, he had had a dream so vivid that it almost seemed real to him. But, when he awoke, he was slapped with reality. How could such a perfect life be his own? What a joke.


    But, he felt that if he didn''t speak this dream aloud, it would disappear from his mind forever. If that happened, Ryu didn''t know if he''d survive. Although he hadn''t broken down yet¡­ He was akin to a tattered feather blowing in the wind, still unable to grasp his own future.


    "Let''s just say it was a dream of mine¡­" Ryu said lightly.


    "Oh? The old lady is listening."


    "On the highest plane of all of existence, there exists a mountain so tall that even the clouds can only hug its feet. Three moons shine among the stars at night, and three suns blaze in the morning air.


    "Within this highest plane, there was a family that stood above the rest. The father could shatter the earth was a single step. The mother was gentle beyond compare, lighting the world with her beauty and smile. The grandmothers were phoenixes who soared through the skies, protecting their family with a feverish might. And the grandfathers could pierce the clouds with a single roar.


    "To this family, a child was born. Although he was weak and frail, he was cherished like a treasure. In return, he blessed this family too. They rose to a greater height together, relying on one another as a family should.


    "Hundreds of years into this child''s life, he met a valiant woman who understood how to fight for her own freedom. She stood before him and demanded his love not only for her sake, but for his as well.


    "Over time, these two fell in love. She blossomed into a great expert, while he learned to fight for his own freedoms. They were a star-crossed story that should have never come together, yet they formed a bond unbreakable even through lives.


    "Unfortunately, even this heart-felt story had its own ups and downs. The greed of those on the outside caused jealousy to be aimed toward this family. In the end, the child was forced into a corner where he was forced into making a decision he labored over.


    "In the end, for the sake of his family, the child took his own life, leaving behind a promise to his beloved."


    Imperial Doula Miriam wiped her cheeks with a free hand. How could she not sense the longing in Little Ryu''s words? "Call me Granny Miriam from now on, okay?"

 Chapter 51: Mental Realm

    Soon, time began to crawl forward once more, drying the tears Imperial Doula Miriam cried over Ryu''s story. Neither knew the ending to the story, but they both wordlessly accepted its importance.


    Over the next few months, Ryu never left his courtyard. Although this was completely by choice, it was likely that even if he had wanted to, he couldn''t have.


    The situation with the Agnes Clan eventually became a story of old, but the consequence resulted in Leilani being demoted once more to the role of Third Concubine. It was no surprise that Patriarch Agnes threw yet another fit over this matter as well. Everyone knew that the former Third Concubine Selene and mother of both Princesses would be bedridden for the rest of her life, yet Leilani had been relegated beneath her?


    To make matters worse, Leilani had birthed the King a son. Within the martial world, and especially within ruling Kingdoms, the value of a son far outweighed that of daughters. The act of demoting Leilani was not only a slap to her face, but a resounding one to Ryu''s as well¡­ If he cared, that is.


    During this time, Ryu was in a world of his own. To those on the outside, looking in, he seemed to have given up on life entirely. He hardly spoke, he would spend days on end meditating without pause, and he even seemed to reject any modicum of love that wasn''t from Imperial Doula Miriam.


    Of course, his elder sisters visited him every few months when they could, but these visits grew further apart as their children grew. Ryu''s little niece and nephew of course went through their own awakening ceremonies, and since this was such an important time for their growth, they could no longer leave the Sect as they willed. Although they weren''t born with Earth Grade talents, they both had Black Skeletal Grades, making them far more talented than the average cultivator. In a few decades, they would soon become backbones of the Heavenly Body Sect.


    As for Ryu, his days were simple. He would eat, listen to Granny Miriam''s stories and meditate.


    He had lived a life of darkness until now, and at first, it had been a source of pain. But now? It was an escape.


    Ryu felt that the longer and more fiercely he meditated, the more real those visions of his dream became. That huge mountain, that familial piety, that first true love ¨C it all, almost in tragic humor, felt like his.


    All of these images made Ryu''s own life seem like nothing more than a joke. Could his family even be called one? He suddenly felt that it made sense his heart had never been swayed by the women here, how could any of them compare to even a tenth of his pink haired goddess?


    But the reality was that Ryu was awake now.


    When his eyes opened, his heart shattered into pieces he still hadn''t found even now. He had never felt such a fierce pain in his life¡­ Not when his mother hurt him, not when his father abandoned him, not even when he was whipped before hundreds of spectators. That heart wrenching, soul tearing pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced.


    Him staying indoors became about more than escaping the sneering voices on the outside¡­ It was about settling within an environment he, himself could control. Maybe if he thought hard enough, maybe if he meditated and reached a deep enough state, he could forever sink into that reality and make it his own.


    He didn''t know what kept him going, but a small voice in that back of his mind kept telling him that this was his last chance¡­ His last chance to make something great of himself.


    Ryu couldn''t help but laugh at the voice. Even in his fanciful dream, the man who had everything still couldn''t fight against Fate. He ended up attempting a second awakening only to die just like millions who had tried before him. If even that lofty figure failed ¨C a man who was capable of far more than him ¨C then what chance did he have?


    Still, Ryu kept going. What else could he do?


    In truth, he still aspired to be like the man in his dream. Although the man failed, he was still brave enough to fight against his circumstances, something that Ryu himself couldn''t boast. Even so, Ryu decided to do what he could.


    Through meditation Ryu''s Mental Realm unknowingly grew stronger and the memories of his dream grew more vivid. His daily meditation, something he had been doing since he was a toddler, suddenly became the sweetest part of his life. It was only during those sessions that he could relive that Ryu''s life ¨C to feel as he did, to love as he did, to smile as he did.


    In truth, even Ryu didn''t know what path he was headed down, he could only piece things together from what he had heard¡­


    One''s Mental Realm wasn''t just about seeking out energy like other paths of cultivation. In fact, Ryu didn''t even know what Spiritual Qi was at this point. All he knew was that those around him often used the concept of Mental Realms and mental fortitude interchangeably. He could still remember his mother mentioning wanting to cultivate her Mental Realm to the point of Queen Tor''s back when he was just three years old¡­ Then, she hadn''t been referring to energy, she had just meant a state of mind.


    These ideas weren''t much, but it was what Little Ryu grasped a hold of. He began to steadily grow his patience, learning to clear his mind for longer and longer periods of time. He had no purpose in mind other to sink deeper into that dream of his¡­


    What Ryu didn''t know at this point was that all the hardship he had faced in the life was steadily building a path toward something great, gradually refining and tempering his Mental Realm. Whether he would be able to grasp this opportunity would be entirely left to him.


    **


    As Ryu meditated as he had done all his life, the Four Kingdoms and their citizens were moving around excitedly. The first ever Co-Kingdom Coronation Game had been announced and the banners of national pride had never been risen with such ferocity and passion. Everyone from the poorest to richest man animatedly discussed the odds of victory. Soon, profiteers opened gambling establishments, accepting bets even though the event was several more years away.


    However, this was when an old woman the King hadn''t accounted for caught wind of the news. Or rather, he had¡­ But, he hadn''t accounted for her willingness to risk her life for a child that wasn''t her own.

 Chapter 52: To Run

    "Come Little Ryu, you''ve spent too long sitting in one place. You must exercise your body." Imperial Doula Miriam''s once soft and lovable features suddenly became stern, surprising Ryu. He couldn''t see her face, but he could very clearly hear that she was leaving no room for objection.


    Ryu''s brow furrowed slightly. He was too intelligent to not pick up on the fact that something was wrong. But, he somehow felt that asking now was useless. The old Doula had become used to his intelligence long ago, so he lost the ability to corner her with words anymore. Whenever she felt like he would succeed, she would simply break whatever rules of engagement he lay by using her seniority.


    Smiling triumphantly, Imperial Doula Miriam helped Ryu stand. "Look at you, you''re even more frail than before. You''ve lost what little muscle mass you had before.


    "We need to start slowly, overdoing it will only harm you. How do you expect to bring me little babies to play with like this? Up you go."


    Thus, just like this, Little Ryu was forced into a training regimen he wanted no part of. Still, the old Doula was right, his body really was too weak. In fact, his muscle atrophy had only gotten worse in recent months due to the fact he sat in silence for such long periods of time. This was a good change of pace for him.


    In the beginning, simply walking around his courtyard would cause Ryu to gasp for breath. Despite being ostracized by his family for reasons still largely unknown to him, he still had more than a hundred acres of land to himself. Just a single trip around was just slightly under two kilometers. Heaven knows how he covered the distance between the Palace and the Agnes Clan.


    However, even throughout his "torturous" walks, Ryu discovered something interesting. His ability to delve into his world of dreams became greater the more he pushed himself. Could it be that it was possible to train one''s Mental Realm through physical exercise as well?


    A new world was opening up to Ryu. What had begun as an effort to appease the only person he cared for in this life had suddenly become something he strove to do even without her persistence. Some mornings, Imperial Doula Miriam would come by to find that Ryu had long since awoken. Although she was used to the young boy being awake by dawn, he would usually be meditating. But who knew that hell would have frozen over and the fourth prince would have found a love in physical torture?


    Over time, Little Ryu progressed from only being able to walk, to briskly quickening his pace. Eventually, he could just barely manage a light jog for a few minutes before collapsing. It wasn''t long before Ryu learned that there were ways to push his body to its limits without physical training. Sometimes he would see how long he could go without sleep, other times he would wake up before the moon set to jump into the ice-cold waters of his property lake. As though this wasn''t enough, he would even fast for weeks at a time, wondering what limits his body could endure.


    Truth be told, if it wasn''t for Imperial Doula Miriam''s care and experience in the medical field, Ryu would have long since passed the point of no return. The kinds of things his mind was prepared to do, weren''t the sorts of things his body could survive.


    "You must understand, Little Ryu. Growing stronger is just as much about rest as it is about work. A body can only grow with time. In the same vein, there needs to be a balance between all things. Strength is just as importance as flexibility."


    Under normal circumstances, Imperial Doula Miriam would have stopped Ryu at all costs, even if it meant tying him up. But, she suddenly realized that if she didn''t allow him to punish himself now, there was only death waiting. She had to prepare Ryu¡­ It wasn''t that she had any faint hope that he could survive the Coronation Games. In fact, she had no such hope at all. She only wanted his body to grow strong enough so that he could run¡­ He needed to run.


    **


    "There you go, reach down as far as you can. Your elastic and well-stretched muscles will thank you later. Always emphasize this balance. What is the use of big muscles you can''t make proper use of?"


    Little Ryu reached toward his toes as best he could, grasping a hold of his feet. The strain on his face was clear, but he continued to persevere, making use of the breathing technique the old Doula taught him. Another one of her sayings was about the importance of oxygen, but that just made Ryu wonder if he could train his Mental Realm by holding his breath for extended periods of time as well.


    By now, it had been almost three months since Ryu had begun his training. He made about as much progress as one could expect in such a short period of time. Still, he had begun to fill out his immature body to a certain extent, at the very least, his spine didn''t protrude from his back like it once had.


    Truth be told, the old Doula was shocked by Ryu''s recovery ability. But, this realization only made her sigh. He had such a good constitution for cultivation, but it had been barred from him.


    "Are you ever going to tell me why you had me start training my body?" Ryu''s question was perfectly timed, spoken just as Imperial Doula Miriam displayed a slight mental weakness and pity toward him. It was a bit underhanded, but Ryu felt like he needed answers.


    The old Doula sighed. She knew she couldn''t keep this from Ryu forever, but she felt like telling him would have no use. What would happen? Wouldn''t he just hate his family more? Disdain his life to an even greater extent? Lament his misfortunes and scorn the heavens? What good would that do?


    Ryu shook his head, realizing Miriam had no intention of telling him. "What about the reason why this is my life? Can you at least tell me why my father hates me? Why my brothers don''t treat me as one?"


    Imperial Doula Miriam trembled. This was yet another story she withheld from Ryu. The truth was that she wasn''t born on this Plane, so its history wasn''t at the forefront of her mind when Little Ryu was born. But, when she found out the truth, she couldn''t help but hold a deep disgust for the methods of the royal family. At first, she had wanted to spare Ryu this pain but¡­ If Little Ryu succeeded in running away from this depraved life, he needed to know the truth so that he could protect himself.


    "You''re very good at cornering this old lady¡­" A breath escaped Miriam''s wrinkled lips. "I don''t know how you''ll react to this story, but you must stay strong, okay Little Ryu? Never blame yourself for the narrowmindedness of others."


    The old Doula paused, collecting her thoughts. "As you know, many years ago, the Mortal Planes were embroiled in war. What many don''t know is that this war was a trickle-down affect of matters that occurred in the highest Immortal Plane¡­"

 Chapter 53: White Devil

    Like this, Imperial Doula Miriam''s story progressed.


    Several cycles of several one hundred million years ago, a world changing event took place on the highest Immortal Plane: The Shrine Plane. In an instant, a world that had been awashed in peace for so long became embroiled in war.


    The details were unknown to those of the lower Planes, but the Shrine Plane essentially became sealed before being replaced by a new highest Plane. As matters stood now, there were still three Mortal Planes, but the Immortal Planes had become four ¨C three open, and one sealed.


    Of course, if there was a war, there was a victor. This winning army marched on the lower Planes, uprooting the previously laid foundations of Fate and building their own. In the end, old factions fell, and new ones rose up. However, this army never bothered to step onto the Mortal Planes. Considering it beneath them, they allowed mortals to wallow in chaos.


    Without the familiar structures of Fate above them, mortals lost their belief systems, essentially becoming cut off from the world above. Although those with stronger foundations raised their families and Sects to the higher Planes to escape, the weak had no such option and could only bask in their own inferiority.


    With this pain and strife came more, starting a vicious cycle of plains bathed in blood and gore. Since the Immortals had abandoned them, they had no choice but to forge their own paths, leading to masochistic wars for supremacy. Unfortunately, they were na?ve to believe that they were in control of their own destinies.


    The structure of Fate in any world was highly important. In the same way mortals benefitted from Immortals, the opposite can also be possible. It was because of this truth that while some Immortal Clans and Sects couldn''t be bothered to care about those of the Mortal Plane, others had eyes that flashed with greed, realizing that there lay an untapped reservoir of potential.


    This shift in thought came with a time the competition within the Immortal Plane had reached a new height. With so many scrambling to enter their realm, the concentration of Clan and Sects far outweighed the concentration of resources. As a result, the Mortal Plane became a potential breeding ground.


    Stories of virgins with special skeletal grades being whisked away became a matter of daily life. Often times, cults and religions would be formed, forcing devotion upon large groups of weak people in order to propagate Faith. At the same time, those who were arguably the most vicious made empty promises of grandeur, only to destroy the hopes and dreams of those unlucky enough to believe their words.


    The concept of Fate and Faith was vast. But, the simplest truth was the it heavily relied on strong feelings of emotion. This said¡­ Which was easier? To elicit feelings of true loyalty and love? Or to provoke feelings of deep animosity and hate? The answer was obvious.


    With the previous structure of the martial world, those on the above Immortal Planes placed restrictions on the abilities of higher Planes to influence lower ones in this way. Instead, higher Immortal Planes usually created subordinate Clans to slowly foster feelings of loyalty and steadily grow a sustainable source of Faith. However¡­ The Victor of the war didn''t care for such things.


    The Victors believed that the marital world was an inherently cruel world. How had their ancestors defeated the Ancient Beasts? Was it not through absolute strength?


    The stars foretold of a great calamity, the likes of which humans wouldn''t survive unless the weak were weeded out. This Star Reading wasn''t a new one. The return of the Ancient Beasts had been telegraphed for several Eras already. The problem was that no one knew when it was coming. Still, that didn''t stop The Victors from approaching the matter in their own way.


    How could anyone refute them? Had they not overthrown the previous system with their own power? Had they not single-handedly ended the Golden Era to usher in the Martial Era? Their power was undeniable, their fists were the largest, so was it not logical that they were also correct? If the previous system was so great, why did it crumble so easily?


    With these new beliefs in place, the mortal Plane had no choice but to suffer. However, this new philosophy brought about an unexpected change. After several billion years of being suppressed, Mental Realm Masters finally made a reappearance. Now that the stigma around foul methods had been removed, at least when they occurred out of sight, they came back in full force, establishing some of the most powerful Clans, Sects and Factions the martial world had to offer.


    As could be expected, one of these Clans wreaked havoc on the Mortal Planes. Their cults and religions shone the brightest. After all, they could manipulate the very minds of their victims, making them truly believe that the bad done to them was actual good, while the vile will of their Clans would actually be beneficial to them.


    Even to this day, stories of their horror still survived. Tales of daily public executions and tortures, of live mass burials, and of families turning on one another in murder and bloodshed.


    Some said that the various cults became incestuous hubs, birthing deformed children to display as though they were some sort of circus act. Others said that these deformed children were actually taken as newborns to be tortured. Their limbs were slowly pulled apart, causing grotesque contortions. Their eyes to gouged out and placed into newly cut and unnatural holes in their bodies, then reconnected via disturbing medical techniques. Certain few even recollected stories of such newborns being sown together to forcefully live the rest of their lives conjoined.


    The reality of the matter was that not just one, but all of these stories were true. These were the dark days of the Mortal Realm, a darkness that pervaded all three Planes. Some believed their remnants still remained in the form of small factions and abandoned ruins¡­


    "These scum were known as the White Devil Cult." A sad expression colored her features as she gently grasped Ryu''s hand. "Aside from their overwhelming Mental Realms, their only markers were their white hair and silver eyes¡­"


    The answer was now obvious. If the people came to know that a Prince of their Kingdom looked like those who took the head during the darkest times in their history, how would they react? Maybe they''d start to question if those dark days were back, maybe they''d think that his mother had had an affair behind his father''s back¡­ Along with a myriad of other things, there was no way their Fate could survive this¡­


    Ryu couldn''t help but release a sad laugh.

 Chapter 54: Run (1)

    After listening to Imperial Doula Miriam''s tale of the history of the Mortal Planes, Ryu put the thought of ever reconciling with his family to the back of his mind. If they could treat him like this for the sake of a history so old it was practically more legend than reality, then he had no interest in ever treating them family.


    In truth, Ryu knew that his ostracization was related to his appearance, but he had always framed it in a fashion that placed the blame on his shoulders. Maybe he had a disease that wouldn''t allow him to live for long, so despite his talent, it didn''t make sense for him to become King. Or, maybe his mother had fallen in love with some unknown man who passed on the genes to give him this appearance. The Imperial Censors would have likely hidden the truth for the sake of saving the King''s face. Although that also wouldn''t be his fault, at the very least he could understand the concept of a child bearing the sins of his parents. But this? This reason was unacceptable to him.


    To bear the sins of not his own mother or father, but the sins of disgusting, vile human beings of an era long past? How could you subject a child to such a thing? For the sake of your Kingdom? What was a Kingdom worth if it was built upon a foundation of foolishness?


    Ryu channeled all of his frustrations into deepening his Mental Realm. Every bit of emotion and rage suddenly became a rushing fall of energy that fueled his training. Even without truly understanding what he was doing all of this for, he still found himself wholly willing to give his everything, if for nothing else but to forget his own cruel life.


    Over the next two years, although Ryu was nothing compared to cultivators, he had diligently trained himself to a top percentile of mortals his age. In addition, as his thirteenth birthday approached, his frame began to fill out as well. He stood at just over 1.85 meters tall. His back and shoulders had widened, and his legs had a slender, but explosive strength to them.


    By now, he could consistently run a mile in under four minutes, something that should have been impossible for a normal mortal who hadn''t reached full maturity. It was clear that his disposition for cultivation was shining through even without his meridians being awakened. However, aside from physical feats much like this one, Ryu was more enamoured with his ability to conquer mental barriers. Accomplishments related to how long he could hold his breath, go without sleep, or meditate in total stillness were still matters he placed above all else.


    During this time, by his side, Imperial Doula Miriam remained his ever-caring helper. It was her who reminded him of the importance of rest, and it was also her who diligently planned his meals. The Palace chefs raised eyebrows when the Fourth Prince, who had always eaten so little, had suddenly become akin to a ravenous beast. They even thought that the old Doula was hording food until it was confirmed that the Fourth Prince truly did eat it all.


    Although his family was terrible to him, it luckily wasn''t to the point of starving him. The King didn''t care for such small matters related to the Palace food budget, nor did the Imperial Censors dare to step over their bounds any more than they already had. They could already feel that King Tor was losing patience with them more and more by the day. It was clear that while they thought they were being clever in their slow power grab, the King saw right through them.


    Just like this, Little Ryu continued a lifestyle that would have been monotonous to anyone else. However, it was his escape.


    As the days passed, his dreams became clearer. The once vague faces became etched in reality, while the names he hadn''t been able to label before were now all he could refer to them as.


    Subconsciously, he began to detach himself from reality. He could no longer see King Tor and Third Concubine Leilani as his parents. Their, albeit small, places in his heart were replaced by a valiant red-headed man and a gentle white-haired beauty.


    During dark nights when Imperial Doula Miriam would come to check on him, her old heart would break when she heard him mumbling ''mother'' and ''father'' in his sleep. Still, she could do nothing for him but tuck him in a little tighter and stroke his hair.


    On the day Little Ryu learned the name of the pink-haired beauty, he smiled the first genuine smile of his pitiful life. He almost berated himself. How could he forget her name? The name of the woman he loved most in the world.


    It wasn''t until after Ryu had that thought that he blinked himself back into reality and chuckled bitterly. He had almost thought that that dream was his real life for a moment. How could such a perfect woman fall for him? He was a mess.


    Another year passed and Ryu approached his fourteenth birthday. Like they did every year, he expected his elder sisters to visit for that day, but this didn''t liven his mood. For the past two months, he had reached an insurmountable bottleneck. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t improve any of his personal bests. It was as though he had reached the limits of his mortal body.


    But, he felt like this was nonsense. Although he didn''t know what skeletal grade he was born with, he was certain that it was at least of the Black Grade. This essentially meant that even without cultivation, his body should be able to withstand far more than a normal mortal. So, why were his so-called ''personal bests'' still within the normal limits of reason?


    What Little Ryu didn''t know was that it was impossible to improve his Mental Realm any further with his current mind state. How could a person more invested in a fake reality than his own be considered of strong mind? Ryu wanted to deepen his Mental Realm to delve further into the dream, but it was exactly for this reason that he was weak. Although his approach had worked for some time, there was no further path to be followed along it¡­


    **


    Like this, Ryu''s fourteenth birthday approached. He sunk into a helpless void he was unable to climb out of. Even in continuing his daily training, he found little to no joy in it. It was as though he was an addict who could no longer deepen his high.


    "Elena¡­" He mumbled in his sleep, tossing and turning.


    "Little Ryu!" Suddenly, a warm, aged hand shook Ryu awake, startling him. He knew that the old Doula came to check on him sometimes, but she had never gone out of her way to awaken him. "Quickly, get dressed. Today is the day we leave this place."

 Chapter 55: Run (2)

    Little Ryu sat up from his bed, shocked at the words he just heard. But, he immediately calmed down. He had been so focused on deepening his Mental Realm for the sake of some fake reality that he hadn''t thought of something so obvious. Why else would Imperial Doula Miriam insist that he train for so long and hard if not for this purpose?


    "Listen to me very carefully." The old Doula tried to slow her beating heart. She had been consistently coming to Ryu''s room like this for years for this very moment. There was no reason for her to feel so nervous now. It was just that she couldn''t settle this uncomfortable feeling she was getting. "You''re a very smart boy, so I know I only need to repeat myself once. First, here."


    Ryu felt the old Doula''s hands slip something onto his finger. When he looked down, he couldn''t help but be shocked. A spatial ring? On the mortal Planes such an item was almost impossible to come by! Even the Agnes Clan didn''t have a single one, maybe only the Cedar Clan or the Royal Vaults would have such a treasure. Aside from that, they were practically all monopolized by the upper echelon of the Sects!


    "Inside of this ring, there are provisions for exactly half a year. Don''t worry, I''ve already taken into account your increased appetite and any further increases it might have. I believe that with your intelligence, this is all the buffer you''ll need. But, just in case, I''ve added enough dry rations for an addition three years and enough water for five." The old Doula, despite knowing that they should be safe, spoke incredibly quickly, unable to stop her beating heart.


    "The next thing you need to note is that I''ve written the formula for Meridian Awakening Ceremonies for you and I''ve also left my cultivation technique within. Although it won''t be perfectly suited to you, it will be good enough for now. I unfortunately wasn''t able to procure the materials for you because I''m definitely being monitored, but you should know that even poor families can afford such a ceremony. With the money I''ve left you, you''ll be able to pay for thousands if you so wish.


    "Fourth. I''ve left a map of the Kingdoms for you. I know that you are blind, but your senses have always been sharp. The map is within what a Sect would call a ''Memory Jade''. I''ve told you stories about them before, so you should understand how to use them, correct?"


    Ryu nodded stiffly. The old Doula had told him such stories before. These magical jades could hold images and vast stores of memories. Even if Ryu was blind, it didn''t matter. The contents would be projected directly into his mind. If he coupled this knowledge with his senses, he''d have an idea of the general directions he should head in.


    "Fifth. I''ve left a mask for you as well as more than enough hair dye to last a lifetime. Never bathe where you might expect to come across people and always make sure to apply it once a day." Miriam heavily emphasized this point. Since Ryu was blind, how could he see when his true color was beginning to shine through? The only way to combat this was to apply the dye regularly.


    "The sixth is maybe the most important. You will never be safe on this highest mortal Plane. I''m certain that the Tor Royal Clan will do everything in its power to find you. You must understand how to remain safe. Avoid large cities. Don''t trust anyone. And sleep only in places you have multiple avenues of escape from.


    "Within this ring, I''ve left you a letter. If it turns out that we are correct and your ceremony was sabotaged, I am certain that not only your skeletal grade, but also your meridian and bloodline grade will be of the Heaven Grade at an absolute minimum. Such a talent is unconscionable on the Mortal Plane and the Outer Ring Sects of the Immortal Plane will fall over themselves to take you as a disciple."


    Ryu''s eyes flashed at these words. The old Doula had told him that she wasn''t of this Plane long ago, but he had assumed she was from a lower mortal Plane. Could it be?...


    As though reading Ryu''s mind, the old Doula shook her head. "I am from the middle Mortal Plane. In fact, both me and my twin sister are. We were born with a special category of skeletal grade dubbed as ''Causal Fate''. It''s a bit difficult to explain in a few words, but essentially, unlike others, the actions each of us takes have a direct and obvious effect on the other. But, these effects aren''t always predictable. We were both born with Earth Grade meridians and bone structures, however, my choice to pursue the medical field to help others resulted in the first instance of our Causal Fate.


    "She ended up receiving my talent as I had no interest in the martial way. This resulted in her gaining a Heaven Skeletal Grade and Heaven Grade Meridians. It wasn''t long after that she was recruited by an Outer Ring Sect of the Pedestal Plane. It likely won''t be long until she gains a place among the Inner Ring as dual Heaven Grades are very rare.


    "If you give the letter I''ve given you to my sister, I know that she will protect you. Although I''ve described the story as such, there is no animosity between my sister and I, we simply walk different paths. Remember that the location of her Sect is the Outer Ring and that its name is the Awoken Moon Sect. Bide your time, strengthen your cultivation in hiding, and I''m certain that there''ll come a day when you will be capable of crossing the Immortal Barrier. In fact, a Master of the Immortal Plane might find you beforehand in acknowledgement of your talents and bring you up him or herself.


    "However, Little Ryu." The Imperial Doula turned serious. "If I am for any reason wrong. If your talent is worse than expected or if your ceremony wasn''t sabotaged, you must give up on going to the Immortal Plane. Go to the Middle Mortal Plane and find my family. They are very well off and will be able to protect you for a time. Even if I die, they won''t dare to do anything to you because my will is my sister''s will. They know this and won''t harm you out of fear of her.


    "Do you understand everything I''ve said? Do you need me to repeat anything?"


    The quick flow of the old Doula''s words had hit Ryu like a brick, but he forcefully soaked them all in. In the end, he could only weakly nod.


    Unknowingly, his eyes had started to glisten with unshed tears. All his life, no matter what horrible things he suffered, he had never cried, not once. But, why was it that he felt the need to now? Why was it in all the words she had spoken, Imperial Doula Miriam hadn''t said a word about her coming with him? Why?


    "Good." The old Doula wiped her tears. "I''ve spoken to your elder sisters. With their cultivation, they''ll be able to take you out of the castle safely. After that, you''ll be on your own."


    "Wait, what?" Little Ryu froze, his eyes icing over.


    "I said I''ve spoken to your elder sisters. They''re the only ones who''ve still shown care for you."


    A mournful croak escaped Ryu''s lips, his voice almost sounded like that of a dying animal. "RUN! RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN. NOW!"

 Chapter 56: Run (3)

    Ryu grabbed Imperial Doula Miriam''s body. He didn''t stop to think for a moment that this frail old lady was actually far more powerful than he was. All he could think about was escaping as quickly as possible.


    In her confusion, the old Doula didn''t even remember that she could easily shake the little boy''s hand from her wrist. Completely fallen into a daze, she could only follow as they ran out the back door of Ryu''s room, sprinting across the bath hall, through the green house, and into the large expanse of his personal backyard.


    It should have been a beautiful scene. With the moon and stars shining in the sky above, the lake just across from them gently flowing in the cool night air¡­ It should have been exactly that. But, it wasn''t.


    Ryu''s senses were immediately blocked by six individuals, four he recognized by their breathing and gait, but the other two, he had never met before ¨C that, he was certain of.


    Despair built up within Ryu''s chest, a heavy feeling of weakness overwhelming him. No matter how deeply he tried to breathe, it didn''t seem like enough. It was as though his lungs had shriveled to a third of their size, blocking him from the sustenance he needed.


    His grip on the old Doula''s wrist tightened, but he didn''t know what to do. No matter how intelligent he was, his experience was nearly zero. He had no real-world knowledge, nor did he have any real training. Even if he did, of the six that stood before him now, four of them had cultivation. For a mortal like him, what chance did he stand?


    Suddenly, a lewd laughter came from one of the two Ryu didn''t recognize. He was a handsome young man who wore a perpetual slanted smile on his face that tore apart his fa?ade of elegance. His features were also overly pale, as though he hadn''t seen the light of day all his life. It was shocking that a person with such an appearance could have any cultivation to speak of at all, yet, he did.


    "Why do they look like a pair of lovers escaping into the night to elope? Don''t tell me your little brother has such a perverted fetish, Brother Amory? You haven''t been doing your duty as First Prince if you have such things going on right under your nose." The disgusting, lewd laughter continued. Its sound took over the whole of Ryu''s senses. To him, there was only that laugh, that laugh that filled him with a rage he was unable to vent.


    "Your jokes are as crude as ever, Brother Atticus. Whether my Fourth Brother is having an affair with this old whore is none of my concern."


    By now, the old Doula had frozen completely. Her aged and trusting mind couldn''t comprehend just how this had happened. Hadn''t she been careful? Hadn''t she followed the same schedule for years, just for this day? What had gone wrong? Even until now, she hadn''t doubted the elder sisters of Ryu.


    She couldn''t comprehend it. As an older sister herself, she would put her life on the line if it meant protecting her younger sibling. She could never imagine that for the sake of some feeble empire, Ryu''s two sisters who had always seemed to dote on him would do such a thing.


    To make matters worse, they were cowards. They didn''t dare to come here to face the despair of a little boy and an old woman themselves. They were pathetic, spineless, worthless shells of a human being.


    It was at this moment that one of the four Ryu recognized and cleared his throat. This person was none other than Imperial Censor Orson.


    "For the crime of attempting to kidnap a Royal Prince and shirking her duties as the Imperial Doula, it has been decreed by his Royal Majesty that Miriam Varson will be hereby stripped of her title and privileges." Over the years, scheming had turned the black eyes of the Imperial Censor into beady, snake-like ones. Even his voice made Ryu, who was already falling into the pits of hell, feel an added chill.


    Clearing his throat once more, the Censor continued. "After a thorough investigation, it''s been found that the King''s early infertility and inability to give birth to a son was tied to this former Doula''s dereliction of duty and horrid malpractice. This increases her sentence to twenty years of seclusion within the Palace''s ice dungeons."


    Ryu''s trembling increased as tears fell from the old Doula''s wrinkled face. She seemed to age several more decades in an instant, all her remaining energy leaving her like a fleeting fragrance in the wind.


    "The conclusion of this investigation found traces of poison connected to the Fourth Prince''s birth. This Meridian Severing Poison is likely tied to the Prince''s blindness, his odd hair color, and most definitely his inability to awaken his meridians.


    "For the crime of an attempted assassination on a Prince of the Royal Family, the sentence is execution by beheading."


    "NO!" The rush of emotions Ryu felt were so fierce that he vomited on the spot. A horrible, gut wrenching stench erupted from his lips, coating the dew-covered night grass with his hatred and animosity.


    "Aiyah, he really must love her. What a sad sight. Such a handsome young man falling for an old hag. You really have closed off this little brother of yours to the world too much. You should have at least bought a few women from the local brothel for him."


    "Would it really make that much of a difference?" The second person Ryu didn''t recognize interjected. His voice was so lazy that Ryu almost mistook him for his Second Brother, but their tones were too different. "He''s blind. It''s probably all the same to him."


    Atticus made an ''aha'' sound as though he had finally understood. "As expected of a top graduate of the Four Kingdom''s Institute. You impress me more and more everyday, Brother Silas."


    "If you please." Imperial Censor Briggs who had been in the background motioned toward the fourth individual Ryu recognized. He was none other than his father''s personal aid and Death Guard¡­ His actions represented the King''s Will. If he was here¡­ That meant King Tor sent him.


    The execution of a person, the only person that Ryu had ever felt something for in this life, had became the sideshow entertainment of three Princes and two Censors. Little Ryu''s mournful struggle became akin to an ant fighting a tidal wave.


    The old Doula was ripped from his hands. He tried to stumble forward to grab her back, but he found himself flying through the air, having been slapped away by his father''s Death Guard.


    Nonexistent stars shone in his eyes as the world spun. Before he realized what had happened, he found himself lying on the ground. The only sound other than the ringing of his ears were the muffled struggles of the old Doula.

 Chapter 57: Kill

    "STOP!" Ryu roared, standing as swiftly as his concussed body would allow. "Imperial Doula Miriam''s twin sister is an Immortal cultivator! Killing her is a mistake!"


    The six froze. It didn''t sound like Ryu was lying despite the fact such a desperate situation was conducive to one, oddly enough. However, this pause was only for a moment.


    Prince Atticus'' lewd laughter filled the night air once more. "I was wondering how an old bat seduced such a young man. Did you woo him with your fanciful stories of grandeur? What a joke."


    As for Prince Silas, his lazy expressed upturned into a slight smile before it disappeared.


    Ryu''s body shook violently, the pain in his head doubling, then tripling as his veins pumped with rage. It was then that he thought of the spatial ring. Not only was it a rare treasure, the space within it was large enough to hold enough rations for years. From what he knew, this was impossible for a normal treasure. Shouldn''t this be proof enough?


    However, before he could make the attempt, the weak voice of Imperial Doula Miriam called out.


    The frail old woman was forced to kneel to the ground, her greying hair held back by the Tor Clan Death Guard, Bhishak. It didn''t seem to matter to him who his victim was. His black cloak simply continued to whip in the air like the call of the reaper, waiting for the Imperial Censor''s execution order.


    "Little Ryu, that''s enough." Blood flowed from Miriam''s scalp as clumps of her hair were pulled too far back. Although she was a Pulse Opening expert, how could the Death Guard of the Royal Clan be any lower than the Qi Refinement realm? "You were right to never call me Granny Miriam, it''s not a title this old woman deserves."


    Ryu''s brows furrowed, his figure stumbling as he struggled to orient himself. He was already blind to begin with, trying to use his senses while his ears were ringing and his mind was aching was too much for him. In the end, he fell to his knees, grasping his head, unable to make sense of much of anything.


    "Whoa, whoa. Hold on." Atticus waved the Imperial Censors off as they prepared to order Bhishak. "Can''t you see a touching drama is playing out. Grab some snacks and enjoy."


    The Imperial Censors who were about to give the order froze, unsure of what to do. Although they were high ranked, they were still below the Princes of even other Kingdoms. They couldn''t simply ignore the Prince of the Lantes Kingdom because they wanted to. Unfortunately, when they turned their gazes toward the First Prince for help, he only shrugged. It didn''t matter to him one way or the other.


    "You mustn''t shed tears for me." The old Doula''s words croaked slightly, but she tried to remain firm. "I''m only a hypocrite who facilitated your suffering."


    Little Ryu shook his head fiercely, trying to get rid of his concussion by sheer force of will. But, he was a mere mortal, how could he do such a thing? No level of Mental Realm would allow him to succeed. His body was simply too weak. He was too weak.


    "No¡­ No." Ryu mumbled, trying to speak coherent words.


    "Yes." The old Doula said sadly. "I am indeed guilty of the crimes they''ve accused me of. Although I wasn''t involved with this so-called Meridian Severing poison, did you believe you were born blind?"


    Ryu froze before his body shivered from head to toe. Tears uncontrollably fell from his eyes. A young man who had never cried ¨C a young man who suffered through the hate of his father, the disdain of his mother, and a humiliation of a lifetime ¨C unleashed a flood of emotions he could no longer control.


    His stomach heaved and crawled, his whole world upturning with a single sentence.


    "It was I who blinded you Little Ryu. Hate me. Burn your memory of a kind old lady in the pit of your stomach. Replace it with rage ¨C make me a devil. But, never shed tears for me¡­ I don''t deserve it¡­"


    "Aaaaannnndd scene." Atticus clapped. "See, wasn''t that perfect?"


    Almost as soon as Atticus'' words fell, so did Imperial Doula Miriam''s head. Ryu''s shrill cry shook the Palace grounds, quaking the earth and reaching toward Tor City. His anguish was so fierce that vessels within his eyes ruptured, causing a murky red-black to coat his cheeks.


    The First Prince looked down at this younger brother. All throughout his early life, he had always thought that Ryu would grow to be greater than him. His mother had constantly pushed him to avoid that future, but look at the state of things now. He would one day rule a quarter of an entire Plane while this younger brother of his had become this pitiful mess.


    ''Your time to die isn''t just yet.'' He thought to himself. He didn''t waste his words on Ryu, nor did he go out of his way to humiliate him. By now, he felt that it was far beneath him. Ryu simply wasn''t worthy of even his disdain.


    The group of six left one by one, Prince Atticus and Silas walking with content expressions on their faces, as though they had just finished watching a five-star play. As for the decapitated body of the old Doula, none cared for it. Eventually the servants who handled the upkeep of the Fourth Prince''s courtyard would handle it. Why would they dirty their hands?


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice their departure, in fact, he couldn''t feel much of anything. He was completely broken.


    He tried to crawl toward what remained of the old Doula''s body, but his hands ended up sinking into a thick and pungent crimson liquid. By the time he steeled himself and made it to the side of her now cold and rigid body, the morning sun was already high in the skies and the courtyard servants had already run away with scared expressions on their faces.


    "Granny Miriam¡­" Ryu had no more tears to shed. Whatever remained of him had dried, crusting over in a coarse salt. He tried to call out the name the old Doula had wanted to hear so badly, the name even he couldn''t explain why he had never used, but no matter how much he said it, she didn''t come back¡­


    For the past three years, Ryu had done whatever he could to sink into another reality, to forget whatever this life was and live another. But, now, he understood that this was his only life.


    "Kill." Almost a week later, sitting by the foul stench that remained of his Granny Miriam, these were the first words he spoke.


    "Kill." He said it again, a slumbering giant trembling in his mind and soul.

 Chapter 58: Awakening

    Ryu''s head tilted backward, unleashing a roar akin to a dragon awakening from a deep sleep. Tor Palace shook violently, unable to withstand his unbridled rage.


    The dye that coated Ryu''s hair incinerated to nothingness, revealing a streak of pure white that blinded those who looked directly toward it. At the same time, Ryu''s bare and frail chest seared red, pumping with grotesque lines of blue-green that wiggled along its surface as though alive.


    Spiritual Qi, for the first time in Ryu''s life, rushed toward him like a fiendish hound. Blood vessels within his brain bulged with impunity, making Ryu feel that his mind was splitting apart into shredded chunks of meat.


    Without knowing it, Ryu had stepped along a path of incomparable danger. He had just attacked a Pulse! Although he had failed to open it fully, the process of doing so, even partially, was a great detriment to his body as things stood now.


    One had to understand that the opening of Pulses was something only to be done after completing what were called the Nine Rites of the Awakening Realm. Of course, this so-called Awakening Realm was the very first step a martial warrior would take into the world of cultivation. When one completes their meridian awakening ceremony, they would be considered to have completed this first, and easiest, Rite.


    Obviously, cultivation realms were meant to build upon each other slowly. However, Ryu had taken a third step before even taking a first ¨C a mistake that was only possible due to his blind pursuit of a higher Mental Realm!


    The Pulse Ryu had stepped upon was known as Spiritual Entrance Pulse. It was the opening of this Pulse that allowed the cultivation of Spiritual Qi in its truest form. In fact, this wasn''t a Pulse those of the mortal Planes ever bothered with because it was completely separate from Qi Realm cultivation. Instead, it was solely anchored in Mental Realm cultivation! Although it was possible to wield Spiritual Qi before entering this realm, it was to a finite extent decided by birthed talent and not hard work.


    Without even realizing it, the Mental Realm accumulation of two lives had pushed Ryu to this point. Whether it was him leaping over his final mental hurdle to kill himself for the sake of others in his previous life, or the constant humiliation and the death of his Granny Miriam in this one, both had coalesced to push him onto a rarely explored path.


    The issue was that now, Ryu''s unawakened body was now dealing with the opening of a Pulse it wasn''t prepared for. Even so, the momentum of his partial breakthrough alerted every soul in Tor Palace!


    Ryu was in no position to care. His blood vessels pulsed with an added vigor, having partly removed a blocker to its enraged flow. At this point, it was no longer just his head, but every portion of his body that was ravaged with this unceasing pain.


    His jaw clenched to the point where blood began to flow between his teeth even as his fingernails dug into the skin of his palms. As Ryu''s skin grew redder, his body heat skyrocketed, shooting past levels of a normal fever and into a range that should have meant death to a mortal.


    It was at this moment that Ryu''s slumbering soul stirred.


    No one knew what the true Phoenix God trial was. Even Ryu, who labored over millions of Folk Lore couldn''t piece it together in its entirety. The only thing he became certain of in the end was that it was only possible to leap over this trial barrier by experiencing three forms of quintessence¡­ Life, Death and Reincarnation.


    Ryu''s trial hadn''t ended the moment he reincarnated. What he had to prove was that even when born into an entirely new life, he could make the same tough decision twice.


    In his first life, he resolved to improve the lives of his Clan and parents by any method he could before ultimately deciding to sacrifice himself for the slim chance that he could help them more.


    In his second life, he tempered himself through a decade of pain before finally resolving himself to fight against Fate once more. Whether it cost him his life or not, it didn''t matter. He would seek revenge not for himself, but for his Granny Miriam.


    The true Ryu had begun to awaken. Memories of a life he had thought was nothing more than a dream etched into his mind as though he himself lived it. In the next moment, he awakened fully, understanding that that life he had pined for, the one he thought he would never deserve, was actually his own!


    He had a true Father and a kind Mother. He had grandparents who viewed him not as a tool, but as a child to be cherished. He had a wife. A beautiful, loving wife ¨C one that was waiting for him even now! His promise, he remembered it, he remembered it so clearly that it was as though it happened yesterday!


    Blood roared through Ryu''s veins, pumping through with such a vigor that it was audible even from the outside of his body. In response, his clothes burnt to ash, revealing his scarred back and the faint etchings of a once bloody cross over his heart.


    The moment Ryu''s former soul awoke from its slumber, his Spiritual Foundation shook. As though calling the Sky Gods from above, clouds rolled over Tor Kingdom, blackening out the sun and sinking the capital city into a dense night the likes of which they had never experienced.


    Ryu''s body began to glow. First, it was his skeleton, shining as though it was carved of the most precious gems. Then, it was his meridians. Their complex inner workings layered atop each other, widening and strengthening with each passing moment. Then, the cycle completed with his blood once more. Four separate but wholly amazing bloodlines awoke from their sleep, quashing and destroying the inferior Tor blood that ran in Little Ryu''s veins.


    However, each and every one of those awakenings completely paled in comparison to the beast hidden deep within Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation. A sea of white flames danced, growing fiercer as the seconds ticked by. Suddenly, they surged upward, shattering a barrier that had held Ryu down for not one, but two lives.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed opened, the disgusting scars that had coated his back falling away to reveal an incomparably smooth figure. His muscles rippled with vitality, his eyes shone with killing intent, and his frame had grown another size.


    His white hair fluttered in the wind behind him, his expression no longer like a little boy lost in the world, but rather like an expert who had lived more than a thousand years. With a thought, a pool of spatial energy bloomed from his silver eyes, causing a black cloak to wrap around his body. Then, he disappeared.

 Chapter 59: Regret

    The experts of Tor City converged onto the Palace. Each and every one of their souls were shaken. Never in their lives had they felt so inferior.


    One had to understand that until now, the fiercest awakening these so-called experts had ever experienced was that of a Heaven Grade talent, and even that occurred several dozen generations ago. On the day that occurred, the auspicious signs lasted for but a few minutes before dissipating into nothingness. Still, it had a profound impact on them all.


    However, Ryu''s awakening made that moment seem like a story retold in a children''s book ¨C petty, shallow and uninteresting. Even hours later, the dark clouds showed no sign of revealing the rays of the sun. In fact, Ryu''s courtyard was in absolute shambles. How could the momentum of a talent meant to be born on the highest Immortal Plane be contained by the likes of a mortal Plane?


    The King, his Imperial Censors, the Pillar Heads, the Princes and even the King''s wife and concubines stood in the vast wasteland that had once been Ryu''s home. Aside from a stain of pungent, rotting blood that sat unscathed at its center, just a few paces from a now evaporated lakebed, there was nothing left. Not even Ryu''s shadow could be seen.


    Of those in attendance, the only one who hadn''t paled in fear was Second Prince Jedrek who had his usual lazy expression plastered on his handsome, but lanky, features.


    Ryu had left without a word. There was no note, no promise of revenge, not even a cold glare to hang their hats on. The only thing that replayed in their minds again and again was the enraged roar that shook the capital. It wasn''t a roar of a defeated man, it was the roar of a man who had woken up, one that would destroy everything in his path for the sake of his goals.


    Not a single soul here didn''t understand just how talented Little Ryu was, but should it matter how talented a young man was if he was suppressed since his youth? How could he grow?


    Time and time again, they had stamped out his will to live. They tormented him, humiliated him, pushed him to the edge without regard for familial ties of love. Now, they stood trembling in fear. Cold sweats matted their backs and panic shook their souls. Not a single one of them could bring themselves to say a word even after several hours.


    At some point, the two Princesses who had been preparing to head back to the Sect, hoping to never have to come back and face their young brother, had no choice but to rush back. When they saw the scene before them, they instantly paled. They too had heard the roar and they too were members of the cultivation world. Did they need any of these things explained to them?


    It was in that moment that Patriarch Agnes lost his mind. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY GRANDSON, YOU BASTARDS?! WAS HE NOT A CRIPPLE?! WAS HE NOT UNABLE TO CULTIVATE?! WAS HE NOT USELESS?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"


    The old man''s words were like a puncture through an already unsteady dam, unleashing a wave of pain and blood. Third Concubine Leilani could only fall to the floor, grasping her frail head as she seemed to age several decades in a mere moment. She could do nothing as her father was beaten savagely by the Death Guard Bhishak.


    They hadn''t believed in the little boy before, but now an incoherent regret caused them to lose touch with reality. If old man Agnes hadn''t been restrained by the former General, it was certain that this matter wouldn''t have ended with a mere beating. He was allowed to live simply because of the rarity of the matter and the fact the King was truly wrong. But he didn''t escape several broken bones and a pain his old bones could hardly withstand.


    Patriarch Cedar, an older man with olive skin and bright white hair glanced toward his daughter, Queen Tor. But, he only received her glance toward the ground. At such a moment, she couldn''t find it within herself to meet her father''s eyes. This matter should have ended when she poisoned Ryu, but it hadn''t. She had believed that the Sky Gods were on her family''s side after Ryu was suppressed irrelevant of her actions. Yet, the concept of destroying threats from the root shone through fiercely now.


    Imperial Censor Digby sighed, his long white beard trembling along with his slight frame. "Karma is an endless current¡­ No matter what roadblock it may meet, it will break through in due time. If it wasn''t this generation¡­ It would have been the next¡­"


    "Your majesty, we must take action as quickly as possible! Even if the Fourth Prince has awoken his talent, he can''t have become an Immortal in a single leap! He''s still a blind young man with no knowledge of the world. With our resources, we''ll definitely be able to find him!" Imperial Censor Orson''s snake-like eyes darted. He refused to allow Censor Briggs the initiative again. But, who knew that his words would have been met by the opening of the King''s reddened eyes.


    King Tor''s fury reached the high heavens. This had all started because of them. It was because of their schemes and tricks, their stupid talks of Fate and Faith. It was they who made him abandon his own son. If not for them, wouldn''t his Tor Kingdom have gained an immovable pillar?!


    "DIE!" The King''s rage could not be sated. His palm shone with a bright light, barreling through the Censor Orson''s chest and shattering his heart in an instant.


    Imperial Censor Orson looked down at the bloody arm that had pierced him before looking up at his King with an unending regret. His eyes dimmed as he fell. Never had he expected that all the years he had built himself to this peak would end in a mere instant, and all over a boy he had thought nothing of.


    So what if you''re royalty or nobility? These were words he thought to himself all the time when he lay his schemes. Before his intelligence, what did your rank mean? Only now did he understand that he had never held any true power at all.


    Would there be revenge for him? Would the King face punishment? Of course not.


    Imperial Censor Briggs looked at the fallen body of his former comrade. ''Fool¡­'' He muttered to himself.


    "FIND HIM!" The King''s enraged shout shook the Palace for the second time that day. Under the cover of the perpetual night, dozens of shadows blanketed the skies.


    The darkness that blanketed Tor Kingdom wouldn''t dissipate for several years.

 Chapter 60: Elder Brother

    First Prince Amory walked steadily into his own courters, ordering the servants to bar anyone from interrupting him as he sat at a wide desk, calming his breathing. If one looked closely, it became clear that Amory''s study was identical to his father''s. Even the decorative vases weren''t even a centimeter out of place.


    After the initial shock of the matters, his mind state had finally begun to rebalance itself. What was the use in panicking or throwing a tantrum? What was done was done. His goal now was to find a way to move forward.


    His Third Brother was a cultivation maniac who had no interest in the throne. He believed it would only slow his progress to become King. In fact, the only reason Cayden would participate in the Coronation Games at all was for the sake of the Clan Texts that could not be disobeyed.


    As for his Second Brother, although he didn''t want the throne himself, for the sake of protecting his family''s Garis Clan, he would fight for it. Amory had to admit that of his siblings, the most potent threat was his Second Brother Jedrek. With his financial capital, even building his own military wasn''t impossible.


    For the past few years, ever since he graduated from the Institute, he had been building countermeasures. He could count of the support of his Third Brother, but Jedrek''s resources were not to be underestimated.


    However, just when he thought he had grasped the board they played on, the table had been flipped. A wild card appeared on the field without any move set restrictions. Just how would his Fourth Brother play?


    As Amory saw it, there were two possibilities. The first was the approach Amory himself would take. He would bide his time, slowly work his way to the Divine Vessel realm and cross the Immortal Barrier. Once he succeeded, he would join a powerful Sect, cross into the Connecting Heaven realm, before descending to exact his revenge.


    Amory reached forward, lightly grasping a black stone with a single white speck at its center. He twirled it between his fingers, closing his eyes to breathe in the fragrant aromatics of the room.


    The game before him was the foremost strategy game of the martial world. It was simply known as ''Domain.'' Unlike games of its kind, its board wasn''t uniform. Not only did it have elevated sections, even its divisions alternated from miniature squares to triangles to pentagons.


    Rumors would have it that masters of Domain were capable of cultivating by simply playing the game. Although Amory didn''t know how true this was, he had always been fascinated by it. Not a day had passed without him contemplating its board after his Master introduced it to him.


    ''Master is a mortal, yet doesn''t he grasp the world in his palm? How else could a mere mortal build an Institute all four Kingdoms recognized?'' Unknowingly, Amory had settled into a deep state of contemplation.


    ''This first and smartest option¡­ It isn''t the path you''d pick, right Fourth Brother?'' A light smile played Amory''s features.


    No matter what rift had grown between them, Amory and Ryu were still blood brothers. Albeit half, it was still true. With this came an understanding for one another.


    Ryu''s arrogance seeped to his bones. It wasn''t a normal, cowardly arrogance ¨C the kind that only appeared in the face of the weak but disappeared in the face of the strong. No. His Fourth Brother disdained the world itself. Before, his tragic flaw had been that while he was prepared to disdain even the ground he stood on, he had never been willing to challenge Fate.


    His Fourth Brother had resigned himself to a short life, yes. But he was only willing to die with his head held high. He wanted the world to know that it wasn''t you measly humans who broke me, but rather Fate itself. That was how he felt satisfied with himself, that was the type of person he was.


    However, the Imperial Doula''s death had snapped something within him. He woke up.


    The truth of the matter was that his Fourth Brother was inherently masochistic. He was willing to suffer through any pain for the sake of his goals. It was just that he believed that this goal of his was to die with his head held high. It wasn''t until he realized that Fate was cruel and flawed that he rejected it.


    ''What an interesting man you are, Fourth Brother. You don''t recognize Fate as cruel for yourself, but you do for others. Since even you are willing to fight against Fate, then what kind of Elder Brother would I be if I cowered where my younger brother braved?''


    Amory''s smile deepened. ''Not only will you not hide and bide your time, you''ve likely already taken the first step toward your revenge now, haven''t you? It''s not just that either. You''ll make sure that this revenge is on the grandest stage. And the opening you''ll pick¡­. Is the Coronation Games!''


    Laughter of a genuine ilk spread through the First Prince''s courtyard. "GOOD. This Elder Brother will wait for you. I''ll take on your all your hate and rest it on my shoulders. For the Tor Clan to live, you must die. For you to live, I must die."


    **


    Currently, Ryu had no idea what his First Brother was thinking. He simply wasn''t focused on such things. However, it was true that he had already taken his first step.


    Ryu sat at the center of a slowly flowing river, his naked body almost breathing as he allowed the cool and clear water to wash over his body.


    The moment his Spiritual Foundation awakened, his blood surged, and he had distinctly felt several popping noises emit from his forehead, cheeks and eyes. When he realized just what it was, he couldn''t help but release a deep sigh.


    Ryu had no doubt that King Tor ordered his Granny Miriam to blind him as a child. But, the old Doula was too kind to do such a thing. Instead, she destroyed the ligaments connected to his eyelids and constricted the muscles in his pupils to the extreme. The result was Ryu''s inability to register light or open his eyes.


    The old Doula died filled with regret even after that, but she didn''t know just how much pain she saved Ryu. Had she not done this, his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils would have been discovered long ago. Who knew what kind of trouble that would have brought?


    Even in death, she had saved him.

 Chapter 61: Martial Forms

    Ryu owed his Granny Miriam more than he could express into words. Yet, she had never heard him accept her as one of his family. Despite having gained another thousand years of memories, this weighed heavily on Ryu.


    The truth was that he was right to be skeptical. Hadn''t he been correct about the betrayal of his elder sisters? It was just that he had hoped he would be right about this one too. But, he wasn''t. In the end, the only thing he could do for his Granny Miriam was make sure she didn''t die in vain.


    Unfortunately, this resolve came with many problems. Firstly, despite having all the talent in the world, Ryu had no experience cultivating and no guider. When he lived on the Shrine Plane, he focused all of his attention of what he could do. Why would he waste time on cultivation techniques he could never practice?


    Secondly, he was in danger. He had no doubt that the commotion his awakening had caused was resulting in severe repercussions even as he lay here relaxing. Very soon, there would be many capable individuals coming after him.


    Thirdly, there was the matter of how to execute this revenge. Of course, he could wait patiently and bide his time, but he had no intention of doing so. Almost fourteen years of built up rage wasn''t something he wanted to bottle up, nor did he believe they were worth him being careful.


    Knowing all of these things, Ryu laid out detailed plans. With his calculations, the Tor Kingdom would be no more less than half a year after the Coronation Games ended.


    Ryu stood, taking a deep breath as the memories of his life flashed by like the scenes of a movie. Not only had his talent reawakened along with his Spiritual Foundation, the treasures that he had absentmindedly stored within his Heavenly Pupils and bound to his soul had actually followed him into this life as well.


    The Embryonic Origin Flame made its prowess known, boosting Ryu''s memory and Mental Realm to incredible heights. Finally, he found the scenes of his life he was looking for.


    Just the night before Ryu took his own life for the chance at a Second Awakening, the Origin Flame had helped him remember some of the best experiences in his life. It was because of it that he eventually resolved himself to fight against Fate for the sake of his family.


    However, Ryu wasn''t delving into these memories now to reminisce. He had already leapt over this barrier, he could only see a path toward the future now. Instead, what he was looking for were his early memories before he turned seven years old, the days when he learned the Martial Forms of the Tatsuya, Kunan and Phoenix Clans.


    Contrary to their names, Martial Forms aren''t techniques that store power. Instead, they''re basic martial arts taught to children in order to lay a foundation.


    Awakenings, especially for the talented children of the Immortal Planes, can be exceptionally painful. These Martial Forms prepare the body for the shock it might receive during such a ceremony. If Ryu had to compare it to something, it was similar to the Tai Chi practiced by mortals of the elder generation in order to remain healthy.


    Although the truth was that these Martial Forms had limited value on the Shrine Plane, here on the mortal Planes, or even on the lower Immortal Planes, they were akin to heavenly treasures.


    The Tatsuya Clan Martial Form taught stability and power. It emphasized the strength of the lower body as well as the bones. The Kunan Clan Martial Form taught speed and explosiveness. It emphasized the quick twitch of muscles, focusing on smaller groups to promote not only reaction speed, but ease of adaptation. The Ice Phoenix Clan Martial Form taught stamina and durability. It emphasized the flow of blood and the efficient use of oxygen. Finally, the Fire Phoenix Clan Martial Form taught recoverability and flexibility. It emphasized the comprehension of the human body to the most minute of details. Even a mortal who became proficient in this Martial Form would be able to accelerate the pace of their healing by diverting energy from elsewhere.


    Martial Forms acted as the basis for a Clan''s Core Teachings, and although Ryu never learned what these Core Teachings were, he believed that these Martial Forms would give him a solid foundation to start and grow from. At the same time, they''d train his body and prepare him for proper cultivation.


    Still, Ryu remembered the words his father had spoken. It was impossible to master a Martial Form. One must practice daily and improve their foundation step by step. Once one broke away from the need for Martial Forms, one would become a true expert.


    Just like this, Ryu began to train the four Martial Forms of his family in earnest. Although he had had success with them during his youth, he was far stricter with himself now than he was then. Instead of comparing his day to day improvements, Ryu constantly compared his movements to the movements of his father, mother and grandparents. Now, he wasn''t simply going through the motions of the techniques, he was painstakingly imitating the perfect reflections of his past memories.


    As the search radius for the Fourth Prince widened, Ryu ironically remained within a single kilometer of the Tor Kingdom outer walls. He knew very well that there was a vast expanse of harsh land between him and his next destination, so he took his time. He wouldn''t take that journey until his body was ready.


    Instead, he made Tor Forest his home, making use of his vastly sharpened senses to avoid detection while training everyday for just over six months.


    Ryu''s feet stomped the earth, sinking into the dry ground with a perfectly controlled print. His lower body flexed and his bones creaked, but he maintained the posture, rotating his core to unleash the full power of his fist.


    Then, his form changed. From calm and steady as a mountain, he became like a galloping horse. His movements were fast, but deliberate and controlled. If one looked closely, it was possible to see that his actions deviated hardly a centimeter from his last attempt.


    An abrupt change occurred once more. His sweat matted skin reddened as his veins became visible. The rushing sound of blood drowned out the stream nearby as Ryu''s breathing was sometimes as soft as the flapping wings of butterfly, and other times as loud as hurricane force winds.


    Finally, his body bent and flexed, reaching angles that should have been impossible without shattering bones. In fact, he seemed to be without bones at all, moving akin to a snake in grass or a fish in water.


    It was only after this that Ryu felt like he was finally ready.

 Chapter 62: Destination

    Early on a morning halfway through the seventh month after his disappearance, Ryu''s eyes opened with a flash. Air torpedoed through his nostrils and out of his mouth, causing several hundred green leaves to swirl into the air, shooting upward before gently falling to the ground.


    At the moment, Ryu sat quietly on a thin branch several dozen meters in the air. The moment his soul awakened, both the Origin Flame and North Heavenly Wind that had been dormant until now manifested themselves. As a result, not only had Ryu gained the ability to replay perfect replications of his memories, he had also gained the ability to become as light as a feather, allowing him to sleep on such a high branch without worry of being found while he rested.


    The good news was that until one entered the Spiritual Severing realm, flight without a treasure was impossible. And, obviously, Tor Kingdom couldn''t send such experts after him without breaking the rules set by the Immortal Plane.


    Everyday, he would wake up the moment the sun appeared in the skies. Beginning with the Tatsuya and Kunan Martial Forms, he would exhaust his body to its utmost limit. During those periods, he would insert teachings of the Ice Phoenix Clan, controlling his breathing and oxygen to the finest detail. Finally, he would use the Fire Phoenix Martial Forms, taking advantage of his torn muscles to increase his flexibility. Then he would use the recoverability Forms to rejuvenate himself during the night.


    This sort of pace seems perfect on the surface, something anyone could replicate, but such wasn''t the case. A large part of the reason Ryu could keep himself from collapsing was because his bloodlines perfectly complimented these techniques. It was for this reason that he was blessed to have four Ancestral Grade lineages.


    Knowing this, Ryu took full advantage. All his life, he hadn''t known what it meant to cultivate. He had felt weak and often useless. As a result, he overcompensated with his arrogance and the work he put into his secondary professions. So, now that he had such an opportunity given to him¡­ No. Now that he had forcefully grasped this opportunity for himself, how could he not take full advantage?!


    Ryu shifted to move, but suddenly froze. A few dozen meters away, the sounds of quickly moving feet caught his attention.


    Smiling coldly to himself, Ryu remained absolutely still. It seemed that they had finally realized that he must have remained close to the Kingdom. Or, rather, they had to believe that. If they didn''t, they''d have to admit that they allowed a frail boy who had just awoken to escape their grasp. Still, he was surprised to see that it was his Third Brother that was here. Him along with his little niece and nephew. Since their mothers didn''t have good constitutions for cultivating, they had sent their son and daughter instead.


    "¡­ To call me for such a matter." Cayden grumbled. "I say let him take his time to cultivate, I''ll crush him either way!"


    Ryu''s Third Brother had grown to share the same large frame as his father and grandfather. This was to be expected though. After all, he inherited their Skeletal Grade.


    Skeletal Grades, also known as Bone Structures, were sometimes spontaneous, but were more often hereditary, much like bloodlines. The special Bones of the Tor Clan were the reason their Sect was known as the Heavenly Body Sect ¨C how else would they have gained the Iron Bone moniker?


    Because of his Iron Bones, Cayden was well over six feet tall at just barely sixteen years old. As one might imagine, it was his steps that Ryu noticed first.


    Ryu smiled lightly. After awakening his memories, he found these people to be pitiful frogs in a well. If it wasn''t for Granny Miriam, he wouldn''t have even cared to get revenge for himself. He had more important things to deal with ¨C like finding his wife and parents, for example. Although he didn''t know how much time had passed, as long as it was within a few billion years, with their cultivation, they should still be alive.


    The truth was that with this cloak, if he was dealing with mortals, didn''t need to be activated consciously. Its passive ability was more than enough to hide from even Divine Vessel experts. When Elena described it, she had of course been speaking about its lackluster abilities in the face of Immortals of the Shrine Plane, but there were no such experts here. This was a Mystical Grade treasure, after all.


    Ignoring his "family" below, Ryu looked down at himself and shook his head. ''First, I''ll make myself some clothes from a few beasts.''


    After his awakening, Ryu had found himself stark naked. Aside form his cloak, he had nothing else. But, while this was fine in Tor Kingdom where the weather was always warm, it wasn''t for the place he was headed. Although he was now a First Stage Awakening realm expert, it wasn''t so exaggerated that he could ignore the weather already.


    "For mom''s sake, we must find him!" Ryu''s nephew grit his teeth. For the past half year, Ryu''s First and Second Sisters barely spoke or ate. They had become nothing more than skeletons.


    As immature children who believed their parents were always right, Hagan, Ryu''s nephew, and Mai, his niece, blamed Ryu. They knew nothing of the reality of matters. All they knew was that their grandpa and mothers were always doting of them, and now they didn''t like Ryu. That was enough.


    Although he heard these words, Ryu didn''t care. He no longer treated these people as family. His only thoughts were of his task at hand and how he would find out what truly happened in his absence. Though Granny Miriam had shed some light on these matters, it wasn''t the full story.


    ''The Shrine Plane is sealed¡­ But are you all okay?'' Ryu closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.


    Ryu''s soul was connected to Elena''s, but it was still too weak to sense her over large distances. Unfortunately, it was also too weak for her to sense him.


    The good news was that the partial opening of the Spiritual Entrance Pulse he underwent was a first step toward solving this problem. One day, he would be strong enough to let his wife know that he was here, and this time, he''d protect her.


    Ryu descended after the group of three left, unleashing his senses to find the nearest large mammalian animal. After he was finished clothing himself, his next destination would be the ruins of the Natural Order Sect.

 Chapter 63: Opes Kingdom

    Ryu glided from tree to tree. The miraculous feeling of one''s body feeling as light as a feather was so foreign to him that he almost laughed out loud. Was this what it meant to be a cultivator? How amazing.


    While he trained his Martial Forms, he had avoided using his Heavenly Wind. He knew it would give him an unfair advantage in mastering certain Forms, so he banned it from himself all together. But, now that he had unleashed it to the best of his abilities, he felt so free.


    The truth of the matter was that what limited Ryu''s speed right now wasn''t the Heavenly Wind. If it was up to the Wind, Ryu would already be as fast as a lower level Immortal Cultivator even at the Awakening realm. Unfortunately, it was Ryu''s body that couldn''t handle such speed. If he tried, he would disappear into a cloud of meat paste.


    Still, this was plenty fast enough. Ryu doubted that any Pulse Opening realm expert could keep up with him now. Only a lower Qi Refinement realm expert who specialized in speed could.


    As his cultivation increased, so would the limits of the Heavenly Wind. One day, he would supply it with enough energy to evolve from its Embryonic phase. When that day came, Ryu would truly become one with wind and would no longer be limited by his body.


    Under normal conditions, it would take a healthy, pure bred stallion one year and a half to travel to the Opes Kingdom''s territory. But, it took Ryu only two months.


    Dressed in the pristine black fur of a mountain panther, Ryu looked quite sinister. He no longer cared to dye his hair, letting it flow in the wind. His frame had grown, matching the stature of the only man he truly saw as a father, Titus Tatsuya. In fact, he stood even taller that Cayden despite being almost three years younger. The frail Ryu no longer existed.


    Still, his eyes remained closed. He wanted to get into the habit of doing so. Without his family''s backing, exposing the secret of his pupils would be tantamount to death. Until he gained the cultivation necessary to hide it, it was best he continued to pretend to be blind.


    However, this wasn''t bad. Now that he had partially opened his Spiritual Entrance Pulse, his senses had become far more refined. Although he wouldn''t gain true Spiritual Sense until he entered the Soul Birth realm, he still felt like he could see with his eyes closed. He suspected that this was an additional effect of the Origin Flame.


    Ryu glided through Opes City unseen, his presence completely concealed by his black cloak. He had no idea where the exact location of the Natural Order Sect was, but what he did know was that it was definitely within range of the Kingdom it protected. Although Ryu could blindly search, he felt like it would be more efficient to steal a Memory Jade from Opes Palace.


    The layout of Opes Palace wasn''t too different from Tor Palace, but its atmosphere was far heavier. That said, Ryu thought this only because he didn''t know the kind of strife his disappearance had caused. If the two Palace''s had to be compared, Opes Palace could only be said to be slightly worse off only because they were facing the might of three Kingdoms at once while Ryu was an unknown commodity.


    Although the Opes Kingdom had been given a lane to survival, they swallowed it like a bitter pill. Considering the King''s mood as of late, even the plants and animals seemed to be walking on eggshells.


    Slowly making his way through, checking every room, Ryu eventually made it to the Palace Library.


    Ryu paused for a moment, breathing in the smell of endless rows of books. Much of his first life had been spent in such a place, and although this Palace Library paled in comparison, Ryu couldn''t help but reminisce for a moment.


    Unfortunately, the good atmosphere didn''t last very long. Although Ryu had expected it, he was still disappointed to find no information on the Natural Order Sect. This made sense though, such important information wouldn''t be left in a place Ministers could frequent at their leisure.


    ''If there''s nothing here, it''s likely that the King keeps it either with him, or in a secure place only he could enter. It wouldn''t be much of a surprise if this Opes Kingdom had a Kings'' Garden much like Tor Kingdom.''


    By now, night had fallen. The cold winter wind whipped about as coarse snow fell from the skies. The dreary atmosphere and empty streets said everything about the state of this current Opes Kingdom. While its opponents were celebrating in excitement as the Plane''s first Co-Coronation Games approached, they were treating this as a matter of life and death.


    "Be firmer in your strikes." The booming voice of a man used to wielding power filled a snow covered garden. Before him, two young men stood in the barest of clothing, brandishing a spear and sword respectively. "Feel the will of your weapon, learn to fade into the environment around you. There is nothing more important in cultivation than the Natural Order!"


    It was obvious to Ryu that this man of grand stature was King Opes. The two young men before him were none other than his sons. The spear wielder, First Prince Kalmin. The sword wielder, Second Prince Kwan.


    The hopes of their Kingdom rested on the shoulders of these two, so it was no wonder that even deep into the night, their father trained them to the bone. Although the Coronation Games seemed to encourage the building of your own faction, often times, it was those with the strongest cultivation who won.


    Unlike the Princes of their three rival Kingdoms, these brothers seemed to be close. It wasn''t that Ryu could tell just by watching them for a few moments, but rather that they had to come together for the benefit of their Kingdom now. They weren''t stupid. It was obvious that if they experienced infighting, their slim chance of victory would only grow further out of reach.


    Ryu watched these scenes silently until the two boys, barely a few years older than him, collapsed. He couldn''t help but absorb some of the King''s constant propaganda about the Natural Order. Though, he found it odd that he would speak such words so freely despite it was for this very reason his Sect was destroyed.


    A while later, the King carried his sons away. It was only then Ryu gained the ability to move freely about the garden.


    ''This is so odd. Why is this place almost identical to the garden attached to that man''s study?'' Of course, ''that man'' Ryu referred to was King Tor.


    Everything he could see matched up perfectly, even the oddly placed fountain in the far corner¡­

 Chapter 64: Murals

    Even after a few moments, Ryu could find nothing wrong with his senses. Other than the fact this Kings'' Garden had a bit denser qi than normal, nothing was out of place. Plus, for Ryu who was so used to the qi density of the Shrine Plane, he almost didn''t notice this minute difference. It wasn''t so shocking that his thousand years worth of memories were overriding his fourteen years of experience here.


    However, this was a problem only normal individuals would muddle through. Ryu had access to something others didn''t: the first ranked set of Heavenly Pupils!


    Ryu''s eyes flashed open, a cold, silver-blue light piercing through the night sky. The truth of the matter was that the color of one''s eyes were irrelevant to whether or not you had Heavenly Pupils. However, when facing experts of high cultivation, it was possible for them to sense the special nature of your eyes by looking into them.


    For Ryu, his eyes held the vicissitudes of Fate and the depths of space. He gave those looking at him an unfathomable feeling, like they were looking at the expanse of everything in existence. When on the Shrine Plane, this affect was limited due to everyone''s high cultivations, but on these lower Planes, a person could lose their minds looking at Ryu. As such, he needed to be careful.


    Almost immediately, Ryu''s eyes trained on the old gray fountain, sitting quietly in the corner. Previously hidden formations spun to life, etching complex ancient symbols into the air.


    ''This language is from the Sky God Era. However, there are small portions that contain inspiration from the Golden Era but are too novel to be counted as such. I assume that these are from the so-called current Martial Era.'' Ryu pondered quietly.


    From his understanding, there were eight main Eras written into history. Starting from the first, they were the Chaos Era, the Primordial Era, the Ancient Beast Era, the Sky God Era, the Shrine Era, the Blossoming Era, the Pedestal Era and the Golden Era.


    After the Shrine Plane was sealed, a new Era was ushered in that was thus coined as the Martial Era. Considering Ryu''s analysis, it was likely that Formation Theory had evolved once more in his absence to create this slightly new language. But, it wasn''t so exaggerated that Ryu didn''t understand. Over time, the language of Formations changed, but it was the duty of a Ruin Master to understand tendencies that survived across all Eras.


    ''To think that the mortal Plane would have such complex formations.'' Ryu continued to observe, his eyes pumping with excitement. It seemed that after not being used for so long, they were happy to finally see the world again. Unfortunately, they were also quickly draining Ryu''s stamina.


    Ryu had never been able to use his eyes for very long, but now it was even more exaggerated. Without Immortal grade qi to supplement them passively, his pupils were essentially starving. But, it would be enough to complete this job.


    ''This seems to be a Half-Step Mystical Grade Formation. It would normally be impossible for me to crack without my usual tools, but¡­'' With a thought, a pool of spatial energy appeared from his eyes, revealing a single beautiful dagger that shone under the moonlight.


    Its spine was completely black, however, its jagged edges were a see-through crystalline blue, making it seem like more of a work of art than a blade.


    Truth be told, if someone of this Mortal Plane heard Ryu analyze this formation as a Half-Step Mystical Grade one, they would either sneer at him for his stupidity or pass out in shock. One had to understand that Mystical Grade formations were the likes of which the largest Sects of the Immortal Planes used to protect their most priceless possessions. Even if this one was still technically a step shy of that, this was still the Mortal Plane!


    Ryu didn''t think much of it, though. Since he was used to his Clan''s Ancestral Grade protective formation, he didn''t flinch. Instead, Ryu was deciding how best to approach this break.


    ''This formation should have formerly been of the Ancestral Grade, but the disconnect between the old and new language left gaps. These were definitely placed here by Immortal Cultivators, but why leave them here for these Kingdoms?''


    Taking a deep breath, the dagger in Ryu''s hand began to grow with an added fierceness. Why was Ryu so confident in cracking this formation? The answer was two-fold. Firstly, it was a small-scale formation, not a large one. Although this meant its gaps were smaller, it also meant that its flaws had a larger impact. Secondly, Spiritual Qi was the basis of Formation Theory. What better way to combat it than with a blade that could attack with this kind of qi?


    ''Blood recognition symbols¡­ This should be the newest addition to this fountain. It was adjusted such that only the offspring of the Opes Clan could open it¡­ It also happens to be the weakest part of this formation.''


    Ryu''s approach changed slightly. Normally, he wouldn''t care about anyone detecting him since he was used to dealing with Ruins. But, this case was slightly different. If the Immortal Cultivators who placed these here found out, matters could become troublesome.


    Just about three hours later, a sweat soaked Ryu pushed his blade forward one final time. Like an expert lockpicker, his hands remained and controlled, moving his tools to a concentrated rhythm.


    He was tired and his body ached, even his Spiritual Qi had run dry multiple times, further slowing the process. But, his diligence was rewarded.


    The grey fountain slid back without a sound, revealing a set of stairs below. After checking to make sure there weren''t anymore hidden formations, Ryu made his way down, the fountain closing above him.


    Ryu followed a long and dark corridor, but there seemed to be a blue light waiting at its end. As expected, this blue light opened to a large inner space totaling about fifty meters in width and length, plus about fifteen in height.


    At its center, a square pool with a depth Ryu couldn''t calculate sat, filling the air with pure Spiritual Qi. Under normal conditions, this would have been an absolute shock. Dense Spiritual Qi reservoirs were far more valuable than cultivation qi reserves. Even the Tatsuya Clan only had a few of these.


    However, Ryu wasn''t focused on this at all. His eyes never left the mural on the far walls¡­ The murals that depicted worship of the White Devil Cult.

 Chapter 65: Natural Order Sect

    Ryu froze before this scene before laughing. This wasn''t a laughter of sadness, nor was it one of grief or remorse. No, it was a laughter of disgust and disdain, pervaded by an uncontrollable killing intent.


    In his life, whether the first or this second, Ryu had never killed a person. In fact, he had never felt killing intent toward another. Yet, in just a few months'' span, he had felt it not just once, but twice.


    From Ryu''s analysis of the formation protecting this underground space, the Opes Clan had not opened this hidden area for several thousand years. However, just how ironic was it that the tufts of grass surrounding the Tor Clan''s identical fountain was worn dry, scraped from constant usage?


    On the surface, King Tor was pushing his own son to the brink of death, forcing him to live a life of despair and anguish, while in reality, he was benefitting from the very Devils he made his son out to be.


    Ryu had never seen his father open the entrance personally, but with his intelligence, did he need to? King Tor had already reached the top of his blacklist, a place Ryu never thought he''d improve from. Yet, he had somehow pulled it off.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu calmed himself, the rage on his features dissipating into the cold air.


    With a steady gaze, he scanned the room, trying to see through its purpose. Aside from the murals that depicted worship and the pools of Spiritual Qi, there seemed to be a broken piece of Memory Jade at the very bottom of the dense waters. Oddly enough, there weren''t any other protective formations to be found, but the truth of the matter was that the Spiritual Qi was its own form of protection.


    If Ryu wantonly tried to grasp the broken Memory Jade, his Mental Realm would burst apart. Similar to how substances tended to flow from most dense to least dense areas, so too did Spiritual Qi follow this rule. By giving it an area of low density to flow to in his own Mental Realm, Ryu would be giving himself over to the reaper. It was an ingenious and simple protective mechanism.


    By Ryu''s calculations, the Spiritual Qi pool was five by five meters. However, it was difficult to tell its depth from how clear the waters were. It could be anywhere from fifty to a hundred meters deep. Such an influx of Spiritual Qi would even shatter the Mental Realm of an expert who had cultivated to the Soul Refinement stage.


    As Ryu saw it, there were two methods a normal individual could use to reach the Memory Jade.


    The first was to exhaust the Spiritual Qi. Over time, the qi would eventually dissipate. In fact, this was already happening considering the fact there was about a ten-foot gap between the edge of the pool and the water''s surface. One could also speed up this process by cultivating one''s Mental Realm near this source.


    Once the level of the Spiritual Qi lessened to an adequate degree, the Memory Jade could then be retrieved relatively painlessly. However, this would take a very long time, millions of years, potentially.


    The second method was one always available in the martial world, and that was to simply be more powerful than the protective mechanism could withstand. If one was at the Soul Quintessence realm, even if this pool was ten or a hundred times deeper, it would still be child''s play.


    Obviously, Ryu had none of these options available to him. He had only just begun his Mental Realm cultivation and couldn''t even be considered to be at the true Spiritual Entrance realm.


    ''I do not have the time nor the strength to use a third method¡­'' Ryu thought to himself. Looking around, he smiled lightly. ''I''ll be back.''


    Ryu leapt across the pool, using the Northern Heavenly Wind to clear the five-meter distance with ease.


    Making his way to the White Devil mural, his large hands glided across its surface before almost coincidentally pressing downward.


    The sound of shifting mechanisms creaked beneath Opes Palace. It was clear that this hidden path hadn''t been used for several thousand years¡­ Although Ryu wasn''t certain of the details, he had a good guess that this was how things were meant to be.


    A burst of cold air greeted Ryu as he walked up another flight of ice-covered steps. This time, however, there was no grey fountain at the other end. Instead, there was an inconspicuous stone, the kind that seemed to have aged for countless eons in the very same spot. If it wasn''t for the snow covering its surface, Ryu was certain that the green of moss and various fungi would coat it.


    Harsh winter winds whipped against Ryu''s frail cheeks, reddening them as he looked into the distance. He couldn''t help but feel very content with the results. As expected, that long path had led him to the remains of the Natural Order Sect!


    To a casual observer, Ryu was simply smiling toward seven mountain peaks covered in pure white snow. However, Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils saw different. In his eyes, those seven peaks became seven Martial Pavilions. Brilliant architecture dotted these natural phenomena, turning an Earthly Wonder into a paradise of cultivation.


    As expected of a top Sect, the Natural Order Sect was quite aware of its own appearances. Despite being a mortal Sect, it still held its own pride as a member of the Highest Mortal Plane. Ryu felt like he would find great use for this place. There was a little less than two years until that fateful date, so this would be his home for now.


    Ryu''s feet began to move in odd patterns. Not wanting to destroy the formation, and also not having the time or strength to manipulate such a large one as he did before, Ryu could only use another method.


    Every formation had a backdoor. This so-called ''backdoor'' was put in place by the creator just in case anything with awry. It was also a method of self-protection for Formation Masters to ensure that their creations were never used against them, and, at the same time, it was also a sort of signature akin to what an artist would leave behind on his works.


    Small scale formations rarely had these backdoors as they were too small to accommodate them. However, they were frequently found in large scale formations like this one. And, for Ryu who had eyes that could see through the Mysteries of all things, taking advantage of these backdoors was as easy as breathing.


    Just half a day later, a Ryu''s sweat matted body appeared in what seemed to be a complete other world. While the outside was layered in cold and coarse snow, the Natural Order Sect was experiencing a mid-summer''s day. Unfortunately, that made the stench of its corpses all the more unbearable.

 Chapter 66: Paths

    Ryu gasped for breath, unable to mind the terrible smell that assaulted his senses. The illusory formation that protected the Natural Order Sect was of the Middle Earth Grade. Unless one was a Divine Vessel realm expert capable of forcibly breaking the formation, or a Spiritual Severing expert recognized by the formation, you could only use the method Ryu just did. Unfortunately, such a method was very taxing on Ryu''s body even after a half year of cultivating. He feared that if the formation was one grade higher, he would have met his death within it.


    It was to be expected that Ryu underestimated these formations. He was so used to cracking Ancestral and Origin Grade ones that he looked down on those of the mortal Plane. But, he needed to realize that he no longer had Nuri by his side to help him nor did he have his normal tools.


    After collecting himself, Ryu began to walk around the sect, covering his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his cloak.


    It was a sad sight to see. Sects like this one and the Tor Clan''s Heavenly Body Sect weren''t only made up of cultivators, but also their families. While there were plenty of adult bodies, there were plenty of the elderly and children strewn around as well. Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but turn cold.


    The Ryu without much knowledge of the martial world already understood how arrogant this Sect''s name was, so it was obvious that the current Ryu understood even more so.


    The Natural Order was arguably the more important aspect of cultivation. While there were three paths to increase one''s strength, the Mental Realm, the Qi Realm, and the Body Realm, the Natural Order encompassed all three of them and referred to a study of Heavenly Laws.


    As far as Ryu was aware, the Natural Order came in two forms. The first was Mortal Endowment, split into Elements and Birthed Phenomena. Elements referred to matters relating to fire, water, lightning and the like. On the other hand, Birthed Phenomena were teachings created by humans that the Heavens have recognized as on par with its own mysteries. These could include the Way of the Sword or Spear, etc.


    The second form was far more enigmatic ¨C Natural Enlightenment. This form referred to abstract concepts such as the gentleness of a spring''s water, or the softness of a cloud. These inexplicable aspects of nature could be incorporated into one''s martial understanding, bringing the power of their techniques to another level by relying on Heavenly Essence.


    While cultivating the so-called Three Realms ¨C Mental, Qi, and Body ¨C was important, what separated cultivators of the same realm was often this understanding of the Natural Order. This was what decided who were the strong and weak, and who were the mundane and talented.


    To make matters more pressing, such comprehensions were often what barred individuals from reaching higher realms. Once one entered the upper echelons of Immortals, it was no longer about absorbing more energy. Cultivation evolved to become a matter of comprehending the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth. It was for this reason that Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils were ranked first.


    So, one could imagine why an Immortal Cultivator would think a mere Mortal Plane Sect arrogant for daring to take such a namesake for themselves. Still¡­ One would have to be quite the eccentric to go so far.


    "Why would an Immortal Cultivator come here¡­" Ryu mumbled to himself.


    Soon, Ryu had made his way all around the Sect and had gained a firm grasp of what it had to offer.


    The first and maybe most important part were the Seven Peaks. At the top of each of its mountains, there lay a Martial Pavilion. Respectively, they were known as the Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, Weapons, and Human Pavilions.


    While the first six are self-explanatory in their specialties, the Human Pavilion was more nuanced. This was where Ryu assumed the healers, refiners and Formation Masters of the Sect came together.


    Each Martial Pavilion was separated into hierarchies with higher levels corresponding to a higher ranks. Eventually, the very top of the Peak would be reserved for the Pavilion Master, of which, the Human Pavilion had three.


    Obviously, the Human Pavilion was the largest of the seven peaks, not only because it had more disciples and Masters, but also because it was the hub of the Sect. Unfortunately, this also meant that this place had the most dead bodies and the worst stench.


    Although Ryu had expected it, he was surprised to find that the Immortal Cultivator really hadn''t taken anything. He knew that an Immortal would likely look down on the things that were here, but this was still equivalent to a quarter of the wealth of the Highest Mortal Plane! That was definitely worth something¡­ Even if a Sect or Clan had more capital on the Immortal Plane, the individuals who could boast having this amount of wealth were very few. One had to understand that a Sect''s wealth and a person''s wealth were completely separate!


    After taking a deep breath he immediately regretted, Ryu decided on where he''d head to first and systematically visited every Pavilions'' technique vault. Of course, he had to deal with many more protective formations, so it wasn''t until another week had passed that Ryu collected every cultivation and martial technique the Sect had to offer.


    Soon after, Ryu found a secluded place away from the stench. He assumed that this hidden Peak was the personal residence of the Sect Master and Elders. Because of the height their cultivation had reached, their corpses didn''t give off the same stench.


    Ryu fell into a deep state of meditation as he sat before a beautiful scene. The qi here was far denser than his ''father''s'' King''s Garden by at least ten times. The small lake of water spanning just about two hundred meters in every direction gave off a heavenly and relaxing fragrance. Finally, the various colored Memory Jades that lay on the green grass reflected the orange and red hues of the slowly setting sun. The ambience was quite comforting.


    The path a cultivator starts with was highly important. However, where Ryu''s issue laid was in the fact that he was too talented. With four Ancestral Bloodlines within him, he was capable of following paths of Fire, Ice, and Lightning to their absolute extremes. This didn''t even mention the abilities of his meridians and bone structure that laid even outside these aptitudes.


    Even still, there was another matter Ryu was still considering¡­ Just what were the abilities of his Second Awakened Spiritual Foundation?

 Chapter 67: Second Rite

    Ryu''s mind projected into his body. This was something those who had just begun on the cultivation path were unable to do, but Ryu could for two reasons. The first reason was because he could now be considered a Half-Step Spiritual Entrance expert. This title referred to the very first true step along the cultivation of one''s Mental Realm. Due to the fact Ryu had partially opened his Spiritual Entrance Pulse owing to matters related to his various traumas suffered, he had managed to place a single foot in a realm he shouldn''t have opened so early.


    The second reason was related to his Origin Flame. Although this flame had no offensive or defensive abilities to speak of, and couldn''t even be used as an alchemy flame, its supporting abilities made it so that Ryu didn''t care about such disadvantages. Not only did it give him unmatched memory and recall, it made entering states of enlightenment far easier as well. To top this off, it gave passive boosts to its owner''s Mental Realm.


    Until now, both the Origin Flame and the Northern Heavenly Wind had been sealed within Ryu''s dormant soul. But, now that he had successfully transcended the trial of the Phoenix Sky God, he had been given the advantages he gained in his past life as well.


    A moment later, Ryu was opened to a startling sight. When he had Spiritual Foundations described to him as a child, or when he read about them in his studies, they were always referred to as a solid mass akin to the most precious metals in the world. Some cultivators had clear Foundations that could be seen directly through. Others had Foundations made of jade or gold, shimmering with beautiful rays of light. Ryu knew that his father described his Foundation as a slab of oppressive rubies, shining a crimson, bloody light.


    However, Ryu''s didn''t seem to match any of these descriptions. Although he could tell that there was a solid mass hidden beneath, his Foundation was a sea of white flames. Not only did it not fit the description of the Spiritual Foundation, it also didn''t perfectly align with what Ryu knew about Phoenix Flames.


    As far as Ryu was aware, there were three flames of the Phoenix Clan. The first was the Ice Flame, the second was the Rebirth Flame, and the last was the Dark Flame. Respectively, these natural wonders colored blue, red and black. Ryu had never heard of a white flame.


    There was another matter that was curious about his Spiritual Foundation as well. Depending on grade, one''s Foundation varied in size. A Common Grade Foundation would be about a half meter across at awakening. This diameter became one meter for a Black Grade Foundation, before increasing by one meter for every above grade until the five-meter diameter of the Ancestral Grade was reached.


    One might think that these values were too small of a difference between grades, but do consider for a moment that these are the sizes upon awakening. According to the Mortal Realm, there were eight more Rites proceeding this first awakening! And now that Ryu had awoken his memories, he knew that there were actually thirteen Rites total!


    For every so-called Rite a cultivator succeeds in, their Spiritual Foundation will double in size. One can see how these small differences in the beginning can very quickly become an insurmountable gap. It is also easy to see at this point why Ryu would be shocked that his Spiritual Foundation was ten meters across!


    ''This is the power of a Second Awakened Foundation¡­'' Ryu thought.


    He was exactly right. Every cultivator who awakened their Foundation for a second time experienced this immeasurable change. The problem was that Ryu was slightly different.


    Usually, cultivators don''t experience this Second Awakened until they''re well along their cultivation path. However, Ryu awakened his at the very beginning! He could experience the sturdiest Foundation possible due to this. While an Ancestral Grade would have a Foundation of twenty kilometers across by the end of their thirteenth Rite, Ryu''s would be forty kilometers!


    ''This mystery isn''t one that I''ll understand in the short term. Cultivation techniques are all identical until one completes the Pulse Opening realm, so I won''t bother choosing one until I am about to enter the Qi Refinement realm. What I need to do now is focus on completing my Rites. Once I reach and complete the ninth Rite, it will then be appropriate to completely open my Body Pulses.''


    Without hesitation, Ryu ignored the Memory Jades before him. Instead, he focused entirely on his Martial Forms and succeeding in his Rites.


    The truth was that Ryu knew next to nothing about cultivating higher realms, but he had been drilled again and again about the so-called ''Perfect Entry''. This perfect entry referred to the best way to lay a Foundation for a young cultivator and was something Ryu learned as early as he could begin practicing his Martial Forms. This perfect entry was also the reason why Ryu delayed his cultivation to practice his Forms for half a year.


    His first task was to reach the limits of his mortal body. On the Shrine Plane, he had accomplished this before he reached seven years old. It wasn''t until after his Ceremony failed that he stopped and allowed his body to reach a frail state. Training with Granny Miriam helped this along, but it wasn''t enough.


    The reason reaching the limits of the mortal body was important was due to the fact that Rites weren''t a simple matter. The more talented you were, the fiercer and more dangerous a Rite will be. For Ryu who had a Second Awakened Foundation, it was clear how much pressure he was under.


    The next task was to begin Body Realm cultivation after reaching the ninth Rite. This was especially important because the mortal body was incapable of withstanding the Final Four Rites. Each of them was a Devil of its own¡­ It was to the point that unlike the formerly unnamed nine Rites, the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth, all had monikers of their own.


    To enter the Body Realm, one also had to open Pulses. Each of the Three Realms had their own set, combining for a total of thirteen. Those of the Qi Realm were known as the Six Heavenly Qi Pulses. However, they could not be opened until one completed their Rites. Once one opened a Qi Pulse, it was impossible to go back and finish Rites.


    Pulses of the Mental Realm only totaled one, so it had its own namesake: The Spiritual Entrance Pulse. Finally, Pulses of the Body Realm were known as the Six Heavenly Body Pulses. It was the opening of these Pulses ¨C two of which were located in the spine, and four of which were located in the heart ¨C that allowed one to survive the Final Rites.


    Even as he went over these matters in his mind, Ryu felt a surprisingly thin barrier shatter as cultivation qi surged toward him. He had begun his second Rite.

 Chapter 68: Rites and Foundation

    Ryu grit his teeth slightly as his body began to undergo another wave of refinement.


    Why was the Spiritual Foundation so important? It was because it was through it that cultivators communicated with the Heavens.


    When a human cultivator was born, they would be gifted with a set talent. But, how could a baby boy or girl withstand such valiant potential? Their bodies are too frail and their experience too thin.


    As a result of this, humans evolved to have a sort of stop-gap measure. Spiritual Foundations were able to act as a lock and key, storing away a body''s potential until it was ready to accept it. For Ryu, who was born with a seemingly impossible Ancestral Great Circle ¨C a term used to refer to one born with Ancestral Grade talents in all Four Pillars ¨C this was exceptionally important to him. At the same time, though, the pain he underwent was manifold that of his peers.


    Ryu''s Ancestral Grade meridians roared to life, accepting the baptism of his Foundation and sheering apart to rebuild themselves once more.


    According to Ryu''s parents, he was born with Chaotic Silk Meridians. If one peered into his body, it was possible to see his meridians being destroyed and rebuilt by lines of spinning black silk. As is known by practically everyone in the martial world, Neutron Star Core is both the hardest and densest mineral in all of existence. However, not only does Chaotic Silk rank third one a list of world''s hardest materials, it was also exceptionally light! Even if one piled Chaotic Silk several kilometers high, it would still weigh as light as a single feather.


    Chaotic Silk Meridians truly earned their title. Those blessed enough to be born with them had practically the whole cultivation world opened to them. On one hand, it was possible to move qi within one''s body at speeds other cultivators wouldn''t dream of. This was because while others would worry about rupturing their meridians, Ryu would never have to worry about such a thing. On another hand, if one preferred strength and defense, being born with Chaotic Silk Meridians made it possible to condense several times the qi of a normal cultivator.


    The most important part of the Chaotic Silk Meridians was that¡­ They were impossible to sever! To think that Queen Tor would attempt to use Meridian Severing Powder on an Ancestral Grade set of meridians. It was truly laughable. Even without being awakened, Ryu''s meridians were far beyond the capability of a mortal to cripple.


    Just as Ryu was finally becoming accustomed to the rampaging of his meridians, his dormant bones trembled. In that instant, Ryu''s excruciating pain jumped to a new level. His blood surged, boiling away impurities even as his body collapsed in on itself to grow stronger.


    Pungent impurities even more putrid than the Sect of corpses coated Ryu''s body, but the pain continued to wrack him. No matter how uncomfortable he felt, he was forced to endure.


    Much to his father''s sadness, Ryu didn''t inherit his Tyrannical Emperor bone structure. Instead, he inherited his mother''s Ice Jade Crystal bones. It was for this reason that Ryu''s body and features seemed carved of ice. He also had this bone structure to thank for his handsome features. If Ryu inherited from his father instead, even if Third Concubine Leilani was ten times more powerful, she wouldn''t have been capable of breaking Ryu''s ribs.


    This aside, although Ryu lost in strength and durability, he gained greatly in recoverability and dexterity. Those born with the Ice Jade Crystal bone structure were blessed by heavenly energies. Not only did this allow them to cultivate faster, it also allowed them to heal much quicker as well. At the same time, this blessing by the Heavens made those with this body structure loved by nature. As a result, heavenly treasures that had gained sentience were less likely to be hostile or hide and beasts felt comfortable around you.


    Hours later, Ryu collapsed. Even while covered by a thick layer of impurities, his body shone like a crystal. Maybe it was a good thing that his features were blocked by such grime, or else the improvement in his looks would be blinding.


    Ryu chuckled bitterly. ''To think just the second Rite would be so painful¡­''


    Pulling himself together, he discarded his now ruined beast fur clothing, inwardly praising himself for having put his cloak away ahead of time. Then, he began to bathe in the spiritual lake before him, something that the upper echelon of the Natural Order Sect would have coughed up blood seeing.


    In the following three days, Ryu reaffirmed his foundation, practicing his Martial Forms to his peak abilities. Even after just the second Rite, their rate of improvement was astonishing. Just one example was his Ice Phoenix Martial Form. Before, he could only inhale the air within a meter of himself instantly, but now he could do so for five meters!


    Like this, Ryu''s bitter training continued. With his talent, if he had the mind to do it, he could complete all nine Rites in one fell swoop. He experienced practically no bottlenecks. The moment he communicated with his Spiritual Foundation and nurtured it, it seemed to jump forward eagerly on its own. But, he had to hold back to reaffirm his Foundation.


    Luckily, because he had spent six months honing his Martial Forms, it only took him three additional days every time. In just one month, Ryu completed his ninth Rite.


    Truth be told, he looked like an Immortal already. His features that were previously carved in ice became more perfect, his jaw strengthening and his nose sharpening. On the other hand, it was good news for Ryu that his Lightning Qilin and Fire Dragon bloodlines didn''t allow him to become too feminine. Instead, his stature grew to just over two meters tall, his shoulders and back widening.


    Because he had given up on making himself new clothes due to the constant growth and impurities, his body sparkled under the sun. He really did look more like an ice statue than a real man.


    Now, Ryu felt like he was ready. He knew that entering the Body Realm would take more time not because he was lacking talent, but because the hurdles were simply higher. This was the perfect time to begin practicing Martial Techniques.


    Ryu wanted to keep these matters simple, but he didn''t want to choose at random either. He needed a movement technique to supplement his Heavenly Wind, a defensive technique to make up for his frail bone structure, and he needed to decide what offensive path he would take. Would he become a master of palms? Of the finger or fist? Or would he choose a weapon?


    The whole world laid bare for Ryu, each path eagerly awaiting his decision.

 Chapter 69: Natures Love of Symmetry

    Ryu''s breath became peaceful, yet cyclones of visible wind entered his lips and nostrils before beaming outward in a strong stream. The more he thought about which path to take, the more confused he became.


    First, there was his Grandma Kunan. She was an absolute master of the palm. It was rumored that she could blot out the skies with a single strike. The power she showed in crippling the Third Grand Elder wasn''t even 5% of her true strength.


    However, Ryu''s Grandpa Kunan was a God of the Bow. Even during Ryu''s lifetime, he would often hear stories about how he used to stand on the clouds like a God of the Skies, his blue hair whipping about violently as he passed judgement with a single pull of his bow string. His grandpa treasured his bow almost as much as his wife.


    Then there was the Tatsuya Clan. Ryu felt that his father and grandfather alike would be more disappointed than words could describe if he didn''t master the three Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. Of course, these referred to the Dragon God Weapon: the halberd, the God Emperor Weapon: the spear, and the War God Weapon: the glaive.


    Ryu''s Grandma Tatsuya was a master of the saber. Fire Phoenix Clan women were usually taught the whip, but Merula disdained to follow suit. Instead, she forged her own path. In fact, legend of her shimmering rose-gold saber didn''t lose out to Grandma Kunan''s palm at all.


    Last, but not least, there was his mother. After Himari was born, her mother and father thought it would be a shame if she couldn''t make full use of her bone structure. Although she had great potential along the palm and bowman paths, they allowed Himari to forge her own. In the end, Ryu''s mother chose the most difficult of the weapon paths.


    This so-called most difficult path didn''t refer to a specific kind of weapon, or weapon length, or weight. Instead, it referred to a particular Form. This path was known as the dual wielding path. Because of the dexterity gifted to her by her bone structure, Himari became the Twin Sword Demoness, neither one of her blades fell behind the other in either speed or power.


    Obviously, Ryu couldn''t choose all of these paths. No matter how much he wanted to pay homage to his lineage in its entirety, attempting to become a master of all always ended in becoming a master of none. In a world where comprehending the Natural Order was so important, Ryu needed to maximize his talent, not dilute it.


    The first choice Ryu made was to take a first step along the path his mother chose. Since they shared the same bone structure, he would be wasting his talent if he didn''t make use of it.


    There was a reason dual wielding was so difficult. Even for Immortals, one would be born with a dominant hand. Not only would this hand be less awkward to use, but it often had wider and more robust meridians as well. Training one''s off hand would require a lot of effort that didn''t always bear fruit. Even for Ryu''s grandmother who practiced palms, the strike of her right palm had always been more powerful than her left.


    However, all of these problems disappeared into the ether for Ryu and his mother. Their bodies were born with perfect flexibility and dexterity. Now that Ryu had gone through nine Rites, he could feel the flawless balance of his body¡­ It was this symmetry that nature loved so much.


    Still, even after picking this path, Ryu remained undecided. Should he learn the twin swords as his mother did? Was it even possible to dual wield something that wasn''t a sword or saber? But, he was a Tatsuya Clan Heir at the end of the day, how could he disappoint his father and grandfather? Although his grandpa was a very quiet man, he always showed his love by his actions. Ryu didn''t like the idea of letting him down. He had already done so once¡­ He couldn''t do it again.


    Ryu''s jaw clenched. ''Even if it''s impossible, I must try. Dual wielding two, two-handed weapons is a fool''s dream. But, I, Ryu Tatsuya, will do it.''


    With a thought, Ryu''s body flashed. Even without a movement technique, his speed was blinding. Since his body was far stronger now, it of course followed that he could use his Heavenly Wind in a more unbridled fashion.


    Moments later, Ryu reappeared within the Human Pavilion, scanning a large room filled with weapons.


    Weapons followed the same Grading system as treasures. There were seven divisions which were each broken into lower, middle, higher and peak sub-divisions. From what Ryu could see now, most of this first floor was filled with various Common Grade weapons. Lowers were found at the front, while Peaks were further toward the back. There were also a set of stairs that led to floors with better weapons. However, Ryu didn''t go there just yet.


    When one was within the first two cultivation realms, the Awakening and Pulse Opening realms, it was only possible to use Common Grade techniques. Following this line of logic, it was also impossible for one of these two realms to pull out the full potential of a weapon above of the Common Grade. Until Ryu entered the Qi Refinement realm, using a weapon of too high a Grade would only serve to drain his stamina more quickly. At the same time, using a weapon of too high a Grade before one was ready would also hinder one''s comprehension of the Natural Order.


    Ryu remembered that the first weapon his father gave him was a wooden stick. Of course, this wooden stick was still of higher quality than even the Peak Common Grade weapons here, but it still served to ingrain the concept within Ryu''s mind.


    Without feeling any doubt or regret, Ryu immediately chose two mass produced Lower Common Grade halberds, and repeated the process with two spears, and two glaives.


    Truth be told, this was a blessing in disguise. Because these weapons were inferior to the point of being mass produced, Ryu didn''t need to worry about imbalances. The pairs of weapons were more or less the same weight, balance and length.


    After completing this task, Ryu appeared within the Pill Storage rooms of the Natural Order Sect. Taking a moment, he ignored the Qi Realm pills to find a set of Body Realm ones known as ''Blood Congealing'' pills. These pills agitated one''s blood and forced it to coalesce. Doing so pushed out impurities and also made attacking Body Pulses much easier.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t need these pills for forcing out impurities, his Rites could do that. Plus, his bloodline was of the Ancestral Grade and thus was near a realm of perfection already. These mere 40% pure pills couldn''t hope to refine it. But, they could help him enter the Body Realm.

 Chapter 70: Basic Stances

    Ryu sat in meditation, adjusting his state to its peak level. Before him sat six pill bottles, each with twenty or so Blood Congealing pills. There were far more of these, several thousand, in fact. However, Ryu had no interest in them. The truth was that he was reluctant to take such impure pills to begin with.


    Unless a pill reached an almost unheard of 100% purity, it would leave behind ill-effects within its taker''s body. There were some exceptions, but they were incredibly rare for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, Ryu had no alchemy skills, so he was unable to make any of his own, nor did he want to waste any time learning. The only reason Ryu was willing to accept these pill impurities into his body was because he planned to rely on the Final Four Rites to force them out.


    The good news was that Ryu didn''t plan on relying on pills forever. The Origin Grade Incubator that fused with his Heavenly Pupils had travelled to this life with him as well. Therefore, he would be able to make use of its ability to refine heavenly treasures into pure energy in the future. The only reason he wasn''t using this ability now was because there were certain limiters on what he could absorb due to the fact the Natural Order Sect was lacking in Body Realm type spiritual plants.


    There was another method of improving in the Body Realm as well, but it was far more dangerous.


    In the martial world, beasts of this Era evolved differently from humans. Instead of being born with Spiritual Foundations, they were born with Spiritual Roots. These Roots gave beasts all sorts of hidden abilities from birth and was also where they stored their cultivation. Essentially, the Spiritual Roots would absorb qi and dispense it to the body via its various connections to the beast''s meridians, blood vessels, muscles, etc.


    When one killed a beast, drinking or soaking in the blood of the Spiritual Root was highly beneficial to cultivating the Body Realm. It was also possible to directly refine or eat this Root, although the process would be far more dangerous and taxing on the body.


    Ryu suddenly stood, swallowing a Blood Congealing pills. Although these were just Lower Common Grade pills, Ryu immediately felt his blood begin to boil. Following the teachings of his father, he picked up a halberd and began to practice. Titus Tatsuya had always said the Body Realm relied on using the body. One couldn''t simply sit and meditate like they could for the Qi and Mental Realms.


    Much like every other aspect of cultivation, comprehending a weapon was all about the firmness of one''s foundation. Therefore, Ryu didn''t hurry to choose a domineering technique. Instead, he practiced the basic stances his father and grandfather taught him from youth. Unlike his Martial Forms, there was nothing special about these stances. They were taught everywhere, whether it be the mortal or Immortal Planes.


    When Ryu asked why he had to learn such boring stuff, his father had replied with a hearty laugh.


    ''Do you believe that things last forever, Little Ryu?'' He had said. ''Of course not. Yet, somehow, from the Chaos Era to our Golden Era, these same basic stances have weathered the test of time. Little boys and girls your age, whether it be here, or in the smallest martial school, they all learn these same stances. Do not look down on something that has survived so long, because chances are, you''ll perish before it does.''


    After that day, Ryu no longer asked his father questions of why and continued to practice with his wooden stick. His father could tell that he still didn''t have his heart in it, but there was nothing more to be said. Whether Ryu grasped their importance was up to himself and himself alone.


    Ryu smiled lightly at this memory. Never had he been so thankful to have the Origin Flame. With it, it felt as though his father was right in front of him.


    Of the basic stances, there were two categories. The first entailed attacking and defending with the weapon, and the second relied on foot movement in attack and defending. Where the difficulty lay in mastering the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons was that whether it be the halberd, glaive or spear, their basic stances were identical! What a Tatsuya was tasked with was understanding the nuance of the weapon and where their character differed even in executing the same movements.


    Ryu began with the first category. He allowed his instincts to carry his foot placement while executing the three basic attack stances. These were: sweep, slice and pierce. He would then continue to the three basic defense stances: push, pare, and skim. Finally, he began to slowly incorporate the proper foot placement denoted as: advance, retreat, sidestep, lunge and steady.


    As he carried on with his practice, he almost forgot about his burning blood. The aching in his muscles and lungs took priority as he pushed himself to his limits. Unlike during his childhood, Ryu put his everything into these movements, copying the image of his father to the best of his abilities.


    When Ryu felt that he had gained a basic understanding, he flipped his stance, practicing steadily with his left hand as his dominant. Although he ignored dual wielding for now, he planned to train both halves of his body equally, only in that way would he be prepared for future steps.


    Although Ryu was only faintly aware of it now, the Origin Flame was making its presence felt. With a thought, he had slipped into the first meditation stage, simply known as Meditation State. Once he began to fuse the proper footsteps into his movements, he slipped into the second state, Breath of Earth.


    If Ryu had been conscious now, he would be in awe. Breath of Earth was a state he could only maintain for a few seconds at most in his previous life. Yet, he had already held it for thirty minutes already!


    Ryu''s congealed blood raged, and his Ancestral Grade talent began to shine through. Even after just a single pill, his blood surged, attacking the first Body Pulse within his heart.


    In that moment, Ryu''s body reddened. Combined with its original ice sculpture-like appearance, Ryu looked like a piece of heavenly glass being refined by a holy fire. His body glowed fiercely, the speed of his blood reaching such a height that it could be heard from several meters away.


    His heart thumped. Then, an audible breaking sound snapped through the air.


    Ryu remained in an enlightened state. What should have been a very painful process was akin to a breath of fresh air to him.


    Impurities of his body forced themselves out, but Ryu didn''t notice as his arms continued to swing without pause.


    He lunged forward, piercing through the air. A moment later, he seamlessly retreated, pushing the butt of his halberd away from himself and he sunk into a stance immovable as a mountain.


    An ancient aura seemed to seep from his body. He had touched upon the first barrier to mastery.

 Chapter 71: Limitations

    Almost a month later, Ryu continued to practice the same basic stances. Other than to eat, he never stopped. Although his Qi Realm cultivation wasn''t deep enough to go without sleep, his Mental Realm cultivation was, despite only have a half-foot into its first step. By relying on this, Ryu was able to stay awake for weeks at a time, something that shouldn''t have been possible until he became a Qi Refinement expert.


    However, this month wasn''t without its problems. For techniques, their level of mastery was denoted by the so-called Four Levels of Mastery. These were: Small Success, Large Success, Great Success, and Circle of Perfection. For someone with Ryu''s talent, especially with the help of the Origin Flame, he should have already reached the Circle of Perfection after a month of training the same movements, especially since these basic stances couldn''t even be considered of the Lower Common Grade. Yet, he was stuck at the barrier to Small Success. This realm was so pitiful that it wasn''t among the Four Levels of Mastery and was simply known as the Entry Level.


    That said, with Ryu''s intelligence, he also understood the reason why his progress was so slow. For the past few weeks, he hadn''t been trying to perfect the basic stances using his own interpretation of them. Instead, he was relying on the images of his father and grandfather. What a Tatsuya man would denote as Small Success wasn''t something those of the lower Planes could fathom. This was especially so for Ryu''s grandfather whose level was even beyond that of his father.


    This sort of Visual Training was impossible for others, but for Ryu who had a perfect recall of events thanks to the Origin Flame, he could rely on the comprehension of his family to improve himself. The only drawback was that the requirements for himself were also of an otherworldly level.


    For perspective, if Ryu were to use the standards of this Higher Mortal Plane, he had already exceeded their Circle of Perfection realm by more than two times! The strokes of his halberd, spear and glaive were already comparable to a perfected Higher Common Grade technique.


    Ryu''s movements began to slow. Soon, the blade in his hand inched forward at such a snail-like pace that it seemed he wasn''t moving at all. However, the beads of sweat that fell from his perfectly sculpted body told a different story. He focused his everything into understanding the smallest of twitches. Every time the image of himself and his father didn''t align, he adjusted. Repeating this again and again for hours on end.


    Another month later, Ryu emitted a heated breath, causing the ten-meter radius around himself to become filled with a scorching fog. Although he still hadn''t breached the Small Success barrier, he had opened four of the Body Pulses within his heart. Now, only the two within his spine remained ¨C however, these were even more dangerous to open than the previous four. Ryu didn''t dare casually attack them with these mere 40% pure pills.


    ''It''s a shame that I hadn''t awoken to the true abilities of my Heavenly Pupils when father and grandfather taught me these stances¡­'' Ryu lamented to himself. ''If I used their ability to see through all things, I would have already reached Small Success by now.''


    Ryu shook his head. He had reached the limit of what he could do here. If he wanted to improve any further, he needed practical experience. Only by putting his life on the line would he be able to reach what he sought. He couldn''t be more aware of his lack of practical combat experience. No matter how much of a so-called genius he was, if he couldn''t bring out his abilities at the crucial time, it was all useless.


    After practicing his Ice and Fire Phoenix Clan stances to help himself recover, Ryu finally got to choosing a movement technique. If he wanted to go out and seek experiences, he didn''t want to rely on the North Heavenly Wind. He wanted to set a firm foundation first. Only then would it be appropriate to use.


    The range of techniques the Natural Order Sect had was quite impressive. Aside from their attributeless and second profession related techniques found in the Human Pavilion, they had a whole host of Pavilion specific techniques among their other Peaks.


    Common Grade techniques were the most abundant, numbering at just over seven hundred. For Ryu, who hadn''t entered the Qi Refinement realm yet, these were the techniques he was limited to. But, surprisingly, there were also just over eighty or so Black Grade techniques and this small Sect actually had six Earth Grade techniques. Although, these Earth Grade techniques were all monopolized by their Upper Echelon.


    As expected, the reason there were so many Common Grade techniques was because most of them were Lower Grade, making them practically trash. If Ryu focused on just the Peak Common Grade techniques, there were less than thirty. Of which, only three were movement techniques.


    The trouble with Common Grade techniques was that they were the most prone to having imperfections. Many were created casually by pseudo experts and were riddled with potential potholes for Cultivation Deviation. Usually, the largest Sects would weed out the most dangerous of these techniques and leave behind those that would do the least harm. However, small Sects had no such choice. This left their disciples playing a game of Russian Roulette with their meridians.


    Although Ryu''s meridians were inseverable, one had to understand that meridians acted much like blood vessels. They were interconnected with many important organs of the human body. Even if his meridians didn''t suffer, his far more fragile innards would.


    Luckily, Ryu had a cheat. With his Heavenly Pupils, he was able to see through the flaws of techniques. Coupling this with the added enlightenment given to him by the Origin Flame, creating novel solutions to these flaws would only be a matter of time.


    In the end, Ryu chose a technique titled [Gliding Cloud Steps]. He chose this because it not only matched the concept of his Heavenly Wind, but it was also had great hidden defensive capabilities. It wasn''t just a technique about speed, but also contained concepts of the wind. One that reaches the Circle of Perfection in this technique could be akin to a feather in the sky, capable of dodging attacks simply by making use of their air pressure.


    Ryu didn''t rush to begin practicing this technique. Instead, he sat upon a large rock he had been using as a meditation stone and calmed his breathing. In the next moment, a strong ''WENG'' sound emitted from his dantian as a holy light began to emit from his body.


    Unlike the previous nine Rites, the Final Four were a monster unto themselves. Each were given their own namesake, allowing geniuses who surpassed their trials to puff out their chests in pride.


    After surpassing the fourth Pulse of the Body Realm''s Pulse Tempering realm, Ryu had finally decided it was time to attack the Rite of Limitations.

 Chapter 72: Madness

    Ryu roared into the skies, unable to withstand the restructuring of his body in silence.


    The Rite of Limitations earned its namesake for a reason. This Rite was meant to push past what one''s innate talent was capable of. Although the Heavens seem to be unfair, gifting some talent and ignoring those without, this isn''t entirely the case. There are many stories of those with poor talent ascending to the top of the martial world purely through their own perseverance.


    Why was it that one''s Mental Realm was so important? It wasn''t just that cultivators must live for a long time and thus must have strong Spiritual Qi in order to not lose themselves to madness, it was also because one''s mentality in cultivation was incredibly important.


    The Rite of Limitations allowed cultivators the chance to exchange their pain for greater potential. Although this wouldn''t directly boost the grade of your talent, what it could do is awaken hidden potential you didn''t know you had. If this opportunity is continually grasped, it isn''t difficult for the Lines of Karma to spin in your favor and provide you with a chance to advance in the future.


    It was for this reason that this Rite was so painful for Ryu. Within the martial world, he already had what could be considered the peak-most talent. He was birthed with an Ancestral Great Circle. Seeking to break outside the limitations of such talent would be akin to enraging the Heavens. However, he did so anyway.


    Ryu was pressed for time. It had to be said that even a heavenly talent like his wife took almost one million years to reach the Lower Dao Pedestal realm. His parents, two individuals who were world-shattering experts as well, used hundreds of millions of years to just reach the Higher Cosmic Seed realm. His grandparents, old monsters who had lived for billions of years, had only reached the Middle World Sea realm!


    He didn''t have a billion years. He didn''t have hundreds of millions. He didn''t even have a million.


    The anxiety of not knowing what happened to his family was weighing on his chest. He tried to press it down, ignoring it to the best of his abilities, but it crept up time and time again.


    Ryu couldn''t rest of laurels. He couldn''t bide his time and aim for better in the future. His family needed him now, and he would put everything on the line for them.


    He knew he could do it. The reason cultivation slowed so much during later Immortal Realms was because it relied so heavily on comprehension. However, there was a reason his Pupils were ranked number one. There was a reason the Origin Flame was a nearly unmatched treasure. With these two things in hand, what did Ryu have to fear?


    He would pierce through the Immortal Planes and shatter the barrier that surrounded his home. He would see his mother''s smile again. He would bask in the proud glint in his father''s eye. He would protect his wife to his back. He would do all the things he had only been able to dream of before. This was his resolve.


    A second holy light descended from the skies, this one more than ten times the size of the former.


    This was the Rite of Perseverance!


    Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation expanded madly in size, doubling once more as impurities of black mixed with the crimson blood that poured from his ever-growing wounds.


    In the next moment, yet another pillar of holy light descended from the skies. However, this couldn''t be considered holy at all. The light was a blood red, wafting with death and dense yin. It was as though the world had flipped and the Rivers of the Underworld rained down upon him.


    This was the Rite of Death!


    If Ryu''s parents could see him now, they would have been shocked into a state of horror. Before Ryu turned seven years old, his father and mother had implored him to never attempt this twelfth Rite. With his talent, it simply wasn''t worth it. What need was there for someone of the Ancestral Great Circle to put their lives on the line? It was simply foolish!


    Ryu laughed into the skies as this red light descended upon him. The Higher Mortal Plane shook under his madness, not a single soul missed the sight of this crimson pillar of light.


    Almost all his life, Ryu had been cold and withdrawn. However, there was a time when he was a bright-eyed little boy with a smile that could light up the world. His little chubby cheeks and large watery silver eyes were once the sun that lit up the otherwise bland Tatsuya Clan Palace.


    Unfortunately, his hardships had changed him. He always had loving parents around him, but he felt that he wasn''t enough. Everything was perfect, but himself.


    This sort of mentality turned him into what he was. He didn''t dare to fight against Fate because it seemed selfish to do so. He had everything in the world, so what if he missed out on this one thing? He would live a short life with his head held high. This was the old Ryu''s resolve.


    However, it was then that the lines of Fate began to change. The tides of the Tatsuya Clan''s superiority seemed to be shifting and everything pointed toward their eventual collapse. It was at that point that Ryu realized that Fate wasn''t magnanimous or fair. It wasn''t all knowing or perfect either. Since it could dare to cause hardship to his loved ones, people who had loved him despite his faults, how dare it flaunt itself before him as it pleased?!


    A look of recklessness took over Ryu''s emotionless features. His face was bloodied by his sheered skin, bruises of black and blue coated him, making it clear that his inner body was just as devastated as what could be seen on the outside, and even his pure white hair became coated in crimson liquids. He looked no different from a Demonic Emperor, descending into the world.


    He looked up into the skies, his silver eyes opening with a fierce glint. Their light seemed to pierce through the pillars, reaching into the skies and attempting to scatter the clouds above.


    "I no longer fear death!" Ryu''s voice was resolute, filled with the roar of a Tatsuya man. "Fate will never chain me again!"


    The clouds in the skies trembled, flashing with arcs of golden lightning as Ryu''s tenacity reached a new height.


    "Come! Rite of Origin!"

 Chapter 73: Essence of Origin

    Two pillars of white light. One pillar of crimson light. And, finally, one pillar of golden light to shatter them all.


    Ryu practically felt as though his body was sheering apart at the seams. Although he had felt similar type of pain going through his previous Rites and even while opening his Body Realm Pulses, this was on a level he had never experienced before.


    The very same Ryu who, as a mortal, didn''t make a sound even while being tortured by a spike-filled beast tendon whip, couldn''t help but roar toward the skies in agony.


    His Spiritual Foundation doubled in size, then quadrupled. The dantian it resided it shattered apart completely, trying its best to reconstruct itself but failing miserably as Ryu called upon Rite after Rite. Suffering through a single one of the Named Rites was already a matter of life and death, but to face all four at once was nothing short of suicidal!


    However, even with how intelligent Ryu was, he still did this foolish thing. When he was improving his Body Realm, Ryu suddenly came to understand something. Without a Body Realm Cultivation technique, opening his Body Pulses would have minimal effect.


    The truth of the matter was that even after opening four Body Pulses, the strength he gained was disappointing. Although he was certain that there didn''t exist a Pulse Opening Expert who was his match on this Mortal Plane, this wasn''t enough to undergo these final Rites as someone with an Ancestral Great Circle. Plus, these weren''t the opponents he was aiming for!


    It was after realizing this that Ryu understood biding his time would no longer give him any benefits. If he wanted to defy the heavens, he had to firmly take this step forward without a single ounce of regret or hesitation!


    The white flames of Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation surged forward. In that moment, his body was overwhelmed by an unknown, previously dormant flame. It responded to Ryu''s defiance, nurturing his mind to keep him lucid. Although these flames did nothing to ease the pain Ryu was feeling, it stabilized his crumbling Mental Realm, allowing Ryu''s will to maintain his consciousness to shine through.


    An instant later, the Origin Flame seemed to react in kind. It sensed the Essence of Origin that descended from the golden pillar and suddenly fidgeted with excitement. At first, it had been forced into dormancy by the oppressive Heavenly Laws, however the mysterious white flames had shaken it awake. It was just an Embryo, if it hadn''t been for this help, it was impossible for it to go against the Will of the Heavens.


    As though its task was accomplished, the white flames retreated to Ryu''s dantian, silently surging along with his ever-growing Spiritual Foundation.


    The Origin Flame excitedly gobbled up the Essence of Origin, refining it and sending it toward Ryu. What was once a tyrannical and unbridled aura instantly became incomparably soothing.


    Impurities were forced out of Ryu''s body in droves. They rolled off of him and the stone he sat upon, sinking to the green grass below and turning it a disgusting sheen of brown and black.


    Ryu''s meridians expanded once more. Although this would make completing the Qi Refinement realm far more difficult, the amount of qi he could hold was easily five times the amount of a normal cultivator. If he made proper use of the Qi Refinement realm''s Revolutions, this would only increase!


    This wasn''t even the greatest benefit of Ryu''s recklessness. Because the Origin Flame had refined so much of the incredibly rare Essence of Origin, it matured slightly. Although it was still far from exiting its Embryonic stage, it was at least twice as effective as it was before. Essentially, the progress Ryu had made in his basic stances in two months, could now be done in just one!


    There was another hidden benefit as well. The treasures located on Ryu''s body responded favorably to this Essence of Origin. This was especially so for the Incubator fused with his Heavenly Pupils considering it was an Origin Grade treasure itself. Although the benefits weren''t obvious to Ryu now, it had improved from a Lower Origin Grade treasure to a Middle Origin Grade treasure! Its ability to foster beasts and grow spiritual plants had sky-rocketed to an entirely new level.


    As for the other treasures on Ryu''s body, their improvement wasn''t so exaggerated. Aside from his twin daggers that flashed a red light before fading back to their normal blue sheen, there weren''t any other changes. That said¡­ The meridians of his Heavenly Pupils pulsated with happiness. Formerly sealed pathways broke open as they began to slowly evolve.


    Days later, Ryu awoke in his own filth. It took him almost half a day alone to scrub them from his body. However, what was left was a body that shone like a silver blade.


    After inspecting himself, Ryu noticed that the chaotic state his blood entered when he forcibly took on the Rite of Origin had inadvertently caused the final two Body Pulses located in his spine to open. In just three months, Ryu had completed all of his Rites and opened all of his Body Realm Pulses. However, this speed was normal for a genius of Ryu''s caliber. For those born on the Shrine Plane, this was about their same speed as well. The largest difference was that they would still be seven years old when they reached this step while Ryu was already fourteen. He couldn''t relax.


    Nevertheless, Ryu wasn''t entirely humble either. Those geniuses he referred to would have, at most, completed their eleventh Rite. Even his father and mother only completed their twelfth. Ryu had grounds to be proud of himself.


    Of course, this was only because the talent of his mother and father was such that completing the thirteenth Rite was unnecessary. It was for this same reason that they only expected Ryu to complete up to his eleventh. Still, Ryu couldn''t help but smile lightly. It seemed that ever since he awakened, his perpetual coldness was being chipped away at.


    With a thought, the wooden shaft of a seven-foot-long halberd appeared in Ryu''s hands.


    His movements started slow and forceful before becoming quick and overbearing. The ''SHIIING'' sound of an illusory light flickered into and out of existence, but Ryu had slipped into such a profound state that he didn''t seem to notice.


    In that moment, Ryu''s body glowed with a gentle light. He seemed to become larger than life before blending into still shining skies above. Ryu had stepped into the Breath of Heaven meditation state.


    The sparks of light became fiercer. Space around Ryu shivered and rippled, resulting from the faint image of an Emperor appearing to his back.


    "HA!" Ryu lungs expanded, his arms swinging downward forcefully as the sound of a shattering barrier resounded. He had finally breached the Small Success realm.

 Chapter 74: Wall of Opposition

    In a dense beast forest to the Natural Order Sect''s back, an odd scene could be witnessed. A young man with long flowing white hair that almost glowed under the winter night''s moon stood with a spear in his left hand. His right arm was firmly tied behind his back as he attacked the den of Dire Wolves before him.


    By now, only the den''s alpha remained. Its coarse black fur raising as it tried to intimidate the young man. Truth be told, it was at least 50% larger than a common horse. For the young man to remain unperturbed by its attempts was a shocking matter unto itself.


    The young man''s spear shot forward like a pillar of light. If one ignored the fact he still held it in his hands, it was almost possible to mistake it for a star shooting across the skies. Neither the wet snow beneath his feet, nor the cold, piercing night''s wind seemed to affect his strength.


    A roar of pain shook the dark forest as the den alpha suffered a blow to its glowing yellow eyes.


    In an instant, the young man shifted his position, his body becoming like the wind as the alpha''s paw swing''s air gently pushed him aside.


    The den''s alpha couldn''t understand what was happening. It was a King of dozens of wolves. When it put its full power into a swing, how could a mere human treat it like a calm gust of wind?!


    Unfortunately, it would never get its answer. The young man appeared below its large head, piercing upward with a seemingly bland martial technique that couldn''t have been any more basic. Before the alpha could understand what happened, the light in its eyes dimmed just as the tip of the young man''s spear exited from its lower jaw, through the top of its skull.


    The young man shook his spear lightly, tilting the wolf''s body to the side to stop it from falling atop of him. A turbid breath left his lips, steaming the cold air.


    ''I can just barely use a twentieth of my strength when restricted to one hand. If things keep going like this, I''ll never be able to dual wield and live up to father''s expectations at the same time.''


    This young man was none other than Ryu. It had been eight months since he crossed into the Small Success realm of the halberd, and he had proceeded to do the same for the spear and glaive just days later. In fact, in this time, he had opened all six Qi Pulses and surged to the Peak Pulse Opening realm. It could be said that his gains were great, but he was wholly unsatisfied.


    Although Ryu knew his initial goal was a bit foolish and fanciful, he still wanted to make an attempt. But, it seemed that infusing the will of a two-handed weapon into just one was a task too great for even him to accomplish.


    Ryu shook his head as he looked toward his bloodied spear. The moment he untied his right hand and held it as a two-handed weapon should be, his aura skyrocketed. It was almost as though he became a completely different person.


    The air around him trembled and the faint image of an Emperor appeared to his back. The illusory man was so vague that it was impossible to make out his features, but his imposing momentum was unmistakeable.


    After months of contemplation, Ryu understood what this Emperor was. When one trained a Mortal Endowment of the Birthed Phenomena category, like the spear, glaive or halberd, there were innumerable paths possible. For example, if one took the sword, it was possible to become a master who was tyrannical, or it was possible to become a master who emphasized flow and elegance, even further, it was possible to emphasize sharpness or speed. Each one of these paths had varying difficulties unto themselves, but some paths were far more refined than others, especially those passed on as an inheritance.


    As one might have guessed by now, the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons were such an inheritance. Although Ryu had never learned their Core Teachings, he was able to rely on the images of his father infusing this will into his basic stances to tap into it.


    There was a reason this branch of Mortal Endowments was known as Birthed Phenomena. If such an inheritance was practiced to a high enough level, it was possible to evoke a Phenomena much like the Emperor that floated to Ryu''s back. The greater the inheritance, the more quickly this Phenomena will make its Presence felt. For Ryu to have just barely started cultivating, yet to have already evoked such a matter, it was clear how great the Tatsuya Saintly Weapon inheritance was!


    The trouble was that this inheritance was so great that a mere Ryu had no ability to manipulate it to his will. He wanted to fuse the quintessence of the inheritance with his weapon while using a single arm, but even after almost a year of attempts, he failed again and again. He thought that tempering himself with this beast forest was the key to improvement, but although his battle sense had improved by leaps and bounds, he had met a hard wall of opposition toward his true goal.


    Ryu sighed, releasing his aura and allowing the Phenomena to fade. ''There is only one week until the Coronation Games. I no longer have the time to idle.''


    If one could see the image of Ryu sighing at his lack of strength while standing amidst a pack of dead Second Order Beasts, they might faint in anger. To make matters worse, the den alpha was actually a lower Third Order Beast, yet it had been completely toyed with by Ryu.


    The ranking of beasts was incomparably simple. The First through Twelfth Orders referred to the twelve stages of human cultivation. A First Order Beast was the equivalent of an Awakening realm expert while a Third Order Beast was the equivalent of a Qi Refinement realm expert. So on and so forth.


    For Ryu to eliminate a den of dozens of Second Order Beasts supported by a Third Order alpha while restricted to just 5% of his strength¡­ His improvement was clear. This matter only became more shocking when it was considered that he was a mere Peak Pulse Opening realm expert.


    Looking down at himself, Ryu realized that he was still naked. He hadn''t been able to find suitable clothes and was unwilling to wear the Natural Order Sect''s disciple robes, so he simply trained in the nude. Considering the glow of his body, it wasn''t very good for stealth in the night.


    ''These dire wolf corpses can make me some nice and sturdy leather robes. The defense will be decent as well¡­'' Ryu thought to himself as he began dissecting the corpses.


    Although he wasn''t exactly an expert tailor, due to his inability to cultivate, Ryu often passed time in his last life dabbling in the Four Arts: Calligraphy, Painting, Music, and Domain. So, he was confident that with some practice, he could make something decent in a week.


    Like this, his days of training were coming to an end.

 Chapter 75: Fourteen Rings

    Ryu entered the bounds of the Natural Order Sect once more for the first time in months. By now, the foul stench of rotting corpses had disappeared due to Ryu digging a mass grave for the fallen disciples and families. This left the Sect smelling of its normal natural air, the kind only possible when dense qi congregated in an area.


    Knowing he didn''t have much time, Ryu sped to the upper echelon gardens of the Sect, finding a familiar scene of sweet water and refreshing nature. However, what dampened this atmosphere were the over fifty barrels, each standing at over one meter tall. It wouldn''t have been so bad had it not been for the fact that all fifty were filled to the brim with beast blood and Spiritual Roots.


    These barrels were initially what Granny Miriam left for Ryu in her spatial ring. They were what had once held his water, an amount Granny Miriam claimed would last five years. Given the amount, it was clear she hadn''t exaggerated. If anything, she went a bit overboard, but that only brought warmth to Ryu''s heart.


    Due to the fact he didn''t have an exact destination after accomplishing his goals here, Ryu planned to head to the Immortal Plane immediately following the Coronation Games. Although other cultivators had to wait until they reached the Divine Vessel realm to breach the Immortal Barrier, one had to understand that this was just a sort of trial for lesser talented mortals.


    In reality, the Immortal Barrier wasn''t a simple gate. Instead, it was a road that increased with added pressure as one walked along it. To make a complex matter simple, it was normally impossible for anyone below the Divine Vessel realm to survive this pressure. In fact, even those above the Divine Vessel realm struggled as the pressure increased proportionate to cultivation.


    However, Ryu''s Ancestral Great Circle allowed him the ability to ignore the pressure of the Immortal Barrier. Even the far more difficult Barriers on higher Planes were nothing but a joke to him. He wouldn''t even feel it. Essentially, all that was keeping him here was revenge for his Granny Miriam.


    After filling the final barrels with the blood and Spiritual Root of the wolf alpha, Ryu took out fourteen Spatial Rings.


    When compared to the ring Granny Miriam gave him, the space within these rings was pitiful. However, they were still the private possessions of the upper echelon of the Natural Order Sect. Before Ryu gave them a proper burial, he took the liberty of taking them for himself. Although this made Ryu feel slightly uncomfortable, when he thought of the hardships his family was likely going through right now, he ignored his pride and took them. He needed whatever he could to improve as quickly as possible.


    With a thought, he erased the Spiritual Markings on the rings. This should have been more difficult, after all, he was a mere Pulse Opening expert while even the lowest of their owners was of the Spiritual Severing realm, but Ryu''s Mental Realm was on another level. While he had started on the road of true Mental Realm cultivation, none of these fourteen men and women had.


    Soon, piles of resources grew before Ryu, causing him to nod slightly. Of the fourteen experts, ten were of the Peak Spiritual Severing realm, three were Half-Step Divine Vessel experts, and their Sect Master was of the Lower Divine Vessel realm. As such, given his current circumstances, Ryu couldn''t turn his nose up at their possessions.


    ''Mortal Qi Stones. Good¡­'' Ryu thought to himself.


    Within the martial world, there were three forms of Cultivation Qi. The first was what Ryu made use of now, Mortal Qi, the second was Immortal Qi, and the last was Chaotic Qi. In order to step into the Connecting Heaven realm, it was necessary to comprehend Immortal Qi, while Chaotic Qi was something far from Ryu currently.


    These so-called Mortal Qi Stones were filled with Mortal Qi and were the basic currency of the martial world. Actually, the reality was that these Mortal Stones were invaluable on the Mortal Plane. It was to the point where the vaults of the Natural Order Sect were filled with gold and silver instead of these stones. This was a basic difference of the Mortal and Immortal Planes.


    ''So the upper echelon monopolized the Qi Stones and only distributed gold and silver to their disciples. Considering their scarcity, this makes sense.''


    Luckily for Ryu, the lowest Immortal Plane ¨C the Pedestal Plane ¨C used these Mortal Qi Stones as their currency. Gold and silver were useless to them. Unluckily, as expected of a rare resource, the upper echelon of the Sect hardly had much.


    ''One thousand Inferior Qi Stones and twenty Medial Qi Stones. This should be enough for now.''


    What Ryu didn''t know was that although the Immortal Plane used Qi Stones as their basic currency, this was mostly for the inner regions. For the Outer Ring, which would be his first destination, gold and silver was still highly prevalent. This fortune he had accumulated would make him among the richest in the Outer Ring. Especially considering that one Medial stone was worth one hundred Inferior stones.


    Aside from these Qi Stones, Ryu found three Lower Earth Grade treasures. Unfortunately, they were all swords, so he set them aside to sell.


    Continuing on, he found a few precious spiritual plants of the Earth Grade as well. These were treasures these elders likely fought Fourth and Fifth Order beasts for, but in the end, they landed in Ryu''s hands. There were six Qi Whispering stocks, but what caught Ryu''s attention was the singular stock of Bone Separating Root. This was the first valuable body tempering spiritual plant Ryu had found!


    Although Ryu had spent months in the beast forest, he had only fought a single Fourth Order beast. At that time, he was forced to abandon his training and use his full power. Even then, he almost died and was forced to take half a month to recover. Back then, all he received in return was yet another three Qi Whispering stocks. He only hadn''t used them yet due to certain restrictions he was facing.


    ''This is good. Once I find a body cultivating technique, this Earth Grade Root will definitely help me at a crucial time.''


    Ryu carefully put the Spiritual Plants away before carelessly tossing the endless piles of gold and silver into one of the fourteen rings and into a corner of his own.


    Just when he was prepared to begin tailoring clothes for himself, he froze. Beneath his feet, the crunching that undeniably meant he stepped on something caught his attention. Ryu''s eyes shot open, he had gotten used to pretending to blind for his own protection, but what could have escaped his senses?

 Chapter 76: Both Paths

    When Ryu opened his eyes, he found that he had stepped upon a bow that was as black as obsidian. There also seemed to be a dainty black glove attached to its string. From cursory inspection, Ryu wasn''t very impressed. He thought he might have stumbled upon a treasure, but what he found was a mere Peak Black Grade bow. If he remembered correctly, this bow actually came from the Sect Master''s ring. As for the dainty glove, it was such a size because the Natural Order Sect''s Master was a woman.


    ''The three Half-Step Divine Vessel Grand Elders all had Lower Earth Grade weapons, but the Sect Master was left with a Peak Black Grade bow? How odd¡­''


    Ryu lifted the black bow from the ground, but his eyes contracted at its weight. This bow was actually almost two hundred jin heavy! That was easily twenty times the weight of his current Lower Common Grade spear, glaive and halberd for a weapon that wasn''t known for its heftiness.


    After Ryu opened his six Body Pulses, his base strength had increase to about two thousand jin, so there was no problem lifting this bow with his raw strength. It was just surprising because bows weren''t usually so heavy. To make matters odder, the size of this bow was incredulous. The attachment of the dainty glove completely didn''t match the bow''s over two-meter-long arc. It stood as tall as Ryu himself!


    It was only then that Ryu decided to intently inspect this bow. The truth was that he had already abandoned the path of the bowman. He had his hands full with trying to comprehend the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. Although it would make his Grandpa Kunan sad to hear it, it was the truth. However, when Ryu realized that the true treasure wasn''t the bow, but rather the dainty glove, his eyes couldn''t help but light up in interest.


    At first, he had thought that the glove was simply the habit of a woman. Even as their Leader, the Sect Master might have been enamoured with her looks even in her old age. The glove, or so Ryu thought, was likely a method of protecting her fingers from becoming calloused. But, who would have known that this dainty glove was actually a Unique Grade treasure!


    ''This glove is most definitely the heirloom of this Sect.'' Ryu''s eyes shone, delving into the secrets of the glove.


    A Unique Grade treasure fell into a special category of its own. It was possible for it to be even better than some Origin Grade treasures, but it was also possible for it to be inferior to even a Common Grade treasure. Unfortunately, it seemed that this glove was closer to the latter than the former. However, surprisingly, Ryu wasn''t disappointed.


    ''What an amazing crafted treasure. Truly the Natural Order Sect¡­'' Ryu plucked the glove from the bow string, turning it in his hands. ''By relying on the nourishment of its Master''s understanding of the Natural Order, this glove is able to form an arrow of corresponding power. It seems that despite calling themselves the Natural Order Sect and passing this glove down for generations, the Sect was never able to make this glove into the treasure it should have been¡­''


    Up to now, Ryu had comprehended a Mortal Endowment. If his level were to be labeled by those of the Immortal Plane, they would call him an Heir. This was the first level of the so-called Mortal Endowment and a step many cultivators died before ever reaching.


    Of these levels, there were seven. The first was Ryu''s Heir level, the second was the Impose level, the third was the Rule level, followed by the Small Realm level, the Dominion level, the Divinity level and finally the Deity level. Each of these realms had their own associated Titles. Heir was associated with the Inheritor title, a step forward and one would be known as a Lord, then a Ruler, then a Monarch, then a Sovereign, a Minor God, and finally a God. So, Ryu could be called a Spear Heir, or a Glaive Inheritor.


    What this black glove needed was Ryu''s steady improvement in these realms, not just the Mortal Endowment realm alone, but also the Natural Enlightenment realm which followed a different system.


    With a thought, Ryu ignored the black bow for a moment and tried to slip the glove on. At first, it resisted, causing Ryu''s brow to furrow. But, it was only then that he realized that the Spiritual Mark left on this glove was reinforced over many generations, making it more powerful than normal. In the end, it took Ryu three days to chip away and finally destroy this mark to claim this treasure for himself.


    Finally, the glove shifted, morphing and widening to fit Ryu''s large hand. In that moment, it trembled with excitement, feeling that Ryu''s Essence was very deep, or at the very least, deeper than it was used to. As though it was a hungry child, it greedily gobbled up this Essence, glowing a faint translucent light.


    This ''Essence'' wasn''t Ryu''s own energy. The energy used to cultivate was known as Mortal Qi, but Essence was a natural energy of the Heavens. This was the energy that Ryu''s comprehensions were rewarded with. When one''s understanding of the Mortal Endowment or Natural Enlightenment deepened, it was this energy that increased the strength of your attacks. It also happened to be this kind of energy that this black glove loved the most.


    ''So the Sect Master never reached the Heir realm?...'' Ryu''s brow furrowed. ''No, that isn''t what it is. It''s possible that the Sect Master even faintly touched upon the Imposing realm. It''s just that the Tatsuya Saintly Weapon Inheritance is on a whole other level compared to what she comprehended. My Small Success Heir realm is already stronger than her Half-Step Imposing realm.''


    Suddenly, the black glove began to evolve on Ryu''s hand. First, its fabric lengthened, shooting up Ryu''s arm and becoming a sleeve that extended from the tips of his fingers to his broad shoulder. Then, a black metal guard began to form, making the extremities of the glove look reminiscent of a knight''s gauntlet.


    A comfortable feeling washed over Ryu. He suddenly felt like he was being nourished by the natural energies of the Heavens.


    Almost absentmindedly, he took control of the tall bow, pulling it back with all his strength. Despite his efforts, the string only reached 10% of its full flex, yet, a dense energy of spear, halberd and glaive qi swirled into one, forming an arrow of unfathomable, pulsing power.


    The winds blew fiercely around Ryu, causing his white hair to whip about. However, his rapidly draining Spiritual Qi woke him up from his trance, causing the arrow to dissipate. If he had actually let it go, the illusory formation that protected this Sect would have been blasted to oblivion!


    He suddenly understood why the bow was so heavy and why the Sect Master never tried to find herself an Earth Grade bow. Only a bow with an incredibly sturdy build could withstand such a powerful arrow¡­


    ''I cannot let this treasure go to waste¡­ I will follow both paths!'' Ryu thought resolutely.

 Chapter 77: Descent

    The atmosphere was grand and lively. All sorts of spectators from the four corners of the Highest Mortal Plane all converged toward its center. Many had been travelling for many months, all waiting for this day.


    With this being the first ever Co-Coronation Games, a neutral sight was an absolute necessity given the weight of the proceedings. As such, there was only one obvious answer: The Four Kingdoms Institute. Although this academy had only been founded eighty or so years ago, its prestige had spread far and wide. In just two generations, the graduates of The Institute had all left their mark on the Plane, each becoming an outstanding figure.


    The Institute''s grounds were massive, housing dozens of large glass buildings, gardens and rivers. It was a paradise rivaling any of the four Sects, yet it was founded and ruled by a mortal without an ounce of cultivation. Many speculated that Headmaster Leopold would soon die and have to choose an heir, after all, he had founded this Institute when he was forty years old, meaning his 120th birthday had already come to pass. As a mortal, no matter how well he took care of himself, he wouldn''t live much longer. Because of this, many graduates of the Institute saw the Coronation Games as a stage to catch his eye.


    Among the Princes, many had various advisors who had graduated from the Institute. Since the Sects were only allowed minimal involvement in these affairs, relying on the mortal world was their best bet.


    The crowds converged, all pouring into a recently built arena. As an academy for scholars, the Institute obviously hadn''t had a suitable area for battles, it was only after four Kingdoms pressured the old Headmaster that he was forced to allow them to begin construction.


    This coliseum of sorts wasn''t as simple as it seemed. Rumors had it that the Divine Vessel Sect Masters had made moves during its construction. Various hidden treasures of the three Sects were poured into it, including objects mortals rarely if ever saw, including Small Realms, Visual Memory Jades, and other astounding feats of engineering. Although these paled in comparison to the capabilities of the Immortal Planes, for mortals, they seemed like feats of God.


    Hours later, the crowds had finished jostling over seats and settled down with excited expressions. They had been worried about seeing the action in an arena that was over a kilometer in diameter, but they relaxed after seeing the large translucent screens that hovered in the air. It seemed they would be able to see everything.


    Aside from the various excited expressions, there were also those filled with a fidgety nervousness. These were the individuals that bet large amounts of money and resources. For them, today would decide whether they could live out the rest of their lives in comfort, or in poverty. Those who bet on Kingdoms as a whole were slightly better off, but those who placed bets on individual Princes were sitting on pins and needles.


    Down below, the various Royal Families were given the best seating arrangements along with their Pillar Clans. Each monopolized a corner of the arena, preventing conflicts from breaking out earlier than they should.


    "Mom, here, have something to eat." Hagan helped him mother, First Princess Dahlia to her seat, trying to get her to eat from a plate of fruits he brought over. To the side, Mai tried to do the same for her mother. It seemed that even after so many years, the two women Ryu had once called elder sister still hadn''t forgiven themselves. Despite being only about thirty years old, they both looked to be well past forty. None of their youthful exuberance remained, replaced entirely by a thin will to live. It seemed that any small nudge could shatter even that resolve.


    The three Princes saw the state of their elder sisters, but couldn''t say much. The Tor Clan knew very well what had pushed them to this state. Whether or not they''d ever have their lively elder sisters back was reliant on today''s events.


    To King Tor''s side, located further to the front, two youthful young men nearing their middle-ages stood, exuding killing intent. These two would normally never leave the Sect, but after these events, they had no choice but to. They were none other than Outer Sect Elder Cato and Adorjan, both of whom had now been promoted to the Inner Sect. They were the husbands of the two Princesses.


    As for King Tor himself, his once brown beard had gained more than a few greying hairs. His brown eyes had lost their sharpness and his olive skin paled slightly. Over the years, his cultivation talent had slowed, eaten away at by a Heart Demon he couldn''t shake. This, too, was likely his final chance.


    It was at this moment that a platform appeared in the skies, protruding from the outer reaches of the battle arena. All of the quiet talks were silenced as thousands of eyes focused on an old, wizened man wearing flowing golden robes. This man was none other than Headmaster Leopold!


    "I thank those who have come today, you have truly given this old man face." The voice was calm and unhurried but carried an undeniable forcefulness. "I will make these matters clear, although I have disciples within the Tor and Viri Kingdoms, there will be no favoritism. The rules have been hidden until this day and have been designed by this old man taking into account the treasures provided by the three Sects.


    "You will be tested for your will and perseverance, as well as your talent and your leadership. Although this old man is not a fan of combat, I must also uphold the previous traditions of the Coronation Games and not deviate too much. Still, your minds will be necessary this time around.


    "Come forward, Princes of this Highest Mortal Plane!" Headmaster Leopold''s voice boomed.


    The Princes of the Kingdoms stepped forward without hesitation. Three Princes of Tor Kingdom, two Princes of Opes Kingdom, and one Prince each for both Viri and Lantes Kingdom. Although many wondered how absolute fairness would be guaranteed under such circumstances, everyone believed in the Headmaster''s abilities. As such, everyone had relaxed expressions on their faces. Whether it be Prince Atticus'' sly, lewd smile, or Prince Silas'' lazy, almost sleepy one, both remained unchanged.


    "Good!" The Headmaster nodded to himself. These were truly Princes, each had their own refined aura. They were worthy of representing the younger generation of this Highest Mortal Plane. "This old man will now explain the first trial you all will face."


    Just as the Headmaster was about to begin, the shocking call of a bird shook the battle arena. Those who understood the matters of the martial world paled. It was actually a Second Order Beast! However, when it was seen that a young man of unbridled arrogance leapt from its back despite being hundreds of meters in the air, these matters were immediately forgotten.


    He descended to the grounds below like a leaf in the wind, his long white hair billowing behind him.

 Chapter 78: Private Lecture

    Ryu''s descent from above seemed like a man asking for death. However, the vision of splattered blood and gore never occurred. In fact, the sound of Ryu''s feet touching the ground was so soft that many almost doubted their ears. Was it possible to fall from such a height soundlessly?


    In that moment hundreds of thousands of gazes focused on the visage of a young man that seemed carved of heavenly gems. His sharp jaw, his high cheek bones, his boundless aura, each felt otherworldly to an unimaginable level. Unfortunately, Ryu hadn''t reached a realm where he was capable of withdrawing his strength, so every step he took made it feel as though he was orchestrating the beating hearts of those watching him.


    The black leather robes Ryu forged for himself only refined his aura all the more so. The presence of the Third Order beast he forged his clothes from hadn''t dissipated, making him seem particularly wild despite the calm expression on his features.


    Without a single word, his eyes still closed, he made his way to the seven Princes.


    "Grandfather, grandfather!" Yaana pulled on the old General''s sleeve, an expression of pure excitement on her slightly immature features. By now, she had grown into a one of the femme fatales on the Higher Mortal Plane. The men who wished to claim her heart could extend from the Gates of the Garis Clan to the edge of the Plane itself! Yet, no one had seen her bright brown eyes light up so fiercely in the last two years¡­ Until today that is.


    Old Man Garis smiled bitterly. Didn''t this little girl know that he could see just fine? Did you also not notice his white hair? Do you not know what that means?


    Suddenly, years of confusion were instantly washed away not just for the old General, but the other family Heads as well. They had wondered why the Tor Clan would be so foolish in suppressing such a talent, but now they understood. It seemed the Heavens had been cruel when they created Ryu. They gave him everything a person could ask for except for one. The irony was uncanny.


    Old Man Agnes froze when he saw Ryu. After he lashed out against King Tor, he had become a cripple due to Death Guard Bhishak''s vicious beating. In the end, a mighty Qi Refinement realm expert had become nothing more than a normal old man. If it hadn''t been for Third Concubine Leilani leaving the Palace to care for him, he likely would have died under the schemes of his younger brothers already.


    Even seeing his grandson now, he couldn''t bring himself to feel any hope or happiness. In fact, he didn''t even feel anger or hatred. He simply felt deflated. These feelings could only be said to be triply true for Leilani who had a half head of gray hair now. Seeing her son only made her sink into her chair further, tears falling from her wrinkled cheeks.


    "How audacious!" Elder Adorjan''s fists clenched. Both his wife and the Second Princess had fainted in horror the moment the saw Ryu descend from the skies. The weight they had been carrying for years erupted in full force once more, causing them both to cough up blood and lose consciousness. This sort of Heart Demon was the most vicious. Even the mere appearance of Ryu forced them into such a state.


    Mai and Hagan paled when they saw the state of their mothers. Unlike their fathers who understood the repercussions of acting rashly now, they were two immature children at just barely eleven years old. How could they control themselves after seeing such a thing?


    "RYU! It''s all your fault! You hurt my mother!" Hagan''s immature voice spread across the battle arena. Although they were only eleven, both had broken into the Pulse Opening realm just a few weeks ago, making them some of the better talents of the Sect. He and Mai both believed that the two of them together were enough to deal with Ryu.


    They were merely children. Their thought processes were too simple. They had long since forgotten about the strength of the beast Ryu used to come here. All they remembered was the pain of their mothers and the fact they had been cultivating for longer than Ryu.


    Neither King Tor nor the two Elders moved to stop them. According to Clan Texts, it was the right of every young man of the Tor main bloodline to participate in the Coronation Games. If King Tor directly acted against Ryu, it would affect the Fate of his Kingdom. Ryu knew this well, which was why he dared to appear. However, none of this meant that they couldn''t rely on others.


    Unfortunately for them, despite crossing the several hundred meters that separated them from Ryu in just a few seconds, the two children suddenly stopped when they were just ten meters away from him.


    When they were further away, their senses as mere Pulse Opening realm experts couldn''t see through him, but the moment they entered his range, they felt an unquenchable fear. Not only was Ryu''s own aura too domineering after slaughter beasts for months on end, the Third Order beast fur and leather he wore bore down upon his little niece and nephew, making them plop to the ground in a heap. Fear shook their small faces as the putrid scent of urine wafted from them.


    Ryu, however, never paused his steps. He claimed the last and empty eighth platform, completing the circle of the Princes without a single change to his expression. It was as though he didn''t notice the gazes of his three brothers land boring holes through him, nor the amused expressions of Prince Atticus and Silas.


    With a subtle signal from Headmaster Leopold, the Visual Memory Jades tactfully missed the scene of the two children, focusing entirely on Ryu''s entrance. Aside from a small minority of individuals, no one could see far enough to realize what had happened, and even less people noticed the quick movements of the two Elders in retrieving their children. But, how could Ryu not feel the two sharp points of killing intent pierce his back?


    After giving Ryu a deep look, the Headmaster shook his head. He had already been warned about the possible reappearance of the Fourth Prince and had used his influence to partially understand the hidden story of the Tor Clan. However, while he understood this Fourth Prince''s plight, he felt that he was too young and far too rash.


    "The first trial is a test of disposition and endurance. To be King, one must be bold, but they must also be patient and enduring. To move based on emotion and revenge is not the way of the King and will only bring about the early destruction of an Empire." Headmaster Leopold sent a small glance toward Ryu before looking away. "This trial will not only put your perseverance to the test, it will also reward those who understand their limits and know when to take a step back. Bring the Royal Clan Totems!"


    Ryu''s expression didn''t change in the face of the old man''s seemingly private lecture. To him, it was this old man who didn''t understand his limits. To use his hundred years of experience to mentor Ryu''s thousand years? What an absolute joke.

 Chapter 79: Last Place

    As soon as Headmaster Leopold''s voice fell, three amused Elders flew through the skies leisurely, each carrying a sealed black box formed as cylindrical pillars. They found it funny that they as Spiritual Severing realm experts were following the orders of a mere mortal, but for the sake of their Sect Masters, they allowed it. If things went well today, their dreams of one day entering the Divine Vessel realm and lording over this Highest Mortal Plane were in sight.


    The Headmaster frowned, his already wrinkled face forming more peaks and crevices. There were meant to be four totems, so why were only three being brought out now? When he thought of a possibility, his expression became incomparably unsightly. To think that they''d dare blatantly disrespect him like this.


    At that moment, the Headmaster felt the slight smirk on Ryu''s handsome features. It only appeared for a moment before disappearing, but the old man felt as though a severe slap had resounded across the arena. In fact, his cheeks even reddened.


    The crowd didn''t seem to notice any of this, instead, they were completely enraptured by the display of these cultivators. Some ignorant individuals even excitedly explained to their children about how these experts were true immortals, holding the Fate of the world in their palms. Of course, the three experts didn''t bother to correct them, enjoying the attention they were receiving.


    Soon, the three of them touched down soundlessly.


    The structure of the trial was simple. All eight Princes stood on an elevated circular platform. These platforms were arranged in a circle, leaving each an equidistance from the next. The last feature of this trial was the path toward the center where the three Spiritual Severing realm experts stood. Obviously, this trial was related to their ability to work toward this center platform.


    Of the three experts, two were exceptionally elderly, looking even older than the Headmaster. However, one of them was relatively young, looking like a man who was at most fifty years old. This man was none other than Ryu''s supposed grandfather, Amell Tor ¨C a man with half a foot in the Divine Vessel realm.


    Amell''s eyes flashed with a complicated light when he looked toward this Fourth Grandson of his. He had been there when Ryu''s ceremony was sabotaged, but he had done nothing. In the end, Ryu assigned him just as much blame for the pain he endured in this life as anyone else despite him being the most absent.


    "Haha, Brother Amell, your Tor Clan certainly has a strong seed. To think you''d birth four talents of this caliber in just one generation." One of the older men from Nature''s Emblem Sect spoke leisurely as he removed the seals from his cylinder.


    The old men chatted as though they couldn''t sense the angered expressions of the Opes Clan. Prince Kalmin and Kwan gripped their fists so tightly that the almost imperceptible sound of dripping blood could be heard by those whose perceptions were sharp enough.


    Amell said nothing. Their Tor Clan was so blessed, yet they had courted disaster. In less than two years, this Fourth Grandson of his had cultivated to the Peak of the Pulse Opening realm and could enter the Qi Refinement realm any moment. On top of that, it was clear that his Body Realm cultivation was already more profound that Cayden''s even without using a Body Refinement technique. That can only mean that his talent far outstripped that of his Third Brother.


    But, now, there was no regaining Ryu''s favor. The fact he had appeared here with his true hair, yet no one had reacted at all showed just how foolish King Tor had been. Still, while others might not be aware, Amell understood why King Tor made the decision he did. The matters of the White Devils weren''t over.


    Soon, three blinding auras shot up into the skies as the Clan Totems were revealed to the world.


    Two of the older gentlemen shamelessly bowed toward the Opes Clan and their Pillar Families. "We old men apologize for not being able to bring the Opes Clan Totem here. Only someone above the Qi Refinement realm can ignore the pressure these Totems exude but we do not have such experts to spare."


    King Opes'' veins bulged, rage building up in his heart. But there was nothing he could do.


    Normally, the Coronation Games would take place within one''s own Kingdom, as such, the Totems wouldn''t have to be moved. Unfortunately for the Opes Kingdom, the three Sects that had been commissioned to handle this had used it as an opportunity to suppress the two Opes Princes. One can imagine the kind of disadvantage they''d be at facing the auras of these Kingdom Ancestors without the support of their own¡­ It would be shocking if they could take even one step!


    In the skies, Headmaster Leopold''s already aged features turned green. He had promised absolute fairness just moments ago¡­ In fact, he had lectured Ryu on the propriety a Ruler should have. Yet, in just seconds, he learned exactly why there was no recourse in the martial world. He could do nothing about this because he was a mortal, his fists were not large enough!


    Calming himself as the Spiritual Severing realm experts flew away, the old Headmaster smiled bitterly. It seemed that he had also become too used to wielding power. To think he had allowed himself to feel so noble. His Mental Realm still needed tempering.


    "My apologies." This was all the Headmaster could say. His reputation had taken an untenable blemish today. He could only continue as though nothing had happened. "Young Princes, during this Trial you will have to face the auras of your Ancestors. In the past, this trial would occur last as the chance of injury is very high. However, I have decided to place it first.


    "As I''ve said, a King must know when to advance and when to retreat. Your mind is just as important as your strength. Never forget this. Those who understand their limits will benefit in future tests. Begin!"


    In that moment, Ryu''s grandfather was the last to leave the central platform. He gave Ryu a deep look before turning. With his aura no longer protecting the Princes, they were suddenly assaulted by a wave of unending Pressure. It felt as though they were facing the vicissitudes of hundreds of generations.


    Prince Kwan and Kalmin immediately paled, the younger Prince Kwan coughing up blood and flying backward. Tears streamed down his face, but there was nothing he could do. He was too weak. Without the protection of his Ancestors, he couldn''t last even a second.


    The sounds of jeering from citizens of other Kingdoms filled the ears of the two brothers. A cruel reality overwhelmed them¡­ There were only three trials to this Co-Coronation Game¡­ By placing last now, they had already lessened their chances of protecting their Sect''s Legacy to near zero¡­

 Chapter 80: Soft Hand

    Prince Kwan''s fell to his knees, blood leaking from his leaps as the jeers of the crowd rained down. He couldn''t help but slam his fist into the ground, rage pulsing through his veins without anywhere to be vented. He didn''t dare to look up and face his elder brother''s gaze¡­ Not only was he ashamed, but he didn''t want to burden Prince Kalmin with his hope.


    In the end, Prince Kalmin''s eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, he leaped backward. He understood his limits and knew that attempting this trial would only harm his chances.


    A lewd laughter Ryu would never forget no matter how much it distorted resounded through the arena. Prince Atticus casually took a few steps forward, looking down at himself as though he was surprised to have made it so far.


    "You two made it look so difficult! To think it was so easy. Tsk tsk, I truly have to look down on your Opes Kingdom heirs, too sad, too sad." He shook his head as though lamenting something.


    The two Princes said nothing. The crowd might be ignorant to what had happened, but how could these Princes be? To face the bloodline aura of past sovereigns without being able to rely on some sort of heritage was absolutely impossible. However, it seemed that everyone was unaware that there was another besides the two Opes Princes that didn''t share the bloodline of any of these Totems.


    Ryu''s expression remained indifferent and cold, basking in the pressure these Totems gave him. When his soul awoke from its slumber, his four bloodlines completely eradicated the Tor Blood within him. It could be said that at that moment, Ryu was no longer related to the Tor Clan at all. Yet, while the two Opes Princes were unceremoniously disqualified, Ryu faced these raging waves with his head held high.


    Time passed slowly. The Princes, after the first ten or so steps, began to struggle greatly. If it had just been one Totem, this first trial wouldn''t have lasted so long. However, dealing with three at the same time while only receiving partial help from one was difficult to bear.


    "Grandpa, why isn''t Ryu moving?" Yaana asked worriedly. She naively believed that Ryu was confused by the trial since he was blind. Could it be that he didn''t know what to do? She worried for him greatly.


    The Old General didn''t respond. He continued watching Ryu''s still figure, wondering to himself just why it was that his old heart was beating so quickly. He hadn''t felt this feeling since that battle so long ago. Nothing had excited him like it since.


    ''But, he doesn''t have the air of a General or a King¡­ I doubt that this young man would be a very good leader¡­ So why is my blood boiling?''


    "Haha! Fourth Brother, are you too intimidated to move?!" Cayden''s boisterous laugh sounded as his heavy foot boomed onto the platform below. He felt as though a mountain was weighing on his shoulders, but to think he''d still have the state of mind to jeer.


    As things stood now, Cayden had travelled the furthest distance. Relying on his Iron Body, he forcibly endured the tyrannical aura in a just as tyrannical fashion. If nothing went wrong, it was clear to the crowd that he would place first.


    Prince Amory, Ryu''s First Brother, was currently placed last if Ryu was ignored, however his expression was the calmest. His approach was also the smartest. With his every step, he slowly acclimated his body to the aura. He sought after the utmost stability.


    As for Prince Atticus and Prince Silas, they didn''t seem to be taking these trials seriously at all despite ranking ahead of Prince Amory. However, this made sense. Since they were already the sole heirs of their Kingdoms, the only reason they participated was to earn their Clans a higher ranking for the Natural Order Sect''s treasures and to show off their talent a bit. Still, they wouldn''t risk their lives.


    Because of this, these Coronation Games had essentially become a battle of the Tor Bloodline!


    BOOM!


    The ground cracked before Cayden as he finally stepped upon the central platform. With little more than three steps, he would reach the Totems, completing the trial and cementing his place as first. It was at this moment that Ryu took his first steps. He seemed at such incomparable ease that the Princes and those watching were stunned for a moment, but then they calmed. Hadn''t even Prince Atticus'' first steps been equally as easy? Unfortunately for their analysis, Ryu''s steps didn''t pause.


    Third step¡­ Fifth step¡­ Ninth step¡­


    Cayden no longer had the leisure to throw out one-liners, focusing his entire being on the task at hand. His cultivation was pushed to its limits as he circulated his [Iron Body Arts].


    The slight sheen of silver emitted from his skin, capturing the attention of all those watching.


    "He''s practiced your Sect''s [Iron Body Arts] to the second tier already?! To think he''s reached the ''Shimmering like Metal'' realm¡­" An old man of the Whispering Willow Sect, and one of the Spiritual Severing realm experts who helped bring the Totems, praised Cayden.


    The crowd that had been focused on the ease of Ryu''s first steps suddenly turned their attention toward Cayden. He was only two steps away now and he had so abruptly shot up in power, how could they not be enraptured?


    Cayden''s roars filled the arena. His body grew by one size, bulging outward as he became a man of unrefined silver.


    "The ''Unrefined Ore'' realm!" The two old men looked toward Amell in envy. The Tor Clan''s Faith was truly to astonishing. To birth such astounding talents three consecutive generations¡­ If it wasn''t the Laws the Immortals set, wouldn''t their Sects be finished?


    At this moment, Ryu''s slightly conflicted heart had calmed to an extent.


    ''Both the Tor Clan and my Tatsuya Clan were birthed with an inordinate amount of Fate¡­ In the end, my Tatsuya Clan was unjustly destroyed¡­ How ironic is it that I will now give the Tor Clan the same Fate?''


    Cayden lunged forward. His body, which had grown by over 20%, surged, his laughter filling the arena.


    "I, Cayden Tor, take first place in this trial!" He roared as his hand slammed downward toward the Totem.


    However¡­ The once animated crowd had fallen to absolute silence. Cayden, who had expected to touch the gruff exterior of an aged Totem instead felt the skin of a hand so soft he mistook it for a woman''s. When he looked, he found Ryu standing calmly, his hand resting in the place Cayden thought was his.

 Chapter 81: Unexpected Result

    Cayden''s fierce features contorted. He couldn''t believe the reality of what he was seeing. The worst part was that Ryu didn''t bother to gloat, he didn''t even say a word. After confirming that he took first place, he simply removed his hand out from under his third brother''s and walked back to his personal platform. With a calm expression, he sat down in meditation as though these Coronation Games had nothing to do with him.


    Even at its peak, the Tor bloodline was a half-step from the Earth Grade. It was because of their hereditary bone structure that they managed to dominate this Highest Mortal Plane, not their blood. As for the Viri and Lantes bloodlines, they were even worse off and could only be considered of the Peak Black Grade. How could any of these bloodlines pressure Ryu''s four Ancestral Grade bloodlines? In fact, Ryu spent most of his effort restraining himself so that the three Totems wouldn''t crumble to dust.


    King Tor''s expression was particularly unsightly, even more so than his Third Son''s. To have had a dynasty like this in his hands only to toss it away, who wouldn''t be green with regret? It was at this moment that he steeled himself. No matter what, after these events ended, Ryu could not be allowed to leave under any circumstances. Unless his corpse lay before him, he wouldn''t feel at ease.


    The pale faced Princesses had only just managed to awaken, only for them to see this result. Was it worth it? To betray their little brother and cause the death of an innocent woman just for the illusion of a Kingdom?


    The first trial continued, but the crowd seemed deflated. Maybe only those who had bet on the Tor Kingdom as a whole felt any sort of gratification, but seeing such an overwhelming victory left them feeling uncomfortable. Just why was it that it seemed the Tor Clan was withstanding great internal strife?


    "This is the way of the world." A particularly old individual said after sighing. "The Tor Clan is blessed to have so many heirs, but how could it be possible for them all to flourish? For one to stand above, the other three must either willingly bow out, or suffer a great loss."


    Even as these words fell, the results became clear. First Prince Amory took third place, his calm expression never changing even as his two brothers surpassed him. Finally, Second Prince Jedrek placed fourth. In grand fashion, the Tor Clan swept the first trial, firmly grasping the Fate of this Plane.


    Headmaster Leopold gave Ryu a deep look. Had he misjudged this boy? If he truly swept everything in his path and placed first, according to the Tor Clan Texts, King Tor had no choice but to name him Crown Prince. Disobeying this would scatter the accumulated Faith of the Tor Clan, causing their current first place among the Kingdoms to sink to last. In fact, they might not even be considered a true Kingdom anymore if they did such a thing.


    An inexplicable tension loomed over the Coronation Game grounds. This was meant to be a happy occasion they had all been looking forward to for years, so why did it feel as though they were watching the Fate of their lives play out before them?


    ''Unfortunately, this first trial was only an appetizer. Although this old man dislikes violence, my hand was forced¡­'' Leopold thought to himself solemnly.


    "The display of your Princes has truly made this old heart of mine thump." The Headmaster''s voice projected over the arena once more. "As promised, I will now announce the results. Please keep in mind the criteria I laid out beforehand."


    ''Maybe this Headmaster has more backbone than I gave him credit for.'' Ryu thought to himself as he heard those last words.


    "First place, Prince Ryu Tor. He displayed a calm and unhurried approach, even in the face of the doubts of those around him. In the end, he left a shadow over the hearts of his opponents they won''t soon forget by striking at the perfect moment. This old man awards him a perfect score of ten."


    Hearing these words, a slight murderous intent emitted from the eyes of the two elders who stood beside Amell, but they didn''t dare to do anything so openly, not now. If their guesses were correct, things were about to change in a manner they hadn''t expected.


    "There is a tie for second place. I award both Prince Amory Tor and Prince Kalmin Opes this place!"


    An uproar sounded through the crowd. Weren''t both Opes Princes last? Neither took even a single step! Plus, wasn''t Prince Cayden second?!


    "You! Old man!" Cayden''s roar tore through the arena. With his temper, how could he sit idly. "Are you trying to cheat me?!"


    "Please allow me to finish." Leopold said unhurriedly. "I purposely introduced this trial as I did so that those with enough intelligence could benefit. When did I ever say that the order of those who reached the platform would be the order I placed you in?


    "Prince Amory displayed patience even surpassing that of Prince Ryu. While Ryu is simply an outstanding talent that hardly felt the pressure of the Totems, Prince Amory was different. His talent is lacking, but his perseverance was clear. He used the perfect approach, slowly refining the aura and allowing his weaker body to grow accustomed. In the end, he surpassed those who began ahead of himself and reached the central platform third. I award him eight points!


    "Prince Kalmin, even in the face of the jeers and ridicule of the crowd, and even knowing his younger brother couldn''t be relied upon, he still made the brave choice of directly giving up. A King is not just a powerful man! He is an individual who knows when to advance and when to retreat!"


    Headmaster Leopold''s words rained down, his imposing aura no less than that of the Sect Masters of the ruling Three Sects. One would never think that he was a mere mortal. Cayden was unable to reply.


    "In third place, I award Prince Cayden Tor five points. He displayed perseverance and tenacity. And, although he lost in the end, he didn''t lash out but instead sharpened his battle intent." Only after hearing these words did Cayden feel a bit better, however the bitterness didn''t fade.


    "In fourth place, I award Prince Jedrek Tor four points. His actions are difficult to read, but he understands his strengths and weaknesses. He will shine in the later trials if this old man is correct. In fifth place, there is once again a tie. Prince Atticus and Silas are both awarded two points. In last place, Prince Kwan of the Opes Kingdom is awarded with zero."


    Headmaster Leopold took a deep breath. He knew the actions he took would bring him trouble, but his resolve was firm. "Take care, young Princes. This second trial will not be as forgiving as the first, but do remember the words I''ve said. Prepare the beasts!"

 Chapter 82: Rules

    The platforms beneath the Princes began to slowly change as the middle platform rose into the air. Soon, what was once a narrow path before them changed into a set of stairs. Before each of the Princes, a total of ten steps formed.


    Although Ryu had yet to firmly step into the Spiritual Entrance realm, his Mental Realm could be considered far stronger than it had been months ago. His senses increased to the point where vague shadows of what happened around him were projected into his mind. If those of the Immortal Plane knew this, they''d be shocked. Such an ability was the first sign of opening one''s Spiritual Sea, something that shouldn''t occur until one began breaking into the Soul Birth realm.


    This aside, the reason this was so important was because Ryu no longer needed to open his eyes to ''see'' formations like he was forced to in the Opes Kingdom''s Kings'' Garden. He could clearly feel each one of the ten steps before him containing a small-scale teleportation array connected to a Small Realm.


    ''They truly went all out for these games¡­'' Ryu thought seriously. For a mere Higher Mortal Plane, the cost of building and activating a teleportation formation was difficult to bear. From what Ryu could tell, each array would be able to sustain ten roundtrips for the price of one Inferior Mortal Qi Stone. After some quick math, if every array here was used, it would cost a minimum eight qi stones.


    Considering Ryu only managed to find a thousand such stones in the entire Natural Order Sect, a cost of eight for a single event was astronomical.


    Headmaster Leopold smiled lightly, seeing the confused expression of many of the Princes.


    "This trial has the same goal as the first, to reach the center platform using the various means available to you. But, as you might expect from the results of the first trial, the means are just as important as the ends.


    "Your accumulations are too small to understand what is happening, so allow this old man to explain. Each step before you is equipped with a small-scale teleportation array. This array is connected, at random, to the Small Realms of the Heavenly Body, Whispering Willow and Nature''s Emblem Sects."


    The eyes of the Princes sharpened at these words. Formation Masters were incredibly rare on their Mortal Plane, and those that could lay teleportation formations were even rarer. In fact, even the Small Realms of their Plane were the product of accumulations left from ancient times. No one on the Mortal Plane had the strength to create them.


    Small Realms were lands rife with potential fortuitous encounters. Usually, a Sect would only be willing to open theirs once every few decades or whenever they had a particularly good batch of geniuses specifically because of the qi stone costs. So, it was obvious why the Princes were shocked.


    "The moment you take a step forward, you will immediately be teleported into the territory of a beast. Your task will be to slay this beast. Only by slaying this beast will you be allowed to claim the step.


    "Of course, as I''ve said, being a King isn''t all about being the one with the largest fist. As a result, you''ll be allowed to use the various factions you''ve spent your life building for this trial. You can send up to ten individuals at once, not including yourself. However¡­ You can only use the same individual up to a total of three times. The only person with unlimited entries will be yourselves as Princes." A clever light lit the Headmaster''s old features.


    "Listen very carefully because the rules are complex.


    "Every Prince will get a turn to climb their stairs based on the order of positions from the first trial. After all Princes have gone, it will be considered as one round.


    "During their turn, a Prince is allowed three actions. These actions are denoted by an attempt to conquer a step. Meaning, on a single turn, a Prince can climb as much as three steps at once.


    "However, actions aren''t limited to this alone. A Prince can also decide to conquer the step of another Prince. If this route is chosen, there are two possibilities. The Prince who has had their step conquered can either choose to face a stronger beast and thus ignore the conquering ¨C this will not count as one of their actions ¨C or willingly retreat by a single step.


    "Each Prince is allowed to be attacked only twice per round. But, any given Prince can attack multiple individuals to fulfill their three allowed actions. However, a single Prince is not allowed to attack the same individual more than once during the same round. In addition, after attacking a Prince, one must wait for an entire round before being able to attack the same Prince again. Meaning, the same Prince can only attack a particular Prince every other round.


    "Also, note that the central platform cannot be attacked. Meaning, the highest step an opposing Prince can conquer is the ninth step.


    "Finally, there''s the matter of the beasts. As you have probably guessed, each step increases with difficulty. The first three steps are First Order beasts, the second three steps are Second Order beasts, and the final three steps are Third Order beasts. In the end, to conquer the central platform, you must defeat a Half-Step Fourth Order beast."


    The crowds chatter erupted. Although they weren''t part of the martial world, they all understood the danger of beast hoards as they had lived through many in their lives. To think the Princes have to face such powerful beasts! Luckily, they were allowed to ask for aid from their factions.


    "There is only one more thing to note." The Headmaster''s voice turned serious. "Your lives are more important than fighting for glory. When you have a step conquered, think very carefully before you decide to challenge a stronger beast to ignore it.


    "Whenever a step is ''attacked'', the only method to ignore the attack is by defeating a beast higher by a single tier. Meaning, if your step is guarded by a Lower Third Order beast, you will have to defeat a Middle Third Order beast to ignore the attack levied at you and not retreat a step."


    When the Headmasters voice fell, various attendants hurried forward, handing each Prince a jade pendant.


    "These pendants are too precious to hand to every one of your subordinates, so remember that a King must be benevolent. Although these pendants can save your lives, do not be selfish. This old man will be watching, and your actions will be graded appropriately.


    "Fourth Prince Tor, you may take the first action. Remember that you can call upon up to ten individuals to help you. Crush the jade pendant if your life is in danger and you will be teleported out. However, keep in mind that doing so will count as one lost action."

 Chapter 83: Grassland Serpent

    The attentions of thousands suddenly settled upon Ryu. Although the rules seemed fairly simple ¨C a single person receiving three actions per turn to either attack their own steps or that of someone else''s ¨C there was a reason the Headmaster described them as complex. There were many moving variables and plenty of opportunities to be sabotaged by others.


    In addition, there was a hidden rule that only the intelligent picked up. When the Headmaster emphasized the randomness of the teleportation arrays. On the surface, it seemed that he was speaking about which of the Sect''s Small Realms you entered, but there was another matter he purposely neglected to make clear.


    While he said the stairs were grouped into sets of three, each corresponding to a respectively higher Order of beast, he never specified the exact strength of this beast. This meant that if one was unlucky, they might meet three Peak First Order beasts in all three of their first steps. If one was even more unlucky, this same matter could occur during your fights with Third Order beasts.


    Due to this randomness, it was particularly important how the Princes allocated their resources considering their subordinates could only enter a maximum of three times. And, it was especially important to take this into consideration when conquering the steps of another.


    If, for example, you attempted to attack the 7th, 8th or 9th steps of an opponent, you had to be weary of coming across powerful Peak Third Order beasts. At the same time, it was also a form of luck to run into such a powerful beast. After all, who would dare to attempt to challenge a beast stronger than a Peak Third Order beast? Because the Headmaster specified one tier higher, this meant you wouldn''t be fighting a Half-Step Fourth Order beast. You would be fighting a Lower Fourth Order beast!


    "Grandpa," Yaana gripped her grandfather''s sleeve, "Brother Ryu has subordinates, right? If he doesn''t, can you lend him some?"


    The old General almost fell off his chair. Did this little girl already forget about her cousin? Whether or not Jedrek became King would decide if you could live your life as you pleased, or if you''d become a pawn for marriage. Shouldn''t you be more supportive of him?


    Ryu smiled lightly. Subordinates? Helpers? Sabotage? What did any of these mean in the face of absolute power? Without so much as a nervous breath, Ryu stepped upon his first steps.


    As no surprise to anyone, the jade pendant had the secondary function of recording the happenings of the Small Realm. Everyone watched as Ryu appeared on a grass plain. After what seemed like decades of growing in an unfettered matter, the green grass had grown over a meter tall.


    "Your grandson was teleported to quite a troublesome area, Brother Amell. We spent a lot of time vetting the beast territories over the last few years in preparation for today, this one is the territory of the Middle First Order Grassland Serpent. They''re known for their cunning, stealth and speed. Even Pulse Opening realm experts wouldn''t wantonly stroll into those high grasses." An elder commented passively.


    Completely oblivious to the worry of others, Ryu calmly felt the wind part along the lines of his handsome face. His countenance made the women in the crowd swoon, but they couldn''t help but underestimate him due to his blindness. Should he really have been so bold to enter alone?


    A slight rustling caught Ryu''s attention. It was so faint that he was certain even he would have missed it had he not had his eyes closed.


    ''The stealth of this beast is quite good. My senses actually can''t pick it up immediately, this will be slightly troublesome. But, as long as it attacks, it will lose.''


    The tension of the crowd grew. The minutes ticked by, but Ryu didn''t move a single step. He simply stood with his hands clapped behind his back, slowly circulating his blood to keep his body in peak condition.


    Suddenly, a two-meter-long snake leaped into the air silently. It had coiled itself so tightly that it was able to spring toward Ryu at blinding speeds. All those spectating could see was a blur of green.


    Those of the Tor Clan felt an inexplicable complex feeling. They couldn''t decide whether they truly wanted to see this Fourth Prince fall or not. The only individuals who seemed to have no qualms whatsoever were King Tor and his two sons-in-law. It seems they had made up their minds ¨C wishing for his death.


    Ryu''s light smile didn''t fade. While others believed there was no way he had heard the Grassland Serpent launch an attack, he could see an image of a long shadow in his mind. It opened its mouth wide, still not making a single sound as it snapped toward Ryu''s neck.


    "Grandpa!" Yaana hid her delicate face away, unable to watch.


    However, it was at that moment that Ryu suddenly moved.


    He stepped forward. The movements couldn''t have been more basic, but they carried an air of elegance that couldn''t be described. His actions were perfectly timed, just when the Grassland Serpent believed it had him, Ryu''s step had caused it to miscalculate. But it was too late, it was already in the air. This move was none other than [Advance] of the Basic Stances.


    Ryu brought his two fingers together, tilting his head to the side just enough to avoid the fangs of the serpent. With a thought, he pierced them upward. His actions carried a simplistic perfection with them. He struck just below the open jaw of the snake with his extended fingers, causing it to be knocked upward several dozen meters.


    An instant later, a bland wooden bow appeared in Ryu''s hands. He calmly aimed at the serpent that had only just reached its apex.


    Pu!


    No one saw when he nocked an arrow, nor did anyone see when he drew his bow. But, in the end, a bloody rain fell from the skies even as the wooden bow splintered in half, unable to withstand Ryu''s strength.


    In the next moment, Ryu appeared, standing firmly on the first set of stairs, already taking his next step forward. Before anyone could grasp just what had occurred, Ryu had already completed his third action, sitting leisurely on the third step without so much as a flushed face.

 Chapter 84: Dragon Corps

    In overwhelming fashion, Ryu stood calmly upon his third step, already journeying a third of the way with incomparable ease. Whether it be against the Grassland Serpent, or his following two opponents, he always seemed unhurried, as though everything was within his grasp. Without fail, the battle ended with a single arrow.


    Ryu''s comprehension of the bow was nowhere near as profound as that of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. After all, he had only had a little less than four or five days of practice. He was unsatisfied with his display despite the results.


    Every time Ryu took action, it might seem that he was grand, but this wasn''t how he saw it. He found it embarrassing that he shattered three bows. In truth, he had to, or else he wouldn''t be certain of hitting his target. Someone like his Grandpa Kunan would be so skilled that the limited tensile strength of his bow wouldn''t matter. He would be able to work within the limits of his weapon to take down his enemy.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have such skill. To make matters more difficult, he hadn''t observed his Grandpa Kunan''s bowmanship for any sort of extended period of time. And, whenever he had, his Grandpa Kunan''s boisterous personality always made sure he was joking around.


    In order to take down his enemies with one arrow, Ryu used all his strength, producing an arrow so fast that it was impossible to dodge. He didn''t have the skill, experience or foresight of a true bowman.


    There was only one line Ryu could remember his Grandpa ever having said seriously: ''A True Bowman doesn''t need to aim, he makes his enemy invite his arrows into their home like a sworn brother.''


    If this was the criteria Ryu used to gauge his skill, he was pitifully pathetic. Still, that didn''t stop those spectators from looking toward him in a worshipping light.


    Prince Amory calmly looked toward his Fourth Brother. He felt that there was now a hidden depth deep within Ryu that hadn''t been there before. He had always felt that this brother of his was unfathomable, but he had never felt this insurmountable wall before. Was it really possible to change so much in less than two years? Just what had Ryu experienced?


    ''His actions are bold, calm and calculated. However, this is definitely not his true power. If I had to guess, his true weapon is likely a spear or something similar. He''s either using a bow now because he wants to hide his true abilities, or because he simply wants to refine his skill.'' Amory analyzed.


    This wasn''t something he grasped from thin air. Ryu''s movements against the Grassland Serpent, especially his two-finger strike, held the air of a spearman. With Amory''s attention to detail, this much was clear to him. He immediately made contingency plans, attempting to extrapolate Ryu''s true strength. He knew he had to make a move during this trial, if he allowed Ryu another overwhelming victory here, dealing with him during the third and final trial would be more troublesome.


    Amory looked away from Ryu, his calm smile returning. "Dragon Corps, Division 4, Squad 3."


    At first, the crowd was confused by Amory''s words, but it was at that moment that a quiet group of men shifted into action, jogging in unison from the edge of the battle arena to Amory''s side. Five soldiers, each equipped with red armor, a dagger, short sword and spear appeared. Following Amory''s lead, they disappeared into the teleportation formation.


    Headmaster Leopold nodded to himself. He was greatly satisfied with this disciple of his. Despite the overwhelming performance of Ryu, Amory remained within his limits. He didn''t attempt to clear the trials alone to match Ryu''s shine. Instead, he used the strict training and grand aura of his personal troops to make a similar statement.


    The crowd watched in awe as Amory calmly analyzed the situation time and time again. Not only did he not need to take action, not even a single one of his men ever felt the slightest bit of pressure. The shocking part was that all of the men were mere Awakening Realm experts, yet only five of them were needed to deal with three First Order beasts!


    One had to know that despite First Order beasts being the equivalent of Awakening Realm experts, beasts were always far more powerful than their human counterparts. Usually, it would take a team of ten Awakening Realm experts to be certain of taking down a First Order beast. Yet, not only did Amory''s soldiers destroy this myth, they actually did so with lower cultivations. They faced Higher First Order beasts, the equivalent of warriors who had undergone six or seven Rites, with mere three Rite cultivation depth!


    In even less time than Ryu, Amory stood firmly upon his third step. Who held the advantage was clear. Still, Ryu didn''t have much of a reaction. But, many thought that this was due to the fact he couldn''t see what happened. It was one matter for a warrior to use their instincts in place of their vision, but how could they do the same with a screen projecting images?


    "Hoo!" The five red armored soldiers slammed their spears into the ground, roaring with a bloodlust filled war call.


    An oppressive atmosphere fell from the skies, completely suppressing Ryu''s momentum.


    "We pay respects to Crown Prince Tor!"


    Their words charged through the arena as though their voices were five flood dragons. They took no heed to decorum and customs, directly crowning Amory themselves before bowing and retreating.


    The remaining Princes felt stifled. It seemed that among them, only Cayden laughed uproariously at this display. However, it wasn''t in disdain, rather, it sounded proud, as though he was letting the world know that he supported his First Brother wholeheartedly.


    In the distance, Patriarch Cedar smiled lightly, nodding toward his First Grandson. Who cares about a mere Ryu? The Cedar Clan will always stand supreme! One day, even the Heavenly Body Sect will fall to its knees before them.


    Prince Amory waved his hand, cutting off the oppressive bloodlust of his subordinates with a mere thought. His air of Kingship was undeniable. Without even needing to send a glance toward Ryu, it was clear that he had laid down the gauntlet.


    ''I allowed you to remain arrogant for this first trial. But, I''ll make you feel my presence during this second trial. Even if you manage to place first once more, I''ll crush you during the third!''


    Others may be in the dark about the third trial, but Prince Amory knew his Master well. If he was correct¡­ No one stood a chance against him.

 Chapter 85: Ice Pupils

    A looming silence hung over the battle arena. There was no doubting Amory''s clear challenge, but his methods weren''t as simple as it seemed either.


    Firstly, there was the matter of accumulating a Faction as strong as his Dragon Corps in the first place. Second was having absolute command over such strong, bloodlust filled men. And lastly, there was his position in the rankings. Not only could he unceremoniously shatter Ryu''s momentum and take it for his own, he could place untold pressure on Prince Kalmin who was forced to go directly after him.


    In truth, Ryu thought even a step further than this. Who would go after Prince Kalmin? Wasn''t it Third Prince Cayden who had just made his affiliation with First Prince Amory clear ¨C to Ryu, at least?


    Under this untold pressure, Prince Kalmin calmed himself and called forth his own guards. As expected, his performance was severely lacking in comparison to Prince Amory, but he displayed his own strengths well.


    Taking three Awakening Realm crossbowman with him, he took the lead. He valiantly wielded his spear, relying on his crossbowman to keep the beasts in check. Although his approach was much less clean in comparison to Amory, and much less overbearing in comparison to Ryu, he still accomplished his task in more or less the same amount of time.


    Even so, it was difficult to win over the crowd. It was for this purpose the Headmaster Leopold continued to observe quietly. If Kalmin grew anxious, taking actions outside his bounds for the sake of proving his naysayers wrong, he would suffer. Luckily, it seemed that Kalmin remained level-headed. Unluckily, however, being just a single step from the second tier gave his enemies an opportunity to attack.


    "Haha! It seems like it''s my turn to take action!" Cayden''s boisterous voice filled the arena. But, despite his words he had already leapt into the air, ignoring his own staircase to directly land before Kalmin. "I think I''ll be conquering this step, don''t mind me."


    Prince Kalmin''s expression twitched, but there was nothing he could do. Conquering someone''s first tier steps was useless due to how weak the beasts attached to them were. But, it became a whole new game when they continued to climb. At this point, the potential return on attacks grew. While it seemed like going first gave you an advantage, it also had its disadvantages!


    Cayden grinned, seeing the Kalmin didn''t dare to say anything. With a thought, he activated the small-scale teleportation array, disappearing to appear within a vast expanse of snow.


    When Kalmin saw where Cayden appeared on the screens above, both he and his younger brother''s expressions turned ugly.


    Due to the fact their Sect had been destroyed, Kalmin and Kwan had the least Qi Refinement realm experts to pull from. Coupling this with the fact they were only allowed to use the same expert three times meant that they had to ration their subordinates far more than someone like Amory would.


    Cayden had just appeared in the territory of the Ice Eyed Bear, a creature matted with coarse silver fur. These creatures cultivated Ice Pupils, capable of congealing cold aura into a beam of light that could slow the qi flow of their opponents. Even at birth, they would already be considered Lower Second Order beasts, the greatest of them would be of the Fourth Order at a minimum. Since Cayden appeared in their territory, the likelihood he was facing a great enemy was very high!


    As expected, Kalmin''s complexion took a turn for the worst when he saw his worst thoughts become reality.


    An Ice Eyed Bear appeared, standing on its hind legs at almost two and a half meters tall. It was a Peak Second Order Beast!


    Cayden''s gaze turned serious. In his youth, he had been able to defeat a Second Order beast as an Awakening Realm expert. Now that he was firmly within the Pulse Opening realm, victory shouldn''t be difficult, but, that didn''t mean he would take this task lightly.


    The Ice Eyed Bear roared, its scorching breath causing billowing fog to fill the cold air. Its blue eyes watched Cayden intently as he circled around the beast, slowly brandishing his two battle axes.


    Cayden''s stance was firm and his fundamentals were solid. As he moved, his feet never left the ground, giving him a sturdy base to work from. Even as his skin began to shimmer like an unrefined ore, he didn''t hurry to attack. This was a far cry from the arrogant and boisterous Prince the crowd had become used to.


    Suddenly, a beam of ice blue light shot from the silver furred bear, careening toward Cayden. However, the Third Prince had long since been ready.


    His foot stamped into the ground, causing his body to dive to the side. He rolled along the powdered snow, hopping to his feet with an agility that didn''t match his size and closing in on the oversized bear with a single step.


    The crowd watched with bated breath as the Third Prince appeared beneath the Ice Eyed Bear. But, those who were experts knew that this battle was already over.


    The Ice Eyed Bear didn''t have many weaknesses. Its defenses were sturdy, its slowing ability made up for its lack of agility, while its attack power was devastating, especially when facing a slowed enemy. However, this didn''t mean that weaknesses didn''t exist. After losing many lives to these creatures, warriors learned that the best moment to attack was directly after its Ice Pupils were activated!


    In that moment, the Ice Eyed Bear would undergo a brief period of temporary blindness. The truth of the matter was that congealing such dense cold aura into the most fragile part of your body was something only a creature like this with the appropriate Bloodline Legacy could pull off. However, even with that support, Ice Eyed Bears needed to pay a price for their abilities!


    At this instant, the Ice Eyed Bear had no idea where Cayden was. By the time it felt a dangerous aura beneath it, it was already too late¡­


    "[Earthen Slash]!" Cayden''s battle axes became akin to the scythes of a reaper. A bland, bronze-like qi coated his blades, slicing upward and through the tufts of hair that supposedly protected the Ice Eyed Bear''s neck.


    By the time Cayden reappeared in the arena, Prince Kalmin had already unwillingly taken a step back¡­ He needed to reserve his experts for the third tier of steps, how could he afford to challenge a Lower Third Order beast already?...

 Chapter 86: Momentum

    Cayden laughed, slamming the polearms of his battle axes together as he stood victoriously. Without even giving Prince Kalmin another glance, he hopped once more, landing right before Ryu.


    In truth, Ryu was actually slightly taller than Cayden now, it was just that his frame was more slender and compact due to his Bone Structure. However, Cayden now looked down toward Ryu, standing on a stair one level above his own.


    "Let''s hope that you''re as smart as Prince Kalmin, Fourth Brother. Your elder brother here is very worried for you. Without any warriors by your side, could it be that you plan to clear this trial alone?" Cayden laughed, pointing an axe toward the still meditating Ryu.


    "Attacking my step is the most foolish thing you could do. But, please do go ahead." Ryu replied calmly.


    "Foolish, you say?" Cayden''s chest vibrated in amusement.


    "I''m sure that Amory knows that having you attack my step is a mistake, but he refuses to make his next move blindly, so he''s sent you here to test my bottom line. How about I describe to you how things will play out?"


    Ryu''s voice was like a cool breeze, blowing through the arena with incomparable ease. Although his voice was neither as deep, nor as loud as Cayden''s, it somehow reached everyone''s ears. Not allowing Cayden to respond, he continued.


    "You''ll attack this step of mine and take victory. However, moments later, your action will be wasted as I continue to my fourth step.


    "Then, after Amory realizes there''s no use in trying this tactic again until I reach the third tier of steps, you''ll shock the crowd by choosing to attack him, someone who you seem to be in an alliance with."


    Amory''s pupils constricted into pin sized holes. To think Ryu had already thought of this possibility.


    "However, the reality of the matter is that your attacking Amory''s steps will only help him. You''re essentially giving him the ability to move forward one extra step every other round without him having to waste an action.


    "Unfortunately for you and Amory, this First Prince of our Tor Kingdom just made a big show of his domineering side. I wonder what would happen to his momentum if he suddenly realized that his tactics were wasted on me? How domineering for the Commander of the Dragon Corps to back down against an enemy that only amounted to a single fifteen-year-old boy without backing or help¡­ Hm?


    "So, in order to preserve his momentum, Amory will have to make one of two choices. First, he could expose his alliance with Prince Atticus and Prince Silas now. In this way, one of the trump cards he was saving for the third trial would be wasted here. Wouldn''t that be a great shame?


    "Or, secondly, he would have to continue using you to attack, making it seem like his real plot was just to slow me down and wear me out instead of his true goal in placing first here."


    The crowd listened to Ryu calmly analyze the situation as though he had everything in hand. At first, they felt like he was speaking nonsense, but while Amory was capable of hiding his surprised expression, Cayden was never capable of such a thing. How could he as a man who wore his emotions on his sleeve in every action he took, do that?


    "In all likelihood, he would choose the second option. He''ll gladly take second place here once more, placing him within perfect striking distance for the final trial."


    The crowd felt something unfathomable was hidden within Ryu. Something none of them could put their fingers on, but it felt like he already had victory in his grasp.


    The truth of the matter was that no one in the crowd was certain of an Amory-Cayden alliance. Although Cayden laughed during Amory''s grand entrance into the second trial, he laughed all the time. It was more like a tacit secret, one that much of the crowd had yet to grasp. Yet, Ryu''s words had blown that up entirely.


    Then there was the Ryu''s exposing of a supposed alliance between Amory and the two Crown Princes.


    In truth, it made sense. Why were Silas and Atticus even here? Weren''t they the only Princes of their empires already? They had no need to participate in this event. Obviously, the crowd didn''t understand the underlying secrets behind the destruction of the Natural Order Sect.


    Instead, what they found odd was that the two Princes didn''t seem to be trying their best like everyone else was. Could it really be true?


    Obviously, Ryu didn''t pull this from thin air, and Amory knew it. On the night Granny Miriam died, weren''t Prince Silas and Atticus there? Why were they there? Why was it that only Amory was entertaining them? If Ryu couldn''t put those pieces together, what worth did his so-called intelligence have?


    But, what others couldn''t understand was why Ryu would expose this. Even if he knew, wasn''t it smarter to keep it all secret? Yet, judging by the twisted expression of Amory, it was clear to everyone that there was an underlying purpose only he and Ryu had grasped, one that forced Amory to no longer be capable of holding a calm expression.


    "Go ahead, Third Brother." Ryu said lightly. "Conquer my step, do our First Brother''s bidding. Enjoy the feeling of knowing that no matter what step you take now ¨C whether you continue forward or retreat ¨C you will be playing into my hands."


    Both Cayden and Amory were forced into a corner by Ryu''s words. If Cayden decided to step forward now, he would be helping Ryu climb more steps ¨C Ryu''s confidence wasn''t faked. However, if Cayden retreated, all the momentum he and Amory had built up would shatter.


    "Oh, I also forgot to say this." Ryu turned toward Amory, his eyes still closed. "You have quite a good grandfather, far better than mine, I have to say. The Dragon Corps he trained are excellent!"


    Patriarch Cedar''s happy expression suddenly darkened. Truth be told, that was just a guess of Ryu''s. However, it didn''t matter if it was true or not. With this simple sentence, the seed of doubt was planted within the crowd. Now, no matter what decision Cayden made, Amory''s momentum was shattered, all because Cayden wanted to say a few taunting words.


    Cayden snorted. Without a choice, he could only continue forward, or else everything would be for nought.


    As though the Heavens themselves had recognized Ryu''s seizing of the momentum, Cayden''s expression could only twist as a mere Lower Second Order beast appeared before him.

 Chapter 87: Attacking Roots

    Amory could only watch as matters unfolded before him. The concept of Fate was too enigmatic, it encompassed matters of luck, the future and the past. Gaining the upper hand in a game of wordplay might seem meaningless, but look at how the results played out. Ryu achieved the best possible result.


    Of course, Amory had wanted to speak with Cayden, to tell him what actions to take and how exactly to deal with the situation, but it was impossible to send messages on a line of qi until one reached the Qi Refinement realm. He could only watch as Cayden made a fool of himself.


    To make matters worse, Cayden''s mental state was affected. He made a careless mistake that resulted in him taking a deep gash to his back against the evolved Dire Wolf. Movement techniques had never been his forte due to the weight and size of his frame, so how could he fair well against the wind attributed Dire Wolf without a calm mind?


    Headmaster Leopold watched these scenes unfold from above. Although he claimed to be completely fair and unbiased, he still felt uncomfortable watching his First Disciple deal with such a blow. He had never seen Amory out maneuvered so easily¡­


    When Cayden reappeared, Ryu stood with a slight smile on his face, ignoring the ugly expression on his Third Brother''s space to step forward, challenging a Middle Second Order beast without hesitation, alone once more.


    Ryu suddenly appeared in a dense forest. Tall, ancient trees stood so thick that it would take at least four or five grown men to wrap their arms around them.


    Despite the ambience of nature, Ryu felt that the atmosphere was odd. The ground beneath his feet was too dry, how could such terrible land foster such large trees? It didn''t make sense.


    Suddenly, a tree root shot up from the ground, tearing through the air and toward Ryu. The audience watched on in shock, what kind of beast was this?!


    Headmaster Leopold frowned. Ryu should be facing a Middle Second Order beast, so why did it seem like this matter wasn''t so simple? However, he calmed down after a few moments, seemingly understanding something.


    Ryu swiftly dodged. His [Gliding Cloud Steps] had reached such a profound realm that he could feel the smallest shifts in the wind and react to them in an instant. After eight months of training, with his comprehension, how could he not raise a Peak Common Grade technique to the Circle of Perfection?


    Another tree root shot up, suddenly, it felt like the entire forest was attacking Ryu. His figure continued to flicker about, it seemed he had no intention of attacking, but his passive nature made others wonder just what he was doing.


    Ryu suddenly seemed to step into the air, as though an imaginary staircase appeared beneath his feet, he glided into the air.


    ''So that''s what it is¡­'' Ryu muttered to himself.


    It felt like the trees of the forest were all attacking him at once, but was this truly the case? With Ryu''s current cultivation, escaping such an attack was impossible unless he used some exaggerated means. This could only mean that the trees weren''t attacking all at once, they were simply painting the illusion that they were, meaning there was only one enemy! A clever one, at that¡­ Using some wood attribute ability, this beast manipulated the trees one by one, giving the illusion that they were almighty.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have a profound knowledge of beasts. He was first and foremost a Ruin Master and a Botanist. Although it was true that within the range of spiritual plants, there was never a beast too far away guarding it, the level of beasts Ryu was used to dealing with would never appear on this Plane, the qi here was too thin.


    ''What should I be looking for? A bird? A burrower of some sort? Maybe a conceal type beast?'' Ryu sighed. It seemed King Tor''s actions in barring him from the Royal Library was bearing fruit now. Of course, this would end easily if he used his Heavenly Pupils, but he obviously couldn''t do such a thing.


    At this moment, King Tor also realized what the problem was. He couldn''t help but smile to himself, his personality becoming twisted and demented. Ryu had finally shown a chink in his armor.


    Suddenly, a tree branch swung toward Ryu, catching him unawares. Up to now, the hidden beast had only made use of roots, waiting for the perfect opportunity to sneak attack. Now that Ryu had jumped into the air, thinking it was safer, it could act!


    Ryu''s senses immediately picked up the change. Utilizing the change in the wind, he titled himself forward even in the air, causing the branch to soar over his head. Unfortunately, this also disrupted his gliding technique, causing him to fall toward the ground where numerous roots sat waiting for him.


    ''What a clever beast. It realized how profound my movement technique was, but also knew that I couldn''t achieve true flight, I could only replicate a cheap image of it¡­''


    Yaana watched in horror as Ryu fell. If things continued like this, he would be impaled by the roots waiting below. In fact, the beast seemed to understand this as well, barring Ryu''s path backward.


    Still, even at this moment, Ryu was incomparably calm. After eight months spent perpetually fighting beasts, Ryu had long since lost count of the life and death situations he had survived. He had survived a battle with a Fourth Order beast! How could he fall to a mere Middle Second Order beast?


    Ryu''s chest suddenly expanded, he entered the Meditation State, immediately circulating the Ice Phoenix Martial Form.


    His blood surged. In that moment, all of the air within ten meters uncontrollably rolled toward him, filling his body with endless oxygen.


    He felt intoxicated, his head feeling lighter than it should. But, his focus remained pointed.


    The Second Order beast wasn''t prepared for the influx of wind where there had once been absolute stillness, and it was even less prepared for Ryu to utilize this wind to reinvigorate his glide technique, safely landing outside the circle of deadly sharp roots.


    In its shock, the beast''s concealment faltered. Although it tried to cover up its mistake, it was already too late. The sight of a small, beaver-like creature hiding atop a tree entered Ryu''s vision.


    Once again, no one saw the arrow. There was only a sharp ''SUUU'' sound followed by the shattering of yet another bow along with a rain of crimson blood.

 Chapter 88: Wealth

    Ryu reappeared, standing firmly upon his fourth step. In truth, he had put in more effort than he expected for such an early step, but he didn''t show any of that fatigue now. After all, the Phoenix Martial Forms focused heavily on recoverability. Although Ryu had used it as a cheap trick to agitate the wind, the underlying benefits remained the same.


    "Grandpa, isn''t Ryu great?" Yaana clapped, her small, delicate palms reddening under the strain. It seems she had forgotten that just moments earlier, she too had expected Ryu to lose.


    The old General could only roll his eyes. She hadn''t even married yet, but she was already taking the side of the man she liked in all things.


    ''Just when did this little girl fall so deeply? I can count the number of times these two have met on a single hand. This is clearly just a childish infatuation.'' Unfortunately, even if the old General knew this, there was nothing he could do. He had already experienced raising two daughters before, he knew there was nothing he could do but wait it out.


    "This is impossible¡­" Elder Cato, Princess Isla''s husband, mumbled under his breath. "Stepping into the air, even with a light type movement technique, should only be possible after reaching the Circle of Perfection. How is it possible to reach such a level in less than two years?"


    King Tor grit his teeth. Even for Common Grade techniques, reaching the Circle of Perfection was difficult even for Qi Refinement realm experts who could practice Black Grade techniques. For King Tor, it would take him at least one year of diligent practice to take a Peak Common Grade technique from the Entry level to the Circle of Perfection. For Ryu to accomplish this feat as a Pulse Opening realm expert in less than two years was unheard of on the Mortal Plane!


    However, the reality was before them. None of them knew how Ryu learned these things either. Common Grade techniques were often traded between the four Sects, so Ryu''s current movement technique was one they had all seen before. In fact, it originated from the Nature''s Emblem Sect.


    "[Gliding Cloud Steps] ¡­" An elder standing beside Amell Tor exclaimed softly. "Brother Amell, your Tor Clan is notoriously terrible at using this technique. It requires one to be exceptionally light on their feet in order to sense its quintessence. How did you manage to birth a grandson who could bring it to the Circle of Perfection?!"


    What the elder didn''t say was that this technique had a hidden flaw that was difficult to decipher within it. This made it difficult to comprehend fully without first becoming an Heir of Wind. It was because the Natural Order Sect had their Wind Pavilion that they were able to classify this technique of the Peak grade. If not, it was only as good as a Middle Common Grade technique.


    The issue was that Ryu wasn''t an Heir of Wind! With their experience as elders, they would know if he was. So how did he get around this flaw?


    In truth, this was a sort of open secret. Although Sects traded Common Grade techniques amongst each other, and sometimes even did so for Black Grade techniques, they would often purposely leave flaws behind so that their opposition couldn''t make perfect use of the technique.


    This meant that there were only two explanations. Either Ryu somehow got his hands on the complete technique, or that Ryu was once in a thousand year genius capable of correcting the flaw himself!


    Of course, the answer was the latter. The mysteries of Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils were so dense and deep that even he hadn''t delved into them all. But, what he did know was that for him, finding the flaw in a mere Common Grade technique and fixing it was as easy as flipping over a hand. Due to his eyes, it didn''t require extensive research or experience, he could accomplish this feat by instinct.


    It had to be said that the higher grade a technique was, the less Ryu would be able to rely on instinct and the more he would need time and experience. But for a Common Grade technique, this wasn''t a problem.


    Realizing that he had made a fool of himself, Cayden could only complete his third action with his head held down. Due to the injury he suffered carelessly, he didn''t dare to wantonly follow the original plan to attack Amory''s steps. He needed time to recover first, so he settled for climbing his own first step.


    The reality was that he could have used his own faction to help him in attacking Amory''s step, but the problem was that he had never built one. This whole time, he had planned on support his First Brother, he didn''t care about becoming King.


    Unfortunately, this meant that he could only attempt to conquer steps alone. Obviously, he couldn''t use Amory''s Dragon Corps or else he would make an even larger fool of himself, not to mention exposing his and Amory''s alliance.


    Although it seemed like Ryu had already done so, there was still a looming benefit of the doubt. If used appropriately, Amory could take advantage. Who knows, maybe even Ryu wasn''t certain and just decided to sow discord.


    Ryu smiled to himself, seeing through the thoughts of his opponents. Like he had said from the very beginning, no matter whether they advanced or retreated, they were playing into his hands.


    After Cayden climbed his step, it was Third Prince Jedrek''s turn to advance.


    The crowd was surprisingly invested in his performance. If they couldn''t tell by now that there was a hidden undercurrent ravaging the Tor Bloodline, they would be fools. Everyone wanted to see how this final Tor descendant would perform.


    In typical Jedrek fashion, he took his time. His appearance seemed lazy and unambitious, in fact, he hadn''t even spoken a word since the start of these Coronation Games¡­ Still, his actions still contained a hidden, inexplicable sharpness to them.


    Without hesitation, he immediately called upon the upper limit of ten warriors. Unlike Amory''s warriors, they were all Pulse Opening Realm experts! Each was dressed in extravagant golden armor and outfitted with Black Grade swords and spears. The expense of such a feat was unimaginable!


    The crowd didn''t fully understand what happened until Jedrek stormed through his first three steps with absolute ease.


    Jedrek had done nothing from start to finish. In fact, he didn''t even take command of his own warriors. Instead, he allowed one of the ten he called upon to do so. His approach was far different from Ryu, Amory or even Cayden''s. He simply highlighted his greatest strength: Wealth!

 Chapter 89: Third Tier

    Headmaster Leopold smiled to himself. He appreciated Jedrek''s way of doing things. Despite his grandfather being a General, he didn''t take that as a path he had to take. Instead, he followed his own.


    When Leopold said that a King''s means were just as important as the ends, Jedrek took it to heart. So what if he wasn''t a great commander? He could pay someone to command for him. So what if he didn''t have the largest fist? He could hire the strongest warrior on the Plane.


    Who here could waste Pulse Opening experts on the mere first tier of steps aside from Jedrek? No one!


    Without needing to speak a word, his impact on the crowd was just as overwhelming as Ryu''s, and unlike Amory''s momentum, his was unstoppable.


    It was at this point that everyone crossed Jedrek off their list of individuals to attack. They would simply be wasting their actions if they did such a thing and would be helping Jedrek advance ahead of them.


    "Haha, it seems like it''s the turn of this unskilled Lantes. In the face of the talented Tor Clan, the rest of us can only fight for the scraps, huh?" Atticus'' lewd laughter filled the arena. With a wave of his hand, he called forward three scantily clad women.


    Despite their appearance, these women were actually world-class warriors. Each stood at the Peak of the Awakening Realm, brandishing beast tendon whips. However, their fiery lingerie washed away whatever fear the crowd might have felt for their battle prowess. Spectating eyes couldn''t help but be drawn to their outrageous curves and large assets.


    Headmaster Leopold frowned at this display, however, he could do nothing. There was nothing against the rules saying that women couldn''t be among the factions you used. It was just that Atticus'' display spit in the face of the importance of this gathering.


    "Take notes, Fourth Prince." Atticus sneered toward Ryu. "These are the kinds of women you should surround yourself with. Why you chase after those loose-skinned cougars is beyond me. Here, I don''t mind sharing one of mine with you, what do you think?"


    Before Ryu could respond, Atticus slapped his own forehead. "Oh, I forgot. You''re blind, how could you possibly understand."


    The three scantily clad women giggled as though Prince Atticus was the greatest comedian to ever exist. Their long eyelashes fluttered and their hands roaming Atticus'' body without shame or discretion.


    Without caring for Ryu''s reaction or his response, Atticus disappeared, easily relying on his women to conquer the first step.


    At this point, Headmaster Leopold found Atticus'' actions difficult to understand. Even if he was already the Crown Prince of his Lantes Kingdom, the results of this competition would affect the confidence the Lantes Kingdom people had in their Royal Family. If this confidence fell too low, a Kingdom''s Faith would also fall, leading to numerous rebounding effects.


    However, it seemed that Atticus didn''t care about such things or his image. He didn''t mind his people seeing their Crown Prince as a debauchee. It didn''t make sense.


    In the end, Atticus conquered three steps, allowing Silas to follow suit and also do so. Finally, Prince Kwan relied on his own strength to conquer three steps, retrieving some of his lost glory from the first trial.


    Like this, it became Ryu''s turn once more. But, when the crowd saw that he once again stepped forward alone, they began to grow restless.


    Cayden''s battle prowess had long since become public knowledge throughout the Plane. Defeating a Second Order beast as a mere Awakening Realm expert was almost unheard of. Due to this, no one doubted Cayden when he attacked Ryu''s step. However, this confidence wasn''t something Ryu had earned just yet. After watching him struggle with a Middle Second Order beast, they had the right to be skeptical.


    Still, Ryu didn''t base his actions off the opinions of others. Using the most direct method, Ryu plowed his way through his opponents. In truth, hiccups like what occurred against the Tree Fairy Beaver happened again. However, Ryu seemed to escape death using methods others would have never thought of time and time again.


    It was clear here just how important knowledge was in the martial world. After eight months fighting in the Natural Order Sect territory, Ryu had become used to a certain kind of beast. Due to the perpetual Winter they experienced, there were limited kinds of opponents to be fought. Obviously, here, there were no such restrictions.


    Ryu was unable to use the knowledge of his past life here either because he simply wasn''t used to dealing with Mortal Plane beasts. Their quirky habits and abilities were unknown to him, so he could only enter blind and adapt to the situation on the fly.


    Without a doubt, this sort of performance would impact the score Headmaster Leopold would give him, however, whether this impact would be positive or negative still remained to be seen. After all, Leopold was well aware of Ryu''s circumstances and thus understood why he didn''t seem to have basic knowledge of beasts almost everyone did. It was possible he would thus choose to raise Ryu''s grade for his ability to adapt so quickly and efficiently.


    After two battles the audience would describe as close calls, Ryu stood firmly on his sixth step. And, once again, contrary to what was expected, he lifted his foot once more to take his seventh.


    Headmaster Leopold shook his head. ''I have no right to look down on this youth after the mistakes I''ve made, but he''s still too rash! He''s passed by the skin of his teeth through this second tier of steps, but he still wants to enter the third tier alone!''


    While those like Leopold, Yaana and even Amell were worried, there were still those that hoped that this would be the moment Ryu finally couldn''t stand to escape at the final moment again. When those individuals saw Ryu appear in a very familiar land of snow, bright smiles colored their faces. Ryu had actually drawn the same challenge Cayden had, the Ice Eyed Bear! But, unfortunately for him, this was a Higher Third Order beast, nearing maturity! The difference was akin to Heaven and Earth¡­


    Drastic changes occurred between the Second and Third Orders. The difference between realms was far more apparent. While it was still acceptable for Cayden to defeat a Second Order beast as an Awakening Realm expert, repeating this feat with his Pulse Opening Realm cultivation and a Third Order beast was impossible without help¡­


    To make matters worse, the refractory period of this beast''s Ice Pupils was drastically cut down after it evolved¡­ Its weakness was practically nonexistent.

 Chapter 90: Odds

    The roar of the Ice Eyed Bear shook the white landscape. Hot spittle and breath billowing through the air.


    This time, the silver furred bear was far larger. From the two and a half meters Cayden had faced, it now towered over Ryu T almost four meters tall. Its sharp claws protruded more obviously, shimmering like polished knives even as its deathly blue pupils stared daggers through Ryu''s body.


    Yaana''s grip on her grandfather''s arm tightened uncontrollably. She had begged and pleaded for the old General to send Ryu some help, but she had been rejected. Maybe subconsciously, she was using her grip as a way of pay the poor old man back for his nonchalance.


    No one knew exactly how to feel. They thought it was alright if Ryu cleared the first and second tier steps alone, but fighting a Third Order beast alone as a fifteen year old youth was unheard of.


    As one''s cultivation progressed, the difference between single realms becomes akin to Heaven and Earth. The gap between a Lower Qi Refinement expert and a Middle was equal to the gap between a Lower Pulse Opening Realm expert and a Peak! However, this wasn''t a mere Lower Third Order beast, it was a Higher Third Order beast, the equivalent of a Higher Qi Refinement expert!


    For perspective, this was the cultivation realm that Ryu''s so-called father was in currently ¨C a realm he had been stuck at for a very long time. Even the Death Guard Bhishak was only one tier above this level. Just what was Ryu thinking? They couldn''t understand it.


    King Tor''s thoughts hardly needed to be explained. Even he would have to run when facing this beast, how could he even think of a possibility where the son he tossed away could defeat such a beast? If Ryu could kill this Ice Eyed Bear, didn''t that mean he could kill him as well? Ridiculous.


    However, it was at this point that many began to realize that something was wrong. Half a minute had passed, yet the Ice Eyed Bear had yet to attack. Since when did this violent creature have such patience? Normally, if one entered its territory, the enraged bear would chase this person to the ends of the earth.


    After another moment, Ryu sighed, allowing the wooden arm of a glaive to appear in his hand. The crude weapon was displayed before everyone. In fact, it was a weapon many of them recognized, after all, it was mass produced. Many army corps gave their foot soldiers this very weapon.


    Yet, something seemed different. The usually bright wood, that was indicative of a younger more fragile breed, was darkened considerably. It even emitted a slight red hue that filled the air with the stench of blood. Those around found it hard to connect what they were seeing with their memories.


    ''Your senses are quite sharp.'' Ryu silently brandished his glaive. In the snowy peaks of the Natural Order Sect''s territory, the one beast Ryu had never fought was the Ice Eyed Bear. It wasn''t because he had never run into them, but rather because they turned tail and fled whenever they saw him!


    This wasn''t an inexplicable matter. The Ice Eyed Bear were birthed with an inferior set of Ice Pupils, it couldn''t compare to the true ninth ranked Ice Pupils. Because of this, they had one more weakness that those of this Plane had no idea about¡­ They didn''t dare to face any opponent was True Heavenly Pupils!


    Ryu''s stance shifted slightly. Wanting to end this quickly, he immediately used the strongest stance of the glaive¡­ [Sweep]. He only used one arm, and from beginning to end, the Ice Eyed Bear didn''t move. It was as though it accepted its Fate for trying to defy the Heavens. This was the true curse of its bloodline.


    A horizontal line seemed to cut the landscape in half. Suddenly, the projected image blurred. By the time it cleared once more, the head of the Ice Eyed Bear had fallen¡­


    Silence pervaded the arena. Even the seemingly all-knowing Headmaster Leopold was at a loss for words. None of them could understand just what happened. In fact, even Ryu himself needed to sink deep into his thoughts to understand just why Ice Eyed Bears never retaliated against him. How could the experts here ever guess what the truth was?


    One strike. Barely an ounce of effort. And yet a Higher Third Order beast fell just like that. The contrast between what happened before and now was simply too drastic. Those spectating could hardly wrap their heads around it.


    Under this pressure, Amory had no choice but to step forward and continue, trying his best to ignore Ryu''s display. To his credit, he maintained a level mind, his commanding abilities didn''t falter at all. He smoothly stepped onto his sixth step and allowed Prince Kalmin his turn.


    Having been pushed back to his second step by Cayden, Prince Kalmin could only diligently work his way back up. Somehow, Ryu''s display took loads of pressure off his shoulders. Even he didn''t understand why he was so relaxed. After all, if Ryu won these Coronation Games, it was his Opes family that would suffer.


    This calm came as a blessing in disguise for Kalmin. His actions became clearer and more concise as he made it to his fifth step with relative ease. With this, it was Cayden''s turn once more.


    Unexpectedly, Cayden simply continued to climb his own steps, completing his last action to stand on his fourth step. But, to Ryu, this move was obvious. Cayden was likely saving his strength for another attack. Amory wouldn''t be able to spare much help for Cayden, but, obviously, Cayden couldn''t defeat a Third Order beast alone. The culmination of these two facts meant that Cayden would both receive little help and have to bring the lion''s share of battle prowess. So, he needed to be well rested before he attacked Kalmin once more. Plus, according to the rules, he could only attack the same person every other round anyway. It wasn''t worth wasting an action on Prince Kwan.


    Jedrek''s turn took place directly after Cayden. His display was just as grand, once more using a full cast of Pulse Opening Realm experts to plow his way through his steps. Not long after, he stood on the sixth.


    The performances of Prince Atticus and Prince Silas took a turn this time around. Prince Atticus directly attacked Amory''s seventh step. This move made the crowd wonder if Ryu had just been spewing nonsense. It was one thing to use the loophole in the attack action during the first and second tier, but doing so for the third tier was too risky! If your hidden ally ran into a Peak Third Order beast, there was no way anyone here would challenge a Lower Fourth Order beast. It wasn''t worth it.


    Ryu remained silent under the whispers of the crowd. If they could be so easily swayed every which way, there was no point in wasting his energy. He had accomplished his goal already. As long as no one attacked him here, he would win. His remaining three actions were enough to conquer the tenth and final step.


    But, who would have expected Prince Silas'' lazy visage to enter Ryu''s vicinity? After Prince Atticus finished helping Amory take his seventh step, Silas landed before Ryu with a lazy gaze of interest.


    "I wonder¡­ Just what are the odds of a Peak Third Order beast appearing?" He said amusedly.

 Chapter 91: Silas

    Ryu didn''t respond. He continued to adjust his mental state to the highest level. Even he wasn''t foolish to take Third Order beasts lightly. While he was able to use 5% of his strength to defeat a Lower Third Order dire wolf, that was obviously impossible for higher order beasts. He needed to be prepared to go all out.


    "No fun at all." Silas chuckled, not minding at all. "I wonder, though. How would the crowd react if they saw you at your lowest point like I have? Could the prestige of the Tor Clan withstand such a blow? What would the public think if they knew the reason why Fourth Prince Tor is such an unknown variable?"


    Silas'' words caught the attention of the crowd mostly because they were absolutely correct. While Ryu''s attack on Amory''s psyche had been mostly speculation, everyone here could attest to the fact that Ryu''s name didn''t resound like those of his elder brothers. But, clearly, he was an extremely talented individual.


    Here, Silas displayed his cunning entirely. He seemed to be attacking Ryu, but the hidden meaning within his words also dealt a blow to the Tor Clan as a whole. If he truly was in an alliance with Amory, wouldn''t he have chosen different words?


    It was no secret that Silas and Amory were the only official disciples of Headmaster Leopold. It seemed that neither of them could be underestimated.


    "Say¡­" Silas said softly. "White hair on a fifteen-year-old is quite rare don''t you think? As you know, I''m just a weak scholar, nowhere near as powerful as the mighty Tor Clan brothers. However, I do have some small achievements in the matters of literature.


    "No one in the Tor Clan has white hair aside from the old. No one in the Agnes Clan has white hair aside from the old. So¡­ Where did your white hair come from? I''m curious."


    The crowd suddenly shifted uncomfortably. Silas'' words weren''t so simple, not simple at all. Was he not afraid of starting an all-out war between his Viri Kingdom and Ryu''s Tor Kingdom?


    Those who were sharper began piecing together the hidden meanings behind his words. Why was it that a talent of Ryu''s caliber had been suppressed for so long? Why was it that the former First Concubine had been demoted not once, but twice to the ranks of Third Concubine?


    Even King Tor, who had been enjoying this squabble until now, felt his features darken. He had personally conducted the tests. Leilani was innocent and Ryu was in fact his son. He had different reason for suppressing Ryu to the best of his abilities, but it wasn''t his place as a King to reprimand the Prince of another Kingdom.


    "Interesting point. So you mean to say that even without the bloodline of any of the Tor, Viri or Lantes Totems, I still placed first among you all? I must be quite the talent." Ryu responded plainly.


    In truth, Ryu hardly cared about his ''mother'', even if her reputation was dragged through the dirt, he wouldn''t blink an eye. As for King Tor, he cared even less. He would find it quite funny if the general public believed he was a cuckold.


    However, after thinking for a moment, Ryu decided to respond. He had carefully laid out plans he was slowly executing step by step in coming here. Silas'' interference would actually make it easier for him to accomplish the final steps. So, he decided to play along.


    As though expecting this response, Silas smiled. ''You''ve played directly into my hands.''


    "Of course, of course." Silas said smilingly. "Neither Prince Kwan nor Prince Kalmin could take even a single step without their bloodline Totems present, yet you not only far surpassed that, you placed first! Commendable, commendable."


    Ryu smiled lightly. "I understand. My fake father is a cuckold. My mother is a whore. And my true father is some sort of legendary existence capable of giving me such talent, indeed. I wonder how this normal mother of mine who wasn''t even worthy enough to become Queen could attract such a man."


    Silas was stunned by Ryu''s blunt words. It wasn''t just him either, Third Concubine Leilani broke down in tears, burying her head between her legs. In that moment, her already graying hair grew more frail and dried.


    "I''m only speculating." Silas shook his head, not willing to take credit for such words. "I only mean to say that there are many powerful men in existence frivolously pursue women. If I remember correctly, the White Devil Cult of years'' past didn''t seem to care about the merits of their victims¡­ no?"


    Recovering his wits, Silas struck forward with these words the moment he gained an opening. Without fail, these words left the crowd even more shocked. Maybe only the mention of the White Devil Cult could have more of an impact than the public shaming of a King and Royal Concubine.


    It wasn''t that the crowd hadn''t noticed Ryu''s white hair, but that they didn''t dare to draw a connection between him and such a sinister organization. Although the White Devil Cult had left a terrible black mark on their history, objectively speaking, they were still a Cult that hadn''t been to this Plane in millions of years at the most, with even the shortest estimates being several dozen thousand years.


    "I''m curious." Silas said with a light smile. "I''m not the most learned on the matters of the blind, but keeping one''s eyes closed isn''t exactly normal practice among you all, is it? I wonder, why is it that Fourth Prince Tor insists on closing his eyes to the world?"


    The crowd began to grow restless. Suddenly, they understood why they hadn''t tied Ryu to the White Devil Cult immediately. White hair was only a single aspect of their reality, what many accounts remember were their piercing silver eyes!


    By now, no one believed that Prince Silas and Atticus were allied with Amory. For the sake of winning, how could an ally destroy the reputation of a Kingdom so thoroughly? This wasn''t a blow the Tor Clan''s Faith could take, even as the number one Kingdom of their Plane.


    "Why don''t you show us your eyes?" Silas egged the crowd on. His words suddenly caused an avalanche of chants from the crowd.


    Ryu smiled lightly. "I wonder something as well¡­ If my real father truly is a White Devil, what makes you think I won''t kill you where you stand?"


    Silas felt a cold shiver descend his spine as Ryu''s words froze over the crowd.


    "That''s a funny joke." Silas laughed, his expression never changing. "Take this as being the fault of my crude humor." His gaze shifted, not minding Ryu at all. He knew that here, Ryu would never lay a finger on him. "Half Prince Kwan! After I finish attacking these steps, you will do the same¡­ If you don''t, I''ll make sure your elder brother is forced to take another step back."

 Chapter 92: Half Prince

    When Prince Kwan heard these words, his fists clenched as he tried his best to control his anger. His brother was their only hope. Even if Silas blatantly insulted him to his face like this, he couldn''t ignore his threat. Their Opes Kingdom had a very small supply of Qi Refinement Realm experts. Since experts could only be used thrice, they couldn''t afford to waste them before the third tier of steps.


    While Kwan was gritting his teeth, Silas hadn''t even bothered with his response as though his services were already guaranteed. Instead, Silas gathered his own group of leather armored warriors, disappearing into Ryu''s eighth step with a sly smile on his lazy features.


    "Oo, so close." Silas'' laughter filled the arena through the projection screens. Everyone he understood what he meant a moment later as a winged tiger appeared. He really had been close¡­


    The Two-Winged Yellow Tiger was a Higher Third Order beast, had it been just a single tier above, Ryu would be either forced to fight a Lower Fourth Order beast, or retreat by a step.


    Silas tapped his chin with an amused expression before directly crushing his jade without even trying. While much of the crowd was surprised by his actions, those with sharper intellects understood.


    Currently, Ryu was standing upon his seventh staircase. If Silas attacked now, there was no way for him to be certain if Ryu could defeat a Peak Third Order beast or not. But, in the case that he could, Silas would be responsible for helping Ryu climb to his eighth step. In that case, even if Kwan took action, it wouldn''t matter.


    Let''s say Kwan managed to draw a Peak Third Order beast and won. That would mean Ryu would have to fight a Lower Fourth Order beast to ignore the attack. However, if this happened, Ryu wouldn''t be forced to fight at all! The reason why was simple. If Ryu simply retreated from the eighth step to the seventh, then he would still be in position to climb to the final step during his next turn. In that situation, Silas'' attempts would have been meaningless. Only if Ryu was forced to retreat to his sixth step would he lose his chance at first place!


    Silas smiled under the confused ravings of the crowd, instead calmly attacking his own steps and climbing to his fifth. Then he gave Kwan a pointed glance. In the end, Prince Kwan could only unwillingly leap to Ryu''s step.


    Prince Kwan lowered his head. "I''m sorry." Although his hands were trembling, his voice was steady. It seemed that even under this pressure and humiliation, Kwan maintained his air as a Prince.


    Ryu smiled. "You and your brother are quite to my liking. The Opes Kingdom has a bright future ahead."


    Ryu''s words stunned Kwan, but that only made his guilt heavier. Still, he could only steel his heart, directly calling out the Opes Kingdom''s best experts to help him, including his father''s Death Guard. Luckily, there was a loophole in the rules. Although it restricted the use of an expert to three attempts, there was nothing that said an expert couldn''t be used by different Princes. That meant, if two Princes used the same expert, that expert could fight six times! This was what gave the Opes Princes a chance to survive.


    As Kwan disappeared, Kalmin''s ear suddenly twitched. His expression quickly recovered, shrouding the surprise he felt and calming his quickly beating heart. He felt himself swell with gratitude, but he still had his guard up. Still, if the words he had just heard were true, their family had a chance.


    Suddenly, Silas'' laughter filled the arena once more.


    Kwan appeared in a world filled with scorching sand. In what seemed like an instant, his body and that of his helpers were matted in sweat due to the high hanging sun. However, none of these things were the reason why Silas was laughing. Instead, it was because the body of a large red-shelled scorpion loomed in the distance¡­ A Peak Third Order beast!


    Despite the situation, knowing quite well that Ryu would be forced to retreat a step now, Kwan could only fight. If he didn''t win, his elder brother would definitely suffer. No matter how shameless Silas was, he wouldn''t dare go against such a public deal he, himself offered.


    The battle was tough and hard-fought. Prince Kwan had no choice but to hang back and allow his ten helpers to protect him, but he did his best to brandish his sword when he was needed.


    Hours ticked by slowly. Eventually, under the assault of ten Qi Refinement realm experts, the Red Armored Scorpion fell, its violet blood coating the coarse, brown sand with a grotesque stench. Not long after, Kwan reappeared, followed by ten warriors who had reached their limit, only to hear Silas'' laughter once more.


    "My oh my." Silas chuckled. "I wish your warriors a speedy recovery, I would hate for them to have to fight for Prince Kalmin at half capacity."


    "You!" Prince Kwan raged, the temper he had been trying to hold back all this time finally couldn''t be held down any longer.


    When he and the Opes Warriors were within that desert landscape, he caught a faint understanding of what Silas'' true plot was. He basically forced Kwan into using warriors his brother had been saving all this time for the third tier of steps. Regardless of whether or not they fought a Peak Third Order beast, they would still have their stamina impacted to some level.


    Plus, Silas had other contingency plans. Even if they fought a weak Third Order beast, Silas could just reuse the same ploy to force Kwan to attack the steps of others. Regardless, after attacking three third tier level steps, there was no way the Opes Warriors wouldn''t be tired out. By then, how could they possibly help Prince Kalmin to the best of their abilities? As a bonus, Kwan would no longer be able to use them either due to reaching the three-entry limit.


    Silas had known from the very beginning that Opes Kingdom would be forced to share their warriors! While the loophole in the rules helped them, it also harmed them. Plus, without even lifting a finger, Silas'' point total for this trial would definitely deserve a boost. Just his schemes alone were so layered¡­ Like Headmaster Leopold said, the means were just as important as the ends!


    Ryu smiled, standing up and stretching lightly. If one listened closely, it sounded as though there were metal ropes hidden within his body instead of the muscles and tendons others had.


    "Half Prince Kwan, I think I still need you and your people to attack again. Would you mind attacking that Amory fella? The Tor Clan as a whole is quite an eyesore to me." Silas said lazily, reclining for a nap.


    Prince Kwan felt that the veins in his forehead were about to burst. How could he allow such an insult? Just when he couldn''t take it anymore, he felt a large hand land on his shoulder.


    "Last time I checked, a challenge has been issued. Shouldn''t I have to the right to accept it? In the face of absolute strength, schemes mean nothing." Ryu''s cold voice shocked all those who heard it. By the time they understood what it is he was saying, he had already disappeared.

 Chapter 93: Largest Fist

    In the face of absolute strength, schemes meant nothing. This was something that Ryu had taken to heart since his youth because he had spent his whole life as a weak individual. No matter how many airs he put on, no matter how arrogant he acted, he knew this truth more than anyone else.


    Why was it that he dared to scold the Immortals of the Shrine Plane? Why was it that he dared to call Old Mistress Holy Wing a whore to her face? Why was it that he could ignore the rules of the Holy Wing Clan to take Elena as his fianc¨¦e? It was all because the Tatsuya Clan had the biggest fist. Ryu was never under any delusions that it was because he was ''oh so intelligent'' or so clever that the means of his opposition didn''t matter. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It never mattered that he was intelligent, all that ever mattered was the family he was born into.


    Now, Ryu didn''t have such support. He was alone, but now he had the opportunity to become the largest fist himself. There''d come a day where he''d be able to look down on anyone with disdain based off of his own ability.


    Silas couldn''t believe that Ryu had disappeared. He had planned to ignore Ryu''s existence entirely, treating him with impunity as he continued to make use of Prince Kwan for his schemes. He had had everything lined up¡­ By the time the third trial began, no one would believe that he and Amory were allies. But now, everything had been thrown into disarray. Could Ryu really be capable of this?


    The crowd was just as shocked as Silas while the Tor Clan members didn''t want to believe it. King Tor cultivated for over sixty years yet wouldn''t survive against a Fourth Order beast for more than a single strike. As much as he wanted to believe that his Fourth Son was sending himself to death, he felt a deep discomfort within his heart¡­ What if he actually succeeded?


    The shock from Ryu''s defeat of the Ice Eyed Bear still hadn''t fully been washed away, yet here he was doing something even more incredulous.


    To put matters into perspective, the three Sects had only organized one Lower Fourth Order beasts for this competition, not believing anyone would be foolish enough to actually challenge one. How could they have thought that something like this would happen? Ryu might not even have the chance to shatter the Jade on his neck if he met danger. To make matters worse, he was blind!


    At this moment, while everyone couldn''t decide how to feel, Ryu had appeared within a desert plain. However, this place was far different from the land Prince Kwan fought in.


    The ground was completely flat, none of the expected sand dunes one would think to find in a desert could be seen. In fact, the land was filled with cracks, looking like the pieces of a complex puzzle formed by overly dried ground.


    In the distance, about twenty or so meters from Ryu, sat the mouth of a cave. Even in the already scorching heat of this desert, the mouth of the cave still steamed akin to hot breath released on a cold winter''s day.


    Those who were spectating immediately understood how terrible this battleground was for Ryu. There was no cover, no landscape to take advantage of¡­ Nothing but a large expanse of flat land from hundreds of miles. In fact, even the cave seemed to have been dug here. It didn''t seem naturally occurring.


    For Ryu, this kind of environment was technically the worst for him. Due to his Ice Jade Crystal body, he wasn''t supposed to like the heat. Luckily, his Fire Dragon and Fire Phoenix bloodlines fixed this weakness.


    A halberd appeared in Ryu''s hand, his battle intent soaring. His Fire Dragon and Lightning Qilin blood roared through his veins as though keen on letting their might be known.


    Much like the glaive, this halberd also had a wooden staff attached to a metal fixture. And, also just like it, its polearm was dyed in blood, forcing it out of its light brown and into a dark oak color that exuded a fiendish aura.


    The air was stale. Not even the slightest hint of wind or moisture could be felt, even breathing made one''s throat feel as though it had been lit afire. But, as Ryu continued to not move, his momentum continued to climb. He could feel it coming, it was definitely coming.


    Scenes of his battle four months ago flashed in Ryu''s mind. At that time, he had accidentally travelled too deeply into the Natural Order Sect''s beast forest. It wasn''t that he was foolish enough to believe a Fourth Order beast wasn''t his opponent at the time, but rather that his knowledge about the Mortal Planes was truly too insignificant.


    Due to his ignorance, he stumbled into the territory of an Ice Saber Toothed Tiger. Ryu was forced to put his life on the line to escape, forgetting everything about training his nonsensical dream of dual wielding two-handed weapons all to bring out his full potential.


    Back then, his [Gliding Cloud Steps] had already reached the Circle of Perfection but he wasn''t fast enough. He had already been a Spear Heir, but his attacks weren''t piercing enough. He had already cultivated to the Peak of the Pulse Opening Realm, but he wasn''t strong enough.


    To this point, Ryu had seemingly not improved. His movement technique was still at the Circle of Perfection. His cultivation still hadn''t broken into the Qi Refinement Realm. His spear hadn''t reached the Impose Realm either. One would think that in four months, Ryu had completely wasted his talent.


    He could feel that feeling once again. That insurmountable wall¡­ A bridge that was impossible to cross¡­ One built by the realms of cultivation.


    The ground began to quake. Low growls of a beast of unimaginable strength reverberated through the dry air, resonating with Ryu''s beating heart as though it wanted it to burst.


    Suddenly, a pillar of lava shot out from the mouth of the cave, shooting into the skies and piercing the veil above. The temperature of the desert skyrocket as the slow footsteps of a looming predator resounded. The beast''s overwhelming weight became apparent simply by virtue of its gait.


    Soon, the image of the deathly beast came into view. Even Ryu who stood at just over two meters tall was dwarfed.


    Its body was that of a tiger, but its four wings, still glistening with molten rock, shimmered like sheets of metal.


    Its fur looked nothing like it should, instead seemingly reminiscent of sharp red needles, each half a foot long and layered to create a dense coat and impenetrable defense.


    Its large, scarlet eyes looked toward Ryu like a lofty King meeting a servant. Even as its head loomed six meters in the air, it suddenly roared¡­ Its projection so fierce that a cyclone of scorching wind charged toward Ryu.

 Chapter 94: Parent-Child

    A vortex of scalding wind careened toward Ryu. What was left of the air''s moisture was eradicated in an instant. Even without the ability to breathe fire, this attack was almost more dangerous. However, it was also the kind of attack Ryu had the easiest time dodging.


    In that moment, Ryu''s body became as light as a feather. Feeling the fluctuations in the air, he instinctively dodged, appearing to the side of the cyclone of pressurized wind.


    Ryu completed a series of [advances], closing the distance between him and the Two-Winged Fire Tiger. He brandished his halberd, using its tip to attack the beast''s neck. But all he received in return were a pair of ringing eardrums due to what sounded like plates of metal crashing against one another.


    The halberd''s polearm bent into a crescent moon. It was almost guaranteed that had its wooden body not undergone such drastic changes by being tempered by beast blood, it would have definitely snapped.


    "His movement technique is astounding and perfect against an immature Fire Tiger like this one who''s yet to grasp its fire breathing ability. But it''s clear his attacking power is severely lacking. Plus, although his weapon has been tempered through many battles, it''s still a Lower Common Grade one at the end of the day, it''s impossible to expect too much from it." An elder beside Amell commented.


    In truth, the elders looked on in confusion. After the shock of Ryu''s actions wore off, they began analyzing the situation. From what they could tell, Ryu was purposely remaining as close to the body of the Fire Tiger as he could. This was likely in order to take advantage of his small size and to disallow the beast from taking advantage of its speed. However, why was he only using one arm to attack?


    Some thought that maybe it was because Ryu had never had anyone to teach him. After all, he was ostracized by his family, when had he ever had a proper teacher? If any halberd master saw him using their precious weapon with only a single hand, they would lose their minds.


    However, this explanation was difficult to accept as well. Reason being that Ryu was too powerful to have advanced to such a height alone in less than two years. It simply didn''t add up.


    Despite their confusion, the elders were right about Ryu''s plot, but their reasoning was slightly off. Ryu wanted to stay close to the Fire Tiger so that it couldn''t make use of its speed. This was true. But the reason he didn''t want the beast to exploit its full speed was so that his opponents wouldn''t learn just how fast he, himself was!


    The enraged roar of the Two-Winged Fire Tiger shook the desert plain. It didn''t feel anything more than a tickle from Ryu''s piercing attacks, but it still felt anger. With Ryu continuously clinging so closely to its underbelly, it found it too awkward to properly attack. It thought it would be easy to form some distance between them, but Ryu stuck to it like glue, using the shifting wind to predict its actions and appear in the locations it wanted to retreat to before it got there.


    "If things continue like this, he''ll undoubtedly lose." The other elder commented. "But of all the young geniuses to ever exist on our Plane, he must be among the top. No, without a doubt he''s among the best. Lasting this long against a Fourth Order beast with Peak Pulse Opening Realm cultivation? This is unheard of!"


    Even though these elders would only need a few exchanges to defeat the beast Ryu was currently fighting, they had long since entered the Spiritual Severing Realm!


    Suddenly, Ryu retreated. His body dancing backward with a hard to come by elegance as he created some distance between himself and the beast.


    ''I''ve analyzed enough.''


    If someone was reading Ryu''s mind, they would assume he meant that he had been analyzing the battle strength and attack patterns of the Fire Tiger. However, this wasn''t the case at all. Ryu wouldn''t be foolish enough to believe that he had seen through the Fire Tiger, especially not with his eyes closed. No, Ryu was referring to the Jade that hung from his neck.


    When Ryu fought the Ice Eyed Bear, he distinctly felt that during his final attack, the image projecting abilities of the Visual Jade distorted. This might have been missed by many who were in his position, but Ryu had a high sensitivity to Spiritual Qi fluctuations not only due to the fact he had a half-step into the Spiritual Entrance Realm, but also because he had the Origin Flame.


    The moment Ryu confirmed his suspicions, he formulated a plan to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, due to the fact there were three Spiritual Severing Realm experts in the battle arena, namely his grandfather, Amell, who was a Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm expert, Ryu couldn''t conduct any tests there without risk of being found out. That left him with only one choice: to do so when he entered a Small Realm to battle.


    Of course, Ryu was familiar with Visual Jades. The issue was that the jades he was used to interacting with on the Shrine Plane never distorted their images so easily. Due to this, he had never discovered this flaw in their mechanism until now.


    From Ryu''s analysis, the Visual Jade worked on a Parent-Child system, where, obviously, the Jade in Ryu''s possession, along with the jades of the other Princes, were considered the Child. These parent and child jades communicated to each other via a link of Spiritual Qi. Ryu wasn''t very familiar with this process, but he could faintly remember reading about a special constitution between twin siblings where their Spiritual Qi wavelength allowed them to communicate over long distances without using a Qi Line technique.


    Ryu had been fine-tuning this discovery and testing just how to best distort this communication via wavelength. After almost half an hour of fighting, Ryu believed he had finally found a method.


    The reason the image distorted back when Ryu used [Sweep] to kill the Ice Eyed Bear was because, although he only used a single hand, Ryu still had a faint connection with his Inheritor status. As everyone knows, an Heir or Inheritor uses their Mental Realm as a base of connection with the Heavens in order to call down upon Essence to supplement their strength. This communication has the same basic theory behind it as the Parent-Child relationship of the Jade and also the abilities of some twin siblings.


    Now, Ryu not only understood this concept, but he had homed in on the exact frequency of Spiritual Qi needed. And now, as long as he focused¡­


    The crowd within the battle arena who had been watching with rapt attention suddenly became very confused. Wasn''t Ryu trying to keep their distance close so that he didn''t have to deal with the speed of the Fire Tiger? Why had he suddenly backed away?


    However, before they could receive their answer, the images blurred, blinking into and out of existence inexplicably.

 Chapter 95: Sweep

    "What''s going on?" Amell''s eyes narrowed. His senses told him that it was no coincidence that these things were happening, but he couldn''t figure out just how Ryu was doing it.


    Within the desert plain world, Ryu brandished his halberd, holding onto its bloodied and wooden polearm with a single hand as the Fire Tiger lurked toward him. The once lofty arrogance in its eyes was gone, replaced a deep rage. It still saw Ryu as nothing but an ant, but it had still begun to take him seriously.


    Beasts of the Fourth Order, and even the Third Order, had long since begun to gain intelligence of their own. By the Fourth Order, their thinking ability was no less than that of humans, even on this Plane. So, it knew that Ryu couldn''t be taken lightly any longer.


    "It''s about time we begin our true fight¡­ Don''t you think?"


    Ryu''s voice was followed by the complete blackening of the screen. The spectators sat in shock, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing. By Ryu''s words¡­. He had done this on purpose?


    Somehow, although the visuals were completely gone, the sounds of a mighty battle filled their ears. Just what was happening?


    Ryu slowly opened his eyes. A piercing, silver-blue shining within them. For the first time in months, the whole world was opened to him. He felt like he had control of everything.


    Over time, Ryu had slowly pried apart some secrets of his Heavenly Pupils, but he knew he still had a long way to go. Still, that wouldn''t stop him from taking advantage of what he did know.


    His first ability was [Third Perspective]. Ryu''s pupils allowed him to few his situation from an outsider''s perspective. It essentially gave him a bird''s eye view that was a step above normal Spiritual Sense. For cultivators who could only unlock Spiritual Sense after their Spiritual Sea opened at the Soul Birth realm, this sort of ability was impossible to learn.


    The difference between Spiritual Sense and [Third Perspective] was like Heaven and Earth. Spiritual Sense was lacking in many areas. For example, a stronger cultivator can stop themselves from being discovered, strong Spiritual Plants and resources have methods of protecting themselves from sensed as well, and Spiritual Sense was also susceptible to damage. If one used their Spiritual Sense wantonly, it was possible to suffer backlash that would cause difficult to heal damage to one''s Spiritual Sea.


    However, [Third Perspective] had no such drawbacks. Regardless of cultivation disparity or Spiritual Ingredient Grade, they would all be seen through. In addition, it was impossible to detect [Third Perspective], so even if suffering a backlash was possible, the attacker wouldn''t have a target.


    It was [Third Perspective] that allowed Ryu to discover the flaw in [Gliding Cloud Steps]. However, it was the ability [Insight] that allowed him to correct this flaw. [Insight] drew from the abilities of [Third Perspective] to narrow down the possible avenues of response to a given situation. When used on a technique, it slowed the time to mastery or correction, but when used in a fight, it was similar to predicting the possible actions of an opponent before they even occurred.


    [Insight] essentially gave Ryu that battle sense of a warrior who had already fought for thousands of years despite the truth of his inexperience. However, Ryu found that spending some time increasing his own instincts with his eyes closed actually improved [Insight] tremendously! Before, [Insight] had been useless on Fourth Order beasts, the disparity in strength was too much. But, now?...


    Many would believe that Ryu had wasted four months of his talent, but Ryu knew the truth. He had refined his battle sense to a completely other level compared to those of his cultivation realm!


    Ryu''s white hair flew in the wind, the ground beneath his feet shattering as he burst forward. In an instant, he closed the distance between he and the Fire Tiger, dodging its sweeping metal wing to attack its leg.


    In that moment, Ryu''s single-handed approach changed. His left hand found its way to the upper shaft of the pole, changing his aura completely.


    The faint image of an Emperor clad in red-gold robes appeared to his back. The imposing aura of the Fire Tiger seemed to shatter into nothingness, unable to withstand the might of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena.


    The Two-Winged Fire Tiger was stunned. Was this this ant''s true speed? Where did this Kingly aura come from? Suddenly, a keen sense of danger overwhelmed the beast. It felt like it couldn''t so casually take on this strike as it had with Ryu''s others. But, it was already too late.


    While the glaive''s strongest attack was [Sweep], the halberd''s was [Slice]!


    Ryu took advantage of the beast''s surprise, he had no intention of missing this opportunity. His halberd swung downward in a simple, but mighty, vertical line. Essence Qi rippled through the air, filling Ryu''s halberd with a heavenly glow that made the space around him distort.


    Ryu''s aim wasn''t anything great like slicing the Fire Tiger in half with one strike. Such a thought wasn''t only farfetched, it was pure stupidity. Ryu knew very well that he was no match for a Spiritual Severing expert as things stood now, and that was even more so for its equivalent Fourth Order beast rank.


    However, Ryu had one trump card. That said, he had to make sure that that trump card landed without fail!


    Ryu poured his everything into his strike. His blood boiled, pushing his two thousand jin strength to almost three thousand. His meridians trembled, agitating his Spiritual Foundation and pushing his unrefined qi to its absolute upper limit.


    Unfortunately, the gap between him and his opponent was simply too large. The difference between a Peak Qi Refinement expert and a Lower Spiritual Severing expert was even larger than the whole of the Qi Refinement realm. The Fire Tiger forewent attacking Ryu, instead shifting its paw away to stop Ryu from crippling a portion of its movement.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed. The Fire Tiger''s change in tactic fell well within the ability of his [Insight].


    In that moment, he did something that would have shocked those watching if they could see.


    Ryu forcibly stopped his attack midway. Not only would a normal individual have ruptured their meridians doing such a foolish thing, their body''s bones wouldn''t have been able to handle the stress. However, Ryu had inseverable meridians and a Bone Structure that was matchless in flexibility!


    His body shifted, tapping into the abilities of the Northern Heavenly Wind and seemingly disappearing, only to reappear behind the Fire Tiger''s hind leg. His eyes swirled with Spatial Qi, his halberd shifting out of existence to be replaced with a glaive.


    [Sweep]!

 Chapter 96: Micro Tear

    Ryu swept his glaive forward with all his might.


    The change was too sudden. The beast had been certain that Ryu''s inner organs would have shattered after forcibly stopping a full powered strike midway. But, not only did that not happen, Ryu''s speed suddenly shot upward again, causing him to appear behind the far more important and powerful hind leg.


    While injuring a front leg would have hindered the Fire Tiger to some extent, the loss would have only been around five or ten percent. But, the loss of a hind leg would cause a drastic fall upward of maybe even thirty percent!


    This wasn''t even the most vital point. Spatial rings were great creations, but their flexibility of use was incredibly lacking. One could only take objects that were both ownerless and in contact with the ring. In addition, during the extraction process, the form an object took when it exited the ring was dependent on how it was placed into it in the first place. Therefore, something like switching weapons in the middle of battle wasn''t something anyone would rely on a spatial ring to do.


    However, Ryu had something far better than a spatial ring! Every Heavenly Pupils inheritor had their own inner world, allowing them a certain control over Spatial Qi. This allowed far more flexibility than spatial rings. Not only could Ryu take in objects as long as they were within his vision without having to touch them, he could also extract said objects as he pleased and in whatever position he wished. There were of course limitations to these abilities that were linked to why Ryu had yet to use his stocks of Qi Whispering, but its usefulness was undeniable.


    All of these things seemed useless on their own, but together they added up to a wholly dangerous situation for the Two-Winged Fire Tiger. Before it could react, Ryu''s strike had already landed upon its achilles tendon.


    The familiar sound of metal strikingmetal resounded. As expected, the sturdy exterior of the Fourth Order Fire Tiger wasn''t so easy to penetrate. However, Ryu''s face didn''t sink into despair as one might expect. Instead, he roared with all his might, his Glaive Qi soaring to a new height.


    Pshu


    A seemingly insignificant cut barely two inches deep appeared on the Fire Tiger''s hind leg. At this moment, it was quickly trying to move away. It was so shocked by Ryu''s momentum that it panicked. It had already forgotten that Ryu was a mere Peak Opening Realm expert even though it could crush even Lower Spiritual Several realm ones. It loss itself to fear, affected by Ryu''s confidence and overbearing nature.


    This might sound like a simple affair, but it wasn''t. When Ryu''s battle intent soared, the Ancient Beast blood within his veins had roared as well. The problem was just that his Body Realm was so weak that it wasn''t enough to use his bloodline to suppress the Fire Tiger. However, the beast became unable to ignore the difference in quality of their bloodlines once Ryu decided to fight it head-on.


    Its instincts suddenly took over, telling it that it should run. What was it, a mere tiger, in the face of a Dragon, Qilin and Phoenix? It was nothing. None of its achievements meant anything.


    By the time the Fire Tiger woke itself from its stupor, realizing how ridiculous its thoughts were, it suddenly felt a danger many times that of before.


    The Fire Tiger''s head spun, only to find itself looking at the image of a shadowy deity with a blinding sun to his back. This deity held a bow as black as night while energy uncontrollably surged toward him.


    At that moment, the images in the battle arena began to flicker once more. As Ryu''s Spiritual Qi quickly drained, trying to maintain the connection between him and Heavens, his ability to control the Visual Jade faltered as well. His Mental Realm simply wasn''t refined enough to split his mind between two difficult tasks to a level of perfection.


    The fear the Fire Tiger felt now was far more real and tangible than anything it had felt previously. Before, it was the irrational fear of the potential of Ryu''s bloodline that shook it, but now, it was the reality that it faced right now.


    It didn''t know what to do. With its cultivation, it could soar into the air and kill Ryu now before his attack grew large enough to threaten it any more. In fact, considering it had wings, it could fly long before it became a Fourth Order beast. However, it still hesitated.


    In that instant, it forced itself to calm down. How many battles had it fought? How many corpses formed the stairs that built its current cultivation? Just how many times had its life been on the line just like this? It spent its whole life building to the point it could own such a large expanse of territory alone, how could it allow this ant to do as it pleased?


    It was then that the Fire Tiger decided to dodge. It knew that its moment of hesitation had lost it the opportunity to take the initiative, so it primed itself it run.


    It turned its head decisively, slamming its hind legs into the ground and charging forward at a speed far greater than even Ryu''s. It zig-zagged along the ground. With its intelligence, it could tell that Ryu''s mastery of the bow was far lower than that of his glaive. It was confident that at its peak, it could dodge this coming attack ten out of ten times.


    Unfortunately¡­ That was only at its peak. Just as the Fire Tiger turned its body to take another sharp zag, trying to distance itself from Ryu, an audible popping noise that was reminiscent of the snapping of a metallic cord resounded through the desert plain and the battle arena.


    A howl of pain escaped the Fire Tiger. It couldn''t understand what had just happened. Its hind leg? It was injured? That was impossible! That puny human''s attack barely made it an inch into its body!


    What the Fire Tiger didn''t understand was that it had played directly into Ryu''s hands. Ryu knew from the very beginning that his strength wasn''t enough to slice the tendon of a Fourth Order beast¡­ But who could harm a Fourth Order beast more than itself?!


    The achilles tendon was fragile part of not only humans, but also most beasts. Even the smallest micro tears could develop into devastating injuries if left unattended. Yet, not only had the Fire Tiger left his unattended, it applied pressure on it again and again, trying to escape Ryu''s arrow!


    As its body curled up in reflex, springing into the air involuntarily, it realized it was too late for regret. An arrow of pulsing light, swirling with spear, glaive and halberd qi careened through the air, screeching with a sound that made the Fire Tiger''s ears bleed.


    Its last sight before the arrow shattered its skull was a pale faced Ryu, falling from the skies like a gently blowing leaf.

 Chapter 97: Master Stroke

    After a while, the image projected to the large crowd cleared. A stunned silence overwhelmed the battle arena as they all watched Ryu slowly approach the corpse of the beast.


    Ryu began to dissect the Fire Tiger. In reality, this was extremely difficult even now that its defenses had weakened. It took Ryu several hours to reach the Spiritual Root and meticulously displace the organ and the Blood Essence within it properly.


    However, no one blamed him. The corpse of a Fourth Order beast was too precious. Plus, there hadn''t ever been a time limit placed on a turn. As a result, Ryu could take all the time he needed. By the time he finished, the second day of competition had begun. Many Princes and audience members had directly taken time to rest. After all, not all of them had high enough cultivation to remain awake for extended periods of time.


    When Ryu finally reappeared, the shock of his victory still hadn''t worn off. Unfortunately for his competition, he had also been savvy enough to take advantage of the competition rules to rest as much as he needed within the Small Realm. One might wonder why Kwan hadn''t done this to dodge Silas'' schemes, but this had an obvious answer. Would Silas have let things go so easily had Kwan done that? Of course not. In all likelihood, he would shamelessly demand more.


    There was another more complex reasoning to this as well. One had to remember that these trials weren''t taking place in a vacuum. The small-scale teleportation arrays had been connected to the real territories of real beasts. How could there only be one beast in a Small Realm?


    Beasts spent much of their time fighting for territory. What would happen if the overlord of an area suddenly died? Wouldn''t new beasts rush in, seeking benefits?


    The only reason Ryu could calmly digest his gains instead of having to fight new waves of beasts was precisely because of how powerful his opponent was. The Fire Tiger''s territory was so large and expansive that beasts adjacent to it hadn''t even heard the sounds of battle, let alone realizing it died.


    This was exactly why Headmaster Leopold had never bothered to set a time limit despite knowing this loophole existed. The lack of a time limit was actually a potential pitfall left behind by Leopold as a trap. If you spent too long battling, trying to conserve strength, or were too poor in battle to finish quickly enough, you would attract far more trouble than you were capable of dealing with. Only when the opponent you faced was so outrageously powerful would these petty traps have no meaning. Of course, Ryu was able to see through this. He had realized from the beginning this trial''s rules weren''t so simple.


    Seeing that Prince Kwan was looking around dumbly, Ryu shook his head. "Prince Kwan, it is still your turn."


    Ryu''s words like a pike breaking through a thing sheet of ice. An eruption of emotions and chaos swept through the arena. Just how had Ryu done it? They couldn''t see very much from the flickering images at the end¡­ Why had the Fire Tiger suddenly leapt in the air and howled in pain? Was that a bow Ryu was holding at the end? Just what kind of attack was that?!


    "Oh!" Prince Kwan perked up. He realized that Ryu had helped him a lot. By taking his time, the Opes Warriors had long since regained their peak fighting strength. Plus, he loved seeing that helpless expression on Silas'' face. That bastard was too cocky!


    "I wonder if you''ll allow me to give you some advice?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    "Advice?" Kwan blinked in surprise. "Please advise, Brother Ryu."


    "You have two actions left. How about you use the first one to attack your brother''s step?"


    Prince Kwan''s features darkened. Could it be that Ryu was only feigning niceties in order to take advantage of him? It wasn''t just Kwan who thought this, even the spectating Princes thought so as well.


    Ryu shook his head. "You misunderstand. I want you to attack your brother''s step so that I can act as one of his helpers."


    Ryu''s slight smile and nonchalant words stunned the crowd. What did he just say? Of those spectating, only Headmaster Leopold''s eyes flashed with a piercing light. How had he planned to keep these proceedings fair despite knowing that there was an imbalance of Princes from various Kingdoms? He had left behind many hidden rules and loopholes to be taken advantage of. This was one such rule!


    Headmaster Leopold had said from the very beginning that a Prince was allowed helpers, but he never restricted where that help could come from. There was no rule against two Princes entering the same step at the same time!


    "This¡­" Kwan looked away from Ryu to glance at his elder brother. Although this sounded like a great idea, there were many problems with this approach. Namely, if Ryu decided to betray his elder brother, it would result in disaster! By the time he entered, it would be too late for regret¡­ However, who would have thought that his elder brother Kalmin would nod straight forwardly.


    Taking a deep breath, Kwan calmed himself. Just why was Ryu doing this? He was already on his eighth step, since he could defeat a Lower Fourth Order beast, he wouldn''t have trouble taking first place after Kwan concluded his turn. So, what was the purpose of this.


    "I do have ulterior motives." Ryu suddenly said. "I''m not ashamed to say that the method I used to achieve victory isn''t something I can replicate time and time again. In truth, defeating a Peak Third Order beast alone is probably my limit. Which means, I''ll need some help on the final step.


    "You''ll use your attack on your brother and I''ll help him step upon the sixth step. Then, when it''s my turn once more, I''ll help him step upon the seventh step by attacking him once more. If anyone attacks him, I''ll become his helper, helping him continue to move forward. After all, Princes have unlimited entries."


    Ryu''s words were like a hidden landmine being triggered after decades hidden under an abandoned battlefield. That was right! From the very beginning, Headmaster Leopold had said that only warriors with unlimited entries were the Princes! It didn''t matter that Kalmin had five more steps left to climb, Ryu could help him with each and every one of them!


    The faces of Ryu''s enemies darkened, but Headmaster Leopold''s eyes only seemed to grow brighter and brighter.


    ''What a master stroke!'' Leopold exclaimed in his heart. With a single move, Ryu not only showed signs of weakness that would make his enemies less wary of him, he also exploited rules to perfection and gained two strong allies for himself. This was exactly how Leopold wanted this game to be played!

 Chapter 98: Wont Let Go

    There was nothing the opposing Princes could do. Directly after Kwan''s turn, it would be Ryu''s turn to go. There were no more opportunities to interfere. Although they could theoretically attack Prince Kalmin, the only individual who could do so was First Prince Amory. Since Amory was on his seventh step thanks to Atticus'' help, he could use his three actions to finish this trial out. However, if he used one of his actions to attack Kalmin''s step, he would be giving up his right to place second!


    Since Kalmin could never do that, he would have to concede to allowing Ryu''s plan to continue unhindered. In this way, Kwan, Kalmin and Ryu would have the smoothest turns of this entire trial, this was especially so for Kalmin who had seemingly accepted a pie that descended from the skies.


    Following Ryu''s instructions, Kwan directly attacked his brother''s sixth step. As luck would have it, he faced a mere Middle Second Order beast. Directly afterward, Ryu leapt to Kalmin''s aid. Since Ryu was so powerful, Kalmin had no need to waste the entries of his helpers. Not long afterward, he stood firmly upon his sixth step.


    Afterward, Ryu made an odd request. Still, due to all the help he was giving them, Kwan didn''t hesitate to attack Jedrek''s seventh step. For Jedrek who was the wealthiest of them all, ignoring attacks was by far the easiest for him, it was for this reason no one had dared to attack him until now. Yet, Ryu had suddenly helped him climb to the seventh step.


    With that, Kwan''s turn ended, and it was now Ryu''s, who currently stood on his eighth step due to the fact he had successfully ignore two attacks. Ryu''s first action was to directly attack Kalmin''s seventh step. Then, he proceeded to help Kalmin ignore his own levied attack. This second trial had suddenly become Ryu''s personal playground.


    Due to Ryu''s help, Kalmin had once more been able to save an entry for his Qi Refinement experts even after stepping into the third tier of steps. And, since allowing his Qi Refinement experts to help Ryu wouldn''t count against his own entries, he had no problem allowing Ryu to use them to climb his ninth, and finally the tenth step.


    The audience was suffering a severe case of whiplash. Just a couple of turns ago, they had believed that Ryu had been cornered by Silas. Yet, in one sweep, he had not only defeated a Fourth Order beast, he had also made a mockery of the second trial.


    After Ryu conquered and completed his tenth step, it was finally Amory''s turn. The First Prince could only complete his trial begrudgingly. There was no worse feeling than understanding the plans of your enemies clearly, yet having no choice but to walk in lockstep with them.


    Once Amory''s turn concluded, Ryu continued to help Kalmin. Due to the fact the final tenth step was a Half-Step Fourth Order beast, Ryu was able to take his time in defeating it. Although it wasn''t as powerful as the Fire Tiger, its territory was fairly large as well. As a result, Ryu''s final use of the Opes Warriors left them feeling incredibly refreshed and relaxed. Coupling this with the fact that Amory took quite a bit of time to defeat his own Half-Step Fourth Order beast and they entered Kalmin''s final steps 100% healthy.


    As expected, with Ryu''s help, Kalmin''s final steps ended smoothly. He had once more firmly taken third place.


    Cayden went next, but due to the fact he had wasted so much time helping Amory, he would still need one more round to finish. In the end, he feigned like he was also Jedrek''s ally by attacking his steps. But, this move of his forced Amory to use every ounce of his will power to not face palm. Cayden''s current "help" was absolutely useless after Ryu had Kwan attack Jedrek. No matter what, even without Cayden, Jedrek would be able to climb to the tenth step this round. Yet, this fool actually continued on with the original plan.


    Now others understood why Ryu had Kwan attack Jedrek. It was precisely so that Cayden couldn''t muddy the waters and fool others. But, even Ryu hadn''t expected Cayden to be so stupid. The fact he did this was practically like waving a massive flag that read "I''m Amory''s Ally!".


    Unfortunately, one wouldn''t be able to use Qi Line techniques until reaching the Qi Refinement Realm. So, Amory could only watch as his younger brother looked around in confusion as many made weird faces at him. Was this truly a Prince? He seemed more like a jester.


    As expected, the second trial came to an end just another round later. Ryu finished first, Amory second, Kalmin third, Jedrek fourth, Silas and Atticus fifth, Cayden sixth, and finally Kwan was disqualified for being unable to complete the trial after using up the entries of his best warriors.


    Headmaster Leopold took a deep breath, even he needed a moment to process everything. However, just when he believed he had everything in order, Ryu''s cold voice sounded.


    "I''d like to make one statement before you reveal the results, Headmaster Leopold."


    "Oh? Please do." Leopold replied with interest.


    "I believe that it should be noted that the ideas I implemented weren''t all mine, they were actually that of Prince Kalmin. I''ve spent almost the past two years in Opes Kingdom territory, so we built a small friendship between each other. The only reason the words came from me and not him was precisely because it would only have worked after his enemies believed they had him under control." Ryu explained.


    A slight look of surprise flashed across Leopold''s features before he gave Ryu a knowing glance. It was impossible to tell what was true and what was false in the young Fourth Prince''s explanation, but what was true was that Ryu''s plan would only work so well in the perfect situation. Because he purposely only revealed the loophole in the rules after Silas completed his turn, there was no other opportunity to retaliate. In addition, it was precisely because he didn''t help Kalmin when Cayden attacked his steps last that everyone believed Kalmin would have to deal with everything alone.


    Simply put, it was because Kalmin "feigned weakness" that the plan worked so effectively. This kernel of truth made it difficult to outright reject Ryu''s words. As for why Ryu bothered to say this, the reason was obvious. If Headmaster Leopold graded Kalmin as though he was just along for the ride, then he wouldn''t score very well. Plus, there was another key point here. Since one couldn''t use the Qi Line technique until reaching the Qi Refinement stage, Kalmin and Ryu had to have planned this beforehand, right?


    In the end, Headmaster Leopold smiled. This little rascal was actually giving him the opportunity to vent more of his dissatisfaction against the three Sects who dared to ignore his face and his hopes for absolute fairness. Despite knowing that Ryu was likely lying through his teeth, Leopold became another unwitting pawn, an individual who clearly knew they were being manipulated, but had no choice but to follow along anyway.


    Ryu was really playing them all, not even letting an old man like him go.

 Chapter 99: Bullshit

    Headmaster Leopold shook his head and chuckled.


    "In first place, awarded with a full ten points, is Fourth Prince Tor. He''s once again displayed unmatched intellect. However, this time, he''s shown this old man just how important absolute strength in conjunction with intelligence is. While none of his schemes would have worked had he not been powerful enough, the fact of the matter is that he was.


    "When one thinks about it, without authority, intelligence is only meaningless. When you play a game of Domain, the more intelligent individual wins, but this is only because the rules of the game have been established as something that must be followed. While the authority in use isn''t obvious to you at the time, it is in fact there.


    "This sort of logic can be applied to all sorts of matters and I thank little friend Ryu for opening this old man''s eyes to this truth." Headmaster Leopold smiled lightly, feeling ten years younger all of a sudden. How long had it been since he had such a profound breakthrough in his Mental Realm?


    In truth, this conclusion was a bit depressing to him. He had never attempted to enter the world of cultivation because he believed the matters of the mind were superior. But, by now, it was already too late for him.


    Still, he didn''t feel despair. Instead, he etched these matters into his heart. He could only hope that some of these faint memories followed him to the next life. When that day came, he would definitely not waste his youth again!


    "In second place¡­"


    The crowd unwittingly shifted forward in their seats. The first conclusion had been obvious nearly from start to finish. What they wanted to know is just how the rest of the board had been affected.


    "¡­ I''ve placed Second Prince Tor."


    As expected, Headmaster Leopold''s words stunned the crowd. Jedrek did have an eye-catching performance, but even if Leopold chose to ignore Ryu''s words about Kalmin, surely second place would have been either Silas or Amory, no?


    In regard to Silas, although he failed in the end, that was only because Ryu was a monster. Who would possibly calculate for the possibility that their opponent, as a mere fifteen-year-old boy, could defeat a Lower Fourth Order Beast? This obviously wasn''t the fault of Silas'' scheme. In fact, his actions could be said to be perfect.


    Then there was Amory. He was once again calm and steady throughout the whole process. In truth, his performance was inferior to Silas''. The only reason it would be acceptable if he placed second instead was due to how perfect his commands were as he climbed his steps. From beginning to end, only his helpers never suffered a single injury. While this was partly due to how powerful his Dragon Corps were, it was also related to his quick and clever battle tactics.


    Still, this time, no one had an outburst. Everyone simply waited patiently for Headmaster Leopold to explain.


    "Among the seven remaining Princes, Jedrek brought out his greatest strength with the most efficiency.


    "A King knows when to take a step forward, but he also knows when to take a step back. You all know this, but both of Jedrek''s grandfathers are Emperors of the battlefield. Old General Garis has been a loyal guard of Tor Kingdom for several dozen years and has a list of military merits that could extend from one end of our Highest Mortal Plane to the other.


    "On the other hand, Supreme Elder Amell Tor is an overlord of the cultivation world. He is not only an unmatched talent, but his battle prowess has been well known since his youth.


    "A youth like Jedrek is under tremendous pressure not to only succeed, but to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him. The reason I award Jedrek nine points isn''t only because of the overbearingness of his wealth, but because he''s shown the bearing of a True King. Only a person worthy of that title can forge his own path with such absolute confidence!"


    Hearing Headmaster Leopold''s explanation, no one could find it within themselves to refute. This competition was entirely about naming the one Prince who was the worthiest of the title King among the eight of them. In that case, weren''t Leopold''s requirements perfect?


    "In third place I name another tie. This time, three ways ¨C Prince Kalmin, Prince Amory and Prince Silas.


    "Everyone is aware of how poised First Prince Tor behaved. He is the only one among the eight that left their subordinates in perfect condition. His adaptation abilities were excellent, and his approach to combat was both novel and an homage to history. While lacking in his own combat strength, he also made use of his greatest strengths to succeed. I reward him a score of eight.


    "As for Prince Kalmin, I also cannot give him higher than an eight. While it is true that he is responsible for half of Ryu''s plans, it cannot be ignored that it was necessary to sacrifice his younger brother to achieve these means. While it is important for a King to understand sacrifice ¨C the very reason I didn''t deduct many points for this folly ¨C one must sacrifice yourselves before your allies¡­"


    Ryu practically tuned out the rest of that portion of the Headmaster''s speech. The moment he heard it begin, he could smell the bullshit wafting through the arena. It was obvious that Leopold was making things up as he went to make it seem like he wasn''t being manipulated by Ryu. It was also obvious that this was simply the highest grade he dared to give Kalmin to not attract the hatred of the three Sects. So Ryu only chuckled lightly.


    He had to say though, the old man was quite good at concocting stories. This was a competition where brothers were pitted against each other on purpose. Who''s to say that Kalmin didn''t sabotage his brother on purpose so that he would certainly become King?


    Obviously, though, Ryu didn''t say any of these things out loud. He let the old man have his fun.


    "In fourth place, I have Prince Atticus with six points. While he did succeed in pinning the weakness of Kalmin, he didn''t exploit it fully. So, I can only award six point. In fifth place, I will award Third Prince Tor with one point for completing the trial. And in last, we have Second Prince Opes.


    "After combining the scores of both trials, we have: Ryu (20), Amory (16), Kalmin (16), Jedrek (13), Silas (10), Atticus (8), Cayden (6) and Kwan (0). Prepare yourselves, for this will be the third and final trial."

 Chapter 100: Three Roles

    Both the Princes and the crowd suddenly perked up, hanging on Leopold''s every word. For those like Amory who believed they had a good guess about just what this trial would be, they were eager to see if their guesses were correct. As for the others who had no idea, it could be said that they were just as, if not more nervous than the former group.


    "This final trial will encompass true combat, not among humans and beasts, but among you Princes and your various factions.


    "As potential future Kings, you must not rest your hopes upon everlasting peace, but that also shouldn''t mean that you should forget diplomacy in its entirety.


    "The Higher Mortal Plane faces many enemies aside from beasts. Many Clans of the lower Planes are always seeking opportunities to take a step forward. At the same time, there are many Clans from above that often lose their footing and rely on the Higher Mortal Plane as a place to regroup. Over the year, many wars have been fought against these newcomers, however, every time, our Plane has managed to hold on. In the future, it will upon your shoulders to withstand this burden."


    Leopold''s words were not false. Although it had been slightly more than a hundred years since the last time such an event occurred, it still had to be remembered that there were some here who were actually alive during the last.


    For Clans on the Middle Mortal Plane, like Granny Miriam''s Clan, for example, they always sought to elevate their position to greater heights. A higher Plane not only represented greater resources, but it was also directly correlated to life as well. On the Lower Mortal Plane, a mortal would only be able to live seventy to eighty years at most. On the Middle Mortal Plane, this number was elevated by twenty years, making the average life expectancy closer to one hundred. As for this Highest Mortal Plane, one only needs to look at Headmaster Leopold''s healthy image to understand.


    By the time one reached the former Shrine Plane, a mortal would be able to live two hundred years without the aid of any spiritual treasures. One can easily see, even without going into the details of the various other benefits, how enticing scaling the Planes was.


    Due to these truths, it wasn''t too rare for powerful Clans and Sects of the Middle Mortal Plane to enter their Higher Mortal Plane, seeking benefits. Of course, it should also be noted that there was no Immortal Path between mortal Planes, which meant there were very lax restrictions on journeying between them unlike what one might see between Immortal Planes.


    Headmaster Leopold''s words were simple to understand. Although they had peace now, it was unlikely that it would be forever, because while powerful Clans ascending to them might not sound too daunting¡­ What about failed Clans who decided to descend and regroup? The last time that occurred, if it wasn''t for all four Kingdoms and Sects banding together, they would have all been wiped out by a single Clan which wasn''t even worthy of meandering the Outer Ring of the Pedestal Plane!


    "For this trial, we''ll be reliving certain scenarios of history past.


    "To begin each round, you will all be given a role. These roles can fall under three separate categories. There will be one role for defense and two roles for attackers. This defensive role will represent our four Kingdoms, while the two attacking roles will be split into Immortal and Mortal ¨C representing attackers from above, or below.


    "Each role type will have its own advantages and disadvantages. How you choose to use these to your advantage will decide your grades by the end of this trial.


    "If you receive the Four Kingdoms Role, you''ll have the advantage of choosing your home base. You will also be allowed one hour of preparation time to set your defenses. However, your disadvantage will be that your opponent will be able to both watch how you set your defenses in detail, and receive full details about the warriors you choose and how you position them. In addition, any experts that die will not be allowed to be replaced."


    The crowd sucked in a cold breath. This sort of disadvantage, wasn''t it too damning? However, they reserved judgement, after all, Leopold had yet to explain the other roles.


    "If you receive the Middle Plane Role, you''ll have the advantage of movement. While those titled with the Four Kingdoms Role have the responsibility to protect a base, you can attack and retreat as you see fit. Those with this role are allowed three attempts to take down the defenders and can also take as much time as they need to heal in between attempts. In addition, any experts that die can be replaced within the given limit.


    "The disadvantage of this role, however, is that you will have your experts limited. While those with the Four Kingdoms role are allowed ten Qi Refinement Realm experts, those with the Middle Plane Role are only allowed five."


    A picture of the landscape of this trial began slowly forming in the minds of those spectating. After understanding two roles, it seems that this was more balanced than they had previously assumed. The difference between five and ten Qi Refinement Realm experts was massive!


    "Finally, there is the Immortal Plane Role. The advantage of this role are the experts. One can have up to twenty Qi Refinement Realm experts should they be given this role.


    "However, with this advantage, comes its own disadvantages. Firstly, those with this role only receive one attempt. In addition, this singular attempt is timed for two hours from when the Four Kingdoms Role completes their defenses.


    "Secondly, the information provided to the Immortal Plane team will be slightly more limited. While those of the Mortal Plane Role will know the general location of the defending team''s Core, the Immortal Plane team will not receive this information. However, they will be provided with everything related to the defenses of the Four Kingdoms team.


    "Lastly, although I''ve slightly alluded to it just now, I will explain the objective of this final trial, and that is to retrieve the Four Kingdoms team''s Core.


    "The Immortal Plane team will receive a two-hour attack sequence to find and take this Core while the Mortal Plane team will receive five hours for each of their three attempts. In addition, neither the Immortal Plane or Four Kingdoms team will be allowed to replace dead experts, but the Mortal Plane team will be given this right.


    "With this core rules out of the way, there is another important aspect I have yet to touch upon. How will these teams be formed?"

 Chapter 101: Killing Intent

    Headmaster Leopold''s question hung in the air. He knew quite well that everyone was wondering how the teams would be portioned out as well, yet he remained silent for a while. It seemed the old man like his theatrics.


    "This third trial will work using concepts of King of the Hill. The first team to successfully defend their Four Kingdoms Core twice will be considered the winners. Of course, the various scores you receive may or may not be related to this. I will always put the most stock in performance.


    "However, this matter isn''t as simple as it seems. Successfully defending against a particular role will count as one. But, defending against that same role once more won''t count at all. Essentially, you must defend against one Mortal attack and one Immortal attack to claim victory.


    "You will each have the opportunity to choose your role, except for Ryu who has no choice but to take the Four Kingdoms role to begin. This is both his blessing and his curse."


    Many raised an eyebrow at these words. Since ending this trial relied on one Prince defending two roles once each, wasn''t it a major advantage to go first? But, those who were more clever immediately understood the pitfall the moment Leopold spoke his next words.


    "After Ryu takes up his position, the next individual ¨C by the results of the previous two trials ¨C will then be allowed a chance to pick their attacking role. Whether it be Mortal or Immortal, it doesn''t matter. The decision will be left up to you. However, you do need to note that you aren''t allowed to pick the same attacking role twice in a row, so be mindful."


    Maybe if Ryu''s eyes were opened, others would notice his gaze narrow. These rules seem simple, but how could Ryu not immediately understand the trap that was being laid?


    If Ryu somehow defeated his very first challenger, would the subsequent Princes risk choosing the one role he had yet to defeat? Of course not! They would purposely pick the role Ryu had already defeated. No matter how many times Ryu defeated that one role, the trial still wouldn''t conclude, and they would thus still have a chance at victory.


    Why would the Princes choose to do this? Obviously because no one role was clearly better than the other. Both had their advantages and disadvantages, so they would obviously choose the role that mitigated their risks to the greatest extent.


    The only life jacket Headmaster Leopold threw was in his final words. Obviously, he wouldn''t allow the other Princes to endlessly exploit this rule. So, he barred them from choosing the same attacking faction twice in a row.


    Still, this was hardly a concession. The best-case scenario was that Ryu would have to defeat his opponents through eight turns before he could finally win. This eight-turn total included defeating all seven Princes once before a new round began, then winning the first turn of that next round.


    However, there was a far worse scenario available to Ryu.


    What if he failed? If he didn''t win eight turns straight, he would be booted from his Four Kingdoms role. By the time he fought for the right to claim that role once more, his opponents could rinse and repeat the same scheme. By then, their ability to chose the same role Ryu had already defeated would be allowed once more.


    If this continued, Ryu would enter a vicious cycle of losses. Headmaster Leopold almost seemed to have made these rules as he did so that it would be impossible to win in one fell swoop.


    Headmaster knew there were many alliances among the Princes, but with the way these rules were set up, would they really dare to so blatantly help each other? Even Silas couldn''t be as carefree as he was before, or else his Viri Kingdom''s Faith would definitely suffer.


    As for Ryu and the Opes Princes, could the latter two really care for Ryu in this situation? If they helped Ryu win, how would they answer to their own people? The entire livelihood of the Opes Kingdom was hanging in the balance, they definitely couldn''t afford to repay the debt they owed Ryu here.


    The only acceptable alliances would be between brothers helping each other. In that case, the Kingdom could rally behind them. In fact, their Faith might even skyrocket. Who didn''t like a story of brothers willing to sacrifice their rights to the throne for one another?


    If Headmaster Leopold''s calculations were correct, this meant that the only wild cards left would be Cayden and Kwan, both of whom would want to aid their elder brothers. This was Leopold''s plan all along. He had known from the beginning that the three Kingdoms would band together to harm the Opes Clan, but in this case, the Opes Clan had the advantage!


    Even if Amory defeated Ryu, Kalmin would have the chance to defeat him directly afterward. If Kalmin managed to win, no matter what the following Princes did, as long as he managed to make it to Kwan''s turn, he would win! This placed Opes Kingdom''s destiny firmly within Kalmin''s hands. Whether they win or lose, it was all up to him.


    ''This is the best this old man can do for you two. Whether or not you can grasp this opportunity will be left up to you.''


    As for Ryu, Leopold didn''t believe for a moment there was a possibility for his victory. No one would be foolish enough to underestimate Ryu, not after what abilities he displayed. The issue was that the only number count that was limited were Qi Refinement experts, Leopold purposely didn''t put any cap on the number of experts you could have below that cultivation realm. How could Ryu face hundreds of soldiers alone? His loss was inevitable.


    Headmaster Leopold sighed. ''Don''t blame this old man, Little Ryu. I organized these events long before I knew of your plight. If I had known¡­ Maybe I would have made a change. Still, with your talent, even the moon and the stars are within your grasp. This old man will make sure you leave here safely. In the future, you can take your revenge yourself.''


    Many shared Leopold''s thoughts. That said, these individuals weren''t nearly as benevolent as the old Headmaster. Their minds were far more sinister.


    To the edge of the arena, Amory was pulled aside by his grandfather, Patriarch Cedar.


    "The Dragon Corps are undefeatable, but that Ryu is far too unpredictable. Be swift and strong, throw everything you have at him, and definitely, do not, under any circumstances, allow him to survive past this first turn. Kill him."


    Patriarch Cedar''s lofty aura was akin to an ancient tree, rooted in the ground firmly. The only thing that gave away a glint of emotion was the dense killing intent in his eyes.

 Chapter 102: Breaking Ore

    While the other Princes had retreated to their respective Kingdom Corners as the third trial grounds were prepared, Ryu obviously did no such thing. Instead, he quietly meditated near the edge of the arena, once more increasing his Mental Realm to its peak state.


    He was very close to accomplishing his goals here. The first trap had already been laid. Now, all that remained for him to do was win. He didn''t care how many odds were stacked up against him, nor did he care about the killing intent filled gazes that stared daggers toward him. If they believed that this was enough to shake the Heir of the Tatsuya Clan, they were sorely mistaken.


    The bottom of the battle arena began to slowly split apart. It was a grand display, the image of several hundred meters worth of land giving way astonished the crowd that very rarely saw such displays. This definitely wasn''t something that could be seen in the lower Planes and was the product of years of preparation, all for this day.


    Soon, a small city scape raised up from below. It was surrounded by a ring of forest which was separated from the small-scale city by tall, ten-meter-high walls with a thickness of at least five meters.


    From a cursory glance, this battlefield looked like a replica of the four Kingdoms, taking elements from each. The ring of forest was taken from Tor Kingdom, while the city structure was a replica of Opes Kingdom. Finally, the Palace was identical in appearance to Viri Kingdom''s Viri Palace and the walls were the brainchild of Lantes Kingdom.


    Overall, the small-scale replica was just over one kilometer in diameter. The ring of forest took up half of this scale, while the city made up its core.


    There were four starting points the attackers could choose from, corresponding to the four cardinal directions. The reason for this was obvious after realizing that the tall walls had four points of entry. Attackers could either choose to concentrate their forces, or split them apart, while the defenders would have no idea which of these options they would choose.


    Not long afterward, Ryu was escorted to the city Palace, which would obviously act as his own starting point. It was clear by this point that although the attacking roles were relatively balance, there was a severe disadvantage to the defenders. What were ten-meter-tall walls in the face of Qi Refinement experts? Even though they couldn''t fly, there were various methods available to them to circumvent these measures.


    "Is he really planning on doing this alone?"


    No one knew who asked this question first, but the murmur gained momentum and eventually became a wave over the crowd. They couldn''t understand what Ryu was thinking. Had he really not cultivated any backers for himself in his lifetime? Even if he was the youngest Prince here, wasn''t that a bit too pitiful?


    Ryu accepted the Kingdom Core. As expected, the Core was massive, spanning over fifteen meters in every direction. In addition, it was incredibly heavy, weighing almost fifty thousand jin ¨C a weight that was well outside the output Ryu''s body could handle.


    Other than this, the Core was made of Breaking Ore. It was known for its incredible density and absurd fragility. Its chemical structure was such that even a decently powerful teenage mortal could shatter it into pieces as long as they had striking power of about one hundred jins. Because of this, Breaking Ore, was looked down upon by almost everyone. Who would want such an obnoxiously heavy material that could break apart so easily?


    However, when Ryu saw this Breaking Ore, sensing it with his foggy Spiritual Sense, he smiled brightly. His ran his hand over its transparent exterior. After confirming his thoughts, he couldn''t help but feel happy.


    Breaking Ore was an odd material. In its current state, it would be a beautiful crystalline if it wasn''t for the fact the flecks of black and grey impurities pervaded its body. As things stood, it really was only useful to be used in such a trial. It was difficult to move without breaking, yet it was heavy beyond belief.


    So why was Ryu happy? Because he knew well what this material could become if refined properly. After all, it was labeled as an ''Ore'' for a reason!


    Neutron Star Core was both the densest and hardest material in the world. Ryu''s Chaotic Silk meridians ranked third on the list of hardest materials in the world. Although Breaking Ore couldn''t stand up to these world defying materials, Refined Breaking Ore, or Breaking Crystal, was ranked twenty-second on the list of hardest materials!


    This wasn''t all either. If it was just about being the hardness, Ryu would hardly blink an eye. Hardness was great, but it was only valuable it had other properties. For example, Chaotic Silk was also incredibly light, while Neutron Star Core was incredibly dense. As for Breaking Crystal, it ranked top three among the most flexible materials in the world, and top ten in Qi Flow!


    This flexibility index wasn''t a simple matter of being able to bend, it also calculated the ability of a material to come back to its original form even after being deformed ¨C this was a measure of elasticity. This sort of ability was invaluable in weapons. Not only would it mitigate the striking power of an opponent, it would also allow smoother attack patterns and an added unpredictable in said patterns.


    In addition, a material Qi Flow index decided how smoothly it could accommodate its owner''s qi. Those that ranked so highly had a high threshold for the amount of qi it could withstand.


    Ryu could imagine great things for this material. If he used it as the material for his weapons'' pole arms, he''d never have to worry about his weapons snapping under the weight of his strikes. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. Just how amazing would Breaking Crystal be if refined into a long bow? Not only would its innate density make it capable of withstanding Ryu''s use of the Natural Order Sect''s heirloom, it would be outstanding as a bow even without it!


    That said, Ryu knew he was getting ahead of himself. While the polearm and body of a bow were important, the blade and respective bowstring was just important. He would definitely have to take his time to find material worthy of being paired with this Breaking Crystal. He would also need to find a blacksmith with the skill to refine this ore properly.


    Who would have known that the Mortal Plane would have such a treasure? This Ore would fetch a great price even on the former Shrine Plane. And, it was likely that this wasn''t the only Breaking Ore they prepared for this trial, after all, didn''t they expect Ryu to lose? That would mean that they expected his Breaking Ore to be shattered. Although the Breaking Ore was currently massive, after being refined, Ryu would be lucky to receive even a cubic foot out of this fifteen cubic meter block. He''d definitely pillage these wasted resources. Since they wanted to kill him, why not take advantage of them?

 Chapter 103: Endless Night

    The crowd couldn''t help but wonder what Ryu was smiling about. Of all the emotions they thought they''d see ¨C distress, anxiousness, worry ¨C they expected happiness the least.


    Due to the fact the attackers were allowed to see how Ryu planned out his defenses, the crowd was obviously able to do so as well. This aside, since the Immortal role wasn''t allowed to see exactly where the Core was hidden, the Princes wouldn''t be able to see these images until after they chose their role. This was another reason why they were sent back to their respective corners.


    Ryu took a single leap upward. The Core was taller than even the city walls, yet Ryu cleared the distance with ease, leisurely sitting atop the core with a relaxed expression. Obviously, with his control over the Northern Heavenly Wind, this and similar feats for him were quite easy.


    "Ready." Ryu''s voice projected outward, stunning those spectating once more.


    Yaana, who had been hoping all this time that Ryu had some trick he had yet to bring out suddenly felt her world plunge into darkness. How could anyone expect Ryu to succeed when he was alone? In just a few minutes, he would be facing hundreds of opponents! At the very least, shouldn''t he try to move the Core into the forest? Give himself some extra room to maneuver? Although the Core weighed an obscene amount, it was still in the shape of a ball.


    However, many also understood Ryu''s actions as well. Wasn''t it already hopeless? Why put in so much effort? Plus, attempting to move such a heavy and fragile object alone was practically asking for trouble. Wouldn''t it be too embarrassing if Ryu''s Core shattered before the trial even began?


    "This¡­" Headmaster Leopold felt uncomfortable. But, in the end, he sighed. What more could Ryu do at this point? Maybe his approach was already the best. "First Prince Tor, choose your attacking role."


    Amory''s eyes flashed. "Immortal."


    He spoke without hesitation. Anyone who understood him knew exactly why he chose this role. With twenty Qi Refinement experts at his disposal, who cared about a mere three hour difference?


    Even more importantly, choosing Immortal now basically locked the other Princes into this role as well just in case he failed. This put Opes Kingdom at a major disadvantage because everyone knew they only had ten Qi Refinement experts in total. In addition, there weren''t many Princes other than him who could bring out this number of experts. Aside from the Dragon Corps and Jedrek''s personal troops, the other Princes would be hard pressed.


    Knowing this, why would Amory pick the Mortal role that restricted him to five Qi Refinement experts?


    In the next moments, the Dragon Corps began to gather, each sitting upon a royal war horse. This time around, Amory didn''t call out a specific squadron or division, he directly amassed his entire force.


    Three hundred men, twenty of whom were of the Qi Refinement Realm, eighty who were Pulse Opening Realm experts, and two hundred who were within the Awakening Realm. This was a frightening lineup that could shake even a Kingdom''s elites to their core.


    Their red armor shone a bloody crimson light under the high sun even as their battle intent soared. The crowds of people couldn''t help but feel stifled. They were just normal mortals, how often could they see such a line up?


    Amory didn''t position his army in any sort of clever fashion. They all stood in a perfect formation, split into three groups of one hundred that were further divided into ten groups of ten. Without fail, they sat as straight as javelins, looking forward toward the Northern Gate and awaiting Amory''s command.


    Not long after, Amory strode forward on a war horse matted in red fur. It was ten percent larger than the finest breeds one could imagine, its body seemingly carved from precious stone. Amory had ditched his scholarly robes for a beautiful set of red-gold armor, a bloody sword attached to his hip.


    When he saw that Ryu hadn''t even bothered to close the gates after he was escorted in, his eyes narrowed, but he had long since regained his composure. He had been waiting almost two years for this day. It was this that would decide whether or not the Tor Clan fell.


    If others heard Amory''s thoughts, they would be confused beyond belief. How could these events decide something like that? However, Amory knew better. Ryu would definitely not come here for something as petty as proving he was their betters. To Ryu, even the skies above his head were too low. Did he really have to come here to show off? Anyone who thought such a thing didn''t understand Ryu at all!


    Ryu wanted to find his wife. He wanted to see his parents and grandparents again. He wanted to slaughter those who dared lay their hands upon the Tatsuya Clan and his Shrine Plane. Did he care for the petty squabbles of this Higher Mortal Plane? He had said it once before, if it wasn''t for Granny Miriam''s death, he wouldn''t have even bothered to seek revenge for him!


    This looming worry lingered at the back of Amory''s mind. No matter how much he shook it off, he couldn''t ignore the feeling that not only had Ryu''s accomplished much of his purpose already, if he was allowed to take the final step, the Tor Clan was finished! All of Amory''s nerves were screaming at him with everything they had¡­ He couldn''t allow Ryu to win!


    "Charge!" Amory roared when his emotions reached their peak. Everything he was feeling bellowed out from his chest, rumbling through the arena with a fiery passion.


    The Dragon Corps was awoken. They could feel the conviction and unbridled purpose behind their Commander''s voice. Their blood boiled, roaring in response. The very arena below their feet shook as they set off behind Amory''s war horse, charging directly toward the central Palace.


    At that moment, Ryu sat quietly. He could feel the rumbling of the ground, the emotions of his elder brother, even the coursing blood of his enemies. But he remained calm, his hands gliding over the smooth surface of the Breaking Ore as the rumbling grew louder.


    The crowd watched with bated breath as Amory closed the distance. Five hundred meters¡­ four hundred meters¡­ three hundred meters¡­ two hundred meters¡­ one hundred meters¡­


    Ryu was within Amory''s field of vision. In the next moment, he raised his arm causing fifty archers to nock their bows. Despite the speed of their war horses, they seemed completely unaffected.


    Spectators watched in shock. If Amory really did this, wouldn''t Ryu die? Would this be the first death of these Coronation Games? As though oblivious to their thoughts, Amory''s arm fell.


    Fifty arrows blotted out the skies, descending Ryu into an endless night.

 Chapter 104: Skim

    The arrows were let loose from almost one hundred fifty hundred meters away, yet they locked onto Ryu perfectly. Considering a normal Common Grade bow could only be used at a distance of thirty to forty meters, with only some of the better ones being accurate to about seventy meters, it could be understood just how amazing the bowmen of the Dragon Corps were. Not only did their weapons have such an outrageous advantage, they were actually skilled enough and powerful enough to use them.


    Ryu stood slowly. About the only good thing about his enemies being able to launch such ranged assaults was that they gave Ryu plenty of time to prepare. For Ryu, the few seconds the arrows spent in the air were more than enough.


    In truth, the foggy Spiritual Sense Ryu had access to now didn''t have such an exaggerated range. The only reason he knew the arrows had launched into the air was because of their sound. It wasn''t until they entered his twenty or so meter range that their faint outlines appeared in his mind. In that moment, Ryu willed his glaive to appear from his spatial ring, standing atop the rounded surface of the Core as though it was no different from flat ground.


    Ryu took a deep breath. Air surged toward him, filling his body to the brim.


    "Deeper." He spoke softly, his state of meditation sinking with every passing moment.


    Soon, Ryu settled into the Breath of Earth. What once was a mere twenty-meter range pushed outward, reaching thirty.


    Ryu rotated his wrist, twirling the glaive in his hand with a trained expertise. Time slowed to a crawl, it was almost as though Ryu''s heart only beat once every ten seconds.


    The chests of those watching seized. This move by Amory was truly sinister. Launching so many arrows wouldn''t only take Ryu''s life, it was guaranteed that the Breaking Ore would shatter soon after. Even if Ryu managed to survive, he would lose without a doubt. How could a single person protect such a large object? Ryu looked no different than an ant before the Breaking Ore.


    While time had slowed for Ryu in an almost tangible sense, for those spectating, they experienced a similar reality, but for far different reasons. Even those of other Kingdoms felt it was a pity for such a genius to fall in this way. Just what was the Tor Clan thinking?


    Suddenly, Ryu stepped forward, his stance incredibly light. His glaive shot forward toward the first arrow.


    Many thought that Ryu was attempting to break all of the arrows he faced, but how could that be possible? Sending out fifty strikes in what amounted to a split second was impossible for anyone below the Peak Spiritual Severing Realm.


    Others believed that Ryu only wanted to protect his own life. With his skill, as long as he gave up on the Breaking Ore and focused on protecting a half meter radius around himself, he would undoubtedly survive.


    Of those who thought this way, Patriarch Cedar was among them. He couldn''t help but be enraged by his grandson''s tactics. Wasn''t this simply giving Ryu a path to live?


    However, Amory never thought this way. He believed that even with the high evaluation his grandfather had given Ryu, it was still too low! Not only would Ryu survive this attack, the Breaking Ore be unscathed!


    It was at that moment that something magical occurred. Ryu''s movements became incomparably beautiful. It was only now those watching understood the allure of minimalism. Ryu had a perfect grasp of this.


    His glaive surged forward, glancing along the tip of the arrow and following along its body. Just like that, the arrow was redirected, flying harmlessly to the side, unable to harm Ryu or his Breaking Ore.


    This simple movement was none other than [Skim]!


    [Skim] was considered a half parry. Instead of blowing an opponent back for an explosive counter, it instead made use of an opponent''s leverage against them. Using their weapon, an expert who executed [Skim] could redirect the attack they were facing by sliding their blade along the length of their opponent''s weapon.


    In truth, this defensive stance was looked down upon by polearm wielders. This was because it was most effective for closing the distance between two enemies, but this was obviously something those with medium range weapons wouldn''t like. The number of actions a polearm wielder could take in close range was highly limited. As a result, [Skim] and advanced techniques related to it were usually left to dagger wielders and maybe the occasional short sword expert.


    However, who would have thought the technique that so many polearm experts looked down upon could be used in such a way? It was absolutely mesmerizing¡­ Nothing short of art, the dance of an expert.


    Those who were spectating were correct. Ryu couldn''t send out fifty strikes in a split second, that realm was too far from him now. Even if he applied the abilities of his Northern Heavenly Wind to his weapon, Ryu believed he could only send out twelve to fifteen strikes in a single second. However, for Ryu, just ten strikes was enough!


    Ryu''s glaive snaked forward, knocking arrows off their path. But, his actions weren''t so simple. For every time he used [Skim], each arrow that slid off his blade wreaked havoc. With every deflection, a single arrow would inexplicably collide along the paths of three or four others!


    Ryu''s wrists twisted at unbelievable angles, resisting striking power that amounted to more than five hundred jin each time. If it wasn''t for his Bone Structure giving him ridiculous flexibility, his bones would have shattered, leaving him crippled for several weeks. However, in thanks to his mother, Ryu could bring out his full strength even while tilting his body in ways that seemingly had no leverage at all.


    A silence fell over the battle arena as the final arrow was avoided by Ryu with a simple tilt of his head. No one could imagine the level of calculation and reflexes it would take to replicate Ryu''s feat. Not even a single scratch could be seen on his Breaking Ore, yet he stood amid a cemetery of broken arrows!


    The only person who seemed completely unsurprised was Amory. However, even he couldn''t have predicted what happened next.


    ''I''m crawling at a snail''s pace toward this dream of dual polearm wielding.'' Ryu sighed. ''But, there are some very clear advantages. While my striking power is far less, my degrees of freedom and striking speed is overwhelmingly faster. I guess this isn''t the proper place to test this out, I''ll stop playing around.''


    In the next moment, the fifty thousand jin Breaking Ore vanished from thin air.

 Chapter 105: War Horses

    Amory was so shocked by what he saw that he lost control of his reins for a moment. If it wasn''t for his quick reaction time, not only would he have fallen from his horse, he would have been trampled by his own Dragon Corps. What a terrible death that would have been¡­


    It wasn''t just Amory, even the esteemed Headmaster Leopold had an incredulous expression on his face. How could he ever have thought that something like this would happen?


    Everyone was aware that Ryu had a spatial ring. After all, if he didn''t, just where was he pulling his weapons from? The reason Headmaster Leopold ignored this was because as a well-learned man, he was aware of how rare spatial rings were. In addition, he also knew that the larger their inner spaces were, the vastly more expensive and unreachable they would be as well.


    The truth was that Headmaster Leopold had already thought of this sort of exploit. In order to make sure that the Kingdoms with Sects still backing them couldn''t borrow spatial rings in order to put Kwan and Kalmin at even more of a disadvantage, he requested that the Breaking Ore be constructed to an abnormally large size. If it wasn''t for his odd yet specific instructions, who would go through the hassle of mining such a fragile ore to the size of fifteen cubic meters?


    According to what Leopold knew, the best spatial rings on this Higher Mortal Plane had about ten cubic meters of space. Never in his wildest dreams did think Ryu''s own was overshadow them to this extent!


    Headmaster Leopold could only helplessly sigh. What could he do? It wasn''t as though he could suddenly change the rules midway. Plus, Ryu was already at a disadvantage, facing hundreds alone. How silly would everyone look complaining about something like this? Wasn''t Ryu right before you now? Then catch him!


    Of course, Ryu had thought of this method long ago. His spatial ring wasn''t created by the standards of the Higher Mortal Plane, it was a present Granny Miriam''s younger sister sent her for her birthday a few decades ago. Knowing how much Miriam loved to travel and care for the sick, her younger sister spent a lot of money getting her elder sister this ring. Even by the Pedestal Plane''s standard, it was large, sitting with over just over a hundred cubic meters. Let alone just one Breaking Ore, Ryu could fit a dozen and still have about fifty percent of the space remaining.


    Just as Amory was stabilizing his horse, he suddenly caught the faint image of a shadow out of the corner of his eye. Before he could react, the front legs of his war horse were sliced in half. He hadn''t even tumbled forward yet by the time Ryu passed him by, not bothering with his presence.


    The Dragon Corps couldn''t believe Ryu''s speed. He had just been just over a hundred meters away, yet a few seconds of distraction already had him upon them. It took him no more than a single attack for their organized formation to be thrown into disarray.


    Amory tumbled through the wide cobbled street, allowing him momentum to roll him forward before springing upward. Even with his disheveled appearance, order after order began tumbling out from his lips.


    Several squads at the front acted as a buffer while those in the back organized themselves according to Amory''s orders. No matter how heaven defying Ryu was, he was too arrogant! Maybe if he used this speed of his to run into the forest, they would sigh in despair, but he hadn''t done that. He actually ran right into them! He was most definitely playing into their hands.


    What this Dragon Corps didn''t know was that while Ryu danced among them, the thoughts they aimed toward him were the same thoughts he had about them. To Ryu, it was completely foolish for Amory to charge straight at him. He should have cast a net, closing off Ryu''s options. But, as things stood now, Ryu had too measures he could take!


    Numbers meant absolutely nothing to Ryu. Amory had twenty Qi Refinement experts, but he actually restricted them with military rules. How could they bring out their strengths like this?


    When wars on the Immortal Planes were fought, they weren''t done in this way. Immortals were often left to their own devices, allowing them to wreak havoc as they saw fit. In Ryu''s opinion, this wasn''t a good approach either. Control and order were all important when fighting in such a large group. But, too much restriction was a bad thing as well!


    Due to their formation restrictions, the Qi Refinement experts could only watch as Ryu incapacitated their allies right before their eyes. Although none of them died, their falls from their high horses broke several bones. They simply weren''t as lucky as Amory. While the First Prince had been a lone rider at the front, when they fell, they were amidst several other men and horses. Those who fell suffered greatly.


    What broke Amory''s heart the most wasn''t even the injuries of his men. Every time another war horse gave off a pained cry before becoming forever crippled, he felt knives being stabbed into his heart. Each one of these war horses were carefully bred for over fifteen years. He had poured at least ten thousand gold into even the youngest. As for his own war horse, even a hundred thousand gold was a conservative estimate.


    With every flash of Ryu''s glaive, another war horse fell. By the time Amory finished rattling off his commands just twenty seconds later, almost thirty war horses and warriors were incapacitated. Ten percent of his Dragon Corps, gone, just like that!


    Ryu smiled as the Dragon Corps organized itself. He suddenly found his pathways cut off.


    After learning from his mistakes, Amory had the Qi Refinement experts take the helm. Everyone else was simply canon fodder to Ryu.


    The twenty Qi Refinement experts surged forward from all sides, the strongest of them being of the Middle Qi Refinement stage.


    Ryu''s body flickered and swayed, narrowly dodging spear after spear. Unfortunately for Amory once more, he had made another mistake.


    Ryu was inexperienced in combat. Even after spending eight months training against beasts, that was the true extent of his knowledge. He had never fought another human, nor had he ever taken a life. Yet, Amory did him the greatest service by outfitting his warriors with the weapon he was most familiar with. What a great gift this was.


    As time passed, Ryu''s movements became more fluid. He began to understand that although beasts had intelligence, humans were still that small notch above. By now, the remaining Dragon Corps had completely encircled Ryu. At Amory''s behest, fifty archers had once more taken aim, but Ryu saw this as a cheap trick. Did Amory really expect him to believe that they would shoot at their own allies?


    This time, unfortunately for Ryu, that was exactly what they did.

 Chapter 106: So Close Yet So Far

    Seeing fifty archers taking aim and letting loose their arrows, the crowd suddenly felt that their hearts had taken too much punishment in the past two days. Not only was this move especially cruel, it was nigh impossible to dodge.


    As things stood now, Ryu only had about a three meters radius of movement space around him. Even this much was in part a product of his expert use of his glaive, ensuring that his opponents didn''t get too close, and in part due to his enemies also using medium ranged weapons.


    Ryu''s brows furrowed. If he took the time to deal with these arrows, the Qi Refinement experts definitely wouldn''t take this lying down. Although Ryu didn''t believe restricting such experts in this way was the best use of their abilities, he had to admit that the fact they were bound by military law essentially guaranteed that they would dive head first into this sort of suicidal action. Even if it meant taking several arrows head on, they would continue to charge forward.


    At this moment, Ryu regretted not learning any defensive techniques. He had told himself to do so multiple times, but the Natural Order Sect simply didn''t have anything that was suitable for him. All such defensive techniques they had were crude ones that involved hardening the skin and bones, but this was completely incompatible with Ryu''s bone structure. If he tried to forcibly learn these techniques, he would be lowering his own potential.


    Ryu''s breathing steadied, the world around him slowing once more as he entered an even deeper state. Breath of Heaven.


    Ryu himself knew that although his time limit for Breath of Earth had increased to just over a half an hour, his Breath of Heaven would only last him a few seconds. Because he had already used Breath of Earth for upwards of ten minutes already, this time would be even shorter, not to mention the fact that it would definitely drain him of his Spiritual Qi.


    The consequences of such a thing can be imagined. Of them, the most terrible cost would be the impact to his Spiritual Sense. After this, it would be a toss up as to whether he would be able to use it at all.


    ''Good. This is the sort of pressure I need. If I can''t even defeat these people, what right do I have to defeat an enemy my parents couldn''t?!''


    In the distance, the frail hearted Yaana felt that her world was collapsing. Finally, unable to handle it anymore, a small delicate shout left her lips as she fainted into her grandfather''s arms.


    Seeing the state of his granddaughter, the old General felt his heart constrict. He remembered all those years ago, him looking down upon Ryu. As a military man, what he praised the most wasn''t intelligence, but strength of character and power. When he first met Ryu, all he saw was an arrogant and scrawny little boy that knew nothing of the world.


    In the army, arrogance is something you earn by putting your life on the line. There was nothing more important than seniority and hierarchy. So, when the old General saw Ryu''s attitude, he immediately felt disdain. What had this little boy done to earn the right to carry such an aura? Him and his brothers shed blood and tears for the right to hold their heads high, he hadn''t done a single thing!


    This attitude of the old General''s didn''t begin to change until he saw Ryu withstand a vicious beating with uttering so much as a word. It was at that moment that he felt that maybe his views were partially flawed. Although Ryu had yet to earn his stripes on the battlefield, he had earned his arrogance in another way. Seeing Ryu''s actions here, the old General felt that his second conclusion was correct.


    "Ha!" A mighty call left Ryu''s lips, his white hair flowed widely, not a single speck of dust to be found amidst their flawless strands.


    In that moment, a second glaive appeared in Ryu''s hand. His arms became akin to reapers of death. With every step he took and with every strike he sent, a shower of blood would rain.


    "Dual wielding glaives?!" Those experts of the crowd felt like they had been dropped into a fantasy. Which of them had ever seen something like this? They couldn''t decide whether what they were witnessing was ridiculous, or ingenious. But, what they did know was that they felt a certain trembling take root in their hearts. It felt as though Ryu was so close yet so far to something special.


    In truth, they could tell that his movements weren''t as fluid as when he focused on a single weapon. Those who were sharper realized that Ryu definitely couldn''t maintain this sort of state for an extended period of time. It was no wonder he hadn''t brought out this trump card until now.


    Ryu''s glaives flickered with a faint qi, but it was wholly lacking in comparison to when he focused his everything on one weapon. If he had to put a label on his current state, if his properly handling his glaive had entered the Small Success Realm, then as of now, he couldn''t even be considered to be within the Entry Realm. He was in some inferior state that didn''t have the right to have a moniker of its own.


    Still, the trade off in skill and fluidity was made up for by the fact there were two weapons. Ryu could suddenly deal with attacks from all 360 degrees.


    The arrows that closed in on Ryu never so much as touched a hair on his head. With a thought, he executed [Skim] repeatedly. With every action, another arrow not only narrowly shot by him, but were redirected toward warriors behind him. Ryu was actually using attacks levied toward him to deal with the elites of the Dragon Corps!


    Their dreams of sacrificing themselves to get close to Ryu went up in smoke. As volley after volley of arrows were let loose, the Qi Refinement experts only became more injured. Even with their armor and cultivation, there was only so much punishment they could take.


    Still, Ryu was nearing his limit as well. He understood now that the hurdle he faced wasn''t just about finding a method to infuse the prowess of a two-handed weapon into one, he also had to enter a strong enough Mental Realm to split his mind two ways. If he couldn''t do this, he would never succeed.


    Amory could tell that Ryu was nearing his limit. This was why he hadn''t ordered his warriors to stop despite the situation. He could only steel his heart. But, it was at that moment that he felt that something was off. He couldn''t understand where this uneasy feeling was coming until it was already too late.


    "Shit! Squadrons five and six, close off points to the east and west!"


    Ryu smiled lightly. His body suddenly became as light as a feather, shooting through a gap he created toward the east. All the time he spent redirecting arrows wasn''t wasted, instead, he slowly concentrated his fire on two points, just in case Amory found one. He couldn''t help but be slightly impressed that Amory actually found both. But, it was too late. Ryu shot through, disappearing amid the city buildings.

 Chapter 107: Cheat

    The trial suddenly became of cat and mouse. In his peak state, this sort of thing would be easy for Ryu. Unfortunately, as things stood now, he was completely handicapped. His foggy Spiritual Sense which had once had a twenty meter or so range fell to the point where it stretched out barely an inch from himself. At the same time, he was completely exhausted. His muscles were screaming, and his lungs felt as though he had inhaled hot coals.


    It wasn''t long before the crowd''s attention was trained on the image of Ryu gasping for breath. He sat on the abandoned top floor of an antique shop, trying to gather himself.


    Of course, Ryu put this sort of pressure on himself on purpose. Since much of his goal here had been accomplished, he saw this trial as nothing more than a training opportunity. Still, even though he expected dual wielding would be difficult, he never guessed it would put so much strain on him.


    The longer a weapon was, the more difficult the act of controlling it became. It was for exactly this reason that polearms were two-handed weapons. Only with two hands could you have the stability and power that was needed to make proper use of them.


    Take, for example, the spear. A youth training in this path would spend years honing their accuracy, trying their best to gain perfect control of the tip of their weapon. A warrior who reached an almost unconscious level in the spear would be capable of piercing the same point continuously with barely a millimeter of error between strikes.


    Now imagine accomplishing the same feat with only a single hand. Without the stability provided by a second hand, one needed to activate all of their focus in order to match that level of control. Then consider for a moment that they would need that level of focus not just once over, but twice!


    Ryu understood this point vaguely. This was why even during his training in the beast mountains, he avoided dual wielding, instead opting to focus on one hand at a time to hone this skill. Yet, even with all of that preparation and the support of Breath of Heaven, he barely lasted a few seconds before his stamina gave out. To make matters worse, his movements were clumsy and awkward, nothing like he imagined it would be like.


    Even with all of this said, how Ryu faired would have been even more embarrassing had it not been for the Kunan Clan Martial Form. This Martial Form focused on controlled speed and explosiveness. To reach that end, all of it Forms emphasized small muscles groups that were often neglected. These small muscle groups acted as the hundreds of tiny stabilizers Ryu needed to control a two-handed weapon with one. If Ryu hadn''t trained in this Martial Form, not only would his attempt have ended in disaster, he likely would have crippled himself for a time.


    ''It seems I''m still not ready.'' Ryu took deep breaths, circulating the Ice Phoenix Martial Form to soothe his aching muscles. ''I need more flexibility and stability. It seems I''ll have to put even more effort into my Martial Forms.''


    The soft sounds of footsteps caused Ryu''s lips to curl into a slight sneer that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. There was no way Amory could have found him on his own in such a short period of time. The only explanation is that someone used the Visual Jade that was monitoring him to guess his location before sending a Qi Line message to Amory. Unfortunately, Headmaster Leopold had no cultivation to speak of, so it was impossible for him to monitor this.


    Ryu''s expression turned cold once more. He had only recovered to about five percent of his peak, but that was more than enough.


    Sending his glaive into his spatial ring, he sprang up, shattering a window to his left and leaping atop its sill.


    His hands snaked forward, snagging two relatively large pieces of glass before pushing off. He became a shadow in the skies, making it halfway to an adjacent building before the Dragon Corps warriors below even registered the sound of breaking glass.


    "He''s over there!" A squad captain roared. He had been placed here precisely to watch out for Ryu''s escape in this fashion, so he was already well prepared.


    With a thought, his archers took aim, firing a volley toward Ryu''s figure.


    Ryu couldn''t see what was happening clearly. His senses had been dulled and his eyes were closed. But, he still had his comprehension of [Gliding Cloud Steps]. He immediately felt the shift in the wind. Although it was far more difficult since arrows were designed to agitate air as minutely as possible, Ryu had focused his everything on their existence.


    His body twisted, but this time, his outcome wasn''t as elegant as all those times before. While the Third Order beast leather Ryu wore had decent defense, it was also quite heavy. With Ryu''s muscles aching as they were, it was difficult to ignore its stiffness.


    The black leather sheered apart, nipping Ryu in the arm and both thighs, one arrow even managed to scrape along his rib cage, taking with it a trail of blood and flesh.


    However, Ryu survived. The pressure he felt made his blood boil, a faint excitement overwhelming him. It was far too easy before, but this feeling, this feeling made it worth it. How long had he spent as a cripple? As a man without any power to speak of? This was true freedom, the freedom to grasp everything with your own hands, your own power.


    Ryu spun in the air, the two glass shards he had taken launching outward. One sped toward squad captain''s voice, and another headed toward the marksman who tore a wound through his ribcage. Ryu''s strength hadn''t recovered enough to use his true weapons, but he definitely had enough to make use of these two pieces of glass.


    He didn''t have the luxury of finding out how his attack ended. In the next instant, he had rolled onto the opposite building''s roof, springing upward and disappearing in a flash.


    Ryu faintly heard the agonizing screams of two men. The crowd could only take in a sharp cold breath, watching as the glass shards hit their mark. Both men lost an eye. In fact, they would have died had the glass been made of more resistant material.


    The beautiful scene of Ryu escaping ambush after ambush awed the crowd. Over time, some more astute individuals began to see just how odd it was that Ryu was found so easily every time. They didn''t know how the cheating was occurring, but they definitely knew that it was happening.


    Unfortunately for Amory and the Dragon Corps, none of it mattered. The two-hour period ended without them ever catching Ryu.

 Chapter 108: Shameless

    The crowd watched in awe as Ryu entered skirmish after skirmish. He always seemed to escape by the skin of teeth, constantly dancing across the blade of death. If one looked closely, you could see a small smile on his cold face, one even he had lost the ability to hide.


    After a while, it became clear that Ryu was treating this like a game. He had many opportunities to leave the city and enter the forest, a place that would be far harder if not impossible to pinpoint his location in, even while cheating ¨C but, he never did. Aside from brief five-minute breaks he had every so often, he kept pushing his body toward its upper limit. By the time the two-hour time limit had approached and been passed, a sort of undefeatable legend had been created. Even Yaana who had finally awoken from her unconscious state watched with a clear glitter in her eye, happiness swelling within her young maiden heart.


    In the end, a loud chime ended the round. Clearing his throat, Headmaster Leopold spoke.


    "The first round has come to a close. Please cease all action. Fourth Prince Tor will be allowed a thirty-minute break before he must begin preparing his defenses for the second round."


    At this moment, another throat was cleared. However, this time, it was very clearly not Leopold''s own. While Leopold had to rely on various projection mechanisms to allow all those in attendance to hear him, the person who spoke this time relied on nothing else but their own cultivation.


    "It can''t be that you plan to allow things to continue like this, right Old Leopold?"


    The crowd frowned. Old Leopold wasn''t a title filled with any sort of respect, in fact, for someone who had prestige as high as the Headmaster, it bordered on disrespect. However, when those spectating saw that it was Patriarch Cedar who spoke, they refrained from speaking.


    Of the non-royal families, the Cedar Clan was most definitely the greatest. The pillar families of the various Kingdoms couldn''t even compare. In fact, some believed that if the Cedar Clan struck out in full force, they could take on an entire Kingdom themselves, as long as that Kingdom wasn''t Tor Kingdom, that is.


    Considering even Ryu''s maternal grandfather was a Qi Refinement expert before he was crippled by King Tor''s Death Guard, it wasn''t a surprise that Patriarch Cedar was one as well. In fact, not only was he one, from the projection of his voice, he wasn''t any weaker than the Peak Qi Refinement Realm!


    To think, a member of King Tor''s own generation was actually more powerful than he was!


    This revelation made King Tor''s eyes narrowed, but he quickly feigned indifference. He too would be of the Peak Qi Refinement Realm if it hadn''t been for the Heart Demon that was his own son affecting him so much. Still, this didn''t answer a very important question¡­ Just how did Patriarch Cedar match the cultivation speed of a man with an Earth Grade Skeletal Structure?


    If it wasn''t for the matters of today raging so far out of control, Patriarch Cedar would have rather keep his prowess a secret. But, it was too inappropriate for King Tor to speak himself. However, him taking the role and concerned, senile old man, could work to his advantage now.


    "I''m not sure what you mean." Headmaster Leopold replied calmly.


    "You, yourself, claimed that this trial had the purpose of testing a Prince''s ability to rule. How is the act of running around like a headless chicken for two hours prove the Fourth Prince can be King?"


    "How does being incapable of stopping a headless chicken with the help of three hundred men and war horses prove the First Prince can be King?"


    Ryu''s cold voice cut through Patriarch Cedar''s inquiry. This man was quite lowkey. For Ryu, who spent much of his second life''s childhood locked away, he of course knew even less than a normal individual would about Patriarch Cedar. However, that wouldn''t stop him for sneering at him with disdain. What a ridiculous argument.


    "I never said that First Prince Tor was worthy of being King either." Patriarch Cedar continued unperturbed.


    "Oh? If that''s the case, no one here is worthy of being King. Might as well conclude these Coronation Games here. It''s not worth continuing." Ryu said calmly. Luckily, Ryu had no need to go all out to project his voice like Patriarch Cedar did. With the Jade still hanging from his neck, it did all the work for him.


    "Hoho, how confident." Patriarch Cedar chuckled. "Unfortunately, we must continue. Although this competition gauges who has the right to be King, it is, after all, designed by a man who''s never been a King himself. There are bound to be flaws. Are you trying to say that the four Kingdoms whose futures hang in the balance can''t have a say-so in tweaking the rules here and there? Of course, I also am not a King, I''m simply raising my own questions. Whether the esteemed Rulers of our Higher Mortal Plane would like to action based on this old man''s words or not is up to them."


    Ryu suddenly laughed. "What a clever old man you are. This little one truly has no way to rebut your shamelessness. I''m sure some more thick faced Kings would be willing to take you up on your offer, realizing their sons aren''t my match. If that''s the case, I''ll happily oblige by any rule changes. After all, my influence is lacking, I can only take a step back and be bullied."


    Ryu''s words caused Patriarch Cedar''s visage to darken considerably. He had struck this verbal attack believing that Ryu was just an arrogant youngster with a temper. If he had known that Ryu knew how to lay traps in his words and retreat when necessary, he would have never made this attempt.


    As expected, none of the four Kings said anything after hearing Ryu''s words. If they did, wouldn''t they be admitting that they were thick-skinned and willing to bully a youth? In fact, King Tor actually stepped forward to grab some prestige for himself, giving an impassioned speech about how he treated all of his sons as equals and that any King who dared to agree with Patriarch''s Cedars words would be making an enemy out of him.


    Hearing his so-called father''s words, Ryu almost felt like laughing into the skies. King Tor would have never made this move had it not been for the fact he wanted to remind Patriarch Cedar just who was King. In the end, Cedar''s prowess reveal led to his downfall. King Tor suddenly wasn''t sure if he wanted Amory to become King anymore¡­


    ''With every move you make, you only fall further into the pit I''ve dug for you.'' Ryu smiled lightly. "I have no need for a break, Headmaster Leopold. Begin the next round!"


    Before the crowd could recover from their shock, Ryu easily swept Kalmin and Jedrek aside. Kalmin didn''t even have twenty Qi Refinement experts to call upon, while Jedrek''s warriors were only better equipped than the Dragon Corps, not better trained. Ryu danced on the blade''s edge once more, grasping victory.

 Chapter 109: Vengeance

    Ryu stood tall, his chest heaving uncontrollably. By now, his leather robes were in tatters, he could only rip them from his body, tossing them to the side to reveal a body that seemed carved of white marble. His skin itself shone like the purest ice in existence, bereft of flaws.


    After three long rounds, Ryu''s body still stood as tall as a javelin. Those of other Kingdoms couldn''t even bring themselves to hate this young man, they only felt that he was an untouchable existence, a star far above their heads, a moon too resplendent to observe directly.


    Before Ryu stood what remained of Jedrek''s golden armored warriors. With the help of his appointed Commander, Jedrek''s tactics were far more refined that Amory''s approach. He cast a net across the city, slowly cutting off Ryu''s avenues of escape until he became a mouse caught in a trap. Even still, that wasn''t enough. By the end of the two-hour period, Ryu still stood tall.


    A sigh escaped his Second Brother''s lips. Jedrek''s lazy appearance faded slightly, replaced by a deep worry. Although this look quickly faded away, those who knew Jedrek could understand what he was feeling right now.


    Ryu wasn''t the only one who had suffered at the hands of the Imperial Censors, Jedrek''s maternal Clan had as well. Usually, with the old General''s character, he would back his granddaughter in marrying whoever she so chose. However, an incident that occurred some decade plus ago made him realize that loyalty and staunchness wasn''t rewarded in the way he believed. This left him disillusioned to the point where he cracked under the pressure, already preparing for the possibility of marrying his granddaughter off to the youth who grasped the most power.


    At the same time, the old General understood enough that these matters wouldn''t just end with Ryu becoming Crown Prince. Even now, he believed that Ryu was too na?ve in coming here. Did he think that showing off his talents would be enough for everything to flip on its head? They had all been aware of just how talented Ryu was long ago, yet that changed nothing. So, what could this display possibly do?


    Old General Garis felt that the only chance his Clan stood was for Jedrek to become King. Only then could the Garis Clan wipe the humiliation they faced all those years ago.


    But, reality was cruel. Ryu''s resplendent light outshone that of all of his brothers. They simply weren''t his match, even with how talented each of them was.


    Ryu took a step forward, helping Jedrek up from his fall. This sort of action stunned the Second Prince. He had been certain that Ryu hated them all. After all, through all the years Ryu suffered, Jedrek never raised a hand to help. Maybe this was because he had his own circumstances to fight through, but the reason would be irrelevant to a young boy with no tall tree to take shade under.


    Jedrek didn''t know that Ryu hardly cared about the mistreatment he suffered. Since Jedrek only attempted to capture him despite the disadvantage that put him at, Ryu had no reason to be angry with him. The matters that occurred on this Highest Mortal Plane had little to nothing to do with him. After he took revenge for Granny Miriam, he would disappear from their lives entirely.


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t sure how to treat the matters of this life. Should he truly see Jedrek, Amory and Cayden as his brothers? Was Leilani his mother? King Tor his father? Even if he threw their connections to him to the back of his mind, it was the truth that they were responsible for his birth. Their blood once coursed through his veins.


    In the end, Ryu couldn''t help but prioritize his first life. He simply felt no real connection to these people, plus, the Tor Bloodline no longer flowed through him. However, in light of those past connections, he would help those who were worth his help.


    "The third round has come to a close. Fourth Prince Tor has the right to a thirty-minute break before he must begin preparing his defenses. Crown Prince Silas, prepare yourself."


    "No need¡­" Ryu said faintly. Considering this was already the third time he had done this, the crowd wasn''t shocked at all. However, they couldn''t help but shake their heads. There was only so much a single man could take. Watching Ryu take out a needle and personally stitch up some of his larger wounds, many thought he was an absolute madman.


    Some began to feel that the Tor Kingdom was simply trying to assert their dominance. Maybe they had hidden Ryu all this time to take the Higher Mortal Plane by storm. They could almost imagine a day where the Tor Kingdom united the entire Higher Mortal Plane.


    When they thought back to how King Tor defended Ryu, they couldn''t help but nod to themselves. But, others were skeptical. The relationship between the Cedar and Tor Clans clearly wasn''t very good, that was on display today. With that sort of inner strife, could they accomplish such a feat?


    Silas began to prepare his troops. Since Ryu immediately said he was prepared, the timer had already begun. Yet, soon, ten minutes passed without Silas having made any movements at all. Even with the crowd being completely baffled, it wasn''t until the thirtieth minute mark that the Viri Kingdom troops began to make their way forward.


    However, even as Silas was taking his time, he didn''t notice that there was a slumbering beast trembling within Ryu.


    The events of that night played in his mind again and again. With the help of the Origin Flame, every breath, every faint laughter and chuckle, every snide comment, they all replayed in his mind.


    Silas and Atticus had both treated Granny Miriam''s death as a sideshow. They giggled and chortled as though her pleas and his tears were nothing more than fuel for their amusement.


    Ryu had never laid eyes on Silas before, but his mind had already drawn a picture. Slanted, lazy, but snake-like eyes. Thin, curled lips. The kind of man who wouldn''t hesitate to kill his own mother.


    Why had Ryu been so docile to now, not even killing a single person? It was to force Silas to lower his guard. By now, they all probably believed that despite his arrogance, he was completely green and hadn''t tasted murder before. Although they were correct in a superficial respect, the truth was that Ryu was no saint.


    As Silas'' meticulously laid net closed in around Ryu, a bloody, murderous intent suddenly shot into the skies. Years of repressed hatred and will for vengeance dyed the setting sun red.


    At that moment, Silas stood upon a silver armor clad war horse, his mouth curled into a sneer as his snake-like eyes darted around lazily. He seemed to be thinking about something that had nothing to do with these Coronation games at all.


    By the time he realized the rage aimed toward him, it would already be too late.

 Chapter 110: Devil

    Ryu''s Spiritual Sense still hadn''t recovered. Without sleeping, or utilizing a Mental Realm tailored spiritual ingredient or pill, it was impossible to so easy recover depleted Spiritual Qi. However, he could still feel the minor trembling of the ground, something he knew could only be caused by charging war horses.


    "Grandpa, are you really still not going to send anyone to help him? At least make Jedrek lend his troops to Ryu!" Yaana was starting to grow frustrated at her lack of ability to do anything. She had spent the past two days pleading with her grandfather, but he had still chosen to do nothing.


    The old General bitterly chuckled. "Little Nunu, even if I did the things you asked of me, do you believe he would accept such help? This little boy is too arrogant."


    "Ryu is not arrogant! He''s just very confident." Yaana replied stubbornly.


    There was nothing the old General could do at this point but endure the adorable enraged rantings of his granddaughter. Because her parents were no longer here with them, he had raised Yaana himself, and maybe he spoiled her a bit too much.


    Truthfully, Yaana was an obedient, well-mannered child. The old General really couldn''t understand what had gotten into her.


    "Crown Prince, the net has been set. We''re ready to move in on your command. No matter what he does, there''s no escaping." An acting Commander of the Viri Kingdom warriors reported to Silas. "But, I humbly advise Crown Prince Viri to retreat further. This Ryu is too unpredictable."


    Silas smiled lightly for a moment. Thinking back, Ryu had never touched any of the Princes. Even Amory who he should have a bone deep hatred for, he left completely alone.


    ''I wonder, is there some sort of conspiracy behind this?'' He mused.


    If the crowd could think of it, why couldn''t the Princes? Ryu''s appearance and actions were simply too odd. It really did make one feel that the Tor Clan was becoming far too bold.


    Before, the Higher Mortal Plane was in complete balance due to their four Kingdoms. But now, the Opes Kingdom had been effectively crippled. Considering the Cedar Clan under the Tor Clan''s wing had the battle prowess of a Kingdom itself, sweeping through what remained of them wasn''t an impossibility.


    The only issue was that memories from that night were too real for Silas. He didn''t believe that Ryu''s tears and Granny Miriam''s death were all a ruse. He was simply too good at reading human emotions.


    Ignoring the Commander''s words, Silas kicked the side of his war horse, launching himself forward. He needed to appropriately probe Ryu. He needed to understand just what his purpose here was. Was he truly after revenge? If so, was that revenge really aimed toward the Tor Clan? Or was all of this a thin veil, hiding the dagger the Tor Clan pointed toward them all? A dagger that was Ryu himself¡­


    Ryu''s killing intent boiled, simmering into a tangible heat. But, he could feel that his body had grown incredibly stiff. Due to the time Silas made him wait, his adrenaline had cooled along with his muscles, now he could suddenly feel every bit of strain he had inflicted upon himself.


    However, ignoring that stiffness, Ryu''s body leaned forward. In the beginning, it seemed like he would fall, but in the next instant, he shot forward at blinding speeds. Not once had Ryu displayed the full abilities of his Northern Heavenly Wind publicly, until now!


    The eyes of the various elders constricted into pinholes. That speed¡­ It was a hair''s breadth away from the Spiritual Severing Realm! That''s impossible! Even after all of this, he was still holding back?!


    The King of the Viri Kingdom involuntarily stood abruptly. He knew exactly which direction Ryu was headed in. If he guessed correctly¡­


    ''Silas, get out of there now!'' A terrible premonition overcame him. Silas wasn''t the only son he had had in his life, but each and every one fell in one way or another. King Viri was under no delusions, he knew quite well it was Silas who killed his brothers off one by one. But, none of that mattered. He was the sole heir of the Viri Kingdom, he couldn''t be allowed to die!


    The Qi Line message tore through the air with an invisible swiftness, reaching Silas'' ears just as he was no more than one hundred meters from the city''s central square and Ryu.


    Silas wasn''t the type of individual to like taking orders from another, even if that person was his father or master. But, that didn''t mean he was a fool. If anything, he was the direct opposite. The moment he heard his father''s words, his heart trembled slightly.


    His arms pulled back, the reins of his silver armored steed pulling taut. The neighing of a displeased war horse resounded, but it still obediently came to a stop.


    The troops around Silas paused in confusion, but the Commander sighed in relief. It really was too much for their Prince to enter the frontlines. Amory had done so because he couldn''t afford to show weakness when facing Ryu, after all, they were brothers fighting for the same throne. But, Silas had no such obligation. His meticulous planning would speak for itself and make up for his lack of presence.


    But, who would have known that the moment he lowered his guard the slightest bit that a shadow akin to a prowling feline would enter their sights?


    Due to the net Silas cast, there were only five Qi Refinement experts with him. Yet, of them, only the Commander realized the sort of situation they were in. He was moving too fast for them to react!


    "Crown Pri ¨C!" Before the words could leave his lips fully, the shadow had jumped upward, perfectly timing the descent of the front hooves of Silas'' war horse to kick the Viri Kingdom''s Crown Prince squarely in the chest.


    Silas'' eyes widened from their usual narrowed slits. Unable to comprehend what was happening, he flew backward with the speed of an arrow, smashing through the outer and inner walls of a nearby storehouse.


    Blood spewed from Silas'' lips. Looking downward, he found a dent the size of a foot in his chest plate. It wasn''t deep enough to shatter his heart, but it was deep enough to break several ribs, leaving him drowning in a level of pain he had never felt before.


    The crowd watched with horror clear on their expressions as a shadow appeared before Silas. When it slowed enough for their eyes to catch up, they found a valiant youth with billowing white hair, his bare torso flaring up with an enraged red color. For the first time, Ryu''s expression was something completely separate from calm and cold, it held an unbridled fury that pierced toward the Heavens.


    His fists rained downward. Each pounding leaving a noticeable dent, whether that be in Silas'' armor or his body. He truly looked no different from a White Devil.

 Chapter 111: Flip

    Ryu''s fists came down in an unending torrent, he seemed possessed, yet his actions were incredibly controlled. If not, how could a mere Middle Pulse Opening Realm expert like Silas survive for so long.


    "Back away, or I''ll kill him."


    Ryu didn''t need to look back. He had calculated the amount of time it would take for Silas'' protector to reach him. Considering they knew Ryu was blind and could still pull all of this off, they were smart enough to know that it didn''t matter that his back was faced to them. If they stepped out of line, he would kill their Crown Prince without hesitation. There was no room for negotiation in his voice.


    Just like that, a carefully laid out plan went up in smoke. This was the very definition of what it meant for the largest fist to speak the loudest. Silas had been very confident in himself, but in the end, none of it mattered even the slightest bit.


    Silas'' cries of pain and horror were unceasing. Minutes ticked by continuously without Ryu showing any signs of letting up. Even as his lungs screamed for him to take a break, his fists continued to fly forward.


    This moment for Ryu wasn''t just about revenge. With every satisfying fist that landed, he felt more and more disconnected from this life and more and more willing to leave it all behind.


    However, even as he forgot this life of his, Ryu was leaving Silas an unerasable memory. When he awoke from this, a cripple for life, he would remember that night he laughed at Granny Miriam''s death, that night he treated the kind soul of an old woman as a prop for entertainment.


    Atticus, who was watching this scene unfold in the distance, felt his heart tremble. How could he not know what had enraged Ryu? He had been even more terrible than Silas that night¡­ While Silas had only chuckled once and said practically nothing, he had drawn the picture of an old cougar lusting after young meat. If Ryu treated Silas like this, just how was he planning on treating him?!


    At that moment, Atticus felt as though his soul had left his body. He knew he couldn''t face Ryu, or else he would end up even worse off than Silas. But, how could he concede his round either? If he as a Crown Prince did something so cowardly, his father would never allow him to ascend to the throne. The impact on their Kingdom''s Faith would be too severe¡­


    "Please, stop! That''s enough!" The Viri Kingdom Commander called out to Ryu, almost pleading for him to stop. This was far too much. Silas'' voice didn''t even call out in agony anymore, all anyone could hear were faint whimpers. This wasn''t because Silas didn''t want to call out, but rather because his vocal cords were so badly damaged from his screams that they struggled to produce even the sounds that they did.


    Ryu didn''t seem to hear those words at all. Silas'' broken and bruised body could only lay limply, accepting Ryu''s rage. To him, it felt as though not a single bone in his body had survived, the pain was unimaginable. Yet, what made the situation worse was the level of humiliation. He had stood atop of the world since the day of his birth, when had he ever experienced such a situation?


    Headmaster Leopold didn''t know how to feel watching his disciple being treated in this way. Of course, he was aware of how black-hearted Silas was, but at the end of the day, he had raised him up from the time he was a toddler until now. No matter how bad of a person he was, this was simply too difficult to watch. In the end, he could only turn away.


    As the two-hour mark slowly ticked to an end, Ryu''s assault finally slowed.


    He stood in a crater of Silas'' making. Having pummeled him into the ground so continuously, the Viri Kingdom''s Crown Prince had acted as a spearhead that now sat badly mangled.


    Ryu''s head tilted up and into the skies, his breathing so ragged and fierce it billowed with a scorching heat. Even in the moderately warm night air, it looked as though he was breathing fire.


    "Next." Ryu''s voice was laced with murderous intent, grumbling through the battle arena. He didn''t seem to realize just how horrifying his actions were. From beginning to end, no Prince had suffered such tremendous injuries. In fact, even when Ryu and Amory had their battle, Ryu went incredibly easy on his First Brother, only rebuffing him continuously until the time limit came to an end. Who could have expected anything like this to happen?


    Ryu turned without another word. Gliding by the Viri Kingdom warriors as though they were nothing more than air. What did their anger have to do with him? He couldn''t care less.


    King Viri didn''t have the face to complain. If he did so, would he not only be acknowledging that his son was inferior, but also that their Viri Kingdom couldn''t take a loss in stride? If anything, his silence actually helped their plight.


    As the minutes trickled by during Ryu''s beat down of Silas, the crowd began to speculate just why Ryu had lost himself in anger. In the end, they concluded that he didn''t like the fact Silas had slighted him during the second trial. This sort of conclusion made Ryu come off as a petty man who couldn''t take the slightest resistance against himself in stride.


    "He thwarted Prince Silas'' plot in the second trial, why did he have to do all of this?" Members of the crowd couldn''t help but ask themselves.


    At that moment, Ryu''s image as an underdog they wanted to root for took a flip. He suddenly became a spoiled, albeit talented, Prince who threw a temper tantrum for the smallest thing. As the crowd grew more rowdy, Tor Kingdom citizens suddenly thought about how horrible it would be to have a King like this and began to clamor for the rules to be changed as well.


    Headmaster Leopold felt a headache coming on. The shift in public perception was so swift that even he began to feel some pressure. But, when he looked toward Ryu, hoping that he''d say some words, Ryu didn''t seem to be listening at all.


    Prince Atticus could only slowly prepare, hoping that the crowd''s pressure could aid him. The cold sweat matting his back only seemed to grow with each passing second. It was as though a gaze was trained on him. No matter how he moved or shifted, he couldn''t escape it.


    Seeing that they weren''t getting their way, the crowd began to chant Prince Atticus'' name.


    "Beat him!", "Take him down!", "Wipe that smug look off his face, Prince Atticus!".


    Every word was like another nail in Atticus'' coffin. His carefree, lustful gaze became clouded by fear. As he watched Prince Silas'' broken and mangled body being carefully carried away, he felt like he was seeing a glimpse of the future.


    In the end, he had no choice but to step forward himself under the cheers of the crowd.

 Chapter 112: Death Blades Edge

    No matter how the crowd chanted, no matter how many emotions and hopes they placed behind their words, Atticus'' fate was far worse than even Silas''. Even with the precautions he took, Ryu''s speed was too ungodly.


    As things stood now, Ryu didn''t even have five percent of his fighting strength. This so-called borderline Spiritual Severing Realm speed of his couldn''t even be considered his best. Yet, it was more than enough to deal with these jokes of an enemy.


    Ryu stood on the edge of a building''s roof, his glaive being held tightly to the side of his body as Atticus hung limply on the other side of it. Though it wasn''t a lethal blow to a cultivator, Atticus'' spine was still severed. Whether it would ever be reattached in the future was improbably.


    In the distance, not to mention King Lantes whose rage had reached a boiling point, King Tor felt like leaping up and shredding Ryu to pieces. If he couldn''t tell what Ryu was doing by now, wouldn''t he be too much a fool? No matter what, he was still a man who ruled over the strongest Kingdom of their Higher Mortal Plane.


    Although those core members of Tor Kingdom were aware that Ryu''s relationship with the Tor Clan had long since been severed, did the public know this?


    In truth, the Kings of the three opposing Kingdoms should be aware. It was impossible to keep the discrimination Ryu faced as a Prince under wraps. This was especially so after that damned Patriarch Agnes had Ryu publicly whipped. There were too many witnesses to this matter.


    Armed with this knowledge, those Kings should be clever enough to know what Ryu was attempting. It was just a difficult matter for them to handle easily due to public perception. They would definitely come to King Tor to demand restitution for their swallowing these events without a word.


    ''If you think this is enough to destroy my Tor Kingdom, you''re a fool!'' King Tor roared in his mind.


    He wasn''t entirely wrong. Hoping to stoke the flames of war by Ryu''s actions was nothing more than wishful thinking.


    It was obvious to now that King Tor was once more benefitting from Ryu''s lack of understanding. Which Kingdom didn''t place hundreds of spies within the walls of their rivals? Tor Kingdom was also most likely a heavy focus of the three Kingdoms as well, considering they had the highest strength.


    Ryu continued to hold Atticus up with his glaive, oblivious to the thoughts of King Tor.


    A lewd laughter left Atticus'' lips, before he winced in pain. "I guess¡­ *Cough* ¡­ You loved that old cougar more than I thought."


    Ryu didn''t say much to these words. Him doing so would only tell Atticus that he was bothered. Since it was clear who held the power in this situation, did Ryu need to do such a thing?


    In the end, the two-hour timer ran its course. Ryu absentmindedly allowed Atticus to slip off of his glaive, causing not only the Lantes Prince to panic, but also the Lantes warriors below. They only sighed a breath of relief when they managed to catch Atticus before he hit the ground.


    "Next."


    The next two rounds were no different. Cayden foolishly tried to fight a one on one battle with Ryu, only to end up routed for the entire two-hour period. Even while he was beaten, bruised and beaten, Cayden was no match for Ryu.


    He lost in physical strength. He lost in speed. He lost in technique. He lost in depth of comprehension.


    When the crowd saw how easy Ryu went on his third brother compared to the stark contrast with Silas and Atticus, they felt a deep sense of cognitive dissonance. Come to think of it, didn''t he go easy of Kalmin and Amory as well?


    Some who felt themselves clever felt a conspiracy brewing. Kalmin and Kwan were no longer threats with the destruction of the Natural Order Sect. Maybe Ryu felt there was no need to trample on their dignity, but it was necessary to knock Lantes and Viri Kingdom down a peg.


    Only those with high authority like Headmaster Leopold were aware that this was Ryu''s own personal crusade. But, that only made them shake their heads. The Higher Mortal Plane had been at peace for too long. It was even to the point where they decided to hold these cooperative Coronation Games instead of just laying waste to the Opes Kingdom. What could Ryu hope to accomplish with these actions? After getting his revenge on Silas and Atticus, their two backer Sects wouldn''t spare any expense to cure them. And, in the end, after suffering a small loss to recoup their costs, King Tor would still stand tall.


    Still, they continued to watch this futile fight as Ryu decimated Kwan''s attempt as well.


    In truth, Prince Kwan only attempted to stall, not even using a single Qi Refinement expert in hopes of saving them for his brother''s turn, should it come. Luckily for him, Ryu also went easy, simply running for the two-hour time period before sending him off.


    Finally, it was Amory''s turn once more. He was forced to take on the Mortal Role, limiting him to five Qi Refinement experts, but he was also given three attempts at five hours each to succeed.


    No matter how many heaven defying acts Ryu was a part of, he looked no different than an arrow at the end of its flight. How could he last another fifteen hours?


    His breathing was haggard, the number of self-sutured wounds on his body were uncountable, and his body no longer had any ability to sweat. Even his Ice Phoenix Martial Form couldn''t seem to saturate his blood with oxygen as efficiently anymore, leaving his lungs screaming in agony.


    As Amory''s first attempt began, everyone could sense a conspiracy brewing. Ryu wasn''t given any time to breathe as he was constantly pressed, time and time again. Those Amory brought this time weren''t up to the standard of the Dragon Corps, but they were double in number and just as fervent.


    By the middle of Amory''s second attempt, it became far more obvious was he was trying to do. No matter what hiding place Ryu chose, he was always smoked out. He was pressed, pressured, and continuously injured. After seven rounds of dancing on death''s blade edge, this eighth round was truly perilous.


    Once the second attempt came to an end, Ryu felt that his legs could hardly hold his own weight. He was forced to rely on the Northern Heavenly Wind just to stop his knees from trembling. But, the third attempt came without pause. This time, though Amory brought his three hundred Dragon Corps warriors, they only loosely surrounded Ryu. As for who came forward, there was only one man: Death Guard Bhishak.

 Chapter 113: Two Moons

    Death Guard Bhishak''s presence was just as dreary and brooding as ever. A dark cape draped over his thin body, causing his dark black hair to disappear into its fabric''s folds. His pale skin shimmered under the high moonlight, appearing sickly and unkempt. His gait was reminiscent of slinking shadow, fleeting into an out of existence with an odd jerkiness that somehow maintained a trance-like pattern.


    Anyone who laid eyes on this man knew that he was a killer. No matter what happened, no matter what he faced or what befell him, his hand would always remain steady, his expression without ripple.


    The hearts of the spectators began to palpitate. After three days of these events, they believed that they had seen everything that was left to be seen. Many wanted these events to simply come to a close. A large majority had given up on ever winning the money they bet back, while another majority were happy that they bet on the Tor Kingdom as a whole despite the fact the return was far less.


    However, Bhishak''s appearance made their weary and tired limbs stand up tall, stretched taut as though the life he had come to claim was their own and not Ryu''s.


    At that moment, many couldn''t help but turn their attention to Ryu. He seemed completely spent. His sweat had dried to cake his skin with a coarse salt, his self-sutured wounds were blackening to an eerie degree, the product of him repeatedly agitating them with his every action, and his aura seemed to have fallen. He had once held an unbridled will to battle with anything that crossed his path, but now he just seemed tired and finished.


    No one had expected Ryu to make it this far. Even surviving the first round had been perilous, to make it here to the eighth, no matter how they felt about his treatment of Silas and Atticus, it was impressive.


    Bhishak didn''t speak any words. As for Ryu, he would never forget those oddly spaced footsteps as long as he lived. That feeling of weakness, the sound of the wind whooshing as his blade fell, the dull thump of Granny Miriam''s head hitting the ground. He remembered it all, and it was this man before that sentenced her to death.


    Without a word, the both of them shot forward, warring with their fists.


    To Ryu, it felt as though every hit he suffered agitated his blood, pushing its boiling point to another level. Even in his peak state, a battle with Bhishak would push him to his limits. This man wasn''t like a brainless beast, nor was he like the war trained Dragon Corps warriors. No. He was a killer.


    Sharp winds assaulted Ryu from Bhishak''s fists. It felt as though any error he made would lead to the end of his life.


    Without fail, with every exchange, Ryu was pushed backward. Bhishak''s fists were too heavy, his attacks too sharp, his schemes too cunning.


    "Archers ready your arrows!" Amory''s voice added a stunning coldness to the already brisk night air. His archers had made their way to line the tops of the city buildings, while his warriors created a net in the streets.


    By now, the crowd no longer felt that Amory was going too far. After watching Ryu escape time and time again, it became clear that his harsh, heartless methods were the only chance he stood. The tale of two brothers fighting for a bloodied throne was one they would tell their children for generations to come, never would they know the underlying truths of these events.


    The ''SHIING'' sound of twin daggers being unsheathed were so faint that even Ryu missed them. After observing him for a long time, it became clear to Bhishak what his weaknesses were, or rather, what his weakness was: Silence! By the time Ryu realized his mistake and reacted, a dagger had sliced across his across his right wrist, leaving his hand limping uselessly.


    Ryu had reached up to block, believing that Bhishak was throwing yet another fist, only for the matter to end horribly.


    "Loose your arrows!" Amory grasped the opportunity perfectly. With Ryu''s right hand gone to waste, it would be impossible for him to rely on his glaive to protect his right side, especially with Bhishak pressing him. In fact, whenever Ryu used his glaive, he had always used his right hand. His left had to be his weakness! Although he had dual wielded with his left, it had been awkward and flawed. Amory could finally see a path to victory!


    Bhishak''s second dagger hadn''t paused for a single moment, slicing through the air with a deadly silence. Its target? Ryu''s throat.


    At that same time, fifty arrows were let loose from every direction. This time, Ryu''s movements had far less freedom. With one opponent pinning him down at point blank range, even retreating was near impossible. With so many heavily trained archers seeking his life, what chance did he stand?


    It was at that moment that the situation completely changed. Ryu''s eyes shot open.


    Two globes of pristine silver, shimmering in the night air. The three moons in the sky seemed to pale in comparison, unable to match their radiance.


    "He''s not blind!"


    No one knew who said it first, but it sent a wave of shock over the crowd. They didn''t understand what was happening. Was Ryu simply handicapping himself? For what purpose if so?


    But there was no time to think. At that moment, Bhishak was laid bare before Ryu. He didn''t know what had changed, but he suddenly felt Ryu had become an insurmountable mountain.


    "That bitch!" King Tor almost couldn''t restrain his roar. If Ryu wasn''t blind, there was only one person to blame! Even in death, she spit in his face.


    Repressed qi within Ryu''s eyes surged outward, filling his body. This sort of state would only last a mere moment. Although there were numerous energy reserves left in his eyes due to him not using them, the energy expenditure of the first ranked Heavenly Pupils was far too much¡­


    Bhishak''s body shook under Ryu''s gaze. He suddenly felt like he was looking into both the beginning and end of time. Even for him, a man who wouldn''t be shocked by anything, he felt his soul shake to its very core. That small split second allowed Ryu to shoot backward, ducking under a swath of arrows to pull a spear out to his left hand.


    Ryu stood with his breath haggard, his right hand dripping with blood, as his eyes pierced through the night. All this time, he had used a single weapon aside from his bow. It was all to prepare for this very moment. While Bhishak was preparing for a glaive wielder, Ryu would show him a God Emperor!

 Chapter 114: Whipping

    A spear? The thoughts of everyone began to run wild.


    Much like Amory, they had assumed that Ryu had a dominant hand, much like everyone else did. It was impossible to escape this universal truth, or so they thought. But, even more importantly, they were certain that Ryu was a master of the glaive. And, was he really not blind?!


    Yaana''s eyes opened wide, an indescribable happiness coming over her. It pained her to see Ryu in such a state, but she suddenly felt herself overwhelmed by a calm when she stared into his eyes. Although it was only through a screen, it was as though she was enveloped by a gentle warmth.


    However, while Yaana felt this way, Bhishak couldn''t have disagreed more. That mighty weight on his chest only seemed to grow with each passing moment. Time lengthened, placing him in an agonizingly slow loop that made a single second feel like hour. And then, Ryu shot forward.


    As things stood now, Ryu''s condition had worsened considerably. Although he had done his best to dodge the arrows while retreating, two still pierced his back, both landing on his right shoulder blade, making that entire arm all the more useless.


    Still, he didn''t seem to notice. It didn''t take more than a moment for those spectating to realize that not only was Ryu''s left had just as proficient as his right, but he was also a spear master!


    [Pierce] attack after [Pierce] attack rained down upon Bhishak. As a dagger wielder, he was at a complete disadvantage, unable to close the distance. To make matters worse, Ryu''s style had completely changed. If before his attack pattern could have been described as imposing and straight forward, now, his strokes were clever and irritating.


    Of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons, the glaive was known to manifest the War God. This was a man of character and imposing will, unwilling to take even a single step back. His attacks were simple, but powerful, causing his enemies to quake where they stood. However, the spear manifested the God Emperor. This was a man of war and character as well, however he was also a ruler of a nation, not a tyrant like the War God. He didn''t rule solely by strength, but also by the power of his mind. While he was no less imposing, his strikes were swift and well thought out, cornering his enemies like animals.


    Ryu''s use of the glaive made Bhishak believe that he had him pegged. However, this switch was so abrupt that the veteran assassin was immediately placed on his back foot, continuously deflecting the deadly strikes with his daggers. It didn''t take a genius to understand that while the glaive''s strongest strike was [Sweep], the spear''s strongest strike was [Pierce]!


    Ryu executed a series of [Advances], pressing Bhishak backward. With him controlling the flow of the battle now, even with a single arm hanging loosely to his side, Amory was in no position to launch another assault of arrows. If he did so, he was practically asking to get taken advantage of.


    Bhishak''s daggers glittered under the moonlight. Despite his situation, he didn''t panic. In his long life, how could he not have faced his fair share of medium ranged weapon masters? If all it took was a long weapon to win, why would anyone even choose the dagger or the sword? They might as well all become archers!


    Suddenly, Bhishak''s deadened eyes lit with a sparkle, the side of his right blade cleverly caught the side of Ryu''s spear tip, gliding across the side of it and pushing it outward. In that moment, as Ryu''s spear was pushed off course, Bhishak''s speed erupted, closing in the three-meter gap between them.


    How could Ryu not realize what had happened? This was exactly the reason why spear wielders hated this move, but dagger wielders loved it. Bhishak has just executed [Skim]!


    Though he was far less proficient than Ryu at it, causing him to need to take his time to find the right opportunity, it was still beyond effective. In an instant, it seemed that Ryu''s ranged advantage would come to an end. With his left arm still in the middle of attacking, and his right arm completely useless, what chance did he stand to stop this attack? His only option was to abandon his weapon and block with his left, but if he did that, he''d end up with yet another useless arm.


    However, who would have known at that moment, that Ryu''s eyes would calmly stare into the dark abyss that were Bhishak''s. A line of qi extended from his lips, entering Bhishak''s ears.


    "You''re too unskilled."


    These words hurt Bhishak more than anything else ever could. He had spent his whole life refining his skills. From the moment he was born and found to have a rare Earth Skeletal Grade, he was taken in by the Tor Clan and nurtured into their Death Guard. He knew nothing but training and killing, even women didn''t interest him.


    After putting his whole life into this one craft, to listen to a fifteen-year-old tell you such a thing, how could he withstand such an insult? But, Ryu''s eyes didn''t seem to care for his anger, he looked down on the Death Guard with absolute disdain, like a bug he was only waiting to crush with a single step.


    At that moment, Ryu took action. His left wrist flexed with all its might, waiting for the perfect moment before whipping ferociously.


    Ryu''s spear reacted at that very moment, bowing uncontrollably. Its wooden polearm curled beautifully under the moonlight, its reddened aura wafting with a will to kill.


    Since defensive techniques like [Skim] could be used in all sorts of angles, in all sorts of situations, why couldn''t Ryu apply that same level of flexibility to his other basic stances? This attack of Ryu''s was something he comprehended on his own, [Whipping Pierce].


    Bhishak immediately noticed the spear curling, curving around the curvature of his [Skim] and aiming directly for his head. Should this attack land, he would die without a doubt. But, was he not a veteran of combat?


    He reacted without hesitation, pulling back his left-handed strike aimed for Ryu''s throat and changing its course toward the polearm of Ryu''s spear. Unfortunately, he wasn''t fast enough. Even though daggers allowed far more freedom in changing attack angles, how could it be perfect? Ryu''s spear tip managed to clip the edge of his nose, even while Bhishak pushed the spear away, it dug into a part of his skull, slicing across the top right half of his face and taking his eye with it.


    Ryu followed up with a kick to Bhishak''s knee, crippling him into filling the night air with blood curdling screams.


    Without mercy, Ryu''s spear found Bhishak''s throat, pinning him into the cobbled road. Cold, silver eyes watched as the Death Guard slowly bled to death, his life force dissipating with each passing moment.

 Chapter 115: Undisputed [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus Chapter for reaching 50 golden tickets]


    Despite the weakness in his knees, Ryu stood tall, his left arm holding the spear that pierced Bhishak''s throat steady.


    Ryu had never killed before. Or, rather, he had never killed a human before. Watching the life slowly flow out from the Death Guard almost felt surreal. He didn''t feel any sense of guilt or remorse, he just felt a discomfort.


    Believe it or not, this discomfort had nothing to do with Bhishak''s fleeting life. Instead, it was only at that moment it really sunk into him that no matter what he did, Granny Miriam wouldn''t be coming back. As things stood now, he could only do his best to honor her memory properly.


    Bhishak''s deep black eyes looked up to see Ryu''s disdainful gaze. Even at the end, he could hardly fathom the move that took his life.


    [Whipping Pierce] wasn''t a move that was possible to pull off if wielding with both hands. Well, it was possible, but there were two possible less than pleasing outcomes. The first was in a case where a normal sized spear was used, thus resulting in limited effectiveness. If a hand choked up along the spear''s polearm, the effect of curving the spear would be severely lessened, making it near meaningless.


    The second outcome would result from a master using a spear that was already excessively long and flexible. Sometimes, these spears would reach three, four, even five meters in length and would be purposely designed to have incredibly flexible polearms. In that case, [Whipping Pierce] could be executed with two hands, but the accuracy would be lacking considering the length of the spear.


    [Whipping Pierce] could only be used so perfectly with one arm!


    However, that didn''t mean that this technique wasn''t incredibly difficult to use. Just the pressure on Ryu''s wrist alone would have shattered it had Ryu had a normal bone structure. Luckily, the dexterity and flexibility provided by his Ice Jade Crystal Body helped him out tremendously.


    Then there was the difficulty in controlling the technique itself. If Ryu used too little force, the spear wouldn''t arch enough. If the curve was too small, then it would be impossible to have bent around Bhishak''s defenses in that way. But, if the force was too strong, it was possible to miss the target entirely, or even snap a spear if it was as low quality as Ryu''s current one.


    All of these factors were matters that masters like Bhishak and the Spiritual Severing Realm experts watching understood. In fact, they were in complete awe. Even Amory who hadn''t invested much time in combat and cultivation was floored, so much so that he completely blanked on what step to take next.


    As things stood now, Ryu was still heavily injured with his right side being almost completely useless. In addition, those with sharper senses could see that there was a great deal of stress on his left arm after executing that technique, even more so than what he had experienced dual wielding. And, it was obvious that he could only just barely stand up on his own two legs.


    With just under three hours remaining in their last five-hour attempt, one would think Amory still stood a chance. After all, he still had Ryu surrounded from all sides.


    But, Ryu''s piercing gaze placed too much pressure on their hearts. It somehow felt that even if he was limbless, with his heart pierced through, he would still find a method to victory.


    In that moment, a small Soul Jade King Tor kept on his wrist shattered with an audible cracking sound. Soul Jades worked on a similar Parent-Child system the Visual Jades that recorded the Princes did, except this time, one half was the soul of a living being. Some forms of Soul Jades could also be used to form binding contracts between a Master and a Servant. The fact it shattered meant only one thing: Death Guard Bhishak had died.


    King Tor clenched his fists, a pulse vein slowly occupying larger and larger real estate on his forehead. It seemed as though he could pop at any given moment.


    By the time Amory recovered and ordered the troops to move in on Ryu, the situation had become helpless. A familiar tale of Ryu dancing on death''s blade played before everyone''s eyes.


    No one knew when it happened exactly, but the crowd became overwhelmed by a sense of calm that was only possible when the victor was clear. It didn''t make sense for them to feel this way. Ryu truly was too tired, too beaten, too cut up and bruised, but that seedling of confidence that only an undefeated legend could provide was blooming in full force.


    Ryu made fools of what remained of the Dragon Corps. It was as expected, with his eyes opened, he was on an entirely different level. They had no doubt that had his eyes been opened this entire time, maybe not even a speck of dust would have landed upon him, let alone the injuries he suffered now.


    With [Third Perspective], Ryu didn''t need to rely on his depleted Spiritual Sense. And, since [Insight] could even predict a warrior like Bhishak''s [Skim] to perfection, what did these second-rate warriors of the Cedar Clan''s Dragon Corps have on him?


    Time ticked. Three remaining hours became two, two became one, and finally, mere minutes trickled down to seconds, all for Headmaster Leopold''s voice to ring out once more.


    "This third and final attempt has come to a close! The winner, and undisputed first place closer of this third trial ¨C Prince Ryu Tor!"


    There was no expected fanatical cheering, or grandiose display. The man who won didn''t even so much as smile as he looked up at the moons which had reached their highest points.


    Suddenly, a loud whistle left Ryu''s lips. A Second Order flying beast swooped down from the skies, catching many off guard.


    King Tor''s heart seized. He couldn''t allow Ryu to leave like this, but how could he make such a public move against his son? Plus, how did that damned bird approach so closely without him noticing?!


    However, when he lay eyes on it he suddenly understood. The Obscured Sky Falcon didn''t have any real combat prowess, but its speed and concealment abilities outshone even many Third Order beasts¡­ Not just King Tor, but even the crowd suddenly understood that if Ryu really wanted to cheat, he could have done so far more easily than he had. Who could have reached him if he simply sat in the skies?


    There was no need to say that many tried to follow after Ryu that night, not a single one of whom had good intentions. Two Kingdoms wanted to assassinate him so that he couldn''t lead the Tor Clan to greater heights, while his own ''father'' wanted nothing more than to see his corpse. But, with the help of his cloak, what chance did they stand?...

 Chapter 116: Overturning

    Days later, back in Tor Palace, King Tor was in yet another fit of rage. His graying hair whipped about wildly as he threw anything he could get his hands on across his own office. One could imagine the kind of commotion a Qi Refinement expert would cause doing such a thing daily, but who had the courage to tell a King to stop? Not even the Imperial Censors dared to do a thing after he killed one of their own.


    King Tor had exhausted all his options, even breaking the rules to send out his own father to search for Ryu personally. Yet, somehow, Ryu evaded the eyes of even a Half-Step Divine Vessel expert. To make matters worse, the dark clouds from Ryu''s awakening still perpetually hung above the Tor Kingdom. Having not seen the sun in almost two years now, the citizens of Tor Kingdom were becoming restless.


    "Royal Husband, you cannot continue to do this." Queen Olivia Tor tried to calm Shuren down. Though this was the Palace, there were countless servants, ministers, and miscellaneous persons on its grounds. If rumors that the King had lost his mind began to spread, it would make an already terrible situation worse.


    However, Olivia''s efforts were responded to with a crisp slap. Stunned, Olivia could only remain silent.


    "You damned woman, do you think I don''t know what you and your father have been plotting all this time? If it wasn''t for my certainty that you would have back stabbed me otherwise, I would have chosen Leilani as my Queen!


    "How many matters in this Palace have been your doing?! You''re related to Selene''s matter, aren''t you?! I''m surprised you even allowed Leilani to give birth at all with that vindictive, dark personality of yours!"


    Too many terrible things had occurred in Tor Palace after Olivia became Queen. How could King Tor not understand that? However, the Cedar Clan was too powerful, so he had to find a way to cripple them from within. As such, he gave up on love and married Olivia instead. But, he was beginning to regret even that. With a genius like Ryu as his son, what did a trash Clan like the Cedars matter?


    It was clear by now that King Tor had lost his mind. He had already forgotten that Ryu''s ostracization had nothing to do with the Cedar Clan and everything to do with his actions alone. To stone wall your own son due to the color of his hair and eyes, yet have the audacity to take a moral high horse¡­ Wasn''t he too shameless?


    Ryu''s disappearance was like yet another looming guillotine over Tor Kingdom. When he reappeared next, would it be the day King Tor abdicated? Or would he appear beforehand?


    "Royal Husband¡­" Olivia said in a decidedly softer voice, trying to ignore the stinging pain on her cheek. Despite the enraged boiling sitting in her gut at the King''s words, she kept her composure. "¡­ Although that unfilial son of yours acted in defiance, it still benefits you, does it not?"


    King Tor''s brow furrowed. "Speak."


    "Ryu placed first. Amory placed second. Jedrek placed third. Whether it was Ryu''s intention or not, to the world, he is still a member of the Tor Clan. According to the original deal, this means that not only does the Tor Clan get first pick of the resources of the past Natural Order Sect, it also means that we get the largest share as well. Though Ryu threw a tantrum, all he did was help you.


    "I hear that the Natural Order Sect''s Heirloom is incredibly power and is ranked first among the treasures of our Highest Mortal Plane. What need is there to fear Ryu with it in your hands?"


    King Tor''s eyes lit up like a blazing torch. Like this, the cogs began to move.


    **


    The heads of the four Kingdoms coalesced just a few weeks later. King Tor''s mood had been greatly elevated as well.


    King Viri and Lantes still didn''t feel great being in the same room with a Tor, mostly because what Ryu had done to their sons was still fresh in their minds. They immediately used this to leverage better positions for themselves and more resources. Namely, the Viri Kingdom laid claim to the elemental Pavilion techniques, while the Lantes Kingdom laid claim to the Weapons and Human Pavilions.


    King Tor happily ceded these things, his eyes completely focused on the prospect of owning the [Glove of Order].


    Each Kingdom sent a Spiritual Severing expert. Although they weren''t allowed to take part in worldly affairs, this matter was a definite exception. After all, it was related to the treasures of a Sect, something that was by definition a martial world affair. Plus, only they would be able to forcibly break the protective formation was with such an expert.


    In truth, it was quite a shame to shatter this formation. There was no one on the Mortal Planes capable of creating such a large-scale formation anymore. In fact, these formations were laid by powers of the Immortal Plane back when they treated the Higher Mortal Plane as their backyard. They were just repurposed by these Sects to their benefit.


    Days passed as half a dozen Spiritual Severing Realm experts attacked the Illusory Formation. Still, despite the hard work, their eyes seemed to grow brighter and brighter with each passing moment. The prospect of an entire Sect''s worth of resources was far too enticing.


    Three days later, the formation finally collapsed under the pressure. By the fifth day, it lost its ability to self-repair, allowing what remained of it to be torn away.


    The Kings smiled confidently. All this time, they had completely ignored King Opes. Without Ryu supporting them, the Opes Princes collapsed in on themselves. Although Kalmin fought valiantly, managing to place fourth due to Atticus and Silas being unable to participate, in the grand scheme of things, it mattered nought.


    Still, King Opes'' lips inexplicably twitched, the tell-tale sign of someone trying their best to hold back their laughter. If the three Kings saw this, there was no question that they would have sensed that something was off with these events. However, they were too excited.


    Each followed by two Spiritual Severing Realm experts, the Kings walked forward, trying to maintain their Kingly auras despite the happiness in their hearts.


    In that moment, the calm Spring atmosphere of the Natural Order Sect was invaded by a piercing cold and rushing snow. Without the formation''s protection, the cold temperatures of Opes Kingdom were no longer held back by anything


    Suddenly, roars of anger sounded. The three Kings spent hours overturning every stone, yet, they didn''t find a single thing worthy of being labeled as a treasure.

 Chapter 117: Familiar

    The Kings could do nothing. Over half a decade of preparation, all to receive absolutely nothing in the end. No matter how refined or "Kingly" they tried to be, no human in existence could take this sort of matter lying down without throwing a rampage.


    However, the matter was kept under wraps. There was no way the Kings could allow it to become public knowledge that they had been humiliated in such a way.


    In the end, they concluded that they had simply misjudged the Immortal who started all of this. Clearly, even someone of his caliber couldn''t ignore the wealth of an entire Sect and ended up making a move in the end. In fact, they even believed he felt embarrassed to the point he gave the Natural Order Sect disciples a proper burial.


    If curses could kill, that Immortal, even with his depth of cultivation, would have long since died. The public would never believe that their Kings could curse so profoundly unless they spent the last few days with them. It was truly a sight to behold.


    Like this, the Kingdoms fell into relative silence. Talks of the Coronation Games continued in full force for the first few weeks, but soon, even that calmed considerably. However, it was during this time that undercurrents began to brew¡­ And the first sign was a secret meeting King Opes called with the Lantes and Viri Kingdoms.


    "King Opes, you claimed to call us here for a matter related to the secrets of our Kingdoms'' founding, but why is it that King Tor isn''t here? What are you planning?" King Viri''s eyes narrowed.


    After receiving King Opes'' messages, the two of them had rushed here. The secrets pertaining to the underground White Devil Cult murals was one only Kings and former Kings knew of. It was also a secret they were bound from speaking of to anyone but their Crown Princes. Not even their other heirs had the right to know.


    So, one can imagine that if such a matter was used to call upon them as Kings, there was no doubt that they would heed it with the utmost haste. Yet, they had arrived here only to find out that one of them was missing. If King Opes really called them here for this matter, King Tor would definitely have been here as well. Since he wasn''t, that only meant one thing: a conspiracy was brewing!


    Seeing that King Lantes was just as displeased as King Viri, King Opes could only shake his head. These two had been in terrible moods ever since their Crown Princes had been crippled. These moods were only made worse after they received nothing for their troubles. Even with all their resources, it would be at least a half decade before Atticus and Silas could live a semblance of a normal life.


    "Look past your anger for a moment. Since I''ve called you here, there''s obviously a purpose. And since I''ve excluded one of us, that purpose is incredibly important."


    The two Kings frowned, but waited patiently for the answer they sought.


    "We''ve been cheated." King Opes finally said.


    "What do you mean by that?" King Lantes probed. He already had a faint idea. In fact, not just him, but, in all likelihood, King Viri was skeptical as well. Since they were Kings, how could they be stupid? Too many things about these events didn''t add up. And it all seemed to revolve around Ryu.


    "I''m sure since I''m aware of it, you two are aware of it as well, correct? What happened almost four years ago just a few days before Tor Kingdom was shrouded in black clouds?"


    King Lantes and Viri looked at each other before nodding. Silas and Atticus had no reason to keep it from their fathers. They had heard rumors that the Fourth Prince was being ostracized by the Tor Clan, but they didn''t learn to what extent until the events of that night. They had been absolutely shocked by the matter.


    "I wonder, how much of it do you two believe?"


    "The reports were very clear. Even without the testimony of our sons, it was obvious that King Tor was trying to separate himself from his fourth son, even allowing him to be beat in public. Plus, after seeing his hair and eyes, isn''t it obvious why that was?" King Viri offered.


    "I''m not saying that King Tor didn''t initially hate his fourth son''s existence initially. What I''m wondering is if he still does."


    "Stop speaking in riddles. We''re all intelligent men here, just get to the point." King Lantes said impatiently.


    "What I''m saying is that ¡­ Isn''t it too convenient that it was the very day the First Prince invited your sons over to speak of an alliance that these matters occurred to the Tor Clan''s Fourth Prince? Or, I guess, Crown Prince, now?


    "And, don''t you find it odd that the Tor Clan would allow your sons to be witness to such a thing? Even if they hated Crown Prince Tor to the core, they surely wouldn''t want to give you an opportunity to use that against them, no? Imagine the devastation just a few rumors could cause.


    "The three of us know that if Crown Prince Tor really wasn''t King Tor''s son, that he would have had both Third Concubine Leilani and him killed silently. The fact they survived to this day means that King Tor had already properly verified the matter. However, would the general public think so far?"


    King Lantes and Viri''s eyes narrowed.


    "King Tor might have hated Crown Prince Tor after his birth because his appearance would cause unrest, but what if he suddenly found out that the benefits his fourth son brought him far outweighed the negatives? You two saw it all for yourselves, Crown Prince Tor is a talent words can''t even describe. With King Tor''s insight and his comprehension of talent as one himself, would he miss such a thing?"


    "What are you trying to say?"


    "I''ll get to the point then, gentlemen. I believe that King Tor, utilizing his son''s talents, staged this entire mess. With Crown Prince Tor as bait, he lured an Immortal to take him as a disciple, and in exchange, he received the Natural Order Sect''s resources for himself."


    King Lantes and Viri weren''t as shocked as one might expect, having reached the logical conclusion.


    "This is all just your speculation, where is the proof."


    King Opes smiled. With a thought, a very familiar Visual Jade appeared in his hand. Soon, it began to replay flickering images of Ryu''s battle with the Fire Tiger. Suddenly, the image paused between flickers to show a young man with white billowing hair, holding a black bow they recognized all too well!

 Chapter 118: Humiliation [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus Chapter for 500 powerstones]


    "That bow! That glove!" King Viri and King Lantes spoke out at the same time.


    Everyone knew that bow all too well. Despite the Heavenly Body Sect being supported by the most talent and the strongest Clans, the Natural Order Sect was always able to stand as their equal. Why was that? It was precisely because of the bow in Ryu''s hand, and the glove that ran up his arm!


    It took several moments for King Viri and Lantes to calm themselves and collect their thoughts. Just what did it mean for this to happen? Were the Tors really responsible for clearing out the whole of the Natural Order Sect? Had they been played?


    In the end, King Viri shook his head. "I admit that you do have reason and evidence to support your thoughts, but there are too many problems with this.


    "Even if Crown Prince Tor managed to get his hand on his bow, how do we know that the Tor Clan was involved? No matter what, Ryu Tor was beaten like a dog on the streets of Tor City. Then, he limped home, suffering the gazes and ridicule of almost everyone. How could it be possible for someone to endure such hardship, yet still display filial piety?


    "If you ask me, it''s more likely that Ryu Tor''s Natural Awakening alerted the experts of the Immortal Plane. You know as well as I do that the only reason our best talents are of the Earth Grade at best is because everyone above that grade are taken away the moment they awaken. It''s less of a logical stretch if Ryu Tor was taken in by an Immortal. This would explain how he so suddenly disappeared for almost two years. Now, he''s back for his revenge.


    "In fact¡­" King Viri''s eyes narrowed. "¡­ Ryu Tor seemed to have quite a good relationship with your sons, even helping them out multiple times. How do we know that he isn''t putting you up to this in exchange for a portion of your Sect''s resources?!"


    As expected, Kings weren''t fools. King Viri''s conclusion was actually very close to the truth, yet it only took him a moment to think of it. Ryu had indeed come to King Opes with his plans. As far as King Opes knew, everything King Viri said was the truth. However, would Ryu be one to form such a half-baked plot?


    King Opes remained silent for a moment.


    "Your words are logical, maybe I was a bit too rash. I should have thought of this possibility occurring as well.


    "Now that you say it, there are a few inconsistencies. For example, Ryu killing such an important member of the Tor Clan power structure in Death Guard Bhishak is a bit odd. However, I still believe that there is more evidence on my side of thinking.


    "For one, by your logic, Crown Prince Tor should have hated his brothers to the core as well. After all, while your sons enraged him by being witness to Imperial Doula Miriam''s death, wasn''t First Prince Amory the reason they were there in the first place? Ryu Tor had plenty of chances to cripple not just his first brother, but also his second and third brothers as well.


    "Secondly, there''s the matter of Ryu Tor''s blindness. Why did he hide it for so long? Knowing King Tor, he definitely would have ordered someone to permanently blind his fourth son if what you say is correct. But, not only is Ryu Tor not blind, he actually hid it until he forced into a corner he couldn''t get out of like he had before.


    "Thirdly¡­" King Opes smiled lightly. "¡­ Do you all know what happened on the date of Ryu Tor''s birth?"


    King Viri and Lantes were slowly wavering in their own conclusions, so when they heard this, their ears couldn''t help but perk up.


    "I''m sure you all know that after Ryu Tor was born, Tor Kingdom went into a lockdown that I assume was implemented in order to hide the appearance of the Fourth Prince. Like myself, I''m sure you two were very interested in why that was, so just like me, you likely contacted your various spies immediately, no?"


    The two Kings nodded.


    "And I''m sure that, once more, like me, you two didn''t find anything. Everything was sealed up tight. It wasn''t until things laxed in later years that we found out the truth, correct?"


    The two Kings nodded once more.


    "I should tell you two that although I didn''t find out anything about Ryu Tor''s birth back then, I found something far more interesting¡­" King Opes smiled. "¡­ I learned that Queen Olivia had order Meridian Severing Powder through various channels and the one she asked to administer the poison was¡­ None other than Death Guard Bhishak!"


    King Viri and Lantes sucked in a cold breath. Meridian Severing Powder was too vicious and rare a poison, especially when used on an unborn child. In fact, the supply was so low that there were only a few places it was possible to buy this poison on their Higher Mortal Plane, places that were heavily monitored by all four Kingdoms.


    This wasn''t even the most important point. If what King Opes said was true, then not just Ryu, but even King Tor would want Death Guard Bhishak killed for betraying him. But since the Cedar Clan was involved, they would have to do it in such a way that they weren''t alerted, or else it would stir up inner conflict. The Coronation Games were basically the best opportunity!


    "How could you possibly know that it was Death Guard Bhishak that she ordered to do such a thing?" This question was the most important. If King Opes had a good answer, this could change everything.


    "I don''t." King Opes said with a light smile. "But¡­ He certainly does."


    At that moment, the attention of the two Kings were shifted as a certain individual walked into King Opes'' office. When they saw who it was, a sudden realization came over them.


    Many years ago, the Garis Clan had suffered a major slap to the face at the hands of the Cedar Clan. Though, in the end, the matter was buried by the Imperial Censors, how could the Garis Clan forget the humiliation they faced? Back then, the Garis Clan had used all resources at their disposal to enact justice for themselves, but they reached a dead end. Unable to do anything, they could only resign themselves to fate. This turn of events was what changed the old General''s outlook on life, making him believe that if he wasn''t as harsh with his Clan as those others were with theirs, his family would only suffer even more humiliation in the future.


    Why was it that even the old General had to give up? After years of investigation, they found the insurmountable wall that was Death Guard Bhishak at the end of it all! And who was it that walked into the room just now? It was none other than Second Prince Jedrek Tor!

 Chapter 119: Without Lifting a Single Finger

    "Your Highnesses." Jedrek cupped his fists.


    King Lantes immediately felt apprehensive. He understood that it was likely Jedrek and his Garis Clan that had insider information, but wasn''t Jedrek being here far too dangerous? The net the Tor Clan set was far too wide. In addition to this, King Lantes and Viri, thinking that this was a meeting all four Kings were aware of, hadn''t bothered to hide their tracks either.


    Two Kings travelling to the Opes Kingdom at the same time? How could the Tor Clan''s guard not be up? In fact, King Tor might already be aware of this. With Jedrek here, it only made matters worse.


    As though seeing through their thoughts, Jedrek smiled. "There''s no need for you all to worry about the Tor Clan tracking my whereabouts. I haven''t been in Tor Kingdom for several years already. I have many businesses to handle within all four Kingdoms. So, it''s not suspicious for me to be here."


    These words caused the two Kings to breathe a slight breath of relief. That was right, Second Prince Tor was well known for his control over the Higher Mortal Plane''s economy. He had been infiltrating their Kingdoms with his businesses for a long time already. So, there really was nothing suspicious about him being here. Even if the Tor Clan found out, it wouldn''t be a big deal. However, that didn''t solve the problem entirely.


    "You all might be wondering what King Tor would think of you two coming here, I presume?" King Opes added. "There''s no need to worry about this either. I sent an invitation to King Tor as well, it was just that he rejected it."


    The two Kings came to a sudden realization. King Opes likely sent all three of them invitations. But, King Tor, in all his arrogance, likely felt it was beneath him to attend personally. After all, he was by far the most powerful of them all. So, he would have sent an envoy or representative of some sort. In fact, since Jedrek was out of the Kingdom already, that representative might have been the Second Prince himself!


    ''Genius!'' They couldn''t help but think to themselves. Had King Opes always been so cunning? They raised their guards slightly.


    "I will get right to the point." Jedrek said seriously. "I would like you two to declare war against the Tor Clan and the Heavenly Body Sect!"


    "Are you insane?!" Both Kings stood in a rage. Although they had expected this, it was far too crazy. Did they already forget that King Tor had been able to enlist the help of an Immortal?


    On top of this, there was how ridiculously talented Ryu was to take into consideration. Even if this succeeded, Ryu would always have the opportunity for revenge in the future! To top this off, even without the help of the Immortal, the Tor Kingdom itself was a behemoth. The Cedar Clan alone could match up to their Kingdoms in strength. If the three of them declared war, even if the Cedar and Tor Clans'' relationship wasn''t so good, they would band together for the sake of splitting the Higher Mortal Plane between each other and getting rid of them.


    No matter how you looked at the situation, it was a lose-lose-lose sort of prospect. These Kings didn''t have a death wish.


    "What if I guarantee that the Garis Clan will defect to your side at the most opportune time?" Jedrek asked calmly.


    The two Kings froze. Although the Cedar and Tor Clans were powerful, more than 80% of their secular army was controlled by the Garis Clan. They had always been a military family. Even though the secular army didn''t have any high-level experts, what they did have were numbers. The Tor Kingdom army was as large as their three Kingdoms combined!


    Suddenly, the two Kings saw a path, but they were still too skeptical.


    "At the end of the day, the top experts are all firmly controlled by either the Tor or Cedar Clans. Even if a large majority of the secular army defects, it will be hard to close that gap. At best, we could say we would then be equal to them. But, that''s not good enough to declare such a large-scale war." King Lantes said after he calmed himself.


    "And what if a war between the Cedar and Tor Clan is sparked first? Hm?" Jedrek dropped another bomb.


    "How¡­?" The two Kings asked after looking at each other.


    "For the past few weeks, rumors of my fourth brother''s connection with the White Devils have been ramping up. You all saw it for yourselves, his eyes were silver. While you three have concluded that this is likely due to my father hiding Ryu, what do you think the general public thinks?"


    "¡­ That Crown Prince Tor isn''t King Tor''s son and that King Tor knows this, yet sheltered him anyway."


    "Exactly!" Jedrek said confidently. "That Patriarch Cedar bastard won''t miss this opportunity. After that incident all those years ago left my Aunt bedridden even to this day, my Garis Clan has spent everything they have monitoring the Cedar Clan''s every movement. This was how we learned that Death Guard Bhishak had long been won over to the Cedar Clan''s side because that whore Olivia spread her legs.


    "According to our informants, great undercurrents are already moving. Even Imperial Censor Briggs is getting involved, slowly bringing Ministers over to their cause. Within a month, the Cedar Clan will strike. Because Ryu won, becoming Crown Prince, they can''t afford to wait any longer!"


    The two Kings began to breathe heavily. Everything seemed to be falling into place. The more Jedrek spoke, the more their concerns fluttered away. This was their chance to finally rid themselves of a behemoth that controlled their lives for too long!


    "I know that you two are still worried about the Immortal''s intervention, but remember, if that Immortal could interfere freely, why would King Tor go through so much trouble to hide everything? Why did Ryu need to pretend to be blind for so many years? Why did he have to be beaten and humiliated on the streets? Why didn''t my weak-willed father boldly flaunt that he had the Natural Order Sect''s resources instead of putting the life of his most talented son on the line with the Coronation Games?"


    Those words were the final straw that broke the camels back.


    The undercurrent of a brewing conspiracy raged to life. The next year would be one of the most volatile in Higher Mortal Plane history, and the man responsible for it all didn''t even have to lift a finger. In fact, the young man in question was currently meditating silently beneath Opes Palace, utilizing the pool of Spiritual Qi to slowly chip away at what remained of his Spiritual Entrance Pulse.


    At that moment, a surge of Spiritual Qi erupted as an audible shattering resounded. Ryu had finally completely opened his thirteenth Pulse and entered the Spiritual Entrance Realm!

 Chapter 120: Crystalline

    Within the human body, there were thirteen total Pulses. Six were known as Body Pulses, another six were known as Qi Pulses, and the final one was the Spiritual Entrance Pulse. A large part of the reason Ryu had yet to breakthrough aside from not having an appropriate cultivation technique was precisely because he felt that these thirteen should be linked in some sort of way.


    Though Ryu didn''t know much of anything about cultivation after the Pulse Opening Realm, his parents had drilled him continuously about the so-called perfect start. As such, he knew quite well how important opening all of his Pulses was.


    Even after killing Death Guard Bhishak, Ryu wasn''t exactly proud of himself. The standard of the Higher Mortal Plane was just too pitiful. Many didn''t even know that there were six Qi and Body Pulses, and even those that did never dared to open the final two, sticking to four total. There was no need to even speak about the Spiritual Entrance Pulse. It was neglected entirely.


    This was all to say that jumping cultivation realms wasn''t as easy as it seemed. Ryu doubted that he could last more than ten moves against a Peak Qi Refinement expert of the Immortal Planes. This was simply the difference in quality of expert.


    Ryu knew he had to get stronger, and his path to improvement might ironically be hidden on this Higher Mortal Plane he looked down upon so much.


    Ryu stood, his eyes opening to reveal what seemed like beams of light. He felt as though the whole world had been opened up to him. Not only had his Spiritual Sense awakened long before it should have, its birth seemed to have a great effect on his [Third Perspective]. Not only was its range larger, increasing to just over one hundred meters, Ryu could faintly feel that he could see through walls. Though doing so drastically dropped his range, it still definitely intrigued him.


    As for Ryu''s normal Spiritual Sense, it now had a permanent range of about thirty meters without him having to enter Breath of Earth. This would make it more convenient for him to continue "being" blind. Though he opened his eyes during the Coronation Games in order to benefit his plans, he didn''t want to make a habit of it until he could find something fully capable of hiding the abilities of his Heavenly Pupils.


    Ryu pushed these things to the back of his mind, walking slowly to the edge of the pool of Spiritual Qi. The fragmented Memory Jade at the bottom seemed to be teasing him. However, now, Ryu felt he could finally do something about it.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu''s eyes began to shine with a blinding light. Spatial Qi began to coalesce. Slowly, but surely, a small whirlpool of grey qi touched the surface of the pool of Spiritual Qi. This persisted for several minutes. Although nothing seemed to be happening, the sweat that matted Ryu''s forehead told a completely different story, it looked as though he was suffering through hell.


    Hours later, Ryu collapsed, gasping for breath. He could only quickly enter a meditative stance, trying to replenish his qi.


    Someone who had been watching this would have been confused beyond belief. But, those who were sharper would have noticed that the square pool of Spiritual Qi had dropped by several centimeters!


    This was exactly Ryu''s plan, even if it took months, even if it took years, he would slowly draw all of the Spiritual Qi into his inner world. This way, not only would he gain a valuable resource for cultivating his Mental Realm, he would also gain the secrets of Memory Jade Fragment. Some might call Ryu a madman, after all, he had no idea what was in the Memory Jade. For all he knew, it carried nothing at all. All Ryu had to go on was his intuition as a Ruin Master¡­


    Before, Ryu couldn''t have hoped to do this. For one, last time he came here, he was far too weak. And secondly, he hadn''t had the time. If he wasted months trying to get to the bottom, he would have missed the Coronation Games, or would have had too little time to prepare.


    What Ryu could accept into his inner world was limited to his cultivation. For example, he couldn''t transport those massive blocks of Breaking Ore into his eye because he didn''t have the qi to sustain such a transfer.


    At the same time, though, Ryu was the only one among the Heavenly Pupil wielders that could pull off this feat. This was because he was likely the only one with an Origin Grade treasure fused to his eye. Without the Incubator, this would have failed.


    If Ryu tried this tactic without the Incubator, the moment the Spiritual Qi entered his eye, it would flood his Mental Realm, causing it to balloon and possibly explode. After all, his inner world was a part of his body. However, the Incubator was a separate entity entirely! Ryu was taking full advantage of this loophole.


    These limitations were also part of the reason Ryu hadn''t taken the Qi Whispering Grass or Bone Separating Root into his eye yet. One had to remember that the greatest function of Ryu''s Incubator wasn''t its ability to speed the maturity of spiritual ingredients, but rather its ability to perfectly extract the energy of these ingredients and pass it to its owner in a perfect and gentle form. This ability made it far better than pills not only in effect, but also because one wouldn''t have to deal with pill impurities.


    The issue was that Ryu''s cultivation wasn''t strong enough to absorb Earth Grade spiritual ingredients into his inner world. It was truly a frustrating thing. With the Incubator, even absorbing an Origin Grade spiritual ingredient would be gentle and easy. However, because his cultivation was too low, Ryu couldn''t get it into the Incubator in the first place.


    Unfortunately, spiritual ingredients all came with a large amount of energy stored within them. The higher grade the ingredient, the more energy it stored. This energy made those ingredients harder for Ryu to absorb because the amount of spatial qi required to do so grew cooperatively with grade increase.


    Essentially, until Ryu''s qi output could match the weakest Divine Vessel Realm expert, he could forget about absorbing Earth Grade spiritual ingredients. For now, they''d have to sit in his spatial ring.


    Luckily, the Spiritual Qi pool was a different matter. It wasn''t one whole entity, so Ryu could take it drop by drop. By limiting the amount he took in at once, he could bypass this weakness of his. All he needed was time.


    The months began to slowly trickle. As Ryu whittled away at the Spiritual Qi pool, the flames of war were igniting as the Cedar Clan attempted to forcibly seize power. Half a year later, while the Cedar-Tor inner conflict was at its peak, the Opes-Viri-Lantes Alliance began to mobilize its army.


    It was only after they finally set out that the last of the pool entered Ryu''s eye. Finally, a beautiful crystalline Memory Jade cooled his hand to the touch. Just what was hidden inside?!

 Chapter 121: Core Texts

    Memory Jades had ranks of their own. From lowest to highest, one had: white, green, blue, violet, red, black and finally, crystalline Memory Jades. These ranks didn''t necessarily correspond to how valuable what was inside it was, but what it did correspond to was just how much information a Memory Jade could withstand and also the kind of information it could store.


    Due to the distortion of the Spiritual Qi pool, Ryu hadn''t had any idea what the color of the Memory Jade was previously, but now that he held it in his hand, he couldn''t help but be baffled.


    White, green and blue Memory Jades could easily store up to Heaven Grade techniques, even some simpler Mystical Grade techniques would fit. Violet Memory Jades were large enough that even an Origin Grade technique could fit and still have plenty of room to spare.


    One might wonder, just what were the point of red, black and crystalline jades, then? Well, the answer came in the form of ''kind'' of information. Red and black Memory Jades were able to hold the consciousness of past individuals, they could also hold a replaying of history, even allowing one to relive wars that lasted thousands of years down to the most minute details.


    Then what of crystalline jades? They could hold entire Holy Lands! Crystalline Jades often held the Legacy of an entire Clan. They could also hold the shadows of their ancestors, every technique they had ever grasped or learned, and even comprehension of those techniques. Some could hold insights into Natural Enlightenments, and even Mortal Endowments. The range of possibilities was almost endless!


    Some larger Clans even used crystalline jades to give their young geniuses life saving measures. One could crush those crystalline jades to release the comprehension an elder had of a certain attack or defense, thus saving a genius who had their backs against the wall.


    Knowing all of this, one could understand why Ryu, despite his usual coldness, felt a slight excitement. Anything that would help him bring his family back together faster was something worth celebrating, he was now even more certain that his decision was the right one.


    Soon, Ryu calmed himself. He realized that while a crystalline jade offered the most opportunity, it also signified the most danger. There was no telling what was hidden within. Whoever went through so much trouble to bury these fragments away definitely wouldn''t want just anybody benefitting from them.


    Ryu looked away from the jade, debating with himself about to do. In the end, he chose to take the risk. He simply didn''t feel like his own talent was enough to cover the sky with a single palm, he needed all of the help he could get.


    He knew very well that this could be the moment he died, but he had already braved death once, what did a second time mean to him? With a deep breath, his mind delved into another world.


    Ryu''s mind swirled, it almost felt like he had stepped onto a teleportation formation, but his body was still in place. This would have caused an incredibly odd cognitive dissonance in many, but for Ryu who had delved into more crystalline jades than he could bother to count, he felt right at home. It reminded him of the times he''d spend days, even weeks on end in Shrine Library with no one but Nuri by his side.


    Soon, Ryu''s mind cleared. He found himself in a fragmented world one could only expect from a fragmented jade. The skies were splintered like broken grass, Ryu floated on air that should have been a beautifully paved road, and the large, almost endless Palace in the distance a fourth its true size.


    Ryu didn''t take long to walk forward, in fact, it didn''t take any time at all. Since it was a projection of his mind, he only had to will himself to appear before the silver palace and he was there.


    Quietly absorbing and taking everything in, Ryu nodded to himself. As expected, this Memory Jade was deliberately splintered, so whoever did so had taken great care not to damage the inheritance left within, or else what would have been the point in leaving them behind in the first place?


    From the architecture, Ryu placed these remnants in the Sky God Era. This made perfect sense. After all, the protective formations on the fountain that led here were also originally from the Sky God Era.


    ''It also seems that everything here is perfectly placed to sooth one''s mental state.'' Ryu thought to himself, walking through the Palace. Although three quarters of it was gone, what remained was beautiful. Even the fragmented portions had an art to them. ''This was definitely designed by a master in Feng Shui.''


    Ryu swept through the Palace floor by floor. It didn''t take long for him to realize that it was split into four tiers total. Although it was easy for him to walk to every level, three of the floors were so fragmented that there was nothing to be gained. After a cursory glance, Ryu realized that only the second floor allowed him to explore anything properly. Obviously, each floor represented a fragment of the jade.


    Once he understood everything, Ryu once more made his way to the second floor. He followed along its long hallway. Though he could appear near the end instantly, he didn''t want to miss any details that might be useful.


    Soon, he reached the end, finding himself at large, golden double doors. Ryu could only sigh when he realized that the symbols that coated these doors were more artifacts from the White Devils. Would he really have to rely on the Mental Realm Masters the people of his time hated so much to grow stronger in this life? It seemed Fate was still playing tricks on him.


    Without much more thought, Ryu''s mind pressed forward. The doors resisted slightly first, but as though Ryu had passed some sort of test of its, they swung open, basking Ryu in a blinding light his mind had to slowly adjust to.


    In that moment, Ryu found himself in a library so vast it shocked even him. For a man who spent much of his life in Shrine Library, one could imagine the scope of what was before him now. The bookshelves stretched several hundred meters high, and Ryu couldn''t see the end of the length of them.


    It didn''t take more than a quick glance for Ryu to realize that this wasn''t a library of techniques. Rather, it was a hub of knowledge even more vast than the Shrine Library. A source of knowledge from the era of Sky Gods!


    Ryu grew excited once more. No one knew the benefit of knowledge more than he did. If it wasn''t for Shrine Library, how could he ever have found a path to cultivate? Maybe someone else would be disappointed by this prospect, but Ryu found it wholly satisfying.


    Just as he was about to bring his mind out, planning on delving into this knowledge after completing his affairs on the Higher Mortal Plane, Ryu realized that he had underestimated this second floor.


    Images began to flash in his mind. It was confusing at first, but the purpose became clear soon after. First Floor: Cultivation. Second Floor: Core Texts. Third Floor: Natural Order. Fourth Floor: Battle Spirit. Ryu was completely wrong, all of this lost civilization''s Core Teachings could be found right here!

 Chapter 122: Weak

    The flood of information hit Ryu like a tsunami. Numerous words and images appeared in his mind. At first, it was bearable, but it very quickly became painful. It felt as though a guillotine had chosen his head as its target, splitting his very soul in half.


    Ryu suddenly understood what the test of this second floor was. One wouldn''t be allowed to gain recognition of this silver palace unless they had awoken their Spiritual Sense in the Spiritual Entrance Realm.


    When this information streams into Ryu''s mind, he felt both lucky and shocked. Lucky because he would have died had he not met this requirement, but shocked because such a requirement was far too stringent even by his standards!


    One had to know that Spiritual Sense wouldn''t be birthed until the Soul Birth Realm.


    Unlike qi cultivation which had twelve divisions, Mental Realm cultivation only had six. Spiritual Entrance, Spiritual Endowment, Soul Birth, Soul Refinement, Soul Ascension and Soul Quintessence.


    Because there were so few divisions, every step was a massive watershed of its own. One had to know that technically speaking, Ryu had been cultivating his Mental Realm for practically every moment since he was viciously beat by Patriarch Agnes. He was only nine years old back then, but now he was already sixteen. It took him seven years to reach this stage!


    One can see by this just how difficult Mental Realm cultivation was. Entering the Soul Birth Realm was the equivalent of becoming a Divine Vessel Realm expert! This meant that this hidden civilization''s test was analogous to asking an Awakening Realm expert to accomplish something only a Divine Vessel Realm expert could!


    The scariest part was that Ryu hadn''t succeeded due to any sort of talent of his own. The only reason he managed to do this was because he had the Origin Flame, a treasure so valuable that it was almost impossible to even name something that was its match in value.


    Ryu could hardly finish his thoughts about how ridiculous the requirements were before his mind seemed to shatter and everything went black. By the time he awoke again, he found himself sprawled at the bottom of the Spiritual Qi pool. Luckily, it was now empty.


    Rubbing his forehead, Ryu sat up. To think that just the information about the silver palace and its uses caused him to black out. What would happen if he wanted to learn something more useful? Wouldn''t his Mental Realm collapse in on itself?


    ''Oh?'' Once Ryu''s mind cleared, he found a pleasant surprise. His Mental Realm had actually largened by a small bit. The amount was miniscule, barely a few centimeters, but this benefit couldn''t be underestimated. Now, his Spiritual Sense''s range was thirty meters and three centimeters.


    Ryu paused, trying to decide what to do. He was certain that the remaining three fragments were being held with the Viri, Lantes and Tor Kingdoms, but he also knew that this matter couldn''t be so simple. If it was just a matter of wasting a few years to collect them, Ryu would do so in a heartbeat. But, there were too many still lingering questions¡­


    Why was something so important left to these weak Kingdoms? Why was it that the Opes Kingdom never touched theirs, but the King Tor seemed to frequent his?


    This wasn''t even what worried Ryu the most. The actions of the Immortal from all those years ago was truly baffling. What reason did he or she have to come to this Higher Mortal Plane? Could it be related?


    Ryu steeled himself and re-entered the crystalline jade. In just a moment, he had made his way back to the silver palace''s library, something he now knew was called the Zu Palace, after the Zu Clan that built it all.


    Having a map of the area in his mind now, Ryu surged forward, or rather, his mind did. Because he only had to think to perform an action, he could have been able to reach his destination in an instant, but the Zu Library was so exaggeratedly large it still took Ryu several minutes to reach its center.


    There, Ryu looked up to see a magnificent scene.


    Beautiful, wide, four-sided silver stairs greeted him. At the very top sat four thrones, each facing the its own cardinal direction.


    Atop these thrones sat two Emperors and two Empresses. The women were exaggeratedly beautiful, even a step above Ryu''s own mother, a feat he thought was impossible. Their white hair shimmered with a golden hue, and their silver eyes pierced through the veil, a gentle smile resting upon their soft, pink lips.


    As for the men, they were several steps above Ryu in looks as well. They shared the same eye and hair color as the women, but their faces were stoic and lacking emotion.


    The pressure these four life-like images placed on Ryu was unimaginable. Even just looking at them made Ryu feel as though his mind was being tested.


    "Visualization technique!" Ryu suddenly understood it all. The reason this crystalline jade had such a good effect on his Mental Realm was because it was entirely designed as a Visualization Technique. While Body and Qi Realm cultivation had their own methods of improvement, so too did the Mental Realm. Ryu took such a long time to improve because he had no Mental Realm cultivation technique, yet here, even the floors beneath his feet were cultivation techniques!


    Ryu''s way of cultivating his mind in the past was the crudest form. He would place himself under pressure then use his will power to breakthrough. However, Visualization Techniques streamlined this process and vastly improved its efficiency. The concept was simple: Visualize a difficult image. The more complex the image, and the more detailed your visualization, the stronger your Mental Realm became.


    "Someone finally came here, but their Mental Realm talent is actually so weak? Fate seems to want to play tricks on our Zu Clan once more."


    Ryu was startled out of his thoughts. Firstly because he hadn''t expected one of the male statues to speak, and secondly because this was the first time in his life that he had been described as a weak talent. This was definitely a new feeling to him.


    "Well, he met the basic requirement at least. Most couldn''t even do that."


    "Isn''t it obvious? He was only able to do so thanks to external help. Your eyes are failing you. Plus, the pitiful thing actually called furniture a Visualization Technique, isn''t that too wretched? Kick him out."

 Chapter 123: Eska

    Ryu didn''t have much of a reaction to these words. In fact, his expression was so calm that it partially startled the Four Zu Ancestors.


    Normally, after hearing such words, there were one of two reactions. The first would be defensive. In this scenario, a person would be greatly offended and attempt to argue for themselves. As for the second, it would be one of fear. After all, these were Ancestors of the Sky God Era. This was the undisputed strongest Era of Humans, only marginally matched by Ryu''s Golden Era. How could one not fear these four?


    "Don''t be so mean to the handsome little brother, Balaur." One of the Empresses reprimanded. "Do you think you have the right to be picky? You''re dead."


    This Empress'' voice sounded immature and childish. In fact, it gave one an inexplicable feeling of warmth, but such things only forced Ryu to put his guard up. He didn''t believe that anyone who could rise to the top of such an Ancient Clan could be as na?ve and innocent as she pretended to be.


    "If you keep talking in that disgusting voice, Flora, I''ll shatter your Incarnation Jade so I never have to listen to you again. I wonder how many men you''ve lured into your bed only to kill them with that fake sweetness." Balaur responded in disgust.


    Flora seemed to make a pouting sound. "We aren''t toddlers, Balaur. If you wanted me to invite you to my bed so eagerly, you should just use your words. What is with all of this petty jealously? I am an Empress, why would I hold myself to just one husband? The men of my Era were too weak to satisfy my needs alone. Maybe if you or Brother Morvar was alive in my time, I wouldn''t have suffered so."


    Hearing such an innocent voice say such words could send a shiver down anyone''s spine. Ryu was certain that this woman had blood that could drown the largest oceans on her hands.


    "I don''t invite whores to my bed, woman." Balaur snorted.


    "How sexist of you. You probably lost count of how many concubines you had in your lifetime, but I just wanted a few dozen husbands and suddenly I''m a whore.


    "Can you believe this narrowminded meanie, handsome little brother? What do you think? You''re a little too weak to be my husband, but I don''t mind letting you spend a few nights with an Empress. It would also help your cultivation greatly, what do you say?" Flora''s spirit floated out from an Incarnation Jade that hung from her statues neck, gliding down to tease Ryu.


    "I have a wife. No thank you." Ryu replied plainly.


    Balaur''s uproarious laughter filled Zu Library. "I''ve changed my mind, I like this kid!"


    Flora pouted. Her appearance was truly too adorable, nothing like the lofty Empress her words painted herself out to be.


    "You''ve certainly dodged a bullet, kid. Though your Mental Realm talent is trash, you have an Ancestral Great Circle. If you agreed to her ask, not only would you not be able to taste her sweet peach, but you''d have your talent sucked away completely. This woman is too conniving, she pretends to be innocent on one hand, yet has killed more people than I could even dream of. On the other hand, she claims to be a champion in bed, but she is still a virgin.


    "What a two-faced woman!"


    "Hmph." Flora harrumphed, floating back up and disappearing into her Incarnation Jade.


    "Who are you?" Suddenly, a voice Ryu hadn''t heard until now spoke. It was the other male. Morvar, Ryu believed Flora called him.


    "I am Ryu Tatsuya." Ryu responded.


    "You''ve taken the Clan name of the Ancient Fire Dragon, you have Fire Dragon blood running through your veins, and although you look like us, you have no connection to the Zu Clan at all.


    "Though it is true that your talent is excellent even in our Era, you would be useless trash if born in our Zu Clan. We care little for the Body and Qi Realm paths. Giving the resources we Ancestors have worked for to you would be a waste."


    "You say all of this, yet you haven''t killed me. Get to the point."


    Balaur suddenly started laughing again. "I like him, I really like him! He can see through your pile of shit from a mile away, Morvar. There goes your plan to act tough."


    Morvar didn''t have much of a reaction to Ryu''s words. He was a calm and straight forward person. While another individual would have found Ryu''s response to be too abrasive, Morvar actually found it to be refreshing. As for Balaur''s goading, he never paid much attention to it anyway.


    "The reason we haven''t killed you yet is because we all recognize the rarity of the Origin Flame, even an Embryonic one like yours. It''s not enough to close the gap between yourself and the peak-most geniuses of our Zu Clan, but it is enough to make you average.


    "There''s a second reason as well, I''ve sensed your Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Heavenly Pupils. With these eyes, your comprehension abilities will be beyond normal logic. With it, you have an advantage Mental Realm talent cannot match in understanding and implementing Visualization Techniques.


    "The combination of these two things make you comparable to an above average talent in our Zu Clan, you would be worthy of being an outer fringe elder once you reach maturity. The problem is that this is not good enough.


    "While you can comprehend and implement Visualization Techniques better than almost anyone else, your Mental Realm pool is too small, causing your stamina to be wholly lacking. In addition, your Spiritual Sense is only thirty meters in diameter after awakening. You don''t qualify to learn even the weakest of techniques the four of us have access to."


    "I don''t mind if you give me nothing as long as I can use this Library freely." Ryu responded.


    "Oh?" Morvar''s brows perked up. Obviously, he hadn''t expected such a response.


    "I''ll take him in first." Another voice Ryu had yet to hear spoke. It was kind and warm, filled with an air of maturity Flora didn''t have.


    "Eska, you mean to¡­?" Morvar asked in slight surprise.


    "Ha, she''s always been a bookworm. Seems the little guy gained her favor." Balaur chuckled.


    "I''ll teach him my [Immortal Sakura]. His results will inform our final decision." Eska concluded.

 Chapter 124: Touch

    "Hoho." Flora giggled. "I see that you like this handsome little brother very much Big Sis Eska, I''ll let you have him, then."


    Eska didn''t bother to respond to Flora, instead, she too left her Incarnation Jade. She was truly the most beautiful woman Ryu had ever seen. In the beginning, Ryu had believed that the four Zu Ancestors were about equal in terms of looks, but it seemed he had sold Eska short. Considering her throne was facing away from him, it was no wonder he had blindly made such an assumption.


    Even as an ethereal spirit, she carried a refined air that was impossible to match. Though it was easy for Ryu to imagine Flora as a heartless, vindictive woman despite her innocent and adorable appearance, no matter how hard he tried to put his guard up against Eska, he found himself unwilling to taint her pure image.


    Still, Ryu was Ryu. Even though he was just like any other man who could enjoy looking at an absolute beauty, he also had too much control over himself to slip into a daze. As such, aside from a brief glint in his cold, silver eyes, he had no other reaction.


    "How cold." Flora pouted. "Is Big Sis Eska not good enough for you?"


    "That''s enough, Flora." Eska said softly.


    Surprisingly, the talkative Flora immediately silenced herself. It became clear to Ryu that maybe these four Ancestors weren''t as equal as they appeared.


    Eska''s eyes glistened as she slowly descended the steps. Her gait seemed to stretch time to infinity¡­ At that moment, Ryu felt that he had only been able to shrug off her presence so easily because of how far away from him she had been initially.


    When experts die, usually, that would be it. They would enter the cycle of reincarnation, and hope that their accumulated karma provides them with good opportunities in their next life. However, those who have entered the Soul Birth realm and given the souls form have another path they can take. These individuals, with the help of Incarnation Jades, are able to continue to exist in this Plane and extend their lives near indefinitely. If proper circumstances are met, it''s even possible for these individuals to revive.


    That said, Incarnation Jades aren''t something you can simply pick up off the streets. Each piece is a valuable Origin Grade mineral worth an astronomical sum. Yet, there were four of them here!


    What Ryu knew was that it was impossible for these four Ancestors to be at the mere Soul Birth Realm. His most favorable estimation was that they were all in the Soul Ascension Realm! But¡­ Something was telling him that this Eska, walking toward him slowly now, had long since entered Soul Quintessence. Simply put, even after so many epochs had passed since her death, she wouldn''t even have to lift a single finger to kill him where he stood.


    "Believe it or not¡­" Eska continued in her soft tone. "¡­ This Legacy wasn''t created to seek out inheritors or heirs to our teachings. You''ve seen the Incarnation Jades here, and I''m sure you understand what that means as a fellow scholar. Our goal has always been to revive the four of us. As such, whether or not you are a Zu is irrelevant. In fact, having Mental Realm talent is immaterial, though useful.


    "The only reason the possibility of you learning our techniques and benefitting from our Zu Palace is on the table is to repay your help.


    "In truth, the descendants of our Zu Clan should have collected the necessary spiritual ingredients by now and stored them in our predetermined locations. However, with any plan that takes place over trillions of years, it''s impossible to account for every wrinkle, which is likely why our Zu Palace was found by you instead of one our own."


    If Eska knew that the protection of her Clan''s hopes was being left in the hands of such pitiful Mortal Plane Kingdoms, just how would she react?


    "What is your ultimate goal?" Ryu asked.


    Eska stared at Ryu deeply for a moment. "I founded the Zu Clan after the Human Race''s war with the Ancient Beasts. With the establishment of our Holy Land, we officially ended the Ancient Beast Era and ushered in the Sky God Era.


    "However, the Cycle of Fate is unstoppable. Humans were never meant to usurp the Ancient Beasts. Ancient Beasts themselves were the darlings of the Heavens. Their talents were unmatched, their constitutions were perfect¡­ They were the overlords of all of existence.


    "Humans were a wrinkle that even the Heavens couldn''t calculate. Where we were lacking, we used our intelligence to make up for it. When the wall we faced was too high, we would find another path. When our goals seemed impossible, we would rely on hope.


    "These were matters that neither the Ancient Beasts nor the Heavens could comprehend. However, you must understand that the Ancient Beasts are fundamental to all of existence. Even if it takes several more Eras, they will reappear once more."


    Ryu didn''t buy this story even one bit. If Eska believed in humans so much, why did she have to revive? Shouldn''t her belief in humanity have led her to a different conclusion? Plus, even if he chose to believe that this was Eska''s purpose, could he really say the same for the other three? Still, Ryu had no power in this situation¡­ He could only accept her words at face value.


    Eska watched Ryu silently, trying to gain a read on his thoughts. In the end, she chose to continue.


    "What I will be teaching you is my Magnus Opus. Had I chosen to enter the cycle of reincarnation, the Heavens would have recognized me as the Immortal Sakura Sky God!"


    These words were thunder ringing in Ryu''s ears. Eska was a Sky God! Due to the fact she never entered the cycle of reincarnation, her Second Awakening Legacy was never passed on!


    Ryu knew exactly what an Immortal Sakura was. All this time, he had been speaking to these four Ancestors in the ancient tongue of the Sky Gods. If translated to modern tongues, Immortal Sakura directly translates to Immortal Cherry Blossom. It was an ancient tree that went extinct long before Ryu was born.


    "My [Immortal Sakura] is a Mental Realm technique. Unlike Body and Qi Realm Techniques, its grade doesn''t restrict what cultivation levels can use it. Instead, the levels of mastery within the technique itself are restricted by cultivation realm. Meaning, it can be used at all cultivation levels.


    "I have never passed down my [Immortal Sakura], so it has no formal grade of its own. But, what I can tell you is that it is an ultimate defensive technique, second to none! At its highest realm, even the wind itself cannot touch you without first asking!"

 Chapter 125: Blossom

    Ryu''s eyes shone. What he was the most lacking in right now was defense. The best part was that since this was a Mental Realm technique, there was no need for him to worry about its compatibility with his body. If the Zu Library alone made his more than half year of efforts worth it, this [Immortal Sakura] could be counted as a pleasant surprise.


    "Mental Realm techniques are split into three stages. Visualization, Manipulation and Manifestation.


    "The basis of a Mental Realm technique is its Visualization. One must not only picture the technique in their mind, but it is necessary to understand its complexities.


    "Manipulation is the next important step. In the case for an Immortal Sakura that once had many iterations of itself birthed into existence, this is especially important. Obviously, no two immortal trees are identical. This tests a cultivator''s ability to change the form of their Visualization while keeping the core essence of the image. In the case of an ancient tree, this would be related to changing the number of branches or leaves, yet maintaining the technique''s integrity.


    "Finally, there is Manifestation. Of the three steps, this is by far the most difficult. This requires a cultivator to project their Visualization into the outside world, thereby causing changes within it. In the case of my [Immortal Sakura] technique, the key to its defense are the falling blossoms from its branches. If these blossoms aren''t manifested, then there is no technique. If your Visualization falters in combat, then an attack you believed you had blocked could very well kill you."


    Ryu nodded. He knew too little about cultivation. This was especially so for Mental Realm cultivation that was banned during his first life. So, this was very important knowledge for him.


    "The reason I never passed down my [Immortal Sakura] wasn''t because I didn''t want to, but because it led too many youths down a path of destruction. Mental Realm cultivators, more than anyone else, are highly susceptible to cultivation deviation. There are no shortage of tales of Visualizations killing the cultivators who imagined them.


    "In the case of my [Immortal Sakura], this is even more glaring. The Immortal Sakura itself is an Immortal Spiritual Plant. In fact, it was among the very few that gained sentience for itself. The difficulty in Visualizing such an ancient incarnation is unfeasible for many¡­


    "In truth, I am taking a risk by teaching you this technique. We do not know much about the Heavenly Pupils since they had only just begun to be birthed during our Sky God Era. However, if I understand correctly, your pupils are particularly good at comprehending the quintessence of things. As such, I believe you may be among the few capable of leaping over this first hurdle.


    "These things are all I can tell you for now. Are you willing to take the risk?"


    Though Ryu remained calm, he was inwardly sighing a breath of relief. It was just as he expected.


    Heavenly Pupils didn''t exist in the Chaos, Primordial, and Ancient Beast Eras. They didn''t begin to appear until the Sky God Era, but it took time for those born with Heavenly Pupils to understand the gift they had been given, and it wasn''t until the Shrine Era that any sort of proper ranking was created.


    This meant one thing: these four Ancestors didn''t understand the value of his Heavenly Pupils! It was no wonder their reactions were so nonchalant. His eyes were too novel when they first appeared back then. In fact, the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils weren''t even ranked in the top twenty in their Era!


    Ryu simply didn''t trust these four Ancestors. If they realized the value of his body, he would have one more thing to worry about. But, luckily, they didn''t.


    "Yes." Ryu replied without hesitation.


    "Good. Since you haven''t collected all four fragments, you cannot enter the Natural Order floor and will thus have to settle for the barest bones version of my technique. However, you must remember that what makes my [Immortal Sakura] so powerful is its endless flexibility. You must comprehend for yourself what sort of style benefits you the most.


    "For now, watch and observe. I will show you the first of my technique''s seven stages. Behold, [Immortal Sakura]!"


    In that moment, Ryu couldn''t take his eyes off of the scene before him. He never thought a tree could be so beautiful. He was completely mesmerized.


    The Immortal Sakura that appeared above Eska''s head was unlike other trees. Its trunk was incredibly short, only standing at about two meters before branching outward in what seemed like endless forking branches. The phenomena made the Immortal Sakura far wider than it was tall.


    This wasn''t all either, the branches formed a gorgeous dome. It wasn''t the branches themselves that made the Immortal Sakura so appealing, but rather the innumerable translucent blossoms that peppered its body. It was almost more of a semi-sphere of shimmering lights than a tree¡­


    Suddenly, the scene became even more spectacular. The blossoms began to fall one by one, their translucent bodies gently wafting through the air. It was a mesmerizing scene akin to a year''s first snow fall. Pure and simple, but nature at its absolute finest.


    "This is the lowest form of my [Immortal Sakura]. My Spiritual Sense has long since reached a range capable of blanketing an entire Plane, as such, the theoretical range of my [Immortal Sakura] is equally as large. For you, who have yet to step upon even the first stage, its impossible to maximize your Immortal Sakura manifestation. In addition, your Mental Realm talent isn''t as great as mine. Your range will never be so large. You must take it one step at a time.


    "This is known as the translucent stage. It is followed by the white stage, the cherry, then red, violet, purple-gold, and finally, the gold stage. At the peak realm, even a Sky God''s attack can be casually deflected."


    The four Ancestors truly underestimated Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils far too much. It took Ryu all of a few seconds to perfectly grasp the quintessence of the first stage. He could already begin to prepare for his Visualization stage. However, he purposely stretched the matter out, asking Eska endless questions. As time passed, the Ancestors began to believe the Heavenly Pupils weren''t a big deal after all¡­


    After two months, Ryu extracted his mind from the crystalline jade, a faint smile on his cold, handsome features. The Ancestors were bound to never leave the Zu Library due to the range limitations of the Incarnation Jade. They would never know what was happening outside, so he could rest easy.


    Ryu left Opes Kingdom, travelling to Viri Kingdoms. After another half year, he left to Lantes Kingdom. Finally, not long after Ryu turned seventeen, he turned his sights to Tor Kingdom. It was time to complete Granny Miriam''s revenge.

 Chapter 126: March

    Tor Kingdom had once been a mighty Kingdom that stood above all others. Nothing could stop their progress, it was as though each passing generation only got better. Finally, four talents the likes of which were rare throughout history were born. First Prince Amory and his unmatched intelligent. Second Prince Jedrek and his business savvy. Third Prince Cayden and his rare cultivation talent. And, finally, Fourth Prince Ryu and his heaven defying existence.


    Seeing such royalty leading them, the citizens of Tor were filled with an unbridled pride. It wasn''t rare to see them looking down and snubbing their nose toward the other three Kingdoms. They had a national pride that was hard to find, a pride that was solidified by the Co-Kingdom Coronation Games¡­


    However, everything had seemingly started to go downhill since then.


    Just months after Ryu was titled the Crown Prince, causing a wave of excitement, an undercurrent swept through the capital city. Important officials began to be murdered one after another, shaking public confidence in the Royal Clan ability to protect their own.


    Soon afterward, rumors began to float wantonly about the Crown Prince. Many began to speak about how it was impossible for him to be a Tor, and many others started to link his appearance to the evil White Devils of years'' past.


    Why was it that a talent like Ryu was hidden from them for so long? Why was a talent like Ryu whipped in the streets of their capital city? Why was it that Ryu''s mother was demoted from First Concubine to third despite having giving birth to such a talent?


    Doubt began to permeate the once unblemished Tor Kingdom. However, national pride was strong. After many centuries, it was difficult to shake the loyalists. However, that was when another bomb was dropped upon the citizens.


    Everyone knew that King Tor''s eldest children weren''t his sons, but rather, his two daughters. In their youth, these two women were the flowers of the capital, filling them with life and joy. However, there was a very obvious question everyone seemed to ignore until now¡­ Why was it that Olivia was Queen and not the mother of Princess Isla and Dahlia, Second Concubine Selene?


    Many dismissed this. After all, everyone also knew that Second Concubine Selene was bedridden. How could such a sick woman be fit to be Queen? It only made sense that Olivia took up that role. But, there wasn''t enough time for this belief to become consensus before rumors of treachery began to surface.


    According to the rumors, Second Concubine Selene was meant to become Queen, in fact, King Tor loved her even more than his former favorite concubine, and Ryu''s mother, Leilani! However, the Cedar Clan made a move to cripple her, forcing her into an indefinite coma she had yet to awaken from!


    Who was Second Concubine Selene one might ask? She was none other than the elder sister of First Concubine Catalina and Jedrek''s aunt! That was right, Selene was a member of the Garis Clan!


    When this clicked for everyone, they couldn''t help but remember back to a matter the Imperial Censors buried more than two decades ago. Back then, the Garis Clan had kicked up a fuss, wanting justice for their eldest mistress, but nothing came out of it¡­ Until now!


    And the culprit of all of this? Shocking revelations revealed that it was none other than the first ranked Noble Clan of their Kingdom, the Cedar Clan!


    Once these matters were revealed, tensions skyrocketed. The Cedar Clan, who had already been under a lot of pressure after Ryu was named Crown Prince, was forced to take action. Initially, the Tor Clan and King Tor planned the squash the matter as they had before, but the Garis Clan was having none of it. In the end, the Cedar Clan made their move!


    This was when the matters of the assassinated officials bore fruit. All who remained among the Ministers were loyalists the Cedar Clan had personally fostered! Imperial Censor Briggs led the charge, proceeding to make multiple public statements denouncing the actions of the Tor Clan in hiding these matters.


    The public sympathized with the Censor. He, at risk to his own life, didn''t hesitate to continue to fulfill his duty and uphold the moral code of Tor Kingdom. Unfortunately, these matters split the Kingdom in half. Some felt that these matters could still be resolved, while others were calling for King Tor to abdicate and allow Prince Ryu to ascend to the throne. However, no one could have guessed what happened next¡­ Imperial Censor Briggs actually called for Patriarch Cedar to ascend to the throne instead!


    An uproar washed over Tor Kingdom. Even if they sympathized with the plight of the Garis Clan, wasn''t it the Cedar Clan who was responsible for those matters in the first place? Where was the logic in calling for them to take control of the throne?


    Patriarch Cedar had never expected for such long forgotten rumors to suddenly resurface, so he had no choice but to accelerate his plans. With more than ninety percent of the Ministers on his side, he could shape public perception as he saw fit. He had the Ministers correct the rumors floating around. According to the new story, it wasn''t the Cedar Clan who made a move on Selene, but Ryu''s Agnes Clan!


    It was obvious who the public would choose to believe. Why trust randomly started rumors instead of the Ministers they put their lives in the hands of? The Agnes Clan stood not a single chance. Patriarch Agnes and his whole lineage were publicly executed. In the end, the only surviving member was Third Concubine Leilani who was spared due to her position within the Imperial Harem. Though, she was put under house arrest.


    By this point, King Tor was completely enraged. The sparks of war were set off and the first Civil War of Tor Kingdom began, splitting the remaining Noble Clans in half. The Kunal and Mena Clans sided with the Tor Clan, while the Remes and Garis Clans sided with Cedar Clan. How could the Garis not want revenge for what the Tor Clan had allowed to happen to them?


    However, who would have known that just two months into the battle, the Garis Clan would flip on the Cedar Clan! In what was the decisive battle, the Garis Clan revealed that it knew all along that the Cedar Clan was responsible for their humiliation!


    The flip caught Patriarch Cedar completely off guard. What remained of the Dragon Corps were completely routed, and the Cedar Clan and their ambitions were burnt to the ground. Rumors had it that during his final day, a melancholy laugh left Patriarch Cedars lips as he stood on the rooftop of their Clan Hall. Then, he committed suicide, falling into a pit of fire below.


    It seemed that everything had come to a conclusion at that point. The Tor Clan reaffirmed their position as ruler, and the Garis Clan became the number one Noble Clan under their rule. But, who could have expected that not even half a month after their battle concluded, that the Lantes, Viri, and Opes Kingdoms would all march on Tor Kingdom?!

 Chapter 127: True Fear

    The march of three Kingdoms on Tor lands devastated its citizens. However, none were more surprised by this change of events than King Tor himself. He felt incredibly uncomfortable. After their Civil War, they lost the support of the Cedar Clan. Even before that, they lost the warriors of the Agnes Clan as well. With both of their top two Clans gone just like that, Tor Kingdom had less than half of its previous strength, yet now they were facing enemies from all sides!


    By this point, the Heavenly Body Sect couldn''t remain idle any longer. They had to do something! Under the pressure, Amory Tor, Ryu''s grandfather, finally broke through the final layer and stepped into the Divine Vessel Realm!


    The momentum of his breakthrough swept over the Higher Mortal Realm. He had finally become an expert those of the Pedestal Plane couldn''t look down upon. Not just this, but he also gave hope to the Tor Kingdom, they finally felt there was a path to victory. They became the first Sect with two Divine Vessel Realm experts!


    Who would have known that their opponents wouldn''t turn tail after this news reached their ears, but would instead continue to march forward?! Before confusion could set on, Tor Kingdom soon became aware that the experts of the Nature''s Emblem and Whispering Willow Sects had set off to attack them as well!


    In that moment, the Sects were evenly matched. Each side had two Divine Vessel Realm experts and a comparable number of experts. However, while the Sects were evenly matched, the same couldn''t be said of Kingdoms. The longer the battle stretched out, the more devastated the ancestral lands of the mighty Tor Kingdom became.


    It seemed like the perpetual dark clouds over their Kingdom had finally come to collect their debts. So much blood was spilt that the skies seemed to soak in their color, becoming an eerie violet that made it feel as though purgatory was descending upon their lands.


    Just when it felt as though things couldn''t get any worse, the Garis Clan once more launched a sneak attack, changing sides again and dealing what remained of the Tor Clan a devastating blow!


    King Tor''s rage reached an unmatched level. No one knew how he did it, but after years, he forcibly broke through, entering the Spiritual Severing Realm. The Tor Clan''s Iron Body truly displayed its might, but unfortunately, one man wasn''t enough to turn the tides.


    The Tor Kingdom wasn''t just facing the flip of the Garis Clan, but also the Jedrek''s deep pockets! It seemed as though every hidden and unaffiliated expert of their Higher Mortal Plane was now flying under Jedrek''s banner.


    When the Tor Clan wanted to seek revenge on what remained of the Garis Clan, they were shocked to find that what remained of the Garis Clan had already relocated and sworn their allegiance to Opes Kingdom! Not only was the old General and young mistress Yaana nowhere to be found, but even Concubine Selene and Catalina an inexplicably vanished.


    It felt as though everything that could go wrong did go wrong. An invisible hand blanketed the skies, playing with their lives as they saw fit. At times like this, many Tor citizens began to wonder just where their heaven defying Crown Prince had gone. Didn''t he always win no matter what odds stood stacked against him? Where was he when they needed him most?


    On this particular day, more than 90% of Tor Kingdom''s territory had been snatched away. What remained of their armies were battered back time and time again. Soon, all that remained were the tall walls of Tor City.


    What once was a vibrant capital city was now desolate. With so many battles having been fought, the mighty Tor Clan had become nothing but a cornered rat. If it wasn''t for fear of being executed on sight, what families remained would have long since defected.


    The guards that stood at the gates of Tor City were shifty eyed and nervous beyond compare, a far cry from the arrogant, sharp gazes they once held. They couldn''t take their eyes off the horizon¡­ At any moment, they felt like the dust clouds of an approaching army could enter their senses. Once that happened, their fates would be sealed.


    So, when these guards saw a shadow slowly approaching them, their first reaction was despair. However, when that figure drew closer, shock, then a faint excitement colored their features. The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince had returned! He could turn this around, right?!


    At this moment, King Tor sat on his throne. One sleeve of his elaborate robes was decidedly empty, making it clear that he had lost an arm. Not a single hair of lush brown remained, all of them having been replaced by dull greys. He didn''t even have the energy to get angry anymore.


    The fate of his father was unknown. The current Head of the Heavenly Body Sect was incredibly old to begin with, so his combat prowess wasn''t like what it used to be. This put a heavy burden on King Tor''s father in their battle. However, no one had heard word about what happened to those four Divine Vessel Realm experts since their battle began¡­


    Around King Tor sat what remained of his empire. After the matters with the Cedar Clan, most of the Ministers had been executed, including Imperial Censor Briggs. So, only Imperial Censor Digby remained, but his frail, old and skinny frame seemed like it could collapse at any moment.


    Aside from him, there were the two Princesses, Concubine Leilani, Queen Olivia, the First and Third Prince, and the nephew and niece of King Tor. At this point, King Tor couldn''t bring himself to kill Olivia, not because he loved her, but because the Kingdom couldn''t suffer anymore blows. The death of the Queen might be the straw that broke the camels back. Still¡­ It seemed like they were all waiting for death.


    At that moment, the sealed doors of the throne room opened. Considering how silent the room had been, the swishing of such large doors immediately caught all of their attentions. However, what really shocked them was the figure who was behind that door¡­ Crown Prince Ryu Tor!


    When King Tor laid eyes on Ryu''s piercing gaze, he inexplicably began to laugh. It was a laugh filled with remorse and regret. There wasn''t any rage or indignation, there was only resignation and sadness. In that instant, he understood exactly who controlled that looming invisible hand that seemed to cover the skies.


    The two Princesses trembled seeing Ryu, it seemed that they too understood something at that moment. Their husbands had already died in the war between the three Sects, now the Tor Clan was all they had to rely on. Even though they had Garis blood, they weren''t shameless enough to take advantage¡­


    At this moment, everyone understood what true fear was. A man toyed with their lives without lifting a single finger. This was Ryu Tatsuya!

 Chapter 128: Spirit Seeking Lilies

    Ryu''s eyes swept over those present. Unsurprisingly, after the lesson they were taught a year ago, Mai and Hagan no longer dared to attempt to fight Ryu. Instead, their small bodies shivered under his gaze.


    Ryu had no reason to appear before their eyes. He could have simply snuck in just like he had for the other three Kingdoms. However, it seemed that some part of what remained of the youthful him needed this moment. Though his thousand years worth of memories had mostly overridden his fourteen years of memories here, there was still a lingering portion. If Ryu didn''t deal with this now, it could fester into a Heart Demon that would impede him later on.


    "Today, the Tor Clan will fall." Ryu spoke plainly. "However, I don''t have a mind to thoughtlessly slaughter you all. I want to make it clear that had it not been for Granny Miriam''s death, the only person I cherished in this life, I wouldn''t have bothered to deal with you all at all."


    The lofty disdain in Ryu''s eyes was something that pierced through each and every one of them. They could see it in his eyes, he really didn''t care much for any of them at all.


    These words hurt his elder sisters the most. There was a point in time where they had been the only ones who even cared that he existed, yet they had stabbed him in the back. Now, he didn''t even care enough to take revenge against them. Were they really not even equal to Death Guard Bhishak in his eyes? At least Ryu mercifully gave him a swift death, but now they as weak women had to carry this on their shoulders for the rest of their life?


    They felt as though the world was crumbling above them. Blood drained from their frail skin with each passing moment, it hurt just to look at Ryu.


    "Leilani." Ryu''s so-called mother shivered at Ryu''s cold tone, not able to lift her gaze and look toward him. She felt too much shame. "I am a man who repays his debts. Since you carried me for nine months and suffered untold pain to birth me, I''ve arranged for you to live out the rest of your days in peace under the protection of the Opes and Garis Clan. You won''t suffer any hardships.


    "Dahlia and Isla. You will never be worthy of being my elder sisters. However, your two children, Mai and Hagan, are innocent of the actions of their parents. I''ve arranged places for them within the Four Kingdoms Institute. How far they go is up to them. How much they support you is also up to them. You two will never receive my direct aid as you are unworthy."


    Dahlia and Isla trembled, tears falling from their eyes. They didn''t feel any relief toward Ryu''s words, instead, it became clear to him that this was his way to sever all ties with them.


    "Cayden, Amory. We were born as brothers in this life, but you''ve never treated me as such. Since power was more important to you than brotherly ties, continue to seek it. It has nothing to do with me.


    "Shuren." Ryu looked toward his so-called father. "Consider my sparing your life as the final severance of our path as father and son. You gave life to me, and now I''ve given life to you. What you do with that life has nothing to do with me."


    Ryu''s hands tore apart his upper garment, revealing his flawlessly sculpted chest. He pressed his right thumb against his forefinger, forcing his thumb''s nail to protrude as far out as it could go comfortably.


    In that next moment, whether by their will or not, those whose names Ryu called out closed their eyes. All they heard was the faint sound of tearing flesh and dripping blood as Ryu drew a bloody cross over his heart. By the time they opened their eyes, all that remained of Ryu''s presence were two drops of blood, sitting on the floors of the otherwise pristine throne room.


    The matters went just as Ryu predicted. The three Kingdoms armies pushed forward with naked abandon, charging to and crushing the lofty Tor Walls. By the time they appeared, King Tor had already disappeared, leaving behind the corpse of Queen Olivia, and what remained of the royal family.


    Shockingly, they were spared. Leilani was taken in to the Opes Kingdom and given a small, peaceful villa to live out the rest of her days. Mai and Hagan went on to the Three Kingdoms Institute. Their mothers never recovered from their depression and passed away just half a year later. As for Cayden and Amory, rumors had it that the left to the Middle Mortal Plane. As the heirs of the Tor Clan, they would never have a place on this Highest Mortal Plane.


    In the end, the Heavenly Body Sect was laid to ruin. The Sect Master died in battle while Amory Tor escaped and soon attempted the trial of the Immortal Path. Since his Tor Clan was no more, there was no point in him remaining on the Highest Mortal Plane, so, he took his chances on the Pedestal Plane. No one knew whether he survived or not, but it was safe to say that the tales of Amory Tor, at least on this Plane, had come to an end.


    The territory of Tor Kingdom was immediately split three ways. From now on, there would only be the Three Kingdoms of the Highest Mortal Plane¡­ The Fourth was no more.


    **


    As these matters came to pass, Ryu could be found under what remained of the abandoned Tor Kingdom, seeking out the final and fourth piece of the Zu Clan''s crystalline jade. Unsurprisingly, the Spiritual Qi Pool found beneath to the Tor Clan had a much lower height than the previous three. Clearly, King Tor and many of the predecessors had been coming here frequently, just as Ryu predicted long ago.


    Originally, Ryu thought that they had been trying to whittle down the qi pool by cultivating, but it seemed he had overestimated them far too much. Mental Realm cultivation, or, at least, true Mental Realm cultivation was practically extinct on the Mortal Planes. In fact, it was incredibly rare on the Immortal Planes as well. But, what Ryu found below absolutely shocked him.


    The underground area looked identical to that of the other three Kingdoms, but there were two major differences. The first was that the qi pool was more than three quarters gone! And the second was that the area was filled beautiful, shimmering flowers. When Ryu realized what these flowers were, he wanted to facepalm despite his usual cold demeanor.


    These flowers were known as Spirit Seeking Lilies. They had six beautiful petals, just like common lilies, however, they had a high affinity for Spiritual Qi. Over several hundred years, the Tor Clan had been constantly swapping these Spirit Herbs in and out, realizing that they could absorb what was in the qi pool.


    It wasn''t this action itself that Ryu found foolish. In truth, the plan was actually quite clever. The issue was that the Tor Clan had no idea what the value of Spirit Seeking Lilies were! Ryu could see traces of shredded and trampled upon pedals everywhere, clearly, they treated these Spirit Herbs as disposable trash, when in reality, these herbs had an even higher value than the Breaking Ore Ryu took from the Coronation Games!

 Chapter 129: Veins

    Spirit Seeking Lilies weren''t a spirit herb that Ryu was unfamiliar with. In fact, it could be said that they were responsible for him living a long life despite being unable to cultivate during his first life.


    On the surface, Mental Realm cultivation was useless to the lower levels of the cultivation world. Even to the higher levels, it''s a mere supplementary skill. The secrets of Mental Realm cultivation were tightly guarded by Clans like the Zu Clan, so after their banishment and banning, Mental Realm cultivation fell to the very corners of Martial World society.


    However, Ryu was aware of just how important Mental Realm cultivation was to the foundation of a cultivator. In Ryu''s first life, everything began normally. He lived through his first one hundred fifty years without much issue and even crossed his two hundredth birthday with ease. But, when he neared his three hundredth year, he began to experience some problems. He would often experience severe night terrors, his motivation to do anything his rock bottom, and he began to wonder if life was even worth living anymore.


    Considering Ryu''s personality, he obviously tried his best to hide this from his parents, not wanting them to worry. But, how could a mere mortal hide things from individuals with his parents'' level of cultivation? In the end, his parents found out and they were devastated.


    These matters continued for a few dozen years. No one could find out what was wrong with Ryu. He seemed perfectly healthy! Eventually, Ryu''s parents had no choice but to call upon an Ancestor of the Ice Phoenix Clan, an older woman who ranked even above Ryu''s Grandma Kukan. Considering the Ice Flame of their Phoenix Clan, women like Ryu''s grandmother and this old Ancestor were all renowned healers. It was this woman that figured out what was wrong with Ryu.


    The answer was simple: mortals weren''t meant to live for so long! The reason the Heavens cut the lifespan of mortals short wasn''t because it was cruel, but rather because mortals didn''t have the capacity to withstand such a long life. The only solution she had was for Ryu to cultivate.


    But, how could Ryu cultivate? He was born with a False Spiritual Foundation, he couldn''t even sense qi. There was only one path to turn down, and that was Mental Realm cultivation. But, obviously, with its banning, there were no materials, even in Shrine Library, on the matter.


    It was then that Ryu stumbled upon Spirit Seeking Lilies. Just a small percentage of one of its petals caused Ryu''s Mental Realm to surge to life. In fact, if it wasn''t for Spirit Seeking Lilies, how could Ryu ever have comprehended Breath of Earth in his first life?


    Ryu understood at that moment exactly what had been wrong with him. The reason mortals couldn''t withstand such long life was because they didn''t have the mental fortitude of cultivators. Even when cultivators didn''t focus on their Mental Realm, it would imperceptibly strengthen as they continued along their path. But, obviously, Ryu hadn''t been cultivating. Simply put, Spirit Seeking Lilies saved Ryu''s life!


    There were multiple kinds of Spirit Seeking Lily, the nomenclature of these different kinds depended on the color of their veins.


    Gold Vein Lilies were what saved Ryu''s life. They had the ability to passively and gently increase the bounds of one''s Mental Realm. Your first leaf would increase your Mental Realm by 100%. You would then receive diminishing returns, falling by 10% every time, until you reached 1%. The magic of these Lilies was that no matter how many you ingested, the return would never fall beneath 1%!


    Silver Vein Lilies focused on meditation. One could take them when on the verge of a breakthrough in cultivation or comprehension. According to legend, there were Nine States of Meditation: The Meditation State, Breath of Earth, Breath of Heaven, Breath of World, One with Self, One with Earth, One with Heaven, One with World, and Breath of Quintessence. A Silver Vein was able to directly send you into a higher state for every petal you consumed, up to a maximum of six corresponding to its six petals! This meant that if one could enter the Breath of Heaven state under your own power, eating six Silver Vein Lilies would send you to the highest State of Meditation immediately.


    The only drawback to Silver Vein Lilies was that even if you used them, the time limit you were constrained to were limited by your own abilities. For example, Ryu could only enter Breath of Heaven for a few seconds. So, if he took six petals immediately following that, he would only be able to experience Breath of Quintessence for that same few seconds. This meant that if one was untalented to the point of not even being able to enter the simplest Meditation State under their own power, then these Silver Vein Lilies were practically useless to you.


    One also had to consider that entering states of meditation wasn''t something everyone could do at will. In fact, Ryu was an exceptionally rare case. He felt like this ability of his was tied to his Heavenly Pupils which seemed to err on the side of boosting comprehension. All of this meant that Silver Vein Lilies were generally less desirable than Golden Vein Lilies, but they were still a great treasure.


    However, for Ryu, he was the most excited about the Silver Vein Lilies he saw here. One might think that Ryu was wasting too much time in strengthening himself. It had been years since he began cultivating, yet even with the help of the Origin Flame, he was only the Heir of one Inheritance. Wasn''t that too pitiful? This was especially maddening considering he had a Heavenly Wind! Why hadn''t he become a Wind Inheritor yet?


    The answer was simple. The power of one''s Natural Order depended on the Inheritance, also known as Path, you were following. The reason Ryu''s Tatsuya Saintly Weapons were so powerful was precisely because he was following the Path laid out by his Tatsuya Ancestors.


    If Ryu just wanted to become a Wind Heir, it would be frighteningly simple for him. After all, not to mention his Northern Heavenly Wind, he had reached the Great Circle of Perfection with his [Gliding Cloud Steps]. However, Ryu didn''t want to settle for mediocrity.


    Ryu didn''t just want to become any Wind Heir, he wanted to become a Heavenly Wind Heir and comprehend the Inheritance of his Northern Heavenly Wind! The issue was that not only was doing such a thing incredibly difficult, the Path was incredibly vague due to the fact Ryu only had an embryo. Even with Breath of Earth and his Heavenly Pupils, he couldn''t comprehend anything.


    However, these Silver Vein Lilies changed everything! Now, he could rely on them to sink into a deeper state of comprehension. Once he did, grasping the Path of the Northern Heavenly Wind wouldn''t be impossible anymore. He had a chance! If he succeeded, his battle prowess would skyrocket!


    Ryu lightly smiled. Things were going well. After retrieving the final crystalline jade piece, he would go and take the Immortal Path trial. Considering the Path wasn''t qualified to pressure him, it would be a breeze. Then, he''d finally set foot on the Immortal Planes once more. As he was thinking to this point, he suddenly froze. He only knew about Gold and Silver Vein Lilies. So, why did he see ones with Black Veins here?

 Chapter 130: Seal

    Ryu''s eyes trained on the Black Vein Lilies. Suddenly, he felt his pupils pulsing. It wasn''t painful, but rather incredibly comfortable. Ryu could feel their excitement.


    ''These Black Vein Lilies¡­ They have some connection to my Heavenly Pupils?'' Ryu turned pensive for a moment.


    The good news about the Mental Realm Path was that its rules differed from the Body and Qi Paths. Just like how Mental Realm techniques didn''t restrict who could use them by cultivation level, so too did their spirit herbs not restrict their consumption. This meant that Ryu could ingest these lilies without fear of imploding from too much excess energy.


    This wasn''t because Mental Realm type spirit herbs didn''t have a lot of energy within them. Rather, it was because Spiritual Qi was the closest thing to Essence that was readily available. Essence was the purest energy in existence and was what made Natural Orders so powerful. As for Spiritual Qi, it was especially gentle in its natural form.


    If it wasn''t for the fact the Spiritual Qi Pool was made up of incredibly concentrated qi, it wouldn''t be dangerous either. So, Ryu wasn''t worried about ingesting the unknown Black Vein Lily. However, he had a better path to take: the Zu Clan Library.


    The only problem was that this wouldn''t be a sure solution. After all, Heavenly Pupils were in their infant stages during the time of the Zu Clan. So, they might not have information on why his pupils would be excited. Still, it was better to check than to blindly take an unknown herb.


    Putting this to the back of his mind, Ryu carefully put away the Spirit Seeking Lilies away one by one. Because of how gentle they were, he could directly bring them into his Incubator, though it took several minutes per flower. Still, it was worth it. With the help of the Incubator, the effects of the petals would be even more potent. In addition, he could continuously rely on the Incubator to produce more Lilies.


    The maturation of Spirit Seeking Lilies depended on both time and Spiritual Qi abundance. Their life had two phases. The first was the growth phase, and the second was the absorption phase. The growth phase took ten thousand years. After this ten-thousand-year period, the Lily would then need a set amount of Spiritual Qi to reach full maturation.


    After being upgraded by Origin Essence during Ryu''s Rite of Origin, the Incubator''s growth acceleration had increased from one hundred times to one thousand times. Though this was incredibly slow by the standard of the Shrine Plane, growth acceleration wasn''t what made the Incubator such a great treasure.


    This aside, this meant that from a seedling to the end of its growth phase, Ryu would need to nurture the Lilies for ten years. Then, it could proceed to absorb Spiritual Qi. Luckily, Ryu had now created a small lake of Spiritual Qi, meaning it would only take a few days after this ten-year period for the Lilies to be ready.


    At this moment, Ryu''s Incubator had regained some of its beauty. The lush grass was still present, along with the long, snaking river. But now the heart of the Incubator had a manmade lake of Spiritual Qi surrounded by beautiful, multicolored Lilies.


    As of now, Ryu had forty-five Gold Vein Lilies, thirty-six Silver Vein Lilies, and seven Black Vein Lilies. This corresponded to 270 Gold Petals, 216 Silver Petals, and 42 Black Petals. Ryu also believed that it was possible for the Tor Clan to have a greater deposit, so he''d take his time to find them later.


    With that, he got to work. Even with the unexpected gain of the Spirit Seeking Lilies, what made his heart palpitate more than anything else was the prospect of completing the Zu Clan''s crystalline jade.


    Due to the Tor Clan''s interference, Ryu had much less work to do. Since only one-quarter remained, it would take him a bit more than a month at most to get to the bottom.


    Time ticked by and the Higher Mortal Plane settled into a new balance. There were too many strong cultivators remaining in the Heavenly Body Sect for the Nature''s Emblem and the Whispering Willow Sects to take them all out. Although their greed was trained upon their resources, the Opes Kingdom unexpectedly made a move to take the Heavenly Body Sect under their wing.


    With the support of the Garis Clan''s army, the Opes Kingdom was too powerful to provoke wantonly, especially with what remained of the Heavenly Body Sect backing them. As such, the Plane gained a new balance, going from the older four Kingdoms and four Sects to three Kingdoms and three Sects.


    Sometime weeks later, Ryu finally reached the bottom of the Spiritual Qi pool, smiling lightly as he held the final piece in his hand. He had slaved for almost two years for these four pieces, his eighteenth birthday was already quickly approaching. But, he felt like it was all worth it.


    It wasn''t just the resources of the Zu Clan that were so great. One had to remember that the mind worked much faster than the body did. For a normal mortal, experiencing things at two to even three times normal speed in one''s mind wouldn''t make much of a difference. This was even more exaggerated for a Mental Realm cultivator like Ryu. He could experience things at up to ten times the speed without much effort.


    What did this mean? This crystalline jade was incredibly special. It allowed one to project their minds into a realm where you could train. This meant that Ryu could experience ten times the comprehension speed by relying on this crystalline jade!


    Of course, this wouldn''t impact his cultivation speed. After all, it was just something his mind was experiencing, not his actual body. However, this hardly diminished the value. With this crystalline jade''s help, even if Ryu''s cultivation speed was increased, it would greatly decrease the time he needed to master techniques and comprehend Natural Orders. It was invaluable!


    Ryu took out the remaining three pieces. Just as he was about to allow them to fuse together, his expression turned grave. He realized immediately that he made a mistake, but it was already too late.


    The jade pieces shot together against his will, emitting a blinding light as it finally formed a cohesive whole after almost two years of Ryu''s hard work. In that moment, a seal branded itself into Ryu''s chest. A searing pain that reached down to his soul caused his body to quiver. Even Ryu who believed himself to have a high pain tolerance couldn''t help but roar out in anguish even as the jade fell onto his palm.


    During that exact same instant of time, an old, wrinkled man''s eyes shot open, shining a piercing light. An oppressive cultivation aura shot out from within him, shattering the garden platform he sat upon.


    ''Someone''s finally found it! Destroying that arrogant Natural Order Sect was definitely the right move.'' The old man shot into the skies, cutting through the air toward Ryu''s location.


    If Ryu had been there, he would have been incomparably shocked¡­ Because this man was none other than Headmaster Leopold!

 Chapter 131: Bland [Bonus Chapter]

    [I think I missed a 50 golden ticket bonus chapter... I''m not entirely sure. If so, oops. If not, well you guys lucked out, lmao]


    Ryu calmed his erratically beating heart. At this moment, he had no idea that Headmaster Leopold was careening toward him at a speed even Divine Vessel Realm experts would look up in awe at, nor did he know that Headmaster Leopold was responsible for the destruction of the Natural Order Sect. But, what he did know was that he was in incomparable danger. Even if he didn''t know it was under Headmaster Leopold''s threat specifically, he knew that someone was coming toward him at their fastest possible speed. This much was inevitable.


    ''What a good Zu Clan.'' Ryu sneered. But it was pointed less toward the Zu Clan itself, and more toward himself. He had been too na?ve and too blinded by benefits. He should have known that the Zu Clan wouldn''t so easily allow their treasures to fall into the hands of outsiders.


    The moment the pieces fused together, they triggered a hidden Seal within. The Path of Sealing was an incredibly rare subbranch of Formation Masters. In fact, it had fallen well past its previous peak because of the banishment of Mental Realm Masters. Sealing could only be done by those with incredibly profound Mental Realms.


    Ryu didn''t need to think much to understand what kind of Seal had been placed on him. It was most definitely a tracking seal, and it was likely one with an incredibly long range or else why would the Zu Clan even bother to make it?


    Calming himself, Ryu thought of the facts he knew now. First, he had a Seal on himself that allowed Zu Clan remnants to sense his location. Second, this Seal didn''t seem to have any other function. One would assume that if it could directly take control of Ryu, it would have already done so. The fact it hadn''t was likely because the Zu Clan knew it would be a very long time before the Seal was put to use, and thus the less complex it was, the more chances it had to succeed. That final deduction led to a third conclusion that gave Ryu some hope: this Seal was definitely much weaker than it had been in its inception.


    However, Ryu didn''t have any delusions that it would be easily dealt with. One had to remember that the four pieces of Crystalline Jade were all submerged beneath large pools of Spiritual Qi. What was the best nourishment for a Mental Realm technique? Was it not, in fact, Spiritual Qi?


    ''What do I do?'' An eerie calm came over Ryu. Panicking would do him no good. At that moment, a cool qi seeped from Ryu''s eyes to his mind before diffusing throughout his body. Unfortunately, Ryu was too focused on his train of thought to notice.


    Ryu knew that his first priority should be getting rid of the seal, but was putting his efforts toward this goal worth it? Meaning, could he, at his weak cultivation realm, do anything about such a seal to begin with? And if he couldn''t, then shouldn''t his first priority be, instead, to run?


    Ryu quickly ran through all of his options. Did he have the ability to get rid of the seal?


    A swirl of spatial qi emitted from Ryu''s eyes, swallowing up the crystalline jade into his Inner Realm. The Incubator had fused with Ryu''s right eye, but his left eye was still connected to the Inner Realm all those with Heavenly Pupils were born with. Since they dared to play with his life like this, he would destroy their hopes and dreams.


    If Ryu died, his Inner Realm would naturally be destroyed along with him and everything in it. This way, no matter what happened today, the Zu Clan would lose. Since when had he, Ryu Tatsuya, ever suffered a loss? If this would be the day, he''d take his enemy down with him.


    Ryu racked his brain.


    ''Wait!'' Ryu''s eyes shone like burning torches in the dead of night.


    His hands moved quickly, causing a small, imperceptible flash of light to emit from his spatial ring and resulting in a dagger appearing in his palm.


    This dagger could only be described as a beautiful work of art. Its jagged edge was a gorgeous crystalline blue. Its spine was a deep, rich black that absorbed all the light that bounced along it. And, its handle had an elegant curl to it such that it fit perfectly into one''s hand.


    This dagger was none other than the Unique Grade treasure Ryu''s Wife, Elena, had given him as a birthday present. She too didn''t know the true extent of its abilities, but she did know one thing: It was an incredibly rare tool capable of attacking one''s Mental Realm directly!


    Ryu ripped his robe apart, revealing his perfectly sculpted chest. However, this time, it wasn''t blemishless. Just center-left, what looked like a burning brand mark lay plastered upon it.


    Taking the piece of torn fabric, Ryu firmly clenched his teeth around it. This mark was firmly etched above his heart, with each passing moment, it only dug deeper. If he waited any longer, he would have to destroy the whole of his heart before he could even think of getting it out.


    Sweat matted his forehead, but he didn''t any longer. His Spiritual Qi surged into the blade, causing its blue, crystalline edge to glow fiercely with excitement. And then, a maddened flicker swept through Ryu''s eyes as he resolutely pierced downward.


    Muffled cries left Ryu''s lips, fighting their way through the fabric he held between them and filling the underground space. If anyone could see this scene, they would most definitely think that Ryu was insane. Piercing your own heart? And so deeply? For someone of Ryu''s poor cultivation grade, the only path left was death! This didn''t even mention the damage the blade was currently doing to his Mental Realm!


    Ryu''s consciousness seemed like it would fade at any moment. The pain was too severe. However, Ryu realized something incomparably frightening at that moment. The Seal had stopped boring into him any further, but it wasn''t destroyed! At best, it was weakened by 20%. That may cut down its range, but considering how strong the signal was to begin it, what did that even count for?!


    Headmaster Leopold''s eyes narrowed when he sensed the seal suddenly weaken. He spurred on his greatest movement technique to its greatest height, causing his speed to shoot upward another 50%. He couldn''t allow this person to disappear!


    A bitter laugh escaped Ryu''s lips. With his pitiful Mental Realm talent, how could his Spiritual Qi be enough to completely destroy such a seal even if it was weakened? Now he stood with a blade in his heart, his life force quickly dissipating, all while an unknown enemy was quickly approaching.


    Maybe this was just the cycle of life. In the past two years, who knows how many countless innocents Ryu''s plots killed, all for the revenge of a single Granny Miriam. Maybe the Universe was coming to collect now¡­


    In Opes Kingdom, a magnificent villa''s window displayed the image of a beautiful young Yaana, sighing to herself. Why was it that this night sky seemed so bland today?

 Chapter 132: Passing Moment

    "Why are you up so late, Little Nunu?" The old General lightly knocked on his granddaughter''s door. He had noticed that the lights in Yaana''s room had yet to go out, but the moon was already high in the sky.


    The past few months had been exceptionally peaceful. The Garis Clan was finally free, the old General''s bedridden daughter, Selena, had finally awoken from her coma, and the Garis Clan had gained a stable, well respected foothold in the Opes Kingdom. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that these were the happiest days of the Garis Clan.


    "Where do you think Ryu is right now, grandpa?" Yaana asked lightly.


    The old General sighed from the other side of the door. It could be said that these would have been his happiest days had his granddaughter not been acting like this recently. He shouldn''t be surprised that this was all about a boy. Yaana was already almost nineteen, she was around that age.


    "Little Nunu, I know it''s hard, but grandpa doesn''t believe it''s possible for you to see Ryu again in this lifetime. You two simply live in two different worlds. Soon, he''ll be stepping upon the path of Immortals."


    Yaana''s eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her grandfather''s words were harsh, but they were the truth. Yaana''s cultivation had always been poor. It wasn''t that she didn''t try, but rather that she was no good at it. Even after almost twelve years, trying for at least six to eight hours a day, she was at the mere Second Awakening Realm.


    "You''re right grandpa¡­" Yaana said lightly. "¡­ I don''t have to get married anymore, right?"


    "This¡­" In all honesty, the old General had planned to play matchmaker between Yaana and the First Opes Prince. He didn''t plan on forcing it, but he already knew that Kalmin had taken a liking to his little granddaughter. Maybe feelings would develop between them in time.


    But, they had gone through all of this trouble so that the Garis Clan could finally be free. With such a request coming from his granddaughter, how could he ignore it? That would make him sub-human.


    "You don''t have to do anything you don''t want to do, Little Nunu." The old General finally replied seriously. "But, don''t hold yourself back from your own happiness either."


    "Mm, Yaana understands grandpa."


    The light footsteps of the old General walking away were the only sounds the permeated the villa as Yaana looked into the skies. Since her and Ryu weren''t meant to be in this life, she''d silently accept her fate.


    In truth, Yaana continued to try, everyday, without pause. In fact, she doubled her efforts, often spending more than half a day cultivating. Unfortunately, it wouldn''t be until she was thirty that she finally reached the Third Awakening Realm¡­ And not until fifty that she reached the Fourth.


    Some things simply weren''t meant to be. Yaana would become an older woman. Though it would pain her when her grandfather passed away, she found happiness in other ways. She became the warm-hearted Saintess of Opes Kingdom and a most loved Cousin Aunt of Jedrek''s children. Her name would be passed on through generations of Opes Kingdom citizens, much like Granny Miriam''s was.


    However, she would often think back to that cold, handsome young man with a head of long white hair. His valiant figure would warm her bed at night and soothe her erratic thoughts. And¡­ she would always wonder just why the sky was so bland that night.


    **


    Maybe there truly was some small Line of Fate tying Yaana and Ryu because her feeling of discomfort was directly tied with the fading of Ryu''s life force.


    However, Ryu had too many things to fight for. Even as his life was slipping away from him, his eyes shone with a maddened light, the very same feeling of recklessness that forced him into taking on four Rites simultaneously. Since he was meant to die here, why not go all out?!


    Suddenly Ryu''s eyes flashed, ''The Incubator can be used in this way as well?! Come then!"


    In Ryu''s madness, he recklessly attempted to poor the reserves of Spiritual Qi from within the Spiritual Lake he formed at the center of his Incubator''s independent world, fully expecting his Mental Realm to swell like balloon and burst. But, who would have known that the Incubator''s ability to make volatile energies gentle would extend to this pool as well?!


    It wasn''t that Ryu was a fool. One might think that something seemingly so obvious shouldn''t have escaped the notice of a supposed genius. However, this matter wasn''t so intuitive as it seemed.


    Ryu spent much of his life researching all sorts of topics to be the best Ruin Master he could be. In fact, the only reason he even learned the concepts of Feng Shui and Herbology were because they were incredibly useful in streamlining the Ruin raiding process.


    This was all to say that Ryu intuitively understood many things about treasures even if he didn''t have the ability to forge them himself. He had assumed that the Incubator''s special nature was tied to its soil. This was likely why even though the Holy Wing Clan dared to take everything else out, they left the grass and the soil of the Incubator. By this logic, only things that could be properly planted within and receive nourishment from the soil could be privy to its abilities. However, the Spiritual Qi obviously didn''t fall under this category.


    It wasn''t until now Ryu understood just how Heaven Defying his Incubator was. The secret wasn''t hidden within the soil, but was rather in the construction of the Incubator itself! In fact, Ryu suspected that this treasure wasn''t even meant to be used as an Incubator in the first place, this was likely why its herb growth accelerations abilities were so poor in comparison to the treasures available on the Shrine Plane!


    Ryu laughed. He finally saw a ray of hope. If this gentle nature of the Incubator wasn''t limited to just spiritual herbs that could be planted into its soil, then that meant there were other energies it could gently extract. For example, healing pills!


    Ryu immediately took out dozens of bottles of pills he took from the Natural Order Sect. He hadn''t used these during the Coronation Games because he was purposely testing his limit, but now he definitely needed them. These pills were of the Black Grade, and thus useful for Qi Refinement and Spiritual Severing Realm experts. With the Incubator''s ability to extract energy, their uses would not only be gentle, but also far more effective than usual. In addition, Ryu wouldn''t have to worry about their impurities!


    With one portion of his mind, Ryu continuously replenished his Mental Realm of exhausted Spiritual Qi, with the other, he continuously funneled healing energies to his heart, continuously revitalizing his withering life force.


    80% ¡­. 79%.... The Seal was being slowly chipped away with each passing moment!

 Chapter 133: Legs

    Headmaster Leopold immediately sensed that the seal was slowly weakening once more, causing the frown on his wrinkled face to deepen. How formidable could this enemy be that they were capable of such a thing? Leopold might just be a member of a small remnant branch of the Zu Clan, but he was well aware of just how powerful that seal was himself. If the enemy was so powerful, he suddenly didn''t have the confidence that he could win even with his current cultivation.


    Still, he could only redouble his efforts. He had wasted so many years of his life on this pitiful Mortal Plane, valuable cultivation time was wasted. Even if he had to put his life on the line, what did it matter? If you weren''t willing to risk everything, could you even call yourself a cultivator?!


    At this very moment, the ferocious expression on Ryu''s features hadn''t faded. If anything, it was growing fiercer by the minute. Anyone else would have likely given way by now. No normal Pulse Opening Realm expert''s body could withstand having their heart cut open for so long. However, Ryu wasn''t normal.


    For one, with four Ancestral Beast bloodlines, Ryu''s vitality was easily ten times more than anyone else of his cultivation realm. Simply put, he could survive in a near death for much longer than another individual of his prowess.


    Still, the second aspect was likely even more important than the first. There were no two bloodlines better at preservation than Ryu''s Ice and Fire Phoenix bloodlines. One was tied to the Life Shrine, while the other was tied to the Reincarnation Shrine. How could they be simple by any stretch of the imagination?


    None of this even mentioned Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure which was beloved by the Heavens. If he gave up so easily when his life was on the line, Ryu would be too pathetic!


    60%... 56%... 49%...


    The weaker the seal became, the more fleeting Ryu''s life seemed to become. His frame shrunk. Under the constant prodding of his deepest reserves, much of the strength he had accumulated in his limbs went directly toward preserving his life. But, he continued to fight.


    Headmaster Leopold could sense the connection he had weakening. Before, he felt that as long as he got to within a thousand kilometers of Ryu, he would be able to pin down an exact location. But now, he could only sense the general area with Ryu had the highest possibility of being.


    The Planes, even the Mortal Planes, were simply too large. What remained of Tor Kingdom was located in one corner of the Plane while Headmaster Leopold''s Three Kingdom Institute was located at the very center. One had to remember that it took Ryu, with the help of the Northern Heavenly Wind, months to travel from Tor Kingdom to Opes Kingdom. Back then, his speed had already been comparable to a normal Qi Refinement expert. Even with Leopold''s cultivation, it would still take him almost three hours to make it to Ryu''s location!


    41%... 35%... 27%...


    "Dammit!" Headmaster Leopold roared. Let alone a general location, as of now, he could only sense Ryu''s general direction and had a vague understanding of how much further he had to go.


    Two hours had already past, but Leopold was still several hundred kilometers from Ryu. Even still, Leopold had no idea that not only was the "expert" he was chasing after someone he could kill with a single thought, but that this "expert''s" life was already hanging on by a mere small thread.


    Ryu''s face was completely drained of blood. His once well-defined frame had shrunk to the point of his skin tugging tightly against his rib cage. Even his heart, stabbed as it was, only managed to beat once every few seconds. If one could see this scene, they''d be baffled by the fact Ryu was even still standing at this point.


    However, Ryu knew he couldn''t fall. He mustn''t fall. It might seem like everything would be over the moment the seal was gone, but Ryu was no fool. Whoever was likely coming after him now was a member of the Zu Clan. If this was true, that meant they were a Mental Realm expert. And, a Mental Realm expert with far greater cultivation than Ryu, at that.


    What did this mean? Would a Mental Realm expert have a Spiritual Sense range as pitiful as Ryu''s mere thirty meters and three centimeters? Of course not! For whoever it was to be assigned the task of retrieving the last hope of the Zu Clan, they had to be one of the most powerful experts the Clan had remaining. In that case, having a Spiritual Sense range of several dozen kilometers was likely the minimum!


    23%... 18%... 11%...


    This person likely already knew Ryu''s general location. As long as he was within a hundred kilometers of Ryu, there was no escaping him!


    One had to remember that Ryu was in the completely abandoned Tor Kingdom. Aside from a few stragglers and small human tribes, no one was left in this region. Soon, the Three Kingdoms would likely split this territory among them, but this was a matter for the future after they finished licking their wounds. This meant that it was very much possible for Ryu to be the only soul within miles of himself!


    He couldn''t rest no matter what. Even after this seal was gone, he had to run. He had to run for his life.


    9%... 6%... 4%...


    Ryu roared, pushing out the last of what remained within him in the final stretch.


    "I''ve got you!" Headmaster Leopold was still too far away for his Spiritual Sense to pick up on Ryu, especially since Ryu was underground. However, at that moment, he utilized one of the few techniques of the Zu Clan that had survived to this day, [Resonating Sense].


    By melding your Spiritual Sense with the natural vibration of the air and nature, this technique''s user would be able to multiply the range of their senses for a moment. In fact, this resonance made this technique especially good for seeing through barriers one might otherwise be unable to!


    2%... 1%... 0%!


    Shockingly, Leopold realized that he still couldn''t sense the person he was looking for. Just when he was about to despair, believing the Zu Clan''s last hope had slipped from his hands, he realized something curious. There was a small segment spanning about thirty by thirty meters that his Spiritual Sense couldn''t penetrate no matter how hard he tried. In that instant, he understood. Whoever it was must be there!


    Beneath Tor Kingdom, Ryu pulled the dagger from his chest, revealing a ghastly wound. Staggering weakly from loss of blood, his vision swam. He knew he had to move, but why weren''t his legs cooperating with him?...

 Chapter 134: Run [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 100 golden tickets]


    Ryu stumbled, crashing into a wall of the underground passage.


    ''Come on!'' He roared in his mind, begging his body to cooperate.


    The Natural Order Sect wasn''t a Body Realm Sect like the Heavenly Body Sect was. As such, the pills they had in this lane were very limited. Ryu had no choice but to take out the same Blood Congealing Pills he used to usher his body into the Pulse Tempering Realm. Unfortunately, since they were Common Grade Pills, and Ryu was on the verge of entering the Vessel Tempering Realm, they weren''t as effective.


    Still, with the help of the Incubator, Ryu realized that he was capable of making even useless pills heavenly treasures.


    Vital Qi surged into his blood, revitalizing it from dormancy. Ryu felt his mind clearing, albeit to a small extent. Still, this was enough for him to regain his equilibrium.


    Ryu was once again in awe of the Incubator, but he didn''t have the time to think about it any longer. His entire focus was trained on one thought: Run!


    A black cloak covered Ryu''s body as he sprinted to the far wall. He once more felt around until he found a hidden mechanism similar to what was concealed beneath Opes Kingdom, opening a pathway toward what remained of Heavenly Body Sect. Without another thought, he bolted down it.


    Ryu tried to spur on his cloak, attempting to forcibly enter a State of Meditation to escape detection. But, he could only smile bitterly when he realized his Mental Realm was completely spent. He couldn''t achieve the level of focus he needed, he could only rely on the passive abilities of the cloak.


    When Ryu''s wife, Elena, explained the properties of the cloak to him, she had said that if he entered Breath of Earth, and stayed still, even she wouldn''t be able to detect him. It had to be said that Ryu''s wife, when she was last alive, was a Dao Pedestal Realm expert!


    However, there were two factors important here. First of all, she had very clearly said if Ryu didn''t move. Obviously, Ryu wasn''t in such a situation now. In all likelihood, the enemy already knew where he was. Secondly, Ryu couldn''t even enter the lowest State of Meditation, let alone enter Breath of Earth. To make matters worse, the Essence the cloak relied on was much less pure in the Mortal Planes. Meaning, even if Ryu could enter Breath of Earth, there was no guarantee that the cloak would be just as effective as it was on the Shrine Plane.


    Everything seemed stacked against Ryu. Every path he took seemed blocked off. Even his Northern Heavenly Wind could hardly counter the terrible condition his body was in. In his peak state, he could easily match the speed of a Mortal Plane Lower Spiritual Severing Realm expert. But, now? Even if he ignored the wind tearing his body apart, he would be lucky to match a Peak Qi Refinement Realm expect¡­


    Ryu burst out from the path. Everything seemed identical except for the fact Opes Kingdom was under a perpetual winter, while Tor Kingdom was the exact opposite.


    The massive rock that moved out of his way to allow him to exit was covered in moss and unkempt shrubbery were sprawled all around. In the distance, the remains of the Heavenly Body Sect laid barren. Countless destroyed pieces of once astounding architecture and improperly buried bodies strewn about.


    Ryu continued sprinting for his life, cutting directly through the Sect.


    At that moment, he suddenly heard a concussive boom. The reverberating effects were so large that a gust of wind inadvertently helped Ryu surge forward at a greater pace.


    Several dozen miles away, the remains of Tor Palace came crashing down as Headmaster Leopold directly laid it all to waste. Ryu''s [Third Perspective] didn''t have a long enough range to witness this happen, but he could easily make some guesses.


    ''This person didn''t come directly after me, but instead went to Tor Palace. There are two possibilities. The first is that he knew all along that the pieces were there but didn''t have my means to retrieve them and could thus only wait for someone to collect the four for him. The second possibility is that he sensed my location¡­ In which case, why is it that he doesn''t know I''m no longer there?''


    Ryu''s brain worked in overdrive. Suddenly, he understood. If the locations of the four pieces were so easily found, then why hadn''t any of the Immortals who descended in the past found them? Obviously, there was a barrier of protection around them, stopping prying eyes. Knowing this, Ryu concluded that this person used the seal to find his general location, and realized there was an area he couldn''t pry into perfectly. Thus, he concluded that Ryu must be there.


    As for why he could sense the seal through those protective seals, wouldn''t the Zu Clan be too stupid if they created two mechanisms that conflicted with each other? In all likelihood, the seal''s signal was the only sort of signal that could make it through those protections.


    But, why did all of this matter? It mattered because it wouldn''t be long before whoever crashed into Tor Palace would find the underground space. In that case, they would definitely find the secret passage Ryu ran out of, which also meant that they''d know where he was in a matter of minutes!


    Ryu grit his teeth, thinking about whether he should change directions. But, in the end, he shook his head. He knew that his only chance for survival was in this very direction.


    Why was the Heavenly Body Sect the most powerful of the four Sects? Why was it that the Tor Kingdom also seemed to be the most powerful? It was precisely because they were located in a cultivation Holy Land. The corner of the Higher Mortal Plane in which they were located was the closest corner to the Legendary Immortal Path!


    So, why was it that Ryu was running for his life toward this Immortal Path? It was because it was his best chance for survival. While he could ignore the trial of the Immortal Path because of his Ancestral Great Circle, others couldn''t do the same. The best part was that even though this was the Path to the lowest Immortal Plane, it was still powerful. As long as his enemy was below the Immortal Ring Realm, a mighty Realm two realms above even the Divine Vessel Realm, Ryu could flip this situation around!


    Ryu was very familiar with absolute experts. Since his enemy took three hours to reach his location and wasn''t coming from the direction of the Immortal Path, it was impossible for him to be so powerful. At best, he would be of the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    At this moment, Headmaster Leopold tore the grounds of the Tor Kingdom apart. But, even with his strength, he suddenly reached a blockade below he couldn''t blast through no matter how much he tried. He looked around frantically, before his eyes landed on a fountain that somehow survived through all his devastation. In that moment, his eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 135: Identity Revealed

    Ryu pushed himself to his limits, his legs feeling as though they were steadily becoming more like cement blocks instead of the flesh and blood they were meant to be.


    The wind whipped against his skin, tearing into the ghastly, pulsating wound on his chest. One could only imagine the level of pain he was enduring. Every time his heart pumped to spur him onward, a gush of blood was spurt outward through the wound left by the dagger. A mortal would never be able to survive such a thing. In fact, neither should a mere Pulse Opening Realm expert like Ryu.


    However, the Ryu of this second lifetime was no longer here. After settling his final accounts with the Tor Clan, the story of Ryu Tor had come to a close. What fueled him was no longer revenge for Granny Miriam, but a promise he made on a calm night more than nine hundred million years ago ¨C a promise to his wife.


    Ryu didn''t know where Elena was now. He wouldn''t even be absolutely certain that she was alive until his Mental Realm entered the Soul Birth Realm. But, this didn''t shake Ryu''s resolve in the least. If she was alive, he would do everything in his power to reach her. If she was dead, he would drown those responsible in blood before following after her. This place¡­ This wasn''t the place he, Ryu Tatsuya, was meant to die. Not here. Not today.


    Headmaster Leopold''s eyes trained on the fountain. Even without Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils, it only took him a bit of focus to realize that this fountain was protected by a formation. This wasn''t much of a surprise, after all, Formation Masters needed to cultivate their Mental Realm in order to see complete formations. This was obviously a step someone like Leopold already completed.


    His brows knit. "Heaven Grade Formation. No¡­ Not just any Heaven Grade Formation, but a Half-Step Mystical Grade Formation. Luckily, it''s a small-scale formation and not a large one."


    In truth, Ryu''s worst-case scenario came true. The unassuming Headmaster Leopold was actually a mighty Connecting Heaven Realm expert, a step above even the mightiest Divine Vessel Realm expert of the Higher Mortal Plane!


    However, one had to realize that Formations worked much like techniques and pills did. Their grade decided which cultivation realms they were effective against. A Common Grade Formation was effective for Awakening and Pulse Opening Realm Experts. This meant that an Earth Grade Formation was already effective against a Divine Vessel and Connection Heaven Realm expert like Headmaster Leopold!


    Now, one can imagine why it took the Peak Spiritual Severing Realm experts of the three Kings several days to destroy the large-scale Earth Grade formation of the Natural Order Sect. In fact, if it wasn''t for the fact there was no one manning the formation of the Natural Order Sect, it would have been impossible for mere Spiritual Severing Realm experts to do anything to it.


    Still, Headmaster Leopold had a chance for two reasons. Firstly, this was a makeshift small-scale formation that had been modified recently, causing its grade to fall from its peak height to the mere Heaven Grade. This was something Ryu himself realized when he first analyzed the fountain at Opes Kingdom. And, secondly, a small-scale formation wasn''t as robust as a large-scale one. Essentially, a small-scale formation was the equivalent in robustness to a large-scale formation one step down from its grade.


    Without hesitation, Headmaster Leopold began to unleash attack after attack on the small-scale formation. When Ryu heard this in the distance, the faint light of hope grew even stronger because he realized that whoever was coming after him didn''t have any knowledge of Formations!


    Headmaster Leopold made a massive mistake. It was true that the fountain''s formation was adjusted to accept the royal blood of the Tor, Opes, Viri, and Lantes Kingdoms. But, how could it not recognize Zu Clan blood as well? If he had taken a breath to think, the fountain would have easily allowed him to enter in exchange for a single scan. Yet, he was unaware! This gave Ryu valuable time.


    Within the crystalline jade, the two Empresses and Emperors sat fairly complacently. But, as more and more time passed, their brows furrowed. They had clearly sensed that the jade became perfect, so why hadn''t their descendant come to pay respects to them yet? Don''t tell them that a mere Pulse Opening Realm boy escaped their net? That was impossible.


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t sense anything happening on the outside. If they moved too far from their Incarnation Jades, their souls would immediately start to dissipate. In fact, a Heavenly Punishment might even descend upon them.


    "It seems we''ve underestimated this boy a bit." Malvor said plainly.


    "Impossible." Flora said in her sweet voice. The dichotomy of how nice it sounded versus the killing intent  clear within it was too much for any sane person to handle. "After Big Sis gave him her [Immortal Sakura], his guard should have been lowered to the extreme."


    "His guard has been up against us from the very beginning." Eska said blandly. "Have you ever seen a Pulse Opening Realm child receiving a technique from a Sky God remain so calm? He didn''t even express any gratitude after accepting my [Immortal Sakura]."


    The four Ancestors fell into silence.


    In the outside world, Ryu had already shot through the Heavenly Body Sect, bolting down its mountains. Apprehension gripped his heart as he closed in on the Immortal Path. Due to the influx of Essence in the area, it was a hub for exceptionally powerful beasts. It wasn''t impossible for a Fifth Order Beast King to appear here. There were even rumors of a Sixth Order Beast King.


    However, Ryu had no choice. The moment he entered this holy land of nature, he realized that this might be even more dangerous than what was following him to his back. If even the Heavenly Body Sect didn''t dare extend their territory''s boundary into such a beautiful land, it was clear that even they could only bow their heads to whatever lived here.


    At that moment, Headmaster''s Leopold''s assault on the fountain had continued for several hours. With a final shattering, the pitiful fountain was obliterated into fine dust particles, revealing a passage below.


    It didn''t take Leopold more than a split moment to find the fountain after raging over the missing crystalline piece. Without hesitation, he tore down the dark pathway, erupting out to appear among the remains of the Heavenly Body Sect.


    He could sense a faint presence, so faint that he almost missed it completely. Every time he took his mind off of it for a moment, that presence would vanish. Ryu had a several hour head start. He had all the plans in the world. Yet, the moment Headmaster Leopold''s Spiritual Sense trained on him with [Resonating Sense], it was already over. What did a several hour head start mean in the face of absolute power?


    "Haha! To think that my opponent all this time would be this little Fourth Prince Tor!"

 Chapter 136: Even the Wind Cannot Touch Me

    Ryu''s cultivation wasn''t deep enough to be qualified to sense Leopold''s senses lock onto him, however, his Heavenly Pupils had no such limitations. The moment he felt a painful throb in his eye, he was immediately aware that his position had been locked onto.


    The determination on Ryu''s face didn''t diminish in the slightest. Because the lock Leopold had on him was fading in and out, Ryu understood that this meant he was out of Leopold''s solidified Spiritual Sense range. This meant that Leopold was using a technique to temporarily boost his senses, a technique that, in all likelihood, he couldn''t use continuously. In this case, Ryu still had a chance.


    After hours of running, Ryu had put several hundred miles between him and Leopold. Considering his estimate of Leopold''s cultivation as at most a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, this meant that Leopold was at most in the Spiritual Endowment Realm, a step above Ryu''s Spiritual Entrance Realm Mental Cultivation.


    According to what Ryu understood, the normal range of a Spiritual Sense, even for an absolute genius of this realm, was at most a few dozen miles. It was impossible for Leopold''s to be any larger.


    Of course, Ryu considered the very small chance that Leopold had entered the Soul Birth Realm. In that case, he was very wrong. However, Ryu had learned a lot about Mental Realm cultivation recently. As such, he knew that before entering the Immortal Ring Realm, a cultivator would choose to connect all of their Pulses together, and all of their Vessels together.


    Remember, before the Connecting Heaven Realm came the Divine Vessel Realm. Much like the Pulse Opening Realm, this realm was all about opening hidden meridians. In the Pulse Opening Realm, they were called pulses. But in the Divine Vessel Realm, they were called Vessels.


    In line with this, the second realm of Mental cultivation opened the Spiritual Vessel whereas before, it was called the Spiritual Pulse. On top of this, the second realm of Body cultivation opened the Body Vessels, whereas before, they were called Body Pulses.


    The Connecting Heaven Realm was exactly what it sounded like. The greatest experts would link all thirteen Pulses and all thirteen Vessels before forming their Immortal Rings and entering the Immortal Ring Realm.


    This was why Ryu was certain Leopold couldn''t have entered the Soul Birth Realm. Only a fool wouldn''t first add their Spiritual Vessel into their Immortal Ring before progressing. Since Leopold wasn''t in the Immortal Ring Realm, he thus couldn''t be in the Soul Birth Realm!


    Still, this meant next to nothing to Headmaster Leopold. To him, Ryu was already a mouse trapped in a jar. He could obviously tell where Ryu was running to, but he was also certain that he would catch Ryu long before he reached his destination.


    ''Interesting, interesting.'' A burden fell from Leopold''s heart. He thought he was facing some supreme expert, come to find out his opponent was a child. ''Your performance against the Ice Eyed Bear was quite intriguing to me¡­ These country bumpkins of this mere Mortal Plane might not understand what happened, but I''m 95% certain you have a set of Heavenly Pupils.''


    Headmaster Leopold laughed uproariously. He couldn''t make a move before and risk exposing his position, but now that his main goal was right before him, what more worries did he have?


    Not only would he accomplish the wishes of his long past Ancestors, he would gain their treasures, and he would rise up to an all new level once he implanted Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils to replace his own eyes. This matter couldn''t be any better.


    Leopold strode forward, covering several hundred meters in single steps. He moved more than five times faster than Ryu with a leisurely expression on his face, still, he was moving at his top speed. Even if he had relaxed from his tense height, he was too excited to get his hands on Ryu''s things.


    In the distance, Ryu himself was in a terrible situation. His speed continuously fell, his body continuously trying to shut down against his better wishes.


    Suddenly Ryu laughed. His eyes turned a pulsing red color as he charged forward at a faster pace.


    His cloak was a Mystical Grade treasure. Even at this speed, there was little to no affect on it. However, the wind whipping across Ryu''s face was tearing his once flawless features apart. Luckily, Heavenly Pupils were incredibly durable in comparison to normal eyes, or else Ryu would have been blinded in an instant.


    At this moment, Ryu was ignoring the limitations of his body, tapping into the Northern Heavenly Wind''s ability to boost his speed. Unfortunately, since his Heavenly Wind was a mere Embryo, he couldn''t perfectly meld into the wind, resulting in large portions of the air fiercely rejecting him and causing these ghastly injuries.


    Headmaster Leopold''s eyes contracted. He immediately noticed that the speed at which he was closing in on Ryu had been drastically cut down. What just happened?


    Ryu roared with all his might, causing whatever small dregs of Spiritual Qi he had remaining to spur to life as a miniature Immortal Sakura appeared. It couldn''t have been more than a foot high, no, it was barely half a foot high, while its beautiful translucent blossoms were even smaller. But, still, Ryu forced them into existence.


    Ryu didn''t do something as foolish as turn around and fight. Even with this Immortal Sakura, he had no chance against the individual rushing after him now. No. He was using the Immortal Sakura for a completely different purpose.


    "You said even the wind cannot touch me without asking first right? Well then show me!"


    Ryu was well aware that Eska had said this would only be true if he reached the highest realm of [Immortal Sakura]. But, right now, he was pissed off. He wanted revenge. Since they wanted to plot on him, he would make certain that the very reason he survived was the technique they gave him to trick him!


    Small, transparent blossom petals began to fall. They immediately shattered upon contacting the vicious gales whipping against Ryu, but just that small moment they survived alleviated a great amount of pressure on Ryu. However, at the same time, every petal that shattered was another backlash on Ryu''s Mental Realm, causing a fierce decline in his already lacking stamina.


    Ryu continuously tapped into the Spiritual Qi pool within the Incubator. So much blood had drained from his face that he looked no different from a walking skeleton. However, he pushed forward. From the speed of a Peak Qi Refinement expert, to the speed of a Lower Divine Vessel Expert!

 Chapter 137: Beast

    Headmaster Leopold''s speed couldn''t be said to be anymore than two times faster than Ryu now. One had to know that Ryu''s calculations of his equivalent speed now took into account the absolute upper limit of an agility type genius of said cultivation level. This meant that if Ryu confidently said his speed could match a Lower Divine Vessel Realm expert now, he meant the fastest!


    Even Ryu himself didn''t realize just how far he was going. He was comparing himself to Shrine Plane geniuses, but could Headmaster Leopold be considered to be of that ilk? He was so old yet he hadn''t broken into the Immortal Ring Realm yet. On the Higher Mortal Plane, he was an absolute genius. But, on the Shrine Plane, calling him trash would be giving him a compliment.


    On top of this, Headmaster Leopold was a Mental Realm expert. How could he be as fast as a Connecting Heaven Realm cultivator who specialized in speed? This was why despite having an entire cultivation layer difference between them, Headmaster Leopold could barely boast having twice Ryu''s speed!


    Leopold''s relaxed expression tightened. But soon, he calmed once more. How could a mere Pulse Opening Realm cultivator possibly keep up this speed? Whatever technique or treasure Ryu was using definitely couldn''t last long. And, even if it did, he would pay a devastating price for it.


    He couldn''t have been more correct. With every blossom petal that shattered, a severe, reverberating backlash whipped across Ryu''s Mental Realm. Considering the state of despair his mind had already been in after stabbing his own heart and pouring destructive energies into it for several hours, Ryu was clinging onto a last bit of rope with the barest tips of his fingers.


    Ryu no longer felt he was breathing in air. It was as though the skies had ripped open to pour pools of lava directly down his throat. Every heaving attempt to replenish his oxygen scorched his lungs and chest. It was so painful that Ryu could almost ignore the gaping, throbbing wound above and within his heart.


    The branches of the forest around him vicious snapped against his body. Even the faintest dust particles became heated blade edges, piercing through his body with impunity. A Pulse Opening Realm youth simply wasn''t meant to experience such speeds¡­


    Headmaster Leopold continuously covered double the land Ryu did, slowly closing the gap between them. Somehow, his instincts were forcing him into an anxious state once more. For all his power, no matter how he racked his mind, he couldn''t figure out just what was making him so uncomfortable.


    "Fourth Prince, is there a need to continue this farce?" Headmaster Leopold called out.


    Ryu''s eyes contracted into pinholes when this voice entered his ears. All this time, Leopold might have been aware of who he was chasing, but it wasn''t until now that Ryu knew who his opponent was. Once he processed this information, Ryu''s eyes flashed with a keen light.


    ''You just made a massive mistake giving me this piece of information.'' Ryu sneered.


    He didn''t know why Leopold had blown his calm cover. Maybe he was just losing his patience and getting annoyed. Or, maybe he was getting worried about what Ryu was planning. But, either way, it didn''t matter. When dealing with intelligent people, the less information you give them, the better chance you had for success. Since Leopold didn''t understand this fundamental rule, Ryu didn''t mind teaching him.


    ''Is this Leopold the same Leopold?'' Ryu''s mind quickly thought. He found these distracting thoughts couldn''t have come at a better time. ''It doesn''t matter. Since he called me Fourth Prince, this means that, at the very least, he was the same Leopold that moderated the Coronation Games. That truth is all I need for this to work.''


    Suddenly, the roar of a beast caught Ryu completely off guard. At this moment, how could he spare stamina toward [Third Perspective]? He was completely relying on eyesight alone. Up to now, he hadn''t seen anything out of place.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He silently began to communicate with his Bone Structure. However, he could only panic when he realized he couldn''t find the link he was looking for. Ryu laughed bitterly, with the state he was in, how could he expect his body to react exactly like he wanted it to?


    Ryu''s Ancestral Grade Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure was beloved by nature. Its perfect symmetry was blessed by the Heavens, and as such, it had a calming effect on beasts. This was the ability Ryu relied upon to tame his Obscured Sky Falcon. Ryu wanted to use this ability to hopefully get whatever beast was coming to ignore him, or at least let him run out of its territory, but his tank was running on empty.


    The roar shook the forest. Soon, the sound of crashing trees was replaced by the actual visual of them falling one after another. A looming beast appeared in the distance, bounding toward Ryu.


    ''Dammit!'' Ryu roared in his mind. If it was up to him, he''d scream it at the top of his lungs. But even in his anger, he couldn''t spare the energy to do such a thing. Ryu was well aware that the moment his legs paused for even a moment, his body would collapse.


    The beast was a massive blue furred ape. It stood at over five meters tall and its trunk-like arms dwarfed even the ancient trees of this forest. The worst part was that Ryu''s sharp sight immediately trained on two budding lumps of flesh a small relative distance beneath its arm pits. This ape was actually only a step away from evolving and becoming four armed!


    Ryu didn''t know a lot about beasts on the Mortal Plane, but he did know that this evolution was something only possible within the Divine Vessel Realm because this was the stage in which cultivators could begin to unlock the true and hidden abilities of their bloodlines. This was at least a Fifth Order Beast!


    No matter how much Ryu wanted to find a path to victory, what could he do? As a Fifth Order Beast, its speed was near a match for Ryu. This also didn''t account for the fact that Ryu might have speed, but he definitely didn''t have any agility. If he attempted to change directions quickly at this speed, his bones would shatter and his tendons would tear. If that happened, he would be finished¡­


    The several hundred-meter distance between Ryu and the ape seemed to close in an instant.


    Ryu was prepared to calmly accept his death. His only regret was that he couldn''t fulfill his promise to Elena. At the very least, he wouldn''t feel shame. He had truly given it his everything. An eerie calm overtook him as he faced the enraged roar of the ape. It seemed as though he''d be swallowed whole in another instant.


    It was in that moment that a hidden cool qi wafted from his eyes once more. That eerie calm became steadier than a serene lake. Ryu''s eyes flashed as he looked down at an inconspicuous black glove over his right hand. Suddenly, he understood something.


    Essence suddenly rushed out from the Glove of Order and his unresponsive Bone Structure began to shimmer like a precious gem.

 Chapter 138: Ice Jade Crystal

    Ryu''s bones and skin began to glow a comforting, shimmering light. In the next moment, his veins and arteries followed suit. Given the amount of light coming off of him, it should have been irritating to the eyes, but somehow, that couldn''t have been farther from the truth.


    One had to understand that although Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body was known as a Bone Structure, bones were inextricably linked to the circulatory system. There was no shortage of stories where geniuses were born with domineering bloodlines, but couldn''t support its potential with their weak Bone Structure.


    Why was it that Ryu could have four seemingly opposing bloodlines in a single body? It was precisely because his Bone Structure was known for its perfect balance. There was likely not a single other Bone Structure in existence that could accomplish what Ryu''s had.


    The moment his bones reacted, so too did his blood vessels. An instant later, a calming wave wafted from Ryu''s body. Not only did it exude Essence, there was a natural, intoxicating aroma that stopped the ape in its tracks. It was as though it could fall asleep at any moment under the influence of Ryu''s constitution.


    Ryu''s legs didn''t pause for even a moment. He burst through the legs of the ape, slightly ducking to pass by with ease. He was well aware that such a state would last for long, so he didn''t even bother to look back, he simply kept pushing himself.


    Headmaster Leopold frowned. He wanted to release [Resonating Sense] once more, but he hesitated. More than half of his Spiritual Qi had gone up in smoke due to the technique after using it only twice. He had to be careful with his uses, or else wouldn''t it be too much of a joke if he was too tired to deal with a mere Pulse Opening Realm youth?


    By the time the ape awoke from its daze, Ryu was already gone. It only lasted from two or three seconds, but that was enough for Ryu to cover over a kilometer with ease. With the help of the dense trees, he was able to escape the ape''s immediate notice.


    Ryu spared another glance toward the Glove of Order. Before, it had shot up his arm and covered his shoulders. In addition, it had formed a gauntlet-like black armor from the tips of his fingers to his wrist. But, after that maneuver, it reverted back to its previous bland appearance.


    ''Just what kind of treasure is this¡­'' Ryu mumbled to himself. A treasure capable of manipulating the highest form of energy, Essence, was definitely no normal treasure. In fact, Ryu didn''t believe even the Shrine Plane had a treasure capable of doing such a thing. Well, it did, but it was limited to treasures like the Northern Heavenly Wind and the Origin Flame¡­


    All Ryu understood about the Glove of Order was that it grew in strength based on his comprehension of the Natural Order. It only evolved so much after it absorbed his comprehension of Halberd, Glaive and Spear Qi. In addition, it had the ability to perfectly fuse your comprehensions into an arrow.


    It might sound simple to say ''fuse'', but it needed to be understood how practically impossible that was. Ryu had trouble just using two of the same weapons at once. He hadn''t even considered the idea of using two different weapons at once, let alone three. Many cultivators could use two Natural Orders at the same time, but only a handful could perfectly fuse them to be used as one. Yet, the Glove of Order did it with absolute ease¡­ What was the secret of the glove? How did its absorption of Essence correlate with its ability to fuse Natural Orders? Also, had it become much weaker after helping Ryu escape certain death?


    At the very least, the last question had a resounding yes for its answer. Ryu faintly understood that unless his comprehension took another leap forward, the glove wouldn''t react to him again. Luckily, he also faintly understood that this would affect his ability to form arrows. Ryu believed that this instinct was definitely tied to his Heavenly Pupils. Only it could provide him with such insight.


    However, that weakening didn''t come without benefits. Not only had Ryu escaped death, but his body was pumping with the purest energy in existence, even better than Spiritual Qi. His natural healing factor accelerated, and his Mental Realm was awashed with a calming qi that soothed its aching caused by the constant shattering the Immortal Sakura petals. Though Ryu''s body was still in a terrible state, at the very least, he wasn''t at death''s door just yet. He had taken a single step back.


    Ryu felt that his Bone Structure had slightly awakened to its true abilities. It was only a small creak in a large door, but there was definitely an improvement. Much like bloodlines, the true abilities of Bone Structures weren''t meant to be tapped into until the Divine Vessel Realm. The fact Ryu had faintly touched upon something was completely unprecedented.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have much more time to think about it now. The natural fragrance he gave off continued, resulting the surrounding beasts completely ignoring his presence.


    However, the same couldn''t be said for Headmaster Leopold. When he crossed the territory of the blue furred ape, he was forced into a battle. For him, a Fifth Order Beast was below him in strength, but one had to remember that beasts were often stronger than their human counterparts. Though the ape was only the equivalent of a Divine Vessel Realm expert, it still took Leopold several minutes to kill it, giving Ryu valuable time.


    History repeated itself. As they entered deeper and deeper into the forest, Leopold began to fight more and more battles, slowing him down further. Eventually, he began to take detours around beast territories by making use of his Spiritual Sense. He was a Mental Realm cultivator, his fighting prowess simply wasn''t very high. Mental Realm cultivators were extraordinarily weak without strong Legacies backing them. And, Leopold''s Legacy happened to be in Ryu''s hands.


    ''That''s it!'' Ryu''s cold, silver eyes with flashed with a ray of unconcealed excitement. He could see it, the Immortal Path. The Immortal Path on every Plane was the exact same. It was located at the base of a massive and majestic rock structure. Those on the lower planes had no idea what this endless rock was, but Ryu knew it all too well. It was none other than Shrine Mountain! That was right, Shrine Mountain was a structure that spanned all six, now likely seven Planes!


    No one understood just how it worked. Sometimes, the mountain would appear on the edge of Planes just like it did on this Higher Mortal Plane, or, at other times, it would appear directly in the middle like it did for Ryu''s Shrine Plane. Either way, no matter what, upon passing its test, one would be teleported to the furthest location from the mountain.


    The Shrine Mountain appeared in the absolute center of the Immortal Planes, but always appeared on the edge of Mortal Planes. One Ryu completed the trial, he would be teleported to the very edge of the Pedestal Plane, something Granny Miriam called the Outer Ring. However, Ryu had no intention of doing that. He didn''t want to be constantly looking over his shoulder for the day Headmaster Leopold would find him. No. This Immortal Path would be Leopold''s death bed!

 Chapter 139: Fifty-Fifty

    Ryu burst forward, without an ounce of hesitation, he crossed into the inconspicuous at the base of Shrine Mountain before his body convulsed, slowing down his speed drastically.


    As though his body was waiting for this very moment to attack him, a wave of pain tore through Ryu, causing a roar of anguish to escape his lips. His bones fractured and his tense muscles tore, shredding one after another without thought of stopping. Maybe the only saving grace was that Ryu''s upper body was left alone, but that was only in a relative sense considering the ghastly chest wound that still adorned his heart and ribs.


    Ryu suddenly felt his body go cold. A deep, shivering erupted from his core, taking over without regard for his own feelings. It only took Ryu a moment to understand what was happening because he had experienced it before¡­ It was death. His body had gone through too much in the last few hours. The moment he relaxed even a moment, that tenseness that was keeping his together shattered.


    Ryu fell to the ground, his lips bluing as he gripped his fist over his chest.


    The cave around him was dark. In the far distance, Ryu could see a faint light that was likely the true entrance of the Immortal Path, but even the effort of looking was too much for him.


    He immediately regretted slowing down. Why had he done it? If he had just kept going¡­


    Ryu laughed at himself. What a joke. His body was on its final legs to begin with. In all likelihood, he wouldn''t have made it whether he relaxed or not.


    Gritting his teeth, Ryu began to crawl. If he had even a single ounce of strength left, he wouldn''t let it go waste. If Fate wanted to kill him, then he''d only allow it to do so when he truly had nothing remaining. Fate would have to take his life from him, he would no longer simply hand it over.


    As Ryu crawled toward what seemed like an impossibly far away goal, Headmaster Leopold sprinted at his fastest speed. He had his own worries as well, though they were decidedly less existential than Ryu''s.


    He knew well that upon completion of the Immortal Path, Shrine Mountain would teleport its trial taker the furthest points from itself. On the Mortal Planes, that made things easy since Shrine Mountain was located upon their edges. However, for the Immortal Planes, this meant that there were a near, if not infinite, number of locations Ryu could appear precisely because, for them, Shrine Mountain was located in its very center.


    If he allowed Ryu to complete the Immortal Path, it would be an impossible task to find him. It was known by everyone that Immortal Planes were easily ten times larger than Mortal Planes, and that was a conservative estimate. Considering the size of the Outer Ring, how could Leopold be expected to find him? The worst part was that Leopold''s strength was garbage on the Immortal Plane. What if Ryu used his talent to gain some substantial backing? By that point, Leopold would be the one who had to hide!


    Ryu continuously stabbed his daggers into the cave''s floor, pulling himself forward inch by inch. Leopold probably thought that he''d be able to catch Ryu as he was struggling against the pressure of the Immortal Path. This was Ryu''s ray of hope. He had to make it.


    His legs were absolutely useless. Not to mention the fact his bones were fractured in too many places to count, even if they weren''t, the muscles he needed to use them were torn beyond recognition. If Ryu''s legs weren''t covered by black fabrics, they would shine a disgusting purple, blue and green color.


    Ryu suspected that his legs had long been in this sort of condition, but adrenaline and his willpower pushed him through it. However, he had never expected for it to be this bad. This level of self-mutilation was enough to cause a wave of disgust in anyone''s heart.


    Pain racked Ryu''s body as he was forced to drag his injured chest along the hard ground. He had no idea that Headmaster Leopold had already set his sights on the large rockface of Shrine Mountain. The more than ten meters that remained between him and the orb of light before him seemed like the distance between the earth and the heavens.


    Ryu''s tenacity shone through, however it wasn''t enough. Headmaster Leopold made his way to the cave entrance, gasping for breath. But when he saw Ryu''s unsightly appearance, a thunderous laughter erupted from his wrinkled lips.


    "Tsk. To put you in such a state, I can imagine that that technique you used to explosively increase your speed is definitely taking its toll, hm?"


    The weight on Leopold''s chest dropped, leaving a pep in his step he hadn''t experienced for several hundred years. Today was definitely a good day. For him, that is.


    Ryu continued to claw forward as though he hadn''t heard a single word. The trail of blood left behind by sent a shiver through Leopold''s spine. But he quickly shook it off. He might be surprised by Ryu''s will to live, but what did that matter? Everything was meaningless in the face of absolute power.


    "Is there a need to be like this?" Leopold casually walked to Ryu''s side, lifting his head from the cave floor by his dirtied white hair.


    In that instant, Leopold was shocked by the cold emitting from Ryu''s body. As an experienced person, he immediately sensed what it was¡­ The Breath of Death. This young man wasn''t more than a few minutes from losing his life.


    Leopold immediately gave up all thoughts of threatening Ryu''s life. What was the point? He let Ryu''s head drop. The dull thump of what sounded like nothing more than a dead body resounded through the cave. Still, somehow, Ryu''s arms never stopped. He continued to crawl as though he was mindless.


    Leopold frowned. Checking Ryu''s hand, he looked for his spatial ring. But, he shockingly found nothing. Suddenly, a bad premonition overcame him. In a rage, he kicked Ryu''s body, sending him slamming against the side of the cave with a reverberating boom.


    Blood flew from Ryu''s lips as he slid down the cave wall. He was nothing more than a limp doll.


    "WHERE IS IT!" Leopold roared.


    Ryu coughed, a sneer coating his blue lips. "It''s in my Inner Space. Why don''t you kill me and find out if you can get it or not? Or is the grand Headmaster Leopold as useless as his two disciples?"


    "YOU?!" Leopold trembled with rage. His hand descended slapping Ryu across the face an sending him flying.


    Suddenly, Ryu laughed. "It was a fifty-fifty chance, but you still did me a favor. Thank you."


    Leopold immediately realized his mistake, but it was too late. Ryu''s body flew into the Immortal Path.

 Chapter 140: Immortal Path

    Headmaster Leopold''s heart seized. He immediately realized his mistake. If Ryu hadn''t known who he was from the very beginning, would he have been able to goad him into anger so quickly? Even further, would Ryu be so confident that he wouldn''t kill him? The answer to both were resounding no''s.


    Ryu knew that Leopold had disappointing disciples only because he knew who Leopold was. Ryu also knew that Leopold wouldn''t strike hard enough to kill him because he already guessed that Leopold had some insight into the fact he had a pair of Heavenly Pupils due to the battle against the Ice Eyed Bear. He even knew something as seemingly useless as Leopold''s dominant hand. Had Leopold not been so cocky, Ryu wouldn''t have been bold enough to gamble with his life in such a way!


    ''Dammit!'' Leopold''s foot struck the ground as he surged toward the Immortal Path. ''It doesn''t matter, do you think the Immortal Path is a joke? Even I must take it seriously!''


    What Leopold was worried about wasn''t that Ryu had a trap waiting for him, but rather that Ryu would immediately die after entering the Path. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong, very wrong.


    Leopold grunted as he stepped into the orb of light. The Immortal Path blinded him for an instant before its beauty was revealed to him.


    The best words to describe the Immortal Path were ''Staircase to Heaven''. A Path of golden stairs seemed to rise to infinity. They weren''t very wide, maybe only about two meters across, leaving a seemingly endless abyss below them. That said, this abyss was a gentle white light with a slight golden hue instead of an unknown void of black.


    Still, the Path didn''t allow one to fall off of it. There were only two options. To reach the top, or be crushed under the pressure and die without a corpse. There was no going back.


    Leopold almost fell to his knees the moment he landed upon the first step. The Immortal Path didn''t test your strength, it tested your potential. As an old man who had already maxed out his limit, his only chance at greater heights was the legacy in Ryu''s hands. So, how could the Path treat him well? Still, though strength wasn''t the main focus of the Path, it still allowed some leeway, giving Leopold the opportunity to rely on his cultivation to struggle upward and stand tall. However, what he saw was a sight he''d never forget in his entire life.


    Ryu sat above him. His legs were in no condition to help him stand, and he seemed like an arrow at the end of its flight. But, he still firmly held onto a black long bow, pulling the string with all his remaining might.


    A blazing golden flame lit around Ryu. It only took a moment for the experienced Leopold to understand that these golden flames weren''t true flames, but rather the rapid coalescing of Essence!


    Leopold''s mind trembled. The densest cores of Essence in existence were without a doubt the Immortal Paths. It wasn''t just that it was abundant in its atmosphere, but rather that its entire space was constructed with Essence! Even the stairs beneath their feet!


    Headmaster Leopold''s eyes shifted from the raging arrow still forming to land on Ryu''s right hand. The Glove of Order had morphed again, shedding its black exterior to come alight with a golden blaze. It surged up Ryu''s arm once more, covering the whole of his shoulder in a brilliant sheen.


    This time, the gorgeous armor didn''t stop at his wrist but shot up to his forearm. Even as Ryu''s arm trembled, the power of the arrow grew stronger and stronger.


    Leopold felt fear. He wanted to run. He realized at this moment that he was no longer the hunter in this situation. The moment he allowed Ryu to enter the Immortal Path, it was over. He couldn''t even summon his strength because every fiber of his being was being used to stand.


    "Please, please. Don''t kill me." Leopold trembled. "Here, here. Take it." He pulled his spatial ring out and threw it at Ryu. "I swear I won''t move from this place until you complete the Path. You''ll be teleported to a random place and I''d never dare to come find you after that."


    By the time Leopold realized that this overwhelming fear wasn''t just due to worry for his life, but also because of Ryu''s piercing gaze, it was already too late. Ryu didn''t even hesitate to let the arrow loose. He didn''t have any remorse for a man who didn''t hesitate to wipe out an entire Sect of people.


    As for why Leopold did this, Ryu had no idea. Maybe he wanted to agitate things. Or, maybe he was pissed off that the elders of the Natural Order Sect didn''t have what he was looking for.


    By the time the blinding light the arrow emitted faded, Ryu realized that Leopold''s body was nowhere to be seen. At that moment, he understood what happened. Leopold couldn''t control his cowardice in the end, so he attempted to retreat. Unfortunately, on the Immortal Path, you could only go forward. The moment he failed to control himself, the Path killed him.


    ''How foolish.'' Ryu sneered. His original plan was just to force Leopold to take a step back. He didn''t have any illusions of killing a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, even with the help of the excessive Essence floating around him. But, who would have known that Leopold would lack backbone to this extent.


    Suddenly, a resounding crack entered Ryu''s ears. Looking down at his bow, he sighed as it crumbled to dust. He felt it was unfortunate, but exchanging this bow for his life was worth it.


    The bluing of Ryu''s lips retreated. The gold of his Glove of Order surged into his body, stabilizing his condition. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep as his glove receded to its inconspicuous black color.


    Months ticked by. No one would ever expect that someone would ever dare to sleep on the Immortal Path. It was precisely this reason why Ryu knew it was the safest. What were the odds that someone would attempt this trial and find him? Incredibly low considering the level of the Higher Mortal Plane. As for those descending, they had a completely different process, so they wouldn''t cross Ryu''s path.


    Essence slowly nourished Ryu''s body. The Immortal Path, much like any other trial, was also an opportunity to push past your own limits. Unfortunately, considering Ryu''s talent, the path was limited in its ability to help him. This was why it didn''t even bother to pressure him. However, there was one thing it could do for Ryu besides supplementing his healing.


    Unlike his Body and Qi Realm talent, Ryu''s Mental Realm talent was lacking. The Immortal Path couldn''t fix this, but it could reward him for the struggle his mind had undergone.


    Every time the Immortal Sakura petals shattered, Ryu''s mind withstood terrible impacts. If one were to peer into his Mental Realm now, one would find a disturbing dark space, filled with cracks. It seemed as though its thirty-meter-wide space might collapse at any moment. Once this happened, Ryu would die without a doubt.


    Luckily, this was when the Essence made its presence known. Not only was Ryu''s Mental Realm slowly healing, it was also steadily growing, inch by inch.

 Chapter 141: Months

    Months ticked by. It wasn''t until the fourth month that Ryu''s body looked less like a corpse and more like a living being, and not until the sixth that Ryu''s conscious finely began to flicker awake. By now, Ryu was eighteen years old and it had been almost four years since his memories awoke.


    Ryu''s eyes opened with a flash. He found himself laying on a familiar set of golden stairs and could only count himself lucky that he didn''t roll backward in his sleep. What a joke that would have been¡­ For him to survive the chase of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, but die only because he rolled too far.


    The first thing Ryu did was check his body. He found that his wounds had still not fully healed, even after half a year, something he had to admit greatly frightened him. It definitely wasn''t as bad as it once was, but Ryu knew that if he were to fight now, he would still only have twenty percent of his prowess at most.


    Ryu sighed. He shouldn''t be too surprised. Even with his cultivation, his body was nowhere near that of Immortals who could survive even with large portions of their vital organs cut away. Ryu could only be considered marginally above mortal status. So, something like an open-heart wound couldn''t just be wished away, nor could devastating muscle tears and bone fractures.


    There was one saving grace, though. The Heavens provided a sort of reset whenever one broke into a new realm. This ''shedding'' of sorts was the true dividing line between cultivation realms. As long as Ryu officially entered the Qi Refinement Realm, these hidden injuries should disappear.


    Of course, there were some hidden injuries that even crossing into a new realm couldn''t shed, but these sorts of physical injuries shouldn''t be too much of a problem. Now, the only question was how to breakthrough. Ryu definitely couldn''t step onto the Pedestal Plane while so injured¡­ However, Ryu also had no knowledge about cultivation past the Pulse Opening Realm. Other than superficial understandings, that is.


    Suddenly, Ryu remembered something and a sneer coated his haggard features. His body was aching too much for sudden movement, but he didn''t need to move to send his mind into his own Inner Space. It only took a moment for the visual of the crystalline jade to appear in Ryu''s mind and for him to enter it. Thanks to the abilities of his Heavenly Pupils, he didn''t need to take it out and gather up spatial qi to make use of this treasure.


    Up to now, Ryu had collected the second, third and fourth floors of Zu Palace. This allowed him access to divisions of Core Texts, Natural Order, and Battle Spirit. However, after taking the final and fourth piece, he gained access to the first floor''s Cultivation division!


    After entering the crystalline jade, Ryu didn''t even attempt to go to Zu Library. Though it was true the most valuable techniques of the Zu Clan were located there, it was also true that Ryu could lose his life to the Zu Ancestors as well. Until he had certain counter measures, he wouldn''t enter, even though he was certain that the four of them would be very willing to negotiate with him considering the circumstances.


    Ryu smiled as he looked at the completed first floor. So many years of hardship and almost losing his life was truly worth it. The first floor was also a library, though much smaller than the one located on the second floor. That said, what was stored here wasn''t any less important and it was exactly what Ryu was looking for.


    A single bookshelf of cultivation techniques sat adorned in precious gems to one side, while most of the rest of the room was filled with statues that were difficult to look at.


    These statues came in all shapes. One was of a blazing sun, another was of a valiant man, another was of a majestic palace, and yet another was of a reflective moon. Ryu could tell that these statues were actually what the Zu Clan would find most important. They were difficult to look at not because they were ugly, but because they were true Visualization Techniques. Meditating and reflecting on them would greatly improve Ryu''s Mental Realm. To think there were so many¡­


    ''I wonder what the secret behind this crystalline jade is¡­ It''s clear that it''s only my mind entering, so why is it that these things seem so tangible. More poignantly, how did the Zu Ancestors bring their Incarnation Jades into a place that should be a mental projection?''


    Even with his intelligence, Ryu couldn''t figure it out. He could only guess that the Zu Clan had a heaven defying technique capable of making the corporeal, illusory, and vice verse. If this was true¡­ The potential applications made Ryu''s heart palpitate.


    Shaking his head, Ryu focused on the singular bookcase that seemed made of precious white jade. Though it was only one bookcase, it was filled with Memory Jades, several hundred by Ryu''s estimate due to how little the space they took up was.


    With a simple read through of a few, Ryu was immediately overwhelmed. It took him a moment to understand that the cultivation techniques he began with were far above his level.


    In a cultivator''s lifespan, they could cultivate three types of qis. The first is one Ryu controlled now, known as Mortal Qi. Once one reaches an appropriate level, Mortal Qi will undergo a qualitative change to become Immortal Qi. Finally, Immortal Qi will evolve one final time to become Cosmic Qi.


    The difference between these qis was akin to heaven and earth. A single strand of Immortal Qi could crush ten thousand strands of Mortal Qi without much effort at all. But, the important part was that these types of qi required different types of cultivation techniques. Mortal Techniques, Immortal Techniques, and Cosmic Techniques. These, of course, all solely referred to Qi Realm cultivation.


    Ryu had made a mistake by accidentally sending his mind into the Memory Jades of a few Immortal Techniques and was immediately overwhelmed. After correcting himself, he found the appropriate section for Mortal Techniques and began to read them one by one.


    Slowly, Ryu began to understand. These techniques were where the importance of opening your Pulses shone through. Mortal Techniques didn''t follow the same Common, Black, Earth, etc Grade system battle techniques did. Instead, they had six division from One Star, being the weakest, to Six Star, being the strongest. These rankings denoted just how many Pulses a technique could make efficient use of. One Star could only make use of one Pulse, while Six Star could make use of all six Qi Pulses. This decided not only the speed of cultivation, but also the purity of one''s qi.


    The Qi Refinement Realm was all about meridian strengthening and energy tempering. While the Awakening Realm had stages known as ''Rites'', this realm was known for its ''Revolutions''. The more Revolutions one completed, the cleaner and thicker one''s qi would become. Obviously, this was much easier with a Six Star technique than a One Star, and luckily, the Zu Clan, at least for the low-level Mortal Techniques, didn''t have anything lower than Five Stars.


    The only question was just what type of technique was best suited for Ryu.

 Chapter 142: Choice

    Though there were only three main divisions of qi in the martial world, the sub-levels hidden within were to the point of being infinite in quantity. What could be denoted as Mortal, Immortal, or Cosmic Qi was actually just a subgroup of energies that represented a certain quality. This was why Ryu was having a bit of an issue choosing his path. Without a master, he could only rely on his own intuition¡­


    When choosing a Qi Technique, it was of the utmost importance to take into account one''s meridians. Ryu was born with Chaotic Silk meridians, a substance known for being incredibly light, while simultaneously being the third strongest material in existence. An Ancestral Grade Meridian System like Ryu''s gave him near infinite paths to chose from. It was no wonder he was struggling.


    At the same time, one must also consider your affinities. Some types of Qi Techniques worked better for others simply due to special talents they might have. For example, those with high ice affinities should tend toward Yin Type Qi Techniques, while those with high fire affinities should tend toward Yang.


    This was where Ryu ran into yet another issue. Due to his bloodlines, he had exceptionally high affinities for fire, ice and lightning. At the same time, his Bone Structure was incredibly balanced despite being known as Ice Jade Crystal Body. Actually, the true name of Ryu''s Bone Structure was lost in translation. As far as Ryu was aware, ''ice'' in this context was actually meant to refer to purity, not cold. If it was simply about cold, Opes Kingdom''s low temperatures would have never bothered Ryu at all.


    Ryu flipped through techniques one by one. For now, he ignored the Body Realm cultivation techniques. He had to focus on healing himself first. Practicing body cultivation might have the opposite result.


    [Rising Sun Qi]. Its speed was the quickest during early mornings. There was an additional speed boost to cultivation the closer to the sun one was, and also the hotter their environment was. Qi from this technique would raise affinity for Yang Type techniques and also facilitate comprehending Yang Type Natural Orders as well, especially fire related ones.


    [Swift Yin Qi]. This cultivation technique was known for producing exceptionally light qi. It was great for agility type cultivators, and especially virgin women. Cultivation was quick within realms, but one suffered when crossing large barriers due to a struggle in building up momentum. Obviously, it was difficult to attack new realms when your qi was lighter than air.


    [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. This technique intrigued Ryu despite the fact it was practically suicide. Tribulations in the martial world were incredibly rare, or, rather, Tribulation Clouds were. Cultivators themselves faced many internal Tribulations like the Awakening Realm''s Rites, or the Spiritual Severing Realm''s Severings, or the Path Extinction Realm''s Extinctions. However, cultivators were rarely punished by Tribulation Clouds. Cultivation alone was punishment enough.


    However, this didn''t mean that Tribulation Clouds didn''t exist. Still, they usually only appeared for the creation of heavenly weapons or pills. There were also special danger zones that had perpetual Tribulation Clouds hanging over them due to some mighty event that took place in the past. Ryu also believed he heard a rumor that it was necessary to survive a Nine Cloud Tribulation in order to become a Sky God and have your inheritance passed down by the Heavens.


    This was all to say that to practice this [Tribulation Nine Clouds] Qi Technique was asking for death. If one stepped onto this path for Mortal Qi, you''d have to follow suit with Immortal and Cosmic Qi as well. It worked by converting lightning strikes into one''s own qi. This gave a cultivator unprecedented explosive power and also tempered the body and mind simultaneously. This sort of technique would only be chosen by those who were lacking in talent and hoped to use near death experiences to improve their constitution. Obviously, Ryu had no need to do such a thing. In addition, having to rely on the incredibly rare Tribulation Cloud would only slow down his cultivation.


    Ryu discarded it along with the rest, passing through without hesitation. It wasn''t that he didn''t realize that this technique was amazing, it was just that all of these techniques were amazing. Even the worst of them were Five Stars.


    After a while, Ryu understood what he should be looking for. Thanks to his Ice Jade Crystal Body, Ryu didn''t need to find techniques that focused on cultivation speed. The benefit of his Bone Structure would handle that for him. Instead, Ryu decided to make full use of his Chaotic Silk Meridians. Since they were the third hardest material in existence, why not push them to their absolute limit?


    Ryu wanted a technique that focused on qi purity and density. He wanted something that compressed his qi past the limits a normal cultivator could withstand. Only this way would he be able to make the best use of his Chaotic Silk.


    Ryu was well aware that the Revolutions of the Qi Refinement realm already served this purpose. However, he wanted to take it to the extreme. Although his Spiritual Foundation was far larger than an average cultivator, those of Ryu''s cultivation realm could only make use of the Qi Fumes that emitted from it. These so-called Qi Fumes were a primer to Mortal Qi. It was incredibly light and was used up quickly. It was only because his Spiritual Foundation was so large and emitted excessive amounts of Qi Fumes that he was able to draw Qi Lines despite not being in the Qi Refinement Realm yet.


    Simply put, Ryu wouldn''t be able to tap into the true potential of his Spiritual Foundation until he entered the World Sea Realm. Such a matter was so far away that Ryu didn''t even want to think about it. Eventually, Ryu found three techniques that met his requirements.


    [Six Realm Opening]. This technique converted your Qi Pulses into miniature dantians. Though they wouldn''t contain a Spiritual Foundation, they would contain an excess amount of qi that could be tapped into at will. Since Pulses were about two to three times larger than normal meridians, only they could withstand such a thing. But, this was only relative. Only reinforcement type Meridians like Ryu''s could use this technique without crippling themselves.


    [Abyssal Vortex Qi]. This technique was also incredibly masochistic. The body had numerous nodes known as meridians. This technique used those nodes as centers to form what its creator called ''Abyssal Vortexes''. These vortexes were incredibly concentrated cyclones of qi that rotated within every node. By taking this approach, one could hold several times more qi than usual.


    [Revolutions Amplifier]. This final technique multiplied the effectiveness of Revolutions by several folds. Usually, doing this might result in premature ascension to the Spiritual Severing Realm, but this technique provided a systematic method of avoiding this issue. In Ryu''s estimation, it was the most valuable of the three for this very reason alone.


    It was difficult to choose. All of them were Six Stars and each had a complete set of Immortal and Cosmic Technique successors. So¡­ Ryu had another maddening thought¡­ What if he didn''t choose?

 Chapter 143: First Revolution

    It might sound insane at first to use three Qi Techniques at once, but the more Ryu thought about it, the more feasible it became. The first reason he thought this might be possible was because all three of these techniques were known to be ''Neutral Qi'' techniques. This meant that the qi absorbed didn''t have any particular affinity or leaning.


    Knowing it had this short coming, those three techniques suggested that its user pair its use with techniques that did have this sort of leaning. This was what lit a light bulb for Ryu, he suddenly understood that it wasn''t impossible to use multiple Qi Techniques at once as long as they didn''t interfere with one another. For example, using a Yin and Yang type technique was almost surely suicide, but using a Neutral Type technique alongside would that had a leaning would be just fine.


    From what Ryu could see, one technique focused on the Qi Pulses, another focused on meridian nodes, and the final focused on breaking the limit on Qi Refinement Realm Revolutions. From a surface inspection, they didn''t seem to overlap with one another. And, since they were all Neutral Types, that was also yet another worry that didn''t have to be considered.


    Of course, there was one other thing to consider, and that was the slowing of cultivation. If Ryu used these three techniques, he would be three times slower in the best case scenario, but more likely far worse. However, Ryu decided not to worry about it. While it was true that he wanted to maximize his cultivation speed in order to save his family, he also understood that if he was too fast, he wouldn''t become strong enough to do anything. What using these three techniques at once guaranteed him was an unmatched foundation.


    Much like the Pulse Opening Realm, the Qi Refinement Realm was divided into four stages: lower, middle, higher and peak. On this Higher Mortal Plane, each one of these stages was divided among four Qi Pulses. This was because those of the Higher Mortal Plane were unaware of the fact that there were six Qi Pulses and not just four. This was one of the main reasons why it was far easier for Ryu to jump cultivation stages to battle those who should be far stronger than him.


    The Qi Refinement Realm was similar. Its stages were divided by the number of completed Revolutions. These Revolutions would be dictated by the number of Pulses one had opened, in addition to the quality of one''s cultivation technique. Even if you had four open Qi Pulses, it was useless if you were only using a Two Star Qi Technique.


    Each Pulse allowed two Revolutions, this made for twelve total Revolutions. In addition to these twelve, there was one final Great Circle Revolution. Once this final Revolution was completed, one would be considered Half-Step into Spiritual Severing. It was only these that one''s First Severing could begin.


    Obviously, due to their own limitations, the Higher Mortal Plane only had a max of nine total Revolutions. Ryu, however, thanks to the fact he now had Six Star techniques could complete all thirteen possible Revolutions. Still¡­ This didn''t take into consideration the abilities [Revolutions Amplifier]. With its help, every Qi Pulse could complete three Revolutions instead of just two. In addition, it allowed one could complete two Great Circle Revolutions, instead of just one!


    One can imagine the possible disparity. Even the best and most supported geniuses would only be able to complete thirteen Revolutions. Even if they had [Revolutions Amplifier], they would need to also have Ryu''s Chaotic Silk meridians or something similar to even think of surviving its use. Yet, Ryu could complete an enormous seven more Revolutions than those of his cultivation realm.


    This seven total might seem arbitrary and even somewhat small, but one had to first consider that every completed Revolution resulted in an exponential increase in quality. The purer your qi was, the more you could store and the stronger your attacks would become thanks to the increased density. In addition, purer energy directly allowed one to complete more Severings during the Spiritual Severing stage, thus resulting in a compounding advantage over multiple cultivation realms.


    Ryu didn''t need to think about it any longer. He immediately began the process of comprehending these Qi Techniques. Because they were neutral, he didn''t need to worry about any elaborate absorption prowess. All he needed was a relatively qi dense meditation space. Luckily, he was currently in one of the best available locations in existence, the Immortal Path!


    Without much surprise, Ryu began with [Revolutions Amplifier]. His first task was to convert his own Qi Fumes, into Mortal Qi. As such, it was important to begin with this technique first or else he wouldn''t gain the extra possible Revolutions. Once all of one''s Qi Fumes evolved into Mortal Qi, there was no need to ever worry about forming Qi Fumes again. Any that wafted from one''s Spiritual Foundation would immediately be catalyzed into Mortal Qi.


    This sort of process was incomparably smooth for Ryu. If it wasn''t for his aching body, it would have been even easier. Luckily, his meridians were nigh indestructible, so his injuries didn''t directly influence his cultivation.


    The moment Ryu began cultivating in earnest was the moment his Ancestral Great Circle truly shined.


    Cultivation was broken into two important facets: breathing and circulation. Qi is absorbed from the mouth and nose which act as gateways. Then, this qi is circulated along certain paths within the meridians. The bodies of living creatures contained the most complex formations in existence and many staple Formations and Arrays that exist today were created from examining them. What the circulation facet did was make use of these formations to elicit wanted responses.


    However, Ryu was on a completely different level. His Ice Jade Crystal Body could be broken down to four important abilities: accelerated healing, friend of nature and beasts, absolute balance, and, maybe most importantly now, ungodly cultivation speed!


    While others could only absorb qi through the nostrils and lips, every pour of Ryu''s body was capable of this feat. He could breathe with his very skin. As a result, his surface area for Qi Absorption reached an unprecedented height.


    Ryu hadn''t had the opportunity to use this ability during the Awakening and Pulse Opening Realm since neither required active qi absorption, but now, everything was different. It wasn''t long before Ryu understood that he had vastly underestimated his own speed. So what if he was three times slower or even more? His starting point was so much higher than anyone else''s that this worry seemed like a joke.


    His body glowed with a gentle, pulsing light that followed the pattern of his breaths. It should have taken several hours for him to compress his Qi Fumes into Mortal Qi, but the faint wisps that patrolled his meridians were compressed into a white and thick cloudy gas in less than ten minutes. By the half an hour mark, Ryu was already prepared to begin his First Revolution¡­


    Once this step was completed, Ryu would finally enter the Qi Refinement Realm.

 Chapter 144: Vortex

    The qi that Ryu breathed into his body was incredibly pure. If it wasn''t already enough that the Immortal Path was innately blemishless, even if it wasn''t, his Ice Jade Crystal Bone structure wouldn''t allow impurities to last very long. Due to this, Ryu didn''t have to spend much time, if any at all, cleansing the energy he inhaled.


    If one could see the inside of Ryu''s meridians, they''d be absolute shocked. They''d assume he was an individual who had completed at least two Revolutions already, when the reality was that he had yet to complete even one. This was the difference between those with talent and those without.


    Ryu worked quickly, after converting all of his Qi Fumes into a sort of primer energy for Mortal Qi, he begun circulating [Revolutions Amplifier] in earnest. The route was incredibly complex, even Ryu felt like his head was spinning, so he took the first cycle incredibly slowly, etching the pattern into his mind.


    The main difference between One Star and Six Star techniques was the complexity of their circulations. One Star techniques can only make use of a single Qi Pulse, and as such, their circulation pattern is appropriately simple. However, Six Star techniques must cycle through all six Qi Pulses, thus meaning that they must be appropriately complex.


    With every Qi Pulse a cultivator opens, numerous novel meridian nodes and meridian pathways open as well. This was the fundamental difference between those who opened more Qi Pulses and those who opened less. This difference in foundation would only compound.


    Still, even with Ryu taking his time for his first circulation, he completed it in just half an hour. Just like this, after completing just a single circulation, the sound of a cracking barrier resounded. Ryu felt a rush of Essence careen toward himself, seeping into his skin, muscles and bones.


    Ryu panicked. If he broke through now, wouldn''t that mean he would have to given up on [Six Realm Opening] and [Abyssal Vortex Qi]? In the end, he was too inexperienced in cultivation. He hadn''t even considered this problem before he began.


    ''There are only two ways to fix this, either abolish my cultivation, or compensate with speed!''


    Ryu didn''t hesitate. Abolishing his own cultivation was something he was unwilling to do, namely because he was unsure if there were consequences to such an undertaking. He had just been taught a lesson about his own inexperience, so how could he make another rash decision so quickly?


    [Six Realm Opening] was definitely the easier of the two to complete with speed. Its appeal was tied in the opening of miniature dantian within the Qi Pulses. However, they only needed to be opened one at a time. One should be opened before entering the Qi Refinement Realm, then there would be one opened for each of the four stages of the realm, and finally, the last would be opened upon completing the Great Circle Refinement.


    ''No, I should complete [Abyssal Vortex Qi] first.'' Ryu was in a race against time. He slowed the process of his breakthrough, he knew he would face backlash if he stopped it completely. From his quick calculations, he would officially become a Qi Refinement expert in less than ten minutes. Normally individuals would be ecstatic at this short timeframe. But, at the moment, Ryu''s talent was his own Hell.


    [Abyssal Vortex Qi] was a bit different from normal techniques. It didn''t rely on complex circulations, relatively speaking. Instead, it formed miniature vortexes of qi within meridian nodes. It then relied on these vortexes as centers of power. Not only did they allow one to store more energy in a more compact way, it also allowed cultivation speed to increase thanks to the unique suction abilities of the vortex.


    The issue was that this technique required mind numbing amounts of qi control. One needed to create and stabilize hundreds of vortexes. Even the lowest estimates would still have a person needing several hours to reach equilibrium. But Ryu had ten minutes!


    Ryu grit his teeth. It was time to see just how reliable his Chaotic Silk Meridians were. He didn''t have the time to take it slowly like everyone else. He would be rash. He could only hope that his meridians could withstand the failures that would undoubtedly occur.


    With a thought, he began. The meridians nodes he had to date totaled 333. One was born with 111, and 37 more were opened for every Qi Pulse that was awakened. In order to complete the foundation of this technique, Ryu needed to form 111 vortexes plus 37 more.


    The primer qi within Ryu''s body began to spin viciously. This was when Ryu learned the horror of what he was attempting. In the beginning, he called the circulation method of [Abyssal Vortex Qi] simple. From an objective point of view, it was. However, that was only if you created one vortex at a time.


    For the creation of every vortex, there would be a small circulation pattern around a single meridian node. After a few circulations, the vortex would be created and stabilized, you could then move on to the next circulation. However, with Ryu''s time constraints, he was attempting to form multiple vortexes at once. Suddenly, those simple patterns began to overlap and complicated matters within the 3D structure of Ryu''s body. Things only became worse when Ryu realized that some circulation patterns overlapped.


    However, Ryu soon saw that even when he failed and his energy exploded within his body, despite some painful bloating, he felt nothing else at all. This realization made him more brazen. At first, he only attempted to form two vortexes at once, but then it became three, then four. Eventually, he was creating ten at once, and his proficiency was only growing as he familiarized himself with the Qi Technique.


    Ryu''s body became a battlefield. Sometimes, blood would flow from his lips and crimson would erupt from old wounds. This couldn''t be helped. Though his meridians were nigh indestructible, they were still attached to his far more vulnerable inner organs and muscles. But, he continued to push him.


    A maddened light shone in Ryu''s eyes once more. He could feel the barrier between himself and the Qi Refinement Realm crumbling more and more with each passing moment.


    ''It''s not enough!'' Ryu''s qi circulation became faster and faster. He didn''t need experience to know that even a big mistake along the complex paths of his meridians would end his life. Chaotic Silk Meridians or not, cultivation deviation wasn''t something many could survive. However, Ryu didn''t seem to care as he immediately began practicing [Six Realm Opening] even while still circulating [Abyssal Vortex Qi].


    What Ryu didn''t notice at this time was just how much easier it had become for him to split his mind between multiple tasks. If he had, he would have checked his Mental Realm to find a shocking change had occurred while he slept.


    Ryu roared out as he completely opened his first Pulse Dantian. Completion of the foundation of a second Six Star technique didn''t give him any relief. In fact, now that he had set two perfect foundations, his breakthrough had quickened! But, Ryu still smiled. Because at that moment, his 148th vortex was formed.

 Chapter 145: Visualization Technique [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus Chapter for 150 golden tickets reached <3]


    Ryu''s body quaked. The punishment his internal organs had taken in the last view minutes couldn''t be underestimated. But, Ryu had been so focused on completing his task that he had involuntarily entered the State of Meditation, allowing him to ignore the pain for a moment, until now, that was.


    Luckily, this pain didn''t last for long. As though it was waiting for Ryu to release the reins, the cracking barrier finally shattered in earnest. Essence surged toward Ryu at greater speeds, charging into Ryu''s body. Ryu felt odd, the feeling of Essence circulating along so many paths of his body was numbing.


    The good news was that Essence, as the purest energy in existence, had the ability to freely convert between all qi forms in existence. This not only made Ryu''s Mortal Qi incredibly pure, but it also made the process of breaking through incomparably smooth.


    Ryu began to cough, black blood and pieces of broken organs flying from his mouth. At first he was worried that he had put too much hope in the rebirth given during a major breakthrough, but he calmed in the next moment. These were definitely the remains of the built up and hidden injuries within his body.


    The rush of pure qi made Ryu feel that the door that opened for his Bone Structure had creaked open just that small bit more. Ryu knew a small bit about just what this opening door entailed thanks to his mother, so he couldn''t help but smile at his progress.


    Finally, the final bits of Ryu''s accumulated injuries healed. The fractures that riddled his legs finally sealed and his tendons and ligaments began to reconnect. In the end, Ryu collapsed, not in fatigue, but in relief. The endless pain for months on end had definitely taken its toll on his mind.


    ''So this is the consequence of breeching power I shouldn''t, hm?'' Ryu sighed. He hadn''t expected that ignoring his own limitations to push his speed that far would have such drastic affects. His constitution was known for its healing ability, yet six months in a coma had hardly moved the needle.


    This taught Ryu a valuable lesson. The greatness of healing factors was only relative to your own strength. How could it be just as easy to heal from damage dealt by a Divine Vessel Realm expert versus an Awakening Realm expert? Even if they objectively dealt the same damage, the quality of a Divine Vessel Realm expert''s strike was simply a level above.


    When Ryu tapped into the speed of a Divine Vessel Realm expert, he was doing damage to himself that his body wasn''t equipped to deal with. He reached a threshold he had no business being a part of. Right then, he swore that he wouldn''t do something so foolish again unless his life was on the line once more.


    ''I need to ensure that I have no hidden injuries left, or else they''ll only accumulate.'' Ryu knew that the so-called ''Rebirth'' given by a large breakthrough wasn''t infallible. So, he began to think of spiritual herbs that would best handle the situation. If he could find or buy a few young sprouts, with the Incubator''s help, he shouldn''t have anything to worry about anymore.


    ''Hm.'' Ryu smiled lightly as he realized Leopold''s spatial ring was still resting on his lap. He had been fully prepared for the Immortal Path to destroy everything of the Old Headmaster''s, but who would have known that he would just throw his spatial ring over as a sign of good faith?


    Ryu nodded in satisfaction as he looked through Leopold''s ring. Though he was a weakling in the grand scheme of the Pedestal Plane, he was still rich by the standards of a Lower Qi Refinement expert like Ryu. Before, Ryu only had a thousand Inferior Mortal Qi Stones and twenty Medial Qi Stones. But, thanks to Leopold that number had raised significantly. Leopold had ten thousand Medial Mortal Qi Stones, a hundred Superior Mortal Qi Stones, and three Inferior Immortal Qi Stones!


    Ryu didn''t know much about the Outer Ring he would be headed to soon, but he reminded himself to not flaunt his wealth openly. He would realize soon how good a choice this was after he learned that the Outer Ring still dealt heavily with gold coins. To them, Qi Stones were a massive luxury.


    Ryu didn''t even think about using these Qi Stones for cultivation. Relying on them would not only dull his cultivation sense, but the ease with which they could be used would make his foundation unstable. He strictly set them aside as his currency. That said, if he ever found the Legendary Essence Stones, this would be a different matter entirely.


    Medial Qi Stones were worth a hundred Inferior ones and were worth a hundredth of Superior ones. However, Immortal Qi Stones were a massive leap forward, being worth ten thousand Superior Mortal Qi Stones each, though no one would ever exchange them this way. This was all to say that for Ryu''s current purposes, Leopold''s wealth was definitely not small. In fact, it was enough to make him the wealthiest individual of the Outer Ring before he had even stepped foot in it.


    Aside from these Qi Stones, Leopold had piles of gold coins he had likely accumulated from his years as Headmaster. The Three Kingdoms'' Institute definitely didn''t have cheap tuition fees. Unbeknownst to Ryu, they would soon come in handy, but for now, he couldn''t be bothered to count.


    What Ryu was more interested in were the cultivation resources. Leopold had the many of these, likely because he had stocked up, planning to spend years on the inferior Higher Mortal Plane. But, that suited Ryu just fine.


    Thanks to the Natural Order Sect, Ryu had nine total Qi Whispering herbs and one Bone Separating Root. Since Leopold was a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, these Earth Grade Spiritual Herbs were of great use to him, so he had many, though he had far less Bone Separating Root than Ryu would have liked. There were a hundred Qi Whispering Herbs and twenty Bone Separating Roots. That said, it wasn''t a large problem. Ryu still have many beast Spiritual Roots he had yet to cultivate with due to not having a Body Realm Cultivation Technique.


    Unfortunately, Ryu''s cultivation was still too weak to use Earth Grade Spiritual Herbs since he couldn''t allow them into his Incubator. For now, Black Grade Herbs were the most useful to him and would continue to be into the Spiritual Severing Realm. But, for obvious reasons, Leopold had none of them.


    Finally, Ryu glanced at the [Resonating Sense] Memory Jade in the corner of Leopold''s ring. He realized that this technique was likely how Leopold had found him so easily. He didn''t have time to learn it now, but he might consider it in the future. For now, Ryu needed to choose a Mental Realm and Body Realm cultivation technique for him. Once that was completed, he''d walk this Immortal Path to the end.


    Ryu sent his mind back into Zu Palace and onto the familiar first floor.


    Unlike his Qi Technique choices, Ryu''s scope for his Mental and Body Techniques were fairly limited. He wanted a Body Technique capable of capitalizing on his flexibility and balance, not one that bulked him up. As for his Mental Technique, or, Visualization Technique, rather, what would be a better choice if not the Immortal Sakura?

 Chapter 146: Phoenix Heavenly Body

    The mind often took on characteristics of one''s Visualization Technique. In fact, some who followed the Mental Realm discipline even believed that one''s personality could be changed depending on the technique they chose.


    While the [Immortal Sakura] was, of course, an outstanding defensive technique. It could also be used as a Visualization Technique as well. In fact, any Mental Realm technique that relied on some sort of Visualization could be used in this way.


    Ryu didn''t need to think much to choose this path. Not only would he be able to cultivate his Mental Realm, as he did so, his comprehension of the [Immortal Sakura] technique would deepen. In addition, as time passed, his mind would gain inherently strong defenses due to the constant Visualization.


    ''This¡­'' After walking into the depths of the first floor, Ryu found, as he expected, an Immortal Sakura. It wasn''t just a majestic tree either, Ryu felt that this might truly be the last Immortal Sakura in existence. His heart couldn''t help but palpitate slightly as its golden blossom petals shimmered before his eyes.


    Ryu knew immediately that the Visualization found deep within this forest of statues were by far the best the Zu Clan had to offer, but they were also the most dangerous. Ryu felt a splitting headache just from a short glance. In addition, the tree felt ethereal to him, as though it wasn''t allowing him to see its true appearance.


    What intrigued Ryu all the more was that the Immortal Sakura wasn''t alone. There were four other vague representations that caught his attention. But, their images appeared so foggy to him that he couldn''t even grasp their shape fully. Ryu assumed that this was because unlike the [Immortal Sakura], he hadn''t practiced these techniques at all. It was only now that Ryu understood the value of a teacher. If Eska hadn''t showed him the [Immortal Sakura] in its simplest form, would he have grasped it so quickly?


    ''Why are there four others, though? There should only be three more Ancestors, no?'' Ryu''s eyes narrowed and he immediately put up his guard. The Zu Clan''s legacy was important to him enough for him to risk his life for it, but that didn''t mean he would give himself over to it free of charge. This was why he had yet to go and see the Zu Clan Ancestors even though he held all the leverage in his hands now. With the seal gone and the jade in his possession, he was their only chance at revival. However, this didn''t mean he was free. If he went to see them, he would have to make a deal. If there happened to be a fifth one of them floating around that he didn''t know about¡­ They could easily weasel out of any contract he made.


    After reminding himself to be careful, Ryu gave the four vague figures once last glance. Something was telling him that he didn''t need the Ancestors to bestow him their techniques for him to see them. As long as his Heavenly Pupils progressed, nothing would be able to hide from his gaze!


    Not long later, Ryu began to go through the Body Realm techniques one by one, but as one might expect of a Mental Realm Clan, their selection was incredibly limited. Qi cultivation was still important to a Mental Realm cultivator since a powerful soul couldn''t survive without a powerful enough body, but Body Realm cultivation ceased to be important to them after the Vessel Tempering Realm.


    Mental Realm cultivation was known for its small number of realms with just six, but Body Realm cultivation had an even smaller number at just four. The Pulse Tempering Realm, Ryu''s current state, the Vessel Tempering Realm, the Blood Tempering Realm, and finally, the Nine Life Revolutions Realm.


    The world of cultivation was complex and intermingled, but it was generally accepted that Body Realm cultivation ceased to be important after the Vessel Tempering Realm was completed. There was a very simple reason for this. For Qi Realm cultivation, one would open Qi Pulses in the Pulse Opening Realm and Qi Vessels in the Divine Vessel Realm. Then, during the Connecting Heaven Realm, these Pulses and Vessels would be connected to form the Immortal Rings of the Immortal Ring Realm.


    The Immortal Ring Realm was the legendary realm that connected all three pillars of cultivation, the body, qi and the mind ¨C connecting the Body, Qi and Spiritual Pulses and Vessels. However, there were no other realms past this where cultivating all three could be deemed important. As such, many cultivators usually focused on Qi Cultivation after completing their Immortal Rings, while Mental Realm Masters like those of the Zu Clan abandoned Body Realm cultivation to focus on their mind and qi.


    So, as one might expect from this reality, the Zu Clan hardly bothered with techniques that continued into the third and fourth realms of body cultivation. From what Ryu could tell, they had less than ten techniques that even touched upon the third realm and none that touched upon the fourth.


    Ryu couldn''t bring himself to question their methods. After all, wasn''t Eska a Sky God? That was the highest cultivation realm in all of existence. If their method was flawed, they obviously wouldn''t have produced even one of these lofty individuals, let alone four of them. Even Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan only had one in their history, and that was Ryu''s great grandfather, his Grandpa Tatsuya''s father. Though, Ryu had never met the man, nor did his family ever talk about him.


    Thinking of his great grandfather, Ryu could only shake his head. If he had been there instead of disappearing to who knows where, how could the Tatsuya Clan have ever fallen?


    ''Wait¡­'' Ryu''s face lit up with a happy smile. Even if his family was here, they would be shocked. This sort of expression was one Ryu rarely, if ever, showed. His light smiles usually had a piercing coldness to them, but this was filled with absolute warmth. The technique he just came across¡­ It was the very one his mother, Himari, used. When he saw the technique, he felt a wave of warmth wrap around him, he forgot for a moment that he was in enemy territory.


    [Phoenix Heavenly Body]. This technique can only be used by those with Phoenix Blood, those without will undoubtedly die.


    Ryu realized immediately why this technique started with a warning. Qi techniques circulated qi, but Body techniques circulated blood. One was done in the meridians, while the other was accomplished within blood vessels. Judging by the circulation patterns asked for in this book, even Ryu felt a cold shiver go down his spine. If a normal person even attempted this, wouldn''t they erupt in a blaze of flames?


    Still, Ryu felt happy even though this technique was missing two of its fragments. Ryu had long since opened his Body Pulses, but he hadn''t been able to begin opening his Body Vessels because his bodily strength wasn''t enough to withstand it. What Body Techniques did was utilize blood circulation to strengthen the body by cultivating what was known as Vital Qi.


    Though it was called qi as well, it was fundamentally different from other energies. It was directly tied to an individual''s vitality and could only be accumulated in the blood before being passed on to the rest of the body. With this technique, Ryu would be able to cultivate the first two Body Realms. As for the final two fragments¡­ That would be left up to Fate. For now, it was time to step onto the Pedestal Plane.

 Chapter 147: Outer Ring

    For the first time in half a year, Ryu stood. Various popping noises erupted from his body as he stood to his full height of just over two meters tall. In the past years, even he hadn''t realized until now just how much he had grown.


    If it wasn''t for the fact his garments and skin were an absolute bloody and impurity filled mess, Ryu would have likely realized that his height wasn''t the only change he experienced. But, unfortunately, there was no place to take a bath on the Immortal Plane.


    Finally, Ryu took a step forward, walking with an air of arrogance and confidence. In that moment, he suddenly stopped and roared at the top of his lungs. He had done it. He had survived. A deep, almost bestial part of him was throbbing. That experience of being forced into a corner and surviving against all odds¡­ He had never felt it before during his sheltered life on the Shrine Plane. This was it, this was what he had been missing all of his life.


    ''Show me what you have in store for me, Pedestal Plane. You can''t lose out to a Mortal Plane, right?'' Ryu looked at the portal before him with a fiery battle intent twinkling in his silver eyes. It seemed it was a bit to difficult to ignore the Tatsuya blood that ran through his veins.


    **


    Valor City. When Ryu appeared on the Pedestal Plane, he was sent to an area free of danger and most other humans. He believed this to be in thanks to Shrine Mountain once more. From Ryu''s understanding, it had a habit of teleporting those who survived its trial to the weakest areas of the Plane. This was in order to give those who ascended a chance to adapt instead of being snuffed out by a power they were in no position to handle.


    Still, Ryu didn''t spend much time in the wilderness. Aside from cleaning himself in a nearby lake and making a pair of leg garments from an unfortunate beast, he directly headed toward one of the most popular centers of power in the Outer Ring.


    Thanks to Granny Miriam''s help, Ryu had a memory jade with a map of a large part of the Outer Ring, though it was mostly empty toward the center. Ryu wasn''t worried at all about attracting attention here because his plans for the Pedestal Plane would thrust him into the spotlight soon enough anyway.


    Valor City, a territory Ryu was currently approaching the gate of, was one of the nine major cities of the Outer Ring. It was a center of power which was shared by three Sects. Three so-called Fifth Order Sects.


    A Sect''s ranking was decided by the same system as the categorization of beasts, partially. A Fifth Order beast was the equivalent of a Divine Vessel Realm expert, but a Fifth Order Sect, in order to earn this title, must have ten Divine Vessel Realm experts and at least one Ancestor of the Connecting Heaven Realm. This logic continues for all rankings. One must have ten experts the equivalent of the Order they''re assigned, plus at least one expert a single Order above.


    One can see here just how large the difference between the Outer Ring and the Higher Mortal Plane was. In reality, the Sects of the Higher Mortal Plane wouldn''t even be considered of the Fourth Order. They simply didn''t have that many Spiritual Severing Realm experts. They''d be considered Half Step Fourth Order Sects. Only the former Heavenly Body Sect was a true Fourth Order Sect. That said, considering the difference in quality of expert between the Planes, even the Heavenly Body Sect wouldn''t be a match for a mere Third Order Sect found here.


    Of course, aside from the three Fifth Order Sects that controlled Valor City, there were many more subordinate Sects who had a small say as well. Just from this, one could see just how large the Outer Ring was. It had taken Ryu half a month of his top speed to reach the nearest Major City.


    As Ryu was about to cross the large open gates and into a large city, he was suddenly halted.


    "Halt! Those with identification must identify themselves at the city gates. Those without must register themselves for a fee of ten silver!"


    Ryu had expected this much. Such a large city would definitely have its own rules and laws. From what he was aware of, the Mayor of Valor City was a Divine Vessel Realm expert himself, making his influence equivalent to the elders of the three Ruling Sects. So, he had dignity of his own.


    Just as one guard stepped toward Ryu, another suddenly pulled him back, causing the first to be spun into a cycle of confusion.


    "What are you doing?" The first guard who spoke to Ryu asked.


    "Are you a fool? These rules only apply to those below the Qi Refinement Realm. Plus, look at his age and the fact he''s already a Higher Qi Refinement Expert. He clearly just came from the wilderness but has no supplies in hand, but look at the ring on his finger. I''m saving you, yet you dare talk back to me. Apologize and hope that he forgives you." The second guard snarled in a low voice.


    The first guard became flustered. He had just tried to extort ten silver from a genius? He had seen Ryu''s bare chest and beast skin skirt and immediately made assumptions.


    "Ah, young master, please forgive me ¡­" As the first guard was about to go into a spiel about how he had a wife and kids to take of, Ryu, who hadn''t even paused his steps had already stepped into the city, eyes closed and hair as blemishless as freshly fallen snow blowing.


    The first guard sighed a breath of relief. It seemed this young master couldn''t be bothered to deal with him. That was good. Definitely good.


    If others saw how flustered the usually arrogant Valor Guards had become at the sight of Ryu, they would have been astonished. The truth of the matter was that the rules of the city were based on age, not just cultivation realm. Ryu didn''t even look nineteen years old yet, yet his cultivation was so grand. If he had been a middle-aged Qi Refinement expert, the first guard would have been right to stop him. But, to those as lowly as mere gate guards, offending those with potential was the worst sin.


    Was Ryu really a Higher Qi Refinement Expert? Of course not. But, before he even completed his first Revolution, his qi was as pure as someone who had completed two, likely thanks to his Ice Jade Crystal Body. Now that he had officially completed one, plus considering the fact he was stacking the qi accumulation abilities of three Six Star Qi Techniques, his level of qi purity and quantity made those around him sense a Higher Qi Refinement Expert.


    Sensing the cultivation of an individual wasn''t an exact science. It was usually based on intuition and experience, and Ryu was too unconventional for those things to work as they should.


    Ryu''s appearance caught the eyes of many as he walked into the city, but he had no intention of staying on its outskirts. He would head directly into the Circle of Elites, the very core of Valor City!

 Chapter 148: Valor Auction House

    Ryu strode through the streets, heading toward the Circle of Elites with a purposeful gait. According to Granny Miriam, the Circle of Elites was the true hub of every major city. It was the place that had not only the best cultivation resources, but was also a gathering center for the powerful. As a result, it contained the best auction houses, inns, and practically anything else one could think of.


    Ryu had two main purposes. He wanted to accumulate valuable ores and gather spiritual herbs. The herbs would help his cultivation. Unlike qi stones, consuming spiritual herbs wouldn''t have any adverse affects on his foundation. Though, the reason others couldn''t use this method was due to the fact spiritual herbs were usually more effective after being refined into pills. However, pills almost always had impurities, making them detrimental to consume in large amounts. Only Ryu who had the Incubator, or an individual from a prestigious family willing to wastefully use spiritual herbs could use this method of cultivation.


    As for why Ryu wanted ores, that was simpler. He needed weapons. But, he needed them to be forged to his specifications. At the moment, he wasn''t worthy of a weapon forged with Breaking Ore. Plus, he doubted that any blacksmiths here had the skill to forge such a weapon. So, Ryu decided to find a few decent pieces of ore to commission a blacksmith to help him.


    After using common grade weapons for more than three years now, Ryu felt it was time to graduate. In addition, if his next plan was to work out well, he couldn''t allow himself to be handicapped by a weak weapon. Regular wooden polearms couldn''t handle his strength any longer.


    It would probably be cheaper to just buy weapons instead of commissioning their creation, but Ryu still hadn''t given up on his dual wielding style. He wanted his weapons to be identical and perfectly balanced for that purpose. For obvious reasons, it was impossible for Ryu to find such a thing unless he commissioned them.


    This aside, though Ryu didn''t care very much for his appearance, he was still aware that entering the Circle of Elites bare chested and in beast skins would bring more trouble than it was worth. So, not long after he entered the center of the city, he directly entered what seemed like a well-established clothing store.


    Maybe under normal circumstances the attendants would have turned their nose up at him, but since they happened to be women, they were too busy blushing to look down on Ryu. After entering the Qi Refinement Realm and maturing to the stature of a young man from a teenager, Ryu''s charm had grown to a new level. It also seemed that he wafted a perpetual intoxicating aroma. Usually, it was useful in calming beasts, but it seemed to work on women just as easily. The smell of a nature.


    Not even half an hour later, Ryu left the store in a set of sleek black robes with ten more in his spatial ring. It was made of inferior material compared to what he once wore on the Shrine Plane, but from what he understood, it was quite high class for the Pedestal Plane. Its major flaw, though, was that it wasn''t very good for battles. It would likely immediately rip apart in an intense fight.


    "Just who was that young man." The door attendant put her small hand over her chest. It seemed she had forgotten to breathe. "It''s such a shame, the Heavens always harm the talented. So handsome, yet blind."


    "I hear the Inner Ring selections are only a few years from now." A gossipy attendant butted in. "Many Outer Ring geniuses are starting Martial Journeys for the sake of gaining experience and improving."


    "An Inner Ring selection? Why?" Another attendant asked in confusion. "They''re usually only held once every few decades, but the last one was less than ten years ago."


    "According to what I''ve heard, the Ice Devil Legacy World is opening on the Blossom Plane soon. The Core Region is thinking of fostering our Plane''s geniuses to help."


    An old woman who acted as a manager of the store snorted. "''To help'', she says. You mean to act as cannon fodder so that those Blossom Plane geniuses can reap the true rewards. They''re just herding the youth who should hold the future of our Plane up like cattle."


    "Manager, you have to watch your words." The attendants looked around worriedly, hoping none of the customers heard the senile old lady. Talking ill of higher Planes like this was tantamount to a death sentence. But, it seemed the old woman was at the age where she no longer cared what happened to her.


    Outside the shop''s doors, Ryu heard all of these words thanks to his Spiritual Sense. ''Ice Devil?... I''ve never heard of it. It''s likely not any worthy Legacy World, but this makes the path to a higher Plane far easier for me. I guess I should be thankful.''


    One might think that Ryu was being ridiculous. Why did the fact he didn''t recognize the name matter? It wasn''t like he knew everything under the sun. But, the problem was that though he might not, he was very close to knowing everything about Ruins.


    The obvious rebuttal was that Ryu hadn''t been in this world for nine cycles a hundred million years. That time could easily bring about new information he was unaware of. But, the truth of the matter was that that length of time wasn''t enough for an expert who could make Ryu''s heart palpitate to appear. In addition, no one notable from Ryu''s time went by the name ''Ice Devil''. Experts took their names very seriously since it was tied to their prestige and Faith, one wouldn''t change theirs easily.


    Ryu threw these matters to the back of his mind. The path he had chosen and this newly materialized path would definitely collide. He didn''t need to chase the latter too fiercely. Everything would fall into place.


    Soon, Ryu had oriented himself toward his next destination: Valor Auction House. This location handled two sorts of auctions. The first was a conventional, minimum bid and minimum bid increase system that took place as large gatherings. But, Ryu want to wait for one to be scheduled.


    The second form auction displayed the materials for sale for a set period of time, usually anything from a few hours to a few days. Bidders would then walk around the display room and publicly attach their bids to the display items. The highest bidder would have their price displayed alongside the item. If no one beat it, they would claim the item once the auction ended.


    "Welcome to Valor Auction House, is there anything I can help you with, sir?" A manager of the auction house approached Ryu as he entered after he immediately picked Ryu out as a valuable customer. It seemed Ryu''s investment was worth it.


    "Take me to your display room and I''ll see if you have what I need." Ryu said plainly. "Though, if you have any valuable ores you haven''t taken out, you can do so. I would also like to see your selection of Heavy Longbows. The sturdier, the better."


    The manager hesitated for a moment, but stopped himself from asking something stupid. If he really asked Ryu whether he needed help with his blindness, wouldn''t he be asking to die? Unless Ryu brought it up himself, he would be beaten to death before he said something about it first.


    "Right away, sir."

 Chapter 149: Requirements

    Ryu was directly bought to a display room.


    It was large and had about a dozen individuals glancing around with the barest levels of interest. The items were kept in glass cases that enveloped pedestals that were a bit over a meter tall. Various leading prices could already be seen attached as well.


    "How does verification work?" Ryu asked.


    "Replying to young master, since I''m here, I can verify your bids with my personal stamp. This will save sir from having to deal with a long, convoluted process."


    Of course, this wasn''t how things were normally done. To even be allowed into this room, one needed to prove they had a certain amount of money. In addition, some form of identity or collateral was needed to ensure that individuals didn''t write random bids they couldn''t account for and screw up the proceedings.


    That said, these measures became meaningless long ago. No one dared to do such things in a Major City these days. You''d be asking for death. The name Valor wasn''t just for show either. The Mayor of their city definitely wouldn''t fall below the top three City Lords.


    Ryu nodded. "Is this truly the best display room you have?"


    "Unfortunately." The manager responded quickly. "The best items are usually left for large and well publicized auctions. Although I can skirt the rules a bit for sir in this regard, I can''t break the rules protecting those items.


    "The only method young master can use to see them is by being granted our highest membership card. In addition, even with this card, the items will be far more expensive than they would otherwise be during a public auction. This is in order to protect our auction house from any losses¡­ So, they''ll be three times more expensive than the best-case scenario price of our yearly auctions."


    Ryu of course understood this. An auction house definitely wouldn''t take a loss. As such, if an individual wanted to buy an item set for auction ahead of time, they''d be forced to pay three times what the highest estimated price of the auction would be. Luckily, money wasn''t something Ryu cared about. He just didn''t want to waste any time. As soon as he saw that the method of payment here was actually gold coins, he realized that he had overestimated the Pedestal Plane a bit too much. At least the Outer Ring, anyway.


    "What is the method for earning the highest membership card?"


    "Replying to young master, Valor Auction House is intertwined with many ventures including our Blacksmith, Alchemist, Formation and Ruin Master Associations. Aside from this, there is also our mercenary guild that might appeal to young master as well.


    "In order to earn the highest membership card, there are a few methods. Either become an Earth Grade Master of any of our Associations, a Fourth Order Mercenary of our Valor Guild, or spend a total of ten million gold coins in total between our intertwined ventures.


    "In addition, young master should also note that this highest-ranking membership card is the only level of membership that is universal for all nine Major Cities. Meaning, lower ranking cards are useless in other cities not directly under our city''s control, but this membership card, the Valor Honor Card, is universal."


    "Is that so?" Ryu nodded. This was definitely useful to him. "What method do you suggest?"


    "If young master has talent enough to join any of our Associations, this will likely be the easiest method. Though it is impossible for a youth to meet the Earth Grade requirement, it is lowered to Black Grade for those below twenty-five years of age like young master. The only issue with this method is that assessments do not occur often. They''re more infrequent than our auctions.


    "Since young master is in a rush, your best bet is to spend ten million gold coins. But, this is a purposely obscene amount because City Lord prefers talents over riches. Ten million gold coins is the equivalent revenue of the whole of Valor City in a quarter."


    Ryu noticed that the manager purposely avoided the topic of the Valor Guild. But, that only made him more curious.


    "And what of the Valor Guild?"


    The manager coughed awkwardly. "Replying to young master, please forgive me for my rudeness but the Orders of our mercenary guild are incredibly difficult to climb. As you know, Orders correspond to beast grade. In order to earn an Order, one must hunt ten such beasts alone. These hunts must also be monitored by an administrator, so even if young master wasn''t so young, an appointment would take even more time to set up than even the other available methods because an administrator capable of overseeing such a high level assessment would be incredibly busy.


    "And, although the requirements are lowered for your age as well ¨C to the Third Order ¨C it''s not easy to find an individual to administer that level of test either. At the very least, it''ll take more time than either the public auction, or the Association Exams."


    Time. It seemed this was what everything boiled down to.


    In a test that relied on beasts as a testing measure, Ryu definitely had an advantage. However, he didn''t dare to use his Ice Crystal Jade Body while being monitored. That would only bring him trouble. Though, it wasn''t as though he needed it to defeat Third Order beasts.


    Ryu also had a sneaking suspicion that the manager was getting at something else. He was likely thinking that the time needed to defeat ten Third Order beasts was large. After all, beasts were always more powerful than their human counterparts on average. He probably believed that Ryu would be injured and need to account for time to recover.


    If Ryu was certain that he could find an administrator today, he was also certain he''d be able to complete the assessment today as well. Unlike the thoughts of the manager, he knew his current strength enough to know that it would be a simple matter. Unfortunately, it seemed like that wasn''t in the cards.


    "Hm. I see." Ryu nodded. "In that case, I''ll be going to the Alchemy Association. I assume they have an Herbology Department which deals in selling Spiritual Herbs?"


    At first, the manager was caught off-guard by the question. But, in the next instant, he understood. Instead of wasting gold on useless auction items here, Ryu planned on spending the ten million necessary gold on Spiritual Herbs. Wait! That wasn''t the most shocking part. This youth actually had ten million gold to spend?! Even Valor City only made forty to fifty million gold a year, would even the City Lord spend so much in a single sitting?!


    The manager could only awkwardly laugh and bow as he saw Ryu out.

 Chapter 150: Thats All? [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus Chapter for 500 powerstones]


    Ryu didn''t waste any time. His footsteps seemed slow and deliberate, but if one looked closely, it was as though the wind glided him forward several meters with every step. Those in the Circle of Elites were either wealthy individuals or strong cultivators, usually both. As a result, the depth of Ryu was something that intrigued many and caught their interest.


    Soon, Ryu made it to the Alchemy Association. As expected, as any proper Alchemy Association should, they had their own Herbology Department. Though Ryu never dabbled in alchemy, the depth of his knowledge of herbology was far beyond what those here could contend with, so he planned on taking advantage of this fact. Unfortunately, it seemed Valor City was set on forcing him to waste time.


    As an unknown customer, he could freely buy Common Grade Herbs, but should he want to buy Spiritual Herbs of a higher grade, he had many hoops to jump through.


    Though Ryu''s facial expressions didn''t change as he listened to the explanation of the receptionist, he would be lying if he said he wasn''t annoyed. It seemed everything in Valor City revolved around one''s status, and they seemed to look down on those who wanted to throw money at every problem.


    If Ryu wanted to spend ten million gold on Common Grade herbs, he''d be out of luck. Deals revolving around Common Grade herbs were usually handled with silver which were worth a hundredth of a gold coin. Even if he was willing to spend ten million gold, he wouldn''t reach that amount even if he bought the Association''s entire stock.


    To make matters worse, even if the Association had that many Common Grade herbs to sell, they would never allow Ryu to clean them out with one purchase because it would imbalance the economy too much, not to mention inconvenience others.


    "¡­ Unfortunately, young master, the only way to skirt these rules is by having a Valor Honor Card or becoming an Earth Grade Alchemist of our Association, or Black Grade, considering your age. Or, young master can become a Disciple of one of Valor City''s Sects. The use of Sect Contribution Points have no such rules attached to them, though you have to use Universal Contribution Points which are worth much more than Sect specific Contribution Points."


    Finally, a new piece of information. Universal Contribution Points were worth a thousand times that of Sect specific ones. One would have to join a Sect and earn a thousand points before trading them in for one that could be used anywhere within Valor City territory, including the other two Sects.


    Ryu realized just how important status was here. The Pedestal Plane must be aware that there were individuals overflowing with gold on the Mortal Planes. No matter where you were, gold was a universal mineral recognized by all. So, how could the arrogant Immortals allow mere Mortals to flaunt their wealth as they pleased? This method was a way of dividing those who had true strength from those who didn''t.


    ''It''s a good thing that I had planned on joining a Sect anyway, hm?'' Once Ryu understood the fundamental rules of the Pedestal Plane, he wasn''t discouraged. If anything, he was excited. He''d force the Faith of the Outer Ring to revolve around himself and play them in the palm of his hands. The day he left this place would be the day the name Ryu Tatsuya was immortalized.


    "Thank you for the information." Ryu said faintly. "As a normal individual, what are my purchase limits?"


    "Replying to young master, you can freely buy Common Grade herbs, but you''re limited to three stocks per herb type. There are no price limits, just quantity caps. Here is what we have available in our inventory currently." The receptionist handed Ryu one of the many Memory Jade copies they kept on hand for moments like these.


    Ryu nodded, taking the white Memory Jade in his hand.


    "Wait a moment." Ryu suddenly paused. "You said that if I become a Black Grade Alchemist, I can buy freely from your Association, correct? Do you all not have graded Herbologists?"


    The receptionist was shocked by the question. It wasn''t that Ryu had said something ridiculous, or, maybe it was that¡­ The reason the receptionist hadn''t brought this up was because it was more likely for a youth below twenty to become an Earth Grade Alchemist than even a Common Grade Herbologist. This was how exaggerated the differences were.


    An alchemy disciple took a cultivation technique handed down to them by their Master and followed strict procedures to reproduce a long since vetted method. However, Herbologists had no such structure to their system. Knowing the names and properties of Spiritual Herbs was only just one small aspect. It was necessary to understand how to grow and foster growth in herbs, how different environments affected these herbs, what sorts of mutations could happen or be caused to happen, the chemical structure of these herbs, what changes could occur when splicing or separating these structures¡­ The list was so long that even an entire day wasn''t enough to list them all.


    The best Herbologist they had in Valor City was an old monster who was a Half-Step Heaven Grade Alchemist, she would garner respect even in the Inner Ring, yet even she was only a Higher Black Grade Herbologist.


    Comparing Herbology and Alchemy was like comparing doctors to medical pioneers. Of course, doctors had a difficult job, but much of their task was executing concepts and methods already tested and vetted by those who pioneered new fields of their own. One was clearly much more difficult than the other.


    "Let me guess." Ryu said when an almost resigned sigh. "It takes several months, maybe years, to set up an appropriately difficult exam and administrator of said exam?"


    The receptionist blinked before grasping her bearings once more. "N-no¡­ Actually, the exam for Herbology is standardized across the Pedestal Plane. It''s an exam that takes place in a Small Realm and is automatically marked and graded as it happens¡­ Theoretically, if an individual can pay, they can take it immediately and as many times as they want or can afford."


    Ryu was pleasantly surprised by this response. "Is that so? I''d like to take it then."


    "T-this¡­" The receptionist stuttered.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "N-no¡­ It''s just that it''s very expensive."


    "How much gold?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    "Not¡­ Not gold, but Qi Stones. One Common Grade Exam costs ten Inferior Qi Stones, a Black Grade Exam is¡­ It''s ten Medial Qi Stones..." The receptionist seemed to duck away, afraid of Ryu''s reaction


    "Oh¡­" Ryu mumbled. "That''s all?"

 Chapter 151: Association Head

    "Please bring me to where I must go." Ryu said with a slight hint of impatience in his voice. "I would like to get this over with as quickly as possible."


    "Ah!" The receptionist snapped awake at Ryu''s words. "Yes¡­ Yes. Please come with me."


    The receptionist of the Alchemy Association was actually just one of many. The entrance to the tall tower led into a lobby area where a large circular desk was placed. As much as a dozen receptionists took up positions within the open center of this circular desk to efficiently help as many customers as possible. As a result, the exchange between Ryu and the receptionist he was charged to wasn''t exactly covert.


    However, was Ryu the type of individual to care for stares and ridicule? He wouldn''t give these individuals the time of day, especially considering how their expressions changed when they saw how easily he was willing to spend Qi Stones.


    Only Core Disciples of the Major Sects would receive one Inferior Qi Stone per month while each Sect wouldn''t accept more than ten Core Disciples in total. Inheritors above them were the only exception. Even elders wouldn''t spend so many Qi Stones at once on such a foolish endeavor. And, if what they heard was correct, Ryu would have to become a Black Grade Herbologist for any of this to matter at all! Even the Ancestor of the Major Sects wouldn''t have ten Medial Qi Stones to spend so willfully.


    Ryu silently followed the receptionist as they made their way to the higher levels. It seemed that the Exams usually took place on this first floor in a back room, however the herbology exam was a bit special since it required entry into a Small Realm. As a result, it was located on the same floor as the Association Head''s office, the second floor from the very top.


    Just as they were about to branch out from the staircase and enter the second highest floor, the receptionist stopped Ryu.


    "I''m sorry young master, but I must confirm if you have the funds to proceed. This floor is a very sensitive area that not just anyone can enter. Please excuse my rudeness."


    Ryu didn''t mind it. He simply took out a Medial Qi Stone.


    The Qi Stone shimmered like a transparent crystalline gem storing a fog of white energy. The receptionist immediately understood its level as her breath shortened involuntarily. It was only after she recollected herself that she finally went through what seemed like a complicated procedure to enter, allowing Ryu to follow in after her. It was only after Ryu did that he realized this wasn''t much of a floor at all, the door led directly into an office just as large as the lobby area below.


    The office was decorated with endless rows of untidy bookshelves. Loose papers and unswept dust were a common sight, but the desk toward its far edge that seemed to hide a figure behind more piles of books made them look organized.


    "Association Head, I''ve brought an individual who would like to take the herbology exam."


    Unlike what Ryu expected, the Head wasn''t a woman. This meant that the so-called best alchemist of their Association didn''t act as their Head and probably meant that the highest floor they hadn''t gone to was reserved for her.


    A middle-aged man on the slightly older side looked up to see Ryu. He frowned not just at Ryu age, but the fact that Ryu was blind.


    The Association Head had looked up before the receptionist even spoke because he felt a Spiritual Sense land on him. It wasn''t invasive, but he still didn''t like the feeling. Anyone who had been in the martial world for any period of time knew the level of rudeness attached to such a thing. But, it seemed that Ryu had his own reasons for using this method considering his blindness.


    "Molly, you can''t just bring anyone who says they''d like to take the exam to my office."


    The receptionist, or Molly, seemed flustered by this response. She had expected it, but what could she have done about it? Ryu didn''t look like a patient individual. She didn''t want to know what would happen if these two strong willed men clashed.


    "Are there rules to taking this exam aside from the monetary compensation?" Ryu turned toward Molly.


    Molly was directly put in an awkward position. If she said yes, she''d be slapping her own face and that of Ryu''s. After all, it was her job to keep Ryu informed. However, if she said no, she''d be exposing the Association Head as petty and slapping his face. How the hell was she supposed to answer this question? Luckily, she didn''t have to.


    The Association Head sneered. "What an arrogant little boy."


    Ryu frowned. What part of what he had said was arrogant? He asked a simple question. If this old man took offense to that, it said more about him than Ryu. However, Ryu put down his normally quippy response. Though he was a Shrine Plane Prince, it was unintelligent to act as such here. Not to mention the fact this Association Head was a Divine Vessel Realm expert, angering him would only waste Ryu''s time further and likely make his future harder.


    "I apologize if I''ve been rude, esteemed Association Head. This young one would only like a chance. If I fail, then so be it."


    The Association Head found it hard to continue to be petty after Ryu lowered his head. However, what he didn''t see was the coldness hidden behind Ryu''s eyelids. He assumed that a draft had come through when Molly opened the door, but what he didn''t know was that he had forever lost the right to Ryu''s favor.


    Ryu''s pride was dug deep into his bones. Let alone this Head before him, even the World Sea cultivators who could wipe all life from the Pedestal Plane hadn''t made his heart palpitate. He lowered his head for one reason and one reason only: his family. The more time he wasted, the more time he would need to save them. He refused to allow anything to get in the way of that, even if it was his own arrogance.


    The Association Head snorted. "Do whatever you''d like."


    The teleportation formation to the Small Realm was located within the Association Head''s office. It was the only relatively clean spot in the entire place and was placed upon an elevated silver platform. Ryu didn''t waste anymore time on nonsense. He handed the Qi Stones to Molly who used five of them to activate the formation and stored the remaining five.


    When Ryu reappeared, he was greeted by surroundings that he would have never expected. He stood upon a tall pillar that only had enough space for him to a step once in all directions. Below was an endless abyss of darkness that wouldn''t hesitate to take his life. But, what was truly intriguing was the fact his pillar wasn''t the only one. All around him, formed into a large circle, dozens of other pillars had exam takers of their own¡­

 Chapter 152: Tatsuya

    Silence had overtaken the Association Head''s office. Molly turned to leave, but she was suddenly stopped by a voice.


    "Who was that child, Molly?"


    "Replying to Association Head, I am unsure. He only seemed interested in acquiring a Valor Honor Card. At first he planned on spending ten million gold coins before he realized it was impossible and learned that this was his only method."


    "''Replying to Association Head''? Is that how you speak to your grandfather?"


    If Ryu had been here, he would have nodded in understanding. Why else would someone in such an esteemed position know the name of a mere receptionist? Though¡­ It was odd that a woman with such an esteemed background was relegated to such a role in the first place. But, considering the cold attitude she had toward her grandfather, maybe that made more sense than not.


    "You overstepped your bounds today, Association Head. It was unnecessary to provoke a young genius in such a way just because your research isn''t going the way you''d like it."


    Those words stung the Head into silence. She seemed to be referring to Ryu, but at the same time something completely different.


    Eventually, the Association Head snorted. "That child was too arrogant. He lowered his head, but it''s clear he''s not used to hiding his emotions because I could read him like an open book."


    Why would Ryu be used to such a thing? He was a Scion of the Tatsuya Clan. He had had the qualifications to wear his heart on his sleeve for the whole of his life. There''s no way he''d be comfortable with swallowing his reflexive reactions so soon. It seemed it was something he would have to work on.


    "I hope you don''t regret it." Molly''s cold response was nothing like the flustered attendant she had been moments ago. "Geniuses on his level capable of swallowing their pride and burying their grievances are few and far between. If there comes a day where he stands above your head, it''ll be too late. Or¡­ Maybe it''s already too late."


    Molly left the office without another word. She knew her grandfather wouldn''t take her words seriously. He had always been this way. He was probably sneering at the idea of Ryu ever standing above him. Sometimes, older individuals lost proper perspective on things after having had their heads in the clouds for too long.


    The Association Head shook his head as Molly expected. ''The eyes are too important for a herbologist, especially on a test where your sense of smell and touch are taken away from you. His Spiritual Sense isn''t refined enough to pick up the small details the eyes can. Plus, even if he had his eyes, since when was becoming an herbologist so easy? What a joke. Even the Inner Ring geniuses are at least fifty years old.''


    Soon, the Association Head had thrown these matters to the back of his mind, burying his head back into his piles of research paper. He forgot all about the young man named Ryu.


    **


    Ryu had no idea what the Association Head was thinking, nor would he care if he did. He was more interested in the proceedings of this exam. This looked more like a battle ground than an exam room¡­


    Ryu debated with himself. His Spiritual Sense had grown an astronomical amount during his deep sleep. In fact, it had doubled in size from thirty to sixty meters. Unfortunately, true geniuses worked on orders of hundreds of meters after stepping into the Spiritual Entrance Realm.


    Ryu''s understanding of the Small Realm he was in was limited to just sixty meters. Considering its scale, this was truly too small. But, at the same time, this wasn''t a projection of his body, it was his true body. Meaning, if he opened his eyes, there was a chance others could understand that he had Heavenly Pupils which might cause him trouble later on.


    Ryu sighed. ''Is there really nothing in this world that can protect my eyes from detection?''


    Of course, there was an answer: his Mental Realm. By shrouding his pupils in a layer of Spiritual Sense, he could block all those with weaker Mental Realms than himself from observing the true abilities of his eyes. With the [Immortal Sakura] as a visualization technique, Ryu''s Mental Realm would have great defensive properties as well, which would only help this. It was just that Ryu had a hard time trusting his own Mental Realm after he came to understand just how poor his Mental cultivation talent was.


    ''It''s better to be cautious. I''ll diligently practice for now. Once I reach my limit, I''ll use the Gold Vein Lilies to push myself to the realm of geniuses before entering the Spiritual Endowment Realm and repeating.''


    "Oh? That''s a new face." A voice coming from Ryu''s left caught his attention, likely because Ryu guessed it was referring to himself.


    "Mm. It is quite rare for new faces to appear here. They only put us youths in here and send the old fogies elsewhere. If he''s here, he must be less than a hundred years old."


    Ryu picked up a few things from this conversation the least important of which was the fact this was a youth exam. Actually, Ryu was more interested in the fact they were guessing his age. Much like reading someone''s cultivation, it was somewhat possible to read another''s age as well. Though, sharper senses were required the higher that person''s cultivation was considering almost all cultivators looked young.


    "Hey you!" The voice called out to Ryu. "I''m Edward Basteel from the Inner Ring''s Basteel Clan. May I ask who you are?"


    Ryu''s head shifted over toward the voice. "My name is Ryu Tatsuya."


    "Tatsuya?!"


    Ryu heard something odd in Edward''s voice. But, he soon understood. Names held incredible power, especially ones as strong as Tatsuya. If Ryu could boldly proclaim that his name was Tatsuya without being struck down by Faith¡­ It meant he was powerful! Almost too powerful!


    No one dared to ask Ryu where he was from. Even if he said he was from the Outer Ring, they would probably never believe him.


    Ryu smiled. ''Great Grandfather, you must still be alive right?... If no one has dared to snatch up the Tatsuya name after so long, you must be. I''ll find you too. Then I''ll drag you back for daring to leave our Clan in its time of need.''


    It was clear by Ryu''s smile that he didn''t blame his Great Grandfather too much. But, he didn''t have much time to think about it as flickers of energy caught his attention. The exam was beginning.

 Chapter 153: Herbology Exam [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 200 golden tickets]


    The qi swirled around the exam space that looked more like a purgatory of hell. The moment all pillars had an examinee, the atmosphere shifted. One would think they were about to go into battle instead of taking an herbology exam.


    Soon, an image flickered to existence before everyone, each with their own. Ryu soon realized that his Spiritual Sense could no longer leave the radius of his pillar, nor could he sense other life forms. However, there was also something stopping him from observing the image itself. He could only tell, faintly, that it was of some sort of Common Grade herb.


    "I''d like to welcome you all to this round of exams." The bright voice of what sounded like a youthful, yet mature woman entered their ears. "I won''t bore you with the details like which round this is, but for those of you who are new, I will explain a few things before you all begin.


    "First, I''ll begin with the importance of this exam. A few thousand years ago, the rulers of our Realm, the Kings, Queens, Emperors and Empresses of the Martial Plane, began to prepare us for an impending invasion. According to their information, the blossoming of this generation will be of utmost importance to our success or failure in defending against this threat.


    "It might seem that for a threat of this caliber, battle prowess is most important. However, our leaders have much better foresight than we do. They understand that without the evolution of our Professions, our battle prowess will become equally as limited. As a result, they''ve chosen to invest in certain Professions with the help of these Exam Realms.


    "Your role here is only to use the resources given to you to improve your comprehension of Herbology to one day become the pillars that uphold our Realm. Do not let failure weigh you down! Learn, improve, adapt. We''re all rooting for you! Good luck!"


    The moment the energetic woman''s voice faded, the veil around the image that floated before Ryu disappeared. However, while others dove into their exam as a timer began to tick away, Ryu paused, a deep frown setting into his handsome features.


    Unfortunately, he simply didn''t have enough information to address his worries. This so-called invasion was likely the same event brought up by the Zu Clan Ancestors, but how could Ryu trust that a group of individuals power hungry enough to eradicate his home Shrine Plane, the Martial Plane, had now turned over a new leaf to begin looking after the youths of their generation?


    Ryu sneered. ''If you''d like to help me so badly, who am I to turn my nose up at your offer?''


    Ryu''s mind sharpened as he focused on the floating image before him. Some of the faster individuals had already moved on to their second or third image, while the slower were just completing their first.


    The concept of this first round was simple. An image of a Common Grade herb was presented. However, this image was purposely flawed. It was a spliced together image of numerous herbs. The examinees were tasked with pointing out the flaws and naming the Common Grade herb.


    The issue here was that it was a spliced herb. This meant that what was a ''flaw'' and what was not was dependant on numerous factors. An examinee had to first analyze the image and decide what herb made up the largest percentage of the image, then name everything else as a flaw. This was several orders of magnitude more difficult that simply naming an herb. Just to clear one image, one had to understand several herbs not as a whole, but down to its individual parts.


    ''This image is spliced with two different herbs, 90% of which is Spice Primer Root and 10% of which Bear Bane Root.''


    Both were root type spiritual herbs. Spice Primer Root was known for its ability to enhance cooking by making spices and herbs taste more aged. It was especially good for use in low quality Spiritual Wines and Beers due to its ability to cut down the time needed for the aging process as well. Bear Bane Root was good for shooing away mammalian type beasts, especially ones with a hibernation cycle. It was able to accelerate the chemical reactions that signaled to beasts it was time to hibernate, making them more languid and slowing their reaction times.


    Ryu recognized them immediately. Though he wasn''t using his Heavenly Pupils, his mind was on another level after fusing with the Embryonic Origin Flame. His memory was already excellent, but it became even more so after this event. He could recall memories even from when he was a child with absolute clarity.


    Like this, Ryu unknowingly fell into a Breath of Earth state. Before, he could only hold on for half an hour, but now that his Mental Realm had doubled in size, holding on for two or even three hours was no problem. He tore through the exam with a practiced ease. He went so quickly that his hands blurred as he quickly picked out flaws and named herbs, even the shifting images couldn''t keep up with his speed.


    At some point in time, those on pillars near Ryu couldn''t help but look over. Though Spiritual Sense was blocked, their eyes worked just fine. The most irritating part was that they couldn''t even accuse Ryu of randomly answering questions to look cool. The purpose of the pillars below their feet was to move along with the examinee''s completion percentage. If one got a question wrong, they would move back, if they got one right or partly right, they would move forward a certain amount. But, Ryu hadn''t moved backward even once!


    The questions continued to become more difficult. At first, there were only two herbs spliced together with exaggeratedly different percentage makeups. However, soon, the 9:1 ratios Ryu began with became 8:2, then 7:3. Eventually, herbs began to show up as 55% and 45%. The percentages became so close that deciding which herb was the principal herb and which parts were flawed became as difficult as scaling a mountain even if you recognized both herbs immediately.


    However, it didn''t stop there. After reaching that threshold, two herbs became three, then four. Eventually, even ten herbs were being spliced together at varying percentages. Ryu didn''t even realize it, but he had already gone past the threshold needed for the first round of this exam. One was only supposed to move forward thirty-three meters to pass the first round, but Ryu was already past the hundred-meter mark that was required to pass the whole exam!


    Somewhere, maybe on a different Plane, the energetic woman watched all of this happen. She was tired of spitting up her drink, so she placed her glass of Spiritual Wine a long ways from herself.


    Of course, she knew that she could also complete this exam with such flying colors, but she was, without exaggeration, hundreds of times older than Ryu and had long since become a Heaven Grade Herbologist. Even with her level of genius, she had never been able to do this at Ryu''s age.


    To be fair, Ryu was actually over a thousand years old mentally, so it wasn''t an exact comparison. But, even if the lady knew this, she would still be embarrassed because she was over ten thousand years old.


    ''Oh boy¡­ How do I deal with this one?...''

 Chapter 154: Terraforming

    Ryu''s hand reached forward with striking speed, seemingly acting before his mind could even finish a complete thought. However, it was then that the exam completely changed, forcing him to pause.


    "Huuu¡­" Ryu snapped out of his Breath of Earth, his mind shaking awake to find that the round of questions he had become so used to was different now. ''Is this the second round?''


    Before, the images would be spliced herbs, but now what appeared before Ryu was a miniature environment. It seemed to be a small illusory garden scaled down to the with size of about three or four palm lengths.


    This particular garden seemed to be one built upon a lake. Spiritual Herbs that could grow in this kind of environment were in the minority, but Ryu knew that they definitely existed. This was the norm for water attribute herbs.


    As Ryu was analyzing the environment before him, the herbs he was looking for appeared hovering above the water garden. It was then that Ryu understood the purpose of this second round.


    Being a herbologist wasn''t just about recognizing herbs, a large part of their job was to act as gardeners. In Ryu''s first life, he revitalized many extinct species of herbs with this ability, he was a large part of the reason his parents grew so powerful despite them being relatively young in comparison to other powerhouses. It was a part of the profession Ryu was incredibly familiar with.


    The goal of this second round was to do exactly that. An environment was spawned and the examinees'' job was to adjust said environment within certain bounds to foster the growth of the herbs they''ve been provided with. Of course, this was all a simulation.


    After one had adjusted their environment to their liking and planted their herbs, a time lapse would occur where a third-party system would decide based on accumulated data just how viable the examinee''s choices were.


    ''They didn''t make this easy.'' Ryu thought with a light smile. ''They''ve given me a water environment, but the herbs I must grow would die if planted directly into the water this way.''


    Ryu had three herbs this time, only one of which would be able to grow under these conditions. But, even then, it wouldn''t be perfect because this was a freshwater environment, while the herb in question was best suited to a saltwater environment.


    Herbs that could survive in salt water were incredibly rare. Salt was incredibly good at drying organisms out, so an herb capable of living in such a biosphere was very special.


    ''That''s the key.'' Ryu''s eyes flashed. ''Fostering the growth of herbs isn''t just about adjusting the environment, but also about controlling what herbs came before it and come after it.''


    The concept of crop rotation was an incredibly important one. Depending on what herbs were once grown in an area, it could either hinder or foster the growth of Spiritual Herbs that come afterward. When Ryu noticed that one of his given herbs was a saltwater herb, he immediately understood the crux of the exam.


    Ryu was given three herbs: Drying Leaf, Flame Lotus, and Lightning Blossom. To any sane herbologist, growing all three herbs in the same area was stupidity of the highest degree. For one, Flame Lotuses were completely incompatible with an all water environment. Secondly, lightning and water don''t mix. In the case that the Lightning Blossom could grow, it would spark the deaths of all other herbs around it. In the case that the Lightning Blossom couldn''t grow, that would just be another failure. Thirdly, Drying Leaf was a saltwater herb, but this was a freshwater lake.


    However, after just three seconds, Ryu''s hand had already begun to move.


    ''It can''t be¡­'' The energetic exam overseer sat up. Even she was still thinking of the perfect solution. This exam was far more difficult than the normal herbologist exams because it was created with the specific purpose of finding talents. This difficulty only increased in the second round. Even a Heaven Grade Herbologist like herself needed some time to think of a solution. This was precisely why there was no time limit after the first round.


    ''¡­ Genius!'' The overseer stood up abruptly. ''Drying Leaf has to be in saltwater environments because its osmosis potential is too strong. It looks like a small leaf, with an equally small body, but its roots and stem have countless perforations that push its surface area to a ridiculous level. On top of that, it has an innate qi circulation system that accelerates the absorption of water. The only way to stop this herb from drying up beds of lakes and rivers everywhere is to counter with saltwater which can mitigate its ability to some extent. If this isn''t done, not only will the herb become useless, but so would the environment it was planted in.


    ''This child¡­ He planted the Lightning Blossom and Drying Leaf herbs together. By arranging them in a perfectly balanced formation, he''s using the natural lightning element circulation of the Lightning Blossom to supercharge chemicals and force them to break apart. He can''t create salt in this way since he doesn''t have the appropriate building blocks, but he can decrease the concentration of molecules Drying Leaf has a high affinity for in the surrounding water, which would slow down osmosis.


    ''This forces the Drying Leaf to slow its absorption of water, while at the same time preventing the water from interfering with the Lightning Blossom too much. On one had, the Drying Leaf is taking most of the water for itself, while on the other the Lightning Blossom is even further lessening the affect of the water.


    ''Using this cycle, the water in the lake drains, but not quickly enough for the Drying Leaf to become unviable. Then, once the lakebed dries out completely, it becomes the perfect environment for the Flaming Lotus! This isn''t just herbology¡­ It''s practically terraforming!


    ''The most important part here is the formation of Lightning Blossoms and Drying Leaves. If there were too many of either herb in a certain area, the balance would have been shattered. Either the Drying Leaf would absorb too much water too quickly, or the lightning would be overwhelming and destroy it all other herbs. If the latter occurred, then only the Lightning Blossoms would survive while the Flame Lotus wouldn''t even be able to be planted.


    ''Three seconds¡­ Three seconds¡­'' The usually energetic overseer felt deflated. It only got worse when Ryu once more sank into Breath of Earth, causing his speed to reach a new level.


    It didn''t matter what the environment was or what herbs he was given. Desert? Mountain peaks? Underwater caves? Clouds? Rocks? It didn''t matter.


    Before Ryu even realized it, he couldn''t even see any fellow exam takers around him anymore. It was as though something toward the center was calling him, as though it was luring him. As much as he wanted to know what it was, it was even more that true that whatever it was, was ecstatic. It had waited too long. Someone worthy had finally come.

 Chapter 155: Fourth Round

    ''Just who is this child¡­'' The energetic overseer trained her pretty, sparkling eyes on Ryu. She was too intrigued. ''It''s impossible for a Qi Refinement Expert to carry such an air of purity. The only explanation is that he has a high-grade constitution¡­ At least Heaven Grade, maybe Mystical Grade.''


    Cultivation was all about refining the human body to higher levels of perfection. Though the appearance of an individual might seem superficial, it was actually quite tied to one''s talent. The more beautiful a person was in comparison to others of their cultivation, the greater talent they tended to have.


    The overseer could clearly see the affects of Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body. Though it was also possible for an individual to be attractive and a weak talent, the overseer had a hard time accepting this possibility as she watched Ryu tear through the second round.


    At this point, within the eerie examination Small Realm, Ryu was wondering if he should tone back a bit. But, in the end, he shook his head. The feeling of lowering his head to a mere Association Head just hours ago was still gnawing at his heart. He hated that feeling. He didn''t want to feel it again so soon.


    ''Still, just what is this Small Realm. What is calling me¡­''


    Ryu could feel his Heavenly Pupils throbbing. It wasn''t the same painful throbbing that warned him of danger, this was a throbbing his hadn''t felt in decades, the very throbbing that told him that he was close to a treasure.


    Ryu could vaguely feel that this trigger of sorts was far more powerful than it was in his last life. This was likely because his cultivation was much greater so the freedom his pupils had followed in kind. However, he wondered what would happen if he suddenly monopolized a treasure in this place¡­


    It was obvious to Ryu now that they were sent here because of this treasure and it definitely wasn''t to uplift the youths of this generation either. Ryu was very familiar with Ruins, so he knew that many of them came in three forms. The first form was without restriction. The second was a cultivation restriction. And the final was an age restriction!


    In all likelihood, this Small Realm was one with an age restriction, probably one hundred years just like that Basteel Clan fellow said. The issue was that becoming an herbologist with the appropriate level of skill in just one hundred years was nigh impossible. Though crazy as it may seem, even Ryu wasn''t certain if he could perform this well back when he was that young.


    ''What Legacy Realm could have standards so high?...''


    In Ryu''s defense, the reason he doubted his younger self in this fashion was precisely because he didn''t have cultivation. As a result, his pupils were far weaker than they should have been and his memory wasn''t as crystal clear either. One''s mental capacity greatly increases along with cultivation, so it was obvious that Ryu was handicapped in this fashion back then. If he had had cultivation, Ryu was confident that his younger self would have breezed through this exam just as easily.


    ''This is the third round, huh¡­'' Ryu paused as the questions changed once more. ''Oh? Interesting¡­''


    The third round was a major change once more. This time, two separate categories of spiritual herbs spawned. One category was a spliced herb, similar to what one could have seen in the first round. The second category was a group of numerous herbs. It seemed the goal of this third round was to cure a poison¡­


    In this sense, ''poison'' is a rather loose term. It isn''t that the first category spliced herb was created to be a poison, but rather that its spliced together portions had an unintended adverse reaction within the body of anyone who took it. The examinees would then have to use the group of spawned herbs in order for the first spliced herb to function as intended.


    This was yet another layer of difficulty¡­ The first round was mostly about herb recognition. The second was about herb growth. And this third round was about herb functions and interactions. One didn''t just need to understand the functions of herbs, but also how they reacted in the presence of each other.


    Ryu smiled lightly. This time, he didn''t slip into Breath of Earth, not because he couldn''t, but because he wanted to be more mindful of his surroundings. Something was telling him that a large change was about to occur.


    ''What''s this?'' Ryu looked down at his chest. Something he hadn''t noticed before had appeared there. It was then that a sudden realization overcame him. ''Oh?...''


    It was a badge. It had a plain wooden appearance formed into a U-shaped shield and four star shaped holes gracing its front. Two of the center stars were about one-fold larger than the two smaller stars to their sides. As of now, all four stars were filled with a gentle golden light.


    While Ryu was in his Breath of Earth state, it seemed he hadn''t realized that he had already passed the requirements for the Lower Common Grade. In fact, the glowing of all four stars meant he was on the verge of earning the Black Grade already.


    As though to confirm his guess, the moment Ryu completed the first question of the third round, the badge changed once more. It morphed from a sturdy, oak-like wood, to a piece of impenetrable black steel. It retained the same shape, but the golden color that filled the stars was gone. It seemed as though they had been absorbed in order to change the form of the badge.


    ''It seems my goal has been completed¡­'' Ryu struggled slightly. The best herbologist in Varlor City was a mere Higher Black Grade Herbologist, meaning she had only filled three stars of this black badge. If Ryu surpassed that, he didn''t know what kind of trouble it might bring.


    If this was a normal exam, Ryu would have begun to purposely make mistakes now until he was kicked out. However, that voice calling him, the one moving his pillar forward now¡­ He had a feeling that he shouldn''t ignore not¡­ No, he couldn''t ignore it.


    Ryu continued to blaze through. Since he had decided, he would go all out.


    His badge continued to grow. As his hands blurred, one star was filled, then a second, and a third. By the time the fourth was being completed, Ryu was already nearly finished with the fourth round of questions.


    ''A fourth round?'' The overseer was in shock. As far as she knew, there were only three rounds. And this fourth round¡­ Wasn''t it too much to ask a youth to complete it!? ''Is this what they were looking for all this time? Is this what they were hoping would happen? Do I protect this boy¡­?''


    The energetic overseer wasn''t a fool. Though she spoke of the Martial Plane glowingly, she knew the reality of the matters. These kids were being used, not mentored. However, who would have known that just as she was struggling with her decision, everything would go black? Not only had all of the youths been forcibly teleported back, Ryu was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 156: Question

    While the herbology exam was thrown into chaos, Ryu was completely oblivious. Since he was unaware of how things normally worked, he assumed that this was what normally occurred. Still, even he felt it was a bit odd when he was suddenly teleported once more. It wasn''t the teleportation itself that confused him, it was rather the fact that his Spiritual Sense ceased to function all together.


    The energy fluctuations around him were so fierce that he couldn''t even push his Spiritual Sense even a single centimeter from his body. However, what he heard was even more odd.


    There was the faint sound of rushing water and rustling leaves, but it was the giggling and laughter that truly caught Ryu off guard. It sounded like little girls were running around having fun, he could almost feel the adorable atmosphere even with his eyes closed.


    In the end, Ryu opened his eyes. He had no choice. What did the secrets of his Heavenly Pupils mean if he died here trying to hide it? If his Spiritual Sense was useless, it would be too easy for him to fall into danger. Even if this place sounded safe and cheery, Ryu knew better than to simply trust that instinct.


    ''Faeries¡­?'' Ryu''s pupils constricted as he took in the environment around him. It was exactly as he imagined. No, it was even more beautiful than he imagined. Lush trees, rushing and intertwining rivers, green grass and a heavenly, intoxicating fragrance that filled one with a rush of calm.


    Small women, at most six inches tall and some as small as three inches floated around, tugging on Ryu''s black robes as though begging him to come and play.


    Ryu was shocked. Even with his wealth of experience, this wasn''t something he could have ever predicted he would see in his lifetime. Faeries were from the Spirit Race and as such didn''t normally appear in this Realm. Logically speaking, it didn''t make sense that they were here.


    Ryu did know a small bit about the Spirit Race. After all, his Death Guard, Nuri, was half a member of this race. This was the reason why her beauty was so intoxicating, and was also why she could hide in the void for such extended periods of time.


    ''Nuri¡­'' Ryu felt a slight swelling of emotion he immediately tempered down. As a child, he remembered promising Nuri that he would one day grow big enough to protect her. She was his Big Sister, one he loved dearly. But he pathetically ended up being the one protected by her all his life. ''¡­ If you''re alive¡­ I won''t fail this time Nuri.''


    {He smells really, really good for a human!}


    {You''re right, he smells like nature! Usually humans are really smelly.}


    Ryu took a step forward, heading toward the voice that seemed to be calling out to him. He directly ignored the fluttering faeries. It didn''t take long, maybe because this space was so small, for him to reach a clear center. What he found was yet another surprise.


    It was a coffin, carved with beautiful crystalline gems. But, the lid was cracked open, causing the beautiful coffin to be completely overshadowed by the gorgeous beauty that now sat atop of it.


    Her eyes sparkled like red rubies, observing Ryu with a teasing expression. However, her hair was like a cascading waterfall of gold, falling far longer than the length of her body. Still, even if one wanted to pay attention to such things, the fact that she was naked made it nigh impossible for even a woman, let alone a man to do so.


    Skin as blemishless and pure as the year''s first snowfall, curves as perfectly proportioned as the most golden of ratios, and a seductive air only possibly refined after countless years. Her legs were long, crossed over as to hide her most treasured of places. But, her chest was in full view. Delicate slopes of flesh as soft as the clouds in the blue sky. Her breasts almost seemed too large to fit on her body.


    Ryu could tell that this woman was also a Faerie by her aura, but her size was far more pronounced than the others. In fact, she stood at an exceptionally tall height for a woman. Had Ryu not grown in large thanks to his Fire Dragon blood, he would definitely be shorter than her who stood at almost six foot two.


    "Are you the one who called me here?" Ryu asked.


    The faerie who sat atop the coffin pouted adorably. Seeing such a beauty make such an expression, Ryu would be lying if he said he wasn''t shaken. Of all the beauties he had seen in his life, only Eska could match this woman before him. However, he wasn''t the kind of man to allow himself to be swayed so easily.


    "You really don''t know how to please a woman." The faerie said playfully. Her voice almost made one want to fall asleep. It was too soothing. "But, I guess that''s only to be expected. It seems your soul is tied to another. Your wife must be a very lucky woman."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He didn''t flinch when the Zu Ancestors saw through all his secrets, but he did now. There was a very simple reason for this. When Ryu sends his mind into the crystalline jade, he''s inherently exposing himself. It''s almost like opening up your everything. This was why the Zu Ancestors understood his talents and faults so easily. But, this situation was different. He was in the real world now¡­ It shouldn''t be possible to see through him so easily.


    "There''s no need to be so anxious. The reason I can see through you so easily is because our wavelengths match. You were born to be with me as I was born to be with you."


    "Wavelengths?"


    "Mm." The faerie nodded. "Just like I can see all of you, you can see all of me if you just concentrate a little bit. Right?"


    Ryu immediately realized that she was correct. "Ailsa."


    The faerie began to clap happily, causing her fleshly mounds to bounce. "That''s my name!"


    Ryu was inwardly shocked. He really could see through Ailsa completely, even seeing her current thoughts wasn''t impossible.


    "Us faeries are destined to be tied to another from our birth. Some of us are born to protect a particular Spiritual Herb, others are tied to High Order beasts, but it''s very rare for a human to share a wavelength with a faerie. Humans are quite an elite race, relatively speaking, but your people are too invested in controlling nature to connect with it, so it''s very rare for us to even come to this Realm ruled by you all."


    Ryu sighed, why was it that this kind of woman always seemed to attach themselves to him? He was a cold, stoic man. So why were his wife and now his destined faerie such polar opposites of him?


    Ailsa giggled. "You forget that you were once like this too. Hardship changed you too much."


    Ryu didn''t refute. "I only want to know one thing: Will you make me stronger?"

 Chapter 157: Coldness

    Ailsa seemed amused by Ryu''s question.


    She stood from her coffin, revealing a small triangular patch of golden hair between her legs as she almost glided toward Ryu. In what seemed to take an eternity, she made her way before him, looking up and into his silver eyes with her own sparkling rubies.


    Her smile shone like the stars in the sky, her soft pink lips curling into a gentle slope. "If I couldn''t see into your mind, I would think that I was an ugly woman. It''s a good thing for me that I can."


    "I have a wife." Ryu replied plainly.


    Ailsa giggled lightly. "Am I not more attractive by your human standards?"


    Ryu''s eyes frosted over. "If you dare to speak ill of my wife again, I won''t care for what benefits you can bring me. I''ll kill you where you stand."


    Ailsa sighed. "How unfair." She was unmoved by Ryu''s threat though she could tell that it was very much real. "I''ve waited more years than I care to count for you, yet you refuse to fully accept me."


    Ryu frowned. "What are you talking about?"


    "You still don''t understand?" Ailsa looked into Ryu''s eyes. Looking at how serious she was, Ryu caught a glimpse of why his wavelength matched with his woman. That gaze¡­ To think she could look like this too. "Us faeries don''t have this thing you humans call ''sexuality''. We choose our life partners based on our wavelengths and compatibility. Even if you were the small sprout of a nameless tree, I would stay by your side for the rest of my life."


    Ryu wanted to refute this as ridiculous. Wasn''t this the same thing as allowing Fate to decide your own happiness? Ryu had decided to never allow Fate to rule his life again, so how could he sit here and listen to this woman speak about how they were meant for each other? However, Ailsa interrupted him.


    "Don''t push the concepts of you humans unto us faeries. Our cultures are too different. You''ve gotten to where you are today by supposedly fighting Fate, but have you really? Do you know how many individuals have been born with Ancestral Great Circles throughout all of time? Not just this Realm, but every Realm in existence? The answer is less than ten thousand."


    Ailsa shifted her gaze from Ryu. "And do you know how many individuals were lucky enough to also be chosen by a Sky God as well? The answer is one. And that one person is you. I haven''t even spoken about your Heavenly Pupils, or your birth into the Tatsuya Clan.


    "Do you really have the face to go to an orphan without cultivation talent, born on the Lowest Mortal Plane, and tell him or her to keep their head up and "fight Fate"? My dearest Life Partner¡­ Your perspective of the world is shallow, filled with arrogance and overblown pride, and truly laughable."


    Ryu silently listened to Ailsa''s piercing words. Wasn''t she correct? When had he ever truly fought against Fate? He kept lamenting a ''hard'' life that truly didn''t seem hard at all¡­


    "To answer your question: yes, I will make you stronger. But, not as strong as I could if you accepted me, something you clearly have no intention of doing. I am among the highest races of faeries. We are known as the Cultus Sprites. We stand above elementals and battle faeries despite not having much combat prowess of our own¡­ We are known for our ability to nurture and foster growth.


    "Cultus has many meanings in many different ancient languages, but it is centered around a general meaning of ''to nurture''. The legends of Gods and Goddesses in your human lore that focus such things are usually tied to my ancestors.


    "I have the ability increase the growth speed of Spiritual Herbs. Right now, I can do so by several ten thousand times. But, in order to leave this space I will need to bind my soul with yours as I cannot exist outside the Faerie Realm without my Life Partner. Unfortunately, this process will limit me in two ways. The first is by level of intimacy between us Life Partners, and the second is by your cultivation. By my estimates, I''ll be limited to a ten times increase due to being limited in both.


    "Next, I have the ability to unlock the potential of beasts. My people have turned many a snake into arrogant dragons. If you find suitable beast companions, I will be able to untether them from the chains of their weak bloodlines and limiters.


    "I also have the ability to sense strong centers of nature, similar to Life Partner''s Feng Shui comprehension but on a much deeper level. Given time I can find Life Partner many great and hidden areas of cultivation.


    "My presence soothes the Heavens. Simply by binding yourself to me, your cultivation speed will increase, as will your ability to comprehend. There will also be many excellent passive affects such as increased healing capacity and energy recovery. But, most important will be the impact on sensing Natural Orders, specifically Natural Enlightenments and Elements. My impact on comprehending Birthed Phenomena is limited since they were constructed by you humans, but in terms of Natural Endowments and Elements, I will be of great help. With me, I guarantee you that you''ll only need a few days to touch upon the entry boundary of your Northern Heavenly Wind.


    "Finally, and maybe most important to you, I can shroud and protect Life Partner. Faeries are very good at existing between a state of reality and imaginary. I can make it so that no one will be capable of sensing your Ancestral Great Circle or your Heavenly Pupils. At least, no one on the Pedestal Plane will be able to."


    What Ailsa didn''t bother to say was that if her and Ryu''s intimacy was at the highest level, even the new rulers of the Martial Plane wouldn''t be able to see through him unless they reached the Soul Quintessence Realm. However, there wasn''t really much of a point in saying this, right?


    Ryu continued to silently gaze at Ailsa. He knew well what she was thinking, as she knew well what he was thinking.


    He wanted to use her for the sake of saving his family, but there was nothing further. This sort of reality deeply scarred Ailsa, causing her to put her playful attitude away. How many years had she been dreaming of her Life Partner, only to run into this unfeeling man?


    At the same time, Ryu himself also got a rude awakening. Ailsa had shrouded her previously jarring and piercing words by beginning to list her ''uses'' to Ryu ¨C as though she was a tool rather than a person ¨C but they still hung in the air as though they had never left.


    "Let''s go." Ryu finally said.


    If this Soul Link was witnessed by others, they''d feel a shiver of coldness One would never guess that Ailsa and Ryu had just bound their souls to one another¡­ Ailsa simply shrank to the size of a palm and shrouded herself in a white gown to sit on Ryu''s shoulder silently as he left the hidden realm¡­

 Chapter 161: Gold

    The silent Association Head office was filled with a gentle flashing light as Ryu reappeared once more.


    The Association Head sensed this and snorted. "It hasn''t even been a few hours yet but you already failed? Isn''t that too pathetic? What a waste of Qi Stones. I''m sure you can see your way out, correct?"


    He didn''t even bother to look up from his papers.


    Ryu''s head turned toward the older man whose head was buried in a stack of papers. "Esteemed Association Head, with your lofty position, you''re likely the only one in the Alchemy Association capable of awarding Valor Honor Cards, correct?"


    "Listen, you annoying brat. Get the hell out of my office. I don''t care for your worthless flattery."


    "I''m not intentionally trying to disturb you. I only meant to say that since I''m here already, I thought I should ask you to handle the procedures."


    The Association Head finally looked upward, a vein of anger pulsing through his wrinkled forehead, but what he found were piercing silver eyes that lacked even more patience. They were a pair of silver eyes that filled him with a cold and irrational fear.


    It was then that the Association Head noticed. Right there, on the left side of Ryu''s chest, a badge forged of black steel. However, it wasn''t just any badge. Etched across the top of its shield-like structure was a vine of holding small leaves and delicate flower drawings. It was the badge of an herbologist!


    ''F-four stars¡­'' The Association Head blinked, not believing his eyes. "Who are you?"


    "Esteemed Association Head, can you fulfill my request, or must I ask someone else?" The monotone inflections of Ryu''s voice didn''t change. It was as though he hadn''t heard the Association Head''s questions at all.


    "O-of course." The Association Head calmed himself. Just under three hours had passed since Ryu had disappeared, but the herbology exam was known for taking several days to complete. This wasn''t under normal circumstances, of course. It was just that the youth exam was particularly special. However, not only had Ryu reappeared in less than three hours, he came back with the credentials of a Peak Black Grade Herbologist. The Association Head would be a fool if he didn''t understand he had made a mistake.


    The process of receiving his Valor Honor Card went quickly. Ryu didn''t say another word to the Association Head, nor did he need to. Identity treasures like an herbologist badge or the Valor Honor Card were tied to an individual''s qi signature. Unless one had a rare technique capable of perfect replication of another person, it was impossible to fake. Of course, nothing was infallible. But, for now, Ryu was fine.


    Ryu made his way back to Molly. So he didn''t have to waste time listening to her console him about his apparent "failure", he directly placed his Valor Honor Card on the reception desk before she could utter a word. However, it seemed he underestimated just the level of value this card had¡­


    The whole of the Alchemy Association seemed to come to a grinding halt as dozens of pairs of eyes trained on a singular piece of metal cutout shimmering with violet colors and holographic weapons. Soon, those eyes shifted from the card to its owner.


    Ryu''s presence was completely different with his eyes opened. Even with Ailsa''s shroud, he still appeared untouchable to many. Ryu''s face had already been etched into the minds of many.


    Molly, a mere receptionist, was surprisingly the first to recover as she slowly handed Ryu a memory jade filled with their Association''s inventory. She sighed inwardly, it seemed her intuition was correct. She could only imagine her grandfather''s feelings after he was forced to hand this card to Ryu.


    ''Why did he have his eyes closed previously? And why did he decide to open them now?'' Though she thought this, Molly had her own guesses. Much like her grandfather, she knew the importance the eyes had for herbologists. Low ranking Spiritual Senses weren''t good enough to pick up on all the small details an herbologist''s eyes had to. So, Molly thought that maybe Ryu was forced to rely on his eyes during the exam and gave up whatever Spiritual Sense training he was doing before that.


    ''The selection here isn''t amazing, but it will do.'' Ryu ignored the eyes floating around him, focusing entirely on the inventory list that appeared in his mind. Not only did he need cultivation herbs for qi, the body and the mind, he also needed something he could use to ensure that he had no more hidden injuries.


    "I will take fifty stocks each of Qi Cleansing Leaf, Blood Boiling Stem, and Mind Calming Leaf. In addition, I''ll take a hundred dosages each of Revitalizing Petal and Vital Tree Essence, plus a log of Seeking Wood."


    Molly''s lip twitched, but she still went ahead with her duties.


    Qi Cleansing Leaf helped prep and prime one''s Qi for their next Revolution. It was excellent for accelerating qi accumulation and greatly shortened the time between Revolutions.


    Blood Boiling Stem was an auxiliary herb meant to be used along with beast blood and Spiritual Roots. It was placed into the collected blood and acted as a catalyst that made absorbing the latent Vital Qi far easier. It made for smoother body cultivation.


    Mind Calming Leaf allowed one to focus on Visualization for longer periods of time and thus aided Mental Realm cultivation. There were two important aspects to Mental Realm cultivation. One was of course accumulating Spiritual Qi. This directly influenced everything from how powerful and far reaching one''s Spiritual Sense was, to how long one could sustain Meditation States or one''s Natural Orders. However, the second aspect was just as important and touched upon the same factors. It was known as Focus Qi.


    Focus Qi was exactly what it sounded like. It referred to a martial warrior''s capacity for focus. How long they could spend meditating, how long they could spend in seclusion, or even how long they could maintain the sharpness of their attacks in battle. Though it was called Focus Qi, there was no empirical way to measure one''s Focus. It could only be improved with time and meditation. Mind Calming Leaf essentially artificially increased Focus for a small period of time.


    All of Revitalizing Petal, Vital Tree Essence and Seeking Wood were related to Ryu''s body recovery. Cultivation was important, but recovery was equally if not more important.


    Revitalizing Petal resembled rose petals and were meant to be diluted in large baths of hot water. Seeking Wood was what Ryu planned on building these baths with as they were able to seek and pull away impurities naturally. Finally, Vital Tree Essence would be the hot water Ryu used in this equation. It referred to the deep root water taken from the Vital Tree, a spiritual tree known for little else but its ridiculously long lifespan. It was said a mortal could gain a hundred years of life drinking its Vital Essence.


    However, all of these things obviously came with an extremely exaggerated price¡­


    Molly coughed slightly. "That''ll be 30 600 000 gold¡­"

 Chapter 162: Fighting Fate

    Ryu didn''t blink at the obscene price that represented the near sum earnings of Valor City in a year, he simply went about the business of handing what he owed over. He didn''t plan on making this sort of large purchase again, anyway. After all, he had the Incubator. The only reason he bought so much to begin with was so that he''d have a sustained flow until the Incubator could provide him a continuous stream of resources.


    The Incubator, after being improved by the Origin Essence of Ryu''s final Rite could accelerate growth by a thousand times. If this was stacked with Ailsa''s abilities, it was the equivalent of a ten thousand times increase in speed. This meant that Ryu''s Spirit Seeking Lilies would only take one year to reach maturity instead of his previous ten-year estimate.


    However, the Black Grade herbs Ryu had just bought wouldn''t take nearly as long. Mental Realm herbs worked on a bit of a different system, but in terms of qi and body herbs, the incubation times went up by increments of ten times. Common Grade Herbs needed about a year to at most ten years to reach maturity, while Black Grade Herbs needed ten to a hundred years and Earth Grade Herbs required anywhere from a hundred to a thousand, and so on.


    By this logic, Ailsa wouldn''t need to do much of anything. It would only take a month for the Incubator to create an entire farm of Black Grade Herbs. With Ailsa''s help, it would only take three days.


    Normally, an herb on the level of the Spirit Seeking Lilies would take several hundred thousand if not millions of years to reach maturity. That said, because the Spirit Seeking Lilies split their maturation into two stages, the preparation stage, and the Spiritual Qi absorption stage, it was able to have a flexible growth period dependent on the concentration of Spiritual Qi around it. Since Ryu had an entire lake of Spiritual Qi, it made the second phase negligible and thus shortened the time frame needed.


    All Mental Realm type herbs functioned in this way, including the Mind Calming Leaf. So, for Ryu''s purposes, they''d only take a day to be prepared as opposed to the three days of the other herbs.


    Ryu left the Association, ignoring the eyes that followed him out. His next destination was the Valor Auction House where he would buy himself some appropriate ores.


    **


    "Ah, young master Ryu, your order was a bit stringent, but I think we did it justice." A youth covered by a layer of soot grinned when Ryu stepped into the small blacksmith.


    The young man scurried behind a loose, raggedy curtain only to lug back three large rectangular boxes of solid black. The strength of the youth was clear here. Ryu estimated that the total weight of these three boxes was almost ten thousand jin. Ryu wouldn''t be able to lift such a heavy weight unless he circulated his qi, but this young man did it with nothing but his body.


    "These should be some of my father''s proudest works." The young man''s smile almost shone a light of its own. "Thank you for giving him the opportunity to work with such high-quality materials. My father is resting right now, but he wanted me to give you these for free."


    Ryu went to refute but the young man stopped him. "My father broke into the Earth Grade because of you. Trust me, the value of such a thing to him far surpasses a few gold coins. Thank you."


    Though Ryu felt conflicted, it seemed like the young man wouldn''t take no for answer. Just three days prior, after Ryu finished his business with the Valor Auction House, he began his search for a blacksmith. In the end, he settled on this small shop because Ailsa pointed it out to him.


    Since he and Ailsa formed their cold link with one another, she hadn''t spoken to him. She only completed the tasks she knew he wanted her to complete by reading his mind and intentions. In fact, she hadn''t even spoken when she pointed toward the blacksmith. She only sat silently on his shoulder and lifted her arm. In the end, Ryu simply decided to follow her suggestion.


    The owner of the blacksmith was from a small branch family of the Ember Clan. This young man''s father wasn''t incredibly skilled by any stretch of the imagination, but Ryu understood why Ailsa pointed him out quickly. His grade wasn''t high, but he resonated with the true nature of the materials to an incredible degree, bringing out their full potential. But, this wasn''t due to his own skill, but rather the special yang qi of the Ember Clan.


    According to what Ryu could gather from the thoughts Ailsa didn''t speak, the Ember Clan used a special branch of sealing cultivation known simply as ''Restrictions''. The fiercer the Restriction, the stronger their yang qi.


    This young man''s father, Blacksmith Ember, restricted himself from ever using his yang qi outside of these walls. As if that wasn''t enough, he also swore to only use it for forging weapons, and as if even that wasn''t enough, he swore to only make weapons for those whom the ores accepted.


    The trouble was that this man was incredibly untalented in the field of blacksmithing. Even with his yang qi specifically tailormade for it, he was mediocre at best. Luckily for Ryu, his Ember Clan''s special yang qi, known as Ember Qi, overcompensated for his lack of skill to a great extent.


    After interacting with the family, Ryu only had two words for them: too stubborn.


    Ryu was shocked to find out that Blacksmith Ember was actually a Divine Vessel Realm expert only a step away from the Connecting Heaven Realm. At the same time, his son, Vio, was older than Ryu, but was a mere Pulse Opening Realm expert. The sad part? Vio''s blacksmithing talent was one Ailsa felt could become otherworldly with proper mentoring, this was her vision as a Cultus Faerie. Likewise, Blacksmith Ember, was a cultivation talent the likes of which rarely appeared in the world.


    Yet, the father wanted to be a blacksmith, while the son wanted to be a cultivator¡­


    Ryu almost felt that the visit to this blacksmith shop had little to do with the Ember Clan''s Ember Qi and everything to do with Ailsa making a silent, but fierce point. Sometimes, no matter how much you will it, you won''t be able to accomplish what you set out to do.


    This so-called ''fighting Fate'' that Ryu was so proud of himself for doing was really just him working within the confines of a lane Fate allowed him. He was just luckier than others¡­ Maybe this was why he hadn''t dared to read his Fate Star even after his Spiritual Foundation awoke¡­


    When Ryu took the three black boxes into his arms, he felt that their weight suddenly carried something outside of normal heaviness. The level of resolve this Ember Clan father and son pair had, did he have it? ''If my cultivation never awoke, would I still have had the perseverance to seek out revenge for Granny Miriam? Would I still dare to work toward saving my family? Would I dare to search for my wife?''

 Chapter 163: Vulgar Beasts

    Ailsa sat silently on Ryu''s shoulder as though his thoughts had nothing to do with her. Her ruby-like eyes sparkled, lost in their own world. Ryu could only inwardly sigh. He had never lost a battle of words in this life or his last, but to think he would lose to someone who said no words at all.


    Was this what it meant for their souls to share a wavelength? Could someone else have forced Ryu to admit his faults so easily? Ryu was unsure¡­ The only other person to succeed was Elena. Elena was probably the only woman in existence before Ailsa to make Ryu put down his stubbornness.


    However, Ryu felt that there was something deeper to this. It wasn''t that Ailsa understood Ryu so well, although that might be it in part. It was more so¡­ maturity. Ailsa had a level of maturity that was far beyond Ryu and Elena. Just how long had she waited for Ryu in order to foster such a mind state?


    "Hmph." Ailsa pouted turning her head away from Ryu. "Even thinking about asking how old a woman is, is a punishable offense. How rude."


    Ryu bitterly shook his head. Maybe she wasn''t so mature after all. Well, at least she was speaking to him again.


    "Thank you, Vio." Ryu bowed in respect to this small family of two. "I''ll use them well."


    Vio waved his hands as though trying to refuse Ryu''s bow. He wanted to say something more, but before he could, Ryu had disappeared like a wisp of smoke. Bowing his head wasn''t something Ryu did often. Even for his parents, it was a rare sight. However, Vio and his father had taught him a valuable lesson. They might be unaware of this fact, but Ryu was still grateful, nonetheless.


    Ailsa smiled with satisfaction. An outsider might see her attempts to enlighten Ryu as her forcing her belief system upon him, but this wasn''t her intention. She didn''t want Ryu to suddenly believe that Faith was infallible. She only wanted him to understand that swimming against its current was far more difficult than he believed it to be. If he didn''t learn this lesson early on, he would fall into an abyss he could never climb out of in the future.


    This was the ability of Cultus Faeries. They couldn''t just nurture strength, they could nurture the mind and the heart. What Ailsa had done for Ryu was more valuable than any powerup could be.


    **


    Ryu left Valor City behind, entering deep within its surrounding beast ridden forest. If others knew just how much money he had spent in the last few days, they might die shocked deaths. Even with all of the gold coins he had come with, he blew through more than ninety percent of it in the blink of an eye. But, it was very much worth it.


    Ryu slid his black robes off before putting on a sparkling light blue skintight flexible armor. It was constructed with Ice Worm silk and was incredibly cool to the touch. Though the Ice Worm''s silk was incredible tough and sturdy, not many could wear armor made of its material because the yin qi it emitted was fierce. If one wasn''t careful, they could become a block of ice.


    Luckily, Ryu had begun to cultivate Vital Qi while he waited for the Ember Clan father-son duo to complete his weapons. As a result, his slumbering bloodlines had partially awakened. With his Ice Phoenix blood beginning to come into its own, cold wasn''t something Ryu would have to worry about in most cases.


    Ryu breathed out. The layer of frost that had covered his eyelashes melting away in the wind.


    After overlaying a new set of black robes to cover his defensive treasure, Ryu began to move once more, his movements filled with purpose. His destination? The Awoken Moon Sect. The very Sect Granny Miriam''s younger sister called her own.


    **


    The Awoken Moon Sect. It was a land ravaged by cold year-round. However, if one looked around, you could find a surprising number of individuals trekking its perpetual winter landscape. If one looked once more, you might raise an eyebrow at the fact all of these brave individuals were men.


    That said, if you had heard of the Awoken Moon Sect before, you would understand what was happening at a single glance. The Awoken Moon Sect was an all-female Sect. When this reality is known, one can either understand the situation, or become more confused.


    The Awoken Moon Sect wasn''t like other Sects which had strict and infrequent disciple accepting periods, it simply didn''t have the luxury of doing so. According to rumors, the techniques and legacies of its Sect were incredibly difficult to grasp, and as such, there were a rare few that could be admitted. As such, the Sect held disciple exams once a month on the day and night of the full moon. And, when this day arrived, men from across the Outer Ring would gather, all to catch mere glimpses of the Femme Fatales hidden behind those tall, white and blemishless walls.


    "These annoying loaches. Is there really a need for them to come here every month?" A beauty with a snarl that didn''t match her appearance nearly growled out her words. It truly wasn''t her fault, anyone would be annoyed beyond belief. "Don''t they realize that they look more like dogs than men? A woman might like a bit of persistence, but too much is just disgusting."


    The beauty was short in stature and quite petite. She didn''t look more than fourteen years old, but she spoke in the vulgar fashion one might expect a disgruntled middle-aged divorcee to.


    She stood on the tall white walls of their Awoken Moon Sect, trying to pick out the hopeful young girls in the crowd of hormonal men. She needed to make sure that none of those beasts harmed their delicate flowers, or else there would be hell to pay.


    "Let''s start filtering them out. Open the gates." A much taller, more mature disciple directly ignored the young girl''s ravings. "Make sure not to let those who shouldn''t be here in."


    "Leave it to me senior sister. I''ll definitely bust their balls properly." The teenage girl seemed more excited than she should have been. Who knew where she learned such words from¡­


    She fluttered downward gracefully, snorting at the calls of admiration from the crowd of men. Though, it did satisfy her vanity a bit.


    "This way kiddies!" The young girl completely ignored the fact that many of those who came were actually older than she was. "You vulgar beasts stay back, only those prepared to take on our Awoken Moon Sect''s trials should come forward. You''ve seen your fill, you can leave now. We are a mighty Fifth Order Sect, not your playgrou ¨C Hey you! What do you think you''re do¡­"


    The young girl froze. The gaze in Ryu''s eyes almost didn''t allow her to continue on with her normal rant. Maybe for the first time in her young life, she was speechless.

 Chapter 164: Throne

    The young girl shook her head fiercely, slapping herself awake from Ryu''s intoxicating scent. Unfortunately, that wasn''t enough to remove the fog from her eyes entirely. Though Ryu''s scent was part of it, the other part were his eyes.


    In the past, a large part of the reason Ryu didn''t dare to open his eyes casually was because it was very likely an individual could lose their minds looking into them for too long. Ryu''s pupils held the mysteries of the heavens themselves, with them, he could see even the Fate of those around him. That wasn''t the kind of burden just anyone could withstand, especially since he was no longer in the expert filled Shrine Plane anymore.


    It seemed that even with Ailsa shielding the true depth of his Heavenly Pupils, it was still possible for him to shake people to their cores, especially those who were innately more sensitive than others. It seemed this little girl, despite her demeanor, was quite talented.


    "Amie, is there a problem?" Amie''s senior sister saw the oddity from upon the tall white walls. Well, it was more accurate to say that she heard the oddity. This was the longest span of time she had gone without hearing her little junior sister''s voice.


    Hearing her senior sister call out to her, Amie finally shook herself awake fully, a deep fear taking root in her large, immature eyes.


    Those men who had come just to beauty-watch stepped forward valiantly. It was obvious that they hadn''t felt what Amie felt. They just assumed she was smitten by Ryu''s handsome appearance. To swindle a little girl like this just because you were born a bit good looking? They were pissed off to the point of immediately jumping upon their figurative white horses.


    "Fairy Mae, this bastard is taking advantage of Fairy Amie. We saw it with our own eyes!"


    Of course, Mae wasn''t so easily fooled. However, when she saw the flustered appearance of her little junior sister, her cold exterior gave way to anger. She was very protective of Little Amie. Her frown only deepened when her gaze landed on Ryu who was in the process of entering the large white gates, especially when she realized she couldn''t see through his cultivation. If Ailsa could hide his Heavenly Pupils in plain view, it was obvious she could do the same for other things.


    "Who are you and why have you come to our Awoken Moon Sect?"


    Ryu shifted his gaze from Amie who felt as though a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She almost directly collapsed to the ground.


    "Is it not obvious? It''s your Sect''s disciple accepting period, and I''ve come to partake."


    Mae''s brows wrinkled. "Our Awoken Moon Sect is a female only Sect."


    Ryu smiled lightly, but it only made Mae more uncomfortable. "I never said that I wanted to apply to become a normal disciple."


    The ravings of the crowd of men grew worse at Ryu''s words. They had never seen a person as shameless as him. Come to join a female only Sect as a man? Then still not admitting your wrongs even after you''ve been exposed? Though, as fellow men, they had to hand it to him. This was definitely the most unique way they had see to get close to the Moon Fairies. At the very least, it was more creative than just appearing here every month and hoping for a different result.


    However, Mae''s reaction was completely different. Her pupils constricted into pinholes and her heartbeat sped up, causing her still developing chest, despite already being Ryu''s age, to heave. It was a sight that could make a man''s heart palpitate with excitement.


    "Y-you can''t mean¡­.?"


    "That''s right. I''d like to challenge your Sect for the right to take the title of Throne."


    In that moment, even the rowdy crowd of men fell into a dead silence. Their hearts that once beat only for the Moon Fairies suddenly beat for an entirely different reason.


    Throne. It was a title that had existed since the beginning of time and was an esteemed label given to only the greatest. According to ancient lore, the title of Throne was once held by angels. Some called them the Deity Race, others called them Celestials, and still others labeled them as the Deus. Still, no matter what name you knew them by, you recognized them as a mighty race that stood even about the Ancient Beasts.


    This was what the title Throne represented. It was a person who stood above all things, even the rules of the Sect itself. An untouchable being.


    Laymen believed the disciple rankings to be simple. If one was lowly, you would begin as a Working Disciple, you could then work your way up to the Outer Sect, then proceed to the Inner Sect, before maybe becoming a Core Disciple. Many believed that there was only one pinnacle following this, and that was to become an Inheritor, an individual who had the right to fight for a future position as Sect Master. But, this wasn''t the case¡­ There was one more position ranked even higher than that¡­ The Throne!


    One who held the title of Throne was untouchable within a Sect. They could use resources as they pleased, browse techniques as they pleased, converse with elders, and even the Sect Master herself, as they pleased. They could wring a Sect dry of all it was worth as long as they followed a single rule: To not harm the Sect''s bottom line.


    One must wonder why a Sect would allow such a ridiculous thing. To allow an individual in who wouldn''t have to follow the normal rules of a Sect in would be akin to shooting yourself in the foot, no? Even if that person was incredibly talented, they had no obligation to your Sect. They wouldn''t even have to raise a hand to help you in the future.


    However, this was where the martial world''s most important concept shone the brightest: Faith. A Throne only had one duty, and that was to explosively increase the Faith of a Sect or Clan.


    Clans and Sects took thousands to millions and even billions of years to accumulate Faith. How was it done? By scoring numerous achievements. Conquering impossible tasks, defeating unbeatable opponents and writing a legend that stretched throughout time. Eventually, a Sect or Clan would slowly grow as a result of their accumulated achievements¡­ Birthing geniuses would become easier and more likely, they''d receive protection from natural disasters, and their longevity would increase.


    Thrones were a shortcut. If the talent of an individual surpassed the normal condition of a Sect or Clan by enough, they''d be able to explosively increase their Faith in a short amount of time. As a result, a Sect or Clan would be willing to accept short term losses for the sake of long-term gain.


    However, nothing in this world was free¡­ As appealing as the title of Throne was, not just anyone could hold it. And the trials to grasp it¡­ Were nigh impossible.

 Chapter 165: Heiress Melody

    Hundreds of individuals seemed frozen within the tundra-like landscape. They truly couldn''t grasp whether Ryu was a fool, or if he was really capable of doing such a thing. The birth of a Throne wasn''t something one spoken about candidly. Even if the requirements for becoming a Throne here was much lower than the Inner Ring or the Core Region, a Throne was still a Throne.


    To put matters into perspective, no one would dare to guarantee that if the greatest geniuses of the Core Region came that they''d lay claim to a Throne title. Even if their positions were ones that usually looked down upon a mere Fifth Order Sect, even in all their arrogance, they wouldn''t dare to say such a thing.


    Yet here was Ryu, a man donned in black robes with white hair seemingly disappearing within the fallen snow, confidently smiling as though it was just another day.


    ''In the entirety of our Pedestal Plane¡­ There are only two other Thrones¡­ Tens of billions of individuals, whittled down to just two¡­'' Mae bit her lower lip. ''Even then, before those two, it had been several hundred thousand years since the last Throne appeared on our Plane. Now, suddenly, a third wants to lay claim to the title? Is it coincidence? Or is it that the tale of those two emboldened others to risk their lives¡­?


    Becoming a Throne didn''t just represent unmatched talent and battle prowess, it also represented an unyielding spirit. Thrones were loners, individuals who would rather stand above the world than hold hands with it. There was no doubt that a Throne here could easily enter some of the best Sects and Clans on the higher Blossom Plane, yet they turned down such a path.


    "A challenger to our Sect''s Throne?"


    In that moment, a voice as soft as clouds, yet as powerful as a mountain, cut through the quiet atmosphere. Mae and Amie were shaken out of their thoughts, their necks practically snapping in the direction the voice came from.


    "Heiress!" The two core disciples lowered their heads and all but knelt to the ground. They knew that their Sect''s Inheritor often oversaw the disciple trials, mostly as a precaution against the rowdy men and as a warning to those who deemed to cross a line they shouldn''t, but she never appeared. However, the moment she did, everyone lost their breaths for a completely different reason¡­ Beauty.


    Her hair was a long black that sank to just above her waist, but it sparkled with a silver light that made her feel ethereal. Her neck was long and slender, leading to a delicate face lined by gentle, soft slopes. She wasn''t very tall, more than a head shorter than Ryu, but her presence and demeanor made her seem larger than life.


    A blue gown graced her curves, following the contours of her body and giddily clinging to her with the help of the whipping cold winds. Those of weaker will couldn''t help but swallow dryly whenever a particularly strong gust forced her dress to press firmly against her.


    This woman was Heiress Melody, the sole Inheritor of the Awoken Moon Sect and¡­ Granny Miriam''s younger sister.


    Ryu knew this the moment he laid eyes on her. The faint pang of a guilty conscience weighed on him. If it wasn''t for him, would she have lost a sister?... Probably not. Granny Miriam was beloved by all, if it hadn''t been for him, she would have lived for much longer¡­ She wouldn''t have died like a criminal, with her name slandered and thrown in the mud¡­


    Ryu knew that Heiress Melody was most definitely already aware about her sister''s death. This wasn''t because of some arbitrary power like a sixth sense, but rather due to their special Bone Structure.


    Granny Miriam, before her death, told Ryu about the constitution she shared with her younger, twin sister. It was called the Causal Gate Bone Structure. Essentially, the Fates of the two sisters were tied as one, but not in any obvious way.


    Both twins were born with an Earth Grade Bone Structure and Bloodline, but Granny Miriam ended up losing her talent to her young sister because she had no interest in cultivation. As a result, Heiress Melody, through their shared Bone Structure, became a Dual Heaven Grade talent.


    "Yes." Ryu recollected himself. "I would like to challenge your Sect''s Throne."


    "You are aware that we are a female-only Sect, correct?"


    "Thrones aren''t restricted by such rules."


    "This much is correct, however I tell you this not to turn you away, but for your own sake. Our Sect''s Legacies are difficult to grasp, but it is still true that it is far easier for women to comprehend them than for men to. If you have the talent to become a Throne, there are¡­ better options for you."


    A person could become a Throne of as many Sects as they pleased. But, doing so became far more difficult with each subsequent attempt. The point of a Throne was to accumulate Faith, but if that Faith was split between Sects, the value of a Throne plummeted. Therefore, one had to prove they could support the Faith growth of multiple Sects at once. Since Melody knew this¡­ She wanted Ryu to choose his first Sect wisely because he may never get a second.


    Ryu paused. He seemed oblivious to the fact that many were shocked he could so easily converse with Melody. It was clear they had no idea he had a beauty far surpassing her on his shoulder. Instead, he was focused on the Heiress'' words¡­ It seemed she was pitying Ryu, as though telling him not to feel guilty. She likely believed that Ryu had come here to pay back a debt he felt he owed to her elder sister.


    ''That is in part true¡­'' Ryu thought silently. ''¡­ I will make sure that you raise up and succeed in your goals because I owe your sister my life... However, that is not my sole goal in coming to your Sect either. Your Awoken Moon Sect will be of great help to me.''


    "I believe that I am¡­ Very compatible with your Sect. I would like to try my luck, Heiress Melody."


    Melody did her best to hide her trembling. She knew that this young man was tied to her elder sister''s death in some way, but she didn''t feel that her sister had any animosity toward him. In fact, Ryu was wrapped endlessly with Miriam''s love and affection.


    Granny Miriam spent her life helping others, so she never had a chance to make a family of her own. But, she had taken Ryu to be her very own grandson, a young man she saw as her kin.


    This was why Melody wasn''t hostile to Ryu despite seeing a ring she so very clearly recognized on his finger. The connection she shared with her elder sister was very strong. Since her sister wanted to protect this little boy, she would protect him too. She had no idea that Ryu had come to uplift her and not the other way around.


    "If that is your choice¡­ Follow me."

 Chapter 166: Blossom Plane

    The Blossom Plane. Core Region.


    The strings being pulled by the Martial Plane were quite long. However, a wrinkle in their plans had occurred. Just days ago, a Small Realm they had been making use of for many generations had suddenly vanished without word or warning. The most shocking part? It disappeared during a session cornered off by the mere Pedestal Plane.


    "Meralda, explain yourself."


    A beautiful young woman stood with a bitter expression on her face. Her hair was done up in a messy bun, and she had a pair of odd glasses hiding her usually energetic eyes. These weren''t a normal pair of spectacles, but were instead one that came with multiple layers of lenses. With them, Meralda''s eyesight was beyond superhuman, even though it looked like she walked around with a telescope on her face.


    This woman was none other than the energetic exam overseer that watched over Ryu''s exam. She was a genius of the Blossom Plane, a step higher than Ryu''s current Pedestal Plane. However, she definitely wasn''t being treated as such currently.


    She stood alone on a podium in the middle of a grand room. It looked like a place a senate would come together to speak of law and order, but on a much larger scale. This place was known as The Center, a place where powerful men and women came to flex their prestige.


    As for the maintaining of law and order it claimed to exist for? It was more of a joke. These individuals cared for nothing other than their own pockets. This care might extend toward their own Clans and Sects as well, but no further than that. This is what the Blossom Plane had devolved to after the destruction of the Shrine Plane, though you''d probably be killed for saying so.


    "Esteemed elders, I have nothing I can say." Meralda lowered her head. "I was simply overseeing the exam as I usually do when everything with black. Everyone was forcibly teleported out and the Small Realm crumbled not long afterward. It''s¡­ It''s gone."


    "Didn''t I tell you we shouldn''t have allowed those Pedestal Plane swine to take part in the exam?"


    "Don''t be ridiculous, we had to cast the net as wide as possible for the benefit of our goal."


    "Then¡­ Doesn''t this mean that it''s been taken? Could it be that one of the examinees at that time gained the acceptance of the Faerie who created that Small Realm?"


    "It must be so. Faeries wouldn''t give up until they''ve found their lifelong mate. The Small Realm wouldn''t have crumbled otherwise. But the question is who is it?"


    "Meralda." Countless gazes turned toward the slightly eccentric young woman, expecting an answer.


    Meralda chewed her cherry lips. She didn''t know what she should say. She knew from the very beginning that these elders only wanted to monopolize the strength of the Faeries for themselves. In fact, they probably hoped that the young man or woman chosen would be from a lesser Plane despite what they said. If that was the case, he or she would be far easier to control.


    In truth, this was a double-edged sword. These individuals knew it was impossible to forcibly take a Faerie away from its Life Partner, so, they''d likely nurture and coax the person chosen. However, at the same time, this individual would be forced to become a pawn¡­ No different from a slave.


    The issue was that she had heard it¡­ She heard that young man call himself Ryu Tatsuya, a name filled with such strength and power, that even she, who was born from a prestigious Clan even within the Blossom Plane''s Core Region, felt her heart flutter.


    ''What should I do¡­ What should I do¡­'' Meralda bit her lip harder. ''You were too free with your words! How could you not know the kind of power your name holds? The kind of fear it still strikes?!''


    The Tatsuya Clan. If word of their successor reaches the Martial Plane, it was unknown what they would do. Meralda didn''t believe that Ryu was a true blood member of the Tatsuya Clan, but rather that he was a lucky young man who likely ran into a Legacy they hid and was thus granted permission to use their name. But, even if this was the case, it wouldn''t be taken lightly.


    Meralda turned her gaze upward, looking toward a particular collection of eight seats that represented the greatest powers in this Blossom Plane''s Core Region. Of course, the person who her eyes laid upon was her very own grandmother. Deep within her gaze was a pleading for help. She didn''t want to be the reason why an innocent little boy lost his life.


    The older woman sighed. "Is there a need to press my granddaughter in this way? She said she knows nothing, so she knows nothing. Are you trying to say that my Dugo Clan Heiress is a liar?"


    The faces of the various elders twisted. This unreasonable old woman was talking nonsense again. She really was too protective of her granddaughter. It was a miracle she even allowed this questioning in the first place.


    It was no surprise that the meeting came to an abrupt end not too long after. Meralda only repeated that she knew nothing and was finally allowed to leave.


    "How many individuals were taking the exam at that time?" One of the eight seated heads suddenly asked.


    "There were 236 youths taking the Common Grade Exam and 43 taking the Black Grade Exam."


    The heads fell into contemplation.


    "The Common Grade Exam is just a coverup. The only ones who matter are the Black Grade exam takers because only they can reach the end of the exam and have a chance to be accepted by the Faerie. Focus on those 43 for now. Find out their names, their backgrounds, and monitor them all. We still have to answer to the Martial Plane when this is all said and done¡­"


    The Center seemed to take a collective breath as one. Everything would be fine even if they never found this individual¡­ As long as the Faerie who built the Small Realm was of a normal breed. Maybe an inferior Elemental Faerie or Pixie Faerie¡­ But, if this Faerie was a Ficia Faerie capable of bringing an individual from the brink of death to full health¡­ Or a Quibus Faerie capable of controlling the dead¡­ Or a Cultus Faerie capable of nurturing history''s greatest heroes¡­ Or any other member of the highest echelon of the Faerie Realm¡­ Such a person couldn''t be left to grow alone. They had to be controlled or slaughtered.


    It was clear that Ryu needed to temper his mind more if he wanted to survive. He had to be more aware that he was no longer a Scion respected by the highest Immortal Plane. To his enemies and those who would cause harm to him, he was a bug to either be controlled or stomped upon.


    Luckily, he had a teacher by his side now in Ailsa. She would slowly help mold his future path.

 Chapter 167: Fast

    "Throne?!"


    The Awoken Moon Sect was shaken. It wasn''t so simple to meet the Elders of a Fifth Order Sect. But, as an Inheritor, Melody was of great help to Ryu.


    Currently, the duo stood in a castle carved of ice. Everything seemed to shimmer with the utmost purity, a purity only amplified by the refined beauty the Awoken Moon Sect elders held even in their old age.


    "Have you tested him appropriately, Melody?" One elder asked.


    "I trust my little brother." Melody replied plainly.


    The elders looked toward Ryu in shock. They had never heard word of Melody having a little brother. And, by all rights, Melody''s parents should have passed away due to old age by now, they were mortals, after all. So, how could she possibly have a little brother? But, the elders seemed to tacitly understand that Ryu was someone Melody wanted to protect. At the very least, that meant he wouldn''t harm their Sect.


    At these words, the elders began to observe Ryu in earnest from their ice thrones.


    "Young man." For the first time, the head, known as the Castle Master by their Sect, spoke. She looked to be about fifty to sixty years old by mortal standards, but she had gentle eyes that made her look younger than she was. "I''m sure Melody has explained this to you already, but I must do my duty and ensure that you understand. Our Sect isn''t female-only because we discriminate against men, it is rather because our Legacy has a very high mortality rate when practiced by our male counterparts. Even if you have the talent to become our Throne, it is unlikely that what we can give you will be of any great use."


    Ryu bowed his head slightly. "I will bring glory to the Awoken Moon Sect."


    It was a strong and short response, one that made Ryu''s feelings on the topic clear as day.


    The Castle Master sighed. "I hope you do get a chance to bring us glory alongside Heiress Melody. So be it. By the power vested in me, I''ll allow you to make an attempt at claiming our Throne."


    Castle Moon shook slightly. It wasn''t an uncomfortable, overbearing quake, but rather a gentle rising. In the next moment, qi began to pour in from the surroundings. If they weren''t already alerted before, the two other Fifth Order Sects that ruled over the Valor City region along with the Awoken Moon Sect would definitely be alerted now. Activating this formation only had one purpose and one purpose alone.


    A portal appeared before Ryu, one that he didn''t hesitate to step and disappear into. The elders sighed once more.


    "If he truly becomes our Throne, the girls will gain quite the distraction."


    The elders laughed amongst themselves. "A young man shouldn''t have such an intoxicating smell. It would be dangerous if I hadn''t tempered my Mental Realm for so long."


    "It would be a shame if such a handsome young man died so young¡­"


    The elders fell into silence, watching as a projection of the Throne Realm lifted into the air. This wasn''t a scene only the elders could watch. As disciples of the Awoken Moon Sect, every woman within their walls had the right to see the birth of their Throne. They would all watch as Ryu put his life on the line. Whether he would rise to glory, or fall here, they''d be witness.


    When Ryu reappeared, he almost thought for a moment that he hadn''t moved at all. It was the very same castle of ice. But soon he noticed the very stark difference: he was alone. No¡­ Not alone, but facing a Valkyrie-like woman.


    Not only was her aura valiant, but so was her armor and weapon. Her spear seemed carved of white dragon bone, and her armor came from the scales of that very same dragon. Clad in complete white, even her hair whipped about like snow in the wind. But, there obviously wasn''t any wind here¡­ This violent gust was nothing but the pressure of her qi.


    ''Ryu, every Sect''s Throne trial is different. But, they have the same basic test: combat prowess. Although there are other ways to grow a Sect''s Faith, nothing is as effective as oppressive strength. You need to be able to display heaven defying strength for your age. That''s all.''


    Ryu smiled. ''In that case¡­ This will be simple.''


    With Ailsa by his side, Ryu could unleash his full strength. As long as he didn''t do something that obviously exposed his Heavenly Pupils ¨C like using their Inner World spatial qi in the open ¨C he could use its other abilities freely, especially since he was in a separate realm now.


    Ryu stretched his arm out to his side. In the next moment, what could only be described as a weapon forged with aesthetics in mind appeared.


    A glaive with a body of violet-black shimmered under the pure light of the castle of ice. It seemed completely out of place, exuding a violent aura in a place that should have been awashed with purity. However, its blade was even more outrageous. It was large, just over two feet alone. It almost looked like the jaws of a black dragon.


    "That''s an Earth Grade weapon!" The elders shook. A Qi Refinement expert with an Earth Grade weapon? He should just be breaking in his first Black Grade glaive¡­


    "Not just that¡­ Look at the materials it''s made out of. The shaft, that''s New Moon Ore. The blade¡­ That''s Silver Thirsting Ore¡­"


    New Moon Ore. It was a Peak Black Grade Ore with exceptional qi absorption capabilities and regeneration abilities. It was capable of absorbing its owner''s qi to grow stronger over time and repair itself. This was why it was called New Moon. It had the potential to progress to Full Moon from empty.


    Silver Thirsting Ore. It was an evolving type ore. Its silver stage was of the Lower Earth Grade and grew sharper based on the blood it tasted. A blade that continuously grew stronger in battle.


    Ryu swung lightly, slicing through the aura of the white clad Valkyrie.


    ''Almost 2000 jin. If it was before¡­ This would definitely be too heavy for me. But now?''


    Ryu''s knees sunk quickly. He didn''t wait for the Valkyrie to take the initiative as he propelled himself forward. His body seemed to meld into the air itself, his [Gliding Cloud Steps] operating on a higher plane than even its creator thought possible.


    ''Fast.'' The elders who had been skeptical suddenly felt smiles hanging from their faces. They saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

 Chapter 168: Finally

    Ryu appeared before the unmoving Valkyrie in a flash. This was the first time he had battled someone using a weapon he was familiar with. He was curious to find out how the spearmanship disciplines of others stacked up to his Tatsuya Clan.


    Suddenly, the Valkyrie awoke, a blinding flash of white light emitting from her body.


    "The Throne of the Awoken Moon Sect will not be touched." Her voice was cold as her spear moved. The stroke was elegant, carving through the air and holding an air of beauty shrouding a piercing killing intent.


    Ryu''s pupils seemed to see everything in slow motion. Every detail, every flex of her muscle, every slight tremble of her pointed spear, he saw it all.


    "Your spear¡­ Is lacking." Ryu said coldly.


    His glaive raised, executing a perfect [Pare]. The Valkyrie might have shown surprise if it wasn''t for the fact she was an artificial being. Losing control of her own spear so easily would be a jarring experience for anyone, let alone someone speaking so arrogantly just a moment before.


    When next Ryu''s glaive fell, the battle was over. A [Slice] descended from the skies, a move that couldn''t have been any more basic. But, it was impossible for the Valkyrie to react. With her spear having been sent away from her body, there were too many openings to attack. She was bisected in the next instant.


    The elders were stunned.


    "I ¡­ I know that this is just the first phase, but is it meant to be so easy, Castle Master?"


    "No. This Ryu is simply that talented." The Castle Master spoke solemnly. "He acted as if he knew how the Valkyrie would attack before the battle began, it''s either he has an extreme amount of battle prowess, or he''s incredibly familiar with the spear.


    "The battle for the Throne uses the most talented disciples of our Sect''s history as a base, but limits their battle prowess to how strong they were at the trial taker''s age. Many of our former Ancestors have projections within this trial¡­"


    The elders sucked in a cold breath. It had been so long since anyone had challenged their Sect''s Throne that they forgot these details. It was impossible for the Awoken Moon Sect''s Throne trial to be simple because¡­


    "Castle Master, doesn''t that mean¡­" One of the Sect''s Grand Elders spoke.


    Heiress Melody''s jaw clenched slightly as the beginning of this elder''s inquiry, but she kept her eyes glued to the image above her head, silently supporting Ryu.


    "Yes." The Castle Master said softly. "Our Awoken Moon Sect was once a Ninth Order Sect of the Blossom Plane. However, the collapse of the Shrine Plane cut the support we once had from the Ice Phoenix Clan off, resulting in excess pressure from our enemies which eventually led to our downfall. This means that if Little Ryu wants our Throne, he''ll have to face Ancestors that stepped into the Cosmic Seed Realm at their peak."


    "Castle Master!" The elders froze in shock. Of the collective elders, only their three Grand Elders and Melody as their Sect Inheritor were aware of this truth. But, they were all thinking one thing¡­


    "Shouldn''t we have told the boy this before he entered¡­?"


    It wasn''t lost on the elders that their Castle Master had suddenly shifted to calling Ryu and affectionate ''Little Ryu''. Though her eyes were gentle, these elders knew well that their Castle Master was a scary woman who was once known as the Ice Ghost of the Battlefield. The fact she was showing any sort of affection toward Ryu meant that she was attaching a small bit of hope in him. Hope to rise their Sect back up to their former glory.


    "Little Melody was already aware of this truth and still allowed him to enter. I believe that she knows or at least felt something that we have to trust."


    Even though she said this, the pulsing ring, seemingly made of beautiful blue marble, on her forefinger told Castle Master Toria a completely different story. One that would change everything.


    At this moment, the second challenger was appearing before Ryu who had a slight smile on his face. Did he know the connection this Awoken Moon Sect had with his Grandmother''s Ice Phoenix Clan? Of course he did, that was why he chose it.


    In truth, he wasn''t absolutely certain before, but after seeing their White Dragon Bone Spear and Armor, he became absolutely certain. They were the Heirlooms only this Sect could have.


    Ryu was certain that they no longer had these treasures in their possession. Though they weren''t actually made of Dragon bone and scales, they were still too valuable as Mystical Grade Treasures. The only way they''d be allowed to survive until now is if they willingly gave them up. But, this Throne trial was still able to project the abilities of those treasures onto their Ancestors.


    To claim their Throne, Ryu would have to defeat every Ancestor the Awoken Moon Sect had had in their long history during their eighteenth year of life. It would likely begin with the weakest and work its way upward, so the enemies he faced now were most likely the more recent Ancestors of the Sect.


    He could tell. These Ancestors weren''t spearmen. The trial was forcing them to use a spear when they had likely never used one in their lives. It was no wonder the first was full of holes to exploit.


    This unfortunate trend continued onward. Due to the fact the Sect had lost their Heirloom, none of the first half dozen Ancestors survived past a single strike. The elders were starting to wonder if this so-called Throne trial would really continue like this while the disciples watching outside the Castle of ice were in absolute shock.


    "To use a glaive with one arm in this way¡­ Is he purposely handicapping himself? Or is this a style he is attempting to refine. I feel as though he is trying to hone something, but I can''t understand what it is."


    The elders nodded faintly at these words. It really did seem that way, but they were too shocked by watching their Ancestors fall with just a single strike again and again. However, the Castle Master''s gaze shifted when Ryu entered his seventh battle.


    ''This is it¡­ This is where it truly begins. The battles before this were from the Ancestors we had as a Fifth Order Sect. But now¡­ They''ll be Sixth Order Sect Ancestors¡­ Women that would one day become Immortal Ring cultivators. Can you make it to the Ninth Order?...''


    Ryu immediately felt the change and swapped his weapon, revealing a spear that matched his glaive in almost every way. ''Finally, someone who can use a spear. Show me your skill.''

 Chapter 169: Spear [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 500 powerstones]


    "He changed his weapon!"


    The faces of the elders stiffened. Even though Ryu''s use of the glaive was odd, there was no doubt he was familiar with the weapon. Was it wise to suddenly change weapons? And to the weapon that their Ancestors used at that? Was it even possible for someone so young to be proficient with two weapons?


    However, the next clash washed their worry away with shock.


    Ryu''s arm arched forward, matching the pace of the Valkyrie beat for beat. The strike was so precise that both of their weapons stalled, their tips perfectly pushing against one another.


    "It has to be a coincidence¡­ Right?" The elders muttered.


    But then it happened again. Ryu''s spear read and reacted to the flow of the Valkyrie, causing their tips to clash perfectly for several consecutive blows. Even a bowman splitting an arrow wasn''t as impressive as what they were witnessing now. How could such a level of precise control even be possible?


    For Ryu who spent so much of his time practicing the Kunan and Tatsuya Martial Forms, this was the least he expected of himself. The Kunan Martial Form focused on speed and explosiveness, zeroing in all small, fast twitch muscles. The Tatsuya Martial Form emphasized the lower body and bones, pushing for stability and power. The combination of the two resulted in a perfectly sculpted body that was both quick and precise.


    Still, Ryu wasn''t doing this to show off. He was devouring this Ancestor''s comprehension of the spear. He knew he needed to understand more, he needed to absorb more to truly refine his way of the spear.


    ''Your approach isn''t bad.'' Ailsa commentated calmly. It seemed that sitting on Ryu''s shoulder even during an intense battle didn''t bother her one bit. ''But, the most important thing you can do for your dreams of dual wielding is expanding your Mental Realm. The second most important thing will be comprehending the legacy hidden within the Northern Heavenly Wind.''


    Ailsa had become less standoffish after the matters with the Ember Clan Father-Son pair. It seemed she had begun to nurture him in earnest. Though, her ability to do so was limited due to her intimacy levels with Ryu still being marginal at best.


    A Cultus Faerie was able to nurture, but there was nothing in existence it had a greater ability to nurture than her Life Partner. A Cultus would naturally comprehend the best path to improvement for their Life Partner. Unfortunately, the road Ailsa could see for Ryu was foggy, she couldn''t see very far ahead. So the guidance she could give as of now was superficial.


    Still, she wasn''t completely useless. Every Cultus Faerie innately had information about the more famous and Faith laden treasures and abilities. Ryu''s Pupils were too rare for her to know much, but the Origin Flame and Northern Heavenly Wind had existed for so long that her species had gathered a lot of information on them. In these lanes, she would be able to guide Ryu.


    Ryu nodded faintly, taking Ailsa''s advice. He couldn''t promise her the level of intimacy she wanted, but, he could ensure that no matter what, she could watch her Life Partner reach the very peak of all that was. In that way, her duty would be completed and at least one aspect of her dreams would be fulfilled.


    ''If this is all you have left¡­'' Ryu''s spear trembled, its speed multiplying. ''I''ll end it.''


    The Valkyrie had no time to react before her throat was pierced.


    "He toyed with her¡­" The elders coughed uncomfortably. Ryu''s win here meant that he had more potential than anyone in their Sect aside from Heiress Melody who was their hope to climb back up to the Sixth Order once more¡­ "He''s not using anything aside from the spear''s basic stances¡­"


    Ryu didn''t seem perturbed as he turned his spear toward the eighth Valkyrie, repeating his tactics as though to give the elders and disciples a sense of de ja vu. Maybe it was only now the elders began to realize that while the Valkyrie were using the legacies of their Sect, Ryu was using nothing but the very basic stances anyone could learn.


    In truth, this test was almost too unfair. For the youthful Ancestors, that was. Women had weaker physiques than men did. To make matters worse, they were Ryu''s age, so they didn''t have the accumulated cultivation to counter this with qi. As the geniuses of mere Fifth and Sixth Order Sects, Ryu''s qi was already purer than theirs despite only cultivating for four years.


    This wasn''t all either. Ryu had four Ancestral Grade bloodlines. Though their true strengths wouldn''t begin to manifest until the Divine Vessel Realm, when it came to Body Realm Cultivation, some of their prowess had already begun to be seen.


    When Ryu finished opening his Body Pulses, he was surprised to find that he had 2000 jin of strength. This was because normally, after opening six Body Pulses, one''s threshold of strength would be between 500 and 1000 jin. It wasn''t until recently Ryu understood the reason he differed from others.


    Different bloodlines had different capacities for absorbing Vital Qi. Ryu had four Ancestral Grade Bloodlines so his limits were far above that of others.


    In order to enter the next Body Realm, one had to saturate his blood with Vital Qi. Normally, this would cap out at 50 000 jin. However, Ryu had already reached 10 000 jin of strength after just three days of absorbing beast Spiritual Root Blood Essence, yet he couldn''t see the end of his limits. Of course, this speed was in part due to his mother''s [Phoenix Heavenly Body], and in other part due to the vast amounts of Spiritual Roots he had accumulated during his stay in Opes Kingdom.


    His bloodlines almost made Ryu lament that he wasn''t born with a body suited for Body Realm cultivation. Had he had his father''s Bone Structure, it would have been perfect. However, he was already far above the standards of most others, and definitely far above what these Ancestors were capable of at his age.


    Ancestors began to fall like flies. After the first Six Order Ancestor fell, Ryu took down the others more quickly, mostly because he didn''t see anything worth comprehending in their spearmanship. There were some exceptions, but for the most part, this was the reality.


    Still, Ryu didn''t get complacent. On the Shrine Plane, those his age were already prepping themselves to attack the Divine Vessel Realm. Though the Awoken Moon Sect was only a Blossom Plane Sect at its peak, around Ryu''s age, their geniuses would still have likely already stepped into the Spiritual Severing Realm.


    Almost as if to confirm this coming reality, after losing count of the number of Ancestors he had forced into submission, the very first of the Seventh Order Ancestors appeared, and her cultivation, unlike Ryu''s, was truly in the Higher Qi Refinement Realm.


    "Huuu¡­" A cold breath left Ryu''s lips. It was about time this Throne trial pushed him to his limits.

 Chapter 170: Cool Qi

    Ryu clashed with the Seventh Order Ancestor, sending several out several [Pierces]. However, unlike the previous rounds, it seemed that Ryu was finally at a disadvantage. This was simply the reality of the matter, if he insisted on using his spear with a single arm, he would only barely pull out a twentieth of his strength, it was impossible to use that level to defeat someone two cultivation stages above him.


    Still, even as he was slowly forced backward, Ryu''s eyes continued to shine, taking in aspects of this Ancestor''s spearmanship for himself.


    The elders began to grow nervous, even Castle Master Toria fiddled with the ring on her finger. If Ryu was struggling now, how could he stand up to the Eight and Ninth Order Ancestors? After all, this was only the weakest of the Seventh Order Ancestors.


    Ryu, however, was calm. His Phoenix Martial Forms gave him an unyielding level of stamina. Just the few dozen fights he had gone through until now wasn''t enough to put a dent toward his fatigue. At the same time, the strong blows of this Ancestor weren''t making it past his Ice Silk protective armor.


    ''Still, this is my limit here. It seems I need to take it up a single notch.'' Ryu''s eyes glowed a fierce silver light. ''[Third Perspective].''


    Suddenly, the world seemed to enter the palm of Ryu''s hand. The unreadable movements of the Ancestor felt as though they had slowed to a snail''s pace. The secrets, no, the mysteries of her spearmanship all lay bare before him.


    Ailsa''s brow twitched at this sudden change. ''This is the true state of the first ranked Heavenly Pupils? This cool qi¡­ It seems Life Partner hasn''t realized yet.''


    Ryu''s feet shifted, his soles gliding across the ice beneath his feet as he marginally dodged the tip of a coming spear. In the next instant, the tip of his spear trembled, shooting past an impossibly small window to pierce the Valkyrie''s throat.


    His hand snapped outward, decapitating her directly. Before the Awoken Moon Sect elders could even comprehend what had happened, Ryu had already moved on to the second Seventh Order Ancestor.


    [Third Perspective] was too useful. It allowed Ryu to see the battlefield from angles his opponent could never imagine. This blew flaws that would otherwise be hidden wide open. To gain that sort of battle perspective would usually take countless years on a battlefield, but Ryu was gifted it simply by virtue of his Heavenly Pupils. It seemed Ryu owed Ailsa once more. If it wasn''t for her, he''d never use it so freely.


    It was at this moment that curious observers began to approach the Awoken Moon Sect. Considering how quickly they made it here, their cultivations were definitely not low. In fact, they were the elders of the Awoken Moon Sect rival Sects.


    Unfortunately for them, the Sect had been shrouded by a wall of white mist that perfectly blended into the snowy landscape.


    "Could it be they''ll really gain themselves a Throne?" The elders muttered to themselves, deep frowns common place on all their faces.


    The Pedestal Plane was just preparing to undergo many changes, the addition of a third Throne would shift the balance once more. The other Thrones could be ignored since they had taken up positions in the Core Region, but for a Throne to appear in their Outer Ring¡­ It was troublesome.


    "According to observers from before they put up their Sect''s formation, he was a male. Why would a male want to join this Sect? It can''t be that his talent in womanizing is greater than his cultivation talent, right?"


    "Let''s hope that that''s the case. If he''s made such a foolish decision, there likely isn''t much to worry about. A man won''t be able to gain much from the Awoken Moon Sect. We''ve likely worried for nothing."


    "Still, we need to comprehend his limits appropriately. You all know as well as I do that the higher ups won''t be fond of the Awoken Moon Sect improving their station. If they do, the ones who''ll be blamed is us and no one else."


    "What are we supposed to do?" An elder responded with an annoyed tone. "We''re not allowed to directly attack them, but we still have to hinder them? What kind of nonsense is that?"


    The elders fell into silence, each of them having their own theories. In fact, many of them were close to the truth.


    If the Awoken Moon Sect was once a higher order Sect, even in their decline, the Faith protecting them was not a joking matter. The truth was that those who sought to oppress the Awoken Moon Sect weren''t afraid of their Faith, but rather¡­ The Faith of the Ice Phoenix Clan that had once protected them. If that slumbering Faith was stirred, none of them would survive.


    Many laymen believed that the Shrine Plane had been destroyed, but this wasn''t the case. The Shrine Plane was sealed. Why? Because even the rulers of the Martial Plane couldn''t finish the job. They had no choice but to bide their time, waiting for the accumulated Faith of the Shrine Plane''s finest to slowly dwindle.


    In order for this to happen, they needed to make sure that the subordinate Sects and Clans of those Shrine Plane powers no longer had a leg to stand on. To now, many of them had been forced into dormancy, disbanded or destroyed, but more stubborn ones like the Awoken Moon Sect continued to hold on.


    "In any case, he''s young." A once silent elder spoke. "Whether he is talented or not is irrelevant. Sometimes there are things even geniuses cannot do without enough time. And since he''s a Throne¡­ We won''t have to worry about Faith backlash if we kill him."


    The role of a Throne was a double-edged sword. You were free from the constraints of a Sect''s rules, and you could use their resources as you pleased, but for this very reason, you didn''t have the protection of the Sect''s Faith. Since you chose to walk alone, using your own talent to hold you up, you would be alone to the very end.


    Ryu, even as he felled Ancestor after Ancestor, was well aware that he had placed a target on his back. But, he had done so purposefully. He wanted this pressure, a pressure so heavy that it threatened to sink him to his knees. Only this way could he grow as fast as he needed to.


    He didn''t want to grow complacent, nor did he want to forget what he was fighting for. Pushing himself into a corner in this way would be his own martial path.


    Ryu took a strong step forward, his qi pouring into his spear as he faced the final Seventh Order Ancestor.


    His spear curled forward, blurring in the air into a smear of violet and black coated in a thick white.


    In the next moment, he retracted his attack, three bloody holes signaling the collapse of the Valkyrie.

 Chapter 171: Insult

    "He projected his qi¡­"


    The elders felt as though they were watching the creation of a legend. Emitting qi from one''s body was something that could only be done with the help of a Natural Order. The only way to do it without one was to have incredibly pure qi and high qi control. Usually, one wouldn''t enter this threshold until they had solidified their place within the Spiritual Severing Realm ¨C thus the reason why flight became possible only in that Realm.


    However, the sharp-eyed elders noticed that Ryu''s reach hadn''t been enough to kill the final Seventh Order Ancestor. In order to compensate, he extended his blade with his qi. It was only a couple inches, something that was so minor that those of lower cultivations likely completely missed it, but these elders definitely wouldn''t.


    Many gripped their seats. This young man¡­ He was worthy of being a Throne!


    A hot, steamy breath left Ryu''s lips. New Moon Ore had excellent qi absorption abilities, but it was gentle and slow in its task, making it comfortable to strengthen with qi. However, Silver Thirsting Ore was tyrannical. Ryu had to be careful when he poured his qi into it, otherwise, it would suck him dry.


    Others might see Ryu''s actions as reckless, but he took this path after deciding to follow Ailsa''s advice once more.


    ''Good. This is a nice and natural way to do it. The innate qi of your Heavenly Pupils isn''t one you should ignore, it''ll be a great strength to you.'' Ailsa felt a slight swelling of satisfaction when Ryu listened to her wishes so easily. She knew he was only doing it to get stronger, but it still made her feel warm.


    When Ailsa first brought up this cool qi to him, Ryu thought back to when he was running for his life. His Embryonic Origin Flame didn''t just help sharpen visual memories, but memories of all kinds. Ryu realized then that this cool qi wasn''t foreign to him, it had actually already helped him many times.


    According to Ailsa, every pair of Heavenly Pupils had a special qi tied with them, a qi that one without the proper eyes could never tap into. Usually, one wouldn''t have a chance to reflect on this qi until you had reached a certain stage with your pupils, but it seemed that Ryu completing his Rite of Origin had accelerated the process.


    ''That day, when you completed your last Rite, you heard a series of popping noises from your eyes. Those noises represent seals, Heavenly Seals every Heavenly Pupil user must unlock. From an inspection of your body, it seems you''ve undid one seal per eye, while there is a total of 999 in each. This gave you access to your special qi.


    ''I cannot teach you the uses of this qi, our intimacy is not high enough so I cannot feel what you feel clearly enough. The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils are very much that, a mystery. The only way for you to comprehend this qi is by forcing it out and comprehending its uses yourself.''


    Ryu agreed with Ailsa''s assessment. As of now, he was only aware that this qi calmed his mind and strengthened his focus. In truth, if this was the end of it, Ryu would be satisfied. The ability to calmly analyze a battlefield and bring out your peak strength no matter the situation was invaluable.


    ''[Third Perspective].'' Ryu''s eyes focused. His next opponent was yet another white clad Valkyrie, however, what shocked Ryu was that he could very clearly see intelligence in her eyes while the others had none.


    The Valkyrie smirked. "A Lower Qi Refinement Stage baby wants to challenge me?"


    Her aura was oppressive. She was truly worthy of being a top genius of an Eighth Order Sect. Even at such a young age, she had already completed her Thirteenth Revolution and entered the Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm. The earth itself seemed to quake in her presence.


    "Lower Qi Refinement?!" The elders shot gazes toward Heiress Melody. None of them had been able to sense Ryu''s cultivation when he entered, they had assumed he had some sort of treasure that hid this from them and didn''t mind it. But, if this was true¡­ It was too shocking!


    With Ailsa pouring her everything into protecting the secret of his pupils from others, there really wasn''t much of a point in wasting power on hiding his cultivation in this situation. So, it was no wonder why this seemingly sentient Valkyrie had seen through Ryu. It seemed her experience was much higher than those Valor Guards who believed Ryu was a Higher Qi Refinement expert.


    The white clad Ancestor''s white bone spear shook, emitting a fierce light.


    "Spear qi!" The Castle Master''s jaw nervously clenched. This opponent might truly be too powerful. For Ryu to face someone who had comprehended their Sect''s Birthed Phenomena¡­ It was trouble.


    However, Ryu smiled. ''[Insight].''


    Ryu didn''t waste any time using his pupil''s current greatest ability. If [Third Perspective] allowed him to see the battlefield from almost any angle, [Insight] practically allowed him to see the future. This was Ryu''s first time fighting someone who had comprehended a Natural Order¡­ No, two Natural Orders.


    As Ryu was thinking this, the temperature of the already ice-made Castle began to continuously fall as the air around the Valkyrie seemed to freeze. Not only had she comprehended the spear Birthed Phenomena of the Awoken Moon Sect, she had also comprehended the Ice Elemental. An Heir of Spear and Ice.


    ''You are the perfect opponent.'' Ryu''s blood began to churn. His Ice Phoenix bloodline completely negated the drop in cold, this inferior frigid air¡­ It meant nothing.


    In that moment, a second spear appeared in his hand, causing even the arrogant Valkyrie across from him to look on in shock before bursting into a laughter that simmered into a deep rage.


    "You dare to insult the way of the spear in this way¡­ I''ll destroy you in body and soul!"


    Ryu was indifferent to her reaction, he didn''t care how anyone reacted. This was his martial way. He would follow it until he alone decided it was either a success or a failure.


    A battle erupted. It was clear the Eighth Order Ancestor was surprised to see that Ryu''s spearmanship was far better than she thought. However, whenever she saw his awkward movement, she would settle into a rage once more.


    Still, no matter how hard she pressed, she couldn''t seem to deal Ryu a fatal blow, it was as though he was constantly several steps ahead of her. Unfortunately for him, his dual wielding style was so unrefined that he couldn''t take advantage of this truth. His power and balance were off, and his strikes often got in the way of each other. He looked like a toddler trying to get used to walking on his own.


    ''Focus¡­'' Ryu sought after that absolute realm. He entered Breath of Earth.

 Chapter 172: Fluidity [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 250 golden tickets]


    Ryu''s view of the world expanded and slowed.


    Breath of Earth. It was a State of Meditation many individuals felt they could only luck into and not seek. Within such a state, the difficult became simple and the fast became slow. Even though there were nine total States of Meditation, entering the second as Ryu had done was seen as such a lofty goal that others never bothered to aim higher.


    However, after the first time he touched upon its barrier, Ryu always felt that he could enter Breath of Earth on a whim. He never really thought about why that was, nor did it particularly matter to him in his first life. Because he was unable to cultivate, sustaining Breath of Earth with his practically non-existent Mental Realm was nigh impossible. And, even if he could enter it, there was little point to do so considering it wasn''t as though he had techniques to learn or cultivation stages to master.


    This life, though, things were very different. The ability Ryu had had even during his first life had become one of his sharpest tools¡­ It intrigued him.


    The gaps in Ryu''s defense narrowed as his spears became more fluid.


    Ailsa smiled lightly to herself. Of course she knew the reason Ryu could enter these impossible states, he had nothing else to thank other than his Heavenly Pupils. While Ryu believed he had only touched two abilities, [Third Perspective] and [Insight], the truth was that there was a third ¨C [Focus].


    Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils could see into the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth and even witness the Stars of Fate that dictated the lives of all who existed. Grasping the quintessence of a State of Meditation was a simple task when these matters are put into perspective.


    Even within Breath of Earth, Ryu was still lacking. He had avoided numerous cuts thanks to his Ice Worm Silk garments, but his black robes were in tatters. And, though his defensive garments protected him, every strike that landed made him feel as though his inner organs were being knocked loose.


    Still, Ryu''s face was serene. ''With a single weapon used with a single arm, five percent of my strength is still my limit. When I continue to two and enter Breath of Earth, I can bring out between thirty and forty percent¡­ But, should I be practicing dual wielding in this way? Or should I be focusing on increasing my percentage strength with just one weapon?''


    Ryu legitimately did not know. He didn''t bring out his second weapon because he had an answer, he did so because restricting himself to a twentieth of his strength would be asking for death in this situation. But, at the same time, he didn''t want to give up this perfect opportunity to temper his martial path.


    In the end, Ryu''s eyes sharpened with resolve. If he didn''t push himself here and now, when would he get another opportunity?


    ''Huuu¡­ Breath of Heaven.'' Ryu''s eyes glowed with a fierce light, so fierce in fact that the Eighth Order Ancestor unconsciously retreated. She felt danger.


    Ryu''s spears whipped out from himself, their flat blades cutting through the air with a satisfying metallic sound.


    His body seemed to steam, a golden fog wafting with Essence collecting around his body. If the elders weren''t certain before, they were certain now¡­ Somehow, Ryu had entered a deep enough State of Meditation to call upon Essence!


    God Emperor. The Birthed Phenomenon of the Tatsuya Clan''s Saintly Spear went by this name. A man of honor and war, but a man of cunning and intelligence at that same time. This was the true essence of his Clan''s spear. Layered and calculated attacks that slowly pushed one''s enemy into a corner.


    ''More calculating¡­'' The light in Ryu''s eyes grew fiercer. His bone structure was known for its flexibility and balance, it was the reason his mother was one of the best dual weapon wielders to ever exist. He had to tap into that feeling, to break the restrictions on his body, to stop moving so rigidly.


    But therein lied Ryu''s problem. He had only learned the [Basic Stances], movements, attacks and defenses that couldn''t have been simpler. They restricted him into strong constraints that weren''t easy to break out of. But¡­ At the same time, their simplicity gave him a freedom other techniques could not!


    That feeling, that feeling he had when he used [Whipping Pierce] for the first time¡­


    His life had been on the line, deep within the forest of Opes Kingdom. He had run into a Fourth Order Beast he had no chance of defeating. As a mere Pulse Opening Realm baby, standing before a beast two Orders above his own, no one would have blamed him if he simply keeled over and accepted death.


    However, Ryu hadn''t. He slipped into Breath of Heaven and tapped into a realm of fluidity he couldn''t have imagined before. He stared down his opponent and bent his spear to his whim. Back then, he felt as though his weapon was truly an extension of his arm, a limb he could do anything pleased with.


    Then again. When he faced Bhishak. His spear had been pared, his right arm was useless, and he was facing a veteran of ten thousand battles. He felt that feeling once more, that feeling of control, of fluidity, of grasping the world in one''s palm.


    Ryu''s Mental Realm trembled. Others, after experiencing a virtuoso, would forget that feeling. They''d reach the pinnacle for a moment, but never be able to grasp it again. However, Ryu was different. This time, it wasn''t because of his Heavenly Pupils, but because of his Origin Flame.


    Every moment he had ever lived through in his life could be brought before him with incredible clarity. That day that he managed to survive and run from a Fourth Order beast, that split moment when his spear had become his arm, it was right before him once more. All he needed to do was reach out and¡­


    Ryu''s arms seemed to blur. The elders watched in astonishment as their Ancestor, a valiant white-clad Valkyrie who had just been shredding Ryu to pieces, got pushed backward.


    His wrists flickered and his arms twisted, applying strength in angles that would have shattered the bones of anyone else.


    It was the picture of absolute beauty. For a split moment, a painting of unfathomable depth was born.


    ''This is it Ryu, this feeling of fluidity, grasp it. This is your Northern Heavenly Wind!'' Ailsa''s voice rang.


    In that instant, something stunning occurred.


    A gentle beauty appeared to Ryu''s back, wearing a smile that could soothe the hearts of the masses. Though she was slightly illusory, she had a presence that made her existence undeniable and an aura that made the skies themselves tremble.


    Ryu was enveloped by a golden-green wind. He felt that the Heavens were bowing to him.

 Chapter 173: Wind of Natural Order

    The elders abruptly stood from their chairs. It didn''t matter what had happened until now, this moment was probably the most shocking thing they had witnessed in their long lives.


    Wind of Natural Order. Among the Heavenly Winds, only it is worthy of such a lofty namesake. The Southern Wind was known as the Breath of Life, the Western Wind was known as the Wind of Tribulation, and the Eastern Wind was known as the Wind of Sharpness, but only the Northern Wind had the right to embody wind itself, only it could encompass the Natural Order of Wind and rule them all.


    However, it wasn''t that the elders recognized its Phenomena that they stood so abruptly. It was impossible for them with such a narrow perspective of the world to recognize the Wind of Natural Order simply by this. Rather, it was the fact that a Phenomena appeared at all that shocked them to no end.


    Within the Natural Order umbrella, there were two main divisions: Natural Enlightenment and Mortal Endowment. Within the Mortal Endowment Umbrella, there were two more divisions: Elements and Birthed Phenomena.


    Comprehension of Mortal Endowments were split into seven tiers, each more imposing than the last. To be an Heir and an Inheritor, to Impose and become a Lord, to Rule and be a Ruler, to conquer a Small Realm and become a Monarch, to hold a Dominion and the title of Sovereign, to form a Divinity and become a Minor God, and to become a Deity and be known as a God.


    These seven divisions were ingrained in the minds of all cultivators because even the first step seemed impossible to achieve. It was to the point where these elders believed that Ryu had lost the moment their Eighth Order Ancestor displayed herself as an Heir of Ice and the Spear.


    But this¡­ This was on a completely different level.


    The earlier one could evoke a Phenomena, the stronger the Legacy they had comprehended. Not only was it stronger, but it was incredibly complex and difficult to reflect upon. Usually, one wouldn''t expect to evoke a Phenomena until one enter the Rule Realm and became a Ruler.


    However, what many don''t talk about is that this rule is only for Birthed Phenomena. Natural Enlightenments and Elements do not receive this kind of treatment. Theoretically, one could reach the Deity Realm and still never form a Phenomena for their Natural Enlightenment or Element.


    But, it never worked this way. Humans had a lot of difficulty connecting with nature. Unless you had a special bloodline, it was almost impossible to comprehend an Element to the Impose Realm, let alone ever reaching the Deity Realm. The reason was right before them: Humans faced a barrier when evoking the Phenomena of Elements. As a result, they couldn''t leap over the final hurdles.


    In the past, this was the reason humans were so weak. In order to forge a better future for themselves, human ingenuity shone through as they created Birthed Phenomena, allowing them to gather strength toward themselves by mastering human created arts instead of comprehending nature.


    To this day, Phenomena represented the greatest strength cultivators had available to them. Comprehending a Natural Order already made it possible to rely on the Heavens and Essence to strengthen yourself. But, evoking a Phenomena took this to an even greater height. The Ryu of now and the Ryu of before were akin to Heaven and Earth.


    "You¡­"


    The Eighth Order Ancestor''s words never finished. She, a mighty Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm expert fell before she could finish her thoughts, massive, bloody holes appearing in her body.


    Ryu slipped out of Breath of Heaven, breathing deep raggedy breaths as the goddess that had appeared to his back slowly faded, a light smile still playing her features.


    Ailsa waved her hand, collecting the dissipating Essence and pushing it toward Ryu. Suddenly, Ryu''s quickly drying Mental Realm was revitalized, causing him to look toward Ailsa in surprise.


    However, the palm length Cultus Sprite said nothing as she observed the appearance of the next Valkyrie. She had said that she could help Ryu''s recoverability. Normally, individuals could only replenish their minds by sleeping or with incredibly rare herbs, but it seemed Ailsa had a method to circumvent this to an extent.


    It was no wonder. One of the most important aspects of nurturing a person''s growth was ensuring that they were properly rested and healed. Cultus Faeries wouldn''t be very good at doing their jobs if they could only break down their Life Partners and not build them back up.


    Still, Ailsa''s job was made far easier by using the rich Essence Ryu had called down. Without his Natural Order, Ryu had no way of manipulating Essence himself, so he could only helplessly watch as it dispersed. But, Ailsa wasn''t Ryu. She didn''t need to evoke a Phenomena to manipulate Essence when it was in such high concentration.


    "Thank you." Ryu said softly before focusing on the task at hand once more.


    Ailsa watched as Ryu''s speed reached an ungodly level. His mastery over his Embryonic Heavenly Wind had increased explosively in a short time. Even without calling down its Phenomena, it responded to him as though it was a limb now.


    Ryu''s [Gliding Cloud Steps] began to manifest as though it was an Earth Grade movement technique instead of the Common Grade one it was. In fact, Ryu could now fly in the skies as freely as a fish in water, changing directions with a flexibility that made the minds of his opponent''s numb.


    This wasn''t the best part in Ryu''s estimation either. Though he was used his Heavenly Wind making his body incredibly light, now that his control was greater, this even extended to his weapons. Suddenly, his spears which had weighed almost two thousand jin each, had become as light as a feather. Unfortunately for his opponents, they didn''t get to bask in this feeling. To them, they were just as heavy. No. They were even heavier because Ryu''s striking speed had accelerated to blinding heights.


    The Glove of Order on Ryu''s right hand vibrated with excitement. After Ryu comprehended a new Natural Order, it had once more morphed, coating his hand in a black knight-like gauntlet. However, Ryu had no time to pay attention to it as he felled Ancestor after Ancestor.


    The battles weren''t easy. Because his Mental Realm wasn''t sturdy enough to manifest his Phenomena for extended periods of time, Ryu could only slowly whittle down his opponents as they became more and more powerful.


    It was then the air of his opponent changed. The atmosphere grew heavier, making it difficult to breathe, something that could only happen when facing an expert of a far higher caliber. A Spiritual Severing Realm Valkyrie had appeared.

 Chapter 174: Karmic Strings

    At this moment, Ryu was thankful for the Ice Silk that covered his body. If it wasn''t for it, his heaving lungs and screaming muscles would be even worse off without their cooling effect. Unfortunately, the challenge had just taken a major leap forward. Despite defeating numerous Eighth Order Ancestors to this point, the first Spiritual Severing Realm Ancestor had appeared.


    Their bodies blurred, whether it was Ryu or the Valkyrie, their speeds reached past the realm of mortals. But¡­ Despite matching her speed, Ryu had no way to match her strength.


    There was no suspense, Ryu was sent flying back. Despite shifting his spear''s shaft just enough to block a fatal blow, he didn''t have the right to stand before the Valkyrie any longer.


    Ryu didn''t crash as expected. The wind caressed his body, gently slowing his descent to the ground.


    ''I''m faster. My eyes can easily read her movements. But I don''t have the strength.'' Ryu''s calm exterior cracked, a slight frown coloring his features.


    This was only to be expected. Ryu hadn''t even comprehended a Black Grade technique before, his entire repertoire was made up of Common Grade techniques. As for his attacks, they were even worse off. The [Basic Stances] weren''t even categorized as Common Grade. They were an entry set of simple moves used to set a foundation for children who had yet to awaken.


    Without a high-grade technique, Ryu had no way of efficiently using his dense qi. He could only allow his qi to flow on instinct. Unfortunately, the Silver Thirsting Ore that made up his blade was eager to suck him completely dry.


    Ryu''s frown disappeared like the wind, his calm countenance reemerging. Hadn''t Ailsa told him to drain himself of his normal qi so that he could begin to comprehend his cool qi? It seemed he didn''t have much of a choice any longer.


    The Valkyrie watched with an interested expression on her face as the spears in Ryu''s hand began to sing, thrumming with thick qi.


    "You aren''t a Spear Heir¡­ But the sharpness of your technique says different." The Valkyrie tilted her head in confusion.


    Ryu''s skill with the spear was too high to not be a Spear Heir, but he wasn''t using spear qi. Instead, he was using normal qi. Why was that? It confused her.


    How could she know that Ryu''s skill in dual wielding wasn''t as high as his single wielding style? He still wasn''t capable of evoking his spear''s Birthed Phenomena with only a single arm.


    "¡­ It''s probably because you''ve picked such a silly path." The Valkyrie decided indifferently. "Either way, I have no intention of losing to a Lower Qi Refinement Realm pup."


    The Valkyrie''s spear thrummed to life, overshadowing Ryu''s momentum in an essence. This was the true difference between a spear filled with normal qi and one blessed by spear qi.


    Their figures blurred once more.


    It didn''t take long for the elders to realize that Ryu''s use of qi was excessive. He was using brute strength to match a Spiritual Severing Realm expert, but there was no way that Qi Refinement could¡­


    "His qi is incredibly dense for him to last so long¡­ But it can''t continue like this." The elders frowned. They knew that the Eighth Order Ancestor had yet to go all out. In fact, the Ancestors to now had yet to use their Sect''s Core Teachings.


    Of course, there was a reason for this. The Core Teachings of a Ninth Order Sect weren''t something an eighteen-year-old could comprehend. They would be of the Earth Grade at the absolute worse, while the minimum requirement to use such a high-grade technique was to be of the Divine Vessel Realm.


    However¡­ That didn''t mean a Spiritual Severing Realm genius would find it impossible to replicate the techniques at least in part. Especially one who had comprehended a Birthed Phenomena.


    As though to answer the worries the of the elders, the Valkyrie''s spearmanship sharpened, her attacks layering. A single spear qi strand became two, then three. Her attacking speed spiked so suddenly that Ryu''s already sharp disadvantage became worse in an instant.


    He could see the attacks plainly. The Valkyrie was almost moving in slow motion before his eyes. In fact, his body was able to easily keep up as well. The Wind of Natural Order truly lived up to its name. However, his strikes had no power behind them. They were batted away with such ease that his opponent seemed to be toying with him.


    Soon, the situation took a turn for the worst. Ryu''s ridiculous stores of qi began to dwindle quickly. The abyssal vortexes within his meridian nodes spun quickly, gathering more qi toward itself. But, the Silver Thirsting Ore was insatiable, devouring more than Ryu could output.


    The thrumming of his spear weakened considerably. Soon, the aching in his arms began more pronounced even as his bones began to take the brunt of the pressure. If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu had learned to disperse the impact using his Northern Heavenly Wind, his bones would have fractured by now.


    "It''s time to end this." The Valkyrie''s eyes sharpened. "The Throne of the Awoken Moon Sect cannot be claimed by a person like you. [White Serpent''s Dance: Lurking Shadow]."


    In that moment, it felt as though the Valkyrie had disappeared. It was like a looming pair of scarlet red eyes trained on Ryu, treating him like prey to be prowled. All that remained was the tip of a pure white spear, condensed with such a high concentration of energy that the air itself trembled.


    Ryu was spent. His qi had his rock bottom. He found it difficult to communicate with his Heavenly Wind with his Focus Qi so drained, and the weakness of his Mental Realm had made his dual wielding become sloppy once more.


    But this was exactly what he wanted. With everything else in his body flushed out, all that remained was a familiar pulsing within his pupils.


    ''So this is what you wanted to show me?...''


    The world before Ryu had completely changed. Instead of a Valkyrie and a spear, he saw bundles of black, grey and white strings. It almost felt as though he could reach forward and tug them at will. Ryu felt a voice singing deep within his mind¡­ No, it was an instinct. Telling him exactly what these lines were¡­


    ''Lines of Fate¡­ Karmic Strings¡­ If it''s like this¡­ You''re not match for me¡­ [White Serpent''s Dance: Lurking Shadow].''

 Chapter 175: Young Master Tatsuya

    Life. It was a short four-letter word, but it encompassed a level of depth and mystery that could hardly be fathomed. There wasn''t an individual in existence that could, with any sort of certainty, claim to comprehend it in its entirety.


    However, if one wanted to start peeling back its layers of complexity, how would you begin? Would you start with a list of species? Maybe you would start by defining what it was you considered life to be? Was it a word that referred to those that lived and breathed? Or was it more enigmatic, taking all of existence under its wing?


    If the few wielders of the first ranked Heavenly Pupils were to be asked such a question, they''d answer very simply. To them, there was no confusion at all. Life. It was a complex realm of cause and effect. Nothing more, nothing less.


    Everything related to life could be explained in this fashion. The future could be predicted by the past. The past could be deduced from the present. The present was decided by the past and the potential future. Any and everything could be described in this fashion.


    When you look at it this way¡­ Are there really any Mysteries remaining?


    During the Era of the Zu Ancestors, Ryu''s pupils were an afterthought. They worked well to deduce the details of things, but compared to the fanciful abilities of the other Heavenly Pupils, they seemed lacking. At the time, the fourth ranked Heavenly Pupils which had fallen to the seventh rank during Ryu''s first life, could quite literally turn people into puppets with a gaze. With such competition, it was no wonder the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils were neglected.


    No one knew exactly when these matters began to change, however, those of the martial world began to notice that those born with these pupils seemed to have the world in their palms. It was too difficult to explain what they saw, so Ryu''s senior brothers and sisters could only convey the strength of their eyes through their actions and their feats.


    Ryu could finally see the world his predecessors saw. A world of cause and effect, where every action had a set probability of causing another action. If he pulled here, something would be pushed there. If he struck here, the result would be a wound there.


    However, that was an incredibly simple way to look at it. What Ryu saw was far beyond that. He could see the Lines of Fate that constructed the Valkyrie''s attack. He could see the line of logic, the deduction and the comprehension that went into building it. He could see the objective of the technique''s creator and the paths where the Valkyrie deviated from that objective.


    Even further, he saw lines of black that resulted in the bad. He saw lines of grey that were irrelevant to the current timeline of events. And¡­ He saw lines of white that guaranteed his victory.


    Like this, a beautiful Valkyrie, with a gorgeous figure, became nothing more than a calculation in Ryu''s mind. Her body, one that made men swoon, became a woven doll of shaded string.


    Ryu''s body shifted, it too disappearing along with the Valkyrie''s. All that remained were his twin spears, circulating in perfect balance, two white serpents dancing in the shadows.


    The Valkyrie didn''t have the time to be stunned. It felt as though her entire being was laid bare, as though she was stripped naked for the world to see.


    Seeing Ryu''s strike, she understood her mistake. The piercing technique was known as [Lurking Shadow], so why was her spear so bright? Why couldn''t hers be like Ryu''s? Disappearing under the light of her spear¡­


    The Valkyrie''s head was blasted off of her shoulders. The attack wreaked such devastation that the foundation of the Ice Castle quaked.


    The elders fell into silence. How could a mere Qi Refinement expert shake the foundation of a Castle built by a Ninth Order Sect¡­?


    The glow in Ryu''s eyes dimmed as his spears slammed into the ground, holding him up from falling over. His neutral qi was spent, and in that instant, so was his cool qi¡­ No. His Karmic Qi ¨C the only qi capable of bringing out the true strength of his Heavenly Pupils.


    Unfortunately, the trial of Thrones was only just beginning, only now would the true experts of this once mighty Sect begin to appear, the lofty Ninth Order Ancestors.


    However, Ryu didn''t seem worried. In fact, a fierce battle intent shone in his eyes. The glare was so fierce that even the elders and disciples watching from a separate Realm felt their hearts boil.


    Not long later, the next Valkyrie shimmered into existence. It seemed to take longer and longer now. But, seeing how much emotion his recent opponents had displayed, Ryu understood why. It obviously took longer and more energy to produce more accurate and lifelike projections.


    The Valkyrie''s eyes widened with surprise when she saw Ryu. But, the abrupt show of emotion disappeared as soon as it appeared.


    ''Young Master Tatsuya¡­ But?'' The line of qi entered Ryu''s ears. It was obvious what the Valkyrie wanted to say¡­ Ryu, he should be dead. How was he here? And why was the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan taking their small Awoken Moon Sect''s Throne trial? Even if he stripped them bare of everything they had, it wouldn''t equate to even a single percent of the resources the Tatsuya Clan could pour into him.


    It didn''t surprise Ryu that this Valkyrie recognized him. As the last Ninth Order Ancestor, she had been the final Ancestor before the collapse of the Sect, and had thus been around during Ryu''s life. However, she was also smart. She was aware of the collapse of the Tatsuya Clan, so she wouldn''t foolishly call out Ryu''s name in such a way. It was impossible to know who was listening and paying attention to them at this moment.


    Still, even though he expected this, Ryu''s heart began to race. Could he finally find out what happened after he took his own life? He wanted to know¡­ No, he needed to know.


    ''Young Master Tatsuya, although I''d like to allow you this victory, the rules of the trial bind me from doing so. My hand is being forced, please forgive my rudeness.''


    ''I need to know what happened.'' Ryu finally spoke, making his intentions clear.


    ''Replying to young master, I can answer your questions, but you must last long enough to hear them.''


    Ryu smiled lightly. His spears disappeared, replaced by a single halberd a head and a half taller than even himself who stood at over two meters tall. If it was just about lasting¡­ He was very confident.

 Chapter 176: The Halberd

    The Valkyrie trembled when she saw Ryu''s change of weapon.


    Everyone of that era knew about. The three Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. The spear. The glaive. And¡­ The halberd.


    The first was known as the God Emperor, a master spearman who had unrivaled cleverness. The second was known as the War God, a man who knew nothing but war and battle. But the third, this was a weapon that stood above both others. The Dragon God!


    Ryu never used his halberd. It wasn''t because he preferred the spear or the glaive, it was rather because every trial he had faced until now was simply a way of testing himself. He wanted to push himself to his limits because this stage was far too small for him.


    Simply put. If he used his halberd¡­ There would be no suspense.


    Tatsuya Clansmen were the descendants of the Fire Dragon, a mighty mystical beast that once stood at the very top of this Realm. While the spear and the glaive tapped into the human aspects of their Tatsuya Clan, the halberd tapped into their bestial aura, it was the true strength of their Clan. Simply holding the Halberd in his hand, Ryu felt his Fire Dragon blood bubble to life, causing a heated steam to emit from his body. Although he could only tap into five percent of that feeling with just a single hand, it filled him with such power that he felt as though he could topple a mountain range.


    "Come."


    ''As you wish, young master.'' In a flash, she stepped forward.


    Monalise. During Ryu''s first life, she had only just taken over the position of Ancestor. Her heart held a heavy burden, she felt that she let the founders of her Sect down. However, this trial ironically gave her hope. She could hold her head high and say that she helped the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan grow.


    Ryu raised his arm. It was once tired and spent, but a surging hot qi erupted from his blood. It wasn''t the qi of the Qi Realm, but rather the Vital Qi of his Fire Dragon blood!


    BOOM!


    Ryu was sent flying backward. No matter how oppressive his halberd, he was still using it with just one arm. He didn''t want to end this battle so soon, he needed to hear Monalise''s story. At the same time, he wanted to rely on the enraged state of his blood while Ailsa helped him to replenish his neutral qi.


    ''Young master.'' Monalise continued to attack. The trial rules that bound her didn''t allow her to use anything less than the full strength she wielded at Ryu''s age, so she could only continue to oppress him. ''I do not know the full details of what occurred. The inner workings of the Shrine Plane are too grand for my small stature, but I will tell you what I know.


    ''After young master''s death, there was much speculation. The Tatsuya Clan remained silent about the true cause. However, many undercurrents began to surge afterward.''


    Ryu nodded to himself emotionlessly. Revealing that the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan died by suicide would be an irredeemable stain, one that would no doubt harm the Faith of the Clan. While he was certain that his parents wouldn''t care about such a thing, the various Shrine Elders would. In addition, his parents would have went along with it, not wanting their son''s memory to be stained.


    ''Though I do not know how young master died, I do know that Master Titus was enraged. His anger boiled the skies himself and¡­ He claimed that he would drag your soul back from that Realm.''


    Ryu''s eyes constricted into tiny pin holes. The fluctuations in his emotions were so fierce that he lost his grip on his Vital Qi. His strength erupted so abruptly that his right arm split into a shower of blood, bulging in size by onefold as his strength turned tyrannical. Even Monalise was forced to take a step back after his strike despite him still using just one arm.


    Ryu grit his teeth. ''¡­Continue.''


    That Realm, it was a place even lofty individuals of the highest plane didn''t dare to name. But, Ryu wasn''t such a superstitious person. The mere idea of something didn''t shake him with fear, but the idea of his father entering that place¡­


    Ryu didn''t need to guess how his father found a path to that Realm. It was his own fault. Why did he have to find the location of the Death Shrine? Why couldn''t he have kept it to himself instead of blabbering away? If he had, his father, even if he wanted to enter that place, would have never been able to.


    ''Our enemies took advantage of the Master''s disappearance. Such a small event shouldn''t have shaken the Faith of the Tatsuya Clan, but, for reasons unknown, it was as though the Heavens themselves were against us. That one event turned the tide so fiercely that we couldn''t fight back.''


    Ryu''s teeth clenched. He was completely oblivious to shocked gazes of the elders who still watched. How could they not be shocked? Just minutes ago, he had used their Clans Core Teaching strike better than their Ancestor could. And now he was lasting against their Ninth Order Ancestor with just one bloody arm.


    But, Ryu didn''t care, his mind was elsewhere. He thought back to a conversation he had with Elena during his last day¡­ She had said that numerous Holy Winged Saintesses appeared, in fact, she had said that nine appeared.


    Back then, Ryu had been shocked. A single talent of that caliber was already amazing, but nine appearing in a single generation was bordering on ridiculous. Simply put, the Holy Wing Clan didn''t have enough Faith to sustain such great talent being birthed so frequently.


    Though he didn''t say much, that seed of doubt continued to grow. His pupils throbbed as though they could feel the tide of Fate shifting¡­ Unnaturally.


    ''The Holy Wing Clan¡­''


    Monalise''s eyes widened. ''How did you know?''


    She had wanted to be delicate about the topic, especially considering she knew the young master''s fianc¨¦e was a member of the Clan. But, to think he knew himself.


    ''Not just the Holy Wing Clan, but it felt as though the whole Shrine Plane turned against the Tatsuya Clan. The only individuals who remained by their side were the two Phoenix Clans and the Kunan Clan. Even the Tatsuya Clan''s subordinates like the Scarlet Sparrow Clan defected to the enemy¡­


    ''It was then that the Shrine War began. The tide of Faith suddenly turned as though young master''s death was the focal point of everything¡­''

 Chapter 177: The Truth

    Ryu''s jaw clenched tighter and tighter the more words Monalise spoke. He didn''t realize it, but even his halberd was quaking under his grip.


    ''A war erupted, if one could even call it that. The Tatsuya Clan was continuously backstabbed. It seemed there would be a new traitor every other day.'' Monalise grit her teeth. ''Those Martial Plane bastards claim that their approach for the human race was far better, that their path of absolute strength was the only way for us to survive, yet they shamelessly used underhanded tricks and schemes to eke out victory.''


    Ryu''s breathing turned erratic. His face, one that seemed carved of the purest ice, reddened with rage.


    His father''s whereabouts were completely unknown. He couldn''t imagine what his mother had to face without her husband by her side. The more he heard, the more and more difficult it was for him to forgive his great grandfather.


    However, Ryu knew that such thoughts were useless. He had committed suicide precisely because he could feel the tides of their Fates shifting. He knew that if he didn''t grasp strength for himself, his Tatsuya Clan was doomed.


    At the same time, though, he knew he also made mistakes. Was it unwise of him to not speak of these matters with his parents first? Maybe if he had told them his thought process, they would have been more prepared for the coming war.


    Ryu knew why he hadn''t said a word. If he had, it was very likely that his parents would have tried to stop him. It may have seemed cruel that he killed himself within his and Elena''s wedding chambers, but that was the only place he could guarantee that Nuri wouldn''t be in position to stop him, it was the only place she didn''t keep her eyes on him at all times.


    On the one hand, he had to keep these matters a secret so that he could actually execute them. But, on the other, his silence might have made the situation worse than it potentially could have been. With the resources of the Tatsuya Clan, as long as they were preemptive, even fleeing to another Realm wasn''t impossible. The measures they could have taken were practically endless.


    ''I believed in our absolute strength too much¡­'' Ryu''s eyes sealed shut, it was almost as though he didn''t register that he was still in battle.


    Ryu took such actions because he believed that his Tatsuya Clan would survive until the time he made his way back, even if it was barely. But, he was wrong. After his death, they didn''t last. Nothing could last forever. Even if that thing was a Clan that stood atop the Shrine Plane for so long.


    ''Young master, I really do not know much more. Although us subordinate Clans were conscripted to battle, the underhanded schemes of the Martial Plane resulted in wars of our own being fought on the Blossom Plane. Let alone help the Tatsuya Clan, the Sect fell to the Eighth Order under my watch¡­ It''s likely become far worse by now.''


    Ryu remained silent. If he told Monalise that her treasured Sect was now of the mere Fifth Order, only worthy to share the Outer Ring of the Pedestal Plane with other middling Sects, he didn''t know how she would react.


    ''There are only two remaining things that are of great importance that I have left to tell you.'' Having tacitly understood Ryu''s silence, Monalise continued. ''The first is that the Shrine Plane is now sealed. It wasn''t by a fluke, but rather by Mistress Tatsuya unlocking the potential of the Ice Shrine. Much of the Plane is currently frozen over completely. Her actions forced those Martial Plane bastards to retreat. As they were unable to break through the seal, they could only bide their time. The so-called ''Martial Plane'' isn''t actually a new Plane at all, it''s only the parts of the Shrine Plane that haven''t been sealed.''


    Monalise shook in anger at their shamelessness. ''They want to portray to the world that they''re mighty Martial Gods, so they claimed to have created a new Plane, but you know as well as I how impossible that is. With Shrine Mountain overseeing the balance of our Realm, the creation of a new Plane is impossible for such weak cowards.


    ''They wove a story about young master''s Tatsuya Clan sealing themselves away in fear and allowed it to permeate through our Realm. They hoped to slowly whittle away our Faith and eventually eradicate what remains of their opposition.''


    Monalise struck forward with her spear once more, pushing Ryu back again. ''The final thing of importance that I have to tell young master is related to young mistress Elena.''


    Ryu felt his heart seize at these words, his bloody arm bulging all the more.


    ''There was no word of Miss Elena after young master''s death. I know that Master and Mistress wouldn''t have allowed her to be taken away, so it must be another underhanded scheme of the Holy Wing Clan.


    ''Young master should know that the center of all of these matters wasn''t the Holy Wing Clan, but instead, another race of people who call themselves Martial Gods despite being the cowards they are. As young master knows¡­ Miss Elena''s father has always been unknown¡­''


    The thumping of Ryu''s heart grew erratic. The Fire Dragon blood coursing through his veins grew so violent that the thrumming of his heart resonated through the castle of ice.


    Ryu understood.


    The Saintess of the Light Shrine during Ryu''s first life was actually a woman that was technically Ryu''s Grand Aunt. The reason Ryu''s Grandma Kunan hated Mistress Holy Wing, Elena''s grandmother, so much was because she drugged Ryu''s Grandpa with an aphrodisiac which led to the birth of Ryu''s Grand Aunt.


    However, Mistress Holy Wing had another daughter, one she birthed from an unknown man.  This daughter was Elena''s mother. But, what was truly baffling was that not only was the man Mistress Holy Wing bedded to birth this daughter unknown, so was the man Elena''s mother bedded to birth her.


    This was completely different from the way the Holy Wing Clan usually did things. They would usually parade around the mates they chose as a method of increasing their Faith, after all, their partners were usually chosen from great Clans, so forming relationships with these men would only bring benefits. But, for some reason, they remained silent about these matters not just once, but twice.


    ''Young master, I died before I could learn the truth, but I think young master should be mindful of this relationship. Just like young master is a focal point of the tides of Faith, so is Mistress Elena¡­''


    Ryu was no longer listening. The so-called cold of his Ice Silk flexible armor had given way to an oppressive heat. The crackles of abyssal flames, the caliber of which could only be bred from a Dragon of Fire, surged through the ice castle.

 Chapter 178: Third Throne

    Rapidly heating and cooling air whipped around Ryu. It wasn''t as though he had suddenly comprehended some Flame Natural Order, rather, his blood was simply running that hot.


    His white hair steamed, flying outward through the volatile wind. His skin reddened, the pumping of his veins and the thumping of his heart grating on the psyches of all those who watched. Even Monalise, a mighty Ninth Order Ancestor felt her heart palpitate unwillingly as a deep fear took root.


    She wondered if she had gone too far, if maybe the young master thought that she was insinuating that his fianc¨¦e betrayed his parents and him. She wanted to quickly explain herself, to say that that wasn''t what she meant, but Ryu''s words cut her off.


    ''Thank you for your words, Ancestor Monalise. You''ve always been kind to me, but the only way I can repay you is by striking you down.''


    Monalise''s eyes widened. She hadn''t thought that the young master knew her name. Despite the vast age difference between them, the Scion of Shrine Plane Clan, a Shrine Plane Clan that stood even above others¡­ A mighty Eleventh Order Clan¡­ Was simply worlds above her. The fact he knew her name touched her in more ways words could express.


    Ryu''s blood boiled. Although his Ice Jade Crystal Body perfectly balanced his bloodlines, it could never change Ryu''s strongest affinity. The reality was that Ryu had a natural sense for ice and lightning even an Elemental Faerie would bow their hands down in worship toward, but Ryu''s affinity for fire was on a completely different level.


    The Ancestral Beasts once ruled this Realm, but none were stronger in the path of fire than the Fire Dragon and the Fire Phoenix. Yet¡­ Both of their bloodlines were within Ryu''s body.


    For the first time during this trial, Ryu''s second hand touched the shaft of his weapon.


    BOOM!


    A violent aura flashed outward, rings of red-gold rampaging through the air. It seemed like, if for but a moment, Ryu''s hair was no longer a pure white, but instead the striking red of his father and grandfather.


    Ailsa''s red eyes glowed. The Phenomena formed from Ryu''s spear and glaive could be allowed to appear if it was truly necessary, even the Phenomena of the Northern Wind was just fine, but the one Phenomena that couldn''t be allowed to appear was that of the Dragon God!


    A mighty roar shook the castle of ice, freezing Monalise in place. She couldn''t see the Phenomena, but she could feel it, a majestic beast the likes of which hadn''t appeared in countless epochs. It bore into her soul, that basal, bestial desire for slaughter, an Emperor of all things that sat in the skies, bearing down judgement as he saw fit.


    A bloody aura spiraled around Ryu, his silver eyes shifting to hold a distinct gold tint.


    It shouldn''t be forgotten. Ryu''s Karmic Qi was spent. His neutral qi was dried up. His Mental Realm was sustaining great pressure after being continuously depleted and replenished by Ailsa. All of these things were true.


    Yet, the power of the halberd exuded such a pressure that none of that seemed to matter.


    Ailsa immediately took advantage of the rampaging red-gold Essence. She had never seen a mere Heir Grade Natural Order call down so much, but she had been prepared from the very beginning.


    Ryu''s screaming meridians were suddenly filled with qi as Ailsa nurtured him back to full health. He even felt that his pupils were once more brimming with power. It was only now Ryu truly understood the strength of a Cultus Sprite.


    Calling down Essence using his Birthed Phenomena was one thing, but converting that Essence into his own strength beyond the strikes of his halberd was impossible. No one was capable of such a feat. Essence was the highest-grade energy of the Heavens and moved as it pleased, you couldn''t manipulate it just because you felt like it, and definitely not with such ease.


    The only reason Ryu could cultivate on the Immortal Path was precisely because that Essence was primed to reward those worthy. However, the Essence called down by a Birthed Phenomena was meant to be used by the Birthed Phenomena and the Birthed Phenomena alone. One shouldn''t be able to take Essence meant to form halberd qi and suddenly turn it to another form.


    However¡­ Ailsa could.


    Monalise was struck down. The elders thought they were hallucinating, they could have sworn they saw a smile on their Ancestor''s face. What they could have never guessed was that a smile truly was there. It was a smile that could only be formed by an elder passing down a torch.


    The battles Ryu continued to fight became a blur. None of the elders knew why ¨C though they had their own guesses ¨C but Ryu put away his halberd after Monalise''s trial was passed. He continued to push himself, using their Ancestors as training dummies. The reality of the matter made the elders slightly bitter, yet happy at the same time. They really would have a Throne? How exciting.


    The Ninth Order Ancestors fell one after another. Even after a Middle Spiritual Severing Realm expert appeared, Ryu''s tactics shifted. A beautiful Sakura tree appeared above his head as a strong, two-meter-tall bow appeared in his hand.


    It was a beautiful scene, akin to a light snow fall acting as the backdrop of a great battle, but the elders couldn''t help but feel that Ryu was using their Ancestor for target practice. Also, why were his arrows so powerful? And why did his speed have to be so mind-numbing? If he fought like this from the beginning¡­


    It couldn''t be helped. Before, the arrows Ryu formed with the Glove of Order were already capable of killing a Lower Fourth Order Beast with a single strike, and that was back when his arrows were only formed by the combination of spear, glaive and halberd qi. Now, Ryu had learned a fourth qi thanks to his Northern Heavenly Wind. The power had shot up exponentially.


    Still, Ryu began to slowly learn how to control the Glove of Order under Ailsa''s guidance. He learned that he didn''t have to go all out constantly. If he did, he would drain his Spiritual Qi too quickly. Instead, he learned to tap into one qi at a time, and even learned how to change the balance of qi.


    By the time Ryu noticed that using Wind Qi alone made his arrows far quicker than he could have ever imagined, the final pitiful Ninth Order Ancestor, who stood as the most powerful in their Sect''s history, was already a pin cushion.


    There was no doubt. The third Throne of the Pedestal Plane had appeared.

 Chapter 179: Blush

    Ryu walked out of the portal in tatters. His black robes, as expected, were shredded to pieces. Only the semblance of sleeves remained while his lower half was a smorgasbord of tears and holes. If it wasn''t for his relatively intact Ice Silk flexibly armor, Ryu might have been baring too much for female eyes.


    Though his back was just as tall and straight as when he entered, the fatigue was clear in his eyes. The elders didn''t notice because they were too enraptured by his performance, but four days had passed since Ryu entered the trial realm. The fact he had held himself together for so long wasn''t something the elders would be impressed by until they noticed this striking detail they had missed.


    Suddenly, a strong WENGWENG sound rung through the Awoken Moon Sect. No, it was safe to say that everyone within Valor City''s territory heard it clearly.


    A golden light enveloped Ryu''s body, gently healing his accumulated injuries.


    A Throne was an existence that stood above even the Castle Master. The reason was simple: even a Castle Master could never accumulate as much Faith as Ryu could for their Sect. This was the reality of the Throne. They were meant to loners, shouldering the weight of their future as well as the futures of those who stood below the Throne they claimed.


    Ryu was perfectly ready to receive nothing for his days of effort. After all, shouldn''t having unlimited access to the resources of the Sect be enough? And that much was true. To anyone else, there would be no further reward. Aside from his actions being tied to the Faith of the Sect, nothing else should have happened. That was why Ryu was so shocked when he felt his pupils begin to heat. And, he was even more shocked when a familiar popping noise resonated.


    ''Ailsa¡­?'' Ryu was confused. He called out to Ailsa, asking for her opinion.


    ''Hoho, Little Ryu is asking for my help? I must mark the date.'' Ailsa clapped happily. ''You just released the second of the 999 seals.''


    ''But, why?''


    ''It seems that your pupils respond very well to Karmic Energy. Just now, your Karma was tied to this Sect. In all likelihood, when you completed your Rite of Origin, resulting in the first seal being undone, you barely fell short of the momentum needed to undo the second seal. The surge of Karma just now knocked the already loosened seal completely open.''


    ''Is there a difference between Karmic Energy and Karmic Qi?''


    Ailsa would be lying if she said she wasn''t surprised. Though she had felt Ryu''s intentions shifting slightly after her piercing speech and the matters with the Ember Clan father-son duo, she hadn''t expected him to do this complete 180. He was¡­ relying on her.


    Of course, Ailsa also knew that this was in large part due to the matter Ryu just learned of. He had already been pushed to knock his own pride down a notch, but after hearing what happened after his death, it seemed a single notch was no longer enough to explain it.


    Their intimacy didn''t rise, this much was obvious. After all, it wasn''t because Ryu trusted Ailsa more that he was acting like this, it was rather because his sense of urgency had raised substantially.


    Despite this, Ailsa couldn''t turn his earnestness down. He was the one person she couldn''t say no to¡­


    ''Yes and no.'' Ailsa responded. ''In reality, there''s no difference between energy and qi, they''re simply two different words used to describe the same thing. However, what I was referring to changed in this context. I simply used a new term so that you wouldn''t be confused, but kept the terms familiar at the same time for the same reason.


    ''This Karmic Energy I was referring to is an intangible thing tied to Faith while your Karmic Qi exists, it can be manipulated and collected. Karmic Energy exists in the ethereal, only a rare few can see its movement, including you thanks to your Heavenly Pupils. Karmic Qi is just a throwaway name I gave your cool qi for simplicity''s sake.


    ''Simply put: Karmic Energy is what constructs those Lines of Fate you can see when you activate your Karmic Qi.''


    ''I see¡­ Thank you for the explanation.'' Ryu was silently communicating with Ailsa, completely oblivious to the stares of the elders around him as he basked in golden light.


    ''So is this the path I have to take to release the remainder of my seals?''


    ''It''s a start, but it isn''t the full picture. Your pupils also responded well to Origin Qi, it''s possible that it would respond well to all high forms of energy. Other Heavenly Pupils are restricted in this sense ¨C for example, the eighth ranked Fire Pupils can only absorb high quality yang qi. But, the second ranked World Pupils don''t have qi type restrictions, it only seeks quality. Your pupils may be similar. After all, Karmic Energy technically makes up everything in existence, having restrictions doesn''t make much sense.''


    Ryu nodded in acknowledgement. Finally, his eyes opened, their piercing glow sinking into the Castle Master that sat just several meters ahead of him.


    Castle Master Toria smiled down at Ryu gently. "Congratulation, Throne Ryu. The doors of my Awoken Moon Sect will be opened to you fully, whether it be our resources or our Core Teachings, we will hold nothing back. I wonder if you have any immediate requests?"


    "I would like to enter the Moon World." Ryu spoke without hesitation.


    Toria''s pupils constricted, her gaze inadvertently scanning across the elders. This young man sure seemed very familiar with something he should know nothing about.


    "I''m sorry if I''ve mentioned something I shouldn''t, but one of the perks of being a Throne is learning much of the secrets of the Sect. This is so that¡­" Ryu began to explain.


    "Ah, so it''s like this." Toria waved Ryu off. This system was obviously put in place so that Sects couldn''t take advantage of Thrones by hiding resources. "It''s not something well known even amongst our elders, but I''m sure you understand the past of our Sect now. So, you should understand that the Moon World isn''t a mere Small Realm, it''s a portal to a True Realm, no different from the Realm we''re in right now in substance and reality.


    "The only reason we''ve been able to protect our path to the Moon Realm all this time is thanks to this." Toria raised her blue marble ring. "It''s protected by the Faith of our Ancestors, so our enemies cannot take it¡­ The issue is that though the portal remains ours¡­ We no longer have the necessary resources to open it¡­" Ryu could swear he saw Toria, the mighty Ice Ghost of the Battlefield, blush in shame.

 Chapter 180: Her Dream

    Ryu sighed. He had thought this might happen, but hearing it outright still dampened his mood. If he could enter the Moon Realm now, his speed of cultivation was increase explosively, especially with Ailsa by his side.


    The Moon Realm was a special Realm that gave rise to the Awoken Moon Sect''s namesake. According to their history, something Ryu was very familiar with as he researched the Moon Realm for his mother, the Founding Members of the Sect were the beneficiaries of a fragment of a Legacy from that Realm.


    As Toria had said, the Moon Realm was no different from this Realm. Though, it only had one Plane, and not multiple. Still, it was a holy land for yin path cultivation.


    Ryu knew that he had many other affinities besides ice, namely the flames he had yet to awaken, but the Awoken Moon Sect was the only of his former subordinate Clans that he could easily gain access to now. The others had either already been destroyed, were too weak to be of any help to him, or were currently still holding on too strongly for Ryu to reach them in a short time.


    Unfortunately, the Moon Realm that Ryu had banked on was blocked from him. How could it be easy to cross over into another Realm? Luckily, Ryu wasn''t completely unprepared.


    "According to the information I''ve received, entering the Moon World during a Lunar Eclipse will drastically cut down the resources needed, correct? I would like to enter then. The next eclipse will be in two years I believe."


    "You are correct." Toria''s eyes widened with surprise once more. Could the passing the Throne trial truly have given him so much information? "For a single Qi Refinem ¨C"


    "It might be best if you do the calculation for a Spiritual Severing Realm expert." Ryu interjected plainly.


    Understanding what Ryu''s words insinuated, the elders almost protested in shock. But, remembering that Ryu had just defeated several experts of that caliber before their eyes, they could only remain silent in defeat. Just who was this boy? Where did he come from, really?


    "In that case¡­" Toria continued with a gentle smile. "It will take ten Medial Immortal Qi Stones. If you suppress your cultivation instead, it will be a hundred Inferior Immortal Qi Stones. Choose wisely¡­ The Sect might be able to help you gather Inferior Immortal Qi Stones, but Medial ones are impossible for us."


    "I understand." Ryu nodded. But, he had no intention of slowing his cultivation. If he couldn''t reach the Spiritual Severing Realm in that time, it would be fine. But, he wouldn''t hold himself back either.


    Currently, Ryu had three Inferior Immortal Qi Stones he took from Leopold. As for Medial Immortal Qi Stones, they were worth a thousand Inferior ones. It was a tall task for someone of Ryu''s cultivation to collect such a sum. But¡­ This perfectly highlighted his stubbornness.


    **


    "This will be your home as long as you remain within our walls." Heiress Melody explained with a calm voice. "There technically isn''t a place where you''re barred from entering, but I hope that you''ll respect the privacy of our disciples ¡­ After all, they''re not used to having men around."


    Ryu silently gazed at the side of Melody''s face. It was hard to internalize that she was in fact Granny Miriam''s twin sister considering how young she looked, but this was the reality of cultivation. It was also a reality that Ryu had never been faced with. He didn''t know what it must feel like to watch everyone you loved age and die around you as you remained forever young¡­


    The place the two of them stood was quite beautiful, albeit extremely cold for normal cultivators. According to Melody, it was a place reserved for Inheritors of the Sect. Usually, there would be multiple Inheritors per generation, and in the end, one would be chosen as Sect Master. But, as the Sect declined, it had become more and more difficult to find qualified candidates. Though, according to some rumors, the young, foul mouthed Amie might one day grow worthy.


    The Sect was arranged within a snowy mountain landscape with the gates being located at the base of these numerous mountains. An Inheritor was allowed to choose a mountain of their own, so obviously, Ryu also received this same privilege.


    The air was filled with dense yin qi that made such cultivation incredibly fast as well. But, Ryu''s actual home-to-be was carved into the mountain itself. Due to what must have been the actions of a previous Inheritor, it was designed with the air of a luxurious mansion, though Ryu didn''t care much for appearances.


    "Would ¨C" Ryu began, but Melody''s words cut him off.


    "There''s no need to explain. My elder sister''s memories are my own now, it''s both the blessing and curse of our Bone Structure." Melody stared off blankly into the quiet cave-mansion. "Sometimes I think the Heavens played a game with my sister and I ¡­"


    Ryu remained silent, he couldn''t begin to comprehend how Melody was feeling.


    The Causal Gate Bone Structure, it really did seem like it only existed for Fate to play games with people''s lives. Tying the Fate of two people? Making a pair of sisters'' talents contingent on the failure of the other? How cruel was that?


    "All my life I''ve wanted to escape, to become a mighty cultivator. I didn''t particularly have a reason¡­ Our family was quite well-off on the Middle Mortal Plane, we lived well. With my and my sister''s talent, it was even enough for us to be unmatched. We could have lived a life of leisure¡­ But I insisted."


    The frustration in Melody''s voice was clear. When a being learns about themselves, about what they like and what they don''t like, about what their disposition is, it''s usually seen as a beautiful thing. Self-care, self-reflection, self-understanding, they''re the staples of maturity, of a person who has a grip on their own lives¡­ Isn''t that right?


    So why was it that Melody hated herself for simply following that path toward maturity? She knew what she wanted, and she sought after it, she chased it. Shouldn''t that make her hold her head high?


    But what if getting closer to your dreams, becoming powerful, accumulating more talent, was all at the expense of the person you loved most in this world? As Miriam grew weaker, Melody grew incomprehensibly stronger. And when Miriam died¡­ Melody gained not only another major leap in strength, but also all the thoughts and emotions her elder sister had held tight for so long¡­


    Just why? Why did she want to become a strong cultivator? She didn''t have a tragic story, or a particular purpose. She just wanted it¡­ Did Fate choose that for her too? Was life just the illusion of choice? Was it Fate that decided her sister would die just so that she could live her dream?

 Chapter 181: Big Sis

    Ryu didn''t have any words of comfort for Melody, he could only listen to her words and watch her silently leave. He himself didn''t truly understand Fate, so what was the point in responding with empty platitudes? There was none¡­


    Over the next few days, under Ailsa''s orders, Ryu did nothing but rest. In truth, he was shocked by his own level of fatigue. He slept for almost three days the first time he closed his eyes and awoke to find Ailsa in her full, more than six-foot-tall form massaging him.


    Ryu had never felt more comfortable in his life, and that was including his life on the Shrine Plane. It was as though years of hidden hardships were being pulled from his body as her soft hands glided across his toned back.


    ''This is my Cultus Clan''s Core Martial Art.'' Ailsa suddenly spoke into Ryu''s mind, noticing that he had awoken. ''Though our healing abilities are severely lacking in comparison to Ficia Sprites in battle or other practical situations, we aren''t much inferior to them in calm situations such as this one.''


    Ryu could sense that there was still a barrier between Ailsa''s words and her thoughts, but there was nothing he could do about his own inner feelings. He couldn''t accept Ailsa like he accepted Elena just because she wanted him to.


    ''I can''t stay in my true form for very long, at most about ten minutes a day. I also don''t have enough strength to complete the full Martial Art, but it should be enough for your current cultivation.''


    A Martial Art was a technique that relied on nothing else but the natural abilities of the body. Theoretically, even a mortal who had never cultivated a day in their life could execute a Martial Art. But, obviously, it wasn''t that simple or else Ailsa''s strength wouldn''t limit her ability to complete one.


    Ryu''s Martial Forms fell under this category. Obviously, only those with the appropriate blood could perform Ryu''s inherited Martial Forms. In the same way, the Martial Art of the Cultus Faeries could only be performed by Cultus Faeries.


    ''You''re quite lucky.'' Ailsa said softly. ''I couldn''t find you in your past life, so I suddenly gained nine cycles of a hundred million years of extra experience I wouldn''t have had. My [Cultus Martial Art] is far more refined than it had been in the past¡­ I don''t believe any Ficia Faerie can outdo me in healing you now.''


    The more Ailsa spoke, the more uncomfortable Ryu became. It was as though she was marketing herself.


    Ryu closed his eyes, a deep sigh reverberating from the depths of his soul.


    ''As long as you let me massage you like this everyday, no matter how hard your training is, you''ll wake up feeling fresh for the next r ¨C.''


    Suddenly, Ryu abruptly pushed himself up, startling Ailsa. The towel that had covered his decency fell, but Ryu hardly cared. He assumed that Ailsa had already seen it all anyway since she was the only one who could have undressed him.


    Ailsa shrunk back a step, but Ryu''s hands had already grabbed her shoulders. He scanned her ruby red eyes.


    Even in her slight surprise and panic, Ailsa was truly one of the most beautiful women Ryu had ever seen. Everything from the small slope of her nose to her full pink lips could make a man''s heart palpitate, but this wasn''t what Ryu was paying attention to now. He wanted to understand. He wanted to know what had changed since the last time they spoke. What happened to the unflappable Ailsa? Why was she acting like this?


    Ailsa bit her bottom lip. They were so soft that even the faintest pressure left a line of red.


    ''I feel that I''ve been too harsh on you.'' Ailsa replied without Ryu having to speak. ''It''s too much for me to expect someone who has only known one world to comprehend the worlds of everyone else.


    ''This is why Cultus Faeries and their Life Partners are paired from birth, so that they can grow together. But I expected a level of maturity from you that you have every right to not have yet. This is my mistake.''


    Ryu''s grip on Ailsa''s shoulders tightened. It wasn''t to an unbearable degree, but it was definitely enough to make her feel slightly uncomfortable. Her body was too weak outside the Faerie World.


    "No." Ryu spoke. "I want you to continue pushing me in that way, you have nothing to apologize for."


    Ryu''s grip loosened slightly. "You''ve never spoken a word of falsehood, everything you said is correct. Even if I couldn''t accept them immediately, it doesn''t mean I can''t see this¡­ I don''t have the time to slowly mature. To become the man I want to be¡­ I need you Ailsa."


    Ailsa trembled slightly.


    Ryu smiled. It wasn''t his normal smile that sent shivers down the spines of those who met it, but a genuine smile. He found that there was a deep revulsion within the depths of his heart whenever he tried to push Ailsa away. He knew that he was too inflexible. Who said that Ailsa needed to be his woman for them to have a close relationship?


    "You know," Ryu said lightly, "I once had a big sister who was a half Faerie. I''m not sure whether she''s alive anymore or not, and I''m not saying I want you to replace her, but¡­"


    Ailsa grinned wildly, the lost spark in her ruby eyes suddenly blazing to life once more. Her smile was so dazzling that Ryu felt his heart skip a beat.


    ''You better call me Big Sis from now on, I won''t respond to any other form of address!''


    Ryu''s soul stirred. He suddenly felt that his connection with Ailsa had deepened considerably.


    ''Good.'' Ailsa''s small hands clasped Ryu''s cheeks. ''I can see a path forward now! Listen to Big Sis well, she''ll guide you to the promised land.''


    Ryu shook his head as Ailsa seemed to lose herself in her own little world.


    ''First, we''ll have to prepare your body. That is the easiest and most straight forward thing to do. The Mental and Qi Realms require finesse, but for the Body Realm, as long as you''re willing to endure pain, you can always move forward. But, we''ve been doing it inappropriately until now. You have to remember that just like different qi can have affinities, blood can as well. You should be taking Spiritual Roots from beasts that share affinities with your blood, or else you''re just wasting too many resources in the conversion. We need to start hunting ice, fire and lightning beasts!


    ''Second, is your Mental Realm. This is the weakest of your three Realms, but it''s incredibly important for the path you want to take. Don''t worry, Big Sis will definitely bully those Zu Ancestors into submission!''

 Chapter 182: One Man Army

    The next day, Ryu woke up early, allowing the rising sun to guide his Martial Forms.


    ''You''ve heard this many times before, but balance is important. It allows you to not just have strength, but to use it effectively. It''s for this reason those who have stabilized their cultivation realms are stronger than those who have just recently broken through.


    ''I believe what you should be aiming for in your Martial Forms is this balance. One day, you should aim to combine them all into a singular Form, only then will truly unlock the potential hidden within your body.''


    Ailsa slowly spoke her thoughts as Ryu focused on his most minute movements. He felt that she was correct once more. A Martial Form was meant to solidify the foundation of an individual from a certain Clan, changing depending on one''s lineage and bloodline. Since Ryu was the result of four Ancestral Bloodlines, his path forward to unleashing his full potential was steeper than others despite his talent.


    ''I think we can hold off on training your body until we accumulate more Spiritual Roots. For now, I want to speak with you about something important.''


    Sweat dripped from Ryu''s perfectly sculpted body. Ailsa''s words registered just as he completed his final stance.


    "Hm?"


    ''Do you think you can do all of this alone?'' Seeing that she now had Ryu''s full attention, Ailsa asked a thought provoking question.


    "Huu." Ryu took a deep breath, stabilizing himself. "What do you mean?"


    ''What I mean is that your current enemies not only have a near billion-year head start on you, but they''re a network of Clans and Sects that took down your Tatsuya Clan. While it is true that absolute strength trumps everything, you have to remember that this absolute strength doesn''t have to come from a single individual, it can represent the combined strength of countless individuals as well.''


    Ryu frowned. He knew that Ailsa was correct, but he truly hadn''t focused on such things. He had his hands full already strengthening himself, that alone felt like an uphill battle. Of course, that wasn''t because he had come across any staunch roadblocks, but rather because he felt that no matter how quickly he went, it wasn''t fast enough.


    Ailsa sighed. ''I know what you''re thinking. Growing your own power is challenging enough. But, the only way you could even dream of accomplishing this alone is if you become a Sky God. And, not only might that not be enough, it would take an obscene amount of time.


    ''What I will tell you is that those with your Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils have a massive advantage. Later stages of cultivation heavily emphasize comprehension, so those hurdles will be lower for you, especially with the help of the Embryonic Origin Flame. But, even with the most giving estimates, you can''t hope to reach that realm without several million years of cultivation.''


    Ryu sucked in a cold breath. He knew that Ailsa was being extremely giving even with that time frame. According to what Ryu knew, absolute geniuses, at one million years old, would only reach the Dao Pedestal Realm, a Realm still three levels from the Sky God Realm. This was why Ryu''s wife, Elena, was seen as such a genius. She had reached that Realm even before her millionth birthday. Unfortunately, even she was nowhere near the Sky God Realm.


    ''From here to then, you have to cross the Spiritual Severing Realm, the Divine Vessel Realm, the Connection Heaven Realm, the Immortal Ring Realm, the Path Extinction Realm, the Dao Pedestal Realm, the Cosmic Seed Realm, and the World Sea Realm.


    ''Of those, many can be forcibly passed through with resources and tenacity, but the Dao Pedestal, Cosmic Seed and World Sea Realms are all contemplation Realms. You don''t simply cross them by accumulating resources and qi. Though there are some incredibly rare herbs that can accomplish this, banking on finding them would be the epitome of foolishness.


    ''To top this off, I''ve glossed over the dangers. The Spiritual Severing and Path Extinction Realms are especially dangerous. If you act rashly, you will harm, kill, or even the worst fate for you, cripple yourself.''


    There were many other things Ailsa maintained her silence about even though she said all of these things. For example, if Ryu focused too much on speed, his foundation would suffer. What was the point if he simply ended up with an empty cultivation Realm?


    "You want me to build up forces?" Ryu finally said after a moment of silence.


    ''This is the necessary thing to do. If I was a Quibus Faerie who could lead you down the path of necromancy, maybe you really could do this alone. But, unfortunately, I have no such ability. And, even if I did, your Mental Realm is your weakest aspect. It''s impossible for you to become a great necromancer with such limited capacities.''


    Ryu nodded, falling into deep thought once more. Ailsa was correct, controlling vast amounts of undead required refined Spiritual Qi control. Ryu had stumbled upon some short snippets of this truth while researching the Death Shrine.


    "Is there no other way?"


    ''Another way for what?''


    "To become a one-man army." Ryu looked up into Ailsa''s ruby eyes. "It isn''t that I''m so prideful that I must do it alone, the issue is both one of time and trust.


    "Firstly, strengthening those beneath me will be an issue, and reeling in those above me will be even more difficult. Though, we could eliminate the latter issue thanks to your eyes, the former still remains."


    Ryu was right. As a Cultus Faerie, Ailsa could see through the talents of individuals with a single glance. Ryu didn''t need to look blindly for talents to take under his wings. The issue was, no matter how great the talent, could they ever be as talented as Ryu? No¡­ And that answer led back to the question of time.


    "Secondly, there''s the matter of trust. One only needs to look at my Tatsuya Clan being backstabbed repeatedly to understand that humans are vile creatures. Considering my goal ¨C to topple the foremost power of this Realm ¨C it lends to even more uncertainty. In addition¡­ I''m not a very good leader."


    Ailsa smiled slightly at Ryu being so forthcoming about his faults.


    "To become a one-man army¡­" Ailsa fell into her own thoughts. "There are a few options if this is truly the path you want to take¡­ In truth, your words aren''t without logic, the issue is that the paths that give way to such a thing all focus around one thing: one''s Mental Realm. The Heavens are fair, those who focus on their minds are frail and thus need this sort of support¡­ But, here are a few possibilities ¡­"

 Chapter 183: Options

    ''The first path is the easiest for you. Some of the best beast tamers in history have been those with your Ice Jade Crystal body for obvious reasons. Little brother just smells too good.'' Ailsa giggled.


    ''This will be easier on your Mental Realm as well. Beasts are obviously more autonomous than undead creatures, so the pressure on your Mental Realm is only limited to the initial contract signed. In addition, beasts can improve very quickly. Their comprehension is mostly based on their innate talent, so they really only need resources to cross realms.


    ''Still, there are cons as well. Firstly, beasts aren''t as unintelligent as humans paint them out to be. As of the Fifth Order and above, their thoughts are no less complex than yours. As such, they have their own societies and hierarchies as well. If a human suddenly starts accumulating vast amounts of their kind, it won''t go unnoticed.


    ''In addition, the selection of beasts in this Realm is lacking. There''s a reason the dominant race here is that of humans. The Ancient Beasts were killed off long ago, leaving only fledgling beasts. The greatest beast of this Realm is likely only of the Tenth Order, far more powerful than you now, but not nearly enough to help you accomplish your goals.


    ''This means that if you want to take this route, little brother will have to do one of two things. You''ll have to either set aside even more resources so that I can help the beasts of this Realm break their bloodline shackles, or, we''ll have to travel to other Realms. Of course, the latter of these options makes the first drawback I mentioned many times more dangerous.''


    Ryu listened carefully as he slipped into a tub of Seeking Wood filled with Vital Tree Essence for recovery.


    Though there were drawbacks, it wasn''t impossible. After all, Ryu had the Incubator and Ailsa, both of whom were capable of helping him nurture large swaths of Spiritual Herbs. He was in a unique position to raise many beasts.


    The most glaring issue was one Ailsa hadn''t mentioned, and that was one of space. Even if Ryu had the resources to raise so many beasts, where would he do so? The Incubator''s space was decently large, at least the size of a large Clan''s territory even on the Shrine Plane, but one had to remember that it required Ryu''s strength to transport things in and out of it. That was a limiting factor for sure.


    ''The second option is necromancy.''


    Hearing this, Ryu looked up toward Ailsa in confusion. Hadn''t she just said that wasn''t a possibility?


    Ailsa smiled coyly. ''Though I''m not a Quibus Faerie, who said one must have a Quibus Faerie to become a necromancer? In all of this, you shouldn''t forget that you were chosen by the Phoenix Sky God.''


    Ryu''s eyes widened with surprise. "You mean?"


    ''Your trial encompassed life, reincarnation, and death for a reason. The white flames of your Spiritual Foundation are also linked to that reason. The Life Flame, known as the Ice Flame of your Ice Phoenix Clan is blue. The Death Flame of the Dark Phoenix Clan is black. The Reincarnation Flame, known as the Rebirth Flame of your Fire Phoenix Clan is red. The culmination of them all are your white flames.


    ''The Phoenix Sky God embodies them all, this is why his legend is so muddied and it took so much effort for you to grasp the faintest image of his life. If you tap into his Legacy, not only life and reincarnation, but the subtleties of death will lay bare before you.


    ''Even if your Mental Realm will restrict you, comprehending death will greatly lessen the burden. Unfortunately, this path has even more roadblocks. Namely, though the Phoenix Sky God followed the Path of Death in part, he wasn''t a necromancer. Meaning, even if you reflected upon his legacy, you would receive no help from him in that regard.


    ''In addition, you have two opposing phoenix bloodlines within your body that will make it difficult for you to grasp concepts of death. To make matters worse, you also have the Lightning Qilin bloodline within you. Lightning is exceptionally good at wiping out yin, which would make your path even more difficult.''


    Ryu smiled wryly. It seemed there were even more challenges to this one than the last one. Maybe the only good news was that in Ryu''s time, there was no taboo on Death comprehension like there was for those who cultivated the Mental Realm.


    ''The third possibility is something you likely don''t know about as it''s a path available only to those with a Noble Faerie as their Life Partner.'' Ailsa stuck her ample chest out proudly, something that looked quite adorable in her half a foot tall form. ''It''s possible for me to open a path to the Faerie Realm and allow you to contract other Faeries. Though it would be almost impossible to quell Faeries at or above my level, it would be possible to take control of lesser Faeries.


    ''The more Faeries you have supporting you and even fighting on your behalf, the easier fighting ''alone'' becomes. Though, much like the other paths, this path has its issues as well.


    ''First, taking Faeries under your wing can only be done if both parties are willing. It cannot be done by force. As you know, intimacy is incredibly important, and, the stronger the Faerie is, the less useful I am in helping that process. Secondly, Faeries can only exist outside the Faerie Realm with the help of an anchor. Because I''m such a high-grade Faerie, much of your capacity as an anchor has already be taken up. And, the only way to increase that capacity is by cultivating your Mental Realm¡­''


    Ryu sighed. He had always thought his talent was infallible, come to find out his talent was suddenly his most limiting factor.


    ''The fourth possibility simply requires the knowledge and vast resources, and that''s to use puppets. High grade puppets are quite good in battle, though they''d never be as good as humans. They simply don''t have the flexibility. Quite frankly, though this option puts the least stress on your Mental Realm, it''s also the worst option. At least, I''ve never heard of a puppet as strong as a World Sea Cultivator.


    ''And the fifth option¡­'' Ailsa smiled. ''¡­ Knowing you, it is the option you''d like the best ¨C and that''s simply to become so powerful that no outside aid matters.


    ''Focus your growth on movement speed and recoverability. With the Northern Heavenly Wind, you have the potential for your speed to become unmatched, but that alone isn''t enough. We need to raise the Northern Heavenly Wind from its embryonic stage by feeding it more winds. In addition, finding the Southern Wind, the Breath of Life, would give you endless stamina and recoverability. Emphasize your Phoenix Bloodlines. Rebirth from near death and the Natural Order of Life are both hidden within you.


    ''So¡­ What do you think? Did Big Sis give you enough options? Which will you choose?''


    Ryu fell into his thoughts. Though he now had many options, each was vastly more difficult than the next. He began to wonder if using such a path was even worth it¡­ Maybe he should begin to cultivate his own forces as Ailsa suggested from the very beginning?

 Chapter 184: Tribulation Nine Clouds

    Ailsa didn''t rush Ryu. This sort of decision was too important. In addition, she herself knew how tall the mountain Ryu had to climb would be regardless of his choice. Clans and Alliances didn''t just pop up out of thin air. It required countless epochs of effort for a Clan to rise up, and even then, the vast majority would never be as powerful as Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan. Because of this, Ailsa almost felt that Ryu was in the right wanting to go at it alone.


    "How do you feel about puppeteering?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    Ailsa blinked. ''Puppeteering? Ah, I understand. You want to compensate for your lack of talent along the Mental Realm path with your Qi Realm talent.''


    Puppet Masters. They were an incredibly ancient cult of individuals who used their deft control of qi to bolster their strength. Instead of controlling corpses with their Mental Realm like necromancers did, they used their qi like the strings of a puppeteer.


    There were many pros to this path. Corpses responded faster and with more agility to commands. However, there were many cons as well. Typically, necromancers could control more corpses. In addition, puppets tended to be less durable, namely because stronger puppets required thicker qi strings. The tradeoff was too steep. And¡­


    ''Though it''s possible, you shouldn''t believe that you''ll completely escape the limitations of your Mental Realm by taking the puppeteering path. Do you remember what is limiting your dual polearm wielding path?''


    Hearing this, Ryu already knew what was coming and smiled bitterly.


    ''Puppeteering requires controlling multiple variables at once. Strictly speaking, it''s far more complex and layered that simply controlling two weapons. Anything that places such a heavy burden on your mind requires your Mental Realm ¨C it''s unavoidable.''


    Ryu closed his eyes, nodding solemnly. But, his depressed state didn''t last for long. He couldn''t afford to be to depressed, he didn''t have the time for it. Not long later, his eyes opened with a keen resolution.


    ''You''ve made a decision?''


    "Yes." Ryu nodded heavily. "All of these matters point toward one obvious choice. There''s no room to be accepting of my weakness. Instead of spending so much time trying to accommodate my inadequacies, I want to fix them."


    Ryu turned his gaze toward Ailsa. "How do I rid myself of this weakness?"


    ''I see¡­ So that''s your choice.'' Ailsa smiled. ''I should have known. It''s quite typical of you. Good, Big Sis will help you then. But, you should know that fighting against one''s lack of talent isn''t something that ever ends, it''s a battle of a lifetime¡­ I think this will be a good experience for you, not just for your strength, but for you mind.''


    Ryu understood the hidden meaning of Ailsa''s words and said no more. He had too many advantages to lament his bad luck. If he couldn''t make use of the cards he was dealt, in spite of how good the truly were, then didn''t that mean no one could defeat Fate? At the very least, he wanted to understand just what truly battling against Fate meant. So, he waited silently as Ailsa fell into her thoughts, he knew that she was tossing away all of her previous plans for his sake and he couldn''t have been more thankful.


    ''As you know,'' Ailsa finally spoke, ''There are limiters to what one can do with their minds without Qi Realm cultivation. It is unadvisable to enter the Soul Birth Realm until after one completes their Immortal Ring, for example.


    ''Currently, little brother is in the lowest Mental Realm ¨C the Spiritual Entrance Realm. Much like your body, where you are currently accumulating as much Vital Qi as you can to prepare for the next realm, you are also meant to be accumulating as much Spiritual Qi as you can for your Mental Realm.


    ''Unfortunately, this is where your limiter lies. Just like your Ancestral Bloodline can hold more Vital Qi than others who have lesser bloodlines, your Mental Realm is limited by your talent in that you can''t accumulate as much Spiritual Qi as a genius of the Zu Clan would be able to.


    ''Still, little brother does have some advantages in the Mental Realm. Firstly, the Origin Flame. It allows little brother to have perfect recall. In fact, to call it perfect recall is almost doing this treasure a disservice. Simply put, even with your lack of Mental Realm talent, you won''t ever stumble in your Visualizations.


    ''Second is little brother''s Heavenly Pupils. Not only do you have perfect recall, but you can grasp the essence of Visualizations far quicker than others. The issue is that these two advantages are useless. Do you know why?''


    Ryu nodded. "Because neither increases my limits. If anything, all they do help me reach my low ceiling faster than anyone else could, but doesn''t fix the root of the problem."


    ''Exactly right. What little brother needs is a method to increase your limits. I have these methods, but they come in two forms. One is luck. The other is pain.''


    Ailsa smiled an ambiguous smile. ''The luck aspect is already accomplished. The Spirit Seeking Lilies are treasures one can only hope for and never ask for. Taking even one petal can instantly double your Mental Realm''s size. However¡­ Little brother''s Mental Realm talent is at the point where that won''t be helpful. This is why little brother must combine this luck with pain.''


    Ailsa took a deep breath. ''Do you remember [Tribulation Nine Clouds]?''


    Ryu flinched involuntarily. "So that really is the only choice¡­"


    Ailsa giggled, giving Ryu a knowing look. It seemed Ryu had already thought of this possibility and had just been avoiding it.


    [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. It was a technique that used tribulation lightning to forcibly increase one''s potential. Ryu had seen it while he was trying to pick his Qi Techniques. Though Ryu had found it in a section of Qi Techniques, the foundation of the technique was turning tribulation lightning into qi¡­ There was no limitation on the kind of qi it could be. Meaning, Spiritual Qi was also a possibility, even Vital Qi.


    ''Ryu, this is your only path. Some people aren''t even lucky enough to know such a technique exists ¨C they don''t even have the choice of risking themselves to improve. I wasn''t joking when I said fighting against one''s lack of talent was a lifelong endeavor. Even after you break your limiters in your current cultivation realm, you''ll find out that after you break into the next realm, they have limiters of their own, and so will the next, and the next. This is why simply taking the Spirit Seeking Lily is useless ¡­ you need to be ready to fight against the cards you were dealt every step of the way.''


    ''I understand.'' A flicker of resolution colored Ryu''s silver eyes.

 Chapter 185: Thunder Bull

    Days had passed since Ailsa and Ryu decided upon a path. Ryu was currently heading deep into unmarked Pedestal Plane territory with a knew badge hanging from the hip of his black robes.


    Moments ago, Ryu had registered for the Mercenary Guild of Valor City. Thanks to his Honor Card, he received a great many privileges ¨C namely, he could take missions regardless of their Order.


    Though Ryu was committed to his Mental Realm''s improvement, he hadn''t forgotten about his deadline of two years. He had to somehow accumulate enough Qi Stones to open the barrier to the Moon World, and the Mercenary Guild was just one method of doing so.


    In truth, Ryu''s best bet was his Herbology. However, he decided against it after a stern warning from Ailsa. She reminded Ryu that there were definitely people looking for him now because of her and that it would be easy to dodge those individuals as long as he kept those who were aware of his status to a minimum. The reality was that those of the Inner and Core Rings, and those of the Blossom Plane, cared little for a so-called Honor Card. But, a Black Grade Herbologist of younger than twenty years was a shocking thing recognized by all.


    Ryu solemnly took Ailsa''s advice, realizing he had been too rash. If he wanted to take advantage of his herbology to make money, he had to do so covertly.


    ''Don''t worry too much about making money.'' Ailsa said confidently, enjoying the rushing wind caused by Ryu''s agility. ''You have this noble Big Sis by your side. The places we''ll be frequenting very soon will be some of the most dangerous areas this Plane has to offer. With danger, comes profit. If worse comes to worst, you can always sell some of your Breaking Ore and Spirit Seeking Lilies, they''re worth far more.''


    ''Speaking of which, you still haven''t told me.'' Ryu responded, leaping from tree to tree. ''Just what are the abilities of the Black Vein Lilies?''


    Ailsa was a Cultus Faerie and there was a reason her trial to find her Life Partner was an Herbology Exam. They had a very special connection to life. Ailsa could see through the potential of not only beasts, but Spiritual Herbs as well. Even if the knowledge wasn''t in her mind immediately, she would only need to meditate on it for a moment. Of course, this was restricted to some extent by Ryu as usual.


    ''I can sense that the Black Vein Lilies are helpful for your pupils, but exactly how is vague to me.''


    Ryu nodded, he felt so as well. When he first laid eyes on them, he felt his pupils throb. But, that could be for any number of reasons. His pupils also throbbed when danger was nearby, so it was possible that the Black Vein Lilies were poisonous. Hearing Ailsa assure him that they weren''t was a relief.


    ''The question is whether the Black Vein Lilies are specifically helpful for your pupils, or if they''re helpful for all Heavenly Pupils. I believe it''s the latter¡­ And if that''s the case, the answer is even more vague.


    ''Alright! Focus. By my calculations, the closest lightning dense region is in this direction. We can kill two birds with one stone. You can complete a Fourth Order mission as a Qi Refinement expert to help the Awoken Moon Sect''s Faith, and you can begin to cultivate [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. Plus, there should be some lightning affinity beasts nearby that will have very helpful Spiritual Roots.''


    [Tribulation Nine Clouds] was most effective with true tribulation lightning, however, such places were obviously incredibly rare. Even with Ailsa''s abilities, they would take a lot of time or luck to find. Luckily, with Ailsa''s guidance and Ryu''s level of comprehension, normal lightning could be used as well. In fact, it was probably better if Ryu took this path for now. With his current Mental strength, a single wisp of true tribulation lightning could eradicate him in body and soul.


    The Fourth Order mission Ryu had taken was a request from the Alchemy Association. They needed an Earth Grade Herb known as Striking Weed. It grew in lightning dense areas as was colloquially known as the lightning rod herb. Though the mission was actually quite dangerous, the pay was decent at ten Lower Mortal Qi Stones. Considering a single stone of that quality was worth a million gold coins, ten was worth Valor City''s revenue in a whole quarter.


    Of course, these revenue totals only tallied normal gold transactions and not Qi Stone ones.


    With Ryu''s speed now bordering on the Divine Vessel Realm even without evoking his Northern Wind''s Phenomena, it only took him a few hours to reach his destination.


    The Outer Ring of the Pedestal Plane was controlled by nine major cities and twenty-seven Fifth Order Sects. However, there were major gaps within their territory that acted as havens for beasts. Though Ailsa was correct in saying that the beasts of this Realm were relatively weak, that was only in relation to the top experts on the Shrine Plane, now known as the Martial Plane. There were plenty of beast territories on the Pedestal and Blossom Planes that human experts were hesitant to enter. One example of them was the very lightning dense area Ryu was now entering ¨C Flash Mountain.


    The mountain range had an ominous looming aura to it. It didn''t look as though it was formed of normal rock. Instead, it seemed like the perpetual lightning strikes it suffered had turned the mountain''s surface into a reflective obsidian. It was very easy for one to lose their grip or slip on such a surface.


    Dark and large cumulonimbus clouds hung in the air. Though it should have been midday, it felt as though it was midnight.


    Strikes of pale lightning coursed through the black clouds ominously, as though daring a target to come forward.


    ''Alright Little Ryu, be careful from here on out, especially when you near the Striking Weed. I''ll point out the direction so that you don''t need to wander blindly.''


    Ryu took a step forward, feeling the crunch of fine ash beneath his feet. ''Looks like they''ve already come out to greet me.''


    A glaive appeared in Ryu''s hand as beast stepped from the forest that surrounded the base of the obsidian mountain.


    It took the shape of a raging bull, but the eerie calm in its eye could shake the soul of even calmest man. Its horns had a menacing curve to them and there was a subtle spark of lightning that arched between them, sizzling the air with an out-of-place heat.


    A slick coat of black covered its large three-meter-tall body. Objectively, it was quite a beautiful creature, if you overlooked the bulging muscles beneath its shining coat of fur, that is.


    In truth, Ryu didn''t know what this beast was either. Luckily¡­


    ''This creature is known as the Thunder Bull. You can tell by the subtle hints of golden fur just above its hooves that it recently entered the Fourth Order. It has high short burst speed, but low agility¡­''

 Chapter 186: Pulling Strings

    "You''re saying the new Throne of the Awoken Moon Sect strolled in and took so many Fourth Order missions at once?" A tall, fiery red-haired man slammed his palm against counter.


    There was no surprise that such a large commotion had erupted within the Mercenary Guilds. Missions could only be claimed once. Until the certain deadline passed, or the claimer admitted their failure and paid a penalty, no one else could accept such missions.


    Not only had Ryu taken a Fourth Order mission, he took all six that had become available, leaving none for the highest-grade Mercenary Squads. This meant that if these teams wanted another mission, they''d have to travel all the way to another major city in hopes of claiming one of their own.


    In truth, this was simply a matter of bad timing. Fourth Order missions weren''t frequently accepted, this was why Ryu felt so comfortable taking them all for himself. Completing a single one left high-level Mercenary squads full for years. The issue was that it just so happened that one of the only two Fourth Order Mercenary Squads of Valor City had come to claim a mission, only to find that they were all gone.


    This wasn''t the worst part of it all. Rather, that honor was reserved for the blow to their pride. Being titled a Fourth Order mercenary didn''t mean you could take on a Fourth Order mission alone. At most, a Fourth Order mercenary could solo a Third Order mission, but would need a team of able bodied individuals to tackle a Fourth Order one. Hearing that a kid of not even twenty years old was taking on so many alone was a great blow to them.


    "Please calm yourself." The receptionist replied far more calmly than one would expect when faced with such a powerful man. "Our rules are our rules. He has a time limit of one month. The time limits do not stack. You may come back and claim your missions in one month should he fail. If not, I hope that you''ll accept the result."


    Interestingly enough, the red-haired man steadied his breathing and pulled back at these words. The reason was something only the veterans of the guild would be aware of. Though they went by a generic name like ''Mercenary Guild'', this was just a singular branch of an establishment that had its roots on the Blossom Plane. The success or failure of mere Fourth Order mission meant little to them¡­


    "Leader, what happened?" A group of seven men and women looked toward the red-haired man. He had gone to claim a mission, but actually came back empty handed.


    After hearing the explanation, it was no surprise that they were all enraged, but there was nothing they could do. They could only come back one month later¡­


    **


    At the base of mount Flash Mountain, Ryu''s body flickered like a specter. Though his strength output could only be said to match a normal Higher Qi Refinement expert at most when using only a single arm, his speed was such that even Spiritual Severing Realm experts had trouble keeping up with him.


    The Thunder Bull was learning of these matters firsthand. At first, it disdained Ryu''s attempts and simply saw him as a snack. However, Ryu''s shallow, negligible slashes began to stack upon one another, growing more layered. Suddenly, before the Thunder Bull even realized it, its body had become a canvas marred by thick red paint.


    It soon fell tragically, a product of its excessive blood loss and fatigue.


    ''Store the Thunder Bull''s horns carefully. They carry a dense lightning qi. We''ll use the Incubator and the horns in tandem to prime your Mental Realm. If we use this method, we can make the volatile lightning qi docile. This will make absorbing our target lightning for this trip less dangerous.''


    Ryu''s brows lifted in surprise as he dissected the Thunder Bull''s corpse. ''We can use the Incubator in that way? Then doesn''t that mean I could use it to absorb Spiritual Roots as well? That would make my Body Realm cultivation much faster.''


    ''That is true, but you should be wary of using the Incubator so liberally. There will be certain times in the future where the Incubator won''t be able to transform challenges into a gentle flow for you. Making cultivation too easy isn''t necessarily a good thing. For example, this Flash Mountain. The lightning we''ll be using to expand your Mental Realm''s potential comes from the skies themselves. Obviously, the Incubator can''t make this energy more docile for you.''


    ''There will be moments like this for the Body Realm as well?''


    ''Of course. The fourth realm of the Body is known as the Nine Life Revolutions realm. Each step is separated into what are known as Destructions. In order to move forward, a Body Realm cultivator needs to destroy their body to its most basic building blocks before building it back up. This needs to be repeated nine times. If, up until that point, you''ve only experienced incredibly relaxed cultivation, you will die just attempting this.''


    Ryu nodded solemnly, taking Ailsa''s advice to heart.


    ''Don''t worry though, I''m not saying we''ll never use the Incubator. It will be especially useful for your Qi Realm. It''s not that there are no situations where easy qi cultivation will be a detriment to you, it''s just that your qi cultivation talent is so high I don''t believe it will make much of a difference.''


    ''There is a problem though.'' Ryu said, looking at the horns he just separated from the Thunder Bull''s skull. ''I don''t think I can control enough spatial qi to bring these horns into the Incubator.'' The limitation of the Incubator had reared its ugly head once more.


    But, Ailsa only smiled. ''Did you forget? Not only are our souls tied together, but don''t you remember the special ability us Faeries have? We are very good at existing between reality and imaginary. Because our souls are tied together, I can use your treasures as easily as you can. And, because I can exist between realities, I can mitigate the stress high-level treasures place on you, making it easier to bring them in.''


    Ailsa seemed to continuously give Ryu pleasant surprises. He had to admit¡­ Having someone to rely on and share his burden with lifted much of the weight on his heart. Whether he liked it or not, he grew closer to Ailsa every day.


    Still, while Ryu''s mind was focused on his self-improvement and began his climb up Flash Mountain, the commotion he had caused in the Outer Ring was spreading. It wasn''t just the Mercenary Guilds, but the geniuses of the twenty-seven Sects were greatly shaken. Though one could argue that this would happen naturally regardless, in this case, the reaction was very unnatural, as though someone or multiples someones were pulling strings in the background, ensuring that the commotion was as exaggerated as possible.


    With the Inner Ring''s selection quickly approaching, the shared realm of the Outer Ring would open far ahead of schedule with everyone only having a single target in mind ¨C Throne Ryu.

 Chapter 187: Reflective Rainbow

    Ryu glided up the side of the obsidian mountain. After becoming a Wind Heir, he actually found that it was possible for him to fly. In fact, he was nimbler and faster than Spiritual Severing Realm experts in this regard.


    Though Spiritual Severing Realm experts could fly, they usually only did so for short distances. The stress it placed on one''s qi reserves was too great. But Ryu wasn''t limited in this way. Though his qi had yet to match those experts in thickness, the effort he needed to fly was far less than theirs.


    Unfortunately, what should have been a smooth journey thanks to his Northern Wind was constantly impeded by beasts. Though Ryu managed to dodge the Fifth and Sixth Order powerhouses that might be hiding within Flash Mountain, his attempts forced him into the territory of lesser beasts who also wanted to avoid angering these Kings.


    For such a harsh environment, Ryu was surprised by the sheer number of beasts. He was only a third of the way up the mountain, but he had already had half a dozen encounters.


    ''It only makes sense. For lower level beasts, their only instinct is to grow strong, it doesn''t matter what they have to suffer through to reach those ends. This mountain is a holy land for lightning-based cultivation. Make sure to collect their Spiritual Roots well. It''s a bit too much to expect you to absorb Fourth Order Spiritual Roots with your current body strength, but I believe the stress will be a good experience for you. Plus, your Ancestral Grade Lightning Qilin blood should be able to handle it.''


    Ryu passively listened to Ailsa as he collected his seventh beast Spiritual Root. By his calculations, this should enough to force his Lightning Qilin blood toward its peak potential within the Pulse Tempering Realm. With a bit more effort, he could prepare to enter the Vessel Tempering Realm.


    Ryu was quite excited by this prospect. The Vessel Tempering Realm was linked with the Divine Vessel Realm. If Ryu entered it, he would gain a massive boost in strength. Of course, reaching the peak potential of the Pulse Tempering Realm and actually opening the Vessels of the Vessel Tempering Realm were two massively different feats. Ryu would need many more resources to open his Body Vessels.


    Still, this wasn''t something to get down about. Thanks to the advantage his speed and Heavenly Pupils gave him, Ryu had much higher battle prowess than even he had expected. As long as the beast he met was below the Higher Fourth Order, he was confident in winning easily. This allowed him to accumulate resources far easier than someone else of his cultivation realm would.


    Once Ryu reached the upper limit of the Pulse Tempering Realm, he believed he would be unmatched below the Divine Vessel Realm. By then, it would become even easier to collect the resources he needed.


    Ailsa, who had been silently sitting on Ryu''s shoulder, suddenly perked up, her head turning toward a particular direction.


    ''What is it?'' Ryu asked as he collected the final valuable portions of a Fourth Order bird beast.


    ''I just sensed something that might be worth taking a look at.'' A pensive expression spread across Ailsa''s lovely features.


    ''Worth looking at?''


    ''Cultus Sprites are very sensitive to existences with potential. It''s like a pull that pushes us toward those worthy of being nurtured. The reason why I was able to point out that Ember Clan father-son pair was because I sensed that they were worth nurturing ¨C especially the son and his blacksmithing talent.''


    Ryu''s brow shot up. ''You sensed a beast worth nurturing?''


    ''It should be a Thunder Roc.'' Ailsa said after a moment.


    ''What did you just say?'' Ryu froze.


    The Roc. It was an Ancient Beast on the same level as Ryu''s four Ancestral Grade bloodlines. In fact, it was one of the few Ancient Beasts that managed to protect its bloodline from being taken by human Clans.


    However, this wasn''t the most pressing part. If there really was a Thunder Roc in this Flash Mountain, Ryu''s only path was death. Ancient Beasts were incredibly sensitive to other Ancestral Grade bloodlines that came from beasts of their level. A true Thunder Roc would have sensed Ryu the moment he entered this mountain range.


    ''Don''t worry, a true Thunder Roc wouldn''t be here. This lightning qi isn''t anywhere near dense enough. Also, even the weakest Thunder Roc would be of at least the Seventh or Eighth Order. You''d already be dead if one was here. I simply sensed a beast with a small strand of Thunder Roc in its blood.''


    Ryu sighed a breath of relief. ''So if we invest enough into this beast, there may be a day where it could become a true Thunder Roc?''


    ''You could say so, though nothing is certain. Still, since you''ve yet to pick the path you want and would like to focus on raising the potential of your Mental Realm, there''s no reason to ignore this beast''s potential. Though¡­ You should note that even a small strand of such blood is no joke.''


    Ryu''s eyes turned cold. ''Which way?''


    Facing a beast with a small strand of an Ancestral bloodline was no easy task. When Ryu measured his combat prowess, he always measured himself up to normal beasts and cultivators. However, if Ryu could jump several levels to fight those beyond him in strength, why couldn''t others do so?


    Ailsa silently pointed toward a particular direction. It was no surprise that it was into the dark depths of Flash Mountain.


    The rumbling of an eerie thunder boomed over head, causing the already slippery surface Ryu stood on to tremble. As if these matters weren''t an ominous sign enough, the pitter patter of rain soon followed.


    Still, there was no hesitation in Ryu''s steps. Nine cycles of one hundred million years was enough. His family had waited long enough. His body became a blur, completely ignoring the beasts that tried to engage with him. None of them dared to follow his path after a certain point either way.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu laid eyes on the beast, mostly because it stood proudly on a mountain peak, not trying to hide its presence in the slightest.


    The Roc could only be described as beautiful. It had the long proud neck of a peacock and the sharp gaze of an eagle. Its three tails fluttered about like silver laced silk, but its feathers were what truly made one''s heart palpitate. Like plates of platinum, they shone a reflective rainbow even under the dark sky¡­

 Chapter 188: Commander Fidroha

    Ryu''s cold eyes met the Roc''s. It was as though two lines of silver crossed time and space.


    The Roc seemed curious about Ryu''s sudden appearance, amused, even. Normally beasts completely avoided its territory. Whenever it wanted to eat, it would have to leave and chase after those cowards. He had to say that this was the first time someone had willingly come to him.


    As for Ryu, he was surprised for an entirely different reason. He felt a pressure he had only experienced once before. The issue was that the originator of that pressure had been a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, but Ryu was certain that this Roc was just a Peak Third Order beast. How was that even possible?


    ''A strand can''t be so powerful, can it?'' Ryu''s brow furrowed as he asked Ailsa this question. He had four full Ancestral Bloodlines running through his veins, so why wasn''t the pressure he gave off a match for this beast who supposedly only had a strand?


    ''It can''t be helped.'' Ailsa replied. ''Humans don''t have the bodily strength needed to hold Ancient Beast bloodlines from birth, so they can only slowly grow into theirs. However, beasts are more appropriately adjusted. Though he only has a strand while you have the full bloodlines, at this point in your lives, he''s still superior in that respect. You''ll begin to see the true strength of your blood only after entering the Divine Vessel and Vessel Tempering Realms.''


    Ryu''s eyes sharpened. "I''ll give you an opportunity."


    Even Ailsa was shocked by Ryu''s sudden actions. He was talking to the Roc?


    "If you follow me, I''ll give you the chance to break through your limits. Would you like to take this chance? Or would you rather spend the rest of your life lording over this small mountain range?"


    Ryu could see it. His eyes could see the intelligence in the Roc, he could see the pride in its eyes, its unwillingness to be normal. Ryu felt that after breaking two seals¡­ Many things were clearer to him.


    The Roc''s long neck bristled, the beautiful silver plumes that spread from its neck to the top of its tall head flickered under the heavy rain.


    In that moment, it suddenly spread its proud wings. Like a blinding silver moon under the dark sky above, it spread itself outward over six meters. It didn''t answer Ryu''s question, instead, it attacked, as though saying it cared little for empty words.


    Even with Ryu''s pupils and his preparedness, he had never seen anything so fast. In fact, he was certain. This beast was faster than him, and this wasn''t even its peak speed.


    A flash of silver swept down from the mountain, charging toward Ryu.


    Ryu no longer played around. His greatest advantage ¨C his speed ¨C had suddenly been taken away. Without the slightest hesitation, he brought out his spears, clutching one in both hands as he met the vicious claws of the soaring Roc.


    Even as Ryu was sent flying, he felt an excitement bubbling within his veins. This was what he wanted. He wanted to be pushed to his absolute limits.


    Recently, he felt that his battles had become too easy. His speed was simply too overwhelming. In combination with his Heavenly Pupils, many of the opponents he faced didn''t stand a chance. But, he had finally found a beast who could take his greatest strength away. This was yet another opportunity to break past his limits and reach a greater height. His Tatsuya Saintly Weapons had stalled for too long!


    **


    "Oddities?"


    A collection of individuals had gathered in a room Ryu would find very familiar. It was none other than the Association Head''s spacious office. Though, one would be surprised to find that it was far more tidy than it had been in the past. It seemed these guests were quite important.


    "The details are above your paygrade. You only need to answer the questions I''ve asked."


    A large, black cloaked man responded to the Association Head''s question stiffly, obviously giving the old man no semblance of face.


    "We¡­" The Association Head''s brows furrowed as he looked toward his granddaughter, Molly. "We haven''t had anyone take the Black Grade Herbology exam, no."


    The cloaked man followed the Association Head''s gaze, but said nothing else.


    "I''m sure you understand the consequences for lying to us?"


    "Are you not aware of the records? All Alchemy Associations are linked, you didn''t need to come here to ask me these questions." The Association Head''s temper flared.


    "What I am and am not aware of aren''t matters you need to concern yourself with, or else it would be a shame if another daughter of your family disappeared."


    The Association Head stood abruptly, his palm slamming downward so fiercely that his large desk splintered into bits of wood and metal.


    "Don''t you dare push me!" The old man growled. "Every man has his limits. If you think you can take everything away from me and I''ll only silently accept it, you''d be wrong. I don''t mind killing a few of you before heading off to an early grave!"


    "That''s enough, Edwin. These aren''t the matters we came here for."


    The atmosphere chilled when this second cloaked figure spoke. By its slender figure, gentle voice, and the way its cloak tugged along its curves, there was no doubt that this was a woman. Yet, she forced the large cloaked man to back down with ease.


    "I apologize for my subordinate''s rude words. We''ll take our leave, but I hope you understand that we do not move without just cause. Something precious was taken and its our duty to bring it back."


    With those words, the cloaked figures left, leaving behind a silent grandfather-granddaughter pair.


    "Commander Fidroha, why did we come here?" The large man finally couldn''t withhold his questions.


    "It''s been a few weeks since those matters ended, but the target still hasn''t been found. So, obviously, the search radius needs to be expanded before the trail runs cold¡­"


    Though her face was covered by a dark cloak, it felt as though her sinister smirk left the world feeling cold.

 Chapter 189: The Apostles

    Molly looked toward her grandfather. Over the past few years, the gaze she gave this old man could only be described as cold, but in these moments, an air of complexity took over as she looked on toward her grandfather''s figure. He never seemed so¡­ vulnerable before.


    Bits of wood and metal dropped to the ground, but errant pieces of paper filled with illegible chicken scratch fell almost too slowly, swaying under the still turbulent air.


    "Asso ¨C Grandpa¡­" Molly bit her lip. "What was she talking about?"


    A sadness pervaded the Association Head''s sunken eyes. But, when he heard his granddaughter call him grandpa for the first time in years, there was a bit of hope that lit his eyes.


    "Never mind those matters Little Molly." The Association Head waved his hand.


    "But¡­"


    "Stop." The Association Head shook his head. "There''s a reason I''ve never told you about these things. Please, if you care for this old man of yours even the slightest bit anymore, don''t ask."


    Blood began to seep from Molly''s lips. She didn''t even realize that her teeth had dug so far into her soft pink lips.


    The Association Head watched as his granddaughter''s petite figure left slowly. As much as Molly felt her heart ache in the face of her weakened grandfather, the Association Head''s pain was ten times more watching his little girl carry a burden he couldn''t lift for her.


    He looked up blankly at the bland ceiling above his head. Though his eyes were a deep, emotionless pit, the shaking of his body and the gripping of his fists made his rage clear.


    This was his true face. The face of a man who was a step away from having nothing to lose. If it wasn''t for the fact he still had his granddaughter, he would have already forsaken everything and laid his life down for revenge.


    The old man brought his hand over the left of his chest. Through his thin robes, he could feel a deep scarring that had long since healed.


    His fingers followed its pattern, crossing from left to right, then back again. Even now, this scar throbbed with the very same pain he had the day he etched it in himself.


    ''The Apostles¡­'' The blood vessels in the old man''s eyes tore. Tears of blood fell from his emotionless face.


    **


    If one had been anywhere near Flash Mountain over the past few days, it wouldn''t have been impossible to see a man and a majestic bird fighting a battle of honor. In truth, it didn''t seem as though either one was intent to take the life of the other, but neither seemed to want to lose either.


    Each stood bloodied and tired.


    The man''s black robes were ripped asunder, revealing a shining flexible armor that radiated a blinding white light and a pale light blue hue. Though, the only reason you could see those colors so clearly, instead of the waterfall of blood that should have been, was precisely because of the heavily falling rain.


    As for the majestic bird, its feathers, once shimmering with the light one might expect from a silver dragon, were bent and misshapen in many areas. In fact, it wasn''t impossible to find precious pieces of its lustrous coat of feathers strewn about the mountain range.


    None bothered this man-bird pair. It was impossible to say that the two of them were the most powerful on this mountain range, so there had to be another reason they were left alone. Maybe those more creatures couldn''t be bothered¡­ Or maybe they respected the battle of two men.


    Finally, the bird''s long proud neck drooped. Its eyes still had an endless fire hidden behind them, but its body simply couldn''t keep up. In the end, the man stood tall, his lungs screaming for air.


    There was no doubt. This man was Ryu Tatsuya, and the bird was a descendant of the Thunder Roc.


    Ryu gripped his spears, using them to hold himself up. During this battle, he had refused Ailsa''s help, believing that it would be too shameful to treat the Roc''s battle intent that way.


    ''You have to be careful, Ryu. Beasts only have one drive: to evolve. Eating the Spiritual Root of a Thunder Roc descendant is probably the only chance those Fifth and Sixth Order King Beasts have at taking another step forward.''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He knew he was too optimistic in thinking that he and the Roc weren''t bothered because of some sort of chivalry. Those others were definitely waiting for the Roc to fall.


    This situation was far too different from the norm. The Roc had met Ryu''s challenge head on, but the reality was that if he wanted to run away, Ryu would have had no chance at catching him.


    This was likely what the other beasts had experienced as well. The Roc was a juicy piece of meat that they could never lay their hands on because its speed was too quick.


    Now that the Roc had tired itself out on its own, for reasons unknown to them, this was a perfect opportunity that they couldn''t pass up, no matter what.


    ''Can you bring him into the Incubator?'' Ryu asked. He simply didn''t have enough spatial qi control to bring in such a large beast.


    ''No problem. But, you need to form a connection with him first, or else I''ll be unable to.''


    Ryu nodded. Stumbling his way forward, he finally made it to the Roc''s side. He could see the fiery intent within its almost childish-like expressions, but he didn''t feel any malice as he placed his palm on the Roc''s large, silvery head.


    "From today on, you''re with me. It won''t be easy though, so if you''re a coward, you can leave now."


    The Roc made a sound that Ryu interpreted as a scoff. It was as though the Roc was saying: ''You dare to call me a coward, even after all of this? Don''t make me eat you.''


    Ryu smiled lightly, feeling a natural connection with the Roc. He felt that they were one in the same¡­  Proud, unyielding men. The Roc didn''t see this as a master-slave contract, he only saw it as a relationship. If he one day felt it was no longer worth being by Ryu''s side, he would leave.


    The Roc turned illusory under Ailsa''s guidance and soon disappeared into the Incubator to recover. As for Ryu, he swung on a familiar black cloak and practically vanished from thin air.

 Chapter 190: Twenty Kilometers

    The lurking King Beasts of Flash Mountain could only look around in confusion. They had simultaneously surged forward once the sounds of battle ended, but they found nothing in return. Unfortunately for them, with Ailsa by his side, and thanks to the Immortal Qi provided by the first Immortal Plane, Ryu''s cloak was far more effective than it had been on the Higher Mortal Plane.


    Despite his injuries, Ryu continued to battle lesser Fourth Order beasts, pushing his Phoenix Martial Forms to their upmost limit. To him, if training wasn''t painful, there was no point to it.


    Days later, Ryu stumbled into a cave located near the peak of Flash Mountain. It seemed he had completely forgotten about the month-long time frame given to him by the Mercenary Guild, or maybe he simply didn''t care.


    Ailsa shook her head, entering her true form to slowly massage Ryu''s body. She didn''t have much to work with in such a cold, wet and harsh environment, but she did her best.


    Taking control of the Incubator, she nourished Ryu''s body with Vital Tree Essence as she pressed her slender fingers into his hardening muscles.


    The lanky Ryu of the past was nowhere to be seen any longer and he had already recovered from the atrophy he experienced after slipping into a half a year long coma. He finally filled out his frame, standing with the stature only a Tatsuya could have.


    Ailsa sighed. If it wasn''t for the borderline godly regenerative abilities of Ryu''s Ice and Fire Phoenix bloodlines, not to mention the tenacious vitality of his Lightning Qilin and Fire Dragon ones as well, his body would likely already be riddled with scars.


    ''I don''t understand how someone with such strong will power can have such a weak Mental Realm¡­ There must be a reason behind this¡­'' Ailsa never spoke to Ryu about her thoughts, and since Ryu usually refrained from reading her mind, likely to push down the guilt he felt using her like this, he didn''t know about this.


    The truth was that strong will power didn''t always correlate to being talented within the Mental Realm. However, a strong Mental Realm guaranteed strong will power. Simply put, being strong willed didn''t mean you were talented, but it did mean your Mental Realm was strong.


    Yet, despite being so strong willed, even to the point of pushing himself to the brink of death, Ryu''s Mental Realm was far below average. This wasn''t the only oddity either. Despite being baptized by the Origin Rite, and receiving help from the Essence of the Immortal Path, Ryu was still subpar.


    To put things into context, an absolute genius of Ryu''s Mental Realm would have a Spiritual Sense range and Mental Realm size of one kilometer upon entering the Spiritual Entrance Realm. An average individual would have a range of about one hundred meters upon entering. But¡­ Ryu had a range of less than thirty meters upon fully entering the Spiritual Entrance Realm, and even after receiving two Heaven sourced helpers, he barely reached sixty meters. This wasn''t just bad¡­ It was horrible. To the point where it didn''t make any sense.


    Ailsa couldn''t help but think of Ryu''s False Spiritual Foundation as she continued to massage his body. She had never heard of someone so talented being born with a False Spiritual Foundation.


    ''Hmph.'' Ailsa snorted. ''If someone dared to play tricks with my Little Ryu, I''ll make them pay.''


    **


    Ryu startled awake hours later, pushing himself up from the hard obsidian floors of the mountain.


    ''You should sleep some more. You still haven''t fully recovered.''


    Ryu shook his head. "We should go. The Striking Weed should be nearby, right?"


    ''Mm.'' Ailsa fell into silence, watching Ryu steadily rise to his feet.


    "Have we collected enough Lightning type Spiritual Roots?" Ryu asked offhandedly.


    ''We can''t be sure until you absorb them. But, it''s likely not so easy to satiate an Ancestral Grade bloodline.''


    Ryu nodded. That made sense. Even if he was using the Spiritual Roots of beasts that had far higher cultivations than him, the grade of their bloodlines was too low in comparison to Ryu''s. The Roc was the perfect example. He was only a Peak Third Order beast, yet because of his bloodline, he was the strongest beast Ryu had faced in this mountain range.


    "You said you had a method to deal with the Zu Ancestors?" Ryu leapt from the edge of the cave, gripping the slippery rockface above his head to propel himself forward. Ailsa''s massage was truly too miraculous, he should have felt pain, but all he experienced was a good stretch.


    ''Yes, but it isn''t quite necessary to do so just yet. They''re located within the Core Texts floor and we should be focused on improving your Mental Realm to its utmost limits within the Spiritual Entrance Realm first before we consider learning Mental Realm techniques. Unless you want to find out if the Zu Clan has any necromancy ancestors in their past?''


    Ryu shook his head. "I spent decades trying to find the Death Shrine, there''s no one more familiar than me with death path related Ruins. Thanks to the Origin Flame, I can clearly remember hundreds, if not thousands of locations where famous necromancers of the past might have buried their Legacies. I''m not too worried about finding them."


    Ailsa smiled. ''I almost forgot my Little Ryu is a mighty Origin Grade Ruin Master.''


    The title of Ruin Master was even above Herbologist in prestige. It was of such a high level that a small place like this Outer Ring wasn''t worthy of having a Ruin Master branch for itself. It was no wonder Ailsa felt pride at Ryu''s achievement.


    Ryu''s lips slanted slightly, soon reaching the very stop of Flash Mountain. Well, more accurately, he had reached a place where the peak was in view. The peak itself was shrouded by a perpetual rain of lightning. The rumbling of thunder and the sound of rock shattering under the striking lightning could make even the bravest man''s heart palpitate.


    Ryu''s pupils could clearly see it. Striking Weed spread out as far as the eye could see.


    Ryu took a deep breath. "How large must my Mental Realm be to be considered an absolute genius?"


    Ailsa bit her lip. ''One kilometer at opening, but it must be ten kilometers before entering the Spiritual Endowment Realm.''


    A tenacious light flashed in Ryu''s eyes. ''Twenty kilometers it is.''

 Chapter 191: Ancor

    ''Thunder Bull Horns¡­ Thunder Hawk Claws¡­ Lightning Serpent gallbladder¡­''


    Ailsa guided Ryu in slowly absorbing the lightning qi of these materials through the Incubator. As expected of an Origin Grade treasure, the process was incomparably smooth. What should have racked Ryu''s body with pain actually felt like a refreshing time within a hot spring.


    [Tribulation Nine Clouds] was split into ten stages, the first of which was further split into three portions of its own. The first, and Ryu''s current stage, was entirely focused on non-tribulation lightning and the priming of the body for absorption of true tribulation lightning. Essentially, the pure lightning qi of these materials, as well as the lightning dense peak of Flash Mountain, all fell within this first of ten stages.


    Of course, there was a heavy component of comprehension that went with [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. But, for Ryu, the wielder of the first ranked Heavenly Pupils, the first stage posed no issue for him, he saw through its complexities with a single glance.


    The goal of the cultivator of this technique was to form his or her own Tribulation Clouds. This required the use of lightning qi to create lightning dense formations within the body. If one wanted to use it for the Body Realm, you would have to form the first stage''s formation at the base of your brain stem. If one wanted to use it for the Qi Realm, you would have to form the lightning formations upon your Spiritual Foundation. And, if one wanted to use it for their Mental Realm like Ryu, it would have to be formed within your Spiritual Sea.  Of course, one''s Spiritual Sea wouldn''t be truly open until one entered the Soul Birth Realm, so this process actually took place in the thin fog of Spiritual Qi that would one day become Ryu''s Spiritual Sea.


    ''Guide the lightning qi into your Mental Realm, don''t lose your focus just because it''s easy. It will soon be impossible to improve in this technique without taking in natural, unpurified lightning qi. You need to take this opportunity to learn the process inside and out so that you can do while screaming in pain¡­''


    ''¡­ Remember, this technique had degrees of completion attached to it. The more perfectly fused with your body the Thunder Formations are, the easier the next stages will become.''


    ''¡­ These materials will be enough for you to form the first Thunder Formation of the first stage, but to form the latter two, we''ll have to enter the lightning storm¡­''


    At this point, Ailsa was only speaking as a method of ignoring her own nervousness. She knew that not only could Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils see through the depths of mystery hidden within the Thunder Formations, but their cool qi also helped him Focus. It was just that she was worried about the future¡­


    The pure lightning gently wisped into Ryu''s Mental Realm. Ryu took control of it with ease. On the one hand, the qi was gentle to begin with thanks to the Incubator, and on the other, his lightning affinity was frighteningly high thanks to his mother and Grandpa Kunan.


    He quickly formed the formation, a complex, crackling magic circle, imbued with countless complex symbols. It was hard to believe that this was just the first of three formations tied to the simplest of ten stages. However, he wasn''t quick to lay it down.


    As Ailsa had said, while normal cultivation techniques were marked by improvement in power or advancement in comprehension, the [Tribulation Nine Clouds] was focused on two things. The first was the Degree of Completion: How perfect was the drawn formation. And the second was the Degree of Fusion: How perfect was the fusion of said formation to the cultivator''s body.


    For Degree of Completion, Ryu definitely received full marks. The formation he formed was without flaw and perfectly emulated the will of the technique''s creator. However, Degree of Fusion was a bit more complex.


    If Ryu was using this technique for his Qi Realm or his Body Realm, it would likely require forcefully etching the formation into the bones that protected his brain stem or into his Spiritual Foundation. However, Ryu was working with his Mental Realm, and currently, it was nothing but a fog of Spiritual Qi. There wasn''t exactly anything to anchor onto or etch into¡­


    ''Perfect fusion, huh¡­?'' Ryu''s eyes, hidden behind their lids, blazed with a thought.


    Ailsa, who was paying great attention to Ryu''s thoughts, bit her lip. ''That would indeed result in a perfect fusion, but keep in mind how difficult doing such a thing will be while in pain¡­''


    Ryu smiled lightly. ''If I don''t go all out, there''s no point.''


    Ryu could already feel his Mental Realm expanding just the presence of the Thunder Formation. He hadn''t even laid it down yet, but he had already gained almost five meters. After seeing how effective the technique was in aiding him, there was no need to hold back anymore.


    If one peered into Ryu''s Mental Realm, they would see a beautiful sight. A fog of white-gold slowly churned below a bright yellow formation of only a meter across. The yellow formation crackled with lightning, striking down occasionally upon the fog, but if one looked closely, it almost seemed as though the fog was happy to be treated this way as it expanded further and further outward.


    Suddenly, the fog surged upward and into the small yellow formation. In response, the formation greedily swallowed the fog, expanding outward from its one meter width faster and faster.


    Just now, Ryu had a thought. The essence of [Tribulation Nine Clouds] was to use lightning qi to create other qis. Due to the use of the technique, then, there was an inherent connection between Ryu''s Spiritual Qi and the lightning qi that formed his first Thunder Formation. So, what it he completely did away with his Spiritual Qi fog and used the Thunder Formation itself as the foundation of his Mental Realm?!


    The Thunder Formation crackled wildly as it expanded, striking outward with furious strokes of lightning against the outer edges of Ryu''s Mental Realm. Barriers shattered and collapsed as Ryu continuously absorbed more lightning qi, unsatisfied with his already blinding speed. It was then that Ailsa spoke.


    ''Ryu, you need an anchor. Quickly, Visualize [Immortal Sakura].''


    Ryu didn''t doubt Ailsa''s guidance. He acted immediately, Visualizing a beautiful Immortal Sakura.


    Unlike what he projected outward, the Immortal Sakura that appeared within Ryu''s Mental Realm was solid and lifelike. It filled one with a sense of security, as though it would remain standing even to the end of time itself. Its short trunk anchored to the Thunder Formation, protecting it under its large canopy.


    It was then that a magnificent change took place.


    Lightning surged upward, coursing through the Immortal Sakura and up through its large looming branches. The crackling of a beautiful yellow complemented the transparent petals, evolving together¡­


    Even without fully saturating the first formation, Ryu''s Mental Realm reached two hundred meters.

 Chapter 192: Ancestral Grade

    Ryu observed the changes to his Immortal Sakura. According to Eska, the true strength behind her technique was in its flexibility. The Immortal Sakura could act as a sturdy foundation to be build upon, allowing those who used it to maneuver outward along countless paths.


    Thanks to Ailsa''s guidance, Ryu had inadvertently stumbled along one of these paths, resulting in his Immortal Sakura becoming acquainted with the lightning element.


    As things stood now, as long as Ryu meditated upon it, he could most certainly comprehend a Lightning Inheritance. However, he was hesitant to do so and ended up putting it off.


    One had to remember that not every Inheritance was the same. What Ryu gained from the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons couldn''t be matched by any normal glaive, spear or halberd wielding Clan. In this same way, not every lightning inheritance was the same. For example, Ryu didn''t comprehend any old wind inheritance, he specifically waited until he could understand his Northern Heavenly Wind.


    In truth, the matters of becoming a Wind Heir weren''t completely analogous. Back then, Ryu didn''t want to rely on his own comprehension to create his own Wind Inheritance, but right now, Ryu had two seemingly outstanding paths before him. One was the Inheritance of the [Tribulation Nine Clouds] and the other was within his own Lightning Qilin bloodline.


    Once one sets off on a path, it isn''t so easy to deviate from it, which is why Ryu had been careful to be selective. If he wanted to fuse two paths, it wasn''t impossible, but he needed a greater understanding of both beforehand. One only needed to see how slowly his dual wielding path was progressing to see this.


    Under Ailsa''s watchful eye, Ryu greedily absorbed the rest of the lightning treasures. To the Outer Ring, its no doubt that each would be worth several million gold coins, but Ryu tore through them all as though they were nothing but cheap snacks. By the end of it all, Ryu''s Thunder formation had grown to seven hundred meters and his Immortal Sakura had curiously grown along with it. Well, its roots had.


    Ryu''s Mental Realm had truly become a paradise. A sturdy crackling yellow formation stood as its base, with an ancient tree''s roots holding it in place. Even the Immortal Sakura''s transparent petals flashed with streaks of lightning occasionally.


    ''Is it meant to be like this Ailsa?'' Ryu asked curiously after absorbing the last of the lightning qi. ''My Immortal Sakura, I mean. Is it supposed to perpetually stand within my Mental Realm?''


    Ailsa nodded. ''This is actually a fairly new discipline, which is likely why Eska didn''t know anything about it. Though the masters of the mind were taboo in this Realm, that doesn''t mean they were taboo in others. Cultivation is constantly evolving an improving. Though many good things of the past have been forgotten, there are many new paths that have been forged as well.


    ''If you continually Visualize in this way, keeping the image within your mind, projecting the image will become easier and your mind will take on the characteristics of your Visualization much quicker as well. But, this is obviously something incredibly difficult to do. Luckily, you have the Origin Flame.''


    As Ailsa guided Ryu, she didn''t forget to prep him appropriately. Though priming his Mental Realm was important, awakening a larger portion of his Lightning Qilin bloodline from slumber would greatly aid in the next steps as well. So, not long after Ryu completely absorbed the lightning treasures, he found himself undergoing the not so painless process of absorbing Spiritual Roots. It seemed Ailsa was serious about not allowing him to rely on the Incubator for Body Realm cultivation.


    Ryu quickly circulated his [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique. Thanks to this technique, his absorption was far more efficient than it would be for others despite the burning of his blood vessels. And, despite its name, Ryu could easily use it for his non-phoenix bloodlines as well.


    Ailsa turned out to be correct once again, absorbing blood that matched the affinities of his bloodline made the process even more smooth, bringing out yet another reason for the speed of Ryu''s cultivation. Still, this wasn''t even the most poignant point. How many in the very first Body Realm could even dream of using Fourth Order beasts to cultivate? Even if they came from prestigious families and had people who could hunt for them, could their bloodlines withstand such pressure?


    What Ryu was doing was the equivalent of an Awakening Realm Expert absorbing qi from a Spiritual Severing Realm expert. Of course, with his advantages came disadvantages, namely that his blood took far more than others to satiate, but¡­ Was that really a disadvantage? All this meant was that Ryu could grow far more powerful before worrying about gathering treasures to open his Body Vessels.


    Ryu''s bodily strength once more shot forward.


    For someone within the Pulse Tempering Realm like Ryu, they''d usually begin around five hundred jin of strength, and peak out at around fifty thousand jin once their blood was completely satiated.


    Once one reached fifty thousand jin, you could be considering a match for Lower Spiritual Severing Realm experts, but only after beginning to open your Body Vessels could you start matching higher experts. After opening them all, battling a Divine Vessel Realm expert was possible.


    However, Ryu already had over two thousand jin of strength after opening his Pulses, and before he started cultivating upon Flash Mountain, he had reached ten thousand jin. Ryu had assumed that this meant that since he had four bloodlines, he received four times the strength of others, but he was greatly mistaken. He had simply underestimated his bloodlines too much.


    The value of five hundred jin was for those with Common Grade blood. It was six hundred for those with Black Grade, seven hundred for those with Earth Grade, eight hundred for those with Heaven Grade, nine hundred for those of the Sovereign Grade, and finally¡­ a thousand for those of the Ancestral Grade.


    The most poignant point was that these were just averages, there were always bloodlines that were more suited toward body cultivation than others. For example, Ryu''s Phoenix Bloodlines sat right at this thousand jin mark upon awakening, but his Dragon and Qilin bloodline were double that!


    So why was Ryu at two thousand jin upon awakening? It was purely because he was an anomaly. Despite his bloodlines having such great individual strengths, because they were in a single body, they couldn''t react in the way they wanted, making Ryu''s awakening strength lower than it should have been.


    Unfortunately, what Ailsa realized and what she informed Ryu of was that this didn''t mean that Ryu''s base strength should have been six thousand jin, a full twelve times more than someone with Common Grade blood. After all, Ryu only had one body and there was only so much blood he could have. In order to share his body, his bloodlines had to give up a little of their domineeringness. However¡­ The number was still shocking. Ryu''s base strength was five thousand jin! The reason he couldn''t see the end of his strength was because he would need to reach five hundred thousand jin to get there!


    This number was too astounding. Someone of Common Grade blood would only reach this after opening all six Body Vessels¡­ Though, Ryu still had a way to go. He had only just reached sixty thousand jin.

 Chapter 193: Next Stage

    Ryu stood, facing the sea of lightning. He felt his body brimming with power, but he found it quite incredulous at the same time. His senses told him that his Lightning Qilin blood was only about thirty percent satiated at this point, but he had already surpassed the fifty thousand jin mark by ten thousand! What would happen when he homed in on his other three bloodlines?!


    Ryu sighed, beginning to understand more and more about just what Ailsa meant when she painted him as a lucky son of heaven. What right did he had to complain about his lackluster Mental Realm when everything else about him seemed so heaven defying?


    ''It''s time.'' Ryu didn''t allow himself even an inch of hesitation, the moment he stood from his Seeking Wood tub of blood and Spiritual Roots, placing them within his spatial ring, he surged forward.


    If one could see the peak of Flash Mountain, a place even its King Beasts avoided, you would see the nonsensical seen of a young man streaking naked into a rain of lightning, covered from his chest to feet in thick multi-colored blood.


    Ailsa, who had wanted to stop Ryu, could only watch on with a helpless expression. She knew best that Ryu didn''t allow her to speak for fear he would give in to her and turn back. And soon, it became clear why he would want to do exactly that¡­


    Ryu had only taken a single step into the rain of lightning when his body was suddenly struck by a two-finger thick crackling line of yellow lightning.


    His body was blasted into the ground. All the strength he had accumulated seemed completely useless in the face of this strike. It bore into his body, turning his porcelain skin into a bed of cracked burnt black.


    Ryu felt his face tear, not because of the lightning, but because his cheek slammed into the tough obsidian rockface of Flash Mountain.


    Memories suddenly flashed with Ryu''s mind. His Grandpa Kunan''s boisterous laughter filled his ears as he struggled to crawl forward. It was as though his old man, with fluttering dark blue hair and an outrageous beard, was standing right before him.


    The Tribulation Shrine. It had one been controlled by the Kunan Clan, Ryu''s maternal Clan. However, in Ryu''s Grandpa Kunan''s lifetime, it fell out of their control. Aside from the matters surrounding Mistress Holy Wing and his bastard daughter, this was Saint Kunan''s greatest humiliation.


    In truth, Ryu''s grandfather tried more than once to gain the Shrine''s acknowledgement. Ryu''s body was never powerful enough to witness it personally. If he went anywhere near an unrestrained Shrine, his only path would have been death. But, despite his first life having only last a thousand year, a mere blink of an eye to experts on his parents and grandparents'' level, Ryu had witnessed the aftermath of his grandfather''s attempts more than a half dozen times.


    This number seemed small. Seven or eight tries over the span of a thousand years from a certain point of view could seem like far too few. However, there was a reason many saw Ryu''s grandfather as a mad man. To take on the trials of the Tribulation Shrine so often¡­ It was practically seeking death.


    Tribulation Lightning. It wasn''t something cultivators had to face. Ryu only heard faint rumors and read obscure texts about Sky Gods having to face one in order to reach their level, but other than that, cultivators had little contact with this phenomenon. Yet, Ryu''s grandfather weathered its rage, regardless of his accumulated injuries, time and time again, as though he was attempting to wash away some hidden humiliation.


    Another strike of lightning collided with Ryu''s back, splitting his back into a shower of blood that quickly cauterized by the savage lightning.


    In truth, Ryu knew the reason his grandfather continually failed. Everyone assumed that the Tribulation Shrine was only about ferocious strikes of lightning, but if that was the case, it would be redundant. What reason would the Lightning Shrine have to exist if a greater Lightning Tribulation Shrine existed?


    No, it was more than that. Though tribulation lightning was a part of it, it was only a part. The true reason Ryu''s grandfather never cleared this Shrine''s trial was due to his second humiliation. He constantly faced his inner heart demon, related to the daughter Mistress Holy Wing snatched from him.


    Ryu had such a deep respect for his grandfather for precisely this reason. He was willing to face such vicious attacks of the heart so often. Even after billions of years, he was unwilling to give up. He was a true man, a man willing to face anything. Whenever Ryu thought about how his grandfather''s laughter would be just as bright whenever he returned from another failure, his eyes brimmed with a reddened rage.


    "HOLY WING CLAN!"


    Ryu''s roar was drowned out by continuous rumbling thunder, but the maddened glint in his eyes had returned. He forgot about his task. It was as though there was nothing more important than reaching Flash Mountain''s true peak.


    Ailsa watched on with a worried expression. Because she could exist between reality and imaginary, the lightning couldn''t touch her, but every strike of lightning that hit Ryu felt like it was hitting her.


    Still, watching Ryu''s Mental Realm rapidly react, she knew that he wouldn''t be willing to take a step back. This sort of cultivation speed, it could only be matched by someone prepared to take it to such drastic measures. With Ryu''s Mental Realm talent, it would have taken decades to reach this level of growth. In the end, it would have resulted in him stalling at the Immortal Ring Realm. But now¡­


    Ryu furiously formed his second Thunder Formation. Even under inhuman amounts of pain, the Origin Flame stayed true to its abilities. A perfect picture, without flaw, was projected from within it, giving the violent lightning no recourse but to listen to Ryu''s demands.


    At the same time, Ryu''s Lightning Qilin blood boiled violently, as though enraged that such pitifully weak lightning was actually influencing it so much. As a result, though the lightning violently rampaged along Ryu''s skin and shallow muscles, it became a docile child within his body. Thanks to his Kunan blood, Ryu''s wounds, though painful, remained relatively superficial as he crawled toward the denser streaks of lightning.


    He had entered such a devilish state of cultivation that he hardly realized when the third Thunder Formation of the first of ten stages formed. The three formations arranged themselves from smallest to largest, forming an inverted cone as they allowed the roots of the Immortal Sakura to stabilize them.


    It was then that an abrupt change occurred. Ryu''s Immortal Sakura shone brightly, finally accumulating enough strength to evolve to its next stage.

 Chapter 194: Shrunk

    Ryu''s Immortal Sakura vibrated. In the next moment, the transparent petals fell. The scene was just as beautiful as usual, but there was something different this time.


    The branches of the Immortal Sakura shook with more vigor. Soon, the change became apparent.


    Slowly, the transparent petals were replaced one after another. The blossoms they came from soon became pure white flowers, exuding a purity and untouchable beauty. If before, the falling petals seemed like falling snowflakes, now they embodied that image perfectly.


    The new white petals crackled with lightning just like their predecessors, but they were far sturdier. Ryu, even in his sorry state, could tell that it wasn''t impossible for these petals to withstand the strike of a Qi Refinement Expert now. With a bit more maturity, blocking the attack of a Spiritual Severing Realm expert wouldn''t be impossible.


    According to Eska, [Immortal Sakura] had seven stages. The first stage was a sort of primer stage, while the remaining six were connected to the six Mental Realms. The primer stage was the Translucent Stage, representing the transparent petals that just fell from Ryu''s Immortal Sakura. This stage was the White Stage, the stage that was officially tied to the Spiritual Entrance Realm. The following stages were the Cherry Stage, the Red Stage, the Violet Stage, the Purple-Gold Stage, and the Gold Stage.


    In truth, the White Stage was meant to only be capable of blocking the attacks of Pulse Opening and Qi Refinement Realm experts. However, that only referred to the base abilities of the Immortal Sakura. There were two main reason Ryu''s had such great potential even though he only recently entered this stage: Firstly, his Mental Realm which had been his weakest point had suddenly grown past the level of even geniuses. Secondly, he had mutated the Immortal Sakura by infusing lightning qi into its being.


    Though Eska had said this was possible, she also mentioned that this was a very advanced technique that even she took a long time to master. For her, it wasn''t until she reached the Red Stage that she perfectly fused a new element into her Immortal Sakura, making it stronger.


    Obviously, this didn''t mean Ryu had suddenly become more talented than Eska in Mental Realm cultivation. He had both the [Tribulation Nine Clouds] and his Origin Flame to thank for luck. The reason infusing a new element was so difficult was because one needed to stabilize the Visualization at the same time, but Ryu found this very easy thanks to his Origin Flame. On top of this, the [Tribulation Nine Clouds] provided a unique opportunity to infuse his Mental Realm with lightning qi.


    The most poignant point here was that Ryu used a continuous Visualization within his Mental Realm, something which Eska, who was from ancient times, wasn''t familiar with.


    Ryu snapped awake to find himself once more within a damp and hard floored cave. He could vaguely remember dragging himself back out from under the barrage of lightning to come back here before completely collapsing.


    He had gone further than he thought. Reaching the true peak of Flash Mountain was a foolish dream for him who was so weak right now. That was a place even Sixth Order King Beasts didn''t dare to venture, how could he make it there?


    But, he had been able to form all three first stage Thunder Formations. From Ryu''s understanding, the forming of the formations was the actual difficult part. Once the formation was created, any form of lightning qi could be taken up.


    For example, it was impossible to create the next Thunder Formation with true tribulation lightning. However, once the formation was formed, Ryu could absorb regular lightning qi to grow it to its limits. Though, obviously, trying to satiate tribulation lightning with regular lightning was a tall task.


    When Ryu sent his thoughts toward his Mental Realm, he was ecstatic due to what he saw. His Mental Realm had actually expanded to thirty kilometers, and he had yet to fully satiate the third Thunder Formation!


    Of course, Ryu knew that it was only so easy to break his limits now because the realm was so low. Once he began tackling greater realms, breaking the shackles that bound him would become even more difficult. But, he couldn''t help but be happy that there was a path forward.


    ''So you''re finally awake. You''re going to work Big Sis to death.'' Ailsa grumbled, but the expression on her face was actually quite happy. Ryu hadn''t awoken for three days, and she practically exhausted herself trying to heal him appropriately.


    Ryu came to himself, hearing Ailsa''s voice. "How much time do we have left?"


    ''For the one-month time limit? There''s still a little less than three weeks left.''


    "Good¡­ I only need a day to finish them anyway. Let''s continue."


    ''You can''t mean¡­'' Ailsa couldn''t even finish her grumbling before Ryu shot forward once more and into the sea of lightning.


    In the end, Ailsa couldn''t bring herself to stop him. She knew the journey ahead was too grueling and too cruel. Ryu would soon learn why it was that fighting against one''s own lack of talent was so difficult.


    Those true geniuses of the Mental Realm path Ryu was chasing after? Once they entered the Spiritual Endowment Realm from the Spiritual Entrance Realm, their Mental Realms would explode outward by ten times, making their ten-kilometer limit stretch to a hundred kilometers. However, once Ryu broke through, he wouldn''t receive such good treatment. Since he artificially increased his limits, aside from an increase in Spiritual Qi quality and an improvement in his Spiritual Sense''s ability to pick up fine details, his Mental Realm might even shrink instead of expand.


    Once the Spiritual Qi increases in quality, it will actually collapse in on itself, becoming thicker. This is the final step before the Spiritual Qi becomes your Spiritual Sea. Essentially, the fog that had once been in Ryu''s Mental Realm would begin to thicken to nearly the point of becoming liquid. Others could offset this reduction by their Mental Realm''s expansion, but Ryu wouldn''t receive this, his Mental Realm might actually shrink by as much as half, if not more, by Ailsa''s calculations. He had to work this hard¡­


    Ryu continuously charged further and further into the sea of lightning. Without a mind for himself, his only focus was on satiating his third Thunder Formation.


    Forty kilometers¡­ Fifty¡­. Sixty¡­ Seventy¡­.


    Ryu reached one hundred kilometers by the end of the third week. It was then he saw an opportunity, one to break into the Spiritual Endowment Realm. He had so much more Spiritual Qi than one should have in this realm, so he followed his instincts and shattered open his Spiritual Vessel, only to witness the cruelty of reality¡­ He could only watch as his Mental Realm rapidly shrunk before his eyes¡­

 Chapter 195: Hand In

    Ryu sighed. He wasn''t too surprised by this sequence of events, Ailsa had made it clear that fighting against one''s own lack of talent required a lifetime of effort. If he only had to go through this much to see lasting effects, even if not everyone would be willing, a large majority would. By then, almost everyone in existence would be a topflight expert.


    Ailsa smiled encouragingly. ''It''s better than I thought it would be. The [Tribulation Nine Clouds] definitely has some miraculous abilities. Even with the shrinkage, your Mental Realm''s size is still double that of an average talent.''


    Ryu''s Mental Realm had suddenly compressed back down from a hundred kilometers to just twenty, even worse that Ailsa expected. Since the average increase after entering the Spiritual Endowment Realm was about ten times, and an average starting began the Spiritual Entrance Realm at around a hundred meters and reached their limits at around a kilometer, Ailsa''s calculations were fairly accurate. Still, it was painful to see all of his hard work flooded down the drain like this.


    What was more depressing was that Ryu had exhausted the first three Thunder Formations to their limits. This meant that if he wanted to push past his limits in this new Realm, he would need to find a source of tribulation lightning because the next nine Thunder Formations couldn''t be formed with normal lightning qi.


    Ryu stood amid the rain of lightning, looking toward the peak of Flash Mountain. Currently, this level of lightning could barely tickle him, but that was only because he stood at the outer edge. By Ryu''s calculations, he had only ventured about ten percent of the way to the eye of the lightning storm.


    "Do you think there might be tribulation lightning further in?"


    ''It''s possible, but I would have to do some calculations to find out for sure. Either way, even if there is, your current self can''t possibly make it there. It''s better if I don''t give you the temptation¡­''


    Ryu smiled bitterly, certain that Ailsa saw him as a full masochist by now. He knew that Ailsa didn''t have to go through so much trouble to find out the answer to his question, but she was feigning ignorance. Ailsa''s Feng Shui comprehension should be greater than his own, while he would truly need tools and time to calculate, Ailsa should instinctually know.


    "I guess I''ll have to cultivate normally for now until my body is strong enough¡­"


    ''I can also consider letting you go after your Immortal Sakura reached the Cherry Stage. But, maintaining two visualizations ¨C one for your Mental Realm and another for reality ¨C will be difficult. So I''d prefer your body to be ready instead.''


    "So you''re saying there is tribulation lightning?"


    Ailsa turned her head away. ''I''m saying nothing of the sort. Hurry along now. I need to heal you and you have less than a week to complete the missions.''


    "Yes¡­" Ryu mumbled.


    ''What was that?''


    "Yes¡­ Big Sis." Ryu''s face distorted, regretted his actions immensely. But, at least Ailsa''s silver bell-like giggling was pleasing to listen to.


    **


    To others, Ryu likely spent the past month pulling his hair out, trying to complete a bite that was far too large for him alone. But, for Ryu, he spent the past month in pretty much a single location, then truly began to complete his missions with just five days remaining.


    Ryu''s speed reached yet another level. With his strength having been brought to sixty thousand jin, his body had obviously become far better at resisting wind pressure. However, Ryu didn''t need to personally run anywhere, but he now had his own beast companion.


    Ailsa lovingly called the Thunder Roc descendant Little Rock. It turned out that the little guy wasn''t even three years old yet, but he already possessed such immense strength.


    According to Ailsa, it was inappropriate to call the little guy a Thunder Roc, his bloodline was far too thin. His parents were actually normal Thunder Hawks and a lucky series of events resulted in a repressed Thunder Roc gene presenting itself in Little Rock. Objectively speaking, he was a mutated Thunder Hawk. Maybe one day he would truly earn the right to be called a Thunder Roc.


    This aside, Little Rock''s speed was just as fast as Ryu with the benefit of being able to fly. Though Ryu could also fly, he required far more energy to do so than Little Rock did since he didn''t have wings. One could only imagine how fast Little Rock would be after breaking into the Fourth Order.


    Ryu covered the whole of Valor City territory in just three days, completing all sorts of tasks. Some required finding rare herbs, while others even required killing outlaws. No matter what it was, Ryu completed it with ease. The only tasks that provided some resistance were those requiring the finding of a person. After all, you couldn''t kill an outlaw unless you found them first. But, Ryu''s newly minted Spiritual Sense, not to mention his [Third Perspective], made these matters far easier.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu''s journey led him back to the Mercenary Guild. Because he took two days off to heal, thanks to Ailsa''s nagging, he only managed to return on the final day, only to find the Mercenary Guild bustling with enraged voices.


    "Steward, this is ridiculous! The boy isn''t coming, am I meant to watch my people starve?!" A familiar red-haired man was losing his patience more and more. Fourth Order Mercenary Squads, due to the dangerous nature of their missions, would only take them on when they absolutely had to. The fact they had been delayed by a whole month obviously put many of them in the negative.


    It wasn''t just him either, over the last month, the only other Fourth Order Mercenary Squad had come as well, only to be met by the same wall their colleagues had been. Two men, one red-haired and the other black, both burly and tall, stood infuriated. But, though they vented their anger with their words, they didn''t dare to step toward the receptionist, also known simply as the Steward of the Mercenary Guild.


    Suddenly, the two men felt a streak of white brush by them. For a moment, they thought the smelt something intoxicating, a smell that made them feel endless comfort in their hearts.


    "I would like to hand in these missions."


    A plain voice sounded. Those within the bustling Guild Hall could only watch in shock as the deep black Mission Papers reserved for Fourth Order missions were brought out one after another.

 Chapter 196: Extra Opportunities

    Ryu was cut a sorry figure. He had already blown through all ten robes he bought from Valor City, he hadn''t seen any sort of luxury in a month, and the only thing protecting his decency was an already close to worn out Ice Silk flexible armor.


    In truth, Ryu was a bit depressed about this. He spent over thirty million gold coins on this flexible armor alone, so seeing it not even last him two months got to even him, the Scion who had never wanted for anything in his lifetime. You would think a Middle Black Grade treasure would be more durable than this.


    Yet, despite this, Ryu''s white hair remained speckless, and his aura was far more piercing.


    The Steward''s eyes glowed with an odd light. "Can I see your proof of completion, please?"


    Ryu responded by bringing out two bushels of Spiritual Herbs, two severed heads, and two signed documents from satisfied clients. With each sweep of his spatial ring, it seemed the light in the Steward''s eyes only seemed to grow.


    The bustling Mercenary Guild fell into a silence.


    The Steward''s reception desk was accessible to all. The Mercenary Guild''s entrance led right to his semi-circular desk. To its back was a massive lobby area and a bar which scantily clad bartenders frequented ¨C funny enough, the bartenders, despite this description, were of both genders. Handsome men and beautiful women alike. The mercenaries weren''t as dominated by men as convention might make it seem.


    Still, this sort of open floor plan made nearly everything that could be found on the guild''s first floor easily seen by the eyes of anyone who paid attention. So, when Ryu suddenly brought out proof of his completed Fourth Order missions, it was no wonder a silence fell over the guild.


    The Steward went through the proofs one by one. "Ten Lower Qi Stones. Fifteen Lower Qi Stones. Three Lower Qi Stones. Five Lower Qi Stones. Eight Lower Qi Stones. Twelve Lower Qi Stones. Your total is fifty-three Lower Qi Stones."


    Hearing such a total, one could imagine the greed in the eyes of those in the surroundings. Fifty-three Lower Qi Stones? The was fifty-three million gold coins! Even if they had to split that among their Mercenary Squads, it would be enough to live like Kings and Queens for decades!


    Usually, it would take their squads weeks to complete a single Fourth Order mission. Then, whatever payment they received would have to be split amongst a team that sometimes had upwards of ten people. On top of that, they would have to allocate a set number of funds to handle the inevitable gruesome injuries they would receive and maintain the weapons that kept them employed. By the end of it all, they''d be lucky to walk away with fifty to a hundred thousand gold coins, and that was if they were Squad Leaders, team members received even less.


    To a commoner, this number was grand number. But to them, in order to maintain their lavish lifestyles, support a few mistresses, and live a life of overall luxury, this number was too small. To see a single person take home hundreds of times their earnings in a single sitting, it filled them with an irrational, honestly comical, rage.


    Could they had finished so many missions alone? No. If Ryu hadn''t touched these missions, were the guaranteed to succeed? No. Had Ryu done this all on his own? Yes. But in their minds, the Mercenary Guild missions were their own. There were only two Fourth Order Squads, when had they ever faced this sort of situation? Since they formed, they had had practically free reign over the missions.


    It wasn''t that there weren''t those more powerful than them. If this was the best the Outer Ring had to offer, wouldn''t it be too pitiful? It was rather that those with power on the level of Ryu wouldn''t ever use the Mercenary Guild.


    To many, the mercenary profession was looked down upon. They didn''t have loyalties, so they couldn''t accumulate Faith unless they themselves became an undefeatable expert. But, even then, individual Faith rarely, if ever, matched Clan and Sect Faith. As a result, the geniuses and true experts of the Outer Ring didn''t use this establishment.


    As for how a guild seen in this way had a Steward with so much prestige?... Maybe that was a secret for another time.


    "Kid, if you know what''s good for you ¨C !"


    A flash suddenly passed by the red-haired man''s shoulder. In the next instant, a cry of pain erupted from his lips.


    Pools of blood flooded the guild''s floors. A man who was once tall and burly lay on the ground, clutching a shoulder stump that should have had an arm attached.


    Ryu wasn''t a giving person. In the past, he tormented people with his words whenever they pissed him off, but in this lifetime, he had no need to do such things. He was willing to lay down his pride for the sake of his family, but when it came to no name individuals, especially mere a Lower Spiritual Severing Realm experts who deemed to speak to him in such a way, he had no patience for it.


    No matter what, Ryu was a Scion of the Tatsuya Clan. His pride bore deep into his bones. Plus, he hadn''t exactly had the coziest of last months. He spent almost four weeks being beaten down by lightning he couldn''t retaliate against. It wasn''t in him to let the slightest slight go right now.


    "Youths are truly energetic." The Steward clicked his tongue, but didn''t seem to care about the red-haired man. "You know, someone needs to clean that."


    Ryu slid back one of the Lower Qi Stones the Steward had just given to him, taking the remaining fifty-two with him. He hadn''t done this for the money to begin with, Leopold''s wealth was thousands of times this and it was all Ryu''s now.


    He only had two real reasons for coming here. The first was Faith for the Awoken Moon Sect. Thanks to his pupils, he could feel the subtle changes in the badge that hung from his hip. The second was convenience. Since he needed to train anyway, these tasks were the perfect method. But, he had been disappointed by how easy they were.


    The Steward chuckled at Ryu''s actions, but still kept the Qi Stone.


    "It''s rare to have youngsters of your talent willing to cooperate with our Mercenary Guild, and a mighty Throne at that, who would have thought? I can provide you some extra opportunities, what do you think?"


    As the guild was frozen by Ryu''s actions and the Stewards words, maybe only the two men in question noticed the entrance of a group of cloaked figures.

 Chapter 197: Did I Say?

    "An opportunity?" Ryu''s gaze met the Steward''s whose eyes shifted slightly to watch the new guests enter.


    "Yes, an opportunity." The Steward turned back to Ryu. "You may have already picked up on some¡­ peculiarities of our Mercenary Guild. As a Throne, you''re in a unique position other geniuses are not¡­"


    Ryu immediately understood what the Steward meant. Mercenaries were looked down upon because it wasn''t a conventional occupation of the martial world. Without loyalties or ties, they couldn''t accumulate Faith by normal means and as such, were usually avoided by geniuses of Ryu''s caliber, or even lesser geniuses as well. However, weren''t Thrones in the same boat?


    By being a Throne, Ryu was in a unique position. He had already chosen the path of accumulating Faith based on his own abilities rather than relying on a Clan or Sect. As such, he was a prime candidate for the Mercenary Guild. And even more poignant than that¡­ The Steward''s words seemed to imply he wouldn''t be the first Throne to take this path and join their guild.


    ''Do you know anything about this Mercenary Guild, Ailsa?'' Ryu couldn''t help but admit he was intrigued.


    Ailsa shook her head. ''Matters related to current events are quite muddied for me.''


    This answer surprised Ryu as well. Hadn''t Ailsa been looking for him for nine hundred million years? You would think that someone with such a task would be completely clued in to the happenings of the Realm they were searching in. But, maybe the Faeries had their own unique methods.


    Then again, Faeries couldn''t exist in Realms like this one without their Life Partner acting as an anchor, so maybe it made perfect sense that Ailsa would know little about such things.


    Ryu nodded. "I would be lying if I said I wasn''t interested."


    The Steward smiled.


    Looking now, Ryu realized that the Steward was actually quite the handsome man. It was just that his presence seemed to so easily blend into the surroundings that it was too easy to overlook this. To make matters more curious, Ryu actually couldn''t pinpoint his cultivation.


    Of course, this was only because Ryu wasn''t actively using [Third Perspective] which could function regardless of cultivation. But this fact alone either meant that this man had a technique capable of hiding his cultivation, or he was so strong that Ryu''s passive pupil abilities couldn''t see through him. In the case the latter was true, he was a Divine Vessel Realm expert at the bare minimum, and more likely stronger than even that.


    ''This Outer Ring is so odd. First Blacksmith Ember is a hidden Divine Vessel expert, and now this Steward. In a place where such power should be rare, why do they seemingly pop up everywhere.''


    "In order for you to take hold of this opportunity, I would usually need to test you. But, Thrones are an exception to this rule. Though¡­" The Steward''s voice trailed off.


    Ryu could tell what he wanted to say. Technically speaking, Ryu was the likely weakest of the Thrones they had ever recruited. This wasn''t because of his cultivation or age, it was rather because he was the Throne of a mere Fifth Order Sect. Even the only two other Thrones of this Plane were the Throne of Core Region Sects and Clans, which would make anyone assume Ryu was the weakest.


    How could the Steward know that the truth was actually the opposite? Not only was Ryu a Throne, he was technically one of a Ninth Order Sect, making him among the most powerful ¨C in terms of combat prowess ¨C Thrones they had ever recruited.


    In truth, there were plenty of individuals hidden in the dark that knew the past of the Awoken Moon Sect and as such, took Ryu far more seriously. But maybe this Steward''s position within the Mercenary Guild was too low to know this, or why else would he be a manager in this mere Outer Ring?


    The Steward read Ryu''s expression. He could see the lofty arrogance in the young man''s silver eyes, seemingly uncaring of the Steward''s blatant slight. This made the Steward even more interested in this Ryu character. There was no shortage of arrogant geniuses, but ones so arrogant that they cared nothing for the opinions of others was incredibly rare.


    It was at this moment that the cloaked figures reached the curved reception desk.


    They were unfeeling, walking by the bloodied pool the red-haired man still screamed in without a care in the world.


    "Throne Ryu, I presume?" The voice that spoke came from a woman. It sounded like a gentle spring or the soft pitter patter of light rain. However, Ryu didn''t miss the commanding undertone. This woman was very much used controlling matters in the palm of what must be her lovely hand.


    Interestingly enough, these cloaked figures didn''t come for the Steward. In fact, even the usually calm and aloof Mercenary Guild receptionist had a hint of caution in his deep black eyes.


    Ryu sent a glance toward the woman. He didn''t like her tone, not even in the slightest. But he retracted his innate urge to lash out, tempering it down and cooling his reflexes.


    "You are?"


    The woman giggled. It sounded so ominous that even the red-haired Fourth Order Mercenary Squad leader didn''t dare to continue to scream. Under the helping hand of his teammates, and holding his severed arm in another hand, he limped away.


    "Asking a cloaked woman her name? Isn''t that a bit too silly?"


    Ryu stared coldly at the shadows that covered her face for a long while. He was irritated beyond belief. This woman dared to ask him for his identity while blatantly disdaining to tell him hers.


    Without another word, Ryu turned to leave. He was aware that it was foolish to provoke someone who was very obviously so powerful. Seeing her entry, Ryu no longer hesitated to use his [Third Perspective]. From his understanding, this woman was in the Immortal Ring Realm! Not just that, even the weakest of her subordinates were within the Divine Vessel Realm, with a few even being in the Connecting Heaven Realm. If Leopold, who drove Ryu to near death, met this group, his only option would be death.


    "Did I say that you could leave?" The woman giggled once more, but Ryu seemed to have not heard her, causing her eyes to flicker with disdain. "Edwin." She said plainly.


    In that instant, just as Ryu made it to the door, the large man took action. A pressure the likes of which could collapse a mountain bearing down on his back. There was no suspense. The fist collided with Ryu, sending him flying out of the guild, crashing through numerous buildings, and landing in a bloody heap.

 Chapter 198: Rage

    Shock didn''t just pervade the Mercenary Guild, it felt as though the whole of the Circle of Elites fell into an eerie silence. Though many didn''t know exactly what happened, anyone bold enough to start a fight in the middle of Valor City wasn''t to be trifled with. To make matters worse, their valiant City Lord, who would have normally acted immediately, showed no signs of moving.


    City Lord Valor was a man who took no nonsense. Seeing the City Lord Manor remain as silent as the partially crowded streets, many more intelligent people slowly backed away, completely unwilling to get involved.


    This wasn''t a place where normal civilians gathered, it was the Circle of Elites for a reason. It was obvious why they didn''t immediately react with stereotypical screaming and crying such destruction usually brought about.


    The front wall of the Mercenary Guild was completely destroyed, it looked as though someone had completed the building but forgot to mount up the fourth wall.


    At the same time, several buildings from the guild were in shambles, several directly collapsed, likely resulting in some severe injuries and maybe even some deaths. Though most of those within the Circle of Elites were cultivators, not all of them would be invulnerable to such destruction.


    The gazes of the crowd shifted to the man who still had his hand in the air. A murky red, almost maroon aura coated his fists before it slowly faded away. He looked down on his hand as though he was dissatisfied with something.


    The Steward''s frown set in deeply. His words toward recruiting Ryu weren''t hidden in the slightest. Wasn''t it a slap to his face that these individuals killed him right in front of him?


    To make matters worse, Ryu''s only crime was walking away. It was worth attacking a Qi Refinement Expert with the strength of a Connecting Heaven Realm Expert for something so insignificant?


    "Did I ask you to kill him?" The cloaked woman''s voice was just as nonchalant and gentle as usual, but Erwin''s large frame shook violently.


    "C-c-comm¡­" He tried to get his words out, but it seemed he had forgotten how to speak.


    The sound of gritting teeth sounded. In the next instant, something astonishing happened.


    The large cloaked man coated his palm in the odd red aura once more, chopping down on his own arm.


    A sick cracking sound reverberated through the silence, sending a shiver down the spine of those who watched. It felt as though the whole of Valor City didn''t dare to breathe.


    "Go and dig out his body before his soul completely dissipates." The cloaked woman said plainly. "We need to see if he was the one we were looking for through his Mental Realm. And don''t think that this will be the end of this, you''ll have to answer to the others for this mistake. If thousands of years worth of efforts go down the drain because of you, the consequences will be your own."


    The woman was absolutely certain that Ryu was dead. As an Immortal Ring expert, she had already opened her Spiritual Pulse and Vessel before proceeding to the Soul Birth Realm. She didn''t sense Ryu''s lifeforce in the direction he should be in. Therefore, he could only be dead, a reality that made countless people sigh. A Throne, gone, just like this.


    However, as the one armed Edwin dug through the piles of debris, his strength easily allowing him to sift through several tons worth of brick, wood and metal, it became increasingly peculiar the longer he spent. Several bodies were pulled out, some heavily injured, and some already dead, but none of them were Ryu!


    After several minutes passed, the nonchalant cloaked female finally moved. Her aura blazed, sending a cycle of debris and bodies flying into the air. The destruction she caused in an instant was easily multiple times worse than anything Edwin had done. But, to her surprise, even as her eyes darted around through the raining corpses, not a single was Ryu!


    In that moment, the female felt as though a spear of ice stabbed into her spine. The cold shiver was so severe that she froze, almost resulting in the root of a building crashing directly into her.


    Her head snapped toward a particular direction, a building far in the distance, but to her surprise, there was nothing there.


    However, the fear still lingered, an uncomfortable cold blanketed her soul. Never in her life had she ever this way.


    ''It will be okay Ryu.'' Ailsa shook with rage worse than the victim himself. ''One day we''ll kill her.''


    Ryu didn''t look away from the cloaked woman''s gaze. Blood dripped from his back down his leg as his gaze filled with endless will for slaughter pierced through her. He wanted to rip her pieces, even if it meant doing it with his bare hands, but he was well aware that he didn''t have the strength to do so.


    If one saw the state of Ryu''s back, they would be in complete shock that he was even breathing, let alone standing with the will to fight.


    The moment he met those cloaked figures, he knew that leaving would be a problem. So, he purposely set up a situation where they would attack him. In that instant, he circulated his Northern Heavenly Wind to his peak abilities, rushing forward with his greatest speed just as Edwin''s fist collided with him. The result was the great mitigation of Edwin''s blow, but even still, Ryu almost died.


    Taking advantage of the chaos, Ryu then wore his cloak and swallowed two Silver Vein Petals to enter the Breath of World Meditation State, which was a step above Breath of Heaven. Thanks to the Silver Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies, he could stay in Breath of World now for just as long as he could usually stay in Breath of Earth, which was already several hours. In this state, even an Immortal Ring expert couldn''t sense him.


    Ryu glared at the cloaked woman until she left, his rage still brewing. But in the end, he controlled himself. Using Breath of World, he sensed the changes in his body and attempted to tap into his Ice Jade Crystal Body''s healing factor. However, even with Ailsa''s help, it wasn''t easy to deal with injuries caused by a Connecting Heaven Realm expert. Ryu only managed to barely keep himself together. He wouldn''t be able to recover without several months of effort if things remained like this.


    Still, under the stunned eyes of the citizens of Valor City, Ryu did something that shocked them all. He simply couldn''t swallow his rage, no matter how hard he tried. This was the only method he could think of to slap that woman''s face while he didn''t have the strength to do so just yet.


    In broad daylight, not even an hour after those events, Ryu walked back into the Mercenary Guild as though nothing had happened. "I''d like to take you up on your offer." He said to the Steward.

 Chapter 199: Allotted Time

    Ryu''s reappearance was shocking, to say the least. Valor City''s Circle of Elites was in shambles, but aside from the trouble to their fourth wall, the Mercenary Guild was relatively intact. In fact, many mercenaries were still gathered, excitedly speaking of the events that occurred barely a couple dozen minutes ago.


    It was under these circumstances Ryu reappeared. Not only was he obviously not dead, as many had expected after his body was nowhere to found, his condition actually seemed far better than when he first entered the guild earlier that day.


    Before, his clothes were ripped in several places, his hair, though still speckless, was unkept, and even his flexible armor showed signs of withering away.


    However, the Ryu who appeared now took no attempt to hide his aura. His body seemed several times its actual size. Those here could see the rage boiling within his eyes.


    His back was so straight that it almost felt as though his feet were connected to the skies. His clothes were crisp and clean, drenched in a dark endless black. His silver eyes pierced through the veil of space, forcing those who saw him to look away. Even the Steward, who was currently facing the brunt of Ryu''s rage, felt his heart palpitate uncontrollably.


    He seemed to remember his earlier doubts. Not only had he had them, he even subtly laid them out before this young man. What was he thinking?


    Ryu''s eyebrow raised. "Can it be that your Mercenary Guild doesn''t dare?"


    The Steward, had it not been for his years of experience, would have blushed in shame. He was just speaking to Ryu about how many Thrones they had taken under their wings, if he now backed away because of the actions of a mere Immortal Ring expert, wouldn''t he be slapping himself in the face?


    He could see the clear disdain Ryu had for the cloaked woman. Could it be this young man really didn''t put such an expert in his eyes?


    To those of the Pedestal Plane, and even to a large segment of the Blossom Plane, the Immortal Ring Realm was a lofty god-like level they would never touch. But to Ryu, an Immortal Ring Realm cultivator hadn''t even been worthy to be his maid, let alone dare to raise a hand against him. There would come a day where he''d slaughter her. Even if he could kill her by underhanded means, he wouldn''t do so. He wanted her to see the day she was helpless before him.


    To some, Ryu''s rage was likely overboard. Even the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm Steward trembled under his unbridled aggression. But this was the person Ryu had always been, and was also the reason Ailsa felt he was still immature. Still, at the moment, Ailsa was even angrier than he was.


    "Our Mercenary Guild fears no one." After a moment, the Steward recollected himself.


    His words weren''t exactly true. However, the method the cloaked woman used to come here gave him plenty of leeway. Though he had a pretty good guess of who she was and where she came from, he could deny his knowledge due to her own attempts at secrecy.


    Objectively speaking, his organization truly wouldn''t fear a single Immortal Ring expert. In addition, even if she was from where he assumed, they wouldn''t be able to completely ignore their guild''s face either. Like this, both organizations would be able to work under a veneer of cordiality, allowing their normal operations to continue unhindered.


    The Steward led Ryu up the stairs of the guild toward a back room. Thanks to its location, all of walls were completely intact. Or, maybe it was designed such that even such a large blast couldn''t harm it.


    "Those of Valor City will likely be unwilling to serve you any longer. The other major cities might soon receive news of this event and likewise be unwilling. Maybe the enemies you should be most worried of aren''t those cloaked individuals, but rather all of those ambitious individuals with nothing better to do with their time than to make things difficult for others¡­"


    Seeing that Ryu didn''t seem to care for his advice, the Steward wrapped it up quickly and said nothing more. Though he was curious about how Ryu escaped such an ordeal, he didn''t ask about this either. Their guild was built of loners. Though there were some squads, they were mostly concentrated in the lower echelons. Higher echelon squads also existed, but they were made up of three or four individuals max, usually only two, actually.


    Simply put, he was used to dealing with people who liked to keep their own secrets.


    "Our organization is split into two levels. What you see on the surface are split into Orders. However, these individuals only have the right to receive laymen missions. The true power of our guild lies in our Stars. You have reached the minimum power requirement for a One Star Mercenary.


    "One Star Mercenaries have the strength of Spiritual Severing Realm experts while our highest designation, the legendary Nine Star Mercenary, is reserved for those with the strength of Sky Gods."


    The Steward scanned Ryu''s reaction to this information, a hint of pride in his eyes, but he couldn''t help but be shocked when he was met with the same deadpan gaze.


    "Why do you feel the need to have these two levels?" Ryu asked plainly.


    The issue here was obvious. It seemed like a hassle to have two different grading systems. What exactly was the point of having two Spiritual Severing Realm tiers? Fourth Order Mercenaries and One Star Mercenaries? It seemed like complexity for the sake of complexity.


    According to the Steward''s words, there were tougher missions for Stars. But, instead of having Order Missions and Star Missions, why not just grade Star Missions higher within the Order Missions'' ranking system and give them to higher ranked Order Mercenaries?


    The Steward nodded. "This makes sense on the surface, but there are many purposes this system has. I''ll give you an example. What if our guild receives a mission to a Small Realm where entry is restricted by cultivation realm? In that case, we''d need individuals with the highest battle prowess possible."


    Ryu suddenly understood. If this logic was taken, there were definitely many applications where this system would be useful. But, he somehow felt that this was only a surface explanation, his instincts were telling him that there was an even deeper reason that even the Steward wasn''t aware of.


    "As a Steward, I have the right to award you a One Star ranking, but if you want to progress, you will have to leave this Outer Ring." The Steward opened a small black box hidden in a compartment of his dark office. Taking out a black ring, he solemnly handed it to Ryu, a small bit of concealed envy within his eyes. But, he quickly regained his cool when he remembered that he would be rewarded for finding Ryu. "Take your time and refine this treasure. Only if you are worthy, as I think you are, will you succeed. If you fail to succeed within the allotted time, the ring with grind itself to dust."

 Chapter 200: Whole New World

    It felt as though the whole of Valor City watched Ryu casually stroll out of the Mercenary Guild. His cold gaze swept over the destroyed guild-front, a sneer coating his features. Considering the throbbing of his pupils, there were definitely several big-name characters eyeing him currently with not a single clue that his [Third Perspective] had already sniffed them all out.


    Ryu directly walked the streets of the Circle of Elites, leaving along the main road and through the large gates. His back disappeared into the distant dense forest and all traces of him completely vanished.


    Within the central mansion of Valor City, known as Valor Manor, a bronzed skinned man sat in a well decorated maroon office, facing a large glass expanse that looked out over the city. This man was none other than City Lord Valor, and considering the oppressive aura that seemed to multiply gravity several times over, he wasn''t in the best of moods.


    He had half a mind to swoop down from his perch and bend Ryu over his knee. Did this child never receive a spanking in his youth? How could he be so brazen?


    This obviously wasn''t what pissed the City Lord off. In fact, he quite liked Ryu''s actions. They reminded him of a younger him who was far less of a coward. If the youthful Saladin Valor saw his older self now, he''d probably spit on the ground and curse him to the high heavens. But¡­ the older Saladin Valor had too much to lose. Maybe this was a rite of passage that happened to everyone¡­ Or maybe that was just an excuse he told to make himself feel better.


    By Valor City law, those cloaked figures should be executed. Their actions led to the deaths of dozens of innocent individuals. Yet, this pathetic older self of his actually had the fleeting thought of capturing Ryu instead. He was so disgusted by his own thoughts that he nearly vomited.


    He knew he would be blamed for what happened today. Ryu''s actions blatantly slapped the faces of those cloaked figures. His inaction would be seen as taking a side by those shameless bastards despite the fact he had allowed them to do as they pleased as well.


    Saladin closed his eyes. His rich brown beard suddenly graying in an instant. In a war between Kings, it was the commoners that suffered the most.


    **


    When Ryu returned to his ice cave within Awoken Moon Sect territory, he collapsed into a bloody heap. All of the pent-up rage and adrenaline that had kept him standing seemed to dissipate, causing Ailsa to rush into her full form to tend to him, unshed tears in her eyes.


    Since the enemies of the Awoken Moon Sect hadn''t dared to finish them off in all this time and constantly chose to use roundabout methods, Ryu felt that this was actually the safest place despite everyone being aware that he was their Throne. And, maybe, considering he stealthily entered the Sect, no one would think that he''d come here to begin with.


    Ailsa worked tirelessly. Now that her intimacy with Ryu had deepened by a stage, she could remain in her true form for half an hour a day and use her [Cultus Martial Art] more effectively.


    Natural energy formed an organic formation.


    Ailsa''s healing abilities worked differently that those of Ficia Faeries. The reason she couldn''t heal Ryu in battle was because she needed preparation time and a stable environment.


    Cultus Faeries were more in tune with the Natural Order than even other Faeries. It allowed them a great understand of the natural flow of energy which was where their knowledge of nurturing stemmed from.


    The [Cultus Martial Arts] took control of the natural flow of energy, using them to promote a myriad of results. Currently, Ailsa could only use it to provide a great boost to healing and recovery, but there were many other applications she would have to wait for Ryu to grow stronger to execute.


    Still, right now, she wanted nothing more than to heal Ryu.


    **


    Weeks ticked by before Ryu was finally able to stay awake under his own power. Ryu had experienced what it felt like to sustain injuries from those a higher grade of strength than before. Objectively speaking, this injury was even worse than the ones he sustained being chased by Leopold. It was clear from this that Ailsa''s healing abilities were truly top notch.


    In fact, from his understanding, Ailsa was actually heavily handicapped. Not just by his own strength, but also because of their current environment.


    The [Cultus Martial Art] required a balance of energy. This required both the yin and yang of every major element to reach a delicate equilibrium. Because the Awoken Moon Sect was so heavily yin and water, it was difficult for Ailsa to form the necessary balance here. A less extreme area would have definitely been more effective. But, there was nothing they could do about this being the safest place.


    Seeing the small Ailsa slumbering on his chest, Ryu felt an inexplicable warmth despite the cold environment. He would be lying if he said that he didn''t find it silly that Ailsa was doing so much for him simply because Fate chose him as her Life Partner, but that didn''t mean she wasn''t growing on him. It was impossible to push away someone whose actions were so sincere.


    A slight pain took hold of Ryu''s back as he slowly pushed himself up, cupping Ailsa''s small body in his hand so as not to wake her up. It seemed he wasn''t fully healed yet, but that couldn''t be helped.


    He laid the sleeping Ailsa on his thigh as he entered a State of Meditation. After adjusting himself, his gaze landed on the black ring on his finger.


    ''I just have to refine this treasure¡­'' Ryu remember the Steward''s words. The test to become a Star Mercenary was refining this ring. If he couldn''t do so quickly enough, the ring would self-destruct. The difficulty was directly decided by the cultivation of the one attempting, with the lowest threshold being for Spiritual Severing Realm experts. Meaning, despite the fact Ryu was a Realm lower, the difficulty wouldn''t decrease any further.


    But, Ryu wasn''t worried. Refining a treasure could be done in two ways. One was with Qi and the other with Spiritual Qi. When Ryu took the spatial rings of the elders of the Natural Order Sect, they had been protected with Spiritual Qi, same with the Glove of Order. This was because refining a treasure with one''s Qi Realm made it more difficult to establish a connection than if done with one''s Mental Realm.


    Still, in maybe an interesting bit of irony, Ryu didn''t choose to use his far more talented Qi Realm. He would be given the One Star test, but his Mental Realm was on the level of a Two Star!


    Without hesitating, Ryu''s Spiritual Qi poured out like a sea of lightning. In the next instant, a whole new world was opened within his mind.

 Chapter 201: Primus

    Ryu was stunned by what he saw around him. He had just been within a minimalistically decorated ice cave, but now he had so suddenly been warped into a world of gentle white fog. Oddly enough, it didn''t feel frustrating that he couldn''t see more than a single meter in front of himself, but rather felt comfortable. The feeling was so out of bounds from what Ryu thought he should be experiencing that it ironically made him more on edge. It felt as though someone was manipulating him.


    It was only after Ryu calmed himself that he realized that it wasn''t he body that was sent into this space, but his mind. This ring¡­ It had an eerily similar function to the Zu Clan''s crystalline jade.


    [Congratulations on achieving One Star status and welcome to the Dream World ¨C Osiris. Your invitation will be credited to Fifth Order Steward ''Oramus Bision''].


    The gentle voice of what sounded like an amiable old man rang in Ryu''s ears. He could immediately tell that this was a message written into a complex formation matrix, there wasn''t actually another human here. Rather, the formation would simulate the consciousness of a human and the voice of one using information fed to it by its creator as a foundation.


    Ryu''s frown deepened. He didn''t like this situation one bit.


    [Osiris is the hidden meeting place of Star Mercenaries. Some people call this place a Dream World, others a Matrix World, and still others call it a Mind Hive. In this place, you can receive and be accredited for missions, you can be alerted when missions appear in your general area, and you can connect with fellow Star Mercenaries of your and other Realms].


    To a normal individual, this sounds great. Convenient, even. But to Ryu, the more he heard, the worse his mood became.


    The Zu Clan crystalline jade was a closed space. Only Ryu could enter and exit it, even the Ancestors within could only stay put. But, this place was very clearly an open world. What did this mean? It meant that Ryu''s mind, under the behest of someone else''s machinations, was being projected into this ''Dream World''. This process necessitated a perfect understanding of Ryu''s body and more importantly¡­ His secrets.


    When this was understood, it became perfectly clear why Ryu began to feel more and more uncomfortable within this gentle atmosphere. He felt that he should turn tail and run at his fastest speed in the opposite direction.


    The skill required to build such a world was beyond his imagining. When he thought of Steward Oramus'' gloating expression when he mentioned Nine Star Sky Gods, his heart sank even further. To make matters worse, the automated voice mentioned multiple Realms. Meaning this organization was bigger than even Ryu anticipated.


    The truth was that Ryu was aware of there being multiple Realms long ago. Realms were so numerous that they could be considered to be near infinite.


    Generally, Realms were split into numerous tiers and grading systems. A Realm like Ryu''s who had birthed many Sky Gods in its history and had three Immortal Rank Planes was already near the top, which was why Ryu didn''t particularly give much thought to other Planes, there was no need for him to do so. There wasn''t much of a difference between his world and the topmost anyway.


    But, although they were ranked near the top, that didn''t mean they were the top. And, it also didn''t mean that there weren''t numerous Realms that matched them in power.


    For the current Ryu, traveling across Realms was difficult. But, for characters on this level, would they be lacking in funds like Ryu would be? Forced to wait two years for an optimal time? In addition, didn''t that voice say that he would automatically receive notifications for missions near his region? So didn''t that mean this ring doubled as a tracker? Everything seemed to be going from bad to worse.


    Without hesitation, Ryu projected his mind back to his body, wanting to leave. He would revisit the possibility of this path once he was more powerful, but for now, it was foolish. One only needed to remember how the Zu Ancestors knew every one of Ryu''s secrets even down to his Heavenly Pupils after he opened his mind up to their crystalline jade to know how dangerous this place was.


    But, maybe Ryu should have anticipated that his attempt wouldn''t be so easily realized.


    [Please do not attempt to leave. This process is highly dangerous. It is very possible for your mind to be permanently disconnected from your body].


    Ryu nearly spit on the ground, grinding his teeth toward the shamelessness of this world''s creator. He or she spun this matter as though they were worrying for his own safety, when it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that even they knew no one would willingly submit themselves to such scrutiny.


    [Osiris is 100% committed to protecting the privacy of our Mercenaries. It was created by a Union of Sky Gods and none of them can access the information stored within my system without the consent of an eighty percent majority].


    Ryu snorted in his mind. The fact it could happen at all was enough for him to avoid the possibility in its entirety. In addition, the martial world was a place where the strong ruled and regulations were for the weak. It would be too na?ve of Ryu to believe the system''s words.


    [Osiris will now begin a screening¡­]


    Ryu''s expression turned grave, immediately thinking of numerous counter measures.


    [Cultivation detected, points given for battle prowess¡­]


    [Skeletal Grade detected, points given for talent¡­]


    [Ancestral Bloodline detected¡­. Ancestral Bloodline detected¡­ Ancestral Bloodline detected¡­ Ancestral Bloodline detected, points given for talent¡­]


    [Ancestral Meridians detected, points given for talent¡­]


    [False Spiritual Foundation detected, points deducted for talent¡­]


    [Mental Realm analysis complete, points deducted for talent¡­]


    Ryu''s eyes widened, suddenly, a faint excitement overcame him. Sky Gods weren''t able to detect his Spiritual Foundation because it was protected by the Phoenix Sky God. If this was true, and the system was automated, this meant that his talent, as seen by the sum of its parts, would be calculated as trash by the system. And, it didn''t seem to notice his Heavenly Pupils?... Was that because of Ailsa?... Or? Either way, it was fantastic!


    [¡­ Calculations complete].


    [Talent Designation ¨C Sub-Common].


    [Battle Prowess Designation ¨C Black].


    [Please choose which Sky God''s Faction you would like to enter. If you are rejected, you will enter as a Factionless and have an opportunity to join one of the lesser Factions later on].


    Ryu suddenly understood what the point of all of this was. Osiris was split into numerous Factions headed by Sky Gods. These were obviously busy individuals, they didn''t have the time to approve every single talent they took under their wings, so they allowed the system to do it for them. Within a certain threshold, they would accept. If you were below this threshold, you would be rejected.


    With Ryu''s evaluation, there was no way any Sky God would accept him. So, he planned on not choosing at all and simply entering as a Factionless as the system called it. But, he was immediately stunned by the list of names that appeared before him. It wasn''t because of who they were, but the sheer number of them.


    If he counted correctly, there were thirteen. Thirteen Sky Gods! All part of this one organization?! Ryu was absolutely stunned.


    He forced himself to calm down. This was only more reason to turn tail and run. After he left, he would place the ring into his pupil''s inner world where no one could detect it.


    It was then that Ryu suddenly froze. Even with his level of control, he almost irresistibly felt his eyes water. The name he saw shook him so fiercely that his hand uncontrollably had already swept forward before his mind could say no, right toward the only name with a ''0'' by its side.


    [¡­ Faction Chosen¡­]


    [¡­ Evaluation Pending¡­]


    [¡­ Congratulations, you have been accepted into the Faction of the Saintly Weapon Sky God ¨C Primus Tatsuya].

 Chapter 202: Indifference

    Ryu stared into the deep white fog for a long time, unable to calm his emotions. He had never met his Great Grandfather before, but just seeing the Tatsuya name caused feelings he had been pressing down for too long to come bubbling up. The result was him doing something impulsive. But¡­ Even if you asked him after he calmed him, he didn''t regret it for even a moment.


    Primus Tatsuya. His father, Titus Tatsuya''s grandfather. His grandfather, Saint Tatsuya''s father. Founder of the Tatsuya Clan, conqueror of the Fire Dragon, legend of the Shrine Plane.


    What Ryu couldn''t understand is why his great grandpa would be here. From his cursory understanding, this so-called Mercenary Guild was likely created by great talents who hadn''t bothered to build their own Clans. As such, they needed a different method of gathering Faith for themselves, an especially important commodity for those of their level.


    The issue was that Ryu''s great grandpa had the Tatsuya Clan. Could this place really provide him something they couldn''t have? And, even if it could, why would his name have a ''0'' beside it? Even the second lowest number had several hundred under its charge. How could he possible gather of Faith if he had zero members of his Faction until Ryu came along?


    Ryu knew that under normal circumstances, he wouldn''t be able to join a Sky God''s Faction. In fact, he half expected to be rejected from his own Ancestor''s Faction as well. But, it was likely that Osiris made special provisions for descendants of the thirteen Sky Gods.


    Almost as though to confirm this¡­


    [¡­ Direct Descendant Status Confirmed¡­]


    **


    "Hm¡­?"


    The world all around could only be described as a land of fire. Arcs of molten lava shot into the air like rings of smoldering red-gold.


    A man sat at the center of this carnage, seemingly completely oblivious to the danger. In fact, his red-black robes were somehow completely untouched.


    In mortal terms, the man seemed to be between thirty and forty years old. His stature was large, even seated, he seemed to tower above those of average height. His fiery red hair danced like flames instead of strands, accentuating his sharp, handsome jawline.


    The man had just sensed something he shouldn''t have. Someone joined his Faction? But with the impossible standards he set, that much was impossible. If he recalled correctly, the only person in history to ever meet those standards was his grandson''s kid. But, he was unfortunately born with a False Spiritual Foundation.


    If Ryu could hear the man''s thoughts, he would be shocked. From his understanding, Primus Tatsuya hadn''t even paid their Clan a visit in millions of years, how could he possibly know anything about a great grandson that only lived for a thousand years?


    Though, as he thought these thoughts, Primus'' emotional state hardly shifted. In fact, it could be said he was indifferent, as though Ryu''s unfortunate plight had nothing to do with him.


    Primus sent his mind into a conspicuous golden ring on his finger, looking up the information of his Faction in an instant.


    [Saintly Weapon Sky God Faction: 1].


    [Ryu Tatsuya].


    [Talent Designation ¨C Sub-Common].


    [Battle Prowess Designation ¨C Black].


    [Status ¨C Direct Descendant].


    Primus froze. Even if he only saw the name, he would have known immediately that it was his great grandson, he didn''t need to see his Status. In all of existence, no one would dare to take the Tatsuya name without his acknowledgement.


    It was then that Primus'' indifferent attitude cracked slightly. It was incredibly subtle, nothing more than a calm glint in his once indifferent eyes, but it appeared, nonetheless. It could be described as curiosity?


    ''Sub-Common. Black.'' Primus thought to himself. ''I''ll become a laughingstock having a descendant like this.''


    It would have been fine if Ryu had the lesser ''Descendant'' Status. In fact, there were other Sky Gods with descendants who were lacking similarly. But, ''Direct Descendant'' meant something completely different. It was impossible for Primus to divorce himself from Ryu.


    Still, Primus was curious. How was it that Ryu had made it this far? How could someone without cultivation pass the test? And how could a mortal survive for nine hundred million years?


    Primus opened Ryu''s evaluation. What he saw confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that Ryu was the very great grandson he was thinking of. Though, he found it odd that he didn''t see Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils noted. Did the lad figure a way to hide it?


    If Ryu saw this, he''d be shaking his head at the unfairness of it all. ''80% of the Sky Gods must vote yes before they could see his information, huh?'' Well, luckily, Primus was only able to do this because Ryu joined his Faction. Primus could easily block other Sky Gods from looking.


    In the end, Primus saw the dreaded False Spiritual Foundation once more. But, when he looked toward Ryu''s cultivation, he received another shock.


    ''Lower Qi Refinement Realm? Something''s wrong¡­ Even if he survived nine hundred million years, his cultivation shouldn''t be so pitiful, right?'' The issue was that Primus could also see Ryu''s basic information, including his age. This great grandson of his that was born nearly a billion years ago was somehow only eighteen? What was going on? Still, only Qi Refinement at eighteen? That was slow too¡­


    It was impossible for Primus to think of a Sky God''s inheritance. There were simply no Legacies that worked like the Phoenix Sky God''s, and as far as he was aware, there was no Sky God Legacy possible to inherent without passing a trial requiring a certain level of cultivation to complete.


    In the end, Primus silently sent his mind back to his body. After his initial curiosity, he once more became indifferent.


    Family? Love? Compassion? When one had seen trillions of years, how much had they gone through? How many of their so-called family had long since died? How much love had they given out only for it to be severed?


    It was impossible to expect a Sky God to still be tied down by worldly affairs.

 Chapter 203: Techniques

    Ryu''s mind left the Dream World.


    After a few moments, he managed to calm himself, regaining his usual demeanor. He understood that there was nothing to be happy about. Experts who treated their descendants with love like his parents and grandparents did were incredibly rare. Usually, mostly out of necessity, grand cultivators, especially at the Sky God level, grew detached as a method to protect their state of mind.


    What would happen if you gained the ability to live trillions of years, but those you loved could never do the same? Why would anyone want to subject themselves to the pain of suffering such losses again and again? If it grew severe enough, such experiences could lead to an irreparable Heart Demon that would ensure that the expert never progressed in their cultivation again.


    Though they never talking about, Ryu knew that his grandparents had had more than just one child in their lifetimes of several billion years, it was just that his parents happened to be the only two that survived as the most talented. As for his great grandfather, the losses he had faced were likely several times more. This was something all those who stood at the top of the world faced.


    Ryu didn''t expect his great grandfather to suddenly swoop down and take him under his wing, treating him with love and affection. It was very possible that his great grandfather didn''t act as the Tatsuya Clan was being destroyed precisely because he had no intention of entangling himself in such worldly affairs.


    If that was the case¡­ He wasn''t Ryu''s ally, he was an enemy.


    Ryu''s gaze grew colder.


    Ryu didn''t need anymore evidence. The fact that his great grandfather hadn''t contacted him immediately despite the fact Ryu was certain he was already aware of his existence was telling. With their connection through Osiris, it would have been as easy as breathing for him to do so.


    Primus Tatsuya wasn''t someone Ryu could rely upon. But¡­ Ryu had every intention of milking his Sky God title for all that it was worth. His usual disposition would have him rather die than accept the help of someone who cared so little for him, but Ryu wasn''t in a position to act as he pleased.


    His great grandfather had better hope that his loved ones survived, or else there''d come a day where he would grow powerful enough to force him to kneel before their graves for the rest of his life!


    Ryu slowly closed his eyes, only opening them back up once he had regained his calm. His injuries were still too severe to allow his emotions to grow so agitated.


    Ryu immediately threw himself into his training. Since his body was in no condition for battle, he would focus on comprehending new techniques. As of now, he repertoire of techniques was too shallow. In addition, with the vast improvement in his Mental Realm, Ryu believed that a leap in his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons was only a matter of time.


    Of course, all of the techniques he chose were from the Awoken Moon Sect. Until Ailsa explained to him how she planned on subduing the Zu Ancestors, this was the best option he had available to him.


    If Ryu wanted spear, glaive or halberd techniques, the Awoken Moon Sect was likely one of his more terrible options among the Outer Ring''s twenty-seven Fifth Order Sects. However, Ryu didn''t join them for their techniques, he joined them for the sake of the Moon Realm. It was just unfortunate that going there would be so troublesome.


    As for how Ryu would train these techniques with an injured body, he had Zu Palace to thank for that. Since he could project his mind into it, he essentially had a private space where he could train at his leisure. The best part was that since thinking speed was much faster than the body could react, the crystalline jade almost acted as a pseudo time warp treasure, allowing Ryu to train faster than he otherwise would.


    This advantage didn''t seem to extend to the Dream World, Osiris. This was because the world had to sync the minds of countless individuals in order to function. For everyone''s mind to be sent into the same artificial space, there had to be a so-called ''basic unit'' of conversion. Everyone was measured against this basic unit and scaled up depending on the strength of their true bodies. This was another reason why the evaluation was necessary.


    Still, as a Fifth Order Sect, the Awoken Moon Sect did have a decent selection regardless. At least of Black Grade techniques, that is. This aside, Ryu was still content with his choices.


    [Breaking Charge]. This was a defensive type technique that worked regardless of what weapon you used, or even if you were a weaponless specialist. It focused on stopping the momentum of your opponent''s attack by targeting strategic weak points. It was usually avoided because a portion of the technique required tempering the eyes with special herbs in order to sharpen vision, but for obvious reasons, Ryu could skip this step.


    Though Ryu could often see the weaknesses of his opponents, he didn''t always have the perfect method of abusing those weaknesses. Though [Breaking Charge] was a mere Higher Black Grade technique, it taught a set of foot and body techniques that greatly improved one''s ability to receive and mitigate attack strength.


    [Lined Assault]. This was a movement type technique. Ironically enough, Ryu still felt that his Common Grade [Gliding Cloud Steps] didn''t need to be changed as of yet. This technique simply supplemented it well in Ryu''s opinion. It focused of explosive straight-line speed, something [Gliding Cloud Steps], which focused on evasion and agility, was lacking in.


    This was a Peak Black Grade technique that focused on using the body like a bow. As such, training it required great flexibility and tendon strength. At just its first of four completion stages, it could increase peak speed by fifty percent in a line. At Great Circle of Perfection, there was a four-fold increase.


    [Curving Arrow]. A Lower Black Grade archery technique that allowed one to shoot a homing arrow within certain parameters. It could also be used to make one''s arrow path more unpredictable.


    [Monumental Pierce]. A Higher Black Grade spear layering technique used a combination of striking speed and feints to gather momentum and confuse the opponents. It gave the illusion of a layered strike rather than truly being one.


    [Ronin''s Final Stand]. A Lower Earth Grade sword technique that Ryu planned to adapt for his glaive and halberd. It used a sturdy base and indomitable will to fuse qi into a wind blade-like strike.


    [Twin Titan Dance]. A Lower Earth Grade dual battle ax wielding technique. Ryu believed that if he ever mastered this technique with his halberd, even Divine Vessel experts would have to fear him.


    The final technique was a Higher Earth Grade technique. It was interestingly a puppeteering technique called [Demonic Strings]. It was broken into two important parts. One that increased one''s resonance with their weapons, and another that allowed control of one''s weapons without touch.

 Chapter 204: Next Step?

    Ryu stood on the fourth floor of the Zu Palace. Having completed the palace in its entirety, all four floors were laid bare before Ryu. The first Cultivation Floor, the second Core Text Floor, the third Natural Order Floor, and finally, the fourth Battle Spirit floor.


    Ryu had already been to the first and second floor. The first floor was a sea of cultivation techniques, filled with Visualization projections as well as a shelf filled with top class cultivation techniques no weaker than Five Stars. The second floor was a massive library. According to Ryu''s understanding, it housed the various battle, movement, defensive and mental techniques the Zu Clan had accumulated over the years. Unfortunately, since Ryu was in no position to pit his Mental Realm against that of the four Zu Ancestors, he no longer dared to enter that library ¨C not until Ailsa was prepared, anyway.


    The third floor, though Ryu had never been, was a haven for comprehending Natural Orders. Its air had a similar, but lesser effect as compared to Ryu''s Silver Vein Lilies, and it stored the comprehensions of various Zu Clan geniuses of the past.


    Ryu knew that this floor would be important to him, especially when it was time for him to plant his Cosmic Seeds. Considering the size of his Spiritual Foundation, he had to take advantage of it by comprehending as many Natural Orders as possible. But, for now, Ryu wanted to focus on fine tuning the techniques he had already chosen for himself while Ailsa slept. Even if he knew he could plant many Cosmic Seeds, if they didn''t flow together, and instead weakened each other, there was no point.


    So, Ryu settled upon the fourth floor. As its name entailed, this floor allowed you to battle against various Battle Spirits to hone your skills.


    Ryu stood before a dark black gate. Unlike the other floors, this place looked nothing like a paradise, nor did it have the grandeur one had come to expect.


    It was filled with a dark black fog and seemed more like an endless sea of black. Even the gate was almost invisible in such an environment. If it wasn''t for its slight red tint, even with Ryu''s eyes, he would have missed it.


    Without much hesitation, Ryu entered.


    His mind spun, his vision swimming. But soon it opened to a bland cube shaped room spanning about ten meters in every direction. It seemed they were intent on ensuring Ryu couldn''t simply run to gain victory. Even at his relatively low cultivation, ten meters didn''t mean much more than half a breath to him.


    An old man in grey robes appeared. He looked small and frail, but Ryu''s pupils were much too sharp to miss his hidden aura. Ryu couldn''t sense a cultivation, though, oddly enough.


    The old man scanned Ryu, seemingly a bit confused. But then went about his job without much thought.


    "This is the Battle Spirit floor of the Zu Clan Legacy. Creation of the genius Undefeated Zu King."


    Ryu inwardly raised an eyebrow.


    "Cultivation truly begins at the Spiritual Severing Realm. The Rites of the Awakening Realm are just a primer to the hardships you will suffer. As such, the lowest Realm of the Battle Spirit Floor is the Spiritual Severing Realm. If you are not prepared, please turn back now."


    Seeing that Ryu said nothing, the old man continued.


    "Each Realm consisted of ten challenges. For the first nine you will battle spirits like me. For the final tenth you will battle yourself.


    "This is your final warning. Though it is possible to give up at any point you choose and return to your body, if you are too persistent, it isn''t impossible for your mind to be destroyed.


    "Of course, if you "die" here, you will not truly die. However, it is very possible for someone who has not cultivated for very long to lack the will power necessary to reform their consciousness after experiencing this pseudo death once. I suggest that you not battle to death until you''ve at least completed your first Immortal Ring."


    Ryu pushed his fist to the palm of his hand, signifying that he was really.


    The old man inwardly shook his head. ''What a rude young man. Does he not think I''m worthy of a true bow? The Zu Clan is hopeless if this is all that remains of us.''


    His impression of Ryu only became worse once he saw two glaives appear in his hand, it was to the point where he could no longer hide the disappointment on his face.


    Ryu, however, couldn''t be bothered to care. Much like his great grandfather, he had no feelings of goodwill toward the Zu Clan. In fact, he had far worse feelings for the Zu Clan in general, especially after they tried to kill him.


    He wanted to use them and their resources. Nothing more. Nothing less. What this elder of theirs thought of him wasn''t even on his list of priorities.


    "Let''s begin."


    **


    In what should have been a luxurious suite, filled with velvet red and violet cloths and satin sheets, was instead filled with the horrible cries of pain and the pleas of mercy of a man who no longer had a will of his own.


    The velvet red and violet? Overwhelmed by a bloody liquid scarlet. The satin sheets? Marred by chunks of grotesque flesh. The luxurious suite? Had become a torture chamber under the whim of a beauty.


    A whip cracked violently, followed by the undying screams of Edwin.


    The woman behind the whip had an expression so eerily calm that one might think they were crazy. How could she be the reason behind this bloody scene? It was impossible. She was too calm, too beautiful.


    She had a flawless caramel complexion, matched by rosy soft lips. Her figure was fiery, wrapped tightly by leather guards and belts. The only inkling of her enraged temper was the slight glint in her eyes.


    It had already been days since Commander Fidroha learned of Ryu''s slap to her face. Since then, she hadn''t tired in using her whip. Warriors on Edwin''s level could take far more punishment, she didn''t even feel the slightest bit guilty. She wanted to wring Ryu''s neck, but she couldn''t find him. So this was her best option to vent.


    "Commander¡­ Should we think of our next step?" Another of the cloaked figures stepped forward, finally deciding that it was time they did something other than torture Edwin.

 Chapter 205: Deaths

    Commander Fidroha''s wrist paused. The trembling Edwin collapsed to the ground, his raspy breaths the only legitimate sign that he was still alive. Though an expert on his level should be able to take this kind of punishment, it shouldn''t be forgotten that his punisher was an entire Realm above him. If the silent beauty hadn''t chosen to hold back, Edwin would have long since been dead.


    "And what should that next step be." Fidroha said casually.


    The cloaked figures sighed an inward breath of relief. At least their leader was willing to listen. The man who had spoken had chosen a good time. If he had dared to say some yesterday, he likely would have taken Edwin''s place.


    "It is still unknown whether this Throne Ryu was in fact chosen by the Faerie. But, what we do know is that he took the Common Grade exam, not the Black Grade. In addition, considering his age, it would be impossible for him to reach the Black Grade. Even our Shrine Plane geniuses aren''t worthy of such prestige at such a young age."


    "Are you suggesting that I let him go?"


    Though her voice was calm, the cloaked man couldn''t help but flinch.


    "N-no, A ¨C Commander. I only mean that he was an unlikely target to begin with. You know that Valor City lowers its standards based on the age of its Honor Card candidates. Normally, it''s lowered to Black Grade. But, because of the unique difficulty of the Herbology exam, it''s further lowered to the Common Grade."


    This was such an obscure rule that even Molly didn''t mention it to Ryu. She also assumed that he would have to reach the Black Grade, which was why she informed Ryu as such. As for the Association Head, the only information Molly gave him was that Ryu wanted to attempt the exam, not the purpose for why he wanted to. As such, he never informed Ryu about it either.


    This beautiful coincidence resulted in a layer of protection even Ryu didn''t know he had.


    "Get to the point."


    "T-This¡­ is all to say that the Honor Card isn''t enough to suspect him. The fact he has high enough battle prowess to become a Throne, even if it is of a middling Fifth Order Sect, makes it even more unlikely. Also¡­ The history of the Awoken Moon Sect is quite complex¡­ There''s a reason it hasn''t been destroyed despite being affiliated with ¨C¡­


    "I don''t say this so that Commander will give up on him, but rather so that Commander knows that it isn''t 100% necessary to make him an enemy¡­"


    Fidroha narrowed her eyes.


    "C-Commander¡­ Throne Ryu was definitely chosen by the Mercenary Guild. You know as well as I what this means. If he is so lucky as to be accepted into a Sky God''s faction¡­ We can''t touch him¡­"


    It finally became clear why the cloaked man said so many seemingly unnecessary words, it was to essentially talk Fidroha down from a ledge.


    The likelihood of Ryu entering the Faction of a Sky God was incredibly small. However, even if he was just a Factionless Star Mercenary, that alone would make matters far more complicated.


    For someone as powerful as Fidroha to be working with her face hidden, and even having her subordinates address her by Commander instead of her true title, it was obvious that they weren''t in a position to reveal their actions so openly.


    As for why that was? Maybe only a select few knew. But, it didn''t matter. The point was that provoking a large organization like the Mercenary Guild wasn''t exactly in their best interest. Both organizations had similar goals yet had yet to take action to eradicate the other. It was clear that this was because they had apprehensions about each other.


    No matter how powerful Fidroha was on the Pedestal Plane, it was nowhere near her turn yet to rush the actions of Sky Gods.


    "Still, Commander, even if we cannot kill him directly, and even if he isn''t a Faerie''s Life Partner, he has slighted Commander and that is more than enough reason for him to die.


    "Because we''ve hidden our identities, we are well within our rights to deny any involvement even if they are certain that we are involved. Even if he was chosen by a Sky God, as long as we''re careful to not leave any obvious strings attached, no Sky God will go out of their way for the sake of a mere Qi Refinement expert."


    Fidroha lowered her whip. "What are you suggesting?"


    "You know that our original mission was to prepare for the Ice Devil Legacy World selection. We were only diverted to this place after the matters surrounding the Faerie''s Small World. But, with this, we can kill two birds with one stone.


    "Commander''s Clan has the right to appoint three seeded geniuses, correct? However, there are only two direct line geniuses of appropriate age. Commander''s little brother and Commander''s little nephew. Originally, Commander''s Clan planned on using a filler for this third position, by why not use it for revenge instead?... This could also be the perfect way to lure the Faerie''s owner out of hiding as well¡­"


    Fidroha stayed silent for a long time before responding. "¡­ I''m listening."


    **


    The old grey robed man of the fourth floor felt his eyes tremble for the dozenth time as Ryu''s incorporeal projection reformed, slowly becoming more lifelike.


    It should have been impossible¡­


    First Ryu defeated the first two of his forms. The thought of a Qi Refinement expert defeating him as a Spiritual Severing Realm expert was enough to make him lose all face, but that wasn''t what shocked him.


    After defeating him twice with his odd dual polearm wielding style, it became clear to the old man that Ryu was simply testing out these techniques. If that was all, maybe it would be fine. But, he went so far in his testing that he allowed to happen exactly what the man had warned him against!


    To now, on this third of nine forms, Ryu had ''died'' over ten times! Any other Qi Refinement expert would have collapsed after experiencing death, yet Ryu seemed completely unfazed, continuing to recollect his consciousness time and time again.

 Chapter 206: Masochist

    Ryu found this fourth floor to be more amazing than he could have ever imagined. Here, not only did his body not feel any fatigue, he didn''t become injured either, not in any true sense. The only real exchange he had to make was with his Focus Qi. The longer he fought, the more his mind seemed drained. But, the Fourth Floor also seemed to have the ability to more quickly replenish Focus Qi as well, as far as Ryu could tell, sleeping here for an half hour was the equivalent of eight in the real world.


    Ryu wasn''t at the point yet where he could go without sleep entirely, but as a Qi Refinement expert, staying up for several days wasn''t much of a problem. And, when he did need to sleep, about four to five hours was more than enough.


    Of course, because the training was so intensive, Ryu''s Focus Qi drained much quicker. As such, he felt tired after just a few hours. This problem was magnified many times after a death, because reforming his consciousness seemed to take everything out of him. Still, with just a quarter hour of sleep, he was back and ready to battle.


    Even with all of this said, Ryu didn''t believe this was the best aspect of the fourth floor. Nothing was better than the reward for defeating a stage.


    After Ryu''s two previous victories, he felt a flood of information enter his mind. This wasn''t novel information, per se. Rather, it was a collection of data about himself. Everything from the techniques he used to his tendencies in battle all entered his mind as though he was being instructed by a master. Essentially, the reward for victory was a perfect understanding of yourself and a path toward improvement.


    As a Cultus Faerie, there was no one better than Ailsa at setting a path for Ryu''s future. However, that was only in terms of raw strength and cultivation. When it came to comprehending his own battle prowess, especially techniques, it was mostly up to Ryu himself.


    Ryu had entered the fourth floor having reached Small Success in all of his chosen Black Grade techniques and an Entry level mastery of his chosen Earth Grade techniques. Aside from this, he also had a Small Success understanding of the Awoken Moon Sect''s Legacy technique, [White Serpent''s Dance].


    After winning the first battle, [Monumental Pierce] and [Breaking Charge] reached the Great Success level instantly. [Lined Assault] also reached the Large Success level. As for [Curving Arrow], because Ryu hadn''t used it during the first battle, it remained at the Small Success level.


    During the second battle, [Monumental Pierce] and [Breaking Charge] both entered the Circle of Perfection. It was then Ryu realized that the benefits from the rewards were meant to be digested over a long period of time. However, because he entered the second battle so quickly, its full benefits hadn''t been seen. This only became more obvious after [Lined Assault] reached the Great Success level as well.


    However, judging by the surprise of the grey robed man, Ryu realized that the fruits of his rewards were seen far too quickly. He immediately understood that he had the Origin Flame to thank for this.


    The stream of information that entered his mind was like a massive hub of data. The mind of a Qi Refinement expert and even a Spiritual Severing expert wasn''t meant to compute so many things at once. But, thanks to the Origin Flame''s perfect recall, Ryu didn''t need to sift through and comprehend everything individually. The moment it entered his mind, it was destined to never leave. As a result, his benefits were near immediate.


    It had to be said that the Zu Clan''s crystalline jade was truly a treasure. Even for a Qi Refinement expert, it wasn''t an easy task to reach the Circle of Perfection in a Peak Common Grade technique. Yet, Ryu had done so with just a few days of work with two Higher Black Grade techniques!


    Seeing the benefits of the fourth floor, Ryu immediately threw his Black Grade techniques to the side and attempted to win the second battle with his Earth Grade techniques. It was then he realized something magical.


    The trials of the fourth floor, they weren''t meant to only be taken once. If Ryu wanted, he could go back and retake the very first one and receive the very same rewards for winning.


    If this was true, then¡­ What was the point in continuing at all? The secret to this answer lied in how perfect and how helpful the information you received at the end of a trial was.


    When Ryu won his second battle, he realized that he gained greatly, but not as much as he did for the first trial. This wasn''t because the second trial rewards were worse, but was rather because Ryu was using Earth Grade techniques! How could a trial meant for Spiritual Severing Realm experts be helpful in comprehending Earth Grade techniques? It had to be remembered that only Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm experts could bring out the true strength of such a high-grade technique.


    It was then Ryu completely understood. The first trial was most effective for Black Grade techniques. In fact, it was meant to aid Zu Clan descendants in quickly comprehending Lower Black Grade techniques. It was a combination of Ryu''s own high comprehension and the Origin Flame that made it so effective for the Higher and Peak Black Grade techniques he used them for. The fact that Ryu got even an inkling of improvement in his Earth Grade techniques was a testament to how high his comprehension skills were.


    By Ryu''s calculations, if he wanted to quickly improve in his Earth Grade techniques, after taking into account the Origin Flame and his own innate talent, he would need to defeat the fifth trial.


    However¡­ After this list of benefits, Fate wouldn''t feel right with itself if it didn''t snub Ryu in some fashion.


    Despite his comprehension skills being exceedingly beyond normal standards, Ryu simply didn''t have the battle prowess necessary to cross even the third trial, let alone to make it to the fifth.


    The standards of the Zu Clan and their era was obviously far higher than the mere Ninth Order Sect Throne trial Ryu took. The fact he even passed the first trial was a testament to his own improvement after returning from Flash Mountain.


    To make matters worse, Ryu had to use the techniques he wanted to improve in to win. Meaning, simply relying on his speed or finding another roundabout method of victory would only be hurting himself. It was impossible for the fourth floor to collect the necessary data on him if he didn''t show his use of the technique, right?


    So here Ryu was, dying again and again to the very same old man. Though all of his Black Grade techniques reached the Circle of Perfection, he simply didn''t seem satisfied. Maybe if he used [Focus]¡­?


    The old man felt that this was too ridiculous. When did their Zu Clan gain such a masochist?


    It was then Ryu''s image fizzled out of the jade. He hadn''t given up. Rather, someone had called him.

 Chapter 207: Ice Devil

    Ryu''s mind re-entered his body. To the outside world, he seemed to be silently meditating, and since the crystalline jade was within his pupil''s inner world, he didn''t have to bring it out to enter either. No one would ever guess the kind of benefits he had just gained.


    ''I need a bit to fuse what my mind understands with my body, but it shouldn''t take more than a few moments.''


    Ryu''s gaze turned to the once sleeping Ailsa. It seemed she had woken him up. When his senses turned toward the entrance of his ice cave, he realized that it was because Granny Miriam''s younger sister Melody had come.


    Reaching the entrance and activating the formation mechanism to slide the ice-stone slab open, Ryu greeted Melody and allowed her to enter. Seeing the panicked look in her eye, he understood that she must have heard what happened.


    "Are you alright?"


    "I''m just fine. After a few more days, it''ll be like nothing happened at all. Don''t worry about it."


    Melody frowned. "I warned you about this¡­ Being associated with our Awoken Moon Sect will only bring trouble to you. Although they don''t dare to act against us directly for fear of the Faith we once held, you are a Throne and as such aren''t protected by that Faith. You have to be more careful."


    Ryu''s brows raised. It seemed Melody thought the attack the cloaked figured levied upon him were related to the enemies of his Tatsuya Clan and their subordinate Clans.


    He smiled inwardly. He wondered what Melody would think if she knew this would be his fight regardless of whether he joined the Awoken Moon Sect or not¡­ Still, Ryu was fairly certain the cloaked figures weren''t actually of that purpose. Or, maybe they were, but at the very least, it wasn''t their only purpose. This event was more likely related to the matters surrounding Ailsa and her existence.


    "Take this seriously." Melody''s frown deepened, seeing Ryu''s expression completely unchanged. "I can''t be absolutely certain, but they match the description of an incredibly prosperous organization. I have no idea why they''re hiding their identities, but that only makes it more certain they''re up to no good."


    ''Likely because they don''t want information about the Faerie Small World to leak.'' Ryu thought to himself. He realized a few days ago that maybe the Martial Gods weren''t the only ones who wanted a piece of his Shrine Realm. In that case, even the so-called Martial Gods had to watch their step lest they repeat the mistakes of the Tatsuya Clan.


    This thought only clicked more firmly after the Steward''s explanation¡­ "What if our guild receives a mission to a Small Realm where entry is restricted by cultivation realm?"¡­ Those had been his exact words. It couldn''t have been more obvious even if they hit him over the head with it.


    "I understand, thank you for the warning. I won''t let them get the best of me."


    Melody''s shoulders fell in defeat. She was known as a cold, unapproachable beauty to many. But, before Ryu, she felt as hot as a summer''s day. Did he have any emotions besides indifference?


    ''No¡­ I saw a different emotion on him before¡­ Was it anger?'' Melody thought back to Ryu''s Throne trial, wondering just what he could have been so angry about then¡­


    Shaking her head, Melody got to the point. "I didn''t come to only check on you, there are now matters coming in the future that are likely directly tied to this."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes." Melody nodded. "It was just announced today. The selections of the Ice Devil Legacy World will now provide a Seeded reward."


    "Seeded?"


    "Yes. Before, our Pedestal Plane wasn''t worthy of such a thing. We were essentially going to be used as the canon fodder and meat shields for Blossom Plane geniuses. In fact, the truth of the matter is that although the Legacy World is located on the Blossom Plane, even Martial Plane youths are interested in it. Those Martial Plane youths make up the bulk of the Seeded Geniuses. A select few of the Blossom Plane are within these ranks as well. And finally, our Pedestal Plane will be allocated just one."


    Ryu sneered inwardly, immediately understanding. ''They want to lure me out? What an obvious ploy.''


    "What''s the benefit of being a Seeded Genius? Are we not all entering the same Legacy World? Such matters had always been every man and woman for themselves. And also, why would Sh ¨C Martial Plane geniuses be interested in a Blossom Plane Legacy?"


    Melody blinked. Could Ryu have experiencing entering Legacy Worlds?


    Legacy Worlds were incredibly rare things. To begin, one had to be a certain level of expert to even think of forming one after your death. Such experts were incredibly rare and didn''t often die. Meaning, there might only be a handful of Legacy Worlds to open per generation. Legacy Worlds that were overlooked and only found a long time later were rare exceptions. This would only happen if an expert sent their Legacy World to lower Realm for whatever reason they might have to do so.


    "Ah." Melody shook herself from her thoughts. "Being a Seeded Genius has its advantages. For one, earlier entrance once the Legacy World enters. For such things, the order of entering is incredibly important.


    "In addition, during a time one might vie for treasures, being Seeded also gives priority. Seeded Geniuses gain a percentage of the treasures found by individuals under their charge. Seeded geniuses also don''t have to fight in the final tournament used to decide who gains entry. There are many other things that I''m not privy to knowing as well."


    Ryu''s internal sneer only deepened. Who had ever heard of something ridiculous? No one "owned" a Legacy World, so what gave them the right to take shares found by others? At the very least, if you were going to do so, don''t shamelessly try to play it off as though you were working within proper protocol. Snatch it boldly and face the consequences.


    ''Martial Gods'' indeed. These bastards were nothing but spineless cowards. Ryu felt his blood boil. These were the people his Tatsuya Clan lost to? He would wipe this humiliation clean.


    "As for your second question, why Martial Plane geniuses would be interested, that''s related to an open secret of the Ice Devil Legacy World¡­ No one has ever heard of this ''Ice Devil'' before. But, an expert capable of forming such a powerful Legacy World couldn''t possibly be unknown¡­ Therefore, many believe this Legacy World is either from an unknown Realm or¡­ That it''s among the rare few never discovered."

 Chapter 208: Defeat

    "The rare few never discovered, hm¡­" Ryu muttered to himself.


    In truth, Ryu knew that one of the most important things to him in the coming future would be the legacies he had under his control. The good news was that there were many hidden legacies within his bloodline that he could slowly come to understand. However, the bad news was twofold.


    Firstly, as a human attempting to comprehend a beast bloodline, the threshold he needed to cross was much higher. It was for this same reason the Little Rock, despite only have a wisp of Ancestral Roc blood, still exuded a fiercer aura than Ryu who had four complete Ancestral Bloodlines.


    Secondly, even if he managed to communicate with these legacies, comprehending them was another matter entirely. If he had the comprehensions of his ancestors, it would be one thing. But, currently, Ryu was alone, which meant he would have to relearn everything by himself.


    Of course, Ryu felt there was a small bit of hope in this matter for two reasons. According to Monalise''s understanding of the Shrine Realm''s current events, the Martial Plane was actually the original Shrine Plane, just renamed. Apparently, a large portion of the Plane had been sealed off by Ryu''s mother, Himari. And the second light of hope was that Ryu had reincarnated with everything in his pupil''s inner world, meaning he had his Clans'' Four Emblems, used to access their Holy Lands, with him.


    Maybe, when Ryu grew in strength enough, he could bypass his mother''s seal and benefit from the Holy Lands of the Phoenix, Tatsuya and Kunan Clans.


    This was all to say that the current Ryu, even if he didn''t trust how useful this ''Ice Devil'' might be to him, couldn''t ignore the opportunity it presented. A cultivator''s two foremost greatest strengths were their comprehension of the Natural Order and their actual cultivation. However, in close proximity at third place was the techniques and legacies they had available to them. To the current Ryu, an Ice Legacy would be greatly beneficial as the Awoken Moon Sect was too weak and couldn''t provide to him anything better than an Earth Grade technique.


    "So what do I have to do?" Ryu asked, looking up from his thoughts.


    "What do you have to do? Nothing!" Melody said in exasperation. "I didn''t come here to tell you about this so that you would participate, I came here because I knew I couldn''t hide this news from you anyway. I wanted to be the first to tell you so that I could also tell you to not go!"


    "Oh?"


    Melody had never been so frustrated in her life. Was this the response of someone to another who clearly cared about their safety?


    "Impossible." Ryu replied plainly. "I will participate."


    Melody nearly pulled her hair out. She had displayed more emotion in the past few weeks of knowing Ryu than maybe she had in her whole life.


    "You don''t understand. This isn''t a selection for those of your cultivation. Those your age aren''t even qualified to pass a preliminary round as many of them are still Pulse Opening experts. The minimum cultivation you need is of at least the Higher Spiritual Severing Realm, and even that won''t be good enough in the long run, especially when those of the Inner Ring and Core Region begin to participate. You''re very talented, but it''s too early for you!"


    "It''s not a problem, I''ll just breakthrough to the Middle Qi Refinement Realm."


    Melody''s brow twitched. "What did you just say?!"


    She lost her temper, involuntarily leaking some of her aura. The space around her quaked, not because her strength was so great, but because it seemed to have a great affinity for her.


    ''No¡­ That''s not space qi, it''s something different¡­ But what is it¡­?''


    Ryu was more familiar with space qi than practically anyone. His adoptive big sister and Death Guard, Nuri, was half elemental sprite. Usually, elemental sprites were ranked below the top tier Faeries, but there were always exceptions to rules. In this case, Nuri was the exception. One of her parents had been from the exceptionally rare Inanis Faeries.


    This race had deft control of space and the capability to manipulate it to their wills. If Ryu remembered correctly, Nuri once told him she had incredible difficulty cultivating when she was younger because of this. It seemed Inanis Faeries cultivated differently from others, or maybe all Faeries did. This was because, unlike humans, their qi affinity was the only qi they could cultivate.


    Either way, Ryu knew that this fluctuation in qi definitely wasn''t evidence of a rare space affinity.


    "I said I would just breakthrough." Ryu replied as though he couldn''t tell Melody had asked a rhetorical question only to point out the ridiculous nature of his words.


    "Do you think cultivation breakthroughs just fall out of the sky?! If you rush it, you could cause irreparable harm to yourself!"


    Ryu was slowly beginning to understand why it was Melody was acting like this. She had so suddenly gained all of Granny Miriam''s care for him due to their shared Bone Structure, but her personality wasn''t as gentle as her elder sister''s. In the end, the clash resulted in this.


    Still, Ryu wasn''t joking. If he did nothing but cultivate, he estimated he could clear a cultivation stage every two to three weeks, at least within the Qi Refinement Realm, anyway. The only reason he hadn''t was because he knew there was more to cultivation than just a higher Realm. Plus, he needed to focus on his weaknesses first.


    But, now seemed as good a time as any. It would probably only take him a few days to breakthrough now since he had already accumulated so much momentum within the Lower Qi Refinement Realm.


    "You''ll be going with me, right? You seem to have entered the Peak Spiritual Severing Realm recently and you''re not too old."


    Too many emotions bombarded Melody at once. First, she was shocked that Ryu could see through her cultivation when even some of their elders couldn''t. Second, she was enraged by the fact he simply ignored her words and acted as if he had already decided for her. And finally, she nearly passed out after he mentioned her age. Didn''t he have a mother?! What did she teach him?!


    Wherever she was, Himari was probably sighing in defeat while Elena was likely laughing out loud, happy to see someone suffer through a small percent of what she had to while courting Ryu.


    Gritting her teeth, Melody felt resigned to her defeat.

 Chapter 209: Journey

    Ryu saw Melody out after receiving the details of what would occur in the coming days.


    The selections would be held in a Small Realm owned by a Blossom Plane Clan known as the Budi Clan. It hardly needed to be said that they were quite powerful, controlling a territory of their own within this higher plane''s Core Region.


    However, as one might expect, such an esteemed Ninth Order Clan wouldn''t simply allow just anyone to enter their Small Realm. This left the Pedestal Plane with no choice but to hold selections of their own.


    According to reports, the Martial Gods had sent delegates to the Pedestal Plane to oversee this selection under the guise of preventing any nepotism that might occur. This truth filled many of the youths located on this lowest Immortal Plane with excitement. Who didn''t know the heralds of the Martial Gods? The mighty Apostles!


    If one wanted to be known as a foolish dreamer, there was no quicker way than admitting a hope of one day too becoming an Apostle. Their statuses were so lofty that even the geniuses of the Blossom Plane would get laughed out of any gathering should they dare to admit to having such a dream, let alone those of the Pedestal Plane.


    Of course, Ryu hardly cared about such things. He looked upon the Martial Gods with disdain for their shameless actions, and rage for their audacity in laying a hand on his family, why would he care about their mere messengers?


    Still, Ryu found all of these events much too odd. The so-called Martial Gods were putting in so much effort to ingratiate geniuses of lower planes, could this all really just be to act as canon fodder? Was this Ice Devil Legacy World really worth so much?


    The series of events seemed jumbled and fragmented, even Ryu couldn''t connect them in any coherent sense. And also, just who were the Martial Gods? Ryu was very familiar with the topmost Realms throughout the cosmos. But, he had never heard the title Martial God before.


    Ryu shook his head. Wasting thoughts on matters he didn''t have enough information to deduce wasn''t his style. He immediately turned his attention back to his cultivation, tightly spinning the vortexes of [Abyssal Vortex Qi], expanding the miniature dantians of [Six Realm Opening] and compressing his qi further with [Revolutions Amplifier].


    His skin glowed, breathing along with his expanding lungs, allowing his meridians to greedily expand.


    While others could only complete thirteen total Revolutions before entering the Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm, Ryu could complete twenty. He had to complete two Great Circle Revolutions, which left eighteen others within the Qi Refinement Realm. He had already completed four, three in order to satiate his first Pulse, and one more to officially enter the Qi Refinement Realm.


    Before Ryu had even completed his first Revolution, he had the qi density of someone who had completed two. After completing four, he was mistaken for a Higher Qi Refinement expert by those of lesser experience. But now, charging toward the Middle Qi Refinement Realm and completing his fifth, sixth, and seventh Revolutions, it would be difficult to not mistake him for a Half-Step Spiritual Severing expert.


    With each successive Revolution, the task of purifying and compressing one''s qi grew more difficult, this was especially so for Ryu who was completing three Revolutions per individual Pulse. Yet, from the looks of it, it truly didn''t seem as though he was struggling at all. If the Ice Jade Crystal Body and Chaotic Silk Meridians ran into a roadblock so early in cultivation, they wouldn''t deserve the title of Ancestral Grade.


    In just three days, Ryu entered the Middle Qi Refinement Realm. He opened his third miniature dantian within his third Pulse, completed 37 more vortexes, and concluded three Revolutions, all at once.


    He felt his meridians thrum, a delicate wave of energy filling his body with vitality. It wasn''t as exaggerated as the rebirth experienced when crossing a large Realm barrier, but it wasn''t a meaningless division either. Ryu felt some of the pain toward his back alleviate further.


    ''I have about 60% of my strength¡­ Not as bad as it could be.'' Just saying these words to himself, Ryu felt the hidden rage he had pressed down creep back upward, but he forcibly pressed it down once more.


    The next coming events would be a great hassle, a long string of scheduled tournaments standing in its wake. Luckily, as a Throne, Ryu had no need to participate in Valor City''s tournament and could directly enter the Major Cities Tournament. Following this, he would be allowed to challenge the Inner Ring geniuses before finally challenging the Core Region''s geniuses.


    Still, Ryu felt like this was all beneath him. Instead of taking so many tedious steps, he would directly leap over them all. In addition, with his mind so focused on the Moon World which he would have an opportunity to enter in just two years, he didn''t even know if he would be back in time to enter this Ice Devil Legacy World.


    Ryu shook his head. ''I should track down the first Necromancy Ruin. Place your anger down¡­ If I make it back in time, then I do. If I don''t make it back, then I won''t...''


    Ryu decided that these tournaments were a waste of his time. With killing being prohibited, they wouldn''t even be able to sharpen his skills. Instead, he would carve his own path. Once he was finished, he would head to the Core Region and participate in their tournament as a Wildcard Candidate. That way, he wouldn''t have to suffer through such nonsense.


    Ryu suddenly thought of Melody and frowned, hesitating. He felt that he shouldn''t allow her to enter the Budi Clan''s Small Realm alone. He owed Granny Miriam too much to allow her sister to take such a risk.


    It was then Ryu did something he rarely ever did, he changed his mind. Although Melody tried her hardest to stop him from going, Ryu could tell that, ironically, nothing would stop her from doing the same.


    In a sense, Ryu understood. Melody felt that her pursuit of the highest standard of cultivation had cost her elder sister her life. At the very least, in honor of Granny Miriam, she couldn''t give up on her path now. She had to see it to the end. She had to know if it was all worth it.


    Ryu closed his eyes. ''Is Little Rock ready?''


    Ryu''s sudden voice awoke the worrying Ailsa who had been trying to find a way of comforting her Life Partner.


    ''Mhm. He heals up quite quickly because of his bloodline, plus you didn''t deal him any fatal blows. In fact, he seemed to be about to break into the Fourth Order.''


    Ryu nodded. This coming journey would be far easier with Little Rock by his side. Without much more consideration, he set off, promising to come back.

 Chapter 210: Hecate

    During the next month, Ryu did little else but train and cultivate, not that he usually had something else to do anyway. It was likely that his sudden disappearance had already shaken Melody, but due to his status as Throne, the Awoken Moon Sect upper echelon was very much aware that he was still alive.


    Under normal circumstances, one might think that Ryu was escaping his duties as Throne, but in practice, only a foolish individual would think this. Firstly, the only ''resources'' Ryu took from the Sect were techniques. Considering he didn''t take their original copies, the Sect lost nothing. Secondly, in just a month, Ryu''s name had spread across the whole of the Outer Ring, both because of his completion of six Fourth Order missions and his slap to the face of the cloaked figures.


    Simply put, for what he took, he had more than repaid his fair share. Plus, it wasn''t as though the title of Throne had a time limit. For as long as Ryu lived, the Faith he accumulated would benefit them. The only ones enraged by his sudden disappearance were those who had ill intentions.


    With nothing to grasp upon, those who had sought for Ryu''s death began to endlessly slander him, speaking of his foolishness and cowardly nature. In the end, the Faith Ryu had accumulated was impacted by an easily manipulated public opinion.


    This much could only be expected¡­ Ryu had hardly interacted with anyone during his stay. In addition, the ones controlling the narrative were figures who had been famous in the Outer Ring for a long time already. The most frustrating part was that it wasn''t only those who wanted Ryu dead who participated, the Clans whose best interest didn''t align with the Awoken Moon Sect rising up thanks to the backing of Ryu''s Faith also participated.


    With each subsequent tournament Ryu didn''t attend, things only became worse. Maybe if it wasn''t for Melody''s abrupt spike in power, the Awoken Moon Sect''s Faith would have been irreparably damaged.


    As for the person in question, he had already crossed into the Inner Ring, the thoughts and feelings of such small figures next to irrelevant to him.


    Ryu continued to cultivate much faster than even he expected. He had already opened his fourth miniature dantian, formed yet another 37 vortexes, and completed his tenth Revolution. With this, he officially stepped into the Higher Qi Refinement Realm.


    To put this speed into context, on the Shrine Plane, the topmost geniuses on Ryu''s wife''s level would begin cultivating at seven years old. By eight years old, just one year later, they would enter the Qi Refinement Realm. And just two years later, at ten years old, they would become Spiritual Severing Experts.


    Knowing this truth, it was no wonder Ryu didn''t feel proud with his cultivation. But, this wasn''t the poignant point here. In what amounted to just two months, Ryu had already entered the Higher Qi Refinement Realm. And the truth was, he hadn''t spent every moment cultivation. In fact, he spent most of his time on Little Rock''s back, sending his mind to the fourth floor of Zu Palace.


    Ryu was cultivating almost ten times faster despite stacking three difficult Six Star technique atop of one another. The benefits of Great Ancestral Circle talent were nigh untouchable. If things continued this way, in just a few more years, he would catch up to those geniuses.


    According to his understanding, those geniuses, despite reaching the Spiritual Severing Realm at ten years old, wouldn''t enter the Divine Vessel Realm until they were twenty. Right now, Ryu was eighteen!


    However, he didn''t spend all of his time on speed. The reason those geniuses so suddenly slowed down was precisely because of how difficult clearing the stages of the Spiritual Severing Realm was. Ryu couldn''t underestimate it just for the sake of his pride.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s eyes sharpened. "Right here, Little Rock."


    A proud call left the beautiful Lightning Hawk''s beak as it dove down from the skies. Seeing its speed, Ryu could only shake his head.


    In order to practice his control over his Northern Heavenly Wind and deepen his understanding, Ryu had tried extending the range of domain to Little Rock. Essentially, he was trying to combine Little Rock''s speed with the benefits of his Wind Inheritance. As for the results? They were shocking beyond belief. Even after becoming used to it, Ryu was still astonished.


    Crossing from the Outer Ring into the Inner Ring without the help of teleportation formations would take a Connecting Heaven Realm expert half to a full year. Yet, after Little Rock entered the Fourth Order, they took just one month.


    Of course, this was also because those human experts would have to wrap around beast territory so as not to attract those King Beasts, something Little Rock didn''t have to do thanks to Ryu''s cloak. But, even still, the matter was shocking.


    "We''re here?" Ailsa pouted. She was in her full form where even as a woman, she stood almost as tall as Ryu. She had been enjoying the secluded feeling of being by Ryu''s side. Though Little Rock was here, the little guy was still immature despite his power, so she liked to take advantage of Ryu using her title as Big Sister. It was unfortunate that it was coming to an end.


    Ryu nodded, ignoring the feeling of Ailsa enveloping his arm with her breasts. Ailsa was certain that she was becoming more and more tempting by the day, but it seemed that Ryu''s increase in cultivation made his already strong willpower even stronger.


    "This Ruin should be the resting place of Necromancer Hecate. Creating a Legacy World is incredibly difficult. One must have at least Cosmic Seed Realm cultivation because only it allows for deft enough control of Cosmic Qi to form a Small Realm with your life and will as the catalyst. For those who haven''t reached such a great level, they prefer to construct Ruins where they can diligently map out trials for potential successors.


    "Of course, there are also eccentrics who choose to form Ruins despite having the ability to form Legacy Worlds. Usually, those are people with very special secondary professions who believe their Legacy is best left in such a place. For example, master puppeteers who are very good at creating intricate mechanisms to be used for traps and such, or formation masters who want to test the intelligence of their inheritor."


    Ailsa listened with bright eyes. Ryu rarely spoke so many words at once. It was nice to know he could be passionate about some things.


    The trio quickly fell from the skies. Soon, the thick green landscape gained sharpness and detail as a lush forest appeared before them.


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly sharpened, quickly having Ailsa help Little Rock into the Incubator as she shrunk to her six-inch-tall size. It seemed after so long, Necromancer Hecate''s Ruins had been found first.

 Chapter 211: Lurking Shadow

    Ryu silently descended onto the branch of a thick tree. His body was so weightless that the thin piece of wood hardly registered his appearance.


    Down below, Ryu''s sharp eyes caught sight of several groups of people. It didn''t take much observing for Ryu to understand the situation.


    The Ruins had been discovered several months ago by three adventuring teams, not all at the same time, but staggered. Unfortunately, the first team didn''t have the ability to stop others from trying to take a piece of their discovery, so they could only give way, accepting a three-way alliance. At least like this, they could gain some security in stopping any more from trying to take part.


    The three teams put their funds together to hire a Ruin Master from the Core Region to help them with this exploration. This was currently their seventh venture in Necromancer Hecate''s Ruins.


    Usually, Ruins would be completed in stages. Because of their danger, only a fool or someone supremely confident in their abilities would dare to sleep in one. As a result, groups would often explore for as long as their bodies could hold out before retreating and repeating the process.


    Still, though much of this made sense, Ryu was curious. Why was it that a Ruin that had remained undiscovered for so long suddenly the product of interest for not just one, but three groups? What were adventure teams doing so deep within Marandi Forest?


    Necromancer Hecate wasn''t a terribly powerful individual. Though she, at the end of her life, could have killed the current Ryu with a single glance, if compared to the true powerhouses of the Shrine Plane, she was lacking. If Ryu recalled correctly, and he knew that he did, at her height she was a Path Extinction Realm expert, a step above the Immortal Ring Realm.


    Ryu had chosen this Ruin for two reasons. Firstly because Hecate followed a path of Necromancy the intrigued him, and secondly because his deductions led him to the conclusion that this Ruin would be graded at the Fifth Order.


    Ruins, much like many other concepts, had grading systems of their own. A Fifth Order Ruin required an Earth Grade Ruin Master to clear at the very least, or a moderately powerful Black Grade Ruin Master. Of course, Ryu, who had earned the illustrious Origin Grade Ruin Master title far exceeded these requirements.


    The unfortunate part was that Ryu''s Origin Grade status was contingent upon Nuri being by his side. Though no Ruin Master could match Ryu in knowledge, he was lacking in the power necessary. In the end, Ryu believed that a Fifth Order Ruin was about his limit with his current strength.


    The reason why all of this was important was because the three groups had several Divine Vessel Realm experts with them, and a Peak Black Grade Ruin Master. Logically speaking, seven attempts was far too many. And, by the sounds of it, they didn''t appear to be close to the end either, or they wouldn''t be so irritated.


    "I refuse to pay the same amount once more! Do you think I''m made of money?!" A woman dressed in half silver and half black leather armor spoke out, clearly frustrated. "You brought this Ruin Master to us and he swore that it would take at most three attempts and quoted his price based on this truth. But¡­


    "¡­ Not only are we on the seventh attempt, you expect me to continue paying the same quoted price?!"


    "Amarice is right." The leader of the second group defended the woman. By the look in his eye, he wasn''t doing so for some petty love affair because he was clearly quite irritated himself. "Think of your status as a Ruin Master, do you really want to cheat small figures like us?"


    An older man with a head of grey hair expressionlessly watched the group. To his side, a younger man with a fat gut but a disproportionately chiseled face stood. He seemed unfeeling toward the concerns of the two groups before him. But, he couldn''t hide the slight flash of ill intent that coated his eyes after there was mention of his profession.


    "You said it yourself that this was a Fifth Order Ruin. There''s no reason it should take so many attempts to clear with a Peak Black Grade Ruin Master and so many Divine Vessel experts on our side. Logic is on our side, you''re being unreasonable." Amarice piled on.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''The two groups have definitely realized that something was wrong. But, it''s also difficult to give up on an investment after buying in six times already. This Ruin Master and his accomplice understand this, which is why they''re so blatant with their disdain.


    ''A seemingly untouched Ruin found by three people at once? It was too much of a coincidence.''


    Ryu needed to figure out his next plan of action. He obviously had no intention of letting any of these individuals benefit from a Ruin he had set his mind on. His best bet was to wait until they failed their seventh attempt, but from the way things were going, it was very obvious to a third party observer that whatever plan the Ruin Master and his large bellied accomplice had schemed would be pushed forward. These adventurers had already been pushed to their limit, it was impossible to expect that they''d do this for an eighth time. So this would be their last chance.


    ''But why¡­ Were they just trying to squeeze money out of them? But couldn''t they take everything they owned by just killing them? Is there a need to keep up this farce for seven attempts?''


    ''Ryu, there''s a very thick smell of death around them.'' Ailsa suddenly said.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Are you sure it isn''t just from the Ruin? It''s not more than a hundred or so meters away now.''


    ''No, it''s definitely coming from them. But, oddly enough, it''s only on the two irritated groups. The Ruin Master and the fat man seem unaffected.''


    ''Is that so¡­''


    Much like many other professions and paths, Necromancy was incredibly complex. The simple title of Necromancer might have the same image in the mind of laymen, but the process and beliefs among groups varied greatly.


    Ryu was interested in Hecate precisely because her path was so novel. A lot of the reason her cultivation was so low was because she spent so much time researching this path. If Ryu was correct¡­ The smell of death might be related to Hecate''s path of Necromancy.


    In the end, after listening to the ravings of the two groups led by Amarice and Dalonte, they reached an agreement. If this seventh attempted succeeded, they would pay. Should it not succeed, the payment would be reduced. Like this, the three groups entered the ruin, followed by a closely lurking shadow.

 Chapter 212: Screams

    Necromancer Hecates Ruins were located in the middle of this forest without a dense population of humans for several thousand miles. In addition to this, it wasn''t out in the open either, it was hidden within an illusion array that required very precise steps to enter.


    Unlike the array Ryu broke to enter the Natural Order Sect, this one was meant to be opened like a code. Meaning, as long as you didn''t make a mistake, it was no different from a leisurely stroll. Although, if others saw you taking this ''stroll'', they''d believe you to be a lunatic walking in circles. This was yet another reason why Ryu found it baffling that three adventure squads could just ''stumble'' upon this ruin.


    Of course, Hecate and those who built Ruins prior to their deaths like her didn''t leave the discovery of their Ruins completely up to chance. What would be the point in spending so much time and effort just to build a Ruin no one would ever be able to enter?


    Hecate left many clues within texts that published her beliefs on the Necromancy path and even within her auto biography. Sometimes, experts who left Ruins behind even left clues within partial techniques they left behind, allowing successors to fight over their Legacy.


    Part of a Ruin Master''s job was to pour over these clues and piece together the truth. To now, Ryu had been the only one to decipher Hecate''s riddles. Though, this achievement wasn''t as grand as finding the Death Shrine. The reality was that Hecate was an eccentric. Those who wanted to follow the path of Necromancy would be unlikely to look upon her favorably. If it wasn''t for Ryu overturning every stone in an attempt to find the Death Shrine, he would have ignored her story as well.


    Ryu watched as the three groups and singular Ruin Master entered the illusion array, disappearing one after another. After waiting about half a dozen minutes, he too walked forward, his eyes flashing as he quickly deciphered the array. Though it might seem as simple as following what he had just watched the group before him do, one''s senses would become distorted after perfectly performing the first three steps of the code. So, Ryu could only rely on himself.


    Soon, Ryu was greeted with a fog-filled world. Except, this time, unlike the Dream World Osiris, this world was one of death and decay. In the distance, an underground cave entrance could be seen, while not far in front of Ryu, three guards stood.


    After the vast improvement in Ryu''s Mental Realm, he could even enter Breath of Heaven for a decent period of time. But, Breath of Earth was more than enough to escape detection with the help of his cloak.


    The three men only felt a slight breeze they directly ignored in this eerie place as Ryu passed by.


    Just as Ryu was going to enter the underground cave, his footsteps paused, his eyes flashing.


    Smiling slightly, he almost laughed. He found it amusing that a Peak Black Grade Ruin Master would try to lay a trap hidden from him. Though Ryu had to commend him for being cautious, even when he couldn''t cultivate his pupils were already sharper than practically anyone ¡­ Let alone now.


    For others, detecting arrays was difficult. They had to cultivate their Spiritual Qi, then learn how to circulate this qi to their eyes. And even then, the arrays they were qualified to detect were limited by their Mental Realm. However, there wasn''t an array in existence Ryu could detect.


    Ryu easily found a flaw in the detection array and slipped by it, entering the underground cave to find a dark path gradually increasing in steepness.


    Seeing three paths ahead, Ryu nodded to himself. This was Hecate''s first test. He could clearly see the footprints of the path the grey-haired Ruin Master had chosen, but this reality left Ryu baffled.


    ''Why would you choose that path¡­? Don''t tell me?''


    Ryu thought of a possibility. If he was right, he could only be frustrated by the outcome.


    He didn''t believe the Ruin Master was stupid enough to take the wrong path. Even if he was a little unqualified to take on a Fifth Order Ruin, this was his seventh attempt. The reason why a Fifth Order Ruin could be cleared by an Earth Grade Ruin Master or a Black Grade Ruin Master with Divine Vessel Battle Prowess was because this sort of strength allowed mistakes within a certain margin.


    If this was their seventh attempt and they were still going down the wrong path, there were only two explanations. Either Ryu''s calculations were wrong and this Ruin had fallen further than he thought in its age, becoming a Fourth Order Ruin or there was no real danger anymore.


    Ryu highly doubted the first was correct. This Ruin was once of the Seventh Order. Age and attrition are what led it to becoming a Fifth Order Ruin. It should take much more time before it descends to the Fourth. Though there were Ruins that sustained their rankings for longer and even Ruins that could increase their Order over time, Ryu''s research had concluded that this wasn''t one of them.


    This only left the second option¡­ But if the second option was correct, that meant Ryu was already too late. The Legacy had already been taken by the Ruin Master and the fat man¡­


    So, why would individuals who already had control of the Legacy allow others in under the pretext of taking part in a Legacy that no longer existed? The answer was simple¡­ What did Necromancers need more if not powerful corpses?


    Ryu had known that Hecate was an eccentric from the beginning. Of the three central paths of necromancer ¨C the Soul Necromancer, the Refinement Necromancer, and the Summoning Necromancer ¨C she followed the path of Refinement, but an exceptionally odd one.


    Hecate believed that undead could have and gain will of their own. But, she believed that what was blocking this connection between man and corpse was a certain level of intimacy.


    This sounded like Hecate was just writing down justification for necrophilia, but if this was the case, Ryu would have never wasted his time on her.


    Weirdness of Hecate''s beliefs aside, the substance of them was substantial. Hecate believed the relationship between Necromancer and Corpse should be akin to the relationship between Beast Master and Beast.


    In one of her teachings ¨C Will of the Undead: Volume Two ¨C she posited that refining corpses you once knew when they were alive was a shortcut to this level of intimacy. This was what led to her first ostracization from the Necromancer community¡­ she turned her own late husband into a corpse puppet!


    In Volume Three, she posited the theorem that caught Ryu''s attention. She introduced a slow refining technique that cultivated the living into undead, allowing them to maintain their will. This would ¡­


    Before Ryu could finish remembering the details, the screams of Amarice and Delonte shook him awake.

 Chapter 213: I know

    Ryu glided down the path at a pace that dwarfed most Spiritual Severing Experts. With his sharp eyes, any protections the Ruin Master left were next to useless. It didn''t take much time at all for him to make it to the edge of a small opening.


    The scene could only be described as horrid. The bodies of Amarice and Delonte, not to mention their fellow adventurers, was seemingly rotting from the inside out.


    The entrance Ryu stood at was elevated far above the ground floor of this opening. If one was down below, his place would appear to be just one of many hive-like openings.


    From Ryu''s deep understanding of Ruins, he immediately understood this oddity. The path here was relatively short, but before the Ruin was cleared, it definitely wasn''t so. Hecate''s Ruins were probably a maze of forceful teleportations, so although the path to this place seemed short, the reality was that it would have taken Ryu several weeks to make it here had the Ruin not already been cleared.


    At this moment, the Ruin Master probably couldn''t imagine that someone had made it here and was silently observing his evil actions, nor did Ryu want to allow him to know too soon. The fact that the Ruin Master was able to fake seven entries despite the shortness of the passage definitely meant that this was an inheritable Ruin. Meaning, it was entirely under his control. In such a situation, Ryu had to be careful.


    As for the adventurers dying below? What did this have to do with him? Considering Ailsa''s explanation of their situation, Ryu didn''t have the ability to save them even if he wanted to risk his life for strangers.


    "Haha! Amarice, Delonte, you never expected that there would be a day like this one, did you?" The man with the bulging stomach laughed uproariously.


    The two squadron leaders who had both been writhing in pain looked toward the fat man with furious expressions, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn''t remember having any impression of him.


    It was then the ''fat'' man did something inexplicable. His hands grasped at his protruding belly and pulled outward. But, the grotesque image of flying blood and guts didn''t occur. Instead, a toned upper body was revealed. It was clear that the so-called fat man wasn''t very fat at all.


    Though Ryu had found it odd that such a fat man could have such a chiseled jaw, he hadn''t thought much about it, nor did he look into it. In his mind, who would be foolish enough to disguise themselves as a fat man but forget to give themselves protruding cheeks? So, he marked it down as a genetic oddity of the man and left it be. Who would have known that the man was truly in disguise?


    This most definitely taught Ryu a silent lesson. He had his pupils, but he didn''t use them. Trusting his own logic and applying it to that of other people could one day lead to a fatal mistake.


    The formerly fat man forcefully wiped his face, slowly revealing a scarred, but relatively similarly shaped visage. The more of his true face appeared, the paler Amarice and Delonte became.


    "Seventy years ago you two nearly ruined my life." The man growled. "To think I used to love such a whore. I hope you enjoy the rest of your life as a corpse puppet.


    "When Ruin Master Vitae told me that I could condemn you both to eternal hell, how could I miss such a chance?"


    "Morake¡­" Amarice weakly reached out, her once beautiful face draining of life.


    All those decades ago, her and Morake truly were in a relationship. But, she had betrayed him Delonte.


    Delonte, who had been jealous of Morake''s handsome face, didn''t let him be for fear one day Amarice would regret her decision. So, he destroyed his face before her.


    The irony of it all was the Delonte''s actions proved how vain of a woman Amarice was, yet he still wanted her by his side. It was truly a tale that made one shake their heads.


    As time passed, Delonte and Amarice both entered the Divine Vessel Realm and were even currently on the verge of entering the Connecting Heaven Realm, while Morake lagged too far behind, his revenge growing further and further away by the day. That was¡­ Until he met Ruin Master Vitae.


    "You''ll never get it back. Do you think I would come to a dangerous place with it on hand?!" Delonte cackled maniacally as though he would have the last laugh in the end. "You were always a pathetic bastard. Even in the end, you''re still so foolish. Just like the two of us, you too will die here today, once again betrayed by someone you thought was an ally."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Just seventy years ago Amarice and Delonte were in the Spiritual Severing Realm? Isn''t that what Morake''s words implied? But¡­''


    Ryu was shaken slightly. The age required to be named a genius upon entering the Divine Vessel Realm was twenty years old. But, the threshold for entering the Connecting Heaven Realm was one hundred years!


    What did that mean? It meant that somehow, two adventurers had matched the pace of geniuses of the Shrine Plane. To cross from the Spiritual Severing Realm, to the Peak Divine Vessel Realm in just seventy years¡­ It was inconceivable!


    Of course, Ryu believed he could dwarf this speed. Opening one''s Qi Vessels might take a long time for others, but with his advantages, he didn''t believe it would take him very long at all. But the poignant point was that this pair of adventurers should have never been able to match this pace.


    Ryu racked his brain, trying to think of treasures that could explosively increase cultivation speed.


    Usually, despite having many such treasures on hand, geniuses of the Shrine Plane disdained to use them. It wasn''t just disdain, but also a healthy aversion. Using such treasures could ruin one''s foundation. Plus, since much of later cultivation relied on comprehension, they would quickly become useless. Only individuals of this lower plane would start nearly century long feuds over such a trivial item.


    However, Ryu was interested in this item for another reason: its resell value. After all, he still needed to come up with ten Medial Immortal Stones. Though such an item was useless to him, it was definitely worth at least that much. And, considering how close he already was to the Spiritual Severing Realm, he would definitely have to pay that higher amount to enter the Moon World.


    In truth, Ryu actually hoped the treasure wasn''t too great, or else it would be difficult to find an auction house capable of selling it.


    As Ryu was lost in his thought, a familiar sound of a blade piercing flesh rang in his ears. He didn''t need to look to know that Ruin Master Vitae had killed Morake. The man lived his life to be betrayed, it seemed.


    "Come out. I know you''re there!" This, however, startled Ryu.

 Chapter 214: So Hard

    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, but other than this, he didn''t move a single inch. He thought that it might be a possibility that after gaining complete control over the Ruin, Ruin Master Vitae might have become capable of sensing all of the changes that occurred within what was effectively his domain now. Ryu hadn''t thought of this possibility before, but after he heard those words¡­ He realized it might be possible.


    ''This Ruin was at most of the Seventh Order at its peak. A Path Extinction Realm expert like Necromancer Hecate is limited to an Eighth Order Ruin at most even if my calculations are wrong. But, as a Necromancer, even if she dabbled in formation theory, it would be impossible for Hecate to form an Eighth Order Ruin.


    ''The conclusion is obvious. Whether a Seventh or Eighth Order Ruin, it doesn''t matter. It''s impossible for such a lowly ranked Ruin to allow its owner a symbiotic relationship like this Ruin Master is displaying now. This means one of two things¡­


    ''Either he''s bluffing and simply wants to see if he can goad a person he isn''t certain of being present into appear. Or, he''s relying on something else entirely different in order to sense my presence.''


    Ruin Master Vitae could have never expected that his opponent was a Ruin Master by far his better. Ryu''s knowledge of Ruins dwarfed practically everyone in existence. Trying to take advantage of such a scare tactic before him was asking to be slapped in the face.


    The room fell into silence, a deep frown creeping up on the Ruin Master''s face. Unconsciously, he brought his hands together, rotating a ring on his right middle finger.


    Suddenly, Ryu smirked. He understood at that moment why the Ruin Master had called out seemingly arbitrarily.


    Humans often had a knack for feeling the gaze of others. This ability only diminished when the person observing reached a level far beyond that of the individual being observed, either in cultivation or concealment ability.


    There were many theories as to why this might be. Some believed that gazing upon a person tied your karmas together, subtly shifting energy balance of a person. Though one might not consciously understand what happened, you would unconsciously. Others believed that this was an innate instinct humans had similar to the sharp senses of beasts, it was just that we evolved to rely on it less and less, resulting it the ability diminishing through the generations.


    If one were to go through all of the possibilities, it would form a set of volumes even longer than Necromancer Hecate''s life works. But, what was important here was that the ability existed.


    The ring Vitae unconsciously touched answered Ryu''s doubt. When Ryu''s pupils focused on it, he was able to see that this ring was actually a treasure used to detect and raise awareness. It amplified this innate ability of humans by fusing it with one''s Mental Realm, essentially combining instinct with power.


    It served the same function as Ryu''s throbbing pupils, though far less sophisticated. Simply put, Ruin Master Vitae called out to Ryu because his ring warned him that someone was gazing upon him.


    ''This isn''t a simple treasure at all if it''s able to work despite my cloak¡­'' Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    Ryu suddenly jumped out, gliding smoothly across the air as though he was a swallow. His body was as light as a feather and the wind seemed to meld into his being, silently supporting him.


    Ryu knew that as long as he had the intention to attack, his cloaking would be seen through, which meant he only had a single chance. By moving, he was already pushing the ability of his Mystical Grade cloak to its limits, fully aware that it could only display its full strength when he was completely still. But, he only had two choices in this situation: either escape with his tail between his legs, or kill this so-called Ruin Master.


    Ruin Master Vitae was a Middle Divine Vessel Realm expert, a man who was far beyond Ryu''s capabilities as it stood now. But¡­ Ryu had become strong enough to harm such an expert if they insisted on being a motionless combat puppet.


    Ryu closed his eyes. Suddenly, Vitae felt that the thrumming of his ring had come to a complete stop, but this reality only made his nerves stand up taller.


    Though many didn''t know it, becoming a Black Grade Ruin Master while having such low cultivation was unheard of. Usually, only Connecting Heaven Realm experts would be of the Black Grade. Ruin Master Vitae was truly an anomaly.


    Realizing he had poor cultivation talent, he poured himself into the Ruin Master profession after becoming lucky enough to stumble upon a Ruin Matrix. He had hoped to use his profession to make enough money to compensate for his poor talent, and it worked, mostly, but even in his old age, he only managed to become a Divine Vessel Realm expert. If it wasn''t for his status as Ruin Master, he would be considered a minor expert of the Inner Ring.


    He had always imagined himself to be a great man, believing that he could overcome his weakness with hard work, but that was when a heart wrenching reality set in.


    Even if he was a Ruin Master, he could only rely on the commission of others. Even if part of a Ruin Master''s job was finding Ruins themselves, only the best of the best among them could do this. Thanks to his fortuitous encounter, Ruin Master Vitae managed to become one of these individuals. In fact, it was he who found Necromancer Hecate''s Ruins¡­


    The problem was that he was too weak. He didn''t dare to enter Ruins alone, and the ones he could enter alone weren''t good enough to help him transcend his weak talent. It was then he happened upon this Ruin and a new potential path was opened to him.


    What if he relied on corpse puppets instead? With his fortuitous encounter by his side and undead to take on most of the dangers, he would finally be able to leave the mediocrity of his being behind.


    He had finally done it, he had finally found a path forward. So¡­ Why was this happening?


    Ruin Master Vitae looked down at the spear piercing through his heart, his life flashing before his eyes as violent spear qi tore through his inner organs.


    "¡­ Why¡­ I ¡­ I worked so¡­ so hard¡­"


    No one would think Ruin Master Vitae to be a valiant warrior, but watching him cry tears of sorrow in his final moments made Ryu feel uncomfortable in his heart.


    Ruin Master Vitae didn''t even gaze into Ryu''s eyes with any hatred. His expression of resignation was more damning than any other emotion he could have displayed.

 Chapter 215: Legacy

    Ruin Master Vitae collapsed. His final words almost sent Ryu into a tailspin¡­


    What if it was him next time? He worked harder than anyone, but what if it still wasn''t enough? Even worse, what if he lost his life to someone who wasn''t qualified to stand before like Ruin Master Vitae had?


    Ryu sighed, closing his eyes. He had never regretted killing anyone, even his first kill hardly shook him. But this felt different. Even knowing Ruin Master Vitae had just taken an innocent life just moments ago, Ryu couldn''t help but feel uncomfortable.


    Ailsa remained silent, simply allowing Ryu to absorb these truths. If Ryu wanted to one day become an expert, he had to understand the essence of life. The more he experienced, the more feelings he felt, the better it was for his future development.


    If he allowed this to stall him now, he simply was never meant to reach the peak he sought for¡­


    Ryu forcefully moved his gaze from Vitae''s lifeless corpse, gazing toward the others. Two Peak Divine Vessel Realm experts, four Middle Divine Vessel Realm experts, six Lower Divine Vessel Realm experts, and two dozen Spiritual Severing Realm experts, all dead under the schemes of one man.


    Ryu didn''t count this number to help justify Vitae''s death. Instead, he did so to remind himself how fleeting life was. In this situation, so many died, but how many were right and how many were wrong?


    Amarice and Delonte had slighted Morake, but they left him alive. Did they deserve to die for a betrayal? And what about their adventure squads? Maybe they had done other things in their lives to deserve this death, but how would Morake know that? His only goal was the death of the two leaders¡­


    And Vitae, he killed the seemingly innocent Morake, but was Morake innocent at all? For the sake of his revenge, he didn''t care about the lives of more than thirty other individuals. How could he be labeled as innocent?


    ''There really is no objective right or wrong¡­'' Ryu mumbled to himself.


    Ryu seemed to have comprehended something, but the feeling was fleeting. Maybe he wasn''t yet qualified to grasp it in its entirety¡­


    One after another, Ryu placed the corpses within his spatial ring. Since Ruin Master Vitae had been so kind as to prepare so many undead for him, there was no reason to turn his nose up at it. Because he had opened his Spiritual Vessel, Ryu was qualified to control Sixth Order corpse puppets. But, being qualified to do something, and being able to do it, were two different matters entirely. Ryu hadn''t learned a single thing about Necromancy yet, so for now, it was impossible.


    Gazing at Ruin Master Vitae''s corpse, Ryu sighed once more. Considering the damage Ryu had done to his innards, he wasn''t a viable corpse puppet any longer. Though there were many branches of Necromancy that only required the skeleton, Necromancy Hecate''s path required the whole body to be intact.


    Taking off his three rings, Ryu observed them closely. With a thought, he slipped on the ring that he believed increased Vitae''s awareness.


    A moment later, Ryu''s eyes widened. ''This is the Ruin''s Core. No wonder¡­ Its abilities would definitely be greater here than it would be elsewhere. It can help create a pseudo-symbiotic relationship with the Ruins but that''s as far as it goes¡­''


    Looking around at the various lab tools that took up the central portion of this hive-like space, Ryu understood. Hecate used this place as her base of operations. All of her experiments were run here¡­


    ''It''s no wonder she''d create something that helped her keep control of it all. This likely means that these Ruins can also move¡­


    ''¡­ This ring should be of the Heaven Grade. It''s able to increase my Spiritual Sense range by twenty percent and has a built-in threat warning. Within these Ruins, it can increase my Spiritual Sense by one hundred percent and can warn me against the threat of even an Immortal Ring expert. Not bad¡­''


    Ryu didn''t know how useful this ring would be to him, but as the core of these Ruins, he would keep it by his side. He hadn''t forgotten the two guards outside, both of whom were Peak Spiritual Severing. But, Ryu didn''t think he needed much to defeat them. Plus, they should be expecting this expedition to take another several days, so there was no rush to deal with them either.


    Taking his attention away from the Ruin Core, Ryu focused on the remaining two rings, both of which was spatial rings. Without a doubt, there was something that immediately caught his attention.


    ''Ruin Matrix!'' Ryu turned his gaze toward Vitae and shook his head. Though this Ruin Matrix was far inferior to his personal matrix from the Shrine Plane, there was no doubt that it was excellent.


    Ruin Matrices were versatile tools for Ruin Masters and were most definitely their most important possessions. They could be used to do everything from sensing nearby Ruins to calculating the Order of an unknown Ruin.


    Of course, Ruin Matrices were divided into grades of their own. Vitae''s Matrix was actually of the Mystical Grade! This meant that it functioned without loss for Ruins up to the Tenth Order. Functionally speaking, that covered more than ninety-nine percent of Ruin in all of existence.


    Expert Ruin Masters could do without Ruin Matrices, which was why Ryu was still confident in his ability to clear this Ruin. But there was no doubt that a Ruin Matrix made things easier. With it, Ryu could probably clear a Seventh Order Ruin now without increasing his battle prowess.


    ''Convenient. I wouldn''t have been able to afford a decent Matrix for a long while without this encounter..''


    Pouring through the rest of Ruin Master Vitae''s belongings, Ryu found several thick leather books that detailed the Ruin Master profession. This had likely been his fortuitous encounter. With the Ruin Masters being such a noble profession, its secrets were deeply protected. Vitae was very lucky to find this despite how his life ended.


    ''I could definitely sell these books. They alone are worth several Higher Immortal Qi Stones considering they come from the teachings of a Mystical Grade Ruin Master. I''ll only sell one. If I bring out too many books from a Ruin Master of that caliber, anyone with half a brain will guess I stumbled upon a legacy and will assume I''ve hidden the Matrix¡­ I''ll keep the Matrix, though it would likely sell for several Cosmic Qi Stones¡­ It''s worth more than that to me right now. Plus, I can''t protect that kind of wealth nor can I reach an auction house capable of taking such a sale on¡­''


    Finally, after continuing, Ryu found the essence of Hecate''s legacy. Dozens of thick, black books, refinement materials, an odd staff and a black half-mask¡­ This was what remained of Necromancer Hecate.

 Chapter 216: Too

    The volumes of information were as expected. They described the path of necromancy from the ground up, beginning with the simplest of concepts, describing the different branches, before finally focusing on Hecate''s path and her belief structure.


    What was more curious were the half-mask and staff.


    The staff, called the Death Weed Staff, had a few basic functions. It increased Spiritual Qi absorption speed, deepened one''s connection with death, and helped during certain refining procedures.


    Death Weed was a spiritual herb that grew from fallen branches of trees borne of death qi. They had the toughness and consistency of twine, and when layered like this into a tightly woven staff, it could be incredible sturdy. Ryu didn''t find it to be any weaker than his current Earth Grade weapons.


    As for the half-mask, it functioned to obscure one''s visage. It was convention among necromancers to hide their faces. Though being a necromancer wasn''t exactly taboo, it also wasn''t a noble profession either. There were many stories of necromancers who were tracked down and killed for using the corpses of long-dead individuals from lofty Clans.


    In the end, to protect each other, necromancers covered their faces with similar half-masks, making it more difficult to recognize them.


    Of course, this was an incredibly old convention and only used by those who kept the body whole during their refinement process. For Soul or Summoning Necromancers, it was unnecessary. It was also unnecessary for necromancers who refined the body down to the bones.


    Since Hecate''s path was especially grating on one''s senses, it would make sense for her to wear a mask like this.


    The mask itself was of the Higher Heaven Grade and could hide one''s face, scaling to one''s Mental Realm. As a Spiritual Endowment expert, Ryu could protect his face from Divine Vessel, Connecting Heaven Realm and even Immortal Ring experts as long as they hadn''t entered the Soul Birth Realm.


    After sifting through this all that was left was Vitae''s wealth. As a Ruin Master, it didn''t need to be said that he was rich. In fact, he was more wealthy than Leopold¡­ Or, rather, he should have been.


    Ryu could only shake his head. Vitae had spent all of his money resources and cultivation techniques. His spatial ring with filled with Four and Five Star Mortal and Immortal techniques, there were even a few obscenely expensive Six Star Mortal Techniques. Seeing this sight, Ryu understood why this was.


    Vitae had been of poor talent, but he didn''t accept this truth. He thought that maybe he just hadn''t found the right technique for him, so he crazily spent his riches buying endless techniques and trying them one after another.


    With this sort of fickle personality¡­ There was no way he could have become the expert he dreamed of.


    ''I''m not sure if it''s safe to resell these techniques. If I do so, someone sharp might remember that they were originally bought by Vitae. I''m not sure what this man''s background was, but a Ruin Master is bound to have some friends. Someone might even know about his fortuitous encounter and become greedy. If I want to sell them, it can''t be in the Inner Ring, at least¡­''


    Once he finished this, Ryu went through the spatial rings of the adventurers.


    Adventurers were actually just Mercenaries who focused on discovering new lands and exploring novel territories. A group of strong adventurers like this would definitely have some wealth, not having squandered it all like Vitae. Unfortunately, it was less than Ryu expected once again.


    Remembering that Vitae had cheated the adventurers out of six payments, Ryu suddenly understood. Their wealth had likely gone to the spend thrift. At that moment, the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, a man who had never wanted for money, felt frustrated.


    In the end, Ryu accumulated another five thousand Medial Mortal Qi Stones and a fifty Superior Mortal Qi Stones, bringing his wealth to: fifty-two Lower Mortal Qi Stones, fifteen thousand Medial Mortal Qi Stones, one hundred fifty Superior Mortal Qi Stones, and three Lower Immortal Qi Stones.


    ''I should spend this wealth. It''s useless to just accumulate it¡­ The Incubator needs more spiritual herbs to display its value, and I need another defensive treasure. This time, one that lasts me more than just a month¡­''


    Ryu put his gains away. After retreating to the entrance of the Ruin and silently slaughtering the three remaining adventurers, he returned to Hecate''s Lab and began to pour over her legacy.


    It was impossible for Ryu to know whether or not the adventurers or Vitae told anyone else about this Ruin, so he knew that he needed to be careful. He speculated that this Ruin could be moved, so he needed to grasp the essence of it all quickly.


    As it turned out, Hecate''s Ruin was actually an underground Immortal Cave. Immortal Caves were the abodes of high-level cultivators and could be both stationary and mobile. Usually, Immortal Caves were explored by Ruin Masters only when a cultivator died before they could prepare a Legacy World or a Ruin. It was rare for a cultivator to knowingly turn their Immortal Cave into a Ruin.


    Hecate believed that the most noble creature was the Death Worm. According to her teachings, this worm helped death pass on and left life behind. After tearing away the flowery speech, the essence was that Death Worms were scavengers and their feces was excellent fertilizer. Their only specialty was that they were practically immune to death qi, which was odd for such a weak creature.


    Either way, Hecate used this pious belief to construct her Immortal Cave to the image of a Death Worm. If a mortal were to see its full structure, it would look no different from a common earth worm, right down to the grotesque maroon-black exterior. Ryu felt lucky that it was buried underground, or else he really wouldn''t have the face to travel in such a vehicle.


    Ailsa giggled lightly as Ryu finally took hold of the controls, diving deep into the underground.


    Seeing that Ryu didn''t bother to ask her why she was laughing, she took the initiative.


    ''Want to hear something funny?''


    Ryu sighed, having a feeling he knew where this was going. "What is it?"


    ''You entered the Death Worms butthole to get here!'' Ailsa burst into a fit of laughter. If it wasn''t for her small stature and her place on Ryu''s shoulders, there''s no question that her undulating breasts would be the center point of any man''s vision.


    "¡­" Ryu was speechless. "¡­ You entered too¡­" Was all he could say.

 Chapter 217: Death Heir

    After moving the Death Worm Immortal Cave a good distance away, Ryu realized that it had stalled. He would have liked to move it further, but there were two main issues.


    Firstly, it hadn''t been maintained in hundreds of millions of years. Its joints were stiff and its moving parts were definitely in terrible condition. Secondly, movement required energy. After shifting the Immortal Cave''s place several dozen miles away, what remained of its energy was completely drained.


    Ryu would feel very foolish right now if it wasn''t for the fact the Ruin Core allowed him to teleport directly to the closest point on the surface. If not, he would have to dig his way out¡­


    Because of the Immortal Cave''s structure, it was able to chew up dirt from the front and pass it to the back, perfectly concealing its trace. But, this also meant that without the Ruin Core, one could be buried alive if they weren''t careful enough.


    This much was fine for Ryu for now, though. He wasn''t very deep below the surface, but he was deep enough that he didn''t believe any random individual could find him. Plus, the Immortal Cave was still protected by an Illusory Array of the Heaven Grade. Not just anyone could see through it. At least not without a Ruin Matrix.


    Now that he wasn''t worried about being found in a short time, Ryu turned his attention back to Hecate''s Legacy. He still had the words of Delonte in the back of his mind, but for now, he ignored the treasure that started the feud between Amarice, Delonte and Morake. Ryu was sure there were likely some clues within his spatial ring about where he hid it, but for now, he couldn''t be bothered.


    In truth, had Ryu had the Ruin Matrix before choosing Hecate''s Ruin, he likely would have chosen another target. He had only chosen Hecate because he believed her Ruin had fallen to a manageable Fifth Order and was mildly interested in her perspectives, but that was all.


    Still, he seriously considered the information she left behind.


    ''Do you know anything about necromancy, Little Ryu?'' Ailsa asked.


    "Not much¡­ I''m only familiar with its superficial knowledge, like its three main branches and the numerous sub-branches. Of these, Hecate falls within the Refinement Necromancer Branch and created her own special sub-branch known as the Living Refinement Necromancer Branch."


    The three main branches of necromancy were Soul Necromancy, Summoning Necromancy and Refinement Necromancy.


    Soul Necromancers were masters of reaping souls. In terms of difficulty, they were actually ranked second among the three. This was because the only souls that could be reaped were ones that had undergone Soul Birth, meaning the minimum requirement of a corpse puppet a Soul Necromancer was that it had to be fresh, no more than a few minutes, and that it had to be the corpse of an Immortal Ring expert at the very least.


    One can see from this minimum requirement that one must already be powerful to even think of choosing this path.


    Summoning Necromancy, though, proudly stood at first ranked in difficulty. Oddly enough, it didn''t have such a high minimum threshold, but the danger was several times more apparent¡­ This was because Summoning Necromancers communicated with the Nether World.


    When Ryu spoke with Monalise, the very place they didn''t dare to speak of, the very place Ryu''s father had entered to try and pull his dead son back¡­ Was this very Nether World.


    Summoning Necromancers communicated with the Nether World and formed contracts with demons and devils of the Nether World, bringing them to the world of the living to fight for them. Even if some looked down on Necromancers, none dared to look down upon Summoning Necromancers. These individuals were without a doubt some of the most powerful experts to ever exist.


    Unfortunately, with power, came rarity. It was quite ironic. Ryu had found the entrance to the Nether World, something countless Summoning Necromancers of the past tried and failed to do, because he located the Death Shrine. But, he didn''t know of a single Summoning Necromancer Ruin¡­ This was because experts of that caliber would definitely form Legacy Worlds. Though an eccentric who forewent forming a Legacy World to create a Ruin might exist, Ryu hadn''t found him or her.


    Finally, there was the most common of Necromancy paths, the Refinement Necromancer. These individuals were the most often thought of when necromancers were mentioned and directly created their corpse puppets from either the full bodies or skeletons of experts.


    Usually, top tier Refinement Necromancers could create corpse puppets that retained seventy percent of its original fighting ability, but most could only maintain about thirty percent. This dip was then made up for by further refinement to strengthen the puppet, sometimes resulting in an undead stronger than its living original.


    According to Hecate, there were many different ways to refine corpses. Some used spiritual herbs, others used natural resources such as volcanos, while others preferred to turn their corpses into undead weapons, integrating precious metals into them.


    Strictly speaking, comprehension of death qi wasn''t necessary to control corpse puppets, but it was an integral part of the refinement process. In addition, comprehension of death qi greatly lessened the mental burden of controlling corpses as well, not to mention prevented corpses from rotting.


    In order to control a corpse, one needed to form a Death Seal. Some were more complex than others. The prestige of a Death Seal is usually what decided the prestige of Necromancer. Famous Necromancy Clans and Sects had extraordinarily deep legacies revolving around their Death Seals.


    Hecate''s Death Seal was quite good. In fact, it was fairly impressive. She had a legacy capable of sealing corpses up to the Eighth Order. This was quite good for a Refinement Necromancer.


    What was more impressive was that Hecate''s seals mandated the manipulation of death qi. Though simpler Death Seals skipped over this requirement, more complex and intricate seals made it a necessity. The fact Hecate''s mandated it was more proof that it was quite a good Death Seal.


    The issue that remained was that¡­ Ryu had no idea how to manipulate Death Qi.


    Seeing through the essence of the seals and remembering their structure was as easy as breathing for Ryu. But, he had no idea how to form them.


    There were only two options. Ryu had to either become a Death Heir and learn to manipulate death qi through it¡­ Or he had to use the cultivation techniques Hecate left behind to accumulate death qi¡­ Not wanting to comprehend just any Inheritance, Ryu had no choice but to choose the latter.

 Chapter 218: Find It

    Ryu had chosen to cultivate three Six Star cultivation techniques at once. However, each focused primarily on increasing qi density and didn''t have any special abilities. Though this neutral type qi was the easiest to accumulate, with this ease came the disadvantage of being a master of none. Neutral qi could meld into any technique, but it was impossible to take a technique to its theoretical peak using neutral qi, reason being every technique had a type of qi most suitable to it.


    In this case, though Death Seals could be formed without the use of death qi, the very best Death Seals could not do without it. If Ryu wanted to form one, he would have no choice but to learn to manipulate Death Qi.


    Ryu sighed. ''If I knew this ahead of time, I probably wouldn''t have invested so much time into reaching this place.''


    In the end, Ryu was reluctant to convert his neutral qi into death qi. The singular benefit of Necromancy it wasn''t worth it, especially since it was mere Refinement Necromancy. If it was the Legacy of a Summoning Necromancer before him, he wouldn''t hesitate in the slightest.


    Ryu was still too immature in the ways of the martial world. Because he wasn''t familiar with the specifics of numerous paths, he had neglected such an important point. This was yet another lesson for him.


    If only he had a Cultus Faerie, he wouldn''t even need a Legacy to become a Summoning Necromancer.


    Ailsa smiled. ''What are you worrying for with me here? Do you believe I would let you waste so much time by coming here? You look down on your Big Sis too much.''


    Ryu turned to Ailsa who sat on his shoulder, a peculiar light in his eyes.


    "You have a way?"


    ''Mhm, mhm.'' Ailsa smiled a devious smiled. ''But you have to call me Big Sis first.''


    Ryu coughed. You''re almost a billion years old, can''t you be a bit more mature?


    ''Hmph, what did I tell you about speaking of a lady''s age?''


    Ryu cleared his throat. "Please help me, Big Sis."


    Ailsa was surprised Ryu caved so easily, it took all the fun out of it. But, she could only sigh. Ryu had definitely calculated that this would deal the best blow to her. What a sneaky little boy.


    ''You''re forgetting something very important. The miniature dantian of your [Six Realm Opening] technique aren''t just for show.''


    Ryu''s eyes shone. Of his three qi techniques, this one was maybe the most curious. It was able to expand one''s Qi Pulses to be used as a store of qi, thus vastly increasing a cultivator''s energy stores. To now, Ryu had opened four of them to enter the Higher Qi Refinement Realm. He had two more to go, one for the Peak Qi Refinement Realm, and the final for the Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm.


    ''The best benefit of [Six Realm Opening] isn''t just its greater energy stores, you can essentially treat each miniature dantian as its own little world. As your true dantian has a Spiritual Foundation within it, you can build new foundations within your miniature dantians. Of course, these won''t be Spiritual Foundations as you won''t be able to plant Cosmic Seeds in them in the future, but they still have great use to you.


    ''Usually, cultivating multiple qi types is next to impossible except for those with special Bone Structures. For example, the Heaven Grade Twin Star Bone Structure, the Sovereign Grade Yin-Yang Bone Structure, or the Ancestral Grade Karmic Flow Bone Structure, to name a few. However, there are also special bloodline, meridians and cultivation techniques as well.''


    [Author''s Note: For talent grades (bloodline, bone structure, spiritual foundation) the mystical grade is replaced with the sovereign grade. So, one step above heaven grade].


    Ailsa laughed, seeing that Ryu understood her meaning.


    ''The mortal [Six Realm Opening] technique will allow you to cultivate and use six separate qis. The immortal [Six Realm Opening], after you open your Qi Vessels, will allow you six more.


    ''Under normal circumstances, the mortal [Six Realm Opening] would only allow you to store inferior qi types of a lower grade. You normally wouldn''t be able to access higher qi grades until you began using the immortal version of the technique, but even then if you wanted to store the highest grade qis, you''d have to rely on your True Dantian. But, because you have Chaotic Silk meridians, these limitations don''t apply to you. So¡­ What once was a generally ignored auxiliary ability of this technique is akin to giving a tiger wings to you¡­''


    Ryu didn''t need to hear anymore. Since he didn''t need to convert all of his qi into death qi, and only needed to occupy a single one of his Pulses with this qi, this matter became extremely convenient. The only gripe he had was that Hecate''s cultivation technique ¨C [Gravestone Hymn] ¨C was only Four Star and gathered an inferior type of death qi.


    Unfortunately, Death Qi was a broad umbrella term that encompassed many qis suitable for this category. Hecate''s death qi was nominally known as Grave Qi and was a Heaven Grade qi type. Luckily, this meant it reached the bare requirements for having an Immortal version of itself. Unfortunately, it would never see the Cosmic Qi realm.


    Qi grades of Common and Black, and many Earth only had Mortal Qi versions. Some Earth and all Heaven Grade qis had Immortal Qi versions, meaning they could be used into the Connecting Heaven Realm. Only Mystical and Ancestral Grade Qis could upgrade further into Cosmic Qi. Luckily for many, neutral qi was unranked and could smoothly transition to the very best Cosmic Qi.


    Still, Ryu was content with this for now. With the Ruin Matrix, a wider door had opened up for him. So, he quickly focused on cultivating this new Grave Qi.


    **


    Within the Inner Ring, a group of white-haired elders had come together, each exuding powerful auras.


    "It''s already been almost a half year since Second Grand Elder Leopold''s Life Flame extinguished. And now, yet another member of our Zu Clan is dead¡­ Elder Delonte''s Life Flame has vanished."


    For their once mighty Clan, the loss of a Connecting Heaven and a Peak Divine Vessel Realm expert was too much. Their strength had declined by at least half in less than a year.  A truly devastating blow.


    "Finding the culprit is important, but I''m sure you all are thinking something else. Whatever treasure Elder Delonte used to grow so powerful so quickly¡­ With his death, we must find it."

 Chapter 219: Death Seal

    The Zu Elders looked toward the elder who spoke with incredulous gazes. Clans always placed benefits over everything else, but this truth was always hidden beneath a veneer of politeness. However, this elder didn''t seem to care for such things at all.


    "We don''t have the luxury of playing up a fa?ade of good heartedness. Our Zu Clan has fallen generation after generation, from a mighty people, to scattering cockroaches, to a point where we can finally lift our heads again.


    "Second Grade Elder was our hope to return to this Realm''s highest peak once more, but he''s failed due to unknown reasons. Now, a promising youth has fallen as well.


    "You all know as well as I that Elder Delonte is not as talented as he''s shown in the past few decades. However, we have all refrained from prying into his secrets from him for various reasons¡­ Namely because we are not in a state where we can afford to have internal strife within our Clan."


    The elders shook their heads at their First Grand Elder''s shamelessness.


    The first part of his words were true. Many years ago, Mental Realm Masters were taboo. Due to the actions of a few, they were ostracized from society and forced to hide. As a result, not everyone aware of the secrets of the Tatsuya Clan''s fall were angry. Some, like this very Zu Clan, were very happy, believing the Tatsuya Clan got what they deserved.


    However, the second part was nonsense. Why was it that a member of a Clan of great standing in the Inner Ring was denigrated to the point of becoming a mere adventurer and mercenary? It was precisely because their First Grand Elder pushed him into a corner, forcing him to leave the Clan.


    They were a Half-Step Sixth Order Clan, yet one of their Elders was an adventurer, how embarrassing was that?


    This Order grade might seem just a single step above the Fifth Order, but don''t be fooled. The difference between the Zu Clan and the Awoken Moon Sect was akin to Heaven and Earth. The only way to gain the ''Half-Step'' moniker was by having an expert an entire Order above, but lacking the necessary number of, of Order experts.


    Simply put, the Zu Clan had a Seventh Order expert ¨C a mighty Immortal Ring Realm Ancestor ¨C but just didn''t have enough Connecting Heaven Realm experts to meet the requisite ten minimum requirement!


    This strength was enough to rank them within the top five powers of the Inner Ring. Yet, once again, one of their elders was an adventurer¡­


    Decades ago, the oddity in Delonte''s cultivation speed was exposed. Back then, it hadn''t been obvious enough to warrant a feverish attempt by them, but the First Grand Elder still elected to hold a ''disciple choosing competition''.


    As expected, Delonte won though he shouldn''t have, which led to a fiendish round of questioning from the First Grand Elder. Luckily for Delonte, he was clever and quickly left the Clan, becoming an adventurer soon after.


    Many years later, the Zu Clan, hearing of his exploits, conferred him the title of Elder, hoping he would come back. But, it had already been over a decade since then and not even Delonte''s shadow had re-entered their Clan lands. There was only one person to blame for all of this.


    Pretending not to see the weird gazes, the First Grand Elder continued.


    "Ancestor and Patriarch Zu are laying the foundation for our Clan to enter the Core Region within the next few thousand years, but this will be impossible without becoming a true Sixth Order Clan first. Finding Delonte''s treasure is of utmost importance. I propose we mobilize our Clan''s resources and find out the truth behind these matters¡­ No one is qualified to stop us."


    With his word being the highest authority remaining in the Clan, the First Grand Elder''s ''suggestion'' became law. Soon, the Zu Clan began to mobilize their resources, upturning every stone.


    Unfortunately for the remaining Clans of the Inner Ring, the Zu Clan''s influence was too strong. Even the remaining four Clans matching them in strength didn''t dare to act rashly. Everyone knew how dangerous Mental Realm Masters were¡­ They were the last enemy anyone wanted to make.


    Plus, under the guise of investigating the death of an Elder, the Zu Clan had the moral high ground.


    **


    Ryu quickly grasped the essence of the Four Star cultivation technique, [Gravestone Hymn]. Since he cultivated neutral qi, it didn''t clash with his current cultivation at all. In addition, once the Grave Qi was stored within his first Qi Pulse, it would no longer affect his subsequent qi comprehensions as well.


    According to Ailsa, it was also possible to abolish qi he had comprehended, but this came with a price. Any cultivation breakthroughs or progression he made with this qi would also be abolished. So, Ryu had to be selective with how he used Grave Qi.


    He didn''t expect to continuously rely on a mere Heaven Grade Qi from a Four Star technique. With the Ruin Matrix, he would be able to take his time and find Ruins which would likely store better death qi cultivation techniques.


    With all of this in mind, Ryu didn''t use the Grave Qi he began to accumulate to push his realm forward. Instead, he sent it directly to his Qi Pulse, slowly gathering it into a revolving orb separate from his remaining cultivation. This way, he could abolish it any time without worry.


    In order to measure his progress, Ryu gauged his accumulated Grave Qi by how many Death Seals it could form. Specifically, how many Fifth Order Death Seals it could form.


    After about three days, he had reached one unit. After a week, he reached three. Ryu chose to stop after this. He calculated that the limit his Qi Pulse could hold was about a hundred. This translated to one if the unit was for Six Order Death Seals.


    Ryu currently had twelve Fifth Order corpses, but no Sixth Order ones, so this didn''t matter much for now. Still, he only planned to form two corpse puppets, one with Amarice, and the other with Delonte, both of whom were Peak Divine Vessel Realm experts before their death. This would lead to a qualitative increase in his comprehensive strength¡­ If he could learn to control them, that is.


    After forming his first Death Seal, Ryu''s struggles truly began.


    First, when he tried to imprint the Seal with a stamp from his Spiritual Qi, he shattered it due to the fact his Mental Realm now had a lightning character. By the time he learned to separate the lightning from his Spiritual Qi, he found out that controlling a corpse wasn''t anywhere near as easy as he first thought¡­

 Chapter 220: Oblivious

    Amarice struggled to stand up, only to fall face first, her tall nose bending at an awkward angle.


    She moved to push herself up, but she ended up flipping her legs over her head, resulting in her armored skirt flipping upward an revealing a bit too much.


    Maybe, if she hadn''t been a corpse with ghastly grey skin, it would have been an attractive sight. But to Ryu, even if she was alive, he was too frustrated to enjoy the view either way.


    Ailsa clutched her toned belly, laughing so hard that her ample chest rippled like ocean waters under the moonlight. Ryu hardly ever had embarrassing moments on this level, how could she not take full advantage? In fact, she had entered her true full form, just so she could get her jokes off more easily.


    Wiping her tears, she decided to finally help. "Little Ryu, you''re like a weightlifter trying to learn the technique and form of a complicated lift, but you''re still using a fully loaded bar instead of a weightless one. What did you expect would happen?"


    Ryu paused, leaving Amarice''s corpse awkwardly sprawled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    "What do you mean?"


    "No matter her dainty body, Amarice was still a Divine Vessel Realm expert. The armor on her body weighs at least several ten thousand jin. Controlling the tendons and ligaments of an expert on that level is hard enough without you making it even more difficult on yourself.


    "Replace her armor with some light cloth to cover he decency. Then practicing should become easier."


    "Ah¡­" Understanding, Ryu put Ailsa''s words into action, removing Amarice''s armor and clothing her in one of his black robes.


    Seeing that they were a bit tall for her, he cut around the bottom edges so that they black fabric covered a portion of her calves. Then, he began to practice once more.


    He immediately felt the effects of Ailsa''s advice. Without so much weight on her body, Amarice herself only clocked in at about sixty jin. This gave Ryu a much large margin of error because it was now much easier to center her gravity.


    [Author''s Note: From sources I''ve read, 1 jin = 1 kg. Even if that''s not true, that''s the metric I''ll continue to use just for the sake of continuity].


    Refinement Necromancers needed as deep an understanding of the human body as healers did. Even if one refined a corpse down to its bones, it was necessary to use principles of the human body''s musculoskeletal system in order to efficiently control your undead. Of course, if your corpse puppet wasn''t human, you''d have to come to understand that species, whatever it might be, as well.


    To control Amarice, Ryu had to learn to use the tendons and ligaments of her body like the pullies of a complex system. But¡­ This was only the beginning.


    Control of tendons and ligaments were for fine motor control, but controlling them alone couldn''t bring out the full strength of a corpse puppet. In order to do that, one would need to learn to activate large muscle systems, blood vessels, and meridians.


    Ryu was struggling with just the first part, who knew when he could use them in battle¡­


    Luckily, as an Herbologist, Ryu had a deep understanding of the human body as he needed to be very familiar with it to understand how certain herbs react when ingested. So, he skipped over a major step, but there was much fine tuning still to be done. Every human had little quirks that made them different. Amarice''s body was different from Delonte''s not only because she was a woman, but also because she was her own person. It was up to a skilled necromancer to understand how to bring out the full potential of their corpse puppet.


    "Amarice''s path focuses on speed and agility, but Delonte''s body is very weak, it seems he was a Mental Realm Master¡­"


    "Mm." Ailsa nodded. "It''s unfortunate. Amarice likely believed that since she was a woman, speed and agility was her only path. But the reality is that she had a very unique structure suitable for strength and power. Because of that, it would probably be easier if you tried to learn to control Delonte first. Or, better yet, one of the Spiritual Severing Realm experts.


    "The greater one''s cultivation, the stronger their bodies even if they don''t focus on the Body Realm. And the stronger a corpse''s body, the harder it is to learn to manipulate."


    "Is there no way to bring out Delonte''s best talent?"


    Ailsa shook her head. "In order to use his Mental Realm''s talent and abilities, you''d have to be a Soul Necromancer. Unfortunately, by the time you gained an appropriate Legacy, his soul would have long since dispersed. In fact, it already has. Plus, even if it hadn''t, he hasn''t entered the Soul Birth Realm yet."


    Ryu nodded. This meant that Amarice would be his only puppet truly capable of fighting against Peak Divine Vessel experts. Delonte''s was weaker by comparison, so Higher Divine Vessel Realm experts was likely his limit, maybe Middle.


    Of course, this was due to Hecate''s unique refinement procedures. Usually, after refinement into a corpse puppet, one would gain an undead with only about 70% of their true strength at best. But, Hecate''s eccentric method allowed for a 90% translation of strength. If Ryu refined Delonte''s corpse to make him sturdier, he''d be able to exert the strength of a Peak Divine Vessel Realm expert in due time.


    "You''re also being too stubborn." Ailsa said reprimandingly. "The true benefit of Hecate''s refinement method is in leaving corpse puppets with simple wills of their own. You should be able to control them by giving them simple one-word commands instead of controlling them down to their finest muscle fibers."


    Ryu shook his head. "I''ll use simple one-word commands for the weaker ones. But for my strongest puppets, I need to control their actions to the finest detail. Because in all likelihood, if I have to bring them out¡­ My back will be against the wall."


    Though difficult, the world of necromancy was slowly intriguing Ryu. He hadn''t even fully delved into the true meat of this fantastical world. Aside from the three main branches, there were countless other reputable ideologies that fell under their umbrella such as Liche Commanders, Liche Refiners, and even the mysterious Shadow Necromancers.


    But for now, Ryu kept his mind on this singular task, slowly letting the weeks float away as he refined his control. After more than two months, Ryu finally left the Death Worm Immortal Cave, heading for the Inner Ring. His mind was filled with thoughts of finding resources to get the Immortal Cave back in working shape. All the while, Delonte''s treasure became a faint afterthought, oblivious to the chaos he had caused.

 Chapter 221: Fuming

    After another month of travel, Ryu had made his way to the Inner Ring. Luckily, thanks to Ailsa''s help, he wouldn''t have to travel a month once more to get back to the Death Worm Immortal Cave which was now currently resting in a corner of the Incubator.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu found his way to a bustling city. The map Granny Miriam gave him didn''t have any details about the Inner Ring, but luckily, he managed to find multiple maps within the spatial rings of the adventurers. After all, how could they be adventurers without such a thing?


    Though it was good news that he found a city so easily, this city unfortunately wasn''t as convenient to enter as Valor City had been. While the latter only asked for a fee, this city seemed to have quite a complicated process¡­ Or else the line wouldn''t stretch for several hundred meters like it was now.


    Ryu sighed. His life was really too different now. A Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, waiting in line like a commoner. He couldn''t help but smile bitterly as he obediently followed procedures.


    ''I''m no longer a Scion¡­ I need to remember this lest I cause myself problems in the future.''


    Hearing these thoughts of her Life Partner, Ailsa giggled and shook her head. She knew that if push came to shove, Ryu would toss these words to the back of his mind without regard.


    ''The Immortal Qi Stones you have no should be able to power the Death Worm for some time. What''s most necessary now is finding tools for fixing up its mechanisms. Most Immortal Caves have self-healing formations in place, so we just need a method to stimulate them.'' Ailsa explained.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. ''How long could just three Inferior Immortal Qi Stones power such a large structure for?''


    ''Immortal Caves focused on sustainability, so they''re usually quite efficient. Hecate''s Immortal Cave is also able to gather up energy for itself, it just needs qi stones to catalyze the reaction.''


    ''¡­ I see.''


    Immortal Caves were mostly used by experts who lived their lives in seclusion. Though the Tatsuya Clan had a view, it had to be known that the primary function of Immortal Caves was to act as homes, some only had movement as a secondary ability. So, there were much more convenient treasures for travel, which was why Ryu didn''t have much experience with them.


    "The daily entrance cap of our Looming City has almost been reached! Only ten more individuals will be allowed in! The rest of you, please find separate accommodations!"


    The guards manning the city gates spoke in a booming voice, causing many to be dejected. Still, they didn''t dare to raise a fuss as the line slowly dispersed. Unlike the Valor Guards, the Looming Guards were much greater level experts, each being of the Spiritual Severing Realm at a minimum.


    Quickly counting his place, Ryu sighed a breath of relief. After waiting for hours from dawn to now, he was currently in sixth place. It wouldn''t be much longer before he could enter.


    Soon, it was Ryu''s turn.


    "Name?" The guard''s eyes sharpened at Ryu''s appearance. He didn''t seem to be any older than eighteen, but his qi density matched his own. Any tiredness he had for the previous proceedings seemingly vanished.


    "Ryu¡­"


    "Last name?" The guard pressed.


    Ryu inwardly grit his teeth. He felt a deep shame in his heart, one that suffocated him to the point he was unable to breathe. But, remembering Ailsa''s warning, he forced himself to push that feeling down.


    "I have none." He answered coldly.


    Ailsa''s usually happy expression grew somber, knowing how hard this moment was for her Little Ryu. But, she could only silently support him, knowing that this was for the best.


    The guard stood in shock. It wasn''t rare to find those without surnames, in fact, such people were everywhere. Inherited names held power, which was why only those who had established respectable Clans could pass on their names, the minimum requirement being a First Order Clan. Commoners had given names, but no surnames.


    Seeing Ryu''s talent and reaction to his question, the guard''s eyes shifted with a bit of pity.


    "No need to dwell on such useless things young man. You''re very talented, you''ll definitely have your own Inherited name one day. State your purpose please."


    "I have come to seek the treasures of the Looming City Auction House."


    The guard nodded. "Final question, how long will your stay be?"


    "Is there a limit?" Ryu wondered.


    "There is none, but there is a difference in fee depending on your answer. Those who have come seeking permanent residence must have a cultivation or talent of a certain caliber. As for those staying for various amounts of time, the entrance fee is one hundred gold which can last you three days. After three days, the price becomes one Inferior Mortal Qi Stone a day.


    Ryu nodded. "I would like to stay for one month."


    "There''s a discount in this case for those who buy their time in bulk. Just ten Inferior Mortal Qi Sto ¨C"


    At that moment, a rushing wind whipped across the plain outside of Looming City.


    Subconsciously, everyone looked up to see a speeding carriage hovering in the sky without wheels, pulled along by strong Fourth Order Wind Falcons. The carriage was a beautiful pristine white, completely unblemished. If one looked closely, it was possible to see three heart pounding beauties seated within, each with varying temperaments.


    Soon, the carriage flew over what remained of the dispersing line and entered the city.


    The guard looked toward the five remaining individuals with an awkward expression. "I''m sorry, it seems we''ll have to cut the remaining quota down. Since four entered, three women and one driver, this young man will have to be the final allowed guest¡­"


    Dejected, the four individuals behind Ryu felt their faces redden with rage. But in the end, they could only swallow their hatred and bow their heads.


    Ryu sighed a breath of relief once more, taking out ten qi stones and handing them over.


    "BEAUTIFUL FAIRIES, WAIT! ALLOW THIS YOUNG MASTER TO TREAT YOU TO DINNER!"


    Ryu''s eyes sharpened. He looked over his shoulder to see another streaking carriage, this time pulled by a crimson horse galloping in the air ¨C A Fourth Order Bloodied Steed.


    Rage he had pressed down came bubbling upward. He just spent three quarters of his day doing nothing but waiting in line. Then, he suffered the worst humiliation of his life, claiming that he had no Inherited name. He would rather die than lower his head again in such quick succession.


    A glaive reflecting a beautiful violet light appeared in his hand.


    "¡­! Young man, don''t act rashly! I can still help y -!"


    It was already too late.


    Ryu''s arm flexed and his glaive lashed out, shooting out a stream of qi that held his tempered down feelings.


    In an instant, the driver was shocked silly as the reins in his hands and harness were perfectly sliced in half.


    Losing the support of the crimson horse, the carriage crashed down from the skies under the shocked gazes of the spectators.


    It skidded several hundred meters, only barely stopping before the city gates.


    Having given the Looming Guard his qi stones, Ryu took his identification plaque and walked into the city without looking back, his expression fuming.

 Chapter 222: Nameless

    "WHO DARES?!"


    A booming voice erupted from the carriage, followed by its quick destruction. An enraged cultivator shattered the vessel into a rain of splintered wood and bent metal, his disheveled figure shooting into the skies while his reddened eyes scanned the culprits below.


    If one looked closely, it was easy to tell that his image had once been elegant. But the tumble from the skies had definitely destroyed whatever semblance of that essence he once had.


    Though he was a great expert, clearly seen by his ability to fly, the change had been too sudden. Before he realized what happened, his carriage was tumbling from the skies. Just a moment ago, he was chasing beauties, but now he had embarrassed himself to this extent.


    "YOU DAMNED DRIVER!"


    The young man''s hand stretched outward, sending a surge of qi forward that pulled the poor driver''s neck into his hand.


    "Young Master Basteel, please¡­!" The driver struggled, his legs dangling from below. "Someone cut the reins and harness! It truly wasn''t my fault!"


    "Someone what?"


    The young man surnamed Basteel suddenly calmed. If what his driver was saying was true, this might mean that someone equal to him in stature had taken action. After all, who else would dare to act against him if not such a person?


    Just a few moments ago, he had been calling out to a carriage carrying three young ladies. Considering their beauty and the prestige of their Clans, he obviously had many competitors that might be unhappy toward his pursuit.


    His thoughts only seemed more validated by the fact this person didn''t attack him directly. Whoever could precisely cut the reins and harness of a carriage moving at such speeds was a great expert, yet they hadn''t taken advantage of the moment to harm him. This was in line with the actions those Clan Scions would take.


    Though they fought amongst each other quite frequently, they never went overboard, and most definitely didn''t attempt to kill one another. That said, embarrassing him like this was well in line with their usual actions, causing his expression to grow solemn.


    "Which young master has acted against me today? Will you continue to hide?"


    Young Master Basteel looked toward the ground below, scanning the area to see who might have done it. But, all he found were awkward expressions that tried to avoid his gaze. The longer the perpetrator remained silent, the angrier the blood boiling his veins became.


    "Y-young master¡­ I ¨C I." The driver tried to speak, but having been cut off from his air circulation for so long, he directly passed out, unable to stand it any longer.


    "Hm?" Young Master Basteel released his grip and shook the driver awake.


    "Young master, it wasn''t one of them who did this."


    The frown on the young master''s face deepened.


    "I¡­ I couldn''t see clearly, but it was definitely someone waiting in line who took action against young master. Someone of your stature would n ¨C" The driver cut off his next words, remaining silent.


    His next words were clear. No one of Young Master Basteel''s stature would ever wait in line to enter the city. Young masters like him and the girls that entered before him entered and exited as they pleased. In fact, they didn''t care for the population cap at all. It wasn''t rare to see one of them entering the city after the daily counts were finished, only for some pitiful soul who had waited in line all day to be kicked out.


    Unfortunately, for a city as large as Looming City, it had to be strictly controlled. If too many people were allowed to enter, it would lessen the prestige of the city and also lessen the enjoyment of visiting it. While normal people had to factor this into their actions, these Scions hardly cared.


    Young Master Basteel turned his gaze to the Looming Guard who stood at the gates with an awkward expression.


    "Is what he said true."


    "Replying to Young Master Basteel¡­ This is true." The guard cleared his throat.


    Young Master Basteel''s gaze turned toward the back of a man walking further and further into the depths of the city. Ryu hadn''t even attempted to run after his actions, in fact, his gait was steady as could be as he walked forward without a care for those at his back.


    Seeing this Young Master Basteel, who had been curious about who dared to attack him in this way without having status, felt his rage bubble back up. To so blatantly disrespect him yet not even run for your life, the level of arrogance more than rubbed him the wrong way.


    "What is his name, I''m sure he was forced to leave it."


    "This¡­" The guard wasn''t meant to reveal such information so freely, or everyone would look down on their Looming City. But seeing his gaze, he had no choice. "¡­ His name is ¡­ Ryu."


    "Ryu?" Young Master Basteel frowned. For some reason, at that moment, he remembered his younger brother speaking to him about a man he met during his Herbology Exam. That young man called himself Ryu Tatsuya¡­ Could it be?


    "His last name?" The young master pressed.


    "¡­ He had none."


    "None?"


    The young master''s eyes sharpened. There were too many people in the world. Of course many would share the same first name. Plus, there was no way someone with such a powerful last name would ever forsake his Inherited name by saying he didn''t have one. Doing so was nothing less than slapping the face of your Ancestors.


    "YOU NAMELESS BASTARD! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Young Master Basteel''s voice boomed.


    Hearing these words, Ryu''s steps paused. His back stood tall like an ancient statue.


    For a long while, he didn''t say a single word. It was as though he was letting the words he just heard to seep into his very being.


    However, as time passed, the pressure around him seemed to grow explosively. The air became heavy, the wind surging around him sharpening with each passing moment.


    A baleful aura spiraled around his body. It seemed that someone wanted to die.

 Chapter 223: Say It Again!

    Ryu''s black cloaked figure stood frozen. Standing on the main road of entry to the core of Looming City, the number of individuals around him wasn''t countless, but it was most definitely quite a few.


    The wind began to respond to Ryu''s emotion, or seemingly lack thereof. It whipped around violently, listening to the hums of his Northern Heavenly Wind.


    Ailsa remained silent. There was only so much she could ask of Ryu. At this point in his life, she knew him better than anyone. She could see his thoughts, his struggles, his hopes, his dreams.


    Everyday, Ryu would cultivate as though he would die the next. He didn''t rest, he didn''t do things for enjoyment, he hadn''t even attempted to forge relationships.


    Though Ailsa knew all of these things to be unhealthy, what could she do? Could she tell Ryu, while the Fate of his family was unknown, to ''take it easy''? To ''relax a little bit''? No matter how often such words were on the tip of her tongue, she could never manage to force them out.


    Today was the first time she ever received a true concession from Ryu. In truth, she didn''t even count his choice to call her Big Sister among such a list, purely because she understood that he had taken a step back only so that she would be more capable of helping him in the future. But, Ryu forsaking his own name was something far beyond that.


    These were all things Ailsa understood, but she buried them deep within her heart.


    The Ryu of now couldn''t keep going like this. He couldn''t live and breathe to cultivate, he couldn''t exist purely for the sake of revenge, he couldn''t make any and everything his enemy. Yet this was the head space he was in currently, and it was something Ailsa had no real idea how to fix.


    So, what would happen when Ryu was suddenly disrespected in such a blatant fashion? When a pain he tried to keep hidden away within the depths of his soul was drudged up by a foolish young master?


    Ryu''s head slowly turned back, his eyes radiating an endless frost. A chilly wind seemed to want to freeze everything in the path of his gaze as his eyes landed on the Basteel Young Master in the skies.


    The young master shivered before quickly regaining control of his body. There was something deeply unsettling about Ryu''s gaze, it felt as though the whole weight of the world was crashing down upon him.


    In truth, Ryu was wearing a mask, the very same black half-mask he gained from Hecate. The Looming City Guard didn''t ask Ryu to remove it because all he needed was Ryu''s qi signature to complete the registration process. With Ryu''s qi signature, as long as he committed a crime, finding him would be incredibly easy.


    Unfortunately, the guard had no way of knowing that Ryu could use multiple qis at will. He used Grave Qi to complete his registration, but his true qi signature was written in neutral qi. Ryu wouldn''t be so foolish to hand these individuals his everything.


    So, when he turned his gaze back toward the man in the sky, his heartbeat with thoughts of murder. A deep rage was welling up inside him, crawling its way up his body and clawing at his throat, trying to find a way out.


    Ailsa''s expression changed. ''He shouldn''t have to deal with this so soon. His strongest current bloodline is his Lightning Qilin bloodline, so why is the Rage Fire of his Fire Dragon Bloodline burning so strongly?!''


    Ailsa''s visage changed once more, suddenly understanding. Ryu had just claimed he was nameless, but both he and Ailsa knew that this was not the case at all.


    Though Ryu understood that he had to do this for his own safety, and Ailsa pressed him, there was one thing they both of them hadn''t factored in¡­


    How would the Fire Dragon within Ryu react to knowing its host had forsaken it?


    Tatsuya. It wasn''t just any name. It was the title of the mighty Ancient Fire Dragon, and Ryu had just woken a slumbering beast by slapping it across the snout¡­ Or, rather, this young master had.


    In that instant, the stones beneath Ryu''s feet shattered. The once cold breeze immediately became a scalding hot as Ryu''s silver pupils became a scarlet red.


    Those in the surroundings backed away. Despite many of them being strong cultivators themselves, they found it hard to be near Ryu. It was almost as though they''d be burnt to ashes if they approached too closely.


    Ailsa sighed. ''Little Ryu, you cannot kill him. No matter what, you cannot kill him.''


    Her words received no response. Veins bulged across Ryu''s skin, but, though their color should have been a vile blue-green, they actually pulsed with an vitality filled red-gold, as though molten lava was coursing within his body.


    The young master faltered in the skies. He had thought he had regained control of his body, but he suddenly began to sweat profusely. His once luxurious robes began to appear as though they had spent hours in the rain, his black hair sticking to the sides of his face.


    Ryu looked down at his body. His sudden action was akin to abruptly releasing a tightly held rope. Before the young master could react, he fell from the skies. Unable to recollect himself in time, he crash landed right beside his carriage and atop his driver in a pitiful matter.


    ''This is my body¡­ This is my blood¡­ I act as I please, not as you dictate¡­ Now, silence!'' Ryu directed his rage at the blood within his body.


    Ryu''s boiling blood suddenly came to a grinding halt.


    Maybe if this was anyone else, it would have been the end of it. The young master had humiliated himself, Ryu had regained control of his body, it should be finished, correct?


    Unfortunately, Ailsa''s sigh told a completely different story.


    Ryu''s body flashed, appearing outside the city walls and above the young master''s body in an instant.


    He dove down, his foot squarely hitting the young man in the jaw, sending him flying in the opposite direction of the city.


    As he was still whipping through the air, Ryu''s fist descended downward, pummeling him into the ground.


    "Say it again!" Ryu''s voice boomed, a murderous coldness hidden within. His fists rained down, deepening the crater again and again as pent up rage bubbled forth like an endless tide. It was as though he didn''t notice the quickly accumulating crowd or the rushing Looming Guards.

 Chapter 223: Necromancer

    "I said say it again!"


    Ryu''s rage was like a tempest that swirled into the clouds above. Each strike was akin to reverberating earthquake, shaking the very foundation of Looming City despite his actions taking place outside its walls.


    Young Master Basteel felt that his body had becoming nothing but mush. His bones cracked, his inner organs were jarred, and his eyes grew too swollen to see much of anything.


    Ailsa rubbed her temples, sitting upon Ryu''s shoulder. It seemed that no matter how jarring his movement, she didn''t budge a single inch.


    ''How can a master of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons and an expert bowman suddenly forget how to use anything but his fists when he loses his temper¡­ Ah, whatever, maybe it''s better this way. If he really did use his best, this fool would have already died ten times over. What was he thinking, calling Ryu a bastard. Of the women in the world, he only cares for five. His wife, his big sister, his grandmothers and¡­ his mother¡­ idiot.''


    In the distance, the carriage adorned by pristine white came to an abrupt pause.


    "Where did that annoying brute go?" One of the three beautiful with a head of cascading brunette hair asked.


    "Don''t tell me you like that man, Erea." Another with blond hair responded.


    "Don''t be ridiculous, it''s just convenient that I don''t have to carry my purse around when he''s here. Plus, I was feeling hungry, yet we''re almost at our favorite restaurant and he hasn''t caught up yet."


    "The ground seems to be shaking." The third quiet beauty suddenly spoke, looking at the sea of people below. It was very clear that they were all headed toward the same direction, could something big have happened? That might also explain why that gorilla hadn''t made his way here yet.


    It didn''t take the three beauties very long to decide to follow the crowd. They had only come to Looming City for some fun, anyway. Though there was a big event coming up, they were definitely very early. And, anyone who knew why Looming City was known as the entertainment capital of the Inner Ring understood exactly why this was as well.


    Still, despite knowing they''d find entertainment when they made their way to this city, never did they expect the spectacle before them. Theron Basteel, First in line Heir of the Basteel Clan, was being beaten black and blue without even a hope of fighting back against an unknown masked man.


    The first beauty who wondered where Theron had gone, Erea, suddenly erupted into a fit of giggles.


    "Serves him right."


    "I don''t know who that young man is, but he''s going to be in a lot of trouble very soon." The calmest of the three spoke again.


    "Tae, don''t be such a downer. Who cares what happens to him, just enjoy the show. Who knows, maybe he has some mysterious backer we''re not aware of." The blond beauty responded.


    "Unlikely¡­" Tae said calmly. "¡­ He wears a necromancer half-mask, but there are no strong necromancer powers on the Pedestal Plane. How likely could it be that a Blossom Plane genius would come here?"


    The blond pouted, feeling that Tae was correct.


    "Don''t pout Mao, you should have known better than to question Sister Tae''s deductions in the first place." Erea teased.


    "Hm?" Mao, who had just been pouting suddenly froze. "He''s a Higher Spiritual Severing expert? How is that possible? Something doesn''t seem right. No matter what, Theron is a half-step into the Divine Vessel Realm, there''s no way he''d lose to someone two steps below him."


    Tae and Erea frowned at these words. In fact, Erea thought that Mao might have made another mistake that Tae would soon correct. But, who knew that even her senses would find it hard to refute this?


    "I''m afraid it''s even more unbelievable than that." Tae said with a solemn expression. "He isn''t a Higher Spiritual Severing Realm expert, he''s a Peak Qi Refinement Realm expert, it''s just that his qi density is the equivalent of someone on that stage."


    Suddenly, Tae wasn''t so confident in the idea that this necromancer wasn''t from the Blossom Plane. She had mingled with the geniuses of the Core Region before¡­ There was no way they could birth such a genius. It was impossible for them.


    "In later cultivation stages, it''s easier to tell realms apart because they''re separated by comprehension. No one would ever mistake someone of the Dao Pedestal Realm for some of the World Sea Realm. However, it''s more difficult in early stages because everything is so qi centric. Still, there are some key differences to pick apart¡­


    "Those of the Spiritual Severing Realm not only have thicker qi, but also their qi also has a subtle sharpness gained after forming their Qi Blades. This man doesn''t have this sharpness¡­"


    The moment she finished speaking, Ryu gripped Theron''s throat before standing to his full height.


    "You really won''t say it again?" He practically growled. "Then get on your knees and apologize!"


    His arm swung downward once more, except this time, Theron was in his hand. He buried the young master knee first before slamming his head into the dry dirt below.


    At that moment, the shifting feet of dozens of moving guards became very clear. The crowd of citizens split like the red sea, unwilling to get involved, but very eager to watch on. Everyone knew how dangerous the Looming Guards were, the only thing that could make them lower their swords were the young masters of the Inner Ring¡­ But that was simultaneously one of the best reasons for them to raise them as well.


    Everyone knew that of the Five Core Clan of their Inner Ring, the Basteel Clan was definitely the most overbearing, in large part to their special earth affinity blood. In all likelihood, this wouldn''t end well. This young man was lucky that Looming City was under the control of the Zu Clan and not the Basteel Clan, or else he would have no hope of escaping.


    "Halt! Necromancer, you''ve violated at least nine articles of our city''s code. You are under arrest."


    A captain of the guard stopped the twenty-four or so Looming Guards in their tracks, his eyes narrowing, clear disdain creeping through his features. Unfortunately, Mental Realm Master hated Necromancers because they survived their era of ostracization despite technically being Mental Realm Masters as well¡­

 Chapter 224: Wordsmith

    During Ryu''s first life, Mental Realm cultivation was more than just taboo, it was practically banned. It was to the point where even the Heir of the Wind Shrine, Gale, despite having the Seventh Ranked Heavenly Pupils which greatly boosted one''s Mental Realm ability, still had to be cautious despite his background.


    Yet, during this time, Necromancers didn''t face the same banishment. It was no wonder Mental Realm Masters felt unresigned. After all, no matter which branch of Necromancy you practiced, what was most important was your Mental Realm. But, somehow, Necromancers thrived during this and the last era, while Mental Realm Masters became cockroaches pulling themselves back up by their own efforts.


    Of course, this was simply a one-sided perspective. Human beings had a habit of seeing the flaws in others without doing any self-reflection. Could it be that the Shrine Plane was truly biased? No.


    One had to remember the Death Shrine had long been lost. In fact, even to now, no one but Ryu and his immediate family knew where it was and how to find it.


    Why was this important? The answer was simple. During Ryu''s era, the strength of a Clan was directly correlated to the Shrines it possessed and its Saints and Saintesses. Meaning, if a Clan didn''t control a Shrine, they wouldn''t be considered among the top echelon of society.


    Simply put, the Necromancers weren''t considered to be among the top-most portion of the Shrine Realm, yet they lived well while Mental Realm Masters went into hiding. Obviously, there was a massive difference between the two if they were separated in this way.


    To find the answer, one only needs to think back to the legends of the Higher Mortal Plane¡­ The very reason why Ryu, as a mere newborn, was subjected to such harsh treatment for nothing but the color of his hair and eyes.


    Though Necromancers were seen in a poor light by laymen because of their dealings with death, they were ironically quite respectful of life. The Necromancy Guild has strict rules and protocols attached to the accumulation of undead and took a hands-off approach when it came to Clans or Sects seeking revenge against their members should the facts not be in their favor. This approach earned the respect of the martial world.


    However, Mental Realm Masters, they had no such honor. They treated lives like weeds, manipulated the emotions of innocents, and saw themselves as above everything. Some of the most vicious acts in history were committed by these individuals.


    That wasn''t to say that all Mental Realm Masters were bad. No group of individuals could be described in such simple terms. However, their reputation wasn''t completely undeserved.


    Every Era was characterized by one Calamity. In order to be categorized as such, a Calamity must impact every Plane and implicate the lives of trillions.


    The Shrine Realm was currently in its tenth Era, meaning it had experienced nine Calamities. Of these Calamities, Mental Realm Masters were responsible for six of them.


    Even if it was fine for someone unrelated to these Calamities to feel unwilling, if they turned some of that animosity toward their own people, many of these problems could be fixed. Unfortunately, Mental Realm Masters were often far too arrogant.


    Because of their specialty, they produced the best Secondary Profession geniuses. Imagine a single group of people birthing the best Alchemists, the best Formation Masters, the best Ruin Masters, the best Herbologists¡­ And the list goes on. Wouldn''t they control practically all of the wealth of a Realm? It was no wonder they continuously grew more and more arrogant as time went on.


    Of course, Ryu understood all of this. So, when he saw the Looming Guard Captain''s demeanor, he was very much aware of what might happen.


    In the distance, the crimson Fourth Order Bloodied Steed charged back for its owner. The situation had changed so abruptly that it hadn''t even had a chance to react until now. Considering Fourth Order beasts could already have human-like thoughts of their own, with those of the Fifth Order being no less intelligent than humans, it was no wonder the beast was displaying signs of emotions.


    Ryu''s foot buried Tharon''s head into the ground as his gaze ignored the captain to land upon the galloping Bloodied Steed.


    "Heel!"


    Ryu''s two fingers pierced outward, slicing a fraction of an inch into the steed''s forehead. Though it was imperceptible, some more astute individuals caught the faint hint of lightning that coated his fingers.


    A Necromancer, using lightning? What the hell was going on? Everyone knew how incompatible lightning was with death¡­ Only a fool would dual cultivate both.


    Suddenly, the crimson horse became docile. In an instant, its master-servant contract had been shattered by Ryu''s Spiritual Qi.


    "You''re quite decent. I''ll be taking you."


    The Bloodied Steed neighed, hot steam blowing from its nostrils. In that moment, the crimson steed, known for its hot temper, actually began to lick Ryu''s hand. Without its master-servant contract driving it, Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body shone through.


    Ryu''s anger dissipated. To think this fool used such a good beast to pull a carriage. When Ailsa explained to him how valuable this steed could be to him, his rage was replaced with a faint excitement, allowing him to calm down. His thoughts of slaughtering all of these Looming Guards disappeared.


    "I''ve violated ''at least'' nine articles? Have I, or have I not? Shouldn''t a Guard Captain be more precise?"


    Captain Zu, who had already been losing his patience, suddenly felt his temper spike once more.


    "Let''s say I accept that I''ve violated nine¡­ Do you mind telling me which nine? It can''t be that the great Looming City arrests visitors handling personal matters outside their city walls without even stating their reasons, right? We wouldn''t want people to start looking down on you¡­ Now would we?"


    Captain Zu''s face turned red as he forgot to breathe in his anger. He really had just arbitrarily thrown the number out, planning to make up the nine charges after throwing Ryu into jail. So, how could he have an answer?


    To make matters worse, Ryu had emphasized that he was outside the city walls¡­ Which was true¡­


    "Attack!" It seemed the Captain wasn''t much of a wordsmith.

 Chapter 225: Murder [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 50 golden tickets]


    Ryu''s expression didn''t change as twenty or so silver-armored guards charged toward him. He casually leapt onto the Bloodied Steed''s back. Standing at just over three meters tall, it was a magnificent beast. Just sitting upon it, Ryu felt his blood boil as though he was charging through a battlefield.


    Having recollected himself from anger, Ryu knew it wasn''t in his best interest to connect his identities. Before when he used his glaive, it was too quick for others to notice. At least not the individuals that were there, anyway. Their prowess was too far below his own, most only saw a flash and didn''t register that he even held a weapon.


    Seeing through his own mistake, Ryu wouldn''t make the same error again. Since he was currently Ryu the Necromancer¡­ He would be exactly that.


    In an instant, thirty Fourth Order corpse puppets appeared before Ryu, each exuding the aura of a Spiritual Severing expert. Like the Commander of a battlefield, Ryu sat upon the Bloodied Steed''s back, his expression calm, but dark.


    "Trying to suppress a Necromancer with numbers¡­ How funny."


    The guards hesitated in their charge, even their Captain, who hadn''t followed them, felt his heart seize. He had rashly ordered the attack, not thinking everything through beforehand. But even still, this young man''s words made his lips twitch¡­ Did he think having so many Fourth Order corpses at his Realm was normal?! At most Necromancers of his age and prowess might have five or six!


    Ryu truly didn''t know this. In fact, he couldn''t control so many corpse puppets at once. It was only thanks to Hecate''s special refinement method that he was able to do this. The corpses maintained a faint will of their own, allowing them to follow simple commands. Currently, Ryu could barely control a single corpse puppet, and not very well, at that.


    Ryu knew that his skills in Necromancy were lacking. Because he was controlling the corpses with simple one-word commands like ''attack'' and ''defend'', their prowess was half what it could be. However, he had his own methods to make up for this.


    Captain Zu looked on toward the black cloaked corpses. None moved a single inch. He could tell by the black fog hovering before their faces that Ryu had taken steps to hide their identities, a sign of respect for the Clans they might be from.


    Though this seemed like a simple technique, Captain Zu was well aware that no Necromancy Clans on this Plane had access to such a technique. To be able to block his senses as a Peak Spiritual Severing Realm expert¡­ It seemed he had really smashed his foot against an iron plate today.


    Two beautiful daggers with a black finish and blue crystalline edges appeared in Ryu''s hands. Whenever he used treasures he received that night, he couldn''t help but see Elena''s face.


    Her beautiful soft lips, the devious and playful light in her pink diamond eyes, the gentle feeling of her touch. The woman who cared so much for him, the one he owed too much to.


    He felt his mood sway, feeling as though the rage he had forgotten was building back up again.


    His eyes closed. ''I just need to make it to the Soul Birth Realm. Then I''ll know if she''s okay¡­ Then I''ll know where to go to see her again¡­ Wait for me Elena, I''m already in the Spiritual Endowment Stage¡­ Only one more step left¡­"


    By the time he opened his eyes once more, the two sides were almost about to clash.


    ''Steady.'' Ryu spoke his command.


    The corpse puppets shifted like a well-oiled machine, spears appearing in their hands as they sank into solid, wide-footed stances.


    "He can control them all so fluidly?!" Tae felt shaky. All of her intelligence had taken a massive blow.


    There was nothing in this world Ryu was more familiar with than the Basic Stances. So what if he could only control the corpses with simple one word commands? Even if others would only be able to bring out half of their original power¡­ He could make them stronger than they were when they were alive!


    His eyes still closed, he felt the battlefield spread out in his mind. It was no longer the foggy images of before, they were crisp and clean. His Spiritual Sense could stretch out for twenty kilometers. Though this wasn''t enough to cover a city as large as Looming City, it was more than enough to cover a battlefield that spanned only fifty or so meters.


    ''Pierce.''


    Images of Ryu''s perfect pierce flooded the minds of the corpse puppets. Since they had wills of their own, they could obviously be influenced by Ryu''s own will. His comprehension was so deep that it came to him as easy as breathing.


    Tae trembled as the two sides clashed. "They say that Necromancers must be experts in all sorts of fighting methods so that they can tailor their commands with the optimal fighting style¡­ There are some exceptionally skilled Necromancers who seek out corpses who have already trained in their preferred style, creating an army tailored to their strength¡­ He''s¡­"


    Five undead pierced outward with flawless precision. Ryu had arranged them into three group of ten, lining them up in rows of five. The first squad stood at the vanguard, while the remaining two were separated about two meters from their back line, flanking their right and left.


    This was a basic formation Ryu remembered seeing a tactics book in Shrine Library. He never cared for such things, but thanks to his Origin Flame, he remembered it with absolute clarity.


    Five strikes were sent and five arcs of blood were drawn into the air. Though Ryu didn''t kill them, five guards fell, unable to battle.


    ''Retreat. Sidestep. Steady. Sidestep. Lunge. Sweep. Sweep.''


    Ryu had casually made their weapons of a fairly sturdy hundred-year oak tree. The result were a set of weapons barely at the Common Grade. Yet, the results were actually so devastating.


    From start to finish, no one but the foremost front five attacked, yet the entire squadron of guards fell in agony, gripping their injuries, completely unable to battle.


    "You¡­ You actually attempted to murder Looming City Guards?!" Captain Zu erupted.


    Ryu didn''t even bother to answer. Even those around looked toward the captain with disgust. If Ryu wanted them dead, how could they be alive? It was then that a sudden laughter could be heard from the distance¡­ The power of which the current Ryu could not ignore¡­

 Chapter 226: Do You Dare

    Though Ryu''s outward expression was calm, his eyes couldn''t help but narrow by a margin. The carefree laughter was most definitely from someone deep within the Connecting Heaven Realm. If things went poorly, Ryu could only run.


    The valiant figure streaked through the skies, landing right before the carnage caused by Ryu and clicking his tongue.


    Without hesitation, Ryu ordered his corpse puppets to retreat. The inconvenience of spatial rings was that an object couldn''t enter its space without physical touch and could only take items out the very same way they were put in. This was why the inner space of Ryu''s pupils added so much flexibility.


    Unfortunately, Ryu''s cultivation was still too low to bring so many human-sized objects into his inner space at once. And, even if he could, he wouldn''t dare to expose the fact he had Heavenly Pupils here. After all, he was no longer the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan.


    His actions obviously signaled that his corpse puppets stood no chance against this valiant man. Since this was the case, there was no point in sacrificing them. Still, Ryu was surprised that the mysterious man did nothing as his corpse puppets touched his hand one after another, forming an organized line.


    "Smart." The man chuckled. "Though¡­ Inexperienced. Smart in that you know not to waste my time, but inexperienced in that if you were so confident in your skills, why bring out thirty when you only needed five. If I was a worse man, I wouldn''t mind ruining your day by destroying every single one of these corpse puppets.


    "Odd¡­" The man spoke to himself. "¡­ To be so skilled yet also so foolish¡­ It''s almost like you''ve never witnessed your full strength before. But if that''s the case, how could you be so strong¡­"


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed further. His analysis was spot on. Ryu didn''t have an accurate gauge of how strong his necromancy skills were as he spent most of his time refining his control over one corpse puppet. To be on the safe side, he brought out all thirty in his arsenal, not knowing he would only need five. Though he was confident in his abilities, he never overestimated himself.


    "¡­ And to tame a Bloodied Steed with so little effort. Ha! Those Basteel meat heads must be spitting up blood."


    Ryu''s eyebrows couldn''t help but arch in confusion. Spitting up blood? Why? Weren''t they using this beast to pull a carriage? They clearly didn''t care much about it.


    Seeing Ryu''s reaction, even through his mask, the man shook his head. "Definitely inexperienced. Do you think you''re the only one who knows the value of this steed? The Basteel Clan was slowly tempering down its arrogance by having it pull their young master''s carriage.


    "It''s a slow method, but if given enough time, it''s effective, making unbridled beasts much easier to control moving forward. What an odd young man¡­ You clearly displayed top tier Beast Master capabilities, yet you don''t know anything about such a method."


    The sharp eyes of the valiant man were slowly making Ryu more and more uncomfortable. In his last life, it was rare for anyone to see through Ryu, despite his weakness. The reason was that he was always well informed in his endeavors. However, it seemed he was making more and more mistakes lately.


    Whoever this man was, he was very close to touching upon his secrets.


    Wearing golden robes, the man was like a bright sun attempting to weed out any shadows where Ryu''s secrets might hide. Ryu hadn''t said a word from start to finish, yet he had already seen through too much.


    "Ah, this is no good." The man strode forward, instantly covering several dozen meters to pick up Tharon''s limp body. Who knows whether the young master lost consciousness due to Ryu''s beating, or his own embarrassment?


    Dusting Tharon off, the golden robed man threw him over his shoulder, casually carrying him. He didn''t seem to care about Ryu''s opinion, in fact most thought that there was no need for him to. He was a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, why did he need to ask a Qi Refinement pup his opinion?


    Unfortunately, that was when Ryu spoke his first words.


    "Leave his spatial ring."


    The man paused as the atmosphere seemed to freeze over. Those watching were stunned. He actually dared to say something in this situation?


    "What did you say?" The man''s soft, carefree eyes sharpened.


    "I said¡­ Leave his spatial ring." The Bloodied Steed neighed, its hooves stamping into the ground.


    Normal beasts would be instantly suppressed by a stronger aura. Though beasts were innately born with stronger constitutions than humans, many of them were cowardly. This was a large part of why many of the strongest Realms were ruled by humans, especially after the Ancestral Beast Era came to an end.


    But the Bloodied Steed was different. To it, it didn''t matter how strong the opponent was. Even if it had to die, it would die fighting valiantly. Having such a personality, it quite liked this new master of his. In this way, it was exactly like the Ancestral Beasts of the past.


    Ryu was instantly suppressed by the golden robed man''s aura, but his back sat as straight as ever.


    "You didn''t bother to ask what led to this altercation." Ryu said coldly. "He crossed a line. Leaving him with his life is already my limit, and I happen to be in some need of funds. Being a Necromancer is quite an expensive endeavor."


    Captain Zu, who had been shivering with his head lowered since the golden robed man appeared, raised his head once more, a faint light of hope in his eyes. If this brat spoke anymore brazenly, the man would definitely kill him. Maybe then he''d be able to get off with a lighter punishment.


    "Do you want to die?" The man''s aura rose.


    "Don''t joke with me." Ryu said plainly. "Since you like deducing something from nothing so much, how about I try my hand at it?


    "You''re a Connecting Heaven Realm expert directly interfering in the matters of the younger generation, yet you aren''t enraged at the sight of this fool''s unconscious body. In addition, this place is widely known as Zu Clan territory, yet your hair isn''t white, nor are your eyes. Yet, despite the fact your surname is clearly not Zu, no one has interfered with your presence here. Obviously, you are City Lord Looming.


    "For a City Lord to personally handle such miscellaneous matters, it''s either you have too much time on your hands, or you have need of me¡­ So, do you dare to kill me before you get what you need?"

 Chapter 227: Cell

    City Lord Loom''s eyes narrowed. He found Ryu''s actions more confusing than they''d ever been before. If he didn''t know better, he''d think that this young man had a split personality, one of which was a dolt, while the other was sharp and intelligent.


    The Inner Ring had its own governmental system apart from the Outer Ring, but it wasn''t drastically different. While in the Outer Ring, there were nine major cities controlled by three Fifth Order Sects each, in the Inner Ring, there were dozens of major cities split amongst five Half-Step Sixth Order Clans.


    Though the Inner Ring technically covered a smaller area than the Outer Ring, it had much less wilderness around it, leading to this situation.


    In the end, though Looming City was Zu Clan territory, it was only so in name. The truth was the Looming City was a city built by the Loom Clan, a powerful Fifth Order Clan in their own right. Unfortunately, they were forced to pay a certain tax toward the Zu Clan, which was why in technical terms, they were controlled by them.


    Still, that beauty named Tae was correct. Had Tharon been a Zu, City Lord Loom would have had no choice but to punish Ryu to the full extent of his abilities. After all, he still had to answer to the Zu Clan. But, since he was a Basteel, he had a certain amount of wiggle room.


    The issue was that with Ryu''s blatant exposing of this, the wiggle room he had was halved instantly. Who knew what kind of treasures Tharon had in his spatial ring? What if it was something the Basteel Clan absolutely wouldn''t part with? And, asking him to personally hand over the spatial ring was very different from him taking it himself.


    Despite knowing the position Ryu put the City Lord in, he sneered.


    "I''m not a fan of being blackmailed." City Lord Loom said coldly.


    "And I''m not a fan on those who believe themselves to be more powerful than me acting as they please. That fool had nothing to do with you, yet you insisted on crossing so far to pick him up. And for what? To display your dominance? You brought this on yourself."


    The atmosphere became more and more difficult to breathe in. This young man was really unwilling to take even a single step back. In fact, he was pressing forward. Had he lost his mind?! If he was so certain that the City Lord needed him, then all he had to do was play it cool. Plus, Tharon was unconscious, if Ryu just followed the City Lord, it wouldn''t be impossible to ask for the spatial ring in secret, why did he have to do it public like this?!


    There was little those of the City Lord''s stature wanted to protect more than their image. Such a thing was directly tied to the Faith and their future path. Even if the City Lord wanted to make use of Ryu before, how could he still do so now?


    Some believed that maybe Ryu was acting this way because he had some sort of backing. In fact, his talent and young age, not to mention his display of wealth in taking out thirty corpse puppets, convinced some of this already. It was only Ailsa who facepalmed continuously. It was only she who knew that Ryu didn''t have some grand plan nor backing, he really was just pissed off.


    No matter how often he reminded himself that he was no longer the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, he found it difficult to remain quiet in the face of clear disrespect.


    To Ryu, the City Lord''s actions in taking Tharon without asking him first was nothing short of a slap to the face. Who was he to save his, Ryu Tatsuya''s, enemy from his fate? How dare he?


    Those who watched on could tell that Ryu was truly enraged. Though it wasn''t true, his momentum even gave the illusion of matching the City Lord''s aura.


    Suddenly, the City Lord''s aura completely dissipated as he shook his head.


    "Inexperienced. Far too inexperienced."


    He casually swatted his palm downward. Before Ryu could react, a monumental pressure descended from the skies, crashing down into him and the Bloodied Steed he sat upon.


    Though the poor beast tried to maintain its upright posture, its strong legs inevitably buckled, sending Ryu sprawling to the ground.


    Ryu pushed off to land on his two feet, but his back was bent so far forward that his forehead practically touched the ground. Anyone watching could tell that he was straining himself to the limits in order to avoid kneeling at all costs.


    He coughed violently, blood flying from his lips.


    "Heh¡­" Ryu chuckled, his eyes able to see nothing but the ground.


    A strong restrict qi bound him, pulling him forward against his will and away from the Bloodied Steed.


    Tae frowned at this scene. What was it that made the City Lord so confident that Ryu had nothing to rely on? Did she miss something? She knew that the City Lord wasn''t a fool, and considering the current tense political climate, there was no way he would take the risk of offending a big character.


    There were only two possible explanations. Either the Loom Clan had become desperate enough to take the risk, or she was too inexperienced and this Ryu had nothing to rely upon.


    ''Could it be possible for a genius so young to¡­'' Suddenly Tae''s pupils constricted, realizing that she had forgotten an extremely important detail while she was analyzing Ryu''s talent ¨C he had no Inherited Name!


    What was it that they heard Tharon yell? He had called this Ryu a ''nameless bastard'', no? That was it! There was no chance that someone from a big Clan would ever claim to be nameless!


    Ryu''s knees bent, trembling under the pressure. Though his eyes reflected the fiery pits of hell, because his forehead was nearly touching the ground, not a soul could see them¡­


    Maybe if they had¡­ No, maybe if City Lord Loom had¡­ He would have realized that saving his face wasn''t worth it.


    City Lord Loom looked down at Ryu''s awkwardly bent body, his expression carefree once more. He shook his head. This child was so prideful, but did he think others didn''t have the right to their own pride as well? Sometimes, one had to know when to lower their head. His hand waved again, sending Ryu''s body to the excited Captain Zu. But, hearing the City Lord''s next words, that excitement was doused instantly.


    "Throw him in a cell. But¡­" His eyes sharpened. "¡­ Be sure to follow proper protocol and don''t dare bend the rules again¡­ or I''ll have your head."

 Chapter 228: Chains [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for another 50 golden ticket milestone... It feels like I should increase this...(?_?)]


    Chains rattled as Ryu was pulled along. He felt that all his strength had been locked. His qi couldn''t move as it pleased, there was a barrier stopping him from communicating with his Mental Realm, and even his blood had slowed to a crawl, blocking him from accessing more than nine tenths of his bodily strength.


    Though Captain Zu feared City Lord Loom far too much to ignore his words, the sneer on his face only grew fiercer as he dragged Ryu along at a pace he knew the seals on his body wouldn''t allow. In the end, he was still a member of the Zu Clan, as long as he didn''t go too far, the City Lord wouldn''t dare to arbitrarily end his life.


    In the end, the City Lord knew this, which was why though he warned Captain Zu to not go overboard, he didn''t make any remarks about treating Ryu well. The City Lord felt that Ryu''s arrogance needed to be tempered down, so other than protecting his life, he didn''t bother with anything else.


    So, like this, Ryu had gone from sitting tall upon the back of a Bloodied Steed to being dragged through the streets of Looming City.


    Many couldn''t help but shake their heads. In truth, their evaluation of City Lord Loom raised by several levels. Contrary to one might expect, his reputation rose instead of falling. There simply weren''t many of his stature who would still preserve this young man''s life after Ryu''s words and actions.


    As for their thoughts of Ryu, how could there be anything other than disdain. Even those who normally didn''t look down on individuals couldn''t help but feel disgust toward him. In the martial world, everything was placed within a strict hierarchy. No matter how talented you were, there was no guarantee you''d reach the heights of the seniors above you. This is why youths must remain humble.


    Even with Ryu''s level of talent, his Great Grandfather hardly blinked. Had he known that Ryu was thinking of revenge against him, maybe his expressionless visage would have cracked to reveal an uncontrollable laughter. Even if Ryu''s talent was directly doubled, there was still no guarantee he would reach even the World Sea Realm, let alone becoming a Sky God capable of matching him!


    This was how experts thought. Cultivation required too much luck, too much good fortune, and too much coincidence. The amount of each needed when you didn''t have a backer was multiplied several times over. Who did this nameless child think he was, beating his chest before the City Lord as a mere Qi Refinement Realm expert?


    In the carriage of beauties, Erea giggled, causing Tae to frown.


    "What exactly are you laughing at?"


    "You don''t find this funny, Little Tae? I find it hilarious." Swinging her ample bosom, Erea emphasized the word ''Little''. "Plus, he disrespected your grandfather just now, you should be laughing more than me."


    Even Mao couldn''t help but giggle a bit. That was right, the seemingly young City Lord was already a grandfather of such a mature young lady. This was the world of cultivation.


    "What is there to laugh about." Tae said, unamused. "At the end of the day, wasn''t he correct? Grandfather Loom didn''t dare to kill him."


    Mao and Erea looked at each other, finding Tae''s words reasonable. But in the end, they still laughed. So what if her words were reasonable? At best, he''d just end up being a puppet to fulfill the City Lord''s wishes. And even after that, he might just die anyway.


    Maybe if he had been more reasonable, with the City Lord''s gentle and easy-going personality, he would have been allowed to live. But why would the City Lord allow such a talent to go back into the wild? Even if there was no guarantee that Ryu would reach his level, there was no denying that it would be easier for him than most others. Since clearing this potential problem would be as easy as swatting a bug for him, why not do it?


    Erea wiped the tears from her eyes. "Since you want to know why I''m laughing so much, I don''t mind telling you¡­ Don''t you think he looks quite like a Bloodied Steed right now?"


    Tae''s frown only deepened, instantly understanding Erea''s words.


    "How ironic, just a moment ago, Great Uncle Loom was explaining the Basteel Clan''s method of tempering down the arrogance of their beasts, and now he''s using the same tactics on another beast. I find this to be funnier than anything else." Erea''s giggling rippled through her lithe body. Luckily there were no men in the carriage, or else they''d lose face before such a sight.


    Seeing that Tae was quickly losing patience with Erea, Mao, who had been giggling as well, stepped forward to mediate the situation, unsure why Tae was willing to get so angry for a complete stranger. It wasn''t like they could even see much of his face anyway, they could only faintly tell that he was kind of young, the rest was obscured by the mask''s qi field.


    "Why do you two think that City Lord needs him for?"


    Tae and Erea paused their squabble, they too were curious.


    "He might want this Ryu to represent him. After all, there are rumors that the Zu Clan has been preparing to move to the Center Region. By then, the balance of the Inner Ring will shift once more. If Grandfather Loom could break the final barrier to become an Immortal Ring Expert, our Clan would no longer lose out to those other four Clans. If he can get that item, he might have the necessary confidence to do so¡­"


    "He wants to rely on an outsider for such a thing?" Mao said with a frown.


    A complicated look flashed within Tae''s eyes before disappearing as quickly as it appeared.


    Erea sneered. "The best mainline talent of our Loom Clan is none other than Little Miss Tae. But the Clan can''t be inherited by a woman, nor can it be represented by one. My brother would be a good option¡­ But it seems Great Uncle Loom would prefer an outsider rather than giving his own family too much power."


    Tae''s eyes sharpened. "That enough!"


    Mao felt another headache coming on. She wondered why she even bothered. At least when she was pretending to be dumb, Erea would point her viper tongue toward her.


    **


    "Where is your spatial ring?!" Captain Zu raged, losing his control palming Ryu in the chest and into the wall of the dark cell. He couldn''t believe it, he had been with Ryu the whole time, so why weren''t his treasures on him? And why couldn''t he remove his mask?


    Blood flew Ryu''s lips, but he remained silent, his gaze trained toward the damp molded stone ground.

 Chapter 229: Worthy?!

    Knowing that he couldn''t go any further without earning City Lord Loom''s rage, Captain grit hit teeth and spit onto the ground of the dirtied dark cell. Hearing the scurrying rats, the rage in his heart was dampened a bit, his lips curling into a sneer.


    "Enjoy your stay, these very well might be the last moments of your life."


    With a harrumph, he slammed the cell doors shut. Even though the City Lord had already sealed much of Ryu''s strength, the Captain had still chosen to throw him into the cell with the sturdiest formations. Even a Divine Vessel Realm expert wouldn''t be able to casually leave. Not without alerting the whole of Looming City, that is.


    Ryu emotionlessly gazed at the metal bars before him. It was quite easy for him for him to tell that they were made of Black Grade material. It was hard to imagine why this city would have such top-grade prisons, but on second thought, it made sense. With how many experts frequented this place, if Looming City didn''t have a way to threaten and lock them away, they would be too useless as a major city.


    That said, these matters were the furthest thing from Ryu''s mind. What did he care what cell he was thrown into? The fact he was thrown into one at all was something he had never experienced before.


    In his first life, no one dared to look down on him. At first, it was because of the Tatsuya Clan at his back, but not long later, that respect became rooted in his own ability.


    In his second life, he had faced hardship, but after his memories returned to him, he wiped them away without a second thought. He didn''t even consider for a moment that those matters really happened to him. If it was up to Ryu, the youthful him of this life was another person entirely that he happened to take over the body of.


    One might think that this bone deep pride was birthed with Ryu due to his upbringing. Maybe he thought too much of himself because of the family he came from. But, Ryu might be the only person who knew that his arrogance had little to do with his Tatsuya Clan¡­ His Clan just allowed him to be more of who he already was.


    Ailsa sat quietly on Ryu''s shoulder. It wasn''t that she was unwilling to speak, but just that she didn''t believe anything she said would make an impact.


    ''In his first life, despite having the love of his life by his side for hundreds of years, he didn''t dare to take her for himself. It wasn''t until he believed he might never see her again that he finally granted her wish¡­''


    It was a matter that was selfish beyond belief. Ryu knew that maybe a better man wouldn''t have made that decision, and maybe, deep down, he didn''t believe in his ability to come back as much as he said.


    ''¡­ The character he projects to the outside one is of cold confidence, but it hides something far weaker and far more fragile¡­ Arrogance has always been his escape, not his dogma¡­"


    Ailsa felt the memories of a young Ryu floating in her mind. That boy with a bright smile that lit up the Tatsuya Clan. After he entered that library¡­ He was never the same again.


    His brightness was replaced with a harsh winter, his smile by an expressionless gaze, his true self buried deep within a layer of animosity.


    And even through all this, he didn''t believe he had the right to feel these emotions.


    He was born with two loving parents, four loving grandparents. He had the world''s resources at his fingertips and a woman who loved him with all her heart by his side. He felt he didn''t have the right to be bitter, to hate the world¡­ So, he buried it.


    Seeing so deeply into Ryu''s mind for the first time, Ailsa felt her heart shudder.


    To think she said those things to him¡­ How could a man with such thoughts not understand how lucky he was? How many things had she said about Fate not being so easy to change? Who was it that understood more about such a thing? Was it her? The girl who ran away from home? Or was it him? The man willing to kill himself for a small sliver of a chance to change his family''s destiny?


    Ailsa suddenly felt ashamed. Did she really have nine cycle of one hundred million years of experience over Ryu? Hadn''t she spent all of that time in the crystal coffin, burying her consciousness into a deep slumber? What ''maturity'' did that gain her, exactly?


    She knew that she was only capable of seeing so deeply into Ryu''s psyche because despite his calm exterior, his emotions were fluctuating wildly. A portion of him wanted to slaughter everything in sight, another wanted to humiliate City Lord Loom until he couldn''t raise his head, another wanted to leave this prison and never come back ¨C what did a minor humiliation at the hands of a mere City Lord mean to him? His family was still waiting¡­


    These so-called restrictions on his cultivation? A mere Connecting Heaven Realm expert wanted to restrict four Ancestral Bloodlines? To seal Chaotic Silk Meridians? To cut off a Mental Realm bathed in lightning?


    He overestimated himself!


    Ryu felt the Rage Flames he had tempered down earlier flaring up once more.


    Who was right and who was wrong? It was certain that this City Lord still believed himself to be correct. But¡­


    He set rules for his city that he allowed to be broken simply by virtue of one''s status, was such a person worthy of Ryu''s respect? He seemed to be an amicable leader, but he treated those weaker than him with a subconscious disdain, was such a person worth of his respect? He couldn''t break into the Immortal Ring Realm on his own, so he needed Ryu''s help¡­


    ''¡­ IS SUCH A PERSON WORTHY OF MY RESPECT?!''


    The formations of the cell formlessly shattered. But Ryu didn''t move a single inch. He remained seated, his boiling blood slowing to a crawl.


    The intent was so powerful that Ailsa felt her mind tremble, her consciousness blackening for a moment before it regained its calm. But even after all that, the beating of her heart refused to.


    The Natural Order was split into two main categories, Mortal Endowments and Natural Enlightenments. Though these two were placed side by side, the reality was that someone who had comprehended a Natural Enlightenment, even to the lowest State of Listening Realm, touched upon a strength others couldn''t imagine. So¡­ Why was it that Ailsa felt Ryu had grazed a barrier even most World Sea monsters like his grandparents would never touch in their lifetimes?


    Unfortunately, the feeling disappeared. Ryu had already sent his mind into the crystalline jade.

 Chapter 230: Corporeal

    The old man dressed in grey robes felt his eyes sharpen when Ryu appeared.


    After reaching the Peak Qi Refinement Realm, Ryu was no longer stuck at the second trial of the Spiritual Severing Realm. According to what the old man first told him, the fourth floor was separated by each of the cultivation realms, starting at the Spiritual Severing Realm. Each had nine trials where he faced a battle spirit, and a tenth where he battled himself.


    Technically, the fourth floor shouldn''t be much help in comprehending Earth Grade techniques until one entered the Divine Vessel trials, but thanks to Ryu''s Origin Flame and innate comprehension abilities, he estimated that reaching the fifth Spiritual Severing trial would be enough to finally gain a real grasp of the Earth Grade techniques he had chosen.


    Right now, Ryu was already on the seventh trial. He had already died here countless times, even with his Peak Qi Refinement Realm cultivation. However, there was something boiling in him right now.


    Though Ryu was exceptionally hard on himself, the old man felt shocked whenever he returned. The trials were organized such that the first and second corresponded to Lower Spiritual Severing Realm cultivation, the third and fourth to Middle, the fifth and sixth to Higher, the seventh and eighth to Peak, and the ninth to Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm cultivation before one finally battled themselves at the tenth.


    Ryu was crossing a large barrier of cultivation and three small ones! It was so ridiculous the old man felt like fainting.


    The worst part of it all was the experts of the Zu Clan were completely unlike normal day to day experts. These battle spirits represented what the best of the best had to offer. It was no wonder why despite his Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm cultivation, Tharon was beaten like a dog by Ryu.


    The old grey robed man sighed. "What have you come to train in today?"


    Without a single word, Ryu took out a single spear, his momentum growing.


    "Just one spear?" The old man blinked in confusion. He had never seen Ryu not dual wield, so why was he suddenly using only one spear? In the end, he smiled. "This is good. I''ve tried to tell you that dual wielding such weapons was too ridiculous of an endeavor to underta -."


    He wanted to speak more, but his pupils suddenly constricted into pinholes.


    A shimmering Birthed Phenomena appeared to Ryu''s back, a magnificent God Emperor, exuding the aura of the ruler of a nation.


    "¡­ Our Zu Clan doesn''t have such a deep spear legacy¡­ Just who¡­ are you¡­?"


    He suddenly realized that Ryu had never once shown him his true strength. Ryu cared little for how many times he died, nor was he intent on showing off. His arrogance had nothing to do with caring for the opinions of others, and everything to do with his value for himself.


    If it wasn''t because he felt his bottleneck loosen, this grey robed old man would never find out his true strength.


    "I apologize, but the seventh trial isn''t enough to help me breakthrough. I need the tenth. I will be back to repeat the seventh once my goal is accomplished¡­" Ryu said without much emotion.


    "¡­ [White Serpent''s Dance: Lurking Shadow]."


    A strike with beauty beyond words pierced toward the old man. At its forefront, a gorgeous snake with light ruby eyes and beautiful white scales manifested, but its true danger was the intent hidden beneath it¡­ A shadow of shrouded killing intent¡­ Potent, fierce, undefeatable.


    Strictly speaking, Ryu''s ability wasn''t to copy techniques. This was why instead of naming the ability he used to copy the Awoken Moon Sect''s legacy technique [Copy], he named it [Lines of Fate].


    When Ryu ''copied'' [White Serpent''s Dance], what he was actually doing was comprehending the Karmic Strings that formed this technique down to its absolute base. Essentially, in an instant, Ryu had perfectly comprehended this Mystical Grade Technique to the Circle of Perfection. In fact, it was a small bit beyond that because he comprehended the essence of what its creator tried to portray.


    However, these matters weren''t so simple. In order to ''copy'' something he saw, Ryu had to have enough Lines of Fate connecting him and the technique. The reason he could instantly comprehend [White Serpent''s Dance] was precisely because the Awoken Moon Sect was his Tatsuya Clan''s subordinate Sect. Their Fate couldn''t have been more tied to his own.


    If Ryu came across a random cultivator and attempted to use [Lines of Fate] to copy one of their techniques, he would at most comprehend a small percentage of it. Though, if he fought this person for a long time, this small percentage would slowly increase. If their battle became famous, their Fate ties would grow stronger, and Ryu would thereby be able to comprehend even more.


    The only unfortunate part was that Ryu obviously couldn''t display the true strength of a Mystical Grade technique that could only be used be Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realm experts. Therefore, of its strikes, he could only display the first ¨C [Lurking Shadow].


    But¡­ This alone was enough. It alone was comparable to a Lower Earth Grade technique. Using it at its full strength without the restrictions Ryu placed on it so that he could use it, it wouldn''t lose to a Middle Heaven Grade technique.


    In just a single strike, the old grey robed man fell. Though he last longer in the eighth trial, he fell just the same. In the ninth, Ryu directly took out his halberd, letting his pent-up Rage Flames burn. Releasing his anger all at once, the old man didn''t even survive the build up of his attack, let alone its actual strike.


    Finally, Ryu stood face to face with himself.


    In truth, though this trial might be difficult for others, it was easy for Ryu. Reason being that this trial had no way of replicating his Northern Heavenly Wind, his Origin Flame, or his Heavenly Pupils. Still, Ryu hadn''t come here to just win, he cared little for such things. He came here to break his bottleneck.


    He had been stuck as a Tatsuya Saintly Weapon Heir for too long¡­ It was time he entered the Impose Realm and became a Lord. If he succeeded, he would make even Divine Vessel Realm experts bow to him!


    Two pairs of cold silver eyes met. Neither spoke superfluous words¡­


    Taking out his spear, Ryu did away with thought of using his Heavenly Pupils. He would battle to his heart''s content!


    To his back, the God Emperor slowly grew more corporeal¡­

 Chapter 231: Easier

    The clash of the two Ryus immediately grew heated. When Ryu used a spear, his shadow used a spear. When he used a glaive, his shadow used a glaive. When he used a halberd, his shadow used a halberd.


    The changes to Ryu''s battle style were swift and seamless. At times his attacks would be sharp and clever, at others they would be commanding and overbearing, and still yet they could be without obstruction and fierce.


    With each exchange, the bottleneck loosened further and further.


    Ryu remembered with absolute clarity that the moment his [Basic Stances] reached the Lower Small Success stage, it was that very moment he became an Heir. However, this ''small success'' moniker was by the standards of his father''s image in his memories. By the standards of someone just beginning to cultivation, he was well beyond the Circle of Perfection.


    To now, Ryu''s [Basic Stances] had remained at the Lower Small Success stage, creeping forward ever so slowly. This could only be expected. His father was a Dao Pedestal Realm cultivator, how could he replicate his image any better in such a short time?


    As far as Ryu knew, his father had already formed his Dominion and was only a half-step away from forming his Divinity in the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. Ryu couldn''t even imagine wielding that kind of strength. The fact he had reached the Small Success stage already was shocking enough.


    Within the dark cell, a violent pressure began to flow outward from Ryu''s body. But, Ailsa worked quickly to shift the qi into the ethereal realm, making it impossible to sense even for Immortal Ring realm experts.


    She sucked in a cold breath. ''Just a step away from the Impose Realm¡­''


    There was only a single barrier between the world of an Inheritor and the world of a Lord, but it could only be described as the difference between Heaven and Earth.


    Within the category of Mortal Endowments, there were seven realms, each more powerful than the last. But, unlike cultivation technique grades, improving one''s cultivation didn''t necessarily mean that one could take the next step forward.


    When one breaks from the Pulse Opening Realm, you would naturally graduate to Black Grade techniques. When one breaks from the Spiritual Severing Realm, you would naturally graduate to Earth Grade techniques. However, in the martial world, there were no shortage of Connecting Heaven Realm experts who could only be Inheritors, while geniuses like Ryu existed that could become a Lord before even stepping into the Fourth Order!


    Ryu''s body trembled, a flood of Essence flowing into his body like a raging tide and washing over even as his deeply buried marrow.


    The wave didn''t cease at one. Just an hour later, there was a second. And just six hours after that, there was a third.


    Like the push and pull of a perfectly balanced system of counters, Ryu''s path stretched equally in three directions.


    In one, there was the scholarly God Emperor, in the other, there was the imposing War God, and finally, like a beast roaring from the mountain tops, there was the mighty Dragon God.


    A steamy breath left Ryu''s lips. The scolding fog singed the metal bars before him, causing them to give off a red-orange glow. But, Ryu didn''t leave the crystalline jade. Completely immersed in his own world, he trained like a madman. It was only Ailsa, who was by his side every waking minute, who knew that the City Lord wasn''t worthy of causing such a change in Ryu¡­ He trained like this every day.


    ''His Dragon God inheritance is agitating his Fire Dragon bloodline. It''s no wonder his Rage Flames awakened despite his Fire Dragon bloodline not having been provided enough Vital Qi¡­''


    Essence was the highest form of energy in existence. Just like neutral qi, it was compatible with everything. The issue now was that Essence, under the guidance of Ryu''s comprehension of his halberd inheritance, was becoming the Vital Qi his Fire Dragon bloodline needed.


    This would be a great thing in any other situation, but Ryu was current in prison, having just angered a Connecting Heaven Realm expert. But now, just his latent breath alone was a few ticks away from melting Black Grade metals. If this continued, Ryu''s situation wouldn''t become better, it would become worse!


    If this City Lord found out Ryu had such an overbearing bloodline, who knows what he''d do?


    Ailsa took a deep breath. This Life Partner of hers really makes others worry.


    She concentrated to her best ability, slowly siphoning away the monstrous heat into the ethereal realm. Slowly, but surely, the cell temperature returned to normal, but Ryu''s body heat didn''t lessen, instead, it grew.


    The Essence continued to fuel his Fire Dragon bloodline, forcing its strength upward by massive increments of ten thousand jin. In the blink of an eye, it surpassed his Lightning Qilin bloodline, soaring past fifty thousand jin, past one hundred thousand jin, before violently slamming into a barrier it couldn''t cross as 170 000 jin.


    Ailsa sighed. ''It''s just as I thought¡­ The limit of strength of his Fire Dragon bloodline should be 200 000 jin, but he lost some of its strength due to it sharing a body with three other bloodlines. In the end, though¡­ It only lost thirty thousand jin¡­''


    In the end, the latent fire type Vital Qi spilled over into Ryu''s Fire Phoenix bloodline. The Essence only finally slowed to a crawl after his Fire Phoenix bloodline reached 31 600 jin of strength. It seemed the thirty thousand Ryu lost out on was replenished elsewhere¡­


    It had only been three days, but the gains were unimaginable. The crackling of Ryu''s bones was so fierce that they would have resounded through the whole of Looming City had it not been for Ailsa.


    Ryu''s presence alone had become so overbearing that the air almost seemed to solidify around him, not daring to move. His total strength had reached 256 600 jin, the equivalent of a cultivator with a single Ancestral Bloodline opening all of their Body Vessels before continuing to fill their blood with Vital Qi to about twenty-five percent. In simple terms¡­ The strength of a Half-Step Connection Heaven Realm expert was one million jin for someone with this caliber of bloodline, and though he wasn''t quite there yet, Ryu''s strength could already be considering to be of the Middle Divine Vessel Realm in bodily strength.


    Ailsa shuddered. ''So this is the strength of having four Ancestral Bloodline¡­ Even with them losing power while balancing and restricting each other¡­ This is too much.''


    Soon she calmed down. If it wasn''t for Ryu reaching the Imposing Realm¡­ this could have never happened.


    Unfortunately, Ailsa didn''t get the chance to rest, because the unassuming black Glove of Order began to greedily evolve under Ryu''s new comprehension.


    Still, as she was working to contain yet another phenomenon, Ailsa couldn''t help but wonder¡­ If Ryu comprehended an Ice and Lightning Inheritance to the Impose Realm as well, wouldn''t he gain the strength of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert in one swoop?


    In the end, she shook her head and focused. It took Ryu four years despite his talent and diligence to reach the Impose Realm in his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. But¡­ Even as she thought this, Ailsa suddenly remembered something else¡­ The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons were Birthed Phenomena, but Ryu''s Ice and Lightning Inheritance were hidden within his veins¡­ Wouldn''t comprehending the latter be easier¡­?

 Chapter 232: Urging

    Months ticked by, but not only did Ryu not speak a single word, he didn''t move a single inch. He sat without a care in the world, diligently cultivating day after day.


    Technically speaking, the seals City Lord Loom placed on him would slow his cultivation down tremendously. At first, Ryu wanted to leave them so that this City Lord wouldn''t be aware of his true abilities, but the massive awakening of his Fire Dragon bloodline shattered this thought. Because it was so overbearing, all foreign energies in his body were shattered. This also meant that the lingering injuries from Edwin had also finally been dealt with.


    Luckily, the City Lord only casually placed seals on him and wasn''t a Seal Master. As a result, his restrictions weren''t connected to him, so he was unaware that Ryu had already broken free of them.


    Ryu could have long since left the prison, but he chose to stay. First, he was curious about what this City Lord needed from him. Second, he had a feeling he would soon be able to extort this City Lord. And finally, the insult of several months ago wasn''t one he was willing to swallow. Before he left, he would make sure this Loom Clan felt his wrath.


    Though his body was in a cell, Ryu''s mind was in a completely different world.


    The space was massive, as endless as the skies. Countless silver pillars stretched upward, their feet covered by beautiful white clouds. However, despite its beauty, this place was one Ryu had died countless times in.


    The third floor of the crystalline jade was the Floor of Natural Order and it truly did not disappoint Ryu.


    This place was the Wind Gate. After Ryu reached the Impose Realm of his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons, he had been eager to do so with his Northern Heavenly Wind. But, the last few months reminded him just why it took him so long to comprehend it to the Inheritor Realm in the first place.


    Because he had the bloodline of three flying beasts, though Ryu didn''t have the strongest wind affinity, it shouldn''t be terrible either. Yet, it felt like reaching the Impose Realm was an impossible task.


    According to Ailsa, this was because he only had the embryo of the Northern Wind. If he wanted the barrier to weaken, he would likely have to find superior winds to feed it. If he could find another embryo of the Four Directional Winds, he could decide whether to keep them both, or to directly allow his Northern Heavenly Wind to swallow it and become whole.


    Unfortunately, even a Shrine Plane Clan like the Wind Shrine Clan treated this embryo like an impossible to find treasure, so Ryu would have to settle for the lesser option.


    Ryu remembered that his mother had fused her dual wielding style with the Eastern Wind ¨C Wind of Sharpness ¨C embryo. Over time, she managed to make it whole by swallowing lesser winds, so it wasn''t completely impossible.


    Ryu''s body lightly leapt from silver pillar to silver pillar. Though the skies seemed calm, the truth was that vicious winds were flying about constantly. Yet, not only did his clothes hardly flap, his hair was deathly still. It was as though one''s eyes were purposely lying to them.


    But, the next instant proved the truth. Beads of sweat fell from Ryu''s brow. The moment his concentration collapsed, a wind force seemed to come from nowhere, shredding his body into droplets of blood.


    A moment later, he appeared outside the gates, slightly pale faced. He glared at the gates before sighing. He was still too far away.


    The Wind Gate changed depending on the path you were following. The Northern Heavenly Wind was known as the Wind of Natural Order because only it grasped the true essence of wind. So, Ryu''s trial was to be one with the wind.


    Winds upon the pillars increased slowly from hundreds of kilometers an hour, to hundreds of thousands and beyond. To now, Ryu could only reach the two thousand or so kilometer speed. Normally, this wouldn''t be enough to kill him as someone with a Divine Vessel Realm body, but the trial purposely made him fragile.


    If others heard that Ryu was unsatisfied, they might very well go all out with him. Reason being¡­


    Ryu looked down on his palm, only to find an overbearing flame dancing about. It seemed to breathe along with him, as though it was another limb.


    After awakening his Fire Dragon bloodline to the limits of the Pulse Tempering Realm of body cultivation, Ryu almost had no choice but to comprehend these flames. In fact, he hadn''t done so consciously, but unconsciously. This flame was his Rage Flame, the very flame that made Fire Dragons the overlords of eras past.


    In this world, there were thirty-three flames of each grade.  Ryu''s Rage Flame was one of the thirty-three Ancestral Grade flames, so it only made sense it was so overbearing. It fed off emotions¡­ Not just the emotions of its wielder, but also the emotions of its wielder''s enemies. It was able to gather the wrathful energy of a battlefield and strengthen itself for a period of time.


    If that was all, maybe it would be fine. But, after awakening his Rage Flame, just three months later, Ryu entered the Impose Realm. This second rush of Essence spilled over into his Fire Phoenix bloodline, causing it to reach the limits of the of the Pulse Tempering Realm as well. And¡­


    Ryu''s second palm opened, revealing a second flame. While the Rage Flame was a deep red to the point of almost being black, this flame was a gentle red-gold. It was the Ancestral Grade Rebirth Flames, it was also known as the Nirvana Flame by some.


    This flame allowed Ryu to be immune to Ancestral Grade flames of the same Realm. As for lower grade flames, they were even more unable to harm him. For example, a Sovereign Grade flame, which was a step lower, would have to be of the Monarch Realm to harm him. As for Common Grade flames, they could forget it.


    Of course, this was only the simplest ability of the Nirvana Flames. However, Ryu had comprehended his Fire Dao deeply enough to awaken its other abilities. In all likelihood, he wouldn''t until he formed his Divinity like his father had.


    Still, these alone were just two of the changes he experienced in this near half-year. After reaching Divine Vessel equivalent strength with his body, his Ice Jade Body began to exhibit some of its true abilities. In fact, it was this change that was the greatest reason why Ryu''s injuries had healed so quickly¡­


    Before Ryu could think any further, he felt Ailsa urging him to wake. Someone was finally coming to see him after all these months.

 Chapter 233: Future Calamity

    [Bonus Chapter for 500 powerstones]


    Not long after Ryu awoke, he sensed the presence of two individuals. One was the very City Lord Loom that placed him in this cell, while the other was one of the beauties that sat within the white carriage from all those months ago. From the looks of it, they were kin. As for why City Lord Loom would bring her here, Ryu had no idea, nor did he care. Though he was awake, his eyes didn''t open, nor did they so much as twitch.


    Ryu was thinking about other things. Namely, he was confused about his Fire Dao. He had always thought he could only comprehend one path, which was why he didn''t rush to comprehend a lightning legacy. However, somehow, he had both Rage Flames and Rebirth Flames.


    Was eliciting a Unique Flame different from comprehending an Element?


    Elements were Mortal Endowments and shared this category along with Birthed Phenomena. But why did things feel so weird? He hadn''t even consciously comprehended these flames, they simply appeared on their own after his bloodlines reached a certain Vital Qi saturation.


    ''Is this the true ability of my Ice Jade Crystal Body?... To be able to perfectly balance numerous diverging paths at once?''


    Ryu had felt his Bone Structure have a breakthrough after his body reached the Divine Vessel equivalent realm, but he couldn''t seem to comprehend exactly what that change was. If his guess was right¡­ Maybe he didn''t need to be so careful about choosing a path anymore¡­


    He knew his Bone Structure had four main abilities. Accelerated healing, friend of nature, absolute balance, and ungodly cultivation speed. It seemed he had underestimated what it meant to have perfect balance¡­


    This was only just the beginning as well. Once he reached the Divine Vessel Realm with his qi, that was when the true doors would open. Unfortunately, Ryu''s talents also had their limitations.


    Currently, Ryu was firmly within the Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm. However, he still felt he needed more accumulation to enter the Realm completely¡­ And the reason was hidden within the Severing moniker of this Realm¡­


    In order to become such an expert, one needed to form a Qi Blade. This Qi Blade would be used to sever the connection between your Spiritual Foundation and your Meridians. Once this connection was reformed, it would become sturdier, making each successive Severing more difficult.


    One might wonder what the issue was. Ryu''s Qi density was already comparable to Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm experts, so why couldn''t he form his Qi Blade already? In fact, he should be able to sweep the Spiritual Severing Realm in a single sitting?... No?


    The problem was that Ryu''s meridians were made of Chaotic Silk, the third hardest material in existence. Even if the connection between his Spiritual Foundation and them was where they were the absolute thinnest, how could they be casually cut?


    This was the first roadblock Ryu had faced, and it was ironically because of his own overwhelming talent. If he couldn''t find a way to solve this problem, he would be stuck in the Qi Refinement Realm forever¡­ It was no wonder he couldn''t be bothered to care about this City Lord Loom anymore, he had more pressing problems.


    The longer Ryu remained silent, the darker City Lord Loom''s expression grew. He had thought that after just a few weeks, the sounds of Ryu''s clamoring would fill the halls of the jail. Yet, not only had he not spoken in those few weeks, it had already been over six months without him breathing a single word.


    In the end, he could wait no longer. The matter he needed Ryu for was fast approaching and he could only swallow his pride to make a trip here personally, thinking that at the very least, Ryu would be eager to see him. But, who knew that this young man wouldn''t even bother with his presence?!


    If Ryu was a Connecting Heaven Realm expert like him, this might make sense. After all, they were individuals who stayed in seclusion for years on end sometimes. But, a Qi Refinement expert wouldn''t have experienced such long periods of solitude yet! How could he be completely unfazed?!


    Suddenly, the City Lord''s pupils constricted. He could no longer feel Ryu''s cultivation. In fact, he wasn''t even certain if his restrictions were still in place.


    Wait a minute, restrictions? The City Lord''s steps trembled. His eyes shone as he flooded them with qi, but this action only proved his guess. The formations of the cell¡­ They were shattered!


    How could this City Lord feel Ryu''s cultivation if he didn''t want him to? Because he didn''t want to draw too much trouble, Ryu had Ailsa allow his cultivation to be shown as he was stepping into Looming City. But, if Ailsa and him didn''t want it, even if this City Lord was an Immortal Ring Realm expert, he would only be able to sense that Ryu was a mortal!


    Tae''s delicate brows furrowed. In the beginning, she was on Ryu''s side, believing the words of her cousin and the actions of her father to be overboard. But seeing that Ryu was still acting like this now, she couldn''t take it. There was no question she was biased toward her grandfather, after all, she knew the plight he faced. She couldn''t help but feel this way.


    "Sir Ryu, don''t you think that''s enough? Even if you believe my grandfather is in the wrong, don''t you believe that he was still merciful in allowing you to live? The Loom Clan has need of your services and will pay you triple what we initially intended in order to service your grievances. Please cease these petty actions.


    "The cultivation world is a cruel place that works based on benefits. You as a Qi Refinement expert were allowed to live when any other City Lord in my grandfather''s position, even if they were in need of you, would have killed you immediately to save face. You at least understand this much, right?"


    Tae''s frown deepened under Ryu''s continued silence.


    Suddenly, Ryu stood. His abrupt movement caused the fragile garments that covered his torso to crumble to ash, revealing a perfectly sculpted upper body. It was a wonder they had even survived so long under the vicious heat of his Rage Flames.


    Ryu walked to the bars of the cell. In instant, just the slight vibration of his footsteps caused them to collapse. Just like that metal bars of the Black Grade disintegrated before their very eyes.


    ''Kill me? With just Half-Step Immortal Ring cultivation?'' If Ryu wanted to, he could have escaped long ago.


    "I''m sure City Lord Loom has a lot of credit in the Looming Auction House, right?" He didn''t bother to look back as he crossed the face of the grandfather-granddaughter pair, disappearing down the corridor.


    City Lord Loom''s features only grew darker. "Follow him. Once he''s satisfied, I''ll make use of him and do away with this matter."


    The rage on his features only thickened when he noticed his granddaughter''s absentminded appearance and the deep blush on her face.


    ''Almost all cultivators are exceptionally fit¡­ but how could a man be sculpted so perfectly¡­? I wonder¡­ What does his face look like¡­ beneath that mask¡­?''


    Regaining her senses, Tae didn''t dare to meet her grandfather''s eyes any longer. The rage she felt toward Ryu increased even further as she rushed after him.


    City Lord Loom looked back toward the ash covered cell. Compared to when Ryu entered, it was absolutely spotless, as though all of its impurities had been burnt away. He couldn''t help but feel a shiver.


    ''¡­ He will never forgive me¡­'' He closed his eyes tightly, his fists trembling as though he was making the hardest decision of his life. ''¡­ After this is done¡­ I must kill him...''


    Thinking back to that day he forced Ryu''s head to bow, a thick regret turned his intestines green. If he hadn''t gone so far, if he had just used a softer method, he wouldn''t need to forsake his own morals like this. This matter would without a doubt become an inescapable Heart Demon.


    But it was too late. Once he finished making use of this Ryu, he had to destroy this possible future calamity of his Loom Clan.

 Chapter 234: Steed

    The image of a shirtless man who smelt partially of smoke and ash being hurriedly followed by a delicate flower every citizen of Looming City recognized was a matter that spread like wildfire.


    Though Ryu wasn''t exactly trying to leave Tae behind, his body had been practically frozen in the same position for too long. Every step he took, he felt his muscle fibers stretching and his bones crackling. The feeling was comfortable beyond belief, so he basked in it. Unfortunately for the little princess of Looming City, his long strides, coupled with his Divine Vessel Realm body, caused her to have to sprint to keep up with him.


    This matter astonished Tae. Why did a necromancer have such a strong body? Beyond that, she was a Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm expert. If she wasn''t so talented, it wouldn''t be such a disappointment to her Clan that she was a woman. Even further, she was an expert in lightness type techniques, so what she was the most confident in was her movement speed. So how could she not keep up?!


    "I need clothing appropriate for a cultivator, preferably ones with exceptionally high fire resistance." Ryu said casually without looking back. "Should I continue to go to the auction house, or do you have a better place in mind?"


    Tae grit her teeth. He knew she was following her yet he actually continued to speed ahead like this.


    "Can you slow down, please!"


    Ryu suddenly halted, looking back with a weird but cold gaze.


    Tae somehow felt uncomfortable. Ryu''s gaze obviously wasn''t lustful, in fact, he looked at her no differently than he would a wooden pole. She had never seen a man look at her so unfeelingly in her entire lifetime.


    Ryu, however, wasn''t having such petty thoughts. His confusion was wiped away after a moment. It wasn''t because of his body''s strength that Tae couldn''t keep up with him, it was because he was subconsciously melding his very being into the wind. It seemed the Wind Gate hadn''t been completely useless.


    Taking a deep breath, Tae calmed herself. "The Looming Auction House is a place you go only if you''re seeking to sell treasures or buy them. If you want more mundane, everyday use items, there are better options."


    "Mundane?" Ryu raised an eyebrow. He didn''t want something mundane. Would mundane items be able to protect his life at a crucial time? More importantly, would mundane items help him properly extort this City Lord and his granddaughter?


    "Don''t misunderstand my words. Looming City is the entertainment capital of the Inner Ring. Obviously, its Auction House follows suit. The Looming Auction House doesn''t buy or sell anything below the Higher Earth Grade in value. Even if you went, there would be less than a dozen items to choose from, and because we emphasize fanfare, you''d have to pay an exorbitant amount over market price to compensate that potential loss."


    Ryu nodded in understanding. It seemed his misconception was common, which was why the City Guard manning the gates didn''t bother to correct him when he stated his purpose. Or, the more likely reason was that the spectating of Looming City auctions attracted all sorts of people. Unfortunately, Ryu missed the most recent auction since he was locked away for half a year.


    Ryu felt his stomach growl, but he forcefully suppressed it, his visage darkening. As one progressed along the Qi Realm, the less food one would need. However, the exact opposite was true for the Body Realm. Ryu''s four Ancestral Bloodlines, especially the Lightning Qilin and Fire Dragon bloodlines, required mountains of food to sustain. This matter only became more exaggerated after he awakened them.


    The only reason he wasn''t a pile of bones now after six months was because of the Incubator. He was able to grow the Spiritual Herbs he purchased from the Valor Auction House and use it to sustain himself just barely. Unfortunately, his bloodlines had crossed into the realm of Divine Vessel experts, which meant the Black Grade herbs he had could only barely work thanks to the abilities of the Incubator.


    Tae had expected Ryu to be embarrassed about the sudden sound of his stomach, but instead, she felt a chilly, cold intent. She could tell immediately that Ryu wasn''t trying to hide his embarrassment with anger, but rather that he was truly enraged.


    She could almost hear his thoughts¡­ ''How could such a trash Loom Clan force me to this state?''


    A moment later, the dark intent was gone, causing Tae great confusion. The impression she got from Ryu was that he wasn''t someone capable of controlling his emotions. She almost expected him to lash out, which was why she immediately put up her guard. But who know he would retract his rage so quickly?


    ''Just who is he¡­ Really¡­ To look down on my Fifth Order Clan so much¡­''


    It was only after realizing that Ryu was no longer looking at her and following his gaze that Tae understood why Ryu had forgotten about his anger. It wasn''t that he had learned to control himself, but rather that he saw something that interested him more than teaching her a lesson.


    A very familiar crimson horse suddenly appeared along the busy street, causing many to split, giving it a wide berth. However, the once majestic Bloodied Steed had seen far better days. Its prided mane had been shaved clean, its bloody aura was several times weaker, and deep scars dug into its once lustrous coat.


    It was then Tae understood she had made yet another mistake. Ryu''s rage hadn''t disappeared¡­ It had only been redirected toward a new place¡­


    ''This Bloodied Steed, it hasn''t moved from the entrance of Looming City for months. The Basteel Clan tried everything, even humiliating it beyond the bounds of reason, yet it still didn''t move an inch. How could it be here now? Could it be that he really tamed it? So easily?!''


    A heated breath left the steed''s lips as it slowed its mad gallop to a trot, reaching Tae and Ryu''s side in just another second.


    Its head stood tall proudly before bowing down and licking Ryu''s exposed hand.


    "It seems we''ve gone through similar things¡­" Ryu said softly, gently stroking the Bloodied Steed''s jaw.


    The Basteel Clan couldn''t bear to kill this Bloodied Steed off, thinking it was too valuable. Plus, since no one dared to offend them as a Half-Step Sixth Order Clan, they didn''t worry about someone stealing their beast. Every day, they would appear to use their humiliation tactics to temper down this steed''s arrogance, and every day they would leave it to lick its wounds. Unfortunately, it seemed they would be the second Clan to make an irredeemable mistake.

 Chapter 235: Armament Trials

    Watching Ryu''s gentle caress of the Bloodied Steed, Tae felt frozen in place. She found it too difficult to resolve the Ryu who was a breath away from striking her down for a mere grumbling stomach with the Ryu who was delicate and caring.


    Ryu would never describe himself as a caring person, nor did he have some innate sense of justice. If he did, he probably wouldn''t have let Amarice''s ex-lover die. After all, he was an innocent man seeking revenge for a past betrayal, yet Ryu felt nothing watching him be backstabbed by the Ruin Master.


    However, when it came to those he had a relationship with, any slight against them was a slight against himself. He had already bound the Bloodied Steed as his second beast partner. Though their bond had yet to deepen, Ryu''s heart trembled when he realized the crimson horse held on so long in respect of their relationship. Ryu saw this valiant horse as one of his own. Seeing it in this state made his eyes flicker with rage.


    "I''ll name you¡­ Nemesis."


    The Bloodied Steed''s hoof rose and slammed into the cobbled stone below. Cracks of spread furiously from the center of his strike and hot steam blew from its nose.


    ''Ailsa, help me.''


    Ailsa didn''t respond with words, but immediately helped cross the steed into the ethereal realm, making it simple for Ryu to pass its large body into the Incubator. As for the scene of a massive Fourth Order beast disappearing, he didn''t bother with it. After all, it wasn''t a weird sight for a beast tamer to have a Beast Pocket. In the Outer Ring, it might be a shock. But it was commonplace here.


    ''Take good care of him.''


    Tae blinked in shock. "You managed to keep your spatial ring? Though my grandfather warned Captain Zu from breaking the rules, it is part of protocol to confiscate the items of all prisoners¡­"


    Ryu didn''t care to respond to her question. "You were saying¡­?"


    Tae frowned, looking toward the place the Bloodied Steed came from. "The Basteel Clan won''t take kindly to your actions. Too many people witnessed what just happened."


    "I don''t care."


    Tae grit her teeth, feeling irritated beyond belief. "You can''t even stop my Clan from locking you away for half a year! The Basteel Clan is ten, no, twenty times more powerful than we are! How can you¡­!"


    In the end, Tae had no choice but to stop her words. Ryu''s cold, piercing gaze made her shiver. She felt like if she said one more word, she would lose her life here.


    "You were saying¡­?" Ryu repeated.


    After a pause, Tae took a deep breath, trying to recollect herself.


    "¡­ If you want to buy mundane items, it''s best we go to the Armament Guild. It''s not far from here, follow me."


    Tae solemnly turned her gaze from Ryu, focusing on the task of guiding him.


    The Armament Guild was a merchant association and had many hubs of trade across the Immortal Planes. In all likelihood, they were simply too uninterested in the business of the Outer Ring to appear there, but Looming City was just barely qualified. In fact, Looming City''s Armament Guild was the only one of the Inner Ring. Only it took on enough human traffic to entice the Merchant Heads.


    It wasn''t long before Tae and Ryu had made their way to a large bustling center, only to be stopped.


    "The minimum cultivation required for entry is the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm. Please turn back, Qi Refiner." A guard clad in silver armor stopped Ryu expressionlessly. There wasn''t any disdain in his eyes, it looked like he was simply doing his job.


    Ryu looked back at the guard without much emotion. In a moment, his blood surged under a slight flex of his body. A coursing vital qi wrapped around him, causing a hidden pressure to tear through the surroundings.


    At that moment, the expressionless guard''s eyes flashed with an indiscernible light.


    "My apologies, please enter young sir."


    Ryu didn''t say much, directly entering. As he expected, it was much more difficult to discern Body Realm cultivation than Qi Realm cultivation. Though Ryu''s qi density was comparable to the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm requirement, the guard still stopped him. However, despite Ryu''s body cultivation still being in the Pulse Tempering Realm, the guard couldn''t parse it.


    According to the standards of this Armament Guild, Ryu shouldn''t be able to enter unless he reached the Vessel Tempering Realm. This made sense considering the guard''s previous logic. But, the guard obviously wasn''t as good at separating Body Realms.


    To this, Tae didn''t have much of reaction. Though Ryu used his Body to enter, Tae thought he used his Mental Realm. After all, someone capable of controlling so many Fourth Order corpse puppets was definitely of the Spiritual Endowment Realm, which meant Ryu had already opened his Spiritual Vessel, which would also give him the right to enter.


    As for why Ryu decided to secretly expose his bodily strength, maybe only he and Ailsa who could read his thoughts knew.


    The moment Ryu and Tae crossed the barrier, the once quiet atmosphere immediately became bustling and rowdy. Cultivators shouting across several dozen meters, heated bargaining in every corner, and endless rows of sharp eyes merchants were abound. Yet, it had an odd structure to it all.


    However, Ryu hardly cared about this. Instead, he was thinking about something completely different.


    ''To think that such a small place has an Armament Guild Branch¡­''


    He grit his teeth. He still had an account tied to his identity as the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan. As an Origin Grade Ruin Master, though he funneled most his funds back into the Tatsuya Clan, he was wealthier than most people could imagine. Yet, despite having these funds right before him, he didn''t dare to touch them. Even though the Armament Guild swore perfect anonymity, he didn''t dare trust it.


    To have such a fortune before himself, yet not dare to touch it¡­ Nothing could be more depressing. Ryu felt like ripping something apart.


    If he could find a way to use these funds, his journey would become as easy as flowing water until at least the Path Extinction Realm¡­


    Ailsa blinked. ''Oh? Armament Guild? My Cultus Clan has a few accounts¡­''


    Ryu''s footsteps froze. His gaze shifted, only to land on Ailsa''s giggling figure. He knew well she could hear his thoughts, yet this little vixen dared to tease him like this.


    ''Just be patient Little Ryu. It''s no good if I activate my funds on this Plane, after all, they''re looking for you, my Life Partner right now. However, when we go to higher Planes, or a World where there''s more Faerie activity, I don''t mind my Little Ryu leaning on a Big Sister a bit.''


    Hearing these words, Ryu calmed down and nodded. ''Thank you.''


    Ailsa smiled, her small lips pecking Ryu''s cheek. ''You don''t need to thank me, what''s mine is yours.''


    Ryu''s brow raised slightly. Ailsa seemed warmer than before, but he wasn''t sure what happened. Before, though she was caring toward him, it felt like she was doing so more out of responsibility. It was like¡­ To her, the Heavens chose him as her Life Partner, so she would make the most of it.


    But now, it felt more genuine.


    After a few more moments of thought, he still couldn''t figure out why, so he let it go. Still, he inwardly sighed. If Ailsa''s feelings were becoming realer, their relationship would be harder for him to handle.


    Suddenly, an all-encompassing voice stopped his thoughts.


    "The time is finally here, ladies and gentlemen! As you all know, the Armament Guild is famous across not just this Martial God Realm, but several hundred Realms across the Cosmos."


    Ryu inwardly snorted. Martial God Realm? In his heart, this would forever be the Shrine Realm. It had always been named this in respect to Shrine Mountain, the ancient sturdy figure that stretched through their six Planes and protected them for countless generations. Yet they actually dared blaspheme their Protector Spirit by expunging its name¡­


    The importance of names couldn''t be understated, they were too tied to Fate and Faith. This wasn''t a small slight¡­


    "Though we built a branch in this Looming City, it hasn''t been completed until now!


    "Young geniuses across the Cosmos come to take part in our Armament Trial! There are nine legendary weapons, The Sword, The Staff, The Short Blade, The Battle Axe, The Saber, The Bow, The Spear, The Glaive, and The Halberd!


    "The Ancestor of our Armament Guild believed that these nine treasured weapons and their Birthed Phenomena are the reason behind the rise of our Human Races against the Ancestral Beasts! They represent the innovation of genius of the Human Races! As such, on his death bed, my Ancestor swore to support geniuses of these paths!


    "Come take our Armament Trial! Grasp your destiny! Perform well and you''ll be rewarded beyond your imagining!"

 Chapter 236: So Sharp and So Ignorant[Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 150 golden tickets]


    Hearing these words, Ryu who had been feeling anger toward the disrespect shown toward Shrine Mountain was suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia.


    The Armament Trial was quite famous, even Ryu himself had taken it. That said, he was only five years old at the time and obviously couldn''t place very well. Though, for his age group, he probably did well. Back then, his father hadn''t allowed him to see his results, and by the time Ryu was old enough to make decisions for himself, the martial path had left him with a False Spiritual Foundation so he no longer had the heart to care about how well or poorly he had done.


    The Trial itself was very simple. There were nine stone monuments, each of which had a single stroke of a weapon etched into its center. Each of the nine stone monuments represented one of the nine core weapons.


    A trial taker would step to the edge of their stone monument''s sphere of influence, which was about a one-hundred-meter radius if Ryu recalled correctly. Then, while constrained to the [Basic Stances] of your weapon of choice, one would face the latent intent, sending out a strike of your own.


    In response, under the odd laws of the stone monument, a ray of light would be drawn from your weapon toward where the core of the monument''s weapon intent lay. The closer the ray of light was to the stone monument, the better you performed. Those whose ray of light could touch upon the stone monument were rewarded greatly.


    Of course, there were different grades for these stone monuments depending on the expert who etched the weapon intent. It was said that the highest grade, located upon the Armament Guild''s Holy Land, was etched personally by Peak Sky Gods.


    Ryu wasn''t sure if this was true, but if it was, these Sky Gods were likely invited over. No one Clan, Sect or Guild could possibly birth nine Peak Sky Gods, let alone nine of such vastly differing paths. But, to be able to invite such experts over in the first place showed very clearly how powerful this Armament Guild was.


    However, whatever excitement and nostalgia Ryu might have felt was quickly doused in cold waters when his gaze landed upon the nine massive stone monuments.


    "What a disappointment." He muttered to himself coldly, not bothering to look on anymore. The young geniuses of the Inner Ring were so excited that the stone monuments had appeared, not knowing that the Armament Guild was laughing at them with disdain.


    These stone monuments¡­ They were even weaker than the version he tested himself with when he was just five years old. Even back then Ryu''s ray of light managed to stretch forward by half a meter, wouldn''t he be making a joke of himself taking such a useless Armament Trial with his current strength?


    Ryu''s gaze shifted without hesitation, not caring any longer.


    Tae gave him a weird gaze. When she looked toward the Stone Monuments, she felt as though her very soul was collapsing. Nine Impose Realm weapon strokes! How could he not care at all?


    A part of her wanted to scold Ryu inwardly for trying to act cool, but another part of her remembered back to the precision of his corpse puppets¡­ Could it be he''s not faking that he doesn''t care?


    By the time she collected herself, Ryu had gone into the distance.


    ''It''s more convenient this way. With everyone so focused on that sham trial, the lines have dispersed and the merchants are more free.''


    ''Little Ryu, there''s a nosy someone with eyes a bit too interested in you¡­'' Ailsa said softly, a bit irritated as though no one had the right to look at Ryu but her.


    Ryu shrugged, his sharp eyes taking in what might and might not be valuable. ''Any Immortal Ring Realm expert would be capable of hearing what I said casually. Since they only placed such pitiful stone monuments down to appease these Inner Ring ''geniuses'', they won''t care that I look on their trials the way I do.''


    What the Armament Guild was doing was simply saving the face of their business partners. If they put up monuments to their true standards, the Inner Ring youth would never be able to rise up again. But, if they didn''t put up a monument at all, then they might sour their relationship. In the end, it was the Inner Ring itself that asked to be slapped in the face like this. Yet, look at them running around with smiles on their faces.


    Ailsa silently nodded in agreement. After all, the expert''s gaze wasn''t one of hostility, but rather one of interest. Thinking back to Ryu revealing his bodily strength, Ailsa smiled. Her Little Ryu was a bit too scheming, if this Looming Clan didn''t know how to let things go¡­ They''ll lose more than their foot smashing into an iron plate.


    Ailsa shook her head. ''What am I thinking. Even if they know when to take a step back, knowing my Little Ryu, he won''t let things end so simply.''


    "This soft armor, how much?" Ryu finally found something to his liking. It was a flexible armor similar to his former Ice Silk armor, but this one had no affinity. It was woven with the beard hair filaments of a Sixth Order Diamond Back Ape. They were known for tempering their almost tortoise-like shell in molten lava conditions, and through a continuous cycle of their hair being burned off a regrown, it not only became sturdy beyond compare, it was also highly fire resistant.


    "Your eyes are a bit too lofty, boy." The merchant laughed, sitting lazily in his seat in robes a bit too loose for his slight frame.


    "How much?" Ryu asked again plainly.


    "Ten thousand Higher Mortal Qi Stones."


    As a treasure formed by a Sixth Order beast''s body, this soft armor was indeed worthy of such a price. One would only sense Immortal Qi upon entering the Immortal Ring Realm, but that was the Seventh Order. So, treasures of this caliber were still dealt with in Mortal Qi Stones.


    "Don''t try to bargain with me, this is a fair price." The merchant continued.


    "Bargain?" Ryu shook his head. He wasn''t paying anyway, why would he bother to bargain?


    "Miss, I believe it''s your Loom Clan''s turn."


    Tae was stunned. This Ryu could actually be so shameless?!


    "Don''t bother arguing with me." Ryu said coldly. "Your Inner Ring lacks a source of Immortal Qi Stones, but are overflowing with Mortal Qi Stones. As a Fifth Order Clan, your grandfather can bring out a hundred times this easily, especially since he runs the entertainment capital of your lands."


    Tae clenched her fists. Why was he so ignorant in some areas, but so sharp in others?!


    She could only watch as her family''s wealth vanished before her eyes.

 Chapter 237: Six Months Ago

    The merchant sighed. "It''s a shame that such a good piece is being wasted like this."


    Ryu smiled coldly but said nothing. Now that he was slowly coming into contact with more and more powerful beasts, his Shrine Plane knowledge was starting to become useful again. He was too used to strong beasts with great bloodlines, so he knew too little about their weaker counterparts. But when it came to beasts with great potential like the Diamond Back Ape, even if he didn''t know as much as a Beast Master would, he still had quite a few tidbits of useful information.


    The reason the merchant was lamenting this sale was because the true strength of this soft armor wouldn''t appear unless its owner could catalyze the hair filaments it was woven from to react. Essentially, one needed to bathe the soft armor in oppressively hot flames in battle. If one could do this, the soft armor would harden into a complex crystalline structure, boosting its defensive abilities by over ten times.


    The Diamond Back Ape was named as such not because it had a rock attached to its back. Its so-called ''tortoise-like'' shell was actually a dense patch of hair that protected its vulnerable spine. When it was agitated with enough heat, it would become the 103rd hardest material in existence, Flame Crystal.


    Of course, Ryu had no intention of explaining to the merchant that he was more than qualified to reach this standard.


    "Sell me those robes as well." Ryu said casually. "All three of them."


    Ryu pointed out a rack of black robes with silver embroidery hidden in its inner working. Looking down at his haggard and shirtless self, it really was too unsightly for a Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, he needed to change. These robes didn''t have defensive properties as good as the Diamond Back Soft Armor, but the silver embroidery was a specialty of the Spiritual Seamstress profession.


    A good Spiritual Seamstress would be able to make clothes an extension of one''s meridians, using special techniques to etch paths of qi into clothing. These clothes could not only change their size to fit their owner, but they could provide a small boost to fighting ability. Though, that boost was often negligible.


    This set of three robes provided a negligible boost, but Ryu was more interested in their resilience. After binding to clothes creating by a good Spiritual Seamstress, the clothing would gain the attributes of its owner, thus making it resistant to techniques or elements its owner might use. It was a good option for Ryu who was tired of his clothes bursting apart on him.


    "These are Sixth Order Spiritual Robes. Even if they aren''t as valuable as they soft armor, they''re still expensive. A thousand Higher Mortal Qi Stones each."


    This so-called Sixth Order meant that these clothes should be able to survive a battle between Connecting Heaven Realm experts, assuming its owner also had this level of strength.


    Ryu didn''t bargain and left the exchange to Tae without a care in the world.


    "Since when were bumpkins allowed into the Armament Guild Bazaar? Guards! Escort him out, his appearance is unsightly."


    A familiar voice rang in Ryu''s ears, but it was far gloomier than the last time he heard it. He didn''t bother to turn around. With the stone monuments having been up for a while now, there were without a doubt quite a few disappointed trial takers. For these trash to find someone to vent their anger on was normal.


    But, even Ryu couldn''t help but find that it was amusing that this person calling him a bumpkin had been beaten into the ground by him just half a year prior. Wasn''t he embarrassing himself more this way?


    To make matters worse, he was trying to command Armament Guild Guards? Did he accidentally hit this Basteel Clan young master too hard on the head back then?


    A well-dressed man by Tharon''s side laughed. "Tharon, do you really need to take out your anger on an innocent passerby just because your performance was so trash? It''s no wonder you lost your First Heir position to your younger brother. Even the Basteel Clan known for their fiery temperaments decided they''d be run into the ground if they were led by you."


    "You must have been hit a bit too hard all those months ago." Another young man laughed. "Trying to command Armament Guild Guards? Distrusting the vetting process of the Armament Guild? He could be covered in shit and it still wouldn''t be your turn to tell the Armament Guild who they can and can''t allow in. Use your head for once and maybe you wouldn''t lose so badly all the time."


    In truth, to onlookers who gazed over curiously, Ryu really did seem unsightly. And, because he had taken a backseat to the transaction between Tae and the merchant, it seemed he was watching on while someone else bought something he could never afford. No one''s first thought would ever be that the beautiful back view of Tae was actually in the process of running an errand for this haggard young man.


    Tharon clenched his fists. The two who had just spoken were the First Heirs to the Xie and Vinn Clan, two Clans that shared equal status with his Basteel Clan and the Zu Clan. Of course, there was also the silent First Heir of the Croft Clan lagging behind them.


    Their statuses had once been equal, but after Tharon lost so much face for the Basteel Clan and had the Bloodied Steed they had so much hope in become subservient to another, his status plummeted. In the end, his younger brother who had become an Herbologist at a young age took his place. It was rare for the Basteel Clan to birth someone so intelligent and charismatic, so the elders decided that maybe the younger Basteel might have a better chance of leading them past the plateau their Clan had been stuck on for the past several millennia.


    As these young men were taunting and jeering back and forth, a shocking scene occurred.


    The beautiful back view of Tae turned around, revealing a visage they all recognized.


    Tharon''s gaze lit up. "Fairy Tae -!"


    Unfortunately, his words were caught in his throat as and his face darkened as he watched the fairy in his heart take a stack of four neatly folded armors and spiritual clothing, only to hand them to the very same country bumpkin he had tried to have kicked out only to be ignored.


    To make matters worse, he suddenly felt that the so-called bumpkin was too familiar. For some reason, despite only being ten or so meters away, he couldn''t make out Ryu''s exact figure. And, even though he could plainly feel that Ryu''s hair was fluttering, he couldn''t make out its color either. It was as though everything about him was covered in a veil his senses couldn''t pierce through.


    He suddenly remembered that the last time he had this feeling¡­ Was six months ago¡­


    It was then that Ryu finally turned around.

 Chapter 238: Stay

    Not just Tharon, but even the heirs around him were stunned. Obviously, this wasn''t because they ''recognized'' Ryu, but rather because rather because they were all intelligent people who instantly understood some things based on the half-mask before them. Not long later, they all, aside from Tharon and the silent Croft Clan heir began laughing uproariously, unable to keep it in.


    "Hey Tharon, this¡­ Country bumpkin, that''s what you called him right? He can''t be that necromancer that beat you into the ground with his fists, right?" The Xie family heir wiped tears from his eyes, hardly able to contain himself.


    "Haha! I can''t take it! If he''s a country bumpkin, what are you exactly?" The Vinn family heir could only pile on, clutching his stomach.


    Tharon''s fists clenched as pulsing veins crawled across his forehead.


    No matter how he tried to explain, it was useless. Losing to a necromancer might not have been that big of a deal. However, losing to not Ryu''s corpse puppet, but his fist, was an absolute loss of face. Everyone knew the weakness of a necromancer, it was an open secret. Yet he was directly beaten down by what should have been Ryu''s weakest aspect.


    In reality, this wasn''t entirely untrue. Because he had entered the second Mental Realm, the Spiritual Endowment Realm, and had expanded his Mental Realm to twenty kilometers, even after his vast bodily improvements, Ryu''s Mental Realm was arguably his strongest strength.


    At twenty kilometers, that was already more than enough for most normal Mental Realm Masters to begin to prep for entry into the Soul Birth Realm. Though it was well short of what geniuses would push their limits to before then, Ryu could be said to be above the average.


    To make matters worse, Tharon didn''t just lose, he was left without the ability to fight back. What made this so terrible was that his Basteel Clan''s special earth affinity should have given him an incredibly sturdy body, yet he could do nothing to Ryu.


    Even now, Tharon couldn''t wrap his head around how he had lost so badly. Back then, he had felt that something locked onto his soul, a presence so fierce that he didn''t dare to fight back. He was unable to shake it off even after he fell unconscious.


    By the time City Lord Loom appeared, he had already regained consciousness, but after losing all face, he didn''t dare to stand again. He only felt that his hatred was partially vented after the City Lord proceeded to humiliate Ryu in turn.


    But why was it then that the City Lord''s granddaughter was here with the man who humiliated him? Wasn''t he afraid to offend his Basteel Clan?


    A moment later, his intent deflated once more. He understood why this City Lord dared to release Ryu now¡­ Since he wasn''t the First Heir of the current generation any longer, the City Lord tying himself to this mysterious young man was obviously not a problem.


    Seeing that the usually fiery Tharon become so deflated, the Xie and Vinn Clan heirs looked disappointed. They had hoped that Tharon would embarrass himself once more by fighting Ryu, but it seemed he no longer dared to do so. Still, they didn''t seem satisfied letting things end like this, or else how would they vent their frustrations?


    The true reason they piled onto Tharon so fiercely was because the latter was truly their better in terms of strength. They could only get the leg up on him by using their brains to outsmart this straightforward, mindless individual.


    But, it seemed they had underestimated the impact Ryu''s strength had had on Tharon''s mental state.


    Though they believed he was afraid, this wasn''t actually how Tharon was feeling. Physiologically speaking, his body involuntarily trembled before Ryu. But, his mind was actually quite firm. The truth was that he was really trying to figure out why his body was responding this way.


    As for Ryu, other than the indifferent expression on his face, he was inwardly feeling a bit disappointed. If these were the best youths the Inner Ring had to offer, whatever it was this City Lord needed help with wouldn''t help temper his strength at all.


    ''If it''s like this, there''s no point in me remaining here. Though further revenge would be nice, settling for stealing their pay for nothing in return will have to be enough.''


    Ryu felt like the plans he had begun to carefully place down had become useless. He too could feel that Tharon was the strongest of the four of them. Well, other than the exceptionally silent Croft Clan heir.


    "This is what you needed my help with?" Ryu gave Tae a cold glance. "You alone would have a 70% chance of beating them even if they came all at once."


    Seeing Tae''s shocked then bitter expression, Ryu suddenly understood.


    "I see. So your grandfather is not only a fool in running a City and laying its rules, he''s also a fool in running his own Clan. Ignoring talent for such a meaningless reason, he''s not fit to be a leader."


    "Don''t talk about my grandfather like that!" Tae''s bitterness turned to rage, her petite figure seemingly growing several sizes. But, upon further inspection, it was only her aura that grew.


    Ryu coldly met her eyes, his expression not shifting. This was always how things went. No matter how much Tae cursed her grandfather in her mind, she wouldn''t allow others to do so, least of all an outsider.


    Those around suddenly felt an eerie silence. Ryu hadn''t bothered to lower his voice. Those who recognized the necromancer of several months ago had weird expressions on their faces. It seemed whatever the City Lord did to him hadn''t been enough to teach him a lesson.


    Seeing that her outburst had caught a lot of attention, Tae glared at Ryu. But the latter only walked away, he still had to find parts for the Death Worm Immortal Cave.


    As the bazaar began to regain its rowdiness, Tae followed Ryu to pass by the four heirs with an unresigned expression filled with unwillingness. It was only then that the silent Croft heir turned to gaze at Ryu''s back.


    "The matter isn''t as simple as you think." Tae said stiffly. "The Inner Ring Clans are just pawns of the Core Region. We have the largest deposits of Mortal Qi Stones on the Pedestal Plane. Even if true experts of the Core Region only truly care about Immortal Qi Stones, I''m sure you understand the importance of a foundation¡­ All of us here in the Inner Region do nothing but dance on the puppet strings of others.


    "Which Clans rise and which ones fall are all decided by those larger Clans. Because of the appearance of the Ice Devil Legacy World, the matters pertaining to this Selection were moved up. Everything is especially accelerated because the Zu Clan is quickly rising in power, there are rumors that their First Grand Elder might become their Clan''s third Immortal Ring expert. Even if they don''t have enough Connecting Heaven Realm experts to become an official Sixth Order Clan, this alone makes them more powerful than some true Sixth Order Clans who only have one Immortal Ring Realm expert.


    "The moment the Zu Clan''s Patriarch followed their Ancestor''s footsteps and entered the Immortal Ring Realm, the Zu Clan already became capable of controlling their own destiny.


    "Knowing this, a series of tacit agreements were silently made. The Zu Clan would be allowed to shift their base of power to the better Core Region lands, and the balance of strength of our Inner Ring would be shuffled and shifted once more.


    "The Zu Clan members continuously talk about how they''re just ''laying the foundation for the coming thousands of years'', but this is just a fa?ade. In truth, in as little as ten more years, the Zu Clan will move."


    For much of the latter half of her spiel, Tae used a Qi Line. These talks were too sensitive for just any ears.


    Ryu inwardly laughed. If the Zu Clan had managed to get their hands on the crystalline jade, their rise would have been assured.


    Even without it, their foundations were far deeper than even the Core Region hegemons. Ryu speculated that these shrewd individuals of the Core Region understood that this was only the outward showing of the Zu Clan''s strength, so they prudently decided to help them along instead of becoming their enemy.


    In the end, the rise of the Zu Clan threw the Inner Ring into a heated turmoil. Maybe the appearance of this Armament Guild bazaar wasn''t just coincidence either.


    "I''m sure you understand by now, but the Core Region Clans have a ¡­ vested interest in some of us winning, and an even keener interest in some of us losing. My Loom Clan unfortunately happens to be in the latter category. Though we are the clear heir apparent to Zu Clan territory, there are many who don''t want to see us win. And¡­ We are also dealing with many¡­ internal disputes."


    Tae took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions, thinking back to her cousin, Erea.


    "In the coming weeks, there will be many ''sudden'' appearances of ''hidden'' geniuses. I''m sure I don''t need to explain to you where these geniuses come from¡­"


    Ryu nodded. Obviously, the Core Region Clans would be sending their own to assure that the Clans they have a stake in win. Maybe some time in the past, the Loom Clan would have received some of this ''hidden'' support, but they likely angered someone they shouldn''t have, leading to many taking a hands-off approach.


    A system like this one only truly works if they maintain a thin veil of cordiality, so no one would do anything too overt to the Loom Clan. After all, the Core Region was very far away, and they had their own internal disputes to worry about. The strength of a Fifth Order Clan couldn''t be casually handled even by a Sixth Order one.


    Like this, the Loom Clan had a path to live, but it was a very small one. Ryu had thought that City Lord Loom needed his help to win some sort of prize to allow him to enter the Immortal Ring Realm, but it turned out that this was only one of his asks.


    Tae bit her lip, seemingly wanting to explain how the Loom Clan fell into this sort of situation. But in the end, she couldn''t bring herself to. The only clues to her thoughts were the raging emotions in her watery eyes. Feelings of rage, disgust and helpless were only just a few.


    Ryu, however, had long since stopped paying attention.


    He smiled coldly. ''That''s more like it. I guess I''ll stay.''

 Chapter 239: Nonchalance

    Ryu quickly tossed these matters to the back of his mind. As far as he was concerned, the more dangerous the situation, the better.


    As things were currently, he didn''t have a true goal for the next year and a half until the eclipse. He thought that in this time the only challenge he might receive was as a contestant for one of the positions to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World.


    Originally, he had been planning on joining as an unknown after he reached the Core Region, mostly because he couldn''t be bothered to enter each and every tournament. Not only would fighting against Outer and Inner Ring ''geniuses'' not be any sort of challenge, it would be a waste of his time.


    But now, this sort of political intrigue had caught his attention.


    The wealth of the Inner Ring wasn''t something new to this era. Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan had no need of it, but many of their subordinate Clans once had hands in this region.


    The geography of the Inner Ring was a bit special. Its total qi wasn''t as dense as the Core Region, but for some reason, its Mortal Qi density was incredibly high. This resulted in many Mortal Qi Mines forming to the point where it outshone the Core Region in this aspect. Not only this, but it had an exceptionally high number of Common, Black and Earth Grade treasures as a result.


    Of course, the Core Region''s Immortal Qi density was far higher which was why those powerful Clans didn''t bother to take over this Inner Ring territory. But, they were intriguing enough to the point where they weren''t ignored either.


    To put things into perspective, no matter how dense the Inner Ring''s Mortal Qi was, it couldn''t hold a candle to the Blossom Plane, let alone the Shrine Plane. But for this Pedestal Plane, there was no better region. In fact, this was one of the reasons other than Hecate''s Legacy that Ryu came here instead of comfortably cultivating within the Awoken Moon Sect.


    This was all to say that the Core Region definitely wouldn''t underestimate this competition. Even if they didn''t care for the strength of the Inner Ring, they would definitely care about the kind of geniuses their rivals might send to their pawns. So, they wouldn''t lack either.


    The next coming weeks would be¡­ interesting.


    Ryu quickly shifted around the Bazaar, relying on his eyesight and sometimes Ailsa to find what he needed. He bought many precious metals for the Death Worm Immortal Cave and eventually forced Tae to spend over two hundred thousand Higher Mortal Qi Stones.


    Since Ryu now understood just how important this matter was to the Loom Clan, he also knew that they would go all out in this stage. Taking advantage of them like this helped alleviate some of the rage in his heart¡­


    ~A distance away.


    "What are you looking at old man?" A middle aged man yawned, casually scratching his crotch.


    The ''old man'', despite having a head of white hair, shone with the vigor of a thirty year old. If it wasn''t for the slight wrinkles around his eyes, one would think that he really was that young. Unfortunately, these wrinkles became more pronounced after he laid eyes on the man who spoke.


    "You''re a cultivator, yet you yawn. Aren''t you embarrassed wasting so much energy at those brothels? You''re nothing but a shame to my Hastam Clan."


    "Who asked you to bring me to a place with so many pretty ladies?" The middle-aged man snorted. "This entertainment capital is pretty good, you should join me one day."


    Black lines drew across Old Man Hastam''s face. One only needed to understand that this middle-aged man was his son to understand the ridiculous nature of the words he just heard.


    Seeing that his old man''s temper was about to flair, the younger Hastam quickly changed the subject.


    "What were you smiling about?"


    Blinking out of his rage, the old man was silent for a moment before smiling once more.


    "Nothing much. I just saw a young man with far more potential than you. He appears to be a necromancer, but he has the air of the Impose Realm. Not to mention the fact his body is actually so powerful. These Stone Monuments are nothing to him."


    But, even as he was praising, the old man sighed. "Unfortunately, he''s far too ambitious. He very clearly has the ring of the Mercenary Guild on his hand, yet he came to flirt with my Armament Guild. What a troublesome youth."


    The middle-aged man grinned. "Who ever said just one skirt was enough? One must bathe in skirts to the point of suffocating, or else how will you know that you are a man?!"


    The old man''s hand swiped up faster than his son could react, giving him a clear, reverberating slap to the back of the head.


    "Would it kill you to shut up about women?"


    Looking incredibly wronged, the middle-aged man rubbed the back of his head.


    "What''s the big deal. You know that the Mercenary Guild is exactly that, a guild of Mercenaries. They don''t restrict the activity of their members. Plus, considering he has a Necromancer''s mask, he''s technically already part of the Necromancer Guild as well, another guild that doesn''t restrict their members. What''s the problem? Clearly the kid doesn''t care, so why should you?"


    This was exactly why even Captain Zu didn''t dare to take off Ryu''s mask. The half-mask of a Necromancer was the symbol of the Necromancer Guild. Even if one didn''t join personally, as long as you inherited the mask from another, you would receive a bare minimum of protection.


    To Necromancers, their identity was sacred due to the sensitivity of their path of cultivation. They were often enemies with many Clans simply by virtue of the corpse puppets they used. As a result, the Necromancer Guild protected their own by placing a strict taboo on forcefully taking a half-mask off. If one was ever found to have done such a thing, you would become an enemy of the Necromancer Guild to be hunted down to death!


    Of course, the Necromancer Guild wouldn''t care if Ryu was killed, but his mask must never be removed. This was a matter of precedence they had to set no matter the cost.


    "I would agree in a normal situation, but there are two issues¡­ Firstly, the fact that he doesn''t care is already a problem. Our Armament Guild isn''t like those other guilds, only the most powerful and talented among us can be unrestricted. If you can''t give equivalent value for what you take, and you wish to be unrestricted¡­ can there ever be such a free thing in this world?


    "And secondly¡­ He''s not a normal member of the Mercenary Guild."


    The middle-aged man''s eyes widened. "You mean?!"


    Old Man Hastam nodded heavily. "His ring carries the will of a Sky God. Not only has he joined their guild, he was accepted into the faction of one of their Sky Gods. Which Sky God doesn''t matter, the fact he was acknowledged is enough."


    The old man shook his head. "What was the Loom Clan thinking, so ignorantly offending such a young man. The fact he didn''t immediately expose this means he''s seeking revenge for himself. Such a little seedling is truly too good, it pains me to pass him up."


    "There''s a third reason too, isn''t there¡­" The middle-aged man said darkly.


    "¡­" Looking into the distance, Old Man Hastam sighed once more. "Such large matters have nothing to do with us father and son, ostracized to the point of coming to this small Inner Ring. With such weak Immortal Qi density, I can forget about taking another step forward even with another ten thousand years."


    "Father, there must be a reason for such striking qi imbalance in the Inner Ring. Maybe¡­ This is an opportunity."


    "Matters have been like this for countless billion years. Even if it was an opportunity, how would it be our turn to take advantage of it?"


    "You''re so depressing. If you''re going to be such a downer, stop looking at me with disdain for finding ways to enjoy myself."


    "Who said that I''ve given up? Watch your mouth boy!" Old Man Hastam growled, his figure seemed to grow one size larger. "Those bastards of the Hastam main line will feel my wrath one day. But that day is not today. A man must not also have many skirts, he must also have patience!"


    The middle-aged man grinned. Those who said his perverted nature came from nowhere obviously didn''t know his old man!


    As for the large matters having nothing to do with the father-son pair, these could only be related to these large looming guilds.


    The Armament Guild, the Mercenary Guild, the Necromancer Guild¡­ They were just three of many, and the relationship between them wasn''t so simple at all.


    ~


    Tae walked Ryu to a luxurious guest courtyard before ordering a gargantuan amount of food at Ryu''s request.


    "In three days, there will be a meeting of my Loom Clan. It is then my grandfather will introduce you to the family. When that day comes, you must prove yourself and silence the doubters. I don''t know why my grandfather decided to put his trust in you so quickly, but I assume he has his reasons."


    As she spoke, an entourage of half a dozen maids and butlers began to wheel in cart after cart of food.


    "I hope when the time comes¡­ You''ll prove to be worth the investment." Biting her lip, she hesitated but decided to add one more thing. "This meeting won''t be as simple as you think. My grandfather has the power to suppress naysayers and even forcefully nominate you to represent the Clan, but he doesn''t have the power to stop them from testing you. You could very well die, so place down your arrogance and take this seriously."


    Ryu didn''t respond. He sat in the dining room of this guest courtyard he was given and began to eat, slowly satiating the raging hunger of his beast bloodlines one after another.


    "You might want to bring more food." Ryu said in response before directly ignoring Tae.


    He didn''t have a mind to care about Tae''s words. Instead, he was thinking about the Bloodied Steed, Nemesis. He still remembered when Ailsa told him the talents of this beast. Even six months later, he was still intrigued.


    In the end, Tae could only suffer the same frustration Elena and Melody before her had.


    Stomping her feet, she left in a rage. Though she didn''t wish death upon Ryu, she hoped he would be injured to the point he could no longer maintain his nonchalance.

 Chapter 240: Brashness

    "Hey little guy, you''ve grown big." Ryu smiled lightly, petting Little Rock''s long, majestic silver feathered neck. His plumes shimmered with a metallic rainbow light, almost making his feathers look more like the scales of a dragon than the coat of an elegant bird.


    It had been a long while since Ryu laid eyes on Little Rock, mostly because he had been in a cell for the past half year. That said, the infant Lightning Hawk had grown much more powerful in the last months. Its speed of growth was far beyond that of Ryu and had already stepped into the Higher Fourth Order Realm from the Peak Third Order Realm of just a little under a year ago.


    Beasts truly had a grand advantage over humans. Even the greatest geniuses amongst humans needed ten years to clear the Spiritual Severing Realm, yet this little guy, even with its mind still being so immature, had completed over 60% of its equivalent Realm in just a year.


    By Ailsa''s estimation, Little Rock wasn''t even two years old yet. He had been even younger when Ryu met him, yet he already reigned over a large portion of that dangerous obsidian mountain of lightning.


    The little guy''s wingspan was a little short of ten meters now, growing from its previous six. But, luckily, this courtyard was spacious enough that it didn''t matter much. Ryu even summoned Nemesis together with him, allowing them to become a bit more acquainted. After all, to Ryu, these two were his family now. Not only would he treat them well, they would be together for a very long time.


    Ryu assumed that the Basteel Clan would notice very soon that Nemesis had disappeared from the Gates of the city. But, he didn''t care.


    Seeing Ryu grow attached to these two beasts so quickly, Ailsa felt a pang in her heart. Even if he didn''t admit it himself, Ailsa understood where this subconscious dependence came from.


    "Qi~ Qi~." Little Rock''s clear, sonorous call comforted Ryu and greeted Nemesis. Its tone was gentle, ringing like a silver bell. Though Ryu couldn''t understand, he felt a warmth spread within his chest.


    "Nie~ Nie~." Hot steam blew from Nemesis'' nostrils. He still hadn''t fully recovered from the torture he experienced for the last few months, but his head was still held high. He didn''t want Little Rock to think any less of him.


    ''Once their souls mature, they''ll be able to communicate with you in human language. Usually only the most talented beasts can comprehend human tongues, but I don''t think these two will have this problem.


    ''Unfortunately, you aren''t a beast tamer and haven''t learned any communication techniques, so you''ll only be able to subtly comprehend their meanings for now.'' Ailsa explained.


    "What constitutes mature?" Ryu asked curiously.


    ''Beasts cultivate with their Spiritual Roots, as you know. So, their method of improvement is slightly different. They don''t have three paths to choose from like humans do, they only have one. They essentially cultivate every path at once with preset talents depending on bloodline grade. Simply put, once they reach the equivalent of the Soul Birth Realm, they shouldn''t have any problem learning human language.''


    Ryu nodded. Humans entered the Soul Birth Realm after opening both their Spiritual Pulse and Spiritual Vessel. Then, after completing their Immortal Ring, they''d step into the Soul Birth Realm. If this was translated to beasts, this would be between the Seventh and Eighth Orders.


    Technically, one could enter the Soul Birth Realm and open their Spiritual Sea right after opening their Spiritual Vessel. Since Ryu had opened his Spiritual Vessel, he could do so as well. In fact, he was very tempted¡­


    Once Ryu entered the Soul Birth Realm, he''d finally be strong enough to feel his soul ties with Elena. He wanted to know if she was okay, if she was living well¡­ where she was¡­


    However, Ryu knew that he had to complete his Immortal Ring first. Though entering the Soul Birth Realm now would give him a great boost in power, it would only be short term benefits at the cost of his foundation. If he ruined himself now, how would he save Elena in the future? A few more years of worry and anguish was worth becoming strong enough to take revenge in the future.


    The utmost geniuses of the Shrine Plane took about ten thousand years to complete their Immortal Ring, but Ryu was confident in only needing a fraction of the time! In the future, when he was strong enough to reach his soul out toward his wife, he''d be able to stand tall before her and confidently tell his love to wait for his return! He''d lay all those who slighted her to waste!


    Ailsa smiled lightly. Ryu''s emotions had been fluctuating wildly recently, he even seemed like he could explode at any moment. But this firm resolve was something that had never wavered even once.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu lightly stroked Nemesis'' mane. It was much shorter than it had been before, but after only a few hours under Ailsa''s care, much of its scars had faded and its previous brilliance was shining through once more.


    "You never finished telling me before." Ryu said. "How talented is Little Nemesis exactly?"


    ''Well, Nemesis is currently at the Peak Fourth Order, but this isn''t his limit. In order to control him, the Basteel Clan suppressed his cultivation for many years. If he had been allowed to grow normally, it might already be at the Seventh Order despite being less than twenty years old.


    ''Unfortunately, the Basteel Clan flooded its bloodline with a concoction of poisons it was forced to take over several years. By now, the poison has already seeped deep into its marrow, making every step forward far more difficult. This might also be because they were afraid of Nemesis'' talent attracting the attention of the Core Region.


    ''In the last six months, it seemed their concoction became more vicious. They likely assumed that their years of investment would go to waste, so they decided to try to ruin Nemesis'' talent entirely. They didn''t go too far because they still held on a little hope, but its situation is far worse today than it had been a half year ago¡­ if it remains like this, even a hundred years wouldn''t be enough to enter the Fifth Order.''


    Ryu''s jaw clenched. Nemesis'' deep black eyes shimmered with a watery light, but there was an endless defiance in their depths as though the actions of the Basteel Clan were meaningless to him.


    ''It shouldn''t be a problem. In as little as three months, I should be able to cleanse this little crimson tyke of its ailments. In the meantime, it won''t be able to display its usefulness just yet. You''ll have to be patient.''


    Ryu shook his head. He didn''t care much about Nemesis being immediately useful, he just felt relieved that he could be helped. If Nemesis'' future was completely ruined, it would have been largely due to his own brashness.

 Chapter 241: Time

    Ryu would never regret his actions if he was the only one affected. In fact, he was used to only having himself to worry about now, so he often acted in this way. But, he wouldn''t forgive himself if he harmed those he cared for.


    Since he had taken Nemesis as his partner, it should have been his responsibility to look after him, but he failed. Ryu swore to make up for that.


    ''Still, you should be excited, the abilities of this Bloodied Steed aren''t so simple as mere cultivation speed. Its most potent ability is already right in front of you: its size.''


    Ryu blinked before frowning. "Its size?"


    Before Ailsa even said anything more, Ryu''s eyes widened.


    A beast on the verge of entering the Fifth Order was innately large. This wasn''t something they could help. Even Little Rock already had a wingspan of ten meters, so why was it that Nemesis was only one size larger than a normal horse? Logically, it should already be at least five meters tall even if it was stunted.


    "This¡­"


    Ailsa smiled. ''Beasts are both blessed and cursed with powerful bodies. In truth, they reach their optimal size after completing their Mortal Realm cultivation. This is the Connecting Heaven Realm equivalent, or the Sixth Order.


    ''Unfortunately, at no consent of their own, beasts uncontrollably grow larger and larger as they become more and more powerful. The strength of their bodies becomes too much to keep in a compact form, so even Ancestral Beasts become several kilometers long in size once they reach higher realms of cultivation.


    ''Have you ever wondered why human experts can battle beasts so much larger than them? Logically speaking, if a Fifth Order Beast standing at over ten meters tall meets a Divine Vessel Realm expert at barely two meters tall, if their strengths were properly scaled, the beast would win ten out of ten times.


    ''However, though beasts are acknowledged to be more powerful than humans, things don''t always scale like this. The reason is that the strength of beasts is dissipated as their bodies grow instead of that strength scaling up.


    ''Knowing this, I''m sure you understand why Nemesis is so valuable, right?''


    Ryu''s heart palpitated. If the strength of a beast meant to be ten meters tall was compressed into just under three meters, wouldn''t that make the beast three times more powerful than normal?


    And what if Nemesis continued to improve and entered a stage where he should be dozens of meters tall? Hundreds of meters tall? Several kilometers tall?!


    If the benefits continued to stack, it would be enough to make any beast tamer green with envy¡­


    ''Humans and humanoid species have four central pillars of talent. Spiritual Foundation Grade, Bloodline Grade, Skeletal Grade, and Meridian Grade. However, beasts only have two. Bloodline Grade, and Bloodline Talent Grade!


    ''Little Rock has yet to awaken any Bloodline Talents, but Nemesis has awakened two.


    ''The first is of the Ancestral Grade, the Adept Body Bloodline Talent. This allows it to control its body as it pleases, thus allowing it to maintain what it believes is its most optimal size. This is most definitely a mutated Bloodline Talent because it shouldn''t originally appear in the Bloodied Steed Lineage despite their¡­ noble ancestors.


    ''However, that is only one aspect of the talent, greater aspects will make themselves clear very soon.


    ''The second talent is only of the Black Grade and is an original talent of the Bloodied Steed Lineage, but in combination with the first talent, it will give not only you, but all of your beasts a massive boost in strength!


    ''This talent is known as the Bloodied Lineage Bloodline Talent. Because of the history of the Bloodied Steed, they often have trouble reproducing despite their low species ranking. In order to not die out, they gained the ability to transfer their bloodline to lesser creatures and raise them up to greater heights. This also allowed young Bloodied Steeds to quickly grow their power by relying on their parents.''


    "You mean¡­.?"


    ''That''s right. Normally this Bloodline Talent is lackluster. After all, the Bloodied Steed only has a Middle Black Grade Bloodline, while even Little Rock has a wisp of Lightning Roc blood that raises its bloodline to the Peak Earth Grade. So, normally who would care about it being able to share its talent?


    ''But now¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes lit up with excitement. He wasn''t one to lose control of his emotions, but this matter truly opened an inconceivably large door to him. If things were like this, he would be able to directly ignore the Necromancer path, why bother when Nemesis was such a boon for him?


    All he had to do was adventure and rely on Ailsa''s sharp eyes to find talented beasts for him to take under his wing. With a few decades of growth, his power would become inconceivable.


    ''This is where the Bloodied Steed got their name. They have a habit of sharing their blood¡­ coupled with their crimson appearance, and the namesake is only natural.''


    "Does Big Sis think I should abandon the Necromancer path and focus on the Beast Tamer path then? I shouldn''t split my attention, no?."


    Ailsa was shocked at Ryu''s words before she giggled happily. She knew Ryu was in a good mood, even calling her Big Sis without any reluctance. But in the end, she controlled herself and shook her head firmly.


    ''No. If anything, you should pursue the Necromancer path with a fiercer ambition. Enter their ranks and prove yourself as best you can¡­ Do everything you can do to find the Legacy of a Summoning Necromancer or gain the acknowledgement of one.''


    Ryu raised his brows, unable to understand Ailsa''s fervent attitude.


    ''Remember I mentioned the history of the Bloodied Steed? Their Lineage is even deeper than I alluded to¡­ You know well that Summoning Necromancers make contracts with creatures of the Nether Realm, however you don''t know quite yet that these creatures have grades amongst themselves though they are all outstandingly powerful.


    ''The stronger a Summoning Necromancer, the greater creatures they can summon and command¡­


    ''The Adept Body Bloodline Talent isn''t as simple as it sounds. Bloodline Talents have two major categories¡­ Blessed Talents and Sin Talents. This Ancestral Grade Bloodline is a Sin Talent of the highest order! The Heavens do not like its existence and will do everything it can to eradicate it.


    ''When Nemesis must face his future tribulations, because of his weak Bloodline Grade, he will most definitely fall. The only way to ensure his survival is by raising its Bloodline Grade and strength.


    ''The reason I say that you must become a Summoning Necromancer is because the best way to raise Nemesis'' talent is by using his Ancestor Lineage as sacrifices. Nemesis must continuously absorb their Spiritual Roots to raise his own grade!''


    "Nemesis'' Ancestor Lineage?..."


    Ailsa nodded heavily. ''The Bloodied Steed is the far weaker branch descendant of a creature known as the Wrath Knight. It is one of the Summonings a Necromancer can perform.


    ''I don''t know how it happened, but Nemesis awakened a Sin Talent that should have only been available to the most talented of Wrath Knights with the purest bloodlines. Even they who only have Heaven Grade and above Bloodline Grades often die after being born with this talent, let alone Little Nemesis who is still of the Black Grade.


    ''I alone can raise Nemesis'' talents by a margin, but it will only be a small measure that won''t work infinitely. This, in the end, is the best solution.


    ''Entering the Nether World with your own strength will take too long. Nemesis may die long before you are capable of that. But, if you become a Summoning Necromancer and learn how to summon these creatures here, you won''t have to enter the Nether Realm and can thus summon weaker Wrath Knights to slowly increase Nemesis'' strength.''


    Coming to this understanding, Ryu nodded, a firm resolve in his eyes. A part of him preferred having something to push him to his limits¡­


    Ailsa smiled. ''It isn''t all depressing, though. After I purge Nemesis of his poison, his strength will increase by a large margin. And, once this is complete, entering the Fifth Order will only take a few moments. By then, he should learn the second talent of the Bloodied Steed¡­ Bloodied Lineage Reversal.''


    Seeing that Ailsa wanted to tease him without explaining what this Talent could do, Ryu didn''t mind her anymore and spent a silent three days with his Cultus Faerie, his Lightning Hawk, and his Bloodied Steed¡­


    Nemesis already had two Sin Talents, and would soon awaken a third. This might be a headache for anyone else, but Ryu was quite excited. This would be a challenge, but it was also a chance to grow.


    It was then, on the third day, a familiar voice came from the front of his guest courtyard.


    "It''s time."

 Chapter 242: Announced

    Ryu calmly responded to Tae''s call. Ailsa, who had been in her full form, napping on his arm shrunk down to sit on his shoulder. As for Nemesis and Little Rock, they entered the spacious Incubator. If other beasts tamed by Beast Masters knew these two could frolic so freely even while contained, they''d turn green with jealousy without a doubt.


    Ryu wore his black Spiritual Seamstress robe. The subtle silver embroidery gave him an otherworldly aura as the cloth responded excitedly to his qi. Though Ryu''s qi density was still far too weak for this set of robes, the purity in his qi was enough to use a small percentage of its strength.


    Of course, beneath these robes, the soft armor woven of Diamond Back Ape fur clung tightly to his proportions. Tae''s lip couldn''t help but twitch when she saw Ryu so shamelessly where everything their Loom Clan had purchased for him. Was he trying to purposely provoke their ill intentions?


    Ryu, however, wasn''t thinking in such useless terms. To him, he was currently in enemy territory. Since the enemy was so kind to give a great boon to his strength, why would he feign politeness? If he was backstabbed, when would he have time to regret it? He simply used what gave him the best chance for survival. Nothing more, nothing less.


    Though he liked to give himself a challenge, he wasn''t foolish to the point of not realizing he still stood no chance against City Lord Loom. He had to take every advantage he could get.


    Tae once more had trouble keeping up with Ryu''s speed. But luckily, Ryu didn''t get too far ahead. After all, this was Tae''s home and he didn''t know where he was going.


    ''Serves you right.'' Tae harrumphed as they reached a branching hall. ''Walking so quickly, putting on such airs¡­ Now politely ask me which way to go.''


    Unfortunately, even as Tae was daydreaming about forcing Ryu to heel, she didn''t realize that her subconscious actions had already given away the right answer. With Ryu''s sharp eyes, he didn''t even need to turn around to see her subtle movements, all he needed was [Third Perspective].


    Ailsa held onto her toned belly as she died of laughter. On one hand, Tae''s enraged and helpless face was too adorable to not make fun of. But on the other, this Life Partner of hers was too cruel. He couldn''t let someone else win even one round? No matter how small? Tae was a delicate girl after all, how petty.


    Ryu pretended not to understand what Ailsa was chuckling about. In just a few strides, he reached the end of the hall to meet two massive dark wood doors with two knights on either side. Neither guard even reacted to Ryu''s appearance, neither did Ryu spare them a glance. With a swift motion, the double doors were pushed open, flooding the partially dimmed hallway with a gentle but bright light.


    Tae''s brows couldn''t help but furrow. ''Why does he seem so used to such surroundings¡­ Isn''t he nameless?''


    In an instant, though, Tae lost the chance to leisurely reflect over these things because even without having stepped into the Loom Clan''s Grand Hall, her feet froze, her petite frame involuntarily shivering.


    She had been so angry with Ryu that she momentarily forgot just how much she hated this Grand Hall. To others of their Clan, this was a place of pride, where only the strongest among them could step. But to Tae¡­ No, to Taedra Loom, this place housed nothing but her nightmares.


    Ryu''s confident footsteps suddenly paused. The moment they did, he could almost feel the disdain coagulate into a solid form, wanting nothing more than to hammer him down into a bloody paste.


    It was clear they believed his heart was shaken by their display.


    At the head of the room, City Lord Loom sat, but his position was actually shared of equal height with another. This man seemed older than the City Lord, but their looks were similar to the point of almost seeming like twins. It was obvious that they were related. Brothers, in fact.


    He was the grandfather of Tae''s distant cousin Erea, the second in command of the Loom Clan and the highest ranked Grand Elder.


    Normally, City Lord Loom would take up position as the Ancestor of the Clan, but because both he and his brother were amidst a power struggle, this position was left unfilled. If City Lord Loom left his position as Patriarch now, with only his grand daughter left in his line, the Clan would without a doubt fall to his brother''s line.


    Seeing Ryu''s disappointing display, he couldn''t help but glance toward a calm and silent young man who looked like he could have been his own grandson. Had he made a mistake, trusting a stranger? Did it matter if the Clan fell into his brother''s hands?


    Grand Elder Loom wasn''t anywhere near as powerful as his elder brother. Though he looked older, this was only because his cultivation was weaker. However, he held a great amount of political power. He couldn''t match his elder brother in strength of cultivation, but in strength of seed, he lapped his elder brother several times.


    In truth, this was the City Lord''s own fault. He insisted on having just one wife, and even after she died, he never took another. He didn''t want to burden his wife with giving birth to too many children, so after they had two sons, he gave her nothing else but tender affection and care.


    All the while, his younger brother had four wives and dozens of concubines. Over their thousands of years of life, his seed had grasped a firm hold of the Clan. In fact, in his youth, the Grand Elder had purposely delayed his cultivation so that having children would be easier. He understood well that the more powerful one''s Realm, the less likely their seed would take root because children born to parents with high cultivation were blessed with greater talent.


    These matters led to the current situation. Grand Elder Loom controlled 70% of the Clan and Looming City, while the only reason his line had yet to fully take hold was because City Lord Loom was so powerful.


    The City Lord had had chances remaining with his own sons, but unfortunately, they both died. In the end, the only kin he had remaining was his granddaughter, but the Core Laws of the Clan forbade women from holding power. Who knew what the City Lord had done to protect his wife would backfire in such a way?


    In the end, he placed his trust in Ryu after seeing through some things during his appearance, but now he felt that he had maybe been too rash.


    Though many here had weak cultivations, there were many paths of cultivation throughout the cosmos. There was no shortage of business men and political officials who couldn''t hardly harm a fly, but had auras so sharp that even Immortals would feel fear.


    City Lord Loom always hid his sharpness because he had an amiable personality. So, to him, Ryu being brave before him was meaningless. The reaction here was really what counted¡­


    The calm young man who could have been the City Lord''s grandson heard a stifled laugh to his side. It was none other than his sister, Erea.


    "Grandfather Patriarch must have trained this animal a bit too well. He doesn''t even dare to bark anymore."


    The young man remained silent, his eyes still closed, as though he had heard none of his sister''s laughter.


    "Are you alright?"


    Ryu suddenly turned and strode to the entrance of the double doors, his eyes looking down toward the shivering Tae.


    In that moment, Tae was shocked. Her eyes, still reddened, couldn''t help but look up toward Ryu. But¡­ His usual cold silver eyes were decidedly warmer¡­ Maybe not warm compared to normal individuals¡­ But most definitely warm in comparison to himself.


    Seeing Tae unable to speak, Ryu scanned her delicate features for a moment.


    "Sometimes¡­" He said softly. "¡­When one path is blocked, it''s possible to find another. When the mountain is too high, climb a small hill¡­ When the ocean is too deep and violent, start with a calm lake..."


    Tae''s lips trembled. ''Take it one step at a time¡­''


    She didn''t understand why this cold young man who didn''t seem to care about anything had come back to comfort her. How could she know that Ryu had this same fear¡­? But its root was within a much grander hall than this one¡­


    Back then, he was just seven years old, but the Tatsuya Clan went all out to celebrate his Awakening Day. Who would have known that the talented Prince Ryu would be nothing but a useless commoner?


    Before more eyes than he cared to remember, a mountain taller than even the Protector Shrine fell before him, casting a shadow that blotted out his existence.


    Those matters¡­ Had happened in a Grand Hall just like this one¡­


    "I''ll show you that it''s no big deal." Ryu said with a light smile. "Follow me, don''t lose sight of my back."


    Tae''s mind went blank. It was difficult to make out Ryu''s features because of his half-mask, even his hair color was indiscernible. But for some reason, she felt that smile imprint her soul with something unerasable.


    Ryu turned back and strode forward. The pressure once more bore down, but his steps were unhurried.


    It was then that a snort left his lips. A violent aura many times stronger than the Loom Clan ministers and elders could believe tore their presence apart. In an instant, several individuals with weak constitutions paled, unable to control their visceral reaction.


    Erea felt her stifled laughter catch in her throat while the calm young man finally opened his eyes, their depths reflecting Ryu''s careless demeanor.


    In typical fashion though, Ryu''s mind wasn''t on these matters at all. Memories of his father flashed in his mind. These words¡­ weren''t they the same his old man had said to him back then?


    Ryu''s eyes became distant, remembering that broad back that protected him.


    ''Stay alive, father¡­ Your son will grow strong enough to stand by your side one day¡­''


    Not for a second did Ryu believe that his father would fall in the Nether Realm. If his father couldn''t survive, then no one could!


    In but a moment, Ryu had crossed the Grand Hall and the faces of City Lord and Grand Elder Loom, taking a seat upon a luxurious cushion slightly to the back right of the Patriarch.


    Tae dazedly followed him, barely comprehending her own actions as she took a seat on a cushion as well, this time to Ryu''s right.


    By the time Tae snapped out of her stupor, it was already too late. If she had been in her right state of mind, she would have pulled Ryu to sit where she sat, while she would shift one more cushion over, but in her daze, she completely forgot.


    She was stunned. Her heart nearly pounded out of her chest, her face flushing completely red. It felt as though her world was simultaneously collasping and spinning at the same time. How could she make such a stupid mistake?! What was she thinking?!


    The seat Ryu had taken was one that hadn''t been occupied ever since her father died! It was the seat of the Loom Clan''s Heir!


    If she wasn''t here, maybe it would be an innocent mistake and nothing more. However, her actions were nothing less than a siren of consent! Coupling that with Ryu''s untimely intimate care for her feelings just moments ago, and even her unhesitant following of his words, and an explosion of chaos too difficult to control had erupted!


    Tae suddenly blushed such a deep shade of red that the air around her steamed.


    She had just announced to the world that Ryu was her fianc¨¦!

 Chapter 243: Yard Dogs

    "Brother!" Grand Elder Loom was immediately enraged. "You married off my grand niece to a man with no name and reputation?! Would you really hate to see my grandson take over your mantle this much?! He is still your blood!"


    The Grand Hall became rowdy and a powder keg of emotion erupted. Even the usually calm grandson of the Grand Elder couldn''t help but from. Anyone who knew him would understand that he was truly enraged by the sight before him.


    The problem was the City Lord Loom was just as stunned as everyone else. How could he promise his only kin to the very young man he steeled his heart to kill just days earlier?


    At first, he too thought it was an innocent mistake, so he was about to lightly correct Ryu''s seating position thinking that his granddaughter would of course sit in the correct place. But who would have known that the usually astute and attentive Tae would make such a big mistake?


    The individuals here weren''t just of the Loom Clan. As the manager of a city, the Loom Clan had long since expanded to accommodate many small Clans, especially with how large the city was. There were a few Fourth Order Clans under their wing and even more Third Order Clans, each of whom were allocated a certain number of seats depending on their strength within their Grand Hall.


    Since these people had hitched their wagons to the Loom Clan, they also had a vested interested in seeing them succeed in the coming selection. If the Loom Clan could become a Half-Step Sixth Order Clan, their positions would rise as well.


    For this reason, many favored the talented Matheus Loom. He hid himself deeply, but his demeanor was clear to everyone.


    They were all aware that this generation of Core Clan Heirs was very weak. Even Ryu was aware of this, or why else would he say that Tae could defeat them all alone? So, everyone believed that Matheus was their greatest chance.


    Yet, who would have known that their usually calm, steady and amiable Patriarch would suddenly slap all of their wishes in the face like this. Even those who sided with the City Lord didn''t want to see such a thing happen.


    This truth made this matter impossible to cover up.


    By now, Ryu had noticed his own mistake as well. In truth, he had sat here out of muscle memory. He had been thinking about his father when he entered this Grand Hall, so to him, this place was naturally his own. He lost count of the number of times he had followed his old man''s broad back to sit in this very seat.


    Unfortunately, this time, he wasn''t in his Tatsuya Clan, nor was the woman by his side Elena.


    Ryu sighed lightly, his gaze filled with a complicated light. Suddenly his eyes sharpened, the tremendous momentum of the Impose Realm wafting from his body.


    "So many petty annoyances." He said coldly. "So what if City Lord Loom made this decision without speaking to you first? Is she your daughter? Do you wield as much power as he does? Do you have the right to speak even before me, let alone him? Shut your mouths."


    The various ministers and elders were stunned. They were so used to dealing with City Lord Loom, an amiable man who took the opinions of everyone into consideration. It wasn''t that he was indecisive, but more so that he didn''t want to rule like a tyrant.


    After spending so many years with such a ruler, how could they suddenly become used to such a brazen young man? How would they live life as they normally did if he took over the Clan?


    Tae was stunned by Ryu''s words before her eyes watered with gratefulness. She lowered her head, looking at her small trembling hands.


    One might think that with Ryu''s personality, he wouldn''t care for Tae''s emotions in all of this. But, this would be an incredibly shallow analysis.


    In the past, how had Elena become his fianc¨¦e? She suddenly appeared in his bedchambers one day and stripped down until everything was exposed.


    By then, she had understood Ryu''s personality to the tiniest detail. She was certain that this was the man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life, but getting him to accept her was a task taller than even finding him had been in the first place.


    So, that was the plan she came up with. She knew that the cold Ryu was a man who cared for the emotions of those he saw as his own. After becoming the first man to see her naked, there was no doubt in her mind that he would take responsibility.


    The matters of today seemed like an innocent mistake, but in a martial world where reputation dictated something as important as the Faith of a Clan, if Ryu were to ruthlessly deny that Tae was his woman, she would be forever tainted. No matter how good her explanation, there would always be those with nefarious intentions who sought to sink the Loom Clan as a whole¡­


    Maybe under normal circumstances this wouldn''t be a large problem¡­ But one needed to remember that the Loom Clan had somehow made enemies with individuals of the Core Region¡­ And though Tae hadn''t explained how to Ryu back then, with Ryu''s intelligence, he immediately picked up that the main cause should have been Tae herself.


    If this was true, and Tae was suddenly seen "happily" accepting a man as her fianc¨¦, only for the same man to turn around and say he had no interest in her¡­ It was a stain that would never leave her in this lifetime.


    In truth, Ryu had no interest in Tae. She was a top-tier beautiful woman, but that was only by the standard of other Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm women. For Ryu who had been around women with high cultivations all his life, not to mention Ailsa who was on his shoulder, Tae was only an average beauty.


    As one took steps toward immortality, the impurities of their body would be washed away, and one would become more perfect. Unless one was of a race as perfect as the Sprites or had genes that came from high cultivation realm parents like Ryu, it was impossible to be among world class beauties with low cultivation unless you were an absolute anomaly, likely born with a special Bone Structure.


    Still, this was only one aspect. Ryu had never been interested in women simply for their looks, or else he wouldn''t have rejected Ailsa who was even more beautiful than Elena when last he saw her. The truth was that he merely had a good impression of this woman and nothing more.


    Compared to the strong-willed Elena who had always been the support in his life, or his elder adoptive sister who had always protected him without rest, Tae was simply much too lacking¡­


    However, even if he only took Tae as his woman in name, he would do so. He knew that if Elena was here, she would be glaring at him with vicious intent, daring him to reject Tae in front of so many people. If he actually did something so dishonorable, she would never forgive him.


    His mind was already made up. He would take responsibility for Tae and for his mistake. In the future when she met a man she could truly love, he wouldn''t hesitate to let her go.


    His heart only had space for one woman.


    Ryu knew he was being na?ve. If they''d crucify Tae for such an innocent mistake, how bad would the backlash of leaving him for another man be?


    However, in Ryu''s mind, since he had decided to take Tae as his woman, he would elevate her to the point where the squabbles of this pitiful Inner Ring could be dealt with by her with a single finger. These people glaring at him with ill intent¡­ Were nothing more than ants in his eyes!


    "Didn''t I come here for you to test me?" Ryu said coldly. "All I''ve been subjected to is glaring and the barking of yard dogs. If you want me to fight, then bring someone out worthy of fighting me. If you have no such intention, then don''t speak again!"

 Chapter 244: Throne

    Tae glanced at the side of Ryu''s face. She still couldn''t see his features clearly, but for some reason, it didn''t matter.


    She herself had no feelings for Ryu. He was the exact opposite of the warm and loving husband she had always dreamed of. Yet, after living over a hundred years of life herself, somehow, he had become the closest that ideal image of any man she had ever met.


    It was quite an ironic thought. He was in the middle of sneering and talking down to those around him, yet she somehow saw an image of warmth. Who knew what was in that pretty little head of hers?


    Grand Elder Loom''s expression darkened.


    "Brother. We know nothing about this young man. We''re not even certain that he is as young as he appears in the first place. To make matters more uncertain, he constantly wears a mask and is a necromancer, a group of individuals you know well that the Zu Clan despises.


    "Even if there were no other factors to worry about, do you believe that the Zu Clan would leave silently if they knew their territory would be inherited by one of their sworn enemies?"


    The grudge between Mental Masters and Necromancers was not a secret, this was something everyone was aware of. Grand Elder Loom didn''t need to reach, and his logic was sound.


    "And what exactly do you want me to do? Break my grand daughter''s engagement after it was already announced to the world?"


    The City Lord''s stiff reply left the Grand Elder speechless. He knew his brother well, so he immediately understood that this couldn''t have been his original intention. Some mistake had occurred, or¡­


    ''This young man enticed my grand niece in some fashion? Or he schemed this from the very beginning to weasel out of my brother''s rage?''


    In that instant, the Grand Elder''s deductions became the deduction of many others. In fact, maybe only Tae was completely aware that Ryu hadn''t done this intentionally. Even the City Lord felt his vision cloud when he gazed upon Ryu as though he was trying his best to control his rage.


    Everyone knew that Necromancers had strong mental realms. Currently, Tae had still only opened her Spiritual Pulse. This wasn''t an odd sight¡­ Because it took so long to complete one''s Immortal Ring, those who weren''t focused on their Mental Realm didn''t attempt to open their Spiritual Vessel until after entering the Divine Vessel Realm. Some even waited until the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Making Tae absentminded for a moment, just enough for her to sit in the wrong place, was as easy as flipping over a hand for someone with as deep a Mental Realm as Ryu. In truth, Ryu''s Mental Realm was currently even stronger than even the City Lord himself! This was why the City Lord couldn''t be certain that he would have detected Ryu''s underhanded tricks or not.


    Ryu, however, under the scrutiny of so many individuals, hardly reacted. He didn''t particularly care that his good intentions were being taken for some sort of dark scheme. In fact, he preferred it this way.


    This mistake of his had suddenly made it difficult for him to find a path toward revenge in the future. He couldn''t very well harm the grandfather of a woman he now had to responsibility for, right? However, if this City Lord believed he had ill intentions, at least it would be a sort of psychological revenge.


    What Ryu was more annoyed by was that his time was being wasted. He had already made his goal of accepting all challengers clear, yet these old fools were still speaking nonsense. For him, every second was precious. Wasting hours away like this was something he had never done.


    "Then I''ll battle him, if that''s what he wants¡­"


    A calm voice cut through the silence. Many already knew its owner, but couldn''t help but look over to see Matheus slowly rising from Erea''s side.


    Unlike Ryu and Tae who sat front and center, Matheus could only sit to the side in a slightly respected position. This was the fate of a youth without claim to heirship.


    "Stop." City Lord Loom finally collected his emotions enough to speak calmly. At his words, though Matheus still continued to stand, he didn''t continue forward for the time being.


    "You all have been under my rule for too long to believe me to be an incompetent ruler."


    All ministers and elders, regardless of the side they were on, couldn''t help but nod. There was a faint struggle between both sides, but it never crossed over a line. In the end, though Grand Elder Loom was ambitious, he still treated the City Lord as his elder brother. When he heard that City Lord Loom had chosen a stranger over his own grandnephew, he had felt more hurt than rage.


    "Little Matheus is very talented, but there will always be higher mountains and deeper seas in this world. The reason I called this meeting wasn''t to have Ryu fight, it was to make you all aware of his identity. This young man¡­ is a Working Disciple of the Mercenary Guild."


    The atmosphere was suddenly frozen solid.


    Ryu finally understood why it was that the City Lord trusted him with such an important task. It seemed that the ring on his finger was a form of status as well¡­ However, the City Lord''s Judgement was still lacking. Ryu wasn''t a Working Disciple, he was a Core Disciple.


    The disciple rankings were known by all. The lowest Working Disciple, then the Outer, Inner and finally, Core Disciples. Above that, there were the Inheritors, and even above that, there was the unrestrained Throne Disciple.


    By receiving the ring on his finger, Ryu had the minimum status of Working Disciple. But what City Lord Loom didn''t know was that Ryu had been accepted into a Sky God''s Faction, thus making him a Core Disciple at a minimum. Clearly, he didn''t have enough insight or knowledge to see through this.


    Still¡­ one only needs to see just how shocked those in this Grand Hall were to know that even a Working Disciple of such a massive Guild could not be looked down upon. In fact, even the calm Matheus had a slightly more serious expression on his face.


    It was no wonder the City Lord was respectful of Ryu''s talent, but not to the point of being unwilling to kill him. Working Disciples wouldn''t receive any sort of protection from the Mercenary Guild. In fact, the nature of the Mercenary Guild itself meant that even Core Disciples might not be protected.


    However, just as everyone was shocked, they couldn''t have possibly guessed Ryu''s next words¡­


    "It seems you''ve not only underestimated me, but also your own grandnephew."


    Ryu casually rose from his seated position, meeting Matheus in the center space of the Grand Hall.


    City Lord Loom frowned. Underestimated? Could it be that his judgement was wrong?


    He took another look at the ring on Ryu''s finger, but no matter how he tried, he couldn''t seem to see through it. It was veiled by a thin sheen of mystery.


    ''Could it be that his status in the Necromancer Guild is even higher¡­?'' Unfortunately, all of his thoughts frozen when a blazing phenomenon erupted within the Loom Grand Hall.


    Raging golden winds spiraled as the two men faced, wrapping them in a cyclone of Essence that seemed willing to tear the whole of the hall from its very foundations.


    In that moment, two majestic thrones appeared above them both. Though decorated differently, they each had a gorgeous air to them that could stall one''s heart.


    Ryu''s came with a cold wind, pulsing with a gentle pale blue light that was almost white. It was embroidered in sapphire and diamonds before being finished in a beautiful silver.


    Matheus'' had a darker, yet somehow bright presence. Dotted with rubies and black diamonds, it was finished with a gorgeous Damascus Steel, unbridled and arrogant.


    "Throne Ryu." Matheus'' calm voice spread through the Grand Hall.


    A cold reply came from Ryu. "Throne Matheus."


    The Pedestal Plane once only had two Thrones, both of whom resided within the Core Region. A third didn''t appear until Ryu conquered the Awoken Moon Sect''s trial.


    However, Ryu had a feeling that Matheus wasn''t any one of those two. This throne, matching Ryu''s own in aura, had to be from an Eighth Order Sect or Clan at a minimum, while the two Thrones of the Core Region could only have a Sixth Order Throne at best.


    Though the Awoken Moon Sect''s Throne should have been of the Ninth Order, how could it not weaken after all their descendants had been through? So though it was meant to be a Ninth Order Throne, its aura was only of the Peak Eighth Order.


    The question was, then¡­ Just where had this Matheus gone? Which mighty Eighth Order Sect did he claim the Throne of?

 Chapter 245: Weakest [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 200 golden tickets]


    City Lord Loom was frozen in shock. Maybe if it was just Ryu who turned out to be a Throne, it would be alright. But he was even more shocked by his own grandnephew. He had such a talent in his Clan, and he wasn''t even aware?


    Unlike Ryu and Matheus, he couldn''t see through the strength of the Thrones in any detail. However, he didn''t need to, to understand the shocking reality of it all.


    Thrones represented the peak talents of the martial world. Though not all peak talents would be Thrones, there was no such thing as a talentless Throne!


    City Lord Loom felt a deep sense of regret in an instant. He had gone so far to pull Ryu to his side, even crossing his own moral code, when these matters could have ended by relying on his grandnephew¡­


    "Brother¡­" The Loom Clan Patriarch looked toward his younger brother. "¡­ Why didn''t you tell me?"


    But, in that moment, he saw an expression on the Grand Elder''s face that surprised him. Grand Elder Loom was actually shocked by Matheus'' display. Clearly, he hadn''t been aware either!


    "It seems the Heavens wanted to play a joke on us¡­" Grand Elder Loom laughed bitterly. "¡­ If Little Matheus hid this from us all, he had to have a reason to do so¡­"


    "You aren''t a match for me¡­" Matheus said lightly. It wasn''t that he wanted to ignore his grandfather''s words, but rather that Grand Elder Loom was correct. He obviously had his reasons for keeping this a secret.


    "I''m aware." Ryu said without much reluctance. "But the gap may not be as large as you believe¡­"


    Ryu''s response actually made the calm Matheus smile. "A worthy Throne, indeed."


    Ryu didn''t feel much grief, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t inwardly burning. Even though Matheus was several decades older than him, would the so-called Martial Gods that arrogantly took over his Shrine Plane stop ageing just for him?


    Any loss was frustrating to him, even when it was at the hands of figures like City Lord Loom. However, he had learned to ignore that fire in his belly and aim his ire toward improvement, just like he had for the crystalline jade''s fourth floor.


    Ryu could easily see through Matheus'' cultivation. He was a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert. Judging by his vitality, though he was older than one hundred years old, he wasn''t quite two hundred years old either.


    To put this into perspective, if born on the Blossom Plane, a step above this Pedestal Plane, Matheus as is would be adored as a heaven shaking genius. Even on the Shrine Plane, though he wouldn''t be among the very best, not many would dare to offend him. Yet, this young man was born in this mere Inner Ring! To say his accomplishments were impressive was understating it.


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t completely helpless against Matheus. If he used his three Impose Realm comprehensions, he could battle anyone within the Fifth Order rank of strength. The issue was that as a Throne, Matheus'' combat prowess was several levels above normal individuals. If Ryu could battle above his cultivation, why couldn''t Matheus do so as well?


    But this was only a surface issue¡­ The true reason Ryu knew he didn''t stand much a chance was because¡­


    "I didn''t expect to meet a fellow Necromancer on one of my rare trips back home. But why do I feel like you aren''t much of a Necromancer at all?" Matheus said lightly.


    In that moment, everyone understood. The sinister dark aura around his Throne, his need for secrecy, it all made sense¡­ How could he expose his ties to the Necromancer Guild while his Clan resided within Zu Clan territory? The only reason he revealed this now was because it seemed that without him, his Clan had ironically been pushed to the point of recruiting another Necromancer.


    It seemed he had been too lowkey. But, it was surprising that this Necromancer happened to be a young man no less talented than himself.


    Ryu didn''t respond. Instead, two shadows suddenly manifested before him.


    "Fifth Order corpse puppets! And they''re both of the Peak Dao Realm!"


    The elders and ministers felt a stifling aura they couldn''t ignore. They found themselves not unable to look away from the corpse puppets themselves¡­ but rather the weapons in their hands.


    They both wielded a glaive, and though they had yet to brandish it, a blood thirsty domain seemed to whip around them, eager for battle. Each had a beautiful violet finish and radiated the aura of an Earth Grade weapon. It seemed after months of training, Ryu''s Silver Thirsting Ore had taken a step forward while the New Moon Ore of their weapon bodies shone with vigor.


    Matheus, though, hardly reacted to this change. Even half a year ago, Ryu''s Mental Realm had already been strong enough to support a Sixth Order corpse puppet. The issue was that finding this corpse puppet was next to impossible. Connecting Heaven Realm corpses wouldn''t just lay around waiting to be picked.


    However, even if this was a limiter for Ryu, would it be for Matheus? The reason why Ryu knew his chances were slim was because he was certain that Matheus had at least one Sixth Order corpse puppet!


    "It''s as expected¡­ Your Grave Qi is not bad, but you have no Death Heir comprehension. The aura of your weapons far exceeds that of your corpses. You''ll never be able to bring out the true strength of your corpse puppets in this way. Why do you insist on being a Necromancer?"


    Ryu''s gaze didn''t leave Matheus'', but he didn''t answer either.


    Seeing that Ryu didn''t answer, Matheus didn''t press the issue either.


    "There really is no need for us to fight. There''s no problem with the both of us representing my Loom Clan. As things stand now, it''s already impossible to¡­ retract some things."


    Tae avoided her cousin''s gaze, still unable to look up from her own hands.


    "I can also guarantee, granduncle, that Ryu didn''t use any underhanded means. For now, my Mental Realm is still stronger than his¡­"


    Hearing these words, though the City Lord breathed a sigh of relief, his feelings only became more complicated. This young man was truly too arrogant, couldn''t he have explained this to him before? But¡­ Seeing Ryu''s Throne, he really did have the capital to be arrogant. It was no wonder why he never tried to rely on his status, what self-respecting Throne ever would?


    "With you by my side, Ryu, hiding my strength will be more convenient. I''m still not yet strong enough to go against the Zu Clan, so I must continue to bide my time. As for those here¡­"


    Matheus'' aura suddenly surged. Before anyone could react, dozens of heads flew to the ceiling, washing the Grand Hall in blood. They couldn''t understand how Matheus had down it, but a deep fear was suddenly etched into the hearts of the ministers and elders here.


    "¡­ Those who seek benefits from my Loom Clan but are traitors at heart only have one path." Matheus said coldly.


    "This fight is no longer about this selection." Ryu said without much emotion.


    "I see¡­" Matheus scanned Ryu''s visage.


    A moment later, his spatial ring flashed, revealing his own half mask. It calmly attached to his face, shrouding Matheus in a mysterious light.


    "¡­ You must know this, but a fight between Thrones is the best way to snatch Faith. Though you won''t lose your Throne, it may very well drop a grade. I too am eager to raise my Throne to the Ninth Order, but I didn''t want to take advantage of our age gap¡­ But since you insist, I''ll oblige..."


    A cyclone of shadows suddenly appeared before Matheus. Though it was only one, Ryu felt that his two corpse puppets couldn''t hold a candle to it.


    ''Corpse World¡­'' Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    One of the abilities of someone who had comprehended a Death Inheritance was the ability to form their own world of death. This world made it much more convenient to summon and unsummon corpse puppets¡­ Whereas Ryu had to touch his undead to place them back into his spatial ring, Matheus had no need to do so. He could easily switch them in and out as he pleased.


    However, this was only one of the benefits of forming a Corpse World¡­


    A moment later, Matheus corpse puppet appeared, shimmering in a silver black. However, it wasn''t a human corpse puppet, but rather a beast!


    It had the strong sturdy shape of a platinum armored armadillo. Its body was five meters long and a silver armor extended from its nose, down the length of its back, and through its wide, two-meter-long flat tail.


    Black shadows wafted from its joints, forcing the air around it to tremble.


    ''He''s a Refinement Necromancer of the Armored Beast subbranch¡­'' Ryu felt his heartbeat steady.


    This corpse, it was of the Half-Step Sixth Order!


    "My apologies, but this is already the weakest corpse puppet I can bring out. If you can defeat it with your own, I will withdraw from this battle¡­"


    Matheus'' calm voice filled the bloodied Grand Hall.

 Chapter 246: Obvious

    Ryu didn''t wait any longer. Without hesitation, his two Fifth Order corpse puppets surged forward, weaving in and out of each other as they crossed a hundred-meter gap in an instant.


    Feeling a headache coming on, City Lord Loom could only do his best to cast a net with his qi, hoping to protect the Grand Hall from the impending battle.


    Matheus calmly gazed at this attack. He felt a bit of praise toward Ryu for hiding the abilities of his corpse puppets so well, but that was about it. He had thought that Ryu was a novice, but it seemed that even that was putting it too nicely.


    With a flash of his eye, the armored beast slammed its tail downward, causing a scene the ministers and elders watching could hardly believe.


    Without so much as touching the armored beast, Ryu''s corpse puppets stumbled and fell. They tried to regain their balance, but a second tail slam ended whatever hope of that there was.


    To an untrained eye, it seemed that there was nothing wrong with Ryu''s corpse control, but Matheus didn''t have an untrained eye. He could immediately sense that Ryu lacked experience.


    When a human learned to walk or run, at a certain point in their lives it would become nothing more than a reflex. However, when you were a child, stumbling and falling over was a common occurrence. Unfortunately, Ryu was very clearly still at this stumbling stage.


    His corpses appeared to have a steady gait and stride, but in Matheus'' eyes, they were all over the place, even a decently strong wind could blow them over.


    A stifled laughter blew through the Grand Hall. It wasn''t malicious, but an unconscious reaction. How could one not laugh when in one moment, they were waiting in keen anticipation for a battle between two Thrones, and in the next moment, they were watching one stumble around like a bumbling fool?


    Ryu''s expression didn''t change. It was just as expressionless as before, but Ailsa was laughing so hard on his shoulder that she nearly fell off a few times.


    ''Haha! This is too much!'' One delicate hand draped over her toned belly, while the other formed a fist that repeatedly hit Ryu''s shoulder. She really couldn''t control herself.


    Honestly, she couldn''t wait. One day, when Ryu reached a level so lofty that few dared to even meet his eye, she''d proudly tell them of the day he was so inept that his corpse puppet''s skirt and legs flipped up and over their heads.


    Ryu''s gaze hardly shifted. His pupils were coldly analyzing the situation. Not only was [Third Perspective] activated to its utmost, [Focus] had already allowed him to slip into the first State of Meditation.


    ''My control is too rigid. I''m using 700% more strength just to run than I should, if it wasn''t for the City Lord''s qi net, every step these two corpse puppets took would leave a massive imprint in the ground.''


    Matheus wanted to speak, but Ryu corpse puppets had already begun to struggle to stand. Watching this scene, Ailsa burst into a greater fit of laughter.


    Ryu had only trained for a little over a single month in controlling corpse puppets. But, his current abilities only allowed fluid movement from positions he was familiar with. Because his corpse puppets stumbled and fell, they had fallen into a random position he had yet to see As a result, their attempt to stand was akin to a newborn deer learning to walk for the first time.


    In truth, with Ryu''s talent, a month should have been enough for him to be far more competent than he was currently. The issue was that his starting point was too high.


    His first corpse puppets were of the Fourth Order, but he had hardly spent time learning to control them. Instead, he used simply commands for them¡­


    To make a long story short, the more powerful a corpse puppet, the more difficult it was to finely control. Ryu was essentially trying to lift a weight far too heavy for himself, all while trying to raise and lower it at a steady, unhurried and controlled pace. Such a thing was impossible, even for him.


    Eventually, Ryu''s two corpse puppets stood and ran forward once more.


    This time, they leaped slightly into the air to avoid Matheus'' tail slam, but another was ready and waiting for them as soon as they landed.


    Divine Vessel Realm experts should be able to fly¡­ But Ryu couldn''t even control their gait properly, how would he fine tune the circulation of their qi to allow controlled flight?


    To make matters worse, his connection with his corpse puppets was muddled. Because he had yet to comprehend a Death Inheritance, he was relying on Grave Qi to form a connection. But, it was common knowledge among Necromancers that a connection formed with the former was far better.


    At some point, it became too difficult for many to watch on any longer. They felt too uncomfortable watching Ryu force his corpse puppets to stand again and again.


    Hours ticked by and Matheus began to realize that Ryu wasn''t the type of person who cared for his face. Anyone else would have fled in embarrassment by now, he had even lost count of the number of times his little sister had heckled Ryu to give up and stop overestimating himself, but Ryu didn''t even bat an eye.


    Still, Matheus could see it very clearly. Ryu never seemed to make the same mistake twice, and his control was becoming more and more refined with each passing moment.


    By the fifth hour, Matheus could no longer make Ryu''s corpse puppets stumble with a mere tail slam, and could only engage directly. But when he did, he learned just how formidable and deep Ryu''s glaive comprehension was. If his walking could be compared to a newborn calf, the strikes of his glaive were so precise that even the City Lord felt a shiver down his spine.


    He couldn''t understand just why this was. Could this Ryu really be more familiar with swinging a glaive than he was with walking and running? How could such a thing even be possible?


    Still, the end result didn''t change. Though Ryu improved, his control was still too clumsy and unrefined. So, though his strikes were powerful, he couldn''t position his corpse puppets properly to allow himself to take advantage. This results in his corpse puppets being beaten away more times than he could consciously count.


    "That''s enough¡­" Matheus said lightly after countless hours.


    "Your Grave Qi has run out, there''s no point in continuing."


    This was yet another disadvantage of not comprehending a Death Inheritance. One advantage of corpse puppets was meant to be their near limitless stamina, yet Ryu could fight himself for longer than his corpse puppet could. Things weren''t meant to be this way.


    Ryu nodded faintly and walked forward. Touching the shoulders of his two corpse puppets, they disappeared into his spatial ring, but his gait didn''t stop as he walked by Matheus. He had already exited the Grand Hall before Tae realized what was happening and subconsciously chased after him.


    The City Lord wanted to stop his granddaughter, but she was already out of his grasp before he could react. Today''s matters had been too much of a blow to him.


    "Thanks."


    These were the only words Ryu said from start to finish, but they resounded through the Grand Hall.


    "Grandnephew¡­ It seems your Granduncle has made a mistake." The City Lord sighed before finally speaking these words.


    Matheus shook his head. "Granduncle''s judgement wasn''t wrong. You saw for yourself that he too is a Throne."


    Erea snorted in disdain. "What kind of Throne can''t even put up a fight?"


    "Learn to control your lips little girl. This isn''t a place you can speak."


    Seeing her grandfather''s glare, Erea shrunk back, but still harrumphed.


    "You''re sure there aren''t some underlying¡­ reasons for this?" The City Lord couldn''t help but imply that Ryu''s status was some sort of fluke. Even if he lost, he shouldn''t have lost so miserably.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Matheus said with a shrug. "He isn''t a Necromancer. Well¡­ Not yet, anyway."


    Silence filled the Grand Hall.


    Matheus hardly cared though, instead he was lamenting his cheap labor. He helped that man train for more than half a day, yet he didn''t even get Faith for it. It seemed the Heavens hadn''t recognized their battle, how lamentable.

 Chapter 247: Neck

    Ryu sat in his courtyard without a care having entered a deep state of meditation. In fact, he had even swallowed two Silver Vein Petals, bringing his state to the Breath of World stage.


    To others, a training session like that was only useful in the moment, but to Ryu who had [Focus], the Spirit Seeking Lilies, and the Origin Flame, he could return to that moment in even greater detail than he had when he lived it the first time.


    Every single instant of moment, every mistake, every one of Matheus'' actions and inactions, were replayed in his mind to the utmost perfection. In the state of Breath of World, it was as though Ryu''s breathing was in sync with the very ground he sat upon. The grass moved with the beating of his heart, the soils vibrated with the motion of his qi, and the skies above seemed to shine light only for his usage.


    Tae, who had run after Ryu, had been left behind long ago. Ryu had been more focused on entering this state than dealing with her, so she had no chance of keeping up with his speed. By the time she caught up, she lost her breath at the sight before her.


    She didn''t know what State of Mediation Ryu had entered, but she could instinctively feel that it wasn''t as simple as the very first Meditation State, it was at the very least Breath of Earth.


    She silently berated herself. If she had known he had entered such a rare state, she would have never barged in, in such an exasperated fashion. Now, she didn''t even dare to move a single inch. She stood frozen just five or so meters from Ryu, even to the point of holding her breath.


    Ailsa giggled lightly. ''Poor little girl. Such a state might be rare for others, but my Little Ryu can enter them whenever he wants. The first ranked Heavenly Pupils aren''t just for show¡­''


    Tae couldn''t be blamed for this. Even the elders of the Shrine Plane had been shocked when Ryu entered Breath of Earth back then, let alone Tae herself. To many, Breath of Heaven was already a legendary state no one but Sky Gods could touch upon freely. She had no way of knowing that Ryu could easily enter a state a step above that.


    In truth, Ryu only needed one Spiritual Seeking Lily petal in order to enter Breath of World as he could now enter Breath of Heaven under his own strength. After being washed over with Essence multiple times thanks to reaching the Impose Realm, he had now undone five seals of his Heavenly Pupils.


    However, Ryu knew that the time he could stay in Breath of World was proportional to the time he could stay in the state he artificially reached it from. So, since he could now stay in Breath of Earth for about half a day, it was better to enter from that state than Breath of Heaven which he could only enter for a few minutes currently.


    Though Ailsa felt a faint pity for Tae''s ignorance, she couldn''t very expose herself to a near stranger. Plus, Tae was still a Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm expert at the end of the day. Standing still and not breathing even for several days wouldn''t be difficult for her.


    In truth, she had a pettier reason. Tae managed to become her Little Ryu''s woman on accident. Why couldn''t it have been her who sat on the wrong cushion?


    Like this, half a day ticked by and the moon currently hung high in the sky.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed open, but as though he didn''t Tae, his two Fifth Order corpse puppets appeared.


    They instantly began to battle one another under Ryu''s control. At first, it slow and deliberate, but as time went on, they quickly reached the realm of true Divine Vessel Realm experts. Their clashes rang outward for several kilometers, filling the bustling night life of Looming City with trepidation.


    Yet, they continued to move quicker.


    Lower Fifth Order¡­ Middle Fifth Order¡­ Higher Fifth Order¡­


    Eventually, even Tae could no longer keep up with their movements. She fled backward, knowing that if she stayed too close, she would get hurt.


    A moment later, they reached their true fighting prowess, Peak Fifth Order!


    City Lord Loom as well as the many experts of the Loom Clan rushed over, thinking that someone had actually had the audacity to attack their Clan. But, when they unceremoniously surged into Ryu''s courtyard, the sight they saw made their hearts tremble.


    Could it be he had just been pretending before?


    Ailsa beamed with pride. This was why even though the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were looked down upon when they first appeared, they now stood without contest in first place. The undisputed very best Heavenly Pupils in existence!


    During his entire battle with Matheus, Ryu had entered the first State of Meditation, the Meditation State. But that was only so that he could spur on his [Third Perspective] to the highest degree. He scanned the battlefield from every angle and down to every detail, uncaring for his face or embarrassment.


    Then, he relied on [Focus] to and the Origin Flame to benefit from each and every one of those minor details. Everything from start to finish was burned into his mind.


    He realized then exactly where he had gone wrong in the first month he spent training with his corpse puppets. How could he learn to manipulate in battle if he had only practiced manipulating them outside of battle?


    Soon, the battle prowess of Ryu''s corpse puppets grew another level, glaives appearing in each one of their hands. Ryu''s comprehension was suddenly infused with each one of their actions.


    They danced a beautiful dance, the silvery moonlight reflecting the dark violet of the bodies of their weapons.


    BOOM!


    Their weapons came to a deadly stop, each glaive blade resting on the other''s neck.

 Chapter 248: Would Hate Me

    ''This isn''t good enough.'' Ryu said unsatisfied. ''Of course, I can easily react now because I don''t have the ability to split my mind. Scheming against one''s self is impossible if you know what is going to happen¡­ I need to train more.''


    Ryu''s frown spoke volumes more than his word. He had the corpse puppets come back to him and enter his spatial ring.


    This seemed depressing, but Ryu clearly knew his limits.


    For one, his corpse puppets were still only able to fight on the ground. He didn''t fight Matheus in the sky, so he had no information to review in such a situation. In addition, he himself wasn''t a Spiritual Severing Realm expert yet, so he couldn''t fly in earnest, thus he had no experience in the matter.


    These were very tangible reasons to be unsatisfied, so Ryu didn''t believe himself to be asking for too much even if others did.


    Looking up, Ryu realized there were many individuals here.


    "When is The Selection happening?"


    "¡­ In another half month." City Lord Loom said after clearing his throat.


    "Alright. You all can go back now." Ryu said casually.


    "Hold on, not you." Ryu stopped Tae from leaving, causing her to blush furiously.


    "R-Ryu¡­ T-t-this isn''t appropriate¡­ My h-heart isn''t r-r-ready¡­" She answered in a flustered manner.


    Ryu ignored her words. "Why haven''t you all left yet? I have some things to say to my woman."


    Tae only wanted to find a place to bury her head, but the only viable option seemed to be Ryu''s broad chest. Even if she was a hundred times bolder, she would never use it.


    City Lord Loom glared at Ryu, but seeing his unperturbed eyes, there wasn''t anything he could do.


    ''This kid is definitely doing this on purpose to get back at me. He dares use my granddaughter as a toy for revenge!''


    In the end, he stormed away. Even if he hated Ryu, he didn''t believe he would make his granddaughter a woman this night. He somehow felt that he had a good understanding of this young man. Soon, only Ryu and Tae were left in the courtyard.


    "What is your name?" Ryu finally spoke after Ailsa put up a barrier.


    Timidly looking up at Ryu, Tae suddenly felt a small bit of anger spark. Stamping her feet into the green grass below her, she resolutely glared at him, regaining her composure.


    She was the intelligent and calm beauty even geniuses of the Core Region lusted after, damnit. She wouldn''t lose to this unfeeling ice prince.


    "My name is Taedra Loom."


    Ryu nodded. "My name is Ryu Tatsuya."


    An unceasing pressure crashed into Tae''s chest. She had been ready to shrug it off. She already knew his name was Ryu, and that he was nameless. Unlike him, she actually remembered the names of others.


    But, when those words landed on her ears, she could only uncontrollably shiver. The feeling only became more intense after Ryu took off his mask to reveal the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. She simply couldn''t comprehend how a single man could seem to have such delicate features, yet appear to manly and fierce at the same time.


    "You don''t know what this name means now, but it is very likely that there will come a day in the future when the whole of the Shrine Realm remembers my Clan''s name."


    Tae''s trembling only became worse. Shrine Realm? Was he referring to another Realm she didn''t know about? But why does it feel like he''s talking about this one?


    "I am telling you this not because I trust you, but because there isn''t much you can do with this information anyway. You don''t have the proper connections to make use of it, and even if you did by say¡­ relying on Throne Matheus, I would be long gone anyway."


    In truth, thanks to the Mercenary Guild, Ryu was no longer in a state where he had to stay in the Shrine Realm. He could travel, go elsewhere, grow, and one day come back for his revenge. He had even solicited the interest of the Armament Guild, so his options were open.


    In his mind, though, he didn''t want to leave just yet. He yearned to let those bastards know, to tell them that he, Ryu Tatsuya was back. He wanted them to feel their hearts seize with trepidation and anxiety, for them to feel regret and remorse¡­


    It was an impulse he found hard to control, especially when he thought that this news might reach Elena''s ears. But for now, he held it in.


    "Even if you are my woman only in name, I must take responsibility for you. If you one day fall in love with the man you are truly meant to be with, you can act as you please. I want you to know that I have a woman that I love, the only woman in my heart, my one and only wife. I will not abandon her."


    Tae was stunned by these words, but she didn''t feel anything special. Aside from a bit of pity, there was nothing more. Who wouldn''t feel a small bit of something when rejected so definitely, even if you had no feelings for the other person? But it was nothing so deep as to be emotionally scarring. The two of them had barely interacted. Even if she didn''t truly know what love was, she knew enough to know that she wasn''t in love with Ryu.


    In truth, she didn''t think Ryu knew what it was either. Unfortunately for her, the Ryu she thought was only eighteen years old had already lived for more than a thousand.


    "However, that very woman would hate me if I simply left you like this, so I will help you¡­"


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile at the thought of this woman, it was the kind of smile that made Tae''s heart sieze and caused a wave of uncontrollable jealousy to overwhelm her. However, she couldn''t tell by this smile that there was nothing she could do to change Ryu''s mind and entering his heart was even more impossible.


    Still... that night, a whole new world would be opened to Tae.

 Chapter 249: Impossible

    "Welcome Clans of the Inner Ring!"


    The meeting ground for The Selection occurred in quite an odd location. The various Fifth and Half-Step Sixth Order Clans all gathered in an area of defense forest. In fact, it was clear that even the relatively small clearing they all stood within was only recently cut down.


    Behind the speaker stood a mountain. However, this so-called mountain was more reminiscent of a hill than anything else. This wasn''t because of its lack of size, because it still stretched several kilometers into the sky, but rather because what should have been a rocky surface was drowned in greenery and foliage.


    This place was filled with powerful vital energy, allowing regular plants and Spiritual Herbs to grow tens of times faster than normally. As a result, this clearing they stood in had to be mowed down every time The Selection was held.


    Of course, this was one of the holy cultivation lands of the Inner Ring and was jointly controlled by the Five Core Clans. It was known as Mortal Qi Mountain because its massive structures housed the densest population of Mortal Qi Stones in the entirety of the Pedestal Plane!


    Though this clearing was relatively small, this was only in proportion to the forest itself and the mountain ahead. It was still capable of holding several hundred people as it did currently. Geniuses of the Inner Ring and their Clan elders stood at the forefront, but there were also lesser youths who held the hope of the weaker Fourth and Third Order Clans as well.


    As for the speaker, he was a liaison of the Core Region, sent to oversee these matters. Interestingly enough, he didn''t seem arrogant, but was rather warm and inviting, happily greeting them all. It was impossible to tell whether this was his true self, or if he was feigning it for some hidden purpose.


    "As you all know, The Selection isn''t meant to be held this year but has been moved forward because your Zu Clan has grasped enough strength, it will soon make its move to the Core Region. Let this be a motivation to you all, with enough investment into the younger generations, your Clans can rise to this height as well." The speaker smiled. Since he was on the older side, his wrinkles truly made him look like a caring grandfather looking after them all.


    "Now, I''ll explain the process. Listen carefully.


    "You are all already aware, but Mortal Qi Mountain is home to a Small Realm of the Inner Ring. To the outside world, it is Mortal Qi Mountain itself that is the home of the densest deposit of Mortal Qi Stones, but the reality is that this mountain doesn''t hold a candle to the Small Realm it houses.


    "Each of your Clans may nominate three individuals to enter the Mortal Qi Small Realm on the behalf of our elder generation. Within the Small Realm, there will be various tasks to complete, each of which will reward a certain point total.


    "In order to qualify for the final elimination event, you must rank top four in point total. Of course, this ranking excludes the Five Core Clan minus the Zu Clan which won''t participate.


    "Should you be among the Clans in this final four, you will be able to enter the elimination event along with the four remaining Core Clans.


    "Unfortunately¡­ These matters won''t be simple after this."


    The atmosphere grew slightly tense. City Lord Loom''s brows furrowed. He had expected them to change the rules, but hadn''t expected it to be so brazen. Even without the speaker finishing, he knew what was coming.


    "Normally, the rankings as decided by the final elimination round would decide percentage profit from the Mortal Qi Mountain. However, with one Core Clan leaving your region, it will be a bit different.


    "The Inner Ring must stay harmonious and without conflict so that it can continue to play its important role for the Pedestal Plane. As such, receiving fifth place will not be enough to claim the Zu Clan''s place among the Five Core Clans."


    City Lord Loom clenched his fists, but restrained his aura in the end.


    Seeing such a man being stifled, some felt pity, but many more felt disdain. In particular, a sharp-eyed young man with brown-amber hair sneered toward the Loom Clan''s representatives. Earlier, when he had seen Ryu standing by Tae, he had already felt uncomfortable. If his senior brother heard about this, his rage would level a mountain. But in the end, he calmed down. Did it matter what the Loom Clan did now? They were at the end of their rope!


    "In order to take over the Zu Clan''s territory, one must have the approval of a majority of the Clans ranked above you. Meaning, if you rank fifth, should two of the Clans above you disagree with your placement into the Core Clans, you will be rejected and sixth place will be tested. Should you rank second, your fate will be in the hands of the one Clan above you."


    Ryu inwardly sneered. ''What arrogant rules.''


    Hearing this, even City Lord Loom who had been ready to blow his top suddenly calmed down and smiled. He had two Thrones on his side, would there be an issue taking first place?!


    "Ah yes, there''s something I''ve forgotten to mention." The old man touched his forehead as though lamenting his old age. "Usually, The Selection is restricted to those below the Connecting Heaven Realm. However, this is quite a special case as we are now selecting a new Core Clan. As you all know, the main backbone of the Core Clans of the Inner Ring is, in fact, Sixth Order experts."


    City Lord Loom''s smile froze even as Ryu''s sneer intensified.


    "Still, changing the rules so abruptly would be too jarring, so we''ve come to a compromise. Connecting Heaven Realm experts will be allowed to participate, but they mustn''t be over five hundred years old. We believe that this would be the perfect balance of younger generation to powerhouses."


    In an instant, the elders of the Loom Clan suddenly turned ashen. Their Clan didn''t have a single Connecting Heaven Realm expert younger than five hundred years old! The worst part about it was that City Lord''s senses suddenly picked up several youths who had been previously hiding their auras that no longer bothered to do so.


    Not only were some of these youths by the side of the four remaining Core Clans ¨C the Basteel Clan, the Xie Clan, the Vinn Clan and the Croft Clan ¨C there were also some by the rival Fifth Order Clans of the Loom Clan!


    City Lord Loom suddenly realized that even making it to the elimination round might be impossible¡­

 Chapter 250: Disrespect

    [Bonus chapter for 250 golden tickets]


    "You will stay here." Ryu said with a cold tone one could hardly respond to.


    "But ¨C." Tae felt quite indignant. Her relationship with Ryu had grown closer, but it had changed into more of a master and disciple connection.


    Over the last half month, she had become extremely grateful toward Ryu and his help, and even a bit overwhelmed by the resources he gave her. How could she, a member of a Clan of the Inner Ring, ever imagine one day having a Six Star Cultivation Technique in the palm of her hands? Yet, now she could proudly say such a thing!


    A few days ago, with Ryu''s support, Tae had been able to stand up to her grandfather and demand to take the third and final spot their Clan was allocated. Seeing his granddaughter sweep through the geniuses of the Loom Clan, the City Lord felt conflicted, but only let go in the end.


    Of course, this wasn''t because Tae''s power had so suddenly skyrocketed in the last few days. If anything, she was actually a bit weaker than she had been due to the fact she needed to rebuild her foundation with a new technique. However, it was exactly because of this reason Ryu stopped her from participating.


    "I can''t protect you, so it''s best you stay here." Ryu cut her off. Though he didn''t say it, he was quite aware that it would be difficult to even protect himself.


    The difference between the Connecting Heaven Realm and Ryu''s current Qi Refinement Realm was too large. Luckily, his body had reached the depths of the Divine Vessel Realm despite still being in the Pulse Tempering Realm, so he had a small degree of confidence in at least being able to protect his life.


    Unfortunately, though, he was still keenly aware of the danger. The truth was that the difference between him and ''geniuses'' of the Core Region should have been large. After all, he practiced three Six Star Cultivation Techniques. Still¡­ The matter wasn''t so simple.


    One had to remember that Cultivation Techniques had three distinct stages. The Mortal Qi stage, the Immortal Qi stage, and the Cosmic Qi stage.


    A weak Plane like the Pedestal Plane couldn''t possibly have Six Star Immortal and Cosmic Qi Cultivation Techniques, but was the same true of Mortal Qi Cultivation Techniques?


    The main issue lied in the fact that the Connecting Heaven Realm still lied within the Mortal Qi stage. Essentially, Ryu could very well face geniuses who used Five and Six Star techniques in this battle! If Ryu had already entered the Immortal Qi realms and was facing a Pedestal Plane genius, he would crush them because their inheritances were too shallow ¨C this was even if they were of a higher cultivation stage!


    But¡­ This simply wasn''t the case now¡­


    "I ¡­" Tae didn''t know what to say. She had just started down the path of regaining her confidence, of forging herself into the woman she wanted to be¡­ Yet she hit a brick wall before she could even take a second step.


    Matheus smiled lightly. "It seems I may get to see your true strength very soon."


    Ryu didn''t respond to Matheus'' words, but his blood his boiling. When his bloodlines were dormant, it was easy to ignore their influence. But now that he had begun to nurture them, things had changed. At the sight of a seemingly unwinnable battle, his Fire Dragon blood roared with arrogant disdain.


    Though Ryu thought this was the reason, Ailsa smiled, knowing he was fooling himself. Was it really his bloodline that was responsible? Or was it her Little Ryu himself who loved this situation so much?


    She could see Ryu''s memories clearly. That day he stepped out of the Immortal Path, he roared into the skies, eager for the challenge the Pedestal Plane would bring. Ailsa knew very well that this excitement he was feeling had nothing to do with his bloodlines.


    "You all have six months to complete enough tasks and gather the necessary points to reach the top eight. Take hold of this opportunity well. Those of you who perform to a certain standard will be invited to the Core Region to participate in an even more important Selection to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World in just a bit more than one year''s time."


    Ryu tuned the old man''s words out. He didn''t care about receiving such help, he had already planned on entering as a wild card. Plus, he was planning on enraging those Core Regions Clans even as the old man spoke with that sly smile. Why would he then decide to represent them? In Ryu''s opinion, but that was giving them too much of a good thing. He would represent himself!


    A moment later, Ryu''s hand reached out and grasped a light green jade necklace that was thrown to him. His Heavenly Pupils could easily see the complex formation hidden within, meant to keep track of the legitimacy of his points.


    "Your first challenge is to make it to the Mortal Qi Small Realm." The old man smiled a bit deviously. "The Selection begins now!"


    Numerous figures flashed forward at once, blazing toward the greenery covered mountain.


    ''Ailsa¡­'' Ryu thought faintly.


    ''Already on it.'' Ailsa grinned.


    Though Ryu''s Feng Shui comprehension was deep, he didn''t have the proper tools on hand. However, Ailsa''s innate bloodline abilities allowed her to disregard the need for such tools. Why would he run around the mountain like a bumbling fool when he could wait a moment and have Ailsa lead the way.


    "Wait a moment." Ryu held Matheus back. Seeing his questioning gaze, Ryu didn''t explain. However, Matheus seemed to feel that he could trust Ryu in this moment.


    "Ah, the Loom Clan is so grand. But why is it that I feel you don''t have a single Connecting Heaven Realm genius?" The sharp-eyed young man lamented as though he truly cared. "Even relying on a mere Qi Refinement expert? Is it really so difficult to find good help?"


    Many of the other participants had already made a mad sprint for the mountain. Mortal Qi Mountain spanning hundreds of kilometers, if they didn''t rush, maybe the time limit would be up before they even found the ever-moving Small Realm entrance.


    However, there were a few confident individuals who acted as though they were on a leisurely walk, hanging behind and staring forward as though those rushing were nothing but a colony of ants.


    "Oh, Little Sister Tae, my elder brother thinks of you every day. You know how much he wants you¡­ Just say the word and the Zu Clan''s position is yours."


    The elders of the Loom Clan who followed grew agitated, many gritting their teeth, while others seemed incredibly tempted.


    As Ryu had expected, it really had been something like this that pushed the Loom Clan into dire straits. At least it seemed City Lord Loom had a backbone even if his elders and ministers didn''t.


    "I suggest you shut your mouth." Ryu said faintly. "There are some things in this world that no one can touch when they belong to another. One of those things is my women."


    Tae who was just feeling a stifling pressure was stunned by Ryu''s words but instantly blushed profusely, hiding her embarrassed expression behind his shoulder.


    At this point, it wasn''t just the sharp-eyed young man who frowned, but even the amiable old man who headed The Selection turned his gaze toward Ryu.


    "Do you have any idea who my brother is?" The sharp-eyed young man sneered. "You have a lot of nerve speaking these words."


    Ryu didn''t respond, but this only man the young man''s sneer deepen.


    "Good, good. Do you dare to tell me your name?!" The young man''s roar shook the very ground he stood upon.


    ''Found it.'' Ailsa suddenly said.


    "Let''s go." Ryu''s figure almost turned into a mirage, Matheus following swiftly afterward.


    Fast. This was the foremost thought in the minds of everyone who watched on.


    "You want my name?" Ryu''s voice covered the forest''s landscape as he casually glided by the smiling old man. "Those of the Pedestal Plane know me as Throne Ryu."


    The sharp-eyed young man and the Connecting Heaven Realm experts around him were stunned. They could have never guessed that the young man they felt was overestimating himself actually had the very same status as the man whose reputation they sought to protect.


    After a moment, though, the young man''s sneer returned.


    ''This Throne Ryu must be the new Throne of the Outer Ring¡­ But how can the Throne of a Fifth Order Sect compare to the Throne of a Sixth Order Clan?!''


    Plus, there was another thing that made the young man extremely confident. Thrones were known for their battle prowess, but Ryu was simply far too young. Rumors said that he was only eighteen years old. But his elder brother was not only a Throne, but was already over five hundred years old!


    The gap between them was akin to Heaven and Earth. In fact, even the young man himself was confident in defeating Ryu.


    ''To have defeated a ''mighty'' Throne myself¡­'' Suddenly he shook his head. ''¡­ No, such a defeat would be too easy. For disrespecting my Lao Clan, I''ll force you to understand that even a Throne is useless before me!''

 Chapter 251: Qi Blade [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 500 powerstones]


    Matheus followed behind Ryu with a calm expression, but there were raging tides in his heart. He could tell that Ryu wasn''t going all out with his speed, yet it was difficult for even Matheus who was a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert to keep up.


    In truth, Matheus was a Necromancer, so his body was his weakest aspect. However, knowing this, he had invested quite a lot into comprehending movement techniques to act as life saving measures. In addition, his Loom Clan''s lineage was quite fond of lightness type techniques, as Tae could attest to. Yet, he could hardly keep Ryu in his field of vision despite using seventy percent of his full potential.


    Matheus was so shocked by this that he hardly had the time to realize he hadn''t thought about where Ryu was leading him. But, by the time he thought that he should be more questioning of this, his senses already picked up the fluctuations of a Small Realm''s entrance!


    Ryu''s figure disappeared into on of the many caves of Mortal Qi Mountain, slicing through the foliage with ease to expose an inner working of tunnels. Almost as soon as Matheus followed him in, the brimming vitality of the mountain caused the foliage to recover in an instant, covering the opening once more.


    After weaving through the passages, Ryu and Matheus were soon faced with a gentle bobbing bubble about twice as tall as a normal human in height and width. Within, one could see the reflection of a beautiful, lush world.


    "How¡­ How did you find it so easily?" Matheus asked in astonishment.


    Everyone knew that the Small Realm''s entrance constantly moved. In fact, this was the case for all Small Realms. It was just that when large Sects or Clans found Small Realms they took a liking to, they would use special means to seal said Small Realm''s movement and keep it for themselves.


    However, the Mortal Qi Small Realm was quite a special case. If it wasn''t, the Core Region would have long since snatched it for itself. Why would they let the small Inner Ring benefit from such a great cultivation resource? Unfortunately, they could only reap the rewards of this Small Realm through tributes the Clans of the Inner Ring paid forward.


    This Small Realm was well known as an unrestrainable. Small Realms like this were rare, but did exist. Usually, Small Realms like this fell into two categories. Either their very existence was already tied to something and thus couldn''t be moved without losing its value, or the Realm itself was too powerful. Usually, Small Realms in the latter category were very close to being True Realms like this Shrine Realm.


    Of course, the Mortal Qi Small Realm fell into the former category. Its existence was tied to Mortal Qi Mountain. If it was moved, the symbiotic relationship between mountain and Small Realm would be shattered, thus drastically lowering the Small Realm''s value. Though many believed that the true source of the mountain range''s strange abilities was actually the Small Realm itself, for some odd reason, the Small Realm never left the range of the mountain, so no one dared to test that hypothesis lest they lose this valuable resource.


    "I have some insights into Feng Shui." Ryu said nonchalantly before pressing onward as though it was a meaningless ability. "We''ll probably be separated once we enter, but to tell you the truth, I prefer to be on my own anyway. I''m sure you also don''t need my help. Good luck."


    Without another word, Ryu leaped into the bubble, vanishing into the Small Realm.


    Matheus sighed and shook his head before laughing. "What an unsociable guy."


    Though Matheus seemed calm and quiet, he had been forced to be this way in order to hide his strengths from the Zu Clan. However, he wasn''t normally so reserved. He quite liked Ryu''s tenacity and wanted to be friends, he could also tell that Ryu didn''t mind being around him either. Yet this guy just didn''t know how to talk to people.


    "There''s definitely a reason he insists on being a Necromancer. I should have Master bring him along next time¡­" Matheus said as he leapt into the Small Realm before it could shift positions again.


    **


    ''It seems we''ve underestimated this place. I very much doubt that even the Blossom Plane has a better region for Mortal Realm cultivators.'' Ailsa looked around with a surprised expression.


    She actually didn''t know much about the Shrine Realm or its current events as Ryu had long since learned. So, her surprise was genuine.


    Ryu nodded. "This place has Mortal Qi almost as dense as some places I recall from the Shrine Plane."


    This might seem meaningless, but it was actually a massive deal! Having such a dense region of Mortal Qi meant that all Mortal Realm existences gained a massive boon toward their progression and strength. Simply put, all Mortal Realm Spiritual Herbs, resources, and beasts, were in great abundance here!


    Common Grade, Black Grade and Earth Grade resources here were practically overflowing. Coupled with the odd vitality of this region and every one of Ryu''s footsteps would likely have at least a ten percent likelihood of crushing something decently valuable.


    However, this actually wasn''t what Ryu was most excited about.


    With such a dense amount of Mortal Qi, beasts would flourish in this place. The population of Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Order Beasts would be higher than any other region Ryu had ever encountered. This place¡­ it was the perfect place to complete the Pulse Tempering Realm!


    Currently, Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Bloodline provided him with 1 600 jin of strength. His Fire Phoenix Bloodline had completed the Pulse Tempering Realm thanks to his entering the Impose Realm with his Rage Flames and subsequently awakening his Rebirth Flame, and provided him with 80 000 jin of strength. His Fire Dragon Bloodline was also complete at this Realm and provided him with 170 000 jin of strength, and finally, his Lightning Qilin Bloodline was partially completed at this Realm and provided 53 400 jin of strength.


    In total, Ryu now had just over 300 000 jin of strength. Essentially, Ryu had the strength of someone around the Middle Divine Vessel Realm as a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert who had one Ancestral Bloodline would have about one million jin of strength. However, a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert with just a Common Grade Bloodline would have half a million jin of strength.


    Of course, a Half-Step Immortal Ring expert would have ten million jin of strength, while a Half-Step Path Extinction Realm expert would have one hundred million jin of strength.


    These realms, from the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm to the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm were the equivalent of the Vessel Tempering Realm of the Body Realm.


    Once all six Body Vessels were opened, one would be the equivalent of a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert. Upon tempering one''s blood within the Vessel Tempering Realm, one could reach the subsequent Realms before finally attacking the Blood Tempering Realm.


    This was a lofty goal for others, but for Ryu, it was only the beginning!


    **


    Ryu''s figure flashed, a look of incomparable ease on his face as he circled a large silver wolf whose eyes crackled with blue lightning.


    Much like almost every other area of this Small Realm, copious amounts of vegetation surrounded their feet, but while the wolf''s steps burnt and charred this greenery, Ryu''s steps were so light that even blades of grass didn''t bend beneath his weight.


    With a thought, his glaive cut forward, cleanly beheading the Silver Thunder Wolf.


    ''That makes almost three dozen Fifth Order Lightning Spiritual Roots. I think that should be enough to satiate my Qilin bloodline.''


    In truth, it had only been two days since Ryu entered, yet, not only had he collected enough Lightning Spiritual Roots, but he had also collected over twenty Ice Spiritual Roots as well.


    The best part was that these kills counted toward his points. Sometimes, his chosen beasts would be protecting Spiritual Herbs also on the list of missions, so he could kill two birds with one stone. Though it might shock others, Ryu wasn''t surprised at all that he ranked first in points over the course of these two days. In fact, not only did he rank first, the distance between him and second place was large.


    Soon, Ryu had found a quiet place to cultivate. Entering the tub of Seeking Wood he built for himself in the Outer Region, he began to diligently cultivate.


    Because he used the [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique, he knew that absorbing the Ice Spiritual Roots would be much faster, so he didn''t hesitate.


    A frigid cold whipped through the hidden underground space. One would think blood should be warm, but the blood of these beasts ran colder than a mountain peak. Yet, Ryu felt incomparably comfortable.


    Ailsa watched silently as the days ticked by, ensuring that nothing untoward occurred while Ryu was in seclusion. In truth, she was still very worried about how Ryu would enter the Spiritual Severing Realm and had been thinking of the problem every day. With Ryu''s cultivation speed, he should have already been knocking on the Divine Vessel Realm''s door, yet he had actually met such a tall mountain¡­


    ''If only I hadn''t left that place in such a rage¡­ Then I could just look up the records we have on the Chaotic Silk Meridians¡­ It can''t be that an Ancestral Grade Meridian would stall its owner at such a low cultivation realm, right? There must be a solution¡­''


    Ailsa grit her teeth, coming to a decision. She wouldn''t allow her own pride to waste Ryu''s potential. Even if she had to apologize to that annoying old man, she would do so if it helped her Little Ryu.


    Just as she had sunken deep into her own thoughts, Ryu''s body was suddenly set ablaze. But this time, the flames were a gorgeous royal blue.


    Suddenly Ailsa froze.


    She had never felt this before, it felt as though something was screaming at her, something deep within her body. Her instincts were practically crying out.


    She hesitated. Should she listen to this instinct? Why hadn''t she felt this feeling the last time Ryu evoked Essence? She couldn''t understand it, but she did know she was running out of time.


    Gritting her teeth, Ailsa made a decision. A strong bout of pride welled up in her chest. She was a Cultus Faerie, a Princess of the Cultus Clan. If her Ancestors could lead their Life Partners without the help of piles of resources and reference materials, so could she!


    ''Ryu, quickly! Use Essence to form your Qi Blade and enter the Spiritual Severing Realm!''

 Chapter 252: Fifteen Meters Tall

    Ryu didn''t hesitate. He felt a keen sense of trust in Ailsa.


    In his lifetime, he had only had a few friends. Among them, the only ones he considered friend outside of his immediate family circle were Nuri and Elena. It was a sad reality, but in Ryu''s mind, his best friends were his parents and grandparents, this was how close they were.


    If others knew of Ryu''s mindset, maybe they wouldn''t know whether they should laugh or cry. After all, what youth considered their parents friends? They would love them and respect them, but friendship? It sounded a bit odd.


    Still, this was Ryu''s reality.


    However, Ryu couldn''t help but warm up to Ailsa. Although he went out of his way to not read her thoughts, sometimes some of her emotions would breakthrough to him. One such instant was in the moment before she spoke just now.


    Ryu felt Ailsa''s inner turmoil, and he also felt that she hadn''t made this decision lightly. So, Ryu decided to reward her with his trust, a fact that couldn''t help but warm Ailsa''s heart.


    Manipulating Essence was near impossible. One could only use it for the purpose the Heavens gifted you it for and nothing else. For example, when Ryu evoked Essence after comprehending the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons to the Impose Realm, he had only been able to fill his Fire Dragon bloodline, reason being the Tatsuya Clan was effectively the Fire Dragon Clan.


    Back then, the excess Essence had spilled over into Ryu''s Fire Phoenix bloodline as well, however, this once again didn''t break these fundamental rules. Both bloodlines were of a keen fire attribute, thus the conversion was allowed.


    However, when Ryu awakened his first two flames to the Impose Realm, he could only helplessly watch the excess Essence dissipate. Although the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix were both Phoenix bloodlines, their separation was incredibly important to the Heavens as each overlooked a fundamental aspect of existence. One life, and the other reincarnation. As such, the conversion was not allowed.


    What did this all mean? Simply put, evoking Essence by awakening his Life Flame could only be used for filling his Ice Phoenix bloodline to the very peak of the Pulse Tempering Realm. Using it to form a Qi Blade was borderline testing the dignity of the Heavens.


    Still, Ryu followed through with Ailsa''s request. Not only was this because he trusted her, but it was also because he had seen Ailsa manipulate Essence to her will before!


    Faeries were a branch race of evolved humans who were far more in tune with the Heavens than the other branches of their race. This connection was what allowed Ailsa to see the limits of one''s potential with just a single glance. However, even among Faeries, the Cultus Clan was a special case.


    They didn''t have the high combat strength of the other top tier Faerie Clans, but they more than made up for this with their strengths.


    Ryu suddenly felt a fiercer mental connection with Ailsa. This wasn''t because their intimacy had deepened, but rather something Ailsa had forcibly done artificially. If Ryu rejected her now, not only would it cause severe backlash to her, but her foundation would be irreparably harmed.


    This one act alone allowed Ryu to understand just how deep Ailsa''s resolve was. How could he bear to reject her now? No matter how cold he was, he would never be cold to such an extent.


    The instant he accepted, he felt his control of Essence skyrocket. What once was an energy that removed to budge no matter how he pleaded, though he hadn''t suddenly become capable of manipulating it at will, had at least become malleable.


    Ryu felt as though he was lifting something at the very edge of his limit. The strain was almost unbearable.


    ''Press on Ryu! Don''t allow it to collapse!''


    When one formed your Qi Blade, it was necessary to gather up all the qi in your meridians and pulses and expel it. Once it was expelled, one must control this qi and form it into a sharp Qi Blade. The deeper one''s foundations, the clearer, more defined, and larger the Qi Blade was.


    When he accepted Ailsa''s request, Ryu hadn''t hesitated to expel all of his qi. In fact, the ceiling of the underground cave he had hidden in completely shattered, pulverized into fine dust particles as he was exposed to the air.


    Simply put, if one failed their First Severing, they would fall back to the initial stages of the Qi Refinement Realm! Ryu couldn''t afford to fail!


    For Ryu, controlling his qi, even outside his body this way was easy. Usually this was a tough hurdle all Qi Refiners had to leap over and this was a key reason why only Spiritual Severing Realm experts could send out qi from their body, Ryu had spent the last several months practicing [Demonic Strings], the Earth Grade technique he chose from the Awoken Moon Sect.


    Thanks to the Fourth Floor of the crystalline jade, Ryu had already reached the Great Success stage. For a Qi Refinement expert to reach such a level in an Earth Grade technique only Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm experts were meant to be capable of using¡­ Ryu''s talent was undeniable!


    Yet, Ryu felt his body trembling as he tried to form his Qi Blade. It wasn''t because of his own qi, because he manipulated that with ease. But it was because of the Essence he was trying to incorporate into his Qi Blade!


    Ailsa felt a wave of despair overcome her as she watched Ryu''s body tremble.


    Was she wrong? Had she pushed Ryu down a road of no return? With Ryu''s talent, recultivating from the Lower Qi Refinement Realm wasn''t that big of a deal, but if he fell now, what of The Selection?


    To make matters worse, after failing one''s First Severing, one''s body would be completely devoid of qi. The commotion Ryu caused when he initialized his Qi Blade was already massive.


    The size of one''s Qi Blade followed the same principle as one''s Spiritual Foundation. A common practitioner would only form a Qi Blade of one-half meter in length for their First Severing, but an absolute genius would form one of five meters for their first.


    Yet, Ryu''s Qi Blade, even without incorporating Essence, was fifteen meters tall!


    Usually, a Qi Blade formed of neutral qi would be bland and uninteresting. But Ryu''s trembled with a majestic purity, even the skies seemed eager to shatter under its presence.


    This fifteen-meter-tall Qi Blade was the product of Ryu practicing three Six Star techniques at once! But even this Qi Blade wasn''t enough to sever the third strongest material in all of existence, even if the target was its weakest point. Without the help of Essence, it was completely hopeless.

 Chapter 253: Cleave

    ''Ryu¡­'' Ailsa bit her lip. She was regretting her impulsiveness. Even if they were going to try this, she should have chosen a safer environment for him. She was a failure as a Cultus Faerie.


    "No..." Ryu''s resolute voice range out as his Qi Blade began to slowly grow in size. He could already sense that many had already sensed his attempted breakthrough, and not all of them were beasts.


    No one would dare to approach while one had formed their Qi Blade. Even the Qi Blade of the weakest Qi Refinement expert could threaten the life of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert. It was just that the price of failing a Severing was incomparably heavy, so no one used it to attack. Such a thing would be foolish.


    However, everyone knew the consequences¡­ So while Ryu was struggling for his life and they didn''t dare to approach now, many were looking on with a sinister light in their eyes.


    They all knew that there was only one human here with Qi Refinement Realm cultivation, and that human was once first place. Even after a few days of being idle, he was still ranked top twenty. If they could kill him and take his points¡­


    However, even as they were thinking this, their hearts continued to tremble. Though they could sense Ryu attempting to breakthrough, no one saw the size of his blade. After all, compared to the massive size of a Small Realm, a mere fifteen meters wasn''t tall enough to be seen from every corner.


    Still, the momentum of this breakthrough¡­ Just how sturdy were his foundations?!


    Ryu though, didn''t care about the thoughts of others. He was completely focused on his task.


    "¡­ I can feel that your method¡­ is correct¡­ I have too few chances to elicit Essence to descend¡­ I must take advantage of this!"


    Even if he failed, Ryu wouldn''t regret it.


    Essence slowly began to incorporate itself into his Qi Blade. The once solid edge as white as snow began to turn golden. However, the more golden it became, the more fog seemed to surround the blade, making its once distinct edges grow faint.


    Ryu grit his teeth, connecting with the Incubator and throwing three Silver Vein Lilies into his mouth. In one sweep, he entered the Breath of World stage.


    It was then that the fading blade began to solidify once more.


    Sixteen meters¡­ Seventeen meters¡­ Eighteen meters¡­


    A sharp SHIIING sound reverberated through the skies. Countless trees around Ryu were sliced in half as a formless torrential blade qi swept through the forest. In an instant, the fifty-meter radius around Ryu was completely cleared, leaving nothing but scarred ground.


    Nineteen meters¡­ Twenty meters¡­ Twenty-five meters¡­ Thirty meters!


    It was now or never. Ryu felt that if he made it any larger, he would completely lose the ability to control.


    ''No, Ryu, it must be larger! This isn''t enough!'' Ailsa''s instincts screamed at her once more. She knew this much wasn''t enough.


    A thirty-meter-tall Qi Blade¡­ This was already never for a normal expert to enter the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm. Yet for Ryu, it still wasn''t enough for even the first stage!


    Ryu felt completely helpless. When one swung their Qi Blade, they had to emphasize the utmost control. If this wasn''t done, it was even possible for a cultivator to die under their own Qi Blade! Ryu could feel that if he made his any larger, he wouldn''t be able to guarantee that he would strike true.


    ''I can only¡­'' Ryu took a deep breath.


    He was already completely devoid of qi. All of it had already been expelled in order to form the foundation of his Qi Blade. Even if he wanted to perform a technique, it would be impossible.


    However, Ryu knew there was only one way to succeed. Ailsa had already projected the method into his mind¡­ He had to use [Demonic Strings]¡­ But how could he use a qi-based technique without any qi?!


    A roar escaped Ryu''s lips.


    One Impose Barrier. Two Impose Barriers. Three Impose Barriers. Four. Five. Six!


    Ryu unleashed his everything. The core essence of entering the Impose Realm was to gain the ability to Impose one''s will upon reality. If Ryu wanted to, no one below the Connecting Heaven Realm could even dream of standing before him unless they too had comprehended an Inheritance to the Impose Realm.


    Yet, Ryu wasn''t attempting to pressure a mere Divine Vessel Realm expert¡­ He was trying to Impose his Will upon the Heavens themselves!


    ''Your Essence¡­ Give it to me!''


    Life Flame, Impose Realm. Rage Flame, Impose Realm. Rebirth Flame, Impose Realm. Tatsuya Glaive, Impose Realm. Tatsuya Spear, Impose Realm. Tatsuya Halberd, Impose Realm!


    Six barriers layers one atop of each other. For others, this was an absolutely impossible feat, but for the inheritor of the Ice Jade Crystal Body, it was possible!


    Ryu didn''t have mind to notice, but Glove of Order trembled with excitement. It too called out to the Heavens, as though telling it to pipe down.


    Thunder clouds rolled. Ryu signing a beast contract with a beast who had awoken a Sin Bloodline Talent was already bad enough. Yet now he was actually trying to snatch its Essence for himself?!


    Even under the rage of the Heavens, Ryu didn''t let up.


    Forty meters¡­ Fifty meters¡­


    The Essence was suddenly pulled into Ryu''s control. Golden lines as thin as a spider''s silk began to form. Normally, these [Demonic Strings] would be invisible, but Ryu had purposely made them as thick as he could for the purpose of controlling his Qi Blade.


    Sixty meters¡­ Eighty meters¡­


    At this point, the Qi Blade had grown too large. What once was impossible to see from a distance had suddenly begun to creep up on the horizons of many who hadn''t dared to approach too closely.


    "That can''t¡­" The geniuses of the Core Region mumbled to themselves. They had to be seeing things.


    Fortunately, Ailsa who realized the Qi Blade had grown large enough to be seen from kilometers away, immediately took action, using the rolling clouds in clouds to confuse their vision.


    However, this was only the good news. The bad news was¡­


    "There must be a supreme treasure over there!" The sharp-eyed young man''s eyes turned red with greed. He still didn''t dare to approach until Ryu''s breakthrough either failed or succeeded, but he had already made up his mind. Whatever it was, he had to have it!


    He wasn''t the only one who came to this conclusion. All eighteen Connecting Heaven Realm geniuses who had come this time around felt their hearts tremble. Tribulation Clouds were incredibly rare in the martial world¡­ Even if they were sentenced to death, they would never change their minds¡­ There had to be something beyond their imaginings over there!


    Unfortunately for them, the momentum of Ryu''s breakthrough was so fierce that they hadn''t sentence the layering of six Impose Barriers. Maybe if they had, they wouldn''t have made such a reckless decision.


    One hundred meters¡­ One hundred twenty meters¡­. One hundred fifty meters!


    In that moment, Ryu heard a shattering barrier. Under the strain of having to control his [Demonic Strings] with Essence, he shattered the final barrier, entering the Great Circle of Perfection!


    "Cleave!" Ryu roared. There was no hesitation in eyes, not an ounce of fear could be found.


    He was a Tatsuya. Even if death stared him in the face, he wouldn''t take a single step back.


    The blade fell from the skies, swinging downward with blinding speed. No one could deny it, before this blade, even a Peak Connecting Heaven Realm expert could only die!


    "Now!" The sharp-eyed youth surged forward. Though he was several dozen kilometers away, with his cultivation, just a few minutes would be enough to close the distance, if that.


    The moment he sensed Ryu''s Qi Blade cleave downward, he shot forward without hesitation.


    However, when he reached Ryu''s vicinity, he could only look on in horror.


    A blade scar ran ten kilometers from point to point, the depth of which was impossible to see.


    At one of its points, a bloodied young man lay sprawled the ground, a ghastly wound oozing crimson across his chest, his life and death unknown.

 Chapter 254: Lashed Out

    The sharp-eyed young man was known by many as Lucien Lao, the second in line to the Lao Clan.


    In truth, the Lao Clan was not one of the Sixth Order Clans of the Core Region. Or rather, just a few hundred years ago, it wasn''t. It''s a long story irrelevant to the matters at hand, but the short of it was that Throne Byrin, after the Lao Clan was pushed into a corner, succeeded in grasping the Throne of a Clan on the verge of becoming a Half-Step Seventh Order Clan¡­ The most powerful Clan of the Core Region ¨C the Ember Clan.


    Thanks to his brother, not just the Lao Clan, but he as Throne Byrin''s younger sibling, benefitted greatly. There were countless things he had seen in his young life and he could be considered to be well versed in the matters of the world. But even he couldn''t make heads or tails of the scene before him.


    Despite very clearly seeing that Ryu was heavily injured, he still hesitated to take a step forward.


    The blade scar was unlike anything he had ever seen. The oppressive aura, the raging qi, the sharpness that made one feel a single misstep would reap their life¡­ Even the oppressive vitality of the Mortal Qi Small Realm was directly suppressed. The various vegetation and plant life that had been cut down showed no signs of growing back in the short term¡­


    At that moment, a violent cough shattered the quiet of the razed forest. Bits of shredded organ and blood flew from Ryu''s lips as he struggled to stand.


    Though the half of his face exposed by his half-mask appeared expressionless, his gaze seemed far dimmer.


    Every time one broke through a large barrier, they were meant to experience rebirth. In fact, the Spiritual Severing Realm and the Path Extinction Realm were actually two exceptions to this rule. They both not only provided rebirth upon crossed their large barrier, but also provided a rebirth for every step taken through its minor barriers.


    As for why the Path Extinction Realm allowed this, it could be explained at a later time. But the reason why the Spiritual Severing Realm gave such benefits was clear and obvious.


    During the process of swinging down one''s Qi Blade, a cultivator was meant to communicate with their dantian. The dantian, which housed one''s Spiritual Foundation, was a Small Realm of its own, unique to every martial cultivator.


    This communication would allow the Qi Blade to switch its state and shift from one''s current plane of existence, to the plane of existence one''s Spiritual Foundation resided in. This was how a cultivator could avoid bisecting themselves as they severed the connection between their meridians and Spiritual Foundation in order to reform a stronger connection.


    Upon completing each Severing, one''s meridians would grow in size. Eventually, after multiple Severings, one''s meridians would begin to increase its connection to one''s dantian, thus allowing it to gain some characteristics of a Small Realm of its own, which would then allow one to store even more energy within their meridians.


    This process was beneficial, but also incredibly dangerous. Even the slightest mistake in controlling the Qi Blade''s shift to one''s Dantian Plane could result in irreparable damages. So, the Heavens displayed a bit of mercy in allowing slight mistakes to be healed after each Severing.


    Obviously, the issue Ryu faced was clear. He hadn''t experienced rebirth and his injuries hadn''t been healed. There was only one explanation he could think of for this ¨C he had failed!


    Sensing the destitute nature of his meridians, completely barren of qi, a bitterness swelled in his heart. A moment later, an anxiousness he couldn''t control overwhelmed him.


    The mildest punishment one would face after failing their First Severing was dropping back down to the Lower Qi Refinement Realm. However, there was an even more savage punishment for those who partially succeeded but ultimately failed.


    Completing a Severing was only half the process of entering the Spiritual Severing Realm. The other half was re-establishing the connection one severed between their Dantian Plane and their meridians. If one failed to re-establish this connection, one could permanently weaken or even lose the link one had with their dantian!


    What did this mean?... It was akin to sending Ryu back to square one. Not square one as in the very first Awakening Realm¡­ square one as in he was once again that boy who failed to awaken his Spiritual Foundation!


    In fact, it was even worse than this. Back then, Ryu had at least had a False Spiritual Foundation. But now, he didn''t have one at all?!


    A gloomy rage built up in Ryu''s chest. He didn''t blame Ailsa, he only blamed himself. He knew that her path was correct, that her method wasn''t flawed. Of all the ways he had thought of to succeed in severing his Chaotic Silk Meridians, her path was the very best.


    But he failed! He had actually failed¡­


    Back then, during those moments, he had felt ecstasy. Reason being he had felt the blade succeed. He precisely controlled his Qi Blade, shifting it from this real plane to his Dantian Plane. He accurately struck the weakest and thinnest part of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, just at the part where they were beginning to shift from tangible to ethereal.


    It couldn''t have been more perfect. His Qi Blade sliced through cleanly. The only thing he had remaining to do was grab control of his severing meridian vessel, communicate with his Dantian Plane, and allow a stronger, even sturdier connection to form.


    After this Severing was complete, his ability to sense the changes of his Dantian should have increased manifold, he was so looking forward to seeking out the mysteries of a Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation¡­ Yet that was when it happened.


    The Essence that had been puppeteered by his [Demonic Strings] lashed out.


    All the control he had was lost in an instant. Before he could re-establish the connection, the Essence tore itself from his Demonic Strings, forcibly re-entering the real plane and slicing out through his inner organs and even his Diamond Back Ape soft armor¡­

 Chapter 256: Fists

    Blood seemed to endlessly drip from Ryu''s body. Anyone else would have likely bled out by now, but the vitality of Ryu''s various bloodlines could hardly be matched. Unfortunately, no matter how high his vitality was, there was little he could do about his organs shutting down.


    Even the greenery of the Mortal Qi Small Realm which were used to growing back as quickly as they were cut down couldn''t fight against the aura of Ryu''s Qi Blade, and they had only been affected by its domain rather than by it directly. Ryu, however, had been directly struck by his own blade. His situation was far worse than the sliced forest remnants around him.


    With what seemed like the last of his strength, he summoned every corpse puppet he had out from his spatial ring. Since his meridians were barren of qi, and his body was far too injured to even think of making use of his Body Realm to fight, the only option he had left was his Mental Realm.


    Unfortunately, even that felt drained. He had used so much Focus Qi, both to enter the Breath of World Meditation State and to control his one fifty meter tall Qi Blade. Even if he still had more than enough Spiritual Qi left, he found it hard to stop even his own vision from blurring, let alone finely controlling corpse puppets.


    The three geniuses who had been debating on how to split Ryu''s belongings sneered at this sight. Sure, it was impressive that Ryu actually had so many Fourth Order puppets, and even had two Peak Fifth Order corpse puppets, but they were Connecting Heaven Realm experts. This display meant nothing to them.


    However, when an ancient tree suddenly appeared above Ryu, their sneers turned to narrowed eyes. They didn''t know what this technique was¡­ But the oppressive aura of the Immortal Sakura, and its fluttering petals falling like snowflakes, made them serious.


    No matter what they said, in the end, a Throne was still a Throne. There was no such thing as a useless Throne. The fact Ryu had such an oppressive Qi Blade but ultimately failed in the end only pointed toward one thing: his Meridian Grade was higher than they could imagine. Even if that Meridian Grade was now useless after his failure, it didn''t change this fundamental fact.


    Ryu was completely expressionless, but the anxiousness in his heart was slowly becoming more and more murderous.


    The Immortal Sakura continuously grew in size. Ryu could theoretically expand it to the range of his Spiritual Sense, which was twenty kilometers, but this would be a foolish waste of his Spiritual Qi. In the end, its short, sturdy trunk blossomed into a canopy with a range of just over ten meters.


    It was a sight that captured a beauty beyond words. How many people of the martial world would believe that a Necromancer could be synonymous with such a gorgeous display?


    However, beauty was only one aspect of the sight before them. The moment they got caught up in the gently falling blossom petals, they almost completely missed the oppressive crackling lightning.


    The tribulation clouds that had yet to disperse above seemed to grow agitated, stirring the Spiritual Lightning Qi of Ryu''s Immortal Sakura to a new height.


    Everything before them seemed like a gentle winter storm, yet was filled with danger nonetheless. Though Ryu didn''t speak, his gloomy demeanor made one hesitant. A cornered animal was always at its most dangerous, but a genius who had lost everything was even a level above that.


    A black bow appeared in Ryu''s hand. Though he had yet to draw it, his aura gained a sudden sharpness.


    Flames erupted all around him, searing his wounds shut so violently that the three geniuses before him cringed. The smell of burnt flesh and organs completely overwhelmed their senses, but what was even more shocking was the abrupt change in Ryu''s soft armor.


    The robes sown by a Spiritual Seamstress were burnt to ash, but the Diamond Back Ape soft armor suddenly clanged with a metallic fervor. The fur it was woven of hardened in an instant, the tear that was formed by Ryu''s Qi Blade lunging forward to mend itself as the once soft armor became a crystalline royal blue that shimmered like a pale sapphire.


    Ryu''s flames only seemed to grow more oppressive. As his emotions sunk into a deeper gloominess, his Rage Fire only seemed to grow hotter, whipping across his once soft armor with a blood red fire.


    The combination made Ryu seem as though he was wrapped in violet armament, his back finally managing to straighten out to his full height as he readied to pull the string of his bow.


    "What an impressively pitiful sight." Lucien spoke with a small hint of admiration, but he was overall unperturbed. Even if Ryu had succeeded in entering the Spiritual Severing Realm, he would have failed to be a match for him. Let alone now that he had lost his Spiritual Foundation.


    "Those flames are no joke." Vygil said emotionlessly. "They''re very likely in the Impose Realm. But somehow it feels even greater than that. I almost feel bad that he fell here."


    Even the three of them who were the second most outstanding geniuses of their Sixth Order Clans, at least of their generation, anyway, had only comprehended an Inheritance to the first Heir Realm. It was simply far too difficult to take steps forward within the Natural Order.


    Ryu''s corpse puppets suddenly surged forward. All over thirty of them, with the exception of his two Peak Fifth Order corpse puppets began an assault with naked abandon.


    Never in their wildest dreams did they believe that Ryu would attack first, but that didn''t mean they were caught off guard. To them, those of the Fourth Order were simply lambs to the slaughter. However, after dealing with their coordination for a few moments, their expressions grew more serious once again.


    "Annbar, you were talking all that nonsense, so why are you now slinking in the back." Lucien carelessly jeered toward the Ofera Clan genius.


    Annbar laughed. "You know close combat isn''t my strong suit."


    He casually glided backward, easily dodging the strikes of the numerous spears aimed toward him.


    Lucien disdained to answer. Even if he was a long ranged specialist, against an enemy so weak, was it necessary to cling to that ideal?


    A sword appeared in Lucien''s hand. With a casual flick of his wrist, three corpse puppets fell, unable to move any longer. He had easily pierced Ryu''s Death Seal, effectively cutting off the connection between Ryu and his corpse puppets.


    Vygil''s fists were even more direct, obliterating the Fourth Order corpse puppets into a rain of bone dust and dried out flesh.

 Chapter 257: How?

    "You two are doing great." Annbar commented without hiding his amusement. "But I guess if I continue to do nothing, you two might use this as an excuse to freeze me out."


    A laugh left his lips as the flaps of his robes opened, revealing numerous rows of needles. Each glistened with a murderous silver-red light, being about eight inches long each.


    Annbar''s hands moved faster than an untrained eye could follow. While every sweep of Lucien''s sword destroyed three corpse puppets, and every fist of Vygil''s decimated another, so too did Annbar''s rain of needles


    "What a waste of time." Annbar said with disdain.


    The reality of the matter was that they were all attacking casually, reserving strength to stop Ryu from running away. But it seemed Ryu was aware of this as well, or else he wouldn''t be standing completely still from start to finish.


    Of course, there was also the possibility that he currently only had the strength to stand still. Judging by the smell of burnt flesh that still hung in the air, his outward appearance was nothing like the pain he was withstanding.


    Ryu knew his only chance to survive was to remove that blade Essence from his body. But the issue was that his Rebirth Flames made him immune to fire of equivalent strength. As a result, he had no choice but to rely on his emotions to strengthen his Rage Flame and suppress his Rebirth Flame''s ability, thus allowing him to burn the Essence out of his body similar to expunging a poison.


    Unfortunately, because his Rage Flame and Rebirth Flames were of the same grade, the Rage Flame only had minimal effectiveness, forcing Ryu to endure the burning of his inner organs for a far longer period of time. Even if he wanted to run under his own strength, it would be too difficult!


    "What kind of Necromancer is this? His Death Seals are too easily to find and shatter. It''s clear he''s received no formal training. What kind of Necromancer can''t hide his own Achilles Heel?" Annbar said.


    "This is a waste of time. Clearly he can''t run even if he wanted to. Let''s just kill him and call it a day before those others manage to find their way here. If we suddenly get more rivals, all of our shares will plummet."


    "Agreed." Annbar and Vygil responded to Lucien''s words simultaneously.


    Almost as soon as these words fell, a red qi arrow shot through the skies. It was completely weightless, but this only made its speed far more troubling.


    Lucien snorted, his sword snaking forward and shattering the qi arrow.


    "Don''t you think it''s already too late for that?" Lucien''s sword didn''t pause, effectively slaughtering the last Fourth Order corpse puppet with ease.


    Ryu''s jaw clenched. He had never experienced such pain in his life, even when he forcibly pushed his speed past his limits when he ran from Leopold.


    Still, he stretched his body once more, pulling back his bowstring again.


    The Glove of Natural Order responded in kind. Fueled by his comprehension of Rage Fire, arrow after arrow was formed one after another. They streaked across the skies, and though they were unable to threaten the three geniuses, it slowed their steps forward.


    "Go. I''ll cover your two." Annbar said casually, his eyes flashing with interest. "Also, I agree. You two can have whatever other treasures may lie here¡­ But that glove¡­ I want it!"


    With a wave of his hand, the needles he had thrown forward were suddenly snatched back through the air. Like a god descending, he rose through the skies, his every needle shattering Ryu''s arrows with ease. It was clear that he practiced a technique not a single bit inferior to [Demonic Strings].


    Lucien and Vygil shot forward, not even bothering with the qi arrows streaking toward them. They didn''t bother with Annbar''s words either. A glove capable of forming qi arrows was indeed an outstanding treasure. One only needs to ask various bowmen just how much they spent on their arrows to understand why. But, it was useless to them who didn''t follow the path of long ranged attackers.


    The moment the two entered Ryu''s range, the remaining two Peak Fifth Order puppets could no longer remain silent. They pushed forward to meet Lucien and Vigil, but how could they match their strength?


    The two were instantly blown backward, suffering a resounding defeat. But at the very least, they weren''t stricken down in one blow like the others had been. Reason being, they were protected by Ryu''s [Immortal Sakura]!


    The four figured clashed continuously within Ryu''s ten-meter range. Every time Vygil or Lucien seemed to gain the upper hand, a gentle falling petal that seemed as delicate as a snowflake would impede their attack, deviating their strike by just a few degrees and for just a few split moments, allowing the two corpse puppets to continue to survive.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s qi arrows doubled in strength. What once was a singular oppressive heat became combined with a sharp deceitful aura.


    "Spear qi?!" Annbar''s expression was filled with shock. How could one form an arrow with spear qi? He had never heard something so ridiculous.


    Though he still casually shattered them, it most definitely wasn''t as easy as before.


    Blood dripped from Ryu''s lips as he continuously loosed arrows. The pressure on his mind was inconceivable. He was currently walking a tightrope¡­ any one mistake would mean the end of his life.


    It seemed that he was holding his own, but the reality was that he was simply using minor tricks. To top this off, the three geniuses were all wary of each other and as such had yet to bring out their full strengths. Even still, they easily dealt with everything Ryu threw at them.


    Gritting his teeth, Ryu''s qi arrows increased in strength once more.


    Annbar''s expression morphed between shock and greed. He suddenly understood something. This glove was actually able to convert comprehension into the form of qi!


    But at the same time, he was growing more and more apprehensive. How could a single person comprehend so many paths? Fire Qi, Spear Qi, Glaive Qi, and now Wind Qi?! Even he could no longer shatter the arrows as easily as before. He had no choice but to use over forty percent of his strength.

 Chapter 258: Birthed Phenomena

    [Bonus chapter for 300 golden tickets]


    ''He''s not a bowman either.'' Annbar thought with a shocked expression. ''He lacks the foresight and comprehension a true long ranged specialist has, yet his arrows are actually so dangerous¡­


    ''He''s not a Necromancer¡­ He''s not a bowman¡­ I have a feeling he''s not a Mental Realm Master either despite that impressive Visualization! Just what is he?!''


    Not just Annbar was thinking these things, but so too were Vygil and Lucien. At that moment, they all glanced at one another and came to a conclusion. They absolutely could not allow Ryu to leave here alive! Even if he had become a cripple, they wouldn''t feel comfortable allowing such a genius to live on as their enemy. Absolutely not!


    "[Bloody Rain]!" Annbar no longer held back.


    "[Lao Swordsmanship: Third Form]!"


    "[Sky Fall]!"


    The three of them unleashed their true strength. Ryu didn''t stand a chance.


    With his Focus Qi drained, Ryu''s ability to communicate with the Glove of Order was severely hampered. Even after fusing four qis as one, their strength was less than half of their usual ability. To make matters worse, even forming one such arrow drained his Spiritual Qi almost completely as well, further weakening his ability to control his two remaining corpse puppets and causing his [Immortal Sakura] Visualization to waver.


    It was then the attacks fell.


    Annbar''s needles rose into the sky, shimmering with a bloody light as they fell like a torrential rain.


    Lucien''s sword almost became ethereal, forming three after images with every stroke.


    Vygil''s fist made Ryu feel as though the very skies and clouds themselves were collapsing. Under his might, even something so lofty wouldn''t survive.


    Needles pelted Ryu''s cherry blossoms. Every time they shattered, a new injury would appear in his Mental Realm, causing his consciousness to be filled with an endless black.


    Lucien''s sword was unimpeded. Ryu lacked the focus to comprehend which of his sword images were real and which were fake, causing his male corpse puppet to suffer a sever slash. It bounded through the air, ripping through the space by his side and landing several hundred meters behind him, unable to move.


    Vygil''s fist collided with the female corpse puppet, tearing a hole over a half a meter in diameter through its shoulder and torso. The hole reverberated like a black hole, seemingly willing to engulf everything in its path.


    Ryu''s Immortal Sakura trembled and collapsed into motes of light. The soft crackling of lightning was all that was left behind other than a beaten and bloodied Ryu, struggling to pull his bowstring once more.


    Looking at his pitiful state, Ryu couldn''t help but think of his Grandpa Kukan. All those times he faced the Tribulation Shrine with nothing but his bow and his arrows, was he this drained as well?


    ''I''m sorry grandpa¡­ your grandson is useless¡­ I can''t do your bow proud¡­''


    Ryu coughed. But shockingly, blood didn''t fly from his mouth this time. Instead, an eerie black smoke did.


    Vygil, Annbar, and Lucien all experienced a severe change of expression. That black smoke¡­ Could it be he had burned through his own organs completely?!


    A screaming, burning pain ravaged Ryu''s body. But, he still solemnly put his bow away, taking out a halberd with a dark violet body that stood two heads taller than himself.


    He couldn''t do his grandfather proud with his bow like he had wanted to. But even if he would die today, his back would be straight enough to pierce through the skies.


    He hated those skies with every fiber of his being. It was those skies that gifted him such otherworldly talent, yet sealed his ability to use them with a False Spiritual Foundation. It was those skies that gifted him his Chaotic Silk Meridians, yet didn''t allow him to reach even the mere Fourth Order. It was those skies that beat him down again and again, ripping his family, his dignity, and now even his hope from him.


    If he was going to die today, he would make sure those skies felt his rage.


    "Don''t hide it." Ryu seemed to be speaking nonsensical words to himself, but the person they were meant for understood just fine. "I want it to see this¡­ I want it to see my last stand."


    Ryu''s second hand made it to the shaft of his halberd, brandishing it forward with a menacing sheen.


    His aura changed completely, the image of a man in robes soaked in blood rising to his back.


    This shouldn''t have been the projection that appeared. The Dragon God was man who oozed nobility. He wasn''t supposed to look like this¡­


    Ghastly screams filled the air. No one knew where they came from, but they dripped with resentment that could drown even the Heavens themselves.


    "Birthed¡­ Phenomena¡­" The three geniuses looked at the manifestation above Ryu''s head, shaken to their core.


    But, they didn''t get the time to think. Ryu, with what remained of his strength, had already surged forward. The thought of escaping never entered his mind.


    It was then that the tribulation clouds above that had still yet to disperse began to slowly turn crimson.


    **


    Matheus'' features darkened as he dodged the attacks of six assailants. In truth, the pressure on him wasn''t very great despite the savage grins on the faces of his opponents. Defeating them would be as easy as summoning just one of his mid-tier corpse puppets despite the fact all six of his opponents had stepped into the Connecting Heaven Realm. However, it was impossible for him to do this.


    He had spent all this time hiding his status as a Necromancer from even his own family, it was even to the point where he committed a massacre on the Loom Clan''s council to ensure it remained a secret. In fact, even to this point, his family still had no idea where he had been all this time and just where he had gained his status as a Throne from. He wasn''t powerful enough, he didn''t wield enough strength... How could he now compromise everything now...?

 Chapter 259: Fist

    "The Core Region is quite shameless." Matheus said coldly. "Do you really believe that we''re fools? Even if the Core Region Clan''s increased their strength tenfold, they wouldn''t be able to produce this many Connecting Heaven Realm experts below five hundred years old."


    The six attackers sneered but didn''t respond.


    They were the subordinates of the Minn, Lao and Ofera second-in-line heirs. They had been left to protect the perimeter and disallow anyone else from approaching any closer.


    In addition to this, Matheus was correct. They were already all well over five hundred years old. But so what? The moderator of this event was one of their own, and the checks for appropriate age were also conducted by him. Who was going to expose them exactly?


    "Scurry along now." One of the six sent a fist forward that Matheus slithered out of the way of. "Don''t think that you''re a match for us simply because you''ve lasted this long. We''re more interested in keeping others out. Even if you slipped by, you''d be too weak to do much of anything anyway."


    Matheus'' movements suddenly stopped. Along with his actions, so too did the six Core Region lackies come to a pause as well. Their purpose was never to kill Matheus. In fact, they had used not even a tenth of their strength as most of their attention was on the surroundings.


    Because of this, they mistakenly believed that Matheus only survived so long because they went easy on him, having no idea that Matheus could reap their lives with a single thought. However¡­


    Matheus looked toward the distance. As good as Vygil, Lucien and Annbar had been at sensing the sudden changes, Matheus was even more so. As a Necromancer, his Mental Realm was far beyond their own. In fact, he could clearly see Ryu''s situation. He was nothing but a man on his last legs¡­


    Matheus turned and began to walk away, no longer bothering with the six behind him. Not only could he kill these six easily, he could also kill the three that obstructed Ryu will barely a little more effort. However, what would come of that?


    With the death of three second-in-line heirs, the Core Region would be thoroughly enraged. They''d immediately investigate these matters, and even if Matheus left no evidence, there was no doubt that his Loom Clan would suffer nonetheless. After all, the man they originally offended was the very elder brother that Lucien looked up to so much. Even if they weren''t involved, he would take advantage of his little brother''s death for revenge.


    And what would happen if he didn''t kill them and only saved Ryu? ¡­ Then, all the effort he had put into hiding his combat strength would be exposed, and so would his connection to the Necromancy Guilds. He simply couldn''t defeat those three, or even these six, without his corpse puppets if they fought together.


    And for what or who would all that trouble be for, exactly? A Ryu that he had only known for a few days? No matter how good his impression of Ryu was, making such a decision was simply far too irresponsible. He couldn''t do it. There was too much lying on his shoulders.


    Matheus closed his eyes. ''I''m sorry¡­ Ryu.''


    With a flash, he disappeared into the distance.


    **


    Raging heat billowed from Ryu''s body. Even if the three Core Region geniuses were very much aware that this was the end of his rope


    The flames that flickered along his body were nothing like the one would except. Instead, they seemed to be fueled by blood, dying the air around him in a deep crimson light.


    The three geniuses were entirely focused on Ryu, unwilling to blink for even a moment. It wasn''t because they felt that Ryu was their match, but rather because they felt a corner dog''s final assault wasn''t something to be ignored.


    However, even with three pairs of eyes trained on him, Ryu''s sudden burst of speed almost caused them to completely lose sight of him.


    [Lined Assault]. Ryu had long since entered the Circle of Perfection in this Peak Black Grade technique, thus giving him a fourfold increase in strength. With how fast his speed already was¡­ His instantaneous straight-line speed was far faster than anything these three could imagine.


    Ryu''s halberd pierced outward. The strike was the incomparably simple [Pierce] of the [Basic Stances]. Yet, the three couldn''t find the will to laugh. They found it difficult to even stand in Ryu''s vicinity due to the overwhelming heat he was giving off, let alone confronting his strike directly. To make matters worse¡­


    ''Impose Barrier!''


    The instant Ryu moved, a violent sheen of red formed a dome around his body. To the naked eye, it seemed flimsy, fragile, even. But to a cultivator, who had yet to enter the Impose Realm themselves, it was something they could only fear!


    The temperature skyrocketed to another level. The tip of Ryu''s halberd tore a line through the sky, domineeringly sheering even the air itself apart.


    Lucien snapped out of his stupor. His robes were woven of Sixth Order fabrics, yet even he still felt a searing heat. He had to protect himself and fight back. Now!


    A sheen of qi enveloped his body. Having to siphon his qi to protect his skin like this dropped the qi available to him by an entire ten percent. Coupled with the suppression he faced against this Impose Barrier, and his battle effectiveness dropped by thirty percent. It wasn''t just him, but the same was true for Vygil and Annbar as well!


    Suddenly, their battle effectiveness dropped by another twenty percent!


    A look of horror matted their faces as they instantly understood the reason. Ryu had projected two Impose Barriers at once!


    One was a dome that seemed forged of a thin curtain of blood, but the other was filled with patterns that looked like the scales of a crimson dragon. That Impose Barrier pulsed with life, almost as if to breathe.


    They melded into one, becoming an oppressive atmosphere that sought to blanket the area in its might.


    It was then that Ryu''s [Pierce] reached Lucien. Like a shooting star streaking across the battlefield, it sought to gouge out his throat and end his life.


    However, at the end of it all, Ryu''s body was now merely comparable to a Higher Divine Vessel Realm expert. In addition, even if he struggled to layer another Impose Barrier, his mind, already drained, would simply collapse. Even now, maybe his Impose Barriers wouldn''t last even ten more seconds.


    His body was in shambles, burnt to a crisp under his own effort and flames. His Mental Realm was a collection of shattered bits and pieces, barely holding on to its consciousness. And his qi was completely barren, the severed tip of his Chaotic Silk meridians hanging loosely within his body. He simply shouldn''t be able to stand right now, let alone fight.


    At that moment, Ryu''s halberd met Lucien''s sword. Ryu felt an energy as tall as a mountain crashing into him. Though he didn''t retreat even a single step, and it was Lucien who took several backward, this was only a painted illusion.


    Lucien''s choice to step backward was intelligent. Every movement dissipated more of Ryu''s strength, mitigating his damage to near zero. However, Ryu''s choice to refuse to do so caused him to take one hundred percent of Lucien''s strike. The destruction that ravaged his body would have made anyone else faint on impact.


    Ryu raised his halberd toward Lucien one more. Unable to utilize qi, the only techniques available to him were those that relied on his body. [Lined Assault] was a technique that made the body a bow to increase speed and it was unfortunately one of the only techniques Ryu could use now¡­


    So, when he raised his halberd, it wasn''t to unleash some mighty strike. Instead, it was once more simple and plain as could be¡­ [Slice].


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t Lucien''s sword he met this time, but rather, Vygil''s fist.

 Chapter 260: Teasing

    Destruction once more ravaged Ryu''s body as Vygil took several steps backward. But Ryu didn''t back down, his halberd sweeping outward to his side to build up momentum.


    [Sweep].


    The moment Ryu''s strike met Lucien''s sword, a rain of needles fell from the skies.


    Some bounced of his Diamond Back Ape armor, and others were directly incinerated by his Rage Flames, but those were only some¡­ Another portion, filled with Annbar''s hidden strength, managed to tear their through, pelting Ryu''s body with countless injuries.


    Still, Ryu refused to take even a single step back. His once straight back hunched over slightly, unable to continue piercing toward the skies even as ragged breaths released billows of black smoke from his lips, but he still took yet another step forward.


    [Advance]. [Lunge]. [Sweep]. [Sidestep]. [Advance]. [Sidestep]. [Slice].


    The series of [Basic Stances] changed together in a beautiful simplicity. However, the three geniuses no longer seemed eager to kill Ryu. In fact, with serious expressions, the defended and waited.


    It had barely been more than a second since the battle began, but Ryu''s strength already began to decline. He could no longer raise his halberd as high as he had before, his [Basic Stances] were no longer as crisp, no longer as refined. He could no longer bow his body and unleashed an unbridled [Lined Assault]. It felt that he had really come to the end of his rope.


    "[Sky Fall]!"


    Vygil''s built up momentum unleashed in an instant. His fist instantly appeared before Ryu''s chest.


    BOOM!


    If one was watching on, perhaps they too would feel this impact to their chest. It wouldn''t matter that the strike wasn''t meant for them.


    Ryu''s armor shattered as he was sent flying into the distance. His flames had already become too weak to maintain its structure, this seemed like the inevitable conclusion.


    The man who refused to take even a single step back had, in the end, been forced to. Sometimes, in the face of absolute strength, there wasn''t much of a point in staunch resolve.


    When Ryu and Ailsa first met, this was a point Ailsa made abundantly clear. Not everyone could fight against the will of the Heavens. Doing so wasn''t as simple as Ryu believed. There were many people in this world who willed with all their might to grow stronger, to become something better for themselves, but still failed in the end.


    That bitter taste of defeat, even after you had given it your all¡­ This was what Ryu was now experiencing.


    He lay in the distance, entrenched in the dirt. Maybe he would have lost consciousness already if it wasn''t for his violent coughing. Every time it seemed he would finally slip away, another violent torrent of black smoke would snake up and out of his throat, convulsing his already beaten body with endless pain.


    In his hand, his halberd lay. His fingers wrapped around it so tightly that it even his already fair skin turned several tones paler.


    "Let''s end this farce." Lucien said plainly.


    The three geniuses hadn''t sustained even a single injury. The so-called bloody Dragon God in the sky hadn''t faded, but its aura had. It no longer seemed sustained by Ryu''s Mental Realm, but was rather held up by his emotions.


    Unable to lift or move his body, Ryu couldn''t even watch as the three geniuses approach him, his only sight was the sky above his head.


    It was quite ironic. He hated nothing more than those skies right now, but it forced him to look at it even as his final moments drew near.


    Ryu thought of parents. His father that had descended into the Nether Realm to find him¡­ His mother that had used the last bit of her strength to seal their Holy Lands¡­


    He thought of his grandparents. Had they sacrificed themselves, were they long since dead? Would he be able to see them after he died?


    Ryu''s muscles spasmed, another violent cough ripping through his body. This time, though, it was followed by blood. It seemed his coughing had torn a new wound his throat, not that he was using it much before anyway.


    The sight of a gorgeous beauty with gentle and mischievous eyes filled Ryu''s mind. His wife, the love of his life, the woman he would happily bow his head to and heed the every need of¡­ Was she struggling right now? Did she need him? Was she still waiting for him¡­?


    ''I promised¡­'' Ryu tried to mumble to himself, but his torn throat didn''t allow him. In the end, the words only became a projection of his mind.


    {I want you to know that I''ll never leave you. No matter what happens, can you promise me that you''ll remember this?}


    Those were the words he had told her during their final night. However, if he died here, there would be no third chance. There wouldn''t be another Sky God''s Legacy to allow him to reincarnate¡­


    This was it.


    The fire in Ryu''s mind burned even brighter when he thought of this. He had promised. He couldn''t let her down. He didn''t want to let her down.


    If his gaze held any power at all, even the skies above his head would have collapsed at his fervent desire. He wanted to live, not for himself, but for her.


    But it was useless.


    No matter how fierce his gaze became, no matter how fiercely his body trembled and tried to rise, he couldn''t budge a single inch. He had reached the limit. There was simply no energy left within him. He had run completely dry.


    Even as he struggled to stand once more, the three Core Region geniuses had already made it to within three meters of him.


    "Even if you a Throne, you will still die here." Lucien said plainly. "I no longer have the face to say that you''re undeserving of the title, but unfortunately for you, that doesn''t matter. Don''t worry too much, I''ll be sure to send your head to Taedra. As for leaving you with a complete body, you lost that right the moment you offended my Lao Clan."


    Lucien raised his sword.


    Looking at the skies that filled his gaze, Ryu could just barely see the sun reflecting light along its silvery finish. With Ryu''s death all but guaranteed, it seemed the tribulation clouds above no longer cared to stay. Almost as though it disdained to even watch his final moments.


    The blade descended.


    The reflective ray danced across Ryu''s face and mask, teasing him with a faint warmth that drew ever closer.

 Chapter 261: Recognition

    It was at that moment that earth beneath them shook.


    Caught off-guard, Lucien''s stance shifted, causing his descending sword to lose its accuracy.


    Lucien frowned, wanting to adjust for this odd change, but the earth shook again.


    Suddenly, a shocking change occurred.


    The earth shot up from the ground. In an instant, it loomed over a hundred meters and was still steadily growing.


    "Who?!" Lucien roared in anger.


    He, Annbar and Vygil shot backward. It wasn''t because this attack threatened them, but rather because they couldn''t find the enemy. For an enemy to sneak up on them like this, they couldn''t help but be cautious.


    Soon, the wall of earth cast a shadow over the earth. It was so high that Lucien could no longer see Ryu''s body from their vantage point. But he was absolutely certain that the earth had risen beneath Ryu. Meaning, Ryu wasn''t on the other side of this wall, but was rather at the very top of it!


    Ryu, who lay atop of the wall, could still only look into the skies. He had felt the earth beneath him shift, but he didn''t know what was happening. This certainly wasn''t happening because of him, he simply didn''t have any comprehension of the earth path, let alone deep enough comprehension to cause such a violent surge. Plus, even if he did, he didn''t have the strength left to employ it now.


    After a split second of confusion, Ryu suddenly felt the rays of the sun blocked by something as a shadow was cast over him.


    He struggled to look over, but all he could catch was the edge of a robe flapping in the wind as the wall of earth continued to surge upward.


    Ryu and the mysterious figure were silent. It was an odd atmosphere. Ryu''s throat was too injured to say anything, while the mysterious figure didn''t want to say anything.


    Suddenly, Ryu felt a hand touch his face. It was a warm touch, but had the gruff, crude, and calloused feeling only a trained man could have.


    A moment later, Ryu''s mask was lifted from his face. Despite the situation, he felt shock at this person''s actions. They actually dared to remove his mask?


    No matter how much Lucien wanted him dead, he hadn''t dared to remove Ryu''s mask. The power of the Necromancer Guild was simply too much. If they ever found out about this, they would go all to find and kill this man.


    Usually, one would be able to stop their mask from being taken off by infusing qi into it. This was how the masks didn''t fall off during battle. But how could Ryu accomplish this now? His body was completely devoid of qi. He likely would never be able to cultivate again.


    "¡­ Sure enough¡­ It really is you¡­"


    When Ryu heard this voice, his pupils constricted to the size of pinholes.


    Even if he was half dead, with his life hanging by a string, he would recognize this voice.


    The voice laughed. It was a mixture of complexity and relief, as though he was thankful that he hadn''t fallen to some endless hole of depravity. Finally, there was happiness. He was genuinely delighted to have found Ryu.


    These torrent of emotions weren''t this mysterious man''s alone. Ryu''s face, practically the only part of his body that could move a single inch, couldn''t seem to decide what emotion to display. Was it sadness? Agitation? Confusion?


    "Ryu, you must call out your Bloodied Steed and run away. I will hold them here for as long as I can, but there''s only so much this wall can do. If you need help, tell me now."


    The mysterious man knew that Ryu was likely depleted beyond normal levels. Maybe he didn''t even have the Spiritual Qi necessary to release the Bloodied Steed from his beast pouch. If that was the case, he could only enlist the help of this man.


    The man was right. What was an earth wall of a mere few hundred meters to a Connecting Heaven Realm expert? With a little effort, even a Spiritual Severing Realm expert could fly up such a distance. The only reason they hadn''t immediately was because they were a bit apprehensive above how this mysterious man appeared out from nowhere. Only this man knew that it was a mere insignificant trick once it was seen through.


    To make matters worse, the earth wall was clearly thinning out rapidly. In order to make it go higher faster, there was no doubt that some sacrifices had to be made. Ryu could only imagine how much energy it took to produce such a thing.


    Ryu struggled to look toward the man. Another violent, rippling cough tore through his shredded throat. But finally, he was able to catch a glimpse.


    He had never been able to lay eyes on this man personally before, but the moment he did, he felt a surge of emotions.


    That staunch jaw, that healthy tanned skin, those deep brown eyes¡­


    Ryu faintly felt an inexplicable pang when he saw how pale the man''s face was. Lingering feelings from a life long forgotten, that had felt only moments away from fading completely, suddenly reaffirmed themselves, forging a strong tie Ryu couldn''t sever even if he wanted to.


    The middle-aged man smiled. "Hurry up and go. Leave this place to this old man."


    Three auras from below surged. Realizing that the wall wanted to continue to climb and no one seemed intent on attacking, the three Core Region geniuses suddenly felt that someone was trying to play them for a fool!


    The man placed Ryu''s mask back on and stood, turning his back to Ryu. It was a strong, sturdy back, one that could be relied upon¡­


    "I''ve never treated you as I should, and even my life isn''t enough to repay that folly. However, it is all I have to give you. It''s selfish¡­ but I hope one day you''ll forgive me¡­"


    The man''s aura surged. The earthen wall began to form steely protrusions, jutting outward with a fierce momentum as they pierced toward the flying three geniuses.


    In that moment, Ailsa entered her full form. Immediately communicating with Ryu''s Inner World, she pulled out the concealment cloak, draping it over their bodies. It was impossible to disappear before someone''s eyes using the concealment cloak, the difference between Ryu and the three geniuses wasn''t large enough. Luckily, thanks to this mysterious man, they had left their line of sight and the range of their Spiritual Sense¡­


    The man sensed these odd movements behind him, but he didn''t turn around to look. He maintained his strong and sturdy stance, but Ryu''s silence pierced his heart more than anything ever had. He simply had no idea that Ryu couldn''t speak even if he wanted to.


    Ailsa looked back toward this man with both gratefulness and complexity. With her connection to Ryu, she knew exactly who this man was. But, she could only take Ryu into her arms, leaping from the wall and vanishing from sight.


    Ryu''s agitation grew, the rage of emotions in his heart surging. Even now, he could only see the skies above his head! Those damnable skies!


    He struggled fiercely. He felt like he was choking, as though a firm hand had gripped his throat.


    His head turned in Ailsa''s embrace, but he could only see the faint outline of a man trembling, his energy depleting far faster than it could recover.


    The earthen wall crumbled, its structure far too unstable. Under the attacks of three geniuses, it stood not a single chance.


    No matter how weak Ryu had become his eyes worked just fine. He could clearly see that this man was a mere Lower Divine Vessel Realm expert. In such a battle¡­ the only path left was death¡­


    The man fell from the skies. He no longer had the energy to even fly. Yet, there was a faint smile on his face as he realized he could no longer see Ryu''s figure.


    He had finally done his duty¡­ Even if it was just this once¡­ He had done right be his grand ¨C


    "GRANDPA!"


    A hysterical cry left Ryu''s lips. It was the kind that tore one''s soul apart from the inside¡­ the kind filled with such an endless torrent of emotions that it almost felt like your own pain, your own sorrow¡­ the kind that congealed and hung in the air, unwilling to dissipate.


    The man was stunned when he heard this cry, but he laughed heartily soon after. His full, jovial laughter filled the skies, parting what remained of the tribulation clouds above as he descended even faster, unable to uncontrol his fall.


    "Live well¡­ Little Ryu."


    These were the last words Ryu heard before his grandfather, Amell Tor, slammed heavily into the ground below.

 Chapter 262: Go!

    Ryu''s body convulsed wildly as Ailsa''s small hands laid pressed against his chest.


    Fragrant sweat dripped down her figure, but her eyes were entirely focused on Ryu.


    "No¡­ No¡­" A dark mumbling continuously left Ryu''s lips.


    ''You must hold on¡­'' Ailsa was filled with worry.


    She hadn''t expected the reappearance of Amell Tor to affect Ryu so profoundly. Even if his grandfather never took direct action in harming him like King Tor, his supposed father, had, sometimes inaction was even more profound than action itself.


    When Ryu and his brothers took a trip to the Heavenly Body Sect to perform their awakenings, Amell had done nothing when his son purposely sabotaged Ryu''s ceremony. When Ryu became the black sheep of Tor Palace, ignored by everyone and left without recourse, Amell had done nothing. When Ryu faced the onslaught of murderous intentions during the Coronation Games, Amell had once again done nothing.


    Ailsa knew clearly of Ryu''s thoughts. During all those moments, maybe his resentment toward Amell had actually been the most. More than the so-called mother who slapped him, more than his other so-called grandfather who whipped him publicly, more than his so-called sisters who betrayed him, and even more than his so-called father who ordered Granny Miriam''s death.


    When Ryu''s memories were awakened, he felt a wave of relief he quickly covered with indifference. This Tor Clan he hated so much no longer had to be his family, he had a family waiting for him that truly loved and cherished him no matter what weaknesses he possessed.


    He believed that he had left the Tor Clan behind him to the point that he wouldn''t have even cared to seek out revenge had it not been for Granny Miriam¡­


    But, the matters of today shattered that reality. In the end, those first fourteen years of his life were still, in the end, his life. If it hadn''t affected him at all, Ailsa believed that with Ryu''s personality, he wouldn''t have spared their lives.


    Ryu was more soft-hearted than even Ailsa herself had realized. Those he saw as his enemies would immediately feel his rage, but those he saw as one of his own¡­


    Ailsa could feel the rage building up in Ryu''s heart. It was so fierce that his Ice Flames couldn''t find space to breathe. This made the matters of his body worse and worse.


    After burning the Essence from his body, Ryu should have been able to begin the process toward healing, but unfortunately, his Rage Flames continuously fed off his emotions, growing stronger and stronger. Even if he lacked the Spiritual Qi to evoke them, their residual effects were running rampant within his body, suppressing his other flames more and more.


    He wanted to destroy everything¡­ even the skies above his head.


    ''This is too much of an uphill battle.'' Ailsa thought through gritted teeth. ''The only solution I see is for him to undergo Rebirth, but how could he with his connection to his Spiritual Foundation severed?''


    How could Amell have even appeared here? Ailsa tried to distract herself from the energy rapidly draining through her.


    According to Ryu''s memories, Amell''s talent had been eyed by many on the Pedestal Plane, this much was stated long ago. But what he could have never imagined was the fact that he would be accepted by a Clan of the Inner Ring and not the Outer Ring. Just how talented was Amell Tor?


    To catch the eye of an Immortal Plane Clan or Sect from a mortal plane was no easy task, it was rare enough to gain the interest of the Outer Ring. But to gain that of the Inner Ring? It was a feat on an entirely new level.


    As for why Ryu didn''t notice him outside of Mortal Qi Mountain, this was even more obvious! Back then, Ryu was blind. He had simply never seen his grandfather before. Even when he entered Tor Palace the final time and retried the final piece of the crystalline jade, Amell hadn''t been there, only King Tor and the others had been.


    Maybe this was related to the momentum of Ryu''s awakening. An artificial awakening and a Natural Awakening were two vastly different concepts. However, a Natural Awakening hadn''t occurred since the very first human ancestors of the Shrine Realm began to cultivate.


    In all likelihood, the momentum of this awakening was sensed, but was confused for Amell''s breakthrough into the Divine Vessel Realm which happened around similar times. Since no one had witnessed a Natural Awakening throughout several Eras, it was impossible for them to tell the difference, especially when they were located all the way on a separate Plane.


    In the end, this benefitted Amell, which ended up saving Ryu''s life¡­ The Strings of Fate were truly difficult to predict. To think that things would work out in this way.


    Well, these things were just Ailsa''s deductions, anyway. She had no idea of knowing just how close to the truth her thoughts actually were.


    With a thought, Ailsa communicated with the Incubator and released Nemesis and Little Rock.


    ''You two.'' She projected her thoughts with a tired expression. ''If you want your master to live, you must collect the Spiritual Herbs I project into your minds, okay? Don''t worry about their locations, I''ll point you in the right direction. Do you understand?''


    The two young beasts looked from Ryu to Ailsa before nodding solemnly. They could easily tell just how injured Ryu was.


    ''Good¡­ Good¡­''


    Ailsa closed her eyes, her energy draining even more as she focused her everything on the task at hand¡­


    If one could peek into the Ethereal Realm, one would see a grand array spreading out beyond one''s wildest imaginations. It pulsed a gentle green on one side, but a dark sinister green on the other. It seemed intent to cover even the clouds and the sun with a single palm.


    Ailsa had lived for more than nine cycle of one hundred million years. Her cultivation wasn''t something the current Ryu could imagine, but she was simply unable to bring out this strength. Sprites couldn''t survive without their Life Partners outside the Ethereal Realm, nor could they display their true strength. Unless there came a day where Ryu entrusted Ailsa with his everything, she would never touch upon her true strength again¡­


    However, in these moments, she didn''t care. There were some things she could do for a price. She wouldn''t let Ryu die here!


    Her eyes flashed opened, images of numerous locations and Spiritual Herbs entering the minds of the two beasts.


    "Go!"

 Chapter 263: Reason [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus Chapter for 350 golden tickets]


    Day after day, Ailsa worked on what remained of Ryu with everything she had.


    Even though their intimacy had deepened, she could still only maintain her true form for an hour a day. In the end, this left her with very little time, and often, she wasted much of that period ensuring Ryu would survive long enough for her next hour to come.


    These unfortunate circumstances led to Ryu''s vitality ticking violently upward and downward in twenty-four hour increments.


    Ailsa focused on finding all of the Body Realm Spiritual Herbs she could. If Ryu had no hope of experiencing Rebirth, his only chance was the overwhelming vitality of his four Ancestral Beast bloodlines.


    Suddenly, it became a blessing that Ryu had chosen to complete his Ice Phoenix Bloodline first over his Lightning Qilin Bloodline. Had he chosen the latter¡­ He wouldn''t have stood a chance.


    Though the rage in Ryu''s heart seemed completely unwilling to settle down and allow his Ice Flame space to breathe, his Phoenix Bloodlines began to display their prowess. Under the perfect balance of the Ice Jade Crystal Body, not to mention this Bone Structure''s own overwhelming healing capabilities, Ryu''s body finally took a turn for the better.


    Why was it that anyone who used [Phoenix Heavenly Body] without a Phoenix Bloodline died? It was precisely because this technique made use of the heaven defying recoverability of the Phoenix Bloodlines to create a godly Body Realm cultivation technique.


    If one without this bloodline used this technique, they wouldn''t be able to recover from the damage caused quickly enough to give them a path toward survival. As a result, [Phoenix Heavenly Body] was known for its overwhelming speed and efficiency, because only an individual with such a bloodline could survive such vast changes in their body''s strength occurring in such a short period of time!


    Others needed to slowly adapt, allowing their bones and muscles to incrementally increase their strength. However, Ryu could speed by this, relying on his healing factor to make up for any damage caused. How else could Ryu increase his body''s strength so quickly without any worry?


    However, what was truly scary about this truth was that when Ryu first began using this technique, he had yet to begin to strengthen his Phoenix Bloodlines! But now, he had raised both his Fire and Ice Phoenix Bloodlines to their maximum potential within the Pulse Tempering Realm!


    Even this was still only one aspect.


    If one thought that just because you had been born with these bloodlines that you would definitely awaken the Ice and Rebirth Flames, you would be sorely mistaken.


    Why was it that Ryu had gone through so much trouble to find the Death Shrine? It was precisely because his Grandma Kukan''s Ice Phoenix Clan was weakening because no one had awakened their Ice Flame in several generations!


    This wasn''t a problem only the Ice Phoenix Clan faced, but the Fire Dragon and Fire Phoenix Clans also had issues awaking their Innate Flames, albeit to a more minor extent.


    So why was it that Ryu not only awakened one of these flames, but three so easily?


    The answer was simple. The Origin Flame!


    Ryu was completely unaware of this, but Ailsa was very certain of this deduction. The Origin Flame was the King of Flames. Its importance and strength were clearly exposed in its very title. If it couldn''t elicit the awakening of flames an entire grade below it, would it still dare to call itself the King of Flames?


    There were thirty-three flames of each grade¡­ But there was only one Origin Grade Flame!


    What was the significance of all of this?


    Some beast bloodlines were special and wouldn''t awaken their true strength until a particular Bloodline Talent was awakened. Should the particular Talent never awaken, their strength would be capped, sometimes only becoming capable of displaying the strength of a bloodline several grades below it.


    Phoenix Bloodlines were one such example. They wouldn''t be able to show their true strength until their Innate Flames were awakened! And Ryu had awakened them both!


    What Ailsa sent Nemesis and Little Rock to find weren''t herbs to increase Ryu''s body strength, but rather herbs that could quickly replenish lost blood.


    Ryu''s life was hanging on by a string, but as long as his blood could be filled back to capacity, it was very possible that he would recover in just a few days!


    If it wasn''t for the fact Essence was a higher grade energy than Ryu could imagine, forcing him to severely injure himself in order to burn it all away, a mere deep cut across his torso wouldn''t have been anywhere near enough to put him in such dire straits.


    One had to understand the core of one''s bloodlines weren''t actually found in the normal blood stream. Blood was split into two major types in the case of Humans: Blood and Blood Essence.


    Blood was what Ryu had lost. However, Blood Essence was where his true strength lied. Even if he was bled out completely, he would never lose his Ancestral Bloodlines as long as his Blood Essence remained intact.


    Due to the importance of Blood Essence, it was given certain protections by the Heavens. No one could forcefully take another''s Blood Essence without the consent of the person in question. This was regardless of whatever strength difference there was!


    What Ailsa needed to do was stimulate Ryu''s Blood Essence to make it produce more Blood!


    It was on a day Ailsa was diligently following her plan that Ryu''s body suddenly convulsed. In that moment, a blazing blue crystal flame erupted from his pores.


    However, Ailsa didn''t even get the chance to be shocked as an even more dazzling scene took place.


    A gentle red-gold flame followed right the royal blue flame. They blazed together as one, melding into a beautiful violet color that coated Ryu''s body. In an instant, Ryu''s body began to recover at a visible rate!


    **


    "Where the hell is that bastard Amell?!"


    If Ryu was here, he would be shocked. Reason being that the speaker of these harsh words was a young man he was very much familiar with¡­ Tharon Basteel!


    Once Ryu realized this, he would immediately deduce many things, maybe the most important of which was that his grandfather hadn''t been accepted into just any ordinary Clan, but had actually been taken in as an Outer Elder of one of the five Core Clans of the Inner Ring!


    This made sense. After all, the Tor Clan was born with the Iron Bone Structure and were rulers of the Heavenly Body Sect, it was logical that the Basteel Clan, known for their special earth bloodline that gave them strong bodies, would be interested in taking in such a talent.


    Still, after understanding this, Ryu would be confused. As for why he would be confused, this much is obvious after thinking for just a small bit of time.


    The Core Clans of the Inner Ring and the Core Region were already colluding with one another. This collusion led to the Core Clans being represented by Connecting Heaven Realm experts of the Core Region. After all, wasn''t that the purpose of all of this from the very beginning?


    The issue was that each Clan was only allocated three spots, but the Basteel Clan was already represented by Vygil and his two henchmen who were much older than the supposed five-hundred-year-old cut-off.


    Clearly then, the question becomes obvious. Why would Amell be here if the three-person quota was already met? Why would Tharon be here?


    Could it be that the Core Clans were actually cheating to this extent? Ignoring both the age rule and the participant cap rule as well?


    Or could there be another reason¡­?

 Chapter 264: Duty

    Ailsa watched on with an expectant expression, her eyes lit up with excitement.


    ''His Phoenix Flames are synergizing. The Rebirth Flame and the Life Flame working as one, just what kind of result would that bring?''


    Much like the Rebirth Flame was also known as the Nirvana Flame, the Ice Flame also had a secondary moniker ¨C the Life Flame!


    Within lower flame grade tiers, a flame would be lucky to have any ability besides its innate heat. However, within higher grades, flames would begin to manifest all sorts of extraordinary powers. The Rebirth Flame''s immunity to flames, and the Ice Flames oppressive cold were just two examples of this.


    As one might expect with a secondary name like this, the Ice Flame breathed boundless vitality into its wielder. Ryu had yet to find the opportunity to experience it because the moment he awakened it, he immediately formed his Qi Blade. His Mental Realm was so focused on his breakthrough into the Spiritual Severing Realm that it didn''t have any stamina to spare toward his Ice Flame.


    But now, things were different.


    Thanks to Ailsa, Ryu''s Blood Essence was fueled with more than enough energy to fill his body with the blood he had lost. And, thanks to the Incubator, this process had been seamless. Plus, having rested for so many days in a row, Ryu''s Mental Realm had long since begun the process toward recovery. After all, with the perpetual Visualization of the [Immortal Sakura], Ryu''s Mental Realm wasn''t so fragile.


    ''Could it be that the Nirvana Flame has an Amplification Talent as well as an Immunity Talent? Or is it that this ability can only be seen when combined with other Phoenix Flames¡­?''


    From Ailsa''s understanding, the Dark Phoenix was the Phoenix with the most potent attack power, the Ice Phoenix was the Phoenix with most potent defense, however, the Fire Phoenix was the ruler of all Phoenixes!


    As for why this was despite their apparent lackluster abilities, it was precisely because Rebirth was what bridged Life and Death. There was no more suitable ruler of the Phoenixes, which was also why the Fire Phoenix was the most often depicted representation of Phoenixes.


    Since the Fire Phoenix was seen as the Emperor of Phoenixes, it wouldn''t be surprising if their Flames had a nurturing effect on the Ice Flame. In fact, the benefits were plain as day.


    Ryu''s Ice Flame shouldn''t have awakened any healing talents yet, for now, it should only have its Freeze Talent. As for the vitality it provided, this was more of an auxiliary effect. To most accurately describe it, it was similar to water dripping from a leaky faucet. The talent had yet to truly awaken, but it still provided some benefits in certain aspects.


    Yet, under the influence of the Nirvana Flame, Ryu''s Ice Flame performed as though it had already awakened its Heal Talent!


    If it was this potent now, how potent would it be once this talent truly awakened?!


    Ailsa who was lost in thought was suddenly stunned by Ryu''s eyelids flashing open.


    Before she could react, Ryu shot upward, his arms wrapping around her so strongly she lost her breath.


    "Ry¡­u." Ailsa squeezed out.


    But Ryu didn''t move. No, that wasn''t true. He was moving. It was just that this sort of movement broke Ailsa''s heart.


    Ryu was actually trembling.


    For a moment, Ailsa forgot about how cold it was around her. Though Ryu''s Freeze Talent hadn''t been activated in its truest sense, his skin was still incredibly cold to the touch.


    It was after she sobered up that Ailsa understood. Ryu wasn''t trembling in sadness or pain, he was trembling in rage. He wanted to immediately leave this cave Ailsa found and take the heads of those three so-called geniuses, but he knew such an attempt would only end in failure.


    He was nothing but a cripple now. Without his Spiritual Foundation, even Body Realm cultivation was impossible. If it hadn''t been, why would he have been so weak in his first life?


    Without a Spiritual Foundation, any sort of cultivation was impossible! Not Qi Realm cultivation, not Body Realm cultivation, and not even Mental Realm cultivation! It was all impossible!


    This wasn''t entirely true, because some minor Body and Mental Realm increases in strength was still possible, but they could only be performed in the crudest way imaginable.


    How would you increase your Body Realm without a Spiritual Foundation? Lift some weights, do some pushups, go on long runs¡­


    How would you raise your Mental Realm without a Spiritual Foundation? Suffer through torture, meditate, continuously test your will power¡­


    Maybe if Ryu used all his remaining lifespan training, he might experience a few dozen jin increase in physical strength, and that was only after factoring in his innate talent. As for his Mental Realm? This hardly needed to be mentioned¡­ It was impossible.


    However, Ryu was unwilling to give up. Things couldn''t end like this. His family was waiting for him¡­


    His mother was still sealed in her World of Ice¡­ His father was still roaming the Nether Realm alone¡­ His wife was waiting for his return, for him to fulfill his promise¡­


    He needed to calm his rage, he needed to calm his heart. He couldn''t lash out. Doing so wouldn''t benefit him, it would only harm him.


    But, he didn''t know how. He didn''t know how to calm this seething heat in chest. If it wasn''t for his Rebirth Flame synergizing with his Ice Flame, maybe he would have never woken up.


    So, he held onto Ailsa. It wasn''t because he had accepted some secretly hidden feelings within him, but it was rather because he was being selfish. He wanted¡­ No, he needed comfort. The way things were right now, the only comfort he could possibly find was in Ailsa.


    He remained silent and as unmoving as his trembling body would allow, his strong arms wrapped around her waist.


    After a while, Ailsa''s arms stopped hanging limply as her hands lightly rubbed his back.


    It was impossible to know how many hours they remained like this, but Ryu''s trembling eventually began to slow before quietly fading away completely.


    In those moments, Ailsa''s gaze flashed with determination. She didn''t know quite yet how she was going to do it, but she would definitely find a way to re-establish Ryu''s link to his dantian! Since she had guided him into this mess, she would guide him out!


    This was her duty as a Cultus Faerie! This was her pride as the Princess of the Cultus Clan!


    Her shaky insecurity and faulty determination vanished. Since the worst-case scenario had already occurred, what else was there left to fear?!

 Chapter 265: Sorry

    "I''m sorry."


    Ryu released Ailsa. He knew well that she was over drafting herself to maintain her true form all for his sake. Luckily, since she wasn''t using energy or any techniques, it was possible to hold this state for longer than the usual hour limit.


    Ailsa giggled. "You felt up this big sister''s body for so long, yet showed no reaction. You really know how to break a girl''s heart."


    Ryu opened his lips to reply, but in the end he sighed and shook his head in defeat. To think he was actually worried about this Life Partner of his blaming herself. If she could still joke like this, it seemed she had experienced her own breakthrough.


    Ailsa wasn''t wrong, though. Her body felt practically boneless and was soft beyond compare. Ryu had only acted on instinct, but she really did have the capital to comfort anyone, man or woman.


    "Are you alright?" Ailsa''s voice softened.


    "I''m fine." Ryu replied without much emotion.


    "In the end, he was still your grandfather." Ailsa said lightly.


    "Yes. Yes, he is."


    Ailsa''s eyes glowed for a moment at these words before the light in her gaze vanished.


    Ryu''s meaning was clear. Before, no one from the Tor Clan was worthy of being called family by him. But, Amell Tor was now a man Ryu would call grandfather sincerely.


    The matters of the past? Didn''t matter. The reality that his Tor blood had been eradicated by his four beast bloodlines? Didn''t matter. The fact that Amell was actually far weaker than himself? Didn''t matter.


    King Tor? He was no father of his. Concubine Leilani? She was no mother of his. Isla and Dahlia? They were no sisters of his.


    However, Amell? Ryu wholeheartedly accepted him!


    Ryu stood, flexing his arms, legs and torso to see if any damage remained. Even though he could no longer cultivate, what cultivation he did have still remained. So, he was surprised to find that he couldn''t sense even a small shred of a lingering injury¡­


    It had taken Ryu months to get over a single punch from a Connecting Heaven Realm expert just less than a year ago! Was the awakening of his Ice Flame really so potent?


    "Not just your Ice Flame, but I have a feeling it''s the synergistic effect of three factors. First, your Nirvana Flame seems to have an amplification effect on Phoenix Flames. It was it that finally allowed your Rage Flame to be subdued so you could finally start on your path toward healing.


    "Second, there''s your Ice Jade Crystal Body. One of its four ability aside from Friend of Beasts, Cultivation Skin, and Absolute Balance is its Heal Talent. And thirdly, the Absolute Balance of your Bone Structure allowed these abilities to not only not impede each other, but actually work together to produce a result larger than the sum of its individual parts.


    "Normally, only Body Realm cultivators who''ve entered the Blood Tempering Realm could regrow limbs, but I feel that you have the ability right now even without awakening your Ice Flame''s Heal Talent."


    Ryu nodded in understanding before suddenly realizing that he was actually naked.


    Still, he didn''t react much to this fact and simply communicated with his spatial ring to put on a pair of loose black pants and left it at that. Since he currently had no qi, there really wasn''t a point to putting on the robes woven by a Spiritual Seamstress now. If he did, they would only be needlessly destroyed without the support of energy. It was better if he wore clothes of little value.


    "Are you worried?" Ailsa stood to her full height from her knees, looking toward Ryu with a curious light.


    "No." Ryu replied. "I believe in you."


    Ailsa felt a warmth in her heart hearing these words. If Ryu had said this in the past, it would definitely have been more empty than anything else. After all, did he have any other choice but to believe in her? However, Ryu had been won over by Ailsa''s resolve.


    This kind of confident woman ¨C one certain in her abilities ¨C only this kind of woman could grab Ryu''s attention. If Ailsa truly wanted to be his big sister, she was practically competing with the Heavens themselves. It was difficult to budge Nuri''s position in his heart.


    But¡­ This step she had taken... It was the right one!


    "Good!" Ailsa said with a grandiose air, her golden hair suddenly whipping under her momentum.


    "You may think that cultivation is impossible but this isn''t entirely the case. Someone born without a Spiritual Foundation truly wouldn''t be able to, but your starting point is no longer zero. Though it will be more difficult and slower to cultivate, it is still possible.


    "The first step is your Mental Realm. Even if you couldn''t cultivate, you could still create new Visualizations, no? Even if you couldn''t cultivate, you can still find stronger corpses, no?"


    Ryu''s eyes lit up. Theoretically, with his current Mental Realm cultivation, his peak potential should be the equivalent of a Half-Step Immortal Ring expert. Having expanded his Mental Realm to twenty kilometers already, he was definitely qualified to display this strength.


    So why hadn''t he yet? Simple. He hadn''t invested enough time. The period he had spent cultivating was still too small. He had yet to truly grasp the strength of his [Immortal Sakura] technique, and he hadn''t learned any Mental Realm combat techniques!


    "Then how do I compensate for my lack of qi? How do I form Death Seals? I no longer have access to Grave Qi, nor can I accumulate more through cultivation. In addition, I haven''t comprehended a Death Inheritance, so I can''t rely on this either. To make matters worse, without a Spiritual Foundation, I can''t establish a line of communication with the Heavens, so it is impossible for me to comprehend a Death Inheritance now."


    Ryu didn''t question Ailsa in despair. If he was saddened by these thoughts, his eyes wouldn''t be glowing. He asked these questions because he believed that Ailsa had a solution!


    Ailsa smiled widely. "Of course this Big Sis of your has a solution!


    "Even if you cannot cultivate death qi, so what? Even if you cannot comprehend a new Inheritance, so what?


    "Essence isn''t the only energy my Cultus Clan can forcibly take control of. We are known as nurturers for a reason. If we were limited by affinity, how would we dare to claim such a title?"


    The glow in Ryu''s eyes became fiercer. Ailsa was right! Cultus Faeries couldn''t possibly be limited by affinity, or else wouldn''t that mean that there would always be talents they couldn''t nurture? If this was true, how could they dare give themselves such a grandiose title and be among the top ranked Faeries?


    "All Little Ryu has to do is follow me. I will bring you to Death Qi rich areas. Then, you can rely on me to forcefully control the atmospheric qi and mold the Death Qi as you see fit! Though I am not as adept as Quibus Faeries in controlling death qi, I am still more than enough!


    "As for where your energy stores, this is even more simple. Even if you cannot store qi within your meridians any longer, don''t you still have your Mental Realm? I have seen multiple Visualizations within the crystalline jade capable of fulfilling this feat!"


    Ryu''s heart beat with a staunch resolve.


    Controlling atmospheric qi? Taking the ownerless qi and making it your own? This was only something those who had completed the Connecting Heaven Realm and formed their Immortal Rings could do!


    Upon forming one''s Immortal Ring, each ring would be capable of snatching qi from the air, thus resulting in a massive qualitative change to one''s strength upon crossing that barrier. Yet, by relying on Ailsa, Ryu could do it!


    Hadn''t he done it already? Wasn''t it because of his connection with Ailsa that he could control Essence to form his Qi Blade? Wasn''t it Ailsa who had controlled Essence back during his Throne challenge to heal him?


    This was the true strength of a Cultus Faerie!


    "However, this much is only the beginning." Ailsa said resolutely. "I am certain that we will find a way to re-establish your Spiritual Foundation connection with your meridians. And I believe that the secret lies within your Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    "With these first ranked pupils, you can even peer into the Tides of Fate and gaze upon the Fate Stars, I don''t believe for one second that with this ability, you will be unable to find your Spiritual Foundation.


    "In the end, one''s dantian is simply a Unique Small Realm. It has coordinates of its own, it''s a tangible existence, it hasn''t simply disappeared. As long as you become strong enough to find it through space and time, your strength will skyrocket.


    "The Heavens love to take things away, but when it comes across those able to snatch their belongings back, the rewards will be unimaginable.


    "As difficult as it is to cross the Spiritual Severing Realm with Chaotic Silk Meridians, the rewards for doing so must be grand beyond compare!"

 Chapter 266: Stunned

    The First Floor of the crystalline jade hadn''t changed at all since the last time Ryu ventured here. The only difference was the fact Ailsa had followed him in this time.


    According to Ailsa, the reason she was so confident in facing the four Zu Ancestors and even told Ryu not to worry about them was because the inner world of the crystalline jade and the Ethereal Realm existed on the same plane and frequency. As a result, Ailsa wasn''t limited by Ryu''s cultivation and their intimacy here. She could use her full strength here and had no problem maintaining her full form.


    The issue that Ryu faced now was that this Faerie that had always been by his side had suddenly become more dazzling. It seemed that the so-called ''true form'' Ryu was used to seeing wasn''t actually Ailsa''s real appearance at all. Rather, it was an almost¡­ filtered version of herself. The real Ailsa made Ryu''s heart beat uncontrollably.


    It was only after regaining his bearings that Ryu understood that this wasn''t entirely because Ailsa had become more beautiful, although that seemed to be part of it. Rather, since they now fully existed on the same plane, Ryu could feel just how deep and enigmatic their connection as Life Partners was.


    Ryu felt that even if he hadn''t exchanged a single word with Ailsa before, and that this was the very first time he was seeing her¡­ He would be willing to entrust her with his life!


    For a man like Ryu, this was a scary realization. It felt as though his sense of self and control was being ripped from him, as though he was being told who he should like and who he shouldn''t. This made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.


    ''Is this why Ailsa avoided entering the crystalline jade with me all this time¡­?''


    Ryu suddenly had this thought. But, Ailsa, who was very much used to responding directly to the questions that popped up in his mind pretended as though she hadn''t heard a single thing.


    In the end, Ryu could only smile bitterly. Could he blame her? The Ryu Ailsa first met was incredibly abrasive. In fact, Ryu knew he hadn''t changed much at all since then aside from growing closer to Ailsa.


    If the him of back then had felt this feeling, how would he have reacted? Maybe he would have tried everything in his power to get rid of Ailsa no matter what level of benefits she brought him. Only now that their relationship had begun to bud more naturally was this feeling easier to accept¡­


    Ailsa continued to smile lightly, her arm hooked around Ryu''s as she pretended to be complete oblivious to his stream of thoughts. In the end, it wasn''t just Ryu who felt more intimate with Ailsa in this state, but the vice versa was also true.


    In the end, wouldn''t this realization help Ailsa guide Ryu all the more?


    They strolled through a familiar forest of statues. Maybe it was because Ryu''s Mental Realm was far stronger than the last time he entered, but the oppressive aura here seemed to be multiplied many times over.


    This seemed odd. After all, if one became more powerful, why would you feel more oppressed? But the answer lay in the fact that Ryu simply hadn''t been qualified to see the secrets of this statues when he first came here. Plus, this time around, he was paying attention to them. While, before, he had cut a straight line toward the singular bookcase of cultivation techniques.


    "Oh, I almost forgot." Ailsa said suddenly as they passed by the beautiful display of cultivation techniques stored with jades of various colors. "The Death Qi cultivation techniques in this showcase were useless to you before, but now they might not be. You understand what I mean, right?"


    Ryu nodded.


    Before, when he took Hecate''s Legacy, he was forced to cultivate a mere Four Star cultivation technique. As one might expect, there was no way the Zu Clan didn''t have higher grade death qi cultivation techniques, however Ryu had been unable to use them for one simple reason: the Death Seal.


    Though these cultivation techniques housed the ability to accumulate death qi, they didn''t have the appropriate Death Seal to match. Every form of death qi would obviously have its own unique Death Seal. Unfortunately, this was only the cultivation floor, not the technique floor.


    Back then, obviously due to the existence of the four Zu Ancestors, Ryu didn''t dare to enter the technique floor. However, now that he had Ailsa, these useless techniques suddenly became useful once more.


    Obviously, he couldn''t cultivate these techniques. However, by studying them, he would gain a deeper understanding of their form of death qi. By doing so, in the future when he relied on Ailsa to control atmospheric qi, this comprehension would smooth out the process.


    Still, Ryu couldn''t help but ask¡­


    "Are you sure you can handle the Zu Ancestors? After all, although they''re only souls, they are Mental Realm Masters who reached the Soul Quintessence Realm¡­"


    Ailsa smiled. "If it was possible to indefinitely maintain one''s soul, wouldn''t anyone who entered the Soul Birth Realm be immortal? Trust me, even if they still had their full strength, they wouldn''t dare to use it so wantonly. Plus¡­ The Ethereal Realm is the Plane of the Sprites!"


    Ryu smiled meaningfully but didn''t say anything more about the topic. As things stood now, if he couldn''t enter the second floor, his strength would stagnate too much. It didn''t have the luxury for Ailsa to be wrong, so he trusted her.


    In a sense, this was a blessing in disguise. He was forced to pull all his effort toward his worst talent. Once he finished climbing this mountain of adversity, he''d reach a level the current him couldn''t imagine!


    "The obvious choice for Visualization to master would be the Zu Clan Ancestors." Ailsa said as they finally made their way to the very center of the forest of statues.


    Seeing the scene before him, though, Ryu could only sigh at Ailsa''s words. He thought with the improvement to his Mental Realm, he would be able to see past their foggy exterior by now¡­ But, even after opening his Spiritual Vessel, he couldn''t even see the faintest outline of the Ancestor Visualizations.


    "It seems I''m still not qualified." Ryu said plainly.


    However, to these words, Ailsa only smiled knowingly.


    "Do you know why of these five you can only see the Immortal Sakura?"


    "Well¡­ The Immortal Sakura Sky God helped me comprehend it. So the process was fairly easy."


    "If she can help you, why can''t I?"


    Ryu blinked. "¡­ You?"


    Ailsa grinned. "Do you think this big sister of yours is nothing but large breasts and plump cheeks? I''ll have you know that I''ve already entered the Soul Ascension Realm!"


    Ryu felt as though a bomb has sounded within his mind.


    Soul Ascension? That was the Mental Realm only lacking to the Soul Quintessence Realm! Even its lowest barrier was equivalent to the Cosmic Seed Realm!


    To put these matters into perspective, even Ryu''s own parents were only at the Cosmic Seed Realm!


    "Hmph." Ailsa harrumphed proudly. "You let those Zu Ancestors trick you. Is it really so easy to reach the Soul Quintessence Realm?"


    Ryu was stunned.

 Chapter 267: Ready

    "Let me tell you, the Soul Ascension Realm is divided into three Realms. The first is equivalent to the Cosmic Seed Realm, the second is equivalent to the World Sea Realm, and the final is equivalent to the Sky God Realm!


    "The Soul Quintessence Realm is a legendary state only spoken of in Ruins and ancient texts that are inexplicably older than existence itself.


    "As the years passed and more and more found it impossible to enter this Realm, some shameless cultivators renamed the third stage of Soul Ascension, dubbing themselves as having reached Soul Quintessence."


    Ryu suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. It wasn''t that the Zu Ancestors tried to trick him at all¡­ Wasn''t it he himself that made that assumption? It wasn''t as though he had asked them for their cultivations directly.


    The truth was that his Heavenly Pupils saw through their cultivations with ease. It was just that he also thought that the third stage of Soul Ascension was actually the Soul Quintessence Realm!


    Ailsa smiled at Ryu''s thoughts but decided not to expose him.


    "In reality, I am at the very peak of the first stage, while they have entered the third stage. Simply put, even if I was no match for them while they were alive, I am more than qualified to observe the secrets of their Visualization statues."


    "So you mean to¡­"


    "Mhm. You will use me as a proxy to observe their Visualizations. Because this place exists on the Ethereal Plane, our connection is much more solid¡­ How good would it have been if your true body could enter¡­"


    Ailsa sighed. If Ryu could have attempted to breakthrough in his Qi Realm here, how could that Essence qi have ever broken free of his control? Ailsa would have never allowed that if she had access to her full strength.


    In the end, she shook her head. There was no point in crying over this now.


    "¡­ I will only observe for you, but you will have to rely on your Heavenly Pupils to see through their mysteries. I''ll filter the complexities out just like that Eska did for you."


    Ryu nodded firmly, a wealth of confidence swelling in his chest.


    "I want to begin with the Immortal Sakura." Ryu said firmly.


    "Good choice." Ailsa said approvingly. "Rushing to accumulate a lot of techniques won''t do you any good. Slowly mastering a few is the best path."


    Ryu''s eyes glowed as his mind spun.


    The true power of the Immortal Sakura was that it could incorporate various comprehensions of the Natural Order into its strength. Essentially, even if two people cultivated the same [Immortal Sakura] at once, it was very possible for them to end up with two drastically different results.


    For example, because of his cultivating [Tribulation Nine Clouds], Ryu''s Immortal Sakura had already fused with lightning. However, its effects were minimal. Reason being that he had yet to comprehend a true Lightning Inheritance, it was simply the residual lightning from the formations he had drawn in his Mental Realm the provided those effects.


    But, Ryu had a much better idea now. And this time, the incorporation should provide a devastating boost to its strength!


    The Ice Phoenix was known for its defensive prowess. To confirm this truth, one only needs to look toward the fact Ryu''s own mother, Himari, managed to seal a large portion of the Shrine Place! Even almost a billion years later, the seal continued to remain untouched! This was the power of the Ice Phoenix!


    So, what kind of devastating effects would such astonishing defensive prowess bring when combined with the ultimate defensive Mental Realm technique in the [Immortal Sakura]? Ryu felt a keen anticipation in finding out.


    But first, he had to raise his comprehension to a realm where it was worthy of his Ice Flame.


    The Immortal Sakura had seven levels of separation, denoted by the color of its petals. The Translucent Stage, the White Stage, the Cherry Stage, the Red Stage, the Violet Stage, the Purple-Gold Stage, and finally, the Gold Stage.


    Each of these degrees of separation actually perfectly aligned with the various Mental Realms.


    The Translucent Stage was appropriate for the Spiritual Entrance Realm which ranged from the Awakening Realm to the Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm in strength if converted to the Qi Realm.


    The White Stage, Ryu''s current stage, was appropriate for his current Spiritual Endowment Stage. This ranged from the Divine Vessel Realm to the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm in strength when converted.


    The next Cherry Stage was appropriate for the Soul Birth Realm, equivalent to the Immortal Ring Realm.


    The next was the Red Stage was equivalent to the Soul Refinement Realm, the equivalent to the Path Extinction Realm and Dao Pedestal Realm of Qi Realm cultivation.


    Finally, the final three stages were equivalent to the Cosmic Seed, World Sea, and Sky God Realms!


    However, this was only base strength. If the Immortal Sakura was fused with powerful Natural Order comprehensions, it was possible for it to transcend the strength of its stage.


    Currently, Ryu was at the very beginning of the White Stage. So while he could hold off attacks from the lower Divine Vessel Realms for a while, it was impossible to block even Peak Divine Vessel Realm strength, let alone Connecting Heaven Realm strength.


    His first task was to raise his comprehension of the White Stage to the absolute limit! Once that was completed, he would fuse his Ice Flame comprehension into its Visualization!


    [Author''s Note: I hope I avoid confusion with this note. Comprehending Natural Orders is different from comprehending techniques (which include Visualizations). It''s impossible for Ryu to comprehend Natural Orders since he''s lost the connection to his Spiritual Foundation. However, comprehending techniques only relies on himself, not the Heavens. As for Natural Orders he''s already comprehended, they stay intact.


    [Yes, technically, Ryu''s inheritances are within his blood. But do remember that Ryu can only slowly access these inheritances by increasing his strength. He obviously can''t do so if he can''t cultivate. In fact, if not for the Origin Flame, none of them would have awoken yet.]


    Ryu already had speed rivalling that of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert relying on his Northern Heavenly Wind. What if he also gained defense rivalling them as well?!


    If his body hadn''t been so severely injured back then, he could have directly run away from those three geniuses without an issue. And now that he was fully healed, he would go all out.


    There wasn''t any magical time slowing effect in the crystalline jade, but Ryu had long since realized that thinking speed was far faster than taking action with one''s body. Effectively this meant that the stronger Ryu''s Mental Realm, the ''slower'' time would move within the crystalline jade.


    As things stood now, he already thought ten times faster than a normal individual, thus effectively ''slowing'' down time by ten times here. In one day, Ryu could make the progress of ten. He would take full advantage of this!


    "I''m ready. Let''s do it."

 Chapter 268: Bold [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 500 powerstones]


    "The most basic ability of Life Partners is one that shares cultivation. Unfortunately, since Fate played a trick on us, the difference between you and I is too large to allow this. If I truly shared my cultivation with you, not to mention the fact our intimacy is not yet deep enough, you would die without a corpse.


    "However, the little bit I can share should be enough¡­" Ailsa said lightly.


    Ryu had already sunk into a state of absolute focus, his silver pupils trained upon the image of the Immortal Sakura.


    The intimacy between Ryu and Ailsa was not yet deep enough to share cultivation outside the Ethereal Realm. And, even if it was, Ryu would die long before he could use it. But, at least here, Ailsa could share a bit of it¡­ Just enough for Ryu to truly gaze upon the Immortal Sakura and peer into its secrets.


    ''The essence of the Immortal Sakura¡­''


    It was one of the most ancient existences. A tree, much like humans, that started with nothing to become a mighty race that ruled over many.


    The Immortal Sakura¡­ Ryu remembered reading about it.


    At the start of its existence, it was a beautiful Cherry Blossom Tree. Though a gorgeous sight to behold, it held no strength of its own.


    One might think that with such an amazing evolutionary peak, that the Cherry Blossom was also quite grand when it was a mere Common Grade existence. However, this was not true.


    Its presence wasn''t particularly domineering. Its lifespan was relatively short when compared to other trees. And, its most beautiful flowering stage only existed for a fraction of that already short time¡­


    However, when it shone¡­ Was there another tree that could compare to it?


    Ryu involuntarily smiled at this thought. Wasn''t the Immortal Sakura very much like himself?


    He still remembered the view of his Fate Star, that blazing ball of silver-platinum flames. Since that day at the peak of Shrine Mountain when he discovered the downturn of his Tatsuya Clan''s Faith, he had never sought to look at his Fate Star again. In fact, if it wasn''t for his family, he wouldn''t have looked at it then either. He simply hated to see it¡­


    What were his words back then¡­?


    ¡­ It would burn brighter and larger than the rest, but also dim and die sooner as well.


    That was Ryu''s reality. He had been destined to die. Though his talent out shone all others, though he had a dazzling, gorgeous peak¡­ that was all¡­ it was all empty.


    However, despite being raised under the same circumstances, that ordinary Cherry Blossom Tree, only know for its beauty, became the mighty Immortal Sakura. How did it do it? The answer was simple! Persistence!


    Threw rain, snow, sleet, hale, it learned to stand tall. Through savage winds and murderous tsunamis, it learned to endure. Through untold tides and the undefeatable passage of time¡­ It became Immortal!


    ''Persistence¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes glowed.


    Ailsa shook her head. ''It''s only been a few minutes yet he''s already seen through the essence of the White Stage. The first step of the Cherry Blossom''s evolution into the Immortal Sakura¡­ Persistence!


    ''The First Ranked Pupils are truly too monstrous in comprehension¡­ If it hadn''t been for Little Ryu trying to fool those Zu Ancestor back then by having them think his Heavenly Pupils were weaker than they were, he wouldn''t have wasted months pretending he didn''t understand.''


    It wasn''t that Ailsa was already aware of the secrets of [Immortal Sakura] before. After all, Eska had never shared her technique before and only did so with Ryu to force him to lower their guard against them, a scheme that almost cost Ryu his life.


    However, Ailsa had very keen senses. Through Ryu''s comprehension, she was immediately able to deduce several things to a level far deeper than even Ryu could thanks to their gap in strength.


    The Translucent Stage was only about being able to Visualize the form of the Immortal Sakura appropriately. However, each subsequent stage required the comprehension of the very substance of its being. It was about more than simply superficially projecting its outward appearance.


    The White Stage? It was about Persistence. As for the next stage, though Ryu could likely easily sense its true meaning even now, he did not do so. Instead, he immediately exited his State of Meditation. If his projection of the [Immortal Sakura] became too perfect, it would burden him instead of help him.


    If others heard this, they likely wouldn''t know whether to laugh or cry. Others were bending over backward to comprehend their chosen techniques, but Ryu was purposely choosing not to.


    Unfortunately, though with a technique like [White Serpent''s Dance] Ryu could fully comprehend it, yet only attack with a portion of its strength, Mental Realm techniques were different. Visualizations were set in stone, so changes made them were permanent. Undoing progression made to a Visualization would only harm your foundation. This was why this step was so important.


    In that moment, a surge of Spiritual Qi erupted in Ryu''s Mental Realm. The Immortal Sakura in his mind, wrapped in bolts of lightning, waved gently, its white blossoms becoming more and more corporeal.


    In the end, they looked no different from large, beautiful snowflakes. In addition, if one looked closely, there was already the slightest hint of pink.


    When Ryu awoke, his gaze seemed a little loss.


    ''If only comprehending every technique was this easy¡­''


    Unfortunately, Qi and Body Realm techniques didn''t have statues Ryu could just observe like this. For them, he could only slowly train himself, comprehending the path on his own.


    "Not necessarily." Ailsa said with a sweet smile. "There are some places where those techniques can be observed in this crude way. For example, Holy Battle Grounds."


    Ryu''s eyes glowed. Ailsa was right.


    Holy Battle Grounds were Faith dense pockets where legendary battles of the past had taken place. As such, they became national treasures for many powerful Sects and Clans.


    These places often had Battle Scars with carried traces of the techniques used by the masters who left them behind. Those sorts of treasured places would be a great boon for Ryu.


    Unfortunately, places like this Pedestal Plane, and the even the higher Blossom Plane, simply weren''t qualified to have treasures like this. And, the current Ryu was simply too far from stepping foot upon the Shrine Plane once more.


    Still, Holy Battle Grounds weren''t the only examples of these exceptions. The martial world had all sorts of wonderful existences. Ryu could slowly find them in the future¡­


    ''Now I simply need to fuse my Immortal Sakura''s Visualization with my Freeze Talent¡­''


    Though the first process had been easy, Ailsa''s brows couldn''t help but knit slightly.


    For Ryu, fusing two concepts wasn''t difficult. After all, this was what his Ice Jade Crystal Body was born to do thanks to its perfect balance. The issue was whether his Mental Realm could handle it.


    As of now, his Immortal Sakura could already withstand attacks Connecting Heaven Realm experts. If the Ice Flame''s comprehension was combined with it, even attacks from weaker Immortal Ring experts could be blocked for several short moments. However, everything came with a price. Namely¡­ Could Ryu withstand the consumption?


    ''No¡­'' Ailsa shook her head. ''¡­ I''ll allow the fusion, Little Ryu needs life saving measures. Instead of always thinking about how he''ll be limited, I need to think about how to fix those limitations! That''s the only way I can support him properly!''


    As a piercing cold erupted from Ryu''s body, Ailsa turned her gaze toward the four remaining Core Visualizations.


    The fifth still worried her. Like Ryu, she was aware that there were only four Zu Ancestors. So where had this fifth Visualization come from? Even the sight of it filled her with fear¡­ However, she had no choice but to ignore it. No matter what pitfall ls lay with this Zu Clan, they must persist. This was the only path toward Ryu''s growth.


    ''The next will be you.'' Ailsa set her sights on one of the Visualization statues. ''Since my Little Ryu will soon face a stamina problem¡­ You will be the one to fix it!''


    **


    Within the Mortal Qi Small Realm, several figures with blemishless white hair and piercing silver eyes stood over two corpses, both of which had a violet glaive in hand.


    They all sneered fiercely, a rage that throw the Inner Ring into a sea of turmoil boiling in their eyes.


    "It seems the world has forgotten the might of our Zu Clan. To dare turn a promising elder of my Clan into a corpse puppet! This Throne Ryu is truly bold!"


    The enraged roar shook the skies.

 Chapter 269: Annihilation

    A grand Immortal Sakura appeared about Ryu''s head, but this time¡­ its Projection couldn''t have been more different.


    It still kept the same short, thick trunk, and large looming canopy, but now its beautiful white blossoms that had once been merely reminiscent of snowflakes, had suddenly become a part of a gorgeous winter wonderland.


    The bark of the Immortal Sakura was saturated with sheets of pure, clear ice that looked like the scales of a dragon. A gentle blue flame wafted a cold piercing air as it spread across its branches, giving the Immortal Sakura the image of a deity. Finally, as the cherry blossom petals fell, everything they touched seemed to freeze on impact.


    A cold breath left Ryu''s lips as the Immortal Sakura slowly faded away. If he fought those three geniuses now¡­ would they even be qualified to touch a single hair on his head?


    ''My weakest point had suddenly become my attacking strength. Even if they can''t harm me¡­ can I harm them? What becomes the point, then?'' Ryu frowned slightly.


    "One problem at a time, Little Ryu. For now, there is the matter of your stamina to solve."


    Ryu retracted his aura completely and nodded. "You have a solution?"


    "Mm. There are two. First, you remember what I said before, right¡­? It isn''t necessarily the case that you cannot cultivate. It''s just that there are some restrictions."


    "Restrictions?"


    "Yes. Namely, you cannot break into new Realms. However¡­"


    "I can increase my strength within my current realm?" Ryu suddenly understood.


    "Exactly right. Cultivation Realms aren''t arbitrarily set by humans, they''re dividing lines set by the Heavens themselves. As such, in order to cross them, you must meet the requirements set by the Heavens. But, without your Spiritual Foundation, communicating with the Heavens is impossible.


    "Simply put, during your first life, it isn''t necessarily that you couldn''t cultivate, but that you could only cultivate within a Realm lower than even the Awakening Realm. This was why you couldn''t fully open your Spiritual Pulse until after you Awakened despite the mental hardship you had been through."


    "So this means that I can still temper my Lightning Qilin Bloodline until it catches up with the others¡­"


    "Yes, you can, but the brutally honest truth is that this won''t be of much help to you. Your Lightning Qilin Blood still has about 100 000 jin of strength left to provide to you, but this amount is marginal compared to the enemies you will be facing. If you pushed it to the brink, you would only be comparable to a Peak Divine Vessel Realm expert or so. And, since you can no longer evoke Essence without your Spiritual Foundation, challenging higher Cultivation Realms has become far more difficult.


    "Instead, it''s ironically your Mental Realm that has more room for growth thanks to [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. Unfortunately, there are no sources of lightning, and definitely no Tribulation Lightning, nearby. But not all hope is lost. After all, there are other avenues to fix this problem. Your second option is right before you here!"


    Ryu suddenly felt Ailsa share her gaze with him once more. This time, the Immortal Sakura all but disappeared from his sight as a new statue grabbed his attention.


    It should have been nothing but a black sphere. No matter how one looked at it, there shouldn''t have been anything special. Yet, Ryu felt his heart tremble.


    This Visualization¡­ It wanted to engulf the world itself!


    Ryu somehow immediately understood which Ancestor birthed this Visualization¡­ It was definitely Flora! That woman who even the aggressive Ancestor Balaur warned Ryu against.


    When they first met, that woman invited him into bed as though she had no shame. Ryu, of course, immediately refused. Not long afterward, Balaur laughed and told Ryu that Flora was nothing but a virgin vixen. History said she had countless husbands and male concubines, but the truth was that none of them had ever touched her¡­


    What had Balaur said back then¡­? Hadn''t he said that if he had actually accepted, she would have ripped all of his talent from him and taken it for herself?


    She was definitely the one! None of the other Ancestors suited this Visualization more!


    Ryu''s gaze trembled. As though to sear it into his mind, a name appeared without his consent¡­


    [Divine Chaotic Annihilation].


    Ryu''s lip twitched. This woman was really too overbearing. Even the name she chose for her Visualization was way too over the top. What was he supposed to call her? The Divine Chaotic Annihilation Sky God? Just, imagining having to call that petite woman such a thing was beyond ridiculous.


    Though Ryu reacted in this way, Ailsa frowned instead.


    "Chaos is no laughing matter, Little Ryu. Since she dared to take this name for herself, this Visualization is incomparably dangerous."


    Chaos was the embodiment of destruction. It was there before a Realm was formed, and it was all that remained after a Realm collapsed. Order was the symbol of life¡­ Chaos was the symbol of death.


    Though, this explanation was only to make matters simple. The truth was that the Laws of Order and the Laws of Chaos ranked above the Laws of Life and Death! They were concepts even more fundamental than Life and Death themselves!


    "The highest level of qi is Cosmic Qi. The reason one must slowly evolve one''s Mortal Qi to Immortal Qi and subsequently Cosmic Qi is related to matters of Order and Chaos. Fundamentally speaking, Cosmic Qi is the root of Life. The creation of a Cosmos is rooted with Order. As one''s dantian becomes a World Sea, and slowly continues to form an expanse of existence unto itself, one needs Order to advance.


    "This is the ultimate goal of cultivators. To take hold of Order to reach greater heights. Chaos is the bane of cultivators!"


    Ryu''s expression turned serious.


    "However¡­ Should one want to surpass the Heavens¡­ One cannot do it without Chaos¡­"


    Ailsa''s voice was incomparably soft, almost as though she didn''t want Ryu to hear to it. However, Ryu was already entirely focused on the Visualization before him. Even if Ailsa had spoken loud enough for him to hear, he wouldn''t have registered her words at all.


    Chaos being the bane of cultivators? Ryu didn''t care. As far as he was concerned, the Heavens themselves were his only bane! Why not grasp the only Laws that could make it tremble.


    He had already seen just how useful [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] could be to him.


    Much like [Immortal Sakura], it was split into seven stages. The Mortal Chaotic Pestle Stage, the Immortal Chaotic Pestle Stage, the Divine Chaotic Pestle Stage, the Chaotic Birth Stage, the Chaotic Presence Stage, the Chaotic Domain Stage, and finally, the Chaotic Proliferation Stage.


    The reason Ryu was eager was precisely because of these first three stages. They allowed their wielder to instantly obliterate and purify qi, turning it into Spiritual Qi in an instant.


    The Mortal Chaotic Pestle Stage could grind any Mortal Qi into submission. The Immortal Chaotic Pestle Stage could grind any Immortal Qi. And the final Divine Chaotic Pestle Stage could purify even Cosmic Qi!


    This sort of ability¡­ Ryu was certain that there was no other Spiritual Qi cultivation method that could provide better or faster results!


    But, this was only one aspect of this Visualization. With it by his side, Ryu could confidently be fearless of any Mental Realm attacks. Such foolish attempts would only lead to one result¡­


    Annihilation!

 Chapter 270: Fifth Order

    Weeks ticked by.


    [Immortal Sakura] had been simple for Ryu due to the initial foundation laid by Eska''s guidance in combination with his Heavenly Pupils. The questions Ryu asked back then seemed to going around in circles, but they were very pointed and sometimes touched the core of the technique.


    However, Flora was obviously not here to guide Ryu. Even if she was, Ryu wouldn''t trust those Zu Ancestors again. Still, in just a month and half, Ryu broke into the third Divine Pestle Stage.


    For [Immortal Sakura], Ryu held off on entering its third stage because the consumption was too great. But, for [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], the trade off for consumption based on return value was too good to give up. If the first stage was granted a value of one, the third stage was over ten thousand.


    Within Ryu''s Mental Realm, a dense black pearl hovered above his Immortal Sakura in perfect balance. Due to the overbearing nature of Flora''s Visualization, it had actually wanted to destroy everything in Ryu''s Mental Realm, leaving only it as the sole Visualization.


    Thankfully, Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body showed its prowess once more, allowing Ryu to quickly find the perfect balance.


    "This speed¡­" Ailsa shook her head. This was a Sky God''s Magnum Opus, one they spent their entire lives refining and improving. Who knew how many countless million years it took Flora to build up to the third stage?


    Of course, there was a difference between creating one''s own technique and comprehending an already created one. But it was certain if Flora knew how quickly Ryu tore through her greatest pride, maybe that cheeky grin and carefree attitude of hers would finally collapse.


    "Do you think I have enough to support the third stage of [Immortal Sakura] now?" Ryu sought Ailsa''s opinion.


    If it wasn''t for her, he wouldn''t even be able to see these Visualizations to comprehend in the first place. His trust in her had clearly deepened to another level after this¡­


    "You do, but for now, I don''t think it''s worth it." Ailsa said with a light smile.


    "Oh? Why is that?"


    "It comes down to quality of energy. The third stage of both Visualization are meant to be powered by Spiritual Qi from an individual who has entered the Soul Birth Realm. You remember what this milestone represents, correct?"


    "Spiritual Sea¡­"


    "Exactly right. Currently, your Spiritual Qi is similar to the Qi Fumes you had within the Pulse Opening Realm. But, Spiritual Qi after the Soul Birth Realm takes the form of a liquid. The conversion rate between the two is simply too devastating.


    "The reason entering the Divine Pestle Stage is still worth it is because the technique itself is meant to return more Spiritual Qi than you use, at least for the first three stages anyway from what I''ve seen. So, it doesn''t matter whether your qi is gaseous or not. Just¡­ don''t try using it on actual Cosmic Qi anytime soon or else you will suffer. But, no matter how much gaseous Spiritual Qi you convert, you''ll always be on the losing end of liquid Spiritual Qi."


    Ryu knew firsthand how potent liquid Spiritual Qi was. It was so potent, in fact, that it was the form of protection the Zu Clan chose for their entire Inheritance! If it wasn''t for a series of events and a bit of luck, Ryu would have never been capable of retrieving the crystalline jade to begin with.


    Ryu sighed. "So the consumption is that high¡­ Alright. I understand. This much is already enough. I think this can actually make up for my lack of Mental Realm talent a great deal¡­"


    Ailsa smiled, but she was actually a bit inwardly confused. Ryu thought that it was his Ice Jade Crystal Body that helped keep the balance in his Mental Realm, but Ailsa felt that his Bone Structure hadn''t awakened to an adequate enough degree to support this¡­


    ''Chaos shouldn''t be this docile. Why does it feel like it''s actually¡­ Obedient to Little Ryu? Could it be that¡­?'' An idea came to mind that made Ailsa''s beautiful ruby eyes light up.


    Suddenly, Ailsa''s gaze sharpened.


    "It seems quite a few people are searching for you."


    Ryu''s calm demeanor immediately became cold, a vicious light piercing outward from his gaze.


    "Is it the three of them?"


    "No¡­ It''s actually the Zu Clan¡­ There''s no need to worry, though. I''ve set up a few formations to block Spiritual Sense. Unless they set their eyes on you personally, they won''t be able to find you. In fact, they might conclude that you''ve already left the Small Realm."


    A sudden realization came over Ryu. "The corpses!"


    Ryu''s corpse puppets had been blasted away during the battle. And, since he couldn''t recall them without touch, he obviously hadn''t been able to take them back. On top of this, without his presence, the black fog that hid their features would dissipate.


    Ryu suddenly felt a headache coming along. His greatest advantage against the Zu Clan was that they didn''t actually know he was their enemy. Now, whether or not they were aware of his killing Leopold, they would hunt him down to the death. There''s no way any Clan would take the insult of turning one of their own into a corpse puppet lying down¡­


    "Why is the Zu Clan even here? They should have nothing to do with this Selection."


    Ryu didn''t know it yet, but this made three odd appearances already. Tharon shouldn''t have been present, nor should his grandfather have been. Now, there was the Zu Clan on top of this. Just what was going on?


    "How much longer until Nemesis is healthy?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    "Actually, thanks to your awakening your Ice Flame, I was able to borrow its power to shorten the three-month time period. He''s already healed and has already stepped into the Fifth Order.


    "Also, I gave the Lightning Spiritual Roots you collected for yourself to Little Rock. In addition to some hunt the little guy did himself, he too stepped into the Fifth Order."

 Chapter 271: Come to Know

    Ryu nodded. "Good. Until I can reconnect to my Spiritual Foundation, my strength will be hard-capped at about the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm. If this takes longer to fix than I hope and I hit that ceiling, I can only rely on those two¡­"


    "Ai. I have similar thoughts." Ailsa agreed. "They''re still weaker than you now, but they will advance rapidly. Plus, Little Rock has the strength of an Earth Grade Beast thanks to its bloodline. And, though Nemesis only has a Black Grade Bloodline, its Ancestral Grade Bloodline talent, currently, also gives it the strength equivalent to an Earth Grade Beast. So, battling Common Grade Sixth Order beasts is no problem for them¡­ Though it''s rare for beasts with such weak bloodlines to reach that stage¡­


    "Also¡­ As promised, Nemesis'' second Bloodline Talent has awakened."


    Ryu''s eyes lit up. Ailsa refused to tell him what this ability was before, but it seemed she had finally stopped playing around.


    "Like I said before, this talent is known as Bloodied Lineage Reversal.


    "If Bloodied Lineage can pass down Talents to other beasts, Bloodied Lineage Reversal can steal them!"


    A tremble coursed through Ryu''s heart. The applications of this ability¡­ They were unimaginable!


    "If the Bloodied Steed has such a powerful Talent, why aren''t they more powerful? Or, maybe the better question to ask is why they haven''t all been captured as beast pets?"


    "Of course, that''s because normal Bloodied Steeds are limited in ways Nemesis is not. This is why he''s so valuable.


    "Bloodied Lineage is looked down upon because the Bloodied Steed is a mere Black Grade Beast, who would want the abilities it has? The same way, Bloodied Lineage Reversal is limited in the Talents it can absorb.


    "Simply put, as a Black Grade Beast, a Bloodied Steed can only steal other Black Grade Talents. If it tried to steal an Earth Grade Talent, its body wouldn''t be able to handle it and it would die. And, even then, it''s not 100% effective. There''s an element of chance involved.


    "For example, if the Bloodied Steed attempts to snatch a Talent from another Black Grade Beast that say has two Common Grade Talent and one Black Grade Talent, there would be a forty-five percent chance that either one of the Common Grade Talents would be ''Reversed'' and only a ten percent chance to snatch the Black Grade Talent.


    "The Bloodied Steed has no ability to choose. Or, rather¡­ It doesn''t have the Spirituality needed to.


    "Remember what I said about talents being preset for Beasts? And how our three paths are fused as one for them? Well, the Bloodied Steed is known as a hot-headed creature with low intelligence. So, its Bloodied Lineage Reversal is left up to chance.


    "However¡­ Nemesis has several advantages normal Steeds of his race do not.


    "First, his Adept Body Talent allowed him to rearrange his talent. Now, his talents are perfectly balanced between the Qi, Body and Mental Realms. This allows him far higher intelligence than others of his race, and as such, though there is still an element of chance, it''s far more favorable than the past.


    "And second, once more due to his Adept Body Talent, Nemesis has strength comparable to an Earth Grade Beast. Meaning, he can snatch up to Earth Grade Talents currently. As his strength improves, it will become possible to snatch higher grade talents.


    "To make things even better, due to his Bloodied Lineage Talent, he doesn''t necessarily have to snatch these Talents for himself. He could very well share them with Little Rock or any other beast companions you may gain later."


    Ryu stood abruptly, his fists clenched. Even if he was unlucky in some areas, he still had astounding luck in others. Or, maybe, he was just lucky to have Ailsa. If it wasn''t for her, would he have even given Nemesis a second look?... Maybe not¡­


    He gave her a grateful look which made Ailsa push out her already ample bosom. Truly, if his mind wasn''t so firm, her might feel his nose heat up with blood.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu gathered himself.


    "Let''s go."


    "You don''t want to check out the second floor anymore?"


    Ryu shook his head. "I feel that I''ve already gained enough for now. Plus, if I delay any longer, catching up will be difficult. Matheus won''t be able to enter the top eight while hiding his true strength alone, especially since Taedra isn''t participating. Also, this Small Realm is an excellent place to raise the strengths of Nemesis and Little Rock."


    Ailsa frowned unhappily at these words.


    "Why do you care so much about that damned Matheus and his Loom Clan. I''m sure you know he could have helped you but chose not to."


    Ryu shrugged. "What obligation did he have to help me? I too would choose my family over him every time. Being mad would only make me feel inferior. I don''t need such hypocritical feelings."


    Ailsa sighed. She knew from the very beginning that Ryu would feel this way.


    Ryu''s mind left the crystalline jade, a sinister light in his eyes as he swept through the dark cave.


    Was he worried about being found by the Zu Clan? Of course not.


    First, even if he didn''t yet have the strength to kill a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, one would be hard pressed to even touch a hair on his head right now. Plus, the Zu Clan was made of Mental Realm masters, if they actually dared to attack his mind¡­ Flora''s Visualization would leave a nice surprise for them.


    And second, didn''t he have his cloak? He couldn''t escape Lucien, Vygil and Annbar because they had their eyes on him back then. However, the Zu Clan obviously had no clue where he was right now.


    This Small Realm would become Ryu''s own playground. That pent up frustration in chest? He would allow the Zu Clan and the Core Region geniuses to feel it well.


    They would know the wrath of Ryu Tatsuya.

 Chapter 272: Earth Grade Talent

    Ryu wrapped his Cloak around his naked torso before flashing out of his cave at blinding speeds.


    While fully healthy, Ryu''s speed could match an entre cultivation realm above his own. Since his body''s strength was currently at the Higher Divine Vessel Realm, this meant that even Higher Connecting Heaven Realm experts would struggle to match him in a contest of speed.


    However, that was only when he was able to circulate his qi to utilize [Gliding Cloud Steps]. The current Ryu could only match the speed of a Middle Connecting Heaven Realm expert who specializing it lightness type techniques.


    Still, there was one more factor that was forgotten here. What limited Ryu''s speed wasn''t actually his physical limits, but rather his defensive and durability limits. It was simply too harmful to his body to go beyond that speed. It would only injure him.


    But now¡­ His [Immortal Sakura] had taken a massive leap in strength. If need be, Ryu could use it to border the speed of an Immortal Ring Realm expert!


    ''Do you have a plan? Or can I do as I please?'' Ryu asked Ailsa.


    ''Our main focus needs to be to raise the strength of your Heavenly Pupils. I''m certain that they''re the key to retrieving your connection with your Spiritual Foundation.


    ''There are two ways to do this. First, there''s finding high quality qi types of at least the Heaven Grade and above. The second  and more sustainable option is to find beasts with Pseudo Heavenly Pupils.''


    Ryu''s brows raised. He had faced such a beast before, the Ice Eyed Bear. He had an innate advantage over beasts like these because they were directly suppressed by his Heavenly Pupils. Because of this, though others found those beasts a nightmare to handle, for him, they were lambs to the slaughter.


    In addition to this, the pupils of these beasts could be sold for exorbitant prices. Sometimes, humans would integrate with these replica pupils in order to boost their own strength. But, they could never match humans innately born with Heavenly Pupils.


    ''Those beasts all have special high grade qis within their pupils. You can absorb these qis to strengthen your own and break more seals. You''ve undone five to now. The day you reach nine is the day you''ll retrieve your Spiritual Foundation. Big Sis promises.'' Ailsa smiled sweetly.


    Ryu nodded seriously.


    He didn''t believe this matter would be so simple. He could faintly feel that of that 999 seals, the ninth was the first watershed moment and it definitely wouldn''t be easy to break through. Plus, to now, he had relied on comprehending Inheritances in order to use Essence Qi to break his seals, but now that his connection with the Heavens was lost, he couldn''t use this method anymore.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that it was even worse than he thought. Ailsa''s gaze was also serious¡­ Except, instead of staring off into space like Ryu, she was entirely focused on the Black Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies sitting quietly within Ryu''s Incubator.


    **


    Though Ailsa claimed the second option to be more sustainable, such beasts were still incredibly rare¡­


    To now, Ryu had only seen one of them, and that was the very Ice Eyed Bear he slew during the Coronation Games. One would think that more of these beasts would appear on the Immortal Planes, but Ryu had simply yet to run into them.


    Still, this Mortal Qi Small Realm provided a unique opportunity. The density of First to Sixth Order Beasts should be the highest on the Pedestal Plane. Maybe even most areas of the Blossom Plane couldn''t compare. Not only was this likely the best place to find such beasts, it was also the best place for Nemesis and Little Rock to grow.


    Beasts could grow stronger simply by eating and sleeping. But, when they were fed the Spiritual Roots of beasts above them in Order, this already unfair ease of growth doubled and tripled.


    Like this, Ryu''s score began to steadily grow once more after almost two months of being stagnant. However, he had fallen so far behind that it would likely be a while before anyone took notice¡­


    At this moment, Ryu stood tall, two spears in hand. A beautiful winter wonderland gentle settled around him, but anyone would be able to tell that this land of ice and snow was a projection of this young man alone. The fluttering Immortal Sakura above his head was all the proof one needs.


    He was currently doing battle with a steel hooved creature. Its singular horn spiraled sinisterly upon the middle of its forehead. It seemed like a cross between a deer and a unicorn, but it was as beautiful as neither. In fact, it could only be described as ugly.


    Its body was similar to a naked mole rat, covered in wrinkled pink skin. Beneath, one could see a network of green and blue veins pulsing with blood that only became more prominent when the beast was enraged. To make matters odder, its posture was similar to that of an ape, having a far larger upper torso and shorter legs.


    Ryu had never seen a creature like this. Even Ailsa could only say that it had undergone a disastrous mutation.


    Beauty, although vain, was an evolutionary construct. Humans and creatures alike were created to gravitate toward it. Even the highest-grade Demonic creatures had their own form of beauty. To appear so deformed¡­ The only explanation was that something had gone wrong.


    But, Ryu didn''t care much for this as his Immortal Sakura petal blocked another one of this creature''s hoove stomps. In the end, it was still only a Peak Fifth Order creature, it couldn''t touch even the hem of Ryu''s clothing. Though his combat prowess had fallen after losing the ability to use Qi Techniques, he had regained more than what he lost by progressing in other areas.


    His body flickered and disappeared. In an instant, he had appeared to the creature''s side, not hesitating to attack its weaker hind legs.


    His spears moved as swiftly as the wind, severing tendons and vital veins with incomparable ease.


    After his Heavenly Pupils opened five seals, the world had become far clearer to him. It was as though the weaknesses of this beast were whispering into his ear, telling him where to attack.


    Ryu spun his spears in his hands, tilting his head back to avoid the spiraled horn of the creature.


    His eyes sharpened, seeing an opening.


    The creature stumbled. Despite being a Fifth Order creature, its intelligence was far too low, clearly another result of this odd mutation. It had forgotten that Ryu attacked its hind legs, causing it to both stumble and roar in pain when it tried to use its useless leg.


    Ryu didn''t miss the opportunity, allowing his spear to shoot forward with a perfect [Pierce].


    The creature''s neck was immediately pierced through from its throat to its spine. It hardly felt the pain of its death as its brain was cut from the rest of its body in the blink of an eye.


    With a surprisingly soft thud, it fell.


    ''I''ve finally realized what happened.'' Ailsa said with a furrowed brow.


    Ryu peeked toward his shoulder before kicking the beast''s corpse over to expose its belly. As he waited for Ailsa to speak, he began to skillfully cut its Spiritual Root free.


    The reason he fought this mutated beast in the first place wasn''t just for the mission points, but also because it had two useful Talents. The first was its Black Grade Steel Hooves Talent, and the second was its Lower Earth Grade Spiral Horn Talent.


    Both were incredibly useful for Nemesis, but Ryu had already gotten him the Steel Hooves Talent from another beast just days ago. This time, what he wanted was the Spiral Horn Talent!


    ''This beast is definitely suffering from Qi Infestation. Whenever a creature absorbs an energy far above their means, there''s a high possibility of death. But, even if you survive, its nearly guaranteed that you''ll face this sort of malignant reaction.


    ''It''s no wonder why this Black Grade beast awakened an Earth Grade Talent¡­''

 Chapter 273: No Longer

    ''Qi Infestation¡­'' Ryu frowned.


    He had read about it before. Only a very, very small minority would survive unscathed after absorbing energy of a higher grade than they were aptly prepared to handle. Many more would die¡­ But, the number who survived with more than visible scars was far more than those who survived without them.


    Still, there were obviously benefits to surviving no matter what. This beast managed to awaken a Talent it had no business awakening.


    ''Strictly speaking, every beast has a potential to awaken all the Talents its Ancestors once wielded. In some form or fashion, all beasts are descendant of some Ancestral Grade beast of the past, so they all have some chance of growing to awaken those Talents.


    ''However, the possibility is just too small. In all my life, Nemesis is truly the first case of this happening naturally that I''ve ever seen. Many more are like this poor creature here who awakened said Talent by unnatural means.


    ''But, suffering through this Qi Infestation for just this small benefit¡­ Was definitely not worth it.''


    Ryu nodded solemnly.


    This creature may have awakened an Earth Grade Talent, but it didn''t have the intelligence left to use it. It only attacked Ryu with what instinct remained from when last it was truly conscious. Why else would it have used its hoove stomp far more than its spiraled horn? It didn''t have the wisdom left to train its new Talent.


    "Nemesis." Ryu called out the red Bloodied Steed. He had long since regained its noble air. His body was strong and majestic, his head arrogantly lifted to the skies. Though he had grown to the Fifth Order, his size once more didn''t change, compressing his strength to his optimal frame.


    Seeing the exposed bloody Spiritual Root before him, Nemesis grew excited.


    A blood red aura pulse through his body. First, it became like a second layer of skin before it began to slowly expand, extending toward the mutated creature''s Spiritual Root.


    Soon, it had enveloped it completely, taking hold of the network of roots.


    "Nie~Nie~!"


    Nemesis stomped the ground arrogantly, reeling in the Earth Grade Talent and ignoring all others. His will was staunch, even an Earth Grade Talent could only bow down.


    In the next moment, a glob of red qi slowly rose and entered Nemesis'' brow.


    The Bloodied Steed''s body trembled. Ryu took a step back as he observed.


    The Steel Hooves Talent actually had a special synergistic effect with Spiraled Horn. Steel Hooves did more than turn just hooves into steel, but rather it extended into the whole bone structure. Or rather, it did for Nemesis thanks to his Adept Body Talent.


    Usually, the amount of steel varied from creature to creature and how much they tempered their Talent. But for Nemesis, he was immediately able to take control of this talent and mold his body as he pleased.


    Like this, Nemesis'' entire skeletal system became reforged of steel, causing his strength to skyrocket. Like this, this Black Grade Talent already became comparable to an Earth Grade Talent. But, when synergized with Spiral Horn¡­


    Nemesis raised his head into the skies, a roar of pain and excitement neighing outward. His heated breath filled the air, his blood pulsing.


    PUUU!


    A rain of blood fell from his forehead as what appeared like a shining spear jetted outward two feet. It reflected a blinding sheen under the sunlight, giving Nemesis a devilish appearance. What was even more interesting was that Nemesis seemed to be capable of changing its size and form as he pleased thanks to his Adept Body Talent.


    Ryu smiled lightly. Like this, Nemesis shouldn''t have any opponents left within the Fifth Order that weren''t Earth Grade Beasts themselves. And the best part was the Nemesis was still of the Lower Fifth Order. He still had much more room to grow in this Realm.


    With a single leap, Ryu settled onto Nemesis'' back. Not even a moment later, they had shot forward hundreds of meters.


    ''Little Ryu, I don''t believe this matter of Qi Infestation is so simple.''


    ''I was thinking the same.'' Ryu thought. Since he could no longer use his Qi Line technique, he just relied on Ailsa to read his mind. ''This is a world of Mortal Qi. There theoretically shouldn''t be any qi here that a Fifth Order beast can''t absorb¡­''


    This was precisely the selling point of the Inner Ring. They didn''t have any Immortal Qi Stone Mines, but they had a copious amounts of Mortal Qi Stone Mines.


    Many had been trying to find the reason behind this phenomenon, but none had. Mortal Qi Mountain simply sat here as though taunting them.


    However, Ryu had something the previous inhabitants of this Pedestal Plane didn''t have: Power!


    Of course, this wasn''t his own power, but rather, Ailsa''s. How often would someone of the Soul Ascension Realm come here? Maybe one never had. Even if they found a store of hidden Immortal Qi, so what? Those of that Realm only dealt in Cosmic Qi, why would they care for Immortal Qi?


    Obviously, Ailsa couldn''t use her true strength. But, if she coupled her Feng Shui comprehension with his own Heavenly Pupils¡­ Ryu didn''t believe they couldn''t find the truth of this matter.


    Like this, another two months whipped by in a flash, leaving only two more months remaining for the first phase of The Selection.


    And, for better or worse, Ryu''s come back could no longer be hidden¡­


    **


    Lucien''s expression darkened. "His ranking is still climbing upward, and it''s fast. This couldn''t possibly be happening. With how injured he was, even I would need several years to get back into fighting shape. How could he possibly be doing this?"


    Vygil and Annbar had long since left Lucien''s side, but he was sure they were thinking similar things.


    There were currently eighteen Connecting Heaven World experts participating in The Selection, but only six of them truly effected the rankings. This being because the ranks of the four Core Clans were basically set in stone at the top four, leaving the remaining Clans to battle over spots five through eight.


    The reason there wasn''t a large commotion during the days Ryu spent in first was because he had entered the Small Realm so much more quickly than anyone else. Though Matheus knew different, others believed that Ryu had just gotten lucky to stumble upon the Small Realm''s entrance so fast.


    However, now, things were different. Ryu was quickly making up two months worth of ground. Even after starting so far behind, he had already entered the top fifty. When his point total was combined with Matheus who maintained the seventh rank relatively consistently, it was enough for the Loom Clan to maintain striking distance just outside the tenth overall spot at eleventh.

 Chapter 274: Odds

    To put matters into perspective, though eyes were focused on the Connecting Heaven Realm experts, they weren''t the only geniuses the Core Region had sent.


    The eighteen were split among six Clans. First there were the Core Clans ¨C the Basteel, Xie, Vinn and Croft Clans. While the final six Connecting Heaven Realm geniuses were split amongst two Clans that had gained their favor. Though these Clans weren''t as powerful as the Loom Clan, they were certainly better at currying favors.


    The Lao Clan and Lucien supported the Xie Clan and the Awae Clan. The Minn Clan and Vygil supported the Basteel Clan. The Ofera Clan and Annbar supported the Vinn and Rume Clans. Finally, the remaining Croft Clan was supported by the strongest Ember Clan.


    Within the mix, outside of these eighteen most important geniuses, the Core Region had also sent numerous Divine Vessel Realm seedlings to ensure they could control the entire situation perfectly. It was clear they took no chances even if they looked down on their opponents.


    Not only was The Selection important for the choosing of the Zu Clan''s replacement, but one had to remember that this wasn''t the first time The Selection was held. Simply put, this wasn''t its original purpose.


    Originally, The Selection was in place to decide quotas and territory splits within the Mortal Qi Small Realm. The Core Region''s actions were essentially meant to allow all the Clans that acted as their pawns to fully control these quotas.


    In the past, the Loom Clan had the support of the Sixth Order Lao Clan, so everything was fine. But, after Taedra rejected Throne Byrin''s marriage proposal, their fates took a turn for the worst.


    Just when they thought things couldn''t worsen any further, the Core Region changed the rules once more, allowing Connecting Heaven Realm experts to participate. Like this, Taedra was forced out of the competition for her own safety, leaving the Loom Clan with only two participants¡­ That should have been the end of it all¡­ It should have only become worse after Ryu failed to breakthrough¡­


    And yet¡­ Why was it that they still had a chance?!


    Ryu continued to climb upward. Soon, it wasn''t just the three geniuses who chased after him initially who noticed, but others began to as well.


    On a certain mountain peak of the Small Realm, a young man with flaming red hair and brows sat amid a slew of corpses. Not far from him, the quiet young heir of the Croft Clan sat, using his senses to red the changes of the jade they had all been given to start the competition.


    "This is Throne Ryu?" The red-haired young man spoke.


    "His name matches, his stature and arrogance as well. Also, his appearance here is in line with his disappearance from the Outer Ring."


    "But there was no record of him appearing in any one of the teleportation array formations. Are you telling me that a Qi Refinement Realm pup traveled through the wilderness alone and made it here in just two months?"


    "He is a Mental Realm Master, he likely took advantage in order to avoid trouble." This was the only answer the Croft Clan Heir could think of.


    "Maybe¡­" The red-haired young man''s eyes narrowed. "¡­ I was entrusted by the Apostles to find this person should he appear. But, his appearance here makes things tricky¡­"


    This young man was a member of the Ember Clan. And, unlike the Minn, Ofera and Lao Clan second-in-line heirs, he wasn''t anywhere near as important to his Clan. However, even still, those three would most certainly lower their Heads if they came across him. This went even for Lucien who had a Throne for an elder brother. The strength of the Ember Clan was undeniable!


    What did it mean to be a Half-Step Seventh Order Clan? It meant that they had a Path Extinction Realm Ancestor! Even a Throne wouldn''t dare to be arrogant before such power.


    The Croft Clan Heir trembled slightly when he heard the Apostles mentioned, but said nothing more.


    "¡­ The Selection is the Core Region''s method of maintaining control over the Inner Ring. But, if we casually circumvent the rules as these scum have, this strength will crumble. We are simply too far away to influence any meaningful change here, and anyone intelligent enough knows this¡­


    "I can''t just casually detain him, how troublesome."


    This Ember Clan Envoy hadn''t moved from this spot in more than a month. It was precisely because of this reason that he ranked eighth individually, allowing Matheus, who was holding back, to rank above. However, even now, he didn''t find it necessary to move.


    "It''s better if he continues along this pace." The young man finished. "Then we''ll simply severely injure him during the second phase and detain him afterward¡­"


    "Young Master Fuoco, there is another problem."


    "Oh?"


    "There seem to be many odd movements this time around¡­


    "The only ones in this Small Realm should be the number taking part in The Selection, this is to hinder cheating. But, it seems that many others have entered when they shouldn''t have."


    Fuoco frowned. He was already displeased by those Clans breaking the age rule they set for themselves, but now they were going even further?


    "The issue is that there haven''t been any irregularities in the point and mission completed totals. This likely means they''re not here to cheat, but are here for some other reason.


    "The Zu Clan has proof of Throne Ryu using one of their elders as a corpse puppet, so they are using it as justification for their appearance. But, it seems that the Basteel Clan is showing some oddities as well¡­"


    Fuoco sneered. "How would the Zu Clan receive this evidence only now? Isn''t that as good as blatantly admitting they entered this Realm when they shouldn''t have?"


    But aside from this reaction, it was clear that Fuoco''s contempt for the Zu Clan was much lower than even the other Sixth Order Clan¡­ In fact, he seemed to be almost¡­ wary?


    Why he would feel this way about a Half-Step Sixth Order Clan was beyond the Croft Clan Heir''s understanding.


    "A few months ago, the Zu Clan received word of their elder''s demise. They''ve been using it as an excuse to wreak havoc throughout the Inner Ring, searching for a killer. But, there must be a deeper reason for this.


    "Years ago, when that man was appointed as an elder, it confused many. He was too weak not long before, but that was when we received word that he actually became a Divine Vessel Realm expert in such a short time."


    "So you mean that the Zu Clan suspects one of their own for having a supreme treasure and are using the moral high ground to find it. But this doesn''t explain why they were here in the first place."


    "Well¡­ all elders of the five Core Clans are allowed to enter and exit the Mortal Qi Small Realm at their leisure. Although they''re restricted to venturing the territory of their own Clans and can''t encroach on others, these rules aren''t strictly enforced. After all, who can police elders besides other elders? And, which elders would waste their time away acting as guard dogs?


    "Usually, it becomes a mutual tacit agreement that they can venture into and out of each other''s territories as long as they don''t take any treasures rated at and above the Middle Earth Grade. But, what if¡­"


    "What if this Zu Clan elder didn''t venture into the territory of others to take something, but rather, to hide something, right? That''s your line of thinking, hm?"


    The Croft Clan Heir nodded toward Fuoco.


    Fuoco smiled, but it was decidedly cold. "Then that would be quite interesting, wouldn''t it¡­"


    **


    At this moment, the very Ryu everyone seemed to have their attention on was staring down a problem of his own. The land before him didn''t seem to be very special at all. In fact, one could easily pass over it without a second glance. Yet, Ryu felt his body trembling. The blood vessels within his eyes pumped so furiously that he could feel a dull pain fogging up his vision.


    ''Ryu¡­? What is it¡­?''


    Even Ailsa herself was confused. Ryu''s mind was a mess of jumbled thoughts she simply couldn''t see through. And this piece of land¡­ It didn''t look special to her at all.


    There was a very small pond, no more than three meters across. In fact, its only specialty was the fact it was clear enough to see to its very bottom.


    Around it, there was a small clearing of grass before the trees slowly appeared.


    To the east, west and south, there was nothing but a large expanse of thick forest and foliage. But, to the north, past a thin patch of trees, there was the foot of a mountain range.


    The only oddity of this place was that it didn''t seem logical for a pond to appear here, but it wasn''t so illogical that one would spend as much time as Ryu staring at it.


    "Ailsa¡­ What are the odds of a Small Realm birthing its own Realm Heart¡­?"

 Chapter 275: Fix

    ''What did you just say¡­!?''


    Ailsa wasn''t one to lose her cool. In fact, all the moments she spent doubting herself were done in silence. If it wasn''t for Ryu''s connection with her, he wouldn''t be aware she even had insecurities at all. She would always be that confident big sister to him.


    However, the words Ryu had just spoken were too shocking.


    A Realm Heart was what differentiated a Small Realm from a True Realm. It wasn''t a matter of size, it was a matter of substance. There were many Small Realms in existence that even rivaled True Realms in how expansive they were, but in the end, they could only rely on True Realms to sustain their existence.


    Ryu was very familiar with Realm Hearts. After all, he spent many days sitting upon Shrine Mountain, the dignified Realm Heart of their Shrine Plane. Its power was unimaginably vast, and even as the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, Ryu only had respect in his heart for it¡­


    Realm Hearts and Protector Spirits, they were one in the same in the same way your days as a newborn are related to your current self.


    A Realm Heart has no sentience. It is a core that gives a Small Realm substance to rival a True Realm that runs purely on instinct. As for Protector Spirits, they hold their own intelligence that often far surpasses normal lifeforms. Should a Realm Heart evolve into a Protector Spirit, a Small Realm would then become a True Realm. However, forming a Realm Heart in the first place would make even a one in a billion chance seem like great odds.


    "Ailsa¡­ I once read a book of folklores. Among those folklores, there was a story about the birth of a True Realm. It''s said that the creation of every Realm Heart is accompanied by many great things¡­"


    ''Ryu, are you certain?'' Ailsa regained her calm.


    "I can''t explain it. I just feel like this is the case."


    ''[Intuition]¡­'' Ailsa mumbled.


    [Intuition] was one of the most enigmatic abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. It had no rhyme or reason for when it appeared, but there was one thing in common with all of its occurrences: when there was an opportunity its owner most definitely could not miss.


    Many epochs ago, the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were not even ranked top ten among the slowly growing number of Heavenly Pupils. However, as time passed, something incredulous began to happen.


    Numerous young geniuses with overbearing Heavenly Pupils were steadily outshined by those wielding these Pupils. Once may have been a coincidence, twice rose eyebrows¡­ but a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth¡­ It seemed that with every passing generation, those who held the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were blessed beyond one''s wildest dreams.


    There were any number of abilities of that could have been the reason.


    [Focus] was an invaluable Talent after the Path Extinction Realm. It made cultivation Realms even geniuses were forced to spend millions of years in fall one after another.


    [Lines of Fate] was another candidate. The ability to steal the techniques of others simply by battling for extended periods of time, to learn the techniques of your Clans and Sects instantaneously, to peer down upon the world and gaze into its secrets¡­


    And these were just two. There were many more that Ryu was still yet to qualify for. [Death Acupoint]¡­ [Heaven and Earth Gate]¡­ [Fate Reversal]¡­


    Each ability rang fiercer in the minds of cultivators than the last. They all had mind numbing abilities, the likes of which were just the stuff of fairy tales.


    And yet, there was still none as enigmatic as [Intuition]. In the lifetime of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupil wielder, they would only be allowed its use three times. And they would have control of none of these three occurrences.


    One would occur between the first and a ninth seal. The second would occur between the tenth and ninety-ninth seal. The final would occur between the hundredth and nine hundred ninety-ninth seal.


    And if one crossed these seals without experiencing it? That chance would disappear forever.


    This was both the boon and tragedy of the First Ranked Heavenly Pupils. There were many who never became lucky enough to experience even one bout of [Intuition].


    ''¡­ A Realm Heart is indeed worthy of that cursed technique.''


    Ryu frowned. "Cursed?"


    ''Ah, it''s nothing.'' Ailsa giggled. ''The most hated technique of my Cultus Clan is [Intuition]. I''m sure you can guess why.''


    Ryu came to a sudden understanding. It was the job of the Cultus Faerie to find opportunities for their Life Partner, not the other way around. Though it was rare to become a Faerie''s Life Partner, that was only for normal individuals. Those outstanding enough to be born with the First Ranked Heavenly Pupils or any Heavenly Pupil at all had a greater than fifty percent chance.


    Simply put, the Cultus Clan had likely run into their fair share of those with Ryu''s pupils. Maybe they had their own stories about [Intuition].


    ''I didn''t even want to mention this to you because there was always the chance it wouldn''t appear at all, but it seems I''ve underestimated your luck. If what you''ve said about this Realm is true, many possibilities have opened up.''


    Ryu didn''t mention that he actually didn''t need Ailsa to explain [Intuition] to him¡­ This wasn''t the first time he was experiencing it, it was the second¡­ And the first time? It was the night he committed suicide.


    Ailsa''s brows raised, but she didn''t comment on this. She knew that whenever Ryu thought of that night, he would feel endless complex emotions. It was best if she simply changed the subject.


    ''Let it lead you then, Little Ryu. A Realm Heart would not only be a great help in the future, but if used appropriately, it may very well fix much of the problems you''re faced with now¡­''

 Chapter 276: Abyss

    Ryu seriously gazed at the pond for a long while. He hadn''t known this innate feeling had such a name until Ailsa told him. He always found his actions in his last life to border on ridiculous. He could barely understand why it was that he was so certain that death was the only path¡­ until now.


    In truth, Ryu didn''t spend much effort understanding his Heavenly Pupils in his last life. Other than [Focus] and [Third Perspective], he didn''t attempt to awaken any other abilities. In fact, he only awakened those two during his days of training before he turned seven years old.


    To Ryu, his eyes were more of a bane than anything else. Who knew that it was actually because of them that he could stand here today¡­?


    Slowly, he gathered his emotions. Ailsa didn''t speak as she patiently waited, understanding how he must feel.


    The moment Ryu felt his heart steady, he leapt forward. If others saw his ridiculous actions, they''d believe he had lost his mind, hoping into a pool that would lead up to his waist. The fact he still had his clothes on made it all the more ridiculous.


    However, they would be shocked to find that when Ryu entered the pool, there wasn''t so much as a splash. In fact, not only did Ryu not cause a commotion, but he didn''t get wet either. He completely disappeared into the seemingly inconspicuous pool at some unknown corner of the Mortal Qi Small Realm.


    Left behind, there were only Nemesis and Little Rock who looked toward each other in confusion. After a few moments, they trotted and flew away, knowing that Ryu needed them to keep increasing his point total.


    **


    Ryu felt as though he had been thrown into the depths of space. It was difficult to tell which way was up and which way was down, but the skies all around were filled with motes of lights that resembled small stars.


    ''It seems like your [Intuition] really led you correctly.'' Ailsa said with a faint excitement in her voice. ''Now I understand. This Mortal Qi Small Realm wasn''t devoid of all energies besides Mortal Qi because something was brewing with its higher-grade qi, its structure is like this because it''s undergoing the birth of a True Realm!


    ''You are incredibly lucky, Little Ryu. There are very few people, likely less than the number of fingers on a single hand, who can predict the birth of a True Realm. And of them, even if they can, they won''t necessarily be in any sort of position to take advantage because such a Realm can only be sensed when it''s on the verge of becoming a Protector Spirit!''


    Ryu frowned. ''Should I be worried?''


    He tried to speak, but nothing came out.


    ''There''s nothing to worry about. In fact, this may be the easiest benefits you gain in your entire lifetime. A Realm Heart at this stage is no different than an embryo in a mother''s womb. Though it''s not anywhere near as fragile, it has no ability to defend itself.''


    ''Then what do I do?''


    ''This space is known as the Void. Some also call it the Abyss. It''s actually an incredibly dangerous place even Sky Gods won''t travel around casually in.''


    Ryu''s frown deepened. ''Didn''t you just say there was nothing to worry about?''


    Ailsa giggled. ''Trust me, be a little more patient.  The Abyss exists between Order and Chaos. Whenever a Cosmos or True Realm or even a Small Realm is born, it will begin here. But, the special property of Realm Hearts is that there birth lead to pockets of safety even within this incomparably dangerous place. Nothing can do harm here, even if you tried to attack, it would be akin to punching a pillow.''


    Ryu suddenly had many questioned. How could he leave this place? How could he find the Realm Heart? What would he do once he did find it? He wasn''t even entirely certain what benefits it would bring, he only vaguely understood that it would be a great boon.


    ''For others, even if they ran across the opportunity, they wouldn''t be able to take advantage. But, you are different. The only shame is that even after so many years, this Realm Heart is still in its lowest state. The fact it can only produce Mortal Qi is proof of this. The next stage would obviously be Immortal Qi, and the next Cosmic Qi.


    ''But there''s no need to lament this too much. Of the endless records my Cultus Clan has, it only has one instance of an individual absorbing an Immortal Qi Realm Heart throughout all of existence, and only two other cases of the absorption of a Mortal Qi Realm Heart. You''ll only be the fourth to gain this opportunity.''


    Ryu smiled bitterly. This Ailsa was teasing him again. If she wasn''t, she would have gotten to the point long ago.


    ''Okay, okay. Big Sis will stop pulling your leg. Finding the Realm Heart is impossible. The only option you have is to make it find you.''


    ''How do I do that?''


    ''Your [Focus] ability. Remember, the Realm Heart has no intelligence, it acts purely on instinct. You must make yourself feel familiar to it, to make it approach you and willingly fuse with you. The names of the States of Meditation aren''t just for show. Each step brings you closer to fusing with the Heavens themselves.


    ''If this was a Cosmic Realm Heart, you would need to enter One with World. But, since it''s only a Mortal Realm Heart, you just need to enter a state you''ve entered twice before ¨C Breath of World.''


    Ryu''s eyes lit with understanding.


    He immediately crossed his legs and entered the first State of Meditation. A moment later, within the Incubator, the petals of the Silver Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies began to disappear one after another. To maximize the effect, Ryu not only took consumed this petals directly after entering the lowest State of Meditation, but he also directly absorbed used the Incubator to absorb it, making their effects as potent as possible.


    Ryu''s figure seemed to meld into the Abyss. Deep within, an enigmatic existence had already begun to stir.

 Chapter 277: 1%

    Ailsa smiled and watched as the glowing lights slowly collected around Ryu.


    A Realm Heart had a hard to describe form. It was more accurate to say that it had no form at all. It wasn''t until it became a Protector Spirit that it would decide on the image it would have in its life. For now, it was nothing but a massive mass of energy. However, this was a very special energy. It wasn''t one that carried the opportunity to increase cultivation, but rather held something more enigmatic that was hard to explain.


    The Realm Heart was essentially a special lifeform. In fact, it was a lifeform that all other lifeforms are birthed from. Some time countless epochs ago, some unknown Realm Heart allowed the birth of the first human. Even before that, one allowed the birth of the first Phoenix and the first Dragon, and so on¡­


    Of course, this Mortal Realm Heart had no ability to birth such creatures. Those True Realms that could give birth to novel species were incredibly rare even among Cosmic Realm Hearts that evolved into Protector Spirits.


    This aside, simply absorbing this energy would be a foolish waste of this Realm Heart. Namely because Ryu couldn''t cultivate, he would only damage the Realm Heart by doing such a thing.


    ''Don''t absorb the energy Ryu. Instead, allow it into your body to slowly take form. Under normal circumstances, this sort of energy can allow your cultivation to rise exponentially without drawbacks, however, even if you hadn''t lost your connection to your dantian, I would never allow you to use it that way¡­


    ''¡­ Yes, just like that¡­


    ''A Realm Heart has far more value when allowed to maintain its original state. The first and most important benefit to you is that it will allow you cultivate and breakthrough realms even without your dantian!''


    Ryu trembled. If it hadn''t been for the fact he was in Breath of World, his attempt would have collapsed.


    ''Remember, a Realm Heart is in essence a peace of the Heavens. If one takes root in your body, you wouldn''t need a Spiritual Foundation to cultivate, you can use it as a proxy instead.


    ''Still, there are a few drawbacks. Firstly, since it''s only a Mortal Realm Heart, you can only cultivate Mortal Realm Stages. Meaning, your ceiling will still be the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm unless you reconnect with your dantian.


    ''Secondly, you won''t be able to connect your meridians to it. Because of that, your qi will constantly leak outward which will both make your qi harder to control and lowering your stamina.


    ''Thirdly, any special abilities your meridians may have had will be lost until you reconnect with your dantian. Luckily, your meridians are most known for their sturdiness and lightness, so you won''t lose out much. So this applies less to you than it would to others¡­ But I don''t believe your Chaotic Silk Meridians are so simple. The difficulty in ascending Realms isn''t there without reason or cause.''


    Ryu understood what Ailsa meant. Even if it seemed he wasn''t losing out much to this third drawback, there may be many hidden things he was unaware of. For Ailsa, who always seemed so knowledgeable, to actually know so little about his meridians spoke volumes to the kinds of secrets it might have¡­


    ''Where there''s bad news, there''s also good news too.


    ''Your control of Essence will reach an unprecedented level. So, when it comes time for your to reclaim your dantian, completing your subsequent Severings won''t be as stressful.''


    Ryu sighed a slight breath of relief. It wasn''t lost on him that he still needed to complete several more Severings before he could enter the Divine Vessel Realm. If he lost control of Essence every time he attempted a Severing and ended up in a half-dead state like he had just two months ago, it would be too much.


    ''Still, since it''s a Mortal Realm Heart, this control will still be limited.


    ''The Heir and Impose Realms are considering mortal level comprehension Realms. So, you''ll be able to freely control the Essence you call down from within these two Realms. Once you enter the Rule Realm and become a Ruler, this control will begin to lessen. When you enter the Small Realm State and become a Monarch, that extra control may just become useless.


    ''And, since this is a Mortal Realm Heart, although you can comprehend other Inheritances to the Impose Realm, you cannot enter the Rule Realm relying on it since the Rule Realm is considered Immortal level comprehension. At least this means that you can comprehend your Northern Wind Inheritance to the Impose Realm now. Since you can control Mortal level Essence freely now, you don''t need to wait for a comprehension breakthrough to form powerful Qi Blades, so you won''t need to hold back.


    ''However, there is no need to be depressed about these matters. What you truly need to control Essence for is your Severings. Those other matters are so far off into the future that they won''t impact you now.''


    Ryu felt a slight headache coming along. Every benefit seemed to have such heavy restrictions. Was this really a once in a lifetime treasure? It sounded more like a con to him.


    This restriction didn''t seem too bad on the surface, but everything Ailsa spoke of essentially made his Realm Heart useless after entering the Immortal Realms. But, Ryu''s greatest enemies were within the Cosmic Realms¡­ This sad reality almost made him want to throw away this so-called treasure entirely.


    Ailsa smiled, seeing through Ryu''s thoughts.


    ''Things are obviously not this simple, or else it wouldn''t be such an outstanding treasure.


    ''One benefit is the nurturing of Origin Grade and Unique Grade Treasures. The birth of a Realm Heart is usually accompanied by the manifestation of countless Treasures¡­ Not all of the world''s creations are forged by human hands. The disciplines of Blacksmithing or Alchemy or even Formation Mastery were all learned from observing the Heavens.


    ''I wouldn''t be surprised if the Treasure that Zu Clan Elder stumbled upon was born due to the influence of this infant Realm Heart.''


    Ryu felt his heartbeat with a fiercer thump. Slowly but surely, the veins are arteries of his heart valves slowly turned a golden hue¡­


    ''The instant you fuse with the Realm Heart, it will begin nourishing your Northern Heavenly Wind and your Origin Flame. In addition, the Incubator and Glove of Order will gain lesser, but still tangible benefits, as though being re-refined by the Heavens themselves.


    ''The Realm Heart will be able to nourish your Heavenly Wind and Origin Flame to 1% completion.''

 Chapter 278: Underestimated

    Before Ryu could cringe, Ailsa continued. ''Don''t look down on this singular percent. It holds unprecedented power.


    ''Such Origin Grade Treasures are only meant to be wielded by Sky Gods. Do you believe every Cosmic Seed Realm expert is like your mother and has completed such a treasure? Can you imagine the strength of a 1% of a treasure meant to be wielded by Sky Gods?


    ''Put this into its proper perspective. Even an expert on your grandparents'' level isn''t worth a single percent of a Sky God. Of course, this obviously won''t give you a hundredth the strength of a Sky God, but the benefits will still be immeasurable.


    ''Right now, your Heavenly Wind allows you the speed of an entire Cultivation Realm above. Once it reaches that singular percentage point, gaining the speed of two Cultivation Realms above your own won''t be impossible.


    ''As for your Origin Flame, its true abilities will begin to manifest. Your mind will be clearer, your comprehension abilities will take a massive step forward, and it will no doubt use its abilities as Emperor of Flames to help the hidden abilities of your other Flames to awaken faster.''


    Ryu finally felt a weight on his heart drop. At least he could work with this.


    Of course, he knew that the Northern Heavenly Wind''s ability to allow him to jump Realms of speed would lessen as the gap between Realms largened, and he also knew that comprehension abilities were relative to your cultivation Realm, but these were still results he was happy with.


    ''Did you think this was all?'' Ailsa said with a mischievous smile. ''With the Realm Heart, I will be able to display more of my true strength as well. Since it acts as a stand-in for the Heavens, it can project its own Ethereal Realm as well, lessening the burden on the both of us.


    ''Of course, this will be limited to the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm since it is only a Mortal Realm Heart, but this is already more than enough. I will be able to do much more for you like this and my senses will sharpen considerably and won''t be as dampened by this Plane of Existence.


    ''However, this pales in comparison to the true benefits that can be split into three categories: Evolution, Natural Enlightenment, and Recognition!''


    Ryu didn''t know what the other two meant, but when he heard Natural Enlightenment, he tensed up.


    ''Evolution. The Realm Heart evolves incredibly slowly on its own. After all, it lacks intelligence and must remain in the Abyss to protect itself. Plus, it has to sustain the existence of its Small Realm, or else it will all be for naught. However, once you leave this place, two of those issues will be solved immediately. Firstly, you''ll be far more intelligent in guiding it. And, secondly, this Small Realm will collapse when you take its Realm Heart out, thus relieving it of a massive burden.


    ''Though even I can''t fathom the amount of treasures that would be necessary to evolve a Realm Heart to even the Immortal Realm Heart stage, let alone any higher, it would still most definitely be worth it. Your best option would be to begin to swallow Small Realms one after another, beginning with this one, of course.''


    Ailsa continued. ''Natural Enlightenment. You know well that the Natural Order is split between two categories. Mortal Endowment and Natural Enlightenment. Mortal Endowment further has two categories, the Elements and Birthed Phenomena. But these clearly pale in comparison and power to the concept of a Natural Enlightenment!


    ''Natural Enlightenments are enigmatic concepts the hold the most fundamental secrets of all of existence. Even more fundamental than the elements themselves!


    ''Every Realm Heart is the key to a Natural Enlightenment. And though I''m not one hundred percent certain which Natural Enlightenment this Realm Heart contains, I can guess that it likely has something to do with vitality, recovery and regrowth¡­''


    Thinking of quick growth rates of the vegetation and foliage all around the Mortal Qi Small Realm, Ryu could understand why Ailsa would think this¡­


    ''Finally, there''s Recognition. It''s said that it is impossible to gain the full support of a Protector Spirit unless one has a Realm Heart or can enter the Breath of Quintessence State of Meditation¡­ Unfortunately, even the Spirit Seeking Lilies cannot horseshoe you into the highest State of Meditation like this. But now that you have a Realm Heart¡­ Refining a Protector Spirit and becoming the true owner of a True Realm isn''t impossible!


    ''These are just the core benefits, but there are many smaller but still potent goods that you can slowly come to understand. One of which is related to making tribulations easier to handle¡­''


    Maybe now Ryu didn''t understand the magnitude of these words, but one day he would understand why Ailsa left Recognition for the very last¡­


    As for the current Ryu, he was thinking of something maddening.


    Even though he could now cultivate, his meridians were still connected to nothing, so how could he possibly continue with his Severings? To make things worse, his cultivation speed would drastically slow down due to the constantly leaking energy¡­


    So, he thought to hell with it all. Why not skip the Spiritual Severing Realm entirely and directly attempt to pry open his Divine Vessels?


    His meridians were the supposedly made of the third strongest material in all of existence, right? It was this very double-edged sword that landed him in this situation in the first place¡­


    Well, since they were so grand as to put him in this predicament, why not truly put them to the test?


    The reason one must complete their Severings first was because Qi Refinement meridians were too fragile. Only by tempering the meridians with Severings would one became to withstand the energy influx that resulted from opening one''s Divine Vessels.


    However, for Ryu who had Chaotic Silk Meridians, would this really be problem?


    ''I''ll skip the Realm entirely!'' Ryu''s eyes flashed.


    Though Ailsa''s lip twitched, in the end, she didn''t lift a finger to stop him. Since Ryu wanted to lift a massive middle finger to the Heaven''s so-called Order, she''d let him do so.


    Who said one couldn''t always complete their Severings later on in cultivation?


    Neither yet understood that the decision they took today would birth the Chaotic Silk Meridians in its truest form for the first time in countless epochs¡­ Who would have ever believed that Meridians already given the highest Ancestral Grade would actually have still been underestimated to this extent¡­?

 Chapter 279: Closest One [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 450 golden tickets]


    ''If you really want to do this, you''ll have to go all out Little Ryu. Entering the Spiritual Severing Realm isn''t just about gaining sturdier meridians. Remember, by increasing the connection one has to your dantian, your meridians begin to gain some characteristics of its plane of existence. Simply put, your meridians gain the ability to exist on two planes at once, allowing it to store more energy without expanding too much.''


    Ryu nodded. Meridians were a lot like blood vessels although they were a separate organ system. It was obvious that it couldn''t expand indefinitely without some special considerations. The Spiritual Severing Realm is what allowed for this consideration. An expert of that level could essentially make their meridians larger than they appeared from the outside, almost like a creating its own inner space.


    However, Ryu was trying to skip this step. Though he believed his meridians were more than sturdy enough to handle it, there was another problem¡­ He didn''t have enough energy to pry his Qi Vessels open!


    Had he been too rash? Trying to open his Qi Vessels now was like trying to break open a fort with a toothpick. He didn''t have enough energy to succeed.


    Ailsa smiled. ''Don''t worry, Big Sis will help you with your reckless actions this time. Finish fusing with the Realm Heart and return to the Small Realm first.''


    Hearing Ailsa''s words, Ryu focused on the task at hand.


    The almost ethereal feeling in his heart grew. Slowly, but surely, Ryu began to understand what Ailsa meant by the Realm Heart having many more abilities he could only slowly begin to comprehend.


    For one, Ryu now felt that even if someone stabbed him in the heart, it would now only be a minor injury, whereas in the past, it would have been fatal even with his Ice Flame.


    The Realm Heart was an Ethereal Plane being. By fusing with it, Ryu''s heart now also existed on two separate Planes. This might very well save Ryu''s life in the future¡­ Even if the portion of his heart that existed on the Real Plane was injured, the portion that existed on the Ethereal Plane would sustain his life for long enough for the initial injury to heal.


    Of course, if Ryu was being attacked by an individual adept at existing between both the Real and Ethereal Planes like Ailsa, he''d be dead no matter what.


    ''Wow¡­ With my vitality, if I somehow managed to shift my brain to the Ethereal Plane as well, wouldn''t I be near undying?''


    The days sped by one after another.


    When Ryu finally completed the fusion, he felt as though a breath of life had been breathed into him.


    "I''m¡­ Immortal?" Ryu''s eyes blinked with surprise.


    Immortality wasn''t something cultivators gained until completing the Path Extinction Realm and stepping into the Dao Pedestal Realm. It was only then that one''s life was sustained not by vitality, but by comprehension. Essentially, one was effectively Immortal after entering this Realm. As long as your Martial Path remained sturdy and didn''t waver, you could theoretically live until the end of existence itself although such a thing was impossible in action.


    Yet, Ryu had reached this state as a Qi Refinement Realm pup?


    Even though this so-called Immortality wasn''t immortality in its truest sense and definition, for the current Ryu, living a few dozen thousand years wasn''t a problem.


    For context, the Divine Vessel Realm gave one about a thousand years of life on average. The Connecting Heaven Realm gave about ten thousand. The Immortal Ring Realm provided another factor of ten increase.


    Ryu could essentially outlive an Immortal Ring Realm expert even if he never cultivated again from this point onward. Maybe to regular cultivators, this matter didn''t mean much¡­ But to Ryu who had lived his first life with his lifespan constantly looming over his head, he almost couldn''t stop his eyes from watering.


    In the end, he closed his reddened eyes, controlling his breathing.


    Ailsa smiled lightly. ''You big dope. Is there a need to pretend to be emotionless all the time? Big Sis'' greatest hope is that you''ll become that wide-eyed, smiling little boy again¡­''


    These words weren''t heard by Ryu, but Ailsa only said them for herself¡­


    "It seems that the Abyss is no longer so dangerous for me?" Ryu said after recollecting himself.


    ''That''s another benefit. Those with Realm Hearts can explore the Abyss more freely. After all, what are Realms if not safe havens within the Void?''


    Ryu nodded. All True Realms floated within certain coordinates of the Void or Abyss. They were the only locations life could flourish. So, of course Realm Hearts and the like had the ability to protect from its dangers.


    ''But, because you have the lowest ranked Realm Heart, you are still limited in where you can go. Also, even the natural environment of the Abyss can''t harm you under normal circumstances, there are many other dangers involved. I don''t advise exploring it before you''re ready.''


    "I''ll follow your words." Ryu agreed. "But¡­ How do I leave this place?"


    Ailsa giggled. ''You should now feel a special connection with the Mortal Qi Small Realm. Follow your heart¡­ Literally.''


    With Ryu''s intelligence, it didn''t take much pushing for him to understand what he must do. In what felt like an instant, he had already reappeared by the very pond he had entered to begin with.


    "Wow¡­" Ryu suddenly felt a blissful rush surge into his body.


    His Spiritual Sense was only twenty kilometers wide. But somehow, he could sense every inch of this Mortal Qi Small Realm now, all several thousand kilometers of it.


    ''This is another benefit. Though this Realm will collapse after you step foot outside and leave, while you remain here, you can sense every aspect of it. Every lifeform, every growth, every hidden treasure¡­ everything. Nothing will be hidden from you. After all, this is now your domain.''


    Ryu felt a sudden bittersweet feeling. "Do I really have to give this up after I leave?"


    ''Unfortunately, there''s no other option. You don''t have the strength to sustain its existence. You remember that according to those of the Inner Ring, this Small Realm never left the range of Mortal Qi Mountain? Well there''s a reason for that. Without this dense source of Mortal Qi in combination with the Realm Heart, the Small Realm would collapse.''


    Ryu''s brows suddenly furrowed. "You mean to say that it''s this Small Realm relying on Mortal Qi Mountain and not the other way around? Doesn''t that mean we haven''t solved this mystery at all?"


    ''Exactly right¡­ In fact, I wouldn''t be surprised if it''s because of Mortal Qi Mountain that this Small Realm managed to form its Realm Heart at all¡­''


    Ryu sucked in a cold breath. He thought everything was over after he found the Realm Heart, but things turned out to be far deeper than this¡­


    Shaking his head, he focused on the task at hand. He had an obligation to represent the Loom Clan, which meant he only had a month and a half left to snatch all the resources of this Mortal Qi Small Realm for himself.


    ''It seems that gathering enough Qi Stones to open the gate to the Moon Realm won''t be much of a problem for me anymore¡­''


    Ryu''s mind was instantly filled with all sorts of hidden treasures buried in places even the Core Clans of the Inner Ring had yet to find. In fact, he saw through many secret and dangerous locations they hadn''t even dared to step into that wouldn''t pose any problem for him thanks to the Realm Heart.


    The wealth here was so astronomical that even though these were all resources of the Mortal Grade, they could only be sensibly counted in Immortal Qi Stones.


    ''Don''t forget that if you''re planning on entering the Divine Vessel Realm, the cost of opening the gate to the Moon World will increase again.''


    Ryu nodded. He thought of this as well, but it was worth it. If he entered the Divine Vessel Realm, he wouldn''t fear anyone of the Inner Ring!


    Others might not have the heart to sell these precious Spiritual Herbs he had locked on to, especially since they were the most beneficial to his current Cultivation Realm, but what reason did Ryu have to feel this way? After all¡­ He had the Incubator!


    Ryu smiled. ''Let''s start with the closest one.''

 Chapter 280: Crown

    Many were in a frenzy looking for Ryu. His score kept ticking upward, having long since breached the top fifty, yet none could find his trail. Some speculated he might have been a beast master judging by how easily he subdued the Bloodied Steed and instead began looking for beasts instead, but how difficult was it to find specific beasts in a forest filled with beasts?


    Battles between two beasts wasn''t a rare phenomenon at all, firstly. Secondly, the only beast they knew Ryu had was the Bloodied Steed, but the Nemesis of today looked nothing like the Nemesis they had known in the past and it wasn''t as though Bloodied Steeds were a rare breed of beast. These two factors together made Little Rock''s time hunting especially easy, while Nemesis only had to be slightly more cautious.


    As for Ryu himself, it would be a joke for even an Immortal Ring Realm expert to attempt to find him when he had the advantage of space and time. His Cloak wasn''t a treasure of the Shrine Realm without reason.


    So, while the Zu Clan and the Core Region geniuses searched for him, Ryu was leisurely jumping from resource to resource, only taking the most valuable for himself while leaving their nurturing to Ailsa who hummed away with a pleasant smile on her face within the Incubator.


    Though Ailsa was in quite a good mood, Ryu was frowning. It wasn''t because he had run into some sort of large problem, but rather because his body was emitting a smell so horrible that even Ailsa refused to sit on his shoulder any longer. She hadn''t just entered the Incubator to care for their new goods, but also to stay away from Ryu.


    ''This is¡­'' Ryu''s frown deepened. ''¡­ How long is this going to go on for¡­?''


    Ryu''s body, thanks to another benefit of the Realm Heart, was continuously expelling waste. Unlike the quick process he went through during his Rites, this process was slow and tedious. Though it had the benefit of being gentle, it was also very inconvenient.


    At one point, Ryu was bathing himself dozens of times a day. Eventually, he simply gave up. It seemed to take only a few minutes before his body was once more covered in foul black and brown grime.


    ''Not many people can gain an Immortal Body so early on¡­ And even less can do it so painlessly. It''s only natural there would be some inconveniences along the way.''


    Ryu actually wasn''t gaining an Immortal Body. In the strictest sense, he was gaining the pinnacle of what a Mortal Body could be. However, in effect, this pinnacle was far better than usual Immortal Bodies.


    Usually, one would only be able to reach this state by completing the Vessel Tempering Realm of Body Cultivation. This was why the best geniuses still invested some time into this path. However, Ryu would be able to gain this state without such arduous cultivation.


    This would benefit him in three main ways. First, his Bone Structure would begin to exhibit more of its strength far earlier. Second, his body''s foundation would become far sturdier and stronger. And finally, opening his Body Vessels will be far easier, almost as easy as breathing.


    By Ryu''s estimates, it would probably have taken at least fifty to a hundred years to completely open his Body Vessels. However, now, he felt that ten years would be enough! To put this into perspective, the Peak Vessel Tempering Realm was the equivalent of the Peak Immortal Ring Realm! And, for Ryu, whose Body Realm Cultivation didn''t follow normal logic, he would be even stronger than this!


    The more Ryu learned about his Realm Heart, the more he understood why it was such a treasure. His previous complaints disappeared with the wind.


    Still¡­ Walking around like a human stink bomb was incredibly uncomfortable for Ryu who was quite fond of cleanliness.


    Ryu sighed. ''I should have been born a sprite.''


    Ailsa grinned at this thought. Aside from those with special constitutions, certain races were directly born with Immortal Bodies. Sprites were one such race, the Ancient Beasts and their numerous races are among this number as well.


    ''I was born with a Cosmic Body. What is this pitiful Immortal Body you speak of?''


    Ryu pretended not to hear Ailsa''s over the top, teasing laughter. Currently, he was deep within the earthen crust of the Mortal Qi Small Realm. At least a kilometer and a half or so. Of course, his target was yet another valuable resource that would be impossible to find without the Realm Heart.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have any comprehension of Earth Inheritances, so he could dig his way through the normal way.


    Soon, he was almost blinded by a bright light. Covering his eyes with his forearm, he could only wait for his gaze to slowly become accustomed to the suddenly well-lit environment.


    A moment later, Ryu''s gaze landed on an irregularly shaped crystal. However, this crystal floated within an encasement of translucent stone, radiating an array of colors.


    "Qi Source." Ryu''s sharp eyes immediately comprehended.


    Qi Sources were the vital life blood of Clans and Sects. Although a power that controlled one shouldn''t exist on the Pedestal Plane, when it came to the Blossom and Shrine Planes, not having one was as good as guaranteeing marginalization.


    Qi Sources weren''t exactly rare, per se. The reason the Pedestal Plane didn''t have access to them was simply because they didn''t have experts capable of finding them. But, strictly speaking, the Pedestal Plane should have about the same number of Qi Sources as any of the other two Immortal Planes. The only difference would be in the quality of these Qi Sources.


    The Qi Source before Ryu was of the Mortal Grade. But, it was still useful for many things. Namely, there were three important uses: the creation of Qi Stones, the fertilization of land, and finally, increasing qi density in a given area.


    This Mortal Qi Small Realm had seven such sources, and this was already Ryu''s seventh time collecting them. So, his harvests were quite great. His rewards in Qi Sources alone could already be counted in the order of millions of Higher Mortal Qi Stones, worth several thousand Lower Immortal Qi Stones.


    ''With these Qi Sources, I should be able to accelerate the growth of Mortal Grade Spiritual Herbs even more, so you have even less to worry about selling the Crown Spiritual Herbs.'' Ailsa chortled.


    Crown Spiritual Herbs. The pinnacle existence among their kind¡­

 Chapter 281: Simple.

    There were seven divisions amongst Spiritual Herbs ¨C the Common, Black, Earth, Heaven, Mystical, Ancestral and Origin Grades. However, similar to the Unique Grade of treasures, the Crown Spiritual Herb was a sort of wild card.


    Crown Spiritual Herbs could be of any grade, but they were special in that they were unparalleled in benefits among those of their grade. Essentially, they provided the perfect result every time.


    A Crown Spiritual Herb was an Herb on the verge of evolving to the next Grade. Herbs with the ability to evolve in this way were incredibly rare, so much so that they pained Ryu to simply sell like this even though Crown Spiritual Herbs could be sold many times that of Herbs several Grades above them.


    The reason for this is simple. Crown Spiritual Herbs could provide the benefits of a Spiritual Herb of higher grade without the restrictions that came with eating one.


    For example, a Qi Refinement Realm expert could only consume Black Grade Herbs at best. However, if they found a Crown Black Grade Spiritual Herb, they could consume it and gain as many benefits as if they had consumed an Earth or sometimes even Heaven Grade Herb!


    Ryu himself had only had a few of these Spiritual Herbs in his first lifetime. As a man who had had a weak body, his parents had relied on such Spiritual Herbs so that he could extend his life without dying. But even then, the total wouldn''t exceed a hundred.


    A hundred may sound like a lot, but it had to be considered that Ryu was the Scion of the most powerful Clan of the most powerful Plane of their Shrine Realm. In addition, his life depended on these Herbs. To only have a hundred in a thousand-year timespan was enough to prove the rarity of such Herbs.


    On top of this, it also had to be considered that Ryu could only consume Crown Common Grade Herbs. After all, his body was too weak to consume anything better. Yet, it still only totaled less than a hundred.


    The reason for this rarity was obvious. Unless such an Herb was found in time, it would leave its Crown state after evolving to a higher Grade. Sometimes, there was only a gap of a few seconds. One had to freeze this process with a spatial ring or other special means, or else it would all be lost.


    Luckily, Ryu had the Realm Heart. He could immediately sense Spiritual Herbs on the verge of evolving and stop the process personally.


    ''What are you crying so much about? The Incubator already allows you to absorb Spiritual Herbs above the Grades you can normally handle with absolute ease. The effect is many times better than a Crown Spiritual Herb. When did you become such a money grubber?''


    ''When indeed¡­'' Ryu couldn''t help but mumble to himself. He had never worried for money in his first life. In fact, he gave most of his savings away to his Clan. But it seemed the situation in this life was much different.


    Shaking his head, Ryu quickly snatched the final Qi Source for himself. Though they wouldn''t be very useful after the Connecting Heaven Realm, they were otherworldly treasures to the current him. If he passed one off to the Death Worm Immortal Cave, he wouldn''t have to worry about powering it either.


    In just a month, Ryu had uprooted this Small Realm''s most valuable resources.


    ''It seems that that Zu Clan''s elder''s treasure wasn''t hidden here, or else I would have already found it.''


    Ryu didn''t mind. He hadn''t cared much for the treasure to begin with. He just thought it was a shame he couldn''t enrage the Zu Clan more by taking what they had been searching for this whole time.


    Though he didn''t say it, something else weighed on Ryu''s shoulders as well. He couldn''t find his grandfather even with the Realm Heart. He had been mentally prepared to find a desecrated corpse, but even that wasn''t here.


    ''¡­'' Ryu''s gaze turned cold. ''¡­ There''s only two weeks left. I''ll break into the Divine Vessel Realm in a single step!''


    Ryu didn''t bother to leave the underground space. His senses immediately trained on a particular herb planted within the Incubator.


    Peak Black Grade Spiritual Herb: Hidden Vessel Wings.


    It was the flower from a bush-like main body. Its center was a puffed outward with a pure and fluffy almost cotton-like substance. However, the reason for its name were the patterns that could be found on the leaves attached to its stem. These patterns cut the leaves almost like pinecone seeds. However, instead of taking a rounded appearance, they remained flat. This gave the leaves the appearance of green wings.


    For breaking into the Divine Vessel Realm, there was no better Spiritual Herb. In addition, its Earth Grade evolution, Awakened Vessel Wings, was excellent for awakening subsequent Spiritual Herbs. Ryu was very lucky to find a Crown of this Spiritual Herb, however he wouldn''t be using it. The Crown Hidden Vessel Wings Herb would sell for at least a few dozen Middle Immortal Qi Stones to some wealthy young master.


    Instead, Ryu planned to directly use the Awakening Vessel Wings evolved form to breakthrough. The lesser form might be enough for normal people with relatively solid foundation to breakthrough, but Ryu needed more!


    ''Upon opening all six Qi Vessels, the number of Meridian Nodes will increase from my current 333 to 999. Every new Vessel provides an addition 111. This means I need to form 111 abyssal vortexes for [Abyssal Vortex Qi] upon entering the Divine Vessel Realm. Also, I need to form my seventh miniature dantian for [Six Realm Opening]. The first six were formed in my Qi Pulses. Now they will be in my Qi Vessels as well.


    ''But before any of that, I must compress my qi to the Divine Vessel Realm standards for [Revolutions Amplifier]¡­''


    Ryu immediately got to work. Cultivating within the support of seven Qi Sources was the sort of treatment only the absolute geniuses of the Shrine Realm would receive, but Ryu had relied on himself to gain the same experience.


    It was then his cultivation talent began to shine through once more. Even with almost thirty percent of his qi constantly leaking, it hardly affected him at all. The Incubator surged, changing the volatile energy of an Earth Grade Spiritual Herb to such a gentle form that even a baby could bask in its presence.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed open, a roar escaping his lips as an earth-shattering change erupted in his body.


    He had succeeded in doing the impossible, becoming maybe the first ever to skip an entire cultivation realm. The process had been¡­ remarkably simple. As though this was his path all along¡­

 Chapter 282: Blessing

    Ryu looked down at his hands. He could feel the strength surging through his veins.


    At that moment, the impurities within his body were pushed out faster, drenching his body in a foul smell.


    ''The Realm Heart reacts to my Qi Realm cultivation? Or maybe it''s just my cultivation in general¡­''


    Ryu didn''t spend much time thinking about this because he instantly felt that his strength had increased by more than several dozen fold. Even with the constant leakage of his qi, he felt that his power had leapt past even his own understanding.


    ''This is the Divine Vessel Realm¡­''


    The truth was that the leaking of his qi hardly affected Ryu. His qi density was already comparable to a Half-Step Divine Vessel Realm expert while he was only at the Half-Step Spiritual Severing Realm. Now that he had entered the Divine Vessel Realm, he was comparable to a Connecting Heaven Realm expert even with the leakage taken into account.


    ''I never expected to reach this stage so quickly. Had I known this was possible, I would have skipped the Spiritual Severing Stage from the very beginning, then used the influx of qi to form a larger Qi Blade without relying on Essence at all.''


    Unfortunately, neither Ryu nor Ailsa were omnipotent. The idea of skipping a cultivation realm was unheard of. There were godly Spiritual Herbs that gave one the ability to leap Qi Realms, but that was only the optics of it. The reality was that these Spiritual Herbs simply quickly pushed you through Qi Realms, they didn''t really skip Qi Realms.


    For context of how astounding this was, the absolute geniuses of the Shrine Plane only reached the Divine Vessel Realm at twenty years old. That mark was the threshold for any true genius. Only once in a generation talents were faster than this.


    But, Ryu was only eighteen years old! And, he hadn''t begun cultivation at seven as he was meant to, he hadn''t begun until he was already fourteen!


    Ryu gripped his fists. ''I''ve caught up¡­ Now it''s time to surpass them¡­''


    As Ryu was becoming accustomed to his new strength, Ailsa had sunk deep into her own thoughts.


    ''Little Ryu''s qi density relies on his three Six Star Cultivation Techniques, and most importantly, a sturdy foundation. Logically, even if he relied on his Chaotic Silk Meridians to skip the Spiritual Severing Realm, his advantage should have fallen at least slightly.''


    Ailsa''s concerns made sense. Ryu had skipped an entire cultivation realm, so why was his advantage in qi density the same? Sturdy meridians weren''t the only thing one gained in the Spiritual Severing Realm, one also gained more qi. In fact, if one took into account that the gap between cultivation realms increased as one progressed, than his advantage had actually¡­ increased?


    Ailsa peered into Ryu''s body. But what she found shocked her to the point of causing a splitting headache.


    ''How''s this possible?!''


    Ryu was shaken awake from his daze.


    He almost made it a point to not read Ailsa''s thoughts, but let her do as she pleased with his. But when it came to visceral reactions, he had no way of blocking his senses from them.


    "What is it?"


    ''¡­ Look for yourself¡­''


    Ryu blinked. He assumed that Ailsa much be referring to his body, so he projected his senses internally. But what he found not only shocked him but¡­ he couldn''t make heads or tails of it.


    If he had to describe it¡­ It felt as though a lawless universe had invaded his body.


    "How can my meridians have the character of another Plane without its connection to my Spiritual Foundation?"


    Ryu suddenly understood the odd feeling he had felt. Meridians were meant to gain the characteristics of one''s dantian over time. The Spiritual Foundation was the connection to the Heavens while the meridians were the source of the body. It was a symbolic fusion of sorts, but it also allowed meridians to house far more qi than their outward size would deem fit.


    But somehow, Ryu''s meridians had gained this ability without his Spiritual Foundation. In fact, it seemed more potent than it should be as well.


    Technically, Ryu hadn''t entered the Lower Divine Vessel Realm fully yet. There were six Qi Vessel. One for entry, four for the Lower, Middle, Higher and Peak stages, and a the final sixth for the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm.


    This meant only one thing: Ryu''s advantage of qi density had actually grown exponentially.


    "Ailsa, what is this?"


    ''It''s¡­ a new path.''


    These words were simple on the surface, but they made Ryu tremble.


    How many countless epochs of existence had already passed? How many cultivators had existed? How many Clans and Sects had risen and fallen? How infinite was the number of Realms that existed?


    Something like a ''new path'' hadn''t been created for countless generations. Doing something that no one had ever done before, that no one had ever thought to do before¡­ It was unheard of!


    ''It seems that even the records of my Cultus Clan were wrong about your Chaotic Silk Meridians. Actually¡­ it seems that maybe everyone was wrong about them¡­


    ''On the surface, your meridians seem to be great enough. Though their function is simple, it''s potent. You can hold and sustain far more qi than practically anyone in existence. In addition, your cultivation can be far more violent than others without worrying about injury.


    ''But it seems that this is only the surface ability of the Chaotic Silk Meridians. The true abilities won''t manifest outside of extreme cases¡­ extreme cases where you ignore the Order of the Heavens¡­


    ''It seems that your failure wasn''t actually a failure at all, but a heavenly blessing.''


    Ailsa''s gaze shone with a complex light. She should be happy, but she was actually conflicted. She wanted to lead Ryu to the becoming the best he could be, but in the end, it was only because of her failure that he would have this opportunity.


    Were the Heavens playing a game with them? The very Ailsa who believed Fate''s grasp wasn''t so easy to escape was now lamenting that this was in fact true. She couldn''t understand it.

 Chapter 283: In Memory

    "What does all of this mean?" Ryu couldn''t help but ask.


    The dim light of Ailsa''s gaze regained their fire. There was no greater honor for a Cultus Faerie than pioneering a new path for the Life Partner. She couldn''t allow the resolve she cobbled together just barely to crumble so easily.


    She immediately entered her true form, forcing Ryu to remove his upper garments so that she could place her palm on his back.


    "Relax and allow my qi to flow¡­"


    After a few moments of silent deduction, keeping her eyes closed, she began to speak.


    "I''m beginning to understand¡­ In part.


    "Your Chaotic Silk Meridians are indeed connected to another Plane of Existence. However, I cannot see what this Plane is or where it''s from, much like you cannot enter the Ethereal Plane at will. I can only tell that its laws are not the same as our own. In fact, it seems that its laws are almost a direct opposite¡­ This is the simplest way I could put it despite it being far more complex than this."


    ''Another Plane of existence¡­?''


    Planes of Existence were different from the Planes of the Shrine Realm, for example. As far as Ryu was aware, there were only three such Planes throughout all Realms. The Void Plane, the Ethereal Plane and the Real Plane where most life resided.


    Ailsa was saying that his Chaotic Silk Meridians were connected to a Plane even she had no knowledge of!


    "It seems that this ability would have never manifested itself if your meridians remained connected to your Spiritual Foundation. In fact, if you succeeded in even a single Severing, this ability would have been overwritten!"


    Ryu''s eyes widened. "Does this mean I have to give up on my Spiritual Foundation forever or make a choice between them?"


    Ailsa''s brows furrowed. "I can''t give you a certain answer, but my intuition says this isn''t the case."


    Ryu sighed a breath of relief. This was enough for him.


    "This¡­ Let''s call it the Chaos Plane, was a very minor characteristic of your Chaotic Silk Meridians. This made it very easy to override with a single Severing. However, I believe that if you strengthen this Character enough, even when you find your Spiritual Foundation, it won''t disappear."


    "So I was meant to do this all along¡­" Ryu muttered.


    "I think this is the true strength of your meridians. Not its light weight, not its structural strength, but this connection to this unknown Plane of Existence."


    "Can you sense anything special about this Chaos Plane?"


    Ailsa smiled lightly. "I have a feeling that you can answer that even better than I can. Look at the changes in your qi, what do you notice?"


    Ryu''s brows furrowed. On instinct, he began to circulate his qi.


    ''This¡­!''


    His qi was changing. To more specific, his neutral qi was being catalyzed into an unknown energy even he with his vast knowledge didn''t recognize. It seemed to grind at his neutral qi, compressing and purifying it beyond his wildest imaginations.


    Ryu punched outward. He hadn''t even realized his own actions before his committed to them. It was all purely instinctual.


    But the result¡­ It was unlike anything he could have expected.


    The earth so far below the surface was compressed into extremely solid crystals and ores. The only reason Ryu had managed to make it here was because he relied on the Realm Heart to avoid these hard vein deposits and dig through softer dirt.


    However, at this moment, he had punched toward these very sturdy minerals he had avoided before¡­ The result was devastating.


    BOOM!


    Everything crumbled. The underground cave shook violently as though the whole world would collapse. By the time the dust cleared, all that was left was a horizontal hole of almost three meters in diameter, stretching forward for almost one hundred meters.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted into pinholes. ''This strength is of at least the Middle Connecting Heaven Realm, maybe even bordering on the Higher stage!''


    "This new qi is likely where the true strength of your Chaotic Silk Meridians lies. I''m afraid it''s not as simple as being an Ancestral Grade Qi¡­ In fact, I believe it''s no weaker than Essence."


    Ryu''s heart palpitated. "You''re saying that I can now freely control an energy on the same level as Essence?"


    No level of cool headedness was enough for Ryu to maintain his calm.


    "This is only the beginning, Little Ryu. My instincts tell me that this energy is the Chaos Plane''s representation of Essence. Its yang to its yin or vice versa. As you know, the strength of Essence you can call down varies based on your abilities. For example, the Essence you called down as an Heir pales in comparison to the Essence you can evoke as an Imposer.


    "The concept here is the same. If you want to wield stronger and more potent forms of this Chaos Energy, you need to deepen your connection with that Plane of Existence."


    Ryu clenched his fists. Even if he had to give up his Spiritual Foundation, he was willing! But Ailsa had said there was no need to. He almost couldn''t believe this windfall.


    "With this, I believe opening the first nine seals of your Heavenly Pupils will be as easy as breathing, so the troubles of finding your Spiritual Foundation should be a thing of the past¡­ But, I''m sure you know that finding it before your connection with that Plane of Existence is sturdy enough will erase all of these benefits."


    Ryu nodded. "I understand."


    A moment later, his flushed appearance disappeared, replaced by a cold oppressive gaze. Layers of frost wafted from his body, coating the underground cave in icicles.


    Ailsa removed her hand from Ryu''s back, hiding her sickly and pale features from him as she shrunk down and entered the Incubator. Ryu had no idea that the deduction skills she used to draw out the starting line for him had taken so much out of her¡­


    But he simply didn''t have the mind to pay attention¡­  He didn''t notice that his Glove of Order was reacting oddly as well¡­


    Now that he had this strength, he was entirely focused on washing the Inner Ring in blood in memory of his grandfather.

 Chapter 284: Why Would You Appear [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus Chapter for 500 Golden Tickets]


    "Where is Ryu?" Tae anxiously grabbed the hands of her cousin.


    It took some time for The Selection participants to leave the Small Realm much like it had taken some time for them all to enter.


    However, it had already been some time and Ryu was nowhere to be seen. Taedra felt an uncomfortable feeling in her chest as a result, all stemming from guilt.


    By now, everyone knew that Ryu was the target of the Zu Clan. They had practically flipped the whole of the Mortal Qi Small Realm upside down in an attempt to find him. Yet, they hadn''t found so much as a single hair of his, let alone capturing him to seek revenge.


    Currently, they had all gathered on the peak of Mortal Qi Mountain. A portion had been flattened out to place a reinforced martial platform. Unlike other events, The Selection was held in secret away from the public eye, likely to hide the underhanded actions of the Core Region from scrutiny. However, there were still projections of these events. This was likely so that if anything out of their control occurred, the feed could always be cut and an ''explanation'' could be given later.


    It would have been quite a beautiful sight, being so high in the skies, had Tae not felt as though this was all the fault of their Loom Clan.


    Had they not contracted Ryu, he would have never been forced to battle Connecting Heaven Realm experts so far above him in strength. Then, his corpse puppets would have never been exposed.


    What made her most uncomfortable was the fact Lucien and members of the Zu Clan seemed to be standing quite close to each other now, whereas in the past, they had no such relationship. If they did, Lucien''s Clan would have long since made use of the Zu Clan to pressure them.


    Unfortunately, the problems didn''t end there. It seemed the Basteel Clan was also involved, likely because they finally found a good opportunity to seek revenge the matter surrounding the Bloodied Steed.


    Two Half-Step Sixth Order Clans and a single Sixth Order Clan all seeking revenge against a single young man of the mere Qi Refinement Realm? Where was their pride?!


    Matheus'' face darkened at Tae''s question, a deep complexity swirling in his pupils. He didn''t regret his decision back then, but this didn''t mean he didn''t feel a bit guilty.


    "He¡­ Should be fine." Matheus said with a bit of hesitation. Considering Ryu''s score had begun to climb again after his two-month disappearance, Matheus believed that he was at the very least alive. He didn''t see a reason for anyone to fake such a thing.


    Tae sighed a slight breath of relief. "That''s good¡­ He shouldn''t come here."


    Thanks to Matheus'' words, she believed that Ryu had run away. She had no idea why the Zu Clan, Basteel Clan and Lucien were waiting here as though they were certain he would come, but it seemed they were too arrogant in their assessment.


    Did they believe that Ryu would be quaking in fear and feel he had no choice but to hand himself in?


    Though Tae thought this, she couldn''t help but feel a slight disappointment. It was the intelligent move to not come to this place¡­ but it still somehow left a bitter taste she disliked herself for having.


    ''Stupid Tae. If he comes here, it means nothing but his death. At least this way he can seek revenge another day when he''s stronger. Plus, Cousin Matheus should be able to handle this¡­''


    What she didn''t know was that Matheus was racking his own brain. If he went all out, winning this tournament would be easy. But he obviously couldn''t do so.


    ''It''ll be fine.'' He thought with a frown. ''I have other methods¡­''


    Across the martial platform, a completely different conversation was taking place. Just as Tae was observing them, they too were observing her. Seeing her relieved expression, some of them began to feel skeptical.


    "Are you certain that he will come? He can''t be a fool, right?" Lucien was the one who asked this question, directing it toward a Zu Clan Elder.


    "Our Zu Clan is quite good at understanding people." The elder said nonchalantly. "His clash with City Lord Loom is all the proof you need of his arrogance and bravado. If what you say about his crippled cultivation is true, it''s even more likely that he''ll come here."


    Lucien and an elder of the Basteel Clan frowned, unable to understand this logic. So, the Zu Clan Elder continued, sweeping her long white hair behind her ear.


    "It''s simple psychoanalysis. An individual like him is prideful to his core. If he suddenly lost all of his potential and future prospects, he wouldn''t choose to die in a barren hole of the martial world. He would prefer to go out in a blaze of fire¡­ I believe you yourself have seen this truth."


    Lucien involuntarily trembled when he thought back to Ryu''s disregard for his own life. It was true¡­ Back then he had thought he would die but still chose to do so with his head held high.


    "I still think we should have kept his grandfather alive, then." The gruff Basteel Clan elder stroked his disorderly beard. "At the very least, it would increase the chances of him appearing."


    "No¡­" A sinister flash resonated through the female elder''s silver eyes. "¡­ That ant''s corpse is far more useful to us. The dignity of the Zu Clan must never be trampled upon. Begin!"


    The Basteel Clan''s elder snapped his fingers. A moment later, a burly cultivator trudged forward with a wooden pole about two feet in diameter and three meters tall. One side of the wooden pole was wrapped in a brown sack, obscuring what was underneath. The other side was sharpened for ease of staking.


    With a grunt, the burly cultivator raised his arms and violently thrust the pole down. Once he was finished, he bent his back backward, rubbing it with a hand.


    ''Damn, how can a person be so heavy.''


    After recollecting him, he pulled on the ropes holding the brown sack in place, finally revealing what was beneath.


    Tae blinked in shock, gasping beside herself.


    "¡­ Who is that?" She whispered, suddenly feeling a terrible premonition.


    The scene before her was simply too disgusting.


    A middle-aged man was strapped naked to the pole, his body filled with ghastly, curdling wounds that released a foul smell.


    For a cultivator to suffer infected wounds like this, it couldn''t have possibly been due to normal circumstances. There was only one answer: poison!


    The man''s eyes were open, but what must have once been beautiful deep brown eyes had decidedly greyed.


    His mouth was open, unable to be closed, continuously leaking a green tinged droll. His tongue was simply too swollen, filled with hives that had become the nesting grounds for disgusting white worms.


    Tae covered her mouth, her eyes involuntarily watering.


    "How¡­ Why does he seem alive but dead¡­"


    It didn''t make sense. How could a dead man still produce drool? Why was a dead man still bleeding?


    Matheus'' visage darkened even more considerably than before.


    "His soul¡­ was shattered and dissipated. He is worse than dead¡­ It''s an even worse fate than becoming a corpse puppet."


    "You all may be confused by this scene." The Zu Clan Elder stepped forward. She should have been a city collapsing beauty, with gorgeous curves and long slender legs that only barely peeked out of the slit of her long black dress, but there was something decidedly sinister about her that made them all avert their gazes.


    "A few months ago, the corpse of our long-lost Zu Clan Elder was finally found. We of the Zu Clan had put a lot of effort into finding the perpetrator, searching for a long year already. So, one can imagine how devastated we were to find that our beloved Elder, my very own Junior Brother, had become a corpse puppet pawn of this so-called Throne Ryu."


    The horrible feeling swelling in Tae''s chest grew. Her eyes reddened uncontrollably.


    "We of the Zu Clan are a peaceful people, but we will not take humiliation lying down. Since Throne Ryu has killed an innocent of ours, we''ve killed his grandfather!"


    Not only the Clans present, but those spectating The Selection from afar also gasped in shock.


    Tae stumbled backward, clutching her chest. From their talk that night, Tae knew how much Ryu loved his family. Everything he was doing was for them. For one to die like this¡­


    "So, I have a message for this Throne Ryu. If you do not appear this day and atone for your crimes personally, the Zu Clan will venture to your Higher Mortal Plane and slaughter those you call family. For any who manage to survive, we''ll enslave them and force them into a life of servitude."


    Higher Mortal Plane? Many looked around confused. How could a Throne of their Immortal Plane come from such a backwater place?


    "We''ll force their children and their children''s children into an endless cycle of torture and horror, and we''ll be sure to teach them all that all of their pain and suffering was because of a single coward who didn''t dare to take responsibility fo --."


    At that moment, an aura so cold that the mountain peak was descended into a snowy hell appeared.


    No one knew how, but a young man with his face obscured by a black and brown grime manifested before the stake and the ghastly corpse. He too seemed to waft a foul, but not a single person was thinking of this reality.


    His piercing eyes were completely expressionless as he stared at the corpse. His breathing was steady, his body didn''t tremble, but the piercing aura only seemed to grow.


    ''No!'' Tae screamed in her mind. ''Why¡­ Why would you appear¡­''


    Ryu reached forward and closed his grandfather''s eyelids. There was a dull pain in his chest he couldn''t control when he noticed they resisted, but he closed them, nonetheless.


    His hand moved again, this time piercing his grandfather''s heart with a sharp qi. Like this, the once mighty Amell Tor had finally come to rest.


    **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW

 Chapter 285: Fallen

    Ryu cut his grandfather''s corpse down. If one was watching on, it wouldn''t be terrible of you to assume the two had no relationship whatsoever, Ryu''s features simply left nothing to be read...


    In fact, you might be more drawn to the oddity of the situation. The very criminal the Zu, Basteel and Lao Clans were all searching for was right in front of them, but for some reason, not a single person made a move.


    Ryu caught Amell''s body before it fell to the ground, laying it down carefully as his Freeze Talent surged.


    The infections that ran rampant throughout his grandfather''s body iced over and shattered one after another. In just a few moments, Amell''s body was restored to the point of him looking no different from a middle-aged man taking a midday nap.


    However, the fact this nap was interrupted by Ryu placing his body into a spatial ring shattered whatever dreams one had of a happy ending¡­ Everyone knew the living couldn''t enter such a space¡­


    Ryu rose from his kneeling position, turning back to the martial platform and simply stood upon it as though nothing had happened.


    The expanse of white tiles, stretching a hundred meters in every direction, made Ryu''s lone figure seem incredibly bleak and soulless.


    The referee chosen for the second round of The Selection didn''t know what to do. This was supposed to be an elimination tournament and it wasn''t yet the Loom Clan''s turn. What was he supposed to do if this young man took the stage now?


    He looked around with a pleading gaze but there was no one will to help him. Even the female Zu Elder who had just gathered herself was more worried about her own face.


    She had felt for a moment there that her mind went completely blank. By the time she awoke to her surroundings, her trophy had been cut down and taken away. This matter was yet another slap to the face of the Zu Clan.


    Her long nails dung into her palms as a furious gaze overwhelmed her delicate features.


    In the end, she forced herself to calm down. The only way to salvage this situation was by pretending as though this was her intention all along.


    The female elder sneered. "Since you''ve come to accept your punishment, there''s no reason to continue humiliating a man who''s only guilty of having an unfilial grandson.


    "This Selection is for the sake of my Zu Clan''s territory from the very beginning, in that case, I reserve the right to change the rules. This will now be a last man standing tournament. Since you''ve stepped up first, it''s either you win and die, or you lose and die. Either way, you won''t be leaving here alive."


    Maybe someone lesser in schemes might try to appear to be the bigger person by giving Ryu a ''chance'' to live by winning, but this female elder was too cunning for this. Since she had the moral high ground, she would take full advantage of it.


    "Of course, should he win, I''ll be kind enough to give the Loom Clan their due. And¡­ If he loses, I can allow the next Loom Clan representative to step up and continue."


    City Lord Loom clenched his fists, biting the inside of his cheek hard.


    Ryu''s actions were as good as forcing them into the deep end. Since Ryu stepped onto the martial platform, it meant that when he lost, Matheus would have no choice but to battle through everyone he hadn''t defeated. Since they were defending the platform first, they were inherently in a disadvantageous position.


    "If you don''t shut your mouth, instead of leaving your head for last as I originally intended, I''ll take it right now."


    Ryu''s words cut through the female elder''s shrill voice. She was so stunned by these words that her breath became caught in her throat.


    City Lord Loom was so enraged by Ryu''s actions that he nearly fainted in anger. It was over, his Loom Clan was finished, and all because he didn''t trust his own grandnephew from the very beginning.


    "There''s no need to waste anymore words on this crippled trash, esteemed Elder Zu." Tharon stepped forward, twirling a pair of very familiar violet glaives.


    "You know, my Basteel Clan accepted your grandfather under our wing out of the kindness of our hearts. We thought him to be a great talent, with great potential. However, when it comes to the world of cultivators, one''s Mental Realm is even more important than one''s talent in most cases.


    "Your fool of a grandfather actually dared to stand against the interests of my Basteel Clan, biting the hand the fed his dog lips, and even stirring up the rage of the Core Region, all for a trash grandson who also seemingly doesn''t know his place.


    "Still¡­ You know what I find most amusing?... Didn''t you say you were nameless?"


    Tharon erupted into a fit of laughter. It actually seemed quite genuine despite the circumstances. He really did find this situation funny.


    "You''re telling me that that old man willingly gave up his life for you, but you didn''t even acknowledge his family name? How trash can you be?"


    The public support Ryu had was already minimal. After all, everyone knew the Zu Clan was in the right going after Ryu. How would you feel if someone turned a member of your family into a corpse puppet? This was something everyone could sympathize with.


    But, Tharon''s words extinguished whatever small pity Ryu may have had left remaining. Rejecting your own family name, preferring to go nameless, even after your own grandfather gave up his life for you¡­ Saying that his grime covered young man was unfilial was simply too kind.


    "For garbage like you, I alone am enough. Be honored, you''ll be the first to fall to me after I broke into the Divine Vessel Realm!" Tharon roared, his body glowing with an earthen light.


    But the next sequence was simply beyond everyone''s expectations.


    The young man they all saw as a villain simply stretched out two fingers, flicking them back toward himself.


    ''[Demonic Strings]¡­'' Ryu thought expressionlessly.


    In an instant, the two violet body glaives were ripped out of Tharon''s control. He couldn''t even react before they streaked through the air like mauve shooting stars, landing in Ryu''s hands. By the time Tharon understood what was happening, Ryu''s body had already disappeared, flickering to cover the distance of what amounted to several dozen meters in what looked like a single step.


    The Basteel Clan Elders who had just been confident abruptly stood in horror, but it was too late. Ryu''s speed was beyond their imagining.


    Ryu''s right wrist flicked elegantly. The move was smooth and beautiful, albeit simple and straight forward.


    With a single [Sweep], Tharon''s head was tossed into the air, his neck becoming nothing more than a blood fountain.


    Ryu''s left wrist followed suit, descending from the skies in a perfectly choreographed rhythm.


    With a single [Slice], not only Tharon''s headless corpse was perfectly bisected, but so was his spinning head.


    Before the eyes of the entire Inner Ring, a young master of the Basteel Clan had fallen without lasting even a single exchange.

 Chapter 286: Reason

    Ryu slammed both his glaives into the white tiles below his feet. Their blades sliced through like a hot knife through butter, making a mockery of whatever protections there were meant to be.


    His hand shot forward, tearing a piece of cloth from Tharon''s falling corpse and slowly tying it around the end of one of his glaives.


    Ryu looked no different from a savage barbarian, counting his war kills one by one.


    His once pristine white hair was covered with a foul mud. His toned torso was exposed to the harsh winds of the mountain top, but it was difficult to see the definition of his muscles hidden beneath those layers of alternating dry and moist grime. Even his face was completely obscured.


    If it wasn''t for the baggy, ripped pants of a beggar that coated his lower body, he would have no shred of decency left. But considering the state it was in, maybe it wasn''t doing a very great job either.


    However, Ryu didn''t care. Not only did he not care for his own terrible appearance, he didn''t care to defend himself against Tharon''s words. The dead had no right to hold opinions.


    ''This is¡­ impossible!''


    Lucien, Vygil, and Annbar were all thinking the same thing. The injuries Ryu sustained when last they saw him would have taken even them years to fully recover from. Why did it seem that Ryu was not only fully recovered, but also many times stronger than before?!


    Plus, that technique he used to rip his glaives back from Tharon¡­ That was definitely qi! How could a cripple without a Spiritual Foundation use qi?!


    "THARON!"


    The Patriarch of the Basteel Clan roared out in anger. Even though Tharon had already lost his heir position to his younger brother, this was still his son!


    Tharon was still the premier martial talent they had among their younger generation. He might not have been fit to lead, but he would have become a pillar of strength for their Clan nonetheless. He had the highest chance to break into the Immortal Ring Realm in the future.


    Yet, he died here, and not even in more than two swift strikes.


    "Back down." Elder Zu''s shrill voice poured cold water over Patriarch Basteel''s rage.


    She too was feeling a deep sense of anger, but she couldn''t simply allow just anyone to rush the stage. If she so easily broke rules she herself had set, she would become nothing more than a laughing stock.


    Patriarch Basteel''s reddened eyes shifted toward Vygil. The Minn Clan was their backer. Since he couldn''t afford to offend the Zu Clan, he could only plead help.


    "Go." Vygil gestured with his head toward one of his subordinates.


    Everyone believed that things would be different this time. Even if Ryu defeated a newly advanced Divine Vessel Realm cultivator, the Divine Vessel Realm was the Divine Vessel Realm, while the Connecting Heaven Realm was the Connecting Heaven Realm. The gap between them was even more exaggerated than Heaven and Earth.


    However, the results spoke very differently.


    A single instant. Two swings of a glaive. Two bisects of a corpse.


    Another cloth was torn from the nameless cultivator''s body only to adorn Ryu''s glaive.


    The Minn Clan cultivator''s corpse began to subtly change. Though partially obscured by blood, the now dead man gained pronounced wrinkles that shouldn''t have been possible for a Connecting Heaven Realm expert who was supposedly younger than five hundred years old.


    The faces of numerous family elders froze. On one hand, Ryu''s display was too domineering. But, on the other, the shamelessness of the Core Region was now obviously on display.


    The host sent by the Core Region''s features noticeably darkened. This Ryu had to die!


    "You¡­ You dare kill a member of my Minn Clan?!"


    "This is too cumbersome¡­" Ryu gripped his glaives.


    With a flash, he had already stepped off of the martial platform, appearing before Vygil''s enraged figure in an instant.


    To say the Minn Clan second-in-line heir was caught off guard was an understatement. Even though he was making a big show of fighting for the honor of his Clan, he already didn''t dare to face Ryu alone anymore.


    Lucien''s eyes flashed. "Do you really think you can do as you please here?"


    His sword appeared in his hand, piercing toward Ryu without reservation. His heart was inwardly elated. To think this fool actually gave them a legitimate reason to gang up on him.


    "Your sword was already slow back then¡­ and now¡­ it''s even slower¡­"


    Ryu''s glaive arched upward, slicing Lucien''s arm off from his elbow.


    A horrible scream filled the mountain peak, but Ryu''s second glaive had already moved on, aiming for Vygil''s head.


    It was at that moment that Annbar snapped awake from his surprise, the flaps of his robes whipping open as he rained down needles from afar.


    Ryu''s piercing silver eyes casually glanced at the torrential rain of needles.


    ''[Demonic Strings].''


    With a single thought, dozens of golden strings whipped into the air, attaching themselves to each of the falling needles.


    Annbar paled, but there was nothing he could do as the control he once exerted was ripped away from him. A moment later, he was a faced with a rain of his own weapons, his features completely drained of blood as he watched on toward what was inevitably his own death.


    Ryu''s glaive hadn''t paused for even a moment, slicing into Vigyl''s shoulder and out of his opposite hip.


    His leg kicked outward, shattering the screaming Lucien''s knee and forcing him to kneel to the ground.


    In that moment, the thud of his dignity''s fall was accompanied by the collapse of both Vygil and Annbar''s corpses. It hadn''t been more than the blink of an eye, but two second-in-line heirs of the Core Region were slaughtered, and the third was on the cusp of their following their fate.


    Lucien''s once handsome face was twisted in fear.


    "Y-you¡­ m-m-my brother¡­"


    "Will die just the same." Ryu spoke plainly as though he was finishing a sentence for him.


    Without another word, Ryu''s glaive descended.


    However, his glaive was stopped by the most inexplicable of sources. Or, maybe it being this person made the most sense out of anyone.


    "You¡­ Have pushed my Loom Clan to the brink of destruction¡­ It''s my mistake to have ever placed my trust in you, and it is something that I will regret for the rest of my life¡­"


    City Lord Loom''s face stared at Ryu, a twisted rage reddening his features.


    "I will slaughter you here and clear the name of my Loom Clan of such a stain!"


    "Thank you¡­" Ryu suddenly said, retracting his glaive before it met City Lord Loom''s defenses.


    Confusing melded into the City Lord expression, but Ryu''s next words clouded it over in an instant.


    PUUU


    A bloody hole was pierced through Lucien''s forehead. City Lord Loom could only watch as a dagger with a crystalline blue blade edge swept by him twice, returning to Ryu''s hand and disappearing into his spatial ring as though it never existed.


    A Peak Connecting Heaven Realm expert had stepped forward to save someone from a mere eighteen-year-old pup¡­ Yet he had failed.


    "¡­ For giving me a reason to pay you back for the humiliation of a year ago."


    Ryu''s retracted glaive shot forward once more, this time, his strength blooming to another level.

 Chapter 287: Crippled. [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 550 golden tickets]


    "Kneel!" Ryu roared.


    A blood red Impose Barrier erupted, wrapping Ryu''s glaives in an oppressive aura.


    Ryu cared little for what City Lord Loom''s cultivation was. Simply put, the middle-aged man was no match for him. Not all Peak Connecting Heaven Realm experts were created the same. In fact, City Lord Loom was only marginally stronger than Lucien, Annbar and Vygil.


    The reason why was simple. While those three Core Region Geniuses all cultivated with Six Star Mortal Qi Techniques at worst, City Lord Loom had cultivated to his current Realm with a Four Star Mortal Qi Technique. From the very beginning, his foundation was worse.


    Not only had he only been able to open four Qi Pulses due to this limitation, but he had also only been able to open four Qi Vessels as well. His cumulative foundation was far worse than those who used higher Star cultivation techniques.


    Ryu only suffered at his hands a year ago because he was still too immature back then. Now that he had had more time to grow, a cultivator on the level of the City Lord couldn''t enter his eyes.


    In an instant, City Lord Loom''s rage was flooded away by fear. It was an emotion he couldn''t control, one brought about by a vast difference in control over the Natural Order.


    His knees trembled. Even though he struggled to hold himself up just as Ryu had done all those months ago, he didn''t have the latter''s unyielding personality.


    The heavy thud of him falling to one knee resounded through the silent mountain peak. Tae''s muffled sobs were maybe the only inkling that there were others present at all.


    Just as City Lord Loom was about to lose control of his only raised knee, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder that alleviated the pressure he was feeling.


    "I think that''s enough." Matheus said emotionlessly.


    Ryu''s gaze met Matheus'', his only expression equally as expressionless. "Consider my sparing him the final repayment the Loom Clan will gain from me. Our ties are severed from this day forth. The next one among you who attempts to interfere in something they shouldn''t¡­ I will kill without hesitation."


    Ryu brushed past Matheus, his glaive sweeping to one side and beheading Lucien''s corpse. A moment later, another torn cloth was tied to the end of his glaive.


    With slow, deliberate steps, he made his way to the female Zu Clan Elder. Though she tried to remain calm, it was becoming more and more difficult to do so.


    If they cut off the feed now, it would be as good as admitting that they were no longer as good as Ryu. At the same time, if they didn''t, it would be likely that this situation would only spin further out of their control.


    They had believed that dealing with Ryu would have been easy. In fact, they could have potentially turned him into a Rogue Throne, thus further crippling the Awoken Moon Sect and killing two birds with a single stone. However, reality was harsh.


    There was another matter that froze the female elder. Everything had happened so quickly before that she hadn''t had time to think, but now that she thought back¡­ hadn''t Ryu completely neutralized her poison in just a few moments?


    Cutting down and handling his grandfather''s corpse seemed like a simple matter, but the truth was that there was a reason his corpse had been covered and why the burly man who staked the pole into the ground had been careful not to touch him. Yet, it had already been several moments but Ryu had shown no signs of wear and tear.


    "The Loom Clan youth is correct. I think this is about enough."


    The voice allowed the female elder to breathe a sigh of relief. Since the old man of the Core Region had spoken, Ryu would definitely die here. If he couldn''t give the Core Region Clans an explanation, he too would suffer.


    It was too bad though that Ryu''s steps continued as though he had heard nothing.


    "You¡­" The female elder took a step back.


    Of the members of the Zu Clan, she had been the only one to appear personally this day. The Zu Clan hadn''t planned on participating in The Selection at all. It was only due to some hidden matters that they entered the Mortal Qi Small Realm to begin with, and only because of Ryu that they appeared on this mountain peak.


    Before, she hadn''t thought much of this. But now, she was greatly regretting coming here alone.


    "¡­ You want to make an enemy out of my Zu Clan?"


    Ryu''s footsteps paused, but this didn''t give the female elder the relief she was hoping to feel.


    "I think you''re misunderstanding something. Anyone who makes an enemy out of me is the one who''s made a mistake.


    "Minn Clan? Lao Clan? Ofera Clan? Basteel Clan? Inner Ring? Core Region¡­? None of it matters to me.


    "A group of inconsequential trash that can only rule over the lowest Immortal Plane has never entered my eyes. And yes¡­"


    Ryu''s neck tilted, looking toward a fiery red-haired young man and the old overseer.


    "¡­ That includes your so-called Ember Clan. In another year''s time, you''ll see well just how little I regard your Core Region."


    In that moment, Ryu had thoroughly enraged countless individuals. Even as the female elder was shrinking backward, numerous others had begun surging toward him with their full speeds. Whether it was the overseer, the Basteel Clan Patriarch, the remnants of the Minn, Ofera and Lao Clans, they all rushed toward him.


    To others, their speed might have been fast, but to Ryu it was nothing more than a joke. They likely believed they could reach him before he did anything, but this couldn''t have been further from the truth.


    Still¡­ Ryu had other things to think about.


    He still had to find a way to leave this place after he slaughtered all of these people. The issue was that those beyond his current strength might very well already be making their way here.


    In that case¡­


    ''Ailsa¡­ Leave now¡­''


    The moment the thought completed, Ryu''s hand had already gripped the female elder''s throat.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Mortal Qi Mountain erupted into a violent quake. In those instants of time, it felt as though the world itself was collapsing.


    Others might not know what was happening, but Ryu knew well. The Mortal Qi Small Realm had just collapsed. Ryu had crippled the whole of the Inner Ring.

 Chapter 288: Glow

    "Little Rock."


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as he leapt into the air. The reason he had maintained a ground position during the battles thus far was because he was well aware that his own speed advantage would drastically fall in the air.


    Currently, Ryu''s main movement technique was still [Gliding Cloud Steps] and his secondary movement technique was [Lined Assault]. The former was a Common Grade technique while like the later was a Black Grade technique that emphasized efficient use of one''s muscles as a bow. Obviously, a Common Grade technique wouldn''t be useful for flight considering it was created for Awakening and Pulse Opening Realm experts. And, for similar reasons, [Lined Assault] wasn''t useful in aerial movement either.


    Simply put, Ryu''s advantage of speed would disappear in an instant the moment he stepped into the skies. If he wanted to maintain it, he had no choice but to enlist the help of the infant Lightning Hawk. With the mountain beneath him crumbling, the air would become the new battleground.


    "You dare?! Let me g --!"


    A ferocious slap cut off the words of the female Zu elder. The cold light in Ryu''s gaze sent shivers down her spine. A fear she couldn''t control gripped her even as Ryu''s hold over her neck tightened.


    "Do you know why you''re still alive?" Ryu''s voice seemed to rise from an abyssal hell. Colder than the whipping winds around them as Little Rock toyed when the Connecting Heaven Realm experts around them. Colder than the vicious qi wafting from his body. Colder than even the look in his eye.


    "Making an enemy out of me, forcing me to end the life of my own grandfather¡­ From this day forth, the Zu Clan and I won''t be able to exist beneath the same Heavens. And you¡­ You in particular will spend the rest of your days as my corpse puppet."


    As though the world around him wasn''t collapsing, Ryu calmly and coldly ripped the robes from the female elder''s body. He didn''t seem to care that her soft skin was being exposed one layer after another, nor that her most private areas had begun to ripple under the air pressure around them.


    Taking the ripped cloth, he bound her hands and her feet. Then, he placed his hand on her forehead, circulating [Divine Chaotic Annihilation].


    The female elder, who had already been frozen by Ryu''s words, and then further embarrassed by her exposed breasts and legs, suddenly shook in fear and began to scream.


    "No! No! What are you doing to me!"


    The Connecting Heaven Realm experts began to rain down attacks toward Ryu when they realized they really had no ability to catch up with Little Rock''s speed. Unfortunately, it was then that a magnificent Immortal Sakura with bark of crystalline ice appeared in the skies.


    The sight would have been gorgeous beyond compare if it wasn''t for the fact the subsequent attacks that bombarded it filled the air with shattered and tumultuous qi.


    On the ground below, Tae watched listlessly as Ryu toyed with experts she had looked up to her whole life. She had no ability to gather her complex emotions, she could silently watch on.


    Ryu''s words rang in her ears again and again.


    ''Our ties are severed from this day forth¡­''


    He seemed to have been speaking with Matheus and her grandfather. But why was it so obvious to her that he had been speaking to her?


    [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] ripped the female elder''s qi from her. The chaotic energies tore her meridians apart, leaving her with injuries that would take countless decades to recover from.


    It was obvious that the elder would retaliate, doing her best to strike toward Ryu mind. But her attempts resulted in her Spiritual Qi being grinded way, torn and sheered apart to rack her body with pain beyond her wildest imaginations.


    The female Zu Clan elder collapsed. Her meridians were completely barren of qi and only a wisp of her Spiritual Sea remained.


    "Cousin, snap out of it!" Matheus swept down, lifting Tae up and over his shoulder.


    ''This stupid little girl. Can''t she see that the world is collapsing around her? If she stayed there, wouldn''t she be asking to die?!''


    Matheus was greatly frustrated. He too seemed to have complex emotions he couldn''t deal with.


    By all rights, he should be enraged with Ryu for the way he treated his grand uncle. In fact, maybe he should be going all out to kill him as well. But, for some reason, he couldn''t bring himself to do so. In fact, a small part of him felt that he was at fault even though he could think of nothing he did wrong.


    ''Little Ryu, something will happen very soon.''


    Ryu, who had just finished tying up the female Zu elder, frowned. He had been planning on leaving immediately, but Ailsa, who had just come back from the Mortal Qi Small Realm to find her normal spot on his shoulder, caused him to pause.


    ''What''s wrong?'' He communicated.


    ''The instant I left the Mortal Qi Small Realm and severed the last connection it had with you, it immediately began to collapse. I thought that would be the end of it, but the reaction was¡­ more violent than it should have been. If my speculations are correct, this is definitely related to the real secret of the Inner Ring.''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. This was a problem. He had just enraged the whole of the Inner Ring. It was very likely that the true strength of the Zu Clan was making its way here as they spoke, not to mention the Basteel Clan and the others. Plus, those Ember Clan members had yet to make a real move.


    Could he afford to stay now?


    Ryu didn''t spend more than even a moment thinking. Not every opportunity would fall in his lap thanks to [Intuition]. The rest would have to be fought for.


    The seals within Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils began to shatter one after another under the influence of his Chaotic Qi. With enemies surging in from all sides, Mortal Qi Mountain began to glow.

 Chapter 289: Catalyst

    A ferocious momentum billowed from the expansive mountain range, causing the expressions of many to change.


    Before, they had dismissed the trembling mountain as just a naturally occurring earthquake. After all, for a mountain to form, fissures and tectonic plates within the earth were absolutely crucial. Though these matters were obviously not as simple as explained here, it wasn''t too much of a stretch either.


    However, as the tremors grew in strength, the faces of many experts turned solemn.


    Even as this was happening, the seals in Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils shattered one after another. The sixth¡­ The seventh¡­ The momentum of their breakthrough didn''t stop until the ninth seal placed a bottleneck in Ryu''s path.


    Still, Ryu was satisfied with this result. Thanks to his Chaotic Silk Meridians, his qi was catalyzed into an energy that stood on par with Essence. As such, he no longer had to worry about finding high level qis to break his seals. As long as he progressed in his cultivation, this special energy would naturally grow more powerful and become capable of breaking more seals.


    Ryu suddenly felt that the world had become far clearer. Although he had only marginally impacted the ninth seal and had failed to fully open it, it still felt like there was a whole new world around him.


    ''[Third Perspective].''


    The several kilometer radius around Ryu was projected to him in striking detail, far beyond what his Spiritual Sense could provide him. He could even faintly feel several powerful auras surging toward him from the corners of the Inner Ring. The Zu and Basteel Clan powerhouses were definitely on their way.


    However, Ryu turned a blind eye to these changes, focusing his everything on the shaking and glowing mountain below him as Little Rock continued to perform sharp and elegant aerial maneuvers.


    Ryu knew that relying on Ailsa to find the source would be much better than relying on himself. The issue was that ever since Ailsa delved into the secrets of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, she had been exceptionally spent. Originally, Ryu hadn''t even wanted to rely on her for the timely explosion of the Mortal Qi Small Realm. If she hadn''t insisted, he would have allowed it to collapse long ago.


    For now, he had to rely on himself and let Ailsa rest.


    ''There.'' Ryu''s eyes shone like beaming lights.


    Feeling Ryu''s intent, Little Rock immediately dove downward.


    "You dared kill my son! Leave your head here!"


    The Patriarch of the Basteel Clan had obviously never stopped chasing Ryu. He had been stopped from acting after Tharon died by the Zu Clan female elder. But now, there was obviously nothing doing so. Unfortunately, how could he think that even all this time, he would fail to catch a mere Divine Vessel Realm pup?


    Though he was the Patriarch of the Basteel Clan, he was actually a generation younger than City Lord Loom. As such, his power was a step below as well. If his mind wasn''t clouded by anger, he would dare to chase Ryu after seeing how he had dealt with the City Lord.


    Ryu couldn''t be bothered with him, melding both his and Little Rock''s body into the wind as they dove downward at even faster speeds.


    "He doesn''t seem to be escaping." Fuoco of the Ember Clan''s eyes narrowed. He had already sentenced Ryu to death in his heart for daring to look down on his Ember Clan, but he had actually yet to make a move. Instead, he had been quietly observing, waiting for an opportunity. But now, seeing Ryu''s odd actions, he suddenly felt something was off.


    "Did you find out why the Basteel and Zu Clan entered the Mortal Qi Small Realm during The Selection?" Fuoco turned to the Heir of the Croft Clan, questioning him.


    "I still can''t be certain." He responded with a frown. "It should be said, though, that both the Basteel and Zu Clans have unique methods of sensing¡­ special resources. The Zu Clan and their high Mental Realms, and the Basteel Clan and their great attainments in Earth Daos¡­ Both are in unique positions to sense when something is off. Them taking action at the same time isn''t so inconceivable.


    "But, the fact they''re both here without any bitter animosity toward each other can only mean that they found nothing."


    Fuoco''s eyes sharpened further. "¡­ Maybe they found nothing because the secret isn''t within the Small Realm but the mountain range itself! Follow him!"


    Fuoco sped forward, a trail of red being left behind him. The old man moderator of The Selection silently followed behind. The Croft Clan Heir wasn''t qualified to enter this battlefield, so he had no choice but to stay behind, his mind spinning with various thoughts. In the end, he secretly contacted his own Clan¡­


    The whole world seemed to converge on a single young man, but Ryu seemed to not have noticed them at all.


    His actions appeared to be completely suicidal. He was diving downward at speeds that far surpassed the speed of sound, but all that was below him was a mountain of glowing rock. If he continued, wouldn''t he be sentencing himself and his beast to death?


    Ryu, however, simply raised his arm. His Immortal Sakura flashed and disappeared as his oppressive cold aura shifted to a blazing heat.


    In an instant, his glaives disappeared, replaced by a single raised halberd.


    ''[Twin Titan Dance: Blazing Path].''


    Ryu''s arm bulged.


    Mortal Qi Mountain was no normal lump of tall rock. It was intertwined with countless qi stone mines and veins, continuously reinforced and strengthened beyond normal realms.


    To make matters worse, [Twin Titan Dance] was a dual battle axe Earth Grade technique that Ryu had adapted to be used with his halberds. Anyone watching one would think he was completely insane.


    However¡­ Ryu trusted his eyes.


    A bloody aura filled the skies and the temperatures skyrocketed.


    The Connecting Heaven Realm experts charging in after Ryu all came to grinding halts. They could instantly feel that this strength was far beyond their own. Aside from the old man from the Ember Clan¡­ None of them felt that they could take this strike and survive!


    The silhouette of a blood red axe cut through the air, following the arc of Ryu''s arm.


    BOOM!


    The surface of the mountain imploded. Billowing dust clouds spread outward, completely obscuring Ryu''s grime covered figure, his beast, and the Zu Clan female elder.


    ''He planned this all to hide himself? Was I wrong?'' Fuoco frowned. From an outsider''s perspective, Ryu had simply used the mountain debris to hide himself.


    Fuoco stretched out his Spiritual Sense but suddenly noticed that he couldn''t sense Ryu at all. However, he sensed something completely different¡­ A surging aura that made his heart palpitate.


    ''An opportunity! Most definitely!''


    Fuoco completely forgot about Ryu, diving into the cloud of dust and rock without hesitation. Many more who sensed what he had followed along. This matter had suddenly become far bigger than Ryu alone.


    In the distance, Matheus'' gaze narrowed as well, having by far the greatest Mental Realm here. He too flashed forward, leaving Tae in City Lord Loom''s hands.


    A great upheaval was about to occur in the Inner Ring, and the catalyst was none other than a teenage boy who had been nothing but a Qi Refinement pup just half a year ago.

 Chapter 290: Protector Spirit [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 600 golden tickets]


    Ryu appeared in a world of grey fog and stars. Though the laws that governed this world seemed normal, and he could still stand on Little Rock''s broad back without issue, he suddenly realized that it was difficult to tell which way was up and which way was down.


    ''Is this a hidden world within the Mortal Qi Mountain? What kind of space is this?''


    It obviously wasn''t often that Ryu ran into something he couldn''t make heads or tails of. As an Origin Grade Ruin Master, his scope of knowledge was beyond comprehension to most. There were many that spent millions, even billions to trillions of years of their lives completely focused on the Ruin Master craft that couldn''t touch the end of Ryu''s robes in the subject. Yet, here he was, completely befuddled.


    ''The Origin Grade can truly not be the pinnacle¡­'' Ryu thought to himself.


    The Origin Grade represented the peak of many things. Whether it be techniques, treasures, or professions, all their absolute heights were marked by this moniker. Yet, Ryu was finding more and more lately that he was lacking.


    Still, it wasn''t as though he was completely without clues.


    ''This space is neither a Small nor True Realm. It isn''t the Void either. The closest comparison I have to this place is the Inner World of my Heavenly Pupils¡­''


    Every child born with Heavenly Pupils was birthed with an Inner World. It was because of this Inner World that Ryu was able to carry over treasures from his last life, something he hadn''t expected to happen. With every seal Ryu broke, his Inner World grew larger. It was already quite expansive now, stretching hundreds of meters in height, length and width already. In all likelihood, by the time all 999 seals were broken, it may very well become as expansive as a Realm. Though, it was currently still a bland space with grey-black walls.


    This aside, the Inner World of Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils had many characteristics similar to this grey fog filled world.


    For one, it was difficult to orient direction. Secondly, there didn''t seem to be any substance to the world. Even particles that floated in the air normally were nowhere to be sensed. And, most importantly, there was no qi.


    How could a place with mystery revolving around its odd qi concentration patterns have no qi? Ryu had no idea¡­ Or maybe this was just another layer to the puzzle.


    There was another analogous comparison to this space as well. Spatial rings also had very similar characteristics¡­


    "You¡­! Die!"


    Just as Ryu was lost in his thoughts, it seemed others had followed him in. However, this individual was a no name elder of one of the lesser Clans. After all, it wasn''t just the five Core Clans taking part in this Selection. It seemed this person who appeared from thin air wanted to take credit for Ryu''s death.


    In response to this sudden attack, Ryu nonchalantly held up the Zu Clan female elder''s limp body, forcing the attacking man to change the direction of his assault.


    How could he dare to be the one to take the life of a Zu? Even if he was ten times braver and more masochistic he wouldn''t dare.


    Unfortunately, this sealed his fate.


    Just as the trajectory of his attack changed, a glistening glaive peaked out from behind the female elder''s half nude body and pierced through the man''s chest.


    This should have been the end of it all, but what happened next caused Ryu''s eyes to narrow.


    The corpse dissipated into a grey dust, blowing in astral winds. In but a moment, his ashes melded with the grey fog, becoming completely indistinguishable.


    ''This¡­'' Ryu''s brows furrowed.


    There were too many disjointed matters related to this place.


    First there was the odd cultivation treasure of the Zu Clan Elder that catalyzed these matters to begin with. After making him into a corpse puppet, Ryu had completely ignored this so-called treasure. On his Shrine Plane, there were too many such heavenly gifts that could significantly speed up cultivation in these lower realms. They simply weren''t special to Ryu, on top of the fact they could ruin one''s foundation.


    Second, there was the Realm Heart formation of the Mortal Qi Small Realm. Such an event was simply too rare. Even if Ryu was bashed over the head to death, he wouldn''t believe that these matters were unrelated. How could they be?


    It was already well known that the existence of that Small Realm was tied to and never left this mountain. If it could have been moved without losing its special characteristics, the Core Region would have long since snatched this resource for themselves.


    Third, Ryu still remembered that odd encounter with the beast suffering Qi Infestation. Though that beast had benefited by awakening a hidden Earth Grade Talent within its bloodline, it had also lost all of its intelligence and thus had an inability to learn and adapt, causing these benefits to practically go to waste.


    Then there was the odd movements of the Zu and Basteel Clan. Ryu still had no idea why they had ventured into the Small Realm. Maybe the Zu Clan was looking for him, but what of the Basteel Clan? It can''t be that they so blatantly broke the rules because of Little Nemesis, right?


    Clearly those two Clans had sensed something was off¡­ That was the only explanation for why his grandfather would have entered the Small Realm when the Basteel Clan clearly had other more powerful individuals to send to The Selection.


    ''Such a space¡­ It can''t be I broke into it with a swing of my halberd, right? Or was it that this space pulled me in¡­?''


    Ailsa had remained silent all of this time. She could obviously hear Ryu''s thoughts, but she seemed to have nothing to supplement. In fact, her strength was so weak currently that she couldn''t use her deduction abilities to guide Ryu currently. She was much too spent.


    ''Not a Small Realm, not a True Realm, not a Legacy Realm¡­ Just endless grey space¡­ Just what is this place?''


    ''Little Ryu¡­''


    Ailsa''s voice caught Ryu''s attention immediately.


    ''I know what this space is. In the Sprite Realm, we have a similar place¡­ Our relationship with our Protector Spirit is much closer as Faeries tend to have a stronger connection with the Heavens¡­''


    ''You mean?''


    ''This place should be related to Shrine Mountain. It''s likely not the main core of your Shrine Realm''s Protector Spirit, but it is most definitely one of its many veins¡­''


    ''Just what does that mean?''


    ''Protector Spirits are responsible for maintaining the Laws of a Realm. In a sense, they must cultivate too, though their process is much different¡­ Everything from the Cycle of Reincarnation to the Rebirths of your Realm is handled by Shrine Mountain.


    ''Every Protector Spirit has its own special quirks and characteristics¡­ Your Shrine Realm happens to have these so-called Shrines. These Shrines actually represent the kindness of your Protector Spirit. They are its choice to share its Dao comprehensions with you all, allowing you to progress at greater speeds through higher realms¡­''


    ''I see¡­ So this space likely houses a portion of Shrine Mountain''s comprehension¡­''


    ''This matter isn''t so simple either¡­ The fact that you were able to enter this space so easily either means Shrine Mountain allowed you in, or your Protector Spirit is greatly weakened. And, considering that fool who just attacked you, I highly doubt it was the former¡­''


    Ryu''s jaw clenched. ''What does it mean for a Protector Spirit to weaken¡­?''


    Ryu''s mind flashed with thoughts of several months ago. When he heard that they were now calling this True Realm the Martial God Realm, he flared with anger. Could these matters be related?


    ''¡­'' Ailsa remained silent for a moment, biting her lip. ''¡­ The weakening of a Protector Spirit cuts off higher cultivation Realms for those born within its purview¡­ The death of a Protector Spirit cuts off the existence of all born from it¡­ With its death, none born under its wing will experience Reincarnation. It''s death in its truest sense.''

 Chapter 291: True Core

    Ryu felt his heart freeze over, but he quickly recollected himself. This was definitely no normal level of problematic matter.


    The matter of reincarnation was deeply ingrained into the culture of every True Realm. The Cycles of Life, Death, and Reincarnation didn''t need to be further explained, their importance was obvious by their titles alone.


    If Reincarnation was cut off, there would obviously be no Life, there could only be Death. It was the equivalent of the passing of a World.


    Even with this said, Ryu knew that Ailsa had held back in her words¡­ Though everyone claimed that a connection to the Heavens insisted in them all, this was just the human way of overinflating their own importance. While many truly believed one''s Mental Realm and Dantian acted as bridges to the Heavens, the reality was that they acted as bridges to one''s Protector Spirit which was the true bridge.


    With the death of a Protector Spirit, the path to cultivation would be cut off¡­ permanently for all.


    Ryu no longer had to worry about this matter due to his Realm Heart. In the future, if he slowly grew its strength, he would naturally be capable of reaching the pinnacle of cultivation even without a Protector Spirit. However, this was a matter that would devastate the remainder of the Shrine Plane. And somehow¡­ Ryu was absolutely certain that this wasn''t occurring naturally.


    He thought back to matters he had shoved to the back of his mind long ago¡­ Just who were these Martial Gods? Why had Ryu never heard of them before? How could individuals with enough power to cripple his Tatsuya Clan exist without his knowledge?


    There were too many things he didn''t have answers to. Even to now, he was still baffled by the scene he saw on the day of his death¡­ Those odd movements in the Stars of Fate that triggered his [Intuition]¡­


    Was there really someone in existence capable of moving Fate to their whim? Was this person Ryu''s true enemy all along?


    ''Ailsa, I can''t ignore this matter. I had severed ties with the Tor Clan, but with the death of my grandfather¡­ I can''t allow their bloodline to fall into obscurity anymore. And, even without this debt of gratitude I must repay¡­ my Tatsuya Clan¡­ Granny Miriam''s little sister¡­ I can''t leave them to suffer this Fate.''


    Ryu had already decided to help, but he had no idea what to do. In the grey, endless space, there didn''t seem to be any obvious path forward.


    He had come here seeking treasures, only to be the only witness to a conspiracy with unfathomable roots.


    Though it was a massive leap in logic, Ryu''s mind was spinning at unbelievable speeds. Though his Shrine Realm was near the pinnacle Realms of their Cosmos, it still wasn''t the very best. Though their Shrines were quite unique, there were plenty of other Realms with treasures and Holy Lands just as mysterious and enigmatic.


    What did all of this mean? It meant that there definitely wasn''t anything exceptionally unique or special about Ryu''s Shrine Realm. So¡­ Why would they be chosen of all Realms¡­? Unless¡­ They weren''t the only target to begin with!


    ''Little Ryu, you should be able to navigate this space even better than I. Another benefit of the Realm Heart is subtle comprehension. Truthfully, for most who fuse with a Realm Heart, their comprehension abilities skyrocket to godly levels. However, you won''t notice this benefit much only due to the fact your comprehension is at inconceivable heights to begin with thanks to the Origin Flame and your Heavenly Pupils.


    ''Still, where you will see this benefit most is in your instincts. You have a keen sensitivity to the Heavens only special beasts and Faeries have currently, and that sensitivity is even more potent when its related to matters of other Realms Hearts and Protector Spirits.


    ''Though it''s a bit cheesy, listening to your heart is your best option right now.''


    Ryu calmly accepted Ailsa''s words. He was quite grateful for her guidance though he didn''t always express it.


    Soon, he fell into a Meditative State. The crippled Zu Clan Elder couldn''t help but shudder in disbelief as she watched this scene to the side. Since when was it so easy to enter such a state? But why did she feel that this most definitely wasn''t Ryu''s first time?


    The moment Ryu slipped from the first State of Meditation, to Breath of Earth, and even into Breath of Heaven, the female elder almost fainted from shock. These matters really were things Ryu did every day. But he had forgotten how shocking they were long ago.


    One had to remember that Ryu entering just Breath of Earth was enough to shock a party filled with the topmost experts of the Shrine Plane back during his birthday. If it was enough to shock those of the Shrine Plane, how could a mere Connecting Heaven Realm expert of the Pedestal Plane withstand such stimulation?


    Suddenly, under Ryu''s urging, Little Rock who had been fluttering aimlessly began to fly with purpose once more. Though it wasn''t particularly fast, it was most definitely far better than the past.


    It seemed like only a few flaps of his gorgeous, silver-plated wings, but the scenery had already changed greatly.


    The bland grey fog suddenly concentrated into numerous vortexes that looked no different from countless roads. However, these roads all formed a massive sphere of fog in the center. However, this was no normal sphere by any stretch of the imagination. The moment Ryu laid eyes on it, he felt his heart constrict.


    He felt the vastitudes of creation itself within this sphere¡­


    Thinking back to the death of the man from before, Ryu suddenly understood. When that man died, he disappeared into bland grey ash and melded into the world around him¡­ Could it be that this place was actually so important? Could this be the root of the Shrine Realm''s Cycle of Reincarnation?


    Feeling the faint agitation in his bloodline, Ryu knew he was correct. However, it was impossible for this to be the true root¡­ In all likelihood, this was only a small portion. Maybe it was only a very small part of the path.


    If this was the true core, there was no way Ryu would be able to stand here no matter how weak Shrine Mountain had become.

 Chapter 292: Incomplete Plane

    "Qi~ Qi~!"


    Ryu''s thoughts were snapped awake by Little Rock''s sudden sonorous calls.


    Ryu frowned. It seemed Little Rock had sensed several figures appearing. Luckily, these individuals floated quite a distance from Ryu and had only made it here by sheer luck. In addition, without understanding the situation, they didn''t dare to move rashly.


    ''Little Ryu, since this is a portion of Shrine Mountain''s inner workings, it''s likely connected in ways we couldn''t imagine. A single step might very well bring you to the Lowest Mortal Plane, or even the highest Shrine Plane¡­ Maybe the real treasure to be found here is actually access to a region of the Shrine Realm that isn''t normally so easily accessed¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened at these words. As a Ruin Master, there were of course numerous places of this caliber he could think of¡­ Holy Cultivation Sites that only opened in cycles of thousands to even tens of thousands of years, dangerous Death Zones that were nearly impossible to transverse by normal means, Ryu was even aware of pockets of space that were normally closed to the outside world and only occasionally wafted fluctuations that confirmed their existence¡­


    These so-called pockets of space were different from Small Realms. Though, they might be more similar to the Mortal Qi Small Realm than one might think.


    The current Shrine Realm had six Planes. Three mortal and three Immortal. However, when were real life things ever so clear cut? The Shrine Realm had many incomplete Planes as well that were only occasionally accessible.


    Space was a very complex thing in the martial world. True Realms, Small Realms, Planes of Existences, Planes, Pockets of Space, Legacy Worlds¡­ They were all different things with extremely similar roots. However, there were still clear divisions between them.


    Ailsa''s eyes shone. ''This is likely the main crux of the Mortal Qi Small Realm mystery. If I had to guess¡­ I believe the Mortal Qi Small Realm attached itself to Mortal Qi Mountain realizing after sensing a weakened access point to Shrine Mountain''s true form here. It must have already been close to forming a Realm Heart to begin it, or else it would have never been able to make this instinctual decision¡­


    ''But, I also believe that this symbiotic relationship became beneficial to Shrine Mountain as well. If it was able to snatch this infant Small Realm''s Realm Heart, it could likely strengthen itself for a time, albeit marginally. It might have even tried to make that Small Realm into its own Plane.


    ''Protector Spirits have their own intelligence. It would definitely want to hide this matter from those individuals who put it in this state to begin with, so instead of using one of its main Planes to siphon this energy, it likely used one of its Pocket Spaces instead! I wouldn''t be surprised if this Pocket Space was the closest to becoming this Shrine Realm''s next mature Plane.''


    ''A secretly developing Plane¡­''


    ''But what''s curious is that Shrine Mountain did nothing as you essentially took away one of its lifelines. Could it be my deduction is wrong¡­?''


    Ryu frowned. He felt he had to follow this to the end. Something was definitely pulling him¡­


    Ryu urged Little Rock forward. In an instant, they were swept up into a vortex. Ryu had no choice but to pull the female elder and Little Rock into the Incubator, allowing himself to spin uncontrollably into the sphere of grey.


    In that moment, he felt he lost consciousness. He had no idea how much time had passed, but when he awoke, he found himself in a lush forest not unlike the endless greenery that surrounded Mortal Qi Mountain.


    But, Ryu could feel this place was different.


    Firstly, the gravity was much weaker, only about half as much as it should be. Secondly, the air seemed thinner, but this wasn''t the whole story. It was more accurately that the air was just as dense, but rather than the oxygen content was far lower than it should be. This immediately negated the ease the drop in gravitational strength brought. Thirdly, the qi he was decidedly turbulent. Even with Ryu''s talent, he found it difficult to manipulate, and even more difficult to absorb.


    ''This place¡­ from my understanding, its makeup is no different from the early Ancient Beast Era¡­!''


    Ryu''s frown deepened. Of the nine Eras, the Ancient Beast Era was only third. A denomination of trillions of years likely didn''t do how far back such a time was justice.


    It was then Ryu understood. This place must be one of the Shrine Realm''s incomplete Planes. Its place along the timeline of Evolution was far less advanced than their current Planes!


    ...


    Ryu slowly rose, checking his body. Seeing that he wasn''t hurt, he nodded to himself. It seemed that his gamble paid off. Since Ailsa was also fine having entered the Incubator, he had no worries.


    This was quite a curious place. It was as though he was looking into a window that sent his gaze back trillions of years.


    The soil beneath his feet was exceptionally lush and soft. The plant-life, thanks to the decreased gravity, grew far taller though they seemed a bit frail at the same time. In addition, they had odd properties that made Ryu''s inner Herbologist light up with curiosity. He had actually never seen such Spiritual Herbs before though he could guess their functions by sight and smell. Many of them had characteristics of Spiritual Herbs Ryu was already familiar with but were seemingly either deficient or more potent in various aspects.


    The next thing Ryu noticed was that this place wasn''t terribly large. His Spiritual Sense stretched about twenty kilometers, but his [Third Perspective] was consistently at least double that.


    Though he didn''t notice it with his Spiritual Sense, his [Third Perspective] could vaguely see the edge of this pocket dimension already.


    Taking into account the possibility that Ryu had just happened to enter toward the edge of this world to begin with, Ryu believed that this pocket space was at most two hundred kilometers across, three hundred would likely to maximum upper limit.


    Even to a normal Divine Vessel Realm expert, such a range was nearly negligible, let alone to someone with Ryu''s level of speed. Exploring every nook and cranny of the world would at most take a very hours if he was absolutely diligent.


    ''There''s no point in just standing here¡­''


    Ryu thought to himself as he shot forward.

 Chapter 293: Formation

    In such a place, the possibility he would run across another cultivator was exceptionally high. But, what Ryu was more interested in was the source of this place. There was most definitely something more than what met the eye when it came to this pocket space.


    "Hm?"


    Ryu quickly dodged.


    Across his face, less than a single inch from his nose, a sharp red tongue broke the sound barrier as it pierced by him and into the tree to his side.


    The tree''s bark shattered, leaving a forceful impact that shook the forest floor.


    Ryu reacted quickly, his fingers piercing forward with sharp spear qi as he sliced the savage tongue in half, only for his actions to be met with the enraged roars of a beast. Or rather, the deep croaks of what was a foul looking, brown-green skinned toad.


    ''Sixth Order Beast? They''ve developed to this extent in this small pocket space?''


    Ryu couldn''t help but be surprised. But now he was even more certain that there was something special about this space.


    Judging by the turbulent qi in the atmosphere, it was very difficult to take even one step forward in one''s realms here. To reach the Sixth Order here was as impressive as reaching the Eighth Order on the main six Planes. This of course meant that the beasts here were definitely stronger than their Realms denoted.


    ''However, everything has a tradeoff.'' Ryu''s gaze sharpened.


    His body flashed forward, his fists cocking backward as he steadied himself beneath the underbelly of the toad in an instant.


    His aura surged, sending his fist cutting upward.


    The bombardment sent the toad flying, only for it lay in excruciating pain in the distance.


    ''As expected¡­ Their attainments in their Bloodline Talents should be exceptional, but the weak gravity has weakened their bodies¡­ Their qi control is high, but their bodies are lacking.''


    Ryu only partially applied concepts of [Monumental Pierce], one of the Higher Black Grade techniques he had taken from the Awoken Moon Sect, to his fist strike just now yet the beast hadn''t been able to withstand a single blow.


    Still, this didn''t make Ryu relax. The beasts here were obviously not used to interacting with humans, and as such, didn''t expect the disparity in bodily strength. Even Ryu himself was always used to beasts having stronger bodies than he did. Not everyone could adjust to a new environment as quickly as he did.


    The crux of the matter was that this toad had underestimated Ryu, but another beast might not. That tongue attack had almost decapitated him, yet Ryu was certain that hadn''t been the toad''s full strength.


    With a frown, Ryu leapt into the tried and disappeared deeper into the forest, his nerves on high alert.


    Not long later, Ryu found the oddity he was looking for: signs of human existence. Except, these signs were much older than they should have been.


    Ryu and the experts who chased him should have only just entered this pocket space, yet these traces were clearly here for months if not years.


    Ryu felt a sudden wave of enlightenment. Could it be that the hidden treasure of the Zu Elder everyone was searching for was actually here? Could it be that that elder''s true fortuitous encounter was actually finding a method of freely entering and exiting this place?


    There was no point in speculating any longer, so Ryu cautiously took a step forward.


    His eyes swept the entrance of the cave and nearly couldn''t hide his disdain. To him, the formations here were already too pitiful. To the current Ryu, even a Seventh Order Formation ¨C categorized as Lower Heaven Grade Formations ¨C would no longer cause him much trouble despite the fact they were meant to stop and even kill Immortal Ring Experts.


    Of course, this didn''t mean Ryu''s strength was at this level. Rather, his Heavenly Pupils in combination with his strength made their abilities useless. So, obviously, the formations laid by the Zu Elder to protect his treasures weren''t much to Ryu.


    But, who knew that before he could take a step forward, a few uninvited guests would make their presences known.


    Ryu paused his footsteps and slipped into the shadows, watching on with a glint in his eyes.


    Ryu''s body was immediately draped by his cloak. Though he felt bad that his impurities had thoroughly sullied its inside lining by now, there wasn''t much he could do about it. He wasn''t confident enough in his own concealment abilities as he had never practiced in such an unorthodox path.


    Surprisingly, the two that appeared were both of the Ember Clan. It seemed that this Fuoco and the overseer of The Selection had managed to find each other quite quickly.


    This wasn''t much of a surprise, though. High level Clans most definitely had special hidden methods for their members to contact each other covertly. As long as they stumbled upon the massive network of cyclones within that odd world he just exited, finding each other in such a small pocket space wasn''t difficult at all.


    "Twelfth Elder, it seems that our luck is quite good." Fuoco said with a meaningful smile.


    "For there to be such a place in this world¡­ Definitely means that we''re one step late still. But, there may be some faint hope. This place has been abandoned for the better part of a year already, so there are only two possibilities¡­ Either this place has already been cleaned out by that person, or we really are lucky."


    In a tacit silence, the two made their way forward toward.


    Just as they were about to cross the threshold into the cave, the so-called Twelfth Elder''s expression change.


    "Young master Fuoco, stop!"


    Fuoco, who had been about to take the final step, tensed, managing to stop himself in the final moment.


    "There''s an array formation laid here." The elder said with a stern expression. "I actually almost didn''t notice¡­ This was laid by an Earth Grade Formation Master at worst."


    Fuoco''s expression changed. Earth Grade Formations were precisely most effective against Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm experts like them. If Fuoco truly crossed that final barrier unprepared, he would most definitely have suffered greatly.

 Chapter 294: Instant

    "Don''t be worried." The elder smiled. "This is actually good news. Who would lay an array formation down to protect nothing?"


    Fuoco collected himself and nodded with a smile.


    The greatest danger of formations was that even seeing them was difficult. The best Formation Masters were adept at concealing the arrays they made. Unless one had high attainments in the Mental Realm or special ocular techniques, it was impossible to see the form of a formation. For all intents and purposes, they were invisible.


    Still, for this Twelfth Elder to notice didn''t necessarily mean that he had such abilities. Though Formations were hidden from the eyes, it was near impossible to hide their qi fluctuations. Any astute or wizened cultivator would be capable of sensing these minor fluctuations as this elder had.


    "How do we proceed forward then, Twelfth Elder?"


    "There''s no choice. Neither you or I are Formation Masters, so we can only use force."


    His aura erupted, blazing flames of red pulsing to life around him.


    ''Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm.'' Ryu thought with narrowed eyes. For the current him, battling it out with this old man was still a stretch. This was made even more poignant by another point. If the Core Region dared to send him here to oversee The Selection, it meant he could definitely handle the Immortal Ring experts of the Inner Ring.


    ''This man is only the Twelfth Elder, hm? It seems the Ember Clan''s foundations are quite deep for the Pedestal Plane¡­''


    Ryu thought back to the father-son pair tucked away in Valor City. It seemed there was a story here that he was unaware of.


    The elder began to bombard the formation, sending out dozens of palm strikes in a single breath.


    Flashes of the array''s true form flickered, revealing a dome of revolving runes and flickered out of existence every so often.


    ''This is a waste of time.'' Ryu thought with disdain. He thought he could take advantage of his concealment to kill more of his enemies, but since he was no match for this elder currently, it was best that he forget it.


    By Ryu''s calculations, it would take them about half an hour to completely shatter the formation. That should be enough time for him to gain some benefits.


    Ryu''s steps became enigmatic. The elder was clearly controlling his strikes so the backlash of the formation didn''t activate too severely, so Ryu was able to slip between them.


    His movement became almost illusory, entering the cave as though he was entering his own home.


    Though the elder frowned for a moment, believing that he had sensed something off, he couldn''t find the reason no matter how much he probed.


    ''It seems I''ve underestimated the eighth seal.'' Ryu thought to himself. This matter was much easier than he thought. Maybe even Peak Heaven Grade Formations capable of holding off Path Extinction Realm experts were not his match.


    Upon entering the cave, a faint hope of Ryu''s became reality. There were more formations within, meaning the Ember Clan pair would definitely be stalled for much longer.


    Slipping by them one after another, Ryu finally made his way into a small opening.


    It was quite the cozy atmosphere. A light lingering lavender fragrance, a dim candlelight, stacks of jades filled with concepts of formation theory and calculations.


    However, what grasped Ryu''s attention the most was the only object that made his Heavenly Pupils throb violently.


    It looked like nothing more than a thin mattress crossed with a prayer mat, but it was completely out of place. Anyone who could lay formations to such a level or survive in this pocket space most definitely had no need for sleep anymore. Even Ryu had no need for it anymore after entering the Divine Vessel Realm.


    What was more curious was the fact the qi density around this thin mattress was actually so rich. But, this richness didn''t permeate the cave, but rather remained suspended directly above the mattress.


    ''Dual cultivation mat?''


    After scouring his mind, this was Ryu''s best answer. Experts obviously didn''t need to sleep, but this mattress-like treasure was most definitely a heavenly item for dual cultivating.


    Ryu himself had only experienced the deed once, but the invigorating feeling of Elena''s Primordial Yin Qi was still fresh in his mind. As long as one had the appropriate techniques, at least for lower realms that didn''t require much comprehension, dual cultivating would most definitely give twice the benefits for half the effort.


    As he looked around the small clearing, Ryu was more certain in his assessment.


    For one, the owner of this cave was obviously male. When etching into jades, one must use their qi or Spiritual Qi. The traces of Spiritual Qi Ryu could sense from them clearly tended toward yang. Yet, what was with this lavender smell?


    A lone man with a scented candle? It was possible, but just unlikely. So, Ryu believed his conclusion was correct with a 70% likelihood.


    Realizing that standing around and observing wasn''t giving him any more information, Ryu took a step forward and grabbed the end of the prayer matt turned dual cultivation mattress, but the result was well out of his expectations.


    In that moment, Ryu felt a surge of qi enter his body in an unbridled manner. Any normal person caught unprepared would have likely ruptured a few meridians, but his Chaotic Silk Meridians weren''t just for show.


    Ryu immediately attempted to let go, but it was in that instant that his mind was assaulted next. Images filled his mind¡­ of stars combusting and forming, of planes expanding in creation and crumbling in destruction, of the birth of children and the death of the elderly.


    He saw the most intimate parts of several lives, their most deeply held secrets, their most well hidden emotions... It was all laid out before him, replaying in his mind like an image reel of the world''s events.


    Somehow, Ryu understood that these weren''t just images¡­ They were true occurrences¡­ Not only were they true occurrences but¡­ They were all happening in this very instant!

 Chapter 295: Burden

    Ryu awoke from the images with a headache that threatened to exit the ethereal and split his head in two in the real.


    He knew exactly what this sort of feeling was, he had experienced it many times before in his first life. His Focus Qi had been completely drained in what amounted to less than an instant of time.


    The edge of the prayer mat fell from Ryu''s hands, leaving him with an incredulous expression.


    ''Little Ryu, this dual cultivation mat should be placed upon core vein of Shrine Mountain. There''s clearly a leak here, but this prayer mat astonishingly has the ability to seal it off and reap all of the benefits for itself! This is likely the greatest treasure of this place.''


    Ryu blinked. Could it be that this was related to the qi infestation riddled beast he met before? Shrine Mountain was actually leaking its vital energies?


    But even more curiously, what series of events led to this prayer mat being laid here?


    Let''s say this Zu Clan Elder stumbled upon this treasure, that in itself was fine. But, whatever qi surge it was blocking right now was definitely not within normal levels. It was impossible for a mere Divine Vessel Realm expert to survive this qi surge. No, actually, whenever it was the Zu Clan Elder found this place, he was most definitely far weaker than the Fifth Order. It should be precisely this treasure that allowed him to reach the peak of the Divine Vessel Realm so quickly.


    It was the very same concept as the pools of Spiritual Qi that once defended the crystalline jade. It was the law of nature that substances in high concentration would flow to areas of low concentration. If one stepped into such a region of qi without appropriate protections, not only might that qi shred you from the outside and leave you as a pile of bones, it could also infiltrate your meridians and blow you up from the inside out.


    Ryu simply didn''t believe that that Zu Clan Elder had the capabilities.


    So¡­ That left another possibility¡­ That this prayer mat had been in this place long before the Zu Clan Elder ever stepped foot inside. Maybe the Zu Clan Elder experienced the same shock Ryu did and realized that moving this prayer mat was futile, and as such made this place his base.


    Ryu sighed. ''Could it be I risked my life for a treasure that I can''t even move?''


    If Ryu had known this would happen, he would have directly run after blowing up the Mortal Qi Small Realm. With his speed, he''d likely already be a good way toward the Death Worm Immortal Cave by now¡­ And since he exploited the Loom Clan into buying the materials he needed to fix it up, no one would be able to find him again until he chose to appear.


    But here he was, in quite the dangerous situation.


    In truth, he could simply slip away using his cloak. But he was reluctant to leave this place to his enemies.


    Ryu''s mind started churning. It actually wasn''t very long before he thought of something¡­


    The last time he ran into this situation was with the crystalline jade, no? So why not use the same solution he had back then?


    With his massive increase in strength, his ability to evoke spatial qi and teleport materials into his Inner World had substantially increased. Before, he struggled with large objects and objects with dense qi, but he was already far better at this point.


    Currently, even without Ailsa''s help to merge materials into the Ethereal Realm first, Ryu could easily envelop Earth Grade Spiritual Herbs into his inner space. And, now, even if an object was tens of meters across, as long as its qi density wasn''t too high, it wouldn''t be difficult for Ryu to handle either.


    The trouble here was that this prayer mat was definitely an object with extremely high qi density, or else Shrine Mountain would be nothing more than a joke. Luckily, Ryu still had Ailsa.


    ''How are you feeling?'' Ryu asked tentatively.


    ''I still can''t do anything strenuous¡­ But shifting an object into the Ethereal Realm never took much effort for me to begin with, it''s a simple matter of touching it with my qi. But this treasure may be a bit troublesome. Touching it with my qi will likely drain my Focus Qi much like yours, and despite my cultivation, I likely won''t last much longer than you either. So, you''ll have a few seconds at most to make it work.''


    Ryu nodded solemnly. He may have been weak in his last life, but he had still become familiar enough with his inner space to use it comfortably then. Now that he had some strength, it would be even easier.


    However, he still faced two major problems.


    First, his Focus Qi had been completely drained already. Trying to execute anything in his current state was simply asking for failure.


    Still, this problem was the easier to manage of the two. Though it would be allowing the Ember Clan pair to catch up, just meditating for a few hours should be fine. The real issue would be what happened the moment this prayer mat slipped into the Ethereal Realm¡­


    Instantly, it would lose its ability to block the onslaught of qi, thus thrusting Ryu into the very situation he himself was certain a normal Divine Vessel Realm expert couldn''t survive.


    To make matters worse, when the prayer mat entered his inner space, whatever minor blockage it had been able to provide in an ethereal state would definitely be gone at that point, make the situation even more terrible.


    It was then that Ryu''s gaze flashed with a sinister light, a plan forming in his mind slowly. Without hesitation, he plopped to the ground and began to meditate, allowing the hours to tick by slowly¡­


    ¡­


    "I''ve burdened Twelfth Elder." Fuoco said with a slightly remorseful expression.


    He really did feel like a burden. Though he was a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, he hadn''t been qualified to bombard any of the array formations they had come across to now.


    "It''s no matter." Elder Ember said with a light smile. "This old man should pave a way for a talented youth like yourself. Plus, whether you were here or not, I would do this anyway. I''m very curious about what lies at the end of this tunnel."


    "Elder, there!" Fuoco said with a faint excitement.


    After walking for so long in a long, dark tunnel, seeing the faint flickering lights in the distance was nothing short of a blessing for the pair. Once Elder Ember cautiously checked to see if there were any formations remaining, he burst forth.


    At this point, his qi was quite spent, but it wasn''t to the point of being exhausted. At the end of the day, though the formations they found were quite good, they still fell into the small-scale category and as such couldn''t truly hold him back.


    When the two appeared within the room, the first feeling they had was a faint disappointment.


    Countless scattered jades, a bland worktable, and a larger than average prayer mat. Was this really all there was to this space?


    Still, after putting in so much work, would they really give up so easily?


    Elder Ember silently combed through the jades, hoping to find some profound technique, but was immediately disappointed. The only things here were formation calculations and profundities. These things were already useless to him. He was so old already, why would he bother learning an entirely new path? Let alone one so complex.


    With a sigh, his disappointment truly set in. Luckily, his gaze swept across the room once more only to realize that the prayer mat he initially ignored was actually odder than he originally thought. Why was the qi density directly above it so much greater than everywhere else?


    ''Treasure!'' Twelfth Elder Ember''s gaze glowed.


    Fuoco followed in behind him, scanning the jades the elder had left behind, but he too was quickly disappointed, only to look up to find his Clan''s elder approaching the seemingly normal prayer mat. It wasn''t long before he saw its oddities as well, causing him to follow in closely.


    "I guess I''ll have to thank you two for making this so convenient, then."


    Hearing this inexplicable third voice that appeared from nowhere, the pair''s heads immediately snapped backward. It was only the Twelfth Elder''s experience that made him realize there must be something wrong with the mat, making him want to get as far away from it as possible.


    Unfortunately, it was already too late.


    The mat seemed to fade out of existence. An instant later, a cyclone of raging qi tore through the room, followed immediately by a dense spatial qi that swallowed the mat''s ethereal form up.


    Elder Ember roared, the dregs of his qi soaring as he quickly put up a shield.


    ''That spatial qi¡­ Heavenly Pupils!'' Elder Ember''s eyes widened with shock.


    Unfortunately for him, the perpetrator had already turned tail to run.


    Ryu wouldn''t be so foolish as to expose himself just for something as meaningless as a taunt. It was just that he knew well that if those two survived this ordeal, they would already be aware that it was him who acted regardless.


    Just a few hours ago, Ryu had appeared from thin air before his grandfather''s corpse. These situations were simply too similar. Anyone with half a brain would connect them.


    However, the duo would be happy to know that Ryu himself was not in that great of a situation either.


    When he used his spatial qi, he had been unable to stop part of the surging, violent qi from entering his inner space. In an instant, he was being ravaged by qi far above his abilities.


    How could the qi from Shrine Mountain be as simple as mere Mortal Qi? Not only was there this level of qi, but there was even Immortal and Cosmic Qi as well!


    Ryu had no choice but to ignore Ailsa''s previous warning and circulate [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] to crush this Cosmic Qi as he madly run. Unfortunately, these actions made him completely unable to remain in the Meditation State necessary to use his cloak and resulted in his true body manifesting itself as he surged out of the pocket space¡­


    One would think that he would have reappeared in the space of grey fog, but who knew that the Heavens would play a cruel trick on him with Shrine Mountain as the main character.


    Instead of appearing in the world of fog, he actually directly appeared outside of Mortal Qi Mountain¡­


    Only to find himself completely surrounded by enemies¡­

 Chapter 296: Rend

    Ryu involuntarily coughed out a mouthful of blood, unable to repress his injuries. Unfortunately, though his meridians were nigh indestructible, their violent expansion under the influence of the turbulent energy was bound to affect the inner organs they wrapped around.


    In an instant, Ryu was facing a war on three fronts. The first was the qi surging into his body by using his inner space as a bridge, the second was the qi surging into his Mental Realm under the circulation of [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], and the third was in the very real world.


    "It''s him!"


    It seemed that Ryu''s actions had stirred up a lot more than it would first appear on the surface. Before, the Grand Elders of the Five Core Clans disdained to appear for The Selection. This was why the numbers were made up normal elders and a few Patriarchs. However, Ryu had actually forced so many of them to action.


    An elder with whipping white hair and piercing silver elders stepped forward with an imposing air, clearly acknowledging the words of minor character''s shout.


    "You dare have designs on an elder of my Zu Clan? Bring Esme out right now and I can leave you with an intact corpse."


    "This day if the Zu Clan dares fight this Basteel for this boy''s head you''ll be this Grand Elder''s eternal enemy!"


    There was no doubt who this fiery tempered man was. Who else if not the First Grand Elder of the Basteel Clan? As for the silver eyed man, he was no doubt the First Grand Elder of the Zu Clan, the very same scheming man that set off much of these events to begin with.


    "Hold your temper, Basteel." First Grand Elder Zu replied sharply. "This boy has taken an elder of my Clan, while your grandson is already dead. The living obviously take priority over the dead!"


    "YOU DARE SAY SUCH WORDS TO MY FACE?!" First Grand Elder Basteel would have directly attacked if he didn''t still have qualms about the Zu Clan''s depths. "As far as I see it, she''s no longer in his possession and he''s already in a sorry state. He likely already killed her and tossed her corpse somewhere!"


    First Grand Elder Zu''s eyes immediately turned vicious.


    "Ha¡­" Ryu sneered, wiping blood and catching a bit of grime on his sleeve. This expelling of impurities was really too inconvenient. "¡­ I thought I''d have something to worry about. Turns out it''s just a group of old dogs undeserving of the Grand title."


    The rage the two elders had toward each other was immediately turned toward Ryu in an instant. But, was Ryu so easy to fool?


    These two seemed to have been locked at each other''s throats but the truth was that their senses had long since locked onto his body. Clearly, they believed they could goad him into trying to take advantage of the situation, but had very obviously failed.


    What surprised Ryu more was that they had surrounded this mountain range with dozens of experts, but actually hadn''t dared to enter. They were truly nothing but talk and had no backbone. Why else would they not enter if not because they were apprehensive and afraid.


    In the distance, a few elders of the Croft, Xie and Vinn Clans watched on, but they clearly had no real vested interest in capturing Ryu, they had come here for the oddities in Mortal Qi Mountain. However, Ryu had no doubt that if push came to shove, they would most definitely put in a minimum effort toward stopping his escape.


    "Seeking. Death."


    It didn''t really matter to Ryu which of the two said these words because he was already pulling out a single halberd.


    "I''ve yet to make the Basteel and Zu Clans pay a sufficient price¡­ The heads of these two Grand Elders¡­ I''ll take them as interest."


    Ryu''s aura surged.


    In an instant, a gorgeous ancient tree of ice appeared, blocking out the very skies.


    The image of a single tree spanning twenty kilometers could be imagined. The shock, the awe, the heart trembling might.


    Ryu had never extended the range of his Immortal Sakura to the utmost limits because it simply drained too much Spiritual Qi. However, as things stood now, Ryu needed to waste as much qi as possible. In fact, this much still wasn''t enough.


    There was barely a wisp of Cosmic Qi in his inner space. However, after being crushed by third stage [Divine Chaotic Annihiliation], Ryu''s Mental Realm had almost completely shattered. If he didn''t funnel his Spiritual Qi outward, all that awaited him was death.


    This scene alone was enough to shock the two Grand Elders to no end, but the next almost made their hearts stop completely.


    Six Impose Barriers shook Mortal Qi Mountain. One layer atop the other to form a heavenly domain that belonged to Ryu alone.


    Even with blood streaming from his lips. Even with the disgusting dirt and grime that covered his features. Even with his low cultivation realm. These so-called elders here couldn''t help but feel vastly inferior.


    ''Nemesis!''


    A strong steed with a lush coat of red and flowing mane appeared below Ryu. His singular horn spirals menacingly, shimmering like shining steel. His hooves stomped the air below, steaming hot air blowing from his nostrils. A raging killing intent billowed from his very soul as he faced his enemies.


    Ryu held out his halberd, sitting upon Nemesis'' back with a lofty expression in his eyes. No amount of disheveledness could overshadow his valiant aura.


    Nemesis rose on his hind legs, calling out into the skies as his red mane blew in the wind. By the time his front hooves slammed the air beneath him once more, he had already charged forward once more.


    Ryu raised his halberd, his aura completely in sync with his steed.


    "[Ronin''s Final Stand: Heart Severing Rend]!"


    It wasn''t a surprise that the two Grand Elders originally sneered at Ryu''s words. But the moment his true strength began to unleash itself, their expressions grew solemn. But the time his strike was released, their hearts were palpitating with horror.

 Chapter 297: Without a Look [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 650 golden tickets]


    "There''s something wrong with this boy! Basteel swine, you take the vanguard, I will support you from the back."


    If anyone else heard such words, maybe they would assume that the Zu Grand Elder was trying to take advantage of First Grand Elder Basteel. However, how could the latter not be aware that the Zu Clan specialized in mental attacks. Staying back to support was only natural for them!


    A shout escaped the Basteel Grand Elder''s lips as his aura surged. A metallic sheen raced around his skin as he crossed his arms over to block Ryu''s strike.


    However, First Grand Elder Basteel could have never imagined that the [Steel Skin] technique his Basteel Clan had been so proud of and even touted as their Core Teaching would be next to useless.


    Ryu''s halberd met the Grand Elder''s forearm first, and the result was disastrous. The skin was broken through almost half an inch before being forcibly halted by what Ryu could only assume were the sturdy bones of this Grand Elder.


    Unfortunately for the Basteel Clan, Ryu wasn''t alone. Barely a split moment after his halberd made contact, Nemesis'' spiral horn glowed with a blood red qi, piercing toward First Grand Elder Basteel''s torso.


    Ryu thought at that moment that everything was perfect. If he could get rid of one of them with such ease right from the very beginning, escaping was almost guaranteed. However¡­ First Grand Elder Zu wouldn''t just remain idle.


    In an instant, numerous invisible arrows of Spiritual Qi pierced through the air.


    Sensing the fluctuations, Ryu''s expression turned serious. If it was under normal circumstances, this sort of mental attack would be what he feared the least. For one, the perpetual Visualization of [Immortal Sakura] in his Mental Realm made the space incredibly resistant to attacks. Secondly, his newly acquired [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] Visualization would made First Grand Elder Zu''s life a living nightmare.


    However, these weren''t normal circumstances.


    Ryu''s [Divine Chaotic Annihiliation] was completely occupied by a minor wisp of Cosmic Qi. Ryu hadn''t even begun to deal with the Immortal Qi ravaging his body, let alone having the energy to divert toward an attack of this magnitude. If he allowed these qi arrows to hit their mark, he would have no choice but to forcibly withstand them using his [Immortal Sakura] alone.


    ''My movement techniques in the sky are severely lacking and Nemesis isn''t known for his movement speed¡­''


    Time seemed to slow down as Ryu''s mind ran in overdrive. His eyes darted around the battlefield as though he was trying to take everything in. Though only two had attacked, Ryu didn''t have the luxury of ignoring the other experts of the Zu and Basteel Clans that were cutting off his escape routes.


    Ryu knew it wasn''t the smartest decision to bring out Nemesis for this battle, but he had done so anyway because he was taking Nemesis'' feelings into account. He deserved revenge too.


    With this thought, Ryu completely disregarded any thoughts of swapping Nemesis out for Little Rock. Instead, his gaze glowed with resolution.


    A moment latter, two daggers that looked more like pieces of fine art than battle appeared in his free hand before he tossed them both into the air.


    Ryu had neglected these daggers for a long time now, but he had never thought of using them to expand his capital despite the fact they were Unique Grade treasures. This was one of the treasures his wife had personally picked out for him on his thousandth birthday. He would never sell them.


    Who knew that he would remember how useful they could be in this situation?


    Ryu''s eyes sharpened. ''[Demonic Strings].''


    Everything happened in an instant. Ryu''s blow nearly severed both First Grand Elder Basteel''s arms. A split second later, Nemesis'' horn sought to drill through his torso. If it wasn''t for the fact he was wearing a Higher Earth Grade Treasure, he truly would have been pierced through completely.


    Ryu immediately went to follow up as the Grand Elder''s body was sent blasting into the mountain range below, but his actions were met by a sneer from First Grand Elder Zu. Who knew that the latter''s thoughts of a skewered Ryu would be thwarted by two black spined daggers with crystalline blue blades?


    What made these pair of dagger so unique? It was that they had the capability of directly attacking with Spiritual Qi! Anyone who had a modicum of knowledge about the Mental Realm understood just how heaven defying such an ability was.


    Whenever a Mental Realm Master primed themselves to attack, it required a Visualization. This Visualization would be projected from one''s mind as a source and would thus be directly linked to one''s Mental Realm.


    What did this mean? It meant that when attacking with one''s Mental Realm, one much be prepared to suffer some injuries themselves should things go wrong!


    Ryu himself had suffered such a reality many times before. Whenever a petal of his [Immortal Sakura] was shattered, the damage would reverberate to his Mental Realm and he would be forced to cautiously heal these injuries.


    However, these Unique Grade daggers completely leapt over this logic, completely destroying it. It could use Spiritual Qi to attack directly, and as such needed no Visualization and required no connection to one''s Mental Realm. Normal weapons simply had no way of accepting Spiritual Qi because this qi type was considered to be partially within the Ethereal Realm! If one wanted to replicate this feat, one could only travel to the Faerie Realms and beg to be forged a weapon.


    Simply put¡­ Ryu could deal with Mental Realm attacks without putting himself at any risk!


    Ryu''s control over [Demonic Strings] had reached a godly level. His twin daggers snaked through the skies, being fed Spiritual Qi with his [Demonic Strings] as a bridge. Countless arrows were shattered, causing First Grand Elder Zu to spit out a mouthful of blood.


    Even if he was prepared to lose a few arrows, losing so many at once made someone like him who had long become used to Mental Realm injuries feel endless pain.


    However, the worst part was that Ryu was now completely unhindered in his path toward First Grand Elder Basteel.


    The two mighty existences simply could not bring out their full strength against this teenage boy. Ryu had focused all of his strength into his six Impose Barriers, not even using his Inheritances to strengthen his attack. This allowed him to suppress the two to absolute extremes. They could hardly use fifty to sixty percent of their strength, let alone standing up to Ryu whose strength bordered on the Higher Connecting Heaven Realm.


    "You can go off to see your grandson now." Ryu said coolly. "[White Serpent''s Dance: Lurking Shadow]."


    The spear point of Ryu''s halberd suddenly vanished. Try as First Grand Elder Basteel might, he couldn''t perceive it at all.


    "GRAND ELDER!"


    Those warriors who had completely surrounded Ryu only now reacted. Everything had happened so fast¡­ How could they guess that the strongest existence in their Clan outside of their Ancestor would fall so quickly to a mere boy from the lower realms?


    PUUU


    First Grand Elder Basteel''s eyes widened.


    He crashed into the mountain below, looking at his abdomen in horror. Ryu''s strike could have taken his life¡­ But he had actually severed his Spiritual Foundation''s connection from his meridians instead!


    His qi began to leak at a rapid pace, flooding outward in a torrent. He simply didn''t have Ryu''s level of qi control, how could he deal with a matter like this?


    A moment later, the low braying of Nemesis entered his ears. It sounded little different from the growls of an enraged beast.


    A steel hoof raised in the skies, descending upon his chest with little hesitation.


    First Grand Elder Basteel''s last sight was Ryu''s grime covered visage. However, he could only laugh in self-mockery when he realized that Ryu wasn''t even looking at him as his life ended.

 Chapter 298: YOUKAI [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 700 golden tickets]


    "Grand Elder!"


    Nemesis neighed into the skies with a satisfied arrogance. Who else could have been responsible for heading his humiliation if not for this very First Grand Elder beneath his feet? It was this very man here who noticed his talent and enacted all of those inhumane punishments all for the sake of making him lower his head.


    Though he couldn''t express his thoughts in human language, his intelligence was already no less than humans. In fact, he was quite a margin smarter than the average human, or else, his talent wouldn''t be so frightening.


    He originally chose to follow Ryu because his scent was quite pleasing. Plus, Ryu only used a wave of a hand to shatter the seal that had been placed within him by the Basteel Clan, so he was endlessly grateful and wanted to repay this debt. This was the reason why he waited through six months of humiliation at the gates of Loom City¡­ All for the sake of thanking Ryu.


    But, who knew that Ryu would already treat him like a brother to this extent? With Nemesis'' intelligence, how could he not tell that Little Rock was far more suitable for this battle? Yet, Ryu had still called him out and even crippled this Grand Elder for the sake of letting him have the final strike.


    Nemesis had without a doubt ingrained this favor in his heart.


    Several red-eyed Basteel Clan elders and even their remaining Grand Elder''s surged toward Ryu. However, Ryu seemed to have not noticed them at all.


    ''Alright, alright.'' Ryu smiled, patting Nemesis'' strong neck. ''I''ve heard your resolve. You go back now.''


    Nemesis slipped into the Ethereal Realm before being replaced with Little Rock. With a single flap of the infant Lightning Hawk''s wings, Ryu all but vanished, appearing outside of the encirclement of Basteel''s and far above First Grand Elder Zu''s head.


    His twin daggers rapidly wrapped around his body, his halberd being held tightly in his hand.


    He knew he didn''t have much more time. Clans at this level most definitely had methods of telling when one of their most important members died. If not, how could the Zu Clan know that elder of theirs died? This truth would be even more so for a First Grand Elder like the one Nemesis just killed.


    Even though both Nemesis and Little Rock had broken into the Lower Sixth Order, it was still the Lower Sixth Order. In order to face the Ancestor of the Basteel Clan, they would likely have to be reach the Seventh Order. Actually, with their talent, maybe not. However, that didn''t change the fact Little Rock''s Realm was still too low.


    However, Ryu was confident in Little Rock''s speed. If he factored his Wind Inheritance, he was even more so. So, with little hesitation, Ryu dove down toward Grand Elder Zu who immediately became flustered.


    He sent a flurry of Spiritual Qi Arrows toward Ryu, but they were all sliced to oblivion by the latter''s twin daggers.


    How could he not panic? Every shattered arrow was another wound to his Mental Realm. To make matters worse, he had never spent much time on close combat. Why would he? He was a Zu!


    Gritting his teeth, First Grand Elder Zu''s Spiritual Qi surged. "[Minor Teleportation]!"


    A rift opened, enveloping the Grand Elder and sending him over a kilometer away. Ryu immediately locked down on him and didn''t hesitate to follow, however he found his path cut off by not only a flurry of Basteels, but Zus as well.


    His halberd disappeared along with his Impose Barriers. A moment later, two spears appeared in his hand. If he was focused on dealing with many enemies¡­ This was his ideal state!


    ''Heaven''s Breath¡­ [Monumental Pierce]!''


    A bloody rain fell upon Mortal Qi Mountain. Ryu''s twin spears became god-like weapons in the sky, moving swiftly in the wind and reaping life after life.


    [Monumental Pierce] was a technique created with only a single move, but this single move held a deep level of profundity. Not only did it touch on Concepts of Illusion, but it also touched Concepts of Momentum and Amplification.


    Usually, one would only find such profound laws within Inheritances. Finding them within a mere Black Grade technique was rare. The result was a technique Ryu favored greatly.


    Despite the technique only being made of one move, [Pierce], this actually made Ryu favor it more. The simplicity made it applying it to a variety of situations very easy with Ryu''s level of comprehension.


    In fact, currently, Ryu used this technique even a tick above the Great Circle of Perfection Realm. He was able to apply his comprehension of [Lurking Shadow] and make it impossible to tell his real spear tip from the fake, thus making it far more lethal.


    Despite being surrounded completely, Ryu''s spear was far too enigmatic. And, now that he no longer restrained his Spear Inheritance to its Impose Barrier, it had become far stronger.


    Cries of pain and despair rang out as countless Zu and Basteel elders fell beneath his spears.


    "This¡­" In the distance, the Xie, Vinn and Croft Clan First Grand Elders were speechless. How were they supposed to respond to this situation?


    This was exactly how First Grand Elder Zu was feeling. Unless these Basteel Clan swine, his Zu Clan had two Immortal Ring Ancestors¡­ The problem was that they had both gone to the Core Region to lay down a path for them!


    However, with him holding down the fort, and their detterance, who dared lay a hand on the Zu Clan? Yet this boy was so adamant about killing him! What was he supposed to do?


    [Minor Teleportation] sapped a quarter of his Spiritual Qi in an instant. Coupled with the damage done to his Mental Realm already and he was teetering. He knew he had to buy time until Ancestor Basteel arrived, but with this kid''s speed, he was feeling on edge.


    Even as he was thinking, Ryu suddenly appeared before him again.


    "[Ethereal Ripple]!" First Grand Elder Zu roared toward Ryu''s descending spear.


    An invisible barrier suddenly appeared, blocking what Ryu believed was a sure kill.


    ''So this is battling with a Mental Realm Master, huh¡­'' Ryu''s pupils immediately saw through the secrets of this barrier. ''A defense that exists in the Ethereal Realm but is able to ripple out to the Real Plane. It can block attacks while also minimizing damage to its main body, thus making it difficult to deal with. However¡­''


    Ryu roared. But, this kind of roar was completely unlike one that should come from a human.


    First Grand Elder Zu''s body froze. He felt as though he was meeting a Primordial Beast, a mighty red dragon that loomed over the skies with arrogance that opposed the Heavens.


    His [Ethereal Ripple] shield shattered, stunning him.


    What Ryu used wasn''t a technique at all, but nothing but his powerful body and his mind. Ryu''s Dragon and Qilin blood had already begun reforming his flesh, allowing him to accomplish what normal humans couldn''t. For example¡­ roaring at a frequency a man shouldn''t be able to reach.


    [Ethereal Ripple] relied on Concepts of Resonance to appear both Ethereal and Real at the same time, taking benefits from both Planes. But, if one was able to shatter this balance, it was akin to nothing more than a fragile egg teetering on a thin edge.


    Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils immediately saw through this flaw and exploited it.


    In an instant, Ryu''s spear had appeared before First Grand Elder Zu. It seemed like only a moment later, a second Grand Elder would lose his life.


    However, it was then this Grand Elder made a decision. Seeing his life about to end, he did something that made his heart bleed.


    His Spiritual Qi surged¡­ And broke into the Soul Birth Realm!


    Ryu''s eyes widened. With a thought, he forced Little Rock to retreat explosively.


    The rage in First Grand Elder Zu''s gaze was palpable. His eyes had reddened to the point of almost dripping blood as he glared at Ryu.


    Everyone knew how foolish it was to break into the Soul Birth Realm before completing one''s Immortal Rings. First Grand Elder Zu was actually just a few steps away from being able to breakthrough naturally having been at the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm, yet, in order to preserve his life, he had been forced to ruin his future.


    His Spiritual Qi condensed. Rolling in from a sparse fog into a dense, dripping liquid.


    "This blood debt¡­ I, YOUKAI ZU, WILL MAKE YOU REGRET IT!"

 Chapter 299: First

    [Almost forgot about powerstone rewards, so here you guys go. Also, the oct and nov mark I set for rewards is complete as of today. For now, there will be two chapter a day uploads with a bonus chapter every 250 golden tickets. Also, for those who might have missed it, prices will be stay the same for next month]


    Despite the situation, Ryu looked down on Youkai with a calm gaze.


    He knew well how powerful the Soul Birth Realm was. There was a reason that its transition barrier was so important. It was the equivalent of the Immortal Ring Realm for Mental Realm cultivation!


    The gap between the Connecting Heaven and Immortal Ring Realm couldn''t be described in just a few sentences. One needed to know that the gap was even more exaggerated that the difference between a Spiritual Severing Realm expert and a Connecting Heaven Realm one!


    There was a very obvious reason for this. This was the barrier between the Mortal Grade and the Immortal Grade! Once one crosses this barrier, one''s Mortal Qi becomes Immortal Qi. Likewise, one''s Spiritual Qi Fumes becomes Spiritual Qi Liquid, forming the Spiritual Sea.


    The current Youkai, whose aura was still madly surging, wasn''t nothing like his previous self. Ryu couldn''t even interrupt this sort of breakthrough because Youkai had suppressed himself for the sake of a perfect foundation too long. It was all too easy for him to breakthrough.


    As for running, Ryu thought even less of that. This wasn''t because of his pride, but rather because of a technique Youkai had displayed earlier: [Minor Teleportation].


    With its help, Little Rock''s speed advantage dropped to zero. Before, Youkai likely had to use a quarter to a third of his Spiritual Qi to cast it just once. However, once he broke through, casting it even dozens of times wouldn''t burden him at all. He''d be able to cross several kilometers with a snap of his fingers.


    Cutting open the void and teleporting like Youkai had was highly dependent on the space one was in. The denser the qi, the sturdier the space, and thus the more difficult it was to execute [Minor Teleportation].


    However, this was merely the Inner Ring of the lowest Immortal Plane. To make matters worse, due to the influence of Mortal Qi Mountain, this place had a high concentration of Mortal Qi, but its Immortal Qi was severely lacking.


    Since Youkai''s Spiritual Qi had evolved to the Immortal Grade, it was simply too easy for him to tear apart space in this kind of location! The limit of [Minor Teleportation] was likely at most ten kilometers, but under these circumstances, maybe travelling even double that wasn''t impossible.


    These sort of odds left Ryu with just one option: he had to kill Youkai, and he had to kill him before Ancestor Basteel managed to make his way here.


    ''Dammit.'' After a light furrow of his brow, Ryu once more became cold and expressionless.


    His breathing slowed, his eyes drawing focus as he put away his two spears to retrieve a halberd.


    Above his head, the Immortal Sakura still stretched for twenty kilometers, rapidly expending the Cosmic Qi his [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] grinded into Spiritual Qi. Unfortunately, it just seemed that no matter how fast it went, Cosmic Qi was too overbearing.


    ''Little Ryu, listen to me carefully. This situation is very dangerous, so you have to remain alert.


    ''The qi that slipped into your Inner Space isn''t all neutral qi. You''ve probably sensed that many of them of all sorts of types. Tell me quickly, can you sense any lightning affinity qis within them? You must be quick about this.''


    Ryu focused, using his overwhelming Qi Realm talent to siphon through the qi at blazing speeds.


    In the distance, he could tell that Youkai had locked onto him. Though he was confident in his breakthrough, he still wasn''t brave enough to move as it occurred. However, he knew the very same things Ryu understood about [Minor Teleportation]. As long as he kept his eyes on Ryu, he was confident that he couldn''t escape, so though he was enraged, he wasn''t anxious.


    Still, he would be lying if he said he wasn''t surprised that Ryu hadn''t budged an inch. At the same time, the remaining elders of the Basteel and Zu Clan didn''t dare to approach to closely to such a turbulent breakthrough.


    ''Yes, I do. The Cosmic Qi isn''t of lightning affinity, but a sense several among those within the Immortal Qis.''


    Though Ryu had been frantically dealing with the Cosmic Qi first, his body was also being rampaged by Immortal Qi. It was just that his Chaotic Silk Meridians were withstanding it far better than others of his cultivation realm could imagine.


    ''Good. You need to use those Immortal Qis to complete your next [Tribulation Nine Clouds] array.''


    Ryu''s expression drastically changed, but he immediately relaxed a moment later.


    He remembered Ailsa''s words before he started cultivating this technique. The quintessence of the technique was in taking lightning qi and using it to stimulate the growth of other qi. Though Ryu used this technique to boost his Mental Realm Cultivation talent, it had to be remembered that he could have used it for his Body Realm and Qi Realm as well, it was just that he had no need to.


    To now, Ryu had already completed the first of ten stages of this technique. The first stage had three priming arrays that laid a foundation for the subsequent stages.


    However, these matters were only surface when it came to [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. Something that Ryu had come to understand later was that this technique was unlike others where each step was divided into and connected to some cultivation realm.


    This was obvious. Body Realm Cultivation had four stages. Qi Realm Cultivation had twelve stages. Mental Realm Cultivation had six stages. Yet, not only could [Tribulation Nine Clouds] be used for them all, but it itself had ten stages.


    There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to this. However, recently, Ryu had grasped the reason why!


    One was meant to use [Tribulation Nine Clouds] to change their fortune. How much you grasped and how much you could change was dependent on no one but yourself!


    What did this mean? It meant that the more Tribulation Arrays you formed at earlier stages of cultivation, the more beneficial the technique would be to you. The earlier one could finish all ten stages, the better! And, the greater your cultivation realm when these Tribulation Arrays were formed, the higher the threshold you would need to meet to use them!


    From Ryu''s understanding, having completed the three priming Tribulation Arrays within the Mortal Grade, he was already on track to exceed even what the technique''s creator would consider perfect completion for this technique.


    But¡­ If he completed the second stage within the Mortal Grade Realms as well¡­ The benefits would be even better!


    ''[Tribulation Nine Clouds] calls for the use of Tribulation Lightning after completing the first stage, however, according to my calculations, you can use this Immortal Qi as a substitute. Firstly, it isn''t your own qi and won''t be treated as such by the technique. Secondly, it contains Heavenly Dao within it because it came from the core of Shrine Mountain, allowing it to come off as Tribulation Lightning.


    ''If you take the opportunity to use Immortal Qi to form these Tribulation Arrays within the Mortal Realms, the benefits will be beyond your imagining.''


    Ryu trusted Ailsa''s judgement.


    In an instant, his mind was split in two directions. One frantically grinded a small wisp of Cosmic Qi, while the other grabbed hold of lightning affinity Immortal Qi, bending and molding it to his will.


    Without Ryu mindfully taking control of them, what remained of the Immortal Qi wreaked havoc within his body, but he no longer had the luxury to care.


    It was a race against time.


    If Ryu could have a qualitative breakthrough in his Mental Realm, he would be able to suppress the newly advanced Youkai.


    But¡­ If the Basteel Ancestor arrived first¡­

 Chapter 300: Range

    Youkai''s lip twitched as he watched Ryu give him a careless glance before sitting on Little Rock''s broad back and entering a deep State of Meditation.


    He could feel an uncomfortable itch clawing through his flesh and bones¡­ The feeling of being looked down upon, of being completely disregarded. He had hoped he would see fear in Ryu''s eyes, yet, aside from a slight frown and a nonchalant glance, he got nothing!


    ''I''ll see how long you can keep that appearance for.'' He thought with a snarl.


    Though Youkai had accumulated momentum for a long time, he was ultimately not as talented as someone like Ryu. For someone on Ryu''s level, breaking into new Realms might take a few moments at most. Only for exceptionally high Realms would Ryu have to enter such a state for hours, maybe longer. However, Youkai had no choice but to grit his teeth and wait it out.


    ''Just half a minute more. That''s all I need.''


    His target, though, had completely forgotten about him. Not only had Ryu entered Breath of World, he had also slipped into the crystalline jade.


    Ryu had realized long ago that he experienced time slower within the crystalline jade. Originally, he simply dismissed this. It was obvious that one thought faster than one''s body could act. Since the crystalline jade projected his mind into the Ethereal Plane, it was normal for him to be able to act faster, thus giving the illusion that time was being distorted.


    In reality, Ryu was correct. He could experience time about ten times slower in this space, thus making Youkai''s thirty seconds, three hundred. In addition, the stronger his Mental Realm became, the slower he would be able to experience time. However, this matter wasn''t so simple as this.


    The crystalline jade''s true ability was in separating one''s ethereal and real self.


    Consider this for a moment. Ryu was currently undergoing Mental Realm cultivation. Since it had nothing to do with his body, shouldn''t he not experience any change in speed after entering the crystalline jade? However, the reality was very different!


    The concept was very similar to how one could read much faster if it wasn''t necessary to move one''s eyes. In this case, the movement of the eyes is an artificial cap placed on cultivators upon themselves when restricted by their bodies, while the crystalline jade is able to remove that self-imposed barrier.


    By separating the mind and body, one is no longer restricted by their usual perceptions of time. Instead, they''re able to release their full potential completely! This was what allowed Ryu to complete what he could only do in three hundred seconds in the real world, in just thirty!


    Of course, this would only work for Mental Realm cultivation. After all, Ryu''s true body being separated was the key to this working. However, this alone was enough!


    Ryu forgot about everything around him. He had long since studied the second stage Tribulation Array, though he hadn''t done so in detail. However, he was absolutely confident in his comprehension abilities, especially after breaking eight seals of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    According to Ryu''s understanding, the second stage array all the way up to the fourth stage array were could bring out the full potential of the Immortal Grade Realms. However, he would use the first here!


    ''[Tribulation Nine Clouds] is indeed a Lightning Inheritance. However, it''s focused on an augmentation path rather than the destruction path my Lightning Qilin bloodline follows. It''s requires more finesse¡­''


    Ryu quickly scanned the jade that held [Tribulation Nine Clouds], delving into layer after layer.


    If it wasn''t for the time pressing situation, Ryu might have taken the time to admire the beauty of the array. It felt as though he had fallen into a pool of dense math calculations, following the ebbs and flows of ethereal waves as he sunk deeper and deeper.


    The calculations began to layer in Ryu''s mind at unprecedented speeds. The instant he comprehended another portion, he would layer in another tier of complexity.


    ''His mind¡­ works in beautiful ways¡­'' Ailsa thought to herself. ''He sees the array''s runes not as complex patterns, but as systematic choices based on a calculative mind. He splits these calculations into different segments, setting aside those he doesn''t understand and combining those he does as though they were puzzle pieces¡­ Slowly, the puzzle comes together, and the portions he ignored in the past find their place among the masses, completing the picture in its entirety¡­''


    Seeing the world in this way¡­ Maybe only those born with his pupils could do so right?


    It took Ryu only thirty seconds to completely comprehend the second stage Tribulation Array, but only three seconds had passed in reality!


    Ryu didn''t spend any time basking in his achievement. At the end of the day, he was an Origin Grade Ruin Master. Even though he had never taken any exams to become a Formation Master, he was very adept at decoding arrays even if he never spent time drawing them himself. If he wasn''t, he wouldn''t be a very good Ruin Master, now would he? When it came to understanding the core essence of arrays¡­ None could match him!


    Ryu grasped at the lightning affinity qi, siphoning through them.


    Purple Thunder Qi. Lightning Wisp Qi. Nine Strikes Qi. Magnetic Gold Qi. These were all Heaven Grade Qi!


    From Ryu''s understanding, this was the highest grade qi that could be birthed on the Pedestal Plane. He didn''t think it was a coincidence that they would appear from a Qi Surge caused by Shrine Mountain. Each was very difficult to handle and each required a different degree of control. However, according to Ryu''s calculations, he wouldn''t have enough qi unless he used all four.


    Knowing this, he couldn''t hesitation any longer. He split his mind in four directions, reaching out to control the four qis.


    Purple Thunder Qi was unruly, oppressive and violent. Lightning Wisp Qi was extremely fast and agile. Nine Strikes Qi had explosive and lingering danger. Magnetic Gold Qi was exceptionally heavy and was especially difficult to manipulate.


    Ryu immediately made use of his understanding of the second stage Tribulation Array. He used Purple Thunder Qi as a primer, using its strength to open the Heavenly Daos necessary for the second stage Tribulation Array''s foundation. He used Magnetic Gold Qis heavy constitution to form the array''s barriers. He used Nine Strikes Qi to provide the explosive power of the array''s nodes, and finally used Lightning Wisp Qi to fill in the most intricate details.


    The clouds above began to violently react to Ryu''s actions. Looming above the canopy of the Immortal Sakura gently snowing petals below.


    Youkai''s expression changed as he urged his breakthrough. He didn''t know why, but he felt uneasy. Another person might believe that these were normal thunder clouds, but he felt an oppressive feeling assault his chest that he couldn''t ignore.


    Unfortunately for him¡­ The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were ranked first for a reason. They were created to peer into the secrets of Heaven and Earth, what did the mere second stage of a technique mean to it?


    Twenty seconds¡­ Fifteen seconds¡­ Ten seconds¡­ Five seconds¡­ Three seconds¡­


    It was then an explosive surge of Spiritual Qi erupted. A moment later, [Immortal Sakura''s] twenty-kilometer range violently began to expand.

 Chapter 301: Who

    Youkai''s expression changed.


    All of the qi in the surrounding area had been swarming toward him, but in an instant, the roles had completely reversed. It should have taken him just three more seconds before his breakthrough was complete, but suddenly, his estimated time left began to steadily creep upward.


    ''He¡­ He can''t be breaking into the Soul Birth Realm as well?''


    Suddenly Youkai began to laugh. Though it still ached his heart to have ruined his future, if Ryu destroyed his in exchange, it was worth it, so very worth it.


    No matter how talented he was, how could he compare to a Throne? Yet he had caused such a genius to fall into ruin? How could he not be ecstatic?


    However, he soon realized that something was wrong. Though qi was surging toward Ryu, it wasn''t undergoing any qualitative changes.


    One of the reasons it was taking Youkai so long to breakthrough was because the Mortal Qi in this environment was so rich. By the time he converted it to Spiritual Qi Fumes, and then converted it to Spiritual Qi Liquid, the volume lost was substantial.


    But, it seemed that Ryu was converting this Spiritual Qi in its denser liquid form at all! It was then that a stunning realization came over Youkai.


    ''It can''t be that this is just¡­ Normal cultivation for him¡­?''


    He couldn''t think of any other explanations. The thick disdain in Ryu''s eyes flashed in his mind again and again, resounding like a clear slap to the face. It made him feel so stifled that he nearly vomited and suffered backlash from his own breakthrough.


    Ryu, however, couldn''t be bothered with Youkai''s thoughts. The reason he was so calm was precisely because he knew that the moment his true cultivation began, it was drastically affect the latter.


    To now, Ryu had yet to cultivate within the Soul Endowment Realm. However, his Spiritual Sense''s range was already double that of a genius.


    According to Ailsa, an absolute genius would have a range of one kilometer at the peak of the Spiritual Entrance Realm. Upon breaking through to the Spiritual Endowment Realm, their range would increase to ten kilometers.


    Upon breaking through, Ryu''s range actually decreased by a factor of ten, falling from two hundred kilometers to just twenty. This was why he wasn''t satisfied. He knew that upon breaking into the Soul Birth Realm, his Spiritual Sea would likely shrink by the same factor, if not an even greater factor. If he wanted to make up for this, he had to break past these limits by obscene margins.


    The perfection of the Spiritual Entrance Realm was theoretically one kilometer. But, the perfection of the Spiritual Endowment Realm was one hundred kilometers!


    Just what was the impact of using Immortal Qi to enhance Mortal Grade cultivation? The only answer was something astonishing¡­


    Ryu''s Immortal Sakura violently expanded. The clouds above began to crackle with lightning, striking downward toward the gorgeous tree, but its defenses were far too sturdy. Ryu barely heard the strikes landing, let alone being impacted by them.


    Thirty kilometers¡­ Forty kilometers¡­ One hundred kilometers¡­ Two hundred kilometers¡­


    Ailsa watched this scene with furrowed brow. ''I was prepared for his Focus Qi to begin running thin by now¡­ Why is it that it hasn''t¡­?''


    Ryu had done too much to now. He layer seven Impose Barriers, was Visualizing [Immortal Sakura] at its greatest size, all while he was fervently grinding away at that small wisp of Cosmic Qi. None of this even mentioned the Focus Qi that would have been necessary to see through the profundity of the second stage Tribulation Array.


    ''Just how¡­'' Ailsa pupils constricted, her senses focusing in on an inconspicuous prayer mat lying in Ryu''s inner space¡­


    Three hundred kilometers¡­ Four hundred kilometers¡­.


    Youkai felt despair the likes of which he had never experienced before. Absolute geniuses were the only ones who could touch the hundred kilometer mark within the Soul Endowment Realm. Only once in a generation geniuses could even have a faint hope of surpassing that mark. Only once in an Era geniuses might approach just two hundred kilometers¡­ So why was it that this Ryu had already double that?!


    It could only be said that [Tribulation Nine Clouds] was truly a heaven defying technique. Maybe only it could exchange perseverance and perception for talent.


    The scene within Ryu''s Mental Realm had turned chaotic.


    Three foundational Tribulation Arrays arranged themselves in an inverted cone, protecting the bottom roots of his ice plated Immortal Sakura. Above them, a fourth Tribulation Array was formed, violently sending out streaks of lightning that bombarded the barriers of Ryu''s Mental Realm, pushing them outward with impunity.


    Though Ryu''s expression on the outside was incomparably calm, the pain he was experience was unlike many of those watching on had ever experienced.


    Ryu could only thank his breakthrough in [Immortal Sakura] for his Mental Realm not collapsing. Currently, his Immortal Sakura was at the very cusp of being able to withstand an attack from an Immortal Ring expert, thus, it was just barely able to stabilize the violent growth of his Mental Realm due to the lightning affinity Immortal Qi.


    It was then Ryu realized the key to overcoming his Mental Realm''s weakness. It was the Immortal Sakura! As long as he progressed in it, his Mental Realm would be sturdy enough to withstand these violent changed.


    Six hundred kilometers¡­ Eight hundred kilometers¡­ One thousand kilometers!


    Finally, Ryu could sense the Cosmic Qi being consumed at a decent pace. However, the shocking part was that even while maintaining [Immortal Sakura] with such an obscene range, Ryu calculated that it would still take another ten minutes before this small wisp of Cosmic Qi was consumed!


    The violent upsurge in Ryu''s Mental Realm finally began to slow. His eyes opened with a piercing flash that seemed to cut across the void, slicing into Youkai''s glabella.


    Ryu stood, his grip tightening around his halberd. Even though Youkai had shaking violently under his presence, Ryu had long stopped looking at him, instead gazing toward the distance.


    Though his range was now a thousand kilometers, outside an immediate radius of about a few hundred meters, the things Ryu could sense began to blur. There was nothing he could do about this, the quality of Spiritual Sense at the mere Spiritual Endowment Realm was too low, this was why he preferred [Third Perspective].


    Unfortunately, though [Third Perspective] had improved after he broke to the eight seal, its range was still only about forty to fifty kilometers. It wasn''t much use for what he was looking at now¡­ Though it would be very soon would be¡­


    Ryu''s Spiritual Sense couldn''t see any details at this distance, but what it could see were notable auras. Of which, there was a massive rage fueled train shuttling its way here and it was already less than five hundred kilometers away, a matter of minutes for an expert of that caliber.


    Who could it be if not Ancestor Basteel?

 Chapter 302: Take

    Ryu casual glance in the distance didn''t carry any fluctuation in expression. However, the instant his senses locked on to Ancestor Basteel''s aura, abrupt changes began to occur around the wizened man.


    A chilly frost whipped into action, carrying along with it countless falling blossom petals.


    Ancestor Basteel instantly felt that his path forward was obstructed. A deep chill assaulted his bones as he tried to pierce his way through, but he suddenly found the resistance of each of these seemingly insignificant snow petals was akin to a Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm expert.


    This matter wasn''t without consequence to Ryu. Every shattered petal was yet another blow to his Mental Realm. However, he managed to slow Ancestor Basteel down to less than a tenth of his original speed. At the same time, the pace as which he was burning through that strand of Cosmic Qi had accelerated once more.


    Without bothering with those matters any longer, Ryu''s gaze locked on to First Grand Elder Zu.


    ''Before, I couldn''t interrupt his breakthrough¡­ But now¡­''


    Little Rock, feeling Ryu''s emotions, didn''t hesitate to flash forward at his greatest speed.


    First Grand Elder Zu''s eyes widened. He had thought that Ryu was intelligent enough to know that interrupting his breakthrough was impossible, so he had slightly lowered his guard. By the time he came to terms with Ryu''s ridiculous Spiritual Sense range, a gorgeous silver feather plated bird was already less than a hundred meters from him.


    Steeling his resolve, Youkai sneered. ''Do you think I''m so easy to deal with?!''


    "[Vortex Arrow]!"


    Youkai was confident. Even in the middle of his breakthrough, casting Visualization was incomparably easy. In fact, of the three main paths, battling while undergoing a Mental Realm breakthrough was the easiest!


    However, he could have never anticipated what happened next.


    Ryu tossed his halberd into the air, allowing it to suspend before him under the influence of his [Demonic Strings].


    His daggers flew into his hands, their bodies vibrating mightily as he poured Spiritual Qi into their depths.


    It was then the change occurred. From a beautiful blue crystalline, the daggers suddenly transformed.


    A sinister red aura pulsed outward as their Spiritual Qi density grew.


    Youkai''s expression changed, but it was already too late. Ryu''s arms whipped forward violently, slashing both across his body as two beams of Spiritual Qi only exposed through Spiritual Sense invisibly cut through the air.


    Travelling through the Ethereal Realm, these sharp blades of Spiritual Qi were simply too fast. In less than the blink of an eye, they appeared before Youkai''s barely formed Visualizations, rending them apart!


    A pain roar escaped Youkai''s lips. Others couldn''t truly see what was happening, but he knew the truth¡­


    Those two Spiritual Qi blades had entered his Mental Realm!


    Youkai''s Mental Realm was nowhere near as systematic or beautiful as Ryu''s. In its skies, various Visualizations existed, but there was no order to them. He had comprehended dozens of Visualizations, each of which were floating around his slowly forming Soul¡­ But none of it seemed to matter anymore.


    Ryu was so stunned that he completely forgot to finish off Youkai for a moment.


    In that brief instant of time, the Cosmic Qi his [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] was sapped away in an instant. Not just it, but it took with it the Immortal Qi and even a large portion of Ryu''s own Spiritual Qi reserves.


    By the time Ryu snapped out of it, his Immortal Sakura fizzled out of existence, no longer having the support it needed to sustain itself.


    Realizing the drastic change in the situation, Ryu knew he had to run. Without the Cosmic Qi''s support, there was no way her could hold off Ancestor Basteel. It may have caused him a tremendous amount of pain, but it was a large part of the reason he had survived to now as well.


    Ryu turned his gaze toward Youkai, looking to finish him off, but what he found astounded him even more. The latter¡­ was actually already dead!


    Youkai collapsed from the skies, his gaze completely void.


    Without hesitation, Ryu''s [Demonic Strings] whipped outward. Why not claim himself two more Half-Step Immortal Ring corpses?


    An instant later, Little Rock was enveloped in a sheen of light green. Melding with Ryu''s Wind Inheritance, his speed more than doubled. If he could marginally measure up to weaker Immortal Ring experts in speed before, now, he firmly surpassed them!


    With a single flap, he was already over a kilometer away. Those experts who were meant to block Ryu''s way stood frozen in time, unable to comprehend what had just happened.


    Just as Ryu disappeared over the horizon, violent coughing suddenly sounded from Mortal Qi Mountain, snapping the dazed experts out of their stupor, only two find two figures stumbling out from where Ryu exited.


    No¡­ It was more accurate to say that it was one figure and one corpse¡­


    Fuoco had survived, but Twelfth Elder Ember had died!


    "WHERE IS HE?!" Fuoco''s maddened roar shook the skies, but the mortal enemy that made his eyes boil with blood was nowhere to be seen.


    It was then that Ancestor Basteel appeared on the horizon. However, the latter was clearly aware that Ryu was long gone. Or rather¡­ They thought he was¡­ The reality was very different, though.


    Ryu had reappeared in the skies even above the air space they stood in, his brows lightly furrowing. He had decided to come back to make sure that Fuoco and that elder wouldn''t exit. After all, he had exposed his Heavenly Pupils to them.


    But, who knew their lives would be so tenacious? Well¡­ Fuoco''s was, anyway.


    According to Ryu''s estimates, it was simply impossible even for an Immortal Ring expert to survive that torrent of qi. Yet, they had taken its point blank assault and one of them actually managed to survive?


    The only explanation was a top tier defensive treasure. That and the fact this Twelfth Elder most definitely risked his life for the sake of Fuoco.


    There shouldn''t have been any blood relation between them. Plus, Fuoco wasn''t among the absolute elite disciples of the Ember Clan either. Yet, the old man had still taken action to protect him. This alone was worthy of respect.


    ''I should kill him¡­'' Ryu''s eyes flashed. But in the end, he shook his head.


    This Fuoco was well aware that Ryu had the ability to disappear and appear as he pleased. He wasn''t a fool, he would definitely take precautions against this. With his background, seeking shelter from one of the Inner Ring Ancestors was as easy as breathing.


    The current Ryu was too tired and spent, not to mention the fact his body was currently riddled with hidden injuries. He had spent practically the entirety of the last year on edge, he needed to give his body time to recuperate. These debts would be settled soon enough¡­


    Having made a decision, Ryu urged Little Rock to turn and leave.


    It was fine. He didn''t plan on hiding his Heavenly Pupils for his whole life anyway. If he couldn''t deal with this small bit of adversity, he wasn''t worthy of saving his family.


    ''The things that are my, Ryu Tatsuya''s, aren''t so easy to take.''

 Chapter 303: Glean

    A little over a week later, Ryu found himself deep within the forest depths that separated the Outer and Inner Ring. Sensing for a bit, his body suddenly disappeared. When his vision finally, cleared, he was within the depths of the Death Worm Immortal Cave.


    Having exploited the Loom Clan into buying much of the precious resources he needed to repair the Immortal Cave back into working condition, Ryu suddenly felt a slight wave of guilt. This wasn''t actually because of his exploitation of them, but rather because he had found even better resources while clearing the Mortal Qi Small Realm out.


    Obviously, as the Immortal Cave of a Path Extinction Realm expert, the resources one could find in a mere Inner Ring weren''t enough to bring it back to perfect working condition. What Ryu had actually wanted to do was to hold it together for long enough for its self-repair functions to kick in, similar to giving the Immortal Cave a jumpstart.


    But now¡­


    Ryu entered the core of the Immortal Cave. With a wave of his hand, seven pulsing lights appeared, spinning around one each with a pattern the inexplicably left one dazed.


    If others knew Ryu was using seven Qi Sources to power a mere Lower Heaven Grade Immortal Cave, they''d probably spit up blood in rage. However, Ryu hardly cared. He didn''t have some holy cultivation land to give these Qi Sources to. Since this Death Worm Immortal Cave would be his abode for now, there was no problem using the Qi Sources in this way.


    The best part about this solution was that he no longer had to worry about powering the Death Worm. Qi Sources could absorb energy far faster than humans could cultivate. Even Ryu was lacking in comparison to them despite his Bone Structure. So, energy was obviously no longer an issue.


    However, though this was the case, by Ryu''s estimates, the Immortal Cave would only have about seventy percent of its full strength. This wasn''t a matter of energy quantity, but rather, energy quality.


    At the end of the day, the seven Qi Sources were only of the Mortal Grade. Though, luckily, they were infinitely close to the Immortal Grade.


    ''You feel bad?'' Ailsa asked with a light smile, still hiding away from Ryu''s foul smell.


    "Even if the Loom Clan falls behind a bit now, with Matheus and what I imparted to Taedra, their rise is inevitable. Matheus alone would be able to bring them out himself in just a few more decades. With Taedra''s aid, it''s already set in stone."


    ''Taedra, hm?'' Ailsa pouted with a slight hint of jealousy.


    "She''s a decent talent. Reaching the peak of the Path Extinction Realm in a few millennia won''t be impossible. But, crossing into the Dao Pedestal Realm will likely be a trial that blocks her for life.


    "There''s nothing to feel bad about. I only acted in accordance with my own conscience."


    ''I see¡­'' Ailsa said lightly.


    Not everything was so black and white. Ryu acted against the Ember Clan, but their Elder was still valiant in protecting their younger generation. He acted against the Loom Clan, but only their City Lord was guilty.


    ''¡­ Well, you should still be cautious. Now, not only have your Heavenly Pupils been exposed, but you did tell Taedra you true name. She would likely be greatly rewarded by those so-called Apostles if she were to divulge this information.''


    The Apostles¡­ It wasn''t a Title Ryu had heard until recently. He was completely unaware of the matters that occurred with Molly and grandfather back in Valor City. However, within Looming City, he heard many ramblings. Amongst them, he constantly heard mention of these Apostles. Apparently, they were the ones overseeing the final selections for entry into the Ice Devil Legacy World.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a piercing killing intent as he thought about that day at the Mercenary Guild.


    Shaking his head, he threw things to the back of his mind. Currently, there was just a single year left until the eclipse. Considering his current wealth, the price was no longer a problem even with the vast improvement in his cultivation realm.


    The smart thing to do would probably be to silently return to the Awoken Moon Sect and wait out the final period while cultivating in peace. However, Ryu didn''t even consider doing such a thing.


    Most of the dangerous situations Ryu got himself into were done on purpose by him. He wanted to experience more trials, more tribulations. He didn''t want to bury his head in the sand and just struggle to survive. He needed to grow stronger!


    With so many enemies gathering in the Core Region, this was the last opportunity to temper himself in his home Realm before left to the Moon Realm. He would go not because it was smart, and not even in order to get revenge, but rather to push himself to his limits.


    Feeling that the Death Worm was quickly repairing itself, Ryu left the control room and entered one of the many training rooms before finally taking out the odd prayer mat.


    Over the last week, Ryu had focused on nothing but healing himself with the help of Ailsa and many of the precious herbs he had gathered. To a genius like him, hidden injuries could be disastrous, so Ailsa took care to force him to focus on nothing else but healing his body. As a consequence, he wasn''t able to take a good look at what he risked his life for until now.


    The prayer mat was far thicker than normal, being about an inch and a half to two inches in height. Its width was about two meters while its length was nearly three. With such a size, it was less of a prayer mat and more of a thin mattress.


    It had a deep, rich brown color to its that radiated a darkish gold. Its embroidery was absolute exquisite, they seemed simple on the surface, but even Ryu''s eyes got lost trying to follow their patterns, a matter that was shocking considering his first ranked Heavenly Pupils.


    "You said that you think this prayer mat might be related to Focus Qi?" Ryu asked with a furrowed brow.


    ''I believe so¡­''


    "But when I first came into contact with it, it actually had the complete opposite effect."


    ''This is true, but the proof is already right before you. You know well you shouldn''t have had enough Focus Qi to last so long without at least having a dip in performance. Plus, scanning a thousand-kilometer radius is still far beyond your current self even if your Spiritual Sense can, yet you did it.''


    Ryu sighed. "How much longer until my Immortal Body is complete?"


    ''It seems like the impurity purge is slowing down. So, likely by the end of this week.''


    "Good¡­ Then I guess I''ll spend this time trying to see what I can glean from this mat¡­"

 Chapter 304: Caused

    Knowing that he wasn''t going to get anything by continuing to stare at the mat, Ryu boldly took a step forward and sat at its very center.


    In that moment, an inexplicable feeling overwhelming him. It didn''t feel like a surge of qi, but it did feel incomparably comfortable. In a daze, Ryu almost felt like falling asleep in that very moment.


    His mind completely relaxed, even his stern, expressionless face softened, making him look like less of an ice statue and more human. It was too bad that this expression that was rarely seen on him was completely obscured by foul grime.


    Though this prayer mat didn''t infuse Ryu with any qi, he still felt that he could cultivate far faster while seated upon it. In fact, this cultivation speed was about similar to when Ryu entered Breath of Heaven.


    In addition, he felt the lingering injuries of his Mental Realm quickly accelerate their speed of recovery.


    Finally, completely out of expectations, Ryu fell into a deep sleep. By the time he woke up, he would have no idea how he fell asleep, only that he had.


    Ailsa watched on with a slight surprise. But in the end, not finding anything dangerous about the situation, she let Ryu rest.


    Those with mortal bodies hadn''t completely cast away the limitations of mortals. Though Ryu seemed to be able to go without sleep or food with ease, the truth was that though he could do it, it left lingering fatigue that slowly piled.


    By Ailsa''s estimates, though Ryu was unaware due to his own stubbornness, this limited Ryu''s peak potential by at least ten percent. This wasn''t a measure of baseline strength, but rather his efficiency in implementing that strength.


    Unfortunately, Ailsa knew her limits. Even if she told Ryu to take a rest, he would most definitely ignore her. The fact he didn''t have a choice in the matter now rested a stone that had weighed down her heart.


    ''It seems this prayer mat has the ability to calm the mind and heart, allowing the body to reach its optimal condition. This gives the illusion that it speeds up your cultivation, but the truth is that it''s just tapping into potential you already have¡­ It must have been a combination of this and that dual cultivation technique that helped that Zu Elder and his woman reach the peak of the Divine Vessel Realm so quickly.''


    Still, there was a deeper mystery to this that would have to wait until Ryu awoke. Given the abilities of those two, it was impossible for them to weather the qi storm this prayer mat protected that Pocket Space from. This meant the mat was there long before they arrived.


    More curiously, how had they used the prayer mat at all? When Ryu tried to touch it, his Focus Qi was sapped in an instant. He couldn''t last a second, let alone long enough to complete even one cycle of a dual cultivation technique.


    ''Curious¡­'' Ailsa mumbled, waiting patiently for Ryu to awake as she dealt with her own lingering fatigue.


    **


    Over two months later, Ryu was startled awake. It wasn''t because something had interrupted his sleep, but rather because he was shocked that he was sleeping at all.


    "How¡­" He mumbled. "¡­ Ailsa?"


    ''Oh look, the big sleeping baby is finally awake.'' Ailsa giggled. ''You''ve been out for two months.''


    Ryu''s eyes widened in shock. "Why didn''t you wake me?"


    ''Don''t take that tone with me.'' Ailsa harrumphed, her little body floating up to face Ryu with a glare. ''I''ve wanted you to rest for a long time already, this prayer mat just gave me a helping hand. When it comes to training, rest is just as important. The less you rest, the less potential you''ll be able to squeeze out of yourself. Consider this a good thing.''


    Ryu looked toward Ailsa expressionlessly, but in the end, he shook his head. What was done was done, there was no point in getting into a spat over it.


    ''So, how was it?'' Ailsa asked.


    "This prayer mat is actually able to heighten the instinctual reactions of my body. Though it was much slower than if I did it deliberately, I could actually cultivate in my sleep. My Divine Vessel Realm cultivation is already consolidated, and I even made some progress toward opening my second Qi Vessel."


    ''Cultivating while you''re sleeping, huh?'' Suddenly, Ailsa pinched her nose. ''Alright, alright. Your purge ended a while ago, go wash yourself. It actually lasted longer than I expected, I think the prayer mat actually helped you squeeze a bit more potential out.''


    Ryu didn''t need to Ailsa to goad him any more, there was no one more eager to clean himself than him. The Death Worm Immortal Cave did in fact have a bathhouse within it, not surprising since it was once owned by a woman. So he made great use of it immediately. However, his thoughts couldn''t help but drift to the prayer mat.


    Though he was sleeping for two months, his situation was actually more complicated than that. In fact, his mind was currently swirling with several inexplicable things. There was nothing tangible¡­ But it was rather like this prayer mat was reaching out to him, subconsciously layering the instinctual understandings he needed in order to use it.


    For example, Ryu now knew one of the mat''s main abilities was optimization. It brought one to their peak potential when cultivating. This allowed Ryu to understand why it was so large. This prayer mat wasn''t just meant to be used for cultivating, but was also useful in practicing and comprehending techniques.


    This ability wasn''t so useful to Ryu since he had the fourth floor of the crystalline jade, but it was amazing nonetheless.


    The prayer mat also had the ability to curb and calm qi. When qi becomes too dense, it can also result in violent upsurges that makes it impossible for anyone to take advantage. This was clearly seen by the Twelfth Elder''s death. However, the prayer mat could force qi into submission, allowing it to enter an optimal state for absorption. This was the second facet that increased cultivation speed.


    However, what was more baffling to Ryu was this nagging sensation in the back of his mind¡­ A sensation that told him this prayer mat was far more enigmatic than even he believed¡­ A sensation that told him that it wasn''t that this prayer mat protected the Pocket Space from the qi surge, but rather that this prayer mat caused it in the first place!

 Chapter 305: Underestimated

    Maybe something had changed within him, but Ryu actually took his time to clean himself. Hours ticked by before he was finally willing to exit the large bathhouse. It seemed the several months of discomfort had weighed on him more heavily than he originally believed. It was only now that he was truly relaxed.


    ''Ah, there''s my handsome Little Ryu.'' Ailsa fluttered around Ryu in her Faerie form like a little butterfly, her happiness seemingly far too exaggerated for the occasion.


    Ryu actually smiled lightly, but didn''t pursue the topic. He instead calmly wiped himself and put on his usual set of black robes. Of course, these were woven by a Spiritual Seamstress, so they could withstand a battle between Connecting Heaven Realm experts.


    "The prayer mat is an intriguing treasure, it seems to have a faint consciousness of its own. I feel like it''s been trying to tell me its name all of this time, but it''s faintly out of my reach."


    ''A name?'' Ailsa''s brows arched in astonishment.


    Names held a lot of power in the martial world. Many of Ryu''s own treasures didn''t even have a real one. Even his Origin Grade incubator was merely known by him as the Incubator, for example. And his cloak was simply known as the Cloak.


    For an item to gain a name, it had to accomplish something significant.


    Of course, there were also objects like Ryu''s Glove of Order that were given names simply because lower tier Planes didn''t understand the significance of a Title. As a result, it was ironically so that many Mortal Plane treasures had names, while very few Immortal Plane treasures did.


    Still, Ryu faintly believed that maybe the Glove of Order gaining a name wasn''t simply due to ignorance. It seemed quite special even among his horde of amazing treasures.


    Simply put, the fact this prayer mat had a name it tried to speak to Ryu meant it was far more amazing that either Ryu or Ailsa previously believed.


    Though this was a mystery, Ryu chose to decisively not think of these matters anymore. Wasting time positing theories without enough clues was foolish. He had much more important things to do.


    "Ailsa¡­ I think it''s about time."


    Understanding what her Life Partner was referring to, Ailsa grinned mysteriously. It seemed she was anticipating it as well.


    **


    With the Zu Palace''s second floor, the very same expansive library that had filled even Ryu with awe still stood. However, in the past couple of years, the atmosphere had grown steadily colder.


    If the four Zu Ancestors thought that something was wrong after their descendants didn''t come to pay respects to them a few days after the crystalline jade was completed, they were completely certain of it by now.


    In what seemed like a blink of an eye, it had already been more than three years since they first met Ryu, yet they hadn''t seen him since. But, what was more infuriating was that they could very clearly feel a presence frequently entering and exiting the crystalline jade as he pleased. If they didn''t know what was going on by now, they would be unworthy of the Sky God Title. Not only had Ryu managed to escape their machinations, but he was also freely using the resources of their Clan with impunity.


    They thought that all of their work had failed. Countless trillions of years, numerous wasted Eras, all for this very plan. Yet, it had been spoiled at the hands of a teenage boy.


    They weren''t fools. They knew that Ryu would never enter this library again until he had the strength to deal with them. And, they had no ability to leave because of the special technique used to manifest the jades they were using to sustain their lives into the Ethereal Plane.


    However, on this day, something baffling occurred. The boy they thought wouldn''t dare to appear before them again actually made his way to the second floor and creaked the large double doors open.


    In that instant, Flora''s petite body erupted into a fit of uproarious laughter.


    "Didn''t I tell you?! He''s just a little boy! How could he hold back his curiosity for so long!? Since you''ve come here boy, don''t think of leaving again!"


    This version of Flora was far different from the charming, teasing Flora Ryu had met before. It seemed the anguish at having failed at the final step was enough to push her over the edge, revealing her true venomous side, the very side of her that wouldn''t have hesitated to steal all of Ryu''s talent.


    "Hmph. I''d like to see which of you dares to lay a hand on my Little Ryu."


    The expressions of the four Ancestors changed.


    Their judgement had been completely impaired. They hadn''t even noticed that Ryu had entered with another individual. Plus, the lane leading to the center of the library was several hundred meters long, though Flora spoke in agitation, the distance between the two parties was still relatively large.


    Morvar, the quiet and cold male of the four Ancestors, bitterly smiled. As Ryu and Ailsa slowly came into view, he became certain that they had truly lost this time.


    Was it normal for a Sky God of Flora''s stature to lose her composure like this? Of course not. Ryu''s Great Grandfather had learned of his sudden rebirth and even that he could now cultivate with a False Spiritual Foundation, yet all he reacted with was a raised eyebrow.


    If something wasn''t very wrong, even with her naturally venomous personality, there was no way Flora would lose her cool like this.


    "It seems you four have paid a significant price to live so long." Ailsa said coldly, carrying an air of majesty that seemed absent when she was with Ryu alone. "However, this is what you deserve for daring to lay a hand on my Life Partner."


    Morvar remained silent. Of the four of them, Flora had been the youngest, so she had less time to fortify her mind and build her will power. There was of course a price to pay for maintaining one''s consciousness for so long, and she was likely to be the first among them to pay for it¡­


    Eska, the Immortal Sakura Sky God, looked toward Ryu with a shocked expression. She immediately realized that he was already on the verge of comprehending her technique''s third stage.


    "You¡­" However how could her shock be more than Flora''s? "¡­ You comprehended my [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] to the [Divine Chaotic Pestle] stage?!"


    Ryu swept a cold glance over the Sky God. "Is there anything difficult about such an accomplishment?"


    Suddenly, the cold Morvar began to laugh as well.


    "I see, we''ve been played by you from the very beginning. It seems we''ve underestimated these Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Maybe in your Era, it''s long since found a place in the top ten, most likely top three." A deep sigh resounded through the library. "To think my Zu Clan would have such a day¡­"

 Chapter 306: Choose

    In truth, Ryu didn''t care much for interacting with the Zu Clan Ancestors. He didn''t truly need them. Even without Flora''s guidance, it only took him a couple weeks to comprehend [Divine Chaotic Annihilation]. And, when the time flow increase was taken into account, this boiled down to just a few days.


    Though this disadvantage might pile up higher during the later stages, Ryu believed in his own talent. If it wasn''t for Ailsa wanting to speak a piece of her mind, and the fact the Core Texts were all located at the center of this massive library while the outer reaches were made up of normal literature, he wouldn''t even care to appear here.


    Plus, Ryu and the Zu Clan would never see eye to eye. Even if he agreed to be on speaking terms with these four Ancestors, his debt of blood had already been signed with their descendants on the outside. This matter was already as good as over.


    Originally, Ryu wouldn''t have minded completing a cycle of karma with the Zu Clan. Since their crystalline jade inheritance would most definitely be a large part of the reason for his rise, it was only right that he properly repay them. However, after taking into account the atrocious actions their descendants committed on the Mortal Plane, and even how they knew well that completing the crystalline jade would lead to him being hunted down¡­ Whatever kindness Ryu had left in his heart was flown away.


    It was then that the fourth silent to now Ancestor spoke. The usually fiery tempered Balaur seemed to take this new situation in stride, chuckling deeply.


    "It seems our Zu Clan has lost this time. Look at that, you two found a genius to take up your mantles, he even looks no different from a Zu, yet you schemed against him and lost the opportunity."


    With Balaur''s upright personality, it was no surprise that he was the only one against tricking Ryu. It had even been him who warned Ryu to stay away from Flora back then. Though, Ryu didn''t actually need that reminder, which was why he never took his kindness to heart.


    "Originally, Little Ryu, I wanted to kill them to avoid future problems. But, these four may be of great help to you in the future. Even if it''s not for their knowledge, you can imagine how powerful you would be as a Soul Necromancer if you had four Sky Gods under your control¡­"


    "You dare!?" Flora''s temper raged once more, her translucent image fluctuating wildly as she lost more and more of herself.


    Soul Necromancers were one of the three main branches of Necromancy. Unfortunately, the threshold for stepping into this branch was incredibly high because the weakest soul puppet that could be refined had to be of the Soul Birth Realm. Simply put, any Soul Necromancer was an Immortal Ring expert at the absolute weakest.


    "¡­ Their power has fallen a bit, though." Ailsa continued without a care. "They''re even a level weaker than myself currently, so they''re only as good as Peak Soul Refinement wraiths. However, when you refine them into Vengeful Souls, their falling into madness won''t matter anymore. In fact, it might help. Once that happens, them reclaiming their former strength will be relatively easy."


    Hearing Ailsa''s idea, Ryu actually grew contemplative. He really hadn''t thought of this. Usually, capturing a soul had to be done directly after death, but this was clearly a special case where the soul was preserved through extraordinary means. It would be a shame to miss this opportunity.


    Ryu was obviously still too weak to refine such high-level soul puppets. But, once he reached the Soul Refinement Realm, he would definitely be qualified.


    Though Flora was continuously raving, the remaining three Ancestors could only listen on with grim expressions.


    What could they say? What promises could they possibly make to live? There really was nothing¡­


    Actually, there was. But they were completely unwilling to go that far. It would be better for them to die than for such a thing to fall into their enemy''s hand. Let the rise of the Zu Clan be left up to Fate from now on¡­ They had meddled too much and look where they ended up because of it.


    After nodding in agreement with Ailsa, Ryu no longer bothered with the four Ancestors. With Ailsa watching his back, he no longer had anything to worry about. However, Ailsa herself stayed back to say one more thing that truly threw the four Ancestors into a cold, piercing hell.


    "I am not one to underestimate Sky Gods. You four may look distraught now, but I''m sure you haven''t been lying idle here for years without thinking of any contingency plans, as I am also certain that it would be impossible for a Clan of your caliber to not think of any backups no matter how confident you were in your original plot.


    "But what I will say is that none of it matters at all." Ailsa smiled, but it looked decidedly could to the four of them. "You four should know that the crystalline jade is currently sitting silently within Little Ryu''s inner space and has no reason to ever come out. I''m sure you''re all smart people, you don''t need me to explain any further, right?"


    The expression of the four Ancestor''s changed. Only then did Ailsa smile in satisfaction before practically gliding over to Ryu''s side.


    That was right¡­ As long as the crystalline jade was within Ryu''s inner space, there was nothing they could do! If they killed him, his inner space would shatter, taking everything within it with it. The only reason Ryu managed to keep the treasures he stored in his inner space from his last life was because of the Phoenix Sky God''s interference, there would be no third chance. And, even if there were, it would have nothing to do with the Zu Clan.


    As the four Ancestors fell into a pit of despair, Ryu had begun shifting through all sorts of Mental Realm techniques. There was actually a sizable number of Qi and Body Realm techniques as well, but Ryu wasn''t very interested in them for now. He wanted to broaden his horizons. Even though he was a cripple in his last life, he still had understandings toward the latter two Realms. However, since Mental Realm cultivation was banned in his time, he had run across it very few times.


    Ryu suddenly fell into a fascinating world. He didn''t cultivate any of the techniques he came across, but he found just reading through them filled him with awe.


    ''His Mental Realm shouldn''t be this powerful¡­ He actually successfully cultivated [Tribulation Nine Clouds] for the hardest of the three Realms. We really did make a mistake.'' Eska''s expression continued to fluctuate wildly.


    Days later, Ryu finally took a deep breath. He had finally gone through every Spiritual Awakening and Spiritual Endowment technique the Zu Clan had. It was now time to choose.

 Chapter 307: Vector Eagle

    The catalogue of Mental Realm techniques the Zu Clan had was expansive almost beyond reason. A single Clan might struggle to have a handful of this caliber of technique, yet the Zu Clan had thousands. No, even tens of thousands on this level.


    What surprised Ryu even more was that his analysis was previously was actually wrong. The Zu Clan had plenty of Necromancy techniques and even had some Summoner Necromancer fragmented Legacies.


    After thinking a moment, Ryu understood why this was. One had to remember that the reason the Zu Clan fell into decline was precisely because they existed during the Era right before the ban on Mental Realm Masters. This meant that before their downfall, there had yet to be a rift created between them and Necromancers.


    Still, the Zu Clan was fundamentally an orthodox Mental Realm Master Clan. The Necromancy techniques they did have were often the most basic and only served for reference and curiosity. As for the fragmented Summoning Necromancer Legacies, Ryu knew he wasn''t fated for them.


    To call these Inheritances fragmented was a massive overstatement. In reality, they were nothing more than introductory excerpts to the enigmatic third branch of Necromancy.


    Maybe it was only now Ryu truly understood how difficult it would be to gain such an Inheritance for him. If even the mighty Zu Clan knew so little about Summoning Necromancers¡­ Just what level of existence were they?


    Throwing this matter to the back of his mind, Ryu set his mind to the task at hand.


    With so many techniques to choose from, it was no surprise that many accomplished the same tasks. For example, [Minor Teleportation], [Blink], and [Warp] all functionally completed the same goal, however the manner in which they did so was different.


    In fact, Ryu saw this pattern repeat itself many times more. [Vector Arrow], [Winding Arrow], [Piercing Ballista]¡­ these were another set of techniques that fell into the same categories.


    Each technique, however, had a different theory behind them. Peering into how their Visualizations were constructed gave Ryu a deep level of insight he didn''t previously have.


    [Vector Arrow] emphasized straight-line speed, but it lacked variability. [Winding Arrow] gained this variability, but it was lacking in power. [Piercing Ballista] had the power, but it was incredibly difficult to control and it took several moments to properly complete its Visualization.


    Following this logic, each technique had its pros as cons. But what Ryu actually became lost in was exactly the subtle differences in Visualization that led to these changes.


    Before, Ryu hadn''t noticed. This was because the Visualizations he practiced had yet to reach a level where he was qualified to. But, every Visualization was constructed of Runes. These Runes were similar to the nodes of arrays and formations and held the power to communicate with the heavens to enlist the specific sort of strength it evoked.


    Because Ryu had yet to master [Immortal Sakura] or [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], he wasn''t qualified to sense their Runes yet. His Visualizations of them were still superficial.


    When Ryu came to this point in understanding, a brand new world was opened up to him.


    "It seems I''ve made a mistake." Ryu said lightly. "I''ve been focused too much on powerful Visualizations when there was a treasure trove hidden here¡­"


    As techniques created for those of the Spiritual Awakening and Endowment Realms, Ryu was more than qualified to peer in the Runes of these techniques. Suddenly, Visualizations no longer looked like mere images to him, but rather became a series of equations that when given an input, relayed a predictable output.


    "If it''s like this¡­ I can construct and deconstruct these as I please¡­"


    Lost in thought, Ryu inadvertently spoke aloud.


    In an instant, a [Vector Arrow] appeared in Ryu''s hand. It had a sleek and long body, the amount of Spiritual Qi needed to form it was very little, and its head seamlessly melded into its spine in the shape of a silver bullet.


    A moment later, a [Winding Arrow] appeared above it. Unlike the former, its body was quite a bit shorter. At the same time, its feathered ends were larger than normal. This drastically lowered its flight speed, but increased its maneuverability.


    Even above them, the [Piercing Ballista] that should have taken several seconds to Visualize appeared in the blink of an eye. With the Origin Flame''s perfect recall ability, Ryu could effectively instant cast. This drawback of the [Piercing Ballista] was nothing to him.


    Unlike the other two, it didn''t have the shape of an arrow. Instead, it looked like a glistening glob of mercury shaped into an oblate spheroid. Its form factor was simple, and even allowed the free flow change of its structure, but Ryu could faintly tell it was the most dangerous.


    This wasn''t much of a surprise. The former two were Spiritual Awakening techniques, while the latter was a Spiritual Endowment technique.


    However, what was a surprise was the sudden collapse of the three Visualizations. At least, it looked like a collapse until one realized the numerous golden ancient runes bobbing gently in the air in their place.


    The eyes of the four Ancestors widened. They had been here for too many years. Even for Sky Gods, it was grating on the nerves. In a way, watching Ryu cultivate, even if he was their enemy, was a sort of release no matter how uncomfortable they felt about him ignoring them. It was no surprise then that they immediately noticed this oddity!


    It was only after a Mental Realm Master comprehended a Visualization to the Great Circle of Perfection that they could deconstruct a Visualization into its Runes and seek to manipulate it to their personal preferences.


    However, Ryu had only been here a few days! To make matters more unnerving, most of the time was spent reading the other several thousand techniques. The time he spent on these three in particular barely amounts to a few minutes.


    How was this possible?!


    Ailsa, however, found this to be very normal. If Ryu could comprehend [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] to the third stage in a few weeks¡­ What did these weak techniques count for?


    With his pupils, Ryu could see the Runes of these weaker Visualizations even without first comprehending them. This in turn allowed his comprehension to occur much faster which also in turn allowed him to see the Runes even clearer. With this sort of cycle, how could he not have such great success?


    Still, what happened next left the Ancestors completely speechless.


    The Runes began to move at Ryu''s will. Sometimes they would collapse, but Ryu would reform them just as quickly.


    Soon, they began to stack upon one another, slowly melding one.


    This process continued for an hour. But even with this seemingly "long" period of time, the shock of the Ancestors only deepened. What was even more surprising than even this was that Ryu had actually managed to sustain his Spiritual Qi for so long. Wasn''t he an inferior talent? Just how far had he pushed [Tribulation Nine Clouds]?!


    "That should be it." Ryu said softly.


    The Runes before him finally stabilized. After checking to make sure the Runes had combined to his liking, he condensed them, allowing his creation to be projected into the world.


    The space before it trembled slightly. Not because of its might, but rather because Ryu''s control over it was still poor, causing his Spiritual Qi to leak out from its Projection. However, even with this small flaw, one wouldn''t dare to look down upon it.


    Ryu''s creation had the same mercury-like consistency and appearance of [Piercing Ballista], except this time, it was formed into a wide angle V. No, maybe it was more accurate to say that it was reminiscent of a headless bird of prey, its eagle-like wings spreading out with a faint desire for slaughter.


    As for its thickness, it was incomparably thin. So thin in fact that it seemed to disappear when observing from its side. One could imagine the level of sharpness. It was quite possible that one wouldn''t even notice they were cut until their life ended.


    Ryu nodded with satisfaction. "I''ll call you [Vector Eagle] then¡­"


    ''Monster¡­!'' The four Zu Ancestors all shared this combined thought¡­

 Chapter 308: Warped

    Ryu''s [Vector Eagle] was exceptional. Became of its incredibly slim and thin design, it had to deal with practically no air resistance. At the same time, Ryu managed to keep [Piercing Ballista]''s malleable mercury body, thus allowing Ryu to change [Vector Eagle]''s form as he pleased. Minor changes in the technique''s wings gave it a maneuverability [Winding Arrow] could only dream of. As for its piercing power, this hardly needed mentioned. With such a slim formfactor, how could it be lacking.


    ''To think Little Ryu has such talent in the Mental Realm¡­'' Though Ailsa thought this, she wasn''t too surprised by this turnout. Those who wielded the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils in the past often migrated toward the Mental Realm as well.


    Though the pupils were obviously also greatly beneficial for the Qi and Body Realm, it was far easier for them to turn their comprehension into strength in the Mental Realm.


    At this point in his life, Ryu was actually ahead of other wielders of this number one ranked set of pupils because he had already undone eight seals. Usually, this wouldn''t be accomplished until one had already stepped into the Peak of the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Nine. Ninety-nine. And nine hundred ninety-nine. These three hurdles represented the peak of the Mortal, Immortal and Cosmic Grades respectively. The fact Ryu was nearly at the pinnacle of the Mortal Grade already despite only being of the Divine Vessel Realm spoke volumes.


    Though Mental Realm techniques didn''t have any grades of their own and a person of any Mental Realm could theoretically learn any Visualization, there were obviously differing layers of complexities to every technique.


    While Ryu had yet to become capable of seeing the Runes of [Immortal Sakura], for techniques tailored toward Spiritual Awakening and Endowment Realm cultivators, seeing through them was far too easy for him!


    ''Sorry Grandpa Kukan¡­'' Ryu thought to himself somberly.


    There was a reason this was the first technique Ryu chose to create. He found his long-range abilities to be far too lacking. He didn''t seem able to grasp the quintessence of archery as easily as he had done for the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons.


    Of course, Ryu was aware that this wasn''t because he was lacking in talent. His grandfather had always said the most important thing to an archer were his eyes. Who in existence would dare to claim they had better eyes than him? Ryu just suspected that maybe his heart wasn''t in it.


    After so many centuries of being nothing but a frail cripple, he longed for battle in a way archery couldn''t satisfy. Maybe in the future when his blood cooled, he would try again. However, for now, if he ever needed a long-ranged attack, it was better if his hands were still free to wield his halberd.


    Ryu hadn''t even noticed the lost expressions of the Zu Ancestors, he had long since moved on.


    After completing his primary task, there were a host of other techniques to choose from. There were categories of illusion techniques, there were sense augmentation techniques and even mental attack techniques.


    Ryu tossed out the idea of illusions for the same reason he chose to set aside archery, he wasn''t interested.


    Sense augmentation techniques were decent, but could they compare to this [Third Perspective]? So he ignored this category of techniques as well.


    Ryu spent quite a bit of time reading through mental attack techniques, and even memorizing everything that could be used by the Soul Birth Realm and below, repeating the same with illusion techniques, but he also didn''t practice any of these. He wanted to be prepared for anything he might face in the future, but this wasn''t a path he wanted to follow.


    These mental attack techniques were the very reason Mental Realm Masters became taboo in his Shrine Realm to begin with. Everything from causing mental disorientation to techniques capable of enslaving masses could be found here. Ryu didn''t feel like delving into such a world.


    Ironically, the first category of techniques that caught Ryu''s attention were defensive ones.


    One might think that with [Immortal Sakura] he had nothing to worry about, but Ryu disagreed with this vehemently.


    Firstly, [Immortal Sakura] took far too much Spiritual Qi to sustain. In the end, even though he only used it to the peak of its second stage, it was a Sky God''s technique. It was fundamentally different from these lower tier techniques. Ryu couldn''t bring it out every time he needed an extra shield.


    Secondly, [Immortal Sakura] was very draining on his Focus Qi. The key to its amazing defenses was in the blossom petals that fell from its large canopy. The defensive petals didn''t just manifest from thin air. If they did, it would ruin the quintessence of the technique which relied on the majesty of the Immortal Sakura.


    As a result, Ryu not only had to predict the trajectory of an attack, he also had to cause a petal to accurately flutter down and into its path.


    This was worth it if he was fighting a strong enemy, or maybe multiple strong enemies. But it wasn''t practical otherwise.


    The technique that intrigued Ryu the most happened to be one he recently ran into, [Ethereal Ripple]. It had been used by Youkai to stall and preserve his life, and Ryu himself felt it had a lot of potential, it was just that its flaw was too glaring. Someone adept in the Mental Realm wouldn''t have to roar like Ryu had, a simple controlled frequency of Spiritual Qi would be enough.


    But¡­ if some modifications were made¡­


    Ryu''s mind sped through all of the techniques he had read, something that was exceptionally easy to him not only due to his own memory, but also the Origin Flame.


    ''[Ethereal Ripple]¡­ [Earthen Veins]¡­ [Sonorous Roar]¡­ [Warp]¡­''


    These four technique swam in Ryu''s mind. He picked them each carefully from a pile of extremely similar techniques before he was certain his experiment had a near eighty percent chance of success.


    Seeing the golden Runes flying in the air, the four Ancestors looked on with incredulous expressions.


    [Earthen Veins]¡­ That was a sense augmentation technique. It used Spiritual Qi to send vibrations in the earth like tendrils on a creature. Its range was easily ten to even a hundred times one''s Spiritual Sense.


    [Sonorous Roar] was a mental attack technique. It used high frequency ripples of Spiritual Qi to disorient one''s senses for a moment, throwing off the balance of one''s inner ear and delaying their reaction time.


    [Warp] was a unique teleportation technique. Instead of opening a rift like [Minor Teleportation] did, it folded space, effectively shrinking the earth beneath one''s feet. Its range was far smaller than that of [Minor Teleportation], but its versatility was greater and was far better for use in battle.


    As for [Ethereal Ripple], it was a defense skill. It formed a shield within the Ethereal Plane capable of influencing the Real Plane. This, theoretically, made it a great defense that was difficult to take down without having keen insights into the Mental Realm.


    Understanding these things, you could see why the Ancestors would be astonished. These techniques¡­ They were completely different from one another! They even came from drastically different categories of technique! At least before, Ryu had been fusing techniques from the same category, but this¡­ This was simply madness!


    "If you don''t want him to die, you should stop him now. Experimenting with Runes isn''t a child''s game." Eska said seriously. "A Rune is the representation of a Heavenly Law no matter how simple that law may be. And, it mustn''t be forgotten that these Runes are using his Mental Realm as a source to appear. That means if they''re combined in a dangerous way, he could shatter his own mind."


    Eska spoke to Ailsa seriously, but all she got was a glance that scorned her words.


    "My Little Ryu isn''t a fool."


    Eska''s brow furrowed. But she suddenly came to understanding. As Ryu''s Life Partner, Ailsa could read his mind at her leisure. The fact she wasn''t panicking meant that Ryu''s chances of success were extraordinarily high!


    If it was a normal person who felt this way, Eska might ignore it. But at the end of the day, Ailsa was a Soul Ascension Realm expert! Her depth of knowledge wasn''t something a normal individual could compare to.


    The days ticked by. Ryu slaved away, computing countless iterations as though he didn''t know the meaning of fatigue.


    However, the fact he had survived so long alone was enough for the four Ancestors to tremble. He was really doing it¡­


    "Condense." Ryu said lightly.


    A ripple swept through the library. The sound of turning page sounded as books loose from their shelves flipped wildly.


    Ryu smiled. There was something endlessly satisfying about this process. It was the kind of feeling he had only gotten when he completely swept through a complicated Ruin in his last life¡­


    "I''ll call you [Warped Ripple]¡­"

 Chapter 309: Another Test [Bonus Chapter]

    [Bonus chapter for 250 golden tickets]


    ''This¡­ This techniques potential alone is far beyond my [Immortal Sakura]¡­''


    Eska''s pride was greatly shaken. For Mental Realm Master''s like them, or rather, for geniuses, that is, they began building their own techniques at a very early age. After millions of years of accumulation, a technique on the level of [Immortal Sakura] would be born.


    However, it was inevitable that lingering mistakes in their youth or maybe even a lack of ambition would impede the majesty of the final product.


    For Eska to be able to become a Sky God with her self-created technique, it was clear and obvious that she was among the very best. Though her technique wasn''t the one with the most potential of the four of them, a title that fell to the youngest, Flora, it was the most versatile. So, for her to say such a thing about Ryu technique¡­ It spoke volumes.


    "This is an amazing technique, Little Ryu." Ailsa''s eyes seemed to smile along with her lips.


    "Is it?" Ryu found that his technique was still lacking in comparison to those suitable for those of the Soul Birth Realm to use, so he wasn''t very impressed with himself. That said, Ryu was a man who hardly reacted even when he found the long-lost Death Shrine. He wasn''t one to get swamped in his own success.


    "The way you combined these four techniques is nothing sort of ingenious." Ailsa said seriously. Knowing the type of person her Life Partner was, she wasn''t afraid of him getting full of himself and following a path to ruin. "The number of individuals who can even think of such a thing are a staggeringly small percentage. But the number that can execute it are even smaller."


    Ryu nodded faintly, his lips barely curling. "I am quite fond of the technique."


    Though he wasn''t impressed with himself, he was still happy with his creation because its uses were perfect for him.


    "Please¡­ Please explain it to me."


    Hearing this voice, Ryu''s brows raised. His head turned back to land on Eska''s gorgeous figure. Though this woman was his enemy, Ryu still had to admit that she was one of the two most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. Though Ailsa to him was a step ahead now that he could gaze upon her true form, Eska was still number two.


    Still, this aside, for a Sky God to put aside her pride to ask such a thing, it left Ryu intrigued.


    Ryu didn''t believe that Eska was completely in the dark. With her cultivation realm, it was impossible that she hadn''t figured out the majority of Ryu''s process already. But for her to act anyway¡­ There was a deeper level of fanaticism to this.


    "What will you give me in return?" Ryu asked without much emotion.


    "I see that you cultivate {Phoenix Heavenly Body]. But, only two of its four parts are within our Zu Clan''s Inheritance. It''s impossible to confirm since so many Eras have passed and another person may have laid hands on it already, but I can give you clues to where you might find the latter two halves."


    Ryu didn''t have much of a reaction to this. Eska had been dead for many Eras. Even if she had coordinates to a place, calculating its new location after so long would be troublesome.


    In addition, Ryu''s grandmothers'' Clans had the two latter portions. Ryu was reborn with his Clan Emblems of all four of his Ancestor Clans, so if he snuck into the Shrine Plane, he could enter their Holy Lands. By then, finding this technique would be far easier than anything Eska was suggesting.


    Still, Ryu hadn''t asked because he actually expected anything out of her. He just wanted to see what level of sincerity she had. Since she didn''t turn her nose up at his question, he didn''t mind answering.


    "[Ethereal Ripple] is the foundation I chose for this technique, it''s fundamentally a defensive technique.


    "I added in [Sonorous Roar] to counter the greater weakness it had. [Sonorous Roar] is ultimately a technique that uses changing sound frequencies to disorient an enemy. I stripped it of most of its abilities and left Runes that controlled frequencies. This allowed [Ethereal Ripple] to gain a variability that makes it difficult to collapse in a small amount of time.


    "By constantly changing the frequency at which it resides, it not only makes it more difficult to destroy, even sensing its position in the first place becomes a tall mountain.


    "[Earthen Vein] is a sensory type technique, but its ability lies in using resonance to feed one''s Mental Realm images far beyond was one''s Spiritual Sense can reach, almost like sonar, except with Spiritual Qi. I implemented this technique to give [Ethereal Ripple] yet another layer of stability."


    Hearing this, Eska and even the other three Ancestors were greatly intrigued. Using a sensory technique for stability?... How?


    "With [Earthen Vein], one inputs Spiritual Qi into the ground and receives feedback that can be mapped into an image. However, I reversed this process. In my [Warped Ripple], the former [Ethereal Ripple] can now take attacks and disperse the force via resonance using the same principle.


    "When working in tandem with [Sonorous Roar], each of the invisible tendrils of my [Warped Ripple] can vibrate at a different frequency, dispersing even a myriad of attacks at once."


    Eska''s eyes widened. She truly would have never thought in such a fashion. This truly would vastly improve [Ethereal Ripple]''s¡­ Or rather, [Warped Ripple]''s stability.


    "Finally, there''s [Warp]. You already know that [Warp] has the ability to shrink the earth. I''ve simply taken this ability, there was no need to change anything.


    "When attacks meet my [Warped Ripple], it''s akin to striking at a fish while standing above a lake''s surface. The image will be distorted and pin pointing a location or landing an accurate attack is near impossible.


    "Not only will it be difficult, but any attacks launched, whether accurate or not, will drastically slow once they meet the barrier of my [Warped Ripple]. It will seem like this attack has suddenly hit a dense sludge, but the reality will be that it''s attempting to travel a long distance that appears to be a short distance to the untrained eye.


    "This will both weaken an attack before it hits the true defenses of my [Warped Ripple], and give me a greater amount of time to react to any attack.


    "Of course, with this, there are glaring weaknesses as well. For example, the reason [Warp] is considered a low level teleportation technique is because it''s limited in what it can move. The more powerful an object, the less impeded it is by distorted space. [Warp]''s limit is the Mortal Grade.


    "In addition, the resonance and frequency Runes of [Sonorous Roar] and [Earthen Vein] are too low level. So, they can be easily overwhelmed as well.


    "Simply put, this defense is next to useless against those of the Immortal Ring Realm and above. But it has decent potential."


    Eska sucked in a cold breath. Ryu listed out many "problems", but the reality was that these were easy to fix. There were higher level techniques in this very library that carried the higher order Runes Ryu would need to improve his [Warped Ripple].


    Of course, Ryu knew this as well. The reason he hadn''t was because he created [Warped Ripple] specifically because using [Immortal Sakura] all the time was too taxing. If he improved [Warped Ripple] too much, the situation was practically be the same. Wouldn''t that make him a fool?


    Currently, [Immortal Sakura] at full strength could block the attacks of a Lower Immortal Ring expert. As for [Warped Ripple], it could block the attack of a Peak Connecting Heaven Realm expert, and if Ryu really pushed it to its limits, maybe a Half-Step Immortal Ring expert.


    However, the benefit was that [Warped Ripple] used less than a tenth of the Spiritual Qi [Immortal Sakura] did. In addition, [Warped Ripple] was much less likely to rupture and thus cause backlash to his Mental Realm. Ryu found the last few days to be worth it.


    Without much fanfare, Ryu suspended the Runes of his [Warped Ripple] beside his [Vector Eagle], allowing them to hang from his [Immortal Sakura] as though they were Dao Fruits. He was determined to organize his Mental Realm far more systematically than Youkai had.


    He didn''t even take a pause before he placed the numerous Mental Realm technique jades to the side and focused on the Qi and Body Realm techniques once more.


    He had a solid goal in mind. First, he needed a true spear, glaive and halberd technique. He was losing too much having to convert techniques from other weapons over. Secondly, he needed an improved movement technique. [Gliding Cloud Steps] was very compatible with him, but it was beginning to be a limitation instead of an asset.  He now had 999 meridian nodes, but it only used 333.


    Though [White Serpent''s Dance] was a spear technique, Ryu could only use [Lurking Shadow] currently. One had to remember that this legacy technique wasn''t a mere Earth Grade technique. Unfortunately, as a Divine Vessel Realm technique, Ryu could only use Earth Grade techniques.


    Once Ryu finished choosing, he would return to the fourth floor until he mastered them all to the Great Circle of Perfection. After completing this, he would turn his attention to Necromancy once more. If he wanted any chance at earning a Summoning Necromancer''s Inheritance, he couldn''t continue to be so inept. He would have to first refine the corpses of Youkai and Ancestor Basteel, but that wouldn''t be too much of a problem.


    Then he would temper himself for a year. There was no better training environment than the Inner Ring forest all around him, teeming with Sixth and Seventh Order Beasts.


    When the time came, he would turn his gaze toward the Core Region. Another test lay in wait.

 Chapter 310: Accomplish

    The months began to tick by.


    After reaching the Divine Vessel Realm, Ryu''s cultivation speed drastically plummeted. This was only to be expected. After all, the pinnacle geniuses of the Shrine Plane reached the Divine Vessel Realm at twenty years old, but wouldn''t reach the Connecting Heaven Realm until eighty years later on average.


    Luckily, now that Ryu had an Immortal Body, his limitations in this regard were lesser than that of many others. Without accounting for outside sources, Ryu would only need a fourth of that time to reach the next Realm. Should he make good use of his resources, he could cut that down by another half.


    Either way, his goal was to firmly enter the Lower Divine Vessel Realm by the end of the year. Currently, he had only opened one of six Vessels, so he couldn''t truly be considered to be at that stage quite yet. Only after opening his second would he be. The fifth Divine Vessel corresponded to the Peak Divine Vessel Realm, while the sixth was the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm. Once that was completely, he could begin connecting his Vessels and Pulses to carve a path toward Immortality.


    Though his Qi Realm cultivation came to a near grinding halt, Ryu vastly improved in other facets.


    For one, he finally completed the foundation of his Lightning Qilin Bloodline, allowing the strength his four Ancestral Grade bloodlines provided him to reach five hundred thousand jin.


    Following this, Ryu made use of his momentum to open his first Body Vessel. Within the Pulse Tempering Realm ¨C the first Realm of Body Realm cultivation ¨C one opened their Body Pulses. Now, Ryu had firmly stepped into the Vessel Tempering Realm, allowing his bodily strength to skyrocket.


    When Ryu felt his own strength, he was once more shocked by the power of his bloodlines.


    According to convention, a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert would have one million jin of strength. A Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm expert would have ten million, and a Half-Step Path Extinction Realm expert would have one hundred million jin of strength.


    Since the Peak of the Vessel Tempering Realm was the equivalent of the Peak of the Immortal Ring Realm, one can imagine the amount of strength opening just one vessel provided.


    There was a massive qualitative leap in his power. Half a million jin was already half the strength of a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert. But after opening just one Body Vessel¡­ Ryu directly leapt to five million jin of strength!


    According to Ailsa, the first Body Vessel was by far the easiest to open. It would provide about a tenth of the strength the Realm had to provide, the second would provide fifteen percent, the third would provide twenty percent, the fourth a quarter, and finally the fifth would provide the final thirty percent.


    Essentially, if Ryu had just one Ancestral Bloodline, opening his first Body Vessel would net him the ability to temper his strength to ten million jin. However, since he had a starting point of five hundred thousand jin and not one hundred thousand, it would provide him room for fifty million jin!


    Unlike the Pulse Tempering Realm where all of the pulses must be opened before one began to temper their blood, in the Vessel Tempering Realm, because of the difficulty in opening one''s vessels, a new tempering must occur after every opened Body Vessel.


    It would normally take decades to complete. But, Ryu had confidence to finish in just ten years.


    Ryu''s Body Realm wasn''t all he made progress in. Under his diligence, he mastered several Peak Earth Grade techniques. In addition, he completed his final breakthrough and finally comprehended his Northern Heavenly Wind Inheritance to the Impose Realm.


    With this, Ryu''s speed had reached a godly level within the Mortal Grade. He was confident that none below the Immortal Ring Realm could match his speed. And, now that he had coupled it with a movement technique that made use of his full abilities, the results would speak for themselves.


    However, on this day, with just a little more than half a year remaining until the matters of the Core Region kicked off, Ryu wasn''t focused on any of these things.


    Deep within the Death Worm Immortal Cave, a naked woman was strapped to a table made of black jade.


    Undulating breasts that flowed like milk, long slender legs, a small treasure island partially obscured by soft thighs¡­ It was sight to behold indeed, if it wasn''t for the fact she was crying to the point that her tears and snot became indistinguishable. Plus, after months of being unable to groom herself properly, her ''treasure island'' was obscured by far more than just her a portion of her thighs. If her arms weren''t pinned down, there''d definitely be another two forests to see under them as well.


    However, the man who stood over her showed no fluctuations in emotion at her pleas. After all, this was the woman who cruelly tortured his grandfather for months before publicly humiliating his corpse. Even if she cried ten times harder, Ryu wouldn''t blink a single eye.


    In these past five or so months, Ryu hadn''t forgotten that this Zu Clan Elder, or ''Esme'', as Youkai had called her. Instead, he had simply allowed her to wallow in her own fear. This wasn''t a woman who deserved an easy death. Living in constant fear of death for the last several months had brought her right to the cliff''s edge. Now it was time for Ryu to collect her debts.


    Ryu had taken his research into Necromancy very seriously. Though only five months had passed in reality, it was the equivalent of fifty months or about four years within the crystalline jade. This had given Ryu ample time to study numerous Death Seals and deepen his knowledge.


    Before, since he couldn''t enter the second floor, Ryu was stuck with using Grave Qi and Hecate''s personal Death Seal. After all, every Death Qi needed a specially tailored Death Seal. So, even though the first floor had a few Death Qi cultivation techniques surpassing Hecate''s, they would have been useless to Ryu in the past.


    Grave Qi was a Heaven Grade Qi. It wasn''t too bad, but it also wasn''t very good either. It met the bare minimum requirements to evolve from the Mortal Qi grades to the Immortal Qi grade, but that was all. There was no Cosmic Grade Grave Qi. A qi needed to be at least of the Higher Mystic Grade, a Grade one step above the Heaven Grade, to become Cosmic Qi.


    Ryu had taken his time to reach this point because he needed to accomplish a few things.


    Firstly, he needed to learn and comprehend a new cultivation technique. This alone was simple. With his Heavenly Pupils, comprehending any Mortal Qi Technique was as easy as breathing. In addition, after having opened his first Qi Vessel, he could now store seven different types of qi in his miniature datians.


    Secondly, he had to modify and create his own Death Seal based on the one provided in the second floor of the crystalline jade.

 Chapter 311: Tip of the Iceberg

    Ryu was fond of Hecate''s corpse refinement method, but he didn''t like being restricted to Grave Qi. The only solution in this case was to create his own Death Seal.


    This wasn''t as difficult as a task as it seemed. After all, Hecate was only of the Path Extinction Realm, a level above the Immortal Ring Realm, yet she forged a new path of Necromancy all on her own.


    Of course, if others heard Ryu''s thoughts, they''d probably lash out in anger. It might be easy to him who modified Mental Realm techniques on a whim, but not just anyone could do it.


    Still, it took Ryu over three years of research to succeed. He had to cross reference many Death Seals and decide what could most appropriately replace Grave Qi, but he eventually succeeded.


    The Qi he had decided on was Weeping Willow Qi. It was a Death Qi that was especially fond of slowly corroding high grade Spiritual Herbs. Many descendants of the Immortal Sakura found it to be their archenemy.


    Of course, as a Higher Mystic Grade Qi, Weeping Willow Qi had no business threatening the true Immortal Sakura. However, for Ryu''s current purposes, it was the best suited.


    ''Hecate''s specialty is in allowing corpse puppets to retain a minor amount of intelligence. This allows them to follow commands even if they''re imprecise. This ability is invaluable to me who will need to fight many opponents at once often in the future¡­ I can''t continuously drain my Focus Qi on small matters even if the prayer mat has greatly helped me in this regard.


    ''Still, Hecate''s methods are far too lacking in many aspects. Though she gains this advantage, she lost out in too many other areas. Because her corpse puppets are more like the living than the dead, their death qi is far less potent. As a result, it''s nearly impossible for corpses refined by her method to evolve. They''re mostly locked into their current strength¡­''


    This was just one of the weaknesses Ryu had come to understand. Obviously, every Death Seal had their own specialties, but they ultimately served the same function. Unfortunately, Hecate''s was so unique that it lost much of the expected functionalities.


    However, at the end of the day, Ryu might have been a novice in Necromancy, but he was also a genius Herbologist. Of the two main branches of corpse refinement, the Herb Method and the Ore Method, he was the most suited to the former. As a result, he managed to meld his understandings together, slowly building his own path.


    ''The first step of your refinement method is quite cruel.'' Though Ailsa said this, she made no attempt to stop Ryu.


    "She''ll be tempered by the poisons I''ve concocted for thirty days. It will feel as though her flesh is being eaten from the inside out continuously over the month-long span. Not only is this what she deserves, but it is necessary.


    "The process will completely destroy her path in living cultivation methods. But, in terms of corpses, she will become a genius amongst geniuses."


    Ailsa smiled lightly. ''To turn her body into that of a Spiritual Herb, then corroding her with Weeping Willow Qi¡­ She truly would become a genius in death qi refinement.''


    Weeping Willow didn''t just kill Spiritual Herbs, but rather turned them into vessels that in turn assaulted other Spiritual Herbs, causing an infestation. Some of the most sought-after death type Spiritual Herbs Necromancers would kill over were the result of Weeping Willow Qi''s influence.


    Ryu was using poison to change the composition of Esme''s body into that of a Spiritual Herb. The forceful rearrangement of her meridians, the drying out of her blood, the changing of her fundamental biology¡­ These were things that would be so painful that she could only wish for death.


    Of course, Ryu took inspiration for this after reading a Death Herb encyclopedia within the Zu Clan Library. He stumbled upon a Spiritual Herb known as the Screaming Blood Root. It only grew from the corpses of absolute experts.


    Ryu took its foundations as the basis for Esme''s transformation.


    Without much more thought, the black jade bed Esme was strapped to was slowly lowered into a foul-smelling pool below. Her screams became more agitated and rabid, but Ryu only blankly stared.


    The moment the liquid touched her skin, the bindings Ryu had placed over her mouth ripped apart, causing the full force of her screams to fill the otherwise quiet Immortal Cave. It was unfortunate for her that they were several miles underground. Plus, even if they weren''t, this was an Immortal Cave. Sound wouldn''t leak so easily.


    Ryu only lowered Esme just enough for the liquid to cover the bottom layer on her skin, but the sight was still gruesome to behold. She screamed so horridly that the blood vessels in her eyes immediately ruptured. Without the bindings over her mouth, she bit her tongue off in her rabid frenzy, causing it to flip up and into the air, falling with a plop into the grim sludge below.


    Ryu extended a finger, sending a stream of fire forward that seared the wound on her tongue closed. He couldn''t have her dying now. After all, this was a live refinement method for a reason. Luckily for Esme, she was in so much pain she didn''t even notice.


    Unfortunately, with how cruel this method was, Ryu only had to heart to use it on his enemies. But, on the bright side, if he could call it that, he would sure he would have many of those in the future.


    ''You were quite decisive about this.'' Ailsa said lightly. ''Not many would sacrifice two Half-Step Immortal Ring corpses for the sake of one Lower Connecting Heaven Realm one.''


    "Any new method requires some sacrifices. Using Youkai and First Grand Elder Basteel''s corpses to complete my Screaming Blood method will be well worth it. This Esme, though she''s a vile woman, is still very talented. Her bone age isn''t over one hundred fifty years old, but she was on the verge of entering the Middle Connection Heaven Realm. That''s more than decent. I have a feeling she was very important to the Zu Clan if even their First Grand Elder called her by her first name."


    ''You''re right. It''s very likely that the Zu Clan that appears on the Pedestal Plane is just the tip of the iceberg. I wouldn''t be surprised if they have many hidden members elsewhere¡­''


    Ryu nodded seriously. "When this is complete, this corpse puppet will have an easy path to becoming an Eighth Order Puppet. Whether I can evolve her beyond that level will depend on my ability to improve my methods¡­ For Nemesis'' sake, I have to become the best Necromancer I can be."

 Chapter 312: Clothes

    Esme''s screams continued for weeks. Her throat should have long since sheered apart under the strain, but the odd poisonous concoction was constantly restructuring her body, causing whatever injuries that formed to instead speed up her transformation.


    She could feel her humanity fading, her thoughts turning simpler and more bland while her hopes and aspirations dwindled.


    If one could take a look into her body, the sight would be shocking. Her inners organs began to form scales like the bark of a tree, her meridian nodes shifted, turning into the long, thin capillaries of a Spiritual Herb, and her bones began to darken, becoming a pale grey with the slightest tinge of green along with her skin.


    From the outside, her body looked no different from a nude female with a nice figure. Even if one touched her, you would feel the same supple softness only a woman who took good care of herself would have. However, as the intelligence in her eyes grew dull, it was quickly becoming obvious that the Esme the world once knew was fading away.


    At the end of it all, the last emotion of hers to fade was regret. She would spend the rest of her life as a corpse puppet. This reality was more devastating than anything to her.


    Hecate''s methods were ingenious, but they were also cruel. Ryu only made them worse. In order to retain a modicum of intelligence, not only was live refinement necessary, but this live refinement preserved a strand of the corpse puppet''s spirit. As a result, unless the corpse puppet was destroyed, Esme''s path toward reincarnation was completely blocked off.


    At the end of the thirty days, Ryu came back to find an Esme blankly staring into space. At this point, she had yet to become a corpse, but she was truly no different from one. Her current state was equivalent to a human with nothing but a brainstem.


    Following this, the next step for Ryu would be to temper her body with Weeping Willow Qi. Like this, her affinity for death qi would skyrocket, allowing her a clear path to the Eighth Order ¨C a tier equivalent to a Path Extinction Realm expert.


    Of course, Ryu had plans to evolve her beyond this as well, it was just that he was currently lacking in the materials necessary. It was already a miracle he could accomplish this much with mere Mortal Grade Spiritual Herbs. It was a testament to his comprehension of Herbology.


    In order to reach the Ninth Order or beyond, Esme would need a corpse puppet body equivalent to a Mystical Grade or higher plant. Ryu had only just barely managed to refine her Body to the Lower Heaven Grades by combining much of the wealth he accumulated in the Mortal Qi Small Realm.


    However, it would be worth it. Esme''s strength would grow far faster than his. Her growth rate would be similar to that of a talented beast.


    It only too Little Rock two years to go from the Third Order to the Sixth, but he only had an Earth Grade Bloodline. In the six months, he had progressed to the Middle Sixth Order already along with Nemesis, and would break into the Higher Sixth Order in a few more days.


    The only downside of this was that Esme would be limited by Ryu''s Mental Realm. But there was good news as well. Because of this special refinement method, Esme would have a small amount of intelligence. So, even when her strength surpassed Ryu''s Mental Realm, he could still control her to a small extent.


    Throwing these matters to the back of his mind, Ryu started with the next step. This would likely take the remainder of the half year he had, but it was well worth it.


    There was no Weeping Willow Qi in the surroundings, so Ryu had no choice but to cultivate and refine it himself.


    Usually, this process would be incredibly slow. However, Ryu had a special trump card: his Chaotic Qi.


    Chaotic Qi was on the same level as Essence. It had the ability to convert into any type of qi as well! In fact, it was especially good at converting into yin type qis like Weeping Willow Qi. This made a process that should have taken decades only take half a year.


    Everyday, Ryu would catalyze his Chaotic Qi into Weeping Willow Qi. Following this, he would fill his six Qi Pulses and one Qi Vessel with it before channeling it all into Esme''s body.


    Over time, she slowly began to change.


    Her white hair became the deepest shade of black. Her skin lost that slight green tint and became a deep shade of grey. Oddly, this grey shade didn''t make her look repulsive. Instead, she looked like a dark elf. If it wasn''t for her lack of pointed ears, she would look no different from a princess of their Clan.


    Her eyes changed as well. From their bright silver color, it turned a crimson, bloody red. There was nothing Ryu could do to change this. After all, her body was created with Screaming Blood Root in mind. It was a miracle that her whole body wasn''t red.


    Due to the slight intelligence she retained, her gaze was no longer dull, but rather appeared as a piercing cold. It was truly difficult to tell that she was a plant corpse on even a second look, let alone a first.


    After months of absorbing the purest of death qis, Esme''s cultivation skyrocketed. From the Lower Sixth Order, the latent vitality she absorbed from Youkai and the Basteel First Grand Elder combined with Ryu''s efforts to propel her all the way to the Peak Sixth Order.


    Unfortunately, this was Ryu''s limit. At the end of the day, his own qi was restricted to the Mortal Grade, it was impossible for him to evolve her into the Seventh Order without Immortal Grade Death Qi.


    It was unlikely that the Core Region would have such a rare Spiritual Herb capable of fulfilling his requirements, but it wouldn''t hurt to check. He did have quite a lot of goods to sell, after all.


    Alternatively, he could use the corpse of an Immortal Ring expert to catalyze her growth further. But that would mean that Ryu would actually have to kill such an expert. Such a feat might still be a bit too beyond his current self.


    On the final day of Esme''s refinement, she thoroughly became a Death Spiritual Herb. She day down silently in the nude, allowing Ryu to place down a Death Seal that took three days to refine.


    "Stand." Ryu said lightly.


    Without hesitation, Esme followed Ryu''s commands, standing before him with her arms stiffly by her side as she coldly gazed into his eyes.


    ''Little Ryu, I don''t think you understand how amazing this feat is. If word spread to the Quibus Fairies, they would fight over the right to stay by your side without a doubt.''


    "I''m just lucky to take advantage of the research of my predecessors."


    Ailsa shook her head. ''I know you''re not satisfied, but it''s also important for a cultivator to be able to enjoy the moment. Keeping your eyes forward all of the time may cause you trip upon something you didn''t take the time to notice on your path.''


    Ryu remained silent for a moment before nodding. "If this research really can help me gain the acknowledgement of a Quibus Faerie, it would be greatly helpful to Nemesis."


    ''What are your plans for the Core Region?'' Ailsa suddenly asked.


    "The so-called tournament is nothing but a joke to me. According to what Melody said, the Legacy World will open within one hundred to five hundred years and will only allow those who haven''t reached their first millennium of life to enter.


    "With such restrictions, my opponents won''t be more than a few hundred years old. In such a case, even if my enemy were geniuses of the Shrine Plane, very few would be a match for me. There''s little meaning to the tournament for me."


    ''Oh?'' Ailsa smiled, knowing all of this already. ''Then why go at all?''


    "Revenge. That Commander Fidroha and that Edwin who put me in such a state two years ago¡­ I have yet to collect their debts."


    Ailsa giggled. ''They''re no normal opponents. You were able to battle two Half-Step Immortal Ring experts, but that was only because their number of Pulses and Vessels opened were too low. For Edwin and Fidroha to be those so-called ''Apostles'', they definitely opened all six Qi Pulses and at least five Qi Vessels. Even if they were at the same cultivation realm, they''d be far more powerful than those two. Not to mention the fact Fidroha is already in the Immortal Ring Realm.''


    Ryu''s eyes flashed with a cold light. "Edwin will definitely die without a doubt. As for Fidroha¡­ I''ll settle for snatching one of her selection spots before humiliating her the way she attempted to humiliate me."


    ''Alright, alright, my cold Little Ryu. First, you should find this poor Esme some clothes. Even if she''s a corpse, she can''t possibly fight for you like this, right?''

 Chapter 313: Ember Guard

    The city was absolutely bustling. Young faces swarmed, their hearts clenched in anticipation of grasping a better future for themselves.


    Very soon, experts from the higher planes would hold a tournament. For many of them who lived their whole lives on the Pedestal Plane, the thought of rising to the Blossom or maybe even one day reaching the Shrine Plane was enough to fill their hearts to the point of bursting.


    Unfortunately, many of them lacked proper standing. Unlike those lucky few who gained seeded spots to the main tournament, they had no choice but to scratch and claw their way up for a chance. Ironically, due to this, some of them actually wished that they were born in the weaker Inner or even Outer Ring.


    Among the seeded spots, many were given to youths who already passed the preliminary rounds in the Outer and Inner Rings. As a result, they gained the right to skip over this gathering. To the public eye, this made the higher planes appear magnanimous. Giving the lesser regions a chance was truly a noble thing to do. However, it put those youths here not from massive Clans in a bind. They had no choice but to participate in this Wild Card Tournament.


    The Core Region might be overflowing with riches, but that didn''t mean everyone got to take part in them. Was there a land in existence which didn''t have the poor and unfortunate? This was why these youths here were even more eager than even the Scions of the large Clans.


    Amongst this crowd, there was a silent young man dressed in black robes. His aura was so cold that even within the constant elbow fights and contests for line spots, no one stood within two feet on him.


    He had a face that seemed to have been personally carved by the gods. His frame was tall and wide, drastically contrasting with his delicate features. His piercing silver eyes emotionlessly looked forward as he passed through the crowd with ease, only leaving the trail of his blemishless white hair fluttering gently in the wind.


    Ryu had entered the city without bothering to hide his identity. In fact, he didn''t even bother to wear his necromancy mask. Such a thing was next to meaningless for him.


    In truth, those of the Inner Ring had never seen his face. Before entering the Mortal Qi Small Realm, he had worn his half-mask. After exiting, his face was completely covered in dirt and grime, making it difficult to make out his features. In fact, his scalp had shed its impurities as well, causing the foul liquid to drip down and completely coat his white hair, making him seem to have normal black hair.


    It was nearly impossible to reconcile the image of Ryu from then to his current self. The only person who had seen his true face was Tae. But the truth was that even if they had seen his face, he wouldn''t care.


    Ryu had already enrolled as a participant of the tournament. In order to prove their magnanimity, the Apostles guaranteed the safety of anyone participating. Rules like this wouldn''t dare to be ignored my Clans of the mere Pedestal Plane. Though, the matters occurring after the tournament would be a different question entirely.


    "Who is that? He can''t be taking part in the Wild Card Tournament, right?"


    "Why else would he be here? Did you see him take a placard for himself?"


    "But¡­ But how can someone like that have no background?"


    The mutterings were impossible to stop. Ryu simply stood out too much.


    For one, he was incredibly tall, standing at over two meters. He towered over most who didn''t have special Bone Structures. Secondly, his aura was too oppressive. No matter how rowdy the crowd became, they all seemed to calm in an instant when he entered their range. Thirdly¡­ They couldn''t sense his cultivation at all! If their Realms were high enough, they would believe that Ryu was just using a treasure to his strength. But, since they were low in Realm, they assumed that Ryu''s strength was simply too far above theirs for them to see through it!


    Ryu didn''t know that his sudden appearance had caused wide sweeping rumors. Talks of a handsome white devil spread through the Capital City outskirts. Of course, this only caught the attention of those of low standing.


    "You may enter the city. Should your badge shatter, it means you''ve been kicked off of the rankings and have thus lost the right to participate. Under these circumstances, you must leave Ember City within one hour. Should you refuse to oblige, the penalty is death without trial."


    Ryu flashed his participant badge at the city gates and received this practiced response from the guard.


    Of course, the Apostles couldn''t very well allow everyone to participate in the tournament. How many billions of youths were there in the Core Region? So, in order to gain a participant''s badge for the Wild Card Tournament, one must enter a list of top ten thousand candidates.


    The test wasn''t very difficult. Simply striking a strength calculating treasure.


    This made matters very convenient. Those who entered the top ten thousand could enter the city and find accommodations. Should they have their spot taken by some other youth, they would have the leave the city.


    Of course, those bold enough to enter the city without bothering to wait until others finished participating were very few. There was no doubt that each and every one of these youths was either incredibly powerful, or incredibly arrogant to the point of foolishness.


    Ryu, however, didn''t care much for the man''s words, he didn''t even spare a glance as he walked by.


    Normally, for warriors powerful enough to be Ember Guards, this disregard would be enough for them to lash out. Did they need a reason to punish a boy weak to the point he had to enter via the Wild Card Tournament?


    But, even in his displeasure, the Ember Guard felt his instincts screaming at him, telling him that the only path forward was death.


    In the end, his reason won out. After all, these participants were under the protection of the Apostles. In fact, if they won a spot to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World, they''d continue to receive this protection.  He could only watch as Ryu''s back disappeared into the large city.

 Chapter 314: Dont

    "You¡­ This¡­"


    "Is there a problem?"


    Ryu stood in the Ember Auction House, having come to sell many of his goods. However, it had already been half a minute of babbling from the first-floor manager, but he had yet to accomplish his goal.


    "You¡­ You''re certain you want to sell these?"


    "Why else would I come here?" Ryu was slightly losing his patience. The trouble was that while these things were of little value to even the current him, to others, they were otherworldly treasures.


    First, there were six Crown Earth Grade Herbs!


    To put this matter into perspective, Earth Grade Spiritual Herbs could only be used by Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm Experts. If someone of those two Realms attempted to ingest a Heaven Grade Herb, even if they didn''t die, they would be terribly injured, maybe even crippled.


    However, a Crown Herb had the potency of a Grade one level above it, yet could be ingested by those a level below! If the Connecting Heaven Realm experts of the Core Region knew of the existence of even one of these herbs, an all-out war would erupt!


    In truth, even Ryu had felt some pain thinking of selling these six Spiritual Herbs previously. However, he thought of something later on that settled him down.


    Didn''t he have the Incubator and Ailsa? If he diligently cultivated his own gardens, he could rely on Ailsa''s green thumb and his own Herbology expertise to birth several Crown Grade Herbs. On top of this, with the Incubator, he could easily absorb Spiritual Herbs that would normally cause him to explode.


    Still, in some ways, the second set of items Ryu wanted to sell was even more valuable! They were actually a set of books that encompassed the Legacy of a Ruin Master!


    Originally, in order to not connect himself to the Ruin Master''s death, Ryu had decided not to sell these books. However, since he had been exposed in connection with the Zu Clan Elder, it no longer mattered as much. Plus, as long as he didn''t sell the tomes housing information surpassing the Fifth Order, it was fine.


    Ryu still had the Ruin Matrix on hand. If others knew he had a Tenth Order Ruin Matrix, even Ancestor Ember would personally descend to take his head. So, he had to limit the quality of tome he sold to a low enough level that no one of his caliber would become too interested in what else he might have found.


    Even with this being the case, however, the Ruin Master profession was simply too prestigious. Even First Order knowledge would sell for thousands of Mortal Qi Stones! One had to remember that Ryu was still able to buy Black Grade Spiritual Herbs with mere gold coins, yet First Order Ruin Master knowledge was actually so expensive!


    "This¡­" The first-floor manager hardly knew what to say. "¡­ These kind of items would be the prime attractions of an annual auction. To raise them to the appropriate price we need time, promotion --."


    "I don''t have the time for that." Ryu cut the manager off, leaving him stifled.


    "Manager Wyn, is there a problem?"


    It seemed that Ryu wasn''t the only impatient individual. The young man who just walked in went three beauties by his side was very much used to being welcomed with open arms upon entering the auction house. Yet, he had already stood near the entrance for nearly a minute, but was all but completely ignored.


    "Ah, young master Sai, please excuse my rudeness. This young man here has brought incredibly valuable goods and this old man was distracted."


    "Extremely valuable goods?" The young man raised an eyebrow. "You are aware that we do not do business with just anyone, correct?"


    One had to remember how many hoops Ryu had to jump through just in order to buy a few Spiritual Herbs back when he first enter the Outer Ring. If a mere Valor City could have such rules, what could one expect from a city as large as the Ember Clan''s Capital?


    The Sai Clan was one the fifth and last of the Sixth Order Clans of the Core Region. The Lao Clan, the Minn Clan, the Ofera Clan, the Ember Clan, and finally the Sai Clan. Though, the Ember Clan was technically a Half-Step Seventh Order Clan.


    As for why they hadn''t appeared during the Inner Ring''s Selections? This matter was obvious. Considering they controlled the Auction Houses of such a prime location, they had no needs for supplemental wealth. The resources of the Mortal Qi Small Realm would be funneled through them one way or another.


    "There''s no need to worry, young master. The Mistress saw the coming tournaments as a good business opportunity, so she laxed the requirements. Tournament participants are free to exchange their goods. This young man will be participating in the Wild Card Tournament, so he has the right to do business with us."


    A flash of disdain couldn''t help but creep up into the young man''s gaze. However, before he could speak, Ryu had had enough.


    "Are you finished?" He asked coldly. "Will you take my business, or not? If not, I will just sell them on my own."


    "Ah." Manager Wyn became flustered. It was truly too difficult trying to juggle the happiness of two arrogant individuals at once. It was indeed inappropriate for young master Sai to interrupt their deal, but at the end of the day, he was a part of the current generation leaders of his employer''s Clan. At the same time, it would be a huge blow for their Auction House to miss out on this sale.


    Both had the right to their arrogance, yet he was the one caught in between.


    "You are quite bold. Who do you think you are to believe your business is so valuable?"


    Hearing these words, Ryu didn''t bother to respond. He expressionlessly swept his items back into his spatial ring, causing Manager Wyn no small amount of heartbreak and turned to leave.


    The three beauties who stood behind the Sai Clan young master had been preparing to support him with vicious words in hopes of getting on his good side, but they were completely blown away by Ryu''s appearance. Their words were instantly caught in their throats as he strode by them.


    The young man, known by many as Pascal Sai, felt a bubbling rage boil over within him. First at being ignored by Ryu, and second by the dazed appearances of the three who should have been his women. By the time he regained his bearings, Ryu was gone.


    "What is his name?" Pascal slammed his palm on the greeting counter, his blood fuming.


    "Young master Sai, please calm your rage and don''t do anything reckless." Manager Wyn wiped sweat from his brow. "No one is allowed to touch tournament participants, you know this well."


    How could this young master Sai be the only arrogant fool amongst such a flourishing population? There were no shortage of ''young masters'' who would do as they pleased with those of lesser status. It wasn''t without reason that these protections were put in place. If they weren''t, the hidden talents of the Pedestal Plane would never get the chance to shine.


    Pascal froze at these words, retracting his hand. Manager Wyn was correct, he had almost done something impulsive.


    "But¡­" Manager Wyn built up his courage. "¡­ Young master Sai, I truly wasn''t lying, the goods he had on hand are enough to cause an uproar in our Core Region¡­"


    Manager Wyn began to explain the items Ryu had brought in. By the time he finished, Pascal''s eyes had opened so wide that their blood vessels nearly popped.


    In the end, he finally calmed down and sneered.


    "So what if he has protection? As long as he loses his place in the tournament, we can do with him as we please. Since he''s being so generous, how could I not properly thank him?" A vicious glint lit in his eyes before he looked toward Manager Wyn. "Don''t tell a soul about this or I''ll have your head."

 Chapter 315: Grinding Stone

    The arena wasn''t very anywhere near its full capacity. Usually, for an event like this, one might expect audience members from all across the Pedestal Plane to make their way here. However, what everyone was truly excited about was the Final Selection Tournament, this Wild Card Tournament was much less appealing to those who had traveled far and wide, leaving the arena at only about a quarter of its capacity.


    Still, this was only because it was the first day of the Wild Card Tournament. On the final and third day, there would be no shortage of individuals who would make their way here. After all, of those who fought on the third day, a good portion of them would enter the final tournament.


    There was a total of ten thousand participants. Ryu stood emotionlessly among them, the space around him practically completely cleared out as usual.


    ''How anti-social.'' Ailsa teased, swinging her long slender legs about as she sat on Ryu''s shoulder.


    Ryu didn''t respond. Though his expression was cold, the fear others had toward him had little to do with how opposed to socializing he was. The innate pressure his body gave off was simply too fierce.


    Body Realm cultivators tended to give off a kind of space warping pressure since all of their strength was concentrated in their limbs. Qi Realm cultivators could more easily hide their strength due to the fact their dantians existed in another Plane. Combining this with the fact that Ryu''s bodily strength was nearing the Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm with the fact he had four Ancestral Grade bloodlines running through his veins and those with weak constitutions found it difficult to even breathe around him.


    Throwing this to the back of his mind, Ryu focused on the rules of the tournament. Things were fairly simple. The first day was an elimination tournament. Each person would fight a minimum of five times and a maximum of six.


    Essentially, one had to win three of their four matches to qualify for the second day of competition. If one won three times, there was no need for a fourth battle. However, if one lost once, they would be provided a final chance.


    The second day of competition would be a rerun of the first day where this process was repeated again except with two of three wins being the goal.


    Finally, the third day would cause a bloody hell. All of the remaining participants would have to battle each of their remaining opponents once. There would be two points provided for a victory, one point for a draw, and none for a loss. Only those who were top ten in points would be allowed to take part in the Final Selection Tournament where they would become part of the final thirty-two.


    This alone made it clear the difference in status among the Pedestal Plane regions. Of the thirty-two, only four were from the Outer Ring, only eight were from the Inner Ring, while the Core Region received a full twenty, ten of which would come from this Wild Card Tournament, and another ten of which were provided seeded positions.


    In the end of it all, ten of the thirty-two would be allowed to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World.


    "¡­ We will begin right away. When your identification badge flashes, sense your senses within similar to how you would use a spatial ring to find your designated area. Good luck to you all."


    The moment the announcer finished his spiel, the pressure mounted.


    Badges began to flash one after another as the fifty battle platforms had their referees take their positions. It seemed that things were growing lively.


    ''The five Sixth Order Clans sent their youths here too, it seems.'' Ryu sneered inwardly. It seemed they wanted to monopolize all twenty positions, and it seemed they really could do it.


    If it wasn''t for this, this so-called Wild Card Tournament wouldn''t even be worth it for Ryu. Though these were still small fries to him, there were still certain aspects of his combat abilities that he could use them to hone.


    Ryu''s badge flashed. It seemed he would be among the first one hundred to fight. With a leisurely pace, he made his way to his fighting platform and leaped upward to land on its large square stone tiles.


    "Reeve Huidemar. Ryu." The stage judge confirmed the names of the two participants, receiving a nod from them both.


    Reeve frowned. He had sighed a breath of relief hearing Ryu''s lack of a last name and was even feeling confident. But he suddenly realized that he couldn''t see through Ryu''s cultivation. What was going on?


    "You may begin." Unfortunately, he didn''t receive much time to think about it as the stage judge activated the protective formation and stood in the sky above them.


    With a thought, Ryu sent out a Peak Fourth Order corpse puppet. It wasn''t a puppet among the first he refined as those had been destroyed in the Mortal Qi Small Realm. Ryu had spent a year training in the Inner Ring forests, so he came across a people who overestimated themselves quite a bit. He used the opportunity to gain himself a few test dummies.


    His corpse puppeteering was much better now than it had been in the past, but he still wanted to temper himself to greater heights.


    The stage judge raised his brow. ''A necromancer¡­? Still, it''s only a Fourth Order Puppet while his opponent is of the Lower Divine Vessel Realm. His body should be quite powerful, why is he a necromancer?''


    Unfortunately for Reeve, he didn''t have the keen insight of the stage judge. He was too far away from Ryu to sense the strength of his body especially since Ryu had taken measure to hide the pressure he gave off. Only those within a few feet of him would sense it. This error in judgement caused Reeve to smile widely.


    "So you''re just hiding your cultivation with a treasure. Had me worried for nothing. You can go down now."


    Even though Reeve knew the fact Ryu had a Fourth Order corpse puppet meant that he could also control Fifth and Sixth Order corpse puppets, he had good reason to conclude that Ryu didn''t have such measures. Since when was finding the corpse of a Divine Vessel Realm expert so easy? Let alone a Connecting Heaven Realm one? Plus, this Ryu had no backing, he obviously had no one to get these corpse puppets for him.


    A saber with a bronzed edge appeared in Reeve''s hand as he charged forward, not even bothering with the corpse puppet and aiming directly for Ryu.


    Ryu hardly reacted to this. Instead, he slowly felt the tendrils of death qi worm about the corpse puppet''s body. And with deft qi control, he began to pull on them with his mind like puppet strings.


    The corpse puppet shifted, its movement technique beautiful and enigmatic as it cut off Reeve''s approach.


    "Huh¡­?" Reeve was stunned. He couldn''t even think to counterattack with his saber and could only dodge the glaive the corpse puppet held, retreating with quick steps.


    ''¡­ His corpse puppet might be weak, but his combat sense and experience is high. That technique just now was definitely an Earth Grade movement technique, yet he simplified it down so that a Fourth Order puppet could withstand it.'' The stage judge''s eyes glimmered as he looked toward Ryu with more curiosity.


    Ryu calmly assessed the battlefield, having his corpse puppet press forward with its advantage.


    The gap between the Peak Spiritual Severing Realm and the Lower Divine Vessel Realm was large. Not everyone could bridge the gap, least of all a corpse Ryu snatched from a lowly mercenary. This corpse puppet didn''t have Ryu''s talent or bodily strength, leaping cultivation levels to fight was extraordinarily difficult for it.


    However, this was exactly why Ryu chose to do this. The harder the task, the better. Everything he did was a training moment for him.


    The corpse pressed forward with [Slice], its glaive descending with a fierce momentum.


    Reeve finally regained his footing, sweeping his saber upward and knocking the corpse''s blade to the side.


    The corpse''s arms flailed, its guard broken and chest open to attack. Reeve wasn''t as adept at finding Death Seals, and Ryu had also gotten much better at hiding him, so he believed his best bet was to cut the corpse down until it could no longer be controlled, and now he had his opening.


    He bore down with a sneer. He had been caught off guard earlier, but now this was over.


    Just as his saber was about to bisect the corpse puppet, a blinding silver light approached him much faster than he could react. He felt the kiss of death in that moment, but the light inexplicably didn''t care for his neck, but rather parried his sword, leaving a nick that should have no doubt cut it cleanly had the attack not surprisingly disappeared and giving the corpse puppet time to recover.


    ''Just then I used a large range of motion to substitute for lack of power, but this left me open to being countered. I need to get better at wielding quick and simultaneously controlled, large bursts of qi without tearing my corpse puppet''s meridians apart¡­ I need to understand the limits of my corpse puppet the same way I can sense my own limits¡­ not that I''ve found my limits yet¡­''


    This was a bit of a struggle for Ryu. His own Chaotic Silk Meridians had no such limiters, he could push his qi to the brink without worrying about injuring himself. This was part of the reason for his obscene combat prowess. However, his corpse puppets obviously didn''t have an Ancestral Grade set of meridians.


    ''For now, I''ll continue this battle until he''s no longer useful. I''ll need to react faster next time so I don''t have to use [Vector Eagle] again, a normal [Vector Arrow] will do¡­ ''


    Ryu calmly analyzed and adjusted his strategy, completely oblivious to the wide-eyed stage judge above.


    ''Can I dodge that attack?'' A cold sweat matted the back of the stage judge. He suddenly understood that this match was nothing but a farce. This Ryu was using Reeve as a grinding stone¡­

 Chapter 316: Sai

    Ryu''s first battle ended half an hour later with Reeve trying to find tears to cry but failing in even that in the end.


    ''Not good enough.'' Ryu thought expressionlessly without regard for Reeve''s feelings. ''It seems my qi control isn''t as good as I thought it was.''


    This evaluation wasn''t entirely true. Ryu''s standards were simply too high. He had no one to compare his progress to, but in terms of those just starting along the Necromancy path, his speed of improvement was blazing.


    It was just unfortunate that although Ryu had gotten in some practice with his corpse puppets in the last year, he spent much of the time refining his using refinement path.


    One had to remember that controlling a puppet worked differently depending on his inner structures. Ryu had practiced with human puppets, but his new refinement method turned his corpse puppets into what were effectively human-shaped plants. This changed the method of control entirely.


    Since Ryu had only perfected his refinement method toward the very end of this last year, it meant that he hadn''t been able to practice with this new puppet at all. In addition, since he knew it would be different, he didn''t spend much time practicing with normal human puppets either.


    Of course, the year obviously wasn''t wasted. Ryu was several folds stronger now than he had been a year ago. It was just that he insisted on using his corpse puppets.


    Even then, Reeve lost miserably. Instead of trying to probe his corpse puppets limits, Ryu took it slowly. He wore Reeve down with technique and patience, occasionally shooting in a [Vector Arrow] when it seemed Reeve might break his momentum.


    In the end, Ryu''s corpse puppet stood expressionlessly with its glaive to his neck.


    "I concede." Reeve said through gritted teeth. Swallowing his humiliation, he turned and left through the dissipating barrier.


    It wasn''t much of a surprise that Ryu''s battle hadn''t garnered much attention at first. In the beginning, it held some interest due to the fact Ryu was a Necromancer. Such a path was rare to see. However, after noticing Ryu''s corpse puppet was only of the Fourth Order, that excitement was doused with cold water.


    Later, that excitement turned disappointment became anger. Ryu''s long battle had held up the first round, eventually becoming the only battle still ongoing. This forced many to have no choice but to watch this boring battle.


    Unfortunately for the crowd, this infuriating reality would only continue.


    Ryu''s second round took over forty minutes to complete, his third, over an hour. By the time the fourth rolled around, Ryu was taking an hour and half to finish.


    By now, everyone knew that Ryu''s long battles no longer had much to do with his opponents. The only common denominator was him alone.


    Some were maybe rightfully enraged, however, some found it odd. How was this nameless Ryu defeating Divine Vessel Realm experts with Fourth Order puppets? Something wasn''t right here.


    It wasn''t until Ryu''s fifth battle that many realized exactly what was wrong.


    Ryu''s opponent, a young lady with flowing blue hair named Luanda, met his corpse puppet head on in the battle. She herself was a Higher Divine Vessel Realm expert. She was quite odd though, being that she was quite a bit overweight.


    However, it seemed that her extra weight came with great strength. Her palms struck outward with a might that shook the very foundations of the white tiled stage, her rippling folds undulating with current of qi.


    ''Seems this is the limit.'' Ryu thought to himself.


    Ryu had beaten two Lower Divine Vessel Realm experts and two Middle to now. His last battle was really pushing the limits of his puppet, taking almost two hours to finish. If Ryu was honest, the only reason he won that battle without swapping corpse puppets is because he took a more active role, utilizing [Vector Arrow] and even [Ethereal Ripple] several times.


    But now¡­


    "Take my palm!" Luanda''s meaty palm slammed into the head of Ryu''s corpse puppet, shattering its skull into a rain of greyish green goo that splattered in all directions.


    Luanda shrieked. "Disgusting! Disgusting!"


    She was completely infuriated. She may have been shaped differently from what one might expect was a dainty young mistress, but she still carried herself like one. Being assaulted with something so disgusting left her feeling more than a little displeased.


    "I''ll destroy that face of yours!"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. What was wrong with this woman? Wasn''t she losing her temper a bit too easily?


    ''She practices a technique that forces her to intake food in exchange for power. Unfortunately, the foods she needs to ingest are heavy in yang qi. This imbalances her natural yin qi and influences her emotions.'' Ailsa explained. ''The slightest thing could tick her off. It seems she isn''t very fond of handsome men like my Little Ryu.''


    In truth, outside the arena, several were eager to watch Ryu finally lose. He had been holding the proceedings all this time with his annoying battle style. It infuriated many of the contestants. It seemed they didn''t appreciate that Ryu''s actions gave them extra time to rest.


    However, what happened next made Ryu public enemy number one. Because, instead of fighting himself, he summoned another corpse puppet. But this time¡­ It was actually a Lower Fifth Order corpse puppet!


    Everyone in the stands along with the participating youths were completely enraged. It felt like Ryu was toying with them. If he had such a corpse puppet, didn''t that mean he could have ended those other battle much quicker?!


    Over the next hour, Luanda became Ryu''s pin cushion. It seemed her cultivation technique made her more immune to pain than others, but she still fell in the end. By the time the battle ended, she was no longer the obese girl who had stepped onto the stage, but was rather a petite woman with loose skin.


    Having ended the battle, Ryu casually turned to leave the arena. He had won his fifth battle, which meant that he would only need to win one more on this second day in order to qualify for the final day of battles.


    A chorus of boos followed his descent, but he didn''t seem to hear them at all.


    "You did all of this on purpose?"


    Ryu suddenly found that several youths had blocked his path forward.


    "Did you think that garnering yourself attention would help you? Let me tell you, you''ve thoroughly enraged me. Wasting the time of a genius is the worst sin imaginable. You can forget about gaining yourself a master in my Core Region!"


    A master in the Core Region? Is that what they thought he was doing? Gaining notoriety for himself? They must have assumed that Ryu knew it was impossible for him to win the Final Selection Tournament, so he instead chose this approach.


    But¡­ Was there anyone in this Core Region worthy of being Ryu''s master? What a joke. Even if Ancestor Ember came here and implored him personally, Ryu would still reject him.


    Ryu didn''t get a chance to respond before his identity badge flashed once more. Well, it wasn''t as though he cared to respond anyway. But, seeing the sneering face of the young man who led the group who stopped him, Ryu was certain that this wasn''t a coincidence.


    What a funny ''random'' selection this was.


    Manipulating things in the main Final Selection was likely too difficult, but things were different in this Wild Card Selection with so few observers. Not even a single Apostle had come to witness this event. Unfortunately for the young man who was a mere Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert. He had chosen the wrong opponent.


    "Raolin Sai. Ryu." The stage judge called out to confirm.


    Ryu sneered inwardly. ''Sai, huh?''

 Chapter 317: Rodents

    Ryu wasn''t very surprised by this turn of events. If there was anything to raise an eyebrow at, it was the fact it took them this long to target him. This was already the second day of competition, leading up to what should be Ryu''s very last match. He had thought that they would come at him sooner.


    ''It seems this Sai young master is smarter than he seems. He likely wanted to test my limits first and had no choice but to send in this jumping clown after realizing I haven''t been pushed to anywhere near my ceiling. The real question is¡­ Which puppet should I use?''


    "Begin!"


    Raolin''s body fell forward the instant the words sounded. It seemed as though he would faceplant into the ground, but this reality was thwarted by his blazing speed. His forward momentum was so fierce that he was nearly horizontal to the ground, sonic booms lying in his wake.


    He made it to Ryu in a flash, his arm piercing forward with his fingers as his blade. The sneer on his face projected a confidence one could only claim from a sure victory.


    "[Minor teleportation]."


    The ground swallowed up Ryu. Ryu''s voice became a pail of cold water that doused Raolin''s excitement.


    He snapped his neck toward Ryu''s new location, only to find a Middle Fifth Order corpse puppet waiting for him.


    "Do you really think you can defeat me with such a puppet?" His embarrassment was drowned out by anger. Wasn''t this Ryu looking down on him too much? His emotions were so stirred up that he didn''t even realize his judgement had been completely clouded.


    [Minor teleportation] was among the hardest Visualizations Spiritual Endowment Realm experts could use. On top of this, the fact Ryu used it on the ground below his feet displayed a level of mastery beyond normal means. This alone would tell anyone with half a brain that Ryu was far out of their league, but this Raolin was more concerned with his face than his life.


    Ryu''s corpse puppet wielded a spear. Having been formed by the body of a lithe female, its limbs were far more flexible. Ryu found that controlling it was far easier, but tweaking its qi output was a level harder than it had been for more robust body corpse puppets.


    Raolin had wanted to shatter this corpse puppet with a single strike, but he found that he continuously hit air.


    The corpse puppet glided along the arena floor, sweeping circles around Raolin. It wasn''t that it was faster, but rather than its movement were far more efficient. It had to cover less distance than Raolin to meet it goal.


    Ryu closed his eyes, feeling every movement within the corpse puppet''s body.


    The special fluid concoction he used in place of its blood, the rolling qi through its meridians, the weak flickers of its infant consciousness¡­ Ryu felt it all.


    ''I''m still missing something.'' Ryu would be lying if he said he didn''t feel frustrated. He hadn''t come across many roadblocks in his path of cultivation. Even his dual wielding style was still progressing smoothly, albeit slowly.


    However, there seemed to be a hard block suspending him from reaching a next level of corpse puppet control.


    Ailsa had told him that he was thinking too much. Though he had the brain capacity to support it, it wasn''t doing him any good.


    When he moved his arm, did he have to calculate distance and decide which muscles would provide the most optimal movement? Of course not. Yet, this was what he was doing for every corpse puppet. If one opened his mind and read his thoughts, it would be easy to see endless compiled numbers. But doing such a thing in battle would only be to one''s detriment.


    Almost three hours later, Raolin finally managed to destroy the shredded mess that was left of Ryu''s corpse puppet. Unfortunately, there was no victory for Ryu this time. Or rather¡­ there wasn''t one for his corpse puppet.


    Raolin roared into the skies like a mad man. His injuries were completely superficial, but he was still drenched in his own blood. He felt as though his stamina had been rung completely dry, but his gaze still blazed with fury.


    To be pushed to this extent by a mere Middle Fifth Order corpse puppet was humiliating beyond words. He didn''t even care about his cousin''s goal, all he wanted to do was rip Ryu apart with his bare hands.


    "Die!" His blade like finger pierced forward once more, reflecting in the sun like a fine sheet of metal.


    There should have been a massive impact, at the very least. The wind should have rippled, the white tiles should have shattered, there should have been a cry of pain followed by a body streaking through the air.


    However, what Raolin received was nothing more than the soft touch of two fingers. These two fingers taunted his own weakness, stretching out from Ryu''s hand to block his deadly qi with absolute ease.


    In that moment, the Ryu who had stood behind his corpse puppets with barely a movement for two days had finally made a move on his own, but the result was far beyond anyone''s wildest speculations.


    "Are you going to go down on your own? Or would you like me to send you down?" Ryu asked the question completely emotionlessly, looking toward Raolin as though he was nothing more than a rat on the side of the road.


    Raolin felt a trembling sense of shame. Against his better judgement, he lashed out.


    The slap that resonated in the next instant caused the arena to go completely silent. The blood that coated Raolin''s face only made the sound that much crisper. It was the kind of noise that made the ears ring, echoing endlessly through the sound amplifying arena.


    Raolin was thrown off the stage, his jaw shattering and his conscious fading.


    Ryu looked off into the distance, meeting the gaze of a familiar young man who thought he had hidden himself well. The look he gave him was no different than the one Raolin received. To Ryu, these two were the same. Weak rodents clogging up his path.

 Chapter 318: Eat

    Ryu, who had already become the very center of attention, had his movement scrutinized by everyone in attendance. How could they miss his gaze shifting so obviously toward Pascal Sai?


    The indifference on Ryu''s face was palpable. In the wake of the silence that held the arena hostage, it was amplified to the point beating hearts suddenly resonated all around. It was as though everyone in attendance was suddenly collectively feeling the very same thing.


    Ryu suddenly frowned as he felt he caught onto something faint. But just as he did, the feeling slipped away like a fresh fragrant breeze.


    Unable to find that feeling again, Ryu relaxed his heart, his indifferent appearance returning as he stepped down from the arena, passing by Raolin''s unconscious body laying just outside of the stage as though it had nothing to do with him.


    A deep rage simmered within Pascal''s chest. For a member of the Sai Clan to be defeated so soundly and so embarrassingly, it was most definitely a stain on their prestige. This Ryu didn''t hesitate for even a moment to make an enemy out of him.


    He could tell very clearly that from the depths of his soul, Ryu didn''t think much of him at all.


    What kind of strength did it take to slap a Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm expert so casually? What level of power was he hiding?


    ''I should have known. Anyone who doesn''t care for Crown Grade Spiritual Herbs enough to sell them can''t possibly be a simple person.'' Pascal calmed himself, his slowly reddening face reverting to a neutral expression. ''There''s still time to deal with him. Even if I fail to monopolize his treasures for myself, there are several Connecting Heaven Realm experts amidst the Apostles¡­ Since he actually dares flaunt Crown Earth Grade Spiritual Herbs, I wonder what he''ll do when he realizes his so-called ''protection'' is nothing but a fa?ade.''


    News of the Sai Clan''s humiliation spread rapidly. This completely doused the previous nonchalance about the Wild Card Tournament. It seemed very certain that there was at least one dark horse rising up that may very well cause waves in the Final Selection Tournament.


    The third and final day of the Wild Card Tournament, however, was uneventful. The only thing of note for Ryu was that he found Granny Miriam''s little sister, Melody. She had come to watch the third day''s events just like everyone else, only to be surprised that the Ryu who had caused such a stir was actually the very same Ryu she had come to know.


    However, Ryu was surprised as well. When he left Melody almost a year and a half ago, she had only been in the Spiritual Severing Realm. Yet, currently, she was already on the verge of entering the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Ryu''s first reaction was cold and distant. The only way for someone to show such vast improvement in such a short amount of time was by taboo means. Blood and Soul Sacrifices really did seem like the only way. It was only after Ailsa began to whisper in his ear that he understood.


    ''The Causal Gate Bone Structure isn''t as simple as you think.'' Ailsa said softly. ''This year, Melody is already nearing two hundred years old. Yet, for the Outer Ring''s standards, it was already impressive that she was at the Spiritual Severing Realm.''


    Since youths of the Shrine Plane entered the Spiritual Severing Realm at ten years old, one could see how slow this was. But, it was very impressive for the Outer Ring.


    ''That Bone Structure functions just like your Ice Jade Crystal Body does. It has stages.


    ''The first stage is in its incomplete form, where the constitution''s abilities mostly lay dormant. However, even then it''s the equivalent of an Earth Grade Bone Structure. A bone of that caliber is already enough to be a genius of the Pedestal Plane. If it wasn''t for the fact Melody was born on the Middle Mortal Plane, causing her cultivation foundation to be lacking, she wouldn''t have been stuck in the Outer Ring.''


    Ryu nodded. The very first steps of cultivation were very important. Everything from your Rites to your Qi Pulses, every step was crucial.


    Despite being born in the strongest Clan of the Higher Mortal Plane, Ryu only had access to the methods in opening four Qi Pulses. Aside from that, they weren''t even aware that there were Rites past the ninth either. If the knowledge of the highest Mortal Plane was so limited, what about one Plane below it?


    ''However, once one twin dies, the constitution becomes whole and can finally begin its evolutionary process. It immediately became a Heaven Grade Bone Structure, and will evolve into one of the very best Sovereign Grade Bone Structures when its transformation is complete.''


    The Sovereign Grade was directly above the Heaven Grade and right below the Ancestral Grade. Constitutions of this level were incredibly rare, even on the Shrine Plane!


    ''But this alone isn''t enough to explain her cultivation speed.'' Ryu thought skeptically. ''I have a Great Ancestral Circle, not to mention you by my side, yet her speed of improvement matches mine.''


    ''Remember when I mentioned her age? It wasn''t without reason. I wouldn''t divulge a lady''s prized secret so easily.'' Ailsa said with a teasing expression. ''This is the special ability of the Causal Gate Bone Structure. It is able to compensate its wielder for the years spent with lesser talent as if they relived their lives completely and redid every step of their cultivation perfectly.''


    Ryu''s brows raised. ''There''s really such a thing?''


    ''Yes. The current Melody seems like she''s had unfair improvement, but the truth is that she''s simply being repaid all of the karma she''s built up in her nearly two hundred years of life.


    ''The Bone Structure redoes her Rites for her, allowing her to open the Tenth Rite, the Rite of Limitations. It opens all of her Qi and Body Pulses, as well as all of her Qi and Body Vessels. It''s essentially as though she cultivated perfectly for the last two hundred years.''


    ''Wait, her Body Vessels as well?'' Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    Opening all of one''s Body Vessels¡­ That was the Peak Vessel Tempering Realm which was equivalent of the Peak Immortal Ring Realm! Ryu had been so stunned by Melody''s Qi Realm Cultivation that he hadn''t even took notice of her bodily strength.


    ''This is the power of the Causal Gate Bone Structure. What you give, you receive in return¡­ I''m sure that if Melody could have her big sister back, she would care about this measly strength.''


    Ryu sighed. Ailsa was correct. The price was simply too high.


    But, this still took a load off of his shoulders. Now he wouldn''t have to worry about protecting Melody so he could continue his plans for the Core Region in a carefree manner.


    ''If it wasn''t for the fact it was only two hundred years that passed before Granny Miriam died, Melody''s constitution would have likely connected all of her meridians as well, allowing her to be a single step from the Immortal Ring Realm.''


    ''So does that mean all of the benefits from her constitution are over now?''


    ''Well, the most obvious, potent and short-term ones, yes. She won''t experience anything more so drastic after entering the Connecting Heaven Realm. However, as her Bone Structure slowly enters the Sovereign Realms, her cultivation speed will naturally increase. But, this isn''t the true strength of the Causal Gate Bone Structure.


    ''Much like your Heavenly Pupils, it can peer into the ties of Karmic Strings. In addition to this, her comprehension will naturally be higher than most at her cultivation Realm.''


    Ryu nodded. ''If that''s the case, I''ll provide her what she needs. I owe her and Granny Miriam at least this much. You can choose which cultivation manuals from the Zu Palace most suit her¡­''


    "Hello¡­?"


    Melody waved a dainty hand before Ryu''s face. After reaching the Peak of the Vessel Tempering Realm, much of the imperfections in her body had been purged and she too gained an Immortal Body. She was far more breathtaking than she had been in the past.


    "Sorry." Ryu said lightly. "Would you like to go and get something to eat?"


    Though Ryu''s question was very obviously innocent, it left Melody feeling flustered. She had come to the Core Region alone, so she hadn''t been anticipating company. Hearing Ryu''s question, she easily overthought things, being a woman who was currently all alone in the world.


    A moment later though, she felt ashamed. This was a young man who called her own sister ''Granny'', what was she thinking? He obviously didn''t see her that way.


    Of course, Melody didn''t have feelings for Ryu either. It was just the situation that caught her off guard.


    With a smile that caused many to look over with star struck expressions, Melody nodded.


    "Sure, let''s go get something to eat."

 Chapter 319: Dream

    Melody felt a charming smile curl her soft pink lips as she watched Ryu eat.


    ''He''s so cold all of the time, but it''s really too difficult to keep up that oppressive aura while eating so much food so quickly.''


    Melody watched on like a mother treating her son to a meal. Of course, she had no idea that Ryu was actually a few times older than she was.


    In his first life, Ryu didn''t have a great appetite. In fact, most of his meals ended in one or two bites. The kinds of foods he had were extremely dense for a mortal body, so he didn''t eat much.


    However, in this life, he consumed food like a glutton. His strength had actually deteriorated after spending those six months in a Loom City cell. To his current self, his bodily strength could only be upheld by copious amounts of high-quality foods. Feeding four Ancestral Grade Bloodlines wasn''t an easy feat.


    The two of them sat a table meant for at least twelve, but a plate of food seemed to cover every inch.


    "Where''ve you been for the past year?" Melody asked after a while.


    She found that this young man wasn''t actually terrible at socializing. Maybe if he was, he wouldn''t have asked her to this place in the first place. Though his answers were usually tepid and emotionless, he had a knack for keeping the flow of the conversation going.


    This made Melody quite curious. These were skills that had less to do with how much Ryu liked to talk, and more about his upbringing. Remembering that he was a prince from the Higher Mortal Plane, she felt that this made sense.


    "Training, mostly." Ryu responded between bites of food. "It seems, though, that your speed of improvement is even quicker than mine."


    Ryu and Ailsa realized that there was actually something about Melody''s constitution that they missed. The build up of Karma didn''t only encompass her two hundred years of life, but also Granny Miriam''s more than two hundred years of life! It was no wonder her speed of improvement was so potent.


    "I don''t understand much of myself." Melody replied with a sigh. "It just seems that sometimes, especially when I meditate, my body cultivates all on its own. It''s been slowly down in recent days, but this is already more strength than I ever thought I''d achieve in my lifetime. It''s just¡­"


    A sadness pervaded Melody''s gaze as she absentmindedly pushed food around her plate with a fork.


    Ryu placed down the meaty leg of a Fifth Order beast with a slight sigh.


    "There''s nothing that I can do to repay what I owe Granny Miriam, but I will do my very best to support you. This promise probably doesn''t mean much to you now as you''re already so much more powerful than I am, but I''ll fulfill its weight one day."


    Melody was stunned by the somber note of Ryu''s voice. The cadence he spoke with was so deep and rich, the kind of voice filled with endless confidence.


    It was much different from his usually emotionless words. That lack of feel almost made one forget how pleasing to the ears his voice truly was.


    "You don''t need to feel this sense of responsibility." Melody said after she collected her emotions. "It wasn''t you who killed my sister. It should be me taking care of you, this is what I owe Big Sister Miriam¡­"


    "Melody."


    Ryu''s voice changed once more, almost becoming forceful.


    "Since I have decided that you are one of my people, I won''t retract my words."


    Melody was silenced once more, losing herself in the determination flashing in Ryu''s beautiful silver eyes.


    "Here."


    With a sweep of his hand, Ryu passed forward numerous jades. However, what truly shocked Melody was that aside from a very small number that were green, the vast majority were actually blue!


    Memory Jades, starting with white, increased in value to green and blue and finally violet. Beyond violet, there were red, black and crystalline Memory Jades, but when it came to storing techniques, only the first four were important.


    A Violet Memory Jade could store an Origin Grade technique! The fact Ryu took out so many blue jades, which could store even Mystical Grade techniques, showed the value of these jades with just a glance.


    "Most of these are actually Earth and Heaven Grade techniques. However, a friend of mine added insights that might help you cultivate easier, which was why they had to be transferred into blue jades."


    The value of Memory Jades wasn''t actually in their scarcity, but rather the difficulty in finding and mining them. Ryu had found Memory Jade ores in the depths of the Mortal Qi Small Realm, so he casually kept a few. As a Ruin Master, did there even exist a resource he didn''t know how to collect?


    Melody was shocked awake. Her slender neck whipped around nervously as she tried to cover the Jades from prying eyes.


    "You have to be more careful!" She scolded, hurriedly pushing the jades back to Ryu.


    "You don''t have to worry, I already cast a simple mirror type Visualization. You can see outside, but they can''t see or hear you. Of course, if someone in the Soul Birth Realm tries to take a look, this would be meaningless. But I doubt someone so powerful would be so bored."


    Only after hearing this did Melody sigh a breath of relief before her gaze became complicated.


    "Ryu¡­ I can''t accept this."


    Ryu shook his head, grabbing Melody''s retracting wrist and stacking the jades in her delicate palms.


    "These mean little to me. In addition, they''re only copies."


    Ryu had no method of taking the Memory Jades in the Zu Palace out, so he could only copy them. This wasn''t as easy as it sounded considering the complexities of such high-level techniques, but it was a walk in the park for Ryu who had the first ranked Heavenly Pupils.


    "Take these and grow stronger." Ryu said lightly. "I hope that you''ll one day achieve your dream."

 Chapter 320: Four

    The Ember Clan Capital City was blossoming. What once was a city made purely of elites suddenly gained several more in just the span of a few days. Just for this occasion, the city had pushed past its usual occupancy cap, allowing several more thousand in.


    The tournament arena looked nothing like it had for the Wild Card Tournament. There was not a single seat that wasn''t filled. In fact, even that wasn''t entirely correct because there wasn''t a single person who actually sat down. From end to end, thousands of individuals were on their feet, looking down toward the numerous platforms with gazes filled with excitement.


    At the forefront of it all, thirty-two youths stood with the backs straight and smiles full of pride. Of all the geniuses of the entire Pedestal Plane, only these thirty-two were worthy to stand here, they were the absolute best of the best.


    Well, that was the case for the twenty who stood at their front. As for the twelve who were lined up behind them, their auras were relatively lacking, with the exception of two individuals. One was a beauty with gentle eyes and a calming aura, while the latter was a young man with an indifferent appearance.


    These two were none other than Melody and Matheus.


    Ryu had never expected to run into Matheus as well after their complicated history of a year ago, but it seemed that while Melody was one of the four participants from the Outer Ring, he was one of the eight from the Inner Ring.


    This reality made Ryu more curious. As the Throne of what should be a true Eighth Order Sect or Clan, Matheus should have all the resources he could ever want at his fingertips. If that was the case, why would he bother to participate in this tournament?


    Ryu knew Matheus'' real strength. He should be quite strong even amongst Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm experts.


    Of course, his own personal strength was only at the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm, but his corpse puppets were a different matter entirely. As long as he was willing to use them, sweeping through these geniuses was as easy as breathing. Well, aside from Ryu and Melody, that is.


    Yet, he chose to come here anyway¡­


    There was another thing that was curious. There was no Eighth Order Sect or Clan on the Pedestal Plane. And, if Matheus was from the Blossom Plane, he would have participated in their Selections, not the Pedestal Plane Selections.


    One might think that maybe Matheus was looking for an easy way in, but this wasn''t the case. Not only would the Apostles not allow this kind of loophole for the sake of protecting their pristine image, but as a Peak Eighth Order Throne, Matheus should be nearly unmatched even on the Blossom Plane. So, he would have no need to use such underhanded means.


    This left Ryu with only one conclusion. Matheus'' backers weren''t from this Realm at all. On top of that, Ryu had very clearly underestimated the value of this Ice Devil Legacy World¡­ If it wasn''t extremely valuable, why would Matheus travel all the way back?


    Suddenly several things began to make sense¡­ Maybe it wasn''t a coincidence Matheus came back home¡­


    ''Ailsa, have you really heard nothing about the Ice Devil Legacy World? Before I met you, I simply ignored it because I had never heard of an expert who went by that name, and nine hundred million years wasn''t enough time for such a character to appear¡­ Could I be wrong?''


    Ailsa sighed. ''I really didn''t pay much attention to the world while I was waiting for you, I don''t know¡­ But, with your speed of cultivation, could you not also reach such a level in nine hundred million years? Maybe there''s someone just as talented as you out there. The cosmos is vast.''


    ''Didn''t you say that there was no one with my level of talent back then while you were scolding me?''


    Ailsa was stunned for a moment. Was Little Ryu¡­ teasing her? What an occasion this was!


    Her bell-like laughter sounded in his ears. Ryu was completely befuddled by Ailsa''s sudden weird reaction. But, the pomp and circumstance of the Final Selection Tournament''s over the top fanfare was finally coming to a close, so he could only turn his attention forward.


    ''Why do they always insist on wasting my time with these grandiose speeches¡­''


    "¡­ I won''t say anymore. I believe you all understand the magnitude of this opportunity. Of you thirty-two, ten will rise above the others and ascend to the Blossom Plane!


    "Now, let us all give our respects to the esteemed guests of our Pedestal Plane¡­"


    In those moments, the air seemed to turn solid.


    A man with hair blazing like the sun walked through the air no differently than one would a dirt path. His gaze was indifferent, his posture impeccable, and his aura without equal.


    The sound of faint gulping spread through the arena. This man was a legend that never appeared in the public eye, one didn''t need to think to understand who he was¡­ Ancestor Ember¡­


    Ancestor Ember calmly took his seat. However, one couldn''t miss the obvious. Of the thrones that took the head, there were two¡­ And Ancestor Ember was actually sharing the right to these two center thrones with some unknown entity. On top of this, this individual actually dared to arrive after Ancestor Ember.


    Soon, everyone received the answer to their burning question. Not even a few seconds after Ancestor Ember sat, space warped above the arena, revealing a beautiful silver Immortal Cave in the shape of boat. The air itself seemed to slice apart beneath its slow, smooth movement.


    The silver boat Immortal Cave retracted, revealing an entourage of three, led by a beauty that made one''s heart palpitate.


    Just as slowly as Ancestor Ember, they made their way to the final throne.


    The beauty took her seat with an indifferent expression, her two followers standing to her back on her right and left. The fact she felt no need to greet Ancestor Ember with anything other than a nod and slight smile made her status clear.


    "Pay you respects." The announcer took the lead, kneeling respectfully to these two individuals. Soon, the entire arena followed suit.


    However, among them all, there were four individuals who seemed to have no intention of doing so.

 Chapter 321: Move On

    Silence pervaded the arena. It was shocking enough for just one to choose not to kneel, but the fact four decided on this choice at once was something completely unprecedented. However, there were two the audience immediately recognized.


    One was a handsome young man with dirty blond hair and warm brown eyes. Though his eyes were lowered not daring to push his luck too far, there was a confident smile on face.


    This young man was Byrin Lao, Throne of the Ember Clan and Scion of the Lao Clan!


    The second was a petite beauty with a reserved aura. She wasn''t exactly cold and distant, but she wasn''t warm and inviting either. She tiptoed a delicate balance difficult for many.


    Her eyes were lowered as well, her glistening black hair falling over much of her face. This beauty was Alote Till, Throne of a recluse Sect that didn''t take part in the mundane world of the Core Region. They were simply known as the Night Terror Sect and very little was known about them.


    Seeing who two of these four individuals were, the crowd came to an understanding. Thrones could not easily kneel as they represented the Faith of a Clan or Sect. Their actions directly impacted the prestige of the powers they were tied to. The act of kneeling would directly diminish this strength.


    However, even though Byrin and Alote had this excuse, just who were the other two young men?


    Since the Ember Clan had a powerful Path Extinction Realm expert behind them, and this man was even currently present, Byrin not kneeling wouldn''t put him in any danger. How could Ancestor Ember allow his Clan''s Faith to be impacted over such a matter? Even if the Apostles were high in status, their representer was a little girl in his eyes still.


    As for Alote, even Ancestor Ember didn''t dare to casually offend the Night Terror Sect. So, it was only right that she too was safe.


    Seeing that Ryu remained standing along with those two, Pascal felt both excited and worried. He had plans to deal with Ryu, but if he was punished first, wouldn''t all of his things be snatched? How then would he gain Ryu''s wealth?


    As for who the last person was¡­ Who else if not Matheus? However, those three were completely ignored by Apostle Fidroha.


    Originally, she hadn''t paid much attention to these thirty-two geniuses. She had had a hunch years ago that Ryu would appear here, but it hadn''t been at the forefront of her mind recently. This was mostly because the Ryu of back then was too weak, even if it was the Outer Ring, it should have been too difficult for him to gain a spot here.


    But, not only was he here, his position proved that he was among the Wild Card Tournament participants!


    Calculating Ryu''s cultivation back then, her eyes sharpened with a fierce light. Even if it was only a conjecture previously, she was now absolutely certain that Ryu was the one to gain the Faerie''s approval. How else could his strength grow so quickly?!


    However, what Fidroha never expected was that Ryu would have been looking at her from start to finish. His cold, expressionless eyes bore into her soul and sent a shiver down her spine. The message was clear. Even if it wasn''t today, there''d be a day where he killed her.


    Remembering all those months back¡­ That moment when Ryu disappeared into the pile of rubble¡­ She had felt a gaze so cold that it shook her soul with fear.


    Today, that gaze was glaring at her boldly. Not only that, but its pressure was several times what it had been in the past. She suddenly found it incredibly difficult to even breathe.


    Of all four who remained standing, only his gaze wasn''t aimed toward the ground. His back was straight and his momentum was overbearing. He hardly seemed to react when Ancestor Ember''s gaze swept over him, he had ignored him completely, staring at Fidroha with a look that gave away nothing.


    "Him¡­" Edwin who stood behind Fidroha''s Throne took a step forward, his eyes reddening.


    He had been viciously whipped by Fidroha in punishment for failing to apprehend Ryu many times. But, how could he aim his anger toward her? All of the rage he had been pushing down in this over year came bubbling forth ready to implode.


    "Calm yourself."


    This cold voice was akin to a bucket of ice water pouring over his head. Fidroha turned her gaze back to her subordinate, taking advantage of the crowd being entirely focused on the four below to reprimand him. They couldn''t do anything with so many eyes on them right now, especially when they had promised protection of these thirty-two.


    "Did you not hear me? Pay your respects!"


    The acting host who had taken a kneel first suddenly had a change of expression when he noticed that four hadn''t kneeled. He had been prepared for Alote and Byrin to not kneel, but where had these two nameless individuals come from.


    Ryu closed his eyes, pretending as though he hadn''t heard a single thing. However, Matheus had a completely different approach.


    His aura suddenly surged, a black Throne adorned in dark jewels appearing in the skies.


    Alote''s and Byrin''s expressions instantly changed, their knees buckling. In that moment, they felt the need to kneel down, that they weren''t worthy of remaining upright.


    Of all those who were the most surprised, none was more than Byrin. It was he who had harassed the Loom Clan to the point of having to rely on Ryu. He recognized Matheus very easily, he knew in an instant that this was Tae''s cousin.


    His expression flickered several times, but he eventually calmed himself, replacing his nervous air with that confident smile once more. He didn''t see this as a threat to his life, what he saw was a chance to evolve his Throne!


    The host''s visage wavered in embarrassment. This young man''s identity¡­ Maybe it was something even Ancestor Ember didn''t dare to casually offend. This was the Throne of Sect or Clan with an existence even above Ancestor Ember in strength!


    Like many others before him, to cover up his failure in hopes Matheus would forget this ordeal, he turned his ire toward Ryu.


    "This young master has a valid reason, I apologize for my ignorance. But what about you?" He sneered to hide his reddened face. "Don''t tell me you''re a Throne as well?"


    There was a mild laughter through the crowd. Since when did Thrones become something you could run into so frequently? For the longest time, their Pedestal Plane didn''t have a single one until Byrin and Alote suddenly appeared in the same generation.


    However, Ryu didn''t respond, it was as though he hadn''t heard the host''s question at all.


    Just as the host was about to blow his top, a cold voice stopped him in his tracks.


    "That''s enough. I''m a martial warrior, not a King. Move on."


    This stifling voice was none other than Ancestor Ember himself. He didn''t seem to have any anger in his gaze, instead, he looked toward Ryu curiously. Just who was capable of making Fidroha stiffen to this extent?

 Chapter 322: Killed

    The host could only swallow his pride. He himself was an Immortal Ring Expert of the Core Region, yet he actually had to swallow his pride to this extent.


    In the end, he could only begin to explain the rules. There was nothing complex about it. Each of the thirty-two would battle each one of their thirty-one competitors. The top ten with the best win-loss numbers would win. As for tiebreakers, this would be up to the judges to decide.


    ''Mistress, it can''t be that we''re going to let things go like this, right?''


    Edwin was completely unable to hold himself back anymore. Even if it meant he would once again be punished later, he had to ask. He couldn''t stand the idea of allowing Ryu to breathe even one more breath.


    Fidroha''s eyes grew cold when she felt this qi message enter his mind. If it was up to her, she would begin punishing Edwin this very instant.


    Did this fool already forget that they weren''t meant to kill the Faerie''s Life Partner? There was no way to steal a Faerie away, the only method of controlling a Faerie was to control their Life Partner.


    They wanted to use Ailsa. As such, they needed to control Ryu. Yet this fool had actually tried to kill Ryu when they first met all those months ago. That alone was already enough for Fidroha to take his life. Being completely unable to understand her intentions and not having the slightest sense of propriety¡­ Why would she bother to have such a useless subordinate by her side?


    Originally, Fidroha had only wanted to intimidate Ryu a little bit, but now their relationship had fallen into the gutter. She also faintly understood that this Ryu wasn''t so easily controlled¡­


    In that case, the best choice was to capture him and have a Mental Realm Master enslave his mind, yet this fool was still talking about killing him!


    Was it because his frame was so large that he no longer had the energy to spare toward his brain? She was infuriated to the point of wanting to kill him on the spot!


    However, before she could say anything more, the first battle had been drawn. And, interestingly enough, this Ryu who ignored the host was one of the two first participants.


    "Jonete Minn. Ryu."


    The moment Ryu''s name was called out, a red-haired young man abruptly stood.


    "You! I''ll kill you!"


    His eyes reddened with a bloodied rage, flames billowing from his body.


    Ancestor Ember frowned slightly at this outburst. This youth was one he was faintly familiar with. He didn''t interact much with the current generation of his Clan, but he still knew tidbits, at least enough to know that this young man''s name was Fuoco.


    This young man wasn''t exceptionally talented, he wasn''t even among the twenty participants of the Core Region. But, he had a calm, intelligent mind. He was usually quite useful for handling affairs outside of normal martial world matters. This was why he was selected to represent them for the Inner Ring''s Selection.


    However, this same calm man had suddenly disrupted such an important affair without regard for anything. How could this Ancestor not frown, especially when Fuoco was a member of his own Clan?


    "Young master, please pause your steps. Outside of the two participants and the stage judge, no one is allowed to enter this space." The stage judge sent a wave of pressure toward Fuoco that nearly collapsed him to his knees. But it was obvious this stage judge went easy.


    "He''s responsible for the death of my Ember Clan''s Twelfth Elder! What right does he have to participate in this Final Selection Tournament?!"


    The shock of the crowd was palpable. Fuoco''s words were no different from a bombshell.


    The Ember Clan was a prestigious hegemon that no one dared to touch. To kill one of their own, and an Elder at that¡­ How could such a thing be allowed?!


    However, at Fuoco''s words, Ancestor Ember''s frown only deepened. It had nothing to do with Ryu''s actions and the death of his Elder, but was rather due to the rashness of Fuoco''s words. His statement was tantamount to stating that the face of the Ember Clan was worth more than the rule the Apostles themselves set!


    The stage judge''s expression changed. "Young boy, watch your words lest you want to lose your head."


    Fuoco was intelligent, he knew immediately that his words had gone too far. But, his emotions were far too agitated.


    His relationship with the Twelfth Elder wasn''t actually that deep, but how could no one be punished for the death of an Elder? Since Ryu wasn''t around to bear the consequences, Fuoco had to bear the brunt himself.


    This last year, considering his already shallow status in the Ember Clan, was nothing short of torture for him. Seeing the person who caused it all right before him, he nearly went mad.


    Clenching his teeth and gripping his fists, he bowed deeply.


    "I apologize for my rash words. This junior has lost himself for a moment. I only hope that you senior brothers and sisters will kill him. If you do, I, Fuoco Ember, will owe you a life."


    Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately in some respects, Fuoco truly didn''t need to say this. The moment everyone learned that Ryu was responsible for Twelfth Elder Ember''s death, countless other stories that had been fermenting for a year bubbled forth.


    The Zu Clan''s two Immortal Ring Experts rage toward the death of their Grand Elder and the kidnapping of Esme. Throne Byrin''s rage toward the stealing of his woman and the death of his little brother. The Ofera Clan''s fury toward the death of the Second-in-Line Heir, Annbar. And¡­


    "You killed my big brother Vygil¡­?" Jonete looked toward Ryu with eyes that seemed prepared to flood over at any moment. Her small frame trembled fiercely, the tiles beneath her feet shattering.


    Ryu, the subject of all of this scrutiny, stood expressionless as though it had nothing to do with him at all, calmly summoning his first corpse puppet.

 Chapter 323: Minn

    "You¡­ You have nothing to say?!" Jonete''s shrill roar reverberated through the arena, forcing Ryu''s corpse puppet to stumble backward several steps.


    "¡­ I kill those who deserve to be killed. Your brother just happened to be among them."


    To say that Ryu''s words were brazen was an understatement. This wasn''t just any person he was speaking of, this was the Second-in-Line Heir of the Minn Clan! A Sixth Order Clan!


    Those of the Core Region wouldn''t dare even dream of slighting them. However, what was even more unacceptable to those of the crowd was that Ryu actually dared say such heartless words to a little girl whose cheeks had long since flooded with tears.


    To Ryu, however, this so-called "little girl" was already a Connecting Heaven Realm expert and well over three hundred years old. What did it have to do with him whether she cried or not? So, even when the chorus of boos began to rain downward with impunity, it was as though Ryu didn''t hear them at all.


    Clans with status on the level of the Minn Clan had their own reserved section for this event. From eldest to youngest, they all boiled in anger. They cared little for what the backstory of Vygil''s death was, all they felt the needed to know was that Ryu was responsible for it.


    "Kill him Mistress Jonete!"


    "Make him regret his words!"


    Among the uproar, the Patriarch of the Minn Clan stared toward the platform with a gloomy expression. Vygil may have been Second-in-Line, but he was still his son. It was taking every fiber of his being to not directly implode.


    Jonete''s shriek shook the protective array that covered their battlefield as she lunged toward Ryu. But, she was met with the very same puppet she had forced to stumble backward with nothing more than her voice.


    Unfortunately, this corpse puppet she thought she could swat away with a single hand, blocked her path toward Ryu time and time again.


    At first, she thought it was a simple fluke. It wasn''t just her, but many others who had this line of thinking as well. However, but third¡­ then fourth¡­ then fifth exchange, Jonete''s rage felt so stifled that coughed up blood despite not having suffered an injury.


    How infuriated she must have been in those moment. Seeing the enemy she wanted to kill with every fiber of her being standing right before her, yet being completely unable to pass a mere Peak Fifth Order corpse puppet.


    Ryu silently watched all of this, his gaze completely without emotion. Jonete must have thought he was mocking her, but this wasn''t the case at all¡­


    Her fury, her helplessness¡­ He internalized it all. Maybe one day if he failed in his ultimate goal, it would be him on the other side of this corpse puppet. He wanted to etch this moment into his heart. Never¡­ Never could he allow this to be him.


    The chorus of boos grew hoarser and louder.


    Matheus'' eyes narrowed.


    Others didn''t know, but he knew well just how terrible Ryu''s corpse control was just a year ago. This sort of vast improvement bordered on incredulity. How could a person improve so much in such a short period of time?


    The corpse puppet''s steps wavered. It seemed to be gliding in the wind, appearing and disappearing from existence at different points in time. Its glaive strikes were rare, but purposeful and full of power.


    Despite appearing to be on its backfoot, Jonete never managed to enter a three-meter radius of Ryu. Even as her fury burned stronger, there was nothing she could do.


    Her dainty fists rained downward as though she didn''t know fatigue, executing all of the close combat techniques of the Minn Clan, but each of her attempts were dispelled with what seemed like ease.


    A simple [Retreat] here, a [Sidestep] there.


    The movements held a simplistic elegance to them that both wowed and infuriated.


    Soon, the jeers of the crowd grew tired and deflated as even Jonete''s movements became sluggish. She had exploded with so much strength in such a short amount of time that she hadn''t had the mind to worry about stamina. Just thirty minutes later, she paid a dear price from her mistakes.


    The butt of the puppet''s glaive slammed into her toned torso.


    Her breath was completely knocked out of her, a mixture of blood and saliva flying forth as she slammed to the outer edge of the arena.


    The corpse puppet flashed and disappeared, its fluid technique causing those watching on to tremble.


    A kick slammed against the side of Jonete''s delicate cheek, sending her flying once more.


    Unfortunately, in the Final Selection Tournament, there was no such thing as a ''ring-out''. Unless one opponent died, was unable to battle, or admitted defeat, the match would continue. However, under such circumstances, how could Jonete be willing to admit defeat?


    Seeing Jonete''s sorry state, the rage of the crowd that had been doused over time ignited once more.


    By now, Ryu could have killed Jonete several times already, but he held back. He didn''t fancy himself an emotionless, amoral murderer. Jonete''s rage was valid in his eyes. He didn''t hate Vygil either despite him being a catalyst toward his grandfather''s death.


    At the end of the day, Ryu only blamed himself for being too weak back then. It wasn''t Vygil''s responsibility to not attack him simply because he was weaker, nor was it wrong of Ryu to seek revenge for his slight. Since Vygil could kill him, why could Ryu not kill in return?


    Though Ryu would not kill Jonete, he wouldn''t feel bad for her either. She believed that her brother''s life was worth more than his. Well, in Ryu''s opinion, his own life was worth more than every existence not just in this Realm, but in every Realm. If he died, his family would never rise again. In comparison to a mere Vygil, what was that worth?


    "Jonete Minn is unable to continue. Ryu wins."

 Chapter 324: Undefeated

    Ryu calmly gazed at Jonete''s unconscious body. Without much more thought, he turned and left the stage.


    The moment the array was lifted, the chorus of boos grew louder. Though Ryu could hear what was happening while he fought, the sound was greatly muffled. Only now was the true level of rage the crowd felt by him.


    Melody couldn''t help but worriedly look toward Ryu. But, Ryu had long since forbidden her from interacting with him during this tournament. Though she was now much more powerful, the level of enemy Ryu planned to face was beyond this Pedestal Plane. He couldn''t easily reveal weaknesses.


    An array powered board flickered. Soon, a set of thirty-two names shuffled, placing Ryu''s ''1-0'' record at the very top.


    The gazes of rage and the heckling seemed to roll off his shoulders. He simply found his allocated spot and closed his eyes, reviewing his gains from this past battle.


    As Ryu was entering silent meditation, a half-eaten apple was suddenly flung in the air toward him. As though taking this as a cue, a barrage of garbage and food soared through the skies.


    Maybe if the perpetrators were just mortals, it wouldn''t be a big deal. However, many of them were in the Divine Vessel Realm and above.


    The various projectiles streaked across the skies, each with their own supply of qi powering them. It might have been impossible to kill Ryu without suffering consequences, but why not humiliate him? They really wanted to see if he could keep that calm, cold demeanor if he had to fight smelling and adorned of trash.


    In the stands, a young man was feeling very pleased with himself. He had taken a risk going first, but the results were even better than he expected.


    ''Serves you right. How dare you do this to Goddess Jonete?''


    However, none could have possibly expected what happened next.


    Ryu''s body was suddenly engulfed by the platform below him. That could figure they had all aimed their ire toward completely disappeared.


    In the next instant, another figure appeared, but it was plainly obvious to them all that it wasn''t Ryu at all.


    The figure turned out to be a young man of the Divine Vessel Realm. He looked around in confusion, completely unable to grasp what had just happened. Unfortunately, he didn''t have much time to think about it all before he was suddenly bombarded with the very half-eaten apple he himself had thrown.


    With one came two, then three. A barrage of trash and half-eaten foods assaulted his frame, sullying whatever clean image he had had in a flash.


    If those in the audience didn''t understand what happened by now, they''d truly be too stupid. The hail of food and drink stopped, no one daring to act for fear of being the next on Ryu''s list.


    However, by the time they located the Ryu the feared so much, they found that he was still quietly mediating. The only difference this time was that he silently floated in the air a distance away from the sudden pile of trash.


    The young man shivered in embarrassment and rage. He didn''t know where to place his gaze, he could only run, not daring to look toward Ryu.


    The host''s visage darkened. He was meant to be a neutral party, but as a member of the Minn Clan himself, he hated Ryu even more than he had for ignoring him before. Jonete in her current condition wouldn''t be able to fight another battle for weeks, let alone gain a spot to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World.


    Suddenly, his eyes flashed with a sinister light.


    "If contestant Ryu could please return to his designated seating area, we can move on with the next round. It is inappropriate for participants to sit where they please, lest they interfere with the coming battles. Also, take this as your first warning. Making moves against the audience will absolutely not be tolerated. If there''s a second time, I will have to implore the Apostles to consider disqualifying you."


    Though Host Minn''s visage didn''t fluctuate as he spoke nonchalantly, many sneered in response to his words. However, these sneers were all aimed toward Ryu himself.


    How could his actions not be easily seen through? Ryu''s so-called designated area was now no different from a trash heap. Pieces of food, liquids of sauces and juices, and wrappers of all shapes and sizes were strewn in every direction. How could any dignified person sit amidst such nonsense?


    Ryu''s eyes slowly opened, meeting Host Minn''s gaze.


    In those moment, Host Minn felt he had suddenly been plunged into ice cold water, his heartbeat uncontrollably slowing to the point he was scared it might stop completely.


    "Host Minn, is it?" Ryu said faintly. "I''ll be sure to remember that¡­"


    Ryu floated to the ground and slowly walked toward his sitting arrangements.


    But, just when many thought he was truly swallow this humiliation, his body suddenly lit on fire. No¡­ It was more accurate to say that hellish flames began to follow his every step, wafting the arena with an oppressive heat that sought to burn everything down.


    Ancestor Ember''s pupils constricted into pinholes. His sensitivity to fire was far beyond anyone else in attendance. This flame¡­ Somehow made even him feel fear.


    The garbage and remnant food was burnt to a crisp, fluttering in the air as grey and black flecks of ash.


    Somehow, the meditating platform itself remained completely untouched, leaving the area just as clean as it had been the very first time Ryu sat.


    Host Minn''s eye could only twitch, his mouth suddenly feeling exceptionally dry.


    Coughing, he redirected his attention. "The next battle. Throne Byrine. Guiot Alos."


    Guiot nervously made his way to the platform, almost jumping in fright as the array barrier closed around them. He could have never guessed that a Throne would be his first opponent.


    His family looked on nervously from the stands. Of course, they were extremely proud of Guiot for making it this far, but as an Outer Ring Clan, this was the best they could hope for. Their only wish was for Guiot to gain some insights that would help him rise to an even greater height in the future.


    Seeing Byrine standing silently across from him, Guiot bowed respectfully, acknowledging their difference in standing.


    "Please advise me, esteemed Throne."


    His nervousness seemed to disappear the moment his spear entered his hand. His back straightened and his gaze sharpened. Even if he knew he would lose, he wouldn''t lose spinelessly.


    "Advise, huh?" Byrine''s expressionless visage suddenly upturned to a sinister sneer.


    Guiot felt that something was wrong, but the battle had already begun. There was nothing he could do but admit defeat, but his pride in his spear art wouldn''t allow him to do so before exchanging even a single strike.


    Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself. ''I''ll show the Core Region your spear, father. Our Alos Clan will rise again.''


    He smiled lightly toward his mother and little sister in the stands. That adorable little thirteen-year-old girl waved her arm as hard as she could toward her brother as though she wasn''t scared it would fall off. Such a scene warmed Guiot''s heart. For their sake¡­ He must perform.


    A scorching palm suddenly appeared above him. Guiot had no idea how it was cast, nor did he know it was possible to execute a technique so quickly. In an instant, he already had no path of retreat.


    A roar escaped his lips as he sunk into his stance, his qi surging as far as he dared to push it.


    "[Alleviating Pierce]!"


    The strike was exquisite. It flowed with the wind like a carefree swallow making its way to its nest. The tip of the spear meandered, changing forms constantly without rhyme or reason before finally meeting the flaming palm head-on.


    However, no matter how exquisite the technique¡­ The difference was simply too large¡­


    As a genius of the mere Outer Ring, Guiot was only a Peak Spiritual Severing Realm expert, and this alone was already impressive beyond belief.


    Without suspense, he was completely crushed. All that was left behind was a charred body, black from head to toe to the point of not leaking a single drop of blood. Even the spear he had cherished with all his being was burnt into a rain of grey and black flecks of ash¡­


    "I do have some advice for you." Byrine said emotionlessly. "Those who are ants should stay ants. Never provoke a lion¡­ Or else the consequences will be severe. You Inner Ring and Outer Ring "geniuses" should know your place."


    Byrine''s glance very obviously shifted toward Ryu, the rage in his eyes flickering.


    "Big brother!"


    Guiot''s little sister''s heartrending cry was completely drowned out by the chorus of cheers.


    "That''s right!"


    "Show them who''s boss!"


    "The Core Region reigns undefeated!"

 Chapter 325: Zoo Animal

    Ryu''s aura grew frosty, the polar opposite of his previously oppressive heat. His mood only grew worse when he realized that the stage judge had actually still yet to call the match. If this was the definition of being unable to continue, then what was?


    Without another thought, he suddenly stood, his figure flashing forward.


    Host Minn immediately noticed the change. "Contestant Ryu, please return to your seat!"


    There was nothing wrong with his words, in fact, it seemed he was simply doing his job. However, the sinister glow in his eye was obvious to anyone who took a second look.


    "I won''t say it again!" He roared, but he was already making his move.


    Unfortunately for him, he had completely underestimated Ryu''s casting speed. Just when he thought he would intercept Ryu, the latter''s body was swallowed by the ground once more, bringing him to the outer edges of the stage''s array in an instant.


    Host Minn was stunned and embarrassed. He was an Immortal Ring Realm expert, yet he was actually outmaneuvered by a young pup. How could he not be infuriated?


    At this moment, how could Throne Byrine not realize the situation? Even to now, the stage judge had yet to call the match, as though waiting for Guiot to die¡­ as though it was something he deserved.


    After quickly calming himself, Host Minn was no longer worried. So what if he got by him? Even he couldn''t pass through the protective array, let alone Ryu. His [Warp] would be useless before it.


    The sinister light in his eyes grew fiercer.


    "Don''t say I didn''t warn you!" His shout was filled with a righteous indignation that made one''s stomach crawl.


    Throne Byrine sneered. "You want to save this ant? Watch well as I kill him!"


    Byrine raised his palm once more, a swarm of fire coalescing around a point in the sky above Guiot''s charred half-dead body. The fact Guiot had survived at all was a thorough humiliation to Byrine who had intended to kill him with a single strike. Such an ant didn''t deserve to live on for any longer.


    However, it was at that time something astonishing occurred. Just as the palm descended upon Guiot''s body, Ryu passed through the stage''s array as though it was never there to begin with.


    Shock colored Host Minn''s expression as his own palm strike shattered against the outer dome, reverberating through the arena that was already filled with excited cheers and shouts.


    It felt like he only took one step, but Ryu had already appeared beside Guiot''s body even as the flaming palm enveloped them both.


    Byrine was shocked by the change, but he soon sneered. "Since you want to die together with him¡­"


    Before he could finish his words, his expression changed once more.


    His flaming palm seemed to slow. It didn''t dissipate, but rather moved as though it was wading through a thick, viscous liquid. It hovered above Ryu''s kneeling form, slowly losing power before it began to visibly shrink¡­ Eventually, its form began to flicker weaker, its heat cooling and its body deforming from a palm, to a ball of flame, and ultimately to nothing.


    "What an exquisite defensive technique¡­" Ancestor Ember mumbled softly.


    Others couldn''t tell, but Ancestor Ember could certainly see that although the palm had appeared to stop, it was actually travelling hundreds of meters in a very confined space. Throne Byrine''s attack essentially dissipated because it had crossed too large of a distance! It hadn''t even met the true defense of Ryu''s technique before it winked out of existence.


    Ryu calmly placed his hand on Guiot''s chest. After a moment, he lifted it upward, taking with it a torrent of raging fire qi that had been wreaking havoc within Guiot''s body.


    He flicked it into the distance, dispelling all of the latent heat within him. As an Herbologist, Ryu knew well that the worst danger in severe burns wasn''t actually the initial hurt, but rather the lingering heat that would continue to do damage over time. Unless it was dealt with first, the situation would only become worse and worse.


    The stage''s array quaked as the string of fire qi collided against it. It was clear and obvious that this casual qi could obliterate a Divine Vessel Realm expert, yet Ryu had handled it so deftly¡­


    However, there now remained a dilemma¡­ Even if the latent heat was now gone, just how could he save someone at death''s door?


    Guiot''s mother and sister had cheeks flooded with tears. They had wanted to move forward to retrieve Guiot just as the Minn Clan had been allowed to receive Jonete, yet their path had actually been blocked. They thought for a moment that they really could only watch Guiot die until Ryu came out of nowhere.


    Ryu''s brow furrowed.


    The stage judge cleared his throat. "Um¡­ Guiot Alos is unable to battle. Throne Byrine wins¡­"


    He knew it was simply impossible to delay it any further. He wanted to fillet Ryu where he kneeled, but he didn''t dare to. He wasn''t as brazen as Host Minn, unless the Apostles said they were removing their protection from Ryu, he would not make a move.


    Throne Byrine''s gaze flickered uncontrollably, but there was already nothing more he could do.


    ''Oh?'' Ailsa''s brows arched. ''When did my Little Ryu get so soft?''


    Ailsa knew what Ryu planned to do even before he did it. However, even if she was prepared, the torrent of shocked gasps showed that others most definitely weren''t.


    A Spiritual Herb appeared in Ryu''s hand.


    Toward its center, its beautiful whiteish green petals were folded similarly to the center of rose, except in this case, it took the form of a sleeping baby. Outward from this center, a fluffy white haven was created like clouds formed of balls of cotton.


    This gorgeous interior was surrounded by a lush green lotus the size of two palms held together. The heavenly fragrance they wafted made one''s heart tremble.


    "Crown Grade Herb!"


    No one knows who said it first, but the ensuing chaos nearly brought the arena down. It felt like for the first time, voices alone would be enough to shatter its very foundation.


    Yet, from this precious herb, Ryu actually plucked a leaf, causing its radiant rainbow aura to dim slightly.


    The sounds of several hearts breaking was nearly corporeal. They could only watch as Ryu crushed this leaf and placed it into Guiot''s mouth.


    At first it was only one¡­ But then Ryu used a second¡­ Then a third¡­ Eventually, the petals of the lotus were gone, leaving a bed of puffy cotton and a whiteish-green rose-like center formed into a sleeping baby.


    Guiot''s chest thumped, his weak vitality slowly strengthening.


    Seeing this, Ryu took action once more, steeling his heart and cutting a wound in his chest before placing what remained of the Spiritual Herb inside.


    Guiot''s body trembled more violently, his limbs quaking to the point where his charred skin began to peel, revealing the bone and muscle beneath.


    ''Whether you can survive now it up to you.'' Ryu thought silently.


    He had just fed Guiot the Crown Earth Grade Herb known as Cotton Rose''s Lullaby. The issue was that Crown Earth Grade Herbs allowed Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm experts to experience eating a Heaven Grade Herb without suffering the consequences¡­ However, Guiot was only a Spiritual Severing Realm expert.


    In the end, though, Guiot did not disappoint him. Maybe it was because he was already so close to the Divine Vessel Realm, but his aura surged, his meridians crackling and popping as his first Qi Vessel was opened.


    His body underwent a rebirth, a sharp spear qi radiating outward in every direction.


    ''It seems this little one has a spear soul¡­ how interesting.'' Ailsa said with a light smile.


    ''A spear soul?'' Ryu was faintly surprised as well.


    There were four pillars of cultivation talent. One''s Meridians, one''s Bone Structure, one''s Spiritual Foundation, and finally, one''s Bloodline. But, there were rare instances where a fifth pillar might appear. This fifth pillar wasn''t necessarily better than the other four facets, it was only that they didn''t often manifest¡­


    They were known as Soul Natures.


    This hidden Fifth Pillar of Talent was rare already, but they were especially rare amongst humans and beasts. They were only slightly more prevalent amongst creatures like Faeries and Elves.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t have a Soul Nature. With his pitiful Mental Realm talent, it was a wonder he could practice at all, let alone birth such a good thing.


    Guiot''s Soul Nature was fairly restricted now, but when he entered the Soul Birth Realm, his talent would blossom forth. The small Outer Ring would definitely be incapable of holding him.


    Later stages of cultivation heavily relied on Comprehension, and those with Soul Natures were far beyond others in this respect. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Guiot''s raw spear cultivation talent was even beyond Ryu''s. Of course, with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils by Ryu''s side, he could ignore this difference with ease.


    Guiot slowly fell back to the ground. His eyes slowly opened, but his gaze remained filled with confusion. Just what happened? Why was everyone looking at him like he was a zoo animal? And why was this handsome guy standing over him?

 Chapter 326: Irrelevant

    Just as Guiot was lost in thought, he was forced to focus once more as his aura surged again¡­ How could a Spiritual Herb with an efficacy of a Heaven Grade Herb have such a small affect on a Spiritual Severing Realm expert?


    Lower Divine Vessel Realm¡­ Middle¡­ Higher¡­


    Guiot''s aura didn''t stop surging until he was right on the verge of breaking into the Peak Divine Vessel Realm. Just like that, in just a few moments, he had opened four Qi Vessels right before the eyes of everyone in attendance.


    However, the subject of everyone''s gaze was actually more confused than them all. He had no idea what was happening at all.


    "Your mother and sister are waiting for you. You should go."


    Guiot''s attention was suddenly brought back to the handsome guy who had been standing over him. Though his gaze still flickered from confusion, he realized that he had likely lost the battle. This guy was probably here waiting to start the next battle, but he had embarrassingly lost consciousness.


    "Ah, sorry, sorry." He nodded his head, shooting up from the ground and running out of the dissipating stage array.


    As though these matters had nothing to do with him, Ryu actually turned to walk back to his seat.


    "Halt!" Host Minn, fuming with anger, subconsciously infused qi into his voice, sending a torrent of wind and sound toward Ryu.


    Ryu frowned, his steps faltering slightly. No matter how powerful he was, he was still no match for an Immortal Ring expert. However, his gaze still coldly met Host Minn''s.


    "Is there a problem?"


    "Is there a problem?" Host Minn was so enraged that he suddenly began to laugh. "You just interfered with an ongoing battle! Is this not a problem?!"


    His gaze turned upward toward Ancestor Ember and Apostle Fidroha, bowing deeply.


    "Esteemed ones, I implore you to expel this contestant and allow me to mete out punishment. If there''s no law and order, how can we appease the masses?"


    "Appease the masses¡­? Or appease the Core Region?" Ryu asked faintly.


    "You dare interrupt my conversation with the Immortals?!" Host Minn''s roar shattered Ryu''s ear drums, causing blood to run down the side of his face. But, Ryu''s passive healing almost instantly cured the problem. With his Phoenix Bloodlines growing in power, he had already gained a small Healing Factor.


    "For an Immortal Ring expert, you spend too much of your time yelling." Ryu responded coldly. "I do not fear you, so lower your voice."


    Many shivered beneath Ryu''s words. The difference once clear. One tried to use their cultivation to stir intimidation, but the other used their will. Who was superior and who was inferior could be seen with a single glance.


    Host Minn''s face reddened with rage, however he didn''t get a chance to speak again before Ryu had already continued.


    "Either way, your claims are baseless. According to the rules you yourself set, a match ends when one dies, admits defeat, or is unable to battle. Guiot was unable to battle, and therefore the match ended. I don''t remember hearing anything about others having to wait for the words of the stage judge. If you intended that to be the case, you should have been a better host and said so."


    Host Minn laughed. "Is this the faint hope you want to cling to?! Your own arbitrary thoughts of what is and isn''t able to battle? If anyone could make the decision, what would be the point of stage judges?! It was obviously an implied rule that would only need to be stated for the mentally deficient. I didn''t know that you were so incapable."


    The crowd seemed to be on Host Minn''s side, but Ryu only internally sneered. It seemed this Host had yet to realize that he had already subconsciously begun to debate with Ryu as an equal.


    However, to Ryu, this host was far beneath his notice. He had once debated with World Sea Realm expert, who was a mere Immortal Ring expert before him?


    "Oh¡­?"


    Seeing the smile that wasn''t a smile on Ryu''s lips, Host Minn suddenly felt a terrible premonition coming on.


    "¡­ Between the time of the first fire palm strike and my entering the arena, there were no other exchanges between Throne Byrine and Guiot. Yet, the moment I kneeled by his charred body, the stage judge suddenly announced that Guiot was unable to battle. As for why he lagged in his assessment, you''ll have to ask him. But I think it''s a bit foolish of you to assume that this is my one sided opinion considering this evidence, right?"


    This time, it wasn''t just Host Minn, but even the stage judge who felt a burning desire to tear Ryu limb from limb. Unfortunately, his words were too sound.


    "I''ve grown tired of this."


    The voice of a third party suddenly sounded. However, it wasn''t from Ancestor Ember or Fidroha, but rather came from Byrine himself.


    "Get up here. I''ve decided to kill you."


    His cold words were directed at none other than Ryu himself.


    "For an ant to interfere in my battle¡­ You must be truly tired of living."


    His hair flickered with dancing flames, his eyes reddening to the point it might combust into a fire of its own.


    The crowd suddenly fell silent before roaring in applause. They had felt just as stifled as Host Minn just a few moment ago, but now, their figurehead had decided to take action. How could they not be excited?


    "I hope the Immortals will allow me this chance." Throne Byrine spoke, but his gaze never left Ryu.


    Who knew that Ryu wouldn''t care for the answers of Ancestor Ember or Fidroha and immediately appear on stage, standing not even three meters from Byrine as though he didn''t fear him at all?


    Byrine was stunned for a moment by Ryu''s speed even though he had already witnessed it, but he still sneered in his heart.


    In this confined space, once the stage array was lowered, what would speed mean? He would directly incinerate everything! Byrine didn''t believe that Ryu could decode the array while facing his pressure.


    "I will show you the true strength of a Throne. There are some things you can''t imagine. How dare you provoke me?!" Byrine roared.


    His aura surged, a Throne of blazing rubies appearing to his back. It seemed to want to light the world on fire, setting everything in its sights ablaze.


    "Oh¡­" Ryu''s gaze lost interest. "¡­ Is this where your sense of entitlement comes from?"


    In that instant, the skies suddenly changed as the arena grounds shook beneath their feet.


    A Throne adorned of beautiful sapphire gems descended from the skies, radiating a strength beyond even Matheus'' display. It was so infinitesimally close to a Ninth Order Throne that even Ancestor Ember felt the faint urge to lower his head.


    The ruby throne nearly shattered under its might, its size decreasing by several levels.


    "This is the thing that made you so proud?"


    Host Minn''s gaze trembled even as Byrine''s visage paled.


    Ancestor Ember''s fists subtly clenched. This was not good. Byrine was directly tied to the Faith of his Ember Clan as their Throne. If he lost so miserably, the consequences would be disastrous!


    "Didn''t you want to kill me? Why have you suddenly stopped moving?" Ryu asked slowly. "Did you forget that I killed your younger brother? Or maybe that I took your woman as my fianc¨¦e? Weren''t you very awe inspiring when you sought to take the life of an innocent young man to vent your rage?"


    The more Ryu spoke, the darker Ancestor Ember''s expression grew. What had once been appreciation for a young talent had suddenly become something far, far worse.


    "You¡­ Why¡­" Byrine''s words stuttered. What a joke, he already hadn''t dared to provoke Matheus and was planning on dropping the Tae matter, but how had he suddenly enraged someone even stronger?


    "Why what? Why didn''t I reveal my Throne earlier?"


    The crowd gulped. It seemed they too had the same question.


    "¡­ To me, whether I am a Throne or not is irrelevant. I don''t need to rely on anything else but myself. You presented your Thrones as an excuse to not kneel, but the only excuse I need is my own will."


    Ryu''s words were like thunder, reverberating through the arena even over the deafening sounds of the crowd.

 Chapter 327: Selection

    Byrine frame trembled. He had never felt so belittled and humiliated in his entire lifetime.


    "Take out your corpse puppet!"


    His humiliation fueled his roar. A sharp qi surrounded his body as his sword appeared in hand. The Ember Clan may have been one for flame wielders, but the Lao Clan he was born into was a Clan of swordsman!


    "For you¡­" Ryu flashed forward, his body suddenly appearing not even two feet away from Byrine. "¡­ I don''t think I''ll feel better unless I do it with my own hands."


    The crisp slap resounded through the arena. Byrine''s body flew to the side, his head and shoulder smashing into the stage barrier so fiercely that his neck seemed to break in a single instance.


    The silence was deafening. Was the difference really so large?


    How could they know that to the current Ryu, this Throne Byrine was nothing more than a joke? Ryu''s personal strength was already comparable to a Peak Connecting Heaven Realm expert when his bodily strength and Chaos Qi were used as one. If he added his comprehensions and Impose Barriers to this calculation, even Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm experts would have to take him seriously.


    Yet this so-called genius Throne Byrine was a mere Middle Connecting Heaven Realm expert. Not only that, but he had already cultivated just over five hundred years to reach this mark. Just by this fact alone, his talent was actually far below Esme''s.


    This Byrine who saw himself fit to trumpet around his status before Ryu was actually nothing more than a jumping clown. If it wasn''t for the fact he had pissed him off, Ryu wouldn''t have even bothered to deal with such an inconsequential person.


    "Weren''t you very imposing just now?"


    Ryu appeared by Byrine''s half-unconscious body and sent him flying with another kick. His demeanor appeared incredibly relaxed as though he was doing nothing more than taking a stroll in the park.


    "Weren''t you a lion?"


    Even as Byrine''s body flew through the air, Ryu mystically appeared above him, striking down from above and using the dazed Throne to shatter the white tiles of the stage below.


    Ailsa sighed softly. ''Aiya, my Little Ryu pretends to be so cold but he''s actually gotten so angry for a complete stranger. I''m a little jealous.''


    In the distance, Guiot was looking on with a shocked expression. After reuniting with his mother and sister, he found out the truth of what was happening and couldn''t help but look toward Ryu with a conflicted gaze.


    This man so suddenly came into his life and gifted him something that was far too difficult to repay. If he were to return to the Outer Ring now, he would already be among one of their greatest experts. Yet he had reached this realm so¡­ easily¡­ at the whims of a young man he didn''t even know.


    The crowd was even more stunned. Byrine and Alote were the two premier geniuses of their Core Region. Though they were worse than Ancestor Ember back when he was young, they were still the very best¡­


    How could this be happening?


    "I''m just a little prince from the Higher Mortal Plane. Shouldn''t you be teaching me about how much of an ant I am right now?"


    ''Puchi.'' Ailsa choked on her own breath, falling into a fit of laughter.


    ''You''re so bad Little Ryu. How could you be compared to a normal little prince?''


    No matter how you sliced it, even though Ryu took the crystalline jade and found Ailsa under his own power, his starting point was still much higher than those of the Mortal Planes. His words were definitely a bit disingenuous.


    However, the crowd didn''t know that. His words sent off a bomb amongst them.


    Weren''t they just looking down on the Outer Ring? Why was their hero suddenly being beaten by someone of even lower status?


    Matheus looked on with a bitter smile. ''He really is nothing like a Necromancer.''


    "Stop! Stop!" The stage judge panicked. "Byrine Lao is unable to battle, the match is over!"


    Though he said this anxiously, the stage judge was truly hoping that Ryu continued to attack, only then would he have a justifiable cause to be a bit heavy handed. Unfortunately, things did not go as he pleased.


    Under the astonished eye of the stage judge, Ryu''s attacks abruptly came to a stop. To a normal martial artist, such an abrupt stop would cause a severe backlash, but Ryu slowly fell to the ground as though he hadn''t been fighting at all.


    Even the stage judge was stunned. He thought he had timed his words perfectly so that Ryu wouldn''t be able to stop, yet how could he know that this was a joke before Ryu Chaotic Silk Meridians?


    In that moment, Byrine''s Throne considerably dimmed in luster even as Ryu''s own brightened. The former nearly fell out of the Half-Step Seventh Order entirely.


    With a dull thud, Byrine fell to the ground headfirst, his neck injury becoming several times worse.


    In the distance, Pascal was sweating profusely. This was way too far out of his expectations. The man he provoked was a Throne? A Throne who could toy with Byrine as though he was nothing more than a joke at that?


    Of the families, only his Sai Clan didn''t have a deep grudge against Ryu¡­ Yet he actually went out and sought it for himself!


    He felt like a fool. How could a normal individual possibly get their hands on so many Crown Grade herbs?


    "Commander Fidroha, I really can''t take this for even one more second." Edwin''s trembling had only grown worse and worse with each passing moment. It really seemed that he could explode at any time.


    Fidroha herself was frowning. Even if Ryu had a Faerie partner, this speed of improvement was too great. How could they properly control him? However, she couldn''t change the fact that the higher ups were dead set on having this Cultus Faerie beholden to their wills. She didn''t have the luxury of changing this.


    Though she seemed high and mighty here, and Edwin even called her Commander, what could a mere Immortal Ring expert mean in the face of the Martial Gods? In fact, the Immortal Ring Realm was the bare minimum requirement of joining the Apostles, and even then, she wasn''t a true member. It was just that these ignorant people from the Pedestal Plane believed she was.


    ''What do I do¡­''


    Suddenly, she had an idea and her eyes brightened, her forehead relaxing.


    "Hold on a moment, Ryu."


    Her voice was as delicate as the flowing wind. Many men felt their heart beats quicken in that instant. However, others sneered, believing that Ryu''s arrogance was finally going to pay its due price.


    Ryu''s footsteps toward his seat paused.


    "Please advise me, respected Apostle." Ryu said lightly.


    Though his words seemed respectful on the surface, the fact his head wasn''t lowered and his features were indifferent painted a completely different tale.


    Host Minn''s sneer became fiercer toward Ryu''s attitude. Unfortunately, the reality smacked him awake from his delusions.


    "I believe that this Final Selection Tournament is already meaningless for you. You may not necessarily lose even in our Blossom Plane Final Selection Tournament." She said with a faint smile.


    Her words were like a detonated bomb, sending the hearts of the crowd into a frenzy. To those of Lower Planes, those above them were no less than deities. Such words had a more profound impact on them than anything else possibly could.


    "With your strength, it already wouldn''t be impossible to become a Junior Brother of mine. In fact, I am of the mind of turning this Final Selection Tournament into a little test for you. If you pass, you''ll become just like these two subordinates of mine and be named a candidate for the next Apostle Selection¡­


    "¡­ What do you think?"

 Chapter 328: Mine

    Hidden within the crowd, a familiar father-son pair were looking on at these events with amused expressions. However, after hearing Fidroha''s words, the father suddenly snapped.


    "That stinking brat, how many trees is he trying to hold on to?"


    The sloppily dressed drunkard of a son laughed at these words.


    "Father, you actually travelled all the way from the Inner Ring to the Core Region just to catch a glimpse of him, now you''re just jealous."


    His words received a smack to the back of the head.


    "What do you know? This boy is a Throne of that Awoken Moon Sect the Apostles still don''t dare to casually check, he''s a Core Disciple of the Mercenary Guild, and now he''s being invited by the Apostles themselves. When is it going to be my Armament Guild''s turn?"


    "Who asked you to lurk in the dark instead of approaching him? Considering the fact your sulking around on a mere Pedestal Plane, why do you care so much about that old face of yours? Plus, his status as a Throne and Mercenary Guild Core Disciple don''t interfere with joining other parties, both have a great degree of freedom."


    "That''s where the problem lies, boy. He obviously doesn''t want to tie himself too firmly to any one organization. Plus, he dared to try to tease me out of hiding that day a year ago. I''ll make it so that he begs this old man to enter beneath my wing."


    The son took a swig of his flask, ignoring his senile old man to watch the proceeding events with curiosity.


    "No matter what, I doubt he''ll join the Apostles. It seems he has a grudge with them."


    The old man''s gaze narrowed. "It does seem that way¡­"


    Down below, Ryu also felt amused by Fidroha''s words.


    "To be honest with you¡­" He started. "¡­ I have little interest in joining your Apostles."


    The atmosphere suddenly plummeted, a cold breeze whipping through the arena. The only one who seemed to take this lightly was the old man who lost himself in laughter. If it wasn''t for the fact any noise he made would be too obvious amid this silence, he''d likely be rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach.


    "But if you''d like to make a bet, I''m more than willing to oblige."


    Fidroha''s eyes narrowed. "What kind of bet?"


    "It''s simple really. If I am to join your Apostles, I prefer to do so as a Throne --."


    "You stinking brat!" Edwin roared. "You think that because you''ve risen to the top here that you can casually do so anywhere? Thrones beneath the Nine Order aren''t even considered to be true Thrones! Yet you''re speaking of conquering a second Throne with your pitiful strength?!"


    Wanting to claim the Throne of an Eleventh Order organization was already an impossible mountain to climb, yet Ryu actually wanted it to be his second Throne?!


    It was no wonder Edwin who had been holding himself back finally exploded.


    "I don''t believe I was speaking to you." Ryu said coldly.


    His biting words were simply too much for many to handle. Those in the crowd didn''t even dare to breathe.


    Just as Edwin was about to truly lose himself to rage, he felt a piercing gaze to his side coming from his Commander. He felt as though he had suddenly been dropped into an ice-cold ocean¡­


    "Continue." Fidroha said plainly.


    Instead of speaking, Ryu began to directly bring out several things. Fidroha instantly froze when she realized that Ryu was actually bringing out several Crown Grade Herbs!


    "I have five Crown Earth Grade herbs here. I will use them as a stake. If I lose, I will give you all five of these Spiritual Herbs. However, if I win, I want you to take me to your headquarters so that I can challenge your Throne. In addition to that, I want however many Qi Stones you have on your person right now."


    Fidroha''s heart skipped a beat.


    Crown Earth Grade herbs were already meaningless to her. After all, she could directly consume Heaven Grade herbs, there was no need to pay from Crown Earth Grade herbs that were more expensive than even many Heaven Grade herbs while also having a slightly lower efficacy.


    However, there were countless young masters of massive Clans who would bend over backwards for a chance like this. Edwin himself had already lost his composure. If he had just one of the herbs, breaking into the Immortal Ring Realm would be a matter of just a few moments. It had taken every ounce of will power he had to not pounce forward when he saw Ryu feeding one to Guiot.


    But who knew that Ryu would actually have so many more?


    "And what bet did you have in mind?" Fidroha asked after steadying her breath.


    Simply taking Ryu to the Apostles headquarters wasn''t a big deal. Even one Crown Grade herb was enough to cover the cost. It wasn''t as though they were a secret organization, they were more akin to a governmental body. Their location wasn''t hidden.


    The reason Ryu would rather ask for Fidroha''s assistance was to lessen his troubles. As for things from Fidroha''s perspective, the only requirement that left her a bit apprehensive was Ryu''s ask for all of the Qi Stones in her possession. But, if she were to be honest with herself, her current net worth would barely be able to buy even just one Crown Earth Grade herb.


    Betting the price of one for the price of five¡­ How could she reject it?


    "Simple." Ryu''s gaze turned cold. "I want to kill him."


    At this point, even the old man stopped laughing completely. His son, by his side, stopped chugging his hard liquor, looking toward Ryu with a flickering expression. Fidroha herself was finally unable to control her changes in expression as her face visibly stiffened.


    In a corner of the arena, Fuoco clenched his fists. ''When he dies, I must find a way to take his corpse. His Heavenly Pupils must be mine!''

 Chapter 329: Esme

    It suddenly became incredibly difficult for normal individuals to breathe. The atmosphere was simply too tense. They couldn''t understand how a junior dared to say these words to the Apostles!


    Ryu didn''t say he wanted to spar, he didn''t say he wanted to battle or test his skill¡­ He said he wanted to kill!


    "Do you understand the gravity of what you''ve just said?" Fidroha drew out her words long and slow.


    Ryu calmly found his spot on a familiar platform of white tile. It was as though he didn''t notice that Byrine''s body still lay unconscious, nor did he care that the stage judge was attempting to care for him. He only met Fidroha''s gaze once more with a bland, emotionless light.


    "Of course." He responded. "If I put it any other way, there would be too many excuses later on. It''s better for me to make myself clear right now."


    Fidroha wanted to speak more, but Edwin''s laughter didn''t allow her the opportunity.


    "Commander, please allow me this. Do not worry, I won''t kill him¡­ I''ll only break every bone in his body to the point where he won''t dare to fight back again!"


    Edwin''s words caused many astute individuals to frown. He promised not to kill Ryu? Why was this Ryu so important? Was this the reason he dared to be so unbridled?


    Edwin leaped from Fidroha back, his leg strength alone being enough to carry him through the skies over a hundred meters before he landed with a quaking boom upon the arena. The stage judge had no choice but to fly from the stage, Byrine''s body in hand.


    "The kind of person I hate the most is the kind who overestimates himself."


    Edwin released the restraint on his aura. When he was around his Commander, showing off his slight skill was nothing more than asking to be punished. However, before an ant like Ryu, he could be as unbridled as he pleased.


    A familiar red aura shook the air around him. Spiraling cracks deformed for the white tiles beneath his feet, spreading outward in a pattern that was both ferocious and oddly beautiful.


    The last time Ryu had seen this qi, Edwin had used it to attack him. However, it didn''t truly seem like qi either. It felt more like Vital Qi, but wasn''t entirely like that either.


    Vital Qi was the energy type cultivated during Body Realm cultivation. When Ryu tempered his blood, what he was really doing was saturating it with Vital Qi. As his Body Realm cultivation increased, this saturation point also increased, allowing his body to withstand more and more.


    As his Vital Qi increased, his blood would circulate about his body and uniformly greaten its quality and strength. This was the cycle of Body Realm cultivation.


    ''This is a very special cultivation technique, Little Ryu. These Apostles have the ability to create a fusion of the Body and Qi Realms. This is not a simple additive impact on their strength, it''s very nearly exponential. His strength is already a sliver away from a normal Immortal Ring expert.''


    Ailsa hadn''t bothered to explain these things to Ryu before because she knew he would do this anyway. But now that it was already happening, she felt she had to say something.


    ''If it wasn''t at least this difficult, why would I waste my time coming here? If his strength was already below mine, I wouldn''t even care to seek revenge anymore.''


    Ryu swept a gaze over Edwin and turned his head up toward Fidroha.


    "Have you agreed?"


    Edwin was so eager to battle that he seemed to have forgotten that Fidroha had yet to give her assent.


    Fidroha''s expression flickered. She suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. Why was it that this Ryu had no reaction to Edwin''s strength?


    ''It doesn''t matter. No matter how talented he is, he was raised in this pitiful environment. There aren''t more than a few handfuls of Eleventh Order Thrones in all of the Cosmos, and there are even few that dare to make such a Throne their second. Taking him to the headquarters is already as good as fulfilling my mission even if he wins by some inexplicable miracle¡­''


    "I agree."


    Thinking to this point, Fidroha calmed. Even if she gave up all of her wealth now, the rewards she would receive for bringing Ryu back wouldn''t be small.


    The one with the worst reaction to this situation was Fuoco himself. How could he not see how valued Ryu was by these Apostles? How could he ever get his hands on his pupils like this?


    Nodding faintly, Ryu turned back to face Edwin. With a casual wave of his hand, a storm of death qi suddenly enveloped the arena. It was so suffocating and dark that many lost color as though their blood was being drained from their bodies.


    By the time their sight cleared enough to lay eyes on this corpse puppet, their hearts were struck with an incomprehensible feeling. Was this really a corpse¡­? Why did it seem so alive? How was it possible that it had the sinister aura of a blood sucking demon, yet also the elegance and beauty of a dark elven princess?


    Esme''s body was wrapped in a bold armor alternating in black leather and shining obsidian-like metal. Her grey skin gave off an exotic aura even as her hair, black as night, whipped beneath Edwin''s pulsing qi.


    Despite her delicate frame, she held a violet spear with a silver head that stood more than a foot taller than her. Yet, considering the sharp qi that wafted from her, it didn''t even remotely feel out of place.


    "Peak Sixth Order corpse puppet?!"


    The other participants of the Final Selection Tournament suddenly felt faint. All of their pent up dissatisfaction toward Ryu had already mostly dissipated after he defeated Byrine so easily, but seeing for themselves how truly large the disparity was made whatever remain disappear entirely.


    Matheus'' eyes narrowed. He wasn''t a layman in Necromancy like these people were. He could see just how extraordinary this corpse puppet was with a single glance.


    ''I¡­ I really can''t tell what sort of refinement method he used¡­'' Matheus was inwardly shocked.


    "Esme?! ESME!"


    In that moment, a roar shook the arena. The rage of an Immortal Ring expert was nothing that could be ignored.


    Two white haired, middle aged men shot into the skies, their eyes bloodied with indignation.


    Ryu didn''t even need to look toward them. He knew how this matter would end.


    A light snort completely suppressed their bubbling cries of fury, leaving them frozen in the air.


    "I ask that these two experts of the Zu Clan not interfere. This matter is already beyond your reach."


    Though Ancestor Ember spoke calmly, there was an undeniable magnetism within his voice that left the two Zu Clan members completely stifled.


    Who else could these two men be if not the two Immortal Ring Realm experts the Zu Clan sent to lay their foundation within the Core Region?


    The fact that Ryu was using Esme as his own personal soldier was already enough of an insult. But, for him to not even bother to attempt to hide her identity was a smack in the face that was completely intolerable. However, how could the two of them face off against a Path Extinction Realm expert?


    The two experts fiercely trembled, but in the end, they could only swallow their rage and leave the arena at their fastest possible speed. How could they have the face to remain here?


    Ancestor Ember''s purpose in appearing here wasn''t to observe the youth. He could care less which genius of the younger generation earned the right to enter that Legacy World. His true purpose was to act as the anchor of Pedestal Plane and ensure that no one tested the prestige of the Apostles. Though Fidroha could do so herself, if he allowed this to happen, there would be consequences he wasn''t equipped to deal with.


    Since Fidroha had agreed to this bet, how could he allow others to interfere?


    Edwin sneered at these turn of events. "It seems you''re nothing but a fool who seeks to make enemies at every turn. After I teach you a lesson, I won''t mind handing over your half-dead body to the two of them for a little while."


    "The term enemy implies that I see you to be at or above my level. For a person like you or them, it''s more accurate to call you a steppingstone."


    Hearing these words, Edwin was so enraged that he began to laugh.


    "This puny little corpse is why you''re so overconfident? Watch as I pummel it into the ground!"


    The moment this roar left his lips, the ground beneath his feet shattered as he propelled himself forward. The devastation left in his wake was so severe that the stage array''s foundation faltered and cracked, sending his qi barreling out of its confines.

 Chapter 330: Dont Remember

    Esme''s expression shifted to the point of being incomparably cold and stern. It was as though for a moment she molded herself after Ryu.


    This was a small change almost no one noticed. But it sent waves of crashing with Matheus'' heart.


    ''This¡­''


    ''It''s still not enough.'' Ryu thought to himself.


    It was then that the first clash occurred. Esme''s spear tip met Edwin''s fist, causing it body to bend like a bow.


    Edwin''s momentum was fierce. Anyone could see that he won the exchange, however in his rage, he didn''t notice Fidroha''s frown. There was no doubt he won the first bout¡­ but why was it that it seemed to be by a smaller margin than he should have?


    Ryu looked on toward this scene with a mocking smirk. "It seems that standards of the Apostles are quite low."


    Edwin''s gaze reddened hearing these words. It was only now he suddenly realized that the corpse puppet he should have blown away in a single strike had actually exchanged strikes with him for several rounds already?


    ''Just who is this child¡­?'' Ancestor Ember could naturally see the crux of the matter. But what made him feel a sense of apprehension was the fact that even to him, the truth was foggy.


    "Oh. Since you still have time to glare at me, it seems the pressure on you isn''t high enough."


    Ryu''s arm left their clasped position behind his back. As though he was conducting an orchestra, his fingers flicked with an arrogant majesty.


    Flickers of silver appeared around him. To some, the appearance of [Vector Eagle] was so thin that they couldn''t see a thing. To others who had slightly more lucky viewing angles, it felt as though a flock of beautiful silver birds had suddenly taken flight into the skies, collectively making Edwin their target.


    Suddenly, a battle he had been handedly winning, took a turn.


    Edwin winced as the sharp silver scythes tore through his tough skin.


    Even with this being the case, though, what infuriated him more than anything was the spearmanship of this corpse puppet. Why did it feel so simple yet impossible to see through?


    Edwin had never felt more humiliated in his life. He should have ended this battle in an instant!


    "DAMMIT!" He roared.


    Flames erupted from his body as his strength multiplied several times over.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. ''Elemental Mortal Endowment¡­ Birthed Phenomena.''


    Others might have missed it, but Ryu''s eyes were too sharp. Beneath the wreath of flames that coated his fists, Edwin was hiding a powerful Fist Inheritance. He likely wanted Ryu to underestimate him on purpose so that he could end it quickly. Unfortunately, he still underestimated Ryu.


    Esme''s steps became unpredictable in an instant, her movement becoming ethereal. She flitted around Edwin''s strikes with an elegant ease. It was as though she was always a step ahead.


    However, the circumstances had clearly changed. It was now Edwin who pushed forward.


    His fists tore through the air. Concentric booming spheres of compressed wind fell toward Esme like a torrent.


    ''It seems fire is a weakness of Esme''s¡­'' Ryu analyzed calmly.


    With a new refinement method, how could it be perfect and without flaw? After being modeled after a Spiritual Herb, Esme suffered the same weaknesses many of them did. Though it wasn''t terrible for now, Ryu could see Esme''s skin quickly drying and her movements were slowly becoming rigid.


    Esme''s wrists twisted and pierced through the air, deflecting the blows of Edwin''s fists at their weak points.


    However, while Ryu was calmly analyzing the situation as though nothing was wrong, he hadn''t cared to notice that the arena had become so silent a pin''s drop could be heard. Well, that would have been the case if not for the loud cacophonic booms of Edwin''s fist strike.


    Everyone watched on, occasionally rubbing their eyes as though they were trying to wake up from a dream.


    Was this a joke? Wasn''t this battle supposed to end in an instant? Why was it that it was still going?


    Esme''s spear rapidly unleashed a flurry of strikes.


    Edwin''s muscles bulged, his temper flaring more and more with each passing instant.


    "Die!" He roared. "[Meteor Sweeping the Skies]!"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Controlling Esme, her feet shifted in an enigmatic manner once more.


    His [Third Perspective] immediately saw through the flaw in this technique. Using Esme as his own spearhead, he had her pierce through, the air around her shifting with an incomparably sharp aura.


    The strike completely slipped through Edwin''s defenses, making its way toward his throat without regard.


    ''[Warped Ripple] ¡­''


    Edwin suddenly felt that his fist had slowed. It was only for an instant. In fact, not even a split second later, his qi ripped through whatever barrier there was, sending a violently ripple through the ground the shattered what remained of the white tiles.


    However, by then, the spear had already made it to this throat¡­ He would die¡­


    CLANG!


    Just when that battle seemed to be over, Esme''s spear shattered into shards of silver and violet pieces. Along with it, her body was sent flying, crashing against what seemed like the last remnants of the stage array¡­


    Edwin stood silently, not moving a single inch. His messy black hair partially covered his features, hiding his gaze. At the same time, his trembling had suddenly stopped entirely.


    "It seems I have to stop treating you like an ant by the road¡­" The pace of his words was slow and deliberate. His momentum seemed to be steadily rising. Completely unlike he had been before, his figure became as steady as a mountain.


    Ryu walked to Esme''s side. To say she was in terrible condition was an understatement. Almost all the bones in her body were shattered. Beyond that, her muscle fibers were sheared apart in some of the most important region. Unless Ryu used his own qi to make up for it, she wouldn''t be able to move.


    It was then the crowd finally sighed a breath of relief. If Ryu really won, it would be too much for them to handle. Now everything was right in the world again.


    Who among them didn''t believe that Esme was Ryu''s final trump card? Now that she was unable to battle, it was definitely over.


    Ryu didn''t even try to salvage her and directly placed her into his spatial ring.


    "Shame." Ryu said faintly.


    He hadn''t expected Edwin''s aura to suddenly surge like that. He didn''t put the opinions of those fools in his eyes. Any one of Edwin''s previous strikes could have put Esme in her current situation. The problem was that Edwin perfectly timed his counter. Although Ryu''s eyes saw through it in time and he himself would have been able to evade in time, his corpse puppet control was still lacking.


    What he actually found to be a shame was that he lost his spear. How would he use his dual wielding style like this? Seems it was time to find a new set of weapons.


    Edwin''s head slowly raised. His gaze was eerily calm, his aura far more restrained than it had been in the past.


    ''I said not to kill him.'' Fidroha suddenly felt the need to remind Edwin by Qi Line.


    "I won''t kill him. I''ll only break him."


    He no longer sounded like the braggart he had in the past. He sounded like he was simply stating a fact.


    Ryu, however, didn''t pay attention. He only calmly took out two glaives, stabbing them into the ground.


    "Is this a joke? What kind of scheme is he playing at? Start begging for mercy!" Host Minn said with a sneer. "A Necromancer without his puppets is nothing!"


    Ryu''s reserved aura suddenly climbed.


    Silence fell over the arena once more. Not because it was too strong¡­ But because it was too weak! Ryu was a Lower Divine Vessel Realm expert?!


    They were so shocked by this reality that they didn''t realize that this kind of pressure couldn''t come from a normal Divine Vessel Realm cultivator¡­


    Ryu flexed his wrists, loosening them as though what was happening around him had nothing at all to do with him.


    "¡­ I don''t remember ever saying I was a Necromancer."


    The moment his glaives reentered his hands, the skies themselves seemed to change.

 Chapter 331: Release

    Edwin''s pupils constricted.


    At that moment, he suddenly remembered something. Corpse puppets had to be controlled, their level of skill was entirely dependent on their master. Esme''s spearmanship had been beyond anything he had personally fought against before. Could it truly be that Ryu was at the core of this?


    The sharp sound of air being slit apart revolved madly around Ryu. The feeling he gave off was completely different from Esme. The latter had felt devious and clever, but Ryu seemed like an insurmountable mountain, an unstoppable force prepared to slice through anything.


    "I hope you don''t regret your words¡­" Ryu said faintly.


    Ryu''s body hopped slightly into the air, his glaives brandished to each side. However, the moment his foot landed on the ground once more, he suddenly vanished.


    ''Fast!''


    Edwin''s frame involuntarily tightened. But he didn''t have much more time to react before a glistening glaive descended upon him from above.


    A roar escaped his lips, his fist qi surging as he met the glaive head on. Unfortunately, the result was completely unlike what had happened to Esme.


    Before the glaive met his fist, Ryu''s barely formed afterimage vanished once more, appearing to Edwin''s back and executing a [Sweep] that shone forth with an elegant simplicity.


    Edwin''s thick plate of armor protected him, but the blow alone sent a tremor through his inner organs, shaking him fiercely.


    Ryu''s body became akin to a gust of wind. Esme''s movement technique had seemed to be enigmatic and unpredictable, but witnessing Ryu execute it made her seem like nothing more than a jumping clown. Even Host Minn began to feel a cold sweat permeate his back¡­ Ryu was actually faster than him!


    [Fragrant Breeze]. This was the name of Ryu''s Peak Earth Grade movement technique. When trained to the Grand Circle of Perfection like Ryu had done, one became a lingering sweet scent in the air¡­ Fleeting and impossible to grasp.


    Truth be told, this was a technique that was incredibly difficult for men to learn. Most male cultivators lacked the flexibility of their female counterparts. However, since the start of his training, Ryu had emphasized not only his own strength, but also the pliability of said strength.


    Dual wielding polearms already placed great stress on his body. It necessitated being able to apply strength at angles that may very well shatter the arms of a normal expert. However, Ryu was completely different. Not only did he have his Ice Jade Crystal Body, he also Fire Phoenix Martial Form which emphasized recoverability and flexibility!


    When this Martial Form was combined with the Kukan Martial Form which targeted small muscle groups in order to increase speed and explosiveness, Ryu''s muscle fibers were refined to a level impossible to find among those of his cultivation realm.


    "That''s enough!" Edwin roared.


    How many times did he need to be humiliated on this day? He had already brought out most of his full strength and this still wasn''t enough? This was completely unacceptable!


    "[First Pulse. Release]!"


    A roar of pain and rage left Edwin''s lips as his body grew one level in size. His fire and fist qi flourished, but both gained a savage red color clearly tinted by the presence of his fusing qi.


    Ryu smiled, but his gaze was filled with intent to kill.


    Suddenly, his body was enveloped by a green glow, causing his speed to double in an instant.


    The brows of the elders watching on twitched. Just what was happening? How could a junior have such strength? How could he be in the Divine Vessel Realm?!


    "I''ll show you the difference between you and I!" Edwin spoke savagely. "IMPOSE!"


    Ryu''s speed suddenly faltered as an Impose Barrier shrouded their battle ground.


    Those watching on shivered in terror. The Impose Realm?!


    It had to be said that the number of individuals who had reached such a realm in their Core Region could be counted on two hands. On top of that, they were all well into the Immortal Ring Realm! They had never heard of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert reaching such a state!


    There was a reason Vygil, Annbar and Lucian were so eager to kill Ryu. His comprehension was simply inconceivable!


    As though something had finished fusing within him, Edwin stomped downward viciously. It seemed in that instant that Ember City itself might completely crumble to the ground. In fact, if it wasn''t for Ancestor Ember''s interference, it truly would have.


    ''Ah, so this is it¡­ How interesting¡­ I want this ability¡­ [Lines of Fate].''


    The world in Ryu''s eyes suddenly became bundles of black and white strings. Every living person seemed to have a line connecting from their heads to the heavens above, their bodies becoming nothing more than wound up yarn.


    Ryu carefully observed. Diverting Edwin''s strength became even easier, it was as though he could pierce a hole into the future and peak through.


    Every instant of time was suddenly broken into probabilities. Predicting Edwin''s bestial, caveman-like movements was as easy as breathing.


    Ryu should have been disappointed. After all, he came all this way specifically to battle Edwin. But he could have never expected that his battle strength improved far more than even thought.


    It was then he understood¡­ His previous calculations were made using Common and Black Grade techniques as his foundation¡­ He had completely underestimated the power of Earth Grade techniques! Even more so¡­ he had underestimated the strength of his Impose Realm Wind Inheritance.


    However, he wasn''t disappointed¡­ If for nothing else¡­ This technique was worth it!


    Even though Ryu felt that he was taking a stroll, to the vast majority, it seemed as though he was on his back foot. His glaives were constantly being swatted to the side, and he was continuously retreating more and more with each passing moment.


    Only Edwin, Fidroha, and Ancestor Ember, not to mention the mysterious father-son duo above, saw that this wasn''t the case at all. Ryu seemed to be¡­ Analyzing something?


    Edwin''s heart twitched with anger, but no matter how hard he pressed, he couldn''t seem to break through Ryu''s guard.


    "[Second Pulse. Release]!"

 Chapter 332: Yes

    The moment he said these words, a projectile of blood flew from his mouth.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed. "Good!"


    Ailsa smiled sweetly from Ryu''s shoulder, his erratic movements seemingly not bothering her at all. She rarely got to see Ryu''s genuine emotions, but right now, he looked no different from a child opening a gift from his parents.


    ''This Tatsuya blood is really too savage, making my loveable Little Ryu into a battle fiend. But this should be good. [Lines of Fate]''s basic ability is to read an opponent''s intentions before even they are certain of it. However, in order for its auxiliary ability of technique snatching to come into effect, Little Ryu must have a strong Fate-based connection with the person he is battling.


    ''Though he doesn''t have much of a connection with this Edwin¡­ His ties of Fate couldn''t be stronger with the Martial Gods and Apostles who did this to his family¡­ Since this technique originates from them¡­''


    Currently, Host Minn was feeling much better. As long as Ryu was beat into submission, he wouldn''t have anything to worry about. It wasn''t like Ryu would heal himself all for the sake of revenge against him for a few words right?


    He smiled complacently. ''So what if you''re a genius? You''ll still get put in your place today!''


    Edwin''s speed actually increased to the point where he was now on par with Ryu. There was no one more surprised by this than Ryu himself, but he could also see that the price was also exceptionally heavy. But Edwin seemed more willing to die than to accept defeat on this day.


    His fist slipped through Ryu''s guard.


    Ryu''s expression flickered, feeling the strong wind pressure already threatening to shatter his rib cage even before the fist landed. However, he reacted quickly, casting [Warped Ripple] in a split second.


    The ground beneath their feet shattered and splintered as [Warped Ripple] deviated the strike''s power below. But even still, the final barrier shattered.


    A fist that seemed capable of breaking the skies collided with Ryu''s torso, sending him flying backward.


    Edwin felt a surge of satisfaction. Finally, finally he hit him!


    ''Follow!''


    His strong legs launched him into the air, following after Ryu''s flying body with blinding speed.


    However, what he found when he caught up and looked down toward Ryu to send another strike was a gaze of pure boredom. That apathetic gaze dug into his heart and gnawed at his bones, the feeling of absolute inferiority overwhelmed him to the point of suffocation.


    "I think that''s about enough." Ryu said calmly as though it wasn''t he who flying through the air. "Impose."


    The sound of shattering glass reverberated through arena. Edwin grabbed his head, his agonizing screams making the crowd feel as though bugs were crawling through their heart.


    Ryu flipped through the air, allowing himself to stand up right before landing gracefully.


    Edwin, however, completely lost control of his body, crashing into the ground below.


    "To be honest, I''m quite disappointed. I didn''t expect you to be so weak."


    A beautiful green barrier surrounded Ryu. It was none other than his Wind Impose Barrier, something he had only recently comprehended.


    When two Impose Barriers crossed, when there was an obvious difference in strength of quality between them, the weaker would shatter. This backlash would directly impact the victim''s Mental Realm. For those who weren''t used to such things due to their not being Mental Realm Masters, this result was especially difficult to deal with.


    Host Minn shivered. "I.. Im¡­ Impose Barrier¡­"


    It wasn''t just a normal Impose Barrier. It was one that made it difficult to breathe even without being within its boundaries. It was the most powerful Impose Barrier he had ever witnessed in his life.


    Ailsa''s eyes narrowed. ''This increase in strength definitely can''t be due to Earth Grade techniques alone¡­ I have a feeling that Ryu''s Chaotic Qi is still strengthening itself. In addition, this Edwin is weaker than I thought. His qi technique is powerful, especially its fusion. However, he doesn''t have a constitution powerful enough to make use of it. He''s nothing but a leaking faucet¡­''


    Edwin''s qi was incredibly powerful, but neither his meridians or his body could handle its flow, this led to the vast majority leaking out from his body and becoming wasted. This was why Ailsa initially overestimated his abilities. She had gotten too used to working with Ryu who seemed almost perfect in every facet.


    Fidroha frowned deeply as Ryu raised his glaive, but she already lost her right to say anything.


    "Young man, is there really a need to go so far?" Ancestor Ember''s magnetic voice sounded over the arena. He didn''t seem to be trying to be overbearing, but the strength of a Path Extinction Realm expert was simply too much. No matter how much Ryu overestimated himself, he wouldn''t survive a single blow.


    So¡­ He didn''t even look at him.


    "Yes." Ryu replied.


    With a swing of his glaive, Edwin''s head fell.


    Ryu looked toward Edwin''s corpse with an expressionless gaze. He didn''t feel anything special toward this victory. As he had said before, to him, Edwin was nothing more than a stepping stone. His life and death wasn''t worth anything more to him than another step forward.


    With a simple application of [Demonic Strings], he pulled Edwin''s spatial ring from his body then sent Esme out.


    Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, the hobbled Esme''s fingernails turned a demonic shade of black, extending almost a meter in length and stabbing into Edwin''s corpse.


    A surge of qi and Vital Qi was ripped from what remained of him, nourishing and healing Esme with each passing second.


    Esme''s body seemed to glow, her grey skin becoming more resplendent. At the same time, her physique bulged almost as though she had overeaten. But, very quickly, the added weight began to concentrate. One could even see the new muscle fibers being formed, only to be compressed back down into the corpse puppets original slender appearance.


    Suddenly, Esme''s slender body trembled, her aura breaking into the Half-Step Seventh Order.

 Chapter 333: Stop Me

    Matheus couldn''t have been more astonished. Just what kind of refinement method was this?!


    No matter how he racked his brain, he could have never guessed that this was Ryu''s own unique path. He likely wouldn''t be able to believe that someone Ryu''s age could accomplish such a thing. Of course, he also had no idea that Ryu was just twenty years old. If he did, maybe the shock would have been even greater.


    Fidroha could only watch as Edwin became nothing more than a skeleton. To make matters worse, when his corpse crashed back into the ground, it shattered to ash, blowing into the wind no differently from dust.


    This was the special ability of Screaming Blood Root. Its gestation could only occur upon the corpse of high-level cultivators, but this wasn''t the end of it. In order to grow, it must continuously absorb Vital Qi.


    After being modified by Weeping Willow Qi, the Screaming Blood Root used as the foundation for Esme''s evolution became even more sinister. The former was known for cannibalizing Spiritual Herbs, while the later used humans and beasts alike as fertilizer. Their combination was without a doubt potent.


    The only trouble was that Ryu had yet to become proficient at using these abilities in battle. Maybe Esme wouldn''t have lost so miserably if he could. This was why he still felt lacking as a Necromancer.


    On the one hand, he couldn''t perfectly translate his battle experience to his corpse puppets. At most, they could use only ten or so percent of his skill, twenty percent on the very upper end. Unless his corpse puppet was far more powerful than he was, it wouldn''t be much help in a one on one battle.


    On the other hand, Ryu couldn''t use the innate abilities of his corpse puppets very well either. This left him with problems from all sides, problems he knew he had to fix.


    Looking up toward Fidroha, Ryu met her gaze.


    "I believe I''ve won?"


    "Yes¡­"


    Fidroha''s voice was far steadier than Ryu expected, causing him to feel a faint admiration. But this was all. He could guess why she was calm, so he could only smirk inwardly.


    "¡­ One of the ten spots to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World is yours, you have no need to participate in the tournament any longer."


    With a wave of her hand, two items streaked toward Ryu and landed in his hand. One was an identity plaque, while the other was a spatial ring that likely held her debts from their bet.


    "In that case, I won''t impose anymore. I will come to collect the other half of our debt just before the Legacy World opens."


    Fidroha''s eyes narrowed at these words, trying her best not to lose her temper. She had never expected that Ryu would actually choose to delay his venture to the Apostles like this. Was it a coincidence? Or was this child really this shrewd?


    The trouble was that she really didn''t have the ability to stop him from leaving. She still had to oversee what remained of the battle and had already said that Ryu didn''t need to participate in the rest.


    She had been attempting to come off as magnanimous, thus bolstering the Faith of the Apostles all the more. But she had never expected it to backfire like this.


    With a thought, Little Rock appeared by Ryu''s side. Its sonorous call spreading over the arena.


    Those with sharp eyes immediately noticed the uniqueness of Little Rock. That long slender neck, those platinum feathers that looked almost like the scales of a dragon, that sharp, spiraling lightning qi¡­ This creature had an amazing bloodline and was actually of the Peak Sixth Order!


    After putting Esme into his spatial ring, Ryu glided onto Little Rock''s back, allowing his companion to spread his wings proudly and soar in the air.


    The sun reflected along its body making it seem as though it was sparkling with a rainbow of colors. This beast was truly too beautiful.


    However, who would have expected that just Ryu took off into the skies, a sudden surging aura would envelop the whole stadium? In that moment, it felt as though the suns in the sky had all moved forward, bearing down an oppressive heat below.


    A flame curtain covered the arena in a dome that completely blocked Little Rock''s path.


    "I''ll ask that this little friend please respect the rules of our city¡­" Ancestor Ember said faintly. "¡­ There is no flying allowed."


    Ryu looked toward this curtain of flames curiously. It was a spectacular feat. The arena itself was at least a kilometer in diameter, yet it was no covered in such a thick sheet of fire. On top of that, it all happened in an instant.


    Seeing this scene, Fidroha inwardly smiled. She might be younger than Ancestor Ember, but he was much more experienced and cleverer. This was perfect. As long as Ryu was forced to leave the arena on the ground, there were a million other methods to deal with him. There were too many variables in the sky.


    But who knew that Ryu wouldn''t even stop Little Rock''s ascent? In fact, he had a smirk of disdain on his face.


    "Ancestor Ember¡­" Ryu''s voice called out faintly. "¡­ A word of advice. Being a lap dog won''t allow you to become the martial warrior you claim to be. It won''t help you become the king you deny to be either.


    "Such weak flames¡­ Where did you get the audacity to think they could stop me?"


    The moment these words fell, Ryu and Little Rock entered the barrier of flames. To the outside world, they had completely vanished.


    The arena suddenly felt as though it had been frozen in time. Ryu''s words¡­ his actions¡­


    By all accounts, they should have believed that he committed suicide. These were flames created by a Path Extinction Realm expert. Even if it was done casually, it wasn''t something Ryu should have been able to handle.


    However, for some odd reason, they were absolutely certain that he had survived¡­

 Chapter 334: Rings

    Ancestor Ember''s expression turned incomparably stiff. He reached his senses outward, dispelling his flames to look for Ryu, but he was truly gone.


    Had he turned to ashes? No! Of all those here, Ancestor Ember was the most certain of this! He treated his flames like a plaything!


    Ryu''s words pierced into his heart. There was no doubt he was being looked down upon. Though Ryu didn''t explicitly say it, the fact he was still middling around on this Pedestal Place spoke volumes.


    He couldn''t remember the last time that he had had such a volatile emotional reaction. Yet, this had all been caused by a boy who was nothing more than a child to him. How could he not feel infuriated?


    However, Ryu was already gone. No matter how far he stretched his senses or scanned the skies, he couldn''t find even the faintest clue of where he had left to.


    **


    Ailsa''s laughter rang out. It was quite a pleasant sound, but only Ryu was able to hear it.


    ''Following Little Ryu is too interesting. Why are you so good at making people angry?''


    Ryu, who still upon Little Rock''s back and even still above the stadium itself, shrugged.


    ''I didn''t have any strength of my own before. All I had were my words.''


    Ailsa giggled. ''I feel bad for this Ancestor Ember. He actually went quite easy on you. It''s just too bad he didn''t know my Little Ryu is immune to most flames.''


    Ryu''s Rebirth Flame didn''t have many abilities and was nearly useless in battle considering its current state. However, what it could do was give Ryu an incredible resistance to flames.


    Now that it was in the Impose Realm, Ryu was immune to all Common Grade flames, Black Grade flames to the Divinity Realm, Earth Grade flames to the Dominion Realm, and so on and so forth¡­ Essentially, Ryu was immune to flames at the same Grade and Realm as his Rebirth Flame, and for every step downward in Grade, he took a step upward in the Realm he was immune to.


    Even though the ruled the Pedestal Plane, the Ember Clan''s special technique flame was a mere Lower Earth Grade flame. At the same time, Ancestor Ember''s comprehension was barely at the Ruler Realm, which was only one step above the Impose Realm.


    He was nothing more than a child before Ryu when it came to flames¡­


    Though things were explained like this, it was nearly impossible to bring such low Grade flames to such a high level. There probably didn''t exist a Black Grade flame at the Divinity Realm. They were too weak.


    Unfortunately, Ancestor Ember didn''t know any of this. Maybe he was triggered by Ryu''s earlier Fire Inheritance usage and wanted to subconsciously put him in this place, but this ended up being a massive error.


    Not only did Ryu treat his flames like a joke, but Ancestor Ember actually provided the cover Ryu needed to disappear from everyone''s senses. If he knew this, he''d probably spew up blood in anger.


    ''Let''s go.'' Ryu thought calmly, urging Little Rock to fly from the city.


    This little excursion didn''t mean much to Ryu. It was a shame he didn''t get to spar with Matheus again, though. He felt that maybe only by battling other Necromancers would he be able to grasp what he was missing. But, it seemed that Matheus was still keeping his status as a Necromancer secret, so there was no point in staying.


    ''You''re not leaving the city?'' Ailsa asked.


    ''I''ll leave the city¡­ But for now, it''s not too convenient to leave too far, just in case some unforeseen circumstances occur¡­'' Ryu''s gaze flashed with a cold light.


    Ailsa tacitly understood what Ryu was referring to and didn''t say anymore.


    ''Though I didn''t receive the challenge I was hoping for, we still did have some great gains. This Apostle technique is excellent. Maybe I''ve been neglecting Body Realm techniques a bit too much.''


    Ryu had yet to practice Body Realm techniques outside of cultivation techniques. However, this was mostly because the majority of Body Realm techniques were attached to specific cultivation techniques. Essentially, unless he was willing to change out his [Phoenix Heavenly Body], he couldn''t practice them.


    And, unfortunately, his copy of [Phoenix Heavenly Body] wasn''t whole, so it didn''t have its auxiliary techniques attached either.


    However, this technique, though Ryu didn''t have its name, was actually one of the few forgiving Body Realm techniques there were. Ryu found it to be worth learning.


    ''If you wanted more of a challenge, why didn''t you just battle that little beauty?'' Ailsa teased.


    ''I wanted to, but then my chances of getting out would have fallen to zero.''


    Having made his way out of the city, Ryu found a tall tree to enter the foliage of. On a high, thin branch, he leisurely took a seat, taking out Fidroha and Edwin''s spatial rings.


    ''Ailsa, what are the odds that there are tracking arrays on these spatial rings?''


    ''Fairly high.'' Ailsa said lazily, reclining on Ryu''s shoulder. ''But I''ve already shifted then into the Ethereal Plane. And, it''s impossible for them to be detected from within the inner world of your pupils.''


    Ryu nodded hearing his thoughts affirmed. He wasn''t a fool, nor did he believe Fidroha would let him go so easily. It was just unfortunate for her that Ryu was far more experienced than she thought he was.


    His eyes flashed. Soon, the hidden arrays of the spatial rings were laid bare to him.


    With a thought, a beautiful dagger with a crystalline blue edge appeared in his hand. A surge of Spiritual Qi later, and the arrays were completely shattered. During the process, Ryu also noticed that these tracking arrays doubled as protective formations, but unfortunately, they were just too weak.


    Ryu looked through Fidroha''s ring first. Since he had only asked for her Qi Stones, he had much less expectations for what was within hers, so of course, he checked it first.


    ''Not bad¡­'' Ryu said faintly.


    If others of the Pedestal Plane saw this wealth, maybe they would faint from shock. But to Ryu, this wealth wasn''t even a small percentage of what he had accumulated in his first life.


    There were about a thousand Higher Immortal Qi Stones, a few thousand Medial Immortal Qi Stones, and about ten thousand Inferior Immortal Qi Stones in addition to a few million Mortal Qi Stones of various standards. Most of them were of the Higher Mortal Qi standard.


    The Palace Master of the Awoken Moon Sect asked him to gather ten Medial Immortal Qi Stones, but that was a calculation based on him being a Spiritual Severing Realm expert. Obviously, he was a level above that now. So, it would likely take ten Higher Immortal Qi Stones to fuel his teleportation to the Moon World.


    Objectively speaking, Fidroha was quite rich for a mere Lower Immortal Ring expert. Her background likely wasn''t simple even if her status within the Apostles was low. Not that Ryu cared much either way.


    After tossing the spatial ring into his inner world, he turned his attention to Edwin''s.

 Chapter 335: Second Pocket

    The first thing Ryu noticed were Edwin''s Qi Stones. Of course, he wasn''t as rich as Fidroha, but this could only be expected. Edwin''s cultivation was not only lower, but his background should be weaker as well. If it wasn''t, he would be forced to be a subordinate of Fidroha''s.


    Of course, aside from that, Ryu had some middling thoughts of his own. For example, Edwin''s hatred of him was far too high. No matter how unreasonable the martial world was, it couldn''t possibly birth a cultivator who hated a person to the bone simply for surviving one of their attacks, right?


    In Ryu''s opinion, this hate definitely had to do with some sort of punishment Edwin received from Fidroha. In that case, Fidroha''s standing was definitely far higher than his, or else she wouldn''t dare to treat him in this way.


    Still, it was a decent amount of wealth. Edwin had Lower Immortal Qi Stones numbering in the several hundred, and Higher Mortal Qi Stones numbering in the several hundred thousand. While it was a drop compared to Fidroha''s wealth, it still bolstered Ryu''s coffers.


    Next, Ryu stumbled upon some Earth Grade herbs. Edwin had likely been saving them for the sake of having an alchemist refine them for him. Though Ryu didn''t use such methods, he knew it was the norm for others to do so.


    Even when the Holy Wing Clan still controlled the Incubator that was now in his possession, they did so as well. After all, they treated it like a Clan treasure and didn''t allow any single person to fuse with it like Ryu had.


    ''Ailsa, I''ll give these two you. There are one or two here we haven''t found seeds for.''


    Ryu and Ailsa had been together for upwards of two years now, so the medicinal garden they were building was steadily growing in size. Up to now, Ryu had pretty much gathered all of the Common and Black Grade Herbs that were most important to him. But as his strength increased, so did his need for Spiritual Herbs.


    He had gathered many Earth Grade Herbs within the Mortal Qi Small Realm, however, it hadn''t be remembered that the climate of that Small Realm was extremely limited. After all, it was a Small Realm. It couldn''t possibly have the complex ecosystems of a True Realm.


    As a result, many of the more powerful and niche Earth Grade Herbs didn''t have proper environments to grow, and as such, never did.


    ''Ooo.'' Ailsa clapped excitedly. It wasn''t much of a surprise that as a Cultus Faerie, she loved nurturing plants maybe even more than nurturing Ryu. ''Freezing Thyme and Earth Grade Decomposition Root.


    ''Freezing Thyme is a good stabilizing agent for pill concoction and often works as a secondary binding agent¡­ However, on its own it''s very good at halting biological processes. Earth Grade Decomposition Root is often used by Necromancers to follow the Bone Refinement branch of the Refiner Necromancer path. It quickens the process of flesh decomposition into raw energy¡­


    ''It''s very curious as to why Edwin would have such things. Second binding agents are usually provided by the alchemists themselves, someone who commissions their work would only provide the main ingredients. If someone stumbled upon it, it would be better to just sell it to an Alchemy Association. As for the Decomposition Root, it''s even more curious¡­ He''s obviously not a Necromancer.


    ''The best reason I can think of is related to some sort of masochistic Body Realm technique¡­''


    Ryu of course didn''t need Ailsa to explain the properties and uses of these Spiritual Herbs. He was an Origin Grade Herbologist after all. Though he had only received this title in theory, and not application, when his strength was enough, he wouldn''t fall short of anyone.


    ''Your theory is most likely¡­'' Ryu nodded in affirmation. ''¡­ Which like means that this¡­''


    Ryu took out a black wooden box. He could tell immediately that it was crafted of a high-grade preservation wood known as Sorbic Grain. A high-class vessel on this level wouldn''t be used for anything weaker than a Heaven Grade Herb.


    Opening its lid, Ryu confirmed that his guess was correct.


    ''Gate Leaping Lotus¡­''


    Much like Edwin''s Decomposition Root, this Gate Leaping Lotus was the lowest grade of its kind. While Decomposition Root''s nomenclature only added its grade to its front similar to a prefix, Gate Leaping Lotus became Flood Gate Leaping Lotus, Dragon Gate Leaping Lotus, and finally, Origin Gate Leaping Lotus.


    Of the Spiritual Herbs Ryu had studied, this one in particular had one of the most abstruse usages in combination with the shortest entry Ryu had ever seen in an Herb Compendium.


    Its entry was only a single line¡­ ''Snatching Luck from the Heavens.''


    Why would Ryu think of such an enigmatic Spiritual Herb, especially such a rare one, would appear in Edwin''s possession? The reason all tied back to the very technique Ryu used [Lines of Fate] to learn.


    Both Ryu and Ailsa realized that Edwin''s constitution was far too weak to make use of this technique. He was constantly trying to jam its abilities into the keyhole that was his body, but he was damaging the lock in the process.


    If Ryu and Ailsa could guess such a thing, how could Edwin, the victim himself, not realize?


    ''Freezing Thyme to numb his pain and stop the biological process of the rest of his body¡­ Decomposition Root to break down the inner pathways of his body¡­ Gate Leaping Lotus to snatch luck from the heavens and reform a better, stronger body¡­ He''s a madman.''


    Ryu closed the lid of the Sorbic Grain vessel, a deep frown setting in. He didn''t even notice Ailsa''s gaze was looking toward him with near infatuation.


    Other women might fall for Ryu''s looks, or his kingly demeanor, maybe even his battle prowess. However, Ailsa hardly cared about these things.


    Yet, whenever Ryu spoke of Herbology, especially when he broke down something so complex that anyone else would have struggled to see through, Ailsa felt her heart leap to her throat.


    ''He''s not smart enough to think of this.'' Ryu said after a few moments. ''This is an application of Herbology I''ve never read about.''


    Ailsa giggled, her eyes still filled with a hazy light. ''You didn''t read about it, but didn''t you forge a new path very similar to it?''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. Ailsa was right. His unique corpse refinement method was very similar to this. Except instead of restructuring a living human into a stronger living him, he restructured a living human into an undead, but much stronger, Spiritual Herb.


    ''But you are right. I don''t believe this Edwin can think of this on his own. He didn''t have an intelligent bone in his body. Hmph.'' Ailsa pouted. ''Daring to attack my Little Ryu.''


    Ryu''s eyes widened. ''An inlaid spatial ring?''


    Ryu had never seen a spiritual ring with two pockets of space before. However, this was the scene his Heavenly Pupils laid bare before him.


    He had been certain that Edwin couldn''t think of this method himself, but no matter how much he scoured his ring, he couldn''t find anything more valuable that the Sorbic Grain vessel.


    How could he have expected that there was a secondary pocket of space hidden within the first?!

 Chapter 336: Right to Stay

    ''I''ve never seen a spatial ring designed in this way. The level of Space Inheritance needed would have to be at the Dominion Realm at a minimum, and that''s a conservative estimate.''


    Ailsa quickly agreed. ''A rare Spatial Sprite of the Inanis Clan might not be able to do this without years of training. Building a space capable of sustaining the opening of another space takes a level of skill beyond normal means¡­''


    This sort of field of study was incredible in depth. Though Ailsa explained in so few words, the reality was far more complex than this.


    Normal spatial rings could use the plane it current exists on as an anchor. However, even they have a lifespan. Over time, the inner space of a spatial ring will inevitably collapse as its ability to connect to a stabilizing plane wanes.


    For a secondary spatial pocket to exist within a spatial ring, it means that this secondary space is using the primary space as a foundation. This means that that primary space of this ring was so sturdy that it was capable of being used as an anchor all on its own!


    To put this into perspective, this essentially means that the space of this spatial ring is equally as stable as the Pocket of Space Ryu found the Prayer Mat in at a minimum! If Ryu really overestimated it, it was possible for it to be just as stable as a True Realm!


    The more Ryu thought about it, the more he was certain he had vastly underestimated the level of skill it took this forge this seemingly ordinary ring. Ryu had no comprehension of space outside from his limited insights into the [Warp] Visualization. He simply couldn''t wrap his head around it.


    How could a human be capable of such a thing?! If it wasn''t for his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he would have had no chance at seeing this hidden pocket! In fact, the truth was that without his rudimentary understanding space thanks to [Warp], even with his pupils, he would have missed this.


    ''Who could create such a spatial ring¡­? And why would it be in Edwin''s hands?''


    Ailsa sighed. ''Everyone in the cultivation world will receive their own fortuitous encounters one way or another. It just seems that Edwin died before he could truly take advantage of his own.''


    Ryu thought for only a moment before attempting to open this secondary pocket of space.


    As expected, it worked no differently from a normal spatial ring. However, the oddity was in the fact Focus Qi drained much quicker within the second pocket as though trying to maintain a long distance connection.


    What wasn''t expected, however, was what was within this secondary pocket.


    ''Cosmic Qi Stones¡­''


    Ryu''s reaction was exceptionally lukewarm. How could he, as the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, have not seen Cosmic Qi Stones before? The only issue here was that, once again, Edwin had no business having these Qi Stones!


    Of course, there were very few of them, only eleven, in fact. However, each one carried strength that could shatter the Pedestal Plane!


    Cosmic Qi was the highest evolution of qi possible in all of existence. The Pedestal Plane couldn''t even produce such high-level qi, let alone withstand its power. Ryu would have never expected to stumble upon such a thing here.


    ''This is quite a good find, Little Ryu. Ten Cosmic Qi Stones is just enough for me to draw Qi Source Evolution Array¡­''


    Ryu''s brows raised. ''Such a thing exists.''


    ''Well, it doesn''t exist for normal people. But you forget this Big Sis of yours is a worshipped Princess of the Cultus Clan. My means are not normal.''


    Ailsa stuck her proud chest out and smiled widely. If she was in her full form, it would have truly been a sight to behold.


    ''Though, the return on this array is fairly limited. Qi Sources usually takes countless epochs to evolve. In order to speed up the process, there will of course be some sacrifices that need to be made.


    ''Ten Cosmic Qi Stones is only enough to raise one of your Mortal Qi Sources to the Immortal Qi Source level. As for raising the other six or raising the one to the Cosmic Qi Source level, you can forget it for now. Reaching the Cosmic Qi Source level would take many billions of Higher Cosmic Qi Stones, while you only have ten Lower Cosmic Qi Stones.''


    Ryu nodded, expecting about as much. Still, just one Immortal Qi Source was invaluable. One had to remember the Qi Sources were usually the foundations of massive Sects and Clans, yet Ryu only needed to satisfy himself.


    Plus, having an Immortal Qi Source would remove the limiters on his Death Worm Immortal Cave. It would be able to unleash its full strength from then on.


    ''This is a bit odd, though.'' Ryu said skeptically. ''Judging by the level of skill it would take to forge this ring, eleven Cosmic Qi Stones wouldn''t be the limit of such a person''s wealth.''


    Ryu felt that Edwin running into several lucky encounters was unlikely. The most plausible explanation was that he had one windfall and all of his most valuable possessions were related to it. Ryu found it hard to believe that the individual who left behind these things for Edwin to find only left such a pitiful amount of wealth behind.


    Compared to Ryu''s peak wealth, this amount was simply too lacking.


    Shaking his head, Ryu stopped speculating. He disliked wasting time on such things when he didn''t have enough information. For all he knew, Edwin buried most of his wealth elsewhere, or maybe it was taken before he learned how to protect it. There were too many possibilities.


    But, what didn''t need to be speculated about was right before Ryu in the form of an ancient tome wrapped in a leathery skin.


    The tome trembled with a fierce ancient aura that made the secondary pocket seem as though it might collapse at any time¡­ But, what was truly sinister was the fact Ryu was certain that this leathery skin¡­ Was made of humans!


    Ryu slowly took this tome out, looking at it with an indifferent expression. It felt warm to the touch, as though the humans that made up its cover were still living and breathing even to this very moment.


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t particularly disgusted by such a thing. Though there was an inherent revulsion a human would feel, Ryu found this to be irrational. After the Fourth and Fifth Order, beasts had complex thoughts no different from humans, yet hadn''t Ryu been wearing an armor of a Sixth Order beast just a year ago?


    Ryu felt that thinking of such things was just another form of hypocrisy, so he didn''t bother with such feelings. Who knows, maybe this tome was written by a high-level beast who decided to use the skin of human experts.


    ''I can feel it telling its name to me¡­ ''Body of an Herbologist''¡­''


    For Ryu to hear the name of this tome so easily, it meant that it had a particular affinity to him. Maybe it appreciated his thoughts or his demeanor¡­ Either way, it was far more in sync with him than the prayer mat which had yet to tell Ryu its name so clearly.


    Ryu slowly opened its cover, finding a small note to its front written in an ancient language of the Sky God Era. However, for a Ruin Master of Ryu''s level, reading it was as easy as breathing.


    Suddenly Ryu had a thought. Maybe Edwin spent his wealth hiring a Ruin Master to translate for him¡­


    I was frail, so I became a gardener.


    I was poor, so I became an herbologist.


    I was weak, so I became a demon.


    The lines were short, but they somehow made Ryu''s heart thump uncontrollably. He resonated with them in a way he had never done with anything else.


    Steadying his breathing, he turned the page once more. He found on it the very formula Edwin planned to use on himself. Edwin was only two ingredients away from succeeding. As it turned out, one of the last of the main ingredients was a Crown Grade Herb of the Earth Grade.


    Ryu ran his hands across the ancient pages, lost in thought.


    He didn''t need this tome. Or, at the very least, he didn''t need this particular recipe. His talent was too great and couldn''t be molded by these herbs even if he was foolish enough to want to.


    But the complex theories trapped in this book¡­ Before, he was grasping at straws when trying to build up his own corpse refinement method. He only barely managed to do it after sacrificing two Half-Step Immortal Ring corpses. However, the creator of this Body of an Herbologist Tome spent his life learning how to modify the human body with Spiritual Herbs. This was no different than providing Ryu a guiding light in the dark.


    As Ryu flipped through, he quickly came to understand that Edwin had truly been a fool. The first formula was not only the crudest, but it was a purposeful trap laid by its creator in case of finding the wrong successor.


    To make matters worse, that formula purposely used overly expensive and hard to find ingredients as well. What was truly amazing about this Tome was how simple and inexpensive its ingenious designs were!


    In the end, however, it all benefited Ryu.


    Just as Ryu was about to become engrossed, his gaze swept upward like a hawk.


    ''It seems I was right to stay¡­''

 Chapter 337: Struck Down

    "I''m sorry mom, Little Sephare, it''s all my fault. If I had just won¡­ This would have never happened."


    Guiot, his mother and his little sister trudged through the forest pathway. This wasn''t the first time he had apologized to his mother and sister, but every time he did so he felt his last apology wasn''t good enough.


    "Little Guiot, there''s really no need say these things. Mom is just happy you''re alive."


    Guiot''s mother, Gisla Alos, affectionately caressed her son''s messy hair.


    To make it here, they had entirely relied on the ''kindness'' of the Apostles. Using teleportation arrays was incredibly expensive, far more expensive than Guiot and his family could afford, so of course they hadn''t paid themselves to come here.


    The Apostles should have also guaranteed a safe return trip. In fact, they did¡­ The issue was that there was simply no one to enforce it. Would Fidroha really care to look back to make sure all of the losers who were of no use to her made it back home safelt? Guiot wasn''t na?ve enough to believe so.


    As expected, when Guiot and his family tried to use the teleportation array to return to the Outer Ring, they were coldly rejected. Of course, the foreman gave them many excuses with a beaming smile on his face, but the three of them weren''t fools. Even Guiot''s little sister, Sephare, easily saw through it.


    "Forget those ugly, smelly men." Sephare said with a wrinkle in her little button nose.


    Guiot smiled a bitter smile.


    To someone like Ryu, being frozen out of using a teleportation array wasn''t a big deal. At worst, he''d just waste a few months making his way back to the Outer Ring if he so chose to return. However, to Guiot little family, it was nothing short of a death sentence.


    Even for Ryu, when he first travelled from the Outer to the Inner Ring, he heavily relied on Little Rock and his concealment Cloak. If not, he would have died several times over. On top of that, the barrier of nature between the Inner Ring and Core Region was easily ten times more dangerous.


    How could Guiot possibly protect both his little sister and mother on the way back to the Outer Ring? It was an impossible task. Even if he was alone, he would have less than a one in one hundred chance of survival. Even that might be giving himself too much credit.


    The only logical option for the family was to remain in the Core Region, travelling back was simply too dangerous. But even then, Ember Capital City most definitely wouldn''t have a place for them. They had already been kicked out. This meant that they had to travel to some lesser region for the Core Region in hopes of finding a place for survival¡­


    But even if it wasn''t the natural barrier, travel between cities without adequate protection came with its own sets of peril. Especially when Connecting Heaven Realm experts could be found everywhere in the Core Region. Though it wasn''t to the point of them being ubiquitous, they weren''t rare either.


    Then there was another problem. Even if by some miracle they made it to this unknown destination with their lives, how would they settle down? Guiot only had gold coins to his name. The first time he had even seen Qi Stones was when he first used the teleportation array.


    Guiot clenched his fists so fiercely that his nails began to chip and bleed, cracking and folding in on themselves.


    On a simple whim, these elites had forced his family into a corner. It wasn''t even a great effort to them. They treated it no differently than one would squashing a bug on the side of the road.


    Guiot''s neck suddenly snapped in a particular direction, his expression turning even more solemn as he attempted to pull his spear out as a force of habit.


    But that was when his gaze trembled with despair. Why had he lost the tournament so miserably? It was precisely because Byrine had destroyed his spear. He couldn''t even put up much of a fight in his next matches.


    His heart tore to pieces remembering how his family heirloom was nothing more than ashes now.


    Regathering himself, he protected his mother and sister''s frail bodies to his back, his gaze becoming incomparably cold.


    Gisla''s eyes brimmed with tears staring at her son''s back. Guiot had always been an honest and carefree boy. She had never seen him hold such a cold expression, even after her husband died.


    Sephare gripped the edge of her brother''s robes. By now, whoever it was had become so brazen that the rustling leaves and snapping twigs could be heard even by her.


    Slowly, a few figures left the thick foliage to block all sides of the dirt road. However, these figures were very clearly led by a young man Guiot had never expected to see.


    ''Why is a member of the Sai Clan looking for me?'' Guiot''s brow furrowed more deeply.


    "Oh? You''re not going to ask me why I''m here?" Pascal looked toward Guiot and his family as though he was a predator toying around with his food.


    Guiot clenched his jaw, but said nothing. Unfortunately, his actions inexplicably made Pascal angry.


    "Subdue them." Pascal said with a sneer. "The Alchemist Association Head would be very disappointed if his pill materials were harmed."


    Guiot''s eyes widened with rage. "You dare?!"


    A piercing spear intent wafted from his body, making Pascal''s eyes squint with pain. He felt as though dozens of tiny needles were piercing into his pupils.


    However, he managed to keep his composure, his sneer deepening.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll only be refining you into a pill. Since when did trash of the Outer Ring get to enjoy something as valuable as a Crown Grade Herb. There should still be some medicinal efficacy lingering in your blood and bones, so you''ll be of some decent use.


    "As for your mother and sister, their services would be better spent in the local brothel. How could I bear turning such beauties into pills? Anyone who would do such a thing should be struck down by the Heavens!"

 Chapter 338: Worthless

    Guiot''s gaze became so fierce that the blood vessels within his eyes popped one after another. Pascal''s sincere ''consolation'' made him want to both vomit and skin him at the same time.


    "Over my dead body." He said with a growl.


    Guiot''s imposing demeanor skyrocketed. In that moment, a barrier before him shattered, causing a dome radiating with beautiful light blue lights to surround both his and his family''s bodies.


    Pascal''s eyes widened with shock. "Impose Barrier?! Impossible!"


    Guiot roared. Before Pascal could react, his fore and middle fingers had pressed together tightly, forming a sharp point that tore across the skies and through Pascal''s throat.


    Pascal''s guards were shocked into becoming no different from statues of ice. The change was so sudden that they didn''t have time to react. From the very beginning, Pascal had looked down on Guiot. After all, his cultivation was higher. So, he hadn''t treated the situation with any caution and had been less than two meters in from of him.


    At the same time, Pascal''s guards knew their young master''s strength and hadn''t been keen to protect him either. To make matters worse, just a few hours prior, Guiot had lost to Pascal handily!


    The first reaction of the guards wasn''t to seek revenge for their young master, but, rather, look for a direction to run in. No matter what they did, the Sai Clan would no doubt hunt them down. Staying here was not an option!


    But who knew that at that moment, the sound of clapping would be heard before they could even decide on their next move.


    A new figure made their presence known. Except this time, it approached from the sky above. Clearly even more brazen than Pascal himself.


    When Guiot saw who it was, his expression became several times more solemn.


    "I originally wanted to seek revenge on that little bastard by targeting that little whore he took to dinner yesterday. But, who knew that that little bitch would actually qualify and receive the protection of the Apostles.


    "What a good show I''ve stumbled upon, though. It''s truly lifted my mood considerably. I''m sure you mean quite a lot to him, right? Plus, I wonder what kind of reward that filthy rich Sai Clan will give me for catching the killer of their young master, hm?"


    Guiot''s expression changed. "I don''t know him!"


    He spoke through gritted teeth, his aura incomparably fiery.


    "Ha! Who would believe your bullshit? Who feeds a Crown Grade Herb to a stranger? Do you take me for a fool?"


    Seeing the situation going in this direction, Guiot no longer cared to negotiate with this demon.


    "How could a black hearted person like you understand actions of kindness? You''re no different from a humanoid beast!"


    "What did you say to me?!"


    The figure''s qi infused roar shook the forest scape, piercing toward Guiot. The later could only watch on, grabbing the arms of his mom and little sister.


    In that moment, he made the hardest decision he had ever had to make¡­ It was better if he and his family died like this together than for his mother and little sister to live a life of humiliation without him¡­


    Gisla looked toward her son with a complicated gaze that soon became gentle. She held onto his hand lightly as though reassuring him that he wasn''t to blame.


    Sephare was too young to truly understand her brother''s decision, but she felt an instinctual calm in that moment. She knew that her big brother would only do what was best for her, so she had already resolved to not blame him.


    The three closed their eyes, accepting their fate together.


    However, who knew that the expected feeling of death wouldn''t come?


    By the time Guiot gained the confidence to open his eyes once more, he found fluttering white hair and broad back adorned in black standing before him.


    "Host Minn." Ryu said with a faint disdain. "Not only are you still too noisy¡­ it seems that you''re more worthless than even I previously thought."


    "You¡­ You really survived?!" Host Minn''s expression was a sight to behold.


    Though many had the instinct that Ryu couldn''t have died in such a foolish way, there were still others who clung onto a faint hope that this arrogant boy really would. It was no surprise that those like Host Minn and the stage judge were among those of such thoughts.


    Of course, Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care about the thoughts of such people. He had stayed in this region for two reasons. Firstly, he wanted to ensure that Melody would pass as he thought she would. Secondly, since he had decided to help Guiot, he would do so to the end.


    Under normal circumstances, Ryu wouldn''t care about Guiot''s life and death. Back more than a year ago, he had watched a man be betrayed by his former lover and backstabbed to the point of death without flinching. Could he have helped that man? Yes. But he didn''t care to put himself in danger for the sake of some higher moral ground.


    The reason why he chose to help Guiot was mostly due to Byrine''s brazen provocation and secondly due to his mother and little sister. As cold as Ryu pretended to be, he would always have a soft spot for family. The idea of a mother losing her son and a little girl losing her big brother all because some fool who overestimated himself wanted to provoke him filled him with a sense of revulsion.


    At the same time, though, Ryu was aware that his method of helping Guiot placed a large target on his back. So, he couldn''t very well wash his hands clean.


    "¡­ Why are you helping me¡­?" Guiot''s brow furrowed tightly. "¡­ I don''t own anything of value to give you in return."


    Ryu''s only response was his spear. In an instant, his only remaining spear appeared, brandished with a single arm, he sent out a dozen strikes in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 339: Bidding

    Guiot felt as though he was being suffocated by the display alone. Something deep within his soul roared as what was left of Pascal''s subordinates died one after another without even the ability to fight back.


    For a moment, Guiot felt frozen in time. Those strikes, though it was subtle¡­ They were nearly identical to his own.


    After some silence, Guiot suddenly understood. Without words, Ryu was telling him that he would shoulder the burden of Pascal''s death himself.


    Karma and Faith. These were two concepts that held a strangle hold on the martial world and its inhabitants. There were none who understood this more than Ryu himself who could peer into their secrets as he pleased.


    He hadn''t done this to make Guiot owe him, but had rather done so to protect himself. Guiot may have killed Pascal, but he was only forced to do so due to Ryu''s actions. If Ryu had never acted, Guiot would have never become a target to begin with.


    "You should go." Ryu said coldly. "Do you best to complete your Immortal Ring and birth your soul, then maybe you''ll be able to protect yourself."


    Guiot immediately thought that Ryu was telling him to simply break into the Immortal Ring Realm. He could only bitterly smile¡­ It wouldn''t be until countless years later that he truly understood these words¡­


    Ryu didn''t look back to see Guiot''s complicated gaze, nor his reluctance as his mother dragged him away. His eyes never left Host Minn from start to finish.


    ''Not going to use your halberd?'' Ailsa asked in a slightly worried tone. ''The gap between the Connecting Heaven Realm and the Immortal Ring is massive, and Edwin wasn''t as close to that level in strength as we originally thought due to the limitations of his body.''


    Ryu''s wrist flexed, sending a strong power rippling through his spear. For a moment, it seemed to lose its metallic properties and become no different from a string, whipping in the air with a savage intent.


    ''I''m feeling confident.'' Ryu said coolly.


    Host Minn gazed toward Ryu with a frown. The power displayed in Ryu and Edwin''s battle didn''t particularly faze him, but Ryu had seemingly won that battle too easily. They had seemed evenly matched¡­ Until they suddenly weren''t.


    A deep breath swirled into Ryu''s lips. His Ice Phoenix Martial Form reacted violently, instantly calling forth raging winds as his lungs expanded aggressively, pumping his limbs to the brim with oxygen.


    It felt as though a storm had suddenly formed in the center of this dense forest, but a moment later, it all vanished. Ryu''s aura became so subtle and controlled that he almost disappeared from sight entirely.


    Ryu slowly brought his second hand to his spear. The moment he touched its cold metallic body, a tremor was sent through the earth even as a shimmering Birthed Phenomena appeared to his back.


    Host Minn heart thumped wildly. "B-b-¡­ Birthed Phenomena¡­!"


    The crunching soil beneath Ryu feet sounded as his stance widened, his base becoming incomparably sturdy.


    His muscles flexed. For a moment, it seemed that he had grown a level in size. But in the next instant, he vanished.


    By the time Host Minn recollected himself, Ryu''s spear point was already approaching his throat.


    Reacting quickly, Host Minn sent out a hurried punch, coating his fists in a strong, impenetrable qi.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t give him the chance to breathe. His aura was completely different than the usual. Host Minn simply couldn''t understand why Ryu didn''t just use a single spear. If he could use a glaive like this and had used just one, Edwin wouldn''t have lasted even five moves!


    "[Heavenly Flow]¡­ [Yin Yang Domination]."


    Host Minn was pulled into Ryu''s rhythm.


    Ryu''s strikes flowed like water. Advancing with the waves, receding with the tides. He seemed to master the flow of the battle as though the Heavens themselves sat in his palms.


    [Heavenly Flow: Yin Yang Domination] was the very Peak Earth Grade technique he had learned. It was so compatible with Ryu''s God Emperor Spear that he was shocked.


    The Tatsuya Saintly Spear was not only a man of war and character, but also the ruler of a nation. He wasn''t a tyrant, but a benevolent and intelligent ruler. One who was both a warrior and a scholar. This was the true strength of the Tatsuya Spear¡­ To be crafty, yet bold. To be flexible, yet rigid. To flow, yet block the rain.


    [Heavenly Flow: Yin Yang Domination] grasped this concept perfectly. It created an invisible domain around the battlefield, allowing an instinctual reading of the flow of battle. In the end, this gave its wielder the ability to balance and counterbalance their strikes and that of their opponent''s on a whim.


    When paired with Ryu''s [Third Perspective], this technique held unimaginable power. Yet, [Yin Yang Domination] was only its weakest form!


    Suddenly, Ryu''s spear stopped, leaving Host Minn in a cold sweat.


    "If this is all the Immortal Ring Realm has, I''ll be disappointed. Bring out your true strength. I''ll allow you to die without petty grievances."


    Host Minn''s visage reddened with rage.


    "¡­" He stared toward Ryu so deeply that it seemed he''d bore a whole through him with his gaze. "¡­ You''ll know soon the kind of mistake you''ve made."


    Host Minn''s body began to emit a pale white light. It pulsed outward from his body, slowly forming a circle to his back. No¡­ It wasn''t a circle¡­ It was a ring!


    In that moment, the qi in the surroundings began to surge toward him, using the pale white ring as a medium.


    With each passing moment, Host Minn seemed to become filled with more and more vigor.


    Ryu stood in the air silently, watching this process from start to end without interfering. He knew exactly what this was¡­ It was what truly separated the Immortal and the mortal¡­ It was what made the gap between the Connecting Heaven Realm and the Immortal Ring Realm so large... The ability to call upon qi to do your bidding!

 Chapter 340: Open

    "Your first stage Immortal Ring is barely over half a meter in diameter. Am I supposed to be afraid?"


    Ryu''s cold voice doused Host Minn''s blooming confidence. In an instant, his smiling features had been painted in red, trembling under his fury.


    There were many other things Ryu could have said that he didn''t. For example, Host Minn''s Immortal Ring bordered on illusory and lacked substance. In addition, he took almost half a minute to summon it forth properly, meaning he was only a sliver stronger than normal Half-Step Immortal Ring experts under normal circumstances. Who would allow him so long to prepare himself? It could only be said that Ryu was truly brazen.


    Others might see Ryu as rash, but Ryu saw it differently. These blips in his road weren''t things he merely wanted to skate by and survive¡­ He wanted to push himself to his absolute extremes.


    He wouldn''t be satisfied with merely defeating Host Minn. He wanted to defeat Host Minn at his very best!


    However, Ryu wasn''t a fool at the same time. Though he sneered at Host Minn''s pitifully small Immortal Ring, he knew well that this infuriating host was at least ten times more powerful now.


    As though to respond to these thoughts of his, Host Minn''s figure distorted. His speed was so fast that he left afterimages in the air, striking out toward Ryu''s torso with a burning fury.


    Ryu reacted quickly. Executing a seamless [Sidestep], he pierced outward with his spear, relying heavily on [Heavenly Flow] to read and react.


    However, though Ryu succeeded in diverting the blow, his inner organs trembled. His chest convulsed as he uncontrollably coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    He circulated [Fragrant Breeze], accelerating backward to evade Host Minn''s pursuit.


    A flurry of exchanges exploded through the air. Though they were already dozens of miles from Ember City, it would be surprising if this exchange wasn''t heard.


    However, thankfully, Ryu had Ailsa by his side. For a faerie who could shift the real and ethereal as she pleased, something like blocking soundwaves from travelling too far was as easy as breathing.


    As for Host Minn, he hadn''t even thought of such a possibility. His thoughts were filled with rage and shock. Though Ryu was most definitely in a sorry state, it wasn''t to the point of him being on his last legs. In fact, it seemed he still had quite a lot left in him!


    Ryu''s attacks maintained their sharpness, his silver pupils burning with a desire for more.


    His spear spun in his hands, snapping to a halt only to unleash an avalanche of [Pierce]''s.


    Each layered atop of each other, executing the Black Grade [Monumental Pierce] in a barrage. Two strikes became one. Three strikes became one. Four strikes¡­ Still became one!


    The God Emperor to Dyon''s back, its face still obscured from the vision of most, calmly gazed downward. Its aura alone was imposing enough to make the suns in the sky dim. It had become the center of the world, pulling everything toward it.


    As though responding, Ryu''s spear strikes began to hold a certain gravity to them. Whereas before his strikes read and reacted to the actions of his opponent, they began to slowly morph, instead pulling the battle in the direction it so chose.


    This was no longer [Yin Yang Dominance] ¡­ it had become [Infinite Cycle]!


    ''It seemed he really did need an opponent of this caliber¡­''


    Ryu''s improvement speed had long since passed the barrier of incredulity. However, it could be said that the last year had been his slowest in this regard.


    Though he had learned many techniques that fundamentally increased his battle prowess, and Ailsa had also spent a lot of time helping him strengthen his foundation, this was still slower than normal for him. There were simply some things where real experience couldn''t be replaced.


    [Yin Yang Dominance] was the first phase of [Heavenly Flow]. However, [Infinite Cycle] was the second¡­ And it was of the Heaven Grade!


    How Ryu, a mere Divine Vessel Realm expert was using a Heaven Grade technique only Immortal Ring and Path Extinction Realm experts could¡­? Ailsa felt that this was a very unique situation, such that it was even outside of her expectations.


    The limitation of those who could use certain caliber techniques wasn''t just about withstanding their might. Rather, more importantly, there was the matter of Meridian Nodes.


    At the Pulse Opening Realm, one would only have 333 such nodes. Only upon entering the Divine Vessel Realm could one begin improving this number to 999. As of now, Ryu still only had 444 since he had only opened one of his six Qi Vessels.


    What did this mean? It meant that functionally speaking, Ryu could only use techniques that only made use of these 444 Meridian Nodes. The problem was that most Peak Earth Grade techniques used all 999, for obvious reasons.


    As a result of this, Ryu was limited, only being able to pick from the rare Peak Earth Grade techniques that either made use of less Meridian Nodes, or gained their high ranking by not relying on nodes at all.


    [Demonic Strings], though only of the Higher Earth Grade, was one such example. With his high level of comprehension, Ryu was able to use it even within the Qi Refinement Realm. [Heavenly Flow] was another such technique!


    Using one''s qi, [Heavenly Flow] created an invisible domain. This exponentially increased one''s ability to read the flow of battle and react appropriately. But, if this was all it could do, Ryu would never choose it, reason being that his Heavenly Pupils more than accomplished this function on their own.


    However, what Ryu wanted [Heavenly Flow] for wasn''t for what its mere first phase could do¡­ But rather for what its latter phases could accomplish¡­ Perfect Counter!


    The moment Ryu shattered the Great Circle of Perfection realm he had been in for [Yin Yang Dominance], and stepped into the Small Success realm of [Infinite Cycle], he could suddenly ''see'' things he hadn''t before. No¡­ He had always been able to see these things with his pupils¡­ But now he could feel them!


    He could feel the qi surging toward Host Minn''s Immortal Ring. He could feel it swirling around the battle, tingling his skin.


    Ryu''s sensitivity to qi had always been extraordinarily high. How could it not be considering the fact he was able to absorb it through his skin? However, this felt different. It felt like his talent before was simply unmolded clay, while [Infinite Cycle] had become his expert sculptor.


    Ryu''s silver pupils suddenly flashed a blinding light. If it wasn''t for Ryu''s self-control, he would have gasped in that very moment.


    [Lines of Fate] drained all the color from the world, turning it into a scape of white and black. However, currently, Ryu felt that the world had become far more beautiful.


    In empty space, he suddenly saw all sorts of swirling colors. Gorgeous reds, blues, greens¡­ Sometimes they would combine into one, and at others, they would diverge, spreading out to find a new mate to converge with.


    Ryu innately understood what these swirling colors were¡­ They were qi! Ever present, but usually invisible to the eye¡­


    ''Did the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils really have such an ability¡­? [Ephemeral Tapestry] ¡­''


    Ryu''s skin began to involuntarily glow. As though on instincts, these swirling colors latched onto him and sunk into his body.


    The sound of a shattering barrier resounded. Just like that, after a year long plateau, Ryu''s second Qi Vessel had opened.

 Chapter 341: Sick

    Ryu''s aura surged as he firmly entered the peak of the Lower Divine Vessel Realm. But even to the end, he didn''t quite understand what happened as his battle prowess took another step forward.


    Still, with thicker qi reserves to pull from, matching Host Minn''s strikes became a level easier while the shaking of his organs and the blood flowing from his lips all but ceased entirely. With each passing moment, he grew stronger and stronger as the neutral qi he rapidly absorbed was catalyzed into Chaotic Qi.


    Host Minn was stunned silent. "Absorbing qi through the skin¡­?! What kind of monster are you?!"


    His fists flew forward at a faster rate, but the waves in his heart couldn''t be quelled.


    If he had enough knowledge to know about Ancestral Grade Constitutions, Host Minn would immediately know what Bone Structure Ryu had to cause such a phenomenon. Unfortunately, he didn''t. While Heavenly Pupils were known by all, the specifics of Ancestral Grade Bone Structures, Bloodlines and Meridians were comparatively less well learned.


    Actually, this truth could be seen for Heavenly Pupils as well. Though everyone knew the broad abilities like the projection of spatial qi every Heavenly Pupils had, Ryu''s more niche abilities had yet to be seen through.


    How could the mere elder of a Clan of the Pedestal Plane know the ins and outs of a constitution he would likely never even witness in his lifetime?


    ''Ailsa, what is this? Why do I feel like I can take control of atmospheric qi as though I already have an Immortal Ring?''


    The truth was that if Ryu acted on his instinct, he could defeat Host Minn in a single strike. But, at the same time, he was very worried. He had never taken control of atmospheric qi before. Without an Immortal Ring to act as a filter and funnel of sorts, the qi he took hold of could very easily go out of control.


    For someone else, this would never become a problem. Reason being most people could never elicit the movement of enough qi to the point of being a danger to themselves. However, Ryu was certain that he could pull in enough qi to kill himself several times over¡­


    One needed to understand that Ryu wasn''t pulling this qi into his meridians. If he was, it would be far less of a problem. After all, his meridians were nigh indestructible.


    When one takes control of atmospheric qi, one is supplementing the exterior of their technique. The entire point is that this qi doesn''t have to enter your body. This is a great boost to those who don''t have the ability to hold as much qi in their bodies as Ryu can.


    However, this process is also very dangerous. Since this qi hasn''t been refined, controlling it is comparatively more dangerous. This is especially since Ryu could vaguely feel that even lower grade Immortal Qis would listen to his call.


    Not only was this incredulous, Ryu almost wanted to turn the ability off. Qi had such a high affinity for him that even without him actively calling for them, they were running toward him.


    In the end, this completely disrupted the flow of his own qi, causing his battle prowess to drop slightly.


    ''Dammit¡­'' Ryu muttered.


    He had grown more powerful, yet had somehow grown weaker at the same time. What kind of sick joke was this?


    ''There''s actually nothing much to worry about.'' Ailsa said after thinking for a moment.


    Ryu dodged backward, his spear swinging in a [Sweep] before arching back upward to execute a beautiful [Slice].


    Host Minn seemed to have noticed the oddity in Ryu''s fighting stance. And after a moment, he "understood" what was going on.


    "Ha!" He roared with laughter. "A sudden breakthrough isn''t always good, little fool. Your greatest asset is your qi control, but now you suddenly have far more than you''re used to controlling. It''s no wonder ¡­ It isn''t that your battle sense has dropped, but rather that your ability to act on those senses has!"


    Host Minn was ironically correct, but for all the wrong reasons. Ryu had gone from pressing him back after his breakthrough, to being on his backfoot.


    Ryu could only ignore him.


    ''What do you mean? How is this nothing to worry about?''


    ''Well¡­ This actual situation is pretty worrisome. But, the situation as a whole isn''t. This is actually pretty common. Your Heavenly Pupils went through what is called a Synergistic Mutation. It''s just shocking that the mutation is actually so good¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes flashed. He had read about Synergistic Mutations before.


    The martial world, and especially the human body, wasn''t a static entity. Whenever several constitutions appeared in a single body, the chance of a mutation was possible. After all, with two or more sometimes completely different powers existing in one body, they are forced to find a unique balance with one another lest they kill their host.


    What Ailsa said about them not being rare was both right and wrong. It was wrong in the sense that a single person having more than one constitution was incredibly rare. However, mutations occurring in those who happened to have more than one wasn''t a rare occurrence at all. It could be said to happen over fifty percent of the time.


    ''You Heavenly Pupils resonated with your Ice Jade Crystal Body. It''s a fusion your Bone Structure''s ability to harmonize with nature and be beloved by qi and your Heavenly Pupils'' ability to see through the mystery of all things.


    ''When those two combine, you receive a mutation like your [Ephemeral Tapestry]¡­''


    Ryu was kicking himself for having forgotten such a possibility. In his last life, he had extensively researched his Heavenly Pupils, hoping that maybe the number one ranked Pupils might have a way to help him cultivate. He knew all of his current and future abilities like the back of his hand. This was why he had never been surprised when they appeared to now.


    However, he was currently in completely uncharted waters. He wasn''t even sure if this ability could be turned off!


    He couldn''t deny that these sights were incredibly beautiful, it felt as though the world had lit anew¡­ But these same gorgeous sights were very much making him feel sick to his stomach right now.

 Chapter 342: Survive

    Though Ailsa could have guided Ryu through this precarious situation, her gaze instead shone brightly as she remained silent. This wasn''t because she felt Ryu needed to improve without her, after all, Life Partners never left each other''s side. Such a thought would assume that Ryu would one day be without her, which wasn''t the case at all.


    Rather, the reason she remained silent was because she knew well that anything she could say about qi control¡­ Ryu would grasp infinitely faster on his own!


    ''I can''t continue to use my spear¡­'' Ryu''s brow furrowed as he made a difficult decision.


    With a thought, his spear vanished. It was no surprise that the immediate aftermath placed him in an even sorrier state.


    Ryu used the most primal methods of attack, his fists and legs trying to match Host Minn''s movements. However it became very obvious very quickly by his inelegant striking that he was no better than a layman in close combat.


    Host Minn found Ryu''s actions to be ridiculous, however his own confusion was overwhelmed by his sense of entitlement and happiness. The feeling of his fists meeting Ryu''s flesh and bone¡­ He had never experienced something so exhilarating in his lifetime.


    Ailsa frowned, but she didn''t say anything even as Ryu was severely beaten. Though he tried to fight back, his attacks were full of openings and his defense was nonexistent.


    The Minn Clan was a close combat Clan that specialized in fist qi to begin with. This was truly the worst opponent Ryu could have had under these circumstances. However, he had no choice.


    Trying to control this swirling qi around him that seemed intent on becoming one with him while balancing it with his spear qi was simply too difficult. If Ryu wanted to have any shot in even partially succeeding, he needed to stop trying to incorporate this atmospheric qi into his complex and multi-layered spear techniques.


    ''The weapon that gives me the best chance for success will be my glaive. However, even that is too tall of a task for me¡­ Unless¡­'' Ryu''s eyes flashed.


    His speed suddenly skyrocketed, a beautiful green wind enveloping him even as a green-red barrier descended into this plane.


    "Impose!" Ryu''s voice was forceful and deep, rumbling through the booming strikes of their battle with absolute ease.


    Host Minn suddenly felt his Immortal Ring waver, but it quickly recovered. Unfortunately, its speed at gathering qi had at least halved.


    "Two Impose Barriers?!"


    Ryu acted quickly, a singular glaive appearing in his hand. However, this time, he pinned his left hand to his back, brandishing his glaive almost as though it was sword.


    Whenever Ryu wielded his polearms with a single hand, he was entirely focused on channeling the essence of conventional polearm wielding.


    The reason he could only tap into a portion of his strength when wielding with a single arm was precisely because polearms simply weren''t meant to be wielded with a single hand. They emphasized stability, power and distance, however, aside from distance which Ryu interestingly gained when using one arm, the former two strong points fell drastically.


    As a result, Ryu had still failed to evoke his Birthed Phenomena when dual wielding. He could only do so when channeling all of his focus with both hands into a single weapon.


    Now, however, Ryu had done away with all of this. He wasn''t trying to tap into the essence of the War God right now. His mind was only focused on one thing: the wild, primal nature of the glaive.


    Ryu''s wind qi and Rage Flames blossomed, a perverse heat that could melt suns blooming from his body.


    Host Minn involuntarily began to sweat profusely. A portion of it might have been due to nervousness, but a large majority was due to the heat. He had no choice but to quickly wrap himself in a layer of qi, hoping to stop his skin from burning.


    What Host Minn had no way of knowing was that this was likely the weakest Ryu''s Rage Flames could be. He was simply not in an enraged state, he treated Host Minn no differently than a passing bug by the roadside. As such, he wasn''t tapping into his Rage Flame''s greatest ability ¨C to turn his fury into power.


    ''For now, I will use my Impose flame and wind qi to make up for what I''m lacking.''


    Ryu''s gaze burned with fighting intent as his wildly raised his glaive upward and hacked down.


    Host Minn was shocked, feeling a looming shadow of death breathing down his neck.


    Ryu''s weapon felt as light as a feather under this influence of his wind qi. At the same time, his attack prowess skyrocketed as a flame so deeply red it almost flickered to black coated his blade.


    A flurry of attacks were unleashed by Ryu''s singular arm. The were so ferocious that the clouds above split, only to be rapidly burned and singed by the wild flames.


    These attacks held none of Ryu''s normal technique, none of his normal calculations or his elegance. It was as though he had become a wild beast, his eyes reddening to match his roaring flames.


    Host Minn retreated time and time again, not daring to meet Ryu''s flames head-on. He was confident that his qi shield could survive through its strikes, but the problem was for how long? If he had to continuously replenish his shield of qi, even if he wouldn''t run out of qi thanks to his Immortal Ring, his Focus Qi would most definitely give out.


    However, his eyes shone when he noticed something peculiar.


    There was only one reason Ryu had never used his Rage Flames like this before: his weapons simply couldn''t withstand its strength. With his current Impose Realm flames, only a Heaven Grade weapon could last under its influence without regard.


    Ryu had only entered this state for a few minutes, yet his glaive was already showing signs of completely melting. One could say that other than the fact his halberds made him too powerful to the point of making his training pointless, Ryu didn''t use them often because eliciting the Dragon God necessitated activating his Rage Flames. His halberds simply couldn''t withstand that state for long.


    Host Minn grinned. ''His glaives won''t last long in this state. What a little arrogant fool. If he was really the Throne of an Eighth Order Sect, he should have taken a weapon with him that could withstand his own talent. He must have thought he simply didn''t need it. Your own pride will be your downfall.''


    This wasn''t the only reason why Host Minn was growing increasingly arrogant despite his now sorry, burning state. Numerous cuts were inexplicably appearing all over Ryu''s skin as though he was bursting from the inside, out.


    Host Minn believed that this only proved his ascertain that Ryu couldn''t control his two Qi Vessel strength. However, the truth was that Ryu was continuously trying to rein in the qi that kept swarming to him, only for it to overflow and force him into a state of perpetual backlash.


    Host Minn''s sensitivity to qi was so poor that he couldn''t even see this truth. Who knows what luck he stumbled into that let him reach the Immortal Ring Realm with such terrible talent?


    Still, with every strike, Ryu''s gaze grew brighter and brighter. His wild attacks incrementally grew more powerful. The process was so slow that Host Minn didn''t even notice. He was no different from a turtle sitting in a pot of slowly warming water.


    However, at that moment, Ailsa said something worrying.


    ''Little Ryu, I can continue to block the sounds of this battle without an issue, but the range to which you''re pulling in qi is too wide. I can''t cover such a large radius from the senses of others. Eventually, someone will notice that abnormal flow of qi and come to investigate.''


    Ryu''s brows furrowed at these words, but there was nothing he could do. If he could stop this flow of qi, he would have done so ages ago. How could he possibly control its range?


    Ryu took a deep breath, his attacks growing even more ferocious.


    The Fire Dragon blood within his veins roared with excitement. Ryu suppressed it far too often, this was the first time he had ever unleashed it, allowing it to run rampant as it pleased.


    However, as the saying went, two tigers couldn''t exist on a single mountain peak. The Dragon and Qilin had always butted heads throughout the history of the martial worlds. Something like them appearing in the same body might have never happened before. If it wasn''t for his Ice Jade Crystal Body, Ryu would have most definitely been a stillborn¡­


    Just as Ryu''s Lightning Qilin Bloodline seemed to roar to life in response, Ryu caught the presence of two rapidly approaching auras. Even if his Spiritual Sense range hadn''t been a thousand kilometers, he would still be able to guess exactly who they were.


    It seemed like the two Zu Clan Ancestors hadn''t given up on finding him after all¡­


    What made them confident enough to disregard the Apostles? Ryu didn''t know. Host Minn was just a fool who couldn''t think even one step ahead, so Ryu never questioned his stupid actions. The Zu Ancestors were a completely different matter entirely, though.


    Ryu wasn''t in the least bit surprised that they were the first to notice the odd qi fluctuations. They were Mental Realm Masters for a reason¡­ All that was left was for Ryu to figure out a way to survive this¡­

 Chapter 343: Prepared

    Ryu suddenly felt a wave of calm overwhelm him. Isn''t this exactly what he came here for?


    This teetering balancing act. To his left was an endless abyss and death. To his right was a light enveloping warmth.


    He remembered the exhilaration he felt defeating Leopold. Maybe that was the most emotion he had displayed since he regained his memories. Only the moments after losing his grandfather could match.


    ''Since they want my life¡­ They can come and get it.''


    ''¡­ Little Ryu¡­'' Ailsa began to feel worried.


    ''It''s fine.'' Ryu said calmly, the mad swings of his glaive not dulling for even a moment.


    Ailsa''s delicate brow furrowed. ''It''s not going to be remotely the same as fighting this Host Minn. His Immortal Ring is below even the lowest standard. In addition, Mental Realm Masters have an advantage in controlling their Immortal Rings.''


    ''Oh?'' Ryu hadn''t known this before. But this only made sense, he knew little about cultivation after the Awakening and Pulse Opening Realms thanks to his experiences in his last life. It could be said that he was quite blessed to have run into Ailsa so early on.


    ''One''s Immortal Ring is like a new limb. You can even liken it to controlling a corpse puppet. Except when you fail in controlling a corpse puppet, the worst that can happen is it falling awkwardly. Maybe if you''re in a battle, you might meet some danger. However, if you fail in controlling your Immortal Ring¡­ Well, look at the state of your body right now. I''m sure you can guess.''


    Ryu''s gaze swept over the bloody cracks that ran across his body. Considering he was wearing Sixth Order robes weaved by a Spiritual Seamstress, only a small portion of his skin was exposed as all. Who knew how bad the situation was truly?


    Seeing that Ryu didn''t respond, Ailsa could only sigh.


    ''Still, you can''t continue like this. Your glaive is in shambles. I didn''t plan on interfering too much in this battle of yours and wanted to wait until after to guide you since you already have too much on your plate, but if a challenge is what you want, I''ll give it to you.


    ''Do you know what the biggest problem you face now is?''


    Ryu pressed Host Minn, his wild attacks increasing in frequency.


    ''¡­''


    Ryu almost didn''t know how to respond for a moment. Wasn''t his biggest problem obvious? This qi wouldn''t let him off! It kept surging toward him madly and he didn''t seem to have the ability to turn it off. He had tried everything, but nothing worked.


    The worst part was that trying to run away was impossible now. With this surge of qi constantly around him, finding him was too easy.


    However, Ryu didn''t answer with this. He knew that since Ailsa had asked this question, the obvious answer was most definitely incorrect.


    ''¡­'' After a moment, Ryu''s gaze sharpened. ''My weapon?''


    ''That''s right. Your weapon.'' Ailsa smiled. ''You''re battling an Immortal Ring expert right now. This is an attempt to cross over the mortal realms to challenge the Immortal. Your qi was already excessively powerful before, but now it''s even more so. On top of that, there''s your Rage Flame. Your strength is too limited by an Earth Grade weapon.''


    Ryu smiled bitterly. He obviously knew that Immortal Ring experts could use Heaven Grade weapons, but where was he going to find one?


    The best treasures on the Pedestal Plane were capped at the Sixth Order or the Higher and Peak Earth Grades. There was no Seventh Order or Heaven Grade weapons here. Even Ancestor Ember wouldn''t have one.


    ''Do you think this lovely Princess would give you a problem you can''t solve? You already have the solution. Your Impose Barriers!''


    Ryu''s eyes widened. His Impose Barriers?


    Could Impose Barriers be used like this? Ryu had assumed that they could only be summoned as domains but¡­ Who''s to say that the size and shape of this domain couldn''t be controlled?


    Ryu thought back for a moment. Hadn''t he learned to apply his Northern Heavenly Wind Inheritance to his weapons long ago? In fact, he was subconsciously doing this even now. It didn''t add any sharpness to his weapons, but it made them as light as a feather.


    Since he could do that, why hadn''t he thought of taking it a step further? If he applied his Rebirth Flame Impose Barrier to his glaive¡­ Wouldn''t that fix his melting weapon problem?


    Unfortunately, in the next moments, Ryu realized why Ailsa hadn''t told him about this earlier. There was only one word to describe it¡­ Difficult!


    Under normal circumstances, Ryu would be able to do it with some time and thought. However, he was already struggling to control this vast influx of qi, how could he have time to learn this all-new skill?


    Even as he was grappling with this new concept, two figures that had been distant dots even to his Spiritual Sense tore a blazing path into his line of sight. They couldn''t even hide the vicious excitement in their eyes when they laid their gazes upon Ryu.


    Those devilish silver eyes, that billowing white hair. They looked exactly like the horror legends of the White Devils that permeated the Mortal Planes.


    "It really is him!" A murderous glint turned their pupils red.


    "Little Esme was entrusted to us, yet such a thing actually happened¡­ We can only pay with our lives."


    "Is that that foolish Host? Is he really so powerful that he can battle an Immortal Ring expert?"


    Doubt flooded the pair, but the murderous intent didn''t diminish.


    Host Minn was the very last to notice the sudden change to the battlefield. However, when he realized that these were enemies of Ryu, how could he not be elated?


    Ryu didn''t have time to care for his sneers. He tightened every nerve in his body, prepared for a fight of a lifetime.


    ''Middle Immortal Ring Realm¡­ Peak Immortal Ring Realm¡­''

 Chapter 344: Cold

    Ryu sent a glance toward the two Zu Clan Ancestors before directly ignoring them. His actions truly had a way of infuriating everyone around him. Not only were the Zu Ancestors enraged, but even Host Minn who was looking forward to Ryu''s look of despair felt completely stifled.


    "Yasuo, what do you think?"


    Yasuo Zu was the name of the Peak Immortal Ring Zu Ancestor. Though the two travelled together, there was a clear difference in status between them. Kioshi, the weaker Zu, could only look toward him to dictate their actions.


    Yasuo and Kioshi hovered just a kilometer from Ryu and Host Minn''s battle. Such a distance was akin to a single step for them, but it was still far enough away that they didn''t impede the flow of the battle. They clearly sought to quietly pressure Ryu from a distance.


    "Kioshi¡­ Aren''t our deaths already guaranteed¡­? What is it that we can do? Little Esme was not only a great talent¡­ But she''s elder brother''s beloved daughter. If it wasn''t to fix that abrasive personality of hers, she would have never been sent out to struggle with the rest of us at all.


    "Our only choice is to atone for this with our lives¡­"


    This was the bitter reality of the martial world. It was neither Yasuo or Kioshi''s fault for Esme''s death. They had been tens of thousands of miles away at the time. However, it just didn''t matter.


    "Then¡­ We can only go all out."


    One would never imagine that this was a conversation two Immortal Ring experts would have about a Divine Vessel Realm expert.


    Though Ryu was calm on the surface, the moment he saw the duo surge forward to join the battle, he knew he couldn''t meet them head-on.


    Host Minn was nothing more than a joke. He would crumble before another Immortal Ring expert. However, the Zu Ancestors were definitely far above his level. Even if they were the same cultivation realm as him, they could crush Host Minn, let alone the fact they were levels above.


    ''Little Rock¡­''


    A majestic silver-plated bird appeared below Ryu.


    "Don''t even think of running!"


    Run? Ryu would have sneered at Host Minn''s words if it wasn''t for the situation.


    "[Immortal Sakura]."


    In an instant, even as Little Rock was enveloped by a green glow, the skies became a beautiful winter wonderland.


    A gorgeous Immortal Sakura with a canopy that stretched just over a hundred meters appeared around Ryu. Its delicate bark was covered in sparkling ice crystals, washing the domain over with a cold breeze that made Ryu feel comfort to the depths of his soul.


    "Freeze!"


    Ryu''s gaze brightened as a transparent blue flame set his Immortal Sakura ablaze. The dichotomy of solid ice crystals and glittering blue flames captured the heart.


    However, no matter how beautiful these flames were, Host Minn and the two Zu Ancestors felt as though they had been dropped into a pit of ice water. They were chilled to the core, their skin becoming filled with goosebumps in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu pushed his defenses to the upper limit, pressing forward in an attempt to take Host Minn''s life before the two Zu Ancestor''s reached his side.


    ''Little Rock¡­''


    Understanding Ryu''s intentions, Little Rock flapped his gorgeous wings. His speed was so quick that he seemed to teleport through the skies, closing the distance on Host Minn''s retreating figure in a flash.


    The things Ryu learned during his year of training were numerous, but he had only learned one beast taming technique: [Heart Linked as One].


    This technique was one countless beast tamers would cause a bloody war over. Yet, very few could get their hands on it¡­ That said, as a Clan of Mental Realm Masters, the Zu Clan had many beast tamers in their long lineage. How could such a prestigious Clan not have such a technique?


    [Heart Linked as One] allowed a beast tamer and a beast to share their skills with one another. Currently, Ryu had only mastered the lowest tier of this technique since he hadn''t spent much time on it. As such, he couldn''t share in Little Rock''s affinities or skills. However, what he could do was share his Inheritances with Little Rock to a small extent.


    As a result, Ryu no longer had to actively cover Little Rock with his Wind Inheritance as he had done in the past. Their connection was much deeper. Rather than Ryu doing all of the work, Little Rock and he shared the burden as one. It was thanks to Ryu sharing his Rebirth Flame''s ability with Little Rock that they were able to escape Ancestor Ember.


    Unfortunately, [Heart Linked as One] didn''t allow the sharing of Bloodline Talents no matter how high the level of mastery. But Ryu was confident enough in his own talent to not need such a thing. He had learned the technique purely to share his strength with his partners!


    As a winged beast, Little Rock already had great affinity with wind, albeit less than he did with lightning. However, the results were devastating nonetheless!


    The timing was perfect. Host Minn had finally become too arrogant, believing that with two more helpers coming to take Ryu''s life, the battle was as good as over. In fact, believing that Ryu would run, he had taken the initiative to run forward, not thinking for even a moment that Ryu would come after him first.


    ''Die.'' Ryu''s glaive swung at the unsuspecting Host Minn.


    The strike was savage and unbridled. The blazing Rage Fire pitted against the backdrop of sparkling ice crystals made for an awe inspiring, if not dangerous, scene.


    "Heaven, Earth, Fire, Thunder, Mountain, Lake ¨C [Six Trigram Shell]!"


    Six curved triangular shields suddenly appeared before Ryu''s strike. They each were made of a transparent bronze, faint ancient runes pulsing on their surfaces.


    ''Chanting?'' Ryu''s brow furrowed, a reverberating impact sending a mighty shockwave through his arm. His already opened wounds split further, scattering blood into the air. ''Retreat.''


    Little Rock stopped his forward momentum in an instant, accelerating backward.


    Chanting was the ability of a Mental Realm Master to exponentially increase the strength of their Visualization through the use of their Inner Voice. It seemed like Yasuo was speaking normally, but the truth was that he was simply opening his mouth. It was his soul that was speaking.


    This reality made it obvious why Ryu hadn''t learned or used this ability. It required one to birth their soul into a great enough State of Maturity!


    When a soul was birthed, it would be nothing more than a baby. The same common-sense logic thus followed. How could a baby speak? The fact that Yasuo''s soul could Chant meant that his soul was far beyond the entry levels¡­


    Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but turn cold.

 Chapter 345: More

    ''The Legacy of the Zu Clan can''t possibly be as cut-off as I originally believed. To still have access to a technique like Chanting¡­ They''ve hidden their roots deeply!''


    Still Ryu didn''t panic, nor did he try to run. He stood on Little Rock''s back proudly, looking forward toward the three Immortal Ring experts.


    In truth, he was a bit surprised by Yasuo''s actions. Chanting wasn''t exactly a great stress, but it wasn''t as easy as breathing either, especially for someone only of the Soul Birth Realm. He was a bit confused as to why this Zu Ancestor would cast such a powerful defensive Visualization from so far away for the sake of a mere Host Minn.


    This was far different than what the norm should have been. With Ryu''s low cultivation, they should believe they could defeat him easily, no? What would they need Host Minn for?


    ''¡­ It must not be so simple. The Zu Clan is trying to gain a foothold in the Core Region. As for their reasons¡­ I''m still not sure¡­


    ''Even though this Host Minn is nothing but a jumping clown, Immortal Ring experts are too rare on the Pedestal Plane. He''s only one of two in the Minn Clan. If they grasp a hold of his gratitude¡­ Their futures will definitely be much easier.''


    Ryu had been so rampant that he almost forgot that these were mere Sixth Order Clans he was talking about. Immortal Ring experts were already Ancestor level characters among them!


    If Ryu were to take on an even deeper level of analysis, what the Zu Ancestors gained wouldn''t just be mere gratitude either. Host Minn was too foolish to realize that his current actions were making him an enemy of the Apostles. However, the two Zu''s most definitely knew this.


    If they waited until after they killed Ryu to explain this, then Host Minn would be in the palm of their hands. How could he dare go against someone who knew such a dark secret of his? In such a case, he would be little different than a puppet on a string.


    This made the reason they saved Host Minn obvious¡­ They wanted to ensure that he was the one who dealt the killing blow to Ryu!


    Seeing through all of this, Ryu sneered. ''I can use this¡­''


    Without giving them time to coordinate, it was actually Ryu who attacked first, his valiant figure streaking across the air upon Little Rock''s back.


    His actions completely shocked the three Immortal Ring experts. Who would ever think that a Divine Vessel Realm expert would take the initiative to attack them?


    ''I need to focus. Manipulate my Impose Barriers¡­ Change their forms as I please¡­''


    Ryu completely ignored Yasuo and Kioshi, making a mad sprint toward Host Minn.


    "Qi~ Qi~ Qi~."


    Little Rock''s battle cry sounded across the skies. His voice was still immature, but still held a powerful gravity that only a beast with a primordial bloodline could elicit.


    After years of being diligently raised by Ailsa, his bloodline had slowly grown purer. If it wasn''t for the fact the Pedestal Plane was lacking in the rare Spiritual Herbs the little guy needed to evolve his Earth Grade bloodline to the Heaven Grade, he would already be far more powerful than he was now.


    Simply put¡­ As a battle partner to Ryu¡­ He was perfect!


    Little Rock flashed forward at blinding speeds, closing the distance once more.


    "Fool!" Host Minn roared in laughter, completely oblivious to Yasuo and Kioshi''s furrowed brows. He clearly didn''t understand the Ryu''s actions¡­ Were obviously the smartest!


    "Many thanks for helping me." Host Minn said respectfully. "Let''s take this ignorant brat down together!"


    Yasuo and Kioshi smiled on the surface, hiding their disdain deep within their hearts.


    They may have resolved to die, but their mission still came first. It was only after they succeeded that their lives would be reaped. As such, Host Minn was still important to them. The Zu Empire must reign once more!


    "[Vortex Spear]."


    The Zu Ancestor''s attacked at once, but who knew that Ryu wouldn''t even attempt to block the runes etched spears that manifested in the skies?


    Beautiful petals of snow descended, deflecting them in all directions. But now a single landed upon Ryu or Little Rock!


    Unfortunately for the Zu Ancestors, they had made two mistakes. Firstly, they lowered their strength on purpose, holding back so as not to kill Ryu. And secondly¡­ They had underestimated [Immortal Sakura].


    Now that Ryu was less worried about his Focus Qi thanks to the Prayer Mat, the calculations he executed with this supreme defensive technique were far more sophisticated. Instead of simply meeting and blocking attacks head on by getting in the way of their trajectories, Ryu could now spare the processing power to deflect their paths at angles of least resistance instead.


    This meant that Ryu could not only better protect his mind from backlash, but the attacks he could block were far higher in strength now.


    Yasuo''s gaze flashed. "[Six Trigram Shell]!"


    In that moment, Ryu''s lip curled. Yasuo sensed that something was wrong, but the change was too sudden.


    Yasuo, Kioshi, Host Minn and Ryu all stood in the air within twenty meters of each other. This distance was ironically both meaningless and infinitely large at the very same time for reasons that would soon become apparent.


    ''[Warp].''


    Kioshi saw what was about to happen and reacted quickly. "[Flow Wave]!"


    Much like Chanting, [Flow Wave] was the unique ability of a birthed soul. However, instead of amplifying Visualizations, it had the opposite affect: interrupting them.


    Unfortunately for Kioshi¡­ Ryu had the Origin Flame. His Visualizations were flawless every time. Interrupting him was simply impossible.


    Ryu vanished from Little Rock''s back, appearing behind Kioshi in an instant.


    ''¡­ I''ve been a fool.'' Ryu thought to himself. ''¡­ I''ve been struggling with trying to manipulate my Rebirth Flame Impose Barrier, but do I not have the King of Flames by my side? If the Origin Flame wants the Rebirth Flame to heed a command¡­ It does so!''


    Ryu''s gaze focused entirely on Kioshi''s back. A Mental Realm Master''s weakness was always obvious: their body. After letting him get so close¡­ Ryu didn''t care if Kioshi was even ten time more powerful!


    Ryu''s aura surged. His Rage Flame Impose Barrier breathed like a living being, its outer shell marked with the scales of a dragon that rippled rhythmically. In that moment, Ryu tapped into his Origin Flame, grasping control of the Rage Flame''s core and bending it to his will.


    The sound of a shattering barrier resounded.


    Ryu''s glaive pierced Kioshi''s back, exiting through his heart and chest in a single instant. Even his own eyes widened at the ease of it all.


    All he could hear was Ailsa''s gentle, bell-like giggle over his shoulder.


    ''¡­ I may have forgotten to mention that manipulating the shape of one''s Impose Barrier is the key to transcending the Impose Realm and entering the Ruler Realm¡­ Oopsie.''


    Ailsa''s innocent laughs played as a backdrop to an Immortal Ring expert burning to ash without so much as a cry of pain.


    Unfortunately for Ryu, entering the Ruler Realm was both exactly what he needed and didn''t need right now. Kioshi''s death was good. But¡­ What was he supposed to do now that even more qi was surging toward him thanks to Essence descending from the Heavens?

 Chapter 346: Proud

    Ryu didn''t have much time to lament his problems. In order to kill Kioshi, he had essentially placed himself less than a meter from Yasuo.


    Having calculated this already, Ryu coordinated with Little Rock artfully.


    The silver feathered Lightning Hawk flapped its wings, explosively moving backward. The torrent of air caused by its wide wings swept across the battlefield with the momentum of hurricane force winds.


    Ryu''s body became no different from a feather fluttering in the skies, circulating [Fragrant Breeze] to launch his body in a beautiful arc. By the time Yasuo reacted, Ryu was already over fifty meters away.


    "Kioshi!" Yasuo mournful roar caused even Host Minn to cower, his inner ear bursting into a rain of blood.


    Yasuo knew that he could have stopped this from happening. If only he had been just a little more careful, just a little more prudent¡­


    He had completely underestimated Ryu. As a Mental Realm Master of the Soul Birth Realm, he could cast multiple Visualizations at once. Just because he was Visualizing [Six Trigram Shell] didn''t mean he couldn''t have cast another.


    But, when he noticed Kioshi casting [Flow Wave], he hadn''t bothered. The two had worked together for many years, they battled as one about as well as one could hope for. So, Yasuo had a deep trust in Kioshi and his abilities. Never did he think that [Flow Wave] would actually fail, so he had been preparing an attacking Visualization for the moment Ryu faced the backlash of his interrupted cast.


    Unfortunately, reality was cruel. Kioshi failed to interrupt Ryu, and the attack he had been preparing completely missed its mark due to the fact that Ryu was no longer where he thought he''d be!


    To make matters worse, Little Rock had already prepared to retreat, so the hidden attack missed him as well.


    Ryu grit his teeth as Essence stormed into his body.


    There was yet another problem he hadn''t considered. Essence and his Chaotic Qi were existences on the same level. However, they were equal and opposite.


    Ryu had never experienced pain accepting Essence''s baptism¡­ Until now.


    Ailsa''s jaw set. ''¡­ I''m definitely correct. I''ve done all of the calculations. The Essence called down by breaking into the Ruler Realm is more powerful than the Chaotic Qi Little Ryu has right now, making it harder to balance. However, his Ice Jade Crystal Body has evolved to the Immortal Realms thanks to the absorbing the Realm Heart¡­''


    Ailsa would never recklessly play with Ryu''s life. She knew long ago that Ryu could rely on the Origin Flame to enter the Ruler Realm, but hadn''t allowed him to do so precisely because of the Chaotic Qi variable. She still wasn''t absolutely certain how his body would react to having both qis appear at once.


    As such, over the last year, she had been diligently calculating and recalculating everything. After accounting for everything, she believed that Ryu could handle it.


    Ryu''s skin began to glow a bright light. No, it wasn''t his skin¡­ It was his bones!


    Like a crystalline sculpture carved of ice, his bones radiated with pure majesty.


    Ryu knew that his Ice Jade Crystal Body would only truly begin to display its strength once he entered the Immortal Realms. After gaining an Immortal Body, he had been preparing for its changes, but nothing came immediately.


    Yet, suddenly, today, he underwent two massive changes at once.


    First, it catalyzed the mutation in his Heavenly Pupils, creating [Ephemeral Tapestry]. And now, it was grabbing a hold of Ryu''s Essence and evolving itself!


    The Essence Ryu was calling down was simply too powerful. Having only opened one Body Vessel, his strength was capped at fifty million jin. In addition, since he had broken through with his Rage Flames and Rebirth Flame, the Essence was tailored for his Fire Dragon and Fire Phoenix Bloodlines.


    Ryu had calculated the limits long before. His Fire Dragon Bloodline had seventeen million jin of strength to provide for the first Body Vessel, while his Fire Phoenix Bloodline had eight million. This was enough added strength to put him on part with any Lower Immortal Ring Expert.


    The trouble was that this Essence had far more energy to provide than just this. But who knew that his Ice Jade Crystal Body would swallow it all!


    Suddenly, what Ryu felt was a disaster took a complete turn. As his Ice Jade Crystal Body greedily swallowed Essence, its four facets of strength improved by leaps and bounds¡­ Friend of Beasts¡­ Healing¡­ Godly Qi Cultivation Talent and¡­ Absolute Balance!


    The wounds of Ryu''s body rapidly closed. At the same time, the qi he had found nearly impossible to control just a moment ago suddenly became docile little children, bouncing around him as though waiting for his approval.


    In a flash, the war going on his body completely subsided. His Essence and Chaotic Qi completely stopped battling one another, listening to the soothing vibrations of his Bone Structure and becoming calm.


    Ryu''s strength blossomed, reaching over twenty-five million jin in a single bound. Maybe the only unfortunate part was that his Lightning Qilin Bloodline which had been stirred to action due to his Rage Flames just minutes ago died down completely as though subdued.


    Ryu was almost as shocked as Host Minn and Yasuo. Although his visage was just as expressionless as ever, he couldn''t help but send a glance toward the gorgeous little Faerie sitting on his shoulder, his gaze blazing with emotion.


    This wasn''t luck, nor was it a fortuitous turn of events. Ryu was intelligent enough to see that this was planned every step of the way by Ailsa. She knew how to help him breakthrough the Impose Realm long ago, she derived how his body would react, and in the end, perfectly laid a flawless path out for him.


    In that moment, the slow progress he thought he had made in the last year was completely erased. It was only now he understood that this slow progress wasn''t by error, but rather by design.


    Cultus Faeries¡­ It seemed this Princess of the Cultus Clan was far more capable that even Ryu knew.


    Ailsa proudly swung her long, slender legs, a smile that could collapse worlds playing her plump red lips.

 Chapter 347: Cannot

    Ryu felt power coursing through every fiber of his being. Before, his strength was mostly reliant on the Chaotic Qi that ran through his meridians. Its strength was so far above that of other qis that Ryu was directly able to compete with quantity with his quality.


    However, now, Ryu''s strength didn''t originate from his own meridians any longer. Now, he suddenly felt as though the qi that swam freely in the skies was under his complete control.


    "You¡­"


    Ryu''s glaive sliced upward. Before what remained of his words could finish, Host Minn found a diagonal slice running through his body.


    His figure tore apart at his right shoulder first, his flesh and blood falling along a line toward his left hip.


    What remained of his upper half hovered in the air for a moment, his stunned visage looking down toward the inner organs hanging loosely. He couldn''t believe for a moment that this was in fact himself.


    He had died¡­? He died to a Divine Vessel Realm boy¡­?


    He fell from the skies, his Immortal Ring blinking out of existence. Not long later, he was incinerated to a pile of ash, Ryu''s Rage Flame not letting even his corpse go.


    The sound of another barrier shattering resounded as Ryu made use of his Origin Flame to take control of his Ice Flame. Essence surged toward him once more, his Ice Phoenix Bloodline surging to provide him another eight million jin of strength.


    The excess energy poured into his Ice Jade Crystal Body once more. It seemed insatiable at that moment. Ryu suddenly understood that having his Ice Jade Crystal Body evolve once more into the Cosmic Grade would take much more than he could provide now. Still¡­ This was an excellent start.


    Ryu''s [Immortal Sakura] blossomed. Though it remained at the White Stage, the crystals that coated its bark became far more robust as Ryu''s Ice Flame bloomed to another level.


    Its strength skyrocketed. From a state of being able to just barely block the strike of a Lower Immortal Ring Realm expert, Ryu felt that blocking a strike of a Middle Immortal Ring Realm expert was child''s play.


    Yasuo watched on with a dazed gaze. He was completely lost in his feelings of shock.


    His brother of many years just died before him. Now, his murderer was breaking through with a momentum that placed a suffocating pressure on his chest.


    Ryu gripped his fists tightly, his gaze blazing to life. He didn''t care about Host Minn''s death, nor Yasuo''s reaction. His mind was caught up in the excitement of his progress. He felt closer to that ever looming, impossible goal of his.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s glaive crumbled, burning to dust in his hand.


    Ryu hardly reacted to this change, simply slowly manifesting a mighty halberd. Its body was the same violet color as his glaive and spear, and its head was a glistening silver, standing a head taller than ever Ryu himself.


    "Come."


    The silvery spear tip of the halberd pointed toward Yasuo, a reddish hue spiraling through it to coat its body.


    The suppression Yasuo faced was instantly several times higher. There were no longer defined borders like Ryu''s Impose Barriers, but the result was somehow far more devastating.


    Hearing that magnetism in Ryu''s voice, Yasuo was almost compelled to listen against his will. However, such a reality ironically snapped him away, filling him with shame and rage.


    "For Kioshi¡­ For Esme¡­!"


    Ryu''s dull gaze met Yasuo''s. The glittering rainbow of colors swirled around him. It seemed he truly didn''t have the ability to turn [Ephemeral Tapestry] off. However, this was a good that he could hardly fathom because¡­


    ''I can see it¡­ I can see it all¡­''


    He could see the qi gathering around Yasuo, he could read its flow, its direction. He could sense what Yasuo wanted to do even before he finished.


    Usually, cultivators, especially experienced warriors, learned to hide their qi fluctuations for their benefit in a battle. Unless it was a large-scale technique they hadn''t learned to properly control or was simply too powerful, all great battle experts knew how to not telegraph their attacks.


    However, all of these ''hidden'' fluctuations were suddenly laid completely bare before Ryu.


    Ryu''s flashed forward, his speed more than tenfold what it had been before. Other than wrapping his spear in his Rebirth Flame Ruler Barrier, he did nothing else, executing a simple [Slice].


    Yasuo eyes widened. "Heaven, Earth, Fire, Thunder, Mountain, Lake ¨C [Six Trigram Shell]!"


    A booming shockwave coursed through the skies, leaving a rippling cracking to spread throughout Yasuo''s shell.


    ''His Chant is so low level¡­'' Ryu thought without emotion.


    He could see how the qi reacted to Yasuo''s call to action. They couldn''t have been less enthusiastic.


    The truth about Chanting was that it relied on one''s comprehension. A singular Visualization could have an infinite number of Chant variations. There was no ''perfect'' Chant. Or rather, there were any number of perfect Chants. What mattered was whether one''s Chant grasped the quintessence of the Visualization.


    Yasuo''s Chant was the most basic. He simply listed the fundamental laws that built his [Six Trigram Shell]. He didn''t grasp its full meaning at all.


    "You underestimate me too much!"


    Yasuo''s aura bloomed. Unlike Host Minn who took several minutes to summon his Immortal Ring, Yasuo succeeded in less than half a minute, relying on the delay his trigram shell Visualization bought him to summon his strength.


    As expected of a Peak Immortal Ring Realm expert, his Immortal Ring put Host Minn to shame.


    Its form was far sturdier, a complete opaque white unlike Host Minn''s transparent and feeble ring. In addition, it was eight meters in diameter!


    Qi surged toward it, even snatching away much of the qi that had been swirling around Ryu.


    It was then that Ryu understood that his [Ephemeral Tapestry] was still lacking in comparison to a true Immortal Ring. However, he could faintly feel that much like his other Heavenly Pupils abilities, it could be strengthened by unlocking his seals, so he didn''t worry about it.


    The mere fact he could control atmospheric qi while in the Divine Vessel Realm was a truth enough to send shockwaves through the martial world!


    And what of the day he truly did awaken his Immortal Ring? What kind of synergistic affects would they have together?


    ''Eight meters at the Peak Immortal Ring Realm? That means that not only did he not cultivate his Body Realm, but also that his Immortal Ring is of the second lowest Black Grade¡­ If I cannot defeat him, I will not leave this Pedestal Plane!''

 Chapter 348: Ash

    "There''s no need to take action against a junior, don''t you think?"


    A familiar old man lounged leisurely in a place only one man had ever stepped into over the last several hundred years.


    The garden where the two sat was quite odd. In fact, one would be hard pressed to truly call it a garden at all.


    What should have been a calming stream of water was actually a trench filled with lava. The green lotuses one would expect to find had become odd flower-rock structures that glistened mostly of obsidian. At the same time, the creatures which should have been beautiful were instead sinister scaled creatures of the snake and salamander variety.


    Ancestor Ember tried his best to hide his ugly expression behind a veil of calmness. But, it didn''t take a genius to realize that his fists were clenched beneath his long and wide robe sleeves.


    "I see. Maybe I should have known." Ancestor Ember finally said.


    The old man tilted his head in confusion for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. He laughed so hard that he was eventually forced to wipe the tears from his eyes.


    "It''s no wonder you got out maneuvered by that little pup. For you, it would only be natural for someone so much weaker than yourself to lower their heads. The fact he didn''t makes you believe that he must have had someone in the shadows protecting me.


    "Not to be the bearer of bad news, but he doesn''t know I''m here. In fact, we''ve never met or spoken a day in his life. I find your conclusions quite amusing."


    Ancestor Ember''s visage turned stiff.


    "I was wondering why a Path Extinction Realm warrior bothered to stay in such a place. This Pedestal Plane can''t produce Heaven Grade treasures, nor are there any Alchemists or Herbologists capable of providing you what you need. To make matters worse, the strongest beasts are only of the Seventh Order and aren''t worthy of taking even a single strike from you.


    "Anyone with any sort of backbone would have long since ascended to the Blossom Plane to seek a new challenge, yet you actually holed yourself up here, playing King in a sandbox. I almost feel bad for you."


    The old man stood from his lounging area. He wasn''t particularly worried about Ancestor Ember taking action now. Such a coward would never take risks knowing he was here.


    With a flash, he disappeared.


    Ancestor Ember sat with his entire body trembling in rage. Such a scene went on for hours before he finally slowly calmed himself, his fists unclenching.


    "Come out." He suddenly said.


    In that moment, a tall, slender beauty suddenly made herself known. She had a shapely, willowy waist. Her hips and buttocks stretched against the fabrics of her black dress, bouncing ever so slightly with her elegant gait. Her face was veiled, but she still revealed two delicate brows and shimmering violet irises as deep as the night sky. Even without seeing her face, one would be enraptured without a chance. Such a beauty shouldn''t appear in the world of mortals.


    She didn''t say anything for a moment before she suddenly giggled lightly. It was a captivating sound that could slow a man''s heartbeat to a crawl.


    "The reason I''m in such a state is due to your Night Terror Sect, yet you dare come here to laugh?"


    "There are few things I don''t dare to do." The woman''s light laughter suddenly shifted with an imposing tone. It was difficult to tell which was the real her.


    "Of course." Ancestor Ember said shortly. "Coming from such an inferior world and daring to place your sights on my Martial God Realm. Your guts are quite large."


    "Are you not the same, daring to make a deal with this devil?"


    "And my reward for it is ridicule by an old man I can''t see through and a youth with talent that shouldn''t appear on even the Martial God Plane."


    "Of course you cannot see through him. He''s a member of the Armament Guild. He could destroy your little Ember Clan with the wave of a hand."


    Ancestor Ember''s expression stiffened. Clearly this was news to him. Thankfully he hadn''t attempted to attack, or else the ending would have been quite tragic.


    "As for the boy¡­ He may be a variable even more difficult to handle¡­"


    Ancestor Ember''s brow furrowed. "Is it because he''s favored by the Armament Guild?"


    "This is only a small reason. The ring on his finger is that of a core disciple of the Mercenary Guild. This also doesn''t conflict with his identity as the Throne of a Peak Eighth Order Sect either¡­ Though that is ironically his weakest identity¡­"


    "What aren''t you telling me?"


    The beauty''s black veil shifted slightly. Considering the slight wrinkling at the corners of her eyes, it was obvious that she was smiling. Just how much would he be willing to give up to see this smile?


    "I ran into a very interesting Clan a while ago. They went by the name Basteel. Their young heir had some good information, you might say."


    Ancestor Ember''s brows furrowed. The Basteel Clan? That Half-Step Sixth Order Clan of the Inner Ring? What information could they possibly have?


    "It seems that the boy went by Ryu when he entered Loom City, even taking on the ridicule of being called a no-name. What a heavy burden for a youth." The beauty sighed. "What resiliency too. He must have learned his lesson after the first time. It''s unfortunate that a released fragrance can''t easily be recaptured."


    "What are you trying to say? Stop being so mysterious."


    "It''s nothing much." The beauty said lightly. "Just that this young man isn''t nameless. His family name is¡­ Tatsuya."


    BOOM.


    Violent cracks spread beneath the meditation platform Ancestor Ember sat upon, crumbling much of his lava garden to dust.


    "What did you just say?"


    Just the name alone made him feel difficulty breathing. He felt for a moment that even if he called his flames to action, they wouldn''t obey in respect of this very name. Just what was this Tatsuya Clan? How could their Faith be so strong to the point of suppressing him at their mere mention?


    "These are things you do not need to know." The beauty said lightly. "I''ve already wiped that Basteel boy''s memory, he won''t be telling anyone else this little secret. There''ll be a time when I reclaim this debt from our little Tatsuya too¡­"


    "Stop! Stop saying that name¡­!" Ancestor Ember felt a crushing weight on his heart.


    Just what kind of existence was this boy? Who had he offended?


    A cold sweat matted his back as he suddenly had trouble breathing.


    The beauty snorted with disdain. "You''re in the Path Extinction Realm yet you can''t handle the suppression of a Clan Name. You Dao is too weak."


    Turning, the beauty slowly turned to leave. Before she disappeared, her steps paused for a moment.


    "My Moon World is in endless turmoil right now, but so is this ''Martial God'' Realm. Not everything is as peaceful as it seems on the surface. The Shrines¡­ There''s no use in telling you such things, you have no ability to understand my words.


    "The short of it is that Order breeds Chaos and Chaos breeds Order. Within this turmoil, there''ll eventually be a winner, and I plan it to be me. No one can stop me. Not the Martial Gods and not the dregs of the Tatsuya Clan.


    "Play your role well and you''ll be rewarded appropriately. Within the next century, I want this entire Plane under the control of the Ember Clan, or else of what use are you to me?"


    With that, she vanished.


    Hundreds of miles away, a bloody halberd fell for the last time, reaping the life of Peak Immortal Ring Realm expert. The young man who stood above his falling body only coldly looked on, not feeling a sense of accomplishment in the slightest.


    In the end, he sent out his corpse puppet, devouring what was left of the Peak Immortal Ring expert to ash.

 Chapter 349: Worth

    Ryu''s appearance was far less elegant than it had been just hours ago. Aside from the fact he was beaten and bloodied in several places, his gaze was dull due to an over drafting of his Spiritual Qi. It really felt that he might collapse at any moment.


    ''She didn''t breakthrough even after absorbing a Peak Immortal Ring Realm expert?'' Ryu''s brows furrowed.


    He had been hoping that Esme would experience a breakthrough. But somehow, she failed. If it wasn''t due to the fact he simply didn''t have the energy to complain any longer, he would definitely be far more disappointed.


    ''It only makes sense.'' Ailsa said lightly. ''You modelled Esme to gain strength from blood. That''s inherently a Body Realm facet ability. Mental Realm Masters have weak bodies in comparison to their Qi and Body centric counterparts. This was a predictable outcome.''


    Ryu weakly landed on Little Rock''s back. After defeating Kioshi, he hadn''t participated in the remainder of the battle, so he was far healthier than Ryu was currently.


    ''I guess I just have to accept it, then.''


    ''This isn''t necessarily a bad thing either, Little Ryu.'' Ailsa said. ''Host Minn and this Zu Ancestor could be considered to be the weakest among Immortal Ring Realm experts. The difference is quite large, even if you defeated this man, you may not necessarily defeat that Apostle beauty.''


    From the very beginning, the gap between the Connecting Heaven Realm and the Immortal Ring Realm was vast. This was for two reasons. Firstly, this was the barrier between the Mortal Realms and the Immortal Realms. One would only be considered a true Immortal after completing their first Immortal Ring.


    The second reason lay in the vast differences between Immortal Ring experts and, in specific, their Immortal Rings.


    To make a long story short, Host Minn''s Immortal Ring was of the pitiful Common Grade. Yasuo''s was of the Black Grade. As such, after their creation, they were half a meter and one meter in diameter respectively. This size and grading system worked identically with one''s Spiritual Foundation sizes.


    To put this into perspective, Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation started at the Origin Grade''s ten meter mark and doubled after every breakthrough. Likewise, Yasuo''s began at the one meter mark and doubled with every leap forward.


    There was a more complex underlying mechanism to this that was related Immortal Ring Cores formed by Pulses and Vessels opening in the Pulse Opening, Pulse Tempering, Divine Vessel, and Vessel Tempering Realm, but this was something Ryu wouldn''t put his attention toward until he began forming his first Immortal Ring.


    This was all to say that Yasuo wasn''t even the best among Black Grade Immortal Ring experts, let alone comparable to Fidroha who was of at least the Heaven Grade despite the fact her cultivation was several sub-stages lower.


    This was just the reality of talent disparity.


    ''In the same way there''s a large difference between human cultivators, it''s likewise for beasts and even your corpse puppet, Esme. The harder it is for her to shed her mortal blockers, the more powerful she will be as a Seventh Order puppet.''


    Ryu nodded before sneering. ''Then there''s no need to stay here anymore. I''m only surprised that the Ember Clan never appeared. It must be tough for that Fuoco character to keep my Heavenly Pupils a secret unto himself.''


    Ryu had not a single clue that the Basteel Clan wasn''t the only informant the black-lace veiled beauty had¡­


    **


    "You''re really going to let him go?"


    "I told you that I would make him beg for my help!"


    "If you were going to make him beg, then why did you pre-emptively stop that Ancestor Ember clown from attacking? No matter how much of a genius he is, crossing three large realms to battle is impossible, just look at how much he struggled against a fool with a Black Grade Ring. He would have definitely asked you for help then."


    "That''s only because his weapons are too lacking. I''d like to see you go back to the Divine Vessel Realm and battle someone with even a Common Grade Ring."


    "Look at you, already defending him as though he''s your son and not me."


    "If you weren''t such a good-for-nothing, I wouldn''t have to look for a new son like this! Drunkard!"


    The father and son quarreled and bashed heads for several moments before finally calming down.


    "But he doesn''t seem to be headed to the Blossom Plane like you thought, old man. It''s likely that you won''t be able to follow him to his destination."


    "It''s fine, I wasn''t planning on stalking him constantly anyway. It is indeed a bit too early for him to go to the Blossom Plane. Their influence is much stronger there than here."


    "Ah, so you know that this is stalking too. Respect, respect."


    "¡­ Boy!"


    Within the Death Worm Immortal Cave, Ryu had no idea that his battle had been watched from start to end. He had instead been letting Ailsa execute her Cultus Martial Forms on him to slowly refine his body back to peak condition.


    After Ailsa finished her laborious massage, she left to set up of the formation needed to raise one of Ryu''s Qi Sources to the Immortal Grade. Though it wouldn''t be directly useful to Ryu just yet, it would completely unleash the features of this Immortal Cave.


    ''Oh, Little Ryu, that adorable three-person family is above us right now. Do you want to take them back to the Outer Ring with you?''


    Ryu thought for a moment. His initial instinct was to say no, but in the end he sighed. It was a slight inconvenience to him, but it was of great help to them. Since he had already decided to help them, he might as well finish the job.


    Considering they caught up to them so quickly, it definitely meant that Guiot hadn''t wanted to leave too far away. If not, there was no way they could appear here. This mentality alone was worthy of respect.

 Chapter 350: Big Brother

    Guiot, his mother and his little sister could only look around in complete shock. How could they have ever seen something like an Immortal Cave before? Back in their homeland of the Outer Ring, they weren''t even large players in the twenty-seven major Sects. Gold coins were already fairly hard to come by for them, let alone the Qi Stones needed to power this monstrosity.


    After a few hours, Guiot settled down with his family in a vacant room, an inner struggle pulling him in all directions.


    How could he repay Ryu?


    Money? He didn''t have any.


    His life? How much was that really worth? For a talent on the level of Ryu, someone who could defeat an Immortal Ring Realm expert at the Divine Vessel Realm, was he even worthy of such a thing? Rather than helping, it would probably be him benefitting from such an arrangement.


    His sister''s hand? Absolutely not! Sephare was too young and what kind of elder brother would he be if he had to pawn his little sister''s future because he couldn''t repay his own debts?


    Guiot believed his limit was the Pedestal Plane, yet Ryu already stood at the pinnacle of this Plane. This left him at a complete loss.


    "Ah¡­ I should go talk to him¡­ No, I can''t bother him like this¡­ But I can''t seem ungrateful, I don''t want him to think that I expect this kind of protection¡­ I can''t impose too much, though¡­"


    Guiot paced back and forth madly. If it wasn''t for the sturdy build of this Immortal Cave, he very well might have left two parallel trenches beneath his feet.


    "Ah, forget it. I''ll go and speak to him. Even if he wants me as a corpse puppet, I''ll accept!"


    Guiot snapped awake from his thoughts to find his mother smiling and laughing at him. Gisla felt that her son was very much like his father. Everything was about the spear, so whenever they had to deal with a problem that couldn''t be solved with one, the result was very much like this meltdown she was witnessing now.


    Guiot blinked before embarrassingly scratching the back of his head.


    "Wait, where''s little Sephare?"


    The three of them had been sharing a room. Though this was a bit inappropriate, Ryu really had no other choice. This was an Immortal Cave built for experimentation, not living. This was already the only living area in the entire place that wasn''t contaminated in some form or fashion.


    So, when Guiot noticed his little sister wasn''t here, he panicked. The last thing he wanted her to do was stir up trouble.


    "Don''t worry too much." Gisla said noncommittedly.


    "She¡­"


    "It''s her choice." Gisla said with a sigh. "Your little sister isn''t a baby anymore. I was already betrothed to your father at thirteen. I had you only three years later."


    "Mom!" Guiot''s gaze reddened with anger.


    Gisla only shook her head. "If you wanted a husband for your sister, could you find someone better?"


    Guiot choked on air, unable to respond. His chest seemed pressed down by a heavy weight that was only growing larger.


    "I''m not ashamed to say this, Little Guiot. If he would have accepted me, I would have betrayed your father in this way, on this day. I may have forever been branded as a whore by our Ancestors, but I would have still protected my daughter."


    Gisla''s voice faltered and cracked, causing Guiot to enter a tailspin. Just what had happened in the last few hours?


    After pressing his mother for several minutes, he finally gained a grasp of the situation. He had been so lost in his own world trying to figure out how to repay Ryu that he had actually let his mother and sister suffer so terribly.


    Just a few hours ago, his mother left this room to see Ryu, planning to repay her with the only thing she had. Unfortunately, she was coldly rejected by Ryu with curt, emotionless words.


    What she could have never expected was that Little Sephare had followed her sensing that something was wrong and overheard their conversation.


    The tears she held back before came spilling out uncontrollably as Gisla explained Sephare''s resolve. The little girl was determined to take her mother''s place and Gisla was too weak minded to stop her.


    "How long has she been gone!"


    Guiot grasped his mother''s frail shoulders, his eyes brimming over.


    "¡­ It''s¡­ It''s been over an hour¡­"


    "I''ll¡­! I''ll kill him!"


    "Guiot, no!"


    Unfortunately, it was already too late. Guiot, in a violent rage sprinted through the Immortal Cave. He didn''t know what he going to do, he didn''t know how he could possibly best an enemy like Ryu, but he was willing to risk it all.


    "Ryu, you beast! ¨C"


    Guiot burst into the central laboratory of the Immortal Cave, standing at the edge of one of its countless honeycomb-like entrances.


    He wanted to say countless more words. He wanted to curse Ryu''s past generations and future generations. At the very least, he wanted to spew all the venom he had before he inevitably died. However, what he saw froze him in his tracks.


    The cold arrogant Ryu was¡­ smiling? His laughter was so captivating that Guiot had to remind himself several times that Ryu was a man.


    Ryu and Sephare sat on their knees. The little girl had her small tongue sticking out the side of her lips as she concentrated on the alchemy cauldron before her.


    Ryu seemed to be diligently guiding her. His alchemy knowledge was superficial, but it seemed that he was teaching how to better control and efficiently use qi.


    But this was beside the point. The iceberg was smiling!


    Whenever Sephare made a mistake, he would console her with a pat on the head and encourage her to try again. Whenever she succeeded, he would seem even more excited than she was.


    Guiot stood there stunned until the trembling footsteps of his mother came in from behind him. Then, they both stood in stunned silence until they realized over another hour later that Ryu hadn''t heard their outburst because he had cast a silencing Visualization to help Sephare focus.


    What the two didn''t know was that Ailsa, who was sitting on Ryu''s shoulder, was even more shocked than the two of them. It was only after shamelessly reading through Ryu''s memories again that she understood.


    ''He wanted to be a big brother this badly¡­?''


    Ryu''s worry for Nuri''s fate weighed so heavily on him that Ailsa''s own eyes brimmed with tears.

 Chapter 351: Demon

    "¡­ Just like that. Good!"


    Ryu smiled, lightly patting Sephare''s soft dark blond hair. He couldn''t remember the last time he felt this sort of genuine happiness. Regardless, it had been a very long time.


    "Don''t try and treat qi like a beast on a leash, think about it more like breathing. You aren''t pulling air on a rope into your lungs, rather, you''re expanding your lungs and creating a vacuum that invites air in.


    "Treat your qi just like this. You don''t have to tug, fight and pull it. Make it subconscious, a reflex you have as synonymous with yourself as taking a breath."


    Ryu''s voice was incomparably gentle, even his gaze was soft.


    When Sephare came here with such a ridiculous goal in mind, he was honestly infuriated. His fury was for this poor girl as her resolve, but rather toward her mother and brother who actually allowed such a thing to occur in the first place.


    If it wasn''t for Sephare''s pleading, Ryu would have most definitely lashed out.


    Ultimately, the little girl burst into a fit of tears, causing Ryu''s heart to soften. Through her sobs, she managed to eek out a few words. Ryu learned that much of her sadness and even her actions on this day stemmed from her being unwilling to be a burden on her family. She had even hidden the fact she was trying to learn alchemy because it was simply too expensive.


    Sephare wanted to become an alchemist because she had heard from a friend that alchemists made a lot of money. If she could become even a decent Common Grade Alchemist, she would be able to support her brother''s cultivation journey and be less of a burden.


    Unfortunately, she had a frail body and could barely become an Working Disciple of a subordinate Half-Step Fifth Order Sect. After saving up her contribution points from the time she was nine years old, she barely managed to afford an ungraded alchemy cauldron and a crude Circulation Method.


    It had been almost half a year now, but she hadn''t made any progress whatsoever, mostly because she had miscalculated¡­ Now that she had a cauldron and Circulation Method¡­ How would she afford the Spiritual Herbs she needed to practice?


    Having hid all of this from her mother and brother so as not to burden them, the little girl suddenly felt the crushing weight of the world. She had surmounted one obstacle, only for a much larger one to appear.


    Gisla and Guiot thought her to be na?ve and innocent, so they tried to protect her with all her might. But the truth was that this little girl had been fighting her own battles for a long time already.


    Ironically, it was this little thirteen-year-old girl who took a stand to defend her mother and brother this time.


    "Don''t blame mom and big brother. My brother doesn''t even know that I''m here and my mother only reluctantly let me go after I told her there was no better fate for me than becoming your woman¡­"


    Hearing such words come a small girl''s mouth, Ryu''s last bit of rage dissipated completely. It wasn''t easy for a woman in the martial world to raise her children alone like this. Gisla had made a mistake this time, but Ryu no longer hated her for it.


    ''This little girl is too pitiful¡­'' Ailsa said through tears. Whether she was crying for Ryu or Sephare had become a blurred line long ago. ''¡­ This is an unfortunate reality for her.


    ''The harm caused to a normal woman''s body giving birth to a talent on Guiot''s level is extremely high. In most cases, the mother will die during labor. The fact Gisla survived and even gave birth to a second child with her weak cultivation is near unfathomable. Unfortunately, Little Sephare paid a price for it.


    ''Her body and meridians are overly frail due to the fact her mother''s body lacked the strength to properly nurture her during gestation. The fact this little girl survived is another miracle¡­''


    How could the Cosmos not work on equivalent exchange? The higher the cultivation of the parents, the more likely they were to produce talented offspring.


    However, the Heavens didn''t cut off all paths. One''s Rites was one such example, but Soul Natures were another. But, there was a price to pay for everything, and Little Sephare was bearing some of that burden.


    ''This is enough to be worthwhile in investigating, Little Ryu. This little girl''s talent in alchemy is only a little above average for the Pedestal Plane. If she takes full advantage of your help, she would become an Earth Grade Alchemist if there weren''t any other variables.


    ''Unfortunately, her meridians are too frail, she would never be able to increase her cultivation level enough to accomplish this.''


    Ryu frowned as he continued to observe. He didn''t quite understand what was worth investigating about this. The little girl had a tragic Fate, that was all.


    ''It may seem like another closed case of the unfairness of the world, but that may not necessarily be the case.


    ''Both Gisla and Sephare have incredibly weak bodies, their vitality is much lower than what they should be for their age. Yet, they walk and interact with the world as though nothing was wrong. In fact, when you met them on their way back to the Outer Ring, the two had walked tens of miles already.''


    ''What you''re saying is that their outward vitality might be the result after losing a much higher amount?''


    ''That''s exactly right. It may be that the reason the two survived wasn''t due to luck, but rather because their vitalities were much larger than normal individuals to begin with. If that''s the case, then this isn''t a normal situation.''


    ''If there''s something special about them, wouldn''t you be able to sense it?''


    ''Not necessarily. There are many special conditions that aren''t explicitly locked into categories and grades. For example, Soul Natures have a category, that being their moniker itself, but they don''t have dividing grades among them like say Bloodlines or Bone Structures do.


    ''Another example are warriors born with Innate Strength. This isn''t classified as a particular constitution, but they do occur and one often can''t see the result without personally witnessing it.


    ''Even beyond this, there are concepts like intelligence. It''s nearly impossible to slap a label and grade onto something as abstract as this. Plus, these don''t touch things like genetic abnormalities, constitution mutations, or even first or undocumented occurrences. The world is too big.''


    ''Then what should I do to help her, then?''


    ''I''ll prepare a diet that will help her and her mother recover. It doesn''t seem like this situation is impossible to reverse, it''s just that they haven''t had the expertise or the wealth necessary to do it. Then we can simply observe what happens.''


    Ryu nodded before turning his attention back toward Little Sephare''s progress.


    Ailsa gazed toward the side of Ryu''s face and sighed deeply.


    ''Little Ryu¡­ She''ll be fine.''


    ''¡­'' Ryu remained silent for such a long time that Ailsa thought he just wouldn''t respond as he usually did. However, he, to Ailsa''s shock, spoke again.


    ''The person I feel the most guilty toward is Big Sister Nuri. I at least said goodbye to Elena¡­ But I know Nuri will take it the hardest¡­ She was tasked with protecting me, yet I died. Even if it wasn''t her fault, she will still blame herself¡­.


    ''¡­ She had better be alive, because if she''s dead¡­ I really will become a Demon.''


    The human-skinned tome in Ryu''s inner space vibrated before falling to rest.

 Chapter 352: Human?

    "So delicious!"


    Little Sephare munched away on her food, her small legs swinging happily. It was as though Ryu didn''t notice her mother and elder brother at all. They were much less pleasing to his gaze ¨C Gisla for actually allowing her daughter to do such a thing, and Guiot for not paying enough attention.


    What would have happened had Ryu been a demon who wouldn''t even let a thirteen-year-old little girl go? Wouldn''t Little Sephare''s life be ruined? He couldn''t easily forgive such a thing.


    Guiot himself was both embarrassed and stunned. He had profusely apologized to Ryu for his previous assumptions already, but what stunned him was Ryu''s major personality shift. He felt that he knew too little about Ryu, but how could he? After all, they had only just met each other.


    The person truly the most shocked was Ailsa. She was still having trouble wrapping her head around a kind, smiling Ryu.


    The weeks ticked by.


    The journey from the Core Region to the Outer Ring was quite a long one, but with an Immortal Cave, and considering the Pedestal Plane was the smallest of the Immortal Planes, it should have only taken half a month at most. This time would have been even shorter if Ailsa lay the formation necessary to upgrade one Mortal Qi Source to an Immortal Qi Source.


    However, Ryu and Ailsa purposely slowed their pace in order to see what kind of special abilities a healthy Sephare had. The results were quite intriguing.


    As Sephare''s vitality grew, her talent seemed to grow proportionally as well. This made sense and would be true for anyone, in reality.


    When a body''s vitality was low, much of its energy was geared toward sustenance. Everything from blood flow to digestion was slower in such a state.


    Once vitality was normal, the body could then spare the needed energy for less ''essential'' tasks. As a result, Sephare broke through a bottleneck, entering the Sixth Awakening Realm. The little girl was ecstatic, smiling so brightly it seemed her cheeks might pop.


    It was then that Ryu notice Sephare''s Spiritual Foundation was decent. Actually, Ryu''s standard of decent would make Little Sephare a genius of the Core Region. Her Spiritual Foundation was 64 meters across at the Sixth Awakening Realm. That meant she had an Earth Grade Spiritual Foundation!


    From this, Ryu understood why she was overlooked. Even though such talent made her a genius, Spiritual Foundations simply weren''t very important to the Pedestal Plane, so they often didn''t bother to check it at all.


    The unfortunate truth was that the Spiritual Foundation didn''t truly display its prowess until the Dao Pedestal Realm. It was then separations in grade divided those with talent and those without. The problem then became obvious. Who on the Pedestal Plane could reach such a high standard? Why bother with it at all, then?


    That said, one''s Spiritual Foundation wasn''t useless at lower Realms. For example, the Qi Fumes of the Pulse Opening Realm wafted from one''s Spiritual Foundation.


    Once Little Sephare entered the Pulse Opening Realm, her true talent would start to shine forth. It was just a shame that her body had been too frail to progress until now.


    Aside from this, one''s constitutions were interconnected and could build off of each other. This was why mutations could occur. So, even though Sephare''s meridians were normal, they would benefit greatly from her Spiritual Foundation, making them sturdier than others.


    Still, none of this was out of the normal. Ryu just felt he could breathe easy now. If he brought Little Sephare to the Awoken Moon Sect, they''d have an Inheritor who could replace Melody. Sephare would even be able to lead them to the Core Region one day.


    "Really, Big Brother Ryu?" Sephare''s big eyes sparkled, her small hands grabbing onto Ryu''s. "I can enter a Fifth Order Sect? Really, really?"


    "Of course. If you work hard, you can even become their Inheritor. Your Spiritual Foundation is of the Earth Grade, so your future is bright."


    Gilsa and Guiot gasped when they heard this.


    The Earth Grade? Such an evaluation was so high they felt faint. In the Outer Region, having any sort of ranked constitution was something a Clan could celebrate for generations, even if it was of the Common Grade.


    "Honestly, you are too good for the Outer Ring. But, the Awoken Moon Sect are people that can be trusted. It''s also a female-only Sect, so you will be comparatively safer. I''ll have the Castle Master take you in as a disciple."


    Sephare almost started crying. If it wasn''t because she didn''t want to be anymore of a burden, she really would have. All she wanted was the ability to support her brother and mother, yet it had actually come so easily?


    "That bad old lady. She told me that my Spiritual Foundation was a little bit better than others, but that it was useless."


    Ryu''s expression darkened. So it seemed others had already noticed and likely pressed Sephare down due to jealousy. It was a lucky thing that Guiot had at least been of the Spiritual Severing Realm, enough to be an elder of Sephare''s Sect, or else her fate would have likely been even more tragic.


    Ryu sent a glare toward Guiot, his frigid gaze piercing the latter''s heart.


    Guiot shivered, wondering for a moment who really was Sephare''s blood brother. But then he was overwhelmed by guilt. He spent so much of his hours off training that he didn''t consider the details of his little sister''s plights. He hadn''t even known Sephare joined a Sect until months after the fact.


    Like this, Ryu became more determined to have Sephare enter the Awoken Moon Sect. As for her previous Sect, would they dare to quibble with a Fifth Order hegemon?


    The days ticked by and Sephare and her mother grew healthier and healthier. Even Guiot seemed to improve thanks to the high quality food. But, this could only be expected. Ailsa had perfectly tailored their diets to maximize the benefits. Guiot especially consumed many soul nourishing foods.


    Still, though everything was trending well, Ailsa couldn''t help but feel a bit weird about it all.


    ''The mother has such great vitality, yet she''s a mortal? Hold on a moment, how is it possible for a person without cultivation to live long enough for their son to reach the Spiritual Severing Realm? And to also have enough vitality to give birth to another child just thirteen years ago? How is that possible?


    ''Also, the little girl''s qi control talent seems to be improving disproportionately to her Spiritual Foundation Grade, but I don''t sense anything unusual about her other Pillars.


    ''It''s almost like¡­ She''s not human?''


    Different species had different innate talents. An average talent for a human was not the same as an average talent among beasts or Faeries or any number of other existences. Sephare''s rise back to her baseline talent didn''t make sense for a normal human.


    But¡­ what if she wasn''t?

 Chapter 353: Well

    The Awoken Moon Sect was in great spirits. Despite the harsh winters they experienced every day, the bright smiles didn''t leave the faces of the fairies of the Outer Ring.


    They had received great news just over a month ago. Not only had Heiress Melody received a spot from the Apostles, their Throne, Ryu, had appeared in grand fashion as well. He handily defeated Throne Byrine and even killed an Apostle Candidate!


    Faith wasn''t always a tangible thing. However, this was mostly the case when it rose slowly. It was difficult to see its affects when it took centuries and even millennia for significant improvement to be made.


    Still, there were always exceptions to the rule. The most excellent of Thrones could steal Faith for their Sect at speed unimaginable under normal circumstances. While everyone was happy that their Inheritor was also impressive in her own right, the benefits given by Ryu''s success were much more immediate.


    First, Castle Master Toria suddenly broke through her bottleneck of several decades to enter the Connecting Heaven Realm. Now, the Awoken Moon Sect had not just one Connecting Heaven Realm expert, but two! Just like that, their slow but steady trend downward halted, reversing direction.


    Following that, several elders who had been stuck at the Spiritual Severing Realm for many years broke through as well, entering the Divine Vessel Realm. The Sect went from having ten Divine Vessel Realm experts and one Connecting Heaven Realm expert, to suddenly having fifteen Divine Vessel Realm experts and two Connecting Heaven Realm Ancestors!


    This seemed like only the beginning.


    In addition to these things, the Sect had given birth to three Common Grade and a Black Grade talent in just the last year. Elder Glirn, their Head Alchemist, had succeeded in entering the Half-Step Heaven Grade, matching the greatest Alchemists on the Pedestal Plane. On top of this, they had managed to find a Small Realm swimming in resources.


    No matter how intangible Faith was, only a fool wouldn''t understand that this was all in thanks to Ryu. Their fortunes seemed to have turned its head in just a two-year time frame. How could they not be grinning ear to ear?


    Today, Ryu brought them an even greater gift. The elders fawned to the point of their teeth shining bright at the sight of Little Sephare.


    The little girl, who was very much unused to be praised by so many people, buried her head shyly behind Ryu''s sleeve, only peeking up every so often.


    "Little Ryu, it seems that having you as a Throne has been the greatest gift of our Awoken Moon Sect. I only regret that we cannot help you more¡­"


    Castle Master Toria sighed from her ice throne, looking on toward Ryu with a complicated gaze. She could faintly feel that he was already far more powerful than she was. In fact, she didn''t need to guess. The reports about him defeating Edwin were clear enough. She wasn''t enough to even shine his shoes any longer.


    Ryu shook his head. "I only do what I must. The Awoken Moon Sect and I have some Fate together, so it''s only right that I do my part."


    Toria sighed, knowing that she couldn''t say much else. With Melody heading off to the Blossom Plane, Ryu had even managed to find them an Inheritor talented enough to take her place.


    Sometimes, having an Inheritor that was too talented was only a detriment to the Sect. In such a case, the talent would grow far quicker than the Sect could keep up with. When this happened, the talent would have no choice but to spread their wings and go off on their own.


    Originally, Melody had also been an Earth Grade talent. But, after her sister died, her constitution became complete and entered the Heaven Grade.


    In truth, these were only Toria''s ignorant thoughts. The reality was that Melody''s talent had only paused at the Heaven Grade for a moment before shooting up toward the Sovereign Grade. The Blossom Plane wouldn''t be likely to hold her for long either.


    Still, the effective truth was still the same. Melody could no longer be their Inheritor, but this little Sephare was perfect. In fact, Elder Glirn had already taken a great liking to her after sensing her great qi control. She would be able to learn under one of the best Alchemists of the Pedestal Plane.


    "Still, thank you." After recollecting herself, she smiled. She had become much younger after breaking through, so she seemed to be at the prime of her youth. "It''s a regret that Ancestor isn''t able to come out of seclusion. She is very old already, so her entire focus is on preserving her vitality. My breakthrough is a great burden off of her shoulders, there was a moment when we believed we would fall from the ranks of Fifth Order Sect."


    Though she explained it simply, it really could have been far worse. The difference in status between a Fifth Order and Half-Step Fifth Order Sect was too large. Had their Ancestor died before her breakthrough, their disciples would have most definitely been in danger.


    Ryu smiled lightly.


    Though he didn''t explain why, he would always help the Awoken Moon Sect. They were a subordinate Clan of his mother''s Ice Phoenix Clan. It was his responsibility to look after them. In the future, they would understand his intentions.


    "Alright, that''s enough of this old woman talking your ears off." Toria laughed brightly. "The eclipse will begin in just a few hours. Are you prepared?"


    Ryu nodded firmly, his expression turning cold once more.


    "Big Brother Ryu." Sephare tugged on his sleeve. "Do you really have to go?"


    Ryu''s gaze softened, patting Sephare''s head lightly.


    "Work hard. I won''t be gone forever, of course I''ll come back and see you."


    Sephare pouted, but in the end, she nodded obediently. She had only known Ryu for a short time, but had already grown attached to him. He was the first person to treat her so well outside of her brother, mother and late father. The affect of his simple acts of kindness left a permanent print on her heart.


    "¡­ Before you go." Toria hesitated before her features steeled with resolve. "Take this with you. I can''t explain much simply because I don''t know enough, but I''m sure that it will be of help."


    Toria took off the blue marble ring on her finger. Considering the shocked expressions of the elders around the iced grand hall, it was obvious how important this ring was.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed slightly as he stepped forward to accept it. Without hesitation, he slipped it onto his finger.


    In that moment, his Ice Phoenix Bloodline surged uncontrollably as though it was eager to spill out of him. Hidden from the gaze of everyone, a cut manifested beneath the arc of the ring as Ryu''s blood was greedily swallowed by it.


    The Castle of ice shook, the mighty call of a phoenix causing the skies to tremble.


    A light snowfall suddenly became heavy, the temperature plummeting along with its every fallen flake.


    The odd changes only lasted for a moment before settling down once more, however Toria''s heart vibrated fiercely as her gaze seemed to border on infatuation when it met Ryu''s own. It seemed that in that moment, she had finally understood something.


    Ryu smiled lightly, neither confirming nor denying Toria''s speculations.


    "I''ll keep it well."

 Chapter 354 - Enemies

    "Ryu!"


    The sound of a shout breathed out through huffing and puffing reached Ryu''s ears.


    The location of the teleportation array to the Moon World was quite sensitive. So, only the Castle Master could escort Ryu. In order to say goodbye to Little Sephare, Ryu had led her out of the Awoken Moon Sect''s central Castle along with their now fifteen elders. Though, he hadn''t expected to find Guiot standing here.


    Since the Sect was female-only, Guiot wasn''t allowed to move around freely. The fact he was here meant that he had likely broken some rules to rush over here. That said, considering all of the Divine Vessel Realm and above experts had been meeting with Ryu, there really was no one else powerful enough to stop him anyway.


    As though confirming Ryu''s speculations, a host of Outer and Inner Sect Elders were found rushing after Guiot. Judging by the displeased and tired expressions on their faces, there were none too happy about his actions.


    Seeing that the situation may go badly, Guiot immediately lowered his head and bowed sincerely. In fact, his forehead nearly touched the floor despite the fact his lower half was standing upright.


    "I''m sorry, I know I''ve broken the rules of your Sect, but I wouldn''t be able to forgive myself if I didn''t ask. Please take me with you, Throne Ryu!"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. At the same time, it seemed Castle Master Toria was more inclined to wait for Ryu''s response because she stopped the flow of incoming ladies with a wave of her fair hand.


    Unfortunately for Guiot, Ryu wasn''t very fond of the idea. He didn''t particularly dislike Guiot, but his mind was entirely focused on saving his family. He needed to push himself to his limits constantly. It was a day to day grind. If he had to account for someone so much weaker than him at the same time, it would slow down his progress too much.


    However, equally as unfortunately for Ryu, before he could reject, Ailsa spoke covertly to him.


    ''You should accept his request.''


    ''Why?'' Ryu couldn''t help but frown. He really didn''t like the idea.


    If it was Melody, he''d probably accept. For one, he still wanted to repay Granny Miriam. And, secondly, Melody may very well be more powerful that his current self, so she wouldn''t be a burden. However, Guiot had none of these things going for him.


    ''It will benefit you. Those with Soul Natures are different in that they can also have an impact on the environment around them. The entire purpose of the soul or the Mental Realm is communication with the Heavens.


    ''When you Visualize, you use runes that represent the fundamental laws of the Heavens. When you comprehend an Inheritance, it''s your Mental Realm that acts as a bridge to the Faith of said Inheritance to call down upon Essence to increase your strength. Etcetera, etcetera.


    ''For those with Soul Natures, the Heavens is blessing them with comprehension, but it''s fundamentally an external source. As such, it has a faint effect on the environment around them.


    ''For most, it would be impossible to take advantage of this. But, you have the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Being around someone with a Soul Nature, you''ll be able to see things others don''t. Maybe eventually, if you grasp the truths enough, you''ll be able to incorporate them into your own strength.''


    Ryu''s frown eased hearing these words. He didn''t just take Ailsa''s word for it because he could very clearly see it himself.


    After over a month, Ryu realized that it really would be impossible to turn [Ephemeral Tapestry] off, so the world had suddenly become a constant bright swirl of colors to him.


    At first, he thought it would be annoying, but after a few days, he felt that it had become an inseparable part of him. He no longer wanted it to go away.


    This aside, Ryu could very clearly see something unique about Guiot. Whereas qi mostly ignored everyone else, it seemed to ''linger'' around Guiot for a moment longer, as though enjoying his presence more than it did others.


    There was also something curious about Little Sephare. For her, the qi seemed denser and more filtered, as though there was a very specific type of qi that had a great affinity with her.


    If this ability continued to evolve, there would likely come a day where Ryu could see through the limits and abilities of an opponent without exchanging even a single blow.


    "Alright. I accept." Ryu said slowly. "However, it will be very dangerous. The Moon World was once ruled by the Awoken Moon Sect. As a result, it had structure and order. But now that the Awoken Moon Sect hasn''t had the strength to oversee its matters for a while now, it''s likely bred a dangerous atmosphere."


    "I --."


    "Hold on, let me finish." Ryu wanted Guiot to truly understand what kind of world he was entering. "The Moon World is one of extreme yin. If it''s not policed properly, Yin Beasts and Wraiths will proliferate and populate. The potential of these creatures is far beyond the Ninth Order the Awoken Moon Sect once was, so in order to maintain control, the Sect had to stunt their growth before they reached their true strength.


    "The world we''re entering now could very well be filled with enemies far beyond our means to handle. Are you still certain you want to enter with me?"


    "Yes!"


    Guiot seemed to think that if he hesitated for even a moment, he would lose this opportunity, so he rushed to accept. He knew from the beginning that this would ultimately be a journey fraught with danger. Even if he didn''t know that he might have to face Ninth Order Yin Beasts or Tenth Order Yin Wraiths, did it really make a difference?


    He knew from the beginning that any enemy that could challenge Ryu would be of at least the Immortal Ring Realm. In fact, maybe this was just the low standard of the Pedestal Plane. Who knew if there were Connecting Heaven Realm experts who could match Ryu?


    However, what Guiot knew without a doubt was that whether it was such an expert or one far more powerful, any one of them could defeat him with a single look. So why fret over the semantics of their exact strength? Since he had decided to do this, he would do it!


    "Alright, since you agree, I have a mission for you."


    "Anything!"


    "Taking you along will be expensive. Since you''re a Divine Vessel Realm expert, it will cost me ten Higher Immortal Qi Stones. By the end of the journey, you need to earn this amount on your own and return it to me."


    Guiot''s mouth hung open, completely unable to answer for a moment. This might have sounded like a simple task to Ryu, but to Guiot, he would have to shed blood, sweat and tears before he gathered even a single Lower Immortal Qi Stone, let alone a single Higher Immortal Qi Stone worth a million times that.


    Toria smiled lightly, feeling a bit of pity for this young man. Their Throne was really too cold.


    Taking a deep breath, Guiot settled himself. "Alright, I''ll do it!"


    "Good. Let''s go then."


    The separation was quite a bit more involved that Ryu would have liked. But, since he was quite fond of Little Sephare, he didn''t mind waiting several moments while she tearfully bade her brother farewell.


    Gisla was also brought over. She held her son''s forearms so tightly that her own arms started to quake. She tried her best not to cry, but the worry kept bubbling over in her heart. What if she lost her son just like she lost her husband?


    Ryu watched on with a hidden complexity in his own heart. Guiot''s family might have been small, and he might have also suffered losses in his life, but he at the very least still had people who loved him remaining.


    Ryu''s resolve inwardly steeled several times over. There would come a day where he slaughtered the Martial Gods and brought his family back together.


    Touching his own heart, his breathing became as steady as the surface of a lake.


    Soon, he would be able to enter the Soul Birth Realm. Soon, he would be able to tell his wife that he was alive. Soon¡­ He would be able to let Elena know that she wouldn''t have to wait much longer.


    After the small family of three finally separated, Toria took Ryu and Guiot to disappear into the Castle grounds.


    They travelled into its depths, going down nine floors levels to leave them over a hundred meters beneath the surface.


    The room they entered was filled with a grand ice-blue array. Guiot''s teeth clattered, barely stopping his bones from freezing over.


    The so-called ''eclipse'' Ryu referred to was an eclipse of worlds. The Moon Realm and Shrine Realm would enter an alignment very soon that placed them the closest they could be in a hundred-year cycle. As a result of this, their moons and suns would intersect, casting a shadow upon both worlds.


    Time ticked by before it finally occurred.


    The ice blue room trembled slightly, their lines that etched its complex array growing brighter as the temperature plummeted. Ryu had no choice but to put a hand on Guiot''s shoulder just to stop him from becoming an ice cube.


    "Thank you, Castle Master." Ryu said with a nod. "Stay safe until I return."


    Without another word, Ryu brought Guiot forward, leaving a beauty with a very complicated gaze behind. In a flash, they disappeared. ;


    Ryu''s vision blurred, a slight dizziness taking hold of him. It had been very long since he took such a long-distance teleportation formation. He couldn''t help but use his free hand to touch his forehead, trying to regain his bearings.


    The first sense Ryu regained wasn''t his sight, but was rather his hearing.


    Inexplicably, the sounds of clashing metal and harsh roars filled his ears. By the time his gaze cleared, he was rendered speechless.


    Why the hell was he in the middle of a battlefield? No, more importantly, why the hell did that damned formation send him here?


    Suddenly, as the only unknown, Ryu and Guiot became enemies of both sides.

 Chapter 355 - So Far

    Ryu''s cold gaze swept across the battlefield even as his hand tightened on Guiot''s shoulder. A glaive appeared in his other hand, breaking the attack of a soldier who attacked him without hesitation and leaping into the air.


    The moment he did so, Ryu knew he had made a mistake. An onslaught of arrays assaulted him from every angle, attempting to burn him and Guiot to ash.


    Ryu had never been on a battlefield before. But, he knew what these arrays were. They were the protective mechanisms of the two armies. Only those who were sufficiently powerful would dare to enter the air like this. But, those who were so powerful usually wouldn''t act in a battle of this scale because their abilities were too devastating. The battle between such entities would be decided on a different field.


    It was in the best interest of both armies that the battle continued on the ground. If flight was allowed, it would be far easier for stronger cultivators to pick off the weaker ones. In the case that an army was trying to raise a group of youths by helping them gain experience, it would be too easy for them to be assassinated.


    These reasons were just the tip of the iceberg. But the ultimate conclusion was that battles of this scale were usually littered with these aerial arrays, meant to shoot down anyone brazen enough to enter the air. And now, they were all targeting Ryu and Guiot.


    Ryu''s gaze turned colder. The easiest thing to do would be to toss Guiot into his Incubator. But, if he was willing to do this, he would have already done so and saved himself the Qi Stones he spent on him coming here. Obviously he wasn''t comfortable with Guiot knowing about such a great treasure.


    Despite the situation, blasts of multi-colored qi assaulting him from all sides like beaming lasers, Ryu felt inwardly satisfied. This was exactly what he had come here for. If this Moon World wasn''t at least this dangerous, it would be a waste of his time.


    It was suffice to say that seeing a young man enter the sky so brazenly, both sides were stunned. In fact, since they had no idea who Ryu was, they took turns pointing and laughing at the other side for having such a foolish soldier on their side.


    "Rule."


    Ryu''s voice deeply rumbled.


    A vast barrier of ice bloomed around Ryu, the pillar of an immortal tree protecting him from all sides.


    The violent booms of detonating arrays colliding against his [Immortal Sakura] from all sides was deafening. The battle below could only stop for a moment so that they could take measures to protect themselves.


    As the smoke slowly cleared, many believed that they would see two corpses. But, what they instead saw was one shivering young man, and another who seemed to be in a sorry state, blood dripping from his lips and his face pale.


    Ryu coughed out a mouthful of blood, sweeping another gaze across the battlefield.


    Without another moment of hesitation, he shot into the air. The only way to avoid another assault was by ascending much higher than the arrays were set. Of course, the prerequisite for this method to work was surviving the first assault.


    Little Rock appeared below Ryu and Guiot just when Ryu felt he couldn''t hang on any longer. Shooting off into the distance, the beautiful silver-scaled Lightning Hawk disappeared from the battlefield in the blink of an eye, leaving both sides stunned.


    Who was that young man? How had he survived an onslaught only Path Extinction Realm experts could shrug off? Whose side was he on?


    These questions could only continue for a small while before the battle was forced to erupt once more.  It was hard to tell just how far the story of this white-haired young man would spread. But, it most definitely wouldn''t be barred to this battlefield.


    **


    Ryu grimaced.


    With his Life Flame having reached the Ruler Realm and being followed by a saturation of his Ice Phoenix Blood, his healing factor was far more robust than it had been in the past. So, though he was in a bad state, he was still fairly confident in recovering in a few days.


    Those warriors on the battlefield were right. Only Path Extinction Realm experts should have survived that onslaught. Obviously, Ryu didn''t have the defensive abilities of such an expert. He only survived for a few reasons.


    One, his [Ethereal Tapestry]. Second, his expertise in formation theory. And, lastly, his [Immortal Sakura]. Without all three, he wouldn''t have been a corpse before he even lasted a single minute in his Moon World. What a joke that would have been.


    Hours later, Ryu managed to stabilize his injuries and slowly sat up.


    "Are you alright?" Guiot finally spoke. He hadn''t wanted to bother Ryu before, but now that he saw Ryu moving, he thought that asking was the least he could do.


    In truth, guilt was all but eating him alive. He had come here with such brazen confidence, yet he had almost died in the first instant. Had it not been for Ryu, he really could be dead. In fact, he was certain that if it hadn''t been for his presence, Ryu would have gotten out relatively unscathed.


    "It''s not a problem." Ryu replied emotionlessly. "Just bad luck."


    "¡­ What should we do first?"


    "It seems that the Moon World is in a constant state of war if that battle is anything to go by. So, there will be many opportunities to come. I personally want to join a Necromancer Guild. It will obviously be impossible for you to follow me, so you''ll eventually have to find a path for yourself."


    Guiot nodded. He didn''t feel dissatisfied with Ryu''s words. After all, he had tagged along uninvited.


    "But first, I would like to open my second Body Vessel." Ryu said. "For that, we''ll be heading to quite a dangerous place where Yin Lightning Beasts reside."


    That''s to entering the Ruler Realm in three of his flames, Ryu''s Fire Dragon and two Phoenix Bloodlines had already reached saturation within the first Body Vessel. He needed to reach saturation in his Lightning Qilin Bloodline, and thus reach fifty million jin of strength, if he wanted to attack his second Body Vessel.


    Ryu learned the hard way just how many kinds of lightning qis there were when his body was ravaged by Immortal Qi during his battle with Youkai. He knew that the Lightning Qilin was a Yang Lightning beast, so absorbing Yin Lightning wouldn''t be very efficient. But, he could only work with what he had.


    The good news was that Ryu was very familiar with the Moon World. Even if the factions and powers were likely very different from what he remembered, at the very least, the major geographic locations should be the same. As long as that was true, he wouldn''t have a problem navigating.


    A Half-Step Path Extinction Realm expert would have 100 million jin of strength.. If he opened his second Body Vessel¡­ it wouldn''t be so far from his grasp any longer.

 Chapter 356 - Second Ranked Heavenly Pupils

    [Sorry for the lack of chapters yesterday guys, something came up that had to be resolved before I could write. Anyhoo, without getting into details, we''re back in action]


    "Don''t move too far from Nemesis." Ryu reminded Guiot. "Flying in this region is definitely not an option as well, so even as a last resort, think of something else."


    Guiot nodded, following as closely as the red maned horse would allow. Nemesis was quite temperamental when it came to dealing with others, so Guiot didn''t dare approach too closely, staying within about three meters.


    Much like the rest of the Moon World, their current location was practically buried beneath several feet of snow. Only by circulating some lightness techniques could one manage to stop themselves from sinking several inches with every step.


    Ryu didn''t have to do such things thanks to his Northern Heavenly Wind making him as light as a feather. But Guiot didn''t have such luxury. He could only alternate between training his movement techniques and suffering through the brutal cold.


    The Moon World was shrouded by a perpetual winter. As a pure yin world, it was not only known for its Yin Beasts, but also its terrible cold. As though this wasn''t already dangerous enough, Ryu was slowly inching toward the territory of Yin Lightning Beasts.


    One had to remember that this was no longer the Mortal Plane. A Sixth Order Beast was likely the worst Ryu would have to contend with on the Pedestal Plane. However, in the Moon World, though it was ranked lower than Ryu''s Shrine Realm, it was still very possible for Ninth Order Beasts to appear. In fact, without the regulation of the Awoken Moon Sect, Ryu predicted that several Tenth Order Beasts had likely been born in his absence.


    ''Little Ryu, I sense something pretty good.'' Ailsa''s gaze suddenly lit up.


    Unlike Guiot, Ryu didn''t feel much in the face of this cold. It wasn''t nearly enough to make him uncomfortable, so his entire focus was on scanning his surroundings. In a place like this, he didn''t dare to release the full range of his Spiritual Sense. Powerful beasts would immediately pick up on it and target him.


    So, it was sufficient to say that Ailsa''s words were the last thing he expected to hear in this situation.


    ''And what''s that?''


    ''Griffins.''


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. Griffins? They were Ancient Beasts on the same level as Dragons, Phoenixes or Rocs. It was such an exclusive class of existences, what would they be doing here? And Ailsa seemed to imply that there was more than one of them? And in such a low-level world at that?


    It had to be said that though Ancient Beasts were driven out of Ryu''s Shrine Realm, it didn''t mean that they couldn''t exist elsewhere. It was just that the main core of their race was eradicated by Ryu''s Ancestors. It could even be said that the aftereffects of that war was precisely why the Shrine Realm, though being among the top echelon of worlds, wasn''t of the absolute elite.


    The secrets behind that war and the transition from the Ancient Beast Era to the Sky God Era were things that Ryu had spent a lot of time studying. But even he didn''t have the full breadth of answers.


    To make a long story short, Ancient Beasts had mostly been in hibernation since then¡­ So why?


    Aside from this obvious question, if they really were here, Ryu should be doing his best to run in the opposite direction. They would most definitely sense his Ancient Beast Blood. And, for obvious reasons, humans having noble beast blood was a massive taboo to the Ancient Beasts. Why was Ailsa saying that this was a good thing?


    ''All Ancient Beasts have their traditions. Like you''ve probably guessed, after the wars fought in your Shrine Realm, the number of them is incredibly scarce. However¡­ You probably also know that there are many prophecies that tell of their return.''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Even Eska, the Immortal Sakura Sky God, had said something about this. In fact, she claimed her actions were semi-related to a prophecy of this kind.


    It wasn''t that prophesying the future was impossible, but it was rather that it was never 100% accurate. Much like Ryu''s [Lines of Fate] technique, they always worked in percentages.


    ''The Griffins have their own special practices. At birth, they have something similar to the Awakenings humans have when they turn seven years of age. Those above a certain threshold will be allowed to remain with the main Clan, those below will have to prove themselves in other ways. They''re often sent to lower-level worlds like this one and are tasked with becoming its ruler within a certain number of years.


    ''Should they succeed, they can return to the main Clan while the Griffins gain yet another piece of territory. If they fail, they can join a branch Clan if and only if they eventually succeed in taking control of the world they were sent to.''


    ''You sensed a Griffin taking their trial?''


    ''No, I sensed something even better. I found a Griffin egg that was just dropped off for their trial likely not even a month ago. In fact, its cracking out of its shell as we speak.''


    ''Lead the way.'' Ryu said without hesitation.


    Ryu didn''t care if this Griffin was expelled from its Clan for having weak talent. Little Rock, as an example, wouldn''t even be allowed into a branch Clan. Yet, he was a treasured ally for Ryu. Nemesis was even a step worse than that as a beast with a Black Grade lineage.


    In addition to this, Little Rock had an incredibly small wisp of Ancestral Grade Blood, yet it manifested itself as an Earth Grade Bloodline equivalent. The little guy was even very close to reaching the Heaven Grade under Ailsa''s care.


    But, any Griffin born to the main Clan would be of the Sovereign Grade at worst. A beast of such value falling into his lap in thanks to Ailsa was almost inconceivable.


    Still, even this was only a small portion of the reason Ryu didn''t hesitate to hook Guiot under his arm and leap onto Nemesis'' back, shooting into the distance like a red blur.


    The abilities of the Griffin were legendary.


    For one, their feathers could cure any poison, curse or afflicted disease. Secondly, they had incredibly sensitive senses and were born with Innate Spiritual Sense. This ability made them very good at finding treasures and navigating Ruins. Though Ailsa was good at finding natural geographical treasures, a Griffin could leave her in the dust when it came to manmade treasures.


    However, none of these reasons were enough for Ryu to disregard his safety and charge straight toward where Ailsa''s finger pointed.


    There was a legend Ryu had read many years ago that told of the origin of Heavenly Pupils. If he had followed the breadcrumbs properly, he was certain that the second ranked Heavenly Pupils, the World Eyes, originated from the Griffin Clan!


    Every Griffin, no matter how weak, would be born with some version of these pupils.. The stronger their Bloodline, the stronger their visual prowess. How could Ryu possibly give up a chance to have two of the strongest pairs of eyes by his side?

 Chapter 357 - Begun

    Nemesis glided across the thick snow, his mane fluttering. It had been a long time since he could run so freely, so to say that he was happy was an understatement. Though there was a lot of space in the Incubator, it ultimately had defined edges.


    Ryu held Guiot under his arm tightly, his gaze narrowing with an extra bit of seriousness.


    He knew that his actions were incredibly reckless. There was a reason he had been proceeding so slowly to this point. However, he knew that there was something Ailsa left out of her story: the death rate amongst Griffins who had to take this trial was obscenely high. Not even 1% would survive.


    The blood of Ancient Beasts was a delicacy to normal beasts and even others of their kind. Running into an infant Griffin was a lucky windfall for even a Tenth Order beast. There was no way they''d let the baby Griffin go after it hatched. Especially since¡­


    A pillar of light shot into the sky, separating the perpetual cloud cover that snowed year ''round.


    Ryu''s own birth had come with an auspicious sign that covered the whole of the Shrine Realm. The birth of a Sovereign beast in such a small world would have no less of a profound impact.


    Ryu''s gaze kept shifting from Guiot who was in his arms to the path before him and back again. Gritting his teeth, he made a decision and finally threw Guiot into his Incubator''s world. The tradeoff of handing over this secret versus the value of a baby Griffin was more than worth it.


    Ryu knew that even if he got lucky and no Ninth and Tenth Order beasts appeared, it was a foolish wish for him to desire the same to occur for Eighth and Seventh Order beasts. Existences of that level were too ubiquitous in this world.


    If he didn''t pull out all the stops, he would have no chance. And this was especially so if he had a burden like Guiot by his side.


    However, he did have three advantages. For one, he was relatively close, or else Ailsa wouldn''t have been able to sense it. Second, he had moved first. Other beasts would have to either luck into the egg or converge after its birth phenomenon, but Ailsa''s sharp senses had caught onto it just as the hatching process began. And, finally, his Ice Jade Crystal Body''s ''Friend of Beasts'' ability would most definitely come into play.


    Any beast with Ancient Blood would have an eversion to him due to his Bloodline. After all, even Little Rock battled him before becoming his partner. However, he just might be able to mitigate this with his Bone Structure.


    Ryu patted Nemesis'' neck, sending him back into the Incubator and shooting forward himself. Nemesis simply wasn''t a beast known for his speed. Ryu had only been using him to mask his scent as a human, but now it wasn''t necessary anymore.


    A cloak covered his body as he crossed over several mountain ranges. His speed was blinding, it felt that even without his cloak, it would be almost impossible to lay eyes on him.


    ''¡­ My eyes¡­ are more powerful than I thought¡­''


    Ryu weaved around territories that had lingering qi from beasts far stronger than himself. He could see their residual energy hanging in the air, flickering with the dark sinister aura of yin attributed energy. It was as easy as reading a map.


    Barely five minutes later, Ryu finally crossed into the mountain peak looking down on the valley the egg had been left in.


    He suddenly realized that he had another advantage he hadn''t thought of until now. Natural Phenomena had a certain level of protection that came with them. Those with lineages too weak would never be able to approach one so closely. However, the suppression they felt was entirely shrugged off by him!


    ''There are others¡­'' Ryu''s gaze narrowed, a halberd slowly making its way into his hands.


    ''Others'' was an understatement. There were hundreds of beasts of all shapes and sizes all around. They had furs of deep blacks and blues, some soared through the skies with a flap of their wings, and others growled on the ground as though to prepare themselves for the coming battle.


    There was nothing more ingrained in the bestial psyche than evolution and progress. Even if it cost them their lives, they would fight to the bitter end for a chance at rising to the top of the world. It was this mentality that both made them among the strongest and most scarce species in all of existence. At least, the most powerful of them were rare, anyway.


    Ryu wasn''t surprised by this result. Though he was ''close'', he couldn''t have possibly been so lucky to be the closest. Considering how long it took for him to get here with his level of speed, there were most definitely several beasts between him and the egg.


    It seemed that despite the fact he had only been in this world for a few days, he would already have to put his life on the line for the second time¡­


    ''This is really the phenomenon of a beast they discarded? Beasts are indeed cruel in their pursuit of evolution¡­'' Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    The birth of a Sovereign Grade talent was celebrated even on the Shrine Plane. Yet, the Griffins had tossed it aside. If humans had to face such an enemy again one day¡­


    Ryu''s jaw set.


    He jumped, free falling from the mountain''s peak.


    Ryu knew he couldn''t allow this stalemate to continue. The more chaotic it was, the better chance he had. He was certain that not only were far more powerful beasts on their way here, but the human experts wouldn''t allow such an event to go without their interference either.


    His aura surged.


    With so many beasts on edge, the sudden addition of Ryu''s actions were like a spark to a powder keg.


    His halberd slammed down with the fiery rage of crimson flames. Smashing tens of Fifth Order beasts into meat paste.


    A powerful heat violently expanded outward, melting the snow beneath his feet to the point dust and soil shot into the skies into a tall mushroom cloud.


    If Yin Beasts had any weaknesses to list off, there were two that would be at the top of the list. One was Yang Lightning and the other¡­ was Yang Flames!


    There would come a day where Ryu tapped into his Lightning Qilin lineage. But for now, this would have to do.


    That said¡­ Ryu''s Rage Flames weren''t just considered normal Yang Flames, they were among the very strongest in all of existence. And, not only were they powerful, but they had already entered the Ruler Realm, a level normally exclusive to Immortals.


    Simply put, even Seventh Order Yin Beasts could not easily survive beneath his might.


    Roars of pain and anguish filled the skies.. The chaos had begun.

 Chapter 358 - Race

    Ryu vanished into the cloud of smoke, his footsteps so light that a single tap to the ground sent him zooming forward several hundred meters.


    His pupils flickered from side to side at blinding speeds, quickly finding blind spots amidst the beasts and using them to slaughter wantonly.


    Ryu''s figure was like a fluttering wind, appearing to the backs of unsuspecting beasts and lighting them afire in a furious blaze with his halberd.


    Like clockwork, the enraged beasts would lash out at those around them, furious that the end of their lives was quickly approaching and causing a cascading impact toward the overall situation.


    Yet, in all this time, no one managed to lay eyes on the culprit. Ryu was too fast, his cloak''s abilities too heaven defying, and his craftiness too overwhelming.


    Ryu avoided the Seventh and Eighth Order Beasts, slaughtering his way through swaths of Fifth and Sixth Order ones. However, there was only a small time this would work, and Ryu was well aware of this. It took not even a minute for him to light the entire valley in battle. Then, without hesitation, he planted his foot firmly into the ground and shot toward the pillar that surrounded the hatching egg.


    As though on command, dozens of beasts shot forward with him. Beasts of this level were no less intelligent than humans. They saw how the situation was going and could even tell that someone was instigating it, but for some reason, no matter how hard they searched, they couldn''t find this person.


    Thinking to this point, they knew that the wait and see approach wouldn''t work any longer, so they shot toward the egg.


    The sight of the baby Griffin''s phenomenon was truly jaw dropping. Even on the ground of the valley, it was impossible to see the form of the egg. Instead, there was a pillar of blinding white light that pierced the clouds above in the way.


    The gloomy cover that perpetually covered the Moon World burst apart into concentric circles, rippling outward like the waves of a calm lake suffering the throw of a stone.


    Without suspense, large swaths of beasts that sharped for the pillar were repelled backward. Some of them were even incinerated to ash. Their lineages were simply too poor and weak. But, this was exactly what Ryu had planned for.


    His cloak wasn''t all powerful. It had some striking weaknesses of its own.


    For one, he was unable to disappear before the sight of even the weakest individual if they had their senses trained on him, whether that be their eyesight, or their Spiritual Sense. Secondly, the higher the cultivation of the being he wanted to hide from, the higher State of Meditation he had to enter, or else he would risk being found. And, thirdly, his invisibility didn''t make him lose his substance. That meant that his invisibility could be interrupted by a sufficiently powerful physical or energy-based event.


    In this case, even though Ryu was certain that the pillar wouldn''t be able to rebuff him so easily, the act of him interacting with it would most definitely dispel his invisibility. So, he needed a cover. The blood and gore of dying beasts would just have to be enough.


    Ryu fluttered into the barrier beneath the writhing corpse of a massive Yin Beast.


    The moment he entered, he felt like a fish in water. The energies that had blocked so many beasts before him was almost like a refreshing rain of dew to the Tatsuya Clan Scion.


    Of course, not all of the beasts ended up in such a sorry state. In the pillar with him, Ryu could see several Eighth Order Beasts who had made it to this point. In fact, they could see him as well.


    With all the wild qi fluctuations within this pillar, it was obviously impossible for him to maintain his invisibility. That said¡­ That was what his Necromancer half-mask was for. If it was impossible to hide from everyone, at the very least, those who could see him wouldn''t be able to sense his unique qi signature, nor his physical features. About the only things they would know about him was that he was male, and that he was a human.


    Several roars were suddenly aimed toward Ryu. If these beasts weren''t sure before who caused the chaos, they were now. Of course they could leave it to a human to instigate such slaughter.


    Ryu swept his gaze over the massive beasts he couldn''t lay a finger toward and walked forward unperturbed. In this sort of environment, they should worry about themselves. If they let up for even a moment, the backlash this phenomenon would cause them would be irreparable.


    Ryu had gone through all of this trouble so that these beasts wouldn''t be able to stop him from entering this pillar. But now that he had, he didn''t need to spare them more than a glance. Everything was working perfectly so far.


    He dashed forward, leaving the roaring beasts in his dust.


    ''Ailsa, how much longer will this phenomenon last?''


    ''Depending on the species and strength of a phenomena, anywhere from a few seconds and minutes, to even days. But there''s something strikingly odd about this one¡­ It''s different.''


    ''Different good, or different bad?''


    ''¡­ As in this phenomenon is far weaker than it should be. If not, there''s no way Earth Grade beasts like the ones we just passed would be able to enter at all, even if they are of the Eighth Order. Only if they were of the Ninth would they have a chance.


    ''This baby Griffin is likely very weak even by the standards of their branch Clans.''


    Ryu nodded. He didn''t mind this too much at all. In the end, and Ancestor Beast was an Ancestor Beast.


    From the barrier to the center of the pillar of light, there was easily ten kilometers of space. However, with Ryu''s current speed, it took him no more than a few seconds to cover it. He didn''t take any chances at all, activating his Impose Realm Wind Inheritance to its fullest extent.


    In a few blinks, Ryu had made it to the egg. He wasn''t very surprised that it was massive, standing at what seemed to be easily five times his height.


    ''¡­ Griffin eggs shouldn''t be this white either.'' Ailsa said slowly. Ryu could sense the gears in her mind turning.


    ''What do you think I should do?'' Ryu asked. ''If I put it away now, wouldn''t the phenomenon disappear? There might be ten kilometers between me and those beasts, but that''s a blink of an eye to them¡­''


    No matter how fast Ryu was, he was under no illusions that he was faster than even the slowest Eighth Order Beast. When cultivation reaches such a high level, such distances are nothing but child''s play. This was why he hadn''t dared to simply run through the barrier without stirring some chaos first. If he hadn''t, those beasts could have definitely killed him with a single glance before he even made it into the pillar.


    If he put the egg away now, would the qi fluctuations dissipate quickly enough for him to cloak himself before those beasts locked onto him? That was simply impossible. To make matters worse, the egg disappearing would still weaken the fluctuations enough for the restricted movements of those beasts to become far less so, putting him in even more danger.


    As if this wasn''t bad enough, if he tried to simply move the egg without putting it away, the pillar would move along with it, making such an action useless.


    Ryu felt a major headache coming on. He was beginning to realize that he hadn''t thought this through enough.


    ''I have a solution.'' Ailsa said. ''If I didn''t, I wouldn''t let you come here. I know you''re always reckless when it comes to these kinds of things.


    ''I''ll slip the egg into the Ethereal Plane. There''ll be a small lag in the Phenomenon as a result. Use that time to exit the ten-kilometer radius.''


    Ryu''s gaze brightened.


    The phenomenon was occurring on the Real Plane currently. If Ailsa did as she said, there would be a sort of disconnect or interference for just a moment. Due to that lag, for a split second, it would seem like the egg was still here when in reality, it was already in Ryu''s Incubator.


    ''¡­ But, you''ll need to run faster than you did to get here¡­ much faster.''


    Ryu''s expression became covered with a piercing cold. He silently felt the changes in his body. Then, he spoke the words he had heard Edwin speak before.


    "¡­ [First Pulse. Release]."


    The land beneath Ryu''s feet shattered, a violent boom sweeping out as a fierce red aura billowed from his body.


    ''I''m ready.''


    Ailsa nodded.


    The next moments happened in a flash. The egg fading to the Ethereal Plane. Ryu taking it into his Incubator. The Phenomenon fluctuating. Ryu shooting off into the distance like a meteor streaking through the skies¡­


    It was a race against time.

 Chapter 359 - Masks

    It wasn''t until Ryu had pierced toward over 200 meters away that the ground he exploded from blasted part, leaving a deep semi-sphere of over ten meters in diameter. And, by the time the pillar of light began to falter and wane, Ryu had already traveled over eight kilometers, just barely within the range of the flickering pillar of light.


    Ryu''s jaw was covered in pulsing veins that snaked up his cheek and his forehead. He circulated [Fragment Breeze] to his utmost, making his inner organs scream as his Chaotic Silk Meridians pressed up against them.


    ''¡­ Not enough. [Second Pulse. Release].''


    BOOM!


    Space trembled beneath Ryu''s speed. His thighs bulged, tearing the pants of his robes apart.


    Ryu subconsciously circulated [Lined Assault]. Never would he have thought that he would need to use a Black Grade technique in such a situation, but he found his body executing it before he could react.


    His limbs and torso bent like a bow with every step, his explosive straight-line acceleration reaching obscene levels.


    A green-goldish glow wrapped around his body, the image of a green haired fairy manifesting to his back.


    Ryu burst out of the range of the pillar. Without hesitation, he swallowed three Silver Vein Spirit Seeking Lily Petals. His State of Meditation seamlessly entered Breath of Earth before skyrocketing into One with Self, the legendary Fifth State.


    The bloody battle of beasts surged all around him. Some were still rushing toward the flickering pillar, while others were fighting battles to the death.


    ''Several large auras are making their way here Ryu. You can''t stay.''


    Ryu''s tense nerves didn''t calm. He kept sprinting with all his might, beginning the Visualization of the largest [Warp] he could.


    Just when the ground was about to swallow him, he understood that he had miscalculated.


    His body had managed to leave his target range in time, but in exchange, he was forced to manifest his Northern Heavenly Wind''s Mortal Endowment. Such a strong existence couldn''t possibly be missed by the powerful characters all around him.


    Ryu was stunned when he registered the bloody hole in his chest.


    He realized that this was what absolute power was. With all his talent, he hadn''t felt anything from start to end.


    He hadn''t realized that he had been targeted, he hadn''t felt the killing intent lock onto him, he hadn''t even perceived the attack piercing through him.


    All Ryu could see were the beasts that had just been before him being incinerated to ash. It was only then he was able to deduce that he had been attacked not from the front, but from his back.


    As Ryu fell forward, his lip curled into a bloody and bitter smile.


    "¡­ You''ve taught me a good lesson today¡­"


    Ryu collapsed to the ground.


    In the distance, what seemed to be a youthful young man leisurely lowered his bow. Despite his appearance, he had easily experienced several ten thousand years of life. And, judging by the fluctuations in his qi, he had long since entered the Path Extinction Realm.


    ''A Divine Vessel Realm boy did so much by himself? If he hadn''t made that mistake, I would have missed him¡­ Well, no matter, I''ll snatch him from wherever it is he''s planning on teleporting to. Makes things more convenient for me. That way I won''t have to worry about those Eighth Order monsters.


    ''Just who was that boy, though¡­ That Elemental Mortal Endowment was so powerful despite only being in the Impose Realm¡­ If his background is powerful, I have to make sure my connection to his death is never exposed.'' His eyes flashed with a cold light.


    The young man could tell that Ryu had begun circulating a teleportation technique just before he pierced him. That arrow had both killed Ryu, and left a small tag on his destination. This would make things much easier for him.


    ''Lucky me. Who knew that I would gain such a boon while completing such a menial task¡­''


    Ryu''s body finally hit the ground, being swallowed by the [Warp] Visualization he had just barely finished before being pierced by the arrow. It could only be said that the young man''s timing was impeccable.


    "Hey kiddos, you three wait here and don''t do anything reckless. I''ll be right back."


    The young man turned back toward two boys and a girl who actually looked just about as young as he did. They held haughty expressions, but they didn''t dare turn it toward the young man before them. It was more so an arrogance buried deep within their bones.


    "We won''t be late, will we, Martial Uncle Zulfiqar?" The young woman asked.


    "Of course not."


    Despite his confident answer, the three youths couldn''t help but feel bitter. They felt no reason to trust this Martial Uncle of theirs. He was too unreliable. The only reason they had traveled so deeply into beast territory to begin with was because he had gotten them lost.


    Then, even knowing they were running late and that they were lost, he didn''t hesitate to take the three of them toward that pillar of light. They still didn''t even know what was being born. Was it a Spiritual Herb? A powerful beast? A natural treasure? They had no idea.


    But, what they did know was that it wasn''t safe to be here. You''d have to be at least of the Dao Pedestal Realm to roam here semi-freely. Even their powerful Martial Uncle wasn''t worthy of this. He was too reckless in taking them here.


    "Ah, stop worrying so much. I''ll be back in a flash."


    Without another word, he vanished into a puff of smoke.


    If Ryu had been there, he would raise an eyebrow at the fact all four of them wore Necromancer masks¡­


    Zulfiqar carefully navigated the battlefield. He knew that the beasts were in a rage after Ryu disappeared, and he also knew that there were very likely several human experts on their way here.. He had to take the utmost caution to not be caught.

 Chapter 360 - Lesson

    The truth was that the three youths with him hadn''t been able to see the battle situation like he had. His Mental Realm was far beyond theirs and he was an expert at controlling it. It may have seemed like he was close to the valley, but the truth was that he was several mountain peaks away and over a hundred kilometers from Ryu.


    Those three young Necromancers thought he was going closer to check out the situation, they had no idea that he already had a firm grasp of where the treasure was and that it was already all but his now.


    Zulfiqar smiled to himself, seemingly content.


    ''¡­ A Divine Vessel Realm boy managed to teleport so far away¡­? How is that possible?''


    [Warp] had a very short range. Within a hundred meters was the best one can do, and most would be even worse. But, Ryu had managed to not only leave the range of the valley, but had also exited the entire range of the conflict. That was several kilometers at the very least.


    ''How could a Spiritual Endowment expert have so much Spiritual Qi¡­''


    At this point, Zulfiqar was even happier that Ryu was dead. Having such an anomaly as an enemy would make it difficult for him to even sleep at night. But, he felt that this was only right. If this boy wasn''t at least this heaven defying, how could he dare to enter this place and even steal a treasure beneath the eyes of so many experts?


    If it wasn''t for him noticing the fluctuations of Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind Mortal Endowment, Ryu would have actually gotten away cleanly. The other beasts and experts ultimately ignored it because it was just of the Impose Realm. So, they didn''t analyze it too deeply and just assumed it was just more rabble fighting amongst each other.


    However, Zulfiqar had had a literal bird''s eye view of the entire matter. He knew well that that was no normal Impose Realm Inheritance.


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Zulfiqar froze.


    He had reached the place Ryu should have come to, but he didn''t find the corpse he was looking for. In fact, there wasn''t a single drop of blood, nor was there even the slightest energy fluctuation.


    "That''s impossible, I completely destroyed his heart¡­" Zulfiqar''s frown deepened.


    Could he be wrong about the location? But that was impossible too. He had perfectly mapped it all to this very place. His fine control of his Spiritual Sense was exactly why he was of the greatest Necromancers of his generation. He wouldn''t make such a rudimentary mistake.


    Opening up his palm, several spiders barely two inches long appeared. However, if one looked closely, they were entirely exoskeleton.


    They shot off in all directions, looking for even the tiniest of clues.


    If Matheus were here, he would be in absolute awe.


    Compared to bone, exoskeletons of deceased beasts were incredibly fragile. This was doubly so considering the extraordinarily small size of the corpse puppets Zulfiqar was controlling.


    Forget about being precise, even implementing the slightest bit of uncontrolled Spiritual Qi would cause these corpse puppets to break, crumbling to dust. The amount of fine motor control needed to be the master of just one was completely outside the bounds of reason. Yet, Zulfiqar was controlling hundreds!


    To say that this seemingly young man was a genius was the understatement of understatements.


    However, even with his genius, he was completely unable to find Ryu.


    A daunting shadow was cast over his heart. Just how was any of this possible?


    "¡­" Zulfiqar stood without a word for a long time.


    "¡­ Don''t let me find you before you grow."


    Without another word, he turned and left, not knowing that Ryu was just ten meters beneath his feet.


    **


    Ryu knew quite well that Zulfiqar was standing above him. Or rather, he would have known had he had the wherewithal to care. In his present state, he was completely reliant on Ailsa to operate the cloak. The issue was that Ailsa still couldn''t stay in her true form for very long.


    The good news was that she had lasted long enough for Zulfiqar to leave. The bad news was that it was impossible for them to tell whether or not he had left any of his corpse puppets behind. With his level of control, and their small size, Ryu wasn''t confident in dealing with them.


    Plus¡­ He had a fist size hole in his chest. Had he not fused with the Realm Heart, he would be a dead man already. This was too close of a call. He hadn''t even been here a week, yet he had almost died twice. Well, three times if he counted Zulfiqar''s arrow and his search for two.


    Well¡­ He got what he had asked for. He wanted to live with his life on the line, and the Moon World delivered.


    This said, the potential lingering corpse puppets may not be too much of a problem because Ryu and Ailsa were already on the move, tunneling through the ground.


    Ryu lay in his Death Worm Immortal Cave beneath the Immortal Qi Source Ailsa had evolved, paled faced and wheezing. However, despite his ghastly wound, he knew that his life wasn''t on the line. Half of his heart existed on the Ethereal Plane, so as long as an attack didn''t exist across both Planes, he could recover.


    Unfortunately, though, in order to recover he would need to swallow his precious Crown Grade Spiritual Herbs.


    "The stronger a body, the more difficult it is to heal. You may be a Divine Vessel Realm expert, but your body is already as stronger as an Immortal Ring Expert. You''ll have to swallow all of them."


    Not all of the five remaining Crown Grade Herbs Ryu had were good for healing. He had given one of them to Guiot, so he only had two left. However, Ryu had the Incubator and his own knowledge as an Herbologist.


    Those two healing herbs could be absorbed normally, but for the final three, he would have to make some modifications. It''s just that it''s extremely difficult to think when there was a hole in your chest.


    Ryu had no choice but to absorb the first two Spiritual Herbs first, hoping it would alleviate his pain.


    The Incubator did what it was meant to do. The tyrannical energies became as docile as a baby. Ryu could almost instantaneously feel his flesh and bone begin to reform and color slowly returned to his face.


    It took several days of nursing the energies he absorbed and calculating how to efficiently use the remaining three herbs to maximize their small healing abilities, but Ryu''s situation finally stabilized, countless liters of blood later.


    For the first time in what felt like forever, Ryu slowly sat up. It would take some time for his lost blood to be recuperated. It was only right, his blood was worth more on average than others and he needed a lot of fuel to sustain it. Unfortunately, he hadn''t been doing much eating in the recent days for obvious reasons.


    Ryu''s gaze still held a biting cold. He had analyzed the energy fluctuations that pierced him so many times that he could recognize them even if he was burnt to dust.


    He had really almost died.


    ''¡­ A good lesson indeed..'' The cold glint in his eyes was so fierce that his silver irises seemed blue for a moment.

 Chapter 361 - Curse

    Ryu took a deep breath.


    He didn''t feel lucky that his heart had been targeted and not his head. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that it was by design. Whoever attacked him realized that he was preparing a [Warp] and timed his attack such that it landed just when his Visualization was complete. Had this person attacked his head instead, his Mental Realm would have shattered, breaking the connection he had to his [Warp] and making it fail.


    In the end, the heart was about the only place he could attack to execute his plan.


    ''Whoever this person is has a level of Spiritual Qi control I''ve never seen before. More control than I even thought possible¡­''


    "Are you alright now? Because this little one seems to think that I''m his mother."


    Ailsa''s voice entered Ryu''s ears. It was rare for him to actually hear her speak aloud. Normally, it would just sound in his mind, but the feeling wasn''t the same. It was easy to forget that there was such a beauty on his shoulders all the time.


    Ailsa walked toward Ryu with a shimmering white gown. Her golden hair flowed like the first light of dawn, and her ruby-red eyes held an ethereal magnetism to them, the kind that seemed of another world. It was the kind of thing you''d expect in the glint of a Faerie''s eye.


    Women were rarely so tall in Ryu''s experience, but there was something about Ailsa''s height that made her seem even further from the natural world.


    In her arms, a bundle of white nestled in her bosom. Its body was incredibly frail, but it seemed quite comfortable using Ailsa''s ample chest as a pillow.


    Ryu frowned. That was most definitely not what a Griffin was supposed to look like. Their fur and feathers were white, yes. However, it wasn''t meant to be entirely white. Their feathers were meant to form a crown on their heads and the very edges of that crown varied in faded colors. Some Griffin bloodlines had blue feather tips, others had red, the possibilities were endless. But, each represented a different strength of bloodline.


    However, white feather tips didn''t exist¡­


    In addition to this, all Griffins had a gemstone on their foreheads. It was this gem that carried the strength of their Innate Spiritual Sense.


    Innate Spiritual Sense was a fairly simple concept. Whereas those without one, like Ryu, had to awaken their Spiritual Sense by Mental Realm cultivating. Griffins had theirs from birth. This both made their Mental Realms more robust, and they had, on average, much larger ranges.


    Their gemstone was the source of this ability, not to mention the core of much of their Inherited techniques. But¡­ This young Griffin didn''t seem to have one.


    And, to address the elephant in the room¡­ How did a five-story tall egg produce what amounted to a puppy that could fit in Ailsa''s arms.


    Ryu sighed, gingerly walking to Ailsa. He accepted the baby Griffin when she passed it to him.


    The little guy was actually quite adorable. It slept away, apparently not even realizing that Ryu was holding it up by its armpits.


    The legends of Griffins having eagle claws, scorpion tails and lion bodies were actually tainted versions caused by members of their kind with extremely impure blood. Their true form was right before Ryu now. Well¡­ In part.


    They had soft paws hiding their claws like a lion cub would. Their backs did carry wings, but their tails were completely as one would expect, covered in soft fur. The real distinguishing quality of Griffins was the seamless transition of their fur covered faces into a subtle beak. That and, of course, their gemstone and crown of feathers.


    This little guy really did look like a Griffin for the most part, right down to its small beak and folded wings. But it was far more lacking in every other regard.


    It should have been born at least five meters in size, at a minimum. Yet, it wasn''t even two feet in length. It should have had a colored crown of feathers, but it was completely blank as though it hadn''t inherited any of the Griffin Clan''s most powerful bloodlines. And, it didn''t even have a gemstone.


    No. Ryu realized now that it did¡­ It was just that it was so incredibly small that it couldn''t peak out from the fur on its face¡­


    [Author''s Note: If you''d like to see the inspiration for this version of the Griffin, check out RRR''s wiki fandom page. I''ve been slowly building it up recently. It already has detailed explanations of every Qi Realm cultivation stage up to the Path Extinction Realm > https://rise-rising-risen.fandom.com/wiki/Griffins]


    The baby griffin yawned, its small little tongue sticking outward as its large eyes sleepily blinked open.


    It silently observed Ryu for a moment, realizing that it had never seen this human before.


    ''¡­ Its eyes are white¡­ It doesn''t have the World Pupils¡­''


    Ryu almost smiled bitterly. All those born with the second ranked Heavenly Pupils had golden eyes, just like all those born with his pupils had silver eyes. The fact this baby Griffin didn''t have this coloration meant that the reason Ryu risked his life wasn''t even waiting as a reward for him.


    Ryu sighed. "You''re a cripple too, huh¡­?"


    Ryu gently brought the small Griffin into his arm, rubbing its crown of fur until it settled back into its nap again. It snuggled into Ryu''s arms, seemingly finding him even more comfortable despite his lack of appropriate assets.


    ''Since you''re a girl, I''ll call you Little Gem¡­''


    "¡­ So what''s wrong with her?" Ryu asked. He believed that Ailsa definitely had an answer by now.


    "The little one is cursed."


    Ryu was speechless for a moment. Wasn''t one of the abilities of the Griffin race to cure all curses? What kind of warped reality was this?


    Ailsa sighed. "Not all curses are created equal, and nothing is infallible."


    "So someone harmed this child with capabilities beyond even the natural abilities of the Griffin?"


    "Not exactly¡­ It''s not someone, but some thing. The Heavens cursed her."


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a cold glint.


    "The whiteness of her coat and eyes are symptoms of this curse. It''s almost an artificial cap the Heavens place on certain powerful species to stop them from growing too powerful and allowing the balance to be maintained.


    "For this little one to appear, it means that the Griffins are at a tipping point in their evolution. They may be ascending to a new tier of strength soon, so the suppression on them has an added level of fierceness. It''s a trial the Heavens sets for bloodlines¡­ Little Gem just happened to be the unlucky one¡­"


    Ryu had known that cultivation had tribulations to undergo, but he never thought that bloodlines did too¡­


    "The worst part about this curse is that this doesn''t necessarily mean that this little one is a great talent either. The Heavens are simply trying to bottleneck the reproduction rate of the Griffins. How talented Little Gem is, is unfortunately irrelevant. This is why the little one is so unlucky¡­"


    Ryu''s gaze became colder.


    For one, this meant that the Ancient Beast''s were already so close to completing their comeback, and maybe even coming back stronger than ever judging by Ailsa''s words.


    But, he wasn''t even thinking about this in any real capacity.. He was more so focused on the Heavens pissing him off again.

 Chapter 362 - Oblige

    About a month later, Ryu had made his way to a city known as Fell. He was actually quite familiar with this place. Or, rather, he was very familiar with any place he had been to before thanks to the Origin Flame making his memories infallible. He had visited this city twice before with his mother.


    In truth, there wasn''t anything special about this city. Though compared to those of the Mortal and Pedestal Planes, it was quite grandiose. It was still mid-sized to the others of the Moon World. However, despite her status, Ryu''s mother loved coming here because it was where her favorite flower originated from.


    The city was named Fell after this flower. The Fallen Petal Rose was a Spiritual Herb of the Heaven Grade that was nothing but stem and root for 99% of its life. However, just moments before its death, it would bloom in the most gorgeous of ways, giving way to a sight Himari, Ryu''s mother, couldn''t get enough of.


    Both times the mother-son pair visited this season was for this blooming. Ryu still remembered those awe-inspiring sights. There was even a point where he promised Elena to have their wedding in this place.


    However, this moment was not the Fallen Petal Rose''s blooming season. That said, the imprint the flower left behind was clear and obvious.


    All across the cityscape, along cobbled roads and around store windows, the vines of the flowerless Spiritual Herb spread. It gave the city the feeling of a hidden garden, buried beneath an endless greenery. However, it carried a heavy yin and dark aura with it.


    The Fallen Petal Rose was known for swallowing yang in its un-bloomed form. This dropped the temperature of the city, while skyrocketing the concentration of yin qi. As a result, the city that could produce the most beautiful sight the Mistress of the Tatsuya Clan had ever laid eyes upon, was ironically quite ugly the rest of the time.


    That said, it would depend on who you asked. To Guiot, coming here was like a nightmare. But to Ryu, he quite enjoyed the aesthetic of the vine covered buildings and roads. And, his Ice Phoenix bloodline adored the high quality yin.


    Ryu had come to this city in order to breakthrough to his second Body Vessel. After gathering up hundreds of Seventh Order Yin Lightning Spiritual Roots, he believed he had enough to satiate his Lightning Qilin Bloodline.


    At first, he was worried about what absorbing Yin Lightning for a Yang Lightning Bloodline would do to him, but he had almost forgotten that he had a Cultus Faerie by his side. If it was detrimental to him, Ailsa would have never allowed him to do it.


    ''This city is perfect.'' Ailsa said, swinging her long legs as she sat on Ryu''s shoulders. It seemed that she too was ignoring the sick face Guiot was making. ''If they still have those cultivation rooms you spoke of, it would be even more perfect. But, even if they don''t, with this kind of environment, it won''t be an issue to make our own.''


    ''You still haven''t told me exactly what you want to do.''


    ''I already told you.'' Ailsa said with a sweet smile. ''Absolute Extremes give birth to Absolute Opposites.''


    Little Gem stirred in Ryu''s arms, yawning adorably before shifting a bit and going back to sleep.


    She unfortunately couldn''t stay away for more than an hour or two a day, her body was too frail and wasn''t very good at retaining the energy she consumed. Even her bones felt thin and hollow like that of a bird''s.


    Ryu had no qualms about carrying her around like this because no one would recognize a Griffin anyway. Plus, even if they did, they would never know that the legendary Griffin could ever be so small. On top of that, Little Gem didn''t exude the aura of an Ancient Beast because of the curse, and the little bit she did exude could easily be blocked by Ailsa.


    The real reason Ryu was carrying her around, though, was because the poor baby Griffin panicked whenever he left her in the Incubator.


    ''You did already say this, but you never explained exactly what it meant.''


    ''The Formation of Eight Extremes. Sleep and Wakefulness. Yin and Yang. Life and Death. Order and Chaos. The Heavens love Order, but to maintain it, there needs to be balance. Wherever an Extreme appears, there''s an equally high chance of its opposite being birthed as well.


    ''You tell me, the Fallen Petal Rose, is it a yin Spiritual Herb, or a yang one?''


    Hearing this question, Ryu''s gaze flashed with a certain understanding. At the same time, several theories about how he might improve Esme came to mind.


    The Fallen Petal Rose swallowed nothing but yang energy for hundreds of years, but when it bloomed¡­ It gushed out with an abundance of yin.


    ''It seemed you understand now. I''ll set up the Formation of Eight Extremes for you. It will concentrate the Yin Lightning you''ve accumulated and birth its perfect opposition. Hopefully, this will help you awaken the first Talent of your Lightning Qilin Bloodline. It has been lagging behind for too long.''


    When it came to Talent awakenings, it was always a crapshoot. Ryu hadn''t been guaranteed to awaken the three flames he had to now, they only had thanks to his Origin Flame. However, the Lightning Qilin Bloodline obviously had no flames of its own.


    A single bloodline had dozens of Talents, some weaker and some stronger. It was uncertain which would awaken, but maybe with a Cultus Faerie guiding him, it would be less of a guessing game. At the very least, it seemed Ailsa already had one she was shooting for in mind. And, so did Ryu if he was being honest with himself.


    Finally, the Life Partner pair plus Guiot made it to the destination. It was a tall Martial Tower that seemed from the outside as though its individual floors were built separately before being stack atop one another in a spiraling pattern.


    "This is a good place to test yourself, Guiot. I won''t be supporting you from now on, but if I had to give you some advice, I''d say make it as far as you can in this Martial Tower first. If you perform well, it can give you some funds in return to support yourself."


    Guiot stiffly nodded, still trying to shake the goosebumps this city gave him off. He didn''t know how anyone could find a snow and black vine covered city anything but creepy.


    "¡­ Yes, the procession will be here soon."


    "Stop talking about it. All those events are nothing but wastes of time for those elitists to show off their disciples. Who cares if they come here? I''d rather take my chances going up the Tower."


    "Idiot. This Tower is owned by those elitists you''re talking your nose up at too. Stop pretending."


    ''Procession? Parading disciples?'' Ryu raised an eyebrow as a piece of a conversation drifted to his ears.


    The lobby of the Martial Tower was practically filled to the brim with young cultivators. But this wasn''t a surprise. This Tower was meant for serious business from the outside, but the inside was more like a social gathering. There were bars, scantily clad dancers, musicians, and even some alchemists you were sneakily slipping their latest concoction into the palms of their customers.


    When Ryu had come here last, it had obviously not looked like this. It wasn''t because this place had degenerated from its norm, but rather because who would dare put up such a bad image for the Mistress and Scion of the Tatsuya Clan?


    In this life, though, he got to see its true face.


    ''Did you remember something?'' Ailsa asked curiously.


    ''If they were talking about what I think they were talking about, it should be the Elimination Event. Disciples chosen by those top establishments must go on tour and challenge the mid-level cities of the Moon World as a sort of trial by blood. Only then can they affirm their spots as students or disciples.


    ''If you happen to defeat one of these disciples, you can receive a probationary spot as a Working Disciple for the institution in question.''


    ''Just a Working Disciple?''


    Ryu shook his head. ''It''s the reason why they''re complaining about it now. It''s already impossible enough to defeat their handpicked disciples, yet you don''t even get properly awarded for it. Back when the Awoken Moon Sect was under our jurisdiction, we had too many other things to worry about than to focus on making the rules of this world fairer.''


    Ailsa nodded. This was the dark truth of the world. Even the kindest of Rulers couldn''t possibly cover the sky with a hand. If they oppressed their subordinates too much, their Empire would only become more fragile. But, when compared to the other horrible occurrences of the martial world, for example, what those so-called Martial Gods allowed the ''White Devils'' to do to the Mortal Plane, Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan was a group of Angels.


    "My friend would like to take the Tower Trial, and I''ll take a Tier 8 Cultivation Room." Ryu spoke emotionlessly after finally weaving his way to the central command desk of the lobby.


    The receptionist ¨C a middle-aged man ¨C frowned. "A Tier 8 Cultivation Room is meant for Path Extinction Realm experts. Even if you have the money to waste young man, you shouldn''t look down on your parents'' hard work so easily."


    "I understand." Was all Ryu said.. After several seconds of not hearing anything else, the receptionist could only oblige.

 Chapter 363 - Lightning Qilin Bloodline

    The price for the Tier 8 cultivation room was a hundred Peak Mortal Qi Stones an hour, which ended up as 2400 a day. So, it was for good reason that the receptionist felt that Ryu was wasting good money. However, in Ryu''s mind, such a price was far cheaper than what he had been expecting.


    Paying Mortal Qi Stones for the cultivation room of a Path Extinction Realm expert? Something didn''t seem quite right.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. "Why is it so cheap?"


    The receptionist was shocked by Ryu''s question. What was wrong with this young man?


    "Listen, kid. If you''ve come here to stir up trouble, I don''t have the patience for it. If you can''t afford it, leave."


    Ryu frowned, his cold expression stopping the receptionist from speaking anything harsher.


    "You''re selling a Path Extinction Realm level cultivation room for Mortal Qi Stones, and you don''t see any problem with that?"


    A sudden laughter came over Ryu''s shoulder.


    "This friend¡­ A Tier 8 cultivation room hasn''t represented such a thing in a long time, this receptionist is exaggerating. Clearly he doesn''t know what he''s talking about. At most, it''s pretty good for Connecting Heaven Realm cultivators. The highest Tier 9 is passable for an Immortal Ring cultivator. If you really need something high quality, that''s the best you will get here."


    The receptionist blushed with embarrassment. Ryu''s question to him had left him speechless because he really didn''t have a good answer. He had only repeated the things his employers asked him to.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, looking back to see a young man wearing a half-mask. Ryu even recognized the insignia at its top corner, a flower blooming to reveal a cratered moon within. The Moonlight Blossom Sect.


    Some half-masks were without affiliation like Ryu''s current one. Though, that was mostly due to Hecate''s methods being rejected by the broader Necromancer community. However, those who did have Clans or Sects they were tied to had their symbols engraved onto their masks.


    There was no difference in substance between these kind of masks. They were still ultimately protected by the Necromancer Guild network. It was only a matter of pride in some instances.


    The Moonlight Blossom Sect is the Sect Ryu had already chosen to join before he even stepped foot into the Awoken Moon Sect the very first time. In fact, this was even before he had decided to become a Necromancer as well. They just happened to have something that would be quite helpful to him should he be able to get it.


    "I see, then. Thank you." Ryu replied plainly before turning back to the receptionist. "I''ll take a Tier 9 cultivation room."


    "¡­ The price is one Lower Immortal Qi Stone a day¡­"


    Ryu handed over ten of them without much of a fuss.


    "Be careful during the trial. You can lose your life." He said to Guiot simply before following the attendant who appeared away.


    "Senior Brother Niel, he was way too casual with you. Who cares if he has a little money?"


    Seemingly unsatisfied with Ryu''s attitude, another half-masked young man pursed his lips.


    Niel waved a hand, silencing his junior brother as he watched Ryu''s back disappeared.


    "Who is he?" Niel''s attention turned toward Guiot who was just about to leave with his own attendant.


    Guiot blinked, not knowing how to answer. Ryu hadn''t exactly drilled him in how to respond to such a question. However, he was certain that that day Ryu sent him into that world that something important had happened. He didn''t know what, but he had a feeling that Ryu didn''t want people knowing about it.


    However, Guiot also knew that for him, lying to someone so much stronger than him, especially one with a powerful Mental Realm like a Necromancer would have, would be next to impossible. So¡­ He could only tell the truth while remaining as vague as possible.


    "I do not know much about him, I had to beg to get him to bring me here. I only know that he is powerful and that his name is Ryu. That is all."


    Niel''s junior brother snorted. "I''m sure many things are powerful to you."


    "Ryu? Is that all you have of his name?"


    "¡­ I''m not sure of his family name. He doesn''t usually tell people what it is."


    "Is it that he doesn''t tell people? Or that he doesn''t have one?"


    This time, Niel didn''t correct his junior brother. He was curious about the answer.


    In the end, Guiot could only answer with his humble opinion. He knew that the Pedestal Plane believed Ryu was nameless. But¡­


    "I believe he simply doesn''t tell people¡­"


    Niel''s gaze flashed. "¡­ You believe, huh¡­"


    **


    "¡­ This is your Tier 9 cultivation room. If you would like to ask for more time, please use the built-in small-scale teleportation array to send down more Qi Stones. If you fail to do so, and overstay your payment limit, there will be guards on standby to escort you out even if you are at a critical point in your cultivation. So, please be mindful of this."


    Ryu nodded but didn''t say much else. He could only be inwardly disappointed by the state this Martial Tower had fallen to. For a Tier 9 cultivation room to fall to barely within Tier 7 levels was unacceptable.


    The only explanation had to be the war Ryu had fallen into when he got here. This ''peaceful'' surface obviously wasn''t as peaceful as it seemed. Turmoil had been boiling in this place for a long while already.


    ''This will be a good place for me to hone my skill as a Necromancer¡­ Maybe I can find that missing piece I''ve been lacking¡­''


    For months now, Ryu had already felt like he was on the brink of something in his control as a Necromancer. However, he didn''t know what it was, and Ailsa was unable to help him. After all, she was a Cultus Faerie, not a Quibus Faerie¡­


    But the Moon World provided the perfect opportunity to learn from true Necromancers and fill in what the Zu Clan was lacking.


    ''¡­ But first, my Lightning Qilin Bloodline.''


    It was quite ironic. Ryu''s Qilin bloodline especially, made his path of Necromancy incredibly difficult. It constantly clashed with his attempts at diving toward the darker and more yin-based death qi.


    However, he had never really gotten anything in return for that headache aside from a basic boost to his physical strength. It was about time his fourth bloodline started pulling some of its own weight.


    A gentle click sounded behind Ryu, follow by the turning of complex gears and a gushing a powerful Immortal Qi.


    Ryu took a deep breath then sat in a calm meditation as Ailsa entered her full form.

 Chapter 364 - Lightning Qilin Bloodline (2)

    "Why are you naked?"


    Ryu finished adjusting himself, only to open his eyes to find a blood boiling sight.


    Why were all the women in his life like this? Elena was always doing that sort of thing, and the first time he met Ailsa she hadn''t been wearing anything either. This wasn''t the second time he had seen Ailsa like this either. It was just that he tried his best to scrub it clean from his memory. She was simply too enticing.


    No matter how cold he was, he was ultimately a man attracted to women.


    "While you''re enjoying the sight, take off your clothes as well. Our intimacy is not yet deep enough to do this clothed. You can only blame yourself."


    Ailsa''s teasing words weren''t exactly wrong. In fact, they were quite accurate.


    Ryu shook his head and obliged. He stripped his chest bare.


    "Those have to go too."


    Ailsa giggled lightly, the long golden hair that had covered her most sensitive parts parting ever so slightly to reveal two undulating mounds of flesh. Her skin looked so soft that even the slightest touch would bruise her.


    Ryu sighed, taking off his lower undergarments. He didn''t believe that Ailsa was taking advantage of him. Maybe years ago, when they first met, he would have been defensive toward such asks, but their relationship had at least evolved enough for him to trust that she understood boundaries. He trusted that if this wasn''t entirely necessary, she wouldn''t ask it of him.


    Ailsa, seemingly understanding that Ryu had this trust in her, felt a warmth in her heart. Her smile became less teasing and more genuine.


    When Ryu was ready, she climbed into his lap, resting her soft back to his broad chest.


    She was quite tall for a woman, standing at just over six feet tall. However, she was still completely enveloped by Ryu. Like a pair of nesting dolls, she perfectly fit in her place.


    "Place your open palms upwards on your thighs."


    Ryu steadied his breathing, obliging. He had already realized why Ailsa felt this was necessary. He could feel her heartbeat through her back. And, the moment he laid the back of his hands on his crossed legs and her palms slipped into his, their level of synchronization reached near perfection.


    Their breathing, their hearts, and their blood rushed and beat together. And, maybe the most important point was that Ailsa''s time limit for staying in her full form was extended practically indefinitely.


    The only drawback of this method was that Ryu had to calm his mind once again. Dealing with Ailsa''s delicate fragrance or her soft back to his chest was one thing. But, the feeling of her plump bottom separating into two on a particularly sensitive part of his wasn''t so easy to ignore.


    It took Ryu half an hour before he managed to regain his same state of calm. Ailsa seemed to understand this, so other than smiling a satisfied smile to herself, she said nothing else. In fact, she went out of her way to not move a single inch.


    Slowly but sure, Ryu''s lower regions which were threatening to roar and display their might, cooled and he managed to enter the first State of Meditation. Moments later, he entered Breath of Earth. Then, finally, Breath of Heaven.


    ''Good¡­''


    Ailsa didn''t actually speak, nor did she use a Qi Line technique. All she did was think the words and Ryu managed to easily comprehend her intentions without them exchanging so much as a gaze.


    All around the pair, a dense array drawn of blood slowly chilled around them. However, one would never guess what they were made of. The lines were too clean and precise. It was as though they were drawn with curved rulers on a sheet of paper.


    There was only one clue as to the origin of this array''s lines. At every node, there were large bowls forged of beast bone, filled to the brim with blood and process Spiritual Root with a mixture of unknown Spiritual Herbs.


    The temperature of the room continued to plummet.


    A day later, the pair still hadn''t moved an inch, but frost had begun to appear all around the room.


    For context, although this room was no longer of the Tier 9 level, this was only because its arrays had deteriorated. The materials of the room itself were completely untouched. For it to chill enough for frost to begin to appear on its parts was completely unprecedented.


    At the same time though, it was only because of the strength of these materials that the room had yet to completely crack and collapse, while Ryu and Ailsa''s action could remain hidden from those outside.


    At this point, even Ryu, who was practically impervious to cold, felt that his lips were beginning to turn blue.


    Another day past. It had already been a long time since Ryu slipped out from Breath of Heaven. Just half an hour had already been his previous limit, and that was already vastly improved from where he had been in the past. Staying in it for two days was nearly impossible. At this point, the lowest State of Meditation was the best he could do.


    Ailsa remained unaffected. After all, although she couldn''t use her strength on the Real Plane due to her intimacy with Ryu being too low, she was still ultimately the equivalent of a Cosmic Seed Realm expert.


    The days became something crossed between a test of endurance and torture for Ryu. Ailsa had conveniently forgotten to explain just how painful this would be.


    Ryu feared that his eyelids were probably frozen closed. The moisture in his skin was seized, shrinking in on itself and splintering his body in several places. In all likelihood, if he tried to stand now, the parts of his body contacted with the ground would rip from his body.


    ''Hold on¡­ We''re almost there¡­''


    Ultimately, the level of extreme yin Ryu needed was only of the Immortal Ring level, or the Seventh Order as it was formally known as. However, Ailsa knew that Ryu could handle more. So, she pushed it, seeking the Eighth Order.


    Any other person with an Immortal Ring level body would have shattered into a block of ice by now. However, Ryu had his Ice Phoenix Bloodline. His limits were obviously beyond others!


    ''There¡­!''


    Ailsa''s thoughts rang out once more and the formation suddenly shifted, crackling with violent ripples of lightning that surged from the blood that had been suppressed to now.


    The temperature surged, flipping in the blink of an eye as lightning began to soar through the air.


    They arched forward, meeting above the pair and piercing into Ryu''s back.

 Chapter 365 - Sapphire

    Despite the fact he had yet to awaken a Talent for his Qilin Bloodline, Ryu''s resistance to lightning was objectively high. However, no matter how high his resistances were, the power that slammed into his back practically tore him apart.


    ''Focus, Little Ryu. The Awakening of Talents is fairly random in most cases, but this is only because certain beasts don''t have the proper lineage, while humans with beast bloodlines like yours have it even worse. If you want any sort of control, you have to work with me.''


    Ryu''s bloodlines had the potential to be no weaker than true Ancestral Grade Bloodlines. As long as he continued to temper them faithfully, there was no doubt. However, this didn''t mean that there weren''t also disadvantages.


    For one, despite the fact Little Rock''s bloodline was far thinner than Ryu''s own, it actually projected far better than Ryu''s. This was regardless of the fact Ryu had four full Bloodlines while the young Lightning Hawk only had the wisp of one.


    This ultimately meant that much of the true strength of Ryu''s Bloodlines wouldn''t manifest themselves until the point his power was sufficient enough to hold them. He had only just barely met the minimum threshold to begin reaping some rewards after his body entered the Immortal Realms.


    However, this was where a new barrier was put up. Awakening bestial Talents with the body of a human was near impossible. At best, he could hope for one of the weaker Talents to awaken for him.


    Of these, the Lightning Qilin had many. For example, there was their Sharp Sight Talent. It was part of the reason Ryu''s Grandpa Kukan had such good archery skills. However, Ryu had the first ranked Heavenly Pupils in all of existence. What good would such a Talent do for him?


    Aside from this, there was also the Earthen Hoof Talent that Ryu definitely didn''t want. Just like his two Phoenix and Fire Dragon Bloodlines had wind attributes as secondary strengths since they were winged beasts, Ryu''s Lightning Qilin Bloodline had an earth attribute as a secondary strength.


    Of course, this so-called ''secondary'' strength was far more powerful than most beasts could hope for. But, this was still nearly very last on the list of Talents Ryu wanted to awaken.


    Earthen Hoof''s auxiliary function was to strengthen the legs, provide a steady base, and act as a Kicking Art Inheritance. Its main function was a boosted control over the earth element, which also gave an even greater resistance to lightning.


    Ryu didn''t specialize in hand-to-hand combat, so a kicking art didn''t interest him. In addition, he had no intention of branching into earth qi either. This Talent would just be marginally more useful than the Sharp Sight Talent.


    In truth, Ryu was being a bit spoiled. Even the worst Talents of the Ancient Beasts were classified as the very Peak Heaven Grade. No matter how simple or seemingly useless their descriptions, they would ultimately be a great boost to his strength.


    But, as a man lucky enough to have a Cultus Faerie by his side, it was only right that he was a bit spoiled.


    ''There are two Talents that I most want for you in your current state.'' Ailsa thoughts projected into Ryu''s mind as streaks of blue lightning coursed throughout his body.


    ''The first is Lightning Qilin Spirit Body. The second is the Storm Soul Talent. I will leave the decision up to you. The one you don''t choose will have to wait until you have opened your sixth Body Vessel and are preparing to enter the next Body Realm¡­''


    Ailsa didn''t explain what these two Talents were because she was certain that Ryu already knew.


    The Spirit Body Talent wasn''t exclusive to the Qilin. Every Ancient Beast Bloodline had the potential to awaken this Blessed Talent. In addition, it would be considered the most fundamental, as well as one of the most powerful Talents a beast could awaken.


    It allows a Qilin, or in this case, a human like Ryu, to tap into the deepest wells of a Lightning Qilin''s strength. It''s a fundamental boost to the Talents a Qilin has already awakened, while allowing the faster cultivation of lightning elements.


    The strongest ability of a Lightning Qilin''s Spirit Body is the One with Lightning state. This state allows a person who has awakened this ability to shift into the pure element out of their physical form and back again seamlessly. This not only increases speed to even more obscene levels, but it also acts as an almost impossible to deal with escape and defense mechanism.


    Also, as a human, activating the Spirit Body Talent would allow Ryu to manifest qilin scales and output a multiplier to his strength for a small time.


    The Storm Soul Talent is the second fundamental ability of the Lightning Qilin. Except this time, it is exclusive to them and doesn''t share a name across Ancient Beasts. However¡­ It is a Sin Talent.


    The Heavens have many taboos, one of which could be considered controlling weather patterns and events. The Storm Soul Talent give those who awaken it the ability to steal strength from the skies and use the weather to power and strengthen their attacks.


    Once this Talent is awakened, one gains access to the potential to unlock several of the Lightning Qilin Clan''s most precious techniques¡­ If it reaches a certain level, calling down Tribulation Clouds to smite one''s enemies wouldn''t be entirely impossible, though the penalty for doing so is harsh beyond compare.


    It was a difficult choice, indeed.


    The Sin Talent title might scare others away, but it didn''t faze Ryu even the smallest bit. He really did find it difficult to choose.


    Since the Spirit Body Talent was available to all of his Bloodlines, he could set it aside for now¡­ But the issue was that there was no doubt that the Lightning Qilin''s Spirit Body was the most useful and enticing. Turning into flames wasn''t nearly as good for obvious reasons.


    However, if he awakened the Storm Soul Talent, his power would take an instantaneous massive leap forward. And, once Nemesis'' strength reached a certain level, he might even be able to pass on the ability to Little Rock.


    The other thing to consider was that abilities that could turn one into lightning were somewhat scarce, but not exactly rare. However, as for ones that could control the weather¡­ There might only be a handful in all of existence.


    What should he do?


    Ryu took a deep breath. ''My escape ability is too important to me right now. Choosing the Spirit Body Talent is smartest.''


    ''¡­ Are you sure?'' Ailsa asked. ''¡­ I know that your father had two Ancient Beast Bloodlines, and he was only able to awaken a single Spirit Body, so he chose the Fire Dragon Spirit Body. However, your mother awoke both of her Spirit Bodies because she had your Ice Jade Crystal Body to rely on. You don''t have to choose one or the other even if the Lightning Qilin Spirit Body is most useful to you.''


    Ryu took another breath and shook his head. ''No, I''ve made my decision. Controlling storms does me no good if I just end up dead.''


    Ailsa nodded, her eyes closing as she rested her head beneath Ryu''s chin.


    Ryu suddenly felt a strong Spiritual Sense latch onto every cell of his body. He had already known that Ailsa was within the Soul Ascension Realm, but it was only after witnessing the power himself that he truly understood just how large the gap between them was.


    In the martial world, such a gap should have made them people of two different worlds. Yet, here they were ¡­ together.


    However, Ryu couldn''t think about his for long.


    A furious, uncontrollable roar left his lips. It was so powerful that the sound protections of his cultivation room cracked and splintered, followed by the sturdy materials beneath his seated form shattering.


    The roar of Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Bloodline had been mighty. When he touched the blue marbled ring now on his finger, it felt like it had been released from a shackle. However, the oppression of Ryu''s Lightning Qilin Bloodline had been on another level. Of his four, it had been the most neglected. It was only made worse by the fact it had been being suppressed by its long-time rival, the Fire Dragon.


    With a resounding snap, Ryu''s second Body Vessel burst.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed open, his body crackling with endless power.


    Beautiful blue sapphire scales rippled across his body, fading in and out between arcs of vibrant blue lightning.


    However, the most captivating were his eyes. They slit vertically like a Qilin Emperor''s, pulsing with a sky blue and being charged with endless power. They were like two gems, glowing in the darkness.


    Even after his scales faded away and his pupils returned to their original circular shape and silver color, the subtle arcs of lightning hidden in their depths never stopped. Anyone now meeting Ryu''s gaze would feel as though they had landed eyes upon an Ancient crouching beast. Those that could last without lowering their heads would be few and far between.

 Chapter 366 - Promise

    The wounds over Ryu''s body slowly closed.


    One of the greatest abilities of the Spirit Body Talent was the power to heal through the absorption of your primary element. With so much extreme yang lightning surging toward him, it was child''s play for Ryu to return to his peak form.


    Now that Ryu had opened his second Body Vessel, in order to have enough strength to attack his third, he would need to reach 125 000 000 jin of strength. Both of his Phoenix Bloodlines would provide 20 000 000 to the total while his Dragon and Qilin bloodlines would provide 42 500 000 each. They currently had already provided 8 000 000 and 17 000 000 respectively, so he needed to make up the difference.


    His current strength had finally crossed the 50 000 000 jin barrier.


    "Ailsa¡­?" Ryu looked down toward his lap. He was going to ask why she hadn''t gotten off of him yet, but his words stopped on the tip of his tongue.


    Ailsa''s skin tone had paled considerably. Her breathing was erratic, and she was sweating profusely. Somehow, her golden hair seemed less vibrant.


    Ryu''s heart ached completely out of his control. His first instinct was to have her get off of him, but he hadn''t considered for a moment the amount of work it took for her to accomplish this.


    It might be far easier to awaken weak Talents of his bloodlines, but those on the level of Spirit Body and Storm Soul were rare even amongst Lightning Qilin themselves. Ryu''s parents didn''t even sense and awaken theirs until well into the Cosmic Sea Realm ¨C and they were already great geniuses of their time. The act of stimulating and awakening them so early on wasn''t nearly as easy as it seemed.


    Ryu placed a hand on Ailsa''s shoulder, rotating her in his lap until both her thighs lay on one of his, and her back lay on his other. He looked down toward her pale face with a frown. He wasn''t even in the mood to cast glances toward her body despite the fact her breathing cascaded through her like a wave.


    Ailsa smiled weakly. "¡­ Just¡­ Let me rest here for a bit¡­"


    She rested her ear to Ryu''s chest, breathing heavily.


    Ryu sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her thighs with the other. There was no point in creating some faux distance between them in a moment like this. Plus, he didn''t think Ailsa deserved such a reaction from him.


    Ailsa blushed slightly, feeling Ryu''s actions. However, Ryu couldn''t see her reaction because of her sweat drenched hair covering much of her face. Though, had he, his face would have likely twisted into a weird expression. Why was it that she was embarrassed about such a thing and not the fact she was currently naked in his lap?


    "¡­ This isn''t so bad." Ailsa said softly.


    Maybe it was because of her current state of weakness, but Ailsa said something out loud that she would usually keep to herself. She knew that Ryu avoided reading her thoughts like they held some sort of incurable disease despite the fact he could find out everything about her just as easily as she could him. So, she was also quite aware that even if she thought those words, he wouldn''t have known that she had¡­ But, something compelled her to speak them instead.


    With her ear to Ryu''s chest, she could hear his heartbeat pause for a moment before becoming steady once more. At the very least, he didn''t shove her off his lap. So¡­ That was a bonus?


    Ailsa sighed inwardly. She had spent much of her youth dreaming of her Life Partner. Much like not ever human had a Faerie, not every Faerie gained a partner. And, even those who did might sometimes be paired with a tree or some river or some other inanimate thing that may never be able to speak to them in their lifetimes.


    Cases like Ailsa and Ryu, who were born at practically the same time, and were so suited for one another, were not even one in a trillion.


    She had tried to look for Ryu when she was younger. Usually, Clans like the Tatsuya Clan would do a small check to see whether their youths had a Life Partner. But, maybe due to the fact Ryu had a False Spiritual Foundation, his Clan never did so.


    But, Ailsa had known he existed for a long time. It was just that Ryu''s cultivation was nonexistent, so finding him was far too difficult.


    Finally, after almost a billion years of waiting, she finally had him by her side. Regardless of how cold he was, he still gave her a comfort she couldn''t get anywhere else. However, she would be lying if she said that their relationship didn''t leave her feeling empty at times.


    Due to her pride as a Cultus Faerie, she still did everything in her power to help Ryu. She was even already prepared for this to be as deep as the both of them went for the rest of her life.


    Ailsa smiled another smile that was hidden from Ryu. It was somewhat sad, but still carried a somewhat content attitude.


    ''I guess this is all we''ll ever be¡­ Maybe I''ll have to accept that¡­''


    After catching her breath, Ailsa moved to push herself up, but found that her waist was still being absentmindedly clamped down by Ryu. He didn''t even seem to notice that she had tried to leave his arms.


    "¡­ Ryu?"


    Ryu was seemingly snapped out of his thoughts, blinking slightly after he realized he was the one stopping Ailsa from getting up.


    "Oh. I''m sorry." Ryu released his grip.


    Ailsa pouted slightly, but still pushed herself up.


    "¡­ Ailsa."


    "Hm?"


    "Do you ever get bored? Just sitting on my shoulder all the time, I mean."


    Ailsa was stunned for a moment before bursting into a spring like laughter. But after a while, she realized that Ryu was completely serious.


    "With how much time you spend in danger, when is there ever really a dull moment?"


    "¡­ You don''t miss¡­ walking around on your own two legs?"


    Ailsa didn''t know how to answer. She really hadn''t thought about it before. Her whole world was Ryu now. Since she met him, she hadn''t even missed her home, let alone thought about the things she wanted. Even her hope that Ryu would accept her could be seen through the same lens as well.


    "¡­ If our intimacy was deeper, wouldn''t you be able to enjoy life a little more?" Ryu asked.


    Ryu knew quite well how unfair these matters were for Ailsa. Despite his outward demeanor, his emotional intelligence was very high. He didn''t need to look into Ailsa''s mind to grasp much of her thoughts.


    However, he couldn''t erase Elena from his heart. She had been waiting for him for so long, he owed her so much¡­ But the truth was that Ailsa had been waiting for him just as long even if he hadn''t been aware of it¡­


    "¡­ You could say so, but these kinds of things can''t be forced¡­"


    Ryu sighed, standing up. He loomed over Ailsa, seemingly having gotten taller after awakening his Lightning Qilin Spirit Body Talent. His lean body and chiseled form seemed to brim with far more power than it had in the past. However, he wasn''t imposing to her at all.


    He simply looked at her for a moment. Maybe it was because he was constantly in pain when he cultivated with her methods, but he never truly registered that for ever step of improvement he made, she was pushing him from behind with all of her might, even to her own detriment.


    "Ailsa, I promise you." Ryu said firmly. "I promise you that if you''re willing to wait for Elena to return by my side, I''ll do my best to give you a happy life."


    Ailsa stood stunned as though she couldn''t believe what she was hearing.


    At that moment, she felt Ryu probe into her mind for the first time. It was a sort of feeling others might have found invasive, but she couldn''t hide the smile on her face as tears she hadn''t registered began to fall.


    She dove into Ryu''s arms, squeezing him as tightly as she could. Her happy giggling between sobs only made Ryu feel more guilty. He hadn''t even promised her anything concrete, yet she had reacted like this.


    "Can I get a kiss?"


    Ailsa looked up at Ryu with a mischievous grin. There was something about the way her drying tears sparkled in her ruby eyes that made her look exceptionally beautiful.


    "Kidding, kidding." She dove back into Ryu''s arms, giggling away.


    Ryu''s mouth hung open for a moment before he shook his head and smiled, hugging her back in return.


    "Open up! Your ten-day period has come to an end!"


    The abrupt shout interrupted the Life Partner pair as the mechanisms of the rounded closed down opened from the outside.


    Ryu sighed, shielding Ailsa with his back.

 Chapter 367 - Might As Well

    "Damn kids today."


    The door of the cultivation roomed clicked shut once more only for the aged voice of one of the Martial Tower''s guards to ring out.


    "Renting a Tier 9 cultivation room just to impress a woman? I wish I could be so extravagant." Another guard muttered.


    "Was the cultivation room always so broken down, though? It was a complete mess."


    "Maybe the kid''s fiercer than we gave him credit for." The third guard said, words laced with innuendo.


    "It''s a shame, though. We didn''t get to see what kind of beauty he was playing with. A kid who could afford such a place just for some fun is definitely not toying around with a normal woman."


    "Excuse me, gentleman. Might I ask you a question?"


    A young man suddenly appeared in the circular shaped lobby area.


    This floor was one of the highest in the Martial Tower and only had nine rooms in total, equidistantly spaced in a circular pattern. Each had large metallic and round doors fitted with complex gears. They were both works of art and feats of engineering all at once.


    In such an open floor plan, it was nigh impossible for someone to sneak up on three Immortal Ring level guards. Yet, this was exactly what had happened.


    "This young master¡­ How might we be of service?"


    Compared to Neil who Ryu had met ten days prior, this person was decidedly darker though he wore a similar half-mask. His brooding aura almost coalesced around him into a tangible form, swaying in the air like the tentacles of a lingering beast.


    "Who was in that room?" The young man asked.


    "This¡­"


    The three guards looked at each other.


    "We are not sure. But, there were two of them. A man and a woman. We only faintly saw the long hair of the woman, but the young man wasn''t someone we had seen before."


    It was impossible to see behind his mask, but it felt like the young man frowned. His aura became slightly gloomier, darkening by a measure.


    "¡­ A man and a woman¡­? A powerful dual cultivation technique, perhaps¡­?" The young man muttered to himself as though the three guards before him were nothing but air.


    At that moment, the door to Ryu''s cultivation room opened. His presence held an imposing might, the kind that spread out regardless of his own wishes. The air simply seemed heavier around him.


    But, there was a devastating beauty beside him that carried a directly opposing and exceptionally light air. Ailsa wore a flowing white gown, her golden hair and ruby eyes glistening like rays of sunshine. However, her smile was the brightest of them all. She clung to Ryu''s arm with both of hers, unwilling to let go.


    The guards and the half-masked man were left in a daze. This was the woman that was with him? They had assumed that she couldn''t be normal but¡­ Wasn''t this a bit too exaggerated? Was it even possible for such a beautiful woman to exist? And weren''t women like this meant to be distant treasures one could look upon but never touch? Why was she so infatuated with this young man?


    However, after finally prying their eyes from Ailsa and looking toward Ryu, they suddenly felt like they understood. They both seemed like people of the same world¡­


    Ryu''s black robes and Ailsa''s white gown should have clashed, but they rather seemed meant for each other.


    Ryu suddenly felt that he might have brought another headache upon himself. Most people assumed he was traveling alone since they couldn''t see Ailsa, so he was rarely bothered with trivial things like people lusting after women by his side. But, he couldn''t take his words back now. He didn''t want to be the one to take that smile off of her face.


    It wasn''t like he had never dealt with this before, anyway. Elena might not have been as beautiful as Ailsa when she was by his side ¨C possibly due to her weaker cultivation back then in comparison to Ailsa currently, not to mention the innate disadvantage humans had in that department compared to Faeries ¨C but she was still the object of affection for countless people.


    Back then, Elena could only rely on herself to swat these annoying flies away because he was too weak. But in this lifetime, Ryu didn''t plan on taking a backseat in such matters again.


    At least that was what he had thought until¡­


    "Hmph."


    A violent aura erupted from Ryu''s side. It was such a raging torrent of oppressive energy that even Ryu''s own heart seized, his gaze whipping about as though trying to find the source. But, when he did, it took all of his self-control for him not to display a surprised expression.


    The three guards and the half-masked man all simultaneously turned various pale shades of white.


    "W-we''re sorry, Noble Lady." The three guards bowed their heads immediately.


    After being stunned for a moment, the half-masked man cupped his fists. "I apologize for my rudeness, Noble Seat. This Junior comes from the Nightingale Mansion, might I ask where Noble Seat and her partner hail from?"


    The three guards turned paler hearing the half-masked man''s form of address. In the Moon World, a ''Seat'' was a title reserved for those above the Immortal Ring Realm. If this Seat''s temper was bad, their referring to her as simply a ''Noble Lady'' could result in their deaths.


    To make matters worse, they had just been talking about missing out on seeing her body just moments ago. What if she heard and decided to kill them for their words?


    Thinking to this point, they trembled and fell to their knees.


    Ailsa looked toward Ryu as though asking his opinion. Seeing this scene, the half-masked young man could hardly control the cold sweat to his back. Had he made a mistake in addressing Ailsa instead of Ryu?


    Ryu, who had been lost in thought, looked up and shook his head.


    "I guess you could say that we will be your rival soon." Ryu said simply before leading Ailsa away.


    ''Rival¡­? He will join the Moonlight Blossom Sect¡­? The Black Winds Kingdom perhaps¡­? Or is he one of their Starred Recruits? But I would have met him by now¡­ At the very least, there would be some intelligence on someone like this¡­''


    "I didn''t know you had regained some of your strength." Ryu said to Ailsa after they left the range of the four of them.


    "Of course!" Ailsa said brightly. "The better our intimacy, the more of my strength I will have. I can easily stay in my full form now, and I can display the strength of a Path Extinction Realm expert for a few minutes."


    "I see¡­ That''s good then." Ryu said lightly.


    "Will you take the Martial Tower''s Trial?"


    "I''m not very interested in it, but I have no intention of working my way up from the status of a Working Disciple. The only way to enter these powers as an Outer Disciple without being selected as a Starred Recruit is to claim both a Challenge Badge and a Tower Badge. I might as well do the latter now¡­"

 Chapter 368 - Deeper

    In the end, Ryu had still underestimated the kind of impact Ailsa had on people. He had forgotten to consider the fact that not only was she beautiful beyond most comparisons, but the people of this world were also unused to seeing women of this caliber. Even when he ventured out into the public with Elena, it was usually within echelons of society where Path Extinction Realm experts were ubiquitous. But in this place, they were practically gods.


    If one considered this, it wasn''t much of a surprise when the whole world seemed to stop around their walk back to the receptionist''s desk. Gazes of furious jealousy could hardly be hidden as several piercing eyes seemed to want to tear the both of them apart. That was right, even Ailsa who happily clung to Ryu like a little kitten was subject to this scrutiny. Whether it was because these women were jealous of her beauty, or because they preferred to be by Ryu''s side instead, it was unknown.


    "I would like to take the Martial Tower''s trial." Ryu said plainly.


    In any other context, his words would have gotten drowned out in the fanfare of the Martial Tower''s lounge. However, there were simply too many people paying attention to his movements and the atmosphere had become much too quiet.


    Something like taking the Tower Trial was far too common. The number of people who took part in it were too numerous, there were countless every day. However, there was one exception to this usual nonchalance¡­ and that was when those of high standing took on the challenge.


    Their Clans would usually make big spectacles of the event. After all, it was an excellent way to gather up Faith.


    Those listening on couldn''t help but wonder if Ryu was among this number.


    The receptionist audibly gulped, summoning will power he didn''t know he had in order to focus on his task. He had already offended Ryu once, he couldn''t afford to do it again.


    "¡­ Okay I will --."


    "Give me the Immortal Ring trial." Ryu interrupted.


    The already fairly quiet lounge area grew even more so.


    There was only one level of difficulty for the Tower Trial. At least, it was designed to have the same level of difficulty no matter who you were or how often you took the trial. It was essentially impossible to use experience to outperform others.


    However, there was one exception to this rule¡­ and that was reserved for those who challenged above their station. These challenges were extremely rare and were known as Path Blazing Challenges.


    That said, even those rare instances usually had individuals only attacking a single level above their Qi Realm Cultivation¡­ attacking two Realms above like Ryu was suggesting now was completely unheard of!


    Genius Necromancers could control Connecting Heaven Realm experts at the Divine Vessel Realm. But controlling an Immortal was impossible.


    It was very obvious to them all that Ryu was a Divine Vessel Realm expert, while they had no ability to see through Ailsa. His ask now was bordering on the ridiculous.


    It wasn''t that they couldn''t feel how powerful Ryu''s body was, Ryu made no attempt to hide any of himself. It was just that the stage his body was at shouldn''t have been powerful enough either!


    Normally, one would only challenge the tower when they were on the verge of breaking through into the next stage. This was because the trial was specifically tailored to the pinnacle of said cultivation realm. However, Ryu''s body was nowhere near the limits of the Immortal realm yet.


    In truth, if the tower was in the original condition Ryu had expected of it, he would never make such a reckless decision. However, after seeing the state the cultivation rooms had fallen to¡­ what reason did he have to believe that they had managed to maintain the Trials to the same standard?


    Knowing this, the decision to take this chance was a no brainer for him. Plus, there was no better way to test his new Talent than this.


    In one corner of the lounge, a familiar figure watched on with narrowed eyes, his junior brother uncharacteristically silent by his side. The latter was beginning to believe that it just might be true that Guiot was right.


    Niel was having a hard time taking his eyes off of Ailsa much like many of them. But, unlike most of the others, he could feel a strong pressure that came from this gorgeous woman, a pressure that reeled in much of his innate desire.


    In another corner, the masked young man of Nightingale Mansion also watched on. Unlike Niel, he didn''t have to guess, he knew that Ailsa was every bit as powerful as her aura would suggest. His question lied in just how powerful Ryu was.


    After a moment, the receptionist finally recollected his emotions enough to begin fulfilling Ryu''s request. Soon, under an uncomfortable amount of silence, Ryu was finally led to the entrance of the trial.


    The second floor of the Martial Tower could be considered where it truly began. There were no more bars, no more dancers, no more questionable pills¡­ there was nothing but long hallways painted in deep blacks and flickering blue lights.


    The long somber hallways might have been eerily quiet, but that didn''t mean that they lacked people. There were actually many here, it was just that they were all very much aware of just how dangerous the trials they were about to undergo were.


    At the end of the line, there was a line of massive doors, standing at over 50 meters each. Before each one, there stood a podium where silent, stoic and black garbed individuals could be found.


    Unlike the receptionist on the ground floor, these individuals could not be taken lightly. The air seemed to tremble around them all. At any moment, they could explode out with an unimaginable power.


    For these trials to be trusted enough to act as possible entry into the most prestigious sects of this world, it no doubt had strict requirements. And, in this case, the reason these Trials were so trusted was because the Sect that created them was the most powerful of this world¡­ the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    The Three Pupil Clan were an enigmatic existence. It was because of them that despite knowing of the existence of a stronger power to join, Ryu decided against it. He wasn''t sure if Ailsa could help him keep his secrets in that Clan. It was very likely that if he entered that place¡­ his Heavenly Pupils would be exposed.


    The young woman standing behind the podium of the door Ryu was meant to enter frowned when she saw Ryu. Or, more accurately, she frowned when she saw Ailsa hanging from his arm with a bright smile on her face.


    It was obvious what kind of assumptions she made. Yet another young master come to treat this trial as though it was a joke. To make matters worse, he was a Divine Vessel Realm weakling who had come to the doors of her Immortal Ring Realm Trial.


    Her expression became piercingly cold. No matter how low her status in the Sect, she was still a member of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. Dealing with something so far beneath her dignity was something she would never do.


    "Leave now or I''ll kill you where you stand."


    The voice was far too conspicuous. The biting cold in combination with the already deathly silence created the perfect recipe.


    However, what the young lady already felt was a done deal didn''t turn out the way she expected.


    Ryu''s already cold gaze became a level even colder, it was to the point where it completely swallowed the aura of the young lady before him.


    For the first time, she met Ryu''s gaze only to feel as though she had met the eyes of a Beast Emperor, a King that ruled over countless subjects.


    Seeing that she had gone stiff, Ryu didn''t bother to say anything at all. He never had much patience for such nonsense.


    "I''ll be back soon." He told Ailsa faintly.


    "Be careful." She said with a light smile, finally letting go of his arm.


    She watched his back disappear into the tall doors, oddly much more nervous than she ever had been in the past. It was such an odd feeling, she hadn''t thought that it was possible for her to care any more for Ryu.


    For the first time, she felt something deeper than just their connection as Life Partners.

 Chapter 369 - 70th

    A silence hung over the lit dark blue flame. It took a long while for the young woman at the podium to grasp what had just happened. When she finally did, her face reddened with an intense shame.


    She wasn''t a fool, no normal person could surprise her to such a state. It was very obvious that she had misunderstood Ryu. She had allowed her annoyance in taking on such a menial task to impact her mood, and by extension, her judgement.


    However, even if she knew this, she found it difficult to swallow her pride. When her gaze landed on Ailsa, who was looking toward where Ryu had disappeared with lovestruck eyes and an adorable white creature in her arms, her anger flared once more.


    "Entering the trials of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect without permission is a capital offense --!"


    Ailsa coldly swept a gaze over the young woman, but, she surprisingly didn''t say a word. Instead, her lip curled slightly and she remained silent, the bubbling strength within her lithe body settling into a low rumble.


    In a while, the thoughts of this girl wouldn''t matter for much of anything. The young lady could feel that her attempts at being overbearing had fallen on deaf ears once more, leaving her feeling stifled. However, at that moment, a torch lit on the gate to her back, causing her to freeze in place.


    ''¡­ Impossible¡­''


    Not only were these tall doors massive, but they were surrounded by unlit torches of dark blue fire that followed the arch of the door''s frame.


    There were a total of 99 of these torches, representing the 99 floors of the Martial Tower. The fact that one had been lit already meant that Ryu had already cleared a floor. However, he hadn''t entered for more than a few seconds. On top of that, he was a Divine Vessel Realm expert, how was this even possible?


    She had hardly finished her thought when the second torch was lit even quicker than the first.


    The young woman''s body trembled. She realized now why Ryu had only given her a glance and Ailsa was too lazy to deal with her. Anyone who could perform so well so well in this Trial wouldn''t have to worry about her rage at all. Even if this kind of person wasn''t accepted into her Sect due to their strict bloodline requirements, they would still be valued to some level. Ryu simply didn''t have to care for her opinion at all.


    In the case that his bloodline met the requirements, he would practically be guaranteed a spot amongst them. In the case that it didn''t, he would still gain an honorary title from their Sect. In some instances, these honorary titles were worth more than even a true position within their echelon.


    Soon, there came a third, then a fourth, then a fifth¡­ not even five minutes had passed by the time the tenth torch had been lit.


    By now, considering many had already been paying great attention to Ryu, the Martial Tower was in a state of combined wildness and contradictory stillness. The crowds of people found it difficult to choose between their stunned states and discussing just what in the world was going on.


    Within the trial, Ryu coldly glided across a bland landscape. Though a single glaive dragged along, its blade just barely a fraction of a centimeter from the ground, he didn''t use it.


    As crackles of lightning followed his seemingly casual but impossibly quick steps, numerous [Vector Eagles] flew in beautiful silver patterns around him like the wings of proud birds of prey.


    There was nothing complex about the trial floors of the Martial Tower, they weren''t particularly large either. In fact, as the enemies grew, the rooms seemed to be gradually shrinking in size.


    This place reminded Ryu of the fourth floor of the crystalline jade. Bland grey floors, ceilings and walls, a fairly small area of a maximum of 50 square meters, and the only difference was that instead of facing just one enemy, Ryu was facing many.


    These enemies didn''t appear all at once, though, which was key to why Ryu had moved forward so quickly to now. As soon as Ryu cut down one enemy, another would appear, only for him to cut it down and yet another to appear right afterward.


    It wasn''t until Ryu had already cleared the 30th floor that he realized that there were two rules for the appearance of the next enemy. They would either appear right after you defeated the first, or they would appear if you took longer than ten seconds to defeat the first.


    Like this, the longer you took to clear a floor, the greater the difficulty over time became due to the fact you would be facing more and more enemies at once in a relatively small space.


    Realizing this, Ryu stopped entirely relying on his Mental Realm and began combining this strength of his with his glaive.


    Though this was the Immortal Ring trial, that didn''t mean that all of the enemies he faced were at this level. In fact, much of the difficulty of the lower floors was dealing with large numbers of powerful Half-Step Immortal Ring Realm experts.


    However, after crossing the 30th floor, Lower Immortal Ring experts began to appear. By the 40th, the ten second time lag had dropped to nine, and by the 50th, it dropped to eight.


    As Ryu expected, the trial had gained an extremely terrible flaw. This flaw had most definitely not been present at the advent of this Martial Tower or else it would have never gained its reputation of great difficulty. And, it seemed that not many were able to exploit this weakness, or else its previous reputation would have taken a great hit.


    The flaw was simple: the enemies didn''t appear with their Immortal Rings deployed. Instead, they would attempt to form them after they appeared, but before they succeeded, Ryu would have already cut them down.


    Ryu suspected that the only reason that such an obvious flaw hadn''t been dealt with yet was precisely because this Fell City was merely among the middle tier cities of this Moon World. The ''geniuses'' that appeared here would find this trial enough of a challenge, so why change anything?


    However, even as Ryu had this thought, he felt that it was more complex than this. What the true reason was, though¡­ He wasn''t sure.


    Ryu coldly cut down another grey armored puppet, crossing into the 70th floor.

 Chapter 370 - Burning Gazes

    Finally, the pressure of the trial became real. Instead of just a single warrior puppet appearing, there were two. Whether Ryu could kill them before their Immortal Rings manifested or more spawned was unknown.


    Ryu''s expression didn''t so much as flicker. Without hesitation, he spun his qi and his skin turned a slight shade of red.


    "[First Pulse: Release]."


    Arcs of electricity pulsed through Ryu''s body. He suddenly felt that the previous burdens he had had using this nameless technique had suddenly disappeared. Whether this was because his body was simply stronger now, or if it was because of his newly awakened Talent, Ryu didn''t know, nor did he have the time to find out.


    Regardless, there was no better way to find out this truth than by battling.


    **


    On the outside of the trial gates, Ailsa watched complacently as the blue torches flickered to life one after another. Many had thought that Ryu would slow as he reached closer to the top, but his pace inexplicably shot upward after entering the 70th floor. It was completely inconceivable.


    By now, the thought of discussion had completely slipped the minds of those around and any hints of a bustling atmosphere the Martial Tower once had vanished, replaced by an eerie and pervasive silence.


    Not even half an hour after Ryu''s entry, he slowly walked out from the trial gates, all 99 torches flickering as his backdrop. He looked as though he had just come back from a leisurely walk¡­ His breathing was steady, his white hair was spotless, and his aura left an oppressive heavy air hanging around them.


    Ailsa smiled sweetly, her ruby eyes shining with an unconcealed pride. She had said before that there were next to 0 who could match Ryu''s talent, and he was only proving her more and more correct with each passing day.


    A badge twirled between Ryu''s fingers as he seemed to almost glide forward. This thing in his hands now was the only reason he had bothered to come to this place. What he wanted was to push himself to the limit, not to take easy paths just so that he could show off.


    In the end, the trial was crippled. It had no ability to pose any sort of challenge to him. But, it ultimately served its purpose.


    Just as Ryu made it to Aisla''s side, there was a change in the flickering torches.


    They suddenly burned bright, growing a fold in size before radiating out into several beams of light. These beams of light met at the center of the impossibly tall trial double doors, slowly forming into the shimmering image of a robed elder.


    <Trial taker ¨C Ryu ¨C has met the requirements. An invitation to join our Three Pupil Eclipse Sect can be issued. Will trial taker ¨C Ryu ¨C accept this invitation?>


    The voice sounded both broken and natural at the same time. It held the tone of a normal person, but had a mechanical edge to it that exposed the fact that whoever this was in this projection, they hadn''t sent a portion of their consciousness here. This projection was only better than an automated message by barely a hair.


    The young woman who manned Ryu''s gate had her expression go stiff. She had worked these gates for a long time, it was one of the easiest ways to gain contribution points in their Sect and about the only way to do so without putting your life on the line. However, she had never seen this scene before. The only explanation was that her worst fears had been realized¡­ Ryu''s bloodline really did meet the minimum requirements.


    Others looked toward Ryu with flashing tinges of jealousy of various degrees. However, the look of excitement that they might have been expecting didn''t cross his features. And why would it? To Ryu, this Sect had always been subordinated to him.


    That said, this wasn''t the reason that Ryu''s expression was still so bitingly cold, at least it wasn''t the case this time around. The real reason was that even he found this situation odd. At least in his memories, it shouldn''t be like this. Another might have thought that they had simply forgotten, but Ryu, who had the Origin Flame, trusted his memories without reserve.


    This situation wasn''t normal. The only explanation was that this policy was either newly implemented, or he had somehow activated an extremely old mechanism that had never been triggered until now.


    Considering the neglect these trial grounds had suffered, it was simply impossible for the former to be the case. It wouldn''t make logical sense. That means that the only explanation was the latter. But¡­ If this was true, then Ryu felt that maybe he had been a bit too reckless in his display. Whatever reason this projection had for appearing, Ryu had no doubt that this overlord Sect had been alerted of his existence now. Whether that was a good or bad thing¡­ He wasn''t sure yet.


    "My apologies, elder. However I have set my sights on joining the Moonlight Blossom Sect."


    <Trial taker ¨C Ryu ¨C has rejected the offer. According to protocol, he will still be provided a reward of equivalent value. Please accept this Tri Key. The next appearance of the Tri Palace will be in¡­ 21 years. You can use it to enter.>


    After these words fell, the projection collapsed and distorted. The blue flames its body had been forged of began to morph and mutate, changing into a key with a triangular tip.


    The key was large and blocky, being about six inches in length. Complex grooves were etched into its triangular prism body, making it difficult to fathom just how complex the lock it opened was.


    Its bronze body gently floated down and into Ryu''s hand.


    ''¡­ The reason I wanted to join the Moonlight Blossom Sect was for one of these keys¡­'' Ryu didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    On one hand, he wanted to join the lesser Sect for this purpose. Yet, he couldn''t have gotten this key unless he rejected the offer to begin with.


    It was a shame, if he had a choice, why wouldn''t he join the better Sect? The Three Pupil Eclipse Sect even had several ocular techniques he was quite interested in. It was just that he found entering Tri Palace to supersede them in importance.


    Ailsa giggled, being the only one who could hear Ryu''s thoughts.


    ''It''s fine.'' She projected her voice into his mind. ''Who''s to say having two keys instead of one isn''t better? And, even if it isn''t, the Moonlight Blossom Sect is still better for you because your other main goal is to improve your Necromancy.''


    After a moment, Ryu nodded. He wasn''t sure if Ailsa''s first words about two keys being better or not were true, but he did know that the Moonlight Blossom Sect was better for improving his Necromancy.


    Once he settled his mind, Ryu put the worries to the back of his thoughts. There was no need to dwell on them. In fact, there was a more important problem to deal with right now¡­


    If he went to the Moonlight Blossom Sect, there was a chance that he could keep his acquisition of the Tri Key a secret. But now¡­


    Ryu looked up to find countless burning gazes trained on his palm.

 Chapter 371 - Piss Off

    Ryu didn''t hurry to put the Tri key away. Completely unlike a person who was the subject of so many greedy gazes.


    He curiously analyzed the key and put it away moments later at his own leisure. Even a fool could tell he wasn''t pressured by their gazes even in the slightest.


    Ryu looked toward the tall black doors of the trial. He faintly wondered how Guiot was doing, but he didn''t pay these thoughts much attention. Not everyone could complete the trials as quickly as he did, staying inside for even a few months wasn''t an odd occurrence. In addition, though Guiot''s cultivation had approaching the pinnacle of the Divine Vessel Realm, he had done so with the use of Ryu''s treasures and had yet to get used to his realm, so the trials wouldn''t be easy for him.


    In Ryu''s mind, it was fine as long as Guiot didn''t die. He didn''t want that adorable little girl to cry over the loss of her brother. Though he was fond of her, he had no intention of replacing Guiot''s place in her heart.


    How far Guiot went would be up to his resolve. With his talent, simply by virtue of having a Soul Nature, he was already considered to be among the most talented youths in existence. He only had to grasp the opportunities he had been gifted.


    As long as he grew stronger, it would be easier for Ryu to take advantage of his abilities and maybe improve his own comprehension toward the spear.


    As Ryu was lost in thought, a lit tug came from his elbow, and he looked down to see Little Gem weakly biting at his robes from within Ailsa''s arms.


    His cold expression melted a bit when he saw this. The poor little one hardly had enough strength to accomplish even this.


    "It seems Little Gem likes you far more than me. And here I thought Faeries were beloved by nature." Ailsa muttered somewhat resentfully as she passed the small bundle of white over.


    Ryu smiled lightly as Little Gem snuggled in his arms, falling back into a deep sleep. Ailsa herself pouted, now finding that she had lost her place to cling to Ryu. Was she really inferior to a little beast?


    "Brother Ryu!"


    At that moment, a voice came to interrupt their small bit of ambience. Ryu looked up to find that it was actually Niel who he had met at the receptionist desk earlier. However, it was easy for Ryu to notice that though Niel had been respectful to him before, it was out of his polite disposition. But, the politeness he exuded now was out of a place of acknowledgement. It was subtle, but it was most definitely there.


    "I heard Brother Ryu say that you''d be joining our Moonlight Blossom Sect?"


    Hearing this, Ryu could only nod. It wasn''t as though he had much of a choice left. He had already said so publicly, so if he went back on his word now, he would be foolishly offending the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect for next to no reason. At the very least, he couldn''t change his mind so quickly.


    Plus, Ailsa was right. It was a good idea for him to join anyway.


    "Yes, I will be challenging one of your disciples soon." Ryu said.


    At that moment, even the junior brother who following Niel like a little tail couldn''t find it in him to say any words of discouragement toward Ryu any longer. In the martial world, talent was important, but there was nothing more important than strength. And, even if Ryu was still nothing compared to their elders, at the very least, he was already a monster within their generation, and that was enough for respect.


    "This is great!" Niel said with a hint of happiness in his voice. "I have come here as the leading Disciple Brother of our Sect, my junior brother here will be among those you can challenge."


    Niel''s junior brother''s expression changed, and he suddenly looked a bit gloomy.


    "You don''t have to give him any ideas, senior brother."


    Seeing his head droop down like this, Niel laughed and slapped his junior brother''s back.


    "As a cultivator, even if you feel you will lose, you still need to step forward with your head held high. Don''t shrink back, or your future road will be even harder. Do you understand?"


    Niel''s junior brother''s gaze lit up as he nodded hurriedly. It was obvious that he respected this senior brother of his greatly. Even Ryu had no choice but to give him a second look.


    If he was a leading Disciple Brother for something as important as The Procession, he was, at worst, a Half-Step Path Extinction Realm expert. If Ryu wanted to know for sure, he would only have to exert some pressure with his Heavenly Pupils, but he decided against it. Usually, he would be able to do so even without this much effort, but Niel was still wearing his Necromancer half mask, shielding himself. Unless he started displaying his qi, it was impossible for normal people to see through him.


    That said, this wasn''t enough to make Ryu change his attitude toward Niel. In fact, no one was worthy of him doing such a thing.


    Seeing that there was no change in Ryu, Niel oddly became even more respectful.


    "Hello."


    It could only be said that anyone with the gall to interrupt a conversation between Ryu and Niel was either incredibly foolish or had actual ability. Just the act of the two of them turning their gazes over would pressure anyone into oblivion. Just now, even Niel had trouble maintaining eye contact with Ryu, but this didn''t mean he didn''t exert his own unwitting pressure.


    It was little surprise then that the culprit was the half-masked man with a dark aura Ryu met after exiting his cultivation room. A disciple of the Nightingale Mansion.


    "I would like to buy your Tri key."


    "I refuse." Ryu said plainly.


    "Don''t be so quick to do so. I can provide you many things in return. There are many legacies that the Nightingale Mansion has that the Moonlight Blossom Sect does not. Why not reconsider?"


    This young man had clearly felt Ailsa''s strength before, yet still dared to do this. It could only be said that his background was most definitely not simple.


    After sensing Ailsa''s strength, he was apprehensive. But, knowing that Ryu intended to join another power, he concluded that Ailsa was a rogue cultivator. If that was the case, then even if she was individually powerful, she would still be helpless against a colossus like the Nightingale Mansion. There was a reason why the power founded Sects and why even those who wanted to remain unfettered would instead opt to being Thrones. Having backing was invaluable.


    No one would dare claim to be invincible. If one wasn''t invincible, having outside support was just too important.


    Ultimately, this young man couldn''t allow the Tri key to fall into the hands of the Moonlight Blossom Sect so easily. The wars of this Moon World were not a joke and were constantly being sparked and battled. Even now, all of the major powers ¨C the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect not withstanding ¨C were in some sort of major conflict.


    This was the best opportunity to pressure Ryu, before he officially joined any powers.


    ''Fool. Do you think that you''ll be safe after you join that Sect? Even if I don''t take the key from you, the people you deem as your backers most definitely will. You''re nameless, without backing, yet dare to carry such an arrogant gaze. You won''t survive for long.''


    It was obvious that this young man was still a bit resentful about Ailsa pressuring him with her aura earlier and Ryu''s disregard. Now that he had grasped a weakness, he wouldn''t let it go.


    "Piss off, or I''ll kill you where you stand."


    Still, this young man with a dark aura could have never guessed that he would receive such an overbearing response from Ryu.

 Chapter 372 - Target

    Ryu''s cold, biting expression made it feel as though the gravity of the surroundings had multiplied many times over. Those who were weaker found it almost impossible to breathe and even those who held some strength felt their knees buckle all the same.


    The young woman overseeing the entrance to the trial gate felt an overwhelming pressure bear down on her heart. It made her realize that even though this Ryu''s cultivation was a bit low, he really couldn''t be underestimated in the slightest. If he wasn''t worthy of entering the trial grounds¡­ than who could possibly be?


    The expression of the half-masked man warped. Though it was a bit difficult to tell behind the abilities of a necromancer mask, just the disruption in his gloomy aura was enough to paint enough of a picture.


    Niel raised an eyebrow. He was a bit surprised by Ryu''s actions as well. Though conflicts between talented disciples weren''t rare, what was rare was shedding all pretenses like this. After all, many followed the principle of ''there were no eternal enemies, only endless benefits''. Since everyone had such thoughts, there was no need to become irreconcilable with people because you just might need them in the future.


    However, this Ryu didn''t have qualms at all.


    At that moment, Niel cleared his throat.


    "Brother Anfroy, your words were indeed a little inappropriate and it seems Brother Ryu didn''t take kindly to them. How about we forget it for now? I think you yourself realize this as well. If you want something from others, it''s better that you come forward with a bit more sincerity."


    The half-masked young man with a gloomy aura, who apparently went by Anfroy, shot a ferocious glance toward Niel.


    He had come here with every intention of trading fairly. However, he had told Ryu that he wanted to buy the key when Ryu said ''I refuse.'' To answer in such a cold and succinct manner, was the person who first showed disrespect not this Ryu and not him?


    "Stay out of this." Anfroy said coldy before turning his gaze back toward Ryu. "I really want to see just how this arrogant fool plans to kill me. I''m standing right ¨C"


    Before Anfroy could react, Ryu''s fist blasted into his chest.


    Completely stunned, the air was completely knocked out of Anfroy, his eyes bulging and his tongue involuntarily hanging out from his mouth as he dry heaved while his body flew through the air.


    Ryu didn''t pursue as Anfroy slammed against the sturdy black walls of the Martial Tower. He could tell that his strike hadn''t done any true damage to Anfroy. Not to mention the fact the latter was a Half-Step into the Path Extinction Realm, he also wore a high grade defensive treasure as well.


    The only reason Ryu was able to put him into such a sorry state was because he was a Necromancer, yet he actually dared to stand so closely to him. Necromancers were ultimately Mental Realm Masters, how could their bodies match up to Ryu''s? He was simply courting death.


    However, in the end, Ryu had still chosen to hold back for now. This Anfroy was lucky that he had used a fist and not his spear, or that latter really would have died. If he really killed Anfroy in a single, sudden strike, his Nightingale Palace might use it as an excuse and say he had used a sneak attack. But this way, it would become a formal duel of the younger generation.


    At that moment, the scene of numerous twitching lips could be seen. How could they not be shocked? When had cultivation realms become so meaningless? Since when was it possible for a Divine Vessel Realm expert to treat someone on Anfroy''s level like a ragdoll?


    Even if they weren''t aware of Anfroy''s cultivation due to his mask, what they did know was that he was the leading disciple brother of the Nightingale Mansion. This meant his cultivation was at worst a Half-Step into the Path Extinction Realm.


    Of course, there was another reason Anfroy was blasted away so easily, and that was because his Immortal Ring hadn''t been summoned.


    BANG!


    "I''LL KILL YOU!"


    Ghastly black qi surged from Anfroy as he roared with all his might. If this had been a normal dwelling, the shout of such an expert would have caused it to collapse entirely. But since this place withstood countless ongoing trials, how could it not withstand this little bit?


    Unlike what one might expect, the Martial Tower didn''t prohibit battle. In fact, though guards were present, it was actually quite rare for them to act. It was just that Ryu was a bit unlucky in going over his time limit.


    Now that there was the sudden eruption of battle, not only did no one in a position of authority step forward, many even looked over in interest. This was called the Martial Tower for a reason.


    "To think that I, Anfroy Nightingale, would have a day where a mere Divine Vessel Realm expert dares to attack me."


    Niel seemed to want to stop Ryu, but the latter had already flicked his wrist and opened his palm, causing a spear to appear in his hand.


    Ryu''s black robes billowed, sharp piercing spear qi whipping around his body incessantly. Their momentum was so fierce that even the sturdy materials the tower was forged of were suddenly filled with countless white marks in an instant.


    He slowly walked toward Anfroy who had raised into the air, his qi billowing like a dense black fog with the intent to envelop everything.


    "I''ll use your head as a warning." Ryu said in a calm and even tone. "Those who want this key in my possession should be ready to pay a price, no matter who they are."


    Anfroy''s laughter shook the air. Even as it did, three figures stalked outward from the dense fog that was his qi, sulking forward with the scent of death lingering in their wake. Though all three were humanoid in their shape, but they were most definitely larger than any human would be. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell exactly what they were due to the thick black robes they all wore.


    A black Impose Barrier erupted around Anfroy. In that instant, the auras of his three corpse puppets raised to another level. Their cultivations jumped from the Peak Immortal Ring Realm to infinitely close to the Path Extinction Realm.


    If others saw how Anfroy was acting now, they''d see that he was truly infuriated. Though it couldn''t be said that he had brought all of his trump cards out, it was very clear that he wasn''t underestimating Ryu in the slightest.


    As for Ailsa? He didn''t even spare her a thought. If she dared to make a move, even if she ran to the ends of the earth, the experts of the Nightingale Mansion would never let her off!


    "You think that just because you cleared some neglected trial that you have the qualifications to go up against me? You want to know why passing this trial is only worth a spot as a Working Disciple? It''s because this trial is worthless! Only by taking this trial at one of the Eight Cities can it actually have some meaning to it and allow you to become an Outer Disciple.


    "Since you''ve thoroughly infuriated me today, I''ll toy with you to the brink of death and then refine you into a puppet so you can spend the rest of your miserable existence regretting your ¨C"


    BANG


    In that moment, Anfroy''s Impose Barrier shattered and he spit out a mouthful of blood as he almost fell from the air. An instant later, the auras of his three corpse puppets plummeted once more, returning to their original strength.


    "Impose."


    A beautiful green barrier wrapped around Ryu in the shape of a dome. Arcs of bright blue electricity and wisps of light green wind followed his steps, building momentum with his every stride.


    A solemn expression coated Niel''s face. It wasn''t just him, but everyone watching felt a shudder in their hearts. Just how much stronger was Ryu''s Inheritance to shatter the Nightingale Mansion''s Death Inheritance so swiftly and easily?


    "I suggest you don''t use such flimsy Impose Barriers before me. Bring out everything you have now, or you''ll lose your chance to do so."


    Anfroy was right about one thing, the trial to Ryu''s back was meaningless. It had far too many flaws and had been far too easy. The current Ryu wanted to deter others from pissing him off on the one hand, but on the other¡­ He wanted to test where the limits of his new strength lied.


    This leading disciple brother was the perfect target dummy.

 Chapter 373 - Luck

    Ryu had yet to meditate upon the Lightning Inheritance of the Lightning Qilin Clan. The truth was that the moment he awakened their Spirit Body Talent, his body was reconstructed into the Yang Lightning element. As a result, he could use lightning qi at will without having comprehended an Inheritance.


    Due to the fact he still had poor control of it, whenever his qi surged, streaks of lightning would unconsciously emanate from his body, striking the surroundings with a vicious momentum. But, it was exactly this uncontrolled lightning that shook those watching on.


    It was too powerful!


    The streaks of beautiful blue lightning beneath Ryu''s feet were even more devastating than his surging spear qi, directly causing savage cobwebs of cracks to race across the ground. If it wasn''t for the fact that the precious materials that formed this tower were already black, it wouldn''t be hard to imagine that they would have been charred as well.


    Anfroy weakly stood, blood dripping from his lips and rebounding against the ground. However, the moment he turned a vicious glare toward Ryu, his pupils constricted.


    Fast!


    Ryu practically teleported, a clap of thunder following his stride as he pierced toward the first corpse puppet.


    A vortex of wind and crackling lightning followed the tip of his spear, slamming against the middle humanoid corpse puppet.


    Anfroy''s pupils constricted.


    A hole was blasted through the center of his corpse puppet as it was sent flying back. In that same instant, its black robes were blasted into pieces beneath the crackling of lightning, revealing its ghastly appearance.


    It was difficult to tell whether Anfroy''s corpse puppets were corpses or golems. Though its face was obstructed by a black fog, it hardly mattered because its body couldn''t be considered to be normal any longer. All sorts of metal components were attached in odd and intricate patterns across its body. Its right forearm was actually shaped like a silver metal canon and its left arm had three joints instead of the normal two, making it so long that its fingers stopped at its knees.


    Even with a hole in its chest, it leaked a black liquid that reminded one of oil formed of the fossil processing of countless precious beasts.


    What was the most shocking about this corpse puppet was that the hole in its chest was actually trying to mend itself. Unfortunately for it, the lingering lightning qi made its death qi unable to gather up and complete the action.


    This was another reason why Ryu dared to fight this battle. If he had ascended to the Blossom Plane instead of coming to this world, at most Ryu would dare to challenge a Middle Immortal Ring expert. Leaping realms to do battle, especially in an Immortal Realm like the Immortal Ring Realm was far too difficult to put into words.


    However, in this Moon World, Ryu had absolute confidence to do so. Why was that? It was because the experts of this world were almost all yin path cultivators. Those who followed this path, before Ryu''s lightning and Rage Flames¡­ could only court death if they sought to infuriate him!


    It might not be so on any other world, but here¡­ Ryu didn''t have to fear anyone below the Path Extinction Realm!


    ''Oh, I guess not¡­'' Ryu corrected himself. ''¡­ I seem to have inadvertently become an Heir and reached the first Inheritor level. With some time, I should be able to step into the Impose Realm with ease soon¡­''


    "Pure Yang Lightning!" Anfroy''s shocked roar reverberated through the tower''s hall. "Who are you?!"


    Anfroy''s words were like a thunderclap in the ears of those in the surroundings. Yang Lightning was one matter, but Pure Yang Lightning was a different matter entirely.


    If it was normal Yang Lightning, though he would suffer a bit, it wouldn''t be to an exaggerated extent. However, Pure Yang Lightning represented that antithesis of all that he was.


    To put these matters into perspective, Ryu''s lightning qi was to all lightning type energies what his Rage Flame or Phoenix Flames were to fire type energies. There wasn''t a ranking system among lightning elements like there were amongst flames because lightning was a huge taboo of the Heavens. As a result, not many dared to tap into its mysteries, and even those who did could only touch upon greatly inferior forms.


    But, obviously, Ryu was completely unlike these individuals. He stood on a level unto himself. Only beasts like the Lightning Qilin and Lightning Roc could touch upon this grade of lightning aside from a few other rare existences.


    Ryu remained indifferent to Anfroy''s shocked cries. His body felt exceptionally light. Due to his Northern Heavenly Wind, his body could already be considered to be not even half the weight it should be, especially considering his Qilin and Dragon bloodlines ceaselessly increased it the stronger they became. However, now he was truly as light as a feather.


    Now, his body carried the strength of an Ancient Beast, yet he was also formed entirely of elements so he was heaven defyingly ethereal at the same time. On top of this, when his qi surged and the lightning flickered out of his control, he gained a charm that only a Faerie could possibly have, making those who laid eyes upon him have a hard time looking away.


    Anfroy''s expression changed multiple times, seemingly hesitating. But in his lag, he didn''t react in time to control a second puppet of his from being blasted flying.


    This puppet''s appearance was just as ghastly as the first. Ryu''s strike had taken a massive chunk out of its hip, making it look as though some monstrous beast had bitten into his side.


    Anfroy''s pupils constricted. He realized that Ryu''s lightning was continuously becoming stronger and stronger as though he was still learning.


    With a wave of his hand, he acted decisively and put his three puppets away. He took a deep look at Ryu and vanished.


    Ryu frowned slightly, because he actually couldn''t grasp how Anfroy had done it. This could only be blamed on himself. He had been too careless. Or else, with his Heavenly Pupils, how many things could escape his understanding?


    ''He actually chose to swallow his humiliation and leave¡­'' A wisp of coldness suffused Ryu''s heart.


    At that moment, Ryu felt a few light taps land on his shoulder. He looked over to see that it was Niel who was laughing heartily.


    "I''ve never seen Anfroy in such a sorry state. I have to say that I''ve still underestimated you, Brother Ryu. How about this, since I''ve seen your combat strength with my own eyes, there''s really no need for you to take part in the Procession. If you hand in that badge you received from the trial, I have enough authority to directly give you the status of Outer Disciple."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed slightly. No normal disciple had the right to do such a thing. Even if he was the leading disciple brother, his authority stopped at acknowledging Ryu''s strength and bringing him to the Sect. Only there would his recommendation coupled and the badge in Ryu''s possession be able to be combined to allow Ryu to become an Outer Sect Disciple.


    The fact Anfroy could do such a thing meant that he was a Core Disciple at worst, and maybe even a level higher ¡­ Was he an Inheritor Disciple?


    It was impossible to tell. Ryu didn''t have enough information.


    Ryu nodded. "Then I''ll have to thank you in advance, Senior Brother."


    Niel was a bit shocked when Ryu addressed him in such a way before he roared with laughter, maybe a bit too loudly. He had thought that Ryu would be too arrogant to do such a thing, but it seemed he had misjudged him.


    Ailsa smiled from the side. From start to finish, she hadn''t said or done a single thing.


    "What an adorable little beast." Niel said with a smile. "Yet it''s actually so bold. It didn''t even wake up from its nap while you battled."


    Niel''s small talk poured out in a continuous stream and seemed without end. With Ryu''s personality, he had practically tuned it all out, so the next few weeks were nothing but a blur to him.


    Then, some time over a month later, after the 8 disciples of the Moonlight Blossom Sect''s completed their Procession, they finally began making their way back to the Sect.


    Unfortunately, maybe it was just Ryu''s luck, but when they were just half a day''s journey away, the sound of hundreds of marching troops resounded on the horizon.


    In a rare showing, Niel''s smile vanished and his gaze narrowed.


    Ryu, who had been silently meditating, slowly opened his eyes.


    These days, the eight chosen of the Moonlight Blossom Sect had an odd relationship with Ryu. Their standing was technically higher than his own as they would immediately become Inner Disciples. However, under the influence of Niel and that Junior Brother who went by the name of Gill, they didn''t have the courage to treat this apparent Outer Disciple with disdain.


    In fact, the four female chosen were quite curious about this youth. Only Gill and Niel had seen Ryu fight on that day. And, in the last month, while they were undergoing their Procession Trial and challenging the youth of various cities, he hadn''t fought a single time.


    However, they had lost their confidence to grow closer to them after seeing Ailsa. Though this mysterious beauty had disappeared for a long time already, they knew that she was close to Ryu.


    "Ryu, come with me.. You eight¡­ Stay here."

 Chapter 374 - Again

    Hearing their leading disciple brother''s words, the chosen were even more shocked.


    Ryu nodded and didn''t hesitate. Since there was a chance for battle, he obviously wouldn''t give it up. He had come to this place to temper himself. So, it didn''t matter to him who the enemy was, as long as he could fight, it was a good thing for him.


    In the past month, he had broken through into the Middle Divine Vessel Realm after opening his third Qi Vessel. In addition, he had easily grasped his Impose Realm Lightning Inheritance. The only unfortunate part was that Impose Realm breakthroughs no longer called down enough Essence for his body to experience significant improvements. After all, the Impose Realm was still ultimately within the Mortal Realms while his body was well into the Immortal Realms, but still it was a good thing, especially since he felt he was already on the verge of entering the Ruler Realm.


    This only made sense. Awakening the Spirit Body Talent meant that his lightning affinity had skyrocketed to an unprecedented level. So, of course his Immortal Realm body could sustain the Immortal Realm comprehension that was the Ruler Realm.


    He was eager to test himself. Silent cultivation wasn''t his style.


    Niel grinned when he saw Ryu''s willingness and shot out of the carriage.


    Ryu quickly followed him, spear in hand. But, his eyes narrowed as he saw the quickly approaching clouds of dust. These warriors¡­ he recognized them. They were part of the battle he and Guiot appeared in the midst of.


    Niel''s expression flickered. With a wave of his hand, the Earth Grade Beasts who pulled the cart died and their blood seeped into the ground. A pungent black fog that smelt of death exploded from them and surrounded the carriage, protecting it from all angles.


    Ryu spared a curious glance toward the scene before turning away. It was likely a technique used to sacrifice corpses for the sake of power. There were a lot of Necromancer techniques that fell under the category like [Corpse Poison] or [Corpse Explosion]. This seemed like a purely defensive art. It seemed the means of Necromancers were far beyond what he currently knew.


    He also knew that this was why Niel hadn''t fought for a higher position for him. The Moonlight Blossom Sect was ultimately a land of Necromancers. If he didn''t display the skill of a Necromancer, it didn''t matter how powerful he was, he''d probably be an Outer Disciple for the rest of his life. The reason the chosen were, well, chosen, was due to their exceptional talent in the field of Necromancy.


    Ryu knew all of this. Niel saw his talent and likely wanted to take him in to avoid him going to powers with less restrictions and thus lessen a potential future headache. After Ryu joined their Sect, unless he was expelled, he didn''t have the right to leave.


    This was why though this Niel looked like a good guy, he was probably even more dangerous than that Anfroy fellow. But, despite being smart enough to see through this, Ryu didn''t care. Because, he had indeed come here to be a Necromancer.


    "Black Winds Kingdom¡­" Niel''s visage turned darker.


    Those floating Specter Steeds rushing toward them now were the signature mounts of the Black Winds Kingdom. It wasn''t that they were really floating, but rather that their legs were obscured by black fogs and wind that gave this impression, this was why their hooves could still be heard.


    The reason they could maintain their small sizes wasn''t because they had the same Talent as Nemesis, but rather because they were half-dead creatures. They had their bodies amplified by treasures and couldn''t breakthrough beyond their current limits. This was the price they had to pay.


    Soon, the approaching troop began to slow, eventually stopping about 50 meters from where Ryu and Niel stood. The group was covered in black armor obscured by black winds and numbered about 100.


    "What are you doing in Moonlight Blossom Sect territory? Is this to be considered an act of war? Do you think that our elders won''t eradicate you all?" Niel asked calmly.


    "Haha!" A robust man at the front laughed uproariously. "Niel, are you even worthy of my Empire declaring war on you? You''re too full of yourself. ¨C"


    Just as the man was about to say more, his gaze suddenly narrowed as he landed on Ryu''s figure.


    "It''s you."


    Niel frowned and turned a gaze toward Ryu. What was that supposed to mean? Did these two know each other?


    "I would have never expected that that white haired fool who dared to fly on a battlefield and actually survived was on your side."


    Though this robust man called Ryu a fool, the seriousness he took Ryu with could clearly be seen in the space between his brows.


    Niel was even more surprised by this. What exactly had Ryu done to make this muscle head take him so seriously? However, he didn''t have much time to think about this because he was more worried about why the Black Winds Kingdom would appear here. They were just half a day''s journey from the Sect now, logically, they shouldn''t have waited this long to attack.


    Was it because of the key? Niel didn''t think so. If it was, why would they wait so long? It had already been a month. Niel had already concluded that the other powers didn''t dare rashly offend the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. After all, they had given it to Ryu as a reward, so taking it from him would be like smacking their faces. Why else would someone as arrogant as Anfroy try to buy it first?


    There was no doubt that there''d be no shortage of individuals trying to pressure Ryu into giving it up willingly. But, coming here with a troop of a hundred was foolish. No matter how much of a meat head this youth of the Black Winds Kingdom was, he wasn''t stupid to this extent.


    Plus, he didn''t seem to have recognized Ryu due to his key, but due to an event that occurred on a battlefield? That was outside of expectations.


    The three major powers beneath the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had been in a constant state of war for a long time now. But, if Ryu was joining their Moonlight Blossom Sect now, that obviously meant he wasn''t a part of any other power and couldn''t have participated in such scuffles. Unless¡­


    Niel''s gaze narrowed, but he didn''t say much. If Ryu really was a spy, this meat head wouldn''t be foolish enough to say this much. And if he had been fighting on the side of another power at that time, he wouldn''t have said anything either for reasons just as sinister.


    "I''ll ask you again, Jock. Why have you come here?"


    Jock sneered. "You claim that this is your Moonlight Blossom Sect''s territory, but you''re easily half a day''s journey from your Sect. Aren''t you a bit too shameless. This is clearly an unmarked land."


    Ryu''s brow cocked. Even if you wanted to have a spar of words, you shouldn''t be this stupid, right? All of the cities in this vicinity were under the control of the Moonlight Blossom Sect, you could practically draw a circle connecting them all and enveloping this area. If this wasn''t considered their territory, then what else could it be considered? Could it be that they had to have a city on every single bit of free land?


    Just as Ryu was about to attack, having had enough of this nonsense, a powerful aura shot over from the direction of the Moonlight Blossom Sect. It had a heavy yin character that made the air seem colder.


    The moment Ryu sensed the aura, a concealed killing intent began bubbling deep within his heart.


    "Haha! Junior Brother Niel, thank you for taking care of these little pups for me."


    Niel''s face twitched. He finally remembered that this irresponsible Senior Brother of his had pawned this job off on him.


    "Senior Brother Zulfiqar¡­" Niel greeted somewhat reluctantly.


    Still, he sighed a breath of relief. At least now this problem was resolved. However, he hadn''t expected the next words his Senior Brother spoke.


    "Oh, you''re here."


    Niel frowned. "What''s going on?"


    "Nothing much, we just plan on launching a joint attack on Nightingale Mansion so they''re escorting some representatives over."


    Niel''s eyes widened. This was quite a big secret. Why would his senior brother so casually say such a thing out loud? Shouldn''t he have thought of an excuse before telling him the truth later?


    It seemed that Zulfiqar realized this too as he smacked his forehead with a palm.


    "Ah, my fault, my fault. I shouldn''t have said that."


    He waved his hand casually and the entire Black Winds Kingdom troop collapsed. There were only a handful and a conspicuous carriage he left untouched.


    "Zulfiqar! What is the meaning of this?!" Jock roared.


    "Aiya, is there a need to get so angry? I made a mistake, so I rectified it. You don''t care much about those troops around you anyway. Plus, I left those valuable steeds of yours alone. And, my side is going to suffer a bit too."


    At first, Niel and Jock didn''t understand what Zulfiqar meant by that last part of his words. At least¡­ That was until his hand suddenly stretched toward Ryu.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He had already been shocked that this man had a high position in the very Sect he now had no choice but to join.. But, to think he would try to kill him again.

 Chapter 375 - Choice

    [WE''VE MADE IT BOYS (AND GALS IF THERE ARE ANY OF YOU LURKING), FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER OF GAB AFTER WHAT FEELS LIKE FOREVER! The reason chapters have been slow is because I''ve had to re-read GAB from start to finish because it''s been so long since I''ve written Ryu and Ailsa, lmao. Anyhoo, I have a lot of exciting stuff planned. This is where the main plot of GAB finally kicks in!]


    "¡­ You want to kill me?"


    Zulfiqar''s had just been raising into the air when he suddenly heard Ryu''s voice. It felt as though the world had been drenched in a cool fog, the calm killing intent radiating from the latter almost condensing into the air.


    Zulfiqar''s eyes narrowed as his hand accelerated. To him, Ryu was as good as dead. The death qi condensing onto his finger was so thin and sharp that it was invisible to the naked eye. A simple wave of his finger had just killed over a hundred with cultivation realm''s beyond Ryu''s, let alone the fact Ryu was right before him now. This matter was over.


    However, how could Ryu''s eyes be compared to the eyes of another? Even without trying, he could see the qi in the surroundings swarming toward Zulfiqar, he could even see through the some of the secrets of the technique he used to do so.


    In a flash, Zulfiqar extended his finger beneath Niel''s pitying gaze. But, the result was out of their expectations.


    Ryu''s body suddenly became ethereal and the sound of clapping thunder could be heard.


    The invisible line of death qi passed right through his body, causing an incredibly small hole to be burrowed into the ground.


    Ryu flashed to the side. Though his face was slightly pale, his vision was even sharper and a cold sneer curled his lips.


    "Trying to kill the holder of a Tri Key gifted by the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect? How bold of you."


    Ryu''s cold voice made his rage clear. If it wasn''t for the fact he knew he was no match for this man, he would have struck to kill no matter the consequences already. This was already the second time this man had tried to kill him.


    "What are you talking about?" Zulfiqar said innocently after reining in his shock, not to mention his spike in killing intent.


    He already knew that since Ryu had said this, he wouldn''t be able to attack again. But, what he didn''t expect was for Ryu to make no attempt to hide his animosity.


    "Wash your neck."


    These were all the words Ryu said in response.


    The feeling was absolutely stifling. The idea that a mere Divine Vessel Realm expert would say such words to him was almost as bad as the idea he truly couldn''t attack anymore.


    A Tri Key held too much significance, and a Tri Key given by that Sect personally held even more. The only way to get the key would be to get Ryu to willingly hand it over, taking it by force would cause one to offend the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    With his high status in the Moonlight Blossom Sect, it might have been possible for him to get away with an ''accident'', but attacking twice in succession, especially after Ryu so clearly stated his identity, would be nothing more than him courting death.


    However, even knowing this, the fact Ryu so brazenly took advantage of this fact filled him with a belly of resentment he didn''t know how to get rid of. What might have been worse was that he felt a lurking sense of danger from this boy. At the very least, his eyes were¡­ dangerous.


    By the time he had calmed down his anger enough to be certain he wouldn''t lose his cool and attack Ryu again, the latter had already walked off into the distance and toward the Moonlight Blossom Sect, not even bidding Niel farewell.


    As for the matters here? What did they have to do with him?


    Even from the distance, they could see how each of Ryu''s steps left burning scorch marks on the earth. It was clear that his words weren''t false, he really wanted to kill Zulfiqar.


    Not only did he really want to¡­ he really dared to, as well.


    **


    "Alright, alright." Ailsa giggled. "There''s no need to be angry, we''ll make him pay eventually, right?"


    Ryu walked through the snow, arcs of blue lightning coursing around his body.


    Ryu wasn''t quite used to his new body just yet. So, with his emotions having become so heated, he found it even more difficult to control.


    The Dragon and Qilin were both beasts of extreme Yang and both were quite known for their tempers. The Red Dragon specifically even had their Rage Flames which could be fueled by their emotions, so there was no surprise there.


    But now, Ryu had unlocked Talents of both beasts, making his own temper even more difficult to control. Despite the consequences, he almost went all out with Zulfiqar right then and there. Of course, he knew that it would be foolish to do so, so he hadn''t, but the strong temptation somewhat scared even him.


    It only made it worse that Zulfiqar''s attack had been so volatile. Just turning into lightning wasn''t enough for Ryu to dodge. Had he done that, all the energies his body had been made up would have been corrupted by the death qi, leading to his death.


    In order to survive, Ryu had to not only enter his Elemental form, but he also had to bend his body around the needle. The level of concentration it had taken to accomplish this almost drained him completely. He wasn''t fast enough to react, so he had to use his Pupils to predict the trajectory. If it wasn''t for his will power, he probably wouldn''t even be standing now.


    After a long while, Ryu finally managed to calm himself, his silver eyes sparkling with a cold glint. He had to admit, if it wasn''t for Ailsa, he might not have calmed down so quickly.


    "This will be troublesome." Ryu finally spoke.


    He originally wanted to use the Moonlight Blossom Sect to train in peace until it was time for him to use the Tri Key. But, he wasn''t a fool. If he still tried to do this now, he would only be asking for constant harassment. In fact, Ryu even thought of finding a new Sect to join regardless of what the consequences might be.


    He didn''t particularly care about what others thought about him. To Ryu, the most important thing was growing stronger as quickly as possible. He didn''t have millions to billions of years to waste to reach the top of the Martial World. He had to step onto a grander stage now.


    If the Moonlight Blossom Sect would be more of a hindrance than a help to him, then he would definitely throw them to the wayside. He had no intention of joining an uphill battle just for the sake of public perception.


    Understanding Ryu''s thoughts, Ailsa smiled.


    "I think you''ve forgotten about one thing:  Osiris."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed when he heard this word, looking down at the black ring on his finger that he had ignored all this time.


    In truth, it had been more subconscious than anything else. Knowing that his great grandfather was out there and alive, yet hadn''t made any attempts to save his legacy still left a bad taste in Ryu''s mouth.


    Back then, Ryu had spoken a whole bunch of nonsense about abusing his great grandfather''s name in spite of him, but the truth was that he was still too prideful to do so. He knew that he wasn''t in a position to be willful, but he had still thrown this matter to the back of his mind, never even attempting to use it.


    Ryu''s pride couldn''t have been more obvious from this. Let alone using the ring, he hadn''t even looked at it or even thought of it until Ailsa just mentioned it. As a result, despite the fact he had such an amazing resource sitting right here, he had never even attempted to use it.


    The Mercenary Guild was definitely not to be trifled with. A smaller world like this one couldn''t even hope to match up to it. The benefits Ryu could get from this one ring was definitely far beyond anything that the Moonlight Blossom Sect could possibly provide. In fact, it would probably be beyond what even the Tatsuya Clan in its prime could provide.


    Of course, compared to the resources of the Tatsuya Clan, Ryu would have to fight for resources of the Mercenary Guild, whereas in the Tatsuya Clan, Ryu would have everything handed to him on a silver platter. But, the sentiment was still the same.


    Seeing the complex light Ryu looked down at the ring with, Ailsa sighed lightly. Entering her full form, she snuggled one of Ryu''s arms, seemingly not bother by the crackling lightning around him in the slightest.


    No matter how cold Ryu was, he couldn''t help but feel comforted by such an action. Though, that comfort was layered with a tinge of guilt when he thought Elena. It made his fervor to grow stronger burn even brighter.


    However, though he hadn''t said it in but so many words, he had also accepted Ailsa as his woman. Since he had made such a decision, he wouldn''t go back on his word.


    Ailsa could feel Ryu''s thoughts. But, she also smiled in understanding. If Ryu didn''t have such a reaction, he wouldn''t be the Ryu she knew. In time, their relationship would hopefully be just as close. When that time came, the place she held in his heart would be no smaller than Elena''s.


    "I know how you feel about these things, but even the most powerful need to make sacrifices. When the day comes where you can stand above your great grandfather and ask him to answer for his actions, who will care about how you got there?"


    Ryu closed his eyes. Somehow, even now, he felt as though a piece of himself was being taken away.


    A blazing killing intent surged around his body. Even the snow began to melt and the evergreen foliage began to wither beneath its aura.


    To Ryu, this decision was no different than dropping to his knees. For making him make such a choice, Ryu swore there would be a day soon where he buried Zulfiqar beneath the soles of his feet.


    "Alright.. I will enter Osiris."

 Chapter 376 - Pod

    Ryu vanished into the large forest, his body cloaked in a veil of darkness. While the others thought that he would make his way to the Sect, Ryu chose to take his time. He had no intention of entering that lion''s den now. Since he had chosen to finally try his hand at the Dream World: Osiris, he would simply find a location where he wouldn''t have to worry about being interrupted.


    Not long after Ryu disappeared, several shadows appeared where he had just been. They looked around in confusion as though wondering how a Middle Divine Vessel Realm pup could possibly elude them.


    However, there was no denying the fact that it had happened right before them.


    "Could he have not headed toward the Sect?"


    "Impossible. I''m certain that he took this path."


    "Well, he''s clearly not here, so how do you explain that?"


    The shadows looked toward each other but clearly didn''t have a good answer for one another.


    Ryu coldly watched on from the sidelines, his expression indifferent. It was as though he didn''t know that these ''shadows'' were here for him.


    After a while of getting nothing in return for their efforts, the shadows scattered.


    Not even ten minutes later, they returned. But, there was still nothing to find.


    ''Quite persistent, hm?'' Ailsa mused, her thoughts drifting to Ryu.


    ''Quite bold.'' Ryu replied, an edge to his tone.


    They were still with Moonlight Blossom Sect territory and weren''t very far from the Sect at all. Yet, they still dared to come after him right here and now.


    He had to say that this was probably a smart decision. It would be easy for Zulfiqar to blame another in this sort of situation.


    Though the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect was a looming threat, the reality was that much like how everything else in the Martial World functioned, it was entirely reliant on strength. Ryu could complain, but if his voice wasn''t loud enough, who would listen?


    From what he understood, this Zulfiqar had quite the loud voice.


    Ryu sneered. ''To think that this is how far my family''s world would have fallen. I''ll remind them of the power of the Ice Phoenix Clan soon enough.''


    Ryu vanished.


    Not long later, he found himself a secluded place and summoned his Death Worm Immortal Cave before burrowing into the ground. He had to admit that despite the relatively weak nature of the Death Worm, at least compared to higher end Immortal Caves, its stealth abilities were top of the line.


    Once Ryu felt that he was in a safe enough position, he began to enter a state of meditation.


    "Will you be able to come with me?" Ryu asked.


    "Mm." Ailsa nodded. "It shouldn''t be a problem. In fact, over there, we''ll likely run into many more Faeries, my existence won''t be too surprising."


    Ryu nodded. That much made sense.


    "I also have a few ideas¡­ Namely, we need to do something about your weapons?"


    "My weapons?"


    "Yes. Your level of strength has long since surpassed them, so they''re more of a hindrance than a help to you. And, beyond that, I think we may also need to consider something a bit more¡­ novel."


    Ryu''s brows furrowed, not quite understanding what Ailsa was getting at.


    "Let''s go first and I''ll teach you what I mean."


    ¡­


    [Welcome to Osiris]


    Ryu felt his vision swim, but he quickly acclimated himself.


    After observing his surroundings, Ryu found that he was in the small pod. A gel of a consistency a level more solid that jello covered about half his body length-wise. Not even a foot above him lay a ceiling and his arms couldn''t even stretch horizontally without crashing into more walls.


    He wasn''t very surprised by this realization. According to his understanding, Osiris was a grand Dream World no smaller than maybe the whole of the Martial World itself. Of course, things weren''t so exaggerated since it was the hub of Mercenaries alone, but the point was that it wasn''t much different from the real world.


    As such, there were differences in statuses between people here not unlike how there''d be in the Shrine Plane or anywhere else.


    The fact Ryu awoke in a pod meant that he couldn''t afford to have awoken anywhere else. As such, the default brought him to this location.


    Of course, part of the reason for this was the fact his great grandfather must not have put any effort into building his faction. From Ryu''s understanding, he was the only person who had joined the Saintly Weapon Sky God Faction, so unlike the other Direct Descendants of Sky Gods who likely awoke in luxurious mansions, he had to settle for this uncomfortable hell hole.


    Ryu looked down at himself as best he could in such a position and shook his head. Not to mention the fact he awoke in a pod, but even his clothing was downgraded.


    All of Ryu''s clothing had been sown by Spiritual Seamstresses, but it seemed that he wasn''t lucky enough to bring such things with him. As a result, he was now wearing bland grey robes that made him look somewhat like a dilapidated Tai Chi master.


    Ryu didn''t actually mind this very much, he only wished that his clothing was black as he had grown accustomed to over the years. But there was no need to be so picky.


    Despite the lists of complaints, Ryu actually felt quite refreshed. Compared to sending his mind into the crystalline jade, this sort of feeling was very different. He found that his mind was almost¡­ breathing.


    It was a weird feeling, almost as though his brain had lost the protection of his skull. But, rather than being in danger as a result, it felt more free and lively. The feeling was rejuvenating.


    In the past, the perpetual use of Ethereal Tapestry was more of a burden than anything else. Though being able to see all the qis of the world was a special feeling that made reading the attacks of opponents and even cultivating far easier, it weighed heavily on the mind.


    Ryu found that he got tired much more easily and his mind needed to rest more frequently. But, this only made sense. After all, wouldn''t anyone feel this way if their normal world suddenly became nothing but a swirl of bright lights and colors all the time?


    But, in this place, Ryu felt as though the burden had been completely lifted from him. In fact, he began to enjoy Ethereal Tapestry just as much as the very first time he awakened it.. He found that this mutation his Heavenly Pupils had undergone had far more possibilities than he had initially given it credit for. If he could bring out its full potential¡­

 Chapter 377 - Authority

    Ryu shook his head. He had been so lost in the feeling that he had begun to waste time. He came here to train and gather resources for himself, not to bask in a feeling of pleasure.


    With a thought, Ryu could see his information floating before him in an illusory panel of some sort. From his understanding, no one could see this information unless he allowed them to.


    [Ryu Tatsuya]


    [Saintly Weapon Sky God Faction]


    [Talent Designation ¨C Sub-common]


    [Battle Prowess Designation ¨C Black]


    [Status ¨C Direct Descendant]


    [¡­]


    [It is detected that host has undergone significant changes since last connecting with Osiris. Would you like to update your information?]


    A voice rang into Ryu''s ears, asking for his permission to scan.


    Remembering how overbearing the system had been when he last entered, Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He wondered if he said no if it would find an excuse to scan him anyway.


    Last time, Ryu got lucky. Aside from the fact he could hide under the umbrella of his great grandfather, due to Ailsa and his False Spiritual Foundation, the Osiris System failed to place his talent properly. But, now that he had lost connection to his Spiritual Foundation, Ryu wasn''t certain if he would get the same benefit.


    If the Mercenary Guild suddenly became aware that a Great Ancestral Circle level talent had joined their midst, who knew how they''d react? Ryu had no intention of relying on his great grandfather for help in this regard. Doing so would just be like him asking for a quicker death.


    "Is there any benefit to a second scan?"


    [¡­]


    [As a Direct Descendant, your priority options are already as high as they can get without becoming a Pillar of the Guild]


    "In that case, don''t." Ryu replied succinctly.


    Surprisingly, the Osiris system left him alone after this, allowing Ryu to sigh a breath of relief. If the system detected his Realm Heart, he had no idea what would happen to him.


    "Alright, let''s go."


    With a thought, the pod Ryu was laying in released a large amount of gas and began to slowly extricate itself.


    When Ryu finally got the room he needed to sit up, the sight left him smiling bitterly.


    His pod was just one of hundreds of thousands, located in just one of the countless rows and columns around him.


    Flying treasures of all sorts flew overhead and below. Not a single person even spared Ryu a glance. It was clear that they were quite used to ''small'' characters like him.


    Ryu tried to fly, but quickly settled back down into a frown. It wasn''t because he couldn''t fly, but rather because it was far more difficult to do so here.


    He had thought because of how comfortable his mind felt here, that everything would be easier. But controlling his body here felt as though he had suddenly grown another set of limbs and could now only move with them.


    Ryu suddenly heard a giggle at his ear after a while.


    "Ailsa?" Ryu called out.


    "It will be more difficult for you to control your body here the more talented you are. So, you have your work cut out for you."


    Ryu frowned. "Why?"


    Usually, he would be able to guess Ailsa''s thought process. But, at this moment, he was at a loss.


    "Think of it like a lag."


    Ailsa''s body manifested into its miniature form, finding a seat of Ryu''s shoulder.


    "This is just a Dream World. But, unlike your crystalline jade, it''s projecting you toward a central hub that connects with the minds of trillions of other people.


    "The more talented you are, the more data the system needs to send, and thus the more sluggish your projection becomes.


    "Actually, if it wasn''t because you were a Direct Descendant and had priority when it came to certain things, it would be even more difficult for you to control your body. Let alone flying, you might not even be able to sit up properly."


    Ryu frowned. If this was the case, was it still worth it to come here at all?


    "Of course it''s worth it." Ailsa chided. "This is another reason I wanted you to come here. You still haven''t broken past that barrier in your puppet control. But, if you can reach a certain standard here, I promise you that controlling your corpse puppets will be no more difficult than controlling your own body in the real world."


    Ryu''s gaze lit up, a sudden understanding overcoming him.


    Since that was the case, he would do his best. Because it was his own body, he could see through the mistakes he made much easier and understand the proper path with much more clarity. This would indeed make his progress much better.


    He hadn''t forgotten that he needed to become a Summoning Necromancer. In order to do this, he needed more than just general talent. He needed talent as a Necromancer, or else he could forget it.


    Unfortunately, his Mental Realm was one of his great weaknesses. In that case, he could only make it up with hard work.


    Ryu focused his attention on his body, Ailsa watching to the side in silence.


    His body raised from the bed of jello, only to crash back down.


    Ryu took a deep breath, using the Origin Flame to see through all his mistakes and correct them in the blink of an eye.


    Then, he tried again.


    This time, he rose much further, albeit much more shakily.


    His arms spread, his core flexing. He had never struggled this much to utilize his qi before. With his talent, it had always come as easy as breathing. To think it could be this difficult.


    In all his focus, Ryu didn''t realize that his surroundings had become deathly silent. The flying treasures had come to a grinding halt and their owners, who hadn''t spared him a single glance before, looked toward him with wide eyes.


    By the time Ryu realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere, it was already too late.


    Ailsa giggled. "I forgot to mention that only those with a certain level of authority can fly in Osiris¡­"

 Chapter 378 - Uproar

    Ryu sent a glance toward Ailsa. But, she didn''t seem to take his coldness very seriously. After getting used to Ryu for so long, she had learned to shrug off such things long ago.


    Ailsa knew exactly what Ryu planned to do. He likely wanted to use the resources of the Mercenary Guild while keeping a low profile. Even if he had a chance to use his status as a Direct Descendant, he likely wouldn''t unless he had no other choice but to.


    However, in this situation, his status was all but exposed.


    Ailsa pretended like she knew little about the Mercenary Guild. But, despite having spent most of her life in a deep sleep waiting for Ryu to reincarnate, if there was anything she did know about, it was these large Guilds.


    The Mercenary Guild was large and expansive. It couldn''t truly be considered to be a single power. Rather, it was the combination of several, thus their factions.


    Not all factions within the Mercenary Guild were as empty as Ryu''s great grandfather''s. These factions usually have billions of people within them and not even all of these factions were necessarily led by Sky Gods either.


    This was all to say that the Mercenary Guild was a massive conglomerate with hands in several pots across the Martial World. If one wanted to get something they couldn''t do on their own done, it was more than likely that this mission would appear within Osiris for a Mercenary nearby to accomplish it for them.


    As a Cultus Faerie, and a Princess of her race, no less, Ailsa would definitely have had some dealings with this Guild before. In fact, it was very likely that she had once been a part of a faction on her own.


    Of course, if Ryu wanted to know about these things, he could just look into Ailsa''s mind. But, he already had a habit of not doing this.


    "Don''t pout." Ailsa said with a giggle. "If I didn''t trick you like this, who knew how long you would spend ignoring your privilege here. Now that everyone''s seen you, there''s no escaping it any longer."


    Ryu shook his head and ignored his surroundings.


    It took him a moment, and his flight speed was still barely 10% of his maximum, but Ryu finally managed to raise himself from his pod.


    He understood where Ailsa was coming from. If he really held himself back from using his privilege in this place, then he would be hampering his progress. In that case, what would have been the point in coming here? He might as well have dealt with the nonsense the Moonlight Blossom Sect had in store for him.


    "Alright, you win." Ryu replied, gliding down from his pod. "Since you know so much about this place, where should we go?"


    Ailsa smiled mysteriously. "Well, since you said so, remember those Armament Guild Accounts I mentioned before?"


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened as he tried to maneuver through all the people looking at him as though he was a circus act.


    Back in Loom City, Ryu ran into a branch of the Armament Guild. Back then, he lamented the fact he couldn''t use the accounts under his name because that would expose his identity. But, having read his thoughts, Ailsa mentioned the fact that her Cultus Clan had no small number of accounts themselves. And, as their Princess, she could of course use them as she pleased.


    "You mean?"


    "Well, I did say that you need better weapons, right? Also, we can''t waste time trying to earn money here. By the time we make any progress, it will already be time for the Tri Palace to open. So, if Big Sis can speed up the process a bit, don''t you think I should?"


    Ailsa smiled sweetly. Accessing her Armament Guild Accounts here wouldn''t be a problem at all.


    "Alright, I forgive you." Ryu gave up.


    Ailsa''s bell-like laughter rang in Ryu''s ears. But, unfortunately for others, he was the only one that could hear it. Well, he was the only one that could until they stepped out from the large spherical building.


    To Ryu''s back, there was a large ball of glass that stood several kilometers tall. It had a slight tilt to it and a steel wrap running around its circumference once.


    By now, Ryu had already stepped back down to the ground, but the news of his appearance had caused an uproar in this small section of Osiris.


    He was simply too conspicuous. Otherworldly handsome features, long flowing white hair, yet somehow wearing the default grey clothing of the poorest paupers this world had to offer. The dichotomy would have been eye-drawing even if news of him flying hadn''t spread.


    As though that wasn''t enough, Ailsa soon entered her full form by his side. The appearance of a Faerie caused the already great uproar to grow to another level.


    Ailsa appeared in a long flowing white dress, her golden hair almost falling to the street beneath her delicate bare feet. Her ruby eyes sparkled, but her entire world seemed to be filled with Ryu''s side profile.


    "Let''s go on a date! Big Sis will spoil you rotten!"


    Ryu smiled bitterly. How had he gone from the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan to a gigolo?


    **


    The news of Ryu''s appearance couldn''t be underestimated.


    Osiris was one large massive hub of connected minds, but it was also split into several smaller quadrants. Due to the fact Primus Tatsuya never bothered to organize a residence for his Faction, Ryu had been teleported to one of these smaller quadrants.


    Not all smaller quadrants were created equal, though. Depending on the level, one''s immersion in Osiris would differ and the difficulty of controlling one''s avatar would vary. These quadrants were separated into Lower, Middle, Upper and Peak Quadrants. There were also rumors of a fifth level which only a select few could step onto.


    But, the main point here wasn''t this, but rather that each of these designations were controlled by their own factions. So, how would these factions react when an unknown entity with such high privilege appeared in their territory?

 Chapter 379 - Too Much?

    "Such a thing happened now? What are they playing at, exactly?"


    In a world disconnected from Osiris, a voice sounded. Its owner was a man of plain appearance. There didn''t seem to be anything particularly amazing about him. But, the longer one gazed upon him, the closer one would be drawn in. It felt as though the energies of the world were at peace in his surroundings.


    Had Ryu been there, his Ethereal Tapestry would have seen a still lake of colors, as solid as a painting and as beautiful as the most gorgeous artistic conceptions.


    He rose from his meditation, his Spiritual Sense sweeping outward. If one was too weak, it would feel no different from a breeze. But, if one was of a certain level, it would feel as though a Giant of epic proportions was gazing down at you.


    There was no doubt that this man wasn''t as weak as a Divine Vessel Realm entity. In fact, even a Path Extinction Realm expert would be dwarfed beneath his presence. He could only be described as a mountain.


    "The gathering of materials for the Ice Devil''s Legacy World was just a few years away from completion, it can''t be that someone wants a piece of the pie now?"


    Only those Martial Gods and their partners were aware of just how truly special this Ice Devil Legacy World was. Whether or not the Shrine Plane could come under their full control or not would be entirely reliant on this. It was such an important matter, in fact, that they even went so far as to recruit geniuses from the lower Immortal Planes. If that didn''t prove just how important this matter was, then nothing would.


    The man mused to himself, his steps even and unhurried. Eventually, after he rounded his own small garden, he seemed to have come to a decision.


    With a flip of his palm, a crystal ball of some sort appeared and he relayed several orders before going back to his place of meditation, the mountainous aura around him fading with the closing of his eyes.


    Even with all of that said, none of these things were the most shocking parts about this man.


    If Ryu had been there, the first thing he would have noticed wouldn''t have been the towering aura, nor would it have been the inconceivable cultivation, nor would it had even been the still palette of colors around him.


    It would be the white hair and silver eyes of the Zu Clan.


    **


    "What is this about a new weapon?" Ryu finally got around to asking this question.


    In truth, Ryu was more used to being stared at like this versus not. After all, his face was well known on the Shrine Plane during his first life and his wife was a femme fatale as well. If it wasn''t for her lower cultivation, Elena would have been among the top rated beauties of the Shrine Plane without fail.


    A little attention was meaningless to him. So, he easily ignored the eyes around them.


    "Hm¡­" Ailsa glanced at the wares lining the streets.


    Most people in Lower Quadrants had to scrape by to afford their living in Osiris. So, such street vending in these lower levels was quite common.


    Because of the way Osiris was created, there was a great burden on the mind. Though Ryu felt as though his mind had been alleviated, that extra benefit he gained waned considerably after he began to control his body. As a result, whatever boost being in Osiris gave to the mind became a net negative when controlling one''s body was taken into account.


    As a result, most couldn''t stay in Osiris for longer than a few days. The only way to extend one''s time without damaging one''s mind was to use Spiritual Crystals. Unfortunately, though, Spiritual Crystals were incredibly expensive. Even the lowest denomination could only be afforded with Immortal Qi Stones.


    A single Lower Spiritual Crystal could extend one''s stay in a Lower Quadrant by 10 days. But, it could only extend stay in a Middle Quadrant by 1 day. The price only became greater and greater the higher one climbed within Osiris.


    At the same time, though, despite the expenses involved in remaining in this place, the rewards were too great to pass up. Even if one ignored all of the resources, simply staying and living in this world could explosively increase one''s combat power and had a subtle effect on purifying one''s Mental Realm.


    The higher one climbed, the more exaggerated these benefits would become.


    Beyond this, if one could rent high-class hotel or training rooms, there would be an added bonus to these effects. And, even beyond that, if one could afford to buy a home in Osiris, these benefits would reach a whole other level.


    Unfortunately for the players selling there wares on the road, though, it was unlikely that they would be able to make much to begin with. The sad truth was that much of them were probably members of Teams and had to pay a cut of their earnings. They were essentially fueling the lifestyles of their leaders. And, if they couldn''t meet certain quotas, they would be kicked out.


    As for why talents great enough to enter Osiris to begin with would fall to such a level¡­ That would easily be explained by the death penalty for dying in Osiris and the benefits for killing another here¡­


    In the end, everything always came back to benefits.


    "¡­ I think that you should abandon the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. At least, you should abandon them as presently constructed."


    Ryu''s footsteps paused.


    If Ailsa had said such a thing when they first met, he would likely respond coldly and abrasively. The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons might have been created by his great grandfather ¨C a man Ryu didn''t have many if any fond feelings for ¨C but it was passed down to him by his grandfather and his father, two men Ryu deeply cherished his relationships with.


    His father, Titus Tatsuya, a man who was stoic but loved deeper than anyone else. He was the backbone of their small family, a man who understood responsibility and cared for him unconditionally.


    His grandfather, Saint Tatsuya. He was a man of few words and hardly communicated his emotions. Truthfully, his wife and Ryu''s grandmother, Merula Tatsuya, had become his mouthpiece a long time ago.


    Both of these men saw Ryu as the bearer of their legacies. Though they never blamed him for it, he could see the hurt in their eyes when he failed to awaken that day on his Seventh Birthday.


    To Ryu, the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons had little to do with power to him and everything to do with carrying on the Tatsuya name as was his duty. Now that he had the strength to do so, he had every intention of making them proud.


    For Ailsa to ask this of him¡­ Wasn''t it too much?

 Chapter 380 - Ailsa Cultus

    Ailsa took a deep breath.


    The truth of the matter was that she had had this idea for a very long time, but she was also privy to Ryu''s thoughts. Though the man seemed cold on the outside, his heart was filled with nothing but warmth and sentiment. If not for this, how could he possibly have treated Guiot''s little sister as though she was his own?


    Compared to that little girl, though, Ryu''s feelings for his family weighed even heavier.


    Why was it that despite knowing his life wouldn''t last long, despite knowing he was nothing but a cultivation cripple, despite still having the unconditional love of his family, that Ryu would still have worked so hard in his last life?


    The truth was that no one knew how hard Ryu had slaved. How much time he had spent with his nose in a book he didn''t want to read or the sleep that he had deprived himself of for days to weeks on end.


    As a mortal, even the simple things were difficult for him. Even a non-factor to cultivators like sleep or sickness were things Ryu always had to deal with.


    Yet, no matter what it was that faced him, no matter what hardship that stood before him, Ryu continued to press forward, his mind entirely focused on being of benefit to his family.


    In the end, his hard work paid off. He helped his parents to accelerate their cultivation and improve their Spiritual Foundations. He found endless stores of treasure for the Tatsuya Clan, helping to bolster their fame and wealth. He pioneered new feats in the field of Herbology, resurrecting long extinct Spiritual Herbs and creating never before seen ones¡­


    It could be said that Ryu''s greatest pride, his greatest drive and his most important ambition was his family.


    And why was that? It was all because he was a cripple. He was a cripple who couldn''t have passed down the family legacy, a cripple who couldn''t do the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons proud, a cripple that couldn''t bring forward the full strengths of his Bloodlines or his Bone Structure or even his Heavenly Pupils.


    Ryu saw himself as a failure so he worked until he had no more tears to shed and no more blood to bleed.


    But now¡­ everything was different. He could finally fulfill his duty as the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, he could finally make those weapons ring and have those who watched on as his Clan fell shake in horror and fear. Other than saving his family, this was the greatest ambition Ryu had.


    He finally had the strength to do it. And, Ailsa was well aware that he had put in the work necessary to reach that goal as well. There wasn''t a moment in the day where he wasn''t cultivating.


    And this was exactly why Ailsa waited so long to bring this topic up. She knew Ryu better than anyone. In fact, even those silent moments in the Tatsuya Clan''s library, memories that Ryu kept to himself and never spoke to anyone else about, she was well aware of.


    It was only now Ailsa finally felt that she could say these words to Ryu without him closing her out completely. If she had tried to say these words any earlier, Ailsa wouldn''t have been surprised if Ryu never spoke to her again. Even now, she could feel his aura growing distant and somewhat cold. But, as Ryu''s Cultus Faerie, Ailsa knew that these were words she had to speak.


    Many who had been observing Ryu and Ailsa seemed to realize that there was something off about the atmosphere between them. They couldn''t fathom why a man would be showing such an expression to such a great beauty.


    It had to be said that Ailsa was the most beautiful woman any of them had ever seen. There didn''t seem to be a single flaw on her well-endowed body.


    If it wasn''t for their better judgment telling them that Ryu wasn''t one to be trifled with, many of them might have already surged forward to be her knight in shining armor.


    "Listen to me, Ryu."


    Ryu nodded. "I''m listening."


    Though he said this, the coldness in his voice was undeniable.


    "I''m not asking you to give up the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. I said that you should abandon them as presently constructed."


    Ryu''s brow furrowed. He couldn''t understand what this was supposed to mean. Was he abandoning them or not?


    Ailsa looked around and frowned. Though Ryu didn''t care about being watched like this, she wasn''t very fond of being ogled during such an intimate moment. This was a very important milestone in their relationship and she would rather not have a peanut gallery come along with it.


    "Come."


    Ailsa grabbed Ryu''s hand and pulled him along. Somewhere deep inside, she sighed a breath of relief that Ryu still allowed her to do this much.


    Inwardly, Ryu was greatly conflicted. His visceral reaction was to cut Ailsa off completely for saying these words. However, when he met the look in her eye, his heart softened considerably.


    Just like she could see his emotions, in that moment, he could see hers. He could see the trepidation, the fear, the anxiety she felt speaking these words to him. He could sense the courage it took for her to speak them.


    At that point, for the first time, Ryu couldn''t help but wonder¡­ Was he too cold?


    Before Ryu realized what was happening, he had been pulled into another large building. Compared to the glass sphere housing countless pods, this building was just as vast, albeit not as oddly shaped. In addition, while the glass sphere had been filled to the brim with people, this large building was practically empty.


    The building itself seemed completely out of place for a Lower Quadrant level world.


    "My name is Ailsa Cultus. I would like to take a look at my assets, please."


    A young woman at a counter was completely taken aback.


    "¡­ Ex¡­ Excuse me?"


    The young woman couldn''t believe what she was hearing.


    The moment Ailsa spoke her name, it was as though all the energies of the world began to sing.

 Chapter 381 - Great

    The young receptionist shook, unsure if she had heard correctly. But, the name alone kept reverberating in her ears, beating to the sound of her heart and refusing to allow her to forget.


    Names in the Martial World were too powerful. When they reached a certain level of standing, the clapped in one''s ears like thunder. Even Ryu''s Tatsuya family name when spoken felt like a reaper gripping at one''s throat, yet they were technically wiped out almost a billion years ago. However, Ailsa''s Clan hadn''t waned in the same way. In fact, they were still brimming with force and vitality.


    The young receptionist couldn''t quite seem to understand why it was that Ailsa would come here in the first place. But, even beyond this, wielding such a name so nonchalantly as though it hardly mattered seemed to be even the worse offense.


    Even now, after speakign her name, Ailsa''s attetnion was entirely placed on Ryu as though she was still trying to coax him. Her action were gentle and loving as though she was trying to impress him rather than the other way around.


    As a receptionist at this Lower Quadrant''s bank vault, this young lady''s standing was actually quite high. Compared to other who had to sell their street wares to stay in this place, her experiences were, by far, much better.


    But, even then, even with all the things she had seen, this was the very first time she had run into such a situation.


    "Yes, ma''am. Right away, ma''am!"


    The young receptionist hurried with the procedures. As for checking Ailsa''s identity, was that a joke? Anyone who dared to speak of the Cultus Faerie name without being a part of them would have found themselves struck down by Faith. The best case scenario for such a person was to become a cripple. In the worst case, their existence would be completely erased. The only way to escape such a Fate would be to have enough strength to rival the most powerful existence of the Cultus Clan, but if you were such an individual¡­ would you really need to use any other name but your own?


    Understanding this, it was no wonder that the young woman was so flustered. This was the most powerful name she had ever heard. On top of that, those of the Cultus Clan were practically living Legends. She never thought that she would run into such a character.


    Looking toward Ryu who still seemed to be somewhat cold and distant, the young woman couldn''t help but feel a twang of jealousy. The only human such an existence would be close to would be their Life Partner. But, everyone knew how rare it was for Humans to gain the favor of Faeries. This could only mean that Ryu was also an elite amongst elite talents of humans as well.


    All of this left the young woman in a complete daze. She practically felt like she was dreaming even up until Ryu and and Ailsa vanished from her sight.


    "Ah.. I need to report this¡­"


    The young woman finally snapped out of her daze, a flustered expression still on her face.


    ¡­


    Ryu and Ailsa walked through the long and tall empty hallways in silence. The marbled decorations were quite beautiful to behold, but neither seemed to be in the mood to speak. Ryu was still trying to sort out how he should be reacting to this situation while Ailsa felt as though she was walking on pins and needles.


    Somehow, compared to before, Ailsa was even more afraid of displeasing Ryu. In the past, their relationship hadn''t been very deep. But, if after finally getting Ryu to accept her, her own words pushed him away, she didn''t know if she could ever recover from that.


    The emotions left her feeling somewhat stifled. She almost didn''t realize when they reached their destination.


    Since Osiris was a Dream World, there were, of course, no tangible locations for things. As a result, Ailsa didn''t need to go to an exact bank to retrieve things she left behind. Rather, she only needed to visit a branch and she would have access to everything.


    Ailsa fiddled with the key that the receptionist had given her, but her hands were shaking so much that she couldn''t seem to use it properly.


    Ryu watched on from the side, at a loss. He had never seen Ailsa in such a state. Of course, this was one part due to the fact he never looked into her mind and another part due to the fact she had never been able to stay in her true form for long in the past.


    Ryu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, a beautiful silver reflecting within his irises, he had subconsciously reacted, reaching forward and placing his hand on Ailsa''s.


    Ailsa froze, looking back at Ryu, a half expectant, half confused light in her eyes.


    "It''s alright." Ryu said, the edge in his tone dulling considerably.


    He took the keycard from Ailsa''s hands and opened the door for her. A wash of light assaulted them as their identities were checked.


    Since Ailsa and Ryu shared the same wavelength, it wasn''t even necessary to go through any hassle of giving Ryu permissions. He was allowed in just as easily as she was.


    Ryu pulled Ailsa into the room, the oddity in his heart calming considerably.


    At a loss, Ailsa followed Ryu in, the large doors clicking closed behind them.


    Ryu found a marble bench sitting in the middle of an empty room with pinkish rouge marble on all sides. The only other thing in this room was a marbled table, but there wasn''t anything on it either.


    He sat at the bench, pulling Ailsa to sit beside him.


    "I''ve decided." Ryu said, looking toward Ailsa. "Even if I don''t agree with your path in the future, I will never hate you for voicing your opinion."


    Ryu took a deep breath. "Ailsa, you are my woman. Do you understand what I mean by this?"


    Tears brimmed within Ailsa''s eyes to the point the began to spill over. The words were said with such straight-forwardness and brevity, yet they were words that rang with Ailsa''s soul. The reason was simple. She could see through what Ryu meant exactly, his eyes conveyed it all.


    "Now tell me, what do you mean?" Ryu gently pushed.


    Ailsa took a deep breath, her heart feeling much lighter.


    "¡­ I¡­" Ailsa smiled, wiping her tears. "The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons are great, but they were flawed. For one, they separated into three disciplines that have yet to be fused. But, this is only the most surface level issue. While switching between weapons in battle seems like a great idea, the reality is that it''s only hindering you.


    "I want you to put effort into a single weapon that can fuse all three paths of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons into one. And, most importantly, I want you to choose a weapon that can make use of your dual wielding talent to a much greater extent than the spear, glaive and halberd can allow.


    "I spent a lot of time thinking about what weapon could meet all these criteria while also allowing you to carry on your Clan''s legacy. I''ve decided on an ancient weapon that''s long since been fazed out of use."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, feeling an image Ailsa was projecting to him.


    "The swordstaff?"


    Just saying the word made Ryu feel as though something was calling out to him from the depths of his soul. As a Runic Master, he had come across his ancient weapon more than once.


    "No." Ailsa smiled mysteriously.. "For you, we will make it the Great Swordstaff."

 Chapter 382 - Swordstaff

    Ryu fell into his thoughts.


    "The swordstaff¡­"


    As a Ruin Master, there were very few staples of history that Ryu wasn''t aware of. The swordstaff was an ancient weapon that didn''t get much attention during later Eras.


    In the past, polearm weapons were the norm, at least for the Shrine Plane. This was because beasts were the rulers. Facing enemies with such large bodies, humans had to take advantage of whatever they could. As a result, polearm weapons were created.


    Over time, the swordstaff evolved into the spear, glaive, halberd, and other more common polearms. As for the reason it was forgotten, it was quite simple. The swordstaff was good at many things, but not perfect at any one thing.


    It wasn''t as good as the spear at piercing. It lacked in the cleaving prowess of the glaive. And, it was a worse hybrid in comparison to the halberd. In addition, due to the change in blade design that came with the halberd, a swordstaff couldn''t match its power either.


    For all of these reasons, the swordstaff was eventually abandoned. But, it seemed that Ailsa wanted to bring it back.


    "There are a few reasons why I want you to choose this weapon.


    "The first is its versatility. It is a jack of all, master of none. However, it''s exactly because of this that it''s perfect. This is why I said I only wanted you to abandon the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons as presently constructed. I want you to pave a new path that fuses the three, succeeding where your great grandfather failed."


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened, a twinkle hidden within their depths.


    "The second reason I want you to take this path is because a Great Swordstaff would make it far easier for you to dual wield. With your dexterity, it will almost be no different from wielding two swords rather than two polearms. This will give you far greater control and the disparity between your dual and single wielding strength won''t be as exaggerated."


    Even to this moment, Ryu was much stronger when single wielding. When he used a weapon with a single arm, he could at most exhibit a fifth of its strength.


    The good news was that when he used two weapons at once, the effect was multiplicative. So, when he dual wielded, rather than only being able to display 40% of his strength, he was closer to 80-90%.


    This was exactly why Ryu didn''t want to give up dual wielding. If he could have such results with just a fifth of his strength, what if he could exhibit 100%? Wouldn''t his strength reach an all new level? He might be even ten or twenty times stronger than he was now.


    But, there was more bad news than good.


    For one, Ryu hadn''t made any progress in his dual wielding in a very long time. It was as though he had reached a plateau he couldn''t break past. But, the second piece of bad news was even worse.


    Ryu had never dual wielded the halberd before. Whenever he dual wielded, it was always with the glaive or the spear. If he brought out the halberd, he would always single wield it.


    There was a very obvious reason for this: he couldn''t dual wield his halberd, no matter how hard he tried.


    The stronger his comprehension of the halberd became, the further away from dual wielding it he got. This became a perpetual cycle he had been stuck in for years already.


    Ailsa took another deep breath.


    "Little Ryu, what you''re fighting against is more than just yourself. The same way Names carry Fate, so do weapons. The more powerful a weapon, the stronger the convention around it, the more difficult it will be to break past what it has become used to.


    "Every time you battle, you''re not only trying to increase your own strength, but you''re essentially swimming against the tide of the world.


    "Everyone who picks up a spear will do it with two hands. Everyone who picks up a glaive will do it with two hands. Everyone who picks up a halberd¡­ will do so with two hands.


    "The halberd is especially like this. There might be some rarer instances of soldiers wielding a shield and spear at the same time, but this will never happen with the halberd. It''s a weapon of power, of oppression, you don''t defend when you use it, you attack, you destroy. This is the embodiment of the halberd, and it''s especially so for the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons.


    "From this, I''m sure you can understand the third reason I''ve chosen this weapon for you¡­"


    Ryu nodded slowly.


    Ailsa smiled. "As a rarely used weapon, the Faith around the swordstaff has dwindled down to near nothing. As for the modification I have in mind for you, it''s even more unfettered.


    "Little Ryu, this isn''t only about not being restrained by convention. Pioneering the Faith of a new weapon will give you added strength no one else has access to. While others will have to pull from the same reserves of Essence the world has to offer, you can pull from your own. The restrictions will be far less and the benefits far greater."


    Ailsa steadied her breathing.


    "So, what do you think?"


    Ryu stayed silent for a long while, his irises flickering. For the first time in a long while, Ailsa didn''t peer into his mind, patiently waiting to the side.


    "¡­ Show me this Great Swordstaff." Ryu finally said after a long while.


    Ailsa paused for a moment. She thought that this was maybe the most important image she would ever project. If she did this wrong, maybe she would lose Ryu''s potential acceptance of this matter.


    Deep within her soul, she felt that this was a necessary step Ryu had to take. If he didn''t abandon his current path, he would never reach his full potential.


    However, Ailsa wasn''t a weapon''s smith. She didn''t know what she should do¡­


    Ailsa closed her eyes, calming herself once again. She never thought that such a matter could be so stressful.


    Since she couldn''t rely on her expertise, she would force it. If there was one thing she did have expertise on, it was Ryu. In that case, she would show him something she felt reflected him to perfection.


    "Alright¡­ This is it."

 Chapter 383 - In My League

    When Ryu saw the image, he lost his breath for a moment.


    Half of the weapon was shrouded in a heart stopping mystique. It was a jet-black blade, radiating out with a dark fog.


    It had a width of two feet and a length of almost two meters. The blade was so flat that it seemed capable of slicing a piece of paper down its thickness. There was a slight taper to it, leading to a slightly elevated spine that just barely reflected the light. Everything about the weapon screamed to one''s inner demons, calling out for slaughter.


    But, this was just one half. The hilt of the weapon stretched out into a polearm over a meter long. It was wrapped in the scales of a dragon, wheezing and breathing as though it was alive. Every pulse caused the scales to lift slightly, revealing a sinister red beneath.


    It felt like just grasping this hilt would slice one''s palm apart and just swinging the weapon would allow it to drink one''s blood.


    A second copy of this weapon stood side by side, they seemed to be calling out to Ryu, begging them to take them into his hands.


    Ryu in took a sharp breath. He could feel his blood rampaging about, threatening to burst out from their veins. He had never seen a weapon call out to him in this way.


    He subconsciously reached out, trying to touch them. But, when he expected to feel his palms being sliced into by the sharp scales of the hilt, he grasped onto something soft instead.


    Ryu shook his head, his vision clearing, only to find his large hands practically disappearing into Ailsa''s ample breast.


    "Oh. Sorry." Ryu pulled his hand away, his expression regaining its calm.


    Ailsa giggled. "Why don''t you touch some more."


    A slight blush colored her face. Though Ryu had already seen her everything, this was the first time he had touched her in such a way. Plus, even if he was cold, he could at least pretend to have enjoyed it, right? Why was his face still so bland?


    Luckily, Ailsa could read Ryu''s thoughts so she was well aware he enjoyed it more than he was letting on. It was a good thing too, or else she would begin questioning her womanly charms.


    Ryu shook his head with a slight bitter smile. This woman played too much. But, he didn''t necessarily hate it.


    "So, what did you think?" Ailsa said after she was finished teasing Ryu. "How manly would you be wielding such weapons?"


    The great sword was already a weapon of men, but this seemed to take it to a completely different level.


    That said, not just anyone would be able to wield such a weapon. Not only would it take an insane amount of strength, the dexterity required would be beyond most. Ailsa believed that Ryu was one of the very few who could manage it.


    Ryu took a deep breath.


    "It''s a beautiful weapon¡­ I could feel it resonating with me¡­"


    The swordstaff, in a lot of ways, was just like Ryu. Both had been abandoned by the world and both wanted to carve out their own path within it again. This was the first time Ryu had felt such a way about a weapon.


    The Tatsuya Saintly weapons were for his father and grandfather. But¡­ This was for him.


    "However¡­"


    Ailsa froze, a tinge of worry coloring her expression again. Her excitement waned considerably just by virtue of this single word.


    "That weapon''s power is currently beyond me. Even if we have your funds and can commission its build, I wouldn''t be worthy of it. Shouldn''t we start with something a bit more in my league? And also something that wouldn''t make every Dao Pedestal Realm expert on the Moon World chase after me as though their lives depended on it."


    Though Osiris was a Dream World, shipping things into an out of it was incredibly easy. Everything here was illusory, but something like teleporting products across worlds would be exceptionally easy.


    It could be said that thanks to Ailsa''s wealth, Ryu already had everything at his finger tips.


    Ailsa was stunned when she heard this, but then she suddenly began laughing. Her laughter was so beautiful that the energies of the world seemed to sing. One would think that she had just accomplished the goal of a lifetime. Her smile was so genuine that Ryu felt as though centuries of icicles were slowly melting around him.


    Ailsa pounced into Ryu''s arm, happily burying her head into his chest.


    Ryu was stunned for a moment before he shook his head, a light smile on his face. He patted her head, allowing her to do as she pleased.


    Sometimes, this Cultus Faerie of his acted more like a little girl than a billion year old existence.


    **


    Many hours later, Ryu walked out of a weapon''s smith shop with two massive Great Swordstaffs strapped to his back. His every step was heavy, causing the ground to quake.


    Unfortunately, he still hadn''t mastered the control of his body. So, whereas in the real world his steps would be as light as a feather regardless of the weight he carried. In this world, he was practically a walking earthquake.


    From within the weapon''s smith shop, an older man wiped his brow of sweat, a partially curious and partially gratified light in his eye. As a weapon''s smith, his job could often be quite repetitive. Casting the same weapons, repairing the same weapons, forging the same weapons¡­


    Swords, swords, swords and more swords. Occasionally, he would get a spear master. But, after enough years, he had gotten bored of this as well.


    But today, he finally got to forge something new, and he had to say that he was greatly satisfied.


    "Youths these days are quite ambitious¡­ But, I guess you can do whatever you want when you have a beauty like that by your side¡­"


    ¡­


    Outside the shop, Ryu reached his arms to his back. Strong winds kicked up the moment he unsheathed the twin Great Swordstaffs. Each weighed over ten million jin, so just their slight movement seemed to make the world tremble.


    Ryu''s arms flexed, veins bulging as he held them out horizontally.


    The Great Swordstaffs glistened with a silvery light. The runes drawn across their body reflected beneath the sunlight, bouncing in every which direction.


    The blades had a more three dimensional structure, making it look like blunt weapons from afar. But, the very edges contained a sharp sheen experts would never miss.


    Both weapons were Peak Earth Grade treasures, radiating a might that made all those who saw them tremble. At this moment, for the first time in a long time, Ryu felt that he was limiting his weapon''s strength rather than the other way around.


    He activated the runes of the treasures, causing a force field to appear around him.


    BANG!


    A massive crater with Ryu at the center of it all appeared, the weapons each doubling in weight.


    Ailsa watched with a smile to the side, floating in the air to avoid the destruction. Just watching them enter Ryu''s hands, she knew she had deduced correctly. He was made for this weapon.


    At that moment, the sound of clapping forced Ryu to pull his attention away from his weapons, a cold light suffusing his gaze.


    A young woman leading and entourage came forward, her slender hands clapping against one another.


    "To have such strength at the Middle Divine Vessel Realm¡­ And what¡­ Interesting weapon choice. As expected of someone with such high authority."


    The young woman smiled, looking up at the floating Ailsa as well.


    "Would you two care to have a chat?"

 Chapter 384 - Uproar

    Ryu''s arms flexed, somewhat clumsily returning his Great Swordstaffs back to their sheaths. He had been looking forward to training his body control back to where it once was, being very expectant of the kind of gains he would have to his Necromancy as a result. In fact, this was exactly why he had chosen to commission a holster for his new weapons rather than simply storing them in a spatial ring, he wanted to push his body to its limits so he could gain this greater control. But, he hadn''t expected to be interrupted before he could even decide what his next step would be.


    It was quite a shame. Ryu had thought the benefit of being upfront with his high status would make people leave him alone. He had grown used to running into trouble these past few years because his standing was too low. It seemed that the trouble he had to deal with had less to do with how low his standing was and more about how unlucky he was.


    Ryu calmly observed the young woman before him, seemingly not minding the slightly awkward silence.


    She was quite a beauty. Though nothing compared to Ailsa, she seemed to command attention of her own under the circumstance that a Faerie Princess wasn''t also nearby.


    That said, her beauty was secondary. She wore tight fitting grey robes that may have followed her curves, but also worked to accentuate the Team Emblem that rested just above her right breast. This very emblem was the very same one shared by all those who followed her, making it obvious that they were all a part of the same organization.


    What was especially intriguing, though, was that this young woman also seemed to have stepped into the Immortal Ring Realm. And, not only had she done so, but her completion of the Realm was not shallow and her age was most definitely quite young.


    Simply put, compared to the talents Ryu had run in the Shrine Plane during his second life, and even compared to the few he had stumbled across in his short time in the Moon World, she was leagues above.


    It could be said that this young woman was the closest person to his own talent that Ryu had run into in his second life.


    Of course, this wasn''t saying much. It was impossible for her to compare to him and the quality of youths Ryu had come across were lacking. But, it still said something.


    After a long while, just when the young woman was starting to get uncomfortable and seemingly realized that AIlsa deferred to Ryu, Ryu finally spoke.


    "And you are?"


    The young woman cleared her throat. She had never been treated this way before, but anyone who could have a Cultus Faerie by his side likely had the right to be so arrogant. She had thought that since Ryu was still in the Divine Vessel Realm, things would be somewhat easier to handle. But, despite being so close to him, he didn''t seem to display any fear whatsoever.


    Under normal circumstances, even if one''s backing was far higher than another, there would be a minimum amount of respect afforded to those with higher cultivation than you. This was the way of the Martial World, where strength reigned. However, Ryu didn''t seem to take her seriously at all.


    Of course, how could she know that Ryu was used to berating World Sea Realm experts even as a mortal?


    "¡­ Ah, yes. We are the Violet Olive Team and are under the rulership of the Immortal Sakura Alliance. We''re here on orders from our superiors to have a chat.


    "According to the unspoken rules of our several Alliances, we aren''t meant to cross into one another''s territory especially during these sensitive times. Might I ask which Alliance you''re affiliated with and why you''ve come to our territory?"


    Ryu sent a glance over to Ailsa, to which she responded with a giggle.


    ''Teams, Alliances and Factions ¡ª that''s the order from smallest to largest. Alliances are usually less strict and aren''t truly recognized by Osiris. Same goes for Teams. Factions, on the other hand, are the real big players of this dream world.


    ''That said, due to the smaller restrictions and size, there are far more Teams and Alliances than there are Factions. As such, most of what happens in the lower regions are dictated by these smaller teams. If an Alliance is provoked, things can get especially murky because many of the shops here run through them.


    ''Of course, the same can''t be said for major establishments like the bank we just left. But, for smaller places like the weapon''s smith who forged your blades, you''d have to be careful.''


    Ryu listened to Ailsa''s words filter into his mind, but he was still quite intrigued.


    ''Immortal Sakura Alliance? What a bold name¡­''


    "I am not part of any Alliance." Ryu replied plainly.


    The young woman frowned upon hearing these words. No Alliance? Then what was he doing here?


    It was also impossible for her to think that Ryu was part of a Faction because even the worst of Factions would spawn their members in Higher Quadrants. Even the most fringe members of such Factions would spawn within elite resting locations in Middle Quadrants. Something like a Faction member appearing on a Lower Quadrant was unheard of.


    None of this even mentioned the fact Ryu had appeared among the lowest grade sleeping pods as well. It was already hard enough for them to accept that such a person had a Cultus Faerie to begin with, let alone then accepting that he was from a Faction.


    ''Is he a Lone Wolf?''


    If Ryu really was without affiliation, things would be easier. If he didn''t have any backing, dealing with a single Divine Vessel Realm expert wouldn''t even remotely be a problem. In fact, it would be too easy. This was especially due to the restrictions Faeries faced.


    Under normal circumstances, a Faerie would enter with their Life Partner as a proxy. As a result, their combat prowess would be assigned a value of zero. Basically, floating in the air like that was practically the extent of Ailsa''s abilities currently.


    Of course, there would be an exception if Ailsa also gained the approval of the Mercenary Guild on her own. But, judging by the fact she had no qi fluctuations around her, this was unlikely. Plus, even if she had, so what? Since her Life Partner was in the Divine Vessel Realm, even if she surpassed him she would at most be in the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    It seemed that they had been overly cautious?


    "In that case, it seems we''ve overstepped. But, since we are here, I believe it''s important for Sir to understand a few things.


    "As I mentioned previously, this is a sensitive time. I''d like to warn you in advance not to take any unnecessary steps that might effect your future in Osiris. In fact, if I were to give you any advice, I would advise you to quickly relocate to another Lower Quadrant world. I see that you recently commissioned the creation of your weapons, so you must not be lacking in funds¡­"


    Ryu listened to these words curiously. He wondered just what was happening here that they would be so serious.


    "Unnecessary steps? Such as?"


    The young woman looked back toward the group that had followed her before looking toward Ryu. The look she had on now was as though she was looking at someone who didn''t understand his limits.


    "I believe we''ve said all that is necessary and we''ve given you enough face. We''ll be taking our leave now."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, his face still the picture of calmness.


    ''What did she mean by that?'' Ryu turned his question toward Ailsa.


    ''I''m not sure, but if I were to guess, it is likely related to the resources of the Quadrants.''


    ''Resources?''


    ''Mm¡­ Osiris is a dream world, but there are tangible benefits to be gained. Most importantly, it''s a world for training and exchanging benefits. Some of these benefits can be traded amongst people like you just did with your new blades. However, many more of these benefits have to be fought for through ranking competitions and field competitions of the like.


    ''They''re likely worried about you interfering in these missions. Or, rather, they were back when they thought you were a part of an Alliance. It seems they''re looking down on you now, my Little Ryu.''


    Ailsa giggled lightly, her actions causing several eyes that had been quietly listening in on the clash to stick to her like glue.


    ''Oh¡­ So that''s the case, huh?''


    Ryu hopped out from the crater he had formed, his steps heavily landing on the paved roads and causing cracks to spread. Not long later, the crater began to mend itself as though nothing had happened.


    ''Immortal Sakura¡­ Immortal Sakura¡­ Is it a coincidence?''


    Ailsa smiled, seemingly knowing that Ryu had already made a decision. If he didn''t seek chaos, would he be the Ryu she knew at all?


    Not long later, an uproar sent waves across the Lower Quadrant world. News that one of the missions the Violet Olive Team had reserved was now gone spread like wild fire. To make things more interesting, this matter was undertaken by a lone wolf in the mere Divine Vessel Realm!


    **


    Across worlds, there was a lush paradise with beauty beyond words. Pinkish violet clouds hung in the air, a refreshing sent rode the soft spring breezes, and the creatures seemed to laugh jovially, splashing about in crystal clear waters.


    At the center of this world though, a huge commotion was taking place, a commotion so large it made what was happening in that Osiris Lower Quadrant seem like a joke.


    After so many years, news of Princess Ailsa had finally been found!

 Chapter 385 - Where

    Sitting within the center of a budding flower, there was a man with handsome features beyond description. It could be said that Ryu was a man who was almost perfect in every regard, but compared to this Faerie King, he was several levels inferior, it was the to the point where Ryu could only be seen as substandard if they were placed in the same room.


    Of course, this difference mostly stemmed from a gap in cultivation, but it was the truth nonetheless.


    The King of the Cultus Faeries was a man who shared similar looks to his daughter. He had flowing golden hair that reminded one of the nectar of the Gods and two ruby eyes that dazzled and dazed. His features were sharp and his beard was meticulously kempt to the point where not a single strand seemed to be out of place. All of his hair curled the same and followed a perfect flowing gradient.


    His skin was without blemish, so clear that it radiated a natural light all to its own. And, as though this wasn''t enough already, his body gave off a refreshing scent even more intoxicating than the smells of Ryu''s current Ice Jade Crystal Body.


    The Faerie King wore elaborate robes. But, it was hard to tell if they were constructed with true lines of fabric. They held an ethereal character that made the strands of clothing seem to resemble the lights of twinkling stars rather than a mesh woven by a Spiritual Seamstress.


    At this moment, the Faerie King was in silent meditation. However, the commotion of his abode couldn''t have been missed by him. With his level of strength, there was hardly an inch of his lands that wasn''t always in his purview.


    As expected, several burst into his room of meditation, causing the Faerie King to awaken and shake his head. He was a King, a mighty existence in both status and power, yet others could just barge into his quarters like this. It was truly laughable.


    Of course, a majority of the reason this was possible was due to the construction of the Cultus Faerie World. Though this was a Palace, the design was quite open concept.


    It floated amidst the clouds and didn''t even have a roof to speak of. Let alone barging into his room, anyone could see what he was doing simply by flying over the Palace, not that many dared to do this¡­


    Likewise, not many dared to enter his living quarters so freely either.


    The count that barged in slowly grew to a few dozen. However, the Faerie King recognized each and every one of them.


    His seventh son, eleventh son¡­ third daughter, seventh daughter¡­ his ninth concubine, his third wife¡­


    Each and every one was a family member and each was gorgeous beyond compare. But, at this moment, they were all frothing at the mouth like a pack of rabid dogs. It felt as though they would all implode at any moment unless they got to say what they wanted to say.


    To make matters worse, unlike their properly dressed father and husband, these Faeries all hardly wore any clothing. It was quite the sight to see them in such a state, pushing against one another as though vying for position. Each and every one of them wanted to be the first to speak and didn''t mind elbowing a few exposed breasts and groins to get their way.


    Of course, this was simply the way of the Faeries. There wasn''t an ounce of sexual tension in their actions. They really did look like any other normal family who just happened to be at each other''s throats... Didn''t Ryu also find Ailsa completely naked initially?


    "Alright, alright." The Faerie King placed a palm against his forehead, shaking his head. Each one of them was millions of years old at the youngest, was there a need to act like children? "Just tell me, what is it that you have to say?"


    "Father!" The Faerie King''s eleventh son finally managed to barge his way to the front of the group. "Littlest Sister! We have news of Littlest Sister!"


    The Faerie King, who had been nonchalant this whole time, suddenly froze. He slowly moved his palm from his forehead, his gaze sharpening as he looked toward the small crowd of his family members.


    At that moment, the jostling for position came to a grinding halt. The aura around the Faerie King had changed abruptly. From a carefree existence, he suddenly became a towering existence that seemed capable of even dwarfing Shrine Mountain.


    A palpable innate suppression suddenly took hold.


    They weren''t reminded of it often, but sometimes the Faerie King''s family would forget that their father and husband was no ordinary man.


    The Faeries were split into three major rankings. The Lowest Echelon Faeries that included Elemental Faeries and mix-blood pixies. The Middle Echelon Faeries that included the unspecialized Battle Faeries which received the blessings of the Martial World''s Essence. And finally, there was the Highest Echelon, the true Faerie Deities that stood above all others.


    This Echelon included Ficia Faeries ¨C the remarkable healers and breathers of life ¨C the Quibus Faeries ¨C the harbingers of the dead and the reapers of death ¨C and finally, the Cultus Faeries ¨C the nurturers and the sustainers of the Martial World''s enigmatic cycle.


    This Highest Echelon had just three Kings, three Faerie Kings that stood above all others, three men and women that ruled the Faerie world with their might.


    And this was one of them, Elafaren Cultus. He was a the greatest Cultus Faerie of his generation, a man responsible for countless impossible deeds passed down through the millennia. It was impossible to recount his valor in just a few words, to encapsulate his legend in just a few breaths.


    If one had to say just a small bit, to capture just an inferior portion of this man''s grandeur, one only had to say a single thing: The balance of the Faerie Plane as the Martial World had come to know it¡­ Was precisely the result of this man''s efforts.


    "Where is my daughter?"


    His words practically came out in a growl.

 Chapter 386 - Nine Cycles

    The Faerie King''s eleventh son seemed to have trouble breathing. But, he eventually shook his head and grit his teeth, his words eventually coming out in a steady flow.


    "According to reports, Littlest Sister recently used her name to access one of our vaults in Osiris through the Mercenary Guild. She withdrew a small sum for unknown reasons. But regardless, she should be in Osiris right now."


    The Faerie King frowned.


    Osiris? Wasn''t that the dream world formed by the Mercenary Guild? Why would his daughter be there? Unless¡­


    "She found her Life Partner?" The Faerie King asked with a dark expression.


    "We can''t be sure, but after some digging we did find that she entered with a human boy."


    "Find out this boy''s information." The Faerie King replied, his voice tinged with a hint of cold.


    Osiris was a dream world. This essentially meant that it couldn''t count as a location. Even if they knew she was in Osiris, there was no telling what world she had gone off to and where she was connecting to Osiris from.


    Since, in all likelihood, she was connecting to Osiris by proxy of this Life Partner, then the best way to find her was to find him. Then, they could make a complicated matter simple.


    "We''ve already tried, father. But¡­"


    The Faerie King''s expression grew colder. "But what?"


    A chilly aura gripped the meditation room, refusing to let go.


    "¡­ The information is sealed off."


    "Then contact someone to unseal it."


    The Faerie King spoke of violating the core laws of the Mercenary Guild as though they were nothing. This was precisely why Ryu had known not to trust it and why he didn''t dare to use his own bank accounts even after reincarnating. In the Martial World, rules were only followed by the weak.


    The Faerie King might not have been a Sky God, but just how many Sky Gods had there been in Cultus Clan history? Plus, with his current status, he could just barely carry just as much sway as a Sky God could. This was how heavy his every word was. Something like unsealing classified information of a singular individual was no problem at all.


    "This¡­" Elafaren''s eleventh son hesitated again.


    "What''s the problem? Speak."


    "Father, I already tried requesting such information already. Unfortunately, the information is sealed, even beyond what our word can unseal. It''s likely that this boy has joined a Faction."


    The Faerie King''s expression flickered, a light of fury deep within them.


    A Faction? Who cared. A damned Faction dared to stand in the way of information about his daughter? Were they tired of living?


    "Father, the situation is more complicated. The boy has joined the Faction of the Saintly Weapon Sky God. That man has always been an eccentric and is practically impossible to contact. There''s no telling where he is now.


    "He has no subordinates, so the only person we can contact to release this information would be him personally. There aren''t even any members running his Faction at all, our hands are tied."


    The Faerie King''s expression twitched several times. It was clear his anger had reached the point of imploding, but he didn''t know where to vent it.


    A Sky God with no fetters like the Saintly Weapon Sky God was the most difficult to deal with. If such an existence was offended¡­. Who could bear the rage of a Sky God without worries?


    The only thing that stopped Sky Gods with grudges against one another from acting indiscriminately were their families and descendants. No one wanted to see their hard work of countless epochs come crashing down before their eyes.


    However, what if a Sky God didn''t have such worries?


    "Why him?" The Faerie King''s brow furrowed. As far as he was aware, the Saintly Weapon Sky God had only joined the Mercenary Guild due to convenience. After all, their restrictions on their members wer practically non-existent.


    Logically, such a person shouldn''t accept anyone into their faction. So, how had this boy been accepted?


    "Husband."


    At that moment, another woman walked into the meditation room. But, compared to how the others were treated, no one dared to get in the way of this woman.


    Everything from her gait to the slight swaying of her hips exuded perfection. This woman was none other than Elafaren''s first wife, his Queen, and Ailsa''s mother, Sacia Cultus.


    Sacia only had two children. One elder son and one youngest daughter. Unfortunately, her son had died to an incident that occurred long before Ailsa''s birth. So, it was clear that even in comparison to the Faerie King, Sacia was even more concerned about the whereabouts of her daughter.


    "Sacia? Is something the matter?" Elafaren''s expression softened considerably. He stowed away his coldness with an unnatural swiftness the moment he laid eyes on his wife.


    "Where''s my Ailsa?" Sacia said softly.


    Though her demeanor was elegant, her expressions seemed to carry a slight sickliness to them that made one want to protect her with all their might.


    Elafaren took a deep breath. "I will find her."


    Sacia smiled somewhat bitterly. She had heard these words many times before, but they never came to fruition.


    "Little Ailsa just doesn''t understand¡­" Elafaren sighed, rubbing his temples.


    Life Partners seemed to be a great tradition of the Faeries¡­ But the truth was that this was only a responsibility of the commoners amongst Faeries. Faerie royalty were far too valuable to simply hand away to an unknown Life Partner, and this was especially so for Ailsa.


    Not only was Ailsa the child of the Faerie King, but her mother was of a background that even the Faerie King himself always remained silent about.


    And, as important as these matters were, Ailsa was also the most suited to take up his position once he chose to retire. With her talent, she shouldn''t even be very far from having the strength necessary to accomplish this either.


    But, after Ailsa found the notes left behind by her elder brother all those years ago, her feelings toward Life Partners seemed to take a complete turn around.. Before them as her parents could even comprehend the changes occurring to their daughter, Ailsa had disappeared to places unknown and had already been gone for over nine cycles of one hundred million years.

 Chapter 387 - Upheaval

    The atmosphere within the meditation room became heavy. Unlike their Littlest Sister, they, as her elders, were much more informed about the matter that happened all those years ago. However, it was for these exact reasons that they didn''t want Ailsa running about on her own like this.


    There were some things that the actions of a single person simply couldn''t stop. The Martial World was being warped and changed, a single Ailsa couldn''t change this fact because even the Cultus Clan itself was nothing but a leaf blowing in the wind.


    They had already sacrificed one of their own to this nonsense. They refused to also lose Ailsa.


    The Faerie King took a deep breath.


    "Since Little Ailsa has found her Life Partner, there should be some changes to the Wheels, no? Why is it that we are only now finding out about this?"


    Realizing something, the Faerie King''s gaze sharpened once more. The so-called ''Wheels'' actually referred to the sacred lands of the Cultus Faeries.


    Due to the specialty of the Faeries as a race, they were able to accumulate more Faith than other empires with far more ease, and this was especially so for Cultus Faeries. Even the common Cultus Faeries were capable of raising up legends across the humanoid and bestial races. The Cultus Faeries essentially gained free Thrones every time a genius was contracted to one of their own while not having to pay the same price other powers would have to.


    This was part of the reason the Faeries were so untouchable. Even if they didn''t produce a Sky God for several generations, no one would dare to target them. And, if they did happen to have a Sky God in a given generation, their growth would be unstoppable.


    Obviously, this didn''t make them undefeatable, or else there would be nothing to worry about in the first place when it came to Ailsa. But, it most definitely made them formidable.


    The Wheels were how the Faeries kept track of these matters. The more important the family member, the more prominent their Wheel. It didn''t need to be said that Ailsa''s Wheel was among the most prominent and the one that was the most frequently checked.


    But, aside from letting them know that Ailsa was alive, the Wheel didn''t let them know anything else. Even after so many years, there hadn''t been a single movement.


    Originally, they thought that this was fine. It only meant that Ailsa''s Life Partner had either not been found yet or her Life Partner was dead. At least if it was the latter, they could just wait patiently for Ailsa to come home after giving up. But now¡­


    The expressions of the Faeries changed. They looked toward one another, their thoughts clear in each other''s eyes.


    In order to gain the favor of a Faerie, one had to already innately be a genius of their race, this much was undeniable and was the case no matter how low the standing of the Faerie was.


    A Faerie''s Wheel represented the combination of Fate between them and their Life Partner. In order for a change to occur, a Life Partner''s Fate had to be strong enough in order to influence change in the Fate of their Faerie.


    What did this mean?


    It was simple. If Ailsa''s Wheel showed no movement, it meant that the Fate of her Partner was exceptionally weak in comparison to her own. The only way this could be possible is if Ailsa''s Life Partner''s talent was so poor in comparison to Ailsa''s that it couldn''t influence Ailsa''s future in the slightest or¡­


    Ailsa''s Life Partner was destined to live a short life.


    After reaching this point of their analysis, the meditation room was suddenly filled to the brim with murderous intent. It wasn''t just a single person, but all of them. Fury lit their gazes, and tore a burning path through their veins. Each and every one of them wanted to charge out and blaze a bloody trail toward where Ailsa currently was.


    The death of a Life Partner after a connection had been formed would be devastating to a Faerie. In fact, the result might be no different from a true death.


    Ailsa being partnered with a Life Partner without talent? That was impossible. Even if they were breathing their last breaths and the only option to live on was to accept this, they still wouldn''t. The Heavens wouldn''t play such a joke.


    A Princess of the majestic Cultus Clan being paired with an insignificant worm? No.


    There was only one explanation, then. This Life Partner, who ever he was, didn''t have long to live.


    The Faerie King''s aura alone shredded the budding flower he sat upon. Any Herbologist present would have felt their hearts constrict in pain. This flower was of the Mystical Grade at worse. And, considering its size and maturity, it might not be any less valuable than an ordinary Ancestral Grade Spiritual Herb.


    "Who can enter Osiris?" Elafaren practically growled.


    ""Me!""


    Ailsa''s half siblings practically all called out at once.


    "Husband. This isn''t appropriate."


    Sacia''s calm and soothing voice cut through the chaos. Despite the fact it was her own daughter, it seemed as though she was the only one capable of keeping her cool at the moment.


    "What''s inappropriate about it?" The hoarseness of the Faerie King''s voice didn''t fade this time as he faced his first wife. Though he loved her very much, he was still a King. The final decisions for all matters were always decided by him.


    "The matters around the Mercenary Guild are especially turbid at this moment. The Guild isn''t controlled by any one existence, but somehow they''re all turning a blind eye to the same matter at this moment."


    The Faerie King frowned. Why did this wife of his seem to know more about the Mercenary Guild than she should?


    "There''s not just upheaval in the Mercenary Guild either. The Armament Guild is experiencing such upheaval as well after the incident with the Hastam Clan."


    If Ryu had been there, mention of the Hastam Clan would have instantly reminded him of the old son and father pair¡­ Of course he wasn''t aware of this currently, but if it wasn''t for old man Hastam stopping Patriarch Ember from taking action, he wouldn''t have made it out of the Core Ring alive¡­


    The fact there was something wrong with the Hastam Clan should have been obvious.... If not, why would they appear on such a weak plane in the first place?

 Chapter 388 - Soul Bind

    "You are always concerned with your cultivation and do not pay enough attention to the outside world. The affairs of the Clan have been handled by me for a long time already." Sacia continued to speak calmly, her explanation patient. "The appearance of the Martial Gods has caused a lot of the status quo to change, we can''t be as willful as we have been previously."


    The Faerie King stared toward his wife a long while, but the words Martial Gods seemed to dampen his mood considerably.


    "What do you suggest, then?"


    Sacia smiled lightly, her pale face gaining some color. She was truly mesmerizing in this current state.


    "Send the little ones after their aunt." Sacia replied plainly. "They need to be properly trained for the coming tide regardless. The Mercenary Guild is as good a place as any."


    The Faerie King sat back down, another budding flower magically forming beneath him.


    After some thought, he nodded. The little ones didn''t need to defeat their aunt, they only needed to lay eyes on her and deal with her Life Partner. After this, it would be far easier to find out exactly where they were. Then, they wouldn''t have to rely on the Mercenary Guild any longer.


    "Call Rollaith and Sanreth over."


    Not long later, two young men were escorted into the meditation room, their eyes wide with curiosity and apprehension. Elafaren''s sons, daughters and wives might have been bold enough to charge right into his meditation rooms, but the youths separated by a few generations didn''t dare to be so bold.


    To them, the Faerie King was like a living legend. They might not even get the chance to meet him until they stepped into the Dao Pedestal Realm. But, even then, they wouldn''t have expected him to be aware of their names.


    Of course, what the two young men didn''t know was that the Faerie King was very doting of his family. He kept a distance from his grand children not because he didn''t love them, but because there would always reach a point where it was impossible for him to give them all the same love and affection.


    As such, it was an unspoken rule that the Faerie King would only interact with his direct line descendants so as not to show any favoritism.


    That said, the Faerie King was quite unique in this aspect. Many took the same path as him for vastly different reasons. To them, getting to know family members too far removed from them was a waste of time. After enough generations, they were hardly even related any longer.


    But, clearly, the Faerie King didn''t fall into this camp unlike Ryu''s great grandfather. It could be said that the only reason that Primus knew Ryu''s name was firstly because Sky Gods had infallible memories. He would have only needed to hear it once to never forget it. And, secondly, the only reason he bothered to hear it in the first place was because Ryu was born with a Great Ancestral Circle level title, something incredibly rare through the Martial World.


    Rollaith and Sanreth, though, were still among the most talented five of their generation. For them to reach such a standard within the Cultus Clan, their level of genius spoke for itself. To achieve this feat in such a family was akin to standing atop the Shrine Plane.


    Despite both being less than 2000 years old, they had long since taken deep steps into the Immortal Ring Realm. Rollaith and Sanreth both were in the 3rd Immortal Ring Realm. And, unlike the pitiful Zu Clan members Ryu had met previously, each had formed Ancestral Grade Rings. Their strength was easily hundreds of times that of those Zu Clan members Ryu defeated.


    Still, when they both heard of the task they were given, they couldn''t help but hesitate. They too felt a fire light in their belly when they heard that their aunt had such baggage hanging onto her life, but¡­


    "¡­ Grandfather, are you sure that we are enough?" Sanreth spoke hesitantly. "Aunty''s Life Partner should, at worst, be in the Dao Pedestal Realm. We''re no match for him or her¡­"


    Rollaith nodded in agreement.


    "No. The only information we were able to glean was that this bastard is still a mortal and he is also young."


    The two boys looked at each other, their expressions half filled with confusion and another determination. If their aunt''s Life Partner was truly so weak, this wouldn''t be a problem at all. However, they couldn''t understand why there was such a difference in strength. The most fundamental law between Life Partners was that they would be born on the same day, at the same hour.


    A billion year old mortal? That was impossible.


    The Faerie King didn''t bother to explain. Noble Faeries didn''t usually seek out their Life Partners so they were ill informed on the subject. The more talented a Faerie, the more the rules bent. If a Faerie of Ailsa''s talent was really born on the same day at the same hour as her Life Partner, if their intimacy reached the deepest level, the power the two could exhibit together would be Heaven rending.


    As a result, the more talented a Faerie, the less compatibility they tended to have with their Life Partner. It was simply the way of the Heavens.


    Of course, Elafaren had no idea that Ailsa and Ryu were indeed born on the same day at the same hour. Not only that, but it was the same minute and same second as well. Their blessings fell down in unison and they gifted the world with their first cries simultaneously.


    Their partnership was simply unprecedented.


    "Take these Soul Binding Formations. You only have to kill your Aunt''s Life Partner a single time within Osiris and they will take effect. By then, there will be nowhere he can hide from us."


    The two young men were shocked seeing such things handed to them. In order to bypass the formations that formed Osiris, these formations would have to be at the very peak of the Ancestral Grade at worst¡­ The reality only made the seriousness of their mission truly settle in.


    "Leave it to us, grandfather!"


    **


    Oblivious to all of these matters, Ryu dashed through a forest, trying to gain better control of his body. With his talent, he had already gone from 10% control all the way to 50% in just a few hours. He could tell that if he tried to use his corpse puppets now, his skill would be on a completely different level, he almost regretted not entering earlier.


    But, as things went, the further you progressed, the more difficult more progress became. Ryu already felt that even reaching 51% might take several dozen minutes which was significantly slower than the past.


    ''The location should be up ahead. Just defeating a Sixth Order Beast, right¡­?''


    Unfortunately, even as Ryu downplayed his task, his nerves were pulled tight. This was because before, the best Sixth Order Beast he had come across was of the Earth Grade.. This one, however¡­ was of the Sovereign Grade.

 Chapter 389 - Sovereign

    It was well known that beasts were always stronger than their human counterparts. It simply couldn''t be helped. Even with the losses to strength they suffered due to their often exaggerated sizes, it simply wasn''t enough to mitigate their overall advantages.


    But, it had to be said that this was mostly the case for average humans. For those of astounding talent like Ryu, this was no more than a joke...


    If, that is, one was speaking of regular beasts.


    It was no issue for Ryu to deal with Common, Black or even Earth Grade beasts at his level. In fact, after unlocking the secret of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, even Heaven Grade beasts at his level could be treated lightly.


    However, Sovereign Grade beasts were a different monster entirely.  These were the creatures approaching the level of the deity beasts that once ruled the Shrine Plane. In fact, in this era, they were the strongest beasts one could come across.


    To understand how powerful Ancestral Grade beasts were, one only needed to look at Ryu. His Body Realm Cultivation was already so exaggerated despite having only unlocked a sliver of his Bloodlines. Back when Ryu fought Little Rock, even the little guy, who had only been the equivalent of an Earth Grade beast back then, had a thicker bloodline than Ryu. Yet, Ryu was actually so powerful...


    Sovereign Beasts were the closest line descendants of Ancestral Beasts that remained. Their strength was beyond imagining.


    Yet now, Ryu was slowly stalking toward the territory of one...


    Of course, this beast wasn''t real. It was just a simulated opponent created by the Osiris Dream World. But, since this was a world formed by the alliance of so many Sky Gods, Ryu had no doubt that this would be the real deal.


    Ryu suddenly felt that the temperature began to rise. At first, it was subtle. For someone like Ryu who had the Fire Phoenix and Fire Dragon Bloodlines, he could easily miss the shift. He was practically immune to temperature, whether it be too hot or too cold, he was mostly be unbothered.


    However, Ryu''s current senses were being pulled thin. He was completely focused on every minute detail, trying to stop his feet from slamming heavily onto the forest grounds, knowing the soft soil wouldn''t be enough to keep his movements hidden.


    As focused as he was, the incremental increases didn''t escape his attention for very long at all.


    ''I''m getting close.''


    Ailsa wasn''t currently by Ryu''s side. Little Gem, the infant griffin, was in need of constant care. At the same time, the progress of Nemesis and Little Rock couldn''t lag behind him by too much. It was about time both gained the strength of Heaven Grade beasts. Nemesis still needed Ryu to become a Summoning Necromancer to unleash his true potential. But, Little Rock didn''t have such an excuse.


    The younger the little guy reached the Sovereign Grade in bloodline purity, the greater his future potential would be. Right now, the infant Lightning Hawk wasn''t even three years old yet. Considering the lifespan of beasts, especially ones with ancient bloodlines, the little one hadn''t even begun to mature yet.


    Though it was uncertain if Little Gem would ever be released of her curse, Nemesis and Little Rock were core pieces of Ryu''s future plans and were currently his only family outside of Ailsa, their progress couldn''t be stalled.


    The day they all reached the extent of their potential, those Martial Gods could only wait for death.


    That said, Ryu didn''t absolutely need Ailsa by his side at the moment. His entire purpose was focused on maximizing the control of his body and mastering his weapons. These weren''t things Ailsa couldn''t necessarily help guide him through.


    The matter of his Great Swordstaffs was especially a headache. Ryu had to find a method of fusing his comprehensions of the spear, glaive and halberd into one. The matter was so complex that he found it difficult even to find a way to begin.


    But, there was one thing that was certain...


    Battle was a short cut.


    Soon, Ryu found the source of the rising heat.


    Steaming geysers spread across the opening in the forest floor like miniature volcanoes. In the center of them all, there was the open mouth of a cave, the heat within so great that the rocks that formed it were a blazing shade of red.


    ''Tch...''


    Ryu looked down at himself, watching as his stock grey clothing began to burn away.


    Not bothering to wait for it to wither away to ash, Ryu ripped what clothes remained away, revealing his toned body.


    Every fiber of Ryu''s body seemed to be perfectly defined, his body a chiseled, lean machine. Compared to the frail body he had in his first life, this one was brimming with vitality.


    Without a hint of shame, Ryu grabbed at the handles of his Great Swordstaffs, his heart boiling. It had been a while since he truly fought to his heart''s content. He looked forward to this.


    Ryu shot into the cave''s mouth, his mind locking onto the aura of a lurking beast.


    The further he traveled, the deeper underground he traveled and the greater the temperatures seemed to become.


    Though Ryu didn''t know it, this was exactly why the Violet Olive Team had yet to claim this mission. They were still preparing the proper equipment that would be needed to raid such a beast. The environment alone was as much of a challenge as the beast itself.


    But, Ryu''s bare feet glided across the scolding rocks as though he couldn''t sense a single thing. In fact, his thoughts were completely focused on his body control which had reached 53%.


    How could this environment harm him? With his Rebirth Flames, even a Sovereign Beast wouldn''t be guaranteed to harm him purely with Flames.


    Ryu burst through the final layer of the cave, his breath smoldering. Just his breathing alone would likely severely injured a Divine Vessel Realm expert now, the heat was that excruciating.


    At that moment, a world of lava and magma appeared before Ryu. There were footholds dotted across the vast landscape with a radius of over 20 kilometers, bubbling lava filling in the rest.


    However, the landscape was the last one would be focused on. No matter who you were, your eyes would immediately be pulled to the beasts sleeping in the middle of it all.


    The beast''s breathing was oddly peaceful. But, every breath seemed to carry hurricane force winds, sending scorching Flames dancing across the surface of the lava lake.


    ''Rainbow Scaled Eagle...''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    With such a name, one would never think that this creature had anything to do with such fiery Flames. But, this was the ability of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle.


    Compared to other Sovereign creatures, it was of the lowest rung. This was because they were known as scavengers. If it wasn''t for their beautiful appearances, one would rather call them vultures rather than giving them such a majestic name.


    These creatures were essentially copycats. But  in order to succeed in this, they had to eat the corpses of thei creatures they wanted to imitate. As though to infuriate the heavens further, these imitators were even capable of surpassing the beasts they imitated by using quantity to make up or quality.


    If they, for example, chose evolve using fire as their primary element like this one, they didn''t need to swallow the Spiritual Roots of other Sovereign Beasts. Technically, as long as they ate enough Common Grade beasts, they could reach the same level.


    It was because of this that although these beasts had a gorgeous appearance, they had a terrible reputation. Not only were they scavengers, they were well documented cowards.


    Ryu never thought that the first Sovereign Beast he would battle personally would be such a creature. A part of him wanted to smile, but another part knew that regardless of reputation, this was a beast with strength that couldn''t be underestimated.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly became murderous, his aura towering.


    He slammed his swords into the molten ground, a roar escaping his lips.


    For a moment, it seemed as though his very being was swallowed by the illusion of a Fire Dragon.


    Something within his blood was seething. An ancient hatred as old as existence itself bubbled forth.


    The Rainbow Scaled Eagle snapped awake, its sharp aura landing on Ryu.


    Despite its name, the creature had four limbs. It wasn''t born like this, likely having gained this mutation from one of its many meals.


    It growled, it''s beak also nowhere to be seen, replaced by a snarling snout. If Ryu wasn''t so well informed, he would have mistaken this beast for a rainbow scaled griffin. But, he knew better.


    SCCCCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE


    The Rainbow Scaled Eagles shriek shook the underground cave, causing dust and debris to fall from the molten ceilings.


    Man and beast stood opposed, their auras clashing and twisting around one another.


    Then, they shot forward.


    Ryu''s back flexed, his Great Swordstaffs descending from the skies.


    BANG!


    The Rainbow Scaled Eagle swiped out a paw, sending Ryu flying into the lake of lava.


    Its gaze flickered with disdain, watching as Ryu sunk in. Such a weakling actually dared to challenge it.


    The beast turned back to return to its nap, but at that moment, the ant it thought it had already crushed pulled itself out from the magma under its astonished eyes.


    Confusion colored the beast''s face. Its intelligence was no less than a human, so it hadn''t thought it was possible for a human to survive the lava''s high temps. However...


    Ryu pulled himself up, droplets of lava falling down his body.


    "Come!"


    His gaze blazed with fighting intent.

 Chapter 390 - Rainbow Scaled Eagle

    Lava dripped down from Ryu''s skin like droplets of red gold. His skin reddened slightly, some beads of sweat finally falling from his brow as though he only now realized how hot the environment was.


    However, his face remained indifferent, a pure callousness coloring his silver eyes.


    Ryu launched himself forward, his body a streamlined machine of strength as he collided with the beast.


    His knees sunk down, the platform of red rock cracking beneath the strain. His muscles bulged, growing a fold in size, but it was to no avail.


    Having been enraged by Ryu''s survival, the beast''s temper flared, its strike growing in strength. It seemed to want to press Ryu down into the ground, shattering his body into minced meat.


    The beast, despite being a simulation of arrays, seemed to have grown intelligence of its own. It had never come across a human who could so easily survive in these temperatures before. It felt quite baffled and angry at the same time.


    Just when it seemed that Ryu would truly be smashed to the ground, his two Great Swordstaffs crossed before his chest, his body flickering with arcs of blue lightning, suddenly vanishing from its spot and bolting to the side.


    The beast was stunned, its paw slamming hard into the red rock and causing a small wave of lava to surge outward.


    Its head snapped in a certain direction, locking onto Ryu who was slowly entering his human form once again.


    However, as enraged as the beast was by the change, Ryu was even more displeased. Namely, he had gone from two Great Swordstaffs to just a single one.


    Before, even though he hadn''t comprehended any Mortal Endowments, he had been able to use his flexibility in dual wielding to cover for his weaknesses. But, with only one now and no techniques to speak of, his prowess had plummeted once again.


    His cold eyes looked toward the Great Swordstsff that remained beneath the Rainbow Scaled Eagle''s paw. He could only lament about his own lack of control.


    He had yet to get used to his Spirit Body but now the control he had over his body was even less than usual. It only made sense for him to make such a foolish mistake.


    Ryu shot forward again, swinging the Great Swordstaff with two arms.


    In that moment, he felt something different. Able to focus his entire mind on one weapon, he could feel the intricacies of the Great Swordstaff, that small intangible thread of Fate attached to it withering away beneath his presence.


    Ryu had never experienced something like this before. Whenever he brandished his spear, glaive or halberd, he always felt as though it was tugging him in a certain direction. He always had to fight for control, always pulling for the right to wield the weapon as he pleased.


    Something within Ryu clicked.


    Was this the truth behind mastering weapons? Though Ailsa had said as much, it didn''t properly sink in until this very moment. It wasn''t until now he knew just how much Fate controlled his life.


    Ryu found himself flying into the lake of lava again, a large splash sending a pillar of red gold into the air. However, his face didn''t have the look of someone defeated. In fact, he had never felt more alive.


    ''Line of Fate.''


    The world suddenly slowed in Ryu''s eyes. The colorful colors of his Ethereal Tapestry sight faded, being replaced by and endless expanse of white, black and grey.


    But, this only lasted for a moment. Soon, the color came back, adding a splash of life to an otherwise dreary world.


    Ryu almost couldn''t refrain from gasping. He knew that Ethereal Tapestry was a mutation of his Heavenly Pupils. It was the result of an ability of his Ice Jade Crystal Body and his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils synergizing and mutating into one.


    But, what he had failed to consider was the possibility that the other abilities of his Heavenly Pupils would be influenced by this as well.


    In the past, Lines of Fate had turned his world to black and white. Everything in that world was formed of strings, even humans became bundles of cords wrapped about to form their humanoid figures.


    This strings stretched from their bodies and into the skies as though they were nothing more than puppets of Fate under the illusion of autonomy and personal freedom.


    Each of these strings represented varying probabilities, all intertwined to result in what those of the Martial World called life...


    Other than this, Ryu knew that if he aimed toward the white he would have a better outcome, if he aimed for the black, the result would be less than desirable. But now...


    Ryu saw all sorts of colors. He still saw lines of black and white, but within them he saw lines of violet, lines of red, lines of blue and all sorts of others. He had no idea how to make sense of them.


    He was so stunned by the change that he didn''t even realize he had almost sunk to the bottom of the lava lake.


    Ryu shot up, his feet using the molten sea floor as an anchor. He pierced upward like an arrow, appearing above the lake in an instant.


    The world above was even more gorgeous. The lines grew more complex, their colors more varied.


    In all the chaos, Ryu finally managed to pick out a single pale line.


    It held a pearly white color, looking pure and untainted. But compared to the other lines, it had a thickness so thin that it seemed like it might collapse at any moment.


    The Rainbow Scaled Eagled roared, its wings expanding.


    It was truly enraged at this moment. Though it seemed to be dealing Great damage to Ryu, it could tell that Ryu somehow always managed to divert most of its strength. In fact, Ryu seemed to be growing stronger and stronger with every clash.


    Ryu swept his gaze over the beast preparing to leap into the around him.


    The Lines of Fate surged. He could see the force being exerted along its palms, the qi gathering at its throat, the trajectory of its upcoming flight...


    But Ryu soon took his gaze off of it, turning his attention back to the Great Swordstaff, his gaze melting and beginning to border on infatuation.


    He felt as though he could tug on this thin line, manipulating as he pleased, thickening it and even coloring it as he saw fit.


    With a thought, Ryu looked toward himself. The colors that swirled around him were especially dazzling, but it was hardly a problem to pick out three, each of them carrying a blazing red character to them. It didn''t take much to understand that these were the comprehensions of his three Tatsuya Saintly Weapons.


    They were thick and immovable, swaying about as though they had minds of their own. Rather than seeming to be a part of Ryu, they seemed to be chains that bound him, leashes that kept him shackled.


    Compared to the thin white line of the Great Swordstaff, they were millions of times more difficult to control.


    ''I see...''


    Ryu mumbled to himself.


    He took a step forward in the air, his control over his body having skyrocketed to another level.


    With that one step, he dodged out of the way of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle''s charge, leaving it unable to change direction in a short time.


    With a thought, the illusions of three weapons appeared before Ryu, each of them exuding the aura of the Impose Realm at the weakest.


    ''[Demonic Strings].''


    With a flick of his wrist, the second Great Swordstsff shot up from the ground.


    Ryu''s control continued to skyrocket. Just earlier, he could barely fly. But now, he could force a ten million jin weapon into flight from dozens of meters away. It was clear that Lines of Fate had given him a massive boost.


    However, this hardly mattered, because anyone who was paying attention would only see Ryu suddenly swing his two weapons forward, tearing apart the illusory weapons that hovered before him.


    The three thick Lines of red Fate that hung above him wavered and withered, their strength being greedily devoured by the thin Line of white Fate.


    Very quickly, the pure color became coated in crimson before deepening toward a hue of magenta. It seemed far closer to black now than it had ever been to white.


    Strength surged into Ryu''s veins, the image of numerous Birthed Phenomena appearing to his back.


    In one moment, there was the flickering God Emperor which quickly morphed into the War God, only to be consumed by the Dragon God.


    The images fought over one another as Ryu remained expressionless, his eyes even closing.


    He continued to dodge in the air, slipping by the strikes of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle with increasing agility.


    His body grew more nimble, his steps more confident, an undeniable majesty surging throughout his body with growing fervor.


    He was the wielder of the Heavenly Pupils. Yet, he was constantly being held back by weapons that refused to acknowledge his sovereignty.


    Even after years of cuktivation, even with his talent, he had only stepped into the Ruler Realm.


    To others, this was a shocking achievement. The Rule Realm was cornered off for Immortals. It had no business being in the hands of a mere Divine Vessel Realm pup.


    However, Ryu was unsatisfied. He didn''t have time to bide and wait for his turn. His parents, his grandparents, his Elena ... they were all waiting for him.


    Deep within the hidden territory of the Moonlight Blossom Sect, a suffocating aura suddenly pervaded the lands. It felt as though a Deity was descending, but all they could do was look up into the skies, unmoving.


    Essence poured down, its quality so pure that many wanted to bow down, their heartbeats erratic.


    The sound of a shattering barrier resounded.


    In shock, Ailsa, who had been taking care of Little Gem, leapt out from the Incubator, looking down toward the meditating Ryu. She couldn''t hide the stunned look on her face in the slightest.


    "This is... This is..."


    To be an Heir was to be granted the title of Inheritor. To step into the Impose Realm was to be titled a Lord. To cross beyond that and touch upon the Rule Realm was to be a Ruler.


    However... Beyond that...


    "... Small Realm... Monarch!"


    But how was that possible? Ryu had only just touched the Ruler Realm!


    [IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT WITHIN THE COMMENT SECTION]

 Chapter 391 - Shock

    Ailsa stood frozen. Little Gem was buried in her chest, the little one looking around in confusion weakly before laying back down to enjoy her nap.


    The world of Monarchs... it was said that the Ruler Realm was the watershed of the Immortal Realm, a symbol of one leaving the land of mortals. But, the reality was that this was at most dipping one''s toes into this new Realm.


    The true embodiment of Immortals was the formation of one''s Small Realm, the sign of officially becoming the Monarch of one''s Inheritance.


    The first Realm, the Heir Realm, was just the beginning. It allowed one to call upon Essence to strengthen one''s attack and its impact was minimal.


    The Impose Realm allowed one to touch the world of Domains a small bit. One could form Realms of suppression and impede the strength of one''s enemies.


    The Rule Realm, the first instance of Immortals, was where one truly began to Control one''s Inheritance. It gave one freedom of control never seen before, allowing a flexibility in battle impossible to match with the Impose Realm alone.


    However, the formation of the Small Realm was a different beast entirely. It made one the Monarch of an area, allowing them to control strength far beyond one''s means.


    It had to be remembered that the marker of the Immortal Ring Realm was the ability to control atmospheric qi. When one steps into this Realm, using their Immortal Rings to resonate with the surrounding qi and make use of it, one''s strength takes a qualitative leap.


    Ryu, after mutating his Heavenly Pupils and gaining Ethereal Tapestry, had gained some capital to manipulate atmospheric qi. But, compared to true Immortal Ring experts, he was severely lacking.


    However, after forming a Small Realm, not only would this issue become practically non existent... it would be like adding wings to a tiger!


    Within one''s Small Realm, not only would all qi be absolutely obedient, but...


    One could use atmospheric Essence!


    To put how massive such a change was into perspective, one had to comprehend the normal use of Essence.


    Whenever Essence was called down, it used one''s body as a medium before being filtered into one''s weapon or attack. However, the body was ultimately a funnel. It was subject to being a bottleneck and could also erode over the course of a battle.


    However, a Small Realm allowed one to snatch Essence directly and implement it into one''s strength without even bothering with the body at all!


    For someone like Ryu, who was still a mortal, the change was absolutely enormous. It would allow him to use Immortal Qi without worrying about the burden to his body in the slightest!


    Knowing all of this, it was no wonder Ailsa was so shocked. The increase to Ryu''s strength wouldn''t be as simple as one or two times. He was already a Middle Divine Vessel Realm expert capable of doing battle with Higher Connecting Heaven Realm experts who were considered great talents. He could even battle Immortal Ring experts who had formed Black Grade Immortal Rings. Just what level of strength would he have now?!


    Ailsa''s expression suddenly changed again as a violent wash of Essence descended.


    ''Dammit!''


    How could she forget?! She was so shocked by the changes to Ryu that she had forgotten that with every new comprehension, there was a corresponding amount of Essence. The issue was that this was the largest amount Ryu had ever received.


    Not only was this the largest amount, but Ryu was still immersed in battle, his mind in a completely different state than his body. This was the worst kind of state to accept Essence in.


    As though this was already bad enough, in the past, the type of Essence Ryu accepted was of a specific kind. For example, he would comprehend his Rage Flames and thus the Essence would have the greatest effect on his Fire Dragon Bloodline, so on and so forth. But, this time, it was a completely different animal.


    Ailsa could tell that this Essence wasn''t biased in the slightest, it had no strong ties of Fate pulling it in any one direction, meaning that it would rampage about as it pleased unless there was someone to direct it.


    Ailsa took a deep breath and calmed down, letting her previous panic vanish like the wind. Isn''t that was she was here for? If she couldn''t guide Ryu through this, then how could she be his Life Partner?


    The question was, what should she do?


    Ailsa sank into a partial state of meditation, time dilating and her thinking speed accelerating as numerous calculations began within the depths of her mind.


    With this amount of Essence, there would be no problem for Ryu to open his Fifth Body Vessel. Such strength would even allow him to battle Half-Step Path Extinction Realm experts without issue.


    Comparatively, though, the same amount of Essence would allow him to soar through the Divine Vessel Realm and complete the Connecting Heaven Realm in one clean sweep. This would allow Ryu to focus on finding his Spiritual Foundation once again and finally completing his Spiritual Severings.


    This option would have a less exaggerated impact on his immediate strength, but the long term benefits were undeniable.


    It hadn''t escaped Ailsa that the Phoenix Sky God''s Inheritance had yet to make itself known. She had a feeling that it wouldn''t truly begin to display its might until the Path Extinction Realm. But, it should begin showing tidbits of its power at the Immortal Ring stage.


    Knowing this, Ailsa leaned more toward the second option than the first. Finding Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was simply too important.


    But... if she was going with this logic, there was no more important part of Ryu''s strength than his Heavenly Pupils.


    Finding Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was entirely reliant on his Heavenly Pupils. Without them, even Ailsa wasn''t confident in helping unless their intimacy reached an extreme. But, this wasn''t something that could be hurried. Their relationship was already making nice progress, there was no need to hurry it.


    However, according to Ailsa''s calculations, it would only be possible for the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to help after undergoing their first evolution, and that would require unlocking nine nodes.


    Though Ryu had Chaotic Qi to help this matter along, according to Ailsa''s calculations, it would still take several more years to accomplish this.


    In the past, this wasn''t a big deal. After all, cultivation slowed considerably after the Divine Vessel Realm.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu would only be able to reconnect his Spiritual Foundation after completing the Connecting Heaven Realm. Only then would the mutation of his Chaotic Silk Meridians be complete enough to not devolve back to its original state and take much of Ryu''s combat prowess with it. So, it was previously worth it to be patient.


    But now...


    Ailsa took a deep breath.


    This was a tough decision especially since this was just the tip of the iceberg. With this much Essence, too many things could be done. It would even be possible to help Ryu''s partners and his Mental Realm.


    In fact, even beyond that, with some special means, Ailsa could use this Essence to awaken other Talents of his Bloodlines that Ryu had missed out on previously. Even the Storm Talent would be in play.


    After a while, Ailsa made a decision.


    ''Let''s do it like this.''


    Her eyes flashed open.


    "Go on little one, mama will be back soon, she just needs to help papa."


    Little Gem snuggled up against Ailsa and sent a look toward Ryu, a hint of fondness on her little expressions.


    "Yes, yes. Papa is always making us worry. I''ll be sure to teach him a lesson."


    Ailsa giggled, sending Little Gem off to the Incubator.


    Her expression turned serious, approaching Ryu''s back and tearing the clothing on him apart.


    She placed her palms on his back and sank into a state of absolute focus.


    ''First, your Heavenly Pupils.''


    Ailsa made this decision not just for the sake of finding Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation. At the moment, Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils were still in their Mortal State, yet it was already able to help him to progress so far so quickly. Ailsa had a feeling that it had played a large role in this sudden boon.


    In that case, why not invest in the golden egg laying goose?


    Numerous pops rang out in Ryu''s eyes, howling winds surging through the Moon World.


    A pressure that could shatter earth and sunder skies descended.


    By this point, every powerhouse of the Moon World shivered, each and every one looking in the same direction.


    Ailsa smiled, her eyes still closed.


    There was a second reason she had made this decision. Compared to the Essence of breaking through to the Monarch Realm... just what kind of changes would the evolution of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils have?


    The clear skies of the Moon World suddenly went completely black.


    Then, one after another, Stars of Fate began to twinkle to life.


    Those below could only shudder. Right above their heads, their own futures lingered before them.


    However, did they dare to look?

 Chapter 392 - Immortal Pupils

    Deep within the Moonlight Blossom Sect, old monsters were stirred from their slumber. But, at this moment, even they were unable to move a single inch.


    The ceilings, and sometimes even coffin lids, above their heads seemed to disappear, revealing the vast expanse of the universe.


    No matter who it was, no matter where they were, all they could see were their Fate Stars, hanging above their heads as though teasing them with glimpses of the future.


    Under normal circumstances, it took an impossible level of prowess to gaze upon a Fate Stars, so much so that only Sky Gods were capable of such a feat. There were only very rare exceptions to this rule.


    However, even with such a temptation before them, many hesitated to act.


    Was this really something they wanted to do? Was gazing upon one''s Fate so casually something one should want even if the opportunity was right before them?


    Even Ryu, who had the ability to gaze upon his Fate Star whenever he pleased, had not done so even a single time since his reincarnation. It was as though he had completely forgotten about the core ability of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    But, make no mistake, he had been very purposeful with his actions.


    Was it fear? Even Ryu didn''t dare to claim that it wasn''t.


    He did fear. He feared looking back up again and seeing that same bright silver star, that same burning mercury behemoth that would shine so brightly but die just as fast.


    However, there was another reason. In this life, Ryu had sworn not to care for Fate any longer.


    Whether his Star had signs of longevity after his rebirth or not... who cared?


    As long as he hadn''t accomplished his goals, he refused to die. Till the day he saw his family again, held Elena in his embrace again... he would never falter.


    Unfortunately, the same resolve Ryu had wasn''t shared by everyone. While many feared to look, others couldn''t contain themselves, losing themselves in the sight of their Fate Stars.


    This was where the true trouble began.


    Being able to gaze upon one''s Fate was one matter. However, to interpret it was a different matter entirely.


    Many became lost in the sight, strong pulses of Karmic Qi marring their vision and tainting their energy.


    The Karma of the Moon World suddenly became turbulent. The future of the plane bent and twisted in odd ways, deviating from the natural order of things.


    If Ryu was back here and used Lines of Fate, it would look like the strings everything was made of had suddenly become entangled, losing their proper order.


    Ailsa, who sat to Ryu''s back, looked up as well, the expanse of the night sky revealed to her sight despite the fact they both were hundreds of meters below the ground.


    ''Interesting...''


    Unlike the others, Ailsa didn''t even gaze upon her Fate Star. She knew better to do so.


    As the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, Ryu could gaze upon his Fate without being affected by it, but the same couldn''t be said for others. The irony of it was all was that if this was put into simple terms, others could change their Fate but Ryu could not...


    Of course, this was a gross over simplification. Rather than saying this, it might be more accurate to say that others were naive enough to believe that they could.


    These sounded like two completely opposing statements. But the truth was that both were just as real.


    All this said, this wasn''t what had caught Ailsa''s interest. Though she didn''t wield Ryu''a Pupils, she was still very sensitive to energies. She could feel the Karmic Qi of the Moon World shifting.


    ''I see...''


    Ailsa''s lip curled.


    ''You all want to take advantage of my Little Ryu? Be sure to not swallow your own tongues in your greed.''


    Ailsa smiled a beautiful smile. It held a charm beyond words and an allure beyond understanding. Unfortunately, there was no one here to witness it.


    There was a reason Ailsa had always said changing one''s Fate was difficult but not impossible...


    When she first met Ryu, he was a bitter man who seemed to be completely enraged at the world. In her disappointment, she had pointed out to Ryu that compared to others, he was in a position most couldn''t even dream of. He had unspeakable talent many would never even witness, let alone achieve themselves. Compared to them, he was far more fitted to fighting against Fate. What right did he have to complain?


    Of course, as she came to know more about Ryu, she found that this bitterness of his wasn''t hidden behind a lack of effort. It could be said that she had also never met anyone who worked as hard as he did...


    Still, the Heavens were fair. Though only those like Ryu could truly grasp their Fate, there were still chances for others to do so as well.


    In such a turbulent situation, the powerhouses of the Moon World were gaining such an opportunity at this very moment.


    Due to Ryu''s evolution taking place here, this Plane had gained an opportunity to evolve. As things stood now, the Dao Pedestal Realm was the highest echelon of strength possible. But, if this opportunity was properly grasped, this Plane could blossom in a world no weaker than the Shrine Plane!


    However, in Ailsa''s eyes, this would just be a bunch of old farts taking advantage of her Life Partner. This turbulent Fate could indeed benefit an entire world, but wouldn''t it be better suited to her Life Partner?


    Unfortunately, things weren''t so simple. Ryu was a bit too weak as things stood now to fight for this Fate...


    ''This is good, though... Though Little Ryu is still a bit weak, after I''m finished with him, it won''t be completely impossible to make a difference... the Heavens will be biased toward youths with potential to begin with... Yes, yes... it should be just enough...''


    Ailsa''s ruby eyes glowed.


    This was an unexpected opportunity. If Ryu could grasp it... even she was looking forward to the result.


    But, it would be a long and bloody road and might even require the entire Moon World acknowledging the Ice Phoenix Clan as their rulers once more. To say that this would be dangerous was an understatement.


    In the end, Ailsa could only focus on the task at hand. Ultimately, strength remained as the most important factor.


    After unsealing Ryu''s ninth node, Ailsa redirected the Essence.


    With unstoppable momentum, she broke open Ryu''s Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Qi Vessel, completing the first cycle and allowing him to step into the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    The Connecting Heaven Realm was the process of Connecting all of one''s Pulses and Vessels. Each of these cycles would form a dormant Ring that would become the foundation of one''s Immortal Rings in the Immortal Ring Realm.


    This Realm was known as the final Realm of mortals. It''s function symbolized completing the cycle of mortality, shedding the mundane, and becoming a True Immortal.


    However, Ailsa didn''t complete this process for Ryu. This was an exceptionally important step and it would be more detrimental than helpful to receive another''s aid.


    That said, even if it wasn''t a detriment, Ailsa had already decided upon a far better use for the remaining Essence.


    At that moment, the evolution of Ryu''s Pupils finally slowed to a crawl, the skin of his eyelids reddening beneath the searing heat.


    Just in time, another wave of Essence even more bountiful fell from the skies in congratulations and was gladly swept up by Ailsa.


    With a thought, Ailsa directed some of this Essence toward Ryu, flooding his Bloodlines with strength and breaking open his Third Body Vessel.


    Ryu''s body bulged, unprecedented strength rushing through him.


    In the blink of an eye, Ryu''s strength soared past 125 000 000 jin, his veins screaming and whining as his blood rampaged through.


    However, Ailsa was no longer worried about Ryu. Her lovely, slender hands formed multiple complex hand seals.


    The Essence surged toward her. With the connection she had as Ryu''s Life Partner, their intimacy might not have been at an extreme, but it was deep enough that the Essence wouldn''t rebuff her attempts at taking it for herself.


    With a thought, Ailsa called out both Nemesis and Little Rock.


    Nemesis was fine, but by now, Little Rock had a wing span of over ten meters. It would be much larger if not for Nemesis sharing his Adept Body Talent with the little one.


    Luckily, this size was about perfect for a flying beast. After all, riding a horse into a battle versus a bird were vastly different matters. Between five to ten meters was perfect for Little Rock.


    "Nemesis, be sure to help Little Rock through this process. Your Adept Body Talent will be especially important to the little one during this evolution."


    "~Nie! Nie!"


    "~Qi!~!"


    "This will hurt. Prepare yourself."


    Ailsa reached out and grabbed a portion of Ryu''s Rebirth Flames. Her hand seals continued to quicken, an ancient formation appearing to her back. On one hand, there were flickering illusory Flames, on the other, a dense fog of Essence that would make even a Path Extinction Realm expert salivate with greed hung.


    If Ryu had been there, he would have recognized this ancient formarion as a Birthed Phenomena. But, as for its uses, he would be at a loss without hours of study.


    Without another word, Ailsa sent a flood of qi toward Little Rock.

 Chapter 393 - Sovereign

    The horrid shrieks of an infant bird rang through the Death Worm.


    Though Ailsa''s heart ached for the little one, she knew that she couldn''t afford to stop. It was impossible to tell when Ryu would gain such a large influx of Essence again. Or, more accurately, it was difficult to tell if next time such a large amount came, if they would still have the luxury to spend it on anyone but Ryu.


    At this moment, the Little Lightning Hawk was in a unique stage of growth. He was still in his infancy and had great room for growth. But, by the same token, he was also running out of time.


    Little Rock was greatly talented due to a wisp of Ancient Roc blood. But, it was ultimately still just a wisp. The journey toward thickening this Bloodline was a long one...


    At least, it normally would be.


    Little Rock benefited from Ryu and Ailsa''s relationship, essentially gaining a free Cultus Faerie for himself. And, the results spoke for themselves. The little one had already vastly improved since meeting Ryu.


    But, it wasn''t enough.


    Little Rock was unfortunately beneath Ryu''s shadow. As time went on, the difference between them only grew.


    Little Rock might have already entered the Sixth Order. But, as a beast still within the Heaven Grade in terms of combat prowess, it was no match for Ryu who was currently battling a Sixth Order beast of the Sovereign Grade. To make matters worse, this was a Ryu who had yet to use his recent upgrade in strength. By now, the difference was even more exaggerated.


    If Little Rock wanted to continue to be Ryu''s partner, he had to improve and he had to do so quickly.


    As more and more of Little Rock''s foundational bloodline was burnt away, the more sorry the situation of the infant Lightning Hawk became.


    His resplendent scales began to peel off one after another, his cries became weaker and eventually, he couldn''t even call out in pain anymore, his large body convulsing on the ground.


    Fluttering silver feathers fell from his body, foul black blood dripping from his pores.


    Just when Nemesis thought he would escape such a fate, his body was soon racked by pain as well.


    The Crimson Steed couldn''t help but look toward Ailsa with a wounded expression that seemed to say: ''i thought we were friends.''


    "Sorry little one, but compared to Little Rock, you need to improve even more..."


    Nemesis might have awakened an amazing talent, something that was especially great considering Little Rock had yet to awaken even one. But, the Adept Body Talent had a glaring weakness Ailsa never mentioned.


    As powerful as it was for a beast to be able to perfectly control all functions of its body, it was only as powerful as the original functions were to begin with.


    It had to be remembered that although Nemesis could steal talents, he was limited by what his body could handle. The weaker he was, the more useless his ability became.


    Of course, none of this even mentioned the most glaring weakness of the Adept Body Talent, and that was the fact it was a Sin.


    Ultimately, the best way for Nemesis to improve was by Ryu becoming a Summoning Necromancer. However, that didn''t mean there wasn''t any room for improvement without this.


    Ailsa chose to take this opportunity to widen the base of Nemesis'' foundation, paving a path for his future.


    "Focus, little one. Little Rock still needs your help or else this process will be even more difficult."


    Nemesis neighed and snorted in pain, but still did the very best he could.


    Ailsa thought of Little Gem but sighed in the end. If the solution to a curse called down by the Heavens was so simple to cure, it wouldn''t be much of a curse at all.


    Compared to Nemesis and Little Rock who only happened to have decent talent and needed to be properly groomed to reach an adequate level of strength, Little Gem was a talent that could stand toe to toe with Ryu even without her help.


    Unfortunately, the little one''s curse was no better than Ryu''s once False Spiritual Foundation. Except this time, there was no Sky God waiting to save her.


    Ailsa shook her head.


    ''One thing at a time. I am Ailsa Cultus. If I can''t think of a solution, no one can.''


    Ailsa began to exude an air of superiority no inferior to Ryu. In fact, at that moment, she even seemed to be even more arrogant than that thick headed Life Partner of hers...


    **


    Ryu stood in the skies, feeling his body suddenly undergoing massive changes. He immediately understood that this must be Essence.


    Ryu didn''t bother to leave Osiris.


    For one, there were penalties he didn''t want to suffer for leaving outside of a special abode. One would suffer damage to one''s soul that was nearly impossible to heal. As much as this all seemed like a game, it wasn''t. Osiris was practically connected right to his vitality.


    Secondly, leaving took time. Doing so in the middle of a battle with a Sovereign Beast was just asking for a harsher penalty.


    And third and most important of all, he had Ailsa. Was there even a need to worry?


    Strength coursed through his veins, the roar of beasts sounding throughout his body. The bellows of a Dragon and Qilin, the cries of a Fire and Ice Phoenix.


    After a moment, even Ryu''s eyes widened in shock.


    ''My eyes... My strength...''


    The changes to Ryu''s vision made him feel as though everything was playing in slow motion. The snapshots of the world became so vivid and clear that the world almost became a collection of still images in Ryu''s mind.


    Every detail bared itself, unable to hide from his sight.


    But somehow, the changes to Ryu''s strength shocked him even more. Before, entering the Monarch Realm was enough to ensure his victory. But now, it felt like he could trample over this so-called Sovereign with ease.


    ''It''s actually so much...?''


    Ryu''s gaze brightened, looking toward the charging Rainbow Scaled Eagle.


    At that moment, a sky shattering pressure erupted from Ryu. He stepped through the threshold of the Connecting Heaven Realm, the Chaotic Qi rushing through his meridians suddenly multiplying several times over.


    If the previous Chaotic Qi Ryu could manipulate was akin to a lurking beast, this version felt like a flood dragon snapping away from its thick chains, shooting into the skies and swallowing the clouds.


    Ryu''s hair whipped about, a dense dark gold hanging around him.


    Within his Mental Realm, a certain black hole began to greedily spin.


    In that moment, the Rainbow Scaled Eagle made it to within range.


    Ryu raised his Great Swordstaff, atmospheric qi swimming about his blade like a school of fish to food.


    In his eyes, the reflections of all sorts of colors coalesced, but none was more prominent than red.


    Soon, the qi became so dense that Ryu began to see runes dancing within them. If it wasn''t for the fact he was in the middle of a battle, he would have been shocked to the point of freezing on the spot.


    Just like what Ryu learned when he began to form his own Mental Realm techniques, all the fundamental laws of the Heavens were constructed first with the most basic of Runes. It was the combination of these Runes that formed the complex laws as they knew them.


    For Ryu to be able to see these Runes simply floating in the skies like this with hardly much effort on his part...


    ''So this is the true strength of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils... No... This is just the beginning...''


    Ryu''s arm descended, smashing into the skull of the beast in an almost absent-minded fashion. But, the result was devastating.


    The scales of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle were meant to be tough. It was about the only ability that these copy cats were naturally born with.


    Yet, they split apart beneath Ryu''s blade as though a hot knife through butter.


    Ryu''s blade didn''t even consider pausing, running through the beast''s head. The only resistance Ryu met was in the length of his blade running out.


    The illusion of a Dragon God hung to his back, the embodiment of a halberd surging throughout his body.


    But at that moment, Ryu suddenly had a vision of his mother.


    She was a woman of incomparable beauty, a fairy on earth. She wielded two swords, her flexibility and dexterity beyond anything a normal expert could face.


    The vision was so clear that Ryu felt as though he was right there.


    If Ryu had had such a vision in the past, the shackles his weapons placed on him would have stopped him from even thinking of acting on it.


    However, in that moment, he felt freer than he ever had, his Northern Heavenly Wind sunk into his pours, the heavy dark gold qi billowing around him.


    Ryu''s movements suddenly became swift and light. With his new strength, 10 000 000 jin in each hand might as well have been two feathers strapped to his wrists.


    In one blink he was before the Rainbow Scaled Eagle. In the next, he had appeared to its back.


    For a moment, it felt as though nothing at all had happened. But, not long later, numerous sword scars of dark gold energy shot through the underground lava cave.


    The beast was diced in dozens of pieces, what remained of its body flopping to the ground... dead.


    ...


    Outside the lava cave, a furious gathering of experts was taking place.


    "He really didn''t take us seriously! Does he think that a mere Cultus Faerie gives him the right to act so arrogantly?! Doesn''t Team Leader have a Life Partner as well?!"


    The indignant roars continued to sound as a war machine bore down on the cave.


    They had to teach this kid a lesson, lest people think they were pushovers.

 Chapter 394 - Violet Olive Team

    The members of the Violet Olive Team were quickly riled up. They had already been pissed after learning that Ryu had stolen their mission. But, the closer they got, the more furious they became. It was as though the disrespect was finally settling in for them.


    The truth was that the Violet Olive Team was only one of an Alliance of dozens. If they wanted the appropriate rewards, they had to fulfill their tasks to perfection. Any failure to do so would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot.


    Not only would they be blamed for the failure and be punished accordingly, but this would also cost them the cut of any rewards they were meant to gain as well.


    All of them knew just how important their current mission was. Even if they were just considered to be nearer the bottom rung of responsibility, it was a responsibility nonetheless. They couldn''t afford such failure.


    Amidst the group, there was a familiar young woman wearing a dark expression.


    "Team Leader Giveon, I promise I didn''t go easy on him. My warning couldn''t have been more clear."


    Giveon was a young man of tall stature. He had long, glowing blond hair and two violet eyes that seemed capable of mesmerizing the masses. In terms of looks, he hardly lost to anyone. He truly seemed to be the picture of perfection. Considering his pointed ears, though... it was very clear that he wasn''t human.


    On his shoulders, a Faerie sat. She held an undeniable beauty to her as well, a graceful smile hanging from her lips.


    She had violet hair that matched her Life Partner''s irises and eyes just a few shades lighter.


    Energies around her seemed to snap and crackle, space fissuring beneath her presence.


    Her long, slender legs swung on Giveon''s shoulders. If it wasn''t for her current miniature size, it would most definitely be an enticing sight no one would be willing to take their eyes off of.


    That said, even if Annette entered her full form, no one on Violet Olive would dare to gaze toward her for more than a few moments. Let alone the fact they called her fire cracker behind her back, Giveon was known to be quite protective of his Life Partner.


    Despite his current calm expression, everyone knew he had a brewing storm hidden in his chest no less fiery than his Life Partner.


    "Mm." Giveon nodded toward the young woman''s words without much thought.


    The young woman, who went by Amie, ground her teeth. But, she knew saying anything more would be useless.


    "Givyyyy~, it''s so hot here..." Annette pulled at the color of her dress.


    She was already provocatively dressed to begin with. But, this action only made it worse.


    The fiery team members of Violet Olive took quick glances but just as quickly looked away.


    It was indeed getting very hot. But, the team had come prepared.


    Many of them wore fire resistant armor and robes, either forged by weapons smiths or woven by Spiritual Seamstresses. However, even then, they couldn''t help but feel that this place was no different from hell. Only the fire qi users among them seemed to be faring somewhat better.


    Originally, Giveon wouldn''t have come here either. Not only was his presence unneeded, but he had other matters to attend to. With the strength of his team, as long as they used numbers, taking down a Sixth Order Sovereign Beast shouldn''t have been too much of a problem, especially since it was just a Lower Sovereign Grade beast. Plus, he knew that Annette had a great hatred for overly hot places.


    However, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that told him he had to appear this time.


    "We''ll be out of here soon." Giveon replied with a smile.


    Annette pouted in response, but couldn''t say much else.


    Seeing the stark contrast between how she and Annette were treated, Amie couldn''t help but feel a bit bitter. But, who asked her not to be Giveon''s Life Partner?


    The team converged onto the location, finally making it to a point where they could see the scorching surroundings of the cave mouth.


    ''Is there a need to worry about the Cultus Faerie?'' Giveon communicated silently with Annette, his expression not giving anything away.


    Annette giggled. ''Givy, you''ve already asked this.''


    ''You brushed it off too easily last time.''


    Annette rolled her eyes. Giveon could just look in her mind for the information he wanted. Not like he had never done so before. But in the end, she still smiled sweetly, because she knew the reason he asked was because he liked to hear her voice.


    ''Fine, fine. The Cultus Faeries are indeed far above Elemental Faeries like me, but these things are only relative. Lightning Elemental Faeries stand a tier above others along with Fire Faeries, Spatial Faeries and the like. And, even among Lightning Elemental Faeries, my Virtuous Violet Clan stands in a tier of its own.


    ''You also might not know this, but the higher standing a Faerie and their Clan, the more protected they are. The Royals of the three pinnacle Faerie Clans, including the Cultus Faeries, don''t allow their royalty to casually bond with Life Partners. The fact this Cultus Faerie is here at all means that her standing amongst the Cultus Faeries is the lowest of the low.


    ''Plus, even if she wasn''t, Cultus Faeries have no combat prowess of their own. Well, this isn''t necessarily true, but their individual power lacks in comparison to Elemental Faeries. The only reason Elemental Faeries are lower than them is because Faerie culture values more than individual combat prowess.


    ''Finally... even if she was royalty, so what? This isn''t the Ethereal Realm nor are we under the laws of Faerie kind here. As long as we don''t kill her, it''s fine.''


    Annette rambled on and on for Giveon''s personal pleasure, her soothing voice tickling his ear drums. She seemed to get no small bit of pleasure feeling his excitement.


    Yet, to the outside world, one was expressionless while the other was smiling lightly. One would never know the two had such... interesting sexual play.


    At that moment, though, Annette''s words came to a grinding halt.


    The crackling lightning around her seemed to grow out of control, causing her to sit up, her beautiful violet eyes narrowing.


    At the mouth of the cave, a figure slowly walked out.


    Compared to the past, his steps were exceptionally light, so light in fact that he seemed not to be before them at all.


    There were two massive great swords attached to this figures back. Or, rather they seemed to be two great swords at first glance. But, after another look, it was quite clear that their handles were far too long to be classified in such a way.


    Still, what was maybe the most shocking part about this figure was the fact he was completely naked. His body seemed perfectly sculpted, its every line reaching the pinnacle of symmetry. It hid explosive strength, yet it was all streamlined into a lean silhouette of unimaginable power.


    As if such a sight alone wasn''t enough for them to raise their brows, this young man''s skin dripped with droplets of red gold. From afar, it looked as though his sweat was formed of ambrosia, giving him an even more godly appearance. But, the moment he stepped out of the cave and onto the grasses of the forest, the Flames the surroundings burst into told a completely different story.


    Amie''s heart skipped a beat. Of course, she recognized Ryu the moment she laid eyes on him, but she couldn''t help but think... was he always so perfect?


    In her disdain of Ryu''s strength just a day prior, she had completely disregarded his looks. This was just the way of the Martial World. Men were judged first and foremost by their strength.


    But, with Ryu in such a state, even she couldnt ignore it any longer. She had always thought her captain was the most handsome man she had ever seen. But now...


    Amie''s gaze couldn''t help but drift down Ryu''s body, landing on a particular member.


    She gulped hard, shaking herself awake before a flicker of rage flashed by her pretty eyes.


    "Shameless." She ground out through pearly white teeth.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice the group of two dozen fanned out around him. He reached for his pristine white hair, running his hands through it.


    Droplets of magma were wrung out, falling to the soil beneath him and burning holes that traveled several meters underground.


    ''Grivy...'' Annette frowned. ''I feel that lightning qi isn''t responding to me as easily as before.''


    ''What?!''


    Giveon''s expressionless visage finally cracked.


    ''It''s only a small amount and I can also wrest the control back as long as I enter my full form, but its true nonetheless. This boy has a very high lightning affinity, frighteningly so. If it wasn''t for the fact his comprehension was only at the Impose Realm, the result would be worse than this.''


    Giveon grew serious, holding up an arm and halting any would-be advance.


    He stepped forward until he was just five meters from Ryu. It was only at that moment that Ryu looked up, his gaze locking onto the Team Leader.


    Giveon shuddered. He felt as though he had been seen completely through in a single breath.. All of his secrets were exposed before those silver eyes.

 Chapter 395 - Giveon

    Ryu finished shaking the magma from his hair. Though it didn''t bother him too much, if he didn''t get rid of them it would take much longer for his body to cool down to normal temperatures. If things stayed like this, any clothes he tried to put on would burn to ash just like his last pair.


    Ryu thought of evoking his Ice Flame, but seeing as there were so many enemies before him, the heat coming off his body was more of a help than a detriment for now. So, he didn''t go further after cleaning himself of the magma.


    Ryu had expected this Team Leader before him to say something by now, but even after several seconds, he remained silent.


    Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but drift toward the Faerie on his shoulder, observing her for a while.


    The truth was that Ailsa was the only Faerie Ryu had ever seen before. Among the numerous races, humans were the most disliked by the Faeries and the least likely to be born with a Life Partner.


    Since the Shrine Plane was a world of humans, it made sense that even with his vast breadth of experience, Ryu wouldn''t know much about them.


    If it wasn''t for this innate handicap humans had with Faeries, Ryu was sure his mother, at the very least, would have had a Life Partner.


    Of course, the term Life Partner didn''t always have to assume a sexual relationship. It had to be remembered that Faeries were even capable of pairing with Spiritual Herbs. It was mostly Ryu''s own biases that had once placed a wall between he and Ailsa.


    That said, it was quite obvious that the relationship between Annette and Giveon wasn''t platonic.


    "Is there a reason you''re blocking my way?" Ryu finally spoke after several moments of silence.


    "You...!" Amie''s temper immediately flared in half rage and half embarrassment.


    She couldn''t have been more clear with her words previously. Yet, Ryu treated them like air.


    But, before she could say more, Giveon held up a hand.


    "I was told you were in the Divine Vessel Realm, should I be congratulating you?"


    Giveon''s tone was even and unhurried. But, they were like a rushing tide that steamrolled Amie and those that had been with her that day.


    They were absolutely certain Ryu had only been a Middle Divine Vessel Realm expert. When had he entered the Connecting Heaven Realm?


    Had he hidden his cultivation from them? But that was even more impossible, how could a mortal hide things from an Immortal? Was that a joke?


    The only reason Giveon wasn''t too shocked was because Amie hadn''t specified which tier Ryu had been in. If he knew, he most definitely wouldn''t be so calm.


    But, in the end, the truth was right before them. What could they possibly say to it?


    "A small improvement." Ryu said emotionlessly.


    But his words caused the lips of many to twitch. Was this the reaction someone who had just broken through should have?


    It had to be remembered that the Divine Vessel Realm was greatly different from others. A genius would step into the Spiritual Severing Realm and cross through it before 100 years old. But, to reach the Connecting Heaven Realm, many needed to use centuries.


    It could be said that this breakthrough was the first many had to truly work for.


    Of course, there were too things they were unaware of. For one, Ryu didn''t deem anyone who reached the Divine Vessel Realm after the age of 20 to be worth his time, let alone taking 100 years. And, secondly... Ryu was only around 20 years old now and had only been cultivating for six years. His views were different from others.


    "Then I''ll be the first to congratulate you." Giveon said evenly, regaining his calm.


    In truth, compared to the others, he was far more talented. He cultivated Lightning Qi and he had a Lightning Elemental Faerie by his side, so his cultivation pace was blazing.


    In fact, he was currently in the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm while only being around 12 000 years old. Even if he wasn''t a pre eminent genius, he was very close.


    "However..." Giveon''s aura grew more solid. "... I''m sure you''re aware that you''ve done something you shouldn''t have. The rewards for the Sixth Order Lower Sovereign Grade beast are exceptionally important, we can''t afford to have any distractions during the raid and we also need the Mission Certificate. If you''re willing to hand it over and leave the surroundings while we complete the mission, I''m willing to compensate you appropriately."


    "Leader...!"


    Amie cried out.


    Compensate a thief? Why should they do something like that?! Who would take their Team seriously in the future?!


    It wasn''t just Amie who felt this way. If it wasn''t for the prestige Giveon had long since built up, more would have spoken out.


    Many of the elite members were also aware that things weren''t so simple. This wasn''t just about their faces alone, but the Alliance''s as a whole. Who knew how much pressure Giveon and the Team would face due to his decision?


    Ryu raised an eyebrow before coming to a certain understanding.


    "I''m afraid that won''t be possible."


    Giveon''s expression darkened. He had already taken a massive step back.


    As expected, the member of Violet Olive grew even more enraged at these words, but Ryu only shook his head.


    "It''s not possible because the beast is already dead. The rewards are in my hands."


    The members of Violet Olive froze.


    Amie was the first among them to recover, but even then, her first reaction was to flare up.


    "You think we''ll believe that nonsense?!"


    One had to remember that the Sixth Order of the beast cultivation system was equivalent to their Connecting Heaven Realm. Yet, they still needed to form a team of Immortal Ring experts and prepare dozens of fire resistance pieces of equipment to be confident in taking this beast down. Yet, Ryu expected them to believe that he had accomplished this alone?! Was there a bigger joke in the world?!


    Ryu didn''t respond. He wasn''t very fond of explaining himself to begin with, and that wasn''t about to change now.


    Giveon scanned Ryu up and down as the animosity of the Team only grew.


    "I''d like to pay for one of the rewards you received. Namely, we''re in need of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle''s Spiritual Root. I''m willing to pay 10% above market price."


    "Lead--!"


    This time, Amie was cut off before she could even finish her words, leaving her stifled. Did Team Leader really believe this bastard wasn''t lying?


    Though there were people on their team who could solo the beast, they were all well above it in cultivation realm.


    Originally every had thought the only reason their Team Leader had come here was to assert their dominance regardless of how many hidden backers Ryu might have. But, this was the last thing they expected.


    Ryu scanned Giveon before looking toward the others. Eventually, he nodded to himself.


    "I''ll sell it to you. But in exchange, I''d like a vice team leader spot."


    The air seemed to solidify. It really felt as though the members of Violet Olive might explode at any time.


    Not only was Ryu blatantly lying to them, but he actually had the audacity to ask for something so ridiculous.


    Unlike formal teams, Violet Olive didn''t have an official Vice Team Leader. If one had to point one out, it was the very same alluring Faerie sitting on Giveon''s shoulder. It was the two of them who made all the final decisions for the Team.


    But, this was more of a formality. With their closeness, the two never disagreed. They might as well have been of one mind.


    However, in the face of Ryu''s words, this mere formality became an ironclad rule, making them all feel as though he was slapping Annette''s face.


    "Why?"


    Once again, Giveon''s words left the Team feeling as though they had punched air.


    "Because I think it''ll be interesting." Ryu replied simply.


    In all this time, Ryu had never formally joined any powers. Even his position in the Awoken Moon Sect was as independent as it came.


    A part of him wanted to see what it would be like. Of course, this part of him was always suppressed for the sake of improving with more speed. He didn''t have the luxury of building friendships and being tied down by politics.


    The only reason he wanted to join the Moonlight Blossom Sect was for their Necromancy techniques. But obviously, this Team didn''t have such benefits to give him.


    That said, being willful wasn''t something Ryu would ever do. Though he was telling the truth, this was only in part. The main reason he wanted to join was because of those words he had previously heard...


    The Immortal Sakura Alliance...


    Was this truly a coincidence?


    Ryu wasn''t sure. But, what he did know was that names held too much strength to be randomly chosen. And this Alliance''s choice of title was... quite bold indeed.


    Giveon gazed at Ryu deeply, a deep hesitation in his heart.

 Chapter 396 - Join

    The forest was quiet. The Violet Olive Team continued to walk forward slowly, but all their gazes were focused on a single man.


    By now, Giveon had given Ryu a pair of loose gray pants to wear, the very same default clothing one spawned into Osiris with. However, Ryu had been lucky to get even that.


    The truth was that the most valuable feature of Osiris was its ability to transport things in and out of its own dream world. Of course, this wasn''t as fanciful as turning the illusory into reality. Such an ability would be devastating to the point of making Osiris'' creator the most powerful being in all of existence.


    Rather, Osiris relied on a system of inventory. Whenever a task was completed and to be transported to the real world, the appropriate treasure would be taken from this inventory and teleported to the person who earned it.


    This was how the treasures of the Rainbow Scaled Eagle were distributed. Someone in real life must have slaughtered such a beast, thus keeping its most valuable parts in this inventory system for they as youths to take advantage of.


    Of course, not everything was like this. Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs, for example, weren''t previously in the inventory.


    After making his order, the weapons smith left to his real world workshop, forged the weapons, and then transported them to Ryu. Now, if Ryu wanted to take them out of Osiris, he would have to pay a certain fee.


    This fee is exactly the reason Ryu didn''t have any clothes at the moment.


    As a young man used to getting into trouble, Ryu always had multiple sets of robes. But, due to the fact each was of such high quality, the fee for transporting them into Osiris wasn''t small.


    It could be said that the only item Ryu had on him from the outside world was his Mercenary Guild membership ring which could double as his Osiris inventory. If he wanted to transport things into and out of this world, he would have to use it as a medium.


    Of course, these fees shouldn''t have been a big deal to Ryu. It might have been a hassle to others, but with Ailsa''s wealth, it was simply a drop in the bucket. It was just that moving things into and out of the real and dream world needed time and was just as involved as leaving.


    Since Ryu didn''t quite trust the few around him, he obviously couldn''t take such a chance. While, previously, he hadn''t considered the problem of clothing.


    It wasn''t long before the ground left the wilderness and made it back to the city, many eyes still glued onto Ryu as though they were afraid he would suddenly lash out.


    They had no idea why their Team Leader had decided to accept this man. Worse come to worst, they could just threaten him with violence until he handed what they needed over. Yet, Giveon didn''t try any of this.


    "Where is your Life Partner?"


    A curious and somewhat mischievous voice drifted to Ryu''s ears. Ryu didn''t need to look to know that Annette was speaking to him from Giveon''s shoulder.


    "She''s handling some matters." Ryu replied.


    "Is that so? I''ve never heard of Faerie and Partner separating for so long. Seems your intimacy isn''t very high."


    If Ryu had known more about the Faerie world, he would be aware that this was a slight. A lack of intimacy was maybe the greatest blemish on a partnership between a Faerie and their Life Partner.


    Beyond this, much like most Faeries, Annette had a disdain for humans. There was no doubt that if the Faerie King new that his daughter was paired to one, his reaction would have been even more explosive.


    Unfortunately, though Ryu could sense the hint if disdain in Annette''s voice, he didn''t quite understand where it stemmed from.


    The Shrine Plane was a human plane. And, though Ryu had traveled with his parents in his youth, he had stopped doing that after his Awakening failed. So, his interactions with other species was very limited.


    Of course, as an Origin Grade Ruin Master, his scope of the world was quite wide... but only insofar as books could describe. He could read about such racism and specieism, but his senses were a bit dull to experiencing it first hand.


    Somewhat unexpectedly, then, his flat reaction to Annette''s slight probing provocation left her feeling as though she was punching at air.


    Still, after having confirmed Ryu was human, Annette was even more certain that Ailsa''s standing was the lowest of the low.


    The Team made their way to their holdings.


    Though Ryu didn''t know it, having a Team abode at all meant that the Violet Olive Team''s standing was incomparably high. Unfortunately, their prideful faces were once more ignored by Ryu.


    Guiding Ryu into the main meeting hall, Giveon sat at the helm.


    The space wasn''t grand. In fact, it was quite small, being not ten by ten meters in floor space. However, unbeknownst to Ryu, just this space alone cost a staggering amount.


    "This is a safe location for trade. You can pass on the Spiritual Root to me now."


    Numerous heated gazes landed on Ryu, seemingly ready for him to be exposed.


    Yet, without hesitation, Ryu glided a thumb across the black ring on his hand, causing an inventory to appear before him.


    A prompt immediately appeared before Giveon, stunning him into silence. Even during the several long seconds it took for the trade to be completed, no one spoke a single word.


    When Giveon really confirmed that none of this was an illusion and that the Spiritual Root was really in his hands now, he couldn''t help but be stunned. Had Ryu really taken that beast down alone... and at a lower cultivation level? How did this make any sense?!


    Giveon wasn''t a pushover, nor was he the type of person to easily allow another into his group. All members of the Violet Olive Team had been carefully selected.


    But, for some reason, his elvin instincts seemed to scream at him whenever he laid eyes on Ryu, as though he was a trustworthy person.


    Of course, Giveon didn''t know about Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body, or else he would be far more understanding of these changes. But even then, it was hard to accept the facts as they were laid out.


    "You..."


    Giveon and Annette both looked toward the Spiritual Root with incredulous expressions.


    Could it be that he had bought this elsewhere? But...


    Giveon took a deep breath.


    "I''m a man of my word. Since you''ve accomplished your end of the bargain, I will accomplish mine. Though, joining my Team won''t be as great as you think it is.


    "Among the teams of the Alliance, we are only ranked 12th. In addition, we have many enmities between us and other Teams as the competition for merits is fierce. This city that we have monopoly over can be considered to be among the safest territories we have, but the same can''t be said for the others. Are you sure you want to join? There''s still time to back out. We can complete the transaction with another exchange."


    Ryu shook his head. The strength of this Team hardly mattered to him. In fact, if they were truly in dire straits, this was better for him. At least there would be opportunities to train.


    Giveon gave Ryu a deep look before waving Amie over.


    "Amie. I stored the Spiritual Root in the Team inventory. Go and bring our quota over to the Overseer."


    "... Yes! Team Leader!"


    Amie was in such a daze that it took her a while to understand that Giveon was speaking to her. After a moment of being flustered, she scurried away as though trying to hide her face away from the shirtless Ryu.


    "You''ve all heard it." Giveon stood, sweeping his gaze over everyone in the meeting room. "From now on..."


    Giveon looked toward Ryu, only now realizing he didn''t know the latter''s name.


    Ryu''s lip curled slightly.


    "Call me Ryu."


    Giveon''s gaze flashed when Ryu didn''t speak his last name. However, unlike those of the lowest Immortal Planes of the Shrine World, he knew better than to assume Ryu was nameless.


    In the outside world where there were talents everywhere, there were no shortage of young masters and heirs running around.


    Among them, there were two groups.


    The first which flaunted their family status nakedly, and the second which forged a path for themselves without relying on their families.


    Giveon had no doubt that Ryu was the latter, not knowing that he was only partially correct.


    "... From now on, Ryu will be our Vice Team Leader. His words will only weigh second to myself and Annette. If any of you are dissatisfied with this choice, feel free to compete for the role with the usual rules. However... anyone found using underhanded means will be banished."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered when Giveon mentioned these rules, but he didn''t say much. This couldn''t be considered going back on his word. After all, if he was going to be a part of a team, he couldn''t be above the rules. Plus, if there was no such caveat, who knew how long it would take before they stopped harassing him?


    Before, there was an unspoken rule that Annette was their Vice Leader. So, no one challenged her. But now..


    Just when Ryu was about to have to begin dealing with the numerous greedy eyes that had laid on him, there was a sudden bursting noise at the door.


    "Team Leader! Team Leader! Amie was ambushed!"

 Chapter 397 - Rules

    Giveon''s expression flickered before he calmed down.


    The timing seemed almost ridiculous. Amie had only just left. The odds of her being intercepted so quickly made this smell of conspiracy.


    His gaze scanned across the room of individuals with him and couldn''t help but linger on Ryu for a bit longer. Could it really be that this Vice Team Leader of his had already betrayed them?


    Giveon shook his head inwardly. That idea was even more absurd than Amie being intercepted so swiftly.


    Why would Ryu go through so much trouble just to put his position in jeopardy the moment he got it? Plus... though there were other offerings to hand in, the Spiritual Root Ryu had just given them was among the most important. If he wanted to sabotage them, just keeping the Spritual Root to himself would have been effective as well. Was there a need to use such roundabout methods?


    "Leader, let me go!"


    "No, me!"


    Two men quickly stepped forward. If Ryu had been more familiar with the Violet Olice Team, he would have recognized these two as the most powerful beneath Annette and Giveon.


    They were both exceptionally skinny but still managed to be a head taller than Ryu who was already over two meters tall himself thanks to his overbearing bloodlines.


    In truth, upon further inspection, they quite looked like twins. Or, at the very least, siblings.


    Their hair was a dark shade of green that neared black. Their eyes carried the same color as well. However, their most obvious feature was the scale-like skin beneath their eyes.


    No, it just appeared to be scales. But, upon a second inspection, they should have been soft to the touch, but simultaneously had the look of tree bark.


    After a quick analysis, Ryu''s infallible memory made the connection.


    They were a sub species of Tree Folk, usually the product of love between a sentient Spiritual Herb and a Faerie.


    Though Faeries could reproduce in a humanoid fashion, this wasn''t necessary. The budding love between a Faerie and their Life Partner could produce life as long as both willed it for long enough. Elves could just as easily fulfill these requirements in place of Faeries as well.


    The result were Tree Folk.


    These Tree Folk were split into countless sub species with endless variations. And, though their talent was capped by the strength of their Spiritual Herb parent, this simultaneously meant that the higher grade their parent was, the most astounding their talent.


    To Ryu''s surprise, he was actually able to pick out the strength of their parent with a single glance.


    ''Mystical Grade Shadow Root... Their father was even a Dark Elemental Faerie...''


    Ryu''s heartbeat quickened slightly.


    If one knew Ryu, such a thing was exceptionally rare. And, it never happened as a result of fear.


    Ryu immediately thought of Esme when he laid eyes on these Tree Folk.


    The new path of Necromancy he was forging relied on his expertise as a Herbologist. He had reforged Esme''s body to resemble a Spiritual Herb before manipulating her as he pleased. The result of his experimentation were far beyond even his expectations and Esme''s current growth potential was incalculable.


    But... what if instead of having to reforge a body... the body already greatly resembled a Spiritual Herb?


    Ryu hesitated. The idea would more than likely lead to the birth of an army of corpse puppets more powerful than anything ever seen before. But... it was even more dangerous.


    He couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. Wasn''t his current thoughts the very reason races like the elves, Faeries and Tree Folk hated humans so much? He couldn''t help but sympathize with them.


    Still, Ryu had his own bottom line. He wouldn''t hunt Tree Folk just for the sake of using their corpses. In addition, this was a dream world, so he couldn''t take their corpses even if he wanted to.


    But... the idea was stored at the back of his mind. For now, his skill was more than enough to simply create more Esme''s from regular humans with potential. The prowess of an Origin Grade Herbologist was beyond the imaginations of most.


    Still, this made Ryu consider the possibilities of other races. Maybe some others would react better to his experiments.


    The two Tree Folk brothers, who had stepped up as a slight provocation to Leonel, suddenly shivered. They felt as though they had been laid bare before his eyes. They couldn''t help but reflexively take a step back.


    Ryu shook his head and didn''t bother with them, leaving them in a cold sweat. But, the moment of fear lingered in their hearts.


    Why had it felt like... he was looking toward them like prime cuts of meat...?


    "Is there a reason you can''t go personally?" Ryu asked Giveon.


    After he came out from his own thoughts, he found it odd that the two brothers had stepped forward at all. With how important this matter was, and since it was so close by, it would make sense for Giveon to make a move.


    Giveon slowly sat back down with a sigh, shaking his head.


    "Team Leaders aren''t allowed to participate in internal alliance conflicts. It''s one of the laws of our Immortal Sakura Alliance."


    A burly man slammed a fist against the table.


    "These bastards want to take advantage of the fact we''re upstarts."


    The only reason they were ranked 12th at all was because of Giveon''s strength. But, even the supposedly second and third most powerful of their group, the Tree Folk Brothers, were only Sixth Stage Immortal Ring Realm experts, a far cry from Giveon''s Half-Step Path Extinction Realm cultivation.


    Giveon shook his head.


    "I was careless. I thought that since rumors about our mission being stolen had spread, they wouldn''t be ready for us to hand in our quota so soon."


    "One final question." Ryu rose, his bones popping.


    The simple action made those around him feel as though tigers and lions were roaring in their minds.


    What a strong body...


    Giveon flinched. He felt a threat from Ryu''s minor flex.. just what was this?


    The threshold for having the strength of a normal Half-Step Path Extinction Realm expert was 100 000 000 jin. How could Giveon know that Ryu had already touched 125 000 000 jin?


    "If you''re all a part of an Alliance, why is it that they would target you? From what I understand, this mission of yours is quite important. Aren''t they afraid of being punished by the entire Alliance?"


    Giveon shook his head.


    "Matters aren''t so simple. The quota we gained isn''t meant to be given directly to the Alliance. Rather, the quota is actually a Silver Grade mission of Osiris.


    "Bronze Missions encompass an entire year, Silver Missions a whole decade. These are highly sought after ... forget it, that''s not important for now.


    "Essentially, we are meeting these quotas to hit certain milestones. Only by crossing these milestones will we complete the Silver Mission in time. If we fail even once, ten years of work will go down the drain.


    "The reward for this Silver Mission is admission into an Event where we will find treasures the Alliance needs. But, there''s great competition amongst the members.


    "The top three teams are practically set in stone. But, there are nine remaining spots and we happen to be right at the fringe..."


    Ryu''s lip curled. ''So this Alliance was allowing infighting within certain limits because to them it doesn''t matter who gets the treasures as long as they''re gotten. This must also mean that the price the Alliance is willing to pay is quite steep. Interesting...''


    A decade of work for just a chance to fight for a treasure. Ryu would be lying if he said he wasn''t intrigued.


    He was even more intrigued about the kind of face the Alliance would make if he took it for himself.


    Of course... that would depend on if they really were related to the Zu Clan or not.


    Ryu walked toward the door before looking back.


    "You two can come with me."


    The two Tree Folk snapped out of their stupor.


    They looked toward each other, hesitating. But, after remembering that Ryu''s orders were only second to Giveon''s, they acquiesced.


    The others watched their back recede with a frown.


    Was Ryu just trying to look cool? Was he going to end up relying on the two brothers in the end anyway?


    The burly man who slammed his hand on the table couldn''t help but have these thoughts.


    "Restrain yourself, Gilbert." Giveon said lightly.


    The burly man gulped, "Yes, Team Leader."


    ...


    "What are your names?" Ryu asked off handedly.


    "My name is Grim."


    "My name is Dru."


    Ryu nodded, stretching slightly as he looked up at the sky as though he wasn''t worried about time.


    Even from here, he could hear the sounds of battle. A light smile couldn''t help but spread across his lips.


    He didn''t know why. He was just feeling oddly happy recently, as though a load was being taken off of him.


    His blood flowed freer, his qi seemed to fill his body on its own, and the world looked even more beautiful than usual.


    He sneered inwardly as he thought back to Giveon''s ''carelessness''. Was the Leader really driven into a corner? As if.


    Even if their rules didn''t let him interfere, wasn''t there still Annette? In the end, wasn''t this just a test for him?


    There was little Ryu hated more than being tested. But, since he was in a good mood, he''d let Giveon take advantage of him a bit.


    "Say..." Ryu said lightly.


    The two Tree Folk shivered uncontrollably. Ever since the first time Ryu had looked toward them, they felt as though they were walking through a land of ice and snow.


    But, his next words almost made them blackout.


    ".... What are the rules about killing in this city?"

 Chapter 398 - Death Wish

    "Liluo, you dare?!"


    Amie barely managed to pick herself up off the ground, but the injuries she had suffered weren''t light. In fact, she even felt that her soul would blink out at any moment.


    Even though it wouldn''t be a true death, it would most definitely leave a hidden injury on her soul. By then, cultivating into the future would grow ever more difficult.


    It had to be remembered that as an expert of the Immortal Ring Realm, Amie had already entered the Soul Birth Realm, so the penalty for harm to her soul was even greater. At the very least, someone who had yet to step into this Mental Realm could use the subsequent breakthrough to deal with any lingering injuries, but she didn''t have such luxury.


    The truth was that only Mental Realm Masters would ever care to cultivate past the Soul Birth Realm. One could technically grow endlessly within this Realm, and with the help of certain protective treasures, one wouldn''t need to worry much about Mental Realm Masters.


    But, this culture wasn''t bred of laziness, but rather, necessity. Most simply didn''t have the talent needed to go beyond the Soul Birth Realm just like one might be capped in their Qi Realm cultivation. The concept was the very same.


    Unfortunately, Amie was one of these individuals. Without the chance to rely on being a breakthrough to heal any lingering injuries, her future path would be all but cut off. Because, even though the soul was part of the Mental Realm, without a whole soul, cultivating would become many times more difficult.


    This alone was enough to show just how much talent Ryu had. Even with his poor Mental Realm talent, his cultivation speed was actually still so blazing.


    This Liluo character Amie referred to, though, obviously didn''t care about such things. In fact, if it wasn''t'' for the fact he was stalling, biding his time for Amie''s reinforcements to appear, he would have long since finished her off.


    But, since he got the chance to toy around with such a beauty, how could he be impatient? He simply sneered, his aura locking onto Amie.


    "Ah, Amie, Amie, Amie. You should have just accepted the offer I gave you all those months ago. A little beauty like you is really content with being a mistress?"


    Amie''s face flushed with red with embarrassment and rage.


    "Not everyone is a traitor like you!" The young woman snarled.


    "Tsk, tsk. If you hadn''t broken my fragile little heart, do you think that I would have defected? You can only blame yourself for being so cold."


    The group of three who had followed Liluo snickered, but didn''t say much toward this. They tacitly assented to Liluo''s actions. The more the Violet Olive Team was provoked, the better.


    By now, a large crowd had gathered. Most of the members of this city were fringe talents who couldn''t hope to get involved in such a large scale matter. So, they only watched, chattering amongst themselves and adding to the peanut gallery.


    "Isn''t that the Deep Valley Team? Why are they here?"


    "They must be targeting the Violet Olive Team, but they''re quite bold to do so in Olive City, so far away from Valley City."


    The truth was that the names of these cities were subject to change. The change was dependent on the dominant Team of the city and the right to change this city name was reliant on the completion of a Bronze Mission.


    To have a city named after a Team was indeed an honor. But, likewise, it made being attacked in one''s own city even more humiliating.


    With Amie, a core member of the Violet Olive Team on the ground and in such a vulnerable position, it would definitely dampen the prestige of the Violet Olive Team.


    The less prestige a Team had, the less likely unaffiliated players would migrate to their cities and use their facilities. And, by extension, the less revenue a Team would gather.


    To make matters worse, Violet Olive had only recently claimed this city for themselves, so their control was only at about 10%. As such, the authority they could exercise was likewise limited.


    Not only would handing in their quota bring them closer to completing their Silver Mission, but it would also allow them the right to gain 20% control of the city. At that level, they could have directly expelled the Deep Valley Team from their borders, but now their hands were tied.


    Amie gritted her teeth.


    Humiliation was fine. She could handle that much. But, the issue was that she had also lost control of the offerings for meeting their quota.


    At that moment, the crowd suddenly separated.


    Liluo looked up from standing over Amie, only to immediately recognize two of the men approaching him.


    "Grim and Dru, what a pleasure."


    Grim and Dru stared daggers toward Liluo, the ambient qi in the air rising in volatility. If not for Liluo''s betrayal back then, their Team wouldn''t be seen as such upstarts. Not only had he gone, but he had even taken many of their Talents as well, people many of them thought of as friends.


    Now, Deep Valley was ranked Fifth while they had dropped all the way to Twelfth. They were barely holding on their position. If they slipped any more, their ticket to the Event would be lost.


    They all knew how important this event was for Giveon, yet these bastards were actually still not satisfied.


    After a moment, the two surprisingly found that their control of qi had been dulled considerably. The two couldn''t help but look toward one another before looking toward Ryu who walked before the two of them. At that moment, the fear in their eyes was even clearer.


    Ryu walked to Amie''s side as though Liluo was nothing more than air and stretched out a hand to help her up.


    Amie hesitated, a swirl of complex emotions in her gaze. But, she eventually reached out a hand to grab his.


    Just when she was about to make it, a blade suddenly appeared in the path of her hand. If she continued, there was no doubt that even if her life wasn''t in danger, she would most definitely lose a few fingers.


    Ryu inwardly shook his head.


    A subtle wave of blue suddenly rippled across his skin as he flicked a finger toward the incoming blade.


    The crowd was shocked. Did this young man have a death wish?

 Chapter 399 - Two Chances

    A swordsman by Liluo''s side sneered. After a bout of surprise, he couldn''t believe the stupidity of this kid before him.


    Ryu had reached out with his right and flicked with his index finger. It might seem inconsequential to lose a finger, but the truth of the matter was that every part of the body was filled with meridian pathways. The index finger was incredibly important to any weapon wielder. It was what dictated accuracy and stabilization. To lose it would be akin to having to relearn a weapon from the ground up.


    This didn''t even mention the fact that with just a slight change to the angle of his wrist, this man could easily take Ryu''s entire hand.


    This might have been a dream world, but injuries were consistent. It was just as difficult to heal an injury in Osiris as it was in the real world, while to most, their life in Osiris was even more valuable than their lives in the outside world.


    The only way to undergo a full heal free of charge would be to die a death in Osiris. But¡­ the penalty for that was even worse than losing a finger.


    With a sinister glint, the swordsman''s wrist angle slightly, the path of his blade changing just a small bit to aim from Ryu''s wrist. In the blink of an eye, it would not only lop his finger off, but take his whole hand with it.


    But, it was at that moment that something completely astonishing occurred.


    Ryu''s silver eyes flickered with a beautiful reflective sapphire, his pupils becoming vertical slits. The change was quick and disappeared just as fast. But, in that moment, everyone felt as though a Primordial Beast had appeared before them all.


    DING!


    The flick of Ryu''s finger sent the sword flying.


    A pained cry left the swordman''s lips as their wrist bent at an awkward angle, swelling so quickly that it was visible to the eye.


    The sword flipped continuously in the air amid the silence, its whistling seemingly becoming the only noise for hundreds of meters.


    It fell to the ground, its blade piercing into the hard ground. But, at that moment, it snapped, its hilt and part of a blade falling from the rest of it.


    The crowd sucked in a cold breath. Those who were sharp immediately realized that the break occurred at the very place Ryu had flicked it. What kind of monstrous strength did it take to snap a Lower Earth Grade Treasure like that with a finger?!


    Ryu''s hand continued forward as though nothing had happened, grasping Amie''s hand and helping her up.


    Amie stood in a daze, her eyes completely focused on Ryu''s flawless hands. If it wasn''t for their overwhelming size, enveloping her own in an undeniable strength, she would have thought that it was the hand of a woman. Even she couldn''t help but be somewhat jealous.


    But, these were just fleeting thoughts. Because in those moments, she could have sworn that she saw Ryu''s arm become coated in radiant blue scales. Was that¡­ an illusion?


    But if it was an illusion¡­ how could she dream up something so beautiful?


    Liluo''s sneer froze as he looked at Ryu''s back.


    Back when Ryu had crossed his face an even showed his back to him, Liluo had thought he was a complete fool. But, rather than attacking personally, something he felt that was beneath him, he had sent one of his three men after Ryu.


    However, this was the last way he had expected things to end.


    Amie lowered her head, feeling ashamed. She looked back toward Grim and Dru, a pitiful expression on her face.


    "I''m sorry, I lost the quota. They took it." Amie was frustrated to the point tears almost fell from her eyes. Such a sight would have made most men want to protect her for a lifetime, but Ryu only observed her curiously.


    "Lost? Wasn''t it in your inventory? How''d they take it?"


    Amie opened her mouth to answer, but after remembering Ryu was indeed a newbie, she shook her head, the sadness on her face deepening.


    "There are special mission rewards that can steal from Inventories as long as you defeat someone in battle." Grim stepped forward to explain.


    Amie was surprised by this, knowing how arrogant Grim and his brother usually were. She couldn''t help but cast another look toward Ryu.


    "And I assume this item is rare or else you wouldn''t be acting like this, correct?" Ryu asked.


    Amie nodded along with Grim and Dru.


    The fact that the Deep Valley Team had this item at all was a testament to just how powerful they were. For obvious reasons, Osiris limited the number of these items that could be in circulation at once. Only during special events would there be a possibility for an uptick. But even then, it was only a possibility.


    Liluo''s frown deepened at being ignored. But, even worse, he had been prepared to deal with Annette and had come with ample trump cards. But, this person was a complete unknown. Liluo had never even heard of him before.


    "That''s still not too big of a deal, right?" Ryu said off handedly.


    The three looked toward him with incredulous expressions. How was this not a big deal?


    Even though a single Inventory Steal treasure could only take three treasures at most, that had been the product of weeks of work. They had at most a few days until the quota was due. How could it not be?


    Ryu cracked his neck and reached for his twin Great Swordstaffs.


    This matter was indeed easy to handle. Didn''t he just have to make Liluo open up his inventory willingly?


    Liluo seemed to understand Ryu''s intentions. His anger got the best of him to the point he began to just laugh.


    He was previously startled by Ryu''s entrance. But now that he had time to settle he realized¡­ A mere Lower Connecting Heaven Realm expert dared to stand in his way?! He was a step away from the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm!


    But, before his sneer could deepen any more, Ryu''s arm suddenly swung down from his back.


    The swordsman yelping in pain suddenly froze, his roars coming to a deathly silence.


    A moment later, the sound of a plop reverberated through the quiet city as a once whole man fell to the ground in two pieces.


    "You have two more chances before I lose my patience." Ryu said evenly.


    The two who had followed Liluo here shivered.. They suddenly realized that these two chances referred to themselves.

 Chapter 400 - Prepared

    Ryu flicked his wrist, causing an elegant arc of crimson to follow his movements. If it wasn''t for the fact this crimson was the very blood of the now dead Deep Valley Team member, it just might have been beautiful enough for them to gape in amazement at.


    Liluo''s pupils constricted. That member might have not been very powerful, but he was still in the Sixth Immortal Ring stage. To be clicked to a flick of a finger and the of the wrist¡­ It was simply ridiculous, especially when the culprit was merely in the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    "You¡­ You''re a Body Realm Cultivator!"


    This was the only explanation Liluo could think of and it was the only thing that made sense.


    Unlike in the lower planes of the Shrine World, no one foolishly believed that Qi Realm cultivation was the only path to take. Though it was still considered to be the default, it was still a simple matter for someone with as wide a base of knowledge as Liluo to understand what he was facing.


    Of course, he was only partially correct. The truth was that Ryu''s Qi Realm Cultivation was likely no weaker than his Body Realm Cultivation at this moment. But, Liluo didn''t need to know this.


    After realizing what he was facing, though, Liluo calmed down considerably. This was a bit outside of their expectations, and Ryu was in fact the exact opposite of what they had planned to deal with in Annette, but that didn''t change the fact that they were prepared to deal with a powerful enemy.


    Liluo immediately understand that Ryu was most definitely at the pinnacle of the Vessel Tempering Body Realm, and if not, he was infinitely close to it. He shouldn''t have stepped into the Blood Tempering Body Realm quite yet, or else the pressure he gave off would be even worse. After all, the beginning Blood Tempering Realm was the equivalent of the beginning of the Path Extinction Realm.


    Not only this, but Ryu must have a special Bloodline of at least the Heaven Grade, making him more powerful than a usual Vessel Tempering Realm expert.


    "Fan out!" Liluo barked as he shot backward.


    The two Team members shot back along with Liluo, uncaring for the crowd that had begun to gather around him.


    Seemingly realizing that things were going south, the observers rushed to get out of the way, running out of the area of effect.


    Grim and Dru wanted to step forward, but Ryu rose a hand up. It seemed that these two still didn''t realize that they were only here to observe. Just sit tight.


    Ryu shot forward, crackling lightning severing wind in his wake.


    Seeing such a scene, Liluo''s eyes glowed. How lucky.


    But, just as quickly as his excitement appeared, he buried it deep within his heart, hiding it away from Ryu''s eyes.


    Ryu entered their triangular formation without a thought, his actions as brazen as they came.


    In the blink of an eye, he appeared before one of the Team members.


    Reacting as one should in a formation, the second converged to pincer Ryu, ready to deal him a fatal blow the moment he sent out an attack.


    Ryu didn''t use any techniques as his left arm descended from the skies. His form couldn''t have been more perfect, he embodied a simple [Slice] so immaculately that the energies of the world seemed to sing. Even without Ryu''s intervention, Essence flowed toward him, the skin of his body glowing with a faint light as his Ice Jade Crystal Body pulsed as though breathing.


    The moment Ryu attacked, the second Team member reacted, slicing his sword toward what should have been a blind spot.


    However, they had seemingly forgotten that Ryu was a dual wielder.


    Completely independent of his left, Ryu''s right pierced forward with undeniable momentum, using the torque that remained from [Slice] to execute a [Pierce] so without flaw that the phantom of the God Emperor seemed to want to flicker into existence.


    The two felt as though their movements were completely restricted. No matter how hard they thought of moving or dodging, they couldn''t manage to accomplish a single action.


    However, they still felt that this was good. This was a formation of three, not two. As long as Ryu was occupied in this way, it should be a simple matter for the most powerful of them to deal with him.


    What the two didn''t expect, though, was that even when Ryu''s attacks were just mere moments from destroying them, that Liluo would still have no intention of acting.


    The two''s confidence wilted before Ryu''s indifferent gaze, pain and horror coloring their features even as the mere wind pressure of Ryu''s strikes made them feel as though their lives were forfeit.


    Without any suspense, the two were skewered. One was split completely in half while the second had his chest run through completely. The size of the blade was so enormous that this single pierced rendered all of his inner organs useless.


    Even as the two died, they had no idea why it was that Liluo hadn''t stepped forward to protect them. Were they not on the same side?


    Ryu pulled his twin Great Swordstaffs back.


    He had never felt so comfortable using a weapon before. Was this what they experts referred to as having extensions of one''s own limbs?


    He couldn''t help but thank Ailsa inwardly. Living up to his family''s expectations was important to him, but not as important as making sure they were all alive. There was no doubt in his mind that using these Great Swordstaffs was far more conducive to this.


    With an almost lazy expression, Ryu looked up to find that Liluo had completed his preparations, allowing numerous transparent and spherical objects to shoot into the air from all directions.


    Liluo sneered. "We had prepared this for Annette. But, taking out a helper on your level is just as valuable. Are you ready to die?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, but he soon felt that his connection to the Heavens had been severed. Not only was atmospheric qi almost impossible to control now, but Ryu even felt that calling upon his Inheritances was near impossible.


    To someone like Ryu, this was already devastating enough. But, to a Faerie who so heavily relied on the Heavens¡­


    It seemed they really had come prepared.

 Chapter 401 - Formation

    Ryu felt as though the colors of the world had faded somewhat. Though his Heavenly Pupils weren''t too heavily affected, their Ethereal Tapestry ability most certainly was.


    It felt like he had been completely cut off from the outside world. It was truly an odd feeling.


    Liluo''s snide remarks rolled off Ryu''s shoulders as though they had never been spoken. The latter simply continued to observe the transparent spheres hovering around him with interest. Ryu found this treasure fascinating.


    ''It''s impossible for such a treasure to exist in the outside world. Cutting off the Heavens? If such a thing was so easy, what use would their be in cultivation realms? One could simply do as they pleased regardless of whether they had the strength to challenge the Laws that governed the world or not.


    ''The only explanation is that this is a unique item of Osiris, only possible due to the fact this is a fake world.


    ''But, even then¡­''


    The simulation of the feeling was so real that Ryu couldn''t help but think of what applications such a treasure could have on his training.


    At this moment, Ryu had reached about 70% control of his body. This was neither not too bad, nor too good. It was only due to his sudden boost in strength that he had dealt with the members of the Deep Valley Team with such ease.


    As expected, the further he progressed, the slower his progress became. But, this treasure, after cutting off his senses, made him feel as though he was more in tuned with his body. It was as though all the noise and interference had been cut from him.


    ''Fascinating indeed¡­''


    Liluo''s sneer only deepened as he watched Ryu observe his surroundings. In the former''s mind, he believed that Ryu was currently trying to find a way to escape. But, unfortunately for him, there was no escape from this encirclement. Ryu''s fate was sealed the moment he stepped into this world.


    Let alone getting help, even Grim and Dru who were just a few dozen meters from Ryu couldn''t raise a finger to help. There was no one here but the two of them.


    Liluo''s palm flipped, causing a spear to appear in his hand.


    He allowed it to angle toward the ground, the grating sound of stone against blade never coming because his spear''s tip cut through like a hot knife through butter.


    There was no doubt that this weapon was a higher quality Earth Grade weapon without fail.


    Though Liluo knew he had the upper hand, he still slowly circulated Ryu.


    The fact that Body Realm cultivation was painful and difficult were only two of the reasons not many cultivators traveled far down this path, let alone choosing to use it as their primary source of strength. The last and most important reason was that it simply lacked flexibility.


    Unlike normal Qi, the Vital Qi of the body had to be rooted in the blood and couldn''t exist in the atmosphere. As a result, unless one was an archer, there was a very limited range to Body Realm cultivation arts.


    This was why Liluo had reacted positively to Ryu''s lightning. Often, to make up for this weakness, Body Realm Cultivators relied on comprehension of Inheritances even more so than Qi Realm cultivators did. However, with this seal up, Ryu wouldn''t be able to access any of it.


    Ryu finally stopped observing the balls hovering around him and gazed toward Liluo''s spear.


    "This treasure must be very valuable in Osiris, hm? Seems to have a time limit of a quarter of an hour, but it also doesn''t hinder the caster in anyway."


    Ryu seemed to be speaking to Liluo, but the latter could tell he was only really talking to himself. Whether Liluo responded or not had little to nothing to do with him.


    Liluo, though, was startled that Ryu had seen through the limits of this world so easily. He was certain that he hadn''t tipped his hand. Plus, Ryu should have been distracted just moments ago while he was deploying the core of the formation.


    "You could increase the efficiency of this formation by at least 500%."


    Liluo''s pupils constricted. He hadn''t mentioned that it was a formation aloud either.


    Of course, how could he know that as an Origin Grade Ruin Master, Ryu was no worse than any Origin Grade Formation Master in analyzing formations even if he wasn''t proficient in deploying them. In fact, if Ryu simply put some effort into learning, his progress as a Formation Master would only be able to be described as blazing.


    "Alright, seems that''s all there is to it." Ryu''s unfocused gaze returned to normal.


    Liluo felt as though he had been locked onto by a wild beast. His blood ran cold, his nerves frying at their edges.


    Ryu shot forward, the lightning that crackled around his body reaching a level of sharpness it never had before.


    "That''s impossible!" Liluo''s eyes widened.


    But, Ryu was already before him, inwardly shaking his head.


    Cutting off his access to his Inheritances? That was fine. But, what use was that against a man formed of lightning?


    To make matters worse, even if he didn''t have a Spirit Body¡­


    An eruption of dark gold qi shot from Ryu''s body. The gravity around him seemed to multiply over by a factor of ten, almost dropping Liluo to his knees.


    "How can you use qi?!"


    Liluo had no choice but to quickly counter with his spear. But, in Ryu''s eyes, the action was full of loopholes. What weapon could he possibly be more familiar with in comparison to the spear? He had lost count of the number of time he had brandished this weapon. In his view, Liluo was no different from a floundering child.


    But, how could he not be? Liluo, despite being a Ninth Grade Immortal Ring expert, hadn''t even stepped into the Rule Realm yet. This was how difficult it was to progress in one''s Inheritances.


    Ryu''s feet slid forward in a clean [Advance].


    His right arm flicked upward, sliding across Liluo''s attack with a swift [Skim]. His level of control was simply immaculate, to be able to move such heavy and large weapons with such nimbleness was nothing short of a spectacular feat.


    Though Ryu could have taken Liluo''s arm at that moment, he refrained from doing so.


    Instead, with movements just as nimble, his wrist shifted, his [Skim] slicing upward in a singular smooth rhythm.


    Ryu felt his bones crackle and pop, easing into his movements with a flexibility far beyond what another could manifest.


    A sharp jolt of pain awoke Liluo to the fact that this was, indeed, not a dream.


    He tried to hurriedly summon his Immortal Ring, having kept it secret so that Ryu wouldn''t notice that he wasn''t the only one disadvantaged. But, even though he was faster in this regard than those Zu Clan elders, why would Ryu give up an initiative he had already gained?


    The flat of Ryu''s left blade followed up, smashing against Liluo''s side and making him feel as though every bone in his body had been shattered.


    However, before he could fly very far away, Ryu''s steps flickered once more, circulating [Fragrant Breeze] as though there were no restrictions around him in the slightest.


    He appeared above Liluo, kicking him down into the ground below.


    All the air in Liluo''s lungs flew out along with a mouthful of blood, his body betraying the pain he was under.


    Ryu stood above him, both blades on either side of the latter''s head.

 Chapter 402 - Runes

    Liluo wanted to move, but the instant he did, his shoulder dug into the sharp blades of Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs.


    "Hand it over." Ryu said plainly.


    Amie, Grim and Dru stood outside the formation, their eyes widened in shock. Was Ryu''s Body Realm cultivation really so exaggerated? To be able to deal with such an existence with absolute ease?


    The truth was that Liluo was indeed a joke to Ryu.


    For one, the root of an Immortal Ring expert''s strength was their Immortal Ring. The more powerful they were, the greater their foundation, the larger their Immortal Ring would be and the larger area of ambient qi they could gather to strengthen themselves.


    Previously, before his breakthrough, Ryu could control at most a quarter meter radius of atmospheric qi. After his breakthrough, it had risen to about one meters worth. These might sound like small numbers, but the truth was that this alone allowed his strength to rise exponentially.


    A warrior with a Common Grade Immortal Ring would have an Immortal Ring of half a meter in size. This would allow them to control the a radius of about half meter around them. A warrior with a Black Grade Immortal Ring like those Zu elders Ryu had faced would have an Immortal Ring of a meter in size and would be able to control a meter radius around them.


    This was a small change, yet an Immortal Ring expert with a Common Grade Ring didn''t stand a chance against one with a Black Grade Ring, all things being equal.


    The fact Ryu could control a quarter meter radius around him at all would be shocking enough. But now that he could control a full meter, he was already no worse than any Black Grade Immortal Ring expert.


    What was this all to say? It was to point out the fact that the strength of an Immortal Ring expert was almost inextricably linked to their Immortal Ring. Yet, Liluo hadn''t even brought his out.


    To make matters worse, even if he had brought it out, it would have been Earth Grade at the very best. Such an existence was nothing more than a joke before Ryu.


    There was a valuable hidden secret here, though¡­


    The Zu Ancestors, they were measured in terms of Lower, Middle, Higher and Peak. However, all the experts Ryu had run into in Osiris so far were measure from one to nine¡­


    However, to the current Ryu, he had yet to find a single individual worthy of making this difference matter.


    Liluo coughed, blood flowing from his lips.


    "Fuck you." He said with a sneer hanging from his lips.


    "Oh?" Ryu pursed in his lips and nodded as though this response wasn''t a big deal. "Alright."


    With a wave of his hand, the spheres floating in the air suddenly converged, being pulled toward Ryu as though they were his own to begin with.


    "You¡­" Liluo felt as though he had experienced a lifetime''s worth of shock in just this single day.


    Those treasures were his. It didn''t make sense for Ryu to just be able to take them as he pleased.


    But the truth was that Ryu hadn''t just taken them.


    Rather, this formation, as Ryu had speculated, was designed to suppress not the Heavens, but rather the normal functions of Osiris. If there really was a treasure that existed to cut off the Heavens, it would be at the pinnacle of the Origin Grade at worst. In fact, it might even have to be something beyond that.


    This aside, in order to suppress the normal function of Osiris, the formation was deployed very cleverly and would have to change depending on the environment. Ryu simply shifted the tides of qi such that the formation would converge toward him of its own accord.


    Of course, this required both understanding the principles of Osiris and the formation being deployed as well. The second was easy enough, but even Ryu shouldn''t have been able to see through Osiris so easily.


    Or rather¡­ He normally wouldn''t have been able to until his eyes evolved.


    Even without trying, Ryu could see the fundamental runes of Osiris with such utter ease that he could probably display strength far beyond his means in this world in comparison to anywhere else.


    At first, Ryu had thought that his ability to see floating Fundamental Runes would mean that he could do so in the outside world as well. But, after some thought, he realized that this was ridiculous. Even though his eyes had evolved, the Immortal level was still the mere Immortal level. Beyond it, there was still the Cosmic realms.


    Ryu speculated that if he evolved his Pupils once more, only then would he be able to see Fundamental Runes in the real world. And even then, it would probably be greatly limited until he progressed a good ways into the Cosmic realms.


    However, fundamentally, Osiris was a dream world built by the hands of man. How could it compare to the true universe? Because of this, Ryu could easily see through it despite having only opened nine nodes of his Heavenly Pupils.


    This truth was enough to run circles around Liluo.


    Ryu observed the treasures from up close. In this state, they lost the ability to effectively seal off the world, so the expanse of grey Ryu had seen before became vibrant once more.


    Ryu suddenly looked up into the distance, his lip curling. ''A bit too late now.''


    He flicked a finger forward.


    To others, he hit empty air. But, to Liluo it felt as though his soul had loss the connection to something precious. When he realized what it was, his eyes widened in shock.


    "No!"


    Unfortunately it was already too late, Ryu had taken hold of the spheres and redeployed them.


    Liluo felt as though the world had forsaken him in that moment. Despite not having Heavenly Pupils like Ryu, the world felt more dreary and dark as though everything truly was painted in black and white.


    He suddenly realized just how right Ryu was. Let alone 500%, it felt as though the strength of this formation had increased tenfold in Ryu''s hands.


    At that moment, several lurking auras entered the range of the group, each of them just as powerful and a few even more so than Liluo.


    The elites of Deep Valley had appeared.

 Chapter 403 - Acupoints

    BANG!


    A vicious assault was levied against the barrier, but Ryu didn''t even flinch. In fact, he didn''t take his eyes off of Liluo who was beneath him.


    Amie, Grim and Dru, though, couldn''t help but shiver as they met the gaze of a burly man with eyes lit with fury.


    "Brat! If you know what''s good for you, you''ll undo this barrier this instant!"


    The burly man growled, but Ryu didn''t even turn his attention toward him. Unfortunately, these words only made the three members of the Violet Olive Team who follow Ryu feel even more stifled.


    Though Ryu had allowed them into the barrier, were they supposed to stay here forever? Also, didn''t Ryu also say this barrier had a time limit?


    The worst part of it was that they recognized each and every single individual standing outside the barrier at this moment. Aside from Deep Valley''s three Vice Leaders and their Leader, it seemed as though they had sent all their powerhouses here as a contingency.


    Unfortunately for them, with [Third Perspective], Ryu would have never missed them regardless of how they hid. Their strength was practically like a beacon in an otherwise normal city.


    "Are you going to hand it over?" Ryu asked lightly.


    Liluo, who seemed to have regained his confidence after the other members of his Team had made their way over, only sneered at these words.


    "Let me go and maybe the others won''t humiliate you too much. If you insist on being obstinate, be prepared to deal with the consequences."


    What a joke. Ryu couldn''t stay here forever, and just like he had said before, there was a time limit. Liluo just had to only hold out for 15 minutes and the barrier would fade. Ryu was practically signing his own death certificate.


    "''Be prepared to deal with the consequences'', hm?, I''m sure that means you are also prepared as well, right?"


    Ryu put his two blades away, and kneeled down. Before the eyes of all the spectators, he began to take off Liluo''s clothing.


    Liluo''s face stiffened, but in the end he only harrumphed and looked away. He was a man, what did he care if he was exposed for all to see. He had nothing to be ashamed of down there either, Ryu could have at it. If he thought that embarrassment would be enough to push him off of this course, he was sorely mistaken. In fact, Liluo would just thoroughly enjoy his revenge in just a few more minutes.


    "Ryu¡­" Grim hesitated.


    He fear Ryu, but he also feared the ones outside the barrier at this moment. Liluo''s humiliation would be more than his own. At this moment, they were attacking the dignity of the Deep Valley Team as well. They would have more than enough reason to go all out with them.


    The big burly man might not have been a Vice Leader, but that was because he was too brutish to be a leader of men. Everyone knew that his actual strength would rank favorably amongst the other three.


    He was known as Grinder. Just his name alone made Grim, Dru and Amie feel as though their bone marrow was being extracted. Yet, not only was Ryu ignoring this man, he was blatantly humiliating one of his own before his eyes without a care in the world.


    Grim thought that Ryu was only acting like this because he didn''t know the kind of monster Grinder was. But, what he didn''t expect was that even before he could explain, Ryu would raise a hand.


    "I may have only just joined Violet Olive, but I would hope that you all have more backbone than this." Ryu said coldly. "This Deep Valley Team crashed the Gates of your city, stole the product of your labor and hard work, and would have killed a member of your Team had reinforcements not appeared in time.


    "And what exactly do you want to do about it? Let them go?"


    Ryu sent a glance back toward Grim.


    In truth, he didn''t particularly care about the humiliation of Violet Olive. Or, rather, he wouldn''t normally care. However, now that he had attached his name to them, he had no choice but to.


    Faith was an intangible thing, but Ryu had no intention of tripping upon it. Since he had joined Violet Olive, he wouldn''t allow them to lower their heads.


    Grim was stunned by Ryu''s words, but he had no method to refute. By the time he and the others had regained their bearings, Ryu was already focused on Liluo again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Grinder furiously beat his fists against the barrier, causing the city to shake and quake. But, let alone shattering it, there were hardly any ripples caused.


    Ryu calmly took off Liluo''s last piece of clothing, throwing it to the side without a care.


    Liluo was somewhat pale, but his sneer hadn''t faded.


    "Do whatever you want." Liluo laughed. "These''ll be the last moments you get to enjoy!"


    Ryu ignored Liluo as he pressed two fingers together. At that moment, a dense aura of death began to converge.


    Liluo''s eyes widened, his body squirming. But, beneath Ryu''s control, what chance did he have to move? By this point, Ryu had already severed his tendons. And, without his qi, it was impossible to move his body without them.


    Ryu pressed a finger down onto an acupoint.


    He had hardly pushed when Liluo suddenly howled into the skies. His cry was so sudden and heart wrenching that even Grinder''s fist came to a sudden halt.


    However, Ryu hardly reacted, applying more pressure before removing his finger from the location and moving to another.


    Ryu''s finger pressed down again, resulting in another banshee like screech.


    Everyone stood as though frozen in time.


    Just what kind of monster was this? What did it take to make an Immortal Ring expert just a level away from the Path Extinction Realm¡­ scream like that?


    Ryu, though, didn''t seem intent on answering, raising his finger once more and pressing it down again.


    Only if Necromancer Hecate was here would she know exactly what was happening.. Ryu was refining the living into a corpse puppet.

 Chapter 404 - Wide Berth

    Liluo''s screams made all those who could hear them shiver. But, maybe the worst part was that Ryu didn''t seem to have any intention of stopping. He didn''t pause to ask if Liluo was done, he didn''t ask about the Inventory again, he simply continued to meander around as though he was simply having fun with a hobby of his.


    Liluo felt the Death Qi borrowing into his soul, coursing through his veins and even faintly effecting his main body.


    Fear gripped him, his body convulsing so wildly that he began to foam at the mouth.


    Grim, Dru and Amie felt their blood run cold. They gazed toward Ryu''s kneeling figure, looking at him as though he was some kind of monster. They involuntarily took a step back, only to find that they had run into a barrier that trapped them all in the same place.


    "Humans¡­ Are so evil¡­" Dru couldn''t refrain from saying.


    "P-p-p-please!"


    Despite hearing Liluo, Ryu continued as though he hadn''t caught onto anything. His hand pressed down and rose up with a steady rhythm, his movements precise and measured.


    Liluo''s body felt as though it had been snatched out of his control. He could feel his every cell slowly dying, being converted into something less than human. As though that wasn''t bad enough, even his mind was growing foggy as though he was slowly losing control of it.


    If things continued like this, he really could lose everything. His dignity, his strength, his soul, and even his life. It would all be finished.


    Liluo stopped begging. He focus his entire being on opening his inventory.


    He could hardly control himself, but he found the strength of will deep down.


    Seemingly realizing what he was doing, Grinder''s expression twisted.


    "Liluo don''t you dare! You fear him more than me?! I''ll be sure to hunt you down until your life is forfeit if you dare continue!"


    The irony of it was that Liluo couldn''t even hear Grinder. Ryu''s Death Qi had long since corrupted his ears. But, to an outside observer, it looked as though Liluo was in such fear for his life that he didn''t even bother to pay attention to Grinder''s threats.


    This sort of display was nothing less than a slap to the face. Grinder''s fury reached a fever pitch and he began to bang against the barrier once again. But, it was to no avail. The barrier didn''t even tremble under Ryu''s control, making Grinder look like even more of a joke.


    Items began to spill out one after another from seemingly empty space. Liluo''s senses were almost completely cut off, so all he could do was pour out everything he had, hoping that Ryu would be satisfied before he breathed his last breath.


    "P-please! Please!"


    Ryu looked around, a slight hint of disappointment in his gaze. Unfortunately, the crowd didn''t miss this. It made them feel as though the young man before them, regardless of how handsome he was, was truly a monster.


    With a calm expression, Ryu rose from Liluo''s convulsing body and picked up the treasures he had dropped one after another, not minding Grinder''s roars in the slightest.


    "You need to bring the quota to the City Hall, correct?" Ryu asked Amie.


    "Y¡­ Yes."


    "Alright."


    Ryu nodded, tossing over Liluo''s things.


    "B-but¡­!"


    Amie was shocked. She was still meant to bring these things over? How was she supposed to get through all of them? Was Ryu asking her to die? What the hell was this?


    Ryu, however, only flicked a finger. In the next moment, the three that had once been inside the barrier suddenly found themselves outside. And, Grinder and the others, which had just found themselves outside, were suddenly inside.


    Grinder''s eyes widened, feeling his body weaken considerably without the free use of qi.


    He didn''t understand. This treasure shouldn''t have such flexibility. If it did, Liluo wouldn''t have had to sacrifice the lives of two of his men.


    Grinder clenched his jaw, his eyes lit with fury.


    There were many times he had asked Liluo to hand this treasure over to the Team Leader. The truth was that though Liluo spoke of leaving Violet Olive due to unrequited love, the real reason was for this very treasure. It was most definitely one of the legendary weapons of Osiris.


    But, Liluo wasn''t a fool. He knew that as a traitor, he wouldn''t be able to climb up very high in Deep Valley. The only leverage he had was this treasure, so how could he hand it over so easily?


    Logically, one would think that Deep Valley would then use the very same treasure they had used against Amie on Liluo. But, if they did so, how would they continue to poach members of other Teams? It would be near impossible to do so if they suddenly gained the title of ally killer.


    In the end, Deep Valley''s Team Leader had no choice but to place Liluo in important positions so he could continue to use this treasure on their behalf.


    But now¡­ he had actually lost control of it.


    In a fit of rage, Grinder''s palm flipped over to reveal a heavy hammer. He smashed it down over Liluo''s body, causing bits and pieces of his body to squirt out like paste.


    However, if one had looked closely, there had been nothing but a smile of relief on Liluo''s face in those final moments.


    Ryu indifferently watched this scene, not making any attempts to stop Grinder. Instead, he slowly pulled his Great Swordstaffs out.


    In this sort of environment, these opponents of his stood not a single chance. That said, it was quite clear that Grinder was aware of this as well. But, knowing there was no place to escape to, he could only turn his fury toward Ryu.


    "If I see a single one of you turn tail, I''ll be the first to strike you down!" Grinder roared.


    But it was all just futile, Ryu weaved into and out of them as though he was taking a stroll, slicing them down one after another.


    Everyone watched on in horror as the elites of the fifth ranked team of the Alliance was taken down as though no different from weeds.


    By the time Ryu was finished and took down the barrier, Amie was still standing there in a daze, not having moved since Ryu handed everything over.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn''t you be going now?"


    "Oh¡­ Oh! Yes, yes!"


    Amie shook her head and broke out into a dash.. This time, everyone split to give her a wide berth, afraid to aggro the rage of this demon.

 Chapter 405 - Mystery

    Ryu walked back into the Violet Olive mansion as though he couldn''t see all the eyes stuck onto him.


    After a brief exchange of words with Giveon he was assigned his own room and quickly disappeared to it, not bothering with any sort of pleasantries.


    Giveon took a deep breath after gazing toward Ryu''s disappearing back. After a while, he glanced back toward Grim, Dru and Amie, but all three seemed to be lost in their own worlds. Sometimes they would tremble involuntarily as though remembering some trauma before going back to being dazed.


    The burly man who had been by Giveon''s side frowned at such a sight. Just what happened to make them act like this?


    Annette''s frown was deep. She too wanted to know where such a monster had appeared from. And, worse yet, how could such a talent not have been accepted into a Faction?


    As a Faerie, she was very sensitive to life force. She could tell that that Ryu was exceptionally young for his cultivation level. If not, he would appear to be so¡­ bright.


    Of course, she couldn''t tell his exact age, or else she would have been maddened to the point of losing all hope in the world. A 20 year old Connecting Heaven Realm expert was completely unheard of. But, a 20 year old that could defeat Half-Step Path Extinction Realm experts was a mind boggling matter all to its own.


    "That''s enough idling. We need to start preparing for next month''s quota. We also need to be prepared for retaliation.


    "From now on, no small teams will be formed. Missions will be completed in groups of ten at worst and each team must carry a City Teleportation Token."


    "Leader!"


    Giveon turned his attention toward the burly man, Gilbert.


    "Are we really going to leave things as is? He''s definitely a plant from another Team. I didn''t say anything before because I felt he was too weak to accomplish anything. But, if he really dealt with Liluo, we can''t allow things to continue like ¨C"


    Gilbert couldn''t even finish his words before a spark of violet lightning tore through the air, whipping against his head.


    BANG!


    Gilbert''s head burst into a rain of charred blood and flesh.


    Half of his face remained attached to his neck, leaving a gruesome sight.


    "Tch. It''s unfortunate that this wasn''t a true death. What an annoying man." Annette clicked her tongue, swinging her dainty feet without a care.


    By now, Annette realized she had made a mistake. If Ryu was truly a Body Cultivator, that meant that Ailsa was more powerful than she had thought.


    Body Realm Cultivation was known for its slow speed along with its difficulty. However, commoner Cultus Faeries were Qi Realm cultivators. In all likelihood, Ailsa was already within the Path Extinction Realm.


    The room fell into silence, a cold wind blowing through as Gilbert slowly fell over.


    "I hope that makes my stance clear." Giveon''s tone was even as though nothing had just happened. But, it was precisely because of this that the other Team members kept their mouths closed.


    Giveon''s stance was obvious for all to see. The next few months would be a hard stance for Violet Olive, even actions deemed to toe the line would be punished harshly.


    After Liluo''s betrayal, they had been on their backfoot. But now that there was a chance to recover, Giveon planned on grasping it tightly.


    ¡­


    Ryu entered a spacious room, uncaring for what was happening below. Instead, his mind was completely focused on the clear spheres now in his inventory.


    He took them out one by one and arranged them in the room. Soon, an oppressive aura came down. But, this time, Ryu allowed it to impact himself.


    There was a reason Ryu had been so intrigued by this treasure despite the fact it was useless in the real world. The disconnect he felt while within its barrier¡­ It was eerily similar to the disconnect he felt whenever he cultivated.


    It sounded like a weird comparison to make. After all, cultivating, by definition, was communicating with the Heavens. So, what could it possibly have to do with this barrier?


    But, one had to remember Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    It could be argued that the greatest source of Ryu''s strength wasn''t his Heavenly Pupils, nor was it his body''s strength¡­ It was his Chaos Qi.


    This energy, standing on the same level as Essence, made his attacks and defense so potent that Ryu was certain that he had no opponents at the same cultivation level.


    Still, Ryu always felt like something was missing.


    Whenever he cultivated, he catalyzed neutral qi into Chaos Qi. Or, rather, his special meridians completed this task for him. But, the extra step caused Ryu''s cultivation to slow by a measure.


    Of course, with Ryu''s already obscene cultivation speed, he was still far faster than most others. But, this small extra step added up to a lot over time, especially when cultivators usually evaluated their time on an order of millions of years.


    A few seconds for every minute of cultivation was enough to snowball into tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years wasted.


    Beyond that, the situation might only get worse after Ryu reconnected his Spiritual Foundation. The push and pull of the conventional path of cultivation versus this clearly unconventional path would always slow Ryu down by a step or two.


    However, Ryu found a bit of hope in this treasure.


    Though it wouldn''t be of use in the real world, Ryu felt like the illusion of being cut off from reality allowed him to focus on his Chaotic Silk Meridians with far greater detail. He could feel its subtle nuances, its needs, and he could even faintly feel a connection to that mysterious Plane Ailsa had mentioned.


    According to Ryu''s knowledge, there had only ever been this Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Abyssal Plane¡­ However, this fourth Plane, the Plane he and Ailsa named the Chaos Plane¡­ Well, even the Cultus Clan had never heard of it before.


    It all left Ryu feeling very intrigued.


    Just what was this Plane? And how were his Chaotic Silk Meridians related to it?


    Ryu felt that this formation just might be able to help him find out.

 Chapter 406 - Primordial

    Ryu sank into a state of meditation, entering Breath of Earth with ease.


    He focused all his senses onto his meridians, paving out every pathway with his Spiritual Sense and imprinting it onto his mind.


    In truth, this was the first time Ryu had spent so much effort focusing on his Chaotic Silk Merdians. As an Ancestral Grade set of Meridians, Ryu had believed that his own had been researched as thoroughly as possible.


    In Ryu''s previous views, unlike other specialty Meridians which had their own unique quirks and unexpected abilities, his own were only known for their sturdiness and low density. There shouldn''t have been anything else to study.


    But, who would have thought that the secret of the Chaotic Silk Meridians could only be unearthed by someone crazy enough to ignore the conventional path of cultivation? Beyond that, had Ryu not gotten his Realm Heart, he might have never seen the truth of the matter.


    Originally, Ryu thought that this had to be a sham. To rely on something as rare as a Realm Heart in order to display its true prowess? What else could his Meridians be if not fraudulent?


    However, after he spent some time thinking about it¡­ Was it really necessary?


    Technically, the action that catalyzed the unearthing of his Meridians'' true potential was opening his Qi Vessels, not the action of failing the Spiritual Severing Realm.


    So, what if, all along, the true method of awakening his meridians was simply completing cultivation Realms out of order? And maybe, the sturdiness of his meridians was only designed that way to allow this to be possible without killing oneself?!


    Of course, Ryu felt that this was the most logical answer. He had happened to stumble upon the truth through his failure, but the reality was most likely that he never needed to fail to begin with!


    At the same time, though, Ryu felt that his failure made sensing the truth of the Chaotic Silk Meridians even easier. Without the interference of his Spiritual Foundation, he could sense the changes of his Meridians with far more acuteness.


    Still, while all of this was true, Ryu realized that he still didn''t understand much about his Meridians. Since this was an all-new path of cultivation, he had to be especially alert.


    What if there was another out of order step he needed to take in the future? What if his failure to complete this step would throw his Meridians back to the state they once were?


    Of course, this state would still be that of an Ancestral Grade level talent. But, the goals that Ryu wanted to accomplish required him not to just be among the best, but to be the absolute very best.


    His Realm Heart allowed him accelerated cultivation within the Mortal Realms but he was already soon approaching the Immortal Realms. He needed more methods, more strength, more talent.


    Ryu took a deep breath, stopping his mind from going astray.


    Ryu sank deeper. Before he knew it, he had crossed Breath of Heaven and entered Breath of World. If he had been awake to consider it, he would have definitely recognized this as a blessing bestowed by his evolved Heavenly Pupils. But, at this moment, his entire world was the inner sanctum of his Meridians.


    During the Spiritual Severing Realm, one''s meridians strengthens their connection to one''s Spiritual Foundation, thus allowing the former to gain the characteristics of the latter. This action, in turn, allows the objectively thin and narrow meridians to have a larger world on the inside than what would be apparent from the outside, thus allowing one to store more qi.


    Ryu had thought that since he skipped this cultivation realm, the space within his meridians would be relatively narrow still with hardly any space. He also believed that the only reason he was still so powerful and his stamina was still so great was because of Chaos Qi.


    Ryu believed that due to Chaos Qi''s great density and quality, it simply took less of it to accomplish the same action. And in fact, Ryu wasn''t wrong¡­


    However, what he was wrong about were his Meridians being narrow.


    When Ryu entered the world of his meridians ¨C or, rather, observed it ¨C he was stunned beyond belief.


    At the very center of his Meridians, running through his body like a long meandering string, there was Chaos Qi. This thin line of dark gold was the foundation of most of Ryu''s strength.


    But, all around this thin line of dark gold was an endless expanse of darkness. Though Ryu could vaguely feel the edge of this expanse of darkness, he could tell that let alone just one thin line, the space within his meridians could accommodate as much as thousands of lines of this exact thickness without issue, all while hardly making a dent into this expanse of darkness.


    The darkness weighed heavily on Ryu''s Chaos Qi, constantly suppressing it, refining it, and increasing its density.


    At first Ryu had thought that this darkness was just a waste of space, but the more he observed it, the more he understood that it was a necessary part of the process. If it wasn''t for this darkness, catalyzing regular qi into Chaos Qi would be impossible. But, the tradeoff was obviously that Ryu would have to make-do with less qi overall.


    Obviously, Ryu was doing just fine with such restrictions. So, he didn''t mind. But¡­ this darkness kept reeling him in as though calling out to him. There was a sense of familiarity that gripped at his soul, refusing to let go.


    ''This is¡­ Primordial Essence¡­ Or should I call it, Primordial Chaos¡­?''


    Primordial Essence was the root of all qi in the Real Plane, and, most importantly of all, it was responsible for the creation of Essence. Essence, the purist form of qi, could then be released and influenced by the world, thus resulting in the countless variations of qi in existence.


    None of these qis, though, could match up to Essence in overall strength.


    However¡­


    ''According to historical records, there are Qis that, while not as powerful as Essence, are uniquely structured such that their use is no less potent than that of Essence. They''re called the Primordial Qi and are the only Origin Grade Qis in all of existence.


    ''However much like Essence, they disperse not long after being created. But, unlike Essence, they can''t be called down via Inheritances, thus, ironically, making them even more rare than Essence itself¡­''


    Ryu''s heart beat slowed to a crawl.


    If this was really the Chaos Planes equivalent of Primordial Essence, then would it be possible to touch upon the Chaos equivalent of Primordial Qi as well?

 Chapter 407 - Subconscious

    To this point, Ryu was still practicing three Qi Realm techniques simultaneously. Among them, there was still [Six Realm Opening]. This technique allowed Ryu to form miniature diantians in his Qi Pulses and Vessels. This would ultimately allow him to store 12 different Qi types without interfering with one or the other.


    However, after Ryu awakened to the truth of his Meridians, it became less and less possible to use this ability. Even when he stored Grave Qi within his Qi Pulses, he had to continuously pay attention to it to ensure that it wasn''t catalyzed back into Chaos Qi.


    This was the truth of the catalyzation into Chaos Qi. But¡­ If Ryu was able to form Primordial Chaos Qi, though his battle prowess wouldn''t increase fundamentally, situationally, he would definitely be able to produce a greater impact on any given battlefield.


    For example, Primordial Death Qi, the root of all Death Qis, would have an astounding effect on Ryu''s Necromancy. And, because of the fact it was Primordial Death Qi, unlike other Death Qis which needed specific techniques to be used properly, Primordial Death Qi could be used with any technique, regardless of the requirements.


    If this Primordial Chaos Qi could produce an equivalent¡­ The help to Ryu would most definitely not be small.


    However, even after over a day of observing in silence and with patience, Ryu couldn''t find any method of fulfilling these dreams of his.


    In truth, he should have known. Something like refining Primordial Qi wasn''t so simple. In fact, even if he managed to succeed, there was no telling what level of control it would take to maintain the production.


    As of now, everything happened passively. But if Ryu wanted to consciously form a type of qi, who knew how much more difficult that would become? The strain on his Focus Qi would most definitely not be small.


    As with everything in the Martial World, there was give and take.


    That said, this endeavor hadn''t been completely fruitless. In all his focus, Ryu had actually managed to find a faint connection to his Spiritual Foundation. As long as he followed the lead, there wouldn''t be much of an issue in finding it once more.


    But, this wasn''t very much of a surprise. Ailsa had already told him that as long as he opened his ninth node, finding his Spiritual Foundation again would only be a matter of relying on his Heavenly Pupils. Since Ryu could gaze at his Fate Star, an existence countless of billions of light years away from him, why wouldn''t he be able to gaze upon his Spiritual Foundation? An existence that was just as if not more tied to him than his Fate Star.


    However, Ryu also knew that now wasn''t the time to reconnect. According to Ailsa, if he reconnected too early, the balance he had gained with his Chaotic Silk Meridians would be thrown off and the result would be him retreating back to step one.


    Ryu had to first reach the Immortal Ring Realm, only then would his meridians be properly established and this would no longer be a worry.


    Ryu suddenly froze.


    ''Why am I trusting Osiris so much?''


    Ryu''s frown deepened at this thought.


    Ultimately, this was a dream world. All this time, Ryu had expected for Osiris to be able to perfectly replicate everything about his talent, but how was such a thing possible?


    It was already impressive enough that Osiris was able to replicate the use of Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils, but how could it also manage to replicate his Bloodlines, his Bone Structure¡­ Even his Realm Heart?


    Somehow, Osiris had managed to replicate every single thing about Ryu, even down to the most minute details. Was this really a dream world? Or was he looking at things from an improper perspective?


    Logically speaking, no matter how much of a genius the Sky God that created this world was, if they could really perfectly replicate something like the number one ranked Heavenly Pupils, even in a dream world, their power would be beyond imagining.


    ''There''s something I''m missing¡­''


    Ryu''s brows furrowed.


    There was something else he neglected.


    Logically speaking, Osiris should be like a central hub everyone took a piece of. Every projection of an individual should take a certain portion. Likewise, the more talent one had, likely the more effort the system had to put in to recreating their dream form.


    Of course, it was possible to circumvent this problem as well. In fact, Ryu believed that Osiris did it perfectly. By placing the burden on the person rather than the system, Osiris could avoid having to deal with this.


    Ryu experienced this first hand. When he first entered Osiris, he could barely move or fly. In fact, even now, he at best had 70% control over his body.


    As Ailsa had said back then, the more talented you were, the greater the burden on your mind would be¡­


    So could it be that the reason Osiris was able to perfectly project an image of himself was because it was relying on an understanding Ryu had of his own body?


    No, understanding wasn''t the proper way to put it because Ryu hadn''t known of the empty space within his Meridians until just now. However, that didn''t change the fact that it had always existed.


    ''I understand¡­ I was thinking about things wrongly¡­ Osiris isn''t perfectly replicating the effect of my Heavenly Pupils. Rather, its relying on a subconscious part of my mind that understands my body like the back of my hand¡­ This subconscious mind has a perfect grasp of my talent¡­''


    This might be hard to grasp at first, but think of this analogy for a moment.


    Does one need to think for one''s heart to beat? Does one need to ask one''s digestive system to digest? What about a myriad of other bodily functions the body performs without our input?


    This could all be classified in the same vein as the subconcious mind Ryu mentioned. But, what one mustn''t forget while accepting the existence of this subconscious mind was that for it to be capable of controlling all of these functions we never think about, it must, logically, have a road map for all of these things as well.


    Maybe, much like one''s heart beats without conscious thought, Ryu''s Meridians worked in the exact same fashion.


    ''Ingenious¡­''


    Ryu rarely if ever praised anyone. But, to be able to build Osiris off of such a principle¡­ This mysterious Sky God was in a league all to their own.


    By extension, though, this put up another roadblock for Ryu.


    The good news was that since his projected talent relied on himself, he wouldn''t need to worry about members of the Mercenary Guild suddenly paying undue attention to him.


    The bad news, however, was that if his Meridians worked subconsciously as he believed¡­ If he wanted to grasp Primordial Qi, he would have to somehow bring a subconscious process to his conscious mind¡­ It would be no less difficult than trying to control the beating of one''s own heart.


    Unbeknownst to him, Ryu spent over half a year meditating on this problem.. By the time he would awake, the situation surrounding both Osiris and the Moonlight Blossom Sect would completely change.

 Chapter 408 - Not Right

    Ryu''s eyes fluttered open, only to find that he wasn''t in the room he had thought he would be in.


    It took a moment, but he soon realized that this was the Death Worm. But, this realization only confused him. When had he left Osiris? And if he had left Osiris, why was it that his meditation hadn''t been broken? After all, Ryu was relying on the formation to block out the Heavens, or, rather, simulate this feeling. So, logically, if he was out of Osiris, he wouldn''t have been able to grasp this feeling.


    Unless¡­ Unless this awakening had actually been him snapping out of meditation in the first place?


    But why didn''t he feel like that? Ryu subconsciously felt as though he had been out of Osiris for a very long time already, but he couldn''t pinpoint exactly why he had this feeling or why this intuition seemed to grip him so firmly.


    Just as Ryu was planning on thinking a bit more, a furry ball of white suddenly jumped out and into his arms.


    A light smile coated Ryu''s usually cold expression, his hands stroking Little Gem''s body as the little one purred almost as though she had forgotten that she was a legendary griffin in exchange for playing the role of a kitten.


    "You''re much more energetic now, look at you." Ryu''s smile deepened, raising Little Gem into the air. "Ailsa must have worked hard."


    The curse Little Gem had been inflicted with left her weak and frail. When the little one first hatched, let alone jumping into Ryu''s arms like that, any single nap of hers might have resulted in her never waking up again.


    The difference between then and now was definitely evident. The only possible explanation was that Ailsa had been working very hard. Maybe there was really hope that the little one could get rid of her curse.


    If that was possible, Little Gem would most definitely become one of Ryu''s strongest assets. Though there were no records of this heavenly curse having ever been broken, the one thing everyone agreed on was that if it was, the monster that resulted might even outshine Ryu himself in talent.


    Of course, for now, Little Gem was just an adorable little cub, licking away at Ryu''s face. Clearly, she was excited to see him awake for the first time in a long time.


    "At least you know."


    The sudden voice entered Ryu''s ears, but he didn''t need to look to know that it was his lovely Life Partner.


    Ailsa exited the Incubator to appear before Ryu, a barely hidden expression of pride evident on her features. Her beauty seemed to shine ever so radiantly at that moment.


    For the first time in a long time, Ryu felt his lower belly heat up from just the sight of a woman. The reaction left him so astonished that he practically froze.


    He had always been so excellent at controlling himself, even when it came to his innate desires. But, at that moment, it felt like if it wasn''t for the fact Little Gem was in his arms, he would have pounced on Ailsa and ravaged her for days on end.


    Scenes of Ailsa''s naked body down to even the small birthmark on her left hip suddenly replayed in his mind. He could see every movement of her long limbs, even down to the trembling of her slender fingers, each perfectly reflected in his memories thanks to his Origin Flame.


    "Hohoho, I didn''t know my Little Ryu was such a pervert."


    Ailsa covered her cherry lips and laughed. But, the movement only served to further entice Ryu.


    The way her curves clung to her white dress, the way her ample bosom rippled with her every breath and chortle¡­ It was almost too much for a man to handle.


    Unfortunately, this reaction only made Ailsa laugh even harder.


    "If you want me so badly, Little Ryu, I can let you eat Big Sis up. Come, I''m right here, what are you waiting for?"


    Ailsa blinked innocently, a slight shy expression coloring her usually confident features.


    This act, whether it was real or not, almost made Ryu spill over.


    In the end, he bit down on his own tongue furiously, holding Little Gem in one arm and his forehead in the other. A drizzle of blood fell from his lips down his chin. But, the little one licked it up much to his surprise.


    Just as Ryu was about to pursue why Little Gem had just lapped up his blood, Ailsa stopped playing around and giggled lightly.


    "You know the reason why Ancient Beasts are so promiscuous? It''s not only because their Bloodlines are so powerful that if they aren''t hopping around in each other''s beds so often, they''d never conceive¡­ It''s also because the strongest cultivation methods of beasts are all Dual Cultivation methods. Even the ones that can be used without intercourse would be made more powerful if Dual Cultivation was added on top.


    "At the same time, you just had yet another massive upgrade to your Bloodlines. If you weren''t reacting like this, I''d have to assume that there was something wrong with you."


    Ryu sighed.


    No wonder he had been able to so easily control himself in the past. It wasn''t only because his self control was great, but it was also because he was just a mortal, his Bloodlines could have been considered to be dormant.


    But now, Ryu''s Bloodlines had already crossed the Immortal levels and were even on the verge of breaking the mold of the Vessel Tempering Realm entirely. It was no wonder they would act as though beasts about to be let loose from a chain.


    "Is there no way to handle this?" Ryu asked.


    Ryu had accepted Ailsa as his woman. Logically speaking, there shouldn''t be a problem. There was no better partner to Dual Cultivate with. In fact, even if Elena was here, just due to the string of Fate that connected Ailsa and Ryu, Ailsa would still be the better option.


    However, even if it was necessary, Ryu didn''t feel right using Ailsa like this.

 Chapter 409 - Intimacy

    It was quite ironic. In the past, as ridiculous as it may seem, he might not have hesitated. Just like he had once accepted the little princess of the Loom Clan as his fianc¨¦e despite all his previous bloviating, he wouldn''t stall his cultivation progress for morals.


    In the end, he was a man. Those actions simply meant less to him overall.


    But¡­ Now that he had accepted Ailsa, he didn''t want things to be like this. There intimacy was still not deep enough and he didn''t view her as a tool like he had in the past¡­


    It just didn''t feel right.


    Ailsa''s heart warmed seeing the thoughts in Ryu''s mind. In truth, the moment she had chosen Ryu as her Life Partner, she had already given everything to him in her heart. Regardless of whether she gave him her virginity now or in the future, it didn''t make a difference to her. They were tied as one from the very beginning.


    In that way, it could be said that Ailsa could be as calculating as Ryu when she wanted to be.


    That said, what warmed Ailsa''s heart was that even though she could still see that she was under the shadow of another woman, Ryu was faintly placing them on par with one another.


    These ideals that Ryu held onto, the ones that made Elena wait a thousand years for their wedding night, the very ones that had kept her out of his heart for so long, were the very ideals that were now pulling her close.


    This change in Ryu¡­ How could she not smile sweetly as she observed them?


    It was true that the Intimacy between Ryu and Ailsa still hadn''t reached the deepest level. In a lot of ways, this was still because the looming shadow of Elena still hung over their heads. Ailsa felt that until Ryu broke into the Immortal Ring Realm and confirmed whether or not his wife was alive or dead, he would never be able to truly open up his heart to her.


    But, this was fine as well. Even like things were now, Ailsa was satisfied. At the very least, she could now confirm that she had a place with him.


    "Ailsa? Why are you crying?"


    Ryu looked up, only to find a scene that left him almost panicked. Somewhere deep inside, he felt lucky that Elena wasn''t a crier. If she had turned on the waterworks instead of trying to seduce him, who knew if he would have been able to protect his virginity for so long?


    "Crying? Who''s crying? I''m not crying."


    As though by magic, the tears that had just been on Ailsa''s face evaporated into thin air.


    "Also, you little fool, what were you thinking staying in Osiris for so long? Didn''t I tell you that the longer you stayed in there, the greater the burden on your mind? Didn''t I also tell you about Crystals and how lower ranking individuals needed to gather them so they could stay in Osiris for longer?


    "But did you listen to me? Nope. Did you gather even a single Crystal? Nope. All you did was sit in a room meditating away in a place I couldn''t even enter because of the formations you, yourself, set up. Do you know how worried I was?"


    Ryu was speechless. When had Ailsa become a tsundere? Was he imagining things?


    Also¡­ The formation could stop even Ailsa from entering Osiris? Was that because she was his partner and entered through him? Or would it work to stop anyone from entering Osiris? What an interesting tidbit.


    Ailsa avoided reading Ryu''s thoughts for the first time, afraid that she would only grow more flustered if she did. Who knew how she would react if she knew that Ryu had labeled her a tsundere? Maybe she would throw a real tantrum.


    "¡­ On top of that, you disappeared for half a year without even telling me you were going into seclusion! Do you know the kind of upheaval you''ve missed in the Moon World? The date of the Tri Palace''s opening has been moved up and is only two months from now! What would you have done had you missed it?!"


    The more Ailsa spoke, the more embarrassed she became. It was as though she had hopped on a tiger and couldn''t get off its back, leaving her in a state of perpetual ranting as though she was hoping Ryu wouldn''t notice her odd behavior.


    Still, by the time she got to this point, Ryu was only smiling lightly, watching her continue to rant.


    When Ailsa saw Ryu''s gaze, her expression became as red as a tomato. That look of his seemed to speak a thousand words. It practically breathed out the words: "I didn''t know you could get flustered too?"


    ''It''s not my fault, dammit! Who asked you to think of all those sweet things?!''


    Ailsa was used to Ryu being cold and unmoving. But, he had suddenly gone from that to a horny womanizer in the blink of an eye.


    Dammit, he had probably smiled more today than he had in his entire two lives. Doesn''t he realize he''s too handsome when he does that?!


    "Forget it, forget it!" Ailsa waved a hand, retrieving her dignified big sister appearance and coughing the awkwardness away. "Since you''re so considerate, Big Sis will just have to bring you to a brothel."


    Ryu coughed at the sudden words. "¡­ What?"


    "You heard me." Ailsa stuck her proud chest out, having finally regained the upper hand. "If you keep holding yourself back, it wouldn''t be long before you undergo cultivation deviation. Or, even worse, pounce on some innocent woman. It''s best if we bring you to a brothel to vent out everything you''ve got in there."


    Ailsa pointed a slender finger toward Ryu''s crotch, her eyes sparkling.


    Ryu shook his head. "Absolutely not. There''s another way, right?"


    "Maybe?" Ailsa batted her eyelashes, taking advantage of the fact Ryu never read her mind to tease him.


    But, the words Ryu spoke next left her feeling stunned.


    "The Yang Circulation Massage, let''s do that." Ryu said with a smile.


    "You¡­" Ailsa choked on her own breath. "¡­ You ¡­ You¡­ You read my thoughts?"


    "Can''t I?" Ryu responded, his smile not fading.


    Ailsa felt as though she had suffered a fatal blow. That smile¡­ It was too much.


    At that same moment, Ailsa felt her body flooding with strength, growing past the First Path Extinction Stage all the way to the Ninth in the blink of an eye.


    She didn''t even need to think to understand. Her and Ryu''s Intimacy had increased once again so she could show more of her true strength.


    Ailsa fell silent, her gaze landing on Ryu''s as though this was the first time she was truly seeing him.


    However, before she could put her emotions into words, something that was completely unnecessary now that Ryu was reading her thoughts, Little Gem suddenly began to cough violently.


    "Little Gem?!"


    The little griffin didn''t seem to be able to hear any of Ryu and Ailsa''s calls as she continued to cough.


    Mouthfuls of black blood began to fly.

 Chapter 410 - Little Griffin

    Ryu''s eyes widened as he held up Little Gem for Ailsa to take hold of. Though Ryu was quite well-read, when it came to matters of health and healing, there was no way that he could possibly match up to Ailsa.


    Ailsa''s panic soon gave way to calm as she analyzed the situation. Panic would do them no good at this moment.


    A strong soul pressure came from her, enveloping the little cub as she continued to cough.


    Little Gem, hacked and wheezed, her little mouth continuously pushing out volumes of black blood.


    But, after a long while, Ailsa just continued to hold her, allowing the little one to cough as much as she pleased.


    Ryu couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. Why wasn''t Ailsa doing anything?


    He still hadn''t quite gotten into the habit of always reading Ailsa''s thoughts, so his subconscious mind caused him to leave his own self in the dark. Maybe one of these days he would be able to accept these things with more ease.


    "Ailsa? What''s wrong?"


    "The¡­" Ailsa hesitated, her delicate brows furrowing. "The little one is expelling waste. But, I can''t pinpoint the reason why."


    Ryu and Ailsa both looked toward one another.


    Expelling waste was a great sign for cultivators. Ryu still remembered spending months excreting toxins from his body after fusing with the Realm Heart. In a lot of ways, that process had helped a lot with his cultivation. If not for this waste expulsion laying out a broad path forward for him, it would have been impossible for the Essence of his Monarch Realm breakthrough to allow him such a great leap forward.


    By Ailsa''s calculation, if not for the expelling of waste making it easier for Ryu to traverse through the Mortal Realms, at best, she would have been able to unlock only one or two Qi Vessels with the amount of Essence that had descended. This was, of course, a striking difference compared to the four that had been opened, not to mention the breakthrough into the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    This was all to say that the expelling of waste was a blessing of the Heavens and was an incredibly rare event that usually only happened in thanks to reaching certain realms of cultivation ¨C for example the Awakening Realm and its Rites ¨C or after consuming great treasures like the Realm Heart.


    However, both Ailsa and Ryu had infallible memories, perfect and without flaws.


    The little one was obviously not cultivating, so it was impossible to have reached a Realm like the Awakening Realm. And, the little griffin had obviously not ingested any treasures recently.


    Well, though Little Gem had been given the greatest delicacies a little beast could ever ask for, none of these were treasures in the sense that they could cause such a miraculous event.


    In fact¡­ The only thing Little Gem had ingested was Ryu''s blood. But¡­


    Ailsa and Ryu furrowed their brows. There shouldn''t have been anything special enough about Ryu''s blood to cause such a thing.


    It sounded ridiculous saying that a man born with four Ancestral Grade Bloodlines didn''t have special blood, but this was only for this particular context. If it was possible for Ryu''s blood to help strengthen the little griffin, Ailsa would have thought of it long ago, they wouldn''t have waited to spontaneously stumble into this matter like they were now.


    It simply didn''t make any sense.


    Beyond that, if Ryu''s blood had such properties, he would probably be able to shoot through cultivation Realms as though he was breathing. But, obviously, Ryu''s blood didn''t have such a waste expulsion effect on him. It was only after he made significant breakthroughs that his body would slowly expel such waste, but most definitely not in such an exaggerated manner.


    Many minutes later, the little griffin''s coughing came to a stop. The little one adorably spat out a pink tongue as though saying gross. But, she was very clearly more energetic than she had been in the past, even faintly spreading her little wings as though she wanted to take off into the skies.


    The sight of such an innocent, youthful life brought a smile to both Ryu and Ailsa''s faces. They almost forgot about the odd sudden change for a moment.


    "¡­ What kind of training did you go through exactly, Little Ryu?" Ailsa finally asked, returning a bit of her seriousness.


    Ailsa could tell that Ryu''s cultivation hadn''t improved even by a small measure. This much wasn''t unusual for a normal person, after all, Ryu was in the Connecting Heaven Realm now. Every small step forward should take decades. But, for a genius like Ryu, it was glaring.


    Hearing Ailsa''s question, Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed.


    ''Could it be¡­?''


    Ryu raised a finger up, concentrating a dark gold onto it. He tried to keep it as small as possible, not wanting to harm the little griffin.


    Reaching forward, he held the finger out to Little Gem.


    Like a curious little child, Little Gem flapped her wings hard, trying to make her way to Ryu. But, seeing that she didn''t have the strength, her little paws found an anchor in Ailsa''s crossed forearms, jumping forward with all the might she could muster.


    The action startled Ailsa and Ryu who were worried the little one would fall to the floor.


    Ryu reached out, grabbing the mischievous little griffin before she could begin to fall. But, in return, he gained a sharp bite to the finger that made him chuckle.


    Unlike the half breed griffins of legends, Little Gem didn''t have a beak. But, that didn''t stop her bite from being quite sharp. Even Ryu could feel the sting though the little one didn''t manage to draw blood.


    In that moment though, Ryu''s chuckle froze as the gem on Little Gem''s forehead began to glow. The little one shook her body before beginning to cough up several mouthfuls of foul black blood again. This time, even Little Gem''s pristine white fur began to emit a foul odor.


    Ryu and Ailsa looked up in each other in shock, their minds reading out practically the same thoughts.


    Why hadn''t they thought of it before? If this curse was placed down by the Ordered Heavens, wouldn''t the Chaotic Plane be the exact counter they needed against it?

 Chapter 411 - Primordial Chaos Qi

    Ryu understood now that the root of his blood''s impact on Little Gem hadn''t been his blood himself, but rather the result of his training causing his Chaos Qi to begin to influence his Vital Qi.


    Over the last six months, Ryu had been completely focused on controlling his Meridians. The process was just as nonsensical as it sounded. It was almost like a mortal trying to control the pumping of their veins. It was hard and even for a genius like Ryu, it took half a year of effort at the expense of improvement to his cultivation.


    The results, though, were even better than Ryu had thought they might be. He had accomplished a few things.


    First, he could manually take control of his qi''s conversion into Chaos Qi now. To him, it was almost like breathing now.


    If one didn''t think about breathing, it could be done without thought. However, the moment one focused on breathing, it was a different story entirely. Once that happened, one could control the pace of their breathing, how deeply they breathed or even if they breathed at all.


    Ryu had reached such a state with his Meridians. If he focused on them, he could speed up the conversion, slow it down, or even stop it from happening entirely. This would allow his [Six Realm Opening] technique to finally display its true prowess.


    However, this was just the first step of what Ryu had wanted to accomplish. As far as he was concerned, this was just the bare minimum.


    What Ryu had truly wanted was the formation of Primordial Qi. As described previously, though this Primordial Qi fell short of Chaos Qi and Essence in overall strength, in terms of niche uses, they could far outstrip the latter combination of energies.


    With this greater control, Ryu was able to considerably slow the process of change, allowing him to observe his Meridians and Qi with greater clarity. After months of work, he wasn''t disappointed. Well¡­ Not entirely, anyway.


    According to his readings, Primordial Essence worked very simply.


    In order to form Essence, it would intake Qi, combine them, then expel them. The Essence would then breakdown the further from Primordial Essence it came, becoming influenced by the environment to become the myriad of different Qis in all of existence.


    This process was the quintessential example of Order tending toward Chaos. Essence was Order perfected, while the Qi it would eventually become was a representation of Chaos. This was why Essence would always be the perfect representation of energy and would always be the strongest.


    However¡­ Primordial Chaos, as Ryu coined it, worked completely differently. Or, more accurately, it could be said that it was the exact opposite.


    Rather than adding to Qi to form it like in the case of Primordial Essence, Primordial Chaos instead stripped Qi down to their barebones. It contradictorily ripped Qi apart until there was nothing left but its very foundation.


    Logically, this foundation should have been far weaker than the original qi itself. However, the reality proved to be much different.


    Not only was this foundation powerful, it was powerful enough to match even Essence.


    Why was this distinction important? The reason was simple.


    Let''s say Ryu had a theoretical set of Essence Silk Meridians instead of Chaotic Silk Meridians. If he wanted to extract Primordial Qi, he would only have to wait until the golden fog within his Meridians injected what his original qi was missing, then take it for himself.


    But, in his Chaotic Silk Meridians, his dark golden fog would be taking away, not giving.


    What did this mean? It meant that what Primordial Qi equivalent there was appeared not during the first steps, but during the very last. And, since Primordial Chaos was stripping Qi down rather than adding to it, this meant that the Primordial Chaos Qi that formed in the final moments, just before Chaos Qi was formed, would depend on the original form of the Qi Ryu fed into it to begin with.


    This meant that if Ryu wanted a specific kind of Primordial Chaos Qi, he could only feed his Meridians a specific kind of Qi.


    Still, when Ryu made this discovery, he wasn''t too disappointed. Though it was an extra step, it was also easier to control.


    If he had this imaginary Essence Silk Meridians, then he would need to parse out many Primordial Qis and filter them one by one until he got what he wanted. But, with this method, he didn''t need to do such a thing. He could guarantee the kind of Primordial Chaos Qi he would get depending on the Qi that he absorbed in the first place.


    When Ryu figured this out, he had immediately used the one qi type he still had to test his theories: Grave Qi.


    As expected, when he stopped the process of conversion just before Chaos Qi was formed, Ryu ended up with a product of such dense death that even he felt as though he might die had it not been contained within his near indestructible Meridians¡­


    The Qi alone was so fearsome that Ryu was almost afraid to use it at all. The only saving grace was there was very little of this qi within him currently, so it hadn''t reached a level where he couldn''t control it.


    The realization left Ryu wondering if this qi was more or less powerful than the Primordial Death Qi he had read about. He wasn''t sure¡­ But if Primordial Death Qi wasn''t at least half as powerful as this Primordial Death Chaos Qi, it wouldn''t be worthy of its title as a Primordial Qi.


    It was at that point in his six month seclusion that Ryu realized just how dangerous his experiments had been.


    Though Essence and Chaos Qi were both extremely powerful, they were also unintuitively gentle, something that was especially shocking for the latter.


    However, Primordial Qi was famous for being extraordinarily difficult to handle, and it seemed like this was even more so for Primordial Chaos Qi¡­


    Realizing his mistake, Ryu decided to instead take small steps, trying to see if he could take control of a less dangerous qi. So, he turned his attention toward his Vital Qi.


    Though Vital Qi could only exist with blood as a medium, it was still a Qi. If not for this, how could Essence help Ryu break through in his Body Realms?


    And¡­ It was the result of this experiment that had ironically led to the changes he and Ailsa were now seeing in Little Gem¡­ It was a result that left Ryu''s heart thumping for the future.

 Chapter 412 - Bleed

    The energetic little griffin spit out its small pink tongue again, sputtering.


    "~Yiyiyi~."


    The little one seemed so happy, hopping around in Ailsa''s arms as she flapped her little wings.


    This time, however, Little Gem managed to catch air, lifting herself up with her relentless flapping.


    Ailsa smiled lightly, letting the little griffin struggle up. She felt like a mother bird watching on as her child grew up for the first time.


    Though she hadn''t said much, Little Gem''s sickly appearance had impacted her greatly. The little one hadn''t been in their lives for very long, but who could watch on as a baby struggled so much just to hold onto their lives?


    The world was a cruel place, but when the harsh reality wasn''t placed right before you, it was too easy to ignore. However, when it was, it hung onto one''s heart, pulling at its strings with weights of guilt.


    Ailsa had been racking her brain endlessly, trying to find a solution to help Little Gem. And luckily¡­ They had finally found one.


    "This is excellent." Ailsa smiled as Little Gem flopped back down into her arms. It seemed the little one was already puckered out.


    Little Gem yawned, squeezing herself a place on Ailsa''s ample chest and closing her large, blinking eyes.


    Ailsa looked up to Ryu.


    "Leave the rest to me, right now, it''s too inefficient. I''ll have to design a few things around the use of your Chaos Qi now that I know its usefulness¡­"


    Aina''s voice trailed off as she began to mumble about things far too complex for Ryu to understand. It wasn''t because he wasn''t smart enough, but rather because his range of expertise didn''t overlap well with Aina''s.


    Her words seemed to encompass everything from exercise routines to massage sequences and even ending in the formation of new cultivation methods.


    Maybe it was only after hearing such things that Ryu truly understood how monstrous Cultus Faeries were. Or rather, this was just the first time he deemed to look into Ailsa''s mind to get just a faint inkling of how she usually prepared things for him.


    Such a reality made him sigh. It seemed he owed this Life Partner of his much more than he knew.


    Ailsa lay the little one to rest.


    "Alright you. Time for your massage."


    "Right." Ryu nodded, waking himself from his thoughts.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu had been stripped and Ailsa began to slowly knead his muscles, directing a very controlled stream of energy.


    Completely out of Ryu''s control, a certain member of his stood at attention, causing Ailsa to giggle at his expense.


    "¡­" Ryu really didn''t know how to react to such a thing. He could only change the subject and try to ignore the obviously misbehaving part of his body. "You said that there were changes to the Moon World?"


    "Yes." Ailsa replied seriously. "The evolution of your Heavenly Pupils caused a massive shift in Fate. They''re all scrambling trying to take advantage of things now. The biggest change is that the opening of the Tri Palace has been moved up considerably. Everyone is scrambling trying to find you¡­"


    Ryu sneered inwardly. "Do they think that I''ll give up my key?"


    "It''s not just that¡­ There''s been a change to the rules of the Tri Palace as well. It seems that the way it was designed, it was constructed such that it would react to such a shift in Fate¡­ From my understanding, the Tri Key, rather than allowing the entrance of just a single person as it has done in the past, it will now allow a group of individuals ''recognized'' by the key wielder to do so."


    Ryu paused for a long while before speaking.


    "The Tri Palace is an Immortal Abode that has existed for a very long time. Exploring it is no different from exploring any other Ruin, I''m confident in not losing to anyone in that kind of environment. It doesn''t matter how many come, it won''t matter."


    Ryu, thanks to his Yang Lightning, was already confident in not losing to anyone beneath the Path Extinction Realm in this place, and that was before his sudden boost in strength. Even if he couldn''t win, he could definitely protect himself.


    Unfortunately, the increase in Ryu''s strength hadn''t come with a strengthening of his Yang Lightning since he hadn''t spent much time on comprehending it. But, with Ryu''s evolved Pupils, he was confident in stepping into the Ruler Realm with just a few days of work.


    If it wasn''t for the fact this was a world of extreme Yin, Ryu would have been confident in succeeding in just a few hours. This was how much confidence he had in his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    Once Ryu succeeded, even Path Extinction Realm experts of this world would have to tread carefully around him.


    His gaze became cold, the face of a certain man flashing in his mind.


    Zulfiqar.


    Ryu would make sure he died a gruesome death.


    "Uh --."


    Just as Ryu was about to exude a murderous intent, Ailsa pressed a finger into his lower belly, causing a certain member to convulse.


    A jet of white shot toward the ceiling with a surprising amount of strength.


    Laughing wildly, Ailsa shot out of its range, her giggling filling the Death Worm.


    ¡­


    "Aw, Little Ryu, don''t be mad." Ailsa held onto Ryu''s arm, a bright smile on her face.


    Ryu''s lips remained sealed. But, his cold expression belied a brewing embarrassment in his mind.


    "Was that necessary?" He finally mumbled, stepping out of the Death Worm and into the vast snowy landscape of the Moonlight Blossom Sect''s territory.


    Ailsa giggled. "Of course it was necessary. You needed to release."


    Ryu shook his head, but didn''t refute.


    Ailsa had just simulated dual cultivation for him without the need for the actual act. The reason aphrodisiacs were so potent and why they couldn''t be expelled with just an exercise of the hands was because there was an exchange of yin and yang that was necessary.


    Obviously, the best way to complete this exchange was via intercourse. But, Ailsa had a method of circumventing this by feeding her yin through a different avenue. Unfortunately, though¡­ the ending was still the same.


    "¡­ At least my Little Ryu is healthy."


    Ryu sent a glance toward Ailsa, but this only seemed to make her laugh harder.


    Soon, though, the looming existence of a massive Sect appeared before them, dwarfing the two.


    The Moonlight Blossom Sect was built into the sides of a massive mountain range that rose so high into the sky that the tallest peak felt like an arm''s reach from the skies.


    It might have been a formation, or maybe an odd natural phenomena, but the Sect itself was under a perpetual shade of darkness. The sun never rose, and the moon never set. In fact, 18 moons of various shades of silver to violet hung in the skies, shining down upon the otherwise dark Sect.


    A fog of dark violet seemed to perpetually hang in the air. The pervasion of yin was so great that Ryu''s eyes could see howling spirits hanging in the skies.


    Many of these spirits were just weak wraiths that could be killed with a single thought. However, in such large numbers, it was almost impossible for one to deal with them all. Ryu could imagine that attacking Moonlight Blossom Sect, even completely disregarding their obvious terrain advantage, would be more than just a small headache.


    That said, even though in large numbers these wandering spirits could be a threat, this wasn''t their true purpose. Rather¡­ They were here as scouts.


    The moment Ryu entered the range of Moonlight Blossom Sect, all the spirits that had been meandering around without a purpose or goal suddenly turned their attention toward him in unison.


    If one had never met a spirit before, it was hard to describe exactly the kind of feelings one would undergo when being locked onto in such a fashion. But, if it had to be in just a few words, one could only say that it felt as though all your blood had been swapped out for ice water.


    The spirits didn''t seem intent on doing anything. They simply stopped floating around, all of their gazes focusing onto Ryu as though he was the only thing of interest in the entire world.


    However, from start to finish, Ryu''s footsteps never paused. He continued to walk forward unhurriedly, his pace even and his face expressionless.


    By that time, though, the true sentries of the Moonlight Blossom Sect had already been alerted. Though Ryu continued to walk, he could sense several auras locking onto him.


    ¡­


    Within the mountain range of Moonlight Blossom Sect, a familiar person sat in meditation. If Ryu had been there, he would have easily picked him out as the man he wanted to kill the most now, Zulfiqar.


    In the instant, Zulfiqar''s eyes shot open, a strong sweeping force of yin surging from his body.


    When his qi settled down, his lip curled into a sneer.


    ''So that brat finally couldn''t handle the pressure anymore, huh? I''ll make you bleed.''

 Chapter 413 - Guards

    "I am an Outer Sect Disciple appointed by Senior Brother Niel."


    Ryu faced guards on duty with an apathetic expression, handing over a disciple badge. In truth, he could have avoided all of this trouble if he used the function of the badge to begin with. After all, it was designed so that the wraiths and spirits in the surroundings would ignore those of their Sect. But, obviously, Ryu had other plans.


    If he wanted to remain lowkey, he wouldn''t have come here.


    He had no doubt that there weren''t a small number of fools in this Moonlight Blossom Sect who believed that he had come here because he could no longer handle the heat coming at him from all sides.


    They weren''t necessarily wrong for thinking this. After all, there were no shortage of individuals looking for him at the moment. Whereas the Tri Key was valuable before, it was, quite possibly, even more valuable now than it had been in the past. Ryu wouldn''t even be surprised if the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect was even regretting handing their key out now.


    The guards who had come over ready for a fight gave weird looks toward Ryu. If you were a disciple, why did you cause so much trouble?


    In truth, despite the fact that Ryu was an Outer Disciple, quite a respected position especially considering the cultivation level he had gained such an honor at, these guards weren''t in awe of him.


    The main reason for this was due to the fact that the guard position in the Moonlight Blossom Sect was taken up by those who were also disciples. In fact, it was a very sought after position due to the Sect Points one could accumulate with ease.


    Most of the time, these guards had nothing to do but cultivate, yet they could still gain merit for doing so. The only downside was that the cultivation spaces near the gates of the Sect definitely weren''t as good as their own Immortal Caves.


    Plus, by now, Ailsa had already entered her small form and was sitting on Ry''s shoulder, unbeknownst to them. So, other than seeing that Ryu was a bit of a looker, they didn''t see anything else that was special about him.


    "This idiot¡­" One of the guards mumbled under his breath, shaking his head. "How do you plan on compensating us for this? You brought us out of our cultivation spots and wasted our precious time."


    The guard turned a downcast look toward Ryu. Clearly, he planned on extorting the latter.


    "I don''t." Ryu replied plainly.


    "What did you say?"


    Ryu didn''t bother to respond. As much as he didn''t like to explain himself, repeating himself also happened to fall into this category.


    "You have a lot of guts, brat. A mere Lower Connecting Heaven Realm expert actually has such bluster."


    Ryu raised a foot.


    Before the guard could react, he found a sole planted into his chest.


    His body barreled backward with an inconceivable amount of speed, the air crackling and sparking as he shot out.


    BANG!


    The guard coughed out a projectile of blood, a dent forming in his chest even as his back practically shattered upon impact with the gate.


    Ryu never really had much patience for such nonsense. He also didn''t feel like waiting to be attacked first. Plus, his path forward was blocked so how else was he going to get through?


    He swept a glance over the other guards and continued to walk forward.


    "You!" The gazes of the guards lit up with fury.


    It seemed to be a matter of human nature that enforcers of any kind would have a close knit relationship with one another. In the case of Sects, it was even more so because their sense of superiority wasn''t only rooted in political power, but also in strength.


    The only way to land such a cushy job was by having no small number of backers. In terms of positions of prestige, this guard role was only a step below that of the Enforcer Faction of the Sect. In fact, there were no small number of guards who rose up to become Enforcers, or guards who had gained this position in the first place by relying on the help of an Enforcer.


    This was all to say that these guards were not used to being treated in this way in the slightest.


    "Halt! You''ve broken the rules of the Sect!"


    Ryu continued to walk forward. Ironically, he was pretty sure the guards were acting in accordance with the rules now. There likely truly were rules against attacking guards.


    But, why was it that they cared so much about the rules now, but not when their fellow guard was trying to extort him? A curious case, indeed.


    Ryu entered the range of the Sect Gates with ease. Though the guards to his back were screaming about conduct, they saw how their fellow man was treated. They had no intention of getting involved personally. They only bloviated from a distance to maintain their image while quickly contacting those who could deal with Ryu.


    Either way, in their minds, this new Outer Sect Disciple was finished. If they blew this up enough, even having his cultivation crippled wouldn''t be impossible.


    Behind the Sect Gates, there was a small city beneath the mountain. This place was where all sorts of trade occurred and there were no small number of establishments for fine dining and entertainment.


    But, at that moment, everyone who would usually be going about their business, either taking a small break from endlessly cultivating, or finding more resources to continue doing exactly that, had almost all turned their attention toward the gate.


    In that instant, Ryu was walking by a guard who lay on all fours, hacking up blood even to this moment. If one looked closely, it would be a simple matter to find pieces of diced organs within the crimson. It was clear that Ryu''s singular attack would leave this man bedridden for a long while.


    However, Ryu didn''t spare him a glance.


    Numerous strong auras converged. Many looked into the skies, watching as a group of three flew over.


    Their hearts seized. The only ones allowed to fly within Sect grounds were Core Disciples and above or Enforcers.. No matter which it was, it seemed there would be a show to watch today.

 Chapter 414 - Sick Pervert

    Ryu didn''t attempt to run as many expected. He stood in silence, waiting for the three auras to converge onto his location as though he was already resigned to his fate.


    The Enforcers landed heavily, each wearing a special badge on their lapels. With fierce momentum, they began to scan the situation, finding the guard heaving out blood just as quickly as they did so.


    "Senior Brother Zaren! This bastard attacked is trying to kill fellow disciple Farin. If it wasn''t for your timely arrival, we would have all lost a brother today!"


    The guards that had been lagging far behind Ryu, scared to be his next target, suddenly gained a great deal of courage. In what felt like the blink of an eye, they had already caught up and begun to ''explain'' what had happened. However, anyone who heard this explanation would pale.


    The punishment for a battle amongst Sect members without both parties signing a duel request was harsh enough. The punishment for one of said members attacking a guard was even worse. But, attacking with the intent to kill would be among the worst sins a disciple could commit.


    It was clear an obvious that these guards didn''t just want revenge, they wanted to ruin Ryu''s life. No, to say ruin would be far too lenient. They wanted him dead, nothing less would satiate them.


    As expected, upon hearing such words, the Enforcers turned their blazing auras onto Ryu, their haughty expressions appearing all the more lofty.


    "Are you aware of your crimes?" The Senior Brother Zaren the guard had mentioned stood at the forefront, his strength being enough for most to take several steps back.


    With just a glance, Ryu was able to tell that this young man was in the Higher Immortal Ring Realm, a cultivation level that was most definitely well respected in the Moonlight Blossom Sect.


    With his level of strength, Zaren didn''t believe that he needed to bring forth his corpse puppets. To deal with a Connecting Heaven Realm brat, he would hardly need to lift a finger.


    A curious, almost mischievous light lit Ryu''s silver gaze. With a thought, a grey skinned beauty appeared before him. Her body was streamlined and brimming with power, her curves filled with a hidden explosive strength. If it wasn''t for the fact she radiated a dense death and her eyes were practically vacant, one would never guess that this was a corpse puppet.


    Of course, there were some less than¡­. savory characters among those who called themselves Necromancers. These were people who didn''t segregate their sexual preferences among the living and the dead. And, it was these very same people that took a sudden keen interest in Ryu''s Esme.


    The process of refining a corpse puppet was long and arduous. Let alone finding a beauty to refine, even if you managed to, it was almost impossible to have her retain the same human functions.


    Zaren just so happened to be one of these scourges of society. The moment he laid eyes on Esme, his first reaction wasn''t to be in contempt, wondering why this fool would dare bring out a mere Peak Connecting Heaven Realm puppet to face him, rather, his senses were immediately trained on Ryu''s puppet.


    ''She''s perfect¡­''


    Zaren''s breathing hitched slightly.


    He didn''t believe for a moment that Ryu had refined this puppet personally. Zaren instantly jumped to the conclusion that Ryu must have found some outstanding treasure.


    In the world of Necromancy, such refinement treasures were as rare as phoenix feathers. They often came in the form of coffins and usually only passed down as heirlooms of major Sects. In truth, such things were kept so secret that despite his standing within the Sect, Zaren wasn''t sure if the Moonlight Blossom Sect even had one.


    Others might not be able to pick out the uniqueness of Esme, but Zaren, a Class A pervert of extraordinary proportions, was able to at a single glance.


    ''Her skin¡­ Is so supple¡­''


    This was the main point Zaren picked out and the only point of emphasis he needed to focus on.


    Usually, during the refinement process, a puppet''s organic chemistry would be altered. Sometimes this would be done on purpose, but much of the time, it was just an inevitable consequence. It was simply too difficult to replicate the toughness needed without also giving way to some matters.


    Whenever a human cultivated their body, they were able to have the best of both worlds, maintaining the suppleness and youth of their skin while also gaining sturdiness. Ryu was a prime example of exactly this.


    But, this was difficult to replicate in puppets because they lacked the blessings of the heavens or, more simply, the life character that beasts and humans had. So, their end result was becoming far more like machines rather than the humans they had once been in life.


    But this Esme¡­ This Esme was different. She had such a powerful body but Zaren was absolutely certain that everything that should be soft was exactly that¡­


    For a man with such¡­ urges as him, this was a treasure he couldn''t turn his nose up at.


    He needed it before anyone else could notice.


    "Esme." Ryu said off handedly.


    As though she was truly alive, Esme turned toward Ryu on command, swiftly catching two streaks of blue that came her way.


    Many began to give Ryu weird looks when they saw this scene. After looking toward Esme''s beauty, their disgust and disdain became evident on their faces.


    Who spoke to their corpse puppets in such a way? They had no way of knowing that Esme had a small consciousness of her own due to being refined via Hecate''s method. So, everyone thought that Ryu was only pretending to have her react in such a way.


    Knowing this, it was no wonder they slotted him in as a pervert.


    But, while everyone else thought of Ryu in a lens of disgust, Zaren''s eyes blazed with jealousy. He already saw Esme as his own!


    Esme glanced toward the twin daggers Ryu had given to her. Their crystalline blue edges glistened in the night, giving their jagged blades a gorgeous, dreamy appearance. They seemed to suit Esme perfectly.


    Ryu rarely used these daggers, but he knew that they held a strength he had yet to tap into. The fact that they could attack with Spiritual Qi directly was most definitely just the tip of the ice berg.


    But, even if he was wrong¡­ So what? This ability alone was already devastating enough. And, in the hand of a corpse puppet refined from a Mental Masters body, it was akin to giving wings to a tiger¡­ Especially if it was used against other corpse puppets.


    Esme seemed to project the image of Ryu wielding two Great Swordstaffs, her twin daggers twirling in her long, slender fingers with an elegance that seemed not suited for a puppet.


    ''This fluid control¡­''


    The members of the Moonlight Blossom Sect froze, their gazes locking onto Ryu.


    There was one realm that puppet masters and Necromancers alike held in the highest regard. It was a realm many spent entire lifetimes trying to grasp, only to fail in the end. But, never did they think that they would see it in this place¡­


    The Oneness Realm.


    Esme shot forward, her twin daggers gleaming beneath the moons.

 Chapter 415 - Pound Of Flesh

    It could be said that Ryu''s strength really hadn''t grown much during the last six months. But, that was only in the case of raw power. After spending so much time turning an unconscious movement into a conscious one, how could there not be vast improvement?


    Not only was Ryu''s control of his body far beyond what it had been in the past, due to the nature of Osiris, it finally allowed him to break past that final barrier of controlling corpse puppets that had left him stuck for so long.


    By now, let alone only being able to control 70% of his body in Osiris, if his previous calculations were used, he was closer to 120% control.


    It seemed insane to supersede a 100% control, but this simply went to portray Ryu''s own ignorance. He hadn''t even realized that the control he exercised on his own body was still limited in so many ways. But now, it was as though a whole new world was opened up to him.


    It felt like every time he breathed, he could make each one of his individual cells breathe with him. Every time he formed an attack, he could make each one of his muscle fibers vibrate with strength. It was as though his body could now truly move forward and back in unison, whereas in the past, only a portion of it could.


    And the result¡­?


    Esme closed the distance between herself and Zaren in the blink of an eye, her body streamlined and sculpted to perfection. Every understanding Ryu had in control his own body seemed to be perfectly translated.


    Although Ryu couldn''t guarantee this same level of control when it came to other corpse puppets, he was confident that as long as the corpse puppet was humanoid¡­ His control would be unmatched, even by those old fogies of the Sect.


    Zaren was caught off guard, not expecting such speed from a mere Peak Connecting Heaven Realm puppet. He suddenly found that this puppet was more dangerous than he thought it was. He was so enraptured by its beauty that he didn''t understand the danger he was in until it was almost too late.


    ''[Shadow Shield]..!''


    Zaren quickly circulated his qi, causing numerous black fog-like shields to appear before him and Esme.


    The Enforcer''s reaction caused many to be shocked. Was such caution necessary in the face of such a weak puppet? The only thing that could have been more shocking than this was if Zaren was actually forced to bring out his own corpse puppets¡­


    Before they could even finish this thought, that was exactly what happened.


    Zaren fell back, using [Shadow Shield] as a method of buying time. Under normal circumstances, the corrosive properties of [Shadow Shield] would be more than enough to put a Peak Connecting Heaven Realm puppet out of commission. This was because despite the fact [Shadow Shield] was just a lower Earth Grade technique. When fueled by Immortal Death Qi, its strength was on a completely different level.


    Zaren immediately began to perform several hand seals as he fell backward.


    Usually, a Necromancer would have a dedicated spatial ring for their puppets. This was obviously because corpse puppets were not among the living and as such could be placed in such things.


    But, it also had to be remembered that spatial rings were incredibly expensive. Not everyone had near endless space like Ryu did with his Incubator. As a result, many Necromancers were limited in the number of corpse puppets they could carry on themselves, severely limiting their combat prowess.


    In order to mitigate this, many Necromancers learned from Summoning Necromancers, anchoring their puppets in separate dimensions that they could call upon whenever they wanted.


    However, there were a few caveats to this deal.


    For one, a normal Necromancer who couldn''t afford even spatial rings would never be able to sustain such a dimension. As a result, many relied on the Sects they were a part of. These dimensions were actually just a garden of corpses cultivated by the ancestors of the Sect to be used by later generations.


    Just like how outstanding Sects might have Heavenly Herb Gardens they passed down from generation to generation, Necromancer Sects had Corpse Gardens or Dimensions.


    Depending on one''s contribution to the Sect, it would be possible to gain larger and larger pieces of this Corpse Garden to not only store your puppets to be called upon as long as you were within the same world as the garden itself, but the garden would also be able to nurture your puppets into growing stronger.


    Still, all this said, as an Enforcer of the Sect, there was no doubt that Zaren had enough connections to gain a small piece of this Corpse Garden for himself.


    The second and main issue here was that¡­ It took time to complete the ritual needed to summon a puppet was not small. Though it was not more than three to five seconds, in the middle of a battle of Immortals, this time might as well have been an eternity.


    This was exactly why even if one stored your more powerful puppets within a Corpse Garden, you would keep a few decently powerful ones within a spatial ring or the Death World Matteus mentioned during his battle with Ryu. Of course¡­ Only geniuses could complete the latter¡­


    There was one exception to all of this though¡­


    Necromancers whose corpse puppets were simply too massive.


    Esme dodged the shadow shield with nimble steps, perfectly emulating Ryu''s [Fragrant Breeze] as though they were mirror images of one another.


    She seemed to become ethereal, her body disappearing into the wind only to appear before Zaren.


    Zaren, who was still in the middle of his hand seals, went stiff.


    "Dammit! Help me stall her!"


    The two Enforcers who had followed Zaren finally snapped out of their daze. They were shocked into action, so they didn''t even pause to consider the fact Zaren actually spoke about a corpse puppet as though it was really a person for a moment.


    Ryu stood in the distance with his arms crossed, his gaze flicking across the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, he saw through several weak points and attacked them.


    The daggers in Esme''s palm flipped, one aiming for the neck of an Enforcer and the other aiming for the dantian. No matter which landed, and if both landed, there was no doubting their fatality.


    The two Enforcers suddenly understood why Zaren had reacted the way he had. It was only after facing this monstrous corpse puppet for themselves that they finally saw the mountain looming over them.


    It was as though the massive shadow had always been there, but it was only at this exact moment that they deemed to look up, realizing the kind of mistake they had made.


    In the end, it wasn''t their fault. Usually, one could feel the strength of a person by the qi that they leaked. Understanding someone''s cultivation level wasn''t an exact science and relied mostly on experience and context clues.


    But, what would one do when you were facing a monster you never had before and a beast that didn''t let you grasp any of its weaknesses?


    Esme''s, or rather Ryu''s, control of qi was so immaculate that not a single ounce of it leaked out from the start of the battle to the finish. It wasn''t until you were targeted by her and realized that there was no place to dodge, nothing you could do to protect yourself, no holy savior coming to save you¡­ That you would understand that it was all over.


    PCHU!


    With an elegant flicker, a slice was made across a neck and a dantian was just barely punctured.


    Both men panicked, feeling as though their lives were suddenly forfeit. But, before they could even realize that they had been spared, Esme shot by them like a fleeting wind. Their noses were tickled with a peculiar scent. Rather than one of death and decay like they had become used to for so long, it was like an ever-blooming flower, taking hold of their senses.


    Esme appeared before Zaren in a flash, just as he was about to complete the last of his seals. But, unfortunately, he never got the chance.


    A grating scream shot through the small city as an arc of blood was drawn through the air.


    Zaren fell to the ground, grabbing onto the bloody stump where his hand had just been.


    "My hand! My hand!" Zaren roared.


    Everyone knew how important one''s hands were in cultivation. A swordsman, or any weapon wielder for that matter, without a hand, was practically a cripple. But, this was even more so for a Necromancer. Without nimble fingers, how could one possibly take fine control of their puppets? Taking Zaren''s hand was practically like cutting off his future. Even if he managed to regrow it, who knew how many centuries it would take for him to reach the same level of control he had once had?


    "To attack an Enforcer of my Moonlight Blossom Sect for the sake of killing¡­! You have guts!"


    A voice boomed across the skies. But in return, Ryu''s gaze flickered with cold killing intent.


    The first time, he was shot through the heart and only survived thanks to his Realm Heart. The second time, he barely avoided death thanks to his Spirit Body. But now, this was already the third time this man wanted to kill him¡­


    This time, Ryu would take a pound of flesh as interest.


    [Sorry for the late chapters today guys, love yall]

 Chapter 416 - Thick Face

    Zulfiqar appeared in the skies, his aura alone causing the region around him to freeze. For a moment, it felt as though he was the center of the world and everyone and everything else revolved around him.


    Esme retreated to Ryu''s side before he had even appeared. While everyone else was enamored by the arrival of an Inheritor Disciple, Ryu was making sure that he didn''t lose the only corpse puppet he had.


    Though he could bridge the Immortal gap with the help of the Oneness Realm, he was definitely asking for too much if he thought that he could also use Esme to battle Zulfiqar, a true blue Path Extinction Realm expert.


    Ryu lazily looked up into the skies. Under normal circumstances, Zulfiqar would have long since attacked him. This was a man that had no qualms about sneak attacking a person so much weaker than him in Ryu, the fact that he was speaking all this nonsense spoke volumes.


    The reason was simple. Zulfiqar had no way of knowing if Ryu had brought the Tri Key with him or not. In his mind, there was no way Ryu was foolish enough to come here, cause such commotion, yet also be stupid enough to bring the key with him.


    The fact that Ryu had come here with such bluster definitely meant that he likely didn''t even have the key on him at this moment.


    However, in Zulfiqar''s mind, this was maybe the most foolish thing Ryu could have done. Did he really think that by hiding the key, he would be safe?


    This was a Sect of Necromancers. Not only were they among the most adept at torture, one mustn''t forget that the basic requirement to be a Necromancer was a modicum of Mental Realm talent. With such a truth being so obvious, Zulfiqar had lost count of the number of methods he had to make Ryu whine and plead.


    ''A piece of trash Divine Vessel Realm brat actually dared to look down on me and not hide his killing intent. It''s clear that you were never properly taught by your parents.''


    However, just as Zulfiqar was in his own dreamland, the words he heard next infuriated him to an extreme.


    "Not going to sneak attack me this time? Or do you plan on standing in the air like a clown?"


    Zulfiqar, who had yet to look toward Ryu directly since he got here, looked down for the first time. But, what he found instead was a streak of blue lightning.


    In the blink of an eye, Ryu had appeared before him. Zulfiqar couldn''t even react before he found a fist approaching his face.


    At that moment, Zulfiqar''s mind went blank.


    A weakling¡­ Actually dared to attack him? Was he seeing this right?


    He was so stunned by the reality before him that he forgot to react.


    A fist collided with his face, twisting his neck back and turning his face to the side.


    Scorching marks of harsh yang lightning danced across his skin, leaving what was once pristine and elastic, charred and cracking.


    Ryu pulled his fist back. He hadn''t expected Zulfiqar to go flying back, but it was quite a surprise that the latter hardly moved.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t exactly go all out either. He knew very little about hand to hand combat, so the fact he attacked with his fists at all was a testament to fact that he wasn''t planning on going all in. Still, Zulfiqar''s strength was quite intriguing.


    Zulfiqar stood in the air in a long, drawn out silence, his head still turned away due to Ryu''s punch.


    Eventually, he brought a hand to his face. A light press caused a squirt of blood to drizzle down his fingers and bits of burnt flesh to fleck off like ash blowing in the wind.


    Zulfiqar''s head finally turned, looking toward the blood dripping from his fingers as though this was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.


    What was maybe even more shocking to Zulfiqar, though, was that instead of running after seeing the failure of his attack, Ryu simply continued to stand in the air, not more than even three meters from him.


    To a Path Extinction Realm expert, even three kilometers was nothing, let alone three meters. To call it the matter of a blink of an eye was almost an insult, he wouldn''t even need that long. Yet, there was Ryu, standing before him as though he didn''t matter in the slightest.


    In fact, at the moment, Ryu was looking at his own fist that also happened to be bleeding. Despite his strength, and the tough skin his bloodlines gave him, the face of a Path Extinction Realm expert was actually so ¡­


    "Your face is pretty thick." Ryu commented off handedly.


    Ailsa sputtered with laughter when she heard Ryu''s words. It was a shame, though, that no one but Ryu could see such a beautiful scene.


    Ailsa almost felt like it was an injustice to the world. Even at his coldest, Ryu''s snarky comments and witty comebacks were practically a staple of his personality. It was just unfortunate that Ryu spent so much of his time cultivating that he rarely, if ever, interacted with others.


    Somewhere deep inside, Ailsa hoped that Ryu could find friends to share his life with. Maybe they would be able to help him turn back into the smiling little boy that appeared in her memories from time to time.


    But for now, she would take his slow progress toward opening up. She quite liked the path her Little Ryu was taking.


    Zulfiqar fumed at such words. But very soon, he broke out into a smile. And not long after that, his smile became uproarious laughter.


    "Good! Good! GOOD!"


    His aura blazed, a towering darkness threatening to pierce the 18 moons that hung in the sky.


    In response, Ryu''s lip curled, his aura also blazing. But, unlike Zulfiqar, his body began to change.


    Beautiful blue scales raced into existence along Ryu''s pale skin. His eyes grew slits, deepening from the silver hue to a robust sapphire color as though his irises were carved of gems.


    Two protruding, proud horns rose from Ryu''s forehead, his white hair whipping about wildly as blue arcs of lightning crackled around him.


    Ryu''s robes burst apart under his violent, raging energy, revealing a toned torso covered with just as many scales.


    Ryu slammed his palms together, concentrating a large amount of yang lightning between them.


    As he slowly pulled them apart, the crackling shaft of a weapon began to appear.


    "Impose."

 Chapter 417 - First Humiliation

    A wild barrier of violent blue lightning appeared around Ryu. For the first time, the world of the Moonlight Blossom Sect seemed to light up.


    The wraiths and spirits around Ryu cried out in horror. Each time an arc of lightning whipped around one, they would explode into a mist of darkness, never to appear in the world again.


    Ryu''s palms extended to the point a crackling spear appeared.


    In the next instant, a raging tempest of yang flames erupted, concentrating into the spear an incasing it into a red glow.


    The combination caused a spear dancing of violet and purple hues to come into existence.


    Ryu spread his palms out, allowing the spear to fall before him. He grabbed onto its shaft, swinging it to one side and causing a typhoon of heavy wind to shatter the ground below.


    "Come die." Zulfiqar snarled, his body shooting forward.


    Using his corpse puppets against a Divine Vessel Realm pup? Ridiculous.


    Zulfiqar was so enamored by his rage that he had yet to realize that Ryu had long since entered the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Ryu shot forward. There was only a three meter distance between them, but the two came forward with their full force, Zulfiqar swinging out with a fist and Ryu with his spear.


    BANG!


    Ryu went flying backward, but Zulfiqar took two heavy steps back in the air, the ground beneath his feet shattering and collapsing even as he did so.


    Ryu became a bundle of lightning, his backward momentum coming to a grinding halt the moment he touched the ground.


    He exploded forth, seemingly completely uninjured.


    In a flash, he had already appeared before Zulfiqar who had barely regained his bearings.


    ''[Lines of Fate].''


    The world changed color before Ryu''s eyes. Everything slowed and bore its truth on the surface, opening up to allow him to see what he pleased.


    Zulfiqar''s every action, his every usage of qi, every time he borrowed from the strength of the world around him¡­ It was all clear to Ryu''s eyes.


    His spear shot forward again. This time, when he felt Zulfiqar''s counter, his steps shifted, the shaft of his spear parrying the blow with a practiced ease.


    He appeared past Zulfiqar''s guard, striking out with his left palm.


    His body followed a natural rhythm. His feet shattered the air beneath his feet. His hips gathered the torque they provided, flexing along with his back as his hand, coated in crackling lightning and raging flames descended.


    BANG!


    The air was knocked out of Zulfiqar''s body, his body bending into a bow as it shot backward.


    As though he wasn''t satisfied, Ryu clenched his left hand into a fist, using the momentum of his left moving forward, he pulled back his right in one seamless motion. Anyone watching on from afar would believe that Ryu had already decided to combine his attacks in this fashion, but the truth was that this was just a result of the perfect control he had over himself.


    Ryu''s back flexed once again. But, this time, it was his spear that was brandished.


    Ryu roared as his spear was cocked backward. To those who heard it, it felt as though a mythical beast had descended from the skies. It was so forceful that concentric circles of exploding air appeared around Ryu''s lips, the canines his transformation had caused to elongate glistening beneath the crackling lights of his lightning.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s arm shot forward, his spear flying after Zulfiqar''s body.


    The whole Sect entered a standstill.


    The battle between Path Extinction Realm experts was maybe something many of them would never experience in their lifetimes. There were no small number of individuals in this very Sect who would never leave the Immortal Ring Realm. Such a battle was simply outside of their scope of understanding.


    But, matters were only made worse when one realized that there was only one Path Extinction Realm expert in the skies. The other was a mere Connecting Heaven Realm expert.


    This sort of battle completely flipped their comprehension of the world on its head. Was it really possible for such a thing to happen?


    It was at that exact instant that Ryu''s spear reach Zulfiqar''s flying body.


    The latter reached out, grabbing the shaft and causing sparks to fly. It was as though two metallic objects had met in the air, fighting for supremacy.


    However, it was then Ryu snapped his fingers.


    "Explode."


    Zulfiqar''s eyes widened. But, it was already too late.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Those who were watching on weren''t fools. They understood how volatile it was to concentrate two opposing qis into the same technique, and this was especially so for two strong yang elements like fire and lightning.


    However, due to how easily Ryu had balanced his control of them, despite the fact his fire was clearly so much more powerful than his lightning, many had forgotten in the heat of things that Ryu was practically wielding a ticking time bomb.


    The instant it exploded, it was as though the whole world had lost its color. All sound was seemingly wiped from existence and the Sect was awashed with a sea of white that blotted out the senses.


    Zulfiqar heavily crashed into the ground as Ryu stood in the skies, his visage expressionless. To him, it didn''t seem like a very big deal that he had dealt with a Path Extinction Realm expert.


    This fool was nothing but a stepping stone in Ryu''s eyes, a whetstone that would sharpen his blade. Ryu was well aware that his attack was hardly enough to give Zulfiqar superficial injuries. In fact, it wouldn''t even put a dent in Zulfiqar''s battle prowess.


    However, if Ryu had really wanted to kill Zulfiqar now, he wouldn''t be using makeshift spears, nor would he be relying on a Spirit Body transformation he was using for the very first time. He would have brought out his Great Swordstaffs and have long since begun to use the ability he had unlocked after his Heavenly Pupils evolved.


    But, this wasn''t the time for that. Ryu was only taking a bit of interest.


    Zulfiqar had humiliated him twice now. This was just payment for the first time. Soon, there would be a second. And, come the third, he would be snatching his life instead.


    The ground where Zulfiqar landed suddenly exploded.


    "I''LL KILL YOU!"


    Before Zulfiqar could do much of anything, though, several powerful auras began to approach. Comparing them to Zulfiqar would be akin to comparing a small puddle to a vast ocean.


    It seemed that the true powerhouses of the Moonlight Blossom Sect had appeared.

 Chapter 418 - Simple Enough?

    Zulfiqar wanted to do nothing more than to jump forward and rip Ryu apart. But, just as he wanted to do so, a strong, stifling aura locked onto him.


    He knew at that moment that he was being warned. There was no one but himself who was aware of the pressure weighing down on him.


    It was clear that the elders felt that he had embarrassed himself enough. As for the elder who was holding him back now, it was none other than his own master, Grand Elder Ballas.


    Much like disciples, elders had their own rankings as well. Back on the shrine plane, from least powerful to most, one had Elder, Grand Elder, Supreme Elder, Priest, Grand Priest, Supreme Priest and finally, Priest Saint.


    That said, most Sects didn''t have this many rankings, and the number of said rankings a Sect had was usually dependent on their strength. As a result, an Eighth Order Sect like the Moonlight Blossom Sect would likely only have up to Supreme Elder in rank. They may, potentially, also have a Priest if they were shameless enough.


    One had to have Faith of a certain level to title a Priest in your Sect or Clan. But, there were no shortage of shameless Clans and Sects who named their own Priests without meeting this standard. After all, in a small world like this one, who would dare to correct them?


    This was to say that a Grand Elder, though not of much stature in Ryu''s mind, would have great status within this Sect. So, for Zulfiqar to have one as a master, his standing was most definitely not small.


    Even with all of this being said, Ryu might be semi-surprised that Zulfiqar was only the disciple of a Grand Elder. With his talent, at least in this world, it seemed that he would have at least been the disciple of a Supreme Elder, if not the Sect Head.


    Ryu took a deep breath, his scales slowly fading and his horns, still sparking with lightning, receding into his forehead.


    By the time his canines had shortened to their original length, the elders were already in sight.


    Among them, Ryu noticed a familiar face who was trying to continuously wink at him. This was none other than Niel, the very man who helped him join the Moonlight Blossom Sect to begin with.


    It seemed that Ryu was right, Niel was most definitely an Inheritor Disciple. If not for this, there was no way that he''d be able to come with such a throng of elders. With their standing, they wouldn''t allow someone who hadn''t even stepped into the Path Extinction Realm yet the quarter to stand by them unless said person was exceptionally talented.


    Ryu gave Niel a light nod in greeting. But, other than that, he didn''t say much more.


    He could tell that Niel wanted him to tread carefully. But, if that was his goal in all of this, he wouldn''t have caused such a commotion to begin with.


    Ryu stood in the air along with the elders. He didn''t seem keen on lowering himself, even when they had stopped no more than ten meters from him.


    A silence fell over the Sect.


    There were at least twelve elders that had come. Such a lineup was enough to even put pressure on another Sect, let alone a single child in Ryu. In fact, the fact so many had come was a surprise to many.


    Most elders could only be seen by the Sect members once or twice every few decades. To see so many of them at once was nothing less than surprising.


    However, even before these elders, Ryu maintained his silence. Each and every one of these elders thought that Ryu would take the initiative to explain himself, maybe soften whatever blow he might receive, yet he didn''t say a single thing.


    It was as though the movement of these elders was meaningless to Ryu. And in a way, they truly were.


    One had to remember that an Eighth Order Sect had at least ten Path Extinction Realm experts and one Dao Pedestal Realm expert. There were obviously separations in strength between Eighth Order Sects, so if one considered the fact they even had an Inheritor Disciple like Zulfiqar who was also in the Path Extinction Realm, it was safe to say that the Moonlight Blossom Sect was among the most powerful Eighth Order Sects that there was.


    But, even in this situation, Ryu wasn''t worried.


    If one thought the reason was because of his Key, they''d be sorely mistaken. In the cultivation world, all schemes were worthless in the face of absolute power.


    So, what was the real reason? Taking this into account, it was obvious. His source of confidence was none other than the little Faerie sitting on his shoulder at this very moment.


    Seeing Ryu remain silent, the elders began to feel more and more dissatisfied.


    Leading the elders were two old men. They seemed to be standing side by side, but the truth was that the one with an amicable smile on his face was a half-step behind the elder Niel was hiding behind. Compared to the amicable elder, this person, who Ryu assumed was Niel''s master, looked as though he was a tyrant.


    Of all the elders, it was only these two that didn''t seem uncomfortable given the current situation.


    After a long while, seeing that Ryu really wasn''t going to say anything, Niel couldn''t help but scream in his heart. Was this young man really trying to die?


    Clearing his throat, Niel tried to begin saying something. But, before he could, he was stopped by his master.


    "Boy, what is your goal here exactly?"


    Ryu''s lip curled. Finally someone chose to speak.


    "It''s simple, really." Ryu replied. "I want to be recognized as your Throne but I don''t want to take your test.. In exchange, I''ll allow your disciples to enter the Tri Palace along with me and I will only take advantage of your resources for the two month period that there is between now and then. Simple enough, right?"

 Chapter 419 - Step Down

    The stoic elder was stunned by Ryu''s words. Had he heard properly?


    "What did you just say?"


    At that moment, even the amicable elder raised an eyebrow before an amused smile crossed his lips.


    Though the two had relatively benign reactions, the elders to their backs seemed as though they might blow their tops off at any moment.


    "You dare ask for such things, brat?!"


    "You have a lot of audacity for a Connecting Heaven Realm ant. Do you think you truly have the right to negotiate with an entire Sect on your own?!"


    In the distance, Zulfiqar''s eyes flashed. Connecting Heaven Realm?


    It wasn''t just him, but Niel as well. They both looked toward Ryu with serious expressions. Was he hiding his cultivation back then? And was he maybe still hiding it even now? Wasn''t that the only possible explanation for what they were seeing currently? How else could you explain it?


    If Ryu was hiding it back then, what was stopping him from hiding it now? The answer was exactly that¡­ nothing.


    As Necromancers, they were quite proud of their senses and their Mental Realm. For them to be tricked so thoroughly¡­ There was no doubt that Ryu could do it again if he wanted to. The only thing remaining was understanding why¡­? What did he gain from this?


    Of course, these two had no way of knowing that Ryu truly was in the Divine Vessel Realm back then. But, this was even more difficult to accept than the idea that he simply hid his cultivation.


    For Zulfiqar, it was especially important to him that Ryu hid his strength. Because if this wasn''t the case, that would mean that he had truly lost to a Connecting Heaven Realm pup. Though this wasn''t as bad as losing to someone in the Divine Vessel Realm, the sting was no different in Zulfiqar''s eyes.


    "Are you done?" Ryu said off handedly. "Your Supreme Elder asked me a question, yet instead of allowing me to answer, you jumped in with all your nonsense. A Sect without hierarchy might as well not exist at all. How are you any different from a pack of rogue cultivators?"


    "You¡­!"


    However, they truly didn''t dare to say much more. They also had no idea how Ryu could tell that the man who spoke was the Supreme Elder. How could they know that Ryu could easily see the flow of Faith thanks to his eyes?


    Why were Priests called Priests when they were technically just elders of a Sect? Well that was obviously because at a certain level, a Sect was no different from a religion. Faith was so important to the cultivation world that a Sect might as well have been a Church. Of course, it wasn''t a one to one comparison, but this was the core of it.


    By extension, then, each member of a Sect had a certain amount of Faith allocated to them. The higher your standing, the more you would have.


    For Ryu, reading through this amount and making deductions, especially after the evolution of his Pupils, was as easy as breathing.


    Before, Ryu could only guess that Niel was an Inheritor Disciple. But now, even if he didn''t meet Niel by means of recruitment for a Sect, he would have known that Niel had high standing within one with just a glance.


    "I think that my strength has already been adequately portrayed. I''m a Connecting Heaven Realm expert who lasted more than a few rounds with your Inheritance Disciple."


    Zulfiqar''s jaw clenched and the elders fell silent.


    "However, I don''t want to become the Throne of the Moonlight Blossom Sect and I''m sure that there are some people here who wouldn''t like this either.


    "That''s just the first point, but there are more.


    "The second is the short duration of my stay. How many resources do you think I can use? I won''t claim that I won''t put a dent in your funds, but it wouldn;t be anything you can''t recover from in a few decades¡­ And that''s only if entry into the Tri Palace isn''t taken into account."


    Ryu pointed a slender finger into the skies.


    "I''m sure that all of you are aware of the shift in Fate the Moon World has undergone. This entrance into the Tri Palace is important not just for your Sects, but even the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect and Three Pupil Clan are no longer sitting idly by.


    "The amount of Faith you can grab from this expedition will likely decide the future rulers of this world. And, beyond that, the number of resources will likely far outstrip anything I could use personally.


    "Some of you probably still believe that there''s no need to make such a deal with a Connecting Heaven Realm expert like me. But, not only can I say that would be foolish, beyond that, I can only say that you can have a try if that''s what you really want.


    "Fair warning, though. When I''m angry, I tend to not think of the consequences too much.


    "At least if I''m only your Throne for two months, you have a reason to freeze me out later. But, if I''m your Throne for a lifetime¡­ I''m sure you can fill in the blanks for yourself."


    With Ryu''s current combat prowess, even though this would be his second Throne trial, he had the utmost confidence in succeeding. It was just that he didn''t want to waste an opportunity on the Moonlight Blossom Sect.


    One had to remember that with each attempt and with each stack of a Throne, the difficulty in claiming the next became exponentially more difficult. This was obvious. After all, to be able to supply more than one Sect or Clan with enough Faith, you had to be much stronger than even the average Throne.


    "And why is it that you don''t want to be our Throne if you''re so confident in yourself?" The stoic elder asked.


    He had just received a voice transmission from Niel that it was possible that Ryu was hiding his cultivation level. If that was the case and Ryu was actually a Path Extinction Realm expert in sheep''s clothing, wouldn''t they all have been fooled?


    Becoming a Throne ultimately required exceptionally high combat prowess. If Ryu''s cultivation realm was fake, he obviously didn''t have that.


    He began to look at Ryu skeptically.


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    At that moment, the wind began to kick up. And oppressive force descended from the skies and a majestic throne seemingly tore its way through space to make its presence known.


    As though a throne of ice, the sky-blue gems of the throne glimmered, freezing the air around the Sect.


    Deep within the Moonlight Blossom Sect''s territory, a middle-aged man could no longer keep his concentration, his eyes opening as a mind numbing pressure spread outward.


    "I already have the Throne of a Sect beyond yours in strength.." Ryu said plainly. "If I''m going to claim a second Throne, why would I take a step down?"

 Chapter 420 - Sarriel

    A stunned silence took hold of the Sect.


    At that moment, it suddenly didn''t matter whether or not Ryu was still hiding his cultivation level. Anyone who could become a Throne was a monster on their own level, an entity that the Moonlight Blossom Sect would be hard-pressed to handle.


    The worst part of the matter was that the strength of this Sect was obviously beyond their own. This meant that Ryu''s previous words weren''t empty.


    Sects weren''t known for protecting their Throne. However, that didn''t mean that in such a sensitive situation, Ryu couldn''t make a deal with them.


    The elders couldn''t help but go on their guard. Just what kind of monster were they facing exactly?


    **


    "That was easier than expected." Ryu commented off handedly.


    Ryu found himself strolling through the Moonlight Blossom Sect. Though, he wasn''t exactly alone since Niel was following behind him, looking at his side profile as though he was gazing upon a monster.


    When Niel heard Ryu''s words, his lip couldn''t help but twitch. He didn''t even know how to respond to such a statement. But, what he didn''t know was that Ryu wasn''t talking to him at all.


    ''Too easily.'' Ailsa nodded. ''They definitely have their own contingency plans. I wouldn''t be surprised if they''re concocting a web of schemes right now.''


    ''It can''t be helped.'' Ryu replied. ''They''re probably hesitant to act without knowing which Sect I come from. I wouldn''t be surprised if they believe that I''m acting for the sake of this Sect despite being a Throne.''


    Ailsa giggled. ''But, how likely is it that they''ll ever guess that your Throne is from their former rulers?''


    Ryu''s lip curled slightly, but the truth was that it wasn''t impossible to find this out. It would take someone very adept at Fate and sensing and understanding it. But, it definitely wouldn''t be an impossibility.


    The only issue with that possibility though is that¡­ Trying to read the Fate of someone with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils was really no different from seeking death. Even if the Ancestor of the Moonlight Blossom Sect stepped forward personally, the best case scenario was a severe injury.


    Niel cleared his throat. "Say, Ryu¡­ Which Sect are you the Throne of?"


    Ryu sent a glance over toward Niel. "Do you really expect me to answer that?"


    Niel scratched the back of his head. "Well, my master is pretty strict. I had to try at least once since our relationship isn''t too bad."


    Ryu smiled lightly toward these words, something that caught Niel off guard. He had to remind himself that Ryu was a man before he regained his bearings. Once he realized what he was thinking, he almost felt like pinching himself. What the hell was wrong with him?


    Also, when did Ryu start smiling like that? He could have sworn that the Ryu he knew was cold as ice. Just what happened during the last six months? Or, maybe that day he had met Ryu was just a bad day for him?


    Niel shook his head. That couldn''t be true. He had traveled with Ryu for several days, so it couldn''t have just been a bad day. He had never seen a foul mood last for so long.


    ''Forget it¡­''


    Niel had no idea that there was a Faerie beauty dying of laughter at his expense. If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu had gotten very good at controlling his expressions after having this beauty following him for so long, he might have been scowling at the moment.


    "Are Thrones really so rare?" Ryu asked a question instead of responding directly.


    Niel gave Ryu a weird look. "As far as we''re aware, the Moon World should only have a single Throne. And, we''re pretty sure you''re not him."


    "Oh?"


    "Are you not from the Moon World?" Niel probed. However, all he received in response was another glance.


    Niel laughed. "I''m kidding. The mark of an outsider is pretty clear. Faith revolves around you too naturally for you to be from another world. But, that only makes things more curious."


    Ryu smiled again, but didn''t say much.


    His Heavenly Pupils ensured that Faith of no world would reject him. It was an ability he never thought about because he had rarely stepped foot away from the Shrine Plane. So, of course Fate would flow naturally around him.


    Usually, though, when one stepped foot onto another world, there would be some restrictions and even some oppression. It was a world''s way of protecting itself¡­


    Of course, there was another reason that the Fate of this world wouldn''t reject him, and that was because he was a Throne of its former ruler. The influence of his Ice Phoenix Clan''s subordinate Sect had yet to completely wane.


    Seeing that Ryu wasn''t giving away more, Niel shook his head.


    "Ah, here we are."


    Niel and Ryu finally made there way to the base of a large mountain. But, whereas one would have expected to find a large black face, there was instead a massive shut vault.


    The vault was shaped into a semi sphere and had large bronze gears displayed on its surface. But, beneath the gears, there was nothing but transparent glass, showing the inner workings clearly from the outside.


    Well, it was clear to Ryu, anyway. For anyone else, there was a foggy formation blocking the path.


    Ryu was quite surprised to see that he didn''t even need to try to see through what was before him. Usually, though he''d be able to tell that there was a formation, it would take some time to decipher it and find a hole.


    Yet, for this Large Scale Peak Earth Grade Formation¡­ it might as well have not been there at all.


    Niel felt a bit of pride seeing Ryu''s surprise, clearly misinterpreting what it meant.


    "This is a place reserved for Core Disciples and Inheritor Disciples. As of now, our Sect only has Zulfiqar and me as Inheritor Disciples, but there are many more candidates amongst the Core Disciples.


    "We have exactly 48 Core Disciples and they''re all vying for position to enter the Tri Palace. There are about three confirmed candidates, so everyone is fighting for the remaining spots."


    Ryu couldn''t help but be amused when he saw Niel''s pride, but he didn''t stomp on the young man''s parade.


    "¡­ So, the atmosphere is a bit tense right now. We''ll probably have to try not to poke at any sleeping bears."


    Niel stepped toward the formation with his badge and began to open the mechanisms.


    The doors had only barely opened when a figure dashed out, their speed so quick that Niel almost couldn''t react at all.


    The figure came to a grinding halt, standing before Ryu. Their eyes lit up like two saucers, their breathing becoming somewhat labored.


    The figure''s eyes scanned Ryu up and down, gulping every so often as though they couldn''t control a certain urge.


    Not long later, the figure''s face suddenly began to redden. It became so bad that a person from afar might have thought that this poor person would implode at any time.


    "Ah¡­!"


    The figure dashed back into the mountain''s gates, leaving a trail of fragrance in their wake.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "That was?"


    Niel cleared his throat. "That was Junior Sister Sarriel. She''s a bit of an odd ball, um¡­ Don''t mind her? She''s among the three guaranteed to enter the Tri Palace though she isn''t an Inheritor Disciple. If it wasn''t for the fact we don''t have any female Grand Elders or Supreme Elders, she would likely be an Inheritor Disciple already."


    Niel seemed to be trying exceptionally hard to control his jealousy, but his twitching lip definitely wasn''t helping him out very much.


    Ailsa''s giggles increased on Ryu''s shoulder.


    ''She''s a good dual cultivation partner candidate. Even if you don''t like her, you can always take her in as a concubine.''


    Ailsa blinked innocently, whispering into Ryu''s ears.


    The action made Ryu feel as though a roar was sounding from his lower belly as a beast struggled against its chains.


    The Junior Sister Sarriel was indeed one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was lacking in comparison to Ailsa and even lacking in comparison to Elena when he last saw her, but Sarriel''s cultivation was far beneath the both of them. The fact she could catch Ryu''s eye at all was a testament to just how gorgeous she was.


    And, maybe what drew Ryu to her even more, setting aside everything else, was the fact that while Ailsa and Elena were two overly straightforward women, Sarriel was apparently their direct opposite.


    The instant Ryu had these thoughts, he all but furiously shook his head. What the hell was wrong with him?


    ''What are you fighting it for? Didn''t you see her cute button nose and her petite little figure. You can trust Big Sis, I''m also certain that she''s a virgin. Don''t you think she''s perfect. Just think about what her little pink tongue could¡­''


    Ryu shut his brain down. He refused to listen to another word.


    Ever since Ailsa''s embarrassing display before, she had always been trying to find ways to get back at him. First it was the massage, now it was this.


    Ailsa''s laughter only became harder.


    ''I''m being serious you know. The massage will only work so effectively for so long. There''s a reason it can''t replace true dual cultivation.''


    Ryu frowned when he heard these words. He could tell that Ailsa was serious beneath that cheery demeanor of hers.


    ''If I''m going to dual cultivate with anyone, it''s going to be with my woman.'' Ryu said plainly.


    In his seriousness, he missed Ailsa completing her best Sarriel impression.

 Chapter 421 - Fragments

    The looks Niel and Ryu received upon entering this exclusive region were not few. This was only made worse by the commotion that Sarriel had caused. Considering the glares Ryu was getting, it seemed that these youths weren''t as good as Niel at concealing their jealousy.


    Ryu could only shake her head. ''Is that really the way a virgin should react?''


    ''You''re judging virgins now? If that''s the logic you need to use, then what would you say about your wife?''


    Ryu opened his mouth to respond. But in the end, he found that he couldn''t say much of anything to that. If there were a list of actions one shouldn''t take as a virgin, Elena would probably have crossed them all off. Yet, Ryu knew for a fact that she had been one until that night.


    ''Tch, such a shame. The Primordial Yin of Little Elena would be very useful.''


    ''Little? You know that she''s older than you, right?''


    Ailsa picked at her ears as though she couldn''t hear what Leonel had said.


    ''Hm? Did you say something?''


    Ryu smiled but didn''t say anything else. It seemed that as open as Ailsa was to sharing him, she had a small bit of jealousy of her own. Ryu wondered if Elena would be jealous too. What an amusing sight that would be.


    These two women always seemed to have the upper hand. Maybe he could finally win a few rounds now.


    Ailsa pretended as though she didn''t see through Ryu''s thoughts.


    ''That Sarriel is a bit of a special case, though. She practices a special art and she sensed a path to breakthrough in you, that was why she reacted before she could even think. She just didn''t expect for the breakthrough opportunity to be a living, breathing, person. And apparently, she has a weakness for handsome men.''


    Ryu nodded. It seemed that Cultus Faeries were indeed formidable. She was able to see through Sarriel''s special state with a single glance.


    Ailsa chortled, feeling no small bit of arrogance.


    Ryu swept his gaze over the youths who were still staring at him. He met each one of their gazes, his unperturbed expression searing into their souls. Without even lasting a few seconds, many looked away first, unable to sustain his look.


    "Alright, alright. Stop bullying my juniors." Niel patted Ryu''s shoulder, laughing.


    "¡­ Bring me to your Summoning Necromancer fragmented techniques."


    Niel froze when he heard these words.


    Let alone him, the entire library seemed to come to a grinding halt.


    Still, having expected such a reaction, Ryu didn''t retract his statement. Just waiting patiently until Niel gathered himself.


    "This¡­"


    Ryu sent Niel a glance. Though he didn''t say anything, his look alone spoke volumes.


    Did they take him for a joke? Did they think that they could accept his offer on the surface and not have to truly give up anything in return?


    A small Sect like this one would never have a full Summoning Necromancer legacy. Ryu wouldn''t expect one to appear even within a Ninth Order Sect. They were that rare.


    However, there were many fragmented Legacies within these smaller Sects. In fact, many of these fragments were duplicates shared by many Sects. Yet, these fools actually treated them as utmost treasures to be protected.


    Ryu was certain that no true legacy would land in the hands of these Sects. In fact, he wasn''t too interested in looking through these fragments either. The only reason he demanded to look was to show his stance.


    Niel took a deep breath. "Alright. Follow me."


    ''As expected. They were already prepared to make this concession.'' Ryu thought without much surprise.


    What he hated the most was being tested, yet all these people seemed intent on doing exactly that. He truly didn''t have the patience for it.


    Ryu and Niel vanished toward the upper levels. It wasn''t long before they entered a region where only Inheritor Disciples and elders were allowed. In fact, not all Elders were allowed here either. Only those at and above the Grand Elder level were.


    But, oddly enough, there was a petite young woman sitting amidst several pedestals.


    These pedestals all had what looked like ancient relics on them. Some were partial tomes, some were broken rock fragments, and still others were dry and cracking scrolls.


    The young woman didn''t seem to hear anyone enter. She was completely focused on a particular rock fragment, her violet eyes flickering beneath her cascading black hair.


    The dim lights bounced off her silhouette just right, revealing an elegant figure. Even the heavy black robes couldn''t hide much when she bent over like that.


    Ryu was a bit surprised to see that this was actually the very same Sarriel he had just met. Wasn''t she a Core Disciple? Why was she allowed here?


    "Junior Sister Sarriel."


    Sarriel was startled. Seeing Niel, she smiled a bit shyly.


    "Senior Brother." Her voice was soft and light, tickling the heart strings. "Sorry, I''ve been here for a while. I must be in your way ¨C"


    Sarriel froze when she saw that Niel wasn''t alone. Her face, which had just been a nice, neutral tone, suddenly flushed once again.


    Niel smiled bitterly.


    "It''s okay, you don''t need to go anywhere. Ryu just wants to take a look around. There''s been an exception made for him like there was one for you."


    "¡­ Ah¡­ O.. kay¡­"


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. Sarriel reminded him a lot of Nuri. The only difference was that Nuri vanished into the void whenever she was shy. Sarriel, unfortunately, didn''t have this ability.


    Sarriel wanted to find a hole to hide in hearing Ryu laugh, but Niel and him were currently blocking the only exit.


    Ryu took his gaze off of Sarriel, scanning the fragments one by one. His Pupils seemed to see through everything with just a single glance. There was nothing that could hide from his gaze. With just a single look, Ryu was certain he had already gained more from these fragments than anyone of the Moonlight Blossom Sect had over thousands of years.


    "Oh?" Ryu raised a brow.

 Chapter 422 - Twice As Fast?

    Ryu''s gaze landed upon a dilapidated scroll. He could tell that it hid maybe the most useful method in this place.


    ''That should be the method of forming the Corpse Garden.''


    ''Do you want to build one within the Incubator? It might be difficult to balance it so that it doesn''t affect the growth of the Spiritual Herbs. But, it wouldn''t be impossible.''


    Ryu thought for a moment before shaking his head.


    ''It''s not worth it. Esme has the ability to improve by swallowing her opponents. I can still tweak it so that she becomes more efficient at it too. I''ll simply build all of my future corpse puppets like that, there''s no need to make sacrifices.''


    ''Well, taking that path is its own form of sacrifice. It''s impossible to give your corpse puppets every evolution pathway there is. If you''re giving them the ability to grow through battle, you''re giving up immediate and more potent strength.''


    ''Not necessarily¡­'' Ryu said after a while. ''¡­ You''ve been grooming the Spiritual Herbs I pointed out, right?''


    Ailsa nodded.


    ''Then, I''ll be able to give you a surprise very soon.'' Ryu''s lip curled.


    He hadn''t forgotten the tome of human skin that rested in his spatial ring. The Body of an Herbologist Tome was a godsend to Ryu. The more time he spent reading it, the more of a genius he felt its creator was.


    Ryu rarely if ever felt inferior. But, he realized that it seemed that even as an Origin Grade Herbologist, he still had so much to learn.


    Not only was the creator of the Tome able to come up with ingenious methods, but most of the ones Ryu could use immediately required exceptionally cheap herbs. The combination of these two things seemed almost impossible to accept, but this was his reality.


    ''Oh?'' Ailsa giggled.


    Ailsa was quite a good Herbologist herself. But, she always felt inferior to Ryu in this regard for whatever reason. She felt that in this regard, the very thing that made humans the enemies of Faeries, was the very thing that made Ryu such a good Herbologist.


    He had the flexibility to bump the status quo and stick a middle finger to the Heavens, doing things with Spiritual Herbs she had never even considered before. Who would have thought that a human would surpass a Faerie in Herbology?


    ''It''s not completely useless, though.'' Ryu''s eyes glowed for a moment. ''They modified it to work as a Corpse Garden, but the true root of its use is to build a unique Death World.


    ''It''s missing a lot of parts, though¡­ I''ll need your help to rebuild the rest of it.''


    Ailsa nodded. ''Okay.''


    "Alright, I''ve had my fill." Ryu turned toward Niel with a smile. "Take me to your treasure vaults."


    Niel''s lip twitched again. He was beginning to think that this was a quirk of his. This Ryu was truly going to be the end of him.


    If Niel didn''t know by now that Ryu had only asked to come here to prove a point, he would be too much of a fool.


    Of course, what he didn''t know was that Ryu had just gained a method his Sect hadn''t managed to unearth even after all these millennia. But, Ryu had no intention of telling him that.


    "¡­ W¡­ Wait!"


    "Hm?" Ryu looked back to find Sarriel stuttering through her words.


    "Um¡­ S¡­ Senior Brother N¡­ Niel. C-can I ¡­ speak to ¡­ to Ryu alone for a moment?"


    Niel''s face froze. He looked like he wanted to shed tears, but didn''t dare to do so at this moment. It felt like he was watching his little sister go off into the den of a wild wolf.


    Sniffling, he took a step back.


    "Sure¡­" He squeezed out. "¡­ I''ll be right outside if you need¡­ anything¡­"


    Niel turned, hiding the pain on his face as he looked up into the skies.


    Why couldn''t he be more handsome? Why?


    Ailsa lay on Ryu''s shoulder, clutching her stomach. She couldn''t seem to get enough of this.


    Ryu turned to face Sarriel, looking toward her curiously. She looked like she couldn''t be more than 17 or 18 years old, but Ryu knew well that for anyone to step into the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm like her, especially in this environment, she would have to be thousands of years old at least, most likely tens of thousands.


    However, the more Ryu observed her, the more his gaze sharpened. Eventually, his gaze became so overbearing that the temperature of the room seemed to plummet.


    Any fire his loins had had gazing upon this petite beauty seemed to vanish. His expression eventually became no different than when he was facing an enemy. It seemed as though he might explode at any moment.


    This Sarriel¡­ She was only 5000 years old at the oldest. Ryu was absolutely certain.


    "W¡­ Wh¡­ Wha¡­ Wha¡­"


    Sarriel began to hyperventilate. She was trying her best to squeeze out her next words, but no matter how hard she tried, Ryu''s aura was too stifling for her.


    Eventually, she broke down into a fit of tears.


    She began to wipe her tears with her little hands, wishing for them to go away.


    "I¡­ I''m s¡­ sorry¡­ I''m sorry¡­"


    These were the only words she was able to squeeze out. She was practically balling.


    Maybe it was just an illusion, but it even seemed like her violet eyes dimmed considerably the harder she cried. It seemed like the only thing keeping her up from collapsing was her fear of moving. She was more scared of Ryu than her legs were weak.


    Ryu frowned, retracting his aura. He even began to feel somewhat¡­ guilty?


    ''Dammit, what the hell is going on?''


    Ryu couldn''t wrap his head around what was going on.


    Sarriel was at most 5000 years old. Yet, she was already a step away from the Path Extinction Realm. In fact, Ryu could tell that she was even suppressing her cultivation.


    But, the issue was that even the pre-eminent geniuses of the Shrine Plane only stepped into the Path Extinction Realm at 10000 years old.


    How was Sarriel twice as fast as those geniuses? And how exactly was such a talent in a middling Eighth Order Sect that could only be consider top five in this weak world?

 Chapter 423 - Sarriel (2)

    ''Aren''t you going to comfort her? This is a good way to a woman''s heart, you know.'' Ailsa said cheekily.


    Ryu didn''t even know how to respond to that. He was the reason she was in this state to begin with, so how would he gain brownie points for comforting her?


    Ryu shook his head.


    "You have nothing to apologize for. I may have jumped to conclusions a bit too quickly, I''m sorry. What is it that you wanted to speak with me about?"


    Sarriel sniffled, looking up at Ryu as though to make sure that he really wasn''t mad. It was only then that she sighed a breath of relief and tried to regain her bearings. Ryu''s aura was really too scary.


    Of course, her reaction seemed to be odd itself. After all, she was ultimately the core disciple of an Eighth Order Sect and had been dealing with corpses all her life. Should she really have been scared so easily?


    That said, none of that considered the steadily growing strength of Ryu''s Bloodlines. It likely wouldn''t be much longer until they could truly display their strength.


    Though Ryu had four full Bloodlines, they manifested themselves in a far weaker fashion than even some beasts who only had a wisp. Little Rock was just one example of this¡­ Unfortunately, this was the weakness of being a human.


    But, as Ryu''s body grew stronger, there would come a day where it unleashed a might not many could stand before.


    "R¡­ Right¡­ I, I need your help."


    "With?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    In truth, he had to admit that Sarriel''s innocence was grating on him, and not exactly in a bad way.


    In the cultivation world, asking a person for a favor, especially when this person was a stranger, was an exceptionally odd thing. This was a world where the strong ruled, asking for a favor was no different than exposing your weakness to someone.


    That said, a favor wasn''t always just dangerous for the person asking. So, Ryu would normally have put up his guard again the moment Sarriel deemed to ask something of him. But, maybe due to the awkward experience the last time he had, he chose to be patient this time around.


    "I¡­" Sarriel hesitated.


    It was clear that she hadn''t had much time to think about this. She had only just met Ryu, so there wasn''t exactly a long period of reflection she could have taken.


    However, it also seemed that whatever it was she was laboring over was exceptionally important to her, or else she wouldn''t have taken this step.


    "Can you¡­ Can you¡­" Sarriel fiddled with her black disciple robes, looking down at the ground. "Protect me?"


    Her last two words were spoken so softly that even Ryu almost didn''t pick up on them. In fact, if it wasn''t because he could faintly see her lips despite her lowered head, he would have thought that he misheard.


    What did this little girl just say?


    ''She''s older than you, you know.''


    Ailsa didn''t miss a chance at revenge. And unfortunately, much like her, Ryu had no response. He could only pretend as though he hadn''t heard anything.


    "Protect you? For what? From who?" Ryu''s brow furrowed.


    He could no longer hold back his skepticism. The beauty of a woman didn''t decide whether she had a vicious nature or not. In fact, his Grandpa Kukan always used to say to be extremely wary of beautiful women¡­


    Of course, that was because he had to deal with Mistress Holy Wing all his life, another beautiful woman who had kept his daughter from him. So, it was only right that his world view was a bit jaded.


    Sarriel could feel that Ryu wanted to reject. Maybe if it wasn''t for the fact she looked so pitiful, he already would have.


    "¡­ The Tri Palace¡­ I don''t know if I can survive¡­ I''m very worried but I don''t have anyone I can trust¡­"


    Ryu''s brow only knit further. "Why do you think that you can trust me but not people who have been in your Sect with you from the very beginning?"


    No matter how you looked at it, this all seemed to be ridiculous. Well, that was the best case scenario. The worst case was that this was a poor attempt to lure him into a trap. But, that was exactly the problem¡­ It was far too poor an attempt. What kind of unsophisticated, unprofessional try at entrapment was this?


    "B¡­ because¡­"


    Ryu froze. The reason he froze was because at the very moment, Sarriel was no longer looking at him.


    No, she was looking at him. But, she wasn''t looking at his face. Instead, her gaze was very clearly on his shoulder and it was obvious to Ryu that she wasn''t looking over it.


    The only thing on his shoulder right now¡­


    Ryu''s aura became cold once more, causing Sarriel to stumble backward and fall. This time, she couldn''t hold her legs up no matter how hard she tried.


    "Are you threatening me?"


    Ryu''s voice came out like a bestial growl. Almost as though he was a prowling tiger stalking his prey, he stood over Sarriel. If she said just one word out of turn, he might very well decide to end her life here.


    Ailsa''s existence was a great secret to Ryu. Her appearing in her full form was fine because it was simply impossible to differentiate her from humans in that state unless you had special abilities. But, her miniature form made her identity as obvious as it could be.


    Truthfully, the Ryu of now versus back then couldn''t be compared. At least now, he had the capital to protect himself. So the consequences weren''t as dire as they had once been, especially when The Apostles had been chasing him.


    It could be said that his current reaction was less about how dangerous it was for someone else to know of Ailsa, and much more about how suddenly protective of her he had become.


    Sarriel''s petite body trembled. She found it far too difficult to control her qi in such a state and she burst into another fit of tears.


    Unable to say anything, there was a sudden change in Sarriel.


    Her skin became fairer, her features sharper and her cheekbones higher. What once was a face reserved for a cute girl next door became the face of a city toppling beauty. Everything from her elegant pointed nose to the proud point of her chin painted the image of a goddess descended from above.


    From within her hair, two pointed ears became much more prominent. In fact, each grew by at least two inches. By the time they finish morphing, they hung out prominently from the side of her head and had no subtlety to them in the slightest.


    Finally, her violet eyes became far more vibrant, her long black hair shimmering like starlight.


    Ryu''s forward momentum ground to a halt again.


    Someone was in disguise before him¡­ and he actually hadn''t seen through it?


    "I¡­ I''m ¡­. I''m s¡­ sorry¡­"


    Despite the fact her face seemed fit for an Empress of worlds, Sarriel''s immaturity didn''t vanish in the slightest.


    "I¡­ I¡­ I thought¡­ I cou ¡­ could trust you¡­ b¡­ b¡­ because you have a¡­ a Life Partner¡­"


    At that moment, Ailsa was stunned too. She hadn''t expect such a thing.


    After a moment of hesitation, she entered her full form, standing beside Ryu as the grown woman balled her eyes out.


    "An elf?"


    "No¡­ She''s a Fey." Ailsa responded after a while.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. He should have known that too, but something seemed to be messing with his judgment.


    Elves had sharp ears, but they were nowhere near as large as Sarriel''s.


    However, the differences between the two races didn''t end there. The Fey were a race no less ancient than the Ancestral Beasts. In fact, it was from them that Elves and Faeries were birthed.


    As a result of this, they surpassed both races in almost all aspects, making them a monstrous existence. However¡­ Much like all other ancient races, they should have been practically drowned out, left by the passage of time in the annals of history.


    But, here one was. And she very clearly wasn''t of mixed blood, or else she would look no different from an elf and the two wouldn''t be able to tell the difference.


    Ryu knew some things about Fey, but he had unfortunately never gotten the chance to explore any Ruins left behind by them. So, he was still in the dark about most things.


    That said¡­ What he did know was¡­


    Ryu kneeled down beside Sarriel, feeling a headache about how to deal with this woman. He felt contradictory thoughts about wanting to kill her right now and protect her at all costs.


    "You may be a Fey, but that doesn''t explain why you can see Ailsa."


    Sarriel hiccuped, trying to regain her bearings again. But, when she saw Ryu''s face so close to her, she began to blush profusely, going from streaming tears to flushing red in the blink of an eye.


    Her nose couldn''t help but twitch as she took a deep breath of Ryu''s scent. The instant she did, she almost felt as though she was getting high on a drug. Why did he smell so good?


    Ryu frowned but could only turn to Ailsa helplessly.


    "The Nature''s Friend part of your Ice Jade Crystal body¡­ Well, there''s no race closer to nature than the Fey."


    Hearing this, Ryu felt another headache coming on.


    Shaking his head, he looked back toward Sarriel.


    "If this is all you can give me, I reject your proposal." Ryu said plainly.


    Sarriel snapped awake. "N-No! Wait! I can¡­! Just look into my eyes¡­!"


    Ryu opened his mouth to reply only for his thought process to come to a grinding halt.


    Sarriel''s violet eyes seemed to have lost a hidden fogginess that had once covered them, leaving them exposed for Ryu to see through the core of. The result left him stunned.


    The Seventh Ranked Heavenly Pupils.. Truth Pupils.

 Chapter 424 - Truth

    For the first time in his life, Ryu was truly speechless.


    He kneeled before Sarriel, his mouth partially open as the words he had planned on speaking hung in silence.


    One would think that the owner of the First Ranked Heavenly Pupils shouldn''t be shocked when meeting someone who was his inferior in every way. But, Ryu didn''t think about things like this, nor should anyone, for that matter.


    The ranking of the Heavenly Pupils was ultimately reliant on the amount of Fate its predecessors had accumulated over time. What the rankings functionally represented was the likelihood of reaching a certain level of strength rather than an actual strength.


    To understand why Ryu didn''t have the capital to look down on Sarriel, one only needed to consider a single thing.


    In the past, the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils used to be ranked dead last. It was only after many of those birthed with these Pupils reached the pinnacle of the martial world that the rankings began to slowly shift. It could be said, then, that any one of these powerful eyes could accomplish this feat.


    However, there was one thing many didn''t consider when they thought of this.


    The reason the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils was able to turn the table was because the lower on the list a set of Heavenly Pupils was, the more frequently it would be born into the world. Or, rather, the higher a set of Heavenly Pupils was ranked, the least likely it would be to appear.


    Every set of Heavenly Pupils seemed to follow this rule, even Leonel''s own. The only exception seemed to be¡­ The Truth Pupils.


    For whatever reason, the Truth Pupils seemed to always maintain a similar rank, never moving from Seventh. Yet, at the same time, it also maintained a level of rarity that surpassed even Ryu''s own set.


    Listening to all of this, one would think that the reason Ryu was so shocked was because he was facing the Truth Pupils themselves. But, this wasn''t the case at all. If Ryu had been faced with any set of Heavenly Pupils, regardless of which they were, he would be astonished.


    To put the rarity of Heavenly Pupils into perspective, one needs to understand how they are formed.


    Some Pupils were formed spontaneously from the Heavens while others were the product of talents taken from ancestral beasts who had evolved their Bloodlines. An example of the latter would be Little Gem and her Griffin Clan''s Second Ranked Heavenly Pupils.


    Heavenly Pupils thus blessed by the Heavens could only be bestowed to those born in high level worlds like the Shrine Plane. In addition, any given world could only sustain the birth of a single set of Heavenly Pupils for a set period of time.


    As for how long this period was, it depended on the world. But, a median number would easily cross into the trillions of years. At the very least, the lifespan of a Sky God.


    Of the countless worlds in existence, there were definitely no more than 30 on the level of Ryu''s Shrine World. This meant, even if there was the greatest luck imaginable, there would at most be 30 Heavenly Pupils wielders at any given time.


    But, this was only theoretical. In practice, though there didn''t seem to be any rule against it, there were no historical records of two Pupils of the same kind appearing at once.


    Having reached this point, the reason for Ryu''s shock should be self-evident.


    Beneath the Heavens, there were trillions upon trillions of worlds. Each world, even the smallest, had billions upon billions of people. Even middle sized worlds had trillions, let alone the largest worlds there were.


    Yet, at any given time, there were likely to be less than five Heavenly Pupils wielders¡­


    Why wouldn''t Ryu be shocked?


    "You¡­"


    When Ryu regained his bearings, he couldn''t help but look at this hopeless young woman and shake his head.


    "Do you have any idea what kind of information you just gave me?"


    Ryu had already been chased down once for his Pupils, and that old bastard hadn''t even known which type he had. But, now Ryu knew exactly what Pupils Sarriel had.


    One might think that the Truth Pupils were useless to Ryu, but this wasn''t true in the slightest. When doing research to learn how to best effectively use his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils as a mortal, he had stumbled upon quite a few archives. Among them, many described the close relationship between his eyes and Sarriel''s.


    But, even if there wasn''t such a special case, how valuable would Sarriel''s pupils be? What if he wanted to refine her into a corpse puppet? What if he just wanted to sell her on the black market?


    Forgetting all of this, just her Fey Bloodline would make her a hotly sought after commodity.


    Just revealing these things to him was practically like handing her life over on a silver platter.


    Ryu shook his head again, gazing toward Sarriel deeply who seemed to want to avoid his gaze.


    "But I guess you know just as much about me now, don''t you?"


    Sarriel looked up to meet Ryu''s gaze but just as quickly looked away, seemingly afraid to meet his eyes for too long. In the end, she only shyly nodded.


    Ryu sighed deeply. Right now¡­.


    He really wanted to kill this girl.


    Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to do so. She knew too much and her Pupils were simply too powerful.


    This was the first time that Ryu could truly say that he had met someone on his level¡­ At least in this lifetime, as long as he was ignoring Ailsa. And¡­ It made him feel uncomfortable.


    This wasn''t because he felt inferior nor was it because he was close-minded. It was because the Truth Pupils were truly too powerful.


    By now, there was likely not a single secret of Ryu''s that this girl didn''t know. Whether it was his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, the number of Origin Grade treasures he had on himself, his Bloodlines, his constitutions, she was even aware of his Realm Heart by now.


    This was power of the Truth Pupils.. They could see through the truth of all things.

 Chapter 425 - Seal

    If one thought about it, this definition sounded strikingly similar to Ryu''s own and there was indeed quite a bit of overlap. This was simply how real life was¡­ the true state of nature and the universe always had redundancies.


    But, even though the two pairs of Pupils shared some basic abilities, as they evolved, they would only continue to diverge.


    If one main difference had to be stated between the two now, it could be said that while Ryu had to deduce the truth, Sarriel was enlightened about the truth. Though similar, they were functionally different.


    Ryu had to deduce Sarriel''s age by measuring her vitality and using his experience to compare her to others. But, if Sarriel wanted to know his age, it would practically appear like a number branded to his forehead for her.


    But, this was only one half of the Truth Pupils¡­ Truth meant more than just seeing through to the reality¡­ It also meant assigning Truth as well.


    What did this mean? It mean that when it came to arts of deception, Sarriel was unmatched. Even though she stood before him all this time, it was only when she consciously chose to reveal her Pupils to him that Ryu became aware of them.


    If Sarriel so chose, she could almost instantly become the greatest master of illusion the Heavens had to offer. And, beyond that, her comprehension of Inheritances was likely no weaker than Ryu''s!


    These were the reasons why the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and the Truth Pupils were seen as being so closely related to one another.


    However, ironically, what most separated them was the fact Ryu''s Pupils evolved toward learning more and more of the truth the Heavens had to offer¡­ While Sarriel''s Pupils evolved toward the opposite, becoming more and more able to subvert reality and build a Truth of her own.


    If Ryu was ignorant to the abilities he had and would soon unlock, he would almost feel jealous.


    But at the moment, this was hardly the problem at hand.


    Ryu reset himself, regaining his bearings.


    "There shouldn''t be a single person entering the Tri Palace along with us that can harm you. In fact, if I were to fight you now, I''m certain that I wouldn''t even last a single exchange. So, what you really meant to say when you asked for my help is that you want my Life Partner to protect you, is that it?"


    Ryu''s words almost seemed silly. He had just exchanged blows with a Path Extinction Realm expert but now he wouldn''t last a single round with someone still a half step from that?


    Unfortunately, this was the harsh reality.


    After Sarriel had let down her guard completely, Ryu could finally begin to see through her strength. He estimated that she would have to come down to the 1st Immortal Ring Realm for him to stand a chance.


    Not all Immortal Ring Realm experts were built the same. Zulfiqar had only formed Earth Grade Immortal Rings before entering the Path Extinction Realm. This was why Ryu could battle him so easily while still being so far away.


    Yet, not only did Sarriel have a Bloodline no worse than his four, not to mention the fact she didn''t have any restrictions on hers because it was originally her own to begin with, but she had most definitely formed Ancestral Grade Immortal Rings.


    She could slap Ryu to death with a single dainty palm.


    Ailsa couldn''t help but sputter with laughter at the remark. Ryu was indeed too weak to do much of anything. But, Ailsa was different.


    Although Ailsa''s battle prowess wasn''t on the level of Ryu and Sarriel, she was still able to display 9th Path Extinction Realm cultivation. In all likelihood, even Dao Pedestal Realm cultivators of this world would find it impossible to defeat her.


    Sarriel seemed embarrassed by Ryu exposing her like this, but she didn''t refute. This was the truth of the matter, albeit only part of the truth.


    Ryu shook his head. "I don''t accept."


    Hearing this, Sarriel suddenly sunk into a state of panic again. Her flustered expression was particularly adorable, plucking at the heartstrings of all those who saw it. But, Ryu had steeled himself.


    "Wait, please, that isn''t all¡­!"


    "Stroking my ego isn''t going to make me change my mind." Ryu frowned, not liking the fact this woman was so insistent.


    It simply didn''t make any sense. This woman was powerful enough to wipe the floor with Zulfiqar. And, even if the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect sent talents far stronger than him, she would still be able to hold her own.


    Ryu didn''t want to waste his time for what he effectively saw as nonsense.


    "No, really! You don''t understand¡­ The Tri Palace is a very dangerous place, especially in its current state! Only by combining the abilities of our Pupils together can we reach the ultimate goal!"


    For once, Ryu wasn''t off put by words Sarriel had spoken. She had finally displayed an emotion that should appear in a cultivator of her caliber¡­ Ambition.


    Finally, she seemed human.


    "Still not enough." Ryu replied plainly.


    "I¡­ I ¡­ I''m willing¡­!"


    Ryu frowned. Willing to do what?


    Ryu was confused until he saw Sarriel''s face suddenly flush completely red and heard Ailsa''s laughter sputter again.


    "I¡­ I heard you ¡­ two talking¡­ I''m¡­ I''m willing¡­"


    "See, she''s willing. Didn''t I say to trust Big Sis? Go ahead and ravage her."


    Hearing such words, Ryu couldn''t help but turn his attention to Sarriel again, a blazing fire lighting in his belly. She was truly too beautiful.


    Maybe it was because she was a Fey, but her beauty seemed almost intoxicating. It definitely carried a seductive air that one would never expect from such a shy girl.


    But, this feeling only lasted a moment before Ryu regained control of himself, his gaze becoming expressionless.


    "Don''t joke around, Miss Sarriel. If there''s nothing else, I''ll be leaving now. I still have many things to prepare."


    Sarriel was stunned when she saw Ryu standing to leave. No matter how shy she was, she was well aware of her own beauty. Her unique, exotic air could even rival Ailsa.


    Ailsa left an apologetic smile as she shifted back into her miniature form, leaving after Ryu.


    At that moment, Sarriel grit her teeth, her cheeks flushing crimson again.


    "I¡­ I can help your Life Partner undo the seal that was put on her!"


    Ryu''s steps froze. "What did you just say?"


    Ryu''s head turned back, looking at Sarriel with clear confusion on his face before looking toward Ailsa. But, all he found was the same confusion on hers.


    A seal even Ailsa wasn''t even aware of?

 Chapter 426 - Choice

    Neither Ryu nor Ailsa knew how to react, quite frankly. Both were in a state of confusion, maybe Ailsa even more so than Ryu himself.


    As a Cultus Faerie, there was very little about the bodies of others that Ailsa didn''t understand. To now stand here, only to be told that there was something so fundamental about her own that she didn''t even aware of¡­ Well, it was hard to accept to say the least.


    Ryu hesitated. This woman, he really didn''t like being around her. It was already taking more than just a little bit out of him not to go all out in killing her right here and now.


    In fact, the only reason he didn''t was because¡­ It was truly unlikely that he would succeed even with Ailsa by his side.


    This wasn''t to say that Ailsa was no match for her. Ryu didn''t believe that Sarriel stood a chance against Ailsa, the gap should be too big even for her to cross.


    But, if there was one person in the martial world who had a chance at having an even greater pool of treasures than Ryu himself, it was Sarriel. With her eyes, if there was a fortuitous encounter to take advantage of, she would take advantage of it.


    He simply didn''t believe that she would approach him like this, while knowing of Ailsa''s existence, and not have contingency plans. Any young woman with such talent in a Sect like this most definitely had a few of her own, let alone one like Sarriel.


    "¡­ You have my attention. Speak."


    Sarriel''s eyes lit up.


    "Ryu¡­" Ailsa hesitated.


    "It''s fine." Ryu didn''t looked at Ailsa who was once again on his shoulder. "If she''s telling the truth, this is no small matter."


    "But¡­"


    Ailsa''s heart felt warm about Ryu taking such a risk for her sake. They knew well that accepting Sarriel''s information was no different from consenting to a partnership. Nothing came free in the martial world. Sarriel''s happiness said it all. Yet, Ryu was willing to do this anyway.


    The issue was¡­ Even though Ailsa didn''t know there was such a seal on her, that didn''t mean she didn''t have any idea where it might have come from. She knew her own life better than anyone else, so how could she not have a few guesses?


    And if she was right¡­  It might not be worth it to undo this seal at all. In fact, the trouble it might bring would be worse than if they just ignored it entirely.


    "Do you want to forget we ever heard anything?"


    Having come to understand Ailsa''s thoughts, Ryu stopped.


    To the previous him, anything he could do to make Ailsa stronger, he would do. The Ailsa he originally met was nothing more than a pawn or tool to him, no different from a treasure he could make use of to get the things he wanted.


    But now, he didn''t have it within himself to treat her like this any longer. She had done too much for him, slaved away too much, worked too hard. From the very beginning, she had been as unselfish as she could be. Even the mistakes she had made were all for the sake of helping him reach the ultimate goal of saving his family.


    Yet¡­ Ryu was only just now learning that Ailsa had had an elder brother. He was only now learning about the sickliness of her mother and only just now seeing the face of her father.


    There were so many things about her life that he had no idea about until this very moment. And with this new rush of information came a steady dose of guilt.


    Ryu couldn''t help but sigh.


    Did he regret his actions back then? Well, regret would mean that he would act differently now than he had in the past. But, knowing himself, even if a new Life Partner appeared before him right here and now, he might treat her the same exact way.


    Maybe that was just who he was, or maybe there were portions of his past he still hadn''t gotten over. Either way, Ryu wasn''t a person who opened up easily. But, once he had¡­ He would give up everything for the person who had gained his trust.


    "I¡­" Ailsa hesitated again, her mind a whirlwind of emotions.


    Inwardly, Aisla knew that Ryu was a softie. He found it easy to be cold toward outsiders, but those he deemed to be his loved ones would receive his everything. It was this alone that made Ailsa feel as though she was choking on her own emotions, but she also felt that this wasn''t a time for her to cry again.


    It was true. Ailsa had chosen to leave the Ethereal Plane to find Ryu after finding her brother''s diary. As for what she found inside? Maybe at this very moment, that didn''t matter much. At the very least, the thoughts going through her mind now weren''t of the exact contents of the diary, but rather the ending sentiment.


    Her elder brother, a big brother she loved oh so dearly, had always been a man of adventure. If Ailsa thought about it, he was unlike any other Faerie. He wasn''t content with watching things play out and going with the flow of the Heavens, he always sought to carve out his own path.


    Unfortunately, carving out this path got him killed.


    What lay before Ailsa now was a choice. Would she follow in her brother''s footsteps? Or would she cower?


    But, since she had chosen to be here, to follow after Ryu¡­ Hadn''t she already made her choice long ago?


    "¡­ I made my decision a long time ago." Ailsa said with a light smile.


    The source of her hesitation hadn''t been fear. What she least wanted was to interfere with Ryu''s progress and ruin his chances of saving his family.


    Maybe her past self didn''t want to admit it, but hadn''t she been using Ryu too? She came to him not because he wanted to be with him, but rather to fulfill the ideals her brother had left behind and hopefully succeed where he had failed.


    Though their approaches were different, their level of selfishness was the same. But now, she was actually hesitating when one of the key steps of achieving her goal was right before her. And why? All for this Life Partner of hers who she once saw as a means to an end too.


    Ailsa couldn''t remember when she had shifted her perspective on Ryu, but what she did know was that it was long before he had changed his perspective on her. Watching him work everyday was like a constant chisel to her heart, ebbing away at what preconceived conclusions she had once had.


    This wasn''t to say that Ailsa''s original feelings were fake. She had come here expecting to be Ryu''s wife in every way, shape and form. It was just that now it was far different from just a sense of duty to her¡­


    Ryu finally turned his gaze toward Ailsa. Seeing the look in her eye, he nodded and the two of them turned toward Sarriel.


    Sarriel blinked, having gone through her own whirlwind of emotions. For a moment there, she thought that her final trump card would fail too.


    "The Fey Bloodline has two branches." Sarriel took a deep breath and began to explain. "The Sun Fey is the first. They are creatures of the light and have a great affinity for all that is Yang. They are exceptionally strong in the day and have impossible to imagine power over the stars.


    "The second branch is of the Moon Fey. They are creatures of the darkness of have great affinity for all that is Yin. They are exceptionally strong in the night and have impossible to imagine power over celestial bodies.


    [Author''s Note: In our astronomy, celestial bodies also include stars. But just assume, in the case of GAB, that they aren''t included]


    "I am of the Moon Fey. My name is Sarriel of the Moon.


    "The seal on your Life Partner is one that even my Truth Pupils didn''t pick up on initially. If it wasn''t for my Moon Fey Bloodline picking up a strong Yin signature from her, I would have never investigated further. It simply didn''t make sense to me that a Cultus Faerie would have such strong dark energies within her.


    "Cultus Faeries are known as nurturers, and among the Three King Faerie Clans, they represented the balance between the Yang of the Ficia Faeries and the Yin of the Quibus Faeries. It didn''t make sense for one to so heavily lean toward one in comparison to the other.


    "Usually, I''m able to grasp information I want with a simple look. But, if it''s something I have to focus for, it likely means that it''s far beyond my understanding. Still, I was able to tell that whatever strong Yin character your Life Partner has, it has been tempered down and sealed for whatever reason.


    "That said, as hidden as this Seal is¡­ I can also tell that it''s exceptionally fragile. If I have some time to observe your Life Partner, I can likely find its weakest point¡­"


    Ryu remained silent for a long while before taking a slight breath.


    "That won''t be necessary." He replied.


    Sarriel was shocked by this and opened her mouth to say something, but Ryu only shook his head.


    "We''ll cooperate with you within the Tri Palace."


    With that, Ryu turned and left with Ailsa, having made a decision.

 Chapter 427 - Angel

    Ryu followed Niel in silence. The latter kept looking at him as though in hopes that Ryu would expose exactly what it was he had spent so much time talking to Sarriel about. But, Ryu remained just as stoic as ever. In fact, he seemed to have retracted a bit of the warmness he had begun to exude, going back to his usually extraordinarily cold demeanor.


    Ryu didn''t have the mind to care for Niel''s curiosity. His mind was on something else entirely.


    So, even after Niel led them to the treasure vaults, his lip twitching all while watching Ryu practically clear them out, Ryu didn''t speak a single word. In fact, even up until the point Niel brought him to one of the best Immortal Caves the Sect had to offer, the former still didn''t manage to get a word out of him.


    With a dull thud, the door of the Immortal Cave shut, leaving Niel stranded outside, his lip absentmindedly twitching.


    ''¡­ Did she taste that good?''


    These were the only words Niel could think. Luckily Ryu didn''t hear them, or else he might lash out with his signature cold glare.


    Without a choice, Niel could only choose to turn and leave.


    ¡­


    Ryu began to silently arrange the haul he had gotten from the Moonlight Blossom Sect''s vaults.


    The Immortal Cave he was given was quite spacious indeed. It had room for leisure, sleep, meditation and training, all of which was illuminated by a dim violet light. In addition, the density of Moon Setting Qi and Withering Blossom Qi, two of the Sect''s most favored types of Death Qi, were exceptionally high.


    ''¡­ Why didn''t you accept her offer?'' Ailsa finally asked softly.


    She could already see the reason why. In fact, she quite agreed with it. But, for some reason, completely outside of her usual self, she wanted to hear it from Ryu''s own mouth.


    She entered her full form, facing Ryu cross legged. Her ruby eyes danced across his face as though not trying to miss out on a single detail. She scanned his eyes especially, feeling as though they might be the most prone to revealing something.


    "Such a sensitive matter can''t be left to someone else." Ryu said plainly.


    Ailsa continued to scan Ryu''s face.


    "Why?" She pressed.


    Ryu looked up from his spatial ring, retrieving his mind from it and focusing on Ailsa. A clash of silver and crimson crossed through the air, their gazes locking onto one another.


    "Because you''re too important." Ryu said just as plainly.


    Ryu''s face didn''t seem to carry a hint of emotion. He spoke the words as though they were a matter of fact, an inconsequential truth so fundamental that it didn''t require any fanfare.


    But, it was these exact words that caused Ailsa''s lips to close the distance between them.


    Ryu blinked, feeling a softness and a heavenly fragrance assault his senses. However, by that point, Ailsa had already pushed him down, her chest pressed flushed against his and her lips sealing his own.


    Ailsa''s hands held onto his cheeks, a tear falling from her closed eyes.


    She had never kissed anyone before. But at that moment, she just knew that it was all she wanted to do. She wanted to feel closer to him than she ever had before. She didn''t know if Ryu would get angry, but for that instant of time, she held onto a faint hope that the answer to that was no.


    It was then that Ailsa felt two strong arms wrap around her slender waist. Her body suddenly felt as light as a feather, flipping from its position on top in one instant to being on the bottom in the next.


    Ailsa''s lips separated from Ryu''s, her hands still on either side of his face. She looked up, the tears still threatening to fall from her eyes.


    She gazed up at him lovingly, this look alone capable of melting any man''s heart.


    Ryu gazed back, his own expression having softened considerably. He kneeled on all four above her, scanning her face just as she had scanned his own. The lingering feeling of her soft lips tingled across his own, enticing him to take another taste.


    Without another word, Ryu did exactly that.


    Ailsa''s heart fluttered, emotions she had never felt before latching onto her soul. The feeling of Ryu''s kiss was like an orchestra playing in her mind. The strings vibrated with a heavy tune, the horns resonating with the very sides of her skull.


    Beside herself, she began to feel a heat lighting her lower belly.


    She allowed Ryu''s tongue into her mouth, gasping for air despite her cultivation. Her heart beat faster, her tender skin flushing red.


    Ryu''s scent intoxicated her. Scenes of rushing waters, tall maple trees, and spicy herbs tickled her senses. It was as though he encompassed the whole world¡­ her world.


    Sparks seemed to fly between them, a fiery passion lighting the room. Their tongues intertwined¡­ Ryu''s rough and large, Ailsa''s soft, small and pink. The latter didn''t seem to stand a chance, feeling like a small boat in a raging storm. However, it was exactly that feeling of helplessness, of being under the whims of the man she loved most, that filled her with a tangible excitement.


    Ailsa''s sensitivity reached new heights, her thighs squeezing around Ryu. She wanted more, feeling that the clothes that separated them were more of a curse than anything else.


    But she was still that helpless little boat. All the strength she had didn''t seem to matter in the slightest at that moment.


    Her intoxicating fragrance, her soft lips, her tall and curved figure. It all became like malleable clay in the hands of her love.


    All of her senses stood on end. Maybe it was because of the man she was in the arms of was her Life Partner, maybe it was because he could read her mind and understand her every intention, or maybe it was because she was just too inexperienced, her body being too sensitive. But her heavy breathing only became heavier, her beating heart only thumping more forcefully.


    It was then that it happened.


    A low bestial growl from Ryu made her shudder. A subtle grinding touched what lay between her hips and beneath her clothes.


    The sensation was too much.


    Her back arched, her legs locking around Ryu''s hips. What sounded like a phoenix''s cry left her lips, arcs of electricity following up her spine.


    Her moan reached the ears like the song of an angel.

 Chapter 428 - Embarrassed

    Ailsa''s arched back collapsed, her delicate features flushed with sweat. Her white dress clung to her skin, leaving nothing to be desired. One could imagine every peak and crevice on her body, even the points of her proud peaks standing at attention.


    Her hurried breathing was shallow, no small amount of fragrant liquid dripping between her legs.


    She lay in a dazed state, her consciousness feeling hazy. She hardly knew what was going on around her. If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu had caught her before she collapsed too heavily, she might have bashed her head into the ground.


    At that moment, Ryu slowly awoke from his own stupor. He had almost gotten lost in a completely new world just then.


    When he realized that Ailsa was in a half asleep, half awake state beneath him, he didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    Did this woman just orgasm from a kiss? He couldn''t say that he didn''t feel quite proud, but wasn''t she a bit too sensitive?


    Not only did she, but it seemed as though she was completely out of commission. She was even mumbling as though sleep talking.


    Her arms absentmindedly made their way up, curling around Ryu as she buried her head into his chest. It was only after she did this that she truly fell asleep, beginning to lightly, and quite adorably, snore.


    Ryu smiled lightly, rising up and carrying her.


    He lay her gently in the bedroom. He almost turned to leave after doing this, but after realizing that her dress was soaked through in sweat, he shook his head.


    Ryu gently took her clothing off, revealing her lithe figure. His eyes couldn''t help but pause on her chest¡­ The perkiness and size made his breathing heavy. They had the perfect amount of elasticity, the kind of buoyancy Ryu was certain could float on water.


    Even now, they were still flushed red and covered in sweat, giving them a particularly enticing visual. Ryu''s hand only barely brushed against them, but not only did the softness make him swallow hard, the movement itself caused Ailsa''s body to shudder.


    He shook his head. She really was too sensitive.


    Ryu''s gaze drifted down to a pair of white lace panties. Through their see-through fabric, he could see a delicate blond bush that plucked on his heart strings. That was bad enough, but the faint trail of moistness only made it all worse.


    Ryu cursed his bloodlines. This was really too much. It wasn''t as though he had never seen Ailsa naked before. If he hadn''t, he wouldn''t have so casually decided to take her clothes off.


    Shaking his head, Ryu slowly pulled them down, avoiding direct eye contact. What he couldn''t see wouldn''t hurt him. He would just leave what was beneath that blond bush to his dreams.


    After he was done, Ryu placed a palm on Ailsa''s lower belly, a faint frosting spreading out from his hand. To a mortal, this amount would be enough to freeze them to death. But, for Ailsa, it was no different from a cool breeze.


    Her sweat was evaporated and purified all while her expression relaxed. Then, Ryu covered her in thick sheets.


    Soon, she fell into a deep sleep, leaving Ryu satisfied.


    ¡­


    Ryu took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. Unfortunately, there was a raging beast below his belt that didn''t seem intent on lying down for the day. But, he couldn''t very well ravage an unconscious woman¡­ now could he?


    Ryu shook his head again. His beast blood was truly beginning to be a problem. Luckily, he had things to keep his mind off of it. Once again, Ryu began to arrange treasures.


    In truth, there was nothing that really caught Ryu''s eye. This was to be expected. As someone who had a whole host of Origin Grade treasures, it was no wonder that a treasure vault of that caliber didn''t catch his attention.


    But, he still managed to find some of the more rare items he might need to refine corpses in the future and even a few things that would be helpful in nurturing Esme. With this, he should be able to help Esme reached the Immortal Ring Realm, finally.


    Ryu summoned the Death Worm. His Immortal Cave was indeed large enough to accommodate it with ease.


    Not long later, he had Esme strapped to a table in the nude once again. Despite the enticement her body provided, Ryu would never stoop so low as to covet a corpse. He gazed at Esme no differently from the way he would gaze at a block of wood.


    Plus, even if Ryu was so inclined to do something so disgusting, exchanging yin and yang with a corpse would not only cripple the corpse, but it would shave years off his lifespan -- for men, anyway. One could only do so with either very special and sinister cultivation method, or by avoiding the exchange at all.


    But, as one might expect, avoiding the exchange wouldn''t help the build up. As cultivators, one''s stamina was practically endless, physiologically speaking. What limited the sexual escapades of cultivators was the exchange of yang and yin.


    If this step was avoided, Ryu would never be satiated. That was part of the reason those who had such fetishes could only be seen as deviants.


    Unlike when she was alive, Esme showed no fear in this position.


    To one side of him, he had the Body of an Herbologist Tome open, and on the other, he had numerous herbs carefully picked out and prepared.


    ''This trip to Tri Palace should provide me some good corpse puppets. With my level of control currently, it''s a shame that I only have one¡­ But, lowering my quality is unacceptable.''


    Esme was a surprising talent that Ryu had stumbled upon, but he wouldn''t get so lucky in the future. He would have to actively search for his next puppets.


    Ryu got to work, the days ticking by. Every so often, he would laugh to himself, realizing that Ailsa was definitely avoiding him. It seemed that she was very embarrassed about her previous display.


    Almost two weeks later, Ryu suddenly felt a vibration from his Osiris Ring.


    ''Hm? Seems they need help again.''

 Chapter 429 - Madman

    "Are you going to stop hiding now?" Ryu called over his shoulder.


    But, he didn''t receive a response in return, causing him to shake his head and smile.


    For a woman whose first meeting with him was in the nude, Ailsa was far more shy than he thought she would be. That said, it was ironically because of this that Ryu knew they had drawn closer.


    To some people, embarrassment was a sign of estrangement. But, depending on the person, especially one as confident and prideful as Ailsa, embarrassment could be a sign of the exact opposite. The only reason she was acting like this was because she was even more worried about what Ryu was thinking.


    With a light smile, his mood feeling quite good, Ryu entered Osiris once again, immediately finding himself in the same room he had left from.


    It was only then that Ailsa finally peaked into his room and sighed a breath of relief. Suddenly remembering what happened all those days ago, she flushed red again and scurried away.


    Covering her face with her hands, she began to berate herself again.


    She was supposed to be the big sister in this relationship. How had she had such a poor showing. How embarrassing. It was impossible for her to keep up her mystique now.


    ¡­


    Ryu rose, feeling the weight of his Great Swordstaffs on his back.


    ''Oh, you decided to come?'' Ryu smiled, realizing that a wild Ailsa has silently appeared on his shoulder.


    ''Hm? Are you talking to me?'' Ailsa looked around and pointed toward herself.


    Fake it till you make it. Ailsa leaned into this hard, refusing to acknowledge Ryu''s question as though it didn''t make much sense to her.


    Ryu chuckled but didn''t say much else.


    When Ryu made his way down the stairs, everyone noticed the beauty who was now on his shoulder. Usually, Ailsa would be hidden, but the mechanics of Osiris were much different. This was also the reason why everyone could see Annette as well though she rarely left Giveon''s side.


    The group looked between Annette and Ailsa in a moment of silence. They had already heard that Ryu had a Life Partner, but this was the first time they were actually seeing her. But, what was unexpected was¡­


    ''Annette lost¡­''


    The men in the room all decided this in unison, but not a single one dared to say it aloud. Not to mention the fact they were scared of Annette, they were also afraid of Ryu after hearing about his exploits. None of them wanted to find out just what it would mean to get on his bad side.


    Annette blinked when she looked toward Ailsa. But Ailsa, seemingly still trying to put on airs for Ryu, didn''t meet her gaze immediately. It was only after sensing something that she looked over and smiled dazzlingly.


    ''A fatal blow¡­''


    The men were once more in lockstep. This Ailsa was truly too beautiful. And better yet, she seemed to be less violent than Annette too. She had the latter beaten in every facet.


    Amie couldn''t help but give Ailsa a few glances. Had Faeries really become such a ubiquitous species now? Why were the always popping up in the least desirable places?


    Amie couldn''t help but pout. But, there was nothing she could do about it.


    Giveon cleared his throat, trying to disperse the odd atmosphere.


    "Sorry to bother you, Ryu, but this is important."


    Ryu shook his head. He didn''t mind being called. In fact, he had expected it much earlier. After all, it had technically be more than a half year since he last saw this group.


    Of course, what Ryu didn''t know was that they had tried to call for his help before. It was just that he was in such deep meditation that no one could reach him. Also, it didn''t help that he was within that formation. There was no way anything would have gotten through to him even if he hadn''t been in such a state.


    Giveon smiled and continued. "We are on the last leg of our quotas, but the Deep Valley Team has been oddly quiet.


    "The longer they take to take action, the more likely it is that they are just biding their time for the perfect opportunity. If we manage to complete this quota, we''ll not only be within the top 12, but we''ll be a step above our current rank at 11.


    "In addition due to¡­ our interference, The Deep Valley Team has fallen from their previous rank all the way down to seventh."


    Giveon knew that it was mostly due to Ryu that this had happened, but he was also aware of the fickleness of human nature. It was best to frame it as something they had accomplished as a team to avoid Ryu being ostracized.


    Ryu nodded. He didn''t really need Giveon to explain all of these things to him. Most of it, he could have guessed. As for the little details, he didn''t particularly care. He was only here to find out whether the Zu Clan was actually involved in all of this or not. And, in the case that they were¡­ Ruin it all.


    Ryu couldn''t say that he particularly hated the Zu Clan. If he were to characterize his relationship with them¡­ He had never really taken a loss at their hands. If anything, they had lost considerably at his own. If there was any hatred to be spread, it would be them toward him.


    Of course, there was the matter of his grandfather''s death. But, the person responsible for that, Esme, would be paying for her sins for as long as he lived.


    So, it couldn''t be said that Ryu was doing this out of hatred. Rather, it was just the same as always¡­


    Any danger he could thrust himself into would help him grow more powerful. It was just that simple to him.


    Who knew how the Zu Clan members would react to knowing this¡­


    "Alright, since we have your agreement, I''ll briefly describe the final mission.


    "Our target this time are the Natives."


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. The Natives? He hadn''t heard this term before. But, according to Ailsa''s memories that surfaced the moment Giveon spoke these words, the Natives were essentially the residents of Osiris. Much like the beast Ryu had fought, they weren''t real but they were a part of many of the obstacles the members of the Mercenary Guild had to deal with.


    "Are we talking? Knights? Nobles?..." Grim perked up to ask.


    "Barbarian Natives. Specifically, the Mountain Barbarian Natives."


    The group was instantly filled with a whole host of ugly expressions.


    Anyone who knew about Natives would react in the same way. Despite being just compilations of runes to create fake persons, Barbarian Natives were the last group any of them wanted to deal with.


    Those bunch of bastards were crazy. They spoke in grunts and whistles as though they were beasts, they had an unmitigatedly savage culture, and were obscenely powerful in bodily strength. Just trying to cut into them felt like trying to slice apart a refined weapon, it was beyond the limits one should expect for a living creature.


    But, the hatred everyone had for them wasn''t due to their strength¡­ But rather lay in their savage culture.


    The Mountain Barbarian Natives were cannibals.


    The infanticide rate of their clans were exceptionally high. They thought that the meat of babies was a delicacy, leading to great internal strife within their walls.


    Yet, instead of breaking apart, these groups somehow stayed together. The reason? Most of the time, their blades were turned toward the outside.


    What was the worst way to die in this dream world? For a long time, it was a hotly contested topic. The newbies of the Mercenary Guild always wanted to know what things to avoid. However, for a long time now, the debate had been put to rest.


    The Mountain Barbarian Natives weren''t just any sort of cannibals. They believed in the sanctity of life. However¡­ Not in the way one would normally mean when they said this.


    They had a belief that the strength of a body could only be preserved while a person was alive and in the waning moments just after death.


    As a result of this, they Mountain Barbarians had several tactics for keeping their prey alive¡­ While they were being feasted upon.


    A shudder of cold seemed to go through the group.


    At that moment, despite how annoying Noble Natives were, they would rather deal with ten times the number of them as opposed to a fraction of Mountain Barbarian Natives.


    Even though it wouldn''t be a true death, they would feel every moment of it as though they were experiencing it with their true bodies. There wasn''t a single soul in existence that would want to go through such a process.


    While everyone else was freaking out, though, Ryu was intrigued.


    When he had refined Esme into a corpse, he had kept her awake and alive for as long as possible. This seemed to be just to torture her for what she did to his grandfather, but there was a deeper reason as well.


    The biological conversions he forced Esme to undergo worked more smoothly when her body was still functionally alive. With her cells still active, causing them to mutate and change was obviously easier.


    Ryu wondered¡­ This eating ritual of the Mountain Barbarians¡­ Was there anything he could learn from them?


    Unfortunately for the Violet Olive Team, they had no idea that there was a madman amongst them. Even Ailsa couldn''t help but look at Ryu weirdly, but he pretended as though he hadn''t sensed a single thing.


    With that, the Team set off, their nerves standing on end.


    The Mountain Barbarians were just one worry. Their main source of anxiety was the Deep Valley Team¡­ Would they appear? Or not¡­?


    What the unworried Ryu didn''t know was that there was also a guillotine hanging over his own neck as well¡­

 Chapter 430 - Spores

    After half a day of travel, the Team had traveled through the forest that surrounded their home city and found themselves in a land of rock and rubble.


    Compared to the lush forests they had just been a part of, this place seemed to be teeming with death. The sparse plants they found planted in the hardened land were withering and half dead. The sun beaded across their heads, bearing toward them with untold pressure now that the tall canopies could no longer protect them. And, the air seemed to hold miniature particles of dust that made them want to cough every so often.


    "Don''t breathe too heavily. In fact, if you can help it, don''t breathe at all." Giveon warned.


    This dusty air was both the source of the Mountain Barbarian''s strength, but simultaneously a poison to practically every other creature.


    Ironically, it was because of the existence of this dust that the Mountain Barbarians couldn''t live long-term in the much more lush and fertile forest. Much like everything else in the world, there was a balance of give and take.


    As cultivators of such high realms, they could obviously go even weeks without breathing as long as they had an ample supply of qi. So, this wasn''t much of a problem.


    Immediately, everyone held their breath and began to walk toward the looming mountain range not far in the distance.


    Ryu curiously observed the floating dust particles. They were impossible for anyone else to see with the naked eye, but his eyes were obviously not normal.


    ''This isn''t dust¡­'' Ryu was somewhat surprised.


    If it wasn''t for his boredom, he would have taken Giveon''s words at face value.


    ''These are spores. Specifically, a fungal spore. What an innovative idea. Do these Mountain Barbarians exist in real life? Or were they casually created by the Sky God who built this world?''


    Despite being an Origin Grade Ruin Master, Ryu would never claim to have more worldly experience than a Sky God who had lived trillions of years of life. For him to do so would be nothing short of foolish.


    As knowledgeable as he was, Ryu was certain that he didn''t know everything. It was very possible for the Sky God who built this world to have come across such a Clan in their travels. And, since these Mountain Barbarians wouldn''t be able to leave their small corners, they were likely hidden from the rest of the world as well.


    Ryu''s eyes glowed. Without anyone but Ailsa being any wiser, he took a deep breath, allowing a whole colony of these spores into his lungs.


    Ailsa shook her head. ''You''re always so reckless.''


    ''It''s fine, I need to witness how they work personally. I''ve never seen a fungus like this before...'' Ryu said softly. ''Worse come to worst, this is just a projection of my body. I''ll heal whatever injuries that come when I cross into the Soul Birth Realm.''


    Ryu began to observe the changes the fungus brought about. If it wasn''t for the training he had undergone with his meridians, he would have never been able to do this. Watching the changes his individual cells underwent was ridiculous.


    By Ryu''s measurements, he had allowed about a hundred thousand spores into his body on just one inhale. Each one immediately latched onto an individual cell, boring into it and beginning to sprout.


    Ryu was unmoved by the change. Most would be freaked out watching what amounted to a fungal infection growing inside their bodies, but to Ryu, it was as though he was observing someone else undergo such a thing.


    Ailsa''s face warped. ''¡­ Gross¡­ Did you have to do that? You''re ruining my image of you.''


    Ryu smiled, but didn''t say much in response. He was entirely focused on the changes.


    ''It breaks down the cells wall¡­ Takes over the organelles to produce sustenance for its growth¡­ Once it reaches a certain size, it rebuilds the cell wall much sturdier than it had in the past before dying. It doesn''t seem capable of continuing the process¡­?''


    Ryu came to a sudden understanding.


    This was why Giveon had said not to breathe. If Ryu''s conjecture was correct, there was something special about the cells and organelles of the Mountain Barbarians that allowed this process to not stop at the spore''s death.


    Whatever this difference was, it allowed the spore to remain alive and continue to reproduce.


    ''This is ingenious. So this was the creator of Body of an Herbologist''s ultimate goal.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as he seemed to understand something. In fact, it felt like every page of that human skin Tome had compiled into a single roadmap, forming a vibrant future like a blinding light at the end of the path.


    ''If things are like this, whether I''m able to keep my corpse puppets alive during the refinement process would be meaningless. No¡­ It wouldn''t be meaningless, the most important thing would be finding ways to make sure that the spores were all evenly distributed¡­ The easiest way to do this would be by having the future corpse puppet remain alive and continuously inhale these spores.


    ''That way, it would be able to enter the lungs and follow oxygen along every pathway of the body. Only then would it reach perfect coverage¡­''


    Suddenly, finding a method of keeping the body alive for as long as possible had become even more important.


    ''Unless¡­''


    Ryu fell into deep thought. If he simulated the beating of a heart and the expansion and contraction of the lungs, it might still be possible.


    ''I need to do experiments¡­''


    Just as Ryu was falling deeper and deeper into thought, the roar of what sounded like a beast sounded up ahead.


    "We''ve been found." Giveon called out. "Prepare for battle."


    Ryu calmly looked up before a sharp icy air surrounded him. The spores that had been growing in his lungs were frozen away and healed in the blink of an eye with the use of his Ice Flame.


    Compared to the number of spores he had inhaled, the number of cells in his body were countless times more numerous. He wasn''t even worried about dealing with any aftereffects.


    At that moment, Annette entered her full form, a vibrant violet dress flowing around her as arcs of lightning crackled.


    "Remember our goal! The relic should be located at the center of their village! Avoid as many battles as you can and reach their Shrine as quickly as possible! Charge!"

 Chapter 431 - Fall

    Giveon led the head of the charge, storming up the mountain pass and into a cave carved out of the side of the mountain without a care.


    To his back, Annette followed, floating off the ground. Her frame was quite petite in her full form, so even with her floating, she was able to lift off more than a meter above the ground, making the size of the cave quite clear.


    "You all follow Giveon." Ryu said plainly. "I''ll take another path."


    The other team members hesitated before nodding. Ryu was a monster, he could definitely lead his own vanguard.


    It was usually much safer for them all to be together, but they understood Ryu''s intentions. If there was going to be an ambush, a possibility they still hadn''t erased from their minds, having Ryu separate from them and in position to counter should it be necessary was a good idea.


    Though they had come up with many countermeasures before setting out, there was nothing wrong with a bit of extra caution.


    Without waiting for their response, Ryu had already stepped into the air, shooting up the side of the mountain with light steps and leaping into another cave opening.


    The cave was massive and reminded Ryu of the hive pathways within the Death Worm. But, even compared to his Immortal Abode, these passageways were much larger.


    The ceiling was at least six or seven meters tall and the width was easily double that. Ryu couldn''t imagine how long it would have taken to dig out such large tunnels, especially with how sturdy the rock here was, but he was still grateful for it. If not for this, how could he make full use of his Great Swordstaffs?


    Ryu dashed forward, half his body becoming no different from illusory streaks of lightning. With his added control over his body, he obviously gained the same level of finesse over his Spirit Body. At that moment, he looked no different from a humanoid bundle of lightning, his arms stretched out to hold onto two Great Swordstaffs.


    Though Ryu couldn''t use [Fragrant Breeze] in this state, he had reached a point where it didn''t even matter. His speed had long since surpassed his previous cap. However, he already knew that he would definitely need a new movement technique to maximize his new abilities.


    Ryu traveled more than 200 meters in the blink of an eye before he laid eyes on his first Mountain Barbarian. It was at that moment that he understood exactly why these tunnels had been carved out so large.


    Each and every one of them was massive.


    Even the smallest Mountain Barbarian had a frame as tall as three meters while the tallest of them neared four meters. Their bodies were chiseled and seemed carved of rock. From afar, it looked as though a master craftsman had diligently carved out each and every one of their muscles to the utmost level of perfection.


    Their skin was an unnaturally greyish black color that reminded one of a blacksmith''s chimney. But, beyond that, rock-like growths under the camouflage of birth marks marred their skin, especially around the eyes, hands, elbows and knees.


    If Ryu did know better, he would have thought that these barbarians had glued small rocks onto their skin. But, after seeing the spores in action, Ryu knew that this was the inevitable result of inhaling them for too long.


    In the beginning, the spores would follow the pattern of the human cells. But, eventually, one would run out of these cells. It was then that the spores would truly take over and begin to cause all sorts of cancerous growths to appear.


    Ryu estimated that the lifespan of these barbarians was at most 40 years of age. But, this wasn''t necessarily a good thing¡­


    While it meant that maybe their population wouldn''t be very large depending on a few other factors, it also meant that a large portion of them could also be mobilized.


    A harsh whistle came from the barbarians when they lied eyes on Ryu. It sounded like a cross between a whistling train and metal scrapping against metal. It was the kind of sound that made even Ryu want to cover his ears.


    At that moment, they all charged forward.


    Ryu reacted just as quickly, his hands tightening around his polearms.


    "Impose."


    A crackling barrier of lightning appeared around Ryu. The vicious blue arcs whipped against the walls of the cave, causing bits and pieces of rubble to fly every which way.


    ''Constrict.''


    As Ryu watched the barbarians close the distance, his Impose Barrier began to constrict in on itself. The moment his Spirit Body reached a certain level of control, he had long since been able to do this.


    Ryu''s irises flashed with violent arcs of lightning.


    ''Rule.''


    The Impose Barriers solidified onto Ryu''s blades.


    At that moment, Esme appeared by Ryu''s side, wielding twin daggers with crystalline blades. Their light blue hue seemed all the most prominent beneath the dancing luminance of Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs.


    ''I''ll immobilize them and Esme will deal the killing blow.''


    Ryu felt his body strengthen as Essence his main form was absorbing reached him. The change wasn''t nearly as exaggerated as Ryu was used to, but he had already lost count of the number of times he had entered the Rule Realm. How could he expect the same amount of returns each time?


    When the barbarians were just 20 meters away, Ryu shot forward so fast that he practically vanished. The barbarians didn''t even realize when he entered their midst. But by the time they did, his blades were already spinning.


    Ryu''s single flurry sending torrent of lightning surging through the bodies of the barbarians. Harsh and deep cuts tore through their frames. Some lost portions of their legs, others parts of their torsos, and there was even one that lost half a face.


    But, regardless of which it was, even Ryu''s blade failed to go through them completely. Even as the most regular members of the clan, their bodies were sturdy beyond belief.


    Still, Ryu didn''t seem to be surprised by this in the slightest.


    Lightning continued to course through their bodies leaving them completely immobilized. It was in that instant that Esme acted, violent surges of Spiritual Qi ripping through her twin blades.


    One after another, the barbarians began to fall.

 Chapter 432 - Extreme Yin

    Ryu took a deep breath as Esme landed by his side.


    As expected, the Unique Grade daggers his wife had given him as a birthday present on that faithful night were indeed the bane of these Mountain Barbarians.


    The ability to directly attack with Spiritual Qi was already a shocking one and was enough to make this pair of daggers a treasure rarely seen in the world. However, it was especially useful in a battle where the Mental Realm was a severe weakness of the opponents.


    At the moment, Esme had a strong mental capacity due to Hecate''s refinement method allowing her to maintain some of her awareness even after death. But, compared to a living, breathing human, Esme''s Mental Realm couldn''t possibly match up to them. The only reason she was even close was due to the fact she was a Mental Realm Master before her death.


    However, against the Mountain Barbarians, this weakness hardly mattered since their minds hadn''t seen any improvement since their birth. With a medium like the daggers in combination with Ryu tying the down, it would practically be like slaughtering a group of chickens.


    Even Ryu couldn''t cut all the way through the bodies of these barbarians. If it wasn''t for Esme, he would likely still be in battle. But now¡­


    Ryu made a mental note to also adjust some of his formulas to find a way to strengthen the Spiritual Qi Esme could store before jetting down the pathway.


    He came across several groups, but just as easily, he took them down. The combination of himself and Esme was unstoppable.


    ¡­


    In another tunnel, the others were struggling much more.


    Annette was able to paralyze the movements of the barbarians. As monstrous as they were, they weren''t able to use qi and also had enough organic body parts remaining for it to work. However, the step of actually killing them were too difficult.


    Often times, the group ended up simply crippling them as best they could and rushing past. As Giveon had said, speed was of the utmost importance.


    The twin Tree Folk brothers ran their hands along the cave walls, strong surges of natural qi flowing out from them.


    Strong vines blooming with flowers began to grow along their forward root, wrapping around the Mountain Barbarians as they barged past.


    What the twins didn''t notice, though, was that as they rushed past, the sprouts began to accumulate on their vines one after another.


    ¡­


    ''So what do you want to do about the seal?''


    Compared to the struggling Team, Ryu was having a leisurely enough time that Ailsa actually thought that this was the best time to ask such an important question. Ryu, though, couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "If you didn''t spend the last few weeks avoiding me, we could have talked about this a long time ago."


    ''Who was avoiding you?! This Big Sis here just was just afraid of her perverted Life Partner taking away all of her innocence. A woman is never safe in such a cruel world.''


    Ryu almost choked on air. Wasn''t she the one who kissed him? How had it become the other way around all of a sudden?


    Ryu had always thought that Elena and Ailsa were quite alike. And truthfully, they were in a lot of ways, especially their confidence when it came to most things. But, it seemed they deviated when it came to matters of the heart.


    Elena could talk the talk and walk the walk. Ailsa, however, was just a big talker. If she wasn''t swept up in her emotions, who knew if she would have ever taken the initiative to kiss him.


    Ailsa pouted. ''That''s not fair! The situation back then was different! How do you know she wouldn''t have reacted the same way in any other situation?!''


    Ailsa thought these words to herself and didn''t project them to Ryu. But, unfortunately for her, Ryu had gotten into the habit of peeking into her mind, so these thoughts hadn''t escaped him.


    Ryu thought for a moment. Ailsa wasn''t exactly wrong. That night, knowing how well his wife knew him, Elena would have definitely seen that there was something off about his behavior. Her allowing him to do as he pleased was definitely a possibility given the circumstances.


    But eventually, Ryu shook his head. Imagining Elena, the woman who practically forced him to become his fianc¨¦e by appearing in his bedroom completely nude, suddenly becoming scared of intimacy¡­


    He shook his head again. Definitely not. He had been with Elena long enough to know that she wasn''t bluffing.


    "As for the seal, since we know it exists, I don''t think it''s necessary to ask for outside help. There''s nothing special about the Truth Pupils, at least in regard to undoing seals. Just rely on me and we''ll figure it out."


    ''You know,'' Ailsa chuckled, ''The reason her Pupils are so much more powerful than yours is because she''s definitely already undone more than 9 seals. If I had to guess, she''s probably already undone two or three dozen, maybe more if she''s still hiding even that.''


    Ryu nodded. He had figured as much. As good as the Truth Pupils were at deceit, Ryu wouldn''t have been so easily outplayed if it wasn''t for the fact Sarriel was further along her Immortal Grade evolution than Ryu was.


    "I''m sure you have some ideas, though?" Ryu probed.


    ''Mm¡­ I do. There are some basic rules all seals follow and Sarriel gave us the clue we need.''


    "Extreme Yin?"


    ''Extreme Yin.''


    The two nodded at once, not needing to exchange anymore words. Even if they didn''t share a mind, they would understand each other implicitly without a doubt.


    Sarriel made it clear that whatever this seal was suppressing, it was a power of great Yin, disproportionately so especially for a Cultus Faerie.


    Every Seal followed the same basic laws. If something of Yin attribute was being suppressed, it meant that something of Yang attribute was doing so.


    What was the logical conclusion?


    Obviously it was to use Extreme Yin to shatter it. And what better place would there be to do that if not the Tri Palace?


    ''We''re here..'' Ryu''s gaze narrowed.

 Chapter 433 - Izril

    Ryu shot into an open space that looked no different from an ancient, underground city. Well¡­ At least it seemed that whoever built this place was going for that kind of look but ended up failing miserably.


    The homes were shabby, the streets were unkempt, and even the temple at the very center looked like it was nothing more than a few large slabs of rock piled on top of one another.


    However, Ryu didn''t spend much time at all observing the landscape. With his Origin Flame, his memory was infallible down to the smallest of details. He was easily able to pick out the fact that this was the very center of the mountain range despite the fact he had been underground the whole time.


    According to Giveon''s information, this was exactly the location of the alter they were aiming for, so Ryu found no reason to hesitate.


    At that moment, the shrieks, grating whistles and roars of the barbarian people shook this city. It was clear that they were already aware that there was an intruder in their midst.


    Ryu''s lip curled. He had yet to be able to go all out since he gained this new strength. Maybe it was finally time to blow some steam.


    His body grew a size, beautiful sapphire scales racing across his skin.


    He roared into the skies, his hot breath booming to the point the underground city quaked.


    ¡­


    Outside the mountain range, a familiar group of individuals was steadily moving. They didn''t seem to be trying very hard to hide their presence, but given the current situation, it didn''t seem necessary.


    "You were right, Leader. They''ve chosen speed ahead of precaution. It seems that they''re aware they don''t really stand a chance to begin with."


    The man who they referred to as Leader didn''t seem to react very much to this praise. He gazed toward the mountain range silently, his eyes hiding his thoughts behind a veil of emotionless indifference.


    "I still don''t understand why we didn''t just snatch the item before they could even get here. Why even risk all of this." One of the Team members mumbled.


    "Idiot. The Mountain Barbarians aren''t a real people. Their culture and customs are all made up. The item won''t even appear unless someone who''s accepted the mission clears certain requirements."


    They would have tried something like sabotaging the group from the inside out, but Giveon had actually killed the spy they managed to leave behind. That idiot had clearly exposed his tail. Since then, no one else dared to risk joining over to their side secretly so the Violet Olive Team had forged themselves into a steel plate.


    "Even then, we should have just blown up the mountain or something."


    His words received a slap to the back of the head. It was clear the woman was getting impatient and was also far too lazy to explain.


    With the resources they''d need to blow up the mountain, they wouldn''t even have to care about the Event that was quickly coming up. If they had such resources, why would they even have gotten into any conflict to begin with?


    "You died once and you suddenly became an idiot." The woman snorted.


    "You¡­!"


    It was then that the identity of the man became clear. He was none other than Grinder, a man who was just as strong as any one of Deep Valley''s three Vice Leaders and also the man Ryu had taken the life of.


    Unfortunately, ever since Grinder died in such horrible and embarrassing fashion, everyone seemed to have forgotten how powerful he was. Or, rather, an injury to one''s soul was far too great of an impact on one''s talent to be ignored.


    It wasn''t that they had forgotten how powerful he was, but rather that he was truly much weaker than he had been in the past.


    With a damaged soul, one''s senses become duller, comprehension speed is slowed, and even cultivation speed is directly affected. Beyond that, communicating with one''s Inheritances also became many times more difficult as well.


    Even though Grinder had finally gotten to the point where an aching pain didn''t have to haunt him at every moment of every day, he still was nowhere near recovered. At this moment, he needed the rewards of the Event far more than anyone else. But, whether or not he would be able to lay claim to them himself was an unknown matter.


    "What, you want to fight? Griiiinder?" The woman sent a face of disdain toward Grinder, but when coupled with her partially seductive air, it almost felt as though she was calling him impotent at the same time.


    Grinder''s temper flared. But he knew well that he no longer stood a chance against this woman.


    He ground his teeth, his rage boiling over. His mind flashed with the image of a young man with a head of white hair. He wanted nothing more than to rip this person limb from limb.


    The Team Leader of Deep Valley pretended as though he hadn''t heard or seen any of this. In fact, he looked as though he was the only person in the vicinity. Nothing could rattle his concentration.


    At that moment, a floating panel only visible to his eye appeared before him. On the other side of it there was another man who seemed almost as stoic as he was.


    "Are you in position?"


    "Yes. And on your side?"


    "Yes."


    "Ready?"


    "Ready."


    Just as quickly as the call began, it ended just as fast with almost no one being any wiser that such communication had occurred.


    "Move out." The Team Leader of Deep Valley finally spoke out.


    The moment he did, all chattering fell into a deep silence. It was as though his voice was an ultimate commandment none of them could ignore.


    This man was Izril, an undefeated legend of Osiris no less lofty than the Leaders of the top three Teams of the Immortal Sakura Alliance.


    However, for whatever reason, he hadn''t participated in any missions in decades, causing his Deep Valley squad to fall down the rankings.


    Yet, for some reason¡­ He had finally decided to step into the sun today.

 Chapter 434 - Dance

    Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs spun like a whirlwind. His every step seemed to cripple another barbarian, his movements smooth and cadence unhurried.


    Esme followed to his back like a shadow, cleaving the minds of their enemies with a practiced ease.


    Ryu could feel his blood surging throughout his body. Emotions that wanted to bask in the feeling of the blood pooling at his feet clashed against his cold personality. They pulls and tugged, trying to prove which was the true Ryu.


    One part of Ryu''s mind became a minefield of barbaric thoughts. Images of ripping flesh apart with his bare hands, bedding countless women, and standing atop a mountain of corpses flashed by one after another.


    The other part of Ryu''s mind told a completely different tale. It was cold and calculating, menacing but silent, measured and focused. It was the kind of muted assassin that crept through the darkness, basking in the coldness of the world as though it exuded nothing but pleasantry.


    [Sweep]. [Slice]. [Pierce]. [Sweep]. [Slice]. [Pierce].


    Crimson flames so dark they almost looked black erupted around Ryu''s body. They rose off his skin, snaking into the skies and forming the head of a roaring dragon.


    The dichotomy between Ryu''s beautiful sapphire-like scales and the crimson flames enveloped him in a dark violet light that exuded a sinister air.


    Ryu''s mouth opened, his throat flexing, his chest expanding and his back widening almost like the wings of a dragon.


    He roared, just the hot air of his howl tearing a cyclone through the underground city.


    Ryu''s strength reached such a saturated peak that the scraps remaining for Esme became rarer and rarer. His blade, which was only barely able to leave nicks behind before, suddenly took limbs and bisected bodies as though a hot knife through butter.


    At that moment, when Ryu was half way to the shrine, the hurried breathing of the Violet Olive Team coalesced near one of the many tunnel entrances. They finally reached the city, only to find that Ryu had long since made it here before them and had already torn a path through more than half of the ancient city.


    The eyes of all but Annette and Giveon widened.


    At that moment, Ryu looked no different from a humanoid beast. His breath was so hot that flames spontaneously combusted into existence every time he roared, filling the city with a rain of fire and heat that made the atmosphere almost unbearable.


    At the same time, the lightning around Ryu seemed to only be growing more and more violent.


    Every time the lightning met the flames, they would implode, making it feel as though miniature bombs were always being set off around him. The two extreme yang elements seemed to repel each other like oil and water, except unlike either one of those comparisons, lightning and fire were two of the most powerful elements in all of existence.


    The [Tribulation Nine Clouds] arrays within Ryu''s Spiritual Sea seemed to react to the strong lightning qi wafting off his body, making the already powerful Lightning Qilin qi gain a destructive character it had never had before.


    At the same time, Ryu''s Rage Flame fed off the pumping of his bloodlines. Even without needing to be fueled by his emotions, the competition between the Qilin and Dragon was a battle long since told in the annals of history. There was no doubt that as well as the Dragons and Phoenixes were known for being partners, the Qilins and Dragons were equally as known for butting heads.


    The feedback loop resulting in Ryu''s Rage Flame continuously growing more powerful, feeding off the evolution of his lightning.


    The synergy caused Ryu''s strength to reach an all new level. He didn''t even care to notice the arrival of the other members of Violet Olive. He basked in the feeling of his strength, his rampage causing the earth to quake with a single step and the sky to split with a single blade.


    Ryu''s breath came out in a hot steam, his clothing combusting to reveal scales that covered the rest of his body.


    Ryu''s chest expanded once again, his throat flexing. His canines glistening beneath his flickering lightning and dancing flames.


    He released a howling roar once again. But this time, the spark of fire lit far earlier.


    A tornado of flames shot from his mouth, exploding forth like a laser.


    It tore its way across the ground, piercing through the tough rock and blasting apart the barbarians who had taken up the area before him.


    The beam of crimson ripped through the air. It blazed through several hundred meters worth of space, slicing a straight path through everything. It seemed as though it would reached the altar in just another blink. At that moment, even the other members of Violet Olive panicked. If the altar fell, how would they be able to fulfill their quota? They thought that Ryu must have lost his reason¡­ But his strength made a cold shiver crawl up their spine.


    But it was at that moment that seven chief barbarians made their presence known. Their roars sounded no different from the howls of beasts, their rage palpable.


    They formed a group, swinging their massive axes toward the beam of crimson simultaneously.


    BANG!!


    Ryu''s crimson beam was instantly shattered. But, even after he had sent out such a strike, he hadn''t paused.


    He could feel his throat scorching, his lips practically cracking beneath the dryness. Breathing fire wasn''t a Talent, it was simply another application of Rage Flames¡­ Likely the most powerful application there was. It was just that Ryu had never expected to master it in this fashion.


    He had felt as though some bestial instinct was calling out to him. The ultimate result was more of a reflex than anything else, almost like this was simply how he was meant to be.


    "Everyone, man the parameter. Make sure no others interfere in my and Ryu''s battle. Annette."


    Annette didn''t need any further explanation. In the blink of an eye, she went for corporeal to illusory. At that moment, she looked no different from a ghost. However, rather than being colorless or white, she had a violet hue attached to her very being.


    With a crackling that sounded like a snapping whip, Annette''s body wrapped around Giveon''s, shifting from an illusory humanoid figure to arcs of striking lightning.


    The lightning soon formed a protective covering which then further condensed into a beautiful violet armor.


    Giveon reached out a hand toward seemingly empty space, his hands immediately becoming coated in a wild flurry of lightning.


    This was one of the highest forms a Life Partner and their Elemental Faerie could enter. Much like Ryu''s Spirit Body, Annette could enter a full state of lightning as well. However, in this case, she was able to bolster her partner''s strength while also acting as their strongest weapon.


    Together, Annette and Given were stronger than the sum of their parts.


    Now, did Giveon need to go all out like this? The answer was no. In his estimation, it would probably not take very long for Ryu to take down the seven chiefs by himself. But, for some reason, Giveon still felt like it wasn''t enough.


    Giveon shot forward, his speed eclipsing even Ryu''s own. But, this could only be expected. While he had a special technique to circulate, Ryu had no such thing.


    In the blink of an eye, he made it by Ryu''s side. The latter didn''t say a word, taking the chiefs on the right side and leaving the rest to Giveon. Giveon understood Ryu''s meaning without explanation.


    They both shot forward, one a streak of violet lightning, the other a trail of crimson flames and blue lightning.


    Ryu''s two Great Swordstaffs swung downward simultaneously, crossing two fists at once.


    His gaze flashed, realizing that he had actually only left a small nick on the thick skin of these two chiefs.


    Esme, who had taken a backseat, immediately reacted to Ryu''s command, following after him.


    Ryu''s arms blurred, steamy breaths leaving his lips. His breath was so hot that the spores couldn''t even survive long enough to latch onto his lungs.


    Esme shadowed Ryu''s movement, standing barely a meter to his back. They moved as one, the former waiting for an opportune time to strike.


    Ryu unleashed a flurry of strikes, fighting back against four chiefs at once. His movements were the epitome of simplicity, not a single one of his actions feeling out of place or of excess effort. It was as though he could see through everything, even the perfect counter to every strike he faced.


    Ryu''s sapphire gaze glowed, blood rushing throughout his pupils. He could feel his eyes throbbing.


    Ryu knew that this was his warning for danger, but he couldn''t stop now.


    ''I thought I could push the Basic Stances further, but it seems I''m still lacking¡­ I guess I''ll have to push past them for now¡­''


    A heavy, heated breath left Ryu''s lips. Sparks of flames lit along the corner of his mouth, his chest running so hot that his heart felt as though it might explode at any moment.


    "[White Serpent''s Dance]."


    The Awoken Moon Sect''s Legacy Technique had finally appeared in the world again.

 Chapter 435 - Curious

    Ryu''s aura completely changed, the wild qi around him coalescing into a focused stream.


    "[Lurking Shadow]."


    The first strike of [White Serpent''s Dance]. It emphasized speed and stealthiness. Someone who wasn''t familiar with the moveset would find themselves caught completely off guard.


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs became like winding snakes hidden in the wind. Compared to before when Ryu could only eek out a single strike in this state, he instantly strung together what felt like an endless combination of movements.


    His steps, his demeanor, his presence all became like a fleeting wind, difficult to catch a trace of and even harder to counter even if you managed to do so.


    Every time Ryu''s blade flickered back into existence, an arc of blood and screeching roars would sound. In what felt like the blink of an eye, four chiefs who had just been standing perfectly fine found themselves covered in crisscrossing blades.


    ''[Lurking Shadow] is meant to be a spear technique¡­ To dual wield its use, though¡­''


    Ailsa''s eyes glowed. All this time, she seemed completely unaffected by Ryu''s rampage. She sat idly on his shoulder, enjoying the spectacle.


    Of course, she wasn''t exactly doing nothing. Whenever Ryu battled, Ailsa was always focusing on finding his weaknesses and understanding how best to help him take a next step forward. Ryu''s strength had increased explosively recently, so she found that it was for the best if he spent some time learning where his limits were. But it seemed that even now, he hadn''t quite dug deep enough to reach that quite yet.


    Ailsa found this conclusion to be obvious. [White Serpent''s Dance] might have been a powerful Mystical Grade Legacy Technique of the Awoken Moon Sect, but Ryu hardly if ever practiced it. Though this was mostly due to the fact that the technique was too burdensome for Ryu to do so, this was the truth nonetheless.


    This was all to say that while it seemed like Ryu was using this technique because he had been forced into a corner, the truth was that in Ailsa''s eye, he was just using the chiefs as a convenient whet stone.


    The secret to the power of [White Serpent''s Dance] was right there in its name¡­ Name''s held strength and power, ignoring them would only result in one missing something important.


    Dance.


    To believe that [Lurking Shadow] was just a single strike was a mistake. However, with the evolution of his Pupils, Ryu seemed to see through this with a single thought. Immediately, he shifted his thought process, stringing [Lurking Shadow] together in a flurry of steps and strikes.


    The atmospheric qi reacted, causing a smokey fog to hang around Ryu.


    The flexibility of his body made its presence known, his steps bending and bowing, his arms whipping and snapping.


    This was originally a technique created for women to use. This much was obvious as it came from an all female sect. As such, it emphasized an elegance and grace, along with a lithe disposition that most male cultivators simply wouldn''t have¡­


    But, Ryu wasn''t one of these males.


    Ryu''s figure flickered, the movement of his body so enrapturing that his blades were almost forgotten.


    Four rock-hard heads shot in the sky.


    Ryu landed before the shrine before their heads even touched the ground, his steps light and unhurried. However, his breathing was slightly labored, sparks of flames lighting his surroundings.


    Though he had only used the first Dance, [White Serpent''s Dance] was still a Mystical Grade technique far beyond his means. The only reason he was able to use the first Dance in the past was because its simplified version was just barely at the level of an Earth Grade technique, but even then he could only use a single strike. It was part of the reason he rarely brought it out.


    Luckily, Ryu was now able to supplement his strength with atmospheric qi, so it was much easier. But, since he hadn''t deployed his Small Realm and only relied on Ethereal Tapestry, the results weren''t as exaggerated as he had hoped.


    It seemed that if he wanted to use [White Serpent''s Dance]''s second Dance, he would definitely have to use his status as a Monarch.


    This wasn''t too surprising, though. All Heaven Grade techniques and above relied on the use of atmospheric qi. This made sense, after all, the Heaven Grade was the dividing line for the Immortal Realms. Only Immortal Ring experts and above could use such a level of technique.


    But, after becoming a Monarch, Ryu didn''t have to worry about these restrictions too much. He could be a bit more liberal when choosing his techniques. Well, partially, anyway. He would still definitely need techniques he could use without using his Monarch Small Realm. If he had to activate it every time he wanted to use a technique, he would drain himself completely.


    Ryu took a deep breath.


    ''Use your ice flames. Your body is running too hot right now.'' Ailsa softly advised.


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile when he heard her sweet voice, a reaction that partially caught him off guard. It seemed this woman had her hooks in him completely.


    Ailsa giggled. ''As long as you know.''


    Ryu listened to Ailsa''s advice and dispelled his Spirit Body and Rage Flames. A blue flame appeared, dancing around his body and rapidly causing the temperatures to plummet.


    Ryu took a look back toward Giveon. He seemed to still be battling, but it only took a look for Ryu to tell that he was still holding back a considerable amount of strength. To anyone else, it would seem as though he was going all out, but Ryu''s eyes couldn''t be fooled.


    ''He''s reserving at least half of his strength.'' Ryu thought.


    Since that was the case, Ryu ignored Giveon and the others and turned to walk to the shrine. The sooner the item was secured, the easier all of this would be.


    ''Hm?'' Ryu''s steps paused, realizing that items had begun to manifest above the head of the chief Mountain Barbarians he had killed.


    He had almost forgotten that this wasn''t real and the barbarians he had fought were supposedly just a fake race of people the creator of this world had placed here.


    This had also happened when Ryu killed the Rainbow Scaled Eagle. But, that had happened months ago so it wasn''t the foremost matter on Ryu''s mind.


    Though there were four chiefs Ryu had taken down, there were only two items. One was a stone with odd runic patterns that Ryu couldn''t understand at first glance. The second was a transparent ball with odd translucent runes floating within it.


    This second item, Ryu did recognize. Though he had never seen it personally, he had had it described to him by Amie of the Violet Olive Team. It was the item that could force an item out of someone''s inventory. Some called it the Inventory Hack.


    ''This could be useful at some point¡­'' Ryu kept the Inventory Hack for himself and began to roll the other item between his fingers. ''¡­ These runes¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Interesting.''


    Ryu placed the item within his Inventory as well and shot into the shrine.


    The place was just as shabby as the outside. The inside design was perfectly reflective of what Ryu had seen before coming in. He could see the divisions in the slabs of rock slapped atop of one another with just a sweep of the gaze.


    Still, the shrine was larger than Ryu had been expecting. But then again, if he adjusted it for the massive size of the chiefs, it made sense. Maybe in their eyes, this place was still too small.


    What Ryu found on the altar made his brows arch. A half dead female writhed on display.


    Ryu was surprised to find that she wasn''t a barbarian. The women of the Mountain Barbarians were just as burl as the men, having none of the softness of a woman. Even their breasts might as well have been literal piles of rock.


    This woman, though, was very different. Though her looks weren''t anything amazing, she at least looked like a woman. Well¡­ As womanly as she could look with her intestines hanging out like that and her heart being opened to the air.


    The woman seemed to sense Ryu''s arrival. She weakly looked over, a hint of fear on her face.


    When she realized that Ryu wasn''t a barbarian, her fear gave way to a pleading look.


    Ryu sighed lightly and flicked a finger.


    Esme shot forward, piercing a dagger right through the young woman''s forehead. The woman''s last expression was one of having a final relief. Even in that state, she smiled.


    ''Even an Immortal shouldn''t have such vitality¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes were sharp. In that moment, he realized that was killed the young woman wasn''t the dagger to the forehead, but rather the Spiritual Qi that severed her soul.


    Ryu had sent Esme forward because he didn''t want to harm the young woman''s soul. With the help of the daggers, he could kill in this world without harming the soul of the person on the other side. Likewise¡­ He could also choose to harm their soul even more than usual as long as he could get Esme to land the final blow.


    This was all to say that had it not been for the unique nature of Esme''s daggers, that young woman would have actually survived.


    ''¡­ How curious¡­''

 Chapter 436 - Hundreds

    [Sorry Guys, I had planned to write two chapters today, but I completely forgot that it was my sister''s birthday T-T ]


    Ryu walked around the altar, the state of the woman''s corpse not fazing him in the slightest. She might as well have not been there at all.


    Even with the recent rise in Ryu''s libido, it was impossible for him to be attracted to a corpse with its chest cavity spread open like that, right? Ryu didn''t have the mind to care at all.


    The longer Ryu spent circulating the altar, the brighter his eyes glowed.


    ''So it''s like this¡­''


    Ryu took out the rock he couldn''t quite comprehend before, mixing and matching the Runes he saw to the symbols that surrounded the altar and the young woman''s corpse. It amounted to just half a minute of time, but within those instances, Ryu felt as though his mind had traveled around the world and back.


    Along with the increased ability of his Pupils, it seemed that his mind had gained a boost to its thinking speed as well. Ryu almost felt that the Origin Flame was no longer enough to keep up with him and his thoughts.


    But this only made sense¡­ Ultimately, Ryu had fused with an incomplete Origin Flame. If it was a complete one, how could his weapon''s Inheritance have surpassed his fire Inheritance?


    On one hand, the only reason Ryu''s Ice Flame, Rage Flame and Rebirth Flame had all been able to enter the Rule Realm so quickly is because Ryu had the Origin Flame. But, it was simultaneously because of the limitation of Ryu''s Origin Flame that they hadn''t shown any progress since then even with the evolution of Ryu''s Pupils.


    This was the way of the world. There was always give and take when it came to these matters.


    This aside, Ryu felt that he was finally beginning to understand the rituals of the Mountain Barbarians. Beyond that, even this Rune etched rock in his hand was displaying some of its specialness as well.


    In the mortal world, a human was considered dead once their brain activity ceased to be. At least, this was the strictest definition that mortal could rely upon.


    There were no shortage of people who might be brain dead while their heart continued to beat. However, these people would still be considered dead while their beating hearts were no different from the final drizzle of a waning storm.


    Likewise, there were many instances of people with brain activity with a body that had shut down. In those cases, it was still possible for them to be revived or, more accurately, resuscitated.


    Still, these were just the matters of the mortal world, theories and explanations given by those who had no understanding of the real world and didn''t know the faintest thing about cultivation.


    Death to a cultivator was clear cut: the dispersal of the soul. It was that simple. But, the paths toward this were numerous, and this was especially so after the Soul Birth Realm.


    Before the Soul Birth Realm, it was impossible for a soul to exist without a body. The moment the body shut down and the brain ceased to function, so would the soul disperse.


    After the Soul Birth Realm, though, an Immortal Cultivator gained some resistance to their soul''s dispersal. It was possible to fight back and even strong arm one''s soul into staying put ¨C depending on one''s level of talent and achievement level in the Mental Realm ¨C and keeping oneself alive for a period of time until the body could be restored.


    The more powerful one''s soul, the easier it was to accomplish this and the more horrid kind of damage one could survive through.


    The most extreme examples of this were the Lich, a special branch of Necromancy which fell under the Refinement Necromancer category. Except this time, rather than refining other corpses, one would refine oneself into a corpse puppet to be manipulated.


    Most couldn''t reach this level, though. Even Lich Necromancers had at least one living part of their body they had no choice but to attach their soul to. The only exceptions were Liches capable of finding extraordinarily rare treasures that could preserve the soul without the body.


    But¡­ As one could see from the weakening of the Zu Clan Ancestors, this method wouldn''t last forever. They had already been greatly weakened from their peak states.


    What exactly was the point of all this?


    It was to put into perspective just how pleasantly surprised Ryu was to find an altar of Runes that seemed capable of stopping the soul from dispersing under even more strenuous circumstances like¡­


    Being eaten alive.


    ''I didn''t think I''d actually find something so comprehensive. I thought that at best, they''d know which organs to avoid to slow the process down as best as possible. But, to think that their method would be so sophisticated. Is this really a fake civilization?''


    Ryu had a hard time believing this. He guessed that it might still be possible, but did the creator of this dream world really put so much thought into this matter rather than just copying? Or was it that Ryu was still underestimating Sky Gods?


    Ryu didn''t have a propensity to look up toward anyone or anything. To others, the Sky God Realm was a Realm the likes of which countless individuals, even geniuses, revered. But to him, it was just another Realm he would eventually enter¡­ No, one he would enter for the sake of saving his family.


    However, this mentality also made it a bit difficult for him to put matters into perspective. He couldn''t quite decide¡­


    Ryu shook his head. ''It doesn''t matter if they''re real or not, what does matter is that these Runes should theoretically be effective outside of Osiris as well. Like this, it will be much easier to deal with corpse Refinement.''


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly sharpened.


    With calm movements, he turned toward Esme.


    Ryu''s eye throbbed slightly, causing a whirlpool of Space Qi to form around Esme. In the blink of an eye, she vanished.


    It had been a long time since Ryu used this ability of Heavenly Pupils wielders. Compared to the past, he could accept much larger objects with hardly any effort into his Pupil''s inner world. He previously had to rely on Ailsa to achieve this, but now it wasn''t a problem at all.


    Ryu wasn''t intent on exposing the fact he had Heavenly Pupils. But, if he used this ability cleverly, he would both be able to keep this secret and catch an enemy off guard.


    Ryu circled around the altar one more time and snatched a tome open on the podium behind it. After placing it into this Inventory, he walked out with light steps.


    By now, Giveon was standing above three Mountain Barbarian corpses, his breathing somewhat heavy. But, Ryu could tell that this was still an act.


    "You got it?"


    Ryu nodded. "No issues."


    As they had agreed upon before, Ryu kept the item and didn''t try to hand it over. If all their other plans fell through, it would be Ryu''s task to run back to the city and hand in their quota. While everyone would think that Giveon as the Leader would have it, Ryu might have an easier time slipping through.


    Giveon weighed what looked like a heart with eight chambers in his hand. It was the size of his head and had a shell of rock around it. Even now, it continued to beat, spreading out the scales of rock and revealing the flesh beneath. It was quite an odd sight to behold.


    Ryu caught the heart without a word and placed it into his Inventory as well. These two items were their mission. With them in Ryu''s hands, he considered these matters as good as over.


    Their enemies weren''t even aware of what they needed to fulfill their quota. For all they knew, even if they saw Ryu with the heart, they might assume it was just like the other rewards Ryu casually picked up. This was why the two didn''t bother to conceal their actions in the slightest.


    Both Giveon and Ryu looked into the distance, watching as several unknown individuals began to make their presence known. It felt as though every cave entrance was barred by at least three individuals, looking down toward the half burned down city with hints of subterfuge in their eyes.


    Ryu immediately senses a heated gaze on him, causing him to curiously turn in that direction only to find Grinder staring at him like a cornered animal.


    The former powerful individual of the Deep Valley Team gripped at the opening of the tunnel, his grip so strong that the edges cracked and folded, fusing with the blood from his fingernails.


    The rest of the Violet Olive Team continued to fight the lingering members of the Mountain Barbarians, still fulfilling their task to keep them away from Giveon and Ryu. But by now, their expressions were truly unsightly to behold.


    They knew a lot about the Deep Valley Team, more than enough to know that their numbers should only total around 40 to 50. This was about the same for every Team under the Alliance, none was too big.


    So where had these few hundred individuals come from?

 Chapter 437 - Heaven And Earth Gate (1)

    Ryu cracked his neck slightly, his Great Swordstaffs just barely resting on the ground. He didn''t seem very affected by the number of people slowly surrounding them. In fact, he could feel a faint boiling in his veins, an excitement that was bubbling forth.


    It seemed that his libido wasn''t the only thing affected by his strengthening Bloodlines.


    Of course, this nonchalance was in part due to the fact that Ryu wasn''t aware of the number of members a usual Team should have. He never really asked about those things. If it wasn''t for the fact that Ryu''s gaze could see the different emblems of different teams, he wouldn''t have even known that they were being targeted by many in the first place.


    However, to Ryu, it was all the same. In fact, the more difficult it was, the better.


    Ryu only had one goal in life right now, and that was to grow stronger. He had already been putting himself in the most difficult situations to get out of for years now, and he didn''t plan on stopping.


    If he thought about it, compared to the usual risks Ryu took, this was nothing. Even if he died here, he wouldn''t truly die. At worst, his soul would take a massive hit, and that was only if he didn''t get the chance to kill himself with his own daggers first.


    Of course, Ryu had no intention of taking his own life. If he did so, he would lose his daggers to whoever was nearest his corpse. He had yet to unearth the secrets of this Unique Grade treasure, so how could he stand to lose it now?


    At that moment, while Ryu was itching to battle, a young man stepped forward and into the air. He hovered above the city, his gaze expressionless as he looked downward.


    "Hand over the Sealing Orbs and we can consider this matter settled."


    Hearing such words, the members of Violet Olive were stunned.


    The Sealing Orbs?


    Their gazes couldn''t help but drift to Ryu. Those orbs, they knew about them. After all, they had originally been theirs until that bastard betrayed them and took them away.


    Since then, the orbs had been in the hands of Deep Valley.. Until, that is, Ryu snatched them for himself. Obviously, then, the Sealing Orbs were on Ryu.


    But the weird part was¡­ What were they being asked for? Weren''t they here to disrupt their mission? What was going on?


    Let alone them, even the members of Deep Valley seem to have been caught off guard, especially Grinder. He had been certain that they were here for revenge. If not, why would he speak all that nonsense about how much easier it would have been to end all of this had they taken a different approach?


    Of course, his ideas were ridiculous and wouldn''t have worked, but that didn''t change the core of the matter. So why was everything he had been gearing up for being spun on its head?


    Ryu raised a brow when he heard these words, but that was about all. He didn''t really care why they were here to battle. Even if the Violet Olive Team turned on him, he still wouldn''t particularly care. This would only make things more interesting.


    To Ryu, this Team was only a means to an end. If it came down to it, he really wouldn''t mind killing them all and entering that so-called Event alone. As the official Vice Leader of the Team, appointed by Giveon, he would immediately be promoted to Leader the moment the latter died. At that point, using the Violet Olive Team name to enter the Event would be as easy as breathing.


    Giveon''s eyes narrowed.


    This man¡­ Why didn''t he recognize him? To make matters worse, he seemed to be the leader here. Could he be the Team Leader of Deep Valley? Why was he such a mysterious existence, then? Something about this situation was putting him ill at ease.


    "Ryu?" Giveon asked tentatively.


    Ryu only shook his head. He had no intention of giving up those Sealing Orbs. They had helped him vastly improve his understanding and control over his meridians. And, even if they weren''t so useful to him¡­


    The things that were his, Ryu Tatsuya''s, couldn''t be so easily taken by another. They would most definitely have to taste his blade first.


    The other members of Violet Olive grew jittery seeing Ryu''s reaction, a slight hushed panic setting in. They backed away from their battles with the mountain barbarians, slowly detaching to the point the true residents of this place found themselves in a no man''s land between two enemies. At this point, even the ''evil'' Mountain Barbarians had no idea what they should be doing.


    The young man expressionlessly looked on from above. Ryu only gave him a cursory glance before he swept his eyes over everyone else.


    [Third Perspective]''s range had massively increased. Even seeing a several tens of kilometers radius in perfect detail wasn''t impossible in the slightest. It practically made Leonel''s Spiritual Sense useless.


    Not only was everything far more blurry with his Spiritual Sense, but it also took up far more of his stamina. As for [Third Perspective], it weighed no more heavily on Ryu than if he was just using his eyes regularly


    On top of that¡­ Nothing could hide from [Third Perspective]. And that was exactly why Ryu''s Pupils constricted.


    ''3rd Path Extinction Realm. Two of them.''


    One hovered in the sky above Ryu, and the other nonchalantly stood among the crowd as though he was just another warrior amongst the crowd.


    ''Not only that, but Heaven Grade Immortal Rings as a foundation¡­''


    Ryu knew that in his present state, defeating such existences, even if he activated his Monarch Small Realm, would be nearly impossible. Let alone dealing with all the others simultaneously.


    Somehow, though, despite coming to this conclusion, Ryu''s aura seemed to continuously grow.


    His pupils constricted, red lines beginning to form in his irises. The throbbing of his eyes grew more and more feverish.


    ''It seems I finally get to use it.''


    Ryu''s chest expanded, his muscles bulging.


    ''Heaven and Earth Gate.. Gate of Earth, Open.''

 Chapter 438 - Heaven And Earth Gate (2)

    Ryu''s hair began to wildly flutter about. At that moment, regardless of who it was that was present, they were able to feel the shift in the air. It was as though a behemoth was bearing down on them, ready to squash their ant-like existences to nothing.


    Before Ryu, a towering gate had appeared. But, he seemed to be the only one the could see it.


    It rose into the skies, its frame so large that it even seemed intent on smashing the entirety of the mountain range to dust.


    Ryu''s eyes became redder and redder as more threads of crimson accumulated within his irises. They swam about as though they had a life of their own, making it seem as though streams of ruby were swimming about in Ryu''s silver eyes.


    The Immortal Realms were where the true strength of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils began to manifest itself. Heaven and Earth Gate was the first ability Ryu had unlocked as a result.


    Up to now, the abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils had been purely supplementary.


    [Third Perspective] was a buffed Spiritual Sense. [Insight] was a branch ability from [Third Perspective] that gave Ryu some predictive abilities in battle, it was a large part of the reason his combat prowess was so great. [Focus] allowed Ryu to enter states of meditation with ease. [Lines of Fate] allowed Ryu to copy techniques that he had a strong Fate link to, and it also allowed him to assign probabilities during battle, thus making it a stronger version of [Insight]. This didn''t even mention Ryu''s passive ability to view Fate Stars when he so pleased, or the passive boost to his comprehension abilities¡­


    The first ability that Ryu unlocked that could somewhat aid his battle prowess was [Ethereal Tapestry]. It allowed him to view the qi of the world in all sorts of swirling colors, thus increasing his affinity with using and controlling them. By proxy, this also gave him the ability to control atmospheric qi ahead of time.


    But, the irony of this was that¡­ This was a mutated ability. Thanks to the synergy between Ryu''s Pupils and Ice Jade Crystal Body, this new ability was birthed, having never appeared before.


    If one knew all of this, it wouldn''t be a surprise if one thought that the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were just an auxiliary accessory, helping one to supplement cultivation speed. It would be hard to blame someone for coming to this conclusion.


    But¡­ Ryu knew better. And the fact he did was exactly the reason why he wasn''t jealous of Sarrieth''s abilities in the slightest. In fact, even if he could choose to swap his own eyes for Sarrieth''s right now, he would never do so.


    Ryu''s aura continued to grow as he stepped toward the massive gates only he could see. The ancient depictions of wars and massacre on their outline made his heart palpitate, his blood boiling with anticipation.


    The city beneath the gates were flattened under the aura of the Gate as though a Deity was descending. But, from the outside perspective of everyone else, it looked like Ryu was so powerful that a single step of his laid waste to a city.


    The members of Violet Olive found themselves looking on in shock. The truth was that many of them had indeed wanted to turn on Ryu.


    They knew that it would be foolish. After all, who knew if this mysterious man, Izril, was even telling the truth? For all they knew, he would turn on them the moment they lost one of their best trump cards. Since they knew they had such a treasure yet still dared to ask for it, they most definitely had a counter measure to deal with it. That said... humans often did foolish things when ruled by their fear.


    But seeing how powerful Ryu was, they suddenly snapped awake. Even if they wanted to force him to hand it over¡­ Could they?


    BANG!


    Ryu took another heavy step forward. With just one more, he would cross the threshold of Earth''s Gate.


    The Heaven and Earth Gate. It was hard to say if it was the most powerful ability of Ryu''s Pupils. There were simply too many to choose from. However, what Ryu could say was that it was most definitely top five.


    This ability was split into two Gates, both of which had to be crossed to be activated. But, the oppressive aura around the Gates almost guaranteed that no one would be able to stop Ryu from completing those steps.


    What did the ability do?


    It tapped into the strings of Karma and bent them to the will of the user, giving them strength they could never imagine.


    The Heaven and Earth Gates allowed Ryu to strengthen himself by a factor of years, bringing himself to a later state of being. It allowed Ryu to age himself without suffering the adverse effects of this age.


    The Heaven Gate was a total improvement. If Ryu wanted to strengthen himself by 100 years of training, he would step through the Heaven Gate and immediately acquire the strength he would have 100 years from now for a short duration of time.


    The Earth Gate was a focused improvement. Ryu could focus on his qi control, his qi quantity, his body''s strength, or even his techniques. By choosing one, he could age his experience in that path the instant he crossed the Gates.


    However, as great as this was, what happened after the Gates closed is what made this ability so powerful. In the end, tidbits of information would linger on in the user''s mind, thus allowing them to improve toward their future self even faster than before.


    What did this mean? It meant that every time Heaven and Earth Gate was used, the results would technically stack, allowing the same aged time to be worth more while also speeding up training.


    And¡­ If this ability was synergized with the Origin Flame¡­


    ''What should I choose?'' Ryu asked Ailsa.


    Ailsa''s gaze flickered for a moment before she made a decision.


    ''Choose Great Swordstaff techniques.''


    ''Are you sure?'' Ryu asked. ''I can only improve myself by one year after unlocking the ninth seal. I''ll need to unlock more to age myself by more.''


    Ailsa smiled. ''Since when was one year a small time for my Little Ryu?''


    Ailsa had another reason for making this decision. After watching Ryu''s battle, she immediately knew how best to improve him.


    Ryu''s body flexed, his expressionless gaze looking up and meeting Izril''s whose brow was now furrowed. It seemed that the happenings were out of Izril''s expectations.


    With that, Ryu crossed the final barrier.


    BANG!


    A flood of information tunneled through Ryu''s mind. In the blink of an eye, he felt as though he had dedicated the last year to nothing but training his Great Swordstaff. As though a reclusive monk, it was all he had known.


    Ryu eyes began to bleed as the qi around him grew more and more wild.


    At that moment, two streams of energy erupted around Ryu.

 Chapter 439 - Change

    Ryu roared into the skies. His left half erupting with a torrent of blue flames, his right rising with a tempest of red fires.


    Looking up into the skies, Ryu''s figure flickering with beautiful blue scales once again, fading into and out of existence but never truly holding on.


    "Didn''t you want my things?" Ryu''s voice seemed to have grown several octaves deeper. "Come and get them."


    Ryu raised his right arm, a swirling dome of qi appearing around him.


    ''Small Realm.''


    On the surface, the implementation of Small Realm looked no different from Impose. However, this couldn''t have been further from the truth.


    It felt as though all the qi in Ryu''s surroundings had been placed in the palm of his hand. Whereas Impose could restrict the qi and battle prowess of a foe, Small Realm had the ability to not only do this to a far greater extent, but it was also capable of giving Ryu control over this land as well.


    At that moment, Ryu finally felt what it was like to be a true Immortal Ring expert. Rather than being restricted to a mere one meter radius, he could touch upon all the qi in more than a hundred.


    Even though he could feel his Focus Qi rapidly dwindling, Ryu had never felt more powerful in his life. It felt as though he was gazing upon the world from on high.


    [Author''s Note: Mistakes were made. I''ve been calling Ephemeral Tapestry ''Ethereal Tapestry'' for a while now. Oops. I''m going back to Ephemeral now.]


    At that moment, within Ryu''s real body back in the Moonlight Blossom Sect, bloody tears fell from his eyes as well. However, this wasn''t the matter that was of note.


    Within his Pupil''s inner world, one could find an expanse of grey. Compared to the past, Ryu''s inner world was much larger than it had been, now stretching out more than a kilometer in every direction.


    Within this world, there were only a few things. In fact, there were only ever a few things that found their way into this place in the first place.


    The first was a crystalline jade, sitting neatly in a corner. The second was Ryu''s cloak, tidily folded and prepared for use at any time. The third were Ryu''s Clan emblems, patiently waiting for the day he could use them again. And, the fourth, was an unassuming prayer mat.


    Ryu didn''t know much about this prayer mat, but what he did know was that it was special. For it to be able to block out the energies of an entire large world without imploding, it most definitely was.


    All Ryu could manage to learn about it was the fact it helped him recover his Focus Qi, something that should have been impossible without rest. However, by this point, Ryu had almost forgotten about it. It passively helped him all the time, silently sitting within his Inner World without a care.


    But at that moment, it seemed moved. A strong ancient energy rooted itself deeply, vibrating with a keen resonance.


    ¡­


    Ryu exploded forward, appearing before Izril in the blink of an eye, his Great Swordstaff still raised.


    Izril''s gaze narrowed, his thin sword appearing in his hand instantaneously. For an unassuming observer, it felt as though it had always been in his hand, as though it had never left.


    Ryu''s arm descended, his gaze pulsing with crimson streams. The streaks of red drizzled down his cheeks, giving his handsome features a demonic character the likes of could send shivers down one''s spine.


    BANG!


    Izril''s eye twitched, his arm flexing hard against Ryu''s strike.


    They paused for a moment in the air before Izril found himself careening toward the ground.


    The Team Leader landed heavily, a massive crater of earth surging around him. The impact was so great that his feet dug into the ground, not stopping even after his knees were buried deep.


    However, this didn''t change the fact that Izril landed feet first. Looking up into the skies, his eyes narrowed.


    "Everyone. Attack." He said expressionlessly.


    He had hardly said the words before Ryu appeared before him.


    In truth, Ryu could control this battlefield with much more ease. If he activated [Immortal Sakura] he could simultaneously protect and support everyone. If he synergized this with his Small Realm to absorb qi and [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] to turn that qi into Spiritual Qi, then he might even be able to sustain the third tier of [Immortal Sakura] right this moment.


    But, Ryu couldn''t do that.


    He had come here not only to push himself to his limits, but also to find out if this Immortal Sakura Alliance was related to the Zu Clan or not.


    If it was related to the Zu Clan, wouldn''t he be exposing himself by using [Immortal Sakura]? If these people knew enough to use such a namesake, they most definitely knew enough to recognize the technique. Ryu wouldn''t expose himself in such a way unless he absolutely had to or if he had gathered all the information he needed.


    As for the rage of the Zu Clan¡­? Who cared about that?


    This time, Izril was more ready for Ryu''s strike. With a long step, he ripped his leg out from the ground with absolute ease, parrying Ryu''s strike and snaking his sword toward the latter''s throat.


    However, Ryu''s blue flame infused blade was already prepared, blocking Izril even as his right arm recovered, swinging down with even more force.


    One side carried the perfect defense, freezing all attempts at a forward press. The other carried the perfect offense, explosive, swift and relentless.


    This was the product of Ryu''s year of ''training'', a comprehension that sunk to the deepest depths of his soul.


    ''[Heavenly Flow].'' Ryu touched upon this ability again. ''[Yin Yang Dominance].''


    BANG!


    An illusory array appeared all around Ryu. It could only be felt, but not seen. Yet, at that moment, it felt as though the whole world had shifted.


    [Yin Yang Dominance] was just the first step of [Heavenly Flow], one that Ryu thought he had mastered long ago. But right now, it felt as though it was an all new ability, an all new technique that superseded all others Ryu had learned.


    Izril''s expression changed for the first time.

 Chapter 440 - Lotus

    BANG!


    Izril barely blocked, his gaze crossing their connected blades to give Ryu a serious look. He found it hard to believe that someone within the Connecting Heaven Realm could bring forward such strength.


    It wasn''t just the power behind his attack, but also the placement and timing. It seemed that he could always strike just before he reached the peak of gathering his strength, stopping him from displaying his full might. To make matters worse, it somehow also felt that his defenses were impenetrable at the same time.


    If Ryu knew that Izril had come to such a conclusion from two strikes, he''d be quite surprised. Not to the point of being overly shocked, but more so just a simple eyebrow raise.


    Izril didn''t look very special. Other than having the handsome air one would expect from a Path Extinction Realm expert, he was normal in every other way. He used neutral qi, he was a normal human, and even used the most common weapon amongst cultivators, the sword.


    It was almost as though he was trying his best not to stand out. Yet, it was this same man who also stepped into the air to demand Ryu hand over his things.


    The dichotomy was quite interesting.


    If this man was really the leader of Deep Valley, how was it that he allowed them to continuously target Violet Olive? A man with such a disposition didn''t seem like one who would go out of his way to lower the standing of those around him. It was more likely that he would simply focus on improving himself.


    It took Ryu only a look to see through all this. It almost felt as though his Pupils allowed him the ability to see through the core of people now, or maybe¡­ He was simply more sensitive to such things after opening the Earth Gate.


    At that moment, a battle erupted on the city floor. Or, rather what remained of it. The members of the Violet Olive Team were almost instantly overwhelmed despite the fact it seemed that the second 3rd Path Extinction Realm expert still hadn''t displayed his true strength.


    Curiously enough though¡­ Giveon was also still holding back.


    Ryu could feel that something was wrong. His intuition told him that Giveon was on his side, but there must be some underlying secret here. In fact, whatever this secret was might very well be related to Izril as well.


    ''Well, in that case¡­''


    Ryu''s aura continued to blaze, his arm flexing as he continued to press down toward Izril.


    BANG!


    Izril found his back pressed flush against the ground. Ryu stood over him, his strength continuously becoming stronger. It seemed that he wouldn''t be satisfied until he ran the Deep Valley Team leader through completely.


    It felt as though the whole would had come to a grinding halt.


    Was this what should happen when a man who had stayed hidden for so long finally made his appearance?


    But what exactly was normal about a man suddenly gaining a year of training while barely raising a finger?


    A year to an Immortal was nothing more than the blink of an eye. A year to Ryu might as well have been an entire lifetime.


    His left hand held the ultimate defense. His right held the ultimate offense.


    "¡­ You''re quite powerful¡­" Izril said, Ryu''s blade still bearing down on him from above. "¡­ Seems I''ve underestimated you."


    Izril''s strength bloomed. He might have been struggling to the point of being unable to move, but wasn''t this perfect? It made it much easier for him to summon his Immortal Rings.


    "Blossom Forth." Izril said softly.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    It seems he had finally found one. A person who stepped on the path of the true Immortal Ring Realm.


    Energy bloomed around Izril, a strong, pulsing Immortal Ring appearing to his block. But as opposed to what Ryu was used to, this Immortal Ring began to morph, becoming a blooming flower that slowly opened its petals to the world.


    Izril slowly pushed back against Ryu, his strength blooming to new levels.


    Without even waiting for the war of strength to conclude, Ryu agilely leapt backward, his steps light and unhurried as his Northern Heavenly Wind wrapped around him, boosting his speed further.


    He had focused his Earth Gate on his sword technique, not his strength. Him overpowering Izril was only a product of him forcing the latter to lose his leverage. But, with this boost, it was no longer useful. It would be easier for Ryu to take a step back.


    The true Immortal Ring Realm¡­ The reality was that the Immortal Ring Realm was the Realm with the most deviations. It was analogous to the Awakening Realm of the Mortal Realm, but to the Immortal Realms. As such, it laid the foundation for one''s path going forward in said Immortal Realms.


    The most common path of the Immortal Ring Realm was the formation of a single ring. This Ring would grow along with every step you took.


    However, this was just one of the many. Those that chose a different path, often unique to their cultivation methods, often called this path the ''true'' path, despite the fact this path was just one among a countless number of others.


    Izril was clearly one of these individuals. His Immortal Ring took a complex form, blooming into a lotus.


    Rather than carrying the normal plain white color of most Immortal Rings, this lotus carried gorgeous patterns of blue.


    Ryu wasn''t incorrect when he said that Izril had formed Heaven Grade Rings¡­ The issue with his assessment, though, was that this unique Immortal Ring actually made his so-called Heaven Grade Ring comparable to some weaker Sovereign Grade ones. This meant that Ryu''s estimation of his strength wasn''t off by just a small factor.


    Ryu gripped his Great Swordstaffs, his heart pumping with excitement. This was it. Finally a worthy opponent after so long.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot forward, his Great Swordstaff meeting with Izril''s sword in a flurry of clashes. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged hundreds of moves, Izril''s movements swift and crafty, Ryu''s being balanced and steadfast.


    Izril narrowed his eyes.. "[Lotus Style: Sweeping Petal Stance]."

 Chapter 441 - Lines Of Fate (1)

    Izril''s Immortal Ring grew a fold in size, its blossoming petals spreading outward and even releasing a fragrant scent that seemed intent on competing with Ryu''s own Ice Jade Crystal Body.


    In that instant, Izril''s strikes became fiercer and swifter. His light and thin sword seemed to become a reaper''s scythe, snaking toward Ryu''s most vital points.


    Ryu''s Pupils constricted further, the winding crimson veins around his eyes bulging.


    ''[Lines of Fate].''


    The world became and endless bundle of strings. However, right in the center, a large mass of blue formed Izril and his Immortal Ring.


    Stacking two of his most stamina intensive abilities back to back was most definitely weighing heavily on Ryu. But, he found that the drain on his Focus Qi was much less than it had been in the past. For whatever reason, it seemed like the Prayer Mat was making its presence felt.


    Ryu''s attacks instantly grew more skilled and measured, the swiftness of Izril''s attacks appearing like crawling ants in his eyes.


    As Ryu sank deeper and deeper into the dichotomy of Yin and Yang, his attacks seemed to grow more enigmatic. His mind saw several steps ahead, his left blocking the path for strikes yet to come and his right attacking to counter what had.


    Ryu took a strong step forward, his gaze expressionless and his momentum growing. His predictions became more accurate and stifling, his every strike leaving Izril unable to display his full might.


    Ailsa narrowed her gaze. ''[Lines of Fate] is working even better than it should, and it''s most definitely not just due to Little Ryu''s evolution¡­''


    The radius of effect their battle had continued to explosively grow. Harsh winds, flying bits of earth, turbid swirls of qi all shot in every which direction, forcing their immediate surroundings into a state of emptiness.


    The members of Violet Olive found themselves struggling. But, as though Ryu''s performance was a beacon, they began to push back.


    Within the crowd of individuals, the second Path Extinction Realm expert remained hidden, not knowing that Ryu had long since found him. But at that moment, he was in a dilemma.


    He had already thought that it was unnecessary for the both of them to come like this, but had agreed due to the payment provided and the mystery surrounding Izril. Who wouldn''t be curious to get to know this man?


    As of now, Izril most definitely hadn''t disappointed. To think that the leader of the mere seventh ranked Team would actually have such deep cultivation. Usually, only top three teams like his own would have such strength on hand. It made him all the more curious about who this Izril individual was and what his reason for keeping such a low profile was.


    Now that he thought about it, Giveon was another mysterious character. But, unlike Izril, he couldn''t put his finger on exactly why he was so curious.


    ''Should I support?''


    The man found that Izril was getting pushed back again and again. Even after activating his techniques and combining them with his Immortal Ring, he was getting outclassed. The shocking part was that he was losing not in strength, but in terms of technique.


    If he didn''t know better, he would think that this Ryu could see the future, leaving Izril at a loss for how to counter.


    Just as the man made the decision to go and support Izril so that they could end this farce, Izril sent a quick glance in his direction. Though he didn''t say anything, the message was clear. Don''t interfere.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu''s palms spun his Great Swordstaffs, conveniently sliding his hands down to the very ends of their polearms.


    His reach extended, the pressure on his wrists growing heavier and heavier with every strike.


    He abused his advantage, his Rage Flames billowing out with rampaging heat.


    At the same time, Ryu''s Ice Flames became like an impenetrable fortress. Every time Izril cross blades with his left, it felt as though he had sunk into an endless quagmire. His qi froze, his muscles tensed, even his attacks seemed to be instantly coated by a layer of frost, freezing his techniques in their tracks.


    Izril had never fought such a perfect combination of offense and defense before. Dual wielders were just too rare, and even those who chose this path were usually weaker with one half in comparison to the other. But, Ryu seemed to have reached a perfect state.


    Finally, Ryu could display the true strength of dual wielders. His heart pumped, his blood boiling.


    To his back, there was a canopy of blue to one side and an array of red to the other. Where they clashed in the middle, faint hues of gorgeous purple light radiated, almost forming a halo around Ryu.


    "It''s finished." Ryu said coldly.


    He took another strong step forward. His left blade cut a straight path forward, executing a perfect [Pierce].


    Izril''s pupils constricted. He felt as though he had been cornered on a chess board, his every move leading to checkmate.


    However, unlike in a game of chess, Ryu had no need to wait for Izril''s turn to expire.


    Izril twirled his blade, holding its flat up against his chest.


    His still was immaculate. Even with how this his blade was, he was still able to block Ryu''s blade of raging blue flames with its spine.


    Unfortunately, though, his wrists weren''t as powerful nor as flexible as Ryu''s. Blocking at such an awkward angle, with his elbow flared upward and his wrist bearing most of the pressure, he instantly heard the sound of a sickening crack the moment the blades drew contact.


    Ryu followed up immediately as though he couldn''t sense Izril wincing.


    A cyclone of crimson flames rose from Ryu''s right blade, making the already nearly three meter long weapon feel as though it had doubled in size.


    Izril''s expression flickered, the pain in his wrist not being enough to make him lose his rationality.. He brought his free hand up into a hand sign, causing a surge of qi to swarm toward him.

 Chapter 442 - Lines Of Fate (2)

    A protective covering in the form of a transparent lotus with deep blue runes drawn over its delicate body appeared before Izril. But, Ryu''s blade struck down without mercy, sheering it apart in the blink of an eye.


    Izril''s body flew out like a broken kite, a deep slash crossing his torso in a diagonal line.


    The battle seemed to grow hushed.


    Ryu''s pupils pulsed, a fiery pain lighting his eyes. But, he continued to stare forward, his demeanor uncaring while his blood seemed to sing a completely different tune.


    How invigorating. How exhilarating. He wanted to roar into the skies, giving vent to his emotions.


    His first life, Ryu could only battle with his intellect and his words. But he was a man. He didn''t always want to rely on a duel of wits to assert his dominance. Sometimes, he just wanted to meet his blade with another''s, tearing down their will as they attempted to do the same to him.


    But at this moment, rationality was what stopped Ryu from basking in such an intoxicating feeling. As excited as this battle made him feel, it still ended far too easily, and that was the source of his current stoicism despite the happiness blooming on the faces of the Violet Olive Team members.


    One might think that Ryu''s worry stemmed from the fact the second Path Extinction Realm expert still hadn''t acted despite the fact Izril was in such a state. But, if one could believe it, this was only a miniscule part of the reason.


    For all Ryu knew, these two could have a grudge. Considering the inner struggle between teams that Ryu had already seen to this point, was it really so surprising?


    As a result, the non-interference was easy to explain away. What wasn''t easy to explain away, though¡­ Was how effective [Lines of Fate] had been against Izril.


    One had to remember that [Lines of Fate] wasn''t a simple copying or predictive technique. It worked by reading the Lines of Karma, allowing the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to read them and thus grasp hidden truths others couldn''t see.


    The core of the issue wasn''t in this explanation, but rather in a resultant of this explanation. Due to this, the more Fate Ryu had in connection to a person, the better [Lines of Fate] worked. This was why Leonel was able to perfectly copy [White Serpent''s Dance]. It was also the reason he was able to perfectly copy Edwin''s sacrificial technique as well.


    The Fate that tied to a former subordinate Clan of his as well as the Fate that tied him to the Apostles was too great. As such, it only took a few exchanges for Ryu to grasp their truths.


    The more ties of Karma Ryu had with a person, the easier it was to see through them and copy their techniques. Likewise, it also became easier to use the predictive capabilities of [Lines of Fate] to guess a person''s next attack and counter before they could use it.


    By now, the problem should be obvious. This was the first time Ryu was meeting Izril, yet there was apparently a strong enough Line of Fate to connect them that it took no more than ten minutes for Ryu to defeat him.


    It simply¡­ Didn''t make any sense.


    By the end of their battle, Ryu could see through Izril so thoroughly that he was thinking 10, 20, even 50 exchanges ahead.


    Izril coughed violently, but was completely unable to get up. Ryu''s slash was indeed quite sinister. Not only did it slice through his organs, but it even nicked his dantian.


    Of course, this was just a dream world so he wasn''t too worried about it. But it was plain and obvious that had Ryu wanted to kill him with that strike, he could have. Even Izril was surprised by this. He had thought that he would be able to maintain control of the situation until the very end, only to realize that Ryu was able to flip the tables on him anyway.


    It seemed that he had shot himself in the foot. Dealing with a leaking dantian would basically halve his combat prowess in Osiris. If he wanted to return to his previous peak he would need to find one of numerous rare treasures. Luckily, he had come prepared. But, now wasn''t quite the time¡­


    Izril''s expression flickered, his mouth sputtering with blood.


    "Who are you?" Ryu asked coldly.


    He stood not far from Izril, his blades pierced into the ground.


    Ryu''s breathing was heavy. But, at the very least, his body wasn''t overheating. He really wasn''t sure how much longer he could hold the Earth Gate open, but there was still another Path Extinction Realm expert here. However, it was these kind of situations he thrilled to be in. Only by pushing himself against a wall continuously could he eventually reach the level of strength he needed.


    The combination of Ryu''s Life and Rage Flames perfectly offset, leaving his body feeling comfortable. Unlike before, his mouth was no longer steaming over with sparking flames.


    Izril was slightly startled by Ryu''s question. But then he relaxed.


    He had thought that maybe Ryu wanted to torture him like he had with his other team member for the sake of squeezing out some treasures. But, it seemed that Ryu hadn''t killed him just yet because he already felt that something was wrong. Keen insight, indeed.


    However, Izril didn''t answer. Or rather, he didn''t need to answer.


    At that moment, a harmless necklace around his neck began to glow. Before Ryu could react, it shot a beam into the skies that tore through the ceiling of the mountain range and into the skies above.


    Ryu frowned, not knowing what was going on for a moment. He felt that it was another unique treasure that only worked in Osiris, or else with his expertise, how could he not recognize a treasure working right in front of him?


    And as expected, the result was also completely out of the norm.


    A massive hole was torn through the ceiling, spilling in sunlight from the skies above. It was then that two figures descended, seemingly having been waiting for a signal of some sort.


    Ryu frowned toward the sudden appearance of two young men he didn''t recognize at all. But, even more bafflingly, rather than coming with hostility, the faces of the two young men almost instantly lit up with joy the moment they laid eyes on Ryu.


    No, their eyes weren''t on Ryu at all.. Rather, they were entirely focused on the beauty on his shoulder.

 Chapter 443 - Auntie

    Ryu frowned. At first, he thought that the two who appeared were lusting after Ailsa.


    Despite being raised as the Tatsuya Clan''s scion, Ryu had dealt with love rivals before. It was just that none of them dared to try to blatantly snatch Elena away from him.


    Ryu had yet to have to deal with such things in this life, partly because usually no one could see Ailsa, and another part due to the fact that he was always getting into trouble for other reasons anyway. He almost didn''t have the time to get into any love rivalries.


    But, it took Ryu just a moment to dispel this idea completely. The gaze these two youths had wasn''t like lust at all. Rather, it seemed to be genuine happiness.


    Ryu''s expression flickered. From Ailsa''s mind, he knew that she didn''t recognize these two at all. But, if she didn''t recognize them, how could they recognize her? More importantly, why then did they seem so happy?


    ''You really don''t know them?'' Ryu asked despite knowing the answer.


    Ailsa slowly shook her head.


    Since she had entered Osiris using Ryu as a proxy, many of her abilities were useless in this place. Not only did she not have her usual combat prowess, but this also meant that her soul couldn''t display its true strength either. Because of this, Ailsa''s senses weren''t as sharp as they usually were. In fact, she might as well be a normal human. Or, rather, she would have been if she didn''t rely on Ryu.


    Thanks to their connection, Ailsa could easily use Ryu''s senses in place of her own. But, for obvious reasons, Ryu''s senses still weren''t as good as hers normally were.


    But, it was at that moment that she gasped.


    When Ryu read Ailsa''s thoughts, his pupils constricted. ''Cultus Faeries¡­?''


    Ryu didn''t believe that Ailsa would make a mistake in this regard. If she said so, then these two must be Cultus Faeries. But the question was¡­ Who were they?


    Ryu only needed a look to tell that they were only at the 3rd Stage of the Immortal Ring Realm. But, the pressure the emitted alone was easily beyond anything Izril had given him.


    The moment Ryu realized this, he understood that these two were definitely not low level members of the Cultus Clan. In fact, they might very well be members of the royal family much like Ailsa was. If this was the case, then recognizing Ailsa might very well make sense.


    As for Ailsa not recognizing them? They might be a few hundreds years older than Ryu if he combined the experiences of both his lifetimes, but even then, they were only a fraction of Ailsa''s age. It had been millions of years since Ailsa last set foot in her Clan, so how could she possibly recognize these juniors?


    All of this now pointed toward just a single question, the only question that was left¡­


    Why were they here?


    Ryu could tell that this wasn''t a coincidence. Maybe it would be quite lovely for Ailsa to suddenly run into family here and now, maybe they would even help them out of this ordeal. But, this would be nothing but wishful thinking.


    It was obvious that this was planned and it was obvious that they were related to Izril in some way. Had they come with kind intentions, why would they have their subordinate fight Ryu? It wouldn''t make any sense.


    "Auntie Ailsa! We finally found you!"


    Rollaith and Sanreth had been looking for almost a year now. They really hadn''t thought it would take so long, but who would have thought that a man with a Cultus Royal as a Life Partner would actually be on the lowest realms of Osiris? It was no wonder they took so long. If not for this mistake, they would have found them long ago.


    It wasn''t until recently that they found a description that could match Ryu, allowing them to come here. But, with how many worlds of Osiris there were and how many entered and left, it wasn''t much of a surprise that they had far more than just one lead.


    Without a choice, they could only spend their time grinding for the sake of handing out that precious teleportation necklace on Izril''s neck which acted as both his reward and the gate that led them here.


    The necklace was quite valuable on Osiris, allowing one to teleport to and from worlds and cross barriers that would otherwise take a special sequence to clear. However, it was useless in the outside world so the pair of nephews didn''t even care as they handed them out. The only thing they lamented was how much work it had taken to earn these necklaces.


    It was even more of a pain to actually activate the necklaces. When being used personally, it worked quite quickly. But, when teleporting someone or something from afar to you, it took several minutes of setup. Yet, it also happened to be this secondary function that Izril most wanted this reward for.


    But now none of that mattered. They were here and could finally complete their mission.


    ''Aunt?'' Ailsa''s eyes widened in shock.


    She had realized that these two were likely high ranking members of her Clan, but she hadn''t thought that they were actually so closely related to her.


    As with any Clan that had existed so long, there were no small number of branches and there were even numerous royal bloodlines. But, the fact they called her aunt¡­


    Ailsa frowned.


    "Auntie, we came to bring you back. Grandfather sent us here after your bank account was used for the first time in so long. The Clan misses you."


    By this point, Ailsa had long since recollected herself. Looking toward her two nephews, she could only shake her head and sigh. This was such a headache.


    How could she bring herself to hate her own nephews? But at the same time, she had no intention of going back with them.


    "What are your names?"


    Ailsa entered her full form, standing beside Ryu. It was only now the members of Deep Valley realized there was actually such a beauty by Ryu''s side.


    "My name is Rollaith!"


    "My name is Sanreth!"


    They both replied with happy expressions.


    "Rollaith, Sanreth, your aunt still has many things she has yet to accomplish. Please send the Clan my well-wishes, I will visit you all when the time is appropriate."


    For the first time, the smiles of the two froze.

 Chapter 444 - Lesson

    Rollaith and Sanreth looked toward one another.


    In truth, they should have already expected this much. But, they couldn''t help but be overrun with a whole host of complex emotions when it actually happened.


    "Auntie," Sanreth stepped forward, descending from the air, "You have to listen to us. I know that he''s your Life Partner, but staying with him is dangerous. After your link was formed, your Fate Wheel remained stagnant, you understand how dangerous that is, right?"


    Ailsa frowned when she heard this. How could she not understand?


    Ryu lacking talent obviously wasn''t the problem. That meant that the only remaining possibility was that Ryu''s life was destined to be cut short. But, how was that possible?


    It would make sense if this was still Ryu''s first life, but he should have been able to unwind his Fate during his second. He could now cultivate so there shouldn''t be anything still restricting his life¡­ Unless?


    Ailsa''s frown deepened even further. Her worries about Ryu''s Mental Realm began to resurface.


    After she couldn''t find any leads, Ailsa had had no choice but to leave those matters aside. But, those repressed thoughts had begun bubbling up once again.


    Ryu''s poor Mental Realm talent simply didn''t make any sense. Even if it wasn''t the elite amongst the elite, it should have, at the very least, been above average.


    Most geniuses didn''t choose to focus on the soul, but that didn''t stop their souls from growing along with their Qi Realm cultivation in a natural fashion. This was a choice many could make because they could afford to. The Mental Realm was the only one of the three paths that could grow on its own without outside interference ¨C as long as one was improving in other facets, that is.


    Yet, Ryu didn''t have such a luxury. His Mental Realm talent was so poor that he had no choice but to temper himself continuously with Tribulation Lightning. It was almost comically poor.


    The main issue though wasn''t how bad it was, but rather how many reasons there were for it not to be. Whether it was Ryu''s mental fortitude, his Heavenly Pupils, or even his Inheritance comprehension, all of them pointed toward a man with excellent Soul potential.


    First, the Mental Realm was so synonymous with mental fortitude that back when such cultivation was still banned, the terms had become interchanageable to the upper echelon of the Shrine Plane.


    Second, through all the records Ailsa had gone through, she hadn''t found even a single instance of a Heavenly Pupils wielder having a poor Mental Realm. In fact, it was the exact opposite for those with the First Ranked Heavenly Pupils.


    And third, one had to remember that when an Inheritance was comprehended, the soul was used as a proxy to communicate with the Heavens and gift Essence to fuel one''s strength. It was almost impossible to sustain powerful Inheritances without an equally powerful soul.


    Yet, even with all this evidence, it was all meaningless.


    At this moment, Ryu''s Spiritual Sense could expand for hundreds of kilometers. It seemed impressive. But, it was so useless to Ryu that he never used it. It was nothing more than a hodgepodge of cobbled together, unrefined Spiritual Qi that was of no use to Ryu. Once again¡­ It was almost comically bad.


    Even when Ryu suffered through the tempering of Tribulation Lightning, nothing seemed capable of fixing his Mental Realm.


    All these thoughts Ailsa had suppressed for so long came roaring forth the moment Sanreth spoke, like tidal waves and rising tsunamis ready to wash everything away¡­


    "Auntie, he''s just going to weigh you down. Your future is much brighter than this. Just tell us your location and grandfather will come to get you."


    Ailsa looked toward Ryu, a complicated look in her eye. Seeing such a scene, Rollaith and Sanreth grew excited, believing that they had finally gotten through to their aunt. But, Ailsa only stood there with a sad expression, seemingly on the brink of tears.


    From beginning to end, Ryu hadn''t said anything.


    He didn''t get annoyed when he had been ignored. He didn''t get angry when the two spoke down to him. His expression didn''t even shift when they said they would take Ailsa away.


    He simply stood there and waited, his mind calm and cool. Maybe if these two were just random people trying to snatch his Ailsa away, he would have already swung his blade despite the throbbing in his eye right now.


    But, they were Ailsa''s nephews, her family. Though it didn''t seem like it, Ryu had given Mistress Holy Wing a lot of leeway since she was Elena''s grandmother in the beginning. It wasn''t until she continued to cross the line that he began to counter.


    And now, he was giving Ailsa the same respect. This was her family. And, unlike Mistress Holy Wing, they were truly looking out for her best interest.


    As expressionless as Ryu was, his mind was just as calm. This wasn''t an act. He truly didn''t take any of these matters to heart. Should Ailsa want to leave, he would let her leave. Should she want to stay, she would stay. It was just this simple.


    He had long since stopped seeing Ailsa as a tool. Maybe in the past, her response wouldn''t have mattered to him. But now, things were different.


    Ailsa gazed at Ryu. The crimson veins that snaked around his eyes, the hint of fatigue on his brow, his slightly labored breath¡­ She took it all in¡­. Especially the fact that his back still stood ramrod straight.


    His blades angled toward the ground, his grip around them relaxed and loose. It was as though nothing in the world could shake them.


    Ailsa suddenly smiled. "Why are you being so serious? Did you think I could still bear to leave you?"


    Surprisingly, Ryu replied immediately, speaking for the first time since Ailsa''s nephews descended.


    "No." He said casually. "Just that I have to prepare to teach my little nephews a lesson."


    Ailsa blushed profusely hearing this. There was only one way for the two of them to both view these two as nephews. Her heart couldn''t help but flutter despite Ryu''s blunt choice of words.


    "They''re older than you, you know¡­" She rebutted.

 Chapter 445 - Little Nephews

    This time, Ryu didn''t back down from Ailsa''s teasing. Plus, considering the strong blush on her face, was it even necessary for him to take a step back?


    As far as he was concerned, since Ailsa was his woman, he would be considered to be in the same generation as her. As such, even if these two were older than the time he had experienced in both his lifetimes, they would still be his little nephews.


    As for the matter of his Fate Wheel? Who cared?


    One would think that the reason Ryu had never gazed upon his Fate Star even once since he was birthed into this second was because he was afraid. But, this wasn''t the case at all.


    The reason he never looked was because it simply didn''t matter. Whether his Fate Star had changed or not had little to nothing to do with him.


    Ryu took a deep breath, his body finally calming.


    Rollaith and Sanreth both wore frowning expressions. As members of the royal family, they too had never sought out their Life Partners. In fact, they weren''t even sure if their Life Partners had been long since born, had yet to be born, or had even already died.


    As such, these two couldn''t quite understand the relationship between a Faerie and their Life Partner. So, seeing their respected Aunt act in such a way left them feeling uncomfortable.


    The truth was that they hadn''t ignored Ryu for the sake of showing him disdain. They simply wanted to implore their Aunt. As for Ryu''s opinion, it just didn''t happen to be relevant. But now¡­ He was getting in their way.


    "If our nephews are so powerful, I''m going to begin looking at you with a raised brow." Ryu suddenly commented off handedly, his grip tightening around his Great Swordstaffs.


    Ailsa pouted. "What''s that supposed to mean? If you weren''t so obstinate about our Intimacy, your cultivation journey would be much easier."


    "Hm, I guess you''re right. That''s not necessarily a good thing."


    Ailsa suddenly felt that Ryu''s face was quite annoying right now. Luckily for him, she didn''t want to start a lover''s quarrel with her little nephews here.


    "Don''t hurt them." Ailsa said softly.


    If it wasn''t so off brand for him, Ryu would have really wanted to roll his eyes right now. These were two Immortal Ring geniuses with Ancestral Grade Immortal Rings. They were the pinnacle geniuses the Martial World had to offer. They would have no problem defeating Izril just like he had.


    Now this woman was asking him to go easy on them. How was he supposed to do that, exactly?


    ''It''s really as Grandpa Kukan always used to say¡­ More women, more problems¡­''


    This time, Ailsa couldn''t refrain from punching Ryu.


    "Are you trying to compare me to that Mistress Holy Wing whore?!"


    Ryu froze. "¡­ Oh look, they''re preparing to attack. Sit tight."


    Dodging Ailsa''s next planned assault, Ryu shot forward, a light smile on his face. But, compared to the almost demonic crimson veins spreading from his eyes, it was almost too much of a dichotomy to accept.


    By now, the two little nephews were furious. Watching their little aunt being flirted with like this before them was almost a blatant humiliation. The two were practically in their own world.


    It wasn''t as bad as disregard. No, they didn''t feel as though the two were disrespecting them. Rather, it felt like the two were just bickering over how to punish their children. It was almost a worse kind of humiliation.


    All their youth, these two had learned about the great deeds of their Uncle and his little sister. Ailsa might have spent most of her life outside of the Cultus Clan, but that didn''t stop her from achieving all sorts of exploits before she left.


    Watching her act like this with another man left them feeling more than a small bit uncomfortable.


    It wasn''t the kind of feeling one would get when watching someone you like fall in love with someone else. Rather, it was like watching your mother introduce your step father to you. It was exactly that kind of unsettling, uncomfortable emotion that was seeping into their marrow.


    At that moment, as Ryu charged, his steps light, not many knew how they should be reacting at this moment. The members of Violet Olive stood in a stalemate with those of Deep Valley, the battle having come to a grinding halt.


    "What are you all doing?" Ailsa suddenly spoke. "You guys go back to the city. As for the rest of you, stay here until they''re far enough away, then you can go."


    Ailsa''s meaning was clear, she was actually telling Deep Valley to let the Violet Olive Team go. But was that supposed to be a joke? Why would they do this?


    "Oh, you don''t want to listen to me? Let me tell you, this is a family matter and has nothing to do with you lot. If you don''t listen to me, I''ll set my little nephews on you."


    Rollaith and Sanreth''s expressions twitched when they heard Ailsa''s words. Were they really going to be used like this?


    Sensing Izril and his partner look toward them, though, they could only answer.


    "Do as my aunt says unless you want to deal with the consequences!" Sanreth growled.


    Izril''s eyes narrowed. It seemed that this matter was far more complicated than he knew. It would appear that they had no choice but to let Violet Olive go.


    Ryu appeared before the two just as these words were spoken. Any amusement his face had had previously vanished.


    "Will you fight him? I don''t like bullying the weak." Rollaith said plainly.


    "You fight him, I''m feeling a bit tired."


    "Tsk, you think I don''t know you just don''t want to get on Auntie''s bad side?"


    Sanreth opened his mouth to speak, but Ryu suddenly attacked.


    "You''ll both fight me."


    Ryu''s cold voice cut their conversation short, his Great Swordstaffs spinning in his hands as he bore down on the two of them.


    The pupils of the two little nephews constricted. Ryu''s speed had suddenly exploded, his body erupting with a layer of flickering blue scales. His two qilin horns sparked with electricity, the muscles of his body surging.


    BANG!


    The two little nephews shot their fists forward, each colliding with one of Ryu''s blades as though their skins was formed of the strongest metals.


    Ryu felt his arms tremble, his bones creaking and threatening to crack.


    His feet slid backward, his pulsing gaze boring holes into the two Faeries.


    ¡­


    By this point, the members of the Violet Olive Team had already cleared out. They rushed through the tunnels in groups, each with minds filled with thoughts of returning to the safety of the city.


    ''Annette? What''s wrong?'' Giveon asked.


    At the moment, his body was still covered in his violet armor. So, Annette didn''t have a human form for now.


    ''Those two¡­'' Annette mumbled. ''¡­ I''m pretty sure that they''re the twin dragons of the Cultus Clan¡­''


    ''Twin dragons?''


    ''They aren''t really twins. In fact, they don''t share the same parents, though each has at least one parent from the main family line. I''ve heard of them before¡­ I wasn''t sure, but after hearing their names¡­


    ''Rollaith of the Endless Cycles Fist Style. Sanreth of the Infinite Regression Fist Style. They both built their combat prowess on the backs of true Martial Arts.''


    ''You mean?''


    ''They''re royalty. So, who the hell are they calling Aunt?''


    ¡­


    Rollaith and Sanreth watched Ryu slide back with incredulous expressions. They had both countered a Connecting Heaven Realm expert and the result was him just sliding back a bit? Was this a world of illusions?


    Their brows furrowed, each looking down at their fists as though they had lost their minds.


    Ryu''s arms trembled, blood threatening to tear a path from beneath his skin and through his scales. The vertical slits of his sapphire eyes flickering, the energy of his meridians churning.


    At that moment, there entire mountain range had been cleared. Even when Ryu stretched out his [Third Perspective], he couldn''t find a soul within a hundred kilometers.


    He turned back toward Ailsa and smiled. "Thanks."


    Ailsa smiled sweetly, but didn''t say anything. She even felt that Ryu''s word of thanks was too much already.


    Since everyone was gone now, he really could go all out. He''d take this to be a family matter. In that case, what did he have to hide?


    The energy within Ryu''s meridians continued to churn.


    A strong cough left Ryu''s lips, what looked like a smoky fog leaving his mouth.


    ''Seems my inner organs can''t take it¡­'' Ryu thought. But in the end, he grinned fiendishly, his blood churning with wild abandon.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Booms began to sound. But, it quickly became obvious that this sound was coming from within Ryu''s body. It was as though it had become a battlefield of its own.


    At that moment, Ryu took out a stone. It was none other than the reward he received for defeating the Mountain Barbarian Chiefs.


    Without hesitation, Ryu slammed the stone into his chest. It tore a hole through his scales, shattered his rib cage, and lodged itself into his heart.


    This time when Ryu coughed, blood followed. Contaminated, blackish red blood flowed from his lips.


    Rollaith and Sanreth watched this scene with furrowed brows, shock apparent within their gazes. How far was he willing to go?


    CRACK!


    Ryu''s body suddenly expanded, his scales cracking into a rain of blood before he returned to his original size.


    Lightning began to dance around him. At first, it was just the usual blue. But, very soon, thick arcs of black lightning began to manifest themselves.


    The sight was completely contradictory. As quickly as the black lightning ripped Ryu''s body apart, it seemed to also be absorbed to heal him.


    ''So this is the strength of Primordial Chaos Lightning Qi¡­''


    Ryu looked up, his gaze flickering between sapphire and deep abyssal black.


    "Let''s play, little nephews."

 Chapter 446 - Black Dot

    Ailsa felt her heart clench when she saw Ryu. Though they seemed to have been taking things lightly, there was no doubt in either of their minds how important this matter was. If Ryu lost, not only would he lose Ailsa, but he might very well lose his life.


    He didn''t know the process or what it was entail to separate Ailsa''s Fate from his own, but as the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, Ryu had a comprehension of Fate most didn''t have.


    If the Cultus Clan wanted to save Ailsa, it would require one of them to sacrifice. And, the choice for who was obvious.


    The best case scenario after such a separation would be Ryu losing his talent and ability to cultivate. The worst case scenario would be him losing his life entirely.


    To Ryu, though, both of these scenarios were a death sentence to him.


    So, as much as he smiled, as much as he called them little nephew, as much as he wouldn''t harm them for the sake of Ailsa¡­ Ryu was fighting for his life. He was fighting for the right to keep his woman by his side, to be able to keep control of his own life, to claim the right to battle for his family''s safety in the future.


    So Ryu didn''t hold back.


    He didn''t hesitate to begin churning out Primordial Chaos Lightning Qi. He didn''t care about the damage it caused to his body, nor did he care about the potential harm it would cause to his soul.


    Ryu knew how crazy he was being. He was well aware that he looked no different from a madman.


    How could he not be? His body was in such a bad state that he had to use the stone of the Mountain Barbarians just to stop his soul from dissipating.


    But, this wouldn''t be where he took a step back. He most definitely wouldn''t fall here.


    Ryu roared, wild bolts of black lightning overwhelming the blue. They fused into one, slicing apart the air and turning the ground beneath Ryu''s feet to dust.


    ''[Immortal Sakura].''


    An ancient cherry blossom tree appeared above Ryu. Its canopy stretched far, its trunk being short but wide and sturdy.


    It began to flicker, its white petals, gently falling from above like snow flakes, slowly solidifying.


    The third stage of the [Immortal Sakura]. The Cherry Petal Stage.


    BANG!


    The white petals shattered, forming back to create a gentle pink hue.


    The aura of the Immortal Sakura tree grew to a new level. It felt as though the ancient tree had finally been rebirthed, its presence suffocating even the skies above.


    BANG!


    The ceiling of the mountain range shattered into a rain of rock and rubble. The setting sun that hung over the horizon reflected the lights of the pretty pink petals.


    It was the kind of dazzling view one might only see in their dreams, a gorgeous sight that clung to the hearts of all those who saw it.


    Yet, the man who stood in the middle of it all seemed to be completely out of place. He roared into the skies, his body surrounded by an endless torrent of arching black-blue lightning.


    A vicious cold wind spread, wrapping the bark and branches of the Immortal Sakura in a thick layer of ice. Each gorgeous pink petal that fell seemed encased in a delicate box of crystal, fluttering to the ground around Ryu.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot forward, his body turning into a massive arc of black lightning as he tore through space, appearing before the two little nephews in the blink of an eye.


    Rollaith and Sanreth''s pupils constricted. Was this really the strength of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert? Who was this monster?


    Ryu''s blades swung down without the slightest hint of mercy, his once sapphire gaze filled with an inky blackness.


    In one breath, the Primordial Chaos Lightning Qi destroyed his body thoroughly. But, in the next, his Spirit Body would absorb it, strengthening and healing itself. The vicious cycle was enough to make anyone collapse.


    Ryu wasn''t roaring into the skies to assert his dominance. Rather, he was just in far too much pain.


    BANG!


    Ryu blades collided with their fists. But, this time, rather than just being coated in Rage Flames and Ice Flames, they had gained an additional flurry of black lightning that seemed intent on watching the world be burnt to ash.


    This time, Ryu didn''t slide backward. Despite the fact the two had used their full strength this time, their clash ended in a stalemate, their clash making space itself warp and collapse.


    The ground beneath their feet shattered, the rest of the mountain range crumbling to dust.


    A spherical rampage of whipping winds spread out from their collision, the sound of crackling lightning and surging energy filling the skies.


    Ryu''s knees sunk down, his back and arms flexing as he pulled back and unleashed a tirade of strikes. His blows were swift and his cadence was relentless. He exchanged blades and fists with the two young men, the light in his eye growing more and more furious.


    Every time his heart beat, he could feel the scraping of the rock logged in his chest against its tender flesh. It seemed intent on keeping him awake, pumping his body with both blood and a level of pain he had never experienced before.


    ''[White Serpent''s Dance: Lurking Shadow].''


    Ryu''s strikes became more elegant. He layered [Heavenly Flow] and [White Serpent''s Dance] into one, his attacks carrying the enigma of Yin and Yang while also gaining the subtle nature of [Lurking Shadow].


    Rolliath  and Sanreth hadn''t had the time to take things easy. The moment Ryu attacked, they instantly began to use their Martial Arts.


    Martial Arts weren''t supposed to be used in battle, at least not directly. Yet, these two didn''t seem to have gotten the memo. They instantly sunk into their horse stances, their fists carrying the weight of worlds as they descended.


    Rolliath  was relentless and untiring. Sanreth''s counter seemed laced with the genius of the heavens. Together they formed a perfect combination of approach and retreat, of attack and defense¡­ Maybe even they themselves hadn''t realized how well they worked together until just this moment.


    Ryu''s right blade snaked forward, countering Sanreth''s passiveness with a stronger offensive. His left blade grew steadier and heavier, blocking Rallaith''s endless barrage like the steady stream of a waterfall.


    The density of cherry blossom in the region grew heavier and heavier. Swept up in a storm of cold wind, they flew about like a torrent of little shields, flooding the space around the three men.


    Rolliath''s fist smashed against one of these flower petals, expecting to crush it with ease. However, the instant he made contact, his pupils constricted.


    Rolliath  roared, his Immortal Ring being released in an instant. His golden hair fluttered, his crimson eyes growing to another depth of brightness.


    He smashed the flower petal to pieces, but he was already late in countering Ryu who had reacted immediately.


    Rolliath crossed his arms, a surge of Essence flickering around him.


    ''Earth Inheritance.'' Ryu immediately saw through the truth.


    Ralliath''s arms were coated in scales that looked no less resplendent than Ryu''s own Spirit Body in the blink of an eye.


    BANG!


    His body was sent flying backward by Ryu''s blade. He flipped in the air, landing on his feet several hundred meters away, the barren land of gravel beneath his feet crumbling and blasting apart.


    ''[Earth God: Draconic Skin].''


    The robes on Rollaith''s body shattered, revealing a toned torso layered with sparkling silver scales.


    Ryu took advantage of the change, bearing down with pressure onto Sanreth.


    Beads of sweat fell from Sanreth''s brow, the muscles in his arms aching every time he met Ryu''s blade. Every collision made the air tremble, the ground beneath their feet crumbling as though a meteor had crashed into it.


    Their bodies flickered through the land, leaving crater after crater.


    Ryu''s expression flickered. ''[Warp].''


    Ryu stepped to the side, his singular step crossing over a kilometer in the blink of an eye.


    In the space he had just been in, Rollaith''s fist appeared. The air pressure of his punch alone sent the air whistling about, numerous bangs sounding as his bones popped and the air shattered.


    Sanreth''s Immortal Ring exploded forth in the next instant. His looked just as ''normal'' as Rollaith''s if you ignored the fact they were both 20 meter large golden behemoths.


    The both shook the skies, seemingly ''breathing''. Each inhalation the Immortal Rings took seemed to cause all the energy within several kilometers to rush toward the pair of nephews, fueling their bodies with an obscene amount of strength.


    ''[Buddha''s Wheel: Infinite Counter].''


    Sanreth smashed his fists together, causing more golden rings to appear along his wrists and up his forearms. Each of his movements seemed to carry the energy of the world, basking in a holy light that demanded worship.


    The fiendish grin on Ryu''s face deepened. His handsome features gained a devilish character that was hard to ignore. The crimson veins snaking from his eye, the blackened lightning flickering throughout his slit pupils, the demonic horns that stretched out from his forehead¡­ He looked no different from a Demon Prince risen from a hidden hellish depth.


    At that moment, the world began to tremble. A small black dot rose out from Ryu''s forehead. It was only barely an inch across, yet the hearts of the two little nephews couldn''t help but tremble.


    ''[Divine Chaotic Annihilation].''


    Space warped and trembled as the small black sphere began to spin.

 Chapter 447 - Tsunamis Of Earth

    Space crackled and quaked, the air around the black sphere twisting and bending.


    In that moment, qi that should have been flying toward the two little nephews was suddenly stripped away. They felt as though the pull their Immortal Rings had had lessened considerably.


    The qi flying toward Ryu grew so thick that even those without his Pupils seemed to be able to see them.


    A pale golden typhoon of qi surged toward the black sphere in an endless torrent, being quickly grinded into the purest flow of qi right before all of their eyes.


    In an instant, the two little nephews felt that their Immortal Rings had fallen to become less than 20% effective. Their expressions couldn''t help but warp. Just what kind of technique was that? How did it have such great pull toward qi? How did it manage to make their Immortal Rings almost completely useless?


    The two little nephews flexed their bodies, their fists tightening to the point their every motion felt like the swing of a sledgehammer.


    Their qi surged, their Immortal Rings pulsing as they struggled to fight against the pull of Ryu''s [Divine Chaotic Annihilation].


    Ryu''s steps faltered slightly. If it wasn''t for the crimson veins running across his face and the scale covering his body, the paling of his expression would have become that much more obvious. At this point, the Focus Qi he needed to manifest this blackhole into reality was beyond any drain he had ever experienced before. If it wasn''t for his will power, he felt that he would have already collapsed.


    Without a choice, Ryu had to step through the threshold of the Divine Chaotic Pestle stage and enter the fourth Chaotic Birth Stage. If Flora knew that her technique was being used to the fourth stage by a brat not even in the Soul Birth Realm, she might go insane.


    But Ryu was keenly aware that using this in the real world was impossible. In fact, he had sacrificed his ability to evoke the [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] in the real world entirely.


    Now that he had crossed the Chaotic Birth Stage, the stamina that was needed to support it was far beyond him. This was the same reason he hadn''t crossed the threshold of his [Immortal Sakura] technique either even though he had already comprehended it.


    If Ryu tried to activate [Divine Chaotic Annihiliation] with his real body now, his soul would be sapped of energy instantaneously, leading him toward an instant death. The only reason his soul hadn''t dissipated now was because of the stone lodged in his heart right now¡­


    Ryu was truly giving this his everything.


    Yet, even at this moment, he felt his blood pumping. He felt an excitement the likes of which he had never felt before.


    An arrogance deep within his bones bubbled forth, the crackling black lightning around him reaching a level of violence that seemed willing to level the whole world into ash.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot forward, the energies of the world screaming as they bent to his will.


    A massive dome of qi formed around him, fueling his Small Realm to a level that existed beyond what the two little nephews could comprehend.


    ''Monarch?!'' The two felt their hearts shudder, but Ryu was already upon them, his blades swinging down with the weight of the world.


    Ryu [Ephemeral Tapestry] filled his mind with the images of a psychedelic dream. His blades whistles and whined, all sorts of wonderous colors wrapping around them.


    It looked as though someone had colored the air in vibrant pinks and warm blues. And in that instant, Ryu was cutting through the smokey winds.


    The more vibrant the colors became, the greater Ryu''s understanding of them seemed to become and more they seemed to speak to him.


    Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body pulsed, shimmering. Even from outside of Ryu''s skin, one could see a soft, dazzling light, one that contrasted with the crackling black lightning like two sides of the same coins.


    Ryu''s body ''breathed'' in the qi taken in so violently by this spinning black sphere, his body bursting with energy as he bore down.


    BANG!


    The two little nephews were sent flying into the ground below, their body puncturing holes so deep that it looked as though they wanted to travel to the other side of the world in a single bound.


    Ryu felt his heartbeat again, the stone within puncturing through more of its soft walls. The pain was extruciating, as though someone was slowly twisting a knife through his chest, slowly peeling through the layers of his most precious inner organ one after another.


    He rose his head roaring into the skies.


    A black sphere appeared before Ryu''s widened lips, the qi of the world surging toward it. Yet, instead of allowing the black sphere to devour the qi, Ryu bypassed it, swallowing it all directly.


    His chest expanded, his bones creaking and snapping in protest.


    Ryu''s shoulder blades touched, his chest widening to almost twice its original size.


    And then, in one swift motion, he unleashed it all. His roar sent shock waves through the land as a beam of energy shot downward.


    The beam of Ice Flames and Rage Flames wrapped around each other, crackling black lightning spiraling around them both as they tore a path toward the ground where the two little nephews lay.


    The whole world seemed to lose its color. It felt as though everything had been snatched away by a single beam that could be see from hundreds of kilometers in any direction.


    The skies were awashed in black and white, a singular beam of violet crackling with black lightning snatching its shine.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The whole of the small world quaked and rumbled. Cities thousands of miles away felt as though everything they had built would come crumbling down at this very moment.


    Ryu''s roar shook the lands, his heated breath splintering space apart as it tore through the ground.


    There was a small pause before the land below erupted, massive tsunamis of earth rising in tidal waves.

 Chapter 448 - Pass On

    Ryu looked down toward the massive rolling piles of earth. At the very center, a hole so deep that even he couldn''t see through to the bottom of lay. ;


    Suddenly, Ryu coughed violently, torrents of blood flooding down his mouth and chest. Ryu clenched his jaw hard, trying to keep his body steady in the air. ;


    Without a choice, he could only retract his [Divine Chaotic Annihilation]. If he didn''t, he really would collapse and this time he wouldn''t be able to stop himself with will power alone. ;


    Ailsa bit at the sides of her cheeks, her anxiousness reaching the end of its rope. She knew that her nephews weren''t dead, and maybe the only reason they weren''t was because Ryu had sworn not to hurt them. If he killed them here, their talent would be forever damaged. ;


    Even for the Cultus Clan, finding a treasure that could perfectly heal a soul at the Soul Birth Realm back to its original strength was very difficult. Though it wouldn''t be impossible, the soul was still too great of a variable to take such risks with. ;


    Ailsa bit at her cheeks harder. Had she been too selfish? Had it really been alright for her to ask such a thing of Ryu?


    At that moment, a long while after the earth settled down, two figures crawled their way back up, their bodies beaten and battered. ;


    Whether it was Rollaith or Sanreth, both of them were in terrible condition. Or, at the very least, they seemed to be. ;


    In those last moments before Ryu attacked, he had not only overwhelmed them, but that odd blackhole above his head had not only disrupted their energy, but it had also shattered their techniques. Without such things, they had entered that final exchange with barely 10% of their true strength, causing the result that was before them now.


    But now, it seemed that Ryu had reached the ends of his limits. The blackhole was gone and even that defensive tree of his had flickered out of existence, taking with it the falling cherry petals. It even seemed that the black lightning around him was growing less volatile. ;


    The two little nephews slowly rose into the air, their energy unsteady. They felt like their souls had almost left their bodies in those final moments. ;


    Though they had already long since begun to take Ryu seriously, they still found it hard to accept that they were losing to a person an entire cultivation stage and three small realms beneath them. ;


    The two nephews looked toward one another when they had reached a state level to Ryu. The latter was leaking blood as though his veins were filled with endless oceans of crimson, his body quaking and quivering in the air as though it might collapse at any moment. ;


    Ryu''s breathing was short and shallow, almost as though he didn''t dare to breathe too heavily for fear that his heart might truly collapse this time. ;


    By this point, the crimson veins that had run along Ryu''s cheeks receded. Let alone continuing to use Earth Gate, he could hardly keep his eyes open at all. All the lights around him seemed far too bright despite the fact the sun had actually long since set. ;


    Everything about Ryu seemed to say that he was at the end of his limits. And though the two nephews were definitely heavily injured as well, their damage was to their bodies, not their minds or their qi reserves like it was for Ryu. ;


    If they banded together now, it would only take them a few exchanges to defeat Ryu. That much they could guarantee. ;


    With their expertise as Cultus Faeries, they understood a lot about the bodies of various species and could easily measure the limits of both themselves and Ryu. ;


    The two looked toward one another with a complicated gaze. Their aunt stood in the distance silently. She didn''t say a word, just holding her hands to her chest, but they felt as though the crimson of her ruby eyes were just that small bit redder at this moment. ;


    The two nephews clenched their jaw and resolved themselves. ;


    Their only job was to kill Ryu in this world so that they could attach the soul seal on him. That way, they''d be able to track him no matter where he was. As long as the two were found and brought back to the Clan, there were any myriad of ways that this could still end well for them. ;


    At least¡­ These were the thoughts the two nephews used to comfort each other and temper down their guilt. ;


    "We''re sorry." Sanreth spoke solemnly. "You are a worthy Life Partner for our aunt, but Fate is not on your side. This isn''t something that we, as her family members, can accept."


    Sanreth meant every word he said. And, though Rollaith didn''t add anything to what he spoke, the look in his eyes made it clear that he agreed. As much as they respected Ryu, they believed that the life of their aunt was more important. ;


    Ryu didn''t say anything to their words, but his lip curled. Considering the blood that ran down his chin, it all looked quite ghastly. But, when his head tilted up, his eyes which had returned to their normal silver locking onto the two, he exuded an air that made them feel inferior. ;


    "When you go back." Ryu said softly. "Tell my father-in-law that he''ll have to come personally next time. Make sure to mention that he should probably hurry, I progress pretty fast. Who knows if he''ll stand a chance by the time he finds me?"


    At first, the two really thought that Ryu was going to give them a message to pass on. After all, it wasn''t like they could snatch Ryu from Osiris. They would have to return to the Cultus family first. Well, not return since at this very moment, they were meditating within the Cultus Clan lands. ;


    But, when they paired the words with Ryu''s smile, they grew confused. What was happening here?


    At that instant, Ryu''s half closed eyes widened, a strong pulse surging through them as a torrent of blood fell from them. ;


    Before the two little nephews could react, they felt a sharp piercing pain to the back of their heads. ;


    They struggled to look back, but their consciousness was already fading, their souls having been cleanly separated from the Osiris avatars. ;


    Esme stood with her two daggers pierced through the back of their skulls, her visage expressionless. ;


    "Don''t forget to pass on my message, little nephews."


    These were the last words the two heard.

 Chapter 449 - Overdrafted

    Chapter 449 - Overdrafted


    Ryu felt completely drained. Using the last of his strength to summon Esme like that really felt like he was scraping the bottom of a barrel. He had truly hit his ceiling.


    At the moment, though, Ryu was only glad that his plan had worked. Having to defeat those two while also making sure not to damage their futures was really a pain in the ass. His Grandpa Kukan was definitely right about women.


    In the end, he had to wear them down until they had almost nothing left before catching them off guard. But, even then, he had relied on some of the special characteristics of Osiris.


    Had Ryu teleported Esme and then had her attack, the two would have likely still reacted fast enough to dodge. And, by this point, Ryu didn''t have enough energy left to control Esme in battle, so his fate would have been sealed.


    Rather than doing that, Ryu actually teleported Esme such that the daggers in her hand shared the same space as the heads of his two little nephews.


    In the real world, this would have been impossible. Controlling spatial qi in the domain of a cultivator was asking to be detected and thwarted. But, in Osiris, this was less of an issue because some fundamental laws could be broken.


    Long story short, the two couldn''t dodge because the instant Esme appeared, their skulls had already been run through. Had the two been in top condition, they would have definitely sensed the fluctuations of spatial qi. But, Ryu had made certain they wouldn''t be able to.


    Now, though, Ryu had no idea how to deal with his own body. He could barely hang in the air even now.


    In fact, to say that he was hanging wasn''t even true. Rather, he was slowly falling even now. It was more accurate to say that he was barely able to slow this fall. As for staying in the air, what a joke.


    Ryu coughed up another violent mouthful of blood, his mouth and chest bleeding out to the point both formed a bloody waterfall.


    At that moment, a soft figure caught Ryu. Though he found it too difficult to open his eyes at that moment, he didn''t need to for him to realize that it was Ailsa.


    Ryu opened his mouth to speak out something sarcastic and witty, but in its place came another flood of blood. That said, this didn''t stop Ailsa from knowing what he was going to say.


    "This is what you get, always trying to take advantage of me. Hmph."


    Though Ailsa said this, the worry on her face painted a completely different picture.


    The one thing this world seemed to have a problem with replicating perfect was Ryu''s Realm Heart. But, this made sense. After all, it was the presentation of the seed of an entire world. It wasn''t as simple as replicating abilities, something that was quite easy considering this was a dream world. It was a different matter entirely.


    Before Ryu went on his six month retreat, he had still believed that Osiris replicated everything perfectly. It wasn''t until after his seclusion that he realized it was nothing more than a fa?ade.


    Ryu concluded that this was because the Realm Heart wasn''t truly a part of his body. Or, maybe he had yet to truly make it his. Regardless of which it was, he couldn''t make use of its full abilities in Osiris.


    The truth was, though, even if he could, after fighting for so long with a stone in his heart, it was hard to tell if his Realm Heart would be of any help in the real world either.


    If Ryu died here, he''d take a massive hit to his talent. He would be able to fix it when he crossed into the Soul Birth Realm, unlike the two little nephews who had already long since entered that Realm, but in order to do so, he would have to enter the Immortal Ring Realm first which would, obviously, require crossing the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Even heaven defying geniuses needed 900 years to clear this realm. Ryu was already a step above such geniuses, and he gained a boost from his Realm Heart while cultivating in the Mortal Realms. So, if he holed himself up and did nothing but cultivate, Ryu might be able to reach the Immortal Ring Realm in 1-200 years.


    Of course, none of this accounted for breakthroughs in comprehension, nor did it involve fortuitous encounters or even Ailsa''s interference. Still, this sort of boost in speed was more than just a little obscene.


    Yet, all of this was only true if Ryu''s soul wasn''t harmed. If it was, let alone 900 years, even ten times that might not be enough to enter the Immortal Ring Realm.


    To Ryu 200 years was already way too long. If it was up to him, he would step into the Immortal Ring Realm at this very instant. But reality was cruel.


    Ailsa helped Ryu to the ground, taking along Esme who had become like a puppet without its strings. Luckily, Esme had some small intelligence to her own, so she was able to continue standing without Ryu''s input.


    "Ryu, Ryu! You need to stay away. Don''t you dare doze off!"


    "Mm." Ryu mumbled.


    His eyelids were too heavy at this moment. His eyes were the one thing that he could always count on, even back when he was a mortal. It was thanks to his Pupils that he was still able to make something of himself. But now, he couldn''t see anything but darkness through them. Even what he assumed was the sun above was just a pale foggy shape.


    Ryu knew that he had definitely overdrafted his Pupils. But, he should have expected as much after stacking [Heaven and Earth Gate] with [Lines of Fate]. The fact he lasted so long was a miracle. It would definitely take some time for his eyes to recover.

 Chapter 450 - Right

    Chapter 450 - Right.


    Ailsa looked down at Ryu''s chest. She knew that she had to pull the stone out or else Ryu would never heal. But, if she removed it, then considering Ryu''s state, his soul would definitely dissipate.


    The best choice would be to have Esme kill Ryu, but without Ryu controlling her, there was no guarantee that she would be able to sever his link cleanly and without harming Ryu.


    Ailsa should be able to take control of the daggers to do it personally, but this was Osiris, she didn''t have access to her strength here since she was entering through her special ink with Ryu. If she didn''t have access to her qi, she obviously wouldn''t have access to her Spiritual Qi either.


    ''The alter¡­?''


    Ailsa suddenly remembered the situation of the young woman Ryu put out of her misery. Back then, she had been lying on a stone slab. Obviously, she hadn''t had a stone lodged in her heart, but her soul still hadn''t dissipated.


    Ailsa''s heart grew agitated when she thought of this, but when she looked around, she suddenly remembered a horrific fact.


    The battle between the three had been so violent that there was nothing left of the mountain range, let alone the alter that had been beneath it. How could Ryu had spared time to care about an alter when he was fighting with his life on the line? Even if his strikes didn''t destroy it, the strikes of the two little nephews definitely would have.


    Let alone the fact Ailsa didn''t have the physical strength she needed to dig through such heavy piles of rubble in this state, even if she tasked Esme with doing it, what were the odds the alter would really still be in tact?


    Ailsa''s frown only grew deeper.


    She sat on her knees in the middle of the carnage, not a single soul within hundreds of kilometers of her. She rested Ryu''s head on her lap, her furrowed brows scrunching up her delicate features.


    At that moment, Ryu''s mind was practically blank. He was entirely focused on making sure he took in his next breath. He couldn''t afford to die here, definitely not. He couldn''t.


    Ailsa realized then that Ryu had placed all his trust in her. Whether he would be able to pull out of this was something he placed on her shoulders.


    It was a kind of heartwarming trust, but it filled Ailsa with guilt and anxiety. She had no idea what she should do.


    ''Wait, Ryu''s pupils¡­''


    Ailsa suddenly thought of something.


    This was a dream world. The reason things were so difficult for Ailsa to fix was because just exiting to the real world where she had access to all of her strength would be meaningless. Ryu''s body on the outside should be perfectly fine, it was his body in Osiris that had a problem and neither should be related to one another.


    But¡­


    Ailsa brought Esme over to hold up Ryu''s head and exited Osiris. When she saw Ryu on the outside, she became certain.


    Ryu was completely fine. There was no blood, and either than a slight paleness to his face, he seemed as though he was simply meditating. But, there was one difference.


    His cheeks. Those Crimson veins, even though they had receded mostly after the Earth Gate closed, they were still there.


    Ailsa had a sudden enlightenment. There were truly some abilities so heaven defying that Osiris couldn''t replicate them. How could Osiris possibly simulate a year of training for Ryu? It was beyond its ability to do so.


    Then how had Ryu done it?


    He activated the ability from the outside and it reflected in his abilities in Osiris.


    Ailsa took a deep breath before a light smile spread across her face.


    With delicate and gentle motions, Ailsa allowed her flowing white dress to fall to her ankles, revealing a sight that could make one''s blood boil.


    Her breasts had a gentle slope to them, rising to a mountainous peak. Her pretty pink nipples stood at attention, a fleshly mound of fair skin surrounding it from all sides. Though they didn''t have the alluring sweat on them from when Ryu last laid eyes on them, they still held a proportion most men could only dream of seeing and most women could only dream of having.


    Ailsa had always been tall for a woman, standing a half head shorter than Ryu at about 6''2. But, she filled out her tall frame curves that enchanted the mind and plucked the strings of the soul.


    Her ruby eyes twinkled, her golden hair sparkling beneath the dim lights of the Immortal Cave. Her slender fingers played with the band of her white laced panties, the movement of the fabric causing the faint outline of two delicate lips to flash in and out of sight.


    A slight blush colored Ailsa''s features, leaving her at quite a loss. It wasn''t like this was the first time she had gotten naked in front of Ryu. In fact, he had met her like this. But, there was something very different about this moment that left her feeling incredibly bashful.


    It was only the memory of the struggle Ryu was currently experiencing at this time that snapped her out of it.


    She pulled down the last bit of fabric that hid her figure. A delicate patch of golden hair hung between her legs, obscuring a partial view of what was below.


    Ailsa moved Ryu and set him down, her slender hands pulling at his pants. Her face turned such a bright shade of red that it seemed like she might just pop at any moment.


    When she finally got over her emotions, what she found beneath wasn''t what she had expected.


    ''I''m such an idiot¡­'' Ailsa shook her head.


    Ryu was currently in an incredible amount of pain. His mind wasn''t even aware of what was happening on the outside. Or, maybe it was, but it was just that he trusted her enough to not worry about what she might be doing.


    In his state, how could he possibly be ''hard'' right now?


    Ailsa took a deep breath and grabbed at that snaking thing with her hands. The feeling of warmth in her palms made her take a deep breath.


    ''¡­ I''m just doing this to help my Little Ryu. Right? Right.''

 Chapter 451 - Poten

    Chapter 451 - Poten


    Ailsa paused after she placed Ryu''s flaccid rod in her hands. She felt that the skin was especially soft, even softer than her own. But, she was at a loss for what to do. It was even to the point where she began to pet it as though it was some sort of beast rather than a part of a human''s body.


    If Ryu had been awake, he really wouldn''t have known whether to laugh or cry. But, at the same time he wouldn''t be able to stop himself from thinking that she looked quite cute now.


    "Come on little guy?| Up you go?|''


    Ailsa''s face was covered in helplessness. For a moment, anyway, before her gaze suddenly lit up.


    Luckily for her, the male body was as simple as it got. Her seemingly ridiculous actions caused Ryu''s rod to pulse away.


    She felt it getting hotter and hotter in her hands, slowly growing until it pushed against her fingers.


    At that moment, Ailsa began to panic again. She had seen Ryu naked many times before, but she had only seen his lower regions in this state once. Plus, back then, she was entirely focused on teasing him and hadn''t spared much of her attention looking toward it.


    When she was giving Ryu the massage for the first time, their relationship had yet to cross that sort of barrier. But now, she found almost anything like this to be far too embarrassing.


    ''Why is it still growing? Is something wrong? Stop, this is big enough!''


    Ailsa''s face was flushed as she sat upon Ryu''s thighs. Had it always been this large? Did this really have to go inside of her? Could she do something else with it? Who was the sick bastard who decided women had to receive this monstrosity?


    Ailsa bit her lip, keeping one had on the vein pulsing mountain before her and placing the other down below.


    She was a bit shocked to feel a faint wetness. When had she become so lewd? She couldn''t even remember feeling such a sensation down there before.


    Ailsa took a deep breath. ''Taking advantage of this big sister even while you''re asleep?|''


    Ailsa seemed to have completely forgotten that Ryu wasn''t asleep at all. Rather, his mind was in a completely different world and couldn''t pay attention to what was happening here. For all he knew, Ailsa was using any number of methods.


    After Ailsa finished complaining, a small smile spread across her face.


    She touched Ryu''s cheeks, her heart blooming with a hint of happiness. She didn''t feel that she was sacrificing herself at all.


    Remembering the words Ryu had said just moment ago, she felt a welling up of pride flood through her veins.


    ''Since you called father, father-in-law?| I can''t make a liar our of you, right?''


    Caressing Ryu''s cheek, Ailsa slowly lowered herself over him.


    Ailsa felt a jolt travel up her spine, a hint of pain followed by a hint of pleasure. She likely could have prepared herself more, but knowing the kind of pain Ryu was suffering through, this small bit she was experiencing in exchange for speed was well worth it in her mind.


    For a moment, she seemed to have forgotten that she was a powerful cultivator. This small bit of resistance should have been nothing to her. With how hard she had trained throughout her lifetime, this should have been nothing.


    But, at that instant, she felt no different from any other vulnerable mortal woman.


    She sat atop Ryu, feeling as though she had been split apart. Her breathing was labored, her thighs trembling despite the fact she hadn''t moved a single inch.


    The feeling of finally being connected to Ryu as one filled her with a level of intoxication she had never experienced before.


    Within Osiris, Ryu felt himself jolt awake. For a moment, a feeling of comfort completely overwhelmed his mind. It was as though he couldn''t think of anything else besides that feeling, to the point his other emotions were completely washed away.


    Feelings of pain and fatigue completely disappeared. It was like he was watching his half-dead body from the perspective of a third party. He really felt like he was floating on a cloud right now.


    ''What did she do?'' Ryu hesitated.


    If he logged out right now, he could no longer guarantee his control of the situation. The sudden jump from relaxation to pain could end up killing him the moment he logged in next. The best option was for him to stay here until he could heal him well enough.


    But this threw a wrench in those plans. The only reason he wasn''t panicking was because he could still faintly feel a connection to his body in Osiris. He could catch himself the moment the pain snapped back to gain his attention.


    However, the rebound Ryu was waiting for never came. Unable to withhold his curiosity, Ryu used the one means available to him, the one bond that Osiris'' boundaries couldn''t block. He looked into Ailsa''s mind through their connection. But, what he saw left him stunned.


    If he was any less of a refined gentleman, he was she that he would have begun leaking blood from two more orifices than he already was.


    In the real world, Ailsa held Ryu''s hand to her breast, her other palm resting on his toned torso. She held her eyes closed, her hips griding forward and back in slow, enticing movements.


    Low moans left her lips every so often. As though she was scared of feeling more pleasure, every time she did, her movements would slow by another measure, her lips quivering beneath the stimulation.


    The moment Ryu''s mind seemed to be able to see the outside world, it went blank. Then, an instant later, it was filled with a pleasure the likes of which he had only experienced one time before.


    A strong surge of energy connected the bodies of the two Life Partners. Ryu was absolutely certain that this was Ailsa''s Primordial Yin. But, compared to the last time he had experienced an influx of this special qi?| it felt several times more potent to him.

 Chapter 452 - What Would Happen?

    Chapter 452 - What Would Happen?


    One might think that this was because the current Ailsa was far more powerful than the previous Elena had been. And, this would make sense. Primordial Yin grew more and more valuable the longer a female cultivator held onto their virginity. In addition, the stronger the female cultivator, the stronger their Primordial Yin would be.


    However, Ryu felt that the reason was deeper than this.


    Back then, he couldn''t perceive qi at all. He didn''t even understand what it meant to cultivate, so how could he have? With a False Spiritual Foundation, he innately had no affinity to the qi around him.


    In that case, it was no wonder he hardly grasped the importance of Elena''s Primordial Yin. In fact, until this point, he had still thought that Primordial Yin was some superficial thing too difficult to grasp, believing the true importance in taking a woman''s first time was in the melding of his soul with hers.


    Ryu sighed. Seeing such a beautiful sit on top of his like this, all for the sake of him not damaging his soul, how could he not feel lucky?


    ''Ailsa?| Elena?| Nuri?|''


    Ryu closed his eyes.


    In this life, he would be free and unfettered. What was the point of fighting against the heavens and the chains it placed on him if he only placed more restrictions on himself?


    Seeing such a woman sacrificing for him like this?| Even if she herself felt it wasn''t one?| Filled him was a sort of complicated feeling he couldn''t ignore.


    Ryu felt Ailsa''s Primordial Yin circulate around his body before surging into his eyes. The sound of shattering barriers reverberated in his mind as one seal after another was shattered completely.


    Ryu felt strength surging into him. Karmic Qi flowed through his eyes, fueling it with strength the likes of which he had never experienced before.


    In the blink of an eye, over 20 seals had been shattered.


    Ryu''s finger twitched. However, Ailsa was too lost in her own world to notice.


    ''To split my mind between two worlds? Is that even difficult?''


    Ryu''s body suddenly shot up.


    Ailsa squealed, but found herself wrapped up in a tight grasp before she could react.


    Realizing that Ryu was awake, her body flushed completely scarlet. It looked as though she was trying to make her skin tone match her eyes as closely as possible.


    Soon, she quickly recovered. "You idiot! If you leave that world now?|!"


    Ailsa''s words were caught in a moan.


    Ryu only slightly shifted, but she was caught completely off guard. It was completely different from controlling the pace herself.


    "You decided to do this on your own?" Ryu asked.


    Ailsa felt that something was different about Ryu for some reason. But, her blush couldn''t help but deepen at that moment. Speaking to Ryu while they were connected like this was too dangerous. She simply didn''t trust her voice in the slightest.


    "And were you planning on taking my virginity away without taking responsibility?" Ryu continued.


    Ailsa was speechless. Sure, Ryu was considered a virgin in this lifetime. She could feel his pure Primordial Yang nurturing her body right now. If she wasn''t taking things so slowly, she would have been intoxicated by the feeling long ago.


    Plus, weren''t these words she should be saying?


    "Why are you looking away?" Ryu pressed. "You didn''t even try to fuse our souls. Why?"


    Ailsa buried her head in Ryu''s chest. Of course she understood why he was saying all of these things. And, considering the smile on his face right now, he obviously wasn''t angry. But, none of that stopped her heart from beating like a wild rabbit''s, pumping at a speed she didn''t even think was possible.


    "?| You idiot?|" Ailsa said softly, her words coming out between gasps. "?| I was supposed to help raise your Ice Flame to the next level so that you could heal yourself?| You''re wasting all of my efforts?|"


    "I''ll be fine." Ryu smiled. "You, however?| I''m not sure."


    "What do you ?? Ah!"


    Ailsa found herself pinned beneath Ryu, the feeling of his cock slowly sliding out of her making her mind go blank.


    Ryu''s lips covered her own, masking the moans she would have made when she felt him slide forward again.


    Ailsa''s mind went blank. She had no ability to accomplish what she wanted to in this state. However, Ryu didn''t seem to mind in the slightest. His hips moved like an eternal piston.


    Still, Ryu could have never expected what happened next. He had hardly gotten into a rhythm, an excitement filling his loins, when his and Ailsa''s souls intertwined.


    Their spontaneous union wasn''t something that shocked Ryu. Rather, it was the result of it.


    It was said that the union of husband and wife occurred when two cultivators fused their soul as one. However, what Ryu never considered was what would happen if this wasn''t the first time, but rather the second time he was fusing his soul. What happened when a husband had two wives?


    Ryu was certain of only two things in regards to his reincarnation.


    These eyes of his were the exact same. If not for this, it would have been impossible for him to take the treasures Elena had given him during his first life into this one. It wouldn''t make sense otherwise.


    The second thing he was certain of was that his soul was the same. If not for this, how could he still have his memories? He would be a completely different person if he had a different soul. This was why Ryu was so certain that the moment he entered the Soul Birth Realm, he would be able to tell whether or not his wife was alive or not.


    But, what Ryu had forgotten to consider was that if he took a second woman as his wife, it would no longer just be him and Elena connected. Rather, it would become the three of them connected as one with him as a bridge.


    What would happen, then, if Ryu fused with Ailsa? Would he still have to wait until he entered the Soul Birth Realm?


    Apparently, the answer to this question was no.


    At some unknown place, some unknown distance away, a pink haired beauty suddenly felt a shock run through her soul.

 Chapter ?453 - Regre

    Chapter 453 - Regre


    Ryu froze.


    Ailsa clung limply to his body, her frame pressed against him. Her mind was too hazy to think of anything else. She could only vaguely feel that something had changed, almost as though they were being peeped on. But, she was too intoxicated to feel embarrassed.


    Ryu gazed toward Ailsa, his mind flickering back and forth between her and the hazy feeling hovering around his soul.


    ''Elena?''


    Ryu felt like an idiot. He actually hadn''t considered something like this happening at all.


    No matter how open Elena was to him having other women, how would you feel if the first time you heard word of your husband in 900 million years he was plowing into another woman? There was definitely a limit to how open minded a person could be.


    Ryu only managed to calm himself after he realized how fuzzy the connection was. It was impossible for Elena to tell exactly what he was doing, let alone communicate with him. But, it didn''t take a genius for her to understand what must be happening right now.


    The only way for two souls to come together was by the exchange of yin and yang. It was a simple deduction for Elena to understand what Ryu must be doing at this exact moment.


    Still, understanding and witnessing were two completely different things. If the first time Elena saw Ryu after so long, he was lying in the embrace of another woman, he wouldn''t blame her for not speaking with him for a long while.


    Just as Ryu was still worrying about nonsense and overblowing things he shouldn''t be, he suddenly felt a strong surge of Primordial Yin assault him from all sides.


    Ryu''s eyes sharpened.


    A dormant energy within his soul made its presence known, sweeping toward him like the shadow of a behemoth.


    Ryu was shocked. He would recognize that energy signature even if he was half dead. This was Elena''s Primordial Yin!


    But, Ryu had been certain that Elena''s Primordial Yin would be weaker than Ailsa''s. Why was it so strong? In fact, it felt stronger!


    Ryu had hardly finished this thought another strung rush of Primordial Yin appeared, almost as though it had been provoked by the first.


    Ryu felt a headache coming on. His two wives hadn''t even met each other yet, but they were already competing like this. If Ryu didn''t understand what was happening, he would be too much of a fool.


    The reason Ailsa''s Primordial Yin was so manageable was because she was causing it to be released in a slow and steady stream. In comparison, Elena wasn''t here to control the stream of her own, so having been awakened and feeling provoked, it surged forward with all its strength.


    But now, Ailsa was half unconscious. This woman was truly too sensitive. Ryu hadn''t even moved in several moments, but she looked completely drunk. If it wasn''t for the slight heave of her breasts, Ryu would think that she was completely out of it.


    Though these two streams of Primordial Yin seemed violent, Ryu knew that they couldn''t harm him. He wouldn''t be swallowed by them as long as his own Primordial Yang was powerful enough. And, though he didn''t have the cultivation to match up to his women, what he did have was endless stores of talent capable of dwarfing anyone in existence.


    There were two factors that controlled Primordial Yang: Strength and Talent. Ryu had the latter in spades.


    ''Elena?| Ailsa?|''


    Ryu lowered himself, kissing Ailsa''s sweet lips. He felt as though he was making love with two women simultaneously. Even if the connection between he and Elena was vague right now, he would show her a side of dominance she had never seen before, he would convey the strength and confidence of the man who was worthy of these two calling their husband.


    In his first life, Ryu was too weak. His greatest weapon were his words, but he knew the truth. Had he not had the backing of his family, how could he even be allowed to use such a ''weapon''.


    Ultimately, he had been protected all his life, slinking around in the shadows and living under the wing of his wife, his parents and his grandparents.


    Even on his and Elena''s wedding night, not only was he too cowardly to give her a ceremony, he left her a widow before the sun rose the next day.


    Even while they shared their bed as one, he was nothing but a pitiful excuse of a man. He couldn''t take control, he couldn''t display any sort of strength. All he remembered of himself that night was weakness. It was as though he was scared that he would lose Elena after he left so he left behind his mark on her.


    There was rarely anything Ryu would ever feel sorry for, and even more, he never regretted his actions. But, if he were to be honest with himself, that night?| he wasn''t himself. If there was one thing in his life he looked back on in shame, it was that day.


    So he would convey those feelings to Elena and to Ailsa. He was Ryu Tatsuya and he wasn''t the weak man he had been in the past.


    Ryu''s hips began to move, and almost bestial growl leaving his lips.


    "?| Ryu?|" Ailsa''s voice was soft and tender, whispering into Ryu''s ears like a gentle breeze. But, before she should ask him why he had stopped, she became that small boat amidst raging waves again.


    Ryu pressed Ailsa''s hips down onto the bed with one hand, using the rebounding force of the soft cushions to give him more leverage.


    Ailsa''s words were swallowed by her gasps. Ryu''s forcefulness made her heart quiver, her lower belly heating up with a flame so potent she felt that she might pass out at any moment.


    She could feel Ryu''s determination, his love, his confidence.


    Ryu''s Primordial Yang roared like a raging beast, a heavy fog of dark gold hanging around his body and pumping in and out of his pores.


    It loomed over the two streams of Primordial Yin, dancing with them as though a dragon entangled by two phoenixes.


    Ailsa barely clung to Ryu''s back. She used too much strength, digging past his thick skin and leaving a trail of blood. Her mind was simply too hazy to even grasp at exactly what she was doing, it was like she was simply looking for anything to hold on to.


    But, Ryu didn''t so much as flinch. His back flexed, his arms forcefully wrapping around Ailsa''s waist as he picked her up.


    With a single stomp, the stone bed beneath his feet shattered into a rain of rubble.


    Ailsa gasped when she felt her back slam into a wall. As though Ryu had woken up a beast, she greedily entangled with his tongue, her hands pulling Ryu''s head closer and closer to her as though she wanted them to fuse into one.


    Ryu hooked his arms beneath Ailsa''s thighs, pressing them back so firmly that they almost touched her ample chest. Ailsa had never thought that her flexibility would be used in such a way, but when she felt how deeply Ryu penetrated her like this, she almost fainted.


    Ailsa''s moans became more unrestrained. As Life Partners, Ryu was more than capable of doing exactly what she wanted and reading her mind like a book. But, somehow the fact he could, yet was ignoring everything she had to say made the feelings she was experiencing more potent.


    It was like her little boat had completely lost all rights to steer itself.


    Ryu''s Primordial Yang roared like a beast, enveloping the two streams of Primordial Yin.


    Blood surged through Ryu''s body, veins bulging through his cock. The feeling was so potent that Ailsa felt it grow a size within her. It was so hard that she almost felt as though she was being run through by a hot, steel rod.


    Ryu pressed forward, his hold body tensing as Ailsa felt a violent gush below. Her body convulsed, her toes curling in the air.


    Ryu breathed heavily, his gaze locked onto Ailsa''s face. One would have thought that he was trying his best to pierce into her soul.


    The moistness that enveloped Ryu pulsed and twitched.


    Ailsa didn''t have any strength left to hold herself up. If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu was holding her, she really might have collapsed at that very instant.


    "?| It''s not fair?|" Ailsa mumbled weakly. "?| Shouldn''t you be more gentle?|"


    "Did you think I was finished?"


    Was Ryu''s really only reply. Ailsa''s soon found herself in the midst of another storm. It was like all of Ryu''s pent up emotions were being released in a single instant.


    But this time, something completely unexpected happened. And, unfortunately, its reasoning was yet another something that Ryu overlooked.


    ?|


    In that same unknown location an unknown distance away, the pink haired beauty had not moved a single inch. She sat in complete silence, ignoring everything around her as though it was nothing more than an endless black space.


    ''Is this your way of telling me that you''re finally back?''

 Chapter 454 Extreme Yin

    Chapter 454 Extreme Yin¡¡¡¡Elena could feel an overbearing aura enveloping her. Yet, instead of pressuring her, it was overbearing in the sense that a parent might be to a child or a spouse might be to their partner. It stood over her, exuding the air of an undefeatable warrior.


    For a long time, she had thought that she would never experience such a thing. And as for this energy signature, she thought she would never sense it again. But, here it was, all these years later.


    "You''re a bit late¡­ Hubby¡­"


    ¡­


    Ryu couldn''t hear Elena''s thoughts. But at that moment, even if he could, it would be hard to say if he could spare them any mind.


    Ailsa had gone from laying limply in his arms to suddenly violently convulsing.


    She coughed up a mouthful of blood, the crimson dying Ryu''s chest in a rain of red.


    Ryu''s expression changed. Any thoughts he had of continuing were completely thrown to the back of his mind. Without even bothering to wipe the blood from his chest, he rushed into another room without a shattered bed, placing Ailsa down.


    Though his visage was cold, a hint of a panicked light could be seen deep within his eye.


    This change was far too abrupt. He had no idea how things had suddenly turned out this way. Had he really been too rough with her?


    No, that was impossible. Let alone the fact he hadn''t been too abrasive, even if he was going all out in an attempt to kill Ailsa and she just stood there, allowing him to do as he pleased, it was impossible for him to kill her even in that case.


    By now, his and Ailsa''s intimacy was so deep that she could touch upon more than 90% of her strength even without being in the Ethereal Realm. Even though her Body and Qi Realms were far weaker than her main focus, her Mental Realm, it was still enough for her to have stepped into the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Compared to Ailsa Soul Ascension Realm cultivation, this was pitiful. In fact, now that Ryu thought about it, it was far too weak for someone who had lived for so long. This was especially so because Ailsa had focused all her Mental Realm cultivation on her nurturing abilities as a Cultus Faerie. As such, her actual attacking ability was very limited.


    Before, Ryu had simply assumed that Ailsa''s Qi Realm Cultivation was just as high as her Mental Realm Cultvation. After all, for the human race, a powerful soul couldn''t be stored without a powerful body. As such, every step within the Mental Realm had to be supplemented with a step in Body or Qi.


    But, Ryu hadn''t considered the special abilities of different races. As a Faerie, Ailsa''s soul wasn''t limited by her Body or Qi Realm. Her Soul could improve to infinity even if she had the body of a mortal thanks to her special attributes as a Faerie.


    But all of this was irrelevant.


    Even though Ailsa''s Qi Realm cultivation was only where Elena''s had been almost a billion years ago, it was still far beyond anything Ryu could hope to match right now, especially since Ailsa took every step firmly and as solidly as possible.


    As Ryu scanned Ailsa''s body, he came to realize why it was her Qi Realm cultivation was so slow.


    To put matters into perspective, an absolute genius would reach the Dao Pedestal Realm at just 1 000 000 years old. This same genius would reach the Cosmic Seed Realm at 100 000 000 years old and the World Sea Realm at 1 000 000 000 years old.


    Ailsa was already over 900 000 000 years old, yet she was still in the Dao Pedestal Realm. Though her Mental Realm cultivation more than made up for this, being the equivalent of the Peak Cosmic Seed Realm, this didn''t change this fact at all.


    When Ryu was trying to see what was wrong with Ailsa''s body, he realized that she had actually taken her every step of cultivation as though she was a genius among geniuses despite the fact her Qi Realm talent seemed to be limited by something.


    Others would have moved on when they realized they couldn''t take a perfect step forward. But, Ailsa insisted on taking her Qi Realm to the limits of absolute perfection even if it slowed her down considerably.


    When Ryu wanted to understand why she had done this, he found a flood of emotions instead of coherent thought. He found everything from a will to accomplish her elder brother''s legacy to wanting to be able to stand side by side with her Life Partner when she found him one day.


    The flood of emotions was like a wall of water slamming into Ryu. It was too difficult to put into words, so potent that his gaze reddened.


    Ryu shook his head, regaining his focus. None of this mattered. All he knew was that Ailsa''s cultivation was too deep and powerful to ever have been harmed by him so easily. The only explanation then was¡­


    ''The seal.''


    Ailsa''s body had something of Extreme Yin sealed within it. The only thing that could seal Extreme Yin was Extreme Yang. So, somewhat counterintuitively, the only way to release Ailsa''s Extreme Yin was with more Extreme Yin. That would be the best way to destroy an Extreme Yang Seal.


    However, Ryu never expected things to happen like this.


    Something had disrupted Ailsa''s Seal and the result was this. But, Sarriel had never mentioned anything about the seal''s release being dangerous.


    Of course, Ryu would never trust someone else. The issue was that before he could investigate the seal himself, it had begun to undo itself.


    Ryu believed that there were only two possibilities. The first was that while Ailsa was trying to nurture his Life Flame, its Extreme Yin Character influenced this change.


    But, that was impossible. Even if Ryu''s Flame entered the Rule Realm or beyond, it would be nowhere near strong enough to deal with a seal of this caliber, a seal he couldn''t even see until this very moment.


    This only left the second possibility¡­.


    Elena''s Primordial Yin.

 Chapter 455 Seal

    Chapter 455 Seal¡¡¡¡Ryu felt his pupils pulsing. Compared to the past, he had shattered through many more seals. In fact, both Elena and Ailsa''s Primordial Yins were still coursing through his body. He had been planning on continuing to dual cultivate with Ailsa so that he could resolve all of the energy. But now that this had happened, he no longer had the chance to.


    Ryu''s comprehension of the human body wasn''t shallow. After all, he was responsible for a lot of his parent''s improvements during his life time. His research was especially focused on the Spiritual Foundation for obvious reasons.


    Though he never managed to fix his False Spiritual Foundation, he did manage to find several methods to improve normal Spiritual Foundations despite the fact that such a thing should have been impossible.


    However, when it came to a Faerie''s body, Ryu was at a complete loss. Initially, he even thought of swallowing his pride and taking the risk to call Sarriel here. Maybe if they worked together, they would be able to solve this.


    But, Ryu decided against this for two main reasons.


    Firstly, it was far too dangerous. Having Sarriel here with Ailsa in such a vulnerable position, especially when Ryu couldn''t guarantee his ability to defeat her on his own¡­ It was too great of a risk and it couldn''t be taken unless there really were no other paths to follow.


    The body of a Faerie was incredibly valuable, and this was only more so to a Necromancer. This was something that Ryu definitely couldn''t allow.


    The second reason Ryu chose against this was because he wasn''t as blind to a Faerie''s body as he thought. With his now deep intimacy with Ailsa, there was nothing she knew that he couldn''t learn almost instantly. Even if he couldn''t apply it as well as she could, with his foundation of expertise, he wouldn''t be as blind as someone else would be.


    Realizing this, Ryu immediately took action.


    First, he placed his hand on Ailsa''s lower belly, a strong blue diamond flame erupting around him.


    The surrounding temperature plummeted to the point that crystal formations began to grow along the walls. But, Ryu didn''t let up.


    When it came to defense and sealing, there was no stronger existence among the Phoenixes in this regard outside of the Ice Phoenix. The Ice Element alone was already exceptionally good at these things, but when combined with the Life character of the Ice Flame, it gained a unique synergy that allowed sealing on a level rarely seen in the Martial World.


    Ryu didn''t really want to seal Ailsa, but he had no choice. Of course, this wouldn''t be a true seal, Ryu didn''t have the expertise nor the strength to succeed. However, combining his comprehension of formations with Ailsa''s own, he was able to create a makeshift stopgap to give him some room to breathe.


    Even though this was the first time Ryu had ever attempted to draw a formation, it was completed so simply and casually that it might as well have been another form of breathing. In just a moment, Ailsa''s convulsing frame regained some strength, her haggard breathing growing steady.


    Ryu didn''t relax, though. His gaze became piercing. redirecting the Primordial Yin still circulating throughout his body toward his Pupils.


    Popping noises and the sound of shattering glass resounded. In just a few breaths, Ryu had gone from just over 30 undone seals, to crossing over 50.


    If the world had been clear before, it practically played out frame by slow frame for Ryu now. Everything seemed to become so simple and plain.


    The feeling was intoxicating, as though the whole world was in the palm of his hands. But, Ryu didn''t bask in it.


    As much as he wanted to break more seals, trying to break down his 67th seal took just as much energy as he had spent on unsealing his 10th to 66th. It simply wasn''t worth the trade off anymore.


    Ryu knew that he could undo all of his Immortal Seals and reach the barrier to his Cosmic Seals if he used all of the Primordial Yin right now. But, if he did so, how would he have any left to finish dealing with Ailsa''s seals?


    Ryu hadn''t wasted this Qi at all. Now that his vision was so clear, he could finally see was Sarriel had scene.


    [Ephemeral Tapestry] painted his world all sorts of colors, including his beautiful Life Partner. Seeing Ailsa now, Ryu felt that he could peer into her soul.


    Deep within, Ryu saw all the vibrant golds associated with being a Cultus Faerie. But, hidden on a layer even deeper than that, there was a dense blackness.


    Separating the two halves of Ailsa was a vibrant seal. But, what shook Ryu to his core was the fact this seal used Ailsa''s own meridians as its foundation.


    Ryu''s jaw clenched. It was no wonder Ailsa''s Qi Realm Cultivation was so slow. It wasn''t because she was untalented, but rather because 95% of her meridians were dormant, having its energies coopted for the sake of powering this Seal.


    The fact that Ailsa managed to make it to her current realm at all was nothing short of a miracle.


    With Ailsa''s meridians in such a state, Ryu couldn''t even see if she had a special set of them or not, it was all obscured by the energies of the seal.


    At the same time, it became obvious why neither Ryu nor Ailsa had ever detected this seal before. It was so ingrained into Ailsa that the two were practically inseparable. A normal person would have never been able to see the seal because it would have felt no different from gazing upon Ailsa herself.


    As such, it was no wonder Ailsa was in such a state.


    Finding ample Primordial Yang, Elena''s Primordial Yin had clashed with Ailsa''s meridians not much unlike it had clashed with Ryu''s Primordial Yang. But, in her state of pleasure, Ailsa hadn''t even realized what happened until it was too late.


    This made the matter simple. If Ryu wanted to undo the seal, he would have to slowly work Elena''s Primordial Yin through Ailsa''s body, undoing it step by step. Only then would the process be gentle enough to not harm Ailsa.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu''s gaze sharpened to another level.


    "[Death Acupoint]."

 Chapter 456 A Faeries Meridians

    Chapter 456 A Faerie''s Meridians¡¡¡¡[Death Acupoint]. Ryu had no choice but to thank Ailsa and Elena for this chance because had it not been for them, awakening this ability so quickly would have been impossible. Though it might have been yet another auxiliary ability and not nearly as direct as [Heaven and Earth Gate], [Death Acupoint] was perfect for what Ryu needed now.


    The human body or any living body, for that matter, was an odd thing. Often times, the parameters that controlled it were far too variable for one to understand.


    To comprehend what [Death Acupoint] could do, an illustration of a mortal could be used.


    In the world of mortals, it was very possible to complete the same action every day without injury, but suddenly harm yourself in a random moment due to factors even you couldn''t understand. If you were said mortal, it is very likely that you would have no idea what happened, nor would you be able to pick out what had changed during this time versus all the other times you had completed the same action.


    If one lifted a heavy weight, you might be confident in doing the same thing day after day without worry. Until one day, for some inexplicable reason, you tore your muscle off of the bone.


    If one was fond of gymnastics or explosive movement, you might be very used to completing said movement until one day, for some inexplicable reason, you broke a bone doing the very thing you had been doing for years already.


    This sort of spontaneous injury wasn''t as rare as one might think. If a mortal completed the same actions for long enough, the likelihood that one day some random factor might cause you terrible injury was almost inevitable. This was the reality of the world.


    Immortals were more able to control such factors. Compared to mortals, Immortals had a level of understanding toward their own bodies that reached down to the cellular level.


    But, even if that made these spontaneous injuries more rare¡­ It didn''t completely remove the possibility of this happening¡­


    To a layman, all of this really did seem spontaneous, it seemed as though these random events couldn''t be controlled and could only be dealt with as they came. However¡­ this was only to those who didn''t wield the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    [Death Acupoint] was yet another evolution of Ryu''s senses. It allowed him to see regions where these so-called ''spontaneous'' injuries would occur. The most basic explanation of the ability was that it allowed Ryu to fight with nature''s randomness on his side.


    There were countless variables, each just as random as the last, that came together to form the world we all knew now. [Death Acupoint] was able to read this randomness, predict it, and make use of it.


    When brought to its extreme, [Death Acupoint] could cause a single kick to the leg to force an enemy''s heart to stop, or a simple exchange of fists to cause one''s brain to shut down, or even a subtle shift in the air''s qi to result in cultivation deviation.


    This was why it was called [Death Acupoint]. A single precise strike or action, a movement that would be benign under any other circumstance and at any other time, could cause one''s death.


    The fearsomeness of [Death Acupoint] was clear. It was as though Ryu was fighting with the luck of the world on his side. It was almost like the reverse of [Intuition], but not only could it be used continuously, rather than finding good luck for Ryu, it was able to find all the accumulated bad luck of his enemies.


    Still, one might wonder then why Ryu was using it now. He was trying to save Ailsa, not kill her.


    But that was also simple. As easily as [Death Acupoint] could be used to see through the accumulated bad karma of an enemy, it could be used to avoid these points as well whether it be on Ryu himself or on his Life Partner turned wife.


    Ryu had never undone a seal like this before. He believed that it would be similar to undoing a formation, but he had no way to be certain. Without the expertise, he could only use his eyes to see what would harm Ailsa and do the opposite. Only in this way could he guarantee that he wouldn''t harm her life.


    Without regard for the benefits the remaining Primordial Yin would gain him, Ryu began to feed it through Ailsa''s body, slowly eating away at the seal bit by bit.


    The meridian pathways of a human were already long and complex. Ryu had expected a high race like the Faeries to have an even more complicated network, but the truth was surprising and also very good for Ryu''s goals.


    Ailsa only seemed to have a fraction of the meridian pathways humans had. It seemed that more complex didn''t always mean more powerful. Sometimes, the simplest evolutionary quirks were the most powerful.


    That said, Ryu could see that what Ailsa lacked in intricate networks, was more than made up for by the structure of the meridians themselves. They were thick and shimmered with an almost translucent light. As Ryu began to chip away at the seal that covered it all in a fog, a beautiful display was slowly laid out before him.


    Ryu''s breathing hitched, his hands coming to an abrupt stop. At that moment, Ailsa breathing hurried as well, but soon calmed under Ryu''s own pause.


    Reflected in Ryu''s eye, a swirling black hole of death lay in his path. Compared to the other Death Acupoints he had seen, this one was exceptionally large. It meant that no amount of subtlety would allow him past this region.


    Taking the hint, Ryu delicately retracted his energy and began to chip away from another location.


    What shocked him this time, though, was that rather than a shimmering, crystal-like meridian pathway being revealed like it had from the other location, this part sparkled like black diamond, exuding a somewhat sinister light.


    Ryu was stunned. All the meridians he could think of were almost all completely uniform in appearance. He couldn''t think of any meridians like this that looked like one thing from one angle, but like something completely different from another.


    For example, Ryu''s own meridians looked like a woven and thin black silk coursing through his body. Even after he awakened to the true nature of his meridians, the only change was a slight dark gold hue, but that wasn''t the product of his meridians themselves, but rather the Chaos Qi within them.


    Ryu''s own experience didn''t stop at his own meridians either. He had even extended the research of his parents'' Spiritual Foundations to their meridians as well and he was very familiar with them.


    The more Ryu unfurled, the deeper his shock became. He was certain that Ailsa might not even be aware of the true state of her meridians if she had had this seal from birth.


    It was only after Ryu had been forced to stop and restart from another location several times that he finally understood.


    The network of a Faeries'' meridians were even simpler than he had initially thought.


    This may sound like a ridiculous thing to say until one understood what Ryu meant¡­


    Ailsa didn''t have a single set of meridians. She had two.


    There was a rare talent one could be born with that doubled one''s meridians. Ryu had been well aware of that this mutation was a possibility, but he had been so unfamiliar with the structure of a Faerie''s body that he hadn''t noticed until he cross referenced Ailsa''s memories with his own.


    This mutation, though, came with good and bad.


    The good was that one could store more energy and be far more explosive. In addition, one could use high level techniques before reaching the appropriate cultivation level.


    One had to remember that with the opening of every Pulse and Vessel came the unlocking of hundreds of nodes. Qi Realm techniques derived their strength from forming formations with these nodes to cause strong results.


    A person with this mutation would always have double the nodes of a person at their cultivation level.


    Beyond this, one could even separate one''s meridians to cast the same technique at the same time, thus doubling its strength. Or, one could cast two different techniques and do the impossible.


    With this, though, came the bad.


    It took double the time to cultivate and it was far more difficult to avoid qi deviation with such a set of meridians. In addition, the mutation didn''t make one''s meridians special, so if you happened to be born with a low grade of meridians for one or both sets, you would be screwed.


    One''s cultivation speed with this mutation would always be decided by the weaker set of meridians. It didn''t matter if you had one Ancestral Grade set if the other was Common Grade.


    This was an especially bad fate for Faeries.


    Remembering his adopted sister, Nuri, Ryu knew that half Faeries couldn''t progress in human cultivation techniques at all. In fact, if they tried to, they would only appear to be severely untalented and waste their years to become what amounted to basically being mortals.


    Faeries needed specially calibrated cultivation techniques for their individual talents. Even a slight deviation would result in their talent being wasted.


    Ailsa was definitely aware that she had this meridian mutation. Yet, due to the seal, she had no idea what special attributes her meridians had and assumed she had normal, untalented, Common Grade meridians.


    It was no wonder her cultivation speed was so slow. In fact, it was an outright miracle she had ever made it so far!


    But that begged the question. Just what were Ailsa''s twin set of meridians?


    Ryu continued to chip away.

 Chapter 457 Surrounded

    Chapter 457 Surrounded¡¡¡¡Beads of sweat fell from Ryu''s brow. Though his eyes had managed to recover after their breakthrough, using [Death Acupoint] for such a long time, even though the target wasn''t moving, was continuously draining him.


    However, to this point, it had already saved Ailsa''s life many times. He most definitely couldn''t afford to turn it off. Even if he danced between life and death, he had to continue.


    The hours continued to tick by. And eventually, it became days.


    As time passed, Ryu became more and more worried. Not only were Death Acupoints appearing more and more frequently. But, even now, Ailsa didn''t seem to show any signs of waking. In fact, Ryu could tell she was falling into a deeper and deeper sleep.


    Ryu''s jaw clenched.


    This was why he hadn''t wanted to rush to undo this seal. With Ailsa''s family background, such a seal wouldn''t have been placed down casually. Though Ryu somewhat hoped it was done with malicious intent, because at least then, undoing it would always be a net good¡­ The reality might be the opposite of what he believed.


    If this seal was placed down by Ailsa''s parents rather than some malicious third party, it definitely meant that they had their reasons. That would mean that it wouldn''t necessarily be a good thing if Ryu did this.


    Unfortunately, the moment the process began, Ryu had no choice but to see it through to the end. A partially undone seal was like a ticking timebomb. Ryu was forced into this future the instant Elena''s Primordial Yin made contact with Ailsa.


    There was no way that whoever laid this seal would think that Ailsa would not only lose her virginity, but also do so to a man who had a wife with a powerful enough Primordial Yin to cause such a thing. If her father knew this, and he really was the one to lay the seal, he''d probably drop everything and hunt Ryu down like his life depended on it.


    ''Why is it like this¡­''


    Ryu was finding it difficult to keep a cool head. He could feel Ailsa''s soul slipping into a deeper slumber, but nothing he tried seemed to bring her back.


    ''Could it be that this seal also has restraints on her soul? But¡­''


    Ryu was at a loss.


    Soul cultivation or Mental Realm cultivation was far more difficult than Qi Realm cultivation. If Ailsa had blockers on her soul and still managed to reach the Soul Ascension Realm at such a young age, Ryu truly didn''t know what to say.


    But, likewise, if he was actually undoing restraints on her soul right now, why was it falling into a deep sleep? Shouldn''t it be the opposite?


    Ryu felt as though his years of theorizing and knowledge had suddenly become useless. He tried to use his thoughts to distract himself from his teetering body, but all he found was more and more frustration.


    What made it all worse was that the relief he thought he would feel after finding out his wife was alive wasn''t as much of a relief as he thought it would be. Rather, he had only become more anxious as though the time he had left had been halved again.


    The same way Elena could feel the vague emotions Ryu wanted to convey, so could he feel hers. Yet, not only had he felt that his connection to her was steadily growing weaker, he was certain that just before this began, he felt an emotion infinitesimally close to apathy before.


    Ryu knew that it hadn''t exactly been apathy. It was something more complex than that. But, the fact that Elena''s emotions had been so close to such a thing after learning that he was truly alive made Ryu feel as though he was being eaten from the inside out.


    Had it not been for Ailsa ending up in such a state, the moment he realized such a thing¡­ He really didn''t know what he would be doing.


    A guilt gnawed at him.


    900 million years. How much hardship had she gone through in this time? How many horrors? How much pain and suffering?


    A fury blazed within Ryu''s heart. His blood felt like scorching lava, travelling through his veins and pumping through his chest.


    Ryu''s stopped his hands, clenching his teeth hard. His emotions were becoming more and more difficult to control lately.


    He looked up toward the ceiling of his Immortal Cave. He was better than this.


    Ryu''s Spiritual Sea began to churn, that Immortal Sakura that took root within it shimmering with crystalline ice particles.


    Without hesitation, he sealed off his connection with Elena, trapping it within the Immortal Sakura Visualization and cutting it off from his immediate thoughts and feelings.


    At this moment, being distracted by thoughts of Elena would only put Ailsa''s life in more danger.


    ''Like I said that night. You, Elena Tatsuya, will forever be my, Ryu Tatsuya''s wife. In life and in death, we walk together. In sadness and happiness, we feel together. In this reincarnation and the next, our souls will always be one.


    ''Those were my vows and I will abide by them. I''ll rip anyone who stands in my way apart. Sit tight and wait. If you dare to piss me off like this again, I swear I''ll shave a layer of skin off of your pert bottom with my palm when next I see you.''


    A coldness suffused Ryu''s eyes. He was a man. All this unsubstantiated rage and irrational emotion was nothing but a burden. He wouldn''t allow himself to be ruled by them.


    Ryu turned his attention back toward Ailsa, his gaze growing calmer and calmer. Every single one of his worries were thrown to the back of his mind, a state of absolute harmony coming over him.


    This was the second time Ryu had entered such a state. The first time was when he was stuck in the Loom Clan''s dungeon. But, once again, even he himself didn''t seem to realize it. Instead, Ryu had slipped into Breath of Heaven.


    His movements became quicker, yet somehow less hurried. Each was completed with an air of added confidence, an absolute understanding of himself.


    As though a door had been opened, Ryu almost instantly grasped the truth of Ailsa''s meridians.


    A twin set of Sovereign Grade Meridians. The Nightfall Meridians and the Light Feather Meridians.


    The Nightfall Meridians were a type of Darkness set of Meridians while the Light Feather Meridians were a type of Lightness. One catalyzed one''s qi into a unique Sovereign Grade Qi known as Nightfall Qi while the latter catalyzed one''s qi into a Sovereign Qi known as Light Feather Qi.


    Nightfall Qi was especially known for its heaviness and offensive output. Light Feather Qi was known for its lightness and its speed output.


    Alone, any child born with one of these two would be quite talented and even well received on the Shrine Plane. Even if they wouldn''t be the peak most of the geniuses the Plane had to offer, they wouldn''t be far off either.


    But, Ryu had never heard of two such opposing meridians appearing in the same body. The potential synergy¡­


    A faint memory laying dormant within Ryu''s mind suddenly flashed to the forefront.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. The odds of two such meridians appearing in one body was already astronomically low. But if he was correct, the kind of synergy they could display was most definitely on the level of an Ancestral Grade set of meridians.


    But, all this time, Ailsa hadn''t been using them properly at all, having no idea that this was the true state of her meridians.


    The issue was, though, that this wasn''t a reason to seal Ailsa. Even if the combination of these meridians was quite powerful and also very difficult to control, for a Cultus Faerie whose qi control was definitely on a level all to her own, it shouldn''t be impossible for Ailsa. In fact, Ryu even felt that Ailsa''s qi control was beyond his own.


    Also, Sarriel had said that what was sealed was something of Extreme Yin. The perfect balance of Ailsa''s meridians couldn''t possibly be that. If anything, that would only make things make even less sense. This meant only one thing: Ryu had yet to run into whatever this hidden secret of Ailsa''s was.


    Ryu grew more and more focused, his actions becoming more deliberate and precise.


    The number of Death Acupoints he ran into continued to grow. Without a choice, he had to continuously change his angle, moving to a new spot again and again.


    The pressure seemed to make Ryu calmer and calmer. The rushing of his blood calmed.


    He realized at that moment that he truly cared for Ailsa. It wasn''t an emotion rooted in the fact they were Life Partners and this was maybe the first time he truly said as much in so many words, but this was his truth.


    If she died right here and now, he understood that the grief that he felt would be no less than his losing any one of his family members.


    There was no way he would allow her to die here.


    Sentiments were great, but unfortunately¡­ reality was cruel.


    On the third week of his focused pursuit of freeing Ailsa, Ryu''s hands came to a trembling stop.


    Looking down at Ailsa''s body, he realized that there wasn''t a single place on her meridians left that wasn''t surrounded by a Death Acupoint. If he tried to continue now, Ailsa would die by his hand and be gone forever.

 Chapter 458 Massive

    Chapter 458 Massive¡¡¡¡Ryu stood frozen, not knowing what to do. His mind churned, looking for a solution. But, every avenue he thought of was instantly cut off by himself. Each seemed more impossible to execute than the last and would only result in Ailsa speeding toward her death even quicker.


    Ryu managed to maintain his calm. Despite the turmoil his emotions were currently under, he knew well that they would only hinder him. What good were they if they only made his situation worse?


    Ryu took deep breaths. There was less than 5% of the seal remaining, yet somehow this last small bit had closed itself off completely. No matter what angle Ryu used to approach it, he would be killing her.


    To have such expertise, such a great level of understanding, yet to not be able to use it to help the people you most care about... what a terrible feeling, indeed.


    The memories of that night Ryu took his own life seemed to want to play in his mind at this very moment. Wasn''t this exactly how he had felt back then?


    He was so powerless that he knew that he would be of no use if he stayed alive. In fact, he didn''t tell anyone what he was doing, only leaving vague clues behind for Elena, because he was so weak he knew that it would be far too easy to stop him.


    Yet, here he was again.


    Ryu almost laughed at himself. Every time he hit such a great roadblock, he would be transported back to the worst times of his life. His Origin Flame made certain that every emotion was painted as clearly for him as it had been on that day, ensuring that he would never forget.


    ''There is a way out of this. I''m certain.''


    Ryu stood over Ailsa''s naked body, his brows clenched in thought.


    A Faerie''s body was simply far too different from a human''s. He was already dancing on a knife''s edge choosing to do things this way. But now, he was teetering.


    Ailsa looked so peaceful, not like her life was in any danger at all. But, Ryu could clearly see the slight mark of death hanging above her forehead. Even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn''t. It was the only imperfection on a visage that was otherwise flawless. It was like the Heavens wanted to leave its mark on this beauty, forcing Ryu to remember that even a Faerie Princess wasn''t eternal.


    ''I''ll find a way¡­ There is a way¡­ Even if there isn''t one, I''ll make it. Breath of World.''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened.


    He was a fool. As much nonsense as he said about not letting his emotions rule him, he had still allowed it to cloud his judgment. This should have been one of the very first things that he considered.


    There were indeed many differences between humans and Faeries. This wasn''t the first time Ryu had thought this since he began. But, there was a massive difference that he hadn''t even thought about until this very moment. Compared to this, the differences between their meridians were almost negligible.


    The Faeries took the Ethereal Plane as their home while humans took the Real Plane. Yet, at this very moment, Ryu was in the Real Plane, trying to undo a Seal that was likely laid in the Ethereal Plane. When it was put like this, it almost made Ryu look like a bumbling fool.


    For anyone else, finding a path to the Ethereal Plane would almost be impossible. Even now, Ryu had no way of personally entering this Plane and it was unknown what method the Cultus Clan planned to use to get him to enter their lands. But, that was a matter Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care about right now.


    While it might have been impossible for others, this wasn''t the case for Ryu.


    With a thought, a swirl of spatial qi manifested, causing a crystalline jade to appear in Ryu''s hand. This was the first time in years that he had even bothered to take it out of his Inner World. But, at this moment, it was necessary.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu pressed the crystalline jade to Ailsa''s forehead.


    Ryu had no way of forcing Ailsa to slip out of the Real Plane and into the Ethereal. But, what he did know was that the universe always functioned on the law of least resistance. Whatever was easier to happen would likely almost always happen. It was the probability of the world.


    Likewise, Ailsa needed to use her connection to Ryu to maintain her state in the Real Plane. But, her subconscious state would always be in the Ethereal Realm. While she needed to use energy to stay in her current form, she conserved energy by entering her natural state.


    This was all to say that just how gases flowed from areas of high concentration to low, Ailsa tended toward the Ethereal Realm. As long as there was an outlet present, in her unconscious state, Ryu was sure that her body would take it the chance.


    As expected, no more than a few second later, Ailsa''s body began to flicker in and out. Soon, she flickered out but didn''t come back, making it obvious that he body had entered the crystalline jade.


    Ryu absorbed the jade back into his Inner World and hurried after her. But, what he saw left him speechless.


    The world within the crystalline jade was quite small as worlds went. Even Ryu''s Incubator was far larger than it. The four story structure at its middle was practically the entirety of the world.


    But, at that moment, there was something strikingly different from the last time Ryu had entered, so different and so unexpected that Ryu was at a loss for a moment.


    What once was an expansive sky was covered in a massive shadow. Floating amidst the clouds above, still in a deep sleep, was Ailsa.


    The trouble was that Ailsa was now several kilometers tall. In fact, just one of her breasts dwarfed the legacy castle of the Zu Clan in size.

 Chapter 459 One with Earth

    Chapter 459 One with Earth¡¡¡¡On one hand, Ryu sighed a breath of relief. If Ailsa had appeared in the castle in such a vulnerable state, he had no idea what those Zu Ancestors would do. He had no intention of trusting any one of them.


    But on the other, he was at a loss.


    This made things more difficult. Extremely difficult.


    It was already going to be almost impossible for Ryu to control his energy through two different Planes of Existence. But now with this massive change in the size of Ailsa''s body, he didn''t even know if there was enough energy for him to do so.


    Logically, Ailsa''s change in size shouldn''t make a difference. Since Ryu was undoing the seal on the outside, it shouldn''t take more energy here.


    But, different Planes worked by different laws. Also, Ryu wasn''t na?ve enough to believe that this change in size was meaningless. If anything, it was a clue to Ailsa''s true state.


    In the Ethereal Plane, the soul was essentially the main body. The fact that Ailsa was so massive in the world meant that Ryu had been correct. The undoing of the seal was releasing more and more of Ailsa''s soul potential.


    As a result of this, there was a massive ballooning of Ailsa''s energy. But, without her conscious to control it, it exhibited itself in such a large change in size.


    In her current state, she could even dwarf some Primordial Beasts.


    Ryu clenched his jaw. This wasn''t even the main problem he was facing.


    There was no way for his [Death Acupoint] to account for tens of kilometers at a time. He had barely reached the requirements for unlocking it, how could he possibly use it on such a scale?


    His [Death Acupoint] was limited by several things. One was the strength of the opponent. The second was the number of changes occurring at a time and the number of variables he had to account for. This second factor could fluctuate due to anything from the speed of the enemy to the number of weapons they might wield which would cause different variations in their attack.


    The third and last was the scope. This could be anything from the number of targets he was observing to the amount of land he had to account for.


    The good news was that the larger Ailsa was, it was easier for Ryu to make sure that he didn''t make any mistakes. In addition, since he was now dealing directly with her soul and could confirm that whatever was being locked away was indeed related to it, it should make things more straight forward.


    The bad news, however, was that with her size, Ryu quite honestly didn''t know what to do. Whether it be the energy requirements, his lack of control in this world, even down to the limitations of his [Death Acupoint]¡­ It felt as though everything was bearing down on him from all sides.


    Ryu closed his eyes.


    In this world, he always felt that his connection to Ailsa was the closest. There was nothing barring them and it was almost as though their souls were one.


    Ryu had thought that their intimacy had reached the deepest level there was. But, at this moment, he realized that he was wrong. Compared to how he felt on the Real Plane, this feeling was on a completely different level.


    ''There is a way¡­'' Ryu said to himself silently.


    Since he had found a solution for everything that came until now, he would continue to do so.


    Ryu''s eyes snapped open.


    He suddenly remembered the feeling of controlling himself between two worlds. One had been Osiris and the other had been the Real Plane. It couldn''t really be considered to be two different Planes as one was a Plane while the other was a figurative dream world, but Ryu felt like the concept was still similar.


    Ryu rose into the air, his body steadily becoming less corporeal.


    With a thought, he seemed to fuse into Ailsa, becoming one with her.


    The fusion of the souls was something that any husband and wife could accomplish. But, to reach this state, it would require entering the Ethereal Plane.


    If Ryu was correct, he could become Ailsa, sensing what she sensed and feeling what she felt. Ultimately, he would be able to move her qi as though it was his own.


    If he did this without outside interference, it was likely that Ryu would easily lose himself, maybe even slipping into a coma right alongside Ailsa.


    But, if he was able to use his main body as an anchor and maintain his lucidity, it would almost become like he was guiding the Primordial Yin within his own body, making the process far easier. In addition, it would also become easier to use Death Acupoint like this.


    Whenever Ryu used [Death Acupoint] on himself, the stamina consumption was much less. If he took advantage of this, the size of Ailsa''s body shouldn''t be a problem.


    Ryu felt a coldness grip at him the moment he fused with Ailsa''s soul completely. A deep darkness latched onto him, pulling his soul down with it and trying to force into a slumber no less deep than Ailsa''s.


    In the outside world, Ryu bit his tongue hard. If it wasn''t for the sturdiness of his body, he likely would have chopped it cleanly in half.


    ''Focus!''


    Ryu''s Spiritual Sea rolled as though a violent storm was passing by.


    Without hesitation, Ryu brought out several petals of Silver Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies.


    He crossed Breath of World, entering One with Self. The energies around him reached a high level of resonance, practically singing.


    Ryu began to tear his way through what remained of Ailsa''s seal. Step by step, as though a machine of efficiency, he poured his heart and soul into it.


    The cold became worse and worse. But as though he didn''t notice his blood freezing over, or his skin turning a deathly sheen of white, Ryu pressed forward.


    5%... 4%... 3%... 2%...


    Ailsa''s body grew explosively in size, even to the point the boundaries of the crystalline jade world began to expand under her presence.


    A foggy breath left Ryu''s body as his frame trembled.


    ''One with Earth.''


    1%... 0.7%... 0.4%... 0.1%...


    Ryu roared, his body convulsing madly. By this point, as Ailsa''s body continued to grow in size, his eyes had flooded over with blood.


    With a final push, he shattered the last barrier.

 Chapter 460 None The Wiser

    Chapter 460 None The Wiser¡¡¡¡Ryu''s soul shot out of Ailsa''s body. In that instant, his own collapsed in the real world.


    He clutched his chest, his breathing shallow and extremely cold.


    Even when he was a mortal, Ryu had never felt like this before. With his Ice Phoenix bloodline, even weather that could have killed a normal mortal was like a spring breeze to him. This only became more exaggerated after he began to truly train himself.


    Whether it was his ingestion of yin blood or his practicing of the Ice Phoenix Martial Forms, each had made his bloodlines more and more robust.


    On top of this, Ryu had even awakened his Ice Flame, making him even more impervious to the cold.


    But at this moment, it felt as though his entire body was freezing. His blood slowed, the bumping of his heart reaching a state of lethargy. Every breath he took left a trail of icicles in its wake, almost turning his tongue into a solid block of frozen flesh.


    His body shivered down to its very soul. Even his Spiritual Sea was slowly icing over, becoming a land of snow outside of Ryu''s control.


    Ryu curled into a ball, his body trembling hard. The blood that fell from his eyes froze over, falling to the ground like shards of ruby while the rest latched onto his skin in clearly crimson veins.


    This sort of cold was on a level Ryu could hardly wrap his mind around. Such an all encompassing chill, even to the point of affecting one''s Mental Realm was something even the rarest of cold treasures would find almost impossible to replicate.


    ''I¡­''


    Ryu felt his thoughts slowing down. Let alone think his way out of this situation, he couldn''t do any thinking in the first place.


    ''¡­ Can''t¡­ Die¡­''


    It took Ryu several minutes just to finish this thought. By the time he realized he might have just wasted his last moments on this almost meaningless statement, his consciousness slipped away.


    In the Ethereal Plane, a massive Ailsa continued to hang in the air, her consciousness in a deep state of dormancy.


    In the Real Plane, Ryu had collapsed, his skin freezing over. Icicles slowly formed over his body, encasing him in a cocoon of crystal.


    Unfortunately for Ryu, unlike Ailsa who seemed to be at peace, he was at death''s door. His skin froze, his muscles and bones froze, his meridians and veins froze, even his Spiritual Sea froze.


    Ryu''s soul was weak to begin with. With his poor talent, he had almost no resiliency in this regard. This was only made worse by the fact his soul had yet to take shape and enter the Soul Birth Realm.


    It was then, however, on the precipice of life and death, that deep within the recesses of Ryu''s mind, a flame began to flicker.


    If Ryu''s thoughts had been conscious enough to notice such a thing, he would have been at a loss. This flame was one he most definitely didn''t recognize.


    It didn''t have the blue color of his Ice Flame, nor did it have the red-black color of his Rage Flame or the red-gold color of his Origin Flame. It didn''t even have the illusory characteristics of his Rebirth Flame.


    It was completely white. A small, flickering ball of whiteness that could almost be mistaken for soft, fluffy fur swaying under a gentle winter breeze.


    The flame lay at the very bottom of Ryu''s Spiritual Sea. In the beginning, it had been obstructed by the fog-like Spiritual Qi of Ryu''s Spiritual Entrance Realm. Then, it was swallowed up beneath the liquid of Ryu''s Spiritual Sea after he entered the Spiritual Endowment Realm.


    Now, at this very moment, it began to pulse.


    The cold qi that pervaded every part of Ryu''s body was suddenly pulled in by it.


    The ice that it had been incased in shattered, allowing it to sway more freely as it greedily swallowed up this qi.


    If Ryu had been awake, he would finally remember where he had seen this flame before. It wasn''t that he didn''t recognize it, but rather that he hadn''t paid enough attention when he first saw it.


    This flame, whether it be in aura, looks, or presence¡­ It was exactly identical to the sea of white flames that covered Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation.


    It had been a very long time since Ryu thought of these white flames. One''s Spiritual Foundation isn''t able to be directly used to increase combat strength until one reached much later cultivation realms. In addition, he had no reason to believe it had an existence outside of his Spiritual Foundation.


    Until now, the white flame had been completely dormant. And, even now, as it absorbed such a violent cold qi, it did so, so gently that Ryu didn''t even know what was happening. Even if he had been awake, he might not notice it.


    This flame seemed to exist on a higher plane. Even when looking directly at it, it seemed all too easy to forget that it had ever been there in the first place.


    Whatever this odd flame was, it greedily absorbed the cold qi Ailsa''s soul produced, treating it as though it was a delicacy rather than the dangerous existence that it was. In fact, with every bit it took, it seemed to grow a size, becoming larger and more resplendent.


    As it grew, it became more and more difficult to compare it to a normal flame. It almost seemed alive, but it swayed from side to side like a fluffy ball of fur. It felt almost tangible, yet ethereal at the same time.


    By the time it had swept Ryu''s body clean of all the cold qi, it had grown from the size of a small grain to the size of Ryu''s palm.


    It continued to dance about at the bottom of Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, reaching out its fluffy white tendrils and rooting itself deeply.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Origin Flame, seemingly sensing something, flickered. The wisps of aura the white flame radiated were absorbed by it, causing its embryonic form to grow more corporeal and inch toward wholeness.


    At the same time, Ryu''s embryonic Northern Heavenly Wind also seemed to benefit, growing more fluid and powerful.


    Soon, even Ryu''s other flames began to grow as well.


    All the while, Ryu was none the wiser.

 Chapter 461 How?

    Chapter 461 How?¡¡¡¡Ryu''s eyes slowly opened, his body still slightly shivering.


    ''I''m alive?''


    As much as Ryu wanted to believe that he would always survive, this time¡­ He was truly stunned. The only thing he could think in those final moments that at least he had managed to give Ailsa a chance to survive. But the result was far outside of his expectations.


    ''How?''


    Ryu frowned. Nothing in this world happened by coincidence and he didn''t believe that he was so lucky either. That cold qi¡­ Ryu was certain that even a Dao Pedestal Realm existence would have been helpless against it, let alone himself. This was especially so since he didn''t managed to keep his mind clear and alert.


    Ryu was shocked when he tried to sense the changes to his body.


    He had grown stronger again. Much stronger. But he had no idea why something like this would happen.


    The most shocking part was that when he lost consciousness, his avatar in Osiris had finally been unable to hold on and died. Yet, there was no change to his soul at all. In fact, even his soul seemed to be much stronger.


    ''My Wind Inheritance entered the Rule Realm. My Ice Flame, Rebirth Flame, and Rage Flame all entered the Monarch Realm. Even my Spiritual Sea seems firmer and more organized than it once did in the past as though my Mental Realm talent increased.''


    Maybe the oddest part about all of this was one particular matter: Essence.


    The improvement of just his Great Swordstaffs into the Monarch Realm had given Ryu access to a wealth of Essence that shot him into the Connecting Heaven Realm. In that state, he was even able to battle the absolute geniuses of the Immortal Ring Realm, something he took far more seriously than being able to battle weak Path Extinction Realm experts.


    Yet, Ryu had three Inheritances reach exactly that level, but there was no change to his cultivation at all.


    Of course, he felt tens of times more powerful than he had in the past, hundreds of times even. However, his body was still hadn''t moved toward the peak of the Vessel Tempering Realm and his Qi Realm was still stuck at the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Where had all the Essence gone?


    It was at that moment that Ryu noticed the behemoth within his Spiritual Sea.


    Tendrils of fluffy white spread out in all directions, rooting itself in the seabed of Ryu''s Mental Realm and spreading out across the whole space.


    Sometimes it flickered like a white flame, and at others, it seemed to breathe like a life of its own, filling Ryu''s Mental Realm with a peaceful, pulsing light. There wasn''t even the slightest hint of danger coming from it, it felt no different from an amiable elder relaxing in its junior''s home.


    ''This¡­ white flame?''


    Ryu''s mind seemed to work even faster than before, making him realize that even his Origin Flame had improved. He recognized this white flame almost immediately.


    ''The Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation¡­ It was covered in this flame!''


    Ryu have been eagerly anticipating the Path Extinction, Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realms. These Realms were where the true strength of one''s Spiritual Foundation would begin to shine. He had always thought that he would need to wait for much longer before the secret of this white flame was revealed, but he had never expected for things to actually be like this.


    Unfortunately, Ryu''s pleasant surprise didn''t last for long because he soon realized he had no control over this flame whatsoever. To make matters worse, he had no idea if all these improvements were because of this flame, or if the improvement of the flame was a result of whatever occurred while he was unconscious.


    Ryu shook his head. None of this mattered right now.


    With a thought, Ryu entered the crystalline jade, only to find Ailsa still hovering in the air. Even to this moment, she seemed to show no signs of waking up.


    Ryu didn''t dare to casually fuse with her again to find out what could possibly be wrong. However, he could vaguely feel that Ailsa''s state was nothing like his own. He had been on the brink of death, but Ailsa looked like she was just taking an afternoon nap. Her eyelashes even fluttered from time to time as though she was either having a dream or just might wake up at any time.


    With a frown, Ryu took a deep breath.


    He looked toward the Zu Clan castle. Resolving himself, he walked in and headed straight for the library.


    The sudden change caught the Zu Ancestors off guard. These days, they pretty much spent day after day waiting for their deaths. Knowing how powerful Ailsa was, they realized that there was simply no chance for them.


    By this point, their strength had deteriorated over trillions of years and they couldn''t even stand up to her. It was obvious to them that their years of planning had been foiled by a little brat.


    Without the core Zu Clan inheritance, their descendants on the outside would find it almost impossible to complete the last leg of their plans. At best, they could only wallow in mediocrity as they watched the world flip on its head.


    Day by day, they felt their minds slipping from them. Without a singular purpose or a hope to aspire to, their mental states degraded faster and faster. This was especially so for Flora who had been the youngest of them and carried the weakest mental fortitude.


    However, none of them had ever expected for Ryu to suddenly appear all alone without Ailsa being anywhere in sight. Was this their chance?


    Unfortunately, they didn''t even get the chance to breed new hope before Flora suddenly shrieked.


    "You! You! You!"


    The three remaining Zu Ancestors thought that Flora was having a manic episode, having finally completely lost her mind. But, what she said next shook them to their core.


    "How did you enter the Chaotic Birth Realm of my [Divine Chaotic Annihiliation]!?"


    Her shrill voice echoed through the overwise quiet library.

 Chapter 462 Failure

    Chapter 462 Failure¡¡¡¡In a world on another plane, Rollaith and Sanreth sputtered awake. Each coughed violently, grasping at their chests. The feeling of dying in Osiris was no different from a death in the real world. For them to experience such a thing was definitely a first.


    Though as geniuses of the Cultus Clan, they had gone through many life and death experiences, it was obvious that this was the first time they had truly tasted death.


    Unlike Ryu who had experienced more deaths than he cared to count on the Fourth Floor of the crystalline jade and thus was hardly fazed by his death in Osiris, these two were very different. They were so shaken that they had completely forgotten that they had already informed everyone that they had found Ryu.


    At this moment, the two were the complete center of attention, sitting in a lotus position amidst the eager gazes of several of their family members. However, the moment these twin geniuses began to sputter and cough, everyone''s expression changed.


    Who here wasn''t a warrior who had experienced countless things? It didn''t take much for them to understand that the only was that this could happen would be if those two died. How had this happened?


    At that moment, Rollaith and Sanreth finally seemed to recover. However, now when they faced the looks of everyone, a deep shame welled up in their hearts.


    From on high, the Cultus King looked down toward his grandsons. His jaw remained slightly clenched, not too tight and not too loose. Yet, this singular look make the two young geniuses lower their heads in shame.


    They quickly stood before falling to their knees. Their heads slammed against the ground.


    "We''re sorry, grandfather. We failed!"


    The Cultus King''s expression darkened.


    "What happened? Did he already step into the Path Extinction Realm? That''s impossible. Did he have support we didn''t account for?"


    A cold voice filled the atmosphere. As enraged as the Cultus King was, these two were still his own grandsons, his own flesh and blood. And, they also happened to be the most talented of their generation. Within the Immortal Ring Realm, they were undefeatable within the Cultus Clan. And, compared to the geniuses they had within the Path Extinction Realm currently, they were stronger than they were at this particular stage.


    This was all to say that these youths shouldn''t lose to the point of death against anyone at their cultivation level, let alone someone beneath. So, there were only two possibilities. Either Ryu was stronger than they thought, or he had support.


    "Didn''t I give you two enough resources to bribe anyone in Osiris? It can''t be that you couldn''t bring his allies over to your side?"


    The two grit their teeth, their foreheads still pinned to the ground.


    "He was alone." They finally squeezed out.


    The Cultus King frowned. Was his information about Ryu''s cultivation realm wrong?


    "He was in the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm."


    "What did you just say?!"


    This time, it wasn''t the Cultus King who spoke. Rather, it was one of Ailsa''s many brothers.


    A pressure bore down on the boys from all sides. It wasn''t out of a threatening aura, but the Faeries all around them were so agitated that they could no longer control their strength. Even the weakest among them was within the Dao Pedestal Realm. How could the two Immortal Ring boys withstand such pressure?


    The Cultus King''s jaw became steely. He looked toward his first wife, his gaze flickering with complex lights.


    A Connecting Heaven Realm human defeating an Immortal Ring genius an entire realm and three small realms stronger than him? What kind of monster was this person?


    None of them had ever doubted Ryu''s talent. The Heavens didn''t play such games, since he was chosen as Ailsa''s life partner, he couldn''t possibly be untalented. But, wasn''t this too exaggerated?


    That was what any person would think, but when the husband and wife couple met each other''s gaze, they seemed to have expected this much.


    That could only mean one thing¡­ From what they knew about their daughter, this much was still not surprising.


    It had to be remembered that the Cultus King''s information on Ryu noted him down as a Qi Refinement Realm expert. Yet, he still sent two Immortal Ring absolute geniuses. By any metric, that was more than overkill, yet he had still done it.


    Now, he found out that the brat that had only registered at most a year or two ago had actually improved through two major realms that should have taken decades to cross.


    "You all¡­ Leave." The Cultus King said softly, his voice sounding somewhat deflated.


    "Father! Shouldn''t we send more?!"


    "For what purpose? Now that he knows we are coming, why would he need to continue to log into Osiris? If we''re going to find them, we need another approach. Leave me."


    The Faeries fell into silence. One after another, they left.


    Rollaith and Sanreth clenched their fists. They had actually lost so miserably to someone far beneath them, despite the fact they even lowered their pride to work together.


    Since their youth, they had always taken exception to the fact Cultus Faeries had weak combat prowess. The idea that the Elemental Clans beneath them could produce geniuses who were far more powerful acted as their drive. Eventually, they reached a point where they could hold their heads high for more than just the noble blood that ran through their veins.


    But now, they had lost. Resoundingly.


    It made their blood boil.


    They looked toward one another, a fire reflecting within each one of their gazes.


    This wasn''t the end. They could feel the kind of hope the Cultus Clan was putting in them, especially after the disappearance of their aunt. Whatever was coming, they had to be ready for. Weakness wasn''t something they could afford to accept with open arms.


    They had failed this time, but they wouldn''t fail next time.


    The husband and wife couple watched the auras of their grandsons shifts, not saying a word even as they left with one step after another.

 Chapter 463 Undone

    Chapter 463 Undone¡¡¡¡"Even though I somewhat expected this, I was still caught unprepared." The Cultus King said softly.


    He was prepared for Ryu''s talent, but was still caught off guard by the sheer volume of it. At this moment, he really wasn''t sure what to do.


    The world was simply too vast. He wasn''t his daughter and as such didn''t have a special connection with Ryu. How then could he find them as easily as Ailsa had found Ryu? It was like looking for a needle in the vast expanse of space.


    The Cultus King sighed. "I don''t know if this boy was sending us a message or not, but despite the fact both of those brats died, I couldn''t sense any injury to their souls."


    How could the two little nephews actually dare to repeat Ryu''s words to their grandfather? They were just happy they weren''t punished.


    "¡­ They seem to have gotten word?"


    The Queen seemed to shift the subject completely.


    "Well, they''ve been looking for her as furiously as we have. It''s not a surprise that they got word almost as soon as we did. But, I''m afraid that this time, they''ll truly be disappointed. It''s impossible for my little girl to marry into their family now. Even if I wanted to allow it, it''s certain that they wouldn''t now." The King replied wearily.


    Their relationship with that Clan had been contentious ever since the matter with their eldest son occurred. Now, once news of the failure to retrieve Ailsa spread, the tension between the two would only grow worse.


    "Marrying off my daughter before she was even born was a foolish decision to begin with. In this regard, I will never stand on your side."


    The Cultus Queen spoke coolly, not holding back with her words. Just because she wanted to save Ailsa from Ryu, it didn''t also follow that she wanted to ship her daughter off to someone else, especially with how many question marks there were about that Clan.


    "Having a few connections with that Clan didn''t seem like a bad idea at the time." The Cultus King said. "A Clan on that level doesn''t just pop up out of nowhere like this. Someone would have sensed them in the Stream of Fate long ago. Yet, it''s like they just appeared.


    "There''s a massive secret behind this. With our daughter''s talent, she wouldn''t have been a mere pawn, she would have been the right hand to an Emperor among Men."


    "If you really believed what you were saying, why would you agree to seal her?"


    "You know that was different. It was simply a precautionary measure. I planned to undo the Seal after she completed her Immortal Rings. But, who would have thought that that lass would run away. It did her some good to gain some perseverance without relying on obscene talent. Who knew all my efforts would go to benefit an outsider?"


    "An outsider? And that Clan isn''t?! They might not even be from any Plane of Existence we''re aware of! How could that be any closer to being an outsider?!"


    Despite her sickly appearance, when the Queen became furious, she seemed to have momentum that surpassed even her husband. Any softness she seemed to carry sharpened into several blades aimed for her him.


    The Cultus King met his wife''s eyes and sighed.


    Back then, his most talented son had still been alive and he hadn''t been worried about the future. He thought he was only securing a path to the top for his daughter. But, who knew she would actually be so talented?


    The moment Ailsa was born, he already had thoughts of annulling, but it was a delicate thing. So, he chose to leave it in his daughter''s hands.


    When the initial contract was signed, he had left a way out for his daughter, but that way out would require her to hold strength greater than her future husband. In order to help Ailsa refine herself for this goal, the Cultus King laid one of the most delicate seals of the Cultus Clan.


    This seemed to be a malicious seal, but the truth was that much like all the other techniques of the Cultus Clan, it was meant for nurturing.


    The Seal would lock away a large portion of the target''s talent for a period and once it was undone, it would allow for explosive growth.


    The trouble was that the longer the seal was laid down, the harder it was to undo. Theoretically, this meant even better results, but it was also impossible to tell if there would be any side effects for leaving it down too long.


    Who knew that his small exercise in teaching his daughter perseverance and helping her to refine her Mental Realm would actually end in his precious little girl running away and disappearing for almost a billion years?


    The markers of the seal were so subtle that even though Ailsa knew it existed, she might never even suspect that it had been cast on her. And now they were here, almost a billion years later and the seal still laid down.


    And that Clan¡­ They called themselves the Martial Gods.


    "Huh?!"


    The Cultus King shot up right in the middle of his wife''s enraged rant.


    The Queen frowned, almost ready to snap for her husband cutting her off. She really didn''t seem sickly at this moment at all.


    "The seal was undone!"


    However, these words caused her to freeze in her tracks.


    **


    Ryu stood at the library entrance, unfazed by Flora''s aggressive gaze. At the moment, she was completely unlike her usual na?ve and innocent self. Though, Ryu knew that that had been a fa?ade, seeing her in such a state almost made him sigh inwardly.


    "Ah¡­!"


    Eska''s exclamation truly caught them all off guard. If Flora''s could have been ignored as a manic episode, what was Eska''s exactly? Of them all, she had always been the calmest.


    What was happening here exactly?


    Of course, Ryu knew why. He had progressed quite far in Eska''s [Immortal Sakura] as well¡­

 Chapter 464 Night Shade Dew

    Chapter 464 Night Shade Dew¡¡¡¡Ryu wasn''t in any mood to entertain these Ancestors. He had no love lost for these people who had already tried to kill him on multiple occasions. If it wasn''t because they might still be useful for some things, he might have already tried to find a way to kill them all.


    In truth, the real reason he hadn''t was because Ailsa kept mentioning that there should be a fifth. But, even until this point, Ryu had never laid eyes on this supposed fifth Ancestor or even caught a faint wisp of them. It wasn''t even certain if this person was still alive at least.


    Without a word to the Ancestor, Ryu began to comb through the books within the library. He had always known that this place was quite extensive. With how ancient the Zu Clan was, they most definitely had a whole host of knowledge that Ryu had never seen before.


    At that moment, Ryu was hoping that he could find something about Ailsa''s seal here.


    By now, Ryu had already realized that Ailsa was in fact aware of this seal''s existence. As such, he also knew that it was a special technique of the Cultus Clan. But, according to what he knew from Ailsa''s memories, the effect of the seal grew more powerful ¨C exponentially so, even -- the longer it was active.


    The problem, then, was obvious. According to what Ailsa knew, she shouldn''t have slipped into a coma. But, very obviously, she had this time. Clearly something had gone wrong but Ryu didn''t have enough knowledge to understand exactly what it was. Without a choice, he had to come here.


    As for the danger the Ancestors provided? He didn''t have the mind to care about it right now. In thanks to Flora''s technique, as long as he didn''t get too close, he at least had a small chance of protecting himself.


    Ryu poured through book after book, tearing his way through several deep theorization compendiums on seals.


    The main difference between seals and formations was in their philosophy. The latter sought to harmonize with the energies of the Heavens to produce a sort of fantastical result. Seals, however, were the opposite. They disrupted the energies of the Heavens in order to disrupt a sort of fantastical result.


    There were malicious seals that acted more like curses. There were defensive seals that were often used in battle. There were nurturing seals, preventative seals, even some rare offensive seals.


    The scope and range was just as endless as formations themselves. But, as far as Ryu saw it, formations and seals were just two sides of the same coin. He had such a deep understanding of one that grasping the other felt like breathing to him. In fact, Ryu felt that he somehow understood seals even more than he did formations.


    Without even testing it, Ryu knew. If he drew seals with his Chaos Qi, their potency would be beyond anything anyone had ever seen.


    ¡­


    The Zu Ancestors watched Ryu flip through tome after tome, their minds growing numb. The knowledge in those books were so densely packed that they knew it should have been impossible for anyone to go through them so quickly. If they hadn''t known better, they would have thought that Ryu had come here purely to mess with them and show off.


    But, this child who could hardly be bothered to show respect to them even as four Sky Gods¡­ Was he ever the type of person to do this? They knew deep in their hearts that Ryu was absorbing all of this information like a sponge.


    Ryu put down the last book, his brows furrowed into a tight crease.


    Even after all his reading, he only managed to boil it all down to a single point: whatever was happening now had little to do with the seal itself and everything to do with whatever talent of Ailsa''s it had been suppressing. More accurately, whatever backlash or unexpected symptom wouldn''t be coming from the seal, but rather from Ailsa''s talent itself.


    The seal functioned as a suppressant. But, it wasn''t a perfect one. Rather, it was designed to stir up the latent potential of one''s talent and force it to fight back. Unfortunately, with the seal being anchored by your body itself, it was impossible for your talent to destroy it without believing that it was destroying itself.


    This led to a game of tug of war where one''s talent continuously advanced and retreated. This back and forth and these ebbs and flows resulted in one''s talent being purified and gradually being caused to mature.


    From Ryu''s understanding, a few hundred to a couple thousand years was optimal for this seal for multiple reasons.


    Firstly, there was a limit to everyone''s talent. Even with the seal, it couldn''t be caused to grow indefinitely unless you were an extraordinary genius to begin with. In the latter case, your talent would have such great potential that having the seal would be more efficient than gradually improving your talent on your own.


    However, the second reason was what made it unfeasible to do so even in the latter case. The longer the seal was active, the deeper it would be engraved into your body. If not for Ryu''s [Death Acupoint] and the fact he could fuse with Ailsa as one, the seal may have never been undone successfully.


    To make matters worse, there would soon be diminishing returns. Or, rather, the opposite depending on your perspective.


    Eventually, the growth of the talent would far outstrip the growth of its vessel, resulting in a situation where the talent was too much to handle for the host body!


    It was then that Ryu came to a chilling conclusion. Had Ailsa not been a Faerie, and had her talent not been soul related¡­. Undoing the seal after so long would have killed her.


    The unique characteristic of Faeries was that they didn''t need a strong vessel to contain their souls. Unlike humans who needed a strong enough body to house a strong soul, Faeries didn''t have this problem and could grow their souls indefinitely regardless of their Qi or Body Realm Cultivation.


    Had Ailsa been a human, the ballooning of her soul would have completely destroyed her body. Unless she had an Origin Grade treasure like the Immortal Jades the Zu Ancestors used to maintain their forms, she would be finished.


    Luckily, Ailsa was a Faerie. As a result, her body simply ballooned in size.


    And, even more luckily, Ailsa''s pair of meridians were only of the Sovereign Grade, or else who knows if they would have caused problems of their own.


    Ryu felt good that he understood this now, but it all still left him at a loss. He didn''t understand what Ailsa''s talent was even now and he didn''t dare to investigate it again for fear of falling into another coma.


    He wasn''t afraid for himself. But, if he fell into another one, there would be no one left to protect his body. If he was unsafe, that also meant that Ailsa would be unsafe. That wasn''t something that he could afford to allow.


    Ryu took a deep breath and closed his eyes.


    ''I know all of the important things. Firstly, I know Ailsa is a Lower Spiritual Ascension Realm expert. Second, I know that her talent is related to the soul. Thirdly, I know that it has an extreme yin characteristic. Fourthly, I know that she''s fallen into a coma to acclimate herself to this. Fifth, she''s a Faerie.''


    Taking all of these things into account, Ryu shot through a store of his memories. What he wanted was simple.


    He needed a soul nurturing herb that functioned well for Faeries and also wouldn''t agitate a soul with yin characteristics. Lastly, it had to be a Spiritual Herb capable of being of benefit to a Soul Ascension Realm expert.


    ''There are a few possible answers but I can''t risk Ailsa on anything less than the best. I need the Higher Mystical Grade Night Shade Dew.''


    When Ryu came to this conclusion, he put the final tome away and turned to leave the library.


    If others knew that a Connecting Heaven Realm expert was thinking of laying hands on such an herb, who knew how they would react? Even Ailsa''s bank in Osiris didn''t have enough funds to so casually by such an herb.


    Of course, this wasn''t because the Cultus Clan couldn''t afford it, but rather because they had never really put much effort into Osiris to begin with. It had always been a casual endeavor on their part.


    But, Ryu didn''t care. If he needed to rely on his woman''s money to save her, what kind of man would he be?


    He simply had to enter Osiris again. Their trade market would definitely be the best way to find such a high level herb. Even if he had to risk running into more Cultus Clan nephews, he would do it.


    Just as Ryu was about to leave the library, though, a voice suddenly called out to him. Maybe it was because of the almost pleading tone within it, but despite his poor mood, Ryu actually came to a stop and turned his head back.


    "Please hold on a minute Ryu." Eska called out.

 Chapter 465 What Can You Provide?

    Chapter 465 What Can You Provide?¡¡¡¡Eska felt her soul shudder when she met Ryu''s gaze. For some reason, this Connecting Heaven Realm junior made her feel as though she had been seen through completely.


    When Eska realized that Ryu was indeed in the Connecting Heaven Realm, she couldn''t help but suck in a cold breath. When she had met Ryu barely three years ago, if that, he was still in the Pulse Opening Realm. She couldn''t wrap her mind around how he had leapt through so many Realms in such a short time. Just what kind of monster was he?


    Even though the Connecting Heaven Realm was worthless before a Sky God like her, this didn''t mean she had forgotten how long it should have taken to clear to this stage. Even for her, she had already been over a hundred years old.


    Of course, her best talent was in her soul and not her Qi Realm cultivation, but that didn''t mean she wasn''t still an absolute genius in this regard. Yet, compared to Ryu, she felt like nothing more than an ant.


    Taking a deep breath, Eska adjusted herself, It was unknown when Ryu would return to this library. In addition, he currently seemed troubled by something. Although Eska knew that for such a stubborn person, trying to take advantage of their weakness would only push them further away, Eska had no choice.


    If things really continued like this, her Clan would be finished and the Zu name would disappear in the annals of history, never to recover.


    "I know that we have wronged you." Eska admitted plainly. "It was unseemly for elders like ourselves to go to such lengths to deal with a child. For that, I apologize. However, I hope that you can see from this how desperate we are.


    "I, as an Ancestor of the Zu Clan, have a responsibility toward ensuring that it survives. As such, I was willing to take on the blemish that would come with the actions that I have taken.


    "Even though it is shameless, now that I have failed, I ask that you give us just one chance. Though our talent cannot be compared to your own, we are still four Sky Gods with countless lifetimes worth of knowledge and information. In addition, with the coming calamity, working together would also be of great help to you and your future.


    "We are willing to listen to any demands you might have. As ridiculous as this might sound since you already have our Clan''s core treasures in your hands, we will still try our best to fulfill any other demands you might have."


    Eska finished her words in a single breath, clenching her teeth after she was done.


    She knew well that her words hardly held any weight. It wasn''t about whether or not they could truly provide something of value. Maybe Ryu believed that they really could. The issue was whether or not if what they provided was great enough to warrant the risk of putting his life in the hands of these Ancestors again.


    From the very beginning, these Ancestors had made their goal clear. They wanted nothing more than to reunite with their family members. In the meantime, killing Ryu would just make everything far more convenient. Maybe to them, Ryu would always be a means to an end. It had to be remembered that the only reason Eska taught Ryu her [Immortal Sakura] in the first place was because she wanted him to lower his guard and not suspect them.


    Eska wouldn''t blame Ryu for thinking this way again. But, at this moment, she was truly at the end of her rope.


    What Eska didn''t know, however, was that Ryu didn''t care about threats to his life. In fact, he felt that the more threats there were, the stronger he would grow and the faster he would do it. His entire life consisted of throwing himself into situations that might get him killed in the next second.


    So, completely outside of Eska''s expectations, Ryu spoke his next words evenly and without a care.


    "What can you provide me?" He asked coolly.


    "Ah¡­" Eska was caught off guard by the quick response. But, not long after she recovered, sitting up almost like a bolt of lightning. Any slouch to her posture completely vanished.


    She was truly an enchanting beauty. Ryu hadn''t been lying when he said that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen back then. Of course, he then met Ailsa soon after who managed to match her thanks to her status as a Faerie.


    And, though Ryu didn''t want to think about it, after millions of years of cultivation, Elena''s looks had already been refined to be infinitely close to this level as well though she fell a small ledge short of Ailsa and Eska.


    Ryu might have locked his link to Elena away. But, long before that, he had already caught a glimpse of her looks through her soul. With his Origin Flame, it was already etched onto his soul.


    Still, at this moment, Ryu couldn''t help but feel his blood boil when he looked at Eska''s body stretching upward like that. In her quick movements, her large breasts weren''t able to keep up, leaving them bouncing within her flowing white dress all to their own.


    Ryu was never a shy person. When he met Eska, he was able to ignore her looks easily. But, with his Bloodlines growing ever more powerful and his intimate time with Ailsa being cut short, he had a fire in his belly that had yet to be released.


    As such, he wasn''t reserved with his gaze in the slightest, causing Eska to realize that her actions just now weren''t as elegant as she usually was.


    But, rather than being off put by Ryu''s unrestrained gaze, she actually felt a light of happiness. The Ryu she knew was nothing more than a block of ice. If he showed this sort of interest now, at least there was a chance to bring some warmth to their relationship. This would make things much more cordial in the future.

 Chapter 466 Hope

    Chapter 466 Hope¡¡¡¡Happiness bloomed within Eska''s heart. Even if Ryu''s condition was to marry her, she would accept in a heartbeat.


    She had never been with a man in her life, but she had already long since become a Sky God. The reasons she had used to put off love in the past were meaningless after reaching such a height. How could she focus on cultivation any more after reaching the pinnacle of all that there was? Maybe, somewhere deep within, she regretted never settling down and having a family of her own.


    Of course, she didn''t have such feelings for Ryu. He was nothing more than a child in her eyes. At most, it would just be her sacrificing for the sake of her Clan, something she had already done plenty of in her life time, even down to tying her soul down to this place.


    Plus, as far as sacrifices went, this one wouldn''t be too bad. Ryu''s talent was clear for them all to see. And, he might have been even more of a beautiful man than she was a beautiful woman. Also considering the fact she didn''t have the inhibitions of a young woman as a seasoned elder, she didn''t see anything wrong with giving herself away like this.


    She was mature. She had long since forgotten the childish dreams of love and prince charming she had in her youth.


    Taking a deep breath and regaining her composure and elegant demeanor, Eska began to speak. Her long white hair flowed, her graceful curves restraining themselves as though playing a game of cat and mouse with Ryu''s libido.


    "Firstly, you should know that though this crystalline jade contains all of our Zu Clan''s most valuable teachings and training facilities, all of core importance to the rebuilding of a clan, what it doesn''t have are true resources. There are endless techniques and fountains of knowledge here, but we can lead you to true wealth.


    "The remnant of the [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique I mentioned to you before is just one example of this. But, that remnant is actually from one of the Ruins our Zu Clan knows how to find the location of, all of which are related to the Ancestral Beasts."


    When Ryu heard this, his gaze rose from Eska''s curves. One would never think that he was drinking in the sight of a beauty by his eyes which remained as cold as ever. However, Eska didn''t mind this. As long as he was looking, that was enough for her.


    "Ruins?" Ryu said slowly.


    "Yes. We have information on many such Ancient Ruins."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. The further back a Ruin was dated, the more difficult it was to find. The Dark Phoenix Ruin was the oldest Ryu had ever found, but even then, it was only because he was looking for its Shrine. As such, he had clues to work with many wouldn''t have.


    There were nine Eras in history. From oldest to most recent, there was the Chaos Era, the Primordial Era, the Ancient Beast Era, the Sky God Era, the Shrine Era, the Blossoming Era, the Pedestal Era, the Golden Era ¨C which Ryu was born in ¨C and finally, the current Martial Era.


    Of these, Ryu had the knowledge necessary to explore a Ruin from almost any Era. However, the oldest one he had ever found was from the Shrine Era.


    It was obvious. Usually, the older a Ruin, the more valuable it was.


    From Ryu''s understanding, these Zu Ancestors were from the Sky God Era. That meant that whatever Ruins they were talking about had to be from that Era at worse, better yet, it might be from the Ancient Beast Era since Eska mentioned them.


    A faint excitement gripped at Ryu''s chest. In his first life, he had always lamented not having strength of his own. The closest he could get to any sort of thrill was exploring Ruins even though he had always had Nuri by his side.


    It had been a long time since he discovered and explored a new Ruin. He hardly counted Hecate''s at all. Though, he had been planning on searching other Death Ruins he had in mind if the Tri Palace couldn''t give him any further clues about becoming a Summoning Necromancer.


    Seeing that Ryu was interested, Eska finally began to relax more and more. As long as they had something of value to give, there was always a chance. Even if it had just been herself, she would have been happy. But since Ryu was interested in more than just this, she finally felt true relief.


    "The second help we can provide is with our unique Visualizations. Though I guided you in my [Immortal Sakura] in the past, I held back a lot back then. With us, your already blazing speed will be even faster¡­"


    Eska listed off many benefits. But, after the first, everything else paled in comparison. Even the second was almost meaningless to Ryu. If it wasn''t for the fact that Ailsa was in a coma, he could learn their Visualizations whenever he wanted. It was only slightly more enticing since he didn''t know when Ailsa would awaken.


    After Eska finished, she fell into silence, waiting for Ryu''s response.


    Ryu shifted his gaze away from Eska''s body, something he found to have been too difficult. He found his current state to be ridiculous, but there was nothing he could do about it. A cauldron of emotions was stirring inside him already, having a volatile Bloodline that wanted him to fuck everything in sight definitely wasn''t helping his mental state.


    "What is your Visualization?" Ryu turned toward Balaur, asking a question he didn''t know the answer to.


    Among the four Ancestors, Balaur was the only one that didn''t look like a refined scholar. In fact, he was quite burly and brutish. If it wasn''t for his flowing white hair and piercing white eyes, it would have been impossible to think of him as a Zu.


    Balaur, much like his other two companions, had been watching Eska''s interaction with Ryu with complicated gazes. They were all seasoned veterans, how could they not see the sacrifice that Eska was willing to make?


    Even though they were all born in different generations, after so long of being stuck here together, how could they not grow close? To them, Eska was a big sister.


    Hearing Ryu''s question, the usually boisterous Balaur sighed in what almost looked like defeat.


    "My Visualization is called the [Elemental War God]. Its stages are¡­"

 Chapter 467 Greets...

    Chapter 467 Greets...¡¡¡¡"¡­ The Staff Stage, the Outline Stage, the Skeleton Stage, the Vein Stage and finally the Wheel Stage."


    It wasn''t only Ryu''s face which became weird after hearing these names, but even the Ancestors looked toward Balaur as though he was losing them a serious amount of face. If it wasn''t for the fact they knew for sure that he was one of them, they might really expect that an imposter had snuck in just to make them all lose face.


    Unfortunately, the matter only became worse after Balaur explained every stage. It made one feel as though he had created such a powerful technique only to let a toddler name it all for him.


    It had to be remembered that names carried power in the world of cultivation. For Balaur to name his things so casually then pass it on to the later generation like this¡­ it was as though he wanted his descendants to remember him by spitting up blood whenever they used his Visualization.


    It was such a shame because at least Elemental War God was a decent name. It was like Balaur used all his thinking power on that, then didn''t have any left for the rest of it.


    "The main ability of my Visualization is in the use of the Elements, obviously. In my opinion, most use the elements far too crudely, especially us humans. In my eyes, only the Faeries are somewhat decent at it, but even then they''re lacking in many respects.


    "The Staff stage of my [Elemental War God] allows you to summon forth an Elemental Staff. This staff makes the use of the elements much more fluid even without the need for Inheritances."


    Happily chatting, the burly Balaur waved his palm, causing what looked like an ancient staff to appear and hover before him.


    The staff was quite short, being only about a meter long. But, it had a large bulbous head of oddly shaped bark covered in what looked like patches of moss. If Ryu didn''t know better, he would have thought that Balaur just picked this up from a nearby forest.


    With a thought, all sorts of swirling colors manifested around Balaur.


    "This staff allows you to tap into pure Elemental energy just like a Faerie would. Rather than relying on an Inheritance to call down Essence to then summon an Element, you can bypass this step entirely."


    Different bulbs of light formed around the staff. Different shades of fire, swirling blades of green wind, arcs of violet, blue and golden lightning. It all looked quite fantastical.


    "Much like Eska''s [Immortal Sakura], my [Elemental War God] Visualization can also be specially tailored to a person as well. Though you can summon any Element with my Visualization even without comprehending an Inheritance, it is also possible to fuse an Inheritance comprehension with my Visualization to make it several times more powerful¡­ For example¡­"


    Balaur''s aura changed. A strong surge of Essence descended from the skies. In the blink of an eye, his ancient looking staff had suddenly become covered in scales of diamond, shattering the wood beneath to leave behind nothing but a shimmering crystal staff that was now a meter and a half long.


    "This is my favorite iteration, it perfectly fuses a Crystal Inheritance I stumbled upon as a youth.


    "Plus¡­ It allows me to bash in my opponent''s head with just a few swings." Balaur grinned.


    At that moment, several shimmering lights coalesced around the staff, forming thin knives of crystal that made Ryu''s eyes narrow. They looked simple and danced about almost like fluttering butterflies, but Ryu knew that just a single one could end his life before he was even aware.


    Balaur, however, didn''t seem to have any intention of doing this as he continued to show off.


    "The second stage is the Outline Stage." Balaur smiled and continued. "This stage allows you to apply a thin skin of Elemental energy onto your body. Depending on your preference, you can do with this stage as you please. Some of my descendants chose to leave a barely perceptible second layer of skin on themselves, some chose to form valiant battle armor, and some chose to fashion robes of Elemental energy.


    "Regardless of what you choose, the ability you gain is the same.


    "The first ability is a boost in defense. This defense is especially good against Elemental attacks and Spiritual Qi attacks. But¡­ Since you have Eska''s [Immortal Sakura] to protect you physically and Flora''s [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] to protect your mind, this won''t be very useful to you. Though, it could always act like an unexpected line of defense.


    "The second ability is a small Domain that functions similarly to a Monarch Barrier. It can also Synergize well with a Monarch barrier as well, allowing you to accumulate more pure Elemental energy more quickly."


    Balaur lost himself in his explanations. He almost seemed eager for Ryu to learn his Visualization as quickly as possible. He too wanted to see just how far Ryu could go with it¡­


    "The third stage is the Skeleton Stage. This stage is invisible to the eye and can integrate directly with your body. But, it''s at this stage that most of my descendants reached a bottleneck. Without certain levels of bodily talent¡­ It''s basically impossible.


    "This stage allows you to form the legendary Spirit Bodies usually exclusive to Ancient Beasts and Faeries. If you succeed in mastering this stage, you can break your body down into pure Elemental energy. This can be used to escape attacks and move faster.


    "But, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Once you succeed in this, your Elemental affinities will skyrocket and your oneness with nature with also soar, boosting your chances of comprehending a Natural Enlightenment by several folds.


    "Beyond this, you can passively absorb Elemental energy to strengthen and heal yourself, you''ll be more sensitive to Elemental treasures, and you can even store energy in your very flesh and bones to be used as you see fit."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "And, what if I already have a Spirit Body?"


    Balaur choked on his on enthusiasm. "What did you just say?"


    Rather than responding, Ryu stretched out a hand.


    With a crackle, it disappeared into arcs of blue lightning only to quickly reform into his usual fair hand.


    Balaur''s eyes widened before he suddenly opened his mouth to roar.


    "None of you bastards can fight me for him!"


    The other Ancestors were stunned before they looked at Balaur like he was crazy.


    Seemingly realizing that he had stepped out of line, Balaur coughed lightly and put on a refined appearance as though he had never had an outburst to begin with.


    "This is perfect, this is beautiful, this is better than anything I ever thought I would get so long after I died."


    Balaur almost wanted to shed real tears. And, in fact, he did. His so-called refined appearance didn''t last long as sparkling tears fell down his cheeks. A soul shouldn''t have been able to cry unless it was experiencing something truly beyond it, yet here it was happening now.


    "¡­ If you use a Spirit Body as a base to enter the Third Stage, I''ve theorized that it should be possible to form a Perfect Spirit Body.


    "If you manage to breakthrough as you form your Soul for the Soul Birth Realm, you can form your Soul of the Elements. This will remake your soul and give it the very same invulnerability your body has.


    "In addition, even if your soul should be injured, just like your body, it would be possible to heal it just as easily as absorbing more Elemental energy.


    "If you accomplish this, your Spirit Body will be more malleable and easy to control because there will no longer be any disconnect between your soul and it!"


    Ryu''s pupils constricted when he heard this. If what Balaur was saying was true, this matter wasn''t just as simple as this. He had gained great control over his Spirit Body after his six month long retreat, but even now it felt a bit stiff. He couldn''t use it as fluidly in battle as he wanted even now. But, he had very quickly realized that he had reached the limit of he could do.


    That was just one aspect of it all. Beyon that, with [Tribulation Nine Clouds], Ryu was already absorbing lightning into his soul. However, in order to do this, he needed to draw specific formations and was greatly limited in the results he could receive.


    But, if his soul was made entirely of lightning, this would be a different matter entirely. He wouldn''t need [Tribulation Nine Clouds] to improve his soul because he could take this opportunity to rebuilt his own soul from the ground up. At that point, whatever poor talent he had would be next to meaningless and Ryu''s only weakness would be made up for in spades.


    Ryu took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto Balaur. Seeing the tears and hope in the burly man''s eyes, Ryu did something he never in his life thought he would do.


    He took slow steps forward. From his location hundreds of meters away, he was completely safe from the Ancestors. With the Jades they were using to sustain their lives, they could only exhibit their strength within a small area. Yet, Ryu discarded all of this to step closer to all of them.


    From start to finish, his eyes were completely locked onto Balaur as he entered the circle of the four Ancestors.


    Then¡­ Ryu fell to his knees and lowered his head to the ground.


    "Disciple, Ryu Tatsuya, greets master."


    Balaur was stunned, the tears falling from his eyes sparkling beneath his shock.


    Then he began to laugh. He laughed so uproariously that the castle itself quaked.

 Chapter 468 Factory

    Chapter 468 Factory¡¡¡¡Ryu never thought he would take such an action in his lifetime. There were many complicated reasons he chose to do so, each of which was dearly important to him. But, even with this being that case, he felt the most uncomfortable he ever had in his entire life at this very moment.


    Ryu had always believed that he would never need a master. He learned things far too easily and was often wholly unimpressed by whatever was put in front of him. Even when it came to impossibly great Visualizations like the [Immortal Sakura] or the [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], he could see through their depths with a just a single glance. He had never really been impressed by any of them.


    This wasn''t to say that Ryu felt as though Balaur''s Visualization was so far beyond him. In fact, it was very much the same. Ryu believed that after a while, he would be able to see through it all just as easily. However, where the difference lay was in the significance of this technique to Ryu and, maybe just as importantly, the significance of this technique to Balaur.


    Balaur was a simple man. He had the same devilishly handsome looks one would expect from a Zu and a Sky God, but he had a personality that made him almost seem like a brute. He had a thick face of facial hair that was such a blinding white it almost made him look like an incarnation of Zeus and a bright smile and laugh that was almost childish in nature.


    It was because Balaur cared so much even to the point of shedding tears that Ryu was so moved.


    On the one side, there was Ryu who saw this technique as the best method he had of healing his one true weakness. The filling in of this gap would make him a talent the likes of which the world had never seen before, and even more importantly, it would give him even more certainty in saving his family and seeking revenge for them.


    On the other, there was Balaur. He was a man who had already reached the end of his lifespan and only carried the singular hope of helping his Zu Clan through this coming calamity. However, on a deeper level, he was the Elemental War Sky God, a man who at his deepest core wanted to see the technique he gave his whole life to reach its greatest potential.


    All of this sentiment sounded great, but ultimately, anyone observing this would still raise an eyebrow.


    Considering how eager Balaur was, and how the five were currently in the middle of a negotiation, Ryu would have been able to learn this technique with ease even without going so far. In addition, considering the usual Ryu, something like sentiments and pity weren''t things that he would ever make decisions on¡­ usually.


    Ryu had spent a lot of his life soaking in his own pride and arrogance. To him, the two words practically meant the same thing.


    However, for some reason at this moment, maybe because of his worry for Ailsa, maybe due to his complicated feelings for Elena, or maybe as a result of a combination of both¡­ Ryu simply didn''t feel right ignoring the tears of this Sky God.


    It was probably yet another form of arrogance that Ryu believed that simply allowing this man to take him in as a disciple would fix everything. But, even now, there were certain bits of his pride that Ryu wouldn''t ever let go of.


    Ultimately, maybe even Ryu couldn''t quite put into words why he had chosen to do this. If there was any of the four Zu Ancestors he would have chosen as a master from an initial look, it probably wouldn''t have been Balaur. But¡­ Fate worked in mysterious ways.


    And maybe¡­ A part of Ryu wanted to lay a burden down for once¡­ Even if that burden was simply his own arrogance.


    Ryu''s demeanor seemed to change when his forehead touched the ground. His aura became deeper and fuller, his breath becoming more stable and unhurried. As though something had clicked, he felt a rush against a barrier he had sensed long ago¡­


    Though this rush receded like a tide just as quickly as it came, only for it to be missed by Ryu once again, the pupils of the Zu Ancestors still constricted into pinholes.


    The first time was within he Loom Clan dungeon. The second time was when his soul reconnected to Elena. And the third time was at this very moment¡­


    The Ancestors looked toward one another, but Balaur''s laughter only became more boisterous.


    "Come, come. Stand, stand. You don''t need to be so formal with me."


    Ryu felt a sweep of energy he couldn''t even resist bring him up from his knees. The difference in strength between him and even these remnant spirits was so great that any fighting back he would have wanted to do wouldn''t have been anything short of laughable. But, he still didn''t regret his decision to come here.


    Balaur looked Ryu up and down, grinning wider and wider. Though he knew that they weren''t of the same family, just the fact that Ryu shared their Zu Clan''s white hair and silver eyes made him especially pleasing to Balaur. It almost felt like one of his descendants had finally come back home like a prodigal son.


    "Ah!" Balaur smacked his forehead. "What a blunder. Master is just a spirit and doesn''t have any treasures to give you."


    Balaur blushed with an adorable kind of embarrassment that made Ryu smile beside himself.


    Seeing such a scene, Flora, Eska and Morvar looked on in shock. This boy knew how to smile too? What was going on here exactly?


    "Ah, how about I betroth you to Eska? This is the best Master can do for you. Of course, if you want Flora too, Master can give you her as well."


    "Balaur!" Flora snapped.


    "What? Did I say something wrong? Look at how handsome and talented my disciple is, you should be giddy with joy!"


    The petite Flora shot up from her position, chaotic energy sweeping all around her.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. However, the energy never made it to him as Balaur blocked it.


    "What do you think you''re doing, little lass?! I would spank your bottom to teach you a lesson, but I''ll leave that task to my disciple in the future."


    "You!"


    Balaur erupted into another fit of laughter, hardly able to hold himself back. He looked as if he would take any chance he could get to call Ryu his disciple.


    "Alright, you all shut up, I''ve yet to finish guiding my precious disciple. I won''t forgive anyone who interrupts me!"


    Flora could only sit like a little bundle of rage. Who knew how such a small body could possibly hold so much energy in it?


    "Hold on, Balaur. What about me? Who knows, if I explain my Visualization, maybe Little Ryu will change his mind and take me as a Master instead?"


    "Are you trying to fight me, Morvar?! I have a club with your name on it if you say another word!"


    "Ah, you''re finally calling that Elemental Staff by its appropriate name. You''re a shame to all Mental Realm Masters, actually using your Visualization like a blunt weapon."


    "Don''t listen to him, Little Ryu." Balaur directly ignored Morvar. "His Visualization is called [Infinite Formation Eye], his naming sense is even worse than mine. Its only use is in deploying formations quickly by forming many ''Formation Eyes'' at once. He''s basically a glorified formation flag creator, he''s useless. He doesn''t even have any stages, you just spawn more and more Formation Eyes. Don''t call him Morvar, just call him factory. It''s all he''s good for."


    Morvar''s lip twitched. His Visualization was the dream of Formation Masters all over the world, but somehow it had been emasculated to a production factory in Balaur''s words. Wasn''t this a bit too much?


    To be able to almost instantly deploy even large scale formations in the middle of any battle could turn the tides of even a war, let alone against just a single enemy. How could Morvar not feel some resentment after hearing this?


    But, Balaur had continued right after ignoring him without a care in the world.


    "Beyond the skeleton stage is the vein stage, Little Ryu." Balaur spoke with almost too much care and affection. "The vein stage is something I created near the end of my life. Originally, the wheel stage came before it until I added this later on. Most of my descendants have skipped over it and those that have tried to use it have only stumbled. But, I think you can do it.


    "The vein stage is a product of my research into the various Elemental Races. It fuses with the outline stage and allows a wielder of my [Elemental War God] Visualization to etch the meridian pathways of these special races of people and beasts into it.


    "As you probably already know, the meridian pathways are simply the most ancient form of formations the Heavens bestowed to the world. This is why techniques require you to circulate qi along certain pathways and through certain nodes in specific patterns. This action elicits the manifestation of a technique.


    "The Vein Stage allows you to snatch the meridian patterns of races more talented in the Elements than we are and use them to boost the strength of your Elements.


    "For example, if you take the Fire Dragon, one of the most powerful Elemental Creatures in all of existence. If you mapped out its meridian pathways perfectly, it would be possible to reproduce the Fire Dragon''s legendary Rage Flame, thus making the Visualization infinitely more powerful!"


    Ryu''s brows raised. It seemed he had yet to give this master of is enough surprises today.

 Chapter 469 Guidance

    Chapter 469 Guidance¡¡¡¡Balaur looked toward Ryu''s flame blankly for a moment, not knowing what to say.


    It had to be remembered that when Ryu first came here, the Ancestors had already seen through much of his talent. However, having Ancient Beast Blood and actually awakening their Talents were two completely different concepts entirely.


    Balaur couldn''t help but feel his lip twitch. How much was this brat hiding from them exactly? If he didn''t for some reason choose him as a master, how many things would he be completely unaware of?


    Balaur took a deep breath.


    "I''m sure that as of right now, using the Rage Flame is difficult for you, right? Though it''s very powerful, the best you can do is probably use it to coat your weapons? Have you tried to fire breathe?"


    Ryu nodded. He had indeed begun to fire breathe and that was probably his strongest application of his Rage Flames. But, even in the dream world Osiris, it caused his body temperature to skyrocket. If he didn''t also have his Ice Flame, his body would have collapsed due to overheating.


    "I have." Ryu nodded. "My body began to overheat. I have to use my Ice Flames to compensate."


    Balaur sighed and shook his head. The casual reveal of yet another Elemental energy on the same level as Rage Flames left him at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. This little disciple of his was truly too much.


    "This makes sense." Balaur nodded. "Though you have Fire Dragon Blood, you still have the meridians and body of a human. What they can take isn''t necessarily something that you can. Even when your body reaches a pinnacle level, you will still fall short of them. Do you know why?"


    Ryu nodded again. "It''s like the difference between soaking in water and drinking it. I am able to survive a long swim, maybe even for an extended period of time if need be. But, I''ll never be comparable to an Ancient Beast who could swallow the entire lake should they choose to do so."


    "Mm¡­ It''s a matter of affinity. No matter how much an Ancient Beast uses their Talent, it won''t harm them in the slightest and there won''t be any limit other than their stamina. But, to you, even if you make your body several times more powerful, you will still be resisting rather than integrating. They are one with their Flames, but you can only use their Flames somewhat better than someone else could.


    "However, if you use the Vein Stage, especially if it''s combined with the next Wheel Stage, you can create the perfect vessel for your talent, thus relieving your body of the burden it needs to carry.


    "In fact, with every Talent you awaken, you can then add it to your Vein Stage and make it far easier for you to use."


    Ryu took a deep breath. This was all excellent.


    The difference between him passively using his Rage Flames and breathing it was like night and day.


    That day in the Mountain Barbarian City, the concentrated beam was so powerful that it could have collapsed the entire mountain had Ryu chosen to do so. The difference in strength between using his Flames in that way versus just as a coat to his weapons was more than a hundred times.


    Yet, breathing fire, at least at the level Ryu used it, was only the cheapest, simplest and weakest method of flame control the Fire Dragons had.


    And this was just the Fire Dragon. What about the Phoenix? What about the Lightning Qilin? There were too many things Ryu had yet to properly tap into.


    Balaur grinned. "Worry not, Little Ryu. In order to perfect the Vein Stage, your Master spent a lot of time traveling the world and beating up any suitable beasts I could find. All the ones I defeated have long since been thoroughly dissected by me and properly recorded. I also entered the record of a fair number of other species as well, even some humanoid. Here."


    Balaur waved a hand and secret compartment of books Ryu would have never found opened. With a surge, a thick tome landed in Ryu''s hands.


    Ryu''s eyes widened. Even without opening the cover, he felt like a heavy weight had surrounded him. The roars of countless beasts shocked his ears, each of which wanted nothing more than to shatter his soul completely.


    "The Ancient Beast I have the most knowledge on is the White Tiger. It''s them I received my Crystal Inheritance from. But, this is not suitable for you, your talents are already too great to deviate from the path before you.


    "Flame, Ice, Lightning and Wind. These four Elements will become the core of your Elemental strength. They are very balanced in their uses, it''s rare to have so many high affinities so once you begin to practice, I believe your strength will touch upon a completely new level.


    "The Fire Dragon is excellent in explosive, quick burst offensives, especially in close quarters. The Fire Phoenix is undefeatable in recovery. The Ice Phoenix is exceptional in defense and area control. The Lightning Qilin is a King of long ranged combat. And your Northern Heavenly Wind will make you undefeatable in movement."


    Balaur diligently guided Ryu without a care in the world. He practically forgot that there were three other Ancestors beside him, but as he watched Ryu soak up his knowledge so quickly, he really didn''t have time to care for them. He was too busy feeling gratified.


    "¡­ We won''t mess around with your flame, ice or lightning Elements. Just focus on the beasts you share a bloodline with. There are some gaps in the knowledge I''ve left behind on those four beasts, but it''s nothing that you, with their inherited memories, can''t fill in.


    "However, for your wind¡­. You have a few potential choices even if we focus on speed. There''s the Spectral Mink, the Wind Elemental Faerie, and finally, the Ancient Beast, Wind Dragon."

 Chapter 470 Follow Along

    Chapter 470 Follow Along¡¡¡¡The Spectral Mink could be considered to have two high class affinities in both Space and Wind. They were well known for their speed. But, their offensive output was enough to make anyone go numb as well. Very few who had ever seen their Wind Spectral Scythes had ever lived to tell the tale.


    Ryu immediately crossed this possibility off of the list. His spatial affinity was only average, and that was just considering his overwhelming comprehension abilities and sensitivity to energy. Objectively, if these things were ignored, his spatial affinity was nearly nothing.


    This wasn''t entirely true, considering every Heavenly Pupils wielder had a modicum of spatial qi affinity due to their Inner Worlds. But, compared to Ryu''s other talents, he saw it as nothing even if it would be enough for a lower class genius to brag about for their entire lifetime.


    The Wind Elemental Faerie was an excellent choice. However¡­ Ryu felt a small bit of discomfort using the dissected remained of a Faerie, even if it was just the research it produced, to strengthen himself.


    The usual Ryu wouldn''t have such hypocritical feelings. After all, he had a tome of human skin that he read through without a care in the world.


    It could be said that this wasn''t a discomfort Ryu felt, but rather one Ailsa felt. With their souls fused like this, he could instinctually tell.


    For that alone, he chose to ignore that option.


    Therefore, the final remaining choice was the Wind Dragon.


    Compared to the Fire Dragon, the Wind Dragon was far weaker. Though, this didn''t say much since the Fire Dragon was the strongest Dragon Ryu was aware of. There were plenty of Dragons the Fire Dragon was stronger then.


    However, when it came to speed, the Wind Dragon was unmatched amongst those of the Dragon Race.


    While the Fire Dragon was a western type dragon, the Wind Dragon was eastern and had a long, snake-like willowy body.


    The Wind Dragon also had decent attack strength, but Ryu didn''t care much for this. It seemed he would have to study the body of the Wind Dragon well.


    **


    Ryu stepped out of the crystalline jade for the first time in a long time. He felt the distinct lack of Ailsa''s presence immediately. But, toward such a thing, he could only sigh.


    Ryu closed his eyes. ''It''s no longer appropriate for me to continue to interfere in the Zu Clan matters¡­''


    Originally, Ryu wanted to join Violet Olive to stir up trouble for the Zu Clan and find an outlet for him to train. If he ran into some trouble, then good. But, he couldn''t very well continue doing this now that he had one of their Ancestors as his Master, right?


    At this point, Ryu even hesitated about still having Esme as a corpse puppet.


    He had invested a lot into Esme up to this point. And, she was also the best option for dual wielding his twin daggers. As a former Mental Realm Master, she was definitely the best option.


    Ryu sighed. Thinking back to the bright smile Balaur left him with, urging him to come back once he was ready to enter the Soul Birth Realm so that he could help Ryu reform his soul, Ryu almost felt like he was looking at one of his grandfather''s.


    ''Forget it.''


    Ryu entered Osiris with a thought, finding himself appearing in the very same spot he had died. When he revived he was given an option of either returning to the city or this place, but he obviously chose this place.


    Seeing that Esme was still there, kneeling on the ground where he had been lying dead a moment ago, he sighed agin.


    Ryu went through the process of sending Esme out and was soon back in the Immortal Cave with her standing before him. With a wave of his hand, her soul completely dissipated.


    Like ash floating in the wind, her body crumbled and fluttered away.


    Though things were like this, Ryu didn''t feel much heartache. In fact, he felt much lighter and freer. Very soon, he was sure that he''d have an opportunity to get himself many more corpse puppets, maybe some even more powerful than Esme.


    With that, Ryu returned to Osiris and secretly entered the city to exchange the quotas for Violet Olive. Then, he left as though he had never set foot in the city to begin with. As for if he''d ever see Violet Olive again¡­? Who knew?


    **


    Ryu walked out from his Immortal Cave weeks later, his expression indifferent and his eyes steady. Before him, a group of elders stood along with the youths who would be entering the Tri Palace.


    Sarriel''s eyes brightened when she saw Ryu. But, when she simultaneously saw a distinct lack of Ailsa, she blinked, feeling somewhat confused.


    Unfortunately, when she tried to see through Ryu this time, she felt as though she had been rebuffed by a strong wall, leaving her stunned. She couldn''t wrap her mind around what could change in such a short period of time. At the moment, Ryu felt like a bottomless pit she couldn''t get to the bottom of?


    How could she know that in the time she hadn''t seen Ryu, he had gone from just 9 seals undone to over 50? In the beginning, the biggest advantage Sarriel had over Ryu obviously wasn''t the quality of her Pupils, but rather the number of seals she had undone in comparison to Ryu. But now, they were back on an even playing field.


    And, on such an even playing field¡­ How could the First Ranked Heavenly Pupils lose?


    Ryu swept a gaze over Sarriel. But this time, he could see through her disguise with a single look. For the first time, Sarriel felt as though she had been completely stripped naked as Ryu''s gaze lingered along the outline of her hidden curves.


    From start to finish, Ryu didn''t seem to notice Zulfiqar''s murder filled gaze in the slightest.


    "Shall we go, then?" The amiable elder Ryu had now learned was Zulfiqar''s master, Elder Xanfyr, spoke with a leisurely pace.


    Ryu nodded, his gaze not leaving Sarriel.


    "Mm." Xanfyr nodded.


    At that moment, a massive carriage appeared in the skies, pulled by spectral horses that stood at just over a hundred meters tall. Their eye sockets trembled with green flames and their hooves danced with the same eerie color.


    "I will follow along." Ryu replied.


    Before anyone could wonder what Ryu could possibly mean by that, a sonorous cry filled the skies. The call alone seemed to disperse all the wraiths the surrounded the Sect.


    "QI! QI!"


    Little Rock appeared, shooting into the skies with a coat of golden lightning wrapped around his gorgeous, silver feathered body. Lights bounced off his almost scale-like feathers, shimmering with a metallic hue that reflected a rainbow of colors.


    Little Rock''s long, slender neck shot up proudly, a single flap of his wings causing the massive spectral horses to shiver despite being only a fraction of their size.


    Ryu lightly stepped, falling like a feather to Little Rock''s back.


    "Sarriel. Come here." He said with an irrefutable tone.

 Chapter 471 Dominance

    Chapter 471 Dominance¡¡¡¡Sarriel blushed profusely hearing Ryu''s almost commanding words. Yet, she still obediently floated over and stepped onto Little Rock''s back. She immediately felt as though much of her strength had been restrained, the arcs of golden lightning sapping away much of her power. But, it felt more numbing than painful.


    The young men of the cohort immediately felt a belly full of rage. But, with a single flap of his wing, Little Rock had already vanished, appearing more than ten kilometers away. The speed left even the elders of the Moonlight Blossom Sect feeling numb. Could they even catch up to such a speed?


    ''That beast¡­ is of the Sovereign Grade at worst¡­''


    The more they learned about Ryu, the less things seemed to make sense. There was no way that a Yang Lightning beast of that caliber could be born in this world of Yin. Just where the hell had Ryu come from?


    But, if he really was from another world, why wasn''t he being rejected by the Faith of their Moon World? It didn''t make any sense no matter how they thought about it.


    The best explanation was that his Throne came from one the Sects or Clans of their Moon World, only then would he be able to simultaneously come from an outside world and also not be rejected. However, they simply didn''t recognize such a Throne.


    "Let''s go, everyone." Xanfyr said with a smile.


    This time, the group was being led by Xanfyr, Zulfiqar''s master, and Balroth, Niel''s master.


    At that moment, though, the youths were all looking toward Niel with daggers coming out of their eyes. Toward this, Niel could only chuckle with a hint of embarrassment on his face.


    He had gone out of his way to try to get these youths to accept Ryu long before he came. But, not only had he not even really succeeded, Ryu didn''t bother to try to ingratiate himself and simply slapped all their faces.


    "Alright, alright. There''s no need to look at me like that. I already tried to warn you all that Junior Sister Sarriel liked him, but what did you all say? I''m more heartbroken than all of you."


    A young man named Jarwin snorted. "You know that''s not the problem, Senior Brother Niel."


    It was clear to them all that Ryu had only done this to assert his dominance. He saw their thin veil of hostility and didn''t even bother to deal with it, choosing to snatch the woman they all wanted for himself without even lifting a finger. He just said a few words and she obediently followed afterward. How could they not feel humiliated?


    "Fine, I get it. Ryu isn''t a very social person and he takes the slightest slights to extremes. We''re soon going to all have to be working together toward the same goal and you''ve all seen personally his level of talent. If we want a better chance at surviving against the likes of the Nightingale Mansion, the Black Winds Kingdom, or, most importantly, those freaks of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, we will have to come together as one.


    "Isn''t that right, Zulfiqar?"


    From start to finish, Zulfiqar was the only one who hadn''t begun staring daggers at Niel. In fact, his gaze had never left the sight of Ryu''s retreating back. For him, Sarriel was only an extremely small part of it. Though she was quite pretty even in comparison to others of her cultivation level, she was still lacking in comparison to the women he had his eyes on. And, she was far lacking in status.


    Of course, Zulfiqar only thought this way because he had never seen through Sarriel''s disguise. But, his main ambition would still be to crush Ryu beneath his feet. This humiliation that had been welling up in his chest for several months now¡­ He would repay it in full.


    Niel shook his head and sighed. After he had said his peace, everyone boarded the massive carriage and shot into the distance. But, even at their fastest speed, they couldn''t catch up with Ryu and Sarriel.


    ¡­


    Sarriel sat cross legged beside Ryu, a strong blush on her face. It only seemed to become deeper the longer Ryu spent in silence.


    "¡­ Wh¡­ Where''s Ailsa?" Sarriel finally squeezed out these words.


    "You don''t need to worry about that." Ryu replied.


    His words didn''t seem to be too cold or too warm. They could only be considered to be lukewarm.


    After leaving the range of the other youths, Ryu''s current mood could be considered to be balanced. His heart felt lighter than it had a few days ago, but he still had some faint worries. Of course, his top priority now was still finding the Dew he needed to help Ailsa awaken.


    Ryu hoped that with the abilities of the Tri Palace, he might chance upon it. After all, there was a reason why such a treasure had appeared within a world of Yin. It might very well have many treasures of this ilk for Ryu to take advantage of, and that was perfect.


    Even if he couldn''t find the exact treasure he needed, he didn''t doubt that he would be able to find something of the equivalent level. Then he would be able to exchange it in Osiris for what he needed.


    Truthfully, Ryu did have such a treasure on him already. The Spirit Seeking Lilies, namely the Golden Vein ones, would go for maddening prices at an auction. If it really came down to it and Ryu had no choice, he would trade a petal or two in.


    However, even for Ailsa, these Spirit Seeking Lilies weren''t easy to grow more of. The Silver Vein ones were relatively easier, but the Golden Vein, and especially Black Vein ones, were almost impossible. So, unless Ailsa''s life was in danger or Ryu was left without a choice, he wouldn''t casually bring them out.


    As for his other treasures, they obviously couldn''t be regrown at all, so it was impossible for him to give them up.


    At this thought, though, Ryu''s mind couldn''t help but drift back to the Black Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies.

 Chapter 472 Exceptions

    Chapter 472 Exceptions¡¡¡¡Ryu shook his head and brought out Little Gem, gently stroking the little ones head. If there was anyone as depressed about Ailsa''s coma as him, it was definitely this one right here.


    Without Ailsa, Ryu couldn''t afford to ignore the little one for long. So, he had no choice but to continue Little Gem''s treatment on his own based on Ailsa''s plan.


    Sarriel blinked several times, seeing Ryu take out such an adorable little beast. She almost wanted to rush over and nuzzle with it. But, thinking of Ryu''s personality, she had no choice but to hold her womanly instincts back, pulling all the will power she could muster together.


    Surprisingly, Sarriel wasn''t able to see through Little Gem''s origins. However, Ryu wasn''t very surprised by this. The curse on Little Gem was a far greater barrier to seeing through her true potential than any powerhouse could hope to put up. If it wasn''t for Ailsa and Ryu seeing Little Gem hatch personally and Ailsa having knowledge of this curse, they would have had no idea.


    ''The Black Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies¡­''


    Ryu shook his head again, still not having an answer. He could only ignore it for now.


    Little Gem stuck out her little pink tongue and yawned. Nowadays, whenever she finished having her fill of Ryu''s energy, she would hop around a bit and immediately feel too tired to do much of anything else. In the end, the little one collapsed into a deep sleep, her little paws grabbing a hold of Ryu''s clothing.


    Ryu smiled lightly, scratching around Little Gem''s gem. The little one seemed to like when he did this a lot, even to the point where she smiled in her sleep.


    "¡­ How do you know the way to Tri Palace?" Sarriel tried to break the ice with Ryu again. With him, it almost felt like she had to do so literally.


    "The key directs me." Ryu replied.


    "Oh¡­" Sarriel felt that she had hit another wall.


    She tugged at her robes a bit nervously. Though Ryu didn''t seem to feel awkward in the slightest, the silence was killing Sarriel. Even at their speed, it would still take several days to reach the Tri Palace. If things continued like this, she would die of a pounding heart before they ever got there.


    "¡­ Why did you call me to join you?" Sarriel tried again.


    For such a shy girl, she seemed intent on getting Ryu to talk. Or, maybe it was just that she was less shy and more socially awkward than anything else.


    Sarriel believed that Ryu must be socially awkward as well, but the truth couldn''t have been further from this. Ryu could socialize just fine. It was just a matter of if he really wanted to or not.


    Ailsa had tried to convince Ryu to make his own faction in the past, but he outright rejected. More recently, Ailsa had hoped that Ryu would make some friends after entering Osiris, hoping that the environment of more talented youths would help this along. But, once again, most had been stone walled by Ryu.


    He hadn''t even tried to say goodbye to the members of Violet Olive, not that they could truly be considered friends to begin with.


    Ryu didn''t believe himself to be a good leader, so he never wanted a faction. Even if he was, he might still choose this path. He was certain that his family only fell so swiftly due to betrayal, there was no other explanation.


    The mountain that lay before him was already tall enough. He didn''t want to make it any taller by having to worry about being backstabbed.


    "You know the answer to that already, don''t you?" Ryu replied, still petting Little Gem. "You are a beautiful woman and the easiest way for me to draw a line between me and them."


    Sarriel blushed profusely. "But, there was Isatalia present as well. She''s also beautiful. Why me and not her?"


    Ryu seemed to remember that there was indeed one other woman amongst those youths. She was indeed quite a beauty, and much more seductive judging by her clothing. If you could ignore the scent of death on her, she was, indeed, a ripe fruit to pluck.


    However, Ryu still found Sarriel''s question to be ridiculous.


    "There''s no comparing your true appearances. Plus, you''re the only one I could guarantee would follow."


    Sarriel''s blush deepened even further. But, when she looked at Ryu''s side profile, she almost passed out.


    Only one he could guarantee would follow? Sarriel was certain that Isatalia would had jumped at the chance had she had the opportunity. It was like Ryu wasn''t even aware of his own charms.


    Truthfully, Ryu had spent much of his first life ignoring women. It wasn''t like Elena was the only woman to throw herself at him. Just his status as a Scion alone warranted this, let alone the potential of passing on four Ancient Bloodlines to his descendants.


    Plus, since he was a mortal, theoretically, it was marginally easier for him to have children.


    However, Ryu''s charm in this life was very much separate from his status and his use as a sperm bank.


    "¡­ What do you like in women?"


    "In women?" Ryu rose an eyebrow. "I like confident and strong women. I like women who are arrogant and prideful."


    Sarriel blinked, not having expected Ryu to really answer. She really couldn''t get a read on this man. Theoretically, Ryu should have abstained from answering at all.


    However, she soon lowered her head. Confident, arrogant and prideful. These were all things that she was not.


    "Are there any exceptions?" Sarriel asked softly.


    "Exceptions?" Ryu''s mind fluttered to the memory of a certain half Faerie, a guardian that had always been by his side. "I guess there are, yes¡­"


    Of course, Sarriel had no idea that Ryu wasn''t talking about her at all. But, her heart still fluttered wildly, completely out of her control.


    Ryu suddenly turned his head toward Sarriel, only to find that she was as red as a tomato, even down to her long, drooping ears. She looked quite adorable at the moment.


    "You still haven''t explained what a Fey like you is doing in a world as small as this one." Ryu said.

 Chapter 473 A Peak Higher Than The Clouds

    Chapter 473 A Peak Higher Than The Clouds¡¡¡¡"Ah¡­" Sarriel was at a loss on how to reply. "¡­ I had no choice but to come here. It''s a world that fits perfectly with my affinities and it''s not so weak that I can''t progress and not too strong that I have to worry about my life."


    If the powerhouses of the Moon World heard this girl''s words, it was hard to tell how they''d react. A woman they would see as no more than a little girl actually didn''t deem them to be a very big threat. In some ways, it was quite funny. But, in reality, it was the truth.


    This world had a hard cap at the Dao Pedestal Realm, it was impossible to improve beyond this limit.


    In the past, the powerhouses who reached such a level weren''t even allowed to run rampant on this Moon World. Instead, they would have been assimilated into the Awoken Moon Sect. And, they would have gladly accepted this. After all, this was the only path for them to ever hope to surpass this cap.


    As a result of this, the overall level of this Moon World when Ryu''s Clan ruled it never surpassed the Path Extinction Realm and it was perfectly controlled.


    After millions of years of being left to their own devices, though, these old rules had long since been forgotten. It was very unlikely that these powerhouses would still remember the rules of old. This was why Ryu didn''t bother to try and use his status to his benefit.


    Even if Ryu could use this status, though, he definitely wouldn''t. Living a cushy, well protected life wouldn''t help him improve as fast as he needed to.


    "And your Clan?" Ryu asked.


    "They¡­" Sarriel fell into silence.


    Most people would wonder how such a powerful Clan could possibly run into trouble. But, this was probably the last thing someone like Ryu who had been through so much would ask. He knew well exactly how such a powerful Clan could fall.


    As such, Ryu didn''t press for more answers.


    He assumed that whatever happened should have been a big deal. But, for Sarriel to have experienced it, it must have happened within the last 5000 years. For obvious reasons, Ryu wouldn''t have information on such a thing.


    After a moment of silence, Sarriel finally gathered up the will to speak again.


    "After I finish with Tri Palace, I will be confident enough to go off to a larger world. When that time comes, I''ll step into the real cultivation world and grow to my full potential. Then, I will get my revenge."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t say anything in response. It seemed that even this shy girl had ambitions of her own. But, who didn''t? It would make less sense if she had none and was simply wasting her time away in such an inferior Sect.


    However, what Sarriel said next left Ryu not knowing whether to laugh or cry.


    "Y¡­ You can come with me!"


    Ryu was speechless.


    His normal instinct would be to say yes. After all, the greater danger he was in, the better. He didn''t care much for Sarriel, but if she could bring him a challenge to push himself to his limits, he would take it.


    But, the issue here was that whatever enemy Sarriel was facing, an enemy that could threaten even the Fey, an ancient race no lesser than the Ancestral Beasts, was definitely not to be trifled with. Ryu would go as far as to believe that if he had the strength to help Sarriel with this, he would already have the power he needed to avenge his family.


    In such a situation¡­ What point would there be in still challenging himself like this¡­?


    ''What point would there be¡­'' Ryu silently thought to himself.


    For some reason, he looked into the skies. Having left the range of the Moonlight Blossom Sect, the sky was no longer shrouded by a perpetual darkness. Instead, thick white clouds precipitating an endless fluttering snow hung above, covering much of the sun''s rays.


    There was hardly an inch of the Moon World that wasn''t shrouded by snow. But, this high up, it was a beautiful sight to behold.


    Ryu reached out a palm, holding Little Gem in one arm and allowing the other to catch this soft, fluttering snow.


    Sarriel found herself watching Ryu with her mouth partially hanging open. If it wasn''t for the drizzle of drool the threatened to fall from the corner of her mouth, she would have never snapped out of it. It was just that the contrast between Ryu''s fluttering white hair and gently falling snow made her heart go wild.


    The Fey were as close to nature as anything in existence. For Sarriel, Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body was a lethal shot. Whenever she got distracted, it took all her will power to not pounce on Ryu.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice the fatal attraction he presented. He simply continued to look into the skies, mumbling the same words again and again.


    ''¡­ What point would there be¡­? What point does there need to be? I want to stand at the top of the world with my own two feet."


    Ryu had been born atop the world. His talent was the greatest, his clan was the strongest, his wealth was endless, his blessings were infinite. But, in all of that, he still sought a thrill that his weak body refused to allow him to feel.


    To ascend the mountain on his own, to crush his enemies beneath his feet, to split the skies with his gaze alone and raze the earth with a thought. This was him. Whether his family was in danger or not, he would want to stand above all that there was.


    He wanted to sit on that mountain again with a peak higher than the clouds. But this time, he didn''t want it to be because he was born there.


    His fist clenched, crushing the snow that had accumulated on his palm.


    "Sure." Ryu replied plainly. "I''ll go with you."


    Sarriel felt her vision go blurry, a jet of blood shooting out from her delicate nose.


    ''He''s so cool...''

 Chapter 474 Grimoire

    Chapter 474 Grimoire¡¡¡¡Ryu turned his focus back to [Elemental War God], not minding Sarriel''s antics. He faintly felt that this klutz was quite amusing. But, that didn''t mean he had any intention of lowering his guard around her.


    Ryu hadn''t begun to Visualize [Elemental War God] just yet because he was extremely confident. He had instead spent all his time with Balaur soaking up as much knowledge as he could. Now, he felt like he was ready.


    For now, Ryu could only complete the Staff Stage and the Outline Stage. He would have to leave the Skeleton Stage until he was ready to break into the Immortal Ring Realm. For an absolute genius, this would take about 900 years. Without outside influences, Ryu was confident in whittling that down to a couple hundred at most. But, even that was too slow for him. He hoped that this Tri Palace would give him some surprises.


    With a thought, Ryu began to complete the Staff Stage.


    After some back and forth discussion, the Master-disciple duo realize that the staff form wasn''t the most conducive to Ryu''s battle style. If the Visualization hindered Ryu from using his twin Great Swordstaffs, then it would be more of a detriment to his strength than a benefit.


    In truth, the staff wasn''t the most efficient form of the Staff Stage. Balaur had chosen this form and name because he didn''t wield any weapons. As such, he used this Staff Stage as a replacement for any exceptionally dangerous situations where he would have no choice left.


    However, this wasn''t the case for Ryu who had his Great Swordstaffs.


    Normally, Ryu would have to figure out everything from this point on his own, trying to modify a technique left behind by a Sky God. But, this was where the benefit of having a Master shone through. Let alone struggling, it took Balaur barely a few seconds to modify everything Ryu needed.


    The result? A grimoire.


    According to Balaur, this form would synergize with the Vein Stage and Wheel Stage to a perfect degree. And, even without touching those stages, it would give him access to some of their abilities.


    Ryu began to Visualize his grimoire. He imagined an elaborate cover filled with thick, ancient pages in between. He separated the grimoire out into sections, each section or part housing a different Element. Then, within each part he began to store chapters.


    These chapters was where the true strength of the Staff Stage would make itself known. Not only would they help Ryu to absorb Elemental energies far quicker and skip over his reliance on Essence, it would also be able to fine tune his control over the Elements.


    It was hardly five minutes later when Sarriel, who was still wiping her nose, blinked her pretty violet eyes, watching as a large grimoire over a meter tall began to appear before Ryu.


    At first, it was illusory. But it slowly became more and more solid until eventually, it looked no different from any other book you could reach out and touch.


    His eyes still closed, Ryu took a deep breath.


    At that moment, as though the energies of the world had bowed to him, Elemental energies surged toward the grimoire, making it light up with all sorts of beautiful colors.


    It was then that the cover of the grimoire completely solidified. Its surface looked carved of an ancient oak. It was quite odd for a book, but the olden aura it exuded felt just right, especially when golden vines began to grow out from the wood, giving the grimoire a beautiful texture.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed opened. As though awakened, the pages of the grimoire began to rapidly flip.


    With a thought, a ball of fire appeared in Ryu''s palm. It happened so quickly that he couldn''t help but narrow his eyes. Not only was it far thicker than he could have accomplished in the past, it came together tens of times faster. And, the shocking part was that he didn''t need to use Essence to accomplish it either.


    The ball began to spin rapidly. Then, it split into ten that instantly grew to the same size as the first. Then each of those ten split into ten once more. In the blink of an eye, a hundred fire balls hung in the air, each no smaller than the size of Ryu''s head.


    Without even trying, the fire balls maintained pace with Little Rock, changing shape to Ryu''s whims.


    From balls, to arrows, to spears. By the end of it all, Ryu morphed them all into perfect replicas of Little Rock.


    A hundred flapping birds rose into the skies, ripping through the descending snow without the slightest hints of mercy. Even in this restrictive world, Ryu felt like he could accomplish almost anything¡­ Just how powerful, then, would his Ice Elemental energies be?


    With a snap of his fingers, the flying birds of fire vanished into sparkling embers, fluttering around beneath the clouds as though they were also dancing snowflakes.


    Ryu''s grimoire flashed, its pages rapidly flipping away from the Fire Element to the Ice. But the instant it did, it felt as though the world had come to a grinding halt.


    Despite their speed, the winds paused.


    Ryu''s eyes widened. Reacting quickly, he dispersed the Ice Elemental energy before it could come together, a faint shock hidden within his silver pupils.


    Sarriel shivered, the tips of her long ears frosting over. Even Little Rock gave out a call in dissatisfaction, blaming Ryu. Luckily, though, the little one didn''t wake up under all the commotion.


    Ryu patted Little Rock''s back. "Sorry, sorry."


    "Qi! QI!"


    Ryu smiled but didn''t say anything more. Had he not stopped in time, he would have encased them all in a prison of ice. Even if he would be able to break out of it, it would definitely take Little Rock a while to recover especially against so much Extreme Yin.


    ''How powerful¡­'' Ryu muttered.


    Shaking his head, he decided that Little Rock''s back was definitely not the best place to test this. Instead, he began to work on the Outline stage. He was looking forward to wearing robes he didn''t have to worry about burning to ash all the time.


    As expected, it didn''t take Ryu long to succeed.


    The next few days passed by in a blaze. On the fourth, Ryu looked up, his gaze growing cold.


    They were here.

 Chapter 475 Starting up Trouble

    Chapter 475 Starting up Trouble¡¡¡¡There were only four true powerhouses on the Moon World, one of which stood alone above the rest.


    The three on the bottom rung were the Moonlight Blossom Sect, the Black Winds Kingdom and the Nightingale Mansion. Among them, despite having been in a state of perpetual warring for thousands of years, tens of thousands, in fact, none had been able to assert their dominance as the number one.


    However, these three had no doubt for which Sect sat atop their heads. And, that was none other than the mysterious Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. It was this Sect that held the gateway to the Tri Palace in the palm of their hands.


    At that moment, when Little Rock finally spread his wings as wide as they would go, flapping to pierce through the clouds above their heads, it was then that they saw it.


    The Palace hung high in the skies, sitting in the position one would expect to find the moon in.


    They were so high up that the atmosphere thinned to almost nothingness, dulling what should have been a bright blue beneath the sun to a darkish blue-purple. In this place, even in the middle of the day, the twinkling of the stars was as clear as the darkness they sat upon.


    The Palace itself seemed to blend into this darkness. Not only did it sit where the moon should have been, but it seemed to be as large as a moon all to itself as well.


    It looked to be right out of the Victorian era. Dark tiles, sharp peaks, and dull windows graced its every surface. If it wasn''t so elegantly designed, one might mistake it for a dark mountain range. It was just that this mountain range happened to have gates that were hundreds of kilometers tall.


    Around this castle, there were already two groups waiting patiently.


    One group sat within a massive carriage not much unlike the Moonlight Blossom Sect''s. However, rather than being pulled by large spectral horses, it was instead pulled along by a large bird that dwarfed Little Rock in size.


    The bird seemed to be covered in flickering black flames. If one didn''t know better, one would think that it was a Phoenix. But, it only took Ryu one look to know that this imposter wasn''t worth even a single feather off a majestic Phoenix''s back.


    The second group, likewise, also had a massive carriage the size of a house being pulled along by a creature. This group, though, used a large, black furred, three headed dog.


    But, as expected, this mut had little to no relation to the Ancient Beast Cerberus. It seemed that the powers of the Moon World were quite fond of cosplaying their beasts as their Ancient counterparts, but had no way of matching up to the true blood lineage of such beasts.


    Ironically, though, it was on this very world that an egg of the Griffin Clan would fall. Who knew how these fools would have fought over such a thing?


    Of course, with Ryu''s observation of them, it was no surprise that he too was being observed. The appearance of a singular creature with two youths on its back was attention grabbing in any setting, let alone in such a tense one.


    Little Rock raised himself proudly, the arcs of golden lightning coursing along his silver feathers becoming more furious. It seemed the little Lightning Hawk was quite clear of his superiority in this situation.


    Though, it was probably inappropriate to continue to call him a Lightning Hawk. After Ailsa''s efforts, Little Rock was most definitely qualified to be a distant branch disciple of the Lightning Roc. His now Sovereign Grade Bloodline just barely met the requirements, though he would only just be considered a servant of their Clan.


    Still, Little Rock was only three years old this year and already had such strength. Ryu had no down that the arrogant little brat would soon soar into the heights of the Ancestral Grade with Nemesis not far behind.


    Within the carriage for those the Nightingale Mansion, a particular young man felt himself light up with rage the moment he laid eyes on Ryu.


    Had Ryu cared enough to notice this, he would have definitely recognized this young man as Anfroy, the very disciple of the Nightingale Mansion he had battled all those months ago. Back then, Ryu had relied on his extreme Yang Lightning to defeat Anfroy and had concluded that Anfroy was at worst a core disciple, if not an Inheritor Disciple.


    By now, though, Anfroy was nothing more than an ant in Ryu''s eyes. Even if Ryu didn''t rely on his Yang to suppress Anfroy, he could defeat him within a few exchanges. Of course, Anfroy might have broken into the Path Extinction Realm. But, one only needs to look as Zulfiqar to realize how that would end.


    Even though Ryu hadn''t been enough to kill Zulfiqar back then and could only humiliate him, he was far more confident in finishing the deed now as long as he went all out.


    "Hm? What''s the matter Little Anfroy?"


    "It''s him." Anfroy said in a low growl. "He''s the one with the Tri Key."


    The auras of all those within the carriage shifted. Through the glass pane windows, it felt as though dozens of powerful auras had all landed on Ryu at once.


    Ryu, who had stopped paying attention to these two carriages and had begun to observe the Tri Palace seemed to sense this. His head casually turned in the direction of the carriage, his cold silver irises sweeping over the entire movement treasure.


    Feeling provoked, Little Rock soared higher into the skies, looking down upon the flaming bird with a sharp gaze brimming with arrogance.


    "~QI! QI!~"


    The skies quaked as an oppressive Bloodline pressure shook them.


    The flaming black bird trembled. And, in a feat of undisguised cowardice, it plummeted through the clouds below.


    Ryu watched from start to finish indifferently. He could only say that Little Rock was better at starting up trouble than he was.

 Chapter 476 Arrival

    Chapter 476 Arrival¡¡¡¡Within the Black Winds Kingdom carriage, there was another familiar face. This was none other than the very same young man who had tried to stop Niel and Ryu on their journey back to the Moonlight Blossom Sect, only to lose the troops he had come with by Zulfiqar''s hand.


    This young man was known as Jock. His standing in the Black Winds Kingdom was no different from Zulfiqar to the Moonlight Blossom Sect.


    This was all to say that he was well aware of the power Zulfiqar wielded. For Ryu to be standing here, so unbridled, despite having made an enemy out of Zulfiqar¡­ Jock really didn''t know what to say. Had Zulfiqar been too incompetent? Or was there something special about this kid in particular?


    Thinking back to how Ryu actually managed to dodge a lethal, sure kill strike from Zulfiqar, he felt that it might really be the latter.


    All this time, Jock had thought that the word the Moonlight Blossom Sect had been sending out about not being able to find Ryu was all bullshit. In his opinion, they had long since killed Ryu and snatched the key for themselves. But, the fact Ryu was standing here completely unharmed, and even with a beauty by his side¡­ Well, that spoke volumes by itself.


    What Jock had never expected though, even with all this being true, was for Ryu''s beast to so suddenly humiliate the guardian beast of the Nightingale Mansion so thoroughly.


    Jock''s gaze narrowed. ''Even Cere is trembling¡­''


    Though Little Rock''s aura was aimed toward the bird, it was clear that this Cerberus look alike had felt no small part of it. It even faintly wanted to run away as well.


    At that moment, Sarriel hid behind Ryu with a worried expression. Though Ryu hadn''t done anything personally, this sort of slap to the face wasn''t something any Sect could take laying down, let alone Nightingale Mansion.


    Toward her actions, Ryu was truly speechless. This woman''s strength was unfathomable, yet she insisted on hiding behind him. What was she doing exactly?


    The clouds rumbled and dispersed, revealing the clopping hooves of a horse drawn carriage. Their flaming green pupils danced like fireflies under the partial darkness of the skies this high up.


    Completely oblivious to what had just happened, the members of the Moonlight Blossom Sect finally arrived. Or, rather, many thought that they had been oblivious. But, just before they had entered the clouds, they had very clearly seen the plummeting Nightingale Mansion faction.


    Unable to withhold his curiosity, or maybe due to the fact he was sent here to answer exactly this question, Niel shot out from the carriage, struggling to keep himself in the air before trying to land on Little Rock''s back.


    Unfortunately, before he could, Little Rock gave an unhappy cry. Just a small gust of wind almost sent Niel tumbling to the ground below.


    Panic grasped his features. In the end, Niel had no choice but to summon a small flying boat, barely managing to keep himself afloat.


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile. It seemed that as Little Rock grew older, he was getting more and more of a personality. It made sense that he easily allowed Sarriel on board since she was a fey and a beautiful woman. Setting aside the latter, the fey were well known as being beloved by nature not much unlike Ryu.


    However, not only had Ryu not said anything about allowing Niel on, he was an ugly man.


    These were probably the clearest projected thoughts Ryu had ever gotten from the little Roc, making him chuckle slightly.


    "¡­ Do that again¡­" Sarriel tugged at his sleeve.


    Ryu gave Sarriel a weird look. "Do what?"


    "Laugh." Sarriel said with an expression that was almost too serious.


    Ryu was left speechless by this girl again. He could only shake his head and look toward the pitiful Niel.


    "Are you alright?" Ryu finally asked.


    Niel smiled bitterly. "It''s really hard to fly properly up here with the qi so turbulent, but I''ll be fine. Apologize to your beast for me, I should have asked first. I forgot myself for a moment."


    The turbulence of qi was most definitely not a joke. One would think that there would be less qi the further from a world''s surface you got. But, the truth was that there was qi everywhere. It was just that this qi was the most organized on a world and got less so the further from worlds you got.


    Ryu felt a little bad seeing Niel in such a state. He always thought that Niel was almost too good of a guy. His temperament was excellent and his heart was kind. This sort of matter was all too rare in the world of cultivation. To even apologize to a beast¡­ This was a rare matter indeed.


    Ryu smiled. "Don''t be so stingy, Little Rock. Let Niel on."


    "~QI!" Little Rock''s call held no small amount of defiance.


    "Alright, alright. I''ll give you more of your favorite snack, how about it?"


    Sarriel watched from the side, her eyes sparkling. She didn''t know that Ryu had such a nurturing side to him.


    Reluctantly, Little Rock allowed Niel only his back. But, he still gave the latter one good zap for good measure, leaving Niel''s hair somewhat frayed.


    Niel chuckled bitterly again, but didn''t pursue the matter.


    "Right." Niel slapped his forehead. "The Nightingale Mansion, what happened up here exactly?"


    "¡­ About that¡­" Ryu said slowly before he suddenly looked off into the distance.


    At that moment, the clouds separated again, revealing a familiar carriage. But, this time¡­ There was a distinct lack of bird.


    Standing atop the carriage were many powerhouses. Clearly, they were using their qi and other special methods to hold their large movement treasure up. The strain was definitely not small considering the atmosphere they were in. And, given that they were all staring daggers toward Ryu, their faces burning with humiliation, it was quite obvious that Ryu was spot on.


    Unfortunately for Nightingale Mansion, before they could even think of retaliation, a surge of energy caught everyone''s attention.


    A massive complex formation of violet hues manifested, causing the appearance of one figure after another.


    The Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had arrived.

 Chapter 477 Twelve

    Chapter 477 Twelve¡¡¡¡Twelve figures flickered into and out of existence before they solidified. For a moment, they appeared to be no different from ghosts floating in the air, their fluttering robes making it difficult to see through their true silhouettes. However, soon, their images became as clear as day.


    Six men and six women.


    The men all wore deep violet robes that seemed to shimmer with the depths of the universe. The expanse of space itself was colored across its canvas.


    Each of them wore white masks the covered their chins, lips and the bottom half of their noses and cheeks. It was as though they were intent on everyone focusing on nothing other than their gazes. Yet, despite being called the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, one could find nothing but a deep set of black irises reflecting back one''s own image.


    If you looked deeper, however¡­ The subtle hues of a hidden violet could just barely be made out.


    The women all wore the same beautiful robes, though they clung much tighter to their curves. As for their odd bottom half masks, they were instead of gentle golden color as opposed to the polished white of their male counterparts.


    Each and every single one of them had entered the Path Extinction Realm. The trouble was, though, that there wasn''t a single one of their elders in sight.


    There was no doubt. These were the young geniuses of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    The pressure these youths brought to the atmosphere was stifling. Just their mere presence alone force Nightingale Mansion, that had just had every intention of fighting it out with Ryu, come to a grinding halt.


    The youths scanned the crowd, their eyes inconspicuously landing on Little Rock. As the only beast here not carrying a carriage, and especially considering his smaller than normal size, it wasn''t a surprise that Little Rock pulled quite some attention.


    "Which of you wields the Tri Key? Come forward."


    The voice that spoke came out in a whisper. There wasn''t a hint of nervousness hidden within it. Rather, it was as though this person couldn''t be bothered to speak any louder, as though they should be grateful for the chance to strain to hear his voice.


    Ryu obviously knew that this person was asking for him, but he didn''t say a single word, let alone going forward. If it was a contest of who was more arrogant, this was never something that Ryu would lose out in. He was truly too lazy to even entertain it.


    Even if a Dao Pedestal Realm supreme was here, being so close to the Tri Palace, and having the key in hand, Ryu didn''t believe there was anyone who could stop him from entering. And, that was even if he chose not to rely on Little Rock''s impossible speed.


    By now, Little Rock had entered the Seventh Order and unlocked several Talents. The little guy''s past self was nothing compared to who he was now.


    Niel looked toward Ryu who had all but closed his eyes in meditation and smiled bitterly. He knew Ryu too well by now. The moment that young man used such a tone, it could be considered that he had already lost Ryu''s cooperation entirely.


    Niel didn''t know what Ryu''s background was, but whatever it was, it seemed to be enough for him to not even care about a genius of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    "Hm¡­?"


    The young man who had spoken also had his eyes half closed and had expected to see someone tripping over themselves to appear before him by the time he opened them. But, let alone seeing such a thing, not a single soul had moved.


    The young man was quite a bit shorter than the geniuses around him, even up to a full head shorter. Yet, he didn''t seem to notice this fact at all. His confidence seemed to give him a foot in height. Even the youths around him didn''t seem intent on pointing this out. In fact, there was a faint hesitation in their eye whenever they looked toward this short young man.


    By that point, it was obvious why he had been the one to speak. It seemed that he also happened to be the leader of the twelve youths that had come this time.


    At that moment, all those who knew of Ryu''s true identity looked over toward him. Such a massive shift in the atmosphere was impossible to miss, causing the 12 geniuses to immediately lock eyes onto Ryu.


    Niel wanted to shed real tears at this point. He just wanted to know what happened to Nightingale Mansion but now he was caught in the crossfire of something he wanted nothing to do with. To make matters worse, he couldn''t even back away now if he wanted to.


    At this point, Ryu was tied with the Moonlight Blossom Sect. His actions reflected on them whether they wanted to admit this or not. It only made it worse that they had reported Ryu gone for so long, only for him to appear like this.


    Despite the 12 gazes on him, Ryu remained unmoved.


    "~QI!"


    Little Rock''s strong call shook the clouds again. The trembling of Cere grew fiercer and the Black Winds Kingdom''s carriage threatened to fall from the skies as well.


    Ryu sat on Little Rock''s back in silence, not making any moved. His white hair fluttered in the wind, his black robes dancing with various energies from time to time.


    Ryu had experienced being the in presence of several World Sea Realm experts. The gazes of a few Path Extinction Realm youths wasn''t enough to faze him. But, inwardly, Ryu was calculating something.


    ''These 12¡­ Are beyond the limits of the Moon World. Talents like this shouldn''t be able to appear here. Has the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect made contact with the outside world?''


    This thought wasn''t necessarily impossible¡­


    It was difficult for smaller worlds to connect with larger ones not because of some sort of stigma or barrier, but rather because they usually didn''t have the foundation necessary to explore other worlds.


    Whether it be finding coordinates, drawing maps, or even just physically moving from place to place, were all exceptionally tall tasks for such a small world. This didn''t even mention the danger doing such a thing posed.


    Small worlds might have been exactly that, small, but they were also hotbeds of resources. There were many Yin type treasures that could be found here that Ryu could never dream of finding even on his own Shrine World.


    There was no Peak level World that wouldn''t have several subordinate small worlds. In fact, the Moon World was just one of the Tatsuya Clan''s many holdings.


    All of this said, it wasn''t unprecedented for a small world to succeed in such a thing. After all, compared to other small worlds, the Moon World still had an advantage in both cultivation and resources. And, obviously, there were more small worlds than large worlds. So, the idea that they would have found a world to exploit was more possible the more Ryu thought about it.


    If the 12 geniuses knew how Ryu was thinking of their world in his mind, it would be wonder that they managed to keep their calm for so long.


    The short young man looked Ryu up and down. But, his expression didn''t seem to have any anger or rage on it. In fact, his indifference didn''t shift in the slightest, even when he noticed that Ryu was only at the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Sarriel held her hands over her mouth to do her best not to squeal. But it seemed like she might burst at any time.


    Luckily, it was then that the elders of the Moonlight Blossom Sect came forward, seemingly in an attempt to alleviate the situation.


    Xanfyr, Zulfiqar''s master, and Balroth, Niel''s master, came together as one.


    "Juniors, our Moonlight Blossom Sect''s temporary disciple does indeed have the key. If there''s anything else you need, it can be discussed." Xanfyr spoke with his usual amiable smile.


    His words very clearly emphasized ''temporary''. Being neither too forceful, obvious or overbearing, while also managing to keep his dignity as an Elder¡­ This Xanfyr was truly not bad at speaking.


    Balroth knew that he wasn''t as good at speaking despite being of higher rank than Xanfyr, so he simply let the latter speak.


    Toward Ryu, Balroth could only shake his head. Maybe a youth who could defeat a Path Extinction Realm expert while still in the Connecting Heaven Realm deserved to carry this sort of arrogance. But, that didn''t mean that his Sect was prepared to withstand the brunt of the pressure such a thing came with. The fact that Ryu wasn''t technically one of their own only made this decision easier.


    "It''s simple." The short young man continued to whisper. "We would like your temporary disciple to hand over the key. He will still be allowed to enter along with the rest of us and will also gain appropriate compensation. In addition ¨C."


    "Hand over a matured Night Shade Dew and I will hand over the Tri Key. If you cannot do this, I refuse."


    Ryu''s even voice cut the conversation short.

 Chapter 478 Never Thought

    Chapter 478 Never Thought¡¡¡¡Ryu laid out his terms very simply.


    He wasn''t a fool. There was a difference between entering the Tri Palace with a key versus entering without one. Though Ryu had, obviously, never entered personally. Considering he had targeted this Palace from the very beginning, how could he come without even this basic knowledge?


    The Three Pupil Eclipse Sect definitely had a few keys with them. Ryu believed that they had three. It wouldn''t make much sense for such a Sect to hand out the only Key they had just like that. However, more was always better.


    Originally, the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had sent out the key as a reward in order to balance a few things. Though they were the most powerful Sect, they were intelligent. Monopolizing the Palace for themselves would only lead to trouble. If wielding the strongest strength made one infallible, then there wouldn''t be a history of rising and falling Clans and Sects.


    However, now was a special case. Even if it caused some backlash, for the sake of monopolizing the best rewards of the Tri Palace, they wouldn''t hesitate to offend the smaller Sects.


    This clearly meant that they were confident enough in their own strength to weather such a storm should it come.


    And, better yet, the person who owned the Key they were looking for didn''t seem to be affiliated with any of the Sects.


    The truth was that none of the believed that Ryu was leading the Moonlight Blossom Sect by the nose like the Sect seemed to be trying to say. However, that didn''t matter. All that matters was that the Moonlight Blossom Sect couldn''t go back on their words now without exposing themselves to be liars, resulting in Ryu effectively having no backers.


    Wouldn''t snatching the key be easy then?


    However, Ryu didn''t budge. As for receiving the reward he asked for¡­ was that a joke?


    The Moon World was a small world capped at the Dao Pedestal Realm. The Spiritual Herb Ryu needed was of the Higher Mystical Grade.


    Mystical Grade Spiritual Herbs could only be used by those within the Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realm! As such, the Mystical Grade was already at the very upper limits of what this world could produce and one might only appear once every several trillion upon trillions of years.


    The worst part of it was that Night Shade Dew was a Higher Mystical Grade Spiritual Herb. Even a Dao Pedestal Realm existence would have to be very cautious in consuming it. And, even if such a Yin dense world, the odds of it appearing as one of the already rare Mystical Grade Herbs in such a weak place was one in a million, if that.


    When these factors were compounded, it quickly became obvious that it was simply impossible for the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to have such a treasure. In fact, even if by some miracle they did, it would be so valuable to them that they probably wouldn''t be able to bear to use it.


    Night Shade Dew was a Yin attribute Soul type Spiritual Herb. Who else other than Necromancers who relied on their Mental Realms could possibly want to absorb such a treasure any more?


    Not only was Ryu asking for a Higher Mystical Grade Spiritual Herb. He was also asking for the one most valuable to all the Necromancers before him¡­


    How could his words not cause a sudden silence to hang?


    "But you''re probably unable to do that, hm?" Ryu rose from his seated position.


    In that moment, his plain black robes seemed to gain life. The Elemental energies of the world sang, crystallized particles of ice twinkling around him.


    With every breath he took, the energies expanded and contracted. And, for but a moment, the chaotic energies of the vastness of space became as docile as a kitten.


    "If that was all, I think it''s about time now."


    "~QI! QI!"


    Little Rock flapped his wings just a single time. In a blink, his body became nothing more than a streaking bold of golden lightning that tore through the fabric of space. In the next instant, he appeared above the 12 Path Extinction Realm youths, his shadow casting a wide net over them all.


    The short young man looked up, his gaze still placid.


    "Feel free to come after me." Ryu said softly, his voice cutting through the slicing wind. "My name is Ryu."


    Even though Ryu still didn''t say his last name, everyone felt their hearts tremble in that exact instant. It felt no different from if Ryu had said that vaunted name¡­ Tatsuya.


    At that moment, they all knew. Even though he hadn''t spoken it, they realized that if he had, it would have been a name that suffocated them all.


    Little Rock''s body flickered again, but this time, the little one appeared in front of the massive looming gates of the Tri Palace.


    Ryu brought out a familiar key. Its tip was shaped like a triangular prism, each of its three sides drowned in complex rune patterns.


    Ryu flicked his wrist, sending the Tri Key shooting forward like a blazing star.


    In another blink, the bird and three figures vanished, leaving an overhanging silence.


    "¡­ First Brother, why didn''t we stop him?"


    First Brother was a term used by the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to denote rank. There was no ''First Sister'', even for the strongest female. In fact, the strongest of the women was Third Sister.


    The First Brother of this group of youths was the very same short young man who had spoken. As for the one who had spoken to him? He was Sixth Brother.


    Sixth Brother had a right to be angered by the sudden change because the Key, had they taken it from Ryu, would have gone to him. Though he was ranked Sixth, he was also the one labeled with having the next best potential after First and Second Brother, along with Third Sister.


    Unfortunately, Ryu actually refused and now there was obviously no Key for him. How could he not be infuriated?


    "The Tri Key gives those that wield it a certain level of protection after entering the range of the Palace." First Brother replied plainly. "Let''s go."


    Without another word, the violet magic circle shifted and blazed a trail through the opening Ryu created.


    Lagging behind, the carriages were stunned by the sudden change. Soon, they too rushed after. Unlike the members of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, they didn''t have any Keys of their own. If they missed this opening, they would miss out on the largest shift of fate their Moon World had experienced in the last billion years.


    "Go." Xanfyr said to the youths of the Moonlight Blossom Sect with a partially stiff expression. No matter how amiable he was, Ryu had definitely just slapped his face as well.


    Within the Black Winds Kingdom group, there was an inconspicuous youth wearing long black robes and a half mask common of Necromancers. If one paid close attention to the youths around him, despite the fact his cultivation seemed to be lacking, they held an awe and respect for him that was held deep within their hearts.


    This young man was none other than the Throne of the Black Winds Kingdom. But, what was particularly important about his existence was that he seemed to gaze toward Ryu''s back with a hint of familiarity.


    And how could he not? After all, even though Ryu didn''t bother to acknowledge it anymore after cutting all ties with the Loom Clan¡­ Technically speaking, this young man was gazing toward the back of his brother-in-law.


    ¡­


    Little Rock appeared in a swirling portal. It felt as though they were all traveling through a wormhole, deep violets and harsh blacks spinning around in their surroundings. Without a choice, Little Rock could only continue forward, arcs of golden lightning dancing across his body.


    Niel didn''t have much of a choice but to follow Ryu. Toward such a result, he could only smile bitterly. Not only did he never find out what happened to Nightingale Mansion, he was probably marked as an enemy by the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    To make matters worse, Sarriel was still making googly eyes at Ryu as though he was the most perfect being in all of existence. Wasn''t this just too much?


    "¡­ Can you at least tell me what happened back there now?"


    "That?" Ryu gave Niel a weird look. Why did he still care? "Little Rock suppressed their beast and caused them to fall from the skies."


    Hearing Ryu talk about such a thing as though it was meaningless made Niel feel like he was the crazy one. Was that supposed to be normal? That was a beast on the level of a Sect Guardian!


    Before Niel could lash out, feeling as though he was losing his mind, the long, swirling wormhole came to an abrupt halt.


    "~QI! QI!"


    Little Rock ripped through the final barrier, soaring into the wide expanse of skies that appeared above them.


    Endless blue skies stretched for as far as the eye could see, leaving not a single cloud in sight.


    However, oddly enough, there was no sun either. Rather, there was a large moon, so large, in fact that almost felt like one could reach out and touch it through the skies.


    "¡­ Where''s the Palace?" Niel asked somewhat apprehensively.


    "Things have changed." Ryu suddenly spoke, seeing through to the truth of this place in an instant. "This isn''t the Tri Palace. It''s the first level of the Nether Realm."


    Though Ryu''s voice didn''t contain even an ounce of trembling, it carried a biting cold that made Niel choke on air.


    Ryu had never thought he would come to this place so early. His heart constricted, his blood flow slowing to a crawl.


    ''Father¡­ are you still alive?''

 Chapter 479 DO NOT UNLOCK, FML

    Chapter 479 DO NOT UNLOCK, FML¡¡¡¡one of these days... I''m going to stop making this mistake...


    Leonel held onto Aina''s small hand as they walked forward. This was the second time that Leonel had been to this open arena. The first time he had been forced to step in to save Sael. This time, however, he would take center stage.


    The participating members were mostly white belts and blue belts. Though there were some black belts that wanted to try their luck, they were mostly here for experience and nothing else.


    The members of Polished Glass weren''t too keen on joining. They weren''t confident in their combat prowess and were focused on their Crafting. With all the knowledge Leonel had taught them over the past several weeks, they felt like they had enough to study for a lifetime.


    None of this was too surprising by Leonel''s estimation. What was, though, was the fact that Radlis was among these participating black belts.


    The pale skinned and lanky jokester had disappeared from Polished Glass for a long while. But, at this moment, Leonel could see him up ahead, registering himself for the selection. The result made Leonel''s brows arch upward.


    It had to be known that much like Aina and Leonel, Radlis had only been here for about three months. A part of Leonel wanted to dismiss this as Radlis being like the other black belts, simply looking to gain experience. But, for some reason, Leonel didn''t feel this way.


    In order to join the Selection, one needed to accumulate a certain amount of merits. Though the black belts that had been here for years could just barely scrap together such an amount, what about Radlis who had only been here for such a short time?


    ''Interesting¡­''


    Radlis, seemingly sensing Leonel''s gaze, turned his neck and gave him a wide grin before walking off with his registration plaque.


    Not long later, it was Leonel and Aina''s turn. To their surprise, though, the one handling these registration affairs was a familiar old lady.


    "Hello, Elder Magnaril." Leonel said with a warm smile.


    The old lady snorted, clearly still not liking the shape of Leonel''s face. The fact he was smiling now only made her feel even worse. And, he just had to still be holding her precious student''s hand in public like this, right in front of her, no less.


    Over the past month, Aina hadn''t come to the lab even a single time. Magnaril knew that she had done nothing but train and train. Seeing such a talent waste away their potential like this truly made her intestines feel as though they were being twisted.


    At this point, though, Magnaril could only obediently register the couple.


    "Break a leg." She said while giving Leonel a fake smile.


    "Sure. But it won''t be mine."


    Leonel''s casual response made Magnaril freeze. In the end, she just sneered. She had no idea where this brat got his confidence from.


    ''Hm¡­?''


    Magnaril frowned. She had hardly finished her thought when she realized something.


    Was he wearing white?


    ¡­


    Leonel and Aina found a seat amongst the competitors. Ironically, this was the same place Leonel had been forced to sit as a freshmen before.


    This time, though, sitting on the ground floor, he felt as though his vision was far wider.


    "Are you nervous?" Leonel asked.


    "Nervous?" Aina was stunned by the question.


    Leonel laughed seeing how baffled she was. "I guess the answer to that is no."


    Aina shook her head, realizing that Leonel was just trying to tease her.


    Was she nervous? Of course not. If there was anything she was feeling, it was a hope that these battles wouldn''t be too easy or else there wouldn''t be much of a point.


    Unfortunately, though, there were many seeded participants who already had their entries locked in. The rest of them were essentially fighting for the remaining four spots.


    Leonel was probably the most disappointed by this, though. He had waited long enough to teach Aphestus a lesson, only to find out that the latter didn''t even have to participate. In fact, he was probably not even in attendance today.


    Still, these seeded positions hadn''t been monopolized by Hero Peak. Even they couldn''t get away with something like that.


    From Leonel''s understanding, there were eight spots already taken. Two for the Hero Faction. Two for the Bear Rose Faction. Two for the Severed Heart Faction. The last two were listed as miscellaneous, but considering one of them was Sael, Leonel assumed that these two were reserved for the former Valiant Hall members.


    Compared to the idle chatter of the two, the atmosphere hovering around the rest was quite heavy.


    The time continued to tick by until the final individual was registered and the elders convened a small meeting.


    Finally, Magnaril stepped forward to explain, standing on the very podium Raylion had used to flip Valiant Heart Mountain on its head. However, the message she disseminated was simpler and far less contentious.... At least in the beginning.


    "The rules for this Selection will be simple and straight forward.


    "Today, we will open up four battle platforms. The Selection will begin when the sun officially rises and will end when the sun officially sets. Whichever four manage to hold on to the very end will be given the four remaining spots to enter the Valiant Heart Zone.


    "Each participant will have unlimited challenges. However, this comes with its own set of rules.


    "First, you cannot challenge a platform defender more than once unless said defender loses and reclaims their spot. Only then can you challenge this individual a second time.


    "Second, you can only challenge once every half hour.


    "Third, a defender is allowed ten minutes of rest between every challenge.


    "Fourth, a defender than has failed to defend three times will no longer be allowed to challenge.


    "Now, the rules of challenges aside, this Selection will be unlike the past. Valiant Heart is currently in the midst of struggle and what we need are warriors, not cowards.


    "In the past, there was a prohibition on crippling. This has been removed.


    "There was a prohibition on killing. This has been removed.


    "Those who join but fail to issue at least one challenge or defend a platform at least once, will be expelled from Valiant Heart.


    "Those who want to withdraw, do so now or bear the consequences later."


    Many of the participants turned a deathly shade of pale. What was going on? When had the Selection become like this?


    There was no surprise that many of the black belts that had come to test their luck immediately stood up and withdrew. In fact, from numbering in the hundreds, there weren''t even 200 participants left after Magnaril''s words fell.


    The elders remained expressionless as they watched this scene. At this point, seeing the lack of backbone many of these students had, they felt that maybe Raylion had been correct.


    There were no shortage of elders dissatisfied with Raylion''s approach, but seeing how much they were rotting from the inside out ¡­ It was hard to continue to fuel hatred for his methods. If things continued like this for too long and they continued to weaken with each successive generation, very soon, there wouldn''t be any Valiant Heart Mountain left to be spoken of.


    Long before their enemies got to them, they would crumbled from the inside.


    Magnaril waited patiently until just about 180 were left. Finally, when it seemed like no one else was intent on leaving, Magnaril nodded.


    Even though 180 was less than she had hoped for, it still wasn''t to the point that they had no good seedlings left. Though she was certain that many of those who remained believed they could just concede quickly enough to not be harmed, this was still good enough for now. Maybe with Raylion''s methods, they''d soon breed even more warriors.


    On the ground below, Leonel didn''t really feel much about the sudden allowance of killing. He had already deduced this much. He could see through Raylion''s plan quite well.


    What he was surprised about, though, was that, once again, Radlis didn''t show any signs of backing down. It was quite baffling indeed¡­


    "Now we will begin." Magnaril said coldly. "Four defenders, come forward. For every ten minutes four defenders haven''t been chosen, the quota for entry remaining will be sliced by one. If you deem to waste all forty minutes, not only will there be no spots remaining for the lot of you, but you will all be expelled."


    Everyone knew one would be at a disadvantage being amongst the first defenders and challengers, especially since everyone only got three chances to defend. However, if everyone wanted to hold back from taking a small loss, then everyone would lose!


    Surprisingly, though, there was a couple that looked toward each other with knowing smiles.


    In a flash, Leonel and Aina shot forward. Before anyone could react, they had already taken one platform each, their auras steady and even somewhat overbearing.


    No one had expected for the first two defenders to appear to be a pair of white belts. And, they definitely wouldn''t have expected them to be white belts who had only just joined Valiant Heart!

 Chapter 480 Nether Realm

    Chapter 480 Nether Realm¡¡¡¡"The what?!"


    It wasn''t just Niel who felt like the bottom was falling out of the world, even Sarriel reacted like this.


    Little Gem, who was still in Ryu''s arms, pouted in dissatisfaction, seemingly and quite adorably enraged by all the noise they were making. It wasn''t until Ryu gave her a few gentle pats that she nuzzled back into her deep sleep.


    What Niel and Sarriel didn''t know, though, was that Ryu was just as shocked.


    He had researched a lot for this entry into Tri Palace. He knew that it was one of his best shots at becoming a Summoning Necromancer even though there was no history of such a thing happening in the past.


    As an Origin Grade Ruin Master, Ryu was a scholar of the highest level. He could draw conclusions many couldn''t even begin to think of. Even without tangible evidence, the fact he had reached such a conclusion gave him a better than 80% chance of being correct.


    But¡­ Even Ryu hadn''t expected for such a thing to happen.


    Tri Palace was supposed to be a trial zone. The youths would enter together and go through a series of tests, wherein those with a Tri Key would have a small advantage during certain key moments. It was because of this Ryu wouldn''t have given up the key unless he could save Ailsa in return.


    That trial zone was supposed to be a closed space and should have taken place within the Palace itself. But, very obviously¡­ this place was nothing like that.


    One would never think that this was the Nether Realm, but Ryu knew that he was correct. He wasn''t fooled by the expansive blue skies or the looming moon in the skies that actually looked quite beautiful. This place was a danger zone the likes of which reaped lives at a rate no other location within the martial world could match.


    ''It''s not safe to be in the air¡­ I didn''t prepare for such a possibility, but luckily I have the Incubator or else this may very well have been a death sentence.''


    Ryu had Little Rock dive down from the skies. Staying up there for any longer than they should was only asking for death.


    Unfortunately, Ryu wasn''t so na?ve to think that they would be fine after this. They say that ignorance was bliss, but Ryu was certain that they had already been spotted. The only question was how many enemies they would be facing and how soon.


    Sarriel and Niel kept looking toward Ryu for an explanation, even after they landed on the ground. But, the moment their feet met the soil, their expressions changed. Looking around, they felt as though their world views were being slowly distorted.


    The world here looked so beautiful from afar. But, when they looked at it this closely, they felt their skin crawling. A gripping fear took hold on their hearts, their chests trembling as their hearts tried to lodge itself in their throats.


    They originally thought that they had just landed in a forest of ancient trees, gorgeous works of nature that represented thousands of years of history. But, the truth was completely unlike this.


    All the trees around them were rotting from the inside out. Their bark looked like a healthy brown on the outside, but a subtle rancid odor hung in the air.


    If one looked closely, it was possible to see black sap oozing out from between the bark. And, in places where the bark had been chipped by outside influences, there was nothing but a rotting black wood within as opposed to a beautiful brown grain one would expect.


    As though this wasn''t bad enough, everything that looked beautiful on the outside seemed to follow this exact pattern.


    The soil beneath their feat was actually piles of ash layered atop of each other. Rather than earth worms, blood sucking leaches and grotesque, flesh eating beetles weaved in and out of it.


    The Spiritual Herbs they saw which painted a pretty picture from the distance were actually carnivorous demons waiting to snap at their ankles.


    The chirping birds that had been perched, adding to the ambience of nature, opened their beaks to reveal jagged edges and forked tongues. Even their eyes seemed to have been dug out, leaving nothing but vacant abysses of darkness.


    This time, when Niel and Sarriel looked into the skies, they didn''t see a beautiful expanse of blue. Instead, they suddenly became very keen on the fact there wasn''t a single cloud in sight. The air content was so dry that none could form.


    The large moon in the skies they felt as though they could reach out and touch suddenly made it strikingly obvious that there was no sun to speak of. So, where was all this light coming from?


    They focused on their surroundings, trying to find an answer, only to finally realize what was happening.


    Panicking, they immediately covered their bodies in a layer of qi skin.


    Ryu observed all of this without saying a word. These two were geniuses in their own right and things would be easier if they figured it all out on their own.


    The lights in this place came from a radioactive type of qi that perpetually hung in the skies and gave what loomed above its gentle blue color. Specifically, it was a type of Death Qi known as Nether Qi. Ironically, though, this Death Qi was corrosive even to the dead. Only the creatures born and raised in this Realm could withstand it normally, making them far more powerful.


    This was only the first level. The denser Nether Qi became, the darker blues it would radiate, making subsequent levels become darker and darker until the world was perpetually shrouded in darkness.


    "Go on for now." Ryu patted Little Rock''s long neck and sent him into the Incubator alongside Little Gem.


    In the next instant, a handsome steed that stood at over two meters tall appeared before Ryu.


    "~Nie! Nie!~"


    Nemesis stomped his steel hooves into the ground, his muscles rippling beneath his crimson coat. Sensing the world around him, he felt an instinct that swelled up from deep within.


    "Get ready." Ryu said sternly, snapping Niel and Sarriel out of their stupor. "They''re here."


    "JIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJIJI!!"

 Chapter 481 The Canis

    Chapter 481 The Canis¡¡¡¡The expressions of Niel and Sarriel changed. But, ultimately, they were still geniuses, Sarriel especially. The young lady''s shy personality had nothing to do with how she was in battle.


    Both made the best decision in an instant. Even though they were the most powerful with their corpse puppets, they realized that they had yet to adapt to this world. They faintly understood that this odd Nether Qi would influence their control, so it was best to rely on their own fists.


    Sarriel brought out a long and slender sword that made Ryu raise an eyebrow. It was obviously a katana, but its blade was over two meters long alone. It definitely wasn''t the kind of weapon one would expect the shy Sarriel to choose.


    But, the katana, especially one so long, was highly reliant on the user''s flexibility, dexterity and control. It was definitely a favorite of female warriors. In fact, when Ryu''s mother didn''t dual wield, she too liked to single wield a katana. Ryu faintly believed that his mother''s most explosive attacks occurred when she single wielded as well.


    As for Niel, he pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows. He was the far more conventional Necromancer of the two, utilizing attacks from afar to supplement his corpse puppets.


    "JIJIJIJIJIJIJIJI!!"


    The jittery, spine tingling sounds only became fiercer. They sounded like a cross between an eerie, high pitched laughter and bone chattering against bone.


    It was the that the first of creatures entered the range of their sight. And, this small dose alone was enough to make their blood run cold. This wasn''t because they were so powerful, but purely because they were so grotesque.


    Objectively, they seemed to look like humans. At the very least, they had human faces. But, this thin line of connection was where the comparisons had to stop.


    Though their faces were that of humans, they were about a size too big. It looked as though if these faces were attached to humans, they''d be forced to use a harness to stop their neck from bowing continuously.


    Rather than walking on their two feet like humans would, these creatures walked on all fours. But, this wasn''t the end of the oddity. Even their method of walking on all fours wasn''t normal.


    Their elbows were inverted. If one didn''t know better, it would be possible to think that they had been snapped the wrong way. In addition, their heads seemed to be attached the wrong way as well.


    The result was a group of creatures that ran along the trees and ground with their bodies arched in a bridge position. Yet, instead of their heads being upside down, they were right side up and their elbows were flared out to the side.


    It looked as though some vindictive, sick and twisted god had taken the image of a human and squeezed it into the form of a dog. The sight alone was enough to make one tremble with both fear and fury.


    ''The Canis.'' Ryu''s gaze turned cold.


    The Canis were one of the many races of devils that appeared on the first level of the Nether Realm. Despite their terrible appearance, their agility was off the charts and their pain tolerance was impossibly high. Even if they had several limbs severed, if you got too close, they would still use their bite to rip your flesh apart.


    In addition, they all wore what seemed to be bone masks. But, these weren''t masks at all. Rather, they were protrusions that pierced out from their skin and grew from their skulls. This bone growth ability varied greatly amongst the Canis. But, if they ran into an Elite Canis with high bone control, they would be an enemy even Ryu would have to take seriously.


    Ryu didn''t act immediately, his [Third Perspective] revolving in full force as he tried to ensure there were no Elite Canis hiding amidst the pack.


    ''I can''t find any, but I have to be cautious. One wrong move and it''s all over.''


    "~Nie! Nie!~"


    Sarriel shot forward as Niel grew his bow.


    Ryu didn''t lag behind by far. The winds picked up around him as a massive grimoire appeared before him.


    Flipping through the pages, the grimoire eventually landed on an open spread that looked no different from a sea of snaking blue lightning. It crackled about with a violent recklessness, seemingly as though it wouldn''t be satisfied until the world burned down with it.


    The Elemental Energies of the Nether Realm tended heavily toward Yin. However, it was exactly because of this that Ryu chose to rely on Yang. There was no better way to destructively dominate such a world.


    Ryu raised a hand, his robes fluttering.


    The simplest form of fire control the Fire Dragon had was its Flame Breathing. This concentrated its flames into a beam of fiery rage that wrought destruction.


    For a Lightning Qilin, though, its simplest form of lighting control was different. It was nothing more than a simple strike from above, an arch of striking lightning condensed almost to the point it looked like a sword being pierced down from the skies.


    Compared to the Fire Dragon, the ranged attacks of the Lightning Qilin were on a completely different level. Even in its simplest form, Ryu felt as though he had the world in the palm of his hands.


    "Strike down." His cold voice laid down a command for death.


    At that moment, orbs of lightning appeared all around the forest of hell. The Canis couldn''t even react before a bolt descended down upon them from above, blasting their bone masks into smithereens.


    Sarriel appeared within their midst. Despite the length of her katana, the rotting trees couldn''t seem to impact her in the slightest.


    Her two hands gripped the long, curved handle, her body spinning as though completing the steps of an elegant, graceful dance.


    Scythes of wind manifested to life, sheering apart the forest from several hundred meters as the life of one Canis after another was reaped.


    Niel''s arrows tore through the air, cleverly avoiding branches and thick trunks to find their targets. His kill total was the smallest, but every single one of his arrows reaped a life.


    "~Nie! Nie!~"

 Chapter 482 Follow

    Chapter 482 Follow¡¡¡¡Ryu took a slow breath, his grimoire becoming illusory before it slowly vanished completely. Looking around what remained of the battlefield, he couldn''t help but frown.


    There wasn''t a single elite Canis within that group, which was definitely peculiar.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu didn''t know much about the various beasts on the Mortal Plane because he never had to care about them. But, when it came to high level beasts or creatures like this, his knowledge was very deep.


    There were no shortage of Ruins that had such guardian beasts. Humans had among the shortest lifespans of all creatures in existence, even if one counted those with exceptionally high cultivation. So, using such beasts and creatures as guardians was best as they would last a very long time.


    Having studied many Death related matters for the sake of finding the Death Shrine, the Nether Realm was also something else that Ryu knew quite a lot about. So, he knew its creatures like the back of his hand.


    Canis might have looked like warp humans, but they were much more like the dogs they resembled. They moved in wolf packs and had alphas of their own. For there to be a wave sent here without an Elite Canis was too odd.


    Ryu also didn''t believe that this was a ploy or probe by the Elite Canis. The reason was simple¡­ Canis were among the most unintelligent creatures of the Martial World. They functioned on instinct and nothing more.


    In fact, a lot of creatures of the Nether World were exactly like this. But, this was the humanity they gave up in exchange for their strength and life after death.


    Something like making step by step layered plans wasn''t in the DNA of the Canis.


    "¡­ Ryu!"


    Ryu looked up from his thoughts to find a Niel who was once again panicking and a Sarriel who wanted to lean on him as though she hadn''t just displayed mind numbing strength.


    Seeing that Ryu was finally paying attention to them, Niel released his barrage of questions.


    "Is this really the Nether Realm? How do you know? No, how did we get here? No¡­ How do we get out of here? Is this still the Tri Palace? What the hell is going on?!"


    "~Nie! Nie!~"


    Nemesis snorted, stomping his silver hooves hard. His singular, spiraled silver horn shimmered as though he was eager to run Niel through completely with it.


    Niel shivered. He really didn''t know where Ryu kept getting these powerful creatures from. In fact, this crimson horse seemed to be breathing the Nether Qi in an out as though it was perfectly at home.


    ''Wait isn''t this¡­ No, that''s a Black Grade beast. How the hell could a Black Grade beast step into the Seventh Order? I must be going crazy¡­''


    Niel truly wasn''t such a flustered person usually. But, for some reason, whenever he was with Ryu, he felt as though there was someone reliable before him. It was a sort of subtle trust that made him set down his identity as an Inheritor Disciple.


    He didn''t know where this emotion was coming from, honestly. Sometimes he had to pause himself to wonder if he suddenly liked men now, a thought that left him at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.


    "This is definitely the Nether Realm." Ryu replied. "It''s either that, or it is a perfect simulation of it. But, I doubt that."


    With Ryu''s Pupils, especially with his recent breakthroughs, he didn''t believe that he wouldn''t be able to see through such a trick.


    Plus, Osiris was probably the highest level of virtual world that a living being could possibly create. Yet, even with just nine seals undone, Ryu could see through it, let alone the fact he now had 51 undone.


    "But¡­"


    Ryu shook his head. "Dwelling on the why''s without having enough information is a waste of time. Since the Tri Palace sent us here, it''s likely that there''s a purpose. Also, since we haven''t seen anyone else, it''s likely that they''ve been sent to other locations or maybe we are the only ones here. Luckily¡­"


    Ryu flipped his palm, causing the Tri Key to appear once again.


    At that moment, it began to vibrate, causing Ryu''s eyes to narrow. It seemed that he was correct.


    This should confirm that this wasn''t an accident. They were sent here on purpose. The question, then, was what the goal was. Clearly, the Key was here to lead them to this purpose.


    Ryu had realized something shocking during their battle, something he was certain Sarriel and Niel had noticed by now as well:


    They had no way to replenish their qi.


    Ryu was in a far better position. For one, he had only used his Spiritual Qi and second because he still had the Spiritual Qi pools within his Incubator. If this was a test of the Tri Palace, it could be said that Ryu had an unfair advantage.


    Sarriel and Niel, however, had no way to replenish their qi. Even if they only used their fleshly bodies, that would still consume Vital Qi and to make things worse, there was no food to consume here. If qi ran out, their bodies wouldn''t be able to sustain themselves without food.


    That was only the surface level. If they ran out of qi, they would soon run out of breath.


    Breathing in the Nether Realm was akin to sucking in poison. By now, all three of them had stopped breathing. But, who knew how long they could last?


    This entire atmosphere was saturated by Nether Qi, there wasn''t an ounce of their own qi to absorb here.


    The only one who seemed unaffected was Little Nemesis.


    "Let''s follow the key." Ryu finally decided. There truly wasn''t another choice.


    Holding the key out, he followed its vibrations until it got the most intense. Then, he walked forward.


    He had a feeling that if they wanted to survive, they would have no choice but to follow this game the Tri Palace left behind for them.

 Chapter 483 Here

    Chapter 483 Here¡¡¡¡Ryu walked with his senses primed, keeping a palm on Nemesis'' body. He could feel the excitement of the big guy, so he had to make sure this mischievous horse didn''t rush off on his own.


    Ryu knew that Nemesis had a bloodline that came from the Nether Realm long ago. But, he never thought that Nemesis would be able to adapt to Nether Qi so quickly. After all, Nemesis'' lineage was many generations removed.


    But, if Ryu thought about it, Nemesis'' Adept Body Sin Talent probably made it possible for him to easily adapt to any environment, let alone a world he had such close ties with to begin with.


    The group got into several more battles along the way. It felt like there was a new enemy at every corner. In one instant, the forest would be eerily silent, matching well with its overall creepiness. But in the next, all sorts of vicious creatures would make their presences known.


    Before an hour had passed, they had already run into several groups of Canis, Rotting Wolves, and even, the most horrible of them, the Falx.


    The Falx were horrible excuses for Faeries. In terms of appearances, from afar, they looked a lot like the pixies of the Faerie race. But, upon closer inspection, much like everything else in this godforsaken place, it was cursed to an extreme.


    The Falx had sickly grey and moist bodies that looked as though they had been dipped in mucus every day of their lives. They were as short as six inches and as tall as a foot. Not a single one of them wore a speck of clothing, but they also had no genitals to speak of. If it wasn''t for the fact their females had lumps of flesh on their chest that might pass as breasts if one squinted, one wouldn''t be able to differentiate their genders at all.


    Each Falx has two pairs of wings that appeared beautiful from afar, but close up it looked like a mesh of sticky bodily fluid and mucus. It was as though someone took the most grotesque liquids of the human body and molded them into wings for flight.


    If the Falx were just disgusting looking creatures, things would still be fine. But, how could Ryu possibly be so lucky?


    The Falx were not only even faster and more agile that the Canis, but they also has scythes for hands. Not only were these scythes coated with a petrification poison, but they were sharp enough to tear an Earth Grade treasure into scrap metal.


    Against such an enemy, Ryu didn''t dare to casually use his Great Swordstaffs without coating them in protection and Sarriel was the same with her katana.


    In their latest battle, the group was even forced to fight a combination of Rotting Wolves and a flock of Falx. Dealing with the speed of Falx and the strength of Rotting Wolves at the same time felt like a death sentence. If not for Nemesis'' energy fueled rampage, the group of three might have been completely out of stamina by the end of the battle.


    It truly felt like they were being targeted by some all seeing eye from above. The cultivation of Nether Creatures wasn''t obvious, but they all seemed to be just strong enough to give them all a challenge. This was something that Ryu found hard to wrap his mind around completely.


    The Tri Palace should have been geared toward geniuses of a world that couldn''t produce any experts beyond the Dao Pedestal Realm. So, how exactly were they suddenly receiving a challenge capable of pushing Ryu and Sarriel to their limits?


    Ryu couldn''t help but look toward Sarriel''s alluring back. In his fatigue, he felt that she was even more enticing now than she had been before. How being tired suddenly made his hormones flair up? Even he couldn''t explain this very well.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, with Sarriel''s strength, she should already not have anything that could threaten her on the Moon World. Or, rather, that''s what Ryu had thought before he saw the geniuses of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    This new perspective made him realize that the Sect that was one subordinate to his Ice Phoenix Clan had done a lot of growing in the past several million years.


    That said¡­ They still shouldn''t be any challenge for Sarriel. Crushing them should be as easy as thinking it.


    Yet, Sarriel still went out of her way to expose her Truth Pupils to Ryu in exchange for protection. Could it be that she knew something like this would happen? That was the only explanation Ryu could think of.


    Seemingly sensing Ryu''s gaze, Sarriel looked back. But, rather than looking away after having been caught, Ryu didn''t retract his look at all. Instead, he continued to scan Sarriel''s body wantonly, making her blush profusely. Her curves were truly too enticing. Even beneath her loose robes, the volume of her bottom was impossible to miss.


    Her heart fluttered, her step slowing slightly to walk evenly with Ryu.


    She pulled at the collar of her robes as though trying to cool herself down, but all she really did was give Ryu a view of the deep ravines she hid beneath.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. The mounds of flesh outlined by an intricately laced undergarment made his loins light on fire. Even without touching, he could almost feel the softness with a look alone.


    The action ended almost as soon as it started. Sarriel blushed down to the tip of her long ears, something Ryu could easily see as her disguise was useless against him.


    "¡­ I can''t do it, I can''t do it¡­!" Sarriel covered her face with both hands.


    She tried to give Ryu a better look at her body, trying to be the bold and confident woman he liked. But, she couldn''t last very long before her embarrassment took over. She wanted nothing more than to find a hole to scurry into.


    Niel looked back and gave the two a weird look before his face became somewhat depressed. Couldn''t these two flirt somewhere else? This was a life and death trial, you know? They might not make it out of this!


    It was at that moment that Ryu''s eyes snapped up. "¡­ We''re here."


    The group passed a clearing, finding what they all least expected to find.


    It was a city, right in the middle of the Nether Realm.


    The issue though, wasn''t that it was a city. But, rather that there were hundreds of youths their age within it even though not even 40 individuals had entered with them¡­

 Chapter 484 Hold On!

    Chapter 484 Hold On!¡¡¡¡"Oh?"


    Ryu looked around unperturbed, his gaze flashing with a peculiar light. It seemed as though more and more about this situation was slipping away from his expectations. Such a reality left him at a bit of a loss, but not enough to be completely headless.


    The arrival of the three and Nemesis caught the attention of some, and many of them even began to whisper to themselves, but other than curiosity, Ryu didn''t see any other emotion. In fact, it seemed like these groups of individuals shared this same curiosity for everyone they saw.


    There was a slight tension in the air and the space between ingroups and outgroups were quite well defined. It only took a single look for Ryu to understand which of them had come from the same world and which hadn''t.


    After a moment of thought, Ryu realized that there was only one explanation for this matter: The Tri Palace appeared in many worlds.


    However, with that conclusion came many other possibilities, of which, Ryu felt that there were only two that could truly be considered to be viable.


    The first possibility was that there had always been many Tri Palaces, just maybe not by the appropriate name. Names were an incredibly important custom of the cultivation world, but this also meant that failing to understand the correct name of something or someone could easily cause misunderstandings.


    If this first possibility was true, then it just meant that worlds like the Moon World, worlds that likely didn''t have superiors like Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Clan to see through the secrets of the Tri Palace, simply didn''t name it properly.


    This failure to name properly caused Ryu and his family to miss the true scope of these mysterious Tri Palaces. Not only would there not be appropriate records, but it would also be impossible to deduce their locations through Fate if they were known by the wrong name.


    The second possibility, though, was the one Ryu was leaning toward in comparison to the first. And this possibility stated that these new Tri Palaces¡­ Only appeared after Ryu''s death.


    There had been 900 000 000 years since Ryu''s death. To him, who saw the world through the scope of World Sea experts and Sky Gods, this was a small measure of time. He had never truly thought much of it and he didn''t believe the world could change much in that time¡­


    At least¡­ That was what he thought until his soul reconnected with Elena. It was then he realized that not everyone thought like he did. To those without such high levels of cultivation, and those who couldn''t see through the endless tide of Fate like he could, 900 000 000 years actually felt like countless lifetimes.


    Even for a Cosmic Seed elite, a cultivator just a single step beneath the World Sea Realm, they only saw the world in blocks of a hundred million years. For them, a near billion years was an obscene amount of time.


    Ryu realized that he had been foolish and too na?ve. 900 000 000 years was enough for a lot to happen, especially in the eyes of a world where the Dao Pedestal Realm was the Peak. And¡­ It was even worse to a young, recently married woman who had only experienced less than a million years of life before her husband left her.


    Ryu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had already promised himself to leave his emotions for Elena in the deep recesses of his mind until he could see her again. But, time and time again, they surfaced on their own.


    It made him feel like a ticking time bomb. His patience was limited and his fuse was short. As for his inhibitions, they seemed to have been lowered.


    Ryu walked forward and toward the city gate, not caring for the looks he was receiving.


    At that moment, the bustling city seemed to be divided by a line ¨C those that were in and those that weren''t.


    The group lingering around on the outside stared longingly at the city. But, for whatever reason, they seemed unable to enter, or maybe they weren''t allowed to enter.


    Seeing Ryu''s movements, many began to whisper amongst each other.


    Not long later, Ryu stood beneath the gates, Nemesis to his side and Sarriel stealthily clinging to the sleeve of his robes. Niel, however, was at a loss. He wasn''t a fool, he could tell that everyone was avoiding these gates.


    To the sides, there were two motionless statues that seemed to be of petrified knights. But, they also exuded a vitality that shouldn''t have been possible for a pair of statues.


    To make matters worse, it seemed that everyone was actually surprised that the three managed to make it so close without anything happening.


    "Hold on!"


    "Hm?" Ryu''s brow wrinkled.


    That language he had just heard, it wasn''t from this Martial Era. In fact, it wasn''t from the Golden Era Ryu was originally born in either. It was from the Pedestal Era right before Ryu''s Golden Era. In addition, it was the dialect of a certain giant race known as Rune Giants. Ryu had explored some of their Ruins before.


    But, who the hell still used this language to this day? It was clear that both Sarriel and Niel were confused, not understanding the words of the young man in the distance. That said¡­ They were they and Ryu was Ryu.


    "Do you have something to tell me?" Ryu replied so fluently even the young man was taken off guard.


    The young man froze. He had called out for the sake of helping Ryu, but by now, he was used to no one around him understanding his words. So, even though he had tried to reach out in kindness, he was well prepared for Ryu to shrug him off.


    But, to his surprise, Ryu actually replied with a level of fluency he hadn''t expected.


    After shaking off his surprise, the young man''s eyes lit up.


    "Friend, the Gates only open during certain times. During those times, there will be a small test for those who want to enter. If you try to enter now, the guardians will kill you!"

 Chapter 485 More Confusion

    Chapter 485 More Confusion¡¡¡¡"Is that so¡­" Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    The situation seemed to only be becoming more and more confusing. First, they were sent to the Nether Realm rather than the usual trial grounds of the Tri Palace. Second, there was the lack of Elite Carnis. In fact, there hadn''t been any Elite Falx or Alpha Rotting Wolves either. Now, Ryu was listening to a young man speak a language that should be long dead.


    There was a chance to explain this. After all, there were so many small worlds in existence that they couldn''t all be accounted for by Ryu. And, since traveling between worlds was so difficult for these small worlds, the idea that they could be trapped in their ancient customs without ever advancing was possible.


    The issue here, though, was that even if they were trapped in their ancient customs, never advancing, their language should still change and shift with the times.


    It had been trillions up on trillions of years since the Pedestal Era. Languages could experience huge shifts in just a few hundred years, let alone such a large period of time.


    If Ryu was truly running into a person from a small world that was birthed in the Pedestal Era and never progressed, he should still expect to find some deviations from the original language. Of course, with his expertise as a Ruin Master, he would still be able to understand after a small period of observation, but it most definitely shouldn''t be like this where the language seemed perfectly copied and pasted from that Era!


    Ryu gave the young man with an apparent kind heart a deep look.


    He stood at two and a half meters tall and had solid grey skin. Within this grey skin were the swirling patterns of numerous bronze Runes he had been adding to his body since his infancy. His entire body seemed to exude power and strength, as expected of the Rune Giants.


    The Rune Giants practiced a very special fusion of Mental and Body Realm cultivation which fused their comprehension of Fundamental Runes with their powerful bodies. Rather than relying on Visualizations, they etched the Runes onto themselves, resulting in explosive boosts in power and strength.


    They were one of the many races that had popped into existence before fading away with time. Ryu had truly not thought that he would meet one here.


    But, wasn''t there a Fey by his side? He had thought that they were extinct too, but here one was, still clinging to his sleeve like a little girl.


    "And those people on the inside¡­?" Ryu probed.


    "They are either elites with special privileges that allow them more flexibility to enter and exit, or they are normal citizens who didn''t exit yet. We''re only hanging around here because it''s somewhat safer nearer the city than going elsewhere."


    Ryu nodded. "Thank you for the information."


    The Rune Giant smiled and shook his head. But, he was left speechless by Ryu''s next actions.


    As though he had never had the conversation to begin with, Ryu''s hand found a place on the gate.


    BANG!


    Before anyone could react, a sweeping wind enveloped the outer city limits, nearly taking many off of their feet. Without a resounding bang, the gates swung open, nearly flying off their hinges entirely.


    It was exactly at that moment that guardians of the gate stirred. For some reason, they seemed to have lagged behind, acting more sluggishly than they had in the past.


    They raised their halberds, dust falling from their stone bodies as they prepared to swing down and decapitate Ryu.


    But before they could react, Nemesis sent a hoof toward Niel''s back, sending him soaring through the open gates. As for Ryu, he took a step forward, crossing the line of the city.


    As though the guardians had lost their target, they froze mid action, quaking and creaking. Then, without a choice, they lowered themselves back down.


    Within the city limits, many turned to take a look at those who had entered, their eyes widened in shock. It had been a while since anyone had entered outside of the designated time. Usually, everyone had to wait.


    As surprised as those on the inside were, those on the outside were also at a loss, especially the young Rune Giant whose mouth hung partially open.


    What just happened?


    However, they couldn''t get an answer before the gates slammed close again, leaving them all locked out to continue to wait.


    Sarriel''s mouth opened and closed as though she wanted to say something. Seemingly not realizing, Ryu''s gaze continued to scan the city as though he didn''t want to miss even a single detail.


    From the inside, the city didn''t seem to be too special, at least not the outer city. Within the inner city, Ryu could clearly see a castle structure which was likely where the most core elites of the city gathered. As for the outer city, it looked quite shabby, to be honest. And, even the castle within the inner city didn''t seem to be in great shape, it was only better by comparison.


    The entirety of the outer city seemed to be one part slum and another part cobbled together middle class. It was the kind of place one would expect to find in a barely civilized land with kings and queens.


    "¡­ Shouldn''t we have just taken the elite test?" Sarriel finally asked.


    She realized what had happened back there, though she was quite shocked the more she thought about it.


    Ryu had seen through the formations that controlled the guardians and forced them to lag, knowing that the guardians couldn''t attack anything within the city limits. He was practically toying with the foundations of this place at a whim.


    This was cool and all, but the issue was that there was a platform assigned for assessing elite talent right outside. She didn''t understand why Ryu had ignored it.


    Ryu gave Sarriel a look but didn''t respond. In fact, he was a bit surprised she didn''t know the answer. After all, she should have seen through him completely before he improved his Pupils.


    How could Ryu pass an elite talent test designed for Necromancers with his poor Mental Realm? Rather than waste his time only to be labeled as trash, he might as well bypass the test completely.


    "Let''s go to the inner city." Ryu finally said. "This place doesn''t have what we need."


    Ryu was sure there''d likely be another test for the inner city. He just didn''t know if he''d be able to skirt past this one too.

 Chapter 486 Odd Decision

    Chapter 486 Odd Decision¡¡¡¡Ryu stood at the gates to the inner city, his head angled upward.


    Though most of the wall was stone, the pathway before them was a metal gate with clear gaps. Through these gaps, it was possible to see a moat of what looked like violet waters. Though these waters were almost eerily still, Ryu could still feel a hint of danger lurking below.


    The drawbridge to the inner city was closed shut, acting as the door to the somewhat dilapidated castle they were looking at currently.


    On the castle walls, some seemed to have begun to gather. The commotion of Ryu blasting the outer gates open was definitely not small. With the cultivation of the geniuses who called this city home, if they couldn''t hear such a thing, they really wouldn''t be worthy of any sort of prodigy title.


    Still, those who stood at the top of the wall now had been there to begin with. They had only taken a small detour out of curiosity, thinking that one of the expeditionary squads had come back with good gains.


    However, what they saw left them feeling intrigued. There was actually a new group that had come.


    Any sort of power shift, even the smallest kind, in a place like this one could cause title waves. The fact that someone had managed to open the gates during the off period could only mean that there was a new player in town.


    The real question, then, was how this would work out.


    Their small city already had two tigers vying for the mountain peak. If there was a third tiger, or rather a third person who deemed themselves to be a tiger, things could get interesting¡­ Well, interesting up to the point where the true tigers of the city decided to crush the resistance beneath their feet.


    None of them had been here for long, but the strength of those two was already imprinted onto their souls. It had already reached a point where none of them dared to question their authority.


    "~Nie! Nie!"


    Nemesis looked around at the city unhappily, his silver hooves smashing the stone beneath him apart.


    Ryu could only sigh and pat Nemesis lush coat.


    "We''ll go out soon once we''ve finish with business here, alright?"


    "~Nie! Nie!"


    Hot steam billowed out from Nemesis'' nostrils, his muscles rippling with excitement.


    By now, Nemesis had felt the change as well. The city seemed to be run down, but it served a very important purpose: Recovery.


    In this city, Sarriel and Niel no longer needed to maintain their qi skin technique. And, though there was still no qi to absorb, there was at least no Nether Qi to worry about.


    Beyond that, Ryu was certain that if there was such protection afforded here, there was also definitely a chance to replenish qi as well, whether it was by earning Qi Stones, or other means.


    With just a glance, Ryu could tell that though the castle seemed shabby, it definitely had even better accommodations than the outer city. But, this was exactly why Nemesis was so unhappy.


    To them, it was better to go forward. But, to Nemesis, it felt like they were travelling further and further from his goals. It was only after receiving Ryu''s assurance that the big guy finally calmed.


    It had to be remembered that though Nemesis was older than Little Rock, he was still in his teen years. For a beast, he might as well have still been a newborn. Losing control of his temper like this, especially considering the root of his bloodline, only made sense.


    Ryu could only hope that those wanting to observe them from on high like they were now, didn''t do anything to piss the big guy off, or else who knew what would happen?


    "Sarriel, it''s your turn." Ryu suddenly said.


    "Huh?" Sarriel was completely caught off guard.


    "From what I can see, not everyone on that wall passed the test personally. In all likelihood, they just followed the few that did in. So, only one of us needs to pass."


    Sarriel''s lovely violet eyes blinked, but it seemed that she was still in confusion. Even if she for some reason accepted that Ryu didn''t want to make use of his Mental Realm Talent, why was he also not using the Key?


    Though the Tri Key was rare, it couldn''t be that rare, right? After all, their Moon World alone had four of them, who knew how many more there were across the various worlds that had apparently come here. Was there even a point in hiding it?


    Sarriel shook her head, blushing beneath Ryu''s gaze. She couldn''t even think straight when he did things like this.


    Taking a step forward, Sarriel stood before the Gate, reaching her hand out.


    A strong surge of qi suddenly enveloped Sarriel.


    In the next moment, the qi seemed to sap something away from her before forming what looked like an illusory skeleton.


    The skeleton had bones that radiated a faint blue and had a dark black aura around it. Its spine was as straight as could be, its boney hands holding onto a katana that looked like a replica of Sarriel''s own.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''This is the lowest tier Summon of a Summoner Necromancer. However, even the most fragile and useless of them has the strength of several Path Extinction Realm experts.''


    This wasn''t like those fairy tales. The so-called ''weak'' skeletons found in their depictions were actually horrible monsters in real life.


    They had endless recovery abilities only limited by their summoner. They were fast and agile, not to mention far easier to control without all the flesh weighing them down.


    The strongest of Summoner Necromancers could manifest armies in the thousands of these Lower level Skeleton Warriors, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake.


    Though Sarriel only had to fight one, even given her talent, it wouldn''t necessarily be an easy task at all.


    Niel frowned. He really didn''t like the idea of thrusting Sarriel into battle like this. He didn''t like Ryu''s decision even the slightest bit.

 Chapter 487 Fulfill

    Chapter 487 Fulfill¡¡¡¡The truth was that if things were as simple as just battling a Lower Skeleton Warrior, Ryu wouldn''t have an issue with it. It was just that something about this world was needling at his mind. There was something deeper here, something far more sinister, that he wasn''t able to grasp quite yet.


    Though Ryu loved idea of throwing himself into danger, that didn''t mean that he would do so recklessly. No, it was more accurate to say that this was already the danger.


    At this very moment, there was already a guillotine primed and ready to drop. It hovered above his head, waiting for him to produce his neck for it.


    Whatever this place was, whatever it had been designed for, whatever goal it had in mind¡­ It didn''t have the best interests of any of these youths at the forefront.


    Sarriel shot forward, he katana leaving a glistening light in its path as it sliced across. Her movements were fast and measured. It seemed that the time it took for them to travel here wasn''t weighing on her as much as it seemed.


    Maybe deep inside, Ryu knew that this matter was deeper than just being worried about a danger he didn''t understand. Fundamentally, he felt as though he was being led by the nose at the moment, and it was a kind of humiliating feeling that he loathed.


    This Nether Realm he had stepped into, was definitely a plan that had been brewing for a long while. And, if Ryu was correct, the impetus these people needed to kickstart this plan was provided by none other than himself.


    If he hadn''t crossed into the Immortal Realms with his Heavenly Pupils in the Moon World, there would have never been such a large shift of Fate, and ultimately¡­ maybe all of this wouldn''t be happening so soon.


    Ironically, Ryu felt that even this concept of ''soon'' wasn''t correct. Soon implied a time frame and allowed for a series of cause and effect. Most importantly, it allowed for the fundamental laws of Karma to thrive.


    The issue was¡­ Ryu couldn''t see the threads of Karma in this place. It was as though everything had been wiped to a blank slate.


    Several exchanges later, Sarriel finally managed to take down the Lower Skeleton Warrior. Her breathing was slightly labored, and her cheeks along with the tips of her long ears reddened along with her fatigue.


    She stumbled slightly, but it was then she felt a strong arm clasp her waist.


    "Ah¡­!" Sarriel looked up to find that Ryu had caught her.


    She panicked slightly, but she soon felt a cool qi sooth her body.


    Sarriel blushed deeply, her body involuntarily leaning toward Ryu. He smelt so good.


    "Nemesis, carry her. We''re going."


    "~Nie!" Nemesis made a facial expression that looked to be like a smile as Ryu helped Sarriel up.


    Niel sighed and shook his head, following as the Gates opened and the drawbridge dropped. In his eyes, it looked like Sarriel and Ryu were getting closer and closer, he really was a third wheel. Though, at this point, he didn''t dare to remove himself from their group. This situation was simply too odd.


    Sarriel grasped Ryu''s hand with both of hers as she sat on Nemesis'' back, apparently scared to fall off. Well, it was either that or she didn''t want to let go of Ryu. Either way, she refused to.


    The truth was that Ryu was only treating Sarriel so well because he had already promised to do so. Well, that and wasn''t it always nice to have something beautiful to look at? Plus, she was also a powerful aid.


    Since Sarriel had told Ryu about Ailsa''s seal, he already had the obligation to help her during this trial as he had promised. He was a man of his word, after all.


    Niel was reading too much into their relationship. Though¡­ It was hard not to when Ryu seemed to eat her alive with his gaze and Sarriel''s only response was to blush profusely.


    The trio and Nemesis crossed the bridge to enter the castle. But, unlike the unorganized outer city, there seemed to be a strong lineup waiting just for them.


    Sarriel looked up with a slightly worried expression.


    The journey here had already taken a lot out of her. After that battle, she felt like she was already nearing the end of her rope. Even compared to Niel, her situation was much worse.


    As a Fey, much of Sarriel''s strength came from the nature around her. But, she had yet to adapt to the Nether Realm and was still apprehensive about using its qi to empower herself despite the fact it was Yin based just like her lineage.


    This led to a situation where she was really walking a tight rope, forcing her to expend more energy than she otherwise would. If Ryu needed her to act again, she really wasn''t sure if she could.


    But, it was then that an imposing aura exuded from Ryu''s body. The air of a Monarch spread out in all directions, causing the expressions of the youths that had been surrounding them to go stiff.


    Sarriel looked toward Ryu in surprise. She really didn''t understand what he was doing. Wasn''t he trying to hide him? Why was he suddenly trying to be so bold now?


    For the first time in her life, Sarriel was truly at a loss.


    "I don''t care who your leaders or what hierarchy you''ve had until now. Anyone who would like to challenge me, feel free to step forward now. Don''t complain in the future that I didn''t give you a chance."


    Niel''s expression changed, his eyes almost beginning to brim with unshed tears. Why couldn''t this Ryu ever do anything normally?


    The youths were stunned by Ryu''s words. Someone who didn''t even dare to take the drawbridge challenge was actually looking down on them all like this?


    Many of them couldn''t understand the words Ryu spoke. But, they were all Mental Realm masters and Ryu purposely laced his word with his intention. Not a single one of them couldn''t understand his words of provocation.


    He disdained them all.


    At that moment, a young man with hair arranged with brightly colored feathers stepped forward. No, it wasn''t arranged. Rather, the elaborate feathers were his hair!


    His multi-colored eyes sparkled with rage as he stepped forward.


    "If you''d like to die, I''ll fulfill that wish!"


    His voice caused the air to vibrate wildly, his vocal cords causing ripples of qi to spread out as though a stone had been tossed into a calm lake.

 Chapter 488 Optimism

    Chapter 488 Optimism¡¡¡¡Ryu''s Great Swordstaff descended from the skies. His attack was so fast and swift that the feather haired young man didn''t even realize he died until his consciousness had long since faded.


    Ryu looked down at the corpse beneath him expressionlessly.


    This feather haired young man was from another special race of humanoids. Their elaborate hair that seemed fit to be the crown of a bird''s head was a trademark of their lineage.


    These feathered people were known as Pavo Race. Whenever they entered their battle state, their feathers would flare out and act as beacon for qi. Just like how Ryu could absorb qi through his skin, they could absorb it through their hair.


    However, not only was Ryu''s surface area obviously much larger than theirs, his absorption rate was far faster and, he wasn''t limited in the same ways.


    When the Pavo Race absorbed qi, it would automatically be catalyzed and purified into Spiritual Qi. It was this that gave them their strength and made them great Mental Realm Masters.


    By now, a clear pattern was starting to form. First the Rune Giant Race, now the Pavo Race. Both of them were great Mental Realm Masters and they had all been gathered here.


    Just with a quick sweep of the crowd, Ryu could easily pick out many more of such special races, all perfectly tailored to use Spiritual Qi to the most optimal degree.


    "Who''s next." Ryu asked plainly.


    The crowd was stunned. The Pavo Race young man was definitely not the strongest among them, not even close, but Ryu had cut him down far too easily.


    But how could he not? While everyone else was carefully conserving their qi, Ryu didn''t care. He went all out in a single burst as though he didn''t care about the qi scarcity in this place in the slightest.


    And why would he?


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, wielder of the Chaotic Silk Meridians in their truest form. No matter what kind of qi he absorbed, it would be catalyzed into Chaos Qi, even if that qi was Nether Qi. When it came to reserves and stamina in this place, he was unmatched.


    "Just a reckless fool. What are you trying to accomplish here, exactly?"


    At that moment, another young man stepped forward. Considering the looks many gave him, it was clear that his standing was far above the Pavo youngest.


    Unlike the others who looked like extraterrestrials to Ryu who was very used a human dominated worlds, other than his slightly greyer than usual skin, this young man didn''t seem to have anything particular that stood out about him.


    However, Ryu''s eyes were instantly drawn to the twin skulls he used as ear pieces, especially the rubies these skeleton earrings used for eyes.


    This young man was indeed human. But, his background wasn''t simple, not by a large measure.


    He was the very first Ryu had come across that spoke the dialect of this current Era. However, this only made Ryu take him more seriously.


    Those skulls, a total of four total, were the mark of the Avangard Clan. If there was any Clan synonymous with Necromancy in the Martial World, there were three.


    The Avangard Family. The Delliard Family. And, finally, the Mophesta Family.


    Those four skulls and the eight rubies they used for eyes¡­ This young man wasn''t just a member of that family, his status was also not small.


    "The Avangard Clan." Ryu swept his gaze over the young man from top to bottom.


    The young man''s pupils constricted. Ryu was the first person in this plane to understand his origins. This realization alone made the young man feel that maybe Ryu wasn''t as rash as he seemed. Those with the knowledge to recognize him shouldn''t be many.


    "900 000 000 years ago, a man should have come to one of your three families for entry into the Nether Realm. Was it yours?"


    The young man''s eyes narrowed. "There are many people who come to our families for this purpose. This was also long before my time. How would I know this?"


    "Because his name was Titus Tatsuya."


    The city suddenly trembled. Dust fell from the ceiling of the castle, the steady violet moat outside rising up in a tidal wave that almost swallowed the gate whole.


    The pupils of the young man constricted into pinholes, his heart trembling outside of his control.


    It was only at that moment the young man realized something very important. Just now, this young man had spoken the name of the Avangard Clan as though it was just another simple existence.


    To put this matter into perspective, the Avangard Clan was no weaker than the Tatsuya Clan. In fact, if their alliance with the other two Necromancy families were taken into account, they were even faintly superior.


    Yet, Ryu was able to instantly speak their name without feeling any sort of pressure at all.


    "Who¡­ Are you?"


    The young man''s expression became dignified, his gaze narrowing. He stood before Ryu with his chest broad and his back straight, his strength primed and ready.


    The others within the crowd were stunned, not because of Ryu''s words, but because of the young man''s actions. This was because he was none other than one of the two tigers that had already been acknowledged within this castle.


    He was Zanlis Avangard, a power that none of them dared to slight.


    Zanlis'' aura continued to grow, his momentum slowly inching forward as though to swallow Ryu whole.


    The greater it grew, the more clear his cultivation became. However, in the end, just like Sarriel, it stabilized at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm.


    Ryu didn''t believe this was a coincidence. He could already tell that Sarriel could breakthrough whenever she wanted, yet she hadn''t. Now, there was Zanlis, another one who could clearly proceed whenever he so chose, yet he hadn''t either.


    To the current Ryu, whether it was battling Sarriel or Zanlis, it was impossible under normal circumstances. He had to put his life on the line to battle just two 3rd Stage Immortal Ring experts that shared their level of talent, but Zanlis was six sub stages above that, plus a half step.


    Though Ryu had grown more powerful after dual cultivation with Ailsa, if he could leap so many stages of power so quickly, he might as well go off to seek revenge for his family right now. At this point, he was still far from this stage.


    However, even now, Ryu''s aura suppressed Zanlis'' own.


    For one, Zanlis didn''t have a Small Realm. Even most geniuses of the Path Extinction Realm wouldn''t have one. And secondly, Zanlis would never be able to match Ryu in pure, unmitigated confidence.


    Ryu didn''t care if Zanlis was ten times more powerful. It wouldn''t matter. Especially in this world.


    Ryu was certain that he could outlast Zanlis, and that was all that mattered.


    Zanlis frowned. He didn''t want to battle Ryu. Everyone knew how bad a decision it was to battle in this place. But, why did this person not understand a concept so simple?


    "Are you going to answer my question, or not?" Ryu asked coldly.


    As for Zanlis asking him who he was, he didn''t care to answer. As far as Ryu was concerned, responding to his question with another was nothing short of Zanlis looking down on him. When Ryu was already sensitive, talking about matters related to his father, his fuse was even shorter than it was normally.


    Zanlis'' gaze narrowed. "¡­ There was such a case 900 000 000 years ago."


    "And?" Ryu pressed.


    "I do not know. He never returned. After so long, there''s only one explanation."


    KACHA!


    The stone beneath Ryu''s feet shattered. If it wasn''t for him and Nemesis stepping into the air, they would have fallen at least a meter down into the crater. But, just this simple act seemed to throw the entire city into another uproar.


    What was flying, exactly? In its simplest form, it was a communication with the energies of the world in exchange for buoyancy. It could even be considered to be the infancy stages of controlling atmospheric qi, but not as true or exaggerated as what an Immortal Ring expert was able to accomplish.


    Why else would it have been so difficult for Niel to fly outside of the Moon World''s atmosphere? With how volatile the qi became, controlling it to have this effect became many times more difficult.


    Because of this, for those here, flying in the Nether Realm was absolutely impossible. In fact, this was the case for most of the creatures as well unless they had wings and could accomplish it physically as opposed to relying on energy.


    This simple act by Ryu had more of an impact than any strength he could display. And, the fact his steed was able to accomplish the same feat left them at a complete loss.


    Ryu took deep breaths, his qi having becoming a raging torrent.


    For people, often times, even if something is subconsciously known, it''s easy to ignore until you see the evidence before you. For Ryu, it was the same. Whether it was about his family or Elena and even Nuri, he had an irrational optimism.


    But¡­ could his father really survive 900 000 000 years in the Nether Realm? Even the most optimistic version of Ryu said no.


    Ryu looked up into the sky.


    "From this day forth, this city is mine and those of you here will be under my command. Those who violate this single rule will die without recourse."

 Chapter 489 Long Enough

    Chapter 489 Long Enough¡¡¡¡Ryu''s words were like a heavy stone being dropped into an otherwise calm lake.


    But, when he rose up into the skies and reached a hand out, ripping a hole in the formation that protected the city, everyone froze, their eyes lighting with fear.


    To even see this level of formation with one''s eyes took a level of skill they couldn''t fathom. But, to then also proceed to rip a whole into it, and so casually at that, they couldn''t wrap their minds around just what was happening.


    However, what was clear at that moment was that Ryu held their lives in the palm of his hands. Without this city, facing this world head on would be asking for death. At that moment, even Zanlis froze, his face alight with hesitation. He too didn''t dare to take things to this level.


    Ryu descended from the skies, trudging into the castle. His aura seemed to scream that he wanted to be left alone, a heavy darkness hanging around him.


    The air crackled and popped around, his emotions being hardly kept in check as he disappeared from the view of most.


    The youths who remained gazed toward one another, apprehension gripping their hearts. But, what they were maybe more worried about than this was how their second tiger would react to all of this. Compared to Zanlis, he was much less cool headed. He was the kind of man who would die for the sake of his pride.


    If he came here and started to rampage without a word, what would they do if Ryu just destroyed the city formation entirely? Even if that guy could survive until maybe finding another city, what would they do, exactly? How many of them would survive such a thing?


    At that moment, many of them began to wonder if coming to this place had been the right decision in the first place.


    ¡­


    Ryu turned a gaze toward Sarriel. At the moment, the look in his eyes was frighteningly cold, even to the point it seemed his silver eyes had gained a blue glow to them that radiated a frigid air.


    Seemingly sensing that this wasn''t a place he should be present, Niel took a few awkward steps back, exiting from the castle''s Keep.


    The Keep was a place that was relatively off limits for most who entered this city. Since they hadn''t decided on a ''top dog'' yet, neither Zanlis nor the other supposed tiger had called it home. But, Ryu obviously didn''t care about this. He had cut a straight line toward this stone building, slamming the doors shut without the input of anyone else.


    Niel found himself outside the Keep, coughing somewhat awkwardly. Following Ryu was really going to be the death of him one day.


    He had thought that Ryu was getting better, even beginning to warm up to people and surprisingly¡­ smile? It was quite a shocking change, indeed.


    But, it felt as though just a single conversation had brought him all the way back to step one. Niel could only hope that maybe Sarriel could help drag him back. But, once again, Niel was definitely overestimating the relationship between the two of them. The reason Ryu wanted to speak to Sarriel alone had nothing to do with wanting to seek comfort from her.


    Standing within the bottom floor of the keep, Ryu faced Sarriel. If he had the mind to look around, he would quickly realize that the Keep was in far better condition than practically anywhere in this city.


    There were long, luxurious, red carpets, elaborate chandeliers sparkling of gold and silver hanging above, and even a wide set of double stairs that met together on a higher floor.


    However, what was most intriguing about the Keep wasn''t its decorations of grandeur at all. Rather, Ryu could easily sense numerous and countless densely packed formations fitted all around the Keep.


    These formations, though, didn''t seem prepared to activate until one attempted to move on to a higher floor. In addition, the formations ready to activate on this very first floor were actually quite benign.


    From what Ryu could tell, the formations here were designed with several spatial functions in mind. One part of these spatial functions could bring him to other parts of the Keep. The other half of these functions was connected to a different world entirely. As for what this world brought, Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care right now. His entire being was focused on Sarriel.


    At this moment, having been forced off of Nemesis'' back after the big guy noticed Ryu wasn''t very happy with her, Sarriel was standing on her own. She actually looked quite pitiful¡­


    Her legs were wobbly and weak, her face was flushed down to her cheeks and even to the tips of her ears, and her breathing was still labored. It seemed that she hadn''t recovered much at all. The disappearance of the support Ryu''s Life Flame had been giving her only made everything worse.


    However, the current Ryu was at the point where even her beauty didn''t move his needle even the slightest bit. His eyes didn''t roam, his lower belly didn''t warm, in fact, his body had become no different from a living block of ice. The pressure he exuded only seemed to become greater and greater, his air of a Monarch involuntarily seeping out from his very being.


    "What do you know?" Ryu asked, his voice even.


    Sarriel''s sparkling violet eyes met Ryu''s gaze, but at the moment she seemed to be on the verge of tears. If it wasn''t because she was scared that speaking might make them spill over, she probably would have been shocked into speaking as soon as Ryu''s words ended.


    But, she had a feeling that if she started crying now, rather than gaining pity, she would just make Ryu angrier.


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    Sarriel failed to hold it back, her tears spilling over and drenching her cheeks. She hiccupped, having so much trouble catching her breath that she went light headed for a moment and stumbled forward.


    Ryu''s brows wrinkled.


    Sarriel fell to her knees, balling. Her legs splayed, her butt touching the ground. She tried her best to cover her face with her hands, but her dainty palm and slender fingers weren''t doing a very good job of it at all, especially when her trembling ears made it obvious what was happening behind it.


    "I¡­ I lost my parents too¡­"


    The words were simple, and probably only spoken as the last exasperated cry of a girl at the end of her rope, yet they seemed to pierce through Ryu''s heart like a javelin.


    He stood frozen, his arms crossed over his chest, his white hair waving about under his turbid aura.


    This was the world of cultivation. Those who were murdered before their time, reaped while they still had their own dreams, aspirations¡­ their own families, were simply too many to count. Even in a single breath that Ryu took, how many more had died? How many lives had he taken personally that were just like this?


    Ryu moved about the world as though his goals were the only ones that mattered, as though the world revolved around him, as though he was the only one who knew what suffering was.


    Just a small change in his psyche caused by information he should have likely already guessed, practically caused him to lash out in the most violent of ways.


    Just because he wasn''t crying, screaming, shouting, waving his limbs about and stamping his foot, didn''t mean that he wasn''t throwing a tantrum. Sarriel''s words seemed to make Ryu realize that he was doing exactly that.


    ''Quite pathetic.'' Ryu thought to himself.


    He looked toward Sarriel''s crying figure, the radiant blue in his eyes slowly fading.


    He had been wallowing in self pity for a long time, over a thousand years in fact. Ever since his seventh birthday, had he ever done anything but pity himself?


    Ironically, Ryu felt that the version of himself with his memories still sealed, that small blind boy without any power or strength, and without anyone but an old Imperial Doula to love him¡­ Was the strongest he had ever been.


    That boy still knew how to smile, he still knew how to laugh and have fun. The world seemed to hate him¡­ He knew this and couldn''t do anything to change it, yet he still faced the world with a straight back and a sarcastic smile.


    It was quite funny. When Ryu awoke that fateful day after Granny Miriam''s death, he washed himself clean of everything that was that small boy. The only reason he even participated in the Coronation Games was for the sake of laying the seeds he needed to destroy the Tor Kingdom.


    Back then, he had always thought it was a step forward. But now, he felt as though he had done an about face that day and had been walking in the wrong direction all this time.


    Ryu took a step forward and took a single knee before Sarriel.


    Reaching a hand toward her, he peeled her hands back and cleared her delicate face of her hair, helping her wipe her tears.


    "I''m sorry." Ryu said lightly.


    This immaturity of his¡­ He felt that he had carried it for long enough.

 Chapter 490 Was Not

    Chapter 490 Was Not¡¡¡¡Sarriel froze, not expecting Ryu''s gentle touch. She looked up, finding a pair of silver eyes staring back at her which were decidedly less cold. Though they couldn''t be said to be warm. When coming from Ryu, Sarriel felt as though the sun''s rays might as well have been bouncing from her delicate features.


    At that moment, her eyes began to water again, throwing Ryu off guard. Why was she still crying? Maybe he didn''t'' apologize sincerely enough?


    Ryu inwardly shook his head. He was probably overvaluing his apology. Just because he said sorry, didn''t mean that Sarriel could suddenly turn off all the emotions he had forcibly turned on.


    The truth was that Sarriel had truly been caught in a whirlwind that may or may not have been her fault. Everything Ryu had learned to this point pointed toward the fact that she knew and understood more than she was letting on. After all, why else would someone as powerful as Sarriel believe she needed help in a place as seemingly simple as the Tri Palace?


    From what Ryu knew, the Tri Palace''s greatest challenge would just be the people you entered with. Though the trials might push one to their limits, the greatest worry was being stabbed in the back.


    Beyond that, Ryu still found the fact Sarriel hadn''t broken into Path Extinction Realm to be odd, especially after meeting Zanlis. There was clearly something very deliberate about her actions, yet she had kept it to herself this entire time.


    Still, Ryu felt that maybe he had gone overboard. Though he would still press for answers, there wasn''t any reason to become enraged unless Sarriel refused to answer.


    Ryu opened his mouth to try and see if he could say something more sincere. But, before he could, his pupils constricted.


    Sarriel was too fast. Ryu couldn''t even react before her lips closed over his. He truly couldn''t fathom how a woman who seemed to be at the end of her rope could gather up so much strength all for the sake of sexually assaulting him.


    Sarriel''s momentum knocked Ryu over and onto his back. Her two hands clasped onto the side of Ryu''s head as though not wanting him to run away.


    Her body lay on top of him, her bottom placed quite conspicuously. Even though she didn''t seem to be doing it on purpose, Ryu could feel her two soft cheeks pushing against his lower half.


    At the same time, an unpracticed, confused and embarrassed tongue seemed to want to enter his mouth.


    Ryu felt as though his veins were running with lava. In one instant he was stunned, and in the next, he was nearly at full mast. The amount of pure Yin Sarriel was exuding almost made him lose his mind completely.


    For a moment, his irises became a striking crimson, his pupils elongating into reptilian slits.


    A hand of his, as though having a mind of its own, firmly grabbed out and took a handful of Sarriel''s ass.


    A low gasp left her lips, but her violet eyes flickered with an unconcealed excitement, especially when she felt an undeniable strength flip her from her top position.


    The world spun and Sarriel suddenly found herself on the bottom. But, before she could even get excited at the thought of what Ryu might do to her, all of Ryu''s actions came to a stop.


    Sarriel slowly opened her eyes, peeking through to see what was wrong. But, what she found were eyes so ruby in color that they looked like gems she could reach out and pluck.


    These same eyes flickered to a sheen of blue sapphire then back to ruby, seemingly unable to decide with oppressive Yang type it want to be.


    As fascinating as the sight was, though, Ryu closed them, hiding the changes from Sarriel''s view. When he opened his eyes once again, his silver irises were back, a calm reconvening within him. Even a certain prodding Sarriel felt on her lower half slowly, but surely receded.


    Ryu shook his head and smiled somewhat bitterly.


    "Don''t do that again, alright?"


    Though he was doing his best to be gentler with Sarriel, his words were actually quite firm. Sarriel could tell that he meant them. At this moment, Ryu was drawing a very clear line.


    "But¡­" Sarriel''s gaze dimmed.


    All her excitement seemed to be washed away.


    Seeing Sarriel act in this way, Ryu silently breathed a sigh of relief. If she was like Elena and kept pressing, Ryu really didn''t know what he would do.


    For the first time in a while, when Ryu thought of Elena, he smiled. It was a carefree smile, the kind that was full and accepting.


    Ryu''s reason for drawing this line here was very simple. He was in a stage in his life where he had only just realized how much he truly needed to mature. Just because he had realized it, doesn''t mean that he had magically flipped a switch now.


    Taking on the responsibility of another woman was most definitely not at the forefront of his mind.


    If Ryu felt fine using Sarriel''s body so that he could clear his mind, he would do that and feel no guilt about it. But¡­ That was if and only if he could come to the conclusion that Sarriel was not worth his trust.


    However, in the case that Sarriel was worth it, even though using her in such a way would be able to help his mind and body perform better for the coming trial, he would never do it.


    At this moment, Ryu still didn''t know whether Sarriel was trustworthy or not. Something about her existence seemed off to him, but he also hadn''t quite decided for certain yet.


    Ryu''s sort of backwards thinking would probably drive Sarriel mad. But the foundation of it all was that Ryu wasn''t in the headspace to accept another woman. Especially when one of his was in a coma, a second probably hated him, and a third''s life and death was completely unknown to him.


    Ryu rose up, helping Sarriel to stand.


    "Don''t give me that look, I''m not that amazing anyway."


    Sarriel''s dim eyes suddenly blinked in shock as she looked toward Ryu as though she was seeing a completely different person. Did she hear okay?


    Ryu just made a joke? A self-deprecating one at that?


    Was this the same Ryu she knew? Did something take over his body?


    Sarriel involuntarily put her palm to Ryu''s forehead, checking him seriously. It must have been a high fever. Or maybe she should really think about checking his soul to see if there were any oddities.


    Ryu''s eyes shifted up to look at the odd placements of Sarriel''s hand. Considering their difference in height, she had to stand to the very tips of her toes just to do this.


    It was best that Ryu kept looking up too, because if he looked down, he would see that deep ravine again and he wasn''t sure if he could stop himself a second time. It definitely didn''t help, though, that her chest was barely grazing against his own right now.


    "Are you¡­ Ryu?" Sarriel asked, her delicate features curling into a frown.


    Ryu shook his head and pulled Sarriel''s hand away.


    "Will you answer my question, now?"


    Sarriel pouted slightly. "You said you liked confident women, but you rejected me when I was being confident."


    Ryu felt a headache coming on. He had only casually told this girl that, now it was coming back to bite him.


    Ryu''s love of confident, arrogant women was just the tip of the iceberg. He wanted that confidence and arrogance to feed into a drive to be the absolute best as well. But, he had a feeling that just explaining these matters to Sarriel wouldn''t make her feel any better.


    He had half a mind to just go back to being as cold as possible. At least then, he wouldn''t have to deal with this at all. Or, maybe it would just be easier to vent all this pent up lust he hadn''t gotten to before Ailsa fell into a coma.


    Seeing Ryu''s rapidly changing expression, Sarriel suddenly giggled.


    "You aren''t so scary anymore."


    It was then that Ryu was certain. He had definitely made a mistake being so soft with this lady.


    "¡­ I don''t know much about this place, I only know that it will be dangerous. Before I was forced to leave my family, we received an invitation of sorts. We didn''t end up being able to accept, but I always remembered it because of how odd it all was."


    Ryu''s brow furrowed. "An invitation? From who?"


    "I''m really not sure. My family once had the letter, but after everything happened, I couldn''t manage to keep track of it. But, I remember that the invitation made my elders especially serious as though they were all facing a common enemy.


    "They refused to tell me why, or maybe even they themselves weren''t exactly certain of why."


    "Then how did you know that these matters would be related to the Tri Palace?"


    "¡­ Because my Truth Pupils told me that Tri Palace wasn''t its name."

 Chapter 491 Me?

    Chapter 491 Me?¡¡¡¡Ryu''s eyes narrowed when he heard Sarriel''s words.


    Tri Palace wasn''t its name? How ironic. Just this past day he was certain that it was, even to the point of looking down on other small worlds for not being aware of this. Yet, it turned out that his own Ice Phoenix Clan also made this mistake?


    Beyond this, the matter of the invitation truly caught Ryu off guard. This invitation¡­ Ryu was fairly certain of how those who received it were chosen. However, this didn''t matter much to him. What did matter, though, was exactly who was sending it.


    And unfortunately¡­ Ryu couldn''t think of any existence capable of having such a large reach.


    "And it''s true name?" Ryu asked.


    "¡­ The Nether Palace."


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    To understand why this was so important, it was important to understand the origin of the Tri Palace name to begin with.


    After grasping that the Tri Palace was an existence that seemed to balance the three planes ¨C The Real Plane, The Nether Plane, and the Ethereal Plane ¨C the moniker of Tri Palace was chosen.


    This might sound odd. After all, if it was already related to the Nether Realm in such a way, it shouldn''t be so surprising that it had a connection and could even teleport people to it.


    However, this conclusion misses an important point, the point of culture.


    Within the world of cultivation, the unity of the three Planes wasn''t just about their physical representation themselves. Rather, it meant all sorts of things. They could represent past, present and future. They could represent Yin, Yang and Order. They could also represent life, death and rebirth.


    From Ryu''s studies, the number of Ruins, treasures, Legacy Worlds, and beyond that he had run into using these exact same concepts were too numerous to count. Even though the Tri Palace seemed to be a small bit special, that was all.


    To the Ice Phoenix Clan of the past, the Tri Palace was still just a small blip. The only reason Ryu had come to it was for a small chance at maybe finding a clue to a Summoner Necromancers Legacy. That was all¡­ a small chance.


    Ryu knew that the Tri Palace had never been explored thoroughly, and he also knew that he just might have the talent needed to cross those final barriers. However, it had always been just a chance he was taking, realizing that even if he was wrong, he would still get the experience, strength boost, and potentially some decent treasures out of it.


    But this name¡­ Its true name represented something completely different, especially if it was hidden behind the Tri Palace name to begin with.


    Ryu didn''t believe that his Ice Phoenix Clan made a mistake. Rather, they were correct¡­ but only at that given time.


    As important as names were, their change was even more important and represented something just that bit more meaningful.


    For a name to stake its origin using the cycle and unity of the Three Planes¡­ But to then change their name to the Nether Palace directly represented something so profound that Ryu had to take a pause.


    ''The ambition of this person, this Clan or this Sect¡­ Is not small¡­''


    The one surpassing the three. Death trumping life and reincarnation. The Nether Realm above all.


    The conclusion beat like a drum in Ryu''s mind.


    Sarriel''s silence seemed to say that she had come to understand this as well. But, she couldn''t fathom who would have such great ambition. No¡­ It was more accurate to ask who was powerful enough to be worthy of such ambition, and what would someone so powerful want with a group of brats like them?


    "And why is it that you haven''t stepped into the Path Extinction Realm?" Ryu asked his final question.


    "The invitation stated that to earn the highest prize, one could only be below this Realm¡­" Sarriel said softly.


    She found it hard to trust these people as well. However, much like Ryu, she was willing to weather any danger for the sake of improving herself and seeking revenge for her family one day.


    This also made perfect sense. The Path Extinction Realm was like a dividing line that separated Immortal experts. Usually, if one wanted someone to take on their mantle, the Immortal Ring Realm was the absolute limit of what you would accept due to the special nature of the Path Extinction Realm.


    Ryu nodded. ''So things are like this.''


    Many thoughts swirled around Ryu''s mind. The best he could think of was that these matters were related to the most supreme creatures of the Nether Realm, existences that even Sky Gods feared¡­ Some of which had existed since the dawn of life and death¡­


    ''Is this another cataclysmic event? A true cataclysm?''


    As a historian, Ryu was well aware of the pattern of Eras. Each Era ended with a Plane changing and molding event to usher in the new.


    The transition between the Golden Era and the Martial Era was the first Era where such a cataclysmic event did not occur. Though the destruction of the Tatsuya Clan was world changing to them and Ryu, other than shocking the Planes, there wasn''t much of another shift at all¡­


    So what if this was the real event¡­? The event that was meant to bring the Golden Era to an end?


    Somehow, though, Ryu still felt like he was missing something¡­


    "Nemesis."


    "~Nie! Nie!~"


    Ryu leapt upward, landing on Nemesis'' back to Sarriel''s confusion. They were within the Keep, why was he doing this? It was already odd enough to allow a beast into such a place to begin with.


    "Stay here and rest." Ryu said. "You need to recover as quickly as possible, I don''t think that this city will fall so easily. I could sense an odd atmosphere in the crowd from earlier, I wouldn''t be surprised if they have another powerhouse coming. But, I don''t believe it will be much of a problem for you to deal with as long as you recover first.


    "Oh, and also, let Niel in. There''s no need for him to die out there. He''ll probably be their first target."


    "But¡­ Where are you going?"


    "Me? I''m going to conquer this Keep."


    After saying these words, Ryu suddenly vanished.

 Chapter 492 Red Plain

    Chapter 492 Red Plain¡¡¡¡There were many reasons why Ryu had not chosen to take on the challenges of the city gates himself and instead chose to circumvent them. Many of these reasons were kept to himself, but of them, maybe the most important was his stamina.


    After watching Sarriel''s battle especially, Ryu could tell that the purpose of the gate trials was less about testing for talent, and more about testing one''s limits. If not for this and being pushed right to the bitter end, how could it be that Sarriel would have been so tapped out?


    With her talent, and especially her prowess, this was impossible.


    To Ryu, these trials were nothing more than pokes and prods, as though someone from on high was watching them for entertainment. Toward such things, Ryu had no patience. If he was going to put himself on the line, it would be for something meaningful. And, this Keep was exactly one of them.


    The moment Ryu scanned the hidden formations in this place, he knew that this was the true center of the city and only by controlling it could he call the city his.


    Ryu knew that it would be impossible to skip the entanglement of the mastermind''s games. However, he could most definitely skip through the ones he found useless to himself while keeping his cards close to his vest.


    All the while, he would keep his gaze peeled for a method to leave this place.


    Deep inside, though, he knew that the scope of this operation was still far beyond his understanding. Namely¡­ He still didn''t quite understand how it was people of such vastly different dialects from seemingly epochs of time apart, could possibly be gathered in just a single place¡­


    SHUUUUU


    Ryu appeared on Nemesis back, an endless plain of red land before them.


    The ground beneath Nemesis'' hooves moved about like a cross between wet sand and loose clay. It made one feel as though it was impossible to display their true strength without much of it dissipating into the ground they stood upon.


    With a single thought, Ryu''s grimoire appeared above his head. The instant he saw such a situation, he made an instantaneous decision.


    A strong Yin surged all around, whipping winds of ice blue surging through Ryu''s fluttering white hair.


    In the blink of an eye, an expanse that covered several hundred meters was suddenly created.


    It was at that exactly moment that the ground began to splinter.


    Skeleton hands radiating out a dense black fog tried to rise from the ground, only to find their movement drastically slowed by Ryu''s Ice Flames.


    Why was it that Invitations were sent to certain families? Why was it that the Nether Palace just so happened to appear in a territory of the Ice Phoenix Clan¡­?


    Each and every one of the races Ryu had identified were all overwhelming soul talents. Each had unique bloodlines, talents and bodies that were conducive to Spiritual Qi cultivation and activated their Mental Realms to an extreme most couldn''t hope to match.


    However, Ryu seemed to be wholly lacking in this department. And in some ways, this was very true¡­ Still, Ryu was absolutely certain that if his Ice Phoenix Clan hadn''t been destroyed, or even if there was a small portion of them surviving much like Sarriel''s own Fey Race, this invitation would have definitely been sent to them.


    What were the Ice Phoenixes known for?


    They were expressly known for their defense and their sealing capabilities. Of all the elements, ice was among the very best in this aspect. And, amongst all beasts, the Phoenixes were among the most powerful¡­ in aspect of the Mental Realm!


    Seals were simply the opposite side of the coin to Formations. It requires a manipulation of Spiritual Qi beyond understanding to reach the level of proficiency an Ice Phoenix did in this regard.


    In fact, the truth of the matter was that every Phoenix, whether Fire, Ice or Dark had this sort of strength within them.


    It could be said that while the Lightning Qilin and the Fire Dragon tended toward more and more powerful aspects of bodily strength, even being a large portion of the reason for Ryu''s Body Realm cultivation standards¡­ The Ice and Fire Phoenix evolved in other ways.


    The Talents that Ryu had yet to awaken with his Phoenix Bloodlines, at the very least a large portion of them, were directly related to the Mental Realm.


    Simply put¡­ Of all the races brought together by this mysterious entity, Ryu''s own was among the very best.


    Nemesis charged through the ice plain of red and blue, his hooves shattered the land beneath his feet as he trampled one rising skeleton after another.


    The pages of Ryu''s grimoire flipped once again, sparkling blue lightning crackling about.


    As though a raining purgatory had appeared around Ryu, arcs of blue crashed down around him, charring the rising skeletons to ash as Nemesis galloped by them.


    A skeleton suddenly broke free of the iced ground, pouncing up.


    It had no weapons in hand, but its arms and legs spread outward as though it simply wanted to latch onto Nemesis.


    The rattling of the skeleton''s jaw increased as its mouth opened wide, a row of shimmering white teeth intent on taking a chunk out of Nemesis'' neck.


    But it was then that Nemesis made a slight shift to the side, his shimmering silver and spiraled horn piecing through the skeleton''s skull with an action of incomparable ease.


    With a shake of his head, the skeleton fell off to the side, only to be crushed into shards of white with a single stomp.


    Nemesis and Ryu plowed through the first area with ease. However, the moment the last skeleton fell, Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    Without hesitation, his palms flipped over, revealing two shimmering Great Swordstaffs.


    The land shook for a moment. Off in the distance, a cloud of red rose up as a hoard quickly approached.


    When he finally laid eyes on what it was, Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    Elite Canis. An entire group of them.


    They were hardly in range before their skeletons began to rattle.


    The sound of whistling wind pierced Ryu''s ears as a rain of bone arrows showered down from above, making the sky seem far darker than it really was.

 Chapter 493 Skip

    Chapter 493 Skip¡¡¡¡Ryu''s expression turned dignified.


    It almost felt as though someone was playing a practical joke on him. All the way here, there wasn''t a single Elite Canis in sight. But now, there was a whole hoard of what must have been hundreds bearing down on him.


    Just a single Elite Canis was already the equivalent of a Higher Immortal Ring expert. The best among them were likely the equivalent of the Path Extinction Realm.


    Of course, this power scaling wasn''t equivalent to true geniuses. Elite Canis could definitely not compare to talents like Ailsa''s nephews or Sarriel. But, none of this changed the fact that Ryu himself was still in the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm with the Middle nowhere in sight.


    "~NIE!"


    Nemesis'' muscles rippled beneath his lush crimson coat. Billowing steam shot from his nostrils, his spiraling horn seemingly shimmering to a brighter luster.


    "Let''s go."


    The moment Ryu''s voice descended, Nemesis shot forward like a streaking ruby light. The iced ground collapsed, shattering the land for hundreds of meters in every direction.


    Ryu''s grimoire hovered above, its pages flickering until all that remained were sheets covered in a sea of flames.


    The heat in the surroundings skyrocketed, rising pillars of fire rising into the skies.


    Ryu roared, a ball of hellish flames forming before his mouth. His neck rippled with red scales, fading into and out of existence as his gaze flashed.


    A beam of red shot over Nemesis'' head. From above, it looked as though a God had draw a blade through the skies. Perfectly straight, perfectly powerful, blindingly bright and agonizingly hot.


    The instant it made contact with the Elite Canis, a shrill screech filled the air.


    At that exact moment, the bone arrows were finally in range of Ryu, each intent on piercing through his body. Not a single one didn''t carry the strength to tear him to shreds. However, Ryu didn''t seem to notice them at all.


    ''[Ethereal Ripple].''


    An invisible barrier seemed to form around Ryu. The bone arrows hovered in the air, apparently not moving a single inch for what felt like just a split moment. Yet, the moment they seemed to shoot by this barrier, they all missed Ryu by a large margin.


    THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!


    The arrows pummeled the red sandy clay beneath, shattering the ice that covered it at the same moment.


    The steed man duo dove into the army of Elite Canis, being swarmed from all sides. Yet, the same odd image that occurred to the bone arrows happened to them.


    The Elite Canis seemed to freeze for just a moment. But, by the time they began to move once again, their trajectory was completely off. Rather than finding their target, they found Ryu''s blade slicing their bodies apart.


    What was supposed to be an army of Elite Canis attacking as one suddenly became a series on of one versus two or three battles. No¡­ It was two versus two or three as the teamwork between Nemesis and Ryu became seamless.


    Nemesis'' hooves became like a heavy guillotine, his horn reaping lives like divine punishment.


    The modification of Ryu''s [Ethereal Ripple] became the perfect death trap. Rather than putting up a true barrier, he purposely made it as thin as possible, allowing it to be easily passed through. What he needed wasn''t the defensive ability, but rather the lagging ability.


    His [Ethereal Ripple] was designed to make a seemingly short distance incredibly long. By the time the arrows or the Elite Canis passed through the outer area, just like light passing through water, they''d find themselves completely off target from what their true aim was.


    At the same time, the two who were able to perfectly estimate where they would land would be none other than Nemesis and Ryu. It wasn''t until this very moment that Ryu realized how valuable his [Ethereal Ripple] was when facing so many enemies at once. What once began as a less stamina consuming defensive alternative for [Immortal Sakura], had suddenly morphed into something completely its own.


    Ryu took deep breaths, the carnage around him able to make the stomachs of those with less fortitude turn. The Canis had a terrible smell all to their own that definitely didn''t need their rotting blood and guts added to it. But, apparently, Ryu couldn''t escape the fate of having to smell such a thing.


    "Nemesis."


    "~Nie!"


    Nemesis stomped forward, appearing before one of the many corpses.


    The lagging and stray Canis were all felled by Ryu, his Great Swordstaffs flickering with the movement of his wrists. With so few remaining, it seemed incomparably easy.


    Ryu subconsciously felt that these Elite Canis weren''t as powerful as they should be. But, from his knowledge, they were also in a state of starving, so this was likely a large part of the reason why. In addition, when it came to these sorts of battles, who could surpass Ryu when he made use of his Heavenly Pupils?


    With another flick of his wrist, Ryu sliced another Elite Canis in half, watching as Nemesis swallowed a ball of light.


    "How is it?"


    "~Nie!"


    Nemesis already two foot long horn doubled in size before shooting from his forehead and into the distance.


    It drilled through the skull of an Elite Canis that was at least 20 meters away, not even giving it the chance to react.


    "What do you think? Is there a difference if you absorb one versus two?"


    Ryu had yet to truly test the limits of Nemesis'' Talent steal ability. Luckily, Canis, despite having human forms, were still classified as beasts in that they had Spiritual Roots.


    Since all Elite Canis had a high level bone control Talent and bone arrow Talent, it was perfect for Nemesis who already had a Steel Bone Talent.


    However, it had been a long while since Ryu used Nemesis'' ability, mostly because he hadn''t been dealing with a lot of beasts recently. But¡­ The Nether Realm was the perfect playground for Nemesis and had countless creatures that Nemesis could make use of.


    The original reason Ryu wanted to become a Summoning Necromancer was for the sake of helping Nemesis leap over the hurdle of his Sin Talent. But, if they were already in the Nether Realm to begin with¡­ They could skip the middle man, no?

 Chapter 494 Both?

    Chapter 494 Both?¡¡¡¡Not all Talents were created equal even if they went by the same title. The Steel Bone Talent Nemesis had now, for example, came from a beast who couldn''t make nearly as much use from it. Many creatures born with this talent were only capable of having a small portion of their bodies boosted by this talent.


    Nemesis, however, was able to coat every inch of his bones in steel because of this Talent''s synergy with his Adept Body. However, there was a limit to what Adept Body could do. Ultimately, this technique was meant for controlling the size of one''s body and maintaining its level. This made it quite easy to handle changes to the bone, but if Nemesis wanted to fire longer or more powerful projectiles, it would no longer be related to the Adept Body.


    In those cases, it would be more related to bone growth or bone arrow speed, but neither of these things could be controlled by Nemesis'' original Talent.


    In that case, Ryu had to figure something else out. It was thanks to this thought that he considered what would happen if Nemesis absorbed more of the same talent. Would it make no difference? Or would it make the Talent stronger? Or maybe it was that the more powerful absorbed Talent would trump the weaker one, thus erasing it from existence?


    After some experimentation, making sure not to kill the last of the Elite Canis just in case there really was another phase coming, Ryu realized that things weren''t so straight forward.


    Sometimes, there would be no change to Nemesis at all. At other times, there would be explosive growth. At yet other times, there would seem to even be regression.


    However, the one thing that Ryu noticed was that even though there was sometimes nothing, sometimes progress, and sometimes regression, the more Nemesis consumed, and as the Talent numbers crossed the dozens into the hundreds, the trajectory was always upward.


    At some point, the changes stopped all together. It was then that Ryu realized that Nemesis had come to the end of the line, not in terms of absorbing Talents, but in changes that could be made to his new Bone Control Talent.


    At that moment, Nemesis began to morph.


    Blood trickled down his lush coat, fusing with his crimson and almost appearing invisible as silver bones began to tear a path out from his skin.


    The bones began to form plates of sheet armor, covering Nemesis'' body, legs, and even head. From afar, it looked as though Ryu had covered his partner from head to toe in a heavy cavalry armor. But, closer up, it looked far more beautiful than just this.


    Nemesis'' crimson mane waved about in the wind, his body alternating in silver armor and his lush red coat. His head was covered in a protective covering of metal, almost making him look like a Canis in this regard, but far more powerful.


    Now, with a single thought, Nemesis could lengthen his horn to dozens of meters. And, with another, he could send it spiraling outside like a javelin thrown by a giant, sheering apart the wind and shattering the skies beneath his might.


    Nemesis'' eyes glowed an eerie crimson beneath his face of metal, his body rippling with power and strength.


    At that moment, Ryu finally killed the last of the Canis, making that matter seem like nothing more than a joke.


    As expected, the moment he did, the ground began to rumble again. Ryu looked off into the distance and smile.


    "How about we get you a petrification ability now?"


    "~Nie! NIE!"


    ¡­


    The stench of Alpha Rotting Wolves hung in the air. It made one feel as though they were breathing in rancid hot sauce. It had the same tingly, sharp smell as the spicy sauces. But, it also somehow carried the odor of bad eggs.


    Somehow, though, Ryu hardly had to lift a finger even though this was already the third wave. Nemesis plowed through the wolves, his front legs covered in spikes that trampled them to death.


    With just a single touch, the wolves would immediately go numb before their bodies began to crackle and pop as a thin layer of stone appeared upon them.


    Very soon, this ''thin'' layer began to dig into their bodies, latching onto their skin, then muscle, then bone. By the time Nemesis'' hooves struck down completely, the wolves could only be shattered into a pile of stone and rubble.


    The third wave was completely slaughtered, leaving the land of red clay in desolation.


    "There''s nothing worth getting from them." Ryu looked toward the Rotting Wolves.


    Technically, the Rotting Wolves had toxic saliva and claws that acted as quite a potent poison if one was caught by their jaws. But, such an ability didn''t suit Nemesis.


    Nemesis'' teeth were obviously quite strong due to his Steel Body Talent, however with his battle style, it was rare for him to stop and bite something. It was more worth it to just trample over them. On top of that, he obviously didn''t have claws.


    There was a possibility that the Toxic Claws Talent could be evolved to work with Nemesis'' spikes and horn, but with how strong Nemesis'' petrification ability was, there was no need to potentially suppress the effect by introducing a new poison.


    The most important thing Ryu had learned during their experimentation was that more was not always better. Even though reaching a maximum quantity in one Talent allowed for the most perfect result, this wouldn''t hold true if it was two different Talents clashing.


    If the synergy was off, it could very well ruin Nemesis.


    "I think we should lean into your petrification ability. There''s a special spirit type creature that would be perfect, though I''m not sure if it would be possible to gain their Talent. If you could gain those flames, though¡­"


    "~Nie! Nie!"


    Nemesis stomped his hooves in excitement, loving the feeling of growing more powerful everyday.


    At that moment, the world suddenly quaked again.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but he soon realized that it wasn''t an enemy.


    A pillar of light descended before the pair, splitting into three.


    A choice? A reward? Both?

 Chapter 495 Demon Clans

    Chapter 495 Demon Clans¡¡¡¡When the three pillars of light became clear to Ryu, his eyes narrowed.


    Much like every other branch of Necromancy, Summoning Necromancer''s were separated out into numerous branches. As the most powerful of Necromancers, one could easily expect that even though these branches might not be as infinitely variant as the other two main branches, they each had an overwhelming power of their own.


    However, unlike other branches, rather than being separated by the way their corpses were prepared and the corpses they chose, Summoning Necromancers were separated by the branch of Nether World creatures that they formed contracts with.


    From Ryu''s limited understanding, weaker Summoner Necromancers would form contracts with individual creatures. Though they would always be considered weaker than their other branch counterparts, it was widely accepted that it was far more difficult to build up your repertoire along this path.


    Those who formed contracts with individual creatures had two methods.


    The first was to use a random summon. This would pull out a Nether World creature to you on whatever other plane you might be on. The strength of this creature would be dependent on your pool of qi, the quality of your death qi, and your talent and skill. But, even if strength could be guaranteed to a small extent, the rest was a completely random draw.


    It could be very possible to summon an extraordinarily large creature when you were in a small space. Or, it could be possible to summon a spirit when you really needed physical damage. The possible follies were endless.


    However, if one was willing to be patient, it was possible to randomly summon these creatures for as long as your stamina could last. Then you could ignore the one''s you didn''t want, sending them back. And, you could battle and defeat the ones you did want, thus assigning them contracts so that you could summon them with purpose in the future.


    This, though, came with its own set of problems.


    For one, finding creatures with good potential was nearly impossible. They were too rare and the pool of lackluster creatures was far greater. To make things worse, the powerful creatures one might be looking for had protections against random summons, making it even more impossible that one would ever get lucky.


    This, then, brought one to the far more dangerous second option, and that was to travel to the Nether World personally to find the Nether World creatures you wanted.


    Much like every other Plane, creatures, species and races of certain kinds always flocked to certain locations. It wasn''t a coincidence that both the toxic Rotting Wolves and the petrifying and grotesque Falx would appear in this putrid forest.


    In addition, the deeper one traveled into the Nether World, the more sure one would be to find more powerful creatures of a certain caliber. The further down one went, the more talented, more intelligent, and more potential they would have.


    Of course, the downside of this method was, obviously, the danger. But, those in this category were willing to take one or two trips once every few millennia to not only temper themselves, but grow their strength.


    Obviously, with this method, it was possible for your unsummoned creatures to work for you in the Nether World and gather creatures at your behest. But, something like ''trust'' in the Nether World almost didn''t exist at all. So, whichever summon you tasked with such a thing had to be powerful enough to do it by force.


    This line, though, should make it obvious just how inconvenient it was to be a Summoner Necromancer of this branch.


    While your summons were unsummoned, there was no guarantee that your contracted creature wouldn''t die any number of ways in the Nether World. This wasn''t exactly a very ''safe'' place.


    As powerful as Summoner Necromancers were, it became very obvious very quickly that they had their own troubles to deal with as well. There was no such thing as free strength in the world of cultivation. Everything needed to be fought for.


    That said¡­ The most powerful of Summoner Necromancers existed on a realm all to their own.


    Rather than signing contracts with individual creatures, these pinnacle existences could even sign contracts with entire Clans of Nether Realm Races! These contracts would allow a Summoner Necromancer to call forth any number of individuals from such a Clan and under special conditions, even summon their Clan Head him or herself!


    However, these were simply the weakest members of this branch of pinnacle Summoner Necromancers. Those that could stand atop their heads were individuals who could sign such contracts with multiple Nether World Clans. Then beyond that, there were the Summoner Necromancers who could target particularly noble bloodlines!


    Any Nether World creature that could form systematic Clans were already the cream of the crop. To have such intelligence, coupled with their natural strength, made them existences the likes of which couldn''t be underestimated.


    However, just how there was with everything else, there were hierarchies. Within the Nether Realm, the Common Clans were separate from the Noble Clans. And, these Noble Clans had separations among them.


    Baron Clans. Viscount Clans. Earl Clans. Marquess Clans. Duke Clans. Prince Clans. And finally, King Clans.


    Clans that could be given such titles were known as the Demon Clans. The tales and stories of the most horrific creatures of the night were all pulled from them.


    These rankings not only represented the Clans themselves, but also the creatures within them. If the current Ryu came across a Demon Baron¡­ His life would be forfeit. Such Clans are not to be trifled with and even a Baron Clan alone could turn a mid-sized world to ash. To put this into perspective, the Moon World, a world where the peak existences were of the Dao Pedestal Realm¡­ Was still considered a small world!


    The issue with all of this and why Ryu was so shaken after hearing word about his father was because of the legends of the Reincarnation Pool. Those Mythos stated that one''s soul must travel through the layers of Nether before reaching it¡­


    If his father wanted to resurrect him through such forceful means, he would have to make it past the deepest layers of this purgatory world¡­


    And face the Demon Kings himself.

 Chapter 496 Trouble

    Chapter 496 Trouble¡¡¡¡Ryu shook his head and sighed.


    ''Father, if you''re alive, I''ll drag you up myself. If you''re dead, I''ll bury the nine Demon King Clans with you.''


    Ryu looked up to the red skies above him, his eyes flickered between sapphire and ruby once again. He didn''t know why, but his Fire Dragon Bloodline seemed to be growing more and more agitated in this recent day. He even felt that his Fire Spirit Body was about to naturally awaken, something that should have been impossible.


    Unfortunately, Ryu wasn''t exactly sure of why this was. According to Ailsa, he shouldn''t be able to awaken another great Talent so soon. At least for his Lightning Qilin Bloodline, he had to wait until the Path Extinction Realm to awaken his Storm Talent, something he was greatly looking forward to. As for his Fire Dragon Bloodline, it should still need some more time as well.


    Ryu only had two guesses. One was that his Fire Dragon Bloodline was now being suppressed and stimulated by his Lightning Qilin Bloodline, much like it had been the vice versa in the past. Or, the second reason¡­ was the odd white flame in his Spiritual Sea.


    Ryu still didn''t know much about that flame, but he felt like it had caused great changes to his body that day, changes that he still couldn''t quite comprehend. Who knows, maybe it had a positive effect on other flames like his Origin Flame does, allowing his Fire Spirit Body to awaken earlier?


    ''Or, I guess there''s a third. It may be that completing the Vein Stage of master''s technique helped? I should ask him when I have time¡­''


    Ryu shook his head, taking his time to calm his emotions.


    He found all of this quite ironic. He had gone so far mostly for the sake of Nemesis and helping the big guy grow. Until now, Nemesis definitely didn''t disappoint Ryu. In fact, not only did he look powerful and domineering with his new steel plate bones, but he was powerful.


    Nemesis was already able to match up to Eighth Order Beast thanks to his Adept Body Talent. Just the simple act of concentrating the strength of a Seventh Order Beast into such a compact body had an astronomical effect. But now, the big guy was even more of a problem.


    The irony of it all, though, was that¡­ There were nine Demon King Clans, and one of them was the very Wrath Knight that Nemesis descended from.


    On one hand, Ryu''s fingers were already itching to slaughter these Demon Kings down to their last man. But, on the other, he was relying on their descendants to bolster his strength in the future.


    ''Wrath Knights¡­''


    Stories of the headless horseman or the ghost rider both stemmed from this Demon King Clan.


    The Wrath Knights were quite a unique race. They were born as steeds and were raised much of their lives this way. However, upon birthing their Souls, it took the form of a human.


    It seemed that Wrath Knights were two different creatures coming together, but the truth was that Wrath Knights were both wraiths and steeds in one.


    In their most powerful form, a Wrath Knight was able to manifest their soul into a tangible form, making it look as though a horseman was riding them. This would coat their body in a powerfully corrosive fog and give them access to a whole host of powerful wraith abilities.


    At the same time, their main body, their steed form, was among the pinnacle of all physical attack Nether creatures.


    Having to face an enemy that was both explosively powerful in spirit and body was a headache the likes of which few could manage and even fewer Summoning Necromancers had ever succeeded in contracting one.


    As for those that did, not only could Ryu guarantee that they were Sky Gods, he could also guarantee that they were among the most powerful of Sky Gods as well.


    If Ryu ever wanted Nemesis to grow strong enough to withstand the backlash of his own Sin Talent, there would come a day where he would need to face the Wrath Knight Demon Kings no matter what.


    Ryu petted Nemesis'' with a light touch.


    "~Nie!"


    "That''s right." Ryu nodded. "We''ll succeed."


    Ryu looked back toward the three choices before him.


    On the left, there was the skeleton humanoid. In the middle, there was the skeleton wolf. On the right, there was a wraith.


    He understood why these choices had come. The Canis were technically classified as humanoid despite their inverted limbs and head. The Rotting Wolf spoke for itself. As for the Falx, its petrification ability was actually very similar to the ability of some wraiths and spirits.


    Whether it was the skeleton humanoid, the skeleton wolf or the wraith, each represented the bottom of the totem pole in terms of summons.


    The Lower Skeleton Warrior was the weakest of the skeleton humanoid races. The Lower Skeleton Wolf was the weakest of the skeleton beast races, a title it shared with a few other creatures. And finally, the Lower Wraith was the weakest of the spirit races.


    Each of these three races could undergo two evolutions from Lower to Middle to Higher. This would allow them to go from barely battling in the Path Extinction Realm to the Peak Path Extinction Realm.


    This, though, would require their being allowed to swallow large amounts of their own race. And, should they evolve, it would require far more qi to summon them. In fact, the truth was that Ryu wasn''t sure if he had enough qi to summon them even right now.


    Ryu really hadn''t expected to find a way to dip his toes into Summoning Necromancy so soon. He had expected that he would be much further along in strength before he finally found a method. But, it seems that he had gotten ''lucky''.


    ''My greatest strength is my comprehension and the Lower Skeleton Warrior would help me to bring this out with much more ease. But, the Lower Skeleton Wolf has the greatest raw physical strength of them all, something I can''t deny would be helpful¡­ Yet, at the same time, the Lower Wraith would be an excellent trump card, especially if I caught someone completely off guard¡­''


    Ryu was having trouble choosing.

 Chapter 497 21

    Chapter 497 21¡¡¡¡A Lower Skeleton Warrior didn''t have any intelligence of its own. At least, not truly. Its strength existed in three facets.


    The first was that it was incomparably sturdy. As though it was refined by the sturdiest metals and ores known to the cultivation world, it was incredibly difficult to even nick a Skeleton Warrior, let alone destroy it. And, this benefit only became more apparent as it evolved.


    The second was that it was capable of self repair. A Lower Skeleton Warrior only needed time and qi to repair it, namely death qi. The more pure and powerful the death qi, the faster a Lower Skeleton Warrior could repair itself and thus the stronger it would be overall.


    The third was the final point was the one Ryu harped on first.


    A Skeleton Warrior was a blank slate, almost like other Corpse Puppets. However, it was far more convenient to use and almost worked like Hecate''s puppets to a small degree.


    The weapon a Skeleton Warrior wielded depended on the user. Likewise, the skill of a Skeleton Warrior was entirely dependent on the user as well.


    As one might imagine, not many Necromancers were also a master of weapons. So, Skeleton Warriors were only used by extremely low level Summoning Necromancers, or used by Summoning Necromancers with such large pools of death qi that drowning an opponent in numbers was more than possible.


    Then there was the Skeleton Wolf. Comprehension could not be transferred to this wolf. Rather, it had the bestial instincts of a true creature. It made up for its lack of comprehension with agility, quickness, and viciousness.


    Beyond this, the Skeleton Wolf had the same sturdy body and regenerative abilities a Skeleton Warrior had. In fact, its body was a bit tougher and its recovery a bit quicker in comparison.


    Finally, there was the wraith. It obviously didn''t have a sturdy body or vicious physical attacks like its counterparts, nor did it have the ability to share comprehension with its owner. However, wraiths were far more flexible and had countless potential paths. It could be said that a wraith had a myriad of possibilities attached to it.


    A wraith could be used as a soul double, saving a soul from an unexpected attack almost like a substitution technique. A wraith could be used to add soul offensive components to one''s attacks, forcing one to have to defend themselves both physically and spiritually. A wraith could be used like a domain to turn any area into one of excessive yin. A wraith could even be perpetually stored within one''s Spiritual Sea, and as long as one had solid yin characteristics, it would constantly nurture one''s soul.


    The list was far longer than this and if every possibility was listed out, Ryu would lose track of the number of tomes it would fill.


    Still, though a wraith had endless flexibility and possibilities available, it was also a summon difficult to control the stronger it became. Wraiths were wrathful souls that might not have life in them anymore, but what they did have was a large amount of animosity. And, with that animosity came an instinct to fulfill what they had failed to do in life.


    Due to this, those who controlled wraiths had to be either extraordinarily cautious or even more powerful.


    In the end¡­ Ryu still reached out for the Skeleton Warrior. The moment he did, a legacy on how to summon them was imprinted onto his mind and the seal almost became an inseparable part of himself.


    Ryu frowned. He didn''t like the feeling of something being imprinted directly into his mind like this. It had happened with such ease that he instead felt a welling up of disgust within him. It was almost as though this person could have access to his mind whenever he wanted.


    Shaking his head, Ryu didn''t ignore this feeling. Instead, rather than stepping out of this world immediately, he directly entered the Crystalline Jade, heading for the library.


    ¡­


    "Master!"


    Ryu called out as he entered the library, only to find Balaur still gloating to the gloomy faces of his fellow Ancestors.


    "Ah! My precious disciple! Come come, it''s been too long since you''ve come to see me."


    "¡­ Long? It''s been less than two weeks."


    At that moment, the Zu Ancestors gave Ryu a weird look for several reasons. For one, Ryu''s demeanor seemed to have completely changed. The coldness between his brows had lessened, the tone with which he called Balaur master was almost¡­ affectionate? And, his aura seemed far more warm and inviting than it had been in the past.


    But, this wasn''t why they had given him weird looks¡­


    "A day? It''s been over a year." Balaur spoke after a while. "I may be growing senile, but I''m not completely out of it yet."


    Hearing these words, Ryu froze. He felt his heart skipping several beats before starting up again so wildly that it almost flew from his chest.


    A year? How was that possible? He had left the Sect, traveled with Sarriel for a few days, then entered this place, traveled for several more days, before he finally came here.


    Though it made sense for Sky Gods to be uncaring about a year''s passage of time, even to the point of still being on about the same topic even these 12 months later. However, for Ryu, who was still barely 20 years old in this life, this year of time was 5% of his life. This was too much.


    What was going on? How could a year have passed? Why could his Master feel it but now him? No, it wasn''t just his master, the other Ancestors didn''t refute it at all. Clearly they agreed and clearly they had their own way of telling time accurately in this place.


    Ryu immediately turned his eyes to his own body, what he saw left him frozen. He wasn''t 20 years old anymore, he was 21. He had aged by a year and he wasn''t even aware of it until now.

 Chapter 498 Paws Off

    Chapter 498 Paws Off¡¡¡¡Seeing Ryu''s reaction, Balaur frowned. To him, Ryu was his torch bearer, the only thing that made him short of being his son was coming from his own loins. But even then, he might as well have. To the current Balaur, Ryu''s safety was more important than anything else and might only fall slightly short of his duty to the Zu Clan.


    In an instant, he understood that Ryu was in some sort of danger.


    "What happened? Tell me every detail."


    So that was what Ryu did. Though his heart had seized for a moment, he was ultimately Ryu Tatsuya. He understood from the very beginning that he had stepped into a matter far beyond his scope of understanding. The fact that something like this happened was more inevitable than anything else. In fact, if it hadn''t happened, Ryu would be even more worried about something even worse coming later.


    After a while, Ryu finished speaking. His method of summarizing things was almost too precise, in fact, he managed to pick out every relevant detail far better than anyone else could. But, this was only to be expected from the owner of the Origin Flame.


    "Then this means there are three points of contention." Balaur spoke.


    "The worm hole, the soul integration¡­ but what is the third?" Ryu asked.


    "Don''t tell me my disciple has been blinded by beauty?"


    Ryu''s brows furrowed. "Her Truth Pupils shouldn''t work on me. My Pupils should have surpassed hers."


    "Don''t underestimate the value of experience, my disciple. Raw strength isn''t what decides everything. And, I can very clearly tell that there are some parts of the story you''ve either consciously or subconsciously left out. Your eyes are very clear when you''re telling a series of events in order, but there''s a shift in them as you think of how to seamlessly skip something. And, it''s too obvious that all of these instances revolve around the existence of that girl.


    "Ultimately, you have only lived 20 years, Little Ryu. She, however, must have lived at least 5000 by now. Her skill with her Heavenly Pupils will most definitely be beyond yours. You have relied too much on the raw strength of your Heavenly Pupils and not enough of its efficient application. The only reason I didn''t not say anything before was both because you are young and because you have many other things to worry about. However, it seems it might be more important for you to have this lesson earlier."


    Ryu opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately didn''t say anything. In fact, he was more surprised that he was just about to defend Sarriel. What the hell was wrong with him?


    He had known both Sarriel and Balaur for a short time, but if he had to choose who he truly trusted versus who he didn''t, the answer was obvious. As for why he trust Balaur so much¡­ There was just too little a soul without a body could hide, even if he was a Sky God. His every action and motive was too pure.


    Suddenly, Ryu understood. Sarriel had been the reason for such a large character shift in him. Even though to him it felt like that only occurred a day or two ago at most, it had already taken an irreplaceable place in his history. He simply couldn''t tell the story of his life without mentioning his interaction with Sarriel that day at least once.


    How many events like that could possibly occur in life? Ryu wasn''t even certain if Ailsa had one such memory with him. Though he had shared many great moments with her, and his feelings for her were far deeper than anything he could have for Sarriel, this thought still hit him like a sledgehammer.


    Of course, there were still great differences. If Balaur was asking him to doubt Ailsa or Elena, he most definitely couldn''t do it. He didn''t believe either of them would consciously hurt him. However, for Sarriel¡­ he still could.


    And the scariest part was that had he not chosen to come to speak with Balaur, he might still be unaware of the subtle influence on his psyche she had already had.


    "Don''t get me wrong," Balaur began to explain, "I am not saying it is definitely her. There doesn''t seem to be a motive or purpose behind this since you are still standing here perfectly fine. The only explanation I can think of is that she wanted to use this time to ensure that you had fallen deeply into her suggestion. But, whether this is true or not, I have no way of knowing.


    "Objectively, it makes more sense for it to be the wormhole or the soul imprint you just received. Come here, I''ll take a look at the imprint."


    Ryu nodded. He wasn''t angry. In fact, he was thankful.


    The world was truly a scary place. It was good that he had finally begun to truly open himself up again, but the world of cultivation wasn''t always a place where a smile and kindness was the best approach to have. In many situations, Ryu''s coldness was the best mask, especially if he wanted to live to the day he could save his family.


    Balaur inwardly nodded. At least it didn''t seem that Ryu had fallen too deeply for this girl. It, at most, seemed to be a small crush or a like of beauty, but it wasn''t true feelings. This was good, that way he didn''t need to worry.


    But, now he was even more determined to get Ryu together with Eska or Flora. All of this could have probably been avoided if he wasn''t so pent up.


    Balaur chuckled to himself. If he had wanted to, he could have absorbed Ancient Beast blood just like the Tatsuya Clan or any one of Ryu''s four Lineage Clans. However, that path always came with side effects. His disciple was a very clear case study on this. If even his cold Little Ryu could fall so far, what about others? This was why he felt his path was so much better.


    "Relax your mind."


    "Yes." Ryu nodded, entering the circle of four Ancestors.


    The moment Balaur began to probe the imprint, he frowned.


    "As expected. You were right, there is indeed a lingering tick here. But, as far as I can tell, it''s only here to monitor. As for any deeper, hidden mechanisms, I will have to pass on the design to Morvar so that he can properly inspect it just in case."


    "Master, can you erase it completely?" Ryu asked. This was the main reason Ryu asked for help. Inspecting the Formation wasn''t a problem for him, but he wasn''t confident in this.


    "¡­ I can, but are you sure?" He knew how much work it had taken for Ryu to earn this mark.


    Ryu nodded seriously. "I have already memorized it entirely and can reconstruct my own without the suspicious parts."


    Balaur raised an eyebrow. Morvar, who was still looking at a projection Balaur had casually made started looking toward Ryu with fiery eyes.


    "He''s my disciple. Paws off." Balaur snorted.


    Though Ryu had spoken of these things casually, even the lowest level Summoning Formation of the Summoner Necromancers was of the Heaven Grade. For such a youth to be able to memorize and reconstruct it¡­


    Marvor really wanted to fight it out with Balaur.

 Chapter 499 Without Reluctance

    Chapter 499 Without Reluctance¡¡¡¡For Balaur, erasing a Heaven Grade formation without harming Ryu was as easy as breathing. His comprehension of the Mental Realm and how to maneuver around it couldn''t have been deeper. And, if there was one thing he had been able to increase in these years stuck here, it was his control.


    It didn''t take much longer than a few minutes for him to succeed. However, the process that came afterward was much more involved.


    Ryu needed to redraw the Formation. But, as simple as it was for him to comprehend a Heaven Grade formation, drawing one was a completely different animal. There was no way that he could succeed in a short time.


    Morvar cleared his throat. "You know, if you used my Visualization, this would be much easier."


    Balaur glared at Morvar, but the latter pretended not to notice. In the end, even Balaur had to agree that what Morvar said was true. Though it would still be difficult, it wouldn''t take the several month it would have before, at the very least.


    Learning Morvar''s Visualization was a simple task. Of the four Ancestors, his could be said to be the simplest, though it also quickly scaled upward to become among the most complex.


    As Balaur had said previously, Morvar''s Visualization had no stages. Rather, its level was decided by the number of units you could produce. The more ''Formation Eyes'' you could create and sustain, the more powerful the Visualization became.


    Morvar''s Visualization essentially allowed the quick deployment of Formations. Each Formation or Seal had what were called ''Formation Cores''. These Cores were the main components of a Formation and often needed an anchor of some sort, aside from just qi, to sustain and fuel them.


    Usually, these Cores would be formed of Formation Flags, valuable Spiritual Herbs, or rare Spiritual Ores. Whatever the choice was would depend on the Formation in question and what its purpose was. This sort of profession could become very complicated very quickly.


    Morvar''s Formation Eyes, though, streamlined this process and made it much easier.


    The Formation Eyes could rearrange themselves as they pleased and could also act as beacons for specific kinds of qi depending on the configuration, allowing for the easy deployment of temporary, but large scale formations.


    The more powerful you were, the more Formation Eyes you could sustain, and the less ''temporary'' these Formations became.


    However, this was just the tip of the iceberg. It was also possible to use Morvar''s Formation Eyes to create permanent Formations as well. Almost like a child tracing a drawing, the Formation Eyes could be deployed first to be subsequently filled in with a more permanent, long-lasting energy.


    Ultimately, aside from acting as Formation Flags, Formation Eyes could also act as multiple formation drawing points. With a control of them, instead of starting the creation of a Formation from just a single point, one could draw from several points, leading to a product in much quicker fashion and allowing for ''speed deployment''.


    All in all, for someone with the Origin Flame like Ryu, the ability to begin drawing a formation from multiple points was a great boon, especially since it was possible to sustain far more Formation Eyes within one''s own Spiritual Sea as opposed to the outside world.


    This essentially meant that drawing Formations within his own body was far easier and quicker than it would be if Ryu wanted to draw them in the real world.


    This was good news as well, because according to Morvar, in order to create Heaven Grade Formations, one needed to form at least 100 Formation Eyes. This was 1 for Common Grade, 5 for Black Grade, 10 for Earth Grade, and then there was a sudden massive leap upward.


    Unfortunately, the current Ryu could only project 40 or so Formation Eyes into the outside world. Though he would be able to form quite a powerful Earth Grade Formation with this, it wasn''t nearly enough to form a Heaven Grade Formation in the real world.


    Luckily, within his Spiritual Sea, he was able to Visualize far more than just this. In fact, he could form more than ten times that amount!


    Morvar couldn''t help but stare at Ryu with an incredulous expression. Being able to project 40 Formation Eyes should have been impossible for Ryu. He couldn''t wrap his head around what was happening. There were even a lot of people who had broken into the Soul Birth Realm that couldn''t'' form that many.


    Even though it was less than Morvar at that stage of his life, it should have been far beyond Ryu with his poor talent. He couldn''t explain it.


    Ryu, though, was no longer focused on this matter. He was already deploying his Formation Eyes within his Spiritual Sea.


    It took Ryu no more than an hour to finish the outline of the Formation. He felt that even right now, he could summon a Skeleton Warrior using it. However, he needed it permanently etched.


    ''The more powerful and potent the Death Qi you use, the better the result would be¡­''


    Ryu turned his senses toward that dangerous, swirling mass of death within his Miniature Dantian. He had half a mind to not do this at all.


    He had used Primordial Chaos Lightning during his battle with those two little nephews and he had almost destroyed himself. He had a feeling that this Primordial Chaos Death Qi would be even more violent.


    However, Ryu knew that the moment he thought of it, he had already made his decision. A Lower Skeleton Warrior to a true Summoning Necromancer might be weak. But, to the current Ryu and even those within the city along with him, it was a powerful existence they had to go all out to defeat.


    For Ryu, if he could produce this kind of strength and summon it to fight for him, the increase to his strength wouldn''t be small.


    The issue was that the stamina that would be needed to succeed was far too high. Even drawing an outline of the Formation would have taken him months had it not been for Morvar''s Visualization. How much effort would he need to fill it with qi and activate it, then?


    His only chance was if the Death Qi he used was so potent and so pure that the threshold he had to meet fell dramatically. Only then would it be possible to use these Skeleton Warriors in battle before he entered the Soul Birth Realm.


    Despite the odd happenings around his soul recently, Ryu knew that he was greatly lacking in the Mental Realm. There were definitely geniuses who could summon Skeleton Warriors even without entering the Soul Birth Realm, but he was aware that he wasn''t one of them. To match them in the trials he was sure were coming, he would definitely need to take some risks.


    However¡­ What Ryu could have never expected was that the moment he grit his teeth and began¡­ Was for absolutely nothing to happen.


    As though the gentlest, kindest energy in the world, the moment the Primordial Chaos Death Qi entered Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, it followed his orders like an obedient puppy.


    A struggle Ryu had planned to face for weeks if necessary became as easy as just thinking it.


    ''¡­ What?''


    At that moment, the Zu Ancestors felt a hint of fear while looking toward Ryu.


    In soul form, hiding matters from others was exceptionally difficult. Even Ryu could see through Balaur, let alone the vice versa. So, how could Ryu hide the appearance of this sinister energy from them?


    Yet, what shocked them was the fact that this energy was actually so obedient. The Zu Ancestors couldn''t even fathom why this was.


    Flora, though, looked toward Ryu with an expression that said she might start drooling any moment now. There was something in that energy that was greatly attractive to her¡­ She wanted to take a bite¡­


    Just when she was about to lose herself, Balaur crystal staff appeared and bonked her on the head.


    "That''s my disciple, not a meal, woman. Watch it."


    Flora held both her dainty little hands to her forehead, clearly displeased. But, she still couldn''t take her eyes off of Ryu.


    "If you want, you have my blessing. But, if you devour him like all the other men before, don''t blame me for being impolite." Balaur said. "My disciple does indeed need someone to vent with, his mind is still too cloudy."


    Flora glared at Balaur.


    "Flora."


    A stern voice came from the side. It was actually Eska who had broken her silence to speak.


    "You aren''t allow to touch him." She said softly.


    Balaur''s eyes opened widen before he burst into a fit of laughter.


    "Yes, yes. Fight over my disciple! He''s great, I know!"


    Eska didn''t reply to these words, simply silently watching Ryu. She hadn''t meant her words in that way, but she was too lazy to correct Balaur.


    At that moment, Ryu opened his eyes, not even a few minutes later. His silver irises were clouded with a black fog for a moment before they clear up to their original brightness again.


    Ryu rose and bowed to Balaur. "Thank you, master."


    Balaur waved a hand, heartily laughing. "Feel free to come back whenever. We will continue to study the formation to see if there''s anything we can find. Try to be more mindful of how much time is passing."


    "Yes!"


    Morvar almost pouted. ''Where''s my thank you? I helped too¡­''


    But, he had hardly finished his thought when Ryu had already disappeared.


    It was then that Balaur''s expression became a tinge more serious.


    "Though I was joking before, it might be more serious this time. Are you willing, Eska?" Balaur looked toward his fellow Ancestor.


    Eska had always been a beauty above mortal reproach¡­ A dignified, untouchable goddess.


    Still, she nodded without much reluctance.


    "I have no experience in such matters, but if he only needs a woman to clear his mind, I can be that." She spoke as though she was directing someone other than herself to do such a thing. "It isn''t much of a sacrifice. Given his character, this will only help our Zu Clan."

 Chapter 500 Orobona

    Chapter 500 Orobona¡¡¡¡Ryu opened his eyes in the world of red once again. The moment he did, he found a key floating before him. To his surprise, though, this key was identical to the Tri Key that was already in his possession.


    Ryu was suddenly intrigued. He had thought that the Tri Key would be ubiquitous. With even the Moon World having four of them, he assumed that others would have similar luck. Could it be that he was wrong about this?


    As he thought, Ryu kept a portion of his senses focused on his body. Though he had seemingly tossed it to the back of his mind now, the matter of him losing a year of his life was something Ryu would never forget. Time was too precious to him, every year he lost was like a knife twisting at his heart.


    Ryu reached out from Nemesis'' back, grasping onto the key. The moment he did, he vanished from the world, appearing in the Keep once more.


    The sound of battle caught his attention almost immediately. The clashes were so great that even the Keep quaked, threatening to collapse upon its very foundations.


    With narrowed eyes, Ryu nudged Nemesis'' side, the sound of metal clashing against marble resounding as the crimson steed charged out of the doorway.


    ¡­


    Sarriel''s katana moved with a striking swiftness, blades of bluish black whipping about and forming the outline of blooming flowers in the air.


    "Girl. Get out of my way."


    A robust young man with a rippling exposed torso and bald head countered Sarriel''s strikes one after another. But, he was quickly becoming frustrated. All the rage he had come storming in with seemed to deflate time and time again.


    He had come here ready to tip everything he saw apart, especially after he heard that some bastard had dared to claim his city. He didn''t care what reasons this person had, he would tear them apart.


    But, before he could even reach the Keep, he found himself being blocked by a woman no weaker than himself. Even though she also seemed to be tired, it had still been enough to stall him for so long. How could he not be pissed off?


    Those who had managed to make it into the inner city were spectating this battle along with Niel who couldn''t seem to find a way to intervene. Deep inside, he was also aware that if he really did join, this battle would turn into something completely different. At least for now it was one on one, but it could very quickly become dozens versus two if he really did take action.


    It was at that moment, when everyone was wondering how this battle would end, that the door to the keep opened.


    The first thing everyone saw was the steed. A metallic killing machine, a beast covered from head to toe in a plate armor that exuded a dangerous fog of petrification. It felt as though just being near it would turn someone completely to stone.


    It was only after they felt their hearts seize in this way that they noticed that this steed, exuding the majesty of the Nether Realm, had a rider.


    He sat with his back pointed straight to the skies. His fluttering white hair made him look almost like a Ghost King, an existence with an ice cold touch that could even freeze over one''s soul.


    When Sarriel saw this person, her eyes lit up.


    "Ryu!"


    Ryu nodded faintly. He had truly taken his master''s words seriously and he began to observe Sarriel with a more precise eye. However, he could only sigh inwardly when he saw her bright smile. He realized that it had suddenly become difficult for him to do so.


    He didn''t see her as a romantic partner or a wife, but he most definitely saw her as a friend at the very least. This made things difficult. Was she really potentially untrustworthy?


    It was a silly question to ask. Especially since he hadn''t trusted her from the very beginning. However, rather than being a subconscious questioning kept for the recesses of his mind, it was now bubbling forth and mixing with the budding goodwill he had toward her.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted from Sarriel. Things were better this way. He couldn''t afford to make a mistake that could cost him either his life or his freedom. There were too many people counting on him.


    When Ryu''s eyes locked onto the bald young man, his demeanor became decidedly colder.


    As though the temperature had dropped, an eerie frost spread through the surroundings.


    The battle between Sarriel and the young man had come to a grinding halt the moment Ryu appeared. It was clear and obvious to everyone that the main act had begun. But, Ryu himself didn''t see it this way. This was a mere opening gesture, a show of strength, a display of power the likes of which couldn''t be refuted.


    He could see it all quite well. Zanlis of the Avangard family thought that he had hidden himself quite well amongst the crowd. But, compared to Spiritual Sense, Ryu''s [Third Perspective] was on a completely different level. There was nothing that could hide from him.


    However, he wasn''t angry. Zanlis was clearly a cautious man. Whether it was due to the circumstances he had been thrust into this time, or if it was just his normal disposition, it didn''t matter to Ryu.


    Clearly, Zanlis didn''t want to take the risk to battle Ryu earlier, clearly knowing that this hot headed brute before the latter now would most definitely make a move. Why would he take a risk himself if there was someone else to do it for him.


    It was quite smart, objectively. But, Ryu quite frankly didn''t care to be tested.


    "You have two choices." Ryu spoke coldly. "The first is to lower your weapon and scram. The second is to continue to fight and die. There is no third option, make your choice now."


    That bald youth raged almost immediately, the spear in his hand rattling beneath his trembling qi.


    "I''m going to enjoy killing you." He growled as dark tattoos began to spread all over him, even covering his face.


    Ryu didn''t say a word. He simply held a hand out.


    He immediately understood the dialect of this young man. He didn''t need the soul fluctuations he released to comprehend his intentions in the slightest.


    This was once again someone from a seemingly already long lost era. And, judging by how his skin was quickly turning a shade of deep black at this moment, Ryu became even more certain of his origins.


    The Orobona Clan.


    The ban on Mental Realm cultivation was taken up by Ryu''s Shrine World and a few others. One would think that the Zu Clan was the only one responsible, but there were multiple Clans at fault. The Zu Clan just happened to be the most prominent on Ryu''s home world, but that didn''t mean there weren''t other Clans that had committed numerous atrocities.


    The Orobona Clan, in a lot of ways, was far worse. Maybe the worst¡­


    They were a Clan that found their expertise in the torturing of souls. They would purge the purity of souls over hundreds to even thousands of years in more frequent cases, while some of their more powerful members might spend millions to even billions of years on the same task¡­


    This would turn the pure white of a soul into a deep black even harsher than ink. These souls would be drowning in animosity, rage and fury, becoming the purest incarnation of wraiths in all of existence.


    The Orobona Clan would then use these fallen souls to practice their odd Body Realm cultivation. This cultivation practice, when activated, would turn their skin to the very same ink black.


    Not only would this give them bodies stronger than even Spiritual Ores, but the fusion with these souls would allow them an acute control and sensitivity to Spiritual Qi. With their techniques, even someone who was of poor talent, could trade in pain for this very talent they sought.


    However, the trade off would be a corrupted mind and a shortened lifespan. Those of the Orobona Clan had a strikingly low chance of crossing the Path Extinction Realm. Ironically, only those that had real talent to begin with could possibly cross through this challenge¡­


    Ryu didn''t remember all of this for the sake of chastising this bald young man. Quite frankly, he didn''t care what cruel acts others committed. In his opinion, the eradication of the Mental Realm factions all those years ago was simply cost benefit analysis, just like everything else in the world of cultivation.


    And, this time¡­ Ryu had made his own cost benefit analysis.


    As for his conclusion¡­?


    "You of the Orobona Clan make good corpse puppets." Ryu said faintly.


    The young man froze, partly due to being recognized, partly because Ryu had transitioned to his language so easily, and partly¡­ because of the words themselves.


    Suddenly the young man began to laugh, revealing a mouth, row of teeth and tongue just as pitch black as the rest of his body. Soon, even the white of his eyes had turned a deep black, leaving nothing but crimson irises floating in their darkness.


    However, this laughter didn''t continue for long. Because at that moment, Ryu''s Death Qi surged, descending the surroundings into chaos.


    A whirlpool of darkness appeared between the two.


    Slowly, two Lower Skeleton Warriors manifested themselves, their bones rattling as they grasped at the air to form a spear.

 Chapter 501 Two

    Chapter 501 Two¡¡¡¡The bald youth from the Orobona family froze, watching as these two Skeleton Warriors came into being. He felt as though he had been transported into another world, watching on incredulously.


    It could be said that aside from those who came from families who might have a Summoning Necromancer in their history, Ryu was most definitely the most well informed on such a matter, especially after all the years of work he put into finding the Death Shrine.


    For him, then, the Lower Skeleton Warrior was just the beginning. It was a mere tip of the iceberg in terms of what a Summoning Necromancer was capable of. He could already see a future where the profession had much more to offer. Or, more accurately, he had no choice but to aim for this future for the sake of Nemesis.


    However, for the other youths here, even the lowest level Summoning Necromancer was like a God amongst men. For Ryu to suddenly display such abilities, and even form two of them, no less¡­ They didn''t know how to wrap their minds around such a thing.


    The truth of the matter was that Ryu was shocked as well. He had only tried to summon just a single Skeleton Warrior, knowing that his poor cultivation would likely make it exceptionally difficult.


    It had to be remembered that Skeleton Warriors, even the weakest kind, were Path Extinction Realm warriors at worse. Not only were they of this level, but even if they couldn''t be considered to be equivalent to Sarriel, they would still be at about a Sovereign Grade Talent level.


    This coupled with their higher cultivation made them more than a match for Sarriel alone. And, if two were put together, it was unlikely that she could come out on top.


    This was the kind of monstrosity Ryu had just summoned two of, and he hadn''t even found it very difficult. He still had over 50% of his qi reserves remaining.


    Even though this obviously meant that these two had taken almost half his stamina away, the fact that there were two of them in the first place was more than enough to cover for this¡­ Especially when Ryu had expected them to take up as much as 90% of his stamina for just one!


    But, what happened next was even more shocking than maybe the fact two were summoned to begin with.


    The Skeleton Warriors, rather than facing off against the bald youth did an about face and turned toward Ryu.


    At first, Ryu thought that things had indeed been too good to be true. Could it be that his own Skeleton Warriors would turn against him?


    Though this was rare considering the low intelligence of Skeleton Warriors, it was still a slim possibility. The more intelligent a Summon was, the more likely they would be to turn against the one who summoned them mid battle.


    Still, Ryu''s luck would have to be exceptionally poor for such a thing to happen to him, especially during his first summon¡­


    But that was when the two Skeleton Warriors dropped to a knee and crossed their spears across their chests.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    It was one thing if he had commanded the Skeleton Warriors to do such a thing, something the observers at this moment likely believed. But¡­ He knew well himself that he most definitely hadn''t done such a thing.


    These Lower Skeleton Warriors¡­ Had bowed of their own volition.


    Standing once again to their feet, the two Skeleton Warriors pointed their spears toward the bald youth. In that moment, Nether Qi surged at their beck and call.


    In a blink, their bodies were enveloped by winding thick black plumes of fog, their momentum still rising.


    The bald youth felt as though the weight of the world had suddenly descended onto his shoulders. He couldn''t fathom what kind of comprehension of the Spear Ryu had to have to cause his Skeleton Warriors to force such a reaction.


    The truth was that Ryu was still trying to keep some of his cards in hidden. So, rather than using his Great Swordstaff comprehension, he was relying on his collapsed spear comprehension. However, he hadn''t expect for the results to be so exaggerated.


    ''It seems that I''ve still managed to reveal too much¡­ Let''s end this.''


    Hearing Ryu''s command, the two Skeleton Warriors shot forward. They carried a nimbleness one weighed down by flesh couldn''t possibly match.


    The bald youth regained his composure. He had been through too much to get to this place for him to fold so easily. Worse come to worst, he would simply run.


    And funnily enough, that was exactly what he chose to do. Without hesitation, he turned tail, blazing a trail for himself toward the city gates.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. "Let''s go Nemesis."


    "~NIE!"


    With a kick, Nemesis shot into the skies. With a single gallop, he crossed hundreds of meters, his hooves seemingly forming stairs of their own.


    Ryu''s grimoire appeared before him, a cold indifference in his eyes as it flipped to the pages surging with ice elemental energy.


    Spears of ice began to manifest in the air, their numbers growing explosively in an instant. For a moment, it felt as though the entire city had been plunged into an icy hell, even some of the weaker youths felt their skin freeze over, the cold becoming far too much for them to handle.


    The concentration of yin was so high that Ryu practically blotted out the skies with these spears. By the time the bald youth felt a shadow pass over his head and he looked to find thousands of ice spears aimed toward his back, his only reaction could be to shiver, his pupils constricting.


    It was exactly then that Ryu lowered his finger, causing them all to descend at once.


    The bald youth roared, his spear jetting outward and shattering as many as stood in his way. But, the slowing down of his retreat allowed Ryu''s Skeleton Warriors to catch up, embroiling him in the very battle he didn''t want to be in, in the first place.

 Chapter 502 Great Help

    Chapter 502 Great Help¡¡¡¡The Orobona youth was immediately pincered, two spears approaching him from opposing sides.


    He grit his teeth, spinning his own spear and using its body to block both. His strength surged, the sturdiness of his body shining forth as he only took a single step backward.


    But, the skill of the two Skeleton Warriors proved to be too much. In the blink of an eye, they both executed [Lurking Shadow] in unison.


    On his backfoot, the Orobona youth was caught off guard. He hadn''t expected such a seamless dance to begin.


    The flow of Nether Qi rose to a new level, harmonizing with the Yin technique to an extreme extent.


    The energies of the world sung. For the first time, one assigned an adjective to a Skeleton Warrior they never thought they would¡­


    Beautiful.


    The sparkling light blue of their bones, their nimble steps, the way the dense black fog wrapped around their bodies, following the cadence of their dance.


    For a moment, the roar of a White Serpent shook the city, the illusory image of the beautiful creature rising into the skies, its crimson eyes looking down upon the world as though a deity from on high.


    The Orobona youth couldn''t fathom what he was seeing. He found two spears pierced through his chest before he even understood what was happening.


    He roared, whipping down a forearm at the spear piercing him to snap them in half. But, in the end, his force was so great that he broke his own arm and caused even worse damage to his chest.


    He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body trembling as he fell to his knees. A humiliation the likes of which he had never experienced in his life latched onto his heart, his fury only fueling it more. When had he, a son of the Orobona family, ever been humiliated to this extent?!


    Ryu looked on from above, his cold eyes analyzing the situation as though it had nothing to do with him. However, inwardly, he had noted several things¡­ Especially the Skeleton Warriors'' usage of [White Serpent''s Dance].


    Even though it was just the first part, their execution had been absolutely perfect.


    [White Serpent''s Dance] was too high level of a technique for Ryu to use the way it was meant to be. Even when he tapped into some of its core truths, it took too much out of him.


    However, these Skeleton Warriors weren''t restricted by such things. In fact, the mere first part of [White Serpent''s Dance] was all too easy for them to use, it was almost a shame they hadn''t needed to use the latter parts.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu was able to learn [White Serpent''s Dance] after battling the Ancestors of the Awoken Moon Sect.


    Back then, he had used [Lines of Fate] to read and copy their technique. Due to the fact his Karmic ties with the Sect were so deep, he was able to learn the technique perfectly, not just to the standard of the Ancestor he learned it from¡­ But to absolute perfection.


    His comprehension of [White Serpent''s Dance] was no weaker than its creator! He had been able to read the Lines of Fate and comprehend each and every intention the creator had ever had in forming every meticulous step of the Mystical Grade Technique.


    They say that no one could ever use a technique as well as its creator. Whether this was true or not, Ryu didn''t care one way or another. What he did know, was that if it was indeed the reality¡­


    He alone wasn''t restricted by such a thing.


    It was only at this moment that Ryu truly understood just what it meant for him to have these Skeleton Warriors under his control¡­


    These youths... They stood not a single chance against him.


    If he could raise these Skeleton Warriors up two levels to the Higher Skeleton Warrior level, he would even be confident enough to face weaker Dao Pedestal Realm experts.


    Nemesis slowly descended from the skies, his hooves clopping against the cracked stone as he landed.


    The Skeleton Warrior ripped their spears from the bald youth''s chest, wrapping around him and slamming a kick into his back.


    The youth sputtered with blood as his forehead banged against the ground. At this moment, he couldn''t have been more pitiful.


    "Wait! Wait!"


    At that moment, Zanlis ran out from the crowd.


    Ryu turned his head in that direction, seemingly not surprised. If the bald youth died, Zanlis would likely suffer the most. He had probably had intention of interfering when things went left, but he hadn''t expected Ryu to defeat him so easily. By the time he wanted to act, the bald youth was already on his knees.


    "Just a moment!"


    Zanlis appeared on the battlefield, but found his way blocked by Sarriel who was giving him a glare. But, considering her demeanor, the glare looked more adorable than anything else.


    Zanlis had half a mind to tease her, but remembering how Ryu had treated her, especially back to when he had wrapped his arm around her waist, he immediately decided against it. Something like teasing the woman of a man he was hopefully trying to appease was like asking for death. He had no intention of doing any of that.


    In the end, Zanlis no longer tried to get by Sarriel and simply stood where he was.


    Clearing his throat, he tried to explain.


    "Ryu, right?" He had heard Sarriel call out Ryu''s name. "You''ve proven your dominance and do indeed have the right to take control of this city. But, you''ve only recently made it here and I don''t think you''re quite aware of the situation.


    "It will take more than the strength of just one for us to survive. Just recently, Goeman came back from his expedition with news of the location of another city.


    "In the time we''ve been here, we''ve noticed that there are a cycle of trials to clear and certain milestones we have to hit. If we fail to do so, there are consequences to face, of which even the weakest is losing protection of the city for a few hours. As for the worst¡­ we haven''t experienced them yet, but it''s more likely that we will if we have less strength under our banner.


    "Since we''ve all chosen the same city, I think it would be smarter if we had each other''s backs¡­ Goeman is an asshole, but his strength is undeniable. He will be of great¡­"


    Ryu reached out a hand, causing a swirl of spatial qi to surround and swallow Goaman up.


    When he was finished, he looked back toward Zanlis who had frozen.


    "Yes, he will be of great help¡­ as a corpse puppet. Anyone who defies my orders can also be of great help as well."

 Chapter 503 Who?

    Chapter 503 Who?¡¡¡¡Ryu''s words made a cold shiver crawl up Zanlis'' spine. It seemed to be a pointed, hardly hidden threat.


    To Ryu, anything he couldn''t control was a problem to his current purpose in life. Why would he risk allowing this Goaman to live if he could be just as if not more useful as a corpse puppet?


    The others here couldn''t afford to so casually use their corpse puppets. Controlling puppets required a large amount of Spiritual Qi and replenishing it obviously required an even larger amount of normal qi. In this Nether qi dense environment, it was impossible to expect to replenish that qi with any sort of ease.


    Ironically, this meant that the strength of these youths, who were clearly all Necromancers, was as much as halved without being able to display their true capabilities. It was obvious that this entire world was pushing them all toward becoming Summoning Necromancers, but only a very selected few would ever succeed.


    However, for Ryu, who could convert Nether Qi has he pleased, he didn''t have this limitation. Not only had he already found and grasped the Summoning Necromancer Legacy of this town for himself, he could also use normal corpse puppets without worry.


    Still, there was something useful that Zanlis had said. Thanks to his words, Ryu now had a new target. Soon, a second city would fall beneath his blade.


    With a thought, Nemesis turned away and shot back toward the Keep. Since things had reached this stage, he would first focus on forging Goaman into a corpse puppet.


    Though his Summons were very powerful, Ryu hadn''t forgotten that they were exceptionally costly. Not only did they cost a lot to summon, but they also needed a certain amount of qi to maintain their existence. In a real battle, this cost would only become worse.


    Every time a Skeleton Warrior suffered an injury that needed to be healed, the qi would have to come from Ryu. Luckily they could pull qi from the atmosphere as well, and they had an advantage in doing this while still in the Nether Realm. But, Ryu had no idea how things would change from now on. He had to be prepared.


    The good news was that Ryu''s death qi seemed to be so potent and pure that the cost for everything was significantly lessened. However, the bad news was that Ryu''s cultivation was still too poor.


    These ''discounts'' he was receiving was still more than enough to bleed him completely dry.


    The crowd fell completely silent as they watched Ryu vanish into the Keep once more. Even Sarriel looked toward his back with a somewhat bitter smile. Shouldn''t he have invited her in or something like that? Why didn''t he even say a word?


    ¡­


    Goaman''s screams filled the Keep. Unfortunately, there was no one here or anywhere to hear him.


    Considering Goaman''s background and the cruelty he had to commit to gain that ink black body those of his Clan covet so much, Ryu didn''t bat an eye at his pain. The souls he had tortured alone were likely far greater than Ryu cared to acknowledge.


    Instead, Ryu was calmly flipping through the Body of an Herbologist Tome. He had already long since gone through it all, even memorizing it thoroughly. But, this book seemed to have a spirit of its own. There was sometimes Ryu would go through it, only to find something completely new that he had missed, something that should have been completely impossible¡­ yet was true.


    One could think that the book was constantly updating itself, tweaking recipes here and there to make it better. Or, who knows, maybe there was more than one book like this in the world and they were connected by a tether. Maybe a change to one of these books led to a change in them all¡­?


    Of course, at this point, Ryu was just speculating. He hadn''t found any evidence proving this point which meant that it was either not true, or done in a manner even he, as an Origin Grade Ruin Master, had no knowledge of.


    In Ryu''s estimation, the latter possibility was near zero. But, he still entertained it.


    The world of cultivation was far too large for him to claim to know any and everything.


    ''His body is quite sturdy and strong, making him quite good at wielding the spear. But, he doesn''t have the nimbleness or speed I would have liked for him to use the twin daggers¡­''


    If the screaming Goaman could hear Ryu''s thoughts, he just might implode with rage. Ryu was already turning him into a corpse puppet, was there a need to pick out his deficiencies as though he was a product on a shelf?


    But in Ryu''s eyes¡­ was he much different from this at that point?


    ''If I try to make him good at everything, it will backfire. In that case, we''ll focus on his heft and his physical defense.


    ''He also has high compatibility with wraiths already, so in the future, I can nurture what remains of his soul with them to raise his intelligence. It may even be possible to turn him into a lich in the future and take a large amount of the burden off of myself.


    ''In that case, we''ll lean into this formula, and make his skin even thicker while forming an evolutionary path for him to absorb metals¡­ widen his meridians and simplify their pathways, he needs a stronger emphasis on strength and not finesse¡­''


    With every thought, Ryu adjusted his formula just a small bit. Then, one after another, he pulled out the herbs he needed from his Incubator.


    Goeman couldn''t even stop screaming as he looked on in horror. Ryu''s actions were far too meticulous, carrying with them a systematic nature to them that made him realize it was all over. There was no amount of pleading, no amount of harsh words, no amount of convincing that he could do to get Ryu to stop.


    He had already made his choice. Today, he, Goaman Orobona, would die. And, ironically, he would be in even more pain than any one of his wraiths had ever been.


    **


    Ryu''s frown set in as he poured death qi into Goaman.


    Just now, he had tried to use Primordial Chaos Death Qi in a normal fashion, but the result was him nearly imploding his body from the inside out, a result that left him completely speechless.


    The pain was even worse than when Ryu had used Primordial Chaos Lightning Qi within Osiris, something that had completely torn his body apart. However, he couldn''t understand why.


    Compared to his body, his Spiritual Sea was the far more sensitive location. Although he would receive protection from [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] and [Immortal Sakura], both of which were Visualizations currently protecting his mind, if it was a qi he allowed into his mind consciously, his own Visualizations wouldn''t react to it like a threat.


    This was all to say that if this Primordial Chaos Death Qi was going to lash out, it should have done so long ago. Yet, it didn''t react when he completed his Skeleton Warrior Summon Formation. And, it also didn''t react when he summoned his first two Lower Skeleton Warriors.


    But¡­ It wanted to act like this now¡­?


    Ryu took a deep breath and calmed himself. Everything had a logical reason behind it. The energies of the world, especially, always followed an obvious pattern. They were among the most predictable things in the world. What made them complex wasn''t the energies themselves, but rather their complicated interactions with everything else.


    However, at this moment, Ryu had completely isolated the qi. There shouldn''t be any other variables¡­ At least not ones from the outside world.


    Any of these variables could only come from himself¡­ from within his own body.


    ''The white flame?''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Following through on his thoughts, he once again controlled his Chaotic Silk Meridians to create Primordial Chaos Death Qi. Then, upon storing it into one of his 12 miniature dantians, he allowed it to enter his Spiritual Sea.


    Though the Mental Realm was noted as such, one''s ''Spiritual Sea'' wasn''t an exact location within someone''s body though there were easier places to access it compared to others¡­ The brain, for example.


    One should consider their Spiritual Sea and their Body almost like two separate planes. Transferring energy from one to another was like Ryu entering the Ethereal Plane by using the crystalline jade.


    As expected, the energy became exceptionally docile the moment it entered Ryu''s Spiritual Sea. But, rather than stopping there, Ryu began to push the energy toward the white flame that called the bottom of his Spiritual Sea home.


    The closer he got, the more the Primordial Chaos Death Qi seemed to tremble. Ryu didn''t want to believe what he was seeing, but the evidence was right before him¡­


    It was fear.


    His Primordial Chaos Death Qi feared this nameless white flame¡­


    Just who was the Phoenix Sky God, exactly? And what was this mysterious flame he left to Ryu¡­?


    [Just 1 long chapter today]

 Chapter 504 Pure?

    Chapter 504 Pure?¡¡¡¡Ryu tried to take control of the white flame as he had in the past. But, once again, it didn''t seem eager to listen to him. It continued to float at the bottom of his Spiritual Sea as though a fluffy ball of cotton.


    It looked completely harmless. There wasn''t an ounce of danger coming from it at all and it even allowed Ryu to probe it endlessly without the slightest hint of fighting back. But, whenever he tried to take that final step and grasp it as his own, it didn''t react the slightest bit.


    A part of Ryu felt as though this flame wasn''t real. Though it had an effect on its surroundings, it wasn''t tangible. It was almost like chasing a mirage in the middle of the desert that kept being just a single step away from you. It was like the flame wanted Ryu to feel as though he was delirious.


    The only time this flame had ever taken action was when Ryu''s soul was about to be severely damaged. But, Ryu was obviously completely unaware of this. Though he had his own guesses, it was impossible for him to be certain. The result was what he saw here¡­ being completely at a loss and not understanding what direction he could take thing in.


    ''Is it just Primordial Chaos Death Qi?''


    Ryu began to slowly experiment, trying to remain as cautious as possible. But, it seemed as though the world loved playing jokes on him.


    The moment Ryu tried to allow Primordial Chaos Lightning into his Spiritual Sea, he felt his life flash before his eyes.


    It was just a tiny, impossibly small amount. Yet, it threatened to rampage throughout his Mental Realm and turn him into a half-dead fool. If it wasn''t for the fact it was indeed a small amount, and he had been prepared to send it back to his miniature dantian almost immediately, he really would have died.


    Ryu took deep breaths, a cold sweat matting his forehead. Out of all the nonsense he had been through ¨C  being chased by Leopold, escaping a Path Extinction realm bastard who was trying to kill him, facing off against his two little nephews ¨C this was still the closest he had ever been to death, and it was done by his own hands.


    Calming himself, Ryu analyzed the situation once again. After a moment, he was his usual self again.


    ''There are two possibilities. The first is that the white flame is sentient and chose not to act this time to teach me a lesson for trying to test it. The second, and more likely case, is that this flame only has a rulership against energies related to death. Or, at the very least, death energies is one of the domains it controls¡­''


    Once Ryu''s heart rate was back to normal, he found this to be acceptable.


    He was certain that this white flame was the very same flame that covered his Spiritual Foundation. This meant that it was a gift given to him in exchange for passing the Phoenix Sky God''s trial. He wasn''t sure if he was the first to succeed, but he was definitely one of the very few because Ryu had no records of such a thing.


    If this was a gift from the Phoenix Sky God, it made sense that it would have a domain over death. After all, Titles and Names were exceptionally important. The fact the Phoenix Sky God didn''t specify which of the Phoenix Clans he represented could only mean one thing: he represented them all. Whether it was the Ice, Fire, or Dark Phoenix Clans, he was an overlord who existed above all three.


    What did this functionally mean? It meant that when it came to matters of life, death and reincarnation, the Phoenix Sky God claimed to have dominion over them all. This was what this seemingly ''simple'' Title represented.


    When Ryu reached this point in his thoughts, he took a deep breath.


    ''So this is why it''s so docile¡­? But is that really possible¡­?''


    Ryu found this exceptionally hard to accept, and for good reason.


    Primordial Qi was considered to be the apex of energies just beneath Essence and Chaos Qi. It was meant to be the King of their respective niches, there should be nothing above it.


    But now, this white flame made such an energy feel fear? How could this even be possible?


    Ryu would argue that Primordial Chaos Death Qi was even more powerful than Primordial Death Qi. Yet, even despite all of this, the white flame made it feel¡­ fear?


    At this moment, Ryu realized that he functionally knew nothing about this Phoenix Sky God. Though he subconsciously thought of this person as a ''He'', he wasn''t even certain if this Phoenix Sky God was a man or a woman at all.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, all the cobbled together stories and folk tales he had used to piece together the Phoenix Sky God''s life back during his first life, were they even correct?


    This person hid themselves so deeply. They were so famous, so well known, so well spoken of¡­ Yet no one knew the true details of their life?


    By every metric, this didn''t make sense. When someone was so great, a certain Fate would be attached to every mention of their name. So long as they reached a certain point, those sensitive enough to it, especially those like Ryu, would be able to see what facts about their lives were true or false simply by sensing Fate.


    Yet¡­ even now, Ryu was completely unable to do this, even after undoing so many seals.


    Back then, Ryu had been desperate. His [Intuition] was screaming at him, both telling him that his Clan''s time was running out and that he wouldn''t be able to help them unless he took this leap¡­ So, he had never really considered the kind of legacy he was accepting.


    Most Sky Gods passed down their Legacies so that they''d be remembered, so that one day when they reincarnated, they would have gathered up a great amount of Karma to live a peaceful life. Even if in this life, they didn''t become Sky Gods again, it would still be worth it.


    But¡­ Why did Ryu feel that the Phoenix Sky Gods intentions weren''t so simple¡­ or so pure?

 Chapter 505 Friends

    Chapter 505 Friends¡¡¡¡''Who are you exactly? And why did you choose me?''


    Ryu silently watched as Goaman''s screams died down, but he didn''t seem to be ''seeing'' the scene before him at all.


    He couldn''t help but wonder. Was he chosen by the Phoenix Sky God because of his talent? Because of his character? Or was it because he was desperate enough to do whatever it would take.


    The Phoenix Sky God''s trial required him to dig deep and find the will the fight against Fate. It sounded like the purest of ideals with the greatest of intentions behind it. But, was this true?


    Ryu had found that his obsession with fighting against Fate, even his outright arrogance in thinking he was doing so, weighed him down far more than it helped him.


    Was this because he had misread the intentions of the Phoenix Sky God? Or was that because this was the intention of the Phoenix Sky God all along?


    But, this was only the tip of the ice berg. The question that Ryu had been ignoring until now, the question that he hadn''t wanted to think about¡­


    Why now?


    Why did the Phoenix Sky God force him to wait 900 million years to be reincarnated? Why was this the time period they chose? Why would the Phoenix Sky God make his family have to wait for so long? To suffer through such pain of not knowing whether he was even alive or not? What was the purpose?


    Was there something particularly important about the Tor Clan?


    Just thinking that made Ryu''s expression weird. They had ties to the Zu Clan simply by virtue of having the crystalline jade, but would the Phoenix Sky God be tied to such a clan?


    About the only thing Ryu knew about this Phoenix Sky God was that they most definitely pre dated the Zu Clan. What ties could they possibly have to such a Clan, especially when the Phoenix Sky God should have died long before they were even birthed as a power.


    It didn''t make sense.


    Was it about the hardship he would have to go through as a child? Ryu didn''t believe this either.


    How massive was the cultivation world? How many Kingdoms like the Tor Kingdom were there? How many bad mothers and power hungry fathers were there? Was that really the only place in the vastness of the cosmos he could have gone? That was ridiculous.


    Ryu was absolutely certain that there were an infinite number of spots he could have been reincarnated at. Even if, for some reason, the Phoenix Sky God insisted on having him reincarnate on his original Shrine World, how many trillions of people were there? Even in this one world alone, there should have been countless chances in 900 million years to reincarnate him into a suitable challenge.


    Ryu took a deep breath before he went any further.


    In just this few minutes of thought, he felt himself slipping back toward resentment and anger. It was just so easy to blame everything around you when you didn''t want to take responsibility for yourself.


    The truth of the matter was, even if the Phoenix Sky God wanted to use him¡­ Didn''t he need to use the Phoenix Sky God too? Without this existence''s help, would he have ever been able to reach such strength¡­?


    The coldness in Ryu''s gaze calmed.


    ''One step at a time¡­'' He thought to himself, emphasizing each word.


    A conclusion was slowly brewing in Ryu''s minds, connections he hadn''t or was unable to make in the past coming together one step after another. However, he let them brew in the depths of his mind, allowing the picture to form itself as he focused on the corpse puppet before him.


    With a thought, Ryu summoned another Lower Skeleton Warrior.


    This time, it sapped about 30% of his stamina. But, he felt this made sense. The cost of activating his Summoning Formation was less per capita the more Skeleton Warriors he was summoning at once. This was why summoning two cost less than 50%, but just one cost this much.


    Under Ryu''s command, the Lower Skeleton Warrior began to pour Primordial Chaos Death Qi into Goaman, starting the steps toward completing the process.


    Now that Ryu had Primordial Chaos Death Qi, he no longer needed to care about the restrictions on Necromancy Techniques. This highest form of Death Qi could be used as a replacement for every Death Qi in existence, including Hecate''s Grave Qi.


    ¡­


    Goaman rose, his crimson eyes still hovering in a sea of blackness. There wasn''t a single inch of his body that wasn''t colored by this inkiness. But, when he stood before you, your first thought wouldn''t be of this at all, but rather other the obscene amount of pressure he was giving off.


    As though he had the weight of a planet, the air warped and bowed around him, the ground beneath his feet threatening to collapse completely.


    The current Goaman had already shattered the mold of the Path Extinction Realm. Had he done so in battle against Ryu, things definitely wouldn''t'' have ended so simply. But, he hadn''t been nearly decisive enough.


    Ryu didn''t have a heavy enough weapon to give Goaman. But, luckily, after searching the latter''s spatial rings, he had found a weapon Goaman had clearly prepared for himself after his breakthrough.


    It was a pitch black Heaven Grade spear that even Ryu himself couldn''t casually swing around. Even just picking it up required no small bit of effort on his part. But, but Goaman, it was perfect.


    Ryu had, of course, found much more in Goaman''s spatial rings than just this, including a few specialty rings curated for the nurturing of wraiths.


    Ryu had no experience controlling wraiths, nor did he want to. They were too dangerous for someone with inexperience, especially since there were a few in here Goaman had clearly sealed to be used only after he broke through.


    Rather than overestimating himself and getting into another life and death situation, Ryu picked out the weakest wraith and passed it over to Goaman to begin the process of reforming some of his intelligence.


    With that done, Ryu headed down the Keep and called forth Nemesis once again. It was time to visit this supposed second city.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that there''d be some friends waiting for him there.

 Chapter 506 A Terrible Leader

    Chapter 506 A Terrible Leader¡¡¡¡Ryu stepped out of the Keep. But, he hadn''t expected to be asked a question he didn''t know how to answer before he could even regain his bearings.


    "Did I do something wrong?"


    Ryu sat atop Nemesis, looking down at Sarriel whose eyes were practically leaking.


    For everyone else, they saw a cute and loveable human girl who had been wronged. However, Ryu saw a frightingly beautiful Fey with the looks of a goddess¡­ who had been wronged.


    The first was already bad enough. But the latter was enough to leave Ryu at a loss for how to answer.


    Did she do anything wrong? The correct answer was that Ryu didn''t know. Maybe she had, but it was possible that she hadn''t either.


    Ryu suddenly found himself caring about how he responded to this question a bit too much, something that subconsciously made his gaze a hint colder. He didn''t have the time for this carousel of emotion, and he definitely didn''t want to deal with anyone who would constantly put him in such a situation.


    As the saying went, old habits die hard. It was much easier for Ryu to simply put up a brick wall, especially if this woman was potentially dangerous.


    But in the end, he sighed.


    "You haven''t done anything wrong, why do you ask?"


    Sarriel blinked, her tears still half fallen. She didn''t know how to respond to this either. Why had she asked? It was just a feeling. But, it wasn''t exactly easy to convey a feeling so easily.


    "You ¡­ aren''t mad? I''m sorry about before¡­"


    Ryu reached out a hand. "Those matters are already forgotten."


    Sarriel looked at Ryu''s hand, unsure of what he wanted. For a moment, she felt that this hand was almost more beautiful than her own. If she was honest, she wasn''t supremely confident that it even was. Why did even his hand have to be like this?


    "Are you coming?" Ryu asked.


    "Oh¡­!"


    Sarriel subconsciously grabbed Ryu''s hand, only to find herself being swung to his back. It wasn''t until she was about half way up that she realized Ryu''s intention and began to blush profusely. Luckily for her, her face was hidden behind him.


    "Nemesis."


    "~NIE!"


    ¡­


    At this moment, a crowd of youths had gathered at the entrance of the outer city, all looking toward a singular young man.


    Ryu had chosen to appease Sarriel. It was a simple choice. If she really was innocent, then she didn''t deserve cold treatment. And, if she wasn''t, then making her feel as though her ploy was working was for the best, right? Only then would she become lax and expose herself.


    Of course, this was just what Ryu told himself while trying to ignore the fact she was currently clinging to his back.


    "We will be attacking another city today." Ryu said plainly. "Those who come will gain the rewards that come with that. Those who do not will not. You have one minute to make your decision."


    Ryu had known from a very early age that he was not a good leader. He lacked patience, he didn''t have a high threshold for tolerance, and although he had the emotional intelligence to empathize and understand, he never functionally acted upon it.


    Taking responsibility for others wasn''t something he liked to do. In fact, it was something he abhorred doing. He would never be able to hold someone else to the same standards he held for himself.


    It was probably part of Ryu''s emotional intelligence that he understood this about himself. But, it might also very well be a flaw in it that he was so unwilling or unable to change it. Or, more accurately¡­ That he wasn''t aware that this was something he had to change or if it was even worth it to do so.


    It could be said that at this moment, Ryu was taking charge not because he wanted to, but because he had to. Whatever this Nether Palace had in store clearly required the cooperation of not just a single person. Yet, it also seemed that the rewards were very individual.


    Those who heard Ryu''s words were shocked.


    Attacking another city? They hadn''t even been completely certain that there would be others and now they were suddenly lurking an assault against one? They could hardly survive on their own, what would attacking another city do for them aside from throwing their lives away faster?


    Ryu didn''t say a word, nor did he rebuttal any of the murmurs. Though he was aware that whoever was pulling strings in the background wanted the ''illusion'' of teamwork, he hadn''t asked this question for the sake of following through on this. He instead wanted to check for something.


    "I will go!" Zanlis stepped forward.


    To his back, members of the Avangard family who Ryu could only assume had come with him. There were only four of them for a total of five, but it was obvious that they were all elites.


    Ryu nodded, but didn''t say anything more. He knew that Zanlis wouldn''t have remained idle. This sort of man was ambitious and it was clear that he understood staying in one city might be safer for now, but this didn''t mean that things would remain this way into the future.


    With the addition of these five, it ballooned Ryu''s group of three, excluding Nemesis, to eight. Of course, Niel could only follow along with a bitter smile, feeling that he had no choice but to follow.


    Without Ryu, he would at best rank somewhere in the middle of all these geniuses. If he wanted to improve, he would have to take risks. Since he could use his relationship with Ryu to his advantage in this regard, if he still wasn''t willing to risk his life, then what kind of man would he be?


    "We would like to join as well."


    A group of four stepped forward. It only took a glance for Ryu to see that they were members of the Orobona Clan. But, rather than questioning their motives, he simply nodded.


    "One minute is up. Let''s go."


    Nemesis shot into the distance.


    Just like that, 12 and a horse set off, leaving a group of speechless individuals. How were they supposed to attack a city with just that pitiful number¡­?

 Chapter 507 A Terrible Leader

    Chapter 507 A Terrible Leader¡¡¡¡Ryu stepped out of the Keep. But, he hadn''t expected to be asked a question he didn''t know how to answer before he could even regain his bearings.


    "Did I do something wrong?"


    Ryu sat atop Nemesis, looking down at Sarriel whose eyes were practically leaking.


    For everyone else, they saw a cute and loveable human girl who had been wronged. However, Ryu saw a frightingly beautiful Fey with the looks of a goddess¡­ who had been wronged.


    The first was already bad enough. But the latter was enough to leave Ryu at a loss for how to answer.


    Did she do anything wrong? The correct answer was that Ryu didn''t know. Maybe she had, but it was possible that she hadn''t either.


    Ryu suddenly found himself caring about how he responded to this question a bit too much, something that subconsciously made his gaze a hint colder. He didn''t have the time for this carousel of emotion, and he definitely didn''t want to deal with anyone who would constantly put him in such a situation.


    As the saying went, old habits die hard. It was much easier for Ryu to simply put up a brick wall, especially if this woman was potentially dangerous.


    But in the end, he sighed.


    "You haven''t done anything wrong, why do you ask?"


    Sarriel blinked, her tears still half fallen. She didn''t know how to respond to this either. Why had she asked? It was just a feeling. But, it wasn''t exactly easy to convey a feeling so easily.


    "You ¡­ aren''t mad? I''m sorry about before¡­"


    Ryu reached out a hand. "Those matters are already forgotten."


    Sarriel looked at Ryu''s hand, unsure of what he wanted. For a moment, she felt that this hand was almost more beautiful than her own. If she was honest, she wasn''t supremely confident that it even was. Why did even his hand have to be like this?


    "Are you coming?" Ryu asked.


    "Oh¡­!"


    Sarriel subconsciously grabbed Ryu''s hand, only to find herself being swung to his back. It wasn''t until she was about half way up that she realized Ryu''s intention and began to blush profusely. Luckily for her, her face was hidden behind him.


    "Nemesis."


    "~NIE!"


    ¡­


    At this moment, a crowd of youths had gathered at the entrance of the outer city, all looking toward a singular young man.


    Ryu had chosen to appease Sarriel. It was a simple choice. If she really was innocent, then she didn''t deserve cold treatment. And, if she wasn''t, then making her feel as though her ploy was working was for the best, right? Only then would she become lax and expose herself.


    Of course, this was just what Ryu told himself while trying to ignore the fact she was currently clinging to his back.


    "We will be attacking another city today." Ryu said plainly. "Those who come will gain the rewards that come with that. Those who do not will not. You have one minute to make your decision."


    Ryu had known from a very early age that he was not a good leader. He lacked patience, he didn''t have a high threshold for tolerance, and although he had the emotional intelligence to empathize and understand, he never functionally acted upon it.


    Taking responsibility for others wasn''t something he liked to do. In fact, it was something he abhorred doing. He would never be able to hold someone else to the same standards he held for himself.


    It was probably part of Ryu''s emotional intelligence that he understood this about himself. But, it might also very well be a flaw in it that he was so unwilling or unable to change it. Or, more accurately¡­ That he wasn''t aware that this was something he had to change or if it was even worth it to do so.


    It could be said that at this moment, Ryu was taking charge not because he wanted to, but because he had to. Whatever this Nether Palace had in store clearly required the cooperation of not just a single person. Yet, it also seemed that the rewards were very individual.


    Those who heard Ryu''s words were shocked.


    Attacking another city? They hadn''t even been completely certain that there would be others and now they were suddenly lurking an assault against one? They could hardly survive on their own, what would attacking another city do for them aside from throwing their lives away faster?


    Ryu didn''t say a word, nor did he rebuttal any of the murmurs. Though he was aware that whoever was pulling strings in the background wanted the ''illusion'' of teamwork, he hadn''t asked this question for the sake of following through on this. He instead wanted to check for something.


    "I will go!" Zanlis stepped forward.


    To his back, members of the Avangard family who Ryu could only assume had come with him. There were only four of them for a total of five, but it was obvious that they were all elites.


    Ryu nodded, but didn''t say anything more. He knew that Zanlis wouldn''t have remained idle. This sort of man was ambitious and it was clear that he understood staying in one city might be safer for now, but this didn''t mean that things would remain this way into the future.


    With the addition of these five, it ballooned Ryu''s group of three, excluding Nemesis, to eight. Of course, Niel could only follow along with a bitter smile, feeling that he had no choice but to follow.


    Without Ryu, he would at best rank somewhere in the middle of all these geniuses. If he wanted to improve, he would have to take risks. Since he could use his relationship with Ryu to his advantage in this regard, if he still wasn''t willing to risk his life, then what kind of man would he be?


    "We would like to join as well."


    A group of four stepped forward. It only took a glance for Ryu to see that they were members of the Orobona Clan. But, rather than questioning their motives, he simply nodded.


    "One minute is up. Let''s go."


    Nemesis shot into the distance.


    Just like that, 12 and a horse set off, leaving a group of speechless individuals. How were they supposed to attack a city with just that pitiful number¡­?

 Chapter 508 Worthless

    Chapter 508 Worthless¡¡¡¡The location of the second city was not very far from the first, at least not for cultivators of their level. With about 100 kilometers separating them, it was both easy to reach while also being just far enough to explain why it had taken a while to find in the first place.


    Understanding more about this world, Ryu was far more confident with making use of Little Rock.


    For whatever reason, the only creatures that appeared in this region were the very same three they had been dealing with from the very beginning. And, despite having been observing the skies for such a long period of time, Ryu hadn''t been able to see any others. It was clear that his fear of them being attacked from above was unwarranted. But, because the skies were so clear, they would have to be more careful with where Little Rock descended so that they wouldn''t'' be targeted.


    When the group reached the city, they didn''t draw much attention. Just like their own, a large crowd was waiting patiently for the gates to open, feeling that the safest location was near the city itself. However, there was only so long such a thing could last, especially when their first action was to walk up to the gate.


    Nether Qi began to surge around Ryu. There wasn''t a single person here without extremely sensitive senses. Even without being able to see qi like Ryu could with his [Ephemeral Tapestry], they could all feel it.


    Several eyes landed on Ryu as though he was a madman. Who dared to absorb Nether Qi  so blatantly?!


    Yet, rather than imploding or corroding like many expected, the only change to Ryu was a seemingly subtle paling of his skin.


    At that moment, four swirls of dense death qi formed themselves, causing the formation of four Lower Skeleton Warriors.


    Such a sight not only left those locked out of the city in shock, but even Zanlis felt his heart constrict. He had never thought that Ryu hadn''t shown the true ceiling of his strength previously. How could someone not even in the Immortal Ring Realm summon so many Skeleton Warriors?!


    Unfortunately, he would never get an answer from Ryu.


    Inwardly, Ryu''s body felt sapped. That singular move had taken up a bit more than 80% of his qi and sustaining them would take even more. However, when it came to ingesting qi¡­


    Who could match one born with the Ice Jade Crystal Body?


    Ryu''s skin gained a slight glow as his pores opened up. The vortex of qi around him grew faster and faster as Nether Qi was quickly catalyzed within his body.


    BANG!


    The city gates shattered, bits and pieces of wood and stone blowing through under a tide of wind and qi. It felt as though the noise traveled for miles, forcing the ears of those closest to ring. To make matters worse, things happened so quickly that the guardians of the gate didn''t even get a chance to react, once again impeded by Ryu''s intervention.


    "Our goal is the Keep." Ryu said coldly, his grimoire appearing in the skies above his head.


    The group charged into the city, leaving the crowd outside at a loss. What was happening here exactly?


    Much like those of Ryu''s city, they had no idea that there were even other cities to begin with. In their minds, this was a clash of elites for supremacy¡­ But the issue was that they had never even seen these individuals before.


    The inner city was alerted almost instantly. But, even then, it was impossible for them to gain any sort of organization. They could only bank on the inner city test to stall these individuals for as long as possible.


    For cultivators of their level, ''organization'' wasn''t strictly necessary. However, they were aware that anyone so daring was definitely extremely powerful. If they couldn''t bring out the strongest of them as quickly as possible, they would suffer.


    Unfortunately¡­ The bridge test was an absolute joke. This wasn''t because it was too easy, but rather because it didn''t activate at all as though the group here had already been accepted.


    The moment the group of 12 entered the inner city they found a cobbled together wall of opposition. But, with a wall of Lower Skeleton Warriors slaughtering the path forward, this so-called opposition didn''t last for very long at all.


    Ryu and Sarriel road on Nemesis'' back, elemental energies swirling around Ryu as he supported his Skeleton Warriors. At the same time, the others, in addition to Niel and his bow, helped carve a path forward, the Keep already in their line of sight.


    It was then that powerful auras began to approach. Surprisingly, while their city had only had two individuals of this caliber ¨C Goaman and Zanlis ¨C this city had five. Of course, this two person count didn''t include Ryu or Sarriel who would have made it four.


    However, what Ryu didn''t expect was to recognize one of these five. Despite the fact he wore a Necromancer''s half mask, it was almost useless before the first ranked Heavenly Pupils of the cultivation world.


    ''Matteus, I believe his name was¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. Matteus was his supposed fianc¨¦e''s elder cousin. However, ever since the matters of that day, Ryu no longer cared about the relationship he had with the Loom family. He had no intention of taking that woman as his own. As far as he was concerned, the aid he had given her that night was more valuable than anything else she''d ever receive in her life.


    However, seeing Matteus here still made him raise an eyebrow, albeit for just a moment.


    "Ryu¡­ I didn''t think we''d meet so soon."


    The four other geniuses looked toward Matteus, realizing that there was some history here.


    When Ryu regained his bearings, his expression became cold and even.


    "For the sake of a relationship we once had in the past, I will give you a chance to get out of the way."


    Ryu''s aura surged.


    "Make your decision quickly and do not overestimate yourself. In this world, the strength of an Eighth Order Throne is worthless."

 Chapter 509 Matheus

    Chapter 509 Matheus¡¡¡¡Matheus could feel the cold sharpness in Ryu''s tone. He could even feel that in Ryu''s eyes, these words alone were an act of mercy and his way of being tolerant. In fact, it could be said that the only reason Ryu didn''t kill Matheus back then was because he was fully aware that he couldn''t.


    Back then, when Matheus stopped him from killing City Lord Loom, Ryu had already wanted to lash out. The reason he didn''t was because he knew that he wasn''t a match for him.


    Not only had Matheus been hiding his cultivation, as a Necromancer, he could control puppets that were far beyond Ryu''s means. Not only that, but he could control multiple of them at a level potent enough to become a Throne of his Sect.


    For Ryu, who had only just entered the Divine Vessel Realm after skipping over the Spiritual Severing Realm, he was too lofty of a goal.


    The only reason Matheus hadn''t swept through all of the competition back then was because he was still hiding his identity as a Throne and a Necromancer. He didn''t feel he was powerful enough yet to bring his family out from their hardship, so his best option was to continue to lie low.


    However, Ryu was well aware that if Matheus had to choose between continuing to hide his strength and saving his family, the choice would have been obvious. He was only hiding his power for their sake to begin with, so how could he not reveal it for their sake as well?


    Had Ryu insisted on killing City Lord Loom back then, he wouldn''t have only failed to do so, his life would have been in jeopardy. Back then, in order to ensure he at least made those who were most responsible paid, he had to swallow his pride and let City Lord Loom live.


    Still¡­ Ryu wasn''t one who forgot being wronged.


    That day, his grandfather had died a torturous death so that he could live. Even to this point, even after giving Esme a Fate even worse than what his grandfather had suffered, he still hadn''t forgotten, nor had he forgiven.


    If Matheus dared to stand in his way now after protecting someone who would have had him ignore what happened to his grandfather and even suffer for it¡­ Ryu wouldn''t mind killing him right here and now!


    The Ryu of the past wasn''t the current him now. If Matheus believed that things would be the same as they had been back then, he would be in for a terrible surprise.


    Matheus'' pupils constricted.


    A murderous intent the likes of which he had never felt before locked onto his soul.


    Feeling the rage of their master, the four Lower Skeleton Warriors all turned toward Matheus in unison, death qi surging all around them. Rather than Skeleton Warriors, they looked like soldiers willing to lay their lives down for their General.


    "¡­ So you are indeed abandoning my cousin?"


    Matheus'' knuckles cracked as he flexed his fingers, his expression returning to calm.


    Ryu''s aura became colder. If this Matheus was looking for a combination of words that would piss him off the most, he had definitely stumbled into one that was very close.


    Those who were watching and didn''t quite understand the situation suddenly felt the heaviness as though two raging tigers were facing off.


    Niel pursed his lips and sent a subtle gaze toward Ryu. It was pretty obvious what was meant by ''abandon'' in this context. It seemed that having a pretty face really didn''t pay.


    Luckily, Niel didn''t voice out his opinion, or else some of Ryu''s rage might have been transferred over to him.


    As for Sarriel, she hid her face behind Ryu''s back, a blush sweeping even down her collar. She felt as though she had done something wrong even though she really hadn''t. In fact, she hadn''t even been all that intimate with Ryu.


    Of course, if she knew that she had definitely been far more intimate with Ryu than he had ever been with Taedra then her embarrassment might make her faint. How had such an innocent girl like her get caught up in such drama?


    "So you won''t get out of my way?" Ryu asked coldly.


    If there was one thing Ryu absolutely abhorred doing, it was explaining himself. That day on the battle platform, facing off against those who had killed his grandfather, he hadn''t even bothered to explain why he had never taken the Tor Clan''s name. But, which of those who were present that day still dared to bring up such a matter?


    If Matheus wanted to be treated like he had treated them, he would gladly advise and give him an unmarked grave.


    Ryu flashed from Nemesis'' back, his palms flipped over to reveal two Great Swordstaffs.


    The two weapons crackled and whined as blue arcs of lightning dances across their silver surface.


    Matheus'' arms shot upward as though he was manning an orchestra. In the blink of an eye, several dozen corpse puppets appeared, each as outrageously armored as the original armadillo puppet Ryu had battled all those months ago.


    However, this wasn''t what made Ryu narrow his eyes. Amongst the pack of armored beast corpse puppets, he had spotted two that weren''t particularly armored at all.


    The two corpse puppets prowled, bearing their teeth. Their bodies were streamlined for power and speed, the strength of their paws crushing the stone beneath their feet with just a simple crouch.


    With a single look, one could feel the wild bestial of the puppets, making them feel far more alive than they were dead.


    It became very obvious, very quickly, that Matheus had a reason to be so confident in him, a reason to be willing to vent his hatred against Ryu despite the fact he face four Lower Skeleton Warriors.


    Not only had he succeeded in claiming a Skeleton Wolf inheritance for himself, but he was also even able to summon two of them at once.

 Chapter 510 Seething

    Chapter 510 Seething¡¡¡¡Ryu''s steps didn''t pause. In fact, the arcs of lightning around him only became more violent.


    His grimoire appeared about his head, guiding the lightning elemental energies that threatened to rampage in every which direction on their own.


    "Come!"


    The calm cadence of Matheus'' voice hung in the air. There was only the slightest breadth of silence before his corpse puppets burst into action, their armor clinking and the ground quaking.


    Ryu brandished his Great Swordstaff. Sparks flew along the ground as he swung it in a wide circle, leaving a deep gash in the stone as the blade arched from low to high.


    A familiar armored armadillo found itself getting blasted backward, a char caused by strong pulsing lightning splitting its lower jaw apart.


    The rest of Matheus'' corpse puppets split into four streams, pouncing toward Ryu''s Lower Skeleton Warriors under the lead of the former''s two Lower Skeleton Wolves.


    A silver armored bear rose to its hind feet, standing to almost four meters tall in an instant. The shadow it cast seemed to envelop Ryu completely, seeking to crush him into a pile of minced meat.


    It slammed downward, the wind crackling and whistling beneath its might as its two front paws aimed for Ryu.


    At that moment, Ryu''s gaze suddenly flickered.


    ''[Death Acupoint].''


    Before Matheus could react, a shadow appeared before Ryu, piercing out with something with such speed that it was impossible to spot for just a moment.


    BANG!


    A hole was torn through the armored bear''s chest, gaping to the size of an entire head.


    The core structure of the corpse puppet completely collapsed, its body falling over to reveal a man with skin as black as night standing before Ryu. This man looked so real that it even took the Necromancers of this city several moments before he was recognized as just another corpse puppet.


    Ryu''s body flickered, shifting into a bundle of lightning that reappeared as human just a moment later. With a casual ease, he had stepped over the bear corpse puppets body, his gait steady as he continued to bear down on Matheus.


    A strong murderous intent wafted from Ryu''s body as his silver eyes sparkled.


    Just now, he had realized that using [Death Acupoint] on a corpse puppet was even easier than using it on himself. As he thought about it more, it only made sense. How could a living, breathing being be less complex than a dead puppet?


    Whenever a necromancer controlled a puppet, they were artificially giving it life, but how could this match up to the realities of living and breathing?


    With a thought, several swords of lightning appeared in the skies. They flickered occasionally, but they looked so solid that one could almost mistake them for weapons forged of a bright blue metal.


    At that moment, Matheus wasn''t panicked. In fact, he was still kindling his fury.


    When he chose not to save Ryu from the hands of those Core Region geniuses, he wasn''t wrong. When he chose not to raise a hand to help Ryu battle the Inner Ring Clans, he wasn''t wrong. When he chose to save his Grand Uncle even at the cost of infuriating Ryu, he wasn''t wrong.


    However, he felt that Ryu was wrong.


    Those were his choices, not the choices of his younger cousin. It was he who hadn''t taken action all those times, it was he who saved their grand uncle. Why, then, would he blame Taedra? Why would he make her suffer through such pain and hardship?


    He would rather Taedra mourn Ryu''s death than pine after his life!


    It was then, however, that Ryu''s lightning blades descended.


    At first, Matheus thought it was a coincidence that he had lost connection with his armored bear. This wasn''t the first time this had happened to him in battle and it most definitely wouldn''t be the last. It was an inevitable part of being a Necromancer.


    This was why being a Summoning Necromancer was so sought after. Summoners were much less likely to lose their connection to their puppets. Not only was this because the summoning and controlling process was much more complex, but it was also because summons had their own intelligence and were their own forms of life, making them just as if not even more complex than humans.


    However, it then happened a second time. Then a third. Then a fourth.


    To Matheus'' horror, he realized that every time one of Ryu''s blades descended, another corpse puppet would be severed from him.


    Before he would react, of his dozens, only his two Skeleton Wolves remained, suddenly finding themselves surrounded by two Skeleton Warriors each.


    ''What¡­?'' Matheus didn''t know how to respond.


    Before he could react, he found Goaman''s ink black hand around his throat, raising him into the air.


    Matheus didn''t bother to look toward the four youths who were deemed to be on his level. How could there be any loyalty in such a place? What they bowed to was strength and nothing else, but all the while, they were searching for a way to claim this power for themselves.


    When Ryu met Matheus, he was in the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm. But now, just like Ryu, he was in the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Ryu could only conclude that there was something special about Matheus'' soul that allowed him to control such powerful corpse puppets. But, none of that mattered.


    Even if Ryu didn''t use Goaman, how could a Matheus at his cultivation level possibly matchup to him? If there was one thing Ryu was confident in¡­ It was that no one even in his cultivation realm could defeat him, let alone the same sub-stage.


    Ryu didn''t say a word as he took Matheus'' spatial ring, and neither did Matheus struggle.


    With a thought, Ryu shattered the protections and took out the very Tri Key he was looking for.


    As expected, there was yet another one.


    Once Ryu finished taking it for himself, he realized that the Keep was unnecessary.


    He looked toward Matheus. But, completely outside of his expectations, he actually hesitated.


    He had already said it clearly before. He would only give Matheus one chance, and he had clearly not heeded his advice. But¡­


    Just as Ryu was at a loss, the city began to tremble, a massive formation appearing in the skies as a strong surge of spatial qi swirled.


    Ryu looked up to find three figures slowly appearing in the skies. However, when he saw what they were, his pupils couldn''t help constrict, a sudden seething rage boiling up from the depths of his heart. No matter how much he tried to control it, he simply couldn''t.


    He had never laid eyes on these people before this day, but somehow he knew exactly who they were.


    The Martial Gods. They had appeared here.

 Chapter 511 Seething

    Chapter 511 Seething¡¡¡¡Ryu''s steps didn''t pause. In fact, the arcs of lightning around him only became more violent.


    His grimoire appeared about his head, guiding the lightning elemental energies that threatened to rampage in every which direction on their own.


    "Come!"


    The calm cadence of Matheus'' voice hung in the air. There was only the slightest breadth of silence before his corpse puppets burst into action, their armor clinking and the ground quaking.


    Ryu brandished his Great Swordstaff. Sparks flew along the ground as he swung it in a wide circle, leaving a deep gash in the stone as the blade arched from low to high.


    A familiar armored armadillo found itself getting blasted backward, a char caused by strong pulsing lightning splitting its lower jaw apart.


    The rest of Matheus'' corpse puppets split into four streams, pouncing toward Ryu''s Lower Skeleton Warriors under the lead of the former''s two Lower Skeleton Wolves.


    A silver armored bear rose to its hind feet, standing to almost four meters tall in an instant. The shadow it cast seemed to envelop Ryu completely, seeking to crush him into a pile of minced meat.


    It slammed downward, the wind crackling and whistling beneath its might as its two front paws aimed for Ryu.


    At that moment, Ryu''s gaze suddenly flickered.


    ''[Death Acupoint].''


    Before Matheus could react, a shadow appeared before Ryu, piercing out with something with such speed that it was impossible to spot for just a moment.


    BANG!


    A hole was torn through the armored bear''s chest, gaping to the size of an entire head.


    The core structure of the corpse puppet completely collapsed, its body falling over to reveal a man with skin as black as night standing before Ryu. This man looked so real that it even took the Necromancers of this city several moments before he was recognized as just another corpse puppet.


    Ryu''s body flickered, shifting into a bundle of lightning that reappeared as human just a moment later. With a casual ease, he had stepped over the bear corpse puppets body, his gait steady as he continued to bear down on Matheus.


    A strong murderous intent wafted from Ryu''s body as his silver eyes sparkled.


    Just now, he had realized that using [Death Acupoint] on a corpse puppet was even easier than using it on himself. As he thought about it more, it only made sense. How could a living, breathing being be less complex than a dead puppet?


    Whenever a necromancer controlled a puppet, they were artificially giving it life, but how could this match up to the realities of living and breathing?


    With a thought, several swords of lightning appeared in the skies. They flickered occasionally, but they looked so solid that one could almost mistake them for weapons forged of a bright blue metal.


    At that moment, Matheus wasn''t panicked. In fact, he was still kindling his fury.


    When he chose not to save Ryu from the hands of those Core Region geniuses, he wasn''t wrong. When he chose not to raise a hand to help Ryu battle the Inner Ring Clans, he wasn''t wrong. When he chose to save his Grand Uncle even at the cost of infuriating Ryu, he wasn''t wrong.


    However, he felt that Ryu was wrong.


    Those were his choices, not the choices of his younger cousin. It was he who hadn''t taken action all those times, it was he who saved their grand uncle. Why, then, would he blame Taedra? Why would he make her suffer through such pain and hardship?


    He would rather Taedra mourn Ryu''s death than pine after his life!


    It was then, however, that Ryu''s lightning blades descended.


    At first, Matheus thought it was a coincidence that he had lost connection with his armored bear. This wasn''t the first time this had happened to him in battle and it most definitely wouldn''t be the last. It was an inevitable part of being a Necromancer.


    This was why being a Summoning Necromancer was so sought after. Summoners were much less likely to lose their connection to their puppets. Not only was this because the summoning and controlling process was much more complex, but it was also because summons had their own intelligence and were their own forms of life, making them just as if not even more complex than humans.


    However, it then happened a second time. Then a third. Then a fourth.


    To Matheus'' horror, he realized that every time one of Ryu''s blades descended, another corpse puppet would be severed from him.


    Before he would react, of his dozens, only his two Skeleton Wolves remained, suddenly finding themselves surrounded by two Skeleton Warriors each.


    ''What¡­?'' Matheus didn''t know how to respond.


    Before he could react, he found Goaman''s ink black hand around his throat, raising him into the air.


    Matheus didn''t bother to look toward the four youths who were deemed to be on his level. How could there be any loyalty in such a place? What they bowed to was strength and nothing else, but all the while, they were searching for a way to claim this power for themselves.


    When Ryu met Matheus, he was in the Half-Step Connecting Heaven Realm. But now, just like Ryu, he was in the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm.


    Ryu could only conclude that there was something special about Matheus'' soul that allowed him to control such powerful corpse puppets. But, none of that mattered.


    Even if Ryu didn''t use Goaman, how could a Matheus at his cultivation level possibly matchup to him? If there was one thing Ryu was confident in¡­ It was that no one even in his cultivation realm could defeat him, let alone the same sub-stage.


    Ryu didn''t say a word as he took Matheus'' spatial ring, and neither did Matheus struggle.


    With a thought, Ryu shattered the protections and took out the very Tri Key he was looking for.


    As expected, there was yet another one.


    Once Ryu finished taking it for himself, he realized that the Keep was unnecessary.


    He looked toward Matheus. But, completely outside of his expectations, he actually hesitated.


    He had already said it clearly before. He would only give Matheus one chance, and he had clearly not heeded his advice. But¡­


    Just as Ryu was at a loss, the city began to tremble, a massive formation appearing in the skies as a strong surge of spatial qi swirled.


    Ryu looked up to find three figures slowly appearing in the skies. However, when he saw what they were, his pupils couldn''t help constrict, a sudden seething rage boiling up from the depths of his heart. No matter how much he tried to control it, he simply couldn''t.


    He had never laid eyes on these people before this day, but somehow he knew exactly who they were.


    The Martial Gods. They had appeared here.

 Chapter 512 Who Are You?

    Chapter 512 Who Are You?¡¡¡¡Ryu felt a seething within. His hand trembled, the ground beneath his feet shattering.


    A blaze of fire erupted around Ryu''s body. At first, it was just surface level, but an instant later, the red-black flame enveloped him completely until it seemed that all that remained of Ryu''s body were two floating eyes without even the semblance of a body around it.


    It was clear at that moment that Ryu''s Fire Spirit Body had suddenly manifested itself. Fueled by fury, his Rage Flames broke through a barrier and even began to faintly suppress his Lightning.


    Logic told Ryu to calm down, but he was having a very difficult time. The feedback loop of his rage making his flames burn brighter and stronger was endless. For a moment, it felt as though he might burn the entire city to ash.


    "Hm?"


    Up in the skies, the three figures frowned, looking down and sensing something that was particularly dangerous. Seeing the state Ryu was in, they suddenly became serious.


    Spirit Body? Had they invited a Clan with such an ability? Or could it be that this person had a parent who was from outside of the invited Clans?


    This was possible and would explain a lot. But, why was this happening now? Was it just a coincidence that they had stumbled into such a breakthrough?


    It was clear that these three had no way of recognizing the Rage Flames. They were able to tell it was a high level flame, but the Fire Dragons hadn''t appeared in several Eras and the Tatsuya Clan had been a remnant of history for hundreds of millions of years already.


    Unless one was a Ruin Master like Ryu who had an almost endless depth of knowledge and the ability to link tidbits of information to draw conclusions about things he had never seen personally, pinpointing exactly what they were seeing would be impossible.


    And, even if they did recognize the flame, at best they would think that Ryu had stumbled into some sort of Fire Dragon Legacy World and benefited greatly.


    Someone like Ryu might have shone brightly in his life, but he had ultimately only lived a thousand years.


    In a world where even those who had experienced a million years of life were still considered juniors, how could he possibly be remembered? Or, more accurately, how could he possibly be among the first connections even someone who remembered him would make?


    Among the three figures in the sky, two were men and one was a woman. From their position and demeanors, the woman was clearly in the lead.


    She had short white gold hair that barely passed her jawline. Her body was fitted in a tight training uniform that would have made her look like quite the master if one wasn''t first infatuated by her figure.


    Her eyes carried the same white gold color, completing the look of a woman who seemed descended from a goddess. The only issue was that she seemed to be quite the tomboy, deviating away from this path as much as she could.


    The two men beside her had the same white gold hair and eyes. Their auras seemed particularly restrained and subtle around this girl. But, it was difficult to tell upon just having seen them for the first time if this was their normal demeanor, or if it was as a product of this girl to begin with.


    The young woman, though, wasn''t paying attention to these two at all. Instead, her eyes were completely focused on Ryu whose own eyes were completely focused on her. She could feel that if Ryu had his way, she could be run through completely with one of his Great Swordstaffs.


    ''¡­ This¡­ Is not the same¡­''


    Amongst his swarm of enraged thoughts, Ryu completed a coherent one.


    His father and grandfather had always told him that those with the Fire Dragon bloodline would always be emotional and have a quick trigger. He had always thought himself to be too cold to allow such things. But, more and more recently, especially as he began to take a long, hard look at himself, he realized he was no less vulnerable to this than the rest of the Tatsuya Clan had been.


    In the moment those three figures appeared, Ryu was almost certain that they were Martial Gods. He could ''see'' the same wavelengths of energy that swirled around Fidroha the Apostle.


    With [Ephemeral Tapestry], Ryu''s sensitivity to energies couldn''t even be compared to the past. He could see details now that he never would have before, especially as his pupils grew stronger.


    However, he had made a mistake.


    Ryu had never personally seen Fidroha after awakening [Ephemeral Tapestry]. His Heavenly Pupils and his Ice Jade Crystal Body had synergized after he left the Core Region''s tournament and battled those two Zu Clan Elders.


    In order to draw the connection to the Martial Gods, Ryu was relying on the perfect picture of  Fidroha he had thanks to his Origin Flame. But, that picture didn''t have all the details since it was prior to him awakening his ability.


    There was no doubt that this group of people were closely related to the Martial Gods. They were likely even from the same place. However, there were enough differences that Ryu was able to quickly understand that he had drawn the incorrect conclusion.


    When Ryu came to this conclusion, he began to calm down, his flames slowly dying down. Not long after, he gained perfect control of it. It wasn''t very difficult given that he had the experience with his Lightning Spirit Body.


    Ryu frowned. He felt that his Spirit Bodies wanted to interact with each other, but this wasn''t the time to allow this to happen. Whatever changes were occurring definitely had his Ice Jade Crystal Body as the core. If not for its Balance characteristic, it would be impossible for Ryu to sustain two such opposing Spirit Bodies at once.


    Ryu suppressed the feeling, allowing his body to manifest itself once again.


    "Ah!"


    Sarriel covered her face with her small hands. But, considering how wide her fingers were, it was clear that she was still seeing everything.


    The heat her hands felt from her burning features was definitely not small.


    As for the young woman in the skies, her frown deepened, a hint of displeasure coloring her features.


    However, Ryu didn''t seem to care as his body began to be subtly wrapped by a new Visualization. If it wasn''t for him losing control of his mind and energy for a moment, he would have never been naked to begin with.


    With a thought, he stepped into the air. Having people stand above him? That was something he would never allow, especially not when these people likely had connections to his mortal enemies.


    The young woman was stunned by Ryu''s audacity for a moment. Then, she was even more shocked by the fact he could fly at all. Then, she felt a fury that made her want to knock him down a peg.


    But, even as her aura violently fluctuated, causing a maddening turbulence that was even comparable to some regions outside of worlds, Ryu showed no signs of wavering.


    Not even a few seconds later, his feet were level with the three figures. With his height, he was even above them, his gaze looking down coldly.


    ''All of them are in the 1st stage of the Path Extinction Realm.'' Ryu thought to himself.


    If they were anywhere near as talented as Goaman or Zanlis, this would indeed be a problem if they were hostile.


    Seemingly realizing she had a job to do, the young woman calmed herself, seemingly not embarrassed by her failure in the slightest.


    "Are you the only who claim the Nether Key of a second city?"


    Ryu didn''t answer immediately, his eyes scanning the three before him in almost too much detail, almost as though to ensure that he remain calm. Though he had only heard of the Martial Gods, he had no idea if there might be others involved. Or, for all he knew, these people could call themselves Martial Gods as well but were simply part of a different branch clan.


    Just when the young woman was getting impatient, Ryu spoke.


    "Yes."


    The young woman suddenly found that she really wanted to break that beautiful nose at the center of Ryu''s face. This bastard had only spoken one word, but he was actually so annoying. What had she done, exactly, to deserve such treatment?


    "We are here to inform you that you have gained the right to proceed to the second floor. Or, you may continue to remain here until you are ready to proceed."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"


    The young woman smirked, finally seemingly getting a leg up on Ryu. What reason did she have to explain herself?


    However, she never expected what happened next.


    Ryu''s hand stretched out, causing his two Great Swordstaffs to shoot into his hands from the ground below.


    The moment he felt them snapping into his palms, he pointed one forward toward the delicate nose of the young lady before him.


    "Who are you?" He asked again.

 Chapter 513 Really Wanted

    Chapter 513 Really Wanted¡¡¡¡The young woman was completely taken aback.


    What the hell was wrong with this person? Didn''t he see that she was a beautiful young lady? Did he just not like women? She was so stunned that she forgot to be angry for a moment.


    Isemeine was shocked out of her thoughts by none other than her own thinking. Since when had she relied on her looks to do anything? She would much rather put a foot through Ryu''s chest than rely on something like that to vent her rage.


    The issue was that Isemeine knew she wasn''t allowed to kill Ryu, she wasn''t even allowed to harm him. If she did so, she would be punished by her family. And, depending on how important Ryu was, the punishment could even possibly be quite severe.


    But all of this was really too annoying. She couldn''t remember the last time someone had actually pointed a blade at her like this. In fact, she couldn''t remember if anyone ever had. Such a person was probably locked away in a grave somewhere by now.


    At this point, even the two young men who were following Isemeine looked toward one another and simultaneously chose to take a step back. They seemed to show no signs of helping Isemeine. In fact, they looked toward Ryu with a hint of pity. They were very much aware of this princess''s fiery temper.


    There weren''t a small number of men who had tried to court Isemeine. Among them, there were no small number who had tried to ''protect'' her before. Not only had these few not received the results they wanted, they even ended up getting beaten up alongside the aggressor. Quite frankly, they wanted nothing to do with this.


    Isemeine tried to rein in her temper, taking deep breaths and forcing out an ugly smile that contorted even her pretty face somewhat.


    "¡­ Could you ¡­ please lower the blade¡­"


    Ryu frowned when he heard these words, mostly because this wasn''t the level of self restraint he had expected. He had gone through all this trouble, taking roundabout methods to hide his strength, all for the sake of a moment exactly like this one. Yet, this was the very last thing he had expected.


    However, Ryu also wasn''t the kind of person to do something just because a pretty face asked it of him. He still hadn''t forgotten that these people likely had strong ties to the Martial Gods, how could he just let them go like this?


    At this point, the odds of this woman simply answering his question without force had already plummeted. In fact, it had already hit rock bottom the moment Ryu chose to be on level ground with them. The ego of this girl was clearly even larger than his own despite the fact she seemed to be held back from acting as she pleased due to some red tape.


    Isemeine''s forehead popped up with veins when she realized Ryu actually wasn''t listening to her despite how polite she had tried to be. She was truly this close from completely forgetting everything and smashing this young man''s head into meat paste.


    It was at that moment, though, that a horse covered in silver plated armor suddenly appeared in the skies.


    Sarriel laughed nervously, placing a palm on Ryu''s arm and slowly pulling it down.


    "Haha¡­ He doesn''t mean anything by it, it''s just that everyone here that we''ve met has been an enemy so there was no reason to believe that you three weren''t as well."


    Ryu''s frown deepened, sending gaze toward Sarriel. But, probably aware that he would be unhappy, Sarriel avoided his gaze like the plague. It took too much out of her to even come up here, she couldn''t handle such a glare at the same time.


    The veins on Isemeine''s forehead didn''t seem to calm immediately. It was taking everything in her power not to pounce right this minute. She was even imagining what it would feel like to pound that handsome face in until it wasn''t recognizable.


    ''¡­ His skin probably feels soft and supple too. My fists would fit right in.''


    Isemeine grit her teeth, her irises practically lighting on fire. What she found maybe the most irritating was that was Ryu continued to meet her gaze without a word. He was clearly completely unperturbed.


    The truth was that Ryu was almost looking forward to fight. He didn''t care if it was a woman or a man. He had yet to test out the Heaven Gate of [Heaven and Earth Gate] and this would be the perfect opportunity. But, somehow, Isemeine managed to hold back her temper.


    The violent fluctuations of qi in the air came to a slow stop as Isemeine took a deep breath.


    "¡­ Big sister?"


    "Hm?" Isemeine looked up to find Sarriel looking at her quite sheepishly.


    No matter how fiery Isemeine''s temper was, she found it difficult to get angry when such an adorable little girl called out to her like this, especially when it was such a polite form of address.


    After sending a curious gaze toward Nemesis, Isemeine looked up to Sarriel once again.


    "Do you mind explaining what is going on? We all¡­ um¡­ expected something much different." Sarriel said with a soft voice, almost as though she was scared that Isemeine would lash out at her too.


    "Oh¡­ Right." Isemeine smiled lightly, even wanting to give Sarriel a pat on the head. "This place is the Nether Palace. Though it appears to be almost identical to the Nether Realm, the truth is that it is only a replica created under the strength of a Dream Wraith."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Among the nine Demon King Clans, the Dream Wraith was one of the rarest and most enigmatic. Of the rumors of a potential Demon Emperor Clan that surpassed the Demon Kings, the Dream Wraith always seemed to be wrapped up in such discussions.


    From Ryu''s own research, there wasn''t nearly enough evidence to guarantee the existence of a Demon Emperor Clan, and even the name itself was only casually chosen so that there would be a label to refer to these imaginary Demons.


    The reason why the Dream Wraith Demon Kings were wrapped up in such thoughts, though, was because they played an all too important part in Reincarnation.


    According to many legends, before Reincarnation could be undertaken, one''s memories must first be erased. From Ryu''s understanding, the Dream Wraiths gained strength by snatching and absorbing these memories.


    While many legends wrote this as a function of necessity, the truth was that it was a function of greed. The Dream Wraiths took these memories because they wanted and needed them. The only reason they didn''t kill these souls off and even protected them to enter their next lives were only so that these individuals could live another fulfilling life to give them even more memories to absorb.


    The Dream Wraith were among the very rarest Demon Kings to appear as Summons. Not only was a Summoning Necromancer with a Demon King summon impossibly rare to begin with, one with a Dream Wraith was even more so.


    And, even in the incredibly sparse instances that one would have one, it would at best be a lower ranking member of the Clan. No one had ever contracted a true noble of the Dream Wraith Demon Kings.


    It was no surprise, then, that Ryu harped on this point far more than he did the fact that this was a replica world. Especially since Ryu had already guessed as much.


    No matter what floor of the Nether Realm it was, it would never be constricted to just three creatures. There weren''t even flying beasts in the skies and there weren''t any Elites in the wild¡­ It had been obvious for a long time already that much of this place was artificial.


    But, the idea that it was the work of a Dream Wraith¡­


    ''The year of my life¡­ Did I not experience it¡­? Or were my memories of it taken?''


    Ryu felt a rage threatening to bubble forth once again. These people¡­ really liked to play games.


    Isemeine was irritated that instead of seeing a light of shock or curiosity in Ryu''s eye, all she saw was the very same placid look. In fact, she even sensed a hint of killing intent that he was trying to control.


    "¡­ Since one among you has gathered two keys, you have the right to buy a passage for up to ten individuals to the second floor where you will have to collect a single key to ascend to the third."


    "Big sister, if I might ask¡­ What is it that we are fighting for?"


    Isemeine felt almost a motherly urge to protect Sarriel with all her might so she didn''t even hesitate to respond.


    "If you pass the third floor''s assessment, you will gain the right to two options.


    "The first is to decline joining my family as a subordinate and keep all the treasures and legacies that you have gained.


    "The second is to agree to subordinate yourself under my family. In this case, you will gain a complete Summoning Necromancer Legacy and you will be granted control over a Demon Baron and a Commoner Demon Clan.


    "If you should accept, you will receive these rewards and be officially titled an Apostle of my Martial God Clan!"


    Ryu''s knuckles popped and cracked as he tightened his grip on his Great Swordstaffs. In that moment, he almost couldn''t refrain from revealing a fiendish, murderous grin.


    He really wanted to kill this girl.

 Chapter 514 Pity.

    Chapter 514 Pity.¡¡¡¡Veins bulged all throughout Ryu''s body, but he managed to keep his face expressionless.


    This was truly an irony of ironies. This wasn''t just the first time he had been invited to join his mortal enemies, but the second. First it was Fidroha trying to recruit him during the Core Region tournament, and now it was this.


    "¡­ Joining our Clan and becoming an Apostle would mean more than just resources and a title, you''ll also be introduced to the true geniuses of the cultivation world and become a part of something much greater than yourse¡ª."


    "Send me to the second floor."


    Ryu''s voice carried a biting cold.


    "Ah¡­"


    Isemeine''s words sputtered. She was just eagerly explaining everything to Sarriel, why was she suddenly being cut off like this?


    Isemeine''s chest suddenly began to heave. "I''m gonna kill him."


    When she was about to surge forward, she found Ryu had already passed her by, standing on the very formation she and the other two had used to appear.


    "Sarriel, Niel."


    Niel, who was still on the ground, smiled bitterly. Luckily, Nemesis ended up backtracking to pick him up.


    Ryu looked down toward Goaman and Matheus who was still being held up by his neck. Even in all his rage, Ryu still hesitated to kill Matheus. Every fiber of his being seemed to say yes, but a small shred whispered that he would very much regret it.


    Regret wasn''t an emotion Ryu felt often, if ever. He was usually so confident in his actions that he never even considered it to be a factor. However, at this moment, he still wasn''t sure what to do.


    After a moment, he rose Goaman into the air, taking Matheus along with him.


    "There are six spots left. However, the nine of you decide who it is that comes will be up to you."


    Ryu looked down toward Zanlis and the others. There wasn''t a hint of surprise in his expression when a battle suddenly erupted.


    All the while, Isemeine stood frozen. Had she really been ignored¡­ again? She felt as though her brain was about to implode. As easy as her life had been up until this point, when had she ever run into someone who made her rage to this extent?


    It wasn''t as though she had never run into men who tried to use a cold shoulder tactic to court her. But, firstly, none had ever succeeded in truly pissing her off. And, secondly, it was very clear that Ryu wanted nothing to do with her. In fact, if he had his wish, he would have run his blades through her right this very instant.


    The result of the two clashing made it feel as though two volcanoes were brewing even as a raging battle erupted below.


    Sarriel and Niel looked toward Ryu with a bitter smile while the two young men did the same toward Isemeine who was about to lose control completely. In a moment of solidarity, the group of four all exchanged glances. Why were their leaders such people?


    Just when it seemed Isemeine truly couldn''t hold it back anymore, a voice caused her to frown.


    "Just kill me."


    Matheus, who was practically strung up like a chicken spat out these words. He didn''t care what emotions Ryu was feeling right now.


    Eighth Order or not, he was still a Throne and he had the pride of one. Since he had wanted and had every intention of killing Ryu, he didn''t even care to receive forgiveness. However, one thing he wouldn''t allow was for himself to be humiliated to this extent.


    The fact that Ryu so casually used one of his ten spots for the sake of bringing him along was definitely not a sign of good things to come. He wasn''t so na?ve.


    He had long since wanted to kill himself, but there was something restraining about Goaman''s touch that ripped his body out of his own control. He couldn''t even twitch a finger right and had only barely managed to squeeze his words out.


    Ryu gave him a sidelong glance, his cold eyes flickering between red and silver.


    "There are many people in this world I want to kill. You happen to be on that list."


    "Then do it, coward!"


    "I''ve already decided to not live a life of regrets any longer. I don''t care how uncomfortable you are. Until I feel no guilt in separating your head from your shoulders, you''ll follow me for as long as I please."


    "You arrogant, psychotic bastard!"


    "You seem to have forgotten that I gave you a chance to leave."


    "Do you think I need pity from a man just trying to make himself feel better? You say that you don''t want to feel guilt, but what is it if not guilt keeping me alive right now? If you didn''t feel something abandoning Taedra, would I even still be breathing?"


    Hearing such a back and forth, Isemeine suddenly found herself feeling much better. Ryu didn''t seem like a man who liked speaking, yet he was actually saying so many words now. It was like she was watching her greatest bully be bullied. It left a satisfying taste in her mouth she couldn''t help but curl he lip to. She didn''t even know why she found so much happiness in this.


    ''Humph, a man who can''t even take responsibility for his own women. He deserves everything he gets.''


    "Guilt?" Ryu shook his head.


    He looked into Matheus'' eyes, his voice even, his cadence steady and his sound deep.


    "The reason you live isn''t because of guilt. The reason you can breathe this air and speak these words is only because of one thing: Pity."


    Matheus'' pupils trembled, a deep rage and humiliation shaking his soul.


    Isemeine frowned. This was much less fun.


    At that moment, the battle below came to a close. Beaten and bloodied, Zanlis, three of his four men, and two of the Orobona Clan members were left.


    Ryu''s grimoire flickered, causing a strong surge of ice elemental energy to form a platform and allow them to rise into the skies.


    Without waiting for Isemeine, Ryu pulled out two Nether Keys, activating the formation once again on his own.

 Chapter 515 Who Do You Think You Are?

    Chapter 515 Who Do You Think You Are?¡¡¡¡The second floor of the ''Nether Realm'' was a completely different animal. Rather than the rotting woods and bright blue, cloudless skies, it seemed far more like a true depiction of hell.


    The skies had become a beautiful deep violet that carried a sinister edge to it. Black clouds hovered above but they didn''t act like storm clouds, instead drifting about just like normal clouds would.


    The ground was covered in endless mountainous regions. As far as the eye could see, jagged peaks of pitch black stone rose several kilometers into the air. It truly didn''t seem as though even a single patch of flat land was anywhere to be seen.


    At that moment, the harsh call of several birds tore through the skies. Their cries made one''s blood curdle, almost as though metal was screeching against metal.


    Without even looking, Ryu immediately pinpointed what that creature was. He understood right then that no matter what, he couldn''t use Little Rock on this floor.


    ''This terrain¡­ it isn''t consistent with the second floor of the Nether Realm. This would be what the fifth plane looked like¡­''


    The Nether Realm had nine levels and a mysterious tenth which was thought to carry the center of Reincarnation. Ryu could recognize them all with a single glance.


    The first floor that had been on was indeed the first, or rather a replica of it. But, this most definitely wasn''t the second.


    The trouble with this was that although the eco system of the first floor was somewhat constrained and different from the true first floor, the Canis, Falx and Rotting Wolves were all creatures that did indeed appear on the first floor.


    Why did this matter?


    Well¡­ The Fifth Floor was where the weakest of the Demon Clans began to reside. If this pattern continued, they would no longer be dealing with unintelligent beasts. Even if they were nothing in comparison to Demon Barons, these Demon Clans weren''t something the current Leonel could dismiss.


    Ryu suddenly spun, his Great Swordstaff jetting outward in a stream of violently fluctuating qi.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s body shot out like a cannon ball, his cold eyes locking onto Isemeine even as he torpedoed through the air.


    Isemeine brandished a golden spear that was at least 2.5 meters long. Seemingly having finally lost her temper completely, her short white gold hair billowed as violently as their short strands would allow.


    "You bastard! How am I supposed to get back now?!" She roared. "You did this on purpose!"


    Isemeine didn''t believe for a single second that someone who could activate that formation on their own wouldn''t have understood its one way function.


    Originally, she had thought that Ryu simply stood at the center of the formation because he was feeling entitled to her services. As she enjoyed him being dressed down by Matheus, she was even relishing a future where she''d be able to make him plead to activate the formation.


    Yet, not only had he forced it to go himself, he had taken her with him. The worst part was that her two subordinates were very obviously not here, meaning that Ryu either purposely excluded them or sent them off to a completely different location.


    Ryu crashed into a mountain range a distance away, but his feet landed first. It was clear that he had long since been prepared for this attack. Yet, even then, he felt that his arm was threatening to shatter. In fact, it would have had he not let it enter his Spirit Body form to dissipate the strength.


    This girl. She was strong.


    At the moment, Isemeine was furious. A wild gold energy swirled around her, carrying an eerie likeness to the wild red energy Ryu had seen Fidroha and her subordinates use. This once again confirmed to him that his two interactions with the Martial God Clan likely came from two separate branches rooted in the same trunk.


    At this time, there was absolutely no one in range of the two of them. Even Sarriel and Nemesis had been sent to a separate location by Ryu who could easily use his connection with the latter to find them.


    As for Zanlis and the Orobona Clan members, he sent them to a completely different location. He had already fulfilled his agreement with them by leading them to the second floor. He had no obligation to help anymore.


    If Ryu wanted, he still had one Nether Key remaining, the very same Nether Key he had gained from the Three Pupils Eclipse Sect ¨C he could easily use it to go to the ''third'' floor right this very moment.


    However, after all these years, he finally had a Martial God here he was within shot of being able to defeat. How could he possibly miss out on this opportunity? Was he just supposed to let her go? That was impossible.


    This was also an excellent opportunity. He knew that he would stand less than a 10% chance of defeating this woman even after the improvements to his strength after his battle with his little nephews. However, this was the Nether Realm and the only qi available here was Nether Qi. If he couldn''t take a chance on this sort of advantage, he might as well give up on saving his family entirely.


    He would pummel this woman into the ground. He would force her to submit to him and tell him everything she knew.


    "I don''t know who you are¡­ or who you think you are¡­"


    Isemeine''s words suddenly sounded exceptionally even and measured. For once, she had reached a state of calm, the likes of which would usually send a spine tingling coldness up the spine of her enemies.


    "However, I am Isemeine, a Goddess of the Martial World and a warrior that cannot be blasphemed. I have given you enough chances to bow your head in obedience, but since you don''t seem to understand benevolence¡­ I will show you what separates a Mortal from a Deity!"


    Isemeine''s voice rose to a roar by the end of it, a violent white-gold qi surging around her body as the spear in her hand wildly trembled.


    Then, she shot forward, drawing the arc of a golden meteor in the skies.

 Chapter 516 ...?

    Chapter 516 ...?¡¡¡¡Isemeine''s words shocked Ryu. It wasn''t because he truly felt like a mortal before her, but rather due to the audacity of it all. In a moment, she had gone from a woman with a hot temper to a self-proclaimed Goddess.


    The most shocking part about it all, though, was the fact that she had meant every single word. There was no irony, no humorous tone, there wasn''t even the madness one would expect to see in the eyes of someone saying something so insane.


    Even as Isemeine tore her way through the air, blinking across exaggerated distances in a single breath, Ryu''s rage inflated to the point he laughed.


    Ryu looked up into the skies, his gaze rapidly flickering between a cold silver, a chilly sapphire, and a crimson ruby.


    In just that moment, he had seen the real face of the Martial Gods. Their audacity, their hubris, their arrogance¡­ It made his own feel like a small fish swimming amidst oceanic waves.


    This was probably how they all felt¡­ that the hopes and dreams of others was nothing more than something to be stamped out on their war path. Only their way was correct, only their way was worthy of being nurtured and spread.


    Ryu had never felt so enraged in his life.


    Something snapped.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body seemed to lose its form, shattering into countless little pieces as Ryu''s body burst.


    Violent bursts of resplendent blue lightning and raging black-red flames erupted.


    As though a God was connecting the Heavens and the Earth, a blazing pillar of violet shot up, seemingly wanting to incinerate everything.


    The black rock beneath Ryu''s feet shattered, the dark clouds above dispersed, crackling lightning and fire swirled about, causing space to bend and twist.


    "Who am I?!"


    Ryu''s voice booms, concentric circles and shattering air erupting from all sides.


    "I am Ryu Tatsuya!"


    BANG!


    A blur shot through the air. In an instant, a beam of white gold and another of dark violet met.


    The sound was so loud that it felt as though everything had fallen into a void for just a moment before the explosions sounded. It was like two planets had collided, causing the laws of gravity around them to warp to unseen levels.


    The sweep of Isemeine''s golden spear met the downward slash of both Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs. In that moment, she could feel a strength she never thought she would experience battle against a mere Connecting Heaven Realm expert. But, what she saw was even more shocking than that.


    Gazing at her through their locked blades, she saw a pair of dark violet, vertical slit eyes. If it wasn''t for the fact she knew that Ryu had to be human, she would have never guessed they belonged to one. To her, it felt more like a beast had set its sights on her, a primordial demon of ancient blood.


    From his feet up the to even the sides of his neck, Ryu was covered in dark violet scales. His face was dotted with a few on his cheeks and forehead as well, giving him a demonic sort of charm that radiated a dangerous aura.


    From his forehead rose two large horns that curved and branched as though wanting to pierce the skies. His hair had lengthened, flowing out like a bright white river dozens of meters out from his body.


    Ryu''s entire body danced with crackling flames. As though his lightning and fire had fused perfectly, it sometimes exuded characteristics of the former, and sometimes the latter, almost like it couldn''t decide exactly what it wanted to be.


    But, what was undeniable was its strength.


    The purple lightning flame licked across Isemeine''s white gold qi and almost forced it to collapse in that instant.


    At that moment, Ryu''s shout reached Isemeine''s ears. He had been moving so fast that he completely overshadowed his own voice, clashing with Isemeine long before she could register what it was he had said.


    Now, though, Isemeine felt her heart quiver.


    "¡­ Tatsuya?"


    She suddenly understood Ryu''s attitude, his rage¡­ His talent.


    "You¡­ The Princess''s husband¡­?"


    Ryu, who had just been about to follow up, feeling that their weapons had been locked for too long, faltered. What did he just hear? What had she just said?


    The moment Ryu failed to keep his concentration, his strength waned. The power dynamic shifted and Ryu found himself flying back like an arrow from a bowstring. It couldn''t have been more obvious that his level of shock was far beyond Isemeine''s.


    Blood shot from Ryu''s mouth like a projectile, his body rocketing into the surface of a mountain range.


    He felt as though every bone in his body was being crushed. The difference between the strength he had just displayed and what he had shown just this past moment was so strikingly different that even Isemeine was partially in shock.


    Much like Ryu, she had been taken aback too and her own strength somewhat waned as well. But, why was there such an exaggerated difference?


    Ryu didn''t need to think to understand the difference at all. Immediately, even as he was flying through the air, he understood.


    His Rage Flames were fueled by emotion. The stronger his fury, the stronger they became. However, usually, this just made his flames hotter and more dangerous and didn''t cause much of a change to his individual power, at least not in terms of his physical output.


    But, the moment he gained his Fire Spirit Body, everything changed. After his Flames mutated and fused with his lightning, everything changed again. And then, one final time, the state of his Ice Jade Crystal Body suddenly evolved, causing yet another change.


    The result was Ryu''s fury integrating with his Rage Flames and subsequently causing his body to increase in strength.


    But, the moment he heard mention of Elena, all his concentrated emotion seemed to dispel. At that moment, the difference between himself and an absolute genius of the Path Extinction Realm couldn''t have been more obvious.


    The words continued to ring in Ryu''s ears¡­


    ''The Princess''s husband¡­?''

 Chapter 517 If it makes you feeling better...

    Chapter 517 If it makes you feeling better...¡¡¡¡Ryu coughed violently, several mouthfuls of blood flowing from his lips and drenching his body. He hung somewhat limply within the face of the mountain, his body feeling as though it had been ripped into several pieces.


    ''The Princess''s husband¡­''


    The first thought Ryu had was betrayal. It was the kind of sickening, twisting feeling that tore into his guts and wrenched at them. He could hardly even focus on the world around him, the blood flowing from his mouth taking with it some bile from his stomach.


    He felt sick almost to the point of his entire will collapsing.


    He truly loved Elena. To her, it had been 900 million years. But, to him, they had just shared their wedding bed at most three years ago. Even though he had lived a short time in the eye of other cultivators, such a time was still just a short while to him.


    The two had spent hundreds of years together, there was practically not a single day they had spent apart. As close as Ailsa and him seemed, Elena had been his partner, the love of his life, for an even longer time. It was too difficult for anyone to replace that.


    However, Ryu inwardly knew that things weren''t this simple. If it was truly betrayal in the worst and most grotesque sense, why would Isemeine call him her husband?


    What was the truth? What was going on?


    Ryu looked up to find Isemeine hovering above him. Her golden spear angle downward and to the side, her aura still fluctuating wildly with that same white-gold energy.


    She looked down toward Ryu with a frown. At that moment, she felt like she could slaughter him as easy as breathing. The difference in their strength couldn''t have been more obvious.


    To put matters into perspective, Isemeine was a genius possibly even beyond the little nephews. Yet, she was six sub stages and a large realm gap more powerful than them.


    The only reason Ryu had dared to engage without stepping through Heaven''s Gate was because he had felt the changes to his body after his Ice Jade Crystal bones seemed to have evolved. Plus, since that battle with his little nephews, his Heavenly Pupils had undergone a massive change and he had benefited from two top tier Primordial Yins.


    But, it all felt like a joke now seeing his current state. A single falter and he had almost died.


    "My wife. Where is she?"


    Isemeine had grown a healthy dislike of Ryu, especially his cold voice. It had always been grating on her nerves, as though it was constantly poking at her veil of superiority.


    Isemeine was used to looking at the world from on high. What she hated the most were those who dared to impugn on her sovereignty, and Ryu seemed to exude an aura and a majesty that did this subconsciously, as though he didn''t need to try to be above her.


    However, at this moment, Ryu''s voice was decidedly less cold, his aura was decidedly less sharp, and his air of superiority seemed to have deflated.


    Isemeine found it all to be quite amusing. She had only casually mentioned Elena, and not even by her name, yet it had made such an arrogant man fall to such depths. Was this what they called love?


    What a useless thing.


    "To think I was a bit attracted to you." Isemeine scoffed. "I knew a handsome face was useless."


    "Where is she?" Ryu asked again.


    Isemeine looked down toward Ryu again, her gaze filled with a playful, sneering light.


    "You''re asking me this question as though I know the answer. Do you think it''s normal for me to interact with her?"


    Ryu didn''t respond, but he knew this was true. By now, with her talent, and especially with the help of his Primordial Yang, Elena was likely at the Half-Step World Sea Realm. In fact, Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if she was already in the World Sea Realm, it wouldn''t be too shocking at all.


    Such an expert wouldn''t be mingling with Path Extinction Realm juniors.


    Ryu''s family could be considered to be an exception to the rule. Most of the time, even parents at such a level wouldn''t interact with their children, let alone someone not even blood related to them like Isemeine.


    "Plus, do you think that just because we are both Martial Gods that I like her? We are not even from the same branch of the family.


    "However, this is definitely quite the scandal. We''ve heard so much about this husband, but come to find out that he is in the Connecting Heaven Realm¡­


    "I can''t decide what to do. So many options, so many choices¡­"


    Isemeine giggled almost as though she was a little girl.


    "Should I kill you and send your head to her? I wonder if she would care if I did that. Well, she would at least be humiliated, right? Her own husband killed by a junior of her family, she would never be able to wash such a stain off¡­"


    Isemeine touched a finger to her chin, seemingly in deep thought.


    "Or maybe I should turn you into a corpse puppet and castrate you. Imagine that, the husband of a Princess as an undead eunuch. I think that that could be an excellent choice as well, don''t you think?"


    Isemeine''s eyes lit up. "Ah!


    "Wouldn''t it also be entertaining if I just dropped you in the middle of a pack of horny Rotting Apes? I''m not sure if I would have to stomach to watch such a scene, though. It would also be a shame if your corpse was ruined beyond recognition, because then how would I have my fun?"


    Ryu didn''t respond, his elongated hair partially hanging over his face.


    "Ah, don''t be so sad." Isemeine continued. "If it makes you feel better, your wife''s father is very doting of her and never forces her to do anything. So, all the men she''s run through in the past several million years have been all her choice."


    Isemeine''s laughter rang through the dark mountains. But, it was suddenly cut short by a hand firmly wrapping around her delicate neck.


    She hiccuped and coughed, her pupils constricting.


    Before her, Ryu stood beaten and bloodied, arcs of black lightning surging around him.


    At that moment, his irises had turned such a dark shade of purple that they almost looked like the depths of the night.

 Chapter 518 Supernova

    Chapter 518 Supernova¡¡¡¡Ryu was shrouded in a crackling black lightning. It infused itself into his violet lightning flame, darkening the scales and energies around his body as though tainting it.


    Ryu''s grip around Isemeine''s throat was so tight that her neck nearly snapped. She could feel her skin giving way to his strength, her spine crackling and threatening to shatter completely. As quickly as Ryu''s strength had vanished, it had come back even fiercer than it had before. It even seemed as though his body had never been injured in the first place.


    Isemeine suddenly began to laugh again.


    "What, are you angry? You men are all such worthless scumbags. What? You can fuck as many women as you want but she can''t dare to touch another man even after so long?"


    Isemeine found it all to be very amusing. Not even a few minutes ago, Ryu was being cursed out for abandoning a woman by someone she assumed must have been her relative. But now he was throwing a temper tantrum about something she said casually?


    If it was just a small want before, right now she really wanted to bash his face in.


    Ryu''s cold eyes stared into her white-gold. What once were violent irises continued to gradually darken.


    Veins popped across his arm, booms sounding through the air as he squeezed tighter and tighter. Just the crackling of his and her bones alone sent ripples through space.


    When it seemed that Isemeine''s neck might really give way, her spear shot forward like a golden flood dragon.


    Ryu''s [Immortal Sakura] manifested in the blink of an eye, fluttering rose petals falling from the skies, only to be shattered by the mere wind pressure of Isemeine''s spear alone.


    The breaking of glass and the whistling of wind howled through the air. Even at such close quarters, and even from such an awkward position, she managed to reach such a speed with nothing more than the flick of her wrist, her eyes dead set on ripping Ryu''s throat out.


    The white gold energy billowed, flooding the surroundings until Isemeine looked like a sparkling star in the midst of all the darkness. Her light was so bright that it was viewable from thousands of kilometers away, sending a pillar of white gold into the skies.


    Ryu was forced to retreat, his body twisting to the side.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t fast enough. Isemeiene''s spear tore the air in two, aiming to rip a chunk out of his torso.


    But, it was at that exactly moment that Ryu''s body became incorporeal, allowing a spear to shoot right through his chest.


    Crackling dark violet lightning and flames swirled around Isemeine''s spear as it hit nothing but air.


    Ryu''s body vanished into a flicker of lightning. When he reappeared, his arms jetted outward, grasping at air and causing his Great Swordstaffs to fly out from the mountains they had been stuck in and into his palms.


    A blooming Small Realm grew around his body, its momentum growing with each passing moment. It was as though Ryu wanted to suffocate every shred of energy in this world, forcing it to bend to his will and heed his call.


    Isemeine lightly rubbed her neck, a dim fury lighting her eyes.


    ''Small Realm¡­?'' Her eyes narrowed. ''¡­ So this is the power of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils¡­ Worthy, indeed¡­ They say he is the greatest genius ever born in the Martial World. I''d like to see it for myself!"


    Violent cyclones of Nether Qi gathered around Ryu, his skin glowing a fiercer and fiercer light beneath his scales. The more qi he absorbed, the more violent the black lightning around him became, darting in to the surroundings and snapping in the air.


    ''[White Serpent''s Dance: Winding Step].''


    Ryu vanished, appearing before Isemeine in the blink of an eye.


    His steps felt illusory. Even if one focused, it felt impossible to pinpoint the location of his feet. It felt as though they were both in a single place, yet not at the same time. And yet, the oddity didn''t seem to stem from Ryu himself, but rather an inappropriate shift in their focus.


    Ryu clashed with Isemeine, their exchange suddenly shifting into a flurry.


    Isemeine''s spear spun in her hands. Her speed and strength seemed unmatched, her countenance unfazed. Even the bruises that had just coated her neck had already vanished, replaced by a vibrant, unblemished fairness that shone almost as bright as the white gold that surrounded her.


    Ryu''s comprehension of a perfect offense and defense, grasped after he entered his Earth Gate for the first time, hadn''t faded.


    As delicate rose petals continued to fall from the skies, contrasting the crackling of his black lightning, his left hand held the staunchest defense. No matter how Isemeine attacked, he seemed to see through her in the blink of an eye, countering with the perfect block, [Skim], or [Parry].


    As for his right, it moved along with an enchanting dance. Breaths of fragrant wind swirled around him, his body filled with an intoxicating cadence.


    Ripples trembled through the sky. Every time the two separated and clashed once more, mountains collapsed and avalanches started.


    It felt as though just their single step could shatter everything, their single action could upturn the skies, their single roar could shroud a clap of thunder.


    Isemeine whipped her golden spear outward, using the rebounding force to shoot backward several hundred meters.


    A light breath left her lips. Somewhere deep inside, she felt that this was all too ridiculous. Even though she had only been trying to probe Ryu''s bottom line, not even using 10% of her strength, this was still too ridiculous.


    A Lower Connecting Heaven Realm expert was battling her and even though he had suffered, he still wasn''t anywhere close to going down. In fact, his body seemed to be¡­ recovering? She couldn''t explain it, but she felt that her instincts were true.


    Isemeine looked into the skies, cursing the Nether Qi around her. If it wasn''t for the fact she couldn''t use atmospheric qi freely, while apparently he could, she wouldn''t have even needed to try so hard.


    ''Fine. If he wants a battle, I''ll give it to him. As long as I don''t have to dig too deep and reach that level, it will be fine.''


    Isemeine''s aura suddenly imploded outward. If she was a star before, she was nothing short of a supernova now.

 Chapter 519 Was She Even Worthy?

    Chapter 519 Was She Even Worthy?¡¡¡¡It was as though Ryu couldn''t see the gorgeous body before him. For all intents and purposes, Isemeine was practically flawless and had a certain appeal that neither Elena nor Ailsa had had.


    Isemeine''s body was exceptionally toned. It carried a sort of muscular leanness that was accented by a perfect balance of feminine wiles.


    Her every breath caused her abdominal muscles to expand and contract, showing the faint outline of a powerful core. Every line was a gorgeous masterstroke.


    Her arms and legs were just as toned as her torso. And, just like it, the both of them toed the line of musculature and femininity, giving Isemeine a sort of exotic appeal most women didn''t have.


    It all seemed perfectly capped off by her breasts. They had the suppleness and soft texture, not to mention the size, one would expect from a woman near the top of her gender. And yet, a powerful strength was layered beneath, giving them a perkiness that was almost impossible to find.


    She was truly gorgeous. Even without taking a peek at the beautiful folds that lay between her legs, she was already enticing enough, and that was even considering that cuts, bruises and blood that now littered her being from head to toe.


    And yet, it was still as though Ryu hadn''t seen any of it. It was like his mind was so clouded by rage that he couldn''t even sense the seething of his own blood or the unconscious, partial uplifting of a certain member that couldn''t have been more obvious in the absence of his clothes.


    At the same time, Isemeine, who would have most definitely made a snarky remark about the raging dragon she could clearly see with her own two eyes, didn''t even have the heart to. For the first time in her life, she truly felt like dying.


    Every time Ryu pressed into her body, her entire life flashed before her eyes. It was like she was continuously experiencing near-death again and again. Just the process alone made her feel as though she was losing her mind.


    To make matters worse, her qi was spinning out of control. The backlash was getting worse and worse and she could feel that what she had dreaded the most was coming.


    On one end, every press of Ryu''s finger dunked her into an icy hell.


    On the other, her qi made her feel as though she was beginning to burn from the inside out.


    Yet, despite the fact she was certain that Ryu should be able to feel what was happening with a single look, he didn''t say a word, he didn''t take a single pause, he didn''t even look her in the eye any longer.


    Isemeine felt like screaming, but her voice felt heavy. It was like she was drowning beneath an ocean of water, her lungs filling up with the salty liquid and tearing her up from the inside out.


    The truth was that the Martial Gods were separated into branches by their Bloodlines. Each Bloodline had access to a special sort of qi that gave the Martial Gods the strength that they had.


    Fidroha, the first Apostle Ryu had ever met, had a deep red qi that almost manifested like a fog, a lot like Isemeine''s with the exception of the color.


    This special qi was an innate Vital Qi all Martial Gods had access to. Whereas most could only use their Vital Qi within their blood, a restraint that even Ryu was tied under, Martial Gods were able to extend their Vital Qi outside of their bodies to produce more flexible and powerful effects.


    As one might expect, each one of these Vital Qis had a different ability. And, as one grew into their bodies and strengthened them, more and more of these abilities would be unlocked. However, by the same token, each Vital Qi had their own drawback as well.


    Fidroha''s red Vital Qi, known as Berserk Vital Qi by the Martial Gods, was able to exchange Vital Qi for strength. In fact, the almost sacrificial technique Ryu had learned from Edwin but had yet to use was created with Berserk Vital Qi in mind.


    The result of its use was a great burst increase in strength that would last for as long as you could sustain it. The drawback, however, was that any injuries your body suffered while being under the influence of this qi, especially while trying to sustain more strength than it could handle, would be amplified many times over after dispelling the Vital Qi.


    Isemeine''s white gold Vitals Qi, known as Heaven''s Dew Vital Qi, was especially well known for its Healing Factor. It was also a great training complement as it allowed those who used this qi to replenish and strengthen their bodies far quicker than others could. This resulted in a bodily strength that existed separate from purely Vital Qi that relied strictly on the power of their flesh. This was why Isemeine had displayed a superhuman amount of strength from the very beginning.


    As for the drawback¡­ It was quite unique. Due to Heaven''s Dew Vital Qi''s characteristics, it could be used passively most of the time. However, it also had several levels of activation.


    At the deepest level of activation, one''s cells enter a hyper active state. This not only allowed a greater Healing Factor, it pushes one''s thinking speed and reaction time to the utmost limit.


    As a consequence, one''s biological clock is pushed past its limits and the instincts of the body are pushed into overdrive.


    If one was feeling hunger, they would feel exceptionally hungry. If one was feeling thirsty, they would feel as though they could swallow a lake whole. If one was feeling fear, it would be amplified to the greatest degree¡­


    This pushed the body into a state of survival and the most basal instincts took over. Unfortunately, in such a state, the body would also begin to shut down and inhibitions would be lowered to an extreme.


    "DAMMIT!"


    Isemeine finally pushed through the water she felt filling her lungs.


    "Are you even a man?! Do you not see me?! If you''re going to fuck me, then fuck me!"


    Ryu''s finger paused.


    Isemeine felt as though she had finally gotten through. Her body seemed to feel as though it was at the end of its rope. If she couldn''t pass on her genes now, she would never be able to.


    It was a thought without logic or substance. She was a woman. If she was going to die any moment now, then how would she pass on her genes?


    But at the moment, her thoughts were jumbled and aimless. On one hand, she felt an instinctual fear toward Ryu. On the other, this fear had warped into the submissiveness a woman would feel toward a man. And, on yet another, it was further twisted into a sick roleplay fantasy formulating in her head that all began because of her own initial thoughts that Ryu would rape her.


    Yet, just when she thought she would be ravaged by Ryu, a faint excitement bubbling forth and causing a fragrant liquid to drip between her legs and drench those precious lips¡­


    Ryu turned and floated away.


    Finding a seat on a mountain peak with Isemeine in sight, he sat in silence. Without a word or even an inclination toward touching her again, after brining Isemeine to the brink of madness, he would watch as she fell into true depravity.


    Rape her? Was she even worthy?

 Chapter 520 Piss Off.

    Chapter 520 Piss Off.¡¡¡¡Isemeine''s eyes shot wide open, her chest heaving. Was he really going to leave her here like this? No, he wasn''t leaving, he was sitting there and watching her suffer.


    Ryu was 500 meters away, sitting on a distant mountain peak. But, to those with their cultivation, he might as well have been sitting right in front of her face. He could see every bead of sweat falling down her perfect figure, he could see the beating of her heart through her fair skin, he could see the tears threatening to fall from her face.


    Usually, such injuries would only take her a few seconds to heal from, even with how severe they were. For someone like her, reconnecting severed tendons and ligaments was just a matter of a thought.


    But, after over drafting her Vital Qi, she no longer had such a luxury. She could hardly even think straight. Her mind kept shifting between a crippling fear of death and a fire lighting her loins. The worst part was that Ryu''s stare seemed to ensure that the former wouldn''t go away, while she couldn''t even move to handle the latter.


    Whatever reason she had left didn''t seem to understand why or how this was happening. Was she not beautiful? Was he even a man? Someone with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils couldn''t tell that she was a virgin with one look? What the hell was wrong with him?!


    This was only the tip of the iceberg. What made it all worse was that Ryu must have taken this risk to battle her so that he could find out more about his enemy. Yet, he wasn''t even asking her questions, he wasn''t even attempting to interrogate her. It was as though he didn''t even care anymore and only wanted to watch her suffer.


    Isemeine began to scream incoherently, her hips swinging as though a mad beast in heat. Since she couldn''t get Ryu, she had settled for the abrasive rock between her legs. But, she was so firmly implanted into the rock and her body was so weak after being sapped of its Vital Qi that she couldn''t even reach it.


    As though a ravenous beast, Isemeine snarled, spittle flying from her mouth as she descended further into madness. By this point, whatever coherent thoughts she had had were all gone. Her singular thought was of putting something inside of her, anything to release her of this heat.


    At that moment, Ryu rose, his expression giving away nothing. However, his mind was filled with sinister thoughts.


    He had every intention of going to find the very same Rotting Gorilla Clan she had wanted to drop him in and let her vent all her desires out thoroughly. However, it was at that moment that a voice whispered into his ear, one that cause him to frown, the darkness in his eyes dulling somewhat.


    "Are you certain that you want to do that?"


    The problem wasn''t the words spoken. One part of the issue was that they were spoken at all and the second part was the fact it was the voice of Eska.


    It didn''t make sense for Eska to be able to reach him like this. The four Ancestors were all anchored within the Library. If they could so easily leave and communicate with Ryu, he wouldn''t have survived for this long. With that sort of freedom, and their level of cultivation, they could have found a million and one ways to kill him¡­ And that was just on a single given day.


    With Ryu''s intelligence, it only took him a moment to understand even with his mind fogged by lust and rage.


    "My Master sent you."


    Eska didn''t respond. By now, it was obvious what had happened.


    When Ryu asked Balaur to clear the summoning formation from his soul so that he could redraw it on his own, he had obviously taken the opportunity to allow a piece of Eska''s soul in as well. With Ryu''s poor talent and the gap in strength between him, his master and Eska, it was no wonder he hadn''t even noticed.


    All this time, Eska had clearly been waiting for the appropriate moment. As for what she wanted to do, Ryu had a guess but he still wasn''t certain.


    If it was anyone else who had done this to him, Ryu would have likely already fallen into a rage. He might not have hated it as much as being tested, but he most definitely didn''t enjoy being led by the nose and definitely didn''t like being manipulated.


    There was no sugarcoating it, that was exactly what was happening. And it was by individuals with far more experience than himself at that.


    "Piss off."


    Not receiving a response, Ryu''s own answer was short and to the point.


    Ryu didn''t make decisions casually. He had chosen to take Balaur as his master. As such, he treated him with the due respect. He felt that he had already been very lenient. If this was started by anyone else, he would have likely already turned [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] on them.


    It would have been one thing if Eska continued to hide. But now that he knew she was there and where she was, even with her cultivation, she would be in great danger. Ryu couldn''t project [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] outside of his body because he lacked the cultivation, but setting it free within his own mind was as easy as breathing.


    Eska didn''t respond for a long while. At one point, one might have thought that she had taken the hint.


    But, a while later, a soft sigh rang through Ryu''s mind once again.


    "You are very stubborn. Too stubborn. I just don''t understand. You are willing to do everything, even to the point of putting your life on the line again and again, all for the sake of saving your family. But, you draw the line at fucking a hole?"


    Ryu froze.


    This kind of vulgarity¡­ He would have never expected to ever here it spoken with Eska''s voice.

 Chapter 521 Do You?

    Chapter 521 Do You?


    "I watched as you tortured a living, breathing man until he witnessed his own body turning into a corpse puppet. Where was your moral high ground then?


    "I''ve only been observing you for a few days yet you''ve already done things I believe are far worse.


    "That girl over there, if she''s left to her devices, will die. Her hindbrain is working in overdrive and she''s in constant fight or flight. Her body is in the weakest state it will ever be, but it''s simultaneously pushing itself to be the strongest it could be at the same time.


    "After you used your [Death Acupoint], the situation was only exacerbated. She might have had a chance to survive originally if you had simply left her alone. But now, there''s an over 95% chance she''ll die if she cannot vent.


    "You believe that not raping her is the higher moral good in comparison to watching her torture and kill herself? How does this make any sense?"


    Eska finished her words, expecting all sorts of rebuttals. But, what actually happened left her completely speechless.


    Ryu began to laugh. It was a laugh that even held a bit more madness than even Isemeine''s screeches in the distance.


    "I can tell that you''ve only been following me for a few days. Do you think that the reason I haven''t touched her is because there is a higher moral good I''m seeking after?"


    "Is that not the case? If it wasn''t because of this, why have you not touched that Sarriel girl when it is clear and obvious that this is what she wants? You worry too much about ridiculous things and are overly sensitive. You try to hide yourself behind a veneer of cold when the truth is that this is simply a role you''ve been playing for years."


    Eska was a being that had lived for trillions of years. When she had set her mind on something, it would take more than a few sentences to sway her. Whereas someone else might have already faltered, she didn''t hesitate in her analysis, believing herself to be perfectly correct.


    "You are right." Ryu spoke. "When it comes to women I care about, I will not rashly make such a decision."


    "Then you need to change." Eska said coldly.


    "But she isn''t a woman I care about." Ryu said just as evenly.


    Eska frowned. That was right, Ryu shouldn''t have any feelings for Isemeine at all, at least not feelings that existed outside of hate.


    "You believe I''m not touching her because of some moral good I''m aspiring to, but this couldn''t be further from the truth.


    "How many women have thrown themselves at me in my lifetime? Why is it that I''ve never entertained them? Why is it that I''ve never visited a brothel? Why is it that I won''t touch her?"


    Ryu''s voice came out in near booming intervals, its low rumbling quaking the mountain. The strength of his Heaven Gate was still going strong, red veins pumping across his cheeks as the energies of the world bowed down to him.


    "It''s because none of them are worthy of me."


    Arrogance.


    Eska felt that time had frozen for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. She couldn''t remember the last time her emotions had fluctuated like this. After experiencing so many years, her emotions had already been buried deep within an impenetrable iceberg.


    At that moment, a shimmering form appeared before Ryu.


    She was gorgeous beyond measurement. Her flowing white hair, the illusory silhouette of her immaculate figure, the delicate sculpting of her perfect features¡­ And yet, even with all of this, it was the temperament of a Sky God refined over trillions of years that could truly grip the hearts of man. It was the kind of demeanor that could have one pining even after the slight parting of her lips or the soothing mellow of her voice.


    "Am I also unworthy?" She asked, her tone just as detached as always.


    Ryu frowned, his lips opening to answer. But, Eska cut him off.


    "Do not misunderstand. I am a Sky God, I am not one of your little wives easily swayed by your handsome face or your demeanor. There have been many a Sky God who have failed to win my heart. And to be very honest with you, compared to them, you are nothing. You might be more talented than they ever were, but they were and are, you only could be.


    "You do not need to worry about my emotions, nor do you need to worry about taking advantage of me. This is a simple transaction. The future of my Zu Clan is in your hands.


    "Watching you these last few days, each one of your actions, one after another, has been more foolish than the last. And now, you want to kill the only lead you''ve had to find out the truth of what happened to your family. Your mind is clouded and your cultivation is suffering as a result. Have you even taken a small step out of the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm since you entered it?"


    Ryu''s frown deepened. But, this time he didn''t have a response.


    Eska waved a hand, causing Isemeine''s body to shoot out from her trapped position.


    "I originally intended to do this with that Sarriel girl. That way I could both help you and see if she''s really betrayed you. But, this is a much better option. At least this way, you will have no emotions involved."


    Isemeine''s vision was too clouded to grasp what was going on. She couldn''t react as Eska''s soul sunk into her body and she couldn''t even hope to fight back with the current condition of her mind. She had no ''will'' to speak of left at this moment.


    Isemeine''s body began to morph. From an athletic build, her curves became more gentle, her skin becoming even fairer and her hair beginning to grow out from its short cut until it swept by her hips.


    In the blink of an eye, ''Isemeine'' was no more and all that remained was the gorgeous sight of Eska''s naked body.


    With graceful movements, Eska kneeled between Ryu''s legs, unperturbed by the raging rod before her.


    Her slender hands reached forward, grasping onto its heat lightly. Her lips slightly parted as she looked up toward Ryu''s heated gaze.


    "Do you accept?" She asked. "If so, from this day forth, you will be my Lord Husband."

 Chapter 522 Neither Am I

    Chapter 522 Neither Am I


    Ryu suddenly had problems thinking straight. How was he supposed to answer if she had already grabbed onto him? Even if someone held a blade to his neck, he wouldn''t believe that she hadn''t done this on purpose.


    Ryu''s member continuously trembled and twitched outside of his control. She hardly moved but the gentle touch of her skin and the subtle warmth of her breath pushed him over an edge even faster than it would have had she been actively doing something.


    Ryu closed his eyes, his breathing turning shallow.


    "You''ve read her memories?"


    "I know what you want to ask, but I should tell you that regardless of what the truth is, I will tell you the version that benefits me the greatest."


    Ryu''s lip curled at such an answer as it was exactly the one he expected to hear. However, he never planned on asking such a question to begin with. He had become enraged not because he believed Isemeine''s slander, but because no one in this world was allowed to speak such words about his wife.


    Ryu didn''t care who Elena''s father was, he didn''t care what blood ran through her veins, he also didn''t care if the words Isemeine spoke were actually true. All he knew was that she was his wife, his woman for all lifetimes.


    She would be his. Plain and simple.


    "And Isemeine herself?" Ryu asked.


    "I have used a part of the technique we prepared for the sake of our resurrection. It is a simple reanimation technique and allows me to take over her body indefinitely. Usually this would be difficult for me to execute and would have a high cost threshold, but the state of her mind was far too inhibited for her to pose any threat."


    "This isn''t what I meant." Ryu replied.


    "If you meant to ask if you would be having myself or her, the answer is both. It is impossible to separate the two.


    "Unless you bring me the complete list of materials I need to reanimate my own body, it will always be like this. But, for all intents and purposes, you will be having me, including my virginity and Primordial Yin. As a bonus, you will gain hers as well."


    Ryu''s eyes opened, having returned to piercing silver. He looked down toward Eska, his silver meeting her white. It should have been an awkward exchange, but both seemed to meet the other with an ease of indifference that might have very well only been possible for the two of them.


    "I''m not a fan of being used." Ryu said plainly.


    "Neither am I." Eska replied.


    A shallow wind passed overhead. In those moments, the peak of the mountain seemed particularly mellow. Even after all the commotion, there didn''t seem to have been a single Demon alerted. Though, it was more accurate to say that those that had been, were subsequently scared away by Ryu''s Primordial Chaos Lightning and his Dominion.


    The two didn''t say anything for a long while, but they had seemingly already come to an understanding. And, that moment was sealed the moment Eska''s lips touched the tip of Ryu''s cock, their soft, moistness gently enveloping its glands.


    Eska''s movements seemed to carry an air of practiced naivete. As an older woman, she was aware of matters such as this and had read and even seen the action executed many times before. This was where the ''practiced'' air came from. But, at the same time, she had never done such a thing herself and hadn''t quite known exactly what to expect.


    Her nose was filled with a powerful masculine scent, her tongue and mouth drowned in a salty sort of heat.


    She had chosen this action to show just how serious she was to Ryu. It was impossibly rare for such a noble lady to do such a thing, and even rarer for it to be a Sky God.


    Through action, rather than words, she was displaying a subservience and determination even Ryu hadn''t expected.


    His eyes were still locked with Eska''s, he could see her soft lips wrapping around him, feel her small tongue caressing at his most sensitive regions and even swallowing the liquids he produced without an ounce of hesitation.


    All the while, her cold and distant eyes never left him. The dichotomy filled him with an excitement he found difficult to control.


    What man didn''t like to conquer? By every metric, Eska was the very woman Ryu would pick out of a crowd if he never met Elena.


    That cool indifference, that defiant arrogance, that undying pride even in such a situation. This was the kind of woman Ryu was attracted to the most.


    Eska''s tongue stuck outward, gliding along the base of Ryu''s cock. Her head bobbed with a slow rhythm even as her hands caressed everywhere from Ryu''s inner thighs to the sensitive balls between them.


    Ryu could hardly see her body from this vantage point. He could just barely see that start of her large breasts and even in peeking over her shoulders, he could only see the graceful curve of her back, but this only seemed to excite him all the more.


    As a lady of grace and experience, Eska seemed to understand that less was more, that sometimes even with beauty as endless and pristine as hers, the imagination would still be better.


    She leveraged her understanding to an extreme, her slight awkwardness fading with each moment and her skill increasing with every delicate suck of her lips.


    Eska''s movements slowed by another measure when she felt the trembling of Ryu''s cock increase. As though teasing him, she pulled all the way back, leaving a soft kiss on the very tip before diving back down.


    Ryu could feel himself being forced further and further into Eska''s mouth.


    The eye contact. The slow disappearance of his cock. The feeling of Eska''s throat expanding and contracting as it struggled to accommodate him completely¡­


    And finally the touch of Eska''s tongue to his balls.


    Ryu was unable to hold back any longer. His muscles flexed, the twitching of his dick reaching an apex.


    And yet, Eska didn''t pull back until several moments later, her movements slow and attentive.


    Ryu''s blood coursed throughout his body. At that moment, as though a shackle had been released from him, his bones crackled and popped, a hint of a frown between his brows releasing as his qi circulated with much greater smoothness.


    Ryu touched a palm to Eska''s cheek, pulling her head and leaning forward until she was level with his chest.


    The sparkling line of saliva that connected her lips to his cock was like a lingering reminder of what she had just done, and only seemed to make the fire within him rage greater.


    Eska''s expression remained indifferent, not even bothering to wipe it off. She could feel Ryu''s gaze on it, feel the excitement bubbling through him despite the coldness within his eyes.


    And then their lips met. Eska''s lips slightly parted, accepting Ryu''s tongue into her mouth.


    She felt herself being swept up, a strong arm wrapping around her waist. The faint moistness between her legs was separated, a spear piercing through her as she was gently laid to the ground.


    Eska''s legs wrapped around Ryu''s, giving in to his whims. However, what was happening below couldn''t have been further from passive.


    Ryu felt Eska''s walls expand and contract much like her throat had, but the feeling between them was almost akin to night and day.


    There was no rigidity of bone or teeth to worry about, only an endless swirl of softness that stuck to him from all sides.


    Every time, he pulled outward, it would almost feel as though a powerful vacuum was sucking him back in, as though she had gripped his very soul and refused to let go.


    Eska pulled back from Ryu''s kiss, placing a palm on his cheek as she looked into his eyes once again.


    A hint of a flush colored her indifferent features. It was just a slight change in hue, but it was so enticing that a low growl left Ryu''s lips.


    Fragrant liquids dripped from between Eska''s legs, its every drip falling to the black stone below with a gentle drop.


    Eska gently moved her hand from Ryu''s face and down his chest. Her every action was like that of a seductress, leading Ryu''s attention by the nose with a shocking ease.


    Even as his hips maintained a steady rhythm, his thoughts were enraptured by that small, delicate hand. Where was it going? What would those slender fingers do?


    It was at that moment that Eska''s lips slightly parted, a long intake of breath breaking her usual steady cadence.


    It was then Ryu understood.


    Eska slid two fingers over the hood of her own clit, pulling, pushing and circling around as she looked into Ryu''s eyes.


    The flush of her cheeks deepened, her breathing becoming more haggard. The squeeze of her walls increased as an alluring gasp left her lips.


    Ryu grabbed onto her hips tightly, plunging in as deeply as Eska''s body allowed.


    The movement of Eska''s fingers increased, the last of her gasps suffocated by Ryu''s lips as she felt a rushing gush within her.

 Chapter 523 Duty.

    Chapter 523 Duty.


    Ryu was relentless. It felt that no matter how he did it or how much he did it, he simply couldn''t be satisfied. As though the flood gates had opened, the tides rose endlessly, its limits impossible to spot.


    They say that the Dragon and Qilin races were among the most lustful beasts in all of existence, and Eska learned that first hand on this day. If it wasn''t for the fact her current body was formed with Isemeine''s strength as a base, she may have very well collapsed by the end of it all.


    ¡­


    Eska silently sat before Ryu. Though her hands were in quite a precarious place, her actions weren''t sexual any longer. Rather, they were delicate and caring as she washed Ryu''s body. One would have never thought that she was a Sky God at that moment, she looked no different from a concubine caring for her husband.


    The two had entered the Death Worm and were currently within an area Ryu had never used before. It was a space with a large pool designed with ink black stones and two sputtering fountains at either end.


    Ryu didn''t avoid this place because he didn''t care to stay clean, in fact, he was the direct opposite. Though Ryu wasn''t exactly a clean freak, he still liked to be neat and tidy. However, to him, it was a matter of cost effectiveness.


    The higher one reached in their cultivation level, the less such cleaning routines were necessary. This was especially so with how powerful Ryu''s body was, his blood was very good at destroying impurities to the point where his body hardly had any remaining. That coupled with the fact he had been cleansed by his Realm Heart for several months basically guaranteed that no matter how Ryu sweat, he would remain clean.


    None of this even mentioned his Ice Jade Crystal body and its properties either.


    For Ryu who found every single moment of everyday to be extremely important, even if it was something he liked to do, he chose to forego it for the sake of efficiency. This included cleansing himself in this way which was why he had rarely come here.


    But now, he found himself in exactly this place, having been dragged here by Eska who didn''t seem keen on accepting his refusal.


    She didn''t leave a single part of his body unturned. Even when there was nothing to clean, she still didn''t skimp, neglecting even herself.


    Ryu watched this in silence. He didn''t focus on anything else and for some reason found himself at peace for the first time in a long time. This wasn''t because the moment was special, but rather because it was the first time he hadn''t allowed himself to think of anything else.


    Maybe it was because Eska was very good at making sure that his attention was entirely on her, maybe it was because he had finally been released of some of his inhibitions, or maybe it was simply because of the simple sound of the rushing water.


    "The further you move along the path of cultivation, the more you''ll come to understand that not everything is about speed and hard work." Eska said lightly.


    Ryu didn''t respond, allowing Eska to run a towel down the peaks and crevices of his chest. Soon, she finished and forced him to lie his head back toward her, submerging his long hair in the waters as she ran her fingers through it.


    Eska was correct. Even when he and Ailsa shared their first time, he couldn''t seem to get out of his own head. Other thoughts continuously ran through his mind and he couldn''t even focus on the woman that had been before him.


    It was such a shame that it took a woman he didn''t have nearly the same feelings for to allow him to feel so relaxed. It might have been because he was finally not worried about the emotions of someone else, or it might have been because Ailsa slipped into her coma long before they could enter the type of rhythm he and Eska reached together, or it just might have been because Eska was the type of woman he was most attracted to.


    But, regardless of the reason, he felt calm right now. His heart beat was steady, his blood ran smoothly, his qi expanded and contracted along with his every breath, passively seeping through his skin with hardly a thought from himself.


    He felt free and had a clarity that he had maybe never had before.


    ¡­


    Ryu helped Eska clean herself only because he felt like it. He didn''t mean anything more by his actions than to reciprocate a service and it was never a bad thing to enjoy the feeling of such soft, supple skin.


    When he finished, he entered a silent state of meditation. He didn''t ask Eska about the memories she had gained, nor did he worry about the future or what he had to do. He remained rooted in the present, his breathing calm and steady.


    Ryu''s skin glowed a subtle gold, the waters around him rising and receding as though following the rhythm of his breath.


    Eska cast a look toward him and rose out of the pool, her long hair dripping and her slender body glistening with its own glow.


    Her hand couldn''t help but reach down and touch a certain treasured place, not to continue the passion of the last several days, but rather as a surreal remembrance of what had happened.


    She had never thought that her body would be touched in her lifetime, she had long since left the age of wanting such things like a husband and family behind. As a woman, all too often those of her gender had to choose between their ambition and such things¡­ Eska just happened to be among those who chose the former.


    And yet, it seemed like the Fates had something completely different in store for her. Even if it was loveless, sometimes the strongest relationships aren''t built on love at all.


    Many lose themselves in fantasies and fairy tales. Women hope to be the princess who gets swept off her feet while men hope to be the knight in shining armor who can make her feel such a thing. But, this sort of hopeless romanticism rarely if ever happened.


    Not everyone was the girl born in poverty with her beauty obscured by a mask of dust, grime and fatigue. Not every man could be that dauntless hero who could unsheathe their sword in the face of all adversity.


    What people too often forgot in their pursuit of this happiness¡­ Their chase of this dream and fantasy¡­ Was duty.


    It was easy to selfishly pursue your own hopes and aspirations, but were there really not things more important than that?


    What about family? What about legacy? What about the goal of a higher purpose?


    Love grown from infatuation and attraction always seemed to be the shiniest, most beautiful thing. But, Eska disagreed.


    To her, love grown from duty was the most stable, the most unwavering, the most uncompromising¡­ the most unconditional.


    Eska had a duty to her Clan. Ryu had a duty to his. Eska wanted to see the name Zu rise from the ashes once more. Ryu wanted the Tatsuyas to make the hearts of all those who even thought it tremble once again.


    Was there love now? No. Was there a small like? Somewhat. Could there be either in the future? Maybe.


    What Eska did know in all her years of wisdom, though, was that with such a foundation, she never had to worry about anything.


    She didn''t need to worry about Ryu losing attraction for her or the vice versa. She didn''t need to worry about another woman taking up his heart and soul. She didn''t need to stress over keeping his attention and his lust.


    Because all of this was deeper than that to begin with.


    A relationship built on a spark could always die out. A relationship built on bedrock would not.


    A light wind blew Eska''s body completely dry of water as she stepped out of the poolroom.


    ¡­


    Ryu was in his own world, the energies of his body swimming about. Despite the sheer volume of Primordial Yin, he, for some reason, didn''t find it very difficult to control at all. It might have been because it had been silently circling around his body all this time, acclimating itself to him. Either way, the process was simple and smooth.


    Due to Ailsa''s situation, Ryu had lost much of the benefits of her and Elena''s Primordial Yin. Yet, he had still been able to undo over 50 seals on his Pupils.


    But, even then, that had been out of necessity. Ryu had no choice but to improve his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils back then or else his [Death Acupoint] wouldn''t have awakened nor have been powerful enough to help Ailsa.


    Now, however, Ryu had the Primordial Yins of both Isemeine and Eska, plus all the choice in the world to do as he pleased with them.

 Chapter 524 Fear Inducing

    Chapter 524 Fear Inducing


    Primordial Yins all have a different feel to them. But, regardless of what they might be expressed like, they all followed the same set pattern. The first was talent, the second was cultivation, and a tentative third was length of time.


    The more talented and higher cultivation a woman had, the stronger her Primordial Yin would be. There was also evidence that this also scaled with the older a woman became, but this had a caveat as well.


    A Primordial Yin couldn''t increase indefinitely in strength along with a woman''s age. The prerequisite was that she remained in her prime and didn''t decline.


    To someone like Eska, her Primordial Yin had been on the decline for a long while. Such a truth was inevitable. After all, she had died. If this wasn''t considered being past her prime, then nothing would be able to fit this mold.


    By comparison, a man''s Primordial Yang wasn''t given out. It was rather retained, but could be used to nurture a partner during intercourse. This nurturing would be especially potent during his first time, but it could be built upon as the man improved to reach such a level again. Until, of course, he too began to decline.


    The honest truth was that the reason Ryu saw the delicate frame of a youthful young lady as opposed to the true form Eska had before her death was because Eska''s soul was separate from her body and the body she used to reform herself was filled with life and vitality.


    This reality didn''t leave Ryu feeling very perturbed. Quite frankly, he didn''t care. In fact, if Eska was a bit older in her looks, within her middle-ages, he knew himself enough to know that he would probably be even more attracted to that. There was nothing more confident and bordering on arrogance than an older woman.


    The only reason Ryu even cared to have these thoughts was because he could feel the decline of Eska''s Primordial Yin first hand. Though it was still far more potent and powerful than Isemeine''s, it was not by the measure one would expect of a Sky God in comparison to a Path Extinction Realm expert.


    Ryu wasn''t disappointed by this, though. He still believed that the greatest gift he had gotten from this ''transaction'' wasn''t this Primordial Yin, but rather the shift in his mentality. And, even if he hadn''t received this shift, this amount of Primordial Yin¡­ was more than enough.


    Ryu''s blood churned and circulated, responding especially well to Isemeine''s Primordial Yin. It felt like for every one unit of Isemeine''s Primordial Yin, he received ten units of benefit. Just a simple touch made his body surge, his blood vessels practically glowing with gold.


    Ryu''s thoughts inwardly sharpened.


    Now that he thought about it, Elena''s Primordial Yin was far better than Ailsa''s had been at chipping away at the latter''s seal. Back then, Ryu had assumed that this was just because the seal was Ailsa''s to begin with. It had already integrated with her, so it was used to countering her energies for a long time already.


    In fact, Ryu was certain that it was Elena''s Primordial Yin that triggered the backlash of Ailsa''s seal to begin with, which was why he had been forced to use much of it toward helping undo the rest.


    Ryu didn''t know what branch of the Martial God Clan Elena''s supposed father was in. But, if he was from the very same branch as Fidroha, everything would align perfectly.


    Fidroha''s Berserk Vital Qi, what was it that it did? Didn''t it remove limits on the body, tapping into a deeper reserve of strength?


    Wasn''t that a perfect counter to every Seal ever created?


    The sudden understanding hit Ryu like a tidal wave. Maybe it wasn''t just Elena''s Primordial Yin that caused Ailsa''s change, maybe it was its properties themselves.


    ''These Martial Gods¡­ Just where did they come from?''


    Ryu felt his Vital Qi swell, the cords of his muscles bulging and whining, only to snap and reform on themselves. It sounded as though steel was breaking and being fused.


    It was more than just Ryu''s blood becoming stronger. As his Vessels opened one after another, he felt as though he was integrating with his Bloodlines on a much deeper level.


    Ryu''s Vital Qi worked a lot like everyone else''s. His strength used his blood as a foundation while his flesh was secondary.


    However, for true Ancestral Beasts, just a simple movement of theirs could crush mountains and dry oceans. This level, though, was something that most of those with beast blood had to forego reaching unless they had special Bone Structures.


    For Ryu, this was especially so since his chosen cultivation technique wasn''t related to his Dragon or Qilin blood, but rather his more docile and nurturing Phoenix Blood.


    But, as Ryu shattered his Fourth Body Vessel, then his Fifth, and eventually his Sixth, he felt his blood tempering his muscles in a way they never had before as though his body was being broken down and reforged.


    The peak strength Ryu should have been able to reach at the Peak of the Vessel Tempering Realm was 500 million jin. This was already 400 million jin more than any other person with strength a half step from Path Extinction Realm power.


    Yet, at the moment before stepping into the Blood Tempering Realm, Ryu could clearly feel that his strength was above that. It wasn''t by an exaggerated amount, just at about 550 million jin total, yet such a change was glaring to him.


    ''Interesting¡­ I chose the [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique before I met Ailsa¡­ Did I make the wrong choice? Is my philosophy toward Body Realm cultivation wrong? Or maybe Isemeine''s Vital Qi is simply that special?''


    Somewhere deep inside, Ryu felt that his last guess was the most correct. But if this was the case, then these Martial Gods were even more of a problem than he initially assumed.


    He didn''t regret spending all of Elena''s Primordial Yin on Ailsa rather than himself. As far as he was concerned, there was no difference. And, even if there were a difference, it was in that Ailsa could continue to be by his side in exchange for such a sacrifice.


    But, the broader implications of this honestly¡­ fear inducing prowess of the Martial Gods stilled Ryu''s heart.


    A calmness took hold of his mind and body. Regardless, this was a mountain he would climb.

 Chapter 525 13

    Chapter 525 13


    Ryu''s body emitted a faint glow, the lines and veins of his muscles clearly visible, but what was especially pronounced was the beating of his heart. As though a war drum being pounded, its every vibrations sent the water around Ryu tumbling and rolling despite the fact he didn''t move a single inch.


    Ryu took deep and steady breaths, feeling the power coursing through him.


    He knew he couldn''t continue cultivating the Blood Tempering Realm because he didn''t have the latter portions of [Phoenix Heavenly Body] yet, but right now it didn''t feel like it mattered.


    His strength ballooned to 5 500 000 000 jin, an advancement of ten times for crossing the barrier. His mere presence alone could shattered the polished stone he sat upon if not for his immaculate control.


    What once was a small change of 50 million jin had suddenly become one of ten times that now. Such a strength was already equivalent to one of Ryu at the peak of the Vessel Tempering Realm.


    Even though Ryu could feel that Isemeine''s Primordial Yin was running out, he didn''t mind. This sort of improvement was more than he could have asked for and he had not expected to reach such a level so soon.


    For Ryu, the quicker he could exit the realms of pure cultivation and reach the ones of comprehension, the better. While others might dread those cultivation Realms, tediously laboring millions, billions and even trillions of years just for an inkling of enlightenment, with his Pupils, Ryu would be like a fish in water.


    Even now, he had already touched the threshold of building his own Dominion. Though the limitation of the Embryonic Origin Flame had shone through, resulting in him forgetting a large portion of the feeling, he still felt like he had been able to stop the door from completely closing with a toe.


    It was a small advantage, but Ryu, this would only snowball.


    This aside, the changes to Ryu''s Bone Structure felt even more prominent now.


    During his battle with Isemeine, he felt something within his snap. His bones completely shattered and reformed themselves, integrating with the fusion of his Rage Flame and Qilin Lightning.


    Ryu couldn''t focus on the changes back then, but reflecting on it, he felt that his transition into Spirit Body was even smoother than it had been in the past. It was the kind of result Ryu would have expected only after he completed his master''s Skeleton Stage and reformed his soul, something that shocked him greatly.


    Ryu understood immediately that this was definitely a mutation of awakening two Spirit Bodies at once.


    The bad news was that he felt his Phoenix Spirit Bodies being locked away in a place he might never reach them. But, the good news was that the fluidity of his Spirit Body made it so that he could even make a fool out of even the likes of Isemeine in battle.


    ''I can also feel that my body is finally ready to awaken my Storm Talent. That will be when the true strength of Qilin Lightning makes itself known. But, I will need to wait for Ailsa to awaken before I can act on this¡­''


    He also felt that he had been neglecting his Phoenix Talents too much. Maybe when he strengthened and reformed his soul, he would finally be able to take advantage of them. But first¡­


    Ryu turned his attention back toward Eska''s Primordial Yin. Quite frankly, Isemeine''s Primordial Yin was simply too good toward his Body Realm, so good in fact that it became the only logical choice. With Eska''s Primordial Yin, though, the answer wasn''t so clearcut.


    Though Eska was a Mental Realm Master, her Primordial Yin''s special properties weren''t as prominent as Elena and Isemeine''s. In addition, even if it was, Ryu''s Mental Realm couldn''t advance without him first entering the Immortal Ring Realm.


    This all ultimately meant that no matter what he wanted to do, his choice would be slanted toward his Qi Realm no matter what. Luckily¡­ That was exactly what Ryu wanted to begin with.


    The Connecting Heaven Realm. This was the foundational realm and set the stage from crossing over from mortal to Immortal.


    As the title implied, one was forming a connection, a cycle through one''s body to reach a higher power. In this case, the cycle would be formed between ones Qi, Body and Spiritual Pulses and Vessels.


    This was why Ryu could not enter the Soul Birth Realm all this time despite having been at the peak of the Spiritual Vessel Stage for so long. If he broke through, he would lose access to his Spiritual Vessel and thus be unable to complete a perfect Immortal Ring.


    This was the most fundamental requirement to create the best Immortal Ring you could. As for the rest, it was all dependent on your talent.


    This, then, left Ryu with a choice to make. He had chosen the most neutral techniques he could, emphasizing the accumulation of qi to benefit from the sturdiness of his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    But, as one transitioned into the Immortal Realm, the amount of qi one could hold in their meridians became less and less important as atmospheric qi and one''s Spiritual Foundation began to play larger and larger roles in your strength.


    Luckily, Ryu and Ailsa had long since formulated a plan. Or, it was more accurate to say that Ailsa had long since made one, while Ryu, who had become more comfortable with sharing their minds as one, had stumbled onto it as well.


    It could be said that it was exactly the kind of maddening plan that Ryu would choose and it was perfect for someone who had chosen such neutral techniques to begin with.


    Ryu began to prime his Pulses and Vessels, circulating his qi through them one after another, reviewing the plan in his mind multiple times and taking steps with Eska''s Primordial Yin to make the future as easy as possible¡­ Because he was under no illusions that this would be simple.


    Why?


    Normal Immortal Ring experts split the Immortal Ring Realm into Lower, Middle, Upper and Peak. Genius Immortal Ring experts split the Immortal Ring Realm into stage 1 through 9.


    As for Ryu, he would split it into 1 through 13.


    This sounded innocent enough, except for the fact things wouldn''t end there.


    Normal people had just one Immortal Ring. Ailsa planned for Ryu to have 13 times that.


    This was already clinically insane, but it was still just the surface level.


    In order to accomplish this maddening goal, Ryu would need to complete the Connecting Heaven Realm 13 times as well.

 Chapter 526 Fear

    Chapter 526 Fear


    The Immortal Ring Realm and the Connecting Heaven Realm were tied by a strong tether.


    Usually, just the ''Connecting'' portion of the latter realm was emphasized. This was the process of running one''s energies through one''s Pulses and Vessels. It was this connecting that formed the ''Ring'' of that would thus be nurtured during the Immortal Ring Realm.


    This was where the differences of the Immortal Ring Realm stemmed from.


    A mediocre cultivator might not open all of their Pulses and Vessels. They might also potentially enter the Soul Birth Realm prematurely, thus losing access to a perfect foundation.


    Those who lost a chance at this perfect foundation would have their Immortal Ring Realm broken up into Lower, Middle, Upper and Peak. This more ''general'' separation allowed for more fluidity and was less hard-lined in comparison to higher forms of the Immortal Ring Realm.


    Such a person might be lucky to have their Immortal Ring ''evolve'' four times, but most would only receive two or three and completely lose a chance at the Path Extinction Realm.


    A person who opens all Pulses and Vessels and maintained their availability upon entering the Connection Heaven Realm will gain access to stages 1 through 9 of the Immortal Ring Realm, thus giving them a chance at nine total evolution stages.


    These so-called ''Evolution Stages'' worked just like the Rites of the Awakening Realm. This would be a process where your Immortal Ring doubled in size. The end result would be dependent on how large your Immortal Ring was to begin with.


    The sizes were also in line with what one would expect from the Awakening Realm.


    A half meter was Common, one meter was Black, Ancestral Grade was five meters while the Origin Grade was ten. By the point one reached the 9th stage of the Immortal Ring Realm, one''s Immortal Ring could truly be massive.


    So what about Ryu? Why did he had to complete the Connecting Heaven Realm 13 times? And what was this about having more than a single Immortal Ring?


    The answer should be obvious. Only by completing the Connecting Heaven Realm multiple times could you form more than a single Immortal Ring. But, the process itself was quite special. And in fact, as expected, only someone with meridians as sturdy as Ryu''s would be able to accomplish this.


    The process was simple enough. Taking each one of his Pulses and Vessels as a starting point, he would form his Immortal Ring with each as a center piece. He would complete these a total of 13 times and resonate with the Heavens for this total as well.


    One might wonder that if there were six Qi Pulses, six Qi Vessels, six Body Pulses, six Body Vessels, and one of each Spiritual Pulse and Vessel, then the true number should be far more that just 13, but this was where the true complexity of Ailsa''s design was rooted.


    Sustaining just a single Immortal Ring took a great amount of fortitude. It could be compared to holding a nuclear bomb within one''s body, one that with even the slightest loss of control could shatter.


    In order to mitigate this loss of control, the Body and Spiritual Pulses and Vessels acted as stabilizers. One set of 12 fortified the body, keeping it strong and sturdy during the process. This allowed the body to stay empowered and not collapse during what would definitely be a trial of the mind.


    The Spiritual Pulse and Vessel role to play was related in the ''Heaven'' portion of the Connecting Heaven Realm. They acted as the relay station to the Heavens, calling down upon it in helping one to transcend from mortality to Immortality, because only upon completing that step would one be able to manifest their Immortal Ring into the real world.


    The Body became Earth. The Spirit became Heaven. Qi connected the two, completing the cycle and forming the crown of Immortality: The Immortal Ring.


    Ryu, then, would be forming one Immortal Ring with each one of his Qi Pulses and Vessels, thus completing a total of 12. The last would be a layering of them all, a perfect stabilizer to ensure they all survived the process, thus resulting in a perfect 13.


    According to Ailsa''s calculations, each cycle through the Connecting Heaven Realm was meant to go faster and faster, but it would still slow him down a measure. This was why despite having the Realm Heart which boosted his cultivation speed through the Mortal Realms, and having his own talent, it would still take Ryu 200 years to complete it all.


    However, it would most definitely not take so long this time. Ryu could clear the passageways far easier and achieve resonance with far more ease like this.


    The moment he began, his body trembled slightly, but there was hardly any other change. With the amount of power he had now, his frame was more than just a small bit solid. Even when he completed the first resonance, sustaining the first of his Immortal Rings, he felt that it was as easy as breathing.


    What Ryu felt was the most powerful about Ailsa''s method was that it was inherently perfect for his Miniature Dantians. The greatest weakness of the current Ryu was that using powerful Primordial Chaos Qis was taxing and even a form of terrible self harm. He couldn''t even use Primordial Chaos Death Qi without fearing he might end his own life.


    However, with every one of these Immortal Rings he formed, thanks to the foundation granted to him by [Six Realm Opening], it allowed him to use and access the qi separate from his body now, alleviating all the burdens that it would have come with.


    This was the strongest benefit of Ailsa''s method.


    Not the vast amounts of atmospheric qi he could now pull on, not the absolute suppression his enemies would face in front of such a dauntless pseudo domain, and not even the added power of each one of his strengths.


    Rather, what one should fear most would be Ryu''s rampant and fluid use of Primordial Chaos Qis without reserve¡­

 Chapter 527 No.

    Chapter 527 No.


    This was still only the beginning.


    One would think that with more Immortal Rings, it would also take longer to complete the Immortal Ring Realm. But, this line of thinking neglected a very important fact, and that was the resonance portion of forming an Immortal Ring.


    After entering the Immortal Ring Realm, cultivation wasn''t just about consuming more qi, though this was in part the case. It was also about deepening one''s connection with the Heavens, allowing you to sustain larger and larger Immortal Rings.


    One had to understand exactly what it meant to control atmospheric qi. You were essentially taking something of the Heavens. The only way such a thing would be allowed would be if you were recognized by the Heavens themselves.


    With 13 Immortal Rings, this process would be even faster for Ryu and it wouldn''t be necessary to do it one at a time. As long as he reached a certain threshold of acceptance, all of his Immortal Rings would advance as one.


    When it came to the second aspect of advancing in the Immortal Ring Realm ¨C that being absorbing qi ¨C this was also far easier for Ryu.


    The tradeoff in needing to gather more qi was offset, and then some, by the fact Ryu would be able to gather far more than more people would. The amount of improvement in this area wouldn''t be merely additive, there would be an exponential benefit that would place Ryu far ahead of others.


    It took great geniuses about 9000 years to complete the Immortal Ring Realm, about a thousand years per stage, allowing the best geniuses to cross into the Path Extinction Realm at around 10000 years old.


    However, when it came to this Realm, Ryu had too many advantages.


    His ability to resonate with the Heavens was far better than others thanks to his Bone Structure and his Pupils. On top of that, he gained the benefit of Ailsa''s ingenious cultivation design to boost the amount of qi he could take in at the same time.


    Ryu believed that with his current calm and carefree mindset, he could complete the Immortal Ring Realm in just a few hundred years.


    This sort of estimation would leave anyone in shock. However¡­ Even then, it didn''t consider something very important that Ryu had neglected.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s body shook, bulging slightly as the 13th Immortal Ring was formed. He could feel the gate of the Immortal Ring Realm laid out before him, all he needed to do was take a single step forward. However, he could not.


    Due to the fact his Realm Heart was only of the Mortal Grade, he could no longer rely on it to sustain his cultivation. Without a Spiritual Foundation, he would only be continuously ramming against a wall that had no intention of letting him through.


    However, this was not a worry for Ryu.


    In order to reconnect with his Spiritual Foundation, he had only needed to undo nine seals on his Heavenly Pupils. But now, he had already undone over 50.


    For a long while now, he had already been able to faintly feel it calling back out to him, the tether of Karma linking them through time and space. The only reason Ryu hadn''t connected with it yet was because Ailsa had warned him that doing so too early ¨C before completing the Connecting Heaven Realm ¨C would revert his Chaotic Silk Meridians back to what they once were.


    But now that they were rooted and established¡­ It would no longer be an issue.


    The waters around Ryu rose and fell more violently, the glow of a golden ring being drawn on his chest and abs.


    The ring was almost too perfect. Its edges were incredibly smooth and it fit with Ryu''s body as though it had always meant to be there.


    ¡­


    In a void, in a completely unknown place, a Spiritual Foundation spanning forty kilometers blazed with undying white flames. It was difficult to tell if there was something solid hidden within or not, but it seemed to have a space of its own, unblemished by the outside world.


    As though feeling a tug from some unknown place, the Spiritual Foundation began to tremble. But, it soon stopped as though it had become confused on which direction to go.


    ¡­


    Ryu frowned from within the dark pool, his first poor expression in the past several days. He could easily feel his Spiritual Foundation, but for some reason when he tried to pull on it to form it to return to him, it couldn''t complete the action.


    It was like something was blocking him from it, as though they were in two completely different worlds.


    But the problem was that that should always be the case. His Spiritual Foundation would always be on another plane of existence, how else would he be able to fit something that was 40 kilometers long into his body?


    ''This world¡­?''


    Ryu''s frown relaxed. The only reason he could think of was this fabricated world. But how could it possibly stop the Spiritual Foundation of a Sky God? Could it be that Isemeine lied? Or was it that she never knew the truth to begin with? Or maybe it was something else completely?


    This was a problem. As powerful as Ryu''s body was, there was only so long he could maintain his Immortal Rings like this. As long as he slipped up or his body grew too fatigued, his control would falter and the perfection of his Immortal Rings would be tainted. Once that happened, there would be no sustaining their Origin Grade level any longer.


    Yet, somehow, Ryu still managed to maintain his calm. He could feel memories of his failed Severing dancing through his mind.


    Would he fail like that again right on the precipice of success?


    No. No he most definitely wouldn''t.


    "Come here."


    The sound of a resounding barrier shattering rang through the Nether Realm. The earth trembled and the skies split. It felt for a moment that the world was coming to an end.

 Chapter 528 No Different

    Chapter 528 No Different


    Ryu''s body shook and quaked. However, his expression remained steady and unmoved.


    A strength that seemed to pervade his very being took root, blazing a trail of white throughout his body.


    The moment his Spiritual Foundation reconnected with him, Ryu could subconsciously tell that he didn''t need to complete anymore Severings. The fusion was a level of perfection he had never experienced in his life before.


    Ryu didn''t fight back as the white flames surged into his meridians. A calmness pervaded his very soul as it danced with his Chaos Qi.


    The two energies didn''t seem to reject each other. It didn''t feel that they had the same origin, in fact, they couldn''t have felt anymore different. Rather, it was like they had a mutual respect, a nod of acceptance for two beings that shared a level of strength and power others could only dream of.


    The two intertwined, racing along the outline of Ryu''s Immortal Rings one after another.


    At that moment, Ryu felt every cell of his body sing.


    The source of evolution into the Immortal Realms should have been rooted in the Heavens. However, what Ryu had neglected before was that his own progression was rooted in something completely different¡­


    His was an existence that existed outside the purview of Order. His was an existence that basked in Chaos.


    The golden circle that displayed an inhuman level of perfection on Ryu''s torso suddenly darkened to a blackish gold. White Flames erupted around its exterior, pulsing and dancing with a mysterious energy unblemished by the touch of the mundane.


    At that moment, the name of his white flames were suddenly whispered into Ryu''s ears.


    When Ryu heard it, he felt his body shudder. It was spoken in a language that he couldn''t understand, but as though it was pervaded with an emotion that existed across space and time, it touched the deepest part of his soul.


    He felt like just the mere whisper of this name sent him to a different time. He watched all of existence pass by in the blink of an eye, only for him to snap back to the reality he was experiencing right this very moment.


    Ryu''s body shook, the ring on his torso blazing into a bright light that suddenly manifested to his back.


    Trembling with a dark gold light surrounded by a ring of white flame, it felt like the halo of a deity as it grew to ten meters tall.


    And then, it split.


    The Death Worm Immortal Cave was already shaking due to the changes in the Nether Realm, but this change only made it worse.


    Ryu''s 13 Immortal Rings arranged themselves in a deadly formation. One hovered behind his figure, enveloping him in the center. To the sides, six arranged themselves in two columns of a curved line of three. They almost made themselves look like a massive pair of rings, causing the skies and energies around them to quake.


    The sound of a barrier shattering resounded as Ryu''s body continued to glow. The momentum was so fierce that he immediately broke into the 2nd Immortal Ring Stage.


    His Immortal Rings pulsed and expanded, growing to 20 meters before suddenly concentrating in on themselves. Their density grew by a factor of more than just two, raging with a power that didn''t seem like it would be satisfied until the world collapsed.


    When they shrunk back down to 10 meters, their strength was undeniably far greater. Ryu felt as though all the energies of the world were at his beck and call. His [Ephemeral Tapestry] saw nothing but a thick blanket of colors. The concentration was so exaggerated that Ryu almost felt blinded.


    The power coursing through him was so much that Ryu felt that he would implode if he didn''t vent it all out right this moment.


    However, before Ryu could even think of doing this, his Mental Realm suddenly trembled.


    Ryu''s expression changed. He quickly began to circulate his master''s Skeleton Stage method, feeling that his soul was about to be birthed completely outside of his control.


    Ryu would have never expected something like this to happen. With his poor Mental Realm talent, something like a spontaneous breakthrough was something he would never expect.


    There were two forms of breakthroughs that stood above all others.


    The first was to breakthrough relying on a high form of energy. This energy could be Essence, Chaos Qi, or even Primordial Yin. All of these high level energies could facilitate a perfect, smooth breakthrough without lingering issues.


    The second was to breakthrough spontaneously.


    For obvious reasons, both were rare, and the second especially was usually reserved for the greatest of geniuses. Ryu had never had to force a breakthrough in his entire life, even his failed attempt at his first Severing could fall into this category though the ending was unfortunate.


    However, regardless of the reason, his soul was currently experiencing such a thing. All he could do was accept it and act on it.


    But, it was exactly then that the situation changed once more. Even as Ryu wanted to use his master''s method, the white flame suddenly acted.


    What should have been a soul reformed of lightning and fire suddenly became one of purely white flame. And, what should have been a difficult process that Ryu would have sought out his master''s help for became almost automated as though it was always meant to happen.


    Ryu''s Spiritual Sea began to be absorbed into his white flame outside of his control.


    In what felt like just a moment, an endless sea that spanned over a thousand kilometers had been concentrated into a small, palm sized fire that looked more like a ball of cotton than a flickering flame.


    Then, it began to change its form, rising up to stand above Ryu''s Immortal Sakura, above his Divine Chaotic Annihilation, and above their volatile energies.


    It grew a head and arms, its features becoming more pronounces and clear.


    In the end, all that remained was a miniature figure sitting in silent meditation as white flames danced across its skin.


    It looked no different from Ryu himself.

 Chapter 529 Wanted

    Chapter 529 Wanted


    Ryu''s aura blazed, his strength towering to a new height.


    His mind seemed to open to a completely new feeling. It felt like his eyes were opening up from the first time in two lifetimes.


    Ryu''s body flashed.


    When he appeared again, he stood above an expanse of dark mountains.


    The clouds above were split as though a sword had been run through them. It erupted with cracks in space that could tear even a Path Extinction Realm expert in two with just a single touch.


    The ground below shook and quaked. Tall peaks collapsed and avalanches started and gained momentum every moment.


    Short of blazing pillars of fire rising up from the ground, the scene seemed right out the perfect picture of a world''s end. And yet, Ryu only wanted to see more destruction.


    His fist whipped out, the force of concentrated air behind it collapsing the space before him. It almost looked like a casual wave of his hand, but a hundred meter wide hold was blasted through a mountain peak over a kilometer away.


    The walls of the hole were so smooth and uniform that it almost appeared to have been carved out by an artisan.


    The spatial fluctuations grew wilder around Ryu, threatening to swallow him whole. But in that moment, his Immortal Rings trembled.


    The energies of the world seemed to come to a grinding halt. Everything within ten kilometers of Ryu became the perfect picture of stillness.


    Ryu stood in abject silence for a moment, his overwhelming strength speaking for itself.


    His Spiritual Sense spread outward, blanketing the same ten kilometer distance with ease. Every nook and cranny of that radius was reflected within Ryu''s mind, dancing along with the images of his thoughts.


    Ryu took a step forward.


    His body flickered and vanished. When he appeared once more, he stood above a Clan of Rotting Apes, his gaze cold and without the slightest hint of emotion.


    The roars hardly reached his ears as he pressed a palm downward.


    A wall of energy formulated on a whim, covering an impossible span.


    The roars of the Rotting Apes very quickly became ones of shock and horror before they were overwhelmed by whimpers. Their bodies were locked in space, even their own qi didn''t seem to want to listen to their call, shaking them to their very cores.


    An entire settlement was destroyed in the blink of an eye, the only thing remaining of its existence being a single palm print that seemed to have descended down as the divine punishment of a God.


    Ryu watched this scene without much of a reaction.


    He looked at his hand, feeling as though his attack had been somewhat weak.


    His grimoire appeared above his head, shimmering resplendently. He could feel his Fire Dragon blood boiling as his hand rose up again.


    Fire Dragon''s Claw.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered into slits, blazing with a ruby red. At the same time, his grimoire rose, flipping to pages bathed in a sea of black red fire.


    An illusory scaled claw rose into the air. It was over a hundred meters long, the space around it crackling and popping as all the moisture burnt to nothingness.


    Ryu''s hand descended, causing the claw to crash through a mountain range in the distance.


    Everything in its wake was obliterated. Lines of earth it hadn''t even touched were incinerated to ash, leaving nothing but a clear path toward the devastation of where it landed.


    A stretch of four claw marks dug deep into the ground. The trenches were so deep and seemingly endless that nothing but an all encompassing darkness could be see within, replacing the once bustling Clan that had just been in that location.


    As expected, the methods of fire control the Fire Dragon Clan had were far beyond just fire breathing. In fact, the fire breathing technique Ryu had used in the past was just the simplest and was based on a crude instinct hidden within his blood. But, with his master''s Visualization, he could not only feel these techniques with more clarity, he could use them while resonating with his Bloodlines and not placing undo pressure on his body.


    Ryu grasped out a palm, causing two Nether Keys to shoot toward him.


    The moment it touched him, a flash of light passed by and he felt something trying to imprint itself in his mind once again.


    But, this time, Ryu completely stone walled it, grinding it to dust with his [Divine Chaotic Annihilation]. He had no interest in taking the risk of losing another year of his life. Even if it was the Dream Wraith that was responsible, there was no telling what kind of method it was using.


    As for the legacies that came with them, Ryu was able to read them without allowing it to be imprinted into his mind. Now that he knew what he was looking for, it wasn''t difficult with his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    ''A Rotten Ape Clan contract and a Sword Beak Rotting Raven contract.''


    Ryu shook his head and ignored these two, not bothering to form them in his mind.


    Though the formations were far more complex, this wasn''t why. With his improved soul, it was well within Ryu''s ability. It was rather that he couldn''t be bothered. They were too weak. He would be better off using more Skeleton Warriors and leaning into his comprehension abilities.


    ''I can''t sense Nemesis on this world anymore. Goaman is also not here. That can only mean that Sarriel ascended to the third floor with them already.''


    Ryu''s body flickered once again, appearing back on the mountain range the Death Worm hid within. He felt that he had outgrown this Immortal Cave. His current strength was already beyond the Hecate of the path and even before his breakthrough, he was confident in matching her blow for blow.


    But, Immortal Caves didn''t just fall out of the sky. He would have to either refine his own or explore some more Ruins to find another.


    This world seemed like it was on the verge of collapsing, but somehow, Ryu felt that it would hold itself together no matter what. It was definitely relying on something far greater than just what he could see.


    Unfortunately, as powerful as he had become, it came at the cost of increasing the strength of his Heavenly Pupils. Everything was about give and take.


    He could only go to the third floor to peel back this final layer. But first¡­


    He wanted to know what Isemeine knew.

 Chapter 530 Confidence.

    Chapter 530 Confidence.


    Ryu''s Immortal Rings flickered and vanished. He was quite satisfied that they didn''t grow beyond 10 meters in size, he felt like it gave him tighter control similar to how Nemesis'' Adept Body Talent worked.


    Ryu had an inkling that the reason for this wasn''t because of Ailsa''s technique, but rather because of the influence of his Chaos Qi. It seemed to have allowed him to break the rules set down by Order, dragging them down into Chaos.


    When Ryu reached this conclusion, he came to understand something. He had been worried that after he reclaimed his Spiritual Foundation, there would be some other cultivation misstep he would need to make in the future in order to continue to evolve his Chaotic Silk Meridians, but it seemed now that that wouldn''t be necessary.


    The focus on his progression should no longer be on his meridians themselves, but rather the Chaos Qi they produced.


    Ryu also felt that his cultivation method had changed.


    He no longer had to absorb neutral qi and then convert it to Chaos Qi. He felt a connection directly to the Chaos Plane that allowed him to cultivate directly with Chaos Qi.


    This was likely one of the biggest changes Ryu had experienced alongside the reformation of his soul. The reason he had stepped into the 2nd Immortal Ring Realm so quickly was because he was resonating not with the Heavens, but rather with this mysterious Chaos Plane he still didn''t quite understand.


    The experience was similar to his comprehension of his Great Swordstaff. It was such a rare weapon that pulling and molding its Fate as he pleased was incredibly easy. By the same token, the Chaos Plane seemed to be so exclusive that Ryu could resonate with it far easier than he could the Heavens in this place.


    The result was a cultivation speed even beyond Ryu''s initial estimates. He felt it might not even take a year for him to enter the 3rd Immortal Ring Realm¡­ This was a kind of pace that left even him somewhat shaken.


    But, in his present state, his heart was calm and measured. He felt that even if he was akin to a small boat amidst a raging ocean tide, he would be able to keep his wits about him.


    At the same time, Ryu had a newfound appreciation for the gifts he had been given in life. Sarriel''s words still reverberated in his mind from time to time, acting like a chime that calmed his heart.


    What reason did he have to act like a victim? If he couldn''t succeed with these cards in hand, he wouldn''t even want to look himself in the mirror.


    As Ryu stepped down from the skies and his feet touched the earth, a ripple of gold energy spread out with the tips of his toes as the center. Ryu emotionlessly gazed at this ripple, feeling that a fascinating change had just happened. But, he didn''t try too hard to grasp at it.


    He felt a mellow song in his mind, a hymn of a lost age plucking at the strings of a heavenly lyre. He took one step after another, entering the Immortal Cave to find Eska silently preparing a meal. She worked with the delicate diligence of a housewife.


    Looking at the meat she was using, Ryu recognized many discarded carcasses of beasts he had killed long ago.


    He had drained them all of their blood to use to train his body. Though they had been here for a long while, with the cultivation they had before their deaths, it would still take several centuries before the meat began to degrade, let alone rot.


    As for the herbs and spices, they all came from Ryu''s Incubator. He had no idea how Eska had gotten to them, but he wasn''t about to question the prowess of a Mental Realm Master who had reached the realm of Sky Gods.


    Eska noticed Ryu''s arrival and gave him a simple greeting. The kitchen of the Immortal Cave was another place that didn''t see much use. After all, Ryu saw eating a lot like he did bathing.


    The only reason he ate at all was because his Bloodlines forced him to. Always sustaining his Vital Qi with just his qi alone was a poor waste of his stamina. But, he didn''t bother to make the food taste good, he simply heated it up and ate it.


    Since he had his flames to do this, there was no need to use the kitchen.


    Eska placed down plate after plate before taking an elegant seat down. She motioned for Ryu to sit across from her, to which he obliged.


    "Thank you." Ryu said.


    "No need to thank me, I''m only doing as I should."


    Ryu didn''t respond to this as he had already begun to eat. His appetite was as large as one might expect, and it had only grown after entering the Blood Tempering Stage. He would have to make it back to the Shrine Plane soon and sneak into his Clan''s Ancestral Grounds so that he could find the pieces of the technique he needed to continue.


    "I have finished organizing Isemeine''s memories. There is a great amount of information. I''ll explain as clearly as I can, and as concisely as possible."


    For Eska who had experienced trillions of years of life, Isemeine''s own memories were like a blink to her. It hadn''t taken her long at all to sift through them all. The only annoying part was ignoring what was useless and throwing them out.


    "I can begin with your First Wife. She¡­"


    Ryu shook his head. "I know my wife. The things Isemeine said she had done, she hasn''t. You can move on to the other matters."


    Eska gave Ryu a deep look, her expression not giving anything away. However, all she found was an unperturbed Ryu swallowing ocean''s worth of food with an elegance that didn''t match his volume.


    His confidence¡­ Was off the charts. There wasn''t a single fabricated bone in his body.

 Chapter 531 One Purpose

    Chapter 531 One Purpose


    "Hm?" Ryu looked up. "Is something wrong?"


    He realized that Eska hadn''t spoken in a while, so he asked this question. But, she only shook her head.


    "Nothing."


    Eska wasn''t very surprised by Ryu''s explosive growth in strength. After all, she was a Sky God. If her Primordial Yin couldn''t improve Ryu by at least this much, she wouldn''t be very worthy of her years of cultivation. If anything, the fact Ryu progressed so little was a testament to just how deep his foundation and how strong his talents were.


    What she was surprised about, though, was the shift in Ryu''s mentality.


    On the surface, it seemed as though Ryu had gained enlightenment through cheap, emotionless sex. But the truth was that this was simply the final domino and the first to be knocked over. Ryu had been building this shift in his thoughts for a long while, it was just Eska that gave him the mental clarity he needed to take the final step.


    When he met Ailsa, he was as rigid as he could be. He hated the world as though it owed him something for his years of suffering. If it wasn''t for Ailsa''s resolve to stay by his side, he might have lost a partner for life forever that day.


    But, as time progressed, he slowly learned to trust her. He leaned more on her, he opened himself up to her criticisms and her thoughts. Maybe one of the first large turning points was when he agreed to abandon his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons¡­


    He could still remember the fear Ailsa felt when she forced herself to say those words to him. He remembered feeling terrible.


    He had already accepted Ailsa as his woman at that point. But why was it that she was still so scared to speak of something that would obviously only benefit him? Had he been in the wrong?


    Ryu felt that his flaws were especially glaring that day, but there were still many other points he could point toward.


    When he lost his Grandpa Tor. He had thought that he would have nothing to do with that family for the rest of his life, only for a person that was all but dead to him to become the reason he could sit here alive¡­


    When he accepted Balaur as his master. It was an act he never thought that he would do in his lifetime. Who cared if it was a Sky God? He was Ryu Tatsuya. What need did he have for a master? Wouldn''t he just surpass him in the future anyway¡­?


    When he expressed his feelings to Ailsa. He had always thought he would only have one woman in this lifetime. He could still vividly remember that night he asked Elena if he could be selfish, it was forever imprinted onto his mind even if he had never contracted the Origin Flame. He felt he simply owed her too much, even to the point he ignored her acceptance of such a thing¡­


    Even more recently, he had actually let Matheus live. He, Ryu Tatsuya, had let someone he gave an ultimatum of life or death, live.


    He had always been a man of his word. Not doing something he swore to do, even to the detriment, rage or sadness of those around him, wasn''t something he''d ever do.


    And now here he was, sitting across from woman who would call him Lord Husband without hesitation, yet their souls had never been merged, nor did he know if they would ever be. If the Ryu of years ago was told that this was where he would be in the future, would he even believe it?


    It was odd to think about. Was being in a relationship most people would hate to be in considered a success? What about this was a good thing, exactly? Wouldn''t it be easier to tell if the two could at least look toward one another with a smile?


    Probably. At least it would look better on paper.


    However, to Ryu, it didn''t matter.


    He didn''t need to learn how to love, he already knew how to do that. He didn''t need to learn how to smile, he finally felt as though he didn''t need to hold up a cold fa?ade all the time. He didn''t need a relationship that could whisper sweet nothings into his ear, he had already experienced all of that already.


    What he needed was maturity. What he needed was the calm mind he had right this very moment.


    The quietest, most reserved man Ryu had ever known was his Grandpa Tatsuya. He was an obedient husband to his wife, a gentle grandfather to Ryu, and a loving father to Titus.


    However, unlike his son, Saint Tatsuya''s Bloodline wasn''t curbed by the more gentle Fire Phoenix. And unlike Ryu, he didn''t have the benefit of two calmer Phoenix Bloodlines.


    And yet, despite having the highest concentration of Fire Dragon Blood ever seen outside of Sky God Tatsuya, Ryu had never once seen his grandfather lose control of his emotions.


    This was exactly the man Ryu needed to be. To be constantly ruled by his rage, his anger, allowing his Bloodlines to pull him every which direction they pleased¡­ He couldn''t allow such things to continue as they had been.


    It seemed as though he was in control by ignoring his lust, but the result seeped out in other ways, eventually even slowing his own cultivation speed.


    It was unacceptable.


    But now, his mind was clear, his qi smooth and his body limber. He had a level of control over himself he had never felt before.


    And when that day came¡­ When the dormant volcano within him finally began to rumble once more¡­ His enemies would truly feel the wrath of Ryu Tatsuya.


    Ryu smiled lightly toward Eska, seemingly seeing through her silence.


    Eska wasn''t sure how to respond to such a look. She preferred Ryu''s cold expression by a large margin. Well¡­ maybe preferred wasn''t exactly the right word¡­


    She shook her head, opening her mouth to speak once more.


    "It is hard to get all the information from Isemeine as she isn''t part of the original generation of Martial Gods that came here 900 million years ago. But, there is enough to go off of for now.


    "The one most important thing you must know is that the Martial Gods have come for one purpose and one purpose only:


    "To conquer."

 Chapter 532 Mysteries Of Heaven And Earth

    Chapter 532 Mysteries Of Heaven And Earth


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, but he didn''t respond. This much should have been obvious, no? If not for this, they wouldn''t be making all of these moves.


    The reason why Ryu killed himself in his first life was because he sensed the shifting of Fate. As for what triggered him to look into such a thing when he never did, it was the conversation he had with Elena on Shrine Mountain the day of his thousandth birthday.


    Back then, Elena had mentioned that her Holy Wing Clan had gained as many as nine Holy Wing Saintesses in the last several thousand years. The moment he had heard this, Ryu knew that this number was far too large for it to be a simple coincidence.


    The births of such talents require a large amount of Fate. If it was just one extra, it could be passed off with a shrug. But, to have nine in the span where having even one would look like a great boon was absolutely ridiculous.


    It was this thought that triggered Ryu and pushed him to observe his Fate Star, something he could count on a single hand the number of times he had done. He had almost always cut himself off from one of the most powerful abilities of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils because he hated it so much.


    When Ryu observed Fate that day, he realized that the Fate of the Tatsuya Clan which should have been burning brightly, was being continuously siphoned off and weakened. It was then he understood that the time that was left wasn''t great and that he had to make a decision¡­


    Luckily, the current Ryu didn''t feel like he needed to continue hiding away from this ability of his any longer. It could even be extremely helpful in his future path.


    The ability to read Fate Stars, known as [Mysteries of Heaven and Earth], was the most fundamental of Ryu''s pupils, which made it all the more ridiculous that Ryu never used it.


    Observing a person''s Fate Star was like peering into their soul. It would allow Ryu to do everything from something as simple as telling if a person was lying or not, all the way to seeing if they had some unearthed potential that could be made use of.


    It could be said that such an ability was one a King or Emperor would kill for, it was just too bad that Ryu had no interest in ruling over people or taking on such responsibility. Even now, he didn''t feel himself to be a good leader.


    Of course, there were drawbacks to [Mysteries of Heaven and Earth] as well. Those who were powerful and, or, sensitive, could feel that something was wrong, almost as though they had been stripped naked before a person they didn''t trust. It was also possible to ''fly too close to the sun'' and end up with a temporary blindness in both eyes.


    For now, Ryu could only observe those who fell within range of the Immortal Realms because that was the level his pupils were at now. But, that didn''t mean that they''d be useless.


    Another ability was seeing the link between Fate Stars. This meant that as long as a Sky God had even the smallest connection to someone weak enough for Ryu to observe, it would be possible for Ryu to gain an inkling of their life.


    Through such a link, Ryu could even find the exact location of a person or being with a single look as though a chart of the entire world was at his beck and call. If he was so inclined and if he learned certain Fate Cursing Arts, he could even use this connection he could see with his eyes to harm people.


    [Author''s Note: I definitely didn''t wait all this time to explain how this ability worked so that you all wouldn''t kill me for having him never use it. Definitely not. *Struts away*]


    As she was his own wife, Ryu could observe Elena''s Fate Star with little to no penalty to himself despite her cultivation. Likewise, he could also find her location and even experience what she was feeling. Though, he could just as easily do this through her soul as well.


    However, strutting off to Elena''s location as though he had the power to deal with his enemies right now would be nothing short of foolish.


    That said¡­ There were countless other ways to use this ability that would help his strength increase at an even faster pace. It was about time he took his Ruin Master profession more seriously. Now he was definitely powerful enough to explore ones he had always dreamt of.


    "The Martial Gods have four branches, and from my understanding, their goals aren''t necessarily aligned.


    "The ones you have met until now are the Berserk branch and the Heavenly Dew branch. As of now, the Berserk branch is greatly focused on our Shrine World for reasons Isemeine doesn''t quite know. But, from her understanding, they feel that the Shrines will offer them a path toward what they really want: domination of the Real Plane.


    "The Heavenly Dew branch isn''t actually very interested in the Nether Realm even though it seems like it. It was only a coincidence that Isemeine took up a mission to guide those here. The truth is that this trial is actually being run by the Silver Touch branch.


    "If the Berserk branch is known for their berserk state and the Heavenly Dew branch is known for their healing factor, the Silver Touch branch are the branch of Martial Gods capable of turning their Spiritual Qi into Vital Qi and their Vital Qi into Spiritual Qi.


    "Their abilities are quite fearsome. They can ingest the Vital Qi of their victims. Using their Bloodlines, they can absorb the talents of their targets and thus strengthen themselves.


    "By proxy of this ability, they can replenish their stamina, whether in body or soul, by devouring the people around them.


    "While the Berserk branch is focused on the Shrine World, the Silver Touch branch wants to build the perfect Spiritual Qi Bloodline. Toward that end, they''ve gathered so many here together for the sake of their goal.


    "However, what is curious is that the Three Pupil Clan of the Moon World you came from has been gaining a silent support from the Silver Touch branch. It seems they are very interested in what the third Pupil with evolve into when nurtured¡­."

 Chapter 533 Coincidence?

    Chapter 533 Coincidence?


    "Is that so¡­"


    Ryu fell into his own thoughts, still consuming food in large amounts yet speaking so clearly one would have thought he wasn''t eating at all.


    Ryu never worried much about the Three Pupil Clan or the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect during his first life for obvious reasons. He was the scion of the Tatsuya Clan, what did such existences matter to him? But, that didn''t mean he didn''t understand their ability.


    The third eye of the Clan and the eye techniques cultivated by the Sect worked similar to Ryu''s [Ephemeral Tapestry], but only for a single kind of qi, and only for Yin Qi in specific. This gave those with these pupils more sensitivity toward yin and greater control over it, giving them great futures as Necromancers.


    This ability also helped the Clan to gather many yin treasures in their day, something that was likely a large reason for their improvement to this point in such a ''short'' time.


    Ryu could see how this ability, if evolved, could be quite enticing. In specific and key situations, it might even become as useful as Heavenly Pupils. It was even possible that the Silver Touch branch had predicted the birth of a new pair of Heavenly Pupils if Ryu wanted to make a guess at the worst possible circumstance.


    Could a pair of Heavenly Pupils be birthed from a Clan from a small world? It was possible, but not probable.


    It was more likely that the Silver Touch branch wanted to sap away the Three Pupil Clan''s talent and forge one of their own. And, it was even possible that they had gathered so many varying bloodlines with Spiritual Qi related talents of their own to help facilitate this.


    Of course, this was all Ryu''s own speculation. Not every Clan could be like Little Gem''s and foster their own pair of Heavenly Pupils to be passed down through the generations.


    Thinking of Little Gem, Ryu''s eyes flashed and the little bundle of white joy appeared.


    Ryu smiled lightly as the little one hopped around him. He had been worried that after losing a year, he would find that Little Gem was harmed, but it seemed that the likelihood that he had lost a year in memory but not action was more likely the case because Little Gem was only looking healthier and healthier everyday.


    When the little one was first born, she couldn''t even walk around on her own. But now, she was hopping and skipping, even greedily fighting Ryu for his food like a little rascal. It really brought a smile to his face.


    Ryu had always wanted a little sister, a feeling birthed by the affection he had for his elder adopted sister, Nuri. It was why he doted on Guiot''s little sister so much and why Little Gem brought such a smile to his face.


    At the moment, he was at peace despite the words Eska was speaking.


    "¡­ It could be said that what the Silver Touch branch is most interested in, then, is the Nether Realm. Namely, they want to take control of the Demon King Clans and see if the Demon Emperors truly exist or not. At least, that is what Isemeine''s guess is. Even when it comes to her branch, what she knows is very little because her cultivation is still too shallow. She is just a junior.


    "However, what I can say is that it isn''t by accident that there are so many people of different dialects here¡­"


    Ryu patted Little Gem''s head, speaking absentmindedly.


    "Their hold on the Nether Realm is definitely not shallow if they could pull that off."


    Ryu didn''t seem perturbed by his words, but the weight of them was far different to someone who understood what he meant.


    "You understand this already?"


    "The only way to gather so many people whose bloodlines should have long since been extinct is through the Nether Realm. The concept of time in the Nether Realm is skewed, especially the deeper through the floors you travel. According to a theory written by a Ruin Master from the Sky God Era, there comes a point where time become absolutely meaningless once you reach a deep enough level.


    "Theoretically, if one was dead set on producing a new Heavenly Pupil that could help with your control over Spiritual Qi, and one had decided that the best way to do this was through your talent absorption bloodline, then such a person who was already invested in the Nether Realm to begin with might take advantage of this to transport all of these talents from across Eras into just one, easily accessible, convenient place."


    Eska gave Ryu a deep look. She had a feeling that Ryu had figured this out a long time ago and the abilities of the Silver Touch branch was just the final piece to his puzzle.


    "Then you know that¡­"


    Ryu nodded. "I know."


    "And¡­?"


    "I''ll see how it plays out." Ryu replied calmly.


    Eska gave Ryu another look but said no more.


    "The fourth and final branch of the Martial Gods is known as the Nourishing Soul branch. Their Vital Qi functions similarly to a Soul Nature, but is far more potent.


    "Someone with a Spear Soul Nature would gain a great boost in comprehending the Spear, they would find comprehended Mortal Endowments in this lane to be extraordinarily easy, almost as easy as breathing.


    "Someone with the Nourish Soul branch Bloodline, though, would experience this on a much deeper level. It wasn''t just pervading their soul, but rather that their body itself had a natural instinct toward the weapon. Even without comprehension or relying on the Heavens, they would have a natural inclination toward a weapon and be capable of using it with far more fluidity than even someone who had practiced for millions of years.


    "They were practically born as infants with the skill of a person in the Ruler Realm, and as their bodies strengthened, this only became more exaggerated."


    Ryu stopped playing with Little Gem for a moment, his finger tapping lightly on the table.


    A branch with high vitality? And a branch with something exceptionally similar to a Soul Nature? Was it just a coincidence, or was he overthinking it¡­?


    He suddenly thought back to a thought he had of Guiot''s mother and his little sister.


    It was almost like¡­ They weren''t human.

 Chapter 534 Goals

    Chapter 534 Goals


    Ryu let the thought sit for a moment.


    According to Guiot, his father had died. His mother was a mortal without cultivation, yet she had lived for hundreds of years. And his sister, after leaving a state of malnourishment, became a talent great enough to replace the Inheritor Disciple of the Awoken Moon Sect. On top of that, according to Ailsa, Guiot himself was born with a Spear Soul Nature, allowing his talent in the spear to even surpass Ryu''s own, at least if the abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils weren''t taken into account.


    All of this for a small family with seemingly nothing special about them was a bit much. However, if they were the descendants of Martial Gods, this could make sense.


    Who was to say that in the 900 million years the Martial Gods had been on the Shrine Plane that they never once had relations and formed families they later abandoned? This didn''t necessarily mean that Guiot''s father was alive as opposed to dead like he thought, after all, it seemed that the special one in this case was Guiot''s mother and not his late father.


    If Ryu was correct, Guiot''s mother definitely had Heaven''s Dew Vital Qi in her body. If this was the case, it would explain her great lifespan despite having never cultivated a single day in her life before.


    This didn''t have to mean that she was even aware of her lineage. 900 million years was a not too long but not too short time to many high level cultivators. However, to mortals, and even lower ranked Immortals, it constituted hundreds of generations.


    Who knew if Guiot''s mother just had a very dilute portion of Heaven''s Dew Vital Qi that originated from a long lost Ancestor she had never even heard about, let alone met? This was all very possible.


    As for whether Ryu would have a use for such a thing¡­? He wasn''t sure of that.


    He hadn''t met Guiot in a while. He had left him to train within the tower and improve himself. There was no telling if Guiot was even still alive at this point or not.


    Ryu had never had much intention in taking care of Guiot to begin with. At most, he had agreed to bring him to the Moon World since he insisted. It was never anything more than this. At that time, forming relationships was never on Ryu''s mind. And even now, if he were to form such a thing, it would have to be with someone on his level, or else he would simply be dragging others into danger.


    Still, there was one thing Ryu needed to confirm.


    Guiot''s mother seemed to exhibit the talent of Heaven''s Dew. Guiot himself seemed to exhibit talent of Nourishing Soul. And now that Ryu thought about it, the little sister of the family exhibited talent of Silver Touch.


    In that case¡­


    "What decides which Vital Qi you are born with? Is it random?"


    Eska, who had been about to continue to explain, blinked.


    "¡­ Yes, it is random. This is why despite having such vastly different goals, the Martial Gods still see each other as one unit. Having a parent with a Berserk bloodline doesn''t mean that you will necessarily be born with one.


    "But, according to Martial God culture, your loyalty will always be first and foremost to your branch and to your family second. Isemeine was actually born from two Silver Touch branch parents. Due to the fact she is still quite low on the hierarchy of Martial Gods, she can still take up missions handed down to her by her parents. But, after entering the Dao Pedestal Realm, she will be expected to leave most of those ties behind."


    Ryu nodded. This was what he had expected. In that case, it made perfect sense.


    "And the Martial God''s policy on marrying outside of their Clan?"


    "The Martial Gods are unique in that their power stems not really from their blood, but rather the Vital Qi is carries, which mean¡­"


    "It can be trained." Ryu finished.


    "Exactly. Whereas another Clan would weaken with a thin bloodline, a Martial God can always make up this gap by training harder. As long as they have the ability to produce this Vital Qi, they can always increase it."


    "Is there no limit?"


    Ryu''s own Bloodlines, for example, had a limit. His Phoenix Bloodlines carried much less strength than his Dragon or Qilin Bloodlines. But, if what Eska says was true then that means that there was either no such limit for a Martial God. Or¡­


    "There is a limit, but it is the same regardless of the amount of blood you have. The only difference is the time it will take you to accumulate that amount. Those with thicker Bloodlines will need less time than those with thinner.


    "This is why the Martial God culture emphasizes strength and competition. It also encourages marrying outside because the offspring produced by such unions are greatly beneficial to their futures.


    "The Martial God Bloodline has high activity rates so the number of mutations it can undergo is quite a lot. In addition to this, those born with Martial God Blood are often promiscuous and quite liberal with sex, even women."


    Eska looked toward Ryu when she said this, but he was still playing with Little Gem, a light smile on his face. He didn''t seem moved by her words at all.


    Eska didn''t continue to press. It could be said that the only reason Isemeine was still a virgin was due to her cocky abrasiveness. The men on her level were too weak to defeat her, and the men above her only drove her competitive spirit. Unless one was a talent who could suppress her at her age, she wouldn''t even look your way.


    Ironically, she lost her virginity to a man she might have picked on her own anyway, and yet he very clearly didn''t want her. Not once had Ryu asked about Isemeine''s wellbeing despite being fully aware that by now, she was likely conscious of what was happening.


    Eska had taken advantage of Isemeine''s absent state of mind to take over her body easily, but she hadn''t killed Isemeine. She needed Isemeine alive for her technique to continue working and also needed the latter''s soul to be in healthy condition.


    It could be said that Isemeine had likely woken up long ago and could only be a third party observer as her body was made use of like a vehicle.


    Even for her, she had gotten tired of being mad already. Well, she had gotten tired after about the second day of Ryu''s assault on her body¡ªwhich still felt like her body despite the fact it looked like Eska''s.


    "So the Martial Gods are a Clan built for war and constant improvement." Ryu responded. "I understand."


    Eska nodded.


    "We can turn our focus back to their focuses.


    "As I said before, the Berserk branch is entirely focused on the Shrines. They seem to be looking for a secret, but haven''t quite been able to find it. According to Isemeine''s memories, the Shrine Plane is mostly sealed off by an enormous Ice Barrier they haven''t been able to break down.


    "From what I can gather from Isemeine''s memories, this was the result of a large sacrifice made by a woman called Himari Tatsuya."


    Ryu''s hand slowed a measure when he heard his mother''s name being spoken for the first time in what felt like several lifetimes. He probably should have spun into a rage hearing that word sacrifice, but his silver eyes only became a slight shade darker, his chewing becoming a bit more deliberate.


    Eska took a pause before continuing.


    "It has been a culmination of hundreds of millions of years but there is word that the Martial Gods may be getting close to finally breaking the Seal and accomplishing the original goal they set out for."


    Ryu nodded.


    "The Silver Touch branch has split their own way and is greatly interested in matters related to the Nether Realm, but this is only just the half of it. Along with this, they have made many moves on the Ethereal Plane and have seemingly attempted to form many ties, especially with the Faeries."


    Ryu''s movements slowed once again, his eyes narrowing.


    "As I told you before, Isemeine''s parents are both Silver Touch Martial Gods, so the information she has in this area is even more than what she might have for the Berserk branch.


    "From her understanding, everything had been going well on this front for many years already and the Silver Touch Martial Gods and the Faeries were beginning to integrate with one another more and more.


    "Apparently, the synergy caused by Half Faeries was especially pleasing, so the Silver Touch Faeries wanted more.


    "900 million years ago, there was a marriage contract decided between a Silver Touch King and the Cultus Faerie King. It was meant to be between Princess Ailsa Cultus and youthful talent of the Silver Touch branch, Galkos.


    "Having recently entered the World Sea Realm, it seems that Galkos wants to celebrate with a marriage ceremony."

 Chapter 535 They Call It...

    Chapter 535 They Call It...


    "Ailsa Tatsuya."


    Eska blinked, not quite understanding.


    "Her name is Ailsa Tatsuya, not Ailsa Cultus," Ryu said lightly.


    Eska opened her mouth to say something, but took a pause instead. Now that she thought about it, Ryu did indeed have a Faerie Life Partner, he had entered the library with her once before. In fact, it was because of her that Ryu had become confident enough to enter the second floor at all. Before, he had stuck to the first, third and fourth floors, not wanting to take the risk of putting his life in their hands.


    And, if Eska thought about it at a deeper layer, it was indeed quite rare for a normal individual to reach Ailsa''s level of strength. It wouldn''t be too surprising if she was, indeed, royalty. It seemed that she had accidentally said something she shouldn''t have.


    But, once again, Ryu continued to eat as though nothing had happened.


    World Sea Realm, who cared? He would get there eventually, and probably faster than anyone in history. Plus, considering his strength, he might not even need to go so far to deal with such a person. If he didn''t understand his place, Ryu would just have to show him where it was.


    "¡­ The Silver Touch branch seems to be trying to sink its claws into the Ethereal and Nether Realms. But, they are far more interested in the latter and seem to mostly be using the former in order to keep them neutral.


    "The Ethereal races are often passive and indecisive, wishing that things could be solved through means other than war. As such, they are the most susceptible to these sorts of tactics.


    "Of course, these are just my own speculations from things I''ve gathered from Isemeine''s memories as she has never been expressly told such a thing. But, it''s an easy conclusion to come to when you compare the hard line stance the Martial Gods took against our Shrine World and the Nether World, then compare it to the soft gloves they''ve been using with the Faeries and the Tree Folk."


    Ryu nodded faintly.


    The beginning and end of every Era was demarcated by a disaster. Ryu was well read on them all and it could be said that while they were all different in some way or another, there was one thread of commonality that strung them all together: The inaction of the Faeries.


    One of the reason Ryu and Ailsa clashed when they first met was because of how vastly different their cultures were to begin with.


    Ailsa''s people didn''t place the strongest at the head. If it was about the purest output of strength, how could a Cultus Faerie ever match up to an Elemental Faerie? In fact, even the strongest of the three King Faerie Clans, the Quibus Faeries, didn''t even hold this power to themselves. Rather, they relied on their manipulation of death and death qi to display this strength.


    As though this wasn''t different enough from the human world, Quibus Faeries didn''t even become Necromancers unless their partners led them down this path. Noble Quibus Faeries weren''t powerful Summoning Necromancers like one might expect despite the fact they had more right to be than any other species in all of existence.


    They were more accurately described as pacifist monks who ''studied'' the mysteries of life and death. Just thinking about it made Ryu gag.


    Pacificism was about as far from him as you could get. Even now that he had reached a calmer state, he still wasn''t 100% confident in controlling his temper, let alone living a life of silence and non-violence. He found it all to be ridiculous.


    It would be fine if the pacifism of Quibus, Cultus and Ficia Faeries didn''t bother anyone else, but of the eight disasters, Ryu could make a good argument that three wouldn''t have happened as long as they agreed to raise a hand.


    Of course, as shaming as Ryu was of their culture, he wasn''t in the business of moving people through pity. This was the martial world, no one had an obligation to do anything for you, and that would always be true. It was just that you would think the Faeries would have gotten tired of watching history repeat itself like this.


    Or maybe they simply didn''t care. Every time something like this happened, they would just continue to live on the same way they always had, completely unaffected.


    It was hard to blame them, especially when the only instance of one of their kind stepping up¡ªthe Fey¡ªresulted in their eradication as well. There was simply no good argument to force them into doing anything.


    "Then, if we look at the Nourishing Soul branch, their actions find themselves on the Real Plane as well, but rather than targeting the Shrine World like the Berserk branch, their goal seems to be surrounding the several Guilds, especially the Armament Guild."


    Ryu paused, his eyes narrowing.


    Even now, on his fingers, there were three rings. One was a normal spatial ring he mostly used as a cover. It was too odd for a cultivator not have at least one, so he kept it for appearances even though he much preferred to use the Inner World of his Heavenly Pupils or his Incubator as they both gave him far more space and far more flexibility.


    The second ring was from the Mercenary Guild. Ryu had been hesitant to re-enter Osiris all this time and sometimes found himself wondering if Violet Olive was doing alright. But, he felt he had done enough for them. Even though the Mercenary Guild gave him the best shot at finding the Spiritual Herb Ailsa needed, it wouldn''t be worth it if he ended up getting tracked down by the Cultus Clan.


    Of course, Ryu had a personal timer set in his mind. If he really couldn''t find what he needed, then he would just have to take the risk. But for now, it wasn''t worth it.


    Finally, the third ring¡­ It was more of an illusion. Rather, sometimes, he felt as though it was there, but most of the time it wasn''t. As he grew more powerful, he realized that this was just a trick of that old man and his son to make sure he never forgot the Armament Guild, and most importantly didn''t forget the favor he had received from them.


    If not for the actions of the old man, Ryu wouldn''t have survived to this point, something that he realized much later. He had a feeling what the old man wanted him to do, likely beg to join the Armament Guild or something to that effect. But, Ryu wasn''t sure what doing such a thing would net him.


    Unlike the Mercenary Guild, the Armament and Necromancy Guilds weren''t as free and liberal. Though they were still less restrictive than Clans and Sects, they still had their own rules.


    Ryu might join the Necromancy Guild just because it could provide something to him. But, the Armament Guild didn''t have enough benefits for him.


    That said¡­ The mention of them made Ryu think of that father-son pair again. He had wondered why two such powerful people were loitering around in the Inner Ring of the Pedestal Plane of all places, but if they were experiencing pressure from the Martial Gods¡­ this made sense.


    It seemed that the Martial Gods were truly stirring up trouble in every facet.


    There weren''t many worlds as powerful as Ryu''s Shrine World, yet they had already taken it over. The three Guilds were practically the only organizations more powerful than a Clan at the level of the Tatsuya''s, but they seemed to have already forced the Armament Guild into a dead end. And even right here and now, they were already imprisoning a Dream Wraith, a member of the most mysterious of the Demon King Clans, just for the sake of a recruitment.


    The more Ryu learned, the more he felt the mountain he had to climb get taller and taller. If he really wanted to crush the Martial Gods, just what kind of strength would he need? Was it still possible to think of doing it alone?


    Ryu inwardly decided that if he was in position to, he would lend a hand to that father-son pair. They had saved his life before, that was the least he could do.


    "And the Heaven''s Dew branch?" Ryu asked.


    "They¡­ Their goal seems to be a bit complicated, I can''t make much sense of it, honestly. They seem to be obsessed with studying life span and extending it despite the fact their lives already rival even the most powerful Primordial Beasts I''ve ever heard of.


    "Toward this end, they seem to be researching this Plane and are especially interested in Essence and how to reconstruct it. They seem to believe that their Heaven''s Dew Vital Qi has a lot of similarities with Essence that have intrigued them.


    "According to what they''ve learned up to now, though, it isn''t possible for Essence to exist without a counterpart and they posit that a fourth Plane must exist to complete the balance of the Real, Ethereal and Nether Plane.


    "They have yet to find this Plane but they feel that they are getting close, they also believe that once they do, they''ll be able to increase their strength exponentially¡­


    "They call it the Chaos Plane."

 Chapter 536 Closer

    Chapter 536 Closer


    "¡­ Is that so¡­"


    Ryu continued to eat, not responding very much to this. If there was anything to be impressed or shocked about, it wasn''t that others knew about the Chaos Plane, but rather that of all those who knew, it was a group that had been here the shortest.


    How is it that the Martial Gods who originated from places unknown, could be aware of the existence of an entire plane that was news to Ryu just a few years ago?


    One could say that it was because not many cared enough to actually study Essence as much as the Martial Gods had, but this was ridiculous. Essence was among the most important energies in all of existence, how could it not have been researched many times over?


    This told Ryu something very important.


    There was someone of great intelligence within the Martial Gods, maybe multiple someones. And whoever this person or group was, their advancements and research was beyond anything Ryu had ever seen. That was the only possible explanation for all of this.


    However, Ryu also had a feeling that this was something Isemeine most definitely wouldn''t know about.


    Whoever this person or this group was, Ryu would bet a lot that they were responsible for the transfer of the Martial Gods from their world to this one. And, they were most definitely the backbone.


    If Ryu was running the Martial Gods and he was very much aware that he and his people were outsiders to this new world he was entering, what would he do?


    He would probably make it seem like their people weren''t very united, splitting up his four branches to target tasks that were seemingly not related at all. He would have lax rules on marriage and Bloodlines, ensuring that his people would integrate as quickly as possible. He would snuff out his greatest threats as quickly and efficiently as possible before laying low for millions of years. And, most importantly, he would keep the true masterminds of it all hidden from the public eye so that no one was the wiser.


    Now¡­ Didn''t that sound very familiar?


    Ryu ate the last of his food, his expression calm. Little Gem had slipped into his robes, her little head poking out as she rested.


    Ryu stroked her fur, a strong, controlled pulse of Chaos Qi entering the little one''s body.


    It swept through her small frame and slipped out her nostrils, taking with it a large, sweeping mass of impurities.


    Little Gem burped, sticking her little pink tongue out and shifting slightly in her sleep. This time, she rested even more comfortably than before.


    "¡­ That¡­ A griffin?"


    Eska only now seemed to recognize the little beast in Ryu''s arms. Such a realization left her absolutely stunned. This was, quite frankly, the last thing she would have ever assigned to the little bundle of white following Ryu around.


    For one, Griffins were much larger even upon birth. Secondly, some might have had white fur and feathers, but none would be so pristinely white, especially not their Sovereign Jewel. The color of their Jewel was supposed to denote power and strength, as did the color of the feathers that formed the crown atop their heads¡­


    Simply put, she had never seen a Griffin like this.


    Back in her day, the Sky God Era, there had already been a shift from the Ancient Beasts to the Era of humans. After being hunted down and chased away, there were a small number of experts that managed to get their hands on the number two ranked World Pupils of the Griffin Clan.


    Back then, the World Pupils had been ranked number one and could only be produced by stealing it from a griffin and it was also then when Heavenly Pupils began to manifest within humans. It could be said that the World Pupils were the origin of almost all Heavenly Pupils in existence!


    To see a baby griffin here, how could Eska not be shocked? What was more shocking was that she wouldn''t have noticed at all unless Ryu allowed her to. Otherwise, the bundle of white would have been nothing more than a puppy with wings to her.


    "This is just¡­ An obscene amount of luck¡­" Eska said softly.


    She didn''t lose control of her emotions almost ever. Even during her days long romp with Ryu¡ªa time where she had no choice but to admit that he was a very fast learner¡ªshe hadn''t allowed even those emotional highs to fry her mind.


    But this¡­ it felt different. It was like she was watching a bright and open road get wider and wider. Something she felt might have only had a 0% chance in the past might be creeping toward 0.1%, a difference that was absolutely massive to a Sky God.


    Would you rather no chance of completing something? Or a 1 in a 1000 chance?


    "Eska." Ryu spoke.


    "Yes?"


    "You''ll be Isemeine for now. In fact, if it''s possible, allow her to take control of her body again while being aware that you can kill her at any time."


    "You¡­ Are you sure?" Eska looked toward Ryu, her eyes having regained their calm. "In my opinion, it is important to let you grow on your own. If you cannot do this, it won''t be possible for you to ever become the Sky God you need to be. So, I am inclined to let you do as you please.


    "However¡­ I hope you understand that we have bet quite a lot on you¡­ I have bet quite a lot on you. If you plan to do something foolish, please reconsider."


    Ryu didn''t mind Eska''s words, in fact he took them quite calmly.


    "Is it foolish? Maybe so. But, it has a purpose to it. As much as I learned through you and Isemeine, I still know too little. And, I won''t lie and say that I have no desire to see my wife after so long.


    "Isn''t there a saying that goes perfectly with this? Keep your friends close¡­ And your enemies closer."

 Chapter 537 Why Her?

    Chapter 537 Why Her?


    "What is this? Are you really going to drag me into this clown show? You fuck me for a few days and suddenly now I''m yours, is that it?"


    Isemeine erupted almost immediately when Eska retreated into her body.


    "Dammit!"


    Isemeine looked down at her body. She was actually wearing a dress? What kind of ridiculous nonsense was this?


    Without hesitation, she ripped it away from herself, revealing delicate lingerie that had been hidden beneath. But, even that didn''t last very long as she tore even that away as well, leaving herself stark naked.


    "That big titted whore¡­ Fuck¡­"


    Isemeine was especially pissed off about Eska''s bra for some reason. Well, it was likely due to the fact that after Eska retreated, she returned to her true body and found it to be at least two sizes too big. It wasn''t like she was flat, but that woman had two watermelons strapped to her chest. It was ridiculous.


    She mumbled to herself in an annoyed tirade as she took out another set of garments from her spatial ring. Eska had disdained to even touch the things of a Path Extinction Realm junior, so everything from Isemeine''s undergarments even up to her golden spear were perfectly intact.


    "What are you looking at? It''s not like you haven''t seen this before."


    Isemeine slipped her panties on with a little too much ferociousness as she glared at Ryu, her breasts jiggling with extra emphasis. But, luckily, the fabric seemed to have been specially chosen for her as took it like a champ. One would have thought that Isemeine''s room was a warzone whenever it was she got ready, and the cracks spreading along the dining room floor showed that.


    Isemeine''s lip curled in disdain as she noticed the damage her casual stomp had caused.


    "This is the quality of Immortal Cave the Princess''s husband rides in? This is too pathetic."


    Ryu didn''t say a word as he watched Isemeine dress. He seemed completely unmoved by the whole thing, even his blood continued to circulate with a controlled calmness.


    Isemeine snorted and finished clasping her bra. Then, she pulled out another pair of tight white robes that wrapped around her explosive figure before she ran her hand through her short hair.  ?????-?????


    She sat back down with a harrumph and ate the plate of food Eska had left to herself.


    "This food isn''t enough," she spoke with no level of elegance. "My body is powerful and explosive. Since you''re using me, I only have two requirements, especially since I don''t have much of a choice anyway.


    "The first is that I need food. A lot of food. Definitely more than this.


    "And second, since you''ve fucked me once, you can''t just wipe your hands clean of the ordeal and leave. I don''t care about marrying you, nor do I care about being one of your women. But since you''ve opened pandoras box, you need to satisfy me otherwise I''ll only get grumpier.


    "Oh, and a kid from you would be nice. That way my mother won''t talk my ear off all the time."


    Ryu watched in silence as Isemeine talked and chewed. He couldn''t help but feel that she would be an excellent corpse puppet, at least theoretically. He was quite interested in knowing how different Vital Qis impacted the refinement process.


    After a while, he replied to Isemeine.


    "I have no intention of giving you my child and you also have no negotiating power here."


    Isemeine heavily dropped a bone onto a plate.


    "What are you? A woman? You ask for one kid and suddenly it''s a problem. Plus, it''s not like you''ve been using protection this whole time, for all you know, I''m already pregnant."


    "Wrong." Ryu said calmly.


    Isemeine''s lip twitched. That was right, if there was anyone who would know almost immediately when she conceived, it would be Ryu. He wouldn''t even have to wait, he could practically watch the whole process happen with those eyes of his.


    Damn he was annoying. Isemeine really wanted to punch that handsome face in.


    "If you''re done, we''ll go to the third floor now." Ryu rose, pulling Little Gem from his robes and holding the little one in his arms.


    "This isn''t enough food!" Isemeine complained.


    "There''s no more food left. I ate it all." Ryu replied.


    Isemeine gagged on air. If it wasn''t for Eska, she would have already tried to put a foot through his chest.


    ¡­


    Ryu appeared in the air with Isemeine by his side, taking the Death Worm Immortal Cave into his Incubator.


    With a thought, another Nether Key appeared and a portal flashed before them.


    "What the hell happened to this place? The second floor is collapsing."


    Isemeine frowned as she looked around. The spatial tears and near apocalyptic surroundings hadn''t chained even one bit. But, Ryu pretended as though he hadn''t seen a single thing as he stepped forward. Without a choice, she could only follow.


    The truth of the matter was that this was all caused by Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation. But, it had also exposed something very important in Ryu''s eyes.


    This might not have been the real Nether Realm¡­ But it also wasn''t far from it. And, that was in terms of distance and proximity, not similarity.


    When the two stepped out, they didn''t find what one might expect. Rather than being yet another floor of the Nether Realm, it was rather an expansive hall.


    The floors and walls were carved out of black marble, the ceiling covered by a massive dome of glass. Through the glass, one could see an endless expanse of skies with a dark violet moon acting as the centerpiece of it all.


    Ryu matched what he was seeing to his memories almost immediately. This was the Tri, or rather, Nether Palace. This was the place he was supposed to enter from the very beginning, only for him to finally end up here after all of this.


    Something told him, though, that even while the designs might look the same, this would be a very different Nether Palace.


    "Isemeine?"


    Ryu''s gaze shifted toward the voice, only to find another young woman that seemed to be similar to Isemeine in age and cultivation. In fact, there were dozens of pairs of eyes all focused on the new arrivals, all of them observing Ryu and Isemeine as though they would soon be enemies.


    But, the moment Isemeine heard this voice, she audibly groaned. Why her of all people?

 Chapter 538 Laughter

    Chapter 538 Laughter


    The woman had a head of long silver hair. She was quite the beauty herself, matching up to Isemeine quite well. But, considering their talent and cultivation, one would be more hard pressed to find a woman that wasn''t a beauty rather than finding one that was. There was a reason that Ryu was usually unmoved by it all.


    Compared to Isemeine''s tight martial robes, though, this young woman wore a flowing dress that was a pale shade of green. It seemed that the color suited her quite well, accentuating the shimmering silver gloss of her hair and eyes.


    That said, most would be drawn to the deep ravine that could be found at her chest. Something like thinking about just how much the colors suited her would be secondary for most, even if you were a woman who preferred men.


    "Zenavey." Isemeine replied to the ''greeting'' plainly.


    Zenavey smiled sweetly as though she took great pleasure in Isemeine saying her name. However, that smile that could make most swoon made Isemeine''s nose wrinkle with disgust. She really didn''t like this girl, not one bit.


    "What are you doing here, Isemeine? Weren''t your obligations on the first floor?"


    Isemeine rolled her eyes. "Obviously, I''ve already completed them. Is there some sort of rule against me being here?"


    "Well, not exactly. But, you aren''t part of our branch, so there are some things that you''re not allowed to be privy to."


    "I think we both know that I have more of a right than you do."


    Zenavey''s smile thinned out into a forced line. It was still enough to make it seem like she was smiling, but the coldness in her eyes still made the temperature plummet several degrees.


    Isemeine suddenly smiled sweetly, wrapping her arms around Ryu and squeezing her chest to him. She didn''t even look up to meet his gaze as she continued to stare at Zenavey. In fact, she even seemed quite proud of herself as though she had truly accomplished something.


    "Can''t you see that I''m here to accompany someone? Have the years of playing with corpses and ghosts made you blind to human interaction?"


    Zenavery blinked and frowned. For the first time, she looked toward Ryu, her eyes narrowing. She realized at that moment that he looked like an endless abyss, somehow being nothing, yet having unknown depths at the same time. It was no wonder she hadn''t even noticed him before, his aura was so reserved that she found it difficult to pinpoint his cultivation level despite the fact she could also tell that he wasn''t actively trying to hide it.


    Not too far away, the two young men who had come with Isemeine to begin with coughed beside themselves, wiping their knuckles around their eye sockets as though to make sure they were seeing correctly.


    What the hell was going on? Were they seeing things? This was Isemeine they were talking about! You might get castrated just for looking at her a split second too long. If you caught her on the wrong day, you might be castrated for looking at her at all!


    It wasn''t just them, but Niel was also speechless. He had managed to get here by riding on the coattails of Sarriel, Nemesis and Ryu''s corpse puppet, but he was still at a loss for words.


    How long had it been since they separated? A week? Two?


    On top of that, weren''t they practically enemies? He was certain that Ryu had pointed his blade and threatened that girl. Did he imagine that? Did falling for men that threatened to kill you make sense? Was there some new fad he wasn''t aware of??????-?????


    Niel turned a glance toward Sarriel, only to find her frowning with a slight pout. What was going on here? Shouldn''t she be crying? Shouldn''t this have been a chance for him to swoop in and comfort her? Maybe if he called Ryu enough bad names, she would let him take her to bed¡­ Right¡­? Where was that script and why wasn''t reality following it?


    "Nie!"


    Nemesis trotted over and nuzzled Ryu. He didn''t seem to care that he was cutting off Zenavey''s view of the ''couple'' at all. In fact, he seemed to be blaming Ryu a bit because without him, he hadn''t been able to continue his evolution.


    Ryu smiled and shook his head. Nemesis was still impatient to grow stronger, especially because of Little Rock and Little Gem. Nemesis was the oldest of them all, but his bloodline was the weakest. If it wasn''t for his Adept Body Talent, he wouldn''t be able to keep up at all.


    It was no wonder he was so anxious. How could he keep his big brother role if he was being pressured by his little siblings so easily?


    "Don''t worry, I already know the next steps. Just be patient. This world doesn''t have anything left for you anymore."


    "~Nie!"


    Nemesis accepted Ryu''s caring pat and entered the Incubator once more.


    Ryu knew that to Nemesis, unlike most beasts, his soul was just as important as his body. In order to emulate his Wraith Knight Lineage, he needed to be able to manifest his soul into a Wraith. That would require absorbing the talents of those Clans, but the master-beast duo would have to be careful.


    Wraiths, ghosts, spirits and the like were always the most enigmatic and troublesome to deal with. Even if one was powerful, without knowledge, you could easily be caught off guard. Luckily, Ryu had Eska by his side now, so he could try to pick her brain about the subject.


    Watching Ryu completely ignore Zenavey''s presence made Isemeine feel a welling of satisfaction in her heart. Just a few weeks ago, she had wanted to tear him apart for having the same attitude with her. But now, she loved that he was like this. She almost¡ªALMOST¡ªwanted to give him a kiss.


    Zenavey, though, took advantage of the small distraction to regain her composure. Though she knew that Isemeine knew her well enough to know that she was pissed, that didn''t mean she had to make it obvious for everyone else as well.


    "So you are Isemeine''s partner?"


    Isemeine suddenly became very nervous. It wasn''t because she didn''t know the real answer, but rather that she couldn''t afford to lose face in front of Zenavey. She hated this woman too much to allow her one over on her.


    Now that she thought about it, she didn''t even really know Ryu''s purpose in doing all of this, nor did she really understand what role she would have to play.


    "You could say so." Ryu replied faintly.


    "But you want to join our Silver Touch branch?"


    "Want to?" Ryu raised an eyebrow. "I came here to enter the Tri Palace and take advantage of its resources. Instead, I was thrust into a trial and the Palace I had thought I knew became the Nether Palace.


    "I''m only interested in taking as many resources as I can. As for whether I join your Silver Touch branch, that will depend on what you can offer me. And, even in the case I do decide to, it will be as a Throne."


    Zenavey was stunned into silence for a long while before she suddenly began to laugh. Her cadence twinkled like silver bells, the deep ravine of her chest billowing like gentle waves. Once she started, she had a very hard time stopping.


    Being laughed at? Ryu couldn''t remember the last time such a thing had happened. By this point, his aura alone would have suffocated any sort of reaction to this level. But, the current Ryu was like a gentle spring breeze compared to his former self.


    He watched Zenavey laugh without saying a single word. In fact, after the first few seconds, he ignored her completely, casting his gaze and senses around the room. He smiled lightly when he noticed Niel and Sarriel, giving them a nod before he continued to scan the room.


    ''Oh?''


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He hadn''t expected to find the others of the Three Pupils Eclipse Sect to make it this far, and yet¡­ Here they were. But, remembering the words Eska had spoken about how infatuated the Silver Touch Branch was with evolving their Pupils, Ryu realized that his surprise was unwarranted. In fact¡­ They just might be his only challenge left in this place.


    Zenavey''s laughter seemed contagious. No small number of individuals began to laugh at Ryu, something that caused Isemeine to almost blow her top. At this point, Ryu''s face was equivalent to her own, how could she allow this to continue?


    Zenavey wiped tears from her eyes.


    "For you to call it Tri Palace, you must be from that small little Moon World. Yet, you''re actually still so arrogant. It seems that you don''t quite understand how high the clouds in the sky are, let alone the Heavens. Could you even make it through the second floor without Isemeine''s help?


    "Forget it, forget it. It won''t be long until you realize just how ridiculous your statement is. In fact, I can''t wait anymore, this starts now!"


    The walls began to tremble. The glass dome that looked into the depths of space above began to slowly open.

 Chapter 539 Duo

    Chapter 539 Duo


    Very quickly, whatever calm flow of qi there was vanished. Chaotic waves of energy took hold of the large hall, causing many to feel as though their qi control was slipping further and further away from them.


    Ultimately, of those here, the vast majority were absolute geniuses with only a few like Niel having relied on others to make it this far. So, they likewise quickly adapted to the circumstances, the soles of their feet almost anchoring to the ground beneath them.


    Ryu sent a casual glance upward. The astral winds whipped through his long, shimmering white hair. It seemed for a moment that he would be completely thrown off his feet. But, as time passed, it became clearer and clearer that he was mostly unaffected.


    Ryu took a calm and steady breath. The vicious winds around him suddenly slowed to a crawl, his hair resting upon his shoulders and back with hardly a whimper.


    Astral Winds were among the most dangerous phenomena of deep space. They came from stars of a certain caliber expelling their waste. This waste supercharged qi in its surroundings, resulting in violent reactions that could even reap the lives of strong, veteran cultivators.


    If it was just about violent qi, it would still be easy enough to deal with. But, the main issue with Astral Winds is that they were capable of passing on their state of excitement onto any qi they happened to come across, including energies within the bodies of cultivators.


    One could imagine the devastation that could be caused if this violent tidal wave of qi appeared within your body. Ryu might still be fine due to the sturdiness of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, but not many would dare take on such a thing.


    As things stood now, the Astral Winds were fairly weak, even Niel could deal with them without an issue. However, Ryu knew that this was likely just the beginning.


    "The selection rounds will all take place in this environment. If you''re unable to deal with this much, you aren''t worthy of gaining a spot amongst our esteemed Apostles and you may as well take the rewards you''ve received until now and turn tail.


    "This region has a small protective ward over it. The further down this hall and toward the next level you travel, the less protection there will be until there comes a point where you are facing the full brunt of the Astral Winds.


    "You might as well not call yourself a Necromancer if you can''t control your qi to at least this extent."


    Zenavey smiled sweetly in Isemeine''s direction. Though she didn''t say a word, her meaning couldn''t have been more obvious. It couldn''t be that Isemeine planned to stay by Ryu''s side all this time to help him cheat, right?


    However, when Isemeine saw this, rather than continuing to be angry, she smiled back. Zenavey must have thought that the Astral Winds were so calm around Ryu because she had stepped in to help him. But, she knew the truth was that she hadn''t lifted a single finger.


    If there was one thing she could be confident in, it was Ryu''s talent and strength. This ''trial'' wouldn''t pose a challenge unless Zenavey wanted to stir up some trouble. And, even in that case¡­ Zenavey and Isemeine had always been neck and neck in terms of strength. If Isemeine couldn''t defeat Ryu, what made Zenavey think she could?


    Isemeine put her hands up in mock surrender and glided backward with an effortless leap.


    At that moment, Zenavey already stood at the target goal, looking down on them all from above. A sweet smile curled her lips, seemingly not caring about the disorganization of it all. As far as she was concerned, none of that mattered. Whether or not you could make it to her level was all that did.


    So, Ryu obliged, taking a step forward, treating the Astral Winds as though they were nothing more than a gentle breeze.


    **


    "Fuck!"


    The people in the restaurant all looked over toward a particular old man, their expressions odd. It was rare seeing someone so old be so brash and unrefined with their words. Usually, people like this would be especially concerned with their face and how they appeared in the public eye. But, this old man didn''t seem to care in the slightest. He hadn''t even tried to hide his voice.


    "Calm down old man," a middle aged man sitting across from him took a large swig of alcohol, waving a hand to hide them from prying eyes, "are you trying to embarrass me?"


    "If I didn''t have such a useless son, would I even have to worry about any of this?"


    "Why are you blaming me? You really lack any sort of accountability. Your jizz is just too weak. Can''t believe my poor mother had to deal with such a low quality man."


    "Jizz? What the hell is that?"


    The middle aged man spit up his drink, spraying his father all over the face. He couldn''t hold in his laughter anymore.


    "Fuck you." The old man seemed to finally get it. "Don''t you think I''ve tried to replace you already? But that brat disappeared for 200 years. 200! He''s probably dead by now."


    "Well, who asked you to be so stubborn about it? Who was the one who said he would have to beg me to join? If you had just snatched him up back then, he wouldn''t have even been able to struggle. And, if you had told him that you were the one that saved him instead of playing all of these mind games, he might have already been of great help.


    "Instead, you wanted to protect your useless pride. Now you''re sitting in a restaurant that wasn''t even fit to clean the soles of your shoes in the past, crying over some cheap liquor. Don''t you find it all to be quite sad?"


    The old man stared at his son for a very long time before he spoke.


    "Does it still count as infanticide if you kill your fully grown son?"


    The liquor that had been sprayed onto his face continued to drizzle down in slow drips.


    "No, dumbass." The middle-aged man responded.


    The father-son duo almost leapt at each other''s throats for a moment before they settled down. The tone of the atmosphere seemed quite heavy.


    "We''re running out of time."


    "He was never going to grow fast enough to help," the middle aged man rebutted. "200 years isn''t even enough time to grow into a man, let alone save that organization. We never really stood a chance to begin with."


    "¡­ We need to go back."


    The middle aged man looked up from his wine bottle, staring into his father''s eyes. There didn''t seem to be any of the playfulness that had been there in the past.


    "¡­ You''ve already lived a long life, old man. But, I''m not quite ready to die yet."


    "Oh, please. They don''t dare to kill us so blatantly. If they did, why would we have survived for so long? Quit being a pussy."


    "You know¡­ Parents are supposed to protect their children from danger. What the hell is this? Have you no shame?"


    "You''re no child of mine, I have no idea what you''re talking about. I picked you up on the side of the road. You think my seed would be so weak?"


    The father-son duo seemed to be back at each other''s throats again, but their decision had clearly been tacitly made. They would be back.


    If others knew of the choice they had decided upon, the commotion wouldn''t be small. The father-son duo seemed to be nothing more than a pair of comedians¡­ But no normal pair of individuals would be feared by the Armament Guild enough to be ostracized like this.


    The Armament Guild was formed of nine powerful families, each representing a treasured weapon of the Heavens.


    The Scire Clan. The Securis Clan. The Glone Clan. The Gladio Clan. The Lorum Clan. The Arcus Clan. The Virga Clan. The Ferum Clan¡­ And the Hastam Clan.


    The Hastam Clan was renowned for the use of the spear. There wasn''t a single Clan in existence that could match up to them in this regard. They were simply unmatched.


    The Hastam Clan was known for having two demons, a twin pair of devils that wielded the spear with wild, and naked abandon¡­ a duo that happened to be father and son.


    The son. Godefride Hastam.


    The father. Aberardus Hastam.


    And on that day, they had decided to return.


    **


    Back within the Nether Palace, Ryu had no idea that 200 years had somehow passed in the outside world. He had been focused on his own body the entire time and still felt that he was 21 years old, not being aware that he had been displaced through time in a completely different fashion, and there was no telling how much more displacement he would experience before all was said and done.


    But at that moment, this was hardly what he was thinking of. In fact, it wasn''t what anyone present was thinking of.


    Ryu stood before Zenavey at the very top of the steps. Astral Winds blew around him with wild abandon, and yet he was completely unaffected. It was as though all the volatile energies of the world acting together wouldn''t be capable of touching the hem of his robes.

 Chapter 540 Madman (1)

    Chapter 540 Madman (1)


    Ryu stood before Zenavey, his demeanor indifferent. It was almost impossible to tell that the place at which he stood should have been difficult to reach. Zenavey herself forgot that she should have been coordinating this round. In fact, she almost forgot that there were even others participating at all.


    Even as Ryu stood at the top of the stairs, dozens more geniuses were still struggling their way upward. The contrast was almost pathetic to an extreme. How could the difference be so large? If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu didn''t have the markers of someone within the Path Extinction Realm, Zenavey would feel that he had somehow cheated the system.


    They had purposely set up this challenge to be almost impossible for absolute geniuses at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. The reason why the likes of Isemeine and Zenavey were sent here was precisely because they had already stepped over this threshold.


    But, how could they have ever possibly expected for a youth like Ryu to appear? Was this sort of combat prowess even human?


    "You¡­"


    Ryu''s gaze swept over Zenavey''s body. But, rather than having the same heat it once had before, it felt more like he was just observing an object with no more intrigue than a hole in a wall. It was as though he was just seeing Zendavey for the first time, not having bothered to memorize the look of her face before.


    "I hear that your Martial Gods have a Princess by the name of Elena." Ryu suddenly began to speak of something that seemed completely irrelevant.


    "Uh¡­ Um¡­ Yes?"


    "What kind of rank is Princess?" Ryu asked.


    Ryu could have found this out from Isemeine, but he had his own reasons for acting like this. Pretending to be a playboy chasing skirts¡ªeven skirts that would seem to be far beyond him¡ªwould do him some good. In fact, it would be about the only normal thing about Ryu.


    Having overwhelming talent wasn''t enough. Though Ryu had this in spades, he was also aware of the kind of trouble such a thing could bring as well.


    A youth in the 2nd Immortal Ring Realm capable of crushing Path Extinction Realm geniuses beneath his feet was the kind of thing any Sect or Clan would pine for¡­ If and only if this person was born into their families.


    However, if such a talent appeared like a gift, without background or warning, it would instead become a matter of great suspicion.


    There was good news. And that was as a person who had been reincarnated, Ryu''s backstory was bullet proof. There was no gap that could be pointed to and questioned. And, for existences on the level of the Martial Gods, they would be able to find out about all these details with ease.


    Still, this wouldn''t be enough. Anyone with wisdom would know that they couldn''t possibly know everything. This would make them suspicious of even something that made perfect sense.


    If Ryu also happened to be a genius without flaw, that would only make suspicions grow. So, Ryu had to present them one¡­ A flaw so glaring that it would be much easier to accept.


    Of the potential flaws, pretending to be infatuated with every beauty that crossed his path was the easiest and lowest hanging fruit. It would also be something easy to buy and accept.


    "The Princess¡­"


    Zenavey found her cheeks, neck and collarbone flushing red. Ryu''s unabashed and intrusive gaze made her feel like she was walking on eggshells.


    In the distance, Isemeine couldn''t help but roll her eyes. Say whatever you want about her, but she would never swoon over a mere gaze. In fact, even now, she wanted nothing more than to give Ryu a good punch to the face. She would sooner kick his teeth in than have that kind of ridiculous reaction.


    If Zenavey knew what Isemeine was thinking, she would only feel more aggrieved. She wasn''t feeling infatuated. In fact, she had been looking down on Ryu so much before that she didn''t even remember what his face looked like. And right now, all she could see were a pair of silver irises floating in space. They put so much pressure on her that she didn''t even have the thought to observe the rest of him.


    It felt like she was the one being tested rather than the way it should be.


    "We¡­ I¡­" Zenavey shook her head, trying to regain her bearings. "¡­ Within our Martial God Clan, the highest of the active officials are known as Kings. They are World Sea Realm experts with a good chance of becoming Sky Gods in the future¡­"


    Zenavey hardly registered the words she was speaking. It was like her thoughts and memories were being extracted out by Ryu''s gaze and pressure alone.


    As for what she meant by ''good chance'', it would be ''good'' as long as there was one in a billion odds. Becoming a Sky God wasn''t like stepping into other realms. In fact, to many, even absolute geniuses like Isemeine and Zenavey, it wasn''t even guaranteed to enter the World Sea Realm.


    "A step below them are the Princes and Princesses¡­ They are Cosmic Seed Realm experts with a good chance at becoming World Sea Realm experts¡­ But, from what I know, Princess Elena has stepped into the World Sea Realm already and her promotion to Queen is coming up quite soon¡­ There is a banquet¡­"


    Ryu nodded. He had expected as much. To step into the World Sea Realm in less than a billion years was a feat, indeed. As expected of his wife.


    As for this banquet, how could he not attend? He might not have the cache to do so now, but they wouldn''t block their own Throne from taking part¡­ Now would they?


    Ryu smiled, causing Zenavey''s attention to immediately shift from his eyes. She hardly knew how to react.


    "I want her." Ryu said plainly. "What do I have to do to take her as my partner?"

 Chapter 541 Madman (2)

    Chapter 541 Madman (2)


    Of all the things Ryu had said until this point, this probably disgusted him the most. This wasn''t because he thought it was degrading to Elena, but rather because the idea of asking what to do to take back his own wife disgusted him. As far as he was concerned, she was already his. There was no denying it.


    Even if Elena herself tried to deny it, as he had said before, he had a few spanks lying in wait for her. As for whether he could spank a World Sea Realm expert right now¡­ The answer was no. But, a man had to dream big. And Ryu wouldn''t allow any man to out dream himself.


    Zenavey, though, was stunned into complete silence when she heard this. Her mouth hung open, unable to form words.


    It wasn''t just her, either. Even though Isemeine knew that Ryu was actually Elena''s husband, she still thought he was clinically insane. He hadn''t even stepped foot into the Martial God Clan yet and he was already trying to make an enemy out of all of them?


    pan da-novel,co m


    How many men were chasing after her in the Clan? Scratch that¡­ How many men in the whole of the martial world were chasing after her?


    This wasn''t just about juniors and their scuffles anymore. There were tried and true experts at the Half-Step Sky God Realm and even some true Sky Gods chasing after her at this point. This wasn''t a funny joke, not in the slightest.


    Those kind of experts didn''t play games with their face. It was fine if those they deemed to be on their levels sought after Elena. When it came to them, they were fine with an above board competition. But, if it was an ant they all saw as being beneath them, the reaction would be far different.


    P anda-novel,c.om


    To make matters worse, those experts were well aware that Elena was no longer a virgin. And yet, they were still willing to do this which meant that their determination was rooted in something even deeper than mere infatuation. Instead of making things easier, this only made things far more complicated because this meant Ryu was entangling himself within a complex web of politics at the same time.


    Somewhere deep inside, Isemeine knew that Ryu was taking such a risk because he wanted to see Elena, but didn''t he understand propriety? At least wait another several million years. It would at least look better if a Dao Pedestal Realm expert was chasing her as opposed to an Immortal Ring pup.


    ''He''s lost his mind¡­''


    ????? N ovel


    "You¡­ You''re crazy¡­" Zenavey finally sputtered this out. She couldn''t even find it within herself to laugh any longer.


    The geniuses who were still struggling up the stairs had too much blood rushing to their ears to even pay attention to what was happening. But, those that could were too ignorant to the circumstances to truly understand what it was that Ryu was saying.


    Ryu, however, didn''t seem to care. The fact he was willing to pretend like he was only chasing his wife was giving enough face to these so-called experts. As far as he was concerned, this small bit of face from him was worth the weight of worlds.


    ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? ?????-?????,??.?


    "You still haven''t answered my question." Ryu pressed.


    "This¡­ I¡­ I don''t know¡­ I have no idea¡­"


    These words seemed to take up all of Zenavey''s strength. How was she supposed to know what it took to become Elena''s man? Why was this man pretending like she had girl talks with someone on the level of a Princess? It was asinine.


    ? ???? ? ????


    "Are you invited to the banquet?"


    "¡­ Yes. I am."


    "Good enough." Ryu replied succinctly.


    His meaning was clear. If she could be invited, then he most definitely could be as well.


    "But¡­"


    Zenavey was speechless. She was a genius who also had a King and Queen for a father and mother. In fact, this was the reason her and Isemeine always butted heads.


    The Silver Touch Branch had six Kings and Queens, and two of them were also Isemeine''s parents. Between the two of them, one would think that there were four King and Queen parents among them, but the truth was that there were only three.


    Both Isemeine and Zenavey shared the same mother but had different fathers. This led to a rivalry between the two Kings who often ended up butting heads with one another. That rivalry was thus passed down to their daughters.


    This was all to say that as one of the most likely candidates to become the next Princess, and taking into account her family background, it made sense that Zenavey would attend such an event. But¡­ Who was Ryu?


    ?a?da ?o??l He hadn''t even joined them yet, but all he had done until this point was brag.


    Then again¡­


    Zenavey looked from Ryu back to the geniuses who were still struggling to climb up the stairs. Maybe¡­ He just might have the right to act like this?


    Ryu sent a glance back. "Is there really a need to continue with the other events?"


    "I¡­ Don''t have a choice¡­" Zenavey said bitterly.


    "Then let''s do this as quickly as possible. I don''t like wasting time."


    Zenavey was once again speechless, but she found it difficult to say no to Ryu. There was something compelling about his presence that made the world revolve around him. For a moment, she almost felt that she was standing before her father rather than a youth even younger than herself.


    With some hesitation, Zenavey stepped out of the way.


    "¡­ This Palace is already designed to be completed without a monitor. You can continue forward as you please. This first round was only a test designed by myself, the rest is the real test."


    Ryu nodded. He was aware of this already. The Tri Palace he knew had been running on its own for millennia, it didn''t need the input of others.


    "I assume I get to keep the rewards to myself?"


    "Yes¡­" Zenavey said lightly.


    Without another word, Ryu took a step forward, vanishing before Zenavey''s eyes.


    As the silver haired girl watched on in speechlessness, her hair whipping about beneath the pressure of Ryu''s stride, she couldn''t help but feel that the Martial God Clan would be stirred up very soon. And, she wasn''t quite sure how she felt about it.

 Chapter 543 Interesting...

    Chapter 543 Interesting...


    The Middle Skeleton Warrior hardly looked different. However, Ryu''s pupils saw it differently.


    All Skeleton Warriors were formed of pristine white bones that radiated a slight blue hue. They looked almost like polished gems.


    At the same time, all Skeleton Warriors had a deep, dark black fog hanging around them. This was the manifestation of the death qi used to produce them. The stronger this death qi, the stronger the strength they would display. At the same time, the quality of death qi would decide how many of them could be produced.


    Ryu''s death qi was particularly potent. He knew that the reason he could summon so many Skeleton Warriors was beyond just because of his improved cultivation and Mental Realm talent. It was definitely heavily carried by his Primordial Chaos Death Qi. The speed was too fast, and with a swoosh, Wang Xuan was pulled into the whirlpool, like a little crucian carp that had been hooked and was violedntly pulled out of the water.


    So, he would take advantage.


    The Middle Skeleton Warrior accepted the reward for the first trial and respectfully handed the scroll over to Ryu.


    Ryu accepted it and casually opened it with a hand. His eyes quickly scanned it, realizing immediately that it was a technique. He imprinted it onto his mind with a thought. But, he was keenly aware that this time, he had relied far more on his Heavenly Pupils and his cultivation as opposed to his Origin Flame. If your dare to fish against him like this, no matter if it''s a strange thing on a mobile phone or that ferocious giant fish, you''ll have to pay the price.


    The further he progressed, the less useful the Origin Flame Embryo seemed to become. It had been very good at memorizing and remembering matters at a Mortal level. But, as Ryu entered the Immortal Realms, it was having trouble keeping up. It was also a large part of the reason Ryu''s flame Talents hadn''t improved in a long while.


    The white flame whose name Ryu couldn''t pronounce seemed to have a positive effect on the Origin Flame, something that was surprising, especially considering the true strength of the Origin Flame. However, it was very slow.


    At this rate, it would take millions of years before there was tangible improvement in the Origin Flame and it would take billions before it could naturally evolve into its complete form. A fisih is mocking him!


    Of course, if others knew this, they would be shocked. A few billion years to produce an Origin Flame? That was a steal!


    But, Ryu didn''t have that kind of time. If he couldn''t accomplish his goals long before then, then he felt that he would have failed. That was the simple truth.


    In the back of Ryu''s mind though, he remembered something quite well. That day on his thousandth birthday when Mistress Holy Wing accused him of stealing the resources of his Tatsuya Clan¡­ Back then, everyone thought the Origin Flame Ryu was going to receive was the complete one that belonged to the Clan, only to find out that Ryu had found a second Origin Flame, though this one was an Embryo. Then, it was noisys and motionless, instead of reviving here, it chose to disguise it.


    If Ryu really wanted a complete Origin Flame, he already knew where to find one¡­ As long as his Tatsuya Clan managed to keep it protected, that is.


    According to what he knew, his mother sealed most of the Plane. There was a good chance, then, that the flame was still intact.


    Ryu wasn''t sure if there was anything he could do about the seal. But, he had a feeling that his mother would never leave anything behind with the capability of harming him. She was just that kind of woman and he had absolute trust in her. If ones piece of sword energy can''t solve the problem, then take a few more pieces. Wang Xuan is going to kill it.


    If there was anyone who believed in him wholeheartedly and without reserve or hesitation, it was his mother. He was certain that she knew he would be back.


    Ryu''s gaze steeled.


    [Corpse Explosion]. It was the simplest, most wildly spread and most common Necromancy technique there was. However, the power was completely dependent on the corpse it was targeted toward.


    ??? ?? ? ???? There were countless variations of [Corpse Explosion]. Some with poisons, some with projectiles, but once again, this was all reliant on the target corpse.


    For a Summoning Necromancer, [Corpse Explosion] was an especially compelling ability. The sacrifice of a single Lower Skeleton Warrior could net Ryu the equivalent of a pinnacle strike from a Middle Skeleton Warrior. That was an exchange of a Lower Path Extinction Realm expert for a Middle one. It was a decent exchange.


    In addition, this was only if Ryu didn''t take into account the potency of his Primordial Chaos Death Qi. He had a feeling that if he was ever forced to use the [Corpse Explosion] technique in this scroll, someone very powerful would be suffering a great deal.


    ''Not bad.'' Ryu nodded and put the scroll away. Then, he proceeded.


    Ryu crossed the barrier of the first trial and flashed forward, continuing until he was stopped by yet another barrier. However, his Middle Skeleton Warrior had hardly begun to battle when his pupils suddenly constricted.


    Ryu''s reaction was quick and his control wasn''t slow. But, even so, the explosion rocked his corpse puppet and hit him with a wall of corrosive energy.


    ''¡­ I see¡­''


    When the billowing black fog cleared, Ryu''s Middle Skeleton Warrior''s body was filled with cracks from head to toe. They began to quickly heal at a visible pace and were soon nowhere to be seen. But, had Ryu not reacted so quickly, he had a feeling that his Skeleton Warrior wouldn''t be here anymore.


    It seemed that the techniques that were being handed out weren''t just for show. The instant the spirit decided it would lose, it self-detonated using [Corpse Explosion].


    When the Middle Skeleton Warrior handed Ryu the next reward, he felt that things were only getting more interesting. If this pattern continued and the next trial made use of this technique and all the subsequent ones, things would very quickly become troublesome.


    Ryu had a feeling that his performance decided how good and complete the technique he received was. But, likewise, the better he did, the better the techniques his subsequent enemies would have, thus making it even more difficult for himself.


    This was a bit different from the Nether Palace he knew and it even seemed to have adapted to the fact he was practically participating on his own. It was a fascinating change¡­ Almost like the Nether Palace was a living, breathing entity.


    Ryu wondered if the Dream Wraith had a hand in all of this.


    A smile curled his lips as he looked around, but he could neither sense nor see anything else.


    Ryu looked down at the technique in his hand once more.


    [Warped Corpse Explosion].

 Chapter 542 Middle

    Chapter 542 Middle


    Ryu''s figure vanished out of sight, leaving the youths below in a state of shock and even rage. Those that had been laughing previously had difficulty even breathing at this moment.


    Among the crowd, the First Brother of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect watched on expressionlessly, his face tinged with a small bit of red. However, the large mat of sweat that blended into his violet robes on his back painted a completely different picture.


    From beginning to end, Ryu had hardly spared them a glance. Even before his advancement, he didn''t believe they were a threat to him. As things stood now, they were even more insignificant.


    First Brother swept his gaze away, pausing on Sarriel and Niel for a moment. In the end, he focused on his own matters, choosing to remain silent as he trudged forward, his eyes sparkling with a stoic determination.


    **


    "~Gigi.."


    Little Gem hopped up to the top of Ryu''s head, her little wings beating as fast as she could move them as she tried to lift up into the air. After a moment, she gave up, her adorable pink tongue hanging out as she tried to catch her breath.


    Ryu smiled lightly, allowing Little Gem to do as she pleased. He was already certain that she would grow to be quite spoiled, but he didn''t have the fortitude to reprimand her for causing trouble. Plus, with his protection, as far as he was concerned, she could do as she pleased.


    Soon, Ryu came to the first barrier.


    A shimmering light twinkled into existence and it became obvious to Ryu in an instant that the trials of the Nether Palace weren''t meant to be taken alone like this. At the very least, it seemed like this trial itself was prepared for the assault of multiple individuals.


    Though only a single figure seemed to be forming, Ryu could feel and see formless energy swirling about, prepared to introduce as many of these figures as would be necessary.


    Despite not having invested any Primordial Yin into his Heavenly Pupils this time, Ryu felt that his eyes were still far sharper than they had in the past. He had never thought that is poor Mental Realm talent had been a bottleneck for his Heavenly Pupils¡­ Or rather, he had never thought that they were related.


    It was clear that there were many things that his comprehension of were still too shallow in.


    Just then, a strong suppressive pressure landed upon Ryu. He felt that his bodily strength was sapped and his control of qi had been wrested away. The only portion of himself that seemed to be functioning normally was his Mental Realm.


    It seemed that this trial wanted to test him as a Necromancer and nothing else.


    Ryu felt that this sort of pressure was one his current self could ignore and even suppress back. After all, this trial was designed for youths of a certain strength. But¡­ He chose to oblige.


    Ryu pointed a slender finger forward, tapping at space.


    In that moment, a strong surge of death qi erupted, originating from his Mental Realm. Ryu reacted far too late to turn the ''tap'' off, resulting in ten swirling portals to manifest at once.  panda novel


    ''My control needs some work.'' Ryu thought to himself.


    ? ??? ? ? ???? "~Gigi!" Little Gem seemed to sense that Ryu had made a mistake and began to laugh, her sparkling white eyes curving into crescents as though she was about to fall asleep.


    Ryu chuckled. He had indeed made a mistake.


    The ten Lower Skeleton Warriors turned to face Ryu, kneeling in unison while completely ignoring the figure that had formed. It was a good thing that this spirit didn''t seem to have any intelligence or emotion of its own, or else who knew how it would react?


    Ryu pointed toward one of the Skeleton Warriors. "Devour."


    The Lower Skeleton Warrior slammed a bony fist against its ribcage. Then, without another wasted moment, it leapt onto the warrior closest to it, its jaws opening wide as it took a massive bite out of its skull.


    Ryu watched indifferently as this occurred.


    The most efficient method to increase the strength of a Skeleton Warrior was to have them devour their own kind. To accomplish this, one would usually have to hunt them down in the Nether Realm because it would be too inefficient otherwise.


    Summoning Skeleton Warriors took a lot of stamina, especially when you were new to Summoning Necromancy. Doing something like Ryu and being capable of casually summoning ten should be impossible. And, by the time a Summoning Necromancer could accomplish this, mere Skeleton Warriors would be useless to them. After all, the strongest of them were only comparable to the Peak of the Path Extinction Realm.


    As for the more elite Skeleton existences, it wasn''t so simple to evolve into them. It was more efficient to simply find and contract them in the Nether Realm. But¡­ Ryu had a feeling he might have an easier path toward that as well.


    The other Skeleton Warriors didn''t resist. Even their instinct toward survival was completely suppressed. It was as though Ryu''s word was law to them, completely overwriting whatever level of autonomy they had once had.


    In just a few minutes, the Lower Skeleton Warrior had devoured them all. For every bite he took, the pale blue skeletons of the target turned into motes of light, fusing with his body.


    ''Interesting. After devouring nine, it''s still quite a distance away from becoming a Middle Skeleton Warrior. It took up about 5% of my stamina to summon ten of them. Devouring nine brought one up to about 10% of the way to the next evolution.


    ''Getting a single Middle Skeleton Warrior wouldn''t be a problem, then. Getting more will take some time, though. Replenishing Stamina here also isn''t very easy¡­


    ''Alright. One Middle Skeleton Warrior should be enough to plow through these trials anyway. It should take between 80-85 and that''ll take up about half of my stamina.''


    Once Ryu made his choice, he acted. The spirit might have been confused as to why he didn''t attack, but this feeling wouldn''t last.


    The moment the Middle Skeleton Warrior appeared, the first trial was obliterated.

 Chapter 544 Convenient

    Chapter 544 Convenient


    [Warped Corpse Explosion]. It was a more complex iteration of the usual [Corpse Explosion]. Not only did it come with a more powerful burst, but there were several other factors that made it several times more potent.


    The first point was aimed toward the mention of ''warped'' in its title. This technique was able to cause a sink of energy at a single point. This sink would result in a strong pulling force toward its surroundings, causing a difficult to resist suction.


    The second point was in the concentration of its explosion. This suction effect was as a result of the decreased range of the overall explosion, at least in the initial stage.


    The combination of the two had a greater effect and was at least 20 to 30% more deadly.


    As Ryu expected, the instant the next stage''s spirit felt threatened, [Warped Corpse Explosion] was used. Ryu was able to predict this and have his Middle Skeleton Warrior anchor itself in place with its spear.


    The winds whipped about in all directions, Ryu''s hair flying along the sides of his face as it along with his robes were all pulled toward the same direction. However, it was a simple matter for Ryu to prepare for something he could already anticipate.


    Like clockwork, the Middle Skeleton Warrior respectfully brought over yet another scroll for Ryu to take a look at.


    At this point, Ryu couldn''t help but question the intentions of the Martial Gods. Was this how they usually stored their techniques?


    ? ??? ? ? ???? In his life, Ryu had long since become used to reading techniques with the help of jade slips. Not only were they far more convenient than scrolls, they should also, theoretically, be capable of housing far more information.


    However, until this point, Ryu hadn''t benefitted from a single technique that didn''t come from one of these scrolls. It was either that the Martial Gods didn''t know about the convenience of jade slips or there was another reason entirely.


    Ryu''s initial thoughts was that they did this so that Ryu would be forced to imprint the technique onto his mind using the scroll''s mechanism. That way, they would always have a way to monitor him¡ªsomething that Ryu had long since learned how to work around, especially now that his Mental Realm was so much more powerful.


    But, Ryu was familiar enough with jade and its uses to know that the same thing could be accomplished with them as well. In fact, it would be even more convenient.


    This was because with a jade slip, Ryu would have to sink his mind into it no matter what, there was no avoiding it. However, with a scroll, he could always just casually glance at it. It was almost like the Martial Gods were purposely handicapping themselves.


    Ryu didn''t feel he had enough information to understand why it was that they were doing this, so he simply slot it in at the back of his mind. It was an odd detail he just couldn''t quite wrap his head around. With that thought, he opened the new scroll.


    [Summoning Corpse World].  panda novel


    Ryu raised his brow. A Corpse World was something that all high level, elite and genius Necromancers had access to. It simply made things too convenient. Not only could one retrieve their corpse puppets without having to physically touch them, it could also nurture your puppets as well. And, of course, the higher quality your Death Qi, the better your Corpse World would be.


    A Summoning Corpse World seemed to have all the same benefits but could also act as a gateway between your body and the Nether Realm. This allowed your Summons to travel back and forth at a much lower cost to yourself as long as you tagged them previously.


    Before this, Ryu had never bothered to tag his Skeleton Warriors and simply summoned them randomly. That was because they would all be Lower Skeleton Warriors anyway, there was no need to pick out one over another.


    Now that he had a Middle Skeleton Warrior, however, this would likely become his first tag and thus his first true Summon. Thus, it might make learning [Summoning Corpse World] worth it.


    That said¡­ This wasn''t why Ryu would really learn it should he care to. The truth was that with the Inner World of Ryu Heavenly Pupils, all pseudo world techniques like this were just low level to him. He had never taken any time to foster the Inner World of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, mostly because he had no real need to and it wouldn''t become useful for a long while. But¡­


    If he could use [Summoning Corpse World] to mask his use of spatial qi, it would make battling far more convenient. That way, he could summon weapons, corpse puppets and his beast companions freely and with ease without constantly having to hide his methods.


    ''Convenient.'' Ryu nodded and memorized the technique.


    All the scroll techniques were in the form of formations. But, for Ryu, decoding them wasn''t much of a problem.


    Once he was finished, he moved on to the next. As he did so, Ryu realized just how good a time these techniques had come in. With his explosive increase in strength, he knew that he would have to find new techniques for himself eventually. He couldn''t help but thank the Martial Gods for being such good helpers.


    He would be sure to let them know when he killed the last of them.


    The next technique¡ª[Sacrificial Escape]¡ªwas one Ryu didn''t even bother to take another glance at. He just tossed it into a spatial ring and ignored it.


    It allowed one to sacrifice the life force of their own body to both harm an enemy and allow their soul to escape. Ryu had not a single intention of ever using such a technique.


    Unfortunately, it was the beginning of a string of techniques Ryu had no interest in. The pattern continued until Ryu reached the seventh spirit and gained [Reanimation]. He had almost tossed it into his ring as well before he was forced to give it a second look.

 Chapter 546 Best Bet

    Chapter 546 Best Bet


    [Bone Armor] was yet another simple technique as fundamental as [Corpse Explosion]. But, once again, to a Summoning Necromancer, especially one with Skeleton Warrior or Skeleton summons in general, with the added flexibility of such summons, it could be used almost too freely.


    [Bone Armor] had a few applications. The first was in using the self healing properties of Skeleton Warriors to instead cause outgrowths. These outgrowths, almost like tumors, would result in excessive bone material that could be used in various ways, the best of which would be as an armor.


    A second method of using [Bone Armor] would be to sacrifice an entire Skeleton Warrior to become the armor for a second Skeleton Warrior. This application was even more potent than the first and more efficient as well, though it required a complete sacrifice.


    The third application was just like the second but instead applied to the Necromancer him or herself. By sacrificing a Skeleton Warrior, Ryu could gain an armor or even floating shields around him for just that extra bit of protection. And, given how sturdy the bones of Skeleton Warriors were, the added defense would not be small.


    Ryu felt that this wasn''t a bad technique, but it was most definitely the weakest of its kind. Its qi usage wasn''t very efficient and it had its limitations. There was a reason it was called [Bone Armor] and not something more generic like [Bone Manipulation] or the like.


    The way the technique worked made it difficult to execute any form of subtle control. Due to this, the best method was to crudely layer the bone into sheets to form a sturdy defense. Trying to do anything else would waste too much energy, at least with the current structure of the technique.


    Unsurprisingly, it didn''t take long for Ryu to get the [Bone Manipulation] technique he preferred just three rounds later. He once again had to thank the Martial Gods for their generosity. With [Bone Manipulation], not only was the control of bone more subtle and efficient, when used in combination with other attacks or techniques, the results could be devastating.


    Even as Ryu walked toward the next trial, he could think of several applications.


    The easiest was to sacrifice a Skeleton Warrior to form a weapon. These weapons would be far stronger than the ones a Skeleton Warrior could naturally manifest at the behest of their master by a large degree, and it wouldn''t just be two or three times the difference either.


    Beyond that, what if a Skeleton Warrior was sacrificed to form a weapon and then Ryu triggered [Corpse Explosion]? The results would be quite potent, especially if Ryu was careful about the moment in battle he chose to trigger such a thing.


    This was just the tip of the iceberg as well. Facing [Bone Manipulation] was nothing short of going against a death trap. Not only could Ryu sacrifice more than one Skeleton Warrior and layer [Bone Manipulation] to produce exponentially greater results, but if he used it like a domain rather than a single pointed attack or defense¡­ What kind of result would there be?


    Ryu could imagine large cages of bone and spiraling spikes littering the ground. Would his enemies even be able to take a single step backward or forward? When coupled with his senses and his Heavenly Pupils, he would be a devastating opponent to battle indeed. This truth almost made Ryu want to focus entirely on Skeleton Warriors and beasts. There were already several Demon Clans he could think of that fit what he needed.


    After several more rounds, Ryu found two more useful abilities, making the method of attack he was thinking of even more potent in his mind.


    As a cultivator grew in strength, creating styles of combat became more and more important. Learning powerful techniques wasn''t enough, a truly powerful cultivator or genius designed the combat methods they learned to layer atop and complement one another.


    Until now, Ryu''s greatest focus had been on both gaining combat experience and increasing his cultivation speed. As he quickly progressed toward Realms reliant on comprehension, though, it was becoming more and more important for him to understand his own path.


    In truth, Necromancy wasn''t Ryu''s style. He had neglected his Grandpa Kukan''s bow for so long because attacking from a distance wasn''t something he liked to do. He spent the whole of his first life on the backlines, being protected by everyone else. In this life, he wanted to be at the front.


    Of course, Ryu''s thoughts on this matter had very much matured. However, this didn''t change his innate draw toward close combat.


    Still, the reason Ryu had decided to design his first combat style so heavily upon Necromancy was for two reasons.


    Firstly, he was about to enter the Realm of the Martial Gods. He would effectively be surrounded from all sides by people who would want to see him deader than dead should they know of his true identity. For that reason, the less he showed of his true abilities, the better.


    The good news was that he no longer used the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons and his Rage Flames and Qilin Lightning had evolved to something new. This meant there wasn''t much to worry about on that front even if he was forced to bring them out.


    The second reason he chose to do this was twofold. The first half of it was that he wanted practice. He wanted to experience what it felt like to build a combat style and dip his toes into the world he would have to enter when he stepped into the Path Extinction Realm.


    As for the second half of it, he knew that Necromancy would have to be a part of his combat prowess if he wanted revenge.


    He had no backing left, no support system, no hidden organization or forces he was building up¡­ It would likely come down to him and him alone if he wanted to see the Martial Gods fall. And, as Ailsa had said all those years ago, if he wanted to be a one man army¡­


    Necromancy was his best bet.

 Chapter 547 Three to One

    Chapter 547 Three to One


    The two techniques Ryu had found were [Grave Digger] and [Death Swap].


    [Grave Digger] was quite an interesting technique, especially when used either cleverly, covertly, or on a chaotic battlefield. It gave a corpse puppet the ability to dig and move through the ground quickly, almost like an escape technique. But, this was instead used to place a corpse puppet in position to attack.


    Images of skeleton hands piercing up from the ground was definitely one that was synonymous with this technique and the possible combination uses of it didn''t need to be explored. It was definitely quite the technique if paired with the others Ryu had taken.


    [Death Swap] was likely the most complex technique Ryu had found to this point. [Reanimation] wasn''t very difficult to use, or else it wouldn''t be known as the Origin technique of Necromancers. [Death Swap] definitely left it far behind in terms of complexity.


    Maybe the simplest part about [Death Swap] was in the description of its abilities. It allowed a Necromancer or their corpse puppets to swap places with one another. The only caveat was that this swap had to occur within range of the Necromancer''s Death Qi and it could only happen between properly tagged corpse puppets and the Necromancer. This meant that randomly summoned Skeleton Warriors wouldn''t be able to use this technique.


    After that, all the simplicity went out the window.


    Rather than relying on pure spatial qi to achieve this effect, [Death Swap] used a Necromancer''s [Corpse World] as a tether between themselves and their corpse puppet. The weeds of it all was quite complex, but the swap essentially required using this link to create the effect of teleportation.


    It was simpler if it was between two corpse puppets. One essentially had to ''call back'' their corpse puppets simultaneously, using the information you gained about their position from this call back to swap their locations.


    This was already a difficult feat of timing, control and splitting your mind to do multiple things. But, it got even worse if the goal was to swap yourself as a Necromancer.


    Just like Ryu couldn''t enter his Inner World or his Incubator since they were within himself, he likewise couldn''t enter his own corpse world either. This was where the technique required a substitute for himself in the form of energy. Only with this substitute would the swap be successful. But, maintaining it while your body was being shifted was an even more difficult task of control and skill.


    If you happened to fail to maintain your substitute¡­ Well, let''s just say there were more than a few cases of Necromancers failing to do so, resulting in them bisecting their own bodies. And, in the worst case, there wouldn''t even be a body left behind to mend.


    Still, if there was one thing Ryu was confident in, it was his qi control. In this aspect, he dared to say that even those two large Realms of cultivation above him couldn''t be his match nor would they ever be his match.


    Worry about his own death? Ryu didn''t need to do such a thing.


    Ryu''s steps suddenly came to a stop.


    ''This is the end of it¡­ hm?''


    Ryu shook his head. Originally, he wanted to come to the Tri, or rather Nether, Palace to gain treasures and find clues about Summoning Necromancers. But, after what happened to Ailsa, his priority had been to find the Night Shade Dew.


    Unfortunately, Ryu was now standing before an obvious portal out of this place and world, and yet there was no such reward in sight. From beginning to end, it had been nothing but techniques.


    Ryu couldn''t help but shake his head. Clearly, the Nether Palace had been changed. It wasn''t that the techniques were bad, it was just that the rewards were not nearly enough, even in comparison to what Ryu had heard about the Nether Palace in the past.


    Why would the Nether Palace have better and more ample rewards in the past but suddenly have so much less while the Martial Gods were using it for recruitment?


    The most logical answer was that the Nether Palace had never been the Martial Gods'' possession to begin with, they merely cleared it out before using it as a convenient medium to bolster their ranks. Considering their connection with the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, this made perfect sense.


    Why would Ryu believe that there was just one Nether Palace his whole life, only to suddenly find out that there were many and even spread out among so many Eras and times?


    What if there was only ever just a single Nether Palace and it was the Martial Gods who opened up access to it across these timelines for the sake of recruitment just like Isemeine, or rather, Eska, had said¡­?


    If that was the case, then this meant that Ryu still hadn''t answered the truth of what the Nether Palace was¡­


    Ryu remembered his reaction when he first learned of the name change.


    Tri Palace had been turned to Nether Palace¡­


    Three had turned to one¡­


    Life, Death and Reincarnation had just become Death¡­


    Death triumphed over all¡­


    Was that something the Martial Gods wanted? Was it something the Dream Wraith wanted? Or was it something even more powerful that they were all playing to the tune of¡­?


    The Martial Gods must have a home of their own, right? It can''t be that they had come from nowhere, they definitely had an origin. For some reason, they had left their home and come to this place. Not only were they sowing chaos, they had succeeded in wiping one of the most powerful families to ever exist in this world from the face of it, and were still seeking more.


    Why were they still looking for more? What had they cleared the Nether Palace of, exactly? What treasures had been here that were no longer here?


    And most importantly¡­


    What had forced the Martial Gods to run from their home to wage war here?

 Chapter 548 Three Words

    Chapter 548 Three Words


    Ryu stepped through the portal, his eyes blurring for a moment before he could finally see once again.


    After registering just where he was, Ryu stood silently for a long time, ignoring the individuals that were all around him. Maybe just a few days ago, after seeing this place, he would have flown into an immediate rage. Draconic scales would flood down his skin, his irises would flicker between its current silver and a deep crimson, and maybe the ground beneath his feet would have long since shattered.


    Though some of it had changed in the last 900 million years, it wasn''t enough that Ryu wouldn''t be able to recognize it with a single glance.


    The Deep Eruption Sect.


    If the Awoken Moon Sect was a subordinate Sect of Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Clan, then the Deep Eruption Sect was a subordinate Sect of his Tatsuya Clan. Compared to the former, Ryu had much deeper roots with the latter, by several measures.


    Though Ryu was the product of four powerful Bloodlines coming together, it had to be known that he was ultimately the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan. His families had been close, but if there was ever a Clan he was going to inherit, it would have been the one, not all four.


    From his youth, that was what Ryu had been raised to be. Even when he failed his Awakening Ceremony, his father never treated him any differently and still acted as though he would one day inherit the Clan.


    His father had always been that way. He inherited some of his quiet and reserve from Ryu''s Grandpa Tatsuya. But, Titus Tatsuya was far more impulsive than his father ever was. In fact, that impulse was tied with his stubbornness, a stubbornness that even his own wife and child had trouble budging.


    Even if Ryu''s father didn''t have a plan, even if it didn''t make any sense whatsoever, the moment he set his mind to something, he would do it. Due to this, Ryu had always been raised like the successor of the Tatsuya Clan¡­ And it was also likely due to this personality that his father had gone off to the Nether Realm without a thought for what might happen in his absence.


    Ryu didn''t believe his father hadn''t known the danger the Tatsuya Clan had been in. After all, the reason he had been able to leave without explanation was because after fusing their souls, Elena should have been aware of all of his thoughts. There was no way she wouldn''t pass on the information and what he was doing.


    But¡­ That was just the kind of man his father was.


    And now, for the first time in millions of years, Ryu stood in the same position he had when he was just a youth who had to reach up to his tippy toes to hold onto his father''s hand. He was far taller now than he had been in the past, but these walls still seemed so tall.


    Everything was washed in deep blacks and reds. The heat of the air alone made it feel as though there was no moisture in the surrounding thousands of kilometers. Someone who was too weak to stand here would feel a stinging in their eyes just trying to look around.


    The building was completely open concept. Rather than windows, there were simply large, vacant holes. There was no ceiling above, just massive columns that made the whole place look like it was crafted to be a several kilometer wide chimney. And, there were even several large holes torn through the ground that, if he didn''t know better, Ryu would conclude had to be some sort of odd abstract art.


    But, he did know better. And, the truth was that the Deep Eruption''s Palace was a volcano.


    That was right. This Sect wasn''t built into a volcano, it wasn''t on top or beneath a volcano, it was a volcano.


    All of the holes, opening, and the billowing heat that pervaded the area painting the perfect picture. Even the irregularly shaped walls and crevices were just products of cools molten rock that had been left over several eruptions.


    The location was the Blossom Plane, just a step below the Shrine Plane Ryu was born on. And this Deep Eruption Sect was a place Ryu had frequented as it was one of the weakest subordinate Sects the Tatsuya Clan had.


    Why the weakest? This was because his father had tried to ingrain into him the importance of even the weakest subordinate, doing his best to mold him into a leader.


    Obviously, this failed quite miserably. Ryu didn''t have the patience or charisma of a leader. If he had succeeded in Awakening the first time and set off on a path to taking over the Tatsuya Clan, it surely would have flourished. But, this wouldn''t be due to his management, but rather his strength.


    As for all the miscellaneous matters, he would have left it to Elena who was much better at these things than he was.


    Seemingly having realizing that his son wasn''t getting it, and not being that great of a teacher himself, Titus Tatsuya settled for quantity, hoping that if Ryu visited the Deep Eruption Sect enough, he would finally get it.


    The issue was that Ryu had never ''not'' gotten it. It was just that he didn''t care very much.


    Well¡­ This wasn''t accurate. He had cared maybe a little before his failure. But, after he realized he would never be able to cultivate, he became very closed off from the world. He simply couldn''t be bothered to care about the plights of those beneath him, at least they could cultivate¡­ At least they had a chance.


    By all rights, this should have made all the memories Ryu had of this place terrible¡­ Except the fact he could have been considered to have made his first and maybe only true friend in this place¡­ If he could be called that. He was ironically a boy who was just as cynical as Ryu.


    Ryu''s lip curled into a smile. If there were three words to sum up that relationship¡­


    "I hate him."

 Chapter 549 Deep Eruption Sect

    Chapter 549 Deep Eruption Sect


    Were they actually friends? Not really. Maybe if Ryu actually had cultivation, he would have killed that bastard long ago.


    As for why Ryu was still living right now, that was even more obvious. He was the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, how could a brat from the Deep Eruption Sect dare to kill him?


    It was quite funny because this was the first time Ryu had ever even joked about him being a friend. If he had remembered that young man a few weeks ago, it would have probably been fleeting before he ignored it. Or, he could have very well decided that he would kill him the moment he saw him.


    The two had never had a friendly talk even once.


    Back when they were both just boys, Ryu''s sharp tongue did nothing but dress him down. At the same time, he always had a quip about Ryu''s lack of cultivation back when Ryu was the most sensitive about it. How could they have not grown to hate each other?


    But, when Ryu reflected back on it now¡­ That was the only relationship he had that wasn''t related to family, and he couldn''t be considered a true enemy either.


    Ryu wondered if he was still alive. 900 million years might have been not much to the Shrine Plane, but to the Blossom Plane, and especially the Pedestal Plane, very few if any could live so long.


    From what Ryu knew, that man''s talent wasn''t very great. He was born with Earth Grade Meridians and the Earth Grade Eruption Bloodline. However, his Bone Structure was only Black Grade. His best point was his Spiritual Foundation, which was at the Heaven Grade¡ªsomething he never let Ryu forget.


    But, this talent pretty much made the Path Extinction Realm his peak. It would take an extraordinary amount of luck and fortuitous encounters for him to go beyond that, let alone live 900 million years.


    To make matters worse, there was the elephant in the room that Ryu had been ignoring all this time¡­ For the Deep Eruption Sect to have survived for so long, even seemingly being intact like this¡­ There was a high likelihood that there was betrayal. If not, why were they in a much better situation than the Awoken Moon Sect that was far more powerful than them?


    If there was betrayal¡­


    Ryu sighed. That man was the son of the Sect Leader. It wouldn''t be surprising if he was involved in all of this. In fact, it was highly likely.


    Ryu shook his head, finally beginning to pay attention to his surroundings in earnest. But, what he found was Isemeine staring at him as though she wanted to take a bite out of his throat.


    He had been standing there for several seconds ignoring everything that was around him. In fact, had it not been for Isemeine''s presence, the Elders who had been tasked with greeting the new arrivals would have already killed him in a rage. Or¡­ Rather, they would have tried to kill him.


    The only reason Ryu would enter such an absentminded state was because he couldn''t sense any threat around him, and there was nothing that could hide from his [Third Perspective]. It would have been a pipe dream for Elders regulated to the Blossom Plane to handle him.


    "Hello?!"


    Ryu finally looked Isemeine in the eye. "What is it?"


    Seeing Isemeine''s reaction to these words, one would have thought that Ryu had just insulted her mother. She lunged forward, going for his throat with every intention of ripping it out. But, midway, something took control of her body and her lunge became a hug.


    The Elders, who had been furious along with Isemeine, suddenly didn''t know how to react with her wrapping herself around him like some sort of koala bear.


    Isemeine froze in place. It seemed that she had forgotten that Eska could take control of her body whenever the latter wanted¡­


    With slow movements, as though trying to play it cool, Isemeine climbed down from Ryu''s body and raised a fist to her lips as she cleared her throat.


    "Ahem. Yes, yes. This is a new recruit we are attempting to bring to our side. Please give him the explanations he needs."


    Isemeine patted down her tracksuit, clearing it of wrinkles before clasping her hands behind her back like a mature overseer.


    The lips of the Elders twitched. They couldn''t quite understand what was going on here and why, but they knew better than to question it. Whenever they saw anyone with white-gold hair and eyes, silver hair and eyes, or crimson hair and eyes, they knew it was a person they couldn''t afford to offend.


    "Right¡­"


    An Elder wearing red robes with black embroidery took the lead. They all wore the same clothing and it hadn''t changed at all from the original Deep Eruption Sect attire¡­ Except for the fac the emblem of the Tatsuya Clan was nowhere to be seen.


    "¡­ Yes¡­ You have two choices. The first is to leave through here and return to where you came from. The second choice is to join the Martial Gods.


    "Should you choose the second, you will be subordinated to one of the Martial Gods'' subordinate Clans, among which include our Deep Eruption Sect. From such a position, you will be able to work your way up the rankings of Apostles by completing your assigned missions and eventually reach the Martial Plane should you display enough promise.


    "Your recruitment pipeline began with the Silver Touch branch, so you will be treated accordingly. This is just a convenient hub. Should you choose to accept, you will be taken to a subordinate Clan under the control of the Silver Touch as we are under the control the Berserk branch.


    "Of course, should you prefer to switch to a different branch, you can attempt to do so. But, please keep in mind that you have only passed the test of the Silver Touch, so if you want to join another branch, you will have to take another."


    The Elder finished his explanation and waited for an answer, but Ryu instead turned to Isemeine.


    "Didn''t I say so already? Bring me to the Martial Plane. I plan on becoming your Throne."

 Chapter 550 Cold

    Chapter 550 Cold


    Isemeine pouted her lips when she heard Ryu''s words. She knew that this was what he had said he wanted to do, but she hadn''t thought that he was actually serious. Shouldn''t he be doing his best to hide himself away? Why did he want such a spotlight now?


    When Ryu had been speaking to Zenavey, Isemeine thought that he was just fooling around. But now it turned out that her wagon had been hitched to a madman.


    "This¡­" The Elders were stunned.


    Isemeine cleared her throat, trying her best to force an ingratiating smile.


    "Can you change your mind?" She said with as sweet a voice as she could muster.


    "No." Ryu said plainly.


    "But¡­" Isemeine bit her lip. "¡­ We already have a Throne¡­"


    How could the Martial Gods not already have a Throne?


    Imagine for a moment that you were a hostile threat to a new world you were trying to take hold of. What would you do in that instance?


    The first thing you would do is take out one of your greatest threats if you could manage it. The Martial Gods had already done this. But, what maybe came even before this was the gathering of information.


    If the Martial Gods could learn of the existence of the Chaos Plane before most of Ryu''s world, Ryu had no doubt that they were well aware of all of their customs and how their Karmic Strings and Fate worked. As a result, how could the Martial Gods not also know the kind of detriment a Throne would pose to their cause?


    If you were the Martial Gods, what would you do in that case? Obviously, you could give the position to someone you could either trust or control, hopefully both. That way, your Fate wouldn''t have to be in the hands of an unknown variable and your resources would still be managed by yourself.


    It was the best choice one could make in this situation. However¡­


    "So what?"


    Ryu''s words caused Isemeine''s next plea to get caught in her throat.


    She felt like she was losing her mind. Did Ryu understand what it was he was doing? Truly?


    It could be said that Isemeine didn''t really understand what the goal of her Martial God Clan was. In fact, while Ryu saw them as outsiders, to Isemeine who had only been born a few thousand years earlier, this was the only home she had ever known.


    However, this didn''t mean that she was completely ignorant. Due to her standing, there were certain things she could understand that others at her level weren''t privy to. Among those things she did understand led her to the conclusion that if Ryu did this¡­ He would be pointing himself out to be the clear enemy of the Martial Gods.


    And all of that was even setting aside whether or not he could do it. Not only was this going to be Ryu''s attempt at claiming a second Throne, it was a Throne of an Eleventh Order Clan that already had a Throne of their own to begin with!


    As difficult as claiming a second Throne was, snatching one from another Throne would only compound the difficulty.


    One had to remember that a Throne existed to accumulate Faith for a Clan or Sect. This meant that if you wanted to claim more than one, you had to prove you had ample enough talent to carry not just one but two Clans or Sects. Likewise, if you wanted to claim a third, the difficulty would grow exponentially once again.


    At the same time, though, there was an increase in difficulty when it came to snatching a Throne as well. Just like a Ryu had gained certain protections as a Throne so that the Awoken Moon Sect couldn''t lie to him about the resources it had, so too would there be protections against his position being snatched too easily.


    Over the years that the Throne system had existed, how many Clans and Sects had tried to wiggle their way out of it? After all, an increase in Faith wasn''t something the current generation could benefit from, so there were no shortage of selfish individuals who cared only about the present.


    Because Thrones could make use of resources with very few restrictions, it wasn''t a surprise that these selfish individuals would do everything they could to hold onto these resources for themselves.


    There were many loopholes in the Throne system that had been abused over the years, one of which was contracting a genius from a higher power to snatch your Throne back. Such geniuses wouldn''t be interested in the resources of these smaller Sects and Clans and would only care about the small boost in Faith and prestige they could receive. They would then pay a price to hand their Throne down to another the small Sect could more easily control.


    There were all sorts of minor and major loopholes like this that forced the system to evolve.


    Ultimately, the Throne system was a construct of both Heaven and man. No matter what hoops the latter wanted to jump through, the former would usually close them or add protections for them.


    One such protection was the increased difficulty in snatching a Throne from another.


    The Martial Gods likely believed¡ªand rightfully so¡ªthat the combination of the genius they had chosen plus the difficulty in snatching a claimed Throne would give them more than enough protection. After all, the added difficulty would scale with the one who claimed it to begin with.


    However¡­ Unfortunately for the Martial Gods¡­ The one universal truth that would never change about Thrones and claiming them was that it would always be based on a ratio of age to combat prowess¡­


    Ryu was a 21 year old with the combat strength almost surpassing the Path Extinction Realm. He was unmatched in this aspect and there was nothing that could be done about it.


    "Bring me to the Martial Plane."


    Ryu spoke plainly once again. Every time he had to say Martial Plane instead of Shrine Plane left a bad taste in his mouth. He wouldn''t repeat himself again.


    Isemeine grit her teeth. She knew it was useless to say anything more. If she really continued to fight it, it only meant that Eska would just take control of her body again and force her to do what Ryu wanted anyway. With that being the case, what was the point? She had no choice.


    "Fine. Fine. Fine. If you want to die, go die then."


    The Elders didn''t know what to do. They had been randomly assigned to deal with an influx of new recruits coming from the Silver Touch branch''s trial grounds because the location of their Sect was a bit special. The space in the surroundings was stable, but also very malleable due to their being not to far and also not too close to Shrine ¡­ Or rather Martial Mountain.


    However, none of them had expected such a scene to play out before them. Even long after Ryu and Isemeine had left, none of them knew how to react.


    They looked toward one another feeling as though they might have heard something that they were never meant to.


    ¡­


    When Ryu and Isemeine reappeared, the latter was still grumbling, but once again, Ryu didn''t hear a word she was speaking.


    The air was filled with a frigid cold. It could be said to be the exact opposite of the Deep Eruption Sect. However, the difference lied in the fact that Ryu didn''t recognize anything in his surroundings¡­ Except for the feeling of the air touching his skin.


    He took a deep breath, subconsciously circulating his Ice Phoenix Martial Form.


    The air in the surrounding tens of kilometers suddenly all surged toward Ryu. Isemeine, who was still grumbling about how her life was over now, was almost swept off her feet completely.


    A cyclone of raging winds swarmed, threatening to collapse what seemed to be Isemeine''s personal home.


    Ryu''s chest expanded, his skin glowing a light blue hue that flickered in and out of existence.


    When he had his fill and settled down into a slow exhale, two jets barreled out from his nose. His hair fluttered, his robes loosely flapping.


    In all this time, Ryu had never neglected his Martial Forms even for a single day. By this point, his mastery was leaps and bounds beyond where he had begun, and the results spoke for themselves.


    Every fiber of Ryu''s being wanted to roar at this moment, but he knew that he couldn''t. The moment he did, bits and pieces of the four Clans he represented would be awakened. It would cause a phenomena that wouldn''t be ignored.


    So, he suppressed it, his veins bulging out as his heartbeat slowed.


    Ignoring the state his breathing had put Isemeine in, Ryu stepped out of the elaborate, once well decorated home.


    He stepped into the air, rising his way into the skies and soaring above it all.


    There it was, right before him. After so many years, he could finally see it again. No matter where you were on the Shrine Plane, you would always be able to see it¡­ That Peak he wanted to sit upon once more.


    Shrine Mountain.


    It felt so close and yet so far at the same time¡­ Right there and yet displaced in both time and space¡­


    The frigidity of the air only grew more pronounced after Ryu stepped out. He realized then that in this environment, even normal Immortal Ring experts couldn''t casually survive. However, it was completely unable to match the coldness in his heart.


    Isemeine rushed out of her home, her expression warping. This idiot! Didn''t he know that you couldn''t just fly about randomly wherever you pleased?! Wasn''t he a Scion of the Tatsuya Clan?! He should know at least this much! These rules were even more fiercely enforced the more noble the region!


    Wait, no, how was he flying at all?! Even Isemeine couldn''t fly in this place! In fact, unless you were in the World Sea Realm, it should have been impossible!


    The Martial Plane had been covered by a perpetual winter for hundreds of millions of years. The cold only became worse the further up you traveled because it originated from the Peak of the world: Martial Mountain.


    The cold qi hadn''t done just a small bit to restrain things on this Plane¡­ But, it had ironically also helped those of the Martial God Clan to bolster their strength by staying in such a harsh environment year ''round. It could be said that Isemeine was among the youths who had benefited from this, allowign her to have an exceptional foundation.


    However...


    "Get down! Quickly!"


    Isemeine''s expression changed. It was too late. She could already sense that Ryu had been locked onto.

 Chapter 551 The Shrine Plane

    Chapter 551 The Shrine Plane


    Isemeine jumped up and grabbed onto Ryu''s ankle, trying her best to pull him down. She didn''t seem aware of how ridiculous she looked in the slightest. Things only became worse when Ryu shook his foot, causing what she thought was a steady grip to falter.


    She could do nothing as she fell down from the skies, landing heavily on her feet. She didn''t feel just a little aggrieved as she stared up.


    Isemeine''s temper was horrible, everyone knew this. But, whether it was because Ryu had taken her virginity or maybe because he was even more of a madman than she was, she found herself being far more lenient with him.


    On top of this, Isemeine still wanted to live. As much as Ryu wanted to become powerful, she too shared such goals and aspirations. It could be said that Isemeine was maybe the most like Ryu of anyone he had ever met¡­ Well, if you ignored her sometimes ridiculous actions.


    If Ryu was objective with himself, as ridiculous as Isemeine''s temper flare ups were, hadn''t he been just like this in the past? His fuse was short, his trigger was quick, and his actions were swift and without regard for consequences.


    Even now, he realized that he still hadn''t changed as much as he wanted to. He knew that standing up in the skies like this would bring trouble, but whenever he tried to control himself to descend, he felt an inward revulsion that almost made him wretch. It felt no different to him than lowering his head and bowing to another.


    How long had he waited to be able to fly through the skies in the Shrine Plane like this? How long had he waited to be able to reach this peak under his own strength?


    ''But¡­ You''re still not strong enough,'' Ryu thought to himself.


    Ryu exhaled a light breath, descending from the skies at a leisurely pace and walking back into Isemeine''s home. They had left from a back entrance to step outside originally. This time, Ryu headed for the front door.


    Isemeine blinked when she saw Ryu suddenly descend. She had been very much ready for him to throw a tantrum and not do such a thing. Something about it felt very distinctly¡­ Unlike Ryu. It was like he was overcorrecting, but it was hard to tell whether this was for the better or the worse just yet.


    Isemeine''s gaze flashed with a subtle seriousness for the first time.


    Did she want to be controlled by others? Absolutely not. Her arrogance was no less than that of Ryu. In fact, only herself and Eska knew how many times she had already tried and failed to kill herself in just the last day.


    A lot of her odd mood swings were rooted in exactly this. She felt like she was losing her mind, and even the recesses of her thoughts, which should have been reserved for herself and herself alone, were no longer sacred.


    She resented Eska. She resented Ryu. She resented herself for being so weak¡­


    It could be said that the only reason she was trying to protect Ryu''s life now was because Eska had made a silent deal with her¡­ If she could just reach that goal, then maybe she would have a chance at claiming her own body once again¡­ Then she could have the revenge that she wanted.


    Somewhere deep inside, she knew that this was a pipe dream. Ryu was only at the 2nd Immortal Ring Realm and yet he could crush her by hardly lifting a finger. Revenge? How would she ever get that?


    But she was still stubborn to her core. She would rather die than admit that she couldn''t do it. And since she could apparently no longer even do that, then there was only one chance left.


    ''Don''t you dare die until it''s at my hands, you punchable bastard.''


    Eska, who could read Isemeine''s thoughts as easily as skimming a book, said nothing as the young lady chased after Ryu.


    ¡­


    Ryu stepped out from the home, his expression giving nothing away. He could still sense several auras converging, but all of them were forced to rush along the ground. It was clear that only someone with ice qi affinity as high as himself, or someone with World Sea Realm strength could fly here. And, with the strength of those at the World Sea Realm, how could they possibly be relegated to the task of an enforcement officer?


    Though Ryu recognized none of these buildings, the structure of the Shrine Plane was exactly as he remembered¡­


    One would think that the Shrine Plane would be the ultimate hub of cultivation, that abodes would always be one with nature, however this couldn''t have been further from the truth.


    There was just a single mountain on the Shrine Plane: Shrine Mountain itself. It towered at the very center of the Plane and could be seen from anywhere, even millions of miles away.


    The rest of the Plane was completely flat, split into pockets that seemed like completely different worlds at times, but were nonetheless on flat ground.


    These pockets of seemingly vastly different worlds were all built around the infamous Shrines that could hide themselves even in broad daylight.


    One would think that Shrine would be hidden deep underground or within extremely dangerous places, and that was somewhat true, but the real reason they were so difficult to find wasn''t because of this at all. With how long the Tatsuya Clan had ruled over the Shrine Plane, how could it possibly not have managed to scour every inch?


    The key to their failure were these pocket realities.


    The Shrine Plane seemed like a simple, single slab of land that extended to infinity, only interrupted by a single mountain peak and a few large bodies of both salted and fresh water. However, if one tried to travel, you would quickly find yourself lost in a maze of space.


    If one started from the northern edge of the Shrine Plane and headed perfectly south, logic would say that you would reach the southern eventually. However, any Ruin Master worth their salt would tell you that you could just as easily end up right back at the northern edge even if you never turned left or right.


    The Plane was an intertwining mesh of layer pockets of space. Crossing from one space to another wasn''t difficult as there were no true barriers. Even a toddler wouldn''t be obstructed. The issue came in the fact that two pockets that were side by side weren''t guaranteed to be connected.


    What did all of this mean?


    It meant that the Shrine Plane couldn''t be mapped out by normal means. Even if you made the assumption that all the pockets were connected in one way or another¡ªsomething that wasn''t guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination¡ªit would be difficult to pinpoint your own location after crossing from one to another due to a myriad of factors.


    The first choice one might make is to use star charts. As long as you circled the section of stars you were beneath as you traveled, it might be possible to pinpoint your location and mark how two pockets were connected.


    The second choice would be to use sister treasures that could sense each other''s locations. By doing so, you would be able to sense the location of the other after being teleported to a new pocket.


    The third choice was to rely on an expert in spatial qi. The number of individuals that the Shrine Plane had that could fit this description were too numerous to count. They should be more than capable of feeling their movement through space and marking their location


    There were any number of thoughts and ideas one could come up with. There were even earth qi specialists who tried to map things out through the ground rather than on the surface.


    However, almost all of these things were useless before the maze of the Shrine Plane. And, even those that might work, had severe weaknesses and drawbacks of their own.


    None of this even considered the worst part of it all: The fact that Shrines could hide in plain sight. It truly took an enormous amount of skill and luck to find a single one and most had been passed down for countless generations.


    Regardless, these odd phenomena of the Shrine Plane was exactly the reason for the constructions seen here. Rather than building into nature, most of the Shrine Plane was built by the hands of humans so that they could draw very clear dividing lines between these small pocket worlds.


    The result was vast, expansive cities, most of which only dared to be travelled between via the use of delicately structured and meticulously maintained teleportation formations.


    So¡­ What Ryu saw when he stepped out of Isemeine''s home was an endless expanse of residential homes, each that connected and intertwined with one another to form a grandiose Palace in the shape of a city.


    As a result¡­ One could imagine the amount of commotion Ryu had caused. Despite not having made a sound since he came, the sudden eruption of auras toward this direction wouldn''t be missed by anyone capable of calling this place home.


    Isemeine rushed out not long after, her expression solemn. She could sense it quite clearly. One Dao Pedestal Realm existence and three within the Path Extinction Realm. Ryu really only knew how to cause trouble.


    It didn''t take very long at all for many to begin sweeping their Spiritual Sense over, trying to understand what was happening. They couldn''t remember a time where anyone had dared to cause trouble here. Well... expect for...


    Not long after that, the squadron of enforcers had made their way into view.


    However, when they saw that the target was Isemeine''s home, their expressions became unsightly to an extreme.

 Chapter 552 Serenity

    Chapter 552 Serenity


    The enforcers all carried the same white-gold hair and eyes that Isemeine did. It was very much likely that this region of the Martial Gods'' territory was set aside for the Heaven''s Dew branch. Unfortunately, this just made things just that little bit more complicated to deal with.


    The enforcers immediately recognized Isemeine. So, they were also immediately aware of her background. Despite the fact they knew that the perpetrator was Ryu because their Spiritual Sense had reached out long ago, there was no denying that Ryu was one of Isemeine''s people.


    At the same time, though, this wasn''t the territory of the Silver Touch branch and it had to be remembered that both of Isemeine''s parents were King-level existence of that opposing branch. As a result, the sway she had over things here was lesser.


    However¡­ were things that simple? Could they just end here?


    If everything was 100% fair all of the time, there would be no discussion. Isemeine''s friend would be detained and punished. It should only be all the more easy since this wasn''t Silver Touch territory.


    But, since when was anything in the Martial World fair? If they offended Isemeine now, not to mention the fact that aside from the Dao Pedestal Realm enforcer, none of them could beat her, who was to say that she wouldn''t complain to her father? Or god forbid her mother?!


    Even if they were in the right, only the strong had privileges to argue about right and wrong. Since they were doing a thankless job like this, it was obvious that their backing wasn''t the strongest¡­


    In a weaker region, enforcers might be able to bend the law to their whims and gain some benefits under the table. But, up here, things were so strict and uptight that even the most corrupt individuals didn''t dare to breathe too hard.


    This might sound contradictory. But, once again, everything was based on power and strength. If someone at the World Sea Realm did as they pleased, it wouldn''t count as corruption, it was just be writing a new set of rules. Things were that simple.


    There was one aspect, then, that was left out of all of this, and that was Isemeine''s personal worry. She had panicked the moment Ryu shot into the sky, and that was most definitely not her making a big deal out of nothing.


    At this moment, she wasn''t entirely certain if she could protect Ryu at all because she knew one thing very clearly¡­ Those ugly expressions these enforcers were wearing likely meant that they would pass on their duties to someone else. And, that someone else would be of higher standing than themselves.


    Once this happened, Ryu would truly be finished.


    Isemeine was trying to figure out what to say, but she also wasn''t a fool. If she displayed how worried she was, it would just be a sign of weakness. In the martial world, no one appreciated weakness or felt pity in the face of it. You were more likely to end up trampled than garnering any sort of sympathy.


    But, at the same time, if she came out as abrasive as she usually would, that would give these enforcers even more of a reason to call their superiors.


    At this moment, the enforcers were still hesitant to do so. Calling forth their superiors for something that could be seen as a minor infraction depending on a number of factors would reflect badly upon them as well. They almost wanted Isemeine to snap so that they could have a legitimate reason to call for help without gaining the ire of those above them.


    However, today¡­ Isemeine seemed tame. Almost too tame.


    The result was an odd situation where both groups became eerily silent¡ªRyu and Isemeine standing atop a set of wide stairs and the enforcers standing below. At the same time, they had to deal with several Spiritual Senses sweeping by them with a probing curiosity.


    Isemeine suddenly felt resentful toward Ryu. Wasn''t he going to at least try to do something? Communicate with her at least. She was trying to help!


    When Isemeine looked over to Ryu, looking for some aid, she almost fainted from rage. This bastard actually had his eyes closed, breathing lightly as though he was taking a morning stroll. How infuriating could he get?!


    Ryu was indeed calm. The harsh, cold wind that left most shivering was like a spring breeze to him. It licked across his exposed skin with a gentle touch, wafting the fragrance of his long, white hair toward the surroundings.


    Delicate crystals formed from the fog of his breath, making it seem as though he was breathing shimmering lights in and out. His very soul was soothed, his body reaching a state of relaxation it never had before.


    True serenity.


    The prayer mat that had laid dormant within Ryu''s Inner World for years trembled slightly before going back to a resting state. It was impossible to tell whether Ryu noticed this infinitesimally small shift at all.


    A light smile curled Ryu''s lips. He hadn''t felt such peace in a long time.


    He had wondered why it was he managed to lower himself to the ground before. Even he didn''t believe he had matured so much so quickly. So¡­ It was because of that.


    To the Martial Gods, all they could sense was a harsh cold, one they couldn''t even raise their children in. It was difficult to tell if they even had a single settlement near the Shrine Mountain due to how harsh the conditions were.


    However, to Ryu¡­ All he sensed was the warmth of his mother.


    Her aura hung all around him, her arms draped across his shoulders, her hands resting on his chest, her kiss gracing the side of his cheek.


    They had benefited from such a thing for so many years¡­ And yet they couldn''t even appreciate it.


    Sparkling snow began to fall from the skies above as the temperature suddenly began to plummet all the more.


    Ryu suddenly rose into the skies once again, a strong confidence pumping throughout his heart. Isemeine didn''t even get the chance to stop him before his voice boomed, causing even the skies above to quake.


    "I''ve heard many things about the Martial Gods of the Martial Plane. I, Ryu Tor, come to challenge you all."


    Ryu unleashed his aura, a wave of devastation rolling out from himself in all directions.

 Chapter 545 Intuition

    Chapter 545 Intuition


    [Reanimation] was among the most devastating abilities of a Necromancer. In fact, it was this technique that ended the Sky God Era and triggered the Shrine Era.


    [Reanimation] was a technique that could either be incredibly weak or impossibly strong depending on the way it was used. Due to this, some often called it the Origin technique of Necromancers in a facetious way.


    Though this namesake was given in jest, the more one thought about it, the truer it seemed.


    [Reanimation] could be used by any Necromancer with death qi regardless of power or strength. That was in line with how Origin techniques functioned. The only reason [Reanimation] was not considered an Origin technique was because it couldn''t be used on any target.


    An Origin technique would function irrespective of who it was aimed at. Of course, its strength would vary depending on who was using it¡­ But it would work.


    [Reanimation], however, couldn''t work on just any corpse. If you were too weak, you could forget about reanimating a Sky God. This was the small and seemingly insignificant detail that separated it from true Origin techniques. It was almost like splitting hairs.


    When one understood this, it was easy to see how the term ''Origin technique of Necromancers'' came about.


    By now, what [Reanimation] did was obvious. It was capable of reanimating the dead to fight for a Necromancer. But, how was this different from simply refining a corpse?


    The answer was simple: ease.


    Refining a corpse took time, effort and stamina. Reanimating a corpse, however, was a quick process that could be completed in just a few seconds. When used in the midst of battle, especially against large groups, it could even turn the tide of war!


    Of course, [Reanimation] had its weaknesses.


    For one, those reanimated corpses would only have a fraction of its original power whereas a carefully refined corpse had the potential of being even more powerful than when they were alive. Secondly, [Reanimation] could only be used on a fresh corpse the soul had yet to leave. Thirdly, [Reanimation] could be resisted by the target should their soul be strong enough to remain lucid. Fourthly, the decay of a reanimated corpse was accelerated in their reanimated state.


    This fourth weakness not only causes the rapid weakening of reanimated corpses¡ªmost of which would last a few months at most¡ªit was also the reason that many still saw Necromancer as a disgusting and vile profession to this day.


    By this point, Ryu had interacted with many Necromancers. But, not a single one of them had ever taken out a rotting corpse to battle with. The root of the stigma had come from [Reanimation]. After all, if it wasn''t for such a technique, how could the bodies of powerful cultivators rot so easily, especially if they were taken care of?


    For many of the reasons stated, along with the fact this technique ended an era, [Reanimation] had been banned for a very long time, even longer than Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan had banned Mental Realm cultivation.


    Back during the Sky God Era, some of the most powerful Necromancers of all time had existed. That was because before the Sky God Era had come the Ancient Beast Era.


    With the war having ended in the retreat of the Ancient Beasts, one could imagine how many enormous beast corpses still existed. These corpses became the foundation of some of the most powerful Necromancer Clans and Sects to ever exist, but it also became the root of competition.  ¦Ña??a ???????


    It was funny. The Sky God Era was the almost undisputed strongest Era for Humans. It was the representation that they could fight against the darlings of the Heavens¡ªThe Ancient Beast. And yet, it was humans themselves that ended their prosperous Era all on their own¡­ Purely out of greed.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, it was no wonder the Zu Clan inheritances had so few Necromancy techniques. They probably had a huge stigma against Necromancers despite being Mental Realm Masters themselves.


    Ryu wasn''t sure what to do with this technique now that it was in his hands.


    Did this mean that the Martial Gods also had a Reanimation technique? The answer was almost certainly yes if this Nether Palace was indeed build and run by them. But¡­ What did they mean by giving him such a technique?


    Something was telling Ryu that things weren''t so simple. Why did he feel like this wasn''t the intention of the Martial Gods?


    As Ryu''s sensitivity increased and his pupils grew stronger, his innate intuition grew even without activating [Intuition]. He was able to see the subtle push and pull of Karmic Strings. And at the moment, he didn''t sense enough of these strings leading back to the Martial Gods.


    There were some there, definitely. But¡­ Not enough for him to think that this was a ploy of theirs.


    This was why the wielders of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were so fearsome. To be able to guess at such a thing purely based on feel is why they were so feared and revered at the same time¡­


    ¦Ñ???? ??????? But just because Ryu had a feeling, didn''t mean it was correct, nor would it give him the answer like a pie out of the sky.


    He could only turn his attention toward the surroundings once more¡­ Was this really the doing of the Dream Wraith? Or was it something or someone different entirely?


    [Reanimation] in the hands of someone with Primordial Chaos Death Qi¡­ Did they want him to destroy the world?


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he slowly put this technique away. This time, however, a swirl of death and spatial qi manifested, sucking the scroll into his eyes before he moved on. He couldn''t casually store this technique in his spatial ring like he had done for the others.


    Ryu felt like he was walking on pins and needles, expecting the other shoe to drop at any moment. What once was a casual stroll to snatch up resources and rewards suddenly felt far heavier.


    However, when he defeated the eight spirit, the technique he got couldn''t have been more ordinary.


    [Bone Armor].

 Chapter 553 Unranked

    Chapter 553 Unranked


    Ryu''s palms reached out, causing large swaths of ice qi to accumulate around him. The temperature continued to plummet, the surroundings becoming so volatile that even Isemeine, who had an extraordinarily strong body, began to shiver.


    In the blink of an eye, two crystalline blue Great Swordstaffs formed. Each sparkled with a beautiful sheen, faint patterns of golden veins barely hidden within their depths.


    Ryu''s brandished both, the violent winds the resulted threatening to flatten the city below.


    With these two weapons, formed the of the will his mother left behind, he would sever everything that lay in his path.


    "Isemeine. Come here."


    Isemeine was speechless. For one, she couldn''t fly in this place. Hardly anyone could. And, secondly, HAD HE LOST HIS MIND?!


    Unfortunately, Isemeine didn''t have much of a choice. A strong wind qi raised her into the skies. Much like his flames, Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind had also begun to lag behind. But, that didn''t mean it was useless.


    "Why are you doing this?" Isemeine asked, exasperated.


    "I need a beauty to use to piss them off." Ryu said with a smile.


    "Are you flirting with me?" Isemeine was speechless.


    "No. This smile isn''t for you."


    The curl of Ryu''s lip didn''t fade as he stepped through the skies, his destination toward the biggest section of this endless palace that he could spot.


    Isemeine scoffed. She had been called beautiful too many times in her life, even though the person speaking usually ended up needing bed rest for several weeks to months. She was immune to it all. If this bastard thought that he could soften her heart with a few words, he was sorely mistaken.


    ''He''s really treating me like some sort of trophy, how ridiculous. Well, at least --."


    Isemeine''s thought froze when she felt Ryu''s arm firmly grab onto her waist. She was suddenly at a loss for words once again.


    When her vision cleared, she found that both of Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs were hovering before him by some mysterious force. As for the man himself, he strolled through the skies as though he owned the place.


    Now that she thought about it, he technically once had¡­ And when she thought about it further, if Ryu wanted a woman to act as a status symbol, short of those monstrous beauties who had already stepped into the Cosmic Seed and World Sea Realm, she was definitely the best choice.


    On top of that, if one was going to challenge a Throne, impugning on the dignity of the target Sect or Clan first was probably the best way. At least this way, if they tried to refuse, it would be a blow to their prestige and Faith.


    There was a deeper layer to all of this as well. If Ryu so publicly claimed her as his woman, considering how protective her father was of her, so long as Ryu wasn''t useless¡ªsomething he most definitely was not¡ªthen he would probably gain the protection of a King at the same time.


    This would only work because as a Path Extinction Realm expert, Isemeine was still considered to be a member of the younger generation, so there would be no problem with her father stepping through branches to help her out¡­


    It could be said that maybe this was the best choice Ryu could have made. Did he really think all this through¡­?


    ''No. He definitely didn''t.'' Isemeine shook her head, squirming due to the fact she wasn''t used to having her waist held like this. ''This annoying man definitely doesn''t think before he acts.''


    Isemeine pouted, trying to make some distance between herself and Ryu, but his hand was too strong.


    "You know," Isemeine whispered harshly, "shouldn''t you think about your wife? What is she going to do when she learns that you were strolling through the skies so overbearingly with another woman in your arms."


    Ryu''s smile didn''t waver.


    "The Elena I knew would say something like ''it''s about time''."


    "And what about now?"¦Ña??a ???????


    "She would probably ignore me."


    "Humph." Isemeine''s smiled with satisfaction, taking pleasure in Ryu''s misfortune.


    "That won''t be for long, though." Ryu spoke without missing a beat. "I''d like to see how long she can ignore me for. There''s no man in this world worthy of her aside from me."


    Isemeine looked toward Ryu''s side profile¡­


    "I really want to punch you in the face."


    At that moment, several auras converged from all sides. The commotion Ryu had caused had been immediate. There were no small number of individuals who had reacted almost immediately, converging with a fervor and rage only those of the younger generation could match.


    The first to make it was a man with flowing white gold hair much longer than Isemeine''s own short hair. He held a massive pair of twin hammers in his hands, an almost fiery white gold aura hanging around him like the fog of a sun.


    "Who''s he?" Ryu asked.


    Isemeine rolled her eyes. He really did think nothing through.


    "He is Iohne. He''s at the 3rd Path Extinction Stage."


    "I can already see that. I meant something more interesting." Ryu asked casually.


    "There''s nothing more interesting to say." Isemeine said plainly, looking toward Iohne with disdain. "He''s not good enough to be ranked on the Heir Ranks. I''m surprised he even has the balls to appear before me. I put him in a coma years ago so he''s always taken the long way around me. He thought he could bully me into his bed just because I was in the Immortal Ring Realm back then."


    Ryu shook his head. This woman really was too violent. Considering who her father was, who would dare do anything like she described? She was definitely embellishing the story.


    Iohne, though, finally seemed to show a bit of a temper.


    ¦Ñ???? ??????? "A man''s reputation is his honor. Don''t dare to slander mine!"


    "Or what?" Isemeine snorted.


    Iohne''s expression turned red with rage.


    "What''s the Heir Ranking?" Ryu asked.


    "It''s a ranking of 900 youths below the Cosmic Seed Realm most likely to become Princes in the future."


    "If it''s below the Cosmic Seed Realm, doesn''t it make sense that someone at his cultivation level isn''t on it?"


    "No." Isemeine snorted with disdain. "The 900 youths are divided into nine sets of 100. Each set represents a cultivation Realm from the Awakening Realm all the way up to the Dao Pedestal Realm. The 100 most promising youths at each cultivation Realm are slotted in based on their potential. He''s just not good enough to make it among his peers."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He still felt that Isemeine was leaving out something. There''s no way such a list didn''t take combat prowess into regard as well. In that case, it made sense that someone six stages from the peak of the Path Extinction Realm would be left off, right?


    But, Ryu wasn''t here to argue on behalf of a man who was obviously here to battle him.


    He reached his free hand forward, tapping the air with a slender finger.


    Iohne''s expression changes drastically, but he didn''t even get a chance to swing his hammer.


    His body was in cased in a gem-like block of ice in the blink of an eye. He fell from the skies mid-leap, crashing heavily into the ground below. However, the ice was so sturdy and powerful that not a single crack could be found.

 Chapter 554 Tor Clan Name

    Chapter 554 Tor Clan Name


    Iohne''s face was completely frozen in rage, his hammers raised high and his body still in a jumping motion. He hadn''t even been able to react before he found himself completely encased in ice, unmoving and his life and death unknown.


    Ryu found the power he had here over the Ice Element to be even more exaggerated than what he had felt in the Nether Realm''s replica world. As powerful as he had become after taking Eska and Isemeine''s Primordial Yins, he was even stronger here, a thought that was truly fear inducing.


    ¡­


    "What is going on?"


    This was a question that many across the Martial Gods residential area were asking. The truth was as orderly as the city seemed, disputes between Martial Gods were quite common. It shouldn''t be taken that this region was peace loving, it was just that there were certain lines that couldn''t be crossed¡­ For example, flying in the sky.


    Flying seemed like a benign action, but one had to remember just who was allowed and capable of flying in this region to begin with. Most below the Cosmic Seed Realm couldn''t take the harshness of the cold qi in the surroundings and thus couldn''t fly by making use of it. That meant that this no fly rule was meant to apply to entities with that level of strength.


    Ryu was essentially breaking a rule that was only in place for the powerful to begin with as it helped to reduce collateral damage. This was completely different from breaking a rule that even the weak could break should they be determined enough.


    At that moment, though, in this particular region, the ones asking the question weren''t simply characters by any stretch of the imagination.


    It could be said that with Elena''s promotion to Queen ceremony coming up, anyone who would have received an invitation had already begun to make their way back. At the same time, it couldn''t be forgotten that Galkos¡ªAilsa''s supposed ''fianc¨¦''¡ªhad also recently entered the World Sea Realm as well. So the celebration was twofold.


    ¦Ñ???? ??????? Not only was Ryu on a hot seat for causing trouble in such an environment, it was an even hotter seat than it would otherwise be. Under most circumstances, at least half the geniuses currently present would be out completing missions and accumulating merits.


    But now¡­ A bunch of hot blooded youths who had begun to feel itchy at the lack of action in recent days finally got a bite of meat to take a chunk out of.


    "Ryu Tor? Tor? I''ve never heard such a name, have you?"


    "Never heard of it. The momentum behind it was decent, but nothing much. Maybe a family from the Blossom Plane?"


    "Would we not have heard of it at all if it was from the Blossom Plane, though? Where the hell did this brat come from anyway? His voice travels pretty far, but he seems to be using comprehension of wind to accomplish this, his power itself isn''t very great."


    Three youths who had just been enjoying a meal on the top floor of a restaurant all began to analyze the situation at once. However, when they swept their Spiritual Sense over toward the direction of the voice and saw that Ryu was actually standing in the air, their pupils constricted.


    "Is there a Tor Clan on the Blossom Plane with such a strong Ice Inheritance?"


    They obviously had no idea that the supposed ''Tor'' Clan they were asking about was just a small destroyed Kingdom from the Higher Mortal Plane. And yet, they still felt that it had the momentum of a weak Clan from the Blossom Plane.¦Ña??a ???????


    In truth, the current Tor name was about equivalent to a Clan in the Pedestal Plane''s Core Region. The reason the youths decided on the Blossom Plane was because they felt that one had to at least be from there to produce a genius that dared to do all of these things¡­ It was simply close enough.


    How, then, could the Tor Clan have such momentum? How else if not for Ryu?


    Ever since the death of his Grandpa Tor, Ryu stubbornness in that aspect of his life had been lowered by several measures. That day, without reserve, he told Ailsa as plainly as could be that the Tor Clan Ancestor deserved to be his grandfather. If not for him, Ryu wouldn''t be able to stand in the skies this day, arrogantly proclaiming his challenge.


    This subconscious acceptance was just one aspect, though. Ultimately, Ryu still saw himself as a Tatsuya. The reason, then, that the Tor Clan was gaining such large amounts of Faith was because others didn''t know he was from the Tatsuya Clan, they all believed he was from the Tor Clan.


    After investigating Ryu''s background, finding out his origins, especially since he didn''t keep a low profile, was a simple task for these Clans. If even the Inner Ring Clans had found out that he was a Tor, and Fidroha and the Clans of the Core Region had most definitely found out as well.


    It could be said that the devastation Ryu had wrought on the Pedestal Plane, in addition to killing two Immortal Ring experts at the Divine Vessel Realm, had caused his name, along with the Tor Clan''s, to resound far and wide.


    It was just ¡­ Not wide enough to catch the attention of this Martial Plain.


    The group fell silence for a moment, their eyes narrowing and their auras flaring up beside themselves. They had known that whoever dared to cause so much trouble wouldn''t be a simple individual, but this was a pleasant surprise, indeed¡­


    "Is that King Isambard and Queen Athelina''s daughter? It looks like he''s provoking us."


    The three had already stood, the winds whipping about in the restaurant suddenly picking up.


    Seated at a table alone, an older gentleman opened a single one of his eyes. The action alone forced the volatile qi around him to go to rest.


    ''Youths these days¡­''


    He shook his head and closed his eyes once more.


    "Let''s go."


    Without a care, the three youths crashed through the window, landing heavily on the ground below. All that was left of their presence was a pile of Qi Stones they left to pay for damages.

 Chapter 555 Fun

    Chapter 555 Fun


    ¦Ñ???? ???????


    "Is this all your Martial God Clan has?" Ryu asked.


    The streets beneath him were littered with ice coffins. The enforcers who had wanted to do something about Ryu breaking the rules, suddenly felt that they couldn''t act at all. It was one thing if Ryu was just breaking them, but the fact that he was challenging the youths of the younger generation made it a different matter entirely.


    If they tried to subdue Ryu now, what message would that send?


    To make matters worse, they were still having a hard time seeing through Ryu''s cultivation. One had to remember that grasping the cultivation of an enemy relied on both experience and feel. But, the further Ryu deviated from normal cultivation, the more and more difficult it was for others to see through him, especially when he was barely trying.


    The current Ryu wasn''t even using his own qi. Every tap in the air he made caused a swarm of cold atmospheric qi to surge forward, freezing the opponent in an instant. Aside from a bit of his own Focus Qi that was used up¡ªan amount that was almost instantly replenished by the prayer mat¡ªhe wasn''t using up any of his energy at all.


    "Do you think that the ones you actually want to battle would come out just because you said so?" Isemeine snorted with disdain.


    However, she never expected Ryu to answer seriously.


    "Yes." Ryu said plainly. "If they don''t, it only means that they aren''t the ones I would want to battle anyway."


    As though on cue, three blazing auras, each just as voluminous as the next, tore a path through the winding city paths. Soon enough, they grew tired of this and leapt onto the buildings, leaving devastation in their wake without a care.


    Ryu''s brow raised. ''8th stage Path Extinction Realm experts.''


    Every single last one of them had white gold hair and eyes. By this point, Ryu was certain that this was all that would appear in this region. Clearly, the Berserk and Silver Touch branch members did not reside here.


    Unfortunately, that made it unlikely that the core of the Martial Gods was here as well. Why would their Throne be located in a place where only a third of them resided?


    However, Ryu didn''t mind. In fact, this only gave him a better opportunity. If he had to travel to each one of their cities, that was exactly what he would do.


    "That''s Mazello. That one is Ragnar. The last is Throgg."


    The three youths flashed, their figures vanished and appearing atop a building just below Ryu.


    "Mazello is ranked 89th. Ragnar is ranked 91st. Throgg is ranked 84th."


    "Hey, Isemeine. You''re helping an outsider learn all of our secrets? Did he fuck you that good?" Ragnar quipped.


    "Yes." Isemeine grinned fiercely, her aura flaring up. "You could say that my man is quite well endowed. You could also say that his fist is pretty big too."


    The three young man narrowed their eyes. It seemed that they had forgotten that Isemeine wasn''t a normal woman. This was definitely not how the script was supposed to go.


    She was supposed to get embarrassed. Then Ryu was supposed to lose his temper and do something stupid. After that, he would lose and they''d all gain a hilarious story to tell.


    But, this fiery tempered woman was really too unpredictable. It only made them more annoyed because they had all wanted the first taste of her.


    "By the way, where are you ranked?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    "Me?" Isemeine looked down on the three before her with disdain. "I''m rank 97th despite being in the 1st stage. They''re too pathetic."


    "I see." Ryu nodded.  ¦Ña??a ???????


    With a casual motion, he tapped a finger forward.


    The pupils of the youths constricted. However, their auras surged, their reaction speeds not lagging behind in the slightest.


    The sound of cracking ice resounded as the three young men retreated swiftly. Ugly expressions contorted their faces as they watched even the qi they had been controlling around themselves turn into particles of ice.


    "Your ranking system is a mess." Ryu commented. "Why fuse potential and combat prowess into one list."


    "The list isn''t supposed to take combat prowess into account at all, at least not initially." Isemeine replied. "However, when someone breaks through and their potential is ranked, they''re then allowed to be challenged by those who aren''t satisfied. When you lose, you fall down a rank and someone else replaces you."


    Ryu chuckled. "So, let me guess, you probably debuted in the top three then lost more than 90 times?"


    Isemeine glared at Ryu. If he was going to pretend to be her man, shouldn''t he do a better job of letting her have some face?


    "And I assume that these three are among the few you lost to, hm?"


    Isemeine''s glare only intensified.


    "I guess that means I should protect your honor?"


    "Aren''t you having a little too much fun with this?!" Isemeine finally snapped.


    Ryu smiled. "It''s been too long since I''ve come home."


    Ryu''s aura surged, a grand grimoire appearing above his head. The temperature continued to plummet, ice crystals flowing like snakes in the heavy wind. It felt like a winter wonderland was descending as the falling snow became heavier, but there was nothing peaceful or beautiful about it to the three young men that faced Ryu.


    "I''m sorry to say, but unless your Dao Pedestal Realm Heirs begin to appear, none of you stand a chance against me, least of all three who can''t even step into the top 50."


    Ryu''s voice boomed over the city once again, howling harsh winds growing in speed.


    Isemeine rolled her eyes. ''How could you possibly know that? You have no idea how strong our true geniuses are. Arrogant bastard.''


    That was right. Ryu had no idea how strong they were. But, not only did he snub his nose at those at his cultivation Realm, even those an entire layer above him were being effectively ignored.


    However, the result seemed to side with him. Ryu didn''t even activate his grimoire when the mere tempest of accumulating ice qi froze the three youths solid.


    Ryu turned his gaze toward the distance. The longer this went on, the more he wondered just when it would get interesting. Sure, becoming a Throne was his goal¡­ But before that, he didn''t mind burying every so-called genius the Martial God Clan had.


    Still, at that moment, Ryu felt that a gaze was locked onto him.


    His vision pierced through the over 100 kilometer distance, through a broken window and landed on an old man with both his eyes closed.


    Ryu''s lip curled.

 Chapter 556 Good.

    Chapter 556 Good.


    "What is it?" Isemeine asked.


    Ryu''s gaze seemed odd at the moment, and his smile definitely felt different. However, though Isemeine could also see through hundreds of miles, there was too much in that direction for her to point out exactly what Ryu was looking at.


    "Nothing much. Just that it seems that the older generation is starting to pay a little bit of attention."


    Isemeine''s gaze shook at these words. "Should we go down?"


    "No." Ryu said. "It isn''t quite time yet for the old to come to take revenge for the young. That would take much more commotion than just this."


    Isemeine was speechless. More? Even she wasn''t this unruly. However, when she saw that Ryu actually planned to put what he said to action, she almost couldn''t stop herself from reaching out to stop him.


    Ryu''s hand grasped forward, snatching one of his Great Swordstaffs out of the air. Even now, they were still being nurtured by the stifling cold qi in the surroundings, becoming more and more solid and powerful with each passing moment.


    Ryu raised his arm in to the air, holding his blade with one hand and Isemeine''s waist in the other.


    ''[Third Perspective].''


    In the blink of an eye, the entirety of the Heaven''s Dew branch was reflected in Ryu''s mind. Tens of thousands of kilometers in every direction was painted into his psyche with the ease of a single stroke. He locked onto every aura of note with ease.


    And the most fear inducing part¡­? Not a single soul was even aware.


    "You will be the first."


    Ryu swung his blade down.


    The air whistled and whined, a large scythe of blue, crystalline energy jetting out as though it had a mind of its own.


    It tore a path through the skies, leaving nothing but frozen remains in its wake. Windows shattered, the ground turned into a frozen hell, large, sweeping icicles grew off of the buildings, homes and towers¡­ And yet, the Great Swordstaff Qi remained unhurried, undiminished, and unaffected.


    At that moment, a sudden surge of qi rose out of a building in the distance. It tore its way out from the roof, turning to face the scythe of blue headed its way with a ferocious momentum.


    Unfortunately, even after gathering up all the momentum they could, it was all useless.


    Another ice coffin was formed, falling from the ground with a heavy thud, a look of unwillingness and rage forever etched onto their face.


    "¡­ Didn''t you say that those who didn''t come out personally weren''t worthy of fighting you at all?" Isemeine really didn''t know what to say about Ryu at this point.


    "They were taking too long." Ryu replied simply, his blade rising high in the skies once again.


    "That was the 81st ranked¡­" Isemeine couldn''t even finish her words before Ryu''s blade descended again. "¡­ That''s the 78th¡­ The 74th¡­"¦Ña??a ???????


    Isemeine shook her head. At this point, she just accepted that her life was finished. Even her father wouldn''t be able to block her out from all this commotion. Plus, the trial for the Throne wasn''t even here. If Isemeine had to be honest, she wasn''t entirely sure where it was either, she just had a good guess. After all, you couldn''t just hide away your Throne Trial, that would be yet another hit to your Faith.


    What she did know, though, was that it most definitely wasn''t here. Ryu hadn''t even given her time to explain anything before he went on a rampage. Clearly, he was just using this as an excuse to vent some of his frustrations.


    Ryu''s blade descended again.


    "If you''re going to do this, why waste time on Path Extinction Realm experts at all! You might as well target the Dao Pedestal Realm ones!"


    "I''m saving myself some time." Ryu replied.


    "How is this--?!"


    Ryu''s blade descended again.


    It was like he was paving roads of ice. From above, it looked as though the city was being frozen beneath layer after layer. In fact, Ryu even felt like his Ice Flame might progress to the Monarch Realm very soon.


    "Hm¡­?"


    Ryu''s blade suddenly paused, his smile fading. Isemeine, who was by his side, suddenly felt a shiver down her spine.


    As long as Ryu''s smile remained, as long as he was still having fun, even if he went overboard, Isemeine felt that he wouldn''t go too far. However¡­ If that smile faded¡­ And he let the rage of what had happened in this place overwhelm the happiness he felt toward finally being back in the place he was born¡­


    At that moment, an arc of scarlet flame tore through the skies. The flames were so hot that the falling temperatures began to slowly rise once again, the snow that had been falling from the dense clouds above vanishing into puffs of vapor.


    The flames were such a harsh color of crimson that they almost seemed to be painted out of blood. The pair of wings they originated from sent a wall of heat forward every time they flapped, leaving even more devastation than Ryu''s ice ever had.


    Ryu didn''t even pay much attention to the person the wings were attached to. He couldn''t take his eyes off of the flame themselves. He didn''t even really register the fact that this winged individual was carrying another person with a hand to their shoulder.


    He was all too familiar with those flames. He had seen them countless times.


    ¦Ñ???? ??????? If the Deep Eruption Sect was among the weakest subordinates the Tatsuya Clan had, then this Clan was among the strongest. Not only were they among the strongest, they were almost among the closest, even allowed to frequent the Tatsuya Palace with almost as much ease as a Tatsuya could.


    Maybe to call them subordinates was incorrect as the power they held was no less great than the descendants of other Ancient Beasts.


    But... The fact that one of their own here and was even freely cozying up with the other youths of the Martial Gods¡­ Wasn''t the betrayal as clear as day?


    ''The Scarlet Sparrow Clan¡­ Good.'' A fiery light lit Ryu''s gaze. ''I was just getting bored.''

 Chapter 558 Summoning

    Chapter 558 Summoning


    For a moment, time seemed to freeze.


    Ryu''s body hung in the air like a coiled spring, his arms spread out and bent as though he was a crane. His foot was firmly planted against Arteur''s chest, the depth of his eyes piercing through the short distance that separated their gazes.


    And then, time accelerated to its peak, Ryu''s body uncoiling with an explosive power that shattered the sound barrier before his leg was even half way through unfurling itself.


    Arteur shot out like a laser canon. The skies were split apart as though a God had reached down and drawn a line to divide the world into two.


    Space crackled and shook, a thin pillar of crimson following Arteur''s figure through the air. Concentric circles of exploding wind following his wake, the battle between hot and cold qi becoming so prominent that it felt like the entire was about to collapse.


    Ryu''s head turned toward Tybalt who had seemingly managed to extricate himself from the collision. But, even as the latter fell from the skies, he held his hands up innocently as though none of this had anything to do with him. The way his white-gold eyes twinkled and his hair waved about in the wind gave him a warm sort of charisma that made everyone around him want to hang onto his every word.


    Everyone except for Ryu, that is.


    However, Ryu didn''t spare him more than a single glance. At that moment, Arteur had smashed through the ground and buildings, his flames licking about the city and causing pillars of flames to rise and fall in his wake.


    It was then that his roar shook the skies. Rage, humiliation, fury, all bubbled up from his core.


    His head tilted to the skies, a mighty shout shook the dense clouds above as they struggled to close after just being split in two. He didn''t know who Ryu was, nor did he care. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to burn him to ash.


    A sword appeared in his hand. It was only three finger widths wide and about 1.3 meters long. It looked as though it couldn''t have weighed any heavier than a feather, and yet it swallowed up the qi Arteur poured into it as though it was a bottomless ocean.


    It shone a violent crimson color, the kind that made you think of rivers of blood, oceans of bone and skies of corpses.


    The bloodthirst was palpable. Arteur''s hair turned a burning shade of red and his irises vanished, replaced by two orbs of pure radiant bloodlust.


    The ground cracked and shattered, splintering in all directions for tens of kilometers as Arteur''s knees bent.


    In one blink, he was still on the ground. In the next, he had rocketed back into the skies, his wings of fire unfurling to the point they spread out a kilometer to the left and right.


    Ryu responded in kind. Sparkling ice qi hovered around him like a raging torrent. It took no more than a single breath for wings of ice just as large to spread out from his back, countering the oppressive heat Arteur bore down with in an instant.


    And then, the two clashed.


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaff. Arteur''s Sword.


    The sound was so blaring that it alone shattered all the windows in the surrounding several kilometers. But, once the wind pressure of their battle caught up, the devastation could hardly be put into words, it was like a tsunami of earth was rising with the two of them being none other than the epicenter.


    "I''m going to kill you!"


    Arteur''s voice was like a clap of thunder, sending Ryu''s hair fluttering backward. But, all that did was reveal a face as cold as ice, a demeanor as unshaken as diamond and a disposition as noble as even the Shrine Mountain in the distance.


    Still, Arteur hadn''t spoken for the sake of Ryu''s response. He didn''t care what the latter would say, all he wanted to see was blood.


    His sword retracted itself before snaking forward at an even greater speed.


    Ryu''s gaze could follow its arc with ease. He could already tell that Arteur was in the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm on the verge of stepping into the Middle. His attainments in the sword, likewise, were definitely not small, as were his attainments in the Dao of Fire. In addition, he had begun to use his Spiritual Foundation in earnest, so the qi he had access to was slowly surpassing Immortal Qi in quality.


    However¡­


    Why should he care?


    ''[White Serpent''s Dance: Winding Step].''


    Ryu''s figure seemed to vanish out of the path of Arteur''s sword, his afterimage being sliced into two only for his true self to appear to the latter''s side. His speed was so quick that it felt to those observing that he teleported. However, who didn''t know that the space on the Martial Plane was far too sturdy to allow such a thing at the hands of anyone below the World Sea Realm?


    Arteur''s wings flapped a single time, sending forward not only yet another wall of heat, but also moving him out of the way of Ryu''s strike.


    He countered with an unmatched swiftness. If there was anything the palm sized Scarlet Sparrows gained in exchange for size, it was speed. Arteur didn''t believe that anyone could outdo him in this aspect. Anyone who wanted to was asking for death!


    Ryu''s crystalline blade just barely missed the tip of Arteur''s nose, only for the latter''s sword to appear at his throat.


    A vicious light lit Arteur''s eyes. "[Reverse Flow Pierce]."


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. He felt as though all the blood in his body was flowing in reverse, his strength suddenly plummeting as he lost control of his own Vital Qi.


    Arteur''s timing bordered on perfection, his blood red sword appearing just an inch from Ryu''s throat in the blink of an eye.


    However¡­ Other than a slight change in his pupils, Ryu''s gaze was filled with an undying indifference.


    "Take form and conquer the world." Ryu''s soft voice somehow filled the skies.


    Arteur''s pupils constricted. An Immortal Ring summoning?!

 Chapter 557 Squarely

    Chapter 557 Squarely


    The auras of two Dao Pedestal Realm existences pressed down, but Ryu''s expression only grew colder and colder. As much as his cold qi seemed suppressed, Isemeine, who was by his side, had lips that were quickly turning blue. If not for receiving some of Eska''s help, her life might have been over already.


    The Scarlet Clan was the descendant of the Scarlet Sparrow in the same way the Tatsuya Clan was the descendant of the Fire Dragon.


    It was said that the Scarlet Sparrow would never be more than two palm lengths large even after maturity. Due to this, Ryu''s Grandpa Kunan was always relentless in his teasing of the old monsters of this Clan¡ªhe found them too difficult to take seriously. However¡­ it was definitely only a monstrous descendant of the Lightning Qilin that could possibly make ¡­


    The Scarlet Clan, in ancient times, even before Ryu''s Era, used to control the Blood Shrine. Back then, even Ryu''s Grandpa wouldn''t have dared to look down on them.


    The Scarlet Sparrow had high affinity in both fire and blood. Their flames were completely rooted in how hot they were. In this aspect, they most definitely surpassed the Fire Phoenix and even the Fire Dragon.


    The Fire Phoenix''s flame wasn''t hot at all, its abilities were beyond that. As for Ryu''s Fire Dragon Rage Flames, heat wasn''t their main ability either. Though it could feed on emotion to rival and even surpass Scarlet Flames in pure heat, this also wasn''t its main ability.


    However, what the Scarlet Sparrow was most known for, and the reason it could be placed on the same level as Dragons, Qilins and Phoenixes, was its blood affinity.


    The Scarlet Sparrow were masters of vitality. Even though their bodies were not as strong as other beasts, they were still far stronger than regular humans and body cultivators. At the same time, their stamina was practically endless and their ability to battle through injury was heaven defying.


    At a certain level, a Scarlet Sparrow wouldn''t die even if its head was chopped off, even if there was only a single drop of blood left in its body, even if its organs had all been incinerated to ash!


    Even with all of this said, the most fearsome ability of the Scarlet Sparrow hadn''t been touched upon.


    When their flames and blood were raised as one, fusing into their ultimate Talent, the Blood Flame, they gained the ability to bestow and rip away Bloodlines.


    Blood Essence was protected by the Heavens. One couldn''t just take as they pleased, they could only give. And, even in the case of receiving Blood Essence that was being willingly given away, a body might not be able to withstand the demand such a thing would take.


    In both cases, the Scarlet Sparrow defied the Heavens.


    Not only could they take without permission, they could make the process of accepting it far easier as well. It could be said that the only drawback was that they couldn''t take these Bloodlines for themselves. This was the only limit the Heavens placed on them.


    In Ryu''s time, much like the Ice Phoenix Clan had been having difficulty finding another to awaken their Ice Flame, the Scarlet Clan couldn''t find a successor to the Blood Flame. The trouble was that the Scarlet Clan had been faced with this predicament for billions of years already by the time Ryu was born¡­


    The result?


    They lost the Blood Shrine and became known to be as inferior to the Phoenixes although by every metric, at their peak, they were equals¡­


    The Phoenixes controlled the quintessence of life, death and reincarnation. The Scarlet Sparrow controlled Bloodlines. The former seemed to be above the latter¡­ Until one realized that Bloodlines could only be bestowed by the Heavens and through unions between the powerful¡­  ? ???a ??????


    The Scarlet Clan¡­ Had they found their Blood Shrine once again?


    Ryu landed on a roof that had been beneath him. He looked toward the shivering Isemeine, realizing that he had lost control of his rage a long time ago. If not for the sake of the fact he still needed her and couldn''t let her die, he wouldn''t have settled on this roof at all.


    "Stay here." He said plainly, the smile in his voice completely gone.


    "W-w-where are you g-going?" Isemeine''s teeth chattered.


    "To kill." Ryu replied.


    Isemeine couldn''t react before Ryu shot into the skies.


    ¡­


    ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? "Hoho, he''s coming toward us, Arteur. You lose. Did you really think he would be scared off by you? Your face isn''t worth so much."


    The man being carried by the Scarlet Clan member laughed, basking in his victory.


    Arteur snorted as he glared toward Ryu who was carving a path toward them, his speed picking up with every passing moment.


    "I didn''t think he would be such a fool." Arteur snorted again, this time even more forcefully, as though he was scared that it hadn''t been picked up the first time.


    Tybalt, the young man being carried by his shoulder, continued to chuckle. Originally, Arteur hadn''t wanted to come at all, it was him that convinced the stubborn fellow to go. How could they miss out on such fun? It wasn''t everyday someone pranced around the skies like this.


    Plus, he would have gone alone, but wasn''t it far more convenient to have someone that could fly accompany him? And, now that Arteur had lost the best, considering his temper, he would probably take out his frustration on Ryu. Like this, he wouldn''t even have to fight and could just sit back and watch a good show.


    At that moment, though, Ryu suddenly accelerated. He pressed down on the air, causing it to crack apart beneath his might. In the blink of an eye, his speed had gone from meandering to being like a raging bullet, leaving exploding concentric circles of violent winds in his wake.


    In one breath, he was tens of miles away.


    In the next, he had appeared before the both of them, the sole of his foot meeting Arteur''s chest squarely.

 Chapter 559 Oh My...

    Chapter 559 Oh My...


    Every Immortal Ring had a special cadence to it. Much like how Mental Realm Masters could use Chanting to increase the strength of their Visualizations, certain Immortal Rings could be summoned with greater speed in battle by reciting a mantra that suited them. This was why during his battle with Izril in the dream world Osiris, Ryu had heard him say ''Blossom Forth''.


    However, the trouble was that Ryu''s mantra was far too overbearing. Even though common sense told Arteur that this was all that it could be, he had an unwillingness to accept it. In fact, he was unwilling to accept it for more reasons than just this.


    Once one stepped into the Dao Pedestal Realm, Immortal Rings could no longer be summoned. Only very special techniques allowed for the continued use of Immortal Rings, but in most cases, the Immortal Rings would fuse with the body once one cleared the Path Extinction Realm.


    The fact that Ryu was summoning his Immortal Rings meant that there was a very strong likelihood that he wasn''t in the Dao Pedestal Realm. And¡­ This reality enraged Arteur all the more.


    However¡­ There was no changing the result.


    At that moment, everything within tens of kilometers of Ryu was suddenly blown away. Thirteen Immortal Rings, radiating a dense dark gold qi took form. Their manifestation alone repelled Arteur and his sword, sending them flying backward for several hundred meters before they could final stabilize themselves.


    Ryu stood in the skies, qi rolling toward him from all directions. The temperature began to plummet at such fast speeds that the ground and buildings cracked and splintered, shrinking in on themselves too quickly.


    Ryu brandished his Great Swordstaffs, his hair gaining a sparkling sheen of ice as his pair of crystalline blue wings exploded in size, from just one kilometer in both directions to ten.


    With a step forward, ice petals formed beneath Ryu''s feet with hardly an attempt. He rose just a single Great Swordstaff in the air, his momentum so frightening the repaired split in the clouds above suddenly became a cyclone of raging white, blue and black.


    Arteur stabilized himself in the air, his gaze still painted over by a crimson.


    "The Scarlet Clan is still so weak." Ryu said plainly.


    Arteur''s eyes widened, his rage so palpable that veins danced across his forehead and forearms. It felt as though he might burst at any time.


    ''Small Realm.''


    The moment Arteur felt the change around him, he realized how serious the situation was. He no longer dared to hold back, his own Small Realm forming in an instant as he held his sword before him.


    The dividing line between the Path Extinction Realm and the Dao Pedestal Realm was among the largest because it was precisely after crossing this divide that one would be able to transcend the use of Heaven Grade techniques and step into the league of Mystical Grade ones¡­


    If this Ryu thought that he would just keel over, he was sorely mistaken.


    Arteur''s lips gave way to a fiendish grin. He had felt the weight and heft of Ryu''s Bloodline just a moment before. It was shocking that he actually found it so difficult to move the blood of someone barely at the beginning stages of the Blood Tempering Realm. But, that made it all the better. When he drained this bastard dry and stripped him of his Bloodlines, he would really like to see if he still had the face to be so arrogant.


    "[Blood Manifestation: Nine Pillar Formation]!"


    ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? At that moment, Arteur''s veins became a bleeding red. They wiggled beneath his skin like crimson snakes with minds of their own.


    It was then that nine streams shot out from Arteur''s body, forming the nine separate pillars. Each of them was a hundred meters and almost a tenth of that thick. They surrounded the battlefield between Ryu and him completely, sealing them off from the outside world.


    For the first time, the atmosphere seemed to stabilize for everyone but Ryu.


    Ryu, himself, felt as though his blood was rolling and like his Immortal Rings were being starved of qi, tainted by a dense bloodlust that only seemed to be growing thicker and thicker.


    Ryu''s arm was still raised into the air, but even his crystalline blue Great Swordstaffs were beginning to reflect more and more of a crimson hue, their translucent surface dancing with the color of blood and death.


    Veins continued to wiggle about Arteur''s body, his sword brandished before him and the glow in his eyes only becoming more sinister with every passing moment.


    Ryu suddenly shifted to the side, his body flickering out and back into existence as he dodged an imperceptible strand of qi.


    Arteur''s gaze narrowed, not only because Ryu had actually managed to dodge, but also because of the indifference painted on the latter''s face. Not only had Ryu made no attempt to not become trapped by his technique, his arm was actually still raised in the sky as though nothing had happened.


    Arteur activated his technique once again, trying to latch onto Ryu, but once again, the latter dodged. This time, there was a clear paling of Arteur''s face. Just because a Dao Pedestal Realm expert ''could'' use a Mystical Grade technique¡­ Didn''t mean it was easy to do so.


    "Didn''t you hear me the first time?" Ryu said coldly. "The Scarlet Clan is weak. Has always been. Will always be."


    At that moment, Ryu''s Immortal Rings trembled. The call for qi was so fierce that the barrier Arteur had formed almost instantly shattered.


    Shards of translucent, crimson glass fell from the skies even as Arteur coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest.


    ''[White Serpent''s Dance: White World].''


    Ryu''s blade descended.


    The world seemed to lose all its color, washed with a white light that covered everything. It felt like everything had gone back to the beginning, left with nothing but a blank canvas to build it all back up again.


    Even without seeing the strike land, those spectating knew that Arteur was finished. Ryu was, of course, of the same opinion. Or, rather¡­ He would have been had it not been for his [Third Perspective].


    At that moment, an old man with a hunched back, half closed eyes, and a hand trying to rub out an ache in his spine was walking through the skies. His pace seemed so slow, even to the point he could pause and mumble to himself from time to time.


    And yet, he was completely unaffected by Arteur''s crimson barrier, Ryu''s a Immortal Rings, or even the soon to clash attack.


    It seemed like he had perfect timing, appearing before Ryu''s swing by ''accident''.


    "Oh my¡­ Tsk, tsk."


    The old man reached out a wrinkled hand, shattering Ryu''s [White World] with a single palm.

 Chapter 560 Old Overseer

    Chapter 560 Old Overseer


    "Oof¡­" The old man continued to rub his back. "¡­ Youths these days are always so fiery. Just look at the state of the city now, tsk tsk."


    Ryu didn''t say anything immediately. The fact the man was walking through the air without a pair of wings was enough to speak to his prowess. Though Ryu wasn''t quite satisfied just yet, he wasn''t a fool at the same time. He had no intention of going up against a World Sea Realm expert, even if they had a foot in the grave.


    At the same time, though, Ryu wasn''t star struck. How many of such experts had he seen in his lifetime? He had long since lost count. He had once interacted with them everyday, and four of them were his very own grandparents. If there was anyone in this world that could treat World Sea Realm experts like cabbages by the side of the road, it was Ryu.


    "You know, it''s my duty to oversee things in this particular city, what am I supposed to do with all of this mess?"


    Ryu once again didn''t reply despite fully well having a proper answer. In the background, Arteur continued to spit up mouthful after mouthful of blood, the backlash of his technique being shattered still not having died down quite yet.


    The truth was that this city had several self repair formations in place. It would only take activating them for the city to rebuild itself. Any high level city worth its salt would have such formations in place. This was why Ryu didn''t particularly care about the damage he caused.


    The old man continued to sigh to himself before he looked toward Ryu. At that moment, though the old man looked amiable, Ryu felt the pressure of an entire wall fall down upon him. It didn''t seem that the old man was trying very hard, but his gaze alone was worth its weight in years.


    "Youths really are hot blooded these days, aiya. What to do, what to do."


    Ryu met the old man''s gaze, but something suddenly sparkled in the latter''s eye. Without Ailsa around, Ryu knew there was always a chance that his Heavenly Pupils could be exposed at any time, but it was already too late to pretend to be blind at this point, or else he would have been pointing even more attention toward his eyes.


    However, Ryu wasn''t as helpless as he had been in the past in this regard. As difficult as it was to deduce his true cultivation thanks to his Chaos Qi, so too was it more difficult to piece together just what kind of talents he carried with him. The old man might be able to tell there was something special about his eyes, but as long as he wasn''t using his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth techniques on the man himself, jumping to the conclusion that he had Heavenly Pupils would be a large leap.


    After a few moments, Ryu cupped his fists toward the old man and turned to walk away.


    "Hoho¡­" The old man chuckled.


    He didn''t seem like he was trying to stop Ryu at all. In fact, he didn''t seem to be much other than amused.


    "Where are you going now, lad?"


    "I know my limits." Ryu finally spoke for the first time.


    His meaning was obvious. He could defeat the younger generation with impunity, but if their elders wanted to interfere, there wasn''t much he could do.


    Ryu descended onto the building he had left Isemeine on. By now, the young woman was caught between wanting to glare at Ryu, being relieved that he was alive, and wanting to punch him.


    ''This shameless bastard. He came back over here to remind that elder that he''s with me, huh? Do I look like a shield to you?!''


    Isemeine didn''t dare to say this out loud, because she knew quite well that Ryu would be shameless and thick faced enough to say yes.


    The old man chuckled at Ryu''s response before his gaze shifted over to Isemeine.


    "And what about you, little girl. Are you trying to wash your hands clean of this too? You know, you''ll be an adult very soon."


    Isemeine practically choked on her air. Unlike Ryu, she wasn''t nearly as used to speaking to World Sea experts.


    One would think that since both of her parents were such experts, that she would at least be as used to it as Ryu was. But, this was far from the case.


    Isemeine rarely, if ever, saw her parents. Her father did dote on her, but that was more so due to the competition he had with Zenavey''s father over their mother. As far as Isemeine''s father was concerned, Isemeine had to be protected because she was the representation of his connection with her mother, not because he intrinsically loved Isemeine herself.


    The good news was that since Isemeine was tied to his pride, he would never allow anything to happen to her. But, it wasn''t rooted in the same love Ryu experienced from his own parents and his grandparents¡­


    This was simply the way of the Martial World. The greater your cultivation, the less of a chance there would be for you to spend so much time and effort on children and family who had yet to grow to your height.


    Maybe if one day Isemeine became a Queen, then her relationship with her father would grow beyond just this level. But, for now, it wasn''t that deep.


    The same went for many others. Often, the act of an ''elder'' getting revenge for the ''junior'' was less about the love the former felt for the latter, and more about the face the former would be losing if they sat back and did nothing. This was the cruel reality of the world.


    So, when Isemeine stood there facing the glance of a World Sea Realm expert, she felt her body freeze over. That was¡­ until she felt Ryu''s arm around her waist again.


    In that moment, what once was an insurmountable wall of pressure seemed to vanish. She didn''t know how he did it, or how he could possibly make her feel safe beneath the gaze of such an expert, but she actually foolishly believed for a moment that even if this old man was a Sky God, it wouldn''t make a difference.


    Isemeine shook her head at this ridiculous thought. Logic told her that even a Cosmic Seed Realm expert could crush Ryu with a single finger, let alone the World Sea Realm expert before them and not even mentioning someone of the Sky God Realm. What a joke.


    Isemeine snorted. ''What a show off.''


    After recovering, Isemeine quickly cupped her fist.


    "I apologize, Overseer. My partner was overly eager to test the combat prowess of our Martial God Clan after being specially recruited by the Silver Touch branch. His temper is as bad as mine is, so he didn''t seem intent on waiting around and simply issued the challenge directly. We don''t mind paying the Qi Stones charge it will take to rebuild the damaged structures."


    The old man''s eyes twinkled again when he heard Isemeine''s composed answer. But, he was even more curious about the contents.


    "So, this young man has joined the Silver Touch branch?"


    "No, Overseer. He has yet to choose a branch to join, he only came here to spend some time with me and ended up being overly eager¡­"


    ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? Isemeine completely avoided the topic of Ryu wanting to become their Throne. She felt that just this knowledge alone was a ticking time bomb, so she preferred to keep it a secret. At the very least, the elders from the Deep Eruption Sect wouldn''t'' dare to breathe a word about it.


    At the same time, this Overseer seemed very interested in Ryu. She felt that this was a chance.


    An Overseer was a World Sea Realm expert that oversaw a pocket of space on the Martial Plane. It could be said that this city was just one of the many hundreds to thousands of settlements the Martial Gods had on this Plane.


    Unsurprisingly, then, an Overseer held a lot of authority and power. Likewise, for an Overseer to step out personally to deal with such a small issue was unheard of.


    Ultimately, the scuffle between the younger generation was exactly that¡­ a small issue. So, the logical conclusion was that this Overseer wanted something, and it was bad enough that he didn''t allow any number of his subordinates to step in for him.


    Of course, this particular Overseer was a bit eccentric so it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. After all, how could you not be eccentric if you were eating on the same floor as a couple of Path Extinction Realm brats?


    That was right. This was the very same man Ryu had noticed through the broken window just moments ago.


    "Fascinating. Fascinating, indeed. Good then, young man. What do you say about completing a couple spars for me?"


    Isemeine''s brow twitched. What was that supposed to mean, exactly?

 Chapter 561 By Proxy

    Chapter 561 By Proxy


    Spars? Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Although Isemeine was confused, Ryu himself was quite used to dealing with old monsters like this. The word games they played, the way they skirted out of responsibility, and the method by which the bent and twisted others to their will¡­ It was all just like what he remembered.


    World Sea Realm experts had lived too many years of life. At their stage of cultivation, they were exceptionally sensitive to matters like karmic ties and Faith. As a result, they were even more careful with their words and their sentence structure.


    Everything they said held a trap. All the words, phrases and sentences they weaved together hid themselves within layers. Usually, these layers were difficult for those beneath the World Sea Realm to pull apart and reach the root of¡­


    But who was Ryu Tatsuya, exactly?


    The Overseer''s use of spar told Ryu a lot of things. Firstly, the Overseer wanted Ryu to fight for him for some purpose. Secondly, the event he wanted Ryu to participate in likely wasn''t a matter of life or death. And, thirdly, and most important of all, he wanted to ensure that Ryu knew that since this was something as low stakes as a ''spar'', he shouldn''t expect to receive any sort of reward for it.


    To make matters more shameless, he was also simultaneously telling Ryu that he didn''t have much of a choice in the matter. He, as an ''oh so magnanimous'' Overseer, was actually willing to let all of this go in exchange for such a ''small'' favor. If anything, Ryu should be on his knees thanking the Heavens for him being so big hearted and kind.


    ? ?? ??-?? ???. ??? It only took Ryu a moment to understand all of this. It could be said that he was quite versed in the language of World Sea Realm experts. So, rather than explaining directly, Ryu feigned ignorance.


    "I wouldn''t dare, esteemed Overseer." Ryu said humbly. "The gap between our strengths and experience is far too large. What I can do is repair the city in your stead so that you won''t have to worry about any of it."


    Ryu Spiritual Sea surged, Ancestor Morvar''s [Formation Eye] Visualization manifesting. Ryu didn''t wait for the Overseer to respond and instead immediately sent the Formation Eye into the sky.


    The auto-repair formation that covered this city was of the Ancestral Grade. Even with Ryu''s soul having gained a great amount of talent, maybe even more than the rest of his body, this was still far beyond him to construct. He couldn''t make nearly enough Formation Eyes.


    But, this didn''t matter. After all, the formation was already completed, all Ryu needed to do was activate it and provide it with the power it needed. Both of these things only required a single Formation Eye to accomplish and were as easy as breathing for Ryu.


    The Overseer could only speechlessly watch as the energies of the world converged, pulling in qi from all sides and rapidly healing the fractured and broken city.


    Completed formations were invisible to the naked eye making them difficult to deal with for normal individuals. But, Ryu had never had a problem with this. In fact, even if he didn''t want to see a formation, it was as plain as day to him just by the swirling colors of his [Ephemeral Tapestry].


    The Overseer wanted to stop Ryu, but it was already too late. In just a few moments, a city that had been ravaged by battle was as good as new, leaving the Overseer at a loss for words.


    Isemeine, especially, wondered how all of this had happened. Now that she thought about it, Ryu was in fact known for his Heavenly Pupils and was quite good at working with formations. But, the issue was¡­ How had he done it without even using Qi Stones?


    The truth was that this formation was always meant to function without Qi Stones. High grade formations, much like cultivators, could use atmospheric qi. The rulers of the city probably just hid this little rule so that they could claim more taxes from the people who lived here in the form of more Qi Stones.


    But now all of this left the Overseer at a loss. Had he met someone more shameless than himself?


    He didn''t understand how his words could be misunderstood as an ask for a spar. Why would he want to spar with a brat like Ryu? He could blast him apart with a single fart. Wasn''t all of this too ridiculous?


    But, how could he expect that someone who couldn''t even use Cosmic Qi could activate an Ancestral Grade formation? Worst of all, now that the city was repaired, much of what he had to coerce Ryu with had suddenly vanished. Could he still get away with making Ryu work for free?


    Logically, he felt like the answer was yes. After all, Ryu had still broken the no fly rule. If he was shameless enough, he could definitely force Ryu into a corner with this.


    But, something about the look in Ryu''s eye told him that it wasn''t a coincidence he managed to slide by his first word trap completely unharmed. And¡­ something more told him that if he had done it once, he could most definitely do it again.


    Who the hell was this brat?!


    At that moment, Arteur, who had still been coughing up voluminous mouthfuls of blood finally landed, his body beaten and broken. From the moment Ryu landed that foot on his chest to the end of the battle, he hadn''t been able to gain a single upper hand. It was frustrating to the point he wanted to raise his head up high and roar in rage. But, his body was too weak to allow him to do such a thing.


    Hearing the sudden cough, the Overseer''s eyes lit up. He looked toward Ryu again, a sly grin growing.


    ''I might not be able to get you directly, but I can definitely get you by proxy.''


    "Do you know your crime?!" The Overseer''s voice boomed.


    But, rather than being in Ryu''s direction, it was aimed toward the pitiful Arteur. Just when the Scarlet Clan member had just managed to settle to his hands and knees, he collapsed again under the pressure of the Overseer.


    Ryu''s lip couldn''t help but twitch. This damned old fox.

 Chapter 563 She Knew

    Chapter 563 She Knew


    This Ice Devil Legacy World again¡­


    This was what Ryu thought when Isemeine mentioned it. It seemed like everywhere he had gone, he had heard about it. So, it was finally opening up tomorrow? But wait, wasn''t that supposed to still be along ways away?


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, his pupils dilating as he looked into the skies. Someone else would only see an expanse of white clouds fluttering with dense packets of falling snow. But, Ryu saw the depth of space with a single glance.


    After observing the changed position of the stars, Ryu frowned.


    ''I see¡­ So time moved forward so much faster in the outside world while I was in that replica Nether World. Or¡­ Is it that I was directly transported into the future instead? No, it''s likely the first or else Isemeine wouldn''t have complained like that. Or, maybe a combination of the two.''


    With how many youths came from different Eras that had participated, who was Ryu to say that he wasn''t one of them? He just happened to be lucky in the fact that he wasn''t displaced trillions of years like they were.


    One had to remember that the cap for the Ice Devil Legacy World was the Immortal Ring Realm. Back then, the Apostles had started tournaments on the Pedestal Plane to find talents. The winners of those tournaments would then be trained over several hundred years so that they would be primed and ready to help the geniuses of the Blossom and Shrine Plane to enter the Legacy World.


    Now that Ryu really thought about it, this was a lot of investment into a Legacy World that would only be making an appearance on the mere Blossom Plane. In fact, it was a lot of investment even if the Legacy World appeared on the Shrine Plane.


    Why¡­? Because this Ice Devil was a completely unknown existence. Ryu couldn''t understand why the Martial Gods had invested centuries of planning, effort and resources into an unknown expert.


    "Do you know who this Ice Devil is?" Ryu asked.


    Isemeine looked up toward him before shaking her head.


    "I have no idea. I''m not even sure my parents know either. I always thought that it was because no one knew that we invested so much into it. Who wouldn''t want to unearth such a mystery? In fact, had I known that I would have been stuck in the replica Nether World for so long, I would have suppressed my cultivation at the Immortal Ring Realm to enter too."


    When she finished her words, Isemeine looked up and glared at Ryu.


    That was right. She had only been meant to step in for a moment to explain things before leaving. But, she ended up spending weeks getting fucked both mentally and literally by Ryu. It was more annoying the more she thought about it.


    Ryu pretended not to notice her glare at all. He was still thinking about whether it was worth it or not.


    Was this what he should spend his time on?


    On the one hand, for a Legacy World the Martial Gods had put so much effort into now to be finally opening, this was likely the best chance to gain merits. They were especially invested, so the rewards would be great for anyone who could learn of its secrets. This much was true.


    However¡­ Entering that Legacy World was as good as broadcasting that he was in the Immortal Ring Realm.


    It was one thing for a Path Extinction Realm expert to jump a single cultivation level¡­ But two?! That was completely unheard of. If the Martial God higher ups heard about such a thing, who knew what would happen?


    Being talented was a good thing. Being too talented was a sin. This was the way of the world.


    As reckless as Ryu always was, he was no fool. He only took calculated risks he had a chance to grow and improve from. He wouldn''t throw himself into certain death situations just for the heck of it.


    However, it was at that exact moment that something Ryu would have never expected to happen, occurred.


    Ryu''s heart trembled violently. It felt as though his mind became as light as air for an instant, like he might pass out at any moment. His vision blurred, his eyes flashed, and even a clap of thunder rang through the skies as the white clouds greyed and eventually blackened.


    It didn''t take long for Ryu to regain his calm, his breathing steadying and fists clenching.


    [Intuition]. It had activated for the second time in this lifetime. It was telling him to go.


    **


    On the Blossom Plane, the upswell was only growing livelier. An event that these geniuses had been preparing for centuries was finally about to begin.


    Not many knew why the Martial Gods were so invested in a Legacy World only those at and below the Immortal Ring Realm could enter. But, quite frankly, it didn''t matter to many of the youths who had come from the Pedestal Plane and many who had been born on the Blossom Plane.


    To them, this was an opportunity to change their lives. They had been given a chance and this was finally where they would reap the benefits.


    In one particular location, though, a young lady that wasn''t familiar to Ryu even though she should be, was among those who were the busiest. She was Meralda, a woman Ryu should be endlessly grateful toward.


    This beautiful young lady had been the overseer of Ryu''s Herbology Exam all those years ago. Thanks to her help, Ryu was able to hide the fact he had contracted Ailsa from the eyes of the Martial Gods for the most part.


    Though he had to deal with Fidroha afterward, it was because of Meralda that he had the benefit of the doubt and wasn''t pursued with more fervor. If not for her, Ryu might have already been turned into a puppet for the Martial Gods to make use of Ailsa.


    Of course¡­ The Martial Gods also had no idea that the Faerie they wanted to take control of was actually Galkos'' fianc¨¦e, or else their approach would have been much different, indeed.


    But¡­ This was only the tip of the iceberg¡­ That day, Meralda had heard Ryu say his name¡­ She knew that he was the successor to the Tatsuya Clan.

 Chapter 564 Gold Leaf City

    Chapter 564 Gold Leaf City


    Of course, back then, Meralda hadn''t believed that Ryu was a true blood member of the Tatsuya Clan. Even now, she still didn''t. Rather, she thought him to be a lucky young man who ran into one of the Tatsuya Clan''s legacies.


    For a powerful Clan like the Tatsuya''s, it was impossible that they wouldn''t have counter measures left behind to let their name be remembered and maybe even allow them to recover some time in the future. The best way to do this was to choose talented youths who could take up the Tatsuya name in their absence. Meralda believed that Ryu was one of them.


    After so many years, Meralda still had no idea why she had protected Ryu all those years ago. Maybe she felt bad for him. Maybe it was because he was a little handsome. Or, maybe it was because he was so talented in the field she loved the most: Herbology.


    Whatever the reason was, Meralda, despite her standing as the Heiress of the Dugo Clan, had taken a lot of heat for her decision back then. Even centuries later, she was still paying for it and Clans were still suppressing her Dugo family using her folly as an excuse.


    Of course, they still couldn''t prove anything. But, with the shamelessness of these old fogies, they only needed a small reason to gang up together and cause problems for her. If it wasn''t because her grandmother was used to being just as unreasonable, who knew how many more troubles she would have had in this time?


    As luck would have it, Meralda was tasked with handling much of the miscellaneous matters'' of this coming Legacy World entry, something that was definitely far beneath her status as an Heiress. But, without a choice, she could only accept. The other seven Clans were all too eager to take small bites out of her Dugo Clan''s prestige in this fashion.


    ¡­


    The location was a grand city at the center of the Blossom Plane. Whether by Fate, luck or coincidence, the Ice Devil Legacy World was also precisely located at the center of it all.


    Of course, when it came to matters of the center of a Plane in the Shrine world, with the exception of the Mortal Planes, the only true center was Shrine Mountain. The city was thus built as the base of a towering mountain which was both impossibly wide and tall to the point of piercing through the veil of the skies, reaching to the Plane that called the space far above them home.


    The densest energy of the Plane radiated out from the mountain, cascading down upon the city of gold with a splendor surpassing even it.


    Unsurprisingly the city was indeed named Gold Leaf City. It had tall tan walls decorated with golden leaves and five inner walls that were easily viewable even from the base of the outer wall.


    The city itself was constructed like a tower or a looming mountain. Each one of its subsequent inner walls was placed at a higher elevation than the last, giving the illusion of a continuous, monstrous wall that rose into the skies, only overshadowed by Shrine Mountain itself.


    The gates of Gold Leaf City were a thick, heavy rose gold. It was etched with scenes of a mythical heavenly realm, frequented by faeries, angels and halos of holy light.


    The roads that led to them were wide, and carved of beautiful polished white stone. Every one was set with purpose and care in mind, giving the air a light, delicate feel to it that made one feel as though they could get lost in the ambiance of it all. This city and everything around it was truly of unmatched beauty and majesty, touching upon realms most never would.


    Of course, if Ryu had been there right that moment, he would know why. This city was modeled after and even seemed to use the base of a subordinate Sect of the Holy Wing Clan. If there was anything those shameless old women cared about, it was beauty and appearances. Oh¡­ And their undying hatred of men.


    It was quite ironic, almost as though Ryu and Meralda were connected by Fate.


    The very reason Ryu chose to take his own life and managed to trigger [Intuition] in his first life was due to this very city birthing far too many Holy Saintesses. And yet, the person who had saved him all those years ago, at no knowledge to himself, was one of these very Saintesses.


    ¡­


    At that moment, the rose gold gates were opened wide, revealing the grandeur of the city. Meralda stood at the entrance, her demeanor calm and unhurried. She didn''t seem to realize that this was a knock to her status at all. In fact, there was a light smile playing her features.


    Even now, Meralda wore the same pair of glasses and had her hair up in a messy bun. She didn''t seem to pay too much attention to her appearance, yet she radiated a holy aura that felt unmatched. Without even trying, her beauty stood out even amidst a crowd of expert cultivators, her demeanor causing the heart to flutter.


    Her hair was a translucent violet color that would remind Ryu of Elena''s diamond pink hair. They radiated a similar shimmering light, looking like gems strung out into long, delicate strings.


    Her eyes shared the same color. Even hidden behind her glasses, they caught the attention of all those who passed by, sparkling with kindness and an adorable innocence.


    There was just a single group of people she had left to welcome to the city, but they certainly taking their sweet time. They had been meant to be here hours ago, but time seemed to be a loose construct to them.


    Of course, a few hours weren''t much to cultivators, so Meralda could only wait quietly, smiling and nodding to the passersby.


    ''Ah, they''re finally here¡­''


    At that moment, a platform formed in the distance. One after another, the people upon it slowly turned from illusory to corporeal.


    Ryu had no idea at this moment that a person he would never expect to see was among this group of people.

 Chapter 565 Daze [Bonus chapter]

    Chapter 565 Daze [Bonus chapter]


    "Meralda? What are you doing here?"


    An amiable older woman blinked in surprise when she saw Meralda standing at the gates. Of all the people she expected to be here, she was most definitely the last.


    "Ah, Auntie Duna." Meralda politely came forward. "How could I not come to greet you all? It''s my pleasure."


    Auntie Duna seemed to be a woman in her 60''s. However, the delicate features that must have made her a beauty in her youth had definitely not faded quite yet. In fact, there were certainly no small number of young men who wouldn''t mind spending a night with her at all.


    She wore a translucent veil, but the embroidered lace couldn''t hide the beauty of her face. The only thing that was a bit off putting about her was the fact she seemed to be dressed for a funeral. Not just her, actually. Everyone following her seemed to be the same.


    Auntie Duna shook her head. "I''ll be giving those old fogies a piece of my mind for letting a fragile little girl stand out here all alone. Don''t worry, Auntie will fight for you."


    Meralda giggled lightly, her silver bell like laughter causing the eyes of the young men who followed behind Auntie Duna to glow. However, they knew their place. Meralda''s cultivation was far beyond their own. Even if they were confident in their futures, they knew enough about the martial world to know that nothing was guaranteed.


    The young and old held their hands together. One would think that they were a pair of teenage girls exchanging some gossip about the boys they liked.


    Auntie Duna had known Meralda ever since she was a child. Of course, this was because she and Meralda''s grandmother were both dear friends and rivals as well. It could even be said that Auntie Duna treated Meralda like her own granddaughter despite the fact the little girl insisted on calling an old lady like herself, Auntie.


    "Ah! Oh, right, Meralda, come come. I want to introduce you to a little girl. You two would be great sisters. Little Nunu, come here."


    Amidst the group, a young woman with delicately sculpted features was surprised by the call of her name.


    Something about her felt ethereal, as though she was both within arm''s reach and yet a world away at the same time. Her features were hidden behind a far thicker veil than Auntie Duna, and yet just the gentle slope of her brows and the twinkling of her irises captured ones imagination, making it difficult to not want to pull it away and see just what was hidden beneath.


    Her eyes seemed to shift in color depending on the way the sun hit it, adding to her mystery. The way her cheeks blushed in a clear shyness brought her back down to earth, though. The result was her being an untouchable beauty in one instant, and an innocent lamb others would lay their life down to protect in the next.


    Her hair was a beautiful jet black, falling with a healthy sheen to the small of her back. Her figure was wrapped in a black dress, clinging lightly to her curves. However, it was exactly because of this that where her hair began and ended was so difficult to spot¡­ That and the fact sometimes her hair appeared to be material, and at other times, it wafted about like gentle, harmless black fog, only adding to her mystery.


    Everything about this young woman sent one''s mind into a tail spin. It was too difficult to tell how you should feel laying eyes on her. It even felt like time stopped for a moment, and that was despite the fact Meralda was pretty sure she didn''t like women that way!


    Luckily, it was Auntie Duna grabbing this young woman''s hand to bring her toward Meralda that snapped the latter out of her stupor.


    Auntie Duna giggled. "This little one is quite the beauty, right? I''m surprised I managed to find such a gem on the Mortal Plane."


    Meralda blinked. "The Mortal Plane?"


    "Yes, yes. I was surprised too. Her name is Yaana. Introduce yourself, Little Nunu."


    "Ah¡­ Yes¡­ Hello, my name is Yaana¡­" Yaana lowered her head, not daring to meet Meralda''s gaze.


    "Aiya, I''m always trying to get this little one to feel more confident. She is the greatest genius I have ever met. Before I took her in, she couldn''t even cultivate out of the Awakening Realm, but she was just missing the proper technique!


    "Ah! I''ve said too much. This little one has a special physique that shouldn''t be spoken about in public like this. I will talk to you and your grandmother about it over some tea. How about we go inside?"


    Meralda blinked. Her Auntie Duna rarely got so excited. Clearly, this little girl was not normal.


    Now that she thought about it¡­ Wasn''t that Ryu ''Tatsuya'' from the Mortal Plane too¡­? Was Fate trying to reverse itself again?


    Meralda sighed. She knew well that this Shrine World wouldn''t allow itself to fall into another''s hands so easily. It seemed that it wasn''t ready to lay down just yet.


    Meralda shook her head, pushing these matters to the back of her mind.


    "Yes, of course. I will definitely have some tea with Auntie. I will be right there after settling some things. We still have until tomorrow morning." Meralda replied with a sweet smile.


    "Good, good." Auntie Duna smile brightly.


    Auntie Duna led the youths that followed her into the city. Not long after, they had disappeared into the distance.


    Meralda took a deep breath. ''Well, that should be it. I guess I should close the gates now.''


    Just when Meralda was about to take action, the teleportation station in the distance flashed once again. But, this time, it wasn''t connecting to an outside world¡­


    ''The Shrine Plane¡­? They should all be here already¡­''


    At that moment, a young man with looks that took Meralda''s breath away appeared. He towered over Meralda, his pristine white hair fluttering in the wind. Just his scent alone made Meralda feel as though she was being intoxicated as she fell into an even deeper daze than she had before.


    "I''m not late, right? Hello, I''m Ryu Tor. I have a participation plaque given to me by Apostle Fidroha. Is it still valid?"


    Ryu presented the plaque he had received from Fidroha after the Core Region tournament all those years ago. He smiled lightly, his usual cold demeanor seemingly receding slowly as time passed. But, this just left Meralda all the more speechless.


    In her daze, it took her several moments before she even thought of replying. But, when she was about to, her eyes widened.


    She finally recognized Ryu. It was actually him!

 Chapter 566 Playboy

    Chapter 566 Playboy


    Ryu blinked. His senses were far too sharp to not notice the emotion in Meralda''s eyes. The first part was one he was used to. But the second¡­ That was¡­? Recognition?


    Where would this woman have recognized him from? Even though the Origin Flame was becoming less useful, something like remembering a face was as easy as child''s play for it so long as no odd sensory obstruction techniques were used.


    Beyond that, even without the Origin Flame, the memory of an Immortal wasn''t fallible enough to forget a face so easily.


    After a moment of curiosity, Ryu''s gaze flashed and a hint of surprise was hidden in the depths of his heart. As expected, there was a line of Fate connecting himself and this woman before him. And¡­ The line was quite thick, at that. Far too thick for it to have just been the result of a single meeting. Unless, that is, that single meeting was a very important turning point in one of their lives.


    However, Ryu had no idea who this woman was.


    There were only two possible explanations.


    The first was that he really had experienced that year of life he lost. In that case, he likely met that woman more than once during that year and they had a small relationship.


    The second possibility was that she had observed him without his knowledge at some point. And, during that time, she had either saved his life or had tried to take it from him.


    Considering the fact the Line of Fate between them was an almost absolutely pure white, it was safe to say that their relationship was positive. So, if it was the second, it meant that she had saved his life at some point.


    ''¡­ When could that be¡­?''


    Ryu had put his life on the line so many times even he, himself, had lost count. It was impossible to tell when his life could have been saved by someone else.


    That said¡­ There were some clues.


    Firstly, Meralda was in the Dao Pedestal Realm. Clearly, she was a genius, almost too much so compared to the others of the Blossom Plane considering back in Ryu''s time, the highest level of cultivation one could find here was just a single Realm above this. And, those were the Ancestors of their Clans who spent much of the time in deep seclusion.


    However, this cultivation wasn''t nearly enough to hide from Ailsa who had a soul and Spiritual Sense comparable to a Cosmic Seed Realm expert. This likely meant that this either happened before he met Ailsa, or after Ailsa fell into a coma should the second option be true.


    Ryu shook his head. ''To think that I''d have such an ambiguous relationship with a Holy Saintess. The Heavens really like to play tricks on us mere mortals.''


    "Do we know each other?" Ryu probed.


    "Ah¡­ Um¡­" Meralda didn''t know how to respond. But, this told Ryu something else.


    ''She''s nervous. She doesn''t want others to know how we might be related? Why is that, exactly? Did she help me even though it might anger others? Or¡­''


    Ryu thought of another possibility, but that one gave him a headache. He would prefer it not to be the case. Though, thankfully, it was unlikely to be true.


    There was always the possibility that his ''ambiguous'' relationship was ''deeper'' than just that. In that case, this young lady would probably be worried about him appearing here because his life would be in danger.


    A Holy Saintess having relations with a mere Immortal Ring expert? It was grounds for trouble indeed.


    Luckily, as Ryu thought, this was unlikely to be true. If it was, he wouldn''t have been pent up to the point of needing Eska for such things if such a thing really happened in his ''lost year''.


    Ryu shook his head. He wouldn''t be so loose, right?


    Never mind, maybe it was best if he didn''t answer that question at all.


    Ryu waited patiently for Meralda to finally settle herself.


    "¡­ N¡­ No, I don''t know you. It''s nothing, you just reminded me of someone else. Yes, your identification plaque is still valid. Please feel free to display it at any one of the outer city''s inn''s to find accommodation."


    Ryu nodded and pretended like he accepted Meralda''s reasoning. Since she didn''t want to tell him, there was no reason to press her to do so. He didn''t know enough about the situation so he might be putting her in a tough spot by pressing for an answer. Since she had helped him or they at least had a good relationship, there was no need to make her life difficult.


    "I see. Farewell."


    Ryu walked by Meralda before he suddenly paused.


    "Right. There should be a young woman by the name of Melody here, right? Do you know where she is?"


    Meralda blinked. She had been mid sigh of relief when Ryu suddenly spoke to her again, so she ended up coughing on air a bit.


    She couldn''t help but kick herself. Since when had she been this flustered by anything? As much as it seemed like it was because of Ryu himself, the truth was that was only a small part of it. Ryu''s appearance could lead to all sorts of trouble for her Dugo Clan, especially if his Faerie is ever revealed.


    The main issue was the Fidroha, the Apostle tasked with chasing after him, was also here. On top of that, the city had become a central hub for all sorts of experts, all of whom wanted to see everything go as smoothly as possible. To them, Ryu was like a wrench in all of their plans.


    This wasn''t because they already knew that Ryu would cause trouble. In fact, Ryu himself had no intention of disrupting anything. He was only here because his [Intuition] insisted. Since he would only have three such opportunities in a lifetime, how could he possibly ignore one?


    The trouble stemmed from the fact Ryu was supposed to have been part of the training program all the other Pedestal Plane geniuses had been going through over the past several hundred years. Yet, not only had he not participated, he was suddenly showing up at the final moment. How could that not raise many questions?


    And... There was something else that Melody couldn''t put her finger on.


    "Melody¡­ I¡­ I''m not sure. But, there are only three inns that most of the participants would have gone to. In all likelihood, she is within one of them."


    Ryu nodded. "What about an individual called Sarriel?"


    Meralda''s lip couldn''t help but twitch. How many women was this young man going to ask her about? What a playboy.


    In truth, Meralda''s opinion of Ryu couldn''t help but take several steps down, something that ironically helped her to reach her usual state of calm once again. Ryu, of course, noticed this and could guess why. But, he couldn''t very well do much about it, right?


    "I think I did hear about a Sarriel, yes." Meralda was partially surprised with herself for actually having an answer. "She should be¡­"


    Meralda explained with great detail where Sarriel would be. That girl should have come with some Silver Touch branch members along with their new recruits and she happened to hear her name spoken among them.


    "Thank you."


    Ryu didn''t stay for much longer and simply walked away. The truth was that he could just use his [Third Perspective] to reflect the entire city in his mind. But, it was quite taxing for a city as large as Golden Leaf City. In such an environment, he had to try to remain in top condition for as long as possible.


    The Blossom Plane didn''t have the same spatial pocket restrictions the Shrine Plane had, so their cities were absolutely enormous. Even thousands of kilometers wasn''t enough to paint the picture. The only reason it looked reasonably sized was because it might as well have been an ant before Shrine Mountain.


    Meralda watched Ryu walk away and it was only after he truly disappeared that she finally sighed in relief.


    At that moment, she finally realized why it was that she was so uncomfortable. It wasn''t because of what was at stake, it wasn''t because he was handsome, but it was because¡­ Her Bloodline was actually being suppressed?


    ''¡­ Who is he, really?''


    ¡­


    Ryu walked through the city. Though his expression didn''t give much away, he felt waves of nostalgia. This city was different from the last time he had visited it, but not different enough that he was at a loss to recognize it.


    The last time he had come here had been with Elena, it was among the last times she had actually completed her duties as a genius of the Holy Wing Clan. Of course, this was before she chose to sever all ties with them and ''marry'' into the Tatsuya Clan.


    Ryu couldn''t help but feel that he was far too stubborn in the past. He couldn''t blame Elena for feeling like she felt now.


    One might say that Elena should have been aware that this would happen. After all, at some point, since Ryu was a mortal, she would outlive him. By then, let alone 900 million years, she would have to spend billions, maybe trillions alone.


    But¡­ Ryu didn''t feel like these were the same things. However much anger Elena had in her heart was as much as he was fully prepared to withstand. In this life, the last, and any others¡­ She could only be with him.


    By the time Ryu made it to where Sarriel should have been, the sun was already fallen and the moon was high in the skies. His pace had been completely unhurried from start to finish. Despite the fact he could have crossed the distance in just a few moments, he took several hours.


    However, before he could open the doors, they blasted open just as his hand was reaching out.

 Chapter 567 Alote Till

    Chapter 567 Alote Till


    Ryu''s gaze flashed, the forward motion of his hand becoming a swift downward slap. There was no hesitation in his actions, no pause, and it almost seemed as though this was what he had planned to do from the very beginning.


    In one moment, an incisive knife that hid within the darkness was blazing a trail toward him. In the next, it had been pierced into the ground at Ryu''s feet down to the hilt. It wasn''t until a moment of silence that the air suddenly exploded apart, a cacophonic boom spreading throughout the region.


    Ryu''s robes fluttered beneath the impact, but he remained unmoved. His gaze looked up from the dagger in the ground through the now open doors of the inn. Within, he caught sight of a young man sitting at a table. Though he was expressionless eating as though these matters had nothing to do with him, Ryu''s eyes couldn''t be fooled in the slightest.


    Maybe it was because he was so distracted by his thoughts, or maybe it was because this young man was that good at hiding his aura and intentions, but Ryu almost hadn''t reacted in time.


    Of course, had the dagger landed, it would have rebounded off his skin as though it had collided with a steel wall. The current Ryu had already stepped into the Blood Tempering Realm. Whether it was his bodily strength or defenses, they were all elite even without him activating his Spirit Bodies.


    However, that attack would have likely blasted apart his clothing and left him in a sorry looking state. Though he had formed his current robes with his master''s Visualization technique, making them far more durable than normal clothing, he hadn''t invested a lot of Spiritual Qi into them. As a result, they weren''t as sturdy as they needed to be for Ryu to take part in a high-profile battle.


    What was truly odd about this was that Ryu didn''t recognize the young man at all.


    Usually, Ryu wouldn''t care about this. For attacking him with such ill intent, he likely would have taken this young man''s head off already. He couldn''t be bothered to wait for an explanation or anything of the sort.


    However, in his current mood, he was still in a partial daze. He had just spent the last several hours strolling around aimlessly and lost in his own thoughts. To suddenly be thrust into such an odd situation didn''t just catch him a little off guard.


    At that moment, a clerk or bartender or receptionist¡ªRyu couldn''t exactly decide right then and there¡ªsuddenly shot up.


    "There''s no fighting allowed in my inn! Scram!"


    Ryu blinked, his mind still somewhat foggy. Had he really lost his mind? Or was this big bellied worker actually speaking to him?


    Ryu shook his head. He must of heard wrong.


    Even after reincarnating, Ryu had rarely met individuals so stupid. He had half a mind to go back to being as cruel and cold as he usually was. Clearly, people thought that this more amiable version of himself was easy to bully.


    He took a pause, willing to wait to see if this fat clerk was really speaking with him. But, unfortunately, the gods of intelligence were greatly disappointed that day.


    "Did you not hear m¡ª!"


    The fat woman couldn''t even finish her next words before her head was separated from her neck. Her last sight was of a room rotating around a headless corpse¡­ her corpse?!


    Ryu rubbed his forehead. He really wasn''t in the mood to deal with such nonsense.


    He looked up and toward the young man who had thrown the dagger.


    "You heard the woman, there''s no fighting allowed in this inn. Are you going to scram? Or do you want me to make you scram?"


    The young man finally looked up from his food, first he gazed toward the fat woman''s corpse before he panned over toward Ryu.


    One might be wondering at this point why all this was happening. Many within the inn were doing their best to mind their own business, but there were a few others who were having a hard time not laughing. Obviously, these were individuals who didn''t care about giving the dagger throwing young man any face.


    When Ryu had been making his way to the inn''s entrance, he had walked by several windows. He hadn''t been paying much attention at all. However, that didn''t mean the women at the young man''s table weren''t.


    One he had taken a fancy to had gazed at Ryu for a fraction of a second too long before looking away and the result was a woman losing her life. It seemed that within the martial world, life really was so fleeting. Such a benign, ridiculous matter had reached this point.


    Of course, one could say that Ryu had taken thigs too far. But as far as he was concerned, he had taken things just far enough. The penalty for weakness in this world was death and this inn keeper was clearly trying to drive him out so that someone else could backstab Ryu later. It only took a glance for Ryu to see through all of that.


    Still, what was maybe the most ridiculous matter was the fact that the young woman hadn''t even been looking at Ryu for reasons the young man thought. Instead, it was because she recognized him.


    The young lady who sat that the dagger throwing young man''s table was none other than Alote Till, the Throne of the Night Terror Sect that Ryu had met during the Core Region tournament. She had clearly grown greatly in that time. But, this much was expected for a Throne, even if it was only for a Sixth Order Sect.


    Alote obviously had a lot of pride of her own. She had gazed at Ryu a hint longer only because she had a flash of those moment from several hundred years ago.


    But¡­ As far as she was concerned, Ryu''s arrogance in choosing not to partake in the training the Apostles bestowed upon all of them was the greatest mistake of his life. If Byrine learned that he was here, there would be blood to pay.


    By now, she was confident she had left him in her dust which was why she only spared him a single glance. But, who could have thought that things would end up like this?

 Chapter 568 Clear

    Chapter 568 Clear


    The young man across from Alote wasn''t a simple character. He was the young Scion of a prestigious Clan of the Blossom Plane. It could be said that while the geniuses of the Pedestal Plane were practically recruited for the purpose of becoming canon fodder, the geniuses of the Blossom Plane were at the first level for which they could be taken seriously.


    Of course, Alote knew this. However, as a Throne, she wasn''t willing to resign herself to such a Fate.


    None of them were fools. The Martial Gods wouldn''t just help the weak out of the kindness of their hearts. They had a very expressed purpose for why they were here and she was smart enough to be cognisant of that despite the carefree attitudes of the other fools who thought that they had already made it.


    This was just the first layer of matters, though. There was a deeper, more intriguing layer that needed to be separated out and pieced apart.


    One had to remember that those below the Path Extinction Realm couldn''t hope to live on the Shrine Plane long term. In fact, even an Immortal Ring Realm genius without a strong ice affinity would find themselves frozen to death in an instant should they step foot on the Shrine Plane.


    What did that mean, then? It meant that all of the geniuses below the Path Extinction Realm were all concentrated on the Blossom Plane. Whether it was the competition, the resources, the comradery¡­ If you were below the Path Extinction Realm, this was, by far, the best place to be.


    In the several hundred million years since they took over the Shrine World, the Martial Gods had cultivated the Blossom Plane to the point it had become the best place to raise juniors.


    This all culminated in a simple fact.


    In the past, Ryu could look down on Blossom Plane ''geniuses'' because they would pale in comparison to the true geniuses of the Shrine Plane almost 100% of the time. Even if there was a genius born on the Blossom Plane that could be compared to those of the Shrine Plane, more often than not, they would be taken in by the Sect or Clan their own were subordinate to.


    However¡­ The same couldn''t be said now. If one was well known enough to be a genius of the Blossom Plane in this Era, it meant that you were a pre-eminent genius of the Shrine World as a whole. You could hold your head up high anywhere.


    Knowing this, it was no wonder that the awe Alote had had for Ryu had faded away. She had been surrounded by geniuses she felt could accomplish the same things and much more over the past several hundred years.


    Plus, what was the Throne of an Eighth Order Sect worth before a Throne of a Ninth Order one? What about a Tenth? Because she had seen versions of both!


    However, she was disappointed to find that Ryu wasn''t aware enough to adjust his attitude. Even if you were attacked first, there were some insults you had to swallow.


    In these years, she had never devalued or sold herself. However, there were many grievances she had swallowed no matter how hard it had been. It was this that allowed her to be here, sitting at the table with the Scion of a Ninth Order Sect and being valued by him enough to deserve his jealousy.


    Maybe had Ryu not just said the words he just had, it would have still been possible for her to say a few words that would have allowed him to keep his life. But, at this point, there was no chance. Rather than lose her hard earned connections over someone she had just met once¡ªthings she had bred over countless decades¡ªit was better to just remain silent.


    She was close to finally entering the inner ring of her Sect. She didn''t want to ruin her chances just for a small exchange of pity.


    Of course¡­ This was a weird thought for a Throne to have. What inner ring could a Sect have that its Throne couldn''t access¡­?


    "What did you just say to me?" The young man said in a low voice.


    Ryu rubbed is forehead, his mind slowly clearing up. Why was it that people chose the worse times to be stupid? Ryu didn''t even feel like coming up with a witty comeback.


    He knew that more trouble was likely on the way already. After all, as harsh as the punishment was for fighting in this city, the punishment for killing was definitely harsher. Yet, Ryu had already done that. It was too late to take it back.


    "I''ll give you to the count of three." Ryu said plainly.


    "One." The young man sneered, speaking the words for Ryu. "Two. I would really like to see what you''ll do to me after three."


    Before he finished his sentence, Ryu had already moved. No one seemed capable of keeping up with his movements. In fact, his silhouette seemed to still be standing at the door, still rubbing its forehead as though nothing had happened at all.


    The young man''s next words were caught in his throat before he could say them.


    Ryu squatted over their table, the tips of his toes pressing into the hard wood as he held the young man up by his neck.


    At that moment, the wind finally caught up with Ryu, sending a strong gust through the surroundings. Alote''s hair fluttered, her eyes widening when she realized that Ryu had actually already passed her.


    He held onto the young man''s throat, never having looked at her even once. It was hard to tell if he had realized she was there and simply didn''t care, or if he hadn''t bothered to notice in the first place.


    All she could do was stare at his side profile, her heart forgetting to beat for several moments.


    Ryu shook his head, rubbing his temple with his free hand. All of this was really too ridiculous.


    "You ¡­ can''t kill ¡­ me. I am ¡­ the Scion of ¡­ the .."


    "Just shut up."


    The young man''s neck was snapped. Ryu accidentally squeezed too hard, causing a burst of blood to spray about the surroundings.


    It was clear by that point that the authorities had been alerted.

 Chapter 569 Frustration

    Chapter 569 Frustration


    The blood smoothly fell from Ryu''s palm. It was as though his skin couldn''t be blemished. Without so much as an attempt to wipe it, it all dripped away on its own.


    Ryu shook his head. How asinine.


    Without sparing anyone else a glance, he stepped down from the table and walked up the stairs of the inn. He had already known where his destination was a long time ago and had already pinpointed exactly where Sarriel was.


    The lobby and dining area of the inn was stunned into silence. Even those who had been chuckling at the young man''s misfortune couldn''t find it in themselves to laugh anymore. What they had just seen was simply far too shocking. Many of them couldn''t help but pinch themselves to check if they weren''t dreaming.


    Not a single one of them could defeat that young man with such ease. In fact, even the most powerful among those that remained would need to exchange several thousand moves with him before a winner would be decided.


    And yet¡­ Just one step followed by the squeeze of a hand and his life was actually forfeit so easily..


    ¡­


    Ryu had hardly begun to knock on the door when a blurry shadow streaking with tears leapt into his arms. It quickly wrapped its arms and legs around him as though it was horrified that he would disappear.


    Toward such a thing, Ryu could only stand speechless. Wasn''t this woman a bit too eager? They had just seen each other a few days ago. Plus, they had only known each other for a few months. What was wrong with her?


    Now that he thought about it¡­ What was wrong with him? Why had he come to see her first before going to check on Granny Miriam''s sister? It seemed that even his own priorities were skewed. He didn''t seem to be thinking particularly straight.


    This was an especially odd feeling for him considering that [Intuition] had led him to this place. Usually, after using it, his mind would be especially clear.


    Maybe it really was because he was back home. All the emotional high he had felt had suddenly come crashing down at once and the reason should have been as clear as day.


    He had felt so happy to be back home and everything was going smoothly¡­ Until an old man so much more powerful than himself decided to step in on a whim.


    What impacted him the most was that the old man hadn''t even had any ill intent. He had only interfered because he needed Ryu for something. What Ryu wanted didn''t matter, what his thoughts were, were meaningless. It wouldn''t have mattered even if he had been fighting for something as important as his life, if someone so powerful simply decided to do something, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.


    It was the nonchalance of it all¡­


    He had been right there, primed and ready to become the Throne of the Clan he had hated with a passion for so long, only for his plans to be derailed at the whim of an existence that didn''t even know or care to know and understand his struggle.


    That was what it was.


    He was frustrated. Frustrated to an extreme.


    However, he managed to hold it down. Even now, he was still holding it down.


    He knew that he had stepped to that Plane again far too early. It wasn''t time for him to be there. He wasn''t strong enough, his fist wasn''t large enough. Even if the main mastermind of his family''s demise was right before him, what could he even think to do about it?


    Ryu suddenly felt a lot calmer. Sarriel hadn''t even said anything, but his mind felt soothed.


    Well, it was soothed, until Sarriel began to speak.


    "I thought you left me for that Isemeine girl! Why didn''t you say a word before you went off and disappeared! You didn''t even say hi to me!"


    Ryu felt a headache coming on. However, it was the kind of headache that made him want to laugh.


    The only person he knew who could speak such nonsense yet have him end up laughing was Elena. She used to say and do the most ridiculous things all the time. How she kept up such a cheery attitude around a man as dreary as himself, he had no idea. She truly was a gem amongst gems.


    Who knows, maybe that was why he was so fond of Sarriel. Though, she was lacking in too many aspects be a perfect copy of Elena. That said, wasn''t that why she was her own person?


    "Okay, okay, okay." Ryu chuckled. "I''m here now, aren''t I?"


    "Ah!"


    Sarriel pulled back, her legs still wrapped around Ryu''s hips. But, now, the palms of her hands were squeezing down on the sides of his face.


    "Did you just laugh?! Do it again! I missed it!"


    Ryu was speechless. Let alone how ridiculous it was to expect him to laugh on command, even if he wanted to do so, how would he with her squeezing his face like this?


    Ryu shook head, peeling Sarriel''s hands from his face.


    "What happened with Matheus and the others?"


    After Ryu had come back with Isemeine, he hadn''t even cared enough to continue dealing with Matheus, his mind had been on other things. Since he had let him live on a whim, just let him live, then.


    But, now that he thought about it, Matheus had also been at that tournament all those years ago, so he should have a plaque for entry just like Ryu did.


    "Ah, I don''t know." Sarriel blinked. "But, I have your corpse puppet here, how could you forget something so important?"


    Ryu raised his brows. That was right, he had also left that behind as well. It seemed that he really had stopped caring about a lot of things after that moment. With the exception of Nemesis, of course.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed. "Let''s go. I don''t feel like dealing with this trouble right now.''


    Ryu''s cloak appeared for the first time in a while and the two completely disappeared. Not long after they left, several powerful auras converged, having no idea that Ryu simply walked right by them.

 Chapter 562 Crazy?

    Chapter 562 Crazy?


    Arteur coughed more and more violently. He struggled to look up, but unlike Ryu, he was completely unable to withstand the aura of a World Sea Realm expert. To make matters worse, he was injured from the backlash of his own technique, one of the worst injuries one could ever face. Things were only made more horrible by the fact the technique he had used was faintly beyond his means of activating completely.


    "Flying in the skies! Fighting an unsanctioned battle outside of a designated area! Causing damage to the property of the Heaven''s Dew branch!


    "I will ask you once again, do you know your crimes?!"


    Tybalt, who was a ways away from all the action despite knowing well that he had instigated all of these matters to happen, narrowed his gaze. After Arteur had dropped him, he had moved to a nice and high location to view the battle. The entire time, he couldn''t help but be shocked by Ryu''s combat prowess and he was even more shocked by Ryu''s Immortal Rings.


    Even now, Ryu''s Immortal Rings hung in the skies, trembling the space that hung around them. Clearly, even though Ryu was aware that he was no match for a World Sea Realm expert, that didn''t mean he would keel over and allow anything that would happen to happen. As a result, he hadn''t allowed his Immortal Rings to fade just yet.


    Tybalt couldn''t help but replay the mantra Ryu used to summon them in his head again and again. Every time he repeated them in his mind, he felt his soul tremble uncontrollably. And, every time became more difficult than the last.


    ''¡­ Take form and conquer the world¡­''


    Just who was this Ryu Tor? Where the hell did he come from?


    Tybalt shook his head. ''It seems that the Overseer has set his sights on this Ryu for the banquet. I know a few elder brothers who will be unhappy about this¡­ But if he''s willing to use Arteur to get to Ryu, that means that the old man doesn''t care about the consequences. Let me stay as far away from this as possible¡­''


    Ryu could only watch speechlessly as the Overseer berated and lambasted Arteur who couldn''t even stand on his own two feet. As much as Ryu currently hated the Scarlet Clan, he almost felt a little bad for the guy. After all, Arteur was far too young to have partaken in the betrayal of almost a billion years ago. And, it could also be argued that it wasn''t his fault that he was embroiled in this battle to begin with.


    ¡­ Not that Ryu would show him any mercy because of these things.


    "¡­ What¡­ What is happening right now¡­" Isemeine looked toward the Overseer who currently had his back to them. He continued to go at Arteur until spittle flew from his mouth. One would think that he was a normal old man at this point.


    If a World Sea Realm expert was truly angry enough to make such a scene, he would have long since waved a hand and wiped the city from existence. This was clearly nothing more than a show.


    "¡­ Youths these days really don''t respect the work of the old! You need discipline, structure! You and all those involved need a sense of duty or else you''ll continue down the wrong path time and time again! I can''t sit idly by and allow you all to waste all the talent and potential you have!


    "You and all those responsible for this carnage will participate in the coming banquet! And no! You don''t have the right to refuse. That goes for all of you! HUMPH!"


    The old man clasped his hands behind he back and strolled away through the skies. From the start of his rampage against Arteur to the end, he hadn''t spared Ryu another glance. In fact, Ryu couldn''t even see his face. But, somehow, Ryu could tell that that old bastard was probably grinning from ear to ear. It was no wonder he didn''t dare to look back, he was afraid he''d burst into a fit of laughter.


    Ryu opened his mouth to speak but in the end, he sighed and shook his head. It seems that he had gotten a bit rusty after all these years. He actually let such a shameless ploy play out like this before him.  pan da-nov el ,c`o`m


    In the end, Ryu shrugged, finally speaking to answer Isemeine''s question.


    "This is just what happens when you have enough talent." Ryu said.


    The fingers of the old man twitched in plain sight of Ryu''s gaze, but he continued to walk away with a steady pace as though nothing had happened.


    After a while, Ryu decided that this wasn''t the worst thing that could have happened. He had managed to get out of this without putting his life on the line. And, though he hadn''t achieved his ultimate goal of becoming a Throne, he had stepped one measure closer.


    Although Ryu didn''t feel the need to hide the fact he wanted to become a Throne, being too forceful with his wants was also suspicious. This was a perfect middle ground that allowed him to play the part of arrogant, reckless playboy to perfection.


    And the best news? The name of Ryu Tor would begin to slowly spread.


    ?? n?? - ? o? ?? , ?`?`m "When is this banquet?" Ryu asked Isemeine.


    "I¡­ I think he''s speaking about the ceremony for Princess Isemeine and Prince Galkos. Such ceremonies always have an exchange of moves between the members of the younger generation. In Martial God culture, this is even more important and there will be many valuable treasures to be gained for both the youths and the Overseers that represent them.


    "So, its date is a few months away."


    Ryu nodded. "I see. A few months, huh¡­ What can I accomplish in that time¡­"


    Ryu was speaking to himself, so Isemeine didn''t answer. To someone else at this cultivation level, a few months was nothing. But, to Ryu, who was only 21 years of age and had only been cultivating since he was 14, it was worth far more than that.


    "Is there any way for me to gain enough merits to exchange for a Mystical Grade Spiritual Herb in that time?"


    Isemeine''s lip twitched. "Are you insane?"


    Ryu expected as much. But, he still wanted to try. If he didn''t have Ailsa by his side for this banquet, it would feel as though his hands were being tied behind his back. He didn''t like that.


    "Oh, wait¡­ Now that you mention it, there''s this Ice Devil Legacy World opening up tomorrow. I can''t enter because my cultivation is too high. But you¡­"

 Chapter 570 Were They?

    Chapter 570 Were They?


    The city fell into a state of chaos. It quickly became widespread news that the Scion of the Cloaked Dagger Sect had actually died.


    To make matters worse, the killer hadn''t even tried to hide himself. Not only had he done the deed before several witnesses, he was actually recognized by one of them.


    Under interrogation, Alote had had no option but to expose Ryu''s identity for the sake of saving herself. After all, she had been the trigger for all of this in the first place. With the intelligence of cultivators and their ability to pick up on the tiniest of details, it was impossible that she would be able to escape scrutiny, especially not when everyone around her would be clambering for credit.


    It was then that everyone came to know of Ryu Tor, the man who brazenly killed the Scion of a Ninth Order Sect.


    It was safe to say that Geftien''s¡ªthe young man¡ªparents were completely infuriated. However, when it came to matters of Golden Leaf City, even if they were core members of a Ninth Order Sect, they were still too small to do much of anything.


    In the past, the Blossom Plane might have only had a handful of Ninth Order Sects. But, in this Era, there were hundreds of them and the most powerful eight ruled over Gold Leaf City, including Meralda''s Dugo Clan. Though the Cloaked Dagger Sect wasn''t weak, they weren''t prestigious enough to wash the City in blood seeking revenge for their Scion.


    However¡­ That didn''t mean that the eight Clans of Gold Leaf City would sit idly by and do nothing. This wasn''t just a matter related to the Cloaked Dagger Sect, it was also related to their own prestige. After all, all the businesses of the City were own by one of the eight Clans. By killing their inn keeper, wasn''t Ryu smacking their faces as well?!


    Unfortunately for them, Ryu was absolutely nowhere to be found.


    The gates had closed long ago, so they felt that it should have been impossible for him to flee. And, as someone who had come to enter the Ice Devil Legacy World, he should also be at or beneath the Immortal Ring Realm, so how could he possibly hide from the Spiritual Sense of so many experts?


    And yet, that was exactly what happened. Let alone finding Ryu, they couldn''t even find a single clue about his whereabouts, throwing the entire city into a state of upheaval.


    ?? n?? - ? o? ?? , ?`?`m As these matters went on, more about Ryu''s past came to light and his origins became clear to all. Whether it was about his birth on the Mortal Plane, his actions in the Outer Ring, his exploits in the Inner Ring, and even the culmination of it all in the Core Region.


    And then, there was his sudden disappearance. He had simply vanished for several hundred years, only to appear once again just in time for this world opening.


    The happenings within the Replica Nether Realm and on the Shrine Plane were completely out of their reach. It was impossible for them to know of such things. However, the rest of everything else was more than just a little shocking¡­


    Especially after Fidroha suddenly found herself involved in these matters again. Once again, everyone seemed to focus in on the high odds that a Faerie was in Ryu''s possession.


    **


    The night passed without any clues or headway. Without a choice, the next days events could only begin.


    The accumulation of talent was likely the greatest ever assembled on the Blossom Plane. The number of geniuses not only from the Shrine World, but even from neighbouring allies, was so numerous that one might have thought they were going off to war.  pan da-nov el ,c`o`m


    Space seemed to be particularly volatile at this moment. No one dared to casually fly in the skies for fear that they just might be swallowed whole by an invisible enemy at any time.


    It was said that today would be the breaking point of the Legacy World. It had been teetering on the edge of opening for several decades now and it was finally reaching its end. However, this also resulted in not only the weather, but even the fabric of space itself teetering as well.


    The weather was indeed in an odd state. Despite the fact the sun was high in the skies, there were still clouds drizzling with rain. Sometimes, these clouds would release a clap of thunder or an arc of lightning, leaving many befuddled about what exactly was happening.


    As if this wasn''t odd enough, the closer they got to the time, the chillier it became and the drizzle of rain became like ice pebbles pelting down from the skies. They only continued to get harsher and harsher until many even thought of activating the city''s protective formation.


    Even Divine Vessel Realm experts would have trouble not dying beneath the hail as it ramped up. And yet, the sun still continued to shine as though smiling down in mockery.


    All the while, the very man they had been searching for was already amidst them all.


    Ryu sat in meditation on the roof of a tower, unmoving. He didn''t spare anyone around him a single glance, his demeanor calm and unhurried.


    As for Sarriel, she was within the Incubator. Since she had already seen through all of Ryu''s treasures and even his Heavenly Pupils, a single Origin Grade treasure wasn''t worth keeping a secret, especially since it had already fused with his body. Her being in there made things far less complicated on his part. Plus, there were Nemesis, Little Rock and Little Gem to distract her.


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly opening, sensing something familiar.


    Just as he was looking around, his gaze narrowed, a group of individuals walking forward in tandem. It was clear that they also had every intention of entering this soon to be opened world.


    At that moment, space finally couldn''t withstand it and shattered like glass. The volatile winds only became harsher as they howled and screamed through the air. Even Ryu''s own hair couldn''t help but whip about wildly.


    Still, his eyes hadn''t shifted a single step away.


    That group of people, every single last one of them had white hair and silver eyes.


    Ryu couldn''t help but think back to the matters of Osiris and the Immortal Sakura Alliance. Was this really what they were accumulating resources for? And in that case¡­ for what purpose?


    Was the Zu Clan on the side of the Martial Gods?

 Chapter 571 Waves

    Chapter 571 Waves


    Ryu stood to his feet, moving his gaze away from the Zu Clan. Whatever it was they were planning, it didn''t matter to him. Out of respect for his master, he wouldn''t go out of his way to kill them. But, that also didn''t mean that he intended to allow them to roll all over him. His blade might be merciful, but it would still be true.


    The harsh winds and the crackling of space only continued to grow, the pure violence of it all grating on the soul.


    At that moment, an aura of resentment and rage began to permeate, leaking out from the quickly widening portal in the skies and bearing down on them all until many couldn''t even stand.


    Deep frowns etched the faces of even those below, some of those who were struggling more than even others having veins that popped across their foreheads as their fists clenched. This level of resentment was not something they were prepared to experience, it felt like even the most powerful of Wraiths in the Nether World were wholly lacking before.


    Ryu stood amidst this resentment just like everyone else, his heart calm. This resentment and unwillingness, wasn''t it a familiar part of his life? It felt like he was right at home. He didn''t feel tainted by the rage like everyone else. Rather, he seemed completely unaffected even as he took a step into the air.


    In the skies above, there wasn''t a single soul but himself. The youths below were still waiting for the elder generation to stabilize the situation so that their trip into the Legacy World would be relatively safe. After all, with such volatile space moving about, one wrong move would result in death, even for one well into the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    However, for Ryu, he might as well have been strolling in a peaceful garden. The fluctuations in space were marked by a very specific color under his [Ephemeral Tapestry]. Whereas they were random and almost invisible to the eye to anyone else, to him, he could point them out one by one should he choose to do so. This might as well have been his playground.


    "Seal the area! Only those with plaques can move forward and follow me! Those without will be killed on sight!"


    At that moment, even as Ryu hung in the air, unbeknownst to anyone else, he heard a familiar voice. It was one, quite frankly, that he would never forget.


    The first time he heard that voice, he was in the Outer Ring and almost died. The second time he heard it, he killed her subordinate right in front of her. This was the third time he was hearing it¡­ Wasn''t it about time she died?


    Ryu''s gaze shifted, landing on Fidroha who was below directing the youths below with an authority only Apostles could command. It was clear that she was the cream of the crop the Martial Gods had to offer at the Immortal Ring Realm, but also that she wasn''t quite at the pinnacle or else she wouldn''t have been tasked for such a mundane job.


    ?? n?? - ? o? ?? , ?`?`m By now, Fidroha was at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. It was clear that she had made great progress since Ryu last saw her, but that was a given considering it had been hundreds of years.


    However, to the current Ryu, she might as well have been a paper tiger. He only had to reach out a finger to snuff out her life. The difference between how it had been when they first met to now struck a cord with Ryu. What she was about to feel¡­ Wasn''t it exactly what he felt when facing that Overseer?


    Ryu''s mind entered a state of disharmony, an action that he would have taken without hesitation just a few months ago suddenly making him hesitate. But, it was exactly that that forced Ryu out of Meditation State, causing his presence to fail to remain hidden.  pan da-nov el ,c`o`m


    "The sky!"


    It was hard to tell who it was who yelled out first, but it wasn''t long before several auras locked onto a cloaked figure standing amidst a swath of flickering spatial scythes. Even though his face was hidden, a few strands of white hair still peeked outward, making his identity almost too obvious to guess.


    Ryu didn''t seem to react very much to being exposed. In fact, the only reason he kept his cloak on even at this moment was because he was too lazy to take it off. Whatever it was they thought below had nothing to do with him. Quite frankly, he couldn''t be bothered to care.


    Fidroha suddenly shivered. Even though she couldn''t see Ryu''s eyes, she could feel his gaze locked onto her. Her spine tingled and her blood rushed, her body entering a state of flight or flight in an instant¡ªit was the sort of reaction that left her feeling as though she had been locked down by a wild beast.


    She suddenly remembered what she had experienced that day when she allowed Edwin to attack Ryu from the back. She had sensed a pair of eyes gazing at her with a killing intent that made her feel an undying, instinctive fear. But, back then, she hadn''t been able to pinpoint where it was coming from.


    At this very moment, though¡­ She couldn''t have been more sure of who it had been back then.


    The instant everyone recovered from the initial shock, a spike of rage almost burned the capital down.


    On one hand there were the elders of the Cloaked Dagger Sect.


    On another, there were the Zu Clan individuals who had managed to connect the death of their two Immortal Ring experts and even Esme¡ªwho should have been participating today¡ªto Ryu.


    On yet another, there were the Dugo Clan and their Ninth Order Clan counterparts who wanted Ryu for the sake of his Faerie.


    And, as though that wasn''t enough, the Ember and Lao Clans from the Core Region of the Pedestal Plane lit their torches and raised their pitch forks as well. This was especially for Ancestor Ember who still remembered the humiliation Ryu forced him to experience all those centuries ago and for Throne Byrine who could still feel Ryu''s foot pressing down on his head.


    What felt like an endless tsunami of killing intent rained down upon Ryu, each wave more vicious than the last.

 Chapter 573 Same World

    Chapter 573 Same World


    Thirteen trembling Immortal Rings of Dark Gold, each ten meters in size manifested themselves. At that instant, the hood of Ryu''s cloak was blown off, revealing a face of marked indifference.


    He pointed his finger down toward Fidroha. The action couldn''t have been more casual, his breathing any more steady. As wild as the winds were around him, even they might as well have been a soothing spring breeze, gently blowing against him without a hint of animosity or rage.


    Before anyone could react, Fidroha was frozen. Ryu didn''t seem to have done anything before she collapsed to the ground, sitting in a puddle of her own piss and sweat.


    Ryu retracted his finger and shook his head. What a waste of time, it wasn''t even worth the energy. All he had done was point at her and yet her mind completely collapsed. He wouldn''t be surprised if her cultivation never progressed even a step for the rest of her pitiful life.


    Ryu ignored Fidroha, stepping toward the portal that hovered in the skies. It was safe to say that his nonchalant actions infuriated a lot of people, many of whom wanted to rush into the skies after him, but not many that dared.


    The appearance of Ryu''s Immortal Rings only seemed to make the spatial qi in the surroundings even more volatile. Most knew that if they charged up in a fit of rage, they would just die. But, this made it even harder for them to understand how it was Ryu seemed to be able to stroll through the skies without a hint of worry.


    They could only watch as Ryu slowly approached the portal. His gait was slow and deliberate, each and every one of his steps being measured and filled with purpose. It almost felt like he was moving slowly on purpose, ensuring that all of them knew that he was here and that he had nothing to hide.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. Who did he have to hide from?


    At that moment, the elders of the Cloaked Dagger Sect could no longer hold back. A rain of several well concealed knives shot into the skies, each with the expressed intent of killing Ryu.


    They all rose at varying speeds. But, no matter how one looked at it, it was as though all the paths of advance and retreat had been cut off. There was absolutely nothing that Ryu could do to escape such a fate. And yet¡­ That was exactly what he did¡­ Nothing at all.


    Ryu continued to walk as though he hadn''t seen a single thing, his gait just as unhurried, his pace just as unmoved. It was like he was in his own world, like the spatial qi around him had truly shipped him to another space.


    However, it was felt that no amount of acting nonchalant would get him out of this situation¡­ Until that was exactly what happened.


    The daggers never even managed to touch Ryu. In fact, they didn''t even manage to enter a ten meter radius of him. He simply continued to walk forward as though nothing had happened as they were all deflected away by the volatile spatial qi.


    If Ryu wanted, with a simple thought, he could eradicate everyone in this city. There wasn''t a single soul here that could stop him.


    It had to be remembered that his [Ephemeral Tapestry] wasn''t just about seeing qi in colors. If it was just this, how utterly useless would the ability be in most situations? It was more precisely a mutation resulting from a synergy of Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body and his Heavenly Pupils.


    His Heavenly Pupils granted him sight and his Ice Jade Crystal Body granted him control!


    Not only could Ryu see these spatial blades hanging around him, with his [Ephemeral Tapestry], his Immortal Rings and the spatial affinity granted to him by his Heavenly Pupils, he could control them on a whim.


    Those below should take his inaction as a sign of benevolence.


    Ryu appeared before the portal, just a single step from entering. It was exactly at that moment that a booming shout came from below.


    "HALT!"


    Interested in what this person might be saying, Ryu paused. Or, at least that was what it seemed like. But, maybe only Ryu himself knew the truth of why he had done so.


    The person who spoke was an older man from the Varra Clan. Their standing stood at the same level as Meralda''s Dugo Clan and they were one of the eight Clans of Gold Leaf City.


    "We are fully aware of your identity! Even if you enter the Legacy World and make some gains, do you believe that you can so casually partake in the belongings of the Martial Gods! The moment you take a single step out, you will die!"


    Ryu didn''t speak for a long while. In truth, he wasn''t even really listening as he continued to observe something curious that caught his attention far more than this.


    Many believed that he had been caught. That was right, who cared if he entered. How long had the Martial Gods been planning this, did he think that they would just let anyone enter just because?


    Ryu suddenly shook his head, snapping away. Finally, he seemed to register the words of the old man.


    "Your information is out of date." Ryu replied plainly.


    Before anyone could reply or even begin to, Ryu took a step forward, vanishing.


    Down below many were stunned, but amongst one particular group, a young woman was so excited that she was caught between flushing red, shouting out, covering her mouth, and flooding her cheeks with tears all at the same time.


    Yaana was so thrilled she almost jumped up and down and squealed. If it wasn''t for her usually shy and reserved personality, she would have already done exactly that.


    That was Ryu, she was sure of it. She had finally caught up to him after all this time. At one point, she was an old lady at her death''s door, believing that she would never see him again. But now she was here so close to being in the same world as him.

 Chapter 574 I Already Said

    Chapter 574 I Already Said


    "Yaana?"


    Auntie Duna looked toward the young woman with an incredulous expression. She had never seen Yaana have such a look in the time she had known the young girl. However, now that she thought about it, she remembered that when she met Yaana for the first time, one of the first questions she had asked back then was if she was talented enough to reach the pinnacle.


    Yaana''s lack of talent had left a scar on her life for as long as she could remember. Even until she was an old lady on her death bed, she had never given up trying, to no avail. However, then came this woman who promised to sweep her away to a world she had never seen before.


    Yaana didn''t want to just become a pawn to some organization that enslaved her for a lifetime of servitude. If she was going to cultivate, it would be for the expressed purpose of keeping up with Ryu and staying by his side. So¡­


    Back then she had asked if she was talented enough to reach the top of the world. This wasn''t because she was afraid to work hard, that was something she had already been doing to no avail for the whole of her life. However, what that time had also taught her was that hard work wasn''t enough sometimes.


    What Yaana wanted to know was if she would be strong enough one day to not have to abide by any of the orders of the Guild she had joined. If the answer was yes, she would go without hesitation. If the answer was no¡­ She preferred to die a peaceful death, one where she knew that she had remained faithful to Ryu even if he couldn''t be by her side.


    Yaana turned toward Auntie Duna, her eyes lit like two lanterns. She was so excited that the space around her trembled, threatening to collapse.


    When Auntie Duna saw this, she sighed. She had been able to tell back then that there was something Yaana was chasing after, and that that something was likely a man. But, she hadn''t expected them to meet so soon or like this.


    "Little Nunu¡­"


    The change was abrupt. Yaana didn''t even wait to hear Auntie Duna''s words before her expression turned a frightening shade of cold. It was as though she had become a completely different person.


    Her hair waved about like foggy tentacles, each with a mind of their own. The space around her solidified to the point that it was difficult for those in her group to even breathe, let alone move.


    "I already said it the day we met, Auntie Duna. If the Necromancer Guild stands in between me and Ryu, even if you can stop me for now, when I grow powerful enough, I will destroy it!"


    Yaana didn''t say anything else before she shot into the skies.


    Many were shocked that young girl had suddenly done something most if not all of the elders here didn''t dare to. And yet, despite the fact her speed was hundreds of times what Ryu''s had been, she too seemed completely unaffected by all the spatial ripples.


    Before anyone could react, she too had disappeared into the portal above.


    Auntie Duna opened her mouth to speak. But, in the end, she sighed and shook her head.


    Back then, Yaana''s knowledge of the cultivation world was so small that Auntie Duna felt the man she was chasing couldn''t have possibly been all that special. The fact Yaana was born on the Mortal Plane was shocking enough, how could two such geniuses be born there in such quick succession? So, Auntie Duna had agreed, feeling that as Yaana saw more of the world, all of this would be forgotten. She had simply said everything Yaana wanted to hear back then.


    But, who would have thought that this young man would actually be such a genius? This made things several times more complicated.


    She hadn''t even said the words she was planning to, but she could sense that Yaana''s trust of her had already hit rock bottom. That little girl was far too sensitive when things were related to that boy she was chasing.


    "¡­ Stabilize the space! Hurry up!"


    Realizing that two had already entered, the elders and other geniuses below began to scramble, activating formation after formation to make it safe to enter. They worked quickly. Not even ten minutes later, a flood of geniuses surged forward, all of them entering as well.


    **


    When Ryu appeared and his vision stopped swimming, the first thing he did was use [Third Perspective] to check his surroundings thoroughly.


    It only took him a moment to realize that he had appeared in the middle of a winter snowstorm. Not only was knee deep snow all around him, trees that seemed formed of sharp icicles formed a forest all around him.


    The trees of ice towered around him, many standing at several hundred meters tall, some even several kilometers tall, and all of them could be seen right through with a single glance.


    ''This snow isn''t normal.'' Ryu thought with a frown.


    He wasn''t afraid of cold, but every time a snowflake fell onto his skin, he felt a small portion of his qi being sapped away. Even when he tried to ward it off with a layer of qi skin, it would eat away at that as well.


    ''Interesting¡­''


    Due to the purity of the ice trees, they couldn''t obstruct Ryu''s vision in the slightest. He could see all around him for tens of thousands of miles. However, there seemed to be nothing but endlessly flat land and more and more trees.


    There was just a single exception, a looming mountain in the distance that felt both a few steps and millions of miles away at the same time. It was eerily similar to Shrine Mountain in the way its size played ocular tricks on the mind.


    ''I guess that''s where I should go¡­'' Ryu thought.


    Just as he was about to move, he froze. His senses surged into the Incubator only for his pupils to constrict into pinholes.


    Sarriel. She was no longer there.


    ''This world¡­''


    Ryu could only think of one explanation¡­ Random teleportation.


    But, how could this Legacy World, born on the mere Blossom Plane, ignore the barrier of an Origin Grade treasure to stop Ryu from sneaking in help? What level did it have to be at to accomplish that?


    What the hell was this place?

 Chapter 575 Reappearance

    Chapter 575 Reappearance


    Ryu didn''t take very long to regain his bearings. However, he first checked to see if Ailsa was still with him. If she was also teleported away, it would be a problem. He would definitely have to set everything aside to find her first.


    Luckily, it seemed that Ailsa wasn''t affected. Since she was within the Ethereal Plane, she was spared from the random teleportation. It was either that or her deep unconscious state was the reason. Either way, she was here and that was all that matter to Ryu. Now, he could focus on making it to that mountain.


    As for Sarriel, Ryu wasn''t very worried about her. She was at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm and her talent was probably only a few levels beneath his own, especially considering her Heavenly Pupils. If she couldn''t survive in this world, then no one could.


    Since this Legacy World had a cap at the Immortal Ring Realm, it should be that the difficulty was adjusted as such. This should both make this world exceptionally easy for Ryu to speed run through while Sarriel should be more than equipped to protect herself.


    But, something about this feeling told him that things wouldn''t be so simple. Ryu could only sigh to himself at this reality.


    After activating [Intuition], his senses would be more sensitive until he claimed the reward or treasure it was pointing him toward. This made his instincts especially sharp, sharp to the point he would almost never be wrong.


    It seemed that nothing would come easy¡­ Anything his [Intuition] could alert him of was a grand treasure of epic proportions. He should have known that he would be able to get it for free.


    ''This Legacy World should have been brewing for a long while. In this environment, it might be possible for it to appear¡­ but this snow would make it difficult for any Spiritual Herbs to grow¡­''


    Ryu was a bit disappointed in this, but he could only move forward.


    As expected, it wasn''t long before Ryu suddenly found himself surrounded. If it was humans, things would have been fine. But, monstrosities formed of resentment and snow suddenly rose up from the ground, cutting off all his paths of retreat.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. The ''snow monsters'' didn''t seem to be modeled after any particular beast or human. In fact, they were amalgamations of all sorts of races as though someone had mentally vomited all sorts of bits and pieces from different lore to form them.


    Ryu''s figure flickered, dodging the downward swing of claws double the size of his body.


    The ground shook and quaked, waves of white walls spreading out in every direction.


    ''They obviously don''t have true physical bodies. Cutting them down is meaningless, they''ll just cobble themselves back together and maybe even cause me to have to face more enemies at once.''


    The snow monsters weren''t very strong. From what Ryu could tell, they were at the Lower Immortal Ring Realms. However, they couldn''t be handled simply.


    They acted like wraiths, being formed of resentment. But, at the same time, unlike wraiths, they had physical bodies and could thus do great physical damage. Though they weren''t nearly as powerful as the Wraith Knights that Nemesis descended from, the concept was the same and it was very soon clear that attention was warranted to deal with them properly.


    The easiest thing to do would be to use [Divine Chaotic Annihilation]. Ryu felt that after his soul had been reconstructed, he could once again manifest its Visualization. However, Ryu quickly decided against this.


    As ''easy'' as it would be, the stamina consumption wouldn''t be worth it in the slightest. Also, Ryu was a bit worried about how this odd snow would react when faced with his Visualizations. Would it eat away at his soul as well?


    Ryu''s qi supply was practically endless. His foundation techniques had only given him exponentially more benefits as he progressed. His qi reserves put even more Path Extinction Realm seniors to shame, and that was despite not quite beginning to use his Spiritual Foundation yet.


    But, his soul was still a bit different. He couldn''t see the end of his qi stamina, but he could see the end of his Spiritual Qi. He had to be more careful with it.


    Suddenly, Ryu had a thought and almost slapped his own forehead. He was an idiot. What was a better counter to the yin of wraiths if not his own extreme yang? In fact, his Lightning was the bane of wraiths.


    Ryu stretched out a finger. In that moment, arcs of purple flame lightning shot from its tip, incinerating the snow beasts to nothingness in the blink of an eye.


    ''Hm¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He had tried to call out his lightning alone, but it still manifested in this combined form. It seemed that there was really no going back.


    The good news was of course that this combined lightning fire was far more powerful than any one individually. But, the potential bad was that Ryu may be cut off from the usual evolution path of Dragons and Qilins. Whether that was a good or bad thing¡­ only time would tell.


    Ryu shot forward, his speed picking up. He wanted to make it to that mountain as quickly as possible. He wanted to know just what was calling him.


    His left hand grasped at thin air, bringing out a familiar bow Ryu hadn''t touched in years. On his right hand, the Glove of Order also made its reappearance, causing the space around Ryu to tremble slightly.


    Since he only had one weapon as opposed to three to focus on now, why not give his marksmanship another chance. He couldn''t disappoint both sides of his family, right?


    Ryu''s lip curled into a smile. The bow that used to feel so heavy in his hands felt so flimsy now. It was barely at the Black Grade and he could snap it in two with just a couple fingers. But, this was what Ryu wanted.


    His Grandpa Kukan had always said that the power of the bow shouldn''t matter to a true bowman. And now¡­ he was more open to finding out just how true this was.


    The air whistled as the Glove of Order trembled. The arrows Ryu formed couldn''t be compared to the past, just the formation of one made it feel like the world just might collapse¡­

 Chapter 576 Veil

    Chapter 576 Veil


    Violet arrows of crackling flame and arching lightning shot through the air one after another. Their speed and precision was on a level that could hardly be matched. But, Ryu wasn''t satisfied. He still felt that his skill was far too lacking.


    Something like drawing his bow and shooting accurately was a simple task for him. He had absolute control over his body and his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were the dream of any bowman or woman.


    The problem was that he didn''t have the grace of a bowman. It felt like he was swinging a sword and could follow the arc a diagram detailed perfectly, but he had none of the artistic conception, none of the feel, and none of the subtle, nuanced comprehension.


    Ryu had always felt that he was lacking in this aspect. Ironically, accuracy, something many bowman struggled the most with, was the easiest to him.


    ''The most important thing to a bowman are their eyes¡­ The strongest bowman can make it seem as though a target invited an arrow into their home¡­''


    These were the two sayings his Grandpa Kukan always repeated time and time again.


    Ryu wondered, was artistic conception just a roadblock for him? Now that he thought about it, he was able to bring out such artistic flair with his Great Swordstaffs and his movement techniques¡­ but wasn''t that because he had techniques to follow? The artistic conception never truly came from himself.


    Ryu felt as though he had just opened up another door. His back relaxed, the movement of his fingers became smoother and faster, his shoulders evened out, feeling less hunched.


    Even as he raced forward, raising his bow every time an enemy appeared, he only seemed to grow more calm and unhurried.


    How could he ever have grasped artistic conception before? He had always been so closed off from his own emotions, so how could he be in tune with such a thing?


    Ryu began to bask in the feeling of his resentment, of his disgust, of his willingness to change and grow for the better.


    His feet glided across the snow, the Glove of Order pulsing with greater and greater fervor as it grew from a glove, to a gauntlet, to an arm sleeve. The arrows it began to form grew heavier and more solid. Eventually, even the flickering flames and arching lightning vanished, forming a sleek and stable body that began to form Runes of its own.


    The more Runes that appeared, the more powerful the arrows grew.


    Suddenly, Ryu, in almost a daze, leapt over a snow beast, his feet landing on the crystalline trees and soaring into the sky.


    His body spun horizontally, his bowstring twanging as he released yet another.


    It shot through the air at empty space, the fabric of reality itself threatening to collapse beneath its might.


    In one moment, it looked as though it would hit nothing but air. In the next, the very snow beast he had leapt over roared, its body expanding just enough that the very center of its forehead suddenly found itself in the path of Ryu''s arrow. ?


    Ryu landed on the ground, not bothering to look back.


    Ryu felt that he had finally grasped the Heir Realm of the bow. It was quite amusing, to his current self, the Essence descending currently was negligible to an extreme¡ªit couldn''t even move the needle. And yet, it felt like a breakthrough that weighed the most to him.


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile despite the fact his steps didn''t stop.


    It was quite odd, even as others were weighed down continuously by the resentment that constantly hung in the atmosphere, it seemed to give Ryu a clarity he hadn''t had in a long while. His smile was only growing brighter with every step forward he took. He almost couldn''t be bothered to care about the snow constantly sapping at his qi.


    Ryu had never gained a specific Inheritance for the bow before. He had built up his comprehension on his Grandpa Kukan''s two sayings alone. But, he believed that these two phrases were exceptionally profound if his grandpa had repeated them so many times. Ryu believed that he could build an Inheritance of his own no less powerful than his Great Grandfather''s Tatsuya Saintly Weapons with these two sayings alone. Not only that, but he would elevate his Great Swordstaffs beyond a level he could fathom.


    When the time came for him to face the Saintly Weapon Sky God, he would display the artistic conceptions he built the foundation for today on the grandest of stages!


    ''I wonder how far I can get with the bow before I leave this world¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze lit up with a competition spirit.


    **


    Across the Ice Devil Legacy, youths were appearing from all over. Among them, there was Sarriel who had been randomly teleported, Yaana who had surged in after them, and geniuses of both the Martial Gods and others alike.


    However, amongst these number of individuals, there was one that stood out especially and that was because unlike everyone else, she seemed capable of picking out individuals with great ease. In the blink of an eye, she had already gathered a group together. Ryu hadn''t been capable of finding even a single person after he entered, and yet she didn''t seem to have this problem in the slightest. And, while everyone else was doing their best to rush toward the looming mountain in the distance, her plans seemed to be far different.


    She wore a veil almost identical to Yaana''s, making it seem as though she had been within that group previously. In addition, she wore a deep black dress that made it almost impossible to see her figure, and yet simultaneously made her stand out like a sore thumb amidst all the endless white. In that way, she seemed to be a lot like Ryu.


    Had Ancestor Ember been there, though, he would have recognized this woman immediately.


    She was none other than the woman who was responsible for him having conquered the Pedestal Plane in Ryu''s absence. She was also the very woman who had captured a certain youth from the Basteel Clan who had taken the Herbology Exam with Ryu¡­


    The very woman who was well aware that Ryu''s last name was Tatsuya.

 Chapter 577 Intact

    Chapter 577 Intact


    Ryu''s speed only seemed to grow faster. Unfortunately, his progress wasn''t endlessly fast nor without bumps. He was finding it more and more difficult to constrain himself to the power of his bow.


    One would have thought that after entering the Heir Realm, it would have become easier. But, it was the exact opposite. Using a bow now gave him an added boost to his strength, a strength he had to put even more effort into supressing now. It was a fascinating change.


    There were several times Ryu almost snapped his body in two. It was simply incapable of keeping up with him. The fact he was killing Immortal Ring level threats with a Black Grade treasure was testament enough to just how potent his pupils were.


    Ryu suddenly missed Ailsa. By now, she would have probably said something that would have enlightened to him what felt like the next several dozen steps he would need to make. But, without her, he could only stumble around on his own.


    It felt like Ryu was progressing fast even in Ailsa absence, but that was more of a fluke compared to anything else. In fact, the way Ryu''s cultivation had stalled in the Lower Connecting Heaven Realm was a better portrayal of how Ryu was without her around. He just happened to be ''lucky'' enough to stumble into absorbing a Sky God''s Primordial Yin, nothing more, nothing less. Ryu even felt that if Ailsa had been present, he might have even gotten far more out of that energy than he did.


    He was definitely eager to see her awake again.


    The current Ailsa''s mind was in a dream like state. Ryu was still connected to her, but he couldn''t make heads or tails of the thoughts she was having so there was really no point to him paying attention all of the time.


    Ailsa''s mind was akin to a dream while how Ryu perceived it was how one would feel about said dream after you awoke. Dreams always seemed to make perfect sense while you were dreaming them, but you would quickly realize just how ridiculous it all was the moment you woke up.


    Toward this, Ryu was a bit helpless. But, it was at least good to know that Ailsa''s mind was still active and healthy. She just needed the proper stimulus to wake up.


    ''The snow beasts are getting more powerful¡­'' Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    The change was subtle, but it wasn''t something Ryu would miss. It seemed like things would only pick up as he approached the massive mountain in the distance.


    **


    Yaana''s small palms sent ripples throughout the air. Each ripple was clearly outlined, making the air look like the disturbed surface of a lake. However, the result of these ripples was nothing like the benign waves of water.


    The instant the snow beasts touched these ripples, they were obliterated. There wasn''t even a sound to be heard nor did it allow for the slightest hint of resistance. In one moment, the snow beast existed and in the next, it was as though it had never been there.


    Yaana moved forward, having chosen the mountain as her destination just like everyone else had. It was far too obvious. There had to be a reason for it to be the only noticeable landmark within this land of snow. It was clear that the Ice Devil wanted them all to head in that direction, and maybe that was where the true trial would begin.


    When Yaana realized that she was all alone in this place rather than right behind Ryu like she had hoped, she had been overwhelmed by a sense of sadness. But, it wasn''t long after that that she regained her bearings and settled herself. She had already lived out a mortal life for over a hundred years before cultivating diligently for several hundred more. What was the point in growing impatient now?


    Thinking of that small blind boy who ended up causing the downfall of a Kingdom all on his own, Yaana felt a bone deep infatuation.


    She had had years to think of why it was she felt that way about Ryu. It could be said that they were childhood friends, but that was a phase that most grew out of as they matured. For the mere sake of a childhood friend, Yaana couldn''t have possibly held on to such emotions for hundreds of years.


    In all that time she had had to think, though, she had long since come up with an answer: She simply had never come across a man who was better.


    Yaana had thought to settle down many times. All her life, it had been her duty to marry, to care for a household and to have children. Deep inside, she really wanted that life.


    Fighting, killing, cultivating¡­ These were never things she wanted to do, and that was despite the fact her grandfather was a general. If she had a dream, it was to be a housewife.


    Many might look down on her for wanting such a thing. Some with misplaced kind intentions would believe that a strong woman could never want such a thing. Those with far less noble intentions would believe that she was a puppet, a weak willed defect to the female gender.


    But, in her heart of hearts, this was Yaana''s truth.


    However, in that ideal world Yaana had fantasized about more times that she could count, the most important figure in her life was her husband¡­ But, every time she thought to settle for the man who was good enough, for the man who would treat her kindly and give her a warm, fulfilling life¡­ She simply couldn''t bring herself to do it.


    This wasn''t about her feeling the man was unworthy. She believed that everyone had their own unique worth to bring to the world.


    The reason she couldn''t do it was because every time she thought to do so, she felt a guilt from the depths of her soul. This wasn''t a guilt toward Ryu, nor was it a guilt toward her dreams, it was a guilt she felt toward that man who would become her ''good enough''.


    She couldn''t bring herself to live a life where her own husband was always second in her heart¡­ She didn''t want to put another human being through that. She felt that everyone deserved happiness and that she wasn''t the one who would be able to provide it to such a person.


    And so, she worked hard. She put her head down and dismissed such thoughts from her mind, intent on spending the moments until her final breath chasing after a man she might very well never see again¡­ Feeling content as she watched those ''good enough'' men live happy, simple lives, building families of their own.


    Those years had been the closest she got to being that loving housewife she had always wanted to be¡­ It was her way of showing her loyalty, love and duty to a husband she would never have¡­


    But who could have expected that she would gain such an opportunity now? With the life she had always wanted being within arms reach of her, how could she give in to despair now?


    Yaana''s speed increased. That mountain, she was certain that Ryu must be going toward it too. He must be going in the same direction as her. They would meet soon.


    Of course, in her fantasies, there were a lot of things she neglected.


    What if Ryu didn''t feel the same way about her? What if he already cared for someone else? Was it even possible to live out her dream if she wasn''t his only wife?


    But, Yaana didn''t even consider any of these things. Maybe after regaining her youth, that naivete had come back. Or, maybe it was that it was difficult to extinguish a dream that had been stoked and protected for so long.


    Ryu didn''t feel the same way? She would simply stay silently by his side until he acknowledged her. As for the rest, she would figure it out one step at a time.


    Suddenly, Yaana''s expression changed. The ripples around her multiplied and her body shifted to the left just as a bone spear pierced through where she had just stood.


    Yaana''s countenance turned into a deep frown as several ripples manifested themselves. It only took a moment before she felt that she had been completely surrounded. At that moment, a dozen cloaked figures cut off her path of retreat in all directions. However, each also kept their distance.


    "What is the meaning of this, Yaana? Did you forget your duty? Why is it that you didn''t respond to our call? Are you betraying us?"


    A barrage of questions rained down as Yaana stepped into the air, her brows wrinkled. She didn''t like this even the smallest bit.


    She had just wanted to find Ryu, she hadn''t cared about the so-called mission she was sent here to do. She had planned on helping the Guild out later since she was, in fact, one of their disciples.


    Still, though she had been wrong for prioritizing her own matters ahead of the Guild''s matters, why had they struck to kill before even trying to speak to her?


    "Why are you even bothering to ask question, Zech? Didn''t you see earlier? She found her little lover, she doesn''t care about you. The Madame already said that those who don''t follow her orders should be killed, stop wasting your breath."


    Zech remained silent for a long time, his jaw clenched. Eventually he squeezed out some words, trying to pretend as though his face wasn''t turning crimson.


    "Leave her corpse intact."


    The man who had spoken¡ªGuido¡ªwas stunned for a moment before her burst out into a fit of laughter along with the others.


    "Alright, you sick pervert. You can have her corpse."


    The group shot forward as one.

 Chapter 578 Why?

    Chapter 578 Why?


    Yaana''s expression turned an icy shade of cold. It was the kind of expression she had gotten far too used to making ever since she had stepped into this so-called martial world. And, the words of Zech only infuriated her all the more. Even among Necromancers, the individuals who wouldn''t let even a corpse go were among the most disgusting and vile experts they had to offer.


    Yaana instantly found herself going from being assaulted by a dozen individuals to the amount doubling then tripling in an instant. Corpse puppets of all shapes and sizes charged toward her from all sides. Some were armored beasts, others were pale-faced humanoids, and the last were entirely made of bone, brandishing the very same bone spears that had almost impaled her a moment ago.


    Though Yaana had joined the Necromancy Guild and she was told that that her Mental Realm talent was exceptional, she had never refined a corpse puppet for herself, much to the helplessness of the elders who were quite fond of her talent.


    However, just because she didn''t choose one of the many paths a Necromancer could, didn''t mean that she had no means of defending herself. In fact, there was a reason these dozen disciples had only dared to target her after gathering a dozen of themselves together first.


    Yaana''s expression warped. She was already so close. She didn''t want to be delayed in this place. But, she also didn''t want to kill.


    The gap between herself and these youths was too great¡ªin her favor. Even though she was only at the 3rd stage of the Immortal Ring Realm and all of them were at the 9th at worst, she still felt that one on one, not one of them stood a chance.


    Yaana was reserved and rarely fought. The only reason these youths had this level of caution against her was because of one incident that happened half a century ago, not to mention the records she had broken purely for the sake of bettering herself and growing stronger.


    However, her senses were sharp, sharp to the point that even without having a pair of Heavenly Pupils to herself, it would almost feel like she did. She could easily see through the gap between herself and these fellow disciples¡­ It was just that¡­


    Yaana''s body seemed to twist and vanish. When she appeared again, she struck out a palm at the back of a skeleton corpses head. Once again, without a sound, the target was left with nothing more than its bottom half, a cut as smooth as a mirror marring its bony hips.


    Yaana hardly remained in her position for a moment before she vanished again. The delicate tips of her toes landing upon the back of an armored bear with empty eye sockets.


    Just her gentle step caused another ripple to form. This time, a hole was torn through the bear''s back right between its shoulder blades. The impact was deathly silent as it always was, and yet the damage didn''t just stop there, even tearing a hole through the snowy grounds beneath the corpse beast.


    Yaana''s body only became more ethereal as she fought, her hair becoming a mass of black fog that seemed to embody the canvas of deep space, sparkling like twinkling stars and forming a massless depth that left one in awe.


    In the blink of an eye, half of the corpse puppets the group had sent out were left in crumbled heaps, many of which hardly had many of their body parts left. Yaana''s actions all seemed more nonchalant than the last. She moved silently, killed silently, and left death in her wake without so much as disturbing the peace of the forest around her.


    It only took those few moments to cause solemn expressions to coat the faces of the youths. They had known that Yaana was powerful, but how could it possibly be so exaggerated? What were those ripples? How did she vanish and appear like that? Was that a Heaven Grade movement technique? But that was impossible, an Immortal Ring expert couldn''t possibly use such a technique. And, even if by some miracle they could, they shouldn''t be able to do so in such quick succession.


    Yaana didn''t even look like she had broken a sweat, causing many to suddenly realize that what should have been a sure victory might quickly become a life and death struggle unless they could change something right this moment.


    "Stop holding back!" Guido roared.


    At that moment, the group had to split their attention between Yaana and the snow beasts that kept appearing. Due to their number, the snow beasts responded in kind, spawning at faster rates and with greater numbers.


    They had all thought that they could just focus on keeping the snow beasts from growing too much in number while their corpse puppets dealt with Yaana, but the result was far outside of their expectations.


    It had to be remembered that the greatest strength Necromancers had was being able to control corpse puppets that were far more powerful than themselves. Of course, this was only possible for the best geniuses amongst them, but who were they if not among that demographic since they could be sent into this world?


    Even the weakest corpse puppet Yaana had just killed was at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. How could they have possibly expected for things to reach such a level.


    They soon realized that Guido was right. Who among them didn''t have a special corpse puppet they took special care of? However, they had never expected that they would need to use them so soon. How could they not hesitate?


    "What are you hesitating for?! The madame needs us to stop as many people as possible from reaching the mountain! We can''t waste so much time here!"


    After he spoke those words, Guido immediately took the lead. He knew well that amongst a group of geniuses, each one with their own goals, just getting them to gang up on one person like this required someone as powerful as the Madame, let alone expecting them to listen to his words just because. He had to lead by example or else they would just think he was trying to weed out competition.


    At that moment, yet another armored bear appeared out from a swirling black portal. But, this one was completely different from the last.


    It had fur a pristine white that could almost match Ryu''s hair. Its eye sockets seemed empty at first glance, but upon another, one could see a dark gold flame flickering within, containing an ominous and ancient aura.


    This dark gold flame perfectly matched the armor the bear wore from head to toe, each plate of which was etched with a complex, ancient rune that exuded a majesty that was hard to stand in the presence of. Despite being a corpse, the bear almost seemed to be alive, radiating outward with a domineeringness.


    The bear rose to its hind legs, billowing out with a roar that shook the canopy of the ice tree forest. At its full height, it was 20 meters tall, its body rippling with an endless strength.


    Seeing Guido take the lead, the other geniuses set down their reservations, unleashing their trump cards all at once.


    A skeleton corpse with black tattoos etched directly into its bones rose.


    A grey skinned corpse puppet with real gems for eyes appeared, wielding a saber twice the size of its body.


    A skeleton python with a length of over a kilometer coiled around the surroundings, shrieking as though to mask the creaking of its bones. Tongues of blue flame erupted around its shell, becoming corporeal to the point it seemed to form a layer of scales over it all.


    Yaana''s expression grew serious. Many of these corpse puppets had auras well into the Path Extinction Realm. However, Yaana never even got the chance to take action.


    At that moment, a tempest of tangible raise rose into the skies. The fury was so palpable that space itself shattered. For an instant, Yaana, who had always taken space to be the friendliest to her, almost didn''t dare to meld with it right now.


    The geniuses were shaken, but there was absolutely nothing they could do before pillars of violet flame lightning began to manifest from what felt like thin air.


    Everything in its path was completely incinerated. Not a single soul was able to flee. Whether it was Guido or Zech, they finally learned what true despair was. Their final thoughts were about how this Legacy World could possibly allow someone so powerful in¡­ It wasn''t fair¡­


    The only one who was untouched by it all was Yaana herself who didn''t really know how to react. Why was this person so angry? She didn''t even have a scratch on her¡­ And, even if she was forced to fight their trump cards, she wouldn''t have necessarily lost either.


    It was then that someone suddenly appeared before her. He was so much taller than she was, casting a shadow over her petite frame and forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. But, when she saw who it was, she couldn''t help but be stunned.


    First she felt a welling up of excitement before she began to panic. This wasn''t because she was scared to face Ryu, but because of what she saw when she faced him.


    He was crying? Ryu was crying?! Why was he crying?!


    Yaana trembled when she felt a palm caress her face. She fell into an embrace every bit as warm as she had always imagined it, her soul suddenly entering a state of calm it hadn''t experienced in centuries.


    She was hugging him¡­ She really was hugging him¡­


    Yaana couldn''t help but cling to the robes at the small of Ryu''s back, burying her head into his chest and flooding his fabrics with tears.


    But, her moment of peace only lasted for a moment.


    "Nuri¡­ You''re alive¡­ This is good¡­ This is really good¡­"


    Ryu''s hoarse voice drifted to Yaana''s ears, but Yaana herself had frozen stiff.


    What Ryu didn''t realize was that he only didn''t recognize Yaana because he had spent the childhood of his second life as a blind boy¡­


    As for Yaana¡­. Her grandfather didn''t call her Little Nunu because Nuri was her real name¡­ He called her that because it was her mother''s name.


    Why was Ryu calling her that?

 Chapter 579 Someone Else...

    Chapter 579 Someone Else...


    Ryu held onto Yaana tightly, and yet just gently enough that he wouldn''t harm her.


    Tears. They weren''t something that Ryu had shed ever since he awakened his memories. Nothing had ever been able to push him to such a point, nor did he think anything ever would.


    However, when he came across this battlefield and laid eyes on Yaana, something within him completely snapped. He had already been lowering the barrier between himself and his own emotions bit by bit, day after day. And this event just seemed to tear a hole through that dam completely.


    Ryu could see it clearly. It wasn''t just Yaana''s face. Her aura, her demeanor, the cadence of her voice, the Fate that hung around her, her karmic connection to him¡­ It was all identical. This was the very same woman who had spent a lifetime protecting him. That he was certain of.


    It was just unfortunate that Yaana didn''t share the same certainty. Her mind was taken hold of by confusion and hesitancy.


    Why did Ryu call her Nuri? Why was Ryu so emotional seeing her? Why did it seem like Ryu knew her so intimately?


    Of course, the two had grown up together. There was even a point where Ryu''s ''maternal'' grandfather from Concubine Leilana''s side had tried to force Ryu to take Yaana''s first time, taking advantage of her feelings for him to bolster the family''s power. However, during all that time, Ryu had never displayed such an infatuation with her.


    From what she remembered, Ryu had always treated her like a little sister. And though she could sense that same doting feeling now, there was a hint of something else that went beyond just that, something that had seemed to come from thin air.


    Yaana should have been ecstatic to feel such emotion coming from Ryu. Wasn''t this exactly what she had wanted? This was the man she had worked so hard to reach, just so that she could finally stand by his side and face the world with him.


    From a young age, she could already tell that Ryu had ambition. Even though she wanted to be a simple housewife, she knew that Ryu didn''t want to be a simple husband. He wanted to go out and conquer the world. So, she wanted to be strong enough to help his climb.


    But now, her emotions were in complete disorder.


    If she was certain that these feelings were for her, she wouldn''t care how Ryu birthed them. She didn''t care if he had always felt this way and just hid it. She didn''t care if he had never felt this way and had birthed it in her absence. She didn''t care even if he was faking it entirely because she saw how useful his talent would be to him¡­


    It didn''t matter to her how the emotion came about. Though she didn''t want to force another man to be second to Ryu, she didn''t care if even if she was third or worse to him.


    But the issue was¡­ These emotions weren''t aimed toward her.


    The reality made her shiver. Despite Ryu''s warmth, she suddenly felt very cold. The feeling made her want to pull Ryu in closer to feel more of his heat. But, at the same time, her heart wanted to pull away, leaving her in a state of limbo she didn''t know how to get out of.


    "Nuri? What''s wrong? Everything is fine, no one can harm you now."


    Yaana shuddered.


    There was none of that sarcastic tone she had become so used to hearing in Ryu''s voice, none of that big brother making fun of little sister vibe. All that was there was care and affection.


    She couldn''t hold back her own tears any longer, her sobs ringing through any of Ryu''s attempts to communicate with her.


    Ryu, who didn''t quite understand Yaana''s thoughts, simply held her. By now, he had already gotten control of his emotions. If he wanted to be a man, he couldn''t possibly continue crying while a young woman in his arms was doing the same, right? Who was she supposed to lean on if not him?


    However, the words Yaana squeezed out between her sobs left Ryu baffled.


    "I-I¡­ I''m not¡­ I''m not who you¡­ you think I ¡­ I am¡­"


    Ryu blinked. He tried to lift Yaana''s chin to look into her eyes, just so he could get a better read on what her actual emotions were beyond what he could hear, but she struggled against his attempt, just burying her head further into his chest. She seemed to want to hide from him, yet also didn''t want to leave his side at the same time.


    What did she mean she wasn''t who he thought she was? What was she talking about?


    Yaana didn''t understand how Ryu could possibly know her mother. After all, her mother had died so young that even she didn''t remember her, let alone for Ryu to.


    On top of that, even if Ryu''s memory was just better than their own and they happened to meet, how could Ryu, as a toddler, have formed such feelings for a grown woman? And, even if by some miracle that somehow happened as well, why would he assume that she was her? He should know her mother had died long ago.


    None of it made any sense.


    The most logical explanation was that the Nuri Ryu knew wasn''t related to Yaana at all. But then how could he mistake Yaana for that Nuri? Wouldn''t it be because they looked alike? Now that Yaana thought about it, this was the very first time Ryu was seeing her face. Maybe this was why?


    But what were the odds that a Nuri that wasn''t her mother also somehow looked exactly like her as well? It made no sense¡­ None of it made any sense¡­


    How could this happen? Why was this happening?


    Yaana felt that her heart was shattering into a million pieces. Her breathing was shallow, her shoulders endlessly trembling, and her inner organs twisted and convulsed as though wanting to shrink in on themselves.


    However, she still forced herself to speak¡­ She didn''t want to fool Ryu¡­ She didn''t want him to care for her simply because he thought she was someone else¡­


    "M¡­ M¡­ My name¡­ isn''t N-Nu¡­ Nuri¡­ That''s my¡­ my mom''s ¡­ n-name¡­"


    Ryu froze.

 Chapter 580 Doesnt Matter

    Chapter 580 Doesn''t Matter


    Ryu didn''t say anything for a while, but his eyes were blinking in confusion.


    What was this little girl talking about? Her mother''s name was Nuri? So what was her name?


    Ryu tried to take a look at Yaana''s face again, but the stubborn girl refused to look up and kept sobbing away. Toward such a thing, Ryu was quite helpless.


    In the martial world, the importance of names couldn''t be understated. If this person in his arms now was certain that her mother''s name was Nuri, Ryu wouldn''t be surprised by this.


    In order for his ''Nuri'' to be here and be so weak, the only explanation was that she had to have reincarnated just like he did. However, Yaana would have reincarnated differently from how Ryu had. While Ryu was taking part in a trial, Yaana likely wouldn''t be. So, her name wouldn''t necessarily be the same in this life.


    At the same time, though, Nuri was quite a powerful expert in her first life. To some extent, she had the ability to warp karmic luck in her favor. As a result, the name ''Nuri'' being attached to her in some form or fashion wasn''t impossible, even if it was an Ancestor or someone closer like a mother.


    Of course, Ryu still wasn''t aware of this now, but if he knew that this girl was Yaana from the Tor Kingdom, it would likely only make him more emotional. Clearly, Nuri would have exchanged much of her own karmic luck in exchange for being reborn nearer to Ryu.


    However, as a result of that, her luck was poor and she almost died before she could be by Ryu''s side again.


    Obviously, another big reason was the fact Nuri was half Faerie. Without proper techniques, she would just look like she had terrible talent on the cultivation path. However, once she was given the right techniques to practice, her cultivation speed would be blinding.


    Despite having been adopted by his parents, Nuri''s strength was no weaker than Himari and Titus. This alone was enough to display just how fast her cultivation speed was.


    Half Faeries were very rare offspring to begin with. After gaining the ingenuity of humans and the heavenly love Faeries were granted, their power would be off the charts. There was a reason why out of all the experts his parents had access to, Ryu''s parents chose Nuri to be his Death Guard.


    Finally, after several hours, and Ryu''s arm almost becoming numb from killing snow beasts that continued to spawn, Yaana finally explained the rest of the story to him.


    Ryu looked down into Yaana''s eyes for the first time, scanning her up and down.


    Yaana herself gripped at her black dress. Though she tried to meet Ryu''s gaze, she found it difficult to do so. It was taking everything for her to not be a nervous wreck.


    "Alright. Then you are Yaana."


    Ryu smiled lightly, wiping the tears from Yaana''s cheeks with a thumb.


    "There''s no need to cry anymore, right?


    "You¡­ You don''t hate me?"


    Ryu blinked. "Why would I hate you? In fact, you''re one of the most important people to me in this world."


    Yaana''s deep black eye brimmed with tears.


    "Then¡­ Then¡­ Then¡­ Why did you leave me?"


    Ryu''s lip twitched. She had him there.


    Luckily, her head was down when she spoke this question so she hadn''t seen his unnatural expression. In the end, he could only sigh.


    "The truth is, Yaana, I reincarnated. I was born into the Tor Clan as a trial created by a Sky God I was chosen to be the successor of. The early part of my life was filled with hardship, much of which was by design to mold me into the successor this Sky God needed.


    "I have reason to believe that you are my adoptive sister from my first life. Or, at the very least, you are closely tied to her. Whichever one it is, I cannot be certain. But, since you say you are Yaana, then you are Yaana to me."


    Yaana was stunned by this flood of information before she was suddenly filled with a burst of warmth.


    So she was connected to Ryu like this? And he was actually willing to tell her all of this without reservation? Such a secret must be something he constantly held close to his heart, right? But he told her without reserve.


    But¡­


    "But if I''m not Nuri¡­" Yaana almost burst into another fit of sobs, but Ryu immediately stopped her.


    "It doesn''t matter." Ryu said firmly. "If you are Nuri, then you are a person I owe my life to. If you are Nuri''s daughter, then you are a person I would give my life for. Regardless of what it is, the same words apply. You''re one of the most important people to me in this world."


    Yaana''s heart burst with happiness before there was a slight hesitancy.


    "Don''t¡­ Don''t treat me like a little sister, okay?!"


    The sharp turn in voice left Ryu speechless. What was that supposed to mean? He couldn''t possibly treat Nuri''s potential daughter like a potential romantic partner, right? He wouldn''t even blame the heavens for smiting him if he did such a thing, and he usually hated the Heavens.


    Ryu suddenly remembered that as shy and reserved as Yaana usually was, she was also very strong willed and mischievous. It was clear she wanted to draw a hardline now so that there wouldn''t be any misunderstandings in the future.


    Seeing that Ryu was in a daze and didn''t quite know how to react, a flash of light one could only usually see in the eyes of a predator chasing after prey lit up in Yaana''s gaze. Her movements were so quick and natural that Ryu didn''t even react. Plus, how could he think that he needed to put his guard up against Yaana? He treated with as much trust as he would even his own parents.


    But, the next moment showed that that trust might have been misplaced.


    Before Ryu could react, he felt something grab and tub at his wrists. He didn''t even register what was happening before his palms were suddenly invaded by an extraordinarily soft feeling. He almost squeezed in reflex.


    Though there was a slightly tough fabric separating his hand and what he felt was the true source of it below, it didn''t stop his mind from relishing in the plump, bouncy feeling.


    For the first time since his days with Eska, Ryu felt a fire light within him.


    He looked down, speechless, only to find Yaana pressing his hand into her chest.


    The look in her eye said that she was trying to appear as though she had been wronged, but she couldn''t hide the mischievous glint from Ryu.


    "You... You have to take responsibility!"


    Ryu didn''t know what to say. Why did this situation feel so familiar?

 Chapter 581 Laughter

    Chapter 581 Laughter


    Ryu felt a headache coming on, but at the same time, he tried his best to stop himself from laughing.


    In truth, if he had to assign probabilities to whether this was Nuri''s reincarnation or if Yaana was her daughter, he''d say it was about 80% likely to be the former and only about 20% to be the latter. In all likelihood, the reason Yaana''s mother shared the name Nuri with Yaana''s former life was just a misalignment of karma, something that was bound to happen when you were working with such enormous spans of time and relying so much on luck.


    Of course, this was just a gut feeling and he couldn''t be sure. But, he would most definitely prefer to be certain before he acted on something so sensitive¡­ The awkward part of it all, though, was that Yaana didn''t seem to want to allow him that time, and he couldn''t find it in himself to blame her.


    Whatever barriers Ryu had up for Sarriel seemed to collapse one after another for Yaana. Plus, it had to be remembered that Ryu''s intuition was especially sensitive right now, so he felt like he was most likely correct. And, even if he wasn''t correct, Yaana seemed to want him to ignore that fact entirely.


    Still, he felt a warmth in his heart at this moment that transcended just the feeling of Yaana''s naughty actions.


    When Ryu was growing up with Nuri, he had always been her little brother. After he failed to Awaken, this feeling had only intensified and he never got the chance to protect her. As a result, the version of Nuri that he knew would always be far more reserved and ''well put together'' than the version he might have otherwise come to know had she taken him to be a serious candidate for her husband.


    To that Nuri, maybe he had always been a little brother regardless of what antics Elena tried to pull and regardless of whatever feelings he might have had.


    To make matters worse, Nuri probably always felt the weight of wanting to repay his parents for the kindness they had extended her.


    It had to be known that Himari and Titus hadn''t originally known that Nuri was so talented. It was just that they had tried for millions of years to have a child to no avail and happened to take pity on the young Nuri who had been thrown away as a waste who was unable to cultivate.


    These two matters come together made it so that Ryu might have only ever known a small portion of the person Nuri had been. He had a feeling that she had always been so mischievous, but it wasn''t until this life where she could finally release some of that.


    For as long as he could remember, Ryu wanted to be the one to protect Nuri. And even though that she was now Yaana, he finally got the chance to.


    Ryu''s smile brightened. "How do you want me to take responsibility?"


    Yaana froze, her hand still clamped onto Ryu''s wrist. Honestly, the novel feeling was leaving her in a bit of a weird state. She couldn''t decide if she felt odd, if she felt good, or if she really felt nothing at all. She had a feeling that a part of the reason she was acting like this was because she anticipated that she should feel something, but that the result was far more muted than she thought it would be.


    Either way, it was clear that she hadn''t thought nearly so far as to have an answer for Ryu''s question and she only felt more flustered when she felt Ryu''s fingers lightly squeeze.


    "Ah!" Yaana squealed.


    Ryu burst into a fit of laughter.


    He couldn''t remember the last time he had laughed so freely and heartily. Maybe he would have to go all the way back to the days before his Awakening Ceremony, it might really be so far back.


    "You! You''re bullying me!"


    This only made Ryu laugh harder.


    He couldn''t help but find it amusing that Yaana had tried to act like Elena, but they were clearly two different people. Had Ryu asked that question of Elena, she might have already directly pounced on him and tried to get him to put a baby in her. But, Yaana only became flustered. He found it all to be adorable to an extreme.


    "Alright, alright. I''m sorry. I won''t treat you like a sister, okay?"


    Yaana pouted before her face suddenly flushed red. She realized that Ryu''s hand was actually still on her chest, but now that her rush of adrenaline was gone, she didn''t know what to do. If she tried to push his hand away, he would realize she was being a poser. But, if she left it there, he might call her bluff.


    Ryu smiled knowingly and decided to stop teasing Yaana, taking his hand back from her chest and pretending not to notice her sigh of relief.


    Maybe Yaana wouldn''t care very much about Ryu taking advantage of her. After all, she was no longer a little girl and she had experienced a lot of life. She had even helped many mothers give birth and had had her fair share of ''lady talks'' with friends, more than enough to be well learned on the subject.


    But, after abstaining for so long, she no longer even knew how to cross that line. She unironically felt it would have been easier to do those things back when she was in her 20s, rather than now that she was hundreds of years old.


    Ryu obviously had no intention of pressing her to do such things. At the moment, he just felt at peace. His mind was free and unfettered.


    Yaana, though, grabbed his retracting hand, insisting on holding onto it. So, he obliged and allowed her to have her moment. After all, he couldn''t imagine what she had gone through in this life, let alone what she had experienced at the end of her first¡ªassuming that that had been her, of course.


    Just as the two were about to continue toward the mountain, Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    ''Hm¡­? It''s actually still intact¡­? Oh!''

 Chapter 582 Bear God

    Chapter 582 Bear God


    In all his rage and subsequent emotional excitement, Ryu had actually almost missed something so fascinating.


    At this moment, the land around where he and Yaana stood had been eviscerated. Purple lightning flames were still dancing about in a donut shape around them and the snow had melted into a steaming hotbed of water that was giving off billowing fog.


    The combination of Ryu''s emotional state and this fog almost caused Ryu to miss that there was actually something that managed to survive his rage fueled tirade.


    With a wave of his hand, a large corpse shot out from the steaming waters and fell before the two of them. It only took a look for Ryu to recognize the beast corpse, and even then, he couldn''t help but be stunned.


    "A Bear God corpse? Where the hell would you find something like this?"


    Ryu frowned, looking toward Yaana.


    "Where were these people from?"


    "The Necromancy Guild."


    "And they didn''t wear masks?"


    From Ryu''s experience, most Necromancers, especially those from the Necromancy Guild, would wear masks. It was a sort of protection for the profession as a whole.


    But, now that he thought about it, he had just spent the better part of the last several months surrounded by Necromancers but only a rare few care enough to wear their masks at all.


    "From what I know, it was rare for those of adequate standing to wear masks. Lower members of the Necromancy Guild did, though."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Was it just a change in culture? He guessed that a billion years was indeed enough to cause such a change. Plus, with the main power against Mental Realm cultivation gone with his Tatsuya Clan being destroyed, Mental Realm Masters in general likely felt freer.


    Something still felt off. But, that aside, if there was any expert who would be able to get their hands on such a valuable corpse, it would definitely be a genius of the Necromancy Guild.


    The Bear God Clan was an Ancestral Beast Clan on the same level as Rocs, Griffins, Dragons and Qilin. They were split into three branches, the Black Bear God, the White Bear God and the most powerful Gold Bear God.


    Regardless of the branch, they all had powerful bodies and a special Vital Qi that that allowed them to use Runes in combat. These Runes could be used to multiply their strength, speed, defense, and in its most powerful state, form the very dark gold armor that coated this White Bear God now.


    When a Bear Gods Rune Armor was activated, they''d shrink in size, multiplying their bodily strength several times over using the same concept as Nemesis'' Adept Body Talent. However, the results weren''t as exaggerated.


    Still, to be able to refine the corpse of a Bear God, and even have it in the state of activation like this¡­ It was safe to say that whoever the master of this young Necromancer was would likely be pissed to an extreme that their disciple and investment were now dead.


    Ryu didn''t believe for a moment that any of those geniuses had found and refined such a corpse puppet themselves.


    To put matters into perspective, Ryu''s purple lightning flame hadn''t left a single scratch on this White Bear God. The only reason it wasn''t moving right now was because Ryu''s attack had killed its master long ago. At this moment, it was nothing more than a normal corpse.


    "Whoever gave him this bear really dotes on him." Ryu finally commented. "Giving such a corpse puppet to an Immortal Ring expert is a waist of treasures."


    Yaana thought for a moment before she blinked in realization.


    "That corpse puppet was summoned by Guido. His grandfather is the Head of the Armored Beast Branch of the Necromancer Guild."


    ''Armored Beast Branch, hm¡­?''


    These words reminded Ryu of Matheus. His first run in with Necromancers in this life had been against Matheus and his Armored Armadillo. Clearly, though, these beasts were in two completely different classes of their own.


    Even a Necromancer who didn''t specialize Armored Beasts wouldn''t hesitate to throw their life''s work to the side if they could start with such a corpse puppet.


    However, Ryu''s fascination with this White Bear God went beyond its strength as a corpse puppet. As far as he was concerned, turning a beast that relied so heavily on Vital Qi into a puppet was as good as ruining Heaven''s treasures.


    Corpse puppets obviously couldn''t preserve their blood, so how would they maintain their Vital Qi? If it wasn''t for the fact this Bear God still had its Rune Armor, it wouldn''t have stood a chance at withstanding Ryu''s attack.


    However, what was fascinating was that since this Rune Armor was here, it meant that whoever refined this corpse puppet used a special method to freeze the Innate Runes of the Bear God in a state of activation, thus allowing the refinement to continue in this state.


    For most people, this was as far as you could go. However¡­ Ryu wasn''t most people.


    Firstly, Ryu had his master''s legacy, a Visualization that was perfectly designed to snatch the secrets of beasts and apply them.


    Secondly, Ryu had his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. When it came to seeing through the mysteries of the cultivation world, especially when it could be broken down into terms and applications as simple as Foundational Runes, Ryu would practically be swimming in a world tailored to him and him alone.


    Ryu had no need to apply what he learned to himself. He had his [Immortal Sakura], his [Warped Ripple], and even his Spirit Body fusion.


    However, all this time, Ryu had been building up his corpse refinement methods. Esme had been his first iteration. Goaman had been his second and even more successful iteration¡ªthough, he had unfortunately quickly outgrown him. Finally, he had a feeling that this Bear God would open a door to a third iteration, one that would synergize with his Skeleton Warriors to a degree that even made him faintly excited.


    With a flash of his pupils, a strong swirl of spatial qi manifested, swallowing the 30 meter tall bear whole, armor and all.


    Yaana blinked. ''Such strong spatial qi.''


    She didn''t know that Ryu had such good spatial qi affinity. She felt an innocent happiness that they had something in common. Of course, she had no idea that Ryu''s use of spatial qi wasn''t nearly as free or easy as hers.


    "Shall we?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    "Mm."

 Chapter 583 Regret

    Chapter 583 Regret


    As the two walked forward, Yaana couldn''t help but quickly grow speechless. Let along letting her face danger, Ryu didn''t even let her lift a finger. Every snow beast that formed was instantly annihilated by him with a point.


    At first Yaana thought it was just a coincidence, but as time passed, she realized that Ryu really didn''t want her to fight. It left her in a state of not knowing whether to laugh or cry, at the same time, she too found it adorable.


    Of course, if Ryu knew that Yaana thought he was being adorable, it was hard to tell how he would react to it all. That said, he was far too engrossed in ''protecting'' Yaana, so he didn''t even notice the funny looks she was giving him at all.


    He continued to pull Yaana along, a wide smile on his face. Eventually, realizing that she wouldn''t get a chance to do much of anything, Yaana started to pepper Ryu with questions. She found it fascinating that he had actually reincarnated and she wanted to know everything about it.


    The more she learned about Ryu''s life, the closer she felt to him.


    For Ryu, it had been a long time since he had actually told anyone about these things. The last person was actually Elena. Of course, when it came to things between him and Ailsa, nothing needed to be said. She could know anything she wanted to know about his first or second life with a single thought. But, the act of actually saying these things out loud felt novel and different.


    For some reason, dealing with the snow beasts didn''t even seem all that difficult anymore. Ryu plowed through them one after another. Though it was a shame that one of his hands was occupied by Yaana so he couldn''t use his bow, he still felt as though he was rapidly improving.


    Ryu''s pupils suddenly constricted.


    At that moment, Ryu came to understand. He was focusing too much on the bow itself whereas it was just a medium for a marksman.


    The bow had unique quirks of its own that would allow a projectile to display various flight trajectories of its own. But, it wasn''t unique in the way a spear would be from a sword, or a sword would be from a rod.


    Ryu had become so used to normal weapons that he thought of the bow in the same way. He had been chasing after a unique and special way that a bow should be used when the reality was that he should have been chasing the essence of marksmanship itself.


    To put it simply, the essence of using a spear was different from the essence of using a sword or a saber or a dagger. However, the essence of using a bow, or a crossbow, or any weapon that used a projectile was the same.


    The power output might be different, the method of activation might be different, the strength needed for said activation might be different, but all the core components were the same.


    Reading your opponent, the important of your eyes, guessing the next move you enemy might make, accounting for the wind and environment¡­ All of it was the same.


    By the same token, Ryu stretching out his finger like this and sniping the snow beasts as they came, coupled with how calm his heart was right now¡­ It was also a form of marksmanship, and it was even beyond what he had been previously displaying with his body.


    At that moment, Ryu''s body lightened again as he crossed into the Impose Realm.


    "Hm?" Yaana blinked.


    She of course sensed what had just happened, but she didn''t understand how anyone could make such a casual breakthrough. The only other person she had ever seen do such a thing was¡­ well¡­ Herself.


    Yaana''s master had never told her exactly what she was, but after talking to Ryu she understand that she was part human and part Elemental Faerie. Specifically a rare Spatial Elemental Faerie. Space loved her and she loved it.


    Whenever she made a breakthrough in that regard, it was as casual as it could be. But, even she felt that it was slightly more difficult than what Ryu had just done. In fact, Ryu had been in the middle of telling her another one of his childhood stories, so how had he suddenly broken through like that?


    In order to break through Mortal Endowments, most needed to enter seclusion. A very rare few could break through in the middle of battle. But this was the first time she had heard of someone breaking through while having a leisurely chat.


    Yaana realized at that moment that maybe just finding Ryu wasn''t enough. She needed to continue to work hard, or else if he continued to advance like this, there would come a day where she would be left far behind by him again.


    ¡­


    "¡­ Didn''t you say you hated him? Why do you think he''s a friend now?"


    Ryu smiled. "Well, I don''t know if I can consider him a friend. What I do know is that if there was anyone even close to being such a person to me, it would be him. Unfortunately, I have no idea if he''s alive or not."


    Yaana blinked. That was right, almost a billion years was a long time. To geniuses, it was nothing. But, this person Ryu was speaking about was from one of the weaker Clans of the Blossom Plane. It was hard to say if he would reach such a level.


    "Then after we leave here, we should go find him!" Yaana said enthusiastically.


    Ryu felt a headache coming on just hearing this. Even if he was going to reunite with this person, he most definitely couldn''t be the one to go find him. And, he most definitely couldn''t be allowed to know that Ryu thought of him as a friend until he admitted it first.


    What would he look like going to find that man after so long? He''d be laughed into oblivion.


    Also, if he managed to survive so long, he had probably had some great fortuitous encounter and his strength would probably be beyond his own now.


    Unfortunately, Yaana kept chatting away, clearly not seeing the regret on Ryu''s face for having told her such a thing.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    The forest of crystal trees came to a stop. Up ahead, all that was left was a stretch of flat snow to the base of the mountain¡­

 Chapter 584 Slipped

    Chapter 584 Slipped


    Though it seemed close, Ryu could tell that the mountain was still about a hundred kilometers from them. Of course, such a distance was a small thing to cultivators at their level. But, what was curious was that Ryu couldn''t see anyone else. There was definitely something odd about the current situation.


    From Ryu''s vantage point, it was possible to see a large portion of the base of the mountain.


    Of course, 100 kilometers when compared to the size of this monstrosity was nothing, so it was actually difficult to see the full scope of everything. In fact, what must have been a mountain with a round base looked like nothing more than a straight line to Ryu right now.


    But, it was also exactly because of this that Ryu could see thousands of kilometers both to his left and right, a large measure of which was filled with nothing but snow. There wasn''t a single person in sight.


    One might think that Ryu was overthinking this. With his speed and strength, wasn''t it only obvious that he would get here long before anyone else?


    The trouble was, though, that Ryu had run into Yaana. What did this mean? It meant that there were people who were randomly teleported far closer to the mountain than he was. Just because he was the fastest, didn''t mean that he would get here the fastest. If Yaana could be teleported so close, there was nothing stopping from someone else being teleported even closer.


    Though this wasn''t exactly fair, what in the martial world ever was?


    Ryu felt that there was probably some formation hiding things. But, what was baffling was that it was his intuition that told him this and not his Heavenly Pupils. For a formation to hide from him, it would have to be at an extremely high level AND it would have to have been designed specifically with the goal of being undetectable. After all, even the Ancestral Grade Formation of that Martial God city hadn''t been able to hide from him.


    ''This probably means that there''s an illusion or dreamlike world up ahead. But, for it to be so high level¡­ How could something like this appear in this world? It simply didn''t make any sense.''


    Whenever a Legacy World had a particular cap, it also meant that the difficulty was adjusted to fit that cap. Ryu was definitely of if not the strongest Immortal Ring expert to ever exist. There shouldn''t be anything in this world that was difficult for him unless this Ice Devil expert was a truly sadistic bastard.


    That said¡­ It would probably be foolish for Ryu to believe that anyone worth of the title Ice Devil would be a good person to begin with¡­ Maybe he should have stepped into this knowing very well that it might be a death trap.


    "Yaana," Ryu suddenly spoke, "what did that Madame ask of you?"


    "She didn''t exactly tell us anything. But, Auntie Duna said to use the formation plates we had to meet up with her as soon as we could. I assume she gave the orders she wanted to there. Guido said something about being tasked with killing everyone¡­"


    "Killing everyone, huh¡­? That''s quite the bold move. Is it related to the Martial Gods? Or is it someone making a play against the Martial Gods¡­? Who would be bold enough to do that?"


    Ryu spoke as if this person was crazy, somehow forgetting that he wasn''t just going against the Martial Gods, he wanted to overturn them completely. At the very least, that goal was just as bad as anything this mysterious individual wanted to accomplish considering it was already the worst case scenario.


    Yaana didn''t respond. It seemed like Ryu was talking to himself or trying to figure something out.


    Ryu knew that the Martial Gods must have had some sort of enemy now. However, whatever enemy it was that made them run from their home wouldn''t have to sneak around like this. At the very least, they wouldn''t be in the shadows while the Martial Gods were living openly and grandly.


    Due to this, logic stated that this was a different enemy than the one the Martial Gods ran from.


    But, with the Armament Guild struggling against them and even those powerful Necromancy families falling in line with them, not to mention the Faeries who were trying to make marriage alliances with them, who still had the guts to go against the Martial Gods?


    Now that Ryu thought about it, much of the Necromancy Guild was ruled by those three Necromancy Clans. The Avangard Clan, the Delliard Clan and the Mophesta Clan. Yet, Ryu had seen members of all three take part in the Silver Branch''s trials.


    But now, somehow it was someone of the Necromancy Guild, which was practically in their back pocket, taking action now? It was intriguing¡­


    If everyone died but these people, what then would they do? How would they face the Martial Gods? Did they have a way to leave this place undetected? Did they not care about being detected? Were they already ready to fight against the Martial Gods? Or was it something else that Ryu was missing entirely.


    Ryu''s lip curled. Wasn''t'' this a very good thing for him? Wouldn''t he now have a scapegoat to blame everything on after he plundered everything in this world?


    He would have to be careful, though. For all he knew, these people wanted to also use him as a scapegoat.


    The thing was¡­ He wasn''t so easy to use.


    "Hold on tight Yaana. Even if for some reason you''ve lost the feel of my hand, just keep squeezing as hard as you can."


    "Okay." Yaana nodded obediently.


    "Let''s go."


    Ryu flashed, stepping across the barrier.


    The instant he did, he felt Yaana trying to run in the complete opposite direction of him. She was sprinting as hard as she could as though he was a menace she needed to dash from.


    Ryu could tell immediately what was happening. Yaana thought that she was running to keep up with him. But the truth was that this odd world was forcing her to run away from him instead.


    Ryu''s vision was layered with two different realities that made his head spin. For a moment, he couldn''t remember which hand he had been holding onto Yaana''s with and his grip slipped.

 Chapter 585 Formation

    Chapter 585 Formation


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    This was the most layered and complex illusion formation he had ever heard of, let alone been in. For a man who had spent much of his first life adventuring in high level Ruins, this was an absolutely shocking realization for Ryu.


    Even when his Pupils hadn''t opened even a single seal, let alone the more than 50 he had opened now, he had never been so stumped by a formation. And yet, here he was.


    At the last moment, he managed to realize that Yaana''s grip slipping from his own was nothing but a trick of the mind. It wanted to use this feeling to make him grasp out at her, but that action alone would have only caused his grip to truly loosen. At that point, it would just be a matter of forcing him to deviate slightly from the path Yaana was running on. By then, they would be completely separated and it would be impossible to tell if he would ever manage to find Yaana again.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered with fury.


    He pulled back on Yaana''s hand, gripping her waist tightly.


    ''[Lines of Fate].''


    If there was one thing that couldn''t be tricked so easily, it was this fundamental ability of Ryu''s pupils. As long as he focused on Karmic Strings, nothing could hide from him. Though it would drain his stamina, it was far better than losing Yaana.


    There was no telling what kind of danger waited out there. The longer he spent in this Legacy World, the more he realized just how dangerous it was, or rather, potentially was. He had no intention of allowing Yaana to risk her life. He had just found her after so long and she had no intention of letting her go.


    Yaana struggled and fought against Ryu''s grasp. It was clear that she thought that she had been caught by some sort of beast. If things continued like this, Yaana might end up using her spatial arts and that would make things become far too complicated, far too quickly.


    Ryu couldn''t allow Yaana to enter the Incubator. If the experience with Sarriel had taught him anything, it was that this world didn''t find it difficult to deal with its barriers. If he allowed Yaana to go in, she would still be affected by the illusion and the result would likely be her using her spatial arts to teleport out. By then, it would be too late for Ryu to regret anything.


    Ryu thought of allowing Yaana to enter the crystalline jade. At the very least, this Legacy World didn''t seem capable of impacting it. However, Yaana was only part Faerie, there was no telling if she could enter the Ethereal Realm with as much ease as Ailsa did or not.


    Without a choice, Ryu could only knock Yaana out, something that was far more difficult than he thought it would be.


    For one, Yaana was more powerful than he had assumed. And, secondly, he had a hard time hitting her. He didn''t even want a single hair on her head to be harmed, but now he actually had to hit her with so much force.


    If he found the bastard who laid this formation, they''d definitely have to pay for making him do such a thing.


    Fuming, Ryu cradled Yaana in his arms, trudging forward through the formation.


    Ryu could feel the snow pooling at his feet sapping away at his qi. The snow in this region was even more vicious than it had been in the crystal tree forest. The snow in the latter region had lost much of its qi sapping effects, but the snow in this region seemed to have a cumulative effect.


    From the very beginning, Ryu had ignored much of this effect. Even now, it hardly affected him. All he wanted to do was make it to the peak of the mountain before him. But, it was clear that the so-called 100 kilometer distance was far more devastating than just this.


    With [Lines of Fate] activated, Ryu could see even further than he could in the past. Even with the world invaded by an endless swirl of colors, it only felt clearer to him.


    This had become a trial of endurance rather than fighting prowess. And Ryu had a feeling that it would only become more difficult from here on out.


    What was fascinating about this snow was that Ryu could tell that if he activated his Immortal Rings in an attempt to use atmospheric qi and save his stamina, his situation would only become even worse. The cap of the Legacy World was the Immortal Ring Realm, so how could the snow not be designed with that in mind?


    ''There are others.''


    Ryu''s gaze continued to sweep through the surroundings. As expected, there were indeed others. They were thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of kilometers away from Ryu, but they were there.


    Most of them seemed to walk aimlessly like headless chicken. If they continued like this, there was no doubt that their stamina would be drained away by the snow before they could even make it to the mountain.


    There were some among these individuals that seemed to be aware that they were stuck in an illusion and were trying their best to use methods to get away, some even stabbing near fatal wounds into themselves for a chance at survival. Unfortunately, these crude methods didn''t work. Some even ended up being coerced by the formation into accidentally taking their own lives, decapitating themselves or piercing their own hearts.


    Ryu''s heart shuddered, not because of the gruesome scenes, but because he realized that this could very easily have been Yaana. What would have happened had he not found her in time?


    Could it be that the members of the Necromancy Guild were already prepared for this? According to Yaana, that group that attacked her should have just been one of many. Wouldn''t it be too ridiculous if they had gone all out to kill as many people as possible, only to have no chance at getting the treasure?


    Ryu really couldn''t see how one was meant to pass this trial even he was having so much difficulty with. Just what was this Ice Devil individual doing?!

 Chapter 586 Each Point More Ridiculous Than The Last

    Chapter 586 Each Point More Ridiculous Than The Last


    The more Ryu looked around, the more he felt that this Ice Devil simply wanted everyone to die. Ryu''s frown only became deeper as he continued forward.


    ''Faster.''


    Ryu picked up his pace. He wasn''t the type of person to care about the deaths of others. No one who had entered this place was a child. Plus, most of them had some sort of enmity with him and wouldn''t hesitate to take his life should they get the chance.


    However, none of this stopped Ryu''s heart from beating faster and faster. He felt his intuition screaming at him, making his blood boil as though it was priming his body for something big. However, as one might expect from something like intuition, it gave him no details, no explanation, no information¡­ It was as though he was being surrounded by walls closing in from all sides, but he still had no idea how much distance they had left to travel or even how fast they were going.


    He could only go faster, move faster.


    Ryu at his top speed was no different from a blazing comet. If he could enter his Spirit Body form entirely, he would be even faster. However, he had no choice but to stay partly tangible for the sake of continuing to carry Yaana.


    He cut a trail through the snow, leaving nothing but melted steam in his wake.


    Space tore along Ryu''s path. He didn''t hold back in the slightest, nor was he worried about the impact to Yaana. If a spatial Faerie couldn''t handle such a thing, then no one could.


    BANG!


    The whistling of air boomed and collapsed on itself. Ryu''s body was practically like the point of a laser, slicing through the wind, skies and clouds with impunity.


    BANG!


    Ryu came to an abrupt stop. In one instant, he was crossing hundreds of kilometers in the fraction of a second. In the next, he stood as tall and straight as a javelin, his demeanor icy cold. It was as though he hadn''t been moving at all, as though he had been standing their from the very beginning.


    He coldly stared up ahead, standing at the foot of the mountain. A journey that would have taken most in this place days, even weeks to cross, even if they went completely straight the whole time, had been crossed by Ryu in just a few minutes.


    Up ahead, a group of several hundred figures stood. Each one of them seemed to be waiting at the foot of the mountain for a purpose, and the moment they all laid eyes on Ryu, it seemed that they had found that purpose.


    It was then that the wall of wind that had been rushing to get out of his way suddenly collapsed. The sound was so jarring and loud that it felt like the skies themselves were falling.


    BANG!. ???


    The wall of cloaked figures was suddenly sent flying. To some of the weaker ones, they imploded into a rain of blood and gore, unable to handle the mere wind pressure of Ryu''s speed alone.


    If Ryu had the complete Northern Heavenly Wind, such a thing would never happen because he would have completely fused with the wind. Unfortunately for these individuals, though, he was still nowhere near completing his Heavenly Wind. And the results were devastating.


    Despite this, though, there were many within the group that seemed completely unaffected. In fact, their robes only fluttered slightly.


    That said¡­ This slight fluttering was just enough for Ryu to catch a glimpse of their faces.


    ''The Three Pupil Eclipse Sect? Here¡­?''


    This alone would have been enough for Ryu to question some things, but it wasn''t nearly enough for him to be shocked. After all, was it really so surprising? These people had been in the same trial he was in and there wasn''t exactly a cap on the number of people who could enter this world or else it would have been mentioned long ago.


    If they had managed to get accepted by the Silver Touch Branch, it wouldn''t be surprising that they would have gotten entry into this place. But, that wasn''t the main problem.


    First, they had managed to get here before him. Even with how unfair this Ice Devil Legacy World had been to this point, Ryu highly doubted it would allow anyone to directly skip its trials, right? It was impossible that they didn''t have to go through the same trial he just did.


    But, in that case, how could they have possibly made it through? Ryu knew a little about the pupils of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect''s bloodline, so he was aware of its abilities. At best, it was just better than other eyes at picking up Yin Qi and helping its wielders to use such qi.


    But, there was no Yin Qi involved in the illusion formation. If anything, an illusion formation had to be the perfect balance of yin and yang or else it wouldn''t be a very good illusion to begin with.


    Of course, Ryu also remembered that Eska through Isemeine had mentioned that the Silver Touch Branch was very interested in helping the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to evolve their pupils into something greater, and maybe that had succeeded?


    But, even if Ryu was willing to accept something like this, how could their Pupils possibly match up to his own in seeing through formations? If they could do that, he might as well give up the seat of First Ranked Heavenly Pupils right now.


    Was it a treasure? Maybe one at the level of the Origin Grade?


    Ryu guessed that that might be possible. But, that only led to more questions. How could such a small world have such a treasure to use? And, in the case of some miracle they did have such a treasure, it would be the most tightly held secret, they wouldn''t randomly allow it out of the Sect.


    The only way such a thing would be allowed is if they had planned things before hand. But, wouldn''t that require knowing what the trials in this place would be? How could they possibly know that an Origin Grade or even Ancestral Grade treasure would be necessary in a Legacy World capped at the Immortal Ring Realm?!


    Even after reaching this point, none of this touched upon the worst and most ridiculous thing¡­


    Of those who had been unbothered by Ryu''s wind pressure¡­ All of them were above the Immortal Ring Realm!

 Chapter 587 Sacrifice

    Chapter 587 Sacrifice


    Despite the shocking realization, Ryu''s visage was the picture of indifference. By now, he had already figured out some things and the confirmation only made him eerily calm.


    He looked down toward Yaana. She was cuddled up like a little kitten. As expected, she was completely unaffected by the commotion in the surroundings. In fact, she was lightly snoring as though nothing was happening at all.


    In her current state, she looked quite adorable. Ryu''s indifference couldn''t help but give way to a smile. Wasn''t this what he had always wanted? Why should she have to bear the same burden as he did? It was better if she was oblivious to it all.


    Ryu looked back up, his expression once more reverting back. This time, it was pervaded by a deep fog of cold.


    "First Brother, let me fight him. This bastard is the reason I couldn''t get a seeded position!"


    This person was their so-called Sixth Brother. It wasn''t a surprise that he was the one who was enraged because it was Ryu''s refusal to hand over the Tri Key that caused him to lag behind the others. He wasn''t able to immediately progress to the third floor from the second floor, skipping over the hardest trials like everyone else. As a result, his rankings were near the bottom. How could he not be infuriated?


    Ryu completely ignored the group before him. Communicating with his master''s Visualization, he modified his robes to add straps to them. Then, he tied Yaana to his back.


    Though he could have brought Yaana into his Incubator, he had a bad feeling about it. When it came to enemies at this level, it didn''t particularly matter that he had a liability with him anyway. They were in the Path Extinction Realm¡­ Who cared?


    Ryu''s figure vanished. When he reappeared, he had already grasped the throat of Sixth Brother. The words the latter had been planning on speaking were instantly caught in his throat.


    Ryu''s physical body alone had gained the prowess needed to fight Path Extinction Realm experts. In fact, thanks to his Bloodlines, after stepping into the Blood Tempering Realm, he was far beyond most body cultivators at this level. Even without using qi, it would be difficult even for a normal mid-level Path Extinction Realm expert to last a few exchanges with him.


    The horror hidden beneath Sixth Brother''s cloak was suddenly all too clear to Ryu.


    Sixth Brother''s forehead trembled, a hidden slit trying to open itself up. It was clear that this was where those of the Sect hid their third eye.


    "AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"


    Ryu''s finger pierced through his forehead, shattering his third eye into dripping pieces of flesh and blood. The sequence happened so quickly that none of them seemed capable of reacting. The cloaked figures stood frozen, unable to know how they should react.


    They knew quite well that if Ryu pressed forward just a hint more, he would pierce into Sixth Brother''s brain, ending his life for good. It could effectively be said that he was already dead despite the fact he was still breathing. How could they accept such a thing?


    They had entered this world with such a massive advantage to begin with, everything should have been easy. So, how is it that things had ended up like this?


    "You know¡­" Ryu began to speak coldly. "¡­I don''t particularly care how you all managed to get into this place, nor do I care what your goals are. But, what I will say is that this is the last chance I will give you. Trust me, you should take it. I rarely give second chances, and I most definitely don''t give third chances.


    "You have until the count of three. If you don''t scram in that time, don''t blame me for what happens."


    No matter what had happened, the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect was once tied to the Fate of his Ice Phoenix Clan. Even now, less than a billion years wasn''t nearly enough to wash it away completely. If Ryu killed those that were here, effectively erasing an entire generation worth of their geniuses, he would effectively be destroying what remained of their well of Faith.


    Though Ryu was the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan, he still felt some responsibility toward the other three Clans his Bloodline represented. If he could help it, he would rather them to stay as intact as possible for when he rebuilt them up once again. But¡­ It seemed that these youths couldn''t quite understand kindness when they saw it.


    Sixth Brother suddenly imploded in Ryu''s hands. If it wasn''t for a barrier of qi that instinctually appeared around the latter in that instant, he would have been covered in blood and gore. Yet, even then, Ryu immediately noticed that this blood began to corrode his qi barrier.


    ''A curse¡­?'' Ryu''s expression darkened.


    This technique that dabbled in Necromancy, the Mental Realm and absolute Yin was among the most grotesque and also one of the main reasons Ryu''s family had banned Mental Realm cultivation in their territories. To see that the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had such an inheritance to pass down not even a billion years later filled Ryu with rage.


    But, this was just the start of it. One after another, much to their apparent horror, one cloaked figure after another began to implode. Ryu could sense that they even tried to target Yaana, but she was very quickly protected by him. However, this only made his fury simmer all the more.


    In the blink of an eye, there were just three left. First Brother. Second Brother. Third Sister.


    The concentration of Yin in the air reached unprecedented levels and was still rising. Large quantities of malice and resentment formed, fusing with the resentment that was already originally in the air to become something even more tangible.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. ''¡­ So it''s like that¡­''


    The tempest of yin qi began to grow. Cyclones of energies whipped about, tearing blades into the snow and kicking it up into the air as though to bury them all within a blizzard. It was at that exact moment that it began to descend.


    The ground was ripped in two, three pairs of large hands began to tear their way out, space itself trembling beneath their might.


    Their skin sizzled and popped, the crimson hue of their hides steaming as they stepped into the cold world one after another. This alone made it difficult to see exactly what was happening, but there was almost nothing in this world that Ryu''s pupils couldn''t see through.


    Crimson skin, blood that flowed like magma, twisting horns of obsidian, teeth stained of blood and half eaten flesh¡­ Ryu knew what it was he was seeing immediately.


    At that moment, Ryu had flashbacks to the words Isemeine had spoken just a few weeks prior, that day when he met her for the very first time¡­


    ''¡­ Agree to subordinate yourself under my family! In this case, you will gain a complete Summoning Necromancer Legacy and you will be granted control of a Demon Baron and a Commoner Demon Clan.''


    Ryu almost shook his head and sighed.


    The Demon Baron Magma Devil Clan.


    The three Magma Devil''s rose out of the ground to their full height, each of them standing at over four meters tall. Even if one didn''t have Ryu''s pupils, it was possible to see the molten earth rushing through their veins and watch as their twin, rock coated hearts pumped in turns.


    Their skin was both crimson and cracked in certain places. They had four horns that seemed curved of obsidian, spiralling in outward from one another like some sick, demonic plant. Each breath they took wafted a grotesque sulfur into the air, melting the snow around them into streaming rivers.


    Just their aura alone made the world whine and cry. Space bent and twisted, a suppression of bloodlines pressing down on their surroundings.


    These were creatures of noble Demon Blood. Even in comparison to beasts, fighting above their cultivation level was as easy as breathing to them. A normal Path Extinction Realm expert wouldn''t even stand a chance against a Peak Immortal Ring Demon Baron. And yet, here were three Peak Path Extinction Realm Magma Devils, all of which saw Ryu and thought of murder.


    The central Magma Devil took a deep breath, its eyes opening for the first time. Each looked like coal heated to a tipping point, radiating out an undying heat.


    When it locked eyes with Ryu, a savage grin spread across its face.


    "Boy, you smell good. Your flesh must be exquisite. What kind of Bloodlines are you hiding in your bones? I want a taste."


    The auras of the three Magma Devils suddenly blazed to life, their cultivation levels rising again and again until it shattered through a ceiling.


    The resentment in the surroundings continued to flow into their bodies, making their muscles bulge and their magma blood rush faster and faster.


    It was then they broke through the final barrier.


    In one sweep, all three Magma Devils stepped into the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    [Just one chapter today]

 Chapter 588 I Presume?

    Chapter 588 I Presume?


    Ryu stood before the Magma Devils, his hair billowing under the clash of cold and hot air. Even now, he seemed completely unmoved.


    "My blood?" He said coldly. "Since when did a mere Demon Baron have the right to speak of such a thing?"


    Not to mention the First, Second and Third disciples of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, the Magma Devils themselves were absolutely stunned to hear such words.


    They were mighty Demon Barons. They existed on a plane of strength that could only be worshipped. When had they ever been looked down upon as ''mere'' anything.


    However, at that moment, Ryu''s aura began to rise. A tempest of whipping winds seemed to want to drown the world out completely. His momentum instantly suppressed the three Demon Barons before him, his expression icy to the point it seemed to cut across the rising heat with an undeniable ease.


    "Take form and conquer the world."


    BANG!


    Ryu shot forward. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the middle Magma Devil, his palm forming a blade as though his flesh itself had become his Great Swordstaff.


    Fury lit the gaze of the Magma Devil. When had it ever been looked down on to this extent? It believed that even when it was an Immortal Ring expert, it could have crushed Ryu. And yet, now that it had stepped into the Dao Pedestal Realm, this ant dared to attack it?!


    Of course, it had to be said that much like beasts, the cultivation path of Demons was different and actually followed the same naming scheme as that of beasts. Rather than calling these Demon Barons Dao Pedestal Realm experts, it was more accurate to call them Ninth Order Demon Barons. This was why their breakthrough had been so smooth. No human could so casually breakthrough such a large barrier, and most definitely not in battle¡­ In most cases, that is.


    However, none of this dampened the strength of the Magma Devils. The Ninth Order was still the Ninth Order.


    "I''ll use your skull as a cup to drink your blood!"


    "Too many words." Ryu replied coldly. "You''re a Demon, what''s the point in using your head to try to come up with insults and threats? It''s clearly not your forte."


    At that moment, Ryu''s palm descended from the skies. It felt as though the world was being split in two, a momentum the likes of which even Demon Baron''s couldn''t fight against descending like a mighty judgement from above.


    "Weak." Ryu said with disdain.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s palm split the shoulder of the Magma Devil as it shifted to the side to dodge. He splintered its flesh as though it was nothing but only managed to get half way through its bone before his arm was caught.


    The rest of the momentum crushed the Magma Devil into the ground. Its knees almost shattered, its legs bending out of its control, and the right side of its ribcage threatened to collapse entirely.


    It only took Ryu a moment to realize that these Demon Barons were weaker than that Scarlet Sparrow Clan traitor he had fought just yesterday. It wasn''t by an enormous margin, but Leonel could tell that it was at least 10 to 20%. If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu didn''t have an appropriate weapon for his current level of strength, this Magma Devil would have already been split in two.


    The pupils of First Brother and the other two constricted into pinholes. They couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    It had to be remembered that they had come prepared to enter an Immortal Ring capped world. The idea that three Dao Pedestal level Demon Barons weren''t enough to be overkill astonished them.


    But at the same time, Ryu had noticed the ridiculous nature of the situation even before them. Had he not had such a massive increase in his strength¡­ Wouldn''t he be dead? No matter how bad his luck was, he would never think himself to need the strength of a Dao Pedestal Realm expert just to survive in this Legacy World.


    Though Ryu understood the power of Demon Barons to normal cultivators, he never put them in his eyes. Even when the Martial Gods provided such a potential gift for joining, he hadn''t been moved. To him, Demon Barons weren''t nearly noble enough to fight by his side.


    Just like that, Ryu stood between two Magma Devils, one of his hands wrist deep in the shoulder of a third, forcing it to kneel before him.


    The roar of the middle Magma Devil sounded like the layered, manic cry of a resentful soul. It was hard to tell, though, if it was simply in pain or if it was furious for being humiliated like this.


    Ryu could feel its heat and smell its terrible sulfuric breath. Quite frankly, he felt disgusted. However, a Demon Baron''s blood would be quite good for Nemesis'' growth so he had to be thoughtful with how he chose to kill this one. Wastage wasn''t good.


    Nemesis didn''t have an elemental affinity. Though this meant that he couldn''t absorb 100% of blood with an affinity, it also meant that he wasn''t restricted by the type of blood he could absorb for his body cultivation as well. Plus, Magma Devil had quite strong bodies in order to withstand the molten rock that weaved through their veins. They were perfect.


    Ryu stretched forward his free hand, an accumulation of purple lightning flames pulsing at its tip. He aimed it toward the three cloaked figures. He had already given them a chance to live. Though he didn''t particularly care that they had sacrificed their own fellow disciples, he was a man of his word. He had no intention of giving them a third chance.


    SHUUU!


    A bolt tore through the air. Before Second Brother could react, he was pulled by his First Brother to block before him. There was nothing he could do as he was incinerated in mind and soul.


    After entering the Soul Birth Realm, something many did after the Immortal Ring Realm, it was possible to survive for a short time without a body. Not all Immortal Ring Realm experts or even Path Extinction Realm ones could accomplish this. However, Mental Realm Masters were obviously better equipped than most in this regard.


    That said, Ryu''s lightning flames didn''t even allow such a chance. Lightning was the bane of all soul and fire was the root of life, death and reincarnation. The combination of the two was too lethal.


    Ryu didn''t react much to First Brother betraying his junior. It was all meaningless to him.


    He could remember just how arrogant First Brother had been when he first met him. However, Ryu had hardly spared him a glance back then, let alone now. As far as he was concerned, only those who could be arrogant in the face of true death were worthy of their arrogance.


    At that moment, one of the Demon Barons were broken free from their contract and immediately tried to escape back to the Nether Realm. But, right then, a streak of black lightning curved from Ryu''s finger and almost burnt it to ash.


    "Be patient."


    Ryu said off handedly.


    He turned back toward First Brother and shot out another attack. This time, it was a streak of purple.


    First Brother tried to form numerous barriers, his third eye even opening wide, but it was all futile and meaningless. Ultimately, he was still in the Path Extinction Realm. To Ryu, he was nothing more than an ant that could be squashed at any time. If not for the sacrifice of his fellow disciples, Ryu wouldn''t have even needed to put in so much ''effort''.


    With that, the middle Magma Devil Ryu still had his hand in quivered. But, with Ryu latched onto him like this, there was not a single chance at fleeing.


    One after another, the Magma Devils were bound and thrown into Ryu''s Incubator. Demon Barons were still quite rare. Maybe it would be better to wait for Ailsa to awaken and make proper use of their blood before Ryu thought of having Nemesis absorb their strength. He was still holding out hope that he could find what he needed in this world.


    Ryu twirled two spatial rings in his fingers. These had come from First and Second Brother. He took a glance inside and, as expected, he did find himself some of the treasures the Silver Touch Branch had promised to hand over to those that passed their test. But, none of the most important stuff was there.


    For example, there was no summoning formation for the Magma Devil Demon Baron Clan. But, Ryu had already expected as much. The Martial Gods wouldn''t hand over such knowledge randomly or without fail safes. They had definitely been obliterated along with their soul. The only chance Ryu would have had at them was if Eska or Ailsa was here to handle the soul side of things. Unfortunately, she wasn''t.


    But right now¡­ That hardly mattered.


    Even now, the feeling of danger his intuition was giving him had yet to disappear, and it was all coming from this supposed Third Sister.


    Ryu adjusted Yaana''s place on his back with a doting expression and made sure she was comfortable, securing her a bit tighter so that he could fight more freely. Knowing that the fabric tying her to him was a Visualization made it easy for Ryu to trust it.


    Finally, after taking his sweet time, Ryu looked up, his indifference returning and his aura simmering.


    "Madame, I presume? Or should I call you Sarriel?"

 Chapter 589 Enjoy

    Chapter 589 Enjoy


    Ryu seemed unmoved as he spoke these words.


    If he had to be honest with himself, he might have been far too devastated to be so uncaring previously. Though he hadn''t known Sarriel for long, he had already admitted to himself multiple times that she had already had a great impact on his life. Whether or not those things were real hardly mattered, they were still his perspective on things.


    However, the Ryu of then wasn''t the same now. And, after finding Yaana, his heart was in a state of absolute peace. Sarriel''s betrayal didn''t make him feel much of anything at this moment. At most, he only felt that it was unfortunate.


    Of course, even if he wasn''t in such a peaceful state right now, he still wouldn''t show Sarriel much of a reaction to begin with. He was very much used to burying what he truly felt inside and maybe it was due to this that Sarriel wouldn''t be able to tell much of a difference either way. But, what she thought now was irrelevant to him.


    The one thing that hadn''t changed between his former self and his current self was that the opinions of others was less than trash, and¡­ He hated to explain himself.


    Third Sister''s cloak fluttered and whether by coincidence or because she allowed it to happen, a wisp of wind caught just enough of her hood to blow it off. What was beneath it wasn''t far from Ryu''s expectations at all.


    A black veil. A pair of violet eyes. Long flowing black hair. And a twin pair of drooping Fey ears that gave her an ethereal charm.


    Even now, there was no doubt that she was among the most beautiful women Ryu had ever seen. Maybe only Eska and Ailsa could match up to her. Women with high cultivation and Faeries truly had an advantage in this regard.


    However, her beauty wasn''t enough to get him to dance to the tune of her fingers even before, so it most definitely wasn''t enough now.


    It could be said that ever since Ryu had his talk with Eska, he had been aware that there was a more than 90% likelihood he would be standing here facing her like this. It was just that he couldn''t'' have ever guessed that it would come so soon.


    Back then, Ryu had deduced it quite perfectly:


    ¡­ ''Theoretically, if one was dead set on producing a new Heavenly Pupil that could help with your control over Spiritual Qi, and one had decided that the best way to do this was through your talent absorption bloodline, then such a person who was already invested in the Nether Realm to begin with might take advantage of this to transport all of these talents from across Eras into just one, easily accessible, convenient place.'' ¡­


    Sarriel fit this description all too perfectly.


    She was from a race of people who should have been wiped out. She had great talent in the yin path and the Mental Realm. She had just so happened to be at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm, despite the fact she could have broken through long ago, seemingly waiting for something¡­


    The fact the Sarriel was among the transported here from a different Era was practically as obvious as the sun was on a bright day. And yet, for some reason, she didn''t tell Ryu these things despite having had numerous chances to do so.


    Beyond that, there were too many coincidences.


    Why would Sarriel appear in the Moon World? She claimed that it was because she was scared of her Pupils being discovered in a stronger world, but if there was any pair of Heavenly Pupils that didn''t have to worry about it, it was the Truth Pupils¡ªthe pair most adept at deception.


    It was clear that Sarriel was in the Moon World for the sake of the Tri Palace. This was something that Ryu would be able to easily accept, and yet she had still lied about it as though she wanted to put some artificial distance between herself and it¡­


    Even now, Ryu still wasn''t sure if his lost year was related to Sarriel, but that hardly mattered anymore because the two things he had experienced in this place put the nail in Sarriel''s proverbial coffin.


    The first was her ''random teleportation''.


    No matter how you sliced it, it was too ridiculous for a Legacy World to ignore the barrier of an Origin Grade treasure. A treasure at that level was practically its own world. If there was anything that should be able to bypass the mechanisms of this Legacy World, it was a treasure of that caliber.


    But, even then, maybe because he was too na?ve, but Ryu had still been willing to believe it was all a coincidence¡­ Until he came across the illusion formation.


    There was no formation in existence capable of fooling his eyes so well, no illusion capable of confusing him so thoroughly. The only possible explanation were the Truth Pupils taking action.


    Maybe Ryu had never surpassed Sarriel in seals undone to begin with. Maybe, from the very beginning, she had been feigning weakness.


    There was only one existence that could fool the eyes of a Legacy World formed by such a powerful individual, only one existence that could allow those who surpassed the cultivation cap to enter this place. It was too obvious.


    What were her goals? Her purpose? Why she wanted to fool him? To use him? Ryu had no idea, nor did he care to speculate. All he knew was that this Legacy World was important to him and he wouldn''t'' allow anyone to stand in his way.


    Sarriel gazed toward Ryu without a word. Even now, the way she looked at him was far different from what had been there in the past.


    Before, all Ryu could see was shyness, hesitancy, and a budding crush she had on him. There was also a constant internal strife as though she was always trying to figure out how to gain his favor just a bit better day by day. It was the kind of gaze that made Ryu feel guilty that he didn''t just accept her with open arms from the very beginning.


    What he saw now couldn''t even be compared. At this moment, it might as well have been that they were completely different people, as though the Sarriel of the past had long since died.


    There was coldness, loftiness, arrogance¡­ There was a pride that sunk deep into her bones and pervaded her surroundings. It was the kind of look a person who loved no one but themselves could form, and it was ironically exactly the kind of look Ryu loved to see in a woman.


    Ryu wasn''t sure whether he should be amused or not. The true Sarriel was exactly the woman he liked the most. In fact, she fulfilled this role even far better than Eska ever could. While Eska''s pride was forged through years of experience and her high cultivation, Sarriel''s was something she was born with. She didn''t feel the need to ''earn'' it to prove it to others, she was she, and that was enough.


    You didn''t like it? Well, she also disdained to explain herself.


    If Ancestor Ember had been present, those eyes alone would have been enough for him to recognize this woman. It was the very same woman who called him weak for being afraid of the Tatsuya name, the very same woman who told him to conquer the Pedestal Plane, the very same woman who saw the Martial Gods as nothing more than another stepping stone in her path.


    The two coldly glared at one another, one indifferent, the other prideful.


    "Your lips tasted pretty good."


    The words came out of nowhere. The more carefree Ryu became, the more words he seemed to speak in battle. He had even bothered to spare a trio of Demon Barons a few sentences earlier. But now, he was clearly provoking a mother dragon.


    However, Sarriel didn''t seem to react very much at all.


    "And you were quite average." She spoke lightly. "Four out of ten."


    "I guess the Truth Pupils are better at deception than I thought." Ryu replied with hardly a breath. "If they can fool even their owner like this."


    "I think the one being fooled is the one that thought they touched me at all."


    Ryu''s lip curled. "Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?"


    Sarriel''s gaze flashed with a hint of killing intent before her veil shifted. The wind blew, causing her veil to reveal just the slightest hint of the fiendish grin hidden underneath.


    "They always said you were good at enraging people with your words. I guess I can say that I''ve experienced this first hand today."


    "I can help you experience a lot of other firsts today if that''s what you want."


    "I''m going to enjoy pounding that handsome face in." Sarriel sneered, her aura suddenly blazing to life.


    "Not the first time I''ve heard that." Ryu replied, his gaze sharpening.


    In an instant, the two vanished.


    When they reappeared, their fists collided. And, for that moment, it felt as though the entire mountain would collapse.

 Chapter 590 Thank You

    Chapter 590 Thank You


    The ground caved in, the air itself exploding even before their fists connected and completely collapsing after they did.


    In the blink of an eye, the two had already retracted their attacks, swinging their legs forward.


    A flurry of exchanges erupted. Ryu seemed to be the perfect mirror image of Sarriel, his fists and kicks countering her every action as though he could see them ahead of time.


    Every time the two met, the snow was blasted apart, the clouds above split and the earth beneath their feet crumbled. They danced across the base of the mountain range with such speed that they could hardly be seen. By the time the devastation of their attacks took hold, they had already moved to a new location, their auras only growing with each passing moment.


    By now, it was all too obvious. This power was nothing like what Sarriel had displayed within the replica Nether World. In fact, it could be likened to night and day.


    Back then, she had pretended as though her power level was only on par with the other Half-Step Path Extinction Realm geniuses. And yet, despite displaying that same cultivation level right this moment, her battle prowess seemed to be on par with Ryu.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened, his fist turning into a palm as he moved to block Sarriel''s own. But, before he could register what happened, he felt a fist collide with his jaw.


    Ryu''s face distorted, ripples spreading throughout his cheeks and bone. He could even feel his skull threatening to collapse, and maybe it would have had his Ice Jade Crystal Body not undergone a mutation just a few weeks prior.


    He shot out of arm''s reach of Sarriel like an iron ball from a canon. A line split across the air as Ryu almost crashed to the ground. If not to protect Yaana who was still on his back, he may very well have allowed it to happen just to dissipate the force. But, without a choice, he could only take the full brunt of the strike, skidding to a stop as he feet deeper and deeper trenches into the ground.


    A slight hint of something metallic touched Ryu''s tongue. He didn''t need to look to know that it was his own blood.


    He wiped it with a thumb and spit the rest away, shaking his head. That single punch had sent him almost a kilometer away from Sarriel, so she could consider herself vicious enough.


    Ryu had never been very good at hand to hand combat to begin with, nor had he ever really practiced it. Plus, he was facing someone with Heavenly Pupils adept at deception. Falling for feints and suffering counters was practically inevitable.


    He slowly pulled his legs out from the deep trenches he was in. Without a choice, he could only send Yaana into the incubator. A fight of this caliber wasn''t one that he could continue carrying her along for. As worried as he was that something might happen to her in there, he should rightfully be more worried about what was happening out here.


    "Very satisfying. Just like how I dreamed it up. I think I''ll have to taste it again."


    Sarriel looked at her fist as though she was admiring a trophy.


    Truthfully, she had expected her punch to take at least half of Ryu''s head with it. She knew exactly what Bone Structure Ryu had and it wasn''t conducive to defense. However, his face had managed to hold up quite well. That was curious to her. She wanted to use her pupils to see what had changed, but she couldn''t quite understand what she was seeing.


    As things went, the stronger Truth Pupils became, the better they were at deceiving, but their ability to see through the truth of things never really improved. Even Ryu hadn''t quite understood what mutation his Ice Jade Crystal Body had undergone. In fact, he planned on just waiting for Ailsa to explain it to him. Sarriel had no chance in the matter.


    Ryu put a hand to his jaw and shifted it from side to side as though to check if it was still working. It didn''t take very long at all for the reddening and swelling of his face to vanish as though nothing had happened at all.


    "Thanks for that." Ryu said lightly. "Now I can really go all out."


    Ryu didn''t explain what he meant, nor did he care to. The intent behind that attack was to blast his skull into a rain of blood and gore and that was all he needed.


    ''[Summoning Corpse World].''


    All the winds of the world seemed to vanish as though a vacuum was formed instantaneously. Billowing death qi rose up, swirling faster and larger with every passing moment.


    In one instant, there was nothing but a vast land of snow between Ryu and Sarriel. In the next, thousands of Skeleton Warriors appeared, each and every one of which was of the Higher Skeleton Warrior stage.


    Their bones radiated a delicate light blue that matched well with the falling snow. And yet, their auras billowed with a dense black fog that was in direct contrast to it.


    ''[Bone Manipulation].''


    Two of the Higher Skeleton Warriors Ryu had called forth shot toward him. Half way to his hands, both became radiant blue Great Swordstaffs, snapping into Ryu''s palms as though they had always meant to be there.


    But, this was just the beginning.


    Ryu''s aura continued to surge. One after another, the Skeleton Warriors began to implode. In the blink of an eye, an army of thousands became just a hundred. The rest became a rich bone essence, hanging around the surroundings under Ryu''s control.


    Half of this bone essence fused with the hundred remaining Skeleton Warriors, becoming elaborate armors that bulked them up to an extreme. The other half shot into the ground before rising up to form a massive dome-like bone cage.


    In an instant, Ryu turned a mountain of snow into a cemetery of bone, brandishing his two Great Swordstaffs with a cold indifference.


    Killing intent he had buried within his heart bubbled forth, painting the world in darkness as his Immortal Rings pulsed to its rhythm.

 Chapter 591 Trample

    Chapter 591 Trample


    Sarriel''s lip curled as she watched Ryu walk forward. "I''m honored."


    It was obvious that Ryu had prepared these Skeleton Warriors long ago and stored them within his Corpse World. This was the only explanation for him summoning so many and so quickly. The only surprise was that his Corpse World could actually hold so many to begin with. Obviously, if this was easy to do, everyone would do it.


    But¡­ Quite frankly¡­ She was unmoved.


    Her palm flipped over, a curved katana with a length of just over seven feet long appearing within it. It was clear that compared to the last time Ryu had seen this weapon, it was far different. It only took Ryu a single glance to realize that it was a Mystical Grade treasure, a step above even the Heaven Grade¡­ And it wasn''t just any Mystical Grade treasure at that, it was at the very Peak, just a step away from the Ancestral Grade¡­


    The kind of weapon only a Cosmic Seed Realm expert would use.


    "Do you know why my eyes are called the Truth Pupils despite the fact what they''re best at is deceiving?" Sarriel asked lightly.


    Ryu didn''t answer, his steps not pausing as he continued to walk forward. Clearly, she planned on speaking, so why would he waste his breath? Instead, his momentum continued to climb, his Monarch Realm coming and going like a tide. Each time it pressed forward, it grew in strength, pressing down with an oppressive might.


    "Do you know why despite what happens, my Truth Pupils have been and always will be ranked seventh, never moving up, never moving down¡­ Never being too high and never being too low¡­?"


    Sarriel, too, began to walk forward, her cadence enigmatic as though she was trying to lull Ryu to sleep. Her body swayed and her steps multiplied. Soon, it became difficult to tell how many of her were speaking, how many limbs she had, and even her eyes themselves multiplied before she suddenly formed several hundreds clones at the same time, each more real than the last.


    "When you reach a certain level of strength, the truth is what you make it."


    It felt as though hundreds of Sarriel''s were speaking at once. Just one voice was soft, but when they layered like this, it felt as though she was roaring at the top of her lungs.


    They mingled and intertwined, bearing down on Ryu until the dome of her own Small Realm manifested itself, pressing down against Ryu''s as though to dominate it.


    "This is the greatest truth of the world. The one with the largest fist, the greatest strength, the most unquestionable power decides what is and what isn''t. First Ranked Heavenly Pupils?"


    Ryu could almost hear that sneer of derision as her roar forced the peak of the mountain to tremble, her layering voices seemingly refusing to be content until they could force the world itself to bend to their will.


    "That''s a title I allow you to have and it''s one I will take away just as easily as I will take your life."


    Sarriel brandished her katana lightly, each one of her hundreds of clones doing the same. The countless afterimages that were left in the air made the mind spin. Anyone else in this situation would have passed out just from the overload, as though Sarriel was somehow forcing your mind to take in all this information at once.


    And then, the world stilled.


    A fight of Skeleton Warriors and clones was soon to erupt. At the same time, Ryu wasn''t fooled in the slightest and his eyes never left her main body, his gaze pervading an endless cold. However, he was also aware of just how potent this ability of Sarriel''s was.


    [Truth Clone]. It allowed Sarriel to form hundreds of clones, each with half her usual combat power. The more seals she unlocked, the more clones she would be able to form. In fact, if she lowered the number she summoned, she could even form a few 90% clones. It was just clear and obvious that she wasn''t taking Ryu seriously.


    There was no such thing as a weak pair of Heavenly Pupils. But, the most shocking part of this ability was that it was an innate and easy to use for Sarriel as [Third Perspective] was to Ryu. This was just the beginning.


    Sarriel felt like she was no less talented than Ryu. In fact, she felt that she was even more talented. From her Heavenly Pupils, to her own Ancestral Great Circle that she had yet to reveal, she felt untouchable.


    The fact that she was fighting someone seven substages beneath her was nothing more than a trampling of her pride. A trampling she refused to accept.


    "Rise up and split the Heavens."


    BANG!


    At that moment, Ryu felt his Immortal Rings tremble, feeling as though their dignity was being provoked.


    To Sarriel''s back, a massive blade took form. It swung down to its left, leaving afterimages in its wake that soon turned corporeal. It then swung down to its right, repeating the same process.


    The sound of sword qi rang through the skies as though willing to sever all that stood in its path. Demons would be slayed, Gods would be felled, the Heavens themselves would be ripped asunder.


    A blooming fan of swords radiated, each with a aura just as oppressive as the next.


    Thirteen swords. Six splayed out to each side and one at the very center with its blade facing forward. Everywhere Sarriel passed, the clouds above would be split in two, collapsing beneath her might.


    The two didn''t waste anymore words. It felt like in just one instant, they were separated by almost a kilometer. In the next, they had collided.


    Ryu felt his blood boiling. She wanted to have a match of arrogance with him? She believed herself to be above him? That he wasn''t even worthy enough to cross blades with her?


    Ryu''s laughter erupted, splitting the clouds above just as Sarriel''s Immortal Ring manifestation had.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. The world had yet to birth someone that was his equal, nor would it ever.


    He would trample her beneath his feet.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 592 [Infinite Illusions]

    Chapter 592 [Infinite Illusions]


    An eruption of qi surged about Ryu. He felt like his blood was lit on fire, that his bones coursed with strength and his muscles bulged with power.


    He pressed down on Sarriel with both his bone blades, his strength reaching a fundamental level of superiority even she couldn''t match.


    Sarriel took a heavy step backward, her planted leg shattering the ground and causing an eruption of dirt. That single step alone shook the earth and threatened to have the power to split a continent in two. No matter how talented Sarriel was, no matter how powerful a Fey''s body was purported to be¡­ What good was it in the face of a Dragon?


    BANG!


    Sarriel was pressed down to the point her back almost touched the now snowless ground. Her veil fluttered about and her violet eyes met Ryu''s silver pair with a cold indifference.


    Ryu''s laughter still hung in the air, but at the moment, he felt like a completely different person, the crackling of lightning and fire hanging around him in a purple haze. It felt as though he could force even the world itself to ignite under his whims.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. To be so arrogant as to have a contest of pure strength with him¡­ There should be a limit on just how much you dared to look down on another.


    BANG!


    The ground completely collapsed. As though shattered glass cratering against a marble floor, it splintered into countless pockets of irregularly shaped rocks.


    Ryu''s expression sharpened. He retracted one of his Great Swordstaffs in a singular, sweeping motion. The clang of metal resounded through the air as a sword was rebounded away by his counter.


    However with just one arm supporting the pressure he applied to Sarriel, she instantly forced him back a step, her body rising from a near parallel position with a flexibility that suited her elegance.


    Her katana left afterimages in the air that instantly placed Ryu further on his backfoot. Seemingly having learned her lesson about a direct clash of power, her strikes became swifter and craftier, her sword often leaving several images in the air, only one of which was real.


    Ryu instantly activated his [Lines of Fate] in full force. But, even then, the illusions of Sarriel''s blade could only be read in terms of fluctuating probabilities. It was like an illusion that rooted itself in reality, becoming so real that even Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils were having difficulty differentiating between them.


    Only in the instant before Sarriel''s strike landed would it become absolutely clear which was real and which ones were fake to Ryu, it was only then that Ryu had 100% assurance to counter, but this also left him reacting later and later, leaving him in a passive position.


    Their clashes rang through the skies, each of them seemingly stepping through space just to appear before each other once again.


    Sarriel''s strikes became colder and more domineering, her sword image Immortal Ring shimmering with ever strike. She had yet to use a true sword technique, only relying on the basic abilities of her Heavenly Pupils, and yet her every action felt lethal to an extreme.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened. ''[Third Perspective].''


    In that moment, [Lines of Fate] and [Third Perspective] layered atop of one another, synergizing. It had been a long time since Ryu was forced to use such a combination, but it was clear that Sarriel was worth at least this much.


    He suddenly began to see the probabilities of the world in a three dimensional fashion. The fluctuation of probabilities became constricted and less volatile. Without being constrained to a single view, it suddenly became possible to not only react before even Sarriel made her decision, but it also became easier for him to control his corpse puppets.


    ''[White Serpent''s Dance: Lurking Shadow].''


    Ryu vanished and appeared before Sarriel. Even though his arm seemed to be in a position to pierce forward, somehow, it felt as though the blade he should have been holding was nowhere to be seen. Sarriel lost track of how long the blade had been, how thick its spine was, and even the exact angle it was approaching at. It was as though all this information had been covered by a thin veil.


    Sarriel immediately understood that Ryu had countered her [Infinite Illusions]. He no longer hesitated before her flickering sword images, guessing at her path long before even she herself was certain of which one to take.


    A disdainful pressure came from her gaze.


    "[River Lotus]."


    Sarriel''s voice sounded as though the technique owed her for caring to use it, as though the Heavens themselves should be thankful that she was snatching their energies for her own purposes.


    Her stance changed, her two handed approach changing to just a single hand while her now free arm swung out in an elegant cadence. Her veil fluttered, revealing hints of her cherry lips and flawless skin, on which not the slightest bead of sweat could be found.


    Her hips swayed, her body shifting as though ramping up toward a revolution.


    Her sword streaked through the air, leaving micro tears in space and arcs of sword qi that made the void tremble.


    Her hair fluttered, her steps increasing in speed as she suddenly began to spin.


    In one moment, it seemed as though she was still slowly preparing herself to attack. In the next, it was as though she had finished in an instant.


    Her arcs of sword qi layered upon herself as her body spun in a graceful dance. It took but a moment for the sword key to take the form of a budding lotus, every slash of her sword forming another petal.


    The instant such a technique was layered with [Infinite Illusions] it felt like Ryu''s mind was being overloaded with information. His Origin Flame couldn''t keep up with this level of strength, forcing him to rely on his own ability to absorb information.


    A layering of tens of lotuses, each with their own fluctuating probabilities appeared in his vision. His [Lurking Shadow] suddenly felt stifled, not knowing how to continue forward.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted, a strand of sword qi whipping by him.


    An arc of blood and sliced white hair shot into the skies.


    Ryu''s [Lurking Shadow] was forced to turn into a [Skim], sliding against the side of Sarriel''s sword qi and deflecting it. But, he was still a step too late.


    The qi tore through his cheek, a portion of his ear, and even took some of his hair with it. Had he been any later, everything above his nose would have been separated from the rest of his skull. But, this was just the first strand of qi.


    The assault bore down from all sides. The beauty of the fluttering lotus, sometimes corporeal, sometimes illusory tore through Ryu''s Small Realm like a tornado of blades.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. He was well aware that he couldn''t allow things to continue like this or he would be quickly overwhelmed.


    A low shout came from his lips as his aura surged.


    ''[Death Acupoint].''


    Ryu''s silver eyes flashed with a glow. He released both of his Great Swordstaffs into the air, a swirl of death qi suddenly manifesting around him, soon forming into a Lower Skeleton Warrior.


    ''[Death Swap].''


    The Lower Skeleton Warrior shot forward, snaking through the dense net of sword qi. Just when it had made it part of the way through, it was sliced into fine sand.


    It was at that exact instant that the pile of scrapped bone the Lower Skeleton Warrior vanished, replaced by a robust High Skeleton Warrior wearing layers of bone armor that resonated like screeching metal beneath the avalanche of sword qi.


    ''[Warped Corpse Explosion].''


    BANG!


    The sequence all happened in the blink of an eye. For an instant, the world seemed to have lost all sound before an explosion of epic proportion rocked even the skies themselves.


    Sarriel''s technique completely collapsed as both of them shot back, avoiding the range of the explosion. All the while, Ryu couldn''t help but take deep breaths, trying to steady himself.


    In the distance, Sarriel had already come to a stop. She rested her long katana before her, her wrist relaxed and her posture poised. Compared to Ryu, it was clear that she was the far more casual party and the arrogant pride in her gaze only seemed to grow fiercer with every passing moment.


    That feeling, Ryu could tell what it was. It was an intangible will that could fall under Natural Enlightenment. It seemed that Sarriel was just breaths away from grasping it, or maybe she already had and simply couldn''t be bothered to use such a powerful ability against Ryu.


    Natural Enlightenments¡­ They were rare and powerful to the point that it made Mortal Endowments seem like child''s play¡­


    If Ryu remembered correctly¡­ It was called¡­


    "It took you so much effort to deal with a mere Earth Grade technique? Don''t you think that''s a bit too pathetic? I''m done wasting my time here. Just die."


    At that moment, an all pervading cold suddenly manifested around Sarriel, causing Ryu''s pupils to constrict.


    Up to now, she had only used her sword and her eyes. But¡­ Was that really all she had?


    Sarriel''s Sword Small Realm was suddenly layered by something even a hint more powerful as she activated an Ice Inheritance to the Monarch Realm as well.

 Chapter 593 Become

    Chapter 593 Become


    Ryu exhaled a deep breath. In the next instant, his chest expanded to double its usual size. The air in the surroundings, cold and all, shot toward him like a tornado, replenishing his body with an undeniable ease.


    The instant he finished circulating his Ice Phoenix Martial Form, his body entered its peak state once again. His indifferent gaze watched as Sarriel''s momentum continued to climb and his skin and hair began to frost over.


    It was rare that Ryu would ever be affected by the cold. However, if there was any race of people that could match those with Ice Phoenix blood in this regard, it was the Moon Fey. In fact, the Moon Fey were more fundamentally sound in this regard than Ice Phoenixes were.


    The Moon Fey''s affinities were rooted in Yin. However, the Ice Phoenix''s affinities were rooted in Life. To them, their ice affinity was actually a secondary ability while to the Moon Fey, it was primary.


    To make matters worse, Ryu was still in the Ruler Realm while Sarriel was a step beyond that. Even if she wanted to freeze him to death, though Ryu could resist a small bit, stopping her would be a tall task, and it was obvious that Sarriel herself knew this.


    If there was anyone who was fully aware of just how ridiculous Ryu''s talent was, it was her. She was fully aware of Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Bloodline¡­ She just didn''t care.


    Before her, all such things were meaningless.


    Sarriel''s veil and cloak shattered, revealing a tight flexible armor of white and beauty that was beyond words. The white leather wrapped around her powerful thighs and the slender length of her leg. It clung tightly to her torso and waist, accentuating the curve of her tall breasts. The only portion of her body that was untouched by this armor was the elegance of her neck and the gorgeous lines of her face.


    Her hair danced about in the wind, the sound of sharpening swords growing fiercer and more active with every passing moment.


    Sarriel''s Immortal Ring manifestation suddenly found itself freezing over inch by inch before the image itself entirely shattered, leaving behind swords carved of the most immaculate, translucent ice.


    Ryu knew without a doubt that he stood no chance in the aspect of yin. He was certain that Sarriel had corpse puppets she disdained to use against him and he could tell that his own Summonings were very quickly losing to Sarriel''s clones even as he strategically used [Death Swap] and [Grave Digger] to cut them down one after another.


    Sarriel was the type of opponent Ryu wished he could use [Heaven''s Gate] on. But, unfortunately, without breaking through a significant amount of seals or waiting ten more years, he was unable to do exactly that.


    Despite not having suffered any terrible injuries just yet, Ryu still felt an undying pressure weighing down around him, only growing stronger with each passing moment.


    This wasn''t the first time Ryu was facing an opponent that felt impossible to defeat. But, it was the first time one of his peers was giving him such a feeling. The feeling was somehow completely different as a result of this. It was subtle, but it made a world of difference on his psyche as though something was breathing down his back, telling him to give in and allow her blade to be drawn across his neck.


    Ryu suddenly closed his eyes, the world filled with the sounds of whipping winds and shattering glass. He could almost feel Sarriel''s cold pervading the air, causing it to freeze over and crack into sparkling snow.


    To make him feel inferior, if for nothing but just a few moments, Ryu had to admit that this Sarriel was truly an existence worthy of shaking the martial world. However¡­


    Violet lightning flames began to dance across Ryu''s body. His robes seemed to gain a light of their own, hidden veins within their fabric lighting beneath Ryu''s qi.


    In that moment, thunder boomed in the skies as an arc of black lightning tore through the battlefield, shattering the ground between the two in an instant.


    By the time everything cleared and Sarriel could see Ryu again, he was covered in magenta scales so dark that they almost appeared to be black. He had a pair of horns that twisted into the skies, making him seem even more demonic than the Magma Devils had been. His pair of pupils slit vertically, a devilish violet hanging around them.


    The largest change, though, was to Ryu''s robes. They were no longer upon his body, revealing a toned figure covered from top to bottom in scales. Instead, they had become a twin pair of wings extending outward more than ten meters to each side.


    They pulsed with lightning and fire, arcs of purple and black causing even space itself to tremble.


    Steamed tumbled out from Ryu''s lips, his canines becoming so prominent that they could even crush precious metals to pieces.


    Sarriel''s gaze narrowed, her sword being brandished before her. Every step she took forward caused another lotus of ice to bloom, her flexible, white leather armor beginning to radiate with complex sky blue runes.


    Ryu''s wings suddenly spread out wide as though to curtain the world in darkness. The steam billowing from his mouth gained crackling arcs of black lightning, his surroundings themselves being marred by a chaotic energy.


    Ancient memories danced about in Ryu''s mind, his blood rushing like crashing waterfalls.


    It was right then when the world was most silent that Ryu''s wings suddenly slammed closed.


    Scythes of purple-black lightning flames tore through the air. Space collapsed, large tears in the voids hanging about as Ryu lighting flame blades shot a path toward Sarriel. Each was so concentrated and deadly that they were no less potent that any one of Sarriel''s strands of sword qi.


    Ryu had already decided. Only a beast would be able to defeat someone as powerful as Sarriel. She was too talented, too clever, too strong¡­


    In that case¡­


    He would just become a beast.

 Chapter 594 Ancient Beast

    Chapter 594 Ancient Beast


    Sarriel''s blade flashed, deflected the wing scythes one after another. The ground to her side was ravaged and torn, but she remained indifferent, the speed of her movements not matching the ease of her expression in the slightest.


    She could tell that Ryu was tapping into his inheritances right this moment. This sort of flame and lightning manipulation technique could only come from the memories of Ancient Beasts. There was no doubt when it came to control of the elements, beasts stood near the top of the food chain.


    But, why should she care? If there was a second group that could stand right next to them¡­ Wasn''t it the Faeries and the Fey?


    Sarriel and Ryu both vanished, their blades clashing. At that moment, whether it was clones or Skeleton Warriors, they all collapsed, unable to withstand the pressure.


    Sarriel''s blade danced and Ryu''s ferociously tore through the air. Space froze in Sarriel''s wake and tore in Ryu''s.


    "[Moon Blade]."


    Sarriel''s katana drew an elegant arc. In one moment it was by her side. In the next, it was by Ryu''s neck.


    However, Ryu himself seemed to hardly react to the change.


    "[Immortal Sakura]."


    CLANG!


    Sparks flew, deflecting Sarriel''s blade up and over Ryu''s head and revealing her torso. At that moment, Ryu''s blades which had previously been parried away rebounded with an even greater speed, lightning streaking across them as the energies of the world sung.


    Sarriel''s violet eyes blazed with a new light. She appeared to be right before Ryu, but in a single blink, she was a hair out of the range of his swinging blade. It didn''t feel as though she had moved, but like she had always been there from the very beginning.


    However, Ryu seemed to have already felt the change before it happened. He watched as the lines of Fate twisted to her will, warping reality to become exactly what she wanted. As Sarriel had put so poetically, if enough people believed it, then a falsehood could become the truth. ????????o???.co?


    While that sounded nice, if there was a reality that he, Ryu Tatsuya, didn''t like¡­


    He would crush it.


    Ryu''s mouth suddenly opened, his jaw widening to reveal a row of pristinely white teeth. His throat bulged, his chest expanded, the scales covering them suddenly beginning to glow with a fiery crimson that seemed to die the world in the color of blood.


    Dragon''s Breath.


    Ryu''s roared, a beam forming right before his mouth and tearing its way through the world. It was so solid that it almost appeared to have a metal body¡­ Until, that is, the air began to react to its appearance.


    The air expanded and exploded, the earth cratered and collapsed, the skies trembled and the dome of this world shook, threatening to shatter like egg on rock.


    Sarriel''s expression changed for the first time, her brows raising slightly. This wasn''t just fire, she could sense a rampaging lightning within that descended like heavenly punishment.


    Sarriel released her sword, allowing it to hover before her. She quickly began to form hand seals, a form of technique usage that hadn''t been used in several Eras. If Ryu hadn''t known before, this would have been enough to confirm that she had come from a distant past.


    Her aura surged, her qi following the complex patterns of her fingers as a massive blue moon appeared above her. At that moment, her jet-black hair gained a hint of a lush blue luster, glowing as though a moon goddess.


    Sarriel''s sword flew back into her palm, her Immortal Ring resonating with the moon that now hung above her head, the arrogance in her eyes only growing the more of her power she displayed.


    Her Bone Structure trembled, glistening beneath her skin in resonance with the moon above. As though activated by some mysterious energy, a crown began to manifest around her forehead, the light in her eyes growing so fierce that it became difficult to even look at her directly.


    "Be severed."


    It wasn''t a technique, nor was it a mantra. She spoke these words as simply as if she was an Empress commanding a commoner.


    Her blade slashed downward. It was so slow that the afterimages it left in its wake seemed to be more of a trick of the eye than anything else.


    In that moment, a beam of crackling fire and lightning seemed capable of splitting an entire world in two found itself being sundered, sliced beneath an energy it couldn''t even muster the courage to go against, let alone the power to do so.


    It was casual enough to cause despair in even the greatest of existences.


    But, somehow, Ryu had already vanished. Sarriel''s pupils constricted, but it was already too late.


    He appeared above her, his draconic feet smashing down into her seemingly delicate shoulders.


    His roar caused a tornado of force to jet outward as he lowered his horns.


    Sparks of lightning erupted between them as Sarriel suddenly found herself colliding into the ground below. At that moment, she understood what had happened. Ryu had actually merged with his Dragon''s Breath using his Spirit Body. Not only had he taken her off guard, but he gained the same forcefulness his Dragon''s Breath had had and used it to power his kick.


    She felt as though half of her body had collapsed under that blow. Had she not released the seal on his Bone Structure, that was exactly what would happen.


    Sarriel suddenly found Ryu''s Drago-Qilin Horns bearing down on her face, a swirling ball of crackling violet lightning surrounded by raging black arcs. She knew immediately that attacks formed from a Qilin''s Horn were no less fundamental to their race that a Dragon''s Breath was to them. At such close range, even she couldn''t help but form a solemn expression.


    In that instant, she caught a glimpse of Ryu''s gaze, but there wasn''t a hint of mercy in them. It looked back at her as though she was nothing more than a dead woman. No¡­ It was deeper than that. There was disdain, arrogance down to the very depths of his soul.


    There was no one in this world that he, Ryu Tatsuya, was inferior to.


    The arcs of lightning formed into a solid sphere and shot out.


    Ryu stood with his foot pressed onto Sarriel''s chest, his attacks blasting into her neck and face as though he wanted to rip it all from the rest of her body. He felt her flesh and bone distort and twist beneath his sole, but the arrogance in his gaze only grew more palpable.


    The world lost its sound.


    The ground beneath Ryu''s feet lost its own footing, collapsing into a blackhole of endless depths.


    Ryu found himself standing above this fathomless abyss, arrogantly standing in the skies, blood dripping from his feet¡­ blood that most definitely wasn''t his own. Above him, a large tree of translucent, sparkling crystals stood, its canopy seemingly wide enough for the whole world to take refuge beneath.


    Its cherry blossoms fell from its branches, fluttering down with a heavenly, enigmatic pattern of their own.


    Silence reigned¡­


    Until the ground began to tremble once again.


    A pillar of blue light shot up from the ground below, tearing open another abyss no less deep than the one beneath Ryu.

 Chapter 595 Forgot

    Chapter 595 Forgot


    Sarriel shot into the air, her visage a reflection of icy cold. Or, rather, what could be seen of it was.


    Even though her injuries were quickly healing under a mysterious power, likely related to her Bone Structure, much of it had been torn and bloodied down to the very bone. Just the amount of stamina it was taking to cure her of these injuries was enough to drown an ocean. And, if not for her flexible armor, maybe the entirety of her upper torso would have vanished.


    Even now, Ryu stood above her. Whether subconsciously or by design, she hadn''t shot up enough to be level with him.


    She glared upward, the emotion within her draining away with every passing moment. In another few seconds, what was a face half covered in blood, flesh and gore had recovered to its initial beauty, crimson liquid dripping downward as though refusing to continue to stain her. In a moment, her face was once again spotless. However, the tear in her armor couldn''t be repaired, revealing large swaths of her delicate, blood boiling skin.


    Sarriel continued to rise into the skies until she was level with Ryu, her qi steadying itself back into a steady rhythm. In that moment, her energy had almost gone out of control, nearly spontaneously breaking into the Path Extinction Realm. If she allowed that to happen, it would ruin everything she had been planning for so long, not to mention putting a blemish on her heart.


    Fooling this world was one thing, but it would be impossible to receive this Ice Devil World''s Legacy if she was truly beyond the cultivation requirement.


    In that moment, she had felt the brush of death and her body instinctively reacted. It was a humiliation. A naked humiliation.


    Sarriel''s aura began to surge, an added qi layering onto her already immensely powerful momentum. This one, however, wasn''t sharp and deadly like her sword qi, nor was it heavy and cold like her ice qi¡­ No, it held a gravity that pulled one toward a deep abyss, taking hold of the body and forcing one to believe that death was the only path forward.


    The deathly black fog began to manifest itself, a third Small Realm manifesting itself and layering atop of Sarriel''s two existing ones.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, his palms stretching out to cause his bone Great Swordstaffs to shoot back into his hands.


    ''Death Inheritance¡­ A complete one¡­''


    This was one thing Ryu didn''t have. He could rely on his bloodline for his Elemental Inheritances. He could rely on his memories to comprehend a path forward for his Great Swordstaffs. He could rely on his Northern Heavenly Wind to progress his Wind Inheritance. But, up until now, he had yet to come across a complete Death Inheritance.


    There was a chance that he could comprehend something from his Primordial Chaos Death Qi. It was even possible that the Phoenix Sky God had left a secret he had yet to unearth. But, as of now, in this regard, Sarriel was far beyond him.


    It was only now that Ryu remembered that Sarriel was a Necromancer. No¡­ it wasn''t that he had forgotten, but rather that he had assumed that everything else was an act, so why would she be upfront about where her true strength lied?


    But, if there was really nothing in it for her, then why would she have entered the Nether Palace? Why would she have been invited by the Martial Gods, allowing her to come to this Era from her own? Wasn''t it obvious, then¡­?


    BANG!


    The fog around Sarriel merged into the blinding pillar of blue, tearing a hole through the skies.


    The energies began to swirl about, the crown around her forehead becoming brighter and brighter.


    The harsh land of snow only became harsher as a portal of swirling black tore a path through the skies.


    An aura the likes of which could crumble the world descended. Ryu''s vertical slit pupils couldn''t help but constrict. This aura¡­


    ''Demon Duke?!''


    BANG!


    It was like a pane of glass shattered. A fluttering white fabric that stretched out for hundreds of meters descended almost as though it was trying to blanket the entire mountain.


    However, soon, it became obvious that this fluttering fabric was attached to a humanoid figure, one with skin so white and pale that it almost looked as though they had just bathed in a sea of chalk.


    The figure was over a kilometer tall, its every movement freezing even the fundamental laws of the world. Let alone the sluggishness of his qi, Ryu found that even activating his techniques became difficult as though everything in the world should freeze in the presence of this existence.


    It was a Dominion. Ryu was absolutely certain that this Demon Duke had a Dominion. A Dominion so powerful that even his own obscene control of qi was curbed and flattened. There was no doubt that this Demon Duke was in the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    The glow of Sarriel''s crown only grew fiercer. Her arms spread outward, her aura towering to the point where it seemed to merge and fuse with the Demon Duke above.


    The pressure was suffocating. Only half the body of the Demon Duke had appeared and yet the mountain had already begun to crumble, something even the battle between Ryu and Sarriel had only been capable of doing a fraction of.


    But, what happened next was even more shocking.


    The Demon Duke began to be eaten away at, becoming motes of light that shot into Sarriel''s body.


    Sarriel continuously underwent shocking changes. Her black hair becoming a striking blue that swung about for dozens of meters, her violet eyes icing over, and even her flexible armor being replaced by an ice plate armor that radiated with blue runes capable of freezing even space itself.


    And then¡­ Sarriel''s Small Realm''s multiplied in strength, breaking into the realm of Dominions.


    The world whined and quaked. Ryu hardly got a chance to counter before he felt his limbs freezing over piece by piece, his body threatening to shatter into tiny shards of glass.

 Chapter 596 Dominion

    Chapter 596 Dominion


    Ryu felt suppressed from all sides. Without Sarriel even moving a single inch, it felt as though there was nothing he could do.


    Ryu had no idea how Sarriel managed to do such a thing. He had never heard of a precedent allowing a person to fuse with a Demon. The only possibility was that this was unique to Sarriel''s bone structure and, most importantly, it was likely a tightly guarded secret of the Fey as well.


    If the world knew that the Fey were able to accomplish such a thing¡­


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. His body instantly vanished in a flicker of violet lightning, tearing into the void and appearing half a kilometer away in an instant. But, when he appeared once more, half his body was completely frozen, stuck in a half elemental state that made it look as though he was vanishing into motes of light.


    One half of body was forced into a solid state. The other was caught in an attempt to run, unable to separate from its other half lest it lose its substance and Ryu took his own life.


    A perfect counter to Spirit Body was atmospheric qi. It was quick and was able to solidify space should you have a strong enough grasp of it. This interference would easily disrupt the fluctuations of a Spirit Body, forcing someone into a corporeal state.


    However, compared to wielding atmospheric qi, a Dominion was on a completely different level. If one countered a Spirit Body, the latter rendered it completely useless. If not for Ryu''s obscene talent, he wouldn''t have even managed to control himself to dodge Sarriel''s lethal strike, but even then, he ended up in a state like this.


    Ryu roared, flexing his arm and trying to break free from the ice. But, in that instant, a deep panic took root in his soul. He felt that if he continued, he would be shattering his own body. The ice had actually already sunk so far.


    In that split second of hesitation, Sarriel had appeared before Ryu as though she had always been there and nowhere else.


    She held her katana in one hand, but as though she couldn''t be bothered to use it, she reached out with her free arm, pointing a finger toward the center of Ryu''s brow.


    The simple gesture seemed to gather the entire world''s pressure toward a single point. At that moment, Ryu made a devastating discovery.


    A Dominion didn''t only give Sarriel more control over her energy, but it also made it so that the qi she needed to use her Pupils had drastically lowered. The result was Ryu being trapped in a space where Sarriel could practically make any ''deceit'' a reality with a single thought.


    Ryu no longer hesitated, he braced himself, his energy surging as he clenched his teeth and shattered the ice with all the will he could muster. How many times had he experienced death within the Crystalline Jade? This was nothing.


    Ryu felt an entire side of his body collapse. His bones, his flesh, his nerves themselves splintered. Many of his individual cells had already died, turning a sickening shade of dark blue as they fell victim to Sarriel''s ice qi.


    Ryu''s body reformed, but he looked half dead, even his handsome face was twisted into a more grotesque picture than what Sarriel had gone through.


    Even though his Spirit Body quickly absorbed the Primordial Chaos Lightning his meridians were producing to heal, the suppression of Sarriel''s Dominion on his Spirit Body made his healing nowhere near as quick as Sarriel''s had been.


    He hadn''t even begun when Sarriel''s finger finished accumulating energy, pressing down on his forehead without a care for the fact he had escaped.


    The shackles of space solidified and a beam of bluish black tore through the air. The space around it froze and shattered into countless pieces, piercing toward Ryu''s forehead.


    It ripped through several falling petals with impunity, treating Ryu''s [Immortal Sakura] as though it was nothing more than a childish game.


    Ryu''s swung down his two Great Swordstaffs with all the strength he could muster, one side of his body screaming in agony.


    At that moment, his body erupted with arcs of black lightning and raging black flames. He had always been hesitant to use Primordial Chaos Fire at the same time as his Chaos Lightning, but continuing to hold back at this point would be nothing more than suicide. Even if his body was torn apart, he would take her down first.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs exploded on impact, the raging energies becoming far too much to handle. This battle had long since left the scope of something Higher Skeleton Warriors could deal with.


    Ryu shot back like a broken kite, crashing through the ground and digging a ditch through the mountain that extended tens of kilometers.


    Sarriel seemed to wave her sword just once, and yet hundreds of strands of crisscrossing sword qi eradicated the backlash of energy in the blink of an eye.


    In that moment, Ryu ripped his way out from ground, his roars splitting the clouds above. One part was fury, but another was an unquenchable pain. His Spirit Body continuously absorb the fire and lightning, healing. But, at the same time, the volatile chaos energy was ripping him apart.


    "[Earth Gate]!"


    Ryu stepped through a threshold, his mind suddenly becoming enlightened. His aura bloomed, a mighty Dominion spreading to life and clashing against Sarriel''s.


    His dark magenta scales glistened, his horns twisting into the air as they seemingly grew a size.


    The inconspicuous Glove of Order on Ryu''s hand suddenly blossomed forth.


    Ryu reached out at empty air, space cracking as the Glove of Order glowed. Swirling black flames and lightning coalesced under its beck and call, forming a pair of Great Swordstaffs that were eerily familiar to Ryu.


    Ryu rose a single arm, swinging it down to his side.


    In that moment, a scythe of black lightning and fire shot through the mountain range, splitting it in two. Flames connected heaven and earth, a curtain of black falling over the world.


    Veins of red pulsed down Ryu''s cheeks, extending from his eyes. They pulsed along with his killing intent, a mighty majestic aura coursing through his body as his wings doubled in size.


    "Come die."


    A voice from the demonic depths of hell shook the world.


    Ryu''s words had only just landed when Sarriel appeared before him as though she had always been there. She didn''t speak, but the look in her eyes spoke volumes.


    The skies trembled as her sword swung down. Though aimed toward Ryu, it felt as though she was aiming toward something much larger.

 Chapter 597 In Six

    Chapter 597 In Six


    Ryu swung his sword upward to meet Sarriel''s. The clash was like nothing this world had ever witnessed before, a cascading, explosive waterfall of ice, lightning and fire.


    The two blades had hardly met when Ryu already pressed forward with his second. He seemed completely unmoved by Sarriel''s display, the coldness of their gazes meeting across the void and clashing as fiercely as their blades themselves.


    Sarriel''s free hand stretched out a palm, drawing a circle in the air that reflected Ryu''s second Great Swordstaff even as she swung her katana once more. Her movements became faster and more free flowing as though she was finally not holding back anymore. All sorts of miraculous arts Ryu had never seen before manifested themselves, pressing down while suffused with endless killing intent.


    Ryu''s own blades gained an enigmatic air to them. Even without actively using [Heavenly Flow], he seemed to have stepped into a realm that existed beyond it. His every stroke caused heavenly energies to sing as though he was fusing with them.


    His Immortal Rings trembled, the dark gold pulsing with stronger and stronger lights.


    As though pushing back against a suffocating pressure, they fought back, pressing up and bursting through a barrier that had been holding them back.


    A roar left Ryu''s lips as he spontaneously broke through to the 3rd Immortal Ring stage, his power soaring.


    The essence of Ryu''s strikes grew not only swifter, but far more enigmatic. His meridians pulsed and whined, growing a stronger and fiercer connection to the Chaos Realm, filling his body to the brim with qi that could topple the skies.


    The Glove of Order pulsed, a greater strength flowing into Ryu''s twin Great Swordstaffs as the black lightning and flames grew in power.


    ''[White Serpent''s Dance: White World].''


    Ryu''s aura surged. In that moment, the world seemed to lose its color, the qi of the atmosphere bending to his will and accumulating within his blades.


    He slashed downward as though he wouldn''t be satisfied unless the world itself was split in two. It was like he wasn''t fighting Sarriel but the world itself.


    Sarriel moved quickly, her gaze flashing. As she moved her sword as though about to sheath it at her hip, her eyes flashed, a second Sarriel appearing between herself and Ryu. This time, there was no doubt that her clone had at least 90% of her strength.


    It shot forward, meeting Ryu''s strike with its own blade. There wasn''t an ounce of fear or hesitancy in its eyes as though Ryu''s attack was nothing more than a spring breeze.


    Sarriel herself had withdrawn her blade to hip in a sheathing motion. However, there was no sheath in the slightest. In fact, for some odd reason, her blade was facing the sky as her thumb pressed down on it while it was her four fingers that were wrapped around the dull side of the blade.


    A trickle of blood left her thumb as the crown on her head continued to glow brighter. It dripped down both sides of the sword as though it too had been severed in two. She watched with indifference as her clone was obliterated by Ryu''s strike, even forming another one without batting an eye.


    However, this time, before the clone could do much of anything, it burst into a rain of blood and gore, its essence surging toward Sarriel''s palm.


    It all splattered against Sarriel''s sword and ice armor, painting both crimson as her aura continued to rise. And then, before Ryu could even prepare a second attack, the world fell into silence.


    "Blood of Mine. Sword of Mine. The Moon reflects all Things. The Sword Severs all Things. The Moon Goddess watches over the Night.


    "¡­


    "[Eternal Rest]."


    Sarriel ''unsheathed'' her sword. Her blade ran up the length of her thumb, slicing down to the bone as it arched upward in an elegant arch. Every inch Sarriel''s thumb run down began to glow with a fearsome light, coating the katana with a sword qi that shattered space everywhere it passed.


    When Sarriel''s blade reached the apex, it hung in the air, mirroring her Immortal Ring manifestation and piercing right toward the skies.


    The energies of the world trembled, even the peak of the mountain threatening to collapse.


    Sarriel slashed downward.


    The world was covered in a blanket of red, dyed in the blood of the fallen. It seemed to speak to Ryu''s soul. After giving up just a bit of blood, Sarriel was able to force the world itself to kneel. It was as though her blade spoke volumes on its own.


    You might die and be forgotten by the world. But she? She was Sarriel Moon. A single drop of her blood was enough to make the Heaven''s shed tears. As for her life itself? It was more valuable than even the world.


    Space no longer seemed capable of repairing itself. A scythe of crimson tore through it all. It carried the same will as Ryu''s. It was like it wasn''t aimed toward him at all, but rather toward something much grander. panda-novel,c,om


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. This attack was on the level of a Mystical Grade technique. And, unlike when he was facing that fool from the Scarlet Clan, she had not only executed it before he could interrupt it, but the power behind it was also far beyond what he would have faced had he failed to stop that Scarlet Sparrow.


    On top of that, the words Sarriel spoke weren''t meaningless. They were similar to Chanting or reciting Mantra technique. They called down a mysterious power that only multiplied the strength of her sword swing.


    Ryu took a breath, his expression becoming colder.


    He didn''t know what Sarriel''s purpose was. He didn''t know why this Legacy World was so important to her. He didn''t know why she had come from her time to this one or even what her goals were. In fact, he didn''t even know if it was just her or if there were others she was allied with.


    But at this moment, none of it mattered. There was a time when he could be said to care for this woman. Even now, he wasn''t sure if all of that was an act. And, even if it was an act, how could a woman as clearly prideful as Sarriel allow herself to put on such a performance?


    The more confused about it all Ryu became, the firmer his resolve was. Making sense of the plight of his enemies wasn''t his job. Sarriel might have a purpose, but he had one too. And that duty would always be to his family.


    Ryu didn''t move an inch from his location, allowing Sarriel''s crimson blade qi to approach him. But, just when it seemed that he would be torn in two, he spoke three simple words.


    "[Divine Chaotic Annihilation]."


    The world froze.


    Ryu''s forehead split, revealing a dense sphere of black that solidified everything around it. His eyes suddenly became pervaded by an endless blackness, radiating out a fog that was just as dark.


    Sarriel felt like her Dominion had almost become useless. Her control over her energy faded by several folds while Ryu''s own only seemed to multiply. At the same time, her blade of red came to a grinding halt for just a moment before it was suddenly twisted apart into nothingness.


    Sarriel''s pupils constricted, but it was already too late.


    An overwhelming surge of Spiritual Qi surged into Ryu''s Spiritual Sea. But, he had long since been ready.


    An enormous Visualization on his Grimoire manifested itself into the skies, pulsing with raging flames prepared to topple all of existence.


    The pages began to flip, immediately landing on what Ryu wanted.


    Ryu''s palms squeezed together, his two Great Swordstaffs shattering into pockets of crackling lightning and dancing flames.


    He raised his right arm up into the skies, causing this lost energy to surge up his forearm and toward his clawed arm. In that moment, Ryu''s arm seemed to grow a size, pulsing with so much vital qi that it truly looked like the claw of a dragon.


    His claws lengthened, the space around them pulsing as Ryu poured more and more Spiritual Qi into his Grimoire.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s arm grew another size. But, this time, it became obvious that it wasn''t his flesh, but rather a shield of energy in the form of a claw surrounding it. However, it looked so corporeal and real that it felt more like a Dragon King had raised its fury against the Heavens themselves.


    The Dragons were a crude race that didn''t have many great sayings. They were far more focused on their overwhelming strength as opposed to building up their scholarly wiles. As one might expect with such a race, the sayings they did have, then, embodied this perfectly.


    Ryu had heard it and at this moment, those crude words resonated with his very mind and soul.


    ''A Dragon''s Breath can split the skies in two¡­ A Dragon''s Claw can split the world in five.''


    A fiendish grin appeared on Ryu''s face, an aura to rule the world causing his hair to billow about as though each strand was a rampaging Dragon of its own.


    "In that case, I''ll split the world in six."


    BANG!


    Ryu''s energy claw grew to the point it rose over a hundred meters into the sky. The only reason space itself wasn''t twisted and sheered apart was because [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] hung there menacingly, sealing the fate of all those that appeared before it.


    This would end here.


    Ryu''s claw began to descend. Before it even picked up momentum, it proved that Dragon''s truly disdained to lie.


    The grating sound of the world itself being torn in six shook the Legacy World.

 Chapter 598 Buried

    Chapter 598 Buried


    The world itself seemed to release a cry, its fear reaching a palpable level as it was dyed in black and red.


    Ryu could feel his arm trembling and threatening to shatter apart. Even while relying on his master''s Visualization technique to activate and take the brunt of the pressure off of his body, this technique of the Dragon Race was even more difficult to activate than Dragon''s Breath.


    To make matters worse, Ryu had fused techniques of his Great Swordstaff into each one of his claws, effectively forcing himself to wield five blades at once, each fused with his own comprehensions and sword qi. This multiplied the difficulty of using this technique by several folds.


    However¡­ The results spoke for themselves.


    The mountain barely held on by a thread, the land before Ryu splitting into six, five trenches with unfathomable depths forming. It was to the point where Ryu could even sense the very boundaries of this world itself just beyond its limits. Had his attack been any more powerful, this Legacy World itself would have been destroyed.


    Sarriel barely hung on at the edge of one abyss. However, the lower half of her body had completely vanished. Her entrails, blood and flesh dripped down slowly, her features pale almost beyond recognition.


    Her hair had returned to its original black, the ice armor that had once clung to her curves having disappeared. From this vantage point, Ryu could catch a clear sight of the tail end of her spine.


    Even as Ryu stood in the air, breathing hard, he found it difficult to believe that Sarriel had been injured to this extent. He had expected that he would claim victory with this attack, but he hadn''t thought the result would be so exaggerated.


    What he didn''t know was that when he shattered Sarriel''s technique, he had caused a tear in her soul. That technique was meant to be a sacrificial technique. Usually, one could only use it one time in their lives before dying soon after.


    As one might expect, this made the technique almost impossibly powerful. And, Sarriel, thanks to her pupils, was able to use it in exchange for just a large drain to her stamina, turning a sacrificial technique into one she could bring out as a trump card whenever the situation suited it.


    However, even though she managed to avoid the greatest pitfall of the technique¡ªthat being the loss of her life¡ªshe still had to attach a strand of her soul to it in order to fool the Heavens into allowing her to use it in exchange for just a clone. This was why even with the blood sacrifice of her clone, she still had to exchange her real blood by running her blade up her thumb as well.


    What Sarriel couldn''t have expected was the fact that Ryu had a technique that could instantly obliterate her soul like that.


    The truth was that [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] hadn''t faced the true brunt of Sarriel''s technique. What happened was that it latched onto Sarriel''s soul and crushed it first. Once that happened, the structure of the technique completely crumbled, allowing Ryu to absorb it to fuel his next attack.


    The moment Sarriel''s soul was damaged, not only did her technique collapse, but she lost the ability to control her Demon Duke Summons. To avoid being ripped apart from the inside-out by it, she had no choice but to send it back to the Nether Realm.


    But, the result of that was her power plummeting just as Ryu released such a powerful technique. Not only did she lose both of her Dominions, but her qi dropped. There was no way she could block it.


    The only reason she wasn''t dead was because at the last moment, she managed to use the rest of her qi reserves to shift her body. But, she didn''t have enough to appear at a different location. In addition, the pressure of Ryu''s technique and Dominion multiplied the difficulty even more so. So, she could only use her reality warping abilities to shift her body from a vertical position to a horizontal position. This was what led to her losing the lower half of her body.


    Sarriel was furious, even in such a state. She had never been humiliated to such an extreme. She had actually lost to someone six substages beneath her.


    To make matters worse, she had been too arrogant to even use all her power. She hadn''t brought out her strongest Summon, she didn''t use the most powerful abilities of her Pupils, and most importantly, she hadn''t activated her Natural Enlightenment even right up until the end, believing she simply didn''t need them.


    Plus¡­ She couldn''t kill Ryu. She had needed him. If she didn''t need him for something, why would she have bothered to try fooling him for so long?!


    Ultimately, a single mistake, a mismatch of techniques, caused this to end in her loss. She didn''t open her mouth to complain, nor did she make excuses. Her pride was bone deep. She disdained to explain herself, even in such a situation.


    Sarriel looked up toward the mountain range, completely unwilling. Years of planning and she fell at this point.


    Her jaw clenched. One would think that the greatest pain to her would be the injuries she had suffered. But, to Sarriel, all of that could be regrown. Plus, whether it was her uterus or ovaries, she had managed to protect them, so she wasn''t in a situation where she would be barren either. What truly pained her the most was a path toward her goals being so cruelly cut away, and maybe what hurt even more was the fact it was her fault for not taking her opponent seriously enough. panda-novel,c,om


    In the blink of an eye, as though her emotions had been wiped away, Sarriel''s features became expressionless.


    ''I won''t make the same mistake again next time. Nothing can stop my rise to the top. I don''t need handouts from others.''


    Shackles that had been on Sarriel''s heart suddenly vanished. An overwhelming pressure shot out from her. It was so suffocating that even Ryu felt his heart skip a beat as he flew shakily in the sky. He had been trying to approach Sarriel all this time to deal the finishing blow, but his stamina was also drained. Now, he suddenly found himself flying in the face of a wall of wind that blew him dozens of kilometers away.


    ''This¡­''


    Ryu''s heart trembled. He realized that Sarriel had just had a breakthrough. And, it was no normal breakthrough.


    ''The State of Immersion¡­ No, it''s already close to the State of Control¡­''


    Ryu blocked his eyes with a forearm. By the time the pressure vanished and he could finally look again, Sarriel was nowhere to be seen. He didn''t bother to look around. He knew that she had managed to escape. Clearly, she had already prepared something to vanish from this world without being detected.


    A solemn expression took hold of Ryu''s features.


    ''Natural Enlightenment¡­''


    Compared to Mortal Endowments, he knew that they were on a completely different level. The power they provided was no joking matter. There were even folk tales of mortals who hadn''t cultivated a day in their lives gaining the strength to battle Immortals after comprehending one.


    Whether that was true or not, Ryu had no idea. But, regardless of the truth, Sarriel had comprehended one long before their battle. Ryu had sensed it, but she never used it. And now, it was even more powerful by not just a small measure.


    After a moment, Ryu''s solemn expression curled into a smirk.


    "I''ll defeat you just the same next time. There will come a day where no one in existence dares to challenge me."


    Ryu shakily descended from the skies, his sudden roar causing several avalanches of snow.


    What he didn''t know was that this casual roar of his caused individuals who had already been struggling to walk up the other side o the mountain to be thrust downward once again.


    During Ryu and Sarriel''s battle, there had been several groups that managed to make it through without Sarriel''s illusion formation interfering. Among these individuals included persons of the Zu Clan.


    Many believed that the battle between Ryu and Sarriel was actually part of the trial, and as such did their best to climb through the pressure. After all, how could they possibly believe that individuals so strong were allowed to enter?


    Unfortunately, as hard as they tried, whether it was the aura of the two or the cataclysmic activity of their clashes, it was all too difficult for individuals capped at the Immortal Ring Realm. And now, they were subject to Ryu''s roar once again. To make matters worse, the qi sapping ability of the snow hadn''t just disappeared. Now, they were being buried beneath it.


    Uncaring about the fate of others or maybe being completely unaware, Ryu continued to climb.


    ''I''ll consider us even.'' Ryu thought to himself. ''Since you didn''t target Yaana, we can cut things like that. However, next time, I''ll be returning that punch to your pretty face.''


    Ryu trudged to the peak of the mountain, his meridians running on empty. The snow that he had previously been able to ignore made him feel parched, dry and cold all at once. But, he continued to climb, his will indomitable.


    But, when he sensed the aura at the peak of the mountain, he almost collapsed to his knees, his mind stuck in an odd state between relaxation and shock.


    His mind swam, his legs feeling weak.


    "¡­ Grandma?"


    Ryu collapsed, the snow quickly swallowing him whole. In just a few moments, his body was buried beneath a storm of snow, leaving him too weak to lift a single finger.

 Chapter 599 No Longer

    Chapter 599 No Longer


    Ryu''s eyes shot open, his heart beating erratically. He almost instantly realized that his head was resting on someone''s lap. But, when his vision cleared and he saw who it was, his stomach dropped.


    His body rose like a shot out of a canon, his arms wrapping around the figure with almost too much strength. If not for the strength of the individual, they might have been torn directly in two by his grip.


    "Hoho, dear. Haven''t you grown too much to still be acting so spoiled, Little Ryu?"


    Ryu''s grip tightened, his jaw clenching so hard that even his own teeth began to crack, on the verge of shattering completely.


    Ryu hardly registered the world of white around him, all he could sense and feel was the woman in his arms right now. Compared to the last time he had seen her, she seemed to have aged considerably. From a city toppling beauty, the wear of age had left its mark on her.


    The last time Ryu had seen his Grandma Kukan, she looked like a middle-aged woman with a beauty that could put even a 20 year old to shame. Her hair was a bright, shimmering white and her eyes twinkled with a youthful blue.


    Now, however, his grandmother looked aged. Her bright white hair had dulled to grey. Her shimmering blue eyes had become murky. Her usually powerful, confident movement had become shaky and slow. Just seeing her like this made Ryu feel as though his heart was being torn from the inside out.


    What hurt the most was the fact he knew that his grandmother was gone. This was at most a final strand of her soul holding on for the day he would finally make it to this place. And yet, he had almost not come at all.


    For the second time that day, Ryu''s tears threatened to spill over. The only reason they didn''t was because he was caught between fury and sadness. This gaze reddened to the point his blood vessels threatened to pop. Any calmness that he had gained over the past several weeks vanished like the wind.


    He wanted to kill, to rip his enemies limb from limb¡­ he wanted the whole world to suffer.


    Ryu almost lost control entirely and maybe he would have had his soul not suddenly been invaded by a spring breeze. It was cool, but not too much so. Almost like a spritz of water on a blazingly hot day. Even if Ryu didn''t want to, he had no choice but to calm down. When it came to a comparison of his soul versus his grandmother''s, strand of soul or not, he had no course to resist even if he wanted to.


    Ryu felt some light pats on his back.


    "There''s no need to be like this, Little Ryu. Your grandma''s time was bound to come at some point. With your talent, you would have outlived me anyway."


    There was a slight teasing tone in Mistress Kukan''s voice as she gripped Ryu''s shoulders, pushing him back so she could get a good look at her grandson''s face. Ryu was just the same as she remembered him, except his frame was far fuller now.


    Ryu was no different from a scholar in his first life and his body was quite weak. He had an obscene level of talent but lacked the foundation to sustain them. This resulted in him practically cannibalizing himself. If not for the precious Spiritual Fruits he had everyday, he wouldn''t have lived nearly as long.


    But, the current Ryu exuded a vitality that made the air tremble. His frame wasn''t just broad, but he had filled it out with a toned layering of muscle that added to his charm.


    "Now there''s my handsome baby boy. Come on, give grandma a smile, you''re not going to make an old woman like me sad, right?"


    Ryu''s eyelashes trembled, his nose reddening. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Eventually, thanks mostly to his grandmother''s help, he managed to reach a more even state. A bit of his edge was still there, but he realized that his grandmother was right. She wasn''t his enemy. Being enraged now and ruining what was maybe the last time he would see his grandmother¡­ Wouldn''t he be too foolish?


    Ryu thought of all sorts of ways to try and save his grandmother, but ultimately, he realized without a complete soul, there was little he could do.


    His mood sank, but he tried to squeeze out whatever positivity he could muster for his grandmother''s sake.


    Mistress Kukan smiled lightly, not exposing Ryu''s poor attempt at a smile. For such a handsome young man, he definitely had the ugliest fake smile she had ever seen. The result made her chuckle as she pinched Ryu''s cheeks.


    "There you go. See, isn''t that better?"


    Ryu forced out a bitter smile but didn''t respond to his grandmother''s question directly.


    "Grandma¡­ Can you tell me what happened?"


    Mistress Kukan sighed. She knew that she would have to explain these things. But, in her own selfishness, she would much rather hear about how her grandson''s life had been in her final moments rather than reliving such horrible events. But, she also knew that there wasn''t much of a choice. These were things that Ryu deserved to know.


    "Oh, Little Ryu. Even now, I cannot decide whether your disappearance was a blessing or a curse. In hindsight it was necessary, but it was difficult for a lot of us to accept. At the same time, it also helped us take notice of some things that had been blatantly in our faces for the longest time, but had been ignored by us due to various other reasons.


    "I will not try to sugarcoat things for you. As of now, you are the torchbearer of our family. There''s nothing I can say that will lighten this blow for you and there will be many things in the future that you will have to carry the burden of on your own.


    "Whether it is me, your Grandpa Kukan, and your Grandma and Grandpa Tatsuya¡­


    "We are no longer of this world."

 Chapter 600 Tangible

    Chapter 600 Tangible


    Though he was prepared to hear it¡ªor rather, he thought that he had been¡ªRyu still trembled beside himself. The words shook him to the core to the point it felt like the sky was collapsing.


    Most of Ryu''s rage wasn''t even aimed toward the Martial Gods, at least half of it was aimed toward his so-called great grandfather. At this point, Ryu didn''t care what reasons he had. His great grandfather could have chosen not to step in for the benefit of the world and he still wouldn''t care.


    Ryu felt a throbbing pain in his chest that he hadn''t felt in years. He looked down at his chest, suddenly remembering the ''X'' he had drawn across it before he reawakened his memories. He had severed all ties with the Agnes Clan, his maternal Clan, due to the actions of his supposed grandfather.


    When he Awakened, he had shed everything from that life, purging his blood and even cleansing himself of all the wounds he had suffered. That scar had long since faded that day, and yet the place it had once been was experiencing a searing pain as though his skin was being burnt from the inside out.


    Compared to the pain he had suffered at the hands of the Agnes Clan, this hurt far more. All that suffering was taken on by himself. But, this was different. This was the inaction of someone who should have been family resulting in the deaths of people he cared for dearly.


    Mistress Kukan sighed, looking at the ring on Ryu''s finger. If there was anyone who could practically read Ryu like a book outside of Ailsa, it was her. She could tell that Ryu wanted to keep it together for her sake, but she also understood that after a life of lacking power, the current Ryu still wasn''t equipped to deal with the strength he had now.


    Ryu''s temper had always been fiery, he lashed out at everything and his fuse was short. In the past, it was his tongue that took the forefront, but now that his fist was growing larger and larger, he often didn''t even bother with words anymore. Whenever something enraged him, he simply killed it.


    Recently, he had had a streak of sparing people he would have killed in the past. However, that was more like a conscious effort than a true change? How could anyone change so quickly? It took deliberate effort over years, maybe even longer, for such a true change to occur.


    But right now, all Ryu''s hopes and aspirations toward having a more level head were being tested again and again. If not for the fact it was his grandmother before him, he would have long since lashed out.


    Mistress Kukan sighed. "¡­ Your great grandfather¡­ I know that what I say likely won''t help, but if there''s anyone who''s subject to the restraints of their bloodline to the greatest degree, it is him. When his wife and your great grandmother died, he cut off all ties with the world. It was his opportunity to finally transcend those bounds, something that is especially difficult for those of us who have Ancient Beast Blood¡­


    "This¡­"


    Ryu shook his head, the trembling of his heart and the aching, searing pain in his chest vanishing.


    "Grandma, I''m not interested in hearing about him. Tell me more about what happened."


    Mistress Kukan sighed, gently stroking Ryu''s cheeks.


    "Okay, I guess you can continue to be spoiled for a little bit longer."


    Mistress Kukan smiled lightly, pinching Ryu''s nose as though he really was still five years old. But, Ryu let her do as she pleased, sitting across from his grandmother and holding onto one of her frail hands.


    "Since you already know how this story ends, I won''t hold you in suspense. When you disappeared, we learned the story of what happened from Elena and understood that this matter was much larger than we thought. It was just unfortunate that it was far too late to turn the tide in any meaningful way.


    "However, thanks to your discovery of the Death Shrine, we managed to place some contingency plans in place, one of which is this Ice¡­" Mistress Kukan coughed lightly in embarrassment. "¡­ Devil Legacy World."


    Despite how he was feeling, Ryu revealed a genuine smile, laughing.


    He knew his Grandma Kukan well. Despite one might expect from the descendant of an Ice Phoenix she had a fiery temper. His Grandpa Kukan had learned long ago not to mention it, this was especially so since Mistress Kukan was sensitive due to the matter between Ryu''s grandfather and Elena''s grandmother.


    Clearly, his grandmother had earned this title doing some ¡­ less than womanly things in her fury at the number of betrayal they had suffered. This had ended up earning her such a title.


    But, for it to carry such a powerful momentum, it was clear that his grandmother hadn''t just done a few crazy things. Now she was feeling embarrassed having to expose these things to her grandson.


    "What are you laughing about you cheeky little brat?"


    Mistress Kukan pulled at Ryu''s cheek with her free hand, not giving him the slightest bit of face.


    "I give, I give!" Ryu pleaded for mercy. He knew well that this was the only way to get his grandmother to let up, but his twitching lip gave him away.


    "Humph, you''ve grown up enough to tease your grandmother, hm?"


    "No, no. Never."


    "Humph." Mistress Kukan shook her head and let Ryu go.


    "The Death Shrine became a great opportunity for us. Though it didn''t allow us to reverse the situation, it played a pivotal role in why we can be here talking to one another.


    "Not long after we found the Shrine, your father used its passage to the Nether Realm, pretending as though he had lost his mind in pursuit of you. But, the truth is that this is his chance. If he survives, he will come out more powerful than ever. If he fails¡­"


    Mistress Kukan shook her head but moved on.


    "While your father entered the Nether Realm, Little Himari gained acknowledgement of a Dark Phoenix Inheritance that was left behind. Unfortunately, she did not get the best opportunity to use it before we were forced to Seal the Plane.


    "As for us four old fogies¡­ We benefitted from the Death Shrine in that we were able to control our deaths. This strand of my soul formed this Legacy World. As for your Grandpa Kukan and your Grandpa and Grandma Tatsuya, they used the help of the Death Shrine to preserve a small strand of their Souls in our Ancestral Lands.


    "They are waiting to pass on what remains of their legacies to you."


    Mistress Kukan looked toward her grandson with an endless depth of warmth in her murky eyes. Her belief in Ryu was practically tangible.

 Chapter 601 Enough?

    Chapter 601 Enough?


    Ryu looked at his grandmother, a seed of guilt sprouting in his heart.


    Maybe if it wasn''t for him being so averse to gazing at Fate with his Heavenly Pupils, he would have noticed that something was wrong long ago. By then, things wouldn''t have happened this way¡­


    Of course, these thoughts were nonsense. Ryu only lived to see a thousand years old in his first life. By then, there had been millions of years of momentum built up for the Martial Gods. On top of that, between his death and the destruction of the Tatsuya Clan, there was a buffer of another few million years. In the grand scheme, his own life was nothing but a blip. It was the equivalent to what a single second was to a decade, a century, even.


    However, that didn''t stop Ryu from gripping his grandmother''s frail hand just a bit tighter.


    "Look at you, 21 years old and already at the 3rd Immortal Ring Realm. How''d you manage that?" Mistress Kukan changed the subject.


    Ryu smiled bitterly. "I was just lucky¡­"


    "Lucky?" Mistress Kukan smiled mysteriously. "You think grandma can''t see three Primordial Yin signatures in you? I didn''t know I raised a little Casanova. How''d you manage to coax a Sky God into your bed? You''re not selling yourself, are you?"


    Ryu choked on air, coughing hard. How was he supposed to answer this exactly?


    The reality was that he was the one who had ended up being coaxed. But, that was hard to explain too. He didn''t want his grandmother to think that he was some sort of gigolo. He was innocent!


    In truth, Ryu was overthinking things. Even if he was to be a gigolo, women didn''t just give their Primordial Yins to anyone. And, a woman who still had her Primordial Yin wouldn''t be paying for sex to begin with.


    Beyond that, Ryu''s grandmother could tell that while Ryu''s mind was in chaos, it wasn''t on the level of someone who had forsaken their values. So, it was obvious that Ryu wasn''t selling himself either. She was just having fun teasing her grandson.


    "Alright, alright." Mistress Kukan chuckled, feeling that she had gotten Ryu back for his previous laughter. "Then, it''s about time grandma passes on what I prepared for you. You haven''t disappointed me, I don''t know what I would have done had that little girl made it here first."


    "Little girl? Oh, you mean her."


    Ryu shook his head.


    Mistress Kukan''s eyes sparkled. "My little boy has a small crush, hm?"


    Ryu smiled. Did he have feelings for Sarriel? Not at the moment, no. Was he highly attracted to her though, that was a yes. She was the kind of woman he liked the most, after all. So, to call it a crush wasn''t inappropriate, but it wasn''t much deeper than that.


    Mistress Kukan smiled knowingly. She knew her grandson well. It was for this reason that she used to give Elena a hard time. Well¡­ That and because she absolutely hated Elena''s own grandmother.


    She always felt that Elena wasn''t the perfect match for her Ryu. She also felt that Ryu had been tricked into becoming her husband.


    To her, Ryu was her little boy and could easily be tricked by a vixen, especially since he hadn''t spent a great length of time exploring the world and he never got to have the frivolous youth other young masters of his status would have had.


    As for how she felt about Elena now¡­


    "That little girl isn''t bad but she''s a bit peculiar. There are many who have been monitoring this Legacy World for a long time, but she''s the only one who truly saw to its root. It even seemed that she understood its origins¡­" Mistress Kukan shook her head. "Forget it, I will let you figure all of that stuff out. This isn''t important for now.


    "For now, it''s impossible for you to access the Ice Shrine and our Ice Phoenix Clan''s Holy Lands. It was thanks to the Ice Shrine''s help that Little Himari was able to lay down such a powerful seal. So, the core teachings, treasures and various resources of our Clan are all here with me."


    "¡­ Is mom¡­?" Ryu asked hesitantly.


    "Though I am not sure about your father, Little Himari should be relatively safe. However, whether or not you can see her is a different matter entirely. Currently, she''s in a state of deep hibernation and awaking her means undoing the Seal. If the seal is undone, though¡­"


    Ryu took a deep breath. "I understand."


    If the Seal was undone, whatever was holding the Martial Gods back would vanish. But, Isemeine had also said that they were close to undoing the Seal themselves. Wouldn''t that mean mother would be in danger once they succeeded?


    Ryu''s grip tightened again.


    "I can rest at ease seeing that you''ve awaken the Ice Flame. With it, many things will be much easier. But, I can also see that your Ice Flame is being suppressed by your other fires due to its partly ice attribute. You haven''t leaned into the life attribute enough and thus this is the result, but this is also our fault. You haven''t had proper guidance¡­


    "I see you''ve also awakened your rebirth flame, Merula will be very happy to know this." was Ryu''s Grandma Tatsuya. It seemed the Fire Phoenix Clan had been having trouble producing heirs that could awaken the Rebirth Flame much like the Ice Phoenix Clan had.


    Mistress Kukan sighed. "In a lot of ways, this is all our fault. The Phoenix Clans are highly dependent on the soul but such cultivation was banned long ago. If not for this, we would have never declined to the point where we couldn''t find even a single proper heir."


    Ryu frowned. Now that he thought about it, this was true.


    "Then¡­ Why was such cultivation banned at all? Was it really because of their danger?"


    "This¡­"


    Mistress Kukan hesitated. Should she really tell this story? Didn''t he hate his own great grandfather enough?

 Chapter 602 Choice

    Chapter 602 Choice


    Mistress Kukan sighed. "The details of the story are unknown even to me. What I do know is that the death of your great grandmother has something to do with Mental Realm Masters. At this time, the actions of Mental Realm Masters were becoming increasingly grotesque and without morality, so it could be said that it was a perfect storm."


    After hearing these words, though Mistress Kukan didn''t go into detail, Ryu understood enough.


    "Then¡­"


    "Since we weren''t your great grandfather''s target, the elders of the Ice Phoenix Clan at the time simply stored most of our core teachings away, sealing them. They are all still intact and haven''t been destroyed. But, since I haven''t practiced them personally, I have no way of guiding you. But, I trust that you will be able to comprehend much of it on your own."


    Mistress Kukan smiled. If there was anyone who could succeed without the guidance of his elders, it was Ryu. He was in a unique position to do so.


    Ryu sighed as his grandmother began to explain all the things she was passing on to him. The fact that she wasn''t handing them to him one by one made him realize something quite profound.


    Why was it that he was able to see, touch and feel his grandmother? He even felt that he could smell her, as though she truly was right before him¡­


    The answer was that this wasn''t the real world to begin with. The land of endless white was his Spiritual Sea. In fact, if he cared to look around, he would probably find his Immortal Sakura not too far away. He hadn''t been looking around on purpose, hoping that his grandmother by some miracle was still with him. But¡­ This was as close as they could ever be.


    In fact, Ryu was fairly certain that a spatial ring that contained all of these things was likely already placed on his body in the real world. This was just a final nagging his grandmother was giving him.


    "¡­ Your weapons, you know that our Phoenix Clans specialize in whips and feather weight swords. I would leave this mostly to your Grandpa Tatsuya to handle, but¡­"


    Mistress Kukan looked Ryu up and down.


    "Something tells me that you aren''t following the Tatsuya Saintly Weapon Inheritance any longer."


    Mistress Kukan immediately assumed that because of the hatred Ryu felt for his great grandfather, he had chosen a completely different path. But, this was a path she couldn''t immediately recognize, which left her slightly stunned.


    It was only after Ryu explained his relationship with Ailsa and his choice of the Great Swordstaff that she finally made the connection.


    "I see¡­ This path is a bit of a double edged sword. With your Pupils, your progress will be fast without the shackles of Fate holding you back. But, it can be easily without substance as well, making every step forward you take worth less than that of others following an already preset path.


    "For now, it isn''t obvious because your Great Swordstaffs still take your comprehensions of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons as the foundation, but as you progress, you''ll find that the level of your Birthed Phenomena will begin to weaken in comparison to others at the same level. I assume that you already feel that your connection to your Birth Phenomena has weakened considerably, right?"


    Ryu nodded. Ever since he switched over to his Great Swordstaffs, the God Emperor, War God and Dragon God Phenomena had stopped appearing.


    Initially, when he succeeded in breaking through into the Small Realm, they had fused into one, making Ryu think that this was great. But as time went and he got closer to the Dominion level, not only had the connection weakened, but they hadn''t appeared again since then.


    Ryu assumed that Ailsa was prepared for such an outcome. But, the shame of it was that before they could take those next steps together, Ailsa had fallen into a coma and he had had so many other things to worry about that he hadn''t really considered the issue until his grandmother just now brought it up.


    In fact, now that he really considered it, Ryu hadn''t been able to even put a dent in Sarriel''s defenses with his Dominion. There was no doubt that his Dominion was far weaker than Sarriel''s own. He was only able to make up the gap thanks to his Chaos Qi and the overbearing nature of his lightning-flame fusion.


    This could have indeed become a large problem.


    "As long as you''re aware of the problem, I''m sure that you''ll be able to fix it. In fact, our resources have the perfect thing for you currently.


    "As you know, your mother has the complete Eastern Heavenly Wind. I''m sure that if she was here, she would want to give it over to you to help you over this hump. Unfortunately, she is sealed. However, there was a Southern Heavenly Wind in our treasure house, it was just that your mother ended up choosing the Eastern Wind when she came of age while I was never as talented as Little Himari, so I didn''t gain the right to take one.


    "The Ice Phoenix Clan vaults have just enough resources to take one more Heavenly Wind from its Embryonic stage to its complete stage.


    "You have a choice to make since you have the Northern Heavenly Wind Embryo on you.


    "You can either take the Southern Heavenly Wind Embryo and use the resources to help it reach maturity before absorbing it for yourself. Or, you can have your Northern Heavenly Wind swallow the Southern Heavenly Wind. In combination with the remaining resources, it should be just enough to help your Northern Heavenly Wind reach maturity.


    "I believe a complete Wind Inheritance should fix all of your Dual Wielding problems. The choice is yours¡­"


    Ryu was at a loss almost immediately.


    The Northern Heavenly Wind was the Emperor Wind, it embodied the nature of Wind the most perfectly and granted unmatched speed, allowing one to become one with the wind. In a lot of ways, it was almost akin to gaining another Spirit Body.


    However, due to this, the requirement for helping it reach maturity was far higher. Not only would it need the resources the Ice Phoenix Clan had left, but it would also need to swallow the Southern Heavenly Wind.


    The Southern Heavenly Wind, on the other hand, was known as the Breath of Life and its requirements were a step lower. It wouldn''t need to swallow his Northern Heavenly Wind.


    Ryu truly didn''t know what choice to make.

 Chapter 603 Choice (2)

    Chapter 603 Choice (2)


    The Southern Heavenly Wind, the Breath of Life. It was the most docile of the Heavenly Winds and its effects were the most passive. However, this didn''t mean that its abilities weren''t also incredibly enticing at the same time.


    A complete Southern Heavenly Wind would grant one practically infinite stamina along with heavenly healing abilities. Though these two abilities seemed simple enough, in practice, they were quite monstrous if these words weren''t enough to paint the picture appropriately.


    The first point of Infinite Stamina was a highly sought after ability, especially for Body Cultivators. Thought he Southern Heavenly Wind could not replenish qi, it could replenish the body continuously and endlessly so long as there was Wind Qi in the surroundings. By proxy, the Southern Heavenly Wind could effectively give one access to an endless supply of Vital Qi.


    The extension of this ability connected with its second fundamental power, that of granting heavenly healing. This endless spring of vitality the Southern Heavenly Wind could provide would likewise give one abilities even more potent than most Heaven''s Dew Branch Martial Gods. Healing would be endless, near instantaneous, and at almost no cost to the wielder of the Heavenly Wind.


    With such benefits, one might feel that it would be a no brainer for Ryu. In his current state, especially with how much reserve qi he had, his bodily stamina always ran out long before his qi did. This gap would only begin to grow more exaggerated the more techniques of his Ancient Beast Bloodline he wanted to use.


    For example, just one use of his Dragon''s Claw ability pushed Ryu to the end of his rope. Had he not put Sarriel on the brink of life and death with it, he wouldn''t have even had the stamina left to fight back. Such things would only become more frequent as time went on.


    As one might expect, compared to a real Dragon, Ryu''s reserves of Vital Qi were practically negligible. Their much larger bodies didn''t just come with downsides, but they had their upsides as well, that being their near endless reserves of Vital Qi. Trying to use their Ancestral techniques on the same scale with a fraction of the Vital Qi, then, had very predictable results.


    All of this sounded well and good and should make the choice simple. After all, choosing the Southern Heavenly Wind meant that he wouldn''t have to give up either. There would always be a chance in the future for him to complete his Northern Heavenly Wind. By then, he would have the full abilities of both¡­


    But¡­ These were just the thoughts of those who didn''t understand just how enticing the true abilities of the Northern Heavenly Wind were. For those that didn''t get it, it could all be described in just two word¡­


    Unmatched Speed.


    If Ryu brought his Northern Heavenly Wind to maturity right this moment, he would instantly become untouchable. No matter the cultivation level, no matter the strength of the opponent, when it came to a contest of speed, he would come out on top.


    There were, of course, ways to counter the Northern Heavenly Wind, most of which were related to space. However, on the Shrine Plane, where space was not only exceptionally sturdy, but simultaneously very random and unpredictable, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that even a Sky God wouldn''t be able to touch a hem of his clothing as long as Ryu was cautious enough.


    Under normal circumstances, if a mortal somehow got their hands on the Northern Heavenly Wind, they would still be limited. That''s because there was a limit to the perception of a mortal. Even if you could move at a speed no one else could touch, it was a different matter as to whether or not you should.


    What good was unlimited speed if you couldn''t tell where you were going or how you were getting there? It would only take running into one formation or a single danger zone for your life to be forfeit.


    But, Ryu had the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. In addition, though it had weakened considerably, he still had the Origin Flame to help him compute things. In fact, it could be said that even now, the world was exceptionally slow to Ryu, it was just that his body couldn''t keep up with his eyes or his mind.


    To make matters more complicated, this was just the tip of the iceberg and only the simplest application of the Northern Heavenly Wind.


    The second important point to note was attack speed. The speed granted would be beyond just movement of the legs, but it could also be granted to all motor movement. With attack speed practically no one could react to, Ryu''s combat prowess would take an obscene leap forward.


    As though this didn''t muddy the waters enough, there was a third aspect as well.


    The abilities of the Northern Heavenly Wind could be extended by touch. This meant that Ryu could make weapons that weighed as heavy as mountains feel as light as a pair of feathers in his hands. By then, he would be able to wield his Great Swordstaffs just as swiftly as his mother had wielded her twin swords.


    It was more than just weapons. Ryu could wear armor far heavier than he would normally be able to and even extend his Heavenly Wind to his mounts, increasing their speed in battle as well. The applications were almost endless.


    However¡­ Choosing this route meant giving up the Southern Heavenly Wind forever.


    It had taken trillions upon trillions upon trillions of years for the Ice Phoenix Clan to gather just two Heavenly Winds and the resources to bring them to maturity. It would be na?ve of Ryu to think that he would be able to find another Heavenly Wind so easily unless he raided the Wind Shrine, something he was far from being capable of doing.


    To say this was a difficult decision was the understatement of an Era. However¡­


    Ryu took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening.


    "I choose to mature the Southern Heavenly Wind."

 Chapter 604 Loud

    Chapter 604 Loud


    Mistress Kukan smiled and didn''t say much to this. She was sure that Ryu had his reasons but she trusted him to make the appropriate decision so she chose to not press for answers.


    As for Ryu, he was already very much used to making tough decisions like this. He still remembered the sting of having to turn down his Storm Talent in favor of his Lightning Spirit Body. That was a choice that had worked out very well for him. Not only had it stimulated the awakening of his Fire Spirit Body, but it led to a mutation that evolved even his Bone Structure.


    This time, he believed that he had made the right decision again.


    Firstly, Ryu was in a stage of explosive growth. Now that he was in the Blood Tempering Realm, he would soon begin to undo the shackles of his Bloodlines one after another in very quick succession. The sudden awakening of his Dragon Claw ability was as much of a result of this as it was about his Master''s Visualization helping him to see it ahead of time.


    It didn''t take a genius to understand just what kind of effect endless stamina would have as he stepped into this level of his progression.


    Secondly, the Northern Heavenly Wind''s abilities sounded unbeatable, but as everything was, there was always a balance.


    For one, the Northern Heavenly Wind would only be so effective when it was unknown that Ryu had it. If others were prepared for it, the countermeasures were endless, just one of which was a Dominion.


    Of course, with a full Wind Inheritance and the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, Ryu would quickly surpass Dominions and thus be able to counter this aspect. However, even for him, it would take time to continue onto Realms that were beyond this.


    Above Dominions there was still the formation of a Divinity. And, even beyond that, there was true Deity-ship, something that couldn''t be touched unless one truly became a Sky God.


    The good news was that treasures like Heavenly Winds provided vessels that allowed for Godship without reaching that level. But, even Ryu wasn''t arrogant enough to believe that this would be a simple task for him, especially when he had yet to enter the Cosmic Grade with his Pupils.


    A talented World Sea Realm expert would likely be a Minor God and thus have formed a Divinity. This was all it would take to render Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind useless.


    But, that wasn''t all that could make it useless¡­


    The higher your cultivation, the less you would rely on raw speed. Many relied on tearing the void and had attacks with such large areas of effect that speed was often rendered moot.


    Then there was the matter of acceleration. The lower one''s cultivation, the longer it would take to reach the limits of speed. After all, momentum couldn''t come from thin air. This meant that within a certain distance of a suitably powerful opponent, having the Northern Heavenly Wind would be meaningless and would end in death all the same.


    As though that wasn''t enough of a knock on choosing the Northern Heavenly Wind, there was still the matter of attack speed. What good was attack speed if one didn''t have the power to puncture an enemy''s defenses?


    The current Ryu would be hard pressed to break any defense constructed of Cosmic Qi. This would be even more difficult against Martial Gods who placed so much emphasis on their Vital Qi and thus had outrageously powerful bodies.


    When things were put like this, Ryu felt that he would be a fool to sacrifice the Southern Heavenly Wind for a treasure with so many flaws. None of these things would even mention how useless the Northern Heavenly Wind would be if Ryu got caught in a formation or, even worse, an entrapment treasure of some kind.


    "Okay, grandma will help you absorb it."


    Mistress Kukan''s smile felt light.


    Though it wasn''t immediately obvious, she was very happy with Ryu''s choice. Breath of Life wouldn''t just be a great help with Ryu''s Bloodlines, but it would also give him a complete Wind Inheritance that would give him a unique insight into Life.


    With the help of the Southern Heavenly Wind, the imbalance Ryu had allowed to appear in his Ice Flame would be quickly fixed. And, that would just be the beginning.


    Thanks to Ryu''s twin Phoenix Bloodlines, Breath of Life would, by proxy, give a great boost to his soul stamina as well because the Vital Qi of the Ice and Fire Phoenixes, while not providing as much of a boost to Ryu''s strength as his Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines, made up for it in spades when their impact on his soul was taken into account.


    What did this mean? It mean that Ryu was essentially gaining near infinite bodily and soul stamina for the price of one. If he wasn''t her grandson, she might feel a little jealous.


    Ryu felt his body being invaded by something before he could even react.


    A golden-green wind with complex runes floating within its edgeless mass appeared. Ryu didn''t have to do much of anything before he felt all sorts of treasures begin pouring into him. The amount caused his lip to twitch. Was this really what it took to raise a Heavenly Wind?


    Even the weakest Wind Attribute treasure was at the Ancestral Grade. But, more of them were at the Origin Grade, world toppling treasures that an entire network of stars might only produce once in their lifetime. Even Ryu''s heart began to ache seeing such things.


    He had accumulated a ridiculous amount of wealth as a Ruin Master during his lifetime, a wealth that helped the Tatsuya Clan to prosper. But, it was only now he truly understood what the reserves of a powerful Clan were.


    His contributions were nice, but they were barely a twentieth of what he was looking at right now, and this was just Wind Elemental Treasures! It had to be remembered that the Ice Phoenix Clan wouldn''t have prioritized these treasures at all, yet they were able to bring so much together.


    At that moment, Ryu''s heart suddenly thumped. It sounded like crashing water or a collapsing mountain, it was so loud that even Ryu himself felt that it might harm his ears.

 Chapter 605 Demonstrate

    Chapter 605 Demonstrate


    The fatigue that Ryu''s body had been experiencing seem to have vanished with the wind, somewhat ironically. As though someone had taken hold of his lungs and breathed life into them, they suddenly expanded. At the same time, his heartbeat became exceptionally slow, beating just a single time per several minutes. And yet, that single pump filled him with so much vitality that even his veins themselves seemed to glow.


    The moment this occurred, the snow that had piled onto Ryu began to melt purely as a result of his body''s heat, pooling into a small pond of steam as he lightly snored, oblivious to the world. He floated face down within the pool, his clothes having vanished without him conscious to maintain them. His lungs were so powerful that the pair even pumped water in and out without a single sign of Ryu drowning. One would have thought he had a pair of gills instead.


    Ryu was shocked by the change. But, what was maybe the most shocking to him was that he hadn''t lost complete connection with his Northern Heavenly Wind''s Inheritance, nor had it been overwhelmed by his Southern Heavenly Wind. Rather, it felt like Ryu had just gotten a large piece of the puzzle.


    He found himself standing before two paths.


    The first was to continue along the road of his Northern Heavenly Wind. This path would be a bit slower than if he rebuilt his foundation completely with the Southern Heavenly Wind, however it would be the more powerful Inheritance. There was a reason the Northern Heavenly Wind was seen as the King amongst the four.


    The second option was to abandon his current comprehensions and rebuild his Wind Inheritance with his Southern Heavenly Wind. With his Heavenly Pupils, this path would progress with a blazing speed.


    This time, Ryu didn''t make a choice of one or the other. Rather, he made a choice that encompassed both.


    He felt that the Southern Heavenly Wind carried a unique character that seemed both familiar and somehow foreign to him at the same time. Every time he breathed, he would feel this unique character rush into his body, stifling whatever fatigue he had. In fact, he felt that his lifespan had exploded, increasing by a thousandfold. And, that was just his own poor comprehension of things. It most definitely wasn''t just this simple.


    If Ryu was forced to describe it¡­ It felt like a year of his life now was suddenly worth more than a year of life for anyone else. But, even he didn''t quite understand what this meant. What he did know, though, was that his Ice Flame seemed to be reacting to this with a passion Ryu had never seen before.


    Usually, his Ice Flame took a backseat to his lightning-fire mutation, not because it was suppressed, but rather because it wasn''t fighting to begin with. It was like a woman watching the testosterone filled tirade of two men. She couldn''t'' be bothered to participate.


    What Ryu''s Rage Flame and Qilin Lightning hung their hats on wasn''t anything Ryu''s Ice Flame cared about, and the same went for his Rebirth Flame. Both were content to take a backseat.


    At the same time, though, Ryu also understood that his Northern Heavenly Wind was invaluable to his combat prowess, namely in easing his ability to dual wield. He felt that both paths were invaluable. And, with his Ice Jade Crystal Body being capable of Balancing all things, he didn''t have to choose.


    "Alright, Little Ryu, there are a few more things that grandma has to tell you about.


    "Firstly, the [Phoenix Heavenly Body] art that you are practicing is incomplete. Half of it was sealed away due to the restrictions on Soul cultivation and it could be said that the sealing of that half resulted in a loss of over 90% of the technique''s true strength."


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. 90% was a number far larger than he was expecting. Didn''t that mean that with the supplementary portions of this technique, it would become ten times more powerful? What kind of ridiculous concept was that.


    "We Phoenixes don''t have bodies as strong as Dragons or Qilins, but that is because we are Elemental creatures. Our flesh and blood is minimal and in the highest grade of Phoenix, the only blood they had was their very essence.


    "What Phoenixes rely on to have a tangible form are Heavenly Patterns, thus where the ''Heavenly'' portion of the technique''s name comes from. The truth is that even I am not certain of just how powerful these Heavenly Patterns were. By the time we chose to abandon the rules and do whatever it took to become more powerful, the time remaining wasn''t nearly enough.


    "However, what I do know is that the Phoenix Bloodline has three branches of Heavenly Patterns. Life Patterns. Rebirth Patterns. And, finally, Death Patterns.


    "From what I can tell, at a base level, there is no functional difference between these Patterns. The main dividing line is what Bloodline you have to have in order to use them.


    "After we visited the Death Shrine, [Phoenix Heavenly Body] completed itself and several new pages appeared, filling in what was missing: the Death Patterns.


    "Though it''s just a guess¡­ I have a feeling that since my little boy is sitting right here in front of me, you should be able to use all three Heavenly Patterns."


    Ryu understood what his grandmother met. Although his Spiritual Foundation had yet to play a huge role in his combat prowess, there was no doubt that he was the Phoenix Sky God''s successor. In fact, Ryu was almost certain that the white flame, whose name he still could not pronounce, was the greatest representation of this.


    "Here, I will demonstrate."


    The moment Ryu''s grandmother spoke these words, her aura completely changed. From a loving grandmother, she became like a wild beast, her seemingly frail fist punching out at empty air.


    An instinctual fear took root in Ryu''s heart. He knew that if his grandmother released this attack, this Spiritual Sea would be completely obliterated.

 Chapter 606 The Soul

    Chapter 606 The Soul


    Of course, Ryu''s grandmother had no intention of going so far, nor did she feel the need to. She was confident that with his senses, Ryu could tell just how powerful the attack was.


    Her fist stopped right before Ryu''s nose, allowing him to observe the changes to her spirit.


    At that moment, Ryu couldn''t take his eyes off of the crystalline blue patterns. They seemed to coat his grandmother in a skin of diamond, as though her flesh had suddenly become as hard as a polished gem.


    The patterns had sharp, blocky edges and cut in perfect 90 degree corners. They spread out down from his grandmother''s wrist, stop at her knuckles. If it wasn''t for their unique energy and color, the pattern would look almost to bland and normal. They weren''t anywhere near as complex as Fundamental Runes and seemed to fall far short of large and small formations in terms of mystery. And yet, Ryu somehow felt it was the most enigmatic thing he had ever seen in his life.


    "I can only show you the Life Patterns for obvious reasons, but I can tell you that Life Patterns, as they progress, slowly grow to have the greatest defense. Death Patterns will grow to have the greatest offense and have the most destructive capability. Finally, the Rebirth Patterns are the most enigmatic. On the surface, it seems that it just does both offense and defense well, giving them the greatest balance. But, I have a feeling that the truth will only be revealed when all three Heavenly Patterns come together."


    The blue patterns slowly receded from Mistress Kukan''s fist and it immediately became obvious that her image had paled considerably. However, by design or coincidence, the grandmother-grandson pair didn''t mention this at all.


    "What I just show you was only a single Heavenly Pattern and it could be considered to be the simplest application.


    "Phoenixes usually apply these Patterns to their feathers, giving them millions, even billions of them. This is also why the feathers of Phoenixes are so valuable and hold so many mysteries. But, it''s also because of this that Phoenix feathers are so rare, each is tied to their soul so it is impossible for them to treat them casually. But, I''m sure you also understand what this means¡­"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It was said that each individual scale of a Phoenix could be considered to be a priceless treasure, not only that, but they each held great power. If a Phoenix of the Sixth Order gifted Ryu one of its feathers, it would probably be a ten times better weapon than any Earth Grade treasure he had ever come across, and that was just a beast equivalent to a Connecting Heaven Realm expert.


    So, did that mean that these Heavenly Patterns when mastered to a certain level could give Ryu the ability to strengthen his Elemental attacks to such a level? Such a prospect¡­


    Ryu took a deep breath.


    There had always been cause to doubt the Phoenix. After all, Ryu''s Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines provided him with more than double the strength his Phoenix Bloodlines did. But now¡­ It even seemed that the Dragon and Qilin were lacking in comparison to the Phoenix.


    Ryu stretched out a palm, his hands suddenly flickering with blue lights. In just a few breaths, an identical Heavenly Pattern to his grandmother formed, causing his Spiritual Sea to roll and tremble.


    His pupils constricted. With just a single Heavenly Pattern, he could feel it resonating with his blood and raising his strength by more than half. Were things really so exaggerated?


    Mistress Kukan smiled and shook her head.


    She knew that casting a technique within Ryu''s own Spiritual Sea gave him a unique ability to see through its secrets, but this was also more than just a little exaggerated in its own right. She didn''t even want to say how long it had taken her to form her first pattern to avoid feeling embarrassed.


    Ryu suddenly felt a flick at his forehead, causing his Life Pattern to twist and collapse.


    "Stop showing off in front of your grandmother, little boy. Have you not learned how to respect your elders yet?"


    Ryu was stunned for a moment before he suddenly began to laugh. Before his grandmother could react, he hugged her tightly again. This time, he didn''t seem prepared to let go.


    "Oh, dear. Grandma still has a lot to say."


    Ryu didn''t respond. He didn''t seem to care about all this other stuff, he could just figure it all out slowly on his own. But, wouldn''t this be the last time he saw his grandmother? This was time he would never get back.


    Plus¡­ He didn''t want his grandmother to see his face right now.


    "Okay, okay. Grandma will let you be spoiled, but listen carefully, okay?


    "Your Grandpa Kukan is waiting for you in the Lightning Qilin Holy Grounds. Your Grandpa Tatsuya is at the Fire Dragon Holy Land and your Grandma Tatsuya is waiting at the Fire Phoenix Holy Land.


    "You should still have the Four Emblems, correct? There''s a special signature on them that we''ve designed to activate a formation toward the Holy Lands as long as you''re on the Shrine Plane and pour your qi into it. It should instantly teleport you out of any obstruction and into our Holy Land. In addition, there''s a second mechanism that will send you to a random location on the Shrine Plane should you not be on it originally.


    "However¡­ I hope that you will be patient, Little Ryu. You have a dangerous path ahead of you. Though these treasures will help you, they can also dull your blade. I also hope that you will save these Four Emblems and use them as life saving measures at a critical moment. This is the best that we can do for you as only items that have such great Fate attached to them could be so potent as life saving treasures.


    "Only when you feel that you cannot progress any longer on your own should you use them. This way, you can rely on our guidance to not only help you maneuver past bottlenecks, but it will also help you to hone yourself properly.


    "Do you understand?"


    Ryu''s arms tightened around his grandmother, not trusting himself to speak. He could feel her frame becoming frailer and frailer.


    "¡­ I love you, grandma."


    Ryu squeezed these words out with a voice so hoarse it sounded like grating shards of iron.


    A light chuckle that soothed his soul for a final time left his Grandma Kukan.


    "Live well, my handsome little boy. Grandma will be watching over you."


    Ryu''s arms swung at air, his momentum bringing him to his hands and knees.


    There were legends of what it meant for a soul to cry. Though it was an incorporeal representation of the real body, there were simply limits to what it could do and what it could achieve. However, no matter the legend or folktale, an emotion reflected in the soul was a hundredfold more potent than any displayed by the physical body¡­


    And maybe... that was why the skies reddened when Ryu''s soul shed tears of crimson.

 Chapter 607 Mutation

    Chapter 607 Mutation


    Hatred took root in Ryu''s heart. It was so oppressive that even with Breath of Life, he found it difficult to even breathe. If it wasn''t for a subtle spring breeze that hung around his Spiritual Sea, he might have truly become a Demon in that very moment.


    He had never felt so much rage in his life. It was one matter for logic to dictate that it was unlikely that his entire family would have survived this ordeal, but for it to be placed before him as a fact rather than a deduction he could ignore in favor of a vain hope¡­ Quite simply, it hurt.


    It was tearing pain that felt like thousands of needles tearing into his heart, slicing apart his vessels and laying his flesh bare for the scavengers of the Martial World to peck and eat at. He wanted everything and anything to crumble, for nothing at all to exist any longer.


    It was a fury he couldn''t even speak into words, a kind of fury that caused even the world itself to overturn.


    The resentment within the Ice Devil Legacy World doubled, tripled and increased even by tenfold in the blink of an eye. The suffocating presence made those that remained fall to their knees. Even the skies above, having long since recovered from their battle, became painted in red, arcs of violet lightning crackling above in rolling clouds that looked like a fog of blood.


    Deep within Ryu''s bloodline, a shackle was shaken loose before shattering completely. However, before it could even fully manifest, it mutated.


    Booming thunder shattered space, bolts of lighting as think as ancient tree trunks connected the skies and the earth. Everywhere they passed destruction and chaos was wrought.


    Splinters spanning dozens of kilometers spread, fires that set pillars of wild flames ablaze raged, ash sprinkled down as everything was torn asunder.


    Everywhere the lightning passed, space lost its integrity. Large black voids appeared but no longer repaired themselves nearly as quickly. It felt like the world itself was revolting as the Legacy World continued to crumble in on itself.


    At that moment, Gold Leaf City began to be affected as well. The crimson skies began to spread overhead and wild, sparkling arcs of violet lightning began to appear randomly in space as they tore a path out of the Ice Devil Legacy World.


    Shock took hold of the elders. They had still been discussing how to deal with the issues that surrounded Ryu, trying to decide whether this should be reported to the higher ups or not, only for this to happen.


    Looking at the arcs of violet lightning, their hearts shook. A deep rooted fear hooked them to their spots, making it difficult even for them to move a single inch. They felt that if even a small spark touched their skin, they would be eradicated without even a chance to fight back.


    BANG!


    It was right then that a violent whirlpool of space and dark qi imploded. It was clear immediately that the Legacy World had collapsed, but such a thing left them all in shock.


    A Legacy World, especially one created by an expert with the last of their cultivation, was just as sturdy as any small world, albeit much smaller than one. The destruction of a Legacy World would never happen like this, even after its creator truly passed on. Usually, it would fuse into the void before vanishing completely. A collapse like this could only mean that it was actively destroyed.


    But who could possibly have such strength?! Even they as elders weren''t confident in doing such a thing!


    "RUN!"


    It was like a blackhole was descending. Everything was swallowed up, the entire core of the city wiped out, leaving nothing but an endless abyss and a vile resentment that hung in the air.


    Just like this, the largest city of the Blossom Plane was obliterated. The life and death of those who had entered the Legacy World would be unknown for a long while. It wouldn''t be until several days later that it was learned that for some odd reason, these individuals had been randomly teleported across the Plane, completely confused in how they had gotten there.


    ¡­


    Even Ryu could have never expected for his Storm Talent to have awakened under the stimulation of a mutation. Due to the fusion of his Lightning and Rage Flames, his Lightning had suddenly gained the character of rising in strength along with his fury as well. The result was his emotion triggering his Qilin Lightning to reach a new level and for his Storm Talent to be awoken in full force.


    The Awakening of his Talent wasn''t as simple as it seemed on the surface.


    Until now, Ryu''s Qilin Lightning was just that, Lightning. Though it had a strong yang character to it, that was about it. It didn''t have the special abilities his flames had and at best, it could be said to be a great counter to yin type cultivators.


    However, it had to be remembered that Ryu didn''t need to ''awaken'' his lightning. Of course, he gained an ease of using it after he awakened his Spirit Body, something that also made reaching the Ruler Realm as easy as breathing, but he didn''t have to awaken it like he had to with his Rage Flame or his Ice Flame.


    The same way the first major dividing line between Fire Dragons was whether or not they could awaken their Rage Flame, the first major division between Lightning Qilin was whether or not they could awaken their Storm Talent.


    Why was this so important? It was because once the Storm Talent was awakened, the true prowess of Lightning would begin to make its prowess known.


    The Dark Phoenix was the gate keeper of Death. The Ice Phoenix? Life. The Fire Phoenix? Reincarnation. The Fire Dragon? Fury, and more importantly, the ability and propensity to snatch from the Heavens.


    As for the Lightning Qilin?


    They were the harbingers of Tribulation. And, the current Ryu had more than just a single Judgment he wanted to render.

 Chapter 608 Silence

    Chapter 608 Silence


    The location was the Pedestal Plane.


    Yaana stood not far from Ryu whose body still wasn''t quite corporeal, flickering in and out as though it couldn''t decide whether it was lightning, fire or human. She felt that she had been lucky to get Ryu out of there¡­ Or, maybe it was just that the citizens of Gold Leaf City had been lucky. If she hadn''t taken Ryu away, the entire city would have been razed to the ground.


    It could be said that for a moment Ryu had stopped caring about the consequences. But, luckily, Yaana had kept a level head and ended things in a way that gave Ryu some plausible deniability, at least for now.


    She could feel how enraged Ryu was. Even while he sat in meditation, he didn''t place any of his attention on her at all. Even though she had only been back with Ryu for a short time, even when he hadn''t shown her any affection at all he would never ignore her like this. It was clear that he was doing his utmost to rein in his emotions again.


    Yaana stopped pacing about and sat in front of Ryu, gazing at his face. She reached a hand forward, the heat coming off of him making her uncomfortable.


    It was only now that she realized that Ryu was actually still naked, something that made her blush profusely. She had been so worried about him previously that she hadn''t even noticed. Had they actually touched like that?


    Yaana shook her head. She was no longer a little girl, why was she blushing about something like this? This was her future husband, she would have to see it eventually. After all, who would help him to bathe and dress every morning if not her?


    Yaana winced as Ryu''s energy coursed out of control. She could tell that if Ryu wasn''t doing everything he could to hold it back, she might have been burnt to ash as well, but she refused to let go.


    Ryu could feel Yaana''s hand on his own and even feel as she flinched in pain. Though Yaana couldn''t see it, his gaze was completely red. Even the whites of his eyes had been invaded by something that could only be classified as demonic.


    Luckily, he had managed to stop his Storm Talent from spiraling out of control or else lightning strikes as thick as mountains and pillars of flames would have already erupted. Considering how fragile the Pedestal Plane was in comparison to the other, this wouldn''t have been a good thing at all.


    ''This is my talent and my body. Silence!''


    A suffocating pressure pressed down with Ryu as its center.


    The moment he had awakened his Storm Talent, his Lightning Inheritance had sky rocketed to the Dominion Realm and the resulting Essence had brought him to the 5th Immortal Ring Realm. However, for the first time, Ryu had truly lost control of his strength. The vastness of his Storm Talent was far beyond anything he could have anticipated.


    Ryu slowly opened his eyes, the red barely receding. He looked down at Yaana''s small hand which was still gripped to his own.


    "I''m sorry." He said lightly.


    Yaana shook her head vigorously but her voice was too hoarse to speak. She felt like she had lost something too even though she had no idea what Ryu had just gone through.


    Ryu sighed.


    There were two topics his grandmother had avoided like the plague during her final moments. The first was Elena and the second was Nuri.


    From this alone, Ryu could infer that Nuri had most definitely died. If not for this, his grandmother would have mentioned her. She likely didn''t want him to suffer even more than he was already.


    As for Elena¡­ His grandmother always had a habit of calling Elena a little vixen and insulting her in some benign ways. This time, though his grandmother had mentioned Elena once, she hadn''t added any of her usual commentary.


    Some might say that his grandmother was cruel for doing this, but sometimes there were jokes one would understand if you were part of a friend group or family. But¡­ Once one didn''t deem it necessary to use these jokes anymore¡­ It felt like drawing a clearer line than being enraged would.


    As for what happened, Ryu had no idea. And, quite frankly, at the moment, he didn''t have the mental capacity to care or even think about it. If it wasn''t for the fact Yaana was here, he wouldn''t have even been able to calm himself. Even now, he felt like lashing out at any and everything. The only thing holding him back was the worry in her eye.


    For her sake, he tried his best to maintain a somewhat normal appearance. But, the red of his eyes didn''t seem to want to go away any time soon.


    "Did you get some good resources?" Yaana tried to change the subject.


    Of course, she had no idea that these resources Ryu had gained were actually the final pieces that remained of his Ice Phoenix Clan. But, seeing the innocent look in her eye, how could Ryu possibly lash out at her for something like this?


    The young girl before him now, even if she would resent him thinking of her as such, was just as much a member of his family as his grandmother was. She wasn''t an outsider, nor would he treat her as such.


    "Mm." Ryu nodded before looking down at himself. "Oh."


    With a wave of his hand, Ryu had already covered his body in black robes. But, these seemed to carry a particular sinister air, the scent of judgment and tribulation wafting from them. Just being in their presence made one feel oppressed.


    The Ice Phoenix Clan had left behind many treasures. The Wind attribute treasures were just the tip of the iceberg. The Clan would have mostly gathered soul and ice attribute treasures. With the ban, they probably would have leaned even more into ice attribute treasures in recent years. But, likewise, that would mean they would have stored away a lot of soul attribute treasures that might have been extinct and only managed to survive to now due to the ban.


    These soul attribute treasures would be greatly beneficial for a part sprite like Yaana.


    As for Ryu, he wasn''t quite interested in these treasures just yet. It was about time he used the Golden Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies. Now that his soul have been birthed, this was the perfect time for explosive growth.


    But first he needed to awaken Ailsa.


    There was a reason he hadn''t bothered to speak to his grandmother about Ailsa''s situation. Compared to the treasures of the Ice Phoenix Clan, a mere Mystical Grade yin attribute treasure was like a pebble by the side of the rode.


    Let alone a single flower of Night Shade Dew, the spatial ring his grandmother had left him probably had thousands of stocks.

 Chapter 609 Soul Manifestation

    Chapter 609 Soul Manifestation


    "This big sister is very beautiful."


    Yaana looked toward Ailsa''s sleeping figure with one part appreciation and another part complicated emotions. She understood that it was unlikely that Ryu would have had no women at all, but it still hadn''t quite settled in that this was in fact true. She could clearly see by the look in his eye that he had the same care for Ailsa that he showed for her.


    "Thank you for your help, Yaana."


    Yaana shook her head. She had hardly done anything, it was hardly difficult.


    Ryu realized just not how lucky he had been to have Yaana by his side. He alone had no method of taking things in and out of the crystalline jade. If not for the fact Yaana could enter the Ethereal Realm freely as a part Faerie, Ryu would have had no idea how to get Ailsa out of there to treat her, nor would he have had a way of bringing the Night Shade Dew in.


    To call it luck almost didn''t give it enough credit. It almost felt pre ordained. Though, at the same time, Ryu felt foolish that he hadn''t thought of such a problem earlier. He had been so focused on finding the cure that he didn''t even consider this. But, everything was fine now.


    Yaana, though, couldn''t stop blushing. She had to sit there as Ryu, with no other real choice, kissed Ailsa continuously.


    Rather than preparing the Spiritual Herb in a special process, the easiest method was to just use the Incubator to process it as gently and perfectly as possible. The issue with that, though, was that the Incubator was designed only to be used with the person who fused with it. In order to bypass this, Ryu could only use this crude method.


    After a few hours, Ryu removed his lips from Ailsa''s own one final time. He had planned the original treatment to use just a single Night Shade Dew. But, he used more than ten this time, making it far more thorough.


    ''She should slowly begin to come out of her coma now. It''s best if she does so naturally so that there''s no harm to her soul.''


    When Ryu was satisfied, he placed the crystalline jade on Ailsa''s forehead once again. It wouldn''t be long before she awoke. A few days at the shortest, a few months at the longest. But, it would more likely be somewhere in between these estimates.


    By the time she awoke, she would definitely have an explosive growth in her strength. After her meridians being locked down for so long, she would be wild and free for the first time in her entire life. Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if it only took her a few years or a decade at most to cultivate from the Dao Pedestal Realm to the World Sea Realm.


    This might sound shocking, but Ailsa was already almost a billion years old to begin with. With her talent, the World Sea Realm was about where she should be to begin with.


    It also had to be remembered that while accumulation of qi was still important at these higher stages, what was most important was comprehension. Ailsa already had comprehension far beyond her Realm, so she wouldn''t experience any bottlenecks.


    Aside from that, there was also the question of Ailsa''s hidden talent. Even up to now, Ryu didn''t know exactly what it was. But, he was sure that Ailsa would be able to grasp it quite quickly once she awoke.


    Ryu took a deep breath, his emotions slowly becoming a low, simmering stream. It felt like he was teetering between erupting into a violent gaseous substance or settling down into a cooler liquid. As for which happened¡­ Only time would be able to tell.


    Ryu turned his senses toward the Incubator, finding a field of Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies.


    One''s first petal of Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies would increase the strength of one''s soul and your Spiritual Sea''s size by 100%. The second would fall by 10% along with every subsequent petal absorbed until one reached 1%. At this point, for every petal one consumed, you would always gain this 1% increase.


    It was unsurprising then that Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies were among the most valuable Spiritual Herbs in all of existence. Even calling them Origin Grade didn''t quite do them justice. They existed on a plane very few other Heavenly Treasures could match. However, this simultaneously made it extraordinary that Ryu had actually found such a treasure on the Mortal Plane. In fact, it was clear that King Tor hadn''t known the value of these Spiritual Herbs and just thought they looked nice, or else they wouldn''t'' have remained untouched for so long.


    Even the Ice Phoenix Clan''s remaining treasures didn''t have a single one among them at this level.


    Still, there was a reason Ryu hadn''t used the Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies and only made use of the Silver Vein ones to help his meditation. That was because he had yet to reach the optimal range.


    For one, he was always worried about his poor Mental Realm talent, so he had wanted to wait until he could reach the peak of [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. Using the Gold Vein petals when his talent was piss poor versus when it was at its peak would have vastly different results, obviously. In fact, if he did so too early, the boost in his talent would render his previous uses of the petals useless.


    The second reason Ryu had held back was because he had yet to reach the optimal cultivation realm.


    The first problem was solved. His master''s Elemental War God Legacy had used the white flame as a foundation to reconstruct his soul. Originally, Ryu had thought that the white flame acted on its own, but it was only after some observation that he realized that had he never learned Elemental War God, the white flame wouldn''t have reacted like that. It was almost like it was waiting for the appropriate moment and circumstances.


    As for the second problem, this was solved as well. The Soul Birth Realm, especially its infancy stage before Ryu began to cultivate it in earnest, was without a doubt the best Realm to do this.


    The Mental Realm was separated into: Spiritual Entrance, Spiritual Endowment, Soul Birth, Soul Refinement, Soul Ascension and finally, Soul Quintessence.


    Soul Birth was the Immortal Ring equivalent. Soul Refinement was the Path Extinction equivalent. Soul Ascension¡ªAilsa''s Realm¡ªwas split into four levels, going from the Dao Pedestal equivalent, to the Cosmic Seed, World Sea and finally Sky God level.


    As Ailsa had exposed previously, the Soul Quintessence was a legendary realm of the soul that was often conflated with the Peak of the Soul Ascension Realm. The reality was that Soul Quintessence might very well not exist at all.


    One could say that one''s potential at the Soul Birth Realm would truly decide one''s talent in Soul cultivation. It would no longer be the body acting as a proxy for Spiritual Qi, but rather the Soul itself taking action to use Spiritual Qi. In that situation, the sturdier, more powerful and larger the soul was at this stage, the greatest sort of impact it would have as time went on.


    A stronger and more resilient Soul at this stage would be able to withstand the cruelty of the Soul Refinement Realm and ultimately aid to rise up from the ashes during the Soul Ascension Realm.


    There was no better Realm to act than now.


    The potential of one''s soul was decided by how large it was when manifested out of the body. Following this, its strength would be decided by how dense and corporeal it was. At the highest Soul Ascension levels, a soul could even pass off like a real human body, not much unlike Eska''s had been.


    Of course, the size of Eska''s soul wasn''t its true size but rather a projection. A soul that was almost two meters tall had never appeared. So, this shouldn''t be a reflection of Eska''s potential either.


    To put matters into perspective, even a soul that could manifest at the size of a thumbnail was a bit above average for an individual stepping into the Soul Birth Realm. Though, of course, such a soul was far too fragile to be projected outward and would thus rarely if ever appear. This was why Ryu had yet to come across a person who used their soul in such a way.


    However, Ryu was different. With his Phoenix Bloodlines, if he didn''t manifest his soul in battle, he would be ignoring a large part of his own prowess.


    As for Ryu''s own soul projection? It was currently five centimeters tall, a feat that would be enough to shock the masses, including the likes of his master and Eska. The real question, then, was what kind of size would it have after he consumed Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies to the limit?


    Unfortunately¡­ Ryu couldn''t seem to settle himself down even as he stared at the treasures before him. His mind was in too much turmoil to cultivate. If he went on like this, he would just end up destroying himself.


    "Yaana, let''s go."


    "Hm?"


    Yaana was confused but still obediently entered the Incubator. Ryu had given her a pile of resources she didn''t even know where to start with, so she had her own meditation to complete.


    **


    Ryu appeared on the Shrine Plane, the familiar cool atmosphere calming his heart somewhat, especially now that he was certain that it was his mother.


    He walked into Isemeine''s home as though nothing had happened the last time he was here.


    "Who?"


    Isemeine, with her fiery temper, obviously wouldn''t take someone barging into her home lying down. But, she very quickly found herself being lifted up and tossed onto a soft bed.


    "Hey! Hey! Aren''t you going to say words to romance me or something?! Hey, you¡ª!"

 Chapter 610 Relit

    Chapter 610 Relit


    The emotions that Isemeine went through during the next three days could be painted across a wide spectrum. She went from visibly annoyed, to exasperated, to raising her eyebrows, to feigning indifference. Then, when she finally couldn''t hold back anymore, she rode the peaks and valleys of pleasure for so long that she crashed, her nerves became fried and her entire body felt numb to an extreme.


    She had simultaneously never experienced something so pleasurable nor painful at the same time. Ryu''s stamina felt endless. And, somehow, despite these three days having been shorter than the last time she was caught in this situation, the display was far more impressive.


    At some point, her grasp on reality faltered and she began hallucinating. Whatever words she was speaking came out like some sort of ancient, slurred language, her body was drenched from head to toe in sweat and her limbs didn''t seem to want to listen to her commands at all.


    By the end of the last day, her limbs seemed to have lost all of their bones. Her arms and legs twitched erratically and no longer had the strength even to coil around Ryu''s body. Once again, she had lost in stamina to someone with the Heaven''s Dew Bloodline. And, she had lost so resoundingly. If it wasn''t for Eska helping her keep it together, she wouldn''t have been able to last to the point Ryu''s raging blood finally seemed to calm.


    One would have thought that Isemeine would collapse the moment Ryu let go of her. But, as though a mindless zombie that had lost her prey she latched onto him again, reaching for his crotch. Her eyes had practically rolled back into her skull and she was mumbling something intelligible. She really looked as though she had completely lost her mind.


    She managed to wrap her hand around Ryu''s cock, opening her mouth to try and find her way toward it as though it was playing hide and seek with her. But, the moment her lips enveloped it, it fell out with an audible popping sound, only for her intelligible mumbling to become a light snore.


    Ryu let Isemeine fall to the bed and stood to his feet.


    To the side of Isemeine''s large bed there were rolling glass doors that opened up to the backyard. There was currently a concealment formation up but it was only visible to someone with Ryu''s eyes. Under its normal condition, it couldn''t obstruct the view of the night sky.


    Several moons of differing gorgeous colors hung above, the stars twinkling as their backdrop. The light cascaded down, outlining the silhouette of both Ryu and Isemeine''s bodies.


    Ryu''s powerful frame stood as straight as a javelin as he gazed up. The veins of his body were prominent beneath his skin, his every muscle fiber outlined to utmost perfection. The lights and shadows danced across his figure, making him look like an immaculately sculpted statue.


    Ryu grasped at thin air, bringing out a cup formed of flower petals. Within it, a smooth liquid released a delicate fragrance that tickled his nose.


    This drink¡­ It was his grandmother''s favorite. A normal person might freeze to death just holding it in their hands and Ryu himself had never gotten a chance to partake due to his frail body in his previous life. Gazing upon it now, he felt a certain bittersweetness.


    He would finally be able to taste the White Lotus Dew his grandmother loved so much. But, he would never get to enjoy it with her.


    Ryu swung his head back, swallowing it whole.


    An icy gas spread throughout Ryu''s body, freezing his veins over. In the blink of an eye, all the droplets of sweat that had just been dripping down his body became shards of ice, twinkling beneath the moonlight. At that moment, with these crystal droplets dotted across his body and a bit of frost marring his hair and brows, Ryu truly did look like a Deity descended from a world above this one.


    The sound of shattering glass resounded as the ice encasing Ryu broke, falling down to the ground in soft, wafting flakes of crystal. Each shard reflected the moonlight all the more, making it look as though motes of light were floating around him.


    Ryu felt an eerie calm take hold of his soul as he gazed out blankly.


    Ryu''s hand made a grasping motion again, causing yet another flower cup to appear between his fingers.


    "How long do you plan on watching me, exactly?"


    The moment Ryu said these words, the light coming through the glass doors were suddenly blocked by a shadow outlining the gorgeous silhouette of a mature beauty. Even though there were small signs of age on her face, it wasn''t enough to detract from how truly beautiful she was. She reminded him a lot of his grandmother before she lost her vitality to battle. Though, Ryu still believed that his Grandma Kukan was a half step above this woman in terms of looks.


    The woman looked Ryu up and down, seemingly not being embarrassed about having been caught at all. Her eyes lingered across his body before stopping at a particular member below his waist. When it came to this, she was even less shy, her gaze lighting up with a pleasant light that was something less than surprise. It was clear that she had long since seen it during her previous observation but was just happy to get a clearer look.


    Ryu didn''t seem to care about the woman''s gaze, taking another drink. However, this time he savored it more deliberately, sipping it the same way his grandmother might. The taste was almost like coconut water with a dab of vanilla. It wasn''t an overwhelming taste, but it was soothing, had a nice texture, and had a mellow, lingering aftertaste.


    "I thought I would have to vet my daughter''s first partner a bit more. But, it seems that she made an excellent decision."


    Ryu didn''t respond immediately. He had already guessed that this woman was Isemeine''s mother a long while ago.


    Yes, a long while. This woman had been observing her daughter roll around in bed with a man for what was at least the last half day. Ryu just couldn''t be bothered to stop.


    But, this was also the reason he had compromised and allowed Isemeine to stay in her true form. There was simply no telling when something like this might happen and how would a World Sea Realm expert react to their daughter''s body being taken over by another?


    That said, Ryu still wasn''t too surprised by the outrageous actions of this woman. After all, she had birthed children from two different men and held the powerful position of Queen herself. Clearly, she wasn''t a conventional woman and could even be considered to be quite wild by their cultural standards. Even now, she looked like she might try to swallow Ryu up any moment now.


    "Did you come here for any particular reason, mother-in-law?"


    "Hoho." Isemeine''s mother chuckled, taking a step toward Ryu.


    Though she was almost a full head shorter, her cultivation alone made it so that she seemed to be the larger one. Her hand found itself wrapped around a particularly sensitive region of Ryu''s, and yet Ryu himself didn''t flinch in the slightest, taking another sip of his drink.


    "A nice warmth and heft, indeed."


    Isemeine''s mother seemed to have no concept of barriers, her thumb even running up and down Ryu''s shaft as though she was eager to see it raring to go again. However, even her less than subtle action seemed to receive no reaction from Ryu. This left her part of the way between amused and feeling challenged.


    Isemeine''s mother suddenly froze, feeling something pinch her firm bottom. Her gaze shifted only to find that Ryu''s free hand had taken its own liberties, not caring for a single moment that she was a World Sea Realm expert.


    "Plump and elastic." Ryu commented indifferently. His hand didn''t move away, even taking a large handful without reserve.


    Isemeine''s mother looked up to find Ryu looking down at her. For some reason, she was the one who suddenly felt small, an intoxicating scent wafting from Ryu that seemed to subdue her in every way. However, she could tell by the look in Ryu''s eyes that all he saw was a plaything as though her power was meaningless.


    "Hoho¡­" A slightly venomous look formed in her eyes, but it wasn''t the kind with a murderous intent. It was the kind a female arachnid would have for a husband she planned to devour and kill in the future after claiming his seed.


    "Mm¡­"


    Isemeine''s sudden moan seemed to snap her mother out of an odd state, causing her to playfully slap Ryu''s hand away.


    "Tell my daughter that she''s been chosen to be among the future Queen Elena''s entourage for the coming ceremony. She will know what this means."


    Isemeine''s mother tugged lightly on Ryu''s balls, seemingly having still not let go.


    "I came here for another reason as well¡­ But you''re a bit too slick with your words for me. Not even willing to let an old lady like me go. I can see there''s no use in asking you, so I''ll let someone else deal with it."


    Finally letting go of Ryu''s members, Isemeine''s mother disappeared as Isemeine herself groggily opened her eyes.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as he watched where she vanished. He was 90% certain that the questions she wanted to ask him were related to the Ice Devil Legacy World. And¡­ he also had a feeling that this ''entourage'' Isemeine was chosen to be a part of wasn''t so simple either.


    "¡­ Ryu? Wh¡ª"


    Isemeine didn''t get a chance to finish her words before she found herself paying for the fire her mother had relit.

 Chapter 611 Impossible

    Chapter 611 Impossible


    Ryu sat in Isemeine''s backyard. It was impossible to read much of anything from his face and he looked to have practically fused into one with the world. Every so often, dense lines of Heavenly Patterns would dance in the air around him before vanishing.


    Ryu found comprehending and using Heavenly Patterns to be exceptionally easy, almost too much so. In fact, he did so, so quickly that he didn''t even have a true concept of what was a lot and what was too few. It was difficult to separate out his progress in comparison to the rest of his cultivation.


    But, he did know two things.


    The first was number. The more Heavenly Patterns he had, the more powerful he became.


    The trouble with this that Heavenly Patterns had their limits as well. The number of Heavenly Patterns that could fit onto Ryu''s body or something extended from him were limited. There was a limit to the number of Heavenly Patterns Ryu could withstand before his body imploded. Likewise, there was a limit to how many Heavenly Patterns say a Great Swordstaff could withstand before it too shattered.


    What was curious, though, was that the limit on Ryu''s soul was far greater than the limit on his body. That was to say that despite the size of his soul, he could draw more Heavenly Patterns onto it than he could his actual body. This made him realize that Heavenly Patterns resonated with certain things better than others.


    It reacted with Spiritual Qi well, but was less receptive to Qi and even less to Vital Qi. This same thing could be applied even to techniques. It resonated the best with Visualizations and the least with bodily techniques¡­ Unless they were related to the Phoenix.


    The second thing Ryu knew almost intuitively was that the level of his soul was important as well. The higher grade his Spiritual Qi, the stronger his Heavenly Patterns would be. It was just that simple.


    Ryu was confident in stepping into the Soul Refinement Realm very quickly. He had still yet to use the Essence he had gained from awakening his Storm Talent and forming a Dominion. This meant that he had an easy gateway toward the second opportunity. But first¡­


    Ryu settled himself, taking out a Gold Vein Petal. Without much more hesitation, he swallowed it.


    At that moment, the natural energies of the world seemed to converge around Ryu. It felt not much different from a rain of Essence one might gain from breaking through a realm of comprehension.


    Gorgeous vein patterns of gold danced within Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, pushing against their size and expanding twofold. At the same time, these gold vein patterns sunk into Ryu''s soul which also sat in meditation along with him.


    His soul continued to grow, pulsing slowly in a gradual change.


    Despite the doubling of strength, Ryu felt that if he projected his soul now that it would be about six centimeters tall. Ryu realized then that a single centimeter of change was worth more than it seemed to be worth on the surface. In fact, every incremental change was enough to overturn the world.


    The appearance of Ryu''s soul floating just before his forehead made the space around him whine and twist. Its presence alone carried almost more weight than Ryu''s flesh and blood body. And yet, without hesitation, Ryu simply swallowed a second leaf.


    Standing within the home, Isemeine stood watching with a hint of shock on her expression.


    It might seem like Martial Gods wouldn''t have strong souls, but this was very much not the truth. Though their Vital Qi was the root of their greatest strength, they could be considered to be all-rounders. They had no real weaknesses. If they did, they wouldn''t'' have allowed Mental Realm cultivation to recover after they took over the Shrine World.


    This was all to say that Isemeine had seen her fair share of powerful souls in her life. But, this was completely unlike anything she had ever witnessed.


    A soul that was five centimeters tall upon manifestation was already the largest she had ever seen. Even Galkos¡ªAilsa''s supposed fianc¨¦ and the man soon to be celebrated alongside Elena¡ªonly had a soul that was 4.9 centimeters tall. And yet, not only had Ryu''s started at five centimeters, but after eating that leaf, it had increased to six!


    To her horror, Ryu wasn''t done yet.


    It took him two more leaves to reach seven centimeters, one more after that to reach eight, one more to reach nine centimeters¡­ Then, in a feat that left Isemeine at a loss for words, Ryu swallowed three in a row before he seemed to hit a ceiling, his soul glowing so brightly that the sturdy space of the Shrine Plane threatened to collapse completely.


    Every 100% increase in his strength added another centimeter to the point he could no longer grow any further, having reached a cap.


    It was then that the white motes of light that constructed Ryu''s soul began to fall away piece by piece, revealing a solid gold interior that sat almost like a meditating buddha.


    Upon this buddha''s forehead, there was a singular flickering white flame, shimmering like its emblem.


    A radiant light spread across Ryu''s Spiritual Sea. Everything became bathed in a sea of gold, a radiant light spreading across his Mental Realm making it look as though it was dripping in the precious, liquid metal.


    At that moment, Isemeine''s gaze flashed with something that was distinctly not herself. Eska''s shock shone through, changing her temperament for just a moment.


    ''Indestructible Soul¡­ What kind of karmic luck does he have to have run into so many Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies. Not just that, but for him to actually have the patience to wait until this absolute perfect moment to use it¡­''


    The Indestructible Soul was a legend amongst legends. Usually only those born with Soul Natures would have one. But, this was the first time she had ever heard of someone awakening artificially, and that was because of one simple reason¡­


    It should be impossible. Even with Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies.

 Chapter 612 Emperor

    Chapter 612 Emperor


    While it was true that the Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies could increase one''s soul by 1% of strength indefinitely, this was a bit misleading. It could be said that the limiter was one''s soul itself as opposed to the Spirit Seeking Lilies.


    Even if one had an infinite number of Gold Vein Petals, the largest they should be capable of making their soul was 9.9 centimeters tall. Hitting 10 centimeters should be impossible.


    To put matters into proper perspective, even being born with a Soul Nature didn''t guarantee having an Indestructible Soul. Only a small percentage of these individuals would ever reach such a level. This was all to say that unless you were innately born with an Indestructible Soul, even becoming a Sky God wouldn''t change this fact!


    And yet, Ryu had done so. In fact, it had been so easy that he didn''t even seem to be breaking any rules. It made Eska question herself, as though she was the one in the wrong. Maybe she had misremembered? Maybe she had been wrong all along to begin with. This was the only explanation she could think of.


    But, something was telling her that she hadn''t gotten it wrong. In fact, she was definitely correct. However, Ryu moved on as though he hadn''t done a single thing.


    His golden soul punched outward. The air rippled, the booming sound of the sound barrier shattering resounding.


    Ryu brought his hands together, his soul following his actions. At that moment, as though he had been possessed, his Fire Phoenix Bloodline began to boil all on its own.


    His Rebirth Flame manifested from his real body''s forehead, fluttering with its illusory red-gold. But, for some reason, at this moment, it seemed far more gold than red. On top of that, it looked far less illusory than it usually did.


    The Rebirth Flame latched onto Ryu''s golden soul, wrapping around it like the silk robes of an Emperor.


    The Rebirth Flame fluttered, growing into a crown atop Ryu''s soul and spreading two wings from its back. Red-gold Heavenly Patterns began to manifest one after another, growing in number and potency with each passing moment.


    Ryu''s soul became like a heavenly king. Despite being just ten centimeters tall, it radiated the aura of an existence above all, having a presence that could shroud the whole world under its protection.


    At the same time, Ryu''s Fire Phoenix Bloodline seemed to be undergoing a change, shackles that had been placed upon it releasing one after another.


    It was said that the Fire Phoenix was the Ruler of the Phoenixes. Over time, the truth of this mattered was watered down to the Fire Phoenix being a simple mediator, the balance between Life and Death. However, the truth behind it all was far deeper and greater than just this.


    It was the Fire Phoenixes that ruled the Phoenixes. It was a very small and specific subset of Fire Phoenixes that did. These Phoenixes were where the legend of nine lives came from. It was these Phoenixes who built their legend on the backs of their Indestructible Souls.


    A crown of red gold etched itself across Ryu''s forehead, dancing about with ancient patterns that almost looked like two wings coming together to form the representation of an Emperor.


    The Heavenly Patterns continued to multiply. The capacity Ryu''s soul had multiplied several times over. Before he could even understand what was happening, 9999 Heavenly Patterns had fused into his very being.


    Every action his soul took seemed to cause the Essence of the Heavens to converge. Ryu''s stamina felt almost endless and it wasn''t contingent on his Southern Heavenly Wind.


    His Fire Phoenix Bloodline pulsed and whined. Its desire to rule all had suddenly been stimulated to an extreme. For a moment, it felt as though it wouldn''t rest until all other Bloodlines within Ryu''s body were eradicated.


    Veins popped up all across Ryu, his four Bloodlines fighting against one another. However, all of them, with the exception of his Ice Phoenix Bloodline, had grown to the point that they could bear teeth of their own. They rose up, feeling as though they had had their dignity impugned upon.


    It was right at that moment that a small white flame that looked like a small ball of cotton upon Ryu''s soul''s forehead flickered slightly.


    As though it had met something it no longer dared to fight against, Ryu''s Fire Phoenix Bloodline practically snorted, ignoring the rest of Ryu''s Bloodlines as its sunk into his Ice Jade Crystal Body, weaving in and out of his veins and bones as though to mark out its territory.


    However, while Ryu would usually be infuriated about his talent rebelling against him, he allowed the Fire Phoenix to do as it pleased. He could feel that this was no small change his body was undergoing. This was a Spirit Body on a different level than his Rage Flame and Lightning Spirit Bodies.


    The Emperor Phoenix''s Spirit Body gave Ryu access to what could be considered nearly true Rebirth. With his Indestructible Soul as a foundation, Ryu''s ability to ignore Dominions and atmospheric qi was on a completely different level.


    At the same time, even if his body was destroyed, he would be able to reconstruct it without relying on outside treasures. It would be just as powerful as his real body and without any pitfalls or weaknesses that would come with reconstructing one''s body with outside resources.


    However, as great as this ability was, it wasn''t what Ryu was the most fond of. If his body was destroyed in battle, he would consider that a failure. The fact he would survive it was meaningless to him. What he truly valued was the change in his soul.


    To put it simply, Ryu''s soul could now cast techniques he would normally only be able to with qi or Vital Qi. This meant that his soul could replace his body in carrying the brunt of the pressure.


    What did this mean?


    On the simplest level, it meant that Ryu could cast two techniques at once, one with his meridians and another with his soul.


    On the highest level, it meant that Ryu could ignore the limitation of techniques and use powers that he wouldn''t normally have enough Meridian Nodes to complete.

 Chapter 613 Silver Bells

    Chapter 613 Silver Bells


    Ryu''s eyes opened, a ring of gold surrounding their silver irises. It felt like one was looking into the gaze of an archangel just to look at him.


    The veins bulging across Ryu''s body seemed to run with golden blood. It was very difficult to equate his appearance to that of a normal human. He seemed to exist on a plane entirely above.


    Ryu flipped his palm over, causing a flame of pitch black to appear. It was none other than a fire condensed from Primordial Chaos Flame Qi. In the past, despite his Rebirth Flame, it would still burn him and would be difficult to use. But now, it felt like a gentle spring breeze on his palm despite the fact Isemeine was force to retreat as quickly as her legs would allow.


    Ryu realized at that moment that he had become completely immune to fire. Before, his Rebirth Flame only allowed him to be immune to flames of a certain level depending on his comprehension, but now it seemed that these limiters had been removed entirely.


    But, this only felt like the tip of the iceberg.


    Ryu''s palm suddenly squeezed shut. In what looked like something straight out of a horror film, his arm shattered. However, there was no sign of a hint of blood.


    If one looked again, it would be possible to see that Ryu''s arm had become motes of light, flickering like miniature golden flames. Soon, these small flames all rapidly came toward, reforming into a large claw that seemed ten times too big for Ryu''s body.


    With a single flex, this claw became covered in scales, radiating out with a golden light. Each one of these ''scales'' was formed of a Heavenly Pattern. No¡­ They were formed of Emperor Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.


    Ryu slowly racked his claw across the air. Sparks flew as the sturdy space resisted against his strength. Despite there not being a single ounce of heat coming from the current Ryu, his destructive abilities were mind numbing. He could easily see now why the Fire Phoenix ruled its race¡­ Its ability to internalize and use Heavenly Patterns was on a completely different level.


    Ryu shook his arm, causing it to shatter once again and reform into his true form. He felt that if he wanted to turn into a Phoenix right now, he could do so with absolute ease. In fact, he could tell that his power would reach an all new level if he entered a complete beast form.


    But¡­ he had no interest in doing such a thing. He was a human and would always be one.


    Ryu ignored everything around him and began to experiment with his new strength, eventually even spreading his thoughts toward Heavenly Patterns in general. He felt that there was far more power at his finger tips than he ever imagined there to be. It was to the point he regretted ignoring his Phoenix Bloodlines up until this point, though it truly couldn''t'' be considered his fault. Without the complete [Phoenix Heavenly Body], he would have never made it so far.


    After making it quite far, Ryu realized that his efficiency could be increased. He was slowly becoming limited by his Heavenly Pupils, but he had the means to change this.


    He decided that using the Essence from his awakened Dominion on his soul was no longer worth it. His soul had undergone such an enormous qualitative change after becoming golden that it was already no weaker than any normal Soul Refinement stage soul, and that wasn''t even considering the addition of 9999 Heavenly Patterns.


    In that case, Ryu decided that the best used for his Essence now were his Pupils. The amount allowed him to increase his undone seals from around 50 to a complete 99, reaching the very pinnacle of the Immortal Realms. As for breaching 99 and reaching 100, Ryu felt that he needed another qualitative change in energy, energy that just might be within the store of treasures his grandmother had left to him.


    From 0 to 9 seals were the Mortal Realm. From 10 to 99 were the Immortal. From 100 to 999 were the Cosmic Realms.


    Much like Mortal Qi couldn''t be compared to Immortal Qi, Immortal Qi was nothing in the face of Cosmic Qi. It was the main dividing line between the Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realm.


    Ryu took out a peculiar flower with petals shaped into silver bells. If Isemeine''s mother had still been here, she would have been shocked silly.


    This flower was known as the Silver Cosmic Bell. It was a Higher Mystical Grade Spiritual Herb capable of helping a Dao Pedestal Realm expert to form their first Cosmic Seed and thus break through from the Dao Pedestal Realm to the Cosmic Seed Realm. It rose the chances of success by more than 100%.


    However, this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    Silver Cosmic Bell Spiritual Herbs were notorious for the fact that one could only consume from a single stock. This was to say that one could only consume the flowers from a single stem. Any attempt to consume from another stem would end in failure.


    This was where the true shock lay. Because the stem Ryu had just taken out had 12 silver bell flowers on it. This flower alone was worth as much as an Ancestral Grade Herb. It might even be worth an Origin Grade Herb to the right person. It was this exaggerated.


    12 attempts at forming a Cosmic Seed was obscene. Even if one failed multiple times per attempt, it would still give one an excellent chance at forming two, three maybe even four Cosmic Seeds at once! And yet¡­ Ryu didn''t plan to use this to break into the Cosmic Seed Realm. It could almost be considered a waste of Heaven''s treasures¡­ No, that was exactly what it was. Maybe even Ryu''s grandmother would strangle him to death for this.


    However, Ryu no longer had to need for money, so he didn''t need to sell this Herb. In addition, he had every intention of forming his Cosmic Seeds on his own, relying on outside resources would only make him weaker.


    In that case¡­ He might as well use it on his Heavenly Pupils.


    "Stop! Stop! STOP!"


    Hearing this voice, Ryu''s shoulders trembled.

 Chapter 614 Im Sorry

    Chapter 614 I''m Sorry


    A beauty with charm beyond words suddenly appeared before Ryu. Her hair cascaded like golden droplets of sunlight, her ruby irises glistening as she looked down at Ryu. However, before she could even speak, two strong arms had enveloped her completely, holding onto her so tightly that she found it difficult even to breathe.


    Ryu breathed in her scent, his eyes almost sowed shut.


    "Hey! I''m a delicate young lady!" Ailsa playfully chided.


    However, rather than receiving the response she thought she would, Ryu''s next words caught her completely off guard.


    "I''m sorry."


    "You¡­"


    Ailsa was baffled. These were the last words she had expected to hear from Ryu and she didn''t even initially understand why he was saying them.


    No¡­ That wasn''t entirely true. She was perfectly aware. It was just that she didn''t expect to receive an apology for it which was why she was so shocked. She had already prepared herself to always be second in Ryu''s heart. Whatever he did, especially when it came to matters relating to Elena, she would simply accept because that was the choice she had made¡­ Regardless of how it made her feel.


    And yet, for the very first words Ryu to speak to her after she awoke to be this, her heart couldn''t help but tremble. All her playfulness vanished into a puff of smoke, her eyes watering as she buried her head into Ryu''s chest. Just the same as he drunk off her scent, she did the same, losing herself in the sensation.


    Guilt had been building up in Ryu''s chest for a long time. As he slowly calmed as a person and tried to change himself, he had done a lot of self-reflection, not just on himself, but his relationships as well.


    That day, the last time Ailsa was awake, he had hijacked her first time, a moment she would remember for a lifetime, for his own selfish pursuits. While it had seemed like Ailsa was completely out of it, riding the wave of pleasure, how could she have been completely unaware of what was happening? Even if she hadn''t been in that moment, their minds were connected, how could she not have come to know afterward?


    The truth was that though Ailsa understood why Ryu had done what he had done, that didn''t mean it didn''t leave her with a hint of bitterness within. No one wanted to forever be second to the person the loved the dearest, even if they were willing to accept such an outcome.


    It could be said that this apology, had it come at any other time, might have been worth something, but definitely not as much as now¡­ However, the timing of when it truly came made it weigh more than anything else could have. Any bitterness there had been in Ailsa''s heart vanished like the wind, a sweet smile spreading across her face even as her eyes glistened with tears.


    "I leave you for a few months and suddenly your tongue has become so smooth. Tell me, who have you been practicing on?"


    Ryu''s lip twitched, but he could already feel Ailsa''s head peeking by his shoulder and arm to look toward Isemeine who had previously retreated. At the moment, she sat on her bed. She had been observing Ryu and his practice, but now that Ailsa was here, she wasn''t quite sure where to look.


    In the end, she became annoyed. This was her home and this was her body that had been hijacked, why was she acting like this around these bastards?


    "Eska?" Ailsa asked.


    Isemeine was about to say no but her mouth opened outside of her control.


    "A pleasure." She spoke in a voice that was distinctly not her own.


    Isemeine''s brow twitched in annoyance. But, in the end, she just humphed and turned away.


    "A Sky God, hm? Not bad." Ailsa giggled.


    Ryu coughed. Ailsa had clearly gone to bed and come back even more mischievous.


    "Not as mischievous as you. What were you thinking? Did you forget what happened the last time you broke through a major barrier with your Heavenly Pupils?"


    Ryu blinked. That was right. Last time he broke through, the entire Fate of the Moon World had shifted. In fact, now that he thought about it, he never really got to take advantage of that due to the time dilation of the Silver Touch Branch''s trial. There was no telling what happened to the Moon World in his absence as a result.


    He had changed the entire Fate of a world after breaking through into the Immortal Realms, there was no telling what would happen when he broke through to the Cosmic Realms.


    "It was my mistake for not taking that into account last time, but we can''t make the same mistake twice, right? Plus, you should definitely go back to the Moon World to stop those opportunists from taking advantage of my Little Ryu''s hard work!"


    Watching Ailsa take charge the moment she came back and seeing her reprimand him so passionately brought a smile to Ryu''s face, a genuine smile not marred by the sadness of the passing of his grandmother. His heart, while not having forgotten that pain, felt far lighter.


    Now that his partner was back, he wouldn''t have to worry about making mistakes in his journey any longer.


    "Then when do you suggest I breakthrough?"


    Ailsa smiled beamingly. She seemed to light up the whole night sky.


    "Of course you do so when you can cause the most damage to the Martial Gods. They dared to snatch my Little Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation, dared to steal your soul talent, dared to force you to take on the trial of the Phoenix Sky God and tie your Fate to another''s when it should have been all your own to begin with.


    "Then we should give them a taste of their own medicine. We''ll flip their Fate on its head, make it so that even breaking through a minor sub stage becomes a life and death affair. Since they like to play with the Fate of others so much, we''ll play them to death."


    Ryu''s pupils constricted into pinholes. These words that seemed to have been spoken so casually were anything but. How did Ailsa know all of this?

 Chapter 615 Didnt?

    Chapter 615 Didn''t?


    Ryu thought that Ailsa might have just been saying things previously, maybe she was just joking around. But, with their minds practically being one, he was instantly able to throw this thought out. Not only was she serious, she was maybe the most serious Ryu had ever seen her be. In fact, she seemed to know that this was a fact.


    "¡­ What''s going on, Ailsa?"


    Ailsa looked up toward Ryu.


    "After the seal on my soul was undone, I''m a lot more sensitive to things. What used to be just a few guesses to me seem far more obvious now to the point I feel stupid for not guessing them to be true long ago."


    Ryu''s brow furrowed. ?


    "I don''t know about the details, but what I am certain of is that the process of your birth was most definitely tampered with. The result was your poor soul talent. And, as though that wasn''t enough for them, they made certain that your Spiritual Foundation would be a False one.


    "As for what they did with your true soul talent and Spiritual Foundation, or how they managed to do these things without your family being aware... I am not certain, though I do have a guess for the latter."


    "A guess?"


    Ailsa nodded. "Whatever are the underpinnings of all of this, there is no doubt that whoever was responsible is not only adept at manipulating Fate, but there is no doubt that their Mental Realm exists on a level that''s difficult for me to fathom."


    "¡­ So you mean to say the reason my family had no defense against this is because we banned Mental Realm cultivation¡­?"


    Ailsa didn''t respond immediately, but it was clear by the look in her eye that Ryu was more correct than not. But, this alone made things even more complicated than they already were.


    Where did the schemes stop and where did they begin? Was it really a coincidence that his family was left so vulnerable to such an attack? Or were the circumstances around that ban curated just like everything else seemed to be?


    And, beyond just that, why would they target him? Sure, he was a great talent, but given the timing of their attack, Ryu still wouldn''t have had a chance to grow by the time they chose to act. By then, he would just be another dead genius not worth much of anything.


    Though there were a few million years between Ryu''s death and the appearance of the Martial Gods, Ryu''s progress in this life shouldn''t be extrapolated to what he could have done in the last had he had all of his talent. Much of Ryu''s progress in this life was reliant on fortuitous encounters, encounters he might never have had under the umbrella of the Tatsuya Clan.


    If Ryu gave himself a favorable evaluation, taking into account the near endless resources he would have at his fingertips, he would still probably be at the Cosmic Seed Realm at best.


    To put this into perspective, to reach that level in just a few million years, Ryu would be almost a hundred times faster than those who were his peers. But, that wouldn''t be nearly enough because Ryu wouldn''t have nearly to combat prowess he had now.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s combat prowess wasn''t rooted in his Bloodlines. Though his Heavenly Pupils played a key role, the greatest reason for his superiority in a given cultivation Realm was his Chaos Qi!


    Chaos Qi was very opposite of Essence, but it was a form of energy just as high. Being able to use it freely was like Ryu having a constant fuel of Essence to unleash as he pleased. This made it so that the quality and strength of his qi was far beyond most he faced. Thanks to this, he was unmatched at the same cultivation Realm.


    This was the core reason for his being able to surmount so many cultivation levels to battle, even against an absolute genius like Sarriel.


    However, if Ryu hadn''t been born into a second life, there was no way that he would have failed his first Severing. Without failure, he would have never learned the true nature of his meridians, nor would he have ever found a Realm Heart to accelerate his cultivation through the mortal Realms.


    This was all to say that as unlucky as Ryu seemed on the surface, he was still innately very lucky in many other ways.


    "It''s impossible to tell exactly what the truth is, but there''s good reason to believe that that is the case. If your family had such experts, I highly doubt that the plans of the Martial Gods would have gone so smoothly. In fact, it likely would have been the opposite. They would have faced terrible backlash as a result."


    Ryu shook his head. He understood this, but it still didn''t make sense. They really didn''t have to go so far for him.


    Plus, in order to pull this off, it had to be done some time between his mother conceiving him and his Seventh Birthday. No, they would have definitely had to do it before he was born and before the Heavens could bestow him with his talent.


    Snatching Bloodlines, Bone Structures or Meridians away would have been a bit too difficult. The same went for his Pupils. They were tangible, real parts of him, steadily growing within his mother''s womb and under her constant nurturing.


    However, his soul and Spiritual Foundation were different. They existed on a different plane and were far more susceptible to being tampered with. It wasn''t outside the realm of possibility that his Spiritual Foundation could be snatched away, nor was it impossible for his soul to be tampered with on the Ethereal Plane. Regardless of which these two it was, the possibility was there.


    But for them to target him as a baby not even fully grown from a fetus¡­


    Why? What did they know that he didn''t?

 Chapter 616 Half

    Chapter 616 Half


    Ailsa sighed. "I don''t like it at all. Because of what they did, your Fate is now tied with the Phoenix Sky Gods by necessity. Without the Phoenix Sky God, it would have been impossible for you to have your current accomplishments because it would have been impossible for you to cultivate.


    "To make matters worse, I can''t tell whether having your Fate tied to this person who has long since passed is a good thing or a bad thing¡­"


    Usually, Sky Gods left their Legacies behind to gather good Karma for themselves. This good Karma would help them to reincarnate in more favorable situations and live out peaceful lives again and again even if they never return to their former Peaks as Sky Gods.


    However, with how ambitious one would need to be to become a Sky God to begin with, it was obvious that there would be many who weren''t satisfied with just this alone and might use passing on their Legacies to fulfill greater dreams and aspirations they might have.


    Of course, the Heavens provided protection for those who would take on the mantle of a Sky God. But, Ailsa couldn''t help but feel uneasy about an existence as Enigmatic as the Phoenix Sky God.


    Even Ryu himself had no idea what the real story of the Phoenix Sky God was. He had read so many legends and folktales about this man or woman, but each one of them was different. Much of them didn''t even make coherent sense.


    Everything about the Phoenix Sky God was shrouded in mystery and the unknown. But, how could one have such a powerful name and title, and yet simultaneously have no one know about you? This spat in the face of everything Ryu knew about Faith and Fate. The Phoenix Sky God had somehow become ubiquitous without divulging a single ounce of information about themselves.


    It was this sort of person that was the most fearsome¡­ A person who couldn''t be read¡­


    And now, for better or worse, Ryu''s Fate was tied with this mysterious individual. And, maybe the scariest part was that he hadn''t even considered this problem until just now¡­ if not for Ailsa, who knew how long it would have taken him to realize such a thing?


    Ryu frowned lightly, but those wrinkled lines soon became smooth. There was already nothing he could do about this.


    As for what rage he should be feeling now¡­ Could it match up to what he felt about the death of his grandmother? How could someone stealing his talent possibly match up to that sort of pain and agony? He would trade everything he had right now if he could guarantee the life, safety and happiness of his family.


    As far as he was concerned, he was already as determined as he could be to wipe the Martial Gods from existence. This hardly moved the needle one way or another for him.


    Ryu suddenly smiled. "I have someone I want to introduce you to. Yaana!"


    Ryu called out to make sure that Yaana was prepared before a swirl of spatial qi manifested her from thin air. Yaana had been so focused on training during these past several days that she had hardly realized how much time passed.


    "Ah! You''re awake." Yaana suddenly became a bit shy, not certain of how to interact with Ailsa. She almost felt as though she had been caught doing something wrong, and that only cycled into her feeling even more embarrassed.


    However, Ailsa didn''t seem to mind in the slightest, reaching forward and pinching Yaana''s cheeks.


    "Look at you, you''re so pretty." Ailsa smiled brightly.


    Watching two beauties tease each other like this left Ryu almost feeling bad the rest of the world couldn''t witness something like this. It was too bad, though, that he had no a single intention of sharing.


    Yaana felt far more at ease when she saw how Ailsa was acting and the two almost forgot Ryu existed for a while. But, Ryu was more than a little content just watching from the sidelines with a light smile playing his features.


    A full sprite and a part sprite. Just having the two of them together seem to make the energies of the world sing.


    "¡­ I see, I see. I think I understand what happened to you now. You fused with your Life Partner."


    Ryu, who hadn''t really been listening to their conversation and was only happily enjoying the sights while ignoring Isemeine''s pouting and glares almost choked on air. He coughed lightly, trying to regain his bearings from his embarrassing display.


    Ailsa looked over at him and smiled mischievously.


    Ryu cleared his throat, taking another sip of his grandmother''s favorite drink. The coolness immediately reset his demeanor, allowing him to calm instantly. Then, he took out Little Gem who almost instantly began to lick at his face repeatedly as though to admonish him for forgetting her for so long.


    "Yes, yes. You treat me the best, Little Gem. How could I not play with you more?"


    Ailsa burst out into a fit of laughter when she saw this.


    "Alright, alright. I will stop teasing you. From what I can tell, Little Yaana''s Life Partner is the Black Rose."


    Ryu''s gaze shot up, his pupils constricting into pinholes.


    He knew that Ailsa was teasing him, trying to make it seem like Yaana''s Life Partner was another man to gauge his reaction. Toward this, he could only give her a point toward victory. But, after hearing this, he almost stood up.


    The Black Rose was a simple name. But, as things went, the more powerful an object or person was, the simpler the name they tended to have. There was a reason that weaker Sky Gods had elaborate or niche names¡­ It was because only the powerful would dare to have a name that might be misconstrued for another. Even Ryu''s great grandfather had to call himself the Saintly Weapon Sky God and not the Spear God or the Halberd God¡­ At least, that was how Ryu saw it considering he very much didn''t like his great grandfather right now.


    The Black Rose was an existence on that level of absolute simplicity. As such, it was no surprise that it was not only an Origin Grade Spiritual Herb, but it was a pinnacle Origin Grade Spiritual Herb that put even the Gold Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies to shame.


    "¡­ Just what did that lock on your soul seal away¡­?" Ryu asked, baffled. Ailsa''s sharpness seemed to be on a completely different level than what it once used to be.


    "Oh, that? Well, you could say I''m half Quibus Faerie." Ailsa replied with a sweet smile.

 Chapter 617 Clearly?

    Chapter 617 Clearly?


    Ryu''s brows arched. Of course he knew that Quibus Faeries were one of the three ruling Clans of the Faerie world and Ethereal Plane. They reigned over death and the most powerful Necromancers in all of existence, without fail, always had a Quibus Faerie by their side.


    Unsurprisingly, much like the other ruling classes of the Faeries, the Quibus Faeries weren''t known for their combat prowess either. And, despite ruling over death, they spent much of their time meditating and reflecting upon it, grasping at abstract concepts a lot like philosophers would.


    However, just because Ryu understood just what Quibus Faeries were didn''t mean he understood how Ailsa could be one of them. He had never heard of a Faerie having two attributes, though he had never really thought of what might happen if a Faerie bonded with another powerful Faerie.


    The weird part was that even Ailsa seemed surprised by this fact. If her mother was a Quibus Faerie, wouldn''t she have known of this possibility long ago? And, what did being a Quibus Faerie have to do with seeing through what happened to Yaana?


    "Faeries are different from humans," Ailsa explain. "The female Faerie is often known as the vessel of life and is capable of giving birth to all things. We are the original Mother Nature. This is why even if my Life Partner was a Spiritual Herb, I would still be capable of birthing its child. For female Faeries, conception is beyond sex. It can be done through love, through will, or any related sort of connection. Copulation isn''t strictly necessary.


    "However, male Faeries work a lot more like human males do. They can''t reproduce with as much freedom as female Faeries do and rather than being vessels for life, they are more like transportation stations.


    "Simply put, a Faerie child take on the characteristics of the father 100% of the time while the Faerie mother becomes a vessel. Of course, a child might have some features of their mother, but this child''s core being will follow the species of the father. So, even with part Faeries like Little Yaana, in order for her to be born, it would have to be the result of a male Faerie copulating with a human as the vice versa would just see her born as a normal human.


    "Of course, even with this being the case, the seed of a male Faerie taking root in a human woman is an extraordinarily rare case. Even my Cultus Clan only has tales of a few instances of this¡­ But, that is beside the point.


    "It could be said that the moment my mother married my father, she had already forsaken the right to have her child be born as a Quibus Faerie. By all rights, I shouldn''t be a Quibus Faerie."


    This sort of explanation made great sense¡­ Until the last part.


    If Ailsa''s mother had no say in what kind of Faerie she became, then how in the world had she ended up like this?


    Ailsa blinked innocently. It was a look that Ryu knew quite well. It was the look she got when she was feeling conceited in herself and wanted to let him know, the kind of look she had when she had done something great and was waiting for praise. Seeing it, Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "Go on, my queen. Tell me how amazing you are."


    Ailsa beamed with a bright smile.


    "It''s simple, really. It just means I''m a born natural. You should praise me some more, I really deserve it, you know."


    Though Ailsa said this simply, Ryu had a feeling that it was anything but. A natural Faerie? What sort of concept was that?


    Well, if this was taken and applied to anything else, it would border on ridiculous. It was well known that the very start of a Bloodline was always its very peak. During progressive generations, with a few exceptions, a Bloodline would always trend downward no matter what tyrannical methods one tried to use to keep it pure.


    If this concept worked the same for Faeries and Ailsa somehow was a naturally awakened Quibus Faerie¡­ Didn''t that mean that she had talent equivalent to the very first Quibus Faeries in history?


    Ryu wasn''t absolutely certain of this. After all, if a male Faerie could pass on their essence 100% of the time, that meant that Faeries might not experience a dilution like a Clan with a Bloodline might.


    That said¡­ Judging by how Ailsa was acting, even if it didn''t work exactly like a new Bloodline would, it definitely wasn''t much different at all. It was clear that there were many things about this more than just a little worth exploring. This also changed a lot of things and made Ryu''s future path even clearer.


    With a Quibus Faerie by his side, entering and exiting the Nether Realm would be as easy as projecting his mind into the crystalline jade. This was no small boon at all.


    "¡­ But, how is this all related to the Black Rose?"


    "With the seals on my soul undone, I''m a lot more sensitive, especially when it comes to Yin related matters, though I''ve mostly gained a boost in everything.


    "I have reason to believe that Little Yaana used her connection with a Black Rose to set herself up in the sort of circumstances she deemed best. As for what that means, I''m sure you can have a guess."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    The Black Rose. It was a Spiritual Herb of legend. Yet, if one came across it in nature, you might miss it completely, not much unlike Ryu''s supposed ''father'', King Tor, had with the Spirit Seeking Lilies.


    However, if one was lucky enough to find a Black Rose and use it, what you would gain would be beyond your wildest imaginations.


    Anyone who touched a Black Rose would die. There was no denying this and there was no recourse about it. Even a Sky God wouldn''t be capable of dodging this Fate. That said¡­


    The Black Rose would also allow you to reincarnate. Not only would it allow you to reincarnate, it would allow you to do so with all your memories, all your talents, and all your abilities, in addition to bestowing you with a Karmic luck you could have never dreamed of in your first life.


    But the issue with this was¡­ Yaana clearly didn''t have her memories?


    "Here."


    Ailsa''s mind, flooded with thoughts and deductions, directly pooled into Ryu''s own thoughts. In that moment, Ryu almost felt as though he was standing in Ailsa shoes and their minds were one. It was a completely different experience from what it usually was and it made Ryu realize that his and Ailsa''s intimacy had truly reached the deepest levels.


    There were no longer any shackles on Ailsa and she could enter the Real Plane as easily as she could long before she tethered herself to Ryu. At the same time, she could truly display her full strength as well. It was a great feeling, like the two of them were suddenly as light as a feather.


    Once Ryu slowly got over this feeling, having almost been intoxicated by it, he finally began to grasp Ailsa''s thoughts.


    According to Ailsa''s deductions, the Black Rose was based on a relationship of give and take. One would exchange their life in exchange for a better life. Of course, if the exchange was equivalent, it wouldn''t be such a legendary Spiritual Herb. But, it was still an exchange nonetheless.


    However, Ailsa could sense the signs of a Black Rose on Yaana which made it especially odd. This was because Yaana clearly didn''t have her memories, something that should have been a telltale sign of the Black Rose''s imprints.


    But, that was when Ailsa realized that the Black Rose hadn''t faded away from Yaana completely. In fact, it felt like it was still pulling at the karmic strings, helping her to accomplish the goals she wanted before it completely withered away.


    That was when Ailsa came to an understanding.


    Yaana was most definitely Nuri.


    This ability to exchange for life was the core ability of the Black Rose. However, this odd flexibility in the defined abilities of the Black Rose were the signs of a partner to partner relationship.


    Much like every living thing, a Spiritual Herb''s first priority was to survive and procreate. Usually, a Black Rose would do this by using the life of the individual to fuel their next birth. However, what would happen if a Black Rose had no intention of acting selfishly and would prefer to sacrifice itself for the sake of someone or something it loved more than itself?


    This was when things clicked for Ailsa.


    At the sacrifice of the Black Rose, Nuri was not only able to reincarnate, but she was even able to manipulate karma such that she was reborn as close to Ryu as she could have possibly been. The only slight failure in this case was that she wasn''t able to keep her name, but even then, her mother was given her name, making the Black Rose just a single generation off.


    Without enough Karma to spare, Nuri had no choice but to also sacrifice her chance at remembering her former life. Ryu couldn''t help but look toward the confused Yaana with a complicated gaze. She had given up all the good Karma she could have gotten in exchange for ensuring that she reincarnated near him. The result was her almost dying of old age as her luck had dried up completely¡­


    How could Ryu not be moved?


    Even now, it seemed his Big Sister Nuri was still intent on protecting him.

 Chapter 618 Yes

    Chapter 618 Yes


    Ryu smiled lightly, reaching a hand forward to ruffle Yaana''s hair, but to his shock, he ended up getting his hand slapped away.


    Yaana''s pout caused Ailsa to burst into a fit of laughter.


    "If you want, Little Yaana, I can sneak you into his bedroom. He''s not very good at controlling what''s down there."


    Hearing such vulgar words, Yaana immediately flushed red.


    The truth was that she didn''t know what Ailsa and Ryu had secretly communicated about, so she was in the dark about the things she herself had done. So, when she saw Ryu stretch a hand forward to ruffle her hair like she was some little girl, she immediately showed some snappiness.


    She knew that if she let Ryu get too comfortable with treating her like a little sister, she really wouldn''t have any chance left. So, if there was anything she was determined to do, it was to make sure that Ryu took her seriously. As for what happened after that, she would just accept it.


    However, Ailsa''s words had really been too much. She didn''t even know where she should hide.


    She thought of hiding behind Ailsa, but she was the one who had just said those vulgar words. Clearly she was a traitor.


    On the other hand, she couldn''t possibly hide behind Ryu. After all, she couldn''t even face him right now without becoming a ripe tomato.


    Not knowing what to do with herself, Yaana covered her face and vanished into the void. In the blink of an eye, it was as though she had never been there to begin with.


    "Ah¡­" Ryu''s eyes opened wide.


    For one, this exact action was one he had seen too many times. This was exactly what Nuri always did after Elena teased her. But, that alone wasn''t enough to warrant his surprise.


    The space on the Shrine Plane was extraordinarily tough. It was one thing for Nuri to enter the void as she pleased as her cultivation had already been very deep during Ryu''s first life. But, it was a completely different matter entirely for a Yaana in the mere Immortal Ring Realm to do the same thing. Simply put, it should be far beyond her means.


    Even Ailsa revealed a surprised expression before a sudden understanding came over her.


    "Though she didn''t get to keep her memories, she managed to keep an instinctual understanding toward what she had already comprehended in her first life. It''s like watching a play of poor quality and missing several acts. But, when it comes to cultivation, this is actually a benefit to her."


    Ryu nodded. He understood exactly what Ailsa meant.


    Though the Black Rose could allow one to reincarnate with their memories, it didn''t allow you to bring along your Inheritance comprehensions.


    This sounded weird. After all, if you had all your memories, shouldn''t you also have all your comprehensions as well? It was all your own thoughts to begin with, no?


    Unfortunately, things didn''t quite work like this. In a lot of ways, to both the Heavens and in real life, how you came to know or form an opinion is just as important as what opinion you held.


    For example, someone who held a belief system from birth might value that belief system less than someone who believed something else and had to construct a new belief for themselves rather than being indoctrinated. The first individual might very well hold a factual belief system, but it was innately worth less than the second person who took a thorny road to the same conclusion.


    Of course, this wasn''t universal. The first individual might have adequately challenged their beliefs and thus reaffirmed their beliefs in an unbiased fashion that makes their conclusion worth just as much as the second individual. But, once again, that is a process in and of itself.


    Comprehension of Inheritances worked the same way.


    Every time Ryu took a step forward in his Inheritances, from an Heir, to a Ruler, to a Monarch and so on, he was reaffirming his belief or building a new layer of complexity to it. The Heavens recognized this process and thus blessed him with greater Essence to use in combat.


    However, if Ryu suddenly reincarnated with all his memories, he wouldn''t suddenly form a Dominion from day one. He would need to reaffirm his comprehensions again and again all the way back up to that level. On top of this, the bar he needed to meet for the affirmation would be far higher than it was the first time. In exchange for this, his Inheritance would also be far more powerful than it was originally as well.


    As with everything, there was give and take.


    That said, Yaana didn''t have her memories. As such, all she had were vague ideals that she had built during her first life. This left her in a limbo between someone who had preconceived memories and someone else who knew nothing. The result was her blazing through much faster than either, taking benefits from both.


    Ultimately, to Ryu''s surprise, Yaana had already formed a Dominion. Not only that, but she was just a step away from forming Divinity, her peak achievement during her first life.


    Ryu looked toward Ailsa and they both grinned, seemingly understanding exactly what this meant.


    Yaana, who was within the void, peeked through her fingers to witness this scene. She suddenly felt a cold shiver down her back. Why did she suddenly feel like meat on a chopping block?


    In opposition to her thinking, though, Ryu''s thoughts were wild, but not in the way she thought. Once Yaana managed to reform her Divinity and reach her peak once again, they would be able to move through the Shrine Plane almost unhindered just as they had in the past. By that point, there would be many things he could do¡­


    Ryu sat back down, allowing his heart to reach a state of ease once again. He pet Little Gem, allowing some of his Chaos Qi to flow into the little one.


    "How much trouble are you planning on causing?" Ailsa asked with a smile.


    Ryu''s lip curled. "Yes."


    Chapter 619 Greatly Important


    Ailsa shook her head and laughed. Ryu''s answer didn''t make much sense at all but she definitely understood what he meant.


    "What do you want to do about your Great Swordstaffs?" Ailsa asked, seemingly feeling that Ryu had already thought of a potential solution.


    "The Armament Guild." Ryu replied lightly. "If there''s any place that can help me forge a new weapon path, it''s them. Right now, I feel like despite my Great Swordstaffs being just a step away from stepping out of the Monarch Realm and forming a Dominion, it feels more like an accessory to my power than anything else. Sometimes I even feel like it''s a hindrance and I would be better off fighting hand to hand."


    Ailsa nodded. She hadn''t been there, but it was easy for her to get caught up on Ryu''s memories so she knew everything just as clearly as he did.


    "It''s good that you''re thinking ahead like this, at least that way I know that you won''t be throwing your life away. You knew from the very beginning trying to become their Throne was a foolish idea, you were too eager."


    Ryu smiled a bit bitterly, but he couldn''t refute.


    Not to mention how they would definitely try to gatekeep their Throne trials, becoming the Throne of the Martial Gods would handcuff Ryu as well. Even though it might protect him for now, when he grew powerful enough, it would become a restraint that would stop him from doing as he pleased.


    The stronger the expert, the more important Karma was. There were many stories of experts who had to return to their home towns and complete ties of Karma in order to succeed in their breakthroughs. Likewise, there were many stories of absolute powerhouses crumbling from heart demons birthed several epochs ago.


    It could be said that Ryu was far too rash in thinking to do something like this. Unless he could somehow break the bounds of Karma, he would never be able to destroy the Martial Gods in his lifetime.


    Of course, it might not be so exaggerated and the restrictions were often dependent on just how powerful the Clan or Sect was. But, weren''t the Martial Gods about as powerful as they came?


    Ryu shook his head.


    Ultimately, he had just wanted to vent and shout from the roof tops that he was Ryu Tatsuya and yet there was nothing they could do to him. He still kind of wanted to do that, but he would just have to be smarter about it. Now that his right hand was here, she could stop him from making stupid decisions.


    "Good." Ailsa smiled. "Then what we need to do before the ceremony begins is just a few things.


    "First, you need to recultivate and consolidate the strength of your body with he complete [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique.


    "Second, you need to assimilate your Visualization with your Heavenly Patterns.


    "Thirdly, you need to improve your Visualizations to match up to the current strength of your soul. This is the first time I have personally laid eyes on an Indestructible Soul, but I have read a lot about it. Its abilities are quite unfathomable and will only become more so as you continue.


    "Fourthly, you need to learn Heaven and Mystical Grade techniques worthy of your current battle prowess."


    Ailsa shook her head. She had only been unconscious for a few months and yet look at him, he was all over the place. His strength had accelerated so much but he had yet to tap into its full potential.


    The fact that Ryu didn''t have weapons strong enough for his current prowess was just the tip of the iceberg. The issues were so long that Ailsa felt her head spinning trying to list them all.


    Just as a start, Ryu was still using [Fragrant Breeze], a mere Earth Grade movement technique. To put that into perspective, Earth Grade techniques were meant to be used by Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm experts. To make matters worse, it only made use of Ryu''s Wind Inheritance and took no advantage of his Spirit Bodies.


    His movement techniques were bad enough, but the only offensive technique Ryu had that was worthy of his was [White Serpent''s Dance], but it was ultimately a spear technique that didn''t take into the account the flexibility of a sword, let alone a swordstaff.


    It was no wonder Ryu had no choice but to rely on his Bloodlines and their hidden techniques to battle Sarriel. He didn''t really have much of another choice. If he didn''t use Dragon Claw, what else could he use?


    Ryu''s current body was akin to a Ferrari and it most definitely came with its engine. And yet, he simultaneously insisted on only driving 20 miles per hour. It was a travesty.


    In Ryu''s defense, his combat prowess had skyrocketed so quickly that he hadn''t really had time to change these things. But, it was clearly a problem nonetheless. Knowing this, Ryu immediately started on Ailsa''s plans. By the end of these few months before the ceremony, he would likely undergo a major qualitative change.


    While Ryu got to work, Ailsa began to take inventory of the resources of the Ice Phoenix Clan. Her mind spun as she began to calculate many things.


    Eventually, Yaana snuck back out of the void and slipped into the Incubator without a word, taking Little Gem¡ªwho she had grown greatly fond of¡ªwith her.


    Ailsa smiled but didn''t say anything. After a while, she glanced toward Ryu who had already slipped into Breath of Heaven without a word. It was as though everything else in the world had vanished to him. With each passing second, he progressed by leaps and bounds.


    Ailsa nodded before stepping into the house to find Isemeine also meditating. It was clear to her at a glance that Isemeine had come to some sort of agreement with Eska. Isemeine, who had only been in the 1st Path Extinction Realm when Ryu met her was already nearing the 2nd. It didn''t take a genius to understand that Eska was somehow helping her improve. After all, sharing a body with a Sky God must come with its perks.


    Isemeine opened her eyes, meeting Ailsa''s gaze. Though there was a hint of annoyance in her eyes, she still didn''t lash out as she knew it wouldn''t get her anywhere.


    "Let''s talk for a moment, Isemeine."


    Isemeine rolled her eyes. "What do you want, lady? I''m not interested in your hubby though I guess his cock is alright."


    "Just alright?" Ailsa laughed.


    Isemeine wanted to retort. But, remembering her less than elegant actions from before and how Ailsa could recall anything that Ryu could recall, she just snarled and didn''t bother to retort.


    "I didn''t come for that. My Little Ryu can have as many concubines as he wants, this saves me slaving away too much to keep up with him. I''m still a fragile young lady, as you can see."


    "Then what did you come here for?"


    "I''m just curious." Ailsa said lightly. "I have a feeling that being part of a Queen-to-be''s entourage isn''t just a simple matter, right? Or else your mother wouldn''t have to come here to inform you of it personally¡­"


    Isemeine''s brows shot up. Then she understood. While she was out of it, her mother must have come. But, Ryu had yet to get around to telling her about the message she passed on.


    Now she was caught between feeling embarrassed that her mother had seen her like that and being angry at Ryu for being so neglectful. He actually didn''t tell her about something so important.


    Because make no mistake¡­ It was greatly important.

 Chapter 620 Wiped

    Chapter 620 Wiped


    "The entourage¡­ Its actually called Lixa in our language. When a Martial God ascends to Queen or Kingship, there''s a whole host of ceremonies they have to complete in order to be blessed by our Ancestors. According to tradition, the Lixa, or the retainers or entourage in your language, are meant to become the protectors of the Queen during this ''journey''."


    Ailsa raised an eyebrow.


    "But you are only in the Path Extinction Realm. How could you possibly protect her? Is it just symbolic?"


    Though Ailsa asked this, she immediately felt that she had to be wrong. For Isemeine to be taking this so seriously, it had to be more than just symbolism. If it really was just that, why would she look so nervous and apprehensive?


    "No, it isn''t symbolic¡­ But, during the ceremony, the only thing that matters is combat prowess relative to your cultivation Realm. Meaning, how much stronger you are in comparison to others of your cultivation Realm is what decides the strength you could display. Essentially, during this event, if you''re a poor enough World Sea Realm expert, it''s even possible to lose to a child in the Awakening realm.


    "Of course, this would never happen because one needs to be at least an Immortal to be a Lixa or part of a Lixa, but the concept is the same."


    "I see¡­" Ailsa''s gaze narrowed.


    It was no wonder the Martial Gods placed such great emphasis on their rankings. This also explained why they chose such an odd method as well.


    "This still doesn''t quite explain why your reaction is like this, though. And, if there''s an emphasis on your combat prowess, what is it that you''re fighting, exactly?"


    "I¡­ I don''t know¡­"


    Isemeine mumbled beneath her breath, but there was a clear fear that reflected within her eyes. Compared to her usual self, it was like she had retreated into a cocoon. Her fingers trembled lightly as though she was recalling a terrible memory.


    "¡­ Can it be¡­ That it''s not a 100% certainty that someone will become a King? Have we misunderstood?"


    Isemeine shivered, not answering Ailsa immediately.


    All this time, both Ryu and Ailsa had believed it was just a normal ceremony. Eska had never given Ryu any details about just what it meant to become a Queen of the Martial Gods. As far as they were aware, it was just an empty title handed down to the most talented of the World Sea Realm experts, experts with a good chance at becoming Sky Gods in the future.


    Of course, this ''good chance'' was just relative. But, that hardly mattered now.


    Ailsa frowned and looked toward Ryu. Didn''t this mean that Elena would be in danger as well?


    The only explanation for all of this was that there was something of great importance to the title of King and Queen that Ryu and Ailsa were ignorant to. It was even possible that Isemeine was ignorant to it as well or else it was likely that Eska would have mentioned something about it.


    Whatever it was Isemeine was aware of was likely vague and incomplete. In fact, it was likely that the only reason she knew anything to begin with was because of who her parents were. If it was anyone else, they''d likely not even have this small clue.


    "All I know is that unless one is a King or Queen, it is impossible to become a Sky God¡­" Isemeine said lightly.


    Ailsa''s gaze narrowed.


    It was one thing to bestow a title upon someone who had a great chance. But, it was a completely different matter if anyone without it was automatically barred from reaching a new level.


    As a Cultus Faerie, much of Ailsa''s training revolved around analyzing case studies. Nurturing the growth of people, beasts and herbs wasn''t an exact science. Even two of the exact same species could present differently. A Cultus Faerie needed to be flexible and thus have a wide range of knowledge and a deft capacity to apply it even in situations it had never been applied in before.


    With Ryu, Ailsa had a unique perspective as she was his Life Partner. As such, guiding him was far easier in comparison to guiding anyone or anything else.


    This was to say that Ailsa had a very large scope when it came to matters of cultivation and the world. She had seen and read about all sorts of things. The idea that anyone would be able to guarantee with 100% certainty who would or wouldn''t become a Sky God was absolutely ridiculous. The fact that Isemeine was saying basically implying as much meant that this matter was far deeper than it seemed.


    The only explanation was that this ceremony wasn''t about recognizing a talent. Rather, it was about opening a path for a talent.


    Simply put, those without the King and Queen title could never become Sky Gods precisely because they never underwent this ceremony.


    Ailsa''s gaze narrowed. ''Is this a quirk of the Martial God Bloodline? If they really come from another world, it is very possible that their cultivation system is different. I''ve always found it a bit odd that they seem to progress along the same path¡­''


    There were many in history of other cultivation systems popping up. It was just that, in the end, only the Mental, Qi and Body Realms survived as they were now. However, this didn''t mean there weren''t countless other systems that failed to withstand the test of time.


    Of course, it was possible that this was a universal truth across all worlds and existences. But, something was nagging at Ailsa.


    She stripped things down to the bare bones and began to pick at the details one by one. By the time she got to the end, her Pupils constricted into pinholes and her heart trembled.


    What did it mean to be a Sky God? It meant etching your name into the annals of history and stepping into Godhood. You received Karma, worship, Faith¡­ But, at the core of it all, you were snatching a piece of the Heavens for yourself and becoming something that existed beyond the bounds of time and space.


    However, what would happen if you came from a different world?


    A parent might tolerate a child of their own ruining their things, scratching up their furniture, dirtying their kitchen floors¡­ But what if it was someone else''s child? Would you be able to get away with such a thing so easily? In this sort of situation, no matter how you looked at it, the Sky God were that very troublesome child that this world was being forced to babysit.


    In such a situation, why would the Heavens continue to entertain these ''guests''. If such a guest wanted to stay, wouldn''t they thus need to work much harder than anyone else? What if the reason this ceremony was needed was to appease the Heavens of this world so they might allow the Martial Gods a path toward becoming Sky Gods¡­?


    Ailsa''s gaze narrowed.


    If that was really the case, why did Elena need to do this? She was born here, was she not? Why was she not recognized by the Heavens?


    Then again, from the fear Isemeine was displaying, she too would one day have to undergo the same trial. And, Isemeine was most definitely young enough to be have been born in this world as well. In fact, this coming generation of World Sea Realm experts should all be the same. Yet, Isemeine''s fear was almost palpable¡­


    However, wasn''t Elena different? After all, one of her parents was most definitely a native of this world. Was there no leeway for this?


    Ailsa''s gaze narrowed further, her mind spinning at faster and faster speeds.


    There were only two explanations for this.


    The first was one Ryu would definitely not want to accept. In that case, Elena had felt the same fear that Isemeine did but simply never told Ryu about it. If this was really what happened, there was a very good chance that Elena had known about all of these matters for a long time already and simply kept Ryu in the dark.


    As for why she would do this¡­? What better way to keep tabs on a genius the Martial Gods felt was threatening enough to ruin before even his birth than by placing a woman by his side? Elena would have been with Ryu practically all the time. That way, she could ensure that Ryu never found a method to cultivate.


    But¡­ If that was the case¡­ Wouldn''t Elena have also stopped Ryu from killing himself on that fateful night?


    Ailsa shook her head, things were getting muddled and it was becoming more and more difficult to tell what was and wasn''t the truth.


    The second explanation was that Elena did gain a benefit from having one parent from this world. As such, the fear that Isemeine faced now was something she didn''t come to know until much later in her cultivation journey¡­


    "Isemeine," Ailsa spoke softly, "this fear you feel¡­ Where does it come from?"


    Isemeine wrapped her arms around herself. For a long time, it seemed that she wouldn''t respond at all.


    "¡­ When I¡­ entered the Path Extinction Realm¡­ I felt a pressure that threatened to destroy me in body and soul¡­ It wouldn''t be as simple as dying¡­ It would be like I have never existed¡­ Even those I called family and friend would forget that I ever existed¡­


    "I would have been wiped from existence¡­ And every time I cultivate¡­ The feeling gets heavier¡­"

 Chapter 621 Changes

    Chapter 621 Changes


    Ailsa gazed toward Isemeine deeply. This matter seemed to be growing larger and larger. At this point, even Ailsa couldn''t see the end of it all.


    For the Martial Gods to do this, moving to a world that wasn''t their own all despite knowing what dangers it would bring and what sort of disadvantage they would be at¡­ Just what were they running from?


    No, this was just the tip of the iceberg. For the Martial Gods to come to this place having already fallen so far, and yet be able to lay claim to much of their world not even a billion years later¡­ What chance did they stand?


    By all rights, the Martial Gods had proved that they were far beyond what they could compare to.


    Their Bloodline was perfect. Not only did it innately give them both high Body Realm and Qi Realm talent, it could synergize with other Bloodlines to create more power effects. Not only were they quick to adapt, but they were becoming more powerful with each successive generation without fail.


    Their research abilities were unmatched. They managed to learn of the Chaos Plane before even Ryu and his family had. They managed to use the Nether Realm to bring talents from all Eras together. As if this wasn''t enough, they somehow knew how to warp and manipulate the Fate of a Hegemon like the Tatsuya Clan to the point they didn''t even have a head to raise any longer.


    And now, apparently, there was an unknown number of Martial Gods who had died in the exact way Isemeine had described¡ªforgotten and erased from history¡­ And somehow, they still managed to have taken hold of this world by its horns.


    This was all to say¡­


    What chance did they stand against the Martial God''s enemy if even they were forced to run?


    Ailsa looked away from Isemeine and toward Ryu''s back. Somehow, she felt like the weight on Ryu''s shoulders had suddenly multiplied manifold.


    At that very moment, a particular prayer mat within Ryu''s Inner World trembled before settling down once again, reupping his Focus Qi without end.


    ¡­


    Within Ryu''s Mental Realm, large, sweeping changes were taking place.


    The Immortal Sakura was a gorgeous ancient tree. It had a short, thick trunk and a large canopy that spread overhead. Much like the translucent trees of the Ice Devil Legacy World, it too had a crystalline structure. Shards of ice formed its bark and its cherry blossoms twinkled with a thin layer of shimmering crystal.


    At this moment, beautiful blue Heavenly Patterns were being carefully etched onto every piece of crystalline bark and every fluttering cherry blossom petal. With every one Ryu completed, the strength the Immortal Sakura exuded became more ethereal and majestic, its size seeming to grow even though it hadn''t budged a single inch.


    Ryu had held back his comprehension of the Immortal Sakura for a very long time, not having the soul strength or stamina to continuously use it. In the end, after his massive surge in strength, it had actually fallen behind.


    As usual, it was separated into seven stages: Translucent, White, Cherry, Red, Violet, Purple-Gold, and Gold. Each represented a new level of strength, but it also represented a certain level of comprehension that embodied the will of the Immortal Sakura.


    The White Stage represented Persistence. It was a core belief that hard work bred results.


    The Cherry Stage represented Humility. It was an acceptance of the vastness of the Heavens and an understanding of just what you were facing¡­


    The Immortal Sakura trembled, beginning to shed its cherry petals one by one until they became a deep crimson. The colors reflected against the golden sea the tree rooted itself in, displaying a gorgeous painting of the dichotomy of red and gold.


    The Red Stage represented Will. Upon comprehending Humility and the vastness of the Heavens, one must gather up their courage as the Immortal Sakura had to fight against it. Only upon comprehending the strength of the Heavens would one not be foolhardy in challenging it, but rather brave.


    This bravery exuded itself from every pore of Ryu body, causing the space around him to tremble and his Indestructible Soul to spread its golden wings as it sat at the very top of this ancient tree.


    However, just when this Will reached its very peak, the crimson colors shattered and formed a resonating Violet. It was such a gorgeous hue that it pulsed about Ryu head in the real world as though a crown had formed. An auspicious air trembled around him.


    The Violet Stage represented Pride. It was the ingrained confidence one would gain after successive victories. In a battle between two of equal strength, it was often the one with more pride, more arrogance, more unabashed confidence in oneself that would win.


    Of course¡­ This was only the case if you didn''t go as far as Sarriel had.


    The Violet danced about the sky blue Heavenly Patterns. They complemented and rose each other''s strength, solidifying the already impenetrable defenses of Ryu''s mind to the point he felt like rather than an illusory Visualization, he could truly manifest the Immortal tree.


    Ryu exhaled a deep breath, a fog of violet leaving his lips.


    At this Realm, the Immortal Sakura was capable of blocking attacks even from a Cosmic Seed Realm expert. However, with the great boost of Ryu''s Heavenly Patterns, even absolute geniuses among the Cosmic Seed Realm capable of being undefeated at the sub realm would be blocked by him.


    The weakness of the [Immortal Sakura] technique was always in that the petals would shatter when meeting equal force. However, with the reinforcement of Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns, this trouble was surmounted. In fact, even if the petals should shatter, thanks to Ryu''s Indestructible Soul, the damage to Ryu''s soul would be nearly nonexistent even if the entire Visualization was shattered to pieces.


    Ryu turned his attention toward his [Divine Chaotic Annihilation].


    He didn''t have to consider much with this either. He immediately jumped in, but rather than using Ice Phoenix Patterns, Ryu began to use Dark Phoenix Patterns.


    The difference was stark. While Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were beautiful and charming, Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns had a certain heaviness to them that made one gaze upon it with a solemn expression. At the same time, while Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns ran straight up and down or left and right, angling at 90 degrees, Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns had deep, swirling patterns.


    Every time Ryu formed one of these swirling patterns, they would sink into [Divine Chaotic Annihilation]. At first it was hard to tell that anything was happening. The only reason Ryu was able to keep going without worry was because he could feel its strength increasing with every passing moment.


    [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] was separated into seven stages much like Eska''s Visualization. However, it was far different and had a far less linear progression upward.


    Technically, Ryu wasn''t meant to master the first three stages until he entered the Soul Ascension Realm, a marked difference from Eska''s seven stages which was assigned to two Realms each up until the World Sea Realm.


    In this way, Flora''s Visualization was more exponential with the slow progress being on the front end and this was because of the way the technique was designed.


    The first Mortal Chaotic Pestle stage was meant to crush Mortal Qi. The second Immortal Chaotic Pestle stage was meant to crush Immortal Qi. And finally, only after entering the Soul Ascension Realm would you be able to control Cosmic Spiritual Qi and thus be able to enter the Divine Chaotic Pestle stage which could crush Cosmic Qi to be used as Spiritual Qi.


    By this point, an expert would have gone through the Spiritual Entrance, Spiritual Endowment, Soul Birth and Soul Refinement Realm all before reaching just the third level¡­


    And yet, Ryu had reached that level while he was still a mortal. This went to show just how good his Pupils were at seeing through to the core of and comprehending Visualizations.


    During his battle with his little nephews, though, Ryu had been forced to enter the Chaotic Birth Realm. Unsurprisingly, while trying to control something he only should have been able to enter in the Soul Ascension Realm, he had torn himself practically apart. He only managed to survive thanks to the fact he was in a Virtual World.


    Then, during his battle with Sarriel, he managed to summon it for a short time again and got lucky in that Sarriel''s technique was a soul based one, and as such, was incredibly susceptible to [Divine Chaotic Annihilation].


    Now, though, Ryu''s soul was in a far more stable situation than it had been in the past in addition to having been reinforced by Emperor Phoenix Heavenly Patterns on top of that.


    One would think that adding Heavenly Patterns to this black hole Visualization would only make it more difficult to control. But, Ryu found the truth to be the exact opposite.


    Heavenly Patterns seemed to both strengthen and rein in the techniques Ryu applied them to, almost like they were Heavenly Chains connected to Ryu Soul.


    It felt like Ryu was branding these Visualizations with his mark and making them truly one with himself. This allowed him to have his cake an eat it to.


    Eventually, [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] grew saturated with Heavenly Patterns, causing it to suddenly tremble and double in size. Very soon, it went from the quarter the size of a palm to a foot in diameter. But, this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    At that moment, the black hole seemed to explode. When Ryu''s vision cleared, he saw the black hole once again. But, this time, the swirling Death Patterns hung around it like orbiting moons, giving it a sinister and enigmatic feel.


    The ground around Ryu main body suddenly cracked and sunk down by an entire inch as though a pillar had just stamped down. Lines of gravity shook the surroundings as though wanting the entire world to fall to its knees.

 Chapter 622 Reflective Counter

    Chapter 622 Reflective Counter


    Ryu''s body brimmed with power, his qi around him growing more and more solid with each passing moment. If one cut open his body now, it would be possible to find Heavenly Patterns floating about his blood like raging torrents.


    Unlike his Ice or Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns, the Emperor Heavenly Patterns that flowed through his veins now were almost like the delicate striations of golden feathers. If one didn''t looked closely, it would seem as though these miniature feathers were swimming about in Ryu''s body, boosting his strength greatly.


    By the time Ryu had saturating his Vital Qi with Heavenly Patterns, his power had grown explosively. From a strength of 5.5 billion jin, Ryu''s strength had ballooned to over 50 billion jin just as his grandmother had promised. The tenfold increase in strength was palpable and it only came from recultivating the complete [Phoenix Heavenly Body]. Even now, Ryu had yet to take a single step forward in his cultivation and yet his strength had risen so far.


    Ryu was already originally far stronger than a Body Realm cultivator of his level thanks to his Bloodlines, but now it was even more exaggerated. And, though the Heavenly Patterns interacted with his Phoenix Bloodlines best, they weren''t barred from fusing with his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines as well, giving him a holistic boost to his power.


    It could be said that the Ryu of now could crush the Ryu of just a few days ago without any effort whatsoever. And yet, Ryu had still not finished.


    What remained for Ryu to do was to properly choose techniques for himself that matched up to his level. With his skill and the current level of his Heavenly Pupils, the months he had left was almost overkill to master these techniques even if Ryu closed his eyes and chose randomly.


    However, Ryu wouldn''t do such a thing. What he needed was a cohesive style.


    Ryu had already dabbled in creating a style of combat for himself with his Necromancy. It was just unfortunate that this style had been too weak against Sarriel, forcing Ryu to do other things. It wasn''t that the Necromancy techniques he had were useless, but rather that he had already outgrown his Skeleton Warriors¡ªeven the Higher level ones.


    The trouble with coming up with a new style, though, was that Ryu felt he was too good at too many things. And, even when it came to things that he wasn''t good at, he felt that he was just a few moments away from changing that truth. This might very well be a curse of being too talented.


    At the same time, Ryu was aware of the pitfalls of stretching himself too thin. If he tried to learn too many things, even he couldn''t guarantee reaching the pinnacle in all of them. Though he had yet to see them, it was impossible to conclude that the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils didn''t have their own limits.


    ''What I am the very best at are Visualizations. This is especially so after my soul evolved into this odd state. My stamina feels endless and what I can do feels limitless. But, if I have to sustain [Immortal Sakura], [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] and [Elemental War God] all at once, even this version of my soul will quickly reach its limits.''


    These three techniques were the life''s work of three Sky Gods. It was no surprise that they''d take an obscene amount of stamina to sustain. Due to this, Ryu wasn''t sure if it was a good idea to learn more Visualizations. Plus, one of his greatest assets was his Chaotic Qi. How could he possibly ignore it for the sake of building his combat prowess entirely on Visualizations?


    Unfortunately, that just added another layer of complexity because Ryu''s Chaos Qi wasn''t just about it, it was almost about all the Primordial Chaos Qis it could become. That once again left Ryu with near infinite options he had to grapple with.


    ''Then take it one step at a time.


    ''For now, my Great Swordstaffs are too flawed to use in battle, they''ll be more of a hindrance than anything else. So, this style will have to have some temporary portions within it, but not enough that I''ll have to rebuild it from the ground up once I''ve fixed my Great Swordstaff Inheritance.


    ''In that case, I need to focus on close combat, my movement techniques and Elemental types techniques.''


    Ryu had always been terrible at close combat but this was only because he never placed emphasis on it, choosing to take his time to master his Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. But now that there wasn''t a quick fix with his Great Swordstaffs, he had no choice in the matter.


    In addition to this, Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils weren''t just something bowman would kill to have. What was important for a close combat expert was a powerful body¡ªwhich Ryu had¡ªin addition to reaction speed and the ability to read an opponent. With his Heavenly Pupils and Bloodlines, Ryu was uniquely suited to close combat.


    This opened a new door to him with a few possibilities.


    There were fist techniques, palm techniques, leg techniques, claw techniques and finger techniques. There were many variations on these but Ryu believed that these were the main five tenants of close combat.


    Ryu was probably uniquely suited to claw techniques for obvious reasons, but he also didn''t really feel the need to box himself in. After all, there wouldn''t be a claw technique stronger than his Dragon Claw to begin with so taking this route would not only limit his flexibility, but it would feel like settling.


    ''Start with a momentum building technique.''


    Ailsa''s voice drifted into Ryu''s ears like a fragrant wind, causing his pupils to constrict. Somehow, she always managed to find the root of it all.


    To a close combat expert a momentum building technique was invaluable. It was what allowed an expert to store energy over the course of battle and unleash it at a perfect moment.


    Ryu immediately began to rifle through the momentum building techniques he had before stopping on one that called out to him.


    [Reflective Counter].

 Chapter 623 Lightning Sprite

    Chapter 623 Lightning Sprite


    Ryu felt that this technique was perfect. It was a Mystical Grade technique of the Ice Phoenix Clan. It emphasized great qi control.


    The truth was that Ryu didn''t have enough Nodes to use this technique and it would be useless to execute it with his soul considering it was meant to build up momentum for him with his body. However, this didn''t matter to Ryu as he could use his unique Meridians to make up for the deficit.


    The reason why this technique required a minimum number of Nodes was due to the innate danger in using it. Before even getting to the technique, there were several warnings within the jade piece advising against those without confidence against using it.


    This technique required one to control the flow of an enemy''s qi into your body to store it and use in an explosive counterattack at the perfect moment. This usually required a minimum number of Meridian Nodes because any less would rupture one''s Meridians even with perfect control, let alone less than perfect.


    But¡­ Why would Ryu have to worry about this issue with his Chaotic Silk Meridians? After connecting the Chaos Plane, it was even more difficult to tear than it had been in the past. Ryu wasn''t worried in the slightest about suffering damage especially considering the current strength of his body.


    ''Since it will synergize best with fist techniques I guess I''ll pick out a few. I''ll master [Fist Basic Stances] first. Then I''ll supplement it with two Heaven Grade techniques¡­''


    Ryu''s current Meridian Nodes could only sustain up to a Middle Heaven Grade technique. Unfortunately, he couldn''t cheat in this aspect because the circulation pathways in this respect would be what gave strength to the technique. But, a Heaven Grade technique was still great.


    Ryu chose two techniques with ease. [Imperial Fist] and [Roaring Seal Fist]. The former was excellent for raw power output while the second was more technical. [Roaring Seal Fist] had many countering stances within it and was adept at forcing an enemy into a corner to the point it would feel as though they were running into your fist rather than the vice versa.


    Before moving on, Ryu even chose another Middle Heaven Grade technique in [Vacuous Palm]. His grandmother had always like this technique and he had even seen her use it during the last day of his first life so he was feeling a bit nostalgic.


    ''Now I just need a movement technique and Elemental techniques to supplement my Bloodlines¡­''


    Ryu had visions of becoming an explosive close combat expert. That would require not only speed, judgement, and reaction time, but he wanted to take the best advantage of his fire and lightning affinity. There was no doubt that not only were fire and lightning the most powerful of the Elements due to what they represented, but they also happened to have the greatest offensive power.


    As for defense, Ryu wasn''t worried about this. What was better than the combination of his [Immortal Sakura] and [Divine Chaotic Annihilation]?


    Ryu set aside the thought of finding a explosive Elemental techniques for now and instead decided to choose a movement technique. It would be greatly important to how he would utilize his combat style and it most definitely had to make use of his Spirit Bodies.


    Just as Ryu was about to beginning checking through the techniques within the crystalline jade and the ones his Ice Phoenix Clan had gathered, he suddenly sensed Ailsa before him, causing him to open his eyes and smile. If it was anyone else interrupting him at this time, he would probably have been a bit annoyed. But, his treatment of Ailsa was clearly different from most people.


    Ailsa smiled sweetly, seemingly understanding Ryu''s thoughts even though he didn''t think them out so blatantly.


    "For your movement technique, I think you should use one from an Elemental Faerie race. Namely, the Lightning Sprites."


    "Oh?" Ryu blinked.


    "Mm. My Cultus Clan actually has a backlog of techniques from all Faerie Clans, even the Quibus and Ficia Faeries. Its just that most of these techniques are not suited to humans so I''ve never bothered to teach you any. But, this movement technique and potentially some of their offensive techniques might be good for you."


    Ryu nodded. He trusted Ailsa''s judgment.


    "This technique is known as the [Lightning Divine Mark]. It''s a quasi Visualization type technique. It allows you to spread Divine Marks throughout a battlefield and almost instantaneously appear at their location.


    "I couldn''t give you this technique before because it deconstructs your soul as well to allow the fastest movement. But, your Spirit Body wasn''t this perfect in the past. In addition, there''s a high requirement for both soul talent and soul durability, things humans usually don''t have.


    "But right now, it should be perfect for you. If you synergize this technique with your Storm Talent, the results would be even more devastating."


    Ryu smiled and nodded. As for Ailsa, she smirked a bit mischievously.


    "There used to a be a Prince of the Lightning Sprites that pursued me when I was younger. They said he was the greatest prodigy in using this technique to ever be born. In fact, I think that little Faerie we met in Osiris might be related to him."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but Ailsa didn''t seem to notice, her smile becoming brighter.


    "He once told me that even if I was hidden behind Heaven''s curtain, so long as he Marked me, he would be there so long as I called his name."


    Sparks of violet lightning coursed through Ryu''s eyes, electrifying his silver irises.


    Ailsa giggled. "He was able to sustain six Divine Marks back then as an Immortal Ring expert. By now, he might already be able to sustain ten or eleven, close to the perfect 12. I wonder what he''s doing these days?"


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly calmed, a sinister grin spreading across his face.


    "Prodigy? Has there ever been a person who dares to call themselves such a thing before me?"


    Ryu was suddenly very eager to flip this technique on its head.

 Chapter 624 Problem

    Chapter 624 Problem


    Ryu immediately began to draw in the air with a finger, comprehending the technique from Ailsa''s memories.


    The Divine Mark was like an exceptionally layered formation fit into the form of a maze of sorts. Just trying to memorize the form of a single Divine Mark could make one''s head spin.


    From what Ryu could tell, there were thousands of nodes, hundreds of layers, and it all had to be packed into the size of a palm. The amount of control it took to form one was ridiculous. But, the amount of skill it took to sustain it and stop it from shattering after just a single use in battle was even more ridiculous.


    Ryu ran into problems almost immediately. The main issue was that his lightning was no longer pure lightning.


    In order to make this Divine Mark his own, he, of course, had to use the same lightning as his Spirit Body. That way, his body would properly de and reconstruct itself. But, the problem was that Ryu''s lightning was fused with power. Though this made it far more powerful, it also made it very volatile.


    At the same time, it often flickered back and forth between having fire and having lightning properties. Due to this randomness, it followed a sort of chaotic rhythm that made it nearly impossible to truly grasp what its intentions were.


    This randomness was something that Ryu could usually deal with quite well in battle, especially since it didn''t normally matter what state his lightning flame would be in when he attacked. After all, whether it was lightning or fire, the offensive capability would be devastating.


    However, when Ryu was constructing his Divine Mark out of it, it immediately collapsed. Ryu didn''t need to guess at why this was, it was obvious. The Divine Mark was designed to work with lightning. The appearance of a sudden fire characteristic would, of course, cause it to collapse.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but Ailsa only giggled. When he met her gaze and saw the mischievous light in her eyes, he realized that she had already guessed that something like this would happen. It was no wonder why she would try to goad him like that.


    If there was anyone who knew Ryu the best, it was Ailsa. For most things, as long as he put in effort, there would be few that could match him. If this prodigy of the Lightning Sprites wanted to have a chance against Ryu, the only way would be if Ryu was severely handicapped like he was now.


    ''I see¡­''


    Ryu shook his head as Ailsa continued to giggle. This Life Partner of his was truly too mischievous. However, in the end, he still smiled.


    Defeating a so-called prodigy was too easy. Only like this would things be interesting.


    Ryu raised his finger again and started to draw in the air once more. This time, he broke the Divine Mark into its parts and began to reconstruct its Fundamental Runes. He made it about ten percent of the way through before the Divine Mark collapsed.


    ''Mm, I see¡­ I can''t change that part. It''s core to the Divine Mark and also what will be responsible for connecting it to the other Divine Marks once I progress onward. That part will be the most difficult to figure out.


    ''Lightning seems volatile but it always follows a predictable path. Lightning will follow the path of least resistance and there are certain materials that it will always choose over another. Its behavior is predictable.


    ''Fire, however, is different. By design, fire not only represents the breath of life, but it also represents rebellion and innovation. Taming fire isn''t simple.''


    Lightning was like a rigid hierarchy. It always wanted to ground itself and it would always choose to pass through certain materials over others. There was a reason that this predictable element was chosen to be the arbiter of Judgment for the Heavens. Its ability to follow rules and dole out swift justice was unmatched.


    Fire, however, was what gave humans life and could often represent the exact opposite of all that was lightning. It had no true form and it was the spark that lit human innovation. The only way to contain fire was by cutting off its path to the sky, but doing this would also snuff out the flame completely, causing it to quickly die out.


    These were the core reasons that these two Elements were so powerful together. They represented opposite ends of the spectrum and couldn''t wait to collide and implode. The result was devastating offensive output¡­ A devastating output that was useless right now.


    But, Ryu''s smile only seemed to grow brighter.


    He never thought himself to be a Formation Master, reason being he never formally trained himself in this aspect. What he had trained in, vigorously, was in deconstructing and recognizing formations. Technically, he had taught himself the more difficult of the two tasks.


    In Ryu''s eyes, this Divine Mark was just a complex formation concentrated into a small form factor. With every Divine Mark you formed, the next would become more and more complicated because they were interdependent and related.


    What Ryu needed to do was two things. First he needed to adjust this formation without changing its core. It needed more degrees of freedom without losing its integrity.


    Second, he needed to find a method to make fire more predictable and easier to control.


    In just a few seconds, he had already come up with a solution for both.


    Adjusting the Divine Mark was a simple matter. Ryu didn''t even consider it to be a worthy challenge. He believed he could finish the necessary calculations in just a few days. And, it would only take so long because he had to consider the redesign for each subsequent Divine Mark.


    As for controlling fire and making it more predictable, he had a solution for this as well.


    What was better at controlling fire than the Origin Flame? And, what if the abilities of the Origin Flame were layered with the core of the Ruler Realm?

 Chapter 625 Hoops

    Chapter 625 Hoops


    The Origin Flame didn''t need to be explained. As far as Ryu understood it, it was the Origin of all Fire and capable of ruling them all. It was because of the Origin Flame that Ryu''s Bloodline Flames awakened so quickly and also why his Flame Inheritances also progressed so quickly. Well¡­ Until it was that his Origin Flame hit its limit and could no longer progress any further. This was to be expected, though, considering it was just an incomplete Embryo.


    Still, despite being an Embryo, the docile Origin Flame was perfect for this. All Ryu had to do was to incorporate a bit into each Divine Mark. However, because it was an Embryo, Ryu still had to take things a step further to ensure that there would be no problems.


    What was the core of leaving the Impose Realm and entering the Ruler Realm? Wasn''t it characterized by Ryu being able to take control of his Impose Barrier and change its form?


    If Ryu took advantage of this ability now and drew out his former Impose Barrier to follow the complex nodal pathways of each Divine Mark, adding this atop the Origin Flame, wouldn''t all of these issues be fixed?


    Ryu''s gaze glowed. He sat completely still for an entire three days, his eyes only seeming to grow brighter and brighter.


    On the morning of the fourth day he suddenly sprung to life, his finger moving about with an almost unconscious speed. In just three minutes, he finished the core of the first Divine Mark. In just seven more, he finished it in its entirety, causing it to spark to life.


    The Divine Mark reflected a pale purple light that almost looked like a delicate cherry color depending on the lighting. Sometimes it took the form of a perfect sphere but at other times it would look like a bolt of lightning, hovering about Ryu''s palm before it found its way to his legs and sunk in.


    Ryu almost didn''t register this as an accomplishment at all as his hands were already moving. One Divine Mark after another began to manifest. Every time they fused with his body, a spark of violet would course through his eyes, making him realize that this technique wasn''t so simple at all.


    The greatest speed one could muster would appear when the Divine Marks were deployed and their wielder could flash about between them. However, this was also a dangerous thing to do because when a Divine Mark was deployed, it became susceptible to being destroyed by an enemy.


    Of course, this was a big deal to someone else who went through great difficulty to form their Divine Marks, withstanding many failures and sometimes even taking many years to succeed. But, this clearly wasn''t an issue that Ryu was facing.


    Still, this aside, when the Divine Mark fused with the body, it became the movement technique even without deployment. Ryu could feel that every Divine Mark he fused with doubled his speed and he also came to understand why the absolute cap was 12.


    Upon reaching 12, there was no longer potential to squeeze out and the circulation method for the technique was complete.


    The 12 Divine Marks hovered about in Ryu''s body, taking up their positions and forming a formation within him. Ryu immediately felt that unless he met an opponent that could bring him to the brink of life and death, there would really be no point in bringing his Divine Marks out because it would simply be overkill.


    However, despite having finished the perfect 12, Ryu didn''t stop.


    At that moment, his Indestructible Soul manifested from his forehead and it too began to draw out Divine Marks. By the end of the day, Ryu had formed 24 complete marks, crushing whatever record it was that this Lightning Sprite prince had had.


    Though the Divine Marks within Ryu''s soul couldn''t boost his speed like the first 12 could, what it did do was give him an additional 12 to use instantaneous movement with. This would give him far greater flexibility in battle. And, should his soul ever be in danger after his body was destroyed, for example, it too would have the ability to escape.


    Ryu exhaled a breath, his eyes opening as the final arcs of lightning vanished.


    "Not bad. I guess you''re a little bit better than him." Ailsa appeared before Ryu again, her pearly white teeth flashing him.


    Ryu chuckled but let Ailsa have her fun.


    "And what were these Elemental techniques you talked about before?"


    "Ah, right." Ailsa smiled, pretending like she had forgotten. "Should I tell you a story about one of my suitors for each one?"


    Ryu''s lip twitched. "How many stories do you have?"


    "Well, you see, your wife is a very beautiful woman. Even though I only spent a few thousand years with the Faeries before coming here to find you, you could say that my fame had already spread far and wide. Rather than asking me how many stories I have, it might be easier to ask me who didn''t try to pursue me."


    Ailsa blinked innocently, his eyelashes fluttering as though she was unbearably innocent.


    "How about we start with this one? It''s the [Flying Star] technique of the Fire Sprites. There was once a prodigy of their Clan that loved me too. There was one time he dove into their Clan''s Holy Land and entered an ancient volcano all for the sake of bringing a Silver Core Rose Crystal to me¡­"


    Ryu suddenly felt a headache coming on. He knew that Ailsa was doing this on purpose.


    To make matters worse, due to what Ailsa described about how Faeries reproduced, it was impossibly rare for a dual Elemental Faerie to appear. That meant all of these core techniques were likely constructed for a single Element.


    Even if a dual Elemental Faerie had appeared in the past like Ailsa had spontaneously appeared, their Elements wouldn''t be fused like Ryu''s had. More likely than not, they''d just have great affinity for two different Elements. There was no need to create a technique that combined them both.


    This meant that Ryu would have no choice but to change and adjust all of these techniques one by one if he wanted to use them without them blowing up in his face.


    Clearly, his Ailsa was just trying to get a bit of revenge on him. And, the worst part was that considering Ryu could see into her mind, he knew that she wasn''t lying in the slightest.


    In the end, though, Ryu smiled. He''d happily jump through all her hoops.

 Chapter 626 Phantoms

    Chapter 626 Phantoms


    The central spatial pocket of the Martial Gods wasn''t the same as the one the Tatsuya Clan had called home. With much of the Shrine Plane sealed, that location was closed off to the Martial Gods. As such, they could only choose a different location. Ryu wasn''t very surprised to find that this chosen location was where the former Ventus Clan called home.


    Ryu had quite some history with the Ventus Clan. During his thousandth birthday party, it was Gale Ventus¡ªthe young man Mistress Holy Wing had chosen to be Elena''s first ''partner''¡ªthat had challenged him to a match.


    Thanks to this, Ryu had been able to gain the Northern Heavenly Wind Embryo while also putting Gale in his place.


    At this moment, Ryu stood a step behind the Overseer who had basically forced him beneath his wing. Apparently, this old man went by the name of Overseer Eudo.


    Harsh winds whipped about all around, carrying a slight greenish hue to them. In the distance, a castle without windows stood, presenting the open concept of the Wind Shrine Clans. They always treated their homes almost like the instruments of nature. Depending on the time of day, and if the wind hit just the right speed, a low melody would begin to play.


    When all the openings of these castles resonated as one, a delicate harmony would begin. This harmony would gather up the qi in the surroundings an make cultivating produce double the result with half the effort. It was a beautiful concept, indeed. It was no wonder the Martial Gods hadn''t chosen to change much about it.


    Ryu couldn''t help but think about Gale. With that man''s talent, there was no doubt that he was an absolute powerhouse. After all, how could a wielder of a pair of Heavenly Pupils not be?


    Ryu wasn''t under the illusion that Gale was useless even though he had defeated him in one aspect previously. Not to mention the fact it hadn''t been a competition of combat, just the fact Gale had a pair of Heavenly Pupils was enough for Ryu to take him with the utmost seriousness. Though, it didn''t really matter considering he was dead now.


    If there was anything his battle with Sarriel had taught him, it was that such individuals were not to be underestimated.


    Against most individuals, Ryu could fight through an entire large barrier of cultivation, crossing the Immortal Ring and Path Extinction Realm to put up a fight against Dao Pedestal Realm experts. And yet, Sarriel had been in the Immortal Ring Realm just like him and pushed him to the brink. This alone was enough to paint a proper picture.


    Ryu was lost in his own thoughts, completely ignoring the World Sea Realm expert to his side. The only reason he was standing a half step behind was in respect to his seniority and not much else. Plus, it help him not to attract too much trouble. Other than that, thought, he wasn''t thinking about this old man much at all.


    Overseer Eudo couldn''t help but look toward Ryu from time to time. He didn''t know how a brat like him could be so casual in the face of a World Sea Realm expert.


    Truthfully, he was questioning his own decision. For some reason, his intuition told him that Ryu was dangerous, but that didn''t make any sense. What could an ant in the¡­


    Now that the old man thought about it, he had no idea what cultivation realm Ryu was in. He had manifested Immortal Rings, so he had to be in either the Immortal Ring or Path Extinction Realm¡­ Right? But how had a Path Extinction Realm defeat an absolute genius of the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm?


    That brat from the Scarlet Sparrow Clan wasn''t just anybody. And yet, Ryu hadn''t just defeated him, he made short work of him.


    This made the old man believe that Ryu cultivated a special technique that allowed him to keep his Immortal Rings after the Path Extinction Realm. This would also explain why he couldn''t see through Ryu''s cultivation.


    After all, reading cultivations wasn''t an exact science and often relied on experience. The more unconventional the technique, plus factoring in Ryu''s ridiculous combat prowess, the harder it would be to see through.


    ''This old man seems very interested in you, Little Ryu,'' Ailsa giggled.


    For the sake of convenience, Ailsa had entered her Faerie form and sat upon Ryu''s shoulder. If she appeared in her true form, it would be too obvious that she was a Faerie. Then, things might become troublesome depending on how the Martial Gods dealt with it. So, for now, Ailsa sat on his shoulder while Yaana was within the Incubator.


    ''Let him be interested.'' Ryu shrugged. ''At this point, he''s just a convenient ticket into this place. It would have been more of a hassle if not for him, especially since Isemeine can''t be here to get me in.''


    Originally, Ryu had planned to just force his way in with Isemeine, but with her being part of this important so-called ritual, she couldn''t be by his side any longer. If before he had been annoyed by the old man strong arming him into representing him, now he felt it was a good thing that this old man had appeared or he would have been helplessly stuck on the outside.


    Well, either that, or he would have had to sell his precious body to Isemeine''s mother.


    Ailsa snorted. ''As if you would be lamenting such a thing.''


    Ryu smiled beside himself. ''Wrong. I''m more interested in tasting my precious Ailsa again.''


    ''Humph, you still need to defeat the phantoms of at least a hundred more of my suitors before you can do such a thing.''


    ''Yes, ma''am!''


    Ailsa, who had been trying to feign anger, couldn''t help but burst into a fit of giggles toward Ryu''s eagerness. She really did like this version of her Life Partner much better.


    "Eudo, is this the brat you''ve chosen?"


    At that moment, amidst the sparse crowd slowly making its way toward the Ventus Clan''s castle, one stood out and appeared beside Ryu and the Overseer with a young man following by his side.

 Chapter 627 Unda

    Chapter 627 Unda


    It was yet another Overseer, obviously from a region different from Overseer Eudo''s own. But, Ryu only swept a glance over this young man before his eyes landed on the one following behind him. Ryu immediately felt a surge of killing intent that he directly suppressed, tempering it down with his will power.


    After just a single glance, he looked away, ignoring the world around him entirely. If he felt the need to kill every remnant of the past he came across, let alone seeing Elena again, he wouldn''t even be able to step through those doors.


    His actions, though, were seen as clear disdain from the Overseer-representative pair. To give a World Sea Realm expert a casual glance, just the same as the young cultivator behind him, and not even an attempt at a greeting¡­ It was no doubt seen as disrespectful.


    The Overseer curled his lip into an angered smile.


    "What a good young man you''ve found, Eudo."


    Eudo coughed lightly. He was a peace loving man and didn''t have the airs of a World Sea Realm expert, this was why he hadn''t really cared much about Ryu''s demeanor and also why he was eating in a restaurant with other brats like Ryu. But that didn''t mean that other World Sea Realm experts were the same. In fact, despite their years of tempering, they were often very sensitive.


    Many of them were absolute geniuses in their youths that suddenly found they could no longer take even a single step forward. It was like going from the highest of highs, spending the whole of your life being praised everywhere you went, all for you to come crashing back down to earth, realizing there were those you''d never be able to surpass no matter how hard you worked.


    Then they would turn to find youths who still had spring in their steps and hope in their hearts. It was no wonder they placed such great emphasis on gaining respect from the younger generation. In their heart of hearts, they hated them for their youth and vitality.


    Of course, things weren''t always so simple. There were many reasons for high level cultivators to have some of the shortest tempers and smallest tolerances. Another such example was Flora of the Zu Clan Ancestors.


    She had lived for so long that her mind had begun to deteriorate. The least talented a person was and the older in comparison to their cultivation realm that they became, the weaker their mental fortitude would be.


    For someone like this Overseer, Ryu''s actions were absolutely a slap in the face. It was just that he had no idea that had Ryu not acted like this, he would have already slapped this Overseer''s representative to death.


    Eudo chuckled bitterly. "I''m sorry about this, Nigellus. This young man is a bit of an eccentric and doesn''t do well with social cues. He doesn''t even give me much respect."


    Though Eudo said these words to help Ryu out and try to maneuver around the situation, hoping that Ryu wouldn''t try to refute him, Overseer Nigellus and his disciple took this very differently.


    "If he was a retard, you should have just said so earlier." Overseer Nigellus snorted.


    Hearing such an abrasive word, Eudo frowned and shot a glance toward Ryu. But, he sighed a breath of relief when it seemed that Ryu hadn''t reacted in the slightest.


    He felt a bit bad that his words were being misconstrued in this way, but he couldn''t exactly unloose an arrow that had already been released. Ryu''s lack of a response only seemed to confirm their conclusion.


    The young man following behind Overseer Nigellus sneered.


    "There''s no need to worry master, I''ll be sure to teach him a proper lesson. I don''t care what reasons he has, proper and due respect is mandatory when greeting your elders."


    Eudo shook his head. This youth was also in the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm but compared to that Scarlet Sparrow Clan youth Ryu had practically toyed with to death, he was far too lacking in comparison. His aura was weaker, his foundation had several holes, and it seemed he would be lucky to step into the Cosmic Seed Realm in his lifetime.


    As for Ryu, he seemed to have become even stronger compared to the last time Eudo had met him.


    Once again, though, Ryu pretended as if he hadn''t heard anything. Well, it was less pretending and that he truly hadn''t heard anything. He had closed off his senses to stop himself from skewering this young man and pinning him to the highest pole he could find.


    The blue hair of the young man and the dense water qi that permeated his aura painted a very clear picture. It was clear that he was a member of the Unda Clan. In fact, that day when Ryu had had his competition with Gale, a member of the Unda Clan had been there to support him as well.


    The Unda Clan was a Water Shrine Clan of the Shrine Plane so the reason for Ryu''s fury was clear and obvious. It was yet another traitor.


    At this point, he realized that this wasn''t just a matter of betraying his Tatsuya Clan, it was a betrayal to their whole world. For their own benefit, they backstabbed their own people and allowed outsiders to rule them. It filled Ryu with nothing but disgust.


    If he looked or even heard this young man speak, he might not be able to stop himself from making his head implode like a watermelon.


    Soon, even at their leisurely pace, the group of four had made it to the castle entrance. A strong wall of wind took the place of the doors as aside from lacking windows, this design also chose to forego doors and their hinges as well.


    Usually, the door of wind wasn''t so strong, but it had clearly been unleashed to its full potential today. Despite the vastly open concept of the castle, it was clear that they refused to allow just anyone to enter.


    And that moment, the Overseers and their representatives stood in wait as one group after another tested their luck.


    [Author''s Note Below]

 Chapter 628 Harder

    Chapter 628 Harder


    The Unda Clan youth sneered in Ryu''s direction when he saw the situation. However, seeing that Ryu didn''t spare him a glance, he only seemed to grow more enraged.


    He could tell that this was the first trial they would have to go through. Though not many were aware why it was that Overseers had picked out representatives like this, what they did know was that it was important and there were many prizes to be gained for their efforts.


    This was all to say that this wasn''t just any trial, but it was one they most definitely needed to pass. As a result, he thought that since he had so clearly challenged Ryu earlier that it would be clear that their competition would start here. Yet, who could have thought that Ryu wouldn''t spare him a glance at all?


    Clearly, he didn''t see the irony in placing this trial on a pedestal while simultaneously putting so much energy toward something that was hardly related to it at all. But, maybe even if he had seen this irony, the young Unda Clan member would still do so nonetheless.


    Who wouldn''t want to get into the good graces of a World Sea Realm expert? Not everyone could casually ignore World Sea Realm experts as though they were worth nothing much like Ryu did.


    To put matters into proper perspective, World Sea Realm experts were the absolute pinnacle of strength beneath the Sky God Realm. Understanding this, how could their standing be low?


    Just when the young man wanted to say something though, the arrival of Ryu actually began to cause a small commotion.


    ¡­


    Tybalt''s eyes flashed with a peculiar light when his gaze landed on Ryu. The latter seemed to have been cut off from the world. He saw nothing, heard nothing¡­ It was as though everything was beneath his notice.


    Tybalt was the very same young man who had instigated Arteur¡ªthe Lower Dao Pedestal Realm expert of the Scarlet Sparrow Clan¡ªinto fighting Ryu just a few days ago.


    To Ryu, who had gone through a lot since then, it felt like a lifetime ago. But, to Tybalt who had practically just personally witnessed Ryu''s power, it might as well have just happened a few seconds ago.


    Considering his personality, he had amassed quite the number of friends. If not for this, how could he, a genius of the Heaven''s Dew Branch, still be out here while most of his cohort had long since found their places within the castle?


    The truth was that the Overseers weren''t allowed to choose other Martial Gods for the chance this presented. So, most of those outside waiting for their chance to challenge the curtain of wind were talents of other prestigious families, many of which were cozying up to Tybalt.


    Of course, it couldn''t be said that anyone who wasn''t a Martial God was beneath them. Arteur, for example, interacted with Tybalt like an equal would. However, the same couldn''t be said for the others.


    As a result of this, there were many paying attention to Tybalt''s every expression, so when it was seen that he had such a reaction while looking toward Ryu, many looked over as well.


    "Tybalt, he is¡­?"


    "Oh," Tybalt shook his head, "that''s the guy that took Little Sister Isemeine''s first time."


    Tybalt played it off like a harmless joke. To him, Isemeine was, indeed, a little sister. After all, he was millions of years old while Isemeine was barely over a thousand. However, his words made the men around him grow ravenous.


    The Martial Gods didn''t have strict rules on who their men and women could or couldn''t have relations with due to the benefits of synergizing their Bloodline with others. It wasn''t a surprise then that there were many beauties these members of other Clans had their eyes on, among which Isemeine was definitely near the top along with her half sister, Zenavey.


    It took just this single sentence for several auras to lock onto Ryu, every one of them watching his every move. Sparks of indifference, jealousy and disdain rose to an over feverish pitch.


    "Hold on, something''s weird here. That guy¡­"


    "What is it, Rafsin?"


    "What did you say his name was, Tybalt?"


    "Oh, um I think he said his name was Ryu Tor."


    "It really is him! You guys know a few days ago the Ice Devil Legacy World opened up, right? They say there was this Ryu guy who kill some genius from the Blossom Plane and entered the Legacy World without speaking to anyone."


    "The Ice Devil Legacy World? Wasn''t that a really important event? Even my parents were talking about it¡­"


    It was clearly an odd occurrence for so many to care about an Immortal Ring Realm Inheritance. This was most definitely a unique case.


    "Wait, doesn''t that mean?"


    They all came to the same realization at once. Ryu was in the Immortal Ring Realm?!


    Overseer Eudo, who had more than good enough hearing to overhear such things, looked over in shock. He knew well what sort of combat prowess Ryu had displayed. Never could he have ever expected that Ryu would actually be in the Immortal Ring Realm!


    Tybalt, who hadn''t been paying much attention to those things, was shocked into silence as well. It read all over his face.


    However, those who had no idea what happened between Arteur and Ryu reacted very much differently, especially the young man of the Unda Clan, Avenos.


    "The Immortal Ring Realm? I don''t want to say too much about your choice, Eudo. But, if you really don''t care about this opportunity, shouldn''t you give your Overseer position to someone else? Don''t you know how important these spots are?"


    Overseer Nigellus was already dissatisfied with Ryu''s attitude. But, now learning such a thing, he immediately pounced onto it. While others might not know how important this was, how could the Overseers themselves not be aware?


    "You? With Isemeine?"


    At that moment, a young man who hadn''t spoken since the very beginning suddenly sent a gaze that felt like two piercing blades toward Ryu. Sparks of lightning fused with his blade qi, seemingly wanting to force Ryu to his knees with just a look.


    ''¡­ Another traitor¡­''


    Ryu, who had been ignoring everything until now, couldn''t possibly ignore this. He was finding it harder and harder not to kill everyone here.

 Chapter 629 Tybalt

    Chapter 629 Tybalt


    The bladelike lightning was a dead give away. It was a subordinate Clan of the Kukan Clan, or, in other words, the Lightning Qilin Clan. The Lightning Blade Clan, known for the use of sabers and swords as well as their affinity for the lightning element, was known by all as the Ignis Clan.


    Since the Lightning Shrine was controlled by Ryu''s Kukan Clan, they had no choice but to act as a subordinate Clan should they want to Ryu''s maternal Clan if they wanted to seek the benefits being in the surroundings of the Shrine provided.


    The fact that one of their youths was here and so boldly using the strength bestowed to him by his Clan made their betrayal as bright as day. And, to actually be enraged about him a mere Isemeine, a woman Ryu would have nothing but hate for if it wasn''t for her now being tied with Eska''s life¡­


    Ryu was already moving before his mind even registered the flex of his limbs. Trails of violent violet lightning followed in his wake as he appeared before the young Ignis Clan member. In that moment, all the sparking lightning within he latter''s eyes retreated into his body, not daring to make its presence known.


    "Did you have something to say?" Ryu asked lightly.


    The Ignis Clan youth, who hadn''t even seen how Ryu appeared before him, was suddenly frozen in time. It was like his qi had run dry, his mind had gone blank, and his limbs lost all their strength all at once.


    "Coward."


    Ryu''s voice pierced into his soul. He felt his Dao collapse, his gaze suddenly dimming.


    He fell to the ground, his eyes overcast with despair. His road to cultivation had been cut off, just like that. Ryu hadn''t even needed to lift a single finger.


    The World Sea Realm experts who were sharp enough to understand exactly what just happened watched on with wide open eyes. The Overseer who had chosen this young man in particular stood in shock and horror.


    "You¡­ You¡­"


    Before the Overseer could realize that he should be enraged, Eudo appeared by Ryu''s side, suddenly worried that some tragic fate would befall him. If Ryu died to a slap by an Overseer who had lost all rationality, wouldn''t that be too great of an injustice?


    Eudo looked over toward Ryu''s side profile as though he was looking at some sort of monster.


    At that moment, Immortal Qi began to leak out of the Ignis Clan youth''s body, his cultivation rapidly falling down from the Dao Pedestal Realm to the Path Extinction Realm.


    "Is there anyone else with something to say?"


    Ryu didn''t spare the World Sea Realm expert who was still stuttering over his words a single glance. The coldness of his gaze seemed to make the already cold temperatures of the Shrine Plane that much colder, his aura simmering as though it was just a hint away from boiling.


    Overseer Eudo coughed lightly, realizing that the situation wasn''t particularly good at the moment. He clasped a palm over Ryu''s shoulder and flashed toward the entrance.


    "Go, go."


    He lightly pushed Ryu forward, sending him into the wall of wind without a worry as to whether he would pass or not. Then, he turned and bowed to everyone.


    "Sorry, sorry. My representative is a bit sensitive. My apologies."


    "EUDO!"


    The Overseer of the Ignis Clan youth suddenly roared, snapping awake from his stupor only to, with red eyes, find that Ryu was already gone. He had been so shocked by what he saw that he had a hard time wrapping his head around it. To force someone''s Dao to collapse with a single word, just what kind of ridiculous nonsense was this?!


    However, he didn''t care about that right now. All he cared about was the fact he had lost his chance and his investment. It was already too late to find another candidate to replace this boy and even if he could, they wouldn''t be nearly as good.


    Existences like Arteur wouldn''t participate in this. Only geniuses a step below would, which was why Overseer Eudo pounced on the chance to have Ryu who was still new and had no backing. A genius who could defeat Arteur was most definitely not among them right now, making Ryu one of one.


    The result of these seemingly arbitrary rules was Overseers like this roaring old man to have to carefully select their representatives from a pool of geniuses that weren''t too great but also not too poor at the same time, leaving them with limited choices.


    Knowing this, it was no wonder the Overseer was so enraged. But, this also explained why Overseer Eudo was willing to offend them all just to protect Ryu. This was his chance and he refused to let it go by so simply.


    No matter how laid back Overseer Eudo was, he was still a genius in his day. And yet now, just like the rest of them, he was stuck without room to improve. This wasn''t something he could accept, nor would he.


    "I am sorry, Mieridan. I will compensate you properly and you will have my 100% support during the next selection. You have my promise."


    Overseer Mieridan''s reddened gaze seemed to calm somewhat when he heard this, but his rage was still seething.


    He looked down at the young man who was now listless and aimless, spitting toward the ground in a scene that was unseemly for an expert of his caliber.


    "Trash."


    Overseer Eudo bowed again before vanishing into the curtain, leaving everyone in a state of abject silence.


    Tybalt, though, was different from the others. His gaze glowed so brightly as he looked to where Ryu disappeared that they might as well have been two torches. A faint excitement in his heart was bubbling forth as he suddenly couldn''t wait to see just what would happen.


    Unlike most others of his age, he knew things that he shouldn''t. It made him take a unique view on life that most didn''t have. And, one of his hobbies was being a bystander to pivotal points in history, something he probably gained from the non-Martial God side of his family¡­ A side of his Bloodline that was quite unique even amongst Martial Gods and also made him a key figure to be reared¡­


    ''Ryu Tor¡­ Ryu Tor¡­ It doesn''t roll off the tongue like it should¡­''


    Tybalt''s gaze narrowed still blazing a path through the air.

 Chapter 630 Wind Shrine Castle

    Chapter 630 Wind Shrine Castle


    The inner workings of the door couldn''t have been simpler. The strength of the wind increased with every step, creating a vacuum that both tried to send one flying away while simultaneously ripping their body apart.


    While Overseer Eudo had thought that this challenge would be nothing for Ryu to cross through, the bare truth of it all was that it was ironically not so simple for Ryu. The reason for this was simple.


    Much of Ryu''s combat prowess came from his Chaos Qi, the ability of his Pupils to read and react to those far above him in cultivation, and now the prowess of his lightning flame and soul. But, none of these things were related to the sturdy body one would need to cross this doorway.


    That said¡­ Ryu had a something that that would make this task that should have been difficult for him as easy as breathing: two Heavenly Winds.


    Unlike the Northern Heavenly Wind, the Southern Heavenly Wind couldn''t help Ryu to meld into the wind. However, it made his sensitivity to the wind element reach a point where Ryu felt just as in tune with it as he did lightning or fire.


    Ryu didn''t move for a moment, taking in a deep breath that filled his body with a rushing vitality. He felt that just by breathing, his body could grow stronger. This level of rich wind qi soothed him to the point he forgot about his previous rage.


    ''This is good,'' Ailsa thought to herself. ''This will help Ryu keep a cooler head. With the strength of his flames, it''s no wonder he''s trigger happy. If his Wind Inheritance surpassed his Fire Inheritance, that will make many things easier¡­''


    As powerful as Ryu''s lightning flames were, it had to be remembered that his Fire Inheritance was still at the Ruler Realm. It could be said that this was something hold back the strength of Ryu''s lightning flame, especially since his Lightning Inheritance had already stepped into the Dominion Realm upon the awakening of his Storm Talent, but it was simultaneously about the only thing that allowed Ryu to gain a slow rein on his emotions.


    Ryu''s Dragon Blood went beyond just giving him large amounts of lust that could cloud his mind in crucial situation. It was also a conduit of simmering fury waiting to bubble up at any time.


    Ryu''s Crystal Jade Body was able to balance this out with the help of his other Bloodlines. But, after its mutation, it seemed to have leaned far more into Ryu''s lightning flame than anything else.


    In Ailsa''s estimation, taking all of these things into consideration, she felt that this was excellent.


    SHUUU!


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly snapped open, a delicate, green gold wind wrapping around him as he seemed to vanish from thin air.


    With a single step Ryu crossed the barrier, entering the castle as though there had never been a blockade of wind to begin with. He could feel that presence of the Ruler Realm hovering around him. After so long, he had finally managed to enter the Ruler Realm with his Northern Heavenly Wind.


    A feedback loop of sorts flowed through Ryu''s body.


    While a Heavenly Wind was an Inheritance of sorts, completing or partially completing an Inheritance could feedback to strengthen your Heavenly Wind as well thanks to the Essence of the Heavens.


    This was to say that Ryu''s Embryonic Northern Heavenly Wind was enough for him to get to the Impose Realm very quickly, but beyond that he had struggled. However, now that he had improved to the Ruler Realm without relying on it, his Embryonic Northern Heavenly Wind strengthened likewise after absorbing the Essence of the Heavens.


    ''Do you think that I can complete my Northern Heavenly Wind like this?'' Ryu asked Ailsa.


    ''If it was before you gained the Southern Heavenly Wind, I would have said no. It''s not that you aren''t talented enough, but there are simply some things the Heavens don''t allow even with all the talent in the world. However, the Southern Heavenly Wind is like a foot in the door you can rely on¡­ Almost like nepotism. Now, it''s very much possible.''


    Ryu nodded, slowly allowing the wind to disperse around him and finally opening his eyes. What he found instantly was an Overseer Eudo who was breathing a sigh of relief. Ryu had taken much longer to cross the barrier than he thought. For a moment, he thought that Ryu had actually failed and he wasn''t sure how to react to such a possibility.


    "It''s just the Ruler Realm, why is he making such a big fuss about it as though he''s become some enlightened Deity? To have just stepped into the Ruler Realm¡­ Just how pathetic are the candidates this time around?"


    The instant he heard the voice, Overseer Eudo''s expression fell. Why was it that he couldn''t just have some peace?! If Ryu went off and battled everyone, even if there was a good chance he''d win, if he offended the wrong Overseer, an Overseer that Eudo wasn''t confident would give him some face, what would happen then?


    The one who had spoken wasn''t just any normal participant. In fact, judging by their shockingly white hair and eyes, it was clear that they were a member of the Nourishing Soul branch, the only one of the four kinds of Martial Gods Ryu had yet to meet. In fact, he didn''t need an Overseer like Ryu did.


    Eudo took a step toward Ryu. "Listen, Ryu. Sometimes you have to learn to¡­"


    Just as Eudo was about to continue, he realized that the depths of Ryu gaze were actually quite calm. In fact, he almost seemed to be at peace.


    Ryu looked around and found that the inside of the castle actually had a grand open concept. In fact, it felt like they were more on the outside than they were inside.


    Large holes, tubes and oddly shaped doorways and windows hung around everywhere. The locations that one shouldn''t cross were barred by powerful walls of green wind. However, everywhere else was as open as could be.


    Banquet tables took up one section, an enormous arena took up another, countless formations hung in the air that even Ryu would need time to decipher, and there was even a podium, all fit within this open hall of the Wind Shrine Castle.

 Chapter 631 King Adonis

    Chapter 631 King Adonis


    "Haha! Moxi! Pay up, that knife of yours is mine!"


    A young man with a head of silver hair laughed boisterously.


    The young man of the Nourishing Soul branch that had jeered at Ryu was sitting at one of many of the banquet tables. With how things were designed, those crossing the barrier had practically become the entertainment of those waiting for the real festivities to begin as they could see the whole process from start to finish.


    Clearly, then, they knew that Ryu had taken a long time not because he struggled, but rather because he was comprehending something. In fact, they had even begun taking bets on just what Realm he was comprehending.


    This young man, known as Moxi by his friends and family. Maybe because he felt some solidarity with Ryu''s white hair matching his own, but he bet that Ryu must have been entering the Dominion Realm. Obviously, when this wasn''t the case, he was greatly disappointed and even had to fork over a knife he was a bit fond of.


    He had thought that he had this in the bag. After all, who here wasn''t in the Ruler Realm?


    To be here, one had to have the strength of the Dao Pedestal Realm at the very least. It also had to be remembered that just to step onto the Shrine Plane, most had to be within the Path Extinction Realm or else the cold would freeze you to ice over time and cause permanent damage to your inner organs.


    Knowing this, Moxi had not only proposed the bet, he had even put forward a Heaven Grade short sword this idiot insisted on calling a knife just to annoy him.


    Being annoyed, of course Moxi said a few words to take a jab at Ryu and also prove that he should have been correct. However, he instantly felt weird when a World Sea Realm expert rushed up to Ryu and when he saw that Ryu hadn''t even reacted to him.


    "Hey, hey. Moxi, stop stalling. My knife, now! I feel like I got a piece of meat lodged in my teeth, that''s about all that things good for."


    Moxi''s aura sank, his palm flipping over to reveal a short sword with exquisite workmanship.


    It had a silver blade that was about a foot and a half long. Its tip was cut at an angle, catching the light that reflected off of it and rebounding it back as though each ray was a new strand of sword qi. It had a handle and wood that fit perfectly in the palm and radiated a rosy aroma while the flat of its blade had a vine dotted with flower etched onto its surface that radiated a blue light.


    In every way, shape and form, it was a beautiful piece of art. And yet, the young man with silver hair¡ªThephine, a member of the Silver Touch branch¡ªsimply snatched it away from Moxi and truly began to pick at his teeth with the blade.


    A boisterous laughter filled the banquet table. Each and every one of them was a youth of great standing and were, without a doubt, ranked upon the Heir Rankings. There were only very few exceptions to this rule¡­ One of which being a familiar young man with blazing red hair, Arteur Scarlet.


    Moxi''s brow twitched with rage as he saw Thephine''s actions. If he could kill this son of a bitch right here, he really would.


    Moxi had always preferred short swords, but Thephine was a man who loved enormous pole arm weapons. They had clashed about this very topic too many times to count but this was probably the worse it had ever gotten.


    Objectively, Moxi could only blame himself for proposing the bet to begin with. However, he was infuriated when he saw Thephine''s face. He wanted to bash this bastard in the nose. Or, at least he did until he suddenly realized that there was a killing intent thicker than his own at the table.


    If there were two branches of the Martial Gods who clashed heads the most, it was definitely the Silver Touch and Nourishing Soul Branch. Of the four Branches, both were very much adept at using the soul so it was inevitable that they would clash for similar resources, thus creating a sort of healthy competition between the two.


    This was to say that Moxi was quite sensitive to most things thanks to his powerful soul so he instantly felt the killing intent that surpassed his own and his gaze locked onto Arteur. However, Arteur didn''t seem to notice Moxi''s gaze at all as he was still staring daggers at Ryu as though to try to rip him limb from limb just with his gaze alone.


    "Hm?"


    Moxi looked between Ryu and Arteur, about to say something. But, it was at that moment that another figure cross the wind barrier.


    By now, several had come in after Ryu. However, this individual garnered the most intention because he was the very popular Tybalt. Everyone was aware that his appearance meant something completely different in comparison to the others who had come before and they were very quickly proven correct.


    At that moment, a mighty aura descended, a flash of light blinding many to what was happening on the podium before it all slowly dispersed.


    The crowd held their breaths, feeling the oppressive might weighing on their chests. They could tell that this was the aura of a World Sea Realm expert, but it wasn''t just any World Sea Realm expert, it was a King. More specifically, it was King Adonis, a Peak World Sea Realm expert with the features of a middle aged man and a head of flowing golden hair. It felt like he just might step into the Sky God Realm at any moment¡­ But who knew how many millions had been stuck at this step?


    King Adonis swept a gaze over the crowd, many respectfully standing in his presence. Ryu was among this number, but the reality was that he had already been standing to begin with as he had yet to find a proper seat.


    "The number of you is too large. Weed them out."


    His cold voice swept forward like a gale.

 Chapter 632 Syriah

    Chapter 632 Syriah


    Under some odd sort of forced coercion, the Overseers vanished from their locations, finding themselves a large distance away from their representatives. Even if they wanted to take action to protect them, they would no longer dare to.


    The banquet fell into an uneasy silence for a moment, a tension slowly building.


    Ryu stood amidst it all indifferently. His gaze scanned the arena, the banquet and the podium. But, he only confirmed what he had already guessed long ago. Elena wasn''t here. Or, more accurately, she wasn''t here yet. It was clear by the fact that there was a only a single existence at the level of King Adonis here made that obvious. For such an important event, there was no way most of them wouldn''t be present.


    BANG!


    As Ryu''s mind was on other things, a blazing aura suddenly tore a path toward him. The result was the shock of most that were here.


    The banquet table Moxi and the others sat at was tacitly accepted to be untouchable. When King Adonis said to cut down the numbers, his words had obviously implied it weed out those were unworthy. Even if no one from that table moved a single inch, no one would say or do a thing to them.


    And yet, at that moment, a streak of dark crimson cut through the air, appearing before Ryu in the blink of an eye. By the time Ryu turned his head in that particular direction, a fist had already threatened to tear a hole through his chest, the aura of the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm shaking the castle to its core.


    It was then that a string of protective arrays activated, stabilizing the castle as though nothing had happened. In fact, it all became so sturdy that it was difficult to say if even a normal World Sea Realm expert would be able to cause damage.


    Who else could this person be if not Arteur? Not only was his rage bubbling over, but he had even broken through from the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm to the Middle Realm.


    Such a breakthrough wasn''t as simple as it was in another Realm. Even great talents would spend tens of millions of years in a single stage at this Realm. The fact that Arteur had stepped up a sub stage was enough to cause a wild change in the demeanor of the crowd. On top of that, it seemed to light a spark that lit the entire castle ablaze.


    "Hm?" King Adonis was surprised that someone from this table had actually chosen to move as well, not that he particularly cared. But, the dense killing intent that pervaded the air was still palpable. Even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn''t.


    Ryu''s gaze calmly met Arteur''s furious charge. Just when it seemed that his chest would truly gain an extra bloody hole, his blood rolling in reverse throughout his body, Ryu''s suddenly flickered, appearing just half a meter to the side. It almost felt as though he hadn''t moved a single inch.


    Arteur shot by him in a trailing blaze.


    Within the stands, Eudo sighed a breath of relief. He had originally thought that Ryu could beat Arteur easily once again. But, after seeing that Arteur had broken through, his confidence had plummeted. Every step forward one takes in cultivation so deep into the Immortal Realms would result in a qualitative upgrade in power the likes of which could be likened to a caterpillar shedding their cocoon. So, even though Ryu had beaten Arteur easily before, with this breakthrough, it was unlikely that he would be able to repeat the same feat.


    But, the results spoke for themselves.


    With a single shift, Ryu slipped out of Arteur''s trajectory, his arm reaching out.


    In a flash, several Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns coated Ryu''s skin beneath his black robes as he clawed toward Arteur''s neck with an indifferent expression on his face.


    Just when it seemed like Ryu would end this battle in just a single move, Arteur''s neck became incorporeal and Ryu clawed at air, his fingers slipping through sparks of crimson flames.


    ''Spirit Body?''


    Ryu calmly thought of this possibility. Last time he fought Arteur, he most definitely didn''t have this ability. That meant that he had awakened it in just the last few weeks. In fact, this awakening might even be the reason he was able to step into the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm.


    The Scarlet Sparrow''s Spirit Body was quite unique. Whereas Ryu''s size remained about the same when he used his Spirit Body, the Scarlet Sparrow Bloodline came from a creature of innately small size, this allowed them to shrink almost instantly when they entered this form.


    At the same time, it gave them access to Blood Cleansing abilities as well as more hidden abilities of their Blood Flame.


    Still, Ryu didn''t react much to this change. He expected that the higher his cultivation became, the more people with special Bloodlines and abilities he would meet. At a certain level of cultivation, it was impossible for those without certain innate talents to make it so far to begin with.


    Arteur wasn''t a fool. Since he was willing to attack Ryu now, it wasn''t a surprise that he had had such an enormous breakthrough.


    After just a single exchange, it was clear to both of them that they had greatly improved. The battle Arteur had sparked was raging about them, but the two didn''t seem to notice in the slightest, their gazes meeting the moment Arteur''s body reformed.


    With a flip of his palm, Arteur''s sword appeared, his aura blazing. Without a single word, he swung.


    Ryu sidestepped once again, his fist shooting outward. His knuckles sparkled with radiant light blue patterns.


    Sensing the danger, Arteur could only switch the grip of his sword, altering its flight path and blocking with the flat of his blade.


    The sound of metal clashing against metal made his pupils constrict. Just what level of strength did Ryu''s body have to reach to achieve such an affect? To make matters worse, why did he feel such pressure from a mere simple straight?


    [Fist Basic Stances] came with the same basic movements that Ryu''s spear basics had come with. [Advance], [Retreat], [Side Step], [Lunge] and [Steady]. As for its attacks [Jab], [Cross], [Hook] and [Uppercut]. Finally, its defensive techniques were [Block], [Parry], [Roll], and [Slip].


    Its variations were far more flexible than [Spear Basic Stances] were and they flowed from one to the next with far more flexibility.


    The instant Ryu''s [Jab] straight was blocked, he instantly combo''d an [Advance] and a [Cross], his movement fluid and his steps not faltering for even a moment.


    The clang of his fists and Arteur''s blade reverberated throughout the battlefield. Even amidst the raging chaos around them their clashes were like a metronome, upkeeping the pace of the violence.


    Arteur couldn''t understand why it was that Ryu had suddenly become a close combat expert. He had sworn that Ryu was using an odd polearm weapon previously. In fact, he was certain that Ryu had even reached the Monarch Realm with them. So why was he suddenly using fists that only seemed to have Heir Realm qi behind them?


    The only conclusion that Arteur could come to was that Ryu was actually looking down on him, something that lit the fire in his belly even more fiercely.


    Their exchange became more violent, wings of deep rouge spreading out from Arteur''s back. And yet even as he poured on, Ryu''s counters only came with a hint more swiftness and a touch more skill. It became difficult to tell whether Ryu was simply improving so quickly or if it was that he was incrementally raising himself toward his true level of skill.


    Moxi and Thephine watched this scene with a hint of surprise in their eyes.


    "Oh. It seems he actually wasn''t that bad after all. Seems I got lucky." Thephine laughed boisterously, still picking at his teeth.


    At that moment, somehow having waded through all the chaos, Tybalt found himself a seat at the helm of the table, chuckling lightly to himself.


    "He''s very interesting, indeed."


    "You know him, Tybalt?" Moxi asked, still not taking his eyes away from the battle.


    "Not really. But he and Arteur have fought before."


    "And the result?"


    "Well¡­" Tybalt took a sip of a drink that seemed to have been waiting just for him. "¡­ If not for an Overseer, Arteur would be dead already."


    Moxi and the others sucked in a cold breath.


    "Handsome and powerful? This big sister wants a taste."


    Moxi rolled his eyes when he heard these words, not even bothering to look over. Thephine, though, looked over with greed in his eyes.


    "You''re going to let him into your bed before me, Syriah? Where''s the justice?"


    Moxi felt himself throw up a little in his mouth. As¡­ fierce as Thephine''s taste in weapons were, so too was his taste in women.


    Syriah was a jet black hair and red eyed member of the Berserk branch. It was just that she was over two meters tall and far too wide for a woman. It would be one thing if she was just fat, but this wasn''t the case at all. She had boulders for shoulders and abs so cut that every time she breathed, the definition of her torso would show through her flexible armor.


    Rather than sticking with burly men like Thephine, though, Syriah was obsessed with handsome boy toys and had no qualms about snatching them off the streets and into her bed. However, she wouldn''t take just any pretty face. She wanted to feel the satisfaction of conquering him so he also had to be strong. This was why she had completely ignored Ryu until this very moment.


    "Shut up. You''re too ugly." Syriah snorted.


    As these elites talked, several ''geniuses'' had already fallen to despair, never to rise up again. The dichotomy was enough to strike fear into the soul.


    Arteur, however, didn''t care. His mind kept screaming: ''Die! DIE! DIE!'', his lungs having expanded to twice their original size as he bore down upon Ryu.


    However, just when he was getting into a rhythm, an indifferent voice sounded.


    "That''s enough."


    King Adonis'' words doused all their killing intent with cold waters.

 Chapter 633 Center

    Chapter 633 Center


    Ryu''s fingers trembled, delicate royal blue Heavenly Patterns dancing about them as he caught Arteur''s final strike between his fingers.


    ''A shame, just a bit more¡­''


    Arteur''s pupils constricted when he sensed his sword creak beneath Ryu''s strength. For a moment he felt like it might truly shatter. His heart shuddered as his gaze met Ryu''s indifference. All his strength dispersed into the surroundings, sweeping by Ryu had and causing his robes and hair to flutter. But, outside of this, Ryu himself didn''t seem to react much at all.


    As far as Ryu was concerned, he was only using Arteur to hone his fists. Let alone someone in the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm, even someone of the Higher Dao Pedestal Realm would be hard pressed to threaten his life after the training he had undergone.


    It had been a long time since Ryu put his head down to a grindstone and refined him combat prowess to its absolute limits. At this point, even he wasn''t quite certain of where his limits lied. But, Arteur most definitely wasn''t it. If this was all this banquet had to offer, then it would be boring.


    With a flick of his finger, Arteur took two heavy steps backward, his crimson flame threatening to shatter the ground beneath his feet. However, the formations that twirled about the surroundings immediately solidified it all, dispersing Arteur''s strength as though it was nothing.


    Arteur looked down at his feet and to his sword. His anger had become a blank look by the time he looked toward Ryu again, a deep smile hidden within his eyes.


    "I don''t know why it is you chose to target me, but I''ll make you regret it." Arteur said evenly.


    "You want to know why?" Ryu replied smoothly, his voice deep and rumbling. "It''s because I don''t respect you."


    Ryu seemed to glide by Arteur with just a single step, his movements indifferent and fluid to an extreme. Just looking at him made one feel as though he was one with the Dao, a reality that made the fact he wasn''t in the Dao Pedestal Realm all the more baffling.


    Arteur chuckled, the killing intent in his gaze thickening to the point it became palpable. A foggy crimson qi hung around him. For a moment, he almost looked like a member of the Berserk branch in look and feel.


    "Hey handsome! Come sit with me!"


    Ryu swept a glance over toward the voice before directly ignoring it. Let alone the fact that it had come from Syriah, even if it was a class A beauty, he would still ignore it. What a joke, he was already doing his best to get back into the good graces of his Ailsa, he didn''t have time to end up right at square one again. As far as he was concerned, there was no new beauty he could find that would be better than his Ailsa anyway.


    Ryu strolled through the banquet tables that had been thrown into chaos through the battles. The smell of blood hung quite pungently in the air, however, no one seemed to be moving to clean it up. It was as barbaric as it could be.


    These Martial Gods mixed food, drink and murder as though there was no need to place separations between them. It was a striking image, indeed.


    Ryu chose a table that had been mostly cleared of individuals. Blood pooled along the floor, several corpses lying with eyes wide open, the last light of their gazes filled with unwillingness.


    Without a care, Ryu sat at one of these tables. He picked up the meaty leg of a well cooked beast and chose a clean plate. With immaculate etiquette, he devoured the food before him. One would have never guessed that there was any problem at all.


    To Ryu''s right, just three seats down, a young man who hadn''t even gotten a chance to stand before he died fell over and plopped into the blood below. But, Ryu was completely unmoved, satiating his ravenous bloodlines with each bite.


    The sight of such a handsome young man doing something that could only be counted as barbaric was imprinted onto all of their souls. For a moment, even aside from his battle prowess and his looks, Ryu had become the center of attention without saying a single word. The savage nature of his actions was like an irreparable brand on their souls.


    Syriah, who had had ever intention of throwing a temper tantrum, shuddered. They had all been indifferent to the violence around them, but they had still been a distance away. After all, the blood and carnage hadn''t reached their table. There was still an air of spectator versus participant hanging around them.


    Yet, not only had Ryu not shed the label of participant, he basked in the feeling. The scenery was no less impactful than if Ryu had chosen to bathe himself in a shower of blood.


    Unbeknownst to them all, a silent fear took root in their hearts and an apprehension took hold. Syriah''s raised hand, already prepared to slam into the table beneath her, suddenly and subtly lowered, eventually touching the fabric that covered it all so gently that she almost looked like a real lady for a moment.


    Among them all, the only one who had a gaze that glowed upon seeing this was Tybalt. It felt like he was witnessing something extraordinary, but even he couldn''t put his finger on why that was. It made his fingers itch and his mind spin, his tongue imperceptibly wetting his drying lips.


    Above them all, the Overseers and King Adonis could feel the shift. However, it was far more obvious to them all.


    It was like the Fate of this Plane was all twisting and bending in Ryu''s direction as though that was the only place they deemed worthy of their presence.


    King Adonis'' gaze narrowed, looking toward Ryu truly for the first time. This was no casual gaze, it was the tried and true observation of a World Sea Realm expert. And yet, Ryu continued to eat without even a single hitch in his actions.


    ''¡­ This child is dangerous.''


    A flash of killing intent pervaded King Adonis'' irises.

 Chapter 634 Nine

    Chapter 634 Nine


    ''It seems you''ve caught some unwanted attention.'' Ailsa said lightly, her usually cheery expression having turned cold.


    How could she not be upset? All her Ryu had done was take a seat and begin to eat. Compared to what he usually did, this was more than just a little tame. In fact, it was tame for anyone, especially considering the emotions Ailsa knew were swirling about Ryu''s thoughts and heart at this moment. And yet, somehow, he was still being targeted for doing nothing else than being himself. Was that supposed to be some kind of crime.


    Ryu continued to eat as though he couldn''t sense the subtle killing intent of King Adonis. The latter probably thought there was no way that Ryu would be able to find him out. After all, what was a brat like Ryu to a World Sea Realm expert like him? Even a normal World Sea Realm expert could be killed with a single palm from him, let alone Ryu. However, if he knew that Ryu had sensed it and was simply unmoved by it all, maybe his killing intent would have only grown fiercer.


    ''It doesn''t matter.'' Ryu thought lightly. ''I''ve realized that being enraged toward dead people has no meaning. When they become the fertilizer for my Tatsuya Clan to rise up again, what worth would it all have then?''


    The eerie calm of Ryu''s thoughts shook Ailsa''s heart. For a long while, she remained silent before she spoke again.


    ''I''m going to go and help the little ones to absorb the Magma Devil Blood. Don''t do anything too reckless.''


    Ryu nodded almost imperceptibly, his hands still cutting and his mouth still chewing. The amount of food he had to consume now to sustain his Bloodlines was enormous. In fact, he could eat for every hour of the day and it might still not be enough.


    Unfortunately, there was no convenient ways to hunt beasts on the Shrine Plane without having a death wish. Any beast that could call this place home, especially after his mother''s Seal was placed down, was no simple matter to handle. And, as though that wasn''t bad enough, Isemeine only had food appropriate for Path Extinction Realm experts.


    Though Ryu''s body was technically in the Path Extinction Realm equivalent currently, his Bloodlines were so pure and high class that it couldn''t consume just any normal food and be satiated. It would actually be best if Ryu had Dao Pedestal Realm beasts to eat, or more accurately, Ninth Order Beasts. That way he would need to eat a lot less. But, Isemeine hadn''t had access to this food.


    As for his Ice Phoenix Clan''s treasures, meat wasn''t exactly something that you would conserve for billions and trillions of years like you would other things. And, the meat that was quality enough to warrant this sort of treatment was beyond Ryu''s means to digest currently.


    Luckily, this banquet had this and even higher caliber food in large spades. So, how could he not take advantage?


    Not only was Ryu finally eating to his full for the first time in a long while, his body was even growing more and more powerful with each bite. If those around him didn''t know better, they would think that he was some sort of ancient slumbering beast. The Vital Qi he gave off, despite not being a Martial God, was practically palpable.


    Just when it seemed like the atmosphere wouldn''t be able to take it anymore and implode, a large sweeping force of qi rose up. Ryu didn''t need to look up to know that it was a spatial qi. And, at this level, it could only be a teleportation array. It seemed that things would finally be starting soon¡­


    Several sharp auras began to manifest. Before these individuals had even truly stepped foot into being, it was as though the world itself would split in two just to form a path for them to walk.


    One after another, large numbers of individuals began to appear. By the end of it, there must have been at least 50 of them with more still appearing, each with auras just as sharp.


    When they came into view, it became clear that they were led by nine youths, each with strong, unbridled auras. Without fail, each one was deep into the Cosmic Seed Realm. The fact that one could call them youths at all was a testament to just how talented they were to begin with.


    These nine ''youths'' didn''t wear normal robes, or rather it didn''t seem like it. Sharp qi swirled about and surrounded their bodies making it impossible to see what was beneath. It felt like they were enveloped by a whirlwind of energy, any bit of which could mince a lesser expert into minced meat at any time.


    Even without observing them closely, Ryu could tell that these ''youths'' must have been from the Armament Guild. There was only one organization in this world who could bring together a group of weapon''s masters like this and there was also only one group of such weapon''s masters that would be worthy enough to be called here by the Martial Gods and be daring enough to make such a display. There was no questioning it.


    As for the qis that surrounded them, this was even more obvious. These were the nine core weapons that built the Armament Guild, the nine weapons with the greatest Faith backing them in the whole of the Martial World.


    The Hastam Clan''s Spear. The Ferum Clan''s Sword. The Virga Clan''s Staff. The Arcus Clan''s Bow. The Lorum Clan''s Halberd. The Gladio Clan''s Glaive. The Gione Clan''s short sword. The Securis Clan''s Battle Axe. And the Scire Clan''s Saber.


    Each one of these youths represented a pinnacle of what it meant to be the master of a weapon.


    ''Hm?''


    At that moment, the Hastam Clan''s Spear had his eyes drawn over to the same scene everyone had just been enraptured by. Seeing Ryu sitting there without a care, his brows arched and eyes widened.


    ''This little brat. He was actually still alive?''

 Chapter 635 Godefride

    Chapter 635 Godefride


    It was no wonder Godefride was surprised. Both he and his father had assumed that Ryu was long dead. After all, he had vanished for over two centuries without any word. The number of youths who died before their time was simply too numerous so though it was unfortunate, it was just something they had to accept.


    Godefride himself had reprimanded his father somewhat for Ryu''s death. After all, if the old man hadn''t been so stubbornly insistent that Ryu should come to him instead of the other way around, maybe they could have avoided all of this to begin with. However, who would have thought that not only would he be alive, but he would actually be here?


    After sensing the odd shift in the atmosphere, Godefride realized that their appearance hadn''t held as much attention as it should have. A good portion of people were looking at them, but many more were still in a trance while looking toward Ryu.


    Finally paying attention to the scene around the white haired boy, Godefride''s pupils constricted.


    ''This brat¡­''


    Godefride realized that Ryu likely wouldn''t recognize him. After all, he was no longer middle-aged as he had usually presented himself to be and even looked just as young now as Ryu did. However, he still had the urge to go over and see just what this brat was thinking, always causing trouble like this.


    What Godefride didn''t know was that Ryu''s pupils were too potent to simply recognize people by their faces. The truth was he had never even seen Godefride''s face, he had only sensed both him and him father. It took no more than a sweep of his senses to feel the line of Karma that connected him. This was enough for him to realize that they did, in fact, know one another.


    The issue wasn''t recognizing him, it was just that Ryu didn''t place as much emphasis on the father-son pair as they had placed on him. He had only recently decided that he would go to the Armament Guild and it wasn''t for their sake either.


    Godefride soon and quickly regained his bearings. Other than to Ryu, his actions were unnoticeable. And even then, it was only because the target of his observation had been Ryu himself.


    Finally taking in the rest of the landscape, Godefride couldn''t help but shake his head inwardly. They had actually been the first group to appear, just how far had his Armament Guild fallen?


    Godefride knew that the Armament Guild hadn''t gotten even a single step weaker than it had been in the past. The problem was that it felt as though one family after another was trying to sellout to the Martial Gods, rushing with their tails between their legs to prove that they were the most loyal.


    The result was what was seen here. Suddenly, a group that should have only been rivaled by the Necromancy Guild and the Mercenary Guild had appeared so early to such an event when they should have only appeared much later.


    Clearly, their timing sent subtle hints that they were in lockstep with the movements and choices of the Martial Gods, something that filled Godefride with endless disgust.


    However, when he thought of how satisfying it had been to snatch back his position after being away for so long, the swirl of spear qi around him only grew more violent.


    With large steps, he strolled through the banquet hall, not waiting for proper greetings in the slightest, Like the tip of a spear piercing forward, he made it to Ryu''s side and stepped into the pools of blood without flinching.


    He kicked a corpse to the side and plopped down, his spear qi dispersing to reveal gorgeous silver robes that seemed to hold the depths of space within their threads. It was clear that the Spiritual Seamstress that had weaved them was a talent on a completely different level.


    Under normal circumstances, Godefride would be worried about involving Ryu in something that he was still too weak to be a part of, but it was clear by the previous atmosphere that he had already been embroiled in it without knowing. So, Godefride no longer held back, sitting by Ryu''s side with a wide smile.


    Ryu rose his head from his fourth plate of food and met Godefride''s gaze. He nodded slightly before he continued to eat, his speed just as fast and his etiquette just as immaculate.


    Godefride chuckled but didn''t say much. He knew well that with Ryu''s usual personality, the fact that he was acknowledged at all was no small bit of face. He really couldn''t ask for much more.


    The eight remaining youths who had come with Godefride narrowed their gazes. It was clear immediately that a portion of them weren''t satisfied with Godefride''s actions. But, that didn''t stop two others from smiling and following his lead: the Virga Clan''s Staff and the Scire Clan''s Saber.


    The former was a bald headed youth with skin as dark as night and eyes as silver as the largest moon in the night sky. His gaze even somewhat reminded Ryu of his Fate Star, blazing with a mercury that flared up every so often.


    The latter was actually a petite young woman barely and inch or two over five feet tall. She wore a mask so it was difficult to see her true appearance but she walked through the pools of blood just as easily as Godefride or the Virga Clan''s Staff did.


    "This is the Virga Clan''s Staff, Eustis. This is the Scire Clan''s Saber, Sabelle."


    "Ryu Tor." Ryu replied between bites. He once again left people baffled toward how he could eat so fast yet talk so smoothly without issue.


    As the group introduced themselves, what remained of the Armament Guild made their way up into the stands. It was obvious almost immediately that they hadn''t come to participate in the bloodshed and were simply here to look and observe. However, that only made the actions of Godefride and the other two all the more baffling.

 Chapter 636 In Stone

    Chapter 636 In Stone


    "We welcome the Armament Guild to¡­"


    King Adonis began with pleasantries, much of which should have fell on deaf ears considering the death and bloodshed that had already taken place. It gave the entire ceremony an air of chaos to it that thrummed at the hearts of those present, but something told Ryu that this was how it was all purposely designed.


    This was the reality of what the Martial Gods were. They put up a fa?ade of scholarly airs, but they were, at their core, a race of people that spoke with their fists, flesh and bone.


    "¡­ Today, as is the case with every conferment of King, those who were deemed unworthy in the past will have a chance to redeem themselves. However, the World Sea Realm experts of our people are far too valuable to sacrifice in this way. What we will one day face is one unprecedented in our history. So, we will instead give this opportunity to the youths."


    Ryu''s rate of food consumption didn''t slow, but his thoughts inwardly narrowed in on King Adonis'' mention of an enemy. Was this the enemy that had chased the Martial Gods to this point? Or was it something different?


    Something told Ryu that the Martial Gods wouldn''t so blatantly expose this enemy, especially not in front of outsiders like this. This made Ryu conclude that this ''enemy'' was actually some existence that was completely different, but what the hell kind of enemy was that?


    Ryu''s thoughts spun before he suddenly recalled something.


    Didn''t the Zu Clan Ancestors also say something about an enemy coming back? Wasn''t that why they had buried themselves so well on the Mortal Planes, waiting for a day to come back? Did that mean there wasn''t a single enemy, but two?


    Under normal circumstances, Ryu wouldn''t care about this at all. But, now that he had taken a master, as far as he was concerned, the Zu Clan had become another one of his responsibilities. Since this enemy was likely the one his Master was preparing to fight against, he would have no choice.


    But this really felt like an irony of all ironies. Would there really be an enemy he needed to fight alongside the Martial Gods?


    Ryu''s knife shattered the bone of a Ninth Order beast as though it was dead wood, the control of his wrist having faltered slightly. But, he continued on as though nothing had happened.


    Godefride noticed this oddity and narrowed his eyes. But, he said nothing in the end. After all, he and Ryu weren''t this close. As much as his actions just now had helped alleviate some pressure on Ryu, it was also out of his own selfish interests as well. Ultimately, he wasn''t yet qualified to ask such things of Ryu.


    "¡­ Now, there are exactly 999 of you left and this is a perfect number for the coming trials."


    King Adonis waved his hand, causing the formations in the air to ripple. Slowly, a stone forest began to appear at the center of the arena, expanding to the point it was ten kilometers wide and long.


    The stones that made up this forest began to grow rapidly, intertwining with one another to the point what once was a forest became an endless maze instead. This maze had exactly 999 entrances but only nine exits in total.


    If the participating geniuses could see the stone maze from above, it would be possible to see these original 999 entrances weaving in and out of one another, forcing clashes until there was inevitably just 9 remaining. It was clear that this was yet another selection process.


    "¡­ 999 will enter and 9 will leave. However, the matters aren''t so simple as they appear to be on the surface. You will have to display strength as well as¡­"


    Ryu didn''t listen to any of this, focusing on consuming as much food as he could. It wasn''t until King Adonis had finished and ushered for them to begin to take their places that he finally stood.


    "Good luck." Godefride said with a smile.


    Ryu nodded again. However, his words were completely different from his amicable response.


    "I won''t need luck."


    Godefride chuckled as Ryu strode away, cutting a path through the banquet tables and over several pools of blood without a single blemish touching him or his pristine white hair.


    "¡­ What an arrogant kid." Sabelle said lightly.


    "You''d better be careful, Sabelle. Or else you might end up in his bed one day." Godefride said with a laugh.


    "You want a taste of my saber, Godefride? You spent some time away, did you already forget who you''re talking to?"


    "Ah, sorry, sorry, good sister. Don''t hurt little ol me, I''m just a passive observer."


    "Watch your mouth." Sabella said with a snort that reverberated beneath her mask. "Your words are no different from wishing a dead man upon me. I''ll cut your tongue out next time."


    Godefride fell silent hearing these words, but it was Eustis that finally broke it.


    "If he''s a friend of yours, why is it that you didn''t warn him about this?"


    Godefride sighed. "I''ve seen how this brat does things before. The fact he''s here means he has a purpose, and if he has a purpose¡­ Well let''s say that even a Sky God can''t make him change his mind."


    It was clear now that Sabelle''s words weren''t assuming Ryu''s death because he would have to fight these geniuses¡­ But it was rather predicting it as a result of something completely different¡­


    "What is the point of allowing him to be stubborn if he''s going to end up dead?" Eustis asked.


    "¡­ Who knows, maybe he won''t die?"


    Eustis and Sabelle looked toward one another and frowned. Just what sort of happy pills had this Ryu fed Godefride to make him believe that this could end any other way?


    Everyone knew that there was no way that any non-Martial God could possibly survive this. It was written in stone.

 Chapter 637 Childish Stage

    Chapter 637 Childish Stage


    Ryu made it to the stone maze. However, rather than carefully picking his entrance like many others did, he simply chose the first one he came across, standing the furthest to the right.


    He rose his head, his gaze happening to meet King Adonis''. The latter, who had just finished explaining things, had been observing the proceedings much like everyone else had been. Without much surprise, his gaze had spent most of its time on Ryu.


    Having become used to Ryu never looking at him, he hadn''t been prepared for the sudden change and by the time their gazes met, it was already too late to look away. But.. who was he, as a World Sea Realm expert, to fret the gaze of a small pup like Ryu?


    However, rather than getting into a staring contest, Ryu only matched King Adonis'' gaze for a split moment before looking away, the depth of his gaze almost reaching the heart of the World Sea Realm King. Somehow, Adonis felt that he had been seen through completely.


    ''He has Elena''s aura on him.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a blazing cold light. If not for his control, his gaze alone would have dressed down this King Adonis. He wouldn''t be surprised if this supposed King was one of his wife''s many suitors, and yet he had to stand here an accept it.


    His mind flashed with thoughts of trampling the Martial Gods beneath his feet, of filling the Shrine Plane with forests of fire and skies of lightning. A deep, murderous intent caused his heart to thump and beat wildly even as his face remained expressionless.


    If one could cut open his chest right now, it would be possible to see his heart covered in violet scales, pumping as though the heart of a Dragon or Qilin. It caused a rush of vitality to fill Ryu''s body, breathing life into him with each contraction.


    "¡­ Begin."


    King Adonis'' words were slow and deliberate, but Ryu''s steps were equally so. He strolled into the forest of stone without looking back, his body vanishing in the darkness.


    Despite the fact the maze seemed to have no overhead cover, when those who entered looked up, all they could find was a vast nothingness as though they had entered the depths of space. It was only the spectators on the outside that could see their actions.


    However, to Ryu, his pupils were completely unaffected. Even though he too was shrouded in darkness, with just a single thought, he could see right through it all.


    His steps seemed to be slow, but he was far beyond what a mortal could match at full tilt. Ryu realized very soon, though, that this maze wasn''t so simple. There was something working against his steps. He could even feel that the maze was actually shifting around as well. In fact, what the maze was shifting about seemed to be fixed as well.


    It was hard to explain but easy for Ryu to conceptualize. Whatever movements the maze was making now was akin to different sized gears moving about one another. The speed at which these parts spun was dependent on the speed of the person who had entered the entrance.


    From what Ryu could tell, depending on which tunnel you entered, it was beneficial to you to either be slow or fast to minimize the number of opponents you would come across.


    After some simple calculations, Ryu realized that his particular entrance required a speed of about two meters a second to minimize the number of opponents he was facing. This would fluctuate depending on what those who entered the entrances by him did. However, Ryu was always able to instantly adjust.


    If it was any other situation, Ryu might have done the exact opposite of this, choosing the speed that would maximize his opponents so that he could continue to train and push himself. But, this situation was a bit different from others.


    He could feel a lingering guillotine over his head. This was why he didn''t care about anything else and focused on eating as much as he could. It was also why he hadn''t gone all out to kill Arteur as fast as he could previously.


    He had come here not to prove anything, nor was he foolish enough to think that he could deal the Martial Gods a blow in his current state.


    He had come for two reasons alone: to see his wife and to make sure that she was safe. There was nothing more and nothing less.


    Knowing that Elena would likely be in danger during her ceremony only made Ryu''s resolve to come all the more sturdy. As her husband, he wouldn''t allow any burden he could carry to land on her shoulders. She had carried enough in these last near billion years. He wouldn''t let her carry any more.


    To outside viewers, Ryu''s movements were shocking.


    He would perfectly speed up and slow down, often avoiding another entrance connecting to his own by a hair''s breadth.


    He strolled through and his pace seeming to be even. The only thing that changed was the length of his stride. However, everything from the rhythm of his breath to the pendulum of his legs remained exactly the same, almost eerily so.


    By the time everyone looked up, Ryu had made it to the opposite entrance, not having fought even a single battle and being the very first to claim one of the nine spots despite the fact he hadn''t been moving nearly the fastest.


    The difference was simply too striking. Some unlucky bastards were forced to battle again and again and again, barely surviving one onslaught only to fall into another. Sometimes, even three or four entrances would come together, leading to battle royales with often tragic endings where not a single soul survived.


    Clashes of battle rang through the stone maze, but Ryu didn''t even turn back as it had little to nothing to do with him.


    A sparkling tag of qi began to form before him. With an outstretch of his hand, Ryu grasped it, his expression indifferent.


    A trial of the Martial Gods? A contest of children? This wasn''t the stage he planned to stand on.

 Chapter 638 One Through Nine

    Chapter 638 One Through Nine


    Ryu took hold of his ticket, his expression no different as though he hadn''t accomplished anything special. With smooth steps he continued forward, slipping through a screen of qi and sitting upon one of nine platforms.


    Without a glance to his surroundings, he closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation, his wildly beating heart slowly being reined into his control one breath at a time.


    ¡­


    "See what I mean? He does things as he pleases?" Godefride took a swing from a random cup he found on the table without a care for what had happened to it before. There was even a hint of blood on its surface but he didn''t seem to mind in the slightest.


    "¡­ That wasn''t normal." Sabelle said with narrowed eyes.


    They could of course see the changes of the maze. After all, they were allowed a bird''s eye view and could even observe all of the entrances at once. But, Ryu was essentially asked to predict something in the third dimension while only two were available to him.


    Godefride shrugged. "He''s a genius."


    "That wasn''t normal genius." Eustis spoke first this time.


    If before he hadn''t been convinced, he was thoroughly convinced now. In fact, he was a bit indignant that Godefride had allowed such a talent to enter the line of danger.


    Godefride just smirked. "How about you two just watch the show for now, hm? I have a feeling that quite a few people are about to become very pissed off."


    Eustis and Sabelle looked toward one another. They really couldn''t understand what Godefride was thinking. It was like he couldn''t realize that he was more like his father than he wanted to admit¡­


    ¡­


    King Adonis stared at Ryu who had entered a state of silent meditation, his gaze narrowed. In all the ways he thought this might conclude, he hadn''t thought that anyone would be able to make it all the way through without fighting a single battle. It was even more baffling because Ryu hadn''t carefully picked his entrance like the others had.


    In the beginning, Ryu''s speed wasn''t optimal either. He adjusted it as he walked to match the proper rhythm and even seemed to do it as easily as breathing. The only thing that seemed to make sense was that Ryu must have known the contents of this trial before he entered, but even that was impossible because the only one who had known was he and he alone. And, obviously, King Adonis was certain that he hadn''t told Ryu anything.


    The only one who didn''t seem shocked by all of this and was instead ecstatic was Overseer Eudo. His gaze lit up and his blood rushed through his veins, the latter was so loud, in fact, that he couldn''t even hear the congratulations around him.


    He gripped his fists so tightly that the space around them trembled, the strength of a World Sea Realm expert threatening to destroy the arena around him. Luckily, he was able to regain his bearings somewhat and calm down.


    This was it. This was his chance to finally recover his former glory.


    He had no idea how he had gotten so lucky. He had almost planned not to participate this year at all, and yet here he was getting such a chance. How could he not be shaking from head to toe? Ryu had practically fallen into his lap from a deity up above.


    ¡­


    At that moment, another entrance flashed. At least half an hour had passed since Ryu exited, but the second participant only made their way out now.


    Tybalt blinked when he saw that it was actually Ryu, his eyes lighting up. Though he was a member of the Heaven''s Dew branch, his maternal Bloodline had made him quite confident in his abilities. To think he had actually lost to Ryu and so handily at that.


    Unlike how most would react to such a failure, he took it in stride, choosing a platform to sit upon and leaving just seven remaining.


    Long after Tybalt, a third and fourth appeared. The third individual was none other than Moxi. When he saw Tybalt, he wasn''t surprised. But, Ryu''s appearance made his pupils constrict. Though, he didn''t get to say anything before Thephine appeared.


    "Oh, looks like I lost to you this time." Thephine said with a chuckle. But, considering he was still picking his teeth with Moxi''s short sword, it was clear that he wasn''t very broken up about it.


    The second, third and fourth place participants weren''t a surprise to anyone. Tybalt''s fame was quite well known among the Martial Gods youths. After all, he was ranked top three on the Dao Pedestal Heir Rankings. The only reason first and second were not participating in this event was because they had no need to as they already had. Soon, they would enter the Cosmic Seed Realm, entering them into the ranks of the older generation.


    As for both Thephine and Moxi, they were within the top ten. The reason they made it here third and fourth wasn''t because of their combat prowess alone, but more so because of their souls. They were members of the Nurturing Soul and Silver Touch Branches, so they had this advantage.


    There was just one more person of the top ten participating, and that was the muscular Syriah. However, they all predicted that she would only make it in somewhere between the seventh to eighth slots because her soul wasn''t as talented as the rest of theirs.


    Moxi gave Thephine a glare before he turned his attention back toward Ryu.


    This was the very first time a non-Martial God had come first. Given his usual personality, he would be enraged. But, this time, it technically wasn''t him who lost¡­ It was Tybalt.


    ''Who the hell is this person? Also, how did his Clan members allow him to become a representative instead of a free participant. Is he an idiot?''


    Moxi''s mind couldn''t help but spin through the possibilities. The Martial Gods were quite fond of talents, especially ones willing to spread their seed to their people. The greater the talents that had relations with their daughters, the better. There were even some wives who didn''t mind having extra marital affairs all for the sake of bearing powerful children.


    There was a reason why no one too powerful could be chosen as a representative. And, usually, even if one slipped through the cracks¡­ Someone should have taken actions to save him by now¡­ Unless¡­


    Moxi didn''t dare to turn his gaze toward King Adonis like Ryu had. He didn''t have such boldness coursing through his veins. But, he had already understood something in this heart.


    Right then, fifth through ninth came out in quick succession. As expected, Syriah was the eighth, just managing to squeeze in. Unlike the others who used their heads, she just smashed her way all the way through, not caring for a thing.


    As for the ninth person, it was none other than Arteur. Other than Ryu, he was one of the only three that were members of the Martial Gods.


    Arteur wasn''t surprised to see Ryu nor was he off put by his ninth place ranking. Scarlet Sparrows were never good with this sort of stuff to begin with. But, when it came time to battle, he was confident that he could make anyone take him seriously.


    For a talent like him, a cultivation Realm was nothing but that. He found it meaningless. He would show them his true strength soon enough.


    Ryu, though, had gained one more glare trying to bore into his soul.


    The third and final non-Martial God member was a young man who had exited sixth. He had a head of blue hair and arcs of blue lightning coursed through his pupils. He was yet another member of the Ignis Clan, but it was clear that compared to the young man Ryu had crippled, he was on a completely different level.


    All of the youths here were granted spots without being representatives. It could be said that Ryu was the only one shackled to an Overseer. So, this painted the picture of this young man''s talent quite clearly.


    Ulmir Ignis.


    It didn''t take a genius to realize that Ulmir must have found out what happened to his fellow clansmen recently and wanted revenge. Unfortunately, he hadn''t run into Ryu in the maze despite choosing the entrance right beside him. Even more infuriating was the fact that Ryu hadn''t even noticed who was beside him to begin with because such a thing was irrelevant to him.


    It could only be said that Ryu was far too good at attracting hatred.


    "Fuck!"


    Standing on the other side of one of the nine exits was a light green haired man who realized he was a step too late. It was quite ironic, in fact, because it was his Clan hosting this event and now he was on the outside looking in.


    The stone maze shook and those that had survived were forcefully teleported out and sent back to the banquet tables while those who had died were never to be seen again.


    The atmosphere suddenly became heavy as a subtle shift took place.


    From a higher level of the castle, a certain group began to move downward. At their helm, a young man with shoulders as broad as boulders and back as straight as a javelin walked with slow and deliberate steps, youths of all ages following to his back, some even as young as 15 or 16 years old.


    The next King to be crowned, Galkos, was making his appearance.

 Chapter 639 One After Another

    Chapter 639 One After Another


    The appearance of Galkos seemed to symbolize something. Right then, before he had even truly made himself known, large spatial fluctuations rocked the castle as large group after large group began to appear. If this atmosphere were to be described in just a few words¡­ Those that were inferior simply had no right to stand in this place.


    The first group to appear was shrouded in a deathly darkness. Their appearance alone made one feel as though one''s life might be on the line, the lights dimming beneath their presence. It was quite obvious though that this supposed dimming was, in reality, a corruption of the lighter qi in the surroundings toward a much darker and much more sinister path.


    They all wore black robes that shrouded much of their figures and half masks that covered the upper portion of their faces. This alone was enough to make their affiliations as clear as day¡­ They were none other than the members of the Necromancy Guild.


    While the Armament Guild was led by nine families, the Necromancy Guild was led by three. In fact, Ryu had already met one of their members in this lifetime already.


    The Avangard family. The Delliard family. And, the Mophesta family.


    Three of their members stood at the helm. If Ryu had cared to pay attention, he would have noticed the signature skull earrings of the Avagard family, the bone spur earrings of the Delliard family, and the neck tattoos of the Mophesta family. Each of these signs gave them a sinister look fit for the greatest Necromancers of this Era.


    These three leading members all had cultivation within the Cosmic Seed Realm much like Godefride and the others of the Armament Guild had. At this point, it was clear that it was deliberate, and only became more clear when the next large group of individuals began to appear¡­


    The Merchant Guild.


    Unlike the other Guilds, the Merchant Guild wasn''t so close knit nor did they have a defined hierarchy beyond the simplest of structures. There were, of course, factions and such, but much of these factions only existed to help pool resources toward the top. Essentially, it was a Guild where benefits were first and foremost while comradery and togetherness were all secondary.


    As a result of this, those that came to represent the Merchant Guild didn''t have a cohesive group like the Necromancy and Armament Guilds had. Instead, they simply sent forward a few talented Cosmic Seed Realm experts.


    As for these talents, each and every one of them was within a Sky God''s Faction, many of them even having Direct Descendant status much like Ryu''s. Though, Ryu''s status was more like a joke than anything else compared to these young men and women¡­


    The Merchant Guild represented the rogue cultivators of the martial world. It was here those with talent but lacking foundation came together. And, in this coming together, that they built this foundation that they were lacking by relying on one another.


    Among this group, though, there was a singular young man with flowing white hair and silver eyes that stood amidst the talents of the Merchant Guild. He exuded a pride that came from deep within his bones and even had a handsome air to him that approached Ryu.


    It was clear that the Zu Clan''s affiliations with the Merchant Guild weren''t so shallow¡­ And it also became clear at this moment that Ryu''s conjecture that the Zu Clan was related to the Immortal Sakura Faction was highly likely to be true¡­


    However, this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    The moment the last of the Merchant Guild appeared, a sweeping, sinister aura took hold of the castle. The very foundations began to rock as the formations that maintain the stability began to shatter one after another. It didn''t take a genius to comprehend that whatever group was appearing now was appearing from a distance so far away that the very structure of space had to be splintered to allow them to appear.


    When the first of them began to appear, no small number of individuals sat up in their chairs, their backs arching and their gazes narrowing.


    The clattering of horse hooves, the steps of giants, the whistling cold wind of spirits¡­ One after another, they appeared without a care for the devastation they wrought to their surroundings.


    The Wrath Knight. The Skeleton King. The Fire Giants. The Ice Queens. The Horned Devils. The Bone Serpents. The Shadows. The Ash Treants.


    Eight of nine Demon King Clans had appeared all at once, each more menacing and dangerous than the last. In an unprecedented show of power, for the first time in any history Ryu had ever read or seen recorded, the Demon Kings had stepped onto the Real Plane not as a Summon, but as a governing body prepared to represent their Plane.


    At that moment, Ryu finally opened his eyes.


    Each and every one of the leading representatives of the Demon Kings was of the Ninth Order. They exuded powerful auras that demanded the center of attention, their strength standing on a plane all to their own. Their presence alone caused the qi in the surroundings to corrode and blacken¡­ Their existences were, without a doubt, synonymous with death.


    However, this wasn''t why Ryu had opened his eyes at all. He could care less. As far as he was concerned, it was only a matter of time before he would have Demon Kings among his Summons. He wouldn''t settle for anything less.


    They might have been here to support the Martial Gods now, but one day they would be used to trample these very grounds¡­


    No, the reason Ryu had opened his eyes was because yet another group was appearing and the momentum of their appearance was no less than that of the Demon Kings. However, Ryu wasn''t blinded by the pomp and circumstance. He knew the reason the Demon Kings had caused such commotion wasn''t because they were so supremely powerful, but rather because this was the energy it took to travel between Planes.


    Now, it was happening again, a commotion just as great¡­


    It was quite obvious where these people would be coming from. It seemed that Ryu''s In-Laws would also be making an appearance.

 Chapter 640 Erased

    Chapter 640 Erased


    One after another, auras that could only be described as the antithesis of the Demon Kings began to appear one after another. It was light, airy, filling one with vitality and a zealousness for life. Beautiful men and women appeared one after another, wearing what could only be described as nature''s garments.


    Compared to their normal lives in the Ethereal Plane, the Faeries were much more modest when interacting with the outside world, realizing that their internal beliefs didn''t reflect how the broader world would view them. However, this added modesty only served to make them more appealing, their beauty shining through as imaginations ran wild.


    The Elemental Sprites, the Tree Folk, the Battle Faeries and even the Pixies were in attendance. However, there were three individuals who likewise took the helm of them as well, representing the three ruling Clans of the Ethereal Plane.


    The Quibus Clan was led by a pale skin youth wrapped in silk fabrics of silver, violet and deep blacks. He had a long head of flowing black hair that almost appeared to be more like waves of energy rather than tangible filaments.


    The Ficia Clan were led by a white haired youth lady with blazing golden eyes. She had a petite stature and subtle curves, but her face held an undeniable beauty that lit up her surroundings. To a lot of those who laid eyes on her, she was the most beautiful woman any of them had ever seen in their lifetimes..


    Finally, there was the Cultus Faeries¡­ They were led by a young man with golden hair and crimson eyes. He exuded an air of confidence and maturity beyond his years. Almost as soon as he appeared, though, he frowned lightly, his gaze shifting through the crowd and landing on Ryu who had been looking toward him from the very beginning.


    This young man obviously did not know Ryu, nor did Ryu know him. However, there was a sensitivity to Faeries and their partners that other Faeries and partners had that others could simply not match up to. If Ailsa wanted to hide, even an expert on King Adonis'' level wouldn''t be able to find her. But, if her goal was to hide from a Faerie, then even the smallest, most immature toddler could spot her.


    There was a simple reason for this: all of Ailsa''s concealment abilities were related to using the Ethereal Plane to cover the aura and hide things. However, a Faerie''s affinity with this Plane was so high that this concealment might as well have not been there. In fact, it was worse than that, such concealment to a Faerie was like jumping up and down while screaming "I''m right here" at the top of your lungs.


    Ryu was already smart enough to know this. The moment he sensed the Faeries appearing, he had asked Ailsa to stop concealing his Heavenly Pupils like she usually did. Such a thing would only expose him faster. Instead, he leaked a bit of the aura of his [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] and his Chaos Qi, disrupting and confusing whatever energy signature his Pupils would usually have.


    However, none of this stopped this young man from sensing the aura of a Cultus Faerie on Ryu.


    The young man looked Ryu up and down before nodding lightly and turning away. Without Ailsa on his shoulder, it was impossible for this young man to tell that it was actually the Princess of his Cultus Clan that had Partnered with Ryu. As far as he knew, Ryu had contracted a normal Cultus Faerie. Unless he probed deeper, he wouldn''t be able to tell much more than this.


    Of course, this young man was aware that Ailsa had contracted a human boy. But, the thing was that just 200 or so years ago, Ryu had still been in the Connecting Heaven Realm. In this time frame, it was impossible for him to grow strong enough to have a place here.


    "Oh. Another Little Nephew." Ailsa giggled within the Incubator.


    Ryu, who wasn''t really in the mood for jokes, still almost failed to stop himself from rolling his eyes at this moment. He had already ended up half dead after the first round of little nephews, now they were already sending Cosmic Seed Realm experts after him. Where was the logical progression?


    Individuals from far less prestigious organizations began to appear, some of them even coming from the Blossom Plane. After a moment, it felt as though anyone who was anyone in the Martial World had a representative here.


    It seemed like the World Sea Realm experts would never appear, but Ryu was well aware that they had long since been here. They were simply in a location where they couldn''t be found and Ryu felt no need to blow their cover.


    It was then, in a perfectly timed maneuver, that Galkos appeared. He stepped down through the skies, following a staircase of glittering qi. Whether by design or coincidence, he truly seemed to be a God from on high, descending to grace them all with his presence.


    His robes fluttered, a smile of confidence gracing his face.


    "Welcome!"


    Galkos spread out his arms in a grandiose fashion, his figure seeming to encapsulate the world.


    "I thank Elder Brother Adonis for giving me this bit of face and hosting my ascension. Today, you will all witness the strength of the Martial Gods and experience my rise!"


    King Adonis vanished upon hearing Galkos speak. As for being called Elder Brother by someone he saw as nothing more than a little boy, he could only say that Galkos was sufficiently arrogant. However, technically, since they were both soon to be Kings, there was nothing wrong with Galkos'' words.


    Galkos turned his head toward the nine who had made it through the stone maze.


    "You nine will open up the path for me. Make sure to do your job well. After all, Elder Sister Elena will still need your help after myself."


    Galkos grinned fiendishly, looking up into the skies above. The castle of the Viridi Clan was so open that even the skies above could be seen clearly from the bottom floor.


    "Father-in-law, I hope you''re watching well." Galkos'' voice boomed.


    "Esteemed Ancestors, your junior is prepared to challenge the Heavens and take my life in my own hands. To exist above reproach and wield the strength of worlds, this is the destiny of we Martial Gods.


    "I accept this burden onto my shoulders!


    "I am Galkos, a God of the Martial World and Warrior that cannot be blasphemed! I will show this world what separates a Mortal from a Deity!"


    Ryu''s pupils constricted into pinholes. He had heard these exact words once before.


    However, before he could think much more about it, the tall walls and the ceiling collapsed, an enormous vortex of violent qi ripping it to shreds and opening them all to the depths of the sky.


    It was then that the day and the sun suddenly vanished, an endless darkness taking hold of everything as an almighty pressure primed to destroy worlds descended.


    Fear gripped the hearts of all those present. It was a fear of being erased from all of existence.

 Chapter 641 Beyond

    Chapter 641 Beyond


    Ryu slowly stood from his platform. With the way the nine platforms were angled and designed, the nine of them were already positioned as the vanguard. There was no choice in the matter nor did Galkos give them any time to prepare. But, it was clear that they all were ready for this. Maybe the only one who hadn''t expected things to begin so soon was Ryu himself.


    But, right then, an overwhelming pressure that made Ryu''s brow crease descended. In fact, he could sense with a single look that it wasn''t just him that experienced this. Whether it was the youth from the Ignis Clan or the third and final non-Martial God member who seemed to be from the Viridi Clan, each of them had also experienced a sudden bump in this pressure, an added pressure that was very clearly not given to the Martial Gods.


    If that was the end of it, things might still be fine, but Ryu suddenly realized that not only did the three of them gain this added pressure, but his own was raised by an exaggerated amount even compared to the other two.


    ''Ailsa¡­''


    Ryu didn''t receive a response, but he knew that it wasn''t because Ailsa was ignoring him. In fact, they both felt it simultaneously. If Ailsa responded to Ryu, the pressure that he was experiencing now would transfer over to her as well. Not only would this make the pressure far worse, but it would also force Ailsa out to meet whatever was descending along with Ryu.


    There was a good side to this. This likely meant that outside interference was near impossible unless they too wanted to be dragged in. However, the bad news was that Ryu was on his own without a doubt.


    Luckily, Ailsa didn''t have to communicate with Ryu directly for them to converse. Rather than sending his voice to Ailsa and waiting for hers in return, all he had to do was use their connection as Life Partners for him to understand what she would have wanted to say. This was slightly more difficult than her just speaking, but with their current level of intimacy, it was barely an inconvenience.


    When Ryu grasped Ailsa''s thoughts and speculations, though, his pupils couldn''t help but constrict.


    Before he could even begin to digest what it was he had just heard, several pillars of dark light descended from the skies. Whatever devastation there already had been multiplied several times over, tearing even at the very foundation of the castle.


    Ryu reacted quickly, flashing out of the way. However, the reverberating impact ate at the Spiritual Qi that formed his robes. By the time he had stepped into a safer location, his entire sleeve was being burnt away by a dark gold flame.


    Ryu''s brows raised in shock. He immediately rose a skin of qi that repelled this flame, but to his shock, what had once been Immortal Qi plummeted to Mortal Qi. Not just that, but even his cultivation had fallen to the Awakening Realm. He felt weaker than he had in a very long time.


    It was then that Ryu grasped something else. His cultivation was in the Awakening Realm now, but why was it that he just used such a powerful technique without issue?


    ''My cultivation is being suppressed, but my ability to use techniques and my comprehensions aren''t. But why is this suppression so heavy?''


    It wasn''t just the cultivation drop. Thanks to Isemeine, Ryu had expected this. The only reason he was caught off guard was because he had just used [Lightning Divine Mark] without issue. Still, what was shocking him the greatest was this unrelenting pressure that continuously fell on his shoulders. It felt like something was enraged toward his very being. So infuriated, in fact, that it wanted to destroy him.


    No, it wasn''t just enraged¡­ It was disappointed, almost like a parent that had no choice but to turn their own child in for a crime they committed.


    The dark pillar of light that had descended before Ryu began to slowly shrink. Its connection with the void in the sky it had come from grew weaker and weaker until a thin line snapped, revealing what was beneath.


    A warrior standing two heads above Ryu and wearing plate armor as dark as night slowly rose. Its very being danced about with the dark gold flame that had threatened to burn Ryu to ash just moments ago and the pressure it exuded made the very surroundings themselves tremble.


    Ryu''s gaze opened with shock.


    It wasn''t because of the size of this warrior, nor was it because of its power, it wasn''t even because he had recognized exactly what this being was¡­


    It was because, for just the second time in his two lifetimes, he felt true fear.


    The being didn''t have eyes, but rather had two flicker dark gold flames. It didn''t have the scent of life, but it also didn''t come with the scent of death either. It stood there, and yet it felt like it wasn''t there at all, as though it embodied emptiness and nothingness, the nihility of all that was¡­


    Eight other warriors wearing this same armor had descended, but none were as tall as Ryu''s nor were any of their auras as sinister or powerful. In fact, the other eight didn''t dare to move in the presence of this ninth.


    Without fail, the eight black armored warriors knelt down to both knees, laying their forearms to the ground and leaving their palms facing upward to the skies. Only after they did this toward Ryu''s warrior did they rise back up, aiming their bodies toward the eight remaining participants.


    From start to finish, Ryu''s warrior didn''t acknowledge them as though they were nothing more than ants. It stood just two meters before Ryu, its head angled downward and dark gold flames rising and falling from the mouth of its helmet as though it was truly breathing.


    Ryu realized at that moment that he had stepped into something that was far beyond his understanding.

 Chapter 642 Rite

    Chapter 642 Rite


    As Ryu had expected, the World Sea Realm experts were, indeed, present. They stood in a void world created by someone who must have been a master in the spatial element, watching on. They had been idly chatting but the moment the black armored warrior appeared before Ryu, many of them stood, their pupils constricting into pinholes.


    The World Sea Realm experts of the Martial Gods looked toward one another, the realization clear in their eyes.


    In one particular location of the small void realm, Ryu''s father-in-law, King Cultus, was indeed present. When it came to these matters, it was likely that he was only second in understanding to the Martial Gods themselves, so when he saw this change, he too was shocked.


    ''As someone who has a Partner from my Cultus Clan, it isn''t a surprise that the Heavens would place so much hope in him. But, to think that it would actually be so infuriated¡­ Is this talent going to die here?''


    The World Sea Realm experts rose to their feet, their expressions filling every tick on a wide spectrum.


    ¡­


    Ryu felt every fiber of his body constricting to an extreme. When one felt fear, there were two responses. One could either push one''s body into overdrive, allowing a fight or flight response. Or.. You could completely shut down.


    The last time Ryu had felt this crippling fear he had been forced to take his own life for the sake of giving his family a chance in the future. Maybe the only two who knew just how horrible that experience had been for him were Elena and Ailsa. And right now, it felt like his body was trying to take the latter approach, to force him to accept his Fate and bow his head.


    At that moment, the so-called rage of his Fire Dragon Bloodline had vanished. The will of Judgment within his Lightning Qilin Blood was nowhere to be seen. The absolute defense of his Ice Phoenix Blood lay dormant while the pride of his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline had turned docile.


    Every bit of the talent of Ryu had been so proud of vanished. Even his Spiritual Foundation and his enigmatic white flame fell into silence, suppressed to an impossible extreme.


    It felt like everything that had been him was snatched away. He was nothing but a normal young man of the Awakening Realm, a pitiful Realm that even Mortals wouldn''t hold in high esteem.


    Battles had broken out all around the two of them, and yet this black armored warrior only took a slight step forward. The steady growth and receding of his dark gold flames continuing to breathe and bear down upon Ryu.


    Light, clinking footsteps that should have been drowned out by the surrounding commotion resounded like thunder in Ryu''s mind. There was a second, then a third, then a fourth.


    What once was a two meter distance became so close that Ryu was forced to look straight up at the black armored warrior while it looked straight down.


    The black armored warrior''s scent was oddly familiar. It was the very same metallic sort of smell that hung in the air when it was about to rain¡­ When everything that had been was soon to be washed away and diluted into nothingness.


    It was a smell that usually filled humans with fondness and happiness. But, it was so concentrated on this black armored warrior that it felt toxic and oppressive. With every breath of it, Ryu felt that his own breathing was cut shorter and shorter. He soon found himself gasping for breath without oxygen to breathe. Every time he tried to take a breath, he would be assaulted by that smell. It hung on his tongue, clung to his throat, pervaded his nose without a sign of disappearing.


    Ryu''s gaze turned bloodshot, not only from lack of oxygen, but also from a realization that this metallic scent also reminded him of blood. This was the sort of experience that hung on your soul and slowly crushed it¡­


    An Indestructible Soul talent¡­? It could make that useless too.


    Ryu suddenly understood why he had felt such fear when he took his first life¡­ it wasn''t a fear that came from himself, it was a fear that came from this feeling right here. Something bigger than himself, something much larger than his own being, hadn''t wanted him to take his own life. And yet¡­ He had done it anyway¡­


    And now¡­ It felt like whatever that thing was, was back for revenge.


    ¡­


    Within the void world, King Adonis'' gaze narrowed.


    ''My intuition was correct, he was indeed a danger. It''s over now, there''s no need to dwell on this. His death is certain.


    ''What a joke this world is¡­ Killing its own talent¡­. It still has yet to realize the true might of a Divine Race.''


    Just when King Adonis finished this thought, he found his eyes widening again.


    ¡­


    "I get it." Ryu''s vacant gaze suddenly sharpened. "So, this is the true strength of the Heavens? No, this can''t be considered your true strength. At most, it''s the small piece of it you think that''s probably enough to deal with me. But, instead of aiming that strength toward the dancing clown behind me, you actually thought to aim it toward me instead.


    "I get it¡­ I really do. You do things this way because you aren''t a person, you aren''t an existence that lives and breathes, you don''t even have a mind of your own. You act on instinct and you move on a set of rules long since laid out for you.


    "But, I already overcame you once as a mortal man with no more strength in my arms than a child would. What makes you think that now, after all I''ve accomplished, after all the blood I''ve shed and bones I''ve shattered, I could ever lower my head to you?"


    Ryu''s aura suddenly surged, a cultivation that shocked those spectating reverberating throughout the whole of the Shrine Plane.


    The 13th Rite, the Rite of Origin blossomed forth.

 Chapter 643 Kneel

    Chapter 643 Kneel


    Ryu and the Heaven''s Warrior shot out a fist at the same time. Battle intent blazed in Ryu''s gaze and billowing plumes of dark gold flames erupted from within the Heaven''s Warrior.


    The moment their fists met, Ryu felt as though his entire arm was collapsing. Having long since lost his sleeve to the violent surge of dark gold fire from earlier, his fair skin was in plain view for all to see. Veins warped like flood dragons beneath his skin, beautiful Heavenly Patterns of blue overlaying them all, crackling about like particles of crystalline ice.


    Ryu was immediately pushed several heavy steps backward, but the Heaven''s Warrior was likewise forced a single step back, the heavy clinking of its armor resounding through the arena.


    Up ahead, the void swirled and rumbled, looking almost like a cyclonic cumulonimbus cloud. It seemed to be responding to the fact that Ryu actually dared to attack, that he had the audacity to fight back, the unmitigated gall to descent.


    However, Ryu himself couldn''t'' care less, his gaze blazing and a mad grin spreading across his handsome face. His hair fluttered backward, suddenly sparking with several arcs of lightning that whipped about almost as violently as it did.


    "Come!"


    BANG!


    Ryu shot forward, his speed feeling like a blur. Despite the sudden disappearance of his cultivation, he somehow held onto an obscene amount of his strength. Just watching it made one feel as though their scalps were going numb. How a mere Awakening Realm expert could display such strength was beyond them all.


    Ryu''s fist clashed with the Heaven''s Warrior once again. Despite being two heads shorter, he felt as though they were on even ground, every swing of his fist carrying with it a devastation. Cracks shot as though space was as fragile as glass every time their knuckles met.


    The dark gold flame seemed to want to swallow Ryu up completely. However, whatever fear Ryu seemed to have had for it vanished. He pressed forward, his hips torquing, his torso twisting and his back and arms exploding with power.


    With every punch he through, his movements became more fluid and unhurried, his heart pumping and his gaze flashing like lightning.


    "Is this everything that you have?!"


    Ryu''s voice was like a clap of thunder that awakened everyone from their stupor. The shock that they felt bore down on their souls so heavily that many had forgotten to speak or react. It had felt like they were the ones in Ryu''s position previously, unable to even raise up an ounce of resistance.


    Ryu took a step forward, his right hand raising in an enigmatic arc. With an ease and smoothness, he slapped the side of the Heaven''s Warrior''s wrist, executing a perfect [Parry].


    His footsteps shifted, his body gliding to the side of the warrior and executing two sharp [Jab]''s right to its kidneys.


    Ryu could feel the hollowness that was within but it didn''t stop his actions for even a moment. The satisfying feeling of metal crumbling beneath his fist lit a spark within the depths of his heart.


    The World Sea Realm experts who had already stood to their feet found themselves unable to sit back down. They had never witnessed something like this in their entire lives. The worst part about it was that the dark gold flames that should have been going toward Galkos with every strike Ryu landed seemed to all go toward him, Galkos didn''t even have a single chance to fight for it.


    Galkos himself, who obviously hadn''t heard Ryu call him a dancing clown earlier, was in shock as well.


    The way things were supposed to go was that these nine would hold the vanguard, allowing him to save his stamina. Their actions would benefit them with a small piece of the dark gold flame, but much of it should come to him.


    After refining this flame, it would make the next coming challenge far easier for him. With his talent and his refined combat prowess, he should have been unmatched in collecting this dark flame, and yet it couldn''t even get by him.


    He wasn''t the only one suffering from this either. Overseer Eudo, who was supposed to benefit from Ryu as well, had yet to taste even a sliver of this dark flame. No matter how he tried to make use of the tag on Ryu''s body, the flame seemed to be under Ryu''s complete control.


    Ryu was completely oblivious to the rage he was causing. Or, more accurately, he simply didn''t care. His battle intent was the highest it had ever been. He wasn''t even paying attention to anything around him. He didn''t care about the other eight fighting Heaven''s Warriors of their own, he didn''t care that his Rite of Origin had been exposed, he didn''t care that his talent was being bared before all to see, his mind was only focused on one thing.


    ''Kneel. Kneel! KNEEL!''


    Ryu''s endless torrent of fists rained down, the cracks and dents in the Heaven''s Warriors armor growing to the point it seemed it might collapse like porcelain at any moment.


    Ryu''s fist tore into its chest, getting lodged within.


    He reached out with his free hand but was forced to stop midway. He executed a [Roll] block with his shoulder, rolling it forward and causing the Heaven''s Warrior fist to skim by it while keeping his chin safe.


    The instant the fist shot by Ryu, he grabbed at its shoulder guard. Using his arm stuck in its chest as an anchor, he ripped down, a roar escaping his lips.


    The arm of the Heaven''s Warrior was torn off as Ryu ripped his hand out of its chest.


    He pummeled the Heaven''s Warrior head in with a fist, an endless barrage of blows leaving craters in its body armor.


    "KNEEL!"


    Ryu''s hair erupted into a blaze of golden red fire. It waved about like it had a life of its own, the whites being accented by the golds and reds. His current appearance made Galkos'' claim to be a Deity feel like no more than a joke.


    The Heaven''s Warrior found its opposite shoulder being ripped down, its knee falling to the ground as dark gold flames continued to billow in and out of its mouth.


    The rumbling rage of the clouds above suddenly exploded, existential dread in its purest form being shot down from above. It was a though this clap was a final warning¡­ A warning that Ryu should know not to take things too far.

 Chapter 644 Fury

    Chapter 644 Fury


    "I will never know fear again." Ryu said coldly. "[Imperial Fist].''


    A golden halo wrapped around Ryu''s wrists. For a moment, it looked like the elaborate wrist cuffs of an Emperor''s robe, carrying enigmatic symbols and runes that couldn''t'' be deciphered at a single glance.


    BANG!


    The head of the Heaven''s Warrior imploded beneath Ryu''s might. In that moment, a mournful howl shot through the skies. It was the sort of sound that pierced to the core of even the most stoic of individuals. It felt less like something another was experiencing and more like something you were experiencing personally.


    The dark gold flame that was hidden within the armor suddenly shot outward, drilling into Ryu''s chest and causing the shirt of his robes to implode. A body toned to an extreme was revealed.


    Whips of this dark gold flame licked at Ryu''s skin but it no longer seemed capable of harming him. His back and chest flexed, causing the flame to burst into motes of lights that quickly sunk into his body. However, the unfortunate truth was that Ryu couldn''t feel any changes within himself. It was as though the dark gold flame had done absolutely nothing.


    ''This fire, it feels more like qi that presents as fire¡­ As for what it feels like¡­''


    The concept in Ryu''s head was very complex, but if he put it into the simplest terms, it felt like Essence had been corrupted and forced onto a path it wasn''t meant to be on¡­ no, it wasn''t that it wasn''t meant to be on it, but rather that it was unnatural for it to be on it. It was almost like finding out the kind old lady down the road had a terrible temper when you pushed her too far.


    One would think that the opposite side of the coin was Chaos Qi, but while this dark gold flame felt similar to Chaos Qi, and even carried a similar color, Ryu was familiar enough with Chaos Qi to realize that this was a different sort of qi entirely.


    The skies continued to howl, a quaking that even shook at Shrine Mountain taking hold. Unbeknownst to those here, several cracks began to appear in Ryu''s mother''s seal...


    ¡­


    The shock Ryu had brought the World Sea Realm experts was not small by any measure. Even after Ryu''s roar shocked them awake, it took them several moments to gather themselves up.


    "Adonis!"


    The roar suddenly shook the void, causing King Adonis to frown. There were very few people who dared to speak to him this way.


    "What is the meaning of this? Who is this boy?!"


    The one who spoke was an old man with a blindingly bald head an eyebrows so thick they could be a pair of mustaches. He was immediately incensed by what was happening and his temper was short.


    Galkos was one of their future pillars but his ceremony was very clearly being ruined. To make matters worse, if they were right about Ryu, this would be a problem that could move up all the way to the level of their hidden elders. This matter was not a joke in the slightest.


    "It isn''t my job to do background checks for those that participate, my job was to decide nine who would participate from candidates that were already chosen. I''d advise that you watch the way you speak to me."


    "What did you say to me?!" The old man stood with a youthful vigor. It was clear that despite his old age, he wasn''t anywhere near dying. In fact, those that looked old despite having such vigor were usually among the most powerful of their Realms. Without wasting energy on their looks, they put their everything into their strength.


    Of course, this wasn''t to say that King Adonis who looked young was weaker. This was because King Adonis was young enough to not have to waste energy on maintaining his looks either. But, in a Realm like the Peak of the World Sea Realm, the extra experience the older man had would give him a small edge in a battle that Adonis simply didn''t have.


    The old man, King Vinch, laughed darkly.


    "Even your younger brother wouldn''t dare to speak to me in this way. It seems that you''ve forgotten who your seniors are."


    King Adonis'' expression turned frighteningly cold when his younger brother was mentioned. Everyone knew that this was because the mysterious Throne of the Marial Gods was exactly this younger brother King Vinch had just mentioned. As for why this was a sore spot for King Adonis, this was an open secret as well¡­


    "Men." Queen Solarae, Isemeine''s mother, couldn''t help but roll her eyes. "This isn''t the moment to be fighting. Haven''t you all noticed, yet? The Seal is weakening. If things continue like this, Little Sister Elena will be forced to take on her own trial at the same time as Galkos. If things end up like this, one of them will likely have to be sacrificed.


    "So, instead of bumping heads and wasting time, how about you get the proper experts here to strengthen this seal now?!"


    By the end of her words, Solarae was practically like a mother tigress ready to pounce on them all.


    Unlike the others, she had not just one but two daughters who were chosen to be part of Elena''s entourage. If such a thing happened, their lives would be in danger.


    Even though Elena was that man''s daughter, meaning that Galkos would definitley be the one that had to be sacrificed, the added danger would almost guarantee the deaths of Elena''s entourage. That wasn''t something Solarae was willing to see. And, if these men dared to cause it, she would kill them all!


    Despite her promiscuity, she had only two children due to her talent and cultivation level. For all she knew, she had had more children in the past that had been wiped from existence and her mind in much this same way. This was the cruel Fate of being a Martial God in this way.


    At that moment, her two men stood up at once, backing Solarae without hesitation. Clearly, they were Isemeine''s father and Zenavey''s father.


    Facing the pressure of three King level existence, King Adonis and King Vinch really could only put their spat aside, especially seen Queen Solorae was known for her furious temper.


    "We will work together to strengthen the seal, then. We can only hope that nothing else unexpected occurs. As for this boy¡­ We can deal with him later." Isemeine''s father spoke and they all agreed.


    It was quite ironic¡­ The enemy Ryu abhorred so much actually had stronger ties of kinship at its highest levels than most of the rest of the martial world seemed to¡­


    ¡­


    While the World Sea Realm experts were furious, there was another person who was just as enraged, and that was, of course, Galkos. His expression had long since turn gloomy, looking toward Ryu''s back as though to tear him to shreds.


    Considering how Ryu was ignoring him now, he didn''t waste his time opening his mouth to speak, that would just be seeking embarrassment. At least compared to others, he was smarter in this regard.


    He simply looked toward the other eight and spoke evenly.


    "I want him dead."

 Chapter 645 I Dont Need Such Things

    Chapter 645 I Don''t Need Such Things


    Ryu stood over the beaten armor of the Heaven''s Warrior as it crumbled to ash. The dark gold flames had already disappeared into his body without a sound but he didn''t feel as though it had caused any changes at all. Let alone him, even Ailsa didn''t feel any changes immediately.


    However, that didn''t change the fact that Ryu felt better now than he had his entire life. He took deep, filling breaths as the smell of rain shifted from toxic to intoxicating. His body felt as light as a feather and his mind was open and free.


    At that moment, several auras of World Sea Realm experts descended from all sides, but Ryu didn''t panic. He could tell immediately that they were using their strength to reinforce the fluttering formations that were keeping what remained of his castle intact.


    From the moment Ryu had stepped into this place, he had noticed countless formations floating about. He had felt that they were too overly complicated and layered for even himself, personally, to see through them at a glance. But now, he could understand.


    These formations were working as a sort of mask. It was likely that this punishment currently descending from the skies above was too much to handle all at once, even for the Martial God''s best geniuses. As such, they had to slowly control it almost like a water faucet. Only after most of the danger had been dealt with would the faucet be turned on all the way.


    This also seemed to be how they managed to choose a particular date for this event as well. It was likely that Elena had been here all the while from the moment she broke into the World Sea Realm and had spent this time consolidating her Realm in preparation for this event.


    Beyond this, these formations were also the reason why these Heaven''s Warriors were only attacking Ryu and the other eight but had yet to attack Galkos and his guards. Everything was clicking into place¡­


    These Heaven''s Warriors wanted to destroy Galkos but their rage was being funneled at Ryu and the other eight instead. In addition, because Ryu and the Viridi and Ignis Clan youth were all three natives of this world, the Heavens were the most enraged by their betrayal and as such sent the strongest Heaven''s Warriors after them.


    It was also likely that the reason Ryu''s Heaven''s Warrior was a step above theirs in strength was because he also happened to be representing Overseer Eudo. As such, his betrayal was even deeper.


    Ryu felt like he was still missing a part of the puzzle. Namely, he still didn''t know what the dark gold flame was exactly or what it did or what made it so valuable to the Martial Gods. He also felt that even for what he had done, the fury the Heavens had aimed toward him was too much larger than what everyone else was experiencing¡­ It made Ryu feel as though there was another reason it was so infuriated, a reason that was beyond his understanding for now.


    Ryu''s head tilted up to the skies, its baleful rage growing like a tempest. He completely ignored the words Galkos had spoken even though he had heard them as clear as day. He simply didn''t care. Right now, he felt invincible.


    It was likely that the Heavens had no choice but to follow its own rules and had to wait until all nine Heaven''s Warriors were killed before the next wave descended. If not for this, with how furious those clouds and the void above seemed, it was impossible that something wouldn''t'' have come by now.


    At that moment, a sharp intent appeared to Ryu''s back, seeking to skewer him entirely. But, Ryu didn''t even move an inch. It was as though he hadn''t sensed this person at all.


    CLANG!


    The sword suddenly rebounded off the seemingly soft skin of Ryu''s back, a flicker of Heavenly Ice Phoenix Patterns dancing across his tone torso.


    Ryu casually reached backward, grabbing the wrist the person who had attacked him before they were sent flying.


    He rose this person up, forcing them to dangle from his palm until their gazes met.


    This person was a boy barely 15 or 16 years old. Clearly, since the other eight had been occupied with their battles even right up until this moment, a member of Galkos'' entourage had acted instead. But, the result was frightening to an extreme.


    Ryu looked into the boy''s fear filled eyes, his own gaze filled with a smile that gave away his current calmness. Even though his clothing was half destroyed and the skies felt like they were about to collapse, he seemed unbothered by it all.


    "Do you see that?"


    Ryu pointed behind him toward the fleeting ashes of the Heaven''s Warrior.


    The boy trembled when he heard Ryu''s voice, unable to gather up the courage to say anything. He had thought that everyone would be on the same playing field during this trial so he hadn''t hesitated to try and kill Ryu, and yet the result was seeing just how vast the gap between them was.


    "It''s a silly question, I know. Of course you can see it." Ryu said lightly. "Not only did you see it, but you should have felt its power too. So, you should be able to understand why it is I''m so surprised that you would be stupid enough to attack me, and alone at that. Did you believe that you could defeat it as easily as I did?"


    Ryu spoke to the boy as though a teacher guiding his students. The boy was obviously a genius, having completed his tenth Rite. But¡­ What was that in comparison to Ryu who had completed his thirteenth?


    "For a so-called Divine Race, you all are very good at sneaking around and scheming, aren''t you? You also seem to be very good at getting others to do your dirty work while you lie back and do nothing?"


    Ryu stretched out his free hand to the side, causing chains of fire to shoot out. His immaculate control over the element was even enough for the Fire Sprites in attendance to rise to their feet in shock.


    Right then, eight chains of fire shattered the skulls of the eight remaining Heaven''s Warriors, causing every bit of dark gold fire to soar into Ryu''s body.


    "I don''t need such things. I''m right here."


    BANG!


    The skies above shattered, whatever atmosphere that had been remaining opening up to an endless abyss.


    "Come and get me."

 Chapter 646 Heard

    Chapter 646 Heard


    Pillars of dark light fell from the skies. It was as though the Heavens were intent on wiping the Shrine Plane out of existence.


    Ryu stood amidst it all, large swaths of dark gold fire flooding into him like a tide. His mental state reached a peak, a will to vent shaking him to the very depths of his core.


    For a moment, the eight geniuses were shocked silent. It wasn''t that they couldn''t defeat the Heaven''s Warriors earlier, it was rather that they were trying to do so while conserving as much stamina as they could. This was nothing more than the first round and they were well aware of it. In fact, they found Ryu foolish for going all out, clearly having no idea that not only had Ryu barely used much of his strength, but even if he had, with the Southern Heavenly Wind ¡­ What did he have to worry about stamina for?


    A pressure that was easily ten times what had descended before suddenly pressed down onto Ryu''s shoulders. A fury that shook the canopy of the skies and splintered to shreds pervaded the region. And yet, Ryu''s carefree attitude hadn''t diminished in the slightest.


    This fury the Heavens were aiming toward him, that vitriol and sadistic will to have him bleeding and dying¡­ How could it match up to even a percent of what was in his heart right now?


    The youth in Ryu''s hand suddenly exploded. The strength of the pressure that descended onto Ryu''s shoulders directly impacted him as well, and was far too much for him to handle. Let alone surging toward Ryu to execute Galkos'' commands, even getting close to him felt impossible.


    Ryu felt no sort of remorse about the death of the boy. Had it not been for the pressure of the Heavens, he would have killed him personally not long later.


    The World Sea Realm experts, however, felt far different about this change of events. This wasn''t because they had a vested interest in the boy. The moment the boy died, he was completely forgotten by them all. There was no rage because there was no one to feel rage. This was almost the same for Ryu himself, but something within him clicked that made him frown in realization.


    Rather than this, though, the World Sea Realm experts were panicking as the pressure the Heavens were bringing down was far beyond their expectations. It was becoming more and more difficult for them to maintain the seals.


    One had to remember that even Ailsa could not talk to Ryu without being implicated by this punishment. That meant that for them to be able to use their strength to seal much of this punishment''s strength away, they had to go through several roundabout methods.


    The result of all of this effort was like the reverse concept of a lever and pulley system. Rather than making things easier, the World Sea Realm experts needed to exert thousands of times the effort to execute what would usually only take them one unit of strength.


    Now that the Heavens were so enraged, they were pouring everything they could into the seals, but they were quickly losing control.


    ¡­


    Ryu watched as the ash fell from his hands. He had just been holding the boy up by his wrist but now he was gone. Not only was he dead, but he was effectively erased. If not for this, there was no way that the others wouldn''t have already acted in rage.


    ''Why can I remember¡­ I feel it tugging at me as though I''m the last¡­ The Origin Flame?''


    This was the only explanation that Ryu could think of as he stood amidst the pressure. Glares bore down on him from all sides, but if mere looks could kill him, he would have died a very long time ago.


    They were fearful. The pressure around Ryu right this moment was so palpable that they felt a threat to their right to live just feeling it. They had no way of understanding how it was that Ryu seemed to have become so unaffected.


    Just a moment ago, they had sensed his fear. It was there. But in the blink of an eye, it vanished like a puff of smoke as though he had finally reached the mountain peak and was now gliding down its decline.


    The confidence Ryu exuded was so palpable that the pressure didn''t seem to touch him at all. As though a thin film hung around him.


    Tybalt was the only one who stared toward Ryu with a gaze different from fear or rage. It was an undisguised fascination¡­ However it didn''t feel like he was looking at a human, it was more like he was gazing upon a priceless treasure that had to be his.


    Galkos'' gaze was narrowed. It still wasn''t time for him to take action. If he moved recklessly, since he was the target of this punishment to begin with, he would have to bear much of the pressure.


    ''Do I really have to let him act as he pleases for now? Even if he takes it all for himself, once the punishment has weakened enough I can still take action. His cultivation is too low to understand that flame and there are some methods to extract it after all this is over though it is a bit dangerous¡­''


    When Galkos thought to this point, he began to regulate his breathing and control his temper.


    The skies had long since been shattered, a swirling mass of black clouds weighing down from above. But, even after several moments, nothing had descended. The suspense hung people out to dry, the fury growing more and more inflamed as though it would continue on forever¡­


    But, it was at exactly that moment that it happened.


    Two hands the size of worlds gripped the edges of the void and tore it in two.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, his heart beating steady and strong. He had a feeling that these hands were here for no one else but himself. And very soon, he was proven correct.


    One hand reached out a finger that dwarfed a mountain. It flexed slightly and then released.


    An unholy qi pierced down from the void, prepared to tear everything to shreds.


    Ryu had said to come. And the Heavens had heard him.

 Chapter 647 Indelible

    Chapter 647 Indelible


    Ryu looked up into the skies, feeling the pressure that seemed to want to obliterate his existence. His hair was pushed back, his gaze struggled to remain open and he could even feel the skin along his face and exposed torso peeling back as though to fly from his body.


    Joints all across his skeleton creaked and whined, threatening to shatter. At the same time, the surges of World Sea Realm pressure in the surroundings only grew as they held on for all that they were worth. Things were very quickly spiraling out of their control and it was clear to everyone in attendance that this was all the fault of the young man with the head of white hair staring amidst it all.


    Ryu clenched his fist, his aura surging. A momentum built up around him, anchoring on the confidence that he could obliterate everything in his path.


    Within the Incubator, Ailsa sat with Yaana by her side and Ryu''s beast companions around them. Worry marred their features but it seemed that there was a particular confusion on Ailsa''s face. Not only was this because she couldn''t quite understand or grasp what was going on, but it was also because she was having a hard time understanding what state Ryu was in currently.


    Ryu had been at the threshold of comprehending a Natural Enlightenment for years already. The first time he had touched upon it was within that jail cell of the Loom Clan. The second time was when his cultivation was crippled. The third time was during the tournament of the Ember Clan¡­ Time and time again he seemed to delicately touch at the barrier, only to be ultimately turned away.


    Right now, it felt like Ryu was right on the cusp once again. In fact, it almost felt like he was already using it and yet not using it at the same time. It was the sort of thing that no matter how many books and case studies Ailsa had read¡­ she could never even begin to fathom an explanation for.


    It was hard to tell if Ryu was even aware of this at all. At least from what Ailsa could see in his thoughts, he wasn''t. At the same time, she knew that this state of unknowing was the best state for comprehending something you were at just the tip of¡­


    But something felt off about it all, almost like something was purposely forcing Ryu to forget.


    ''A year¡­ A year of life¡­ How did he lose it¡­? Was it really related to that trial world? Or was that just a convenient cover up¡­?''


    If Ailsa had to choose a time to target a young man with the first rated Heavenly Pupils and a Cultus Princess by his side, what time would she choose? Well, wasn''t it precisely the time when said Cultus Princess was in a coma and while said young man''s Pupils were confused by a warp in time and space?


    The awakening of Ailsa''s talent was enough to fulfill the first task. As for the second task, wasn''t it fulfilled while Ryu was traveling to the Nether Plane replica world?


    An uneasiness overwhelmed Ailsa. She felt like the answer was right before her and yet it was being covered by a haze. On the opposite side of this haze, a pair of eyes slowly observed with a cold calculation within them, watching them dance on their palm¡­


    Ryu''s roar bellowed into the skies. It was so forceful that rings of compressed air and space ripped upward, his chest expanding to its extreme.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot a fist forward, imperial robes appearing to hover around his wrists as he executed [Imperial Fist]. However, this singular blow disappeared into the momentum of the finger strike as though it was never there to begin with.


    Completely unfazed, Ryu sent out a second punch, then a third. A furious light lit his gaze as golden red flames suddenly began to dance about him.


    Every time he threw a punch, his kingly air grew by a leap and a bound. The force of his punches upward being so powerful that the ground beneath his feet sunk and depressed with every rebound.


    And yet, despite the striking visual impact of Ryu''s efforts, the finger''s qi continued to descend. It wasn''t slowed in the slightest nor was it harmed.


    By this point, anyone else might have felt the inevitability of it all, the despair. But, Ryu''s gaze only seemed to become more fiery. His lungs expanded, his veins bulged, his back flexed and his feet anchored themselves to the floor. It was as though he resolved himself to not move back even a single inch, as though a single movement backward would be an indelible stain on his very being.


    At that moment, every World Sea Realm expert that had a view of Ryu back felt something click within their hearts.


    This boy¡­ had to die.


    BANG!


    The finger pressed down onto Ryu''s fist, tearing the skin that coated it apart.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot his second fist forward as though he couldn''t sense a thing. His bones creaked and broke, yet Ryu pulled it back and sent yet another forward without an ounce of hesitation.


    A bubbling within Ryu''s blood began to take form. It had started off as a low rumble, his heart being covered in scales. However, Ryu hadn''t taken any pride in this. In fact, at this moment, Ryu was thoroughly infuriated by his so-called talent.


    Right from the moment the Heavens descended from the skies, they had retreated with their tails between their legs. His overbearing Dragon Blood was nowhere to be seen, his domineering Qilin Blood had vanished, even his imperious Emperor Phoenix Blood had run, retreating to the deepest recesses of his heart.


    Why was it that his heart was covered in scales? That was because it was the only place the cowards dared to show their faces.


    Right this moment, the only strength Ryu had was strength he had snatched all on his own. It was nothing more than his pain, suffering and will that granted him this 13th Rite.


    The Heavens wanted to strip away the talent it had given him? Fine.


    However, if it wanted to erase his existence, to force him to his knees, to force him to lower his head and eradicate what he was from the deepest depths of his soul¡­


    That was something he would never accept.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s back was forced into an arc toward the ground. His torso flexed with all its might in an attempt to keep him upright, but the pressure seemed to be far too great.


    Ryu''s fists flew forward like an endless torrent. It was as though he didn''t know fatigue, like he didn''t know pain. It wasn''t a matter of resolve nor was it a matter of will, it had transcended beyond that. This wasn''t the place he could fall because if he was gone, there would be no one left. He was the last line of defense, he was the final remnant of what remained.


    His father''s life and death was unknown. His mother''s life hung by a thread and it was impossible to tell if her breath still remained. This wasn''t Little Yaana''s burden to carry nor did she have the memories left to do so. And, even if she did¡­ in this life, it would be he who protected her, this was the vow he had made to himself.


    Nothing would block his path. No mountain, no sky, no Heaven.


    Ryu roared, his arms splintering.


    Every time his fist collided with the finger, ripples of qi would spread outward. With every passing moment, Ryu''s strikes only seemed to be getting more and more powerful, an entire world weighing down on his back.


    This wasn''t where he would fall.


    A violent qi tore through Ryu''s body, his gaze glowing with a violent light. Even if the skies were to collapse, he would be there to hold it up. On that day, his mark on the world would be left for countless generations after him.


    Fate swirled about him at a maddening pace. His blood and flesh flew through the air and yet he hardly seemed to notice. This back of his, these fists of his, this will of his, they would take it all.


    Ryu''s foot heavily stamped onto the ground, causing the castle to sink by another two meters. Cracks spread about wildly, pillars collapsed and wild surges of typhonic air left grating tears in space.


    It was just a small gap, a gap that was meaningless to a battle on this level. And yet, it was just enough.


    [Reflective Counter] suddenly shook Ryu to his core. The energy he had stored up was so massive that his body threatened to tear apart at the seams. But, if this was enough to force Ryu to collapse, he would have long ago.


    Ryu''s hips sunk, his torso flexing just as his fist shot out like a rocket. His hair fluttered wildly, his roar engulfing all sound for hundreds of kilometers. The void quaked and for the first time, the finger came to a grinding halt.


    However¡­ Just because it stopped, didn''t mean that Ryu would.


    In a lifetime, it was impossible to remember everything. There would always be memories that slipped through the cracks, some of which might even be meaningful. That said¡­ There would always be those snippets in time that would leave a mark never to be erased on your very soul¡­


    Ryu''s fist versus a finger that could dwarf a world was something they would never forget.


    For a moment, the world fell into complete silence. In in the next, it was as though everything had been wiped out.


    A line was torn from Ryu''s body to the skies above. A rippling tornado of fist qi backed by a will that wouldn''t be denied shot into the finger, only to rip it apart from the inside out.


    The explosion was like a rippling tidal wave of twisting qi, bulging energies, and flashes of blinding dark gold and a hidden brightness that dwarfed it all


    Right then, it was like something within Ryu snapped into place, his Bloodlines roaring back to life as though they had always been there.


    Waves of dark gold flooded Ryu''s body, filling him as though he was a bottomless well. However much came is however much he swallowed, his gaze sparkling with a sort of enigmatic charm that existed on a plane most couldn''t grasp.


    A clap of thunder rang through the skies.


    And at that moment¡­ The World Sea Realm experts could no longer hold on.


    With Ryu standing at the center of it all, his body beaten and bloodied and his breathing calm and steady, shards of broken space erupted all around as the seal shattered.

 Chapter 648 Air

    Chapter 648 Air


    The moment the seal shattered the whole of the castle was taken with it. In a feat of slight panic, the representatives of the strongest powers from across the marital world were forced into retreat, quickly rushing out of the punishment''s range to avoid being implicated along with the others.


    Bits of pieces of the castle barely hung on by a thread, but at this point, things were far more similar to a ruin than it was to the housing of nobility. There was no doubt that the Viridi Clan was paying the greatest price for this devastation.


    The youths at the center of it all suddenly felt that they had been locked into place, unable to move a single inch. They hadn''t been ready to face such unbridled fury, this was most definitely not how things were meant to go.


    The rage they felt toward Ryu had become nearly palpable. If they hated him before for his actions toward others, they hated him to an extreme now for actually putting their lives at risk. This was meant to be their chance to reach a new level, to set the path for their future. And yet, because of the actions of someone else, they found themselves in a precarious state where let alone planning for the future, they weren''t even sure if they would see their own.


    Maybe the most infuriated was Galkos. This was a his day of glory, his time to shine. How could things possibly be going this way?!


    ¡­


    In a hidden location on the Shrine Plane, several slumbering auras began to rise up, their attention having been caught. These hidden existences were the true backbone of the Martial Gods and could represent the real core of their strength. And the shocking truth was that¡­ Most of these individuals were Sky Gods.


    The number of Sky Gods the Martial Gods had alone dwarfed the number of the rest of the martial world combined. This was a truth that most were completely unaware of and it was a secret that the Martial Gods get kept to their vests.


    Under normal situations, these older men and women knew nothing but meditation and silence. They knew their role well and their only goal in life was to be prepared for the day their strength became necessary. However, at this moment, they had all awakened, their senses focused on a singular location.


    The ceremony of King conferment wasn''t something that these individuals would normally be interested in. In fact, even thought that girl was participating, they still hadn''t cared enough to pay attention until this very moment.


    They had the right to this arrogance. Only they knew how difficult it was to cross that final barrier and reach their level. Going through a little ceremony and getting a small little boost in your chances was hardly worth a thing to them. Even someone like King Adonis wasn''t worth their attention, maybe only his little brother might meet the standard. But, even then, it was only enough for the raise of an eyebrow.


    At this moment, though, without fail, they all turned their attention in that direction¡­ not because of anyone in particular, but because the full brunt of the Heaven''s wrath had descended, something that wasn''t supposed to happen.


    This didn''t just put those in attendance in danger, but it also put them in danger by proxy. If the Heavens caught a whiff of their aura, it could become troublesome. And, if that man''s daughter died, there would be hell to pay for someone.


    That man had always been mad and even though he was the strongest backbone of their Martial Gods, he had also become their greatest roadblock.


    Why was it that Ryu had met so many traitorous Clans but had yet to meet even a single member of the Holy Wing Clan? Why wasn''t a single one of them present for a conferment ceremony of their greatest genius?


    Well, if he knew how much of a madman Elena''s father was, he might have an answer to that question¡­


    "Strengthen the formations and make sure news of this doesn''t leak to that man."


    "And what about her?"


    "We can only hope that she doesn''t die, or else trillions of years of planning will go down the drain."


    One might be wondering why it was that they were so worried. After all, if anyone who died beneath Heaven''s Punishment was forgotten, wouldn''t that be the end of it? If Elena died, everyone would forget about her and things would be just fine.


    It couldn''t possibly be that these wise old men and women didn''t know this¡­ Right?


    So why were they still so worried?


    ¡­


    Godefride and the others shot out from the range of the clouds above. Without the protection of the seal, the range the punishment could cover had increased exponentially, also leaving the younger geniuses of Galkos'' entourage vulnerable.


    They were far too weak to survive the cold of the Shrine Plane, however at the same time, the only thing protecting them from this cold was Heaven''s Punishment. This left them completely unable to run away and practically sealed their fates.


    Godefride, Sabelle and Eustis retreated as one, the latter two watching what was happening with a heavy frown. They were slowly beginning to understand just why it was that Godefride seemed to have a sort of irrational confidence in Ryu. However, they still couldn''t fathom how Ryu could possibly make it out alive..


    "Be on your guard." Godefride suddenly said in a low voice. "Under this kind of chaos would be the best chance for a few people disguising their real intentions to act."


    Godefride''s words seemed to snap the two into a state of readiness. This matter definitely wouldn''t end simply.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s breathing remained calm and even. However, it was only because of how volatile the winds around him already were that it seemed that way. The truth of the matter was that air from kilometers around were flooding into his lungs only to be expelled from his nose. His every breath cause another tidal wave, his veins pumping with a slight golden color that was almost perceptible from beneath his skin.


    "You caused this!"


    Arteur was furious. Only he knew how much he had sacrificed just to have a chance to stand here. But now he might not even be able to live to see another day.


    "Shut up." Ryu replied lightly, not even looking in Arteur''s direction.


    He continued to look into the skies, his voice hardly having any bite to it. This wasn''t because he felt guilty, but rather because he couldn''t gather up true animosity for an ant. He felt that Arteur and those sending those rage fueled gazes toward him at this moment were so far beneath him that they weren''t even worth his emotion.


    "What did you say to me?!"


    Arteur was furious, but unlike usual, flames didn''t erupt around him. He suddenly found that his Bloodlines had completely retreated, causing his face to twist in horror. What Ryu had experienced previously, he was experiencing the full brunt of. But, as someone who had only completed his 10th Rite, he was in no position to be as arrogant as Ryu had been.


    Ryu completely ignored Arteur and the others. He didn''t spare them a thought, and why would he¡­?


    His wife was coming.


    Ryu''s head turned back, his gaze falling onto a sight he had waited too long to see again.


    The moment the castle had collapsed, the hidden spaces of the floors above had followed suit. Stepping through the void, a young woman with skin as delicate as silk and steps as light as a feather glided through the air, several younger girls with faces filled with fear being shrouded by her aura to her back.


    Something about her presence seemed to make even the raging Heavens above calm, if for nothing more than just a few moments.


    Long, slender legs, robes of gold that just barely clung to her chest and hips, fluttering and sparkling pink diamond hair. Her neck was as proud as a swan''s, her lips as plump as a ripe fruit, her aura as forceful as a tide and somehow also as gentle as a droplet falling from a leaf.


    Even in the face of the wrath of the Heavens above, her expression was indifferent and unbothered. It was the same lofty expression she had had when Ryu first met her, the same lofty expression she always showed everyone else, the same lofty expression she never displayed before Ryu.


    She stepped through the air, gliding over Galkos'' head without a thought for his face.


    Galkos'' expression changed as he had been about to greet her. But, his words were ultimately stuck in his throat, unable to come out. He could only watch as she descended from the skies with her entourage in tow, landing in the space between Galkos and Ryu as she continued forward.


    The distance that separated Ryu and Elena was less than a hundred meters. But, it quickly became less. With every step, Elena glided through over a dozen meters as though.


    Ryu watched her walk, seemingly taking satisfaction in even the smallest things she did. A happiness welled up from the depths of his heart and the pressure on his shoulders seemed to become no different from the slightest spring breeze.


    This was his wife. The first woman he had ever loved. And, for a long while, had been the only woman he thought he would ever love.


    That was why Ryu didn''t quite know how to react when this wife of his stepped past him, completely ignoring his presence as though he was nothing more than air.

 Chapter 649 Gentle Spring Breeze

    Chapter 649 Gentle Spring Breeze


    The light that had been blazing in Ryu''s gaze dimmed. Something that even the Heavens above couldn''t accomplish was done by the single action of a single woman. It felt as though everything in his heart was being hollowed out, a sinking feeling pouring into his gut followed by a slowing of his blood and heart.


    Ryu suddenly became hyperaware of the rhythm of his breathing and chest. It was hard to breathe as though a stone rested on his lungs, refusing to allow him a deep breath. Every beat of his heart was like a wave of pangs coursing through his veins. It was like something was twisting his insides up.


    From the outside, it felt almost impossible to tell that something was going on. It looked as though Ryu had gazed toward a newcomer and said newcomer walked by him. There were no sparks nor were there any fireworks. It was too difficult to tell just how pale Ryu''s face had become given its usual complexion.


    For the first time, Ryu looked down instead of upward. He didn''t seem to realize that that Isemeine who was following Elena''s steps had opened her mouth to say something, only to close it once again.


    Isemeine truly hated Ryu and it could be said that her only goal in life right now was to defeat him. But, the instinct she had when she saw that look on his face was to reach out. It was only after she remembered that she hated him that she pulled back, her brows furrowing.


    While everyone else didn''t seem to realize that something was wrong, Isemeine, who knew Ryu well at this point, was almost hyper sensitive to his change. His face might not have warped to an extreme, but everything from his posture, to the color of his skin, even down to the aura around him had suddenly plummeted.


    Not to mention the fact that this was the absolute worse time for something like this to happen, Ryu didn''t show any sign of recovering any time soon. What the hell was he thinking? It was just a woman, wake up!


    Isemeine harrumphed to herself. She didn''t have the time to waste on this. Whether she would rise to a new level or never reach her goals and aspirations would all depend on this day. Why would she waste mental space on a man who just saw her as some sort of flesh sleeve.


    Ryu suddenly closed his eyes, catching Isemeine completely off guard. If originally Ryu had been like a blazing sun, and just now he had been like a withering flower, right this moment it felt as though he wasn''t there at all, like he had vanished completely.


    "Queen Elena, this situation has changed! We must work together¡ª"


    Galkos, who had decided to swallow his discontent and call out to Elena froze. Of all the sights he had seen in his life, this was maybe the most shocking. It wasn''t even that the actions this person took were so ridiculous, it was just that the combination of the situation at hand, and who his target was, left him completely speechless.


    Ryu had disappeared in an arc of lightning and appeared before Elena again. Though Elena reacted immediately and came to an elegant stop, the result was the separation between the two being barely over two feet. With the difference in their height, Elena would have to look up just to meet Ryu''s gaze.


    Let alone Galkos, the ones who were the most stunned by this change were Elena''s entourage to the point they didn''t even react immediately. The last person of note was Tybalt whose gaze was suddenly shining quite bright at that moment as though he felt like he was on the verge of understanding something.


    Considering how Ryu had acted up until this point, no one had expected such a move. Moreover, even if he was suddenly infatuated by beauty, was this really the best time to act like this? Heaven''s Punishment could descend at any time and Elena wasn''t known for her kind temperament. Even if she wasn''t as fiery as Isemeine, that was only because very few dared to piss her off like they might the former. This was both a difference in status and power.


    "Hello." Ryu smiled lightly.


    The curve of his lips was objectively dazzling. It was the kind of smile that made most forget what was going on around them, and that most definitely was the case for the entourage following behind Elena. And yet, the lady who this smile was aimed toward in specific hardly reacted at all.


    For the first time, her gaze met Ryu''s. Though she was looking up, she somehow still managed to carry the demeanor of an individual who was looking down on others. At the same time, she said not a single word.


    Her eyes were truly beautiful, twinkling like two pink diamonds. Ryu''s gaze was sharp enough to see his reflection within anyone''s eyes, but he knew with how crystal clear Elena''s own were, even if he was a mortal he would be able to do the same.


    "My name is Ryu, might I know your name?"


    Everyone was completely speechless. Even Tybalt''s smile faltered as he choked on air. Their lives were on the line currently! Couldn''t you be a little bit less thick skinned?!


    Galkos was stunned before he sneered. He had already been planning to have Elena''s help just to get rid of Ryu first. He thought that maybe if Ryu died, this Punishment would marginally weaken and that might leave them a chance for survival.


    As for Elena actually answering Ryu? Was that a joke?


    Even though they were all in the Awakening Realm right now, what right did a Dao Pedestal Realm ant have to speak with a World Sea Realm genius? Of course, Galkos had no idea just yet that Ryu was actually in the Immortal Ring Realm still.


    However, Galkos didn''t have much time to hold onto this fantasy when something he could have never guessed happened.


    "Elena."


    The voice was short and succinct, but it reached their ears like a gentle spring breeze. Galkos had heard Elena speak before, but for some reason it hit him like a ton of bricks this time.

 Chapter 650 Tight

    Chapter 650 Tight


    Ryu''s smile brightened.


    "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."


    It wasn''t until Ryu spoke these words that Elena''s entourage seemed to snap out of their shock. Having broken free from the hypnotization of Ryu''s voice and looks, they realized the ridiculous nature of the situation.


    The one to react first was a young lady deep within the Cosmic Seed Realm. In fact, the next time they held this ceremony, it might very well be her who took the helm. She was known as Cleo.


    Judging by her demeanor, she was likewise a member of the Berserk branch and had a pair of fiery crimson eyes to match it. But, unlike the burly Syriah, she didn''t have muscles bulging out of places they shouldn''t. Though¡­ She more than made up for it with her temper.


    It seemed that Ryu was having a streak of bad luck recently when it came to running into ill tempered women. Well¡­ It wasn''t'' like his own temper was very good to begin with either.


    "Can you read the situation?! Get the fuck out of the way!"


    Ryu blinked, turning his gaze toward Cleo. Normally, his first instinct would be to snap, he might even kill this Cleo individual, honestly. From what he could see, she had completed her 11th Rite, the Rite of Perseverance. She would have a very hard time matching up to Ryu at all.


    But, she was very lucky in this regard. Ryu wasn''t sure if she was a friend of Elena''s or not, as such he didn''t lash out. Plus, he wasn''t in a murderous mood at the moment. Instead, he just wanted to have a nice chat with his wife. He was only a little annoyed that they were being interrupted. He was ignoring even the rampaging Heavens above, why would he care for the interruption of a single woman?


    Ryu completely ignored Cleo and looked back toward Elena, the smile on his face never leaving.


    "What do you think?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    "Think about what?"


    Seeing Elena respond again, Cleo''s next words were caught in her throat. Was this really Elena? What the hell was going on here, exactly?


    Instead of responding, Ryu pointed up to the sky as pillars of dark light fell continuously. It was only after Ryu did this that everyone realized that it wasn''t that Heaven''s Punishment hadn''t fallen, but rather that there were fluttering blossoms in the sky that blocked a new destructive beam every time it appeared.


    "I think that you''re very good at causing trouble." Elena replied plainly.


    "Don''t you think I''m also good at dealing with trouble?"


    "Are you? I don''t think I agree." Elena replied just as evenly.


    "Whatever the lady says is correct." Ryu said solemnly, not even trying to fight back.


    "A lack of backbone too, that isn''t good for a man."


    "My backbone is here only to protect you."


    "Who said I needed protection."


    "Who said I said you needed it?"


    "Then get out of my way."


    "As long as the lady wishes it."


    Ryu stepped out of Elena''s way, but the moment she took a step forward, he too walked forward. The sequence was so in sync that it looked as though their minds were linked together. But, the truth was that ever since Ryu stored Elena''s soul strand away, he hadn''t brought it out again. He wasn''t using any advantage he had at all nor did he have any idea what Elena was thinking.


    None of that mattered to him. He was more than willing to start back at square one, but the truth was that he had no idea how to woo a woman.


    If he thought about it, all the relationships he had were of women coming to him, he had never had to try for such things before. Elena appeared in his room naked, Yaana nurtured feelings for him over two lifetimes, Ailsa was destined to be his life partner, Eska was practically forced into choosing him for the sake of giving her Clan a chance¡­


    It could be said that Ryu didn''t know the first thing about pleasing women, but that didn''t mean he wouldn''t try.


    A cold shoulder? He would accept it. Indifferent words? He would accept them. One of these days he''d stumble onto the right combination of words and actions.


    As for embarrassment? Ryu couldn''t ever remember feeling such an emotion in his life. He never cared what others thought and he disdained to explain himself.


    "¡­ Did you know that he was this shameless too¡­?" Sabelle looked over toward Godefride. However, the latter''s lip only twitched.


    "He has a death with." Eustis was speechless.


    They all knew what kind of existences were after Elena''s hand. With the exception of the Sky Gods, all the World Sea Realm experts who were qualified to chase after her were in attendance right this moment. If he had made himself an enemy of all the Martial Gods previously, he was now making himself public enemy number one to everyone.


    Ryu, though, didn''t care what anyone else was thinking. Did he need permission to woo his own wife? If they had a problem with it, they could come down here themselves. When they were all on the same playing field, he really wanted to see if they would dare to still be so arrogant.


    Elena''s brow furrowed slightly as she looked up into the skies. It was almost as though she hadn''t realized that Ryu was still following to her side at all.


    A breaking point was finally reached. One after another, Heaven''s Warriors that stood three meters tall crashed to the ground, instantly outnumbering them three to one. They made Ryu''s previous opponents look like nothing more than ants.


    Elena''s aura flared and she prepared to take a step forward, but a hand on her shoulder suddenly stopped all her momentum entirely.


    By this point, Galkos and Cleo felt like fainting. He touched her? He actually touched her?


    "What do you think you''re doing?"


    One would have thought that the one who said this was Elena, but it was actually Ryu himself who spoke.


    "While I''m here, you don''t have to lift a finger. Just sit tight."

 Chapter 651 Heavy Stone

    Chapter 651 Heavy Stone


    Elena froze but Ryu had already removed his hand, stepping forward.


    "What the hell are you doing?! Don''t you think you''re overestimating yourself?!"


    The one who spoke was once again Cleo, but she was simply directly ignored by Ryu this time who didn''t even bother to glance back this time around.


    Those who felt that Ryu was in over his head were those who believed he had struggled with the first Heaven''s Warrior that descended, while these ones were clearly far superior. However, Ryu didn''t feel this way in the slightest.


    Even if he was on his last legs during that battle, he wouldn''t allow Elena to lift a finger. How he managed to do it didn''t matter. To him, all that mattered was that he did it.


    With a single step forward, a frosty qi wrapped around Ryu''s body. The blood that had caked his body cracked and flaked while the wounds he had on his fists froze over, healing at a visible pace. With every breath he took, his comprehension of Life seemed to take large leaps forward, his body brimming to its very edge with vitality.


    With a second step, a glorious Immortal Sakura blossomed forth above Ryu. Rather than singular violet petals, an entire tree of them took form. They glistened with a beauty beyond words and a majesty that was undeniable. A Pride that stood above all towered, and yet it was a Pride of such endless that''s aimed toward the protection of just a single person.


    For some reason, not a single person doubted the fact that, despite the depths of this Pride, it could be laid down at a moment''s notice for the sake of the woman it protected.


    One of the Heaven''s Warriors suddenly reached backward, its arm twisting at an inhuman angle as though it didn''t have real joints to speak of.


    Grasping at air, this Heaven''s Warrior quickly formed a javelin of dark gold energy. Just its presence alone made the ground beneath its feet crack and shatter.


    Hardly anyone registered when it was thrown. The javelin became like a bolt of black lightning, sheering across space and appearing before Ryu''s face in the blink of an eye. And yet, just as quickly¡­


    CLANG!


    Ryu took another step forward, a fluttering blossom petal having descended before his face right that moment. Without suspense, the javelin shattered on impact, leaving the blossom fluttering wildly and spinning in place. Despite its fragile appearance, it wasn''t so much as cracked, let alone shattered.


    Just as Ryu''s step was about to touch the ground once more, he vanished in an arc of violet lightning. When he appeared again, he was already before the Heaven''s Warrior, his arm having shattered into fluttering golden-red feathers only to reform into a claw that hacked downward.


    BANG!


    The head of the Heaven''s Warrior was directly shattered, large amounts of dark gold flame erupting outward. However, before this fire could seep into Ryu''s body, a crown of golden red appeared upon his forehead.


    His fingers stretched out and moved, completing a whipping motion. Before anyone could react, the dark gold flames appeared before Elena, sinking into her brows.


    The weapons of several Heaven''s Warriors fell around Ryu. Their heights were so tall that Ryu was immediately engulfed, their presence enshrouding him with omens of death.


    However, at that moment, a slight breeze passed by, causing a tornado of blossoms to rise around Ryu. The delicate light of Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns danced about them, causing the weapons that aimed for Ryu''s life to rebound and falter.


    Clenching his fists, Ryu shot it through another Heaven''s Warrior''s chest. At that moment, his claw hand exploded once again, reforming into a normal fist Ryu executed [Imperial Fist] with.


    Ryu became the perfect embodiment of offense and defense. Every attack aimed toward him was blocked to perfection and every attack reaped another life. Without fail, all of the dark gold flames entered Elena''s body, not a single spark being taken for Ryu himself.


    Those who were watching this scene were left completely baffled. The difference was too drastic and they weren''t entirely sure how to react to such a change.


    "¡­ Is your [Immortal Sakura] technique really this powerful?" Isemeine whispered to Eska.


    "No."


    "¡­"


    Isemeine was speechless.


    "¡­ I hate that guy."


    Ryu stood over the last of the Heaven''s Warrior, a chain of fire having formed around its neck. With a flex of his wrist, the chain tightened and its neck shattered into pieces, releasing yet another large fog of dark gold flames.


    The flame chain was among the Phoenix Clan''s many fire manipulation techniques and was one of the reasons they were so famous for using the whip. That said, Ryu knew he was using it incorrectly.


    The [Chain Manipulation Series] of the Phoenix Clan, especially when it came to the Ice Phoenix Clan, focused on sealing. It was a methodical approach to battle and was far more clever and layered than what Ryu displayed.


    Unfortunately for his Clan''s legacy, Ryu just wanted to destroy everything in sight.


    BANG!


    At that moment, before Ryu could react, an enormous pillar of dark gold fell from the skies, crashing into his body.


    Ryu stood beneath it, his forearm protecting his eyes and his back and knees completely straight. His arm had once again become a claw, but this time it wasn''t one of a Phoenix, but rather a dragon.


    Dark violet scales bloomed across his body, two majestic qilin horns rising from his forehead as a pair of purple lightning flame wings formed to his bag.


    Rather than waiting for what was descending to come to him, Ryu''s knees bent and he shot upward, piercing through the beam and appearing amid the cloudlike void with a gaze that could penetrate through the veil of all things.


    A five meter tall Heaven''s Warrior appeared in the skies.


    This time, there was just a single one. And, this time, its armor was far more dark gold than it was black.


    It gazed down upon Ryu who shot up to meet it. Though it didn''t seem to have any eyes nor even a true body, one could almost feel the indifference exuding from it.


    "You dare?"


    The two words were like a heavy stone thrown into a calm lake.


    The Heaven''s Warrior had spoken?!

 Chapter 652 Simple

    Chapter 652 Simple


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    The voice was like the eruption of a volcano and yet it didn''t seem as though the Heaven''s Warrior had tried to be so forceful. It was as though this was simply its natural cadence. It didn''t feel the need to put in effort for such ants.


    It didn''t elaborate its meaning, it wasn''t overly verbose, it simply spoke two short and succinct words. As for whether others understood what it meant, maybe it truly didn''t care. But, wasn''t its meaning as clear as day?


    Who dared to fight against the Heavens?


    As for why Ryu was so shocked, it actually wasn''t because of this. He was caught off guard because he had already concluded that the Heavens was nothing more than a fictitious entity that represented the rules the world was governed by. The reason it was actually stupid enough to take out more rage on Ryu than the Martial Gods below who were actually responsible for all of this was simply because it was enacting its rules rigidly and without recourse.


    However, if one of its representatives could speak, what did that mean? As simple as it sounded, speech represented a level of sentience that was beyond what Ryu had previously concluded. On top of that, it also implied understanding.


    If you could speak coherently, that implied that you understood just as coherently, at least in the vast majority of cases. So, to Ryu, this almost felt like everything was changed, and yet possibly not at the same time¡­ It was possible that the core of his deduction was still true while instead of being falsified, things had simply become more complex instead.


    "Are you not the one who insisted on wiping me from existence first?"


    Without much information, Ryu decided to probe instead. If this Heaven''s Warrior continued to talk, it was possible that he could learn something. Though, Ryu wasn''t very expectant of it. It seemed like an impossibility. This Heaven''s Warrior felt even more arrogant than himself.


    However, to his surprise¡­


    "You are a traitor of your people, is that not what you deserve?"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. "Traitors do deserve death, but when did I betray you?"


    "Standing on the side of these ants with your status is the greatest insult. You have made us furious."


    ''My status¡­?'' Ryu was baffled. What did that mean?


    He, of course, knew that he was the scion of the Tatsuya Clan, but in the history of the Heavens, just how many ''Tatsuya'' Clans had it seen rise and fall? In fact, hadn''t Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan also fallen as well? So it was even less important.


    Unless it was the case that this ''status'' the Heaven''s Warrior referred to was his status as a citizen of this world? But that didn''t seem right either. The words of the Warrior seemed to imply that there was something that separated Ryu from the other traitors, just as he had previously speculated.


    Was this separation because he was representing Overseer Eudo? Or was there a different reason entirely? Ryu truly wasn''t certain.


    "I have every intention of wiping them from existence once I am strong enough. Their days are numbered."


    Ryu''s words weren''t concealed in the slightest, nor did he feel the need to conceal them. At this point, even if he revealed his Tatsuya name, he didn''t believe he could push the Martial Gods to want to kill him any more than they already did. That boat had sailed long ago.


    It could be said that the only reason Ryu had yet to reveal this was because he instinctually felt that he was incorrect. Somewhere deep inside, he knew that if he revealed his real name, the fervor with which the Martial Gods came after him would reach an entirely new level. They may very well not hesitate to mobilize all the power and strength they had.


    Ryu wasn''t sure where this feeling was coming from, but he chose to trust it because it was a feeling that Ailsa shared as well. If it was just his own speculation, he was probably reckless enough to ignore it. However, since it would worry Ailsa, he chose against it.


    As expected, Ryu''s words caused a complete uproar. It swept through the crowd and the World Sea Realm experts with a fervor that almost toppled the setting entirely.


    King Adonis'' gaze sharpened. If it wasn''t for Heaven''s Punishment still being present, he would have already slaughtered the boy where he stood. The prestige of the Martial Gods wasn''t something that just anyone could trample upon.


    The Heaven''s Warrior gazed at Ryu deeply for a long while before pointing downward.


    When Ryu saw where he was pointing to, his gaze narrowed, a killing intent that rolled like waves off of his body causing those below to be suffocated. Even those outside the barrier of the Heaven''s Punishment, presumably protect from Ryu''s rage, felt as though their chests were collapsing.


    Wasn''t this boy''s killing intent a bit too strong?!


    The Heaven''s Warrior, however, was unmoved.


    "If that is truly your intention, then why do you help her?"


    The question of the Heaven''s Warrior was even more baffling than Ryu''s previous words. Why did it seem like the Heaven''s were trying to give Ryu a way out? What kind of ridiculous nonsense was this?


    Weren''t all arbiters of the Heaven''s supposed to be cold, calculating and inflexible? They had never even heard of ones that spoke before, let alone one''s willing negotiate with those they called supposed traitors.


    Hearing the intention in the Heaven''s Warrior''s voice, despite it sounding like a clap of thunder, Ryu''s gaze eased somewhat. But, even then, it was only somewhat. He didn''t like anyone pointing at his wife at all, even if it was for something so benign.


    "That''s simple." Ryu replied plainly. "She''s my wife, I won''t allow any harm to come to her."


    If Ryu''s first words had caused an uproar, this caused pin drop silence.


    No one believed that he was being literal. Rather, they all believed that he was claiming Elena before them all without a care for the faces of the countless World Sea Realm experts who didn''t dare to even do the same.


    Isemeine herself felt like fainting. Once Ryu died, Eska would most definitely kill her and everything would be finished. She was really done¡­


    She really, really, really hated this man.


    However, the Heaven''s Warriors next words truly left them all speechless.


    "I see. Depending on your performance, an exception may be made in the future. But, it will depend on you.


    "According to the rules, since I have descended, I must fight. Prepare yourself."


    The words had hardly fallen when a fist appeared before Ryu''s face.

 Chapter 653 Wouldnt That Be...

    Chapter 653 Wouldn''t That Be...


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. An enemy standing right before him could never catch him off guard with an attack. The only limitations would be his body''s own speed. But, while the speed of his body was a limitation, the deployment of Ryu''s qi was a different matter.


    Right then, Ryu''s body flashed, stepping just half a foot to his right.


    The feeling of a fist that could destroy world whizzed by his ear, the booming of space and wind shattering his eardrum.


    At that moment, there wasn''t a single a Lightning Sprite that didn''t stand to their feet. No matter how fast Ryu''s actions were, it was impossible for them to have missed it. They recognized the deployment of their Clan''s core technique almost immediately.


    A human was actually using their [Lightning Divine Mark] technique?!


    Right then, Ryu no longer hid his Divine Marks within his body, deploying them all in an instant. He hadn''t barely dodged just now because he wanted to look cool. The reality was that even with the speed of his reaction, he had only been able to send out a mark six inches from his body so he had no choice but to make do. The result was him nearly losing half his head just to the wind pressure alone.


    Ryu realized that this Heaven''s Warrior was no joke. Even with him forcing his Bloodlines back into activity, he had actually almost lost his life to just a single strike.


    Ryu''s slitted pupils glowed with a severe light, his dark violet draconic scales crackling with lightning as he vanished once again. His speed was so quick that it felt like instantaneous teleportation. However, even as he ran, he was having trouble finding a gap to attack.


    Even though every strike of the Heaven''s Warrior missed, its form didn''t falter and its posture remained smooth. Its every punch caused the ground below to implode and distant mountains to splinter in two. The devastation would have been far worse if not for the sturdy spatial fields of the Shrine Plane.


    Ryu could feel the weight of his inadequacy pushing down on his shoulders. He knew well why it was he couldn''t find a path to attack right now. It wasn''t just because his body was too lacking. In fact, that could be considered a minor issue. The main root of the problem was that he wasn''t skilled enough.


    He didn''t trust his Great Swordstaffs as they had too many flaws. Forming a pair for him to use now would be like asking to get embarrassed. As for his fists, they were lacking even more so.


    At the same time, Ryu didn''t dare to use anything beyond [Third Perspective] on this Heaven''s Warrior. If he foolishly tried to use [Lines of Fate], or god forbid [Death Acupoint] on a warrior of Heaven, he would be asking for an early death. He would end up sapped dry within a split second of a split second.


    All he could do was passively observe the Heaven''s Warrior but without [Lines of Fate], it was difficult to catch a hold of the secrets of its movement.


    Ryu felt like yet another one of his talents had been stripped from him. But, compared to his Bloodlines, this one felt even more crippling. Ryu only realized just how much of his cultivation genius relied on his Heavenly Pupils right this moment.


    Ryu flashed to the side once again. He attempted to send out a punch, but pulled it back immediately, realizing that the so-called opening would have cost him his arm, his shoulder, and a quarter of his torso at that.


    Ryu''s memories couldn''t help but drift back to his first meeting with Ailsa and the words she had spoken to him back then¡­


    Did he have the face to go to an orphan of the Moral Plane, without an ounce of cultivation talent, and ask them to fight against the Heavens?


    The irony of it all was that Ryu really was fighting against the Heavens this time, and yet it was precisely because of this that he realized just how selfish and short sighted he had been in the past.


    Of course, he worked hard, and maybe that did allow him some leeway when it came to his arrogance. But, Ryu was reminded of a saying he had thought of long ago¡­


    What you thought wasn''t as important as why you thought it¡­ What life''s choices led you down such a road, what experiences did you have that shaped your very being¡­?


    Having strong will power worked the same way, did it not? If you put your head down and gave everyday everything you had, but received nothing in return¡­ Wasn''t your will worth more than someone who did the same but gained vastly?


    Ryu had lived his first life pretending as though his hard work bore him no fruit, but did it really not?


    He became an Origin Grade Herbologist in less than a thousand years. He became an Origin Grade Ruin Master in even less time. He existed on a plane of his own when it came to the Four Arts and he cultivated his own path of Feng Shui¡­


    These were all things cultivators spent billions, trillions of years even, to accomplish. And yet, he had done it all in a single millennia.


    Why? How did he manage it?


    Wasn''t it because he had endless resources at his finger tips? Wasn''t it because he had the best teachers a child could ask for? Wasn''t it because he was born with these number one ranked Heavenly Pupils?


    It was easy to work hard when you were guaranteed results. What was difficult was rising up everyday knowing you may very well not get anything in return for your blood, sweat and tears.


    So the question was, what would Ryu do if his talent did truly become useless one day?


    ''What would I do? Would I still have the same resolve?''


    A calm smile curled Ryu''s lips.


    Ever since he was a child, what he had always wanted to do the most was to sit atop of the world. But, ever since he was old enough to understand the world around him, he realized that he was already there¡­


    If one day he found out that his talent really wasn''t much, that he was just a frog at the bottom of the well¡­ that there was a taller mountain to climb somewhere else¡­


    "Wouldn''t that be wonderful?"


    Ryu''s aura blossomed forth. [Imperial Fist] shed its cocoon, a dazzling golden light threatening to disperse the clouds above.

 Chapter 654 Bite Me

    Chapter 654 Bite Me


    A glorious fist momentum erupted from Ryu''s heart.


    Man''s first weapon had always been the fist. However, over time, it had become overshadowed by other more complex existences. Not long later, it became difficult to find a cultivator who didn''t choose a weapon to cultivate, causing the infancy of martial arts, the fist, to fall by the wayside.


    That said, if there was any art that embodied what it meant to be human, it wasn''t the so-called King of Weapons¡ªthe sword¡ªnor was it the spear, nor the rod, nor any other weapon form¡­ It was precisely the fist that rested at the core of humanity.


    There was elegance in its simplicity and power in its humility. It reflected what was in a person''s heart to the utmost degree and it was the only Mortal Endowment not weighed down by the conventions of countless epochs of Fate.


    The fist was what someone wanted it to be. It was deeply personal and endlessly flexible.


    And it just so happened to be exactly what Ryu needed to truly loosen the shackles that bound him.


    BANG!


    Two fists, one dwarfing the other, met in the skies. The crackle of space resounded before it shattered like glass, the sturdy nature of the Shrine Plane suddenly becoming absolutely useless.


    BANG!


    Ryu sent another fist forward, a happy smile gracing his face. It was the kind of look one didn''t expect from someone who currently had such a demonic appearance. The scales that covered Ryu''s body and neck and the horns that curved upon his forehead made him look sinister to an extreme. And yet, he had the smile of a child on his face. The dichotomy was baffling.


    Within Ryu''s Incubator, Ailsa was at a loss. Previously, she had been busy laughing to her heart''s content as Ryu stumbled over himself trying to please Elena. But now, she was completely speechless.


    ''Is this a Mortal Endowment? Or was this a Natural Enlightenment? I''m a Cultus Faerie Princess! Why can''t I tell the difference between something so fundamental?!''


    If Cultus Faeries had a 101 class to attend, this was something that would likely be taught on the first day within the first minute of the first lesson. If others knew that Ailsa was stumbling in trying to understand something so simple, she really wouldn''t know where to put her face.


    One had to remember that the Natural Order was among the most fundamental pillars of cultivation. It could be said that it was the fourth pillar outside of Qi, Body and Mental Realm cultivation. It could even be said to be the thickest of the four pillars.


    Natural Orders came in Mortal Endowments and Natural Enlightenments, the former of which was further split into Elements and Birthed Phenomena. Elements were self explanatory, Birth Phenomena referred to human created Inheritances like that of the sword, while finally, Natural Enlightenments were the most enigmatic.


    Natural Enlightenments touched upon the Artistic Conceptions of nature¡­ The gentleness of spring''s water¡­ The softness of a cloud¡­ The momentum of a mountain¡­ The possibilities were endless.


    But, it was exactly because of these clear definitions that Ailsa was baffled that she actually couldn''t tell.


    To make matters worse, this was her own Life Partner! She could practically feel what Ryu was feeling as he was feeling it! This was really too embarrassing.


    Ailsa shook her head. ''Good thing he''s focused on the battle right now or else I really wouldn''t know where to put my face. Ridiculous. Too ridiculous.''


    Ailsa had no idea that her father who was watching the events unfold had a similarly ugly expression on his face. As the saying went, like father, like daughter. They were truly too much alike.


    On the complete opposite side of the battlefield, though, the Armament Guild had its own reaction, one that was far more complex than that of others.


    They could all feel their weapons vibrating wildly at their sides or within their spatial rings as though they felt threatened by something. But, what was truly baffling was that this normally only occurred when there was a higher level weapon of the same kind in the vicinity¡­ But there was clearly no such thing around!


    No, this wasn''t true. What was important was that there was a higher level weapon in the hands of an expert that existed on a higher level plane. In fact, the higher level weapon wasn''t even strictly necessary. There were legends of swordsman who could use the world itself as their sword¡­ Such existences¡­


    Godefride shook his head. That was impossible. How could someone who hadn''t even touched upon Cosmic Qi and understood the truth of Order possibly reach such a realm? It didn''t make sense.


    This wasn''t something he had ever seen before, nor was he able to properly explain it.


    They could all only watch in shock as a battle which had Ryu on his backfoot suddenly became even, only to quickly become one Ryu held the upper hand in. It was as though he was improving vastly with every strike he levied, his momentum growing to the point where it towered and shrouded over the pocket of space.


    "Good¡­ Much sooner than expected¡­ Much sooner, indeed¡­"


    BANG!


    The head of the Heaven''s Warrior imploded the moment it said these words, Ryu''s fist rocketing through his forehead.


    A large tempest of dark gold flame rose up as the vortex void above began to waver and fade. The expressions of the youths below changed. They suddenly realized that if they really didn''t move now, then Ryu would have actually monopolized everything for himself.


    However, before they could even take action, Ryu''s hand had already moved and the entire large pillar of dark gold shot toward Elena. If things went as they had gone up until this point, she would swallow it all.


    This time, though, Elena reached out a palm and stopped it.


    Having descended from the skies to land before her, Ryu looked toward Elena with a hint of confusion. He couldn''t quite see her face behind the pillar but he could barely catch glimpses through the flickering flames.


    "I already have enough." Elena said just as indifferently. "I suggest you distribute some of it to avoid trouble."


    The pillar was sent back to Ryu who looked at it for a moment.


    "I''ll keep half."


    Before Elena could react, or likely because her body was just too slow in comparison to Ryu''s given their current state, a large piece of the dark gold flame fused into her body. As for the rest, Ryu took it.


    "I told you I had enough." Elena said.


    Ryu laughed. "I just didn''t believe you. If you''re really so mad, feel free to bite me."


    Cleo was so enraged by these words that she nearly fainted. She clenched her fists before her expression changed.


    Her gaze shot up into the skies. ''The seal on my cultivation is gradually weakening? Why is it only gradual, it''s usually instantaneous.''


    Seemingly thinking of something, she looked toward Ryu. The look in her eyes clearly said she felt that he should be taught a lesson.


    It seemed that Cleo didn''t realize there was a line of people waiting to do the same thing. The moment she noticed the oddity, so too did the others, and they all shared the same thought.

 Chapter 655 If You Know...

    Chapter 655 If You Know...


    "¡­"


    Elena gazed at Ryu for a moment, her gaze impossible to read. There used to be a twinkle of a mischievous light within whenever she looked at him, but right now it felt quite blank. It was entirely impossible to tell what she was thinking.


    If Ryu wanted to be optimistic, he might very well believe that his wife had simply matured. However, this wasn''t what he chose to believe.


    Somewhere deep inside, he knew that thinking this way was just a way to absolve himself of responsibility and make the weight on his chest just that small bit lighter. However, he didn''t want that weight to be lighter. He wanted to feel the full brunt of it.


    His wide smile softened into a sincere and caring look. His gaze alone spoke a thousand words.


    Right then, the light sound of footsteps entered Ryu''s ears. It was an interruption that he immediately disliked and he didn''t need to turn his head away from Elena to know that they came from Galkos.


    Galkos walked forward, forcing Elena''s entourage apart. His imposing aura alone was enough for them to step clear out of his way, let alone his standing. It had to be known that Kings and Queens had the loftiest status within the Martial God Clan on the surface. With this being true, despite how the ceremony had gone, Galkos had essentially stepped into the ruling class of their Clan already. Nothing could change that.


    The situation instantly became tense. With Elena and Ryu facing one another, it wasn''t immediately clear how Galkos would take action. Though they didn''t think that Galkos would attack Elena, they didn''t feel that it was an impossibility either.


    Elena had clearly benefited the most from this exchange. Whether Ryu was a fool or not, the objective truth was that his actions had made it so that she was the biggest winner.


    Under normal circumstances, there would be no need for Galkos to make an enemy out of someone with the same standing as himself. It also had to be known that the identity of Elena''s father wasn''t wide spread knowledge amongst the Martial God''s younger generation, or else even if Isemeine had ten times the guts she would have never spoken behind Elena''s back so boldly.


    As far as Galkos was concerned, he and Elena were on the same playing field. He didn''t offend her because there was no need to, however, this didn''t mean he was scared to do so.


    That said, even now, Galkos didn''t feel the need to take it so far. Why would he target Elena when Ryu was right here? He wasn''t under the illusion that Ryu had suddenly gained Elena''s favor with these few actions. When it came to things someone could give her, how could this Ryu compare to what a Sky God could do?


    Ultimately, he drew level with Elena, his gaze locking onto Ryu.


    "Hand it over."


    He didn''t waste his time with any superfluous words, nor did he hang in the back and command others to make a move for him. He knew that this dark gold flame was only stable beneath Heaven''s Punishment. Once the vortex above dispersed, it would be hundreds of times more difficult to plunder and absorb.


    He was well aware that he still needed this energy.


    While Ryu had no idea what it did, he was fully aware. Without it, he could forget about breaking into the Sky God Realm in the future. In fact, even progressing in the World Sea Realm would be difficult.


    Absorbing with would basically guarantee reaching the Peak World Sea Realm even if it was just a small bit. With this amount, Galkos had to believe that he would have at least a 50/50 chance of entering the Sky God Realm.


    Clearly, Galkos hadn''t noticed the contradiction in his thoughts. Even a Sky God couldn''t guarantee such a thing, so how was it that Ryu hadn''t given Elena something better than they could? Compared to what Ryu was holding onto now, he had given Elena even more. Her chances might be even better than 50/50 at this point.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted.


    Galkos was a human of normal proportions, but he was a rare breed. He was one of the only people Ryu had ever met that was actually taller than him without being of an entirely different species.


    However, in an instant, Ryu had gone from caring and affectionate to ice cold. Despite the fact he was looking, as though he shared abilities with his wife, he too seemed to be looking down. Having not dispelled his draconic scales yet, Ryu looked especially menacing, his horns towering over even Galkos.


    The pillar of dark gold flames slowly condensed into a ball that hovered in Ryu''s palm, his claws shimmering beneath its flickering lights. He looked completely unmoved by Galkos'' words.


    A momentum left Galkos'' body, completely enshrouding Ryu. By now, his cultivation had already recovered to the Peak of the Pulse Opening Realm. As the shackles loosened, those with higher cultivations to begin with recovered far faster than those with lower cultivations. Galkos was already confident now in crushing Ryu completely.


    However, as though it was a spring breeze, Galkos'' momentum split along Ryu''s torso as though it had met some sort of rift. Ryu''s slit eyes gazed into the latter''s white-gold ones. It was clear that despite knowing Isemeine, Ryu wasn''t fazed by Galkos'' stature with the Heaven''s Dew Branch.


    "This is what you want?"


    Ryu asked evenly, the dark gold flame dancing in his palms.


    "If you know what''s good for you¡ª"


    "I was wondering why everyone wanted these flames so badly¡­ They probably help you breakthrough, hm?"


    The dark gold flame hopped on Ryu''s palm.


    Before anyone could react, the flame suddenly shot outward, jetting through the air and landing between Overseer Eudo''s brows in the far off distance.


    "I don''t really need it honestly. But I also don''t want to give it to you. So what are you going to do about it?"

 Chapter 656 Better Off

    Chapter 656 Better Off


    Everyone froze in shock, even Overseer Eudo himself.


    The truth was that Overseer Eudo had been furious in the beginning. Ryu was meant to be his chance to rise up again, a chance to strive for the goals of his youth.


    But, as time passed on, he cooled down and simply smiled bitterly. He had realized long ago that things were unfair to Ryu. He was practically guaranteed to die while he as an Overseer just had to stand on the sidelines and reap the benefits.


    He had known from the very beginning the kind of danger Ryu would be in, and yet he hadn''t said a single word, knowing well that Ryu was likely ignorant about it all. In the end, he simply sighed to himself. Such a person had practically fallen out of the sky and onto his lap to begin with, and he was sure that even if the Heaven''s didn''t kill Ryu, then the Martial Gods certainly would. At that point, it would be him who pushed Ryu toward his death¡­ So why would Ryu still choose to help him?


    Eudo hadn''t even known that controlling the dark gold flames was possible to begin with. After seeing Ryu do it, then seeing Elena do it subsequently, he just had to admit that he would never reach such a level.


    Of course, what he didn''t know was that Ryu was the only one who could do so. Elena only gained the ability after absorbing such a large amount of it. But regardless of the truth, this was the reality he was stuck in until he was suddenly pulled out by a strong an sturdy hand¡­


    The irony that this strong hand came from an Immortal Ring level child was most definitely not lost on him. But, for a long while, he had no idea how to react in the slightest¡­


    Until he realized that he had suddenly become the absolute center of attention.


    In the history of the Martial Gods, no one had ever absorbed as much of the dark gold flame as Elena had. But, if there was a person to be ranked second, it had suddenly become Eudo. Such a truth was baffling to an extreme and no one could wrap their heads around why Ryu had done it.


    Some speculated that he was trying to ward off problems for himself and that maybe he truly was a coward. But, if that was the case then wouldn''t he have just given it to Galkos? Why would he give it to someone else?


    Of course, there was the possibility that he hoped that Eudo would protect him in exchange for this favor. This made sense, Eudo was probably his one chance to leave this place alive. But, shouldn''t he had used it as leverage? Wasn''t it too stupid to give it to Eudo first without making any demands¡­?


    And then there was the answer that only those who knew Ryu best would grasp¡­


    He simply didn''t care.


    This dark gold flame was something the Martial Gods scratched and clawed for, but it was meaningless to him. Others might think he couldn''t feel anything because his cultivation was too low, but what senses could higher cultivation give him that the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils could not?


    He didn''t choose to give the remaining half to Elena because he could tell that she had reached a point of saturation. As for why he chose to give it to Eudo, it was simply clearing up the seeds of Karma. The stronger you became, the more important such things were. Since Eudo had allowed him a chance to come here and see his wife, he would repay it. Now, their relationship could be considered null.


    As for the rest of these people? Well, like he had said already¡­ What were they going to do about it?


    BANG!


    Galkos fist slammed through the air. It had yet to even land on anything and yet the wind had already imploded, crashing toward Ryu''s chest as though its true target was on the other side.


    Ryu raised his hand to stop the oncoming blow but suddenly hesitated. In that split moment, the fist had already collided with his chest.


    BANG!


    Ryu flew out like a streaking meteor, his speed through the air reaching such a fast pace that his body began to crackle and pop, sparks of fire lighting his back and body as though he was cutting through the atmosphere.


    Ryu crashed into the ground, his body skidding along the wreckage and tearing a stretch several meters deep with every passing second. It felt for a moment that his entire body would erupt into a ball of flames, burning him to ash. Just a single punch had already put him in such a seemingly sorry state.


    Galkos took a step forward, his gait filled with purpose as a dense white gold fog hung around his body. His white-gold eyes twinkled with rage, his every breath causing billowing cyclones to zoom in and out of his lungs.


    What Galkos didn''t notice, though, was that Elena, who had just been by his side, only felt the slightest breeze. The wind picked up slightly, causing her hair to sweep before her eyes for just a moment. By the time she pushed it away and revealed her twinkling pink diamond gaze to the world again, they were just as placid as they had always been.


    Galkos continued to walk forward, his momentum imposing. No one felt surprised by the result, even if Ryu had somehow managed to complete his 13th Rite, what was that in the face of a higher cultivation Realm? Especially since Galkos had completed his 11th Rite to begin with.


    However, at that moment, a hand came out from the trenches and slowly flexed.


    With a light leap, Ryu appeared above ground again, sending a glance toward his chest. Right in the center, a dent in the shape of a fist could be found just above his heart. If not for his Realm Heart, he would likely be in a life or death situation right now.


    Ryu patted his chest as though he was wiping it clear of dust. By the time his palm moved downward again, the dent was gone, revealing a broad chest covered in dark violet scales.


    "To come so close to hurting her¡­ I think you''re better off dead."


    Ryu vanished from where he stood.

 Chapter 657 It Was Then...

    Chapter 657 It Was Then...


    Galkos'' pupils constricted, his fist stretching out once again on reflex. However, before he could react, he found a hand on his throat.


    His body bent like a bow from his neck, the rest of him following swiftly afterward. Galkos felt Ryu''s hand latch to him, pressing down firmly and tearing a path through Elena''s entourage without a thought for the their safety.


    Those that managed to dive out of the way were fine, but those that were more unfortunate coughed up mouthfuls of blood, being beaten out of the way one after another.


    Galkos'' head slammed fiercely onto the ground, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as his skull threatened to deform. Even now, he had been caught completely off guard.


    In that moment when he pushed Ryu, he felt all of his force sink into Ryu''s body and had even felt his heart rupture. Not a single ounce of his strength wasn''t perfectly transferred into Ryu, it was the kind of devastating attack that should have torn Ryu''s inner organs to minced meat and left him half dead.


    Once again, a light breeze passed over Elena. While everyone else was in chaos, it felt as though she was standing in the midst of a spring field, untouched by the rest of the world, even despite the fact she had been the closest to their strikes to begin with.


    A roar left Galkos'' lips, his neck expanding by twice its usual size to break Ryu''s grip. He pushed upward, fury having already taken over all his logical reasoning. He couldn''t even remember the last time he was treated in such a way. He had been caught off guard initially, believing that Ryu was already dead. But, this would most definitely not happen again.


    However, to his horror, he found his fist stopped mere inches from reaching Ryu''s face. In that moment, Galkos truly saw Ryu for the first time.


    In all this time, Galkos had never truly observed the young man before him. He was too grand, too lofty to care about an ant. Even when Ryu seemed to be doing impossible things in the face of the Heavens, Galkos'' own pride and ignorance led to him directly ignoring such things. Every time Ryu surpassed his expectations, he would have another excuse ready for why it simply didn''t matter so much.


    But, right this moment, with Ryu''s killing intent billowing like plumes of steam, his gaze bearing down upon Galkos as though he was nothing more than trash beneath his feet, Galkos truly felt it for the first time.


    The sickening sound of shattering bones resounded as Ryu crushed Galkos'' fist.


    So what if Galkos had recovered to the Qi Refinement Realm? Ryu had already recovered to the Lower Pulse Opening Realm and since when had he not had the ability to fight across cultivation levels?


    BANG!


    Galkos'' expanding neck found itself crushed back to its original size. Blood vessels popped and cracked, skin splintered and bled, the creaking of Galkos'' spine leaving eerie sounds traveling through the air.


    "King!"


    Galkos'' entourage had suddenly become the closest group to Ryu. After Ryu took control of the battle, the two had landed in a space between where they and Elena''s entourage lay. Seeing Galkos in such a state, how could they not take action?


    However it was exactly at that moment that humiliation overwhelmed Galkos. His blood surged, his cultivation ripping through the Qi Refinement Realm barrier and returning to the Spiritual Severing Realm.


    Galkos swung upward with his broken fist, not caring for the state his neck was in at all. As though a mad man, his head arched upward, pushing his throat against Ryu''s palm without a care for what happened to his life.


    A broken arm? A broken neck? Even a broken body couldn''t stop a member of the Heaven''s Dew Branch. There was no injury he wasn''t able to heal, no pain he was unwilling to tolerate. A pride that had sunk deep into his bones from an early age rose up.


    BANG!


    Galkos'' head was smashed back into the ground, a pair of sinister reptillian eyes looking down at him.


    Ryu''s fist cocked backward, slamming into Galkos'' face and deforming his skull.


    BANG!


    Another fist descended, forming another dent just as Galkos healed himself.


    BANG!


    Crackling lightning flames shot into Galkos'' body. Ryu released his grip on the latter''s throat, raining down fist after fist. It was as though there was no competition to begin with, as though there wasn''t a chance for one of the greatest geniuses of the Martial Gods even to fight back, let alone seek revenge.


    BANG!


    Galkos face became perpetually covered in his own flesh and blood. Every time he healed himself, lingering bits and pieces of his brain and bone would remain behind, coating his features in a grotesque scene of gore.


    It was clear that if it wasn''t for Galkos'' ability as a Heaven''s Dew Branch member, he would have long since died. The savage nature of Ryu''s beating rolled through the atmosphere like rising tides. The difference was so striking that many began to wonder just how it was that Galkos had landed a blow to begin with.


    It was only then that multiple gazes landed on Elena. At this moment, her situation was a striking difference to the battlefield around her.


    Her entourage had been scattered, some of which had been hurt and a large number of which had run away. The ground was torn up, streaks of lightning sparking and blazing fires erupting from time to time. And yet, not only had she not moved a single inch, the ground she stood on was pristine and untouched.


    They seemed to finally understand. It wasn''t that Galkos had managed to almost kill Ryu, it was rather that Ryu had allowed himself to nearly be killed. He traded a near fatal injury just so that a woman wouldn''t be inconvenienced.


    And now¡­


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist shattered Galkos'' head once again. With every strike, he seemed to get closer and closer to truly tearing him to shreds. But it was also then that the others could no longer sit idly by.


    Seven of the eight along with Galkos'' entourage rushed forward, fury lighting their gazes.


    With an eruption of qi, Galkos shattered the mold and entered the Divine Vessel Realm.

 Chapter 658 Not in the Slightest

    Chapter 658 Not in the Slightest


    Several auras converged onto Ryu, each with their own thoughts. It felt like the only ones that didn''t move were Tybalt, Isemeine and Elena. There were even a few of Elena''s entourage who couldn''t hold back any longer.


    This was no longer a matter of the dark gold flame. It was a matter of Ryu versus the Martial Gods. They all had this responsibility weighing on their shoulders and couldn''t take a step back now.


    Ryu''s gaze angled upward, a fiendish expression on his face. Killing intent rolled off of him in waves, sparks of lightning crackling between his horns. He looked like a demon incarnate, Galkos'' blood and flesh coating his fists and chest, some even dripping down his face.


    Galkos'' aura surged. Though Ryu remained unmoved, the same couldn''t be said for the ground beneath them.


    An enormous crater broke into existence, sending the pair falling downward.


    Taking advantage of this, Galkos'' Earth Inheritance rose up. His body was pulled by an attraction force toward the depths of the crater, causing him to fall much faster than Ryu and finally gain some breathing room.


    He slammed heavily into the ground, his white gold gaze lit with fury. He slammed his fists together, large waves of Earth Qi surging toward him from all sides.


    Galkos'' Earth Inheritance flourished, rising higher and higher. It crossed the Heir Realm, tore through the Ruler Realm and Monarch Realm, and finally rested at the very peak of the Sovereign Realm, his Dominion covering the earth they all stood on.


    In that moment, it was as though every step for Ryu took ten times the effort while the opposite was true for his enemies. However, even as he fell through the air, Ryu didn''t seem to have reacted to this change in the slightest.


    He knew very well that this wasn''t Galkos'' peak. A genius like Galkos had definitely crossed the Dominion Realm and had already formed his Divinity. However, Galkos hadn''t broken the restrictions of the Heavens like Ryu had. Without the support of his real cultivation and beneath Heaven''s Punishment, he had no ability to display the strength of the Minor God Realm.


    That said¡­ Even if he could¡­ What did he, Ryu Tatsuya, have to fear?


    Today, he would massacre these geniuses the Martial Gods placed so much hope in one after another. This rage he had been burying for so many years already¡­ He would vent it a little.


    Ryu''s palm swept down and to the side. At that moment, a youth of Galkos'' entourage was caught off guard. To those observing, it was almost like he had delivered his head to Ryu''s swing.


    BANG!


    For a moment, it seemed as though the youth would simply be sent flying away. But, a moment later, just as he was about to slam into the walls of the deep crater, he let out a tragic scream.


    Under the horrified gazes of those watching, the youth was blasted into minced meat, his blood and flesh erupting like a crimson colored bomb.


    Ryu''s fall came to a grinding halt, a dense darkness dancing about him.


    His dragon''s blood rolled, the sound of thunder booming through his body as his heart thumped and pumped it all throughout him. If it wasn''t for the Heaven''s Punishment above restricting Ryu''s Storm Talent, he would have already blasted them all to smithereens.


    But this way was good too. This way he could feel their lives leave their bodies personally.


    Moxi and Thephine pincered Ryu from two sides, the latter wielding a glaive with a polearm as thick as two wrists and the former wielding a short sword with a speed that cut through space with impunity. When the two were at each other''s throats, they were still powerful in their own right. But, when soft and hardness worked together in battle, their abilities underwent a qualitative change.


    From mortal enemies, they became a tag team the likes of which was rarely seen in the martial world.


    But¡­ Was it enough?


    Ryu reached out both hands, pinching at the air. Before either could react, they found their two weapons stopped between four total fingers.


    Ryu squeezed the slightest bit, his claws chipping into the metal. Swirling patterns of Dark Heavenly Patterns danced upon their glistening whiteness, radiating a slight and sinister black fog.


    With a sharp crack, Moxi and Thephine''s weapons shattered. Horridly ugly expressions warped their faces. These weapons were both of the Mystical Grade. They couldn''t wrap their heads around how Ryu had possibly done this.


    However, what was a Mystical Grade treasure to a Dragon and Phoenix''s claw supported by Heavenly Patterns?


    The two instantly retreated, surging backward as fast as they could move. But, Ryu was faster.


    Ryu grasped at the air, forming two fists.


    From one, a surge of Ice Flames erupted. From the other, a pulsing Heavenly Rebirth Flame surged.


    In the blink of an eye, both began to form chain links. In one moment, the chains weren''t even a foot long and in the next, they stretched outward for hundreds of meters.


    With a single snap of Ryu''s wrists, the twin chains lashed out, a chain of blue for Moxi and a chain of red for Thephine.


    Both reacted quickly, throwing away their broken weapons and replacing them with new, albeit weaker, ones. However, it didn''t seem to matter in the least.


    Moxi found himself surrounded by a tornado of chains. The cold qi was suddenly so overwhelming that his usually fast reactions and movements slowed, causing his limbs to be entrapped in a single move.


    Thephine faired even worse, the strong red chain oppressing his strength with an arrogance that towered over him.


    In just a single exchange, both found themselves trapped, surrounded by chains.


    Despair colored their gazes when Ryu pulled. The chains squeezed in from all sides, the bones creaking before shattering after barely a moment of resistance.


    Their exposed heads expanded and then imploded, their efforts becoming entirely futile.


    Ryu ripped his chains away, a cyclone of blue and red surrounding him from all sides. He stood arrogantly in his skies, his blood lust not having been tempered down by even the smallest measure.

 Chapter 659 Crushed

    Chapter 659 Crushed


    The whipping and clanging sounds of Ryu''s chains grated on the ears. In just a few exchanges, he had slaughtered two top ten individuals of the Heir Rankings with an ease that sent an eerie feeling creeping up their spines.


    The spinning chains in Ryu''s hands suddenly lashed out. Every time it landed on a body, it imploded into a rain of ash or ice shards. The youths didn''t stand a single chance beneath Ryu''s assault nor did he lend them any sort of mercy.


    Whether it was members of Elena''s entourage or Galkos'', they suffered just the same. Any one of them that aimed for his life received the same treatment, their cries of despair ringing throughout the skies.


    "How dare you?!"


    Cleo couldn''t stand to watch any longer. Some of the little girls Ryu had just slaughtered were ones she had been diligently guiding for the last several days. Watching them all fall one by one like this filled her with a fury that dwarfed even what she felt toward Ryu taking advantage of Elena.


    Cleo shot forward. When it came to those whose cultivations recovered the fastest, she was only a step slower than Elena and Galkos. But, when it came to battle prowess, she who was practically set to become a Queen in the future, wasn''t lacking in any respects.


    Even though Heaven''s Punishment could suppress their cultivation, what it couldn''t do was erase their combat experience. Taking advantage of kids that were barely in their late teens was something Cleo felt endlessly disgusted toward Ryu for doing, clearly having no idea that even compared to these kids, Ryu had been cultivating for a far shorter time.


    However¡­ Since when did Ryu care to explain himself to anyone?


    The instant he sensed Cleo appearing near him, his chains lashed out once again.


    Twin fans appeared in Cleo''s hands, one covered in a bright gold sun and the other dancing with the silver hues of a shining moon.


    Her gown fluttered in the air, her silver hair dancing about like a raging river. It lengthened in the air as her Spiritual Qi rose and with just a single whip of his wrist, the moon fan slapped Ryu''s chains out of the way.


    The sun fan snapped close, piercing out toward Ryu''s forehead. Its moment was no less than that of a raging flood dragon. One would have thought that she had sliced out with a spear rather than the fan she had used.


    Her rage seemed to fuel her strength, her delicate arms producing a power that towered over anything manifested on this battlefield just yet.


    Ryu released his chains, allowing them to burst into a flutter of raining sparks of fire.


    His palm reached out in the space between himself and Cleo, his claws suddenly pinching downward.


    An explosion of air resounded through the skies. An invisible attack suddenly became tangible, an illusory flame trying its best to burn Ryu''s arm to ash.


    Cleo''s face twisted into a sneer. Her flames were among the most powerful in the Martial God Clan and the twin fans in her hands were actually a Half-Step to the Ancestral Grade. To try and take such an attack, even if it was just a probe, with your bare hands was just asking for death.


    However, the result was completely out of her expectations. The illusory golden flame danced up Ryu''s claw and arm. However, just as it was about to reach his shoulder and engulf the rest of his body, Ryu suddenly squeezed down.


    BANG!


    The piercing attack shattered between three of Ryu''s claws, the illusory flame vanishing along with it.


    Cleo''s pupils constricted, but Ryu had already vanished in a streak of lightning. To Cleo''s horror, a Divine Mark had appeared right before her, yet she hadn''t even been able to sense it until Ryu disappeared.


    As quickly as she could, Cleo opened her moon fan to its largest degree, waving her arm about. Thick lines of silver qi followed her movement, forming a five sided star before her in the blink of an eye.


    BANG!


    Her defenses had hardly formed when it suddenly shattered. Ryu''s fist plowed through it as though it was no different from a thin pane of glass, an oppressive aura bearing down that forced her to retreat several hundred meters.


    However, despite how explosively she had surged backward, she felt an air pressure collide with her chest. Her ribcage cracked and snapped, her torso curving into an arc and a splatter of blood flooding out from her mouth and nose.


    Ryu indifferently stepped forward to pursue, but his pathway was suddenly pressed down upon by Ulmir of the Ignis Clan and the youth of the Viridi Clan.


    Seeing two traitors appear before him like this, a billowing steam flew from the sides of Ryu''s mouth, sparking with both flames and lightning. He seemed no different from a beast suppressing a chest of fury, his scales dancing with life as Heavenly Patterns coursed throughout them almost as though they had minds of their own.


    Ryu''s Spiritual Qi soared, dwarfing the small tides Cleo had just caused. The difference was so striking that it threw her into the depths of despair. She could only sigh a breath of relief when she realized that the target wasn''t herself.


    A massive grimoire appeared above Ryu''s head, a gathering of Elemental energies swirling about with all sorts of colors. To Ryu''s [Ephemeral Tapestry], it was a sight as beautiful as the Heavens. However, to others, it was an oppressive showing that threatened to shatter their hearts.


    Ryu pressed two fingers together on both his hands, drawing an arc with one and a straight line that divided the skies with the other.


    A bow of raging sapphire lightning formed, its might causing the clouds above to rumble, only being held back by the presence of the Heaven''s Punishment.


    There was something especially divine about Ryu''s lightning. Facing it, Ulmir felt as though all his lightning affinity had vanished in an instant. Everything he had been proud of came crumbling down, his Dao threatening to shatter.


    It was at this moment, standing a thinnest line away from death, that Ulmir finally understood how it was his clansman had lost his will before Ryu.


    Ryu''s fingers released.


    SHUUUUU!


    Despair colored Ulmir''s face. He couldn''t mount any sort of defense, his soul having already fled his body long ago. He lost consciousness even before Ryu''s arrow of lightning reached him, saving him from the horror of feeling his body implode from the inside out¡­ But, maybe what would have hurt him all the more was the fact Ryu didn''t even care enough to see his death through, having already turned his gaze toward the Viridi youth.


    The pages of the grimoire flipped wildly, a volatile Wind Qi forming.


    The Viridi Clan member''s expression warped to an extreme. The instant he saw what happened to Ulmir, he retreated explosively, realizing that he was in over his head. He had thought he stood a chance after he recovered to the Divine Vessel Realm, but he understood now that he was nothing more than a fool.


    Unfortunately, that hardly mattered.


    A surging blade qi rose out from Ryu''s body. For the first time, they understood that the fist was nowhere near Ryu''s specialty. For them¡­ He simply didn''t need to bring out his weapon.


    A golden green wind qi wrapped about the blade qi, their towering Inheritances fusing into one before they completely vanished. The air continued to tremble, but it was as though all the effort Ryu had put in before amounted to nothing.


    However, it was then the Viridi Clan member stopped retreating, bitterness evidence in his eyes as his body fell into two halves.


    ''¡­ It didn''t disappear¡­ It was just too thin to see¡­''


    A manic roar shook the skies as Arteur blazed a trail toward Ryu.


    As though Ryu had already anticipated this, his grimoire flipped its pages again, towering pillars of flames suddenly rising into the skies.


    Ryu''s chest expanded, the scales on his throat suddenly becoming separated by a bloodred light as the skin beneath heated up to an extreme. A deathly stillness rose within Ryu''s gaze, the slits of his pupils bearing down with a menacing intent as he stared down Arteur from above.


    It was then that a roar that completely drown Arteur''s resounded. A beam of black-red left Ryu''s lips, shattering the air it came across and evaporating everything in its path.


    Arteur''s expression arched into a sneer, his Spirit Body taking effect instantly as he attempted to vanish within the rising flames and appear right before Ryu. However, it was exactly because of this stupid choice that no one ever got to see his look of horror.


    All they heard was Arteur''s screech of pain. As though a pig being slaughtered, he hollered into the skies. It was just for a brief moment and the sound disappeared just as quickly as it appeared, but it was enough to paint the picture.


    Three geniuses. Three attacks.


    Every time Ryu took action, he used the strongest affinity of his enemy and crushed them to a pulp. It was as though he was trying to show the world something.


    Before him, even the greatest geniuses were worth nothing.


    Right then, Galkos'' cultivation shattered another barrier, crossing into the Path Extinction Realm. His aura blazed, his confidence soaring once again. However, he still didn''t attack, allowing his cultivation to accelerate toward the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Ryu''s gaze fell onto him, a lofty momentum soaring from the root of his very bones.


    "You''ve already lived too long."


    Ryu vanished.

 Chapter 660 Curtain

    Chapter 660 Curtain


    Ryu appeared before Galkos, his fist shooting outward like a streaking star. It was hard to tell when he had sent it forward, but the strength behind it was undeniable.


    Even before Ryu''s fist landed, the land beneath his feet had split and the clouds above rippled. The rolling air currents around it were so violent that it looked as though Ryu was punching through the ground despite the fact his attack was nowhere near it.


    Galkos'' expression was weighed down by his own solemnity. His Earth Inheritance surged, his feet anchoring themselves to the ground and gravity of the surroundings multiplying several times over.


    The space around Ryu''s fist bent and twisted as the air compressed. It was as though everything was beginning to weigh heavier, and yet, Ryu''s attack was unmoved.


    Galkos made a decision in a split moment. His feet slammed heavily onto the ground, causing a pillar with ancient markings to shoot upward in Ryu''s path. Without even waiting for the result, his body sunk into the ground, the fog of white gold hanging around him vanishing soon after.


    BANG!


    The pillar cracked and nearly collapsed, actually managing to withstand a punch of Ryu''s for just a moment before it suddenly imploded from the inside out. It was simply too difficult to tell what sort of mysterious force Ryu had used to accomplish this.


    Seeing that Galkos had vanished, Ryu''s gaze lit up, a furious light hidden within their depths. He still didn''t dare to use his Heavenly Pupils'' higher level abilities with Heaven''s Punishment still hanging over head, but that didn''t mean that he would simply allow this to happen.


    Ryu''s foot rose into the air for just a brief moment before slamming down.


    Whistling winds followed the arc of Ryu''s foot, the harsh sound grating on the ears before it suddenly and forcefully crashed into the ground below.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The earth rose like an ocean''s tide, large blocks of stone rippling outward in a wave. However, Galkos was absolutely nowhere to be found. It was as though he had truly become one with the earth, simulating the ability of a Spirit Body through other means. And yet, Ryu seemed unmoved by this realization.


    A towering death qi surged out from Ryu''s body. Through the cracks in the earth, this endless surge of black energy ripped into its crevices, digging deep into the ground.


    At that moment, the members of the Necromancy Guild couldn''t help but stand up along with the Lightning Sprites, shock evident on their faces. They had never sensed such pure Death Qi in their lives, it was completely beyond anything they had ever experienced. But, the result was even more shocking than anything they could have anticipated.


    ''[Summoning Corpse World].''


    At that moment, large numbers of Higher Skeleton Warriors began to appear one after another. At first it was just a handful, but it quickly ballooned to dozens, then hundreds, until eventually there were thousands, each radiating an aura at the Peak of the Path Extinction Realm, far beyond anything those present had managed to recover to.


    In one sweep, Ryu had gone from having the weakest cultivation to controlling an army of towering powerhouses.


    His arms whipped outward as though he was flicking his robes, his fingers stretching out like a puppet master ushering in the dawn of a world he dictated the finest details of.


    ''[Bone Manipulation].''


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    One after another, the Skeleton Warriors imploded, forming tall, piercing pillars of bone that dove into the ground and formed a spherical cage, of which only half was visible above ground. It was only at that moment that those watching understood that Ryu hadn''t destroyed the ground for the sake of finding Galkos. Rather, he had destroyed the ground so that his bone cage would be able to root itself with greater ease.


    Ryu''s arms rose. "Rise."


    In that moment, the bone cage tore up the earth, taking with it hundreds of meters of stone and rock. Everyone was so shocked by what had happened that they didn''t even register when Ryu had appeared outside of the sphere, standing in the skies with a dark abyss the shape of a crater beneath him.


    His hand stretched outward with a nonchalance that stopped the heart. They had no way of knowing what Ryu planned to do next, but their throats constricted, fear taking hold of their very souls.


    "No!" Cleo, who was still nursing her rib injury, shouted out despite the pain. Her strength burst through the Middle levels of the Path Extinction Realm, soaring through the Higher levels and quickly approaching the Peak. The more time passed, the weaker the Heaven''s Punishment seemed to become. And yet¡­


    As though her voice was a cue, Ryu''s palm lightly pressed on an arm of the bone cage.


    It shot through the air, falling toward what remained of their entourage.


    Once again, Ryu vanished. This time however, he had appeared before Elena, his back facing her.


    Having been silent this entire time, Elena''s gaze was blocked from what happened. She realized at that moment, though, that Ryu''s frame was much fuller than it ever had been. That frail man she had known was nowhere to be seen, replaced by one with the strength to fill out his broad back and shoulders.


    Ryu''s pristine white hair gently danced in the wind, his face the picture of indifference.


    "Don''t you dare."


    The voice came from outside Heaven''s Punishment, the barriers having finally weakened just enough to allow voices to permeate.


    The momentum of the sound was undeniable, even somewhat faintly suppressing Ryu''s own despite being more than halved by the Heaven''s Punishment. Ryu didn''t even need to look to know that it was King Adonis. However, his head turned in that direction anyway.


    For the second time since this event started, Ryu''s gaze locked with this Peak World Sea Realm expert. This time, though, he didn''t look away.


    A silence hung over, the strength of a King threatening to press Ryu down to the ground as the Heaven''s Punishment rapidly weakened.


    By this point, the World Sea Realm experts had come out of their small pocket dimension. There were only a few dozen of them, making them a minority amongst the thousands that had come. And yet, if it wasn''t for the battle occurring right this moment, there was no doubt that they would be the absolute center of attention.


    The spherical bone cage continued to glide through the air slowly, its oppression crashing down toward the youths below. There was no doubt if Ryu''s plan succeeded, there would likely be no geniuses of the Martial Gods left.


    The World Sea Realm experts of the Martial Gods stood in the skies as a unit, their lofty auras advancing and receding with their breaths. It was clear that they would take action the moment the Heaven''s Punishment completely vanished.


    However, not one of them could have expected what they heard next.


    "Who the hell are you to command me? [Warped Corpse Explosion]."


    In that moment, it was as though the world had lost all of its sound. Swirling Dark Phoenix Patterns danced on the surface of the spherical cage, all the wind in the surroundings suddenly surging toward it in the blink of an eye as though a violent vacuum had formed.


    The cage warped and twisted, pressing in on itself until it shrunk to less than a tenth of its original size. And then¡­


    It imploded.


    A pillar of darkness connected the earth to the skies. The sound was far too great to register, a high pitched whining sound replacing the hearing of even the Cosmic Seed Realm experts.


    It rapidly expanded, covering the whole of the battlefield. Whatever tragic screams there had been were completely drowned out. It was the cruelest sort of end. Their bodies were eviscerated, their souls destroyed, and their deaths becoming nothing more than a blip.


    Just when the explosion was about to reach Ryu and Elena, the former reached out a hand. [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] appeared, melding into the darkness without a sound. All the debris, qi and residual impact that tried to cross its defenses were directly destroyed, leaving Ryu suffering nothing more than a fluttering robe and hair.


    Slowly, the pillar receded, revealing the fathomless depths of an abyss. Whatever remained of the Viridi Clan castle had been obliterated, leaving nothing more than a hole in the earth. It was said that destroying the signboard of a Clan or Sect was among the most humiliating things you could put it through. But, what could you say about destroying the entirety of their land?


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s gaze shifted, landing on Tybalt. Surprisingly, this man had managed to remain unscathed.


    Ryu only spared him a glance, though, before he turned toward the center, his hand grasping outward.


    A soul shot out and landed in Ryu''s palm. From a single look, one could tell that it was what remained of Cleo who hadn''t managed to reach the Dao Pedestal Realm in time to have a chance at surviving.


    "I''m not sure if she''s your friend or not." Ryu looked back toward Elena and spoke lightly. "If she is, you can probably still save her since she is in her prime."


    Elena took hold of Cleo''s soul without a word, silently gazing downward.


    Ryu turned his gaze back toward the center. It narrowed as he noticed Galkos'' charred body.


    Unlike Cleo, it seemed that Galkos had managed to breakthrough in time and was actually playing dead now that he was so severely injured. No amount of cultivation recovery would help him defeat Ryu now and he had already used too much of his Vital Qi earlier when Ryu shattered his skull several times.


    Ryu reached out two fingers, a spark of lightning sparking between them before an arrow of violet shot out.


    It was right then that an audible crack resounded.


    The Heaven''s Punishment Curtain had fallen.

 Chapter 661 Backer

    Chapter 661 Backer


    The instant the barrier shattered, Ryu knew that his attack would fail. Even though he had used his absolute fastest attack speed, when comparing himself to a World Sea Realm expert, the gap was simply too enormous. It didn''t matter that they were several tens of kilometers away while Ryu was a mere few hundred meters from Galkos'' burnt up body.


    In a flash, Ryu''s lightning arrow was extinguished and he didn''t even bother to launch a second attack. He stood calmly as though none of what was happening had anything to do with him. Rather, his gaze just shifted toward a particular direction, landing on the World Sea Realm expert who had acted on Galkos'' behalf.


    The World Sea Realm expert in question, a man with flowing white hair that had nothing to do with his age, raised his brows when he saw Ryu''s gaze. He found it hard to believe that an Immortal Ring Realm brat could actually tell which of them had made a move just now. But, it hardly mattered¡­.


    Right at that moment, the powerful auras descended. One after another, they crashed into Ryu, their goals clearer than day. Not only did they solidify the space in the surroundings even more than they already had, but they had ensured that every action of Ryu''s was within their control and scope.


    The Martial Gods weren''t fools, nor did they believe that Ryu would actually be so insanely moronic to provoke them without backing. With all the powerhouses of the Martial World currently present, it was even possible that Ryu''s backer was already here.


    The World Sea Realm experts all looked around, measuring the intent of those around them. None of them wanted to be the man who got stabbed in the back to spark this battle. For the first time, the Martial Gods felt that it might have been a mistake to invite everyone to witness their glory. Not only had their geniuses been humiliated by a man who was clearly not one of their own, but now they could very well end up in a battle when they had only come here today to spectate the rise of a new King and Queen.


    Surprisngly, the first of the World Sea Realm experts to move was Queen Athelina. However, her destination wasn''t Ryu and Elena at all, but rather her two daughters. This action sent the World Sea Realm experts through a world wind of emotions before they finally settled down.


    Clearly, Queen Athelina didn''t want her daughters getting swept up into this mess. She also didn''t really care about the emotions of the others.


    Seeing that Isemeine and Zenavey were still at a head with each other, though, Athelina could only sigh and shake her head. [Author''s Note: called Isemeine''s mother Solorae earlier. This was a mistake. Her name is Athelina.]


    "Don''t look at me like that mom. I just saved her life and she''s still not grateful." Isemeine snorted.


    "You saved whose life?! I wasn''t planning on charging anyway. And he''s lucky I didn''t."


    "Lucky?" Isemeine snorted again. "He''s right there, your cultivation is higher than his by an entire Realm and they all want nothing more than to kill him. Go prove that he''s lucky."


    "Ohoho, I get it. So you actually want to defend him. Why, cause he''s your first time? You''ll probably be really sad when he dies then, right?"


    "Sad? Sure, I''ll be sad that I didn''t get the chance to kill him myself."


    Zenavey burst out into a fit of laughter. "You''re jealous that he''s chasing after Queen Elena? Couldn''t you have a little bit more backbone than this? I''m ashamed to be your sister.


    "Instead of being jealous, why don''t you go find a better man."


    "A better man, huh? I will find one better than him one day, but I can''t say the same for you. If you manage to find one even half as good as him I''ll call you big sis for a lifetime and wash your feet whenever you want me to." Isemeine sneered.


    Watching the once silent atmosphere be taken over by two bickering little girls, black lines formed on the foreheads of all the World Sea Realm experts. It was clear that Isemeine and Zenavey didn''t fear their retaliation at all because they had a total of three King level characters on their side.


    However, what once was a tense situation was most definitely derailed by these two entitled little girls, it was to the point where Ailsa couldn''t stop laughing. She rolled about in the Incubator without a hint of the modesty a woman of her stature should have. Seeing her act like this, Ryu couldn''t help but smile lightly.


    Seeing Ryu react this way, many thought that he was amused by Isemeine''s words or maybe feeling cocky toward her praise. Not many understood that Ryu wasn''t paying attention to them at all and was rather in his own world.


    It was then that everyone seemed to realize that despite the coercion of several World Sea Realm experts, Ryu hadn''t moved a single inch. In fact, as though he didn''t need it anymore, he allowed his scales and horns to recede, leaving him the perfect image of a handsome young man, albeit shirtless and wearing torn pants.


    King Adonis appeared in the skies well above Ryu, having lost his patience. He looked down like a lofty God on high, but that was when Ryu took a step into the skies, reaching the same height as King Adonis despite the several auras locked onto him.


    His meaning was clear. Ryu didn''t like anyone looking down on him. He had accepted it previously for the sake of seeing Elena, but now he felt no need to do so.


    Seeing such actions, King Adonis'' gaze narrowed. Now he was even more certain that Ryu had a backer. If Ryu was the disciple of some reclusive Sky God, what would they do?


    "Your backer, call them forth." King Adonis said slowly.


    Ryu remained silent for a long while. He didn''t seem to respect King Adonis enough to rush himself into an answer. The World Sea Realm experts went on high alert, their senses constantly sweeping the surroundings. Those that were Martial Gods remained relaxed, all feeling that this was just an extra nice show to watch.


    But, it was exactly then that something that caught even Ryu off guard happened.


    "Daddyyyyy! Someone is bullying my husband!"


    Ailsa appeared on Ryu''s shoulder.


    King Cultus nearly coughed up blood.

 Chapter 662 Daddy

    Chapter 662 Daddy


    King Cultus, who had been ready and waiting to watch a great show, didn''t expect to suddenly be thrust into the middle of a storm like this by a daughter he could only say was far too mischievous. He could have never expected that the first meeting he would have with his daughter in nearly a billion years would end up like this.


    At that moment, the instant Ailsa appeared, the World Sea Realm experts and the powerful powers below suddenly rushed out, every one of them ensuring that there were no Faeries to their backs.


    It could only be said that Ailsa''s appearance hadn''t just changed the situation a little bit. If there was any power that could really threaten the Martial Gods, it was¡­ An entire Plane of beings!


    There were large numbers of Faeries from all sorts of Clans below, and though the Cultus King was just one of the three leading Heads of their race, there was no denying that his actions held a lot of sway. That was why instead of reacting like the others, King Ficia and King Quibus had no choice but to stay by King Cultus'' side.


    The truth was that they made this choice because the three had always had a great relationship. In fact, King Cultus was married to King Quibus'' little sister. How could they not be great friends? Let alone friends, they were family.


    As for King Ficia, he too was close with King Cultus. The three men had grown up together from a very young age and the Faerie race had always been advocates of passivism. It was very rare for members of their race to hold grudges against one another.


    This ''choice'' the two Kings were forced into making though only made the situation more tense. Their remaining by King Cultus'' side made it seem like they were all in this together.


    "Don, it seems like you''ve gotten us into some trouble this time." King Ficia said with a bitter smile.


    "My little niece is actually still so mischievous." King Quibus smiled just as bitterly.


    Still, no smile was more bitter than King Cultus'' own. They were no fools, they already realized that there was no ''explaining'' these matters. No matter what, King Cultus couldn''t allow anything to happen to Ryu if for nothing else than his daughter''s life and safety.


    If the connection between Ailsa and Ryu had been cut like they originally planned, then Ryu''s life and death wouldn''t impact Ailsa in the slightest. However, since they had failed to tag Ryu''s location back then, they were obviously still Life Partners. As a result, the best case scenario if Ryu died right now was Ailsa being crippled. In the worst case, she would directly die.


    The moment Ailsa had appeared, it was as though she had checkmated her father. And, judging by Ryu''s reaction, he hadn''t expected her to do this either.


    None of the three Kings didn''t believe that Ailsa didn''t know what she was doing. She was just like her late elder brother and completely dissatisfied with the extreme passivism of the Faerie race. They had chosen inaction time and time again, crisis after crisis after crisis. Since reasoning didn''t work, why not force their hand?


    Even though Ailsa knew that such measures wouldn''t stick or last, she still chose this route to make her stance clear. By forcing the Faerie race and the Martial Gods to be at odds, maybe she could at least wake up a few people.


    Seeing her sitting proudly on Ryu''s shoulder like that, King Cultus knew that he had lost this round, and handily at that.


    "King Cultus, what is the meaning of this?"


    Seeing the situation, King Adonis truly didn''t dare to take actions on Ryu arbitrarily. This might be an even worse situation than if Ryu had a reclusive Sky God backing him. One Sky God might still be manageable without calling out their true powerhouses. However, the entire Ethereal Plane wasn''t something they were ready to face just yet.


    However, as ugly as King Adonis'' face was currently, the charred Galkos who had begun to receive treatment was so infuriated he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. He had seen this supposed fianc¨¦e of his in his youth and he obviously recognized her despite how long it had been. To think he had actually called out father-in-law in the face of so many people, only for things to end up this way.


    If he was already infuriated before, right this moment he wouldn''t care even if the world itself was burnt to ash.


    King Cultus cleared his throat a bit awkwardly.


    "About this, Adonis¡­ You see my daughter likes to play practical jokes¡­"


    "King Cultus, please don''t insult our intelligence. Just tell me very clearly, will you allow us to take him away, or will you not?"


    King Cultus opened his mouth to speak before he sighed deeply, shaking his head. How could he allow them to take Ryu away? Firstly, Ryu needed to be present for the separation ceremony to take place. And, secondly, he had to guarantee Ryu''s safety until his daughter was free.


    King Cultus couldn''t help but look up and lock gazes with this ''son-in-law'' of his. He had to admit that Ryu was truly excellent. This day alone had made that as clear as a blue sky. But¡­


    ''There isn''t an ounce of respect in his eyes when he looks at me. I''m a Faerie King, dammit. Even Sky Gods would give me my due respect. This boy is truly too arrogant.''


    "No. I cannot let you take him away." King Cultus finally said.


    "I see. Then the Faerie race will stand on our opposing side from this day forward?"


    Just as King Cultus was about to respond, Ailsa suddenly grinned.


    "Little Ryu. Do it now."


    Her voice cut through her father''s response, clearly done on purpose.


    When Ryu realized what she meant, he couldn''t help but think that his wife was truly too evil. He had to remember never to get on her bad side.


    "Alright¡­" Ryu said lightly.


    BANG!


    At that moment, it felt as though another Heaven''s Punishment was about to descend, a violent swirling of Fate trickling throughout the air.


    Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils were about to breakthrough to the Cosmic Realms. This would truly be a day the Martial Gods never forgot.

 Chapter 663 Fate

    Chapter 663 Fate


    The pupils of all the World Sea Realm experts constricted at once. For the first time in a long while, they all felt like leaves blowing in the wind, their individual strength and power suddenly meaning absolutely nothing in the face of the volatile cyclone of Faith.


    The momentum of this breakthrough was completely unlike the last. Breaking into the Immortal Realms had made an entire small realm come to a grinding halt. But, this time, the entirety of a large world was frozen in place. Whether it was the weakest mortal all the way up to the strongest Sky God, as long as they were in the Shrine World, they were no longer able to move.


    Ryu stood silently amidst it all, his hair fluttering wildly. His pupils were like two shimmering moons, making it impossible for anyone to meet his gaze.


    At that moment, the skies vanished. The trillions of lifeforms on the Shrine World all looked up, finding themselves in the depths of space.


    As though the world itself was moving, the images of the stars began to shift. At first it was a slow crawl, but it quickly accelerated until it felt like the entire ''sky'' was filled with images of falling stars. The whirlwind of colors was difficult to process and it abruptly came to a stop before they could understand just what was happening.


    Right then, everyone saw a different sight. However, there was no doubt that they were all staring at an individual star.


    They came in all sorts of shapes, sizes and brightnesses, but what was the same was the connection they all felt to this star. Having come to a shocking realization, the people of the Shrine World subconsciously understood that they were gazing upon their Fate Stars, a realization that shook them all to their cores.


    The Fate Star represented everything about their lives. From the talent they would be born with all the way up until the day they would die. It showed everyone they had a connection with, had lost connection with, or would form connections with in the future. It was the hallmark of everything that represented themselves, had represented themselves or would represent themselves.


    To gaze upon such a sight and so completely out of their expectations, this day was most definitely one that would never be forgotten by the people of the Shrine World.


    For the powerhouses of the martial world as a whole, though, they felt a fear take hold of them.


    It had to be remembered that it wasn''t just the people of the Shrine World present on this day. It could be said that every power was represented today. The individuals here could decide the Fate of their martial world as a whole, and even if they weren''t the absolute powerhouses, within a trillion years, they would be.


    Though this trillion sounded like a ridiculously long time, to cultivators of their caliber and talent, it represented just the beginning of their journey to the peak of Dao. Any yet¡­


    They were all being forced to gaze upon their Fates just like everyone else.


    Compared to the mortals, they were especially sensitive about this. Fate wasn''t an exact science and something as simple as ''knowing'' what would happen could alter a course of events for the better, and most often, for the far worse.


    For experts like them, the consequences of knowing was far worse. Their futures could still change, but if they found out the expected date of their deaths now, their Daos could directly collapse.


    As a cultivator, what mattered most was your confidence and belief in yourself. Cultivating was ultimately an act of defiance, and to ignore the status quo was to fight against it and have the courage to do so. If you lacked the courage, you had already failed from the very beginning.


    The good news was that most cultivators were not equipped to analyze and understand their Fate Stars. There were very few professionals capable of doing such a thing and most were of recluse Clans and Sects that never saw the light of day. The only other way was to have the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils but as far as they were aware, that pair of eyes hadn''t appeared for countless trillions of years until it popped up just under a billion years ago.


    For such a pair of Heavenly Pupils, since it had appeared once so recently, it was highly unlikely that it would appear again any time soon.


    But, it was exactly this line of reasoning that snapped the experts awake.


    This change¡­


    They all wanted to look toward Ryu, but their gazes were all locked onto their Fate Stars. Still, that didn''t stop their hearts from beating wildly out of their chests.


    Heavenly Pupils! The only thing that could cause this was a breakthrough in one''s Heavenly Pupils! This Ryu actually had a pair of Heavenly Pupils!


    The realization shook them all to their cores.


    The worst part of this understanding was that from start to finish, Ryu hadn''t used any abilities of his Heavenly Pupils. Had he, they would have most definitely realized.


    The only explanation for this was either that the abilities of his Heavenly Pupils weren''t tangible, or he hadn''t used them at all. When weighing the abilities of most Heavenly Pupils, and then comparing them to the number that would be intangible, they suddenly came to understand that even while destroying the geniuses of the Martial Gods¡­


    Ryu still hadn''t gone all out.


    Ryu, though, didn''t seem to be paying attention to the thoughts of others. He looked into the skies, his expression indifferent. He could see his Fate Star and it was just as bright as usual. It hadn''t changed a single bit since his last life, still destined to shine brightly only to meet an early end.


    But, unlike how he had been in the past, Ryu was unmoved by it all¡­


    It was then that his still Fate Star suddenly began to spin.


    To the horror of the experts all around, the Fate of the martial world was shifting.

 Chapter 664 Playing Field

    Chapter 664 Playing Field


    At that moment, it felt as though all of the Martial God''s delicately structured plans were being torn down one after another.


    Ryu, who could see the full scope of everything that was happening for the first time, felt that his Life Partner was truly too amazing. Ailsa couldn''t have picked a more perfect time.


    The Martial Gods had just been thoroughly humiliated by Ryu and Ryu alone. Not just this, but they were under the current observation of everyone who could be considered to control the Fate of the martial world as a whole.


    It could be said that this event alone was enough to cause a swelling of Fate for Ryu and the Awoken Moon Sect he represented as their Throne. Though Ryu couldn''t be certain of how the Awoken Moon Sect was doing now, what he was sure of was that they were both still in existence and surviving. Ryu''s help had most definitely aided them in birthing several powerful talents in recent years.


    Still, these matters were just the tip of the iceberg.


    Not only had Ryu gained, but the prestige of the Martial Gods had taken a hit, not only because of Ryu dealing with their geniuses, but also of exactly which genius he had dealt with.


    For Galkos to be able to become the chosen candidate of the Martial Gods to be Ailsa''s fianc¨¦e, there was no doubt that he was talented to an extreme. It could be said that in the last billion years, Galkos was an undisputed number one talent of his generation. At the very least, he seemed to be the most talented male of his generation.


    Whether this was the reality or not didn''t matter, because this was what the Martial Gods presented to the outside world. And, even though Galkos'' cultivation had been suppressed and it could be said that he wasn''t used to battling under such handicaps, the ultimate truth was that he had lost thoroughly to Ryu while being the face of the Martial Gods.


    To put things simply, he wasn''t some nobody. Most of the Kings and Queens of the Martials Gods had been so for billions of years already, it could be said that Galkos was the first of the younger generation since the Martial Gods stepped into this world to cross this barrier. Or, at the very least, he was the most high profile with the exception of Elena herself.


    With all of these things laid out, it made the significance of Ryu''s blow to the Martial Gods all the more obvious, and it was a devastating one.


    However, even then, Ailsa still hadn''t felt that it was enough.


    Rather than having Ryu breakthrough right then, Ailsa still chose to lie in wait.


    When the Heaven''s Punishment vanished, the World Sea Realm experts all came boring down. Yet, not only had Ryu not bowed down to their demands, he had even stepped into the sky to stand level with a World Sea Realm expert.


    It was then that Ailsa came out and dragged the Faeries into this mess, shaking up the situation once more. Then, Ryu became not only a talent, but a talent with a Faerie princess as his life partner in addition to a talent that the Faeries had no choice but to protect.


    In that instant, Ryu had not only become a genius who would shake the world in the future, but he had become a genius capable of stirring the martial world into all out war right this moment. The weights of these two matters were vastly different.


    Choosing this perfect moment, Ailsa pushed Ryu into action. Stirring the latent high quality qi that had laid dormant within him ever since Ailsa initially stopped his breakthrough, Ryu rocketed through the final thin paper layer.


    As the ultimate cherry on top, this breakthrough had shaken the World Sea Realm experts into making a sudden realization: Ryu had Heavenly Pupils! When it came to those of rare talents, those with Heavenly Pupils were the peak of the peak. The number of geniuses in the whole martial world, which encompassed trillions of worlds with at least billions of people, that could have the luck to be born with such a pair of eyes.... Could be counted on a single hand.


    And the result¡­ was devastating for the Martial Gods.


    Ryu could suddenly see it all. He could see all the delicate cob webs of Fate that connected the stars in the skies, how each pull could cause a butterfly effect that could change everything and exactly how the Martial Gods had used this to twist and mold the martial world into their image.


    He could see the Fate that had been displaced to the Holy Wing Clan that allowed them to birth so many Saintesses in such a short time. He saw the Fate diverted to the Viridi Clan that allowed them to birth a genius with the Heavenly Wind Pupils. He could see that barren land of Fate that should have been for his Tatsuya Clan, the lack of Fate that led his Ice Phoenix and Fire Phoenix Clans to fail in having a generation awaken their Ice and Rebirth Flames, and even the shackles around his Kunan Clan that prevented his grandfather from ever passing the trials of the Tribulation Shrine.


    Every tangled up web was laid before Ryu and he watched as they all began to collapse, pushing and pulling against one another with his own Fate Star as the very center.


    Ryu knew exactly what was happening. The Fate that was lopsided now wouldn''t go back to where it was originally meant to be. Even though this Fate was rightly that of his Clans, Fate that they had shed blood, sweat and tears over countless epochs to accumulate, Ryu knew that this breakthrough of his wasn''t enough to change things to be back the way they were.


    And, even if by some miracle it could, his Clans no longer existed. With only himself maintaining it all, it would only be a matter of a few million years before this Fate dispersed once again and Clans and Sects began to rise and fall as they fought over it¡­


    However, what this would do was reset things. No matter the Clan or Sect, they would all suddenly be on an even playing field.


    In truth, even in this case, the Martial Gods would have a great advantage. They had so many more people and already had a strangle hold on most of the martial world. But¡­


    So what?


    An even playing field? He, Ryu Tatsuya, wouldn''t be afraid even if the odds were stacked against him. An even playing field should be the nightmare of the Martial Gods.


    All of this Fate? Fate that was rightfully his to begin with? Fate the lack of which had caused the deaths of his beloved grandparents¡­?


    He would take it all back.


    BANG!


    The web of Fate shattered, the enigmatic energy suddenly spreading out evenly over the whole of the martial world.


    In that moment, Ryu heard a faint voice calling out to him, a voice that had been buried beneath the bundle of Fate ties¡­


    Ryu''s pupils constricted into pinholes.


    ''My¡­ Spiritual Foundation¡­?''

 Chapter 665 I Hope

    Chapter 665 I Hope


    Ryu''s heart shook.


    Was it his Spiritual Foundation? He wasn''t sure. All he knew was that this feeling he was experiencing now was identical to what he felt when he reconnected with his Phoenix Sky God Spiritual Foundation. He might not have even felt this way had he not experienced losing his Spiritual Foundation once.


    But what didn''t make sense about this was the fact Ryu should have had a Spiritual Foundation¡­ it was just that it was a False one.


    A False Spiritual Foundation didn''t equate to an empty dantian. Rather, a False Spiritual Foundation was simply one that failed to awaken, nothing more, nothing less. When Ryu passed the trial of the Phoenix Sky God, his False Spiritual Foundation was replaced.


    This was all to say that if this really was Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation, then wouldn''t that mean he had not two attached to himself¡­ but three? His False Spiritual Foundation, his Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, and this mysterious one¡­?


    What was going on?


    Despite being confused, Ryu subconsciously reached toward it, feeling it calling to him. But, he had hardly begun when his body froze, his frame shuddering.


    Ryu''s inner organs suddenly ruptured and his body curved out his control. A violent spasm rocked him to his core, crimson blood flying from his mouth.


    He hacked and wheezed, his face contorting in pain. It felt like everything from his flesh to his bone to even his supposed Indestructible Soul was threatening to collapse.


    "Ryu? Ryu!"


    Ailsa, who had been sitting like a proud little peacock on Ryu''s shoulder all this time suddenly flew into a panic. Without regard for anything else, she entered her full form, her palm touching Ryu''s back as she scanned his body.


    However, Ryu couldn''t seem to stop.


    The blood he coughed up was such a striking red that it shimmered like rubies. It didn''t carry the same heaviness or darkness blood would have. It was almost as though Ryu''s life''s blood was constantly sparkling with a more than healthy sheen.


    But, that made his sudden change all the more horrific.


    Ryu hacked for several more minutes, his body shuddering under the strain. It felt almost like he had thrown up and his body continued to dry heave, but there was nothing left in his stomach to push out. The dryness of it all hurt more than anything else and he almost wanted to beg his body to stop.


    For Ryu, who was a man who had experienced all sorts of pain in his journey until now, this was the most horrific thing he had ever been through. The pain was unlike any before and his mind was being ground down by an anvil repeatedly crashing against it.


    Sweat pooled down the peaks and crevices of Ryu''s body. In just a few minutes, despite his Southern Heavenly Wind, he felt like he was on his last legs. However, by this point, his gaze had turned a frightening shade of cold.


    No one could see it with his head bent down and his hands on his knees, but the look alone could freeze a vast ocean over. There was no fury within, no rage or anger, but it still would make one feel rooted in place, unable to move for fear of what would happen.


    It felt like the calm realization of something sinister, an acceptance that it was almost impossible to change, and somehow simultaneously an indifference to what these odds happened to be. Ryu simply didn''t care as they pain in his body began to slowly numb.


    ''What is that supposed to be, a warning?''


    Ryu''s body trembled outside of his control as his gaze turned fiercer.


    "Heh¡­"


    Ryu''s last cough came out in a half laugh, his forearm wiping across his mouth and taking the last of the blood with it.


    Ryu slowly stood to his full height, his gaze looking up at the untangled mesh of Fate, waiting to be claimed by those who were worthy. Ailsa who stood behind him with a worried look on her face seemed to understand what had happened as well, but that didn''t do anything to alleviate her worry. In fact, it made her more anxious before she became infuriated on Ryu''s behalf.


    Ailsa took a step forward and gazed upon Ryu''s side profile, but he continued to look up into the skies.


    No one would be able to tell what was going on in Ryu''s mind and at the moment, even Ailsa was somewhat lost as well. His body was relaxed, his heart, despite having dozens of tears in it, beat calmly, and his thoughts were blank, completely empty as though he was thinking about nothing.


    There was only one thing to be grasped from his state of mind, a beacon of light within the stillness of its waters and the emptiness of its frame¡­


    Confidence.


    Despite knowing the cause of all of this, Ryu didn''t seem to be moved.


    ''Consider it completing the cycle of karma. You gave me the ability to cultivate and I''ll carry this with me... For now.''


    Ryu''s first thoughts after a long while were clear and concise. They didn''t seem shrouded by helplessness or a deep foreboding. Logic would dictate that such a reckoning was coming, but Ryu took it in stride.


    Once the events of this day concluded and the skies returned to normal, Ryu didn''t doubt that he would become the enemy of most of the martial world. But¡­ So what? Since when were these things that moved him.


    For the crime of siding with the Martial Gods, Ryu had already decided to punish most of these people to begin with. If they stood in his way, they could be eradicated just the same.


    The surge of Faith began to slow, the stars beginning to move once again as things began to go back to normal, the ugly expressions on the faces of the Martial Gods who understood what had just happened speaking much louder than words ever could.


    "Ryu¡­? Are you alright?" Ailsa asked softly.


    Ryu watched as the stars began to fade and the horizon of dusk slowly came into view.


    "The Phoenix Sky God doesn''t seem to want me to reclaim my original Spiritual Foundation and even saw it fit to punish me for even thinking of doing so." He spoke as though he was talking about the weather.


    "I hope for their sake that they''re dead."

 Chapter 666 Mountain Peak

    Chapter 666 Mountain Peak


    The Southern Heavenly Wind circulated every time Ryu took a breath, but the wounds in his body didn''t seem to want to heal no matter what he did. It was like a permanent mark on his body, but Ryu was hardly worried about this. With where he would be going, this state wouldn''t last very long.


    Ailsa remained silent and didn''t respond to Ryu. Once the stars were about to fade completely, she entered her small form once again, finding her place on Ryu''s shoulder.


    When the World Sea Realm experts broke free from their shackles, King Cultus had already appeared to Ryu''s side, a palm landing on his shoulder.


    Rather than gazing toward his father-in-law, Ryu gazed at the hand on him. He really wasn''t in the mood to deal with any bullshit at the moment because he felt like there was a growing tumor in the pit of his stomach. This faux concern from his supposed father-in-law which was really just a control tactic wasn''t among the things he had patience for right now.


    Seeing Ryu''s cold and indifferent glance toward his hand, King Cultus was inwardly infuriated. He felt that Ryu truly thought too highly of himself. It was like his hand was that of a peasant''s and Ryu couldn''t stand his touch for even a moment. But, thinking of his daughter and her safety, he had no choice but to swallow his grievances and force his rage down.


    At a moment like this, he wished his wife had come instead of him. But, Ailsa''s mother was sickly and hated such events to begin with, so she wasn''t here to rein this brat in.


    King Ficia appeared before Ryu along with King Quibus. The former looked Ryu up and down, a deep frown on his face.


    "He''s injured." King Ficia said.


    King Cultus snorted. "Let him stay injured. He still has the energy to make faces so I''m sure he can last a few days."


    King Ficia''s frown only deepened. He understood King Cultus wasn''t exactly in the cheeriest of moods right now, but he should understand that for the King of the Ficia Faeries to speak about the injuries of a junior, they obviously weren''t normal injuries. In fact, by King Ficia''s expertise, Ryu shouldn''t even be conscious right now, let alone standing.


    To Ryu, that touch from King Cultus should have felt like someone had suddenly stabbed him with hundreds of long needles, each of which happened to be serrated. If he was Ryu, let alone a small glare, he might look like he wanted to bite his father-in-law''s head off.


    However, to make matters worse, this was just the tip of the iceberg. The level of energy swirling about these wounds was unlike anything King Ficia had ever seen before, at least not in a person with such weak cultivation. The more King Ficia analyzed, the more he felt that Ryu should be dead.


    It had to be remembered that there were multiple factors when it came to assessing the degree of severity an injury had reached. The first was the level of damage, the second was what was damaged, and the last and maybe most important was the quality of attack that caused said damage. This final third point superseded the first two by a large margin.


    The higher quality the energy applied to a resulting injury, the more disastrous the consequences. Ryu''s current state was like a Sky God had been infuriated by him and chose to slice apart his body in the most painful way imaginable and stop just before killing him.


    If Ryu was to try and heal naturally from such an injury¡­ It would take billions of years, and that was a conservative estimate. He might not even live so long because cultivating with such injuries was nothing short of a nightmare.


    Knowing all of this, it was no wonder that King Ficia was so stunned.


    Had Ryu been battling like this the whole time? No, that was impossible. So who could have possibly caused this injury?!


    "Let''s go." King Cultus said, preparing to take Ryu away.


    "King Cultus."


    At this moment, it wasn''t just King Adonis who had a terrible expression, but most of the World Sea Realm experts of the Martial Gods had followed suit. They all realized that trillions of years of meticulous planning had just been unwound by a single boy, how could they possibly allow him to leave so freely?


    "Do you really think that we can allow you to leave here like this?!" King Adonis'' voice boomed.


    The wave of pressure soared over, rocketing toward the three Kings.


    There wasn''t a soul he wasn''t aware that the combat prowess of those in the Ficia, Cultus and Quibus Clans were lacking. Although there were certain members within their Clans that took combat seriously, when it came to those who followed the Core Texts of the Clans and could become Kings, they were ironically among the weakest.


    However, at that moment, something no one could have thought of occurred.


    Ryu''s gaze began to glow, a fierce momentum leaving his body. In that moment, a surge of darkness took hold of the skies and directly shattered King Adonis'' aura.


    The World Sea Realm experts were suddenly appalled. It felt like another Heaven''s Punishment could fall at any moment. The feeling seemed to be just the same.


    "You''ve been pissing me off ever since I stepped foot into this place. I don''t have as much patience as others¡­


    "Do you believe that I can kill you right now with a single glance?"


    King Adonis was suddenly shaken to his core, his skin paling to an extreme and a cold sweat riding down his spine. Every cell in his body screamed danger. If Ryu did what he was going to do, whatever it was, King Adonis, at that moment, had no doubt that he truly would die.


    Silence reigned, the only light for several dozens of kilometers being the radiance of Ryu''s pupils.


    "As expected of a Martial God. You''re all cowards." Ryu spoke with a biting cold. "Let''s go."


    King Cultus reacted on instinct to Ryu''s words, suddenly vanishing.


    One after another, the Faeries followed suit, leaving the Martial Gods in a state of frozen shock.


    Had¡­ Had that just happened¡­?


    But they had all felt it¡­ They didn''t know what trump card Ryu had, but if any one of them stepped forward¡­ They would have died¡­


    On the ground, silently gazing up into the space where Ryu had just been, Elena stood in silence. From start to finish, ever since Ryu had appeared before her and stopped her movements, she hadn''t moved a single step. And yet, not an ounce of harm had come to her.


    When he finally vanished, she turned and began to walk away, ignoring the brewing storm.


    ''This is the man you''ve always wanted to be, to have strength of your own and to climb that mountain peak under your own power. You never understood that I never cared if you had such things. Unfortunately, you can''t live with yourself without it.


    ''I think we both know well that when it comes to that mountain peak and me, you''d choose the mountain peak every time¡­


    ''But¡­ That''s not the man I fell in love with.''

 Chapter 667 How Dare You?

    Chapter 667 How Dare You?


    King Cultus froze, suddenly realizing that he had subconsciously followed Ryu''s orders without even thinking about it. He couldn''t help but be embarrassed to an extreme. How had he, a ruler of an entire race of people, fallen victim to the words of a boy?


    The current location was unsurprisingly a space between the Ethereal and Real. At her current strength, even Ailsa wasn''t capable of bring Ryu here and it most definitely took someone at the very Peak of the World Sea Realm to even attempt it.


    That said, King Cultus also had another special reason why he was able to do this... Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for someone born in the Real Plane to accomplish such a thing. There was a reason why Ryu could only send his mind into the Crystalline Jade while his body stayed in the Real Plane.


    Despite the fact that everyone seemed to be safe now, the expressions of the three Kings were only growing exceedingly uglier. The previous events had happened so quickly and suddenly that they hadn''t had an opportunity to truly grasp how bad the situation was until just now. The possibility of war wasn''t small in the slightest. In fact, right this moment, it seemed like the greatest possibility.


    And it was all Ryu''s fault.


    "Do you see what you''ve done?"


    Unable to hold back his anger, Elafaren finally snapped at his daughter, but much of the pressure fell on Ryu, causing him to frown.


    Ailsa, who was unable to stay in her small form upon entering the half Ethereal Realm, immediately bite back like an enraged lioness.


    "What are you doing?! Can''t you see that he''s hurt?! We get it, you''re very strong, you don''t need to prove it to someone a fraction of your age!"


    King Cultus was stunned. It wasn''t like he wasn''t used to his daughter acting like this as she had many times before, especially when it came to matters related to her elder brother and Galkos. However, there was something that felt very different about it all when it was related to a young man she was clearly together with. It made him even more infuriated than he was before.


    "Girl!"


    The booming of King Cultus'' voice caused what felt like the entire Plane to quake. Despite the vast emptiness that they were in, despite how endless it all seemed, his words still thrummed like thunder. It was clear that the King of the Cultus was thoroughly enraged at this moment.


    "Do you think that you are still a child?! Did you think that this was a nice practical joke you just pulled?! You may have just condemned an entire race of people to war and strife because of your own selfishness!"


    "Oh? Did I? Maybe a lot like how your passivism has led to the deaths of countless innocent individuals?! Are you aware of how many catastrophes are directly related to your inaction?! How many Eras have fallen and ended because the Faerie race is too cowardly?!"


    King Cultus'' crimson eyes seemed to grow more bloody in that moment, his momentum growing a size and his imposing demeanor crashing down. However, before it could fall, it was met by Ailsa''s own momentum and the two seemed to clash and stall.


    There were no winds in this half Ethereal Plane, however the odd mesh of illusory and real qis thrummed about.


    It was at that moment that those around realized that the Princess was no longer a child.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. ''Ailsa has entered the second stage of the Soul Ascension Realm¡­''


    One had to remember that the Soul Ascension Realm was broken into three stages. One was equivalent to the Cosmic Seed Realm, the second was equivalent to the World Sea Realm and the final was equivalent to the Sky God Realm!


    When Ryu met Ailsa, she had already been at the first stage but it seemed that her coma and the unlocking of her talent had resulted in explosive growth.


    On the Ethereal Plane, Mental Realm Cultivation was far more important than it was on any other Plane, much the same way the Nether Qi of the Nether Realm made Body Realm Cultivation far more important than any other Plane.


    Objectively, Ailsa''s father was still far more powerful than she was, but the difference here was no longer exaggerated to the point he could directly suppress her with his momentum. In fact, it was small enough that when caught off guard, Ailsa could have such a great showing now.


    Stepping into the second stage of the Soul Ascension Realm while being younger than a billion years old was far more impressive than stepping into the World Sea Realm in that time. Ailsa''s talent was enough to shock the Faeries into silence, including her own father.


    "So you think you''ve grown up now and can do as you please, huh?" King Cultus'' words were tinged with his emotion, his fury now even greater than it had been before. To even go so far as to match her momentum to his, what greater slap in the face could there be to a parent? "I should have burned those diaries long ago."


    Ailsa''s chest heaved when she heard these words.


    To actually speak of burning the final words of her elder brother so casually. Was this even the man she knew as father anymore?


    "How dare you." She growled.


    "How dare I? You know nothing of the history of the Faeries, nothing of what it means to hold responsibility, nothing of what it means to lead. You''ve arbitrarily made a choice for trillions of people, of YOUR people, because of nothing other than your own selfish emotions and somehow still believe you are in the right.


    "How dare I? How dare you? When we return to the Clan, you can forget about taking a single step out for the next million years. Even if I have to imprison you until the day you die, I''ll do so! You have no idea what you''ve just done!"

 Chapter 668 Lesson

    Chapter 668 Lesson


    Ailsa fell into silence for a long time. It was hard to tell if this was because her father''s words were so grating or if it was because she was just that infuriated. However, after several moments, her heaving chest managed to slow, her breathing becoming even.


    Her gaze left her father''s scanning the hundreds to thousands of Faeries that had come today. Each gazed upon her with various degrees of emotion but it was clear that there was the resounding presence of Blame.


    To the Faeries who knew peace and nothing but peace throughout the large majority of their history, to suddenly be thrust into this maelstrom was unacceptable. It felt to them, without knowing the context of what occurred with Ailsa''s elder brother, that their Princess had selfishly thrown her people into a pit of fire to protect her Life Partner.


    This matter seemed to remind them all why it was that Faeries with status never sought out their perfect matches. When blinded by love, the things a Faerie with strength, power and influence could do were simply too detrimental to the race overall and Ailsa had suddenly become a prime example.


    After the matters that happened truly settled in, not only did they feel an enormous unwillingness in the face of what was happening, but many even began to sprout hatred in their hearts.


    In truth, even if they knew the full truth behind everything, they would still feel the same way. While they might not know that this all stemmed from the former Prince, what they did know was that Ailsa''s elder brother was also guilty of finding his Life Partner, and that ultimately led to his death as well.


    Seeing such gazes, Ailsa''s own fiery irises dimmed. The disappointment she felt was immeasurable, even her own uncles couldn''t help but look at her with a slight blaming light in their eyes. For a moment, it felt like everything was coming crashing down around her.


    Until, that is, she felt a hand envelop her own.


    "You want to go now?" Ryu asked.


    His words were simple, but they held a core of disregard to them. Even in the face of an entire race and three of their Kings he was unmoved.


    Ailsa, who was on the verge of tears, couldn''t help but giggle at Ryu''s words. Wasn''t he too good at pissing people off? He must have known that saying such a thing now would infuriate everyone, including her father who had just ''sentenced'' her to a million years of confinement.


    "Mm." Ailsa nodded.


    At that moment, King Cultus was so infuriated he began to laugh beside himself. His patience had already been running thin with this young man for a long time now.


    "Treating my words like air. Do you really think that because you''re my daughter''s Life Partner that I don''t dare to do anything to you?!"


    King Cultus'' words clearly insinuated that Ryu was hiding behind Ailsa, something many of those present also believed. In fact, he wasn''t the only one who believed this. There were a majority among the Faeries that believed that Ryu''s boldness was only a product of having them as backing.


    This only served to infuriate them all the more. It felt like their lives were being exchanged just so that this boy could show off as he pleased.


    "King, I would like to say a few words."


    At that moment, a World Sea Realm expert from the Lightning Sprites stepped forward.


    "I would like to note that our Clan''s [Lightning Divine Mark] was used by this young man in battle. In the deal we made all those years ago, we lower Faerie tribes would provide the Cultus Clan our techniques, but it was only meant for research. These techniques falling in the hands of outsiders seems¡­ Inappropriate."


    The World Sea Realm expert who spoke was among the foremost experts of the Lightning Sprites, a man with wild violet hair who went by Imneak.


    Before King Cultus could answer, another stepped forward.


    "I should also say that I noticed principles of our Fire Control techniques in his movements," a Fire Sprite said.


    "And our Ice Control," an Ice Sprite finished.


    King Cultus'' gaze narrowed. "You''ve done this?"


    Ailsa was about to respond, but Ryu did so first. "And so what about it?"


    "Is it your place to speak here?!"


    "I speak where I please. As far as I''m concerned, since the Faeries want the rest of the world to fight their wars for them, the least you could do is hand out a few techniques for free."


    "What did you just say?!"


    "It seems you don''t really understand history, and I''m not a big fan of explaining myself. But, since you''re my wife''s father, I''ll make an exception for once.


    "Do you know why the Faeries don''t participate in existential crises anymore?¡ª"


    "What would you know about Faerie history?" Imneak sneered.


    "I''m an Origin Grade Ruin Master, there''s no history of this land that''s ever been recorded that I don''t know about. I would suggest you pipe down and drown in the embarrassment that a human can use your own signature technique better than you can. Interrupt me again and you can forget about this history lesson I''m so graciously about to give you."


    Ryu looked away, not bothering with Imneak who had become completely speechless in that time.


    "The reason is because of the Fey. In the past, the Fey were once your rulers and could be considered real warriors. Though the third Era is known as the Ancient Beast Era, it might very well have been known as the Fey Era if not for the cowardice of your people¡­"


    The momentum of Ryu''s words seemed to suffocate everything else. Even while frowning, the Faeries couldn''t help but listen. Ailsa couldn''t help but think that if Ryu deemed to explain himself more, there would probably be a lot of trouble he could get himself out of. But, clearly, he had no intention of doing so.


    "¡­ That said, I am getting ahead of myself. After all, that''s the third Era, there is still the Primordial Era before that and the Chaos Era before it..."

 Chapter 669 Worse than..

    Chapter 669 Worse than..


    "The Chaos Era was the beginning of all things. In the time, only Essence, the root of all qi existed. Despite its name, it was the Era of perfect Order. The only reason why it carries the moniker of Chaos is because it was during this Era that perfect stability faltered and Order began to tend toward Chaos.


    "The collapse of Essence and the formation of qi was the first catastrophe of the universe. The implosion of massive proportion created all that we see today and the result were the first sentient beings. Creatures of legends and ancient races of untold power were the first to be born. In such a volatile Era where Primordial Qi was the most prominent energy in the universe, only the powerful could live and breathe while the weak wouldn''t survive to see even their first birthday.


    "It was during this Era that the concept of conflict was birthed. With the introduction of sentience, such a thing was inevitable. The clashes of these powerful creatures displayed the true strength of Primordial Qi and without even proper cultivation systems, these individuals became more powerful than you all can imagine.


    "As you might imagine, the center of this conflict were the most ancient of races, the Ancestral Beasts ruled the Real Plane, the Demon Kings ruled the Nether Plane and the Fey ruled the Ethereal Plane.


    "The Nether Plane had far too many restrictions and tied its population too close to death. As a result, coming out of the Nether Plane was near impossible and might as well have been impossible. This led to the main clashing heads being between the Fey and the Ancestral Beasts. As for we small little humans, we couldn''t even get a foothold. We were just trying to survive. We could only allow the strong to fight amongst each other.


    "It was then that the second catastrophe struck.


    "The first to collapse was Essence, forming a world of Primordial Qi. What then collapsed next? Of course it was Primordial Qi itself. The world continued to tend toward Chaos and the uncontrolled and unsystematic cultivation of the Fey and the Ancestral Beasts resulted in the structure of the universe collapsing, forming tiers of qi below the Primordial Qi Realm which resulted in many of the energies we use to cultivate today.


    "While in that Era there was only a single qi for every path, moving forward, there were suddenly energies of all kinds forming all sorts of odd, twisting and winding ideologies, each seemingly just as valid as the last.


    "It was this breaking up of qi into their lesser forms that resulted in the Fey, broken into just two: The Moon Fey and Sun Fey, breaking up further into all sorts of branching paths that birthed all of your Faeries and your various disciplines.


    "Unfortunately, that change also seemed to make you weak." pletely unmoved by it all. If it wasn''t for Ailsa''s sake, he wouldn''t bother to say a single word.


    "The hallmark of the first two Eras was survival. Only by being strong could you survive the violence of the volatile qis of that Era. However, after the end the Primordial Era, there was finally peace. Worlds began to be stable regions where the weak could finally live life without having to become strong and Faeries no longer felt the need to enter the Real Plane to fight wars and began to change their cultivation systems to no longer need the resources of the Real Plane.


    "Unfortunately, the Fey could not do the same. Their situation was much different from that of the Faeries that descended from them. After all, the Fey also have powerful bodies and needed the energies and laws of the Real Plane to progress.


    "But, by the time things reached a stage where the Fey were slipping into obscurity, the Faeries had risen up to the powerhouses of the Ethereal Plane and began to push a different sort of philosophy. Of course, the Fey warned you all about the potential consequences of such a thing.


    "While the Ancestral Beasts birthed lower tier Beasts, each of which was willing and able to defend the honor of their Ancestors. The Fey birthed ungrateful descendants who chose not to life a finger to aid those they came from.


    "It was deep into this Era that humans finally began to cultivate. With the less violent qi growing in abundance, human innovation could finally shine through and a semblance of a cultivation system began to form and take root.


    "This was the Era where cultivation was truly established, where the concept of taking disorder and organizing it became the root of cultivation everywhere¡­ The concept of taking Chaos and forming Order.


    "From gaining this power, this humans began to grow in strength, but the Fey and Ancestral Beasts were too busy fighting amongst themselves to notice. The Fey continued to warn you all about the potential consequences of losing the battle on the Real Plane, but you continued to not listen until the point where the Fey finally faded into obscurity and the Ancestral Beasts claimed the Era for themselves.


    "But how could they possibly have had a chance to win? How could the Fey ever think that their children and offspring would be less grateful than beasts?"


    Ryu''s words were biting and spoken without reserve. But, he was correct.


    The Ancestral Beasts and Fey were even. However, what they both lacked in was fertility. The Ancestral Beasts were able to get around this problem thanks to their weaker descendants who formed troops of Sovereign Grade and below beasts. Their higher birthrates helped the number of Beasts to far outweigh the number of Fey.


    Unfortunately, the Faeries had completely turned away from their Ancestors, choosing passivism over everything. The direct result of this was the weakening of their Ancestors and their eventual extinction.


    Knowing this, wasn''t it obvious that they were less grateful than beasts? But what happened next only seemed to accent that truth all the more.

 Chapter 670 At All?

    Chapter 670 At All?


    "The Faeries, of course, still didn''t understand what their mistake was. To you all, the Fey were wrong for going out to fight such battles. If they weren''t so greedy for power and just stayed in the Ethereal Plane where no one could harm them, they wouldn''t have any of these issues to deal with. Even if they became weaker, so what? In your era of passivism, no one would harm them in the Ethereal Plane anyway. They would be safe.


    "It was then that the pinnacle of the Ancient Beast Era was reached. The Beasts took hold of the Real Plane and became the darling of the Heavens. They set the precedent for what was and all that would be. To this day, the most talented of beasts can simply sleep their way to the pinnacle of cultivation and live out lives of leisure and power.


    "However, the Ancient Beast Era obviously came to an end and that was thanks to yet another catastrophe: Humans."


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    "This catastrophe was the first that could be coined as a sentient genocide. With the rise of the first true systematic and ordered cultivation systems, coupled with the abundance of qi, trillions upon trillions of years of trial and error had led to the birth of the first Sky Gods. The result of this was a war between the Humans and Beasts, a war that the Ancestral Beasts ultimately lost, causing the fall of the Ancient Beast Era and and the rise of the Sky God Era.


    "But, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The massacre of the beasts was somewhat inevitable as they had run into another roadblock: Their waning Bloodlines. What once was their beast trump card against the Fey became their greatest detriment. Without that ability to sustain their Bloodlines, their numbers grew fewer and fewer while humans continuously grew explosively.


    "The trouble was that we humans are a bit insatiable. After forming the Qi Realm cultivation system, we felt that there was more to find. So, we performed all sorts of cruel experiments on the beasts to find out just why it was their bodies were so powerful. The resulting cultivation system was Body Realm cultivation.


    "Of course, there were some who chose to simply intermarry and gain beast blood and souls in this way. But, this was a path that only the most powerful could take to begin with considering only beasts who had reached the pinnacle of their Dao could even begin to take human form. However, many more were cruel."


    The smile on Ryu''s face only became deeper, but there was something decidedly sinister about it all.


    "While we were getting what we wanted out of the beasts, there were of course others very much curious about the Faeries. After all, you all had been their rivals for so long. There had to be something powerful about you all, right?


    "Unfortunately, entering the Ethereal Plane for a human was near impossible. The difficulty was more than what it would be to simply target the Ancestral Beasts we already shared the Real Plane with. As a result, the beasts became our main focus.


    "In that time of war, blood dyed the universe and world after world was destroyed, all for the insatiable greed of us humans. But, there was one advantage the Ancestral Beasts had that we would never, and that was the protection of the Heavens.


    "As the Heavens chosen, becoming the first sentient beings to lay claim as the most powerful race, the beasts had advantages the rest of us most definitely did not. Due to this, they were able to find a path toward survival and vanished from the universe, leaving nothing but their legends behind.


    "Suddenly without an enemy to target, many humans began to infight, stealing each other''s secrets and massacring one another. This bloodshed led to the solidification of a singular cultivation system as the amalgamation of destroyed and ruling Clans fused into one.


    "However, this was also the time where the persistence of the Human Race shone through. Generations after the Ancient Beasts vanished, we finally figured out how to enter the Ethereal Plane.


    "Initially, we only sent people there to die. After all, Mental Realm cultivation had only been used passively and accumulated over the years as one aged. It was impossible for us to match you all.


    "But, the power of one''s soul wasn''t all that mattered on the Ethereal Plane and while we knew how to fight and war, you all only knew how to speak and reason. Once we snatched enough secrets to grow powerful enough souls, the Faeries no longer stood a chance and began to pay a price for their years of passivism."


    Ryu chuckled. "It''s quite funny actually. Do you know how you all got out of this situation?


    "Much the same way there were humans who originally chose to bond and pair with beasts instead of killing them, there were humans who chose to do the same with Faeries this time too. It was these individuals who helped you all fight and eventually reclaim much of your freedoms.


    "Without the Fey to protect you all, throngs of Faeries were massacred one after another and without recourse. In addition, because you all didn''t back the Fey, causing them to lose their war to the Beasts, you didn''t have a chance at the same protection the Ancestral Beasts received from the Heavens and could only watch as your people died. It was only a few human powerhouses capable of entering, but they alone were capable of plundering you for all you were worth.


    "Once again, the Faeries had to rely on the kindness of others to survive. And, the result of that was a union blessed by the Heavens: Life Partners.


    "Of course, you all don''t really understand what it means to be grateful. You used this tragedy as a point of learning and took from the human cultivation system. From then on, you cultivated both Soul and Qi, making you capable of protecting yourselves now.


    "However, you slighted the humans that helped you survive in the same way you slighted your own Ancestors.


    "Rather than honoring the Union, there are many of you who never even attempt to seek out your Life Partners, especially those ''nobles'' of you who think yourselves to be too good, forgetting that it was this Union that allowed you to even exist to this day.


    "When the Sky God Era collapsed because we humans flew too close to the sun while trying to learn from the Nether Plane, resulting in seas of corpse puppets drowning the Real Plane, you all sat on your high horses and didn''t bother to lift a finger.


    "When the Shrine Era collapsed because of the resurgence of Primordial Qi, you all watched on from the sidelines as though you were enjoying a nice play.


    "When the Blossoming Era collapsed because of the Nether Planes invasion on the Real Plane and the Demons treated the descendants of your saviors the same way they had saved you from being treated, you all sat on your asses and did fuck all.


    "When the Pedestal Era collapsed because Mental Realm Masters stealing secrets of YOUR Ethereal Plane began to wreak havoc on the Real Plane, making people exist through life as living puppets, your Faerie race tucked your sons and daughters in their soft beds, happy that it wasn''t your problem.


    "When the Golden Era collapsed, and my family was massacred to its last person, and an invasion from a completely different world happened right under all your noses, you not only did fuck all, you happily strolled into their banquet to congratulate them on your hands and knees."


    By the time Ryu said these words, his voice was booming, his momentum causing the half Ethereal Plane to tremble even more than it had under King Cultus'' might. In that moment, his gaze might as well have been more crimson that anyone of the Cultus Clan.


    "And now you sit here, probably thinking you''ve entered the so-called ''Martial Era'' already, when you have no idea that we''re still sitting at the end of the Golden Era. The different this time is that it won''t end with a genocide or the end of a few worlds. This time, the entire universe will collapse at the altar of your inaction.


    "Yet, even now you''re blind to it all, still ignoring the warnings of your own Ancestors. What a pathetic excuse for a race of people."


    The Faeries were furious by this point, but Ryu couldn''t muster up the stamina to care.


    "Oh? You''re unconvinced? Why don''t you ask yourself why your three Kings are World Sea Realm experts? In fact, why don''t you ask yourself the last time your race produced a Sky God at all?"

 Chapter 671 Rang

    Chapter 671 Rang


    Ryu''s words crashed into the Faeries in waves. The last felt like an anvil falling atop their chests, the realization making them completely unsure and uncertain of themselves.


    The lack of a Sky God had slowly crept up on them. It was the kind of thing they all knew subconsciously, but hadn''t realized the true impact of until it was pointed out for them all so blatantly and obviously.


    Ryu knew exactly the kind of emotion they were feeling right now. It was the same emotion he and his family had experienced when they too realized something was wrong. The change was far too subtle to be noticed immediately and it took time, but when one realized, it was so in-your-face that it was simply impossible to ignore.


    Back then, it was simply too subtle. Generations slowly passed as talents became scarcer and scarcer. But, no one panicked because the older generation was such a solid backbone. By the time everyone realized that things were worse than any of them had thought, Ryu''s grandparents had gotten old and his parents hadn''t yet grown strong enough to fill in their shoes.


    Just like that, an empire that had existed for billions of years came crumbling down while the dirty underbelly of the Clans and Sects that had been beneath them rose up, claiming what had once been theirs with impunity.


    And now the same thing was happening to the Faeries, but their situation was even worse. Their entire Plane had not a single Sky God, and to make matters worse, this was the product of their own doing. Whereas the Tatsuya Clan had fallen to the machinations of others, the Faeries fell as a result of their own hubris.


    The Faeries thought themselves to be so great and so excellent, they believed that they were above humans because they didn''t do dirty things like fight in wars and they had the love of nature in their hearts.


    They lacked sharpness, they lacked drive, they lacked gratitude, they lacked humility¡­


    Maybe Ryu was the last person to knock another for being too arrogant, but Ryu also never had any intention on relying on others like the Faeries had. Everything that he gained in life, he was more than willing to scratch and claw for himself. There was no one who could say that he, Ryu Tatsuya, was ungrateful.


    Ryu had said multiple times that the Fey had warned the Faeries that such a day would come, but he had never made clear exactly what that warning was about. Right now, the Faeries were learning first hand that the words of their Ancestors shouldn''t have fallen on deaf ears.


    The Faeries were, in the crudest sense, the inferior Fey. While they could mostly only rely on few and very constrained kinds of qi, the Fey could not only wield Primordial Qi, but they had an entire half of the energy spectrum of the world to themselves.


    The Faeries were essentially beasts without Heaven''s Blessings. Because they didn''t fight along with their Ancestors, they didn''t earn the care of the Heavens. As a result, they were essentially moochers who could never get full service.


    When the Heavens were still powerful, it was still possible for some Faeries who were a bit more talented to breakthrough that final barrier and enter the Realms of the Sky Gods. But, what do you think would happen if these same Faeries allowed invaders to weaken the very Heavens they relied on?


    The Heavens above would weaken and be replaced by a new Order. As the Order the Faeries had come to know disappeared, the Faeries who had always believed in passivism and never fought for anything they had gained in their lives would lose their strength.


    At the same time, the Faeries, who never truly had Heaven''s Blessing to begin with, would be the first to be abandoned. After all, if there was one race the Heavens would back to make a final push to protect itself, wouldn''t it be the Beasts that they favored to begin with?


    And in such a situation, wouldn''t the Heavens be in the right?


    Once again, the Faeries had turned their noses up to another helper of theirs. They sat by and watched idly as their home world was invaded by alien individuals from another world. Why wouldn''t they be the first that the Heavens abandoned?


    This was exactly what the Fey had warned the Faeries about all those Eras ago, yet they hadn''t listened.


    Judging by the look of it, King Cultus had already used special means to raise his cultivation to the Peak of the World Sea Realm. Though he tried to hide it, such a thing couldn''t escape Ryu''s gaze. In fact, maybe the reason King Cultus had gone so far as to seal Ailsa to begin with was exactly because he was worried about this.


    No matter how much the Faeries bloviated about maintaining peace and harmony, they knew deep inside that without appropriate strength, they would live miserable lives.


    And now, in the irony of all ironies, the Clan best suited to nurturing and building up others, had no way of nurturing and building up itself.


    "How annoying." Ryu almost spat out these words. "Nothing but a waste of words and breath. If reason was enough to deal with fools like you, there wouldn''t have been a need for me to waste my time here to begin with. You spend all of your days meditating on the meaning of life and refining your crafts outside of battle, you would think that in all this time you''ve wasted philosophizing, you would have stumbled upon something called ''reality'' a long while ago.


    "Let''s go."


    Ryu made a subtle movement with his hand, his other still holding onto Ailsa''s own. However, this seemed to trigger a fierce reaction from King Cultus and the others. They had gone through all this trouble just to ensure that nothing happened with Ailsa, how could they possibly allow Ryu to just leave now.


    "Do you really think I''ll allow you to go anywhere?"


    "Who said it was your choice to make to begin with?" Ryu replied.


    King Cultus had already been enraged by Ryu''s previous ''history'' lesson. No one liked to have their scabs opened wide for everyone to see and usually when one was so firmly entrenched in their beliefs, rather than words like Ryu''s helping them, it would instead further entrench them in their beliefs.


    This was exactly why Ryu didn''t normally waste his words on speaking at all. He had done that during the whole of his first life, making him grow a deeply entrenched aversion to it all. If he couldn''t defeat someone, he would more likely than not walk away in silence, which is what he would have done here had it not been for Ailsa''s sake.


    "Boy, you''ve spoken a lot of words today. Do you think that because I''ve chosen to listen to you that you can do as you please? This is nothing more than the grace of my Faerie Race. If you would like to see what our lack of grace looks like, I would be happy to show you."


    "Your lack of grace? I''ve seen and read about plenty of that already. But by your words, you seem to think that I''m some kind of pushover?"


    Ryu took a step forward, gliding through the air. His gaze turned fiery. It was no less bright than the look he had when he forced King Adonis to not dare to take even a single step forward.


    "Did my little nephews tell you the words I spoke back then?"


    Ryu looked his father-in-law up and down, his oppressive might pressing down. He needed no more than a moment to tell that the answer was no.


    "I see, the little ones probably didn''t have the courage to tell you, but that is fine as well because by now, it''s already too late. I warned you that if you wanted to take Ailsa from me, you''d have to find me quickly because I improve fast. Unfortunately for you, you''re already late.


    "I won''t pretend like I would kill you or even think of killing you. But make no mistake, that isn''t because I respect you, nor is it because I fear you. There is no one in existence that I fear, that I can promise you.


    "I want you to know that the only reason you can stand before me with your chest puffed out and your aura so unrestrained is only because you allowed my wife to be born. Nothing about your existence is valuable to me outside of this.


    "However, I would warn you to not test my patience, because compared to those World Sea Realm experts of the Martial Gods¡­


    "I can kill you far easier."


    Ryu''s words rumbled like the call of a Demon, his cadence slow and his voice causing the chests of all those who heard it to vibrate along with every syllable.


    Ryu took another step forward. This time, the distance between himself and his father-in-law was no more than half a meter.


    He raised his foot again, causing King Cultus to flinch.


    But, by the time it lowered, Ryu and Ailsa had suddenly vanished, leaving the half Ethereal Realm in nothing but complete silence.


    King Cultus took deep breaths, his chest heaving and dense droplets of sweat beading down his forehead. It took several moments for him to recover as he stared out blankly into the distance, seemingly not realizing that his daughter had vanished.


    When he finally recovered, his body trembled, his crimson gaze glowing.


    He unleashed a roar of unbridled rage that even rang throughout the Real Plane.

 Chapter 672 Godhood

    Chapter 672 Godhood


    King Cultus had never been so furious in his life. But, there was little to nothing that he could do. He could tell that Ryu had just used an incredibly high level escape treasure, one even he wasn''t capable of stopping. From the very beginning, Ryu had been correct. It didn''t matter what he did, he wouldn''t be able to stop Ryu no matter what.


    Those with Heavenly Pupils were uniquely suited to escaping. Because of their Inner Worlds, they could activate treasures without even taking them out. Even if King Cultus had been ready for Ryu to disappear like this, there was still absolutely nothing he could have done about it.


    It felt like his face have been slapped repeatedly on this day alone and it left him infuriated. It was an emotion he hadn''t felt maybe ever in his life, and yet just today alone, he had felt at least two separate peaks of it.


    The Faeries remained silent, many of them clenching their fists in silence. No one liked to be called a coward, especially not by someone they deemed to be weaker than themselves. But, reality was a cruel mistress.


    King Ficia and Quibus sighed, looking toward one another. They too were furious. It could be said that the only reason they managed to remain level-headed was because they had no choice. How could all three Kings lose their minds to fury all at once?


    "Return." King Cultus said coldly.


    He turned, heading for the depths of the half Ethereal Plane. His steps remained heavy as a murderous intent lit his eyes.


    What he and the Faeries didn''t know was that it wouldn''t be long before they fell into a crisis brought about by their own hands.


    **


    Ryu and Ailsa reappeared in a land of scorching heat. The ground was laden with crimson stones and even the mountain peaks in the far off distance seemed to be formed of melted and solidified obsidian.


    Ailsa, though, wasn''t paying attention to the scenery at all. Instead, she was still looking toward Ryu''s side profile, her gaze twinkling.


    "You see, this is why I don''t like explaining myself." Ryu said half jokingly. "I said way too much."


    Though Ryu said this in jest, it was true. He had accidentally let slip that he was an Origin Grade Ruin Master and that his family had been destroyed by the Martial Gods. He had clearly gotten lost in his fury and his mouth ran faster than his brain did. He honestly wouldn''t be very surprised if this caused him trouble in the future.


    But, as of right now, he didn''t care. None of it mattered.


    He had just seen Elena for the first time in years and he protected Ailsa from her family. As a man, he felt quite fulfilled right now.


    When it came to matters with Elena, he had already decided to take things slowly. They would have trillions of years together, that he was certain of. He didn''t believe that in that time, he couldn''t capture her heart once again.


    He would start from square one and keep the strand of her soul within him locked away. Only when she truly accepted him as her husband once again would he release it. In this life, the last, and any coming lives, she would always be his wife. Anyone who tried to stand in the way of that could taste his blade.


    As for Ailsa, he wouldn''t neglect her either. She was by his side now and she helped him grow. Her grievances were his grievances. He wouldn''t allow her to be slighted by anyone in this life, the last or any coming either. She would forever be his woman.


    In Ryu''s mind, only these two women mattered. The others he didn''t even consider, with the exception of Yaana, of course. But, he was still on the fence on how to deal with this relationship. He saw the current Yaana as a little sister even if she refused to allow him to do so. He would allow time to dictate that. Maybe there''d come a day where he no longer felt that barrier.


    "You wanted to use that ability to kill them?" Ailsa suddenly said.


    "Why do you ask as if you don''t know?" Ryu grinned.


    "You awakened it so early?"


    "You could say your husband is a bit talented, right?"


    Ailsa burst into a fit of giggles. It seemed that Ryu was becoming that mischievous little boy again. She had wondered if she would ever see him outside of his memories.


    "This is a good thing, your survivability will go up. But¡­"


    "Mhm." Ryu nodded. "I''ll have to stay injured but that''s not too bad. I don''t want to forget this injury too soon. It''s a nice reminder for me."


    Ailsa shook her head. A ''nice'' reminder? He was practically half dead right now. The idea that he wanted to keep it as a memento was beyond Ailsa''s understanding. But, at the same time, if Ryu didn''t use that ability, Ailsa wasn''t certain if she could heal him in a short time. It would at least take a few years. She didn''t want Ryu to suffer for so long, but he was clearly determined.


    "Don''t think of it that way, think of it like a trump card I''m keeping. After all, I have to go to the Armament Guild, if I don''t have something like this, it''ll be too dangerous."


    Ailsa''s watery eyes looked up toward Ryu, clearly unconvinced.


    "Okay, okay. How about you take this as a challenge? My entire body has been torn to shreds by the prowess of a Sky God. The only reason I''m alive is because it would be counterintuitive for the Phoenix Sky God to kill me since I''m their Heir. Isn''t this a great opportunity for Body Cultivation?"


    Ailsa blinked, her eyes suddenly lighting up.


    It was indeed a very good opportunity. In fact, Ryu had been progressing so fast that her initial worries about him proceeding too smoothly could begin to shine through at any moment. After all, it had to be remembered that the reason why Ryu underwent the pain of training rather than using the Incubator to make all energy easy to absorb was precisely because cultivation that was too smooth resulted in poor foundations.


    "Alright, fine. I''ll think of something." Ailsa''s smile bloomed.


    Ryu smiled as well, feeling better now that Ailsa was also feeling better.


    Taking a deep breath, he looked off into the distance, his breathing becoming steadier. With a thought, he brought out Yaana who had been cooped up for too long.


    "¡­ Where are we?" Yaana asked, looking around curiously. "It''s very hot."


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a complicated light.


    "This is the first layer of the Fire Shrine."


    "Fire Shrine?"


    "Right. Shrines appeared here on our Shrine World at an unknown time and for unknown reasons. According to convention, they should have appeared near the end of the Primordial Era during the breakdown of Primordial Qi into the qi we know today. However, the first Shrine wasn''t found until the Shrine Era and they didn''t become prominently used until the Golden Era. In fact, it could be said that the reason the Golden Era was known as such was precisely because of the Shrines."


    Yaana blinked with curiosity, looking out into the land of fire.


    "What are Shrines, exactly?"


    "Well¡­ Simply put they give the Saint or Saintess that has been acknowledged by them a fast track to forming their own Godhood. When a Saint or Saintess is in the territory of their Shrine, their strength is no weaker than anyone who has formed their Godhood."


    "Godhood?"


    Ryu was about to respond but Ailsa stopped him.


    "Knowing too much too early can be detrimental to your growth. You''re going along fine right now, Little Yaana. In fact, you''re progressing very fast. If you know too much about the path ahead, it could bias you."


    Ryu nodded and accepted Ailsa''s judgment. As for Yaana, she readily nodded, having a deep trust in Ailsa already despite their short time together.


    Ryu looked off into the distance. He was still too weak to gain the acknowledgement of the Shrine. It wasn''t about his cultivation or battle prowess, but he had to form a Minor Godhood for himself first before he could even attempt it. He was still too far away.


    But, what was clear was that it might not take him as long as he believed to reach that point. The fact his Pupils awakened that ability so early meant that the future potential of his eyes may be beyond that of his predecessors. He felt like the entire world had opened up to him the moment he broke through.


    Ryu took another deep breath, calming himself and steadying his mind.


    At that moment, a shimmering band of qi began to form before the three of them.


    Without hesitation, Ryu fell to his knees and lowered his head to the ground without the slightest hint of reluctance.


    "Grandfather!"


    The sound of Ryu''s head reverberated throughout the Shrine World, not caring an ounce for the pain wracking his body.

 Chapter 673 Previously

    Chapter 673 Previously


    Ailsa and Yaana were a step late, but they subconsciously fell in step with Ryu. As far as they were concerned, this man was their grandfather too. How could they not show him proper respect?


    The outline of Saint Tatsuya''s silhouette started off blurred, but it very quickly took forward. The passive expression of a man getting on in years was the first thing to appear. It didn''t seem like Ryu''s grandfather was aware of his surroundings at first and it took him a while to regain his bearings.


    Unlike Grandma Kunan who had been able to trigger her own awakening with the appearance of the Legacy World, Grandpa Tatsuya''s awakening was triggered by Ryu''s appearance in this world. As such, he was still waking up even long after Ryu appeared.


    When Saint Tatsuya realized that there were three people kneeling before him, he blinked. The simple surprise in his eyes made a person want to protect him at all costs, but even that paled in comparison to the moment he recognized his grandson.


    His gaze lit up, a gentle smile spreading across his lips. One could practically see the warmth spreading out from his body, his deep crimson eyes exuding a gentleness that shouldn''t have been possible from someone with such a violent bloodline.


    Saint Tatsuya had always been like this. Ryu had never seen him uncontrolled and he always chose to show his affection in silence. Maybe the person who put in the most effort toward finding treasures to continue to extend Ryu''s life was exactly this grandfather of his.


    He wasn''t as loud as Grandpa Kunan, or as teasing as Grandma Kunan, and he often allowed Grandma Tatsuya to have her way no matter what, but he had always been a man that Ryu deeply respected and admired, even beyond his status as his grandfather.


    "Oh! Right."


    Saint Tatsuya chuckled to himself, suddenly realizing that he had left them kneeling for far too long. He had gotten lost in his memories for a bit and forgot the immediate situation he was in.


    His hand reached forward, causing a swirl of qi to rise the three to their feet. When he saw the vertical slits of Ryu''s gaze, he sighed. Clearly, Ryu had been just fine before, but his emotions had been stirred up by seeing his grandfather again.


    "Your temper''s always been bad, Little Ryu. I thought that it might have been a blessing that you never had to deal with your Dragon blood but it seems that Fate likes to play its tricks."


    A light palm pressed against Ryu''s forehead, causing his blood to recede like a tide. His crimson irises faded back to their normal silver color, his pupils rounding again. However, at the moment, Ryu just felt that it was unfortunate that he couldn''t feel his grandfather''s palm at all.


    When Ryu met his Grandma Kunan, she had entered his Spiritual Sea, but it was clear that this situation was much different and Saint Tatsuya couldn''t control every aspect of this world like his grandmother had been able to with her Legacy World.


    Saint Tatsuya smiled lightly, retracting his palm. He swept a gaze over Ailsa and Yaana with a meaningful look in his eye, but he didn''t say much. Whether it was himself, his son or Saint Kunan, all of them had only ever had one wife. Saint Tatsuya himself was practically in a choke hold when it came to his own. As a result, he really had no advice to give his grandson in this regard, this was going to have to be a headache that Ryu figured out himself.


    "Your grandma should have told you how things are, right?"


    Ryu clenched his jaw lightly before relaxing and nodding. There was no need to act like this when his grandpa didn''t have much time left.


    "Good, then I won''t waste time on the unnecessary stuff. I believe that I have about three hours to impart what I have to you. Choose your questions carefully and don''t make them too complicated, you can''t embarrass me in my final hours."


    Seeing his Grandpa Tatsuya making a joke, something he very rarely if ever did, left Ryu feeling warm. He knew well that his grandpa was stepping out of his comfort zone just to make sure that Ryu could take these matters in stride. He was a grown man and yet he still needed his grandparents to baby him, just what kind of man was he, exactly?


    "Grandpa, please teach me what you know about the Fire Dragon''s Bloodline Talents."


    "Oh? Not a bad choice. Alright, grandpa will guide you. The root of the Fire Dragon''s talents all originate from the Rage Flame¡­"


    The two women took a respectful step back, allowing the grandfather-grandson duo their final moments together.


    "Big sister Ailsa?" Yaana asked softly.


    "Mm?"


    "You can help me get stronger too, right?"


    Yaana''s gaze was locked onto Ryu''s back in the distance, her deep black eyes looking like the rippling surface of a lake beneath a moonless night.


    Yaana had lost her grandfather in this life as well. Her mother and father left too early, leaving her with only her grandpa. Of course, her grandpa died of natural causes, living out a long and fulfilling life while doting on her as often and as much as he could, but that dull pain, even after so long, had never left¡­. It only made it worse that she felt a guilt weighing on her shoulders.


    She knew that her grandfather''s greatest wish was to see her happily married, maybe even getting to hold more grandchildren one day even if they would be great grandchildren. But, she had never been able to give him such a simple even, even after all he had done for her¡­ All for the sake of chasing after the shadow of this man¡­


    She owed it to herself and to her grandfather to never fall too far behind Ryu''s steps. And hopefully one day, she could fulfill the wish she had failed to previously¡­

 Chapter 674 How?

    Chapter 674 How?


    "¡­ The trickiest part about making use of your Bloodline Talents is that beasts fight with their bodies but we humans love to use weapons. I can sense a familiar yet foreign Inheritance within you, so I can tell that you''ve chosen a different path from our Tatsuya Saintly Weapons."


    Ryu opened his mouth to say something but his grandfather''s smile stopped him in his tracks.


    "Little Ryu, I know that you have a lot on your shoulders. I know how you feel, there was a time in my life where the only thing that mattered to me was living up to the expectations of my own father. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to reach the same height he did, but I gained so much more in return. A loving wife, a loving son, an adorable little grandson¡­


    "In life, we all have our own paths to take. You''ve always been too enamored with living up to our expectations. Even at seven years old, you chose to lock yourself away in that stuffy library just for the sake of building yourself up into someone you thought we wanted you to be¡­


    "I want you to know that no matter what you do or what you become, I''ll always be proud of you. Even if you murder everyone beneath the sun, destroy the lives of countless women, and bathe the world in blood, I would still be proud of you. Isn''t it my job as your grandfather to cover for you?"


    In that moment, Ryu saw a flash of his grandfather''s true self. He had never heard his Grandpa Tatsuya speak such crude words, but the sentiment hit his chest like repeatedly falling hammers.


    No matter what mistakes he made, no matter how horrible a person he became or what atrocities he committed, his grandfather would still be on his side.


    It was quite funny. It was exactly this sort of thought process that made Ryu despise the young master''s of the martial world so vehemently. And yet, when it was his own grandfather that said it, Ryu felt himself tremble almost uncontrollably.


    The fierce light in Saint Tatsuya''s light looked like that of a true Dragon for just a moment. He grew to something much larger than a man of two meters tall and became a behemoth coated in ruby scales, his heated breath scorching the earth.


    "Live life the way you want to live it. Nothing should stop you, not a single person, not the earth, not even the skies above. That''s what it means to be a Dragon."


    In his final moments, Saint Tatsuya''s aura became towering, his smile vanishing and his momentum crushing several mountains in the distance. A pride radiating deep from within his bones seemed to wash over Ryu''s body, sinking into his marrow and causing his blood to thrum.


    "Let the world feel your fury¡­ But only when you want them to¡­"


    A gust of wind whipped by, kicking up sand that blurred Ryu''s vision. By the time it cleared, Saint Tatsuya had vanished, leaving nothing but a vast, empty void before Ryu.


    But only when you want them to¡­


    The words played in Ryu''s mind again and again as the trembling of his body slowly receded. A billowing heat left Ryu''s mouth, sparks of fire lighting within it like two stones crashing against one another.


    Ryu''s trembling finally came to a stop, but he stood in silence for a long while. The wind grew still and all was silent. The Fire Shrine''s qi seemed to dim as though it too was entering a state of mourning.


    Abruptly and without warning, Ryu roared into the skies. A cyclone of hot, scorching air propelled forward, shaking the world to its very core.


    It lasted for a just a few moments before it all vanished. Everything returned to calm and Ryu''s back stood just as straight as it had before.


    He looked back toward the two women behind him, both of whom had worried expressions on their faces. But, they were stunned to see that Ryu was actually smiling lightly.


    "Shall we go? My Tatsuya Clan is probably the richest of the four, there''ll be a lot of good stuff."


    Ailsa gaze flickered, but she smiled in return, pulling Yaana who was practically spilling with tears forward.


    Like this, the three walked forward together. The Shrine could have practically been its own world, but Ryu was very used to it and could navigate the region with ease.


    In truth, a Shrine should have been hostile to anyone who wasn''t its Saint. But, after years of experience, this time came to be known as a grace period. In addition, until the Shrine was claimed by another, it would always be docile in the presence of its previous Saint''s direct descendant.


    Soon, Ryu made it through the layers of worlds and appeared in a hall. Usually, this hall was quite empty with the exception of some important drawings on the tall pillars of black-red that held it up. But, currently, it was filled to the brim with treasures.


    With relative ease, Ryu ignored it all, making a line toward the one treasure that made him pick this Shrine before his Grandpa Kunan and his Grandma Tatsuya.


    Ryu appeared before a familiar large box made of an abrasive metal¡­ Neutron Star Core. Within it was without a doubt the complete Origin Flame. Compared to the other treasures here, this would most definitely rank at the very top.


    Ryu''s muscles bulged and veins popped across his skin. A flash of scales appeared on his arms before the lid finally moved slightly. It was only after that that Ryu quickly dropped his blood, allowing the rest of the mechanism to take effect and open the rest of the way.


    Before Ryu could react, the Origin Flame within shot out. Ryu couldn''t even get a good look at it before it burrowed into his forehead, catching him completely off guard.


    ''This¡­ Since when was this thing so eager¡­?''


    Ryu was about to shrug this off and take it as a blessing when his body suddenly convulsed, his mind going blank. One after another, a storm of memories and understandings resurfaced, memories that Ryu thought he had already remembered well enough. But the result was something that left him shocked into silence.


    "Ryu?"


    Ailsa tried to call out, but Ryu remained frozen, unmoved.


    Ryu''s mind was in another place entirely. It had returned to the Moonlight Blossom Sect in the very same room he had been given after he defeated Zulfiqar. He had just finished his battle with his little nephews and was in a practically half dead state.


    He hung on for dear life, not wanting to die in Osiris so that he didn''t lose his treasures. There was also the problem of his soul potentially being damaged.


    That day was the very day he lost his virginity in this life to Ailsa and it was also the first time the two dual cultivated together. The result helped Ryu to heal and managed to help him out of Osiris without a problem. But, Ailsa unfortunately fell into a coma.


    In a desperate attempt to save her, Ryu did everything, but in the end, he almost froze to death, the great yin of Ailsa''s almost being the death of him¡­ Until that is, the mysterious white flame finally awakened.


    In that moment, Ryu''s Fire Inheritances all went through a breakthrough, all of them entering the Dominion Realms¡­


    So why was it that Ryu''s current Fire Inheritances were all still at the Ruler Realm?! How had he lost two steps of comprehension?!

 Chapter 675 Impossible

    Chapter 675 Impossible


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while.


    He suddenly remembered now that it wasn''t just his flames that reacted like this. His Great Swordstaff Inheritance had weakened severely from its peak, resulting in some oddities he was facing today. On top of that, before he awakened his Storm Talent, his Lightning Inheritance had also fluctuated wildly, undergoing several breakthroughs and recessions¡­


    Ryu couldn''t wrap his mind around exactly what was happening. That was, until something wild clicked in his mind.


    What if a year off his life wasn''t the only thing he was losing?


    Ryu stared off into blank space. Just how much of his life was under the control of some invisible entity he couldn''t even lay eyes on? He didn''t even know who he should be blaming or if there was a person to blame to begin with.


    At the same time, without Ailsa by his side, he had been far more susceptible to these things happening to him. If Ailsa had been with him, in all likelihood, she would have realized that something was wrong long ago. It was impossible for him to have gone through it all so blindly.


    First Ryu had thought that the perpetrator was Sarriel. Then he thought that it might have been the Dream Wraith that the Silver Touch Branch had captured for the sake of creating their fake world. And now he felt that it might very well be the Phoenix Sky God who was responsible.


    And yet, even now, Ryu didn''t have a true answer.


    To this day, Ryu still wasn''t sure of how to think about Sarriel. Her motives seemed clear enough: Use him to get the Inheritance left behind by his grandmother. After all, there was no way that Saintess Kunan would allow Ryu to die before her like this, but at the same time, there was also no way that she''d give the final resources of the Ice Phoenix Clan to an outsider. So, this seemed like Sarriel''s only option.


    But, were things so clear cut?


    The main issue here was Sarriel''s temperament. With her pride and arrogance, why bother going through so much trouble to begin with? Now knowing her true self, there was simply no way that Sarriel would demean herself to the point of trying to seduce Ryu in return for a favor. It simply didn''t line up with who she was as a person.


    The true Sarriel would more than likely just swing her sword at Ryu, more willing to use force to meet her goal than anything else. Wasn''t the rest of it all a waste of steps? It simply didn''t make much sense at all.


    If it was really all an act, that was fine. But, why would Sarriel go as far as to even allow Ryu to kiss her? It smelled of a conspiracy Ryu couldn''t wrap his head around. It was exactly because of this that Ryu still hadn''t quite given up on the idea of Sarriel being responsible for all of this.


    But then there was the Dream Wraith.


    The Dream Wraith truly seemed like a suspect as well. Not only would it have the ability to do something like this with the enigmatic powers of its Demon King Clan, but it seemed to have gained a motive to do so as well.


    There was only one reason for that: ¡­ [Reanimation].


    It could not be understated just how much of a scourge this technique was. In the hands of the wrong person, it could cause yet another catastrophe of the martial world, truly resulting in the end of this Era. Ryu could say with great confidence that there was absolutely no way that the Martial Gods would *ever* hand away this technique as a prize for their trials.


    The only explanation that Ryu could think of was that the Dream Wraith had chosen to do it of its own volition.


    As for exactly why the Dream Wraith would do this, Ryu wasn''t certain. However, in a hypothetical situation where the Dream Wraith was, indeed, responsible for the loss of year to his life, Ryu could come up with a very plausible situation.


    IF the Dream Wraith took a year from him, it was very likely that it knew everything about Ryu now. In fact, it might even know more about Ryu than even Sarriel could dig up with her Truth Pupils. In that case, it would know the kind of fury Ryu harbored and the revenge he had planned. Why wouldn''t the Dream Wraith want revenge against the people that had captured and forced it to do their bidding?


    Finally, there was the Phoenix Sky God.


    They were an enigmatic existence. There were countless stories of endless variations related to this person. In some stories they were male, in others they were female. In some they were a beast and in others they were a human or a Faerie. In some folk tales they were born from a rich family from on high and in others they were born from the lowest of the lowest slums.


    Despite not having a single cohesive story, their name reverberated throughout the ages. This alone made them standout in comparison to all others.


    The importance of constructing a narrative around your name, to build up legends and feats, couldn''t be understated. Only in this way could your name ring through the martial world. And yet, the Phoenix Sky God had done the exact opposite.


    As a result, this was the only one of the three suspects Ryu couldn''t even begin to guess the intent of. The Phoenix Sky God could have any number of goals that could potentially sweep Ryu up. Ryu himself simply didn''t have enough information to even hazard a guess.


    Like this, Ryu had three viable answers but no solution. To make matters worse, even if he managed to figure out which of the three was responsible, just what would he do about it exactly?


    As though all of this wasn''t terrible enough, now that his Inheritances had risen then fallen¡­ Bringing them back up to the level they had once been at would be almost impossible!

 Chapter 676 Laughter

    Chapter 676 Laughter


    It was the irony of all ironies. Just a few months ago Ryu was thinking about Yaana and how she was in the perfect situation to reaffirm her comprehensions. Not only would she gain the strengthening of relearning what she already knew, but she also wouldn''t have the hindrance of her previous memories slowing her down. It could be considered the best of both worlds.


    Somehow, though, Ryu had been in the same exact situation. And yet, rather than benefitting, he was being punished.


    No¡­ It wasn''t that he was being punished, but rather that his comprehension had oscillated so many times that what once was ''easy'' became decidedly less so. By his calculations, he had broken past the Ruler Realm into the Small Realm level several times already. But, each and every time, not long afterward, his comprehension would regress.


    On top of that, he would also somehow forget that he had had this breakthrough and go about his day as though nothing had happened.


    Eventually, a breakthrough that was as easy as breathing for him became a taller and taller mountain to climb. Ryu had no idea what would happen if he broke through now. Though he had the complete Origin Flame to make his memory truly infallible for the first time, who was to say remembering would be enough?


    "Ryu?"


    Ailsa called out again. This time, Ryu blinked and looked back. Seeing the worry in Ailsa''s gaze, he could only sigh.


    "I''m not sure what''s going on."


    Yaana blinked, not quite understanding what was going on either. It was only after Ryu said a few words for her to comprehend that she realized just how big the problem was.


    "¡­"


    Ailsa''s brows furrowed. Of course, she didn''t need all of this explained to her as she had been with Ryu just now as he went through everything step by step.


    The timing seemed too coincidental. For all of this to occur as Ailsa was in a coma made it seem like there was someone with conscious choice behind this. It made an already convoluted problem even more complicated.


    "¡­ If we have to pick one, I have to believe that it''s the Phoenix Sky God." Ailsa finally said.


    Ryu didn''t reply immediately, waiting for Ailsa to finish.


    "All this time, what was most impacted were your flames and this just so happened to coincide with the awakening of the *** flame..."


    Ailsa pronounced the true name of the flame without much effort. She did so casually and without much thought as Ryu usually thought of it in his mind as well. However, as a Cultus Faerie, it was clear that she was very much adept at speaking many tongues with far more ease than Ryu.


    The result, though, was a sudden freeze on the world.


    The Fire Shrine fell into absolute silence. It wasn''t just about noise, but even the qi in the surroundings themselves came to a grinding halt. Even with [Ephemeral Tapestry], Ryu watched as the colors of the world became absolutely still, no longer moving about as freely as they once did. In fact, Ryu felt that if he tried to absorb energy now, it would take ten times the effort.


    Ailsa''s gaze narrowed, her eyes angling upward. The momentum of this name was clearly great. It was difficult to tell just how long it had been since someone had spoken it.


    Right then, there was a flicker within Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, the cotton-like ball of fire pulsing slightly before resting once more. It''s movement seemed to awaken the prayer mat that also trembled for a moment, relieving much of the drain Ryu felt on his mind at that moment.


    "¡­ Your Great Swordstaffs were affected as well, but you should also remember that your Great Swordstaffs are derivatives of our Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons are a weapon style designed around the Rage Flame and its prowess. It could even be said the foundation of it are the flames.


    "Everything about this seemed to make sense, especially since your Wind Inheritance was unaffected, until that is you also mentioned that your Lightning Inheritance suffered as well.


    "But¡­ That was only up until you awakened your Storm Talent. However, before that¡­"


    "My Lightning and my Flames were tied together as one¡­" Ryu finished.


    "Exactly right. In fact, it might not even be the awakening of your Storm Talent that changed things. During your training these last few months, you gained the ability to separate out your lightning flame into its individual parts again. It''s possible that this was what allowed your lightning to break free of those shackles."


    "Then does that mean that so long as I have this white flame with me, my Fire Inheritances won''t be able to breakthrough and remain above the Ruler Realm?"


    Ryu''s brows furrowed. This could become a great issue.


    Even if every breakthrough would make his Fire Inheritance exponentially more powerful, there would be a point of diminishing returns. If Ryu relied on the complete Origin Flame to blaze through, there was no telling if it would come to bite him in the future.


    If there came a day where he was stuck in the Ruler Realm and could no longer breakthrough, his combat prowess would suffer permanent damage. Only a breakthrough would allow a qualitative leap in his strength, returning back to the Ruler Realm did nothing for him unless he approached a breakthrough once again.


    Ryu took a deep breath and looked up toward the ceiling of the shrine. To his surprise, there was a swarm of qi above that hadn''t stopped moving under the oppression of the white flame''s name. It snaked about like a Dragon, flapping its wings and coiling about itself in a deep slumber.


    The qi yawned, sticking out its tongue. It opened a single eye and gazed at Ryu for a moment before releasing billowing steam from its nostrils and closing its eyes once more.


    The pure, unbridled nature of the qi made Ryu smile.


    But only when you want them to¡­


    Those words reverberated through Ryu''s mind once again. He couldn''t help but chuckle.


    ''If you were so unbridled, why''d you run away when the Heavens descended?''


    Ryu continued to look up at the qi as though he expected an answer. But, surprisingly, he actually got one completely out of his expectations.


    ''Don''t blame your blood for your own cowardice.''


    The dragon replied without even opening its eyes.


    After being shocked for just a moment, Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. It was a strong, belly rounding laugh, the kind that made even the Shrine itself tremble.

 Chapter 677 Dragons Blood

    Chapter 677 Dragon''s Blood


    Ailsa and Yaana both looked up at the ceiling, but neither could see exactly what Ryu was looking at. However, it didn''t take Ryu long from stopping his laughter to walk to a shelf. In an inconspicuous corner, tucked away behind the numerous vials, Ryu easily picked out one and took it out.


    "This¡­ Dragon''s Essence Blood?"


    Ailsa was the first to understand. She came to a shocking realization that her own Bloodline was trembling. Clearly, whatever this blood was existed on a plane leagues beyond herself. However, didn''t this make sense? The Heavens chose the Ancestral Beasts as their arbiters. By definition, they were the highest existence that there was in these lands.


    "Whenever an expert of my Tatsuya Clan passes away, they leave behind their Essence Blood. That Essence Blood is then purified through the use of several techniques and precious treasures to be further concentrated.


    "However, that isn''t the end of it. As of right now, my great grandfather is still alive. As his cultivation progresses, his Bloodline retroactively strengthens that of all of his descendants. So, not only is this Blood Essence further concentrated and purified, as his cultivation increases, its foundation becomes stronger and sturdier. The blood in here has already surpassed even my grandfather and father, let alone myself. It''s so potent that it''s already manifested its own spirit."


    Ryu looked above again, but the Dragon had already turned back to ignoring him. It didn''t even seem to care that Ryu was technically holding it up, it wasn''t worried in the slightest. The confidence that it exuded was palpable. Even Ryu was nothing more than an ant to it.


    In truth, this Blood Essence plan began right at the inception of the Tatsuya Clan. The greatest weakness of Clans that relied on their Bloodlines was the inevitability of decline. There would come a day where great talents ceased to be born and this Blood Essence would become the final line of defense.


    In a twist of Fate, though, Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan fell in its prime. In fact, it could even be said that they were still ascending.


    If given enough time, Ryu was certain that his grandfather would have become the second Sky God of their Clan, and his father would have become the third. A Clan with three Sky Gods was practically unheard of. If Ryu was also added to the mix, becoming the fourth, even the Guilds wouldn''t dare to take the Tatsuya''s casually.


    There were probably only a few dozen Sky Gods in the martial world as a whole in all of current existence. The idea of four being to a single family would be insane.


    This didn''t even touch upon the talent of Ryu''s other grandparents.


    If Ryu had to be objective, his grandmothers weren''t as talented as his grandfathers were. Due to the ban on Mental Realm cultivation, they couldn''t make use of their true potential and their foundations were too shaky as a result.


    However, if Ryu''s Grandpa Kunan could overcome his mental hurdle and finally claim the Tribulation Shrine, there was a good chance that he too would become a Sky God. By then, that would be as good as the Tatsuya having five Sky Gods.


    Then, there was, of course, Ryu''s mother, Himari. She could have very well made six.


    Putting all of this into perspective, it was no wonder their family was the target of the Martial Gods. Such a close knit group of Sky Gods who couldn''t easily be turned against one another was a recipe for disaster in their books.


    "I never thought I''d see the day where it had to be used¡­ Not long ago I was writing herbal recipes to help purify it, and now it''s quite literally the only hope of ever reviving my Tatsuya Clan¡­"


    Ryu sighed lightly. It was something he rarely did but the weight of the blood in his hands now was too great. And truthfully, he didn''t even want to use it.


    Who could he ever possibly trust enough to give this blood to? Just a drop would turn one into a talent among talents, and a true Tatsuya. But, something about gifting this to another person didn''t sit quite right with Ryu. He rarely, if ever, trusted others. If one thought about it, with the exception of Ailsa and maybe his Master, all those he trusted currently were from his last life.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t just have such a decision to make for the Tatsuya. He had a similar choice to make for the Ice Phoenixes. And, once he spent his final moments with his Grandpa Kunan and his Grandma Tatsuya, they would present him with such a choice as well.


    Ryu clutched the vial. ''No, this isn''t my choice, this is the choice of mother and father. I''ll leave it to them.''


    Ryu chose to believe that his parents were still alive, and even if their lives were in danger, he would make sure that no harm came to them. He had lost enough and refused to lose any more.


    "So this Blood formed its own Dragon Soul? Fascinating¡­"


    Ailsa looked up toward the ceiling and though she couldn''t see what Ryu did, she could catch a glimpse through his eyes just like he had once used her gaze to practice the Visualizations of the Zu Ancestors.


    Ryu nodded. "It''s given me some ideas about my own Dragon Soul¡­"


    Dragon Soul was a talent of the Fire Dragon. If it was compared to the Qilin, it was quite similar to the Lightning Qilin''s Storm Talent in that it was a large, area of effect skill. It could be likened to an Impose Barrier, or on a higher own, a Domain or Dominion. But, it was unique to the Dragon Race.


    As for why it was called Dragon Soul, it was because the core of its strength lied in the ideology of the Dragon. If one didn''t have the backbone and fortitude, even if by some miracle you awakened your Dragon Soul, it would be pitifully weak.


    Ryu had learned about many Bloodline Talents of his from his grandfather, but the one his old man remained vague on was the Dragon Soul.


    However, weren''t his grandfather''s final words as much of a clue as Ryu could ever need?

 Chapter 678 Oh, Right!

    Chapter 678 Oh, Right!


    "So Dragon Soul is the ultimate form of Dragon''s Might¡­ I see." Ailsa nodded.


    Ryu smiled. Dragon''s Might? It was indeed an inferior form. His grandfather hadn''t even bothered to explain it to him. It was clear that to Saint Tatsuya, no grandson of his should waste time on such a thing.


    This was why the words of the Blood Essence''s soul resonated so much with Ryu.


    ''Don''t blame your blood for your own cowardice¡­''


    No matter what the race and no matter what your talent, often times your disposition was the most important. Even among the Dragons, there would be the scum and the unworthy. If just having Dragon blood made you invincible, they would have never lost their throne to begin with.


    Ryu Bloodlines receding may very well have been due to them being nothing before the Heavens, but it wasn''t just them to blame either. Hadn''t Ryu also felt fear before he forcefully pulled himself together? What right did he had to castigate his own Blood?


    His Bloodlines were weak because he had yet to make them strong, not because they were inherently weak. Only with such a mentality could Ryu ever hope to reach the pinnacle of cultivation.


    If there came a day where his talent wasn''t enough, where his bloodlines weren''t good enough to claim his seat at the top of the mountain anymore, what would he do?


    Ryu had already answered that question long ago¡­.


    Wouldn''t that just be wonderful?


    "Yaana."


    "Hm?" Yaana looked up quickly from her own thoughts, seemingly a bit flustered.


    "The Ice Phoenix Clan doesn''t really have many palm and hand experts outside of my grandmother. But the treasures she used were all Ancestral Grade so they might be a bit much for you. The Tatsuya Clan had a long more fist experts so you can probably find something you like that doesn''t have a Fire character that''s too overwhelming while also being of a decent level. Feel free to look around."


    "Oh, yes¡­ Right."


    Yaana was still thinking about her reaffirmed resolve from earlier. Treasures were the absolute last thing on her mind.


    "If you want to use a weapon, though, you can also let me know. I have too many things and could never use them all."


    Ryu smiled lightly toward Yaana then walked to a wall. Along it, row after row of spears, glaives and halberds could be found. It was difficult even to approach them without being burnt to a crisp.


    In the Tatsuya Clan, not everyone could learn the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. It wasn''t about gatekeeping, but rather that one''s Bloodline had to have a certain density in order to succeed. Without it, you''d end up fracturing your bones and rupturing your meridians and blood vessels. It was that serious.


    If Ryu had seen this rack of weapons before he switched to the Great Swordstaff, he would have been excited beyond belief. But now it just felt more depressing than anything else. It was like a vast amount of wealth that he couldn''t use.


    "Who said you can''t use it?"


    Ailsa appeared to Ryu''s side with a smile on her face. She had been taking inventory of everything, trying to find the best way to torture Ryu next when she noticed this.


    "What do you suggest?" Ryu asked.


    "Well, you said you wanted to go to the Armament Guild, right?"


    "Mm."


    "Well, your goal there is to build up a new discipline for yourself. But, have you ever thought of why your great grandfather is called the Saintly Weapon Sky God instead of just the Spear Sky God or the Halberd Sky God?"


    "He isn''t good enough." Ryu replied straight forwardly.


    That was right. The simpler the name attached to a Sky God, the more powerful they were. Not being able to call yourself a simple name was the product of your Dao not being able to encompass all that it entailed. His grandfather could only claim a very specific style attached to these very specific weapons, thus his moniker.


    "It may seem like that one the surface, but that''s only one aspect of naming. The word ''Saint'' holds a lot of weight. In addition, he doesn''t call himself the Saintly Spear-Glaive-Halberd Sky God. He calls himself the Saintly Weapon Sky God. The word Weapon is broad and all encompassing. Objectively, its an even simpler term than Halberd or Spear which could both be considered to be quite specific."


    Ryu''s gaze glowed, but he remained silent.


    It wasn''t like he hadn''t thought of this before, it was more like he didn''t like giving his great grandfather credit. The idea that he might be even more powerful than someone calling themselves the Halberd Sky God was annoying to Ryu, not because he feared the man, but because he didn''t feel this man deserved any of his respect.


    Even in his final three hours with his Grandpa Tatsuya, the latter had only mention his father once. But, he didn''t elaborate or go into any depths. Even Ryu''s Grandma Kunan had spoken more about that man.


    "So what do you think this means?"


    Knowing that Ryu was being petty again, Ailsa didn''t let him off the hook. In the past, she might have chosen not to press. But by now, her relationship with Ryu was so deep that she wasn''t worried about angering him. Even if he got angry, he''d forgive her in a few days at most.


    "It means that the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons are conveying a message, an idea. It just so happens that the Spear, Glaive and Halberd are the easiest mediums for conveying this message, but it''s a message that can be expressed with any weapon."


    Ryu replied to this question quite easily and calmly, but Ailsa knew that it was like raking his knees across glass to say such words aloud.


    "If you want to go about forming your own emotion to convey, that''s fine. But, that doesn''t mean you have to be stuck with a single weapon to do so. What makes the Great Swordstaffs great is that they can allow you to do what the Halberd cannot.


    "The Halberd is a weapon well known enough that it''s difficult to pull its Faith in one way or another. But, the Great Swordstaff is a forgotten weapon, lost to the ages. This allows you to take what you like from each discipline and build up your own."


    Ailsa reached out and grasped a ruby spear that was eight feet tall. It was covered in scales and deep trenches that pulsed with golden lights.


    She tossed the spear to Ryu before reach out again and picking out a great sword that was about a foot wide and a meter and a half long. Its blade was an abyssal black that swallowed all light and its handle and guard were a simple ashy silver.


    Ryu quickly caught the weapons, only to almost fall back.


    ''¡­ Heavy¡­''


    Ailsa didn''t seem intent on stop as she picked out several other weapons. By the time she was done, she had force Ryu to hold every single one of the Armament Guild''s nine weapons. There was even a dragon bow hanging around Ryu''s neck with a bowstring made of true dragon tendon. He didn''t even know if he had the strength to pull it back to 10%, let alone use it''s full potential.


    "Until you can find a strand that connects all these weapons into one, you can''t use your Great Swordstaffs anymore."


    Ryu blinked. "¡­ What about my fists?"


    Suddenly remembering her awkward failure during the descent of Heaven''s Punishment, Ailsa blushed red.


    "Ah, right, yes. Oh, look over there, I think I see some good Herbs for Little Gem."


    Ailsa scurried away.

 Chapter 679 Guild Without a World

    Chapter 679 Guild Without a World


    The news of what happened at the Martial God''s banquet event spread like wildfire, if it could be described as that.


    From the very beginning, all those who were of note had already been present. It could be said that the majority of the powerhouses within the martial world were now aware of just who Ryu Tor was. Or, more accurately, a majority of powerhouses from well established and prominent powers.


    At the same time, the weight placed on the backs of the Faeries seemed to multiply everyday. It was simply impossible for anyone to believe that the likes of Ryu and Ailsa had actually vanished on their own in the midst of so many powerhouses. Many simply assumed that the Faeries had doubled down on protecting Ryu at all costs, and why wouldn''t they?


    Even the vague tidbits of information one might get about what happened that day was enough to paint Ryu as a genius of epic proportions. Maybe this was exactly the kind of talent infusion that the Faeries needed.


    Those who were in the know about the history of the Faeries connected this back to the happenings in the past. Back then, the Faeries were saved thanks to their partnership with humans. Maybe now that the race had once again run into a crossroads, this was a path they would take once more¡­


    At the same time, the martial world seemed to take a wait and see approach. Even those that had heavily aligned themselves with the Martial Gods in the past took a step back, calmly observing.


    With Fate having become untangled, even the smallest powers suddenly had a chance to rise up and potentially become the next hegemon within a few trillion years. Under such a situation, the firm grip the Martial Gods had once had loosened considerably.


    At the same time, the looming threat of this supposed enemy was approaching by the day.


    It was under this slowly brewing storm that Ryu silently left the Fire Shrine


    ¡­


    The Armament Guild could only be described as a Behemoth. Among the three Guilds, it was the only one that was easily accessible by the masses and the one maybe the most frequently visited. And, maybe in ironic fashion, it was the only of the three Guilds not even technically located within or upon a world.


    The Mercenary Guild''s ''world'' was Osiris. Though it was virtual, it still existed and acted as a hub for its members to trade, accept missions and rise up the ranks. However, it was quite exclusive. One could only gain membership with a certain level of talent and even then you would need to pass the test of the ring.


    Essentially, it was easy to commission the Mercenary Guild for a mission and even join one of its outer posts. However, becoming a core member and entering Osiris was a different monster all together.


    Then there was the Necromancy Guild. They were even more exclusive. The world of the Necromancy Guild was ruled by the three Necromancy Clans. Obviously, they couldn''t allow just anyone on their world, so much like the Mercenary Guild, while it was relatively simple to join an outer post, entering the main world was a different beast all together.


    Finally, there was the Armament Guild. Not only did it not have a world, but its core territory was accessible to almost anyone so long as you could get there.


    How exactly did the Armament Guild not have a world? Well¡­


    ¡­


    The scene was absolutely fascinating. Deep within the depths of space, volatile qis hung around. However, there was a particular location where this violence grew to become a stable calm. Usually, such a thing would only occur as you entered the atmosphere of a world, but this situation was much different.


    Hundreds of cities hung upon the vast nothingness, connected by roads of light that sparkled like stars amidst the backdrop of darkness. In the middle of these cities hung one King amongst them all, an enormous behemoth with tall steel walls that shimmered as though it produced light of its own.


    Despite the sturdiness of these walls, its four gates were seemingly perpetually open, allowing a flow of people in an out without stop.


    Amidst this commotion, Ryu walked with slow, unhurried steps. Ailsa rested on his shoulder, reclining leisurely while Yaana clung to his arm and looked around with a twinkle in her eye.


    Though she had been to the Necromancy Guild, she spent most of her time training and never really saw the outside world. This could be considered the first time she truly stepped away from the Mortal Plane and saw what there was to offer. It left her in awe.


    Ryu wasn''t very insistent on hiding his identity. As far as he was concerned, the Martial Gods were in the hotseat right now, not him. If he really wanted an extra layer of protection, he would just become the Throne of the Armament or Necromancy Guild. With the current state of Faith, Thrones were even more valuable now than they had ever been before.


    Still, Ryu chose to wear a simple mask. Though, ''simple'' was relative. It might have looked quite plain, but it was in reality an Ancestral Grade treasure.


    With Ryu''s current ability, even though it would be his second Throne, he didn''t think it would be difficult at all to claim one. After all, all Throne trials boiled down to combat prowess. Who could possibly have more combat prowess than himself? Even Sarriel was inferior.


    Well¡­ The Sarriel he was familiar with was inferior. After her breakthrough, Ryu didn''t dare to take her lightly. The power of a Natural Enlightenment was undeniable while Ailsa had yet to properly explain just what was so special about his fists.


    Ailsa coughed lightly on Ryu''s shoulder, completely ignoring these thoughts as though she had never heard them.


    Ryu smiled but didn''t say much. For Ailsa to be stumped, it had to be something really extraordinary. But somehow, it still felt quite hollow to Ryu. He didn''t feel the power boost he would expect from comprehending a Natural Enlightenment, it was quite fascinating. Even though he should probably feel frustrated, he didn''t. In fact, his heart felt quite light and his spirit was carefree.


    "Let''s enter a Staff city. I''m curious, it''s the weapon I know the least about."


    After saying this, Ryu picked a light road and began to stroll toward one of the hundreds of cities.

 Chapter 680 Could?

    Chapter 680 Could?


    "A Staff city? What''s that?" Yaana asked curiously.


    "You see the hundreds of cities hanging in the sky? Each of them has their own affiliation. In the Armament Guild, one of the highest honors you can earn is becoming a City Protector, or what they call ''earning your Armament''.


    "There are exactly 999 cities excluding the largest one in the sky and there are 111 cities to each ''Armament''. There are 100 placed for Path Extinction Realm Armaments, 10 places for Dao Pedestal Realm Armaments, and a singular place for Cosmic Seed Realm Armaments for nine total.


    "Do you see those nine cities closest to the largest one up there?" Ryu pointed.


    Yaana looked up, her gaze sparkling. "Those are the Cosmic Seed Realm Armaments?"


    "Yes, those are where the most powerful experts beneath the World Sea Realm call home. In the countless years since the Armament Guild has existed, the Cosmic Seed Armaments have always been in the hands of one of the nine families."


    "Oh?" Yaana blinked. "Are they that good with their weapons? No one else can surpass them?"


    "Well¡­"


    Ryu smiled but didn''t answer immediately.


    The truth was that it was a matter of face and there was probably a lot of background shenanigans involved as well.


    Those who came from good backgrounds wouldn''t want to antagonize the Armament Guild without reason while those without backgrounds didn''t dare to. In the latter case, if one was talented enough, it was possible to change your last name and join the nine families, effectively keeping the title in house. But, there were very few people who would be willing to do such a thing.


    Even in the case that you were a woman and didn''t have to carry on your family name like a man would, any woman who was an expert capable of claiming a Cosmic Seed Armament for themselves would never lower their pride to marry into a family just for such a title.


    There were certain principles that those who followed pure weapon paths abided by that felt universal. And pride was most definitely among them.


    As a result of this, those who felt they had the skill to challenge the Cosmic Seed Armaments would almost never do so in an official capacity. There was too much trouble involved with it all.


    However, this wasn''t too surprising, this was just the reality that being too powerful brought about. Without struggle, conceit would be bred. With too much conceit came complacency. With complacency came the loss of virtue. Eventually, this loss of virtue would lead to the collapse of a power.


    Ryu didn''t know what had happened to the Armament Guild in the last billion years, but he could sense something off about the atmosphere this time around the moment he stepped foot into the city he chose.


    The last time Ryu had come here, it was with his father and he was just a toddler. He even remembered using their testing stone, though his father had never let him see exactly what his result was back then.


    Ryu remembered that visit well, especially since he had the complete Origin Flame now. The ambience had felt different, much lighter and far more carefree. Everyone came to this place to exchange knowledge and grow as cultivators. But now¡­


    "Well what?"


    The sudden voice cut through Ryu''s thoughts. There was no doubt that it was exceptionally abrasive and carried the tone of starting up trouble. Clearly this individual wanted Ryu to finish his sentence, not liking what his long pause was implying.


    Ryu was still leisurely walking with Yaana and they weren''t far from the city gates up ahead. All around them, individuals holding staffs on their backs walked forward as well. There were very few like Ryu and Yaana who didn''t have any weapon to speak of. These individuals were very clearly here as tourists and were viewed as lesser than by the true cultivators.


    Within the Armament Guild, it was common practice to keep your weapon outside of your spatial ring. There would often be challenges and a person without a weapon could even be seen as someone who had lost theirs to another. This was among the greatest humiliations for a person of the Armament Guild.


    Ryu sighed when he heard this voice.


    "¡­ Annoying."


    Yaana giggled beside herself. She didn''t know why, but she found this side of Ryu extra funny.


    The truth was that Yaana had never met the cold Ryu. The Ryu she knew was still that mischievous, too clever for his own good little blind boy. So, the Ryu of right now was exactly the same Ryu she had always known, which was why she sometimes felt like she was missing a piece of him.


    "You dared to speak before but you''ve forgotten how to now?"


    The young man cut through appeared before Ryu and Yaana, clearly not having heard Ryu''s most recent comment. This made it obvious to Ryu that his cultivation couldn''t be very high.


    With a single glance, Ryu noticed that this young man was indeed only in the Immortal Ring Realm. But, judging by his robes and the emblems on them, he was a member of the Virga family. It was no wonder he had gotten offended by Ryu''s earlier non-answer. Obviously, he understood that Ryu had implied that there had been experts that surpassed their nine families in the past. This was a great insult to the young man.


    Ryu shook his head.


    Eustis, the Virga family''s Staff, had sat with him at the banquet. He couldn''t very well turn his junior into a cloud of mist just for a few words, now could he? Was this what having to control your temper felt like? It was annoying.


    "Get out of my way or I''ll snap your staff in half." Ryu said coldly, his demeanor changing entirely.


    Ailsa almost fell over Ryu''s shoulder laughing, holding onto her toned belly as though she couldn''t take it anymore.


    Could this still be considered controlling your temper?

 Chapter 681 Archway

    Chapter 681 Archway


    The young man who stood before Ryu was stunned silent. He had gone from thinking that Ryu was scared of him to suddenly feeling a murderous intent enshroud him completely.


    He couldn''t wrap his head around what was happening. Didn''t Ryu just say he wanted to snap his staff in half? Why did it look like he wanted to kill him?


    Wait, that wasn''t the point at all. A staff master having their staff taken away was enough of a humiliation. But, for that staff to then be snapped in half?! The young man suddenly realized that he would have rather died than allow such a thing to happen to him.


    "You¡ª!"


    By the time the young man had finished his thought process, Ryu had already brushed by him and appeared beneath the gates.


    ''Hm¡­ This wasn''t here before¡­'' Ryu thought to himself.


    Up above, there was a massive archway painted in a bright red. It was very clearly an elaborate paifang and it exuded an aura of majesty completely separate from the gates that surrounded it and the even the city itself. Ryu''s discerning eye was easily able to pick out the fact that this was a recent addition, even if he didn''t have the experience of having come to this Guild before.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a hint of color and he was immediately able to deduce what the paifang''s function was. That said, he probably also could have learned this simply by observing his surroundings, but it seemed that Ryu was quite fond of doing things the hard way.


    Ryu took another step forward, following the large crowd of individuals who were stepping through, but immediately felt a strong barrier doing its best to block his path forward.


    Yaana immediately realized that something was wrong because she didn''t seem to have the same problem at all. For the first time, it was Ryu''s steps slowing her rather than the vice versa.


    A shroud of qi fell before Ryu and a hovering mark appeared above his head. It didn''t seem to be very special, but it touched down upon Ryu''s lapel, marking him with an odd ancient character before allowing him through.


    Ryu, who seemed to have expected this, didn''t react very much. He simply continued to walk forward, taking Yaana along with him, seemingly oblivious to the looks he was receiving around him.


    "Stop right there!"


    The youth from earlier stormed forward, passing through the archway with absolute ease much like Yaana had. In fact, he seemed to be far more furious than he was before, especially after seeing how the archway had responded to Ryu.


    "You haven''t comprehended even a single Birthed Phenomena and yet you have the audacity to be so arroga¡ª!?"


    BANG!


    The youth couldn''t react before Ryu''s foot found its way to his chest. His back bowed so violently under the pressure that his staff bent against its straps, snapping in two not even a split moment after Ryu''s kick landed.


    Ryu slowly lowered his foot as though he had just been taking a casual step forward to begin with.


    "At least he was a little useful." Ryu said lightly.


    Thanks to the youth, the crowd of people had been forced to split in two. In fact, a few poor souls hadn''t moved quickly enough and ended up getting launched away along with him. But, with how well Ryu controlled his strength, the only one who likely ended up seriously hurt was the youth himself.


    Taking advantage of his own commotion, Ryu strolled forward with Yaana, Ailsa practically wheezing at this point. Toward her laughter, Ryu could only shrug. He tried his best to give the lad a chance, it''s not his fault he had a death wish.


    Yaana giggled as well, but hearing such a thing, Ailsa sat up.


    "Don''t laugh, Little Yaana! He''s actually such a bad influence on you! Don''t look!"


    This only made Yaana sputter with more laughter. Even behind her veil, her youthful charm caught the attention of many around them. But, very few actually dared to do anything after seeing what happened to the youth.


    That brat from earlier was definitely a member of the Virga Clan. To be so casually disrespected in one of their cities could lead to trouble, but this Ryu didn''t seem to care at all.


    "¡­ That archway¡­?" Yaana finally stopped laughing and asked the question that had been on her mind.


    Ryu shrugged. "It tests what Birthed Phenomena you''ve comprehended. Anything beneath the Ruler Realm won''t be detected."


    "But that character?"


    "If I had to guess, it''ll probably make it more difficult to maneuver around the city freely."


    Yaana frowned. "But you¡­"


    She was confused. Ryu had definitely comprehended a Birthed Phenomena, right? She had seen it personally. In fact, he had comprehended multiple.


    Last time she saw Ryu, he had already grasped glaive, spear and halberd Birthed Phenomena. It can''t be that he had regressed in all these years, so what was going on? With his talent, there was no way he hadn''t grasped a Birthed Phenomena above the Impose Realm by now.


    Ryu smiled. "These detection systems can''t always cover everything. It can only recognize what it is familiar with. As things stand now, the only one of my Birthed Phenomena that is common is my Bowmanship. But, that is below the Ruler Realm so it wasn''t recognized."


    "Ah¡­"


    Yaana blinked.


    Though Ryu''s Great Swordstaff Inheritance was incomplete and faulty currently, it still existed. But, it seemed that the Great Swordstaff was such an obscure weapon that it wasn''t even recognized by the Armament Guild.


    As for Ryu''s odd Fist Inheritance, even Ailsa couldn''t figure out what it was, let alone this archway. This was why Yaana''s Palm Inheritance was easily recognized but his own counterpart was not. In the end, this was a troublesome matter that Ryu would have to deal with.


    That said, how much longer would it be a problem? Ryu had a feeling that very soon it wouldn''t be at all.


    As for those that wanted to harass them, he had a perfectly good foot for them all.


    Like this, the couple finally strolled by the youth who had collapsed on the side of the road.

 Chapter 682 Nine Sections

    Chapter 682 Nine Sections


    The moment Ryu got out of the range of the initial crowd, his gaze flashed once again. A surge of qi shattered the character on his lapel as though it had never been there to begin with. What a joke, as if he would waste his time getting constantly harassed because their equipment was inferior.


    "I haven''t done this in a while. How do you think I should go about learning a new weapon?"


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t very excited about the staff, that was why he picked it first to get it over with as quickly as possible. He was aware that this wasn''t the ideal mindset to go into learning something new, but he couldn''t help the way he felt.


    There was a good reason he felt this way, though. The Staff was tied with a lot of religious and fanatical philosophy throughout history. It was a weapon of defense and passivism, and though it couldn''t'' be said to be anywhere near as rare as the Great Swordstaff, no child upon starting the cultivation journey would ever jump at the chance to use this weapon.


    If Ryu wanted to succeed in what Ailsa was asking of him, he would have to find a method of pulling this weapon out from its tangle of Faith that was quite literally the antithesis of all that was Ryu. A true staff wielder would have probably let that youth from before off lightly. As far as Ryu was concerned, the fact he was alive at all was lightly enough.


    One might think that Ryu''s way of viewing things was extreme, but his reactions were simply based on what he knew the martial world to be.


    If Ryu was truly weaker than the youth, what would have happened? Maybe one would say that he would have just ended up beaten. And this may very well be a possibility, but in Ryu''s estimation, it was just a possibility, and a small one at that.


    The more likely scenario is that he would have gotten beaten, then he would have been humiliated, then attention would have shifted to Yaana. In the case that Ryu was already weaker than him, Yaana would most definitely also be so, and the result would likely be her being humiliated as well.


    To hide their evil deeds, Ryu would have ended up six feet under while Yaana, unless she too killed herself, would have to suffer endless torment for the rest of her days.


    When things were painted out like this, it all seemed like nonsense. A person couldn''t'' possibly be so unreasonable, right? And yet, this was a story that played out in this same exact way day after day in the martial world.


    The more Ryu thought about it, the more he disliked the staff. He found it to be hypocritical.


    All those holier than thou Buddhist temples and monk sanctuaries that touted this weapon as their main were only able to act like this because they already held power in their hands. Then, often, their passivism would do more harm than good.


    There were many such powers Ryu could think of throughout history. However, they were so reclusive and to themselves that they weren''t much better than the Faeries. Even now, they were sitting idly by doing nothing. This may not be the kind of person Ryu hated the most, but they were definitely up there on his list.


    Ailsa smiled and shook her head. Her Ryu was truly too violent. He was getting up in arms now because a weapon was too peace loving.


    ''The staff does have a history of passivism attached to it, but that''s just one aspect of its history. There are plenty of destructively powerful offensive experts who used the staff as well, it''s a weapon that the Ancestral Gorilla and Monkey races love a lot. In fact, because of this, it could be said that the root of the staff is destruction that then birthed passivism.'' Ailsa said.


    Ryu might have been an Origin Ruin Master, but when it came to the specific histories of cultivation and how it evolved, Ailsa topped him in every way.


    The Ancestral Beasts had a handful of Gorilla and Monkey races among them, all just as prolific as Dragons, Qilins and Phoenixes. It was very rare for beasts to use weapons at all, most using their own bodies. But, these races were an exception.


    These beasts chose the simplest weapon and transferred their power and strength to it. It could be said that Ryu was definitely shortchanging the staff.


    Hearing this explanation, the cloud over Ryu''s head cleared up, a light of ambition sparking for him right then.


    ''That''s a much better mindset. At least you''re not throwing a tantrum like a little boy anymore.'' Ailsa giggled. ''It doesn''t matter where you start. The entire city is immersed in the culture, just pick a direction.''


    Ryu took Ailsa''s advise and strolled through the city. He realized that she was very much correct. If it wasn''t a restaurant or an inn, it was most definitely a shop related to staffs.


    There were shops that sold prime cuts of wood to be carved into staffs, shops that sold premium oils and finishers for grooming and taking care of your staffs, shops that sold holsters, others that sold techniques¡­ Then there were dojos for practice, arenas for competition, and the most intriguing were some ''arcade''-like games to test a person''s skill in the staff.


    These dojos were actually maybe the most important. While a city had its Armament holder, it also had several dojos. These dojos all had their own masters which also had their own benefits to give in return for defeating these men and women.


    From Ryu''s understanding, you could essentially gain free credit in the city for defeating a dojo master, allowing you to buy all sorts of treasures. And, you could challenge the Armament wielder after defeating a certain number of them. Unfortunately, though they were less important than the Armament holder, in order to be a dojo master, you had to join the Armament Guild.


    Ryu came to a stop, his gaze landing upon one of the many ''games'' he had come across.


    It was very simple and Ryu only needed to observe a person do it once to understand.


    The platform was divided into nine sections and to each section there was a weight. This weight was to be added to the tip of your staff and your task was to, with that weight, attack in a variety of patterns as prompted.


    It seemed that your performance was decided not only by how well you completed the patterns, but also just how steady your staff was. Even after observing for a while, no one had managed to satisfactorily complete the third section.

 Chapter 683 Patterns

    Chapter 683 Patterns


    Ryu stepped forward, his expression quite indifferent, though hidden beneath a mask. Something like polearm control was too easy for him. In fact, he was far better at it than a normal person would be since he had spent so long training for the purpose of dual wielding polearm weapons.


    Not only did such a goal require ridiculous amounts of flexibility and dexterity, but it also necessitated supreme control. Ryu had long since gained the ability to fine tune the power output of each of his individual muscle fibers for the purpose of battle.


    However, what was fascinating about the staff was that it was a weapon only ever used with two hands, making it somewhat different from even the polearms that Ryu was used to.


    Though dual wielding polearm weapons was something never before seen and even endlessly ridiculous to some, there were many historical precedents for single arm wielding polearm weapons. It was just that the other arm would be occupied by what was usually a shield. In fact, it could be said that a spear-shield combo was among the strongest for large armies and provided great balance even to single combat warriors.


    The staff, though, was different. There wasn''t any precedent for wielding it with a single arm. It could be said that the threshold for stability needed by a staff wielder was many orders of magnitude higher because due to its lack of a blade, a lack of accuracy and power was less forgivable.


    This was the reason this game caught Ryu''s attention almost immediately.


    "One credit or a Higher Immortal Qi Stone to participate!"


    The staff wielder that was in charge of the game immediately called out when he saw Ryu stepping forth. Though he didn''t see a staff on Ryu''s back, it wasn''t very uncommon for those who weren''t staff masters to try out their hand at these games.


    The price was actually quite expensive. To make a person pay a Higher Immortal Qi Stone just for a single shot at a game was overkill. But, it was more so an incentive to use the city''s credit system instead. It probably allowed the Armament Guild to make some money on the back end.


    However, Ryu was unconcerned with this. Now that he had gained the Inheritance of two of his Clans, he had more money than he knew what to do with. His current wealth was a lot for an entire Clan and it was more than overkill for a single a person.


    Without much reluctance, he tossed a Qi Stone over.


    ''That reminds me,'' Ailsa mused, ''I should nurture some Qi Pulses¡­''


    Ailsa suddenly remembered that in the past, she had used the Cosmic Qi Stones Ryu gained from Edwin''s corpse to upgrade a Mortal Qi Pulse to Immortal. Even now, those Pulses, both Mortal and Immortal, were still within Hecate''s Immortal Cave, the Death Worm.


    After gaining the wealth of his family, Ryu had more Immortal Caves than he knew what to do with and he had also inherited what felt like countless Cosmic Pulses, let alone Mortal or Immortal Pulses. So, the wealth he had gained previously from the Pedestal Plane felt quite worthless.


    But, having too much wealth was a good thing. Ailsa had several ideas for things she could have never thought to do in the past. Her eyes went bright thinking of formations of Qi Pulses before they glazed over completely.


    Yaana watched on from below the platform, her eyes bright as well, but for completely different reasons.


    Ryu walked to a rack of staffs as the last participant walked down, still feeling somewhat disappointed in herself. She had thought that she would get much further, but she only managed to make it half way through the second section.


    Her attention was caught when she suddenly smelled something quite good and refreshing, only to realize that it was actually a man. But, seeing Ryu looking at the weapon rack to the side, her good impression waned almost immediately.


    Ryu hadn''t really spared the woman a glance. He looked up toward the man manning the game and asked a question that left those who heard it speechless.


    "What would you say makes a good staff?"


    The man was stunned for a moment but he still answered. After all, Ryu had already paid and the question was pretty simple.


    "Flexibility, strength and form retention." The man summarized.


    Ryu nodded, picking up a random staff.


    The young woman frowned seeing Ryu''s casual action and walked off. As for the man, he was a bit conflicted. Ryu didn''t seem very rushed or hurried to do anything, but it would become a problem if he stalled things for too long.


    "About¡ª"


    The man was about to say more when Ryu flicked a finger and sent ten more Qi Stones. His mouth closed several times faster than it had opened. However, this only made the disdain of the woman who had begun to walk away several levels deeper. As for why she was still paying so much attention, who knew. Maybe she really had little else to do. But¡­


    Right then, Ryu''s wrist suddenly flexed.


    It was a subtle motion, but the reaction was anything but. The staff began to bow back and forward so fast that it became nothing more than a brown blur. But, even that only last for a moment before¡­


    SNAP!


    Ryu''s hand reached out with a lightning quickness, catching the broken half of the staff before it flew too far. It was clear that this staff wasn''t capable of withstanding his strength in the slightest.


    The man, who went by the simple name of Surf, stood stunned, blood draining from his face. Had Ryu not reached out like that, his head would have been impaled, he had no doubts in the slightest.


    That was already enough to shock him to no end, but that staff¡­ That was an Earth Grade treasure. How could you break it by flexing your wrist? What was going on right now? Why would such a powerhouse be here?


    Ryu shook head and tossed the staff away, picking out another one. This time, he didn''t test its strength. There was no point. They were all identical, only fluctuating by one or two percentage points here and there.


    As for taking out his Ancestral Grade staff, Ryu didn''t see a point. Ancestral Grade weapons usually came with pseudo sentience of their own. If he really tried to use one without even having an Inheritance, it would just fight back and make his training counterproductive.


    This much was good enough.


    Ryu took hold of the plain brown staff and took a step forward, not even acknowledging the look of shock the young woman had.


    "Good luck!"


    Ryu chuckled slightly, not having to look back to know that it was Yaana. She seemed to be the only one who wasn''t pale in the face at the moment.


    When Ryu came to face the first stage, his smile vanished and his gaze turned cold. He stood in silence for a moment before he moved. One arm wrapped around to his back and the other brandished the staff. In a single smooth motion, he speared the weight before him, balancing it onto the tip of the staff.


    To an outside observe, the staff seemed to be completely straight, but Ryu could tangibly feel it bowing ever so slightly. Every movement of his wrist made it all the more exaggerated. The faster he moved, the more difficult it was to control.


    Ryu''s gaze blazed, waves of an oppressive aura coming off of him. He lowered his strength again and again. Eventually, he was no stronger than the most ordinary Connecting Heaven Realm expert as he exhaled a light breath.


    "Begin." He said lightly.


    Surf quickly composed himself. "Yes, yes. If you can complete the circuit, there is a prize¡ª"


    Surf stopped talking as he felt like he was wasting Ryu''s time. With a flip, the formation mechanism turned on and the platform whirred to life. Everyone was so weighed down that they didn''t even have the presence of mind to commentate of Ryu''s single hand wielding.


    Lights appeared before Ryu in a flicker before setting on a designated arc. The moment they set, they began to dim. Clearly, there was a timer for completion. Once the pattern vanished and you hadn''t completed it, you would lose. If the tip of your staff failed to remain within the pattern once you started, you would also lose.


    The very first pattern had about an inch of play up and down, meaning it was overall two inches thicker than the staff itself. As things progressed, there was no doubt that this width would shrink.


    The moment the pattern appeared, Ryu had already moved.


    His step shot out like a flood dragon, a swirling of wind whistling around it.


    The instant it pierced into the starting point of the pattern, Ryu''s stance shifted and his forearm flexed.


    The staff followed a curve before abruptly snapping downward, the harsh grating sound of wind whipping dancing about the ears of all those present.


    Even to the train eye, Ryu''s execution was perfect. Not only had he completed the pattern, but he had remained in the dead center of its width. It was clear that he didn''t need nearly so much leeway.


    However, Ryu himself frowned even as the second pattern appeared. Something about his actions, despite seeming so perfect, felt off. He was still acting like the staff in his hand was a spear, but it wasn''t. The trouble was that he couldn''t quite grasp what the true difference was¡­

 Chapter 684 Pillars of Light

    Chapter 684 Pillars of Light


    Ryu exhaled a slow breath, but his fluid movements didn''t stop.


    The cognitive dissonance in this mind seemed to only be growing fiercer as his movements became more perfectly timed and accurate. By the end of the first section, he was moving before the pattern even completely formed, reacting instantly to its changes and manipulating his staff accordingly.


    Just like that, the last pattern was complete and the first platform flickered, a ray of light shooting up into the skies.


    BANG!


    Ryu let the weight drop from the end of his staff, shaking his head, unsatisfied. He didn''t seem to care about the rays of light shooting into the skies even those Surf was reacting as though he had seen a ghost.


    "This¡­ You¡­ This¡­"


    The only way to get the platform to react like this was if Ryu was both at or below the Path Extinction Realm, and had defeated the proficiency record of not just this city, but all of them.


    The issue with that was that these proficiency records were also tied to the training rooms in the main Armament Guild. What did this mean? It meant that every Virga Clan genius had just been outclassed by a youth wielding a staff with a single hand.


    "Run the first section again."


    "Huh¡­ What?"


    "I said run the first section again."


    "Ah¡­ Oka¡­ Okay!"


    Surf didn''t know why Ryu would want this instead of moving on, but he had no choice but to oblige. He didn''t really have a choice in the matter. This was clearly a young man he couldn''t afford to offend.


    Down below, Yaana''s expression glowed, gazing toward Ryu''s back with a worshipful look. She almost seemed to want to swallow him whole.


    Ryu shot into action the instant the first section turned on once again. But, his brows were even more tightly furrowed. The more proficient he got, the more foreign the staff in his hand felt. It was almost as though it was fighting back against what he wanted it to do, as though he was pushing it against its nature.


    With Ryu''s pupils, he felt as though he could hear the true will of anything so long as he listened for long enough. The whole world seemed to sing to him, allowing to see hidden sides of itself that it had never shown another.


    For a moment, he forgot about all the pain racking his body, he forgot about the crowd around him, forgot about the blazing light reaching into the skies¡­


    All he saw were the paths of light before him and the staff in his hand.


    A mighty aura suddenly began to emit from the staff. Its normal body, having not a thing special about it, suddenly seem to come alive. It responded to Ryu as though it was one with him, trying to allow him to learn more of its secrets, as though it was begging and pleading that he do so.


    The strongest strike of the spear was [Pierce]. The strongest strike of the glaive was [Sweep]. The strongest strike of the halberd was [Slice].


    All of them relied on the uniqueness of their blades to achieve this effect. But¡­ The staff didn''t have a blade. So what was its strongest strike?


    No, the question itself was more profound than just that. The root of what decided what a powerful strike was with a weapon was its blade. At least, in the context of the spear, glaive and halberd¡­ The unique of their blade is what made their most powerful strikes so powerful.


    But once again¡­ The staff didn''t have a blade. So what was its most powerful strike? What inflicted the most damage.


    The staff in Ryu''s hand began to release a fearsome aura. It gained a violent tendency of its own, whipping and writhing about as though it was truly a living, breathing flood dragon.


    The crowd was left in a daze. Could the staff really be so violent? Why had they never seen any expert release such unbridled rage with one before? Why was it that their blood was running slow even while their hearts were beating fast? Why did it feel as though their feet were nailed with the ground and enveloped by liters of cement?


    Completely against convention, the staff in Ryu''s hand began to bow wildly. It refused to remain straight, bucking and raging about as though it had a mind of its own. And yet, Ryu still completed the first section with ease.


    "Again."


    Another pillar of light shot into the skies.


    "Again."


    Once more, another stream of light split the clouds above.


    "Again."


    The crowd watched with an undisguised numbness as Ryu broke his own record again, again and again. It was as though he didn''t have limits. Every step he took was forward, even a sidewise translation seemed to be beneath him. He only knew how to progress.


    After the seventh time, Ryu finally moved on to the second section, but his performance was even more domineering. He repeated the challenge again and again, without pause. It was clear that he had only left the first section not because he was done with the game or scared to progress, it was rather because it had just become far too ease for him. Progressing in it was meaningless.


    The whipping and raging winds of Ryu''s staff lashed out against the crowd. Surf could no longer reman standing on his platform and was directly flung away. If not for Yaana being kind enough to lend him a helping hand, there was no telling just how far away he would have flown.


    By this point, the young woman who had entered the crowd was stunned speechless. Watching Ryu tear through the sections she hadn''t even been able to reach, eviscerating records, she suddenly felt wholly inadequate.


    Her face blushed with both embarrassment and fear, thinking of the kind of expert she had just judged so blatantly. With how sensitive someone on Ryu''s level was, there was no way he couldn''t tell, he just couldn''t be bothered to deal with her at all. Why would he care what an ant thought about the way he did things? Did he need her permission to do anything?


    "Next section." Ryu said plainly, moving on to the fifth.


    By this point, Ryu''s Connecting Heaven Realm limiter on himself was already reaching its limit. But, he didn''t seem to care. As though reacting to his own weakness, the staff responded in kind, lightening its weight and making itself easier to use.


    Ryu had never felt a weapon respond in this way before. He realized that his Pupils were opening up a whole new world to him, a world that allowed him to truly see into the mysteries of all things¡­


    What was so special about the staff? It was the simplest weapon there was. A stick carved into a perfectly straight, flexible and strong rod. It didn''t have a blade, it seemed as benign as it could be¡­


    But didn''t that also make the answer to what was its most lethal point obvious too?


    The answer was simple: All of it.


    BANG!


    The wind pressure of Ryu''s movements in the ninth section made the entire foundation of the game rock. The building in the surroundings swayed and their glass windows cracked.


    The staff in Ryu''s hand seemed to let out a roar, its brown exterior glowing a blinding golden light as a pillar of light fell from the skies.


    Whether it was the [Pierce], the [Sweep], the [Slice], or any other maneuver, the staff was capable of displaying a primal sort of power. It wasn''t reliant on a blade, it relied on nothing more than your own brutal and brutish strength, the kind of power that could level mountains and crush the earth.


    A blade might sunder the skies, but a staff forced it to collapse, to whine, wane and tremble beneath its strength.


    BANG!


    Even as the pillar of light fell, another rose up. The light of this record was so blinding that it could be seen from the other cities of the Armament Guild. There wasn''t a soul in the city that didn''t look toward it, their gazes filled with awe and curiosity.


    Ryu''s aura soared and broke through several realms. By the time it stopped, it had reached the Monarch Realm, suffocating all those around him.


    Ryu exhaled a light breath, swinging the rod lightly. Even a casual whip caused the wind to whistle and the rod to shimmer with a hidden crimson.


    In a single step, Ryu had crossed the Ruler Realm and entered the Monarch Realm. It felt mind numbingly easy, but simultaneously incomplete. For example, even now, Ryu didn''t have a Birth Phenomena to his back.


    Ryu''s Tatsuya Saintly Weapons had manifested a Birthed Phenomena even at the Heir Realm. To him, it was embarrassing to step into the Monarch Realm and still not have one. But, this was the struggle of building your own legacy.


    ''I guess I like you more than I thought I would.''


    Ryu smiled lightly, looking at the rod in his hand. He felt somewhat fond of it now for some reason.


    At that moment, a commotion took hold of the crowd as several individuals began to push through. It felt like everyone was being violently awakened from a dream they had just been in.


    Below, Yaana couldn''t help but frown, because one of them was the very young man who had caused them trouble at the front gate earlier. He was practically bandaged from head to toe, moving with the help of two men.

 Chapter 685 Poor Guy

    Chapter 685 Poor Guy


    Ryu was already prepared to move to the next city. He hadn''t expected to resonate with the staff so quickly, but ultimately he felt that maybe even he, himself, had underestimated just the kind of prowess was hidden within his Heavenly Pupils.


    The reality of the matter was that Ryu''s pupils had just stepped into the Cosmic Realms. What did this mean? It meant that he had a grasp of a Realm that only those who had stepped into the Cosmic Seed Realm could compare to.


    Having stepped into this level, Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils could now start seeing through mysteries on a Cosmic level, the very same level Sky Gods would.


    Of course, Ryu had yet to reach the level of Sky Gods, but it was only a matter of time. Thanks to the endless resources Ryu had, he could easily unlock several of his Heavenly Pupils Seals in a day. Within a year or two, he would have unlocked all 999 and there would, theoretically, be no mystery he couldn''t see through in the martial world.


    The only reason it would even take so long was because of the level of energy Ryu would have to absorb. Cosmic level qi was still beyond the current Ryu so Ailsa had chosen this incremental approach so that there wouldn''t be any adverse effects, but this much was already extremely fast.


    This was all to say that the Monarch Realm, a level that had once been lofty to Ryu, was worth practically nothing before him.


    To put things into perspective, a genius of the Cosmic Seed Realm would have long since formed a Dominion, an Inheritance level a step above the Monarch Realm. Taking a step back, comprehension was usually as follows¡­


    The Heir Realm was the equivalent of the Awakening and Pulse Opening Realms. The Impose Realm matched with the Qi Refinement and Spiritual Severing Realms. The Ruler Realm, the Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realm. Then, the Monarch Realm coincided with the Immortal Ring and Path Extinction Realm.


    However, because comprehending Inheritances was so difficult, most had comprehension that lagged behind their true cultivation. This was why it took a ''genius'' to have comprehended a Dominion at the Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realms, while only supreme geniuses could comprehend Inheritances a step above their decided level.


    When things were laid out like this, the strength of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils became clear. The Dominion Realm was split between one Immortal and another Cosmic Realm. This was to say that Ryu''s pupils were already well suited to seeing through the mysteries of the most powerful Dominions in existence.


    Understanding this, it became clear that to the current Ryu, the Monarch Realm was like child''s play. In fact, if not for the odd regression of his Inheritances, his strength would have already stepped into an all new level just by virtue of his Heavenly Pupils¡­


    This was the strength of these pair of eyes that so many coveted¡­ As they continued to evolve, they would only grow more powerful¡­


    Now, it was clear that the sudden appearance of these individuals, all of whom were clearly intent on blocking Ryu''s way, was more than just a little nuisance. He was already prepared to move onto the next city now.


    "It''s him! He''s the one!"


    The young man, bandaged head to toe, suddenly began to cough violently in his agitation and almost passed out again. The ones around him immediately became agitated. They had wanted him to stay in bed, but he had insisted on coming out like this. Now he was suffering for it all the more.


    The face of another young man by the bandaged youth''s side darkened.


    "Do¡ªDojo Master Rober!"


    Surf hurriedly gave a greeting to the young man before him. There wasn''t a single Dojo Master of this city that Surf didn''t recognize. He had no choice. After all, if he wanted to progress in his craft, he had to know who to impress and who he couldn''t afford to offend.


    In truth, Surf felt that Ryu most definitely couldn''t be offended either. So, his only real plan was to respectfully greet Rober as a sign of respect then back away before whatever inevitable fireworks that were about to set off, did exactly that.


    Rober nodded faintly, but his gaze had locked onto Ryu. He frowned when he saw the latter''s mask before looking up toward the spiraling lights. His gaze couldn''t help but narrow.


    In truth, though Ryu broke the records, it wasn''t suddenly enough for the Virga Clan to come out on bended knee to beg him to join them. This was just one of the dozens of games the Virga Clan had designed. In addition, it was considered a youth record. So, the weight of it all wasn''t as substantial as it seemed in the greater picture.


    However, to Rober, it was very important because he could be considered to be a ''youth'' in this context. If Ryu was so skilled within their age and cultivation bracket, he would definitely be difficult to deal with. He was just one of the Dojo Masters, it wasn''t like he was an Armament holder. Dojo Masters like him didn''t lose often, but it wasn''t rare either.


    Still, Amery, the bandaged youth, was a member of the Virga Clan. He couldn''t just let this matter slide without reason, it would be detrimental to both his reputation and that of their family''s.


    But, who knew that even before Rober could make a move to speak, Ryu would have already stepped down from the platform and begun walking toward the exit of the city?


    Rober was stunned silent. Was he seeing correctly?


    "Hey!" Rober finally snapped.


    Ryu''s head turned back. "Do you need something? I''m busy."


    Rober''s brow twitched, a vein pulsing along his forehead. He didn''t know who this young man was, but why was it that his every action made a person want to strangle him to death?


    Ailsa nodded with sympathy. ''Poor guy.''

 Chapter 686 Sound Wave

    Chapter 686 Sound Wave


    "You fought in the city?" Rober asked.


    "No." Ryu replied.


    Rober''s brow furrowed. "Are you trying to call him a liar? There are many witnesses to what you did."


    "You call that a fight?" Ryu raised an eyebrow. "I threw a kick and he couldn''t retaliate. Doesn''t a fight assume an exchange of moves?"


    Realizing the game of semantics Ryu was playing, Rober''s jaw clenched. Just a few exchanges in and he suddenly felt infuriated.


    What he didn''t know was that the only reason Ryu was wasting his time talking about because he suddenly found that he missed doing exactly that. There was nothing fun about beating weaklings, so he often artificially lowered his combat strength. At this point, the people before him were only really worth his words.


    Others saw it as him purposely infuriating others, while he just saw it as giving them a handicap.


    "¡­ Are you not aware of the city''s rules?"


    "Oh? Does the Armament Guild not allow the exchange of pointers anymore?" Ryu asked.


    Rober''s lip twitched again. First you said it couldn''t'' be considered a fight, but now it can be considered an exchange of pointers? Did wearing a mask give you extra points of shamelessness?


    Ailsa was having a grand time while Yaana was doing her best to not burst into a fit of laughter. This sort of Ryu, who was slightly less cold and a half more mischievous was truly too much to handle, mostly because the both of them could imagine his very serious expression behind his mask.


    "If the Armament Guild is scared of losing to outsiders, I can just leave. I can already see from just this single game that I played that the Armament Guild really doesn''t have any special talents if I can so casually break your records with a single arm."


    "What did you just say?!"


    Amery had hardly finished speaking when he violently coughed up blood. Ryu''s kick had been no joke. Although he managed to keep his life, several of his bones were broken and his inner organs had suffered a devastating blow. Raging now was the last thing he should be doing.


    Rober''s expression darkened, the staff on his back vibrating.


    "Oh? Would you like to exchange some pointers? Maybe I was wrong about this city after all."


    Ryu turned back. The staff in his hand had turned a deep dark gold, changing from its original brown color to become something entirely different. Ryu had hardly brandished it when a bloodthirsty air pervaded the surroundings.


    When Rober sensed it, his brows furrowed. He had never sensed such an aura from a staff before. In Ryu''s hands, it felt like a wild and untamed beast, ready and willing to pounce on anything at any time. It was nothing like the most powerful staffs he had ever seen, but for some reason, aside from making him greatly uncomfortable, somewhere deep within his heart he also felt greatly inferior.


    Ryu casually raised the staff into the air.


    Rober reacted instantly, his pupils constricting. His staff shot out from his back and into his hands as he took a strong step forward. The booming of his sole hitting the ground caused several cracks to spread in the region, exposing his Path Extinction Realm cultivation for all to see.


    Ryu''s staff slowly descended from the sky. It was so clear and obvious that even a mortal could have tracked its route from start to finish. However, to Rober, it felt as though the staff had already collided with his own and Ryu was just pressing down harder and harder.


    Rober subconsciously took a defensive stance, beads of sweat falling down his brow. The land beneath him trembled and quaked, his knees creaking and his elbows whining beneath the pressure. Blood vessels strained and popped through his body, a flood of blood marring the whites of his eyes.


    And yet, Ryu''s staff was still over a meter away from his own.


    Despair suddenly took hold of his heart and mind, his muscles tearing in small increments and his tendons and ligaments threatening to peel from the bone.


    He couldn''t even be of the mind to register that Ryu had limited himself to the strength of any normal Connecting Heaven Realm expert. All he could feel was the mighty weight of Ryu''s staff as though a demonic mountain was crashing down toward him.


    "Hm?"


    Ryu''s attack suddenly came to a pause, a great deal of the pressure dispersing into the wind. He looked up and away into the distance. His gaze seemed to pierce through the veil, traveling several thousand kilometers and locking eyes onto something the masses would only hear several seconds later.


    Before those few seconds could pass, though¡­


    BANG!


    Ryu suddenly felt a strong force land on his chest. His hair went fluttering about wildly and his clothes threatened to tear apart at the seam. But, when the wind settled down¡­


    Ryu hadn''t moved an inch.


    Looking down at his chest, Ryu found the tip of a staff that had collided with him. On the other end of it, Rober panted heavily, his face drenched with sweat and his hands seeping blood through their cracks as he held onto his staff for all that he was worth.


    Rober didn''t even seem to register that Ryu was unaffected by his blow. He was so happy to have landed something, so stuck in fear by the sheer fragility of his existence, that he took solace in just this smallest success.


    Ryu shook his head. It seemed the Dojo Masters of this place really weren''t worth much. But, this was the kind of experts you would raise when there was an absence of hardship.


    Ryu casually swiped a hand down, batting Rober''s staff away. The moment the latter lost the support of Ryu''s body, he collapsed to the ground, his gaze vacant with ''happiness'' and his body trembling.


    It was right then that it happened. The sound wave finally reached the city.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

 Chapter 687 Silk

    Chapter 687 Silk


    The large crowd around Ryu collapsed to the ground as the shaking shook the very foundations of the city. The only one who seemed to stay upright was Ryu and Yaana who quickly gained the former''s support.


    "Ryu? What''s going on?"


    Yaana''s voice drifted to Ryu''s ears, snapping his attention back to the city itself.


    "¡­ A battle." Ryu finally responded.


    It wasn''t just any normal battle, Ryu was certain that it was a clash of Cosmic Seed Realm Armaments. In fact, the reason he reacted this way to begin with was because he recognized Sabelle even if he didn''t recognize the person she was currently in battle with.


    What was clear, though, was that the both of them wielded sabers. It seemed that this might very well be someone who had come to challenge for the position of Armament wielder. The question was, though¡­ Was this a person from the Scire Clan or not?


    It was quite interesting, indeed. Fate liked to play its tricks. Ryu had been certain that the first instance of a Armament Guild family being challenged for their position would find him on the other side of things. To think that he would actually be in a position where he wanted one of the nine families to keep their position.


    ''It doesn''t seem like she will lose, though, so it''s not much of a problem. But, it also doesn''t look like the enemy is trying to win, either. So, is this a probe? Are they testing Sabelle''s bottom line to see if they have a chance at usurping her?''


    Despite his cultivation being far lower than theirs, Ryu''s gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything. It was just a different matter entirely when it came to whether or not his body could keep up.


    Even now, while they were in the heat of battle, he could see through their intentions and the depths of their strengths quite easily. He could tell that if things continued like this, Sabelle would most definitely win. But, he could also read that the intention of her opponent wasn''t to change this outcome.


    At that moment, yet another battle erupted, almost catching Ryu, who had been focused on Sabelle, of guard once again.


    It was yet another individual that Ryu recognized, Eustis of the Virga Clan. When Ryu laid eyes on the clothing of the individual battling against him, though, his expression went from indifferent to as cold as ice.


    Compared to Sabelle''s opponent whose style of dress didn''t seem very special at all, Eustis'' opponent wore clothing of embroidered delicate browns, non-oppressive golds and creamy whites. Everything about his clothing exuded an aura of peacefulness and nothing was too grating on the eye.


    Despite the beautiful design of the clothing, it also didn''t go overboard. There was something that seemed decidedly minimalistic about their appearance. But¡­


    It was all a bullshit fa?ade.


    ''Feather Touch Silk, ten Peak Cosmic Qi Stones per gram. Evanescence Silk, fifty Peak Cosmic Qi Stones per gram. Ghost Thread Silk, 250 Peak Cosmic Qi Stones per gram¡­ I''ve never seen such a waste of money on clothing that serves no other purpose than to look good.''


    Whether it was Feather Touch, Evanescence, or Ghost Thread, each of these kinds of silk were known for the quality and beauty, not to mention the softness of their touch, but they had no other intrinsic properties. Compared to other combat ready silks, they were very weak. Their only redeeming quality was the fact that they were rare¡­ That''s it.


    However, the fact that they were rare also came with its own host of reasons. Namely, the Silkworms that produced these silks were all endangered species. Not only were the endangered, but these were usually powerful Silkworms.


    If they were powerful, how could their silk be so weak? The answer to that is that these very specific types of Silk can only be produced when a female Silkworm is with child. Having diverted all her strength to her offspring, her silk didn''t have the strong, intrinsic properties it would usually have, thus resulting in such delicate constructs.


    By now, the issue was obvious. Forcing a weak and pregnant silkworm to produce silk was the pinnacle of cruelty. Usually due to the diversion of energy, the silkworm fetus wouldn''t make it to the end of term. And, to make matters worse, it wasn''t very rare for the mother herself to die as well.


    Ryu wasn''t the kind of man who felt sentimental about such things. He had turned a blind eye to things that could be considered far worse than this. In fact, there were probably certain practices of his own Tatsuya Clan that may have been even crueler to certain beast species.


    However, what was making Ryu''s stomach churn with disgust right now wasn''t the harming of the silkworms themselves, but rather what those robes represented to begin with.


    Wielding that golden staff and exchanging blows with a smile on his face, this was a young man of the Temporal Buddha Sect. Their teachings were meant to emphasize kindness, magnanimity, selflessness and modesty¡­


    And yet what the hell was this supposed to be?


    Ryu didn''t even know the young man but he wanted to feel the latter''s nose warp beneath his fist. Cutting him up with a blade just didn''t seem appealing enough.


    Ryu suddenly looked down at the staff in his hand, realizing that he was liking it more and more. Wasn''t the perfect cross between his fist and a blade this staff? Feeling the satisfying crunch of bone beneath his staff sounded quite appealing to him as well.


    Of course, this wasn''t he only reason Ryu was pissed.


    The Temporal Buddha Sect was none other than one of the reclusive powers who didn''t participate in worldly struggles. And yet, they had appeared here to battle for a seat in the Armament Guild? Didn''t that make their stance clear?


    These cowards, much like the Faeries¡­ No, even worse than the Faeries, had spent all this time with their tail tucked between their legs, only to make their presence known now.


    If he didn''t send them home coughing up blood, his name wouldn''t'' be Ryu Tatsuya.

 Chapter 688 Three Seconds

    Chapter 688 Three Seconds


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    In that moment, the battle of four became a battle of six. This time, Ryu had expected exactly this and wasn''t caught off guard in the slightest. It was no surprise that the third target was the Spear, Godefride. However, what was different about this battle was that if Ryu was correct, Godefride was actually fighting a member of his own Hastam Clan.


    ''This matter is more complex than it seems¡­ But it''s also not a bad opportunity.''


    Currently, Ryu wasn''t in any shape to enter a battle of this scale, under normal circumstances, anyway. Setting aside the fact that Ryu was currently heavily injured, even if he wasn''t, the cultivation of these six was still far beyond him.


    The Cosmic Seed Realm was no joke and Ryu still wasn''t prepared to say that he was undefeatable within the Dao Pedestal Realm. There were definitely plenty of Higher and Peak Dao Pedestal Realm experts that could defeat Ryu with quite some ease. And, though they were extremely rare, Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if there were a few Lower and Middle Dao Pedestal Realm experts who could accomplish the same feat.


    However, Armament fights were a bit different. Cultivation was restricted to the same level and winners and losers relied entirely on the comprehension one had toward their weapon.


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t quite in a position to take advantage of this either. After all, his Great Swordstaff Inheritance was faulty and his Staff Inheritance not only lacked a Birthed Phenomena, it was only at the Monarch Realm. But, clearly Ryu wasn''t fazed by any of this.


    "Let''s go enjoy the spectacle."


    Ryu grabbed onto Yaana''s hand, catching her off guard for a bit. But, she gleefully followed as they rose into the skies. Rober, who was still on the ground, made a weak attempt to speak of the rules, but he passed out once again soon after, unable to even hold his head high like he once could.


    "Halt!"


    Ryu''s arm casually waved to the side, not even casting a glance at the individual who spoke.


    Shaken to his core, the man who had risen into the skies as well had a change in expression. An invisible pressure crashed into him, sending him tumbling for several dozen kilometers.


    By the time he came to a stop his arms were trembling and his forearm was cracked in several places. Even the staff in his hand was threatening to crumble to ash, its body barely holding beneath the violent fluctuations of qi.


    Those who saw the exchange were stunned into silence, not just because of Ryu''s strike, but because of exactly who it had been levied at and what the result was¡­


    This man was none other than one of the Path Extinction Realm Armament Wielders of the lower cities, and yet he hadn''t even lasted a single exchange. Unfortunately, by the time he stabilized himself and his arms stopped trembling, Ryu had already vanished into the expansive starry sky with Yaana by his side.


    ¡­


    Ryu wasn''t surprised to find that there were many in the skies attempting to get a glimpse of the battle as well. But, all those who could even think of doing such a thing were experts I their own rights.


    Just the wind pressure of their strikes from thousands of miles away had knocked an entire city of people to the ground just moments ago. It was clear that if you were in the skies now, you were a powerhouse. And yet¡­


    "All of you stay back. I''ve already said so multiple time already. If you''d like to make yourself an enemy of the Armament Guild, feel free to test my bottom line."


    The brows of several in the crowd furrowed.


    "What''s the meaning of this?! Isn''t this an Armament challenge?! Hasn''t the Armament Guild always allowed spectators?"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. The indignance of this spectator was a bit overboard, but they weren''t incorrect either. The Armament Guild had always been transparent with their challenges and had never done something like barring others from witnessing it. It smelt fishy.


    The truth of the matter was that Guilds and the public often worked on a sort of symbiotic relationship. The Mercenary Guild helped the public to complete missions for a fee. The Necromancy Guild were the first line of defense against the Nether Realm. Ever since the last invasion, they had been the gatekeepers and gained the goodwill of the public in many ways as a result.


    Then there was the Armament Guild. They were the largest arms dealer of the martial world. In fact, their services went even beyond this. Why else would even Ryu have had a bank account with them?


    By virtue of the fact they were Guilds, the Armament Guild and the others owed the public a certain level of transparency, transparency they very clearly weren''t receiving right this moment. It only made it worse that the attitude of the those heading the blockade was also terrible¡­


    "Because I fucking said so. Do you have a screw loose? Do you need me to tighten it for you?!"


    The head of the barricade sneered. He had a scar running down his face and a glaive strapped to his back. Judging by his attire, he was indeed an official member of the Armament Guild and was even a member of the Glaive family, the Gladio Clan. They were known for being particularly barbaric.


    This man weighed down on the crowd with his Dao Pedestal Realm cultivation, his scar seeming to light up as his qi pulsed about.


    He was having a great time soaking in his power, relishing in the rage of the crowd, when he suddenly found that there was actually someone¡­ No, two persons that actually still dared to step forward.


    One was a tall man with a broad back and wide shoulders. He wore a mask, so it was impossible to see his features, but his hair danced about wildly, leaving streaks of beautiful white in the air.


    The other was a dainty beauty wearing a fluttering black dress and veil.


    "Who the fuck do you¡ª?!"


    "Piss off, I''ll give you three seconds. If you don''t move in that time, I''ll drag you to the Gladio City and make sure to tell your Armament wielder that you''re the reason they''re losing their seat."

 Chapter 689 Mischievous

    Chapter 689 Mischievous


    Teebald was completely caught off guard. He had just been flying high for one moment, only to find himself at the other end of a person''s scorn in the next.


    After an instant of being shocked, Teebald immediately felt his fury light.


    "What the fuck did you just say to me?!"


    ''Hey Ailsa.''


    Ailsa, who had been lounging lazily just a moment ago suddenly perked up, her gaze lighting with excitement. She had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a very long time.


    In a lot of ways, Ailsa and Ryu were really too similar. The truth was just that if it wasn''t for Ryu''s life experiences, they might have been indistinguishable from one another aside from their gender.


    The both of them were mischievous and thrived off trouble. Both were supremely prideful. Both were duty bound. Both of them had mouths too smart for their own good. And¡­ The both of them got bored of sitting on the sidelines for too long.


    At that moment, the aura around Ryu completely shifted, causing Teebald to be taken off guard. His expression warped, the scent of death suddenly breaching his senses and filling his nose. The assault was so sudden that his features had paled considerably before he could truly register what was happening.


    Right then, Ryu, who seemed to have had just one person by his side gained another.


    A beauty wearing a fluttering white dress appeared. However, she was no taller than the length of a single hand. Even then, with the sharp gazes of the cultivators standing around, not a single one of them could stop looking toward her ravishing beauty. It was as though they had all suddenly been enraptured by a dream¡­ one they had no willingness to rise from.


    "F¡­ Fae¡­ Faerie¡­"


    It was hard to tell who had spoken these words first, but it immediately clicked for those all around the instant it reached their ears. The Faerie race was the only one that could exude such an ethereal and untouchable aura. It felt as though they were all in the presence of a Goddess. However, what happened next made them question whether she was truly a Goddess¡­ Or a Demoness.


    With a devious smile, Ailsa waved her hand, a strong surge of death qi erupting around her like a volcano.


    A pillar of black rose into the depths of the starry skies'' endless reaches. However, even with their sharp gazes, it was simply impossible to see the edge of this pillar.


    Ryu''s lip twitched. Even he felt that Ailsa was going a bit overboard. But, it was rare that she got to do something like this. All this time she could just obediently sit on Ryu''s shoulders and watch on as he got all the fights. But, the reality was that Ailsa had hobbies of her own as well, it was just that when she melded her soul with Ryu''s, they had fallen to the background.


    Now that her seal was broken, she finally got a chance to unleash. Since that was the case, he didn''t protest even as his forehead began to glow with a golden-red crown.


    In that moment, the pillar split, an enormous magic formation being painted above. Ancient runes, complex laws, and dense Primordial Chaos Death Qi rose up, suffocating the surroundings with an oppression that rivaled even the three battles occurring in the distance. In fact, to some, it felt like it had long since surpassed it.


    Teebald''s expression had turned white as a sheet of paper. The only color remaining on his face was the ugly scar still pulsing down his eye and cheek. Never did he think that he would run into such a thing today. He had been on such a high horse previously, only to come crashing down like this.


    He could immediately tell the kind of predicament he had gotten himself into¡­


    "¡­ Quibus ¡­ Quibus Faerie¡­"


    Ailsa cackled like a maniac, having way too much fun. But, all anyone else could see was the elegant curve of a young woman''s cherry lips. She was simply too good at hiding her degeneracy.


    At that moment, a large formation of clouds formed, streaks of lightning striking about. But, just as soon as they formed, there was an enormous booming sound that shook the surroundings. The roar of a wild beast caused space to ripple as an enormous leg tore through the void, stamping down with a force capable of trampling mountains to ash.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed before a smile curled his lips.


    BANG!


    The enormous foot stamped down, causing shards of space to ripple into the surroundings. The large crowd shot backward, none of them willing to get involved in the commotion. Just being too close could cost them their lives.


    Before the creature even fully appeared, Teebald was pressed down to his knees before his face was forced down, pressing into the hovering formation that made up the barricade stopping anyone from advancing.


    That was when the rest of the creature''s body manifested itself.


    Despite the enormous size of its legs, they were actually the smallest part of it. The creature was humanoid and had two short stumpy legs leading up to a torn loin cloth that barely kept its decency. It had a large beer belly as solid as a wall of muscles and a chest of rippling pecks.


    Over its shoulder, it held a club double the size of its already enormous 20 meter tall body. From head to toe, it was covered in a pale blue skin that sometimes wafted a cold, blue fog and sometimes rippled as blood rushed beneath its veins.


    It fell out from the clouds, its squarish face marked with a rotating formation upon its forehead came into view. Just the thumping of its heart made one feel the need to cover their ears, the power of its body existing on a plane all to itself.


    When those around laid eyes on it, their hearts ironically stopped beating all together.


    A Frost Thunder Giant. A Ninth Order Demon Duke had actually appeared here.

 Chapter 690 Demon Duke

    Chapter 690 Demon Duke


    Ailsa clapped with glee, clearly happy with her handiwork. Not only were Frost Thunder Giants Demon Dukes, but they also happened to be extraordinarily powerful even among Demons of their rank. For her first summon, it really wasn''t a bad pull at all.


    Quibus Faeries had far more leeway when it came to random summons. They could even direct their choices to a certain extent. Ailsa wanted to summon a Demon compatible with Ryu, and she had landed on a jackpot. Not only would this Frost Thunder Giant be powerful in battle, afterwards, should it not be good enough to become part of Ryu''s permanent lineup, its flesh and blood were incredibly valuable resources.


    As expected, the instant the Frost Thunder Giant appeared, it roared with rage, turning its gaze toward Ryu and Ailsa to swallow them whole. It was a noble Demon Duke, to have been pulled to this world as a random summon was nothing short of extraordinarily humiliating for it. However, neither Ryu nor Ailsa seemed quite fazed in the slightest.


    Ailsa''s hair fluttered and the shimmering red gold crown beneath Ryu''s mask grew in brightness. Before the Frost Thunder Giant could react, it found its forehead frozen in place. The formation that held its Innate Inheritances was suddenly pierced by a light, causing its individual thoughts to suddenly dull.


    In one moment, it had all the pride in the world, and in the next, its only thoughts were actions commanded to it by Ailsa and Ryu.


    Those watching couldn''t help but be stunned. This wasn''t because the two had managed to subdue the Frost Thunder Giant, this much was already expected. Who would be stupid enough to do something beyond their means in battle? Wouldn''t that just be asking for death?


    No, what shocked them was the fact that Ailsa and Ryu had to subdue it at all. By virtue of the fact they had to do so, it meant that it was a random summon. Usually, random summons were something Summoning Necromancers only used when they were trying their luck to find and contract random summons, or when they weren''t going all out.


    The fact that this was a battle, it was more likely to be the second. That meant that Ailsa and Ryu were capable of casually summoning a Demon Duke¡­ Not just any Demon Duke, but one of the Ninth Order¡­


    What the hell was going on here?!


    Everyone seemed to be expressed except for Ailsa herself. After recovering from her initial glee, she couldn''t help but be disappointed.


    ''Humph, clearly I held back too much. This thing is just of the Ninth Order, how weak.''


    Ryu smiled toward Ailsa''s little tantrum. Though he had thought she went too far before, he knew that she was acting within her means.


    During the few months of training they had in the lead up to the banquet, the two hadn''t really spent much time talking about Ailsa''s new Quibus Faerie status. But, this was only because the both of them subconsciously knew that there wasn''t much of a point.


    With their level of talent in the field, there was no better choice than to find out their limits in real time.


    With a wave of his hand, a steed covered from head to toe in steely silver armor appeared. Nemesis''s nostrils billowed with sparking flames, his neigh shaking the skies.


    Ryu lightly hopped onto Nemesis'' back, reaching down and pulling Yaana along with him.


    Yaana blushed as she sat between Ryu''s legs, but she quickly sank into the feeling of comfort. Ryu''s chest was so wide and firm that it felt like she was leaning upon the most comfortable chair in the world, her small frame getting lost in his embrace.


    ''Forward!''


    Ailsa shouted out toward the Frost Thunder Giant. It was almost as though she was eager to watch it battle to its last breath just so that she could summon another.


    The toll of summoning a Demon Duke hardly cost a thing between Ailsa''s World Sea Realm soul and Ryu''s Indestructible Soul and Primordial Chaos Death Qi. Even summoning a dozen Frost Thunder Giants wouldn''t be a problem.


    The warriors who had just been standing proudly upon the barricade suddenly scattered as the Frost Thunder Giant''s club swept down toward them. The rumbling of air and a frigid wind followed it, making the spines of all those who witnessed it tingle with fear.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The boundaries imploded before the club even connected, the unique qi of the Frost Thunder Giant shining through with peak levels of destruction.


    Nemesis stepped into the skies, following alongside the Frost Thunder Giant and remaining level with the latter''s shoulder.


    Behind Ryu, the crowd exchanged glances before they all surged forward at once. It wasn''t them who broke the barricade, so it wasn''t as though they could be punished, right? Plus, even if the Armament Guild did want to find fault with them, it wasn''t as though they could punish them all.


    Which of them wasn''t a powerful expert? Among them, there were plenty from powerful backgrounds, Clans and Sects.


    Thinking to this point, they all surged after Ryu.


    At that point, a chain of flames lashed out, catching the crowd off guard. But, they all sighed a breath of relief when they found that it wasn''t aimed toward them but rather aimed toward Teebald who had been flung off into the distance.


    Many watched on in pity as Teebald was dragged along by Ryu, streaking through the skies in one of the most humiliating ways possible.


    "Dammit, we need to report this."


    Watching on as the crowd surged forward, those that had been tasked with guarding this location were flustered. Without a choice, they could only report this upward.


    ¡­


    The roar of the Frost Thunder Giant shook the starry skies, barrier after barrier falling before it.


    By this point, many had been alerted, including the six fighting youths. But, the truth of the matter was that this battle was supremely important, how could there not be several World Sea Realm experts watching on?


    "¡­ This brat¡­"


    Godefride''s father, Aberardus, watched on speechlessly. Wasn''t this kid too good at causing trouble?

 Chapter 691 Birthed

    Chapter 691 Birthed


    Nemesis'' proudly held up his neck, his body brimming with vitality.


    After several months of receiving Ailsa''s nourishment, whether it was him, Little Rock or Little Gem, all of them had undergone great changes.


    It was no surprise. As Heavens favored, beasts were treated as such. So long as they had resources, they could progress endlessly so long as they had comparable talent as a foundation. Simply by virtue of his Ancestral Grade Talent, Nemesis wouldn''t face any large hurdles all the way up to the Eleventh Order. Only when trying to break into the Twelfth would he potentially run into any issues.


    The reason why other beasts couldn''t progress so quickly was because none of them had the impossibly vast wealth Ryu did, nor did they have the guidance of a Cultus Faerie.


    By now, Nemesis had already entered the Eighth Order and was already on the verge of entering the Ninth. If it wasn''t for fear of the backlash of his Sin Talent, he would have already entered the Ninth and progressed toward the Tenth.


    However, under normal circumstances, an Eighth Order beast would have long since dwarfed the Frost Thunder Giant in size. By all rights, Nemesis should be pushing hundreds of meters already. But, with all that strength concentrated into the size of a normal horse, the combat prowess Nemesis and Little Rock could display was likely only shy of the likes of Ryu and Sarriel.


    Like this, even following by the side of a Ninth Order Demon Duke, Nemesis'' aura didn''t lose out in the slightest, his braying breath causing space to quake.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu had entered the range of the battle.


    By this point, Godefride''s father was almost certain that this masked boy was Ryu. Or, at the very least, he was 90% sure. One part of his reasoning was Ryu''s white hair, and the other was the steed he was riding.


    It had to be remembered that the first time the father-son pair met Ryu was in the Inner Ring of the Pedestal Plane. That was the exact location Ryu had first met Nemesis, so the two of them were quite aware of what had happened back then.


    Though Nemesis had changed greatly, it was still possible to see the fiery crimson coat between the steel plates that grew from his body. That coupled with Ryu''s brazenness and Aberardus truly felt that there was no second person who could possibly be as daring as Ryu.


    When he reached this conclusion, his speechless expression couldn''t help but spread into a wide grin. This sort of wild, rule breaking was exactly what their Armament Guild needed.


    Throughout legend, there were all sorts of stories about the unfettered swordsman, traveling through the land with nothing but his blade in hand. As far as Aberardus was concerned, the sword had become the ''king'' of weapons simply because their wielders were better at propaganda than everyone else. So, it was safe to say that he didn''t take these legends too seriously.


    However, there was a portion of it that did resonate with the old man.


    The Birthed Phenomena. It wasn''t like the blessing of the Ancestral Beast or the gifts of the Fey and Faeries. The Birthed Phenomena was something the human race had forced into being for the sake of survival, it was they who created and forged weapons, creating an all new cultivation paths just so that they could grasp power in their own hands.


    This was exactly where the root of the word Birthed came from. Depending on the ancient language you were referring to, it could cover a scope of expressions from ''breathe life into'' to ''splitting from authority'' and all the way up to ''laying a foundation''.


    That was what it meant to be a weapon wielder. You were inherently carving your own path, inherently breathing life into your own dreams, inherently fighting against the Heavens and the plans it had laid out for you.


    This was the backbone the Armament Guild had been built from. And yet, in all these years they had sat at the top, this fundamental truth had been forgotten. His wife had lost her life, him and his son had been chased away, and the Guild he had given his life to fell into depravity and corruption.


    Unfortunately, he was too old and didn''t wield nearly enough power. His son, Sabelle and Eustis were too young and their blades weren''t nearly sharp enough.


    However, Ryu¡­


    Ever since Aberardus had met him, he liked this young man. If he could have swapped out Ryu and his foolish, useless son, he would have done so in a heartbeat. This sort of wild, untamable nature he exuded¡­ He saw reflections of the man he could have become had he not allowed himself to be shackled by convention and politics¡­


    Aberardus'' expression brightened. He could almost feel the tides of the future shifting right before him.


    In that moment, the roar of the Frost Thunder Giant rang throughout the battlefield. Godefride, Sabelle and Eustis, who had been focusing on their battles, looked pleasantly surprised when they noticed a crowd of people slowly approaching.


    Their opponents, however, had a vastly different reaction, their expressions instantly coating in frowns. What the hell was going on? Was the Armament Guild so incompetent that they couldn''t even hold down a line for a few minutes? Their battle had just started.


    What the three didn''t know was that it wasn''t that the Armament Guild was incompetent, but rather than Ryu was simply too brazen. Who other than him would purposely slap the Armament Guild in the face like this? Maybe the most brazen part was that Ryu didn''t necessarily stand on the moral high ground either. After all, it was the right of the Armament Guild to do as they pleased with their territory.


    However, he simply didn''t care.


    He had just battled the Heavens and slapped the faces of the Martial Gods for the whole of the martial world to see. At this point, the Armament Guild felt more like a side quest to him.

 Chapter 692 Questions

    Chapter 692 Questions


    The three combatants opposing Godefride, Sabelle and Eustis came to an awkward stop, causing the booming sounds of battle to stop as well. This wasn''t part of the plan so they weren''t sure of how to take any steps forward for now.


    Right then, before the scene could fall into true silence, Ryu''s wrist flicked and Teebald, the member of the Gladio family, came flying forward, only to be dangle from Ryu''s flame chain once again.


    The sudden action seemed to shock him awake and he screamed out, only to realize just how many people were around him. He had never felt so humiliated in his life.


    Above the battlefield, the nine Cosmic Seed Armament Cities and the Armament Guild''s main City hung above, giving the odd atmosphere quite the picturesque backdrop. However, Ryu didn''t seem intent on letting things slide like this.


    "Well? Don''t stop on account of us. We came to spectate. Why would you stop battling now?"


    Godefride immediately recognized Ryu''s voice and his lip twitched. But, it was only for a moment before its pitch subtly changed. It made one think that the first was almost an illusion.


    Of the three, the one who seemed to be the most livid was the man across from Godefride. But, this was in line with Ryu''s previous deductions as well.


    Sabelle was fighting an unknown man clothed in black that was quite like Ryu''s own style, while Eustis was fighting the Temporal Buddha Sect monk. However, it was clear that neither of them was very intertwined with the Armament Guild, or at the very least, this relationship was still somewhat fresh.


    However, Godefride was fighting a member of his own Hastam Clan. It seemed that this individual was far more invested in this plan working out.


    While on the surface it looked as though three families were fighting against the status quo of the Armament Guild, in practice it was more like two and half. The Hastam Clan was divided and clearly undergoing terrible internal struggles, or how else would the father-son pair have been kicked away?


    It was just unfortunate that the two of them had come back after Godefride was powerful enough to snatch the Cosmic Seed Armament for himself, so now that members of the Hastam Clan who had gotten used to their new power, suddenly found themselves profoundly suppressed once more.


    Just by observing these dynamics, Ryu was able to tell many things, the most important of which was that the Armament Guild was still bound to follow its own rules. Whether or not this would last was a different matter entirely, but the fact that they were going so far to do things this way most definitely mean that they were being restrained.


    "Who the hell are you?!"


    Ramir immediately lost his temper. Today was meant to be the day that his branch of the Hastam Clan could regain their power, but how could they have ever guessed that things would actually end up going this way?


    Ryu blinked as though he was confused. "Didn''t you just hear me? I''m a spectator." New novel chapters are published on Freewebn?vel.c?m.


    Yaana snorted in a failed attempt to hold back her laughter. Unable to stop her giggles, she turned and buried her head into Ryu''s arm.


    She didn''t seem to be the only one unable to hold back as many in the crowd were much less reserved. Since they could already tell that much of the ire would be turned toward Ryu, why not enjoy themselves while they were here?


    Ramir''s expression darkened, his gaze becoming eerily calm. He was still an expert of his own right, it would take more than a few words to make him lose his cool entirely. If it wasn''t for the fact so much was on the line to begin with, he wouldn''t'' have been so rash with his word choice.


    "Which power''s young master is so brazen as to interfere in the matters of the Armament Guild? Do you think that we were all blind to what you''ve done to our men and our barricades?"


    "Is this big guy not big enough for you? Which power do you think I come from?"


    Ramir''s gaze narrowed as his gaze landed on the Frost Thunder Giant. Even though it was only of the Ninth Order, even he as a Cosmic Seed Realm expert felt great pressure from it. This was simply the power of a Demon Duke''s Bloodline.


    If a Demon Duke was compared to a Human''s talent, they would be a Sovereign Great Circle Talent at the worst and approaching a normal Ancestral Grade Talent at the best. And since the Frost Thunder Giant was among the best of them, this spoke for itself.


    [Author''s Note: Just like Ancestral Great Circle, Sovereign Great Circle means Sovereign Grade Talent in all four pillars: Bloodline, Meridians, Bone Structure and Spiritual Foundation]


    The fact that this was the case spoke volumes for what one might expect from a Demon Prince or a Demon King. Even the worst of the Demon Nobles would dwarf and Earth Grade talent. This was how powerful these existences were.


    Though Ramir was a talent himself, he didn''t even have a Heaven Great Circle, he only had a partial Heaven Great Circle as he had three Heaven Grade Talents and one Earth Grade Talent. Compared to the Frost Thunder Giant, he was far inferior.


    Normally, he was very proud about this fact. The formation of a Great Circle was already the pinnacle of talent. Usually, even having just one or two talents made you a great genius, very rarely one some have all four. His Great Circle Talent was better than many who only had one or two Sovereign Grade Talents. And yet, it hardly seemed to matter here.


    But, this wasn''t the key¡­ The key was that anyone who could summon a Demon of any kind to do their bidding was without a double a treasured talent of the Necromancy Guild. The fact that Ryu was wearing a mask, even if it wasn''t the standard mask of a Necromancer, also spoke volumes.


    This situation seemed to get more complicated. And, it only got worse when Ryu opened his mouth again.


    "Since you''ve asked so many questions, I guess you won''t mind if I ask a few too, right? Why is it that you''ve set up barricades? The Armament Guild never had such a practice before¡­


    "No, actually, don''t answer that. I''m more interested in knowing something else.


    "As far as I know, The Spear, Godefride, only recently claimed his Armament. In fact, I believe the previous Spear had held the positions for tens of millions of years, correct? It should be obvious that his skill is far beyond yours, so why are you fighting, exactly?"


    Ramir''s gaze flickered with killing intent.

 Chapter 693 void Fairy

    Chapter 693 void Fairy


    Ryu blinked at this reaction as though he was shocked and confused by it. If Ailsa and Yaana didn''t know better, they''d really think that he was just an innocent bystander asking questions that were just as innocent. However, it was simply too clear to them that Ryu was only here to stir trouble and his question was anything but that.


    Not only did Ryu expose the scars of Ramir''s branch of the Hastam family, he essentially slapped Ramir''s face. If his question was rephrased in the crudest fashion possible, it would read: ''You aren''t powerful enough to win anyway, so why are you wasting everyone''s time?''


    Maybe in another type of society, Ramir''s guts would be praised. After all, wasn''t there something to be said for ''trying''?


    Unfortunately, this was the martial world. One didn''t get extra credit for their grit and determination. People would be quicker to sneer at someone for overestimating themselves than they ever would be to praise someone for trying hard. In a world of hierarchies, its parameters would be strictly enforced especially by those of the lowest rung.


    To these people of the ''lowest rung'', they felt that since they weren''t good enough to rise up, who were you to even try to do better for yourself?


    This was the disgusting truth of the world. But, Ryu wasn''t the type of person who got hung up on morality or the thoughts of other people. Since this vice of society was beneficial to him now, he would use it, just like he didn''t blink and eye when those young teens died as a direct result of his actions just days ago.


    Seeing that Ramir didn''t have an immediate answer for Ryu, his partners in crime had no choice but to take action themselves.


    "It seems that there''s been a small misunderstanding." The youth of the Temporal Buddha Sect stepped forward with a light smile. Just by his demeanor alone, it felt almost impossible for one to hate him. But, before he could speak, Ryu had already cut him off.


    "Hm? You''re speaking up for him? That''s kind of odd¡­ Now that I think about it, in the history of the Armament Guild, has there ever been three simultaneous challenges like this? I think this is the first time I''ve ever heard of such a thing happening."


    Ryu''s words seemed to alert the crowd to the oddity as well. This was indeed not normal.


    Just a normal challenge was shocking enough. After all, one had to defeat a certain number of Dojo Masters before even gaining the right to levy such a challenge. If just anyone could challenge the Armament Wielder, there would definitely be a great problem. It wasn''t a surprise for several million years to pass between challenges.


    Of course, challenges were more frequent for lower level Armaments. But, this was clearly a different league entirely.


    Tael, the Temporal Buddha Sect youth, realized at that moment that maybe he had been too rash in speaking. However, he was very much used to people giving him leeway because of his strength and his status. Plus, with the doctrines of the Temporal Buddha Sect, such petty arguments were considered sinful. It simply wasn''t a skill he had ever had to hone.


    Now faced with Ryu who clearly didn''t have a care in the world about who he was or wasn''t offending, they were all at a loss on how to respond.


    "So the Necromancy Guild is intent of involving themselves in the Armament Guild''s matters?" Ramir asked coldly.


    "Involving?" Ryu was shocked. "Yaana, am I speaking a foreign language."


    Yaana, who hadn''t expected to get brought up in this matter, was immediately flustered. She had been trying to hold back her laughter before, but with Ryu''s sudden involvement of her, she couldn''t hold it back anymore and her bell-like giggles warmed the atmosphere.


    However, Ramir reacted very differently to this.


    "Yaana? The Void Fairy Yaana?"


    Ramir''s expression turned ugly. If before he had thought that Ryu might have potentially been using the Necromancy Guild as a shield while in truth having no affiliation with them, he was now convinced that Ryu had to be a among their hidden geniuses.


    Ramir wasn''t a fool. For Ryu to so blatantly imply that he was a member of the Necromancy Guild made him think that there was something fishy going on. Ryu simply didn''t match anyone in the Necromancy Guild he could think of. There were only a handful of Necromancers with Quibus Faeries to begin with and they were all famous across the martial world. By all rights, they should be easily recognizable.


    However, Yaana was a different matter entirely. She was, most definitely, recognizable. Ramir had been so pissed off by Ryu that he hadn''t even noticed Yaana who was sharing a horse with him.


    Yaana had only been with the Necromancy Guild for a short time relative to how most cultivators conceived it, she was especially weak in the grand scheme of things, but none of this changed just how famous she was.


    "Oh? It seems like you''re famous, Yaana." Ryu laughed lightly. In return, he received and embarrassed pinch and Yaana trying to find a hole to bury herself in.


    Still, Ryu was a bit surprised by this as well. A Cosmic Seed Realm expert knowing about an Immortal Ring Realm expert, and even calling her by such a title¡­ it was quite rare indeed. To most Cosmic Seed Realm experts, Immortal Ring cultivators were like toddlers. It was baffling that Yaana would be so famous.


    Though, if Ryu knew who Yaana''s master was, something she had neglected to mention, it would have been a different matter entirely. That was only proved more so by just how ugly Ramir''s expression was getting, because while Ryu was unaware, he was most definitely aware.


    "Miss Yaana, might I ask who this person is?"


    Ramir thought that since Yaana''s identity had been exposed, it could at least become a point of small weakness for him to latch onto. After all, even though he personally feared Yaana''s backing, that didn''t mean the Armament Guild was scared of this person.


    Ryu had a cheeky response prepared, but he didn''t expect the shy Yaana to suddenly respond at the top of her lungs first.


    "My boyfriend!"

 Chapter 694 Mentally Deranged

    Chapter 694 Mentally Deranged


    Ryu almost choked on air. Was this what it felt like to be sexually harassed?


    It wasn''t just Ryu who was speechless, Ramir and those who recognized the title of Void Fairy were most definitely stunned as well. The only one who seemed to have expected this and was having the time of her life was Ailsa, if it wasn''t for her cultivation she would have fallen off of Ryu''s shoulder several times already. She was practically wheezing in her air at this point.


    By this point, Ryu realized that there was only one explanation for all of these reactions. Logically, it was impossible that Yaana could carry such weight all on her own. The only way this would be possible was if there was someone of great standing who could affirm her status. In that case, it was highly likely that Yaana had a powerful master she hadn''t told Ryu about.


    Of course, that opened up another can of worms. For example, if Yaana''s master was so fearsome, how is it that those members of the Necromancy Guild had dared to treat her the way the had? Clearly, everyone was aware of this truth except Ryu, it seemed.


    Toward that, Ryu could only conclude that they thought they wouldn''t be caught. In addition, with Sarriel''s involvement, there was potential that they thought that even if they did get caught, they would have adequate backing.


    Ryu still didn''t know the story surrounding Sarriel. But, one potential answer is that she too was part of the Necromancer Guild. In that case, whatever powerful master Yaana could get, Sarriel could receive the better of.


    Yaana was extremely talented, however objectively, she was a step below that of Ryu and Sarriel. If one took into account her reincarnation and the swift improvement of her Inheritances as a result, then she could just barely close the gap a bit, but it wouldn''t'' be enough to catch up.


    This was all to say that whatever Yaana could do, Sarriel could definitely one up. That was just the harsh reality.


    In that case, there may very well be people willing to offend Yaana''s master for the sake of Sarriel. This wouldn''t'' be surprising or difficult to accept.


    Yaana blushed profusely toward her own outburst, but her gaze remained firm and resolute. She had resolved herself a long while ago to corner Ryu if she had to. She refused to allow him to treat her like a little sister. The moment things went too far down that path, it would be impossible for her to turn back. So, she could only hold Ryu''s feet to the fire.


    Honestly, she had wanted to say husband. However, out of respect for Ailsa and Elena, she couldn''t bring herself to go so far. That said, she also didn''t want to take too far of a step back either. In the end, she settled on boyfriend.


    As though to prove her point, she grabbed Ryu''s hands and forced them to wrap around her. In the end, Ryu''s own arms became his own shackles.


    Ramir''s expression darkened when he heard Yaana''s words.


    The good news was that the title of ''boyfriend'' held functionally no weight in the martial world. It was essentially a position not recognized by either one of their families. In fact, it was a rare title to use in the martial world for exactly that reason.


    The chastity of a woman was seen as too important to be wasted on a mere ''girlfriend'' title. But, this was exactly where the bad news stemmed from.


    The Void Fairy was willingly sullying herself with such a title all so that she could attach herself to this man. Not only did this stir the masculine ire of Ramir and many others, it filled them with indignance.


    At that moment, a sweeping pressure descended from the skies.


    The chatter of the crowd froze. There wasn''t a single soul who didn''t recognize the pressure of a World Sea Realm expert''s aura.


    Aberardus'' gaze narrowed and he was about to step forward, but he suddenly stopped, a smile spreading across his face.


    ''This brat. I''ve wanted him to beg to join my Armament Guild for a long time but he dared to ignore this old man''s face. Let''s see how long you''ll last without my help, then. That''ll teach you.''


    It was then that a voice boomed from the skies.


    "I will only ask this question once. Are you here representing Her Ladyship, Demuire? Or are you here representing yourself?"


    The World Sea Realm expert didn''t show himself. He found it to be beneath his dignity to appear just for a few juniors. But, it was obvious that nothing about this day was going to plan and these youths below were far too incompetent. If he didn''t make a move himself, this would never end.


    Ryu frowned.


    His Frost Thunder Giant was almost immediately forced to its knees and Nemesis began to neigh uncomfortably. Yaana''s delicate brow furrowed and she too felt greatly uncomfortable at that moment. It was clear that this person had only partially come here to reason, the larger part of their goal was to remind Ryu that this wasn''t his territory.


    However, Ryu didn''t respond kindly to threats, even if they were well veiled beneath the guise of diplomacy.


    "Why is it that everyone is so insistent on asking stupid questions? Has the Armament Guild really fallen so far?"


    Aberardus choked on air, coughing violently to regain his bearings. He could only give a thumbs up in Ryu''s direction. He could never imagine being so brazen in the face of a World Sea Realm expert when he was that young.


    "I came here today to broaden my horizons and challenge the geniuses of the Armament Guild. I had originally wanted to tour the cities one by one and learn what I could from them all, but who could have expected that I would have hardly finished a trip through a single city when I would be met with a barricade.


    "Now I''m being questioned left and right by one mentally deranged individual after another.


    "You tell me, is the Armament Guild just afraid of fair challenges now?"

 Chapter 695 Tear

    Chapter 695 Tear


    A stunned silence fell over the starry skies. When had any of them ever witnessed a junior insulting a World Sea Realm expert so openly and without reserve?


    But the truth of the matter was that Ryu was pissed off. Even if he hadn''t kneeled personally, wasn''t making his own summon kneel a slap to his own face? And this bastard actually dared to pressure Yaana at the same time?


    Regardless of what Yaana''s feelings for him were, what Ryu knew without a shadow of a doubt was that he would protect her with his life. Even he didn''t dare to make her suffer the slightest injustice, so who was this old bastard hiding in the skies right now who actually dared to do such a thing?


    If it wasn''t for him maintaining a shred of reason, Ryu would have killed this man right where he hid. Since when was there anyone who could hide from his eyes? To Ryu, he might as well have been right in front of him.


    Ryu''s gaze seemed to pierce through the void, landing on the World Sea Realm expert with the greatest of ease. It was clear that this sudden change to the situation had caught this expert off guard as well, or else they would have imploded under Ryu''s provoking words long ago. How could he expect that an Immortal Ring Realm brat could possibly find him?


    However, his shock had nothing to do with Ryu. As far as Ryu was concerned, if he didn''t make this man enraged to the point of coughing up blood, he wouldn''t even deem to call himself a Tatsuya any longer.


    "What did you just say to me?!"


    The voice came out in a sudden boom. There was silence initially, before there was an endless torrent of violent winds. It shot down through the crowd, forcing several to cough up mouthfuls of blood and retreat explosively.


    The Frost Thunder Giant''s pale blue skin was immediately lacerated in several places, leaking thick purple blood as it tried to protect its face from the onslaught. However, having already been forced into a kneeling position, it was struggling with accumulating power to begin with.


    The fury in Ryu''s gaze set before vanishing into a smoldering coldness. His playful demeanor vanished, his white hair dancing in the wind.


    With a step, Ryu vanished and appeared on the Frost Thunder Giant''s shoulder. He stood amidst the billowing aura of the World Sea Realm expert, a sudden strong surge of Ice Inheritance blooming from his body as the call of a majestic Phoenix spread throughout the surroundings.


    In the blink of an eye, the Frost Thunder Giant had been encased in a cold and harsh wind. However, while this wind would have been unbearable to anyone else, to the Frost Thunder Giant, it was like a revitalizing tonic it couldn''t get enough of.


    At that moment, its deep flesh wounds iced over, being mended together by beautiful crystalline ice structures coursing with gorgeous blue Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.


    The moment these ice crystals burst apart into sparkling motes of cold light, the wounds of the Frost Thunder Giant had vanished. It stood to its feet, its roar piercing toward the veil of the skies above.


    Ryu realized now that the reason he had rarely used his Ice and Fire Inheritances in the past was because he subconsciously thought they were too weak. But, that was all a product of his Inheritances losing their levels. Even though his Ice Inheritance was only at the Ruler Realm currently, its power dwarfed many Monarch and even Dominion Realm Ice Inheritances.


    The World Sea Realm expert was immediately infuriated by this scene. He had purposely targeted the Frost Thunder Giant as a vague sign of taking a step back. He still hadn''t received Yaana''s answer, so he was still cautious by a measure. While the whole of the Armament Guild could afford to offend Lady Demuire, he personally could not. When it came to experts of that caliber, if you pissed them off, someone would have to pay, and if not the Armament Guild as a whole, he most definitely would personally.


    But, who would have thought that rather than taking his act of mercy on the chin, this little bastard would actually smack his face in front of so many people? How could he not be infuriated.


    What this World Sea Realm expert didn''t know¡ªan expert by the name of Vardus Hastam and yet another member of Godefriede''s Hastam Clan¡ªwas that this was exactly what had pissed Ryu off. He was Ryu Tatsuya, since when did he eat losses at the hand of someone else? He had taken a step back? Well in Ryu''s opinion, he hadn''t taken it far back enough.


    Since this man wanted to be humiliated, he would thoroughly humiliate him.


    "I was only casually asking the question, but it seems that the Armament Guild really is so cowardly. Not only did you blockade the path, stopping those who wanted to challenge from doing so, but now you''re actually sending the older generation to pressure the younger. What a good and decent Armament Guild you are."


    Vardus nearly felt his head bursting from fury. The fact these words were coming from someone so much lower than himself almost made him burst at the seams.


    "What absolute horseshit!"


    Ramir could no longer hold back his temper.


    "You clearly said that you had wanted to come here as a spectator! Why are you pretending like your goal was something else now?! Do you think that my Hastam Clan is filled with pushovers!? Speak another word of nonsense and I''ll cut your head off where you stand!"


    Ramir''s infuriated roar didn''t carry the same momentum as that of his clansman, but its result was no less violent. Obviously, the World Sea Realm expert had been holding back. But, this time, Ryu was more than prepared.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted over, it still pervading with coldness.


    "How are my words contradictory in any way? I said from the very beginning that I wanted to visit every city, but ended up having my way blocked. I ended up having to burst my way through because I could only assume that it was the work of fools. After all, every power has its bad seedlings. It wasn''t until I saw the state of this battle that I realized that I had given you all too great of a benefit of the doubt.


    "Not only are World Sea Realm experts involved, but they''re even covering up this clown show."


    "What did you say?!"


    "I said this is a clown show. If this is the level of spearman that can challenge the Cosmic Seed Spear Armament, why should I bother going from city to city to prove myself? You''re such a pathetic excuse for a spearman that I''m ashamed for all who call the weapon their own. For the likes of you to actually dare to challenge for this Armament, what else could I conclude but the fact the Armament Guild has fallen this far and is now doing their best to cover it up?"


    Ramir was so infuriated that he began to laugh. "A mere insignificant junior dares to comment on what they have no understanding of. The barricade you burst through was surrounding a Staff City. Do you really take me to be a fool?!"


    Ryu suddenly reached out a hand, glistening claws suddenly growing out from his once normal nails. In an instant, they were coated by delicate black Heavenly Patterns, swirling about with an air of death and destruction.


    The Frost Thunder Giant''s enormous club flew up to Ryu as though it had a mind of its own. Despite the striking disparity in their size, Ryu clamped down on it and his claws tore through its outer casing.


    Before the eyes of everyone, an enormous club that must have weighed billions of jin cracked, suddenly falling into numerous tiny shards of a wood before them all.


    Ryu''s Ice Inheritance surged. Violent cold wind blew about as the falling shards of wood suddenly began to grow ice shells of their own.


    In the blink of an eye, many of the shards had been fused together, forming a 20 meter tall spear, radiating with beautiful blue Heavenly Patterns¡­ However, its shaft was a different story entirely, radiating with a menacing and jagged edge. Every so often, it would waft with the smell of death and a black fog, shaking those who saw it to their core.


    The Frost Thunder Giant grabbed its new weapon out of the air. Feeling the power that pumped through it, it roared a deafening roar, the Frost Thunder Qi around it billowing.


    "You talk far too much. I don''t need to raise a single finger to show you just how inferior of a spearman you are."


    Ryu''s cold voice seemed to resound from the depths of hell, his smoldering rage practically reaching a palpable level.


    "Draw your blade."


    **


    At that moment, deep within the starry sky and out of the view of the most powerful worlds, an enormous void was suddenly split in two.


    The crackling of black lightning and the sound of space shattering like shards of glass resounded, but the tear only continued to get slowly, but surely larger.


    It was then that an enormous claw glistening with beautiful ruby scales latched onto one side of the tear and pulled.


    The sound was akin to reality itself being torn in two. The horrible noise was enough to force one''s heart to stop beating completely.


    Like this, the claw stepped out. A strong qi blasted down as it firmly stepped into the air. The space for the surrounding several thousand kilometers immediately shattered, several smaller worlds getting caught in the whirlwind only to be obliterated without the hope of fighting back.


    Deep within the tear, a single, reptilian slit eye became ever brighter.

 Chapter 696 Just As...

    Chapter 696 Just As...


    Ryu didn''t care what Ramir''s response would be. Just a moment after telling him to draw his blade, the frost giant moved.


    It was clear to everyone in an instant that Ryu wasn''t relying on the Frost Thunder Giant''s strength. There was nothing but pure skill in its strike, there was no flashy technique, no volatile qi, just a single [Pierce]. It didn''t take a genius to understand that Ryu was challenging Ramir on the same playing field Ramir had challenged Godefride on.


    Ramir was immediately infuriated. He wasn''t sure of Ryu''s exact cultivation, but it felt obvious to him that Ryu was, at the very least, far younger and greener than himself. The idea that someone of inferior experience and cultivation that him could possibly defeat him in this fashion was nothing short of enraging.


    Aiming to end this quickly, Ramir''s qi blossomed, forming an avatar no shorter than the Frost Thunder Giant. He too pierced forward, his spear carrying a casual flare to it.


    Ryu stood on the Frost Thunder Giant''s shoulder, unmoving. His hands were clasped behind his back and his gaze was placid and cold. Only casual thoughts from him controlled the actions of the Frost Thunder Giant, the trust he had in his spear reaching untouchable heights.


    BANG!


    The tips of the spears met, their blades perfectly balanced upon one another. It was without a doubt the simplest confrontation between spearmen.


    In a situation like this, the steadier hand would win ten out of ten times. The first to falter would find the path of their spear forcefully deviated, while the steadier hand would continue to pierce forward. The result would be akin to a [Skim] in action.


    Ryu was very clearly at a disadvantage. It wasn''t his own steadiness being tested, but rather that of his summon. It was objectively harder to control than Ramir''s personal qi avatar.


    However, Ryu was unmoved by it all.


    The Frost Thunder Giant''s spear faltered. It was used to wielding a club. Even if the instructions it received from Ryu were perfect, it simply didn''t have the stabilizer muscles a spearman would usually have, neither was it used to wielding its weapon with two hands. In the end, the result was expected.


    Ramir sneered. Standing in the forehead of his qi avatar, his actions perfectly mimicked his large projection. Because of this, he was able to feel the resistance perfectly and react without lag.


    His spear shot forward like a winding snake, aiming to pierce through the Frost Thunder Giant''s neck. And, whether by coincidence or not, his spear was just a bit skewed toward the left of the Demon Duke''s body.


    The best way to avoid such a strike was to sidestep to the short side. But, this would result in losing the initiative. Not only was the move predictable, but due to its predictability it would result in a series of planned counters that would most definitely lead to an inevitable loss.


    This was just the tip of the iceberg, though¡­ Because the main issue was that Ryu was standing on the Frost Thunder Giant''s left shoulder. Dodging to the short side, the easiest maneuver to make, would result in his death. Under normal circumstances, the spear would fly harmlessly above one''s shoulder, but who asked Ryu to be arrogant enough to stand there?


    Ramir could almost feel his spear skewering Ryu. With how vast the size difference was, maybe Ryu would directly implode into a cloud of mist. Remembering all the nonsense Ryu had been spewing earlier, and feeling his chest heaving with rage now, he almost felt intoxicated due to his soon-to-be victory.


    If Ryu foolishly tried to dodge to the long side instead to protect himself, he would lose just the same. The Frost Thunder Giant lacked the necessary agility, and if it used its qi, it would be, likewise, admitting defeat. After all, this was a contest of skill. To use brute strength to continue the battle would be like admitting your inferiority.


    For Ryu to lose in just a single exchange after all his bloviating¡­ maybe he would be too embarrassed to ever show his face again. In the best case scenario, there would be an irreparable Heart Demon born within him, hindering his future progress.


    It was right then that the Frost Thunder Giant sidestepped to the short side, executing a perfect [Side Step] to the right.


    However regardless of how perfect the execution was, with how swift their spears were moving, there wasn''t enough time to clear Ramir''s spear entirely. Ryu ended up exposed on the Frost Thunder Giant''s left shoulder, the wind pressure of Ramir''s spear forcing his hair to flutter.


    The spear of qi showed no mercy. The fierce light in Ramir''s eyes only grew fiercer. All he could see was his own spear and Ryu, and all he could imagine was flattening the latter into nothing more than a crimson mark on his road ahead. He hadn''t even noticed when he suddenly placed Ryu, someone who was supposedly beneath him, as a stepping stone toward his own personal growth


    Ramir''s face twisted, a sneer painting his face. The point of his blade appeared before Ryu, its size dwarfing the latter entirely. Just the width of the blade alone was taller than Ryu, a single pierce just might split him in two if it wasn''t for the fact the thickness was too great.


    He couldn''t believe how idiotic Ryu was, but when he thought about it, what other choice was there. In just a single move, he had blocked out all of Ryu''s potential movements. This was the difference in skill and experience. For a brat to dare to challenge him¡­!?


    Consider this a lesson for all those who dared to try to slight him in the future.


    "Die!"


    The crowd watched on in shock. They too thought that Ryu would put up a better fight. They stood on Ryu''s side for much of the battle because he was the reason they could take part in this juicy bit of gossip. But, it seemed that they had overestimated him.


    Ryu was unknown to them all despite wielding such power, so it was likely that he was too sheltered. He had actually lost his life on his first outing into the real world. If they were his ancestors, they''d be rolling in their graves.


    Such a talent would die just like this.


    The spear appeared before Ryu. It was already less than three meters away, and with its size, this distance might as well have been a hair''s breadth.


    It shot forward with blinding speed, its tip perfectly steady as it sliced through the skies. It was clear from this strike alone that Ramir''s skill was not to be questioned, at least amongst most spearmen¡­


    That was exactly why it was all so shocking when its qi avatar suddenly came to a grinding halt a mere half meter from Ryu.


    Ryu stood without the slightest fluctuation to his expression, his hands clasped behind his back and his gaze cold.


    The spear of qi before him was slowly forced to dissipate, vanishing into motes of light that trickled into the starry skies that surrounded them. It was only at that moment that everyone seemed to realize that the Frost Thunder Giant''s spear had already pierced through the chest of Ramir''s qi avatar.


    Ramir stood in shocked silence, his body still holding his spear up as though he was just about to pierce Ryu. He didn''t register what had happened until his qi avatar completely disappeared, leaving him awkwardly frozen in the air without anything to show for it.


    "You¡­ You¡­"


    It was only after several seconds that Ramir understood what happened.


    In the instant Ryu''s Frost Thunder Giant sidestepped, it also released one of its hands from the shaft of its spear, using the momentum of its [Side Step] to continue its forward pierce.


    Ryu must have already guessed that his Frost Thunder Giant wouldn''t have the stabilizers to win in the exchange. So, instead, he purposely diverted the blade of his Frost Thunder Giant downward, targeting the large area of Ramir''s qi avatar''s chest.


    After gaining a reach advantage thanks to switching to a single hand, and the fact the Frost Thunder Giant''s [Side Step] and subsequent attack had placed its left shoulder behind the rest of its body, its spear landed long before Ramir''s did.


    Ryu looked down toward Ramir, the disdain in his eyes almost palpable. Even he didn''t expect Ramir to lose to such a simple maneuver. He was so enamored by the idea of killing him that he actually ended up being humiliated to such an extent. It was pathetic to an extreme.


    Ryu had long since sacrificed his Glaive, Spear and Halberd Inheritances to form his Great Swordstaff Inheritance, but they hadn''t disappeared, they were rather just part of a new whole now. This was a logical conclusion given his great grandfather''s namesake, as Ailsa had enlightened him to. He was the Saintly Weapon Sky God, his theories could theorectically be applied to anything.


    As things stood now, Ryu''s use of the spear was probably more put together and perfect than that of his Great Swordstaff which was forced to fuse three different disciplines into one.


    This was all to say that with such a mental state, Ramir stood not a single chance against him.


    "Is this the level of spearman that can challenge and Armament holder now? It''s no wonder the Armament Guild tried to barricade the masses from laying eyes on it all personally, I would be just as embarrassed."

 Chapter 697 Rage

    Chapter 697 Rage


    A harsh silence reigned.


    Ramir had no idea how to respond to Ryu''s taunts. His first instinct was to lambast Ryu for using a spear with a single arm like this, but he immediately realized how toothless and cowardly such a rebuttal would be.


    He felt that he had only lost because he was careless, but he likewise didn''t have the face to speak about something like this at all. It felt to him as though everything was crumbling around him. If he could find a place to bury his head and escape from all of this scrutiny, he would do so in an instant.


    Ryu''s gaze swept away from Ramir and toward the Temporal Buddha Sect disciple and the mysterious black clothed saber experts. It was clear that he was lumping in these two along with them and the disdain in his gaze was practically palpable.


    Up in the skies, Vardus, the World Sea Realm expert, almost felt like his blood vessels were going to pop. Not only had Ryu humiliated him, but he had even then proceeded to ignore him and slap his junior''s face right before him. The worst part of it was that he didn''t feel that there was anything he could do about it.


    He reached a hand forward, hesitating about whether to ignore all pretenses and kill Ryu anyway. Even if the Armament Guild''s reputation was stained for a small while, it wouldn''t be irreparable.


    However, he hesitated once again. That might have been true in the past, but was it really still true now? That seemed unlikely.


    Now that Fate had been completely untangled, even the strongest powers had suddenly become susceptible and vulnerable. One wrong step could allow those beneath them to snatch Faith that hadn''t belonged to them in the past. Right now, everyone was scrambling to gather as much Faith as they could so that they could change their destinies.


    There was a reason why a reclusive Sect like the Temporal Buddha Sect had agreed to participate in this affair. They weren''t the only ones of the like either. Many such Clans and Sects that normally refrained from participating in worldly matters had come to poke their heads out once again.


    If a World Sea Realm expert of the Armament Guild made such a blatant showing of vileness, it would impact the Guild far more than even the same action would have in the past. In fact, it could start the rolling ball of their downfall. From there, it would only gain momentum.


    Thinking to this point, Vardus'' expression grew exceedingly ugly.


    ''Return.''


    At that moment, a voice sounded in the ears of Vardus, Ramir and the two others. It was clear that someone far above themselves had sent these orders down. There was clearly nothing they could do this day. In fact, the moment spectators had come into view, their prospects of success were nil.


    Gritting his teeth, Vardus vanished.


    Aberardus glanced in that direction, a sneer in his eye.


    ''Serves you right.''


    Clearly, the old man had forgotten that he hadn''t taken action so that Ryu could suffer a bit. That had, no doubt, failed miserably. And, yet, he was actually still so happy. This was definitely a shamelessness that came with old age.


    Ryu himself swept a glance over where Vardus had disappeared. By the time he looked back, Ramir had vanished as well, disappearing.


    "This one will be taking his leave. It seems that the time is no longer appropriate." The Temporal Buddha Sect youth bowed respectfully to the crowd before he too vanished.


    By the time he had spoken, the black clothed youth had also disappeared. In the end, there was nothing but a disappointed crowd, three Armament wielders, and an enormous Demon Duke who hadn''t had its fill of battle just yet.


    Ryu''s figure flickered and he appeared on Nemesis'' back once again. He realized that his beast companion was emitting quite a bit of heat the moment he touched back down.


    He patted Nemesis'' neck lightly. He knew that Nemesis had been enraged by Vardus'' earlier actions. If there was one of Ryu''s beast companions who shared his temper, it was most definitely Nemesis who had spent much of the beginning of his life as a tool for the Clans of the Inner Ring.


    Ryu had helped him seek some revenge back then, but it most definitely wasn''t the same as doing it himself. It seemed that being suppressed by a World Sea Realm expert''s aura had reawakened some of that hidden fury.


    Ryu didn''t give Nemesis any words of comfort, he simply sat there in silence for a long while. Soon, he would let Nemesis vent his frustrations on some Wrath Knights. So long as his talent increased enough, the tribulation he would have to face would be much less of a problem.


    Plus, the Adept Body Talent was only one of the Wrath Knight''s talents. In addition, it was exceptionally rare among them and rarely, if ever, was given birth to. Logically speaking, if the talent was so rare, why would the Wrath Knight be considered a Demon King race?


    Obviously, the Wrath Knight had several other talents that helped to support the prowess of its population between the appearances of this Adept Body Talent. In that case, there were likely many other helpful talents Nemesis could steal to strengthen himself.


    In fact, Ryu could likely leave this up to Ailsa to handle. It shouldn''t be a problem for her to summon enemies Nemesis could handle himself. And, if Nemesis could, it would also be good training for Little Rock who hadn''t gotten to battle alongside Ryu in a very long time.


    Right now, the two had progressed very quickly, but they didn''t share Ryu''s battle experience. Though Ryu could direct them in battle, if he truly wanted to be a ''one man army'', it was ironically necessary that some of this army be able to think for themselves.


    Ryu suddenly looked down toward Yaana who sat before him, remembering something fairly important.


    He hadn''t really expected to rely on Yaana for this matter, but things had inadvertently ended up becoming like this.


    "Yaana, who is Lady Demuire?"

 Chapter 698 Lady Demuire

    Chapter 698 Lady Demuire


    "Ah¡­"


    Yaana blushed profusely hearing Ryu''s question. This was in part due to her outburst from earlier and another part due to the fact she had subconsciously hid this matter from Ryu earlier.


    The reason she was embarrassed by the first was self explanatory, but the second left her feeling a bit guilty. She didn''t want to deal with the weight of the Necromancy Guild so she had adopted the mindset of ''out of sight, out of mind''.


    She hadn''t told Ryu about her master because she was afraid that he might see her as a burden as a result.


    In the martial world, this wasn''t a very rare thing. Being taken in as a disciple was akin to becoming another''s son or daughter. While this came with a great host of benefits, it was also saddled with many responsibilities as well. With those responsibilities came obligations that made it difficult for Yaana to do what she wanted, whenever she wanted.


    Due to this, Yaana had always made her stance clear and always made sure to tell those of the Necromancy Guild that Ryu would always be the most important to her. However, one only needed to look toward Auntie Duna''s reaction toward Ryu to know that much of these warnings had fallen on deaf ears.


    Yaana wasn''t na?ve. Subconsciously, she had always known that this might very well become a problem one day. So, rather than informing her master that she had found Ryu, she chose to instead not say a word and just leave with him.


    Of course, she didn''t tell Ryu about this because she was worried that he would toss her to the side. Ryu had enough problems to deal with and she worried that he wouldn''t want to deal with another. It was a bit selfish of her, but she hadn''t really thought about just the situation she was putting Ryu in until just now. In fact, her outburst might have put him in an even worse position than the one he was originally in.


    "I¡­"


    Yaana bit her lip and eventually began to explain.


    While Auntie Duna was the one to find her on the mortal plane, the one who gave her the proper technique to cultivate and took her as a disciple was Lady Demuire.


    Lady Demuire wasn''t only one of the few Summoning Necromancers of the Necromancy Guild, she was also the only Sky God of the Guild that wasn''t birthed from the three Necromancy Clans. As such, she held a uniquely unfettered position in comparison to the others.


    According to what Yaana knew about Lady Demuire, she had only recently returned to the Necromancy Guild from parts unknown. Many speculated that she had spent the bulk of the last several trillion years in the Nether Plane, completing all sorts of research while also bolstering the ranks of her Summoners Army. Only a Sky God of a certain caliber would be able to survive in the Nether Realm for so long.


    Lady Demuire was a Summoning Necromancer whose main battle summons were from the Demon Prince Spectral Wolf Clan. They were a Clan of Demons that were functionally the lowest in number. The only Clan whose population was lower than them was the Dream Wraith Demon King Clan.


    It seemed that from the very beginning, Lady Demuire had a fondness for the Spatial Element. The two highest affinities for the Spectral Wolf Demon Prince Clan were precisely spatial and wind element, not much unlike the Spectral Mink, though the latter was a beast and not a Demon.


    The fact Lady Demuire had a contract with a Demon Prince Clan was enough for her to be widely feared. But, what was even more shocking was the fact that her Sky God title was actually unknown. The name Lady Demuire carried all of her Faith, but no one knew what her true title was.


    After listening to Yaana''s explanation and how she diligently described how dangerous Lady Demuire was, Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "Why are you telling me all this now? Are you afraid that I won''t be afraid enough?"


    Yaana immediately became flustered hearing Ryu''s words. She had felt so bad about leaving Ryu in the dark that she overcorrected in the other way wildly. She wanted to make sure that Ryu knew everything so that he wouldn''t'' be left in the dark. Even if he chose to abandon her, at least he would be able to survive.


    Even after all this time, Yaana had only met her master a handful of times and simply didn''t understand her character well enough to ensure Ryu''s safety. In fact, Yaana was far closer with Auntie Duna than she was with her own master. So, she had naturally reacted in such a fashion.


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    "Don''t worry about it, aren''t you my girlfriend now?"


    Yaana''s breathing hitched, her entire body going red from head to toe. One would have thought that she was a ripe tomato instead of a lovely young woman.


    Ryu laughed. "Just leave such things to me. There''s nothing in this world or any other that I fear. A Sky God isn''t enough to make me turn my back on you. Nothing is enough."


    Ryu looked up into the skies. He knew that Sky Gods had special ties to their title. Even though no one knew about Lady Demuire''s true Sky God title, the name of Lady Demuire alone was functionally tied to her.


    What did this mean? Simply put, Sky Gods could innately feel when their names were mentioned. Vardus thought that Ryu didn''t know what he was doing, but that couldn''t have been further from the truth. It was clear that Vardus had mentioned Lady Demuire''s name to ensure that she was aware that others might have been using her as a shield.


    But¡­ Since when did Ryu need anyone''s protection?


    That Lady Demuire was very likely already observing the situation. In fact, she likely had been ever since her name was mentioned. The fact that even Ryu couldn''t'' sense it was enough to speak of her power. But, none of that mattered to Ryu.


    Even if Yaana had no feelings for him whatsoever, he still wouldn''t'' allow any harm to come to her. She had spent the whole of her first life protecting him, so he would spend the whole of his second protecting her.


    At that moment, Ryu''s gaze shifted from the starry sky to find Eustis, Sabelle and Godefride approaching him.


    **


    In a distant world in a garden filled with black and silver flowers, a veiled woman lounged on a luxuriously sculpted couch. Every stretch of her figure seemed to paint the picture of perfect seduction, yet she didn''t seem to be trying so hard at all.


    She took a sip of a crimson liquid, a small drop falling from her soft lips and vanishing into the depths of her seemingly endless cleavage. The mounds of flesh caressed by delicate brown skin was enough to make any man go wild.


    "Oh my, what a careless mistake."


    She giggled to herself lightly, clearly unaware of her own charm.


    "That little boy is so bold to toy with my innocent disciple''s heart like that. I wonder if he''ll dare to be similarly as bold in the coming years."


    She looked off into the distance with a hint of seriousness.


    "The first of them has already arrived and the rest won''t be far behind."

 Chapter 699 Sudden

    Chapter 699 Sudden


    Godefride looked Ryu up and down. Though he seemed to be observing Ryu himself, he was actually looking for Ailsa. After several tries, he gasped in admiration.


    He had heard that the concealment abilities of the Faerie race were top tier and could usually only be unveiled by other Faeries, but seeing it for himself, he could only give his respects.


    The truth was that many Faeries would appear on the Real Plane beside their partner in their smaller forms. Now that Ryu and Ailsa''s intimacy had reached the deepest level, Ailsa didn''t have to constantly stay in the Ethereal Plane. But, Ailsa was quite fond of the idea that Ryu and Ryu alone could see her, so she kept this habit of hers though it was no longer necessary.


    "Ry¡­" Godefride cut himself off before he could speak further. "¡­ It''s good that you came, my father has been trying to find a way to trick you into coming to the Armament Guild for the longest ti¡ª!"


    The sound of a slap echoed and Godefride''s head bowed forward, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.


    "¡ªYou damned old man!"


    Godefride looked like a madman screaming out to empty space, even Eustis and Sabelle could only cover their mouths in laughter, looking away from Godefride''s fiend-like gaze.


    Godefride spit toward the endless starry depths beneath their feet. "I swear the day I can beat that old man I''ll send him to an early gra¡ª!"


    Another smack landed. Despite being ready this time, there was nothing Godefride could do. He entered another rage fueled tirade about how he deserved respect as The Spear of the Armament Guild. But, it all fell on deaf ears.


    Ryu''s lips curled into a smile. The relationship he had with his own father wasn''t so comical as their two personalities were practically the direct opposite of Godefride and Aberardus'', but that didn''t stop Ryu from missing his own old man watching their interactions.


    Ryu had been exceptionally close with his father when he was younger and they used to travel a lot as the Patriarch of the Tatsuya Clan hoped to broaden his son''s horizons. Their trip to the Armament Guild was only one such case and there were many other similar occurrences.


    Unfortunately, after Ryu failed to awaken, he felt like he had also failed his father. Those trips that used to have him wide eyed and eager felt more like a weight on his chest and a constant reminder that he would never live up to the expectations his father had of him.


    One of those trips had, of course, been to the Deep Eruption Sect where Ryu had met his only ''friend''. Not that his resentment of the world at that point in his life allowed him to accept such a thing.


    Ryu had always wanted to fight side by side with his father. What Godefride and Aberardus were doing now, backs against the wall, facing enemies from all sides, no one to rely upon but one another¡­ It was a sort of dream Ryu had always had.


    That night when Ryu took his life, he had hoped that whatever happened, he would be able to return in time to help his family. He could have never expected to lose nine cycles of a hundred million years, only to return to find his grandparents dead and his parents in a state unknown¡­


    Ryu took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the rattling of his blood coming to a slow and steady stop.


    Seemingly sensing something off about Ryu, Godefride stopped playing around and looked toward him again.


    "So, what do you want to do?"


    Ryu opened his eyes, his calm having returned. He realized that Godefride''s question was quite loaded. After all, Ryu didn''t have to know the full situation of the Armament Guild to realize that if they had already reached such a state, the situation was bad.


    Anyone else might hesitate, but who was Ryu? This was why he had found Yaana''s worries to be so amusing. From the moment he awakened his memories to this point, his only goal in life was to dive head first into as many problems as he could find. His only concern was that the Armament Guild wouldn''t have enough problems to satiate him.


    "Well, I guess I''m a bit interested in learning the saber now." Ryu replied casually.


    "¡­ Excuse me?"


    Godefride almost choked, sending warning signals with his eyes.


    Sabelle might have looked like an adorable little doll. Well, at least her body did while her face was behind her usual mask. But, didn''t that massive blade she wielded paint enough of a picture for Ryu?


    Sabelle took the art of the saber very seriously, as did the rest of her Clan. There was a reason why of the nine, only the Virga and Scire Clans managed to remain firmly on the opposing side. Even the Hastam Clan could only be considered to be ''half'' on the side of good.


    Ryu seemed oblivious to all of this, though. He believed that he had grasped some from the staff and he didn''t see much of a point in forcing his improvement any further, it would only make it more difficult to fuse in the future.


    At the same time, if there was one of the three battles that intrigued him, it was most definitely the battle between saber and the black robed young man. Part of this was because Ryu knew too little about the saber while he at least knew something about the staff and spear, but a larger part of the reason was because Ryu felt he knew where that young man was from.


    While there only seemed to be humans and beasts on the Real Plane, there was actually a few other races, it''s just that their populations were a lot smaller and many were reclusive as a result.


    Ryu was fairly certain that man was from the Fiend Race. And, if he was correct, it was definitely the Blade Fiend Clan.


    Ryu suddenly grew very interested in the saber all of a sudden.

 Chapter 700 Enthralled

    Chapter 700 Enthralled


    "Hm?"


    Ryu noticed their weird reactions but simply shook his head. He wasn''t the type of person that liked to explain himself to begin with. However they took it was however they took it. It had nothing to do with him.


    "¡­ Then you can enter my city. The resources there are much better than what you''ll find in the lower level cities."


    The sudden voice came from Sabelle. Hearing her words, Godefride and Eustis both almost passed out from shock. Had they heard correctly? Was this the same Sabelle they knew? What was going on here?


    The two suddenly had flashbacks to what Ryu''s face looked like and his valiant display at the Martial God''s gathering. A moment later, their expressions both turned bitter. Was even this little devilish doll not immune to a handsome face? Where was the justice?


    Ryu smiled lightly in Sabelle''s direction.


    "I''ll accept your offer, then."


    **


    "What do you think? Is he really trying to learn a new weapon?"


    "Don''t you have eyes, that''s clearly what he''s doing."


    "I don''t get it, though. Who learns a new weapon this deep into cultivation? It doesn''t even make sense."


    "Didn''t you hear him before? It looks like he''s trying to gain insights into them all. Did you see how he used the spear before? Clearly he''s already on his way."


    Godefride''s brow wrinkled. "There was something weird about his spear usage, though¡­ It felt like it was refined and perfect, but it also felt empty at the same time. It''s almost like he''s a spear wielder without being a spear master. I don''t really understand the point of learning so many weapons if the end result is going to be that."


    Eustis chuckled. "If you''re insecure about him being better at the spear than you are, just say so."


    "Bullshit. There''s no one at or beneath my cultivation level better at wielding the spear than I am."


    "Well, look at you. Who knew Godefride the drunkard actually had a bit of backbone hidden in there somewhere."


    Godefride snorted. There was no weapon''s master who didn''t have pride in their crafts. Forming a Birthed Phenomena and improving it to their level required having an ego. By definition, the creation of a Birth Phenomena was an attempt by humans to carve out a place for themselves in the martial world. Without the foundation of ego, they might as well not practice at all.


    "That trash Ramir never stood a chance against me and he knew it. It isn''t a surprise to me that he lost to Ryu. They had probably been planning to just send challenger after challenger against us until we were worn down and too tired to win. They probably bribed our dojo masters into conceding defeat or else there would be no way for them to do things so easily."


    "I doubt that things are that simple." Sabelle suddenly interjected.


    "Oh? You''re back with us now, Sabelle? What happened to your quality time with¡ª!"


    Godefride received a solid blade hilt to his gut, causing all the air to rush out of his lungs. He coughed violently, his eyes once again almost popping out for the third time that day.


    "Are you done speaking nonsense?" Sabelle looked to Godefride coldly.


    Godefride was really too much. Ryu quite literally had his ''girlfriend'' by his side, how could she be thinking such thoughts? Did she look like such a loose woman?


    The more she thought about it, the angrier Sabelle seemed to become and she attacked Godefride again. Luckily for the latter, he managed to rush away in time.


    Sabelle snorted. "You''re always spewing nonsense. Did you forget that he had a Cultus Faerie by his side? The Cultus Clan Princess, at that. Are you claiming that you know how to nurture a talent better than she would?"


    Godefride coughed, trying to regain his bearings.


    Wait, that was right. Ryu had a Cultus Faerie Princess as a Life Partner. So, where had that Quibus Faerie come from? Did he have two Life Partners?


    Their expressions became a bit weird before Sabelle''s suddenly change violently.


    "Sabelle?"


    "Shut up for a second!"


    ¡­


    Ryu wasn''t paying much attention to the commotion around him.


    The current location was indeed far better for practice than the lower level staff city had been. Sabelle had brought them all into her private residence, and considering her status, it wasn''t much of a surprise that it was a place of grand stature.


    Sabelle''s estate alone covered about 10% of the city. Considering that the radius of the city alone was tens of thousands of kilometers, one could imagine just how enormous it all was.


    Many of the games Ryu had come across in the lower staff city could be found here as well. There was even a saber version of the steady hand game he had used to hone his understanding of the staff. However, Ryu didn''t choose to use it this time again.


    Like Ailsa had told him before, he should simply move around until he found a practice station that called out to him.


    There was a reason that Ailsa had been so vague with her descriptions. After entering the Cosmic Realms of his Heavenly Pupils, Ryu''s sensitivity to matters of Fate and other abstruse and hard to grasp topics had reached a level most couldn''t imagine. In many ways, his instincts on how to improve were even sharper than what Ailsa could produce through her deductions.


    When Ryu walked about a large selection like this, small strings of Fate were tugging at him until he eventually could settle on something that tugged so hard he could no longer ignore it.


    This time, the game was quite the odd one.


    Ryu stood before astage with a heavy grey saber in his hand. Before him, several bubbles bobbed in the air, reflecting delicate rainbow lights.


    The goal of this station was to use the sharp blade in his hand to manipulate the fragile bubbles before him. Depending on the prompts, he would either move them to designated areas, help them to combine, or even divide them.


    And yet¡­ They weren''t allowed to pop.


    Ryu was immediately intrigued by this game because it was completely antithetical to everything that was the saber. It was meant to be a weapon of warlords and strength. This game seemed to be more appropriate for a swordsman who were more known for their nimbleness and skill. Yet, even then, this wouldn''t be a simple task for a normal swordsman. It would definitely take a special character to pull it off.


    Ryu remembered reading that a skilled swordsman was one who could decide what his blade did or didn''t cut with a single thought. No matter how sharp their blade or how hard they swung, so long as they willed it, even the most fragile of constructs would leave unharmed. This was considered to be the true depths of a master swordsman.


    He had never heard such a concept being applied to a saber which was always known for the violence it could wrought¡­


    But that was exactly why Ryu was pulled here. It seemed that he had become enthralled with following the opposite path laid out by all his predecessors.

 Chapter 701 Fragile?

    Chapter 701 Fragile?


    The blade felt a bit awkward in Ryu''s hand. The saber wasn''t as perfectly balanced as a lot of the swords Ryu had seen, nor was it as long as many of the polearms he had used. But, when it came to using weapons with a single arm, Ryu had more than ample strength to put it into action.


    Unlike with the staff game, Ryu failed this bubble game almost immediately. While one relied on something Ryu was intimately familiar with, this was a different case entirely. The experience made Ryu realize that maybe his control wasn''t as great as he thought it was to begin with.


    Of course, control wasn''t exactly the problem. Rather, Ryu innately felt that it was the type of control he was executing. Ryu felt that if someone broke down the exact mechanics of how all of this worked, he could likely do it in a single try. However, figuring it all out on your own was a different beast entirely.


    Originally, it felt like this had nothing to do with the spear, glaive or halberd, and even less to do with the Great Swordstaff. But, when one thought about it, if deciding what your blade could cut with a sword was so useful, why couldn''t'' this apply to other weapons as well? In fact, it would make very little sense if it couldn''t.


    Grasping this, Ryu suddenly felt that Ailsa was very much correct in guiding him to find the truths of each weapon. If he wanted to breathe life into the Great Swordstaff, a weapon with inherently so much balance and versatility, he had to have the breadth of knowledge that fit this.


    *POP


    Yet another bubble fell beneath Ryu''s blade, but his expression hardly fluctuated as he raised it once more to try again.


    When it came to tasks requiring the movement of bubbles, if Ryu wanted to cheat, he could do so. If he simply used the flat of the blade, he could move the bubbles around. However, when it came to splitting the bubbles, that couldn''t be done with the flat of the blade.


    On top of this, Ryu didn''t feel there was a point to ''cheating'' like this. What good would there be in using the flat of the blade? At that point, he''d just become a grown man playing with bubbles rather than training. If he wanted to mess around like that, he might as well blow on the bubbles with his mouth.


    Ryu had no idea that it was a good thing he hadn''t tried something so foolish. Whether it was the flat of the blade or the dull edge of the saber, both would cause the bubble to exhibit sticky properties. Once the bubble was stuck, the only way to get rid of it was to pop it. By then, you''d be right back to square one.


    Obviously, though, Ryu hadn''t even considered taking this approach. If he couldn''t'' complete this circuit using the sharp edge of this saber, there wasn''t really a point to it.


    *POP


    The trouble was that the edge of this blade was so sharp that these bubbles couldn''t'' survive the softest of touches. Ryu tried varying his speed, but the result was the same. It wasn''t until he slowed to a fraction of a snails pace that he finally managed to touch a bubble without it collapsing, but by then, the stage lit up with a deep crimson color, signaling that he had failed.


    Ryu wasn''t very surprised by this. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn''t failed earlier.


    ''This approach is wrong. What''s the point of slowing my blade, it''s not like I can do this in battle. The idea is that my speed shouldn''t matter at all¡­ Or should it?''


    Ryu fell into deep thought, oblivious to the worried expression on Yaana''s face.


    If one observed Yaana now, one would have thought that Ryu was in mortal peril. She held her hands to her chest, watching intently as though she was holding herself back from going to save him.


    Yaana had never seen Ryu fail at anything, at least not really. This was practically a first for her and she was worried that it would be a blow to Ryu.


    Seeing her worry, Ailsa couldn''t help but laugh.


    If there was anyone who could see Ailsa even while she was in the Ethereal Plane, it was Yaana. As a part Faerie, she had a natural affinity for both Planes. So, when she saw that Ailsa was looking toward her and laughing, her face couldn''t help but blush with embarrassment.


    ''Don''t worry too much. He gives out this perfect image to the world, but in reality I''ve lost count of how many times he''s fallen flat on his face. It''s just that his skin is so thick that you question whether it actually happened.''


    Yaana was stunned for a moment before she burst into a fit of giggles. She had never seen anyone describe Ryu that way.


    The Ryu she knew, even when the entire Tor Kingdom hated him, there was always a tinge of fear hidden in their eyes when they spoke of him, and that was back when he was just a little boy. His own ''father'' feared him so much that he refused to ever allow him his Awakening Ceremony out of consideration for the likelihood that Ryu would likely one day surpass them all.


    And yet, even without their aid, he did exactly that and even single handedly took the Tor Kingdom down, a Kingdom that had reigned for thousands of years, just with a few casual schemes.


    Yaana felt that if Ryu ever decided to stop being so straight forward, and stopped being too impatient to spin the truth with his words, he could likely make the entire martial world dance on his blade just with his mind and intelligence alone.


    But, she also knew that Ryu had grown tired of being that person. In fact, that person was never the man he had wanted to be to begin with.


    He wanted to stand atop that mountain on the merit of his blade, not his tongue.


    ''That''s right¡­ What am I so worried about? Is the Ryu I know really so fragile?''


    As though on cue, Ryu''s saber swung and touched upon the surface of a shimmering bubble. However, this time, there was no pop sound.

 Chapter 702 Relativity

    Chapter 702 Relativity


    *POP


    It didn''t take long for the sudden breakthrough to fall through like the rest, however Ryu remained just as unperturbed. He steadied his blade once more and rose it up, prepared to try again.


    Sabelle, however, already had brows that threatened to leap from her face. It was very obvious to her that Ryu was a complete novice with the saber and didn''t have an Inheritance tied to him at all. She simply didn''t believe that there was anyone in the world with good enough acting skills to pull this off in front of an expert like her.


    But, right there, Ryu had caught onto the air of something special.


    The feeling was exceedingly weird. It was like Ryu was teetering between the abyss of a newbie and the valiant mountain of a true expert. However, this just felt outrageous.


    To any normal individual, the dividing line between such a gap was so thick and sturdy that it would take millions of years to cross. So, how is it that it felt that Ryu was just a step away? The logic didn''t compute and Sabelle felt as though her mind was being fried.


    Ryu swung his blade again. This time, the bubble lasted for an entire second.


    *POP


    ''I see¡­''


    Ryu''s initial reaction was that speed wasn''t the answer. When he slowed his blade down, the bubble did indeed manage to survive, but so what? What good was a slow blade in battle unless he had enough strength to completely suppress his opponent''s movements? But, if Ryu had the strength to do that, he would already be sitting on the mountain top he was aiming for instead of playing this seemingly silly game of bubbles.


    However, Ryu felt that even this answer had layers to it. Was it truly that speed didn''t matter? He wasn''t convinced. That was when he asked himself another question: What was the difference between the sharp edge of his saber and the blunt edge?


    To an untrained eye, the difference isn''t too striking. In fact, if it wasn''t for the obvious curve of the saber making it clear which edge was meant to be the leading edge, then a layman would at best have a 50/50 chance at telling.


    Simply put, the sharp edge had been treated properly with a whetstone while the blunt edge was not. The same material was used throughout to begin with, so if Ryu really wanted to, he could probably add another edge to this saber, not that it would be particularly useful.


    Of course, this was mostly nonsense. With Ryu''s gaze, he could easily tell the difference. One edge was far thinner than the other, that was the fundamental difference. It was a simple difference as well. However, as simple as it was, it was important because it brought Ryu to another very important point:


    Relativity.


    Why was it that Ryu had to swing his sharp edge so slowly to keep the bubble safe while he could use a relatively faster speed with the blunt edge? It was because the thicker edge allowed for more breathing room and was more forgiving in that aspect. Because it was thicker, it was harder for it to cut things. It was that simple.


    But, what exactly was ''thin'' and what was ''thick''. Was there an objective answer? Probably not. This blade was quite ''thin'' or ''sharp'' when the target was these bubbles, but what if Ryu changed the target? What if Ryu wanted to cut a piece of paper down the length of its thickness? And what if that piece of paper was equally as thin as the blade itself?


    In that situation, the blade wouldn''t be sharp anymore, now would it? In fact, if the two were perfectly lined up, it would be impossible for the blade to cut the paper. It would just have to settle for crushing the paper instead.


    Coming to this point, Ryu had a realization. Even the thinnest blade couldn''t reliably cut through everything.


    Never mind the relativity of thickness, what about the hardness of the blade? What about the hardness or softness of the target? What about the relative movement of the target? Could you cut through something as reliably if it was moving back at the same speed you were swinging forward?


    Ironically, in a game of focusing on not cutting through, Ryu''s thoughts wandered to the point where he was considering the exact opposite¡­ How could he always, without question, reliably cut through something?


    Even a blade a single atom thick, if made of inappropriate materials, could never dream of cutting a material like Neutron Star Ore.


    At the same time, even a blade edge as wide as Ryu''s body could be considered to be sharp if the target was an entire world.


    From beginning to end, all that mattered was relativity. What was sharp and what wasn''t, what was thin and what wasn''t, what could be cut and what couldn''t be¡­


    Every situation had its own breath, its own unique life and frequency. It changed depending on the blade, on the target, even on the skill and strength of the wielder of said blade.


    Capturing that subtle hint, that whisper into your ear that nature breathed into your soul¡­


    Ryu swung down again, the bubble before him cleanly separating and forming two new bubbles.


    He moved again, his steps carrying an enigmatic rhythm. His blade touched another bubble, but this time it moved away without splitting as though someone had lightly blown on it.


    Ryu''s movements became like a dance, his white hair fluttering and his robes billowing about the surroundings.


    His blade swung. This time, gorgeous streaks of diamond-like light followed his wake.


    He pushed two bubbles into fusing into one another, divided another into four with three quick strokes, and pushed the next set into a delicately arranged formation.


    He wielded the enormous saber as though it was as light as feather and as harmless as a breath of fresh air.


    Watching on, Sabelle''s face flushed completely red beneath her mask, her breathing becoming somewhat labored. She squeezed her legs closed beside herself, pressing a hand to her lower stomach.


    "I¡­ I''ll be back."


    She rushed off into the distance, leaving a confused Eustis and Godefride behind.


    It was at that moment that a blinding pillar of light fell from the skies.

 Chapter 703 Commission

    Chapter 703 Commission


    Two heated streams of white fog left Ryu''s lips. The plain grey saber in his hand had already become a shining silver luster, not much unlike the changes his previous staff had undergone. While it had felt unfamiliar to him in the past, it suddenly felt like an extension of his arm, perfectly balanced and even more perfectly fitted to his palm.


    Feeling how it felt to swing such a blade, Ryu realized just how much easier it would be to dual wield a weapon like this as opposed to a polearm.


    Ryu flipped the saber in his hand. However, he seemed to have underestimated its weight. With how hit was spinning now, its blade edge would definitely land on his hand.


    Yaana gasped in horror, however, she couldn''t help but be shocked by what happened next.


    The sharp edge of the blade balanced on Ryu''s finger, yet there wasn''t the slightest hint of broken skin or trickling blood. If those watching hadn''t known better, they would have thought that Ryu was currently touching the dull edge of the blade.


    It was only after a while that the few watching felt that enigmatic air around Ryu when he flipped the saber. In just a few moments, he gained the ability to not only apply his understanding of these frequencies in normal combat, but he could even apply them in such novel situations. It was a good thing that Sabelle had already left, or else who knew how she would react?


    ''This feels like a Natural Enlightenment¡­''


    Ryu flicked his finger upward, causing the blade to spin in the air once more before he allowed it to land on the back of his finger this time.


    Ryu didn''t know what it was about his Natural Enlightenments, but why did they always feel so close yet so far at the same time? Originally Ryu had thought that it was because he just hadn''t grasped them firmly enough for them to appear, but what if he was wrong?


    If this mysterious force could snatch away his comprehension of Mortal Endowments, who was to say that it couldn''t do the same for Natural Enlightenments? After all, they were both part of the Natural Order.


    Ryu had been vaguely aware that he had been close to grasping a Natural Enlightenment many times before, it was just that he chose not to linger on it. Trying to force a breakthrough would often result in the exact opposite of what you wanted. In fact, it would make it harder and harder to do so.


    The feeling was akin to something being at the tip of your tongue. If you tried to force yourself to remember, it might fly further and further away. Only when you relaxed might the thought come back to you naturally like a gently flowing spring.


    However, what was special about this Natural Enlightenment in specific was that its comprehension was so blatant and readily testable. Even without the support of the Heavens, Ryu could use his Pupils and its innate comprehension of the Mysteries of the world to accomplish what this Natural Enlightenment would naturally allow him to do.


    Due to these reasons, the fact that Ryu felt blocked from truly comprehending it was far more obvious now than it ever had been in the past.


    ''What a joke. Will I be the first wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils in history without a Natural Enlightenment? No, will I even be able to form my Minor Godhood at this rate?''


    Ryu smiled a bit bitterly.


    He didn''t know what chains were binding him down right now, or more accurately, he didn''t know who owned those chains or what purpose they had for chaining him down. But, likewise, he also didn''t really have any ideas on how to deal with this issue either.


    "You¡­ You entered the Monarch Realm?"


    Sabelle''s voice sounded. It seemed she had returned, mostly due to the pillar of light that descended not long after she had left. But, she still couldn''t believe it.


    For one, going from nothing to the Monarch Realm was absolutely ridiculous. Secondly, doing so without even the guidance of another''s Inheritance wasn''t just ridiculous, it was enough for even Sky God''s to kill themselves amid their own inferiority. And, as though that wasn''t bad enough, thirdly¡­ The skill Ryu just displayed seemed to be far beyond the Monarch Realm.


    Though it was ridiculous, Sabelle felt that Ryu should have stepped into the Dominion Realm at the very least. But, she was somewhat thankful he hadn''t otherwise she might really lose it.


    "I guess so." Ryu said casually, spinning the blade again and catching it by its hilt this time.


    Godefride, Eustis and Sabelle choked on air.


    If it was anyone else who replied so casually to such a thing, they would think that he was just trying to show off. But, Ryu made it feel almost too natural. It made it difficult for them to even get angry. However, that didn''t stop them from wanting to pummel his face in.


    "What did you say before? Something about starting with a weapon so late into cultivation?"


    Eustis turned to Godefride to make himself feel better about the situation. Even if he couldn''t get one up on Ryu, he could at least do so against this drunkard, right?


    Godefride''s face turned blue. "Screw you, as if you didn''t agree."


    Eustis rubbed his nose. "I have no idea what you''re talking about."


    Sabelle rolled her eyes and eventually turned her attention back to Ryu who had leapt down from the platform.


    "Ryu, with your talent, there are many experts of my Scire Clan who would fight tooth and nail to take you in as a disciple. In fact, even if you don''t take one of them on, so long as you agree to help our Scire Clan, there are many Saber techniques and Daos that we can share with you."


    Ryu shook his head lightly. "I don''t plan on continuing my study of the saber, I have already reached my goal. But, I did have a question.


    "Your Armament Guild is the shelter for the martial world''s greatest Blacksmith''s, correct? I have something I would like to commission."

 Chapter 704 Probable?

    Chapter 704 Probable?


    While the most important goal of Ryu''s trip was to fix the lingering issues in his Great Swordstaff Inheritance and refine it to perfection, coming here also made it convenient to accomplish some other things.


    Firstly, considering the current strife, it was another opportunity for Ryu to temper himself. And, secondly, it was about time he forged an appropriate weapon for himself.


    It had been a very long time since Ryu wielded a weapon appropriate for his cultivation level and strength. In fact, this could be considered to be one of the things holding back his combat prowess, not that he needed much more of it.


    With how fast Ryu was progressing, it made it hard for his weapons to keep up, especially back when he was poor. But, now that he was rich, he had another problem, and that was the fact the Great Swordstaff was simply too rare of a weapon.


    Even if by some miracle he did run across one, it would likely be a novelty item created by a Blacksmith on a whim. At best it would be Earth or Heaven Grade.


    Worse than this, even if by some unlikely miracle Ryu ran into a Blacksmith who had been enamored with the ancient and rare weapon, what was the likelihood they would have created two of them that Ryu could properly dual wield?


    When all of these factors came together, it only became more difficult to conjure up a scenario where Ryu would be able to stumble upon exactly what he needed. That was where the convenience of the Armament Guild came into play.


    As the martial world renowned number one location for weapon masters, it was only logical that the Armament Guild would also heavily invest in Blacksmiths. Even compared to the Merchant Guild, their selection was far greater and their specialists were famous throughout the martial world.


    In fact, the Armament Guild had several Blacksmiths who had formed their Godhood around certain weapon specialties.


    Of course, these sorts of Sky Gods didn''t have the combat prowess of true Sky Gods, but they were still enough to casually crush World Sea Realm experts if they were ever to step onto a battlefield.


    Regardless, the Blacksmiths and the Armament Guild were more like a symbiotic relationship rather than truly being one entity. In fact, in a lot of ways, the Blacksmiths could even be considered to be their own Guild, it was just more convenient for them to be under the umbrella of the Armament Guild.


    "Ah¡­ Yes, we do. But, depending on what you need¡­ Things might get a bit complicated." Sabelle and the other two smiled bitterly.


    Though the Blacksmiths could be considered their own separate entities, after so many years of their symbiotic relationship, how could things really be that simple?


    It was fine if Ryu needed the help of a Blacksmith close with their families. But, if he needed one of the others¡­ That could get very dicey.


    Things might have still been fine if Ryu hadn''t made it clear whose side he stood on and instead used his apparent ''connections'' with the Necromancy Guild instead. But, if things were like this, it might be more trouble than it was worth.


    "Mm." Ryu nodded. "I have some Breaking Ore that I want to fashion into a polearm and a bow body. As for the blade of the polearm, I need it to be a great sword. So depending on the specialties of your Blacksmiths, I would need someone adept act forging bows, another adept with polearm weapons, and the final has to be skilled in making swords."


    The pupils of the three youths constricted.


    How could they not know what Breaking Ore was? In its unrefined form, it was overly fragile and could shatter at the slightest touch, thus its name. But, after being refined properly, it not only gained an enormous tensile strength, but its flexibility was otherworldly.


    When Breaking Ore was refined into Breaking Crystal, it ranked 22nd on the martial world''s hardest materials, top 10 in its qi flow allowance, and top 3 in its flexibility and form retention! It was simply a material of dreams.


    However, with this sort of output, it obviously took an equivalent amount of skill. Even the worst Blacksmith''s capable of refining Breaking Ore into Breaking Crystal were Ancestral Grade Blacksmiths. And yet, even if their products were inferior, the result would still be worthy of an Ancestral Grade treasure.


    The best were most definitely Origin Grade, and the result weapon would likewise be of this level. In fact, even an Ancestral Grade Blacksmith who happened to be skilled in refining Break Ore could form an Origin Grade weapon with a bit of luck. This was how amazing this material was. So, how could they not be shocked?


    Of course¡­ They had no idea that Ryu had actually picked up such a valuable material from the Mortal Plane. In fact, those fools of the Tor Kingdom had actually been using their fragile nature of Breaking Ore as part of their games. Simply a waste of nature''s treasures. How could Ryu not take advantage of them?


    When the three finally recollected themselves, they realized just how complex Ryu''s ask was.


    Godefride cleared his throat. "You''re right, Ryu. If you were willing to take a small hit in quality, you wouldn''t have as many hoops to jump through. After all, the Blacksmiths our families are friendly with are extraordinarily high level. Even though they have their specializations, they''d be too incompetent if they couldn''t step out of it.


    "But, considering how you framed your question, it seems that you''re unwilling to settle for anything less than the best¡­"


    Godefride understood Ryu''s thoughts. Who would want to waste a material as precious as Breaking Ore on anything less than that? But¡­


    "Our family is close with numerous Blacksmiths who would be able to fashion a top quality polearm for you. And, though it''s a bit tricky, the Blacksmiths of the sword faction have many upright men who don''t bend to outside pressure. They pursue their craft and won''t skip out on a chance to work with Breaking Ore, so you should be able to have your Great Sword dealt with well too¡­


    "The issue comes in with the bow. That faction of Blacksmiths is almost completely closed off to us and are firmly bound with the Arcus Clan and their people. Though I won''t say it''s impossible, I''m really not certain if it''s probable¡­"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow.

 Chapter 705 Enough

    Chapter 705 Enough


    Sabelle sighed.


    "Our Armament Guild has five Supreme Blacksmiths, all of whom are at the Sky God Realm. Beneath the five Supreme Blacksmiths are their factions.


    "To begin with, getting one of the Supreme Blacksmiths to work on anything for you is impossible, so I assume you want¡ª"


    Ryu shook his head. "No, it must be them."


    Sabelle''s expression changed again.


    To have a Sky God forge a weapon for a junior¡­ It would be one thing if Ryu was in the World Sea Realm, but from what they understood Ryu was even beneath the Cosmic Seed Realm. Though his cultivation was difficult to read, especially due to his ridiculous combat prowess, what was obvious was that he didn''t have the air of a Dao and he also hadn''t grasped Cosmic Qi, so he was most definitely in the Path Extinction Realm at best.


    To the secular world, this might be impressive. But, to a Sky God, Ryu was nothing more than an ant. In fact, not only was he an ant, irrespective of his status as a genius, they had no reason to take him seriously at all.


    Ryu might have a better chance if he had another Sky God as a backer to commission this work for him, but considering how things went during the Martial God''s gathering, it was doubtful that he had even that unless he was still hiding his cards.


    Now that Ryu was demanding such a thing, the three of them couldn''t'' even guarantee that the Blacksmiths their families were on good terms would help, let alone the Supreme Blacksmith close with the Arcus family.


    "Tell me more." Ryu spoke plainly as though he was asking about the weather.


    The three looked toward one another but Sabelle still began to speak once more.


    "The five Supreme Blacksmiths are divided into their disciplines. There''s of course the Saber, the Battle Axe and the Bow. However, the final two Supreme Blacksmiths are masters of multiple trades. Supreme Blacksmith Okie, a close friend of our Hastam Clan, is an expert on polearm weapons. Whether it''s the staff, spear, glaive or halberd, there are few Blacksmiths in the martial world that could hope to match him on their best day and none that could surpass him.


    "Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn is the fifth and final Supreme Blacksmith and she is an expert in blades. She is unmatched in her forging of swords of all kinds, whether that be short swords, broad swords, katanas, double edged swords¡­ She is even able to rival Supreme Blacksmith Xin in the formation of Sabers. Unfortunately, Supreme Blacksmith Xin is unable to meet her standard in swords. There''s no doubt that if you find a supremely powerful sword forged in this era, eight of ten would have passed through Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn''s hands.


    "As we said before, we could probably get help from Blacksmiths within factions we are friendly with to help. But¡­ Getting the help of a Supreme Blacksmith is something we have no power over. Even we as Cosmic Seed Armament Wielders have no right to ask anything of them¡­"


    Sabelle smiled bitterly, hoping that her explanation would get through to Ryu. But, it seemed like the latter was unmoved by it all. Even though she could only see his eyes, they were too firm to come from someone who had just been swayed. If anything, it seemed that after hearing about their rarity and specialties, Ryu was even more intent on gaining their help.


    "What is the main issue?" Ryu asked. "Is it that you believe I don''t have enough money?"


    "Ah¡­" Sabelle blinked.


    That was probably the case? But, at a certain level, these Supreme Blacksmiths stopped caring about such things. They had lived for so long as the best in their fields, how could they want for money? They already had wealth alone that could rival entire Clans, and that was on top of heading powerful Clans themselves filled to the brim with more Blacksmiths that brought in even more money.


    "I understand what you want to say." Ryu said lightly. "Such experts don''t care for money. At their level, they only care for two things:


    "The first is improving their Craft. Many of them probably need trillions of years just to experience a small measure of progress, but just a few thousand years of no practice could cause them to fall behind, never to rise again. They must constantly climb upward, and as such, they must continue to challenge themselves.


    "The second is recognition. Not only must they Craft, but their treasures must be elevated by warriors who match their status. Only when their expertise is met in kind by the expertise of others can their prestige be elevated and their works be remembered throughout time.


    "But, which of these things do I lack, exactly?"


    Something seemed to shift about Ryu''s aura, making it difficult for the three of them to breathe. Despite being Cosmic Seed Realm geniuses who stood at the pinnacle of the Martial World, for some reason they felt decidedly small at this moment.


    "When it comes to the first, I have treasured ores here I can guarantee these Supreme Blacksmiths have only had the pleasure of working with a handful of times in their long lifespans, if they have had the pleasure at all. In addition, my ask of them is to collaborate on breathing life into a weapon that hasn''t seen the light of day in countless epochs.


    "And when it comes to the second, there is no one in this world with the ability to bring more glory to a weapon than I.


    "I need the weapons they forge for me today, but tomorrow I may not cast them a glance. If they want to wait until I am on their level to accept my request of them, they''ll realize it''s too late not long later."


    The three Armament wielders felt suffocated for a moment until a sudden voice from above interjected.


    "Well, brat. You sure are arrogant enough."

 Chapter 706 All Day

    Chapter 706 All Day


    Ryu cast a glance upward, but he didn''t seem too surprised by the appearance of this person. This old man had been following him around for years already, he only vanished after Ryu went off to the Moon World. Now, he was back again.


    Of course, this old man was Godefride''s father, Aberardus Hastam. He was a man who was able to take control of the Hastam Clan''s situation the moment he returned and even forced them to have to scheme and trip over themselves using underhanded means to try to reclaim this strength.


    It was clear that this man was powerful. In fact, at a glance, Ryu could see that he was at the Peak of the World Sea Realm, no different from King Adonis. The difference was that Aberardus was much, much, much older than King Adonis was. In fact, Aberardus had already experienced trillions of years of life. At this point, it was either he became a Sky God or he died.


    From what Ryu could see, Aberardus wasn''t bad indeed. In fact, he was probably stronger than about 95% of most Peak World Sea Realm experts. He was about a step below where Ryu''s Grandpa Tatsuya and Kunan had been when they were a live, but he was a step above where Ryu''s Grandma Kunan and Tatsuya had been.


    With that perspective, while it wasn''t a guarantee that he would become a Sky God, it wasn''t an impossibility either. He probably had about a 10% chance at his current level. But, it would all depend on his luck and a moment of enlightenment.


    Aberardus immediately felt uncomfortable beneath Ryu''s gaze, something that left him baffled.


    Him, feeling uncomfortable beneath the gaze of a junior? What kind of bullshit was this? Also, where was the surprise? Why did this brat act like he had known that he was here the entire time? Which bastard exposed him? Was it that unfilial son of his again?


    Aberardus shook his head. Rather than losing the initiative, he decided to firmly grasp it. He had been led by the nose at the hands of this little bastard for too long. No more!


    "I''ll take you to see Supreme Blacksmith Okie, he owes me a favor. But, you''d do well to watch your tone in his presence. If he heard these words you said, he would rather harm his Dao by ignoring the favor he owes me instead of helping you."


    Aberardus put on a fierce expression as though trying to intimidate Ryu. But, what happened next left him quite stunned.


    Ryu cupped his fists together and bowed slightly.


    "Then I''ll thank senior in advance for this favor. I will do what I can to repay it."


    Caught off guard, Aberardus blushed a bit. He hadn''t expected this brat to know how to be respectful sometimes, he was completely baffled. Was this really the same Ryu who threatened to kill a World Sea Realm expert just a few weeks ago?


    If it wasn''t for a sudden snort of laughter, Aberardus had no idea how long he would have been stuck in such an embarrassing state.


    He sent a glare over toward his son who simply looked away, pretending as though he hadn''t done anything.


    No longer having the face to stay here, Aberardus flashed forward and grabbed Ryu''s shoulder. Before anyone could react, they had both vanished, leaving Godefride''s bursting fit of laughter behind.


    Eustis and Sabelle didn''t dare to laugh so openly at a Peak World Sea Realm expert, but they still covered their mouths as their shoulders trembled. Who knew that Patriarch Hastam actually had such an adorable side to him?


    Ailsa stayed behind with Yaana, not wanting her to be alone. She too couldn''t help but smile at the situation. Only her Ryu could make a World Sea Realm expert react like this.


    ¡­


    Despite the speed Aberardus was moving at, Ryu''s eyes didn''t have much of a problem keeping up at all. Though, if not for Aberardus'' protective qi covering his body, it was likely that he would have already been ripped to shreds. This alone painted just how amazing the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were.


    Not long later, the two of them had entered the main Armament Guild City, a magnificent behemoth that entirely dwarfed the nine cities orbiting around it.


    Aberardus shifted through the void without much care for the city''s rules, but he, of course, had the right to do so. Within the walls of the city, though, it felt very much like they had entered an entirely new world and environment. It was quite the shocking scene.


    Soon, they reached the entrance of a Sect which Aberardus bypassed with ease. Once more, it felt like they had entered a new pocket of space.


    With a single step, Aberardus crossed an enormous distance, appearing at the foot of a vast mountain.


    The pair now stood between two mountains connected by the archway of a gate. Despite the fact there didn''t seem to be any barriers, it felt as though they were staring into nothingness.


    Of course, this was just for a normal individual. Ryu felt that if he adjusted his focus just a minor touch, he would be able to see through this veil. However, this time, he didn''t do so.


    Just because he didn''t fear Sky Gods didn''t mean he was a fool. He wouldn''t antagonize one for no reason, nor would he paint a target on his back either. A lesser expert might not be able to tell, but a Sky God, even one who built their Godhood on Blacksmithing, wasn''t to be trifled with.


    "Senior, this junior has come to make a humble request of you."


    Aberardus spoke neither too softly nor too loudly. He knew that for an expert on the level of a Sky God, especially an existence that relied on their Spiritual Sense as much as a Blacksmith, there was no way their appearance would have gone unnoticed.


    "Brat Aberardus, don''t tell me that you''ve come to have me forge a weapon for this kid? If that''s the case, you can scram."


    Aberardus was speechless. What was wrong with this old man?


    Wait, why was his hand suddenly empty?


    Aberardus turned his head to find that Ryu was already walking away.


    ''What the fuck¡­ This kid''s temper¡­''


    Supreme Blacksmith Okie sounded like he wanted to speak more when he too suddenly sensed when Ryu what doing. At that moment, despite being stunned, Okie burst into a fit of laughter.


    With a wave of his hand, the empty void before them vanished to reveal a path.


    "I change my mind, hurry up. This old man doesn''t have all day."

 Chapter 707 who?

    Chapter 707 who?


    Aberardus turned back toward Ryu with a smile. But, his face fell when he saw that Ryu continued without any intention of turning back.


    ''This damned brat!''


    Without asking Ryu for his opinion, Aberardus'' hand reached out and a suction force pulled Ryu toward him. Then, he flashed inside, not giving Ryu a chance to do or say anything.


    Ryu felt himself being yanked back, but let alone the fact he was heavily injured, even if he was in peak condition, there was nothing he could do to fight back against the strength of a World Sea Realm expert, at least not with any normal means, and definitely not when the two were so close together.


    Toward this series of events, Ryu could only be speechless. Why was this Aberardus so eager to use a favor of his? This was still the favor of a Sky God after all, it was endlessly valuable. He could only chalk it up to the old man being a bit eccentric.


    By the time Ryu had organized his thoughts, he found that the temperature around him was skyrocketing to a degree that even he felt. The fact he noticed the temperature change as a bit more than a passing commentary went to show just how great the heat was.


    Soon, Ryu''s vision cleared and the large expanse of what could only be described as a mad science project laid out before him. Pipes, gears, and billowing steam snaked through the laboratory. Some connected to cauldrons, other cut into the walls, floors and ceiling to destinations unknown, and yet others were connected to a chair turn throne of metallic machinations.


    On this odd chair throne was maybe the oddest man Ryu had ever laid eyes on.


    Supreme Blacksmith Okie had the face and facial hair of an adorable old man one might want to help across a busy street. His wrinkles had wrinkles and his hair was like sparse vegetation on a desert plain.


    However, Supreme Blacksmith Okie''s body was like that of a bronzed body builder. In fact, his head seemed a size too small for his robust figure and there was even a clear and dividing tan line that separated his head from his collarbone.


    If Ryu didn''t know better, he would have thought that Supreme Blacksmith Okie was a lich who prolonged his life by stitching his head to different bodies. The sight was truly that peculiar.


    Despite sensing them come in, Okie qi continued to work the valves of his special throne, controlling the temperatures across the room and managing the output of steam and air. Several minutes passed by before he slapped the armrest of his throne of pipes and gears, causing the lid of a cauldron to fly off before being caught by some sort of magnet on the ceiling.


    "Alright, Abe brat, what do you need of me?"


    Aberardus began to speak a bit too quickly, apparently afraid that Ryu would say something irreparable and get them thrown out.


    "This is how it is¡­"


    Aberardus quickly explained everything that he had heard from eavesdropping on Ryu''s conversation with his son without the slightest hint of shame. He let it all spill forth, clearly still afraid that Ryu would interrupt him.


    Ryu shook his head and smiled. It was rare to meet people like Aberardus in the martial world. Ryu had experienced a lot, but this was definitely a unique instance. It could only be said that Aberardus was what you would call a ''good person''. Though, just thinking that left Ryu with a weird feeling. Just went to show just how rare such a thing was.


    Okie''s gaze shifted from Aberardus to Ryu. He frowned slightly, seemingly only now ''noticing'' Ryu''s mask.


    Aberardus coughed lightly. "Please excuse this. This young one''s identity is a bit sensitive for the time and he has many enemies."


    Aberardus didn''t try to use the excuse of the Necromancy Guild. He had no confidence in lying in the face of a Sky God. Of course, Ryu wouldn''t have had a problem lying, but not only would Aberardus'' reaction have likely given him away, but he wasn''t really being allowed to speak right now anyway.


    "I see¡­ It seems you''re more arrogant than I thought. To actually want the services of so many of us at once."


    These words were clearly aimed toward Ryu and it suddenly had become inappropriate for Aberardus to continue answering for him. Without a choice, he could only nudge Ryu with an elbow and give him a stern warning with his eyes.


    "I want the best." Ryu replied.


    Okie''s brows shot up.


    ''Well, that''s not a bad answer.'' Aberardus inwardly began to pray. He felt like he was losing years off his life following this brat around. Why was it that Ryu''s actions had always seemed so entertaining when he was just a third party watching on, but now he felt so stressed?


    "People often know what they want but very rarely understand what they need. What good would treasures forged by me do you if you can''t use them? With your strength, just the weight alone would be enough to cripple you of their use, let alone the amount of qi and skill you would need.


    "I invited you in here both because of the favor I owe Abe brat and because your character is a small bit to my liking. I would advise that you choose a lesser Blacksmith to forge a weapon that is appropriate for your use."


    Beads of sweat began to poor down Aberardus'' forehead. Not only was he beginning to feel the heat of this forge, but he knew that Ryu didn''t take advice well, especially when that advice was framed in such a way. Okie was essentially saying that Ryu''s deductions were worthless.


    Of course, things weren''t necessarily this way. Even when Ryu''s relationship with Ailsa wasn''t particularly close, he had still allowed her to berate him and correct his path.


    That said¡­ That was only because Ryu had believed that Ailsa was correct back then. Okie, however, was very much wrong.


    "That would only depend on the design of the weapon, wouldn''t it?" Ryu replied unperturbed.


    Aberardus choked on air.


    "The design?" Okie''s gaze narrowed, his vision shifting from Ryu to Aberardus. However, at this point, the latter was trying to think of a method to turn back time and stop himself from ever having step foot in here. This Ryu would truly be the death of him. In the future, if he managed to survive, he would definitely make sure to only observe this ''fun'' from a distance.


    Ryu mentioning the design was like a layman speaking to a Herbologist about gardening or a Ruin Master about history. It was just a step short of a blatant slap to the face.


    Obviously, Ryu''s words implied that he had a design that would ensure that this wasn''t a problem. So, why was Okie, as an esteemed Supreme Blacksmith, struggling with it?


    The design should always be left up to the Blacksmith. At lower levels, a customer might have their own preferences. But, the higher order the Blacksmith, the more skilled they were at refining a design for a client based on a single glance.


    For someone to come to a Supreme Blacksmith with a design in mind was nothing short of courting death.


    Ryu shook his head. All these old people were even more arrogant than he was. Forget it, since he was here anyway, he might as well do what he could to get what he needed.


    "The weapon I need is unfamiliar to you all to begin with and you will need to collaborate with Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn to complete it. If you each have your own designs and thoughts, it would never work. From the very beginning, it would have to rely on my thoughts and specifications."


    Okie''s harsh gaze lightened a small tinge when he heard this. That was right, Aberardus had mentioned that his services were only needed for the polearm of the weapon. In that case, obviously the rest would be completed by someone else.


    However, this wasn''t enough for him to back off entirely. After all, what design could a brat like Ryu possibly have? If he had to waste his time working on the design of a person whose skill was lacking, his own skill would only regress. He had no will to do this. If it wasn''t for his good relationship with Aberardus, he would have directly kicked them out.


    It was then, though, that Ryu raised his hand up and began to draw in the air.


    At first, Okie''s expression was indifferent, but the deft control of Ryu''s qi caused his pupils to constrict.


    Thin lines of transparent blue qi pressed, pulled and curved through the air, slowly forming a three dimensional structure of ever growing complexity.


    Ryu''s control didn''t falter for several hours, his almost monotonous movements contrasting the beautiful display before him. It made it difficult to accept exactly what was happening.


    Then, he stopped, a gorgeous structure hovering before him.


    Okie''s expression became supremely difficult to read¡­


    "Who are you?"

 Chapter 708 Path Extinction

    Chapter 708 Path Extinction


    The design twinkled in the air as though in an attempt to consume the pregnant silence. Whether it was Aberardus or Okie, if it hadn''t been for the fact that they had personally witnessed Ryu in action, they would have never believed that this design was constructed by him.


    The main issue wasn''t even where the design came from. It was easy for Okie to dismiss it and simply believe that it was the work of someone else. But, it was a different matter entirely after seeing Ryu draw it personally.


    It couldn''t be said that what Ryu had done was just as hard as forging the weapon itself, but it was only a few steps down. To layer the complexities in this way required an in depth understanding of the entire process from start to finish to begin with. It wasn''t something that could just be memorized. Or, at the very least, memorizing it without understanding wouldn''t have allowed the process to go as smoothly as it had.


    To put this matter into perspective, it was like Ryu had just drawn out the plans for a complex watch mechanism or a multi-layered engine of a vehicle. Each piece was interconnected and reliant on the last, not to mention reliant on an error that was minimal at worst. Even an error of a fraction of a millimeter or more would result in the entire work falling apart.


    However, with how sharp Okie''s eyes were, how could he not see just how magnificent it all was? Not only was the design intricate and layered, but it all flowed smoothly. In fact, it was to the point where Okie felt prompted to ask just who Ryu was. Such skill couldn''t pop out of nowhere. Just Ryu''s qi control alone was enough to rank him amongst the best Blacksmiths Okie had ever known. If it wasn''t for the fact he was so weak, Oki would have thought that he was a Supreme Blacksmith come to pull some sort of practical joke.


    Ryu, though, didn''t care to answer Okie''s question. It wasn''t because he was afraid of revealing himself, but rather because it was a rude question to ask, especially after Aberardus had already made his status clear. To still ask this question after what Aberardus had said, it showed signs of one trying to use their prowess and seniority to get what they wanted.


    Maybe Okie didn''t even notice this. As a Sky God, he was used to asking what he wanted, when he wanted. Unfortunately for him, Ryu wasn''t the kind of person who took such disrespect so casually.


    "This design, it will work, correct?"


    Ryu spoke these words instead of answering Okie''s question, his meaning quite clear.


    The actual design of the Great Swordstaff was something that was pieced together by Ryu taking into consideration a few factors.


    The first was that he wanted the weapon to not limit him. He had great materials to use, but he also didn''t want to waste them on low level weapons. In fact, trying to do so would be more counter productive than anything else.


    So, instead, he decided that his weapon should come with several seals instead. These seals would work to limit the burden the weapon placed on him due to his lack of cultivation and he could then proceed to unlock them one by one. Undoing these seals would unleash more of the weapons potential and increase the strength it could display, thus making things easier on Ryu.


    The second thing Ryu took into consideration were the actual treasures he had on hand. He had many rare treasures, but he would be foolish to believe that he had all the rare treasures the martial world had to offer. This meant that the design had to, obviously, revolve around what he had. He didn''t have time to go running around looking for materials. And, even though he had money, at a certain point, trading for such rare materials became more dangerous than it was worth.


    Those who would have such materials in hand, and simultaneously be confident enough to let others know so that they could set up a trade, were all individuals who could crush Ryu with a single finger.


    The materials he had were good enough, there was no need to strive for absolute perfection, especially when perfection was relative. If Ryu created a perfect design for the raw materials he had now, it would be just as good as if he had a perfect design for any other set of materials.


    Of course, the final thing Ryu had to consider were his affinities, and, most importantly, what his Dao moving forward would be.


    Very soon, Ryu would be entering the Path Extinction Realm. He could already feel his cultivation moving along at a blazing speed and since his battle with the Heavens, he had already stepped into the 7th stage of the Immortal Ring Realm. Of course, him entering the Monarch Realm twice since then was greatly helpful as well.


    After clearing the Immortal Ring Realm, it could be said that the days of purely accumulating qi to progress were over. The Path Extinction Realm held its name for a reason. It was here that the true test and climb to Immortality began.


    Upon stepping into the Path Extinction Realm, one must shatter their comprehensions and build them back up on step at a time. Once the Path Extinction Realm is complete, one''s Dao would be affirmed and it would them be possible to enter the Dao Pedestal Realm, wherein the prowess of one''s Spiritual Foundation can finally begin to shine through.


    The trouble was that even Ryu himself wasn''t quite sure of what his Dao was. And, to make things even more troublesome, he, who had once been looking forward to clearing the Immortal Ring Realm and entering the Realm of comprehension so many dreaded, wasn''t even sure of himself anymore.


    With what was happening with Ryu''s Inheritances and how they always seemed to shatter and collapse outside his notice, he wasn''t sure what would happen to him once he entered the Path Extinction Realm.


    If his comprehensions had already experienced so many collapses and rebuilds, how would he do it again for the Path Extinction Realm? In that case, wouldn''t it be almost impossible for him to climb through it?


    Ryu sighed to himself. He had always looked forward to entering the Path Extinction Realm and beyond because it was at this point the cultivation of so many slowed down. But, for him, as the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, his cultivation speed would be near blinding. What it could take others millions of years to do, it would take him only thousands, if that.


    In fact, due to the fact Ryu''s Pupils had entered the Cosmic Realms, completing Immortal level comprehensions would be as easy as breathing. Because of that, it would likely only take him a handful of years to shoot all the way up to the gates of the Cosmic Seed Realm.


    But, all of this put a wrench in his plans and a certain future suddenly became anything about that.


    This aside, Ryu still managed to take this into consideration. Along with the seals, he used a mixture of path specific and neutral raw materials that could grow under his influence. With the right nurturing and the right timing in undoing seals, the weapon would mold itself into Ryu''s image as time went along. As for the problems with his cultivation, that would have to be a road he crossed when he got there.


    It was precisely this part of the design that had impressed Okie so much. He had never seen such a thing before. It seemed to combine modern concepts with theories he had only seen scattered throughout ancient texts. Yet, they had all come together so seamlessly¡­


    He simply didn''t want to believe that it was designed by Ryu, it had to be designed by someone else, a master, maybe. But, if Ryu had such a master, why would he need the help of others to forge his weapons? It simply made no sense.


    Okie was so baffled that he didn''t even have time to get mad at Ryu''s blatant ignoring of his question. He just kept staring at the hovering blueprint, his mind in chaos and his mouth practically salivating.


    Of course, he had no idea that this was indeed designed by Ryu.


    Ryu had a comprehension of formations that few could match. Though he never, or, more accurately, rarely drew them for himself, he had been cracking and undoing them all his life. In a lot of ways, doing this required far more skill than just drawing them as it involved comprehending a wide spectrum of knowledge.


    With the evolution of Ryu''s eyes and his now natural feel for the flow of the world, cobbling together his insights into a form that was both cohesive and made sense was even easier than he had made forming a Monarch Realm saber Inheritance seem.


    Plus, Ryu had access to the Zu Ancestor''s libraries, opening him to a vast store of information even the Tatsuya never had as it was lost to history and the many calamities...


    Okie simply never stood a chance.

 Chapter 709 Severing

    Chapter 709 Severing


    "You have all these materials?" Okie finally asked.


    "I do." Ryu nodded. "So long as your price is in Qi Stones, I should be able to afford it as well."


    Okie gaze Ryu a deep look. To tell a Sky God you could pay any price took some balls. But, Okie didn''t refute it.


    At a certain point, he had stopped caring about money anyway. Due to the uniqueness and intricacies of the design, he would work on it for free if he could. It was just that some of the materials that would be needed to make this work were so rare that even Okie''s Clan itself didn''t have any in store. Some of these things were practically extinct, and others were just exceptionally rare.


    Though Okie''s Clan had rare items on this same level in store, having items on the same level and having the items themselves were two completely different concepts. What was the use in having a supreme water treasure when what the design asked for was fire?


    "The final process will need both you and Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn to work together, so it could be better if you forged at the same time."


    Okie raised an eyebrow. "You''ve gotten that woman''s help?"


    "Not yet." Ryu replied.


    Aberardus was speechless. Why was Ryu''s tone with a Sky God so casual? One would think he had spent his whole like conversing with people on this level.


    Of course, this wasn''t true. The first Sky Gods Ryu had met were the Zu Ancestors and they were nothing more than spirits. It was just that Ryu wasn''t one to be moved by gaps in cultivation or seniority. In fact, he was more apt to be less than indifferent to it all.


    The stronger his cultivation became, the stronger this feeling became as well. Things that were difficult for others seemed simple to him and things he had yet to accomplish only felt that they would take a matter of time. In that case, it was hard for him to feel heartfelt respect and awe for anything.


    If you were guaranteed to accomplish something in the future, then how could you hold it in reverence? By then, whatever that accomplishment was would feel no different than another day to day occurrence, as simple as walking, breathing or eating. There was no suspense to it at all.


    **


    Ryu left the design with Supreme Blacksmith Okie for him to analyze and inspect and exited along with Aberardus.


    "Getting the help of Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn won''t be easy, and I unfortunately don''t have another favor to cash in for you. Though, even if I did, it would be a toss up as to whether or not she would agree to use it on you.


    "The good news is that the sword faction of Blacksmiths are very straightforward and they don''t like to scheme. As long as you can meet their requirements, it wouldn''t be impossible to get their help. But, Wynhorn''s requirements are very, very high¡­"


    Ryu lost himself in thought when he heard Aberardus'' words. From what he understood, Blacksmiths who specialized in swords were often as eccentric as sword masters themselves. Though Aberardus was of the opinion that all weapons were just as important as swords and that sword masters were just better at advertising themselves, when it came to stereotypes there was always a kernel of truth hidden within. The question was actually whether the kernel of truth hidden by said stereotype was attached with proper context or not.


    Take sword masters. They were portrayed throughout history as being esoteric, enigmatic, and eccentric. Some of the best sword masters in the history of the martial world were individuals who had taken their Daos to the extreme, many of whom followed a path of severing emotion and being only tied to one''s sword.


    Why was this?


    Ryu fell deeper into his thoughts. He felt that he needed to grasp something before he went to find this mysterious Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn.


    The moment Ryu put his mind to something, it truly didn''t take long for him to grasp it. He suddenly thought back to a memory he had long since buried, the day his grandfather sacrificed his life for him so that he could live.


    That day was the day Ryu failed to enter the Spiritual Severing Realm. Ryu wasn''t one who failed at much of anything, so this could be considered to be a great blight on his record. It only made it worse that this failure was connected to the death of a man Ryu had gained great respect for.


    When Ryu awakened to his memories in this life, he had always considered the Tor to be beneath his notice. In fact, if not for Granny Miriam, he wouldn''t have even bothered to seek revenge at all and he would have been more than happy to leave them behind. The fact that they would lose the right to be associated with him in the future was punishment enough.


    However, that day, Ryu''s Grandpa Tor sacrificed his life for Ryu''s sake.


    Ryu took a deep breath and sighed.


    It had been a long time since he thought of those memories. Life and human emotions were two things that all of Ryu''s comprehension couldn''t possibly get to the bottom of. Or, at least that''s what it felt like in his state. Who knew, maybe if he too experienced trillions of years of life, there''d be a day where he came to understand¡­


    He recognized his grandfather as his family only after he died, leaving him in a state of regret. But, knowing himself, could he ever have forgiven that man if not for him going so far to begin with?


    It was a heart wrenching paradox. To feel something for him, his grandfather had to die.


    There was something about that sentence that felt quite profound. Almost like how for their to be the rich, there had to be the poor. For there to be happiness, there had to be sadness¡­ And yet, while those were taking the grand scale of the world as its sample size, the death of Ryu''s grandfather was greatly personal.


    But, it was exactly that that made Ryu remember it all so vividly. He felt he would remember it so vividly even if he didn''t have the Origin Flame¡­


    The blade that fell that day, the very one that fell for them all, and the one Ryu failed to follow through on¡­


    Was a sword.

 Chapter 710 Good People and Good Things

    Chapter 710 Good People and Good Things


    Ryu had never really thought about it before, but no matter how you looked at it, the blade of the Spiritual Severing Realm was indeed a sword. Though it had no hilt or handle, there was no mistaking the style of the blade. The question was if this was by design of the Heavens or if it was something that Ryu had subconsciously done.


    In order to form the Severing Blade, one needed to accumulate all the qi they had gathering during the Qi Refinement Realm, expel it, and then use your qi control to meld it.


    If it was subconscious, wouldn''t Ryu have chosen a blade he was more familiar with? By then, he had already spent a lot of time with his spear, glaive and halberd and was firmly in the Impose Realm. In addition, he had fought almost too many life and death battles using the crystalline jade''s fourth floor. Though the crystalline jade''s fourth floor was absolutely useless to him now due to the fact his combat prowess had grown too greatly, back then it was a challenge he faced everyday only to die more times than he could count.


    So, using such weapons in a time of crisis was already second nature to him. He shouldn''t have needed to think before he chose one of those three blades that he was the most familiar with. And yet...


    There was no greater crisis Ryu had faced up until that point. With his Chaotic Silk Meridians, he knew that it would be extraordinarily difficult to complete his Severing. After all, to be forced to cut one of the strongest materials in all of existence, even if it was at its thinnest and weakest point, was a tall mountain to climb. In fact, if one thought back to what happened back then, Ryu''s own qi hadn''t been enough and he had to use the Essence from his comprehension breakthrough to supplement his Severing.


    All of that accumulated together to paint the picture.


    Ryu''s back had been against the wall, he had felt the threat of failing, and in his moment of uncertainty, in the moment he needed the blade to give him the surest chance at victory¡­


    He chose a sword?


    Aberardus saw how deep in thought Ryu was and chose not to interrupt. There was something about the movement of qi when Ryu entered such a deep state of thinking that made even Aberardus feel greatly at ease. In fact, before he even noticed what happened, Aberardus entered the first Meditation State and then immediately slipped into Breath of Earth.


    Okie, who had been observing what was happening as he wondered why these brats hadn''t left his mountain range yet, was shocked.


    He then grinned ear to ear. "To have entered a state of enlightenment so deep into your life, I guess you''re a bit lucky, eh? Abe Brat. Maybe we''ll have a new Sky God very soon¡­"


    It shouldn''t be forgotten just how rare entering a Meditation State was. Even back then, during Ryu''s birthday celebration, the fact he could enter Breath of Earth had shocked all of the World Sea Realm experts that had been there. And that was despite the fact they were well aware that there were seven States of Meditation higher than that!


    Just because Ryu could enter Meditation States as he pleased, didn''t mean others could do so. His Pupils were ranked First for a reason.


    To Aberardus, to have a chance to enter Breath of Earth right now, it was a blessing of a lifetime. Okie''s analysis wasn''t exaggerated in the slightest.


    Okie waved his hand and used his aura to block out the happenings. Though no one would usually dare poke and prod at his territory, he decided to be an extra step cautious. After all, Aberardus advancing to Sky God would throw a wrench in the plans of a lot of people.


    The Armament Guild was the Armament Guild after all, how could they not have true Sky Gods? These so-called Supreme Blacksmiths were practically only Sky Gods in name considering how much importance the martial world placed on combat prowess.


    This was all to say that the true powerhouses of the Armament Guild were allowing Aberardus and his son to throw their little tantrum for now, but when the time came their efforts wouldn''t count for much at all.


    At the same time, it was only because the Hastam Clan had an old Ancestor of the Sky God Realm as well that no one dared to go too far with what they did to the father-son pair as well.


    But, if Aberardus made that finally leap¡­


    ''Hm?''


    Okie''s pupils constricted. He had been so enamored with Aberardus'' state that he didn''t even notice that Ryu had¡­


    ''One with Self?!''


    Okie violently stood from his throne of pipes and gears. A violent burst of steam shot out in all directions due to his forcefulness. But, he couldn''t'' be bothered to care. In all of history, how many had managed to experience One with Self? A few ten thousand, maybe? If that?


    ''Oh¡­ A pity¡­''


    Okie shook his head. Right then, he witnessed Ryu suddenly snap awake and look over toward Aberardus.


    ''Wait¡­ Those¡­''


    Ryu took out several golden petals and crushed them in his hand. Then, with a flick of his finger, the qi of those petals entered Aberardus'' nostrils.


    Breath of Earth¡­ Breath of Heaven¡­ Breath of World¡­ One with Self¡­ One with Earth¡­ One with Heaven¡­ One with World¡­!!


    Unfortunately, Aberardus couldn''t cross the final level into Breath of Quintessence despite Ryu''s having crushed enough petals, but this was more than satisfying enough. It seemed that even the Spirit Seeking Lilies had their limits.


    If Ryu had left Aberardus to his own devices, even if he managed to grasp something from Breath of Earth, it would still take him several millennia to cross the final barrier and truly become a Sky God. But, each subsequent State of Meditation was exponentially better than the last. With One with World, Aberardus might become a Sky God in a few days, and not a normal one at that.


    Ryu smiled. Good people being rewarded for their good deeds made him feel a bit happy. Though he wasn''t a person who was na?ve enough to believe that good should be reciprocated by the world with more good, he still felt good that Aberardus was being rewarded.


    Though Ryu had been a small help, at best he was just a minor trigger. If Ryu could induce States of Meditation in people, his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils would be even more over powered than they already were.


    This was nothing more than a happy coincidence, but it was coincidence that Ryu was glad had happened.


    Most absolute geniuses only experienced one chance at a State of Meditation in their lifetime. Ryu hoped that Aberardus would grasp his well.


    Ryu took a step forward to walk away. His gaze shot back toward the gate that connected the two mountains and smiled as though he could see Okie''s expression as clear as day.


    Turning back, he began to make his way out of the Blacksmith Clan. As for his destination? Of course that was Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn.

 Chapter 711 Fast and Faster

    Chapter 711 Fast and Faster


    [Author''s Note: Mistake from last chapter, Ryu used silver petals, not golden]


    Okie watched on speechlessly as Ryu walked away. There were too many surprising things that had happened in just the last several seconds. Whether it was Aberardus entering Breath of Earth, to Ryu entering One with Self, to the appearance of those Spirit Seeking Lilies¡­


    Okie felt as though he had entered some sort of dream or fantasy land. With his breadth of knowledge, how could he not recognize Spirit Seeking Lilies? However, just how rare were they?


    If Okie knew that Ryu practically had an endless supply of Gold and Silver Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies, who knew how he would react?


    With the incubation of an Origin Grade treasure and the liquid Spiritual Qi treasure that the Zu Clan had left behind, the Spirit Seeking Lilies thrived under Ailsa''s care. Every few months, there would be another batch.


    The only unfortunate part was that the liquid Spiritual Qi was slowly, but surely, running out. At this pace, it would only last a few more years. But, by now, it had already done its job and then some. Ryu had already used the Gold Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies to raise his soul to infallible perfection, and he had more than enough Silver Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies for a lifetime. In fact, with the pace his Mysterious of Heaven and Earth Pupils were improving at, very soon, Ryu might not need to use them at all.


    Even then, what Okie was the most shocked about was Ryu''s casual attitude toward being snapped out of a One with Self state. Anyone else would have been distraught, in fact to many, such a thing would be enough for the collapse of their Dao and the assurance that they''d never improve a single step in all their lives. Yet, Ryu didn''t seem to care¡­


    It was as though¡­ He could enter such a state whenever he wanted?


    Okie shook his head. What a ridiculous notion.


    In the end, he turned his attention back to the blueprint hovering before him. Whether or not Ryu managed to get that lass Wynhorn''s help, he had already decided to work on and finish this forging by himself, even if he had to substitute with other materials. This blueprint was a great help to his Dao, it was no longer about Ryu to him any longer¡­


    ¡­


    The main Armament Guild City felt as large as a world. It was easy to forget this when he was being shuttled around by a World Sea Realm expert, but just travelling from one end of the city to the next would take Ryu several weeks even at his full speed.


    Of course, things weren''t this inconvenient. Everything in this place was connected and there were also countless teleportation platforms to use.


    Usually, only those a certain status was allowed into this place, but Aberardus had pretty much bypassed all of these rules to allow Ryu in. Now, Ryu was essentially a rogue within the city, but Ryu was obviously not the type of person to be pressured by rules and convention. Not to mention the likelihood of getting caught was low, even if it was certain that he would be, Ryu would still remain unmoved.


    Lingering thoughts swam about Ryu''s head as he continued to think of the meaning of the Severing Blade.


    In truth, that state he had entered previously was the first time in his life that he had entered a Meditation State without relying on his Heavenly Pupils to open the door for him, or in other words, using the [Focus] ability of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    It had been an interesting feeling to suddenly fall into such a state, but that was all. It felt no different from when Ryu used [Focus] normally, so he didn''t feel any particular attachment to the state. He had chosen to fall out of it because he didn''t want to accidentally interrupt Aberardus, it was all the same to him regardless.


    After using a few teleportation platforms, Ryu entered the swordsman faction of the main city. He remembered this place quite well. On his trip with his father, they had also stopped by this place to buy a whetstone for his mother.


    Himari Tatsuya, Ryu''s mother, had always been an expert swordswoman. In fact, she followed a rare and difficult path even among them as she was a dual wielder. Though the path she chose was both rare and difficult, it was also among the strongest sword paths to take as it allowed one to simultaneously practice two separate sword Daos.


    ''Two separate¡­''


    Those words seemed to resonate with Ryu, his slow steps entering an odd rhythm.


    Whether by coincidence or not, it felt like all those who came across Ryu''s path split without him having to say or do anything. If anyone was observing this matter, they would have been shocked to an extreme. The swords faction was filled to the brim with arrogant men and women, each with their necks high strung and their noses pointed to the sky. The idea of them willing stepping out of the path of anyone like this was enough to shock one into silence.


    Yet, Ryu didn''t seem to be doing this on purpose. He simply chose a straight path and others deviated from it. There wasn''t the slightest hint of qi or coercion. With light steps, he continued to walk aimlessly throughout the swords faction.


    One would have thought that with two Daos, Ryu''s mother would have chosen a path of balance. Maybe one hand would be tasked with offense and the other would be an absolute defense. In fact, this made perfect sense. After all, Himari had mastery over an absolute defensive Element in Ice and an absolute offense Element in lightning.


    If she had chosen such a path, she would have been a force to be reckoned with.


    But, funnily enough, Ryu''s mother chose two offensive paths and had still become undefeatable within the Cosmic Seed Realm with maybe the exception of Ryu''s own father.


    Ryu''s smile bloomed as he remembered something his mother had said to him.


    She held up her two blades to him when he asked what the difference between her swords was. With a brilliant smile that could light up a world, she said:


    "This sword kills fast. But, this sword kills faster."

 Chapter 712 Battle Ground

    Chapter 712 Battle Ground


    Ryu remembered being stunned and then laughing when his mother had said this. But, he knew that she was very much serious.


    Rather than choosing Ice and Lightning, Ryu''s mother had assimilated the Eastern Heavenly Wind, the Wind of Sharpness, into her Dao instead. One blade was as swift as the wind and the other was as swift as lightning. Even though Ryu himself had already reached the point where he could vaguely see the battle prowess of Cosmic Seed Realm experts over the horizon, he knew that his current self wouldn''t'' stand a chance against his mother.


    The truth was that Ryu''s mother and father were probably no less talented than Sarriel, maybe a step below due to their lack of Heavenly Pupils. They weren''t the type of people Ryu could challenge across three Realms. He would have to be at least well into the Dao Pedestal Realm to spar with his parents of back then.


    Ryu wondered why he thought back to this memory but his mind immediately gave him a reason.


    Back then, when he laughed and asked his mother why she hadn''t chosen Ice instead, her smile vanished and she said very seriously.


    "Swords are for killing. The Ice Phoenix is the representation of life. How could I combine them?"


    Ryu hadn''t really understood how profound those words were back then, but that was exactly why the comprehension of one person couldn''t'' just be passed on to another through words alone. Even if Ryu internalized these words after convincing himself that they carried weight, it simply wouldn''t be the same.


    What you knew was often less important than how you came to know it. And now, after experiencing so much and coming full circle, these words of his mother had finally resurfaced, bubbling up as though a flower finally ready to bloom.


    In truth, Ryu had subconsciously been following the path he thought his mother should. He had always used one blade for defense and the other for offense. He felt that this push and pull of yin and yang suited him quite well, especially due to his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils. Locking himself down to one direction given his talent seemed like a waste.


    However, now that his mothers words were coming back to him, he felt like he had always been overlooking something.


    What was the point of him taking such a difficult path? If he was going to use one blade for defense anyway, why wouldn''t he just use a shield instead? Wasn''t he a bit too stupid for a supposed genius?


    No matter how great the defenses of his blade became, how could it ever compare to a good shield?


    One might think that a blade could be more useful in parrying or using skim, but couldn''t'' a shield execute such techniques as well? In fact, the margin for error with a shield was much, much wider. Even someone relatively unskilled in combat could parry with a shield.


    Ryu suddenly began to re-envision every battle he had been in. Except, this time, he replaced the blade he used for defense with a shield instead. Then, he began to run through the steps of battle with only this change in mind.


    Without fail, one after another, each one of his battles ended several steps earlier with him as the victor. In fact, there were many life and death situations he had been in that could have been completely avoided had he just swapped one of his weapons for a shield. The realization was so striking that it hit him like an avalanche. He almost couldn''t believe it.


    =When Ryu framed things this way¡­ He felt like a fool. In fact, he felt like such a fool that he began to chuckle to himself, his laughter only growing louder and louder.


    That was right¡­ Swords were made for killing.


    Why would he waste time assigning a blade to defense. In that case, what was the point in having a blade at all? A blade was meant for slaughter, for carnage, for severing¡­


    Why was the Severing Blade a sword? Who knows, maybe it wasn''t a sword at all, maybe it was just that the sword was fashioned after it.


    The cultivation system as the martial world knew it was created by humans, but that didn''t mean it appeared from thin air. It took grasping and understanding the Heavens to slowly piece together one step after another. It was more accurate to say that humans didn''t create cultivation, but rather that they discovered it.


    The Severing Blade represented nothing more than that¡­ To Sever.


    It wasn''t there to defense, it wasn''t there to be delicate nor caring¡­ In the most crude sense, it was there to kill.


    Only after the Severing occurred could the connection be reformed. It could be said that with each Severing, one would experience a cycle of life and death in that sort of way¡­


    Ryu walked so aimlessly that he reached a part of the swords faction where people were quite scarce. Sword cries and howls filled the sky but Ryu couldn''t seem to hear them, nor could he see the faces of reverence those around him were shooting toward his figure.


    Ryu had no idea that he had stepped into one of the most sacred lands of swordsmen¡­ It was the Holy Battle Ground of the swords faction.


    Holy Battle Grounds were regions of dense Faith where penultimate battles of history took place. When it came to weapon''s masters, these locations held particular significance because it allowed one to test and refine their Dao. The further you could walk into this Holy Battle Ground, the firmer your Dao and the more you could gain as well.


    Ryu''s steps had unconsciously led him to this place. He hadn''t even realized how far he walked in, but the scars of battle were only growing more prominent.


    A surging sword qi swept by his cheek, missing by just a centimeter, yet Ryu didn''t seem to notice at all, continuing to walk forward slowly, but surely.

 Chapter 713 Absolute Trash

    Chapter 713 Absolute Trash


    The flurry of sword qi around Ryu only grew denser. Battle scars began to appear one after another, the once pristine and well kempt ground slowly becoming more disordered.


    Ryu''s steps subconsciously came to a stop, his gaze looking out into empty space. Before his feet, there was yet another deep gash, but this one was far deeper than many of the ones he had crossed until now.


    The gash was a deep and long streak, but at its tips, it splintered almost like the sides of a star. A deep aura of danger exuded from it, wafting out in waves and warding off all those who wanted to get close. And yet, Ryu stood merely a foot away from it, his gaze a bit vacant.


    The scenes of the battle that caused this gash replayed in Ryu''s mind.


    Numerous clashing entities fought all about, each wielding a sword. This was at most a small skirmish amidst the larger battle, and yet it had left behind a scar so many didn''t even dare to approach.


    Ryu could see the grit and determination on their faces, as well as the indifference toward both death and glory. Their only goal was to cut down the opponent in front of them and hopefully last long enough to cut down another. Every fiber of their very beings was focused on this battle here.


    They quickly exchanged blows, their faces and genders obscured to Ryu. All he could see was the fleeting mark of their shadows and the depth of their mastery. The push and pull of their battle was astonishing and the painting they drew as one was gorgeous to an extreme.


    The left shadow was relentless, their flurry of attacks always being led by a counter. Each combination had a purpose and was meticulous, always reserving a hint of power in case on flurry failed. The right shadow was far more defensive, willing to take on these flurry of attacks and bide their time for a strong counter.


    The left shadow almost suffered at the hands of this sudden counter several times, forcing them into a more reserved position where they began to hold back more and more strength with the looming danger of a counter overhead.


    Unfortunately, this was exactly what the right shadow wanted. Instantly, the initiative between the two shifted. From purely countering, the right shadow began to attack once more.


    The left shadow thought that they were lulling the right shadow into a trap and this was exactly what they wanted. Forcing the right shadow to abandon their usual sword Dao just to seek a quicker victory, this was the key to claiming a win in any battle.


    But, what the left shadow hadn''t noticed was the fact that it wasn''t the right shadow that had abandoned their Dao first, it was instead they who had.


    The more the right shadow pressed, the more reserved the left shadow became. Eventually, the roles completely reversed and it was the left shadow who had suddenly become defensive, reserving strength for the perfect counter attack.


    The unfortunate part was¡­ This wasn''t their Dao.


    BANG!


    A flurry of sword qi whipped against Ryu''s face, however his gaze had become decidedly cold. The battle hadn''t ended how one would expect. Just when the left shadow was about to fall too deeply to dig themselves out, the right shadow was sneak attacked and ended up with a blade through the heart. The reason the tips of the sword scar were splayed was exactly for this reason.


    Ryu was disgusted. He had just been enjoying a battle and had been sinking into a deeper depth of comprehension, but now his entire mood was ruined.


    The right shadow ended up taking the left shadow down with them, but the sneak attacker continued to roam the battlefield.


    Ryu had chosen to pause at this scar because he could feel something special about the right shadow. Though this person''s Dao didn''t exactly resonate with him, he could still feel that he could learn something from it. But, he hadn''t expected things to end like this.


    Ryu stepped past the sword scar, heading in deeper. But, every time he ran into a scar of note, he would find the very same sneak attacker. Eventually, at the third try, he began to follow the trail of the sneak attacker instead. But, he was shocked to find that even with the abilities of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, it was impossible to do so.


    Was this an assassin on the battlefield?


    It seemed to make sense. How else could it be that this person appeared from thin air and vanished just as quickly? After so long, their aura must have deteriorated to the point that even Ryu couldn''t'' follow it.


    This seemed like a logical conclusion, but Ryu''s gaze only grew colder. He didn''t care how long had passed, with the current state of his pupils, there was no assassin that could hide from him, especially not one that had appeared on this battlefield so often, they would have most definitely left a trail. And, if not that, there would definitely be a pattern that Ryu could follow.


    It seemed to be that this assassin was targeting all of the most talented individuals on the battlefield. Or, at least the ones with the most worthy Daos. Every time Ryu found something worth observing, the assassin would be there without a doubt. At the penultimate moment of the battle, they would swoop in and their blade would cut down the shadow that would have won without a doubt.


    However, every single time Ryu came across such a thing, his gaze would only grow colder. His disgust was no longer aimed toward this assassin. In fact, he was certain that there was no assassin at all.


    His steps led him to a deep chasm, the location of the largest and most enigmatic battle scar of all. It was difficult even to see to the bottom of it all.


    Ryu stood at the end, his gaze cold.


    "So these are the best swordsmen in the martial world? What absolute trash."


    Ryu spoke neither too loudly nor too softly. But, there was no one in the surroundings that could hear him anyway. The number that could make it this far were far too few. However, his words unexpectedly gained an answer.


    "Oh? What bold words."

 Chapter 714 Please Explain

    Chapter 714 Please Explain


    Ryu didn''t seem to be surprised by the sudden voice at all. He had spoken these words for himself, but the ears of cultivators were sharp. On top of that, there were very few things that could hide from Ryu''s [Third Perspective].


    After spending so long chasing this ''assassin'', Ryu had deployed his sharpest senses long ago. Even this woman wasn''t able to hide from him, even though Ryu could tell that she had actually stepped beyond the World Sea Realm.


    This wasn''t too surprising, though.


    Ryu could walk this far into the Holy Battle Ground because he could feel the rhythm of the Faith left behind and as a result, he could maneuver about it without getting hurt himself. However, if he hadn''t had his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he would have been stalled at the several hundred kilometer mark. To walk this deep, with his talent, if one were to ignore his Pupils, he would still need to be in the World Sea Realm. So, for another to reach so far, it wouldn''t be much of a surprise for them to be a Sky God.


    "I''m sure you''re aware of the truth more than even I am." Ryu replied, not even looking in the direction of the voice.


    "The truth, huh?"


    The voice was quite delicate.


    Under normal circumstances, if someone were to insult her faction of swordsmen like this, she would have just ended them with a single blade. But, with her understanding, whoever could walk so far, especially with such low cultivation, had to be a genius among geniuses of swordsmen.


    Plus, this person was curious about what exactly Ryu meant by his words. They didn''t seem to be unfounded, and at the very least, after walking so far, one had the right to an opinion.


    Ryu didn''t answer. He wasn''t a fan of explaining himself and if this person really hadn''t seen through the truth yet, then even if Ryu explained it, it would only lead to conflict.


    He continued to observe the deep gully before him. The battle that had occurred here was by far the most complex of them and seemed to have involved several Sky Gods. However, once again, the mark of the ''assassin'' appeared again and again, obscuring the most important portions of the battle.


    The only difference was that this time, the assassin failed to complete the deed and was forced to retreat several times. However, they still succeeded in disrupting the flow of battle and ruining things. It made everything drag out until the battle ended with a defeated sigh.


    The coldness of Ryu''s gaze only grew heavier, a dense killing intent hanging around him.


    Seemingly sensing this, the owner of the voice that had spoken earlier frowned.


    In truth, they really didn''t quite understand what Ryu was getting at. They had hoped that Ryu would explain, or more accurately, they had given Ryu a chance to explain, but Ryu instead fell completely silent. If she didn''t know better, she would have thought that Ryu was suddenly scared and wanted to retract his previous statement, but didn''t know how.


    However, judging by Ryu''s current state, this was unlikely. Would anyone who felt scared or apprehensive release killing intent? Now, it actually felt that Ryu was ignoring her instead, something that left her quite baffled.


    Initially, she had been willing to let Ryu go because he was just a talent who had mouthed off a little bit too much and got caught in the act. There was no need to end a genius'' life over a few ill conceived words. But, if things were like this, then it was actually much different.


    Her brows still marred by a frowned, the owner of the voice took a step out from the shallow cave she had found into the side of the deep valley. With a flash, she appeared before Ryu, looking down at him. But, before she could say a word, Ryu''s next words left her speechless.


    "I don''t like people looking down at me."


    Ryu''s gaze was still aimed toward the bottom of the valley, seemingly trying to piece something together. However, the woman who had appeared hovered above the valley. She was easily a head shorter, likely more, than Ryu. But, her gaze was actually aimed downward. She had subconsciously risen herself an extra foot or two just to do this.


    Most who saw a cultivator stronger than them wouldn''t'' even dare to mention something like this. But, Ryu had actually pointed it out so blatantly.


    Whatever good impression this woman had of Ryu vanished, her gaze becoming cold. Her cultivation subconsciously leaked outward.


    Any other Immortal Ring expert would have already fallen to their knees, but Ryu once again said something that left the woman at a loss for words.


    "I''m well aware of what your cultivation is, you don''t have to make it any more obvious."


    For the first time in a very long time, the woman felt embarrassed. Ryu''s words were simply too crass and she didn''t know how to respond to them. She wasn''t a ruthless person to begin with, plus she felt that killing Ryu now would actually only give his words more logic and reason. She couldn''t even win a war of words with a brat, how could she call herself a Sky God?


    Ryu finally looked up and scanned the face of the woman before him. It wasn''t too surprising that she was a beauty. In fact, she was quite comparable to Eska. Though, one was cold and detached while Ryu had a feeling that this woman was quite shy and reserved. Any other Sky God he had said these words to would have slapped him to death already.


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t a fool. He could say such words not because he was blindly arrogant, but rather because this was a Holy Battle Ground. Unleashing an attack to kill here would end in you getting targeted by all the sword qi at once. The only way to escape this Fate was if you comprehended every sword scar here to perfection, but with this ''assassin'' running around, how could you?


    Seeing Ryu staring so intently at her without a thought to look away, the woman actually blushed.


    She truly was a bit shy. The only reason she could so boldly speak with Ryu was because to her, it was no different from communicating with a child. But, what could she do if this ''child'' was actually so thick skinned and shameless?


    "Can you really not tell what''s going on here?"


    Ryu decided to speak and forgive the fact this Sky God was looking down on him after observing her. She didn''t seem to be acting with malicious intent and compared to those old bastards who all believed themselves to be better simply by virtue of the fact they were born earlier, she was much better.


    The woman frowned. "Please explain."


    "There is no assassin." Ryu said coldly. "Some ''swords master'' ran around ruining all the battle scars so that only they would be able to benefit from them."


    The woman''s expression changed wildly. For some reason, she could feel as though something clicked into place.

 Chapter 715 Self Centered

    Chapter 715 Self Centered


    The woman was immediately shaken.


    She felt like the first thing she should have done was refute Ryu''s claims as ridiculous. But, the moment she heard them she realized that it was the only possible truth. All of her previous conjectures seemed worthless.


    Like Ryu said, she initially thought that there was truly an assassin. Unlike Ryu, she couldn''t just ''see'' what was happening. She had to use her Sword Dao to comprehend the battle scars. The more she comprehended, the easier it was for her to ''see'' what was happening. But, even then, it felt a lot like going in blind.


    Simply put, Ryu was watching a movie reel while she was reading some obscure ancient text written in a long lost language. Not only did she need to translate and decode it, but there were many blanks she had to fill in herself.


    The fact that she had concluded that there was an ''assassin'' at all was enough to prove just how deep her comprehension of the sword was. If not for this, she couldn''t have possibly comprehended enough sword scars to the end to observe such a pattern.


    Often times, it would take millennia of meditation just to see one battle through to the end. It had taken her trillions of years over her accumulated lifetime to make it this far.


    Of course, Ryu shouldn''t be compared to her. While she had comprehended everything thoroughly, Ryu had only observed, this was why he could make it so far so quickly. That said, even if he were to comprehend, it would only take him a few months to years at most. Even a Sky God could not compare to him in this respect.


    But, the current Ryu was thoroughly disgusted, disgusted to the point that he almost wanted nothing to do with this swords faction at all.


    In order for this person to accomplish this, the minimum requirement was being capable of walking so far into the Holy Battle Ground. That alone would have taken at least a Sky God to accomplish, or another with appropriate Heavenly Pupils. Someone with the number two ranked World Pupils could likely accomplish it. There were also a number of other Heavenly Pupils that had unique techniques that could work.


    However, this was only the beginning. Walking so far was just the first step. To actually deploy such a scheme, whoever this individual was had to have skill beyond imagination.


    It had to be remembered that just unleashing an attack here could mean the end of your life. In fact, just killing intent alone would be enough to mean the end for you.


    This couldn''t be helped. This was a battlefield, not a playground. The qi that remained here was essentially just a step short of forming wraiths of their own. The spirit of those who had fought here, at least in part, were locked down by the ties of Fate. As a result, every strand of qi here had a spirit, or the semblance of one. However, said spirit worked on nothing but instinct.


    When left alone, these ''spirits'' would just continue to replay the battles they had fought again, again and again. However, if they were given new stimuli, they would react accordingly.


    This was why your Sword Dao was such an important protection in walking so far. Only by blending in and becoming a silent part of this battlefield would you be able to continue to walk. The better your Sword Dao matched the level, and the more restrained your killing intent, the better you would perform.


    At least¡­ This was a short cut.


    Ryu had only just begun to form his Dao, but he was already keenly aware that restraining killing intent when forming one''s weapon''s Dao was foolish. In fact, it would only be counter intuitive. However, this was the ''easy'' method of traveling so far into a Holy Battle Ground without getting yourself killed.


    The more difficult method was to comprehend every battle scar you came across to the deepest degree, only then could you ''color'' and ''shade'' your Dao to blend in. Like this, you no longer had to hide your killing intent. In fact, you could release it.


    Once you released your killing intent, you would be attacked. But, your attacker would only be the sword qi that recognized the shade of your Sword Dao. Like this, you would be able to ''defeat'' one sword spirit after another. At a certain level, it would even be possible to absorb the sword qi and strengthen your own Dao.


    This could be considered the second level of difficulty. But, to do what this individual had done, it would require a third and entirely new level of skill.


    This was all to say that whoever had done this was not only a Sky God, but they were likely the most skilled swordsman in the martial world. If not top three, they were at the very least top 10. This was how exaggerated this matter was.


    And yet, this person, rather than being a beacon of light for the coming generation was actually this level of trash. To tarnish the whole of this battlefield for what exactly? So that others couldn''t gain from it what they had gained from it?


    Ryu couldn''t wrap his head around how such scum managed to become a Sky God. With such a massive inferiority complex, how could you possibly form a Godhood?


    Or maybe¡­ This was just how self centered Gods were.


    Ryu suddenly began to laugh, catching the woman completely off guard. His mind couldn''t help but wander back to those words that Isemeine had spoken to him during their very first battle. Just how condescending and arrogant had she been? And just how satisfying had it been to put her in her place?


    Ryu''s aura surged. He suddenly felt the need to give a Sky God a slap to the face.


    The sword qi in the surroundings began to sing, a wild fluctuation of qi soaring into the skies.

 Chapter 716 Revolution

    Chapter 716 Revolution


    Ryu''s experience with Isemeine was the first time he truly learned of the mindset of Martial Gods. They didn''t view themselves as fellow humans, they truly saw themselves to be above every and anything. They were existences that ruled over all others, while everybody else was trash to be swept beneath their feet.


    Those words Isemeine had spoken back then, at the height of her rage, were the emotions she stored deep within her heart and soul, the truest and most thoughtful expression of who she and her race of people were.


    Did this piss Ryu off?


    The reality was¡­ not really. At least not in the way one might expect.


    What Ryu cared about wasn''t the disregard for human lives, or the overblown superiority complex. It wasn''t the fact they treated those beneath them like weeds to be cut or the fact they took their title as ''Martial Gods'' far too seriously.


    What pissed him off was that in those they dared to look down upon, they actually included him, Ryu Tatsuya.


    Now, he was faced with such trash once again. He could feel an enlightenment that would breathe life into him within arm''s reach. And yet, this unknown individual had actually chosen to stand in his way at every step.


    To Ryu, blocking his path to getting stronger wasn''t even just about slapping his own face. It was akin to disrespecting the memories of his grandparents, of his Clan, of everything they represented. It was no different to attempting to sentence his parents and himself to death¡­


    ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? ????????(?)???. ???


    Without strength, there was nothing that Ryu would be able to accomplish in this world. Without strength, he would never be able to seek out his revenge. Without strength, he would never be able to bring his family back together again.


    Ryu''s aura continued to blaze, a raging killing intent wafting off of him in waves.


    The woman hovering before him had a wild change in expression. She retreated explosively, his gaze flickering.


    "Stop immediately! What are you doing?!"


    A bit of the momentum of a Sky God leaked outward. It was clear that this woman was not weak by any stretch of the imagination, but she didn''t dare to do anything more.


    ''Dammit!''


    The woman found herself hovering above the chasm below. This was one of the most dangerous places to be on the battlefield. She had subconsciously taken this action, but she realized that it was foolish just moments later.


    Luckily, all of the sword qi was focused on Ryu and she escaped scrutiny for the moment. Taking advantage, she flashed away even as the Holy Battle Ground only became more and more volatile.


    It wasn''t just the woman who realized that something was definitely wrong. The entire Holy Battle Ground was beginning to shake and quake, blinding sword lights rising up into the skies, taking the form of all sorts of shapes and colors.


    Ryu continued to stare into the abyss, his killing intent wildly fluctuating around him. He couldn''t even form sword qi of his own, he had no comprehension of a Sword Inheritance and his contemplative state kept getting ruined by this ''assassin'' existence.


    Since that was the case, he would just get rid of all of it at once.


    The wild and explosively result the woman was expecting never came. Somehow, every time a sword qi seemed primed to charge for Ryu, it would pause as though it had lost its target.


    The woman watched on in shock as seconds became minutes and minutes became hours, and eventually days.


    The commotion spread across the swords faction, but with the woman there and only a rare few being capable of entering the Holy Battle Ground in this state, or so it seemed, no one was able to get to the bottom of exactly what was happening.


    The only person who could observe was the woman herself, yet even she didn''t believe what she was seeing. No, it was more accurate to say that she couldn''t comprehend it at all.


    How could she know that Ryu saw the world in shades of qi thanks to his mutation? And how could she know that due to this mutation, his had likewise mutated, resulting in what was once his world of white, black and grey lines of Karma becoming flourishing with colors themselves?


    Back when Ryu ''traded'' in his Tatsuya Saintly Weapon Inheritance for the sake of taking the path of the Great Swordstaff, he had used to grasp the core of his Inheritance and rebuild it anew. This was when he learned that his ability could now see much more than it had in the past.


    Fundamentally, a Holy Battle Ground was a phenomenon of Fate. It wouldn''t'' exist without Fate and one couldn''t form unless the Fate tied to it was strong enough.


    This ''assassin'' was using their Sword Dao to mess with and ruin the core essence of the Holy Battle Ground, destroying everything that was worth observing. If Ryu had to battle him in terms of Sword Dao, he would lose 10 out of 10 times. Not to mention the fact he had never picked up a sword in his life, this assassin themselves was blocking Ryu''s ability to learn about it in the first place.


    However¡­ In a Battle of Fate, there wasn''t a single existence in the martial world, Sky God or not, that could possibly match up to him.


    Ryu''s killing intent continued to surge, his gaze glowing brighter and brighter.


    The days turned to weeks. And the weeks became months.


    Everyday, the sharp call of the sword qi only seemed to grow. Their trembling grew fiercer and their auras became so prominent that even the weakest of sword masters could sense them.


    At the moment, the fear that everyone had felt for the Holy Battle Ground completely reversed. After one brave soul traveled in and realized that it was safer than it seemed, a second followed, then a third. One after another, even the mediocre began to experience continuous breakthroughs.


    Ryu accidentally started a revolution and a renaissance in the swords faction¡­ All because some old bastard pissed him off.

 Chapter 717 [DO NOT UNLOCK]

    Chapter 717 [DO NOT UNLOCK]


    [DO NOT UNLOCK. DO NOT. *Finds corner to cry in]


    King Acacia sighed. "The demon qilin''s gamble failed. He had thought that his one chance to win over his competitors was to use the talent of the Dragon King. But, the Dragon King ended up making use of him."


    King Acacia began to recount the happenings.


    It seemed that having taken over the body of yet another person, the Dragon King once again began to assert why he was the best.


    The problem was that there was nothing the Dragon King hated more than peace and unity. Or, more accurately, he didn''t want peace or unity unless it meant that he was the ruler of all things and things went his way. However, being in the body of the demon qilin, he obviously didn''t have the power to do such a thing ¨C not yet anyway.


    So, he bid his time, pretending to be the demon qilin. Surprisingly, despite being arrogant, the Dragon King was also intelligent. He didn''t mind pretending to be something he wasn''t for the sake of his survival. After all, if people found out that he was here to sow chaos yet again, they''d kill his host and send him back to the body of his weapon.


    The truth was that the real Dragon King had already ascended. But, as Dyon''s grand teacher would attest, being ascended only meant constant warring between factions. The Dragon King loved conflict, but only if it meant he had a clear path to victory. It was like he wanted the game mode on difficult, but not impossible. And, when you were stuck in an all-out war against those equally as talented as you, that was exactly what the game mode was on ¨C impossible.


    Much like Dyon''s grand teacher, he enjoyed projecting his mind to the lower the planes of existence and asserting himself again. As such, the demon qilin was the perfect opportunity.


    Covertly, he began to sow discord. He slowly revealed his talent and raised himself up in the demon qilin clan before asserting that they should have more power in the alliance. All the while, he was also proving himself to be one of the better candidates for marriage with the 25th White Mother. But, with the life span of martial artists ¨C and beasts especially ¨C no one was in a hurry to marry her off. So, the Dragon King had plenty of time.


    Soon, wars began to break out. They were small at first, just between lesser transcendent level beasts ¨C something the upper echelons would never pay attention to. But, soon, it began to grow in scale. And, it seemed that only one clan was winning time and time again: The Demon Qilins.


    Many didn''t understand what was happening and why their once peaceful alliance was breaking apart. But, the more astute began to connect events back to the demon qilin''s wish to conquer the Dragon King''s weapon. The problem was that by now, the Dragon King had already cultivated the demon qilin into a formidable mid level dao expert.


    That in and of itself wasn''t so impressive ¨C the cultivation level, that is. After all, these were peak level existences. Even half step to transcendent, although rare, did exist. What was a mere mid level dao expert to them? But, that was only if you were referring to a normal dao expert¡­


    Not only had the Dragon King made the demon qilin and peak first grade expert, the cultivation methods, wills and techniques were all so far past what they had access to, that even those peak experts didn''t dare take him lightly.


    The Dragon King came from a time even millions of years before even that day and age. The knowledge he had was untouchable. And, when you consider the insights to cultivation he had as a transcendent, it was like inputting cheat codes to a game you had already played hundreds to even thousands of times.


    By the time everyone realized that the Dragon King had won yet again and was about to rule them all, the 25th White Mother was already in despair at having lost the love of her life. What was the use in having his body if the person inside wasn''t the same?


    But, what she also knew was that the Dragon King couldn''t be allowed to rule again.


    The Dragon King had a habit of taking multiple wives, but he would always have one trophy wife. Usually, he chose the most esteemed and talented woman of that generation and would swap her out as long as someone better was born or came along. In that generation, it just so happened that the 25th White Mother was the best there was. There was a beauty beyond words and a talent the Celestial Deers hadn''t seen in millennia. So, the Dragon King wanted her.


    Having no need to hide his identity anymore, he proposed marriage to the Celestial Deer Sect, something they had little to no choice but to accept.


    On their wedding night, the 25th White Mother resigned herself. She had no intention of losing her virginity to a man that only looked like her love ¨C not without a price. At the same time, she didn''t want to leave this world without ensuring that he regained himself ¨C even if that meant it would be in her absence.


    "As you all know," King Acacia continued, "there are two wills that celestial deer excel in more than nearly anyone else. The first is celestial will. And the second, is the not as rare, but very powerful, crystal will.


    "Crystal will is meant to amplify and celestial will works to purify. The 25th White Mother devised a plan to use the celestial will infused with a celestial deer''s virginity, coupled with a crystal encasement technique to amplify its effect to the extreme¡­" King Acacia took a deep breath.


    "The problem with this crystal encasement technique is that the 25th White Mother just wasn''t powerful enough to seal the Dragon King. If she was, this would never have been a problem to begin with. So, she had to make a sacrifice. For the sake of saving who she saw as her true husband, she planned to use her life force to fuel the technique. Something that would without a doubt lead to her death."


    They all remained silent. This was truly a sacrifice etched with deep unselfishness. If she became the wife of the Dragon King, her life would be prosperous. After all, he was the most powerful man in the universe at that point. What worried would she ever have? It wasn''t as though the Dragon King was a cruel man, he only sought power. Even if he replaced her in the future, he would never treat her poorly.


    The 25th White mother had seen all of this. But, she still chose to give up her life because she knew there was at least one person that wouldn''t be able to ever be at ease¡­ her love¡­ The demon qilin.


    "But, before she could sacrifice herself, something amazing happened." King Acacia continued, "In the instant she lost her virginity and she prepared herself to give up her life, her celestial will broke through the barrier and became a supreme law.


    "In that instant, her celestial will, which was already at the 9th level of an intent, one with dao, suddenly became a supreme law¡­ One cannot fathom the level a supreme law of that level brings. We had enough issues with ethereal permeation and it was only at the lower will levels. The Dragon King''s consciousness didn''t stand a chance and was completely cleansed from the demon qilin.


    "After that, the Dragon King''s weapon was sealed away in the Celestial Deer Sect''s vault, never to be touched again."


    King Belmont, Acacia, Big Red and their wives looked off into the distance, all towards one young man happily spinning with his wives in his arms.


    "Until now¡­"

 Chapter 718 [DO NOT UNLOCK]

    Chapter 718 [DO NOT UNLOCK]


    [DO NOT UNLOCK. DO NOT. *Finds corner to cry in]


    "Dyon!" Ri, still being spun around in Dyon''s arms finally called out, blushing profusely.


    Dyon finally settled his wives down, but the grin on his face hadn''t disappeared.


    "What are you so happy about?" Ri asked, patting down the wrinkles in her dress ¨C clearly exasperated.


    Madeleine giggled. If Dyon was happy, she was happy.


    "If what I feel is correct," Dyon secretly messaged with using his wind will, "then it might only take me about ten years instead of the centuries it would have before."


    "You mean?" The two of them looked down at Dyon''s wrist. Was that weapon really so spectacular?


    In typical fashion, they had already understood why Dyon''s master''s memories had no information on the weapon. It without a doubt had to do with the destruction of the Celestial Deer Sect.


    Ri and Madeleine smiled. They knew how taxing it would have been on Dyon''s psyche to not be able to protect them. If that feeling was extended for centuries, who knows if their husband would have come out the same on the other end. But, if it was only such a short time, then even Dyon would find it acceptable. After all, they could spend all of that time cultivating in the Epistemic Tower. They wouldn''t have to challenge other universes until Dyon was ready.


    Suddenly, though, their smiles froze into bitter ones. Looking past Dyon, the second bracket had just concluded. Akash, who was ranked within the top 80, managed to keep her spot and move on. Zaltarish had also managed to replace the top 100 ranker and take his place in the final rounds. However, what left Ri and Madeleine feeling bitter was the fact their names were set for the 3rd bracket.


    On the surface, this was good. The fact they were together meant there was less pressure. If Planet Deimos wanted to work together against them, they would have to split their forces. But, what wasn''t so good was the list of names aside from them.


    The truth was that there was little to no one who could rival Madeleine outside of the top 20. Even when she fought Ri, she was handicapped. After all, one of her most powerful wills was sealed.


    Music will was something that Madeleine based much of her combat on. Before she earned Amethyst''s faith seed, all of Madeleine''s attacks were a combination of celestial will and music will ¨C usually with music will amplifying the former. So, when she had that stripped from her, her combat prowess dropped to Ri''s level.


    That wasn''t to say Ri was weak, of course. After all, Ri was still a meridian formation expert and Madeleine had long since stepped into the Essence Gathering level. This was because Ri had restarted her cultivation twice and she was also two years younger than Madeleine.


    The problem was that Dyon''s enemies also knew this¡­ So, they faced a dilemma. In a system where only one expert per rank tier was allowed into a bracket, how could you possibly pressure someone as powerful as Madeleine? And the answer they found, ironically connected to the "True Top Ten".


    Because Dyon''s name had been smeared, the top ten was actually taken to be as the top eleven. But, the problem with this system was that it resulted in one less top 20 member and one more top 100 member. This meant that no matter what, there would be at least one or two groups that did not follow the normal rules.


    Knowing this¡­ The ''organizers'' took full advantage.


    Suddenly, the booming voice of Elder Den filled the stadium. "As you all know, there''s been an imbalance caused in the bracket due to some unforeseen cheaters."


    Elder Den wanted to sneer, but the response of the crowd shocked him.


    Boos rained down at Elder Den''s words. Curses began being flung at how rigged and biased the Cavositas ''Clown'' Clan was. The crowd had clearly had enough of being manipulated and were tired of being seen as stupid. They had seen for themselves how powerful Dyon was, even if he did cheat, it wasn''t so blatant a difference between him and the top ten for the Cavositas to keep revolving the matches around his mistake ¨C a mistake they didn''t even have proof of.


    Hearing his clan being called a clown clan, Elder Den broke out into a mix of a cold sweat and anger. If he lost control of the crowd, especially like this, he''d be dealt with just like the previous announcer. He had to quickly remedy the situation.


    "Please, Please, Understand. By unforeseen cheaters I only meant those who mislead others into falsely assumed the great Demon Sage was a cheater. Unfortunately, we cannot undo what has been done and the tournament must move forward!"


    Seeing that this appeased the crowd a bit, Elder Den seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. But, Dyon wasn''t taking this so lightly, because he too had seen the names on the list. Regardless of what they said, they were clearly still plotting. An they had brought his wives into the situation.


    All of Dyon''s previous happiness disappeared as his fists clenched.


    "Because of the imbalance of the brackets, and to make up for our mistakes, we''ve decided to spice things up a bit. We won''t insult your intelligence by saying that this was the most efficient way to do things, but, what we will say is that this is the most interesting way to do things."


    The interest of the crowd was clearly piqued. They were only in this for entertainment after all, if these new rules gave them more entertainment, they''d be quick to forgive.


    "It''s clear that we''ve made a few mistakes." Elder Den continued. "So, it''s become even clearer that there may be those ranked highly that simply don''t deserve their spots.


    "To counter balance this, we''ve decided to pit those high rankers against each other much sooner."


    Cheers erupted in the stands. Pit them against each other? Did this mean they were going to get top 100 caliber battles sooner?


    Elder Den sneered. "I introduce you to our Death Bracket."

 Chapter 719 [DO NOT UNLOCK]

    Chapter 719 [DO NOT UNLOCK]


    [DO NOT UNLOCK. DO NOT. *Finds corner to cry in]


    "Worry not," Elder Den continued, "in consideration of the brave warriors who will be undergoing this final test, we will make sure to hold this as our last bracket. We only introduce it now to build up anticipation and allow those participating time to prepare."


    By now, Queen Acacia was boiling in anger. She had previously seen Dyon''s signal to allow him to handle it, but how could he possibly handle this one? They were essentially sending off her daughter to die!


    The crowd though, could care less. This twist was something they found entertaining and Elder Den''s explanation was good enough for them to accept. Although, in reality, the explanation meant little to them.


    "Don''t be mad," Madeleine said with a smile, looking up at Dyon, "we would have had to fight them anyway¡­"


    Dyon took deep breaths, trying to calm his breathing.


    Calling this a death bracket left the title with little exaggeration. The Cavositas had decided that to solve the imbalance of rankers per bracket, they would flood a single bracket with every remaining top 30 ranker ¨C come the final round.


    Essentially, of the remaining seven top 20 rankers, every one of them would participate. This of course excluded Iris, who had been defeated by Dyon in the first bracket, and the top 20 ranker that participated in the second bracket along with Akash and Zaltarish. In addition to that, Ri just so happened to conveniently be the final top 30 ranker left to complete the brackets, and as such, was also placed into this death bracket.


    This shouldn''t have been a big deal, in reality. This was because if there were so many powerful foes at the top, there shouldn''t have been a need for them to fight each other. Just by leisurely challenging non-rankers, they could have made it into the final nine.


    However, there-in lied a problem¡­ This wouldn''t have been a death bracket unless there was actual competition, so the Cavositas played a very underhanded trick. As an "apology" to those who were eliminated by Dyon, that should very well be in the top 100 finalists, they were allowing those who had failed in previous rounds to participate.


    In the end, the death bracket was organized to place all rankers on the stage. Unlike in previous brackets, the stage rulers were put in place rather than volunteered for. But, maybe the worst change was that stage wielders would no longer have the right to priority challenges. Instead, as they again tried to mask as an "apology", only those not ruling a stage would be allowed to challenge ¨C challenges that couldn''t be ignored.


    Many of the following bracket parameters were the same. However, instead of top 20 rankers getting 10pts, it was number 12 on the rankings that received 10pts. Then number 13 would receive 9pts. And, finally, Madeleine received 4pts as the 7th lowest ranking ranker, and Ri received 3pts as the 8th lowest ranking ranker. In this bracket, there were no other rankers unless they lost in other brackets and chose to participate. But, even then, they would only be given 1pt.


    "Belmont, are you just going to allow this?" Kawa''s bestial aura was already threatening to tear the skybox apart. If it wasn''t for the fact she was restraining herself, everyone''s attention would without a doubt be on her.


    King Belmont sighed. "The worst part about being a king is that you never have as much power as you think you do. I''m a monarch, but if I unilaterally make decisions, it will shake the balance. We''ve spent so many years making the Ragnor think that we care very little for things outside of cultivation, it wouldn''t be good to alert them of our power now.


    "The only reason I didn''t stop Edrym from doing his little display when he arrived is because we''re all aware that his cultivation has fallen to the first celestial level. That isn''t something the Ragnor Patriarch would put in his eyes.


    "You should know that the Cavositas never act unless with the approval of the Ragnor. It''s not just the Geb God Clan boy that''s seeking to prove himself, they''re only using that as an excuse to deal with Dyon. Like I said multiple times before, he''s dangerous."


    Lionel lightly snorted in the corner before going back to meditating. In his eyes, Madeleine should be his and his father was being much too lenient. Even knowing how dangerous the origins of this boy were, King Belmont was still willing to test him. That made Lionel angry despite the fact he didn''t show it.


    "Don''t give me bullshit about how dangerous my son in law is." Kawa responded. She wanted to continue, but that was as much as she dared to say. Anymore and even she didn''t know if she could hold off the action of the treaty.


    To Kawa, much of the superstition around mortals was baseless drivel. In fact, there was a reason why even in all his anger, King Belmont, despite knowing the truth, didn''t use Dyon''s mortal status against him ¨C although he did call him a commoner, or, more accurately, he agreed to Lionel calling him a commoner.


    The truth was that Dyon wasn''t the one who was dangerous. It was the bastard who sealed the mortals in the first place that was dangerous. Some so powerful that even celestial experts like them, and former dao formation experts like Elder Daiyu, could do nothing in the face of his treaty.


    But, who cared how dangerous that entity was? Were they not trying to find a way to fight him right now? Did King Belmont not want Madeleine''s virginity for his son as a way to bolster their clan''s power to then fight this entity? Was their goal of sending their young talent to the Epistemic Tower not set in place in order to groom the future to be able to fight this entity?


    So, what was this nonsense about how dangerous Dyon was or wasn''t? With or without Dyon, they would be diving head first into the danger anyway!


    King Belmont sighed. "I understand, Kawa."


    He too understood this. This was why he had been willing to give Dyon a chance to prove himself ¨C he didn''t need Kawa to remind him.


    "That said, we can''t shelter them if we hope that they''ll supersede our accomplishments. Look at Dyon, despite his boiling anger, he still has ever intention of letting the two of them fight.


    "The more I watch him, the more I understand how he grasped the hearts of my two god daughters.


    "He''ll let his rage sit and simmer, but he also wants them to be great in their own right. Then, when the time is ripe, he''ll unleash that rage, and set fire to his enemies."

 Chapter 720 Expressions

    Chapter 720 Expressions


    The shimmering call of numerous sword blades continued to howl.


    It had already been almost a year since Ryu began to stand, completely unmoving. By now, the Holy Battle Ground was completely flooded with swordsmen of all skill levels. Some had even brought children and teenagers forward to enjoy this shocking phenomenon.


    The woman couldn''t help but observe Ryu with a complicated gaze. From the small bit she knew about Ryu, he was obviously not doing this on purpose. It wasn''t that Ryu didn''t have a ''heart'' or ''morality'', it was more so that Ryu didn''t have the time to waste on such things.


    To Ryu, every moment was precious. Every second he wasted on something that couldn''t improve his strength was a waste. Some might say that kindness to your enemies was evil to yourself, but Ryu took it even a step further than that. Kindness in general, especially when you were overstepping your bounds into territory you knew little about, could also be counted as evil to yourself.


    Ryu had no idea how a supposed Sky God could go so far as to do such a thing. He couldn''t'' fathom how someone who had reached the pinnacle of the cultivation world could possibly care about blocking the path of those below them. The arrogance in Ryu''s bones simply couldn''t wrap its mind around it.


    Ryu already didn''t put Sky Gods in his eyes. In his view, it was inevitable that he would one day step into this Realm. He couldn''t fathom ever caring about those he had already surpassed. Did this person have no courage? No pride? No sense of self-esteem?


    Ryu truly couldn''t understand. But, what he did know was that the actions of this person were standing in his way. Not only was it standing in his way, but it had already delayed him for almost a year. Even though Ryu''s expression was placid and seemingly unmoved, he was already infuriated.


    While everyone else was enjoying this sudden boon, his rage simmered and festered as he stared into the deep abyss before him.


    While everyone else saw strands of sparse sword qi, spread out over hundreds of kilometers, Ryu saw countless strands of Fate, each entangled in a complex web of Sword Daos. Every time he took a step in one direction, he would find more to untangle and even more to undo.


    Within these countless strands, the menacing sword qi of the ''assassin'' stuck out like a sore thumb. Whether it was the age of the strands, the intent, the ambience around it, the aura, it was all worlds apart from the rest of the field. However, the rest of it all was so complex that trying to weed these strands out alone was proving to be a difficult task even for Ryu.


    The main issue was that the assassin strands of sword qi were designed to activate whenever the penultimate moment of the battle was reached. As such, it was tied to the densest stores of Fate. It was impossible to pull it out without disrupting the rest of the field.


    In order to deal with this, Ryu needed to map out each and every strand and deduce how they all would react to his influence. Then, he had to draw a path he could use to rip the assassin sword qi from the core of the structure leaving the rest intact.


    It was a lot like trying to untie a tangle of cords with a single go.


    From start to finish, all Ryu could think about was giving the supposed Sky God who had dared to do this the most resounding loss they had ever suffered in their lifetime.


    As time passed on, Ryu continued to implement Ailsa''s energy intake program. As he did so, his seals continued to unlock day after day and the process only became easier.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice that the continuous use of his Pupils was causing an odd change in them. Something like [Lines of Fate] wasn''t meant to last for so long to begin with, especially not when observing the Fates of Sky God level existences. However, due to the mutation of [Ephemeral Tapestry], Ryu had already gained the ability to see qi in its natural state without using up his stamina. This, in turn, lowered the requirements for [Lines of Fate].


    Still, this was just the tip of the iceberg. The longer Ryu used [Lines of Fate], the more it and [Ephemeral Tapestry] seemed to overlap, almost as though they were slowly becoming one. The result not only lowered the stamina requirements for [Lines of Fate] even further, but it felt like there would come a day where Ryu didn''t need to activate [Lines of Fate] at all to see the future''s probability¡­


    Ryu''s gaze flashed, his killing intent piercing the veil of the Holy Battle Ground.


    The expression of the woman changed. This was the first time Ryu had moved since his initial action. Could it be¡­?


    Worry gripped the woman''s heart. She didn''t want anything to happen to Ryu, but she was also worried about the other swordsmen who had entered the Battle Ground. Unfortunately, she knew that this, whatever it was, was already long past her ability to stop.


    A growl was released from Ryu''s lips. It was low and rumbling, traveling for several kilometers and beating the drum of the hearts of all those who heard it. In those moments, it felt like a Dragon was breathing down their necks, filling their very souls with fear.


    "Come."


    BANG!


    The Holy Battle Ground imploded. A surge of sword qi shot into the skies, sending out rippling waves of a transcendent force out in all directions.


    If the previous commotion had caught the attention of the swordsmen of the swords faction, this time even the pinnacle World Sea Realm experts and several Sky Gods were alerted. In fact, the whole of the Armament Guild suddenly turned their attention toward one place.


    However, just as they were about to investigate, another aura, far stronger than the first erupted.


    A pillar of light tore through the starry skies.


    Across the Armament Guild, no¡­ Across the martial world, the expressions of several experts froze.


    A Sky God was being born.


    [Sorry about yesterday guys, there''s an extra chapter after this one <3]

 Chapter 721 Calligraphy

    Chapter 721 Calligraphy


    The birth of a new Sky God was impossibly rare, yet it was a phenomenon that could grip the whole of the martial world by its horns. As fascinating as Ryu''s breakthrough into the Cosmic Realms with his Pupils had been, this was far more fantastical, albeit far less fear inducing.


    No one froze in place, no one felt as though their Fate was being toyed with, but everyone could feel a wash of energy flooding over them as a new Godhood was formed from the ground up.


    It was quite shocking indeed. It should have only taken Aberardus a few days to breakthrough given the potency of One with World. But, the fact that he had taken a year meant one of a few possibilities.


    The first was that he had run into trouble. This trouble was likely that his State of Meditation was accidentally cut short and he had to go the rest of the way himself. It wasn''t impossible for this to have happened, but with Okie''s protection, it was highly unlikely.


    This was where the second possibility came in¡­ In this case, Aberardus had spent the whole of this year in meditation. Realizing that he had a unique opportunity, rather than forming the Godhood he had been trying to build himself all along, he chose to scrap it and rebuild a more solid foundation.


    To take the second route took courage and a willingness to fail. It was very possible that this would be Aberardus'' last enlightenment in this life. For him to be willing to risk it all would speak volumes about his character and his determination.


    If Aberardus took this route, he would have been able to complete a soft reset of his comprehension, returning to the Heir Realm and rebuilding himself all the way back up to true Godhood. Like this, he would be able to fill in any holes his foundation had had and his Godhood would benefit greatly from it. In fact, if he had truly taken this route, he would easily be tens of times more powerful than he would have otherwise been upon breaking through.


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile inwardly.


    He was over 90% sure that Aberardus had taken the second route and he had actually broken through at such a convenient time. Ryu had initially planned to rely on that Sky God woman to cover for the commotion he was causing, but it seemed that that old man knew how to repay a favor.


    While the woman was shocked both because of Ryu''s actions and the fact a Sky God was breaking through so close by, Ryu wasn''t paying attention to any of that. Instead, he was looking at the sword qi hovering before him.


    It was just over ten meters in length and tinged with the slightest sheen of red. Just the slightest vibration of its body caused space to split apart as though it was nothing more than a thin sheet of paper. There was no doubt that if this blade was turned on a normal World Sea Realm expert, they would die ten out of ten times.


    The female Sky God looked in the direction of Okie''s forge, her gaze flickering.


    ''How¡­ How could this be possible¡­''


    She bit her lip unconsciously. It was more than just a little troublesome for a Sky God to appear here. While everyone else was basking in the shocking and glorious breakthrough of a new Godhood, she realized just what this meant for the Armament Guild. The appearance of a new Sky God would most definitely shift the power balance of the Armament Guild. How could this happen?


    From what she understood, there shouldn''t have been anyone so close to becoming a Sky God. Though the Peak World Sea Realm seemed to just be a step away, that step was like multiple chasms stacked back to back to back. Clearing the path to the next Realm was impossible for most Peak World Sea Realm experts.


    ''What is¡­''


    The woman snapped her attention back, sensing the violent aura of the sword qi hovering above Ryu''s palm. Her expression changed violently once more, half in fear, and half in unwillingness.


    The value of such a sword qi was hard to explain. However, she understood that it had nothing to do with her. It was under Ryu''s control, so while he could absorb it, she would suffer great backlash if she tried to do the same. She couldn''t help but feel jealous.


    Absorbing such a qi would have a ridiculous amount of benefits. For one, it would help Ryu form a Minor Godhood, just a step shy of a Godhood, in one sweep. On top of this, it wouldn''t be a normal Minor Godhood either, as it would have the air of a true Godhood, making it far more powerful than others of its level.


    Secondly, because of this air of a Godhood, it would add a destructive element to Ryu''s attacks that couldn''t be matched. His already obscene battle prowess would take another enormous leap forward. By then, it was likely that it wouldn''t be impossible to battle Cosmic Seed Realm experts.


    Even to a Sky God like herself, this sword qi was greatly tempting, let alone a junior like Ryu. The woman couldn''t help but sigh.


    Suddenly, her expression changed once again.


    "What are you doing?!"


    Ryu didn''t respond. He stretched out a finger, causing the sword qi to respond to his command.


    Ryu had always been a Master of the Four Arts. In this life, he had never had the time to dabble in painting, go, music or calligraphy as he was too busy training, but right now, he felt a sudden inspiration.


    He pressed his two fingers together, his body seemingly vanishing from thin air. However, the reality was that he had just fused with the very essence of all that was around him, forgetting about everything else.


    He didn''t choose his favorite language. In fact, he chose a language known for its ugliness and crass nature. It was a primitive language that didn''t last very long in history before it was replaced, and it had characters that were grating on the eyes just to look at.


    But, for what Ryu needed them for, they were absolutely perfect.


    Ryu took on the air of a Master of Calligraphy, his body becoming fluid and his strokes carrying an air of elegance what he wrote simply couldn''t match.


    The sword qi shot forward, beginning to carve out words into the side of the valley below.


    It only took Ryu a few breaths to finish, but the Heavens above seemed to sing. It had been quite a long time since Ryu felt this feeling, he almost missed having that brush in his hand, feeling the slide of the ink and paper listen to the beck and call of his wrist.


    He took a step back and admired his work.


    His hand stretched outward and his fingers spread. In that moment, as though listening to a command, the sword qi, too, dispersed, fusing with the word he wrote.


    The woman looked at the strokes of calligraphy. Its sharp and crass lines seemed to speak its meaning into her soul. The skill was beyond anything she had ever witnessed before, but it only made her expression as pale as a sheet of paper.


    "Why would I ever absorb the sword qi of such scum? I don''t need such garbage." Ryu said coldly.


    The character on the wall of the valley shimmered for all to see:


    ''TRASH''.

 Chapter 722 False Godhood

    Chapter 722 False Godhood


    The woman trembled fiercely. She hadn''t felt this sort of feeling, this sort of instinctual fear, since she was a child, long before she picked up her first sword.


    What Ryu had done wasn''t as simple as venting his rage with some calligraphy, she could feel that it was much deeper than that. With a single stroke, he had placed an unerasable mark on the Faith and Legacy of this Sky God.


    Calligraphy was an enigmatic practice to begin with. But, at its core, it was the process of exuding strength through words.


    In Ryu''s youth, he had spent a lot of time on the Four Arts not because he was interested in them initially, but rather because in his vast array of knowledge as a Ruin Master, he had come across countless legends related to these four disciplines.


    If Ryu was asked now, he could recount hundreds, thousands, even, of folk tales speaking of the rise of artists. In these stories, it would always begin with a normal mortal man or woman who had a great passion for the Arts. One day, usually in their old age, they would complete a masterpiece, and with this masterpiece, they would form their Godhood in a single step.


    For Ryu, who couldn''t cultivate, these stories were a fatal sort of attraction. The hope to one day stumble upon a grand inspiration that would give him the strength he had been missing out on for his whole life was his childhood fantasy, and one he carried well into adulthood.


    Interestingly enough, it was Ryu''s stepping into the world of the Four Arts that allowed him to meet with Elena. Though the Holy Wing Clan was one he felt was filled with scum, they were also a group of women who placed great emphasis on the Four Arts as well.


    Beneath the ban of Mental Realm cultivation, the Four Arts was among the very best ways to refine the mind and purify the soul. The Holy Wing Clan placed great emphasis on their higher state of mind and had had a practice of refining their skill in the Four Arts for several generations. So, maybe it wasn''t all that surprising the most talented young woman of the Holy Wing Clan would be an expert in such things as well.


    That day when Elena stripped naked and almost forced herself onto Ryu, he only managed to escape with his chastity by agreeing to paint Elena nude.


    Truth be told, Ryu was quite impressed with Elena''s persistence and technique in ensnaring him. Maybe he would have been able to forget about her had he never made that painting. But, due to it, every outline and contour of her body was etched into his mind, never to be forgotten.


    Ryu had never seen that painting again after that day, but he assumed it had always been with Elena. Though¡­ he could never quite understand what she saw in him.


    There were many women who were fond of Ryu. Even setting aside his looks, his arrogant demeanor was often a great attraction to them as well. But, after painting Elena that day, he concluded that she wasn''t the type to be swayed by such things. It wasn''t that she didn''t care for his looks, or wasn''t fond of his confident air, but rather that these things didn''t move the needle for her.


    What had she cared about?


    Ryu couldn''t quite put his finger on it. His conclusion was at most a vague feeling, an ethereal and unexplainable mystery that lingered within the eyes of his wife. Maybe if he had been able to paint that mysterious thing back then, he really would have stepped through that threshold and become a Sky God in one leap.


    They like to say that when a woman becomes curious about a man, she had already fallen for him. What they failed to explain, though, was that it often worked the other way as well.


    Maybe Ryu had subconsciously chased after that mystery, trying to peel back the final layer that was Elena, and in all the time, without even getting the answer he was looking for, he had already fallen too deeply to pull himself out.


    Before he realized what was happening, he had already been engaged to her for hundreds of years and he couldn''t see a life without her by his side.


    In this life, Ryu had never picked up a paint or calligraphy brush, a go piece or a lyre. Even when he was stuck in the Tor Kingdom, he had never been allowed to learn about anything because they feared his intelligence so much to the point he was barred from the library.


    After he gained the ability to cultivate, he never looked back. What need did he have for such things when he didn''t have to hope and pray for power anymore? He could grasp it with his own two hands now, he didn''t need anyone to bestow it upon him¡­


    Ironically, maybe this was exactly why Ryu had never grasped that mystery and why he would never replay the legend of those Four Arts Masters of old¡­


    To them, the Four Arts weren''t a tool, they were as fundamental a part of their lives and breathing was. However, Ryu had only ever seen them as a path to power.


    His skill in the Four Arts dwarfed almost anyone. But, when it came to those true masters, he would only be several steps below... In the past, anyway.


    This character Ryu had just drawn carried with it the momentum of a true master, a true expert. He had drawn it not because he was seeking out something in return, nor had he used it as a tool to accomplish something he was hoping for¡­ In that moment, he just had some frustration to get out of him, he wanted to vent an emotion that had been bottled up within his heart for all these months¡­


    And the result was something devastating.


    ¡­


    In an unknown corner of the martial world, an old and wrinkled man sat in meditation. He wore pristine white robes and had a sword of blood red laid across his lap. Judging by the surroundings, he hadn''t moved a single inch in billions of years, his body having reached a holy state of union with the Heavens.


    The only method he had used to interact with the world in this time was an avatar. However, he was aware that he was running out of time. Very soon, his avatar alone wouldn''t be enough and he would be forced to step into the real world again.


    Luckily, though, he was very close to finishing off his closed door cultivation perfectly, just a single step away from grasping exactly what he needed. Once he succeeded, his strength would grow another step and his Godhood would step up from the ranks of False Godhood to True Godhood.


    This was an extraordinarily rare step to take. Many who formed their False Godhood initially would never get the chance to reforge their foundations and become a True Sky God. By then, they would only be marginally stronger than those secondary profession Sky Gods.


    However, he had found a method to do so, an ingenious method at that. He had spent trillions of years implementing this plan and was now reaping the benefits. After billions of years of meditation, he felt that he would only need another year or two and his Godhood would blossom forth.


    It was then, though¡­ That something the old man could have never expected to happen occurred.


    He felt his heart seize, a sense of discomfort gripping him. It was a subtle feeling, so other than frowning initially, he hadn''t thought much of it. However, that uncomfortable feeling only continued to grow.


    Suddenly, his entire body quaked.


    The old Sky God shook, something within him rupturing and his qi spiraling out of control. His inner organs were torn to pieces and his heart threatened to split in two.


    A violent mouthful of blood flew from his lips like a sword leaving its sheath. It was an unhealthy and blindingly bright shade of red. It took just a single look to understand just how precious this mouthful of blood was.


    The old man sat in a daze, his body withering. He watched on in horror as his Godhood collapsed, his cultivation plummeting from the ranks of a Sky God back down to the World Sea Realm.


    A loud and pulsing sound echoed in his ears.


    ''Trash¡­. Trash¡­ Trash¡­''


    In that moment, his Dao almost completely collapsed, his dazed expression going out into a vast nothingness. He couldn''t seem to hear or feel anything¡­


    And then¡­ He saw red.


    A furious howl shook the small world. All the inhabitants and beasts could only watch on in horror as the world they had come to know collapsed under a bout of rage.


    "WHO DID THIS TO ME?! WHO DID THIS TO ME?!"


    The manic roar of a man who had lost his mind shook this small corner of the martial world.


    ¡­


    Ryu couldn''t sense what was happening across such a large distance. Or, more accurately, he wasn''t in a state to use his sight of Fate to find out.


    His body entered an odd and ethereal state, his breath vanishing and his eyes glazing over.


    The woman who stood not so far away looked toward him in abject fear. Her fingers flexed and unflexed, her gaze flickering with killing intent.


    How could someone with such an ability be allowed to live?

 Chapter 723 Three Possibilities

    Chapter 723 Three Possibilities


    The woman''s fists clenched and unclenched, her gaze flickering several times.


    The ability to cause a Godhood to collapse, just what kind of ridiculous concept was this? It would be one thing if Ryu was a Sky God himself, a True Sky God old monster who had outlasted even an entire Era to make it to this day. But, he was very clearly not that.


    The rational part of the woman told her that this was a feat almost impossible to replicate. This single word Ryu had written seemed simple, but it was the equivalent of an artist''s magnum opus. It was a once in a lifetime event that would be impossible to turn on and off like a faucet.


    In addition to this, the circumstances were too perfect. It was clear that Ryu had needed a large amount of this Sky God''s aura to accomplish this. But, could he have done this on another battlefield? Ryu couldn''t possibly be a specialist in all weapons, right? If this was a Holy Battle Ground of another faction, maybe he wouldn''t even be able to take a single step in.


    Then there was the fact that the actions of the Sky God had to match what Ryu was punishing them for. If this Sky God had done something positive rather than negative, ruining such an important and treasured resource for the younger generation, Ryu''s attack on their Godhood wouldn''t have worked. In fact, the reverse would have happened. Ryu would have actually strengthened their Godhood instead.


    Everything about this event said it was a once in a lifetime moment. Whether it was Ryu''s enlightenment, the circumstances of the Holy Battle Ground, and the actions of the Sky God, all of them aligned perfectly to allow this to happen.


    And yet¡­ The woman felt a deep and instinctual fear.


    Something told her that this wasn''t so simple, it wasn''t a one time thing. It was rather the beginning of something extraordinarily fearsome, the creation of a Dao so profound and grand that it would be unmatched throughout history.


    Ryu stood there, basking in his enlightenment as though he couldn''t sense the flickering killing intent of the woman. As things stood now, even if Ryu couldn''t defeat a Sky God or even a World Sea Realm expert in this Holy Battle Ground, he could most definitely force them into a retreat.


    The martial world was just like this. Even this seemingly mild tempered woman, a Sky God who had even allowed him to all but curse in her face without much of a reaction, might still repay kindness with animosity.


    Thanks to Ryu, it was likely that the progress this woman had made in this Holy Battle Ground would all come together. The blockages caused by the ''assassin'' Sky God were all gone so all her loose bits of inspiration would be able to be completed one after another. After billions of years of meditation, it would all fuse into one, allowing her to improve by leaps and bounds.


    It wasn''t just her, but the entire sword faction, at least the ones who had frequented this Holy Battle Ground¡ªa number that shouldn''t'' be few¡ªwould likewise benefit from this greatly.


    And yet, she was scared and hesitant.


    No matter how na?ve and innocent a Sky God seemed, they were still a Sky God. How much had they experienced in their lives? How much hardship did they have to suffer through to make it to their level?


    Even though Ryu didn''t think much of them because he felt he would accomplish what they had as well, that didn''t mean he couldn''t acknowledge the harsh path they had tread. And, in knowing this, he also understood that while this woman seemed to be kind and gentle, she most definitely had the capacity to be cruel and ruthless if the situation required it. Someone without at least this amount of resolve would have never made it so far in the martial world.


    Ryu wasn''t one to be fooled by a pretty face. He had seen too many of them and had rejected more than even he could count. To him, there wasn''t much of a difference between those beauties and the Sky God before him. Plus, hadn''t he already tasted what it felt like to be with a woman with such high cultivation?


    This was all to say that he had been ready from the very beginning.


    There were two choices this woman could make. Well¡­ There were three. But, Ryu wasn''t na?ve enough to believe that she would pick the third.


    The first choice was to kill him. Like this, all thoughts of future trouble would be erased.


    However, it seemed that this woman had a conscience, so even Ryu didn''t believe she would go so far. Maybe if he hadn''t done anything for her, she would be able to do this. But, since his actions had helped her out so profoundly, her disposition didn''t seem to allow her to ignore that.


    Of course, there was another more substantial reason, and that was fear. Matters of Karma and Fate were especially heavy the higher your cultivation Realm. Repaying kindness with enmity was still possible, of course, or else there would never be wars¡ªSky Gods would never allow them. However, this was only up to a certain point.


    That made Ryu deduce that she would likely choose the second option: to cripple him by disrupting his breakthrough.


    The current Ryu was in a state of enlightenment and by the measure of anyone else, this was the most vulnerable position a person could be in. If there was a chance to deal with this problem while causing the lowest hit of Karma to herself, the woman would, of course, choose this path.


    Finally, the third option an the one Ryu thought was the most ridiculous, was for her to simply let him go. Such a conclusion to Ryu seemed ridiculous to the point of being asinine. There was simply no chance that such a thing would happen.


    The woman''s gaze trembled before solidifying with resolution.


    She raised her hand toward Ryu.

 Chapter 724 color

    Chapter 724 color


    A surge of strength reached the tips of the woman''s fingers, her gaze turning cold. Whatever frailness she had once had vanished, her body springing into action.


    Ryu shook his head internally.


    This was a shame, really. If she had been grateful like she was meant to be, he would have been able to use her to ask a favor of the Blacksmith Wynhorn. But, with how things were going, this was clearly not possible anymore.


    So deep within the Holy Battle Ground, the only others who could come so far were Sky Gods who specialized in the sword. By now, due to Ryu releasing the shackles on the Battle Ground, those that had found it easier to gain enlightenment had already been forced to retreat as the lands returned to their original difficulty.


    This was all to say that the only two here were Ryu and this woman. Even if Ryu wanted to call for help, it would be impossible. And in the face of a Sky God¡­ What could Ryu possibly do?


    BANG!


    A strong surge of qi rippled into the surroundings, surging toward Ryu. The speed was so fast that there was absolutely nothing he could do in retaliation.


    It washed over him like a flood. In that moment, it was like Ryu''s connection to the rest of the world had been completely cut off. Whatever enlightenment there had been was suffocated to the point of death.


    Ryu had to admit that this was quite the clever method. He thought that maybe this woman would try to cripple his Spiritual Foundation, or maybe sever his meridians, but she had actually chosen this method instead.


    Truthfully, it was the kindness method possible. It didn''t cause Ryu any pain, it simply blocked him off from the Heavens, shooting down any attempt at enlightenment that he might grasp. But, quite frankly, for Ryu, this was probably also the best method to choose against him.


    Ryu''s meridians were practically indestructible. Trying to cripple them, even with the strength of a Sky God, would require attacking the exact same point that Ryu had aimed for when he failed his first Spiritual Severing. However, it was impossible for an outsider to sense that vulnerability because it existed between the Real and Ethereal Plane. The only ones who could sense it were Ryu and those that had a soul connection with him.


    Trying to sever the Third strongest material in all of the martial world with a casual attack wasn''t possible even for a Sky God. This didn''t even mention the fact that after Ryu stepped onto the Chaos Path by deviating from the true cultivation system, his Chaotic Silk Meridians had grown even stronger.


    Now, even if someone targeted that vulnerable location, it might not even be possible to cleave.


    Then there was targeting Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation. Maybe a normal Spiritual Foundations could be shattered with a casual blow from a Sky God, but how could the same be said for one bestowed by another Sky God?


    Ryu himself almost died just trying to communicate with his original Spiritual Foundation, he hadn''t even attempted to replace the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation yet. One could imagine what would happen to someone who tried to purposely destroy it.


    To say that they would suffer was an understatement.


    There was a third way to try and cripple Ryu as well, and that was by leaving a wound on his soul. It didn''t need to be large, but even a small imperfection went a long way.


    With a wounded soul, just meditating would lead to pain. One wouldn''t'' be able to use their Inheritances and their comprehension would both suffer and falter, resulting in a decline.


    This seemed to be the most benign of the three crippling methods, but it was the most torturous at the same time. But¡­ Once again, it was useless on Ryu who now had an Indestructible soul.


    It was a bit funny to find out in this way, but Ryu only now realized that it was near impossible to cripple him. For someone like him who had spent the entirety of his first life as a cripple, comprehending this was like a breath of fresh air.


    ''So¡­ I still had this kind of fear hidden within me, huh?''


    Ryu hadn''t even realized that he had such a shadow over his heart. He was so focused on moving forward that he never really considered what was in his rearview. He was trying to ''better'' himself, and become the sort of man his two wives would always love to have by their side, but he never really considered the root of his trauma to begin with.


    Hadn''t it all started that day¡­ That day he found out he couldn''t'' cultivate?


    Ryu released a slow breath. He didn''t seem to be paying attention to anything around him, nor did he spare the woman a glance. It was as though nothing was happening around him at all, nothing mattered but what was in his own head.


    .


    Ryu''s every breath seemed to follow an enigmatic rhythm, his body becoming less and less corporeal. Despite the fact he stood right before the woman, unmoving, every time she blinked, it felt as though he had vanished. She was forced to refocus her gaze before she could finally spot him again.


    She blinked once more beside herself, but this time, a sword had inexplicably appeared in Ryu''s hand.


    The pupils of the woman couldn''t help but constrict.


    This sword was absolutely beautiful. Its flat edge and sharp edge were separated by a rippling pattern that looked like the waves of an ocean. The flat edge was a deep and greyish black, accented by deep golden runes. The sharp edge was completely crystalline, shimmering like a transparent crimson ruby.


    It was just a meter and half long and had a gentle sloping curve. Its handle was quite long, enough for four hands to stack and still have a bit of room left.


    But, what was most shocking was that this blade was actually at the pinnacle of the Ancestral Grade. Even her own sword wasn''t so good.


    "I can cleave through anything, even your shabby curtain of qi." Ryu said lightly.


    The blade in his hand trembled as he slowly rose it up.


    When he cleaved downward, the world seemed to lose its color.

 Chapter 725 lt Feels...

    Chapter 725 lt Feels...


    The woman''s face drained of all color. This moment¡­ Was maybe the most surreal of her entire life.


    Logically, she knew that even if she let this blade qi approach her without doing a single thing, it wouldn''t even manage to reach her skin. The difference between the current Ryu and a Sky God was so large that the attacks he would levy toward one would crumble beneath their presence without even making contact¡­


    And yet, despite that, despite knowing the disparity between them, the woman was still frozen in place. A deep, rooted fear took hold of her heart. It felt in that moment that every flaw she had ever hidden and buried deep within herself was being dredged up and displayed for all to see, as though she was being stripped naked for the world.


    Such a feeling of vulnerability, such a feeling of helplessness¡­ She hadn''t experienced such a thing since¡­


    The pressure suddenly vanished like the wind. As expected, the strike didn''t even make it to within even ten meters of the woman. Despite the fear and apprehension she felt, Ryu''s blade qi crumbled before even reaching her range.


    This was the second time, the second time since she had known this young man that he made her feel like that little girl she had been before she picked up her first sword.


    Cold sweat poured down her delicate brows, her skin alternating between rosy and pale even to the point her dress began to cling to her curves as they became moist. She felt so frail and helpless right now that she could only be thankful that she hadn''t tried to resist. If she tried to use qi in such a state, there was no telling how terrible the backlash of her qi deviation would be.


    However, what she hadn''t noticed was that because she retracted her qi instinctually, the barrier she had formed around Ryu was dispersed by her own hand¡­


    BANG!


    A blinding pillar of light descended from the skies. Even now, the process of Aberardus'' breakthrough was still hanging in the air, but this breakthrough seemed capable of overshadowing even it. For a moment, those who were paying attention felt as though a second Sky God was appearing.


    Ryu stood beneath the large and sweeping energy, his eyes partially closed and his hands lightly gripping his sword. It seemed that the blade might fall from his hands at any time, yet it also seemed to be firmly in place at the same time.


    Ryu took a deep breath, his skin glowing as it greedily soaked in this qi.


    The expression of this woman couldn''t help but change. Absorbing qi through the skin? That was impossible, unless¡­.


    Her pupils constricted into pinholes and for a moment she forgot about her horror. An Ancestral Grade Bone Structure was impossibly rare. But, for it to appear in a boy who seemed to have almost an endless wealth of talent in other areas as well, she couldn''t help but feel at a loss.


    ''My Dao¡­ is cracked¡­''


    The woman could feel that her Godhood was unstable. Even though it wasn''t close to collapsing, she could tell that if she truly attacked Ryu to kill him now, she could forget about her title as a Sky God. Ryu had made a bet¡­ And he won.


    She was truly at a loss for words. She had lost to a kid who hadn''t even comprehended Cosmic Qi yet? Even if she personally told this story¡­ Who would believe it?


    It was quite ironic. She herself had been the experimental subject that proved the worst of her fears. Ryu had managed to effect the foundation of her very Dao.


    Of course, this could once again be counted as a ''unique'' situation.


    First, she had an instinctual fear of Ryu after witnessing his magnum opus. Another Sky God wouldn''t have witnessed his feat and would have no reason to fear him whatsoever, making it several times more difficult.


    Second, she had spent the last year observing this young man. The imprint he had on her heart was already extremely deep. She had watched from start to end as he accomplished a feat that even she would find impossible, making the effect he had on her even deeper.


    Third, these things made her susceptible to believing those words Ryu spoke before swinging his sword. The imprint he had on her was too deep, so she fell for it easily.


    .


    All of these circumstances led to Ryu''s actions causing a small imperfection on her Godhood, one that if she didn''t fix she would be unable to progress again throughout this lifetime, and it once again seemed like it was all a finely tuned coincidence that couldn''t possibly happen again¡­


    Yet wasn''t this already the second time today that she was thinking such a thing?


    This young man¡­ Just what kind of monster was he?


    She felt now that not only could she not kill him for fear of her Godhood completely crumbling, he had become a Heart Demon of hers that she had to cure. Did she owe this young man something in her last life? How had things become like this?


    To a Sky God, a year was like the blink of an eye. While Ryu was pissed he had wasted so much time on this, to her it was like taking a small break. But, to think that this ''small break'' would end with her practically being enslaved to a boy too young even to be her great great great great greater grandson¡­


    The surging pillar of light only seemed to grow with more fervor and majesty. The aura seemed to infinitely approach a Godhood and easily dwarfed many Minor Godhoods, and yet it had the aura of neither.


    The woman could only shake her head. She couldn''t fathom how a mere Dominion could have such a powerful momentum. If this ever managed to become a Godhood in the future¡­


    The pillar of light slowly faded, leaving Ryu standing without moving an inch. He looked down, his hair masking the light frown on his brow.


    ''It feels¡­ Incomplete.''

 Chapter 726 Rules

    Chapter 726 Rules


    If the woman could hear Ryu''s thoughts, maybe her already crumbling Dao would completely collapse. How could a Dominion with such momentum still possibly feel incomplete? However, that was exactly how Ryu felt.


    This Dominion that Ryu had comprehended was quite special and he also felt as much. But, the requirements and restrictions on it were too great. The woman was right to feel that this wasn''t something Ryu could easily replicate. Whether it was the assassin Sky God or her, they were very special circumstances that required just the right conditions.


    However, what Ryu wanted wasn''t something he had to scheme and dodge about to use. Though he could do so, it wasn''t his style and he didn''t like it.


    If a court minister was given the Dominion Ryu had just comprehended, it likely wouldn''t be long before they became the Emperor. If Ryu applied himself and used his intelligence more rather than his fists, he could likely crush and sweep through the Martial Gods with this ability as well. But¡­ How long would this take? How many years of hiding away and scurrying around like a rat would it take for him to accomplish this?


    The worst part was that as a Dominion, it was still a bit too weak. Ryu would still need to improve it into the future. But, with his heart not in it, how could he possibly do so?


    Ryu didn''t linger on this disappointment for long. Building a Dao was a very long process and the fact he had only taken a year to reach this step spoke volumes about his talent.


    Plus, this was just one blade. Didn''t he still have another? If he could build a Dao that complemented this one and made it less¡­ useless, wouldn''t that be perfect.


    ''A blade that can see through Fate and sever Karma...'' Ryu rotated his wrist back and forth, allowing the blade to shimmer beneath the dimming qi lights.


    "I''ll call you Dividing Karma."


    The moment Ryu spoke these words, the starry skies released a blinding light, a clap of thunder that rang through the martial world causing the Planes of Existence to quake.


    Ryu didn''t seem to react much to this at all. For him, it was only a matter of time regardless. The only real good he felt coming out of all of this was that he was ever closer to the pinnacle of the Immortal Ring Realm now.


    With a flip of his palm, his sword vanished and returned to his spatial ring. Of course, this sword that the woman found to be so beautiful was one of the few top tier sword treasures the Tatsuya had in their inventory. Despite its greatness, though, Ryu didn''t feel particularly attached to it.


    Ironically, the Dominion Ryu had just comprehended wasn''t a Sword Inheritance, so he was technically still a novice in the sword. But, after his experience, he felt that he had already grasped what he needed from the sword and didn''t feel the need to study it any longer.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted upward, meeting the gaze of the woman.


    "What''s your name?" Ryu asked.


    An Immortal Ring Realm expert asking such a casual question to a Sky God was likely something that had never happened in history. Yet, Ryu did it so casually without even blinking an eye. Judging by the fact this woman was still here, he could guess a few things.


    The woman''s gaze narrowed but in the end she sighed.


    "Ryza."


    "I assume you''ll need to follow me from now on?"


    Ryza''s brow twitched, but she had no idea how to respond.


    Ryu had not only harmed her Godhood, but he had also become a Heart Demon of hers. It was impossible to just wish a away a Heart Demon, especially when you were a Sky God. The only way to do so was by facing it head on.


    Unfortunately, Ryza''s Heart Demon stemmed from her fear of Ryu''s growth. The only way to get rid of it, the only logical method, was to help facilitate it. If she wanted to get over her fear of Ryu, she had to help Ryu grow.


    Never in her life did she think that she would be thrust into such a situation. If she knew this would happen, she would have left Ryu to his own devices and ignored this matter completely. But, to think that not only could she not kill Ryu before he grew, but she also had to make sure that no one else did either.


    She simply couldn''t'' believe how unlucky she was. But, Ryu''s next words only made her more speechless.


    "In truth, I don''t want a bodyguard. Not only am I not a fan of the idea of having someone I don''t know follow me around, but you''ll only hinder my growth. I''ve grown used to relying on myself and haven''t had a Dao Protector in a very long time.


    "Unfortunately, I also don''t have the strength to tell a Sky God to piss off if she''s insistent on following me, so it doesn''t really seem like I have much of a choice either. I only hope that you can follow a certain set of rules.


    "For one, don''t interfere in anything I do. I don''t want nor do I need your advice. And, even if I seem to be on my last breath, so long as the individual is beneath the World Sea Realm, let me handle it. Stifling my growth won''t help you recover your Godhood.


    "Second, I have two wives and I hope you understand the concept of privacy. I am far more sensitive to Spiritual Sense than others would be, even if it comes from a Sky God, so I hope you understand propriety and don''t overstep your bounds by delving too deeply into matters that have nothing to do with you.


    "Third, I have many enemies and don''t need someone who will stab me in the back. If you want to follow me, you''ll need to swear a Blood Oath. You''ve already proven yourself to be an untrustworthy person willing to repay kindness with enmity, so no, I won''t take your word for it. If you''re unwilling, I think you''ll find out very soon that you''re not the only Sky God I can form relationships with.


    "Finally, since you''re of the sword faction, I''m sure you''ve heard of Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn, correct? I hope you can help me make contact with her."


    Ryza stood in silence for a very long time.


    Suddenly, she really felt like killing this boy.

 Chapter 727 Speechless

    Chapter 727 Speechless


    Ryza''s reason got the better of her. It simply wasn''t worth it to lash out and paint herself into a corner just for a moment of satisfaction.


    She pressed her thumb against her forefinger, pushing its nail out to become more prominent. Then, with a single, unhesitant action, she pierced it into her chest.


    A flow of blinding red blood flowed outward, shimmering as bright as a star. There were very few that could say they had ever seen a Sky God bleed, but now Ryu could definitely count himself among that extraordinarily small number.


    Not only did the blood of a Sky God carry overwhelming vitality, just being in its presence was a form of blasphemy. Ryu had been in many Ruins before where a Sky God''s blood was actually part of the main defensive mechanisms. Blood sacrifices were among the best methods to create powerful formations, so it was unsurprising that this was the case.


    Ryza''s blood carried with it the heft a Sky God''s blood should. Despite how seemingly easy it looked rolling down her finger like that, Ryu knew well that just a single drop weighed a seemingly impossible amount.


    "I swear to never infringe upon¡­"


    Ryza paused, clearly waiting for Ryu to speak his name. In response, his lip curled, a light chuckle leaving him.


    "Ryu Tatsuya."


    The Holy Battle Ground quaked, the swords becoming greatly agitated.


    Ryza''s own gaze trembled as well, suddenly realizing that when Ryu said he had a lot of enemies¡­ It wasn''t a joke in the slightest. Unfortunately, having already come so far, there was no turning back in the slightest. She really was screwed.


    "¡­ Ryu Tatsuya''s benefits until the day my foundation is healed."


    Ryu''s smile didn''t fade even with Ryza''s caveat. By the time such a thing was healed, let alone having to rely on Aberardus, Ryu was confident that he''d be able to handle Ryza himself. It was only a matter of time.


    A crackle of thunder rang through the starry skies as a bolt of crimson lightning fell. Seeing this, Ryza knew there was simply no going back.


    She stared deeply at Ryu.


    "Are you¡­ Really a Tatsuya?"


    "Do you think I could withstand the backlash if I wasn''t?" Ryu answered perfunctorily.


    "But¡­"


    Ryu''s expression darkened when he heard Ryza begin. Clearly, he could tell where she was going with this, but he didn''t care to answer.


    Ryza, though, having come to understand Ryu''s limits, wouldn''t be off put by a mere gaze from a junior. No matter what Ryu said, the fact that he was still forced to compromise meant that there was little to nothing he could do to her.


    "¡­ How? Did you receive their legacy?"


    Ryu''s gaze shifted away from Ryza. Clearly, he didn''t plan on answering. However, rather than becoming annoyed, Ryza smiled.


    "You don''t have to answer, but nothing in my oath guaranteed that I would get Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn''s help for you. The only reason I''ve gone so far is because I need to get rid of this flaw on my heart, and to do that, I need to understand you. If you aren''t going to tell me anything, why do I have to go the extra mile?"


    "I don''t take kindly to threats."


    "Who said it''s a threat? It''s just a transaction."


    Ryza was very curious about this matter. The disappearance of the Tatsuya practically happened over night. Of course, it wasn''t this exaggerated, but a war that was so short might as well have felt like a single night to someone who had lived as long as she had.


    Plus, Ryza was slowly beginning to understand Ryu. He was someone who wouldn''t bend when it came to matters of pride, but that didn''t mean he wouldn''t bend in other ways. If she was humiliating him and talking about some terrible deed he committed, maybe he wouldn''t even spare her a glance even if it meant not being able to see Wynhorn. But, this was a different matter entirely. After all, Ryza was only asking a bit about Ryu''s history.


    She was essentially trading a conversation with Ryu for a small favor. Something like this shouldn''t infringe on Ryu''s pride at all.


    "My parents are Himari and Titus Tatsuya. I didn''t receive a Legacy, I was born a Tatsuya."


    When Ryu spoke these words, there was a particularly silent lull around Titus Tatsuya''s name. It felt quite odd and quite hollow. It was a subtle feeling that Ryu almost didn''t catch, but when he did, his brows furrowed.


    It had been a long time since he spoke his fathers name aloud. No one could force him to, and he didn''t particularly want to either.


    The last time he had, he had been asking a member of the three main Necromancer families about him. But, now that Ryu thought about it, the reaction he received then might have been twisted due to the fact it was an artificial world¡­


    He wasn''t sure what to think.


    Ryza, however, felt like she had been steam rolled.


    Himari and Titus were two individuals far beneath a Sky God''s notice. However, the same could not be said of Saint Tatsuya and Saint Kunan. Both were men just a step away from the Sky God Realm and both were men the Sky God community had a sharp eye on. This was because there was a good chance that both would leap over the False Godhood frame and directly form True Godhoods.


    By extension, their children, were well known, on top of being the Patriarch and Matriarch of one of the martial world''s strongest Hegemonies.


    And a step further¡­ Their son and their grandson was a name that had rocked the entirety of the martial world because of his birth¡­


    A birth with the momentum of a Sky Gods breakthrough. A Great Circle Ancestral Grade Talent. The wielder of the number one ranked Heavenly Pupils in all of existence¡­


    Ryu Tatsuya.


    "You¡­ You''re¡­"


    Ryza was at a loss for words.

 Chapter 728 Night and Day

    Chapter 728 Night and Day


    "¡­ But¡­ Your¡­ Spiritual Foundation¡­"


    These were the words Ryza finally managed to squeeze out.


    Ryu''s birth was something the entirety of the martial world had been shaken by. The appearance of such a talent wasn''t just a matter of celebration, for many it was a matter of great worry. It meant a great shift in the balance of power and a great possibility that the Hegemony of the Tatsuya would only continue to expand.


    The Tatsuya had seemingly only continued growing ever since their inception. Despite their relative youth, they grew rapidly, becoming the main Clan of a top tier world like the Shrine World.


    It had to be understood that before the creation of the Tatsuya Clan under the leadership of Primus, those with Dragon blood were greatly independent. Due to their unruly nature and the foundation of their Daos, they didn''t do well in Clan structures and often went off on their own. Many of the world''s loan experts back then had been those with Dragon Blood who insisted on being leaders of their own.


    It wasn''t until the appearance of Primus that many of these ambitions of individuality were quelled and the Shrine World fell under a single power''s control. However, quite ironically, Primus himself seemed to disdain the lack of individuality his own Clan had formulated and left not long after his own son matured, never to return.


    The appearance of the Tatsuya was both surprising and shocking to the martial world, but it worked. Year after year, they displayed the astounding birth of talents and without the need to go off on their own and forge a path of individuality, the powerful talents with Dragon blood began to flourish all the more, displaying the true might of Dragon blooded humans.


    When Ryu was born, it was like the pinnacle of this ascension. The martial world had to face a reality where maybe, just maybe, its entirety might fall under the control of just a single Clan, something unprecedented in the history of the universe.


    It was maybe the first time even Sky Gods paid attention to the birth of a child as it was maybe also the first time a child who was practically guaranteed to step into their ranks had been born. Not only did Ryu have the talent, he had the heritage and the background.


    With the strength and power of the Tatsuyas, he didn''t even have to worry about being killed before he was matured either. His parents were practically undefeatable with the Cosmic Seed Realm, and when working together could even challenge World Sea Realm experts. His grandparents, and especially his grandfathers, were untouchable within the World Sea Realm. And his great grandfather¡­


    Well, the looming existence of Primus Tatsuya was the exact reason that though the Tatsuya Clan was young, and though they had yet to birth a second Sky God after him, no one dared to think of touching them¡­


    However, how could anyone have expected that the day the Tatsuya would face a crisis that would wipe them from existence¡­ He wouldn''t even show up?


    Ryza''s mind sped into overdrive.


    The martial world collectively sighed a breath of relief when it was realized that Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was False. Many felt that things were only right this way. How could so much talent be concentrated into a single person? The Heavens didn''t play favorites, they should have expected something like this to happen.


    Ryu had entered the Tatsuya Library not long after his failure, so he didn''t have to witness all the sneering faces and fake smiles that had come to give their ''condolences'' to him and his family, but he could practically feel the searing heat still lingering on his skin¡­ That shame he had felt that day, the moment his perpetual smile turned cold and froze over.


    ''If he really is him, then¡­ Is there a cure for a False Spiritual Foundation? Could it be that the Tatsuya faked his Awakening Ceremony¡­? No, wait. It''s impossible for a mortal to live for a billion years, and a talent like Ryu, even if he had a Common Grade Spiritual Foundation, he couldn''t possibly still be using Immortal Qi after so long. The Grade of a Spiritual Foundation won''t start to matter until the Dao Pedestal Realm¡­ Not truly, anyway¡­


    ''It can''t be that they faked it either for the same reason¡­ After almost a billion years, he couldn''t possibly still be so weak¡­''


    Ryza''s lips twitched at her own deductions. She had just watched Ryu cripple a Sky God, was this still considered weak? Even she couldn''t do this¡­


    ''There''s only two explanations I can think of, but only one makes sense. But there''s no way for me to know the details.''


    Ryza was only certain of a single thing: Ryu had reincarnated. And, by some miracle, he managed to gain a Spiritual Foundation through this process.


    "Finished ogling now? I would still like to see Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn as soon as possible. I''ve wasted enough time here."


    Ryza took a deep breath. She had had too many bombs dropped onto her in the short time she had known this young man. She really didn''t know if this would be her fortune or if this would go down as one of the worst things to ever happen to her¡­


    "Okay, I will bring you to see big sister Wynhorn. But, whether¡­"


    Ryza was about to say it would be up to Ryu whether he was worthy of asking for her help or not, but thinking back to Wynhorn''s standards and what Ryu had displayed¡­ Maybe this would be the smoothest commission the swords faction Goddess had ever received.


    Ryza placed a palm on Ryu''s shoulder, causing him to inwardly roll his eyes. What was with all these Sky Gods ferreting him around like some sort of rag doll? They were Sky Gods. Didn''t they have modes of transportation more convenient than this?


    Without a care for Ryu''s reaction, Ryza flashed away, weaving in and out of the Holy Battle Ground with groundbreaking speed. Compared to Aberardus before, it might as well have been like night and day¡­

 Chapter 729 True Sky God

    Chapter 729 True Sky God


    The entire Armament Guild was lit ablaze. While Ryu and Ryza had been distracted by their own matters, it might as well have been the case that a volcano had erupted.


    The instant they stepped out of the Holy Battle Ground, it became very obvious to the both of them that going to see Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn right this moment may very well not be possible.


    A boisterous laughter boomed over the main Armament Guild city, a man wielding the skies like a spear standing tall and proud. He didn''t seem to notice anyone around him at all, and yet he was easily the center of attention.


    Ryza came to a full stop, her small hand still on Ryu''s shoulder. When she looked up, her gaze flickered with surprise.


    "¡­ Aberardus¡­? That''s¡­"


    Ryza felt as though she had had enough surprise for a lifetime this day alone. Though Aberardus was indeed one of the closest to the Sky God Realm, it still shouldn''t have happened so soon. In fact, the number of people who were so close but would never cross over that final barrier were all too numerous.


    Ryza would have more easily accepted this if it was someone low profile who she had never heard of before, but for it to be Aberardus¡­ It simply didn''t make any sense!


    Aberardus had just come back with his son and caused a whole bunch of commotion. It was obvious at a single glance for anyone at her level that he had done all of this with a true body and not an avatar. So, when could he have possibly had the time to break into the Sky God Realm?


    "Wait¡­"


    Ryza''s pupils constricted into pinholes. This pressure, there was no way she''d mistake it. This was the state of a True Sky God! If she already had a hard time believing it before, right this moment she felt as though her soul might leave her body entirely.


    Aberardus was most definitely not a talent capable of skipping over the False Sky God stage. But, somehow, in a single leap, he had not only become one of the supreme powerhouses of the Armament Guild, he had even surpassed his own Ancestor and entered the top most three.


    The information most had about the Sky God Realm was scarce, but this wasn''t the case for an existence like Ryza.


    To put things in simple terms, the divisions between the Sky God Realm weren''t as simple as the divisions between previous Realms. Each leap was so large that it might as well have been an all new Realm all together.


    There were two things to consider when it came to the strength of a Sky God. The first was the power their Title held and the second was their stage.


    The first division of power was often arbitrary and couldn''t be parsed without a sharp eye or a display of strength. The second division was more straightforward, but often, information about it was gatekeep''d from the public, likely as an effort by lesser Sky Gods to maintain their prestige and title.


    The lowest level Sky God was a Fragmented Sky God. This individual would have formed the weakest of Godhoods. This would be either due to their Title being reliant on several other far more powerful Titles, or because the Godhood was simply far too incomplete. Both of these would be viable reasons to become Fragmented Sky Gods.


    Often, the Supreme Blacksmiths would fall into this category as their Godhoods were all branching from the much larger and sturdier tree of Blacksmithing as a whole.


    The vast majority of Sky Gods were at this level.


    The second stage of a Sky God was the False Sky God. At this stage, a Godhood was slightly more complete or a Title was slightly more powerful, however not entirely perfect. The Title might not rely on many other Titles, but it was definitely be reliant on a few, while the foundation of the Godhood wouldn''t be exactly perfect.


    The third stage of a Sky God was the True Sky God. At this stage, a Godhood could be considered whole and self sustaining. While there might be related or similar Titles, this Godhood wouldn''t be reliant on them and could be considered to be its own discipline.


    The fourth stage of a Sky God was the Transcended Sky God. The fifth was the Omniscient Sky God. And the sixth was the Origin Sky God.


    These latter three stages were all too enigmatic and difficult to grasp. Even Ryu only had vague inklings of them as he wasn''t quite sure if they even existed. In fact, Ryu was almost certain that these latter three stages were either wrong or missing in several steps. He couldn''t explain why outside of his own intuition as a Ruin Master and the strength of his Heavenly Pupils after their evolution.


    Of course, Ryu was correct¡­ There were nine stages of Sky Godhood¡­ It was just that the martial world as Ryu knew it had no right to know of these things¡­


    Regardless, to step into True Godhood in a single step ensured that Aberardus would have a name that rang throughout the martial world. He had all the right to boisterously laugh and stick his chest out in victory. He had become a man who stood above others.


    "Let''s go up." Ryu said.


    "Huh? What?" Ryza looked at Ryu as though he was an idiot.


    Not only was she a member of a faction opposing Aberardus, the current her was no match for him. If Ryu pissed him off, or if he chose to use her as an example to establish his power and authority, there would be nothing she could do.


    There were many auras converging onto Aberardus at the moment, many of whom were Sky Gods, so it really seemed like a clash was inevitable. It wasn''t smart for Ryu to be there to begin with.


    "He''s a friend of mine. I can go myself, but you''ll have to let go of my shoulder."


    Ryza''s expression flickered, suddenly remembering Ryu''s threats about how she would find out that she wasn''t the only Sky God he could form relationships with. It couldn''t be¡­? How did he know¡­?


    Ryza''s brain felt muddled. Before she realized what was happening, she too was approaching Aberardus.

 Chapter 730 worst

    Chapter 730 worst


    When the Sky Gods and Peak World Sea Realm experts of the Armament Guild realized just who it was that had broken through, their expressions couldn''t help but change.


    The powerhouses of the Seire, Virga and part of the Hastam Clan all had glowing expressions while those of the Ferum, Arcus, Lorum, Gladio, Gione and Securis Clan all had a wide range of reactions from complicated to ugly.


    "Little Abe? Is that really you?"


    The one who spoke was an old man with a hunched back. Even as he walked through the air, his walking stick struck down to form qi paths along his way. He really seemed like every bit of a frail old man, but it was this very old man who had been the backbone of the Hastam Clan for so long, Sky God Hastam.


    When he saw that it was actually his own descendant who had not only become a Sky God, but a True Sky God at that, he was at a loss for words.


    He had been among the first to make it here because unlike those other Sky Gods who spent all day, everyday in deep meditation, he had already accepted that he had reached his limit. Truthfully, it was because he was so lay back and old that the Hastam Clan ended up as fragmented as it was currently.


    Though even as old as he was, living for several more million years wouldn''t be a problem, to the rest of the martial world, this was simply too short of a time frame. It wasn''t even enough time for a newborn to grow into an expert capable of holding some weight in the family. At best, even if they were a great genius, they would still be in the Dao Pedestal Realm when old man Hastam passed away.


    Due to this, the old man wasn''t really part of the family''s decisions. The only thing he could do was protect the life of Godefride and Aberardus and stop the internal conflict from reaching the point of fratricide.


    For a long time, old man Hastam thought that he would just have to hold on for as long as he could, hoping that the built up animosity between his family members would be dealt with before he died, knowing full well that this was nothing more than wishful thinking¡­


    To think that the Heavens would actually give him such a surprise today.


    "Ancestor!"


    Aberardus immediately stopped laughing, falling to his knees in the skies. He respectfully kowtowed to this old man who had always looked after him and his son. If not for old man Hastam, many his family line would have already been wiped out.


    The old man was stunned for a moment before a smile bloomed on his wizened features.


    "Come, come. Little Abe, you''re a Sky God now. No, a True Sky God. These aren''t bows that I deserve."


    Aberardus stubbornly shook his head before kowtowing once more. This had nothing to do with power, he respected this man to the depths of his heart.


    Old man Hastam reached forward and helped his descendant up, a gratified smile on his face. Though his blood ties with Aberardus could be considered thin at best and there were dozens of generations separating the two of them, he still felt a happiness that only a grandparent could feel right this moment.


    Aberardus allowed his Ancestor to help him up, straightening his back with a glowing gaze as he looked around. Many couldn''t meet his gaze. Some turned away after trying while many more avoided it all together.


    The birth of a Sky God in the Armament Guild was meant to be an exciting occasion, but right now¡­ Most were uncertain of how to react.


    At that moment, two powerful, all encompassing auras descended, causing Aberardus'' gaze to narrow. He didn''t need to look to know that these two were the only two True Sky Gods of the Armament Guild¡­ At least before his own breakthrough.


    Both of these individuals were the reason why so many of the nine families had already defected to the side of the Martial Gods.


    On the left, there was a young man with brows as sharp as swords and a gaze as piercing as a hawks. Despite the amiable smile on his face, it was difficult to see him as a nice person, his eyes were simply too piercing.


    This ''young man'' was anything but young and was actually True Sky God Arcus, the Ancestor of the Arcus Clan and well known to be the strongest bowman in the whole of the martial world.


    On the right, there was a middle aged woman. She had clearly broken through earlier than True Sky God Arcus had and as a result, seemed much older as well. However, that did nothing to mar her beauty. Other than a few lines of age, just her elegant posture and graceful gait stole the souls of all men who saw her.


    She had flowing crystalline blue hair that almost looked like gem-like filaments, and a waist so tiny and hips so wide it made one fantasize about what her backview would look like just from a glance at the front.


    She was True Sky God Ferum¡­ Also known as Wynhorn Ferum, the Supreme Blacksmith of the swords faction!


    As for why she carried the name Wynhorn and many even deigned to call her by her first name in such a way, this was because she had spent the majority of her life masquerading as a man as women could not inherit the Ferum Clan. It was only after she became a True Sky God did she sweep away competition in a single step and reveal her true feminine charms¡­


    Still, she never changed her name back to what it once had been, nor did she seem bothered to have such a bulky and aggressive name¡­


    The appearance of these two, although they were very obviously avatars in Aberardus'' eyes, caused a frightening silence to take hold.


    Who knew, though, that someone would actually break it?


    "Congratulations, old man."


    Ryu smiled lightly from Ryza''s side, causing the latter to go as pale as a sheet of paper.


    Suddenly, she felt like she had just made the worst mistake of her life.

 Chapter 731 Favor

    Chapter 731 Favor


    Aberardus was stunned by the sudden voice. When he looked over and saw that it was Ryu, he was shocked for a moment seeing him by Ryza''s side, but he immediately lit up afterward.


    In the split moment between Aberardus noticing Ryu and reacting, dozens of gazes landed on Ryu, each backed by the momentum of a supreme expert. And yet, Ryu seemed unmoved by it all, his expression still filled with the same calm smile.


    Before anyone else could react, Aberardus grinned wildly and laughed.


    "Ryu! Ancestor, we have to thank this young man. If not for some timely help he gave me, I wouldn''t have succeeded."


    Aberardus'' words stunned those listening. They had been fully prepared to lash out against a junior speaking out of turn just moments ago, but now they weren''t quite sure of how to react.


    Aberardus led his Ancestor over with the posture of a filial grandson. He gave Ryza a confused looked, but she simply looked away, not quite knowing what to do in this situation either.


    Ryu cupped his hands toward old man Hastam.


    For him, this was actually a great showing of respect. He almost never bowed to anyone. If it wasn''t his grandparents, parents or master, he hardly spared many others even a look. But, for Sky Gods and Peak World Sea Realm experts, they felt that Ryu''s actions were far too casual. Even the usually amiable old man Hastam couldn''t help but furrow his brows slightly.


    Aberardus, who pretty much expected these things from Ryu, could only smile bitterly. This boy really knew how to get under people''s skin, and it didn''t even seem to matter who the target was.


    In truth, Aberardus knew that Ryu wasn''t so reckless, he had obviously spoken out for a reason. Though Ryu''s words seemed harmless, he had seamlessly cut through the momentum that True Sky God Arcus and Wynhorn had been building up. In just a breath, all the pressure on Aberardus had vanished and the tense atmosphere disappeared in a puff of smoke.


    If it was anyone else, Aberardus might think that it was a coincidence. But, with Ryu, if all the experiences before weren''t enough to prove it, he was certain after this last year. If not for Ryu, he might have never stepped into the Sky God Realm in his lifetime¡­ To think that he would actually touch upon the True Sky God Realm and become one of the pre-eminent powerhouses of the martial world. He honestly felt like he was in a dream.


    What he did know, though, was that if he had anything to say about it, no one would touch a hair on this boy''s head. He had wanted to take Ryu in as his own disciple for a long time, but it was ironically after becoming a True Sky God that he realized just how unworthy he was.


    However, in his heart, Ryu would always have a place. The moment he had thoughts of taking Ryu in, he might as well have become a second son to him. As far as he was concerned, Ryu was family.


    "Don''t mind him, Ancestor. The brat is a bit abrasive but he has a good heart."


    Hearing these words, old man Hastam raised his brows and eventually nodded.


    Aberardus smiled and looked back toward True Sky God Arcus and Wynhorn. He clasped his fists and bowed lightly. After all, though they should have about the same strength now, they were still his seniors. It was best that he showed them their due respect even though they were on the opposing side of his beliefs.


    As far as Aberardus was aware, True Sky God Arcus was firmly on his opposing side while Wynhorn had been far more neutral. Likely to prevent the bending and breaking of the Armament Guild she felt that it might be best if she acquiesced. But who knows, things might change now that Aberardus was in the picture.


    It could only be said that Ryu''s actions had truly thrown a wrench in the plans of a lot of people.


    Both Arcus and Wynhorn didn''t seem to react like this was a huge matter. Both smiled and gave Aberardus his due respect back.


    "This is truly a boon for our Armament Guild. I never expected that we would be able to rise to the level of the Necromancy and Merchant Guilds by now having three True Sky Gods. This is excellent." True Sky God Arcus smiled brilliantly.


    "I agree with Jan, this is a great boon for us. With the coming troubles we''ll have to face, this sort of help will be like coal in the dead of winter."


    Wynhorn''s voice was quite sweet, though slightly hoarse, maybe due to the years of pretending to be a man. Jan''s own was also quite amiable, but the hidden meanings beneath their words couldn''t have been more different.


    While Jan seemed to be just as encouraging, his words subtly reminded them that their strength was only now on par with the other two pre-eminent Guilds¡­ And yet, hadn''t many of their members still defected to the side of the Martial Gods? It was a reminder that nothing had changed with this.


    On the opposing side, Wynhorn seemed to remind them both that they needed to stick together and that just because the Arcus Clan wanted to side with the Martial Gods, didn''t mean their safety was suddenly guaranteed.


    Aberardus smiled, pretending not to understand the double meaning in both of their words. If he was a False Sky God, he would have to weigh his options far more heavily. But, now that he had strength, he had no intention of bowing his head. He could protect his people now.


    "I will have to apologize to two seniors, I have only just broken through and have yet to consolidate some things. I may have to retreat for a while."


    Wynhorn smiled. "Of course, that is to be expected. If there''s anything we can do for you, please let us know."


    "Ah, about this."


    "Hm?" The two True Sky Gods looked curiously.


    "This junior of mine has greatly admired senior Wynhorn and Supreme Blacksmith Arcus for a very long time. I wonder if you two could do me the favor of hearing out his proposal?


    "I know that senior Wynhorn can make the decision for herself, but I hope that senior Jan will pass on my words?"

 Chapter 732 Curiosity

    Chapter 732 Curiosity


    The two were caught off guard for a moment. They hadn''t expected that the favor Aberardus wasn''t to ask would actually be meant for them. This was, indeed, a surprise.


    Before, they thought that maybe Aberardus had been exaggerating Ryu''s involvement in his breakthrough¡­ But maybe?


    Wynhorn''s gaze flashed with interest. For the first time, even considering the moment Ryu spoke out, she looked toward Ryu, eyeing him up and down.


    "Aberardus, you must know that I have certain rules of my own when it comes to forging. If someone cannot meet my standards, I won''t light my forge. Also¡­ I do not forge spears. If that is what your¡­"


    "Friend." Aberardus smiled.


    Wynhorn was taken off guard once again, as were the others. They had expected to hear the word disciple, but to think Aberardus would choose this form of address. It made them even more curious about exactly what was going on here. How had this happened?


    "There''s also no need to worry, senior Wynhorn. What this junior of mine wants to forge is precisely a sword, albeit a unique one, this is why he insisted on having your help. He''s well aware that there is no better person than yourself."


    Wynhorn recovered and smiled lightly. She had heard such praise many times in her life before and it couldn''t be said that she was moved. This was precisely what anyone who wanted her help would say, but then again, since so many people needed her help, maybe these words were true.


    "A unique sword, hm? I am willing to listen to this little friend''s proposition, then. As for whether I agree or not, that will be up to him."


    Seeing how this conversation was going, Ryza finally relaxed. These were all her peers to begin with, and although she wasn''t a True Sky God, she was still a False one nonetheless. It wasn''t like she was an ant compared to the others, so she didn''t fear them. Rather, she had just been scared that if Ryu said something that got him killed, there would be nothing she could do about it and her foundation would never be healed.


    ''Hm?'' Wynhorn raised an eyebrow, noticing that Ryza was actually quite close with Ryu. This was even more odd to her.


    Ryza tried to convey a ''we''ll talk later'' message with her gaze, something Wynhorn could only accept.


    Aberardus smiled brightly. "Thank you, senior. I''m sure this little one won''t disappoint you."


    After saying this, Aberardus turned his gaze toward Jan who chuckled.


    "This little one''s appetite is quite large, to actually need the help of more than one Supreme Blacksmith. You are correct, I cannot make promises in the stead of Supreme Blacksmith Arcus, I can only pass on the message for you. Is that alright?"


    "Of course, it''s no problem at all. I''ll have to thank senior in advance, then." Aberardus clasped his hands once more. "Since this matter has been resolved, I will take my leave. Will you come with me, or?"


    Aberardus looked toward Ryu.


    "It''s okay, I will take him to see Big Sister Wynhorn." Ryza interjected, realizing that her relationship with Ryu would be out of the bag eventually, regardless.


    As expected, numerous were shocked by this change and couldn''t help but give Ryu several more once overs. What is it that they were missing, exactly?


    Unfortunately, with Ryu''s face hiding behind a mask, not many could make the final connection they needed to.


    Aberardus'' brows arched. "I see¡­ Fair well. I''ll wait for the good news."


    **


    Ryu was quite satisfied with how things had gone. Since he had the opportunity to meet Wynhorn, he felt that this matter was already set in stone. His only worry was how Supreme Blacksmith Arcus would react, but the truth was that even if this final Sky God Blacksmith said no, it wouldn''t be the end of the world.


    Compared to the Great Swordstaff, there bow was obviously far more common and ubiquitous. The Tatsuya family treasury had several of an extremely high quality. It was just that without Ryu''s design, he wouldn''t be able to use them and would instead be restricted to a lower level weapon.


    Ryu was fine with accepting this. He had no intention of groveling.


    "Big sister Wynhorn, we''re here."


    Ryza spoke out neither too loudly nor softly. Clearly, she was confident in Wynhorn''s senses.


    The location was a sky island of sorts separate even from the Armament Guild main city. There were rushing rivers of pink and violet, trees with leaves as white as snow, and grass so green that it was almost a shame to step on it.


    Up above, a formation formed an artificial sky of blue and white clouds, a light drizzle of golden rain falling perpetually, and yet not a single thing was wet.


    "Yes, you can enter."


    The two passed through an invisible wall, finding themselves in an even greater paradise. Within, a middle-aged woman sat, wearing a fluttering blue dress. Though she sat and her curves weren''t as obvious as they had been on her avatar, it was without a doubt still a feast for the eyes.


    When her gaze met Ryu''s this time, there was a strong and formless pressure that even Ryu himself couldn''t completely ignore. The gap between an avatar and her true body was so large that it spoke for itself. There was no doubt that this was, indeed, a True Sky God.


    "You would like me to forge a sword for you?" Wynhorn asked lightly.


    "More accurately, I would like you to work with Supreme Blacksmith Okie to forge this sword."


    Wynhorn''s brow furrowed. As a Blacksmith, she had never worked with anyone else to finish her crafts, and to be asked to do so by a junior was a hard pill to swallow. If not for this being a favor asked of her by Aberardus, she would have already thrown Ryu out.


    "The weapon I want to forge is a Great Swordstaff." Ryu said slowly.


    It was only after hearing this that Wynhorn''s tight brows loosened, replaced by a hint of curiosity.


    [Author''s Note: My bday is tomorrow so I won''t be uploading. See you guys in two days!]

 Chapter 733 offended

    Chapter 733 offended


    Wynhorn sat up straight from her reclined position. With how wide her hips were, it almost made it look as though her lower half was swallowing her torso up. It was such a seemingly benign action, yet it held a lethal attraction for a man.


    Ryu never really cared to hold back his gaze. He suddenly remembered that it had been over a year since he touched a woman. If it wasn''t for the fact he had been so distracted by his previous rage, he would have likely noticed a lot earlier. It seemed that his Dragon and Qilin Blood would be a curse he''d have to carry for the whole of his life.


    Wynhorn was stunned for a moment by Ryu''s gaze. Her first instinct should have probably been to get angry, but she was so unused to someone even daring to look at her in this way that she was completely caught off guard.


    The Sky Gods beneath her rank didn''t dare to offend her, and that was even more so for those who weren''t even Sky Gods to begin with. Then, there was True Sky God Arcus who was always playing the fictitious role of gentleman despite his true nature, so he never revealed his true thoughts.


    Even beyond that, Wynhorn had spent the majority of her life pretending to be a man and only after she gained power did she reveal her true gender. So, even while she was growing up and didn''t yet have the strength to protect herself, no one had looked at her in this way.


    Without exaggeration, it could be said that in her trillions of years of life, this was the first time someone actually looked at her like this. It left her baffled.


    But in the end, she was still a True Sky God. While her shock at this novel stimulus lasted just a moment, she soon began to frown, a hint of a dangerous aura leaking from her.


    All her life, she had to repress her true desires and pretend to be something she wasn''t¡­ wasn''t it precisely because men like this existed? She was deprived of much of what she wanted to do as a woman simply because she was apparently not allowed to hold power due to being born the wrong gender.


    Though she had already proved everyone wrong and kicked those old bastards who would have held her down out of power, that didn''t mean that the resentment she had built up had vanished.


    Seeing Ryu do something so reckless, Ryza once again turned as white as a sheet of paper. She had only been out and about with Ryu in this world for all of a few minutes, yet this was already the second time he had put her on the brink of death. How was her heart going to handle years of this? Wouldn''t it be better if she just gave up on ever healing her foundation now?


    Ryu sighed and shook his head.


    He wasn''t the type of person to feel the need to hide his actions and that had borne some bad habits. This Supreme Blacksmith''s figure was really too good, though.


    While she had spent so long acting as a man, it also meant that she was a bit na?ve to her own charms at the same time. That said, Ryu couldn''t exactly blame her, all she had done was sit up.


    Rather than explaining himself, Ryu began to draw in the air, not waiting for Wynhorn''s temper to flair past the point of no return. As expected, almost as soon as he began, Wynhorn''s expression turned from fury, to a hint of disdain, and then almost immediately to awe.


    The same way Supreme Blacksmith Okie had been enraptured, so too was True Sky God Wynhorn. It was as though she was watching the creation of a beautiful piece of art. Each delicate line of qi vibrated with its own sort of enigmatic prowess, layering the ingenious design one step at a time almost like the peaks and valleys of a well written story.


    This time, Ryu finished drawing it even faster than he had for Okie. While he had taken hours before, he finished in just under an hour this time. And yet, from start to finish, Wynhorn couldn''t take her eyes off of it.


    When it was finished, she let out a light gasp beside herself, seemingly unaware of just how seductive it sounded. Ryu could only shake his head again, focusing his mind.


    Wynhorn remained silent for a long while before reclining back in her chair once more.


    "This design¡­ Is ingenious. It is the first time someone has come to me with their own blueprints, and though I would usually be offended, I have to say that I do not have the face to be so in this case. That said¡­"


    Wynhorn''s gaze drifted from the delicate lines of qi to meet Ryu''s.


    "I do not decide what swords I forge based on how good the blueprint is. I am a swordswoman first and a blacksmith second. If you cannot move me as a swordman, I won''t lift a finger for you no matter how =good the design is. Do you understand?"


    There was a hint of a warning in Wynhorn''s voice. Clearly, though she had ''forgiven'' Ryu''s earlier slight, she had most definitely not forgotten. In fact, she may very well choose to make it harder on Ryu due to this.


    Ryu couldn''t help but smile when he heard this, taking Wynhorn completely off guard.


    "This reaction of yours, can I take it as confidence? Or do you not believe my words?"


    Ryu shook his head. "Confidence is never something I lack, but the reason I''m smiling is because it seems in all of the swords faction, I''ve finally met a true swordsman."


    Ryza''s lip twitched when she heard this but could only turn her head away, pretending not to be offended.


    "Oh?"


    "I can tell that you mean your words. And, any blacksmith who can look at my design and still choose to turn it down is worthy of such a title."


    Both Wynhorn and Ryza was speechless. Wasn''t this just Ryu patting himself on the back? How had he turned a compliment for someone else into a stroke of his own ego? This boy really knew how to get under people''s skins.


    Wynhorn''s gaze narrowed. "You can say that this blueprint is the only reason I haven''t blinded your eyes. However, you seem to still be pushing your luck."


    Ryu didn''t seem perturbed by these words in the slightest. However, his smile faded.


    "My eyes aren''t so easy to blind, nor do I take kindly to threats. But, since I can be considered to have offended you first, I will let it slide this time."


    Ryza almost fainted, not believing her ears. At the same time, Wynhorn was truly speechless this time. Once again, despite the fact she knew well that she should be infuriated and enraged, she couldn''t even wrap her head around what she had just heard.


    Had she just been threatened¡­?


    Once again, Wynhorn didn''t even get the chance to react before a sword appeared in Ryu''s palm. In that instant, the entire atmosphere shifted and even the artificial skies above seemed to dim.


    A slight rustling of leaves made one realize just how quiet the surroundings had gotten.


    Ryu took a slight breath, his inhale calling qi to surge and his exhale drowning the world in black and white.


    Wynhorn shot up from her reclined position once more, her brows trembling. Even in comparison to how she had reacted to the design, she felt like her soul was leaving her body this time around.


    Ryu gently raised his sword, his expression unmoved and unhurried.


    A swirl of jet black and pure white energies surrounded him, his gaze flickering with a gentle silver glow.


    In an unknown corner of the universe, and unknown distance away, a silver star rotated gently, its every spin radiating outward with a pulse of power.


    Back in Wynhorn''s gardens, Ryu gently lowered his sword, not releasing his attack. He didn''t believe that there was a point. Instead, he simply watch Wynhorn in silence.


    He could see Wynhorn''s heart practically beating out of her chest, her face flushing red. Her breasts didn''t receive the same endowment her hips and bottom had, and could even be said to be quite small. Yet, her heartrate was so exaggerated that Ryu could still see rippling waves.


    To Ryu, this was just the start of a fledgling Dao. However, to Wynhorn, she sensed a movement in her Godhood''s foundation for the first time a very long time.


    If she completed this sword, she felt that the door to the next Sky God Realm might open up a small measure to her.


    **


    "To forge a weapon for a child? Do you take my profession as a joke? I would never waste my time on such trash. Tell that Aberardus that he can shove his ''favor'' up¡ª!"

 Chapter 734 Why Would l?

    Chapter 734 Why Would l?


    Wynhorn''s Dao was very special. Rather than relying on just her blacksmithing like Supreme Blacksmith Okie had, or just her Sword Dao like others of the swords faction, she instead relied on both in a sort of feedback loop.


    This sort of path gave her a great amount of flexibility. When her Sword Dao reached a bottleneck, she could turn to Blacksmithing. When her Blacksmithing reached a bottleneck, she could turn to her Sword Dao. And, regardless of which progressed, both would benefit.


    However, there''s no such thing as a perfect path. As Wynhorn had said, she was a swordswoman before she was a Blacksmith. In this sort of situation, her sword would always take precedence over her craft. As such, there were certain things that she wouldn''t be able to do.


    For example, just because Ryu gave her such a perfect blueprint didn''t mean that she could just jump at it. She still had her pride as a swordswoman to consider. In fact, it was even more important. Even if the blueprint was for the greatest sword ever forged in the history of the martial world, if she was forging it for an incompetent fool, she would rather let it rot untouched.


    Somehow, though, outside of all of her expectations, Ryu''s Sword Dao actually surpassed anything she thought of the blueprint. She stared out in awe, finding it difficult to believe that it had come from a boy a fraction of her age.


    For a moment, she completely forgot that she should be enraged. In fact, even if she remembered, would she choose her fury over a chance to become stronger?


    Why was it that Sky Gods or any strong cultivator, for that matter, looked down on those beneath them? Wasn''t it because they had no ability to do anything for them? Not only were you weak, but you were only an annoyance not worth much of a anything, you brought absolutely no value to their life. So, how could you not be looked down upon?


    However, this changed everything. Not only could Ryu do something for her, it was weighed so heavily that she should probably be thanking this boy for coming to her.


    While Wynhorn had very suddenly become excited, Ryu''s gaze instead narrowed, a bit of a frown touching his brows. This was because at that moment, in Wynhorn''s excitement, he too had sensed the shift in her Godhood.


    When he grasped the change, he suddenly realized that maybe it wasn''t such a good idea to allow Wynhorn to do this. He was taking on too much of a loss.


    "Forging Sword, Shaping Dao."


    The pair of twin words suddenly caused the world to come to a grinding halt. The wind stopped blowing, the leaves stopped rustling, even the sparce wild life Wynhorn had allowed into her abode stopped breathing.


    Hearing these words, Ryza uncomfortably shifted and Wynhorn snapped out of her daze, her expression turning serious once more.


    Those words¡­ They were none other than Wynhorn''s title. Forging Sword, Shaping Dao True Sky God. These were the exact pairing of words she had chosen that fateful day she finally stepped through from the Peak World Sea Realm to the True Sky God Realm in a single step.


    "Now I understand why it is there was such scum right beneath your nose but you never noticed. The Holy Battle Ground isn''t very useful to you, now is it?"


    Though Ryu spoke out her title, Wynhorn wasn''t enraged. Her title wasn''t exactly a secret, it was just that few people truly knew of it. In fact, for a Sky God, the spread of their name was a good thing, which was why the secrecy of Yaana''s master was so odd.


    Instead, Wynhorn wanted to understand why it was Ryu had suddenly spoken out her name in this way. What was he to gain by doing this?


    When she heard him mention ''scum'', though, her brows couldn''t help but furrow. Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t seem to care to explain.


    "It all makes sense. You said that you''re a swordswoman first and a blacksmith second, but this isn''t exactly true, is it? Though in practice it''s true, technically speaking, there''s either hardly any difference, or you could argue that your blacksmithing is even more important.


    "Whenever you forge a sword, the reason you must choose someone worthy is because your Dao allows you to gather Faith toward yourself beneath the deeds of those who commission you. At the same time, you can use their Daos to fill in holes that your own might be missing."


    "Boy. Are you truly so eager to die?"


    Wynhorn had had her patience tested by Ryu time and time again. No matter how amiable she was, even she would have a tipping point.


    At this moment, she couldn''t help but stand. Despite being more than a full head shorter than Ryu, with the momentum of her cultivation, she might as well have been a giant.


    Knowing her name was one thing, however, breaking down how her Dao worked was a different matter entirely. In fact, such knowledge could put her at great danger, especially if her enemies were to come to know of it.


    Ryu matched Wynhorn''s gaze, his own mood unwavering.


    "I must say, your Dao is among the most complex I''ve ever heard of. It will inevitably reach a bottleneck that can''t be overcome as there are only so many swordsmen you can leach from¡­ But my issue is that if you also latch onto my Dao, you''ll be guaranteed to reach the pinnacle of all that is.


    "I can tell you right now that this Dao of mine is incomplete and can only be considered to be half of a whole. I can also tell you that within the next year, I will have completed it and it will be more than tenfold stronger than it is now.


    "When this transaction began, I was willing to give you equivalent compensation for your work. But, if I allow you to forge a sword for me now, you''ll be gaining more wealth than any Blacksmith in history ever has.


    "Do you think that it''s still an equivalent exchange in that case? Why would I give you such a chance?"

 Chapter 735 Agree?

    Chapter 735 Agree?


    Ryu''s words hit Wynhorn like a falling meteor. Whether it was his perfect breakdown of her Dao, his insolence, and even down to his arrogance and estimation of himself, it all left her speechless.


    Though Ryu''s words were abrasive, there was nothing in them that was wrong.


    Wynhorn was very selective about who she forged swords for because whenever she forged one, her Faith would be attached to it. This would not only allow her the chance to benefit from the deeds of the men and women she forged for, but it would also allow her to take a piece of their Daos to strengthen herself.


    This concept of a Blacksmith benefiting from the Faith of those they forged for wasn''t novel or new. Every blacksmith, so long as they had a certain level of skill, could benefit from such a thing without a problem.


    Where Wynhorn set herself apart was in the fact she could also benefit from said individual''s Dao.


    It could be said that Wynhorn was walking a tight rope. She had to be careful not to lose herself while delving into so many Daos, but she could also advance by leaps and bounds the more she took from the comprehension of others. And yet, she could do all of this safely as it would be practically impossible for anyone to notice what was happening.


    Because of the way Wynhorn''s Dao functioned, she didn''t need to take anything away from the people she forged for so they would never notice anything wrong. This way, she could continue to benefit and no one would ever notice a thing.


    But somehow¡­ Ryu had noticed. And, he had noticed before the sword even touched his hands.


    Wynhorn was hit with a whirlwind of emotions. There was rage, embarrassment, and even a hint of unwillingness. At the same time, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her to calm down.


    Ever since she had become a True Sky God, she had never suffered such a loss.


    Did she believe that Ryu would bring her to the pinnacle of the world? Of course not, what a ridiculous notion. As far as she was concerned, there were no guarantees in life. As she rose to her current standing, she had seen too many geniuses, some even greater than herself, perish. After she reached her position, the number she watched fall was even more.


    Ryu''s Dao was indeed quite amazing. It couldn''t be said to be the most powerful she had ever seen, but that was only because it was at the Dominion level. In terms of potential, it was definitely top ten she had ever laid eyes on or read about. And considering the sheer number she had interacted with, this was a feat that was mind boggling even to herself.


    However¡­ She didn''t even believe that this was only half a Dao to begin with, let alone believing that Ryu would be able to increase its might by tenfold in a single year.


    This was to say that all of Ryu''s talk about pinnacle this, and top of the world that¡­ It all fell on deaf ears¡­ Maybe it was due to her own stubbornness, maybe it was because Ryu had infuriated her enough for a lifetime on this day alone, or maybe it was because she didn''t want to admit that Ryu had seen through her with a single glance.


    Either way, this was how she felt.


    Wynhorn took a deep breath, allowing all the tension in her body to vanish with the wind.


    The issue before her was very simple, really. There were only a few ways that this matter could end, and she had been through too much in her life to panic and act rashly.


    The things that Ryu knew were too sensitive and couldn''t be allowed to leave this place, at least not without certain protections.


    But it was when she thought to this point that Wynhorn''s brow furrowed. There wasn''t a single soul who didn''t know that Ryu was here. In fact, it was another True Sky God that got her to commit to this meeting at all. In addition, there was still Ryza who was here. Although the gap between Sky God Realms was as large as the gap between large cultivation Realms, she couldn''t very well kill someone of her own faction just like that, right?


    Seeing the calm expression in Ryu''s gaze, Wynhorn was certain that he had already considered all of this to begin with. It suddenly became very obvious to her that dealing with this matter wouldn''t be so simple.


    Would she¡­ Really have to make a concession here?


    Ryu himself was quite calm. He hadn''t initially wanted to force Wynhorn into a corner like this, but circumstances had changed.


    Wynhorn wasn''t his friend, wasn''t his family, wasn''t his woman or his wife, why would he give her such great benefits for nothing in return?


    Wynhorn might not have believed him, but Ryu had all the confidence in the world of his own potential. Although it would be very easy for Wynhorn to fall prey to his Dao and lose her own, if she was smart about it and only took bits and pieces, she would advance by leaps and bounds. By then, her worries of reaching a bottleneck in her Dao would be dashed.


    So long as Ryu progressed, she too would progress¡­


    Of course, this would only last for as long as Ryu would use weapons she forged. But, considering the make and design of this Great Swordstaff, Ryu shouldn''t have a problem using it even well into the Sky God Realms.


    Under these sort of circumstances, how could Ryu allow this? When had he, Ryu Tatsuya, ever suffered a loss and not gotten ample compensation back for it?


    "There is, of course, one way that I can allow you to do this." Ryu said evenly.


    Wynhorn''s brow furrowed. Thinking back to Ryu''s previous gaze, her own turned cold. If this boy dared to say anything perverted, this time she really wouldn''t care about anything else, she would directly kill him where he stood. She had already tolerated too much.


    "The Martial Gods are my enemy and I won''t rest until they''re all wiped from existence. So long as you bring the swords faction over to old man Abe''s side, and agree to a few other things, I will agree to this exchange."

 Chapter 736 Are You...?

    Chapter 736 Are You...?


    Wynhorn''s gaze narrowed when she heard these words.


    She didn''t find Ryu''s words too surprising. The Martial Gods had done a lot since they appeared and had offended many powers. Someone having a grudge against them wasn''t odd in the slightest. In fact, it could be said that every major power had caused some child somewhere to grieve and rage for the sake of revenge. It was honestly just part of the way of life in the martial world.


    The difference was¡­ 99.99% of those children didn''t have even a fraction of Ryu''s talent. Though Wynhorn was too jaded to be certain of Ryu''s future success, what she was certain of was that if Ryu was allowed to grow and the Martial Gods didn''t snuff him out before he matured, he would be a devastating sort of enemy to have.


    However, was this enough?


    Wynhorn was being pulled from two angles. On one hand, though she wasn''t entirely on the side of the Martial Gods, she wasn''t entirely opposed to them either. They were already here, weren''t they? Shouldn''t they just learn to coexist at that point?


    On the other hand, she felt that such a line of thinking was too na?ve. Her personal strength was extraordinarily important and if she could piggyback Ryu''s Dao, she felt like she would have a chance at breaking through in the next several billion years.


    Though that might sound like a long time to a mortal, to Sky Gods, they practically counted sets of a hundred million the same way a mortal would count a single year. To say that she could complete such a breakthrough in a few decades was astonishing.


    "Why do you hate the Martial Gods?"


    Wynhorn subconsciously asked this question, trying to hide her indecision. She truly couldn''t settle on a single thought right this moment. She decided that maybe she could leave it to Ryu to convince her one way or another.


    "That''s not the question you should be asking." Ryu replied. "Instead, you should be asking yourself why it is that you''ve tolerated them at all."


    Wynhorn''s gaze narrowed. She didn''t even notice that she had subconsciously begun to communicate with Ryu as though he was her equal. In fact, their difference in height was only becoming more and more obvious the longer they spoke and the longer she had to look up to meet his gaze though she had long since stood to her feet.


    "The Shrine World is maybe the most mysterious world in the universe. For a long time, it wasn''t ruled by anyone, and the Guilds, the most powerful existences of the martial world, set up their networks elsewhere knowing full well that claiming this world for yourself would result in an all out war.


    "The Mercenary Guild built their headquarters in a virtual world. This Armament Guild built their headquarters in the depths of space, hanging their cities upon nothing. The Necromancy Guild stationed themselves at one of the known entrances to the Nether World. But, none of you touched the Shrine World.


    "In that time, the Shrine World was own by nobody. Until, that is, Primus formed his Clan."


    Wynhorn''s expression changed wildly, looking at Ryu as though he had lost his mind. If not for the sake of her face, she might have explosively retreated backward. How could you casually say the first name of a Sky God like that as though it wasn''t a big deal? In fact, she could even hear a bit of disdain and disregard in Ryu''s cadence. Had he lost his mind?!


    Wynhorn didn''t even remember the fact that Ryu had treated her with even more obvious disrespect. To ogle a True Sky God¡­ Maybe only Ryu would dare to do so.


    "It was completely unexpected that such a powerful Clan would claim the Shrine World for themselves, but it was still acceptable because the Tatsuya''s shared much of its strength with other Clans. It wasn''t a monopoly. There were still many other powerhouses taking part, forming a pseudo fourth Guild of sorts that you three powers had to respect.


    "But now¡­"


    Ryu looked into Wynhorn''s eyes, unperturbed. Her irises seemed to flicker from shades of deep blue to deep purple depending on how the light hit it, and he could sense a hidden sharpness deep within, tucked behind her feminine charms.


    "But now the Shrine World, a place that had once been the centerpiece of the martial world and a place filled with mysteries and curiosities yet to be explored, has now been monopolized by outsiders who seemingly appeared from thin air.


    "Now you tell me¡­ Why have you tolerated them?"


    Wynhorn''s pupils trembled.


    The Shrine World had always been one of endless mysteries that could never be dug up entirely. Many Sky Gods had explored Shrines pertaining to them, many of whom were True Sky Gods and even transcended above, but none had ever been able to dig up the true core secrets hidden within. It was to the point where there were even an unknown number of Shrines to begin with¡­


    The Shrine World used to be a place that those who were worthy could explore. The Tatsuya Clan made much of its wealth by exchanging the rights of visitation with various powerhouses of the universe. But now, no one but those who submitted to the Martial Gods could even think of stepping foot in one.


    The good news was that the Martial Gods had lost many of the Shrines the Tatsuya and their allies had once controlled. But, the bad news was that it didn''t matter¡­ Aside from Ryu who could teleport directly into one of these Shrines using the one use escape items his grandparents had left behind for him, who else could do the same?


    This alone should have been more than enough for people to rebel and be enraged by the actions of the Martial Gods. But, the issue was that their hands had clawed their way much too deeply into the roots of the martial world. Their influence was practically everywhere.


    This wasn''t a light hearted sort of risk. Wynhorn truly didn''t know what sort of decision to make. However, Ryu''s words shook her once more.


    "Are you a swordswoman? Or a coward?"

 Chapter 737 Appeared

    Chapter 737 Appeared


    Wynhorn suddenly realized at that moment that she was considering too much, worrying about too much. That was right, she was a swordswoman.


    It sounded like she was simply being instigated by Ryu, but as far as Wynhorn was concerned, disagreeing only because she was worried about being painted in such a light would be nothing short of childish and immature. She herself knew the truth and that was all that mattered.


    Wynhorn matched Ryu''s gaze once more, her calm returning.


    "I can''t tell whether you are brave or foolish."


    Ryu didn''t respond, he didn''t feel the need to. Ultimately, he wouldn''t be the one to decide which of them he was, maybe only the result itself could do so. Plus, as far as he was concerned, bravery had nothing to do with it. Being brave implied that he had a fear to overcome to begin with. And the Martial Gods¡­?


    He didn''t fear them.


    "From this day forth, my swords faction will be on the side opposing the Martial Gods. However, I hope you don''t believe that this will be a unilateral affair. I may be the Matriarch of the Ferum Clan, but I don''t have absolute control over everyone. In fact, there is still the Gione Clan as well."


    The Swords Faction was made up of two large halves. One was the Ferum Clan, the Sword Armament Clan, and the other was the Gione Clan, the Short Sword Armament Clan.


    The good news was that most of the Clans had sided with Arcus because Wynhorn was vaguely on the side of the Martial Gods. If she made a hard stance against them this time, it was likely that the Clans would follow suit and fall in line.


    The bad news, though, was that this had been the status quo for too long. With Wynhorn''s inaction, the Martial Gods had been able to sink their influence into the Armament Guild deeper and deeper.


    Wynhorn suddenly pulling back like this wouldn''t automatically erase everything that had happened. There would be many in both high and low positions that had already accepted benefits from the Martial Gods and couldn''t exactly extricate themselves easily. There were also many examples of inter-marriage that couldn''t just be annulled. There were now children and whole families involved.


    It could be said that Wynhorn''s inaction had made the problem far worse, but she wasn''t the only one at fault. Weren''t there countless others who had made the same decision?


    "To tell you the truth, I don''t particularly care about the details. The only reason I insisted on your taking this path is because wouldn''t I be too foolish to strengthen and enemy?"


    Wynhorn just shook her head. She was already getting used to Ryu''s arrogance. Clearly he was implying that he would destroy the Martial Gods with or without her help, so he didn''t care about all these complicated details.


    If he did care, he would have Wynhorn secretly change her affiliation and scheme in the background to spring a trap instead of doing things like this. It was obvious he had no mind for such games, or more accurately, he didn''t care to play them.


    "As for what else I would like you to promise me, that much is even simpler¡­"


    Ryu explained what he wanted. As he did so, whether it was Ryza or Wynhorn, both had expressions that only continuously became weirder and weirder. When Ryu finished, Wynhorn was speechless.


    "You¡­ I''m a True Sky God."


    Wynhorn finally settled on these words as though she felt the need to remind herself more than she needed to remind Ryu.


    What Ryu asked of her wasn''t impossible, nor was it difficult. In fact, it would be quite easy on her part. But, why did she feel so used and dirty? How could a person use a favor owed to them by a True Sky God like this?!


    Ryu smiled. "I''ll take that as a yes, then?"


    Wynhorn''s gaze flickered before she finally sighed. "Fine."


    "Excellent."


    Ryu''s smile brightened.


    "Supreme Blacksmith Okie has already been studying the blueprint for a year now and I''m certain that I can trust you two to coordinate appropriately. Here," Ryu handed over a spatial ring, "this should have all the materials you need. If there''s a failure, let me know, I have a few more sets."


    Wynhorn''s expression turned weird again. Just how rich was this young man? Multiple sets of these materials? How was that even possible?


    Too bad before she could snap out of her daze, Ryu had already left with Ryza.


    **


    The location was the Bowman Faction, deep within its territory. Before Ryu and Ryza stood an elaborate palace of gold. Compared to the silent ambience of Wynhorn''s gardens or the stoic atmosphere of Okie''s valley, this place was abrasive to the point of being blinding.


    Ryu and Ryza both stood expressionlessly at the gate. The two of them had already given word of their arrival, and the messenger had even already returned to their post as a guard, but there was no longer any movement.


    The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes began to stack one after another.


    However, before even the five minute mark, Ryu turned on his heels and began to walk away.


    Ryza''s expression flickered slightly, but she too followed him away in silence.


    Ryu wasn''t a man who liked to explain himself, and saying words of revenge was even less likely. He preferred to act when he could do so.


    However, that didn''t mean that the words themselves weren''t spoken in his heart. He would make certain that Supreme Blacksmith Arcus knew that this was the worst mistake he had ever made in his life.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Right at that moment, the world began to shake and quake violently. The cities that hung upon nothing swayed wildly, threatening to fall from the starry skies like streaking meteors.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, his head tilting up into the skies. But, what he saw caused even his eyes to widen, a rarely seen expression of shock appearing on his features.


    ROOOOAAAARRR!!!!


    BANG!


    The sound of shattering glass resounded, bits and pieces of space spiraling out of control.


    In the skies, an enormous creature appeared.


    It was covered from head to toe in vibrant green scales. It had the body of a snaking serpent and the head of a horned dragon. It had four legs, each vibrating with shimmering claws.


    Every time it roared, space would be split apart by countless windblades, the emerald slit of its pupils reflecting dominance and superiority.


    A Wind Dragon had appeared above the Armament Guild.


    The Ancestral Beasts had returned.

 Chapter 738 As Clear As Day

    Chapter 738 As Clear As Day


    Ryu''s gaze was locked onto the skies, his pupils constricted to an extreme.


    This day, it was something not only the Zu had worried about, but it was something even the Martial Gods had alluded to. In that instant, several things clicked into place and Ryu grasped many things. Ultimately, he landed on one conclusion:


    This was the final effort of the Heavens.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The winds blade ricocheted off of the protective barriers of the main city, but many of the lower ranking cities didn''t weather the storm as easily. Some split directly in two, other, more sturdy ones, found themselves knocked off course, threatening to leave the gravitational orbit of the Guild.


    The attack was so sudden and powerful that no one seemed capable of reacting for several moments. Even Ryu seemed frozen in time for but a moment.


    A mighty Dragon''s Might descended from the skies, forcing the weak to their knees. Lines of gravity manifested in the air like streaks of whining space. It made it hard for one to tell whether the atmosphere had just gotten a lot heavier or if a storm of raging rain had begun to fall from above.


    The Dragon''s Might washed over Ryu like a spring breeze. He felt his muscles tingle a bit, but outside of this, nothing at all changed.


    Under normal circumstances, this might very well be a good thing. But, in this sort of situation¡­ It was exactly the opposite.


    It took no more than a split moment for the emerald irises of the Wind Dragon to pierce through the veil, landing on Ryu. It had only just been about to unleash a tirade, a soliloquy of dominance and a reminder of its superiority. But, the moment it sensed Ryu, it was like all of this had gone out the window.


    "Human. You dare?"


    The voice was like a rumbling crack of thunder. If not for Ryu''s extensive knowledge of ancient languages, not to mention his intelligence in guessing patterns of language evolution allowing him to comprehend the tweaks this Dragon Tongue had undergone over time, he wouldn''t have understood anything spoken at all.


    The dome of protection over the main city trembled, threatening to collapse entirely. This beast was only at the Eleventh Order, the equivalent to the World Sea Realm. In fact, it wasn''t even at the pinnacle of the Eleventh Order and could only be considered to be at the Middle Eleventh Order. And yet¡­


    Its strength already rivaled False Sky Gods.


    There was absolutely no way that anyone with strength beneath that level would be able to shake the Armament Guild, let alone do so as casually.


    When it spoke, it didn''t even seem enraged. It sounded as though it was watching an ant that dared to step out of line.


    It had never thought it would find a human with Dragon Blood the moment it returned. It had heard its fair share of stories about such a thing, but it could never believe it. A mighty Dragon sharing a bed with a pathetic human? Such scourges and trash of the Dragon Clan didn''t deserve to call themselves Dragons. As for those who lost in battle and had their Blood Essence snatched away by the Scarlet Sparrow, they were even more unworthy.


    Hearing such a voice, Ryu''s shocked gaze slowly returned to calm. His blood boiled and his canines grew as his pupils flickered between red, blue, violet and silver.


    He grinned, a clash of sharp teeth causing sparks to fly in the air.


    For a moment, it was as though there was no one else. No one but Ryu and this mighty Wind Dragon.


    Licks of flames spread from the corners of Ryu''s lips, his pristine white hair fluttering in the wind.


    "There''s nothing in this world I don''t dare to do."


    Ryu''s Dragon Tongue boomed through the air, sending ripples of concentric circles. His own voice was almost immediately drowned out by the destruction and that of the Dragon''s own, but it didn''t seem to matter. Whether it was Ryza who was by his side, Wynhorn who had already exited her floating island, or the Dragon above that had been paying attention to his every action from the very start¡­


    They all heard him loud and clear.


    The Wind Dragon was stunned for a moment. There wasn''t a hint of fear in Ryu''s eyes. In fact, there was only eagerness as though he couldn''t wait to tear it limb from limb.


    After a while, the Wind Dragon released a toothy grin of its own, the might of its powerful body causing space itself to bend and quake.


    "Lu''card. That human is yours."


    Right then, the crack in space the Wind Dragon had come from suddenly imploded. A flood of beasts rained down from above, each of them exuding powerful auras.


    However, among them all, there was one that Ryu''s gaze locked on to, refusing to move away.


    Compared to the Wind Dragon, this junior Dragon was much smaller, being only about a kilometer long. Its body was covered in radiant silver scales and its pupils were just as resplendent a silver. If it stopped and didn''t move at all, one would think that it was a precious statue, immaculately sculpted by the Gods.


    It only took a glance for Ryu to realize that this was an especially rare Spatial Dragon. Every generation would only produce at most a dozen and their strength existed on almost a separate plane of its own. Despite being a junior, and only of the Lower Eight Order, equivalent of the Lower Path Extinction Realm, the pressure it exuded was unlike anyone of that cultivation Realm should be able to match.


    However, this wasn''t what shocked Ryu at all.


    He could sense it as clear as day and Lu''card did nothing to hide it, flaunting it with an arrogance that could topple mountains and dry up seas.


    The Fourth Ranked Heavenly Pupils, the Darkness Pupils.


    [Author''s Note: For those who looked up the auxiliary, the Darkness Pupils are indeed the Chaos Pupils. The original name was Blackhole Pupils, but I changed it to Chaos when I wrote the auxiliary. Clearly, I was drunk that day. This name change is more apropos]

 Chapter 739 Dont Dare?

    Chapter 739 Don''t Dare?


    Lu''card gazed down and found Ryu, realizing that his senior wanted him to fight a human.


    "Old man, that human uses Immortal Qi. Where''s the fun in that? He won''t even last a single exchange."


    "I expect him to be dead within an hour. If he isn''t, you can forget about marrying my daughter."


    Lu''card was speechless. Even if he wanted to forget about marrying this old man''s daughter now, would he even allow it? Never mind him, would she even allow it? She would sooner castrate both him and her father before she allowed such a thing to happen.


    Though Lu''card kept calling the Wind Dragon, Ru''cil old, compared to most World Sea Realm experts, he was actually quite young. However, Lu''card, who was only a few dozen years old hardly cared about any of that.


    While the Dragons were conversing as though nothing at all was going on around them, the Armament Guild had fallen into complete chaos.


    Wynhorn, who had been enraptured by Ryu''s blueprint, had already appeared in the skies, her expression flickering several times. However, just when she went to take action, the Wind Dragon Ru''cil who had had his previous attempt at a speech interrupted by Ryu finally began to speak.


    At that moment, True Sky God Arcus came out from the Bowman Faction, Wynhorn too standing in the air. In fact, even the newly minted True Sky God Hastam, Aberardus, appeared.


    "Sacrum has been under the control of you humans for far too long."


    The booming voice in modern tongue shocked many awake. They had never heard of beasts speaking before, and definitely not so fluently. There were many beast masters that could eventually come to understand the gist of their partner''s meaning, but usually, only beasts of exceptional talent could ever learn to speak like humans did, and such beasts rarely if ever fell into the hands of humans to begin with.


    This sort of experience was completely novel.


    Ryu, however, wasn''t thinking about this at all. As far as he was concerned, these people were worried about the wrong thing.


    Sacrum? What the hell was that?


    Depending on the language you were translating from, it could mean anything from Holy to¡­


    ''Shrine.'' Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    That was when Ryu noticed it. When the Wind Dragon spoke those words, the world seemed to calm a bit. It wasn''t as exaggerated as when Ryu spoke the name Tatsuya, but there was something about it that still somehow felt more powerful.


    It was as though the reaction when Ryu spoke the name Tatsuya was like an overcompensating bully that needed to be as loud and boisterous as possible¡­ But this Sacrum was instead so much more powerful that it didn''t feel the need to flaunt at all. Instead, its presence was like a gentle breeze, tickling the ears and senses to the bare minimum, almost as though the only thing it cared about was you knowing that it was there and nothing more.


    ''Could this be¡­ The true name of the martial world? Of the universe?''


    Ryu took deep breaths.


    This didn''t seem like it was a big deal, but to Ryu, it felt like his entire world was being flipped on its head.


    What did it mean to have a name? On the surface, it was just an identity. A step deeper than that and it was the representation of all that you were, your Faith, your Fate, the person you had been up to that point and the person you might become.


    There was weight and heft to a name, meaning that went beyond just the surface level of identity¡­ But what if you went even one step deeper than that? What facilitated Faith and Fate, who controlled its checks and balances?


    Wasn''t the answer to that the Heavens?


    Over the years, Ryu''s attitude toward the Heavens had changed. Though he hadn''t entirely stepped onto the side of Ailsa''s thinking, he had also learned not to hate it. Compared to others, he was much luckier. Even if he never managed to Awaken a Spiritual Foundation, this would still be true.


    Now, Ryu was quite neutral when it came to the Heavens. He was willing to fight it when it stood in his way, but he didn''t care to seek it out or hunt it down. To him¡­ The Heavens were like an independent arbitrator, giving where it should give and taking away where it should take away.


    But¡­ If this world had a name, what did that mean?


    Who was assigning Faith to this world? Who was guiding its Fate?!


    Ryu was shaken to his core, his breathing being heavy. His injuries flared up, causing him to wince, but even then, it wasn''t enough to calm him down. Only a fool wouldn''t understand just how much weight such a discovery held.


    "Your Kings, Queens, Emperors and Empresses have come back to rule you all as you should be. However, according to the record, you humans are very stubborn and don''t seem to ever be capable of understanding your place¡­ So we will show it to you."


    The aura of the Wind Dragon continued to grow.


    "As many of you pitiful Sky Gods come is as many as I will fight. I will give you a chance and won''t touch your little cubs. Instead, I will leave that to my own juniors to handle.


    "Come. I would like to see how far the mighty Human Empire as come, or just how far you''ve fallen."


    The last words came out in a rumbling growl.


    A single Eleventh Order beast challenging all of the Armament Guild''s Sky Gods at once¡­ Was this arrogance? Or was this confidence?


    At that moment, though, something no one could have possibly predicted occurred.


    Ryu''s figure had flickered, passing through the barrier that protected the main city as though it wasn''t there at all. He faced hundreds of Ancestral Beasts alone.


    The glares of so many Dragons at once was enough to force a man to their knees. It only became worse as they sniffed the air, sensing the Dragon Blood emitting from Ryu in but a single instant.


    "I will fight your Lu''card, however when I win, I want you to answer three questions for me."


    The Wind Dragon Ru''cil''s gaze narrowed. Didn''t this child realize that it would take but a single breath for him to wipe him from existence?


    "What?" Ryu''s placid expression spread into a grin, his fiendish aura returning. "You don''t dare?"


    Lu''card raised his head into the starry skies, releasing an earth shattering roar. He hadn''t been interested in this human before, but he suddenly wanted to feel his bones between his teeth.

 Chapter 740 Lucard (1)

    Chapter 740 Lu''card (1)


    Lu''card''s roar didn''t carry the depth or strength that Ru''cil''s had, but what it did have was an unbridled arrogance that shone through without regard.


    The thick, steel plated scales that covered his neck flickered with dark qi as he rose his head, the dichotomy of bright silver and night creating a beautiful scene in the starry sky.


    The momentum of this junior Dragon was so fearsome that even many Cosmic Sea Realm experts felt their knees grow weak, their gazes looking up into the skies as though they were observing the descent of Gods.


    It felt like the whole of the martial world was gracing their reappearance. The qi sung and the stars twinkled, the Heavens themselves opening up to radiate light downward.


    The combination of Dragon''s Might and innate fear seemed to pull at the strings of one''s soul. If these Dragons alone were so powerful, what about the mighty Twelfth Order beasts that ruled them? Was the disparity truly so big that they didn''t have to bother to appear?


    Wynhorn''s frown only deepened from her position, even Jan''s smiling features had long since faded. This situation, it wasn''t one they were completely caught off guard by, but it was one they didn''t want to deal with nonetheless.


    These Dragons wanted to assert their dominance, but the problem was did they even have members of the younger generation capable of fighting them to begin with?


    "You''re not bad." Ryu reached up to his mask, pulling it down to reveal a face of devilish handsomeness. His fiendish grin and sharp teeth were bared to the world, clattering like sword blades and sending sparks of flames out the corner of his lips.


    He tossed the mask up, his irises pulsing as a wormhole of spatial qi appeared to swallow it up.


    Lu''card''s gaze sharpened before a heated breath of excitement left his lips.


    "How about you become my mount?"


    "¡­ I''m going to enjoy killing you."


    BANG!


    In a blink, Lu''card had become a silver streak even as Ryu became a violet one. When they reappeared, it was as though they had become mirror images of one another.


    One stood with tall white horns and a humanoid body adorned in silver scales and rippling with muscles. However, he had the face of a dragon, his snout was long, his eyes were slit and his teeth seem formed of endless rows.


    The other had the face of a human and a body covered in violet scales. His irises were slit with a murderous light, his limbs vibrating with power and his lips steaming with flames.


    Their fists clashed in the air, violent ripples of space shooting out in every direction and forcing many of the other junior Dragons to retreat.


    "You look down on me?" Ryu asked.


    His voice didn''t carry much of a hint of emotion. In fact, it was quite placid and unmoved despite the wild amount of pain coursing through his body.


    Entering a human form would take reaching the Twelfth Order. And for many beasts, even after reaching that level, they preferred remaining in the form they were most comfortable in, their true form. This pseudo humanoid form that Lu''card had taken with the face and head of a dragon was clearly just a technique. In this sort of form, he at most had access to maybe 20-30% of his true strength.


    "Are you looking down on me?"


    Lu''card responded with a question.


    He was a talent in body cultivation the likes of which was rarely scene. With a single glance, he could tell the proportions of a person''s body, how much strength their muscle fibers could output, and what kind of power they should have behind their strikes.


    However, Ryu too, was only using 20-30% of his true strength.


    There were only two possible explanations. Either he was holding back on purpose, or he was injured. Considering the strain when he attacked, it was more likely the latter or some odd body training method, maybe even both. Regardless of which it was, Lu''card was not happy.


    "To dare challenge me in such a state. I, Lu''card, have never been disrespected like this in my lifetime. I will make sure you regret it."


    Confusion colored the features of most who were watching on. To have even Sky Gods spectating your battle was the kind of honor most juniors would never receive. However, whether it was Ryu or Lu''card, not only did they not seem to care in the slightest, they both disdained to explain themselves.


    BANG!


    The two were forced to separate. However, neither immediately attacked.


    Lu''card clasped his hands behind his back, beginning to walk in a slow circle around Ryu. Streaks of darkness followed his wake as space rippled like water currents. He bent and twisted them both to his whims, his steps becoming enigmatic and his gaze becoming especially difficult to follow.


    Ryu stood at the center of it all, unmoving. It seemed that Lu''card had already realized he had a pair of Heavenly Pupils, a given considering how obvious he had made it, but he had no idea that the pair of eyes he was facing were the number one ranked. Because if he was aware¡­ He would know that such movement techniques¡­


    Were completely useless against Ryu.


    Ryu reached out a hand, allowing a saber to appear. It was about a meter and a half long and at its widest, two palm widths could easily be placed side to side on its body.


    Almost as soon as it appeared, it erupted into a blazing fire, the heat in the surrounding skyrocketing to the point just gazing upon the flame seemed to make your irises burn regardless of how far away you were.


    "Take form and conquer the world."


    The skies seemed to dim, the world becoming the stage of two young men.


    Thirteen rings of dark gold manifested, the energies of the world that had quelled under the might of the Dragons suddenly singing once more.


    Then, the two vanished.

 Chapter 741 Lucard (2)

    Chapter 741 Lu''card (2)


    It would have been one thing if this was a problem being faced by the Armament Guild alone, but all over the martial world¡­ Or rather, the Sacrum Universe, spatial riffs had cracked and split open, unleashing a flood of Ancient Beasts on the human population for the first time in several Eras.


    To make matters worse, not only had these Ancient Beasts returned seemingly wielding more power than they ever had before, but they were able to rally lesser beast Clans under their banner, causing a surge of beast tides across worlds and an awakening of many slumbering creatures.


    Many human Clans and Sects were completely caught off guard by this change. In just moments, many had already died and even more weren''t certain of what the future would hold from this point forward. But, what was clear to those with sharp minds was that the Ancestral Beasts had yet to put in even a modicum of their true effort.


    The strongest of them were only lower Eleventh Order existences who relaxed as they sent their juniors forward. It was as though they were trying to crush the morale of humans piece by piece, making them realize just which of them were truly the superior race and which of them deserved to be crushed beneath the feet of the other.


    All those years ago, the beasts had been thoroughly humiliated. They gave everything they had to defeat the Fey and when they finally got a chance to rule the world as they themselves had earned, their Bloodlines began to weaken and wane, allowing humans to take advantage and become the new ruling race.


    Generations of fury and pent up frustration was all unleashed at once and the difference was drastic.


    Humans already had trouble fighting normal beasts at the same level. As these beasts with denser bloodlines and higher talent manifested themselves one after another, the disparity only grew greater. Beasts capable of fighting across two and even sometimes three Realms of cultivation began to appear, drowning out the efforts of Humans attempting to fight back and condemning them to hell.


    Battlefields scattered across Sacrum began to flood the earth with rivers of blood¡­ And yet, the Armament Guild, one of the largest targets for the Ancient Beasts, had ironically become among the most peaceful.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu and Lu''card''s battle didn''t seem like an exchange between juniors. They weaved in an out of space like Cosmic Seed Realm experts, wielded comprehensions that put World Sea Realm experts to shame, had pure bodily strength that some weak Sky Gods couldn''t dream of replicating¡­


    It felt as though all those spectating had been drawn into a dream and forced to acknowledge their inferiority.


    ''Interesting¡­'' Ru''cil''s gaze narrowed.


    Neither had used their Heavenly Pupils. Ru''cil had been shocked that Ryu even had Heavenly Pupils to begin with. He had only initially felt that Ryu would be a good candidate to be the first crushed. With his insight, he was able to tell that if Ryu fell, there probably wouldn''t be anyone else worthy of stepping up. By then, everything would end simply and easily.


    But, what he didn''t know was that Ryu was a relative unknown to most of the Armament Guild. It was only after he removed his mask that some eyes widened, but even then, it was only among the highest echelon.


    Simply put, his loss wouldn''t have the impact that Ru''cil was expecting. And, to make matters worse¡­ It wasn''t certain that he would lose either.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu''s saber was as flexible as a whip and as fast as lightning. He didn''t use any techniques because he simply didn''t know any, but it didn''t seem to matter in the slightest.


    Every one of his swings was venomous to an extreme and seemed to carry a unique air to it capable of slicing through any and everything. Due to this, Lu''card had had no choice but to unleash his strongest defense, coating his body in a dense layer of spatial qi that warped reality wherever it passed.


    Lu''card himself, though, was no less impressive. His fists weighed like mountain, his claws were as sharp as blades, even his kicks were just as venomous and whip-like as Ryu''s saber.


    He was an absolute expert in close combat. Whether it was his fists, elbows, feet, even something like his shoulders and head, they all became weapons. Beneath the might of spatial control, even the dullest blade could become sharp enough to split the skies in two and even the slowest attack could cross an impossible distance in the blink of an eye.


    If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu was able to see the movement of invisible spatial qi with his eyes, locating the open and closing of portals and the start and finish of rippling blades, he would have lost his life long ago.


    But, at the same time, if it wasn''t for Lu''card''s astounding defense and enigmatic movement, he too would have long since fallen beneath Ryu''s blade.


    BANG!


    The two shot backward, their feet drawing deep trenches in the folds of space, their gazes locked onto one another as though connected by a line of fate.


    Lu''card took a deep breath, his exhale coming out in a low, rumbling growl. His chest boomed and vibrated, his muscles rippling and his scales shimmering with a resplendent light.


    He hadn''t wanted to use his Bloodline Talents because he felt that Ryu was looking down on him. However, after several exchanges, it became clear that unless they were willing to go all out, this battle would last months if not years.


    If this was just about him, his pride would have won out. But this matter¡­ was larger than that.


    "Children." Ru''cil''s voice suddenly rumbled. "Rain down hell."


    The roars of hundreds of Dragons shook the skies, causing Lu''card''s gaze to narrow, his rage smoldering within his heart. This action was very clearly his father-in-law losing faith in his ability to end this quickly.


    At that moment, the relatively peaceful Armament Guild fell into its own brand of chaos.


    "I would advise your juniors to be careful who they target. Because if I find out my woman was involved¡­ Well, my temper isn''t so good." Ryu said lightly.


    Lu''card was so enraged by these words that he grinned, his draconic head becoming the picture of sinister intention.


    A clap of thunder rang through the skies as the qi around Lu''card turned more and more violent.


    "Spatial World."


    The sound of shattering glass resounded through the skies.


    "I guess¡­ It''s about time." Ryu looked up into the skies, his horns flickering with sapphire blue lightning.


    "Storm."


    [Check out my Instagram to see the soon to be update cover of GAB (starring Ryu and his Fate Star) >>> @Awespec_ ] (note the underscore)

 Chapter 742 Deflated

    Chapter 742 Deflated


    It was like two worlds were suddenly colliding. Their folds of reality battered, pushed and crashed against one another, their immediate surroundings whining and threatening to be ripped apart from their seams. ¨C


    On one side, a world of reflective glass lay. It was difficult to tell down from up and left from right. As though even the air itself had become a reflective surface or the deepest sort of abyss, a weaker mind would find themselves lost and confused, unable to process exactly what it was that they were seeing.


    On the other side, there was a raging storm of rumbling thunder and striking lightning. Everything in the wake of these beautiful violet strands of judgment were incinerated to ash and wiped from existence, dancing about the skies like the vicious chords of nature.


    Lu''card''s expression as well as Ru''cil''s flickered. This Talent, how could they not recognize it? There were many Ancestral Beasts on the level of the Dragons, but there was only one they called rival, and that was the Qilin. The rulers of the Dragons were the Fire Dragons¡­ and the rulers of the Qilin¡­


    ''Lightning Qilin!''


    Lu''card hardly had the time to be shocked before another shocking flame erupted from Ryu''s body, dancing with the golden red runes of the Emperor Phoenixes Heavenly Patterns. Their power and strength jumped several times over, dancing with a vigorous light.


    ''Rage Flames¡­!''


    Ryu''s Bloodlines were too mixed and muddled in the views of Ancestral Beasts. They had been able to tell that Ryu had a Dragon Bloodline, but exactly which it was an even if it had an Elemental Alignment at all was completely unknown to them.


    But, the idea that¡­


    ''Emperor Phoenix!''


    Lu''card felt that his understanding of the world was collapsing. A human with the Bloodlines of not just one Ruling Race, but three¡­ He couldn''t even wrap his head around it.


    The human body wasn''t designed to hold even a single Beast Bloodline. Compared to the birthrates of high level cultivators, the birthrates of high level cultivators with beast Bloodlines was even lower than that. The difficulty only multiplied the more beast Bloodlines were in play.


    This¡­ Simply didn''t make any sense.


    Ryu''s left arm spread outward. Before Lu''card even had the time to grasp what was right before him, a second saber appeared¡­ No, it wasn''t a saber. It was a sword, this one even longer than the original saber. It was the very same gorgeous blade Ryu had brought out to face Ryza.


    His aura blazed.


    On one side, a black-red flame danced, emitting from the edge of the saber and rising up.


    On the other, ice crackled and popped, space itself seeming to freeze over.


    The auras they exuded were of the mere Ruler Realm. And yet, the cold and heat they gave off was so potent and palpable that even Cosmic Seed Realm experts looked on with narrowed gazes, wondering just how it was that they would deal with such a thing.


    Wynhorn and Jan were both frozen in place, feeling that Ru''cil''s attention and aura was locked onto them. They had no choice but to watch on as a flood of junior Dragons slaughtered their way through their cities, their expressions fluctuating wildly.


    Humans weren''t nearly as in tune with reading and grasping Bloodlines. In fact, even many beasts weren''t as sharp as Lu''card who had a natural gift for it. As such, even when Ryu released all his Bloodline Talents during the banquet, outside of registering that he must have some unique Bloodlines, there wasn''t much else the Martial Gods and the others could grasp.


    Of course, this was mostly due to the fact that those present at the banquet hadn''t participated in the war against the Tatsuya and their allies. And, for unknown reasons, even the Holy Wing Clan members had not been present.


    Still, this was all to say that many were at a loss for classifying Ryu''s Bloodlines. However¡­ What they could see clear as day was a young man wielding both a saber and a sword at the same time, and neither seemed out of place. This was the very first time they were seeing such a thing in their lifetimes.


    ''Ice Phoenix¡­ Four Ancient Beast Bloodlines¡­''


    Ryu exhaled a long breath. An alternating current of fiery air and freezing flames emitted from his mouth. The Ice Phoenix Martial Form circulated, reinvigorating his body as best he could.


    He was familiar with the Spatial Dragon''s Spatial World. It was a Domain of mirrors that messed with both illusion and reality. He could take a step to the left and end up on the right. He could take a single step forward and travel a kilometer or he could flicker at his fastest speed and yet not move a single inch. The worst part was that it was all completely random and at the whims of Lu''card.


    If Lu''card melded this Domain with his Darkness Pupils, even if Ryu activated , he would find himself struggling very quickly. The synergy between Lu''card''s Bloodline and his Heavenly Pupils was too great. With just a few moments, Ryu could think of countless amazing potential abilities, let alone Lu''card who had had these talents at his finger tips for his whole life.


    So, he had already decided to go all out. Everything he had, he would give. He could even rely on Ru''cil''s Dragon''s Might Domain to keep the particulars of his Heavenly Pupils a secret. He could already tell that he was the only one to have noticed that Lu''card had a pair to begin with.


    With as much thought as Ryu was putting into everything, he had shut out everything else. All the carnage and destruction that was going down below had little to nothing to do with him. All he wanted to claim were his three questions. After that, he would figure out how to maneuver about this war that would definitely embroil the whole of the martial world.


    However, he could have never expected that all of his momentum and preparedness would be deflated with a single sentence.


    "You''re his descendant¡­? I see¡­"

 Chapter 743 Not Muted

    Chapter 743 Not Muted


    Ryu''s head snapped from Lu''card to Ru''cil, the latter''s rumbling voice penetrating his eardrums. Ru''cil, who had just given a speech in human tongue, had returned to Dragon Tongue. It seemed he had done so deliberately so that only Ryu could understand him, but why?


    Ryu immediately reacted quite abruptly because when he heard the word descendant, his first thought was of his father. But, after a logical analysis, his gaze turned cold. In this context, the one that made the most sense wasn''t his father or even his grandfather, but rather his great grandfather, Primus.


    The coldness in Ryu''s gaze made Ru''cil narrow his eyes. He had a few guesses for where that coldness came from and why it was there, but he didn''t care very much, nor was he willing to unpack such things here.


    "Since you''re of his Bloodline, you''re different. You''re one of us. Lu''card, leave this battle and go find someone else."


    "No! I want him!"


    Lu''card''s words came out like a reverberating growl. However, he had hardly got them out when a claw descended from above, split his Spatial World in two, and knocked him on the head.


    "Did you forget who your father-in-law is?! Show some respect! I said to leave it be, so leave it be!"


    However, what Ru''cil didn''t expect was for Ryu to aim his sword forward.


    "I still need to defeat him for my three questions, are you trying to weasel out of the deal? I thought Dragons were prideful men of their words?"


    Ru''cil was stunned for a moment before his gaze flickered. He almost knocked Ryu on the head just like he had Lu''card, but then he seemed to remember something and refrained from doing so.


    "Brat, watch your tone. Your battle began before I agreed to anything."


    "Then I still want to defeat him and take him as a mount."


    "You little imp!" Ru''cil was speechless. "Taking your own family as a mount, do you have no shame?!"


    The birth of Dragons and ancient beasts in general was quite special. A lot like Martial Gods who could be born into any one of their four branches regardless of which branch their parents shared, Dragons were a lot like this as well.


    At birth, Dragons were divided into two categories, one with no Elemental Alignment and those with it. Dragons without were a step weaker than those with, but they were still blessed without astonishing physical prowess and gifts, making them fearsome existences regardless. Those with Elemental Alignment had a wide array of scale color types and displayed Elemental powers accordingly.


    Of course, this changed when these Bloodlines were incorporated into humans as any child that Ryu had, should the Inherit his Bloodlines¡ªsomething that wasn''t guaranteed¡ªthey would always be Fire Dragons or Lightning Qilins. Obviously, Qilins shared this characteristic of Dragons.


    This was all to say that if Ryu was right in the Ru''cil was referring to his great grandfather, and that Primus did indeed have a deep connection with the Dragons, it wouldn''t be very much of a surprise at all if Lu''card was a distant cousin of his.


    Ryu shook his head, suddenly thinking of something.


    "He''s too sentient, it would indeed make it a bit inconvenient to use him." Ryu thought aloud.


    His purpose behind building an army of beast companions was so that he could become a one man army. But, the irony in that statement was that his partners would have to rely on him and follow his orders. Nemesis, Little Rock and Little Gem had essentially been following him since they were children, he trusted them and they trusted him.


    If Ryu took in Lu''card, what difference would there be between that and just building up his own forces? Something he expressly didn''t want to do. He didn''t want to lead people, and even if he did, he didn''t think he would be good at it.


    Still, despite the fact Ryu had taken a step back, Ru''cil and Lu''card only felt more uncomfortable. Should they be angry? Or not?


    "FUCK!"


    Lu''card couldn''t be bothered anymore. He shot past Ryu, diving into the city below and beginning to vent his frustrations.


    "Are you going to answer my questions?" Ryu pretended like he hadn''t seen anything.


    "It''s not my place to answer such things." Ru''cil replied plainly.


    Those who had been paying attention to what was happening were at a loss. Why had the battle suddenly stopped? And why was it that Ryu seemed to be¡­ Talking to the Wind Dragon? What the hell was going on?


    What was even worse was that they all suddenly realized that even with how high their evaluation of Ryu had been, it hadn''t been high enough. The moment Lu''card was released from his battle with Ryu, it was as though a natural disaster had been unleashed on the world. Some of the greatest talents of the Armament Guild were wiped out one after another as though they were nothing more than canon fodder.


    "I mean about your attack, I don''t care about that old bastard Primus."


    Ru''cil''s expression flickered. But, his response was still calm.


    "I''m well aware of what you mean. If you did care, you wouldn''t be his descendant. However, I still cannot tell you those things."


    "You can''t tell me why you''re treating the Real Plane like it''s some sort of amusement part for your juniors to train in? You don''t seem to be taking any of this seriously at all. If your people piss me off, I won''t hesitate to kill them."


    "As you should." Ru''cil replied nonchalantly. "This sort of leeway is only something we Dragons will give you. If the Qilin''s smell their scent on you, they''ll hunt you down to the ends of all the Planes. The story you share with them is much different from the one you do with us. And, there''s an Awakened Emperor Phoenix among that younger generation as well¡­ There can''t be two Lions to a single mountain."


    Ryu looked deeply into the eyes of Ru''cil before turning to leave.


    "If your main goal is to wipe out the Martial Gods, you should listen to the woman with the wide hips when it comes to who to kill and who not to kill." Ryu left this word of advice before floating back down to the city. His goal? To find Ailsa and Yaana. He could feel that now was the appropriate time to return to a certain place. If he couldn''t fight Lu''card, there was no point in remaining here.


    "Ryu!"


    Wynhorn''s voice traveled to him from above.


    "Yes?" Ryu asked.


    "This¡­ The situation here is a bit bad¡­"


    "I''ve already spoken up for you." Ryu said. "The landscape of the Armament Guild should change after today."


    "But¡­" Wynhorn''s gaze drifted toward the Bowman Faction. Whether by coincidence or manipulation, they seemed to be suffering the brunt of the extermination.


    How could Wynhorn know that Dragons had an inborn hatred for bows and arrows due to the Qilin and those that shared their Bloodline?


    "Them? Maybe if Supreme Blacksmith Arcus comes to beg me on his knees I''ll do something about it."


    Ryu''s words weren''t muted in the slightest. With the hearing of Sky Gods and how much attention they had placed on these events, how could they not have all heard him?

 Chapter 744 l Advise...

    Chapter 744 l Advise...


    Ryza''s lip twitched.


    At that moment, several auras locked onto Ryu. But, just as quickly, the Wind Dragon bared his teeth, a snarling and heated breath leaving his lips.


    Aberardus, who had long since been forced to come and monitor the situation, could only shake his head. This kid¡­


    Jan''s gaze narrowed as he looked toward Ryu''s back. This was the first time that a junior had ever so blatantly disrespected him. Of course, Supreme Blacksmith Arcus wasn''t himself, but he was still a member of his family, and a very important member at that. The two were as close as brothers. To ask his brother to kneel, wasn''t that just as good as asking him to kneel?


    Jan had indeed passed on question of Aberardus'' request to Supreme Blacksmith Arcus. However, he had done so nonchalantly and even when his brother snapped in response, he only chuckled and didn''t say much about it, not putting in any effort to change his mind.


    In his thoughts, Supreme Blacksmith Arcus had been correct. Asking a Sky God to forge a weapon for a junior who hadn''t even grasped Cosmic Qi yet¡­ Was that some sort of joke? But, how could any of them have possibly guessed that such a thing would happen?


    Ryu didn''t even wait for the impact of his words to land, already turning to walk away.


    Jan''s body flickered, appearing outside of the dome of protection. While Ryu had used his own abilities to do so, Jan had access to an Armament which allowed him to do exactly that. There was no need to rely on the Wind Dragon''s damage like the junior Dragons had.


    His bow quaked when it appeared in his palm, shimmering with resplendent crystalline blue and emerald green colors. Even when raised, it dwarfed Jan in size, continuing a meter above his head and reaching down to his feet. Even without being pulled, the power the bow exuded was undeniable.


    Aberardus and Wynhorn appeared not long afterward along with a host of other False Sky Gods. There was no other choice. If they wanted to deal with everything else, this Eleventh Order Dragon had to be slain first.


    Though Ryu didn''t look back, his lip curled into a cold smile. That Jan character was good at controlling his emotions. But, when it came to hiding them? How could he ever hide anything from Ryu?


    Even if his expression didn''t change, even if his heartbeat remained steady, even if his killing into was restrained to the maximum degree to the point it didn''t manifest in the slightest¡­ so what? Could he hide his Lines of Fate from Ryu?


    Ryu could practically see the colors of emotion of the people around him. No matter how well trained you were in hiding your true thoughts, how could you hide from Ryu?


    Still, Ryu simply didn''t care. So what if he offended a Sky God?


    The carnage in the city continued but it was as though Ryu was simply in a very immersive movie. Even Ryza had been forced to leave his side and join the battle with the Wind Dragon above, so he was alone. His only goal was to reunite with¡­


    "Ryu!"


    Ryu''s gaze brightened from his cold smile, a gentle expression taking hold as he saw Yaana again for the first time in a long while.


    "Ah, Ryu! Your mask!"


    Yaana had been quite worried about Ryu in the last year. He had left abruptly and just vanished. It was only thanks to Ailsa that she knew that there was nothing to worry about, but even then, that was just an assurance that Ailsa had as his Life Partner, it wasn''t something she shared.


    Honestly, Yaana was a bit jealous, but there was nothing she could do about it. She knew how important revenge for his family was to Ryu and she didn''t want to stand in the way of that. But, at the same time, she wanted to get closer to Ryu. Him just leaving for a year at a time like this while only being able to communicate with Ailsa was making things more difficult on her.


    Still, rather than showing signs of anger, her first act was out of concern. She realized that Ryu had caused a ridiculous amount of commotion at the Martial God''s banquet. Was it really alright for him to show his face like this?


    Ryu flashed and appeared before Yaana, his smile still bright as he patted her head.


    Yaana pouted slightly, pushing his hand away and diving into his chest instead. Ryu winced slightly before chuckling bitterly. It seemed that he wouldn''t be able to get rid of this one so easily.


    Ailsa found her seat once more on Ryu''s shoulder, laughing. Though, this time, her laugh carried a hint of dark and sinister intent in it as though she was some sort of mad evil villain.


    Seeing her curves undulate in waves like that, Ryu couldn''t help but steal several more glances in her direction.


    ''Laughing at your husband like this, it seems you need to be taught a proper lesson.''


    Ailsa snorted. ''You? Teach me a lesson? Have you forgotten which of us is more powerful? Also, don''t get cheeky with me, boy. I don''t remember saying you had earned the right to touch me again. I''m still not quite satisfied with your remorse.''


    ''Who said a lesson had to be dirty? It seems my wife has her head in the clouds?''


    Ailsa was speechless and blushed profusely for a moment before she suddenly realized something.


    ''Don''t try to gaslight me! I can read your mind!''


    Ryu broke into an uproarious laughter, his mind suddenly projecting all of his dirty thoughts he had kept bottled up for a year right into Ailsa''s mind. The result was her only blushing more, her body writhing.


    "¡­ Ryu¡­ If you¡­ If you need help¡­"


    Yaana''s voice was as soft as a butterfly''s wings. Ryu realized too late that in all his teasing, his body had begun to show some response and Yaana happened to still be hugging him tightly.


    A tinge of guilt immediately took hold of Ryu.


    "Sorry, sorry." Ryu took hold of his blood flow instantly.


    Yaana buried her head further into his chest, causing him to completely miss the tinge of disappointment in her gaze. But, even if he had noticed, he wouldn''t know what to do about it.


    "What do you want to do now?" Ailsa used this chance to get over her own embarrassment, squeezing her legs together tightly. She chose to speak aloud, clearly feeling a bit guilty about leaving Yaana out of their discussion as well.


    "If I''m correct¡­ This is a war. There shouldn''t be a single corner of the martial world that''s safe. We need to return to the Moon World, or else the shift in Faith will never have anything to do with me despite it being triggered by my hands.


    "But first¡­" Ryu took a deep breath. "We need to return to the Mortal Plane. I''ve yet to repay my grandfather for what he''s done for me. The Tor''s of the past should have already passed away, and if not, they''re at death''s door. They''re the most vulnerable to a beast tide like this one."


    Ailsa was about to respond when both her and Ryu''s expression changed.


    "WHO DID THIS?! WHO DID THIS TO ME?!"


    The fury seemed to paint the skies crimson. Even the battle between the Wind Dragon and the Sky Gods which had just begun couldn''t help but come to a pause.


    The resentment was as tall as a Demonic Wraith, and the momentum was both that of a Sky God on the verge of becoming a True Sky God and a World Sea Realm expert all at once. The qi wildly fluctuated between both states, the starry skies being painted in red.


    Wynhorn''s brow furrowed. ''False Sky God Gione?''


    The Gione Clan. None other than the Short Sword Armament Clan of the Armament Guild. If he had been the one to break into True Sky God instead of Aberardus, it would have been much easier for them to accept. But this¡­


    "WHO DID THIS TO ME?! I''LL SLAUGHTER YOU! I''LL RIP OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND FEED THEM TO YOUR FAMILY! I''LL WIPE OUT YOUR NINE GENERATIONS TO THE FINAL CHILD! WHO DID THIS TO ME?!"


    False Sky God Gione''s head swiveled about madly, almost as though he wasn''t worried about his neck snapping in two. The signs of qi deviation were as clear as day. And then¡­


    His gaze landed on Ryu.


    Amidst a city of billions, he found him. The taste of that aura, he was all too clear.


    "YOU! IT''S YOU! IT''S YOU! IT''S YOU!!!!"


    An anguished roar shook the starry skies.


    Aberardus'' expression changed when he noticed what was happening, but he suddenly felt a dangerous aura lock onto him.


    "We are fighting a battle Aberardus. If you leave your spot in the formation, how many will die? I advise that you stay put." Jan said slowly.


    By the time Jan spoke these words, catching Aberardus, Ryza and Wynhorn off guard, it was already too late.


    "I''LL KILL YOU!"

 Chapter 745 Booming Voice

    Chapter 745 Booming Voice


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    "Ryu!"


    Yaana''s expression changed wildly. Ryu suddenly found himself hugging air as her body vanished, turning around and appearing several meters ahead to block the path of False Sky God Gione.


    ''Dammit!''


    Ryu felt like banging his head against the wall. What was he going to do with this girl? Why would she do something so foolish?


    A flicker of rage sparked within Ryu. In one moment, it was nothing more than a fleeting thought. In the next, it became a fiery tempest of fury, the roar of a Dragon manifesting from the beating of his heart.


    There was something about the view of Yaana''s back to him now that triggered something within him. He knew he had a method to deal with this, he knew that there was still a better than 50% chance he would be able to survive, however the moment Yaana had moved, she made things several times more complicated.


    And yet, he wasn''t infuriated with her in the slightest.


    He held a deep seeded hatred for this False Sky God Gione standing before him. He held a tempest of rage for True Sky God Arcus. And, most of all, he hated himself for not being able to lift just a single finger to erase them both from existence.


    A violent Dragon''s Might surged into the surroundings. But, as quickly as it appeared, it evolved into something far more menacing and extreme.


    An illusory coat of furious red dragon scales hovered above Ryu''s skin. Illusory red wings spread to his back and an illusory tail extended from his tail bone. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to be protected from head to toe in a qi armor shaped into the form of a dragon, even to the point his head was adorned with an elaborate helmet fitted with a crown of bones that formed two prominent horns and several lesser ones.


    Despite everything that was happening, Ryu didn''t seem to notice it at all. He had been controlling his fury for so long, tempering it down, not unleashing his full force, even appearing in the den of his greatest enemy and doing nothing more than taking out a few measly children.


    He met with his grandmother, and she told him to control himself. He met his grandfather, and he told him to control himself. He spoke with himself, and even his own mind told him to control himself.


    He was done with it all.


    "I''m going to rip you limb from limb."


    Ryu''s voice no longer sounded like his own.


    It was so deep that it rumbled like a quaking mountain. It was so rough that it seemed to be tearing into one''s ear drums. It was so dense with murderous intent that many hearts stopped beating entirely, never to restart once more.


    False Sky God Gione tore through the skies, his speed so furious that a blazing trail of split space followed him like some sort of warped cape that could reap lives with a single touch. His face was the picture of fury and his gaze had boiled over into a fiery crimson. It was no longer possible to distinguish between his irises and the whites of his eyes, too many of his blood vessels had popped.


    He was so lost in his own revenge that he didn''t even register Ryu''s words. What might have been a shock to anyone else was nothing more than wind by his sails. He dove down without regard, his gaze not even locking onto Yaana.


    So long as he continued on this trajectory, the young woman before him would be blasted to shreds. For someone so much weaker than him, he didn''t even have to launch an attack. Them getting in the way of his charge was more than enough to reap their lives tens of times over.


    However, he hadn''t realized just how much Ryu meant his words.


    By this point, Ryu''s gaze was glowing like two torches. There was no longer any restriction on his Pupils, nothing hiding them from the world, no ethereal cover or Chaos Qi fluctuations¡­ There was nothing but the unbridled strength of the number one ranked Heavenly Pupils in all of existence.


    The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.


    "<Fate Reversal>."


    Ryu''s words were like the call of the Reaper. It was laced with such a deathly intent that the city constructs around him wilted and withered, his will taking such corporeal form that it manifested into the world, burning everything around him to ashes.


    The Gears of Fate began to shift and quake.


    If one looked into Ryu''s eyes and past the blinding silver light they were emitting, it would be possible to see an endless starry sky as though the depths of the universe themselves were hidden within him.


    In that moment, the world lost its color. The stars dimmed, and the qi in the surroundings seemed to all vanish at once.


    BANG!


    Booms began to emit from Ryu''s body. His bones popped and crackled, his inner organs reset and set themselves, his heart boomed and his blood surged like tides.


    The endless and violent pain he had suffered through for an entire year vanished in the blink of an eye.


    His cultivation soared.


    Ryu could feel his body''s strength surging through the Blood Tempering Realm. His crimson blood began to pulse with bronze lights, growing heavier and heavier. Soon, flakes of Rose-Bronze began to appear within it, growing denser and denser with each passing moment.


    BANG!


    The bronze lights reached a tipping point, spilling over and becoming silver. Delicate Rose-Silver flakes began to dance about within Ryu''s veins, increasing again and again before it rammed into a wall, unable to progress any further.


    Ryu felt in that moment that just a flex of his arm could shatter space, just a single stomp could flatten a mountain, just a single breath could cause a howling wind that covered the face of an entire world.


    But¡­ This was nothing compared to what happened to False Sky God Gione.


    In that moment, a heart rending screech pierced through the skies. However, what was truly shocking about it wasn''t that such a thing had happened, but rather that the owner of the screen wasn''t Ryu, nor was it Yaana¡­ But it was rather False Sky God Gione.


    The scream was harsh enough, but the result was even more devastating.


    It was as though a battlefield had erupted within False Sky God Gione''s body. His skin awkwardly stretched at all angles as though someone was trying to pierce him from the inside out, the sound of his bones snapping reverberated through the skies, his once sturdy body being cracked one pierce at a time, and blood flowed out of him in pressurized waves, spraying in all directions.


    False Sky God Gione''s body tried to repair itself as all Sky Gods could, but he simply couldn''t keep up. At the same time, having undergone Qi Deviation, his control wasn''t nearly as refined as it should have been. The result was grotesque tumors rising out of his body before popping into bloodied messes.


    His aura continued to plummet, however the fury in Ryu''s gaze hadn''t abated in the slightest.


    BANG!


    The instant False Sky God Gione crashed into the ground, Ryu shot forward like a blazing meteor, his illusory Dragon Armor still hanging around his body.


    "."


    As though Ryu''s words were the arbitrator of death, exactly what he commanded occurred.


    It was like they had all entered a world of black and white. For several kilometers, there were no longer any colors, there were only shades, falling on a single spectrum of light to the darkest greys.


    To the shock and horror of those watching on, they suddenly found that their connection to the world had been completely cut off. No matter how hard they tried, the only qi they could control was the amount already in their bodies. The atmospheric qi in the surroundings refused to listen to their commands for even a single moment.


    And then¡­ Under the horrified gazes of those spectating, Ryu appeared above False Sky God Gione.


    His fists rained down like an endless torrent, the city quaking beneath his might. Dragon Claws coated his knuckles, pummeling the False Sky God into the ground again and again.


    The anguished cries of False Sky God Gione echoed through the air, however Ryu was relentless. The illusory Dragon Claws felt no different from his own flesh and bone. He could feel False Sky God Gione''s body deforming beneath his might. He could feel the bones shattering, the inner organs burst, he could even feel as the air within the latter''s body itself was forced out bit by bit, unable to recover.


    Long after the anguished cries faded, the continuous and rhythmic banging of Ryu''s fists thumped upon the hearts of those around. Whether it was Human or Dragon, they had all come to a pause, their pupils trembling as though to double and triple check the sight before them.


    An Immortal Ring Realm expert had just killed a False Sky God.


    No¡­ That wasn''t it¡­


    Ryu stood, his fists bloodied and his every breath causing plumes of flames to emit into the surroundings.


    He knew exactly what he had just done.


    His First Ranked Heavenly Pupils had been exposed for the world to know.


    However, he tilted his head back, an enraged laughter and fury emitting from him.


    "Tell the Martial Gods that the day I wipe them from existence is quickly approaching.


    "I, Ryu Tatsuya, will never rest until the day the last of them is crushed beneath my feet!"


    The booming of his voice echoed throughout the starry skies, the might of his will carrying so far that there wasn''t a single Sky God in the universe of Sacrum that didn''t hear him.

 Chapter 746 Nice

    Chapter 746 Nice


    Ryu''s booming proclamation was like a bomb being set off in the martial world. Whether it was those Sky Gods across worlds that heard it, or the individuals of the Armament Guild who suddenly understood just what kind of young man they were dealing with, there wasn''t a single soul who didn''t understand.


    Tatsuya. Ryu Tatsuya.


    The moment Ryu claimed this name for himself, a surge of Fate that was all his own accumulated around his Fate Star. There was no doubting who he was and what he represented. There was even less to doubt about his talent and what his future accomplishments would be should he grow to that point.


    In that moment, a gorgeous beauty appeared to Ryu''s side. Her golden hair fell like the dew drops of the Gods and her crimson gaze carried an enigmatic depth to them. Her curves were perfectly proportioned and simultaneously outrageous, filling all those who laid eyes on her with wild and raging thoughts they couldn''t control. But, as close as those curves seemed, they were hidden beneath a beautiful flowing white dress.


    There was only one beauty like this in the martial world and it was without a doubt Ailsa who had entered her true form. She shook her head lightly, giggling to herself.


    "Husband, you''re too reckless sometimes."


    The voice was soft and soothing. Even after spending years hearing it echo in his mind, Ryu had never grown tired of it. And, in this fury laced state of his, it was like a calming tide over his heart, finally allowing him to take a deep breath and slowing the sparking flames that flew from his mouth.


    Ailsa''s dainty feet walked by Ryu and appeared above False Sky God Gione''s mutilated corpse. The dichotomy of such a beauty and such a gory scene felt almost blasphemous. But, Ailsa didn''t seem moved by it at all.


    Her crimson gaze glowed, the depths of her irises reflecting a complicated formation. She stretched her hand forward, her cherry lips moving.


    Having lost her virginity to Ryu, there was something decidedly womanly and charming about the current Ailsa that had never been there before. Her every movement was enticing and filled with charisma, even the silent rhythm of her moving lips was like a hypnotic ritual, pulling those watching into a trance.


    A dense and complex jade formation appeared above False Sky God Gione. It rotated and glowed, causing the lump of blood and gore to tremble and vibrate.


    Soon, an accumulation of qi surged upward, rapidly coalescing about the middle of the formation. The pulsing power of the qi alone was enough to make those beneath the Sky God Realm tremble, accelerating backward.


    "What do you want, Little Ryu? I can either make him into a corpse puppet, or I can reform his Godhood."


    Ailsa''s words were shocking to an extreme. But, Ryu, who had already calmed watched on as though this was just another day. One ability reflected Ailsa''s new strengths as a naturally awakened Quibus Faerie, and the other reflected Ailsa''s strengths as a Cultus Faerie.


    As a Quibus Faerie, Ailsa could make Ryu''s life as a necromancer easier by what felt like an infinite degree. The Ryu of the past wouldn''t even have the skill to refine a False Sky God into a Corpse Puppet. And, beyond that, he wouldn''t have the strength to control one after their death either.


    The current Ryu could probably just barely control a Dao Pedestal Realm corpse puppet on his own. However, when he worked in tandem with Ailsa and her World Sea Realm level soul, not to mention relied on his own Indestructible Soul, controlling a fallen Sky God like this one wasn''t impossible.


    On the opposing side, there was the reforming of a Godhood. This was obviously an ability of the Cultus Faeries.


    A Godhood was the core of a Sky God and represented their strength. The highest form of energy in the martial world was Cosmic Qi, there was no other elevated form. However, what separated a World Sea Realm expert from a Sky God was that a Sky God could refine their qi and raise it up with their Godhood.


    Cosmic Qi was essentially the foundation of a world and a Godhood, on an individual scale, could be considered the foundation of another. A Sky God could use their interpretation of their world to mold Cosmic Qi into their image, outputting a strength beyond what this world alone could create.


    In the end, a God hood wasn''t just comprehension, but it was also a vast store of qi and the infantile stages of a world''s formation.


    There were any number of things that could be done with such a treasure. Just in a few moments, Ailsa had already thought of dozens of possibilities. But, as many as she could think of, she was certain that Ryu could think of the same.


    In the end, she left the choice up to Ryu.


    "What do you think?" Ryu asked. "It could probably do it, right?"


    Ailsa smiled. "Should be possible. There''s a better than 80% chance it can bring it to the brink of the Immortal Realms up from its current Mortal state."


    Ryu nodded. "Then Godhood it is."


    Ailsa didn''t hesitate after hearing these words, continuing with her work as though the two hadn''t become the absolute center of attention.


    Ryu felt a tug at his sleeve, only to turn back and find Yaana looking up at him with a nervous expression.


    "You''re too reckless¡ª!" Ryu was about to go on a tirade after he suddenly remembered what Yaana and done. But, before he could do so, Yaana''s worried expression turned into a malevolent glare.


    Calling her reckless? Which of them was reckless, exactly?! Yaana really wanted to give him a piece of her mind.


    Seeing that she was about to blow, Ryu coughed lightly, changing gears as smoothly as a professional. His draconic form faded and he looked away, his expression completely unlike the man who had just put the whole martial world on notice.


    "Nice weather we''re having today, hm?"

 Chapter 747 Simple Pleasure

    Chapter 747 Simple Pleasure


    Yaana was speechless for a moment before she began to giggle. It seemed that Ryu''s shamelessness could be applied in other areas as well.


    At that moment, a shimmering gold caught Yaana''s attention. Though it was broken and fragmented in several places, and was contaminated with other colors as well, it still had an appeal that couldn''t be ignored.


    Right then, Nemesis and Little Rock appeared. Without hesitation, both took half of False Sky God Gione''s corpse for themselves.


    "Alright, it seems like it''s time to go."


    Ryu looked back, finding numerous pairs of eyes on him. But, through the veil, his gaze chose to land on True Sky God Arcus.


    Ryu was the type of person who wasn''t very good at forgiving. He had let Fidroha live only because she had become an ant completely unworthy of his effort. But, a True Sky God though¡­ That was a grievance who would make sure to repay.


    He was far too petty to let Jan live. The moment he had the strength to do so, he would be near the top of his list. There was nothing that had occurred on this battlefield that had escaped his notice. If you wanted to kill him, you should be prepared for retaliation.


    Ryu''s finger snapped an his Storm Talent surged. Dozens of thick bolts of violet lightning fell from the skies, crashing into the Bowman Faction until it was razed to the ground.


    The dragons and humans fighting in the region were completely caught off guard, but by then Ryu had already stepped onto the nearest long distance teleportation formation.


    Jan''s expression had turned a frightening shade of cold already. But, Ryu didn''t seem to care in the slightest how much he was pissed off. Could his rage compare to his own?


    When Ryu vanished, the entire Armament Guild fell into complete silence. Even the Wind Dragon was speechless.


    ''This brat is going to be even more of a disaster than his old man¡­''


    **


    "Is it really safe to come back here, Ryu?" Yaana looked around, feeling worried once more.


    The group found themselves on the Pedestal Plane not long afterward. The long distance teleportation provided by the Armament Guild was among the best and with Ryu''s manipulation, there was almost nowhere he couldn''t go with its help. He would have directly entered the Mortal Plane, but it could cause some complications due to his current cultivation, so he had refrained from doing so.


    "It''s no problem. Now that my eyes are in the Cosmic Realms, I can hide from most detection methods. Plus, the safest place is probably almost always the most dangerous place." Ryu explained.


    The most potent detection methods in the universe were all related to Fate and finding Lines of them. But, who was better at this than Ryu himself?


    In addition, after the complete reset of Faith, it was no exaggeration to say that Ryu had the greatest Faith tied to him currently, or at least among the greatest. He might still be slower compared to many Sky Gods as they had formal titles and people felt an innate reverence to them.


    But, this still meant that the backlash associated with trying to find him by these methods were quite heavy as well.


    It took a while, but Ryu finally managed to calm Yaana in this way. Then, the group began making their way to the Mortal Plane.


    Ascending had been as easy as breathing for Ryu, but Descending was a different matter entirely. There was even a chance that he could be fiercely rejected considering how high his cultivation was. But, he had to at least try.


    "Ryu, how''d you do it?" Yaana finally couldn''t hold back her curiosity.


    "Do what?"


    "How did you kill him?"


    "I used an ability called . Depending on several factors, I can reverse any injuries I''ve suffered onto an enemy, essentially giving myself an instant heal to peak condition. Against someone who had lost control of themselves like that fallen False Sky God, using it cost me almost no effort at all."


    Yaana''s eyes widened. Wasn''t that ability almost too ridiculous?


    Imagine that you were in a tough long drawn out battle and someone pulled out such a card. You''d end up with double the fatigue and injury, and suddenly find yourself fighting someone in pinnacle condition. It was¡­ Almost unfair.


    The truth was that was only supposed to appear deep into the Cosmic Realm awakening of Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils. But, when he broke through, he awakened both and at the very same time.


    In fact, the latter could often be even more useful than the former. was a weaker form of an ability of the Second Ranked World Pupils. It essentially stripped those in its Domain of the ability to use atmospheric qi. The trouble was that it also did the same to Ryu.


    Still, it was quite useful because Ryu didn''t need to be in the range of the colorless domain. He could control the size of the Domain and he could project it outward as far as his eyes could see. Without atmospheric qi, those at and beyond the Immortal Ring Realm lost at least half their strength if not more.


    Against an enemy who couldn''t control their internal qi at all like False Sky God Gione, Ryu had essentially forced him into a corner where he could do nothing else but take a vicious beating.


    Of course¡­ Ryu also got a lot of help from the awakening of his Dragon Soul. It seemed it wasn''t difficult at all for him to evolve his Dragon''s Might to this upper level. But, since he had Fire Dragon blood running through his veins, it made sense. After all, this species was entirely fueled by rage, and Ryu had a lot of that¡­


    "Then that Godhood, what are you going to do with it?"


    Yaana had finally completely relaxed, a bright smile on her face. She seemed to take a simple pleasure in Ryu telling her secrets he would tell almost no one else. It made her feel a lot closer to him, she couldn''t help but reveal an adorable smile.


    Ryu''s steps stopped in seemingly the middle of nowhere. His gaze could feel it, the entrance was here.


    "Oh, that? I''m going to use it to evolve my Realm Heart from the Mortal Realms to the Immortal Realms."

 Chapter 748 ow? why?

    Chapter 748 ow? why?


    At this point, about the only thing Ryu''s Realm Heart was good for was protecting his heart should it be stabbed through. After entering the Immortal Realms, there was simply little else that a Mortal Realm Realm Heart could help Ryu with, especially since he had already reclaimed the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation so he didn''t need to rely on it to cultivate without a dantian.


    The truth was that the Realm Heart had so many abilities that Ryu had just never used because he outgrew the Mortal Realms so quickly that they were hardly useful.


    For example, in terms of comprehension, a Realm Heart allowed for a grasp of knowledge even beyond Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils. And, when the two were combined into one and used as one, the speed of comprehension could be considered to be obscene.


    However, because the Ruler Realm was the dividing line to the Immortal Realms, it had been useless to Ryu. With Ryu''s own personal comprehension, entering the Heir Realm and clearing the Impose Realm was as easy as breathing, he had never truly needed to rely on the Realm Heart¡­ If you could complete a task in one second, was it really that much more beneficial to complete it in half a second instead? The difference had been negligible.


    Now, though, with an Immortal Realm Realm Heart, it was vastly different. A Realm Heart evolved to this level would be able to given great insights and comprehension into the Ruler Realm and the Monarch Realm.


    Of course, the Dominion Realm and the Divinity Realm were considered to be Cosmic Realm comprehensions, so an Immortal Realm Realm Heart would be unable to help with them. But, in Ryu''s current state, where his comprehensions had been forcefully regressed back to the Ruler Realm, wasn''t this absolutely perfect for him?


    With the tandem of a Realm Heart and Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils, the enormous mountain he would have to climb to breakthrough in his Inheritances again would become that much more manageable.


    To understand just how great of a chance this was, just consider the abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils for a moment. The signature skill of these number one ranked Pupils is in the fact that they can peer into the secrets of the Heavens and read into the hidden lines unseen by others. Thanks to this, those with these Pupils could improve very quickly through cultivation Realms that relied heavily on comprehension.


    With a Realm Heart, though, it would be like taking a closed book exam with an opened book. Ryu would have to put in less effort pulling back the curtain and could put all his effort into just deciphering what was right before him. The difference would be akin to night and day.


    Even then, this was just one ability of the Realm Heart that Ryu had never gotten the chance to use.


    The second benefit of the Realm Heart was its ability to nurture treasures, especially treasures of the Origin Grade and the Unique Grade. Usually, the birth of a world was accompanied by all sorts of amazing treasures, so it was a natural ability of infant worlds to be capable of nurturing such things. After all¡­


    Disciplines of Blacksmithing and Alchemy and even Formation Mastery were all learned by observing the Heavens!


    It could be said that a Realm Heart was like a window into this world of Crafters. While Ryu was uninterested in Blacksmithing and Alchemy, even he had to admit that the idea of peering into the secrets the Heavens hid of Formations intrigued him. Coupling his own knowledge with his evolved Realm Heart, not to mention Ancestor Morvar Zu''s personal Visualization technique, the applications were nearly endless.


    There had only been so much knowledge of the Mortal Realms could help Ryu. But, the Immortal Realms was a different matter entirely. In fact, though Ryu was far more interested in straight forward battle, he couldn''t help but be intrigued by the possibilities.


    Of course, even this paled in comparison to the true strength of this ability: nurturing the Northern Heavenly Wind.


    The progression of Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind had already stalled at the pinnacle of the Mortal Realms because that was the limit of Ryu''s previous Realm Heart. But now, it would be able to be nurtured to the pinnacle of the Immortal Realms, giving a great boost to Ryu and make grasping the true Wind Inheritance even easier.


    Still, this was just the beginning of the benefits.


    Ryu had still yet to find the core Natural Enlightenment of this Realm Heart. It had to be remembered that the birth of a Realm Heart came with it a precious form of Natural Enlightenment that rose above others. This core Natural Enlightenment was not only stronger than most other Natural Enlightenments, Ryu wouldn''t need to grasp at straws and comprehend it himself. After all, the origin of the Natural Enlightenment would be within himself!


    Then there was the Recognition. With a Realm Heart, other Realm Hearts and Protector Spirits saw him as one of their own. If Ryu could use this to refine Shrine Mountain, the strength he would be able to display in the Shrine World would exceed anything imaginable.


    It was precisely this final ability that smiled down upon Ryu and blessed him. He had been so worried about if he would be able to return to the Mortal Planes or not, but he had forgotten to consider that with his Realm Heart, even at the Mortal Realms, he was beloved by other Realm Hearts and Protector Spirits.


    Even if Shrine Mountain would have stopped him from returning previously, it most definitely wouldn''t stop him now. After all¡­ He was a dear friend.


    Thanks to this, when Ryu stepped onto the Heavenly Path for the second time in so long, this time walking in the opposite direction, he felt refreshed as though a calm had spread over his heart.


    When Ryu reached the end and stepped onto the Mortal Planes, he felt his heart tremble, his gaze turning vacant as a swirl of energy whirled around him.


    Within the Incubator, Yaana and Ailsa watched on with a bit of confusion before Ailsa''s own brows shot up.


    ''Enlightenment? But how? And why¡­?''

 Chapter 749 Return...

    Chapter 749 Return...


    The Mortal Plane shouldn''t have felt so good. It was a place Immortals and beyond saw as degenerate and backwater. What good was a place where there was only Mortal Qi? To those who had already transcended beyond those limits, it should have felt like breathing in foul or contagious air.


    But for some reason, Ryu felt the exact opposite of this. In fact, the air was so clean and refreshing that he felt his whole body relax.


    Ryu had just spent the last year in a perpetual state of pain. Just hours ago, that pain had been completely alleviated and he thought he had already reached peak levels of comfort. But, the instant he stepped onto the Higher Mortal Plane, it was like all the pressure within him had been released at once.


    Completely out of Ryu''s control, a large amount of impurities began to rush out of his body. Crackles and pops sounded within him as the Rose-Silver flakes that danced within his crimson blood grew to their peak, fusing with him until his entire stream became Rose-Silver before shattering to allow flakes of Rose-Gold to begin to accumulate.


    ''Impurity expulsion? At his level?''


    Ailsa''s gaze flickered. The curiosity of a Cultus Faerie got the best of her. This was something that all the case studies in the world couldn''t have prepared her for and it left her fascinated.


    As the Princess of the Cultus, Ailsa had been accumulating her knowledge for millions of years. All the time she spent waiting for Ryu was used on exactly that. The same way Ryu''s historical knowledge was practically endless, when it came to fields of medicine and nurturing, not to mention cases of cultivation and progression, there was almost nothing Ailsa was unaware of.


    There were probably only a handful of people in the martial world capable of using a Godhood to evolve a Realm Heart, and she was one of them.


    And yet, she was at a complete loss.


    This wasn''t even the first time. The first time was when Ryu grasped that odd Fist Inheritance that seemed like both a Natural Enlightenment and a Mortal Endowment at the same time. And now, there was this.


    The difference between this time and the last, though, was that Ailsa felt like she was worlds away from even beginning to comprehend Ryu''s Fist Inheritance. It seemed like an odd mutation one could only shrug their shoulders at.


    However, this¡­ this was very different.


    One had to remember that the Mortal Planes were protected by Shrine Mountain. One could ascend should they have the talent or fortitude, but descending from the Immortal Plane to it was a different matter entirely.


    Ryu had been right to be worried previously. If he hadn''t had the Realm Heart, there was simply no way that Shrine Mountain would have let just anyone through.


    To Ailsa, the distinguishing factor here was that rather than observing something that made little sense, she was instead observing something that was potentially reproduceable. The issue was that Realm Hearts were so rare, and Immortals were so uncaring of the Mortal World, that this was likely the first time in the history of the martial world that such a thing had happened!


    If one thought about it, this was actually the second time Ryu was undergoing such a large expulsion of Impurities. The first time was when he fused with his Realm Heart to begin with. Back then, it had taken weeks for his body to finally return to normal.


    ''Could it be related to his Realm Heart again?'' Ailsa didn''t want to miss a single detail, even stepping out of the Incubator to observe everything with a keen eye.


    She walked around Ryu in circles, observing not only Ryu''s Impurities, but even how they interacted with the outside world.


    To her shock, the Impurities Ryu was currently releasing were like a toxic venom to the outside world. The grasses popped and sizzled, the soil turning harsh shades of black and grey as they withered and died. Even Ryu''s clothes themselves were being torn apart, burning to ashes.


    ''Just what kind of Impurities could possibly be so volatile?''


    While she observed everything on the outside, Ailsa was also paying attention to Ryu''s mind and how he was feeling using her connection with him. She could feel how comfortable Ryu was at this moment and how he was simply on cloud nine.


    His blood rushed about smoother, his organs were pumping so efficiently they might have looked like machines to another, and his heart¡­ It was so slow and steady, only pumping once every several minutes, and yet this low maintenance was more than enough to keep Ryu feeling fresh and revitalized.


    ''¡­ Is Mortal Qi really so useless¡­?''


    This thought took hold of Ailsa''s mind and refused to let go.


    Ryu''s body released another snapping pop, the Rose-Gold fusing with his blood before allowing royal blue flakes to form in his body.


    ''¡­ It doesn''t make sense¡­ How is this possible¡­''


    Ryu was tearing his way through the Blood Tempering Realm as though it was nothing more than child''s play, but the issue was that the start of the Blood Tempering Realm was the equivalent of Path Extinction Realm while the pinnacle of it was the equivalent of the Peak of the Cosmic Seed Realm!


    Ryu had yet to reach the Peak of the Blood Tempering Realm because his Blood had yet to revert back to its natural state, but with his Bloodlines, every step for him was worth far more than a single step for another. By now, his body was already far stronger than a normal Peak Cosmic Seed Realm expert and Ailsa was finding it difficult to accept!


    One wasn''t'' supposed to go through these Realms so easily, even if your name was Ryu Tatsuya. It should have taken millions of years, or at the very least, millions of years worth of resources!


    The Blood Tempering Realm started from base. Then there was the Rose-Bronze stage, the Rose-Silver stage, the Rose-Gold stage, the Royal Blue stage, and finally the Return to Origin stage¡­


    ''Return to Origin!''


    For some reason, those words hit Ailsa like a ton of bricks, as though someone had slammed it over her head or pierced it right through her chest.

 Chapter 750 Returning to Origin

    Chapter 750 Returning to Origin


    Returning to Origin.


    It was a simple three word phrase but it was one that had held undeniable importance to the Cultus for a very long time.


    One of the largest problems faced in the martial world was the problem of Bloodline. Inevitably, as time passed, a Clan would always decline no matter how many counter measures they had set up to help mitigate this. There was simply no getting around this.


    The Faeries were just yet another example of this. As the descendants of the Fey, their Bloodlines had long since diluted to the point a Fey hadn''t been born in several Eras. Instead, they continuously birthed lesser versions of themselves forced into niche and boxed in affinities that could never match up to their Ancestors¡­


    The thought was quite depressing when you thought about it. The Fey used to be split into just two categories. The Moon and Sun. Being born the former gave you control over all that was Yin and being born the latter gave you control over all that was Yang.


    But now, Faeries could only control very specific and narrowed types of qi. Though the depth they could reach was the same, they lacked the breadth their Ancestors had had. But even this problem was just the tip of the iceberg.


    The Faeries hadn''t produced a Sky God in a very long time. It was to the point where Ailsa''s father was forced to use a secret technique of the Cultus to raise his level to the Peak World Sea Realm.


    Within the Ethereal Plane, so long as the three Kings came together, even a True Sky God would have no choice but to turn tail and run. But, how much longer could such a thing last? If Peak World Sea Realm was their limit now, what about in another generation? What about in another two generations? Three?


    With the way things were going, the Faeries were bound to fall from grace, never to rise again. Knowing this, the Cultus had poured trillions of years of research into finding a method to rekindle Bloodlines.


    Truth be told, when the Ancestral Beasts returned, Ailsa was even more shocked than Ryu had been. The reason for this was simple: Her perspective was different.


    While Ryu was shocked by the event itself, what she saw was a group of creatures who had returned to their former peak.


    The question was¡­ How had the Ancestral Beasts done it?


    When the Ancestral Beasts were forced to retreat from the Real Plane and disappeared from the martial world, the situation of their Bloodlines was even worse than that of the Faeries. The reason for this was quite simple. Ancestral Beasts were promiscuous and reproduced with practically everything. Lower level beasts, humans, other sub species¡­ It didn''t matter.


    Because of their dense Bloodlines, they had the most trouble reproducing with their own, so their lax practices eventually came around to bite them.


    But somehow, they had recovered.


    When Ailsa saw this, she felt a light of hope rekindle. If the Ancestral Beasts could do it, didn''t that mean that they could too? But, almost as soon as she had had this thought, she smiled bitterly, realizing how na?ve such a thought had been.


    The Ancestral Beasts were able to disappear from the martial world not by some stroke of luck. They had won the war with the Fey and became Heaven''s Favored. As such, they were granted the Grace of Heaven and were allowed the chance to preserve their race.


    Logically, then, wouldn''t it be appropriate to conclude that the rekindling of their Bloodlines was also related to the interference of the Heavens? In that case, was it even a method Ailsa could think of using?


    However¡­ Seeing the state Ryu was currently in lit her up with the rays of hope.


    Ryu was probably the very first Immortal to step onto the Mortal Plane since its inception. The result triggered a change within himself, cleansing his body and purging him of impurities so toxic it was hard to believe that he had even survived with them within himself to begin with.


    ''Return to Origin¡­ It''s something that we''ve been studying for a very long time. In the martial world, the idea of Faith and connection by it is so important. There''s no greater connection of Faith and Fate than sharing a Bloodline with another.


    ''By this logic, it should be possible for the boost in one Bloodline to functionally advance the boost in another. So long as a person has a great amount of Faith and a family continuously produces talents, their Bloodline should enter a feedback loop of sorts that cleanses and purifies itself.


    ''Though it''s impossible to produce talents into infinity, it would still extend the lifetime of a Bloodline by countless factors¡­''


    This was the general gist of the theory formed by the Cultus. It was sound and cogent¡­ The issue was that they had no idea how to execute it.


    They had tried everything. They went through countless formation derivatives, made several experiments, they even tried to fuse disciplines of alchemy and formations, even at one point thinking of making a treasure that could facilitate the connection of Bloodlines, only to give up realizing that such a theoretical treasure would surpass the Origin Grade by untold amounts.


    But, in all that hard work, in all that effort, even as all the generations passed¡­ What they had never once thought of doing was using Mortal Qi.


    Ailsa stood in silence, feeling the pure euphoria coming off of Ryu. Her mind was lost in a haze and she was pretty much doing everything in her power to not pounce on her husband right this moment. Of course, the terrible and toxic impurities coming from him were a large part of that barrier.


    This discovery wasn''t just a small matter that could be shrugged off. If she was correct, this could be the root of not only the revival of the Faeries, but also the foundation of Ryu''s climb to that highest mountain peak he longed for.

 Chapter 751 Anyone

    Chapter 751 Anyone


    When Ailsa thought about it, Mortal Qi was quite amazing. It was able to take the weakest of creatures and lay a foundation that could allow them to climb to the highest of peaks. It was calm and gentle enough to not kill such fragile individuals, but strong and sturdy enough that to be that base that supported a skyscraper.


    This was something that Ailsa had always subconsciously known, but not something she consciously acknowledged until right this moment.


    Was Mortal Qi truly just some lesser, inferior qi? Or did it have secrets no one quite understood?


    It was easy to dismiss Mortal Qi in this way. After all, one had to remember that the lowest grades of qi in existence, those of the Common and Black Grade, only had Mortal Qi forms. It was easy to take this information and conclude that Mortal Qi must be useless, then.


    But¡­ Didn''t higher level Qi''s also have Mortal Realm versions of themselves? If Mortal Qi was truly so useless, why would this be?


    Even the highest forms of qi in all of existence, Essence and Chaos Qi, both had Mortal Qi versions of themselves. In fact, had Chaos Qi not had a Mortal Qi version, Ryu would have imploded under its might a very, very long time ago.


    If even the highest echelon of qi had a Mortal stage, who were they as creatures born mortals, to dare say that mortality was weakness?


    What if mortality wasn''t weakness at all but rather simply represented the start¡­ the Origin?


    When a child was born, no matter how talented their parents, no matter what level they had reached, said child would always be mortal. No matter how much talent such a child had rushing through their veins and hidden within their bones, said child would still be born a mortal. No matter which high Plane or lofty location you were birthed upon, no matter how grand and grandiose the momentum of your birth was¡­


    You would still be born a mortal.


    Was that meaningless? Or was it a very obvious hint that should have slapped them all awake to the reality of things? Ailsa almost felt ashamed that she had never made the connection before.


    ''This is still just the beginning, there are still so many things to consider.''


    Ailsa flashed and disappeared. When she appeared again, she had Yaana by her side.


    Yaana stood in confusion. She looked toward Ryu, a bit worried that he was still in a daze but when she looked toward Ailsa, her expression flickered. The current Ailsa looked at her as though she was some sort of test dummy, it made a shiver run up her spine.


    "Interesting, you''re also in the Immortal Ring Realm but nothing happened. Is that because we''re part Faerie or is there another reason?"


    Ailsa looked between Yaana and the euphoric Ryu, her crimson irises spinning with complex gears and Runes.


    She had initially thought that the reason nothing happened to her when she stepped foot here was because she was a Faerie or because she had a habit of stepping into the Ethereal Plane. But, she immediately eliminated the second by stepping into the Real Plane and bringing Yaana out. Now it felt like the only potential answer was that Faeries didn''t receive the same treatment¡­ But that made no sense.


    There were other problems with this theory of hers as well.


    There was Mortal Qi everywhere, even on the Immortal Planes. If not, how would those who had yet to step into the Immortal Realms cultivate? The difference was that the Mortal Planes did not have any Immortal Qi or Cosmic Qi to speak of.


    ''Is it purity? Does this process require a certain concentration of Mortal Qi? And if that''s the case, what''s the concentration? If not, is it a matter of this kind of Mortal Qi specifically? Is there a difference between the Mortal Qi on the Immortal Planes and the Mortal Qi here?


    ''And even if there is, why is it triggering for Ryu but not for us? Is it because of his Realm Heart? That''s very possible. There needs to be a trigger, a sort of enlightenment of sorts that can only activate after entering a special state. But, it''s likely that Little Ryu skips those steps because his Realm Heart does it all for him¡­''


    With the Realm Heart, one didn''t need to peer into Heaven''s Secrets, they were all already opened up to you. Maybe it was the case that without the noise of other qi levels, re entering the Mortal Plane had allowed the blinders that had been up to be removed in a single instant, sending Ryu from a benign state into one of euphoria in a single leap.


    ''If that''s the case, then the root to everything should be in a method capable of peering into the secrets of Mortal Qi¡­


    ''Fascinating. I''ve always wondered about this. The Immortal Realms rely heavily on comprehension. The Cosmic Realms also rely heavily on comprehension. The Sky God Realm relies almost entirely on comprehension¡­ But why is it that of all of them the Mortal Realms are the simplest?


    ''Is it really that they''re the simplest? Or is that there was a flaw in our systems of cultivation to begin with? What if we''ve simply missed the comprehensions we were supposed to gain from the very beginning¡­?''


    Ailsa''s mind spun. She hurriedly sat and began to meditate. Though she didn''t have like Ryu did, she still had other methods of calming and focusing her mind as a Cultus Faerie.


    "Yaana, watch over us. I''m not sure how long this will take, but this is an opportunity we cannot miss."


    "Ah¡­ Yes. I will!" Yaana realized how heavy this matter was and swore to do her best.


    Ailsa closed her mind off, immersing herself in the feeling that Ryu was experiencing.


    She felt like she had faintly grasped something.


    Maybe Mortal Qi was so special precisely because it was the only qi that allowed you to make such thorough use of it without understanding anything about it.


    When one compared two creations, which one was the best? Was it the creation that was difficult to use and had a high barrier of entry? Or was it the opposing creation that everyone had access to?


    It might be a difficult question to answer, especially if it seemed that the creation with the higher barrier of entry was the more useful and powerful of the two. But, to Ailsa¡­ She had a different way of seeing things.


    What made Origin Techniques so great¡­? Wasn''t it because anyone could use them regardless of their cultivation level?!

 Chapter 752 Just...

    Chapter 752 Just...


    While Ailsa was practically losing her mind at the prospect of finally grasping onto something that had alluded even the Cultus Faeries for so long, Ryu himself was in a state of absolute euphoria.


    He remembered very clearly the last time he had felt so good. There was only one place of comparable comfort, a place he remembered oh so clearly thanks to his now complete Origin Flame¡­


    His mother''s womb.


    Everything was so warm and inviting. There was no danger, and he was always perfectly protected. The qi that nourished him was always so rich and pure, devoid of any impurities. He could feel the soothing rhythm of his mother''s heartbeat, he could hear the slow and methodical rush of her blood¡­ And the perpetual darkness he was in didn''t feel endless or abyssal, it was more like the gentle embrace of sleep and relaxation.


    This was a moment in life no one would ever remember. Even the cultivators with the greatest of memories would have long since forgotten this event by the time they grew to the point their minds became infallible.


    However, Ryu remembered it so clearly that it was almost as though he was experiencing those moments again right this instant. And it was exactly because of this that even within his state of absolute euphoria, he was shocked.


    ''¡­ There''s a third qi on the level of Essence and Chaos Qi¡­ A qi that everyone has experienced in their youth¡­ A qi we all forget about in due time¡­''


    Even after gaining the full Origin Flame, Ryu never really thought about it. He had so many memories that he now remembered so clearly. He could remember his first steps, his first word, even his first coherent thought, it was simply impossible to focus on just one memory. Ironically, it all ended up muddled, becoming a bundle of memories he didn''t ever really think about, mostly because along with all of those moments, there were plenty of awkward memories from that time as well, memories he would prefer not to think about at all.


    But now that he had a perfect one to one comparison, Ryu was almost infuriated.


    Why was he such a fool? Why was he so simple minded and idiotic as a child? Why did he have to wait for an ''Awakening'' when he reached seven years old?! Why wasn''t he enough of a genius to start cultivating in the womb?!


    With this kind of qi, Ryu felt that he could have stepped into the Peak of the Connecting Heaven Realm in just a few months. Had he been able to start cultivating as a fetus, his progress would have been so fast and unrestrained that he would have been able to accomplish something most took thousands of years to do in less than a fraction of that time!


    When Ryu thought about how, even with his current talent, just how many fortuitous encounters had he needed to reach his level so fast? There was of course the help of his fast comprehension helping him to absorb large amounts of Essence every time he took a step forward, but even then¡­ He needed a Realm Heart which gave him ridiculous cultivation speeds in the Mortal Realms, a rare treasure that only three others in the history of the martial world had ever been able to take part in, and he received the Primordial Yin of two Dao Pedestal Realm level women and a Sky God!


    And even then, it still took Ryu years to reach his current level.


    This didn''t even consider the fact he was lucky to stumble into Chaos Qi by awakening to the true abilities of his Meridians, something that made his cultivation speed even faster. It didn''t consider the fact he had a Cultus Faerie Princess by his side that could streamline and optimize his growth. It didn''t even consider the fact he had all sorts of natural treasures that made his comprehension speed faster than what it normally already was.


    He had all of these advantages, all of this help, and it couldn''t even match up to a single strand of this qi¡­


    Ryu was at somewhat of a loss. How many other things was he in the dark about? If even he, the wielder of the number one ranked Pupils in all of existence, could miss such a thing, what chance did others have?


    Was he really the only one who knew about this? Or were there others who were aware?


    Just these impurities leaving his body now¡­ Ryu felt that once they were all gone, his cultivation speed would be on an entirely new level. He was already at the very Peak of the Immortal Ring Realm and he wasn''t even 25 years old yet. But after learning this, he felt slow¡­ Too slow.


    Then he began to think of something else?


    What was an Awakening, truly? Why did it have to wait until seven years old?


    He had always thought that there wasn''t much of a difference between him Awakening using a Ceremony and his Awakening naturally¡­ But now that he thought about it, was this really true? Or was it the case that there was a hidden difference he was completely incapable of grasping right this moment?


    Ryu''s mind wandered again, suddenly stopping on a thought that made him tremble.


    Could it be that the Phoenix Sky God was aware of this difference? Or was it all a coincidence?


    If not for the Phoenix Sky God''s trial, Ryu would have never Awakened naturally. It was because he went through all of that that he was able to push himself to the limits like he had.


    And also, why would the Phoenix Sky God choose the Mortal Plane of all places as a trial?


    There were a near infinite number of worlds with a near infinite number of situations he could have been birthed onto, and yet of all of them, he just so happened to land in the one place with maybe the purest stores of Mortal Qi, unobstructed by higher level energies, in the entire martial world?!


    Just¡­ How much did this Phoenix Sky God plan, exactly? And what was their purpose with Ryu?

 Chapter 753 Stop!

    Chapter 753 Stop!


    Ryu gasped awake. The feeling was not much unlike the very first cry of a newborn child. Though, he was far too grown now for it to truly reach such a level.


    His body was coated from head to toe in the most foul of scents. In fact, it felt so toxic even Ryu''s skin began to tingle.


    Without hesitation, Ryu took out an enormous vat of a frosty liquid, diving in. All his clothing had been incinerated by the impurities leaving his body to begin with, so there was already not much else to be reserved about.


    This vat of liquid, though¡­ Well, it could only be said that Ryu was truly extravagant with his spending. That said, he had the capital and riches to do exactly that.


    This barrel of liquid was an Ancestral Grade natural treasure and was known as Frosty Dew Aloe. It was the inner liquid of an Ancestral Grade Herb known as the Frosty Dew Cactus. Not only was it expensive, but even a Cosmic Seed Realm expert''s life would be in danger if they were too rash in harvesting this Spiritual Herb.


    The Frosty Dew Cactus'' spines were so translucent and crystalline in nature that they could fool even a cultivator''s sharp eye, appearing completely invisible to most. By the time you realize that something was wrong, you could have already been pierced through. The instant you were, all of your blood would freeze over first, followed by your organs, and then finally your bone and skin. If you tried to retreat at this point, the barbs of the spine would cause you to shatter into a million pieces. But, if you didn''t move, you would have to hope that an expert came to extricate you.


    If this expert was too slow in their arrival¡­ Well, you would become the nourishment of the Frosty Dew Cactus.


    However, this was just the worst case scenario. With the expertise of the Ice Phoenix Clan, harvesting Frosty Dew Cacti wasn''t impossible. In fact, Ailsa herself had taken it upon herself to grow some in the Incubator because they were simply too useful¡­ Or, at least their Dew was useful.


    Frosty Dew Aloe was most definitely in the top three of skin nourishment treasures and was among the best liquids for cleansing. Usually, it would be used to deal with poisons and to ward off curses. But, as though he didn''t know about this purpose at all Ryu used it as his bathing water.


    What happened next, though, left Ryu completely speechless.


    The Frosty Dew Aloe, a liquid just a hint more viscous than water, known for its ability to even purify and relieve poisons of the Ancestral Grade¡­ Almost instantly turned entirely black the instant Ryu stepped into it.


    Ryu furiously scrubbed himself down, causing the liquid to turn deeper and deeper shades of black. By the end of it, he was forced to go through five separate vats worth before he was finally clean.


    Ryu could imagine what would have happened if he stepped into a normal river. Maybe he would have caused the entirety of the Higher Mortal Plane to die.


    ''Just what kind of impurities could possibly be so potent¡­?''


    Ryu stood up from the last vat. Though it hadn''t turned completely black like the others had, the radiant blue light the Aloe usually gave off had dimmed considerably. But, instead of that, it was Ryu''s skin itself that began to shimmer as though it was giving off its own light.


    Ryu looked down at himself before shaking his head. His member down below was standing at full mast, his blood rushing as though it had a mind of its own. But, that wasn''t even what shocked him.


    While it stood up menacingly, it shone almost like there was a disco ball hidden within it.


    ''Why is my skin so¡­''


    Ryu couldn''t even finish the words.


    Finally, he looked up to find Ailsa was actually right before him. But, what was so confusing was the fact he hadn''t quite sensed her before.


    It was a weird feeling. She was right in front of him but¡­


    ''Huh?''


    Ryu''s gaze shifted, only to find a furiously blushing Yaana. But, what astonished him was that he hadn''t sensed her either.


    What the hell? Wasn''t a breakthrough supposed to come with a boost in senses? Why did it feel like he had regressed so much?


    Ryu''s brows furrowed, focusing his attention. But, everything seemed blank, like an endless torrent of darkness surrounding him from all sides.


    ''My eyes¡­?''


    Ryu was suddenly astonished to find that his Heavenly Pupils had been completely unsealed. All 999 had blasted open completely outside of his expectation. Even with his resources, it should have taken several more years, and even then, it was only theoretical.


    Heavenly Pupils being completely unsealed was an extraordinarily rare event. In fact, Ryu only had guesses that it had happened before, but no conclusive proof. He had basically been hoping that he didn''t reach a bottleneck that he couldn''t pass through. But, for him to suddenly reach such a state caught him completely unprepared.


    ''But why¡­?''


    Ryu wasn''t confused about this sudden change, he was confused as to why everything felt so empty. He could barely feel himself. It almost felt as though he was looking into a mirror, but couldn''t quite grasp that the person staring back was truly him.


    Ryu closed his eyes, growing exceptionally focused. His State of Meditation rushed upward at a speed he had never experienced before. And then¡­


    BANG!


    ''Shit¡ª!''


    This was the only thought Ryu could finish before his skin suddenly became a shining beacon. The furious glow was like a pillar of light piercing through the skies and drowning out even the sun above. In that moment, the blue skies were painted in white, being completely outshone by Ryu himself.


    And then, it was like a vacuum took form. Every strand of qi from the surrounding hundreds of thousands of miles surged toward a single location.


    "Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

 Chapter 754 But Now...

    Chapter 754 But Now...


    Ryu panicked. This was the first time he didn''t seem to have absolute control over his qi and it was ironically because he was exerting too much control, so much so that he was on the verge of draining an entire Plane of its energy.


    On the surface, this might seem benign to some. But in the martial world qi was as fundamental a part of an ecosystem as even oxygen was. Suddenly sapping it all away might not have drastic immediate effects as an equivalent loss of oxygen would, but over time, the result might even be worse.


    Ryu''s skin glowed like it was a beacon. He had always been able to absorb qi through his skin, speeding up his cultivation speed far beyond most who could only absorb it through their mouths and noses, but this was ridiculous. It felt like the number of Qi Pores he had had increased a thousandfold.


    Ryu could guess why. If his body had really had all those toxic impurities within it, then it only made sense that this would happen after they were all expelled. But the issue was that Ryu had no need for so much Mortal Qi.


    Luckily, the surge listened to Ryu. It was forced to come toward him by his will, and it was also forcefully stopped by his will as well.


    Ryu was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the wall of wind rose up.


    ''Shit¡­''


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The forest threatened to fall completely flat. The grass was pressed down into a smooth road, the trees bowed so fiercely that many snapped from their foundations and roots, and the cries and shrieks of beasts filled the skies, only to be drowned out by the violent WHOOSH.


    The likes of Ailsa, Yaana and Ryu were hardly affected by this wall of wind, standing amidst it as though nothing at all had happened. However, to the mortal creatures and beings, it was a devastating natural disaster.


    Ryu frowned, reaching out his hands. His Wind Inheritance surged and began to exert pressure. Slowly, but surely, the harsh winds wailing across the Higher Mortal Plane came to a halt.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t stop it instantly, or else the result would have been just as devastating as the initial wall of wind to begin with. But, he still managed to slow the damage.


    ''¡­ It''s suddenly very obvious why Shrine Mountain doesn''t allow Immortals to come down here¡­''T his chapter is updated by Libread.com.


    Ryu had the strength of Dao Pedestal Realm experts. Actually, that was just the last time he checked. He had no idea what Realm his current strength was under and he didn''t dare exert himself here to find out.


    To the people of the Mortal Planes, though, he might as well have been a god. With a single thought, he exerted control over the entire plane''s qi and then subsequently the entire plane''s wind. He wasn''t the type to feel pity for others, but when things were his fault to this extent, even he couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty. He could only hope that the damage wasn''t too severe and the casualties were at a minimum.


    ''With how things are here, though, would there really be Ancestral Beasts? Maybe?''


    Ryu had come here for the sake of his Grandpa Tor. By now, the old of the Tor Clan had already passed away and all that should be left were their descendants. He thought that he should, at the very least, help stop the Tor name from being wiped out completely. That was the least he owed a man who save his life.


    But, with how fragile the Mortal Plane seemed, Ryu didn''t even know if it was possible to even open a spatial rift here without it ripping everything to shreds.


    Ryu shook his head. He couldn''t think about anything else with his body in this state.


    He realized that his senses were being managed by an uncontrollable faucet right now that could only turn all the way on or all the way off. In one moment, he couldn''t'' even sense Yaana and Ailsa who were right before him. In the next, he was grasping qi strands hundreds of thousands of miles away and controlling them to come toward him.


    It was a shocking imbalance that Ryu hadn''t been ready for. The only explanation was that he had improved more now in one leap than he ever had before, so much so that even his own talent couldn''t immediately adjust for the changes. For Ryu, who had once leapt from the Qi Refinement Realm right to the Divine Vessel Realm, and even from the Divine Vessel Realm, right to the Immortal Ring Realm, this was a baffling conclusion to come to.


    However, this time, Ryu knew that outside of his body, there was no leap. His Qi Realm and Mental Realm hadn''t experienced any changes.


    Ryu could feel the changes, but this definitely wasn''t enough to describe it. There were only two potential explanations. It was either that this weird imbalance was being caused by the unsealing of Ryu''s Pupils, or it was because of these expelled impurities compounding whatever advancements he made.


    Ryu leaned toward the second. He had a feeling that there was something extraordinary about the impurities he had just released. The toxicity wasn''t on a normal level at all, even to the point it felt like poison.


    Just by expelling it, Ryu felt lighter, he could think faster, he could absorb more qi, he felt more flexible, he could even feel that his vitality and lifespan had skyrocketed beyond what he should have gained for the improvement in his body.


    But, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The largest and greatest change were in Ryu''s Bloodlines.


    One had to remember that Ryu''s Phoenix Blood was meant to give him 1000 jin of base strength. In comparison, his Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines provided him with 2000 jin of base strength. These numbers referred to what Ryu gained when he just began Body Realm cultivation and they all scaled up from there.


    However, because Ryu''s body had to balance four Bloodlines at once, he lost a little of each. The result was each of his Phoenix Bloodlines giving him 800 jin of base strength and his Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines giving him 1700 jin each.


    But now¡­

 Chapter 755 Ties of Fate

    Chapter 755 Ties of Fate


    Ryu felt that the full potential of all of his Bloodlines had been released.


    If he had to describe it, it was like his body was a jar and his Bloodlines were the objects he had placed within it. Due to his Ice Jade Crystal Body, he was able to balance four Bloodlines almost perfectly, making the objects he placed within the ''jar'' that was himself about the size of a finger nail.


    However, even with the objects being so small, the air gaps were inevitable. In Ryu''s opinions, his impurities, especially the toxic ones, had been hiding within these ''air'' gaps, thus diminishing his overall strength and limiting how much power his Bloodlines could flood his body with.


    The moment these impurities were gone, Ryu''s Bloodlines fell into place like fine sand. Not only was there not the slightest air gap between them, but they had become absolutely perfect.


    His Phoenix Bloodlines had gone from 800 jin of base strength to 1000. His Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines had gone from 1700 jin of base strength to 2000!


    This seems like a small change, but when its considered that a change in base strength results in a continuous changes up stream, it becomes quickly obvious just how large this change was.


    To put this matter into perspective, Ryu''s base strength had increased from 5000 jin previously, to now being 6000 jin. At the Peak of the Pulse Tempering Realm, he was meant to have 500 000 jin of strength, but with this change, he was now granted 600 000 jin, a 100 000 jin difference!


    To put this into even further perspective, it had to be remembered that the normal base strength for a common talent was 500 jin. Ryu was already 10 times better than this before, but now he was 12 times better! An Ancestral level talent would usually only have a single Bloodline and the average for them was around 1000 jin. Ryu had once been five times better than this, but now he was six times better! Even in comparison to a talent with a strength type Bloodline on the level of the Dragon or Qilin, Ryu was still three times better!


    If this wasn''t enough to understand just how large the difference was¡­ The Peak of the Vessel Tempering Realm was equivalent to the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. A Qi Realm expert on this level would usually have around 100 000 000 jin of strength.


    At that level, Ryu originally had five times that, at 500 000 000 jin. However, now, he had 100 000 000 jin more than that, the equivalent of an entire Half-Step Path Extinction Realm expert more, and reached 600 000 000 jin!


    Of course, Ryu was no longer in the Peak Vessel Tempering Realm. In fact, he was well into the Blood Tempering Realm now. In fact, he had stepped into the very first stages of the final level, the Origin Blood level or Royal Blue level.


    The Peak of the Blood Tempering Realm was meant to be equivalent to the Half-Step World Sea Realm. Ryu was still a ways from the Peak since the Origin Blood level was meant to be the longest, heaviest and hardest of the levels to wade through. But, with the enormous boost to his base strength, he truly wasn''t very far from matching a Pinnacle Cosmic Seed Realm expert with just his body alone.


    However, as far as Ryu was concerned, the boost to his physical strength was just the tip of the iceberg.


    Ryu had never felt his Bloodlines so clearly before. They sparkled and shined throughout his body almost as though they had spirits of their own. No¡­ It was exactly like they had spirits of their own.


    When Ryu focused his attention, he was certain that he could read the thoughts and grasp the memories of some unknown entities.


    WHOOSH!!!


    Ryu''s mind suddenly felt light. He had reached out and touched one of these memories, only for it to instantly assimilate with him. What once were vague recollections, under the might of the Origin Flame became like a clear movie reel Ryu was able to stop frame by frame.


    ''Wow¡­''


    Ryu felt like the entire life of a being capable of crushing him with a single finger had suddenly been assimilated into him. It was all as clear as day.


    This was where the synergy of Ryu''s treasures and abilities came into play.


    First, Ryu was lucky enough to have his entire body cleansed and all its impurities, allowing the lingering Bloodline ties that had been hidden within him to manifest.


    Second, Ryu was able to sense and touch those ties because his Realm Heart and Pupils made his senses especially sharp to matters of the Ethereal and hard to grasp.


    Third, when Ryu touched these memories, his Origin Flame activated, making what should have been blurry recollections as sharp as if he was reliving an entire life right this very moment.


    Fourth, one had to remember that one couldn''t just pass on comprehensions to another person. The most important thing Ryu had grasped by observing Yaana''s situation was that how you learned something was even more important than the fact you learned it. This meant that just because these memories had assimilated with Ryu, didn''t mean they were his own, he would still need to very slowly digest them.


    But, Ryu had something others did not: The First Ranked Heavenly Pupils and the access to an ability through them known as¡­ .


    It had been a very long time since Ryu used to copy a technique. The first time he used it, it was to perfectly grasp . The second time was to grasp the sacrificial technique of the Martial Gods.


    Ryu knew he couldn''t just copy any technique. He had to establish strong Fate ties to the person he was targeting, only then could he follow the strand of Fate to the Origin of the technique and comprehend the intentions of its creator perfectly.


    By now, Ryu''s advantage was obvious. What could possibly have stronger Lines of Fate with him than people whose memories were quite literally rushing through his Blood?!


    ''If this is possible... Could I use Lines of Fate to see through the intentions of my past self and weave them together to forge a path forward for my Inheritances despite them constantly regressing...?''

 Chapter 756 Deathly Silence

    Chapter 756 Deathly Silence


    Ryu retracted his mind from its odd state, it was simply too much.


    He stepped out from the vat of Aloe he had been standing within, his body glistening. Though, his lip couldn''t help but twitch when he notice that Yaana was covering her face with both hands, and yet not obstructing her own vision in the slightest.


    For some reason, he kept forgetting that there were people around him as his thoughts bounced all over the place. It also didn''t help that a certain member was pulsing about like it had a mind of its own as well. The instinct of a beast was even more potent after the cleansing of his Bloodlines.


    In the past, Ryu felt that his state was perfect. His Fire Dragon Bloodline wasn''t as pure as his father or grandfather''s, nor were his other Bloodlines comparable to his mother and grandparents, but he never worried about it. Even though he had access to the stored Blood Essence of two of his Ancestral Clans now, he never used them.


    This wasn''t because Ryu was a fool. Rather, it was because he understood the importance of not letting his greed get the best of him.


    People being born with two Bloodlines had happened in the past. But, the idea of four Bloodlines appearing in one body, many of which had clashing ideologies and histories of violence tying their Faiths down, was completely unheard of.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s mother had a Qilin and Ice Phoenix Bloodline within her, while his father had two Fire Elemental Beast Bloodlines. His mother was able to coexist her two Bloodlines firstly because they didn''t clash, and secondly because she shared Ryu''s Bone Structure. As for his father, his two Bloodlines synergized perfectly.


    This was all to say that Ryu could quite literally not exist if not for the Balancing ability of his Ice Jade Crystal Body. If he was born with literally any other Bone Structure, his mother would have miscarried him. There was no way he would have survived.


    Messing with the Balance that his Bone Structure had found was foolish, and may very well weaken instead of strengthen him.


    But now that all of his Bloodlines had been simultaneously cleansed¡­


    Ryu took a deep breath. Ailsa was still in meditation and he still wasn''t certain what to do with Yaana. If she had all of her memories and he still saw her as his big sister, the conclusion would be obvious. But, he was still finding it hard to meld those two images together.


    ''I need to calm down. I rule these Bloodlines, not the other way around.''


    A heated breath left Ryu''s lips as he closed his eyes. The good news was that with his senses dulled like this until he could get control over them, he was mostly disconnected from the true raging lust he should be feeling.


    With deep breaths, he soon felt himself calming down. As easily as he could focus on his Fire Dragon Bloodline, he could just as easily focus on his Ice Phoenix Bloodline. Though the Ice Phoenix was still a beast and had plenty of lust of its own, it would never match up to the Qilin and Dragon in that regard. Plus, the cooling sensation helped Ryu keep a level head.


    Yaana watched this scene feeling a bit conflicted. She knew that this was an opportunity to take advantage of Ryu and she even thought of doing so, but in the end she shook her head. She didn''t want Ryu to choose her because he had run out of other options like he had with Eska and Isemeine. She wanted him to choose her for other reasons.


    Ryu''s mind finally calmed enough for his body to cool down. With a thought, his Spiritual Qi swarmed and his body was covered in dark black robes. However, deep within them, the flickering of Heavenly Patterns could be seen, making it both feel as though Ryu was right before your eyes, and yet somehow transcended above at the same time.


    Ryu opened his eyes and smiled toward Yaana before looking around.


    "Seems like I caused a bit of a mess."


    Yaana blinked before almost doubling over in a fit of giggles.


    A bit? The entire forest was practically in shambles. If it wasn''t for Yaana acting to block some of the debris, Ailsa would have been knocked over in the head by a stray flying tree trunk. There was no telling what kind of reverberating effects this kind of destruction would have.


    Ryu rubbed his nose. He really should do something about all of this.


    He exhaled a light breath, feeling the rhythm of his Southern Heavenly Wind. When it came to matters of the Mortal Plane, he didn''t have to dig too deep, he just needed to touch the surface.


    A refreshing breeze of gold hung around Ryu. And then, his gaze suddenly snapped open once more, a ring of gold pulsing around his silver irises.


    WHOOOSH!


    A strong surge of qi brimming with Life Force flew out from Ryu as a center. Like a seismic wave, it radiated outward in pulses.


    The grass beneath Ryu''s feet was almost instantly revitalized, growing an entire inch in the blink of an eye. The bowing trees regained their elastisicity and snapped back into place, destroyed and ravaged greenery healed themselves and heavily injured and dying beasts suddenly found the strength to allow their hearts to continue to beat.


    When the strong surge finally slowed, Ryu exhaled a breath.


    "¡­ Wow." Yaana''s eyes glowed with admiration. Ryu''s actions hadn''t done anything for the trees that had already snapped in two, nor could he do anything for the beasts and potential humans that had already died, but with just a thought he had practically revitalized the whole Martial Plane.


    "It was just a crude measure." Ryu said with a smile.


    He wasn''t being humble, it truly was a crude measure. Ryu was just lucky that these were all Mortal Realm things he was dealing with, or else it would have never worked. With the vast gap between himself and them, just the slightest strand of Immortal Qi was like a Heaven sent treasure.


    Ryu took a step forward, vanishing several kilometers into the distance.


    "I will be back soon." He said, his voice fading. "Take care of Ailsa."


    Yaana sighed as she watched Ryu disappear into the distance. Couldn''t he take a bit more time to speak with her? Was she really so scary?


    ''He''s a bit soft, my Little Ryu.''


    The sudden voice drifted to Yaana''s ears. She didn''t need to look to know that it was Ailsa who was speaking.


    "Big sis?"


    Yaana was caught off guard because she thought that Ailsa had been in a deep state of meditation. But, when she looked over, she saw that Ailsa still hadn''t moved a single inch.


    ''He doesn''t really know how to use his words, but his worry is pretty obvious. He''s afraid to take advantage of you now not because he magically began to see you as his little sister when he spent a lifetime seeing you as his big sister. To him, you''re still Nuri. All your mannerisms, quirks and actions are all the same, there''s not even a single step of deviation. Trust me, he''s been watching¡­''


    "¡­ Then¡­ Then why?" Yaana asked.


    Yaana simply couldn''t understand.


    She didn''t know much about this past life of hers and a small part of her still worried that the one Ryu was pining after was still her mother who had passed away long ago¡­ If that was the case, she didn''t know how she would be able to deal with it.


    However, if she really was this Nuri, and they really were exactly the same person, then she didn''t care so long as she could be by Ryu''s side.


    To be forced to think of the same man for hundreds of years, and to finally have him so near and yet be unable to do anything¡­ It was driving her mad.


    ''¡­ Even though he doesn''t say anything, his situation with Elena is eating him up from the inside out. He feels like he failed her. One reason he doesn''t dare to reconnect with the portion of Elena''s soul in his mind is because he wants to respect her wishes and not act as her husband would before she''s ready to accept him again. But, a second reason is because he''s afraid of what he would see once he did. When two souls connect in that way, there''s no hiding anything. If to the deepest depths of her soul Elena wanted nothing to do with him¡­ It would devastate Little Ryu.''


    Yaana listened attentively even though she didn''t know what this had to do with herself. She didn''t believe that Ailsa would be bringing this up for no reason. And soon¡­ She was proven to be correct.


    ''He worries that one day you will reawaken to your memories as well, and the same betrayal Elena feels for him, you will too. He''s unwilling to risk that.''


    Yaana fell into a deathly silence.


    This sort of situation¡­ she had no idea how to deal with it.

 Chapter 757 Runes

    Chapter 757 Runes


    Ryu quietly observed the Higher Mortal Plane for several weeks.


    In truth, he had never expected to spend so long here. But, he unexpectedly found it quite peaceful. That in combination with the fact Ailsa was still deep in meditation and he didn''t really have much of a choice but to finally take a break.


    In this place, there was no cultivation he could accomplish. After all, he had long since left the Mortal Realms and without Immortal Qi, he could no longer improve himself. But, he oddly found himself relaxing instead as he observed what remained of the Tor Bloodline.


    It was suffice to say that Ryu''s actions had left a Dynasty that had ruled for countless generations in shambles. The Tor Kingdom was no more and it was the Opes Kingdom that had once been the weakest that was currently thriving.


    After Ryu left his supposed father to bask in his own ruin, the Tor Kingdom had very quickly been divided up not long later. While Ryu had given Concubine Leilani¡ªhis mother in this life¡ªa path to live out her days in peace and silence, he didn''t provide that same opportunity for his ''father''. Ryu didn''t know what happened to him, but the man was definitely long dead and he had left descendants behind that could only be said to be struggling.


    Ryu was very purposeful with his actions back then. He had acted in a way that lingering strings of Karma couldn''t affect his cultivation down the road. In fact, he gave more than he should have so that he could ensure that it would never harm him.


    After Ryu awoke his memories, the truth was that he didn''t particularly care about the Tor Clan any longer. All the hardships he had faced and all the blood he had shed, he chalked it up to just being the pain he had to exchange for gaining a Spiritual Foundation. That was the reality.


    If it had been up to Ryu back then, after he entered the Natural Order Sect and ransacked what was left of their wealth and he plundered the Crystalline Jade of the Zu Clan, he would have directly left to the Immortal Planes.


    The competition of Heirs had been worth next to nothing to Ryu. Dancing around with those children was only made barely worth it when he handicapped himself and pretended to still be blind. Only then was he able to eek out a bit of worth to those events.


    As Ryu had always said, the only reason he participated was to get revenge for Granny Miriam, the woman responsible for him to be able to stand here today. It was she who raised him up from his youth when his mother never did. It was she who was his support when everyone else seemed to hate him. It was she who didn''t blind his eyes when ordered to do so by his father, allowing him to retain one of the greatest foundations of his strength.


    He owed her too much. That was why he insisted on giving her sister so much help after ascending to the Immortal Planes. By now, Melody was likely a great powerhouse of her own.


    Ryu knew that Melody had entered his grandmother''s Legacy World, but he never got the chance to meet her face to face. He didn''t mind, though¡­ Their path of Karma should have already come to an end, not much unlike his path with the Loom Clan''s young princess, Tae, had also come to an end.


    Ryu''s mind drifted through all of these matters. With his Origin Flame, it felt like just yesterday he foolishly sat in the Heir position of the Loom Clan, making the mistake of tainting Tae.


    Back then, his pride and rage was still at its peak. The current him would never make such a mistake, but the Ryu of then felt like the world owed him everything. In a lot of ways, it was only inevitable that he would stumble into a Clan and lay waste to it in such an almost comical way.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered with fury when he thought of how Patriarch Loom almost made him kneel during their first meeting before that rage dispersed and he chuckled to himself.


    It seems that maybe he hadn''t changed much at all. Even after getting revenge ten times over for that matter, it still bothered him.


    Though Ryu joked with himself about this, the fact he could laugh at all showed just how far he had come.


    Ryu felt no sort of responsibility toward Tae nor did he have any intention of marrying her. He had left her treasures beyond her wildest imagination and if she was the kind of woman he thought her to be, she had taken advantage.


    That said, Ryu''s thoughts toward Tae''s cousin, Matteus, who he had recently met in the replica Nether Realm, were a bit more layered and complex. Matteus was a great talent, obviously since he was a Throne. His rage toward Ryu when they met for the second time wasn''t entirely unwarranted. Ryu knew that if he had a cousin or little sister he was close with that such a thing had happened to, he too would have flown into a rage.


    Ryu shook his head. He decided that he didn''t feel guilty and his mind cleared tremendously. If Matteus wanted revenge, he was free to come. But by now, Ryu had left him far behind and he had no intention of letting someone he had surpassed to catch him.


    Ryu''s mind drifted once again and it landed on the image of a beautiful young woman named Meralda.


    Ryu met Meralda for the first time on the Blossom Plane. The instant he saw Meralda''s reaction to him, he realized that she recognized him.


    Back then, he had some inkling as to why, but the moment he gained the full fledged Origin Flame, he realized where it was that he knew her¡­ He knew her voice. She was the overseer of the Herbology Exam he took, the very same world he met Ailsa for the first time in.


    When Ryu realized where he knew her voice from and he matched their faces, he realized then exactly what the problem was.


    First, this woman definitely knew his name was Ryu Tatsuya. And second¡­ She knew he was the one who gained Ailsa''s partnership back then.


    Of course, the fact she knew these two things now wasn''t a big deal at all, Ryu revealed both to the world just a few hours ago. However, for her to have known this all those years ago¡­ It could only be said that she held Ryu''s life and death in the palm of her hands, and yet she hadn''t taken advantage.


    As Ryu thought about all these strings of Karma, he realized that he would definitely have to pay this woman back as well.


    Ryu continued to drift through the Mortal Plane. Unbeknownst to him, the odd dissonance he felt with his power skyrocketing was slowly fading as his mind calmed, his talent slowly clawing back its advantage piece by piece.


    One step at a time, the impact of completely unsealing his Heavenly Pupils began to show itself to Ryu and the world became a fantastical painting of floating Runes.


    In a moment, Ryu subconsciously realized that he could view the world through different lenses and magnifications as he pleased.


    There was the first normal view of the world. Then, with a shift in lens, he could view the world through that he seemed to have gained the ability to turn off and on now. With this, he was able to see the invisible flowing qi of the world in vibrant, flowing colors.


    With another shift in lens, Ryu could see the world through . A world of black, white and grey strings, forming everything from the skies to humanoid figures.


    Then, with another, he could layer and , opening himself up to a world of colored with strings.


    Just alone allowed Ryu the capability of seeing the flow of qi and making his cultivation speed even faster. Just allowed Ryu to predict the probability of certain futures and see through the intentions and histories that connected people. However, when the two were brought together, those muddied images became as clear as day. Ryu could more precisely pinpoint exactly what he needed to know and grasp it, just like he had when he converted his Tatsuya Saintly Weapon comprehension into the foundation of his Great Swordstaff Inheritance.


    However, Ryu had gained an even finer and more pinpoint lens. With a thought, he could zoom into this Lines of Fate and see the Fundamental Runes that made them up. Almost as though he was looking at the foundation of the world itself and way the Heavens constructed them¡­


    The secrets of everything was laid out before him¡­ And it felt good.


    Of course, while Ryu was basking in the changes to how he could see the world, the entirety of the martial world had been thrown into chaos.


    The news of the return of Ryu Tatsuya felt like a tsunami drowning out even the return of the Ancestral Beasts.

 Chapter 758 Echo (1)

    The echo of Ryu''s voice barged through the martial world and took center stage. It wasn''t that his voice was loud enough to travel so far, but rather that the disruption of Fate was so grand and all encompassing that those with true strength could hear it no matter how far away they were.


    The concept was akin to a Sky God always knowing when their name was being mentioned except in reverse. But, in order to pull such a thing off, the weight of Ryu''s name had to have an enormous amount of Faith backing it, such an enormous amount that no one in the martial world could ignore it¡­


    And that he did.


    The things that Ryu had accomplished on his own were simply ridiculous. But, the weight of the Tatsuya name would always outshine him and the legend of his talent weighed almost just as much. The reappearance of Ryu Tatsuya¡­ Was something no one would ever forget.


    ¡­


    "Tell the Martial Gods that the day I wipe them from existence is quickly approaching.


    "I, Ryu Tatsuya, will never rest until the day the last of them is crushed beneath my feet!"


    In a secluded region of the Shrine Plane, Elena looked up and into the skies. A wild vibration of Faith caught her attention, the words entering her ears just a moment later.


    All around, the sound of battle and cries of war resounded. The Ancestral Beasts had not only descended onto the Armament Guild, but they had descended everywhere. In fact, a large bulk of their forces landed here, their eagerness to reclaim the Shrine World for themselves being at the absolute highest.


    Elena, though, was indifferent to it all. One would have thought that it wasn''t her family being attacked at all, but rather that she was watching a play being acted out before her. Despite being among the strongest the Martial Gods younger generation had to offer, she didn''t move nor did anyone dare to command her to do so. The fear they had for that father of hers was far too great.


    When she heard this voice, though, she sighed. She could feel all the internalized rage and fury in it, and the determination to do exactly as he said. The momentum behind it was already tens of times stronger than when she last met him, just how quickly was he improving?


    If others could see Elena now, it would be hard to say how they would react. Something like sighing wasn''t a matter she did normally and it definitely wasn''t something others would be prepared for.


    But, the stronger Ryu got, the more distant she seemed to feel she was from him.


    Was it selfish? Elena was mature enough to admit that it was. She might be a woman, and many in the martial world seemed to think that that fit her into a particular box, but her will to protect Ryu was maybe even stronger than his will to protect her.


    Her thoughts felt like they were all over the place, but Elena had had almost a billion years to think about it, a billion years to reflect on it. To others, they might be jumbled. But, to her, they were quite clear.


    But maybe¡­ Deep inside she had worries that didn''t lose out to Ryu''s own¡­


    Elena''s expression flickered. The battle outside had come to a halt after the martial world remembered her husband''s name. Another woman might have been filled with pride. After all, that was her man. How many could make the world freeze with a single roar? But, for some reason, it just left her¡­ agitated.


    Elena rose to her feet and vanished.


    When she reappeared, like a Goddess descended from above, her pink diamond hair fluttered and her dress clung to her curves as the wind danced about.


    Across from her, a mighty bird flapped its wings. Its individual feathers were like intricately carved sapphire gems laced with golden veins. This Royal Roc had caused maybe the greatest devastation of any other creature in this general vicinity, reaping the lives of martial world geniuses one after another.


    After snapping awake from its stupor, the Royal Roc''s gaze met Elena''s.


    "You''ve finally decided to stop hiding in your little hole?"


    "Didn''t you hear?" Elena said plainly, her voice like a block of ice. "My husband has returned. Shouldn''t I come out to greet him?"


    The Royal Roc couldn''t even react before an astonishing pressure crashed into its head. It had no idea when, but Elena had appeared above its head, a violent palm crashing downward and leaving a hand shaped dent in its scale-like feathers.


    BANG!


    The Royal Roc spiraled to the ground below, its skull rupturing and its life and death unknown


    Elena''s cold gaze swept through the battlefield, scanning through the Ancestral Beasts. It had been too long since she unleashed herself. And right now, she wanted to vent.


    ¡­


    It soon became obvious that the re-emergence of Ryu wasn''t the most shocking matter. But, what it represented was maybe even more important.


    Many began to speculate about how these matters had occurred and how Ryu managed to survive for so long. But, it was then that many turned their attention toward the person who should have been the only surviving member of the Tatsuya¡­ Primus.


    Primus was an ancient character and his whereabouts were even further unknown. However, he had a name that shook the hearts who heard it. He was the first man to unite the Shrine World under his rulership and the first of Dragon Blood to subdue his kind under his banner¡­.


    The sudden attention he received led to an even more shocking realization, though. Primus was a member of the Mercenary Guild and was well known to be the only Sky God amongst their ranks who had not a single member within his faction. But, when he was checked today¡­


    [Saintly Weapon Sky God Faction: 1].


    [Ryu Tatsuya].


    [Age ¨C 22].


    [Talent Designation ¨C Common].


    [Battle Prowess Designation ¨C Incalculable].


    [Status ¨C Direct Descendant].


    [Cultivation ¨C Half-Step Path Extinction].

 Chapter 759 Echo (2)

    The martial world didn''t seem to know how to wrap their heads around this information, none of it made sense.


    Common grade talent? That much was fine on its own, but how could a common grade talent have Incalculable Battle Prowess? Never mind that, but how could a common grade talent have reached the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm at 22 years old?!


    What these people didn''t know what was that when Ryu initially signed up for the Mercenary Guild, his Battle Prowess had been designated at the Black Grade and his Talent was designated at Sub-Common, even worse stats than he had now.


    Unfortunately for the Mercenary Guild, they had an inability to detect Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation, so their system designated him as a person with a False Spiritual Foundation. As such, even after taking into account his ridiculous amount of talent in the other Three Pillars, not to mention his Heavenly Pupils, his overall talent was slotted into their lowest possible rating.


    To make matters worse, back then, Ryu''s Mental Realm talent could only be classified as terrible. It was more a joke than anything else.


    The only reason Ryu had received a bump up from Sub-Common to Common this time was because his soul had gotten a vast improvement. But, even that wasn''t enough to overturn his False Spiritual Foundation.


    It was no wonder everyone was confused about what they were seeing. The only way they could justify it was believing that there had to be a mistake.


    Plus, how could Ryu possible be 22? The memories of the upper echelon of the martial world were practically infallible. Though they might not remember matters of their youth, nor would they in as much detail as Ryu with his Origin Flame, something as meaningful as Ryu''s birth wasn''t something they would ever forget.


    Ryu, at the very least, made it to his 1000th birthday, and it had been almost a billion years since then. Even if the day he committed suicide he had actually been placed in a special state where he didn''t age, he would still have to be at least 1000 years old, not 22!


    The system of the Mercenary Guild began to be greatly doubted. If they couldn''t analyze a Direct Descendant well enough, what about everyone else? Who else were the screwing over with their scanning system? The grades one received from them could make or break whether one could enter certain factions, they were playing with livelihoods here!


    The public pressure eventually led to an announcement by the Mercenary Guild, but the result was even more shocking than the original news itself.


    As Ryu had speculated previously¡­ Privacy? That was nothing more than a joke. When you were powerful enough, you could break as many rules as you wanted and no one would speak a word. It was only proven more so when no one batted an eyelash when the Mercenary Guild exposed Ryu''s real information to the public.


    It was then everyone came to the understand that it wasn''t a mistake. The Mercendary Guild''s scanning formation had designated Ryu as a Common Grade talent because it detected his Spiritual Foundation as False.


    Those that were intelligent understood that there were only two possible explanations for this.


    The first was that Ryu had a formation high level enough to hide the truth of his Spiritual Foundation, something that wasn''t entirely impossible considering who his great grandfather was.


    And the second¡­ Was that Ryu had a Spiritual Foundation they weren''t able to evaluate.


    There was only one kind of Spiritual Foundation that could meet such a mark¡­


    A Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation.


    Without holding anything back, the Mercenary Guild released all of Ryu''s reports for the world to see. If there was any doubt before as to if this was the very same Ryu Tatsuya, there was none remaining now.


    Four Ancestral Grade Bloodlines. Ice Phoenix. Fire Phoenix. Lightning Qilin. Fire Dragon.


    Mutated Quasi Origin Grade Meridians. Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    Mutated Quasi Origin Grade Bone Structure. Ice Jade Crystal Body.


    First Ranked Heavenly Pupils. Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    Indestructible Soul.


    A hushed silence fell over the martial world after the roar that took their hearts. This sort of thing, it was completely unlike anything they had ever laid eyes on. Had the Heavens truly allowed such a talent to be born?


    ¡­


    Deep within a familiar volcano, not having moved a single inch since when last he was seen, Primus'' crimson gazed looked forward placidly.


    Was he surprised by this news? Not particularly. Ryu had never held back in saying and thinking Primus'' name in the past several years, it was to the point where even when Ryu called him by his favorite nickname, ''Bastard'', Primus would be aware of it.


    However, Primus felt that things were better in this way. At the very least, his great grand son was no longer embarrassing him. As for whether Ryu hated him or not, he didn''t particularly care. He had grown up with Dragon Blood running through his veins, an age where brothers didn''t hesitate to spear each other through the heart.


    Of course, these weren''t acts of betrayal. Dragons and those with Dragon Blood usually fought fairly and upfront. These spears through the heart were all committed in upfront, one on one battles. In fact, Primus had killed many of his brothers in this way, one of which was his true blood brother¡­ Those were back in the days before he found an entrance to the Dragon World and began his rampage there.


    It could be said that if his great grandson wasn''t reacting like this, Primus would only look down on him.


    The day Ryu wanted to come and seek his revenge, he would be right here waiting.


    Four Ancestral Bloodlines? Quasi Origin Meridians and Bone Structure? First Ranked Heavenly Pupils? An Indestructible Soul?


    Primus head tilted back, a booming laughter leaving his lips that sent the world around him in a state of natural disaster. Volcanoes erupted, the earth split and the skies thundered and boomed.


    "Take as much time as you need. Trillions of years. Tens of trillions. Hundreds or even more! If you dare to point a blade toward this great grandfather of yours, I''ll skewer your heart through just like I did all the others.


    "I, Primus Tatsuya, am undefeatable in this world!"


    The roar was like a response to Ryu''s own. However, only Ryu heard the first part of it¡­


    To the rest of the martial world¡­ It felt that even in shambles, even with just two to their name, even with no one to rely on but themselves¡­


    The Tatsuya Clan was back.

 Chapter 760 Human Beast

    The martial world seemed to have been put on notice. The reverberating impact of Ryu''s appearance was deeper than just this, though. Those who remembered exactly who Elena''s husband were could only be said to be simmering in their own fury.


    In the martial world, a married woman, or more accurately in this case, a widow, was often considered to be ''used goods''. There weren''t enough Matriarchal societies in the martial world to shift this sort of view and the result was as expected.


    However, this didn''t mean that there weren''t exceptions to this rule, and Elena was quite a special exception. The first reason was because of her background and the person her father was. Being attached to such a family was something even a Sky God would want for reasons that were still a bit¡­ unknown to Ryu.


    The second reason was, of course, because of her beauty and strength. The more astounding the woman, the more concessions powerful men were willing to make for her. In such a situation, these men weren''t concerned with her past, but were more concerned about conquering her future as there was great merit to be gained in doing so.


    The number of women who could gain such respect were maybe even fewer than those who had the background necessary for such men to ignore everything else.


    Whether it was bearing, talent, or strength, Elena had them all. After breaking into the World Sea Realm, there were already very few people that could match her. And, the limits of her strength were completely unknown as no one had ever seen her go all out.


    The potential such a woman presented for building a legacy and Clan, not to mention bolstering Fate and Faith of a man, was immeasurable. She wasn''t just a trophy, she was The Trophy.


    The third reason, though, was maybe why, in combination with the first three, many powerful men had no qualms with chasing Elena. And that reason was a combination of circumstances of her life and plausible deniability.


    After Ryu died, the Holy Wing Clan, of course, wanted to take her back. However, this was when Elena made it clear that they had become husband and wife and it was much too late for the Holy Wing Clan to do anything. She had effectively married into the Tatsuya Clan, becoming a widow of their household.


    Of course, Elena had been telling the truth. But, that didn''t mean others had to believe her despite there being many modes of confirmation.


    The truth was that verifying such a thing wasn''t as easy for others as it was for Ryu. Ryu could tell even if a person was pregnant at a single glance, even if they had just conceived. Seeing through whether a person was a virgin or not, or if they had their soul melded with another or not, was just as simple for him. Assuming that the person was within range of his eyes'' abilities, of course.


    However, for others, it was more difficult and involved. And, if they had a vested interest in say¡­ not confirming this truth, then they could do so as well.


    Whether or not Elena was a husband to someone else mattered less than whether or not it could be confirmed by the masses. Even if they didn''t dare to force Elena to do anything, so long as there was a lane, and they could protect their reputations at the same time, there would always be a chance.


    But now¡­ Ryu''s return had seemingly thrown a wrench in all of their plans In fact, it felt as though they were all being slapped in the face one palm at a time.


    These Pinnacle World Sea Realm experts and Sky Gods were absolutely furious.


    ¡­


    BANG!


    On a distant world, an entire half of a Palace threatened to collapse entirely. Luckily, the reinforcing formations ensured that it stayed intact, but this didn''t stop the earth from quaking and splitting outside the scope of this Sky God''s territory and sending the city he had built into chaos.


    And yet, when a God was furious, no one dared to say a single word.


    The man seemed to be the picture of wild energy. He wore a beast skin skirt and his chest seemed a size too big for his torso, though, it was hard to tell if this was because he was truly so muscular, or if it was because the dense forest of hair that called that place home painted such an illusion.


    Much like the man in question, the entire Palace was decorated in the bones of wild beasts and their fur. Fireplaces were instead open pits of flickering red and gold while the musty smell of nature and manhood hung in the air.


    p The outside of the Palace itself wasn''t what one might expect and was just as rustic and wild as the interior.


    The owner of this Palace and city was actually one of the Pillars of the Mercenary Guild, a man of wild nature known as the Human Beast True Sky God.


    The moment he had heard the news, he had entered a furious state. He had none of the bearing one would expect from a Sky God and even less of the grace. It was only made worse that it was his own Mercenary Guild forced to help this bastard spread his fame.


    His servants and concubines could only remain as silent as possible, not wanting to become the subject of their master''s rage all while hoping they didn''t get crushed to death beneath his might.


    "FUCK! If I don''t tear that little brat to pieces when next I see him, my name won''t be Aalot Ugror any longer!"


    ¡­


    Aalot wasn''t the only one who was enraged, but he was probably the only one whose reaction was so violent. That said¡­ He wasn''t the only one who wanted for murder.


    Among them, there were more of the Mercenary Guild as the powerhouses there had the most investment in wanting to build something new. None seemed to care that Primus was amongst their ranks, or maybe it was just that the Mercenary Guild never really had such comradery to begin with¡­


    While this rage spread like a wild fire, countless powerhouses already blazing trails toward where Ryu''s voice had projected from to deal with this scourge, there was another powerful existence with a reaction that could be considered to be¡­


    Quite Odd.

 Chapter 761 Agreed

    The man in question sat in a location not to unsimilar from Primus'' own. A dense heat that could sear the eyes to blindness hung in the air, a nose burning scent of sulfur drifting about the wind. Molten rock gurgled and bubbles and the skies were painted a deep crimson, allowing clouds of black soot to glide through them.


    The man didn''t share Primus'' crimson hair, but he did share his crimson eyes. His hair was, instead¡­ non existent. Though, this didn''t seem to be by necessity, but was either the result of a purposeful action or maybe an accident.


    Either way, this man''s hair was growing back at a slow pace but was deeply shaven. It looked more like a shadow than a head of hair, but it seemed to suit the man quite well.


    What was a bit odd about this man''s appearance, though, was that he had blade scars running across both of his eyes, giving him a sinister look that hindered some of his handsomeness. And yet, he didn''t seem to be blind at all.


    While everyone else was shocked or enraged by Ryu''s roar, this man blinked for a moment and looked up, his eyes opening from meditation.


    "¡­"


    He shook his head.


    "This son of a bitch. Can''t you see I''m in the middle of meditating? You were always like this, the world doesn''t revolve around you, you arrogant prick. I swear if I get my hands on you, I''m gonna bend you over my knee and spank you real good. This time, your daddy isn''t here to protect you."


    The man tried to go back to meditating after saying these vulgar words but suddenly found his heart to be too agitated to focus.


    "Fuck! I''m gonna kill that bastard. I was so close to a breakthrough!"


    BANG!


    The pool of magma shook and quaked. By the time it settled down, the man had long since vanished.


    **


    The first ones to react to the news were, without a doubt, the Martial Gods. The investments they had in the name Tatsuya didn''t need to be explained, but the weight they placed on the name Ryu Tatsuya was far more than anyone could possibly expect.


    It was difficult for those in the light to react to this news because the invasion of the Ancestral Beasts was in full swing. A single roar for Ryu, as shocking as it was, wouldn''t be capable of stopping this invasion, and that was especially so considering he wanted to destroy the Martial Gods just as much as they did.


    However, the deepest reaches of the Martial Gods, where their true power lay, was a completely different matter entirely


    "¡­ That child is alive."


    With how many slumbering Ancestors there were in these catacombs, it was impossible to tell who had spoken, but it hardly mattered one way or another.


    "This timing couldn''t be worse. We don''t have the luxury of splitting our forces right now. This is only the first wave. It feels purposely done."


    "The Ancestral Beasts are nothing more than jumping clowns. We should just make a move and erase them now. If they''re still a lingering problem when They arrive, it will cause issues."


    "Don''t be ridiculous, the Ancestral Beasts are still a Favored Race, such existences shouldn''t be looked down upon. In addition, sticking with the initial plan is smarter. Why wipe them out if they''re more useful in other ways?"


    "This isn''t what''s important, how is it possible that he is still alive? And why is it that he can cultivate? This isn''t a small variable."


    "From what it seems like he''s likely reincarnated. The probability is over 90%. In that case, it is likely related to the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation. This Inheritance is the only one we weren''t able to Seal properly."


    "The Phoenix Sky God was clever. How can we Seal something without properly understanding it? With all those muddied folk tales and lore, pinpointing the Fate of that Sky God was impossible."


    "Others seems to be learning their lesson as well. That Lady Demuire had hidden her True Name very well and others are following suit. This could lead to problems down the road."


    "There''s no need to worry about this. Even with such talent, it''s already too late, they''ve fallen too far behind. If the Child had had nine cycles of a hundred million years, there might be something to worry about. But now, time has run out."


    "He''s already entered the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm in such a short time, is it really proper to dismiss things like this? I''m also of the belief that he is related to the untangling of Faith that further complicated our matters. Much of the groundwork we laid over trillions of years was undone in that single instant. While the child doesn''t have much time left, we don''t either and we''ve already made too many mistakes.


    "Don''t forget who it is our true enemy is. They won''t rest until Existence is all their own. Against an enemy like that, even one mistake is too much, let alone so many."


    "Then we should send Drugo after him to end these matters once and for all. There is no need to drag this out and Drugo has spent enough time in seclusion. This war is a good chance for him to gain battle experience as he has never managed to find someone near his combat prowess."


    "Release the Demi Gods as well. We''ve laid low for long enough. The Ancestral Beasts seem to think sending Eleventh Order Beasts is enough to crush us. Make them pay for their arrogance. We''ll see whose younger generation is truly stronger."


    "Agreed."


    "Agreed."


    "Agreed."


    **


    On the Mortal Plane, Ryu looked up into the skies, the words of his great grandfather reverberating through his ears like a gong. His placid gaze seemed to pierce through the veil as he stood in the air, unmoving as though to make certain that he had heard properly. And then¡­


    His lips spread into a fiendish grin.


    "Funny words, old bastard. My heart happens to be invulnerable, though. Better aim for the Head."

 Chapter 762 Than He Was...

    Ryu''s trip to the Mortal Plane didn''t last very long, nor did he involve himself too deeply. He left what remained of the Tor some guidance and allowed them to ''stumble'' into certain fortuitous encounters. After observing their character, he picked out a few he thought would be somewhat better than the others and pushed them to become better versions of themselves before leaving contentedly, feeling that he had done his part.


    It was quite an interesting experience, if Ryu was honest with himself. The act of playing God left him with an odd feeling, and the realization that just a few benign actions on his part could change the trajectory of several generations in this place was a baffling thing to wrap his mind around.


    There was something decidedly beautiful about it all.


    Ryu''s roots in this life could be considered to have been planted here. Now, years later, it was he who was helping new roots to anchor themselves and blossom the flowers of the future. The fluid and cyclical motion of it all felt¡­ good.


    Ryu was a man who sought out revenge for the slightest grievance. There was something about revenge that also felt quite cyclical and fluid. But right now, Ryu had learned that this wasn''t the only feeling that could be classified in such a way.


    In the end, Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. ''It seems that I''ve grown soft.''


    p Something tasting just as sweet as revenge? Ridiculous.


    Ryu tapped his feet, his body vanishing. When he reappeared, he was once again nearby Yaana and Ailsa. But, this time, he could actually feel their presence. It was then he realized that this trip had done him some good. It allowed his body to acclimate to his changes and he could feel the limits of his strength with far greater ease. Once again¡­


    He felt good.


    "Oof¡­"


    Ryu let out a muffled puff of air as Yaana dove into him. Ailsa still seemed to be meditating, but Ryu could only shake his head. He could read this woman''s mind, he knew well that she was already finished and her gains were most definitely not small.


    How long had he spent here? Two or three months maybe? It really whipped by like a flash. He almost hadn''t noticed.


    His sense of time was slowly dilating as his cultivation rose up. If it didn''t, who would be able to sit and meditate for millions of years on end like many cultivators did?


    ''I guess it''s about time to breakthrough into the Path Extinction Realm, can''t keep dodging it forever. Whatever comes will come.''


    Ryu patted Yaana''s head. "I was only gone for a bit, is there a need to act like this?"


    Ryu spoke with a hint of amusement in his tone. He would allow Yaana to be as willful as she wanted, he had always wanted a little sister.


    Now that he thought about it, that little girl had probably also grown up. Ryu still remember that he had handed off Guiot''s little sister, Sephare, to the Awoken Moon Sect. By now, a few hundred years had passed due to the time dilation of the fake Nether Realm but he hadn''t gone back¡­


    The Awoken Moon Sect should have blossomed, but there was something odd. Ryu remembered hearing someone say that the Ember Clan had conquered the whole Pedestal Plane, so he couldn''t help but wonder¡­ What happened to the Awoken Moon Sect, then?


    Of course, Ryu still have no idea that it was Sarriel who was the mysterious backer of the Ember Clan and the enigmatic Night Terror Sect. He also had no idea that the Ember Clan was pushed to conquer the entire Plane by Sarriel either. These were simply matters that he was in the dark about.


    Ryu was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost didn''t register the decidedly¡­ smooth feeling of the young woman in his arms right now.


    He looked down and his pupils couldn''t help but constrict. No¡­ It was far more than that. In fact, Ryu''s pupils rapidly shifted from human to draconic, oscillating back and forth as his Bloodlines rampaged through his body.


    Yaana was fully clothed. But, the sparkle of spatial qi twinkled in Ryu''s gaze. Her control was so precise and perfect that she managed to coat her clothing in just enough that Ryu''s body slipped right through the layers of her dress and undergarments. The result was despite the fact she was clothed from head to toe, even to the point of still wearing a veil, Ryu felt as though a completely naked Yaana was clinging onto him tightly. And then¡­


    Her clothes slipped through her body. As though they were made of air, it passed through everything and slipped to the ground.


    Ryu couldn''t see Yaana''s face as she had buried it into his chest. However, he was too much taller than her. With a simple glance downward, he could see the slender slope of her back, those delicate but tone muscles and skin so soft and supple that it looked as though a single poke might leave behind a bruise¡­


    And it all led to that curved¡­. sultry¡­ round¡­ elastic mound of lust inducing flesh that was her ass.


    Ryu wanted to bring his gaze away, but he could already feel his mouth running dry, an undying fire slowly being stoked in the depths of his lower belly.


    Ailsa continued to pretend to meditate as though she hadn''t sensed anything odd at all. Ryu had already shouted in her mind several times, but she was like a stone wall, leisurely ''meditating''.


    ''Oh, what nice weather we''re having¡ªoop, I can''t think that when I''m supposed to be meditating. I meant to say, this formation is so complex, look at all these gears and nodes. Yup, I''m definitely a genius, a great genius to be able to deduce¡ªah, that''s wrong too. *Cough*, I mean this formation is so complex, oh my, how long would it take me to fully comprehend it? Might take me at least several more days, maybe weeks, who knows. A genius like me definitely wouldn''t take too long, though¡­.''


    Ryu suddenly realized that his wife was probably more shameless than even he was.

 Chapter 763 Gods Of Lust

    Ryu exhaled a hot breath. ''¡­ Fuck.''


    ,m He smiled somewhat bitterly, his last bit of self control keeping the beast in his pants at half mast. So long as it was like this, he could still manage it a bit. At the very least, he could fool himself into believing that he was in control.


    The issue here was that Ryu didn''t have the same disdain he had had for Isemeine in this situation. Seeing Yaana''s body before him like this was like feeling a bomb go off in his mind, but he didn''t have the same pride or arrogance attached to his inaction.


    Back then, Ryu had truly seen Isemeine as beneath him. If Eska didn''t appear, no matter how much lust he felt, there was nothing in this world capable of making him take her body. He simply didn''t care about her and was more ready to watch her die a horrible death.


    But Yaana¡­.


    Yaana was a woman Ryu deeply cared for. Even when he didn''t know that she was his Nuri, he had a good impression of her. The youthful him of this life had even turned down his maternal grandfather when he suggested something as terrible as forcefully taking her as his woman. Even though he knew it would make his life easier to do so, even though he knew having Yaana''s grandfather as a backer would ease the burden on his life, he hadn''t cared. He would have rather suffered than hurt such an innocent, pure soul.


    But right now¡­ Right now that innocent, pure soul was making him think of doing all sorts of devilish things. He suddenly really wanted to see what Yaana''s expression looked like when she was lost in pleasure, he really wanted to hear what her soft voice felt like when it turned hoarse and forceful¡­ he really wanted to feel the heat of her skin beneath his.


    "Ryu, am I beautiful?"


    Yaana''s voice had a slight hint of trembling to it. It was fairly obvious that she had never done anything like this before. She felt particularly exposed, especially since they were in the middle of a forest. Even though she knew it was nonsense, she still felt that anyone could walk in on them at any time, it left her feeling particularly vulnerable.


    "Yes."


    Ryu replied instantly, his voice coming out like much more of a growl than even he expected.


    Yaana''s shoulders couldn''t help but tremble in response. While Ryu was almost excessively turned on right this moment, the same couldn''t be said for Yaana. In fact, she was so nervous that it was hard to feel anything other than anxiety and embarrassment. But, there was something about Ryu''s voice just now that sent goosebumps racing across her skin, even the small hairs dotted across her body couldn''t help but stand at attention as blood rushed to places they had never rushed to before.


    "Then why don''t you want me?"


    ''Goddammit.''


    This wasn''t part of the script. Having a wife should be like placing a mountain twice the size of Shrine Mountain between you and your chances of finding other women. Well, that was the case when your wife had a strong background and talent of her own, a category Ailsa most definitely fell into.


    But, what was with his wives, always trying to force other women onto him? Was there something wrong with their brains?


    First it was centuries of Elena trying to pick out concubines for him, not to mention trying to get him to accept Nuri as well. And now it was Ailsa looking for sex partners and ignoring him while he was sexually harassed by Yaana.


    "Are you not a man?"


    Yaana''s voice was a soft as a butterfly''s wings. It was obvious to Ryu that she didn''t even want to say these words, it was probably more of Ailsa''s machinations pulling the strings in the background. Unfortunately¡­


    Ryu was ashamed to say that it worked.


    "FUCK!"


    Ryu''s roar echoed through the forest, his clothing, held together by his Spiritual Qi to begin with, vanished into motes of light.


    With a single powerful arm, he swept Yaana off of her feet, sliding his forearm beneath her thigh and grasping onto a single cheek of her bottom firmly. The feeling was so otherworldly that his fingers seemed to sink endlessly into her flesh, the rebound of elasticity combined with softness making his mind go completely blank.


    Yaana suddenly found herself looking directly into Ryu''s eyes, the feeling of his powerful body both making her feeling more safe than she ever had in her life, and more excited than she could describe in words.


    Her heart beat wildly and out of control. Something about he unbridled lust and heat in Ryu''s gaze made her blood rush through her body, her fair skin turning red as her breathing became rabid. The oppressive masculinity of Ryu''s aura alone left her gaze misty and she completely forgot about any embarrassment.


    "Come here."


    "Ah!"


    Ailsa never expected to suddenly find a strong surge of wind wrapping around her. She couldn''t even react in time before her dress was also forcefully dispersed into the wind, her large breasts being pressed against the side of Ryu''s ribcage.


    Ailsa, who was still trying to pretend to be meditating, had her eyes closed, at a bit of a loss of what was happening. But, Ryu''s meaning was clear.


    Yaana was still a virgin. Since the two of them decided to light this fire, they would have to continue until there was nothing but a pit of ash left. Yaana most definitely couldn''t handle such violence alone, so her big sister would have to take responsibility for her actions.


    Ailsa gasped lightly, her eyes shooting open when she felt a large hand grip her bottom forcefully. She subconsciously lifted up to the tips of her toes, her body trembling and becoming akin to a small boat amidst Ryu''s strong tide.


    Yaana didn''t get much of a chance to register exactly what was happening either. All she heard was Ryu''s gruff, commanding tone. And, as though an obedient little wife, she threw her arms around his neck, bringing her soft lips to his.


    She could already feel his cock hovering around her entrance, poking and teasing at it as his powerful arm held her up. The agitation in her waist and hips as she wound and grinded toward it was enough to send a flood of blood down any man''s nose¡­


    Ryu didn''t wait long to oblige.


    Yaana felt a thin veil being pierced through, a heat entering her lower belly and her toes curling as her legs locked around Ryu.


    That day¡­ No, that week, the escapades of three Immortals would likely become a legend of the Mortal Plane. The day the Gods of Lust blessed their small little world¡­

 Chapter 764 Lesson Number One

    Ryu was practically a wild and untamed beast. Pent up lust he hadn''t released for at least the last year and a half seemed to come out in a wild flood all at once, the delicate bodies of Ailsa and Yaana rocking back and forth amidst the waves out of their control. It seemed as though Ryu always had a firm clamp on the both of them, his body never tiring in the slightest. Even when they tried to inch away, they found themselves crawling back.


    Ryu basked in it all. His senses seemed to imprint their moans and their every expression onto his heart.


    Ailsa was just as sensitive as she always was. Her compatibility with Ryu was simply too great. It felt like just delicately teasing her breasts could send her over the edge. It wasn''t long into their session that her mind went completely blank, unable to think, see or hear anything. All she could feel was heat.


    She practically went limp, weakly latching onto Ryu as she tried to weather the storm. It was almost as though she had entered survival mode, only doing what she could to hold on.


    Yaana, though, was very much different.


    Her breasts weren''t nearly as large as Ailsa, but they fell like two delicate drops of dew, having a pair of pink protrusions that stood erect and tall. Every time they grazed along Ryu''s chest, he felt an endless surge of energy roll within him.


    She was far more active than Ailsa was. While Ryu''s second wife completely lost control of her body, Yaana''s seemed to go into overdrive. She hyper fixated on Ryu''s every reaction, taking great pleasure in learning more and more about him.


    Compared to Ailsa, Ryu really had to work to bring Yaana to climax. She was so focused on him that she seemed to completely neglect herself. Maybe she had spent too much time speaking with those old ladies with unfulfilling sex lives. She probably already had a preconceived notion that this was already as great as it got.


    But even then, her mind couldn''t help but disagree with all those women. Making Ryu feel good brought her such a high that she almost felt addicted to it.


    She squeezed down on Ryu''s member, her eyes rapidly shifting between Ryu''s irises. Every subtle change his expression underwent, she would catch.


    Her hips moved in a rhythmic and hypnotic pattern, her speed varying and the suction almost threatening to rip Ryu''s soul out of his body. She kissed along Ryu''s collarbone and neck, her hands gliding across his back and following the deep trenches of his defined muscles. She was absolutely intoxicated by his warmth and her embarrassment had flown away long ago.


    Her lips moved to the side of Ryu''s ears, her hot breath making his spine tingle. Yaana seemed to pick up on this and didn''t move away immediately.


    Her hips slowed their rhythm. She brought herself all the way up to the point it seemed that Ryu might fall out of her at any moment. She bobbed up and down at the very tip, the slight wet noises reverberating through the quiet forest.


    Yaana hadn''t realized just how sensitive the very entrance was until right this moment, an unplanned moan leaving her lips, but this only drove Ryu more wild.


    She descended down just a quarter of the way, her hips rotating and grinding before she moved back to the tip. Then she descended half way, the ripple of her cheeks as she moved sending Ryu into a trance.


    Glancing over her shoulder, he could see a sight he would imprint onto his mind for a lifetime.


    "Fuck¡­"


    Yaana descended all the way down, grinding to the point it seemed she might want to fuse her pelvis with Ryu''s own.


    Her body shuddered when she felt an uncontrollable gush rush into her body, her teeth involuntarily biting down on Ryu''s earlobe.


    Sweat beaded down Yaana''s forehead and her long, cascading black her clung to her body. A smile of satisfaction graced her beautiful features. She had never felt so good in her life.


    Her blush deepened when she thought of the possibility of having Ryu''s child and her heart blossomed.


    Ryu held Ailsa in one arm, keeping her close to his hip and held Yaana to his front. Every time he took a deep breath, his exhale seemed to come with a growl.


    The drop of fragrant liquids fell in a pitter patter and Yaana rested her cheek on Ryu''s shoulder, a content expression on her face. But, at that moment, she suddenly felt a slight trembling within her as Ryu seemed to grow to another size.


    Yaana blinked. ''¡­ Didn''t they say that just once was enough?''


    Yaana had thought that things were already over. But, little did she know that this was just the very beginning.


    "You''re already so well versed in teasing your husband, Yaana."


    Yaana''s shoulders trembled when she heard Ryu say these words, her eyes moistening. But, the beauty of it all was shattered in the next moment.


    "It seems I have to teach you a lesson."


    Yaana squealed, suddenly finding her back pressed flush against soft grass. She looked up to find Ryu''s powerful body kneeling between her legs, his free palm pressing down firmly on her lower belly as though to force her to feel every single last inch of him.


    Ryu pulled out slowly before rocking forward.


    Yaana shuddered, the sensation somehow feeling ten times what it had been before. Her knees rested on Ryu''s hips, her legs opening wide to greet him. The glistening sweat of her body painted an image of allure and beauty that could enrapture any man.


    Ryu pulled out again, teasing Yaana''s entrance just as she had done to him, before rocking forward with slightly more force.


    Yaana''s legs trembled, her gaze becoming mistier.


    Ryu''s pace increased slowly but didn''t seem to cross a certain threshold. Every time he approached it, he would pull back once again.


    Yaana began to squirm, her hips vibrating uncontrollably.


    "Lesson number one." Ryu grinned. "The ride doesn''t really begin until we both climax."

 Chapter 765 Lnteresting

    Yaana was brought to experience a whole new world. The first time she felt it, it was as though she was having an out of body experience, her soul leaving to watch as her real self did embarrassing things she never thought she was capable of.


    It was as though the moment felt so good that she cared about nothing else. Whether it was the faces she was making, the convulsions of her body, those lewd sounds that came out of her¡­ None of it was in her control.


    It felt so good that she was almost scared of it, causing her to try and squirm away. But, Ryu''s clamp on her was so firm that she couldn''t seem to gather up the strength to go anywhere.


    Following lesson one came lesson two, then three, then four. She was ravaged almost endlessly and she thought her soul might permanently leave her, never to come back.


    Just when she was nearing her absolute limits, Ryu finally gave her a break and placed Ailsa on top of her. Their breasts pressed flush against one another, their arms clinging to each other as though in a form of silent solidarity. But, it wasn''t long before Ailsa was swept up once again and no longer even had the presence of mind remaining to continue showing any sort of sisterly affection.


    Through misty eyes, Yaana watched as the woman she maybe respected the most in the world, her big sister, made faces and noises that should have never seen the light of day. And yet, over time, it only made her grow hotter. She could feel a dull ache between her legs, but it didn''t seem to matter, she wanted more.


    A small competitive fire lit in Yaana, but it wasn''t against Ailsa, but was rather against Ryu.


    And thus a different sort of battle began. Ailsa was like a poor, unfortunate bystander, while Yaana and Ryu became rivals in the forest that day. Unfortunately, Yaana could never win against the Southern Heavenly Wind, nor could her inexperienced body take the punishment.


    In the end, she ended up lying limply on one side of Ryu''s chest while Ailsa lay on the other, both gasping for breath.


    **


    Ryu smiled contentedly. With two beauties clinging to him like this, what man wouldn''t be? Just the feeling of their soft bodies in his arms was enough to make him grin like a child.


    Yaana had truly given him a lot of surprises in the last few days, he hadn''t known that she had it in her like this. It was quite funny, Ailsa and Elena both had more outgoing personalities, but both were far more reserved in bed, while it was Yaana, the shy one, who was like this.


    Though, to be fair to Ailsa and Elena, the former wasn''t so much ''reserved'' as she was just limp. It wasn''t really Ailsa''s fault, when she had sex with Ryu it was like her mind and body were being stimulated at once. It also didn''t help that while Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body was lethal to women, it was even more so to Ailsa who was both a woman and a part of Nature.


    As for the latter, it was Elena''s first time and the heaviness of that day meant something completely different. Maybe it was hard for her to display the emotions she wanted to display because she had the thought of Ryu leaving soon afterward lingering in the back of her mind.


    ''¡­ I''ll be sure to make it up to you.'' Ryu thought resolutely.


    After he settled himself, Ryu thought of moving away from his two wives but decided there was no point.


    Currently, Ryu was within one of his many Immortal Caves. Now that he had the treasure stores of both the Ice Phoenix Clan and the Tatsuya Clan, it was no surprise that he had upgraded from the Death Worm Immortal Cave. Ailsa had even transferred over the Qi Sources, not that they were useful. After all, Ryu now had more Cosmic Grade Qi Sources than he knew what to do with currently.


    ,m This aside, it went without saying that Ryu had not hesitated to fuse his soul with Yaana. There was no large boost to his strength after taking in her Primordial Yin, but this was only to be expected. Yaana was the first of his wives with a lower cultivation than himself.


    However, this didn''t mean that Ryu gained no benefits whatsoever.


    As a Heavenly Pupil wielder, Ryu gained a small Spatial Qi affinity from the very beginning. Of course, he had always called this affinity ''small'' because compared to his other affinities, it was far too weak. However, when compared to most talents, it was leaps and bounds beyond, and this was especially so after he undid all of his seals.


    The current Ryu felt that there was no Element out of his grasp. So long as he put in some effort, it would heed his beck and call. He believed that this was likely related to his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. After all, if he could see through the mystery of all things, then why would a certain Element elude him?


    Still, it was one thing to be able to comprehend and grasp something after some effort, but it was another thing entirely to have that affinity etched into your bone and come to you as naturally as breathing. While Ryu could make it to the latter condition with some time and elbow grease, his attention was already split into too many lanes.


    This was all to say that he had enough affinities already, what was the point in stretching himself thinner? But Yaana was like a nice shortcut.


    Ryu felt like he didn''t even need to think to use the spatial element anymore. In fact, he felt that his self created Visualization, <Warped Ripple>, could be vastly improved by him once again with these new insights. And, now that he could easily peer into the Fundamental Runes of the world around him, everything had become even easier.


    Rather than having to breakdown Fundamental Runes from Visualizations that already existed, Ryu could take inspiration from the world around him itself and build his own from scratch. The difference was akin to night and day.


    Ryu also seemed to realize something else as well.


    He was used to gaining benefits from his wives, but this time, it seemed that they had benefited far more from him. The impact of their union with an Indestructible Soul was¡­ Interesting, to say the least.

 Chapter 766 Until This Moment

    Chapter 766 Until This Moment


    The Indestructible Soul was a rare phenomenon of the martial world. In fact, it was so rare that Ryu didn''t know much about it outside of its base abilities. Seeing it interact with the souls of Yaana and Ailsa, though, he found it all to be very fascinating.


    The gap between his soul and Ailsa''s was enormous. When they dual cultivated, it should have been her nurturing his soul, not the other way around. But, somehow, the exact opposite occurred.


    Beneath the influence of Ryu''s Indestructible Soul, both of his wives found their souls growing in foundation and gaining tinges of gold. Though it didn''t seem like there was any amount of sex that could bring them to the same level as Ryu, what was undeniable was the fact that the stronger Ryu''s own soul grew, the more they would benefit from it.


    These benefits were fairly subtle for now. But, Ryu had a feeling that it would be a great help toward the two women forming their Godhoods in the future.


    If others knew that Ryu was planning for the day both of his wives would become Sky Gods, they would definitely call him a madman. If they knew that he actually planned for the day all three would step into that stage, they might very well directly try to lock him up. The Sky God Realm wasn''t something you could just guarantee entering because you felt like it.


    But, Ryu didn''t seem to care about common sense and logic. He felt like there was nothing out of his reach with his current Pupils. He believed that his wives would be able to make it on their own. If that failed, he was confident in his ability to guide them. If even that failed, there was nothing in this world that could hide from his eyes, he would scour the whole of the martial world for the treasures they needed to take that final step.


    Nothing would stop him.


    ''It''s been a while since I''ve seen Master, I should go.''


    Ryu closed his eyes, his arms still wrapped around his women as his mind entered the Crystalline Jade.


    ¡­


    ''This feels¡­ different.''


    It had been a very long time since Ryu entered this space because it had mostly outgrown its usefulness if he was honest.


    The technique floor was useless to him as he already had the Visualizations of the four Zu Ancestors. They alone would take a lifetime to master and bring to their peak, so why would he waste time with other Visualizations, especially since they were so powerful to begin with?


    Flora''s <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> Visualization was endlessly versatile. It could do everything from protecting Ryu''s mind all the way until stripping the surroundings of qi. But, that was all auxiliary. Its greatest strength would always be in an ultimate defense and counter Visualization, capable of taking even the most powerful of attacks, tearing them to shreds, and then breaking them down to the most fundamental of Spiritual Qi.


    With an Indestructible Soul, Ryu''s current Spiritual Qi reserves were already vast, but they weren''t endless. In tandem with Flora''s Visualization, his Mental Realm stamina was leagues and bounds beyond most others.


    Eska''s <Immortal Sakura> Visualization spoke for itself. When fused with Ryu''s Heavenly Patterns it was a practically impenetrable defense. And, even in the case attacks shattered the petals, something that rarely happened nowadays, Ryu''s Indestructible Soul would no longer take damage like it had in the past, making it an absolute nightmare for enemies.


    Morvar''s <Infinite Formation Eye> Visualization was probably the most versatile of them all. It allowed Ryu the ability to deploy large scale formations without having to rely on precious materials and formation flags.


    If Ryu was honest, if he put time and effort into this Visualization, it would likely quickly become one of his most lethal abilities. A combination of this Visualization, with his Heavenly Pupils and Origin Flame would wreak havoc on a level never before seen.


    Of course, since Ryu realized he had neglected it, he would also make the effort to change things. With how matters were now, his next step to becoming the one man army he always viewed himself as was this. If he could deploy large scale formations mid battle, who cared how many enemies he faced? He would destroy them all.


    Finally, there was the Visualization of Ryu''s Master, <Elemental War God>.


    The Staff Stage, the Outline Stage, the Skeleton Stage, the Vein Stage, and finally, the Wheel Stage.


    Ryu had already reached the Skeleton Stage, allowing him a perfect Spirit Body that even allowed him to de and reconstruct his soul into and out of the Elements without much issue. It was thanks to his Master that the mysterious white flame leapt to action, becoming the foundation that allowed his soul to become Indestructible¡­ Or, maybe according to a theory of Ailsa''s, return to what it once had been¡­


    Ryu had yet to properly research the Vein and Wheel Stages, so it can be said that he had let his Master down in this regard. He couldn''t allow his skill in the other Ancestors'' Visualization to surpass his comprehension of <Elemental War God>.


    This was all to say that Ryu was very confident that all of his bases were covered when it came to Visualizations so the first floor wasn''t something he needed to visit for them. And, now that he had the treasure vaults of two of his Clans with him, not to mention Ailsa by his side, he didn''t need the other techniques here either.


    So, when Ryu stepped into the Crystalline Jade once again for the first time in a long while and felt how fresh and novel the feeling was, he couldn''t help but bask in it for a moment.


    Was this how it felt to step into a world of the Ethereal Plane while having the talent to back it? Things no longer felt foggy or distant, and because his Heavenly Pupils were unlocked to their full degree, nothing could hide from him either.


    And¡­ That was precisely why when he stepped foot onto the first floor for the first time in a very long time, he could finally see it¡­


    Ryu had neglected a point. There weren''t four Ancestor Visualizations on the first floor, there were five of them. The fifth had always been covered in a dense layer of fog Ryu could never see through¡­


    Until this moment.

 Chapter 767 Big Mouth

    Chapter 767 Big Mouth


    Ryu didn''t know who owned this fifth Visualization, but if he was honest, he wasn''t thinking about this at all right this moment. Instead, he felt like he was staring into the depths of the universe.


    The Visualization was in the form of a Silver Star, but it also felt different from one. Rather than feeling like a dense ball of gas, it was like only its surface was covered in a thin layer of gaseous heat capable of wiping worlds from existence while the inside was instead a transparent mass of complex gears and flickering runes.


    The longer Ryu spent looking at it, the more information was forcefully packed into his mind. He had never seen a Visualization so complex and he felt like he would need to stare at this one for years just to grasp its foundation entirely.


    He couldn''t fathom or even begin to comprehend why it was that this Visualization was so much more complex than the others. Even the second most complex behind it, a title Ryu gave to Flora''s , couldn''t match up to even a single percent of its depth.


    ''Wow¡­''


    Even though Ryu couldn''t grasp the full Visualization, he could feel its power. Just his instinct called out to him, almost breathing its functions into his mind. He could feel the pride and arrogance of this Visualization alone, he could only imagine the kind of ego its creator had.


    ''At its most simple¡­ It warps space¡­ At its most complex¡­ It warps reality¡­''


    This was the conclusion Ryu had come to and he didn''t need anyone to confirm it for him. He was absolutely certain that this was the case.


    In fact, Ryu was certain of another thing as well.


    This Crystalline Jade, how was it created? Ryu, of course, knew that Crystalline Jades were natural resources created by the Heavens, but this wasn''t what he meant. What he meant was how did all of these facilities enter this place? All of these techniques? All of these Visualization statues? All of those books on the upper floors? And the training rooms on floors even higher than that?


    Someone had to have had the ability to transfer things from the Real Plane into this Ethereal Plane, a feat that was nigh impossible even for most Sky Gods. And yet it had happened, it was here.


    Now Ryu understood.


    Whoever it was that had created this Visualization, they were the ones who had done so. To reach the highest point of this Visualization meant gaining the ability to warp reality itself. And, in warping reality, could you not make the corporeal, incorporeal and vice versa?


    ''¡­ Who is this person?...''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but in the end, he shook his head. He didn''t care.


    It was hard for Ryu to be impressed, and this was the first time he had come across something so unfathomable that his immediate thought wasn''t ''I will surpass this one day''. The mountain seemed so tall that even he couldn''t see its peak. It was simply too high.


    A Crystalline Jade was known for its ability to hole a ridiculous amount of information, but Ryu was certain that despite everything here, despite all the Visualizations and the techniques and the facilities, and even taking into account the souls of four Sky Gods¡­


    This Visualization alone took up 99.99% of the space here. This was how enormous the gap between him and it was.


    But, it was precisely because of this that Ryu''s mental state shifted. He turned from curious to indifferent about this person''s identity. All he knew was that he would make this Visualization his.


    "You''re mine." Ryu said.


    The result of this was completely unexpected, though. The silver star trembled before vanishing into a beam of light. It pierced through Ryu''s forehead before he could react, the scent of death permeating the atmosphere.


    Pissing off the creation of such a powerful existence wasn''t child''s play. At certain levels, even techniques could have minds of their own when having been fueled by enough Faith. A Visualization lashing out against arrogant words spoke to it wasn''t outside the realm of possibilities at all.


    Ryu somewhat understood this. But, his gaze only flickered when he noticed the actions of the silver star. He had no intention of taking a step back now.


    However, outside was quaking slightly when it entered Ryu''s Mental Realm, nothing else happened. In fact, now Ryu felt that he could feel the layers of the Visualization even clearer than he could before.


    ''¡­ Why?''


    Ryu had great belief in his talent, but his first reaction wasn''t happiness, it was instead incredulousness and he even put up his guard somewhat. This only made sense, after all, Ryu''s experience with high level beings leaving things within his body wasn''t exactly good. The Phoenix Sky God had almost killed him just for attempting to communicate with his true Spiritual Foundation, who knew what the hell this silver star Visualization would do?


    Unfortunately, there was no movement from the silver star beyond this. Now Ryu felt like he had a ticking time bomb in his mind that might implode at any moment, and for the first time, he almost regretted words he had spoken.


    ''Seems my mouth is a bit big¡­'' Ryu chuckled to himself.


    Whoever created this Visualization was most definitely beyond the True Sky God Realm. As for how far beyond, Ryu had no idea. But, it was safe to say that now that they had their claws sunk into him, it would take Ryu quite a while to shake them off.


    In the end, Ryu could only take a breath and calm down. This Visualization would be greatly useful to him, especially with his recent boost in spatial affinity. For now, he could only look toward the bright side of things. At least like this, he wouldn''t have to waste time finding an appropriate method to make use of the gift Yaana had given him.


    ''Hm?'' Ryu''s Pupils constricted. ''I can bring my real body into the Crystalline Jade now?!''

 Chapter 768 Silver Star Visualization

    Ryu''s gaze flickered. This changed a lot of things.


    If he could enter the Crystalline Jade while it was within his Inner World, it would be able to save his life at a crucial moment.


    The Inner World of a Heavenly Pupil wielder was cut off from normal space. It would take an absolute expert with a top tier Spatial Inheritance or someone above the True Sky God level to pinpoint its location without the protection of Ryu''s body.


    If Ryu performed this, it would be like he vanished into thin air. The residual traces would be something, again, only someone like Yaana or someone above the True Sky God Realm could trace. It was definitely a nice card to have so long as Ryu had a small buffer of time to execute it.


    But still, he had Ailsa and Yaana by his side. He couldn''t just up and leave. Also, he was in the business of pushing himself to his limits so that he could become as strong as possible as quickly as possible. The life saving measures his grandparents had left behind for him were already too much and could potentially stunt his growth, this might make it even worse.


    Ryu shook his head and decided to focus on the good of this.


    If his body could personally enter now, the third and fourth floors of the Crystalline Jade were no longer as useless as they had become.


    It had to be remembered that the third floor was the Natural Order floor. It helped along Ryu''s comprehension of Inheritances, speeding up and allowing him to progress faster. The fourth floor was the Battle Spirit floor. Exactly as it sounded, it was a place for Ryu to hone his battle prowess and fight against strong and worthy opponents. At the end of each level, he would have to face and overcome himself.


    The issue with these floors, though, was that Ryu could only visit them in spirit. In addition, it was only a projection of Ryu''s mind and couldn''t even be considered to be his real soul entering, making the feeling even more distant.


    Due to this, the third floor became too inefficient for Ryu. His pupils had grown strong enough in the outside world that the trade off of entering this place wasn''t worth it. He could improve faster by feeling the changes to his Heavenly Winds and his Bloodlines.


    As for the fourth floor, because Ryu''s true body couldn''t enter, it was difficult to translate the muscle memory he gained here to his real body. As his battle prowess became more exaggerated, it also became more and more difficult for the floor''s projection to get an accurate read on him. Even the Mercenary Guild was forced to put down his battle prowess as ''Incalculable''.


    As a result, Ryu ended up in a situation where the battles he would have to fight to gain any stimulation on the fourth floor were far too high, thus making it even more difficult for him to translate the skill and experience he gained to his real body, and ultimately making it a venture that wasn''t worth his while.


    But now, everything was different. With his real body here, it would be more than worth it. The only question was whether he would experience a true death or not when he entered the fourth floor this time¡­ He really wanted to see what absolute geniuses of the Cosmic Seed Realm fought like¡­


    Ryu took a deep breath and shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself.


    As good as the fourth floor was for simulating real battle situations and forcing himself to improve, it was ultimately still a simulation. It was nowhere near as good as real life combat with all its variables and variations.


    With a war between humans and beasts raging right this moment, wouldn''t he be too stupid to hole himself up like this? As for the third floor, it could wait as well. Ryu had a feeling he would need it when he finally stepped into the Path Extinction Realm. There were troublesome waters ahead.


    ''Instead, let''s get used to this ability. If another Sky God is going to come and try and claim my body for themselves, I might as well take advantage of their strength while I have it.''


    Ryu shook his head. He couldn''t deny that he had definitely gotten himself into this situation this time. He had no one else to blame. However, he would still make the most of it. Whatever roadblocks were put before him, he would bulldoze through.


    Ryu began to focus on the Visualization that had now appeared within his mind. His current Spiritual Sea was a gorgeous sight to behold, something that even he who didn''t care for such things had to admit.


    His Spiritual Sea had turned into clear golden waters that seemed to expand endlessly in every direction. Right in the center of it, there was a crystalline tree with violet blossoms. Its trunk was short but extraordinarily thick, giving it the foundation it needed to carry the enormous canopy of branching branches and fluttering petals.


    Above this scene now hung a silver star, reflecting the hues of gold from the Spiritual Sea below it and giving a unique blend of dynamic colors in return. Around it, a ball as dense and black as black could possibly get rotated, falling into a silent and peaceful orbit.


    About the Immortal Sakura, motes of white light hovered aimlessly. They had multiplied several times over compared to the past and there were easily hundreds of them without end.


    In the skies of Ryu''s Mental Realm, rumbling violet clouds arched with lightning from time to time, sparks of flames dancing about as well¡­


    Everything about this space felt otherworldly and gorgeous, not to mention peaceful and completely in harmony with a small golden soul that sat atop the Immortal Sakura. If Ryu didn''t know better, he would think that this was the depiction of a land of Buddhism.


    When Ryu felt for the silver star, he could already feel the space around him bending and warping. Just with a thought, it folded and multiplied, with another it dispersed and widened, with yet another it flipped on its head and disoriented direction.


    Of course, this sort of flexibility was only something that Ryu could manage within his Mental Realm, just the same way the blackhole of his <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> could have so much more freedom in this place as well.


    But, that didn''t matter. What Ryu wanted was to get used to the limits of this Visualization and understand exactly what it could do. After a few moments, the best way he could describe it was like a Domain of Space, not much unlike Lu''card''s Bloodline Talent. In fact, that was probably the most perfect and apt comparison.


    However, there was a difference here, though. The foundation of this Visualization was designed to go beyond normal parameters.


    From what Ryu understood about Space, it was a fundamental law that built the foundation of the world. Without Space''s anchoring, even concepts like Time seemed to cease making sense. Everything else was a matter of relativity, and what gave that relativity meaning was Space. From Space, everything else could be given life.


    Ryu could tell that this was the concept this Visualization was rooted in. At its highest levels, the deconstruction of space would reach such a profound level that almost anything could be distorted¡­ even if that meant taking something tangible and real, only to convert it into something intangible and ethereal without it losing any of its properties.


    ''Is this what the highest levels of Sky God have in store? Just what kind of monster could make such a Visualization¡­?''


    For now, to keep this Visualization to within parameters that Ryu''s own stamina could sustain, the best that Ryu could do was use it as an extremely flexible movement technique. However, this alone, with Ryu''s calculative abilities, made this ability monstrous.


    Ryu felt that he no longer had to waste his time learning other movement techniques because his Visualization alone was that lethal. Within the Domain he created, he would be able to move about to any location almost instantly. It wasn''t just himself who could do it, but just with a bit more effort, he could give his attacks and offense the same ability.


    In addition to this, Ryu could move the location of the Domain with ease. After all, it was only a matter of moving his Visualization along with him. In that case, this Silver Star Visualization could even be used to increase his straight line speed outside of combat as well.


    This discovery made Ryu even more grateful that he hadn''t chosen the Northern Heavenly Wind that day. Though this Domain and the Northern Heavenly Wind would be a lethal combination when used in unison, it wasn''t a ''need'', it was more like a luxury.


    "¡­ I need to ask Master about who this person was¡­ If the Zu had such a person, how did they fall to this state¡­?"


    Ryu took a deep breath, beginning to walk up to the second floor.

 Chapter 769 These Damned Skies

    Chapter 769 These Damned Skies


    When Ryu stepped into the library of the second floor, he immediately gained three sharp gazes observing him. But, there wasn''t the slightest thing serious about any of them.


    His Master had a ridiculous grin on his face, Flora looked him up and down as though she was observing meat at the local market, and Morvar''s usual calm, cold and quiet demeanor had become tinged with a frown of jealousy as though he was trying to understand what bullshit luck this brat slipped and fell into.


    It was only then that Ryu seemed to remember that this was the first time he had entered the Crystalline Jade since Eska sprung that honey trap on him. In fact, another reason he had avoided it for so long outside of the fact it had grown less useful to him was precisely because these old bastards had tricked him like they had.


    If it was anyone else who had done this to him, Ryu would have probably treated them as enemies for a lifetime. But, since it was his Master and Ryu took his word very seriously, he had been far more lenient. But even then, it had been almost two years since he came to this place.


    "Tell me, how''d my big sister taste?" Flora licked her lips, still looking Ryu up and down.


    According to their original talk, Eska was supposed to return after calming Ryu down. After all, Eska wasn''t supposed to have gained a permanent body back then. The plan was to take control of Sarriel for a little bit and then return her body to her so that Ryu didn''t get too mad.


    Despite having known Ryu for a very short time, the Zu Ancestors knew how stubborn this kid was. Balaur was very much prepared for Ryu to never talk to him again after this incident, but judging by how Ryu returned but Eska hadn''t, it seemed things had gone even better than they thought.


    None of them thought for even a moment that Ryu had killed Eska. Even as a mere fragmented soul whose life had been extended far too long, Eska was still a Sky God. Even the Ryu of now couldn''t hope to casually deal with her. In fact, it was more likely that she would casually deal with him. It could be considered a nice boon for Isemeine in exchange for allowing Ryu to use and practically abuse her.


    Ryu shook his head. These three really had none of the bearing three Sky Gods should have. But, Ryu was still Ryu in the end.


    "Great. She''s the kind of woman I like the most."


    Morvar''s lip twitched. But, it only got worse.


    "Unfortunately, she was forced by circumstances so it wasn''t as pleasurable as it could have been otherwise."


    Flora, who had always assumed that Ryu was shy and reserved, was speechless for a moment before she burst into a fit of laughter. She laughed so hard that if she still had a human body, she''d probably be coughing and wheezing by now. She really couldn''t hold herself back.


    What Flora didn''t know was that Ryu was never shy or reserved, he just didn''t speak to these Zu Ancestors often because he saw them as enemies previously. What words did he have to exchange with people who had tried to get him killed?


    His unwillingness to sleep with Eska had little to do with wanting to protect her dignity as he never really saw her as a friend. Rather, it was because of his own pride. He didn''t like the idea of a woman sleeping with him because she had no other choice and most importantly, he hated the idea of him being a slave to his own talent.


    Something about his lust ruling him and his bloodlines being so unfettered and unpredictable just didn''t sit right with him.


    Balaur soon joined her in uproarious laughter. In truth, Balaur had had thoughts on Eska before, but that woman was like a block of ice. Plus, if there was going to be any man who enjoyed her taste other than himself, the fact it was his disciple was the second best odds.


    "Little Ryu, you''ve grown so fast. Half-Step Path Extinction Realm already¡­ I don''t even know what to say. With things like this, you have to come back and visit me more frequently. I keep treating you like a normal person, but with your pace you''ll need at least some guidance every few months even if you have a Cultus Faerie by your side. After all, your Ailsa still only has the view of a Cosmic Seed Realm expert, even with her talent, her scope is still a bit limited."


    Ryu didn''t refute his Master''s words. Though Ailsa''s soul was now the equivalent of the World Sea Realm, his Master''s words still applied. In addition, Ailsa was so focused on him that she had yet to bring out her full potential after undoing her seal.


    Yet, even while being so distracted, in this last year, Ailsa''s Qi Realm cultivation had already broken through from the Dao Pedestal Realm to the Cosmic Seed Realm and she was already blazing a trail toward the World Sea Realm. Though Ryu was used to fast cultivation, and he also knew that once Ailsa was unsealed, 900 million years of lack of progress would come rushing out all at once, he was still astonished by this pace.


    Because of this, Ryu felt like Ailsa should focus a bit more on her own improvement for now. She was racking her brain, trying to figure out the problem he was facing with his regressing Inheritances, but maybe this was something Ryu should have just asked his master about instead.


    Though Ryu had a feeling his Master was probably one or two levels below the Phoenix Sky God¡­ Any man who could have the title Elemental War Sky God wasn''t to be trifled with. It was definitely among the most powerful titles Ryu had ever heard of.


    "I do have a lot of questions I want to ask you but first¡­ I thought I should tell you that you all were right, the Ancestral Beasts have returned. In fact, the whole martial world is embroiled in war right now."


    The moment Ryu said these words, the Zu Ancestors lost all of their joking airs. In fact, each one of them became as serious as they could be.


    When was the first time Ryu had been warned about this day? It wasn''t at the hands of the Martial Gods or the Faeries or Ailsa, it was right in this very room. The first time he spoke with the Zu Ancestors they warned of this day coming. In fact, they had heavily implied that the reason they sealed themselves up in this way was to prepare to help their Zu Clan weather the coming storm.


    Balaur took a deep breath. "What is the situation?"


    "The strongest they''ve sent out are only of the Eleventh Order and they seem to be holding back on purpose. They said something about letting their younger generation shine to show just how large the disparity between them and we humans are, but I''m not sure if I buy that. They seem to be reserving themselves for something else."


    The three Ancestors looked toward one another, seemingly agreeing with Ryu''s words but not expanding upon what that could mean.


    Balaur sighed. "¡­ What do you think of the Ancestral Beasts, Little Ryu?"


    "I think that they are very powerful. Among humans, I feel like there''s almost no one who can match me in talent. If a human wants to battle me, they''ll have to be at least in the Cosmic Seed Realm now, there''s no one near or at my cultivation level that can even begin to match me.


    "However, the Ancestral Beasts are different. Their best talents could probably give me a good fight¡­ So long as they''re at least a Realm and a half above me. Eh¡­ Actually, make that two Realms."


    The lips of the Ancestors twitched. Even in the serious atmosphere, Ryu''s words sounded far too ridiculous. But the fact they were actually true was what was really baffling.


    Still, this could be considered a high evaluation on Ryu''s part. The Ancestral Beasts could actually match up against Ryu an entire Realm lower than what the humans could muster, that alone was enough to paint their talent.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t mention Sarriel, but he didn''t lie either. After all¡­ Sarriel was a Fey.


    Something deep inside Ryu rumbled when he thought of that woman¡­ He really wanted to fight her again. This time, he would leave no question about which of them was better. He''d beat her into the ground until she turned back to that shy little girl.


    In the end, Balaur beamed. After all, this was his disciple. But, his expression soon became serious once more.


    "You are indeed very talented, Little Ryu. But, Existence is much larger than you think¡­ There may even be people out there who snub their noses at your level of talent. If you ever meet them, how would you react?"


    Balaur gazed toward Ryu deeply. It was rare that he gave his disciple such an oppressive stare, especially not after they had made their relationship official. But this time, he really wanted to understand Ryu''s true thoughts. Beneath his gaze, there was simply no lying, there was no room for false bravado¡­ Everything within Ryu''s heart would be laid bare.


    But, it was exactly because of this that Ryu''s response made the Elemental War Sky God''s heart skip a beat.


    A wind rustled Ryu''s hair and a fiendish grin involuntarily spread across his face, his canines lengthening as though to paint the perfect picture of his bloodlust.


    "I hope that you''re right." Ryu''s grin grew wider. "This world as it is too boring. I can already see the mountain peak¡­ And it isn''t high enough.


    "These damned skies are too low."

 Chapter 770 Even More Sadly

    Balaur was stunned for a moment before he slowly shook his head, a smile spreading across his face and rustling his thick, white beard. He didn''t know why he had ever expected to hear a different answer than this one.


    There was nothing in life worth getting if it was too easy. At least, that was what people said.


    Ryu wasn''t sure if he believed this entirely. It sounded like a saying that meant well but was actually terrible when put into practice. However, when it came to reaching that mountain top, he couldn''t agree with it anymore.


    With how fast Ryu was progressing, he felt it wouldn''t even be more than a few centuries before he was untouchable¡­ But then what? He felt that existence would be quite hollow and meaningless if he reached that mountain top too quickly.


    He knew himself well. He would be immensely unsatisfied. The only saving grace would be that he would have his wives by his side, but as another saying went¡­ It was lonely at the top.


    Though it was in a lesser vein, Ryu already felt somewhat lonely now. There were no individuals his age that could match up to even a single one of his fingers. Lu''card was probably the closest, but just as quickly as Ryu had found him, he had already surpassed him by leaps and bounds. It was almost as though the Heavens didn''t want him to have any opponents.


    There was something satisfying about putting old bastards in their place, but at the same time, Ryu somewhat wanted a rival. Maybe it was because he suddenly remembered a friend he had had in his youth, or maybe it was triggered by Sarriel, or maybe it was a combination of both, but Ryu somewhat felt that it would be nice to have someone to push and grow with him, even if he already had immense self-motivation.


    Of course, by now, that ''friend'' of his was already an old bastard, even if he was somehow alive, while Sarriel, though she had technically experienced about the same number of years of life as he had if he factored in both of his lives, she too was much older than he was.


    That said, Ryu had a feeling that when he next saw Sarriel, this matter would be so simple.


    Regardless, Ryu meant the words he had spoken. The skies in this place truly were too low.


    Balaur took a deep breath. "Then, Little Ryu. I''ll have to ask you to look out for our Zu Clan. We tried our best, but we were still a bit too late. We wouldn''t be able to complete the formation of our bodies in time to help."


    "Not necessarily."


    Balaur blinked. "What do you mean by that?"


    The reason Balaur was sighing like this was because the timeline seemed to have been pushed up. Of course, he had no idea that this was in large part due to Ryu.


    Because Ryu unwound Faith like he had, the Ancestral Beasts no longer had to bide their time and wait for the perfect opportunity to flip the situation. With things like this, all the Faith of Sacrum was up for grabs, so how could they continue to lean back and do nothing?


    That said¡­


    "I happened to come into some wealth. If it''s combined with what I''m sure your Zu Clan has already gathered, it wouldn''t be impossible to reconstruct your bodies. As for the rest, it would be up to you."


    Even now, Ryu was certain that the Immortal Sakura Faction he had met in the Mercenary Guild was related to the Zu Clan. Whatever that event they had been preparing for, it was likely they managed to get their hands on it and Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if this item was greatly important to the rebirth of the Zu Ancestors.


    In that case, Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if the Zu Clan that remained had already accumulated a lot of the materials needed. He would end up just be filling in what remained.


    "Little Ryu¡­"


    "It''s not a big deal." Ryu shrugged. "I could never use all of those resources myself anyway. I''m just one person."


    Balaur shook his head. "You don''t understand yet just how much it takes to progress a single inch in the Sky God Realm. When it comes to nurturing your Godhood and filling it with vitality, you''re essentially being tasked with giving birth to a whole new world. The resources you need are astronomical."


    "Isn''t it just based on comprehension?" Ryu asked.


    In truth, he only had a vague understanding of the Sky God Realm, but he had just always assumed certain things.


    "The Sky God Realm is indeed heavily reliant on comprehension, but the issue is that comprehension is very¡­ slow. I¡­ Forget it, since you''re progressing so fast, there''s no need to hold this back from you. If you were a normal boy, I might say that learning these things would only be a detriment to you, but since things are like this, I''ll explain.


    "When one becomes a Sky God, they build the foundation of their Godhood on their comprehension, but after that comes a long process of gathering and compressing energy through the use of your Godhood.


    "The higher your comprehension, the purer this energy. But, simultaneously, this also equates to a higher degree of difficulty. The higher grade your Godhood, the more qi you''ll need to compress to satisfy and give it form. There is always an equivalent exchange for everything in existence, including the highest realm there is.


    "This is where your resources and what you have at your finger tips becomes invaluable. There are many Sky Gods who die because their comprehension has run out or run amok, leading to the end of their lifespans. But, even more sadly, there are Sky Gods who have comprehension that have far surpassed their current level, and unfortunately¡­


    "There simply isn''t enough qi in this world for them all."

 Chapter 771 Shot His Own Foot?

    Ryu''s brows rose. Not enough qi? He had never even considered that this might be a problem. Could the world really run into such an issue? Had he still been underestimating the strength of Sky Gods?


    But was this really a problem he would ever have to deal with? Ryu technically had an entire secret plane all to himself, filled with high level qi that no one else could access.


    Then again, according to that talk he had had with Eska through the use of Isemeine, the Martial Gods had located the Chaos Plane as well. But, this didn''t necessarily mean that they could make use of it, nor did it mean that they could make use of it as easily as Ryu either. Regardless, this was definitely a Plane of Existence that was practically tailor made for Ryu and Ryu alone.


    In addition, from what his Master was saying now, it seemed that high level energy was practically a necessity. What could be a higher form of energy than Essence''s counterpart, Chaos Qi? And even if that wasn''t necessary, didn''t Ryu have access to all the Primordial Chaos Qi he could ask for?


    The only question was¡­ Would it work?


    Cultivation was a process of moving toward Order, but Chaos Qi was clearly the direct opposite of this. Whether or not these thoughts of his would come to fruition would be reliant on time and experience. It was likely that the Chaotic Silk Meridians had another surprise in store for Ryu because he very much doubted that it was finished with diverting the path of his cultivation.


    Thinking to this point, Ryu''s gaze suddenly flickered.


    He hadn''t thought of it before because his run-in with the Phoenix Sky God''s will had jaded his view. On top of that, the fact <Reanimation> had fallen into his hands in that fake Nether Realm trial had put Ryu even more on guard. It felt like there was one, but likely even multiple people trying to pull the strings of his life in different directions and each of them was far beyond himself to the point he couldn''t even catch a glance. But¡­


    What if the continuous regression of his Inheritances wasn''t due to foul play, but was rather related to his Chaotic Silk Meridians?


    Of course, though Ryu thought this, he didn''t accept it immediately. He was still very much skeptical. That was because if it was the doing of his own Meridians, then why would it have to erase his memory of the events or keep him in the dark? Unless¡­


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    ''If I was a set of Meridians and I had an ability to regress the Inheritances of my owner, I would likely have a purpose for doing so. Though it might be possible that this is a defective effect caused by its mutation, I highly doubt that this is the case. I don''t believe that my meridians ''mutated'', that''s just a label the Mercenary Guild placed on it because their system had never seen such a thing before. Rather, this is the true method to make use of the Chaotic Silk Meridian''s true abilities¡­


    ''In that case, let''s assume for a moment that this isn''t a ''defect''. That would mean that this was done on purpose. And, if it was done on purpose, it would likely do so for the sake of strengthening myself.


    ''This all began as I was gearing up for the Path Extinction Realm as well, the first Realm heavily reliant on comprehension, and specifically comprehension of Inheritances.


    ''Laying out all of this, wouldn''t it be in the best interest of said Meridians to keep their owner in the dark?''


    Ryu thought back to Yaana. Why was it that she progressed so fast? It was because she had already learned it all once and she didn''t remember that she did. As a result, rather than making it harder on her, it actually became easier. She thus gained the best of both worlds, not only would her Inheritances be stronger after grasping them a second time, but it also wouldn''t be harder to grasp because she had no memories of doing so in the first place.


    The same logic would have applied to Ryu.


    Why did his wills keep regressing back to the Ruler Realm but never lower than that? Wasn''t it because the Ruler Realm was the first Inheritance level of the Immortal Realms?


    If every time he grasped something, he was forced to pull back and it continued compounding again and again and again, by the time he entered the Path Extinction Realm and began to ''Extinguish'' his paths, wouldn''t he be able to cut through the Realm like a hot knife through butter?


    ''So ¡­ did I shoot myself in the foot?''


    Ryu''s gaze wavered somewhat. Why was it that he remembered and realized what was happening? It was because he managed to get his hands on the Origin Flame that all of this happened and he was made aware of what was going on. Before that, he was completely in the dark and things had been working as expected.


    Ryu shook his head. Why was he thinking about this himself when he had his master right here? So, he chose to ask.


    For a moment, Balaur was speechless. Not to mention the unique mutation of Ryu''s Meridians being shocking enough, he was baffled that among these treasures Ryu had, the Origin Flame was among them. If he had also known that Ryu was responsible for finding the Origin Flame as well, who knew how he''d react?


    "¡­ I can only speculate, but I don''t believe you''re entirely wrong. Your reasoning is sound and it does seem like this is the natural progression that was meant for your Meridians.


    "But, this isn''t a bad thing. In fact, I think you''re underestimating the Origin Flame by a large margin. This is one of the greatest if not the greatest natural treasure you can get your hands on. If all it could do was give you indelible memory and speed up your Fire Inheritance comprehension.


    "When a person normally ''remembers'' something, even for a Sky God, there will be certain truths left out. However, when you have the Origin Flame, you can quite literally feel like you''re experiencing that moment again. Do you understand?"


    Ryu''s gaze glowed. "You mean to say the same restrictions that apply to those relearning an Inheritance don''t apply to me?"


    "Mm¡­ Not necessarily. It''s more accurate to say that the same restrictions don''t apply to you, they''re a bit different. It will still be harder for you, but if you use the Origin Flame properly, the leaps your Inheritance will take when re-comprehending them will be leaps and bounds beyond another person.


    "You can put yourself back in the same headspace you were in when you first advanced. You can remember every feeling, every thought, every emotion. You can remember the precise route of reasoning you used and even at exactly which point the Heavens Blessed your progression.


    "The most important point is that you can remember every time you went through this, how the feeling was different and what small tweaks your logic underwent every time you broke through.


    "If you layer these experiences and combine each one of their strengths rather than just comprehending something ''better'', the collective result will be beyond your imagining."


    Ryu''s gaze glowed.

 Chapter 772 Firstly...

    Ryu felt that his Master was right, he had been thinking of the Origin Flame too simply. It wasn''t just that it allowed him to remember things, it rather allowed him to remember things Perfectly. This was an important distinction and it was something that even Sky Gods couldn''t do entirely.


    Thanks to the Origin Flame, Ryu was even able to remember that mysterious Mortal Qi he had experienced within his mother''s womb. There wasn''t a single expert without an Origin Flame that could replicate such a feat.


    If he translated this toward his own comprehension instead, the change would be massive.


    Why was it that breakthroughs in Inheritance were stronger after regression? It was because to experience the same breakthrough and allow the Heavens to recognize it, it had to be on a level beyond what the original was. It was like taking a hit of drugs, the same dose wouldn''t be able to allow you to reach the same high, you had to surpass it to feel that same feeling.


    This was all to say that there was a clear distinction. ''Better'' didn''t necessarily imply an improvement upon the original. Meaning, your next breakthrough could have little to nothing to do with your original comprehension on the matter.


    For Ryu who had broken through and regressed so many times, this was especially glaring. He was continuously mastering ''better'' Inheritances, but he was benefitting from his previous comprehensions. Instead, it was like he was abandoning one foundation after another, all for the sake of building a completely new skyscraper.


    However, if Ryu took his Master''s advice, he would be able to return to the previous foundations he abandoned, fuse them into one large base, and then build a skyscraper that put his current one to shame.


    Even if he wouldn''t gain the benefit of blazing through the Path Extinction Realm like he would have initially, every step would be so firm and solid that every Extinction event, so long as his Dao didn''t crumble, would raise him up two, three, maybe even tenfold what it would have originally.


    Of course, with this sort of approach, it would make the amount of qi Ryu needed at the Sky God Realm even more astronomical. But, this wasn''t something Ryu would even deem to worry about right now. If there came a day where that was the only problem he faced, then it would mean that his enemies had long since been buried beneath his feet.


    "I''ll do as you say." Ryu nodded. It wouldn''t be a simple one step solution unless he was hit with a sudden enlightenment. In fact, the process of fusing his foundations and comprehensions would be just as arduous as fusing his comprehension of the nine weapons into his Great Sword Staffs. Considering Ryu hadn''t even finished doing the latter yet, he had his work cut out for him.


    "Master, what do you think of the Phoenix Sky God? Why would they not allow me to communicate with my original Spiritual Foundation?"


    In explaining his thoughts on what it could mean for his Inheritances to constantly regress, Ryu had, of course, mentioned his previous speculations. In the end, that touched on the Phoenix Sky God and their oddities. He wasn''t quite sure of what to do.


    Balaur paused for a moment before answering.


    "I think you''re a bit too quick to conclude that the Phoenix Sky God has sinister intentions. Though I wouldn''t lower my guard, I also wouldn''t say that that this was an evil act either.


    "When you sign a contract, there are certain stipulations to be met. A Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation can only be given out once before it falls dormant for a very long time and considering how things are going for our world, there''s not much time remaining to begin with.


    "Normally, your original Spiritual Foundation would have been used as a sacrifice to summon the Sky God''s, this is how inheritances normally work. Your situation would almost never happen.


    "I know that you have a hot temper and don''t like to take any losses, but think about this from the Phoenix Sky God''s perspective. They invested all they had left in you, so how could they let you walk out on your responsibilities so easily?"


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, seemingly picking up on a subtle meaning behind his Master''s words.


    "Is there another purpose behind the Inheritance of a Spiritual Foundation that I''m unaware of? Now that I think about it, if a Sky God just wanted to pass on their Inheritance, why not just do it with a Legacy World like everyone else? You seem to be implying that there''s a deeper reason?"


    Ryu wasn''t wrong. If he gained one Inheritance from a Legacy World, then used it as a spring board to become stronger and gain a stronger Inheritance from a different Legacy World later on, the original Legacy World creator wouldn''t smite him from the afterlife.


    There was give an take in everything, true. But the fact the Phoenix Sky God was the reason Ryu could cultivate at all was enough, was it not?


    The reason experts left their inheritances behind was to gather Karma from the afterlife so that when they were reborn, their circumstances would be more favorable. There was no guarantee that they would become experts again, but even in the case that they weren''t, they hoped for a peaceful and uneventful life at the very least.


    Following this logic, the fact that the Phoenix Sky God was the impetus for Ryu''s cultivation journey was enough, no? They wouldn''t just stop gaining credit for this if Ryu returned to his old Spiritual Foundation, and that was on top of the fact Ryu wasn''t even sure if that was possible.


    So¡­ Why was the Phoenix Sky God so territorial? They had reacted almost like a scorned lover, Ryu couldn''t quite understand, that was why he had jumped to the conclusions he had. In his mind, the only logical conclusion was that the Phoenix Sky God had sinister intentions. But¡­ It seemed his Master had other thoughts¡­


    "Firstly¡­ Are you aware of what a Spiritual Foundation is and how its meaning differs across cultivation Realms¡­?"

 Chapter 773 They Would...

    Balaur rarely got to explain much of anything to this disciple of his, so when he got the chance to, even though he was certain Ryu knew at least 90% of the answer, he still chose to explain.


    "The first time your Spiritual Foundation has any sort of relevance it at your Awakening. It becomes the foundation for your future cultivation and you lay the ground work for it immediately. The further you progress through your Rites, the larger it becomes and this foundational size becomes important toward your later strength.


    "When you step through your Rites and enter the Pulse Opening Realm, the Qi Fumes your Spiritual Foundation releases become the driving momentum you need to open your Qi Pulses. The larger your Spiritual Foundation, the more Qi Fumes will waft into your Meridians, and the faster you will be able to open your Qi Pulses. Of course, this will also be reliant on the sturdiness of your Meridians as well¡­


    "Upon crossing the Pulse Opening Realm and entering the Qi Refinement Realm, the thickness of your accumulated Qi Fumes will be what decides how quickly you can solidify and catalyze it into true Mortal Qi!


    "Beyond the Qi Refinement Realm, you enter the Spiritual Severing Realm. It''s only by severing the connection between your Spiritual Foundation and reconnecting it in continuous cycles can your Meridians grow in strength.


    "As the connection strengthens, the Qi Fumes that Spiritual Foundation wafts become more complex, higher in purity and more valuable. What your Meridians weren''t able to sense at lower Realms, and the high level Qi Fumes that couldn''t make it through your weaker connection previously, now makes itself known, strengthening you many times over and even giving your Meridians the same spatial characteristics your Foundation has, allowing you to store far more qi.


    "You can see here, each foundational step is connected to the Spiritual Foundation. Many say that the Spiritual Foundation doesn''t show its true strength until the Dao Pedestal Realm, but this is wrong. From the very beginning, it''s been with you every step of the way!


    "It''s only thanks to the strengthening that the Spiritual Foundation provides that a normal individual can survive the opening of the Qi Vessels of the Divine Vessel Realm, that one can take on the connecting of Pulse and Vessel in the Connecting Heaven Realm, and one can withstand the concentration of Immortal Qi upon entering the Immortal Ring Realm.


    "Even for you, my disciple, who skipped the Spiritual Severing Realm, you experienced endless benefits just reconnecting your Spiritual Foundation after just a single Severing, allowing you to reap all the benefits in one sweep.


    "But then comes the Path Extinction Realm. This is where the fundamental function of the Spiritual Foundation truly begins to change, not the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    "While you undergo your Extinctions, it is your Spiritual Foundation that keeps you roots, it''s it that remembers what your foundation is built upon and it''s it that guides you back. The feedback loop strengthens your Spiritual Foundation in return and enhances your connection with it. Finally, at this point, after reaching the pinnacle, the Spiritual Foundation is no longer just about wafting Qi Fumes, the connection has become strong and sturdy enough that it can even begin to store qi for you, exponentially increasing your strength!


    "Upon entering the Dao Pedestal Realm is the second chance you get to increase the size of your Spiritual Foundation. You have now gained one chance in the Mortal Realms, and this will be your chance in the Immortal Realms. After undergoing your Extinctions, your Inheritances and comprehensions have been beaten down and bloodied for years. However, this will be your chance to build them back up once again.


    "The stronger you build up your comprehension, the stronger your Spiritual Foundation becomes and the larger it will grow. Because your connection has been solidified to the greatest degree, this directly correlates to a stronger store of qi for you. But, ultimately, it will still be Fumes.


    "The truth of the matter is that 99% of Qi is in the form of Fumes. When you catalyzed Qi Fumes into Mortal Qi and then to Immortal Qi later, you were just stepping into a higher form of Qi Fumes. Even if it seemed thick in your Meridians, it can never compare to true Liquid Qi.


    "This is precisely why the Cosmic Seed Realm and everything you''ve done to this point is so important. When you reach that Realm, the reason you gain access to Cosmic Qi is because the Cosmic Seed of comprehension you plant into your Spiritual Foundation will cause a crack. This crack will release Qi Fumes unlike anything you''ve experienced before, allowing you to catalyze Immortal Qi into Cosmic Qi.


    "When your Cosmic Seeds have dug deep enough roots to become blooming flowers, your entire Spiritual foundation will shatter, forming your World Sea and the highest form of energy you will ever touch upon. The density and depth of your Spiritual Foundation is beyond your wildest imagination¡­


    "And it also become the foundation for your Godhood."


    Balaur gazed deeply toward Ryu, his expression painted with the utmost seriousness.


    "A Godhood is no longer as simple as comprehension. When your Cosmic Seeds have germinated, they grow, becoming flourishing plants and lands. Life is breathed into your Godhood and it can become a world all its own.


    "When a Sky God passes a Spiritual Foundation down, they aren''t just passing on an Inheritance, they''re passing on their personification. A Legacy can only be Inherited once and that will be it. It will be up to the inheritor whether or not they want to pass it along. But, a Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation is left in a perpetual loop and cycle, a continuous funnel of Karma of a Sky God across as many lives as they live.


    "The difference is like night and day, they cannot be compared."


    Ryu frowned. "And what if a Sky God manages to accumulate enough Karma to become a Sky God once again in another life."


    "¡­"


    Balaur didn''t respond immediately. The chances of this happening were almost nil. Becoming a Sky God was simply too difficult. Even if you lives through millions of lives, chances were you wouldn''t even reach the Dao Pedestal Realm once in those chances, let alone Sky God.


    But¡­ Though Balaur had said that the Phoenix Sky God likely didn''t have sinister intentions, he still had to be honest.


    "¡­ In the case that they reawaken to their own memories, they would want it back."

 Chapter 774 Last Line

    Ryu''s expression turned cold. If someone could become a Sky God twice, it would indeed be a feat maybe never before seen. Becoming one in the first place was so unimaginably difficult, Ryu''s perspective on the world shouldn''t be seen as a common matter.


    The most troublesome part of it all was that if there was a Sky God who could do these things and accomplish these matters¡­ Wouldn''t it be the Sky God that had absolute reign over life, death and reincarnation? It almost fit¡­ Too well.


    The scent of a plan seemed to form and Ryu could almost feel these invisible hands wrapping around his neck. The feeling only made his gaze grow colder.


    In the end, Ryu shook his head. He still hadn''t reached a point where he could take this Spiritual Foundation out of himself. And, even if he could, as he progressed through the cultivation levels, it seemed to become more and more an inseparable part of himself.


    By the time Ryu became strong enough to deal with whatever backlash the Phoenix Sky God had left in store for him, their Spiritual Foundation would be such an ingratiated part of his personal strength that he would more likely than not cripple himself.


    Even if he managed to reconnect with his previous Spiritual Foundation, he would have to start from the very beginning. And, since it was unknown if he could go through the Awakening and Dao Pedestal Realms once again, he might be stuck with a Spiritual Foundation that was permanently stunted, forced to stay in its infantile phase.


    Knowing all of this, Ryu realized that he didn''t have a choice to step back any longer. Maybe from now on, he could only treat his original Spiritual Foundation as a foreign object he had lost Fate with. As things stood now, it didn''t seem like he would ever be able to reconnect with it.


    But, what Ryu did know was that he wouldn''t allow anyone to just snatch things from his body, even if it was theirs to begin with. If the Phoenix Sky God wanted to come, they could come. After all, his Realm Heart was in need of more Godhoods...


    Did the Phoenix Sky God think they they could just use Ryu as a Karma farm and then throw him away when they had no use for him left? He would ensure they pay a great price for trying to step over his head.


    "Master, there''s another thing of importance¡­ The fifth Visualization on the first floor¡­"


    The three Ancestors visibly tensed. Ryu hadn''t even finished his words but even the most immature Flora seemed to have dropped everything to look at him. It was either that these four had been greatly emotionally scarred by this fifth Ancestor of theirs, or the difference between them was so enormous that they didn''t even dare to have disrespectful thoughts.


    Seeing such a reaction, Ryu''s words slowed and trailed off. He suddenly wasn''t sure if he should explain what happened anymore. But in the end, since he had already begun to speak, it was probably too late to do much of anything else.


    "¡­"


    The three Ancestor fell into a deep silence after hearing Ryu''s explanation. They didn''t quite understand how these things had happened, but that man had always been on a level that existed beyond their plane of understanding.


    Technically, those statues on the first floor were real things. They had just been brought from the Real Plane into the Crystalline Jade, something that was already a nonsensical feat to begin with. But, for it to then take root in Ryu''s Spiritual Sea¡­ That was another monstrous feat all to its own. In fact, it was probably more impressive than the first.


    Ryu waited patiently, but his Master and the other two remained silent for much longer than he thought they would. He thought he might ask again, but it was then his master finally deemed to speak.


    "Little Ryu¡­ The truth is that none of us really know who that man is.


    "As you might have already guessed, myself, Eska, Flora and Morvar were all born in vastly different Eras. If four Sky Gods had appeared in our Clan at once, maybe it would have been us who took control of the Shrine World.


    "Each of us led our Zu Clan to its own era of prosperity, but it was never to an exaggerated amount. At best, we could be considered to be among the top few dozen Clans in the whole of the universe, but we were nowhere near being invincible.


    "Inevitably, the end of our lives came and we prepared to pass on. But, it was then that that man appeared before us and brought us into the Crystalline Jade. For a long time, I was alone until Morvar appeared here. Then it was just the two of us until Eska appeared. And finally, after that, Flora appeared and she became the last."


    Ryu nodded. He had already figured as much, these were things he could have understood on his own. As for the details, they didn''t matter very much. But, what was fascinating was the involvement of that man. If he really could do such a thing¡­


    Didn''t that mean he had outlived the lifespans of four Sky Gods?!


    In fact, it was even more exaggerated than this. It was unlikely that Balaur, Morvar, Eska and Flora were born back to back in quick succession. It probably took several generations for another to be born, making the lifespan of this individual even more exaggerated.


    Of course, Ryu thought of the possibility that he was overthinking things. Considering what he had seen from this man''s Visualization, it might very well be possible that they bent reality to their whims and traveled back in time¡­


    But that thought felt more like fantasy than anything else to Ryu.


    For an expert, going forward in time wasn''t actually all that difficult. Just Ryu''s experience in the fake Nether Realm proved this. Not only had the Martial Gods been able to warp time around this era, shifting Ryu forward hundreds of years, but they had even managed to gather up all sorts of talents from across Eras as well.


    Folding time and shuttling people through it in a forward and linear way wasn''t difficult, at least not relatively speaking for what was actually being accomplished. So long as you had the resources and the backing of a competent Sky God, it could be done.


    In fact, slowing down time to a crawl wasn''t impossible either. In Ryu''s possession, he had multiple Immortal Caves with this function. It was less involved than shuttling through time and any competent Ancestral Grade Formation Master would be able to lay an array capable of this down.


    Though it was impossible to comprehend Inheritances under a time dilation, it was quite useful for maximizing rest or practicing various more physical arts. But, the distortion made comprehension too difficult and even if one tried to press past this distortion, the likelihood of Qi Deviation skyrocketed the more exaggerated the time dilation.


    This was all to say that so long as time was going forward, manipulating it to the whim of a true expert wasn''t a problem and could even be considered ''easy'' by Ryu''s standard of the word. However¡­


    Going back in time, as far as Ryu was concerned, and based on his understanding and expertise as an Origin Grade Ruin Master¡­


    Was absolutely impossible!


    Just logically, the paradoxes involved were almost impossible to fathom. Ryu couldn''t even begin to grasp how one would resolve them all, and that was with his intelligence.


    Unfortunately, that just left him with two things that were about just as difficult to accept.


    The first option was a Sky God that had somehow lived the lifespan of four on the low end and maybe upward of ten Sky God lifespans on the high end. And the second option was that there was a Sky God capable of ignoring the paradox of time.


    Both were equally ridiculous and Ryu couldn''t quite decide which was more so.


    Seeing the fluctuating lights in Ryu''s gaze, Balaur knew his disciple had thought of the same problem they had. But, they were all Sky Gods, there was no way they would have mistaken the same person for someone else. They were 100% certain that this man they met was the very same man for all of them.


    "¡­ We don''t quite understand the purpose of this man. All we know is that he has a vested interest in our Zu Clan and we''ve always assumed that he was an Ancestor of ours, but that would only make things even more complicated.


    "He was the one who warned us about the return of the Ancestral Beasts but things also aren''t as simple as they seem. The return of the Ancestral Beasts is only a signal for something far more sinister¡­ The Ancestral Beasts won the favor of the Heavens by defeating the Fey, they are considered to be the champions of the Heavens¡­"


    Balaur met his disciple''s gaze, the weight of his next words echoing throughout Ryu''s mind.


    "¡­ The return of the Ancestral Beasts represents the last of the Heaven''s efforts. Everything it had left has been poured into them¡­


    "They are the last line of defense for Sacrum."


    [Author''s Note: Sorry everyone... Just one chapter for today. Good news is now we can get to the meat of this volume with all our prep out of the way. In no uncertain terms...


    [Shit''s about to go down].

 Chapter 775 Upward

    Ryu''s eyes opened. It was a bit odd going right from the seriousness of the situation on the library''s second floor to a bedroom with two beauties in his arms once again. But, given what he had just learned, Ryu managed to maintain his focus as he stared up toward the ceiling.


    He suddenly felt restless. He couldn''t just stay here. He had done what needed to be done to do right by his grandfather. It was likely that the Tor Clan would have a resurgence very soon and in a generation or two, they''d likely have a generation no weaker than the one Ryu had been born into¡­ Of course, that would be only if this excluded Ryu himself.


    Now¡­ All Ryu wanted to do was to wreak some havoc.


    The Ancestral Beasts were the so-called last line of defense. But, as far as Ryu was concerned, what they actually were was a treasure trove. It was about time Little Roc stepped into his final stage of evolution and Little Gem, after years of being cared for by Ryu and Ailsa, finally showed signs of normal and healthy growth.


    It was about time the world learned of his true strength.


    Ryu Tatsuya was back, and Sacrum was about to understand exactly what that meant.


    **


    Ryu sat in a pool as cool as ice. Yaana''s hands glided down his back, scrubbing down with a delicate forcefulness while Ailsa kneeled before him, scrubbing his hair.


    They moved about with lovely smiles on their faces, seemingly unaware of the lethal temptation they brought within such an environment. But, it somehow seemed that even Ryu himself was unaware of this of his gaze looked to be laser focused.


    His silver irises were glazed over, his breathing rhythmic and unhurried. The clarity of his mind was unprecedented even as his wives served him.


    The trio left the pool not long later. Despite Ryu''s ability to use his Master''s Visualization to form clothing for himself, his wives still picked out what he would be wearing. They knew quite well that Ryu was very fond of black and it was almost all he ever cared to don on his body. But, through light giggles, they picked a shade that was its direct opposite.


    The white robes were form fitting, tightly pressing against Ryu''s broad back, shoulder and chest. They were designed like a long and flexible trench coat. Its collar was tall and it was unbuttoned enough to reveal the definition of his upper chest and collarbone. It flared out at his hips, splitting into two and revealing a pair of pants that were neither too tight nor too loose.


    If Ryu had been paying attention, maybe he would have said something about his wives'' selection, but even now he seemed almost too focused, his long white hair falling loosely to his shoulders as a powerful aura of dominance exuded from him.


    "Let''s go."


    ¡­


    Alone, Ryu walked up the steps of the Immortal Path. It was the second time he had done so and he was just as unbothered and unhurried as the first.


    He could still remember almost losing his life to a Connecting Heaven Realm expert here. It could be said that he had only survived that day due to luck and a 50/50 chance. Back then, he had fallen into a several month long coma and when he awoke and reached the top of these steps he roared with all the strength he had.


    For the first time in his life, he had felt alive. He wasn''t a coddled and crippled genius of the Tatsuya, he wasn''t someone who had to be spared glances of pity and sighs of what could be, he wasn''t that disappointment who let the whole martial world down for failing a ceremony even mortals could pass¡­


    He finally felt like Ryu Tatsuya. He finally felt that all the arrogance he had, all that pride etched deep within his bones, all that bravado he put up as a front to the fury he had for the world¡­ Was finally justified.


    Ryu stepped onto the highest step once again.


    He felt at peace, his mind entering a state of catharsis and soothing rhythms.


    He stepped through that final threshold and it felt that he had been thrusted into an all new world.


    Above, enormous beasts roared and pranced about. The earth shook and quaked, splitting and shattering beneath mighty strengths deployed tens of miles away. The scent of blood hung in the air, growing thicker with each passing moment, the drums of war beating the hearts of all those who could still proudly say they were among the living.


    A slow exhale let Ryu''s lips, the noise of the world around him falling on deaf ears. It was as though he was in a room of white. The floor beneath his feet was unblemished, the walls around him were untouched and as pure as ice, and the ceiling¡­


    Was too low.


    Spotting a stranded human, a torrent of beasts seemed to have lost their sanity. Something about the smell Ryu was giving off was especially pleasing to them.


    Having been mutated by his Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines, the Friend of Nature scent Ryu perpetually gave off was still enticing, but it had gained an even more masculine bite to it. It was the sort of change that made his scent even more lethal to female beasts, but could often be taken as a challenge to mature male beasts.


    This mixture and cognitive dissonance caused the beasts to roar out in displeasure. It also didn''t help that among them, there were no Ancestral Beasts. While it could be said that this war was started by their return, it had also stirred the movements of every beast in existence as well. And unfortunately¡­ These beasts lacked the intelligence higher level ones would have.


    Hundreds of beasts swarmed Ryu. In their midst, he looked like nothing more than an ant beneath a mountain''s avalanche, like all he could do was wait for death¡­


    But then¡­ he looked upward.

 Chapter 776 Some Fun

    It was an absolute massacre. Ryu didn''t move a single step, he didn''t move a single finger, he didn''t even seem to breathe too hard.


    The beasts surging toward him hit a wall, their bodies shredding to pieces. Flesh, bone and blood fell from the skies, screeches of horror echoing through the landscape.


    Ryu took a step forward, his white robes fluttering, completely untouched by the mass of crimson. He didn''t even seem to care what sort of beasts he had killed and which had managed to survive. He simply took out a bow, stepping through the skies with an indifferent expression on his handsome features.


    The bow was tall and bathed in fiery rubies. It was more than three meters tall from head to toe and had a bowstring forged of dragon tendon. Just touching it made the blood rush and roar through Ryu''s veins, almost as though his Ancestors were ready to pounce and tear his weapon to shreds.


    Such a thing made the bow especially docile. Despite being of the Ancestral Grade, it seemed to shake in fear beneath Ryu''s touch, willingly listening to each one of his commands without the slightest hint of reluctance.


    Ryu stretched out his free hand, pinching two fingers to his thumb and drawing a line with it across the skies. Before the eyes of all those that could see it, a solid arrow of fire was formed, and yet it looked no different from a metal forged construct.


    The heat in the surroundings skyrocketed. Maybe had Ryu cared, he would have realized he had overdone it a bit. But, this didn''t stop him from nocking and drawing this arrow.


    When he released it, it was as though the whole skies were lit ablaze. The clouds burst apart, incinerating to nothingness, the blue of the dome above was painted in red, and the space threatened to split apart.


    The beasts in the wake of this arrow couldn''t even enter a hundred meter radius of it without being incinerated to ash. Snow of ash began to fall from the skies, making the bright day feel as though it had lost all color.


    BANG!


    A mountain in the distance was flattened to the ground as Ryu continued to walk through the skies, his pace unhurried and yet resulting in him crossing several kilometers at a time with a single bound.


    Somehow, Ryu could instinctually feel that the bow and arrow had exactly the last piece he needed to complete his Dao. Unfortunately, having been run out of the Armament Guild, and being very much aware that their people hated his guts, he probably wouldn''t be able to get enlightenment from them. Luckily though¡­ These beasts seemed to have provided him with the perfect targets. Unluckily though¡­ Ryu''s strength was too exaggerated for these middling beasts to handle.


    Much like he had the first time, Ryu appeared randomly in a forest of the Pedestal Plane. It used to take him months to even years to travel through this place, but now his speed couldn''t be compared to the first time. In addition, the space of the Pedestal Plane was far weaker than what he had become used to in recent years, so he tore through with even greater ease.


    It took Ryu not even an hour to make it over the location of the Awoken Moon Sect. But, as he had somewhat expected¡­ There was nothing but an endless snowy plain. Even the pit that had likely once been here had been buried beneath the perpetually falling snow.


    The heat coming off of Ryu threatened to turn this place into the Pedestal Plane''s largest ocean, but he retracted his aura, looking around.


    Ryu didn''t seem too surprised by this outcome. In fact, it could be said that he had expected it. The Awoken Moon Sect had its own fail safes and if it had been destroyed, he would be among the first to know as its Throne. He was mostly just worried about Guiot''s little sister''s well being, he had grown fond of that little girl.


    That day when Ryu saw the teleportation formation to the Moon World, he had also easily been able to see through the fact that there was a function that would allow the entire Sect to be taken with it. Clearly, if the Awoken Moon Sect could afford to take this option considering the dire financial situation they had been in last time Ryu had seen them, they were doing very well.


    Ryu remembered having to slave away for over a year to gather the Qi Stones he needed just to send himself and Guiot over, but in just a few hundred years they had actually gathered up enough wealth to send the whole Sect. How could Ryu not be impressed?


    Of course, he knew that this was in large part due to himself. With how many battles and escapades he had been on in this time, he had gathered a ridiculous amount of Faith for his Ice Phoenix Clan''s old subordinate Sect. It could be said that he had done right by them.


    At that moment, Ryu sensed several auras converging from the horizon, but they were surprisingly human. They barreled forth, streaks of fire following in their wake as they blazed a path toward Ryu.


    Ryu had actually seen many humans on the way here. In fact, in the first batch of beasts he had brutally slaughtered, there were many humans among them as well. However, after saving many of their lives, he didn''t mind them afterward.


    It could only be said that the war had taken the whole Pedestal Plane by storm. In fact, the Mortal Planes, for once, weren''t the victims of the backlash. Though, soon, Ryu suspected that many beneath the Immortal Ring Realm would try to make their ways toward safety.


    Like this, the vicious cycle of violence would repeat itself, and the previous generation of White Devils would be replaced by a new legend of horrors¡­ Well, that was what would have happened had Ryu not left a nice surprise for them when he made his way down the first time. How could he possibly allow anyone to casually mess with the growth of the Tor Clan? Plus, although Yaana hadn''t said it, she also had fond feelings for the Opus Kingdom who had taken her, her cousin and her aged grandfather in.


    Ryu didn''t like cowards to begin with, so he didn''t care how many of them died in their endeavor. They had already enjoyed the gift of the Immortal Plane for so long as humans, but now they wanted to run?


    Ryu was so absentminded and uncaring of the people approaching that it wasn''t until they were already within a kilometer that his gaze focused and suddenly realized who they were.


    When he saw a very familiar Patriarch Ember, the very man who had almost killed him that day of the tournament, his indifferent expression almost gave way to a smirk.


    Patriarch Ember seemed to have remembered Ryu well. Not only did he know of Ryu, he knew of Ryu''s last name long before the world shuddered beneath his roar. However, just the same, a seething humiliation was within his heart even after all this time.


    Ryu, though, wasn only thinking of one thing. It seemed he could have some fun before going to the Moon World.

 Chapter 777 Thin Air?

    Patriarch Ember had been allowing his subordinates to monitor the situation around the disappearance of the Awoken Moon Sect for several decades already. In truth, he had been monitoring them even before this because of this thorn he had had in his heart.


    To Ryu, this matter had only occurred two or three years ago, but to Patriarch Ember, it had already been hundreds and yet he was still holding onto such a grudge. It could only be said that the matters of that day had become his own heart demon and the truth was that it wasn''t entirely because of Ryu.


    Of course, back then, Patriarch Ember had tried to stop Ryu from leaving the tournament using a dome of fire. But, due to the flame immunity Ryu''s Rebirth Flame gave him, the low level flames of the Ember Clan couldn''t even touch the hem of his robes if he didn''t want them to, quite frankly. As a result, he had been able to escape that day after killing an Apostle.


    Though that had been a bit embarrassing for Patriarch Ember, there were too many ways to explain it away. Ryu could have had a special treasure that helped him, or, Ryu could have even been dead. After all, he simply vanished after that with this help of his black cloak. This made it easier for Patriarch Ember to weather the storm of the questioning gazes that had fallen like an avalanche around them.


    Unfortunately¡­ What came later was something he couldn''t ignore, because it was impossible to trick himself.


    The reveal of Ryu''s name, Sarriel''s words exposing his cowardice in not even daring to say them out loud, all compounded by old man Aberardus coming to give Patriarch Ember a warning left the Patriarch feeling like a shell of himself.


    Patriarch Ember had always known that he was weak in the grand scheme of things. After all, he could only be considered to be the pre eminent powerhouse of the Pedestal Plane, the absolute weakest of the Immortal Planes.


    However, he had always been able to somewhat ignore this feeling. He could explain it away with his relatively young age and his foul luck at being born on such a low plane¡­ After all, hadn''t he made the best of what he was given? What more could he ask than to become number one in the place he had been born?


    But something about that day shook his inferiority loose and revealed the scars he had been hiding for so long. Even after all this time, those scars had only scabbed over, pulsing with puss and blood and refusing to heal.


    As such, when the Ember Clan and the Awoken Moon Sect first clashed, Patriarch Ember immediately remembered Ryu.


    He had initially thought that he could force Ryu out by destroying his crutch, but the Awoken Moon Sect somehow managed to find ways to survive time and time again. Every time they seemed close to collapsing, Patriarch Ember''s attention would be ripped away, forcing him to train his eyes on something else.


    The task to unite the Pedestal Plane was something that he simply couldn''t ignore as it had come from Sarriel herself. As much as he feared the Tatsuya name, the fear he had for that woman was ingrained onto his very soul. He didn''t dare to skip out on her wishes for his own selfish desires.


    Uniting the Pedestal Plane might sound simple since the Ember Clan was already the top powerhouse and one of the only powers with Path Extinction Realm experts, but it had to be remembered just how much sheer uninhabited space there was on the Pedestal Plane. And in this context, uninhabited unfortunately only related to humans.


    There were large swaths of beasts and beast clans strewn throughout the Plane. In fact, this was true of all three Planes. Many of them had been no less powerful than Patriarch Ember himself, making the task especially daunting.


    By the time the Awoken Moon Sect could be cornered, they were no longer the Awoken Moon Sect of the past. Their Inheritor Disciple had begun to shine forth with her true potential, one talent after another seemed to continuously be born, and the wealth of the Sect exploded with each passing year to the point where their growth was the envy of all.


    If it wasn''t for the fact only a few hundred years had passed, they might have already begun to rival the Ember Clan. Luckily, cultivation was far too difficult to allow such a thing. The younger generation of the Awoken Moon Sect might have been blossoming, but the older generation was still stagnant and was having trouble progressing. How could they stand a chance against a real power house?


    In the end, though, they managed to disappear without a trace, leaving nothing more than a hole in the ground. And, to make things even worse, Patriarch Ember was absolutely certain that all of this luck and accumulated Karma was the result of Ryu''s actions, a fact that only infuriated him all the more.


    Thinking of all of these things, he had already riled himself up to a furious extreme when he entered Ryu''s range. He wanted nothing more than to rip Ryu limb from limb.


    But, the moment he crossed the 100 meter barrier to Ryu, he suddenly felt as though everything within him had frozen. It was as though it was no longer a human that stood before him, but rather a wild, seething beast. The kind that pat him to death with a single claw.


    The feeling was completely irrational. How much could Ryu have possibly improved in just 200 years? He had been in the Divine Vessel Realm back then and should still be in it now. How could anything have changed?


    "You''ve come at a good time."


    Ryu''s words snapped Patriarch Ember out of his thoughts, those silver irises seeming to see right through him.


    "Now you tell me. Why is it that my Sect vanished into thin air? Don''t tell me that they chose to leave their home for now reason, hm?"

 Chapter 778 Three Seconds

    Patriarch Ember''s gaze set upon Ryu, his features stuck in a sort of weird limbo between fury and apprehension. It was as though he was trying to hold himself back from doing something stupid, but his self control could hardly leash itself properly.


    Instead of answering Ryu''s questions, his heart steeled.


    "Surround him."


    Patriarch Ember had brought with him several Immortal Ring Realm and Connecting Heaven Realm experts who didn''t dare to disobey his orders. Ryu was actually surprised to find that among the latter group, there was even another person he recognized.


    "Oh?"


    It felt like a reunion of old friends. Not only had Patriarch Ember appeared here, but so had Tae''s grandfather, City Lord Loom.


    The City Lord had also had a terrible experience with Ryu. The last time they met, if it hadn''t been for Matteus, he would have been forced to kneel for who knew how long. But, even with the help of his grandnephew, he had still been forced to a knee by a youth who had only just stepped into the Divine Vessel Realm back then.


    In truth, City Lord Loom still had no idea how such a thing had happened. The Ryu he knew had only been at the Qi Refinement Realm, he had no idea how Ryu had managed to step through from that stage to the Divine Vessel Realm in a single bound.


    At the moment, though, City Lord Loom still hesitated. Ultimately, he now had a grandnephew who was a great talent and even a Throne. In addition, thanks to the resources Ryu left behind for Tae, she had blossomed into a strong warrior as well. In fact, it was no longer even obvious which was more talented¡­ Though, this was greatly due to the fact that Matteus had vanished for over 200 years and none of the Clan had heard from him in that time.


    Unfortunately, it seemed that City Lord Loom was still the very same City Lord Loom, weighing pros and cons before deciding incorrectly. Maybe it wasn''t entirely his fault. After all, Patriarch Ember was a Path Extinction Realm expert and it had only been a few hundred years since Ryu last displayed the strength of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert. There was no way to bridge that gap in such a short time.


    City Lord Loom concluded that Ryu must have found a treasure during that Selection tournament. Even after so long, no one had an explanation for why the Small Realm had collapsed so that must be it. But, even such a treasure couldn''t allow one to progress so fast.


    Reaching such a conclusion, City Lord Loom tentatively took a spot around Ryu, his jaw steeled. However, Ryu didn''t even feel the need to bother with this. He had been too lazy even to raise a finger against Fidroha who had almost killed him that day, why should he care about a middling City Lord who would never amount to much?


    "So you aren''t going to answer my question?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    Patriarch Ember''s gaze narrowed. "Do you understand the situation the Pedestal Plane is in right now? We''ve already ordered all humans to enter the battlefield, this is a war that decides all of our Fates. But, not only are you not on a battlefield, you''ve even been found looking for a traitorous Sect that escaped from their duties? What is the meaning of this?"


    For a moment, Ryu didn''t respond. He just found it all to be so amusing. It had been a long time since he got into a battle of politics and public perception.


    The Awoken Moon Sect had definitely vanished long before the Ancestral Beasts descended, so how was it now that they were cowardly traitors? And, even if they had escaped because of this attack, so what? With the Ember Clan hounding them, wouldn''t they just be waiting for their deaths? Who would believe that the Ember Clan wouldn''t take this chance to send them all to the frontlines to die?


    Plus, was this the only world the beasts were attacking? The answer was no. No matter where they went, they would be fighting. In fact, due to Ryu''s breakthrough back then, and the subsequently making it even worse by untangling all Faith, the situation on the Moon World was probably even more volatile than the situation here. If anything, they were diving head first into danger.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, it probably wasn''t a coincidence that the wielders of the World Pupils, the mighty Griffin Clan, would choose to drop their cursed little cub there of all places¡­ Maybe they had their own particular reasons.


    Remembering the events around claiming Little Gem, Ryu couldn''t help but shake his head. That was yet one more person that had almost killed him that he should probably get revenge on. It seems that he had made quite a few enemies in his time.


    "¡­ I''m going to give you a chance to take those words back. I don''t want to waste a lot of time in place, so how about three seconds?"


    Patriarch Ember froze.


    "You see, I know that you''re aware that I''m the Throne of this ''cowardly Sect''. Three. So you should know that tarnishing their reputation will reflect back on me. Two. So you tell me, what should I do about this?"


    A cold sweat felt down Patriarch Ember''s back.


    "How dare you?!"


    The Immortal Ring Realm experts felt that they had found an opportunity to curry favor, causing many of them to surge toward Ryu without a care, each looking to be the first to claim his life.


    p Ryu''s gaze turned a frightening shade of cold.


    "One."


    He didn''t even move from his location. Just like the beasts that came before them, all those who shot forward found themselves shredded to minces meat, their blood and flesh slowly falling from the skies.


    Ryu hand reached out, causing several Soul Birth Realm souls to appear in his palm before he crushed them.


    His gaze tilted upward, meeting Patriarch Ember''s. But, just as he was about to act, his head shifted toward a particular direction.


    Several powerful auras converged, and it didn''t take Ryu long to understand.


    ''The Martial Gods.''


    A fiendish grin spread across his face.

 Chapter 779 Who?

    Chapter 779 Who?


    Patriarch Ember didn''t seem shocked by the change. Though the Ember Clan had swallowed the Pedestal Plane for themselves, they were still under the jurisdiction of the Martial Gods not much unlike how the Mortal Planes were still considered to be as well. The difference here, though, was that the Martial Gods cared enough about the Immortal Planes to make an appearance.


    The Apostles. It was a title that struck fear in those of the Shrine World and that of other worlds as well. It could be said that their presence alone was enough to maintain control over the holdings the Martial Gods had claimed as their own.


    The moment Patriarch Ember saw their appearance, his gaze flashed.


    The group of Apostles was led by a young man with wildly golden hair. His body was almost covered in it, making his sideburns and beard look more like the mane of a lion and his chest look more like one might expect to see from a golden ape.


    The sheer vitality wafting from him was on a complete other level and just the strength of his body alone was clearly far beyond the Path Extinction Realm, let alone his Qi Realm cultivation.


    Ryu stood in the skies, unmoved. His bow still rested in his palm, but he hadn''t bothered to raise it even once since all of this began. He had killed a lot of Martial God geniuses that day, but it wasn''t nearly enough. It seemed the Heavens had blessed him with another opportunity, and he had no intention of missing out on it.


    BANG!


    The Martial Gods came to a harsh and sudden stop. The wall of the force that led their charge sent those with weaker strength spiraling out of the air. It was no surprise that the only ones who seemed capable of holding on were Ryu and Patriarch Ember himself, as for the others, even City Lord Loom found himself crashing into the ground below, a deep fear hidden within his eyes.


    "Immediately gather your men. We need to set up a protective barrier around the base of Martial Mountain¡ª"


    "I think you meant to say Shrine Mountain."


    Patriarch Ember had had every intention of exposing Ryu, of letting these Apostles know that this was, in fact, the Ryu Tatsuya they had been looking for. But, he seemed to have completely forgotten the kind of young man that was before him now. Ryu¡­


    Was a madman.


    The gaze of the Heaven''s Dew Branch member narrowed.


    "What did you just say?"


    "Are you hard of hearing?"


    Ryu took a step forward, appearing so close to the golden haired man that their noses were only a hair''s breadth away from touching.


    "I said it''s called Shrine Mountain, not Martial Mountain. In fact, while we''re at it, the highest Plane of this world is called Shrine Plane, not the Martial Plane. Oh, and¡­


    "The Golden Era hasn''t ended just yet. Not while I live and breathe."


    Ryu''s aura was suffocating. All the endless vitality and breath this ape of a man was giving off was suddenly swallowed whole, stamped down by a mountain far heavier and taller.


    Ryu''s head tilted to the side, looking past the man before him as though he wasn''t worth much at all. His gaze landed on the Apostles that had followed him, staring them up and down as though they were meat on a chopping block.


    The golden haired young man gazed toward Ryu deeply. Of all the things he thought he would find here, someone who dared to spit in the face of the Martial Gods so blatantly was the last. But, after a moment, he understood.


    This aura, this arrogance, that white hair and those silver eyes¡­


    This was most definitely Ryu Tatsuya.


    The young man went by the name of Khan. Among the Apostles, he was ranked quite highly and after he had stepped past the Path Extinction Realm, he had found a place for himself amongst the elite rankers of the Dao Pedestal Realm as well.


    To think that such an opportunity would come to him of its own accord. Ryu''s head wouldn''t only get him promoted to Demi-God, the resulting riches would be far beyond his wildest imagination¡­ And none of that even included the treasures Ryu must have on his person right this moment.


    Then, there was the best part of it all¡­ The Number One Ranked Heavenly Pupils in the universe!


    "Cut off his paths of retreat. His life is mine." Khan growled.


    He had barely finished saying these words when his hand shot forward like a blade. Ryu was so close to him that it was impossible to take out a weapon, but it didn''t matter. The confidence he had in his body''s strength was enough to build a sky all to itself. He could already envision his arm slicing through Ryu chest. And yet¡­


    The light sound of skin slapping skin resounded. It was far too soft the momentum that had been behind the strike. There should have a cacophonic boom, a violent swish of wind and a collapse of space and earth. And yet, other than a light rustle of robes and a sound that reminded one of a light pat on the cheek¡­ There was nothing else.


    Khan''s pupils constricted. He suddenly found that no matter how hard his pushed forward or pulled back, he couldn''t seem to budge his caught hand.


    CRACK!


    Khan''s eyes widened, a sharp pain assaulting his mind as he wrist lost all of its structural integrity at once. Whether it was his skin, flesh or bone, all of it had become nothing more than a pile of mush, unable to exude even the slightest hint of strength.


    If Khan was a lesser man, he would have screamed out in pain and horror. However, as a Body Realm expert, he had long since become used to the harsh realities of pain. He was more than capable of dealing with it. But, there were several matters that made this far worse.


    For one, the gap between his own strength and Ryu''s felt so large that he couldn''t even begin to fathom it. And secondly, his passive healing factor was among the best considering the Branch he had been born into. But, with the way Ryu was squeezing his arm, any attempts at healing only multiplied the pain several times over.


    But that was when the sickening sound of tearing flesh resounded.


    Ryu only seem to lightly pull down, his movements weren''t even all that fast and could have probably even been followed by a mortal. And yet, with it, the entirety of Khan''s arm was taken with it.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s bow tapped Khan''s head. To him, it happened exceptionally slowly, but he already knew what it meant before it even landed¡­


    He was dead.


    His head imploded into bits and pieces, coloring the snow red and yet not leaving even the slightest speck on Ryu himself.


    Ryu took a step forward, his finger looking as though it had teleported to tap the chest of another Apostle. A scream of horror resounded as they combusted from the inside out, their body falling from the skies in a rain of ash.


    Ryu took another step, his body appearing to the back of another Apostle. This time, his finger lightly touched their back and their body froze.


    What sounded like glass shattering resounded, the figure that remained cracking into countless little gem-like pieces and falling from the air.


    Every time Ryu took a step, he vanished. Every time he reappeared, he would stretch out a finger. Every time he stretched out a finger, another death would follow.


    ''Protecting the Shrine Mountain from the beasts, huh? It seems I need to make a trip and bathe in a little blood¡­''


    BANG!


    The last head imploded as Ryu looked into the distance. He could feel his palm itching and he suddenly very much wanted to watch the world burn. What good was unlimited stamina if he didn''t use it? He really wanted to see if the Southern Heavenly Wind truly had no limits. However, first¡­


    He turned his head toward Patriarch Ember who stood frozen in the skies. The latter couldn''t even begin to wrap his head around how this had happened. How had Ryu grown so powerful so quickly? HOW?!


    Ryu stretched out a hand and Patriarch Ember''s neck flew into his palm of its own accord. The mighty Patriarch Ryu had had no choice but to run from just a few years ago was now nothing more than a dangling chicken between his fingers.


    "Wait! Wait! You can''t kill me! You have no idea who''s backing me!"


    Ryu paused for a moment. Of course, this wasn''t because he was afraid of Patriarch Ember''s backer. He was about to lay a massacre on the Martial Gods and it could be said that Patriarch Ember was the only one stalling this.


    But, Patriarch Ember wasn''t a fool¡­ Relatively speaking, anyway. He had just seen how many Martial Gods Ryu had just slaughtered, so he couldn''t possibly be stupid enough to threaten Ryu with more Martial Gods, right?


    Everyone had heard the words he spoke just a few months ago. He should know he had no fear of them.


    "Oh? And who''s backing you?" Ryu smiled.


    "You couldn''t possibly imagine! An Ancient Race comparable to the Ancestral Beasts! I have a Fey Queen on my side! You can''t kill me, she doesn''t fear even the Martial Gods!"


    Ryu paused. Of all the things he had expected to hear, this was the very last.

 Chapter 780 My Corpse.

    Ryu''s grip loosened on Patriarch Ember''s neck slightly, his expression becoming one of intrigue.


    Could it be that there was more than one Fey? Ryu highly doubted it¡­ But soon, he couldn''t quite come up with a reason for why he should. Who was he to say if there weren''t others like Sarriel?


    Regardless, it didn''t matter much. What was important was that even if there was more than one of them, it made no difference. The likelihood that there was more than one Fey and that they didn''t have a connection with Sarriel was astronomically low, so low in fact that the other possibilities weren''t even worth considering.


    ''So she''s been here the whole time? I wonder, has she been watching me?''


    Ryu had concluded that Sarriel likely got close to him for the sake of the Ice Devil Legacy World. It was obvious that even if Ryu hadn''t appeared, Saintess Kunan would have never handed over the entire treasury of the Ice Phoenix Clan to an outsider. At best, she might give them one or two treasures for their troubles and continue to wait for Ryu.


    However, if Ryu''s life was under Sarriel''s control, that would be a very different matter. There was very little Ryu''s grandmother could have done as the mere sliver of a soul. If Sarriel controlled Ryu''s life and death, his grandmother would have been forced to give Sarriel what she wanted.


    Had such a thing happened, it wouldn''t have been the worst case scenario. After all, Saintess Kunan could choose to hand over all the treasures of the Ice Phoenix Clan and still leave Ryu the life saving measures that could take him to the treasuries of the Tatsuya, Kunan and Fire Phoenix Clans.


    In the end, though, Sarriel''s plan had obviously failed. But¡­ Ryu was still confused.


    He wasn''t confused about her intentions, that seemed obvious enough. But, why had she chosen the approach she had? And, how could she have been so certain that Ryu would end up at the Moonlight Blossom Sect?


    Sarriel''s personality shift was baffling enough. Even with his intelligence, Ryu never doubted it. It was only the other factors that made him realize that the robed woman before him was, indeed, her. There was simply no one else that could fool his grandmother''s eye and allow Path Extinction Realm experts to enter. Only the Truth Pupils could accomplish this feat.


    But, their coincidental meeting truly felt coincidental. It shouldn''t'' have been possible for her to tell where it is that he was going.


    Also, why hadn''t she just attacked him and taken control of him right then and there? It had to be remembered that Ryu''s initimacy with Ailsa back then had yet to reach the depth it did now. As such, she was only able to display the strength of a Path Extinction Realm expert for a few hours at best.


    Considering the poor battle prowess of Cultus Faeries and also considering the fact that Ailsa''s meridians were still sealed, Sarriel could have wiped the floor with her then treated Ryu like a broken ragdoll.


    As though that wasn''t odd enough, when Ryu and Ailsa''s intimacy finally did reach its deepest levels, she fell into a coma, leaving Ryu alone. That meant that in that stretch, Ryu had no other protections but himself.


    Putting these things into perspective, Sarriel''s actions were quite¡­ difficult to comprehend.


    Of course, there was the possibility that she simply didn''t know all of these things. After all, though the Truth Pupils started quite like the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, they diverged quite quickly. This was to say that Sarriel''s ability to read situations and see through deception and layers wasn''t as good as Ryu''s own. She was more focused on Deception.


    Knowing this, maybe Ryu really was overthinking things. For a woman so adept as fooling others, why wouldn''t her actions seem baffling? For all Ryu knew, she might not have even been as powerful as he thought her to be.


    This was nonsense, of course. But, it painted the image of just how little he knew.


    ''I really want to see if there''s still something she can hide from me with my fully unsealed Pupils.''


    Patriarch Ember, who had begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel and felt that he truly had a chance to survive suddenly felt the grip around his neck tighten again.


    "So you know Sarriel?"


    Patriarch Ember froze. He had never known her name before, but he felt something within him shift when he heard these words.


    It was quite a simple trick on Ryu''s part. With his affinity for Fate and the like, especially after he had comprehended a part of his Dao, manipulating it to a limited extent with his words wasn''t difficult.


    Even if Sarriel had given him a false name or even if Patriarch Ember didn''t know of what her name was, by using the Karmic strings she had formed with the both of them, Ryu could test to see if they knew the same person.


    Of course, Ryu could have done this with just his eyes alone without asking questions. But, he was still testing the limits of this Dao of his and how flexible it could be. In the future, these small comprehensions would only help him all the more so.


    Seeing Patriarch Ember''s reaction, Ryu got all he needed out of him.


    CRACK!


    Patriarch Ember died with his eyes wide open. Even up until the last moments, he hadn''t been able to reconcile with the situation he had been in.


    In truth, Ryu was quite a vindictive person. He was in a special sort of mood when he had let Fidroha live and he wasn''t sure if he would do it again. Controlling his rage and fury was one thing, allowing those who had trampled all over him and would kill him if they had the chance was a different matter entirely. Since Patriarch Ember had actually targeted him and even slandered his Sect, he deserved to die.


    City Lord Loom still lay in the snow, looking up in shock. Even after several moments, he couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    When he realized that Ryu had actually turned his gaze toward him, he scampered backward, his heart almost beating out of his chest. Ryu could hardly believe that such a person had actually once almost forced him to kneel. The disgust he felt in his heart seeing such a thing couldn''t be explained. He almost wanted to kill City Lord Loom simply because his existence was an embarrassment to him.


    In the end, Ryu shook his head.


    "Even after all these years, you''re still so pathetic. You don''t have many years to live but you''re still rushing around being the lapdog of others."


    City Lord Loom''s expression reddened before something within him seemed to snap. A fury he had buried deep within his heart threatened to bubble forth, but he clenched his teeth hard, so hard that blood seeped between his gums.


    He was still a man at the end of the day, how could he take such humiliation?


    "Do you have something to say? I''m curious." Ryu continued to look down. "I won''t kill you for the sake of your granddaughter and grandnephew, speak."


    Ryu didn''t know why, but he truly was curious about what City Lord Loom had to say. And he was correct to be, because the words the old man spoke made him pause for a moment.


    Out through clenched teeth and looking on with crimson eyes, City Lord Loom squeezed out his words.


    "¡­ You''re nothing but a lucky brat. Had you ran into any other Connecting Heaven Realm expert that day, they would have killed you on the spot for your arrogance. You live today because I showed mercy. You''re nothing without your luck."


    Ryu fell into silence. The City Lord''s meaning was clearly deeper than just that. He was referring to Ryu''s talent as a whole. Not everyone could be born like he was, especially not City Lord Loom stuck in a middle Inner Ring unable to move forward for fear of offending the wrong person.


    Ryu could say that it wasn''t luck that made him survive, but rather the fact that Loom City needed a genius to rely on for the Selection. But, ultimately, didn''t that just go back to his talent?


    "You know, I''ve been thinking about that a lot. You''d be surprised how many people have said those exact words to me, one of whom is actually now my lovely wife. I''ve even now heard that there''s a world out there somewhere where I might very well be average¡­ And you know what I decided?"


    Ryu''s placid expression became a fiendish grin.


    "If I had your pitiful amount of talent, my corpse would have already been hung out to dry and picked clean by passing birds.


    "I would rather die than become like you."


    Ryu took a step through the air, letting Patriarch Ember''s corpse fall through the skies. With a wave of his hand, the latter''s spatial ring shot into his palm. He had a feeling he just might find something useful in there.


    He didn''t spare the City Lord another glance as he vanished into the distance. He would clear out some trash before he went to the Moon World.


    ''Hm? Could this be considered to be helping that woman?'' Ryu''s grin widened. ''Well, I took her first kiss, this is the least I can do as a proper gentleman.''


    He could already imagine Sarriel''s furious gaze if she knew his thoughts, but that only made his carefree laughter more boisterous.


    Every beast he came across fell beneath the strike of one arrow, the momentum of an expert bathing the Pedestal Plane.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, he wouldn''t be sneaking around any longer.

 Chapter 781 Yes And No

    Ryu blazed a path through the skies, his body vanishing for hundreds of kilometers at a time before he would appear again. As he did so, his control over the silver star Visualization increased with every passing moment. The affinity Yaana had gifted him ran through his veins. Combined with his Pupils, it felt like he was increasing by leaps and bounds¡­


    And yet somehow, it felt like he was moving in place at the same time. For any other Visualization, it would feel as though was already close to mastery. But, for some reason, this particular Visualization was so vastly beyond anything Ryu had ever experienced that he hadn''t even grasped a single percent of it after all this time.


    For someone else, this might make sense. But, for the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, especially when fully unsealed, it was unheard of.


    To put this matter into perspective, Ryu''s current cultivation allowed him to use Heaven Grade techniques. With his current perception, he could fully master one to Great Circle of Perfection in just a few seconds.


    What was truly shocking about this was that even Cosmic Seed Realm experts still used Heaven Grade techniques as the bulk of their foundational strength. This was because Mystical Grade techniques were extraordinarily rare, for one, and secondly, they were taxing to use. This didn''t even consider just how difficult it was to raise Mystical Grade techniques to the Great Circle of Perfection as well. And yet¡­


    For Ryu it was just a matter of a few minutes to a couple hours. Maybe only an Ancestral Grade technique would now require Ryu days to weeks to fully grasp. But even then, it was just a few days to weeks.


    But somehow this Visualization left him feeling like he wasn''t progressing at all.


    Ryu''s smile widened. ''Is this the taller mountain? I kind of like looking up at it.''


    With a thought, Ryu brought out Patriarch Ember''s spatial ring. He dumped everything out, finding useless treasure after useless treasure. Someone else might have been enraptured by the cultivation resources of a Path Extinction Realm expert, but Ryu saw nothing but inferior materials, treasures and craftsmanship. He didn''t even want to waste his time.


    ''Ah, there it is.''


    Ryu smiled, bringing out a communication device.


    Of course, it was well hidden. It took the shape of a skin of wine. Within, there was definitely a few hundred liters worth and was a convenient spatial treasure for drinking. However, it had its own secrets.


    Ryu put his bow away and used his free hand to flick at the side of the skin of wine. Numerous hidden formations glowed and took form. Not long after, a voice as sweet as a spring breeze yet as cold as a vat of ice spoke.


    "Did I not tell you to not contact me? I don''t have time for this. If you can''t handle even this task alone, just let the Pedestal Plane rot."


    Sarriel had every intention of hanging up right this moment, but the voice she heard on the other side made her gaze narrow.


    "How rude. It''s been so long since we''ve met and I can''t get a hello or a how are you doing?"


    Sarriel fell into silence for a long time. This was a voice she had had in the back of her mind for a long while. It was deep and had a hardly concealed pride. But, it was brighter than she remembered and far more relaxed as well. If she didn''t know better, she would think it was someone failing to imitate Ryu very well at all.


    "Your words have become more childish." Sarriel replied.


    "Hm?" Ryu nodded after a moment. "Maybe so."


    Sarriel wasn''t wrong, but Ryu still felt like himself. Or rather, he was feeling more like himself than he ever had. He had always had a streak of witty comebacks and words that could teeter between teasing and venomous. However, it had always been suffused with an irrefutable coldness. It seemed, though, that his coldness had diminished quite a bit.


    That said, that was only for certain people.


    Ryu didn''t normally give anyone leeway, even if she was a beautiful woman. He had killed more than his fair share of gorgeous women in his time. But, he couldn''t seem to carry the same anger for Sarriel.


    Of course, he still wouldn''t hesitate to punch a hole through her chest, he wasn''t that foolish. But, he couldn''t maintain the same exterior of coldness.


    "Patriarch Ember, he is dead, I presume?"


    "Of course he''s dead. Since you''ve been lurking in the dark all this time, I''m sure you''re aware of what he''s done to me in the past."


    "You don''t need to justify his death to me, am I a child to you?"


    "That depends on which version of Sarriel we''re talking about."


    Though Sarriel didn''t respond immediately and he couldn''t see her face, Ryu could almost sense the palpable irritation through the communication formation.


    "If you''re done, I''ll be hanging up now."


    "No need to leave so fast. I have a feeling we can work together, don''t you think? You seem to be occupied and I''m already on my way to the Pedestal Plane''s Shrine Mountain. If you tell me what your goal is, I just might decide to help out a bit."


    "My goal? You''re a bit na?ve, aren''t you. Why would I waste my time having a goal related to this world?"


    Ryu chuckled. "You have a lot of bravado for a person who schemed so much to steal from a family of this world."


    "Your Ice Phoenix Clan''s riches would have made things more convenient, but that is all. You have no idea that 99% of what are in its treasure vaults are completely useless and in proper context, wouldn''t be worth more than a piece of copper by the roadside."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. "It sounds like you know quite a lot."


    "I know enough. Once I find what I need, I''ll have no use for anything here any longer."


    Now it was Ryu''s time to fall into silence. Eventually, he settled on a question and asked it.


    "Are you really the last left?"


    "In Sacrum? Yes. In Existence¡­? No."

 Chapter 782 Human Scum

    Chapter 782 Human Scum


    These words alone told Ryu more than he could have ever expected. It somehow left him in a state of anticipation and yet apprehension at the same time. He couldn''t quite understand how he felt about this.


    "¡­ Is it really the same?" He asked.


    "It makes no difference." Sarriel replied coldly.


    "I don''t really believe you. I''m pretty good at telling when people are lying and when they''re telling the truth, and the one thing I''m certain about is that you were very much serious about re-forming your family."


    "Whatever helps you sleep at night."


    "Ah, you know me so well. Helping you rebuild your Clan from the ground up would, indeed, help me sleep very well at night. You won''t find a man better than me anyway."


    "You overestimate yourself. Trash like you litters all of Existence. And, I think I''ve already made my stance clear. It makes no difference."


    Ryu chuckled. She might have said this, but Ryu could very clearly remember the look of relief she had on her face when she realized that her womb and ovaries were unharmed.


    She had obviously not been protecting them for Ryu. From the very beginning, reviving her Fey Clan had been at the forefront of her mind, and without a womb, it would always be impossible. She might sound selfish, but she had goals of her own.


    If she wanted to revive the Fey Clan, not only did she need to become as strong as possible, but her husband also needed to be the strongest man possible. About the only thing she was serious about in her words of deflection was that Ryu might be the best there was here¡­ But that was all.


    These sort of words didn''t disappoint Ryu. In fact, they made him feel tingly on the inside, as though something was awakening within him.


    Even when he was a cripple, no one had ever looked down on him for his talent. Even when he fought enemies who hated him to the bone, they always acknowledged his talent. Even as he stepped into higher and higher stages of cultivation, he could simply not find anyone who could possibly match him.


    But now, for the past several days now, he had had several people warn him of his lack of it. He almost couldn''t control the grin spreading across his face.


    This feeling¡­ He kind of liked it.


    "Last thing, Sarriel. Don''t you think you should tell me where your bubbly and shy self went? When''d you become so cold and distant?"


    "I''m leaving now." Sarriel replied stiffly.


    "Ah, don''t do that. We still haven''t decided what to do about Shrine Mountain. Be serious. I don''t really have any other goal but to wreak havoc and kill Martial Gods. But, if there''s something better to go for, I''m all for it so long as they suffer more."


    The goal was obviously to control the gates of the Immortal Plane. Controlling Shrine Mountain didn''t only mean claiming the most energy dense region, but it also represented owning the Immortal Paths. That was invaluable in such a large scale war.


    Plus, there were only two of these entrances to control since Ryu''s mother had sealed the Shrine Plane.


    Ryu wanted to know what it was Sarriel wanted to do.


    "¡­ In the future, having claim on a Plane will be invaluable. Even if all the other worlds of Sacrum fall, the Shrine World will still stand tall because it is the core. So long as at least one Plane is protected, there will always be a chance."


    Ryu remained silent for a moment before a wild grin spread across his face.


    "So¡­"


    "Kill everything in sight."


    "Kill everything in sight."


    They both spoke at the same time and hung up at the exact same time. There wasn''t even an ounce of deviation.


    Ryu''s figure flickered once more. This time when he reappeared, the sounds of battle seemed to be right by him, and that it was.


    The Shrine Mountain of the Pedestal Plane wasn''t surrounded by a Clan, Sect or power like the Blossom Plane was. Given Patriarch Ember''s disposition, he was mostly worried about not offending anyone he shouldn''t so he had left it as neutral ground¡­ Or so it seemed.


    Ryu could tell at a glance that there was a hidden Sect in this area. And, with another glance, he could find their secret tunnels and passage ways. Clearly, there had been a hidden ruler of the Pedestal Plane all this time, and it was no surprise that it was that woman.


    ''Night Terror Sect? I see.''


    Ryu had met the Throne of the Night Terror Sect again just before entering his grandmother''s Legacy World and she was just as unimpressive as ever. That sort of fa?ade made the Night Terror Sect seem completely worthless, but maybe that was what Sarriel wanted.


    Knowing that arrogant woman, she probably didn''t feel like she needed anyone else. To her, they were probably for convenience and nothing else.


    Ryu had definitely learned a lot more about Sarriel in the time they exchanged blows than the several months he had spent with her before. But, that was just how things were.


    Ryu lost himself in his thoughts for a moment, his reactions so nonchalant that one would never think that there was a war going on below him.


    Ancestral Beasts, Martial Gods, humans¡­ They all clashed in the surroundings, making it difficult to tell just who was on what side and even who was winning.


    Ryu''s appearance went unnoticed for a moment, but it wasn''t for long. The sight of singular young man dressed in robes of white and unblemished by the world was too stunning to miss. It felt as though he himself was his own blinding sun.


    In that moment, a bird of black soared into the air. It had beautiful black feathers that reflected as though they were coated by crystals, but they would sometimes dance and distort as though they were really made of flames instead.


    Its long, proud neck led its path through the skies, its arrogance and deathly aura practically reaching a palpable level¡­


    A Dark Phoenix had appeared.


    "Human scum, why do I smell the scent of a Phoenix on you?"


    The cries resounded through the air, the battle cries of countless bird creatures trembling the skies.

 Chapter 783 Menacing

    Chapter 783 Menacing


    Ryu continued to scan the battlefield for a moment before his gaze fell onto the Dark Phoenix. This was the first time he had ever seen such a creature. Quite frankly, despite its crude words and the fact it was definitely a male, Ryu wouldn''t deny that it was a beautiful beast. Just the way its body seemed to dance between corporeal and flickering flames filled one with awe.


    Though Ryu had also never personally laid eyes on Ice Phoenixes or Fire Phoenixes either, his grandmother''s Clans had very realistic depictions of them he had had the pleasure of looking through.


    If Ryu had to choose a beast that suited him best as a mount, it would without a doubt be the beast right before him for nothing other than the fact he liked its black color. Of course, if the Dark Phoenix knew that these were Ryu''s thoughts, it would have set it hostile curiosity aside for the sake of attacking with everything it had.


    "Just Eighth Order?" Ryu mumbled aloud.


    After a moment of thought, he felt this made sense. Lu''card had been of the Eighth Order as well, but his talent was far beyond this Dark Phoenix''s. In addition, the backup of Dragons he had had with him were far beyond the entourage here.


    It was clear that the Ancestral Beasts had divided their attention and power based on the location at hand. No one extremely powerful would be on the Pedestal Plane, so this was all they had sent.


    Hearing Ryu''s words, though, the Dark Phoenix, Er''lan, had what seemed to be a sneer spread across its black flame laden features.


    "It seems that we''ve been gone for so long that you humans have begun to overestimate yourselves."


    If Er''lan had been speaking to a normal human, he might have been correct. Even at the Eighth Order, he would have no trouble fighting a human equivalent to their Ninth Order. Or, in other words, he was at the equivalent of the Path Extinction Realm and could fight someone well into the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    In his mind, Ryu was truly overestimating himself.


    "Hey Ailsa, what do you think? He''s not really talented enough to take as a mount, and it would be a hassle to strengthen him as a corpse puppet too. Should I even waste time?"


    Ailsa, who was within the Incubator, shook her head and laughed. Ryu really didn''t like to take a loss, he was obviously only saying all of this because the Dark Phoenix had called him human scum. That said, she still answered.


    "The Ancestral Beasts are a treasure trove. Why waste time picking up scraps by the roadside."


    Ryu laughed. "Well said."


    By this point, Er''lan''s gaze had begun to flicker with a red light hidden deep within their abyssal black. The aura of death that hung around him was palpable.


    Without a word, he opened his beak, a beam of dark flames shooting outward at a speed that was almost impossible to track if not for just how large the contrast between the bright skies and its dark aura was.


    The sound of a high pitched whistling wind grated on the ears, the world seeming to be divided in two for just the briefest of moments.


    BANG!


    Ryu reached out a hand, Dark Heavenly Patterns swirling about his palm as he clamped down on the beam.


    It scattered before Er''lan''s gaze, a sprinkling rain of black fire falling down from the skies in patches and causing an unlucky few below to scream out in horror.


    Ryu didn''t move immediately, instead choosing to look at his palm. But, as expected, there wasn''t even the slightest blemish on it.


    The Dark Phoenixes Death Flame was maybe the most destructive flame in all of existence. On top of that, its comprehension was already at the equivalent of the Monarch Realm for sure.


    Ryu had immunity to flames equivalent to his own, but his comprehension had regressed so he hadn''t expected to be so unmoved by Er''lan''s strike. It seemed that there was something else odd going on here.


    It could potentially be explained away because of how powerful Ryu''s body had become. But, Ryu could tell the difference between something resisted by his raw strength versus being immune to something, and this definitely felt like the latter.


    ''Hm. Maybe Heavenly Patterns? Or potentially a combination of the two? Interesting, I have to test this out against more powerful Phoenixes. That Wind Dragon said that there''s an Emperor Phoenix in this generation¡­ I hope they don''t spend too long hiding, that definitely sounds like a worthy target.''


    "¡­ You¡­"


    Er''lan''s words seemed to snap Ryu awake from his thoughts.


    With the chaos of the battlefield, the interaction between man and bird hadn''t gotten much attention initially, but there were more and more eyes beginning to turn this way.


    Er''lan was one of the more prominent figures among the beasts in this current battle. Among the chain of command, he was fringe top ten. So, it wasn''t a surprise that his movement would get attention many others wouldn''t.


    Many frowns began to form from the Martial Gods. Looking at Ryu''s white hair, they thought him to be from the Nourishing Soul Branch, but he didn''t share their white eyes. In addition, he was making no effort whatsoever to try to gather up with the humans. In fact, Ryu stood amongst the beasts high in the skies as though he was on their side. It wasn''t until Er''lan attacked him that the Martial Gods realized that something was off here.


    At that moment, Ryu waved a hand. A majestic, silver feather bird appeared, his long and proud neck raising high into the skies as sparks of lightning danced around him.


    ''Oh? Is that Tribulation Lightning?''


    Ryu''s lips curled. He knew that Ailsa had been diligently nurturing Little Rock, Nemesis and Little Gem while he focused on other things, but he hadn''t expected such a large change. He could tell immediately that Little Rock had begun to cultivate , a technique Ryu had previously abandoned since he no longer needed it.


    ''Ailsa must have found some tribulation lightning treasures among my Clans'' treasure vaults and put them to use like this. My wife really is a genius.''


    Ryu would take some time to praise his wife for somehow converting a human technique into something a beast could use. But, he had a battle to fight.


    With another wave of his hand, Nemesis appeared, snapping his hooves along the air and causing resonating booms to shatter the ground below.


    At that moment, Little Gem, who apparently didn''t want to be left out, leapt out and dove into Ryu''s arms. Seeing such a seen, Ryu really didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    Little Gem had been born at two palm lengths, but the little one had grown to about three. She was much healthier now than she ever had been in the past and she looked like an adorable little white furball. Ryu spent a lot of time spoiling her when he wasn''t busy but it seemed she had gotten bored of staying inside of the Incubator day in and day out.


    Ryu chuckled and let her find a cozy place to peek her head outside his robes.


    "Little Rock, this Dark Phoenix is yours. You''re both of the Eighth Order, don''t disappoint me."


    Little Rock''s proud head rose high into the skies, his sonorous call causing the battlefield to tremble beneath his presence.


    "Qi! Qi!"


    With a single flap of his wings, he vanished, reappearing before the Dark Phoenix in an arc of lightning with the claws of his feet already stretched out toward the latter''s head.


    "Nemesis, you''ll be with me. I don''t plan on doing anything but firing arrows and I won''t be moving a single inch other than that. Don''t let Little Gem suffer the slightest grievance."


    The heavy snort the came from Nemesis'' lips carried with it a steaming heat. Ryu stepped onto his partner''s back, his feet seemingly having been anchored in place as his bow appeared in his hands once more.


    "Nie! Nie!"


    The Martial Gods thought they had gained themselves a sudden and powerful ally. They hadn''t expected much from Little Rock, but when the clash of the two birds settled, one clearly by far and away much larger than the other, it was actually Er''lan who was forced a measure back.


    However, what baffled the Martial Gods all the more was the fact that when Ryu pulled his bowstring, there wasn''t a single beast in his line of sight. Instead, his gaze had landed on the Martial Gods who were currently protecting the looming wall of Shrine Mountain to their back.


    Ryu smiled lightly, a menacing light in his eye. He was going to very much enjoy this.


    Images of what his Clan must have gone through in his absence ran through his mind, thoughts of how much his parents and grandparents had to sacrifice just to give him a chance in the future almost threatened to make his heart explode.


    In that moment, his smile faded and he seemed to have gained the face of a demon.


    SHUUUU!


    A single arrow seemed to blot out the skies, the raging qi behind threatening to rip the world apart.


    [Sorry everyone, just one chapter today]

 Chapter 784 Losing Touch...

    The Martial Gods were spread out amongst four figure heads, one for each of their four Branches and each one with the prowess of the Cosmic Seed Realm as their foundation. They could be considered geniuses who had all once placed within the Dao Pedestal rankings when they had still been considered members of the younger generation. But, without a doubt, each one of the four of them was completely caught off guard by what was happening now.


    They had already been embroiled in their own battles, fighting the heads of the beasts that had come to claim this land for themselves. They didn''t even truly have time to register that Ryu was an enemy before all hell broke loose.


    In one moment, Ryu had been bashing heads with a Dark Phoenix and setting his beast companion on it. And in the next, he had aimed a bow and arrow toward the defensive line of the Martial Gods and released it.


    BOOM!


    Under the prowess of just a single arrow, hundreds of cultivators met death that day. An eruption of fire and sparks flew out in all directions, leaving a large gap in the defenses of the Martial Gods the beasts seemed to want to shoot through.


    But, at that moment, Nemesis flashed, his hooves covered in reflecting silver plating bouncing with the rays of the sun as he appeared above.


    With a single strike of his hoof, a blast of air pressure traveled downward, flattening the weaker beasts into minced meat and shattering the bones of those that were just barely strong enough to hold onto the structural integrity of their bodies.


    Ryu inwardly shook his head as Nemesis dove into the crowd of beasts below, unsatisfied with his performance. How was he supposed to hone his skill with a bow if everything within a hundred meters of his strike found itself blown to bits?


    With a thought, Ryu''s hand flickered and a familiar glove appeared. He had wanted to focus on controlling his flames so he could simultaneously work on the path his Master had set him, but there was no need to try to do everything at once. He would let the Glove of Natural Order work as it was meant to.


    Ryu drew his arrow back once more, suddenly feeling that the process was much easier. This time, the arrow drew itself. The power was far more contained and controlled and it exuded an ancient sort of aura that made Ryu''s gaze flicker.


    In one smooth motion, Ryu''s fingers released the bow string.


    PENG!


    The forehead of a distance Dao Pedestal Realm cultivator found itself with an additional hole. They seemed to feel stunned for a moment before their head imploded into a rain of blood that instantly fried to ash.


    ''Hm, still not good enough¡­''


    Ryu continued to let Nemesis move on his whims. He had done this on purpose, or else things would simply be too easy. With Ryu''s talent, calculating trajectories and aiming an arrow perfectly was as easy as breathing. Accuracy wasn''t what he needed. There was something more fundamental, more special about the bow that he had still yet to grasp.


    ''That wasn''t the glove''s fault, that was my fault. My strike was accurate but it not only used more power than it needed to, but it also contained a tremor and didn''t fly as straight as I thought it did. I subconsciously already accounted for it, so it was still accurate. But, that dispersed my strength and caused the explosion¡­''


    ,m Ryu''s eyes were on a completely different level. He suddenly realized that he was accounting for a lot of things automatically that he didn''t quite understand.


    Due to the inherent design of the bow, an arrow never truly flew straight even if it felt like it did. After all, the bowstring and bow arch were in a line with one another, but in order to nock and aim an arrow, it would have to be, by design, slightly off center.


    And yet, when you released the bowstring, the string itself continued forward in a slight misalignment with the forward trajectory of the arrow itself.


    The result of this was that when an arrow was released, it actually wiggled back and forth in the air as though it was a snake. Much of the inaccuracy laymen had when using this particular weapon was precisely because of this and an inexperience in how to account for it.


    Ryu was a rare example of somehow the exact opposite. He had a feel for the accuracy and touch he needed thanks to his eyes, but he had never truly come to understand what that entailed. He also suddenly understood why his self created arrows were so violent¡­


    They lacked flexibility.


    An arrow shaft that was too sturdy wouldn''t be able to wrap around its bow arch and wiggle like it was designed to do. The result of that would be it veering off course. One could probably fix that by aiming the bow slightly to the left or right depending on your dominant hand and stance, but by then, due to simple physics, you would never be able to use 100% of the power of your bow.


    Of course¡­ This was only if you were using a normal bow and were a person of normal strength. Because he was Ryu, and was wielding an Ancestral Grade bow, despite the sturdiness of his self created arrows, he still forcefully bent them around his bow arch. But, the result of that was the impact of his arrow being even more violent.


    Ryu was suddenly enlightened and intrigued. It was such a simple concept but he had never even been aware of it. He had once seen his grandfather use a bow with a hole cut out of its center, but he never really thought about until now.


    His Grandpa Kunan had always said he hated that bow. ''It made things too convenient'', he had always said. It made him feel like he was ''losing his touch as a bowman'' using them.


    ''Losing his touch as a bowman¡­''


    Ryu mumbled, pulling at his bow string yet again as an arrow formed on a whim.


    With such an obvious design flaw, why did bowman still insist on using bows like this?

 Chapter 785 Eyes

    Ryu didn''t even realize how much rage he was causing as he lost himself in an active sort of meditation. And, because he wasn''t paying attention to how Nemesis was moving and what enemies were flying around him, that enigmatic feeling became larger and larger as it loomed over head.


    "Someone kill that son of a bitch!"


    The figurehead of the Berserk Branch already had a belly full of fury. Unfortunately, he was locked in battle with a Dark Phoenix commander that had no intention of letting him go anywhere.


    "Can''t you see that he''s killing your people too?! Let me go!"


    The Dark Phoenix, who went by Dia''si, chuckled. "Do you think I''m blind? For every one beast he kills, he slaughters at least ten of you. Clearly, while he''s not on either of our sides, he hates you all a lot more. Maybe you humans shouldn''t have been such arrogant pricks."


    "Human?" Joce erupted into an arrogant and infuriated sort of laughter. "We are the Martial Gods! I will make you regret daring to sully out names in this way."


    Veins of red began to pulse about Joce''s eyes and his forehead, his head of black hair slowly becoming painted in a deep magenta color as he raised a blood red halberd into the air.


    "I''m going to soak in your flesh and eat your bone marrow tonight!"


    Dia''si chuckled. Though he was a male, his tone was actually quite feminine.


    "With just you?"


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The other three Martial God figureheads weren''t as hotheaded as Joce, but they still had deep frowns on their faces. The Dark Phoenixes were extraordinarily difficult opponents. Inheritances of Death were usually used by humans for Necromancy and were rarely used via the method these Phoenixes did. This truth only made them all the more troublesome.


    They had to tread carefully and didn''t dare to turn their backs for even a single moment. The explosive strength Death was enough to kill even them in an instant, and it didn''t'' even seem difficult for these Dark Phoenixes to use.


    Berold, the figurehead of the Nourishing Soul Branch, had the deepest frown of them all as he felt like something was off. Dai''si wasn''t the only one joking and playing around, it felt like all the Dark Phoenixes were, and yet they still couldn''t'' defeat them. It was clear that they were all waiting for something.


    ¡­


    Though the four figureheads and four leading Dark Phoenixes couldn''t leave their battles, that didn''t mean others couldn''t. However, with Nemesis speed and the erratic nature of the battlefield to begin with, no one seemed able to catch up.


    Nemesis weaved between the defensive lines of the humans and beasts as though a fish in water. Whenever it seemed they might get swarmed by one or the other, he would cut to another side, making pursuing him almost impossible.


    How could either the beasts or Martial Gods allow their enemy to so easy breach their ranks? They couldn''t stop Nemesis and especially not Ryu, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t'' stop others.


    Ryu didn''t seem to sense anything around him. Whenever he locked onto a target, it would only be himself and them in the world. It would only last for the briefest of moments before this individual found themselves dead, but in Ryu''s current state and with his high thinking speed, it felt like he had intimately gotten to know this individual.


    The more Ryu did it, the more he felt he understood those vague phrases and sayings his Grandpa Kunan always seemed to string together.


    The erratic movement of Nemesis made Ryu feel more like a normal talent. Because all of his attention was diverted, the sudden changes in direction and the shifts it forced him to make in his calculations lowered his innate high accuracy to something he had to put more deliberate effort into.


    It seemed to open up an entirely new sort of sense within him. It felt like an anticipation, a prediction¡­ An ingrained assurance being slowly built on the back of experience.


    For a long while, Ryu didn''t understand why it felt so different.


    Anticipation? What could do this better than his eyes? Prediction? He could literally divided the world into predictive paths and assign probabilities to each of these potential futures. Ingrained assurance? Who was more confident than himself?


    He had already reached the pinnacle of all of these things, so why did relearning them in this way feel so much different?


    It all seemed to point back to same, tired words¡­ What you knew wasn''t as important as how you have come to know them.


    Ryu had lost count of the number of times he was reminded of his grandfather''s words: The most important thing to an archer are his eyes¡­


    Ryu always thought that this meant he was born to be a bowman. What eyes could be better than his own? Everything should have come so easy. And yet, whenever he picked up a bow, it all felt so superficial. He didn''t have any fun with it and even convinced himself it was because he preferred close combat¡­


    But if he needed that thrill so much, why not just get rid of his weapons entirely and become a fist master? Wouldn''t that give him the excitement he truly wanted?


    Ryu didn''t think he was entirely lying to himself back then, but he was definitely only seeing a part of the picture.


    Right this moment, though, it felt like that door was slowly opening wider and wider.


    The most important thing to an archer were their eyes¡­ But that wasn''t the end of the story.


    What Ryu had been missing all this time was that it wasn''t just that an bowman''s eyes were important¡­ It was in how these eyes were cultivated to begin with. What were their foundations built upon? What sort of experience had helped them reached the level they did? What sort of sweat and effort did they have to blink away on your behalf?


    Ryu''s hair shifted in the wind, his surroundings becoming oddly silent.


    Unknown to him, looming over his back¡­


    A Birthed Phenomena had appeared.

 Chapter 786 Karmic Strings

    Chapter 786 Karmic Strings


    The feeling was vague, almost as though just the barest outline had begun to form in Ryu''s mind. However, the leap in strength was so astronomical that it almost knocked Ryu out of his concentrated state. If it had been anyone else, this truly would have been what happened. But with Ryu, his <Focus> ability was so potent that even this influx of qi couldn''t shake him off.


    It had been a very long time since Ryu had sensed a Birthed Phenomena. Ever since he cut his Tatsuya Saintly Weapon Inheritance away from himself, he had chased after the ever elusive Birthed Phenomena but he never seemed able to grasp it.


    Of all the things that could have happened, though, Ryu could have never expected that the first Birthed Phenomena he created himself would actually come from the bow. Then again¡­ maybe this was simply inevitable.


    The tug of war going on in Ryu''s mind when it came to his great grandfather and his self-created technique and path made things far too difficult to rectify.


    On one side, he hated his great grandfather and wanted nothing to do with him. On the other side, though, his Great Swordstaff comprehension was built upon it as a foundation. And, on yet another side, Ryu didn''t want to let down his father and grandfather. He was a Tatsuya. The meaning of that name had gone beyond Primus long ago.


    Even though Ryu had accepted Ailsa''s reasoning, it still felt like he had to fight against a piece of himself¡­ And then there was the largest elephant in the room: His Pupils.


    As powerful as Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were, having them form Birthed Phenomena in the previous state might have been too early with all the compounding factors Ryu was dealing with. But right now¡­


    It was as though the whole world had opened up to him.


    Rather than becoming faster, Ryu''s arrows seemed to slow to a crawl. His movements were easily observable even by mortals. And yet, with every one he released, another life would be reaped, the Birthed Phenomena in the skies becoming more and more prominent.


    It felt to those observing that Ryu was testing just how slow he could make his arrows and still kill his target. It was like they had become guinea pigs walled in within thick fences, hoping and praying that they wouldn''t be the next target.


    The enigmatic air around Ryu''s arrows only became more and more profound. Subconsciously, Ryu''s Dividing Karma Dao.


    Right at that moment, a halo of blinding golden light pulsed outward, thrumming with a pressure that forced a weak down to their knees.


    Ryu didn''t even spare these individuals a single glance. How would they help him to hone his bow if they didn''t even dare to stand and fight back.


    His targets began to be among the more and more powerful. And yet, without doubt or hesitation, it only took a single one every time.


    The Glove of Order pulsed like it had a mind of its own. Its deep black color began to crack, giving way to a hidden crystalline layer that made it almost impossible to see with the naked eye, at least in its glove form.


    However, when it began to snake up Ryu''s arm and coat his body, it wrapped about its owner''s figure and formed the image of a deity.


    An almost illusory armor that looked like a painting of the depths of a starry sky covered Ryu from head to toe. The arrows he formed took up even less energy and were somehow all the more powerful. The Unique Grade title of the Glove of Order shining forth in a way that maybe those of the Natural Order Sect could have never expected.


    Ryu''s arrows became even slower. But this time he began to shoot two at a time. Each flew as though they had minds of their own, carving a path through the air and finding their mark upon someone''s forehead, shattering their brains and souls in one sweep.


    Roars began to follow Ryu''s Dragon Bow. As though it had been awoken from its slumber, a towering mounted, fusing with an already impossibly great suppression.


    It felt like even with his eyes, Ryu could see the Karmic Strings that tied all of his enemies before him. It was a surreal experience that left him only more in awe. He hadn''t activated . In fact, other than , he had turned all of his other abilities off. And yet, it was all so clear.


    That was when a realization hit Ryu like a ton of bricks.


    There were dozens of Sky Gods alive right now, and yet not a single one of them had Heavenly Pupils. In fact, among the Heavenly Pupils, the only one that could be said with any confidence to practically guarantee one''s spot as a Sky God was the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to begin with¡­


    In the past, Ryu had dismissed this thought because of rarity. Maybe Heavenly Pupils simply didn''t appear often enough for them to gain adequate representation¡­ But¡­ But what if it was something else entirely?


    What if Heavenly Pupils weren''t as powerful as they seemed to be in the first place. What if they were just a crutch that hindered your ultimate progress like even Ryu''s own had impeded his comprehension of the bow and his path toward becoming a True Archer?


    The combat prowess one with Heavenly Pupils would have would be obscene. Even if you were at the Peak World Sea Realm, if you have a pair, you just might be able to fight weaker Sky Gods¡­


    However, none of that would guarantee you taking that final step.


    If you spent your whole life relying on Heavenly Pupils, how could you forge your own Dao?


    When Ryu''s mind wandered to this point, he suddenly felt a jolt go through him.


    He had gotten rid of his Spear, Halberd and Glaive comprehensions because the Fate that tied it down to all the masters that had used it in the past was hindering his forward progress far too much. But, what he had never considered was¡­


    What about the Fate of all those that had wielded his own Heavenly Pupils in the past?

 Chapter 787 l Understand

    Chapter 787 l Understand


    The thought hit Ryu like a ton of bricks. With his Pupils fully unsealed, he could suddenly sense the vast emptiness waiting for him ahead. In a lot of ways, it was even more vacuous and heart rending than a normal pit of despair.


    With Pupils that opened up the path of your Dao for you, you might never step into the Sky God Realm. But, what would happen with Pupils like Ryu''s own?


    Technically speaking, the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were completely open ended, or so it seemed. It could help Ryu to comprehend anything he wanted, whenever he wanted. There was no element or affinity he wouldn''t be able to master so long as he put his mind to it.


    This sounded great. But¡­ Ryu suddenly felt a looming danger up ahead. It wasn''t the kind of danger that would reap his life, but it was rather his eyes opening up to a realization that things just weren''t what they seemed.


    The Rankings of the Heavenly Pupils is dependent on Faith. The more Faith the wielders of it in the past have accumulated, the higher the rankings, and the more powerful the Pupils become overall. It''s a lot like the Heavens investing in what works and ignoring what doesn''t. Of course, this is part of the reason why Sarriel''s Truth Pupils, having always been ranked seventh without any sort of movement, felt odd. But, this wasn''t what Ryu was thinking of right now.


    As a pair of Heavenly Pupils gained more Faith, its appearances would also become rarer and more spaced out throughout history, resulting in a situation where those ranked higher on the list only appeared from time to time while those lower might appear once every few generations.


    This, unfortunately, is where the first problem came in.


    While Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils seemed unfettered, were they really? For a pair of Heavenly Pupils to almost guarantee an ascension into the Sky God Realm, it meant that despite its rarity, every time Ryu''s eyes appeared in history, it would be followed along by a powerhouse that shook the world.


    How could this be compared to the Faith that tied the spear? People from all over the universe used the spear. There were exceptionally weak individuals who used it and also many strong people who used it. But, it was nothing like Ryu''s own where every imprint on his Heavenly Pupils was made by a world shattering expert!


    The Faith that tied down Ryu couldn''t even begin to be untangled because each was strong, sturdy and powerful. There were no weaknesses to pick apart because it was all a strength!


    This might not sound so bad. After all, if you combined rarity with the fact the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils allowed you to comprehend every and anything, while the Ties of Faith might be strong, it didn''t necessarily mean that they would hinder Ryu''s path¡­ Right?


    All Ryu had to do was choose a path that none of his predecessors had ever chosen. And, since each of them would have likely forged their own path anyway, they would all be pulling equally in opposing directions.


    When things are looked at this way, it seemed that Ryu''s path into the future would be even easier than others. After all, just how rare was a balance approach like this¡­


    But that was when the question needed to be asked again¡­ Was this really true? Or was it something Ryu was just telling himself to make himself feel better?


    The elephant in the room was large and ominous, so much so that Ryu almost forgot that he was in the middle of a battlefield, his arms lowering as Nemesis continued to weave through it all.


    So many couldn''t move beneath Ryu''s presence and it only took a simple stomp from Nemesis to end their lives. Ryu continued to stand on his partner''s back, his gaze somewhat vacant as he looked off into space, the Birthed Phenomena to his back shining brighter and brighter.


    Was it really the case that the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils didn''t have a desired path it wanted its owner to take?


    What was the ultimate goal of these Pupils? Why was it that Ryu could gaze upon his Fate Star whenever he wanted? Why was it that he could see Lines of Fate and Karma on a whim? Why was it that he could communicate with the Heavens and enter States of Meditation on a whim? Why was it that he could read Faith and grasp a person''s Death Acupoints? Why was it that he could take hold of Fate and bolster his strength to a version of his future self?


    Didn''t all of these abilities revolve around the same concepts?


    Even with all the paths laid out before him, even with all the steps he could have taken, even with all the talent to grasp any doctrine he could have ever dreamed of¡­.


    Ryu''s Dao still ended up being built on Karma, Faith and Fate.


    Ryu''s heart shuddered, a sudden comprehension overwhelming him. It felt like the sort of epiphany one would only experience once in a lifetime, even for him. He could see a glass ceiling above and somehow the hammer to smash through it had appeared in his hands.


    Even without knowing how, Ryu understood.


    Why was it that those with his Pupils always managed to enter the Sky God Realm? But why was it, at the same time, that he felt like there was a wall ahead that if he remained ignorant of, he would never be able to burst through¡­?


    It was for the same reason he felt he could now sense Karmic Ties without even using his eyes¡­ The same Reason Sky Gods could sense their names being used no matter how far away they were¡­


    It was because from the very beginning, all Daos converged toward the same path. Any Dao, taken to the extreme, would begin to twist the Lines of Fate, to play with the Karmic Strings of the world, to take matters of Faith into their own hands¡­


    If one wanted to truly reach the pinnacle of Existence, you would have to form a Dao that could mirror the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils at its highest levels. What was so impressive for Ryu now, was likely nothing more than a thought for a Sky God beyond the True Level¡­


    If Ryu continued like this, there would eventually come a day where he met a bottleneck he couldn''t surpass, a mountain he couldn''t climb, a sky he couldn''t transcend¡­


    The Birthed Phenomena to Ryu''s back continued to grow and pulse.


    ''¡­ I understand.''

 Chapter 788 Storm.

    The skies split for a moment before large, rolling clouds concentrated overhead. The brightness of day plunged into an overcast of darkness.


    The Birthed Phenomena looming to Ryu''s back solidified, its enormous figure stretching from the earth to the Heavens above. However, this only seemed to make the raging lightning clouds above rumble with a greater ferocity, almost as though they were accumulating strength to strike Ryu down in a single instant.


    The prayer mat within Ryu''s Inner World trembled more violently than it ever had in the past. The drain of Focus Qi had touched upon an unprecedented level. If not for its existence, Ryu wouldn''t even be able to use his fully unsealed Pupils without having to take a several days'' long nap every few minutes. But now, its prowess was even more defined and obvious than it ever had been before.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s body tore through the canopy of the Immortal Ring Realm, the aura of a Path Extinction Realm expert violently swirling outward in all directions.


    Pulsing rings of Immortal Qi manifested in the skies. There were a total of thirteen, spread out such that they almost formed wings to Ryu''s back as they pulsed with a Dark Gold Qi that seemed capable of suppressing and swallowing everything.


    Ryu raised his bow. In the past, this action was benign as it could be. But, right this moment, it felt as though he was lifting a behemoth from the ground, frozen over by the tides of weather, history and time. The heft of the bow alone seemed to have undergone a tremendous change, he could almost feel the chains pulling against it and trying to force it back into the ground.


    And yet, his movement upward remained steady and contained. There was no struggle or jerkiness, and if not for just how slow it was, no one would have ever suspected a single thing.


    Ryu could almost see it. The higher he raised his arm, the more of these chains shattered. Every time one shattered, the strength of his Birth Phenomena seemed to touch upon a new realm, skyrocketing throughout layer after layer of strength until it too suddenly began to raise its hands.


    The movement of a Birth Phenomena seemed to come with it the movement of the world. Hundreds of kilometers away, the waters of large seas rose and fell. The earth beneath their feet collapsed and crumbled. Harsh winds whipped about in all directions, forming numerous cyclones and pockets of strong vacuums that suffocated those in the surroundings.


    The appearance of a Birthed Phenomena represented a kind of fortune rarely seen. But, to experience the birth of one at the hands of a person right before your eyes was a level of shock and awe that would only be seen once in a lifetime.


    The Birth Phenomena was the very foundation of human ingenuity and strength. It was acknowledgement by the Heavens that something you or your lineage had created could be raised to the point of being Blessed by the Heavens¡­ It was a reminder that who had formed something that even the Heavens themselves had failed to.


    It was because of the Birthed Phenomena that humans could lay claim to the power they had now. But, the birth of a new one wasn''t something that happened very often. In fact, it was so rare that it might only occur once every several generations and was so potent that it could become the foundation for an all new Clan.


    Much like the Tatsuya had been built on the back of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons, so too could Ryu''s own reach such a level. But, it was this realization that shook those present to their core¡­ Because the only sorts of Birthed Phenomena that could move in this fashion were ones that were self-created!


    No matter how perfect you felt you had come to understand your Inheritance, you would never be able to receive its full blessing. Even Ryu, who had <Lines of Fate> and could retrace the intentions of his Ancestors perfectly, wouldn''t be able to replicate this feat.


    This was a sight that could only be dreamt about¡­ The creation of an Origin Birthed Phenomena.


    Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena was the perfect reflection of himself if he were to have bene completely inverted. Its skin was a greyish hue and lacking in the fair luster of Ryu''s own. Its robes were a pristine white, shifting between corporeal and illusory. But, the largest change was its hair. It looked like an expanse of blackness, blanketing the surroundings with a river of stars that extended into infinity.


    It felt like the entirety of existence was hidden within its hair, an ethereal and enigmatic aura wafting out from it as though one could pick out their Fate Star within its depths. Somehow, it made one feel like their lives were in the palm of its hands, prepared to be snuffed out at any moment.


    However¡­ Its eyes were closed, locked shut and hidden away from the world. A tingling sensation of incompleteness tugged at the heart strings. As powerful as it was, it felt like it wasn''t enough, as though there was still another level, still another mountain beyond.


    And that was when it happened.


    The gaze of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena snapped its eyes open. However, within, there was nothing but an endless murky darkness. The vast emptiness left those expecting something more feeling empty themselves. They didn''t know why they felt this way. After all, Ryu was an enemy to them all. The more powerful he got, the more of them would die¡­


    But then the skies began to rumble.


    Ryu''s bow reached a level height but astonishingly continued to rise. It passed a plateau and was soon aimed at the very skies themselves. The rumbling of thunder above only grew, the culmination of black clouds becoming so ominous that even a large portion of Shrine Mountain became shrouded in darkness.


    "In that case¡­ I''ll make my own eyes."


    A wild, tingling violet spark lit within Ryu''s pristine white hair.


    "Storm."

 Chapter 789 Now.

    Arcs of lightning suddenly bombarded the battlefield. Screams of horror and agony sounded for those that were lucky. For those that were unlucky, they found themselves directly blasted into bits and pieces of ash, their souls and bodies incinerated down to the last cell.


    Ryu released a roar, his arrow pulling back and suddenly being released in a flashbang of arcing light. It tore a path into the skies, splitting space as it passed by and shooting into the construct that lay ahead.


    It looked as though Ryu had completely lost his mind. To attack the skies like this and for seemingly no reason was nothing more than the pinnacle of madness. However, for some reason, it left him feeling exhilarated, as though he was finally free of a shackle that had held him down all his life.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, so what if he attacked the skies? Weren''t they only shocked because they didn''t dare to?


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    In that moment, the clouds above formed an enormous eye, swirling about like the center of a hurricane as its violent outburst only became more and more exaggerated. Without even lifting a figure, every arc of lightning that landed on the ground without even so much as Ryu''s attention toward it tore the armies apart.


    Ryu focused his attention on the skies above, his gaze becoming fiercer and more concentrated. Veins popped up across his body, his vision turning red as he focused on the skies above.


    What those around didn''t know was that Ryu was using every fiber of his Storm Talent to control the Tribulation Clouds that had been formed above.


    Tribulations like this were rare occurrences in the martial world. Unlike some tales that told of cultivators having to step through these to reach higher tiers of power, in practice, this didn''t happen. The actual act of cultivation alone was enough to set up barriers that most would never be able to cross.


    The Rites of the Awakening Realm, the pain of opening Pulses and Vessels, the poor survival rate of the Spiritual Severing Realm, the painful accumulating of qi one had to undergo in the Connecting Heaven Realm, the Path Extinction Realm and its continuous tests of the heart and comprehension¡­


    The so-called ''Tribulations'' were found everywhere and at every Realm. The only so-called ''Tribulation Clouds'' that appeared to strike at cultivators were only found in fictional tales. The act of cultivating alone was difficult enough alone and filled with more than its fair share of death traps.


    However, this didn''t mean that there weren''t reasons for Tribulation Clouds to appear. In some very rare instances, they could appear for a myriad of reasons.


    The creation of a treasure or weapon of a certain caliber, a natural phenomena of the Heavens, the creation or birth of a rare herb or creature, the invasion of a world, and in this case¡­


    The birth of a Birthed Phenomena.


    The acknowledgement of the Heavens didn''t come so easily. Every birth of a Phenomena would find itself being attacked. Only those that survived would have the right to remain in this world, but many more would find themselves blasted to smithereens along with the comprehensions that had formed them in the first place.


    Unfortunately, even those that survived would find themselves greatly weakened. The Heavens were impartial and didn''t care. It wouldn''t be a surprise for a Phenomena to lose as much as 95% of its original strength, weakening it severely. But, even then, just the act of having created one would make one almost untouchable among the same cultivation ranks.


    However, what Ryu wanted to do was far beyond this. The only one who understood how maddening his idea was were Ailsa and Yaana. But, neither of them moved to stop him, realizing that he had already made his choice.


    Ryu looked into the skies, a wild grin spreading across his face. His veins pulsed about wildly.


    The rumbling of the clouds above became fiercer, the eye of the storm becoming large as the vast blackness above began to spiral faster and faster.


    The first arc of lightning suddenly sent out a rippling pulse, but it was quickly trapped by the black clouds once again, unable to escape. However, in just that brief instant, it lit up the entire battlefield in a wash of gold as though the sun had peeked out once again.


    And then there was a second¡­ Then a third¡­


    As though a revving engine, the clouds pushed its gears but a suffocating pressure held it back.


    Blood began to flow down Ryu''s ears, eyes and down between his grinning teeth. However, as though he couldn''t feel the slightest bit of pain at all, he continued to push, the flecks of Royal Blue in his blood shimmering like gems beneath the darkness.


    His Storm Talent was pushed to its limits, holding back the Tribulation Clouds for longer and longer. The Heavens only became more furious with each passing moment, the coming Tribulation only becoming stronger as the blood continued to leak from Ryu.


    At that moment, the figureheads of the Martial Gods and the head beasts of the Ancestral Beast Army realized just what might happen in the next moment.


    "RUN!"


    The roar was deafening and yet it was drowned out in the next instant by a rumbling collapse of thunder. It sounded no different than what one might expect when an entire world crumbled from the inside out. In fact, the sound was so loud that many froze, blood and brain matter oozing from the ears as they slumped to the ground¡­


    Dead.


    That one rumble of thunder wiped out tens of thousands, more than Ryu had killed even while he was trying.


    But, Ryu himself didn''t seem to care, his gaze only glowing brighter as blood continued to spill over.


    ''Right there. NOW!''


    Ryu roared into the skies, violent arcs of blue lightning flickering in his pupils. In the next instant, his irises vanished entirely, becoming nothing but orbs of hovering blue that released streaks of sapphire to their sides. If Ryu had the attention to spare, he would have realized that he had awakened yet another Qilin Talent¡­


    Unfortunately, his entire world was encompassed by a mighty bolt of judgment descended from the skies.


    The pillar of energy was so thick that it covered hundreds of kilometers in diameter at its start, and yet it all concentrated down into a single beam. As for its destination¡­?


    It was the empty eye sockets of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena.

 Chapter 790 L Will Call...

    In the moments before the lightning struck, despite the grin on his face, even Ryu somewhat felt that he had lost his mind. What he was doing now had no real precedent, he hadn''t relied on Ailsa''s expertise and he knew quite well that if he had tried to, she would have stopped him at all costs.


    However, Ryu was a man who had faced the wrath of the Heavens just months earlier. Not only had he faced it, but he had defeated it with his fist. The confidence that coursed through his veins was unlike anyone had ever experienced before.


    Ryu knew that his eyes were simply too important to him. As much of a fuss as everyone made over his Bloodlines and his Meridians or his Bone Structure and Spiritual Foundation, Ryu knew that the greatest of his talents was undisputedly his Pupils.


    This alone was able to paint the picture of just how Ryu felt when he came to this sudden realization. The greatest of his talents, the one meant to pave a path for him into the future, would actually end up becoming the greatest obstacle to his future progress.


    There was only one way Ryu could think of to escape this Fate, and that was to force his Heavenly Pupils to mutate just like his Bone Structure had.


    He had succeeded in this before. His <Ephemeral Tapestry> was an ability that had never before appeared in the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and could be considered to be a mutation. This mutation occurred thanks to the influence of Ryu''s Bone Structure on his Heavenly Pupils, resulting in a perfect synergy that allowed him to lay eyes on otherwise invisible qi.


    However, this mutation was superficial. It couldn''t possibly change the foundation of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and Ryu was of the belief that he likely wasn''t the first to wield these Pupils that had experienced a similar sort of mutation.


    That said, while it was superficial, this experience told Ryu that it was possible. His Pupils could be morphed and changed to his image, mutated to the point where the glass ceiling he saw ahead could be shattered through and destroyed beneath his will.


    And that was where this Heavenly Tribulation came in.


    Thanks to his Storm Talent, Ryu had already gained a modicum of control over Tribulation Lightning. The instant he had awakened it, he had formed a Dominion. But, unsurprisingly, said Dominion had fallen back down to the Ruler Realm just like all his other comprehensions had.


    Regardless, the truth was that even if this fall didn''t happen, the Tribulation Lightning Ryu could control wasn''t enough.


    The Lightning Qilin were Ancestral Beasts and were, as such, darlings of the Heavens. Much like their counterparts, they were given control over a dominion that blessed them with untold strength. However, this didn''t mean that there wasn''t a limit and limitations to said strength.


    The Fire Dragon could endlessly fuel their strength with their Rage. This was a ridiculous concept and one that humans couldn''t even begin to grasp. To a human, emotion in battle wouldn''t help in the slightest. If anything, it would only put you at greater danger as you would lose hold of your rationality.


    Likewise, the Lightning Qilin had control over a dominion humans couldn''t even begin to imagine as well: A control over Judgment, the Tribulation of the Skies.


    By now, it was quite obvious why Qilins and Dragons head butt so often. One was the representation of fighting against the Heavens while the other was the arbiter of Justice and Judgment for the Heavens. How could two such species not absolutely abhor the other?


    However, this hatred and clashing was exactly what Ryu needed, and it was also precisely why blood flowed out from all of his orifices, slowly beginning to drench his white robes in a deep crimson color.


    Ryu knew that even if the Heavens bestowed his Bloodlines with such astounding capabilities, there would always be limits. And, in this case, that limitation was his own comprehension. Though he had gained the memories of all his Ancestors, his Tribulation was already here and he simply didn''t have the time to go through them one by one, it was simply impossible.


    The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils could be considered to be treasures forged by the Heavens, a mere Dominion ranked comprehension would do nothing to change it, and in Ryu''s opinion, even comprehension at the level of a True Sky God wouldn''t move the needle.


    The only chance Ryu had was to lay a foundation that relied on the help of the Heavens above, only it would contain the amount of strength he needed, only it would be able to help him now.


    That was why Ryu was smiling right now, it was why he was laughing as a bolt of lightning that could eradicate his very existence descended from the skies.


    He was a man who had hated the Heavens for as long as he could remember. It had taken everything away from him, or at the very least, it had snatched what he thought should have been rightfully his. He had had all that talent and yet there was nothing he could do but stab a blade through his own heart and leave his family to be eradicated down to its roots.


    He could still remember all that anger and fury he had on the inside, all that angst and hatred for the world. Maybe if he had never met Ailsa, he would still be holding onto that hatred, his head stuck in a dark cloud and his rage fueling his every dark action.


    But since then, he had learned so much, grasped so much¡­


    He had faced the Heavens, fought with their warriors, looked down the gaze of death and crushed his fears. And then¡­ He had learned. He had learned that the Heavens weren''t his enemy, they weren''t even real beings, at least not in the more literal sense. All that rage he had bottled up inside was aimed at nothing more than a concept, an almost empty meaning.


    However, he had also learned that his Rage wasn''t useless. When his talents had abandoned him, when his spine had frozen him in place, when his mind had gone blank of all thoughts and emotions outside of fear, it was that spark of fury that allowed him to carry on.


    And now, facing the Heavens once more, it was that very same spark that allowed him to dare to do such a thing.


    It was a beautiful balance, a delicate symphony of perfectly layered notes. The strings, the horns the percussion¡­ They rose together in a steady tide, thrumming against the hearts of those who were lucky enough to witness it all.


    There it was, the perfect and most complete of Daos.


    On one side, there was Dividing Karma. It was a blasphemous action that stole from Gods and slapped their faces, ripping away the strength the Heavens had bestowed upon the strong and shaming them to their faces. It was the kind of Dao that spit upward at the Heavens and dodged the falling spittle that had lost to gravity, the kind of Dao that perfectly embodied the Fury of the Fire Dragon.


    And on the other side¡­ There was Dividing Tribulation. It was a holy action, embodying the Judgment of the Heavens and following the letter of the Law. It was the kind of Dao that ingratiated itself with the Heavens, soothing itself within the loving caress of Mother Nature and lulling itself to sleep and on the soft golden clouds of Heaven.


    It was beautiful in its irony.


    In order to complete his Dao, Ryu embraced the Heavens. And yet, this was only the first layer.


    The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were bestowed to him by the Heavens. He willed to surpass their limitations and reach beyond, an act in clear defiance of his benefactor. And yet still, it was only by embracing the skies above that he could accomplish this feat.


    Beautiful in its irony, gorgeous in its cyclical cycle¡­ Elegant in its simplicity.


    BANG!


    The pillar of lightning crashed into Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena. It took no more than a single instant afterward for him to violently cough up several mouthfuls of blood. He nearly fell over from Nemesis'' back entirely, but luckily his partner compensated for his faulty balance, managing to keep him on his back.


    Ryu was, indeed, a madman. A large reason why Birthed Phenomena would so severely weaken after their Tribulation was because, in order to save themselves from the damage, their creator would weaken the connection to lessen the backlash.


    However, Ryu had done the exact opposite of this. Not only had he used his Storm Talent to hold the tribulation back and force it into an even more infuriated state, he had strengthened the connection to the greatest degree, making it seem as though his very soul was being shattered.


    In that moment, Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena cracked. As though a porcelain doll, its body became covered in spiderweb-like fissures, each radiating with a blinding golden light. It looked as though a single touch would cause it to splinter into countless pieces, vanishing into the void, never to appear again. It teetered on the edge, more and more cracks spreading with every passing moment.


    Ryu couldn''t even spare it any attention, his body strongly convulsing and threatening to collapse itself.


    But even then, he released a bloody grin, his orifices still bleeding.


    "This¡­ I will call¡­ Dividing Heaven."

 Chapter 791 Big Brother

    The skies above rumbled, rays of golden sunlight piercing through the dense black clouds as though blades of the Heavens themselves.


    The sight seemed like something out of this world, carrying with it an undeniable sort of beauty that existed only in a tale woven of a fanciful world beyond imagination.


    BANG!


    The change was just as sudden as Ryu''s breakthrough was. Several attacks converged from all sides, bombarding the Birth Phenomena that called the center of that battlefield its home. The violent storm of attacks were still dwarfed by the momentum of the clouds above, but in the fragile, cracked state Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena was in, it didn''t need to be able to match it.


    Ryu hardly got the chance to name his Dao when those inthe surroundings no longer held back. Finding his most vulnerable moment, the bombarded him from all sides, seeking to tear the behemoth that had just been given form apart.


    In truth, they weren''t sure if such a thing would work. A Birthed Phenomena, as far as many of them knew, was an illusory construct, there shouldn''t have been a point in targeting it. However, after seeing that bolt of lightnign and what it had done to Ryu, they acted in a final moment of desperation. They had a feeling that even half dead, so long as Ryu could summon this construct, it was only a matter of a thought for them all to suffer gruesome deaths.


    And somehow, it worked.


    Their attacks landed as though they were hitting something tangible and, better yet, Ryu looked as though he had taken a direct hit, his body convulsing as more blood flew from his lips.


    It had been a while since Ryu had taken such a loss. He didn''t even really count his bout with Sarriel as he had managed to remain relatively intact. But, the current him felt as though his entire body might shatter at any moment.


    The good news was that the Southern Heavenly Wind was finally showing its prowess. The bad news, however, was that it seemed his Birthed Phenomena would collapse before he even had a chance to recall it.


    However, despite how bad the situation looked, Ryu didn''t seem to have a violent or panicked reaction. His eyes continued to shine like two orbs of Divine Lightning, radiating outward with a gorgeous sapphire color. The eyes of his Birthed Phenomena, though¡­ had closed.


    Ryu took deep breaths.


    The Ancestral Beasts had finally realized that they couldn''t just continue sitting idly by. Even though Ryu had killed far more of the humans, it was only a matter of time before he interfered with them as well.


    Joce was finally able to separate from his Dark Phoenix, his wild halberd technique being among the first to bombard Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena. At the same time, Gervis of the Heavenly Dew Branch, Linnet of the Silver Touch Branch and Berold of the Nourishing Soul Branch all sprung into action at once, each releasing their own attacks all at once.


    At the same time, the Dark Phoenixes released beams of Death Flames that put Er''lan''s to shame. Taking the helm, Dia''si spread his wings, his beak opening wide as his dark feathers fluttered in the air. With a breath, his neck expanded a size before a sizzling black beam shot out with blinding speed.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu fell to a knee on Nemesis'' back, his face paling considerably.


    Retracting his Birthed Phenomena now would leave it in a slight state of vulnerability even worse than it was now. If they managed to get the timing right, it truly would be over.


    What shocked the Martial Gods and Dark Phoenixes, though, was that despite how fragile Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena looked, it withstood their attacks with hardly a tremble. Though the fine cracks that ran across its body did expand somewhat, it wasn''t nearly large enough for what one might expect from a construct that looked like it was on the verge of collapse.


    Ryu suddenly felt something moist licking at his chin. With a chuckle, he looked down and patted Little Gem''s head.


    The little one was a bit dirtied by his blood, but she had been taking in a steady dose of it for a long while now as well, after all, it was part of her recovery plan. The more Chaos Qi the little one ingested, the closer to breaking the shackles of her curse she was.


    In fact, the truth was that Little Gem would have already grown to the size of a normal Griffin had it not been for Nemesis sharing his Adept Body Talent with her as well. As such, she still looked like a normal cub. But, the reality was that Little Gem was already about to break into the Second Order.


    This sounded like nothing. After all, it had already been years and the Second Order was merely the equivalent of the Pulse Opening Realm. However, if those who understood what it meant to be cursed knew that Little Gem''s cultivation had actually progressed¡­


    It would cause an uproar of uproars among the martial world, larger than even the ripple Ryu''s talent had caused.


    ,m Little Gem, though, didn''t seem reassured by Ryu''s pats, a light of panic in her eyes. She tried to peek over Ryu''s shoulder, growling at the people who were still attacking his Birthed Phenomena, but her frame was so small and adorable that they came out like little ''yips'' that melted the heart.


    "Don''t worry, they''re just a bunch of jumping clowns. Just because the Heavens can harm me, they seem to believe that they can. It seems they have no idea how high the skies above their head are."


    Little Gem licked at Ryu''s chin again as his body convulsed. Ryu gave her one more smile before shifting down, taking a seat on Nemesis'' back.


    Every time Ryu took a deep breath, his body would pulse with a golden light, the Southern Heavenly Wind quickly healing him. However, at this pace, it would definitely take quite some time, at least a few hours, before he could display his strength once again. That said¡­


    He wasn''t worried in the slightest.


    Ryu felt that it was about time he displayed some of his true strength, lest some individuals truly think themselves to be invincible.


    It was right that moment that the eyes of his Birthed Phenomena opened, causing a world of volatile energies to become frighteningly still.


    The next volley of attacks completely froze in their tracks, a gaze of unfathomable depths staring down on the world as though it wasn''t worth much of anything to it.


    The eyes of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena rotated about like two stars. One was a beautiful silver and the other was a gorgeous blue, each having an enigmatic aura all to its own.


    However, just when the fear of god had gripped the surrounding experts, the Birthed Phenomena began to slowly fade away, vanishing into thin air as though it had never been there to begin with.


    To use his Birthed Phenomena on this sort of trash? Ryu didn''t think that it was necessary.


    In that moment, a golden figure slowly emerged from Ryu''s forehead. The instant it did, all the Dark Phoenixes felt as though they had been frozen in place. Their Deity had appeared and their Blood had run completely cold.


    At that same instant, the pitiful cry of a Dark Phoenix resounded through the now quiet skies.


    Little Rock had already managed to gain an upper hand in his struggle. The moment Ryu had acted, it was as though he was given the final leap he needed.


    His claws sunk into Er''lan''s fleshy chest and his beak tore into the latter''s neck.


    Streaks of golden lightning surged, jetting out from one side of Er''lan''s neck and exiting through the other.


    A cry of pain, remorse and rage resounded, but it ultimately meant nothing as a Dark Phoenix fell from the skies, never to rise again.


    With a single flap of his wings, Little Rock returned to Ryu''s side, his proud silver neck rising into the skies and the glistening wounds of battle reflecting a bright crimson across his scale-like feathers.


    "Qi! Qi!"


    Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. Though Little Rock didn''t speak in human tongue, Ryu could understand him just fine.


    "Yes, yes. You look better than I do. Fair enough."


    After challenging Little Rock like he had, Ryu had definitely come out the worse of them.


    There was a reason that Ryu would never think of replacing Little Rock. Though Little Rock didn''t have Nemesis'' nor Little Gem''s talent, Ryu would always remember that battle the two shared atop an obsidian mountain.


    He and Little Rock viewed the world in the same exact way¡­ The both of them wanted to dominate it until none remained above them.


    There was no amount of talent that could replace that kind of mindset.


    "Alright then, little brat. Your big brother will just have to show you that he''s still the big brother, then."


    Ryu''s Indestructible Soul began to grow even brighter. He sat back on Nemesis, his breathing slowing. Then¡­ His Spiritual Qi flourished.


    One after another, powerful Visualization after powerful Visualization began to appear.


    First it was the gorgeous <Immortal Sakura>, then came the devastating <Divine Chaotic Annihilation>, then came the tome of the <Elemental War God>, and finally, there were the countless motes of light of the <Formation Eye>''s.


    Since his body could no longer fight this battle, his soul would just have to.


    Countless arrows of lightning, ice and fire blotted out the skies, casting the battlefield into darkness once more just after the black clouds above dispersed.

 Chapter 792 Am l a Fool?

    Chapter 792 Am l a Fool?


    The Dark Phoenixes felt their hearts seize. The pressure Ryu''s soul was giving off was something they had only experienced once before. But, for the life of them, they couldn''t wrap their minds around how such a thing could possibly appear within a human. Unfortunately, they didn''t have the time nor the luxury to think about it.


    In that moment, the arrows began to fall from the skies. A volatile sort of upsurge took hold as the Elemental War God Tome shone brighter and brighter. In those moments, as long as it was a qi Ryu had affinity with, it was stripped from those in the surroundings.


    Wind Elemental users found themselves unable to use their speed and cast their techniques. Ice Elemental users found their bodies to be decidedly hotter than they were used to, the cold they had come to know no longer responding to their touch. Lightning Elemental users experienced a drastic dip in their offensive output, their weapons and fists no longer able to give off even the most minor of sparks. And Fire Elemental Users¡­


    The Dark Phoenixes found that the coat of flames that flickered about their bodes dimmed considerably in that instant. Their Death Flames didn''t seem to want to respond to their call, their bodies suddenly becoming heavier as they had to rely on the strength of their bodies rather than the strength of their elements to hold themselves up.


    In the presence of the Elemental War God¡­ weren''t you too arrogant to think you could wield the elements as you pleased?


    The halo above Ryu''s soul''s head pulsed, the radiant beauty of the Immortal Sakura shimmering with a royal violet color. In that moment, the entire battlefield was enveloped by the canopy of Ryu''s Immortal Sakura, fluttering snowflakes of purple falling from the skies and shattering every attempt at attack.


    Some tried to attack Ryu from a distance and found their qi blocked before it could even leave their weapons. Some tried to charge forward and close the distance, only for a delicately fluttering petal to appear in their way, sending them flying backward and coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.


    Gorgeous Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns lined these fluttering violet petals, the control of purple and sky blue reflecting delicate lights all across the battlefield.


    Linnet of the Silver Touch Branch stood in the air with silver hair fluttering about wildly. They had all realized that they could no longer hold back. If they continued to do so, this would truly be the place the fell.


    Her palms shimmered with a silver color, a strong suction force suddenly pulling an unsuspecting Dark Phoenix into her direction. Dai''si noticed this change too late. But the time he wanted to act, his junior had its enormous body grasped by Linnet, shrieking out in horror as it began to shrink before all their eyes.


    In the blink of an eye, there was nothing left but dried flesh and bone, the corpse of a Dark Phoenix falling through the skies.


    A delicate shout left Linnet''s lips, her hair expanding outward until it became a long river of silver, dancing in the skies as though it was truly a stream of water.


    Not long later, though, this beautiful scene became nothing more than a nightmare. Shooting out like vicious tendrils, her hair used its newfound fluidity and length to latch onto beasts and humans alike, sucking them dry until nothing remained even as the glow on her hands became fiercer.


    Gervis of the Heavenly Dew Branch roared. Realizing that Linnet had begun to go all out, he too took action. In fact, they all did.


    A dense fog of white gold erupted from his body, twinkling with the depth of a shimmering nebula as his body expanded by a size.


    Joce of the Berserk Branch rose his crimson halberd, his once black hair becoming an even deeper shade of magenta as veins popped up across his body.


    And finally, Berold of the Nourishing Soul Branch raised his hands into the air, the crying sharpness of countless swords rising up.


    The four acted with a tacit understanding. Joce and Gervis would take the vanguard and occupy Ryu in close combat. As for Linnet and Berold, they would build their assault from a distance. With the four working together like this, Ryu''s death was set in stone in their minds.


    They were the Apostles of the Martial Gods. To lose to a human¡­ Was that a joke?


    "RETREAT!"


    Dai''si''s call shook the skies, spoken in the tongue of the Phoenixes.


    "Dai''si, what is the meaning of this?"


    "We will be moving our efforts to the Blossom Plane. The others were right, we don''t have a chance at the Pedestal Plane. Get your people, Fei''lan"


    "What are you talking about, they''re so weak! You''re the one who made us drag this out!"


    "He''s weak?"


    "I''m talking about those four jumping clowns, dammit!" If it wasn''t for his beast form, Fei''lan would have definitely been blushing at this point.


    "Do you take me for a fool, Fei''lan?"


    "No!"


    "Then stop asking so many questions and get ready to retreat. If we don''t enter the Blossom Plane now, it will be difficult to do so in the future. We''d have to go by some tedious roundabout method when the door is still open for now."


    After saying this, Dai''si ignored everything on the battlefield, his body suddenly lighting up. A violent whirlwind formed around him, soon forming into the swirling patterns of the Dark Phoenix. In those moments, it looked as though he had been encased by cyclones, his Heavenly Patterns springing to life with an artistic conception that seemed to want to drown the world in death.


    And then, he shot forward.


    Everything in his path crumbled to dust, a line of Dark Phoenixes following to his back.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, the feeling of Dai''si''s oppressive might feeling very clear to him right now. A grin couldn''t help but spread across his face.


    ''Interesting.''

 Chapter 793 Annihilation

    Chapter 793 Annihilation


    Ryu chose to directly ignore the Dark Phoenixes as they blazed a trail toward Shrine Mountain. Instead, he calmly observed Dai''si''s use of his Heavenly Patterns. They seemed so much more alive and powerful than when Ryu used them. In fact, they almost breathed as though they had a life of their own.


    Ryu took a mental note of this and turned his head away.


    He already understood why the Dark Phoenixes had chosen to retreat. Whether it was the Martial Gods or the Ancestral Beasts, they all seem to have given up on the Pedestal Plane and that wasn''t a coincidence by any stretch of the imagination. It seemed that even now, he had really underestimated that woman.


    The Martial Gods had been preparing for generations, the Ancestral Beasts for even longer. But, with the way things were going now, it felt like of the three Planes, they would each get one while the last would fall into the hands of a young woman who seemed all alone.


    Much of these matters were still hard for Ryu to wrap his head around. After all, he still couldn''t understand the nuances of these choices, he only understood things from a macro perspective.


    If he was correct, the Martial Gods would likely end up securing the Shrine Plane. The Ancestral Beasts would end up with the Blossom Plane. And finally, Sarriel would end up with the Pedestal Plane.


    From the very beginning, the Ancestral Beasts and Martial Gods must have felt that something was off about the current circumstances of the Pedestal Plane and as such, they purposely chose to divert their attention elsewhere. There was no doubt that the strongest and most violent contests of strength would be occurring on the Blossom and Shrine Plane.


    ''It seems I''ll have to make a trip there soon. But first¡­ I''ll finish this.''


    Ryu had originally come for the sake of slaughtering Martial Gods and venting some frustration before he went about accomplishing his duties. But, he hadn''t expected to stroll into such a big matter. It seems that there was quite the conspiracy occurring right under his nose.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly shifted toward the Martial Gods. They had been caught off guard by the sudden retreat of the Dark Phoenixes as well, however they took this matter as a victory. With less variables to consider and worry about, they would take this victory for themselves.


    Joce and Gervis blazed a blinding trail toward Ryu, one a streak of crimson and the other one of gold. They weaved and dodged the falling violet petals, realizing that despite how delicate they seemed to be, running into any one of them felt like ramming into a thick steel wall.


    Berold''s array of swords covered their charge, deflecting Ryu''s rain of arrows and deflecting the fluttering violet petals to open up a path.


    When Ryu regained his focus on the battle at hand, the two had already cut the distance between himself and them to just under a hundred meters, a distance that was less than negligible to individuals of their caliber and yet¡­ just too far away when facing an enemy like Ryu.


    The pages of the Elemental Tome flipped, growing a size in the skies until it radiated like it was its own moon. Its cover danced with beautiful embroidery, the pulsing runes of the Emperor Phoenix suddenly springing to life across it in a gorgeous golden-red.


    In that moment, a pillar of golden flames shot into the air, taking the form of a crying phoenix. Many of the Dark Phoenixes were still charging for the path toward the Blossom Plane and saw this scene with their own eyes¡­ And yet¡­ they still didn''t believe it.


    Ryu''s soul soared, changing out of its humanoid form entirely.


    A radiant phoenix bore down on the battlefield, its cry suppressing all those beneath. With a single flap of its wings, it vanished and reappeared before Joce and Gervis, its speed touching a realm of untold horrors.


    Two enormous claws reached downward, carrying with it the momentum of a world. Joce and Gervis felt so completely insignificant in that moment. Despite the fact they had all seen it personally, despite the fact they knew that this should have been Ryu''s soul and that it should have been vulnerable to attack, their hearts froze over, their instincts screaming at them to run.


    But, it was already too late.


    Both Martial Gods roared, a crimson halberd and a fist jetting forward with all the strength they could muster.


    However, at that moment, the left claw of Ryu''s soul construct began to whirl about with violet, blue Heavenly Pattern etched petals, forming a tornado of volatile defenses. On the right claw, cyclones of dense black appeared, mirroring Dia''si''s usage of Dark Heavenly Patterns with a deft skill that made it seem as though Ryu had long since comprehended this ability.


    Joce''s halberd crashed into the whirlwind of violet and blue. The insurmountable wall before him proved to be far too much, his forearms and wrists shattering on impact.


    Gervis fist didn''t even get a chance to land. In fact, neither did his arm in general. His entire shoulder vanished, leaving a beaten and bloodied figure. The flesh in his wounds tried to quickly repair themselves, but this only lasted for but a moment before his entire body shattered into a bloody rain¡­


    Joce''s Berserk state dimmed, his gaze flickering and his mind swirling with thoughts of running. However, his last sight would be forever tied to that final devastating attack.


    Ryu''s soul phoenix opened its beak, appearing right before it. At that moment, a violent swirl of qi shot forward from all directions, bearing down on the blackhole-like vortex as though being pulled by the hands of a god.


    Ryu himself continued to sit on Nemesis'' back, unbothered and unmoved. His breathing grew more steady and his wounds rapidly healed with every passing moment. And, when his soul phoenix took a breath¡­ It felt as though the whole world had come to a pause.


    In the distance, Berold and Linnet froze. The latter had already gathered up a great amount of power and was preparing a large strike of her own. But now¡­ It all felt so insignificant.


    The cry of Ryu''s soul phoenix shook the skies, a swirling beam of gorgeous rainbow colors jetting out with the forceful rotation of <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> as its foundation.


    Everything in its path was drowned out. For tens of thousands of kilometers, it was the only thing people could see, a memory that would be forever imprinted onto their souls.

 Chapter 794 Lnterested Ln Such Things Again?

    The beam of rotating colors slowly tapered off, narrowing to the point it became nothing more than dashed lines across the skies before vanishing entirely¡­ Along with everything that had been in its wake.


    A large majority of the army was completely wiped out. But, the largest blow was most definitely the loss of their four leaders, each of whom had died so miserably that there wasn''t the slightest shred of their corpses left.


    Ryu took a breath and released it. This was the first time he had used his soul to actively attack and it truly felt far better than he had ever thought it could. Without having to worry about the usual vulnerability of the soul, it was like he had a perfect copy of himself. The only unfortunate part was that the cultivation of his soul was still a bit lacking, but there was a good reason for this as well.


    Because of the talent of Ryu''s current soul, his foundation had expanded by hundreds of times, making the basin he had to fill countless fold more difficult to please.


    His soul was currently still within the Soul Birth Realm, the equivalent of the Immortal Ring Realm of Mental Realm cultivators. And yet, it could display such unbridled strength. It seemed that Ryu''s soul combat prowess was even a tick above the combat prowess of his actual body.


    It felt somewhat different to take the form of a beast. Though it was just his soul, Ryu felt as though his entire body was enveloped by the change. He became far more acutely aware that there were simply things the beast form of a body was far more equipped for than a human body could be.


    This made sense. After all, beasts were far more powerful in their true forms than their humanoid forms and this went beyond just a level of comfort they had. Their Bloodlines were perfectly tailored to be used with exactly those sorts of body constructs.


    Ryu realized then that maybe he had been too stubborn about not wanting to shift into a bestial form. There was, at least, a compromise to be found here. He could maintain his human form and techniques with his corporeal body, and then tap into his Bloodline Legacies with his soul with a beast form.


    Ultimately, if he completed this transition well, there was no doubt that Ryu''s strongest ''beast companion'' would actually be none other than himself.


    Ryu thought of these matters absentmindedly while he cleared what remained of the battlefield. He didn''t have any moral qualms about massacring those that remained. Though he could probably find some decent bodies to turn into corpse puppets here, there really wasn''t much of a difference between killing them and doing that anyway.


    Plus, Ryu found that his strength improved too quickly to nurture normal corpse puppets. The corpse puppet he had formed to replace Esme had already been left far behind by him. He didn''t even consider taking it out to battle any longer, it was just a waste of time.


    Though, there was the Bear God corpse he hadn''t gotten around to using just yet¡­ Then again, he could probably find an even better Bear God somewhere in this wild, raging war. After all, since the Ancestral Beasts were back now, there were definitely Bear Gods among them.


    Ryu was still very much interested in the Rune Armor of the Bear Gods. He only had a White Rune Armor now, he definitely wanted to aim for a Gold Rune Armor.


    Soon, there was simply no one left. But, unsurprisingly, things weren''t over. This wasn''t because there were more enemies coming. The Dark Phoenixes had vanished up the Immortal Path to enter the Blossom Plane and the Martial Gods that had remained either followed suit or had been slaughtered by Ryu.


    No, the reason things weren''t over was because Sarriel finally acted. Or, rather¡­ The contingencies she had left behind finally sprung into action.


    The region began to glow with an odd light, an enigmatic energy spreading into the air.


    At first, it was hard to tell exactly where it was coming from, but very quickly, the light concentrated into bright spheres dotted across the landscape.


    Ryu sat on Nemesis'' back in the air, watching this scene without a word. But, he was inwardly laughing, seemingly already understanding what was about to come. Despite being aware, he didn''t seem panicked or hurried, nor did he seem very angry at all. Instead, he continued to watch the play. The only thing he was missing was a snack to enjoy himself with, but he soon took even something like that out.


    Ryu took a sip of his grandmother''s favorite tea, the icicles forming around his body relieving much of his pain in an instant. Despite all the wealth Ryu had, he had still insisted on healing normally for a few reasons.


    First, he couldn''t allow his life to become too easy. Second, there was no need to waste resources on something he could do himself naturally regardless. And lastly, a more recent addition to his list, Sarriel''s words had been very interesting to him.


    She had said that 99% of the wealth his Clans had accumulated would soon be useless. Of course, this wasn''t because they would lose their function, but rather because they would become so ubiquitous that they would become valueless.


    Such words fascinated Ryu. As an Origin Grade Herbologist, the idea of such rare materials being everywhere left him with a great amount of intrigue. He wondered just what he could accomplish with so many things to experiment on, what could he do when he didn''t have to divert so much attention toward resurrecting long since extinct species?


    ''Oh, what an interesting thought¡­ Am I getting interested in such stuff again¡­?''


    Ryu didn''t get much of a chance to continue down this line of thought before a strong spatial fluctuation covered him and his beast companions.


    He couldn''t help but chuckle. It seemed this woman was kicking him out after making use of him.

 Chapter 795 Lightning God

    Ryu''s vision blurred. When he could finally see again, the wide expanse of a familiar world opened up to him.


    Snow covered everything for as far as the eyes could see. Large mountain ranges in the distance were beautifully capped with pristine and unblemished snowfall. And, the skies continuously supplied more of these precious snowflakes.


    Ryu had returned to the Moon World.


    ''Well, at least she was nice enough to help me get to my destination.''


    Ryu wasn''t enraged by this despite his usual temper for a myriad of reasons. Firstly, he had already expected it. He might be ignorant of how things were going and what the hidden lore and secrets behind it all was, but he wasn''t a fool. Why would Sarriel want to share these matters with him after all the effort she put in? She definitely had a method of dealing with the Phoenixes and Martial Gods without him, he had just made things more convenient.


    Secondly, Ryu was planning on leaving anyway. The Moon World wasn''t a world of benefits that he could ignore. They had already been benefitting from him changing their Fate already. And, just from the few seconds he was here, he could sense that they were on the verge of evolving from the small world they were to a large world.


    Once this happened, the cultivation cap here would increase from the Dao Pedestal Realm to maybe even the World Sea or Sky God Realm. But, that was just the tip of the iceberg. The birth of natural treasures that would follow this evolution would be what everyone wanted to get their hands on.


    Of course, it had to be understood that this cultivation cap didn''t refer to what existences could step foot here. After all, when Ryu came to visit this place with his mother and grandmother, they had already been well beyond the Dao Pedestal Realm. Rather, the level cap represented the peak of what those who remained in this world could achieve.


    Simply put, this world didn''t have a high enough concentration of high quality qi to allow breakthroughs beyond this cap.


    And finally, the third reason Ryu wasn''t angry¡­ Was because he had already formulated a backdoor for himself to return. Sarriel would be a bit too na?ve to think she could fool his eyes now. Though, this wasn''t necessarily her fault, how could she have possibly guessed that Ryu had unsealed all 999?


    It was practically impossible to unseal just a few hundred, even relying on all sorts of high class treasures. If not for Ryu stumbling into the truth of Mortal Qi, he would have eventually run into a bottleneck he couldn''t break past.


    Regardless, Ryu let Sarriel play her little games. He would be back to claim what was his soon enough. Though, something told him that he might not have to go back to run into her again.


    Ryu still believed that him running into Sarriel on the Moon World was nothing more than a coincidence. In addition, she didn''t accomplish anything important in the fake Nether World either. Or, more accurately, that was what he believed¡­


    Sarriel wouldn''t do anything for no reason, so that meant that she had come to the Moon World for a purpose as well, and maybe he would find out what that purpose was very soon.


    Ryu blinked, suddenly raising a hand to his eyes. "Oh¡­?"


    ''So you finally noticed? It took you long enough. What am I going to do with you?''


    Ryu laughed. "I was a bit distracted and the sensation didn''t feel too tangible. I''m still getting used to the feeling of having my eyes completely unsealed."


    Ryu''s eyes were still blazing balls of crackling lightning. From a glance, it didn''t even look as though there was anything tangible within, it looked like nothing more than an intangible mass of energy sparking with radiant blue lightning.


    ''Only you could ignore this level of Talent awakening.''


    "What can I say? Your husband is too talented already."


    ''Oh? But according to Sarriel you aren''t worth very much at all.''


    "That woman is just feeling a bit inferior. I let her say what she pleases."


    Ailsa released a light laughter. She had wanted to reprimand Ryu for daring to flirt with another woman with two of his wives by his side like this, but he was apparently a bit too slick with his words. She had no idea what she would do with this hooligan, she almost missed the much colder Ryu. Her husband in the past would have probably already charged over to teach that woman a lesson.


    Suddenly, though, Ailsa remembered that this was sort of her fault. It was she who pushed Sarriel onto Ryu so fervently.


    However, as soon as this thought appeared, she shook her head. Accountability? Ridiculous. She was his wife, she had the right to be a bit willful from time to time now.


    ''This is good, though. Pairing the Lightning God Talent with the Storm Talent will make things far more interesting. It was probably triggered to awaken when it saw you doing something so recklessly dangerous.''


    "It was a calculated risk."


    ''It was reckless!'' Both Ailsa and Yaana spoke into Ryu''s mind at once, causing him to cough lightly.


    "Okay, okay. Let''s just test it out, then."


    Ryu raised his head to the skies, a sudden rumbling thunder taking place as he activated his Storm Talent for just a moment.


    Right then, a thick bolt of blue lightning fell from the skies. However, before it could hit the ground, Ryu''s gaze flashed, his hand reaching out and snatching it out of the air.


    Just like that, a bolt of lightning danced within Ryu''s hand in a controlled fashion, obediently beginning to compress itself more and more.


    This was the Lightning God Talent. The Storm Talent allowed one to gather up the rage of the weather, creating a large area of effect attack that could wipe out an entire world¡­


    The Lightning God Talent, though, allowed you to rein that power in, concentrating that wrath into fine and controlled points.


    The bolt of lightning in Ryu''s hand compressed so much that it became nothing more than a silver needle, even hiding much of its original blue color.


    With a flick of his finger, the silver needle shot out. The screeching of space against metal made one''s ears bleed as it shot through the skies.


    And then¡­

 Chapter 796 Lightning God (2)

    The silver needle tore a path through space, vanishing from the naked eye. In fact, even with his pupils, Ryu almost lost track of it, its blazing speed beyond anything Ryu had ever experienced before.


    The result, however, seemed completely anti-climactic. It tore into the face of a mountain''s wall and completely vanished. For a moment, nothing at all happened. As though a drop into the middle of an ocean, there was hardly even the slightest rippled. But¡­ That was only for a moment.


    With a flick of Ryu''s fingers, the needle came to a grinding halt and shot backward. In the blink of an eye, it hovered above his fingers buzzing with a slight hum. And then¡­


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The entire mountain range crumbled from the inside out. Pillars of sparking lightning shot into the skies and out in every which direction, piercing into the earth and eradicating everything for hundreds of miles.


    Though Ryu sat on Nemesis'' back thousands of miles away, the result was exaggerated to the point a wall of wind threatened to throw his partner off balance, early flinging himself away as well.


    ''¡­ Huh¡­ Not too bad.''


    Ryu smiled, his white hair dancing in the wind.


    The Lightning God Talent was like giving an engine fuel. Combined with the Storm Talent, the kind of strength it could exude was unlike what most could possibly imagine.


    Lightning was an unruly element to begin with and could be considered to be one of the only Elements on the same level as Fire when it came to the power and Faith attached to it. Fire was the origin of the human race while Lightning was the punishment of the Heavens. The two had an opposing push and pull effect on one another and each stood on a plane above normal Elements.


    Unsurprisingly, because of the power they wielded, controlling fire and lightning were two greatly difficult tasks. Ryu had always had a simple time with fire not only because of his talent, but because of the Origin Flame, the King of Flames. And now, he had suddenly gained the ability to do the same with Lightning.


    The Lightning God Talent allowed free manipulation of the unruly lightning element. Restructuring its shape, size and density became entirely a matter of those.


    The Storm Talent removed the burden of forming and controlling Lightning from the body. This allowed not only a much larger vessel, but it eliminated much of the potential harm that came with it. One only needs to look at how much Leonel had struggled with <Tribulation Nine Clouds> to know how dangerous it was to practice lightning type techniques. But, the Storm Talent took all of that trouble away.


    Still, the Storm Talent had its downfalls. It was hard to control, it wasn''t very precise, and in a one on one battle, its usage was greatly limited. In fact, even when facing numerous opponents, unless they crossed a certain threshold of numbers, it still wasn''t worth it.


    However, the Lightning God Talent changed all of that. Not only would Ryu be able to dodge the burden of cultivating lightning techniques himself, he would be able to use the Tribulation Lightning of the Heavens and, on top of all of that, he would now be able to manipulate and control it on a whim.


    Streaks of lightning continuously fell from the skies as Ryu took control of them as he pleased. He formed numerous needles, fused them into a javelin, unfused them, manipulated their form into a sword, then a spear, then a Great Swordstaff¡­


    The things he could do felt endless, but what was even more shocking was the strength of them alone. Each needle Ryu formed rivaled the strength of a Mystical Grade technique and could kill almost any Dao Pedestal Realm expert in a single stroke. And yet, the burden was next to nothing.


    The lightning came from the skies and the manipulation was as easy as breathing. It quite literally felt as though there was no burden on Ryu at all to display such strength. And, this power would only grow as Ryu''s Inheritance also grew in strength.


    This was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the Lightning God Talent as well. While manipulation of lightning was a core of its ability, it could be said that its strongest potential wasn''t in this but was rather in nurturing your own special lightning!


    There were Heavenly Winds, an Origin Grade Flame, special Water Qis, rare Earth Qis, so on and so forth¡­ However, Lightning didn''t have a special categorization like this. Though it had different sorts of qis, these could all only be considered low level.


    As far as Ryu was concerned, there were only two divisions of lightning ¨C regular lightning and Tribulation Lightning.


    With the Storm Talent, Ryu was able to cross that barrier, manipulating Tribulation Lightning to his whims and doing what most humans could never hope or dream to do. However, that was ultimately the strength of the Heavens. If there came a place where Ryu''s Storm Talent couldn''t work or his connection with these Heavens was cut off, what would he do?


    That seemed like a ridiculous thought to Ryu just a few years ago, but now, as he learned more and more about the calamity about to befall this world, he realized that this might not be so much of a dream as it was an inevitable reality.


    Ultimately, Ryu knew that if he wasn''t to bring his Dividing Heaven Dao to the pinnacle of Existence, he would have to learn a perfect balance of relying on himself and exploring the secrets of the Heavens. Regardless of whether this worry would come to pass or now, he knew he would have to take this road regardless.


    The trouble was that forming your own special Lightning Source was difficult and very complex. Even if he succeeded, it could very well be far weaker than Tribulation Lightning and ultimately not worth using. It seemed he would have to take his time with this matter as well.


    Yet another headache to consider.

 Chapter 797 Kills Faster

    Ryu decided to stay put until his injuries completely healed, there were still a lot of things he had to consider.


    For one, he had awakened his Dragon Soul, evolving it from Dragon''s Might, and yet he hadn''t really considered anything about it since then. Of course, when he had awakened it, he had been extremely pissed off as Yaana was just a measure away from dying before him, so it made sense. But, he couldn''t very well continue to ignore it.


    The feeling of using a Dragon Soul was very special. The same way Ryu felt that his soul was so much more powerful when it entered its beast form, the beast cloak that enveloped Ryu when he used his Dragon Soul felt much the same way. In fact, if Ryu thought about it, Dragon Soul was a lot like the Lightning God Talent of the Qilin.


    Dragon Soul made Ryu feel as though all the skills of the Dragon were right at his fingertips. His rage went a long way toward strengthening his Rage Flames, the power output of his body felt like it practically doubled, and even doing things like using Dragon Claw and Dragon Breath became several multiples easier.


    Ryu used to burn his throat through using Dragon Breath and though that sensation wasn''t much different when he used Dragon Soul, that was also because his Dragon Breath became so much stronger at the same time.


    In the same way, the Lightning God Talent was able to maximize the abilities Ryu''s Lightning Qilin Bloodline inherently gave him as well, especially when it came to manipulating Lightning.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, his Lightning God Talent had probably been provoked into awakening. He had originally thought that it was because he forced his Storm Talent to try and do something only the Lightning God Talent could do. But, now he felt it was likely a combination of the two.


    His Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines had always been in a heated competition with one another. When he awakened his Lightning Spirit Body, his Fire Spirit Body followed not long afterward. And now, it seemed like the vice versa was occurring.


    Ryu only smiled at this, though. This was perfect for him, this way, one Bloodline would never fall too far behind the other.


    What was more interesting to Ryu at this point, though, was his Dividing Heaven Dao. He felt such an almost intangible strength constantly hanging around him now, as though he could see the future with striking clarity. The muddiness of his mind had disappeared and a purposeful beauty painted the coming path he had to walk.


    ,m Ryu actually hadn''t used a common tongue to name his Dao. Instead, he chose the original language of the humans, often known as the Origin Language.


    Though it had a fanciful name, it wasn''t actually very special or enigmatic. In fact, many would rightfully proclaim it to be quite crude and unsophisticated. There weren''t many words to use, describing things often relied on the same bland and benign mixture of syllables, and things were quickly lost in translation without proper context. But, all of these reasons were precisely why Ryu loved the first language so much.


    In this language, the word Heavens was probably the only one with just a single, defined meaning. There was no questioning what it meant. It referred to the intangible overseer, the rule maker, the unbiased judge of all that was and all that would be. This was what the Heavens meant. Even back then, the awareness their Ancestors had for such things was palpable and laced all throughout their culture, as it should be.


    The word Dividing, though¡­ It represented a great many things.


    The first layer of explanation spoke for itself. To divide was to separate, to pull or push apart, to split¡­


    However, the second layer was far more fascinating. It began to touch upon concepts of parsing and teasing apart. When you reached these secondary layer of definitions, the word no longer just meant to divide, it implied a certain understanding of what you were dividing, an in depth comprehension and a certain organization of what you were piercing apart.


    To parse required one to analyze. It was a deeper sort of requirement, a deeper sort of burden.


    Ryu was splitting the Heavens, he wasn''t fighting it or sundering it in two. No¡­ He was coming to understand it, breaking it down into its pieces, its nuances, and parsing them apart with a hand that transcended it all.


    A rumble shot through the skies, the Moon World trembling as Ryu meditated upon the meaning of his own Dao. His presence alone seemed to have transcended the limitations of this world by a measurement impossible to label. It was akin to comparing two subjects of vastly different intrinsic value.


    What was maybe the most fascinating about Ryu''s Dao, though, was in the two individual Daos that made it up, each powerful to an extreme, more than enough for Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn to feel as though she had rarely seen something that could match just a single one of them.


    Dividing Karma¡­ And Dividing Tribulation.


    Ryu felt like the two fit together almost too well and built within it a fundamental understanding of the overarching umbrella that was the Heavens.


    What was life if not Karma and a series of Tribulations relating to it? How could a simple two words possibly describe the Heavens more than Karma and Tribulation?


    When Ryu gazed upon the foundation of his Dao, an odd pride welled up in his heart that he hadn''t experienced before. He had always been arrogant, but this pride felt different. It was almost like he was watching his child be born and grow before his eyes¡­


    In one arm, he would wield the power of Karma, controlling Fate and gazing upon the Lines of Faith.


    In another arm, he would wield the strength of Tribulation, doling out Judgment and casting his will as the final arbitrator of the Heavens.


    One would Divide Karma. The other would Divide Tribulation. Together, they would Divide Heaven.


    As his mother would say¡­


    ''This one kills¡­ But this one¡­ Kill Faster.''

 Chapter 798 At A Loss

    The more Ryu meditated, the more satisfied he seemed to become. This sort of confidence exuded by a love of your own Dao was fundamental to any cultivator. Only by having such a healthy pride in your own thoughts could you continue to forge ahead in those lonely moment where you might spend millions, even billions of year in seclusion with no one else but yourself.


    But, even compared to most others, the happiness Ryu felt right at this moment was beyond. There wasn''t even the slightest shade of doubt in Ryu''s heart, none of the shaky confidence one might feel upon taking a road no one else had before. Instead, his back was straight, his smile was broad and his heart beat at a steady rhythm.


    He could feel it. This Dao, though still in its infancy¡­ It could take him to the peak. That glass ceiling, he could no longer sense it.


    Of course, there was always the chance that he had just pushed the glass ceiling up to a level he just couldn''t see at his current level. But, with the confidence gained by having broken it once, Ryu would never hesitate to claim that he could break it again. In fact, not only would he break it, but he would shatter it to pieces, ripping it apart for daring to stand in his way.


    When Ryu reached this point in his thoughts, a light silvery glow enveloped his body. It vanished not long afterward and was hardly perceptible, even to the point that Ryu himself missed it. However, there was one person who hadn''t¡­


    Ailsa.


    Ailsa watched on as Ryu meditated, falling deep within her own thoughts. She had, of course, built her own Dao long ago. Ryu had never probed to find out what it was, but she was fairly confident in herself as well. However, in recent times, she had felt it wavering.


    Ailsa knew that this was an enormous deal and something she couldn''t ignore, but there truly wasn''t much she could do about it.


    ''That feeling just now¡­ It was so similar to Little Ryu''s fist technique¡­ But what is it¡­?''


    This was where all the doubt stemmed from. Ailsa''s confidence was built upon her nurturing. She took pride in her abilities as a Cultus Faerie and had chosen to build her Dao upon it. Unlike Ryu, though, she had yet to choose a name for her own. To do so so early was something rarely done. In fact, it could be said that the fact Ryu had decided on a name already was almost more impressive than the strength of his Dao itself.


    The picking of a name denoted supreme confidence, a confidence that couldn''t be faked, and a confidence that Ailsa didn''t quite have just yet, and it seemed that she was right to have these doubts.


    She had built everything she knew based on the cultivation system she had known all her life, but what if what she had come to know was flawed and incomplete? In fact, she was almost certain that it was.


    Ailsa had already broken through to the Cosmic Seed Realm. Her cultivation after being suppressed for so long was just as fast as advertised. But, she had come to a grinding halt here.


    The Formation of one''s Cosmic Seeds was maybe the final chance you would have at shifting the focus of your Dao. Though there were other methods Ailsa could think of, none were as perfect. All of these other methods would likely leave behind flaws.


    In the past, maybe Ailsa wouldn''t have cared much about this. But, the deeper in love she fell with Ryu, the more she came to understand that she couldn''t allow herself to be normal.


    The truth of the matter was that Ailsa was a prideful person all to her own. She was the perfect match to Ryu, how could she not be? Across all of time and Existence, these two were the ones brought together, the two of them were meant to be together.


    Ironically, though, Ailsa felt that a lot of her sharp edges were being dulled. Her entire world revolved around Ryu, and she loved it that way, but it also made her complacent and not as hungry as she had once been.


    What were her original goals? Wasn''t it to prove her brother right? To deviate from the path of the Faeries and forge a better future for them?


    She remembered in her youth how dissatisfied she was with the idea that the Fey were their superiors. The Ailsa she knew would have treated Sarriel as a rival to surpass and crush, and yet her love for Ryu had dulled those instincts to the point she even invited her with open arms into their ''family''.


    Maybe Ailsa wouldn''t even care to worry about these things if she was still as useful to Ryu as she hoped to always be, but it seemed that more and more frequently, her Life Partner was making breakthroughs without her. Even something as important as his Dao, something that she should have been the one to help him with, was formed all by himself.


    This wasn''t the first time such a thing had happened either.


    Ryu''s breakthrough while fighting the Heavens, their sudden discovery of the importance of Mortal Qi, even back to when Ryu found his Realm Heart¡­


    Each and every one of those events was far more pivotal to Ryu''s current strength than anything she had ever done, and most of these were things she had no idea or clue about. She wanted to build her Dao on nurturing, but she was so ignorant of so many things, how could she possibly still have the face to say such a thing?


    Ailsa sighed to herself. The only time she dared to have such thoughts was when Ryu had lost himself in meditation. She didn''t want to weigh him down with her burdens, he had enough on his mind and plate already.


    But, she was at a loss and didn''t quite understand what to do¡­


    What should she do?

 Chapter 799 What鈥檚 Wrong?

    Ailsa''s worries were hard for even her to wrap her head around, but things only became worse due to the external factor that were the oddities surrounding Ryu.


    Whether it was the odd Fist Inheritance or now this weird silver glow, she couldn''t quite understand what was going on. It was as though Ryu''s cultivation was constantly paving new roads, but they were roads Ailsa simply didn''t have the expertise to help him down.


    Even setting aside those two anomalies, just considering Ryu''s Dao alone Ailsa found herself at a loss. It was by far the most complex and powerful Dao she had ever laid her eyes upon, and she had spent much of the first portion of her life doing nothing more than reading endless records about the most powerful existences to ever grace their world.


    On the one hand, she was endlessly proud of her Life Partner and husband. But, on the other hand, it made her feel inadequate and lost.


    The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils had always been an existence the Cultus Faeries called their bane. When Ryu had activated his first <Instinct>, she had told him as much.


    But now, Ryu wasn''t only set on a path to reach the pinnacle of what these Pupils had to offer, but he had already laid the foundation to surpass it in all aspects in the future.


    Ailsa herself was still stuck in the mindset that her husband''s eyes were the greatest treasure ever bestowed by the Heavens, and yet Ryu had already seen its greatest weakness and thought of a method to break past it. The difference was palpable.


    Ailsa had many things she could blame this on, the worst of them probably being her Clan. Despite how free spirited she was and how much she had pushed against the grain, it was inevitable that the thoughts of her father and their Clan would wear her down, whittling much of her individual thought away until all that remained was a poor recreation of what she thought was defiance.


    Her husband was true defiance. Even when he had lost himself in a murky darkness, hating the world for all that it was and wasn''t, the one thing he had never lost was his will to fight.


    Maybe it was inevitable that a nurturer would lack a sharp edge, maybe it made little to no sense for her to have an edge to her at all¡­


    But she wanted one.


    How could she have one, though? She couldn''t remember the last time she fought anyone, maybe she was being a bit too selfish. It didn''t even make much sense, what she didn''t understand were things that should be studied, why would fighting help her?


    Ailsa''s mind was still undergoing a whirlwind of emotions when Ryu finally opened his eyes. But right then, it was as though nothing had ever been wrong, her smile becoming just as bright as it always was.


    Ryu shifted his neck from side to side, a relief filled cracking filling his body. He felt like he was untouchable at that moment, free and unfettered.


    With a thought, he brought Ailsa and Yaana out from the Incubator. There was no need for them to stay in there constantly.


    "Hm? What''s wrong?"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as he looked toward Ailsa. He looked her up and down. Despite the bright smile on her face, his eyes saw something completely different.


    The state his pupils were in right now didn''t feel much different than they had in the past. The process toward transcending past the limits of the greatest eyes in existence would be a long and grueling one. It would be no more than a joke if Ryu had had a large breakthrough in that fashion.


    However, the original state of Ryu''s completely unsealed pupils were more than enough to expose some things. And, with Ryu''s Dao now completed, it was an even more impossible task.


    Ryu could see the murkiness of the qi surrounding Ailsa. Even if he hadn''t wanted to see it, he would have still picked up on it.


    With his Dao, Ryu could piece apart a person''s Karma and look into its flow. There was clearly something wrong with Ailsa''s own. It was filled with hesitancy, self-doubt, and worry. Even back when Ryu''s Dao was still incomplete, if Ailsa was for some reason his enemy, she would currently be maybe the easiest target he had ever seen to target. It looked almost as though she only needed a few pokes to completely collapse.


    Ailsa''s expression flickered when she heard Ryu''s question and her bright smile waned when she saw through his thoughts. It suddenly became very obvious that she couldn''t hide such things away from Ryu any longer.


    Ryu wanted to say something else, but his gaze suddenly shifted toward the distance.


    With all the commotion he had caused earlier, it was a wonder that it had taken so long for someone to come and see what was happening. But, when Ryu laid eyes on these individuals, his eyes couldn''t help but narrow.


    It was a pack of griffins, majestic and pure, completely unlike the impure monstrosities depicted in some folk lore.


    Their snouts somewhat resembled beaks, but they were covered in soft layers of fur. Their foreheads were adorned by gorgeous gems and their feathers were a wise away of shades between vibrant gold and gorgeous browns.


    They didn''t have the claws of eagles but rather had soft and pliable paws hiding sharp claws within. Their heads were adorned by tall crowns of colorful feathers, making each one of them look like a King and Queen of their own space and world.


    But, what was the most damning were their pupils. An oppressive aura bore down from a simple glance. Even those of their race who hadn''t awakened their own carried some of its characteristics¡­ The characteristics of the World Pupils, the only pair that could be said to somewhat rival Ryu''s own.


    However, it was thanks to his own eyes that Ryu realized that these griffins hadn''t come because of the commotion. Instead, their eyes were completely focused on Little Gem who was taking an adorable nap near Ryu''s chest, her little tongue licking forward from time to time, only for her little paws to wipe at her snout.


    Ryu''s gaze turned cold.

 Chapter 800 Number Two

    Ryu watched on coldly as the griffin''s approached, his body not moving in the slightest. He didn''t feel like he needed to. Or, more accurately, he just didn''t want to. Giving an enemy any sort of leg up, even if it was just a superficial psychological win, wasn''t like Ryu in the slightest. In fact, he would rather suffer than allow such a thing when it came to himself, let alone when it came to someone he wanted to protect.


    In truth, Ryu didn''t know what the purpose of the Griffins were for coming here. However, he didn''t think it was a coincidence at all. The place he was in now was completely uninhabited and was no less barren than the original land he had come across the first time he came to the Moon World in this life. There was no way they would come here without a purpose.


    When Ryu first came across Little Gem, it was in a place just like this one. The little one was just about to be born but judging by the situation she was in at birth, the chance that she would have survived was close to nil.


    Ironically, Ryu had almost died back then due to his run in with Zulfiqar, a young man he had yet to properly settle his debts with. But, that was once again because the momentum of Little Gem''s birth had caused such a great commotion, a far greater commotion than Ryu''s lightning needle could have possibly hoped to measure up against.


    It was clear and obvious why they were here.


    Little Gem shifted within Ryu''s robes, her little body shivering uncontrollably. She seemed to want to get closer and closer to Ryu, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t seem to do so. She was already as close as she could get but she wasn''t satisfied with just this much in the slightest.


    She released little whimpering sounds that could break the heart. Ryu''s cold gaze gave way to a softened expression, his hand stroking the little one''s head. It seemed that Little Gem was only able to calm down somewhat after feeling Ryu scratching the back of her fluffy eats and feather crown.


    Ryu could remember quite well how he felt when he found Little Gem. The little griffin reminded him a lot of himself, cursed from birth, forever unable to grasp at power that should have been rightfully hers¡­


    From the moment they found her, Ryu and Ailsa had both agreed that if there was something in this world that had talent that could rival or surpass Ryu, that something would most definitely be a someone in Little Gem.


    However, this wasn''t what Ryu felt connected the two. That sort of helpless feeling when talent that was yours couldn''t be used, that hatred you would feel for the world, that insignificance. It was almost better if you hadn''t been born with such talent at all. At least then you could be normal, at least then you could blend in with everyone else and escape the scrutiny.


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t one to accept that sort of mediocrity. The way he looked at it, if he was going to be sealed away because he was too talented, give him weak talent so that he could climb to the top anyway, give him something he could do, something he could work with, some way that he could place one step forward at a time.


    Even as a baby in her egg, Ryu could feel these emotions coming from Little Gem. They weren''t so complex or thought out, but he could feel the resentment, the unwillingness, the feeling of abandonment.


    The Griffin was one of the very few Ancestral Beasts who didn''t have live births. But, with that came the ability for their elders to measure their talent precisely long before they hatched. Those that were worthy gained a great amount of resources to facilitate their birth and those that were unworthy were left alone, thrust to separate worlds without first receiving the support of the Clan. It was clear and obvious which received the best benefits and which did not.


    As a Cursed Beast, Little Gem didn''t receive the support she should have as a hatchling, making her already frail constitution all the more frail. If she had really landed in Zulfiqar''s hands instead of Ryu''s, it was likely that the little one would have died within a few weeks to months of her birth.


    And yet now¡­ The Griffins were looking for her?


    BANG!


    The hoard of Griffins came to a grinding halt, a wall of wind threatening to send Yaana, Ailsa and Nemesis flying off into the distance. However, it was precisely then that Ryu''s gaze flickered, a stifling pressure snuffing out the wind as though it wouldn''t dare to move without Ryu''s say so.


    Three of them stood loftily in the air, looking down.


    Ailsa and Yaana took the opportunity to come to Ryu''s side, their expressions both frowning and serious. They were no less fond of Little Gem than Ryu was, and this was especially so for Ailsa who had practically spent every minute of everyday nurturing the little one.


    The lead griffin''s gaze narrowed before its expression turned to one of surprise. As expected, there was a fluctuation here and this change wasn''t a small one in the slightest.


    "Xie''lan. Return."


    The name carried momentum and weight. Ryu didn''t miss it when Little Gem''s forehead gem glowed beneath the call. It seemed that the little one had already been given a name before she was shipped off to this place. But, that would make sense.


    Even if the Griffin Clan didn''t want to invest in Little Gem, in the small chance that she found a way to break the curse, they would most definitely not miss the chance to have such a genius by their side. Little Gem was already close, just a measure away from the Second Order. Once she reached that step, there would be a large watershed that would allow her to improve like a flooding tide of water. And, there was no doubt that these Griffins sensed that.


    Ryu smiled lightly, pulling Little Gem out from his robes and holding her up.


    "Are you Xie''lan?"


    Little Gem''s adorable large white eyes blinked with one part apprehension and fear, and another part anxiety. She had thought that Ryu was going to give her away, so she had hardly registered the words at all. But, when they did finally settle in, the little griffin furiously shook her head so hard that Ryu was worried she might twist it off.


    Ryu''s smile grew a measure brighter.


    "Are you Little Gem?"


    "~Mie! Mie!"


    Little Gem''s little wings flapped as hard as they could as she nodded, even her tail began to wag. When she ran out of ways to show her enthusiasm, even her paws began to wave around frantically.


    Ryu laughed, bringing the little one into his embrace.


    "Well, you heard her. Why haven''t you scrammed yet?"


    The lead griffin''s gaze only narrowed further. This human had actually understood their language easy enough to communicate using it with such ease. To make matters worse, this might as well have been a slap to their face.


    "Human, I planned to leave you be as you''ve a certain bond with our Princess. But, it seems that you don''t appreciate kindness."


    "Ai, it''s like I have princesses all around me. Am I really just so lucky? First my wives, now even Little Gem. I almost feel bad for ever having hated the Heavens."


    Yaana blushed profusely at this sort of praise. Since when was she a Princess? But then she remembered that Ailsa and Elena were so in the literal sense. Still, she could feel Ryu''s intention through their soul connection and knew that he included her as well.


    Yaana might not have seen herself as a Princess, but as the adopted daughter of the Tatsuya, what was she if not one?


    The Griffin''s temper threatened to flare when he heard Ryu''s words. Not only had he given their Princess such a ridiculous and demeaning name, he was now comparing her to one of his wives? Since when could human scum compare to the royalty of the greatest of the Ancestral Beasts?!


    Ryu handed Little Gem to Ailsa, gazing toward her.


    "You need to trust me more. I don''t like making the same mistake twice."


    Ailsa shuddered slightly when she heard this, but the warmth in Ryu''s gaze and the smile on his face spoke volumes.


    "My Princesses can all stay here and look pretty. This Prince of yours wants to stretch his limbs out a bit."


    "~Nie!"


    "Yes, Nemesis. You count as one of my Princesses too until the day you can beat me!"


    Ryu''s uproarious laughter shook the skies as Nemesis neighed in dissatisfaction.


    In a single step, Ryu stood a mere ten meters from the snout of the leading griffin, a distance that might as well have been a hair''s breadth considering its sheer size. A wide grin spread across Ryu''s face, his arms raising into the air as rolling clouds of thunder began to form.


    "How about I show you today why your eyes will always be number two?"

 Chapter 801 Red Skies Too

    Bru''li had never felt so small in the face of an enemy that could only be said to be a fraction of his size. He had been so focused on following the trail of Little Gem that he hadn''t even bothered to waste time on the human she had been in the arms of. As far as he was concerned, considering the kind of weakened state their Princess would have been in when she was born and how weak this world was in general, how could he ever believe that there would be any sort of challenge waiting for him from Ryu?


    But the moment Ryu spoke, the moment he had decided on something, it was as though the world itself had shifted, as though the Heavens themselves had decided to back his choices and act as a witness to his actions.


    The skies rumbled, the earth quaked, the air solidified and qi surged. Ryu''s hair fluttered, his silver eyes brightening until they vanished into orbs of sparking lightning.


    With a flip of his palm, a bow appeared, a bolt of blue falling from the skies and landing upon the palm of his hand as his fingers pulled back. It concentrated into a beam under Ryu''s control, the volatile qi becoming as obedient as a child under his whims.


    "I''ve heard so much about you Ancestral Beasts. It could be said that I spent an entire lifetime researching and learning about you all. But, I have to say that you all have given me nothing but disappointment.


    "Show me. Show me why it is that you were chosen as the warriors of Heaven."


    Bru''li felt a spark light within his heart, the gem that took the center of his forehead sparking.


    A human brat of the mere Path Extinction Realm was actually challenging him, a beast of the Ninth Order.


    Bru''li''s neck proudly raised into the skies, flexing and arching his head forward. He looked as though he carried the deified air of an Emperor, pulsing lights beginning to radiate off of his body as his wings spread.


    "Come die, human."


    The other two griffins shot backward, a wall of pressure sending them spiraling away. They realized in that moment that Bru''li had been provoked. Let alone them participating to help, even just the slightest intention on their part to do so may very well result in him turning his fury toward them.


    Ryu grinned, his body vanishing in the very same instant that Bru''li struck forward.


    BANG!


    A ripple of wind and shards of space spread out in all directions as arrow and paw met. Bru''li slapped downward, the pressure of his strike causing a tsunami of snow and land to rise beneath them.


    Ryu''s fingers plucked at the air, forming a second and third volley of arrows, each more powerful than the last.


    A roar left Bru''li, concentric circles of rippling air and concentrated shockwaves knocking them out of the sky.


    p "Distance."


    Bru''li spoke out a simple word in an obscure and ancient language just as Ryu shot out a fourth volley. In that moment, it looked as though Ryu''s arrows had been frozen in mid-air unable to move. However, what was most shocking was that Ryu could tell that this wasn''t what had happened. The truth was that the distance between himself and Bru''li had suddenly been multiplied several hundredfold, making a distance that was now barely a kilometer countless times that.


    The shimmer of Bru''li''s gem became more like a bright beacon of light, his irises blossoming with a reflection that contained the depths of the stars.


    The grin on Ryu''s face only became wider. He liked this, less of a waste of time. Bru''li brought out the true power of his Griffin Race almost immediately.


    Not every member of the Griffin Clan would awaken the World Pupils. However, so long as your Bloodline concentration met a certain standard, you would have some of the more basic abilities of them without fail. There was no doubt that Bru''li met this standard. In fact, he was likely among those closest to reflecting the true abilities of the Number Two Ranked Heavenly Pupils without having actually awakened them.


    Ryu could feel his blood boiling, his pupils pulsing as though they were being instigated by something.


    It had been too long since the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils had appeared in the world. Then, when they did finally appear, their wielder was a cripple who was forced to commit suicide and vanished for another several hundred million years.


    It could be said that as a result of this, the number one position had never been so vulnerable, and maybe now that Ryu''s Pupils had been fully unsealed, he was more keenly aware of this than he ever had been before.


    Ryu had realized that he liked this feeling of pushback, that feeling of uncertainty and doubt. It fueled him in a way that few others things could.


    ''To be threatened by number two like this, even to the point of warning me to go all out¡­'' Ryu almost wanted to throw his head back and laugh.


    Were these really the Pupils that he had placed so much pride in? He was Ryu Tatsuya, but he was actually so arrogant because of a Talent so many others in history had already been born with. He almost felt embarrassed for his past self.


    ''Those that I, Ryu Tatsuya, have passed, shouldn''t dream of ever catching up. Enjoy the view of this back of mine that will one day carry the weight of all of Existence!''


    If it was a battle of Heavenly Pupils this Griffin wanted, it was a battle of Heavenly Pupils that Ryu would give him.


    "<Lines of Fate>."


    The world disappeared into an assortment of colored Karmic Strings. It felt in that moment that everything was in the palm of Ryu''s hands, that there was nothing that could hide from him, nothing that he could see through.


    But this was exactly why Bru''li felt so antagonized.


    While the Truth Pupils seemed similar to the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, there was only one true life and death rival of Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils. The Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and the Sovereign Dominion ¨C World Pupils. These were two behemoths constantly vying for supremacy upon the mountain peak that was the martial world.


    The former saw through all things and read the world as it was. There was nothing that could be hidden or distorted beneath its gaze, nothing that couldn''t be stripped down to its barest bones and reconstructed beneath its will. However, the latter¡­


    It molded the world as it saw fit. It brought things into being, gave things without form, form. It could turn the skies from blue to red, and dye blood black or gold depending on its whim. It could make life, death and death, life.


    As for which was truly better than the other¡­


    Ryu would say that second place had no right to speak, and the Griffins would say that they had spent countless Eras in seclusion, hidden away from the world. Who was truly number one seemed to be a matter of opinion¡­


    However.


    Ryu vanished, appearing above Bru''li''s head. He vanished through the flaw in the griffin''s created Distance, slicing through his world construct as though a hot knife through butter.


    Bru''li accelerated backward, but it was at that moment that an arc of lightning fell from the rumbling skies, intercepting his path.


    "<Death Acupoint>."


    Ryu had been using his Lightning God Talent to concentrate the lightning his Storm Talent produced, holding it back and making it seem as though the first strike was nothing more than a coincidence.


    He could read the movements of Bru''li as though he was reading a book beneath the prowess of <Lines of Fate>. Layering this atop of <Death Acupoint> was like painting his enemy into a trap they had no choice but to step into.


    Bru''li felt the sent of death overwhelming him. He made a sharp change in direction, halting his backward progress. But, that choice left him with a perfect no-man''s-land for Ryu to exploit.


    The fiendish grin on Ryu''s face didn''t fade for even the slightest moment.


    "Dragon Soul."


    A flourishing coat of illusory red scales coated Ryu''s arm, expanding it to ten times its usual size as he rose it into the air. The momentum of its formation alone caused space to bend and whine, as though the arm of a Dragon was truly manifesting into reality, the kind of arm that could sunder a world on its whim.


    "Dragon Claw."


    At that instant, the skies rumbled, five arcs of lightning striking downward at the same time as the downward swing of Ryu''s claw. They perfectly fused with Ryu''s five claws, following their path as they¡­


    Tore the world in six.


    Ryu''s claw descended upon Bru''li''s head. By the time claw met griffin, the former had expanded to hundreds of times, rivaling the enormous size of the creature it targeted.


    BANG!


    The sound of bone and flesh being torn apart followed by the collapse of the earth below sung within the heart.


    Ryu stood in the skies, the mangled corpse of a griffin beneath his feet. The clouds above rumbled, the earth below surged like tides, and he stood in the middle of it all as the only stabilizing force.


    He roared into the skies, the mighty fury of a Red Dragon painting the dome of the world crimson.


    If he wanted to turn the sky red, he could do it too.

 Chapter 802 Gem

    Every time Ryu felt that he took another step toward his goals, his body would suddenly feel alive, surging with vitality as though each one of his cells had been injected with qi to the point of nearly bursting at their seams.


    He didn''t even particularly care that he had killed such a talented Ancestral Beast in just a few moves. The weight of the achievement itself was practically meaningless, it was rather the deeper underbelly that rocked his soul and filled him with an overwhelming pride.


    The other two griffins who had been blown away by their first exchange stood in their own locations, seemingly frozen in time. They couldn''t even seem to wrap their heads around what they had seen.


    The only rivals the Ancestral Beasts had ever had in their history were the Fey. Every other race had always been far beneath their notice, and, quite frankly, the only reason they gave the Martial Gods the time of day was because they could tell that there was something different about them.


    However, it was clear and obvious to them that Ryu was a normal human. In fact, he was not just a normal human, but his cultivation was an entire Order beneath that of their leader. It just didn''t make any sense to them.


    Even they were able to fight humans and even Martial Gods far above them in terms of cultivation. This was the first time they had come across someone who could do the same to them in reverse.


    Without another moment of hesitation, the griffins turned and ran. They didn''t want to have to stay in this place for even a single moment longer. No matter what, they had to report this.


    Ryu''s head lowered from gazing up at the skies, locking onto the fleeing griffins. But, in the end, he couldn''t be bothered to care. Since they could find Little Gem once, they could do it again, and again. It was likely that so long as Ryu was in a world with a griffin, they would be able to find their traces. Well, unless Ryu left the little one in the Incubator all the time. But, Ryu wasn''t the type to change the course of his actions for the benefit of others, and definitely not in fear of others.


    If they wanted to come, they could come. He would dice them apart to pieces just like he had with the one beneath his feet now.


    ¡­


    It was only after vanishing thousands of kilometers over the horizon and realizing that Ryu hadn''t followed them that the two griffins relaxed. But, it was also in their relaxed states that they were able to think back to the battle and realized what had happened in those final moments.


    When it clicked, it felt like their minds were turning too much, their hearts skipping several beats.


    Dragon Claw. Lightning God. Storm Talent. All appearing in one humans?!


    No, that wasn''t the worst part. They had definitely sensed that aura, the aura of their most bitter rival.


    It wasn''t necessarily true that they had never taken any Race outside of the Fey seriously. Or, more accurately, there was another group of individuals they had no choice but to take seriously as many of the greatest losses their people had experienced had been at the hands of those people.


    The difference was that these individuals weren''t tied down by a particular Clan, Bloodline, Race or Species. They appeared at random intervals. Sometimes they were beasts, sometimes they were humans, sometimes Faeries or Tree Folk, sometimes Demons or Devils¡­


    However, the one constant was that they would always be obscenely powerful, an unfettered monstrosity that did as they pleased and wreaked destruction and havoc wherever they set foot¡­


    The wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    The two griffins looked toward one another, the shock and fear on their faces evident as they continued to shoot off into the distance. In those moments, it was as though a fire had been lit on their tails as they blazed a trail, flying faster than they ever had before.


    This information, they had to tell someone powerful enough to stop the carnage.


    ¡­


    Ryu descended from the skies, landing by the corpse of the enormous griffin. By this point in their cultivation, griffins were already easily hundreds of meters in length and size. Likewise, their Gems were enormous, taking up a large segment of their foreheads.


    The Gems of griffins were precious treasures in their own right. In fact, even the Griffin Clan themselves believed this. When a griffin died, especially if they were extremely talented, the Gem would be harvested for future use.


    It was a lot like what Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan had done with their Bloodlines.


    Of the Ancestral Beasts, the griffins were the symbolism of Order. In this way, they aligned much more with the Qilins than they did the Dragons. At the same time, this sort of dominion made them among the strongest of even the Ancestral Beasts, and for good reason at that.


    p This Order is where their World Pupils formed and where their strength came from. They gave structure to the world, and as such, they were granted the privilege to mold it into their image. The most powerful of the Griffins could bend and warp reality as they saw fit, changing the fundamental laws that governed the surroundings.


    Something like making a distance of one kilometer equivalent to the distance of thousands of kilometers like Bru''li had done was nothing more than child''s play. Their domains could make Lu''card''s Spatial Domain look like nothing more than a joke.


    Ryu reached out a hand, touching the enormous five meter tall gem. Even though he had gone right for the head and split most of Bru''li face into pieces, the gem was still completely unscathed. In fact, Ryu had felt his middle claw shatter in that final attack.


    ''This gem could actually be greatly useful¡­ If refined properly, they would be the dream of any Formation Master¡­''

 Chapter 803 Gemstone

    In a lot of ways, the Gem was the center of a griffin''s strength. In lore, it was known as a World Core.


    The simplest ability of the gemstone was its Spiritual Sense. Others had to awaken their own, but the griffins had Spiritual Sense from birth. This was the earliest example of their influence on the world around them.


    At its core, Spiritual Sense was just Spiritual Qi interacting with the world, blanketing it, and studying it. This process could then relay an image back to the host of the qi.


    Griffins were able to exude this sort of pressure to interact with the world from birth, allowing them to see with far more than just their eyes. It was also this special Spiritual Sense of theirs that allowed them to understand the Order of the world in a way many couldn''t even hope to. In this way, their gemstone was a lot like Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    It was no wonder they thought themselves to be superior. They felt that not only did they have the ability to comprehend the world in a much deeper way that Ryu could, they also had the ability to manipulate it to their whims once they reached a certain level of skill.


    Maybe in the past, Ryu would have been stubbornly stuck in his ways. But, after seeing through the true weakness of his Pupils, he was more open to seeing things from the perspective of others. Plus, what better way was there to find a path of improving his Pupils into the future if not by comprehending the paths other similar Pupils have taken.


    ''It''s quite interesting. If you think about it, most Heavenly Pupils seem to share some characteristics with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils in one way or another, it''s just that they''re restricted by some laws.


    ''Even if you take the Fire Pupils as an example. They might not be able to see through the mysteries of all things, but by design, they''re meant to be capable of seeing through the mysteries of fire itself. In that way, it shares a portion of my abilities.


    ''And, if you take a step further, though those born with my Pupils tend to make it further in cultivation, there''s likely a much weaker glass ceiling for those who wield the Fire Pupils as well. If they ever made it to the level where they could wield the ability of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils in full, they would have had to forge such an ability for themselves, so they wouldn''t be faced with the same bottleneck I would be¡­''


    Ryu thought these things but none of it brought him to a sudden breakthrough. It was a simple deduction and a mere single brick laid upon the foundation that would rise countless years into the future. But, Ryu still smiled when he thought about it.


    After a moment, Ryu turned his attention back to the gemstone. Each one was unique in its color and often swirled with a mix like a beautiful nebula. The pressure it exuded was quite strong, it almost felt hat coming near it was like crossing a barrier over into a new world entirely.


    It could be said that Formations were the attempt of lesser species to follow in the steps of griffins.


    Formation Masters learned from the natural Runes of the world and eventually formed amalgamations of them that could execute all sorts of fantastical things. But, ultimately, Formation Masters were just taking a longer route to accomplishing things that griffins could do with a single thought.


    If Ryu wanted to form a world of ice pillars, he would think of formations like the <Nine Purgatories of Hell> or <Rising Phoenix, Setting Sun> or <Abyssal Flame Rising>.


    Of course, each one of these formations was of the Ancestral Grade and examples of protective and offensive Formations he had run into during his Ruin hunting days. Each and every one was powerful to an extreme, and if not handled properly, could incinerate not only you to ash, but everything within an entire world.


    Just setting up these Formation required not only the expertise of a Grand Master, it required skill beyond imagination, and, most importantly, resources of ridiculous proportion.


    An Ancestral Grade Formation required ingredients not weaker than this, and in a large amount at that.


    It could be said that most of the reason Ryu had never really used Morvar''s Formation Eye Visualization was because though it didn''t require ingredients or resources to deploy, the resulting formation suffered as a direct cause of this.


    Ryu knew the ins and outs of countless Formations though he had never drawn any personally. Still, it could be said that as long as he wanted to learn how to, it would take him a fraction of the effort of anyone else, it was just never worth the time.


    But with this¡­


    ''I can threaten some real powerhouses if I do this correctly.''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. He wasn''t under the illusion that he would be able to keep improving at this speed constantly, but there was a shortcut right in front of him. His own personal strength was still the most important, but this war wouldn''t wait for him to slowly improve.


    The trouble was that Ryu wasn''t sure if he had the skill to do it even if he felt it was feasible with his knowledge. Would he have to ask one of the Supreme Blacksmith''s for help again? Returning there might be a big issue, though.


    Ryu''s thoughts danced back and forth. But, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do it.


    With the gemstone of a powerful griffin, he would essentially have a replace all measure for every resource one might need to form a Formation. If he combined this with the Formation Eye Visualization, he would be able to deploy any and all Formations without suffering even the slightest drop in their performance.


    In his mind, Ryu even had countless Formations that could entrap even Sky Gods. Let alone entrap them, he knew Formations that could outright kill True Sky Gods, let alone False and Fragmented ones.


    The trouble would be that Ryu would need either a Twelfth Order Griffin''s gemstone to accomplish that feat, not to mention a much deeper comprehension of the Formation Eye Visualization than he had now. Or¡­ He would need the gemstone of a Griffin who had truly awakened the World Pupils.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.

 Chapter 804 Third And Final

    This was already the second time in too short a span that Ryu felt that he would need to rely on someone else in order to advance his strength, and he didn''t like it in the slightest. Though he seemed to have vented his frustration by leaving the Bowman Branch of the Armament Guild out to dry, it wasn''t much of a surprise that Ryu wasn''t very satisfied with this alone.


    As far as he was concerned, the one that needed to be punished was Supreme Blacksmith Arcus, but this was, at most, a slight inconvenience to the Fragmented Sky God. The ones that would truly suffer in the rampage of the Ancestral Beasts were the weak and fragile. The Sky Gods would suffer in that many of their investments would be ruined and they would lose some wealth and prestige, but outside of that, there was nothing.


    Plus, there was the fact that True Sky God Arcus had tried to kill him. Though it was passive initially, he had actually blocked Old Man Abe from coming to help him afterward. Of course, Ryu still came out completely unscathed, but that was, once again, not the point. If he punished people only based on what happened to him, then that would mean that the person who eventually killed him would get off scot-free, that wasn''t the way he liked to do things.


    Then there was one more matter to consider. Ryu remembered that feeling he got when Sarriel told him just how useless much of his treasures were in some places. What Ryu felt first when he heard this wasn''t inferiority or even defiance, it was rather¡­ excitement.


    What was surprising though was that this excitement wasn''t through the lens of battle and growing stronger, but it was rather through the lens of innovation and invention. Ryu was actually excited to see where his Herbology skills could go by entering such a world, a world where he could divert his attention from resurrecting extinct species and rather focus on creating new and intriguing forms of life.


    To Ryu, this had been a greatly shocking thought for obvious reasons. In his first life, he had only learned Herbology, the Four Arts, Formation Theory, or any other endless number of things he had completely ignored in this second life of his because he didn''t want to be seen as useless. He couldn''t fight, so he strove to make an impact in other ways, in a way that could help his parents and repay their kindness to him.


    It was quite funny. Ryu abhorred being tested by others. He didn''t see them as worthy of his time or effort. Someone testing you always implied that they saw themselves as a superior authority, as though their opinion mattered in the grand scheme of all that was much more than yours did. It was the kind of feeling Ryu hated the most¡­ And yet, it was exactly the kind of pressure he always put himself other when he sought ways to improve without being able to cultivate.


    To Ryu, those kind of things were a cage. But, interestingly enough, wasn''t he still trying to prove himself now? He was growing stronger not just for revenge, but also so that he could carry on the mantle of the Tatsuya in a way that would make his father and grandfather proud. He had just traded in one cage for another.


    If things were framed in that way, maybe trying to ''escape'' what he had done in his first life was the wrong approach to begin with. Or maybe, there was no escaping it to begin with. He had made it such a large part of himself that it couldn''t be separated¡­ Or maybe, it was just as simple as him being so jaded in his first life that he couldn''t even see how much he was enjoying what he was doing.


    When Ryu thought about it, if he had to choose a hobby, which one could possibly suit him better than Herbology? The idea of becoming the god of a patch of land, bending its nature to your whims and terraforming what the Heavens had formulated into your own image¡­


    ''Huh¡­? Terraforming what the Heavens had formulated into your own image¡­''


    A breeze whistled by Ryu, making him feel as though he was walking on air.


    Ailsa and Yaana, who had been watching him this entire time, couldn''t help but be baffled. A breakthrough? Again?


    Ailsa''s gaze flickered with complicated emotions. Just how much was this? It didn''t even seem to make sense anymore. It was as though Ryu was taking the world of cultivation and turning it into a joke, comprehending things that it took the greatest geniuses across countless epochs and eras trillions of years to accomplish and grasp once every few months it seemed.


    While it wasn''t a cultivation breakthrough, Ailsa could feel that Ryu''s Dao had taken another large step forward. But, such an advancement in Dao, even without the slightest tick upward actual cultivation foundation, was still as good as causing a qualitative change in combat prowess. Simply put, Ryu had grown stronger again.


    Ailsa sighed. ''Am I even useful anymore?''


    Ryu''s hair gently flowed in the wind.


    With how firm his Dao was, he felt like he could cut through the Path Extinction Realm and step into the Dao Pedestal Realm with just a few days of meditation.


    The Path Extinction Realm was difficult because most who entered it were still considered among the younger generation of the martial world. They had yet to form their Foundational Dao. As such, when asked to challenge and destroy the comprehension they had of their Inheritances, most couldn''t withstand the backlash.


    But, as things stood now, not only was Ryu''s Dao incredible, it was no less firm than many World Sea Realm experts already. What was a challenge for others had suddenly become as easy as breathing to him.


    However, there was something that held Ryu back from moving forward, something that told him it was in his best interest to stall his cultivation right here and now, something that told him not to take a single step forward in anything but his Dao.


    Ryu would have never expected that his third and final use of <Intuition> would come like this.

 Chapter 805 Unknown

    Ryu was baffled.


    His previous two uses of <Intuition> had been so useful to him that he would have been lying if he said he wasn''t looking forward to the third. He had been prepared to wait millions, billions, even trillions of years for it to trigger. After all, there were many of the previous owners of these Pupils that might not experience a single call to <Intuition> in their lifetimes. Ryu was definitely the first to have not only used all three, but to have actually experienced a fourth in a previous lifetime!


    Even though Ryu knew that he was luckier than others in this regard, wasn''t this shift a bit much? It didn''t lead him to a treasure or a massive boost in cultivation, it just told him¡­ to not cultivate? If he didn''t know better, he would be asking for a refund. As for who he would get it from, he didn''t know. But he had already fought against Heaven''s Incarnation once, he could do it again to find out who was responsible for this sick joke.


    Ryu shook his head. Despite his thoughts, and despite the recent developments, the one thing that was true was that he did still trust his eyes. If they deemed it fit to use <Intuition> in this aspect, then he trusted them. It was very likely that in due time, he would come to understand why.


    If he was stuck at the Path Extinction Realm for the foreseeable future, though, he would need to make himself stronger in other ways, namely his body and his soul. In addition, just because <Intuition> had given him this information, didn''t mean that he should stop looking for the reason why.


    Ryu could think of a great many possibilities.


    The first could be that this was related to his Meridians again. Maybe there was a step he was missing to properly use it. This was maybe the greatest possibility.


    The second possibility that Ryu could think of was an issue with his cultivation technique. It had to be remembered that Ryu had chosen to stack three cultivation techniques atop of one another to be used in unison. The original goal of this was to maximize the greatest strength of his Meridians and ensure that he stuffed as much qi into himself as possible.


    But, now that Ryu thought about it, was that still the greatest strength of his Meridians? It was clear that the Chaotic Silk Meridians were beyond just what they seemed on the surface and they were far more than just a robust set of Meridians like everyone else seemed to believe.


    It was very possible, then, that Ryu had chosen poorly all that time ago. Maybe he was using an inappropriate cultivation method and he should switch to another one?


    It wasn''t impossible to do this. After all, Ryu cultivated neutral qi. In addition, he had already deviated from the traditional path those techniques laid out for him by forming 13 Immortal Rings instead of just nine like most peak geniuses did.


    Beyond this, the further along your road of cultivation you went, the more important your cultivation method became. But, Ryu had always thought that while your cultivation method became more important, your actual cultivation technique itself became less and less so.


    These might sound like the same thing, but they were functionally different. A method was like the deviating path Ryu had taken to form 13 Immortal Rings. The technique, though, was the route Ryu had taken to facilitate his growth, the one he chose at the very start of his cultivation journey.


    As you transcended Realms, cultivation would become more individual as it began to rely more and more on Comprehension. Often, by the time one reached the Sky God Realm, the original technique would become so unrecognizable that it would be like the cultivator had self created a new one all to their own. If Ryu thought of things this way, could it be that his <Intuition> wanted him to consider a new approach to cultivation?


    There were simply far too many variables. Even after rifling through all the cultivation techniques he had on hand, of which there were hundreds to thousands of high quality ones, Ryu didn''t find a single one that called out to him.


    p The bad news, then, was that it seemed that this would take a very long time to figure out. The good news, though, was that because <Intuition> had activated in this way, it was still subtly active and could guide him from time to time. Until the moment that it turned off and Ryu could cultivate again, he would have slightly sharper senses when it came to matters related to this topic. That would be greatly helpful.


    Ryu took a deep breath and eventually smiled.


    There was more good news as well. What had led him down this rabbit hole was a breakthrough that was very much worth celebrating.


    In that moment, Ryu had understood just how broad the applications of his Dao could be. Terraforming what the Heavens had formulated into your own image¡­ What was that if not the perfect application of Dividing Heaven?


    To both understand and use the Heavens at once, it was perfectly applicable to Herbology¡­ But, it wasn''t just that either. What was Formation Mastery if not comprehending the Heavens and drawing upon its power to form powerful domains of influence? What was Blacksmithing if not understanding the materials of the Heavens and using them to form powerful treasures? What was Alchemy if not the exact same thing?!


    If Ryu applied himself in this way, applied his Dao to all that it could be used to supplement, just what kind of monster would he become?


    Relying on others really wasn''t Ryu''s style. And, since he couldn''t cultivate normally anymore anyway, why not?


    Ryu''s hand reached forward, a strong palm landing on Bru''li''s gemstone. With a strong pull, it was ripped out of the latter''s corpse, revealing an enormous stone more than double Ryu''s height and easily more than five times his depth.


    Ryu lifted it up with a palm, his free hand flipping over to reveal a normal Black Grade metal. He suddenly became very focused on it, his intentions unknown.

 Chapter 806 Violet Pulsing

    Ryu instantly reached a level of deep focus most could only reach a few times in their lives if they were lucky, stepping into Breath of Heaven, and surpassing it in the blink of an eye to enter One with Self just a breath later.


    The process was smooth and he seemed to fuse with the world around him. No, it was more accurate to say that it felt like he had become a Natural Treasure, a budding Spiritual Herb formed by the efforts of the Heavens themselves.


    It could be said that every level of Meditation had its own unique properties and represented a a deeper state of being. These lines often blurred for Ryu because he not only had access to <Focus> which allowed him to slip into a State of Meditation whenever he so pleased, but he also had the Spirit Seeking Lilies that could help to supplement his already astounding abilities.


    In the future, Ryu would learn just how valuable this ability was. But, for now, his mind had wandered elsewhere, focusing on the metal in his palm and completely forgetting the fact that he was holding the enormous gemstone above his head.


    The metal itself was almost entirely worthless, at least to Ryu himself. A Black Grade metal could only be used to forge Black Grade treasures, obviously. This wasn''t a very complicated thing to grasp. And, considering Black Grade treasures were only useful to Qi Refinement Realm and Spiritual Severing Realm experts at best, Ryu himself had obviously left the level where he would need to care about such things a long time ago.


    In truth, the only reason Ryu had such a metal ore in his possession was because he had taken the entire inventory of his Clans'' treasures with him. Despite their status, the Ice Phoenix and Tatsuya Clans still had low level members to care for and raise. They had enough resources of the Common, Black and Earth Grade to drown out entire Planes, Ryu just had never bothered with them before. He also didn''t throw them away because not only would such a thing be wasteful, if he ever wanted to rebuild his Clans in the future, they would be invaluable resources.


    Still, none of this explained why Ryu would suddenly take out such a thing. But, maybe the most surprising thing was that even in his meditative state, Ryu began to doubt himself, believing that he might have overextended himself.


    If he wanted to try this, maybe he should have tried a Common Grade metal first. However, even this thought only lasted for a moment before he thrust it to the back of his mind, his expression remaining placid and his body becoming completely unmoving.


    Violet Pulsing Ore.


    In its unrefined state, it looked just like a lump of coal. After a refinement process, its true vibrant colors would begin to show, becoming a pulsing purple that danced depending on the way the sunlight hit it. That said, this was more than just a beautifying effect, the colors of the metal had a function to it as well. This ''pulsing'' turned the qi poured into it into waves. If one was skilled enough in its usage, it could be used to both weaken an enemy''s strike and strengthen your own.


    It was a bit unconventional in its use, though. It required a great amount of skill to use this function properly and an even greater amount of sensory sharpness. As such, it was best used in forging weapons where speed, dexterity and agility could be maximized. These also happened to be the type of weapons that would have the weakest defenses and not exactly the strongest attacks, so they could use the added benefits given by this special ore.


    This information flooded Ryu''s mind, after several moments of focused meditation. But, what was the most shocking thing about it¡­ Was the fact Ryu hadn''t known any of this before.


    Much like how Ryu was oblivious to the ins and outs of weak beasts back when he was still stuck on the Mortal Plane, he didn''t know a lot about weaker metals and ores either. While Ryu had undergone diligent study in Herbology, he hadn''t done the same in other fields and only took with him bits and pieces of knowledge that benefited him, nothing more, nothing less.


    But that was why it was so shocking that all of this information was suddenly flooding Ryu''s mind now. Or, rather¡­ it would be shocking to anyone who knew what was going on. As for Ryu himself, it was clear that he had already expected this much.


    He was right. The application of his Dividing Heaven Dao went beyond just battle. With Dividing Karma, he could peer into the deepest secrets of an object, unearthing all of its properties and hidden natures. What he knew about this metal now was likely even beyond what even a Supreme Blacksmith would know. In fact, it wasn''t just that, not only did he understand its properties inside and out after a moment of meditation, but he also knew what sort of weapons it was best forged into¡­


    Daggers. Shorts swords.


    This was an application of Dividing Judgment. Dividing Karma had allowed Ryu to peer into the design the Heavens had created for the ore. He could see what its properties were, its melting point, its different states of changes at various temperatures, the kind of refinement methods and types that would work best on it, he could even see a branching system of properties it could match well with, forming alloys with countless times the power of this one individually.


    And then, with Dividing Judgment, he could translate the Will of the Heavens into his own image. While Dividing Karma allowed him to comprehend, Dividing Judgment allowed him to apply what he had comprehended!


    The wider his breadth of knowledge, the more he would be able to properly apply these metals toward their value.


    ,m Ryu had already been able to form high level blueprints just based on his superficial understanding of metals and ores well enough to astound Sky Gods. What would he be able to accomplish if his comprehension of all metals in existence became this deep? What would he be able to accomplish if his Dao progressed even further?!


    This was just the tip of the iceberg, Ryu could feel it. This ability wasn''t limited to metals in the slightest. He could do the same for Spiritual Herbs with great ease, he could even do so for natural occurring Foundation Runes, strengthening a path toward Herbology, Alchemy and even Formation Mastery.


    The best thing about all of this was the fact Ryu no longer felt like they were deviant paths, wasting his time and dragging down his progress toward becoming stronger. The more he used his Dao to comprehend the world in this way, the stronger and sturdier his Dao would become and ultimately, he would grow more powerful as a result.


    Everything formed a beautiful cyclical cycle, feeding into one another bit by bit and measure by measure to form a holistic whole.


    Ryu suddenly felt like a blazing trail had appeared right in front of him, illuminating the path toward his future progression and the pinnacle with blinding golden lights. Wasn''t this what it meant to cultivate? To comprehend the Heavens and make it your own? Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but tremble. At that moment, he had no doubt that his Dao was the greatest Dao ever formed. No one would be able to shake his resolve in this belief.


    ''I know the path to perfecting this¡­ The day I find a way to perfectly fuse my Dao with not only these secondary professions and my Qi Realm cultivation, but also my Body Realm and Mental Realm cultivation¡­


    ''I will be invincible.''


    A violet fire-lightning flame suddenly appeared in Ryu''s palm, erupting around the mass of ore.


    ''Failure.''


    Ryu threw his hand to the side, the Violet Pulsing Ore crumbling to ash before it even hit the ground. But, by then, he had already pulled out a second, a third, and even a fourth.


    ''Failure.''


    ''Failure.''


    ''Failure.''


    Ryu''s expression didn''t change in the slightest. However, on the fifth try¡­


    A shimmering light pierced into the skies. In that moment, the metal seemed to release a twinkling sound as though sparkling motes of starlight.


    However, even witnessing such a beautiful scene that was beyond anything a Black Grade Ore should have been capable of, Ryu''s expression didn''t change in the slightest.


    The flame in his hand changed, losing its purple color and becoming entirely black-red. Soon, however, a delicate and illusory golden-red flame fused into it, followed by an entirely golden flame that spread outward like a proud peacock.


    Unlike the previous process, Ryu was absolutely perfect this time. The temperature rose and then suddenly hit a steady plateau, not fluctuating one way or another in a perfect harmony.


    The violet orb in his palm melted but the temperature capable of melting a Black Grade metal was nowhere near enough to even tickle Ryu. It was far more of a challenge to even maintain such a low temperature to begin with.


    Ryu''s palm flipped over, pinching one end of the melted metal and whipping it outward until it was nine inches long and about two inches thick.


    Ryu suddenly launched the gemstone he had been holding up into the air, his gaze narrowing as he used his now free hand to send several flicks of his finger toward the molten metal.


    DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!


    ''Perfect.''


    Ryu formed a circle with his thumb and index finger, pushing the nail of the latter against the skin of his thumb. With a flick, a sharp nail protruded from his index finger, pulsing with a dense qi.


    Ryu pierced forward with it, beginning to draw out enigmatic Runes.


    [Sorry everyone. For the next few days, there will only be one long chapter a day just like the weekends. I will be back to two chapter uploads on the weekdays Monday next week <3]

 Chapter 807 Complicated

    Ryu had never formally learned any Blacksmithing, obviously. So, the Smithing Runes he understood were exactly zero. However, he didn''t even consider this to be a problem at this moment. In fact, he felt that his own style of refinement couldn''t rely on the methods of others. If he wanted this to work properly, he would have to formulate his own system.


    To anyone else, this might have felt like a daunting task. But, to Ryu, it filled him with excitement he had never felt before. And, he knew exactly where he should start.


    The Fundamental Runes of the world were the foundation that formulated the world. All that was, all that would be, and all that had been was structured beneath the laws of these Runes.


    Ryu was quite familiar with them as he had formulated his own Visualization before in the past. It was a feat that had only taken him a few moments of thought and it had clearly displayed his skill in the matter. Right now, he felt like that matter would be no different.


    With his current eyes, Ryu could observe the Fundamental Runes of the world on a whim. He could see what it was that made the snow flutter as it did, what caused water to flow so freely and unfettered, what made a mountain so sturdy and what made the skies so all encompassing.


    These were all secrets he could gaze upon with a thought. Nothing could hide from him¡­ The only question was how much did he understand?


    The formulation of a Visualization, or an Alchemic recipe, or a Blacksmith''s Formation, were all Foundational Runes. The question was what path was taken, what principles were used, what roads were travelled¡­ In the martial world, there were countless methods of reaching the same destination, each one different from the last.


    Functionally, there was nothing that separated the building blocks of any one of these disciplines, they all shared the same root. It was all the same¡­ But that was exactly what made it all so difficult.


    Ryu could now see an infinite number of paths laid out before him. There were an infinite number of Runes that could make this blade sharper, an infinite number that could make it swifter, an infinite number that could allow it to absorb qi more smoothly¡­ The list was well¡­ infinite.


    Why was it that the Supreme Blacksmiths could only reach the pinnacle of forging a single type of weapon? Why was Wynhorn so focused on swords and Arcus so focused on bows and arrows?


    The answer was simple, really. Trying to follow down the road of all these paths was simply impossible. A single expert couldn''t possibly master them all. There was too much to learn and just the idea of trying to experience another path felt like having to rebuild your Dao all over again.


    Why was Wynhorn so focused on the sword? It was because it was what she knew the best. She understood what materials worked, she understood what Runes to stay away from, she had grasped an entire system, taking some from her predecessors and forming much more of her own¡­


    But what if you could peer into the heart of a resource? What if it whispered into your ears, telling you what it wanted to become? What if you could feel the path ahead rather than having to deduce it? What if you could cut down these infinite number of paths until just one lay before you? The perfect one?


    An ancient, gorgeous pattern was drawn onto the side of the molten purple blade, shimmering with blinding lights and piercing the snowing clouds above.


    Ryu tossed the blade into the skies, catching the falling gemstone at the same time as he looked up indifferently. Without the slightest flicker in his expression, a bolt of lightning the thickness of an arm snaked downward, smiting the floating blade out the skies and right back into his now one and only free hand.


    Ryu looked down at the blade, rotating it in his hand. It had a perfect taper to it and its blade was as sharp as a razor before even an initial sharpening. It didn''t have a handle since Ryu hadn''t made one, but the vitality it pulsed with made it feel otherworldly. Just spinning through the air like it had before had sliced the apart, leaving faint marks in the snowy land it had been rotating above.


    ''Hm¡­''


    The gemstone in Ryu''s hand vanished as he turned a gaze toward Bru''li''s corpse. The skeleton of the griffin, at least the portions not drenched in blood, radiated like polished pearls, sometimes even reflecting what small bits of sunlight it gained to reveal a hint of a murky rainbow color.


    ''Perfect.''


    Ryu reached out a sharp claw and clamped down on the corpse, ripping a pinky toe bone out. Despite the fact it was probably the smallest bone in the griffin''s body, it was still larger than Ryu''s head. But, in an instant, the pinky toe bone was severed into fine pieces, leaving one just barely longer than the width of a hand.


    Ryu clamped down on it, a red aura growing as the heat in the surroundings skyrocketed. The snow beneath his feet quickly melted and a rush of steam billowed into the air.


    Soon, Ryu walked out from the steam with a smile on his face, a purple blade with a beautiful pearly white handle and guard now dancing in his palms as iciles danced through its body. To his bad, the pool of hot water that had been forming had already frozen over into an icy lake.


    "Ryu, that¡­" Yaana was a bit speechless.


    "This? It''s just a little project. I didn''t want to leave it incomplete, but it''s not too big of a deal."


    Ryu thought for a moment before his hand whipped outward, sending the knife slicing through the air like he had his lightning needle previously. The mountain range had long since collapsed, but what remained was not only the hardest rock, but it had also been fried and melted by Ryu''s lightning earlier, refining it of its impurities and leaving even stronger rock behind.


    In a world like this one, such a mountain range would have existed for millions of years with ease, the density of it all was most definitely not a joke. Every year, the peak would only get taller and the tectonics that caused it to rise in the first place would only squeeze the rock all the more.


    After existing for a very long time, the Fundamental Runes of a natural phenomena would also become greatly important. Though nothing compared to Shrine Mountain, this mountain had its own comprehensions, enough to allow one to have comprehended a Natural Enlightenment from it, though you would soon come to a bottleneck you couldn''t surpass.


    One might say Ryu was cruel for targeting such a mountain not just once, but twice. But, the reality was his first strike had given the mountain a chance to reinvent itself. With such a dense concentration of Tribulation Lightning having reformed it, Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if in another several million years, it began to form a special ice-lightning hybrid qi unique to this region. By then, those who comprehended it would definitely be more powerful than their peers.


    As for this second targeting¡­ It was just a Black Grade treasure, what damage could it possibly cause to a mountain with that level of hardness¡­?


    PCHU! SSSS!


    The blade sank down three inches, eating up a third of the knife before the rest of it began to vibrate wildly back and forth, unable to stop as though an arrow that had met its mark.


    Ailsa and Yaana stood in shock. Little Gem looked from wife to wife as though trying to understand, then she too put on her best surprised expression, causing an uproarious laughter from Ryu who couldn''t help but pluck her out of Ailsa''s arms.


    "~Gigi!"


    Little Gem happily licked Ryu''s cheek, still not quite understanding what was going on but being more than happy to be played with. It seemed the little one had already long since forgotten that one of her own race was lying dead in a pool of its blood.


    "Alright, I guess it''s about time we go. We''ve spent enough time here." Ryu said with a smile, ready to leave.


    "Ah!"


    Yaana suddenly furiously shook her head. With a wave of her hand, the knife vanished from where it had been and appeared in her hand. She was stunned for a moment about how it felt in her palm before she gave Ryu an aggrieved look.


    "This is your first forge, you can''t just leave it like this. My master said that it''s very important to keep!"


    "Oh?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. In truth, he wasn''t very satisfied with it and he could already think of many ways to improve it. Though theoretically, some time in the future, he would be able to see just one road ahead whenever he was refining something. Right now, he still saw too many and had to randomly pick one. Only when his Dao reached its pinnacle would he always be able to pick out the perfect path.


    The only reason he had bothered to give it a handle was because he thought it would be a shame to not complete it. However, he had a perfect memory, he didn''t really see the need to keep his failures around.


    "Do as Little Yaana says. In fact, if you fight with your own creations, you''ll probably feel more in tune with them and your Dao will progress even faster."


    "Ah¡­" Ryu was enlightened. This was actually an excellent point.


    Just as he was about to thank Ailsa, though, he noticed that her gaze was still absent minded.


    Ryu sighed and shook his head. Women were so complicated. How could she think she was useless? She had just casually given him world changing advice just now and he had lost count of the number of times she had done so.


    "Huh?"


    Ailsa suddenly looked up, finding a finger beneath her chin.

 Chapter 808 Floating Lslands

    Ryu looked down at Ailsa for a moment, his gaze bouncing between her crimson eyes as though he was looking and searching for something.


    The longer he remained silent, the more flustered Ailsa seemed to become. She had no idea where to put her hands or where she should be looking, even her heart seemed like it might beat out of her chest any moment now.


    Ryu knew there were a lot of sides to Ailsa. There was the mischievous big sister side, there was the overly sensitive sexual side, there was the arrogant and proud side, and there was finally a hidden stubborn side that she didn''t show often but Ryu had always known was there.


    If she wasn''t so stubborn, any other woman with her level of pride would have left his side a long time ago. There was no way, especially after how rude he had been to her when they first met, that she would still be his partner to this day. It was only because she had set her mind on a goal and was determined to prove her elder brother correct that she insisted on remaining with him even to this day.


    Ryu had naively believed back then that he could treat her however he wanted and she would have no choice but to stay. Or, rather, he simply hadn''t cared whether he was correct in this assumption or not. With his views of the world back then, with or without Ailsa, he would be able to reach his goals. If it meant being tied down in other ways, he would have preferred not to deal with her at all.


    However, over the time the two had been together, Ailsa had already become an inseparable part of his life. In fact, if it wasn''t for her, there were many things that he wouldn''t have been able to accomplish. And, most importantly, he would have still been stuck in the very same mindset he had been all those years ago, wallowing in the same self-grief, and trudging through the same heavy anger aimed at nothing.


    The breath that Ailsa breathed into his life was far beyond what she knew. Or, more accurately, she was simply underestimating herself.


    If Ryu hadn''t had such a change in character, how could he have ever completed his Dao? Could the him who had just left the Tor Kingdom behind ever think of relying on the Heavens for anything? He would have been more apt to create a Dao based on destroying everything in sight. Maybe that Dao would have been powerful in its own right, but could it ever match up to Dividing Heaven?


    The answer was no.


    The fundamental change in himself was the foundation to Ryu''s current strength. All of his abrupt increases in qi, all of his large leaps in bodily strength, all of his evolutions experienced through the Mental Realm, couldn''t add up to even a single percent of the value his Dao gave him, a Dao that was only showing its usefulness more and more with every passing day.


    Ryu sighed. "When''d you become so soft?"


    Ailsa''s pupils dilated and trembled.


    Between husband and wife, an exchange of words was wholly unnecessary. Ailsa could see through Ryu''s thought process quite clearly and understood exactly how he felt about all of this. There was no need to say a thing, but Ryu still poked at her with a light jab.


    Ailsa''s lip trembled and her eyes threatened to flood with tears.


    Ryu looked over toward Yaana with a smile.


    "See this? Your big sister is actually just a crybab¡ªoof!"


    Ryu took a palm to the chest, finding himself flying into the distance. As he flew, he alternated between coughing up a lung and laughing uproariously. All the while, Little Gem, who was still in his arms, giggled happily, enjoying flying through the sky so fast.


    "Don''t listen to him, Little Yaana. He grows worse and worse everyday." Ailsa spoke through gritted teeth, wiping her teary eyes with a forearm.


    Yaana giggled, her smile lighting up the surroundings as she took Ailsa arm into her own.


    Ailsa smiled lightly through her tears. Though those emotions weren''t gone, she did still feel a lot better. Maybe she had been a bit too emotional.


    "It''s okay!" Ryu called out from afar. "You''re allowed to be emotional with a sturdy pillar like me here."


    "I''m going to kill him, don''t hold me back Little Yaana."


    The laughter of Yaana and Little Gem played the background to Ryu''s faux shouts of pain and Ailsa''s pounding fists.


    ¡­


    Little Rock shot through the air, his beautiful silver feathered body reflecting rainbow lights beneath the high sunlight.


    Ryu reclined, his head resting on Ailsa''s lap as he twirled his first forge in his hands. Every pass he made, he seemed to gain more skill with it.


    In his other hand, Ryu held an identical blade. But, this one was forged of a Black Grade metal known as Dancing Steel. It was as flexible as paper, but it was also among the sharpest and most durable of this Grade, at least within the top three.


    One blade reflected a gorgeous violet and the other reflected a dancing silver light. Ryu suddenly tossed them into the air, swapping them between his hands and twisting them through his fingers with a deft skill.


    At that moment, Ryu was absolutely carefree. Something about the fact he wasn''t allowed to cultivate made his mind release a shackle he hadn''t known had been there, as though something constantly hounding him from behind had finally stopped.


    ''Look at how easy this is. Maybe I really was a madman trying to dual wield polearms.'' Ryu laughed to himself self-deprecatingly.


    The soothing feeling of Ailsa''s hands running through his hair calmed him just as much as the calm sound of Yaana''s breathing did. The trio all sat in a comfortable silence, the loudest sound being the wind whistling about them. As for their destination, that was, of course, toward the densest region of qi, the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect.


    "You want to fight?" Ryu suddenly asked Ailsa.


    "Mm." Ailsa nodded.


    "Then just fight." Ryu laughed.


    "But it''ll hinder your growth."


    "Oh? Are you trying to say that you''ll become my handicap? At least this arrogant you is better than crybaby Ailsa."


    Ailsa rolled her eyes, digging her fingers into Ryu''s temples.


    "¡­ I mean that if I can''t give 100% of my focus to your battles, then I won''t know how best to help you improve."


    Ryu laughed at this. "Isn''t there a simple solution to that? I have the Origin Flame. If you used my first hand experience of the battle wouldn''t that fix the issue? In fact, it would probably be even more accurate than your own viewpoint."


    Ailsa opened her mouth to rebuttal, but she suddenly realized that she didn''t have one. How had she not thought of this? That was actually a perfect solution.


    "See what happens when you''re not being¡ª"


    "Call me a crybaby one more time and me and Little Yaana will leave you high and dry for the next decade." Ailsa''s gaze flashed with a warning light.


    Yaana, who had been innocent in this exchange, opened her mouth in shock before her gaze flickered with protest. Wasn''t this punishing her too? What did she do?


    Ailsa might have lived far longer than Yaana had, but Yaana had actually experienced ageing. The process made it feel like she had actually gone through more. While Ailsa was just fine as she had been in the prime of her youth the whole time, Yaana had to watch many of her friends marry and have families, she had also felt the weight of loneliness in the way Ailsa never had.


    Abstinence for a decade? Especially after it had felt so good the first time? She didn''t think she could survive that length of time. She would end up sneaking behind Ailsa''s back and leaping on Ryu herself.


    Ailsa''s lip twitched when she saw Yaana''s expression. What happened to sisterly solidarity? They were meant to be a united front to deal with this brute!


    Ryu laughed. Hard. He couldn''t remember the last time he had laughed this hard. Maybe he hadn''t even been seven years old yet.


    "Okay, if I have to suffer for ten years, how about one more time for old time''s sake?"


    Ailsa squealed, immediately protected. Little Rock and Little Gem were still here!


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu, who had already ended up on top of Ailsa, narrowed his gaze. He had forgotten how fast Little Rock was. Or, maybe he had just forgotten that the size of a world like this couldn''t possibly compare to the Shrine World¡­


    They were already here.


    In the looming distance, the sounds of battle drifted over to Ryu''s ears. With a single squint, his vision accelerated, cutting through thousands of miles and landing on a distant network of floating islands and mountains, completely embroiled in war. The ambience of snow and waterfalls of ice painted what should have been a beautiful seen, if it wasn''t also for the countless corpses falling through the skies all the while.


    However, it was something else that caught his attention.


    Ryu''s brows shot up. Among those islands, he was certain he recognized them. It was actually occupied by the Awoken Moon Sect. Somehow, they had found a place in the territory of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect?


    At that moment, Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    ''Guiot?''


    A young man Ryu recognized all too well stood in the midst of the battlefield, his spear roaring like a dragon as it reaped the life of one beast after another.

 Chapter 809 The Reason

    "Oh?" Ryu chuckled.


    Ryu had never forgotten about Guiot. He could still remember how determined he had been to come with Ryu back then, even knowing that there was a good chance that he might very well die.


    All those years ago, though Ryu had been able to appreciate Guiot''s attitude, he hadn''t had the time nor the patience to nurture it. In fact, even now, he felt the same way. It was simply impossible for him to divert his time to help anyone buy himself grow. He felt that he had already done enough for Guiot, and if the latter couldn''t find his path even given his talent, then there was nothing Ryu could do for him.


    It had to be remembered that Guiot had a Spear Soul Nature. This allowed his bodily alignment to be greatly suited to Spear Inheritances and Spear techniques. Essentially, while others might struggle, when it came to his path of the spear, he would experience no bottlenecks whatsoever. So long as he built his Dao on his comprehension of the Spear, he would go very far along the path of cultivation. Even in comparison to Ryu, his raw talent in the spear was several steps beyond.


    In the blink of an eye, in some form quite literally for Ryu, hundreds of years had passed and Guiot had blossomed into a warrior in his own right. Although he was still far weaker than Ryu himself, something that he could tell at a single glance, his progress in that time was still enough for Ryu to raise an eyebrow and smile a warm smile.


    Guiot was somehow already in the Immortal Ring Realm, making him five times faster than a usual absolute genius. The only explanation for this is that he had had quite the fortuitous encounter in Ryu''s absence, something that made sense considering the state Ryu had left the Fate in this world in.


    Normally, this wouldn''t be that big of a deal. But, because Guiot had a rare Soul Nature talent, something that was maybe only a tick below Heavenly Pupils in rarity, entering the Immortal Ring Realm had a completely different contextualization for him.


    Entering the Immortal Ring Realm allowed Guiot to finally enter the Soul Birth Realm. And, it was upon entering the Soul Birth Realm that the true prowess of one''s Soul Nature would flourish.


    As a person in the Immortal Ring Realm, the best Guiot should have been able to do was reach the Ruler Realm in comprehension. In fact, it had to be remembered that even for geniuses, the comprehension of their Inheritances usually lagged behind their cultivation level. There were countless Immortal Ring Realm experts who still had Impose Realm Comprehension, and many more who were still stuck in the Heir Realm. Comprehension of Natural Orders was extremely difficult.


    And yet, Guiot had not only comprehended to the Ruler Realm, he had shot by it! Ryu could tell that Guiot was already on the verge of grasping a Dominion and he was firmly entrenched into the Monarch Realm, having already formed himself a Small Realm!


    To take a few hundred years to reach this point sounded unimpressive, especially considering what Ryu had accomplished. Well¡­ considering what Ryu had accomplished in the past since his Inheritances kept regressing. However, through the lens of any normal individual, Guiot''s progress was blazing.


    It wasn''t just this, either. Guiot''s every step was incomparably solid. In addition, he had comprehended multiple intertwining and diverging Inheritances based on the spear. While it seemed like he only ahd one spear comprehension, in just the few seconds Ryu had spent observing, he had already picked out dozens of variations, each with a unique approach and danger to them.


    What did this mean¡­? It meant that Guiot had comprehended DOZENS of Spear Inheritances to the Small Realm level!


    Just with a glance, Ryu could tell that Guiot raw weapon mastery was well beyond him. If Ryu had to redo the challenge he fought against Godefride''s cousin, but instead against Guiot. He felt that it was likely he would lose if he didn''t rely on his Heavenly Pupils or his Dao.


    That might sound like Ryu was purposely handicapping himself, but according to the rules of the duel, he wasn''t supposed to be allowed to use anything not strictly related to the discipline of the spear. And, his eyes and Dao were hardly related at all.


    Despite this realization, though, Ryu didn''t feel inferior. Instead, he felt a fire light up within him as he grinned. He almost wanted to jump down and join the battle right this moment despite the fact that he had just been in a battle not long ago.


    However, Ryu managed to rein himself in. Though several had already noticed and noted his presence, embroiled in battle as they were, no one had been able to come to bother him. He knew that he should take this opportunity to observe some more. In doing so, his gaze landed on a familiar little girl.


    Sephare seemed to have grown well as well. Ryu could still remember that little girl trying her best to learn what she could from him about alchemy. He hadn''t actually known much about the subject at all, but he still guided her in what he did understand. And now, she was a grown woman, also standing upon a battlefield in a fluttering blue dress.


    ''This battlefield, though¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He realized then that it wasn''t just the Awoken Moon Sect that was here alongside the Three Pupii Eclipse Sect. The Moonlight Blossom Sect, the Black Winds Kingdom and the Nightingale Mansion, they were all here as well!


    On top of that, there were a whole host of smaller Sects and Clans that had been brought here as well, each of whom was defending or fighting for control on one of these floating islands. It was as though all the powers of the Moon World had gathered here.


    Ryu had been wondering why it was it seemed that everywhere else was so quiet while on the Pedestal Plane it had felt like there was a battle occurring across every square inch. Now he understood that it was because anything worth fighting for seems to have been concentrated here¡­ But why?


    These floating islands, they hadn''t been here before, at least not back during his first life.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted down to the ground. Large swaths of earth had been dug up, the bottoms of which couldn''t be easily spotted even with his gaze. However, what was shocking was that at the bottoms of these vast depths, there wasn''t more earth like one might expect, but there actually seemed to be an odd shimmering object.


    These objects weren''t released blinding lights. Rather, they looked like one might expect if dull colors of grey, silver and black, along with deep, dark purples, came together to form a swirling gaseous nebula.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, his vision sharpening. He seemed to be transported forward several thousand miles, his eyesight becoming so sharp that it seemed as though he was standing right before the odd swirling nebula.


    Ryu felt a jolt in his heart. ''¡­ This¡­ Those are entrances to the Chaos Plane.''


    The moment Ryu reached this conclusion, his vision became a steely cold and all his amusement vanished into a puff of thin air.


    Ryu had learned several months ago that the Martial Gods had calculated that a fourth Plane of Existence existed. However, they hadn''t been able to find the location quite yet. And, obviously, neither could Ryu.


    Ryu had also known that the Martial Gods had a hand in controlling the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. Or, more accurately, the Three Pupil Clan. However, from Ryu''s understanding, they had believed that they could evolve their natural born Pupils into a new pair of Heavenly Pupils. This was something that had shocked Ryu for a moment, but nothing more than that. He had much more to worry about than just this alone.


    What Ryu hadn''t expected, though, was for this to be a cover up, a cover up that had even fooled the likes of Isemeine.


    Maybe the Martial Gods had dabbled in trying to help the Three Pupil Clan evolve so that they could be a more useful pawn to them, but Ryu had no doubt that their main goal here had always been to find the entrance to this Plane.


    It all suddenly clicked for Ryu.


    Why would the Martial Gods have cared to touch something as unknown and unfamous as the Tri Palace? Of all the Clans they could choose to invest in, why the weak Three Pupil Clan? Why would Sarriel have chosen to come here of all places, a location that only stifled her growth? And now why were so many fighting over this one area with everything they had?


    The answer was right in front of him, practically smacking him in the face.


    From the very beginning, the goal had been the Chaos Plane.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 810 Downgrade?

    810 Downgrade?


    Ryu slowly rose, his aura quietly becoming more oppressive. The things that he had claimed for himself, he had no intention of allowing anyone to touch. If others thought they could just take as they please, they were in for a rude awakening.


    Even if Ryu didn''t have such an intimate connection with the Chaos Plane, he would never allow the exploration of an all new plane to fall into the hands of the Martial Gods.


    A new Plane didn''t just represent new land, it represented a wealth of resources that had never been tapped into, a wealth of treasures humans and beasts hadn''t tread upon, and a whole host of Heavenly Laws that had yet to be explored.


    This third and final reason was maybe even more important than the first two. While the idea of a vast land of untapped resources was enticing, to Ryu, who had just stepped on the road of comprehending his Dao, the idea of a Plane with laws of physics he didn''t comprehend, Fundamental Runes he had never seen, and species and races he may have never thought could even exist, was more enticing than anything else. And, something about the Martial Gods getting their hands on such an opportunity made his skin crawl.


    Ryu''s hair fluttered wildly, his aura growing oppressive to the point that many on the battlefield could no longer ignore it. Griffins of the Eleventh Order and Martial Gods well into the World Sea Realm looked down toward this boy they had ignored to this point, believing that a simple glance would be enough for him to know his place. And yet, this wasn''t what happened in the slightest.


    Ryu took a step forward, gliding through the air and off of Little Rock''s back.


    At that moment, Ryu''s white robes had long since been stained by his own blood, the twin daggers in his hands shimmering as he balanced them with his palm, the rhythmic tapping of his steps sending hollow echoes throughout the battlefield.


    "My name is Ryu Tatsuya."


    The clouds above clapped and the world below trembled. The floating islands threatened to fall from the skies, their bodies quaking and large pieces of rock and debris falling from their bottoms. It was as though the speaking of such a simple name had frozen all the qi of the world and constrained it to its inferior position.


    "This is the Moon World, territory of my Ice Phoenix Clan."


    The sonorous cry of a world shaking bird soared through the skies. A pillar of ice soared into the air and burst through the clouds before its tip expanded outward explosively forming the canopy of a glorious Immortal Sakura.


    In that moment, the tree erupted into a blaze of ice-blue flames, each tendril dancing with gorgeous Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns and petals of violet fell from the skies.


    At that very same time, a Throne of a radiant blue appeared, shimmering with sapphire gems that reflected with an ethereal sort of majesty that claimed attention from all corners. It was, without a doubt, the Throne of the Awoken Moon Sect.


    The instant it was recognized, the women of the Sect watched on with wide eyes, the elders coming forward to see that the boy of all those years ago had grown to a peak they couldn''t see any longer.


    "You all have one of two choices."


    Ryu''s aura reached its peak, a crown glowing upon his head as his Emperor Phoenix Blood boiled, raising the strength of his Ice Phoenix Bloodline and his Ice Flames exponentially.


    "The first is get the fuck off my world."


    Ryu''s blades cut across the air, gliding off each other''s edges. The sharp sound of sharpening blades resonated through the battlefield, singing as an undertone to the sonorous call of Ryu''s Phoenix Bloodlines.


    "The second option is to stay and die."


    Ryu''s wrist flicked, one of his knives entering a reverse grip stance as a fiendish grin spread across his face. It was as though he was begging and hoping for them to take the second option, praying with all that he had that he would be able to taste blood on this day.


    The highest ranked Griffins and Martial Gods looked down with narrowed gazes, their hearts trembling when they heard the Tatsuya name. The Tatsuya name had a completely different connotation to the Ancestral Beasts, and to the Martial Gods, it was one that they were all too familiar with.


    At that moment, an uproarious laughter suddenly cut through the skies.


    "YES! YES! YES!"


    The words sounded as though they had come from a madman who was on the verge of no return, their minds lost to madness and chaos.


    "THOSE BASTARDS SENT ME HERE AND YET THE JUICIEST PIECE OF MEAT STILL LANDED IN MY LAP, HAHA!"


    Maybe the most shocking part about it all was that these words came from a woman, a shockingly beautiful woman at that. This might sound like a superficial assessment, but it was precisely this truth that made all of this so outrageous and shocking in the first place.


    She looked like a woman who could only be drawn as the centerpiece of a work of art. She had long, flowing black hair that looked like a picturesque waterfall. She had shimmering ruby eyes that looked as though they had been plucked from a precious mine and carefully shaped and sculpted to enrapture the mind. Her breasts weren''t overly large, but they still rippled and bounced beneath the white bands she strapped them down under, while her choice of dress exposed her toned belly to the world.


    Her skin was quite dark, somewhere between a milk chocolate and a caramel, while her legs were exceptionally long, though hidden beneath traditional style black samurai kimono pants known as hakama.


    From her neck hung a twin pair of sickles linked by a chain, her bare feet dangling in the air. Everything about her demeanor screamed wild and unfettered, her loud boisterous laughter only becoming the cherry on a very tall cake.


    Even so, Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but narrow. Even without trying, his gaze picked up a large mass of qi swirling about her perpetually as though she was the center of the universe. She didn''t even seem to be trying, but every breath she took resulted in another large mass entering her lungs.


    As quickly as it entered her body was as quickly as it dispersed, diffusing into every inch of her body in the blink of an eye.


    She was like a living, breathing engine. Without even thinking about it, she improved step by step every moment she was alive, perpetually in a state of cultivation she wasn''t even consciously aware of. Simply put, she was a raging T-rex in female form.


    "Since you''ve announced your name, I will as well! I am Kaori! Demigod Apostle! I''m looking forward to killing you!"


    Ryu gave Kaori another once over before tilting his head back and meeting Ailsa''s gaze.


    "You still want to fight."


    Ailsa rolled her eyes, suddenly wanting to kick Ryu again. But, seeing as they were within public and her husband had just given such a cool speech, she couldn''t possibly undermine him now, right?


    "Of course!"


    Ryu grinned. "Then, they''re yours."


    Ryu pointed a blade toward the Eleventh Order Griffins and World Sea Realm Martial Gods. At that moment, even Yaana was baffled, let alone everyone else. They really felt that he had lost his mind completely. Let alone the fact that Cultus Faeries didn''t have great combat prowess, even if she did, how could she fight such experts?!


    However, Ailsa was the only one who seemed to react with a smile.


    At that moment, Ryu stopped stifling a connection he had been blocking all this time. The moment he did, a strong spatial fluctuation warped around him and a familiar Sky God appeared to his side.


    "You finally stopped blocking me? What, you finally need my help?!"


    Despite the words she spoke, Ryza was furious. What would have happened if Ryu died while she was gone? Wouldn''t she be forever stuck at the False Sky God Realm!?


    She hadn''t originally thought of the problem, but after several months passed, and then Ryu''s identity was exposed, she couldn''t help but panic. At the very least, if she was here, she could sense approaching danger and run away with him to protect herself!


    Just as Ryza was about to enter a tirade, though, Ryu cut her off.


    "I''m about to start battling. Protect my wives while I''m away. You''re probably weaker than them, but you should at least have some self preservation abilities."


    "¡­ Wha?"


    Ryza couldn''t wrap her head around what was happening before Ryu suddenly vanished, appearing above the skies and sending his pressure down in waves.


    His grin returned, his blade pointed toward Kaori. His battle intent soared, his hair dancing in the wind.


    "Demigod? Is that a downgrade from Martial God? Come taste my blade."

 Chapter 811 Flurry

    811 Flurry


    Kaori gripped one of her sickles, whipping her hand outward. The chain that connected the two seemed to magically lengthen. By the time Ryu had reacted, the second blade had already appeared before his throat.


    Ryu''s grin didn''t fade, only becoming wider. Everything in this world was slow to him. Catching him off guard while his gaze was trained on you? Wasn''t that nothing more than a fantasy?


    CLANG!


    Ryu''s silver blade appeared before him, deflecting the sickle away. A sturdy sword light enveloped it, giving the weaker weapon a strength one could have never expected from a treasure of the mere Black Grade.


    Ryu''s arm trembled. Despite the casual flare of Kaori''s actions, the power behind it was impossible to deny. To make Ryu of all people able to feel the strength of her body¡­ it could only be said that Ryu was immediately intrigued.


    Feeling a fiery gaze on his, Ryu turned his head to find Sephare staring intently at him.


    Ryu''s grin softened, becoming a bright smile. Sephare didn''t know how to react for a moment. She had just been scared that Ryu wouldn''t recognize her, and now he was suddenly giving her a big smile. Her heart couldn''t help but be both lustered and warm at the same time.


    Somehow, the Awoken Moon Sect suddenly felt as though it had gained an enormous blanket of protection. Until this point, they had been forced to be nothing more than pawns in a political game.


    They had originally escaped from the Pedestal Plane so that they could survive, but they had ended up right back in the midst of war and turmoil the moment they got here. An order that commanded all powers to join up with the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect became something they couldn''t ignore. Even if they wanted to, the would have ended up getting wiped out by the griffins first. They hadn''t had a choice in the matter.


    In truth, it was only thanks to Guiot that they could maintain some of their dignity. In the time he had spent here, Guiot had managed to become a prominent figure and had even become a valued disciple of the Black Winds Kingdom. Without him, a Sect filled with women and beauties like their own would have been swallowed up from all sides.


    However, there was only so much Guiot could do. While he was in the Immortal Ring and had become a greatly valued disciple, even before the odd changes to this world there had been Path Extinction Realm and Dao Pedestal Realm experts. Now, the problem was even more exaggerated. Guiot was already beginning to feel the pressure of being the only backer of a Sect that had seemingly popped up out of nowhere.


    But now¡­ it felt like they could finally sign a breath of relief.


    Logic told them that Ryu couldn''t have possibly become powerful enough to make them relax so much, and yet that was their innate instinct. So long as he was here¡­ Everything would be alright.


    "Hold your head up high." Ryu''s voice boomed. "You are the Awoken Moon Sect. By the power vested in you by the Ice Phoenix Clan, these lands, this sky, even the air they all breathe, is yours to control."


    Ryu''s palm flipped over, revealing a familiar ring that the Awoken Moon Sect Matriarch had given him long ago. The moment it appeared in this world, it released a sonorous cry.


    The walls of the Awoken Moon Sect shook and trembled, a mighty deity hidden within its depths suddenly soaring up.


    It felt like, that moment, the qi of the Moon World had all frozen over, unwilling to take even a single step in any direction.


    The Awoken Moon Sect was suddenly completely enveloped by a white light.


    In that moment, the older individuals of the four powers that ruled the Moon World in their absence froze, a sudden understanding overwhelming them all.


    Ryu Tatsuya. Awoken Moon Sect. Ice Phoenix Clan.


    It all clicked at once.


    CLANG!


    Another sickle tried to take Ryu''s head off. But, rather than succeeding, it found yet another blade in its path.


    Kaori was getting antsy. She didn''t just want to kill Ryu, she wanted a battle. Obviously, a distracted Ryu wouldn''t give her a very good battle.


    "Why haven''t you attacked yet, I have things to do." Ryu spoke as he sent a glance toward Ailsa who''s Spiritual Qi was flourishing. Whatever kind of demonic monstrosity his wife was now summoning¡­ Well, let''s just say that once it appeared Ryu wouldn''t get the chance to have much more fun.


    Kaori''s head tilted in confusion. She was¡­ being looked down upon?


    It was quite a novel feeling. Usually, most couldn''t even stand in her presence without their knees buckling. She really did have the aura and momentum of a T-rex. Being before her made one feel as though an ancient dinosaur was bear down on them from above, chunks of raw meat and globules of blood dripping from her teeth.


    This feeling though¡­ She kind of liked it.


    "Hehe¡­"


    Kaori sickle snapped back into place, one balancing on each of her palms.


    Her bare feet dangled in the air before, but at that moment they suddenly became rigid. As though she was pressing onto the balls of her feet upon solid ground, her calves flexed and a rouge fog erupted from her body, her canines seeming to lengthen, her black hair becoming wilder as the muscles of her toned torso flexed.


    This¡­ This she would enjoy very much.


    BANG!


    Kaori vanished, appearing before Ryu in the blink of an eye. One sickle was raised high into the air while the other swept across horizontally. She had no thoughts of defense at all as the chain that connected them rattled to her back, snaking about like a silver river.


    CLANG! CLANG!


    Ryu met her gaze and her blades. The power of their exchange caused what remained of his upper robes to shatter and scatter into the wind, revealing a robust body that glistened like chiseled marble.


    The pause only lasted for an instant before they erupted into a flurry of strikes.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 812 A Single Action

    812 A Single Action


    Ryu had never felt that dual wielding was so easy. His movements fluidly flowed from one to the next, the pressure on his joints and flexibility was almost non existent, and the transformations he had to account and calculate for were nigh negligible.


    The ease made Ryu truly feel what it meant to dual wield for maybe the first time in his lifetime¡­ And it felt so great.


    It was as though the whole world was at his fingertips. What he could read and react to felt infinite and the creativity of his attacks felt endless.


    Ryu didn''t even realize how much of an effect his actions had on the remainder of the Martial Gods. Kaori was meant to be a trump card, a final measure taken with them to ensure that nothing with wrong on this side.


    But, somehow, first, the Awoken Moon Sect had returned and was currently undergoing a transformation beneath a curtain of light they couldn''t seem to penetrate no matter what they did. And now, their trump card was fighting a battle of equals with a young man two cultivation levels beneath her?!


    Kaori''s laughter sung through the air, but her jovial nature couldn''t seem to transfer to her comrades.


    Ryu''s skin glistened with Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns. Every clash with him felt like ramming into a stone wall. He didn''t even have to make use of the fluttering blossoms of his Immortal Sakura to increase his defenses at all.


    Ryu''s figure flickered, activating for the first ime in their battle. His speed touched upon an unconscious level. Kaori almost couldn''t react before she found a blade at her throat.


    Up until this point, Ryu had only basked in the beauty of duel wielding, picking up something from Kaori''s technique and listening to the resonance of his weapons. With every exchange, he felt his comprehension deepening and his Dao strengthening. However, he suddenly reversed it all on its head, leaving a blazing trail of lightning in his wake as he struck like thunder.


    CLANG!


    Ryu''s brows shot up before he laughed uproariously.


    Kaori''s teeth bit down on his blade, threatening to shatter it into pieces. Ryu had no doubt that if not for the strong sword light he had enveloped it in, Kaori would have already been chewing on bits and pieces of metal. In fact, if he kept letting her bite down like this, that was exactly what would happen.


    She didn''t miss a single beat, swinging down her sickles for Ryu''s head. However, with another flicker, Ryu vanished.


    Kaori frowned. She had been ready for and had even left a hidden marker on Ryu''s dagger. However, in that brief moment, she lost connection with it entirely. And, even after Ryu had appeared again, it had vanished completely, being nowhere to be seen.


    Ryu appeared again with a smile on his face. Trying to mark him? Was it even possible to hide such a technique from his eyes?


    <Lightning Divine Mark> sounded like an invulnerable technique, but it had its weaknesses¡­ Namely the markers. If they were destroyed, the technique would not only become useless, but it would also become very dangerous, even leading to cultivation deviation in the midst of battle.


    When Kaori had marked his blade like that, she had essentially given herself a cheat code toward finding his Marker and destroying it just as he appeared.


    It was quite impressive that she managed to think of such a counter measure so quickly. That was the first time he had used that technique against her. Though, unfortunately for Kaori, it was even more impressive for Ryu to see through her marking technique and decide on using a completely different technique as sickles were flying toward his head.


    As Kaori''s confusion slowly vanished, so too did her childishness. In that moment, she had chosen to go all out.


    POP! POP! POP! BANG!


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. This technique, he had seen it before, but never on this level. This was the very same Berserk technique Edwin had used during their battle in the Core Region, the very same Edwin Ryu gained the human skin Tome from.


    Back then, Ryu had used his <Lines of Fate> to copy and take the technique for himself, but he had never actually used it. Maybe it was because the idea of using a Martial God technique disgusted him, but he had never even thought about that technique since then despite the fact he had gone out of his way to learn it.


    That said, the technique wasn''t exactly useless¡­ It was another point in his knowledge well, another step toward him truly comprehending the Heavens.


    Kaori''s Pulses and Vessels continued to implode, loud explosions going off within her body.


    "[Thirteenth Style: Release]!"


    SHUUUUUUUU!


    Ryu''s gaze shifted from Kaori and back toward Ailsa who seemed primed and ready. Ryza stood by her side, a dark expression on her face but the reality of it all not giving her much of a choice in that matter at all. It was right then a demonic gate began to split the skies, the fluttering snow of the Moon World becoming tinged in hints of blackness.


    Ryu took a breath. "Alright, let''s end this."


    His neck craned to one side, a satisfying crack being released.


    "Take Form and Conquer the World."


    Ryu''s smile faded, his irises flickering with a dark gold hue as 13 halos of matching color appeared to his back. The resonance of them all sung through the skies, all the qi in the surroundings several hundreds of thousands of miles being sucked toward one person.


    "You''ll be the first to experience my Dao." Ryu said lightly. "I hope that allows you to rest in peace."


    Ryu held his twin blades up. But, somehow, the momentum he gave off was completely different.


    Kaori froze, her battle intent wavering and giving way to fear. It was an emotion that she had never experienced in her lifetime before. In fact, it was so foreign, that even as her last visions of the world faded, she didn''t quite understand what it was. Until¡­


    "Oh¡­ I''m afraid¡­"


    Ryu stood before Kaori, his violet blade having pierced all the way through the center of her forehead.


    A single action. A single strike.

 Chapter 813 Sir Demigod Lioche

    Ryu didn''t seem very surprised by this result.


    When one faces a Dao so much higher than their own, it''s very easy to be overwhelmed. Ryu''s strike just now was like an information overload. Kaori was likely trying to process what was before her and exactly how to deal with it, but by the time she understood that it was far beyond her means to handle, it was much too late¡­ Not that it would have made much of a difference.


    To an outside observer, Ryu''s blade would have seemed slow and overly simple. In fact, it would seem that way to Kaori as well. The trouble was that this would cause the dissonance to feel even worse. Kaori''s instincts screamed that there was danger, but her mind couldn''t process was it was because it was simply beyond her realm of understanding.


    Legends of swordsman who could levy strikes that looked no different from a normal sweep of the blade were only partially correct in this aspect. The reality was that these strikes only seemed so simple in the eyes of laymen. Before true experts, there were countless variations, changes and transpositions.


    Only those that could see through these layers of complexity would have a chance at dodging and countering. Those that couldn''t would simply freeze, their minds and souls becoming overloaded until it was far too late.


    SHUUUU!


    The reverberations of Ryu''s strike exited the back of Kaori''s head, continuing through the air and splitting apart everything in its path. Even a floating island, unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire, found itself bisected, barely managing to remain in the air after suffering such a tragic fate.


    The Martial Gods watched on with wide eyes.


    A Demigod¡­ Had died¡­ Just like that?


    The Demigods might have sounded like a downgrade from Martial God, but the reality was that it was an upgrade from Apostle. These individuals were the strongest there were beneath the true powerhouses of the Martial Gods, meaning their Sky Gods.


    To put this matter into perspective, none of the World Sea Realm experts who had been present to represent the Martial Gods on the day of even Elena''s Ceremony. That included the Peak World Sea Realm expert, King Adonis.


    Their positions were so lofty that even such an event didn''t move them from their positions, so lofty that even reaching the Peak World Sea Realm and having a great chance at entering the Sky God Realm, much like King Adonis¡­ Still wasn''t enough to guarantee you such a title!


    And yet, one had died. One had died right before them all.


    But that wasn''t even the worst part. A Demigod had died to a young man two entire cultivation Realms below her¡­ And to nothing more than a single strike.


    Ryu, though, didn''t seem to realize what he had accomplished, still holding Kaori up by the blade piercing through her skull. He watched as the light in her eyes dimmed, his mind wandering from topic to topic.


    ''With her talent, she would make a corpse puppet surpassing any one of made up until this point, and she would even be able to keep up with me as well if I modify her a bit¡­ The human skin tome would likely have what I needed¡­ If I could combine her strengths with the Bear God corpses¡­ The result could be excellent.''


    Ryu felt like he had more freedom to explore things. Plus, this would also help with his own individual strength.


    The ultimate level of Ryu''s Dao would likely be reaching a pinnacle where he could seamlessly transition between disciplines because his understanding of them all was so profound. Laying the ground work for such a thing was beyond just learning them all individually, but it was also about combining them where he could.


    Refining corpse puppets was definitely a method of combining many disciples. He had never considered the idea of fusing the strengths of two corpses together, but now he was very much intrigued to find out what he could learn by taking this approach.


    "Not bad." Ryu nodded to himself.


    With a thought, Kaori''s corpse disappeared and Ryu turned his attention back to Ailsa, ignoring the enraged outcries of the Martial Gods. These weren''t people he had much sympathy for from the very beginning. What did they understand about honor, respect, and most importantly, sympathy? As far as Ryu was concerned, the answer to that question was nothing.


    However, what Ryu hadn''t expected was for his attention to snap away from Ailsa just as quickly as it had gone there. Before him, the slightest ripple of space caught his attention. But, soon, that ripple became a wave and eventually formed a fissure and a crack.


    With a step, an armored man made his way out, his expression giving nothing away. However, those deep white eyes of his told a different story.


    Ryu, who had just been about to release his Immortal Rings, changed his mind entirely, his attention primed and focused on the man before him.


    "Kaori. Where is she? Why has her life signature vanished?"


    The man spoke plainly and didn''t seem to have directed his words toward anyone in particular. Though context should tell anyone that he cared for Kaori, everything about his demeanor seemed to paint a different picture entirely. It was difficult to understand whether he was heart broken or indifferent.


    Seeing that no one answer him, the man reached a hand out, causing a Martial God to uncontrollably fly into his palm, his hand clamping down on the unfortunate soul''s neck.


    "Where is she? Do I really need to repeat myself?"


    "S-s-s¡­ Sir Demigod Lioche¡­ She¡­ She¡­ She''s dead¡ªHe killed her!"


    BANG!


    The Martial God quickly got these last three words out, hoping to shift blame from himself, but his head had already imploded beneath some mysterious strength.


    Ryu''s head titled tightly, his silver irises dancing with a curious light.


    ''World Sea Realm? No¡­ Close, though. Very close. Close enough that he was probably in seclusion to breakthrough and actually chose to stop to come here instead¡­? But what about their little ceremony?''


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 814 Treading Seas. Shedding Water.

    Ryu was right to be curious about this. Entering the World Sea Realm was an important milestone for the Martial Gods because of their status as invaders. They had to remain hidden during the final steps of this process. But, this man, Lioche, clearly didn''t seem to care about any of that.


    Even setting aside the fact he was a Martial God, his flowing white hair and piercing white eyes being an obvious testament to that, just the idea of stopping a breakthrough because you felt like it was ridiculous. It showed not only a ridiculous amount of bravery, but it also displayed skill and confidence only the rarest few people could possibly hope to match.


    Lioche gaze slowly, almost too slowly, in fact, fell onto Ryu. His expression still hadn''t changed at all.


    "Take her out."


    Ryu''s wrist whipped outward, the last drops of Kaori''s blood that had coated it flying out in an arc and falling from the skies. He spun the blade in his hand, snapping his fingers closed around its hilt with a satisfying slap, just in time to point its tip toward Lioche.


    "Despite that look on your face, I can feel your anger. The qi around you is darkening, the blood rolling through your body is rising in temperature, even your Spiritual Sea it beginning to bubble.


    "Why don''t we try it out? Between you and me, who''s rage runs hotter?"


    The moment Ryu''s words fell, both men vanished.


    BANG!


    The clash of two knives and a spear as white as clouds reverberated through the air, it wasn''t even obvious to anyone when it was that Lioche had brought it out. But, what was undeniable was that his strike just now had sounded no different from the enraged roar of a dragon.


    The clouds above were forced to disperse, the ground below shattered and collapsed, space itself split like spiderwebs, racing across the skies with a mind of their own.


    In that single exchange, Ryu could feel it. Lioche had a Soul Nature. No, he didn''t have just one, he had three.


    Lioche pulled his spear back, his free hand trembling slightly before an enormous white shield appeared. His body, clad from head to toe in beautiful, intricate armor, shimmered as though it had a mind of its own.


    ''Spear Soul Nature. Shield Soul Nature. Metal Soul Nature. Some God out there had a lot of fun making this man.''


    A wide grin spread across Ryu''s face. This¡­ Would be fun.


    A dense white fog hung around Lioche, whipping about like a lion''s mane. His towering aura only grew with every passing second, his power seeming endless and his momentum only rising.


    Without the slightest hint, his spear snaked forward again. This time, however, it suddenly exploded forth, its length increasing as it appeared past Ryu''s guard in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu tilted his head to the side, just barely dodging the extending spear, but Lioche had already bore down on him. Not caring that his spear had missed in the slightest, he closed the distance with his shield, an unyielding momentum bearing down on Ryu. It felt like even if the slightest hint of this shield touched him, said body part would implode to nothing more than minced meat.


    Ryu, though, seemed to take this on as a challenge, his fist careening forth as though he had forgotten there was a blade in his hand. A golden light enveloped him, an odd comprehension lingering between Birthed Phenomena and Natural Enlightenment manifesting.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    The shield suddenly breathed as though it had a life of its own. Its face rippled, Ryu''s strength dispersing out of its sides.


    The result wasn''t enough to dispel everything that Ryu had sent at it, and as such, both men went flying backward. The difference, though, was that Lioche''s spear was still extended past Ryu''s head.


    Even as he flew back, Lioche sliced his spear across. His timing was perfect. The moment Ryu''s head made it to level with his blade, it was already cutting, prepared to bisect his skull.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but his reaction was unhurried. A fluttering violet blossom marked with beautiful blue Heavenly Phoenix Patterns appeared.


    CLANG!


    The spear''s blade was parried upward, but an instant later, the blossom petal shattered, becoming dancing motes of light in the air. Though the blade just barely missed Ryu''s nose thanks to its interference, the faintest hint of blood still managed to trickle out from a paper thin cut.


    Ryu glided back through the skies and Lioche retracted his blade, both men riding space as though it was solid ground and not an intangible sort of law and energy.


    ''An Elemental Soul Nature¡­ So impossibly rare, I don''t even think I''ve ever read of a Metal Soul Nature before. Yet, it works so seamlessly with his battle style. He can control his spear and shield on a whim, for both offense and defense, in fact. In that exchange, he used his Metal Soul Nature to warp his shield and disperse my attack''s strength and even deflect some of it back at me¡­


    ''That''s not all though, he actually drew blood. His spear shouldn''t have been nearly strong enough to cut into my skin so easily¡­''


    Ryu smiled. Maybe these Demigods weren''t so bad after all.


    Of course, what Ryu didn''t know was that Kaori was just a fledgling, only recently having been accepted into the fold. All Demigods had astounding abilities and had mutations to their Bloodlines that set them far above most other Martial Gods.


    Lioche was a clear example. He was of the Nurturing Soul Branch whose best talents were known for quickly grasping weapons. Compared to the general population, it was somewhat less rare for them to be born with Soul Natures, but still extraordinarily rare. However, to be born with not just one¡­ but three! It was clear that Lioche was in a league of his own.


    Kaori, unfortunately, hadn''t yet been able to grow into her own mutation. Ryu had already seen how special she was, able to cultivate just by existing and breathing. It was a shame she hadn''t grown enough to be able to translate this into real strength just yet.


    Lioche, though¡­ Was very different. And with three Soul Natures capable of working together so seamlessly, he wouldn''t be so easily shaken by a Dao either.


    That truth only became more obvious when his aura underwent another qualitative change. He didn''t want a long drawn out battle with Ryu. He wanted to crush him until there was nothing left!


    ''Natural Enlightenment.'' Ryu''s brows shot up.


    "Treading Seas. Shedding Water. The Vessel of the Ocean is my Cup. The Depth of the Ocean is my Thirst. The Vastness of the Ocean is my Rage!"


    BOOM!

 Chapter 815 Right

    Ryu''s gaze became intense, every fiber of his being focusing on what was before him. This was the very first time that he would be fighting something who had comprehended a Natural Enlightenment. Or, more accurately, it was the first time he was fighting someone who had comprehended one and actually deemed to use it against him.


    Within the Natural Order, even though all two main facets and three sub facets were considered to be incredibly important, there were still divisions among them, whether that be within the sub facets themselves or even within the overall schemes.


    In such a network, there was no one who would disagree with the idea that Natural Enlightenment reigned supreme over all.


    Natural Enlightenment was the true embodiment of what Nature wanted to convey, it was the Artistic Conception of Nature''s Order¡­ it was the root from which the moniker of Natural Order stemmed from.


    The flow of water, the freedom of clouds, the sturdiness of mountains¡­ The harshness of cold, the gentleness of warmth, the oppression of pain¡­ Each and every one of these concepts was so fundamental to one''s understanding of the world that they were synonymous across being, across status, across gender, across culture, across Existence.


    The power such things held was beyond one''s wildest imaginations. The kind of Faith such wildly accepted concepts had was undefinable and, to someone who had yet to reach the peak of the world and look down upon all that was¡­ It was infinite.


    Every representation of a mountain, of water, of earth, of air or of clouds contained a tiny portion of this large well of Faith. When a cultivator chose to sit down and meditate upon these matters, they could take a tiny portion of that power for themselves, fueling their strength to untold levels, levels that most could never hope to touch or even witness.


    But what is this ''small portion''? How large was it¡­ Well¡­ A small piece of something infinite just might be infinite itself¡­


    BOOM!


    Lioche''s aura exploded forth, the dense white fog of energy that hung around him like a sparkling nebula expanding to the point it seemed that it just might envelop the entirety of the sky.


    All around, the atmosphere gained a heaviness to it. Vision blurred, breathing became difficult, and it felt as though gravity was increasing across their skin, pressing down on them to the point that many fell from the skies completely, crashing below into piles of minced meat.


    There was no mistaking it¡­ it was as though they had all suddenly been plunged into the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean.


    Everything warped. Movement was slow. Light was being continuously dimmed as they plunged deeper and deeper, making even the distorted images around impossible to see. A soul crushing weight bore down on not just the body, but also the mind, squeezing down slowly but surely.


    And the only one completely unaffected by it all¡­ Was Lioche himself.


    Lioche vanished. When he appeared once again, his spear was already at Ryu''s throat.


    It felt like the vastness of the ocean was hidden within his strike, a tall tidal wave capable of swallowing a world whole and a relentless pressure that couldn''t be stopped with a single blockade.


    Even before the strike landed, Ryu found his hair flying back wildly. The pressure bore down on his head, Lioche''s spear seeming like a piercing head of a coiling water dragon, a tail of a river expanding out for thousands of miles following its trail. But, what was the most devastating was the fact that this strike also carried with it all his other comprehensions as well.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed. Even as danger bore down, the smile on his face only seemed to grow brighter.


    "This¡­ Is so fascinating."


    SHUUUU!


    The spear passed right through Ryu''s head. However, it only took a momentum for Lioche to realize that it was nothing more than an afterimage.


    Ryu hadn''t restricted. Instead, he took an odd angled step forward, piercing outward with his blade.


    Lioche''s pupils constricted, his mind practically short circuiting. He couldn''t understand how Ryu had done it, but his reaction speed didn''t slow in the slightest.


    Unfortunately, just as he was about to use his odd ocean domain to deal with Ryu, it collapsed.


    BANG!


    Lioche was sent flying, his body piercing through the air like a falling meteor.


    Ryu slowly retracted his dagger, his lip curled in amusement.


    "Your reaction time is not bad, but where is your rage?"


    In that moment, Lioche had managed to use his Metal Soul Nature to manipulate his shield into the path of Ryu''s blade, but as a consequence, he hadn''t been able to nullify the blow as he had in the past, causing him to shoot backward uncontrollably.


    Lioche came to a grinding halt, the light in his gaze not dimming in the slightest.


    "Treading Seas. Shedding Water. The Vessel of the Ocean is my Cup. The Depth of the Ocean is my Thirst. The Vastness of the Ocean is my Rage!"


    The oppressive domain appeared once again, twice as suffocating as before. Lioche shot forward, relentless in his approach and unsatiable in his attack. Before even reaching Ryu, he sent out dozens of piercing strikes, each of them with the momentum of an ocean behind them.


    Ryu brandished his blade, his steps light and his movements enigmatic. He appeared before one of the snaking striking, his dagger sweeping up and through its body.


    Before the astonished gazes of everything, the twirling tornado of water, qi and strength was split in two, gliding by Ryu''s shoulders without the slightest hint of suspense.


    Ryu''s figure flickered once more, gliding through the air and appearing beneath the underbelly of another raging strike. However, once again, just as easily, he split it in two.


    He danced through the battlefield. Every time he struck just once, Lioche''s attack would crumble, collapsing before the eyes of everyone and causing sparkles of dripping water to fuse with the skies and falling snow, creating a beautiful scenery.


    He left hand didn''t even more, his right drawing a poetic tale across the skies.


    "Dividing Karma."


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 Chapter 816 Your Rage Versus Mine

    Every strike of Ryu''s dagger was lethal, but especially so to Lioche''s techniques. It shredded them to pieces.


    The blade danced within his palm, the skies acting as his stage and wind singing to his melody.


    "Show me your rage!"


    The more Ryu cut down Lioche''s attacks, the more he asked for retaliation. His smile became darker, the light in his eyes dimming to a smoldering heat. His heart thumped and his blood rushed. Every part of his body thrummed to life with strength.


    He sliced apart another dragon of water, his blade cutting across Lioche''s shield and sending him flying once more.


    He stepped through the air, activating <Lightning Divine Mark> once again and appearing above Lioche''s flying figure and swinging downward.


    Lioche quickly blocked with his shield, but ended up crashing into the ground below, his body leaving a deep trench in its wake. A projectile of blood flew from his mouth, his ribcage feeling as though it had been savagely stomped on by the heel of a giant.


    His eyes widened in shock. He had definitely diffused Ryu''s strike, how had he still ended up in such a sorry state? It was precisely because he was so confident in his defenses that he had actually not set up further measures to protect himself, even preparing a counter while Ryu was getting cocky.


    How?


    Lioche didn''t have time to think because Ryu had already appeared before him, his right blade swinging down once more.


    Lioche moved to parry with the tip of his spear, even with his back on the ground. The act of parrying a much smaller weapon with such a large polearm went to show just how confident he was in his own skills. But, the result made it seem like maybe he shouldn''t have had such an overbloated sense of self.


    Ryu''s blade position shifted ever so slightly, causing Lioche''s delicate maneuver to miss entirely.


    A snaking, venomous point of a dagger raced for Lioche''s throat, bearing down on him from above without remorse.


    "HA!"


    Lioche roared, the metal plates covering his throat suddenly thickening by several measures.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as his blade bent slightly to the side. Ultimately, these were just Black Grade treasures. No matter how much he reinforced them, they could only go so far. However, even with this being the case, Lioche was buried even further into the earth, his body traveling so far down that it felt for a moment to those spectating that he might go all the way through.


    Ryu raised his blade up to his eye. Its tip was slightly bent and there was a hint of it.


    In one motion, the blade erupted with flames, melting back into one piece. Before it could go any further, Ryu Ice Flame danced to life, racing up its spine and freezing everything over.


    ''I can probably only do that two more times before it collapses, but that''s fine. I''ve already learned almost all there is to know about you¡­''


    Ryu twirled the blade through his fingers.


    An enraged roar shook the earth from below, a pillar of white piercing through the ground and splitting the clouds above in the next instant.


    Ryu looked up. For the first time, the calm look on Lioche''s face had distorted, replaced instead by a furious, blood laced visage. Despite the layers of defenses, Ryu was certain that his strike just now had at least broken Lioche''s neck, so it was no wonder he was in such a state.


    "Furious enough now?" Ryu asked lightly. "You entered a battle with me, unable to use your qi or your Cosmic Seeds. Do you think that your comprehension alone could defeat me? Don''t you think you''re overestimating yourself too much?"


    The smoldering fury within Ryu''s gaze had turned his expression placid. He pointed his fixed blade toward Lioche.


    "If you want to die, come now. If you don''t, I suggest you take your people and scram."


    Ryu could already see an escape measure gripped within Lioche''s hand, nothing could hide from his eyes. He knew he wouldn''t be fast enough to stop Lioche if he wanted to run, just like he had been caught off guard by his appearance in the first place. That said¡­


    "I hope when next we meet, you aren''t still as much of a coward."


    Ryu''s canines lengthened, a black-red flaming flickering to life across his body. The fury was palpable, drowning out even the skies above. It became clear in an instant the Lioche''s rage could never compare to his own, and maybe this was the reason for Lioche''s eventual change in expression.


    Lioche knew that he had already decided to run. Despite the gap in their cultivation, Ryu wasn''t someone he could afford to fight while handicapped, and if this continued, he would end up ruining his breakthrough entirely and crippling himself for a lifetime.


    The difference between himself and Ryu is that Ryu wouldn''t care. He wouldn''t even be considering his future at a moment like this one. If it was his wife snatched away and taken to become an enemy''s next corpse puppet, the Gates of Hell themselves would have to open up and snatch him away, and even then, he would rip them from their hinges and claw his way back.


    There would be no dampening his rage, no waiting until next time, no biding his time.


    Lioche''s palm squeezed shut with such force that all the bones in his hand shattered at once. Slowly, but surely, his body began to vanish, taken away by the wind.


    He didn''t say a single word but his gaze never left Ryu. If looks had any potential to kill, today would have most definitely been the first instance. Unfortunately¡­ they couldn''t.


    Ryu wasn''t put off by the gaze in the slightest. His expression was placid, his demeanor wasn''t surprised by his victory in the slightest and his momentum was just as stifling.


    Worrying about Lioche''s return? Was that a joke?


    "Those that I''ve defeated shouldn''t hope to catch up to my steps." Ryu said coolly, his hair dancing in the wind.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter ?817 lce

    ?817 lce


    These were the last words that Lioche heard before he vanished, but there was simply no way for him to refute him. Not only had he been defeated, he had been humiliated by someone more than two cultivation Realms beneath him.


    Of course, none were aware that Ryu had broken into the Path Extinction Realm just yet except for the Ancestral Beasts that had managed to escape along with the other Dark Phoenixes. But, even if they were aware, it wouldn''t change much of anything at all. Or so they thought¡­


    Crossing the barrier into the Path Extinction Realm was a huge watershed for Ryu. That stacked with the improvements to his body and his Dao made him feel practically undefeatable beneath the World Sea Realm.


    In the past, this realization would have been great, but still would have disappointed him somewhat. After all, the more he improved, the more he felt that the peak of this world was simply too low. He was a mere Path Extinction Realm expert, and yet there were only two Realms left that could threaten his life. However, the words of Sarriel had lit up that excitement within him.


    Beyond this, his run-in with these so-called Demigods enlightened him to the fact that the Martial Gods were definitely still holding back their true talents. Ryu had a feeling that Lioche wasn''t the only expert of that caliber.


    Lioche himself wasn''t half bad. If he hadn''t been arrogant enough to come to fight Ryu while he was midway through a breakthrough, their fight could have been much better. Unfortunately for him, he only had the strength of his body, his soul and his comprehension to rely on, making it so that he was essentially crippled in their battle.


    If Lioche really had used his qi in their battle, he would have definitely undergone cultivation deviation. The breakthrough into the World Sea Realm was among the most dangerous and violent. After all, it required one shattering their Spiritual Foundation from a solid state into a liquid state. The danger of such a thing could be imagined.


    But, it was precisely this that made Lioche''s feat so impressive. Maybe only Ryu could dare to say such disdainful words to a man of his caliber. To anyone else, he was a lofty existence they wouldn''t'' dare to slight.


    And this was precisely what made Ryu so excited. The Martial Gods apparently had a Throne, and Ryu knew for certain that it wasn''t Lioche. That meant that there was an existence among them with Talent that so far outstripped Lioche that he or she was the clearcut number one talent of their Clans.


    This individual¡­. Ryu couldn''t wait to crush them.


    With a flick of his wrist, Ryu retracted his knife.


    ''My thoughts¡­ Are a bit all over the place¡­'' He thought to himself.


    His two goals seemed to be clashing more and more everyday. He had always said that if the Martial Gods never appeared, he would want to rise to the highest peak under his own strength. But, such a goal had taken a backseat due to his thirst for revenge. Now, though, it seemed to be making a resurgence. Rather than wanting to slaughter every Martial God that came across his path, he wanted to not just kill them, but to also dominate them and force them into submission.


    It was a very subtle difference, and the two goals almost seemed identical on the surface, and the path they followed was even the same for much of the journey. But, Ryu''s sensitivity to such things had been greatly heightened in recent weeks with the evolution of his Heavenly Pupils and the blooming of his Dao.


    Ryu sent another glance toward the Awoken Moon Sect but it was still enveloped by a blinding white light. By his calculations, it shouldn''t be long before the curtain fell. Once that happened, this battle would basically be over and even Sarriel would get a pleasant surprise she wasn''t expecting.


    Ryu had little doubt that the thing occupying Sarriel was this world itself. If he looked for her, he could probably find her with a sweep of his gaze, but he didn''t want to let her know just how wide the gap between their Heavenly Pupils was just yet.


    As of now, she probably thought that her deception was much too great for him to be able to see through. But¡­


    ''Well, you like kicking people out of places, right? It''s just me returning the favor a bit.''


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryza''s eyes widened. If it wasn''t for the fact that Ryu had told her to protect Ailsa and Yaana, she really would have accelerated away already. She didn''t know what Ailsa was summoning, but she had already been at it for several minutes and the momentum was only growing scarier.


    The skies split, darkness pervading the surroundings. However, what came out of the other side was completely outside of everyone''s expectations.


    It was a hand. A hand so fair and delicate that it didn''t seem to belong in this world at all. The skin seemed coated in a layer of ice, reflecting a gorgeous light as the sun''s rays bounced off from it. Every nail was perfectly trimmed and symmetrical, every vein pumping with a prominent health that seemed out of place given their paleness¡­


    The hand came to a stop, reaching for the edge of the rift and tearing it completely open.


    In that moment, a rush of cold wind that drowned out the Moon World itself appeared. The snowy hills and mountains froze over completely, becoming solid blocks of ice.


    The weak faired no better, finding themselves either shivering or shattering into thousands of pieces.


    The wall of white fluttered in the skies and when it dispersed, the large finger of the hand had shrunk into a beautiful gorgeous beyond words¡­


    She stood in the skies silently, her arms clasped behind her back and her gaze icy.


    Ryu shook his head and chuckled. His wife had really gone off and summoned a Demon King, the Ice Queen.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter ?818 Such a Path

    ?818 Such a Path


    The Ice Queen was wreathed in cold. Her dress was an ice blue, her eyes and hair shared the same frosty white color, even the icicles around her had formed a crown of halos above her head, completing the patented look of the Ice Queen Race.


    There was no mistaking it. A true Demon King had appeared. And, this wasn''t a normal Demon King either, it was an Eleventh Order Demon King with the power to overturn mountains and suppress waves.


    Ryu smiled, a hint of pride hidden within the depths of his gaze. This was an emotion he showed rarely as he most people had no ability to impress him, and even those that could wouldn''t warrant him being proud of them. But, this case was definitely different.


    Ailsa didn''t draw on Ryu''s help even once. And, despite her lack of experience, she had managed to bring a Demon King under her control. Ryu could tell at a glance that the Ice Queen was ready to act at Ailsa''s beck and call.


    Stepping through the air, Ryu appeared by Ailsa''s side. His wife had a sheen of sweat covering her forehead but the smile on her face could light up the world. As beautiful as the Ice Queen was, Ryu felt that it couldn''t compare to even a single hair on his wife''s head.


    Proudly sticking her ample chest out and threatening to rip her dress at the seams, Ailsa delicately pointed a finger forward.


    "Kill them all."


    The Ice Queen gazed toward Ailsa for a moment and immediately vanished in shards of ice. When she appeared again, she stood in the middle of the Griffins and the Martial Gods, the haughty expression between her brows.


    "Demon King, you dare?!"


    Rou''shu, the current leader of this expedition for the Griffin Clan, was instantly infuriated. So what if it was a Demon King? Could a single Demon King do anything to him?! The Heaven''s Favored were the Ancestral Beasts, not the Demons! Did these fools really believe a single Demon King could change anything?!


    Rou''shu''s brows raised, his gemstone lighting up as the world seemed to solidify.


    The elders of the Martial Gods were equally furious. However, Ryu was indifferent, not doing a single thing despite the fact they had now gained the ire of both sides. He had felt something special when this Ice Queen was manifested and he was content to see how things would play out. Regardless, it would end in their favor.


    Ice Queens weren''t actually tangible beings, they were more like Wraiths than they were like normal Demons. The apparent solidity of their bodies was only caused by the perpetual layer of ice that covered them, making them look as though they had tangible forms when in reality they were nothing more than flickering souls.


    It could be said that Ice Queens were the incarnation of an Ice Soul Nature manifested into reality, but without the weight of a body holding them down. Their entire race was made up of women for reasons believed to relate to the fairer sex''s proclivity for Yin. Regardless of what the true reason was, they were the lowest in population among the Demon Kings. But, they were also notoriously difficult to kill. According to legend¡­.


    They were Immortal.


    Several sword strikes erupted through the Ice Queen''s body, leaving shards of ice falling through the skies and her body riddled with holes. From every vantage point, it looked as though the battle was over. A single Ice Queen couldn''t hope to accomplish anything.


    Although it was of the Eleventh Order, there were equivalent experts on both opposing sides. In addition, even though Demon Kings had the great combat prowess among Demons and could be considered the equivalent of extraordinary human geniuses, what did that matter in front of Ancestral Beasts and Martial Gods, each which was a race that could be said to be at the pinnacle of battle prowess as well.


    However¡­


    ''They say that at the deepest layer of the Nether Realm, the Dream Wraiths control the memories of all those who flow by, wiping them clean before assuring them on to their new life. I had always believed that this cycle of reincarnation was a closed circuit¡­ If the death of Shrine Mountain would mean that all those born in this world would lose their right to reincarnate, then wouldn''t that only prove the point all the more?


    ''But¡­ There''s another way to look at things. What if the death of Shrine Mountain doesn''t represent the destruction of reincarnation and the disrupting of a closed circuit, but rather represent the break in a chain of events, leaving everything else completely unimpeded? What if Shrine Mountain''s only job is to bring souls to their next destination, passing it off to something much larger and grander than itself?''


    Ryu mused as he watched the indifferent Ice Queen continue to raise its hands as though nothing had happened.


    At that moment, a surge of cold qi rushed in in all directions, forming countless blades of ice in the air, each radiating with a mighty aura of its own. The air itself crackled and space froze over, running countless webs across the wind until it seemed like the world itself might shatter like glass.


    ''¡­ If this second assumption is true, then that would mean that the Nether World is connected to something more grand than even I could understand, something that maybe even the Heavens of Sacrum itself must lower its head to¡­


    ''And, if that''s the case, then the Demon Kings that rule over it, and the enigmatic legends of Demon Emperors never before seen to the populace of the world, sitting upon their lofty thrones and looking down from above¡­


    ''How could their strength be limited to the insights we have in this small world? How could their battle prowess be so meager?''


    The grin on Ryu''s face widened, his aura billowing.


    ''You found such a path, didn''t you¡­. Father? You have your fun, then. Leave mom to me.''


    The swords of the Ice Queen fell, an avalanche of icy hell enveloping the battlefield.

 Chapter ?819 The Reason for a Name

    ?819 The Reason for a Name


    The Ice Queen''s blades tore through everything in sight. No, it couldn''t be described in this way at all. It rather felt like a touch of death had gently kissed the figures of those in its path. Just the presence of the ice blades alone froze everything within their domain. The air, space, and even qi halted, frosting over beneath an undeniable strength.


    There was no doubt about it, the Ice Queen was the embodiment of all that was cold. They had no tangible figures, no tangible lifespan, it was even difficult to tell if they had the will normal living things did. They only lived to eliminate all that was heat.


    When things were placed into this sort of frame, it was easy to see how the Demon Kings played roles maybe even more important than the Ancestral Beasts themselves. Unusable energy and Heat Death was a problem all worlds faced. However, it was the Ice Queens who could slow this process, settling down unusable qi until it could be reined under control once more.


    While it was obvious that such a cycle couldn''t continue indefinitely, what was clear enough was the fact that as important as a representation of Life, Death or Rebirth, or any other enigmatic concept ruled by Ancestral Beasts, there were other fundamental tenets of existence that weren''t under the rulership of their Race.


    Ryu had never had such in depth thoughts before. But, the more he delved into the world of his Dao, not to mention benefited from the strengthening of his Pupils, the more of the world he understood. In addition, thanks to the Origin Flame, things he had learned long ago clicked into place one after another, forming a cohesive understanding of the Heavens themselves.


    A battle of epic proportions erupted in the sky. Ailsa watched on with great focus, her cherry lips mumbling intelligible words and her pupils flickering back and forth. It was clear that she was commanding the Ice Queen, even living vicariously through it. She felt a thrill that she hadn''t in a ver long time.


    The invulnerability of the Ice Queen evened out the battlefield, making the Martial Gods and the Griffins quite helpless to do much other than to defend.


    Ryu smiled as he looked toward Ailsa''s side profile. She seemed to be having the time of her life. Her battle style was actually quite poor, and it was clear that her battle sense was severely lacking in comparison to Ryu''s, but just seeing her like this made his feel quite gratified. If this was what she wanted to do, why would he ever hold her back?


    Of course, as a husband, he would prefer to have his wife protected to his back. But, there was no way that he would stop her from following her own wants and dreams.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The Ice Queen fluttered through the air. Several holes riddled her body, but she moved unfettered. With every delicate swipe of her hand, another ice blade would form, jetting outward and freezing everything in its path.


    The more time she spent in existence, the more the temperature seemed to plummet. The Griffins and Martial Gods found it harder and harder to control atmospheric qi, resulting in their own battle prowess slowly becoming weaker over time.


    ''What an amazing application of Ice Qi.'' Ryu''s gaze glowed.


    His Ice Phoenix Bloodline didn''t take this path at all. In fact, it followed a completely different path entirely, focusing on both defense and Life. However, the Ice Queen focused on area of effect control and attacks. Ice wasn''t known for having these latter two abilities, and yet the Ice Queen was clearly incredibly adept at this, it resulted in a broadening of Ryu''s horizons.


    ''How fascinating¡­''


    Ryu found this extraordinarily interesting because right now, his Dao, at least when applied to Blacksmithing, was tailored toward finding the best path for use of an Ore. In this situation, the analogous example would be Ice with Defense. Ice was well known to be an Element perfect for forming Defenses and it was because of this that it melded so well with Ryu''s technique, even the Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns had a multiplicative effect with it.


    However, did Ryu dare to say that the path of the Ice Queen was wrong? Seeing it battle now, who would have the courage to say such a thing? Plus, understanding the Heavens was only one part of Ryu''s Dao. The other part was surpassing the Heavens. To fuse both a comprehension of what is to forge a path toward what could be. That was what he wanted his Dao to be.


    Ryu''s aura shifted once again, his Dao blossoming.


    Ailsa and Yaana had already become numb to this. Ryu seemed to make a significant breakthrough once every few hours at this point. If they got shocked every time, they wouldn''t have the emotions to spare for anything else. But, Ryza was different. She almost fell out of the skies, her sensitivity as a Sky God nearly shaking her out of her wits entirely.


    To Ryu, though, this was only to be expected. Before he unsealed his Pupils completely, he had the awareness of an Immortal Ring Realm expert. Then, due to a sweeping hint of fortune, he suddenly gained himself the ability to see through things even Sky Gods could not. He had a better pair of eyes right now than any other Sky God in the whole of Sacrum.


    His fast improvement was inevitable. The subtleties he could see through were on a whole different level.


    Right now, though, this wasn''t what Ryu was thinking about. Rather, he was organizing his new thoughts and adjusting his future path.


    ''Understanding the main path of an element is important. But, the main path isn''t all I should focus on. Anything taken to an extremity has the potential to be powerful. In addition, the world is formed of balance, wherever one extreme is present, there will always be the other extreme. Extreme Yin gives birth to Extreme Yang and the vice versa is also true.


    ''If you take one matter down its logical path, toward what could be considered its extreme¡­ Who''s to say that there isn''t another extreme lying in wait along an opposing path?


    ''And isn''t that what I''m seeing right here? Who would think that Ice could be used to form such potent and powerful attacks, and yet that''s exactly what this Ice Queen is doing. Its strength is a completely different extreme than the one I''m used to, and yet, it''s flourishing!''


    BANG!


    A Martial God fell from the skies, his leg and arm cracking and falling like shards of ice as the rest of his body was frozen completely over.


    ''There''s something odd here.'' Ryu''s gaze narrowed. ''Those two Griffins that ran away aren''t here. Does that mean there''s another group of Griffins somewhere? Who else would they report to?''


    Ryu had been waiting for the pursuit of Little Gem, somewhat eager to get into another battle to test his blade once more. But, unfortunately, nothing came.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, no one about the Eleventh Order had ever appeared for the Griffins. If things were like that, it likely meant that there was another more monstrous group elsewhere.


    Though Ryu''s gaze flickered, he didn''t worry much about this. Very soon, no one would be able to step onto this world without his permission.


    As though to reassure the world that Ryu never spoke lies, the dome of white that had covered the Awoken Moon Sect suddenly began to glow with a fiercer light before a subtle crack began to rise across its surface. And then¡­


    BANG!


    Motes of light and shards of glass imploded in all directions. And, what was left beneath astonished all those that laid eyes on it.


    The Awoken Moon Sect was already a beautiful wonderland. But, now, it was like a paradise carved into being by an Ice Goddess herself. The building were formed together with delicate sky blue Phoenix patterns, the shingling of roofs were carved Phoenix feathers, and a majestic sort of aura towered over the establishment, washing over everything with peace and prosperity.


    However¡­ These were just the most superficial changes. What no one could take their eyes off of was the delicately sculpted moon that now hung in the skies above their head. It portrayed a beauty that was beyond words and a calm scenery that plucked at the heart.


    The Awoken Moon portion of the Awoken Moon Sect''s name wasn''t just an empty title. Unfortunately, after years of being suppressed and being on the run from the enemies of the Ice Phoenix Clan, maybe even the current elders of the Sect had no idea where their moniker truly originated from.


    Now, though, after being given the ring by the current Sect Matriarch, and allowing it to awaken thanks to the treasures left behind by his grandmother, Ryu could finally allow them to remember just why it was this was the Moon World and why they of all Sects was chosen to lead it.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 820 Awoken Moon

    The Moon World was one of the very few off shore worlds that Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan controlled. Or, rather, in this case, his Tatsuya Clan by proxy of his Ice Phoenix Clan. And, yet, it was a world where the greatest cultivator that could be born would be of the mere Dao Pedestal Realm.


    It was one thing to invest in a Ninth Order Sect where a Dao Pedestal Ancestor would be the best you could hope to find if said Sect was in your world. However, it was a completely different matter to invest in an entirely separate world. So the question was¡­ Why?


    The obvious answer was for resources. Having a large source of lower level resources was important for any Clan or Sect. There was only so much you could find in a single world. Having many subordinates you could pool resources from was ideal for a super power. And, considering the Moon World was a world of extreme yin, it made even more sense that the Ice Phoenix Clan would place such great emphasis on it.


    This reason was enough for most to accept. It was even enough for Ryu to accept as well. This was what he had believed for the longest time and he hadn''t thought much of it. But, what he didn''t know was that there was a deeper underlying reason¡­


    The two Phoenix Clans of the Shrine Plane had been struggling with their Bloodlines for a very long time. It was impossible that Clans that had reached this state wouldn''t be doing everything in their power to reverse the tides. In any other situation, both the Ice and Fire Phoenix Clans would have begun to be disrespected and disregarded among the top Clans of the Shrine World. However, it was thanks to their close ties with the Kunan and Tatsuya Clans that they were not. The marriage alliances between these behemoths is what had protected them for so long.


    How much longer would such a system have lasted for, though?


    After a single marriage alliance, then a union of their grandchildren, how much further was there to go? Would they have to make another marriage alliance? What would happen after Ryu''s grandparents passed away? There was always Ryu and his parents which represented all four Bloodlines, but they were all tied to that Tatsuya Clan. Ryu was their scion, his father was their Patriarch and his mother had married into their Clan.


    Even if the ties of the Clans would be infinitely close thanks to this, it would also make the Phoenix Clans faintly inferior. Over generations, it might even reach a point where instead of being considered equals, they would be nothing more than subordinates who could only attach themselves at the hip of the Tatsuya.


    ? Things might be fine for one or two generations while their sentiments were still kind and their bones were still strong, but what about after three? Four? Ten? A hundred?


    How long would it take for close ties to become rife with disdain? How long before their Bloodlines became second class, only fit to subordinate themselves? How long until they had no right to the Shrines any longer? How long until they were no longer even fit to have a place on the Shrine Plane at all?


    These were matters that Ryu had in the back of his mind as well. One of his goals in his first life wasn''t just to help his parents become stronger, but it was also to help the Phoenix Clans rise again. It was because of this that he had put so much effort into finding the location of the Death Shrine. He believed that a part of the reason the Ice and Fire Phoenixes were declining was because they were missing their third and final piece, the balance that helped them all to maintain that perfect cycle.


    With the Tatsuya Clan, there was always their rival Kunan Clan. The push and pull of Dragons versus Qilins would always keep them in top form. In fact, if not by such a roundabout manner, it would have been impossible for the Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines to merge as they had.


    The Phoenix Clans weren''t incompetent. They would have tried their best to find a path out of this inevitable end.


    It made perfect sense that Ryu wouldn''t know anything about their true efforts. He was ultimately the scion of the Tatsuya Clan. He was two generations removed from exceptionally close ties with the Ice and Fire Phoenix Clans and both of the individuals that gave him his strongest connections with them¡ªhis grandmothers¡ªhad married into other Clans.


    Though Ryu''s grandmothers still wielded great power over their Clans, out of respect for certain proprieties, they could only remain silent about many things. It was in part due to this that Ryu''s Grandma Kunan was so shocked that Ryu had actually been trying to help by finding the Death Shrine and clues about the Dark Phoenixes.


    By now, it was all too obvious. The Moon World was the resting place of the final bouts of strength the Ice Phoenix Clan had left. In fact, it was a land that the Fire Phoenixes had placed great emphasis in as well.


    Ryu had never known why this was. Even after he gained the treasures of the Ice Phoenix Clan and learned of the importance they placed on this world, he still hadn''t had any clue. That was¡­ Until he saw these floating islands and the secrets that lay beneath them.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, why was it that his mother would take him traveling to this world of all places? It seemed like any normal trip he might usually take with this father, just another important lesson in their subordinate Clans and territories. But¡­


    The Clans his father brought him to were subordinate to the Tatsuya Clan. He was the scion of the Tatsuya Clan. It was his responsibility to look over them once his father retired to focus on his cultivation. However¡­ What did the Moon World have to do with him?


    Now it all made sense. Ryu had thought that his people were too incompetent. The Martial Gods had only been here a fraction of the time and yet they had already learned of the Chaos Plane, so what had they been doing for all these trillions of years? There was only so much that he could accomplish in a thousand years, he couldn''t possibly dip his foot in every pot and without an ability to cultivate and a deep understanding of the world''s qi, he wouldn''t have been able to deduce the existence of this plane either.


    So it turned out that things were like this. Finally¡­ Finally it felt like they were one step ahead of the Martial Gods.


    What did the Awoken Moon Sect represent? Well, when you found a world that was such a great treasure, wouldn''t you find a way to protect it?


    "It seems I''m going to have to cut off your fun a bit early." Ryu spoke to Ailsa.


    Ailsa pouted, her lips pursing. She was definitely still having fun. But, in that moment, her figure suddenly swayed.


    Ryu reached out and caught her waist before she fell. "Look at you, you''re already on the verge of collapse. You''re too stubborn, you could have relied on my soul at least a small bit. Even if you want to fight, why do you have to do it on your own if I''m here?"


    Ailsa still stubbornly pursed her lips, but her eyes flickered with an undisguised warmth. It did feel comfortable being in her husband''s arms like this.


    In the skies, the Ice Queen suddenly found itself shattered from all sides, its figure flickering in and out of existence. The raging attacks of the Griffins and Martial Gods had become more frantic under the assault of the cold. They could feel that if things continued like this, they would end up dying, their bodies frozen over completely outside of their control.


    "It seems that it''s time to end this." Ryu said lightly.


    He entrusted Ailsa to Yaana and the safety of them both to Ryza. With a step, he appeared above the Awoken Moon Sect, the shimmering light of its moon reflecting in his irises.


    Ryu could see it quite well. The complex runes that made up this Moon reminded him a lot of what he had seen in the Silver Star Visualization. But, aside from a slight similarity, they couldn''t be compared in complexity at all. The difference was akin to Heaven and Earth.


    Still, when Ryu laid eyes on it, he couldn''t help but exhale a long breath. If he wanted to reveal all the secrets of this Moon, even with his current eyes, it would take him several months at least. He could imagine how many billions to trillions of years his Ice Phoenix Clan had put into this plan¡­


    He stood above it, his smile curving.


    ''This probably means that this was Sarriel''s real goal, hm? I have to hand it to her. To manage to put these pieces together before I could, she''s quite the clever woman.''


    Ryu''s head suddenly snapped in a particular direction. It was subtle, but the air in the region rippled almost imperceptibly. Unfortunately, it wasn''t subtle enough to escape Ryu''s detection.


    A grin spread across his face, his lips mouthing several words before he waved.


    BANG!


    The entire Moon World quaked, its very foundations suddenly falling under Ryu''s control¡­ And just like that, Ryu kicked everyone he didn''t want to be here out.


    ¡­


    Sarriel stood in the depths of space in a daze, her haughty expression finally giving way to a different sort of emotion¡­


    Bafflement.


    And then, she roared into the skies.


    "That son of a bitch, I''m going to kill him!"

 Chapter 821 Pettiness

    Sarriel''s gaze flickered with rage, her fists clenching. How many years had she wasted in that wasteland? Her cultivation would have progressed so much faster almost anywhere else. If not for her insistence, she may very well have been in the Dao Pedestal Realm already despite her young age.


    To make matters worse, because of the weaknesses of the Moon World, it couldn''t produce any outstanding treasures that could have helped her cultivation advance by leaps and bounds. So, she had to stay in this cultivation wasteland without anything to supplement her, more than halving what could have been her true cultivation speed, all for it to mean nothing in the end.


    She had done so much work, so much research. She found the connection between the Awoken Moon Sect and the Moonlight Blossom Sect. She found the lingering trump cards the Ice Phoenix Clan had left behind. She found that these trump cards were eerily similar to the construction of the Ice Devil Legacy World and made the appropriate connection.


    Out of all of this, the only coincidence was that she had run into Ryu. But, this coincidence had only ended up making things easier on her as that fool actually gained some tender emotions from her.


    If her pride wasn''t so deep, she could have continued to use it and she would have still been there when the most important step of her plan was meant to be taken. But, instead, she was stuck out here without anywhere to go and it left her infuriated to an extreme.


    Normally, she wouldn''t lose her composure like this, but it was all so important. Without this, she would be stuck in this world and wouldn''t be able to leave like she had wanted to. In the end, her future plans would have been ruined, ruined!


    What she had done to Ryu could only be considered to be a small setback. But, what Ryu had done to her felt like her heart was being ripped out.


    To make matters worse, that bastard had actually mouthed those words to her in the end. ''Your lips tasted good.'' How dare he say something like that to her?! She swore that when next she saw him, she would rip his mouth from his face and stuff his tongue down his throat, then she would see if he still had the gall to say such bullshit!


    "SCRAM!"


    Sarriel shrieked, her palm slamming out in a particular direction. Without even being able to react, a griffin who had been expelled from the Moon World, having strength well into the Tenth Order, shattered into a bloody rain of bone, flesh and blood.


    They had all been thrust above the dome of the Moon World, forced to look down upon it through a barrier they were all well aware couldn''t be broken in a short time. Even if they brought their Sky Gods here, it would last an innumerable number of years.


    The Ice Phoenixes were all world renowned for the defensive abilities. Even a seal Ryu''s mother had formed with the help of the Ice Shrine on a whim had lasted nine cycles of a hundred thousand years. So, how could a seal that the Ice Phoenix Clan had prepared over the course of billions of years possibly be casually broken by just anyone?


    This reality only made Sarriel more infuriated, though. So, when she saw that some bastard was actually spying on her, she lashed out instantly, shattering their very being with a palm.


    "So weak. This world is so weak. Even your Champions are so weak. Look at me again and I swear I''ll slaughter you all! Scram for me! NOW!"


    Sarriel''s temper flared uncontrollably, lashing out at any and all things.


    Those within the Eleventh Order and World Sea Realm watched on with narrowed eyes. They didn''t know who this girl was, but that sudden strike was enough for them to be put off. Something like that wouldn''t necessarily be easy even for them to do.


    At that moment, a chuckle suddenly rang in Sarriel''s ears that made her expression turn a frightening shade of cold.


    ''It seems you''re very angry.''


    Sarriel''s warped expression froze over. Almost instantly, she had returned to her normal baseline. With her pride, there was no way she would allow Ryu to see her throwing a tantrum, nor would she demand anything from him. Since this method had failed, she would just have to find another way. It had only taken her about a thousand years before, wasting another thousand years was nothing.


    This was only one of her clues, she could easily find another. Since this easier path had failed, she would just have to go to the Nether World next. If Ryu expected her to beg and plead, he could rot in hell.


    Coming to this conclusion, Sarriel turned and stepped into the distance. The turbid and violent qi of space didn''t seem to bother her in the slightest. In fact, with her control, it only made her stronger. In a place like this, she wouldn''t even fear pinnacle World Sea Realm experts.


    Seeing this scene, Ryu smiled.


    "What are you all still loitering around here for? You heard the lady, scram!"


    A harsh and cold pressure surged, whipping against the bodies of those who still remained and sending them flying off for thousands of miles. Those that were lucky managed to keep their lives. Those that were unlucky froze over into bits and pieces of glass, shattering beneath the violent qi of space.


    ¡­


    Sarriel shot through the depths of space, her expression dark. But, she suddenly came to a grinding halt, her gaze narrowing.


    Up ahead, Ryu stood with his hands clasped behind his back. It was very clearly just a projection, something Sarriel could easily see through with her eyes. This was likely an ability given to the one that controlled the core of the formation that now protected the Moon World. There were various use cases for a controller of a formation to be able to send eyes anywhere quickly within the territory they controlled. Clearly this was one of the more petty cases.


    Sarriel didn''t say a word and attempted to step by Ryu. A projection like this would have a small bit of power behind it, but not enough for Sarriel to fear. She would rather die than stand here and be humiliated. If Ryu pushed her too far, she would most definitely find a way for revenge he wouldn''t like. After all, she was well aware that Ryu wouldn''t stay in the Moon World forever.


    Ryu shook his head and chuckled, vanishing and appearing before Sarriel again.


    "Normal territories range maybe a few hundred to a few thousand miles from the barrier. But, I can tell you that this one extends for hundreds of thousands of miles. So, if you want to fly out of the range, you''ll have a long way to go. Want to test it out?"


    Sarriel''s expression went colder. "Are you trying to make an enemy out of me?"


    "Aren''t we already enemies? Oh my, don''t tell me that your trying to kill me before was just your love language?"


    "You''ve grown more annoying. Your words aren''t as funny as you think they are and I can say with great certainty that you were far more attractive before. This word play and teasing game you like to play now is annoying and makes you look more like a boy than a man."


    Ryu chuckled. "Is that so? I think this is just perfect for a woman like you, though. You''re the last person who should be complaining about another''s change in personality, don''t you think?"


    ? Ryu''s smile seemed filled with a meaningful light, but it only made Sarriel''s expression colder.


    "You know, I was wondering why it was that the Sarriel I met was so different from the real you. In fact, I even wondered at one point if it was that Sarriel that was real and it was you that''s fake. But, after so long, I guess it''s quite clear that you''re the dominant¡­


    "I''ve never heard of a cultivation technique that can change one''s frame of mind and manipulate you into being a completely different person, but who would have thought that such a thing actually existed."


    Ryu looked Sarriel up and down.


    "It''s fascinating. It makes me feel that maybe you were right and that this world truly is too insignificant¡­


    "How about it, young miss? Tell me about your cultivation method and then we can discuss terms regarding the Chaos Plane. You won''t be prostituting yourself, you''ll just be prostituting your mind and the information stored with.


    "So?"


    Ryu smiled.


    Sarriel''s cultivation technique left him more intrigued than anything else ever had. He had never come across something so fascinating.


    Sarriel was simply a well of knowledge that Ryu had to tap into. While it would feel good to simply boot her out and get his payback, having to stumble about and figure out things that this woman apparently already knew would be annoying.


    Ryu didn''t have time to waste, especially not for petty squabbles.

 Chapter 822 An Enormous Gap

    Sarriel coldly matched Ryu''s gaze.


    There was no doubt that asking about someone else''s cultivation technique was rude and could be considered a taboo within the martial world. Ryu was aware of this, and, obviously, so was Sarriel. However, neither of them would get anywhere without compromises.


    In truth, Ryu wanted to see the cultivation technique itself, but there was no way that Sarriel would allow that, so he could be considered to have taken a step back, albeit a small one. At the same time, considering what was at stake, Sarriel was forced to think about it.


    While she was willing to waste another thousand years for nothing other than her pride, she also wasn''t stupid. The ask wasn''t large. The only problem was that Ryu had also said that this would be the beginning. What other things would he ask of her after she agreed to this? And, most importantly, she hated seeing that smug look on his face.


    "¡­ In this world the four pillars of a cultivator are the Spiritual Foundation, the Meridians, the Bone Structure and one''s Bloodlines. However, there''s a fifth one that''s too often neglected¡ªThe Soul."


    Ryu frowned. The soul was obviously deemed as important, but what Sarriel said was true. It was never really considered a Pillar. It also didn''t help that Ryu''s Tatsuya Clan had had such a large influence on it falling into obscurity.


    However, now that Ryu thought about it, it was more odd than not that the Soul wasn''t considered one of the Pillars of cultivation.


    The Meridians and the Spiritual Foundation both accounted for Qi Realm cultivation. Bone Structure and Bloodlines both accounted for Body Realm cultivation. But¡­ What of Mental Realm cultivation?


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    The more obvious and widely accepted the flaw, the more difficult it was to pick up and see. The Four Pillars of cultivation were so widely accepted that no one wasted any time questioning them. But, there was such an obvious problem with them all. Ryu almost wanted to kick himself for not seeing it previously.


    "The Soul and The Dao and the fifth and sixth Pillars of cultivation, each just as important as the first four, and it''s often a weakness of cultivators. Most grasp their Dao too late to use it as a foundation of for their cultivation, while with the Soul, it spend much of its time idle until you reach the Immortal Ring Realm and can unleash its true potential.


    "But, in wasting all that time idle, many make the mistake of believing that the soul has nothing else to offer when in reality, it''s an indispensable part of having a powerful Dao.


    "My cultivation technique homes in on all Six Pillars, but has a great focus on the Dao and the Soul as they are the ones that need the most support. Each stage of my cultivation technique is separated into Peaks and Valleys. During the Peaks, I am myself. During the Valleys, I lose my sense of self and conform to whatever personality type the technique deems fit for my future.


    "These valleys are tribulations my soul undergoes, making it stronger and sturdier. Every time I come out, my soul undergoes a qualitative change and my Dao is reaffirmed, becoming stronger. The more tribulations I surpass, the more perfect my technique becomes and the faster my cultivation speed becomes as well.


    "Enough?"


    Ryu''s brows remained furrowed. Such a cultivation technique seemed almost too magical. And, though Sarriel was purposely vague, Ryu could grasp one very important point from all of this: Her Qi Realm, Body Realm and Mental Realm cultivation were all handled by a single technique.


    No¡­ Maybe he had jumped to that conclusion too forcefully. That wasn''t necessarily true. But, what was undeniable was the fact that the three so-called Realms of cultivation had become so blurred that they may as well have been one. And¡­ That felt like the natural state they should have been in.


    Ryu realized at that point that he was too ignorant of a lot of things. The complexity of this technique, even from such a vague explanation, was beyond anything he could wrap his mind around. Just the idea that a cultivation technique could help you speed up your cultivation speed was absolutely unheard of.


    In Ryu''s world, cultivation speed was entirely reliant on your own talent. How could a cultivation technique help with that? Sure, there were more efficient cultivation methods, and even better cultivation methods, but none that could exchange comprehension for speed.


    Even the idea of having to comprehend a cultivation technique was baffling was Ryu. A cultivation technique was just a formula to follow, a pathway to guide energy down or a method to manipulate said energy under a unique set of circumstances, what was there to comprehend? It was either you could do it or you couldn''t, there wasn''t the normal gradient scale one should expect from something you had to comprehend.


    That was when something else dawned on Ryu. If the difference was so large now, what about later down the line? Could it be for this reason that his <Intuition> had told him not to cultivate any further? He had guessed before that it might be because his cultivation technique was lacking, but he didn''t think that it would be this exaggerated.


    Ryu had thought it was because his approach to Qi Realm cultivation was too bland and simple. He had originally chosen his cultivation techniques to take advantage of the sturdiness of his meridians but his Chaotic Silk Meridians were obviously far more than just this now. What he hadn''t expected was that it wouldn''t just be his cultivation technique that was too bland and simple¡­


    But every cultivation technique in the whole of Sacrum as well!


    The gap was so enormous that Ryu had trouble even fathoming it. What else didn''t he know? What else was he missing? What other mysteries were there?


    And, even more poignantly, how did Sarriel know about all of this and was her goal really as simple as just taking advantage of the resources of the Chaos Plane? Something told Ryu that her scope was far larger.

 Chapter 823 The Truth

    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as he stared at Sarriel deeply. He took a breath, his calm returning to him and his expression settling back down.


    "Since you''ve held up your end of the bargain, then we can begin to negotiate. I''m sure you''ve put a lot of effort into making sure that you lay your hands on the Moon World and I''m also sure that you had a very good reason for teleporting me there of all places despite knowing that it might put you at a disadvantage in the end.


    "There''s no getting around the fact that you need my cooperation just the same way I need yours. So, as a sign of good faith, why don''t you tell me why it is that you''re so eager to enter the Chaos Plane?"


    Sarriel''s expression darkened. "Was explaining my cultivation technique to you not a great enough sign of good faith?"


    "Maybe. About as good a sign as handing over a few coins to a homeless man would be. You hardly explained anything, you kept most of the more important details to yourself, and you know well that I have no method of replicating your technique. What did you expect from me, exactly? For me to hand over to you everything my Ice Phoenix Clan has been working on for billions of years just because you gave me a few sentences of explanation?"


    Ryu''s tone no longer carried its joking tone. In fact, his gaze was as cold as Sarriel remembered. This was the man who had looked down at her pitiful expression without the slightest fluctuation. Her beauty meant next to nothing to him and would have no impact on swaying him one way or another.


    Sarriel knew that Ryu''s words made sense but her internal rage toward the situation didn''t allow her to set down her pride easily. It made Ryu realize that even during her so-called ''Peaks'', Sarriel''s cultivation technique was still having a great effect on her.


    Who knew how long she had spent suppressed as the previous Sarriel Ryu had known. Now, she was finally herself once again and it likely meant that what had been repressed was suddenly unleashed in full force. If things were looked at in this way, Sarriel''s soul was actually under a constant tribulation, not just one some of the time.


    When Ryu thought back to it, Sarriel''s arrogance was a large part of the reason she had lost to him the first time. She had disdained to use her full strength. But, no matter how you looked at it, that wasn''t a smart choice, and definitely not the choice someone who was so good at plotting and scheming would make either.


    It was very likely that it was Sarriel''s cultivation technique that had made her react like that. Whenever she reverted back to her original, haughty self, it would be amplified several times over. As a result, she would find herself acting out even more so than she originally would.


    Due to this, she risked over a thousand years of planning just so that she could fuel her own arrogance and in the end, she lost because of it.


    However, this didn''t make Ryu pity Sarriel, nor did he feel like the cultivation technique was flawed. Rather, Ryu could only think that the day Sarriel managed to rein in her demeanor and achieved true serenity in who and what she was¡­.


    She would become a monster. A monster Ryu very much wanted to battle.


    And if that was just her, then what about all the others who would presumably have cultivation techniques on that level? Ryu wanted to meet them all, he wanted to fight against them all¡­ He wanted to defeat them all and use their corpses as the stepping stones to his greatest heights. Allowing them to be the foundation to his ascension would be their greatest honor!


    Sarriel took several deep breaths to calm herself down. Just as Ryu had concluded, her cultivation method was, indeed, causing her to act like this. But, she had long since learned to control it. It was just that today was special compared to most others. Today was supposed to be the day a millennia of hard work finally paid off, but she was instead slapped in the face. The fact that she was only this enraged was a testament to how well she usually controlled herself.


    "¡­ Deep into the Sky God Realm, Chaos Qi becomes even more important than Essence. Disorder must be taken to an extreme before you can once again find Order. The Chaos Plane of this world is unexplored and untouched, allowing it to have some of the purest stores of Chaos Qi in all of existence. Gathering some of it now and using it during my breakthrough into the Sky God Realm will be of great benefit to my future cultivation."


    Ryu was shocked once again. It felt like every time this woman spoke, another shocking revelation would fall onto his lap.


    He had never heard of Chaos Qi needing to be used like this, at least not from the Sky God Realms he was aware of. That meant that there was more he had no idea about.


    "The Sky God Realm, how many divisions are there?" Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but become sharp.


    "¡­ The Fragmented Sky God, the False Sky God, the True Sky God, the Perfect Sky God, the Transcended Sky God, the Omniscient Sky God, the Sky God of Order, the Sky God of Chaos, and finally the Sky God of Origin."


    Each name was like another clap of thunder to Ryu''s mind, each one thrumming his heart to its rhythm. For a long time, he couldn''t steady his breathing, his thoughts racing out of control.


    "That''s enough now, right? Or don''t tell me you want to squeeze more out of me."


    Ryu took deep breaths and locked gazes with Sarriel.


    "¡­ I am a man of my word, I will allow you in. But, I''m also not a fool, you''ve only told me a part of the reason, I can see through you. Right then, you tried to use your deception on me. So, how about you tell me the truth? What is the real reason you want to enter the Chaos Plane?"


    Sarriel''s pupils trembled and she bit her cherry lips hard, her long ears drooping somewhat adorably.


    "¡­ The Chaos Plane is likely the only place with a Gate to the rest of Existence. It''s a path away from here."


    An explosion resounded in Ryu''s mind.


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 Chapter 824 Disgust

    Of all the things Ryu had thought Sarriel might have chosen to answer with, this was most definitely the last thing he ha expected.


    Ryu had never really considered how to leave this world. How could he even think of doing such a thing until he ripped the Martial Gods out from their roots and slaughtered them to the last man? His only real epiphany about the matter came with relation to the Nether World and he had concluded that if there was anywhere with such an entrance, door or gate, it would likely be that place.


    However, never could he have expected that the gateway would be located in the Chaos Plane. Or, maybe, it was just one of the many gateways for all he knew.


    Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but beat erratically. He suddenly felt an undying will to go toward that gate now. If it wasn''t for the fact he had already knew that he had used his last <Intuition>, he would have thought that it was another instant of it pulling him in that direction. But, he knew better than to think that.


    This wasn''t <Intuition>, it was his own selfish desire screaming at him and echoing through his mind. It was a constant hammer on his heart and thoughts, rushing him toward that inevitable end. He wanted it all so badly¡­ To see what that true mountain peak was¡­


    Ryu took several more deep breaths. Compared to this information, the names of the nine Sky God Realms meant next to nothing to Ryu. Those were just markers for his future accomplishments, whetstone he would eventually use and marbled stairs he would eventually step upon. But this, this was different.


    He wanted to feel what it meant to battle geniuses no weaker than himself. He wanted to experience vast lands and powers that dwarfed his Tatsuya Clan. He wanted see a mountain peak grander and taller than Shrine Mountain. And then¡­


    He wanted to trample it all beneath his feet.


    By the time Ryu regained his bearings, several minutes had already passed. But, he didn''t pay Sarriel any mind. In the face of these dreams of his, beauty was simply too fleeting.


    "Let''s return."


    Ryu took a step forward past Sarriel, leading her away. Though she didn''t show it, she inwardly sighed a breath of relief. There was definitely a potential future where Ryu could have taken all of this information from her and then vanished. If he had chosen to do that, there was very little she could have done. But, it seemed that he knew how to keep his word.


    It wasn''t long before the pair had returned to the barrier. By now, all the Martial Gods and Ancestral Beasts had completely dispersed. There was nothing they could do but report these matters back to their superiors. If they stayed here, they would only be asking for death.


    Ryu''s avatar vanished and a small whirlpool swallowed Sarriel up, bringing her inside.


    Ryu wasn''t very afraid of Sarriel in the slightest. In fact, the only reason he had kicked her out was for a little bit of payback and laughs. The truth was that while the formation was activated, he, who controlled it, was practically invincible, even among Sky Gods. He could have let her be, but he decided to knock her down a peg first.


    If Sarriel knew this, she would probably fall into another rage. But, at this point, she didn''t really have much of a choice in the matter. So long as they entered the Chaos Plane, the control Ryu had would vanish and she would be able to do as she pleased. Of course, Ryu was aware of this as well. That was why he would get all the information he needed out of her first, then consider letting her do as she wanted later.


    "Ah, Little Sarriel. You''ve changed so much." Ailsa pouted, looking Sarriel up and down.


    ,m Sarriel ''replied'' with a cold stare. She wouldn''t forget that it was partly because of this woman that her personality shift ended up falling into Ryu''s hands so thoroughly. What kind of wife was so intent on finding other women for her husband?


    Even now Sarriel had no idea how she had fallen so pathetically. She had had terrible soul tribulations before, she even remembered having a lustful personality shift back when she was still in the Spiritual Severing Realm. Considering how weak she had been back then, it would have been very easy for someone to take advantage of her. And yet, she had still managed to weather that tribulation without doing anything she would be embarrassed about.


    But, somehow, a shy personality shift had caused her to be taken advantage of. It was ridiculous. If she had her way, she''d use her blade to slice off those damned lips Ryu kept reminding her of.


    Seeing Sarriel''s reaction, Ailsa only giggled. With her connection with Ryu, she knew everything that he knew. So she, of course, understood everything now.


    "Hello." Yaana politely greeted Sarriel as well.


    But, when Sarriel''s gaze landed on Yaana, an uncontrollable wave of disgust overcame her. It was obvious why, looking at Yaana now, she was reminded of her last Soul Tribulation and she felt her stomach heave.


    Sarriel shot out a palm completely without warning. She wanted nothing more than for Yaana to vanish from her sight, even if that meant killing her on the spot. She didn''t even consider nor care what Yaana''s identity was.


    BANG!


    Sarriel''s brow furrowed.


    Her palm shot through space, erupting on a floating island that acted as their backdrop. By a sweep of bad luck, it was actually the Moonlight Blossom Sect that suffered the blow. Yaana, however, had flickered and reappeared, her brows knit into a tight frown.


    "What the hell do you think you''re doing?"


    The biting cold of Ryu''s voice cause Sarriel''s heart to freeze over. She didn''t even need to look over and meet his eye for her to know that he was furious.

 Chapter 825 Choose Wisely

    Sarriel''s brow furrowed. This wasn''t because she was ashamed about her actions, but rather because she was furious that she would be questioned in this way. Who was Ryu, or anyone for that matter, to question her? She did as she pleased, did she need to give a reason to anyone?


    Ryu had already appeared before her, his stature towering and his gaze a biting cold. His own chest was just a mere centimeter from Sarriel''s ample bosom, one as sturdy and broad as a rockface and that other as curved, delicate and soft as the clouds, and yet both just as unyielding.


    The two felt almost like mirror images of each other, their murderous intent rising into the skies.


    "It seems I didn''t teach you enough of a lesson the first time." Ryu sneered, his canines glistening beneath the high sun and fluttering snow.


    There was nothing laughing or joking about his demeanor. He carried with him the same air of arrogance he did when facing an enemy.


    The moment these words entered Sarriel''s ears, it was as though she had been greatly provoked.


    SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!


    A violent tempest of sword qi whipped around her wildly. Ryu could almost hear her blade clambering within her spatial ring, ready to tear through the fabric of reality to make it here and cut out Ryu''s tongue for his impudence.


    "Do you really think an ant like you stands any real chance against me?"


    Sarriel''s words were just as bitingly cold. Those who knew a lot about Ryu but very little about Sarriel couldn''t help but be stunned. Those here had already witnessed Ryu''s battle prowess but even while she was within the Moonlight Blossom Sect, not only had Sarriel hidden her true face, but she had hidden her true strength as well. No one here was aware of her true capabilities.


    At that moment, just when it seemed like something was about to erupt, Ailsa lightly cleared her throat.


    "Alright, you two. Let''s take a breath."


    Sarriel''s gaze swept toward Ailsa. "Piss off."


    Ailsa''s gaze remained placid. "I would suggest you watch your tone, little girl. You can consider this me doing you a favor, or else considering my husband''s temperament, the fact you would deem to attack to kill his wife would be enough for him to sever all ties with you."


    Ailsa knew Ryu too well, he was already on the verge of killing Sarriel. In fact, if it was anyone else, he would have already attacked. But, there were two reasons he hadn''t done so yet. The first was because he still needed the information Sarriel had and it was tied to his greatest ambition. The second was because the Sarriel he had grown to have feelings for, the shy and reserved Sarriel, shared the same face as this woman here now. Even as decisive as Ryu was, he still needed a moment to clear that barrier.


    However, Ailsa knew that neither of these two reasons would be enough to stop Ryu.


    Between his ambition and his loved ones, he would always choose the latter. And, between a fa?ade of a woman and his real woman, there was likewise even less of a choice to make between the two. Given even a split second more, Sarriel would be nothing but a corpse already.


    "A favor?" Sarriel laughed coldly. "Do you think I need your pity?"


    "It seems that you''re intent on throwing this tantrum, but it seems you''ve forgotten the situation you''re in." Ailsa replied without the slightest waver in her gaze. "You''re currently standing within a formation that even Sky Gods can''t break through and you''ve infuriated the man who controls it. No matter how powerful you are outside, in here, you''re nothing more than the ant you claim others to be."


    Sarriel''s expression flickered, but she still said nothing.


    "I can tell why you''re so infuriated. You''ve spotted a weakness in yourself and want to cut it away, seemingly not realizing that it''s not possible. Your cultivation technique is beyond anything I''ve ever laid my eyes on, but I can tell you with great certainty that there''s no changing someone''s soul.


    "All of these ''tribulations'' you''ve undergone are only showing you different shades of yourself. You still haven''t settled down and accepted this yet, that is why your emotions are still so agitated even after digging your way out of your so-called ''valley''."


    Sarriel''s expression turned dark. "The ignorant truly dare to say anything. You''re the mere inferior heel of my superior race but you want to guide me? Worse yet, you want to guide me in a level of technique that your impoverished lands haven''t even laid eyes on before? Are you trying to make me laugh to death? Know your limits!


    "What do you expect me to learn from a cowardly Faerie who only knows how to rest on the shoulders of a man? Your race is nothing but a legion of dogs and pets on leashes, wagging their tails and hanging out their tongues in hopes you might earn yourselves a piece of meat. I''m disgusted by you and everything that you represent, never deign to ''instruct'' me again!"


    The harsh cold of Ryu''s gaze increased, the murderous intent of his irises snapped into place, the oppressive might of his Dao subtly leaking from his aura. His demeanor seemed to change entirely.


    He didn''t care about anything Sarriel had to provide any longer. She could just die.


    Just as Ryu was about to act, a palm flattened against his chest and gently pushed him away. Ailsa pushed him to the side and stepped forward to face Sarriel, both of their ample bosoms competing for space within the air.


    If it was anyone other than his wife who had stepped forward to do this, Ryu would have already disregarded everything. But, right now, all he could do was frown.


    Ailsa coldly looked Sarriel up and down, his crimson irises deadpan and unmoved.


    "You see yourself as a lofty being ready to transcend the Heavens, but all I see is a little girl who happens to have a little bit more information than everyone else. In fact, you also remind me of a particular little boy who feared nothing and yet was somehow angry at everything.


    "Deep inside, you know that I''m perfectly correct. That shy, lovable little girl you were just a year ago is still inside you somewhere. You just don''t want to accept it because that also means accepting that the actions she committed weren''t as separate from yourself as you''d love to believe.


    "Regardless, I do not care. As you''ve said, I''m just a woman who''s quite content with sitting on the shoulders of my husband and basking in his success. But, that also means that I''m greatly invested in ensuring that he does succeed.


    "Even if you die now, I have many methods of extracting your soul and snatching the memories you hold so dear to yourself. So, the choice is yours, really. Rein in your attitude and control yourself as an adult should, or you can die and make your contributions to this aimless, lowly woman here after you''ve long since passed.


    "Choose wisely."


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 Chapter 826 Final Attempt

    Ryu''s rage dissipated, not because he had forgiven what Sarriel had done, but rather because he suddenly found this situation very amusing. Everything from Ailsa reprimanding Sarriel like only a big sister shoulder, all the way down to the tinge of green that was Sarriel''s lovely features now, he found it all to be almost too excellent.


    This Sarriel woman was even more stubborn than he was. Coupling that with what he assumed was the backlash of her technique and it was a miracle that she had even held it together for this long to begin with.


    Ryu released a chuckle beside himself, but that much earned him the glare of two ferocious lionesses, Sarriel on one side and Ailsa on the other. Ryu could only be baffled as to the reason why Ailsa was giving him such a look now. Toward such a thing, he could only put his hands up in defeat and turn toward the only woman who was always good to him.


    "Are you okay?"


    Yaana blinked and nodded, a light smile on her face. Someone else might have already died beneath Sarriel''s strike. But, it was clear that, for one, Sarriel hadn''t used nearly as much strength as she had against the previous Tenth Order beast and, Yaana herself was in a unique position to deal with Sarriel''s blow.


    As a part Faerie, Yaana was in a unique position and was granted a far stronger Mental Realm than most humans. When it came to matters of the soul, it was rare for her to fight a match and as such, her senses were especially sensitive. On top of this, Yaana was probably the strongest at her given cultivation Realm when it came to evasion, even better than Ryu when he was using his <Lightning Divine Mark> technique or the Silver Star Visualization.


    None of this even mentioned the fact that Yaana''s Spiritual Sense worked differently than others did. Rather than seeing and reacting like most people did, Yaana could feel and react. She could use the space around her like a blanket to touch upon information that sight alone couldn''t match. In some regard, this ability to sense was even better than Ryu''s <Third Perspective> which gave him a perfect and bird''s eye view of everything.


    With all of these compiled together, even while being a lesser cultivation than Sarriel, Yaana didn''t sweat dodging her attack in the slightest. In fact, it had been easy even though she had been caught somewhat off guard. It could be said that none of Ryu''s wives were pushovers and thinking that they were so would end in your shooting yourself in the foot.


    "I''m fine, really."


    p Yaana didn''t have much of a temper usually, and this was especially so when she was around Ryu. So, she didn''t feel like it was necessary to pursue this matter.


    At the same time, Yaana was very intelligent in her own right. She could tell how important Sarriel''s information was to Ryu. Barring something catastrophic, she didn''t want to be the reason that these matters fell through.


    Ryu lightly grasped her hand and gave her a small pulse and a reassuring sort of warmth.


    "Let''s go. I believe we have a lot of things to discuss that can''t be done out in the open like this. As for everything else, I''ll deal with it later."


    ¡­


    Soon, five sat in an immortal abode cut off from everyone else.


    Ryu sat with Yaana in his lap. Ryza sat at the head of the table looking particularly out of place. And, finally, Ailsa and Sarriel, clearly by choice, sat across from one another, still glaring.


    Ryu sighed. More women really did mean more problems. Luckily his Yaana didn''t want to make enemies with anyone. Sarriel was definitely a troublemaker. As for Ryza, she was still wondering why it was she hadn''t gotten even the slightest bit of respect a Sky God should in the face of so many juniors. She was fine with Ryu not acknowledging her presence because he was an overly arrogant brat, but what about everyone else? Even the soft and dainty Yaana had hardly spared her a glance. Was her imposing aura and majesty not enough?!


    "Let''s start from the beginning. Tell us the truth. Are you from the past? Did you Fey Race enter seclusion like the Ancestral Beasts had? Or did you come from another world?"


    Sarriel frowned, finally looking away from Ailsa. "Why do you need to know all of these things?"


    "I think it''s pretty obvious why I might have use for this information. What''s not obvious is what reason you''d have for trying to hide them. It seems like your only reason for pushing back is because you don''t want to talk about those matters, but given the situation and my needs, that''s not a good enough reason."


    Ryu explained his position unhurriedly. As things stood now, time was on his side. No one could interfere with this world for the foreseeable future, the Ancestral Beasts were embroiled in war with the Martial Gods and the pause in Ryu''s cultivation due to his <Intuition> meant he didn''t need to worry about such things at all. His only goal right now was to slowly become stronger by experiencing life and tempering his Dao, and he was confident that he would soon one day have the strength to make the Martial Gods pay for their actions.


    Sarriel''s expression darkened, but she had no way of refuting. There really was no other reason to keep these matters hidden outside of her own unwillingness to talk about it. If it really was a secret she had to take to the grave, she wouldn''t have even given Ryu so many hints to begin with.


    Why would she want to talk about her eradicated Clan? But now, it seemed she didn''t have a choice.


    "¡­ My Clan is gone just like I told you. I''m the product of a final attempt at survival and was sent here from a distant past."

 Chapter 827 Unprepared

    Ryu nodded. This did, indeed, make the most sense. As he had said before, going forward in time wasn''t a problem for powerful cultivators who were willing to give up an equivalent exchange of resources. In fact, it was also possible to slow time down to a crawl as well. What was impossible was going back in time. The paradoxes involved were impossible to resolve.


    This was all to say that Ailsa''s words were easily acceptable. If there was anything to raise an eyebrow about, it was that the universe was still in its infancy when the Fey were around, as were their cultivation methods. To deduce a formation capable of sending Sarriel so far into the future was an impressive feat beyond measure considering their poor foundations at the time.


    But, as soon as Ryu had this thought, he grew skeptical. If they really were so primitive, where had Sarriel''s technique come from? And, was it even right to think of them as primitive to begin with?


    Sure, it was the case that the cultivation system as known now was actually created by humans while Fey and Ancestral Beasts used more crude and unrefined methods to raise their strength. But, was that the truth, or was it an image painted by the eventual victors?


    History could easy become warped, this was something Ryu was well aware of as an Origin Grade Ruin Master. There were actually many falsehoods that he had stumbled across, even things that had destroyed the Karma of extraordinarily powerful individuals of the past, and yet as many as he found, he knew that there were many more to come.


    Unfortunately, much like in even the mortal world, perception was reality and the truth didn''t matter much in the grand scheme of things. All that mattered was that enough people believed it to be true.


    Ryu took in a breath that was slightly sharper than usual, his gaze narrowing. This thought¡­ Was an interesting conundrum from his Dao. For the first time in a while, rather than taking a step forward, he paused.


    It was a fascinating thought. His Dao was split into comprehending the Heavens and then forging the Heavens. This was what it meant to Divide Judgment and subsequently Divide Karma. But, what about the influence of others? What if enough people believed something that was wrong? Or, could it be that the Heavens themselves was just the amalgamation of the opinions of the many?


    Something about that conclusion felt wrong. It seemed he would have to consider this a lot more.


    "Is that all?" Ryu asked, suddenly realizing that Sarriel had suddenly stopped speaking.


    Though he had gone through a lot of thoughts just now, with his cultivation and the strength of his soul, not to mention a passive boost from his pupils and the Origin Flame, his thinking and processing speed wasn''t on a level more even far above his cultivation level could compare to.


    "What else could there possibly be?" Sarriel asked.


    Ryu smiled, but it was decidedly cold. It seemed that getting information out of this woman would be like pulling teeth.


    "Everything. I could very well ask you about each and every thing, but I don''t think you want me to do that. If you''re smart about it, you can avoid the questions and even manage to keep some secrets for yourself. If not, then I''ll just have to ask very intimate questions of you an it may not be up to your discretion what to and what to not keep a secret at that point."


    Sarriel rolled her eyes. This man always knew exactly what to say to piss her off.


    "Before my Clan realized we had lost the war thanks to a certain set of useless descendants, we had already delved into a lot of research. The Faeries didn''t need the resources of the Real Plane, but we most definitely did. However, we also realized that too many Races were reliant on it at the same time. Even if we won the war, what was left wouldn''t be enough to sustain us through the generations.


    "For all intents and purposes, my Fey race is made up of humanoids. The way we see and interact with the world is fundamentally different from the way beasts do. We invested far more into research than those dumb animals.


    "In the end, we ended up finding the Chaos Plane long before anyone else."


    Ryu frowned slightly. That didn''t make any sense. If the Fey found the Chaos Plane, their resources should be on a completely different level. There was simply no way they would have lost the war for Heaven''s favor. However, Sarriel''s next words explained this all too well.


    "Unfortunately, the Chaos Plane isn''t a free lunch. It''s counter to everything we know and the dangers found on its lands put to shame even the Nether Plane. Just breathing in that place is toxic and it only become more so the higher your cultivation level. Chaos Qi is the antithesis of life itself."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. Is that so? Why is it that he never felt that way, then? It seemed like he had quite the advantage.


    "My Clan was now stuck in a position where we had a wealth of resources only we had access to, and yet none of us could touch them. Well, maybe this was an exaggeration. We could¡­ It was just that the price to do so was much too heavy.


    "So, we began to invest in methods that could counter Chaos Qi and the only answers we came up with was Essence. As a result, we could only use the exceptionally crude method of sending in those undergoing a breakthrough process into the Chaos Plane¡­ This placed a great burden on the younger generation but we were happy to do whatever we could to help the Clan, even if it was a pitiful amount."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He could imagine young Fey breaking into the Impose Realm for the first time and being forced to use the Essence that should have helped to boost their cultivation instead of helping the Clan accumulate resources. It was easy to see how such a system could be abused because it was very unlikely that the child that helped would get a larger share of the resources brought back beneath their power.


    Still, nothing could have prepared Ryu for what Sarriel would say next.


    "However, even with all our precaution, we were still wrong about what the Chaos Plane represented. None of us could have imagined that it was actually the frontline of a battle between the Heavens and the rest of Existence."


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 Chapter 828 Me

    "A battlefield?" Ryu''s brows shot up.


    "Yes." Sarriel''s gaze lost focus. "Just because you''re ignorant of the outside world, doesn''t mean that the outside world is ignorant of you. In the world of cultivation, there''s no such thing as pity, there''s only benefits and more benefits. If someone finds and infantile world like this one, especially when it can only be ranked barely among the middling levels, they see it as a free opportunity to earn big.


    "The idea that the Chaos Plane is full of treasures is true. But, it is more likely that outsiders have partaken more in their spoils than we can ever imagine."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    "Are you saying that others have found entry into our world through the Chaos Plane? Is that where the Martial Gods came from? And who''s fighting these people?"


    "Isn''t it obvious? The Heavens are fighting against them. It''s the only protection you get in this life. But, there''s only so much the Heavens of a middling world can do. And, just when it seemed that there would be able to be a resurgence, traitors foolishly allowed the Martial Gods to take root here as though it would help them in the long run."


    Ryu''s brows only seemed to become more furrowed with passing time. He was finding it difficult to reconcile all of this information at once.


    "We didn''t know what we were getting ourselves into but it could be said that we lucked out. One of the invaders happened to be a Fey who contacted us before being hunted down by the Heavens and forced into fleeing. This allowed us to establish a connection with the outside world.


    "It was pretty clear that this person simply wanted to use us, but the things they brought were unlike anything we had ever experienced before. By that point, it was already clear that the Chaos Plane wouldn''t be enough for us to turn the tide of the war and many had resigned to our Fate. But, this became a glimmer of hope¡­


    "Unfortunately, our actions infuriated the Heavens. With how things were, even if we had somehow managed to turn the tide of war, it wouldn''t have mattered in the slightest. There''s little to nothing that can be hidden beneath their gazes and we lost any support we might have originally had, causing us to decline even faster.


    "Our so-called savior seemed to have already guessed that such a thing would happen as they returned not long after we had lost any semblance of Favor with more¡­"


    Ryu didn''t know how to accept this sort of information. From the way Sarriel was speaking about it, it sounded like these invaders could come and go as they pleased. It probably wasn''t as simple as it sounded, but this was the image being conjured into his mind nonetheless. And, it was unfortunately difficult to reconcile.


    "¡­ They came to us with a chance. It was quite obvious that what they wanted was fresh blood. Even to far higher level worlds, the decline of bloodline was inevitable. It seemed that Heavens were the only entities capable of birthing and reigniting Bloodlines to what they once were.


    "But, as you can probably tell, there was a problem with that. By the time we had most definitely lost the war, our bloodlines had already declined. Not only had Faeries been created and diverged into weaker, diluted forms of us. But, less and less true Fey were beginning to be born.


    "With things as they were, how could we possibly reinvigorate the bloodlines of Fey that were already far stronger than we were? This fault was obvious and it was as bold as you could get. But, we thought we were clever.


    "They had only ever met with the few that could manage to stave off the corrosion of Chaos Qi, so we thought that their understanding of our race was quite small. We thought that since we had already lost the favor of the Heavens for trading with these people, we could continue to take advantage of them and when it came time to hold up our end of the bargain, we would simply not do so.


    "What could they do to us? After all, even being in our world was dangerous for them and they couldn''t step foot into the Real Plane anyway. However, we were far too na?ve. The means of an expert of such caliber was far beyond our understanding.


    "What they needed us for was far more sinister. The creation of every complex race into a new world comes with it a special set of Fundamental Runes. These Fundamental Runes are the blueprint for the creation of a race and can be reactivated under very special circumstances, allowing both its observation and a benefit related to cultivating in its presence.


    "We thought they needed us for our blood, when in reality¡­ They wanted to bring our race to the brink of extinction just so that these Fundamental Runes would show themselves¡­


    "When a Race borders on extinction, these Fundamental Runes will become especially sensitive, allowing them to be manipulated..


    "It''s quite laughable when you think about it. A fundamental rule of cultivation is that petty tricks are meaningless before absolute power. We thought that we could pull the wool over their eyes when the truth of the matter was that what tricks we had in store never mattered to begin with. From the start, we were nothing but pigs they were slowly fattening up for a slaughter.


    "And then it happened. We were killed down to almost the last man.


    "It was very difficult. There were many of us left to begin with. The only good news was that while our bloodlines had declined, our cultivation methods had improved by leaps and bounds, resulting in our fighting force ironically being stronger than it had ever been.


    "But, that wasn''t worth much of anything at all. We were still slaughtered. The only thing that knowledge gave us was a chance."


    Sarriel''s gaze turned cold.


    "And that chance was me."


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 Chapter 829 Fair Enough

    Sarriel fell into silence, the rest of it all fell into place on its own. Ryu was sure that there were details she had left out, but they didn''t particularly matter. However, there was still one thing nagging at Ryu.


    "Tell me, why are the Truth Pupils locked in at the seventh rank. It''s related to all of this, isn''t it?"


    Ryu had always been curious about this. Of all the Heavenly Pupils, the Truth Pupils were the only one to have never gone up or down in rank. No, maybe it wasn''t accurate to say this as Ryu couldn''t confirm with any certainty. But, what he could say is that within the last five Eras, the Truth Pupils had never moved upward nor downward.


    One might think that this was because of Sarriel. ''Obviously'', if she moved through time, then the ranking of her Pupils would be stalled. This was, of course, under the assumption that a pair of Heavenly Pupils could only appear once at a time.


    However, there were two issues with.


    Firstly, there was no guarantee that this was true. Two pairs of the same Heavenly Pupils had never appeared at the same time before, but given how rare Heavenly Pupils were to begin with, it was impossible to tell if this was because they were hardly born at all or if there was truly a ban on two appearing at the same time.


    And, secondly, if Sarriel''s rank had been ''frozen'' because she traveled deep into the future, then the Truth Pupils should have been ranked last, not seventh.


    With the birth of every pair of Heavenly Pupils, the deeds of its owner would add to its Faith and prestige. As this occurred, a pair would move up the rankings. However, whether or not it could close the gap with those above it would depend on how great its owner was and what they accomplished.


    Just like with Ryu who had vanished for so long even after being the first owner of his Pupils in countless epochs, others should have long since closed in on Sarriel. But, that wasn''t what had happened. Instead, she was perpetually stuck at seven.


    In that time, some had leap frogged her, others were forced beneath her, but it was always in equal parts. It was either a pair would manage to jump from eight to six and force another down from six to eight, or no movement would occur whatsoever.


    Ryu had read many theories about this and many of the popular ones surrounded the deception abilities of the Truth Pupils. While Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils and Sarriel''s Truth Pupils started out with abilities that were very similar, the former diverged to focus on absolute truth while the latter learned to trick the mind and play with the heart.


    Knowing this, some speculated that at its highest levels, the Truth Pupils could even fool the Heavens. This would be the perfect explanation for how and why they had managed to remain at the seventh rank all this time.


    Ryu was inclined to believe these theories. If Sky Gods could pass on legacies through generations, this sort of deception across Eras could be the Truth Pupil''s form of passing on a legacy. Without ever knowing exactly how powerful these Pupils were, it would be possible for many to underestimate it. In fact, very little was known about the Truth Pupils compared to others. While Ryu''s abilities could all be listed one after another, aside from the mutated ones of course, the same couldn''t be said for Sarriel.


    "¡­ Didn''t you say you wouldn''t ask me any questions so long as I told you the full story."


    Ryu smiled when he heard this. Sarriel wasn''t wrong, but her response had confirmed his thoughts. This matter did relate to her family and these matters. It was very likely that among what Sarriel had hidden, the truth of her Heavenly Pupils was among what she had wanted to protect. That made her reactions far more believable.


    "Fair enough. Let''s eat."


    Sarriel''s pupils constricted when she heard Ryu''s words. He let it go? Just like that? Her eyes couldn''t help but narrow. Somehow, despite the fact he was keeping his word, this still managed to annoy her. Why was this man so good at pissing people off?


    Ryza, who had been very much focused on Sarriel''s words and enthralled by the story, snapped awake, realizing that Ryu''s gaze was on her?


    Ryza''s reaction made perfect sense. She, much like everyone else, had thought that the Fey were extinct, only to realize that there was one right here before them all. How could she not be shocked? But now, she just wanted to know why Ryu was looking at her like that? She suddenly felt a strong urge to slap him.


    Ryu''s smiled widened. Since Yaana was on his lap, he couldn''t very well get up, right? But, someone had to prepare dinner, after all.


    With a wave of his hand, an enormous griffin corpse appeared.


    "You''re probably a great cook, right Ryza?"


    Ryza''s lip twitched. The answer to that for most Sky Gods who had experienced so much life was yes. Often times, living for so long, many would pick up hobbies. There was only so much continuous cultivation you could do. In fact, Ryza, who had never tasted Ancestral Beast meat, very much wanted to try this. But¡­


    She still very much wanted to slap Ryu.


    "Ah, I will help you Big Sister Ryza!"


    To Ryu''s dismay, Yaana excitedly jumped from his lap. What a joke, she had spent year preparing to be the perfect wife and had refined those skills countless times over. Now that she had an opportunity to cook for her husband, how could she not take it?


    Under Yaana''s enthusiasm, and after being called ''big sister'' for the first time in what must have been billions of years, Ryza found her heart becoming too soft to refuse.


    Gritting her teeth, she sent Ryu a death glare before trudging off under Yaana''s pull.


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 Chapter 830 Sephare

    Sephare stood around nervously, not quite knowing where to look. She stood to the side of the Castle Master''s throne, her eyes darting around from left to right.


    She had grown like a blooming white rose, her delicate sort of beauty blossoming to its full potential. The little girl from back then had already formed a line of admirers for herself, even after coming to the more powerful Moon World. However, the way she was acting now was completely unlike herself.


    The elders and sisters of the Awoken Moon Sect couldn''t help but be baffled. Was this really their Inheritor? Wasn''t she always going around confidently, stirring up trouble and giving those who worried about her a headache? Maybe the only time she would ever be even remotely serious was when she sat down to concoct a batch of pills.


    Now, that girl who was always bouncing off walls, didn''t even know what to do with herself.


    Castle Master Toria and some elders couldn''t help but smile meaningfully. Sephare wasn''t the only one acting like this, there were many young women in their Sect that couldn''t seem to get a particular shadow of a man out of their heart.


    They were a female only Sect and many of their techniques worked best with virgins, especially since their Sect was so strongly Yin based.. As such, it could be said that the looming shadow of Ryu was both a blessing and a curse. The good news was that with such a shadow over them, the odds that they''d stumble and fall into the bed of another man was nearly nil. The bad news, however, was that if Ryu wanted to be that sort of man, causing the downfall of all her best disciples would be as easy as flipping over a hand.


    Luckily, Toria had quite some faith in Ryu''s character and most of these feelings of infatuation her disciples had were more like what one would feel for a celebrity rather than what one might feel for a man they truly loved. As such, she didn''t see this matter to be too bad at all.


    The only difference among them was Sephare whose relationship with Ryu was a bit more special than that. However, Sephare''s feelings weren''t romantic either. Her current thoughts were a mixture of anticipation and nervousness because she was worried about letting Ryu down. As much as everyone had always praised her for her talent, the more she learned about the martial world, the more she realized just how much of a monster Ryu was.


    Ryu had been the one to set her on the path of alchemy and his expectations were likely lofty. If she wasn''t good enough and disappointed him, she wouldn''t know what to do with herself.


    At that moment, the doors to the throne room suddenly opened and as though compelled by some power, every, even Toria herself, stood.


    Ryu, with a light smile on his face and a full stomach, strolled into the room, his robes having been replaced by another pristinely white set. He truly looked like a deity having come down to take the form of a mortal, there wasn''t a single flaw to find on him.


    "It seems that you''re all doing well."


    Ryu smiled, his gaze sweeping through the room until he landed on Sephare. As though a startled rabbit, Sephare''s heart almost leapt out of her throat as Ryu reached the base of the throne, his pace not seeming hurried, but somehow still being far too fast for Sephare to handle.


    Ryu laughed. "What''s wrong? You don''t recognize your big brother anymore? I''m hurt."


    Hearing such words, something within Sephare snapped into place. She couldn''t help but remember how cold Ryu''s expressions always were until that moment he sat down to teach her. Then, as though all of that had melted away, he had smiled the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.


    Beside herself, Sephare found herself diving into Ryu''s arms, rubbing her forehead into his chest as though a spoiled little child. The resonating boom of Ryu''s laughter made the erratic beating of her heart feel far more at ease.


    Sephare''s fellow disciples, or at least the ones with high enough standing to be in this room currently, couldn''t help but look on with jealousy between their brows. But, it was unfortunate that none of them had relationships with Ryu that were nearly as close.


    The likes of Mae and Amie who had greeted Ryu when he first stepped foot into their Sect were the closest to having this sort of relationship, and yet they were still very much far away. They could only smile.


    All of them treated Sephare like a little sister and she had done all of them proud.


    Ironically, though Sephare was supposed to be a genius to replace Melody, capable of matching up to the level of their Sect and not exceeding it too much, Sephare still ended up being as if not more so of a genius than Melody herself.


    It had to be remembered that having too great a genius under your wing as a weaker Sect was no longer a blessing, but could even be considered to be a curse. However, the Awoken Moon Sect''s Inheritor, Sephare, crushed all expectations for what one might expect from a Fifth Order Sect.


    After a few hundred years, the little one had already grown into being the most powerful warrior within their Sect! Toria had long since wanted to give up her throne to Sephare, but the little girl stubbornly remained a disciple.


    It had to be remembered that in order to be a Fifth Order Sect, one needed ten Divine Vessel Realm experts and one Connecting Heaven Realm Ancestor. That meant that in order to be the most powerful, Sephare would either have to have already entered the Connecting Heaven Realm, or she would need to have that level of strength¡­


    Of which, she had done both!


    To accomplish such a feat in just a few hundred years placed Sephare among the best geniuses of Sacrum, especially since she had done so on the weakest Immortal Plane. So, seeing her act like this, even if the others were jealous, that was as far as it went.


    Ryu rubbed Sephare''s head lightly with a smile still on his face.


    "Where is your Ancestor? I would like to speak with everyone for a moment."


    Ryu had hardly finished these words, though, when the change in atmosphere made his expression darken.

 Chapter 831 One Strike Too Many

    In truth, Ryu had been a bit dissatisfied when he hadn''t seen the appearance of the Awoken Moon Sect''s Ancestor. In the past, he had ignored this because he had been too weak. Even in all his arrogance, he understood that an Ancestor, especially one at the Connecting Heaven Realm, had no obligation to come to see a Throne at the mere Qi Refinement Realm.


    However, things were different now. Not only had Ryu long since surpassed such an Ancestor in combat prowess, even his cultivation was leagues beyond. Let alone him calling her out personally, she should have been among the first to greet him.


    The only really Ryu hadn''t made a fuss about it was because he was in a good mood meeting Sephare again and learning about the Chaos Plane, not to mention having a nice meal made by his wife. Plus, technically, as a Throne, he was still somewhat equal in status with the Ancestor of the Awoken Moon Sect.


    Even with all of these reasons he knew about, there were also likely reasons he wasn''t aware of. For example, the Ancestor could be stalled or heavily injured. And, of these, it seemed that he just hadn''t gone far enough.


    "She was killed?" Ryu asked.


    His demeanor seemed strikingly different. Even for the members of the Awoken Moon Sect who were very much used to being extremely cold couldn''t help but shiver as the temperature continued to plummet.


    Ryu didn''t particularly care about this Ancestor, she was someone he had never met personally and even if he had, they wouldn''t have had a deep relationship. However, he was the Throne of the Awoken Moon Sect not to mention the current sole heir of the Ice Phoenix Clan. A slight against them was a slap to his face. He really wanted to see who was so bold.


    The first person Ryu thought of was Patriarch Ember. But, if it was really him, he would feel far too stifled. He had already killed that man. If he had known that he had gone this far, he would have given him a far more terrible death.


    "The¡­" Toria took a deep breath and settled herself. "¡­ During our escape from the Pedestal Plane, we had to stall for the formation to fully activate. In that time, Ancestor used the help of our protective formation to stave off enemies and give us time to escape.


    "She managed to make it through the ordeal, but she was heavily injured. In her old age, though it wasn''t quite lethal, it would still take her quite some time to recover. Unfortunately, we met more hostility upon coming to the Moon World. Before Ancestor could recover¡­ she was forced into a battle with the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect and died as a result.


    "Following this, we were forced to come to this place to help fight their battles. We''ve lost many promising disciples¡­"


    In the time since Ryu had left the Awoken Moon Sect, the influx of talent they had experienced was astronomical. If given time to grow, it would only be a matter of time before they returned to their former glory as a Ninth Order Sect.


    However, this war felt like an enormous setback to them. Without a care for the weakness of their Sect compared to the other behemoths, they were forced to fight. In fact, it was because of their weakness especially that they found themselves in the role of canon fodder.


    If it wasn''t for Guiot learning of their plight and recognizing them even after so long, their situation would have only been made worse. Let alone just losing their lives, as a female only Sect, they may very well have ended up being humiliated in ways Toria didn''t even want to describe.


    All she could feel was weak. Even after breaking into the Connecting Heaven Realm from the Divine Vessel Realm after so long, in large part thanks to the Faith Ryu''s exploits had blessed them all with, she still felt like she couldn''t accomplish anything. Their backbone all this time had been Little Sephare until Ryu''s sudden and triumphant return.


    Ryu''s dark expression seemed to make the atmosphere countless times heavier. The oppression weighed on the heart and ripped at the soul. It didn''t take a genius to understand that he was pissed.


    He had been taking his time dealing with the Three Pupils Eclipse Sect and the others, not because he was planning on taking it easy on them, but rather because he wanted them to stew in their own fear. Beneath this formation, there was nowhere they could hide and there was nowhere for them to run. All of their lives ran on the palm of Ryu''s hand and at his whims.


    But, since the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect wanted to play games, he would play along with them as well.


    "I''ll be back." Ryu said coldly.


    He gave Sephare''s hair one more ruffle before vanishing. The atmosphere in the throne room seemed to lighten instantly and a faint sort of excitement colored their features. They had all been slowly building up their confidence over the years, returning to form. However, this blow had set them right back to step one¡­ Having a backer again, and one so powerful, made them feel as though they were walking on clouds.


    ¡­


    Ryu appeared in the skies, his expression as cold as ice.


    He didn''t believe for a single moment that the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had forgotten about the Awoken Moon Sect.


    It had to be remembered that absolute geniuses took 100 million years to become Cosmic Seed Realm experts. What did this mean? It meant that many took far longer to step into this stage.


    Even though the cap in cultivation of this world was the Dao Pedestal Realm, logic dictated that for anyone to even have a chance at entering the Cosmic Seed Realm, the previous Realm had to give at least that much life span.


    Simply put, the 900 million years since Ryu had vanished from this world wasn''t nearly enough time for the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to forget who their true overlords were. And, that didn''t even mention the fact that the Martial Gods had helped them to raise experts surpassing this level.


    Not only had they touched his past his bottom line, they had done so knowing full well what they were doing.


    Ryu wasn''t a fan of three strikes, just one was enough. And this one¡­ Was already at two.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s aura descended like an endless torrent.


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 Chapter 832 Ancestral Grade Formation

    BANG!


    The enormous gates of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect palace shattered into shards of flying wood. Such wood could be considered to be maybe among the most valuable capable of being found on the Moon World, but beneath Ryu''s aura, it became nothing more than fragile paper.


    The shards fell around him as he took unhurried steps before him. His aura was cold and his expression gave nothing away. However, his actions alone spoke for themselves.


    The destruction of a Sect''s nameplate and gate were both among the most humiliating things you could force them to endure, and this was especially so for the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect that had gotten very much used to being a Hegemon. Even back when the Ice Phoenix Clan controlled this Moon World in its entirety, they had never been humiliated to this extent.


    Not to mention the fact that Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Clan treated their subordinates with dignity, even when there was an iron fist approach needed, it would be done behind closed doors and definitely not in the face of so many spectators.


    If Ryu wanted to be a good ruler, maybe he would take this approach as well. However, since long ago, he had already realized that he wasn''t cut out for leading large groups of people. If people wanted to follow him, they would do so at their own detriment. The best he could do for them was hand share resources. As for actually leading, he simply wasn''t cut out for it.


    His temper was too fiery. His patience was too thin. And his acceptance of incompetence was whatever was less than rock bottom.


    At that moment, the protective formations of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect roared to life. A mighty triangular formation of Pupils appeared in the skies, each with irises rotating about with complex Runes.


    Ryu smiled a cold smile.


    The wood that made the gate of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect was known as Fire Breach Wood. It was a Heaven Grade treasure and was definitely a grand display of fortune for a Sect in a world with a cap at the Dao Pedestal Realm. This was definitely within the means of what the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect that Ryu knew could accomplish and he wasn''t too surprised by it at all.


    However, this formation¡­ Not only was it a unique formation Ryu had never studied before, it was deep into the Ancestral Grade.


    An Ancestral Grade Formation found in a Sect where the highest ranked expert should be within the Dao Pedestal Realm? It felt like nothing more than a comical joke. If you told such a thing to anyone who knew anything about the martial world, they''d probably roll their eyes and say that you had a great imagination.


    Ancestral Grade Formations were used to protect Sects and Clans of the Eleventh Order. Maybe if you were among the stronger Tenth Order Sects, you might be able to cobble together several generations of accumulation to invite an expert to lay a weaker Ancestral Grade Formation.


    However, not only was this large-scale formation solidly within the Middle Ancestral Grade, it was found in a mere Ninth Order Sect!


    One had to also take into consideration that a Ninth Order Sect here wasn''t worth the same as it would be elsewhere. The Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had always been under the jurisdiction of the Awoken Moon Sect, yet another Ninth Order Sect. For one Ninth Order Sect to oversee another, it was clear and obvious that there was still a large power divide between them, whether that be in quality of warrior or quantity. And, in fact¡­ the deficiencies were in both!


    Seeing a Middle Ancestral Grade Formation here, Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. It was obvious that whoever had laid this formation had helped the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to forget their roots and betray his Ice Phoenix Clan. There was nothing in this world that Ryu abhorred more than backstabbers and spineless betrayers.


    As far as Ryu was concerned, as a subordinate who had gained all the benefits that came with such a thing when the Ice Phoenix Clan was still alive, it was the duty of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to fight to their last man when their rulers had fallen. But, obviously, they hadn''t chosen to do such a thing. In fact, it may even be quite likely that the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect had betrayed them long ago.


    And now, in the face of the scion of their rulers, there was actually such a formation deployed.


    A Middle Ancestral Grade Formation. It was a monstrosity capable of slaughtering and protecting against even Pinnacle World Sea Realm experts. Up against someone who had just stepped into the Path Extinction Realm like Ryu, it shouldn''t have been enough to slaughter him dozens of times over. In fact, that explanation couldn''t even begin to do the truth justice.


    Faced with such a large scale formation, it would take at least 50 to 100 Peak World Sea Realm experts, each with above average strength, to break. Not only could it withstand the bombardment at such a level, it would likely kill at least half the number that came. And now, Ryu was standing right in the middle of it.


    Unfortunately for the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, though, they were now within the territory Ryu controlled. The formation that now enveloped this entire world was not only on a far larger scale than this formation, giving it far more power to draw on, but its level was, at Ryu''s best estimations, at the Quasi Origin Grade. Let alone slaughtering Peak World Sea Realm experts, it could slaughter Sky Gods.


    However, even though destroying this formation was a thought away for Ryu, the actual approach he too was very different. Sure, he could shatter this formation with a wave of the hand, but would that send the message that he wanted to send? Would it instill the sort of fear he wanted them to feel? The sort of horror he wanted to be etched deep within their bones?


    A cold, vicious grin spread across Ryu''s face.


    He took a step forward, his figure seeming to flicker. Right that moment, a strong beam of light descended from the skies, landing right where he had just been.


    BANG!


    Ryu appeared again, his gait just the same and pace unhurried. He clasped his hands behind his back, the coldness in his gaze receding to dance with a playful, arrogant sort of light.


    He stepped forward again, his figure vanishing as yet another beam descended.


    Ryu whipped a hand forward from his back, flicking his finger. A beam of ice tore through the skies, appearing before the three floating pupils in the blink of an eye. However, just before it could collide, a second pupil glowed, resulting in a wide barrier forming.


    Ryu''s attack fizzled out. Still, he only nodded in response, taking another step forward and vanishing before a beam of light could hit him.


    Ryu continued to do this. His steps were leisurely and unhurried, and every so often, he would release a piercing attack. Despite how these attacks all fizzled out without much fanfare, each one was of the exact same strength¡­ The exact power you would need to blast a Dao Pedestal Realm expert''s head to pieces.


    Ryu''s every strike was like a drop in the middle of an ocean, but it was a drop capable of threatening the heart and forcing it to beat out of rhythm.


    By this point, those of the Black Winds Kingdom, Nightingale Mansion and Moonlight Blossom Sect all found themselves watching, their hearts palpitating. Each one of Ryu''s strikes was like a piercing spear through their hearts. The more he did it, neither using any less or any more power, it was as though they were being reminded more and more of the kind of monster this young man was.


    Zulfiqar of the Moonlight Blossom Sect stood completely drenched in cold sweat. He had already tried to run but there was simply nowhere to go in this world. Even leaving felt impossible.


    He still hadn''t realized the fact that the could man he had pierced through the heart all those years ago was actually Ryu, all he remembered was trying to kill Ryu in front of the Moonlight Blossom Sect. If he knew he had actually attempted such a thing twice instead of once, who knew how bad his situation would be now?


    Ryu somehow had the ability to place an oppressive pressure on everyone around him even though all he looked like he was doing was running for his life. His every movement was filled with an unhurried grace and his every action seemed to carry the weight of the world. It almost felt like it wasn''t the formation chasing him, but rather¡­


    Him chasing the formation.


    "So that''s how it is." He spoke leisurely, taking another step forward and vanishing.


    This time, he appeared amidst the three floating eyes, his palm stretched out.


    "Break for me."


    A formless pressure descended from the skies, concentrated to a very fine point. And then¡­


    BANG!

 Chapter 833 Not A Single Hair

    Ryu''s strike was pinpoint. Under the astonished gazes of all those watching, the three eye formation crumbled, its complex gears and powerful momentum vanishing into the wind.


    Ryu retracted his hand, placing it to his back. He didn''t look like he had accomplished anything particularly amazing. However, to those watching, it was as though he was a Deity on earth. Every single one of them could tell just how powerful that formation had been. But, what was the most shocking part was how Ryu had managed to destroy it.


    Maybe if Ryu had used the strength of a Sky God to shatter the array, it would have been easier to accept. But, that wasn''t what happened. In fact, they could all tell that Ryu hadn''t used strength surpassing the Dao Pedestal Realm even by the smallest measure. Each and every one of his attacks carried with it the same strength without the slightest deviation. Not only was it a shocking display of qi control, it made one wonder just how in the world he had managed to pull it off.


    If Ryu had come to make a point, he had most definitely made it.


    At that moment, before Ryu could even descend from the skies, a flurry of powerful auras surged out of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect''s depths. But, just when it seemed to everyone that a battle would erupt, dozens of experts fell to their knees, their apprehension suffusing the air.


    Ryu looked down indifferently, his gaze landing on a particular older man and woman at the helm. From his memory, the older woman was the Ancestor the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect and the older man was the acting Patriarch. But, it seemed that they were now of equivalent status.


    It was just as Ryu thought, the upper management of the Sect was nearly identical to what he remembered. As such, there was simply no way they wouldn''t recognize the Awoken Moon Sect. If there was any doubt in Ryu''s mind before, it had most definitely vanished by this point. These people had touched his bottom line.


    He also found it amusing that they actually had the face to come out here only after he had destroyed their formation. It was very clear that they were testing him and such a thing only fueled his fury all the more. There was little he hated more than those that thought themselves to be capable of testing him.


    To test someone needed a superior figure. If you didn''t consider yourself another''s better, or at least an authority figure, how could you even begin to test someone? The fact that they waited all this time to come out when they could have closed down the formation with a thought spoke for itself.


    "Oh? So you remember yourselves now? Ancestor Three-Eye? Patriarch Three-Eye?"


    Ryu couldn''t'' be bothered to have learned their names. Toward his words, though, the two couldn''t help but tremble.


    To everyone here, they were both Ancestors. The fact that Ryu had separated them in this way left whatever lingering doubt they had had toward his identity in the shadows. Only the little boy of back then and from that family could possibly know these things.


    "Not only have you seem to have forgotten, you also had the audacity to allow your formation to attack me. You tell me, have the years filled your heads with water?"


    "How dare yo¡ª!"


    A powerful cultivator who couldn''t take Ryu''s instigation any longer spoke out in a deafening roar. It only took a moment for Ryu to raise a finger and fill the atmosphere with his own deafening noise.


    The sound of a head imploding shook the hearts of those that kneeled on the ground. All those that had felt the slightest dissatisfaction instantly buried it deep within their hearts, their head lowering even further to the point some foreheads almost touched the ground.


    "I don''t have time for bullshit. Speak it and you''ll die just like that one. Speak out of turn, and you''ll die. Lie, and you''ll die. Skirt around the issue, and you''ll die. Simple enough, right?"


    Ryu''s gaze swept over those kneeling before him.


    For those spectating through the shattered gate of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect, they couldn''t quite believe what they were seeing. This was the overlord of their world, a hegemon that had ruled for billions of years. No one had ever come close to usurping the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect. And yet now, all their upper echelons were kneeling at the feet of a single young man.


    They could feel the warning drums playing in their minds. It was obvious that Ryu had made no effort to hide this from them all at all. He wanted them to see, he wanted them to understand just how large the gap between himself and themselves was. He wanted them to squash any thoughts of rebellion they had before it even came into being.


    "Now. I''ll make this nice and simple. Which of you ordered the oppression of the Awoken Moon Sect and which of you hounded their Matriarch to the death?"


    Ryu stood in silence, waiting patiently for an answer. And yet, aside from several trembling bodies, he got nothing in return. The fear they all felt toward Ryu was great, but that was exactly why they didn''t want to speak.


    "Oh? No one wants to talk? So if I wipe the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect from existence right now, you''ll all be fine with that? I''m surprised by your valiance. I have to say, I thought a group of traitorous scum like you all would have jumped at the first chance to clear your names.


    "Of course, there''s always the possibility that all of you are involved and are, as such, trying to cover your own ass as opposed to that of someone else. But, regardless of what the truth is, if I don''t get an answer within ten seconds, I''ll raze this entire palace to the ground and ensure that you can all die happily in each other''s arms.


    "Ten."


    Ryu could see the teeth of those here visibly clenching, their bodies trembling with a cross between hatred, humiliation and rage. But, there was absolutely nothing they could do. From now on, there wouldn''t be anyone who could even think of their Three Pupil Eclipse Sect the same as they had in the past.


    "Nine."


    Ryu had only better said the words when the former Patriarch, now seemingly turned Ancestor, called out.


    "Me! It was I who ordered their oppression! The Awoken Moon Sect was no longer what it had been in the past and I wanted our Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to capitalize on their resources to grow another step and finally stop being the pawn of others!"


    "Oh?"


    Ryu looked down. For the first time, he actually looked one of them eye to eye. The amused light in his gaze vanished, replaced by something that was far more difficult to read.


    "Your mentality is one that I might have respected, if it wasn''t for the fact you''ve already long since forgotten your place. If you had fought to the final man like the Awoken Moon Sect had and managed to survive in the end, and then proceeded to take such actions, I wouldn''t blame you in the slightest.


    "However, given the fact that you still deem it fit to try and hide your cultivation in front of my eyes, I have to ask you¡­ who the hell do you think you are?


    "Do you believe that you can just spend countless generations benefiting from my Ice Phoenix Clan, wipe your hands clean when they''re no longer of use to you, only to proceed to attack what remained of their loyal subordinates?


    "Are you trying to show off your righteous indignation now?"


    Patriarch Three-Eye grit his teeth, raising his head to meet Ryu''s gaze.


    "Only you could say that. Trapping us in this cage of a world, not allowing us to surpass the Dao Pedestal Realm, rearing us like cattle to gather resources for you, and you believe that to be something we should be grateful for?! Just kill me and get it over with, I don''t want to hear the sob story of someone who was born with everything!


    "I gambled and I lost! That''s the end of the story!"


    Right then, Ryu chuckled dryly, something about his laugh seeming particularly dark.


    "I''ve heard of people fooling themselves into believing their own delusion before. But, I have to say. This is the greatest case of it I''ve ever laid eyes on personally.


    "I can never be bothered to explain myself, but this has nothing to do with me. Instead, it''s related to the legacy of my Ice Phoenix Clan. So, rather than letting trash like you disparage our name, I''ll set the record straight.


    "As much of a cage as you think you''ve been trapped in, the cage that has been weighing down on my Clans is far more than you could possibly imagine. The difference is that while you chose to betray those that fed you, despite the fact my Ice Phoenix Clan could have retreated to this safe haven whenever they wanted, safe from the attacks of their enemies¡­


    "They chose to fight alongside their comrades until their final breaths!


    "You, a coward who only knows how to scheme and kneel down for forgiveness, could never match up to even a single hair on their heads!"


    Ryu''s voice boomed.


    [Fallen Apostle ebook should be live in 2ish hours (Or whenever the 24th is for you, I think). If not, it will be some time tomorrow. Big thanks to you guys for always supporting me <3 link here >> https://linktr.ee/Awespec (10/23/22)]


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 834 Excited

    Patriarch Three-Eye found Ryu''s oppression weighing down on him from above, the words like resounded slaps to his face.


    The formation Ryu had just deployed had the strength to expel Eleventh Order Ancestral Beasts and bar Sky Gods from ever entering. Such a powerful existence was enough to leave most in awe, but those that were intelligent would realize a very obvious problem.


    If the Ice Phoenix Clan had such a powerful failsafe, why hadn''t they used it in a time of crisis? It might make sense if the Ice Phoenix Clan was caught off guard in the beginning, resulting in severe damage. But, it couldn''t be that even with all of its allied, that the Ice Phoenix Clan would have been in such a terrible situation that it couldn''t possibly retreat when it wanted to?


    Not only did the Ice Phoenix Clan not retreat, but even the Awoken Moon Sect fought doubt to its final man, losing so much of its strength that it fell from the ranks of a Ninth Order Sect all the way down to a Fifth Order Sect that could be so brazenly bullied by their former subordinates.


    This was what true virtue, bravery and commitment was. For these people of the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect to dare speak to him about such matters, Ryu was so infuriated that he almost laughed.


    "You call this world a cage, but is it the fault of my Phoenix Clan that you were born here? And, wouldn''t a cage imply that you were never allowed to leave? But, when did my Ice Phoenix Clan ever place such restrictions on you?


    "Whenever one of you reached the threshold of the Cosmic Seed Realm, you were allowed to come to the Shrine World. Is it the fault of my Ice Phoenix Clan that such a thing was extraordinarily rare for you? Is it the fault of my Ice Phoenix Clan that your Bloodlines were not strong enough, that your talent wasn''t potent enough?


    "What should we have done to make you all feel better? Should we have poured our resources into you for the sake of altruism? Is that what you wanted? Can you even call yourself a cultivator?!"


    ''


    Ryu''s voice was like a relentless sledgehammer.


    "Now you''ve tucked your tail nicely between your legs, wagging your tongues and dripping saliva for a chance to suck up to invaders to a world you should see as your own, and yet you still have the gall to kneel before me, speaking as though you have some moral superiority in the matter."


    Ryu''s words held nothing but in painting a vivid picture, the kind that made Patriarch Three-Eye green with shame and horror. He had planned on dying with dignity and as a martyr, but it seemed that Ryu was intent on ripping the face of whatever fa?ade he was putting up.


    At that moment, Ryu suddenly stretched out a hand. Feeling a violent tug, Patriarch Three-Eye shot into the air, his throat landing in Ryu''s palm as a violent sort of strength bore down on him. He felt all his blood freeze over, none able to ascend to his brain, making his head increase a size and his face turn blue and purple.


    Ryu coldly looked down. "Come on, release your true cultivation. That''s your trump card, right? This is the oh so gracious and precious present your Martial God owners gave you, right? Show it to me."


    Patriarch Three-Eye grit his teeth, blood soaking through his gums and thick veins of bluish-green pulsing about his forehead. He wanted to roar, but the clamp of Ryu''s hand was so devastating that he could even make a single sound.


    Right then, something within him snapped. The overwhelming humiliation got to his head. Even a dog had their breaking point, a point where they would no longer care about anything else and fight back rabidly. As for whether they would be able to maintain such valiance after their minds cooled was a separate matter entirely, but at least for now, they would be as brave and menacing as any warrior in existence.


    But¡­ So what?


    Patriarch Three-Eye''s cultivation ripped through its restriction, barreling through the Dao Pedestal Realm and tearing into the Cosmic Seed Realm. However, even after the avalanche of qi wading into the surroundings like an ocean''s flood¡­ Nothing changed.


    '''',


    Just the same, Patriarch Three-Eye was still locked in place, his feet dangling from the air and his face still growing deeper and deeper shades of purple. After a certain point, it felt like his eyes might pop out of their sockets, the entirety of his body feeling as though it had been frozen in place.


    At that moment, true fear filled the Patriarch''s heart. From start to finish, Ryu didn''t seem to have put in any effort. In fact, he hardly moved a single inch. He didn''t use any more power, nor did he use any less. He nonchalantly stood in the air, his face expressionless.


    "Is this all?"


    The three words were like a fine drizzle of rain, the kind that preemptively struck before a large storm took over the skies, deep and dark clouds of black suffocating all natural light and beaconing forth a torrential onslaught the likes of which would only appear once a decade.


    "You gave up so much because you thought you were in a cage. But, when you were finally free, even after being given almost a billion years, this is all you could accomplish? And yet, you have the audacity to say that it was my Ice Phoenix Clan that let you down?


    "Where is your shame?"


    Ryu looked down at Patriarch Three-Eye. He seemed indifferent to the latter''s inability to breathe and his difficulty speaking. He simply didn''t care what this man had to say.


    "I''m excited." Ryu suddenly said, looking up into the skies with a happy expression hidden within his irises. "I''m excited to be seen as weak, to not be the best¡­ Only like this will I have an opportunity to show scum like you that the difference between us lies intrinsically."


    BANG!


    Ryu lightly squeezed his hand, causing Patriarch Three-Eye''s body to implode.

 Chapter 835 A Cage

    Ryu stood near the edge of a pit left by the floating islands, Sarriel to his side and his gaze impossible to read. He had already casually dealt with everything involved in this world and planned to take a step into the Chaos Plane now.


    Truthfully, Ryu didn''t plan on spending very long in the Chaos Plane, he just felt like he had to experience it. And, despite how confident he had sounded in his Ice Phoenix Clan''s protective barrier, his intuition told him that it wouldn''t be smart to underestimate the Martial Gods. There was a very real possibility that while he believed this barrier to be impenetrable, that the Martial Gods could have a method that he was wholly ignorant of.


    "Why are you following me? Go back." Ryu said, not sparing Sarriel a glance.


    Sarriel brows furrowed. "No one is following you, don''t think so highly of yourself. This was my goal to begin with."


    "What does that goal have to do with what you did to the Pedestal Plane?"


    "You understand nothing. The Shrine World is the center of Sacrum and its most important hub. Wouldn''t I be too stupid to not ensure I had secured a piece of it for myself?"


    "A piece? An entire Plane is just a piece, now?"


    "If it was up to me, I would have taken the Shrine Plane. But, unfortunately, those bastards were lucky enough to be born far earlier than I was."


    Ryu shook his head. This woman really was just as if not more arrogant than he was. Clearly she was saying that the only advantage the Martial Gods had on her was their older age. There wasn''t even much of a point in arguing against this.


    "You''re still skirting around the issue. That''s not an explanation. You know more than just that. There obviously has to be more or else the Martial Gods and Ancestral Beasts wouldn''t have been so ready to stop you. It seemed that they all had the same goal."


    "Of course they all had the same goal. Very soon, maybe the only place in this world that will be safe is the Shrine World."


    "And why''s that? Because of the Martial God''s real enemy?"


    "Oh, look at that. Maybe you''re not as much of an idiot as you seem." Sarriel sneered.


    ''New novel chapters are published on Novel-Bin'',


    "You know, such a foul mouth on a woman isn''t very attractive."


    "Who cares about being attractive to you?"


    "Ah, you misunderstand. I was only speaking in generalities. To me, it''s actually very, very attractive. Attractive enough that maybe someday I''ll have to take another taste."


    "Talk about that again and I''ll split your corpse into six pieces."


    Ryu chuckled. This woman was indeed vicious. Six pieces probably meant chopping off his limbs and then his head. That would indeed make six.


    "You mean like how I split your body in two? You want to reenact that? I happen to have some time today."


    "Do you really think you can beat me?!"


    "Yes."


    BANG!


    Two fists met in the air, causing both parties to flip backward, landing lightly on their feet. But, the difference was that Ryu could easily see that Sarriel''s dainty little knuckles had reddened on impact, causing his lip to curl into a smile.


    "Oh my, it seems that my lady''s body is a bit weak. I would ask if there was anything I needed to take responsibility for, but when I said split you in two I didn''t mean it that way."


    Sarriel''s gaze flickered with rage. She really wanted to bite this man''s head off. When the hell had his body managed to become so ridiculously strong?


    However, even with this being the case, Sarriel didn''t think she needed to use a strong body to beat Ryu. She had a myriad of other methods she could use, each more potent than the last.


    Eventually, Sarriel calmed, her chest settling down as she retracted her fist.


    ''This chapter is updated by N o v elBin.c?m'',


    "¡­ The Martial Gods have known for a long time that escaping to this world is just delaying the inevitable, but it''s managed to buy them some time. Sealing off the Shrine Plane was stalled because your mother''s seal disrupted their planes. In addition, linking up all the Shrines proved to be more difficult than it seemed because of the wild spatial maze that was the highest plane."


    When Sarriel said this, Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    "Are such protections not normal across worlds?"


    "No. It''s unique to us."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed further. Was it a coincidence? Why did he feel like the Silver Star in his head now and its spatial abilities weren''t entirely separate from this apparently unique phenomena¡­


    A person that could travel back in time and invest in the future of this world¡­ Not to mention a person having such skill that even Ryu''s fully awakened Heavenly Pupils couldn''t see through them¡­


    Could it be?


    The idea was so gripping that Ryu latched on and refused to let go. The Shrine Plane had always fascinated him. The complexity of its terrain was unlike anything Ryu had ever studied before and there didn''t seem to be a natural cause as to why things were the way they were.


    But this¡­ This could be the reason that had eluded everyone for so very long.


    Sarriel frowned when she saw Ryu like this, as though he had just figured something out. However, her pride ran far too deep for her to reach out and ask what he was thinking about. And, Ryu, who was amused by her display, was obviously content to tease her just like this.


    "So you mean to say that the initial method the Martial Gods had planned couldn''t be used and they had to take this approach as well. Now even the Ancestral Beasts want a piece, huh? But you still haven''t answered. If this is about safety, but you plan on leaving this world entirely regardless, what is the point?"


    "Why is this so hard for you to understand? I plan on leaving, but there will be a day when I come back. When that day comes, I''ll purge my world of all invaders and lead it to the pinnacle of Existence. No one will stop my blade."


    Ryu gazed upon Sarriel deeply when she said this. He suddenly understood that between now and that day Sarriel spoke so valiantly about¡­ The Shrine World would ironically become the very cage Patriarch Three-Eye lamented. But, this time.. It would be a real cage.


    Without another thought, Ryu turned and leapt into the hole.


    "What are you doing?!" Sarriel shrieked, rushing after him.

 Chapter 836 Skintight

    Sarriel had every reason to think Ryu to be a madman. She had explained clearly how dangerous the Chaos Plane was, how could he just jump in without regard. Did he really think himself to be better than her Ancestors?!


    Ryu, though, didn''t seem to hear Sarriel''s shout. His robes fluttered, his gaze sharpening as he seemed to fall through reality itself. For a moment, he found it difficult to tell which way was up and which way was down, even left and right became impossible to decipher.


    For Ryu of all people to undergo a moment of disorientation to that level, it could only be said that the travel across planes was not a simple one by any measure of the imagination.


    By the time Ryu''s vision cleared, he found himself in a world completely inverted to his views. It was as though he had <Rob the World of its Color>, but he was certain that he hadn''t. If he had on such a scale, he would have most definitely felt the drain.


    To eliminate the qi in an area was like bending the will of the Heavens. To do so on such a large scale would require having strength comparable to the vastness of the Heavens, a level that Ryu was nowhere near as of yet.


    Since this was the case, there was only one real explanation: this world was entirely like this naturally. It had nothing to do with anything Ryu had done, the Chaos Plane was just colorless.


    At that moment, Sarriel fell to Ryu''s side, her expression warped and a violent cough leaving her body for a moment until she flipped her palm and slapped her own chest, causing a skin tight flexible armor separated into hexagonal plates to cover her body.


    Then, she reached out and grabbed Ryu''s forearm firmly as though fully prepared to pull him out.


    "This son of a bitch. Until I kill you personally, I''m not letting anything else kill you yet."


    '''',


    Sarriel was furious. Her undefeatable spirit was a core part of who she was. It was fine if she lost, but it couldn''t be allowed to remain that way. Ryu dying here would annoy her to no end and stall her cultivation path. She refused to allow something like this to happen because he was too stupid to understand the danger he was in.


    But, before she could succeed in ripping Ryu away from this world, she suddenly found herself frozen in place, looking at Ryu as though he wasn''t a real person anymore.


    "¡­ You can let go now." Ryu raised an eyebrow, looking at her hand on his wrist.


    Sarriel slowly let go, still observing Ryu from head to toe as though to try and find an explanation. At the same time, Ryu observed her as well. This was his first time seeing Sarriel''s figure not hidden behind several elaborate robe layers and he had to admit it was more than just a little excellent.


    Her chest was easily a size larger than he had originally thought, her hips were wide, though not as wide as a certain Sky God Wynhorn, but she made up for it in spades with how long her legs were. There wasn''t a single part of her body that wasn''t clung onto by this armor. Even if for just a moment, Ryu felt the need to take a step back and appreciate it.


    "Keep looking at me like that and I''ll dig your eyes out."


    "You could find a better way to admit my Heavenly Pupils are better than yours."


    "How is that what you got out of what I said? Can you be less insufferable?"


    "I''m not the one who designed your armor, I''m just appreciating the result. Blame the smith that made it for you. Or, in the case you made it yourself, wouldn''t you want me to look?"


    "For someone who claims to be so intelligent, you know nothing. The armor needs to be designed like this because any air gaps between my skin and it becomes a potential failure point."


    '''',


    "Then why is your face exposed?"


    "It''s not." The moment Sarriel finished, the flexible armor ran up her neck and over her nose and forehead, even covering her long ears by the end of it all. The only thing that remained exposed were her twinkling violet irises, but it wouldn''t'' be a surprise if Heavenly Pupils had immunity to such regions.


    Ryu nodded, still staring at Sarriel''s figure up and down as though he hadn''t heard her previous demands. He hadn''t cared to hide his gaze even from a Sky God, why would hide it from a woman he had already defeated once before?


    BANG!


    Ryu''s head tilted back, the toes of Sarriel''s feet just barely missing his nose as the air pressure caused the air to explode.


    His pupils flickered, his gaze sliding down the length of her long leg to the voluptuous muscle that connected it to the rest of her body.


    Seeing Ryu''s subtle action, Sarriel grit her teeth. Her combat prowess wasn''t what she would like it to be in this region and it seemed that, for better or worse, that Ryu was actually just fine. That meant that he was at least as powerful, or¡­


    Ryu chuckled and finally stopped teasing Sarriel, mostly because there were much better things to do in this new environment. This world was fascinating. Though it seemed to have been robbed of its qi at first glance, this qi had actually been replaced by something completely different. Ryu was fascinated by just the thought of what kind of Spiritual Herbs could grow in this place.


    With a step, he flickered and vanished, landing on a planet that had been right beneath his feet. The gravity threatened to force him to his knees, but with a crack of his bones, he seemed to adjust quickly. He could even feel the compressive effects subtly strengthening him.


    However, Ryu was entirely focused on a tree he had placed his hands on the bark of.

 Chapter 837 Game Changing

    Sarriel frowned. She still couldn''t make sense of how Ryu had done this. The Chaos Qi was especially bad on real planets as well, making it all the more baffling.


    The Chaos Plane was like the mirror image of the Real Plane. While on the Real Plane the volatile stores of qi could be found in the dimensions of space and soft, malleable qi was found on worlds, it was the opposite for the Chaos Plane. Ryu had essentially just dropped into a hotbed of volatile qi and shrugged it off as though nothing at all had happened. It was one part baffling and another part mildly infuriating.


    Of course, another part of it was that this annoying man that had just been ogling her suddenly completely forgot her existence. He didn''t even care that she didn''t come down to the planet with him, nor did he ask why. He had already lost himself in his own world, entering a Meditation State without the slightest effort.


    Sarriel truly believed her own Heavenly Pupils to be superior to all others. However, if there was one ability she wished she had that was in Ryu''s possession, it was most definitely <Focus>. The ability to enter a State of Meditation whenever you wanted as a cultivator was absolutely invaluable to the point a price couldn''t be placed on it. Yet he was so casually flaunting it in her face. It was annoying.


    Even for a genius like Sarriel, she had only experienced three States of Meditation in her lifetime. Of course, if others heard this number, they would have been astonished to an unimaginable degree. One would usually be lucky to have one such opportunity in a lifetime. Even Old Man Abe was endlessly grateful just for that much and he had lived for billions of years. Yet, Sarriel, who had only lived for a few thousands, had already experienced three? And somehow, she still had the audacity to be jealous.


    Ryu, though, wasn''t thinking about any of this. He stood frozen before the tree, unmoving, his mind wandering to places unknown.


    He really wanted to know how a land filled with Chaos Qi could allow life to flourish, he wouldn''t wrap his head around it.


    ''.'',


    Ryu had realized something. He never felt the danger of Chaos Qi because there was no danger to be found in it. It had to be remembered that Chaos Qi was the equivalent of Essence, a high form of energy that was rare and couldn''t be easily called upon. Only Ryu, and presumably others who had unlocked the secret of the Chaotic Silk Meridians, could use it so freely.


    What did this mean? Well, it meant that what Sarriel was called ''Chaos Qi'' wasn''t exactly Chaos Qi. Rather, they were derivatives of Chaos Qi just like all qi within the Real Plane were derivatives of Essence. And, Ryu was intimately familiar with how dangerous derivatives of Chaos Qi were. After all, he had almost killed himself many times using Primordial Chaos Qi.


    When Ryu was enlightened by this, he understood that everyone who came to this world simply called everything Chaos Qi, maybe not realizing that there was a true Chaos Qi at the end waiting for discovery. The question was¡­ Was there another way to access it?


    How did one earn Essence on the Real Plane? It was by comprehending Inheritances and being blessed by the Heavens for your accomplishments.


    Ultimately, or so Ryu had always thought, cultivation was the pursuit of Order. This was how cultivators gave back to the world they took so much from. Everything in the universe tended toward Chaos and it was the presence of cultivators that could reverse this. This give and take relationship allowed the life of a universe to be prolonged. The stronger the cultivators, the higher levels they reached, the more a universe would gain in return.


    This was the understanding Ryu had always had. But, Sarriel''s introduction of the Sky God of Chaos Realm threw a wrench in Ryu''s comprehension of cultivation as a whole. In fact, it was a massive upheaval.


    In truth, Ryu didn''t expect to unearth the truths behind this now. The Chaos Sky God Realm was the eighth of nine total Realms and likely wielded power beyond Ryu''s imagination. He wouldn''t be surprised if such an existence could wipe Sacrum from existence with a thought, let alone an action.


    However, it was interesting food for thought and an answer he would likely need to find in order to complete his Dao and raise it to its ultimate levels.


    '''',


    If he was wrong about cultivation necessitating Order, then it was likely that life didn''t necessitate Order either.


    That was an even more fundamental assumption that Ryu had always made. How could life be bred from Chaos? It was hard to wrap your head around. In fact, the reason the universe tended toward Chaos now was because Order had to come first for life to come¡­


    But maybe things weren''t so simple¡­?


    "This tree¡­"


    Ryu mumbled under his breath after a while.


    Its structure was unlike anything Ryu had ever seen before. But, this didn''t seem to be because it was so special or out of the box. In fact, it was fascinating in how much of it was in line with biology Ryu was well aware of.


    If Ryu had to describe a tree that was exactly the same as this one even down to the environment, with the only difference being that it had been raised in an environment with Ordered Qi instead of Chaos Qi¡­ He would describe exactly this tree.


    That was to say that there didn''t seem to be anything special about this tree that set it aside from other Ordered species. If there was any difference at all, it would just be that as an Origin Grade Herbologist, Ryu had actually never heard of this species of Spiritual Herb.


    "Wait, that''s not right¡­ This¡­"


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat. This was absolutely game changing.

 Chapter 838 Broken Rules

    Ryu didn''t know what to do with himself. A bubbling up of excitement grasped his heart and his love of Herbology almost blossomed forth in full force.


    This tree¡­ It was entirely designed to break rules and shatter convention. How had he not seen it before?!


    It was difficult to describe in just a few words the kind of importance such a thing had. The closest thing Ryu had ever seen in his life were Crown Herbs and the special abilities they gained along with being as rare as they were.


    Crown Herbs were known for their ability to break the status quo and provide impossible effects that would be otherwise impossible for cultivators to benefit from.


    The Heavens were always fair. If an infant could suddenly swallow an Ancestral Grade and be graced with the strength of a World Sea Realm expert instantly, this would spit in the face of what it meant to cultivate.


    The Heavens provided resources, but only those who had put in a certain amount of effort could benefit from them. Only cultivators could ingest Common Grade Spiritual Herbs without dying, only by stepping into the Qi Refinement and Spiritual Severing Realms could you safely ingest Black Grade Spiritual Herbs, and the pattern went forward and onward.


    These were hard and faceted rules that couldn''t be changed. Until you had an Origin Grade treasure like Ryu''s that could surpass such limits and allow the easy absorption of Spiritual Herbs of all grades. And, much like how Origin Grade techniques could be used by anyone of any level, so too could this be said for Origin Grade Spiritual Herbs in that they could be ingested by anyone.


    However, the Origin Grade was already a specially reserved title, one that represented the Sky God Realm. For a level that described breaking free of the Heavens and forming your own rules, it made sense that said level would have such otherworldly abilities.


    '',


    Still, there was one other exception¡­ Crown Spiritual Herbs.


    Being the King of their respective Grades, Crown Herbs had the strength of a tier beyond but allowed those of a lesser tier to ingest them. If a mortal or an Awakening Realm cultivator found a Common Grade Crown Herb, they would be able to ingest it without worry of imploding, same with a Spiritual Severing Realm expert and a Crown Black Grade Herb¡­


    The difference would be that such Crown Herb would have the equivalent strength of the Grade above them!


    As far as Ryu knew, this was the only example of Spiritual Herbs breaking the rules they had set, and this made perfect sense. If it was so easy to break a rule, it wouldn''t be much of a rule at all, now would it? But, what fascinated Ryu about this tree was that¡­ It seemed to have the property of breaking rules as well. The difference was that its rule breaking was a fundamental foundation rather than just a convenient feature.


    Ryu really didn''t know how to describe it outside of those words: rule breaking. It functioned in ways that didn''t make sense and accomplished things that were even beyond¡­


    ''A tree with this sort of structure born and raised on the Real Plane would have a very set pattern. It would fall into a very certain family structure, further beneath a sub-family and sub-species structure, so on and so forth.


    ''If I had never seen such a tree before and I had to decide what its ability was, I''d be able to do it.


    ''This sort of tree doesn''t really have any natural predators aside from very small creatures and it might have a symbiotic relationship with slightly larger creatures like birds or the occasional cat beast that was fond of having their snacks high up in some branches.


    ''As such, like most trees, this one would have longevity, it would have a strength to its bark and trunk, it wouldn''t have to adapt to any environments that were too harsh other than being able to burrow into qi rich soil which tend to be much tougher.


    ''This chapter is updated by N o v elBin.c?m'',


    ''The normal, benign route for such a tree like this to take would be like any number of Common Grade Trees you could find in a dense forest filled to the brim. Its body would be strong, its roots would be tough but likely not dig too deep in the soil, and that would limit its height overall.


    ''To a higher level cultivator, it would be useless. However, to an Awakening Realm or Pulse Opening Realm youth, it would be great for tempering bodies through a normal striking routine and if cut down, it could make the body of a rigid polearm.


    ''All in all, this is probably the simplest deduction to make. There''s no complex layers, no twists, no turns. This should just be a solid tree with no changes at all. It should snap, not bed. And yet¡­''


    Ryu''s palm, which still rested on the tree trunk, suddenly pressed forward.


    Right then, a tree that should have been as rigid as steel began to bow backward.


    Ryu went slowly, knowing that with his strength, if he really wanted to, snapping the tree like a twig would be as easy as breathing. But, as he took his time, the tree bent more and more. Eventually, Ryu even took a step forward, walking alongside the tree as he continued to bend it.


    Soon, the tree managed to make it to parallel with Ryu''s waist without showing any signs of whining or groaning. Of course, this was in one part due to how slowly Ryu had taken things. But, the fact that it could accomplish a feat like this at all was enough to leave many in shock and awe.


    BANG!


    Ryu suddenly let go, causing the tree to snap back and overcorrect itself, smashing against the ground on the opposing side before coming back.


    It whipped back and forth wildly, Ryu''s gaze only growing brighter and brighter.


    This tree¡­ Broke all the rules.

 Chapter 839 Two Paths

    One might think that this was a useless discovery. What good was a flexible tree, especially since it was of such a weak grade to begin with? Even Sarriel, who was observing Ryu''s actions from above, couldn''t help but look at him as though she was looking at some sort of idiot.


    Of course, she could tell that Ryu likely had a reason he was acting like this, and likely a profound reason at that, but when had she ever needed an excuse to think of him as an idiot? In fact, it made her feel much better to deal with things like this.


    Regardless, this matter wasn''t just a small deal to Ryu. In fact, it was such an enormous deal that he had to take time to calm himself. This sort of discovery was like finding out steel was chewy, or water was brittle, or even that air was rigid.


    Of course, it wasn''t as exaggerated as that as these things could often be classified as fundamental elements while this was just a singular example brought upon by a single Spiritual Herb. But to Ryu, it was no less shocking.


    Simply put, Ryu had a lot of faith in his analysis. Not only was he a great Herbologist, he was likely the best Herbologist Sacrum had ever seen, period. He might not have the greatest span of knowledge ever to be found in a single person, but what he did have was an exceptional mind for problem solving and noticing patterns.


    Everything about this tree''s characteristics, its chemical structure, the environment it grew up in, its ecosystem, everything¡­ it all screamed rigid tree with solid body and poor flexibility. And yet, in practice, it was completely different.


    There was only one explanation for this¡­ it was Chaos Qi. The influence of Chaos Qi had resulted in something that couldn''t be easily predicted.


    ''The question though¡­ Is this replicable? Is there just a new set of rules I need to learn or is it that the change will be random and unpredictable? Would I always find a tree meant to be rigid and have flexibility? Would a plant grown in lava always have an Ice Element? Or could one of these trees be brittle and that plant just as easily form lightning?''


    To Ryu, the latter possibility was far more fascinating. If it was just a new set of rules to learn, Ryu could probably deduce them all without even leaving this region.


    ''?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? Novel(B) in.??? ?? ?x???????? ??s??? ?????? s????.'',


    The greatest reason why this would be less interesting would be because it would just be like looking into a mirror. If both worlds were truly just mirror images of one another, then the reality would be that there wouldn''t be anything new to find here. Everything would have an opposite and as such would have a counterpart to be found in the Real Plane.


    Though, it wouldn''t entirely be a loss if this was the case. After all, many Spiritual Herbs had gone extinct on the Real Plane. If they had their opposites to be found here, then Ryu could likely find Spiritual Herbs he had never laid his hands on before on this Plane.


    Still, Ryu very much hoped that it was the latter.


    If a random chain of events could lead to all sorts of unexpected mutations, this would introduce a whole host of variables that Ryu could lose himself in. When rules aren''t followed strictly, or at least not coherently, the world they could have in store would be on a completely different level.


    But, that was just the tip of the iceberg. What if Ryu could take advantage of this? What if, with his own Chaos Qi, he could cause random mutations in Spiritual Herbs they would otherwise never experience?


    ,m It was one thing for him to use his Dao to forge weapons and concoct pills, that was formulaic and Ryu felt that given time, he would easily become the best. This was a rare case of Ryu not just being arrogant, but rather being realistic. The combination of his Dao and his Heavenly Pupils, not to mention his talent in qi control, input and output thanks to his Bone Structure, left him practically untouchable in these fields. If it wasn''t because he was so focused on his combat prowess, he would likely have already made leaps and bounds already.


    However¡­ if Ryu could not only forge and concoct an end product, but even do the same with the starting products, just what kind of magical effect would that have?


    Just imagine a time where a pill that Ryu needed didn''t exist. Not only was its formula never created, but the theoretical ingredients that would be needed to even start making a formula also didn''t exist.


    Then imagine Ryu creating the Spiritual Herbs needed from scratch and concocting a formula from thin air. If he could do this routinely and consistently, unfettered by the laws of the Heavens or the restraints of his Ancestors¡­.


    Just what kind of monster would he become?


    ''??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? NovelB(i)n. ???'',


    ''I need to know more. Now.''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, looking about. He guessed that the first thing he should do is check a second tree, right? It only made sense that he should¡­


    Ryu''s steps paused, his head suddenly snapping upward. He found Sarriel looking off into the distance, a deep frown on her features.


    ''Are there really people here? Sarriel said the Heavens were fighting a war and this was the frontlines, but¡­''


    For the first time in a long while, Ryu really wasn''t in the mood for battle. He just wanted to research like he had back during his first life. In an ironic twist of fate, he kind of missed it.


    ''That''s fine. I like crushing people beneath my feet too.''


    Ryu''s figure flickered, appearing in the skies. His eyes grew piercing, distances of several tens of thousand kilometers away suddenly feeling as though they were right in front of his face. With his current eyes, even zooming into distances thousands of times further was child''s play. He essentially had the eyes of a Sky God right now, these distances were nothing.


    It was then that Ryu understood that there wasn''t a group of people coming for them. Rather, there was a battle being waged between two parties.


    On one side, there was a very familiar group of armored Heaven''s Warriors. And on the other¡­


    Well, Ryu didn''t immediately know how to describe them.

 Chapter 840 A Pity

    They seemed to be humanoid, but they each wore oddly shaped armor that didn''t seem proportional to the true size of their bodies. The obvious choice for many of them seemed to be an overgrown arm that was about two or three sizes too big. But, there were also two of them that seemed to have settled for an extra limb that came in the form of a tail and there was a final one that whose face was covered by an artificial metallic nose that made them look as though they had the beak of a predatory bird.


    Such an odd appearance left Ryu quite baffled. He couldn''t decide what he thought about such a thing as he had never seen anything like it before. But, after observing the battle for a small while, he seemed to come to an understanding that these odd and unique armor designs were actually¡­ hidden weapons?


    Ryu''s facial expression turned weird and a hint of disdain colored his eyes.


    Though there weren''t any open rules about hidden weapons, it was generally well accepted amongst cultivator communities that those that dabbled in such arts were very much unworthy. It was very rare throughout history to find experts who proudly proclaimed their usage of hidden weapons, though there were definitely some to be found.


    However, from what it looked like here, there were a group of almost a dozen individuals, all following the same general pattern. It was clear that they were at least a large group if not a Clan or Sect. Such an existence in Sacrum would never get off the ground because they would be so poorly received by the general public that gathering Faith would seem impossible.


    It almost felt too appropriate that after running into Spiritual Herbs that didn''t listen to convention, that Ryu would actually then run into a group of individuals who likewise didn''t follow convention.


    What Ryu didn''t expect, though, was for him to suddenly notice how pale Sarriel''s expression had gotten as she stood in the air, frozen.


    Most of Sarriel''s face had been covered by her mask, but it was rare for anything to be able to escape Ryu''s gaze. He almost instantly realized that there was something wrong with her.


    Sarriel wasn''t the type of person to feel fear. And, true to that, while she was currently as pale as a sheet of paper, her fists were still gripped tightly and her gaze still left a fiery trail in the air. However, what was clear was that this group of people put her on edge.


    '''',


    "Who are they?" Ryu asked.


    "¡­ The Hidden Blade Sect."


    Ryu''s expression regained its weird look.


    "It''s not enough that they use hidden weapons, but they even flaunt it in their title?"


    Ryu could hardly hide the disdain in his voice. It seemed that his innate aversion to hidden weapons was even deeper than he thought it was. But, this wasn''t surprising considering the lineage pulsing through his blood. What was surprising, though, was how this Hidden Blade Sect had managed to get away with this.


    If such a Sect was formed on Sacrum, they would have ended up uprooted and thrown into the trash within two or three generations. This wasn''t an exaggeration either. Ryu could name several instances of exactly such a thing happening. It could even be said, that in certain respects, those that follow hidden weapon paths were even more hated than Mental Realm Masters even during the Golden Era.


    "If you don''t want to make an enemy out of a power that could destroy this world a hundred times over with just its Outer Sect alone, I would suggest you hold your tongue.


    "You''re lucky that sound doesn''t travel well on the Chaos Plane or else you would likely already be branded."


    "You''re telling me that this lofty outer world you''re always bragging about lets scurrying rats like them to have a place in cultivation society?"


    Ryu''s expression just couldn''t become any more incredulous. He was legitimately baffled. As for Sarriel''s comments about "Outer Sects" and a "hundred times over", he couldn''t be bothered to care. He suddenly very much wanted to get to the bottom of this.


    '''',


    "This is my problem with this world, you''re all so ignorant."


    Ryu laughed. "I didn''t know you were so cowardly, Sarriel. Are you only able to be arrogant when you see people you deem as ''ignorant''?"


    "What did you say to me?!"


    Sarriel''s voice boomed, her reaction akin to a cat''s tail being stepped on.


    "Am I wrong? Your skin''s as pale as a fish out of water, you''re staring at them intently as though you''re prepared to run so long as they step foot toward you, and now you''re acting defensive. I''m quite disappointed, honestly. I thought you were better than this."


    Ryu didn''t actually mean this as an insult. In fact, if it was Yaana acting in this same exact way, his instinct would be to protect, not lambast. It was just that Sarriel was almost like a celebrity crush to him. He didn''t have any real feelings for this version of her, but she still happened to be the kind of woman he liked most.


    Watching her act like a little rabbit frightened by a loud sound or a bright light left him as disappointed as when a child found out their hero wasn''t as heroic as you thought them to be. Despite her beauty, Ryu''s attraction toward Sarriel plummeted. He didn''t even feel the same trigger to flirt with her like he usually did, his gaze just drifted back to the Hidden Blade Sect members in the distance.


    Sarriel was even more enraged by Ryu''s expression of ''pity''.


    "It''s not bravery if it comes from a place of ignorance! And it''s not heroism if it saves nothing but your own ego!"


    Sarriel''s words didn''t come out in a piercing screech or shout like one might have expected. Instead, they were forceful and even somewhat slow. She enunciated every syllable as though to make sure Ryu understood what she meant.

 Chapter 841 Faith Spring

    If Ryu thought that Sarriel was fearing for her life, he was correct, but not in the way that he might expect. The only thing that could make Sarriel feel fear was failure, and the only way she could fail in her eyes is if she never met her goal to resurrect her Clan and seek revenge on those that had eradicated them to their final member.


    Whenever she felt fear, it was because of the weight on her shoulders. If she had nothing to care for but her own life and death, there would be nothing that could make her even flinch in the face of a tall mountain.


    In this respect, Sarriel''s trauma was even deeper than Ryu''s own. Ryu''s mother was still sealed in a mountain of ice, his father''s whereabouts were still yet unknown, and his great grandfather was very much still alive and doing just fine.


    Ryu didn''t understand what it meant to be the last. He didn''t know what it meant to be the final hope. He didn''t understand the weight that came with it.


    In the cultivation world, it was possible to die just because someone who had lived a hundred times longer than your lifespan, let alone the life you had actually lived, just felt like it. A sneeze, a bad day, a casualty in a battle that had nothing to do with you from the beginning¡­


    This happened so often that it was mind numbing. If you asked Ryu how many times he had killed someone who wasn''t necessarily the focal point of his rage, he would have probably already lost count of the number, and yet he had only truly been in the cultivation world for how long¡­? Far less than 10 years?


    Now imagine someone with an even worse temperament than Ryu, someone who still had the backing of their large Clan or Sect, one from their mother, another from their father, maybe a couple more from their maternal sides of the family too¡­ Just what kind of devastation would they wrought?


    People might die because they didn''t get out of the way fast enough. They might die because they had taken a fancy to the same woman as someone far more powerful than them. They might die because they stumbled onto the same treasure in the middle of nowhere. They might die for reasons far less substantive than even these.


    ''?????? ???? No(ve) l Bi n'',


    For Sarriel, or any woman as beautiful as she for that matter, these problems were all too real and even more pointed. Much of the preparation time she had spent preparing for this new world was in finding a method to protect herself and hide this beauty of hers.


    All of these things were constantly swirling in Sarriel''s mind. There were enough things to worry about without actively seeking out enemies for herself right here and now.


    Now, she felt even more assured in her decision to cast off the emotions she had built up during her Soul Trial. This kind of man wasn''t the kind she should ever give herself to. This kind of pride and arrogance was attractive for but a fleeting moment, until it was suddenly getting you killed.


    Sarriel had made a decision. Once it was safe, she would turn back and leave him and this world. It was time for her to go. She had no ties here.


    When Sarriel reached this point in her thoughts, she relaxed and limbs loosened. The clarity seemed to snap another barrier within herself and her cultivation surged before she quickly suppressed it. She wasn''t Ryu, she couldn''t casually breakthrough in such a world.


    Ryu turned back toward Sarriel at that moment, having heard her words.


    He looked her up and down, somewhat understanding what she had seen. But, seeing the staunch light in her eyes and how she had only solidified her stance further, he realized that there was nothing he could say that would possibly change her mind.


    "We view the world differently." Ryu said simply before turning away to observe the battle once again.


    Sarriel''s expression flickered. She had expected a more fiery response, something that she would likely not bother to listen to. However, this was also outside her expectations.


    ''This chapter is updated by N o v elBin.c?m'',


    Ryu could understand where Sarriel was coming from, but there was one thing she was wrong about. Even if he truly was the last, he wouldn''t allow anyone to make him lower his head.


    Sarriel might say that she wasn''t lowering hers. In fact, she was just proceeding with caution and being aware of pitfalls. However, to Ryu, any time he acted differently than he otherwise would simply because of the power of the person before him was another slap to his own face. He refused to allow it.


    ''Was I wrong in my assessment of him?''


    This was the only thought Sarriel had when hearing Ryu''s calm response. Regardless, what was clear was that after Ryu''s attraction for Sarriel had plummeted, he had little desire left to stay by her side. Still, because he could tell that she had every intention of leaving once she got the opportunity, he realized that he needed to understand one more thing before she did.


    "Tell me the truth, how was a Sect like this allowed to grow?"


    Sarriel looked at Ryu''s side profile and for once decided to respond without a berating sort of a tone.


    "Sacrum has it wrong. You always frame Faith through the lens of goodwill. Your Sects are unwilling to enrage the public, your Clans are careful with their underhanded deeds, and you both use this as a leash to keep each other in check because god forbid mortals you don''t even care about to begin with think ill of you¡­"


    Ryu narrowed his eyes. This was true. In fact, he had relied on this a lot to this point, ironically to protect his own life. Powerful individuals couldn''t just kill him out in the open for fear of what that might do to their reputation. But, it seemed like Sarriel thought differently¡­?


    "However, your concept of Faith is only half-baked. Just as there is Faith through goodwill, there is also Faith through infamy. In fact, it is only by combining these two types of Faith together can a balance be found and the true foundation of a Sect be built.


    "In wider Existence, this true state of Faith is represented by the Faith Spring of a Sect that holds all their accumulated Karma. Only by properly nurturing a Faith Spring can Faith take physical form and help a Sect or Clan to weather the storm of Eternity.


    "There are two major divisions of Forces in Existence, those with Faith Springs and those without¡­ I''m sure you know which the Hidden Blade Sect is now."

 Chapter 842 Last Bit Of Karma

    Sarriels words seemed simple but to Ryu they were game changing.


    ''Infamy and goodwill¡­''


    Now that he thought about it, Sarriel was perfectly correct. If Faith was just about notoriety, why did it have to be either good or bad? In fact, it would make sense if it was both.


    Even taking it a step further, Ryu suddenly remembered back to the Zu Clan. They had been responsible for all sorts of atrocities but they were still considered one of the most powerful Clans in the history of Sacrum.


    Ryu had always thought that this was a matter of timeline. The Zu Clan should have committed the worst of its acts near the tail end of its dynasty, it was only in this way that they managed to survive. Maybe those acts were even a last effort to recover their waning strength. But now¡­ Ryu suddenly felt that these matters weren''t so simple.


    That man, that very same man that had somehow met all four Zu Ancestors in vastly different timelines¡­ Maybe it wasn''t such a coincidence after all. Maybe it was the fact that the knowledge he brought back helped such things.


    But that left the largest elephant in the room¡­ Why?


    What was special about the Zu Clan? Even now, they were just a shell of their former selves. If not for a debt of gratitude Ryu felt toward his Master, they would have died during the collapse of the Ice Devil Legacy World because he had had more than enough strength to kill them all.


    ''.'',


    Ryu shook his head. These were useless thoughts. The scope of that man was far beyond him. If he was going to waste his time trying to understand an existence like that, he might as well focus on the Phoenix Sky God instead, at least that way he could find a way to release himself of this chain that was weighing him down.


    Ryu very much wanted to connect with his former Spiritual Foundation. In fact, if he had a choice right now between it and his current one, he wouldn''t even hesitate.


    He knew well that his original Spiritual Foundation wasn''t necessarily of a high Grade, but he didn''t care. He would rather be in full control of himself. Any weaknesses brought about by poor talent could be more than made up for with not only his other Talents, but various other methods.


    Ryu had done a lot of research into improving Spiritual Foundations for the sake of his parents during his first life, but much of that effort was put into resurrecting extinct Spiritual Herbs. If he entered a world where that was no longer a problem¡­


    He was confident in his ability.


    "It seems that this is goodbye." Ryu suddenly said.


    He looked over toward Sarriel, a calm expression on his face. By now, the battle in the distance had gone away from them enough for Sarriel to leave undetected as she wished. Though that group had definitely spotted them, it wasn''t like Heaven''s Warriors would just allow them to peel off as they pleased. Plus, they hadn''t antagonized them in any way so there was no need for them to harm themselves in the attempt at getting revenge.


    It was also obvious to them that they were natives since Heaven''s Warriors made no attempt to attack them. So, they would also be aware of the suppressive effects they would face.


    Sarriel looked over to Ryu, maybe a bit surprised that he didn''t seem to care enough to try and stop her. The well of knowledge she had alone was worth maybe more than anything alone. She had fully expected Ryu to be more shameless than this, or at least make her tell him more. And yet¡­


    '',


    It felt that as soon as Ryu had lost interest in Sarriel, he had also lost interest in anything she had to offer. He simply didn''t care enough.


    This new world? He wouldn''t mind exploring it himself. Or, heck, if he got the chance, maybe he would deal with one of these Invaders himself and see what sort of treasures or information they had on them.


    "Good luck on your endeavors."


    Ryu took a step forward and vanished, appearing back on the very same planet he had been exploring before. Though it didn''t seem to have anything valuable on it, he was too fascinated by this new environment. He just wanted to see what it had to offer.


    Sarriel frowned lightly. No one liked being rejected. Even if she didn''t have feelings for Ryu, she wouldn''t like it, let alone considering how complicated their relationship actually was. No matter what, this man was still her first kiss.


    She could tell that Ryu would likely never bring that up again. In that past, he had only done so because he still felt that lingering attachment to her. But, now that it was gone, he felt no need to. To him, she was now no different from the young miss of the Loom Clan, a woman he had little to no connection with. He didn''t even look up to see her off, he was already immersed in studying another Spiritual Herb.


    After a few moments, Sarriel''s brows relaxed. This could be considered her last bit of Karma in this world. When next she returned, it would be with the man she had chosen and the blood of her enemies having long since dried on her blade.


    With a wave of her hand, something within her spatial ring flickered and an orb appeared in her hand. Her wrist flexed and it shot down until it hovered before Ryu.


    Without looking back, Sarriel took a step forward, her figure vanishing into the distance. Her mind was set and her goal was clear.


    Ryu was snapped out of his Meditative State, his head tilting as he looked at the hovering orb.


    He looked up and saw Sarriel''s retreating back in the distance. But, even with his eyes, she would soon vanish for good.

 Chapter 843 Awakened

    Ryu watched Sarriel''s back until even his eyes couldn''t see her any longer. He suddenly hoped that she would be alright. This last action of hers, at the very least, reminded him of the version of her he had actually cultivated feelings for, rather than the version of her he only really had a crush on.


    N0 v el Next. CoM


    To have such a different set of opinions, and yet still leave with this act of kindness¡­ That was the Sarriel he knew.


    Her cultivation technique was quite special, but what Ryu was absolutely certain of was that it couldn''t manifest personalities from thin air. At best, it could magnify parts of what Sarriel already was. And, in Ryu''s opinion, whenever she regressed back to her ''real'' self, she ended up amplifying her core ideals more than she otherwise normally would.


    Ryu, for example, was an extremely arrogant individual as well. However, he still turned that off when he was facing certain people. Sarriel, though, couldn''t seem to turn hers off at all, likely because she had yet to perfect the comprehension of her technique.


    Ryu reached out and grabbed the orb.


    "¡­ This favor, I''ll remember it."


    These were the only words he said. However, when it came to the words of Ryu Tatsuya, he never said anything he didn''t mean with every fiber of his being. Even if he one day found out that Sarriel had died before she could achieve her goals, he would make sure to wash her tombstone with the blood of her enemies.


    Ryu grinned. "I owe you at least that much for taking your first kiss, now don''t I?"


    N0 v el Next. CoM


    While Ryu knew Sarriel had done this for the sake of tying up loose ends and severing ties of Karma, he still smiled, not minding in the slightest. When he, Ryu Tatsuya, did things, the thoughts and feelings of others didn''t matter in the slightest. She could hate him to her very bones and he would still follow through on his words.


    Ryu''s fist squeezed and the orb shattered. What he found within was a smooth piece of jade and a high quality on at that.


    ''Fascinating. The orb of light that surrounded it was actually a Small-Scale Copying Formation. I''ve never seen a formation capable of copying the information of a Red Grade Memory Jade so quickly and efficiently¡­''


    It had to be remembered that Memory Jades were split into seven ranks. White Jade, Green Jade, Blue Jade, Violet Jade, Red Jade, Black Jade, and finally Crystalline Jade.


    The highest rank was one Ryu was intimately familiar with as one currently rested in his Internal World. However, the lower levels were far more common. It took Blue Grade to be able to hold a Mystical Grade technique and at least Violet Jade to hold an Origin Grade technique. The Jades of a higher level than this obviously existed in a league beyond to the point Crystalline Jade could hold a whole world.


    This was all to say that the information tallied within a Red Jade could surpass even the complexity of an Origin Grade technique and yet this copying formation had completed it in what¡­ a few seconds?


    As far as Ryu knew, Jades could only be written into by cultivators and said cultivators had to intimately understand that technique first. For a formation to be able to complete the same task¡­ Ryu was absolutely floored.


    Taking a breath, Ryu looked into the Red Jade.


    The first thing he saw was an organization of maps. The first were of the Chaos Plane, or at least portions of it. There were markers for planets known to hold extremely valuable Spiritual Herbs, asteroid belts that held extremely valuable Ores, but most importantly¡­


    The central piece of all these maps was a location at the very edge of the Chaos Plane. In every iteration, it was depicted as a magnificent golden gateway, more elaborate than anything Ryu had ever seen.


    When Ryu locked eyes with it, his heart couldn''t help but beat wildly. He knew that that was where Sarriel had gone, that was the gateway to the rest of Existence.


    Taking a deep breath, Ryu calmed himself. It wasn''t yet time to go, as much as he wanted to. He was already very close to dominating this world and being able to cause waves through every corner of Sacrum with a single flip of his palm. Once his family''s destroyers were dead and in the dirt, only then would he truly feel relaxed and at ease enough to step upon this new path.


    Once Ryu calmed himself, he looked through the other maps. Each was given odd names in languages that even Ryu himself had never seen. But, drawing upon his deep well, he was able to compute a lot of their meanings after some observation.


    The World of Yegniea. The World of Thaovis. The World of Saxizuno¡­


    There were many more but these seemed to be the closest, Ryu was almost overwhelmed. If not for the Origin Flame and his Heavenly Pupils, he would have already had to retreat from the Red Jade.


    He completely forgot about the Spiritual Herbs around him, immersing himself in an all new world. Or, rather, worlds¡­


    ¡­


    "Senior Brother Leolar, you saw it too right?"


    Amidst the battle of Heaven''s Warriors and the Invaders, a silent conversation began. If these Invaders didn''t have their own methods of dealing with this situation, they would have never come in the first place.


    Originally, they had just come to partake in some of the resources on the outside because middle tier worlds like this one had the perfect balance of talent and ignorance to take advantage of. Their worlds were robust enough to form nice resources, but their cultivators were too stupid to know how to take proper advantage.


    Unfortunately, they had overstayed their welcome a bit and ended up getting detected.


    "You mean that white hair brat? Yes, I saw it. He didn''t have any protection whatsoever yet he was completely unaffected."


    "You think¡­?"


    "I don''t know if there''s another explanation for it."


    "Did a world like this really produce someone who understands the right path of the Chaotic Silk Meridians? Seniors are always complaining that when they find a bastard lucky enough to be born with a pair in these weak worlds, they always take the stupidest path."


    "I don''t know. But, if the answer is yes, we''ve made a big profit. Selling Awakened Chaotic Silk Meridians on the black market would be enough to buy us both enough resources to cultivate for the next billion years. By then, we won''t just be Working Disciples, we''d be Core Disciples!"


    The greed in the eyes of the two secretly conversing disciples glowed. But first, they needed a method to peel away from these annoying Heaven''s Warriors.

 Chapter 844 Erratic Heart

    Ryu stared at it for a long time. Maybe he wasn''t aware of what it was to begin with, but it grew on him almost immediately. The center of Existence itself, the land without a name because it couldn''t be named, the greatest hub of cultivation to ever be created¡­ The location of the highest peak Ryu sought after with all his being¡­


    Deep within this endless pile of worlds was one that stood out from the rest and the singular most important location to the whole of the martial world, and the only place that might appropriately earn the capitalization of Martial World.


    Ryu knew almost instantly that the location Sarriel had been speaking of all this time was this place and he knew that he didn''t care to explore any other world but this one. Everything else was meaningless to him. He didn''t care about low level worlds, middle level worlds or higher level worlds, he only cared about THE world.


    The realization made his spine tingle and his hair stand on end. He almost couldn''t control his grin, his chest rising and falling to a deep and steady rhythm.


    The map Sarriel had of it was actually quite lacking. At best, it only marked some of the outskirts and its greatest powers, among which was the Hidden Blade Sect. However, it still captured Ryu''s awe. Despite only such a small segment of it being outlined to begin with, it was impossibly large, so much so that just this segment alone was about three times as big as all six Planes of the Shrine World combined.


    ''This Hidden Blade Sect that Sarriel was so apprehensive about is only a middling power of the outskirts of this land, huh¡­''


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    What fascinated Ryu the most about this was that Sarriel had said that the full power of this Sect could destroy Sacrum a hundred times over, probably assuming the Heavens not interfering, was that according to this information, the strongest experts of the Hidden Blade Sect were only in the Fragmented and False Sky God Realms, they didn''t even have True Sky Gods.


    This told Ryu one of a few a things.


    The first possibility was that the cultivation system of Sacrum was inherently flawed, something that was very possible. The potential was there that their understanding of the Sky God Realm was too riddled with holes to properly label them, and as such, what they thought of as True Sky Gods weren''t really True Sky Gods at all.


    The second possibility was that becoming a Sky God in the Martial World was both worth more and much more difficult. In that case, lower ranked Realms bestowed more power despite their lower grades and as such, a Fragmented Sky God in the Martial World was more than enough to destroy even a True Sky God of Sacrum.


    There was also the third possibility that it was a combination of these two things, something that Ryu believed was likely true. The fact that he had never heard of a cultivation method like Sarriel''s spoke volumes. It was clear that they were on a completely different level.


    In addition, what Ryu had experienced with Mortal Qi was another enormous watershed to his understanding. It was likely that this secret of Mortal Qi and what it represented was well known to the people at the core of Existence. And, as such, their Realms of cultivation were worth far more per a single step.


    ''I see¡­'' Ryu nodded to himself.


    Beyond these maps there was next a whole host of societal rules and norms that Ryu may very well not be used to.


    The first was the most obvious, and that was related to Faith. Ryu couldn''t expect civil and logical treatment just because of a public venue like he had in the past. There were simply certain things that those of lower standing had to be more careful of.


    And that led to the second odd rule. Rogue cultivators were greatly looked down upon. Ryu had been a rogue cultivator practically the entirety of his second life and there were even many avenues in Sacrum to facilitate his loner mentality. But, in the Martial World, there didn''t seem to be anything more important than Lineage and with the true use of Faith in action, there was even less turnover when it came to Clans and Sects.


    As old as Clans and Sects were in Sacrum, lineages of several trillions of years was the norm in the Martial World. In fact, it was so common that lineages weren''t counted in years any longer and rather counted in Epochs. An Epoch in the Martial World was a ten trillion year period.


    Lineal. Dynasty. Sovereign. Dominion. Hegemony. Ancient. Founding.


    Those families and Sects that had survived a single Epoch were known as Lineal Clans and Sects. Those that had survived ten were known as Dynastic Clans and Sects, a hundred and you could be known as Sovereign Clans and Sects, a thousand and you''d reach the Dominion Clan and Sect level, being separated into One Star, Two Star, and Three Star Dominions.


    Beyond this, the jumps were even larger. It took a million Epochs to touch upon the Hegemonic Clan and Sect level, a billion to be known as Ancient Clans and Sect. And finally, at the greatest and untouchable echelons, there were Founding Clans and Sects sitting at a trillion Epochs.


    Each of these two penultimate levels, Hegemonic and Ancient, were broken into One to Three Stars, while Founding Clans and Sects had no such division between them. According to a note left behind by Sarriel, this probably wasn''t because there weren''t divisions between them, but more likely because there was so little known about these Clans and Sects that it would be the pinnacle of arrogance to try and parse and categorize them.


    ''There doesn''t seem to be a division of power between these existences like First to Eleventh Order Sects¡­ But, I would assume that the longer a Clan or Sect could survive, the more powerful they would be.''


    It was hard for even Ryu to wrap his head around just how long a Founding Clan or Sect would have existed for. In fact, Ryu didn''t think Sacrum had history that extended back further than a Sovereign Clan or Sect, let alone a Dominion Clan or Sect or anything beyond.


    In fact, that was just a guess on Ryu''s part. It was hard to tell if they were even at the level of a Dynasty. And, that was their world as a whole. There most definitely wasn''t any single Clan or Sect that had existed for that long.


    ''I wonder¡­ Are there old monsters that could live for that long¡­? Could there be any Ancestors of a Founding Clan that had experienced their inception¡­? And just how powerful would such a person be?''


    Ryu suddenly found it difficult to slow his heartbeat down again. He had usually been good at reining in control over himself, but right now, he couldn''t seem to do it no matter how hard he tried.


    These Clans and Sect¡­ No, the Ancestors that backed and propped them, the disciples they touted as extraordinary geniuses, the leaders that had climbed upon a mountain of corpses of their peers to reach their positions¡­


    He wanted to fight them all.


    A bloodthirsty sort of aura radiated outward from Ryu, his blood boiling.


    "Are you finished observing me yet? Or are the true experts of the Martial World only as good as this?"


    Ryu''s gaze glowed with a fierce light as his head slowly tilted up to a certain direction. The churning of his blood didn''t seem to want to stop and this seemed like the absolutely perfect target. His canines lengthened and his hair lifted from his back ever so slightly, falling back down in a gentle wisp as the wind caressed it.


    His Dragon Soul danced, his skin flickering with subtle scales before receding and reappearing again.


    At that moment, a pair appeared in the skies, seemingly stepping out of the void. One had an oversized mechanical right arm while the other had the metallic nose of a bird''s beak over their face and a monocle over a single eye.


    They seemed part surprised that Ryu had actually found them and another part shocked that he would actually dare to say such words. What he said seemed to imply that he knew about the outside world, but if he did¡­


    How could he still be so brazen?


    In their minds, his apprehension should have been no different than Sarriel''s. Only the ignorant should dare to say such things to them.


    Ryu saw through their cultivations in a single look. Both were within the Path Extinction Realm. One was at Tier 3 and the other was at Tier 4. However, their foundations were firmer than anything Ryu had ever seen.


    Ryu flipped his palm over, putting away the Red Jade and sliding two knives into his hands. His aura flourished and the roar of a Red Dragon seemed to rock his chest.


    Leolar, the Stage Four Path Extinction Realm expert gaze sharpened.


    "A Fragmented Dao?!"

 Chapter 845 Level And Grade

    Leolar couldn''t believe what he was seeing. This sort of Dao shouldn''t appear in a middling world like this one. And, even if it did, it should have appeared on one of those ignorant bastards that dared to call themselves True Sky Gods when in reality, they were nothing more than pathetic caricatures of what they claimed to be.


    However, the instant Ryu entered a battle stance, it felt as though his entire world view had been flipped on its head. His cockiness and confidence flew away, his expression turned serious and his heart began to thrum.


    Novel Top1.OR G


    They had made a mistake. A huge mistake.


    After a moment, though, Leolar calmed, sighing a breath of relief. He had almost gotten ahead of himself, he had been mistaken. This wasn''t a Fragmented Dao, if it was, he would truly be finished. At least, it wasn''t there yet. But, for such an existence to have such a Dao¡­


    "No, it isn''t a Fragmented Dao. It''s still in the Nurturing Phase, but its pressure¡­ I''m afraid that this is at least a Hegemonic Grade Dao, Senior Brother. This isn''t a joke at all."


    Leolar''s Junior Brother, Ariad, also had a serious expression on his face. Although they hadn''t been correct on their original assumption, their apprehension had hardly lessened at all. If anything, this actually made them all the more cautious. Their Hidden Blade Sect were known for their sensory abilities, when dealing with and designing such small and intricate mechanisms, not only did it require good senses to not mess up, it was also required of them to have enough skill to build such mechanisms in the first place.


    For them to be fooled, it meant that even if Ryu didn''t truly have a Fragmented Dao, it was highly likely that he would one day in the future. This meant that this young man, so long as he didn''t die early, was practically guaranteed to become a Fragmented Sky God at the very least.


    If Ryu heard such a thing, he would have scoffed at it. Fragmented Sky God? He didn''t ever plan on stepping into such a realm, he planned on becoming a True Sky God at worst in a single bound. But, this was only because Ryu was ignorant of what the weight of these titles meant in the true Martial World.


    To the section of Existence Leolar and Ariad had come from, a genius of Ryu''s caliber was great enough to become the Inheritor of their Sect. They, as two middling Working Disciples, could only take this battle with the utmost seriousness.


    In the Martial World, there were two separate categorizations of Dao. The first was its Grade and the second was its level. Compared to how casually these matters were dealt with in Sacrum, to wider Existence, everything was noted down to the finest detail. As important as the Natural Order was to cultivators, that was ultimately just a comprehension of what the Heavens provided. True Cultivators focused not on this, but on themselves. There was no greater foundational strength than one''s Dao.


    This was why the pair had completely disregarded whatever shabby cultivation methods Ryu must have been using up until now. If a Sect in their region found out about Ryu''s existence, not to mention the fact he had Chaotic Silk Meridians, they would pour everything they had into rebuilding his foundation from the ground up for no other reason than his Dao and that alone. He could be a cripple otherwise for all they cared, they could fix that too.


    A Dao''s level was straight forward. This was the categorization of power it could output and inputs its could negate. It was often tied to certain cultivation levels, though by convention, having a Dao a step or two behind your current cultivation Realm was considered about average.


    Daos beneath the Sky God Realms were all labeled as Nurturing Phase Daos. They were separated into Mortal Daos, Immortal Daos and finally, Cosmic Daos. Within these three categories, there were degrees of separation.


    There were six levels of Mortal Dao, three levels of Immortal Dao, and there were two levels of Cosmic Dao. Each of these levels corresponded with a cultivation Realm.


    The reason these were known as Nurturing Phase Daos was because their existence was known to not only explosively increase power, but they were also known to speed up cultivation to an extraordinary degree. A Dao of a certain level was like an immortal fertilizer, causing a spring of wealth and power to spring forth. This was especially obvious beneath the Sky God Realms, so it was obvious why this would be more important than what talent Ryu might have.


    A powerful Dao or a sudden comprehension could make even a Common Grade Talent a monster.


    Beyond the Cosmic Dao were the Sky God Realms, a level where the weight of Daos became more than just about nurturing and became foundational to strength. At this level, having a Dao beneath your level was impossible as it was a minimum requirement for your Cultivation Realm, however having one above your Realm also became as rare as phoenix feathers as well.


    These Daos followed the naming convention of the Sky God Realms. Fragmented Daos, False Daos, True Daos, Perfect Daos, Transcended Daos, Omniscient Daos, Ordered Daos, Chaotic Daos and finally, Origin Daos.


    But this was only the tip of the iceberg. Even two Daos of the same level weren''t necessarily of the same strength. Daos that could be more powerful within level were somewhat more common, but those that could be more powerful across levels were a different monster entirely.


    Common Daos. True Daos. Lineal Daos. Dynastic Daos. Sovereign Daos. Dominion Daos. Hegemonic Daos. Ancient Daos. And, finally, Founding Daos.


    Each of these categories carried with it a powerful degree of separation. However, even a Lineal or Dynastic Dao couldn''t just cross levels as it pleased. Even at that level, a Cosmic Dao would always be above an Immortal Dao. However¡­ Once you entered the ranks of Dominion Daos, some of this understanding began to collapse¡­ And upon entering the Hegemonic Dao ranks, the rules only seemed to collapse faster¡­


    By now, the duo understood.


    Ryu, despite being born in this backwater world, somehow had formed what seemed to be a Hegemonic Dao. Even if their assessment was off by a measure, it was a Dominion Dao at the weakest. It was simply hard for them to tell because they had never interacted with such a high grade Dao before. Even their Sect leaders, old monsters they had never personally laid eyes on, only had Lineal Daos.


    Of course, whether Ryu''s Dao could maintain this grade as he improved it was still unknown, but what was certain was that it was exceptionally high level right this very moment.


    This meant that Ryu had, at worst, a Dominion Dao. And, from what they could tell, it was at the First Level of the Immortal Dao Grade.


    It had to be remembered that having Daos of a lower grade than your cultivation level was common. Ryu had an Immortal Ring Realm Dao while at the Path Extinction Realm. But they still had Sixth Level Mortal Daos at the very same Realm.


    To make matters worse, their Daos were Common Daos while Ryu''s seemed to be leagues beyond. This¡­ Was no joking matter.


    If they also knew that to Ryu''s people, Daos were a matter strictly left for Sky Gods and he hadn''t purposely cultivated his own until he stumbled into its comprehension, who knew how they would react?


    "Hegemonic Dao? That doesn''t sound like the highest level."


    Ryu''s knife danced in his palms, spinning through his fingers before settling back down. He had just learned of the ranking system for Clans and Sects, so he knew well there were two levels above. And, it seemed that these two weren''t even sure if he was that high, which meant to a real expert he might only have a Dominion Dao.


    Ryu chuckled. "My Dao is considered so weak to your world? Now I really want to go."


    "Weak?" The two men looked toward one another. Reflected in their eyes, it seems they both knew they had run into an ignorant madman. The combination was definitely lethal.


    "I''m glad you two came to me. I didn''t really have a reason to antagonize you, but I really don''t like hidden weapons. This gives me just the excuse I needed, I have to thank you for that."


    ,m The serious expressions of their two Sect brothers flared with a hint of rage when they heard these words. No one in the Martial World would dare to say that.


    "What did you just say?"


    Ryu stretched his neck, tapping his foot. His body seemed to float for a moment before he vanished. When he reappeared, his knife had already appeared at Ariad''s throat.


    Ariad''s eyes widened. Reacting quickly, he shot backward, just barely dodging. However¡­


    A wisp of blood flowed down Ryu''s blade, silently dripping to the ground.


    "Huh. Someone in the Path Extinction Realm actually dodged my attack."


    Ryu suddenly began to laugh beside himself. He hadn''t felt like this in a long time, not since he survived at the hands of Leopold and reaped life from the jaws of death.


    He wanted to understand, he needed to understand. Just how far he still had yet to climb.


    He felt as though his veins had been injected with adrenaline and his heart beat wildly as his Dragon Soul finally erupted.


    "Come on!"


    Ryu vanished again, his blades dancing like intertwining snakes.

 Chapter 846 To Say...

    CLANG!


    Ryu''s knife clashed against Ariad''s enormous metallic arm, his dragon soul flaring outward and giving him the strength of mountains. In that instant, the latter was sent flying like a speeding bullet, cutting through the skies and the wild friction of the air.


    Ryu''s figure flickered. His initial intention was to pursue, but he instead dodge out of the way of slicing wind, appearing to the back of Leolar the instant after the latter had attacked.


    However, before Ryu could pierce his knife into Leolar''s back, the latter''s robes split and a long snaking tail threatened to pierce through his throat.


    A wild grin manifested on Ryu''s face, his second blade rising up in a reverse grip and parrying the piercing metallic tail to the side.


    SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!


    Ryu''s arms became a blur, assaulting the joints of the tail. His eyes were like two blazing stars, able to see through everything.


    A mechanism created by the geniuses of the Martial World? An intricate and novel application of metals he had never personally laid eyes on in his two lifetimes? None of it mattered. Before his eyes, before his Dao, it would all be laid bare.


    "Break for me!"


    BANG!


    Leolar didn''t even have time to turn around before his precious tail shattered into crumbling pieces, falling to the planet that sat below them.


    He felt a piercing pain in his heart. The amount of wealth a member of the Hidden Blade Sect burned through was astronomical. Every mechanism they formed had to be done by their own hand, it was the pride of their Sect. But, to have such an intricate mechanism severed and dissected right in front of him like this, it felt as though he chest was bleeding.


    He couldn''t understand how a pair of Blade Grade weapons had accomplished such a thing. But, the flourishing light that glowed upon them painted a different story. It had nothing to do with the daggers and everything to do with the man wielding them.


    Ryu was relentless. He had hardly finished dismantling Leolar''s tail when he lunged forward again. An illusory coat of red covered him from head to toe, making it seem like his body had been swallowed into the form of a humanoid dragon.


    A tail formed out of the illusory coat to Ryu''s back, suddenly snapping up and slapping at the air.


    BOOM!


    The harsh sound of wind exploding and space quaking resounded. Not long later, a projectile was rocked out of the air and sent flying back to where it had come from, suddenly appearing before Ariad in the blink of an eye.


    Nove l B(in).C OM


    "Take Form and Conquer the World!"


    Ryu''s voice boomed. A strong surge of Chaotic Qi was suddenly pulled in from all sides.


    "Are you crazy?!"


    Leolar almost fainted from shock. Using Immortal Rings in this place was like asking to die. But then he remembered something that made his heart grow cold.


    It was a death sentence for them. However, to Ryu, it was like being blessed by a god on high. This Chaos Plane was nothing more than his own backyard, and they had stepped into his territory. It was clear that their greed had caused them to forget this fact.


    "Shit!"


    Leolar felt the oppression come in from all sides, his armor threatening to crack and splinter around him. The volatile energies surged and the qi concentration skyrocketed.


    Ryu felt as though he was riding atop a cloud, his body being filled with such flourishing vitality that he almost released a moan into the skies. However, he instead roared, releasing a savage and bestial call that seemed to quake the entire plane.


    Leolar once again realized just how serious the situation was. He couldn''t afford to hold back any longer, doing so would only cause him to give up his life on a silver platter.


    "HA!"


    He spread his hands outward, the metallic beak that covered much of his face expanding and suddenly encasing his whole face and eventual body. In the blink of an eye, he had become an odd, humanoid bird man, his body covered in individual feathers, each intricately hand crafted and pieced together even down the length of a newly formed swaying tail.


    In that moment, in the distance, Ariad seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Faced with the counter of his own projectile, multiplied several times over by Ryu''s strength, he too roared, his aura flourishing as he punched outward with his large mechanical arm.


    Ryu''s wrist flickered, a strong surging tide of blade qi appearing before Leolar in the blink of an eye. However, just as quickly as it had appeared, the large pair of wings that now attached themselves to his arms flapped.


    Leolar''s speed was so blinding that they left afterimages in Ryu''s Spiritual Sense. If not for his eyes, he would have lost track of Leolar entirely. The difference between just before and now felt like night and day, as though he had become an entirely different person.


    In the distance, Ariad''s disposition had completely changed as well, shattering Ryu''s counter strike in just a single punch.


    He balled both fists, facing them up to the sky and bracing his elbows against his hip. A flourishing red aura wafted from his, his gaze becoming piercing.


    Ryu could feel the enigmatic air around them, the subtle sort of shift that took place as they carved their own place out in the world. It was as though the Heavens had been forced to acknowledge their presence as sentient existences, as though without this step, they were worthless.


    Daos. There was no doubt about it, they had activated their Daos.


    Ryu''s grin only became more wild, his hair fluttering and his aura piercing the skies as his 13 Immortal Rings pulsed wildly, each giving off a vicious dark gold glow.


    This would be the first time he was fighting those who had comprehended their own Daos. Or, at the very least, the first time someone was using them against him. And he had to say¡­


    "So weak?"


    His figure flickered and vanished, appearing before Leolar''s humanoid bird form. He would hack them to pieces just the same.

 Chapter 847 Pathetic

    To Ryu, these Daos before him now were so weak they couldn''t even be considered Daos. He could see through their intricacies with a single glance. It almost felt like he was being forced into witnessing a display of public indecency. The fact they could even bring out such a thing to a battle with him was laughable.


    Leolar dodged once more, but to his horror, when he reappeared, Ryu was right before him as though his knife had never left the former''s neck.


    "Your Dao is pathetic. You would have had a better chance at winning if you didn''t use it before me at all. The fact you did just signed your death warrant."


    Ryu seemed to speak in Leolar''s soul. In those final moments between life and death, time seemed to dilate and almost grind to a halt.


    "You took a majestic Roc has the basis for your Dao, but then you perverted its form by turning yourself into this monstrosity? And you wondered why you were so weak? I don''t know why it is you two decided to target me, but I''ll be taking your head."


    SHIIING!


    Leolar found himself staring at his own headless corpse, his eyes opened wide in shock. He had never thought that in using his Dao, he would lose even faster. But, he only had himself to blame for not understanding the nature of Leonel''s Dao.


    He controlled Karma in one hand and Tribulation in the other. Together, he controlled the Heavens. If even the secrets of the Heavens could be seen through by him in a single glance, what more a pitiful Mortal Grade Dao? The gap was so enormous that it bordered on pathetic.


    Ariad watched this scene from afar and almost immediately understood that he had to run. They didn''t just smash their foot into a steel plate, it felt like it had been reinforced by the greatest artisans to ever exist.


    His heart plummeted and his lungs almost ceased to function. He turned and ran away at his greatest pace, but he could already feel Ryu hot on his trail.


    Novel Top1.OR G


    "You can''t! You can''t kill me! I¡ª!"


    "I haven''t played this annoying game in a very long while. Are you going to tell me I can''t kill you because of your Sect? Even if your Sect did care about fledgling disciples like you, I''ve already killed one, would they spare me if I left you be?"


    "NO¡ª!"


    "Exactly."


    Ryu''s figure flickered, his blade swinging forward.


    Ariad seemed to have learned from Leolar. Not relying on his Dao, he managed to put up much more of a fight, his fists pummeling forward.


    Ryu tilted his head to the side, dodging a solid punch and slicing a blade upward through Ariad''s chest.


    Ariad tried to use his momentum to make a half spin to the side, but Ryu''s blade was just a touch too quick, splitting his skin in two and almost severing bone and guts.


    Ariad''s gaze flashed with resolution and the enormous metallic arm that had gone by Ryu''s head unloaded, a large plume of gas suddenly releasing.


    Novel Top1.OR G


    Ariad''s expression lit up with excitement, but he just as quickly flipped a palm to reveal a bottle of pills he swallowed down to the last.


    In order to ensure Ryu couldn''t dodge, he had unloaded his whole cartridge. Usually, the range would be small enough to not affect him, but Ryu was simply too powerful. He wanted to make certain that nothing unexpected would happen, so he had ended up infecting himself in the process. Though he had antidotes, he most definitely wouldn''t be able to live normally for at least the next few months.


    Still, it was worth it. Without being able to take the antidote directly, the poison was far too potent. Even if Ryu found an antidote within the next few minutes, it would already be too late.


    "Poison? Not an unexpected tactic from a pathetic bunch like you."


    SHIIING!


    Ariad''s expression froze, his body collapsing.


    Ryu stretched out a hand. In that moment, the souls of both Ariad and Leolar fell into his palms. They struggled wildly, but it hardly mattered at all.


    Poison? Ryu had a little griffin princess by his side. And, even if he hadn''t, he had just eaten an enormous meal from a high Order griffin. It had to be remembered that the feathers of a griffin could cure any poison, curse or afflicted disease. Ariad had picked quite literally the worst time to even think of trying to poison Ryu.


    Plus, beyond that, when facing someone with a Spirit Body, you had to pick out a very special kind of poison. By virtue of his body''s composition, expelling poison was almost too easy, especially after the evolution of his Bone Structure. And, since he now had a Perfect Spirit Body extending to his Soul, even Soul poisons couldn''t easily target him either.


    Petty tricks in the face of absolute strength were all worthless. Ryu was almost disappointed that these two were actually so pathetic and inept.


    "If you shatter our souls, you''ll be marked by the Hidden Blade Sect! I can see how ambitious you are! It might not matter if you stay here, but a brand from the Hidden Blade Sect to anyone just entering the True Martial World is as good as a death sentence!"


    Leolar finally displayed some qualities worthy of a senior brother as he quickly stated his points. It was as though he had already forgotten about Ryu''s earlier insults, all he cared about was survival.


    But, to Ryu, this only made sense. A Sect built upon hidden weapons, how could they have any backbone to speak of?


    Luckily for Leolar, though, Ryu might very well need them for something. Rather than explaining, Ryu reached out and caused their corpses to fly over to him. With a thought, he extracted every single spatial device out of their bodies, even the ones Leolar and Ariad never thought he would be able to find without their help.


    Their expressions sunk. They had been hoping to be able to negotiate some more with this, but they lost even that much¡­

 Chapter 848 Purity

    Ryu completely ignored the two souls. How could their hiding methods hide from his eyes? They would have to be at least Sky Gods to have a chance at doing such a thing, and even then, their results might not be as expected.


    Unfortunately, though, even after looking through their numerous rings, Ryu''s found that they were quite poor. Of course, this wasn''t in a normal sense. In fact, he found many things within their spatial rings that were entirely extinct in Sacrum. It was more so that their best Spiritual Herbs and treasures were still of the Earth Grade at best.


    This made sense. After all, they were only Path Extinction Realm experts, how could Ryu expect more out of them? If he wanted some great watershed, he would either have to fight individuals far more talented than these two, or he would have to fight someone far more powerful, period.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s brows shot up. He had only taken a casual sweep to begin with. However, the instant he took a deeper look, his expression shifted, his gaze became several folds more concentrated. This¡­ Wasn''t normal.


    Ryu wasn''t wrong, the best treasures these two had were just of the Earth Grade. However, the quality was so far beyond anything he was used to that what might have still passed as the Earth Grade easily rivaled what was considered Heaven Grade to Ryu now.


    As though the two weren''t observing him, Ryu took out a simple Black Grade sword stored at the back of one of Ariad''s spatial rings, holding it up to his eyes. He carefully observed every fiber that made it up. In the end, he flicked it with his finger.


    DING!


    The sword began to vibrate wildly, whipping back and forth in the air before slowly, but surely, settling down.


    The truth was that this sword was actually weaker than Ryu''s self-forged daggers. However, compared to normal Black Grade weapons Ryu had become used to, they were leaps and bounds beyond.


    It had to be considered that Ryu''s forging skills were built on the basis of Heaven''s Will. He ''listened'' to the ores and forged them into their most perfect state. It could be said that his form of blacksmithing was the highest that there was in all of existence.


    Well, maybe it wasn''t so exaggerated since according to these two, Ryu''s Dao was on the border of Dominion and Hegemon. Regardless, at the very least, his techniques were beyond what the people of the Hidden Blade Sect could match even with his limited experience.


    The fact that this sword even came close was a testament to how large the gap between the worlds was.


    Ryu immediately tested several other weapons and found the same exact thing. What was the most baffling about it all was that considering how casually Leolar and Ariad had treated these weapons, they were at best crude and at worst completely useless. They couldn''t even bother to keep them organized at all.


    ''What about¡­''


    Ryu acted on the thought instantly, finding strewn bottles of used pills. He brought one out, rolling it onto his palm and lightly sniffing the air.


    ''Black Grade pill, it seems to have the function of compression qi, probably best used for the Qi Refinement Realm. Its purity is at 82%, that already puts it in the top percentile of what top tier alchemists can produce in this world. But, its formula is far more potent than anything I''ve ever seen.''


    Ryu took another sniff and closed his eyes. In an instant, a long list of Spiritual Herbs appeared in his mind and he sorted their images one by one.


    ''Three of the main ingredients are instinct, no wonder. But clearly they''re so ubiquitous in this Martial World that they can so casually be thrown into such a pill, a pill that these two don''t seem to care about at all, in fact.''


    Ryu hadn''t used pills on his cultivation journey thus far, at least not in any large way. Thanks to the Incubator, he could just directly absorb the medicinal properties of Spiritual Herbs without having to worry about it. This method also saved him from having to deal with impurities as well.


    However, at some point, this would only come back with diminishing returns. There was a reason that the field of alchemy was created. If it was so much worse than just absorbing Spiritual Herbs directly, then there would instead be an industry where everyone created Incubators.


    Not every Incubator would have to be of the Origin Grade. You could easily imagine a world where Common, Black, Earth and Heaven Grade Incubators were in greater circulation, allowing you to easily absorb equivalently ranked Spiritual Herbs. But, this wasn''t the path the evolution of professions had chosen to take.


    There was a simple reason for this. Often, the combination of Spiritual Herbs concocted into a single pill would produce exponential results that stacked upon one another. When the effects of these were compared to Spiritual Herbs alone, it was akin to night and day.


    But, this much was just the tip of the iceberg. The true reason for the creation of pills was to allow for results the Heavens wouldn''t allow for. Spiritual Herbs are the creations of the Heavens, and as such, their abilities are fine tuned and repetitive across a similar race of Herb. Pills, however, can combine individual abilities to form results one would never think of.


    Of course, pills weren''t the only methods to accomplish this. Medicinal baths, potions, and other such liquid concoctions were less advanced methods of doing the same thing as well. All of this used the basis of heat and fire, the root of human innovation, to accomplish these tasks.


    The cost and return hadn''t been worth it for Ryu when he was on Sacrum. But, from what he could see from just these middling pills of the Martial World, the difference was like night and day. If he could get his hands on 100% pure pills, he would definitely not mind switching his approach to cultivation.

 Chapter 849 Accumulation

    Everything that Ryu found in these spatial rings seemed to follow the same pattern. The grade was low, but the quality was high. If any of these things appeared in an auction on Sacrum, the wealth Ryu could make would be astronomical. Even if it wouldn''t rival what he had made from his Tatsuya and Ice Phoenix Clans, it wouldn''t be a small amount even to him.


    It was to the point where even the Qi Stones were on another level. Ryu was certain that his judgment was correct and that these were just Immortal Qi Stones, but they shone brighter than any Ryu had ever seen before. In fact, some, rather than just being a crystal stone with a fog of white within, shimmered with rainbow colors.


    After cross referencing the information Sarriel had left behind with these Qi Stones, Ryu learned that in the Martial World, Qi Stones weren''t counted by number, but rather by weight and purity.


    ''This system makes much more sense.'' Ryu nodded to himself. The number counting system of Sacrum was inherently flawed, but it was close enough so people just accepted it.


    The purer the Qi Stone, the heavier it was, and thus the more valuable it was as a result. The Qi Stones that shimmered with rainbow colors in the possession of these two were the heaviest and were about twice the weight of Ryu''s current stash each.


    All things considered, this wasn''t too bad, it just meant that his wealth was basically cut in half. But, half of what he had was still an astronomical amount. It was just unfortunate that the hit he took when it came to weapons, pills and other such things was likely much greater. In the Martial World, they were likely worth only what they could be separated into scraps for.


    Still, Ryu would be far from poor when he stepped into that world, and he could be happy about that much.


    After Ryu went through this, he got to the part that he was most excited about: techniques. He was all too eager to see how what they had here differed from what he was accustomed to. If Sarriel''s experience was anything to go by, it should feel almost magical.


    As expected, the first thing Ryu found left him silent.


    <Qi Stone Accumulation Technique>


    It was a ragged and cracked White Jade, the very lowest grade. It had likely been passed down through so many hands that no one remembered who it was that had original inscribed it. And yet, this technique alone made Ryu speechless.


    ''You can¡­ Make Qi Stones? What the hell is this?''


    Ryu had truly prepared himself for the most shocking things possible, but this was already too much. The idea of printing your own money was absolutely baffling to him and it was to the point he didn''t even quite know what to say for a very long time.


    If it wasn''t for the fact their life and death was in Ryu''s hands, the instinct of the two disciple brothers would have definitely been disdain. To feel shock over such a simple technique, how much of a country bumpkin could you be? However, Ryu wasn''t the type of person who cared about such things, the perspective of others was irrelevant. He only cared about his own thoughts and that of those that loved him and this¡­


    This was a game changer.


    ''I see. So that''s why it''s so common. It''s a ubiquitous technique, but it''s tedious and it takes a long time. Though it''s relatively easier to form lower grade Qi Stones than your cultivation level, by the time you can form those Qi Stones easily, they would be useless to you. What use is a Mortal Qi Stone to an Immortal? Unless you had a Clan and had to supplement your juniors, you wouldn''t even waste your time.


    ,m ''Plus, from what it looks like here, there are multiple forms of this technique. There''s a version where you take action personally, and there''s also a version you can lay down as a large scale formation and allow it to accumulate qi from the surroundings for you. This second version is probably the most widely used. It''s technically slower than doing it personally, but the scale is so much wider that it''s still more efficient overall.


    ''Interesting¡­''


    Ryu absentmindedly stretched out a hand, grasping at air and causing a strong surge of qi to violently whip toward him. The two souls shuddered. They feared Chaos Qi enough while they had their full bodies, let alone now that they were nothing more than mere souls.


    There were two methods of using this technique. The first was to draw from your own qi and the second was to draw from the atmosphere. The first method was easier and faster, but a normal person would only be able to make one or two before they were completely drained. This was the inherent inconvenience of the technique.


    The second method was more difficult, required more control and took much longer. In addition, it was generally frowned upon to use in a public setting as it could disrupt the cultivation and moods of others.


    Many higher class cities also had qi accumulation formations set up to heighten the concentration of qi and attract tourists. So, using atmospheric qi in that fashion was just a form of stealing that could get you in a lot of trouble with enforcement officers.


    Ariad and Leolar couldn''t help but give Ryu weird looks. While they had disdained Ryu''s lack of knowledge just moments before, this wasn''t a technique you could just pick up because you wanted to, and it was especially so if you were using the most difficult form instantly.


    Unfortunately, they had hardly finished the thought when the Qi Stone began to take shape. The two froze, their eyes not quite believing what they were seeing until the point a Qi Stone swirling with dark rainbow colors formed.


    That wasn''t just a Qi Stone. That was a Chaos Qi Stone. It was worth easily a hundred to a thousand times more than a Qi Stone of equivalent rank. And yet, it had only barely taken Ryu 15 minutes to form it¡­ On his first try.


    ''Not bad.'' Ryu thought. ''My Meridians have direct access to the Chaos Plane. That means I can use the inner accumulation method without worrying about my stamina and also at a much faster rate. Doesn''t that mean I can make an endless supply of Chaos Qi Stones so long as I''m willing to put in the time?''


    It seemed that Ryu would most definitely not be poor on the Martial World. In fact¡­ He would be very, very, VERY, rich.


    Ryu had already thrown this to the back of his mind, though. He was already focused on the next jade technique, his excitement still bubbling.

 Chapter 850 Calm Heart Sutra

    Ryu checked through Ariad''s techniques first. The latter had what Ryu deemed to be a close combat type Dao so he believed that Ariad would have some interesting techniques to go along with it.


    What Ryu noticed between Ariad and Leolar was that their Daos were actually quite bare bones and simple. This made sense considering their low grades, but what was more interesting was how that correlated.


    As Ryu had said, Leolar''s Dao had been formulated by observing a Roc. Truthfully, Ryu didn''t believe that Leolar had observed a real Roc, it was more likely that he had observed some sort of simulation of it, or he had based his deductions on a technique that claimed to represent one.


    Because he was curious, Ryu had cross referenced with Sarriel''s notes and he had learned that Ancestral Beasts were just as rare in the true Martial World as they were on Sacrum, and their standing was just as high.


    For one, this meant that the blood running through Ryu''s veins was actually quite valuable and he had to be careful on that front. But, on the other hand, it meant that low level individuals like Ariad and Leolar hadn''t recognized his Bloodlines much like the weaker individuals of the Mortal and Pedestal Plane hadn''t.


    This meant that there was simply no way for Leolar to have truly based his Dao on a Roc, and it made the value of unlocking his Ancestor''s memories all the more apparent to Ryu. This sort of knowledge, even in the true Martial World, was invaluable and simply impossible to put a price tag on.


    Due to this, Leolar''s Dao essentially boiled down to an advanced form of movement that gave him great speed. But, at the same time, it made him predictable. His Dao lacked variation and power behind it, it was just a cheap imitation brought about by a false understanding. As a movement technique alone, it actually wasn''t bad and was actually better than anything Ryu had ever seen. But as a Dao¡­? It was pathetic.


    By the same token, Ariad''s Dao was also greatly lacking. From what Ryu understood at a glance, his Dao was rooted in concepts of imposing momentum. He built it off the back of blasting through all obstacles and never being stopped.


    This Dao was slightly better than Leolar''s, it was just unfortunate that the person backing it didn''t have the personality to properly match it. Ariad was constantly differing to Leolar as his senior brother and he was quiet spoken to begin with. However, that was only the start of his problems.


    Someone with such a Dao would never fight someone two on one, and yet Ariad hadn''t hesitated to do so. On top of this, he was actually part of the Hidden Blade Sect and used poison in his battle. How could you be indomitable if this was the path you chose for your life? His Dao was more of a joke than anything else at this point.


    Dao wasn''t just about comprehension. You could technically comprehend anything. But, without belief as a foundation, it was all meaningless. Choosing a Dao didn''t just mean grasping at something you easily understood, but it also required it being compatible with the deepest fibers of your being.


    ''<Calm Heart Sutra>.''


    One would think that this was a soul cultivation technique, or at least anything other than being related to close combat. But, this wasn''t the case at all. In fact, this was a fist technique split into three parts and built on the back of a special cultivation method.


    ''A martial technique requiring a specific cultivation technique to practice¡­ Well, it isn''t a requirement, but the true strength will be less than half of what your true potential could be¡­ I''ve never heard of something like this.''


    From Ryu''s understanding, martial techniques could require special types of qi to be used effectively, but one requiring a specific cultivation technique wasn''t something he had ever stumbled upon. In fact, if this was backtracked to its logical conclusion, it meant that there was a cultivation technique created with a matching set of martial techniques, and that was fascinating to Ryu.


    ''Steady feet. Steady Mind. Calm Heart. Interesting¡­''


    The technique deviated in another way from Ryu''s usual understanding of things as well. Usually, techniques leaned on Meridian Nodes first. You had to meet a minimum requirement of Meridian Nodes so that the circulation pattern could be completed.


    Then, comprehension would be based on how well you could maintain this circulation method. When Ryu had spoken of comprehending techniques in the past, it was all about the subtle nuances of how the flow of qi worked.


    Two techniques might have the same circulation pattern, but they could have different ebbs and flows, different pauses and starts, different speeds and forcefulness. It was this subtle control that gave each technique its flair.


    However, this was ultimately surface level. Ryu was almost too good at comprehending the nuances of a technique, feeling its hidden depth, and using his supreme qi control to rein it all in. When he used <Lines of Fate>, it was even easier.


    But this¡­ This felt entirely different.


    There was still a qi circulation method needed for this technique, yes. But, firstly, unlike the techniques Ryu had become used to, it was overly simple. It was simple to the point of almost being an insult to his intelligence.


    However, what was more fascinating was that comprehending this technique also felt a lot more like comprehending an Inheritance. You weren''t learning how to circulate your qi, or rather this was just a small portion of it. More importantly, you had to grasp the essence of the technique, much the same way you had to comprehend an Element or a Natural Endowment.


    Ryu read through the technique over three times, the profound words laced within gripping at his soul.


    "¡­ A calm heart belays the storm."


    Ryu slowly punched out, a subtle wave of qi rippling around his fist.

 Chapter 851 Soul Stirring

    Ariad''s expression changed. Or, rather, his soul rippled wildly, the scene before him more shocking than anything he had ever seen before.


    Ryu''s fist was slow, but it seemed to be pushing at reality itself as though he alone remained immovable while everything else was forced to move beneath his will. He hardly put even the slightest strength behind his punch. In fact, even a toddler who hadn''t cultivated a day in their lives could have done so faster and stronger. And yet¡­


    ''¡­ Oops.''


    BANG!


    The planet below Ryu splintered into two, the wind pressure of his fist separating the atmosphere and ripping apart the earth and soil until its core was revealed. The instant this happened, its structural integrity collapsed.


    A wild rippled of heated magma and explosive qi shot in all directions. However, Ryu reached out a hand, a strong barrier forming and forcing it all to rebound around him instead.


    ,m When it all finally settled down, Ryu stared blankly into pace for a moment before he shook his head. The difference was actually large. Such a simple circulation method, only using as many Nodes as a Black Grade technique, could actually output so much power.


    Not only had Ryu not put any true strength behind that blow, only relying on his shallow comprehension of the technique, but he didn''t even have the foundational cultivation method this technique relied on, and yet it was actually still so powerful.


    "C-¡­. Ca-¡­ Calm Heart¡­" Ariad stuttered.


    "Calm Heart? No. At best that was the tip of Steady Feet. Your comprehension is severely lacking. The fact you chose such a Dao is baffling to me. I don''t even know whether I should feel impressed or not."


    Ariad sunk into silence, not responding at all.


    Ryu knew nothing about him, it was no wonder he would come to such a conclusion. The Ariad of old had, indeed, been worthy of his Dao. Well, maybe he would never be worthy in Ryu''s eyes, but he was at least more worthy that he was right now back then.


    Unfortunately, the Martial World had a way of swallowing up even the most robust of souls. Now he was just a piddling Working Disciple of the Sect without a clear path toward improvement. He had thought that Ryu''s meridians would finally be his ticket, but he hadn''t realized that just the fact he could have such a thought with his Dao meant that he had already lost the plot.


    It was only a matter of time before his Dao deteriorated completely and he either ended up with a vicious Heart Demon he couldn''t get rid of, or his cultivation stagnated forever, never to take even a single step forward.


    ''An interesting technique, better than any fist technique I''ve ever seen just by its sheer simplicity. If I use this principle, I can likely create my own techniques branching off from my Dao. But, in order to properly understand how to formulate them, I''ll need to observe more techniques than just this, and definitely higher level ones as well¡­ What these two have isn''t enough.''


    Ryu went through all of Ariad''s techniques one by one and eventually switched over to Leolar''s as well. As expected, they all followed the same pattern. But, truthfully, <Calm Heart Sutra> had been the best.


    Ryu''s expectations had started high, but none of the other techniques he ran across were even close. However, a curious discovery he had made was that <Calm Heart Sutra> was also the only one of the techniques in their possession that was tied to a specific cultivation technique.


    ''I see, so that''s likely the separation. Techniques that match to cultivation methods are a step above¡­''


    Ryu was prepared to wrap this up when he stumbled onto the final technique. He went through it just as quickly as the other ones before his gaze sharpened.


    ''<Rising Morning Roc>¡­''


    This, unlike <Calm Heart Sutra>, was a movement technique. However, much like <Calm Heart Sutra>, it too was tied to a cultivation method.


    Like he had done with <Calm Heart Sutra>, Ryu read it three times. Of course, Ryu had already memorized it all the first time thanks to his Origin Flame. Even without it, a small technique like this wouldn''t pose a problem to many cultivators. However, it was a problem of words and their profundity.


    The techniques Ryu was used to only had superficial tag lines and mostly just described the circulation method. However, these techniques had meaning infused into their words, carrying the secret behind the strength of the technique.


    ''The Roc rises in the morning. Its feet rooted to the earth and its proud neck piercing the skies.''


    Ryu took a step and vanished, only for Leolar to be at a loss for words this time. There was something about Ryu movements that was immediately gorgeous without compare, a fluttering pair of golden wings seeming to follow in his wake.


    This movement technique felt different. It was as though the Heavens were helping Ryu to move, much like how they had helped him to punch with <Calm Heart Sutra>.


    Ryu realized that in the true Martial World, the value of his Heavenly Pupils wouldn''t decrease. In fact, they had just increased exponentially. Now, his comprehension almost directly translated to strength.


    ''This technique isn''t as fast as just using the Silver Star Visualization, or just using <Lightning Divine Mark>, but its variations and transpositions feel endless. The flexibility it affords is unlike anything I''ve ever seen before.''


    Ryu suddenly came to a grinding halt, his heart trembling.


    In one corner of his Spiritual Sea, locked away in a location he had been purposely ignoring, something stirred.


    ''¡­ Elena?''


    Ryu''s face flushed, his heart beating out of his control. There were only really good reasons or really bad reasons Elena would do this, and either way, he would still react like this.


    Ryu forced himself to calm down and he released the shackles he had placed on his soul''s communication with Elena. But, what he heard made him freeze.


    ''The Seal of ice is crumbling.''

 Chapter 852 Always

    Ryu didn''t know what to say or think. This sort of matter¡­ It was happening at maybe the worst time possible. He wasn''t yet strong enough to charge into the Shrine Plane, but if he didn''t who else would?


    After being sealed for so long, his mother wouldn''t be in any state to fight. In fact, she would likely be at her very weakest. All alone, she had been the sole reason why the Martial Gods hadn''t been able to dredge up everything they could from the Shrine Plane. In fact, it could be said that his mother was the last line of defense.


    Ryu closed his eyes, his breathing coming almost to a dead halt.


    This wasn''t how he would normally react to things. The emotional high of Elena speaking to him for the first time in so long had knocked him off his balance. It only made it worse that the news was about his mother, the woman he respected the most in this world.


    Ryu couldn''t put the love he had for his parents into words. His mother had always been by his side during his first life, and his experiences in his second made him realize that this was more of a rare thing than he thought it was.


    Ryu''s parents had had every reason to abandon him, to treat him as though he was worthless. And, even in the case they didn''t go so far, no one would have blamed them for neglecting him. And yet, the love he had experienced from them was among maybe the only shining lights he had had.


    He could still remember how his mother would always insist on preparing his meals. She was the Mistress of the Tatsuya Clan, a once in a generation genius. The kind of weight on her shoulders everyday was still far beyond anything Ryu had ever experienced. But such a woman refused to allow anyone else to care for her son but her.


    And those had just been memories Ryu remembered before he gained his Origin Flame. Once he fused with this penultimate Flame, allowing him to remember things as far back as when his consciousness just formed in the womb, the warmth he felt for his mother touched upon levels maybe no one else would ever be able to match.


    He could remember the soothing words she spoke while she was pregnant. He could remember how much care she took in bathing him while he was a child. Every morning she would wake him with the same soothing song and every night she would lay him to rest with words just as soothing.


    Even when Ryu was found out to be a cripple, nothing had changed. The tears his mother shed that day weren''t in lament for having such a useless son, but were rather for him. The weight of her empathy was heavier than any burden Ryu held.


    These emotions washed over Ryu, his expression becoming colder and colder with every passing second.


    "How long." Ryu asked.


    ''At most three days.''


    "Then in three days, I''ll be cleansing the Shrine Plane with blood."


    **


    Elena sat in silence, the words of Ryu reverberating through her mind. She had deliberated for a long time as to whether to tell Ryu about this or not. By most observable metrics, it would be nothing more than suicide for him to come here now. However, in the end of it all, she felt like if she didn''t¡­ Ryu would never speak to her again.


    It was an odd feeling. She had been certain that she wanted to slowly separate herself from Ryu. It wasn''t because she hated him, but it was rather that she felt their time had passed. The things they wanted were too different. Or, at least the things she wanted had evolved so far beyond what they had been in the past that she couldn''t see them aligning at all.


    But, the idea of Ryu never speaking to her again¡­ She couldn''t describe it in words.


    She knew that she would be protecting Ryu from himself keeping his information from him. However, she also knew Ryu enough to know that keeping this from him would be the absolute worst kind of betrayal. He would never accept an apology for it. He would never forgive. He was that sort of stubborn individual.


    Faced with this crossroads, Elena made a choice. A selfish one.


    Choosing between Ryu''s life and death, and his hatred of her¡­ She actually chose to allow him to die instead.


    Elena had made the choice before she even knew what was happening and by the time it sunk in, she felt such a strong feeling of disgust and hate toward herself that she couldn''t move.


    Her hands trembled and her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She had spent the last several months venting at air. She didn''t even quite understand what she was so mad about. Even millions of years of introspection couldn''t seem to snap her out of this state.


    Ryu had no idea the kind of reserves the Martial Gods had. If he really became a threat, the trump cards and ammo they had was far beyond what words could possibly describe.


    Cold shivers caused goosebumps to race across her body. She brought her knees to her chest, her lovely pink diamond hair seeming to dim somewhat as the natural light it gave off wavered.


    If she could so easily make such a selfish choice now, what others had she made? Was she wrong all this time? She didn''t know how to bring herself together.


    She had to do something. She had to stop Ryu from coming. Even if he hated her for it, even if he never spoke to her again.


    Elena''s nails dug into her thighs, her hands squeezing down hard. However, just as she had resolved herself, a voice echoed in her mind.


    "I know that I''ve done more than enough to earn your hatred. But, for as long as I live, I''ll be your husband.


    "I wasn''t able to do this in my first life, but in this one, I''ll always stand in front of you.


    "I have no intention of dying."

 Chapter 853 L Look Forward

    The Armament Guild was in shambles. The flames of war were still all too obvious. However, a few days ago, the Dragons had vanished, seemingly having proven their point. It was clear to most that the only thing of interest to the Ancestral Beasts was the Shrine World. Everything else was simply icing on an already iced cake.


    p-a- n-d-a-n-0-v-e-l¡¢(c)om However, for this, the Armament Guild had suffered greatly. Half of their cities had fallen out of the sky. Of the half that remained somewhat, another half were completely unlivable. And finally, of the quarter that was left overall, fires still raged, corpses still lay strewn, and scent of death hung heavily in the air.


    Of those devastated, there were none more aggrieved than the Archer Clans. Maybe by virtue of coincidence or Ryu''s words, their cities and even their main Clan headquarters had been razed to the ground. There was no doubt that many of them blamed Ryu for this outcome. But, such a mantle was something that Ryu would gladly claim.


    To try and kill him and expect no consequences? Nothing in this world was so grand or good.


    This was the state Ryu returned to. He didn''t care to hide his presence. And, truthfully, even if he tried, the frosty trail that followed him would still be all too obvious. Everywhere he passed by, the air would crack, the land would shatter and even the rubble would splinter and crack like glass.


    Very few tried to stop Ryu at all and many more others were occupied trying to deal with the landscape. Too few had actually seen Ryu''s face and the idea that he would actually return here was far too baffling for most to wrap their heads around, so many simply got out of the way, believing him to be a big shot they couldn''t afford to offend.


    Ryu made it to Supreme Blacksmith Wynhorn''s living quarters without contest, his speed having seemed slow, and yet still managing to cross absurd distances in fractional times.


    Wynhorn frowned, obviously sensing Ryu immediately. She had already been annoyed by this boy once before. The more she thought about it, the more annoying it made her. However, almost the instant she laid eyes on Ryu, it felt to her as though her heart had frozen over.


    Ryu''s Dao was almost palpable, responding to his emotions like a living, breathing, tangible part of himself. And, this Dao alone was enough to make Wynhorn feel as though she had been suppressed to an extreme. She, a True Sky God, felt wholly inferior.


    Any thought she had of reprimanding Ryu, or asking him why he hadn''t even tried to escape, left her entirely. It somehow felt that Ryu was both far stronger and far weaker than a Sky God at the very same time. It was the sort of feeling that a youth like this, only barely within the Path Extinction Realm, had no business giving off.


    "My Blades. Are they ready?"


    Ryu''s voice seemed dredged up from an abyssal hell. Somehow, Wynhorn felt as though even her mind was freezing over.


    She had no idea that Ryu had to do this. If he didn''t drench himself in ice cold, then the blazing fires of his fury would have already begun to destroy everything around him. Thoughts of the Martial Gods and their goals ran through his mind again and again, only seeming to stoke these flames further.


    Wynhorn didn''t say a word in the end. Her fingers lightly tapped the air and two boxes radiating gorgeous rainbow lights appeared. Each was three feet wise and over two meters tall. Just their presence alone felt infinitesimally close to the Origin Grade.


    "Thank you."


    Ryu nodded. Space trembled and his eyes dilated, causing a swirling blackhole to appear and swallow up the boxes. With that, he turned to leave.


    "I take it that this means our deal has fallen through?" Wynhorn asked.


    Ryu''s steps paused and he didn''t say anything for a long while.


    Wynhorn and he were meant to stand on the same side opposing the Martial Gods. But, from what it seemed like now, Ryu had already decided to go off on his own. This was obviously not something that Wynhorn could accept. Her Armament Guild had just suffered a devastating blow, she couldn''t possibly send them to battle now. It would be irresponsible of her as a leader, especially since even if they were at full power, it would be like throwing eggs at a mountain face.


    "Do as you please," Ryu finally said, his figure flickering and vanishing.


    Wynhorn fell into silence, her thoughts unreadable. How nice would it have been to meet such a young man in her youth when she was still open to such things. Thoughts of how Ryu gazed upon her figure and wide hips without regard for anything made her shake her head. She had never experienced such a thing before and it left her feeling quite odd.


    Unfortunately, the spring of her youth had already vanished, poured into her Clan and this position she took up as their Matriarch. But, was it worth it?


    Ryu never wanted to be a leader, and with that kind of ideology came with it a sort of freedom that Wynhorn didn''t have. But, likewise, it was a shackle that weighed her down. Now, those same shackles were blocking off her path toward elevating her Dao to a level it had never seen before¡­


    Was it worth it?


    Wynhorn sighed. She moved to close her eyes, but they suddenly sharpened as she looked into the skies.


    In the air, Ryu stood across from True Sky God Arcus, their pair of handsome faces looking at each other without a single word. And then, True Sky God Arcus suddenly smiled.


    "Ryu Tatsuya. I would have never thought you had such a background, it''s no wonder that you''re so arrogant, and maybe deservedly so.


    "Today¡­ Today I won''t kill you. I can already see it in your eyes, you know, you''re very much aware of what''s happening. It seems that in all your bloviating, you''ve run out of time to strut around as you please.


    "I look forward to seeing you squirm and struggle in your final moments three days from now."

 Chapter 854 Easy

    Ryu didn''t say anything immediately. He faced True Sky God Arcus, his gaze placid and without the slightest ripple. The longer the silence lingered, the more obvious it seemed to feel that Ryu wasn''t looking at a Sky God, he wasn''t even looking at an equal, he was looking at an ant he would soon wipe clean from the soles of his feet.


    The subtleties of Ryu''s Dao, something Wynhorn had easily picked up on, was slowly becoming more and more obvious. True Sky God Arcus suddenly found that his smile was frozen in time, its candor and relaxed appearance becoming more awkward as the moments ticked by.


    Without a word, Ryu took a step forward and True Sky God Arcus found him subconsciously moving out of the way. Before he could realize what he was doing, Ryu had vanished into the distance.


    "Anyone who stands in my way will die."


    The words echoed over the whole of the Armament Guild. In fact, they infused into the very will of Sacrum''s Heavens, rocking the very foundation of all four Planes.


    **


    Ailsa stared at Ryu deeply, not quite knowing what to say. She didn''t even bother to try and say words to try and convince Ryu. With how well they knew one another, there was no way that she would waste her time trying to do something that she thought would be impossible.


    "I am coming with you."


    Ryu''s expression immediately went from placid to furrowed, his mind racing in all sorts of directions. While he supported Ailsa''s want to battle, the raw truth was that she wasn''t talented in it. She didn''t have Ryu''s battle sense nor feel for an opponent. She was very good at analyzing matters after the fact, but in the midst of battle she couldn''t. Her way of using the Ice Queen had proved at least that much.


    While having Ailsa by his side would make summoning far easier, when facing enemies on this level, staying within the Ethereal Realm was no longer a safe method. While Ailsa had spent years by Ryu''s side, safe on his shoulder, things wouldn''t be able to continue to be like this indefinitely.


    "I am coming with you." Ailsa said again, even more forcefully.


    Yaana bit her lower lip, looking back and forth between Ryu and Ailsa. She too wanted to say that she wanted to go, she had the same burning desire within her. However, compared to Ailsa, she was even more useless. She had fallen very far behind Ryu who seemed to advance leaps and bounds every hour, let alone day. She just didn''t want to be Ryu''s burden in that way.


    At the same time, she didn''t believe that Ailsa was being foolish either. Though her use in combat was limited, her ability to direct energy was unmatched. In the past, it had been Ailsa who helped Ryu to control Essence that tended to want to act as it pleased.


    This ability became less useful as now Ryu had Chaotic Qi, something he had perfect control over. There was no need for Ailsa to interfere in this case because it would only hinder Ryu''s personal growth. However, if she was there, the violence wrought by Primordial Chaos Qi would definitely be far easier to bear. And, if Primordial Death Chaos Qi was combined with her summoning abilities as a naturally born Quibus Faerie, the results would be devastating.


    Yaana closed her eyes and took a deep breath.


    "Take me too."


    Ryu''s brows furrowed even deeper. "Ailsa, Yaana¡­"


    "No. If you''re so confident that you won''t die, then take me with you. I will be in the Incubator, I will be silent and I will be obedient. If you live, then good, I will live too and I''ll be completely unharmed. But if you dare die, well I will have no escape and I''ll just have to die too."


    Ryu stood frozen in place, not quite knowing what to say. Yaana''s words were far more forceful than usual and far from ''obedient'' like she said she''d be. But, he knew well that when she said such words it was only to display a stubbornness that he had no way of refuting.


    "I will be there too." Ailsa smiled.


    Ryu looked between the both of them, remaining silent for a long while. Unfortunately, his wives didn''t seem to care, staring back at him with the same staunchness.


    Suddenly Ryu smiled. "Then isn''t it easy? Didn''t I already say I wouldn''t die, what are you two being so dramatic for? You can sit tight and watch your husband whet his blades with blood."


    The moment Ryu said these words, his wives pounced into his arms, squeezing him tight.


    "Oof¡­ You guys can''t be like this right now. They say you''re not supposed to drain your yang before a fight."


    Ailsa and Yaana, who had both still had faces of deep worry, suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. They could feel the confidence wafting off of Ryu, the kind of confidence that couldn''t be twisted or faked, the kind that sunk as deep as bones would go.


    The trouble was that neither of them understood how he would do it. How could a Path Extinction Realm expert possibly fight so many top class enemies? The number of Cosmic Seed Realm experts alone would be able to drown him with their gazes, let alone the number of World Sea Realm experts and beyond.


    To make matters worse, True Sky God Arcus'' words seemed to confirm that everyone was ready for his appearance, lurking in the shadows for the bait to reel him in. It was undeniable that the Martial Gods would be ready for his appearance.


    However, neither of them asked. This matter¡­ They would leave it up to Ryu.


    Each claiming a half of Ryu''s body, the two women buried their heads into his chest, finding solace in the solid and rhythmic beating of his heart.


    "My Realm Heart." Ryu said. "I think it''s time we finally upgrade it to the Immortal Realms."

 Chapter 855 Lt All Makes Sense.

    Ailsa had finished the preparations for the Immortal Grade Realm Heart long ago. The Godhead of a Sky God that had been on the verge of crossing the final barrier into the True Sky God Realm was more than enough of a catalyst.


    Ryu found himself sitting in meditation, shirtless. A complex jade-green formation was drawn around him and Ailsa sat to his back, her palm resting on his spine. A pulsing power began to emanate, surging across the Moon World.


    An Immortal Grade Realm Heart would only be a minor boost to his battle strength from Ryu''s understanding of things. Its main function would only be allowing his cultivation speed through the Immortal Realms to skyrocket, but Ryu had no plans of improving his cultivation any time soon. As such, it could be said that the only reason Ryu was wasting time doing this was so that he could maximize his chances in all aspects.


    However, what truly happened was far beyond Ryu''s expectations in every way, shape and fashion.


    The moment Ryu felt a crack in his heart and his Realm Heart shattered its glass ceiling, evolving to an all new level, it was as though the flood gates had been opened.


    Ryu''s Inheritances, which had all constantly progressed, only to regress back down to the Ruler Realm time and time again suddenly surged upward. All of Ryu''s accumulated understanding stacked and flourished, rising up so quickly and forcefully that the Essence that fell for their comprehension almost overwhelmed the formation Ailsa had laid to help the breakthrough in the first place.


    Ryu and Ailsa alike sat in a daze, but that seemed to just be the start.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind also flourished, rising past the mortal grades and skyrocketing into the Immortal Grades before finally halting at its very peak. It swallowed up all the volatile Essence as though it couldn''t get enough. By the end of it all, Ryu found himself accidentally floating in the air, almost as though he had become as light as a feather that could be blown away at any time.


    When it all finally settled down, Ryu frowned.


    He had been trying to understand what was wrong with his Inheritances all this time, only for them to suddenly step through the threshold they had no ability to cross before and reach the Dominion Realms in a single step.


    If Ryu said he wasn''t shocked, he would be lying. Was it really his Realm Heart that had been holding him back this entire time? No, that didn''t make any sense. Realm Hearts were supposed to be a booster, not a gate keeper. So what the hell was going on?


    "I think I finally understand¡­"


    Ailsa''s soft voice immediately caught Ryu''s attention.


    "¡­ Think about what it took to reach this point. Sure, it was a series of coincidences, but they all stacked up due to a decision your <Intuition> had made. Maybe from the very beginning, things were designed to be in this way.


    "The only way for you to awaken to the true abilities of your Chaotic Silk Meridians was by skipping the Spiritual Severing Realm. However, that wasn''t the only hurdle you had to climb. Remember, I advised you to not reconnect with your Spiritual Foundation too soon or else the tempering your meridians were receiving from the Chaos Plane would weaken and you''d lose the special characteristics you had gained, thus making it all meaningless. You would have lost the benefits of the Spiritual Severing Realm without gaining the massive boost that came with Chaos Qi."


    The moment Ailsa said this words, Ryu''s eyes lit up with understanding, but he didn''t interrupt her.


    "When you think about it, there''s no way for any normal person to meet those requirements. In order to strengthen your connection with the Chaos Plane, you had to cultivate. But, in order to allow that connection to happen, you couldn''t have a Spiritual Foundation.


    "Those two things can''t possibly coincide with one another. Cultivation can''t happen without a Spiritual Foundation, that''s one of the most basic truths of the Martial World. Unless¡­ Unless you somehow stumble upon a Realm Heart."


    Ryu nodded slowly, the pieces slowly coming together.


    "The Realm Heart was never just an accessory to your cultivation, it was a main cog in the wheel that made you so powerful. It''s no wonder that your Inheritances have been stagnant, then. The rules that you''re working within and the parameters of your cultivation is far different from anyone else.


    "Tell me how you feel right now. Have the restrictions on your cultivation ban loosened somewhat?"


    "Mm.." Ryu nodded. "¡­ My Intuition tells me that I''ve taken a strong step in the right direction, but it isn''t quite yet time for me to start cultivating again."


    "If I''m correct, this is likely a combination of two things. The first are the variables of your Chaotic Silk Meridians. There are definitely other complex steps that you should be taking that aren''t immediately obvious, steps your Intuition might be trying to guide you through.


    "The second variable is that of a cultivation method. From your run-in with the two Hidden Blade Sect members, it seems that your meridians are highly sought after. That likely means that someone or some entity has already long since figured out how this works. In that case, there''s a very high likelihood that there exists a completed cultivation method you''ll have to find so that you won''t have to continue relying on luck like this.


    "It makes sense that everything has stalled at the Path Extinction Realm and that it''s only now that your Inheritances have recovered. The Path Extinction Realm is inherently a Realm reliant on comprehension and putting them through trials.


    "If I''m correct, you likely won''t be able to break past the Dominion Realms until you manage to accumulate enough to evolve your Realm Heart into the Cosmic Grades. However, the benefits will be just as great as this. The continuous comprehension and recomprehension has helped you refine your Inheritances to a level I''ve never seen or even read about before..


    "Also, I believe that you should pay keen attention to your Realm Heart from now on. I have a feeling that it''s meant to grow an evolve along with you. The changes to it might soon display itself to be different from usual Realm Hearts¡­"


    "I see¡­"


    Ryu spoke slowly, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. After a light exhale he stood.


    "Let''s go. We don''t have time to waste."


    "Where to?"


    "The Death Shrine." Ryu responded, his gaze turning cold before suddenly softening. "But to enter the Shrine Plane now would be tricky. I''ll have to go to the Rebirth Shrine first¡­ And say goodbye to my Grandma Tatsuya¡­."

 Chapter 856 Empress

    The Rebirth Shrine was unlike the Fire Shrine. It didn''t have the oppressive heat or heavy environment. In fact, it was filled with life and vitality.


    Rivers of gold flowed and waterfalls of bronze fell. The clouds danced with all sorts of rainbow colors and the land was brimming with vitality. Every step Ryu took made him feel as though his very soul was being reinvigorated.


    Unlike the Fire Shrine, the Rebirth Shrine didn''t have architecture. It sat it the middle of a golden lake that seemed to shift between ethereal and corporeal, dancing between fog and liquid.


    Standing at the edge of this lake, Ryu could see countless hidden formations buried within. To anyone else, they might have been completely undetectable. But to him, they were as bright as day, each more complex than the last. There was no doubt that the treasures of the Fire Phoenix Clan were hidden beneath.


    Ryu closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The shrine seemed to sing in his presence. Unlike with the Fire Shrine, he could feel the tangible soul of the Rebirth Shrine. It didn''t just want to acknowledge his presence, it wanted him to take on its mantle.


    Something like this should have been impossible, but Ryu could only conclude that this was due to his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline.


    Normally, without at least a Minor Godhood, a Shrine wouldn''t even acknowledge your existence, even for a talent like Ryu. But now, this one was tugging at him from all sides.


    However, even so, Ryu completely ignored it, his eyes tightly closed and his body as relaxed as he could force it to be. And it was then that he felt the gentlest touch to his cheek.


    When Ryu opened his eyes, he found a woman he knew all too well. Her beauty was still beyond words, even as the lines of age threatened to claw their grips into her. The maturity of her stature was unmatched and the elegance of her presence was beyond what even Ryu''s mother could match.


    "Grandma¡­"


    Ryu spoke lightly, his voice even and controlled. However, the care and affection in his eyes were all too clear.


    His Grandma Tatsuya was a fiery woman, the kind capable of reining in even the likes of his Grandpa Tatsuya. But right now she didn''t seem to have any of that sort of edge.


    Her red hair was done up in an Empress''s bun, fitted by a crown. Her elaborate dress was worthy of her stature. And, though her image was illusory, she still carried a presence no less than that of a living person.


    Merula smiled, pinching Ryu''s cheek slightly. Her dress fluttering in the wind as a delicate fragrance wafted through the air.


    "I won''t say much as I don''t have much time remaining, Little Ryu. I can already sense that your Grandpa Tatsuya has left this world and it''s this Empress'' duty to be by his side."


    The lofty pride of his grandmother was fitting of the Dragon Race. But, maybe that was only apropos considering the fact that the Fire Phoenixes were the rulers of the Phoenix Race much the same way Fire Dragons were the rulers of the Dragon Race.


    "I have already lived a long life, much longer than any mortal could possibly imagine. I''ve married a powerful and true man. I''ve raised an outstanding son. And, I''ve lived long enough to see my grandchild also grow into the man he was always meant to be.


    "I can see it in your eyes now. That same childish excitement my little six year old grandson used to have, it''s returned. I can say that the only shame in my life is not being able to witness its reappearance personally, but it seems that I can trust your wives to help you through any future fog."


    Merula smiled meaningfully. A gush of wind fluttered by.


    Ryu could see it with his eyes, the way the qi in the surroundings bowed down in reverence.


    "Remember, Little Ryu. The Fire Dragon isn''t the only royal blood that flows through your veins."


    Merula raised her palm to the skies as though she wanted to caress the cheek of the sun above. Despite how bold and dauntless the action, it only seemed all the more appropriate, as though only such lofty and untouched sentiments were worthy of being associated with her.


    Delicate Heavenly Phoenix Patterns began to spread out from her slender fingers. Each took the form of the graceful and subtle veins of a birds feathers, quickly wrapping around one another and stacking until a small orb of golden light accelerated into the form of a sun that overshadowed even the one in the skies.


    The Heavenly Patterns flowed in and out of one another seamlessly, dancing with an enigmatic rhythm that caused the heart to thrum.


    "We weren''t meant to study the Mental Realm or learn Heavenly Patterns, but this Empress isn''t very fond of following rules," Merula laughed, the gentle bell-like tones of her voice soothing the soul. "My father-in-law wasn''t a man I liked very much, so I never respected his rules. However, for the sake of my husband, I never revealed this to others.


    "When it comes to control and understanding of Heavenly Patterns, there is no one in the past or future that has or will surpass me.


    "This isn''t knowledge that I can pass onto you in such a short period of time, but I want to pass onto you a fundamental truth that I''ve come to understand over the years.


    "They say that Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns are the ultimate defense, Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns are the ultimate offense, and Fire Phoenix Heavenly Patterns are a jack of all trades. However, this couldn''t be further from the truth. These words are nothing more than the most superficial understanding of what these Heavenly Patterns represent.


    "Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns¡­"


    Merula''s aura shifted, and the radiant sun of golden Heavenly Patterns in her palm began to become corrupted. A flow of black energy was injected into it.


    The markers of Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns began to form. If Fire Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were like delicately shaped golden feathers, Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were swirling cyclones of darkness, forming countless sizes of circular patterns that seemed to want to swallow up everything.


    "¡­ aren''t an ultimate offense. They embody exactly what their originators did. Death, decay, destruction. At the highest order, they represent the end of all things, the final stop, the finality of Chaos¡­


    "¡­ Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns¡­"


    The corruption of black energies suddenly came to a grinding halt, clashing against a frosty blueness.


    While Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were swirling of dark cyclones and Fire Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were fluttering golden feathers, Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were boxy and sharp lines, traveling only directly up and down or left and right. Their organization was immaculate and it gave off the presence of an impenetrable wall.


    Blackness and blueness met, clashing on both sides and each vying for supremacy.


    "¡­ aren''t an ultimate defense. They embody everything opposing to that of death, decay and destruction. They fuel life and preserve Order.


    "However¡­"


    At that moment, the golden sun that had been being suffocated suddenly bloomed, growing an entire fold in size and causing spirals of darkness and shards of ice to shoot outward in all directions.


    "¡­ The Emperor Phoenixes Heavenly Patterns are beyond this. Ice Phoenixes are often mistaken to be much more powerful than they are because they are said to give life, but this is incorrect. As I''ve said, Ice Phoenix preserve life, they allow what already is to continue to be, they nurture what has already come into being.


    "However, Rebirth is beyond that. Rebirth gives form, gives structure. It sparks life. It is the bridge between Order and Chaos not only because it is a balance between the two, but because it can turn Order to Chaos and Chaos to Order as it pleases.


    "We Create!


    "This is what it means to be Reborn, this is what it means to be an Emperor Phoenix!"


    BANG!


    The sun exploded, countless motes of light spraying down in all directions as a cascade of beautiful scenery overwhelmed the senses.


    For a long time, Ryu couldn''t see properly. And, when his vision truly did clear, he found that his grandmother''s form had already faded, a single lingering sentence drifting through the air.


    "Little Ryu, I only want you to promise this Empress one thing¡­"


    Ryu looked up into the skies, his eyes glistening and his fists clenched.


    "I''ll kill every last one of them." He said coldly.


    Merula''s laughter spread through the skies. Even after the last bits of her aura vanished, it lingered, causing the grasses to sway and the waters to ripple.


    Ryu stood in silence for a very long time, the lingering touch of his grandmother''s palm still warming his cheek. His eyes closed once more, the gentle sway of nature embracing him as though his grandmother was still here.

 Chapter 857 Crown

    Ryu remained unmoving. Even without the Origin Flame, Ryu was certain that he would have remembered every single aspect of her final moments. He knew well that she had greatly shortened her time remaining by granting him such a display, it was all too valuable to put into words.


    When Ryu opened his eyes once more, he had greatly calmed.


    With a step, he sunk into the lake of gold, his body being washed with some of the purest energy he had ever felt.


    Soon, he sank all the way to the bottom, finding himself strolling amongst a host of treasures, each seemingly more fantastical than the last. Breathing didn''t even seem to be a problem in this ethereal sort of water that sometimes acted far more like air than it did liquid.


    The main choice in weapon for the Phoenixes were often whips and chains, mostly because being able to control fire into such forms was often considered to be the pinnacle of control and was often the marker that many young ones with Phoenix blood aspired toward.


    However, Ryu wasn''t well versed in these weapons and he had also recently received his Great Swordstaffs so he had no intention of taking them for use. Instead, much like everything else, he simply stored them away for future use before his gaze finally landed on exactly what it was that he wanted.


    The treasure couldn''t have looked simpler from the outside. It was a simple gold ring with a diameter of what seemed to be about ten inches. There were no patterns or runes on its body and its finish was absolutely smooth. In fact, in the midst of all of these golden waters, it almost had no presence whatsoever. Someone with lesser eyes could have easily missed it.


    But, the instant Ryu picked it up, red lines began to race across its body, intricate patterns and runes springing to life.


    With smooth motions, Ryu slid it onto his head, allowing it to snap into place on his forehead. In that moment, he felt alive and refreshed, his body pulsing with life and vitality.


    This simple adornment was known as the Rebirth Crown and was the most powerful Origin Grade treasure of the Fire Phoenix Clan.


    The Rebirth Crown was an existence near and dear to the hearts of Fire Phoenix Clan and during much of their reign, they were unfortunately not allowed to use it. This was because the Rebirth Crown was a treasure primarily designed for the soul, and with Ryu''s Indestructible Soul, it was akin to pairing a tiger with wings.


    The base function of the Rebirth Crown would allow Ryu''s soul to display strength a stage beyond its current level, transcending the Soul Birth Realm and entering the Soul Refinement Realm.


    When faced with the kind of enemies Ryu would soon be battling, this didn''t sound like a huge deal. However, when it was considered that Ryu was already capable of displaying strength dwarfing that of the Soul Birth Realm with his current soul, this would give him all the more strength.


    If Ryu was in the Soul Ascension Realm, then maybe it would be difficult for this treasure to give him such a boost. But since he was only at the Soul Birth Realm, his room to maneuver was much greater. This would also allow him to use the Zu Ancestor''s Visualization with much more ease. However, this was just the tip of the iceberg with it came to this crown.


    The true strength of the Rebirth Crown was found when paired with the Rebirth Flame.


    Its first ability was extending Elemental invulnerability from just the Fire Element to all Elements.


    It had to be remembered that the main ability of Ryu''s Rebirth Flame was its Emperorship over all flames. All flames at and below it in level would be rendered absolutely useless in the face of it.


    Ryu''s flames were currently at the Dominion Realm. This meant that all Ancestral Grade Flames at the Dominion level and below were rendered useless before him. This also meant that all Sovereign Grade Flames at a step above the Dominion Realm were also no more than a spring breeze to him. And, likewise, all Heaven Grade Flames at a step above that, the absolute highest Deity level, were rendered meaningless.


    This meant that there was no flame beneath the Sovereign Grade that could harm Ryu and only a Sovereign Grade Flame wielded to the level of a Sky God could even begin to cause damage to him.


    The Rebirth Crown now extended this to all Elements, making Fire reign supreme as it should.


    The second ability of the Rebirth Crown was designed to unlock a Talent of the Emperor Phoenix. By swallowing flames, one could heal themselves just as if they had awakened the Emperor Flame Talent. Although it wasn''t as potent as the true Emperor Flame Talent which could absorb all Elements to heal oneself, it still allowed one to do so with flames alone.


    For Ryu, who had yet to awaken the Emperor Flame Talent, this was perfect. Matching this with his Southern Heavenly Flame would give him both endless stamina, and a healing factor that was nigh unmatchable. Of course, that didn''t even mention his use of <Faith Reversal> as well. With these three, he would practically be untouchable.


    The third ability of the Rebirth Crown was Elemental Conversion, yet another talent of the Emperor Phoenix. This allowed Ryu to convert any Element into the Fire Elemental. However, this ability would only work so long as his soul continued to support the fourth ability.


    The fourth ability, Rebirth Domain, was the equivalent of a Minor Godhood and allowed a great many things. One was the conversion of all Elements into the Fire Element. The second was a deft control overe all fire qi, even ones not cast by you. The third was an enormous amplification of Heavenly Patterns and their application.


    The fifth and final ability of the Rebirth Crown was most definitely its most powerful. Upon destruction of the body, it can preserve the soul and reform one''s physical form, thus allowing a rebirth from the ashes, just like the Phoenixes of legend.


    The Nine Lives Talent of the Phoenixes was the most sought after and also the rarest. It was incredibly rare and even Emperor Phoenixes weren''t guaranteed a progression tree toward it. It was a Talent that transcended Blessed or Sinful, sitting above in a category all to its own.


    This made sense, after all. This was because the Nine Lives Talent wasn''t just a chance to cheat death, every rebirth increased both one''s strength and talent exponentially.


    The Rebirth Crown gave none of these benefits. In fact, the reconstructed body of the Rebirth Crown would only be able to sustain a certain power output for a small time before fatigue took over. In addition, this Rebirth could only be used once as well, unlike the Nine Lives Talent which gave you a minimum of three.


    Ryu didn''t usually like to rely on external treasures, even ignoring much of the treasures he still had from the Tatsuya family and the Ice Phoenix Clan. But now, he had no problem going all out.


    After putting everything away, Ryu rose out of the golden lake.


    He looked around the Shrine, still feeling a strong tug pulling at him. However, he could only shake his head.


    The claiming of a Shrine came with it a large phenomenon that couldn''t be hidden. If Ryu claimed this Rebirth Shrine now, the result of that would not only be him being found out, but it would ruin his chances at preparing what he had left in store for these Martial Gods.


    Beyond this, the power of a Shrine could only be used in its territory as far as Ryu knew. And, to gain benefits that extended outside of its territory, Ryu would need more time than he currently had on hand. Simply put, claiming this Shrine now might be great for his ego, but in every other conceivable metric, it would be a folly.


    Ryu''s Grandma Kunan''s words about the Death Shrine and the final chance it had given them intrigued him. It made Ryu feel a pull toward this Shrine that he seemed to have so much Faith with.


    If this trip ultimately amounted to nothing, that much was fine, he was already ready. But, in the small chance that it could elevate his odds further, he didn''t mind taking it.


    The reason Ryu had come here first wasn''t just because of the Rebirth Crown, but it was also because the Life Shrine, the Rebirth Shrine and Death Shrine were in generally close proximity to one another. Ryu didn''t have a teleportation pass to the Death Shrine like he did the Rebirth Shrine, he would have to make it to this one on foot.


    Luckily, he was confident in his ability to find it.


    As Ryu began his trek, stepping outside of the Rebirth Shrine and into the cold winds of the Shrine Plane, Sacrum''s upheaval and news of the coming battle seemed to spread like wildfire all while the young man it all circled about took steady steps forward, oblivious to it all.

 Chapter 858 Hall

    The hall was grand and managed to be one of the few places on the Shrine Plane that didn''t have harsh and cold winds to deal with. The walls were lined with what felt like enormous Greek statues of Gods, each depicting a different individual of grand standing in little to no clothing at all.


    Despite their nearly nude forms, whether it was male or female, each didn''t lose even a hint of their majestic aura. Just their depictions alone caused the atmosphere to become suffocating, explaining precisely why it was that this region managed to remain warm.


    It wasn''t because there was some formation set up, but it was rather because the presence of these statues alone and what their living counterparts once represented alone was able to block out everything.


    A single young man walked through this hall slowly, his steps steady and his expression unmoved by the oppressive might around him. It felt, from a certain perspective, that these walls lined with grandiose statues were all looking down at him. But, whether they were doing so to intimidate¡­ or in adoration, was difficult to tell.


    This young man had features that seemed almost too delicate to be found on a man. His frame was quite slight and his arms and legs were quite skinny. With his immaculate posture, he managed to just barely stand at six feet tall, but compared to many of his cultivating counterparts, this could be considered to be quite short.


    A deep boredom etched the forehead of this young man. It wasn''t obvious at first glance, being confused for indifference. However, upon looking closely, everything from the way he lazily shifted his gaze, to the way his chin somewhat drooped despite his almost perfect posture, even down to the slope of his brows painted the image of an individual that had decided that there was nothing of interest left in this place. Even the golden robes he wore seemed duller than they truly should be.


    Of course, it was also possible to believe that he got away with such a bored appearance because he was so frighteningly handsome. Everything about him was so picture perfect that it was difficult to believe that he had such a character flaw at all, so the brain made up all sorts of excuses for him instead.


    Maybe, though, of all those in Sacrum, he was one with the most right to act like this.


    He was none other than Dreame, Throne of the Martial Gods.


    BANG!


    Twin doors that stretched hundreds of meters tall slammed open under the touch of his palm, revealing a hall and a wall of noise. In one moment, the building had seemed completely silent. In the next, a cascade of noise capable of drowning out even a hurricane flourished like a tsunami. Even the banging of the doors couldn''t seem to stop the heated discussion. It was maybe only after Dreame was noticed that some paused. But, the vast majority continued as though nothing had happened, even after the doors slammed closed.


    Dreame yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth. He strolled through the center of the heated debate and took a seat at one of the numerous thrones at the head. In fact, he took his place at the very center of it all, his eyes half closing in sleep almost immediately.


    "Why is there a need for such discussion?! Don''t you all feel embarrassed having such a meeting for one man?"


    "Are you trying to say that our Ancestors are fools? Trillions of years of planning to thwart the birth of one baby boy and we somehow still failed. How do you think this is too much?!"


    "Are YOU trying to suggest that there''s actually a chance that something could come of this?!"


    "Why don''t you tell me how it is he survived?! Why is it that millions of years have passed but he still somehow remains 22 years old?!"


    "You really call yourselves Martial Gods? How pathetic can you get? This is obviously an opportunity bestowed upon us by our Ancestors. He hasn''t had time to finish growing yet, he is finished so long as he steps foot onto this Plane."


    "Our preparations are not enough! We need to¡ª!"


    "Stop! What you''re asking for is a ridiculous waste of resources!"


    "We''ve already invested so much into making certain that this world lands in our hands and at least half of that investment went into chaining that Spiritual Foundation! Are you trying to tell me that it isn''t worth it to invest more to ensure that all those years weren''t wasted?!"


    "This isn''t the only problem we have to deal with to begin with! One issue at a fucking time! Our resources need to be focused toward them!"


    "What about he killed a False Sky God with his bare hands don''t you understand?!"


    "Since when did a False Sky God of this world amount to anything?!"


    "Why are you bloviating like the achievements of our Ancestors are your achievements as well?! Compared to a true False Sky God, what the hell are you worth?!"


    "I''m at least better than what this world has to offer!"


    BANG!


    The doors viciously swung open once more. But, this time, the individual who walked in caused a hushed silence to almost immediately fall.


    She had an overbearing sort of beauty, dawning rose gold armor that hugged her chest, hips and thighs. A deep line of cleavage was visible for all to see as a v-shape curling into a heart that cupped her breasts took up the center design of her plate armor.


    A short sword hung to her hip and pink diamonds dotted her armor, each radiating with a power that shook the air around her and even matched her short, ruffled hair.


    Every step she took forward was heavy and overbearing, the floors beneath her feet cracking and splintering as though she couldn''t rein in her forcefulness.


    ''They''ve returned?''


    This particular pink-diamond haired beauty wasn''t the familiar Elena at all. Instead, she was a woman that Ryu hated to the very core of his being.


    Mistress Holy Wing had returned. And, not only had she regained her youth, she had broken through the World Sea Realm to become a Sky God.

 Chapter 859 Know Your Place

    It was quite odd for a woman like Mistress Holy Wing to command such an atmosphere, at least that is how Ryu would feel if he were here. But, to the rest of the Martial Gods, it only made sense. The status of the Holy Wing Clan amongst the traitors of Sacrum was completely unlike that of the other Clans. This wasn''t only because the Holy Wing Clan''s daughter was tied to that man, but because..


    The Holy Wing Clan couldn''t be classified as a Traitor to begin with.


    "Move." Mistress Holy Wing looked down upon Dreame who sat in the center position.


    Dreame lazily looked up, giving a slight smile before pushing himself up only to lazily recline in another chair. He didn''t seem to care about anything, even the disrespect he had just experienced rolled off his shoulders as though it had never happened. He was simply too lazy to do anything about it.


    Mistress Holy Wing sat in the throne and crossed her legs. She leaned onto one of the arm rests, her lean threatening to cause her ample breasts to fall out of the v-gap in her armor. However, by some magic power, they showed just enough to entice, but not enough to trigger a scandal¡­ Not that many here dared to look at all.


    After regaining her youth, as if it wasn''t obvious before, Mistress Holy Wing was truly a beauty amongst beauties, indeed worthy of being the grandmother of one Elena Tatsuya. And, something about her valiant air only made her all the more enticing.


    Her pink eyes scanned the room slowly, sweeping through them all one by one. But, as the time ticked by, her disdain only grew deeper and deeper.


    "I wasted billions of years of my prime, staying in a world I didn''t like, fucking men who were completely unworthy of me, and building the foundation for all of this¡­ And for what, exactly? Everywhere I look I see nothing but pitiful weaklings."


    Mistress Holy Wing locked eyes with the Martial God who spoke of investing more.


    "You want my son-in-law to come here to clean up your mess?"


    The Martial God in question froze before he managed to get himself to take several deep breaths.


    Of course, this ''son-in-law'' Mistress Holy Wing referred to was none other than Elena''s father, the very same one who had a child by Elena''s equally as mysterious mother.


    It had to be remembered that Mistress Holy Wing once raped Ryu''s Grandpa Kunan with the help of an aphrodisiac. The result of their union was the Matriarch of the Holy Wing Clan during Ryu''s first life. However, this woman was not Elena''s mother, or else both Ryu and Elena would be related by blood¡­ Something that wasn''t necessarily a big deal amongst cultivators who lived so long, but wasn''t a widely accepted practice outside of most circles regardless.


    This mysterious mother of Elena''s was another child of Mistress Holy Wing by another man, a man who was equally as unknown and mysterious.


    It could be said that the entirety of this family was shrouded in mystery. But, what was not a mystery was how much they all feared Elena''s father¡­


    "I¡ªI only meant that since our Ancestors have invested so much in this matter that we should do our best to make sure that everything is concluded properly. It is indeed overkill to ask for the help of His Holiness for what amounts to a junior, but I still believe that what we have no might be inadequate."


    When the man finished speaking, he sunk into silence and relaxed somewhat. He felt that he had articulated himself well and didn''t step on too many toes. But¡­


    BANG!


    Mistress Holy Wing snapped her fingers, causing the man''s head to implode. Those packed around him found themselves drenched in blood and gore. All that remained was the fluttering soul of the man, but he didn''t dare to move a single inch, what remained of his white soul shivering from head to toe.


    "It seems that all of you have forgotten. You really believe yourselves, in all your over inflated sense of self, to be real Martial Gods. But, maybe I can''t blame you all too much, we''ve allowed you to think that. Unfortunately, that seems to have made some of you value yourselves too much and some of you not know where your place is.


    "This so-called ''heavy investment'' you all keep bringing up is nothing but a single drop in the ocean. The so-called trillions of years you keep harping is not much different from a single second of time in the long stream of Existence.


    "To continuously use these metrics, metrics you clearly have no understanding of, to decide the aim and direction of a movement is the epitome of foolishness."


    Mistress Holy Wing swept her gaze over them all, her gaze frighteningly cold.


    "Let me make one thing clear to you all, you are not Martial Gods, you are the Martial Apostle Bloodlines of the Deity Race. The enemies you will soon face¡ªreal enemies, not this singular jumping clown of a little boy¡ªare nothing more than extended members of a group you''re lucky to call family.


    "Your duty is to do as you''re told and fall in line."


    The silence in the hall only seemed all the heavier. Many of them couldn''t quite wrap their heads around what was just said, and even those that could, couldn''t quite accept it.


    These enemies that they had been preparing for all this time¡­ We''re just members of their own Clan? So this ''war''¡­ It was an internal conflict?


    But for what purpose? And toward what ends?


    "You all are nothing but pawns, don''t overextend yourselves, or you''ll end up being crushed before you realize what has happened.


    "When that other little grandson-in-law of mine deems it fit to appear before me, you will do as you''re meant to do and kill him. If you cannot do even that, what is the use of you all?


    "Do your job properly and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and you''ll be eliminated. It''s that simple."

 Chapter 860 Greedy Little One

    Ryu walked through the Shrine Plane. Frost covered much of everything, but the chilling winds felt like nothing more than a refreshing breeze to him. Everything was comfortable and his expression gave nothing away.


    This was the very first time Ryu was truly walking through the Shrine Plane alone. He had always had at least Nuri by his side. And, though technically Nuri and Ailsa were with him now in the Incubator, in practice he was alone. Any danger and any situation that had to be faced would be done by him and him alone.


    It was quite surreal.


    The Shrine Plane was among the most dangerous regions in Sacrum and that didn''t even begin to describe the individual environments.


    Due to the many spatial barriers, most of the Shrine Plane was wilderness and uncivilized. Only small pockets were controlled by cultivators while much of everything else was under the jurisdiction of nature and its beasts.


    While the Ancestral Beasts had been gone for a very long time, the Shrine Plane had the highest concentration of Sovereign Grade beasts in the whole of Sacrum. And, some of these Sovereign Beast species had begun to evolve in a way that in the future, certain bloodlines might even begin to rival that of Ancestral Beasts.


    This was the way of the world. Bringing a Bloodline back to its former peak was very difficult. However, evolving a Bloodline into something entirely new and just as powerful over many generations was much easier. Well, easy wasn''t the appropriate term, but it had happened much more frequently than the reverse considering to the people of Sacrum, the reverse was impossible.


    Take Nemesis, for instance. He was an example of the Wrath Knight Bloodline regressing to the point of becoming a mere Black Grade Bloodline. However, in just a single generation, an odd mutation allowed him to skyrocket past his immediate Ancestors and become something that had the potential to step beyond.


    Of course, Nemesis wasn''t the best comparison, this was because he was actually relying on one of the strongest Talents of the Wrath Knight to begin with. However, it still painted the kind of picture Ryu was thinking of as he strolled through the thick trees.


    Ailsa seemed to have finally found a method of reverting a Bloodline back to its pinnacle, and Ryu had experienced it personally. It was thanks to this that he could now hear the wisdom of his Ancestors rushing through his veins.


    However, there was no doubting that this ultimately wasn''t the way of the world. Humans and Beasts wanted to do their best to preserve what it is they had, but the Heavens always wanted to evolve, to improve, to seek out what was better and new.


    Ryu didn''t know if this was intentional or if it was just the coincidence of nature. After all, not all improvements were better and it even seemed smarter to keep what you had once you had stumbled onto something powerful. But, maybe that was just him assigning his logic as a human onto the magnificence of Heaven.


    Ever since Ryu had comprehended his Dao and had begun his balance his hatred and appreciation, his awe of the Heavens only seemed to grow. But, it was also that that made him all the more confident in his Dao. He was certain that there would be no Dao that could surpass his own, none greater and none more grandiose.


    And yet¡­ According to those two men, his Dao was merely at the pinnacle of the Dominion Realms and still a hair''s breadth away from Hegemony. That meant that there were an entire three grades of Daos that trampled above his head.


    This matter might have discouraged someone else, but for Ryu¡­ It only fueled an insatiable desire. He really wanted to see and meet those Daos, to devour them and crush them beneath his feet. He wanted to see who was truly worthy of having Daos stronger than his own.


    Ryu''s steps suddenly came to a grinding halt.


    The crunch of snow beneath his feet slowly faded into a soft and subtle echo. A dense pack of trees hung around him and everything felt quite eerily silent. The air smelt fresh and there was even a hint of sweetness to it, almost like newly formed paper or parchment.


    There wasn''t anything wrong with the atmosphere, it was even quite beautiful. And yet, Ryu didn''t move.


    He slowly stretched out a finger and tapped at the air. Almost instantly, his finger was torn open, the wound even leaving a thin line on his body before he managed to rapidly retreat.


    Ryu''s placid expression curled into a smile. The line was so thin that even he almost missed it. Just a single more step and his skull would have been split in two. Even that touch had almost severed his finger entirely, if he hadn''t pulled back in time, he would have lost at least 20% the length of his pointer finger.


    To swordsmen, their fingers were greatly important, especially their pointer finger. Severing a swordsman''s arm wasn''t the only way to cripple them, taking a finger or two was more than enough.


    Ryu looked at his finger and its healing was almost agonizingly slow. The fact that it had cut his body despite its current level with such ease was one thing, but the fact that it could even slow his healing factor down to such an extreme was another shock unto itself.


    ''Interesting¡­''


    Ryu flicked a finger. In that moment, a light of sword qi whistled forward.


    CLANG!


    The sword qi reflected outward, suddenly beginning to bounce and rebound across the forest before going off in a flashbang of light. In the next instant it was suddenly strikingly obvious that Ryu stood in the midst of a forest of threads, each capable of slicing him apart with just the slightest of touches. And, it only seemed to be closing around him faster and faster.


    It seemed that he had fallen into a death trap, and yet his smile didn''t fade.


    "You''re quite greedy, little one. But, you''ll soon learn that you have to pay the consequences of your own actions. How about you come with me? If you survive this battle, I just might let you stay by my side?"


    In a shocking move, Ryu suddenly punched out.

 Chapter 861 Stirred

    Hours later, Ryu walked out of the forest with a little creature obediently sitting on his palm. His body was still covered in slowly faded thin marks, one of which was even across his brow, running down his forehead and almost taking one of his eyes. It was clear that he had had a number of close calls dealing with this little one and yet it was nothing more than half the size of his palm.


    The creature was a small butterfly. Compared to a mortal butterfly, it was easily twice as large as it should be. However, compared to what one would expect from an Eleventh Order Beast, it was far too small, so small, in fact, that Ryu was almost certain it had the Adept Body Sin Talent much like Nemesis did.


    However, this actually wasn''t the case.


    One way for a beast to maintain a small size as they rose through the Orders was to have the Adept Body Talent, but this wasn''t the only way. One had to remember that the reason beasts grew so large was because their bodies were too powerful to keep in a small form factor. However, not every beast had a powerful body.


    The second method of having a small body as a beast was to not have a powerful body at all. Despite being an Eleventh Order Beast, this little butterfly was as fragile as a Tenth or Ninth Order Beast. These kinds of beasts didn''t rely on the power of their bodies, but rather the strength of their talents. These talents often used special kinds of qis or effects, making these beasts like living, breathing techniques rather than living beasts.


    This little butterfly''s talent obviously revolved around the thin lines of silk it could so rapidly spin. Before Ryu had stepped foot into that forest, there had been nothing around him. And yet, in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded.


    That also went to show the second talent of this little butterfly was its speed. To be able to accomplish such a feat around Ryu, its speed definitely rivaled Sky Gods, if not being beyond.


    On top of that, it was a gorgeous little creature. It had four delicate crystalline wings which radiated with sky blue runic patterns. Its body itself glistened with sparkling motes of light as though it was constantly raining crystals around it as well. This was definitely one of the Heaven''s more beautiful creations.


    What was most shocking, though, was that this particular species wasn''t one that Ryu had ever heard of despite its power. It seemed infinitesimally close to an Ancestral Grade Bloodline, but it wasn''t quite there yet. It would probably have to pick good mating partners and hope for a great talent in two or three more generations before it could break through that barrier. But, it could just as easily fall to the wayside and never produce such a descendant.


    Creatures like this were highly intelligent, just as intelligent as humans, but the trouble was that their main focus was themselves. The little butterfly didn''t care about setting up future generations because it only wanted to find a method for it to improve personally, for it to cross that final barrier. While logically it could do as Ryu thought, it likely wouldn''t and this little butterfly would end up becoming the closest in its line to approach that penultimate height.


    The creature probably knew how high the odds were stacked against it, that was why it took the risk to attack Ryu despite feeling such danger coming from him. Swallowing and refining highly talented humans was a crude but effective method of breaking down barriers, maybe even more so than finding natural treasures or seeking enlightenment.


    The little butterfly had chosen to gamble, and unfortunately, it lost, unable to do anything about its fate.


    To this little one, Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Blood was probably like the intoxicating call of a drug. It had to have it, and wanted badly to have it. In fact, if Ryu was correct, maybe a reason it had even managed to reach this stage at all was due to the perpetual frost brought about by his mother''s seal. If that was the case, it was no wonder that it would be attracted by his blood.


    Ryu did, in fact, have a large selection of concentrated Ice Phoenix Blood he could give to this little one. But, he wasn''t in any rush to.


    As he had said, if this little butterfly survived the coming battle, then he would give it a chance. After all, he could just reward a beast that had tried to kill him just because. At best, this was just a slight convenience. The creature happened to be in his path so he took it along. He didn''t expect it to make any great impact on the coming battle. In fact, he was fully expectant that it would die.


    That was a fate Ryu had no intention of putting Little Rock, Nemesis or Little Gem through. So, this little one would just have to take the brunt of it.


    A while later, Ryu''s footsteps came to a halt one more time. This time, there was no lurking danger in the surroundings and everything seemed normal. But, it was most definitely far too normal.


    Ryu began to walk again, his steps becoming odd. All of the snow he stepped upon seemed to reform perfectly to his back and eventually, there was no change to them at all. He moved erratically and without pattern until suddenly¡­


    He vanished.


    When Ryu reappeared once more, he stood in a room shrouded by darkness. The caress of death touched his cheek, filling him with a kind of dread he was all too familiar with, the kind of dread that one could only experience once in a lifetime.


    However, in the face of this dread, Ryu smiled.


    "I have already faced death once, and I sniveled and cried like a baby. Such a thing won''t ever happen to me again, that I can promise you."


    WHOOOSH!


    A surge of wind whipped about before the call of a bird suddenly echoed for what felt like thousands of miles.


    In that moment, the white flame within Ryu stirred.

 Chapter 862 Deliberate.

    Ryu exhaled a breath, feeling the swaying flames within him.


    This white flame that went by a name even he could still not pronounce had always had a mind of its own. Regardless of what he did or tried, it never seemed to listen to him. But now, it suddenly had blossomed and gained a mind of its own.


    It wasn''t lost on Ryu that this white flame had saved his life once before. And, it also wasn''t lost on him that its fires were likely what made the Phoenix Sky God Spiritual Foundation so unique and amazing. But, if it didn''t want to listen to his commands, there was very little he could do about it.


    Thinking back through it all, this white flame was even the reason why his soul had gained a fully elemental form, laying the foundation he needed to improve it to the Indestructible Soul Realms. There were so many mysteries surrounding this flame, mysteries he hadn''t even begun to tap into just yet.


    No amount of knowledge seemed to have prepared him for it, either. He had never read about such a flame and he hadn''t heard any legends of white phoenixes either. It felt to him that this must have been a special Dao of the Phoenix Sky God, a creation formed through their journey that ultimately led to the formation of this unique flame that seemed to somehow rival even the Origin Flame.


    It was odd. The Origin Flame was meant to be the pinnacle of all flames, and yet even after taking a complete one as his own, the white flame still refused to listen to his commands. The only possible conclusion was that this white flame was either on the same level, or even beyond.


    Ryu opened his eyes once more and began to walk.


    The death shrine looked like dark catacombs. Stones and skulls of various sizes lined the walls, paths alternated between thin and narrow and opening up to reveal grand majestic halls, and a dense blackness pervaded it all.


    Ryu walked forward with confidence, his gaze seemingly able to see through everything.


    Unlike the previous Shrines he had been to, there weren''t any protectors of this one remaining, causing it to revert back to its original state. Or, rather, the state it had always been in.


    Without a Saint or Saintess, a Shrine was designed to protect itself and stop others from reaching its core. It required an extraordinarily skilled Ruin Master to slip by all of the tricks and make it to the center. This was something that would have been a worry for anyone else, but¡­ He was Ryu Tatsuya.


    Ryu had been able to do this with a much lesser version of his Heavenly Pupils. Now that it had reached the highest level possible, strolling through Ruins almost felt like doing the same through his own backyard, there was practically no difference.


    Ryu saw through mazes, sidestepped traps, and pick the right path time and time again. In just a few hours, he entered a grand hall, so grand, in fact, that he felt like a drop in the middle of a vast ocean.


    The floors were covered by an obsidian sort of marble, so shiny and polished that it felt like one was standing in the depths of space rather than solid ground. The walls were covered in elaborate designs of black, gold and crimson, depicting the scenes of epic battles and, namely, tragic deaths of heroes long past.


    Ryu moved forward slowly, crossing the grand hall before suddenly coming to a stop.


    The region before him didn''t seem any different, just the same vast, shiny blackness. But, it was then that Ryu pursed his lips and blew.


    A strong breath left his lips, shooting out in a line and hitting the ground ahead¡­ only for it to reveal itself to have never been ground to begin with.


    A wild ripple of water spread outward, the surface of the almost hidden lake separating into two.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Almost too quickly, the waters settled back down, providing themselves to be far too viscous to be real water.


    That blow of wind Ryu had just released was enough to split an ocean in two and even leave a deep gash down its bedrock. And yet, this black ''water'' had hardly moved. It was almost impossible to fathom just how dense and heavy it was.


    ''Blood.''


    Ryu was certain.


    What had tipped him off to the existence of this ''lake'' hadn''t been his eyes, but had rather been his senses. The vitality pumped within this blood was almost overwhelming. But, what was odd was that Ryu''s grandmother hadn''t mentioned it.


    ''It''s likely that they ended up in a different section of the Death Shrine all together, likely a false core¡­''


    Though Ryu had made it look easy, this was the most complex Ruin he had ever been in. It was easy for another to get fooled.


    Many Ruins had what were called False Cores. These False Cores were designed to look and even feel like the real Core, and would even have great treasures to partake in, however they would essentially be throwing off less skilled individuals from the true treasure.


    ''This is Dark Phoenix Essence Blood. But¡­ Why?''


    The other Shrines didn''t have Blood Essence in them when they were found. If they had, this would have been something Ryu was ready for. But that was obviously not the case.


    The Shrines and the Bloodlines that could make the best use of them were two separate entities entirely, neither tied to one another. The Ice Phoenixes, for example, happened to control the Life Shrine, but the Life Shrine didn''t birth Ice Phoenixes, Ice Phoenixes just happened to be the best candidates to make use of the Shrine. Same went for the Rebirth Shrine and the Fire Phoenixes.


    But now, this Death Shrine seemed to break all of these rules, and it felt¡­ Deliberate. Something that went beyond a coincidence and felt all too planned.


    Ryu took a step forward, suddenly falling into an abyss of blood.

 Chapter 863 Perfect Blackbody

    Ryu suddenly felt that his pores were being invaded from all sides, but he resolutely pushed it out and away, allowing his body to sink further and further down.


    His clothing was ripped to shreds and burnt to ashes, his skin beginning to glow a bright red.


    Ryu dove deeper and deeper, feeling that the blood around him was growing denser with each passing moment.


    It felt that hours had passed. Cutting through the heaviness was difficult and speeding things up took a lot of effort on his part. If it wasn''t for the heat searing his sweat away, Ryu would have been drenched in it, his body becoming heavier and heavier.


    And then, it all suddenly vanished.


    BANG!


    Ryu fell heavily, suddenly crossing a hundred meters of air to land on another marbled ground.


    When he looked up, he found a ceiling of viscous blood, of which not a single drop had followed him.


    ''The Shrine¡­''


    Ryu lowered his gaze, looking ahead to find the very Shrine that should have been the true center of this place. However, what he found upon it left him stunned to the point of being without words.


    A soul sat in meditation, shimmering with a dense blackness. It was unlike anything Ryu had ever seen before. A white soul was normal. A golden soul represented the pinnacle. But, what was a black soul, exactly? What was going on here?


    But that was hardly the most shocking part. That body, that expression, those lines and features¡­


    Was that¡­ Him?


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat. It was difficult to see the face of this person because its entire being was a dense blackness that blended into the surroundings all too well. On top of that, it seemed to swallow all light, not reflecting back anything for Ryu to see. It was a perfect Black Body without a doubt.


    This shocked Ryu greatly. A Perfect Black Body was a concept in the cultivation world that many sought after but none could touch upon. Even Ryu, with all his talent, was unable to replicate the feat.


    A Perfect Blackbody swallowed everything like a blackhole and released nothing back. It was the representation of perfect efficiency, the kind that couldn''t be matched.


    A theoretical Perfect Blackbody set of Meridians, for example, could absorb qi without any loss. As much qi as you swallowed was as much as it could take. Likewise, a Perfect Blackbody Bloodline was practically an endless abyss of Vital Qi, with one you could probably eat an endless amount of food and swallow the nutrition from it all.


    A Perfect Blackbody soul¡­ Well, it spoke for itself.


    If it wasn''t for Ryu''s special eyes, he would have seen nothing at all. It was only because he could see the flow of qi and an outline of a human absorbing it all that he saw that something was here at all. Anyone else, without his eyes, would find themselves looking at nothing more than empty space.


    ''Is it really me?''


    Ryu slowly walked forward, his hand reaching out. However, the instant he touched against the barrier of the soul, his body jolted and his heart stopped beating entirely.


    BANG!


    The Perfect Blackbody soul shot into Ryu''s brows, sending him flying. Before he could react, his body slammed into a wall of art. And maybe, just maybe by coincidence, his form seemed to slide perfectly into the depiction of a fallen hero.


    At that moment, the ceiling of blood surged, slamming against Ryu without giving him a chance to recover. His mind had already gone blank, but now it felt as though he couldn''t move a single inch even if he wanted to.


    The blood formed countless little drills, piercing into Ryu''s skin and down into his bone. If it wasn''t for the fact that it had also forced itself into Ryu''s mouth, he would have roared out in pain and agony.


    The white flame flickered and danced wildy.


    Within Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, the looming canopy of the Immortal Sakura, Divine Chaotic Annihilation, and the rest of Ryu''s Visualizations all seemed to cower. The only one that seemed to remain unmoved was the Silver Star Visualization, but even it seemed to pulse a brighter light, as though it was prepared to protect itself at any moment.


    The Perfect Blackbody soul shot forward like a beam of light, ramming into Ryu''s Indestructible Soul.


    If anyone had been able to witness this, they would have been shocked to an extreme¡­ That was because the supposed Indestructible Soul, an existence a mandate of the Heavens protected¡­ actually cracked and then shattered.


    The pieces of Ryu''s golden soul scattered before a violent pull of gravity with the Perfect Blackbody soul as the center suddenly caused them to whip back in the direction they came from.


    One after another, the pieces stuck to the Perfect Blackbody and sunk into it, vanishing into an endless darkness.


    The Perfect Blackbody began to glow with complex golden runes, but soon, even they vanished.


    Its head tilted upward, looking toward the construct of <Divine Chaotic Annihilation>.


    Flora''s Visualization trembled in fear, but it was already too late. A violent pull caused it to shoot forward.


    The Perfect Blackbody soul seemed to open its mouth, swallowing it whole. Its stomach bulged for just a moment before it returned to normal.


    By the time all of this finished, the white flame had slowly floated up Ryu''s golden Spiritual Sea. However¡­ What was a beautiful and gorgeous lake of white-gold was slowly becoming a sea of black. Soon, it was a perfect mirror image of the pool of blood outside, reflecting light and having a depth that was impossible to see through.


    The white flame rose up, shrinking again and again until it flickered just before the Perfect Blackbody soul''s forehead.


    The two seemed to resonate, pulsing in unison.


    At that moment, an ice-blue flame flickered to life, followed by a red-gold flame. And then, following a low rumble, a dense black flame formed.


    The three flames began to encircle the white flame, forming a delicate balance.


    Just like this, all four flames formed a resonance, becoming a crown for the Perfect Blackbody soul.

 Chapter 864 A Regression

    Ryu gasped, a violent cough suddenly coming from him.


    He wheezed and gagged, but nothing seemed to come out. It was only after several moments and his heart finally calming that he managed to regain his composure, still breathing heavily on all fours.


    In that moment, he had felt death again. He tried to fight back against it with all his might, but it didn''t allow him to do so. It only made it worse that his body had been drilled down with an unimaginable pain, as though it was being ripped to shreds and put back together only to be ripped to shreds again.


    Ryu''s eyes widened. ''What¡­?''


    The first thing he noticed was that his Body Realm had fallen completely out of the Blood Tempering Realm, returning to the pinnacle of the Vessel Tempering Realm.


    This wasn''t a small fall by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it was the equivalent of falling through four entire Realms!


    Ryu''s body had been the equivalent of the Cosmic Seed Realm before, but it had fallen down through the Dao Pedestal Realm, past the Path Extinction Realm, and returned back to the Immortal Ring Realm equivalent. What the hell was going on?!


    Ryu took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He wasn''t the type of person to panic. It was only because this time he truly felt that he had died that he was acting like this.


    He didn''t fear for himself, but he feared what would happen to his mother if he didn''t show up, what would happen to Ailsa and Yaana who were both within his Inner World right this moment, and how would Elena feel without him?


    He had too many promises to fulfill, too many things he had to do. Even setting aside his dreams, he had people he couldn''t¡­ people he absolutely refused to let down.


    When Ryu opened his eyes up again, he had calmed once more.


    He pulled himself up, crossing his legs and sitting in meditation. When he did so, what he found was even more difficult to understand.


    Despite the fact his Body Realm had fallen so far, his body actually hadn''t gotten any weaker. In fact, it had gotten even stronger, something that he could wrap his head around.


    But then, Ryu suddenly remembered something very important.


    ''When I fought those two of the Hidden Blade Sect, the both of them were just in the Path Extinction Realm, and yet they could read and react to my attacks. Just by virtue of the fact my body was the equivalent of the Cosmic Seed Realm, they shouldn''t have been able to do such a thing at all unless their bodies, too, were just as powerful.


    ''The only explanation, then¡­ Is that my body was never as powerful as I thought it to be? If that''s the case, then the problem here shouldn''t be lack of talent, it''s most definitely cultivation method.''


    Ryu was certain. The gap could only be explained in that way. Compared to those two, his Bloodlines were leagues beyond. There was no way that their Body Realm cultivation talent was beyond his own. The only possible disparity, then, was cultivation method.


    Ryu couldn''t help but notice while looking through their spatial rings that there wasn''t a single cultivation method within.


    Cross referencing with Sarriel''s information, cultivation techniques were highly protected commodities in the true Martial World. Just to lay you hands on one, you had to not only join a Clan or Sect, you had to swear loyalty to them and then you had to prove your worth.


    Of course, it was possible to become a Throne as well, but the situation of Thrones in the True Martial World was a lot different. Because these Clans and Sects could balance their Karma, they had far less qualms about killing off a Throne that was taking too much from them.


    This realization made Ryu realize just how na?ve he had been to think of becoming a Throne of the Martial Gods. They might have fallen in line for a small time to keep up the fa?ade that they were one with this world, but as soon as they got the chance, they wouldn''t hesitate to stab him in the back and snatch away his talent.


    As Ryu had learned before, being a rogue cultivator in the True Martial World was a sort of taboo. Well, not so much a taboo as it was greatly looked down upon. Legacy was everything in the True Martial World, so while a Throne was highly respected in Sacrum, at the center of Existence, they were seen as annoyances.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that Thrones weren''t powerful in the True Martial World. If anything, they were several times more powerful than anything that could be found in Sacrum simply by virtue of the kind of pressure they experienced from all sides.


    If you were a Throne in the True Martial World, then it meant that you were almost too confident in your abilities or you were one of the few remaining members of a Clan or Sect that had been recently destroyed. Either way, since you had survived to this point, you were powerful.


    This aside, the gap was suddenly all too obvious to Ryu. Even a Connecting Heaven Realm expert of Sacrum wasn''t enough to deal with Working Disciples in the Path Extinction Realm.


    But that still left more questions than answers. Why was it that he had regressed? Was it because of all that new blood that had shot into his body?


    Theoretically it made sense. Ryu had entered the Blood Tempering Realm and had suddenly gained all this new blood, it would make sense that he reverted back to a non-tempered state. But, even then, it shouldn''t have been like this, especially with how powerful the vitality of that black blood had been. If anything, it had felt far more tempered than even Ryu''s had¡­


    ''Blood¡­?''


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    His Bloodlines¡­ Why could he only feel three of them?

 Chapter 865 He Couldnt

    This was an even greater shock than his regression had been. Even back when he was a cripple, he could always vividly feel all four Bloodlines. Now it felt as though one of his limbs had suddenly been chopped off.


    Little did Ryu know that this wouldn''t be his only shock in just as many seconds. Somehow, he could only feel his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines. Both of his Phoenix Bloodlines were nowhere to be found.


    Ryu was left at an absolute loss for words. What the hell had happened to his body? Had that black blood expunged two of his Bloodlines to replace them? But hadn''t that Blood just been Dark Phoenix Blood Essence? How the hell could a Dark Phoenix trump an Emperor Phoenix Bloodline?! It didn''t make any sense!


    ''This¡­''


    Ryu''s brows tightened into a frown, suddenly realizing that the memories of his Phoenix Bloodlines were very much still there. But, he couldn''t quite understand how that could be possible if he didn''t feel them individually.


    One by one, Ryu went through his abilities. He tried using his Heavenly Phoenix Patterns, and they all seemed to work fine, even to the point they even felt several times more powerful now than they had in the past. A small part of that was because of his grandmother''s lesson, but Ryu knew well enough that he hadn''t reflected on the truth of her words enough to show this level of improvement.


    He went on to test his Talents and he found that his Rebirth Flame and Ice Flame were both still able to be controlled by him without the slightest issue.


    ''What is going on? Huh?''


    Ryu''s eyes furrowed before a flame of dense black suddenly erupted from his hand.


    He sat in silence for a very long while, staring at it and not quite knowing what to say. This flame, he was absolutely certain that it was the Dark Flame of the Dark Phoenixes. But¡­ how did he suddenly have control over it? Could it really be the Dark Phoenix Blood Essence?


    It had to be understood that though Ryu could use Dark Heavenly Patterns, that was a product of the control his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline gave him over the laws of all three Phoenix branches. This was the same reason why his grandmother could use both Dark and Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns. However, this control didn''t give Ryu access to the Dark Phoenix Bloodline.


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly widened, his other palm opening up to reveal a dense white flame that looked far more like fluffy cotton than a raging fire.


    The white flame¡­ it actually began to listen to his commands?


    One confusing matter after another seemed to be piling up on him. What exactly had happened to him? This felt like something he could only ask Ailsa about, but his wife wasn''t an all knowing being. Ryu knew that even if he asked her, there was almost no chance that she would understand either.


    Ryu''s balled up a fist and released it. The white flames acted like a fine mist for a moment, squeezing through his fingers. It didn''t act like a normal flame at all.


    p1ease visi(t) n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    ''What use do you have¡­?''


    Ryu had thought with how finicky this flame had always been, when he finally gained control of it, his abilities would skyrocket. But, he had never expected the result to actually be so lackluster. It felt like this flame was harmless. He couldn''t use it for offense, defense, it didn''t even seem to have an auxiliary ability.


    The only difference Ryu could spot was that this flame was neither hot nor cold, a lot like his Rebirth Flame or Origin Flame. In addition, it seemed to have a stricter form. Although it felt cotton like, that just went to show that it had a more rigid form than more flames did, even though the Origin Flame wasn''t nearly as structured.


    If Ryu wanted to give a flame rigidity, he would need to use his Heavenly Patterns. But, in doing so, the flame would lose any sort of flexibility it had once had. It was completely unlike this white flame which seemed to have the best of both worlds.


    Then there was the Dark Flame. Or was it the Death Flame? It felt like it could rival Ryu''s Rage Flame in heat, at least when Ryu was in a calm state like this. But, it also had an extra kick to it, something that went beyond just heat and scorching things.


    It felt like death and decay would, like a ball of chaos ready to ruin the structural integrity of anything it touched.


    However, for now, whether it was the Death Flame or the white flame, both were just in their infancy stages. Ryu hadn''t even begun to comprehend either one of them, so it was no wonder he couldn''t bring out any of their real strengths.


    It likely wouldn''t take Ryu much effort to begin comprehending, but he didn''t have enough time to make either one useful.


    Ryu knew that the largest change was likely to his soul. But, at this point, when he couldn''t even begin to understand the simpler of his changes, he had no hope in understanding this more complex change.


    How was a piece of his soul here? Who put it here? Why did it seem to be waiting for him? What did having a Blackbody soul really mean? He really had no idea.


    However, Ryu knew that this wasn''t good. He had spent months with Ailsa, just coming to an understanding about the limits of his abilities and where his strengths lay. But now it felt like everything had been turned on its head and he was once again a stranger in his own body.


    With the battle of a lift time on the horizon, this was the worst situation for him to be in. He would almost rather trade back down to his weaker self purely so that he could have a greater grasp of his strength.


    There were only two days left¡­


    If he entered one of his time dilation Immortal Abodes, he could stretch that time to years if need be, but it would require blowing through a huge reserve of his Cosmic Qi Stones.


    Ryu shook his head, it didn''t matter. He could make his own Qi Stones now. But as things were, he couldn''t enter a battle like this.


    He wouldn''t be able to comprehend Inheritances or strengthen his Dao in this time dilation, but he would hopefully be able to understand just what changes had occurred to his soul¡­

 Chapter 866 Enemies Of All Levels

    The center of the Shrine Plane had always been where a gathering a monsters and monstresses came together. For a very long time, it was the pinnacle of all that was.


    But, in recent years, it had become quite empty, not due to the choices of the majority, but rather as a result of a seal that had claimed its lands for itself.


    The sight of the seal itself was grand beyond compare. As though the wings of an Ice Phoenix had enveloped everything, a beautiful crystalline structure stretched over hundreds of thousands of miles, and yet still managed to maintain every intricate detail. From its individual feathers, to its proud neck, down the woman with beauty beyond words that sat in silent meditation within its forehead.


    They say that a painting could capture a thousand words in just a few strokes, but the visage of this gallant heroine seemed to speak many more. The staunch pride, the slight smile, the selfless fortitude¡­ It spoke to the heart and pierced into the soul.


    This was the picture the seal brought about. If everything else was ignored, it was the most beautiful scene in maybe all of existence, the kind that one would never forget in a lifetime. However, things were never allowed to be so simple.


    All around this seal currently, individuals with no intention of admiring its grace and elegance could be found. Many weren''t even present with ill-intentions, simply here to witness a matter that would most definitely be written into the annals of history.


    Of course, whether or not the truth would be written was a different matter entirely. However, there was something to be said for being able to witness it with your own eyes. Even if you couldn''t speak of what had truly happened, that sort of knowledge was power.


    Around the base of the seal, youths that were far too eager stood. Not many thought that it would be necessary for more than them to step forward. The idea that a youth of not eve 30 years of age would be able to fight Sky Gods was asinine. They were already placing bets on just who it was that would claim his head.


    Many of the Sky Gods of the Martial Gods weren''t even here, they were still fighting a war against the Ancestral Beasts on the Blossom Plane. The fact that Mistress Holy Wing was here at all was seen as a ridiculous amount of overkill by most everyone else.


    Even with this being the case, though, Ryu had still managed to gain himself enemies from all walks of life.


    At the lowest levels, there was the likes of Fidroha, an Immortal Ring Apostle who Ryu couldn''t even bother to lift a hand to kill.


    A step above, there were hordes of Isemeine suitors, each believing themselves to be more worthy than the scion of a long dead Clan. They littered the Path Extinction and lower Dao Pedestal Realms.


    A step above that, there were the enraged individuals of the Hastam Clan, Ramir. By his side, a familiar shadowy figure and a certain monk of the Temporal Buddha Sect also stood, the latter wearing what seemed to be a sincere smile filled with pity upon his face.


    And yet, it only seemed to continue.


    A step past that and there were the World Sea Realm and humiliated members of the ceremony. Some had lost their children and some were like King Adonis, wanting nothing more than to see Ryu fall.


    A step beyond that, there was Demigod Lioche. A true Demigod, he stood amidst many of his peers, some beyond him in strength, and many more below him. The resonating power of a newly founded World Sea Realm expert pulsed about him, his gaze locked forward into seemingly empty space as the snow continued to fall.


    As though this wasn''t enough, the line up of Elena''s suitors followed this. Those with more class had long since pulled away. There was a difference between pursuing a woman who was a widow and a woman whose first husband was very much still alive.


    However, that still left the most shameless of them, Aalot, the Human Beast True Sky God. He was a man who didn''t care for etiquette and what it entailed. All he knew was that he wanted Elena in his bed, and that was enough for him. He would see Ryu''s death through on this day.


    Then there were Sky Gods whose pure hatred for Ryu went beyond just the pursuit of a woman¡­


    True Sky God Jan Arcus. Supreme Black Smith Arcus.


    Both had reasons to hate Ryu down to their bones, the latter''s inaction having caused their Arcus Clan to a devastating degree.


    However, there was an individual here that maybe Ryu wouldn''t even expect to find.


    An old man, hunched and grey, his shoulders graced by a thick bear pelt, the head of which rested upon his own line a crown. He leaned on a long staff with a bulbous head and the scent of death permeated around him.


    This old man was none other than Head of the Armored Beast Branch of the Necromancer Guild, the very man that had procured the Bear God corpse in Ryu''s possession and the very grandfather of the man Ryu had killed to save Yaana.


    And he was not alone. Several other Sky Gods of the Necromancer Guild had stepped forward, each with a gripe of their own, very much likely related to the number of youths Ryu had killed during the Martial God''s trial¡­ Many of which had been their young geniuses.


    None of this number even began to touch the number of so-called ''neutral'' spectators, and it most definitely didn''t touch upon the number of Martial God powerhouses watching in silence, or¡­


    The now young woman who had placed a throne upon Ryu''s mother''s head, sitting up above everyone and looking down with an indifferent expression on her face..


    Who else would this be if not Mistress Holy Wing?


    If Ryu was smart, he definitely wouldn''t appear. If he was smart, he would escape to the True Martial World, change his appearance, and use his talent to join the best Sect he could, riding their resources until he became unmatched in this world before he appeared once more as Ryu Tatsuya.


    p1ease visi(t) n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    However, those that knew him knew that this would never happen.


    That was why when a man wearing beaten and ragged cloth appeared on the horizon, his face obscured by a mess of white hair and his bare feet causing the snow to grind and crunch, only those who hadn''t heard of his arrogance were shocked.


    After today, though, there wouldn''t be a single soul in Sacrum who didn''t know the weight of the name Ryu Tatsuya.


    At that moment, like a fluttering butterfly, wreath in gorgeous wings of golden peak, a gorgeous woman with beauty beyond words descended from the skies, landing before this beaten and ragged man.


    Ryu looked to have spent the last year sleeping on the streets, the cold winds blowing to the point the torn holes in his clothing were visible for all to see. However, every single time they blew just enough to reveal his skin, a wall of rippling muscle would appear in the sights of all, pulsing with blood and vitality.


    The beauty landed, looking toward Ryu with a complicated expression.


    "Hubby¡­ Let me take you away. Please."

 Chapter 867 Even Me

    Elena''s words weren''t very loud, and there were howling cold winds all around, but who here wasn''t an expert? Hearing what she said was all too easy for them, especially since she made no attempt to hide her tone.


    It was clear that she had quite some confidence. As for where it came from, maybe only Mistress Holy Wing who narrowed her eyes almost as soon as she appeared, knew aside from Elena herself.


    Many frowned, especially those who claimed themselves to be the enemies of Ryu. It felt like watching food being snatched right out of their mouths.


    Ryu rose his head, his gaze meeting Elena''s.


    At that moment, being looked down upon by Ryu, Elena felt her heart almost leave her chest. There was such a dense oppression and rage within, the kind he seemed to have been curating for countless millennia. Each strand of darkness seemed to have been refined to an extreme.


    However, as soon as that image flashed by was seemingly as soon as it vanished. Ryu''s bright silver eyes returned and his lips curled into a smile, the kind of intoxicating smile that was all too impossible to replicate.


    "You look very beautiful today, Elena, as always. I don''t think I ever told you that enough, I''m sorry for being such a bad husband."


    Elena truly did look beautiful, very much like a goddess descended from the skies. Her skin seemed to radiate its own healthy glow, causing the snow around her to shine with a faint pink sheen. She really didn''t seem like a living being at all.


    For a moment, Elena didn''t know how to respond. Ryu''s words weren''t exactly true. Even at his coldest, he would still compliment and indulge her, just because he had been cold, didn''t mean he couldn''t show his love. If he was unable to, his relationship with his parents and grandparents wouldn''t have been nearly as close.


    "I¡­" Elena felt somewhat flustered.


    For those who knew the recently crowned Queen, this was the sort of reaction they had never expected. None of them knew the real Elena, none of them had ever witnessed the lifelong prankster and jokester.


    Ryu could tell that his wife had become far more jaded in his absence, and he rightfully blamed himself. He had managed to regain his lost self after all this time, but in doing so, he had cost his wife hers.


    Elena''s words froze when she felt a hand caress her cheek.


    Ryu''s smile only seemed more radiant. His warmth seemed to envelop her in the cold, his presence blocking out everything. For a moment, there was only the two of them.


    "I''ve only ever really thought about myself," Ryu said lightly. "In my first life, I was selfish. And in this life, I''ve also been selfish. I''ve never really thought about your feelings or your wants. I always ask you to give, but I can never seem to give you back what you''ve lost.


    "I''ve taken love from you. I''ve taken patience from you. I''ve taken even your time from you, robbing you of your youth.


    "I cannot understand what made me the man who you wanted to marry, the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.


    "You probably wanted a simple life, a simple man, a simple existence beyond the peaks and valleys of the martial world. But I have never been that for you.


    "When I lacked power, I was an anchor and a pit of darkness in what was otherwise your brightness.


    "When I finally gained it, my goals reached beyond the peace you wanted. I crave for battle, for war, for blood. I''m a stupid man who can''t enjoy the simplicities of life and retire with a smile on my face.


    "That much isn''t fair to you. I can understand if you hate me¡­ All I can promise is that when I reach that mountaintop, I''ll obediently return to your side."


    Elena''s tears soaked Ryu''s palms.


    She knew it was na?ve of her. There was only so much running she could do. Even if Ryu agreed to stay by her side until the very end, she knew the time would come where their weakness would cost them their happy life¡­ It had already cost them once before.


    Even if Ryu hadn''t killed himself that night to seek power, the death of the Tatsuya Clan was coming, and that wasn''t something she could control.


    Ryu had ever right to call her a fool, a useless idiot, a stupid woman who couldn''t see the obvious truth right in front of her. There was no such thing as peace in the martial world, not unless you were the weakest of the weak. But, even then, your life could be overturned by the whims of the next powerful brute you came across.


    And yet, Ryu hadn''t called her any of these names. Those kind eyes looked down at her with all the doting and affection in the world, the very same kind of affection that had been completely absent in her life during that last nearly billion years.


    Ryu''s smile spread into a grin and eventually evolved into laughter. His head tilted up into the skies, causing the Shrine Plane to quake as his chest rumbled.


    "You are my, Ryu Tatsuya''s, woman. You are allowed to be as willful, unforgiving, and unreasonable as you want. No one will dare say a single word, even me. Those that dare to have an opinion can taste my blade."


    p1ease visi(t) n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    Ryu wiped Elena''s tears with his thumb, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.


    He took a step past Elena, his boisterous laughter seeming to cause the hearts of those that had taken it upon themselves to grace the front line to stop entirely.


    "Watch well, Elena." Ryu''s voice boomed. "The me of the past has long since died. This husband of yours will become a man whose knees won''t buckle beneath even the greatest of pressures, whose gaze won''t falter in the face of the greatest of dangers, whose heart won''t waver in the face of the worst of odds."


    Ryu''s laughter vanished, a pillar of darkness rising from him and piercing into the skies.


    His hands reached out, causing two fearful youths'' faces to shoot into his palms. With a squeeze of his fingers, their skulls shattered, their blood dripping to the ground.


    "MARTIAL GODS!"


    Ryu''s voice caused the clouds above to split, arcs of blue lightning crashing down with fury and a tempestuous hell.


    "I HAVE COME FOR YOUR HEADS!"

 Chapter 868 One By One By One

    Ryu''s furious howl seemed to resonate with the Heavens themselves, his actions fueled by a will that made the clouds crack with thunder and the air split with lightning.


    The moment his words fell, he wasted not a single moment. His blood thirstiness pierced through the souls of those before him, his slow gait becoming the rhythm their hearts chose to beat at.


    His pace couldn''t be wavered for the likes of those before him. He moved as he pleased, acted as he wanted, his every step being just as unfettered as the last.


    One youth after another fell to his hands, their cheery excitement from earlier vanishing into thin air. Screams of horror and pain should have followed, but many didn''t even get the chance to do even that. Each fell to a single blow, their weakness being on full display.


    All of them were far beyond Ryu in age, many even beyond him in cultivation, and yet it didn''t seem to matter in the slightest. The strongest of this generation, the man who stood above them all, was all too clear to see.


    It didn''t matter how many hardships they had survived on the Blossom Plane, how confident they had become in their strengths after several series of victories, how boisterous they had been in the face of the illusion of Ryu Tatsuya.


    Wasn''t he a fool? The mere scion of a long since fallen Clan? The last dregs of a legacy that had already been wiped from all that was and all that mattered?


    It didn''t seem so.


    Fidroha, who was here by nothing more than obligation, shivered in fear, not having moved a single step since Ryu''s appearance.


    A youth flew out from her side, their chest being impaled by Ryu''s arm.


    Ryu couldn''t even bother to shake them off, squeezing his fist and flexing his forearm just a single time and causing the youth to explode from the inside out.


    She fell to her knees, color draining from her face and a stain of yellow coloring her pants once again. She passed out directly, hoping for the embrace of a painless death as she fell to the wayside.


    However, from beginning to end, Ryu never spared her a single glance.


    Blood seemed to glide off his body as though he was protected by the sheen of the Heavens. He made no attempt to side step, no attempt to deflect, and yet it slid down his skin and hair, dripping to the ground and leaving him without the slightest blemish.


    The first line of so-called enemies fell before anyone could even react. A line of promising geniuses, future Kings and Queens, eventual pillars of Sacrum, were all eradicated as though they were nothing more than the weeds of a garden, plucked and unceremoniously destroyed.


    A sigh rang out.


    From line of ranked youths, a familiar youth stepped forward, the very same awkward yet ingratiating smile resting on his lips.


    This person was none other than Tybalt, the very same odd youth man who had followed Arteur, the Scarlet Sparrow Clan member who had fought Ryu the first time he stepped foot onto the Shrine Plane.


    It was odd for him to be here, to stand out like this. But, Ryu''s eyes were no longer the same as they were when he first met Tybalt. This time, when he looked at the young man, he found that there was an enigmatic air around him, an enigmatic air that he was all too familiar with.


    In order to become an Origin Grade Ruin Master, Ryu had to, of course, pass several tests. Those tests were administrated by what was likely the most mysterious organization of Sacrum. The profession of Ruin Master was highly gatekept, not just anyone could step into it just because they wanted to.


    This organization was nameless, and their mark on history was also seemingly negligible. They were only loosely known as the Ruin Master Guild. However, Ryu was Ryu. He had noticed something about the top ranking members that many others didn''t¡­


    They all had the same Bloodline. A Bloodline that this young man, Tybalt, seemed to share.


    However, Tybalt''s appearance wasn''t nearly enough to sway Ryu. In fact, he might as well have not appeared at all because Ryu continued his rampage as though he wasn''t there at all.


    It was then, though, that Tybalt appeared before him, his palm meeting Ryu''s bloodied fist.


    He was pushed back half a dozen meters, but he managed to stop before the snow behind him piled up too much.


    Tybalt had only been in the Dao Pedestal Realm when Ryu had met him. But now he was in the Connecting Heaven Realm and somehow managed to take a strike from Ryu while only sliding back a few paces.


    And yet, Ryu pretended as though he hadn''t noticed a single thing, his palm reaching out and causing another one of Isemeine''s suitors to fly toward him.


    His hand formed a claw, drilling five holes into their face without suspense. In the next instant, they imploded, their bits and pieces raining toward Tybalt and the surroundings.


    Tybalt''s expression changed. He hadn''t expected Ryu to so blatantly ignore him.


    Disregard. Contempt. Disdain.


    Tybalt wasn''t the kind of man who was quick to rage, and he was even usually quite easy going. But, he couldn''t help but be irritated.


    Ryu''s body flashed by him as though he was completely worthless, not even looking in his direction.


    What he didn''t know was that Ryu had every intention of killing every single last soul here. He wouldn''t allow even a single one go. Whether Tybalt died now or later didn''t matter. The fact he had chosen to stand in his path was already enough.


    BANG!


    The blade of a spear heavily fell before Ryu, but he dodged it as though he had long since already seen it coming.


    His figure flickered, only to reappear atop the spear.


    The tips of his toes tapped forward, touching upon the polearm of the spear with what felt like the most delicate of touches. And yet, it almost instantly froze before erupting into black flames that shattered it into pieces.


    Ramir of the Hastam Clan, who had just tried to sneak attack Ryu, suddenly found himself holding nothing more than the butt of a spear.


    "You''re weak. You should have never appeared before me."


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist collided with the latter''s chest.


    Ramir flew out like a speeding bullet, crashing into a wave of youths that all burst into a rain of blood.


    Just when it seemed that he would land heavily on the ground, his expression changed, his body suddenly shattering into the air, his soul becoming nothing more but whisps of light dancing in the cold wind.


    The first Cosmic Seed Realm expert had fallen¡­. All too easily. And it seemed to awaken everyone to reality that this battle¡­ wouldn''t be as easy as logic seemed to make it out to be.


    "I''ve long since been sick of your face, too."


    Ryu''s figure flickered, appearing before the monk of the Temporal Buddha Sect.


    "I will withdraw¡ª!"


    "I won''t be accepting any withdrawals. Everyone who dares to stand tall here, everyone who dares to blaspheme my mother, my Tatsuya Clan, me¡­ Will die.


    "You had better all fight for your lives, fight as though this is your last day of breathing, it''s the only chance you''ll have to not have the remains of your flesh dripping down from the soles of my feet!"


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist flew through the monk''s skull, his speed so fast that the latter didn''t even fly back. His body quaked and trembled, his hands reached up to lightly grab Ryu''s forearm with what small bit of remaining strength he had. But, before he could even get a good grip, his body went limp, his arms falling.


    Ryu''s words seemed to resonate through them all.


    Brazen. Arrogant. Overconfident.


    There were many people who might have thought of retreating, feeling that risking themselves as canon fodder wasn''t worth it. The upper echelon of the Martial Gods weren''t even moving, why should they continue to risk themselves like this?


    But, Ryu''s words seemed to force their hand.


    Human nature was a disgusting thing, often. It was they who involved themselves in a matter that had nothing to do with them, but they still felt that Ryu should be grateful that they had wanted to withdraw. Now, they felt they were right to be enraged that he was being so arrogant.


    What their thoughts were, though, Ryu simply didn''t care.


    The more enraged they were, the better. The more fury they had in their limbs and in their weapons, the better. The more eager they were to take his head, the better.


    He didn''t want a single one of them to escape. He wanted them to forget fear, to charge forward with a naked abandon, to step up to be felled by him one by one by one!

 Chapter 869 Who Are You All?

    "Urghat!"


    A monk roared out from a long ways away, the blazing aura of several Sky Gods and World Sea Realm experts blazing.


    Ryu laughed into the skies, the blood falling around him seeming to sparkle.


    Those voices of despair, that rage and hatred in their voices, that fury. He loved it. He could feel it seeping in from all sides, the sort of unbridled, maleficent carnage and demonic will aimed right toward him. It fueled him, it made his blood rage, his heart beating like a rumbling earthquake.


    Where were these emotions of theirs when his Tatsuya Clan was being slaughtered? When his grandfather''s Kunan Clan was being uprooted? When the places his grandmothers had called home all their lives were being razed to the ground?


    They were angry? Good. Feel more of it, experience just a fraction of that hatred and despair, that carnal sin of fury.


    A raging black-red flames erupted from Ryu''s battle as he roared with laughter. The blood, corpses and even some unfortunate living beings around him all burnt to ash, mixing in with the heavily falling snow and turning a land of white into one of grey and darkness.


    His flame had evolved to a level it had never touched upon before. Not only did it seem to feed off his own rage, but it took in the rage of those around him, growing hotter and hotter, more furious and more unforgiving.


    Ryu''s Dragon Soul erupted, unable to be contained by him any longer. A coat of illusory crimson scales covered him from head to toe, his upper garments ripping apart to reveal a torso so ripped that it was possible to see every bead of sweat Ryu had put into it, every swing of his sword, every endless night of relentless training.


    He would ruin everything in his path, slaughter every last bastard that deemed to believe him and his family to be ready and waiting for them on the chopping block.


    At that moment, the Demigods could no longer remain unmoving. Ryu''s onslaught had seemingly already killed everything beneath the Cosmic Seed Realms, his aura alone overwhelming them to the point they could only crumble and die.


    That day, he had shown a different side of the Path Extinction Realm. It had suddenly become a meaningless Realm, one without bounds and limitations. Or rather¡­ It felt that anything that touched Ryu''s palms would become like so.


    Demigod Lioche landed like a mountain before Ryu, standing amidst the flames as his Metal Soul Nature flourished, blocking everything and deflecting it. However, even after just a few seconds, his silvery armor had gained a pinkish hue, the heat making him sweat.


    Still, Lioche''s fury was beyond just this. The rage Ryu felt, he too felt. His woman had been snatched from him far too early, even her body''s fate remaining unknown to him. He had already run away once before, causing a shadow to be cast over his heart. This time, he wouldn''t rest until the point he could rip Ryu limb from limb.


    Even before he had finished resolving himself, Ryu''s fist had already appeared before him.


    He rose his shield to block, his feet digging into the tough ground.


    Much of the snow had been melted by Ryu''s rampage, leaving what should have been easier land to anchor upon. However, Ryu seemed to have forgotten about everything, rage consuming him and his pupils slitting vertically.


    BANG!


    Lioche stumbled backward, his eyes widening. But before he could recover, Ryu had already attacked again, then again.


    Ryu''s body moved about as though he was a raging beast rather than a human. He flickered and vanished, appearing again and again while attacking in anyway he deemed fit.


    Fists. Legs. Elbows. Even his illusory tail viciously whipped at Lioche.


    Under the astonished gazes of all those around, a Demigod World Sea Realm expert was being overwhelmed by sheer fury.


    Ryu seemed to take Lioche''s expressions as a slight. He thought his rage could match up to his? He thought his resolve was so grand? That it was comparable to his, Ryu Tatsuya''s?


    Did he believe that just the loss of a single woman was enough? Did he believe that a single event of darkness was enough to encompass the black abysses that Ryu had experienced? Did he believe that he could stand before Ryu, tall and proud, even beginning to understand his emotions and what lay in his heart?


    "How dare you!"


    Ryu''s fist blasted through Lioche''s shield as though it was nothing more than a thin sheet of aluminum. His voice boomed, his punches flying forward like streaking black-red meteors.


    Dragon Claw.


    Ryu''s illusory arm expanded, resonating with his Dragon Soul.


    The earth trembled, mountains collapsing in the distance even as he struck downward.


    Lioche''s expression changed. Was he really going to lose again? Just like that? Was this the level of humiliation that he would experience?


    Space split into six, the momentum of Ryu''s Dragon Claw making it feel as though a furious Red Dragon was swiping down upon them all. It was aimed for Lioche, but the imagery was painted into their hearts.


    Just when Lioche was about the suffer the same fate, the remaining Demigods shot forward. In fact, it wasn''t just them, the Kings and Queens of the Martial Gods all charged. The death of the others was one matter, but the death of a Demigod spoke volumes about something entirely different. They couldn''t allow it.


    A Demigod carried the highest prestige. They were the closest things the Martial Gods had to the pinnacle of what their race should be, their greatest prides and joy.


    Four more Demigods of the World Sea Realm shot forward, their attacks meeting Ryu''s claw all at once.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu''s illusory claw shattered, a rebound forcing his hand back and exposing his chest.


    A fifth Demigod brandished a bow, releasing several arrows in rapid succession, all of which appeared before Ryu''s chest in the blink of an eye.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! PCHU!


    Three clanged off of Ryu''s Dragon Soul, all of them drilling into the very same spot until the point the fourth pierced through, flashing through Ryu''s chest and piercing into the ground behind him.


    BANG!


    The ground imploded, the strength enough to dig a trench that stretched an entire mile and reached a point of over a hundred meters at its deepest point.


    The power of the arrow seemed to remind everyone just how powerful the enemies Ryu faced were if just a single one of them could cause so much damage to the Shrine Plane of all places. That kind of arrow, touching your flesh, should have been enough to force you to implode from the inside out.


    And yet, aside from stumbling backward for just a moment, Ryu didn''t seem to react to the fact he had been injured at all. His aura flourished, the clouds still crackling with lightning above raging on.


    He roared in the skies, a beam of blue lightning over 20 meters thick crashing down from the thick clouds.


    The archer''s expression changed, kicking their movement technique into high gear and dodging out of the way as fast as they could.


    Their body flickered and vanished.


    BOOM!


    A pit of impossibly vast depth appeared in their place. But, when said archer appeared again, the entire left of their body had been scorched, their clothing falling apart and their skin alternating between flaking black and growing red blisters.


    Tribulation Lightning!


    Fury lit the archer''s eyes as they brandished their bow again, aiming as Lioche and the four other Demigods surrounded Ryu all at once.


    Ryu arms flared out, the lightning in the skies heeding his call.


    The thick pillar that had fallen before reacted, zooming out of the ground and toward him with a speed that could hardly be tracked with the eye.


    In an instant, Ryu''s claws were coated with radiant sapphire blue lightning. He condensed it all with his Lightning God Talent, concentrating the Lightning so much that its Fundamental Runes became abundant enough to be seen with the naked eye.


    Ryu''s two lightning gauntlets looked almost like solid blue metal, sparking with arcs of beautiful sapphire lightning from time to time while complex runes swam about their bodies.


    Ryu rose his claw into the air once again, activating Dragon Claw.


    His arrogance knew no bounds. He had countless techniques at his beck and call, countless talents at the tips of his fingers, but he still chose to use the very same Talent that the Demigods had only just dispersed.


    He wanted to show them that it didn''t matter what they did. It didn''t matter how much they prepared. It didn''t matter how much fury or embarrassment they felt, how much rage boiled inside of them at the thoughts of his actions or his presence.


    He would not only slaughter every single last one of them, he would humiliate every single one of them.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, the scion of the Tatsuya Clan and, as far as he was concerned, the last Tatsuya on Sacrum.


    He would make the phoenixes sing his name in adoration, the dragons roar his name in praise... the Martial Gods whisper his name in fear.


    "My breath can split the skies in two. My claws can split the world in six. Who are you all to stand in my way?"


    Ryu''s claw descended.


    Arcs of vicious lightning and sparks of raging flames followed its descent. His fury seemed to paint the world in his own visage.


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    He would make sure they all felt his wrath on this day.

 Chapter 870 Slouch

    Ryu''s claw descended like the commandment of a god. Its momentum was undeniable, its progress unstoppable.


    The Demigods found their hearts shaken, their feet rooted in place and their gazes stricken by fear.


    Ryu''s Rage Flames seemed to have transcended again, not only taking fuel from the fury of others, but also directly attacking their psyche. Before it, they were rushed with feelings of inferiority, of weakness. The kind of emotions the likes of them hadn''t experienced maybe in their entire lifetimes.


    Ryu''s Dao leaked into his sparking blue lightning, the fuel of Dividing Tribulation piercing into their souls.


    It was just a subtle hint, something Ryu hadn''t even done on purpose. Against these enemies, he didn''t feel the need to use his Dao, it was a waste, a useless expenditure. Years were enough for Ryu''s refinement in skill to reach an unprecedented level, it was the kind of improvement that others couldn''t fathom making even given millions of years.


    However, it was this subtle hint that made the expressionless Mistress Holy Wing sit up in her chair, the same subtle hint that made Tybalt''s expression change wildly, the very same subtle hint that made the Godhoods of every Sky God present tremble.


    A threat. A real threat.


    BOOM!


    The battle was split by five unholy fissures, each impossible to see to the bottom of, and each radiating with sparking fires and arching remnants of lightning.


    The entire landscape was morphed, warped and changed by the hands of a single man. Violent surges of spatial qi danced about, the Shrine Plane fighting back against Ryu''s attempts to change its very foundation of existence.


    However, Ryu didn''t seem to feel this at all, his furious gaze locked onto the area before him.


    The Demigods were in shambles. Their bodies were a bloody mess, their armors ripped to shreds, many had lost limbs and yet many others had simply directly died.


    "Is this it?" Ryu spoke calmly, his voice rumbling.


    He took a step forward, his figure vanishing until he reappeared to pick Lioche up by his neck. The latter had completely lost his shield hand and his spear was warped beyond recognition. Despite Ryu''s height, he was actually much taller. However, that only made the image all the more humiliating as his shin and feet dragged along the ground, being pull up by Ryu.


    The sparking lightning of Ryu''s guantlet''s slowly burnt through his throat, the pain surging through his body bit by bit. However, in a final act of stubbornness, he clamped down on his jaw hard, entirely unwilling to make even the slightest of sounds.


    "Is this all your rage is worth?"


    Ryu''s gaze seemed to pierce into Lioche''s very soul. Tears of blood fell from the latter''s eyes, his fury bubbling up within his chest.


    However, toward this sort of pitiful sight, Ryu''s placid expression suddenly spread out into a grin.


    It was a demonic, twisted and dark sort of smile. The kind that took absolute pleasure in the suffering of the man in his hands right now, the kind that would only seem satisfied if Lioche''s face twisted with more pain, with more heartache.


    At exactly that moment, Ryu suddenly felt a palm on his forearm.


    His pupils constricted. He hadn''t noticed when this person approached, he hadn''t felt a single threat, it had just appeared.


    Dreame yawns, his expression still as lazy as usual.


    "I think that''s enough, don''t you think? Why don''t you just give us all a favor and take your wife''s offer to get out of here. Is fighting this battle even worth it? Isn''t the ending of it all obvious?"


    King Adonis, who was among those heavily injured by Ryu''s earlier strike, watched darkly as his younger brother stepped forward. Just as usual, he was as lazy as could be, and yet effortlessly more powerful than all those around him.


    It filled him with an unbridled rage, but looking down at that gash on his chest, deep enough that his inner organs threatened to spill out, there was really nothing that he could say.


    Ryu''s gaze turned toward Dreame for a moment, looking him up and down, his expression still twisted into the very same twisted grin. It seemed to ask Dreame what he would do about it.


    Ryu''s palm squeezed down, prepared to crush Lioche''s heart entirely. But that was when something he could have never expected happened.


    Just then, the forearm where Dreame''s hand rested deformed. Without even the slightest pressure or the slightest effort, Ryu''s arm cracked, its bone splintering and bending at an odd angle.


    All the strength of his clampdown vanished, his ligaments having lost their anchor. The pain shot through Ryu''s body.


    Ryu''s bones had never been as sturdy as the rest of his body due to his Bone Structure. He didn''t have his father''s tyrannical Bone Structure, and rather inherited it from his mother. Unfortunately, even after they had mutated, this weakness hadn''t vanished.


    Even so, Ryu''s bones were still beyond what a normal attack could even dream of shattering. His Body Realm cultivation was too profound, too deep. And yet, it didn''t seem to take Dreame any effort at all.


    Ryu''s grip involuntarily loosened, causing Lioche to drop to the ground.


    Dreame''s finger tapped forward, seeming to be all too slow, and yet it shifted through space, landing on Ryu''s chest before he could even react.


    Ryu''s chest sank, his ribs snapping all at once and his body bending into a bow.


    He shot away like a speeding bullet, the last shred of his upper garments tearing to pieces as his Dragon Soul wavered.


    Elena gripped her fists tightly. From the beginning, she hadn''t relaxed even once. Until Ryu left here unscathed, she wouldn''t be able to.


    But, she was also aware that she couldn''t act personally. Not only did Ryu not want her to do such a thing, but there were complicated chains binding her, ones that couldn''t be easily shattered.


    She knew well how dangerous Dreame was. Of all those here, he was maybe the most dangerous in his own way. She hadn''t expected him to act so soon, given his nature. But, it seemed that the Martial Gods had every intention of going all out.


    Even the famous slouch would have to do his part.

 Chapter 871 L Forgot...

    The entire demeanor of the Martial Gods seemed to have shifted as this young man stepped forward. The air of oppression that had come from Ryu vanished and even the clouds above seemed to have settled down somewhat.


    Dreame lazily ruffled his hair, sighing.


    It seems that everything was still just as boring. Nothing had changed.


    Why put in effort when it all ended the same anyway? He never really understood it.


    People were always complaining about meaningless things, harping on meaningless things, prattling on about useless things. Martial Gods things, Apostles this, conquer this land that. Blah, blah, blah.


    He strolled forward.


    He didn''t even really want to fight, but everyone kept nagging him. It was just like that time they forced him to become their Throne. But then that lady came around talking about how inferior they all were and how they were merely Apostles.


    Dreame couldn''t really understand what her point was. If they were so unimportant, why did he still have to work so hard? Just let him lazily lounge a bit. Or, better yet, call out one of your real geniuses to finish the job. In fact, you didn''t have to even do that, just finish the job yourself with just a wave of the finger.


    If there was something Dreame was the most annoyed about, it was how that lady had forced him to change chairs like that. However, it wasn''t for the reasons one might expect.


    He had only sat in the center throne because it was the closest and easiest. Plus, he didn''t have to sit near anyone, making it more convenient and allowing him to dodge useless small talk. But then she swooped in and made him move again, how annoying.


    Now she sat on a throne way up there. How much effort must it have taken to put that thing all the way up there. And all for the sake of what? Sitting on this man''s mother''s head? No wonder he was so mad. And that just made his job even harder.


    When people were mad, they were rarely rational. He could smell the scent of a Phoenix on this man and the Southern Heavenly Wind on top of that. His stamina must be off the charts. Even if he put effort into beating him up for several days and nights, he would probably still get up.


    Look at that, he was already standing up.


    He was pretty sure that last attack had shattered his heart, but there he was, standing up, just as expected. In fact, now that Dreame thought about it, the damage he had done didn''t feel as final as he thought it should. That probably meant that there was something protecting this man''s heart too.


    Phoenix Blood. Southern Heavenly Wind. And what must have been at least an Origin Grade treasure protecting his heart.


    Oh brother, what a hassle. He would be here forever.


    Dreame tapped forward another finger, this one a bit more forceful as his annoyance shone through. Everyone was always making things so annoying, such a hassle.


    She said that the Martial Gods were great and lofty existences, yet she also said she wasted billions of years of her prime here as well. It didn''t make any sense, were you lofty or not. Dreame didn''t think a lofty existence would have to do anything they didn''t want to do.


    The attack landed on Ryu''s chest once again. This time, it was even more obvious, a hole the size of his heart being blasted right through where it had been.


    He spiraled backward, his blood spurting out in all directions.


    Dreame shook his head again, that took way more effort, he even felt like he was getting a headache. He didn''t like using his strength too much, it made that slumbering part of him feel like it could come out again, when in reality there was nothing here for it.


    Just more boredom.


    Ryu landed on his back, staring up at the skies, his expression difficult to read. It was safe to say that his fiendish grin had vanished. Though, he didn''t seem to be perturbed.


    Instead, his mind was thinking about something else entirely as the hole in his chest slowly healed, the loss of his heart feeling no different from a small flesh wound at this point.


    He was sure before, but after that third attack, he was. This Dreame person, the Throne of the Martial Gods, he had been told that he was in the World Sea Realm. But, that was a lie, it wasn''t true at all.


    One might expect, then, that he was in the Sky God Realm considering his current display of strength, but that much wasn''t true either. In fact, he wasn''t in the Cosmic Seed Realm, or even the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Dreame was in the very same Realm as himself. This Throne Dream was in the Ninth Stage of the Path Extinction Realm.


    Ryu raised a hand to his face, using his palm to shield his eyes. He took a deep breath.


    His current state looked like one of abject defeat. In fact, he even looked like he was crying. It was quite a sad sight to those with sympathy. However, there were many more who sneered and even more who laughed, the delight in their hearts flooding forth.


    All that bloviating, all that arrogance, what was it worth? The moment the Martial Gods stopped playing around, what had happened?


    Wasn''t this proof? Wasn''t this exactly why they had all bent the knee?


    However, Dreame''s steps were the only ones that paused.


    "I forgot¡­"


    Ryu said lightly, his voice soft and hardly perceptible.


    "¡­ I guess I should unseal these¡­"


    Ryu had spent the last several years in a severe time dilation. Due to that, the Dao and Inheritances around him were all distorted.


    For a normal person, all they had to do was ignore these distortions. But, for Ryu, who had eyes that could see through any and everything, just an inadvertent glance could send his Dao and comprehensions spiraling in the wrong direction.


    As such, Ryu had no choice but to ask Ailsa to help seal his Heavenly Pupils so that he could focus and not make a mistake he would regret for a lifetime.


    After he had stepped out, he was so eager to get here, his rage having been bubbling up for years, that he had completely forgotten to undo it.


    But, the situation now seemed to warrant exactly that¡­


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    The sound of glass shattering resounded, the skies above beginning to rumble once more.

 Chapter 872 Only When...

    BANG!


    A tempest of wild winds surged in the surroundings. Blinding silvery light spilled out from between Ryu''s fingers, slicing into the surroundings like blades of sword qi.


    They slowly faded as Ryu''s body rose up from the ground. His broken arm snapped back into place, the hole in his chest just barely closing up as he rose to his full height.


    He exhaled a light breath as he took in the world.


    It had been a long time since he had seen it through this lens. All of these swirling colors, the fantastical images and flickering portraits that displayed the Heavens'' each individual stroke of genius.


    Everything slowed, walking by frame by frame.


    The air around Ryu fogged, his palms flipped over to reveal two enormous boxes.


    BANG! BANG!


    He pierced them both into the ground, his actions slow and meticulous. It was as though he couldn''t be bothered to care about anything going on around him, as though nothing other than his task at hand was worthy of his attention. Even this supposed Throne wasn''t worthy of his attention.


    The twin boxes split in two, revealing a resplendent array of rainbow lights. Crystals seemed to shimmer and fall around the oppressive aura of a pair of Origin Grade weapons whipping into the surroundings.


    Ryu''s hands grabbed for, his fingers wrapping around the two shimmering polearms, pulling them out.


    The simple action caused cyclones of wind to rage in the distance, two mountain sized weapons that might have weighed as much as a planet suddenly becoming enveloped by Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind to the point where they were nothing more than two easily malleable feathers.


    Their crystalline polearms shimmered, their blades radiating blue light.


    A single slice through the air cut through the ground for several kilometers, making it feel as though neither would be satisfied unless the whole of the Shrine Plane was severed in two.


    Ryu gazed upon these two blades and then in a baffling display, he put them back.


    "I thought I might need them, but it seems I''ve overestimated you. If you can survive ten moves, I''ll let you taste my blade," Ryu said lightly.


    Dreame blinked for a moment but didn''t say much. Or, maybe he was quite frankly too lazy to say much of anything at all.


    He pointed another finger, this one flexing another margin harder than the last, and he pressed it forward.


    Space split and an invisible beam of energy appeared before Ryu in the blink of an eye. Or, rather, it was invisible to most. To Ryu, though¡­


    It was as clear as day.


    "Death Acupoint."


    Ryu''s finger stretched out, a sharp claw swirling with Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.


    BANG!


    Dreame blinked again, his head tilting.


    Ryu didn''t move a single inch backward, his figure didn''t even so much as sway. An attack more powerful than the one that had just blasted through his chest was dealt with so easily?!


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    Ryu took a step forward, his figure vanishing. When he appeared once more, he was already standing right before Dreame, his finger stretching out once again.


    "Death Acupoint."


    Dreame''s pupils constricted, his figure retreating explosively. It felt like no matter what he did, Ryu''s attack would land on a vulnerable spot and his life would be forfeit. The feeling was so overwhelming that he had retreated before his mind could even register what was happening.


    BANG!


    Dreame''s shoulder erupted into a rain of blood, a wound as deep as bone appearing.


    He seemed to lose control of his qi for a moment, his stomach and chest bulging wildly, but he quickly reined control back in. Even so, the looks of horror those watching felt was unlike anything they had ever experienced before.


    They all knew that Ryu wielded the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, and they most definitely new what kind of power <Death Acupoint> wielded but¡­ How had Ryu already awakened it?! They could just barely accept that Ryu was only in his 20''s and had somehow entered the Path Extinction Realm, but how could they also accept this?!


    Just a single poke at the air and a genius like Dreame had almost undergone cultivation deviation. Anyone else would have truly died instantly.


    "Oh?"


    Ryu''s brow raised. He seemed surprised that Dreame had survived a single attack despite the fact he had said he would give the latter ten. The arrogance that dripped from him knew no bounds.


    "It seems I missed a bit."


    Ryu snapped his fingers.


    His lightning gauntlets had already dispersed, but he was a Son of the Kunan Clan, lightning¡­ was never something he would run out of.


    An arc of blue lightning fell from the skies. It was wild and unbridled, something that felt simply uncontrollable to the masses. And yet, it docilely fell into Ryu''s palm, concentrating into the form of a needle.


    In those moments, Ryu seemed calm and serene. Compared to his previous rampage, he was like a completely different man, but this wasn''t because his rage had simmered or faded¡­


    He should probably thank Dreame, the latter had made him remember his grandfather''s words. He had been so infuriated that he had forgotten himself, even to the point of making a mistake as stupid as not unsealing his own pupils.


    With his eyes sealed, he hadn''t even had a normal cultivator''s eyesight. He was practically going in blind.


    And, because he was used to using <Third Perspective> as opposed to his Spiritual Sense, he hadn''t even considered using the latter.


    All this time, he had been fighting with two hands and a leg tied behind his back, all because he had let the fury climb to his head.


    Not again.


    Let the World feel your Fury¡­


    ¡­ But only when you want them to.


    "Death Acupoint."


    Ryu flicked a finger, causing the needle to whistle across the skies. Space didn''t even seem to register that it had passed by until it was long gone, causing a delayed split that shook the air.


    It appeared before Dreame in the blink of an eye, piercing through his collarbone.


    The world seemed to pause for a moment¡­


    And then the Throne of the Martial Gods imploded.

 Chapter 873 Youre Lazy

    Ryu watched this without much of a change in expression. Whether it was his lightning needle or Death Acupoint, one was bound to end in this result. However¡­


    A boisterous laughter shook the skies.


    Dreame''s inner organs splattered about the surroundings, his blood coating the ground in red. And yet, he still laughed, his body rising up as though a string was being pulled along his chest.


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    His expression twisted, his tongue hanging out and a pair of black wings sprung out from his back. He looked every bit the part of a madman as he continued to laugh.


    His hands reached out, stuffing bits and pieces of organs back into his body. It maybe the most ridiculous action one could take. It was either the desperate actions of a man trying to cling onto his life, or¡­


    Dreame''s injuries rapidly healed, his laughter shaking the skies. Before his skin could even heal over his newly formed ribcage, he shot forward like a ball out a canon, his wings flapping once to increase his accelerate by more than twofold.


    His hands brandished themselves like claws, his tongue flapping wildly in the wind as he appeared before Ryu in an instant, his body pressed into a low crouch, ready to explode forward. But¡­


    All he found was a placid and indifferent expression.


    Ryu remained as unmoving as a stature. But, when he did choose to move, it was as though the world formed a tempest to follow along.


    His stance shifted slightly and his knee drove upward.


    Ryu''s timing was simply immaculate, as though Dreame had teleported his jaw his the former''s convenience, the sickening sound of bone shattering resounded as Dreame suddenly found himself shooting into the skies like a speeding bullet.


    His tongue was sliced off by his teeth, half of his handsome face collapsed beneath the pressure, and he found himself sprawled out once again.


    "That''s three," Ryu said lightly.


    His body flared up, his Dragon Soul appearing again as arcs of lightning fell from the skies. They fell around Ryu, following his gait and turning the land into a sea of sparking lightning.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Those in who had been too stupid to retreat far from this battle found themselves charred to ash, their lives forfeit before they even understood what was happening.


    ? "Good. GOOD. GOOD! GOOD!!"


    Dreame''s roar shook the skies as he reached the peak of his ascent. Lightning cracked around him but didn''t seem to bother to target him personally. But, Ryu continued without a care in the world, the sea of lightning around him becoming more violent with each passing moment.


    As Dreame began to fall from the skies, he flapped his wings a single time, causing him to become like a meteor streaking down from the clouds above. A wreath of flames sparked around him, his blood and even some of his unhealed flesh peeling off of his body with each passing moment.


    However, when he appeared before Ryu again, he found his face greeted by the back of a hand. The other side of his skull deformed, blood flying as he was slapped away.


    Ryu didn''t even spare him a single glance, his sea of lightning continuing to grow.


    Dreame continued to attack like a wild and rabid animal, his howls coursing through the battlefield. However, every dull and careless counter attack by Ryu felt like another slap to the faces of the Martial Gods.


    This was their champion, the greatest of their younger generation, the man they might have known was lazy, but a man they all respected nonetheless because none of them had the ability to defeat him at the same cultivation level or even beyond for more.


    And yet here he was, being treated like a rag doll, an insignificant fly to be swatted away at Ryu''s leisure.


    Each attack cut into the hearts of the traitors, erasing the prestige of the Martial Gods piece by piece. Was this really the race of people they had bent a knee to? That they had obediently become lap dogs for?


    BANG!


    Ryu steps paused, the sea of lightning around him becoming such a raging torrent that it almost looked like a real sea. Everything it touched burnt to ash, unable to rise up again.


    "That''s nine."


    Dreame rose up in the distance. The grin on his face was still the same, the forcefulness of his voice, albeit gargled by blood and flesh, was also still the same. However, he looked no different from a walking corpse.


    His bones were visible from several areas, his face was practically unrecognizable, blood coated him from head to toe and his movements were only becoming slower.


    Ryu reached a hand down, drawing it across his lake of lightning as though it was really water.


    "Do you know why you''ll never beat me despite that talent of yours? Despite the fact you''ve already grasped a Dao of your own?


    "You could say that it''s because in this state of yours, you can''t even use your Dao properly. A Dao of concealment, of invisibility, of even forgetfulness, has the power to be quite powerful. But, when you aren''t being lazy and unassuming, it''s difficult to use, right?"


    Ryu''s gaze locked onto Dreame who seemed to be preparing for another charge.


    "However, being unable to use your Dao isn''t the reason you''ll never beat me, if that wasn''t already obvious by the fact I''ve given you the grace of not using mine just yet¡­


    "The reason you''ll never beat me is because you''re lazy. You''ve never worked hard a day in your life. You''ve never faced hardship for even a moment.


    "Your techniques are filled with holes, your resolve is weak and would fall with a single poke, and your foundation is far weaker than what it should.


    "Did you really believe that you could beat me, by what¡­? Getting angry?"


    A spark of lightning arched between Ryu''s fingers before forming a new needle that was barely a tenth the size of the first one.


    "This will be the tenth and final attack. I''ll show you what just a single half of my Dao looks like.


    "<Death Acupoint: Dividing Karma>."


    Ryu flicked his finger, a bolt of miniature lightning racing across the skies.


    Dreame''s body froze, all his madness seemingly rushing out of his body.


    He knew it immediately. This time, he would die.


    On nothing more than instinct, his body turned and he began to run away. It was a sight not a single soul missed, a sight that would be engraved onto their very souls for a lifetime to come.


    The mighty Throne of the Martial Gods was trying to run away.


    An enormous swing of Faith shifted, the Martial Gods suddenly feeling as though they had lost a piece of themselves.


    "STOP!"


    Tybalt''s voice roared out again.

 Chapter 874 How Deep?

    PENG! CRACK!


    A barrier appeared before Dreame''s back, seeming to block Ryu''s strike of lightning for just a moment. But, just as quickly as the needle of blue was stopped, it shattered the barrier.


    Tybalt''s eyes widened. He knew well how strong that barrier was, it shouldn''t have been possible for a Path Extinction Realm expert to shatter it like that.


    The needle continued onward like a bolt of lightning, piercing through Dreame''s shoulder blade.


    It was a simple wound, the kind that a cultivator should have been easily able to shrug off. And yet, Dreame''s body convulsed, the entire right side of his body imploding into a rain of blood and flesh.


    He crashed into the ground, his face skidding along the snow which quickly gained a pink then crimson hue.


    "That''s twice now," Ryu said lightly.


    That blow should have been enough to kill Dreame outright, but Ryu only needed a glance to tell that he still had a breath left in his body. It was a faint breath, one that could be snuffed out with even a slight blow of the wind, but it was a breath nonetheless.


    <Death Acupoint> relied on perfect timing. It was an attack on a brief moment in history, the kind that would break a bone that was otherwise sturdy or cause deviation in meridians that otherwise had solid foundations. These peculiarities were exactly what the ability targeted.


    But, these peculiarities were rare and only appeared for brief instances. Ryu''s attack, even though it was only paused for a fraction of a fraction of second, only needed to suffer that small diversion to be veered off course.


    Ryu''s head turned toward Tybalt. He had directly ignored this young man who had managed to survive his punch earlier. But now, he actually deemed to continue messing with the goals.


    "It seems that you want to die."


    Ryu''s hand stretched outward. A violent, swirling suction force seemed to form. It seemed as though it worked on principles of space and wind, combining the two into a wild force that couldn''t be denied.


    It was like Ryu had coated his palms in the principles of <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> and added his own comprehension to it. Toward such a thing, Tybalt found himself being forced to dig in his heal and lower his hips.


    Veins popped across Tybalt''s face, his gaze flickering wildly as though he couldn''t decide what to do from here. It was clear that Ryu couldn''t be reasoned with.


    However, now that Ryu was serious, what chance did he stand?


    Tybalt was ripped from his horse stance, his body flying through the air and his clothing shredded almost to pieces as he shot through Ryu''s lightning lake. His face twisted in pain, lightning whipping against his skin. But, all things considered, he actually managed to stay together quite well.


    Ryu could see that this wasn''t only because his cultivation was deep, but he also had several protective formations on his body, each one of which could either protect him or save his life at a critical juncture. Though Ryu had never seen life saving measures branded onto the skin like some sort of tattoo, it still only took his eyes and his Dao a moment to see through their purpose.


    Tybalt''s throat nearly collapsed as it smashed into Ryu''s palm, the result forcing him to cough and gasp for air.


    "Ryu! You''re not understanding¡ª!"


    "So you wanted to save him, right?" Ryu asked lightly.


    Tybalt was confused by this line of questioning, not knowing how to answer immediately. He tried to squirm, but he found the sparks of lightning in the surroundings weren''t only making his hair stand on end, but they were also doing the job of paralyzing him.


    He tried to push back with his qi, but his expression changed when he realized something. This wasn''t normal lightning¡­ It was Tribulation Lightning! It was not only dozens of times more powerful, but it inherently had a suppressive effect on the cultivation methods of humans.


    "How badly do you want to save him? Would you be willing to suffer for it?" Ryu continued to ask.


    There was something about a Ryu that had regained his calm that made the atmosphere especially heavy. The wind seemed colder, the air seemed thinner, even the gravity felt heavier.


    No one attacked recklessly, no one even wanted to move toward him. It was like his surroundings were blanketed in a sea of darkness. If they got too close¡­ They''d be swallowed up with nothing to show for it but their own deaths.


    "I¡ªI¡ªRyu! You have to understand that this is just the way of the Martial World! Even your great grandfather was forced to understand! Learn when to take a step back!"


    Ryu paused for a long while. And then¡­ He suddenly chuckled.


    He shook his head, looking blankly off into the distance.


    "Take a step back?" Ryu spoke softly, the baritone of his voice causing the world to vibrate. "Tatsuyas do not take a step back. That man simply lost everything he cared about and couldn''t be bothered to squabble with you scurrying rats any longer.


    "It''s no wonder you overestimate yourselves so much. You actually think you''ve already forced us to kneel, so why not force us to do it again?"


    Ryu''s gaze shifted from the distance, landing on Tybalt once again. Something about his eyes seemed decidedly darker.


    "You will never rule me. I''ll be going to your little world soon enough, and I''ll raze it to the ground just the same.


    "For now, how about you show me just how deep your convictions run? Are you worthy of standing before me?"


    Ryu''s irises flashed.


    "<Fate Reversal>."


    Ryu''s gaze seemed to hold the vast and endless starry skies, the qi in the surroundings seeming to vanish along with the color as Gears of Fate began to churn.


    Even before they could snap into place, a rain of blood poured down, Tybalt''s heart wrenching screech echoing through the battlefield.

 Chapter 875 Prosperity

    An entire side of Tybalt''s body erupted into a rain of blood first. Then, numerous holes began to appear in his body one after another. His skull deformed as though it had been crushed by stones from both sides. In the end, his tongue was split in two, flying from the open gape of his roaring mouth.


    In the distance, the collapsed body of Dreame convulsed, his injuries reversing as though they had never happened.


    The hearts of those watching shook. Ryu had even awakened this ability?


    There were many abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Heavenly Pupils that people feared, but Fate Reversal was among the top three on any list. To be able to reverse one''s injuries and even force them onto another person¡­ It was the kind of power that could shake the soul.


    At this point, even the Sky Gods that were spectating found their jaws clenching, their eyes narrowing in seriousness. Was this really a battle they had to involve themselves in?


    "What are you screaming for?" Ryu asked, his soft voice feeling more like the call of the devil than ever now. "Where''s your resolve? Didn''t you want to save him? This is your chance."


    Tybalt continued to roar into the skies. It wasn''t just the pain of having his body destroyed, it was also the subtle realization that his Fate was being ripped from his hands and toyed upon the palm of another. It was a tragic sort of irony that both slapped his face and tore at the layers of his heart.


    "Release him."


    The voice was sudden and powerful. It appeared high in the skies, a robed gentleman wearing robes of warm brown and muted gold. He had greying hair, but he didn''t feel old. He had glasses, but his eyes were sharp. His beard was meticulously trimmed and kept. Everything about him screamed perfect scholar.


    He had appeared without a word, without an effort, without even a peep. And yet, Ryu didn''t seem to react to him at all.


    Hiding from his eyes? Was that even possible?


    Even if you were a True Sky God, you would have to obediently be found.


    Ryu''s disregard caused the man''s brows to furrow. He had seen this young man before. It could be said that Ryu was actually quite well known in their circle. His feats were second to none his age and beyond many far older than him. There was no one in this world that had reached the Origin Grade faster, and he had done so without cultivation.


    There was no doubt that with the seals of his eyes undone, Ryu''s skill as a Ruin Master was unlike anything they had been like before. He hadn''t even needed to use a Matrix to make his way through the Death Shrine. Granted, that was because the Death Shrine was also very inviting of him, but it was easy as breathing nonetheless.


    Such a talent was invaluable. It could be said that the only reason they didn''t make efforts to recruit him for bigger, greater things was because he didn''t have cultivation at the time, something that was clearly not the case now.


    But, it was obvious that he was also far too set in his ways to understand the bigger picture. A talent that couldn''t be molded was a useless talent and there was no point in lamenting their loss.


    "My name is, Kagan¡ª"


    BEst


    "I know who you are, stop wasting my time. Attack if you want to attack. If not, scram."


    Kagan''s expression sank, but he still stretched down a finger, a strong pressure descended.


    Time seemed to pause. Everyone realized at that moment that the time had finally come. The true powerhouses were attacking. It was their existence that caused none to believe that Ryu could do it, it was their existence that made many so sure that there would only be one winner today¡­


    However, at that moment, Ryu stretched out a free hand.


    The two Great Swordstaffs quaked, ripping out of the ground and flipping end over end through the air.


    BANG!


    One landed directly in Ryu''s hand, the second flying over his head and landing right in the path of the beam released by Kagan.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaff rebounded backward, coming right for him. Unfortunately for Tybalt, his head was in the way of Ryu''s palm.


    The screaming finally came to an end, a polearm crushing what remained of his deformed skull as though it wouldn''t stop until it landed in Ryu''s hand.


    Kagan''s eyes widened as Ryu''s qi surged, suddenly causing all the blood in his hand to spiral outward, leaving his Great Swordstaff absolutely spotless.


    Tybalt''s body fell into the lake of lightning, being incinerated to ash even before he could fall to the ground.


    Ryu''s aura completely changed, a towering and invisible pillar shooting into the skies and causing the clouds to swirl like a hurricane formation, its center positioned right about the head of the final Tatsuya.


    "Let me guess," Ryu began to speak. "Your organization has always been aware of the world outside of Sacrum. In fact, maybe some of your members are lingering or failed pathetic rats just like these Martial Gods, sent here because you couldn''t stand shoulder to shoulder with your far more talented and capable counterparts.


    "Yet, somehow, despite being worth little else but the dirt at the soles of their feet, you still attach yourselves to their glory, taking pride in their bloodlines, believing yourselves to be greater than you really are.


    "Did I get that right?"


    Ryu''s gaze swept from Kagan, to the other Martial Gods, the half-dead Demigods, and even the pathetic traitors that chose to follow them.


    Kagan took deep and slow breaths, allowing the crimson and rage from his eyes to calm.


    "Our organization''s only goal is toward the prosperity of Existence. The Shrines of Sacrum are invaluable to the evolution of cultivation. The expense of a few families and lives is minimal compared to the bigger picture."


    Ryu held out his Great Swordstaffs, his Dao suddenly flourishing at full strength.


    The Godhoods of several Sky Gods quaked, bordering on the edge of collapse.


    The Rebirth Crown let out a sonorous call, the gorgeous canopy of an Immortal Sakura appearing in the skies, sparkling with radiant blue Heavenly Patterns.


    Ryu smiled. "The Prosperity of Existence? Why should I give a fuck?"


    His Great Swordstaff rose, pointing right at Kagan.


    "Come and taste my blade. Today, your organization will be buried alongside them."


    [Important Announcement Below!!!]

 Chapter 876 NO!

    Ryu''s blade swung down, the world seeming to split in two.


    Everything in its path was wiped out.


    It was a sword qi of all sword qis, a violent ripping of space and being that tore at the hearts of those who observed it and sucked out the souls of those that stood in its path.


    Kagan''s eyes widened, his hands clapping to reveal a pair of prayer beads that wrapped about his wrists and fingers. He roared, his aura blazing and his hair and robes fluttering about the air.


    He stretched out a palm, his movements slow as though he was pushing against a mountain. However, beneath his action, the skies shifted and the earth rumbled.


    Palm and sword light met, crackles of lightning and thunder sparking between the two. Space shattered and fragmented, the air and wind around it imploded like a rain of firecrackers and fireworks. A violent tempest kicked up, Kagan''s brows growing more and more focused as he pressed downward.


    However, right at that moment, his expression changed, an overwhelming feeling of danger coming from his back.


    ''How did he move through such a volatile space?! That''s impossible!''


    Ryu didn''t seem to care or even take a moment to pause at Kagan''s shock, his Great Swordstaff descended from the skies once again. His power was so forceful that his polearm bent, fragmented pieces of shattered space accumulating around his blade, becoming coated with gorgeous and dangerous silvery and shimmering black lights.


    BANG!


    Kagan sent his free hand backward, blocking attacks from two sides. But the result sent a wave straight through his shoulder and torso that nearly compressed his body into a flattened plane of flesh.


    "AAAAOOOOOOOO!"


    What sounded like the howl of a wolf resounded to Ryu''s back, a hulking and hairy man covered in beast skins appearing behind him.


    Ryu''s body flickered, a bolt of lightning being left in his wake as he dodged out of the way of the Human Beast Sky God''s twin hammer fist.


    PCHU!


    A spurt of blood sprang from the Human Beast Sky God''s side, Ryu cutting across his tough and sturdy skin as he passed by.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Kagan''s palm faltered, Ryu''s sword qi exploding onto his skin. His robes rebuffed a large amount of the attack, his Godhood flourished as several shields formed around his body. By the end of it all, he came out the other side disheveled, the whites of his eyes pulsing with crimson veins.


    A Path Extinction Realm expert had actually put him in such a state?!


    BEst


    And yet, when his head snapped back, he found that the Human Beast Sky God was being toyed with like a puppet on a string. Ryu''s movements were fast and erratic, his flickering body shifting through space, no matter how volatile, with the ease of breathing.


    It was clear that his attack speed, his agility and even his straight-line speed were all slower by not just a small measure. But it didn''t seem to matter in the slightest.


    When Ryu began an attack and the downward swing of his Great Swordstaffs began, he would easily shift dozens of times, his body flickering and vanishing as though space itself was dancing on the palm of his hands.


    In the process he would dodge countless powerful attacks, each greater and more grandiose than the last, only for him to suddenly appear to the Human Beast Sky God''s side, the descent of his blade perfectly time taking out another tear of flesh.


    Ryu''s expression was an ice cold, but his Dragon Soul was as bright as a raging sun, sparks of lightning sparking around him again and again.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    At that moment, the paw of a Bear God easily a hundred meters across descended toward Ryu''s head. However, he only flickered and vanished again, appearing above the head of the corpse puppet, his silvery irises almost becoming a frozen blue.


    "<Death Acupoint>."


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaff pierced downward, its sword qi making its three meter long form feel as though it extended to over a hundred meters.


    The resplendent light reflected amidst the darkness of the clouds above, standing out even amidst the bright arcs of blue lightning that continued to fall, plucking the strings of Ryu''s fury.


    Three Sky Gods? Each seemingly more enraged that the last?


    So what?


    PCHU!


    Ryu''s hundred meter long sword qi pierced through the body of the Bear God, a dense foggy blackness expelling from its body.


    The Head of the Armored Beast Branch of the Necromancy Guild felt a connection sever, his Bear God falling down from the skies limply without his control. It was as though Ryu had ripped the power out of him.


    Using a corpse puppet before Ryu after understanding he had already mastered <Death Acupoint> was the most foolish thing the old man could have done.


    Ryu''s eyes widened, a strong surge of space and a swirling black hole forming. It all instantly swallowed up the Bear God, not giving the Armored Beast Head even a chance to retrieve it.


    His body vanished once again, dodging out of the way of the Human Beast God''s punch and appearing amidst the Necromancy Guild members.


    ? His aura was cold, his expression focused. It was like he wasn''t aware how powerful these people were, how they could overturn the world with the flip of a palm and decide the Fate of trillions with nothing more than a thought.


    To him, they were only enemies, enemies who overestimated themselves.


    He would use their blood to wash the gravestones of his grandparents.


    A blazing black flame erupted about Ryu''s body, its presence suddenly making the Necromancers feel as though they had completely lost control of their Death Inheritances. The result was so shocking that they didn''t know how to react immediately, causing several of their number to lose their heads to but a single swing of Ryu''s Great Swordstaff.


    At that moment, Ryu''s <Third Perspective> picked up a blazing attack. It cut through the air with such momentum and speed that it was already almost too late to dodge by the time he picked it up.


    However, in that instant, several Immortal Sakura petals fell from the skies, lining up within its path.


    Ryu''s foot kicked out, landing on the chest of the Armored Beast Head.


    The path of the flying attack diverted only the slightest bit, but it was already enough.


    "NO!"


    PCHU!


    The Armored Beast Head''s skull was pierced through by an arrow, his life fading before he even hit the ground.


    True Sky God Arcus stood in the distance stunned, his bow still raised.

 Chapter 877 Eight

    Ryu''s aura rose like a blazing sun, his Great Swordstaffs spreading outward and his confidence piercing the skies as though it had a tangible form of its own.


    One Sky God. Two. Three. More¡­ It didn''t matter.


    His Great Swordstaff pointed toward True Sky God Arcus in the distance, even as his second Swordstaff swung downward, levying another attack toward the Human Beast Sky God.


    Today, he would slaughter them all.


    Ryu roared into the skies, his gaze focused and silvery irises flickering back and forth between dull grey and radiant blue.


    His skin exploded forth with violet scales, twin horns that pierced toward the veil of heaven growing out from his forehead as his pupils slit and were invaded by a deep royal purple.


    At that moment, the lake of lightning he had formed shot upward as bat-like wings sprung from his back. It rose into the skies, fusing with Ryu''s tempest of flames and forming a Gate that rose into the skies.


    If one had sharp eyes, they would have nothing that Ryu used his Lightning God Talent as a foundation. Fusing his lightning with his flames extended the ability of his Talent, allowing him to manipulate them with the same sort of ease and giving him the ability to warp their bodies into complex Runes and Formations.


    As for what these Runes and Formations were for¡­


    He thought it was about time he unleash hell on earth.


    BANG!


    Winds kicked up, flattening mountains in the distance as the doors of the Gates swung open.


    An enormous skeletal foot appeared, pushing through the gates.


    As it manifested itself, it was coated by Ryu''s violet lightning-flame, giving itself a pseudo skin and flesh as it crashed to the ground.


    It stood at over a hundred meters tall, the bones that made it up reflecting an ash black while a tall crown of black bones rested on its head.


    The highest grade of the Demon. The Skeleton King.


    However, as though that wasn''t enough, another stepped out from the gate, gaining the same wreath of violet lightning-flames.


    It was easily ten times as tall as the Skeleton King, its skin a blazing red and rings of Fire surrounding its ankles, wrists, neck, and even hanging in a halo above its head.


    The highest grade of Demon. The Fire Giant.


    A hand as delicate as clouds and beautiful as a blooming white flower grabbed onto the side of the gate, pulling her body out. She was the shortest, and yet was still over ten meters tall, her body wrapped in shards of ice.


    The highest grade of Demon. The Ice Queen.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    What looked like a Dragon formed of bones crashed to the ground, but it lacked the horns, its snaking body winding about for tens of kilometers.


    A horse crashed down from the skies, its hooves rising into the skies, coated in blue flames. A shadowy figure, billowing with black fog, sat on its back, rattling chains falling from its body.


    BANG! BOOM!


    A howl shook the darkened skies. A lizard creature stood to its hind legs, its spine dotted with bone spikes and nine pairs of horns adorning its skull. Black scales covered it from head to toe, reflecting the violet lightning-flames that now covered it.


    On the ground, a hidden blackness moved about, impossible to spot and deadly to the greatest extent.


    The Gate quaked for a final time, an enormous tree pulling itself out slowly but surely.


    It rose into the skies, fusing with Ryu''s Immortal Sakura. Its black trunk became a dull dark gold, its roots and branches spreading out for hundreds of kilometers until it felt like Ryu had suddenly changed the battlefield into his own backyard.


    Bone Serpent. Wraith Knight. Horned Devil. Shadow. Ash Treant¡­


    In just a few moments, Ryu had summoned eight Demon Kings, each with an aura just as oppressive as the last.


    The skies overturned, the earth trembling.


    ? The Fire Giant beat its chest, the Ice Queen spread her arms, and the Horned Devil roared.


    A beam of red, a wave of blue, a tempest of black.


    Three Demon Kings that would have never even considered working together in the past suddenly attacked simultaneously.


    "RUN!"


    Spectators, Martial Gods, traitors, Ryu didn''t care. They could all die.


    Fire clashed with ice, darkness enveloped them all. The violence and carnage was simply on another level entirely.


    In the skies, the Ash Treant turned a purely defensive Visualization into an offensive knight. Spurs of wood crashed down from the skies, turning the winter wonderland into a bloodied forest of dark gold trees and drained corpses.


    Ryu stood as the Emperor of it all, his demonic horns sparking with an ever growing lightning-flame. The violet ball grew explosively in size, pulsing again and again.


    BEst


    The surging ball of violet, arcing lightning and flickering flames doubled its size again, growing larger than even Ryu''s body. Then, it doubled again.


    The slaughter was devastating. The Sky Gods that had been battling Ryu couldn''t even approach him any longer. How could they now that he was surrounded by eight Twelfth Order Demon Kings? They could only obediently sit there, watching as Ryu''s rage grew.


    The ball of violet doubled in size once again. By this point, it looked no different from a raging sun, its oppressive might pulsing with strength that could level an entire plane.


    Ryu''s head only tilted forward the slightest bit, and the sun of lightning-flames shot forward, suddenly erupting with a speed that didn''t match his effort in the slightest.


    The eyes of those that had yet to get out of range just yet widened, despair coloring their hearts.


    The star landed, rotating into the ground and suddenly concentrating into a tiny and infinitesimally small dot, leaving an enormous crater in its wake.


    And then¡­


    It exploded.


    The sound seemed to wipe all noise from the world. Everything went white, and then the wall of wind hit.


    Those that had been lucky enough to survive the initial explosion were immediately incinerated by the wall of heat, the flesh ripping from their bones and their bones eventually whittling to ash.


    In the midst of it all, a beauty wrapped in a diamond pink dress appeared. She was neither Elena, nor was she Mistress Holy Wing. Her armor made her look like a Valkyrie, a singular spear in her hand as she stood within the blast.


    And yet, all it seemed to do was whip her hair back a small measure¡­


    The Valkyrie raised her spear like a javelin, taking a light step forward, she threw it.


    It shot through the skies, appearing before Ryu''s Horned Devil in the blink of an eye.


    BANG!


    An entire half of its face imploded as the spear snaked back through the skies, snapping back into the Valkyrie''s palm.


    By her side, a half dozen more women dressed exactly like her appeared.

 Chapter 878 Balance

    Ryu''s gaze remained unmoved, watching as his Horned Devil fell, its blood so viscous and all consuming that it formed a lake of black that almost looked like a well of oil, clogging up the middle of the battlefield.


    To strike down a Horned Devil in just a single attempt was more shocking than more would be able to put into words. Demon Kings were already the pinnacle of talent one could hope to have in Sacrum, or at the very least, close to it.


    Every single one of the Demons Ryu had summoned today were high ranking elders within their respective Clans, if not for the strength of Ryu''s Dark Flame, Ailsa''s support, and the prowess of his Primordial Death Chaos Qi, even communicating with them wouldn''t be possible, let alone controlling them. And, that didn''t even mention the huge change to Ryu''s soul and the support of the Rebirth Crown that sat upon his forehead.


    And yet, it had still taken just a single strike, just one blow, and a mighty Demon had fallen, unable to ever rise again, its corpse becoming nutrients for the soil beneath it.


    There were only two possibilities. Either these Valkyrie had cultivation levels beyond anything Ryu had ever faced before, or they had foundations that fell beneath the same category. And, from what Ryu''s eyes could tell, it was more definitely the latter.


    "RYU! DON''T MEET THEIR GAZES!"


    Elena''s voice almost came out in a shriek. It was clear that even she hadn''t expected these women to appear, and the moment they did, it was as though her heart had left her throat.


    The Deity Race was split into several branches. As Mistress Holy Wing had stated earlier, the four Bloodlines that had been referring to themselves as Martial Gods all this time were really only known as the Apostles or the Demigods.


    The joke that Ryu had made of the Demigod title when he first heard it hit closer to home than even he had realized. The regressive naming structure had been done on purpose. Even among the Demigods of the Deity Race, those here were exceptionally weak, thanks in large part to the environment they had been born into, something that Ryu would learn a lot more about in the distant future.


    However, aside from the Apostles, there were the Holy Wings. The Holy Wings were the arbiters of justice in the Deity Race and they were often tasked with remaining neutral. Though, this neutrality was bared out in countless different ways.


    Regardless, these matters were muddied, weighed down in the complexities of time, inter-relationships, and politics. What was important, and the only thing that Ryu needed to know now, was that the eyes of the Holy Wings carried the judgment of the Deity Race.


    The leader of the Holy Wings was known as the Goddess of Balance. She wielded a sword in one hand and a balance in the other.


    Legend has it that her eyes were blind folded. Over the years, it came to be accepted that this ''blindness'' represented impartial judgment. However, those of the Deity Race knew different.


    The Goddess of Balance was always perfectly fair and infallible. She didn''t need an aid like a blindfold to maintain her purity of decision. The real reason she wore a blindfold was because her gaze held within it the vastness of the world. It held true judgment, a judgment that, in of itself, rivaled the Heavens, the True Heavens, in Perfection.


    These Eyes of Judgment were something all of the Holy Wings had, albeit to varying degrees. However, for these to appear here and now¡­


    It was already too late. Ryu''s eyes stood on a level that was beyond most. He had noticed the appearance of these people long before Elena had and he had locked gazes with their leader from the very beginning.


    The very moment he had, time dilated, a single second stretching to minutes, then months, then years. Eventually, a single second stretched past the point of millennia, freezing Ryu in space and taking his mind completely over, his life seemingly running through his mind step by step.


    ¡­


    Ryu felt trapped, his body smaller than it had been in a long time.


    His hands were that of a child''s, his head finding it difficult to look at things without gazing all the way up.


    p1ease visit n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    He sat in a vast hall, his upper body naked as he submerged in a golden liquid filled with precious herbs and accommodations. With their smell, he knew that he should probably recognize some of these herbs, but he hated to study.


    What was the fun of studying when he could go and swing his spear about? The library was such a boring place. He was a Tatsuya. One day he''d be proudly leading armies like his dad and his grandpa.


    He had heard stories about how his great grandpa had conquered the Shrine Plane long ago, but he always wondered why stop there? Was this really all there was to conquer?


    He heard some people saying that the Armament Guild was stronger than his Tatsuya Clan. How ridiculous. What could be stronger than a dragon? He would definitely go to the Armament Guild again in the future and teach them who was boss.


    It was unfortunate, though. He went to the Armament Guild with his dad before, but his dad didn''t let him see what his results were. He was sure he did super well, he definitely did super well. How could he not? He was a genius, he was always better than everyone around him, there wasn''t a single person his age who could meet his blade. In fact, even kids that had already Awakened had been beat up by him already.


    It only made sense, he had dragon blood running through his veins. How could they possibly match up to him? It was an impossible task from the very beginning. Those poor souls could only watch his back.


    Once he finished Awakening, he would leave them all even further behind.


    Hm? Why was everyone so quiet now? Where was the clapping and cheering? Why hadn''t there been a huge phenomena like his Grandpa Kunan said there''d be?


    Ryu fell into the roots of despair, the stares of adults much bigger than him bearing down on his soul.


    "The Sin of Pride."


    The voice boomed, ripping out a piece of Ryu''s heart.

 Chapter 879 Sins

    In the real world, Ryu''s chest burst open, black blood flowing out of it. But, it was as though he couldn''t see or sense what was happening at all, his gaze still blankly staring ahead into the eyes of the Valkyrie.


    His Realm Heart tore apart, a piece of it collapsing along with his heart and beginning to crumble.


    Blood dripped down Ryu''s mouth, even his eyes beginning to streak with blood.


    Elena tried to rush forward from the skies, but she found herself strongly rebuffed, her arm snapping and her wings clipping like some sort of broken kite as she was flung back.


    The Dao of the Valkyrie was too great. She couldn''t even get close, an invisible barrier surrounding Ryu without allowing him or anyone else for that matter, to interfere with the process.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s world went dark and he found himself sprawled on the ground. His jaw hurt a bit, he could even feel a bruise beginning to throb and grow.


    He spit out to the side, and one of his teeth actually shot out along with a projectile of blood.


    Who the hell had punched him?


    He looked up to find a fiery red head boy standing over him.


    Oh, it was this bastard from the Deep Eruption Sect. That was right, he ended up like this because he had said the bastard was a weakling who wouldn''t even last a second on the Shrine Plane. How ridiculous, if it wasn''t for the fact he couldn''t cultivate, would he even be able to land a blow like that?


    Ryu kicked out, getting the bastard who had a worried expression on his face right in the shin. But it felt like he had kicked a hard rock wall, he almost snapped his Achilles sending out that kick.


    The bastard who had begun to worry since he had lost his temper and punched Patriarch Tatsuya''s son suddenly had his fuse relit. This brat was still trying to piss him off? Well fuck it, since he was already going to get into trouble anyway, why not throw another punch.


    Ryu protected his face, his silvery irises glaring up.


    Then, when he saw he had an opportunity, he swung his leg up again. But, this time, he went right for the groin, driving his shin up with as much force as he could muster.


    The bastard yelped out in pain, rolling off to the side.


    Ryu scrambled up, reaching for a large potted plant off to the side. Instantly realizing he couldn''t pick it up, his gaze flashed. His eyes calculated everything in an instant.


    He put his back up against the pot and drove with his legs, knocking it over and right onto the writhing bastard''s face.


    Another yelp sounded out as glass and clay cracked and shattered.


    Ryu stumbled over, finding himself a heavy metal rod at the edge of the training grounds. He picked out the heaviest one he could swing and limped back over to the bleeding bastard.


    By now, the bastard had regained some of his bearings, but it was clear he had a heavy concussion. And, while Ryu didn''t have any cultivation, he still had his eyes and years of spear training prior.


    He wacked the metal rod against the side of the bastard''s head again, sending him reeling.


    "You little shit!" The bastard roared, stumbling around before suddenly exploding forward in a tackle.


    Ryu could see it, but he was unfortunately much too slow. The air was knocked out of him again and he thought he heard a rib crack.


    The two boys, one concussed, and the other injured, rolled around with no winner in sight.


    However, Ryu only seemed to be getting more and more angry.


    He couldn''t even beat this weakling. His body was so frail, and only seemed to be getting frailer by the day. All the strength he had had as a toddler was diminishing and all he could do now was roll around with this bastard.


    If only he could cultivate. Even if he had to trade in all his talent, he would do it. Just give him common grade talent and he would still be able to beat all these people.


    Why was this bastard so lucky? Why could he cultivate but I can''t?!


    "Sin of Envy."


    The voice boomed once again.


    ¡­


    Another hole appeared in Ryu''s chest, black blood pouring out even faster as his face drained of all color.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s world shifted once again. He found himself in a familiar bed room, a familiar woman lying beneath him, her eyes filled with vulnerability and trust.


    "Hubby?" Elena awoke fully to a set of cold lips on hers. Yet, she felt a sense of warmth and comfort when she saw that set of silver eyes looking down at her.


    Ryu''s eyes were slightly red, still lingering with remnants of his stored emotions. Still, they had an outpouring of tenderness and love that was rare for him. How long had Elena waited to see this very gaze? How many nights had she dreamt of being awoken by this very kiss that still tingled along her lips? So why did she feel her eyes watering? Why was her chest aching with this disgusting bitter-sweet feeling?


    "Elena.." Ryu''s voice was barely a whisper as though he feared a louder volume would betray its trembling. "Will you allow me to be selfish?"


    Ryu continued to look into her eyes, his heart pulling at him to make a different choice, to not use his wife like that, to not mark her as though she was some piece of property who wouldn''t be able to make decisions for herself so long as he did this.


    But he went through it anyway.


    She was too beautiful, too gorgeous. He had held back for far too long, he had to have her. No one else could touch his woman. She was his, and his alone.


    Only he could feel these soft curves, these delicate lips, to see her in such an open and vulnerable way¡­


    "Sin of Lust."


    "Sin of Greed."


    ¡­


    Ryu''s chest burst again, a deep chasm opening up. His ribs split apart, revealing the shredded organs beneath.


    His Realm Heart teetered on the brink of absolute collapse, pulling at the last bits of his life.

 Chapter 880 Bloody X

    Ryu''s vision blackened, warping to the point he was suddenly shuttled into another memory.


    ¡­


    "Little Ryu, whenever you see your royal father in such a setting. You must bow, okay? It''s okay to treat him as a normal father in private settings, but in public, he is a King."


    Ryu tilted his head to side, displaying his confusion. "But¡­ I can''t see, mother."


    First Concubine Leilani did her best to remain calm and continued explaining with a smile. "This mother of yours only meant those words figuratively. Simply put, in the presence of your royal father, showing proper respect is important."


    Ryu''s small head nodded. "Ah, sorry royal father, but I can''t bow to you out of respect."


    "Little Ryu¡­" First Concubine Leilani tried to teach her son once more, but this time, she was the one who was interrupted.


    "And why is that?" Surprisingly, it was actually the King who spoke. His voice was filled with majesty and the smallest hint of curiosity. He really did want to know what this son of his would say.


    "It''s simple, really." Ryu explained unperturbed by his father''s presence. "I''m blind. If I bowed, I have no way of knowing if I''ve done so in the proper direction. I could follow your voice, but if I miss by even a hair, and grace a Prince''s bow to the wrong person, wouldn''t that be more catastrophic than not bowing at all? Isn''t my not bowing the highest form of respect I could give you, royal father?"


    ¡­


    Pa!


    The crisp sound of a slap not only made Ryu''s ears ring.


    His face flushed red. Usually tender and white, it bulged, splitting beneath the strength of his mother''s rings.


    "Do you not understand the gravity of what you''ve done today?!" Leilani''s shrill voice filled the mother and son''s private courtyard. "Do you believe that you were very clever?! Did you think that even if you meant your words with the utmost sincerity that it would matter?!"


    ¡­


    Ryu relived all of these moments as though he was there again, the days, weeks and months passing by just as slowly. Finally, it was his seventh birthday¡­ Again. The time for his awakening ceremony had come.


    However, he seemed to also be aware from the very beginning that no matter what he did, it didn''t matter. He was too clever, too intelligent. How could he not realize how his family had been pressing him down ever since his birth? Even if he didn''t understand why, he knew enough to understand that it didn''t matter. There would be no changing things.


    So, when his Awakening Ceremony fizzled out, very clearly because his supposed father had tampered with the items necessary, he simply spoke the only words he had during the entire journey.


    "To not even allow me a path to live?... What a good father you are."


    Those words earned him yet another slap, one even more resounding that the one his mother had given him all those years ago, and it became an imprint his could still feel even years after.


    ¡­


    "Fourth Brother, tell me, is your big sister beautiful?" Second Princess Isla spun in a mesmerizing yellow dress. Despite her childish demeanor, she was already a woman who had a child half as old as Ryu. That said, one would never assume so by her high-pitched whining.


    "Second sister, how could I possibly answer that question?" Ryu''s lips slanted into a bitter smile.


    "Your second sister believes you have the best eyes on this entire Plane, is that not enough?" Isla took a seat beside her little brother, ruffling his black-dyed hair. "Look at you, you''re so handsome. Don''t you want big sister to find you a little wife?"


    Ryu smiled lightly. "And which little girl would you sentence to become a widow?"


    The Second Princess pouted, knocking Ryu on the head. "Don''t say such depressing things. Does this big sister of yours look like the type to allow you to die? Now be serious.


    "The little girl of second brother''s Garis Clan is quite cute. She''s only a year older than you and this big sister''s intuition tells her that she''s taken a liking to you. There''s also the Kunal Clan''s young miss. She''s already five years older than you, but that''s okay. When you two get older and she gets droopy, big sister gives you permission to take a young and ripe concubine."


    ¡­


    The memories Ryu had of his two sisters were quite good in the beginning. Isla and Dahlia, two names he hadn''t thought of in a very long time. It was unfortunate that those good memories didn''t last.


    ¡­


    "Grandpa!" Two adorable five-year-old children sprinted into the arms of King Tor, the little boy monopolizing his right arm while the little girl took over his left. A rare smile graced the King''s face, the likes of which hadn''t been seen in public for decades.


    "Okay, okay, you two little mushrooms. Go off to the garden and play, grandpa has something to speak with your mothers about."


    "How are Adorjan and Cato?" King Tor asked absentmindedly, taking a seat.


    "Our husbands are doing well, father." First Princess Dahlia responded, a light smile on her face.


    At first, her and her younger sister hadn''t been too excited to be married off into the Sect, but their husbands were good men who treated them well.


    "If you want to ask us how Little Ryu thinks you should respond, then just be straight forward." Second Princess Isla responded. Her voice didn''t have any odd fluctuations to it. In fact, it sounded just as light and playful as it usually did. But the weight of her words was fairly clear.


    King Tor shrugged. "If he can predict the reason for its destruction without ever taking a step outside, then his insight really is frightening."


    "That''s why us monitoring him is useless. If we waste even a single word trying to lead the conversation, he will realize it. The Agnes Clan has already forever earned his bad side, even his foolish mother is no exception. I don''t know how you could expect us to help you." The First Princess interjected.


    "That''s where you''re wrong." King Tor shook his head. "No matter how intelligence the Fourth Prince is, he is still only a child. Every child is the most susceptible to manipulation at this age and not a single one is indifferent to living a life without warmth. His IQ is irrelevant to the matter at hand."


    ¡­


    Those two weren''t the only ones to betray his trust¡­ Now were they¡­? His supposed mother''s father was a man who had no sense of propriety.


    ¡­


    "What did I do to deserve this?! A useless daughter! A useless grandson! My entire main bloodline is filled with useless fools! Do I really have to hand the Clan to my younger brothers?!


    "What are you worth if not the hole between your legs?!" He turned his ire toward his daughter, swinging his palm toward Leilani with barely a regard for her life.


    A resounding slap sent the Second Concubine crashing into a bookcase that leaned against the wall. Books flew into the air, flying upward only to land of Leilani''s frail body as she slumped to the floor.


    "You summoned me?" Ryu''s cool voice directed a question toward his grandfather.


    "You have one more opportunity to be useful to me." Patriarch Agnes responded coldly. "For the next three days, the Garis Clan will be here. Although they can reject my offer of marriage, they cannot toss away all decorum. They must allow us to play host. During this time, the Garis Clan young miss¡ªYanna, I believe her name was¡ªwill likely cling to you as she always does, you must¡ª"


    "No." Ryu didn''t allow his grandfather to finish. In fact, his face as twisted into a look of sheer and unbridled disdain.


    "What did you say?!" The chest of the old man rose and fell at astonishing rates. His skin reddened and one could almost see billowing smoke coming from his now crimson ears.


    ¡­


    His grandfather''s rage reached a fever pitch, causing him to punish Ryu by the strictest laws allowed by the Clan Texts.


    Ryu was stripped to his barest undergarments and dragged to the Clan Punishment Grounds. With the Sun burning high in the sky, the earth beneath his feet crunched with a coarse heat, burning the soles of his feet. His frail, ice-white skin took the brunt of the punishment, facing the beading streams of light without protection. Ironically, the only thing that protected him from a next day filled with red, painful blisters was the crimson blood that soon flowed from his wounds.


    The sound of a cracking whip violently tore through the ambience of the Clan Gathering.


    Ryu''s small wrists were bound tightly by blood-soaked ropes and then attached to a short pole before him. His bare knees were scraped by the earth beneath them, having been forced to kneel by the position of his tied hands. By now, his frail and delicate back was nowhere to be seen. Instead, its view was replaced by what looked like a fresh carcase, torn apart by the teeth of ravenous wolves.


    His face was partially covered by his black-dyed hair, sticking to his face due to some sick sweat and blood mixture. In the end, the only thing that left him the slightest bit of dignity was the pair of loose, now reddened underwear that could hardly cling to his skinny waist.


    ¡­


    He could still feel the cracks of the whip, the tearing of his flesh, the blood that fell drip by drip to the ground below.


    ¡­


    "Stop. Toss him into the dungeon."


    Ryu slowly stood. His legs wobbled beneath him, nearly collapsing more times than they cared to count, but in the end, he raised up to his full height.


    An ugly bruise of purples, greens and blacks covered his chest, making it obvious at a glance that several of his ribs were broken. His back was so mangled that pieces of whole flesh fell from his exertion, leaving a path of meat chunks behind him.


    "Where do you think you''re going?!" Patriarch Agnes roared.


    Ryu''s steps paused. Pressing his thumb firmly against the side of his pointing finger, he caused his nail to protrude as far out as it would go. Without a hint of hesitation, he stabbed this thumb over his heart, drawing a cross upward before crossing back once more to form a bloody X.

 Chapter 881 Old Doula (1)

    Ryu had slipped into what would become a coma of several months. By the time he awoke, he would find only Imperial Doula Miriam by his side.


    The old Doula was so excited when Ryu''s eyes finally fluttered open that she almost threw a small party for the two of them. It was only under Ryu''s insistence that she gave up on the idea.


    Still, Ryu felt a comforting warmth. Maybe others would be hurt by this reality, but, at least in the endless cold he faced, there was at least someone who was by his side.


    Imperial Doula Miriam slowly helped Ryu sit up. "Slowly, slowly. You''ve been asleep for so long that you''re definitely suffering from more than a few bedsores. Also, your muscles have significantly weakened ¨C it''s okay to rely on this old lady. I might look frail, but I''m still a Pulse Opening realm expert."


    Ryu coughed slightly under the strain, but still managed a small smile. "Aren''t there babies out there who need your help far more than me?"


    "I''m retired, this old lady can spend her time as she pleases."


    She spoke dismissively, raising a cup of water to Ryu''s dry lips. She had tried to keep him hydrated during his coma, but it was extremely difficult. In the end, she had no choice but to sustain his life with her own energy. She felt gratified that she had given her life to the medical field.


    Taking Ryu''s weak body into her arms, she carried him into the bath house, meticulously stripping away his dirtied clothes. Ryu didn''t seem too embarrassed by this prospect as he had long since treated the old Doula as his grandmother. Plus, if he didn''t receive this help, he didn''t believe that he could do it alone.


    ¡­


    A pained expression colored the old Doula''s face as she brought a warm, moist toilette to Ryu''s back to begin wiping the accumulated dirt and grime from him. Although a sort of phantom pain overwhelming Ryu as he felt each bump of every one of his scars, he bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from crying out.


    "Is it that bad?" Ryu said through a pained chuckle. How could a mortal body not scar in the face of such torture? Ryu had already expected as much.


    "It''s bad, but it isn''t the end of the world. A man with battle scars is the dream of any woman." Having learned that lying to her Little Ryu would accomplish nothing, she used a different tactic.


    "Maybe if the scars were earned on the battlefield¡­" Ryu said softly. "I''m not sure if there''s a market for men who gained scars being beaten by their own grandfather and mother¡­"


    ¡­


    Despite his cynical words, Ryu could still remember that warmth well. It was the only warmth he had received in that part of his life, the only kindness that resembled what his parents, his true and real parents, had given him in his first life.


    Her gentle touch, her delicate concern, the way she always stood by his side even when she didn''t have to¡­ he remembered it all.


    ¡­


    He sat for months after that, doing nothing much than staring into blank space. He wanted for nothing, sought after nothing, wanted to do nothing. He had no goals, no aspirations, no hope¡­


    Ryu thought he heard the words ''Sin of Sloth'' reverberate in his mind, but it lacked the forcefulness of the previous booming verdicts. He had completely immersed himself in these years, feeling everything again as though it was the very first time.


    ¡­


    "Come Little Ryu, you''ve spent too long sitting in one place. You must exercise your body." Imperial Doula Miriam''s once soft and lovable features suddenly became stern, surprising Ryu.


    ¡­


    Something was wrong, Ryu could feel it. Miriam had never been so fierce with him before. Maybe by then, he could already sense what would happen.


    ¡­


    "Look at you, you''re even more frail than before. You''ve lost what little muscle mass you had before.


    "We need to start slowly, overdoing it will only harm you. How do you expect to bring me little babies to play with like this? Up you go."


    ¡­


    Her soft voice rang in his ears. He remembered well as she forced him to his feet, pushing him into a training regimen that he wanted no part of.


    She had been right, his body was too weak. But, he didn''t understand the point of it all.


    It felt like every step he took, he was another step closer to that bleak future looming over the horizon.


    Ryu''s body shook violently in the real world. Veins of black raced across his skin, veins of red pulsing out the edges of his open, vacant eyes. The hole in his chest had only grown larger, black blood flooding from it like a streaming waterfall.


    Every drop that fell to the ground did so with BOOM, each singular teardrop being as heavy as a mountain.


    The earth rolled in waves, craters appearing within it one after another.


    ¡­


    "You must understand, Little Ryu. Growing stronger is just as much about rest as it is about work. A body can only grow with time. In the same vein, there needs to be a balance between all things. Strength is just as important as flexibility."


    ¡­


    "There you go, reach down as far as you can. Your elastic and well-stretched muscles will thank you later. Always emphasize this balance. What is the use of big muscles you can''t make proper use of?"


    ¡­


    "You can do it Little Ryu! Just get a small bit better everyday, step by step!"


    ¡­


    "Are you ever going to tell me why you had me start training my body?"


    "You''re very good at cornering this old lady¡­" A breath escaped Miriam''s wrinkled lips.


    She ruffled his hair, pinching at his cheeks. Her eyes were filled with a doting expression, almost as though she was looking at her own grandson as she told him the story of the White Devils.

 Chapter 882 Old Doula (2)

    Ryu should have realized it then, but Granny Miriam was far more intelligent than he had given her credit for. She distracted him with this story, telling him of the reason why his family seemed to hate him for no reason at all¡­ But, in doing so, she managed to avoid telling him the truth.


    If only she had told him earlier. If only she had told him of her plans. If only he knew, if only¡­


    ¡­


    "Little Ryu!" Suddenly, a warm, aged hand shook Ryu awake, startling him. He knew that the old Doula came to check on him sometimes, but she had never gone out of her way to awaken him. "Quickly, get dressed. Today is the day we leave this place."


    "Listen to me very carefully. Inside of this ring, there are provisions for exactly half a year¡­"


    Granny Miriam spoke of everything in quick succession, not allowing Ryu to speak at all.


    "¡­ I''ve spoken to your elder sisters. With their cultivation, they''ll be able to take you out of the castle safely. After that, you''ll be on your own."


    "Wait, what?" Little Ryu froze, his eyes icing over.


    "I said I''ve spoken to your elder sisters. They''re the only ones who''ve still shown care for you."


    A mournful croak escaped Ryu''s lips, his voice almost sounded like that of a dying animal. "RUN! RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN. NOW!"


    ¡­


    Ryu was frantic, more frantic than he had ever been in his life.


    His eyes turned completely black, his falling blood beginning to sizzle with a dense fogginess.


    But then, they sparked.


    A singular drop of blood fell from the skies like a meteor, a raging inferno of red-black suddenly enveloping it.


    ¡­


    "Why do they look like a pair of lovers escaping into the night to elope? Don''t tell me your little brother has such a perverted fetish, Brother Amory?"


    "Your jokes are as crude as ever, Brother Atticus. Whether my Fourth Brother is having an affair with this old whore is none of my concern."


    By now, the old Doula had frozen completely. Her aged and trusting mind couldn''t comprehend just how this had happened.


    She couldn''t comprehend it. As an older sister herself, she would put her life on the line if it meant protecting her younger sibling. She could never imagine that for the sake of some feeble empire, Ryu''s two sisters who had always seemed to dote on him would do such a thing.


    To make matters worse, they were cowards. They didn''t dare to come here to face the despair of a little boy and an old woman themselves. They were pathetic, spineless, worthless shells of a human being.


    ¡­


    "NO!" The rush of emotions Ryu felt were so fierce that he vomited on the spot. A horrible, gut wrenching stench erupted from his lips, coating the dew-covered night grass with his hatred and animosity.


    "Aiyah, he really must love her. What a sad sight. Such a handsome young man falling for an old hag."


    The  old Doula was ripped from Ryu''s hands. He tried to stumble forward to grab her back, but he found himself flying through the air, having been slapped away by his father''s Death Guard.


    "STOP!" Ryu roared, standing as swiftly as his concussed body would allow. "Imperial Doula Miriam''s twin sister is an Immortal cultivator! Killing her is a mistake!"


    Prince Atticus'' lewd laughter filled the night air once more. "I was wondering how an old bat seduced such a young man. Did you woo him with your fanciful stories of grandeur? What a joke."


    Ryu''s body shook violently, the pain in his head doubling, then tripling as his veins pumped with rage. It was then that he thought of the spatial ring. Not only was it a rare treasure, the space within it was large enough to hold enough rations for years. From what he knew, this was impossible for a normal treasure. Shouldn''t this be proof enough?


    "Little Ryu, that''s enough." Blood flowed from Miriam''s scalp as clumps of her hair were pulled too far back. "You were right to never call me Granny Miriam, it''s not a title this old woman deserves¡­"


    The old Doula never got to finish her words, the sharp fall of a blade connecting with her neck, allowing her head to roll in a dense, bloody mess.


    Ryu sat and stared, not believing what he was seeing.


    "Granny Miriam¡­" Ryu had no more tears to shed. Whatever remained of him had dried, crusting over in a coarse salt.


    His heart was hollow, his mind blank.


    He sat there for weeks, unmoving, unable to do anything.


    "Kill."


    A slumbering giant trembled in his soul.


    "Kill."


    ¡­


    Sin of Wrath was completely drowned out. Ryu couldn''t hear it, it couldn''t reach him no matter how hard it tried.


    His eyes were sunken, his chest wide open as his Realm Heart crumbled down to its last pieces.


    "I¡­" Ryu''s voice echoed through the skies.


    "¡­ Should have slaughtered them all to their last!"


    An infuriated roar shook the Shrine Place, traveling through the Shrine World and almost collapsing the Moral Planes.


    The veins around Ryu''s eyes turned completely black from red as a pitch-black soul emerged from his forehead, even turning the bright gold of the Rebirth Crown to the same dense darkness.


    Within the Incubator, several Black-Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies were devoured and swallowed by Ryu one by one, his fury reaching the point where he cared about nothing else.


    In that moment, Ryu''s silvery irises turned into a pair of blackholes, trembling as the skies above split to reveal a looming Heaven''s Gate.


    The Valkyrie in the distance trembled, coughing up a mouthful of black blood as her irises lost all their color.


    She fainted on the spot, dead. Never to rise again.


    However, Ryu continued to howl to the skies, his very being becoming painted in darkness.


    His claws grew a size, Rage Flames billowing around him even as Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns covered his violet scales.


    His horns exploded forward, black arcs of lightning crackling between them.


    "Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill!"

 Chapter 883 Mass Of Fate

    The Heavens split, a rain of dark gold flames falling from above as Ryu''s scales continued to grow. In a moment, it felt as though he had become a true demon, his eyes losing any separation between whites, iris, and pupils as it plunged into the pits of hell.


    Black flames surged around Ryu''s body as his black soul seemed to swallow up everything.


    <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> appeared in the skies above, but the size was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. It was as though a sun as dark as night had appeared amidst the swirling skies, taking into it the falling dark gold flames with a naked abandon that cared for nothing and lusted for everything.


    The corpse of the Horned Devil was suddenly sucked into the looming black sun, dancing with sparks of dark gold.


    A flash of red bathed the ground below as the corpse was shredded to pieces. Its bones had once been as sturdy as the densest earth and its flesh was as hardy as the strongest metals. And yet, it was minced into pieces, a strong gravitational pull tearing it apart.


    Ryu''s soul bulged a small measure before it compressed down again. It was hard to tell, but it almost seemed as though its body had become even a tinge blacker, something that should have rightfully been impossible.


    However, the swirling ball of darkness didn''t seem satisfied in the slightest, its slow rotation suddenly giving a strong pull.


    The Demon Kings had been ripped from Ryu''s control after his soul sunk into the pits of the Valkyrie''s judgment. But, before they could even think of paying back Ryu for what he had done to them and laying waste to the whole of the Shrine World, they suddenly found their bodies being pulled in, inch by inch.


    Bits and pieces of the Ash Treants enormous body was being torn inch by inch, flying into the ever looming black sun.


    The other Demon Kings dug in their heels, fighting against the oppressive might that threatened to reap their lives. However, the first to collapse was the Wrath Knight.


    It and its horse flew upward, followed soon after by the Shadow, and then the Skeleton King.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The skies thundered as they rained down powerful strike after powerful strike, but it was to no avail. This time, their bodies were shredded before even coming within a kilometer of the swirling star of black. The bits and pieces of what were formerly part of the strongest bodies in all of Sacrum orbited three rounds before being sucked in.


    One after another, the Demon Kings, rulers of their Realms, feared by all, were sucked in.


    "HUMAN!" The Fire Giant''s final roar could no longer even cause the skies to quake. In this world, Ryu was the arbiter of all that was.


    Ryu''s soul pulsed once again, his body growing past two meters and shooting up to three.


    His claws lengthened, his horns curled menacingly, his scales rated a violet darkness that seemed far closer to black than it could ever be to blue, purple or pink.


    His Dragon Soul was fueled by his fury, his eyes pulsing with the qi of the Black Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies until it felt as though he could see through the whole of the world.


    He didn''t step through Heaven''s Gate. Heaven''s Gate came to him, gracing him with its light and causing his power to surge, rising to levels it had never seen before.


    In that past, Ryu could peek a few hundred years into the future. However, back then, he hadn''t even stepped into the Cosmic Grades, let alone having fully unsealed his Pupils. So, the question was, how many years into the future could he step into now?


    Usually, when the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were fully unsealed, the maximum number was one million. One million years. Or, more accurately, a single year shy of that number.


    However, Ryu seemed to want more, he seemed to dig deeper, a violet chaotic force digging through the depths of his bones, clawing into his marrow, severing and reforming his nerves, even increasing the number of folds in his brain itself all to accommodate what his eyes needed as though even the Origin Flame wasn''t enough.


    One million wasn''t enough. Ten million wasn''t enough. A billion wasn''t enough.


    Give me a trillion. Give me the power I will hold a trillion years from now. Give me back what you''ve taken from me and much more than that. Give me everything!


    Ryu''s enraged roar had long since come to a stop. However, it continued to echo through the skies, pulsing throughout the veil of the Heavens and howling toward the peak of Existence itself. It announced his presence to all that was, all that had been, and all that would ever be.


    When the Gates finally washed over Ryu, his cultivation seemed to become muddled.


    Mistress Holy Wing stood explosively to her feet, her throne shattering to pieces and her eyes opening wide. Without the slightest hesitation, her palm flipped over shattering a seal.


    The ground began to rumble, a not so distant piece of land beginning to split open as the hidden land of the Martial Gods opened up to the world. However, Ryu didn''t even spare this change a single glance, looking down at his large, black clawed hands.


    He could feel the shift in his meridians, the change to his soul, the surging power of his body. He could even feel a shift in his eyes, a small but subtle transition that he couldn''t quite understand.


    Even now, he had no way of comprehending his power. He had no frame of reference, no ability to wrap his head around the concepts of what he could and should be able to do. And, truthfully, his very own Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils seemed to be confused as well.


    The future was a tangled mess. The further into it you went, the more exponential the change in variables became and even the sheer number of variables themselves rose to a quantity that was impossible for even Ryu to comprehend. The complexity made even the Silver Star Visualization nothing more than a joke.


    To try and extrapolate out so far was nigh impossible. There was a reason why Ryu''s previous uses of Heaven''s Gate could never account for the fortuitous encounters he would run into, or sudden waves of comprehension he could have. It could only give him a linear path ahead, a best fit line for what might happen years from now.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted through the land, taking his eyes away from the change to his hands.


    "<Reverse>¡­" He said softly.


    <Reverse> was a lesser form of <Fate Reversal>. While the latter manipulated reality, the former only observed it. Ryu wanted to see with his own eyes what had happened 900 million years ago.


    His mind reconstructed everything, taking into account every variable, every shift in the wind, every scratch left on the earth and even the scratches left on the earth beneath it to reconstruct the image.


    Even as others scrambled to figure out how to deal with him, he only continued to watch.


    He watched as the allies of his people backstabbed them one after another. He watched as the home he had known for a lifetime was razed to the ground. He watched as his grandparents joined hands to put up a final stand, giving their lives to give his mother and what remained a final chance.


    He watched as his mother, now alone and without anyone to support the weight on her shoulders, roared into the skies, using the last of her strength to connect with the Ice Shrine and freeze everything over, ready and waiting for the day her husband and her son would return.


    Ryu didn''t really need to watch these things. His grandmother had already explained them all to him. However, he still wanted to see it all with his own eyes.


    Ryu seemed to have been thrown over the peak. His rage had reached a point where he didn''t even know how to express it any longer, leaving a gaze that was dull, an expression that was placid, and a body that didn''t move an inch, let alone tremble.


    His gaze shifted, landing on Elena who stood dozens of kilometers away. Seeing her broken limbs and bleeding body, it was hard to tell if his expression changed at all.


    However, his hand reached out.


    "<Fate Reversal>"


    He grabbed at the air, calling a mass of darkness and blood to form in his palm.


    The Sky Gods that had begun to surge out of Martial God''s hidden world all froze, their expressions warping.


    Reversing Fate was one matter. It was hard to wrap your head around, but so long as you had another target, it was a simple shift, like pouring a cup of water from one into the other. But, what Ryu had done was the equivalent of a mortal forcing water to hover in the palm of their hands.


    He suspended Fate itself above his palm as though it was a plaything. But¡­ That was only something a Perfect Sky God could do!


    Suddenly, the ball of mass in his hand doubled in size.


    Fate didn''t like being attached to nothing. The more time it spent in such a state, the more twisted and violent it became, and the more difficult it was to control.


    The ball of Fate doubled in size again.


    From a Fate of broken arms and internal bleeding, it had become something much darker.


    Ryu''s gaze slowly shifted from the floating ball in his hand to the Sky Gods that practically blotted out the skies with their sheer number.


    He had the hand out, his horns sparking with black lightning as his forearm pulsed.


    The mass of Fate shot forward at a speed that couldn''t be tracked with the eye, appearing amidst the Martial Gods in an instant.

 Chapter 884 Lt Didnt Matter

    It was an eruption of blood and gore.


    Everywhere the ball of Fate passed, agitated beyond imagining, it ripped through everything it could find. Like a pent up ball of mass destruction, it shredded everything in its path, mincing Sky Gods to pieces as though their lives were worthless.


    Ryu took a step through the air, appearing before the Human Beast Sky God. The man that had once loomed tall and large over him could now only look at him eye to eye. And yet, he still seemed to be a large measure smaller, his aura being completely snuffed out and grinded to nothingness before Ryu.


    In truth, Ryu didn''t really understand why it was that this man was here. Nothing particularly made sense. Most Sky Gods that Ryu had seen here were lurking in the surroundings, not wanting to get involved and only caring enough to come here to spectate.


    Of course, these sort of fence sitters were still traitors in Ryu''s eyes. They saw invaders coming here, taking their land, their resources, and all they did was sit on the sidelines. They had no backbone and none of the fortitude a true Sky God should have.


    "Ah, I see."


    Ryu looked at the Human Beast Sky God as though he could see right through him, the abyss of his eyes freezing the latter in place.


    "Your brows are marked with lust, your yang has long since overpowered any semblance of yin within your body. You can''t proceed unless you have powerful women to bring into your bed and what? You thought that my wife was a viable candidate? It seems you truly know how to overvalue yourself."


    Ryu''s voice seemed calm, but the coldness of his words sent shivers down the spines of all those who heard it.


    From beginning to end, the Human Beast Sky God couldn''t take his eyes off of the dark shadow that hovered before Ryu''s forehead. It felt as though it held the mass of the world, warping everything in its direction, even attention and senses themselves.


    Ryu reached a finger forward, his actions causing the Human Beast Sky God to struggle and fight back harder. But, even those muscles of his, capable of flattening worlds, destroying planets and ripping holes through the sky couldn''t do a single thing.


    Ryu''s finger paused.


    "Struggling?"


    His head tilted to the side, observing the Human Beast Sky God as though looking toward a rat stuck in a cage.


    "Are you wondering why it is you can''t move? As a Sky God, you can''t even see the Lines of Fate? How could you even call yourself a Sky God, then?"


    Ryu''s eyes might have been black, but what he could see was far beyond just this. The world around him was drawn into colorful lines and probabilities. However, unlike in the past where he could only observe these lines, when he commanded these strings of Fate to move, they complied. When he commanded them to stay still, they complied. When he commanded them to kill¡­


    They complied.


    Ryu''s finger tapped forward, a thin line of black flames ripping a tiny hole through the Human Beast Sky God''s throat.


    The thin line was like a laser tearing through the world, splitting space in two ripping a cut through the Shrine Plane that tore into even the Blossom Plane beneath it, wreathing both Planes in fire and destruction.


    The line of the flames suddenly expanded into a wide blast as it exited the Human Beast Sky God''s throat, a blast that would have wiped out everything had Ryu not retracted his hand.


    The Human Beast Sky God stood in place, his eyes opened wide. His muscles stopped spasming, his feet rooted in place.


    And then¡­ He began to collapse.


    A gentle gust of wind crumpled his body into floating pieces of ash, leaving behind nothing more than a Godhood that vanished soon after.


    Ryu retracted his finger, taking another step through the air and appearing before the retreating Acrus Clan Sky Gods. The words of True Sky God Arcus still rang in his ears, and yet it felt like an entire lifetime ago.


    A rain of arrows instantly bombarded Ryu, the Supreme Blacksmith and True Sky God, releasing everything they had. Their faces were filled with a frantic light as they unleashed all the trump cards they had.


    And yet, Ryu simply strolled forward. He didn''t block, he didn''t raise his guard, he didn''t even levy an attack. However, in shocking faction, as though the two Sky Gods had never shot an arrow in their lives before, every single one missed.


    Ryu didn''t shift his direction, he didn''t even speed up his pace, only walking in a straight line from start to end.


    One would think that fear had gotten the best of them, that their hands couldn''t'' stay steady enough to aim properly, but this couldn''t have been further from the truth. Between the both of them, they had nocked and released an uncountable number of arrows in their lifetimes. Even if fear had taken root in their very souls, their muscle memory and training would have taken over. And yet, none of it seemed to work at all.


    True Sky God Arcus suddenly released a sad laugh, lowering his bow. For the first time in his life, his bow slipped from his fingers, a beautiful Origin Grade treasure crashing down from the skies and destroying a mountain before with its sheer weight alone.


    He realized that the skill between him and Ryu was far too great. Even if Ryu didn''t move an inch and he stood here shooting all day, not a single one would connect. He was certain.


    Despair colored his heart black. He realized that his trillions of years of work and effort would end here today, all because he wasn''t smart enough to side with the scion of a ruined Clan. The irony wasn''t lost on him in the slightest.


    He didn''t even notice when his head was severed from his body, spinning through the air with the same worthless weight just as everyone else''s was. In those final moments, his title of True Sky God didn''t matter in the slightest.

 Chapter 885 The Slightest Comfort

    Ryu''s gaze shifted to Supreme Blacksmith Arcus. This was the first time he was meeting the Fragmented Sky God like this. However, it didn''t seem to matter.


    Supreme Blacksmith Arcus could have never thought that the brat he refused to forge a bow for would be standing here before him with his life in the palm of his hand.


    Ryu didn''t speak a word to him. Pressing two fingers together, he drew a curved arch from high above his head down toward his feet, a line of qi following his actions. Then, he drew a straight line from the center of this curved line backward.


    In that moment, a bow and arrow of qi formed, pulsing and radiating with power.


    Supreme Blacksmith Arcus didn''t get to say anything as Ryu released, the blazing arrow of black striking his chest true.


    The Supreme Blacksmith looked down at where his heart had been. The message seemed to ring loud and clear in his ears. His blacksmithing wasn''t needed.


    He crumbled to ash, his Godhood being all that remained.


    Ryu took a step forward, vanishing.


    He took a stroll through the Demigods, his hands clasped behind his back. Without even an effort, every one he passed by exploded into a rain of blood and gore. It was as though Ryu''s glance alone was too much for them to handle, their bodies convulsing and speeding toward death in sacrifice for the blessing they had received.


    Ryu''s steps paused, standing before King Adonis. The latter was still heavily injured and hardly able to move from Ryu''s previous Dragon Claw attack. But now, he shivered much like the coward he was, facing Ryu without any of his previous bloviating arrogance.


    Ryu simply flicked a finger, tearing a hole with his skull and leaving his body to warp into ashes.


    Ryu continued to walk, a relentless slaughter taking place. Those that tried to run in the distance thought they had done so successfully, until they ran into a wall of space none of them could pass through no matter how hard they tried.


    It was then they realized that they were trapped. Ryu meant every word he had spoken, he had no intention of letting any one of them off. He would slaughter them down to their very last man.


    Ryu''s steps paused, his gaze locking onto a particular woman. He recognized this Queen of the Martial Gods, she was Isemeine''s mother.


    His palm stretched out, causing the voluptuous and usually sensual woman to shoot into his hand.


    His fingers gripped her jaw with his fingers and thumb, looking into her eyes.


    The first ounce of hesitation appeared in Ryu''s actions. He really wasn''t sure, should he kill her? Why wouldn''t he? She had the same level of culpability as every other high level Martial God here. Why should he spare her?


    Queen Athelina''s gaze trembled with fear, but she kept her lips sealed tightly. Ryu had already killed both of her men and the father''s of Isemeine and her half sister Zenavey. She had no reason to think that Ryu would spare her. His rage for the Martial Gods clearly surpassed any connection he had to Isemeine.


    And yet, Ryu''s fingers released, allowing her dangling feet to crash to the ground.


    He walked by her without a single word, continuing his killing spree until he stood before the Valkyries.


    The women who had thrust him into that illusion surrounded their fallen sister, their mournful cries piercing the skies as they each clutched a portion of her body. Tears streamed down their faces, their reactions as hard rending as anyone else''s would have been.


    They had lost a sister they had grown up with, how could they not react like this?


    But, Ryu could only seem to look upon this sort of reaction with disgust. If they had stepped over her corpse and charged for him, as cold and callous as they were to everyone else, then he might still be enraged, but he would at least respect them.


    Clearly, though, they didn''t have such backbone.


    Noticing Ryu''s sudden appearance, the Valkyries all lunged for him, their spears being brandished with strength that made the Sky Gods Ryu had killed until this point feel like nothing more than canon fodder.


    But, he only stretched out a single finger.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!


    Ryu''s finger seemed to move about slowly, and yet it always appeared in the path of every lethal spear strike.


    They were relentless, pouring in all their rage, all their anger, everything they had into their power.


    The earth shattered, the skies whipping with the winds of their weapons and space split with every pierce.


    And yet, none of it seemed to matter at all. Even as their shrieks rose like tempests into the skies and they burned all the reserves of strength they had, it was completely useless.


    "This looks a lot like the Sin of Wrath to me, don''t you think?"


    Ryu''s voice pierced through it all, shaking their hearts as though their shrieks and the cacophony of their strikes wasn''t enough to drown out his will.


    His finger flicked forward.


    A Valkyrie''s spear spun to the side, her two hands trying to hold on tightly. But, Ryu''s strike was too powerful for her. She had no ability to stop her momentum before her blade sliced through the throat of her fellow sister.


    "NO!"


    The shout was filled with horror and pain, and yet Ryu''s finger only flicked forward again, and then again.


    He slaughtered them one by one.


    The last of them fell to the ground in a pool of her own tears. Even as blood gurgled from her throat, she cried out, reaching for her sisters, crawling toward them.


    Ryu walked by, kicking the hand she was reaching for.


    Why should she be allowed even the slightest comfort in death?


    The Valkyrie collapsed, unable to reach what remained of the warmth of her sister''s hand.


    As for Ryu, he finally stepped onto the body of the Ice Phoenix, climbing up its body slowly but surely.


    He didn''t seem to be in a rush at all.


    Up ahead, the Martial God Sky Gods still fought against the very same ball of Fate as Mistress Holy Wing remained standing on her feet.


    Ryu walked up the phoenix''s proud neck, his three meter tall frame and towering qilin horns still sparking with black lightning.


    "You should have died a long time ago," Ryu said lightly, his gaze meeting Mistress Holy Wing''s for the very first time since he had stepped foot onto this battlefield.

 Chapter 886 Go Back.

    Ryu had spent what felt like the whole of his first life fighting against this woman with nothing more than his words. But, honestly, he had never taken her too seriously.


    He was na?ve.


    No one was much of a threat to him when he had the behemoth of the Tatsuya Clan to his back. He could joke around as he pleased, poking his finger at the noses of World Sea Realm experts like they weren''t worth much as a mere mortal.


    It didn''t help Ryu take Mistress Holy Wing seriously when the tandem of his parents, even while not being in the World Sea Realm themselves, could take her on with ease, let alone what his grandfathers could do to her.


    However, it was this very woman that he never took seriously that had become the disgusting underbelly of the betrayal of his family. She orchestrated everything, pulling at the strings of his life as though it was her puppet to puppeteer, and while all his grandparents were dead, while the fate of his parents were still yet unknown, it was she who stood here completely fine and healthy.


    She had every right to laugh at him, to sneer at him, to look down upon him and turn up her nose. She had done what Ryu could never do.


    She lowered her head for billions of years, enduring humiliation she would never normally have to, all for the sake of her goals.


    And now she stood here today as the victor, facing Ryu while standing before a throne she had proudly placed atop his mother''s head.


    Ryu''s blood was like a flowing sea of black oil. Dark fire raced across its surface, pumping through his veins and the valves of his heart. His fury had reached a level where he couldn''t even properly put it into words, a point where his expressions could no longer convey what it was he was feeling on the inside. However¡­


    The abyss of his eyes could.


    They swirled like two black holes, lacking even an event horizon. There wasn''t the slightest hint of light. Staring into them felt like staring at the end of all that was, the final destination of Existence itself.


    Ryu reached out a hand, causing his Great Swordstaff, stuck in the ground tens of kilometers away, to rip out from the earth.


    The rock and land around it fractured in one instant, then collapsed entirely in the next, leaving an abyss that burrowed right through to the Blossom Plane.


    Ryu reached out his other hand, causing the same devastation to be wrought. He didn''t seem to care if the entirety of the Shrine World collapsed. This woman would die here today.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaff collided with his palm, the reverberating impact of the wind causing a tempest of violent air to spin out in all directions, whipping Mistress Holy Wing''s hair back.


    At that moment, Mistress Holy Wing''s expression curled into a sinister smile, her gaze roaming over Ryu.


    "Dual wielding polearms? You lost your family and suddenly don''t even know how to properly train anymore? How pathetic."


    Ryu stepped forward, the neck of ice beneath him quaking as he launched himself forward, his Great Swordstaff swinging down with the momentum of the world.


    "Valeska Sanctus. Today is your death day."


    BANG!


    Mistress Holy Wing unsheathed her sword with a deathly speed, her pink diamond eyes flashing.


    The pause of their blows only lasted a single instant before space imploded, their subsequent strikes being unleashed like a furious avalanche.


    Mistress Holy Wing''s singular sword wasn''t even a single meter long, and yet she wielded it like a war hammer, a battle lust flooding forth from her eyes as a mad grin spread across her face.


    Ryu was completely expressionless, his blades wreathed in flames, his strikes only steady becoming more and more powerful.


    He bore down on Valeska, his momentum undeniable, his will impossible to be infringed upon. He faced her mad dance with the calmness of a suppressed inferno, the breath of oxygen fueling his foundation to greater and greater heights with every passing moment.


    His twin Great Swordstaffs rose into the air, their polearms bending wildly as he struck downward with both at once.


    Valeska stepped to the side, raising the flat of her sword to block.


    BANG! BANG!


    Her throne shattered, her body being sent flying off of the proud head of the Ice Phoenix.


    Ryu''s blade raised into the skies, a bolt of pitch black lightning striking down to his command and concentrating into a single line.


    He slashed outward, and yet this blade of condensed lightning wasn''t aimed for Mistress Holy Wing at all.


    In the distance, a shrill roar sounded as Kagan was split in two. He had been stuck at the barrier of space Ryu had put up, trying to push his way through. However, with just a thought, Ryu had reaped his life. Or so it seemed.


    "<Fate Reversal>."


    Kagan''s body suddenly fused back together, another ball of Fate appearing before Ryu, balancing on the tip of his blade. The tangle of ripping violence pulsed wildly, doubling in size, then doubling again, and then again.


    With a single whip of his wrist, Ryu sent the ball of Fate flying into the surging tide of Martial God Sky Gods, causing them to be thrown into even further chaos.


    By the time he was finished, Valeska had crawled out of the ground, her pinkish aura flourishing as she roared, bursting through the earth and charging back up.


    "Go back." Ryu said coldly.


    He blinked and vanished, his body appearing before her flying finger in an instant.


    The sole of his feet connected flush with her face, his downward momentum accelerating until they crashed into the earth again.


    BOOM!


    The ground rose like a tide around them, blocking out all the light.


    Valeska tried to brandish her sword, stabbing toward Ryu''s crotch like the sinister viper she was.


    However, Ryu''s Great Swordstaff flickered, clanging against her blade and sending it almost flying from her hand.


    BANG!

 Chapter 887 [New Announc Below+Mass Release/ Rewards To Make It Up To You All]

    Valeska released a maddened, banshee-like roar, her shriek causing space to crack and shift.


    A powerful force sent Ryu flying backward, a flash of pink appearing before his chest in the blink of an eye. In quick succession, Valeska released a flurry of strikes, leaving Ryu''s torso a mangled mess of flesh and blood as though his blackened scales were nothing more than a spread of butter.


    The fierce glow in Valeska''s eyes was unlike anything it had been before.


    Her distorted nose snapped back into place, her crushed jaw and cheeks regaining their volume as her speed seemed to explode.


    However, Ryu''s expression remained as unmoved as always.


    "<Fate Reversal>."


    Valeska''s relentless attack stuttered, a mouthful of blood flying from her mouth as her own chest erupted into a mangled mess.


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaff swung forward in the small gap, taking advantage of what was ultimately a split of a split second as though it was as easy as breathing.


    His blade ascended from below, tearing through the ground and warping its polearm to the point when it collided with Valeska, the entire edge was pressed flush against her body.


    Valeska should have been cut directly in half, but a spark of blinding golden-pink erupted and she was sent flying once again.


    Ryu raised his blade again, causing yet another bolt of black lightning to descend. He repeated his same actions as though he hadn''t skipped a single beat, Kagan''s body splitting in two all to provide yet another ball of Fate for him.


    Valeksa''s cry bellowed into the skies. Pink diamond wings burst from her backs and hips.


    A single flap tore through the fabric of reality. In that moment, Ryu could see all four Planes with his eyes, a single step capable of leading him to any single one just that easily. And yet, that singular flap also brought Valeska right to his face, her blade piercing forward with a blinding momentum.


    Ryu rose his Great Swordstaff, the flat of its blade meeting the piercing blade, rotating just the slightest bit toward his outer hip the instant the met.


    Just the small change sent Valeska glancing off to the side, her impetus threatening to send her flying by him.


    However, at the instant Ryu had lifted his sword, his weight had shifted as well, his leg lifting as he whipped his shin into what should have been her soft belly but was really her hard armor.


    All of Mistress Holy Wing''s momentum reversed in an instant.


    She sped out like a bolt, a speeding cannonball released from a cannon. Her body burst into flames, her wings being forcefully wrapped around her body as the wind pressure was far too much for her to fight back against and unfurl them.


    Ryu calmly raised his blade again, repeating the same actions with the same level of monotony.


    His wrist flickered, another ball of Fate entering the fray of Martial God Sky Gods. By this point, their number had been cut down by more than half, Ryu''s slaughter causing the corpses of old monsters that had experienced tens of trillions of years of life into nothing more than piles of flesh and bone.


    Kagan was practically losing his mind. Being forced to the brink of death only to be reeled back at the final moment again was having a severe effect on his psyche.


    He realized that Ryu was doing it on purpose. He had never intended to spare him, nor did he fear the organization behind him. In fact, he wanted him to suffer, suffer so much that he wouldn''t even want to live any longer.


    He was being reared and used like livestock. Just the same way these people had seen Ryu''s Tatsuya family as a convenient key to getting what they wanted, he made them feel used and abused.


    This was his, his family''s. And yet they wanted to take away the things that had been grown on their land for their benefit?


    Not while he was here. Not while he could make them suffer.


    A blaze of pink diamond light shot by Ryu. His body tilted to the side, but not far enough, his arm being severed from his shoulder and spinning into the air.


    Valeska rose into the skies in the distance, her expression livid. Pink diamond runes crawled up her cheeks and encroached the side of her eyes, looking a lot like Heavenly Ice Phoenix Patterns with their straight lines and sharp corners.


    The whites of her eyes had vanished, replaced by an entire gem of pink, her wings looking less like soft, pillowy constructs and becoming more like precious metals carved into gorgeous constructs.


    Valeska stomped on the ground, her body barreling forth.


    "I DON''T CARE HOW POWERFUL YOU''VE BECOME! I''LL ENJOY KILLING YOU!"


    Valeska''s sword hand reached out, her body practically becoming one with her sword qi as she soared forward. In the blink of an eye, she was already within a meter of Ryu, her blade prepared to pierce right through his heart.


    However, even having lost an arm, Ryu''s expression couldn''t have been more placid.


    He didn''t even raise his second Great Swordstaff, his lips slightly parting.


    "<Fate Reversal>."


    Valeska''s eyes widened, a sharp pain suddenly ripping her sword arm out of its socket and sending it spiraling into the air.


    Ryu''s arm snapped back into his shoulder, his grip still holding onto his Great Swordstaff tightly. As though it had never left his body, he swung downward, matching Valeska''s momentum with his own.


    A light of fear lit in Mistress Holy Wing''s eyes, but it was already too late to retreat. The wounds Ryu''s last <Fate Reversal> had caused her had yet to even heal despite her healing factor, there was no time to even think of reattaching her arm.


    BANG! CRACK!


    The spark of pink that had protected her before shattered like fine glass, her valiant armor going with it.


    When it seemed she would be sent flying into the distance again, Ryu''s left Great Swordstaff rose light lightning, smashing downward and shifting all her backward momentum into the ground.


    The flat of Ryu''s blade smashed half her body into minced meat. Her bones turned to mush, her flesh becoming a mangle heap of blood.


    The ground beneath them collapsed, but Ryu''s qi surged outward, stabilizing it. He wanted her to feel the full brunt of smashing into the earth.


    BANG!


    The pain was unbearable to the extent Valeska didn''t dare even to scream out.


    Ryu didn''t wait, he didn''t even hesitate. He didn''t speak any final words, nor did he get any final digs in. He had had his fill of humiliating this woman with words long ago. Now, he only wanted to sever her life with his blade.


    However, just as he was about to swing down and end it, a hand appeared on his forearm.


    It was strong, stronger than anything Ryu had ever experienced. And it was large, not to the point of being giant, and yet it still felt far larger than what a human should wield.


    This was completely unlike when Tybalt had snuck up on Ryu. The difference was worse than night and day. Ryu''s senses had not only been heightened to an extreme, they had progressed forward through a trillion years of improvement!


    In the distance, Elena''s eyes widened.


    "RYU! RUN! PLEASE!"


    "Is this the son-in-law I''ve heard so much about?"


    The voice was almost too soothing to come from a man, and yet it was as deep as a vast ocean, penetrating through the four Planes with an ease that shouldn''t have been possible. It was as though when this man spoke, the world was forced to listen.

 Chapter 888 Xalvador

    Ryu''s gaze shifted from the hand on his forearm toward Elena in the distance. She seemed to be pleading with him to forget everything and run, but she also seemed to be aware that there was simply no way that he could do such a thing.


    Ryu didn''t know anything about Elena''s father, she had never spoken about him with him. But, that didn''t say very much as Elena didn''t ever usually talk about her family.


    In truth, Ryu had always assumed that Elena simply didn''t know who her father was. It made sense considering the practices of the Holy Wing Clan. Since Elena was a woman, she would have been taken away from her father at birth and would have never met him.


    But now that Ryu knew some more truths about the Holy Wing Clan, and had also come to understand that they were just as much a part of the Martial Gods as these supposed Apostles were, then that would mean that it was potentially true that the Holy Wing Clan''s rules were more like a temporary fixture.


    If Ryu was correct, that was probably just the Holy Wing Clan''s method of keeping themselves separate from the rest of Sacrum. Though, Ryu couldn''t really understand the purpose of such a thing.


    Regardless, the Martial Gods had already proved that they were quite promiscuous. Whether it was men or women, neither was looked down upon for how many partners they had, so long as those partners were powerful, that is.


    It was a huge change from the usual ways of the martial world. Even setting aside just how progressive their views were, just the fact that such a monstrous Clan of people not only didn''t harp on bloodline purity, but even welcomed ''impurity'', was completely unheard of.


    However, it was also clear that the Martial Gods were correct in their approach. Merging with other powerful bloodlines, even if they were lesser than that of the Martial Gods themselves, left potential for all sorts of mutations and talent variations down the line. Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if these policies were a large part of the strength of the Martial Gods.


    This realization, though, only fueled the fury within Ryu all the more.


    p1ease visit n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    Was this why they hadn''t really cared who Elena married? Did they think they could just replace him and swap him out whenever they wanted?


    It was both a rational and irrational conclusion to jump to.


    It was rational in that this truly seemed to be the case due to how willing they were to enrage Ryu and even kill him.


    However, it was irrational in the fact that Mistress Holy Wing and Elena''s father had never really given him any indication that they had such thoughts.


    Ryu knew well that his current state was simply jaded against the world. But, he also had every right to be. If this man wanted to stop him from killing Mistress Holy Wing, then he would be his enemy, whether he was Elena''s father or not.


    "Take your hands off of me." Ryu''s gaze slowly turned to look toward the man standing to his side. "For Elena''s sake, I will give you one chance and one chance only. Get out of my way."


    Xalvador was a man of unfathomable presence. Even with the light smile on his face, most couldn''t even stand before him, let alone speak such words.


    He was handsome beyond description, with slicked back black hair and charming brown eyes. His beard had some greys within it, but it looked much more like an aesthetic choice than anything else as it gave him a mature air to match his youthful features.


    His robes were perfectly tidy and his gaze was unfathomable. Despite being a full meter shorter than Ryu in his current state, he still somehow felt much larger. It was the kind of feeling Ryu had only ever felt from his own father and grandfather.


    "Hoho¡­" Xalvador chuckled. "¡­ Truth be told, this is just a matter of face for me. Whether she lives or dies¡­ Well, who likes their mother-in-law? The woman is naggy and annoying.


    "Unfortunately, since I chose to fuck her daughter, her daughter also happens to be my woman now and I would never hear the end of it if I let her mother die. I''m sure you know how women can be.


    "So, for those reasons, I''m going to have to decline your request. It''s unfortunate that we couldn''t get off on the right foot."


    Xalvador spoke with the same smile on his face, never truly wavering once. It was really that simple for him. He wasn''t making fun of Ryu, he wasn''t even trying to be condescending. He was only speaking the truth.


    He couldn''t let Mistress Holy Wing die because his face was more important to him than Ryu''s rage. And so what about it? He was strong so he could do as he pleased. Since when did he need to consider the fury of others when he acted? He only moved as he pleased and he wouldn''t mind stopping those around him from acting if they crossed his bottom line.


    Ryu suddenly began to laugh. His smoldering hatred bubbled over once against, simmering past a cold indifference and crossing over into a near manic laughter once again. His layers of hatred had pulled him down so deep that laughing was all he could do¡­ At least in the beginning.


    Ryu''s laughter was suddenly accented by a furious gaze, the blackholes of his eyes black as black flames licked against his brows and lashes.


    His free hand swung his Great Swordstaff down with a force that could collapse worlds


    Xalvador blinked, his forearm squeezing slightly and causing all the bones in Ryu''s forearm to be crushed into paste.


    And yet, Ryu didn''t seem to notice at all. His grip didn''t falter and his swing downward remained furious.


    "Tsk¡­" Xalvador sighed, his finger reached out, clashing against the blade edge of Ryu''s Great Swordstaff and stopping it in its tracks.


    The ground around Ryu cracked and splintered, a raging tempest of wind spiraling outward in all directions.

 Chapter 889 Annoying

    [Previous chapter has already been updated. It''s been brought to my attention that for those that can''t see the update, you can go to >> Profile >> Setting >> Clear Cache. Then the chapter will refresh]


    "Kid, the difference between us isn''t something you can close with Heaven''s Gate. I would advise you to save yourself some pain. Heaven''s Gate might be useful if the gap between you and another is only a small measure, but it won''t help you cross a vast ocean."


    Ryu reacted like he hadn''t heard a single thing, he pulled his injured arm back as he continued to press down with the first.


    His arm was torn at the forearm but he activated <Fate Reversal> almost instantly.


    However, just when Ryu was ready for his arm to reattach and for him to swing down with a second blade, his eyes suddenly pulsed with pain, his <Fate Reversal> failing and a continuous rain of blood falling like a flood from his scaled arm.


    Xalvador raised an eyebrow. "I don''t have the patience of a saint, brat. I would advise you not to try to play around with my Fate again."


    Anyone wouldn''t like a person toying around with their Fate. It felt like forcefully attaching your body to a collection of strings and allowing someone to pull you along. The more powerful you were, the more you would abhor such methods. It was just the cold and hard truth.


    If it was anyone else who had tried to do something like this to him, Xalvador would have already struck to kill. But, he seemed to have more patience with this brat before him for some reason. That said, he still had no intention of letting Ryu do as he pleased.


    Blood fell from Ryu''s eyes, but he didn''t seem to notice at all. In fact, even the shock of his <Fate Reversal> failing shrugged off his shoulders, his intent blazing to life.


    "<Fate Reversal>."


    Rather than targeting Xalvador again, Ryu used his technique on himself, causing an enormous ball of Fate to appear between the two of them. In the blink of an eye, it doubled in size. And then, it doubled again.


    Xalvador''s finger flicked to the side. Taking a step, he retreated as his eyes narrowed.


    Ryu didn''t linger on why his ball of Fate was so much larger than others despite his injuries having arguably been much less than Elena or the Ruin Master Guild Head''s. All he cared about was the fact this arrogant man before him had retreated.


    "HA!"


    Ryu stabbed his Great Swordstaff into the ground, slamming out a palm.


    The sphere of Fate had grown into a violent swirl of madness. Arcs of black and violet lightning, shattering chards of space, deep lines of twisted Fate Lines and Chaos Qi swirled about, its density so great that it almost formed its own event horizon.


    Ryu grabbed his Great Swordstaff out of the ground before the sphere even made it halfway toward its destination, his gaze turning toward the half dead body of Mistress Holy Wing. In retreating, Xalvador had left an opening and Ryu simply didn''t care about anything other than killing this bitch.


    His twin blades stabbed downward, backed by all his fiery momentum.


    The wind crackled and popped before he even gathered up his full momentum, his polearms bending into perfect crescent arcs, eking out every ounce of power that could be found within his bones.


    Ryu''s fury caused the flames in his eyes to rage, some of Mistress Holy Wing''s bones and flesh being crushed just beneath the wind pressure alone.


    However, before Ryu''s blades could fully descend, an arcing kick appeared from seemingly nowhere, a shin of steel blocking them in one instant before sending Ryu flying in the next.


    Ryu was certain that he had never felt such strength in his life. His arms broke once again, his blades reeling back so far that they cut into him as his arms were bent into awkward angles.


    "<Fate Reversal>!"


    Ryu''s arms snapped back into place as he flew through the air like a bullet. His mouth opened wide, his canines glistening as he roared.


    A beam of Dragon''s Breath collided with the newly formed ball of Fate sending it flying outward with an even greater speed than the last one.


    Ryu oriented his body in the air, slamming a foot down toward the ground to change his backward momentum into an impetus forward.


    The cartilage in his knees ripped around, his achilles tendon snapped, and his quads and hamstrings ripped off the bone. And yet, he propelled himself toward Xalvador, roaring <Fate Reversal> once again.


    Xalvador''s brow furrowed. Fate wasn''t something to be toyed with so easily.


    That erratic energy that formed whenever Ryu ripped Fate out of someone and left it untethered was a backlash of the universe''s laws itself. It was still manageable to deal with this here since the backlash of the laws were related to Sacrum, a medium sized world. But, if this was a large sized world, or even in the True Martial World itself, an explosion of Fate like this would be enough to severely harm if not kill him.


    Even now, he had to be more careful. It seemed that he had underestimated Heaven''s Gate a bit. Xalvador was certain that Ryu wouldn''t be able to pull Fate into an untethered state if not for his current boost in strength.


    But, that was the other odd part. As far as Xalvador knew, even Heaven''s Gate shouldn''t be able to do this. There was something else odd going on. Ryu was breaking too many rules, rules that shouldn''t be breakable in the first place, not unless you had stepped into the Chaotic Sky God Realm. Only then could you start pulling apart and reforming the laws of the universe as you saw fit.


    The issue with that conclusion was that there was no way Heaven''s Gate could bring Ryu to that level.


    Xalvador squinted, the blinding light of the charging sphere of Fate obstructing even his vision somewhat.


    In the end, Xalvador snorted. Fine. He would get a small bit serious.


    Despite his status, he had a bit of a soft spot for the women in his life. None of his sons got the same leeway his only daughter did, and no one else could talk to him the way his wives and concubines could. As such, he had given Ryu a much longer leash than he usually would only because he had heard Elena''s scream.


    However, if Ryu mistook that for him being soft, he would be very sorely mistaken. If he had to choose between his daughter''s happiness and his own pride, he would choose the latter ten out ten times without the slightest hesitation.


    He was Xalvador Sanctus. His arrogance had no bounds and his dignity would not be trampled upon.


    Since he had decided upon something, he would follow it through to the very end. And when he entered such a state, no one could make him change his mind, not his wives, not his mother, not even his own daughter.


    "Since you want to die, come die."


    Xalvador''s finger stretched out once again. But, this time, the momentum behind it was akin to a lofty sky.


    Ryu couldn''t see him clearly behind the curtain of volatile light the sphere of Fate had caused. However, he could feel it as bright as day. It was a Dao, a Dao so powerful and without limit that he could even begin to see where it began, let alone where it ended.


    "Split."


    Xalvador commanded coolly, his finger pressing forward. It seemed to move slowly, but the speed was unlike anything Ryu had ever experienced.


    The sphere of Fate was severed in two, its ties completely eradicated. However, the pulse of the finger continued to spiral forth, piercing through Ryu''s hovering and soul and then between his brows before he could even react.


    Ryu''s head snapped backward, his spine severing, and his flesh almost being torn from his shoulders. His mind entered a daze, forgetting everything. His rage, his fury, his purpose¡­ He couldn''t seem to remember any of it.


    All he could hear was a ringing in his ears and a scream that rocked the skies. It was a scream of pain and agony he had never heard before, but he would recognize that voice anywhere. It was his wife¡­


    Within the Incubator, he could hear muffled sobs. He recognized them too. They had promised themselves to remain quiet, to not distract Ryu while he fought the battle of a lifetime. And until now, they had kept that promise. In fact, even right this moment, Ryu could only barely hear them at all, and only because everything else seemed to have gone blank.


    The second ball of Fate that had formed from Ryu''s broken leg exploded without his control keeping it under wraps, his body being enveloped in an explosion with a magnitude that shook the foundations of Sacrum.


    Xalvador clicked his tongue, picking at his ears.


    "Goddammit, now I have to listen to all this ridiculous screeching and sobbing."


    He didn''t even want to look in his daughter''s direction as he cringed.


    "Ah, whatever."


    He shook his head, picking Mistress Holy Wing up by her ankles and swinging her half dead body over his shoulder without a care for her pain.

 Chapter 890 Nine Cycles

    The spatial barrier that Ryu had put up shattered.


    By now, of the hundreds of Martial God Sky Gods there had been, there were already less than a dozen. As for those that had been trapped in the barrier, almost none survived. The destruction of Ryu''s battle with Mistress Holy Wing alone had been far more than what even a normal Sky God could handle, let alone those below that stage.


    Elena shot through the skies like a blazing meteor, nearly crashing by Ryu''s side in less than the blink of an eye. If not for her being worried that she would harm Ryu more, she really wouldn''t have let up until the final moments.


    She cupped Ryu''s face with her hands, frantically looking for signs of life.


    "Dammit! Work! Do what you''re meant to do!"


    Elena''s fingers grasped at the Rebirth Crown. She knew what it could do and what was meant to happen. But, it was also because of this that she knew her actions were futile.


    The Rebirth Crown mimicked the Talent of the Phoenixes, but to do so, it relied on the soul of the owner. Elena had seen her father''s finger technique shatter Ryu''s soul, so how could it possibly remain intact enough to power trigger the Rebirth Crown''s rebirth ability?


    In fact, that attack alone had blasted a hole through the crown, leaving it barely holding onto Ryu''s forehead with a thin line of precious metals. Even if Ryu''s soul was somehow intact, it wouldn''t be able to work even if he poured everything he had into it.


    The black scales on Ryu''s body slowly receded, his body shrinking back down from three meters to two meters.


    His clothes were beaten and ragged, his body was covered in bruises, and his neck hung limply from his shoulders. It was clear that his spine had long since snapped. The flesh around his neck already flushed with a deep purple, a harsh contrast from his almost ice-like skin. The internal bleeding only grew with each passing second, dyeing him in darkness.


    It suddenly hit Elena all at once that there was nothing she could do.


    "Why¡­ You¡­ You should have just listened to me¡­"


    Elena collapsed onto Ryu''s chest, nearly a billion years of emotion spilling out of her all at once. All those days she had met the world with a placid expression and a dull gaze were suddenly shaken, shattering like shards of glass and sprinkling down like hail that pierced at her delicate skin.


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    Her heart tore into pieces, her blood becoming like hot alcohol drenching her internal wounds.


    Her sobs became cries, which soon became wails. Her throat ripped apart as though the vicious claws of grief and agony were tearing into it. However, even as blood leaked from her lips and her coughs and wheezing sputtered with crimson droplets, she didn''t seem to notice.


    The pain was the only sort of release she could find.


    The last time Ryu died, she didn''t grieve. Somewhere deep inside, she felt that he would come back, that he could come back, that there was a doorway, a pathway out there for them to take that could bring them back together once more.


    But now it felt as though she was facing the weight of two deaths at once. The walls collapsed in around her, a dense darkness tinging the tips of her pink diamond hair black.


    ¡­


    A darkness surrounded him from all sides. Ryu could feel that his life was slipping away, but there was nothing he could do about it, everything just felt so far.


    With what small thoughts he could form, he realized that the only reason he could even think at all was because of the strength of his soul. Even after being shattered, he still had a soul even beyond the Indestructible Soul level. It was just too bad that such a soul only netted him this sort of small victory.


    In the martial world, there was no such thing as absolute perfection. Even something titled Indestructible had its limits, and he had far surpassed them today.


    Elena''s father was a monster. What was a trillion years of progress in the face of a genius who had lived even longer than that? From the very beginning, the gap was too large for Heaven''s Gate to close, even after being boosted by Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies.


    It was almost funny. The man didn''t even have a grudge against him, he wasn''t even mad about how Ryu had slaughtered the Martial Gods down to practically their last legs. He hadn''t even planned on killing Ryu until the latter insisted on getting revenge.


    It was so petty, so insignificant to him, no different from stepping on a bug.


    Ryu couldn''t help but remember his last interaction with Sarriel in his final moments.


    She ended up being right. The powerful could do anything they want, sometimes you had to know when to lower your head or you would end up dying for no reason at all.


    A beautiful woman like Sarriel probably experienced that a hundredfold compared to Ryu. She probably got harassed just for existing, but then there was someone like him who sought out death even when it didn''t come looking for him first.


    What was this feeling? Regret?


    The last of Ryu''s fleeting thoughts growled. He, Ryu Tatsuya, would never feel regret. The person who could force him to feel such an emotion had already been born and she was his wife. There was no other existence in this world who could accomplish the same feat.


    He wouldn''t cower even in death!


    "It''s not bravery if it comes from a place of ignorance! And it''s not heroism if it saves nothing but your own ego!"


    The words roared in his mind.


    Elena¡­ Ailsa¡­ Yuri¡­ Mother¡­


    What would they do with him gone?


    He was supposed to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders for their sakes¡­


    CRACK!


    The ice seal, after nine cycles of a hundred million years, finally shattered.

 Chapter 891 My Son

    A blaze of blue streaked across the skies.


    In the blink of an eye, a beauty, gorgeous beyond words, and wreathed in sparkling fine strands of ice appeared by Ryu''s side.


    Himari appeared completely unlike anything Ryu had expected. He had thought his mother would be weak and frail, needing his protection when she finally stepped out of her seal. But, the woman who stood by her son''s corpse right this moment couldn''t have been more perfect even if she had been painted.


    Himari had been conscious of everything from start to finish, witnessing it all from her place in the seal. Though she couldn''t move or communicate, the ice became her eyes, covering the whole of the Shrine Plane.


    From the moment her son had appeared on the Shrine Plane, she had sensed him.


    Back then, her heart had overflowed with warmth and happiness. In fact, it was because of Ryu''s appearance that the first flaw in her seal had appeared. If she had continued to meditate in silence, unmoved and unhurried, she could have held the seal for nine cycles of a hundred billion years without an issue. The Martial Gods had simply been na?ve to think that a seal powered by a Shrine would be so easy to break.


    Still, Himari hadn''t regretted it. In fact, she had hoped that the seal would break sooner so that she could finally see her son again.


    However, if she had known something like this would happen, she would have been more patient, she would have let her son grow for longer. She felt that this matter was her fault, if only her heart had been stronger.


    A single tear fell from Himari''s eyes, but it froze the moment it fell from her cheek.


    It dropped onto Ryu''s arms, almost instantly in casing him in a coffin of ice that pushed Elena away.


    "NO!" Elena shrieked. "He can still live! He can live! Please!"


    Himari placed a hand on Elena''s shoulder and pulled her back.


    "¡­ Of course he will live, he''s my son." she said softly.


    Her face had gone from rosy to a deathly pale, making it obvious that that single tear had taken more out of her than it seemed initially. But, that only made sense. This coffin of ice couldn''t save Ryu, nor could it give him life again, but what it could do was freeze time itself while leaving Ryu untouched.


    It was either Ryu figured out a way to save himself, or he would spend all of eternity in that coffin until the day it inevitably ran out of strength.


    It took Himari exchanging over half the cultivation she had gained in the last 900 million years to accomplish it, but she didn''t regret it even for a single moment. This was her son, even if it was her life she had to give, she would not hesitate.


    Her aura regressed, falling from the Perfect Sky God Realm down to the True Sky God Realm.


    If Ryu had been awake to see this, he would have been shocked to an extreme. This wasn''t the normal Sky God Realms he was used to. This was a Sky God Realm that could only be found in the True Martial World!


    If he put this together, he would finally realize why the Shrines were so valuable. The weakness of Sacrum stemmed from how incomplete their laws and Daos were, something that was rooted in the weakness of their Heavens.


    Simply put, the Heavens of Sacrum couldn''t compare to the Heavens of the True Martial World.


    However, somehow, and for an unknown reason, Sacrum had manifested Shrines with perfect Laws and Daos.


    Over the past 900 million years, Ryu''s mother had been meditating on the Ice Laws that superseded even the Ice Laws of the True Martial World in perfection! It was no wonder her cultivation had improved.


    Not only had she been able to go back and resolidify her foundations, she was even able to progress to the Perfect Sky God Realm in such a short time!


    Xalvador, who had been planning on leaving, being quite aware enough to know that his daughter didn''t want to see him right now, turned back and raised an eyebrow.


    Just now, he had felt a threatening aura that could have killed him. But, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, being replaced by an aura he was fairly confident he could kill in a few moves now.


    Feeling curious, he turned around and took a step. When he reappeared on the Shrine Plane, his eyes lit up. He didn''t seem to realize or care about what was going on with Ryu as he appeared before Himari.


    "You¡­"


    Xalvador looked Himari up and down, his eyes glowing fiercer and fiercer with every pass. He didn''t seem to notice his daughter still crying on the ground, nor did he care that he had just killed her son. His mind was on other things entirely.


    "¡­ You are worthy to be my 16th wife. I don''t care what men you''ve had before, virgins are boring regardless. But from now on, you aren''t allowed to even touch another man aside from me, do you understand?"


    Himari, whose gaze was still focused on her son''s face even after Xalvador had appeared, only now looked up.


    The piercing cold of her eyes covered Xalvador in a thin sheet of ice.


    Xalvador retreated explosively, but in his hurry, he neglected his mother-in-law.


    When he finally stopped, his expression warped. Over his shoulder, Mistress Holy Wing had become nothing more than an ice statue. He knew instinctively that it didn''t matter what he did, she was finished.


    Mistress Holy Wing was dead.


    "This world is Sacrum. It is the territory of my Tatsuya family, ruled by my husband Titus Tatsuya and prepared for my son, Ryu Tatsuya, to inherit. This isn''t a place scum like you can act as they please.


    "The only reason I let you live is because it is my son that will be taking your life in the future. But if you insist on speaking such foul words in my presence, it''ll be my husband that first cuts off your tongue.


    "Scram now before I make you scram."

 Chapter 892 Through The Cracks

    Xalvador''s eyes narrowed.


    He could tell that Himari''s aura had become far weaker than his own. However, what he had neglected was the fact that she still had access to the Shrine. And, unlike in the past where she had only fumbled around, managing to make a final breakthrough in the last moments, the current Himari was at a level where she was more than capable of using the Shrine to slaughter the likes of him.


    Unlike the true powerhouses of the Deity Race descended, it seemed that they would have flushed the last few trillion years down the drain.


    Xalvador didn''t really care much about this as he was never very much invested in it to begin with.


    The situation involving the Deity Race was quite long and winding. But the main point was that they had split down the middle in how they wanted their Clan to progress. Well, even that was a bit simplistic as there were far more than just two factions.


    With so many individuals pulling in so many different directions, something like this was bound to happen.


    Ultimately, these matters had only happened like this because one of his wives, Elena''s mother in specific, overstepped her bounds.


    Despite having so many wives, there was a very good reason why Xalvador had so many sons but just a single daughter, and that was because whenever his wives learned that they were pregnant with a girl, they would terminate the pregnancy without hesitation.


    It was almost ironic in that way. The Holy Wing Clan Ryu was familiar with the exact opposite, throwing away boys as though they were worthless and only keeping the women. But, who would have thought that such a practice originated from a culture that fueled the exact opposite.


    Xalvador knew that such things were happening, but there wasn''t much he could do to stop it. He would never learn that his wives were pregnant before they would, that was impossible. And, he could do even less to stop their ambitions.


    Obviously by this point, it was quite obvious that Xalvador''s position was quite unique for his wives to go so far. The only person who had dared to take a different path was Elena''s mother, but as a result of this, a whole host of far more complex matters unfolded.


    How was it that a woman that was only technically one of 15 could take the reins on a project of this sort of magnitude? Well, the simple answer was that she wasn''t supposed to.


    Elena''s mother was an anomaly. Among the Holy Wing Branch of the Deity Race, Valeska had always been pathetic, so much so that she unanimously claimed the bottom rung.


    Valeska, being born with far less talent than her counterparts, found her own method of pulling herself out, sleeping with countless men in hopes of birthing a child who could surpass everyone else.


    As untalented as she was, she still had Holy Wing Blood coursing through her veins. So long as she stumbled into the right combination of genes, she would eventually birth that genius she was looking for.


    Ultimately, she was correct, and one day, Elena''s mother was born.


    Unfortunately, being born into such a weak faction, the hardship Elena''s mother had to face was more than most could imagine. Realizing this, Valeska sacrificed even more.


    The truth was that aside from doing something she shouldn''t have been doing, the reason Valeska and the others could lay claim to Sacrum was ultimately because only Valeska was willing to lower herself to the point of coming here.


    Not only did she shed most of her cultivation, she also willingly laid at the feet of the Tatsuya Clan for billions of years, taking all the humiliation she suffered on the chin, all for the sake of her daughter''s rise.


    Valeska might have been a terrible person from Ryu''s perspective, but from the perspective of her daughter and Elena''s mother, she was a parent willing to sacrifice any and everything for her child, even her very dignity.


    In fact, the only reason someone as powerful as Xalvador could even set foot on Sacrum was because of the doorway Valeska had opened by weakening the Heavens of Sacrum and their Protector¡­ The Shrine Mountain.


    Unfortunately, just when Valeska was finally gaining some traction and Elena''s mother would be able to descend on Sacrum, she caught the eye of Xalvador.


    Without much of a choice, Elena''s mother had to make her own sacrifices. Sealing her lips and bearing with it, she married and consummated her marriage with Xalvador.


    But, she never had the intention of relying on a child with Xalvador to lay claim to the power his faction held. So, she didn''t terminate her pregnancy with Elena, instead carrying her daughter to term and giving birth.


    She hoped that this action would make her stance clear and stop Xalvador''s more powerful wives from seeing her as a threat. But, in an irony of all ironies, Xalvador adored Elena even before she was born to the point he doted on her far more than any of his sons. The result put Elena''s mother right back in the spotlight.


    Dealing with all the schemes and assaults of Xalvador''s 14 other wives, Elena''s mother could only take an even larger step back, giving birth to Elena on Sacrum and out of the eyes of the public. The result was Elena remaining to aid her grandmother on Sacrum.


    Yet, this matter once again backfired. Xalvador, wanting to see his daughter, descended. The result was the timeline Elena''s mother had meticulously planned speeding up.


    The good news was that with Xalvador''s help, the destruction of the Tatsuya Clan was almost too easy. The bad news was that they didn''t get all their ducks in the row first, causing several things to fall through the cracks.


    Ryu''s father disappeared, his mother managed to seal off the Plane and access to more of Shrine Mountain with her ice, and Ryu managed to slip away and reincarnate.

 Chapter 893 Be Obedient

    Now, the advantage that Elena''s mother had built up through the sacrifice of Mistress Holy Wing had crumbled.


    Now, individuals as powerful as the Perfect Sky God Realm could descend. And, because the ties of Fate had been completely unwound by Ryu, it wouldn''t be long before Transcended Sky Gods could descend. By that point, even Himari wouldn''t be able to do much about it.


    With things being the way they were, the faction Elena''s mother was currently heading was in no small bit of trouble. Soon, they would have to contend with the true powerhouses of the Clan for Sacrum. And, that was just the Deity Race, there were plenty of others who already had their gazes trained on Sacrum.


    As for whether it was just greed or something more important than that¡­ Kagan seemed to imply that it was more the latter. But who knew whether the words of someone trying to claim the home of another was trustworthy or not?


    Ironically, Kagan was among the only one who had survived, gasping for breath on the ground as he tried not to catch the attention of the powerhouses around him. But, when he sensed the ice creeping up his legs, he could only smile bitterly as he faced his death.


    How could Himari let him go so that he could inform the others about her son?


    In the end, Xalvador chuckled.


    He did as he pleased, moved as he pleased. What was the point of holding power if you didn''t exercise it? The only thing that mattered to him was his own pleasure. Why else would he spend billions of years of seclusion at a time? It was purely to hold onto this power that he had.


    This was what it meant to cultivate. There was no joy in power if you couldn''t use it, and he wouldn''t let anyone stand in his way.


    "Alright, beauty. You can have your way this time."


    Xalvador shrugged a shoulder, letting his mother-in-law''s corpse crash to the ground and splinter into countless ice shards.


    A deathly frost spread out, but Xalvador just shook his leg, shaking off the ice that threatened to freeze his leg.


    "You''ll beg me for this chance in the future." Xalvador laughed, rising up into the skies. "Not just anyone can become my wife, and not just any woman can gain my help."


    Xalvador stepped through the skies and vanished over the horizon as Himari''s gaze flashed with killing intent. She really did want to kill Xalvador, but aside from wanting to leave his head for Ryu, using the Shrine again like this would hinder the rest of her plans.


    Himari''s eyes sharpened, feeling a rumble beneath her feet.


    Though slowly, much of the damage to the Plane was being healed. This could only mean one thing: Shrine Mountain was awakening from its slumber.


    Himari''s seal had taken with it much of Shrine Mountain as well, but she had done this on purpose. The Protector Spirit was very important to their world, she couldn''t allow the Martial Gods to weaken it any further.


    But now it seemed that things were returning to normal.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s coffin trembled.


    CRACK!


    Himari''s eyes widened as a vicious crack appeared down its center like a bolt of lightning in the shape of carved ice.


    ?


    Before she could do anything, an enormous beam of light descended from the skies, crashing into Ryu''s coffin and flooding it with Essence thicker than anything Himari had ever experienced.


    However, despite the situation, Himari didn''t show any sort of happiness.


    "No¡­" her voice trembled.


    This wasn''t a good thing, not at all.


    Just now, Ryu had comprehended a Natural Enlightenment. However, it was so powerful that even Himari''s seal broke under its presence.


    What Himari didn''t know was that Ryu had comprehended this Natural Enlightenment long ago. Every time he touched on the border of a Natural Enlightenment and grasped it, only for it to reel back and escape his grasp, it was precisely because Shrine Mountain was sealed.


    A Natural Enlightenment was formed based on a phenomenon of nature, and Ryu had comprehended the mountainous nature of Shrine Mountain not just once, but at least a half dozen separate times and in completely different ways.


    All of those comprehensions were stuck behind a dam, a dam that finally broke the moment Shrine Mountain awakened once more. They fused into one, becoming a monstrosity capable of shattering even a Perfect Sky God''s seal.


    But now, the perfect seal around Ryu was shattered. Let alone an eternity, Ryu didn''t even have a few hours left to save himself. If he couldn''t do so, Natural Enlightenment or not, he would find himself walking down the road of death¡­


    And this time, there wouldn''t be reincarnation waiting on the other side.


    Himari''s small fists tightened. Though she didn''t know exactly what was happening, she felt that it was her fault once again. It definitely wasn''t a coincidence that this had happened the moment Shrine Mountain stirred. This meant that her seal had once again affected her son.


    She had already given up half of her cultivation to form the coffin in the first place, she wouldn''t be able to form it again without giving up her life.


    Himari''s gaze flashed with determination, ready to form another tear.


    Her energy accumulated. Though her hair was already white, the natural light it gave off rapidly dimmed, growing more and more dull with each passing second.


    ¡­


    "It''s not bravery if it comes from a place of ignorance! And it''s not heroism if it saves nothing but your own ego!"


    The words roared in Ryu''s mind again, oppressing his heart all the more. He couldn''t even feel the Essence flooding into him, his own body feeling a world away.


    An abyssal darkness clawed at him from all sides, his Bloodlines rushing away in retreat.


    But it was then that this abyssal darkness touched upon the darkness in Ryu''s heart, poking and prodding at a rage he had buried deep.


    Ryu unleashed a roar from the depths of his heart. It didn''t come from his shattered soul, nor his crippled mouth, but rather from something buried deep within him.


    He needed to live. He needed to defy death. But according to Sarriel, wasn''t death a powerhouse he should lower his head to? It was so much more powerful than him, so shouldn''t he just accept its will since it had come for him?


    What was he supposed to do? Obediently accept his death?


    He refused.

 Chapter 894 Fury

    Ryu was absolutely furious.


    Even if he could understand Sarriel''s perspective, he refused to accept it.


    It sounded logical. And, if he was honest with himself, it was logical. It only made sense to lower your head in the face of the strong, to rein in your arrogance when you had yet to accomplish as much as the person across from you, to humble yourself before insurmountable odds.


    He understood it all, he had always understood it.


    He understood that truth as a child in his second life facing the monstrous behemoth of the Tor Clan. He understood it when he was nearly killed by Fidroha during his first encounter with the Martial Apostles. He understood it when he met City Lord Loom and he was almost forced to kneel before thousands of people.


    He understood it when he faced the geniuses of the Core Region with his Spiritual Foundation ripped out from him. He understood it when he was hunted down by the Clans of the Inner Ring. He understood it when he faced the wrath of Patriarch Ember.


    He understood it when Zulfiqar tore a whole through his heart with a single strike. He understood it when he faced a banquet of Martial God geniuses. He understood it when a Knight of Heaven stared down from a meter taller than his own gaze, threatening to reap his life with a single fist.


    HE HAD ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD IT!


    He just didn''t give a damn.


    He would rather die than lower his head. As he had said to Patriarch Ember before reaping his life in exchange for his arrogance so many years ago, if he had the latter''s pitiful talent, he would have died long ago.


    No one would force him to lower his head. No one.


    As for his wives, his mother, his father¡­ For their sake, he wouldn''t lower his head even to death itself!


    Ryu''s will blazed to life like a fiery golden flame, his fury piercing through the veil of reality. To take him away from his family before he could slay all of their enemies was something he would never allow.


    If he died on his path to the pinnacle, he would do so with a smile. But, if he died before he could secure the future for his family, that he would never accept.


    Ryu''s mind roared, an intangible sort of will squeezing the broken pieces of his soul and stopping them from dissipating any more than they already had.


    If others could see this scene, they would realize that this so-called ''intangible'' will was the strings of Fate itself.


    Ryu bent and warped them, using the last dregs of power his Heaven''s Gate transformation had given him to twist Fate just one more time.


    ?


    While it wasn''t enough to save Ryu''s life, it was enough to halt his death process. Ryu''s body was always something that could be reconstructed, so long as his soul was intact. Not to mention the fact considering how robust his body was, even with such a heavy injury, he wouldn''t have to worry about needing to reconstruct it for countless millions of years regardless.


    Ryu''s consciousness slowly gained a small bit of clarity, his connection with his body reforming akin to a thin line of qi that seemed like it might snap at any moment.


    But, Ryu hardly cared for this. If it snapped, he would reform it. If it snapped again, he would reform it again. He wouldn''t allow anything to stop him.


    His fury reached another level when he realized that his Bloodlines had gone dormant once again. Just like they had in the face of the Heavens, they retreated in the face of Death.


    ''You pathetic dregs¡­ Awaken!''


    Ryu''s rage lit his Fire Dragon Bloodline like a spark.


    With a thought, he pushed it toward the odd Phoenix fusion Bloodline that now ran through his veins, poking at it and provoking it until it too awakened from its slumber. At the same time, his Lightning Qilin Bloodline also shot awake, provoked by the awakening of Ryu''s Fire Dragon Bloodline.


    Ryu threw his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines to the side, shooting his mind into his Phoenix Bloodline.


    He dug through it like a madman, swatting awakened memories to the side one after another. The Lines of Fate followed his every movement, his mind roaring louder and louder with every passing moment.


    In the real world, the roar suddenly pierced the veil, causing Himari to freeze even as her face began to form faint wrinkles. She had already gathered most of vitality, fully prepared to give it all to her son. But, when she heard this roar, even though it caused her own ears to leak with blood, she couldn''t help but be happier than she had maybe ever been.


    The clouds above split. Like a reversed waterfall, the dark cumulonimbus clouds rushed upward as though gravity had reversed.


    Within Ryu''s body, his Lines of Fate trembled, threatening to snap again, but his mind released another roar, snapping them back into place.


    There it was. There it was, hidden in the deepest foundations of his fused Phoenix Bloodline.


    Its aura was far different from what it had originally been, but Ryu still recognized it. It had definitely undergone some sort of mutation after his two Phoenix Bloodlines fused with what must have been Dark Phoenix Blood Essence. But, he still recognized it.


    Rebirth.


    ''Give it to me now!''


    Ryu poured his Lines of Fate forward, whipping them at the shackles that threatened to keep his Rebirth Talent under lock and key.


    His assault was relentless and furious, his aura growing into a taller and taller towering pillar with every passing moment.


    "OPEN!"


    The whips of Fate shattered the last piece and the world seemed to release a sigh of defeat.


    In that moment, a swirling tower of white flames shattered Ryu''s coffin, swallowing up his Death Flame, Ice Flame and his Rebirth Flame.


    It flashed with black, blue and red, even tinges of gold and violet, but it eventually assimilated it all, swallowing it whole.


    Ryu''s body shot into the skies being wreathed in these flames until his flesh, bones and even soul were all burnt to ash.

 Chapter 895 Best Colors

    The pillar connected the Heavens and the Earth. No matter which Plane you stood on, no matter which direction you looked, it could be seen.


    It broke the laws of space and time, transcending it all and standing upon a plane all to itself.


    The tower of flames spun faster and faster until it began to condense in on itself, rapidly forming into a small ball that concentrated it all into the smallest of dots that could hardly be seen even if you stood right before it.


    Himari''s expression flickered. She grabbed Elena''s shoulder and explosively retreated. Her speed was so fast that she passed through three layers of spatial barriers before an explosion that took place not even a second after she moved made its presence known to the world.


    ?


    A nebula of white-gold filled the skies.


    Slowly, but surely, it began to compress.


    The process took several months, and those months eventually became years, which eventually approached centuries.


    That day, on the 999th year, the nebula finally formed into the body of a young man purer than even the snow that fell from the skies itself.


    Ryu rolled himself into a tight ball, his knees tucked and his arms wrapped around them tightly. However, when his eyes snapped open, it was as though the entire world was basked in his glory.


    His silver eyes flickered with a blue light, making it even more difficult to tell if it was a pale blue or a silver than it already had been in the past. His skin looked so delicate to the eye that a single touch might leave him covered in bruises. Even his hair radiated its own light, making it seem more like a concentrated mass of photons than physical filaments.


    Ryu''s body unfurled itself as he looked down at his palm.


    But, after doing this, he could only release a sigh.


    ''¡­ It seems that I''m blind again.''


    The unfocused nature of Ryu''s eyes became obvious at that moment. Even though he was trying to look down at his hands, it felt more like he was looking out to space. He couldn''t even see blurred images, his sight leaving him completely in the dark.


    Ryu had somewhat expected this to happen, but he didn''t expect things to be this exaggerated. He had pushed his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils too far and had even used those cursed Spirit Seeking Lilies.


    He wouldn''t have minded paying such a price in exchange for the eradication of the people that had harmed his family, but because of this, Ailsa and Yaana were both trapped. Not just them, but so were Little Gem, Little Rock, and Nemesis.


    If Ryu had had the opportunity to expel them, he would have. But, by the time he was forced to go so far, the enemies around him were far too powerful. Sending them out would have only led to their deaths.


    Ryu began to worry. If even Rebirth couldn''t heal his eyes completely, then how long would it be until he could undo these shackles and release them?


    The Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies were something Ryu had been avoiding the use of for a long time. After he realized he would need to evolve his Heavenly Pupils to break free of their shackles, he always realized that he would inevitably have to take this route. But, he didn''t expect that he would need to do things this way.


    Unfortunately, the Valkyries and Mistress Holy Wing had been far too powerful. A million years of cultivation wouldn''t have been enough to defeat them, Ryu had needed to go this far.


    The Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies were a cursed Spiritual Herb. They were perfect for forcing mutations and evolutions, especially with matters related to Fate. This was why they were very good at forcing the hand of Heavenly Pupils.


    The trouble was that the backlash for using them wasn''t small. If Ryu hadn''t undergone Rebirth, once the medicinal effect was finally absorbed, let alone just being blind, he would have been in perpetual pain.


    Luckily, he didn''t have to go through that. Unluckily, he was now pretty much out of options now.


    If Rebirth wasn''t enough to wipe away the lingering effects, what would be necessary?


    In the best case scenario, Rebirth had already done more of the work and he just needed a small push over the edge. And in the worst case¡­ Well, he didn''t want to think about it.


    The only good news was that while the Incubator was out of his reach now, it should still be able to benefit from the outside world. As for how helpful this would be, he would need to run some tests.


    "Little Ryu?"


    Ryu trembled when he heard the voice, his head snapping in its direction.


    "Mom? What''s wrong? Why do you sound so weak?"


    Ryu was almost instantly agitated. He could see with his eyes, and he was so used to using Third Perspective as a replacement for Spiritual Sense that he was now completely in the dark. It was only after he released his Spiritual Sense that he could see his mom''s form.


    Seeing the wrinkles on his mom''s face, Ryu almost broke down.


    "Mom, what happened to you?"


    Himari smiled, cupping Ryu''s cheeks.


    "My little baby boy, why are you showing your mom such a sight? Shouldn''t you put your clothes on?"


    Ryu flushed with embarrassment, a sight a very rare number of people could ever hope to see. His mother''s giggles followed his panic to find his spatial rings, only for him to notice that they had all been destroyed.


    It was a good thing that he kept all of his most valuable things in his Inner World, but unfortunately, he couldn''t access them now.


    Himari laughed harder. She had already known her son didn''t have any clothes to put on.


    Just when Ryu remembered that he could use his Master''s Visualization to form clothes, his mother''s hand opened and a beautiful butterfly appeared.


    Ryu recognized it almost immediately. He had snatched that little beast after it almost killed him in a forest. But, he never ended up using it in battle as things hadn''t progressed the way he expected them to.


    It had actually survived?


    Its aura seemed far more powerful than Ryu remembered too. Had his mom done something?


    The butterfly creature fluttered, spinning around Ryu in a streaking of blue light that formed a small tornado.


    When it was done, Ryu was covered in a fine icy silk that felt cool to his skin and radiated a noble air.


    "See? Mom always said your best colors were white and blue. Don''t wear black anymore, okay?"


    Himari smiled brilliantly, fixing her son''s collar.

 Chapter 896 His Elena

    Ryu''s Spiritual Sense kept observing his mother. Though it wasn''t nearly as good as his <Third Perspective>, it was still far sharper than even he expected. Still, to him, it was akin to going from being able to view the world through his own eyes, to now being stuck looking at it through a pitiful camera.


    He couldn''t see nearly as far and the image wasn''t nearly as sharp. It even took him several seconds to be able to conclude that his mother''s vitality had been harmed, she wasn''t like this naturally.


    He knew that he hadn''t left his mother long enough for her to age like this, but there was no telling what sort of time warps she had experienced. Plus, he wasn''t exactly sure how many years it had taken his body to reform itself either. Everything had been a blur during that time and his mind was in limbo. It was difficult to even think straight, let alone grasp any concept of time.


    The luck of it was that he was supposed to bask in the feeling of rebirth.


    Ryu had felt that the awakening of this talent was a bit odd, though. It didn''t feel how it was supposed to. He couldn''t sense a process toward another rebirth at all. It was as though this was the only one he would get.


    Considering the fact this wasn''t exactly unheard of, Ryu could accept it. But, there was a nagging feeling that he was missing something.


    When the Nine Lives Talent was awakened, one could gain three, six or nine lives. Ryu could barely accept that he only gained one because he was human and this was a Talent that transcended beyond normal Talents.


    But, that nagging feeling didn''t disappear.


    That was when Ryu thought of another problem. 999 years wasn''t too long in the grand scheme of things, but the activation of the Nine Lives Talent shouldn''t have taken so long. Although it wasn''t an instantaneous process, it also wasn''t so long either.


    "Mother, what happened?"


    Himari''s smile didn''t falter. "It''s only a small price to pay. Why are you worried about such things? Do you not trust your mother''s talent, I''ll just break through again."


    Ryu''s brows furrowed. Breaking through while your vitality was depleted was hundreds of times more difficult than initially. And, his mother''s words seemed to imply that her cultivation had fallen. That was an even worse fate, though not as difficult as re-comprehending something, it was still a tall mountain to climb.


    It was only at that moment that Ryu realized that his cultivation had fallen as well.


    ''What the hell?''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. His cultivation hadn''t fallen far. He had gone from the Path Extinction Realm back down to the pinnacle of the Immortal Ring Realm.


    He hadn''t even noticed because his aura was far stronger than it had been in the past, but the result of this happening was his comprehensions once again falling back to the Ruler Realm.


    How often would he have to go through this?! It was already such a ridiculous mountain to climb before, but now?!


    While Ryu was a bit frustrated by the change to his comprehensions, he suddenly realized that his odd fist comprehension had actually evolved.


    With a thought, he seemed to become a towering, unmovable mountain.


    His and his mother''s hair fluttered. If it wasn''t for Himari''s strength, she would have been sent flying, completely unable to stop herself until she had traveled at least several hundred miles.


    ''This¡­ Shrine Mountain?''


    Ryu''s brows shot up.


    Himari''s smile deepened.


    "Come, let''s go see your grandpa."


    Himari''s gaze flickered with a hint of sadness. But, Ryu''s senses were no longer sharp enough to catch it.


    Still, he didn''t need to see it to know how his mother must be feeling. He wanted to ask where Elena had gone, but he refrained from doing so.


    With a step, the pair had vanished.


    "Elena left after she was certain that you would wake up," Himari said lightly.


    She knew her son too well to not be able to read his expressions like a book. Grown man or not, he was still her baby. It was all too easy for her to do this.


    Ryu''s expression flickered. "What did she say?"


    "She said that it''s because she neglected her strength that this happened."


    Though the words were simple, to Ryu they were endlessly profound.


    He knew his wife well. At a moment like this, she was feeling embarrassed. Even if she wouldn''t say it in so many words because she knew that Ryu would reprimand her like he usually would, this was the truth.


    Because of her family, Ryu had suffered again and again. And in the end, he had almost died, while much of his family really had crossed over that line of no return.


    She had purposely remained ignorant to many things so that she didn''t have to deal with them. And, because her supposed father doted on her so much, she had been allowed to do it. She never put much effort into her cultivation and she neglected her bloodline, she did practically everything to distance herself, even to the point of trying to drag down Ryu to wallow in her own mediocrity along with her.


    By her age, in the Deity Race, she should have long since become a Sky God. But, she had only recently entered the World Sea Realm, and even that was because she didn''t have much of a choice, her cultivation increased just by her eating and sleeping. She didn''t even try to comprehend anything, but their truths just popped up in her mind.


    She didn''t want to face Ryu right now.


    Maybe if she had wielded more power, more influence, she could have stopped these things from ever happening. If she used her talent properly, maybe her mother and grandmother could have relied on her instead of going so far to harm a world that wasn''t their own.


    Ultimately, she realized that Ryu was correct.


    Ryu snapped out of his thoughts as his mother handed him a spatial ring.


    He swept his senses into it, and when he saw what was inside, his lip couldn''t help but twitch.


    The spatial ring was small, only about five by five by five meters. Floating motes of low gold light fluttered around like butterflies and in the very center there was an enormous bed covered in rose petals.


    It looked like a luxury hotel for vacationing couples on their honeymoon.


    This alone would have been enough for Ryu to get the message, but Elena wasn''t one to complete these by half measures.


    There was a pair of pink lace panties on the edge of the bed. Though it was neatly arranged, Ryu could instantly tell it was worn because the natural state of a spatial ring was to preserve¡­ Food wouldn''t go bad and water wouldn''t evaporate¡­ And, in this case, the pair of panties had a faint moistness still clear for Ryu to see.


    Elena had definitely worn them before.


    If Ryu didn''t get the message before, he would definitely get it by now. But, apparently to Elena, this was still a half measure.


    On the rest of the large bed, dozens of crystal jades lay. Ryu swept his gaze over one of them only to be assaulted by hundreds of nudes.


    He quickly pulled his mind back before his Bloodlines started acting up with his mother right by his side, but it was still too late to stop him from flushing red.


    Were those videos in there too?!


    Himari raised an eyebrow but eventually smiled and shook her head.


    "Kids."


    Ryu cleared his throat, shaking his head before glancing into the ring again. He eventually found a letter that began with a very large number. The number was written in bold font right at the header as though Elena wanted to make sure he saw it.


    Right below it was another enormous number.


    And then another.


    Then, there were his wife''s words.


    "The first number is the number of times I thought of you."


    "The second number is the number of times I thought of our first night together.


    "The third number is the number of times those thoughts led to the¡­ situations you can browse through in those memory jades. Don''t make a noble lady like me spell it out for you hubby, I''m already embarrassed just writing this."


    Ryu''s lip twitched. This was you embarrassed? What did you look like when you were being shameless, exactly?


    She had really so boldly handed such a thing to his mother! What if she had looked?!


    "You had better enjoy them all thoroughly, I put it all together for you. I need you prepared and ready for when we meet again, but this young wife here has waited long enough. I want to¡­"


    A long string of obscenities Ryu had to pull his mind back from reading again ensued.


    Ryu couldn''t help but burst into an uproarious laughter.


    This was his Elena.

 Chapter 897 Far Simpler

    Himari smiled when she saw Ryu''s mood was a bit better. As for what Elena had left in the ring, she didn''t check nor did she ask about it. Matters between husband and wife should be kept as such. After all, she had no intention of ever telling Ryu about sweet nothings she and his father whispered to one another, so why expect different?


    Soon, the pair had made it to the Shrine. But, to Ryu''s surprise, it was the Lightning Shrine, but was rather the Tribulation Shrine.


    Ryu''s expression couldn''t help but flicker, sighing internally.


    Due to Mistress Holy Wing, his grandfather had never been able to succeed in the test of the Tribulation Shrine, something that was a great humiliation to him. His Grandpa Kunan was a jokester, but he was pure of heart and righteous in purpose. In fact, among all his grandparents, his Grandpa Kunan was likely the only one who could truly be considered a good person.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool and he had the ability to be objective about how he viewed the world. Nothing would ever stop him from loving his grandparents, but as cultivators, he was certain they had all done terrible things in their pasts to reach the level of power they had now. All except¡­ his Grandpa Kunan.


    That was why what Mistress Holy Wing had done was so infuriating to him and his extended family. It was a sort of mark they all knew would never leave Saint Kunan for a lifetime.


    Not only did Mistress Holy Wing''s action make a man like him forsake his wife to lay with another woman, but it also gave him a child that he wasn''t allowed to see or raise.


    Saint Kunan doted on Himari with everything he had, but often Ryu''s mother could feel that he was going above and beyond. Normally, a child would be thrilled by this. But when Himari matured enough to learn of the matters of the past, it almost put a stain on all of her memories with her father.


    As much of a grudge as Ryu had with Mistress Holy Wing, his mother and his grandfather, not to mention his Grandma Kunan, all had far more of a right to reap her life than he did.


    "HAHA! Is that my grandson?"


    Before Ryu could react, a robust man brimming with vitality appeared before him, lifting him up by his armpits as though he was still a child.


    Saint Kunan was nothing more than a spirit, but judging by how much life he was brimming with, it was almost impossible to tell. He looked solid and real. If it wasn''t because his touch was so cold, Ryu, without his Heavenly Pupils, would have been completely fooled.


    Ryu could do nothing as his grandpa lifted him over his right shoulder, forcing him to sit on it as though he was still a toddler. Even with how robust his grandfather''s figure was, one of Ryu''s thighs still angled off the side, being held up by his grandfather''s bicep.


    Toward such a scene, even Himari could only be speechless. But, her silence soon gave way to bell-like laughter. This was just like her father, even in his final moments, he refused to allow anyone to see him go with a frown on their faces.


    "Ah, my baby girl is here too. This old man happens to have another shoulder, don''t look down on me!"


    Himari found herself hoisted up as well, the mother-son pair smiling through tears that threatened to fall.


    Saint Kunan proudly turned, carrying them into the Shrine. Their weight on his back made him feel like he was a young man again, a young man with still the strength to protect his family.


    The Tribulation Shrine was unlike what one would expect. Above, rainbow colors clouds fluttered, a sun of pinks, violets and blues radiating its light for the world to see. Lush greenery painted the ground like a canvas, taking root as all sorts of fanciful herbs, plants and trees.


    Unlike the other Shrines, the Tribulation Shrine was especially special. That was because it reflected the heart of its owner. When unclaimed, it was nothing but a barren wasteland. When controlled by a tyrant, it would be dark and sinister. When controlled by someone who was in love the air would be filled with a heavy fragrance and even standing here might make one feel as though they were in a minefield of aphrodisiacs.


    However, if controlled by a man with a pure heart¡­ It would look just like this.


    "You see this, Little Ryu, Little Himari? This is the product of this old man''s hard work. Even after this old man died, I didn''t give up, and I finally got this damnable Shrine to accept me!


    "When this old man is finally gone, don''t remember me for my mighty bow or my sure arrow, remember me as the man who didn''t give up even after hundreds of billions of years!"


    Saint Kunan''s voice boomed, the skies above radiating with an even more blinding light as though to respond to his words.


    Ryu''s heart trembled to the cadence of his grandfather''s words. He remembered it well. Even during the short span of his first life, he lost count of the number of times his grandfather had challenged this Shrine, trying again and again to overcome the demon in his heart.


    A lesser man, a man who was fleeting with his love and uncaring with his seed would have gotten over what Mistress Holy Wing had done long ago. But, it was this kind hearted grandfather of his that allowed it to sink so deep into his soul and fester for such a long time.


    It was often the kindest people that suffered the most heartache, the more pure of souls that faced the worst tribulations.


    Ryu wasn''t a good person, nor was he a kind person. If he had faced the situation his grandfather had faced, he would have slaughtered his way through the Holy Wing Clan and killed the mother of his child to take back his seed regardless of how this child would feel. By then, whatever heart demons he had would vanish with the wind.


    But, his grandfather had taken a different path, a much harder path.


    Ryu placed his two grandfather''s on the same level of talent and power, but the truth was that this was his conclusion after taking into consideration his Grandpa Kunan''s Heart Demon. If he had never faced such a thing¡­ Ryu had no idea the kind of monster his Grandpa would have become. Maybe then, the rulers of Sacrum wouldn''t be the Tatsuya Clan, but rather¡­ The Kunan Clan.


    Saint Kunan''s vitality burned bright but it faded just as quickly.


    Ryu knew he had done this on purpose. If his grandpa wanted, he could have extended their final moments to several hours. But, just like his Grandma Tatsuya, they both wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.


    His grandma''s final feat was to display her majesty to her grandson, to stamp her final bit of pride on the world.


    But, his grandpa''s last action was far more simple¡­ He just wanted to carry his grandson and daughter on his shoulders one last time.

 Chapter 898 Eager

    ?


    Ryu could still feel the warmth of his grandfather for several moments after he vanished. The chirping of birds sung a heroic song that pulled the strings of his heart but refused to allow his tears to fall.


    The final moments of each of his grandparents were all profound in their own way. Each one left a scar on his heart, the kind he would carry for a lifetime. He would never allow anyone to trample on their memories. And, for the Clan that dared to push them to their deaths¡­


    He wasn''t finished with them just yet.


    Ryu closed his eyes, his palm grasping the warmth of his mother''s hands. He took deep breaths, calming the simmering rage that threatened to bubble up within him again.


    ''Shrine Mountain¡­''


    Ryu remembered back to his time in the Core Region. Back then, he had stumbled on the Prayer Mat, a treasure he still couldn''t make heads or tails of and one that he could now no longer access due to his pupils being sealed away in an odd sort of deep slumber.


    When sitting on the Prayer Mat, Ryu ended up getting a vision of everything occurring in Sacrum all at once, from the final breath of the old to the first breath of the young. It was then he understood that Shrine Mountain was the center of power that oversaw Sacrum, but it was also then he had come to understand that without Shrine Mountain, the path to reincarnation for everyone would be cut off.


    Shrine Mountain had been greatly weakened by the actions of the Martial Gods and it was only saved by his mother''s action. However, now, it needed time to recuperate or else it would very easily fall back to an even worse state than previously.


    Ryu could tell what the Martial Gods wanted to do. So long as their Protector Spirit was weakened, or better yet, killed, the Heavens would also suffer a major blow. Once that happened, it would be far easier for them to descend to Sacrum.


    According to the notes Sarriel left behind, there were certain barriers and restrictions put up for those foreign powers to a world. But, those protections were, unfortunately, not perfect. The fact that Elena''s father could descend now was also proof that these already imperfect measures were only further weakening.


    With Shrine Mountain being unsealed, there was a chance these imperfect measures could strengthen themselves once more. But, it would take time, a much longer span of time than Ryu could fathom.


    The best choice, then, was to find treasures that could speed it along.


    In truth, this would also help Ryu. With the foundation of his very first Natural Enlightenment being Shrine Mountain itself, the stronger Shrine Mountain became as a reference to his understanding, the stronger he would, in turn, become as well.


    Ryu had already made up his mind to do this and it only took a moment to reach this conclusion.


    "Come, Little Ryu."


    Himari, who had gathered herself, pulled Ryu along, entering the Shrine and beginning to navigate the treasures of the Kunan Clan.


    The Kunan Clan was only considered to be a small measure weaker than the Tatsuya Clan, so their treasures were fairly comparable.


    "Mother, I have the stores of the Ice Phoenix Clan with me. There''s probably something within that can help you."


    It had taken Ryu some time, but he believed he understood what happened to his mother.


    She had pooled her vitality together, likely in an attempt to help him live, but she didn''t end up deploying it.


    Unfortunately, vitality wasn''t just some on and off switch you could gather and release as you please. Those that could had exceptionally high attainments in Life Daos. But, unfortunately, Himari had spent her time sealed with the Ice Shrine, not the Life Shrine.


    Though Himari managed to reclaim some of her pooled together vitality, much of the rest was left in an unusable form, lingering in a limbo-like state within her body. In fact, much of her strength was currently being gathered to suppress this vitality in limbo so that it didn''t dissipate.


    It was still possible for her to reclaim it, but she would need to better her comprehension of Life to the same levels as her comprehension of Ice. Such a thing would take millions of years. And, by then, the small sliver of vitality she had remaining might run out.


    Hearing her son''s words, though, Himari only smiled.


    "You really have so little faith in your mother. Do you know why it took me so long to reach my current attainments in ice?"


    Ryu''s lips twitched. Less than a billion years to reach the Perfect Sky God Realm was ''so long''? If others heard this, they might try to crucify his family for having too many boasters.


    "The main reason is because I had to dismantle all of my foundations first. That took at least 90% of the time because I didn''t have an easy method of doing it. Also, do you know how difficult it is to dissipate and gather energy within a seal? Your mother is quite the superstar, you know."


    Ryu laughed, his mother''s teasing words making his worry fly away.


    "Stop worrying about me, I will be just fine. When I breakthrough again, I will become even stronger. After all, I have to keep up with your father or else he''ll never let me hear the end of it."


    "Is dad alright?"


    "He should be just fine," Himari replied.


    If Titus had died, she would have felt it. However, all she could feel was his soul growing stronger and stronger. She definitely had to keep up.


    "That''s enough about this, you need to worry about yourself. We older people can take care of ourselves. It isn''t time yet for you to have to worry about carrying such things on your shoulders.


    "Maybe the day you can take a palm from me, we can revisit this. If you can ever take a sword, I''ll finally let you do as you please."


    Ryu smiled but didn''t say much in return.


    "I will be leaving for the Life Shrine now. But this here is what your grandfather has left for you."


    Himari picked up a bottle crackling with lightning.


    "As for how much you gain from this, it will be up to you."


    After saying these words, Himari vanished, leaving the bottle in Ryu''s hands. It was clear that she was far more eager to become stronger than maybe even Ryu was.

 Chapter 899 Trinkets

    Ryu looked at the bottle in his hand. He could feel him, his grandfather. There was no doubt that this bottle held the core of his grandfather''s physical form. It was just a vial of blood, and yet it was heavy beyond imagining and it formed lightning all on its own. Ryu had never seen such a thing before.


    Usually, even after awakening one''s Spirit Body, it was impossible for a lost body part to continue exhibiting the same characteristics. If Ryu''s blood spilt, it would remain as blood, it wouldn''t remain in its lightning form.


    But, this blood seemed to flicker back and forth between corporeal and ethereal, it was almost impossible to see its truest form.


    ''Could this be?''


    Every Ancestral Beast had many Talents, but, there were usually one or two that stood about all the rest. In fact, this was the same for practically any beast with a talent. This Talent would present the pinnacle of their evolution.


    For the Fire Phoenixes, this talent was obvious. It was the Nine Lives Talent which allowed them not only rebirth from death, but also allowed an exponential increase in their power.


    Not only would each reincarnation allow one to bask in the true meaning of rebirth for an extended period of time, it would also refine and burn away impurities in one''s foundation. It was likely because of this that Ryu''s cultivation had regressed, and yet he felt so much stronger.


    The fact that he only fell by a single Realm, though, went to show just how strong and firm Ryu''s foundation originally was.


    For the Lightning Qilin, though, it was the ability to cultivate one''s own Lightning. This was the ultimate of a trifecta of abilities.


    The first was the Storm Talent. The second was the Lightning God Talent. And the final¡­ Was the Heavenly Tribulation Talent, the greatest of the three.


    The first Storm Talent allowed one to call down Tribulation Lightning from the Heavens. The Lightning God Talent allowed one to take this Tribulation Lightning and manipulate it to any form you wanted. However, the Heavenly Tribulation Talent allowed you to store and refine this Lightning.


    While the Fire Dragon had the Rage Flame, the Phoenixes had the Ice, Dark and Rebirth Flames, the Lightning Qilin didn''t have any of its own¡­ Or so it seemed.


    As the harbingers of Tribulation, it was the task of the Lightning Qilin to pass judgment. As a creature tasked with such a thing, how could it rely on lightning formed by the Elements?


    Ryu''s Storm and Lightning God Talents were both entirely reliant on the environment around him and the strength of the Heavens. His Storm Talent was practically useless against the Sky Gods of the Martial Gods in this world because Sacrum was simply too weak, it couldn''t form lightning that could smite characters of this level on a whim.


    However, if Ryu could gather lightning, refine it, feed it precious treasures and continue to nurture it, the strength of his Heavenly Tribulation Lightning would reach an unprecedented level.


    Rather than waiting for lightning strikes to accumulate and then forming them into a single attack like he had when he formed the pool of lightning. He could instead have already long since prepared a refined bolt of lightning that carried the strength of countless bolts of lightning!


    This bottle in Ryu''s had represented his grandfather''s life''s work, a lightning refined by a man who had conquered both the Lightning Shrine and the Tribulation Shrine. If it wasn''t for the fact that his grandfather had subdued it and forced it to calm, Ryu was certain that even at his current strength, he would have no business even holding this bottle in his hand.


    Ryu reached forward, grasping onto a bow that leaned against the shelving. His grandfather had always been so casual with his favorite weapon, but it was a weapon he would rather die than part with just the same.


    His mother hadn''t touched it nor even looked its way, but Ryu knew that this wasn''t because his mother didn''t care or didn''t recognize it. It was because she had seen the weapons Ryu wielded and didn''t want to place added pressure on his shoulders.


    It wasn''t as easy for Ryu to read his mother as she could read him, but he still understood her.


    The two of them were the last blood the Kunan Clan had. Yet, one of them dual wielded swords and the other dual wielded Great Swordstaffs. It felt like the legacy of the Kunan Clan would die out here, but neither of them had a choice.


    His mother had traveled too far down her road of cultivation to turn back now. His mother''s half-sister had long since been snatched away and Ryu had only ever laid eyes on her once or twice before. And then there was Ryu who only carried a quarter of the Kunan bloodline.


    The bow trembled in Ryu''s hands. Ryu could feel its sorrow as it wept. It could clearly feel that Saint Kunan was no longer of this world.


    The bow couldn''t have looked simpler. It was carved of a sleek grey wood, polished to the finest detail. Its handle curved around the palm of a large man quite perfectly, the beast skin pelt of a sea lion wrapping around it and feeling smooth to the touch.


    It was three and a half meters tall and small little trinkets dangled off of its bottom end.


    One of the trinkets was a lock of white hair. Ryu knew that it was from his very first haircut. His grandfather had insisted on preserving it and even tied it to his precious bow.


    The second trinket was a bracelet of shells. Ryu''s grandfather had told him that this was the very first present Himari had made for him when she was little. Even after so many battles, the shell bracelet had not a single scratch on it.


    The third trinket was a locket, sealed tight.


    p1ease visit n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    Ryu had seen what was in it once before and he didn''t need to open it. It was the only picture his grandfather had of his mother''s half-sister before Mistress Holy Wing took her away.


    Ryu grasped the bow tightly in one hand, downing the bottle of lightning with the other.

 Chapter 900 Heavier

    Ryu glided through the skies. Though he subconsciously turned his head toward the Life Shrine where his mother should be, he ultimately turned away and continued onward. His mother said to trust her, so he would do exactly that.


    They didn''t need goodbyes. They knew exactly what their task now was and that was to become as strong as possible to protect their home.


    Ryu''s white and sky blue robes fluttered, dancing strands of ice followed his wake. His grandfather''s bow was strapped to his back and a small crystalline butterfly sat on his shoulder, ripping outward with star-like motes of light.


    As his hair danced in the wind, he looked like a deity descended to the world of mortals. His closed eyes only added to the air of mystery, making him seem even more mysterious.


    The battle between the Martial Gods and the Ancestral Beasts had long since come to an end. But, from what Ryu could tell, likely due to his mother''s actions, the Ancestral Beasts had obediently remained on the Blossom Plane and hadn''t touched the Shrine Plane.


    n0(????(e)lbi????.n(et


    Sarriel''s seal over the Pedestal Plane was still in place, as was Ryu''s seal over the Moon World. However, his mother didn''t make a move to deal with either of them. It seemed that she believed that in the future, they would come to be of great help.


    Either way, Ryu didn''t believe that the Ancestral Beasts remained here, their number was too few. If Ryu was correct, many of them should have long gone to the True Martial World.


    According to Sarriel''s notes, so long as a lower world had enough talent, traveling to the True Martial World actually wasn''t all that rare of a thing. High and Top Level worlds did so all the time, it was the only way they could scrounge up enough strength to repel attacks from Clans and Sects of the True Martial World.


    Of course, they only managed to do this because the true powerhouses of the True Martial World couldn''t be bothered with lower level worlds. Their focuses were entirely on their battles on the main playing field.


    Ryu thought about going to the Ethereal Plane to explain things to Ailsa''s father. But, in the end, he snorted and turned his head away.


    That man hadn''t even appeared during such an important battle. He had not a single care in the world for them. If he ever wanted a relationship with Ryu, he would have to appear himself.


    When Ryu stepped into the Chaos Plane, a familiar feeling filled his body to the brim. However, he eventually sighed.


    ''Without my eyes, I can''t sense what <Intuition> wants me to do anymore. There are only two ways I can proceed. I either need to take a shot in the dark, or I need to find the true cultivation method for my meridians.''


    Ryu kept his options open. He no longer had the luxury of taking his time now that he knew what kind of looming threat was overhead. If he found a great cultivation technique, even if it didn''t mesh well with his meridians, he would take it.


    Even if this meant giving up on the perfect path for his Chaotic Silk Meridians, he would do it. He was confident that he could become a powerhouse one way or another. But, the one thing he lacked was time.


    He could expect to continuously stumble into lucky chances. He had to make the assumption that he would have to take every step of cultivation from now on all on his own. In that case, he didn''t have the time to waste.


    Ryu no longer had access to Sarriel''s jade since he had absorbed it into his inner world. But, he had already memorized all of it thanks to the Origin Flame.


    From what he remembered, there was only one exit from Sacrum, but before it, there were countless doors to choose from. Unfortunately, these ''doors'' were wreathed in chaos so they weren''t necessarily easy to pick out either.


    In addition, because Sacrum was a middle level world, the distance from it to the True Martial World was quite large. If Ryu didn''t have Sarriel''s maps, it was practically impossible for him to not get lost.


    The good news was that unlike others, the streams of Chaos couldn''t affect Ryu. But, if he wanted to be smart about things, he would have to at least pretend.


    In truth, Ryu abhorred the idea of doing this, it left a disgusting sort of taste in his mouth. He felt like he was already lowering his head before he even stepped foot into the True Martial World.


    He had already defied death once, he would do it again if he had to. At least, that was what he wanted to do.


    But, Ryu was trying to learn to compromise just a small measure. If the moment he stepped onto the True Martial World he was being chased for his meridians, he would never get anything done. He would have to find a different way to flaunt his arrogance.


    Ryu grumbled internally a bit but eventually used the Vein Stage of his Master''s Visualization to form fake armor around him. He was also sure to make it crack as though it was on the verge of collapse before he continued moving forward.


    When Ryu made it to the Gates of Sacrum, he noticed that there was a large battle going on. But, he just took the simple path, strolling through the battlefield.


    The Knights of Heaven didn''t stop him, nor did they look in his direction. But, Ryu could have sworn that he felt some of them nod for a brief moment. In fact, they fought even harder as well, not letting any of the invaders get even close to him.


    Ryu paused at the gates, a difficult sort of emotion welling up in his heart. The last time he felt like this, he stood at the top of the steps of Heaven''s Path, having just survived Headmaster Leopold''s chase. But, this time, the weight on his shoulders felt heavier.


    He had lost his grandparents already. He refused to lose any more.


    Without a sound, he slipped into the gates.

 Chapter 901 Opportunity

    The turbulence outside of a world was truly something to behold. Even with his immunity to Chaos Qi, the pressurized astral winds still threatened to reap his life. Ryu had thought that he would need to fake his sorry state, but it only took him a few moments to realize that there was no need to fake anything.


    Astral Winds were devastating harbingers of death. The were a fusion of not only wind itself, but also highly charged particles from stars expelling waste, volatile concentrations of qi, especially Chaos Qi, and also dust particles.


    While of this list dust particles seemed to be the most innocent, at the high velocities they sped by at, they were no less lethal than any of the others on the list. In fact, it was these dust particles that caused Ryu to suffer the most.


    At these speeds, a small rock could cause a World Sea Realm expert''s head to burst like a watermelon. These dust particles were no less devastating, pelting against Ryu''s qi skin shield with every intention of riddling him with holes.


    Getting annoyed, Ryu decided to deploy <Immortal Sakura> on a small scale. The immortal tree hung above his head, petals of beautiful violet covered in radiant blue Heavenly Patterns fluttering all around him.


    Ryu sighed in relief, the pressure on him falling several folds.


    ''It''s troublesome. My Spiritual Sense can''t spread very far in this kind of environment so it feels like I''m walking around blind. According to Sarriel''s notes, these streams of Astral Wind was separated into Greater and Lesser Waves. I need to find the Red Dune Greater Wave and follow its trajectory until¡­''


    Ryu went over in his mind what he would have to do.


    Riding a Greater Wave was a dangerous endeavor. As a result, one would have to rely on Astral Ships to get the job done. There were several moon and asteroid systems that provided such a service and Sarriel had suggested for Ryu to buy a ticket to the best one he could afford.


    Riding Greater Waves had a very high lethality rate, so it was better to not cheap out and risk your life for a few extra Qi Stones. You wouldn''t have the chance to use those Qi Stones anyway if you were dead.


    Ryu took this advice quite seriously. He was rich anyway, so there truly wasn''t a point.


    Existence called this region between worlds Astral Space. Usually, one could access Astral Space through either the Chaos Plane of one''s world, or the Abyssal Plane which existed between Order and Chaos.


    Ryu wasn''t unfamiliar with the Abyssal Plane. After all, the so-called Abyss was the location he had gotten his Mortal, now Immortal, Realm Heart from.


    It was unfortunate that Ryu''s method of destroying the Martial God Sky Gods had also destroyed their Godhoods, or else he might have had enough to upgrade his Realm Heart to the Cosmic Grade.


    Ryu''s thoughts wandered as he strolled through the skies. Soon, he could feel several gravitational pulls subtly tugging at him from different directions.


    Without his eyes and without wanting to risk stretching his Spiritual Sense out too far in this volatile environment, Ryu could only prime his other senses to the max. When he felt these tugs, he realized that he was very close to a moon system.


    ''That direction should be right.'' He nodded to himself.


    ¡­


    In the distance, a group of three strolled through the skies much like Ryu. This wasn''t rare in this region of Astral Space. As it was near several middle level worlds, the space was relatively safer so there were many experts at and around the Path Extinction Realm level that came here to temper themselves.


    Ryu didn''t notice these people as they were too far away, but they most definitely noticed him.


    "Senior brother, that''s¡ª!"


    "Hush, don''t alert him. I can see."


    The eyes of the three sharpened, but their expressions remained placid as they observed Ryu from afar. But, outside of their senior brother''s expectations, Ryu didn''t seem to notice them.


    "Senior brother, he seems to be¡­ blind?"


    The eyes of the three glowed. Blind people among cultivators were quite rare, but it wasn''t like none existed. Such blind people tended to have extraordinarily keen senses though, so it was difficult to take advantage of them most of the time.


    However, in Astral Space, it was a different situation altogether. With the danger of the surroundings and especially the dense Chaos Qi, no one dared to casually spread their Spiritual Sense until they were fond of riddling their souls with holes and collapsing dead.


    Of course, shattering one''s Spiritual Sense wasn''t that devastating and one could usually slowly recover over time, but being injured in Astral Space was like asking to die.


    "I never thought we''d stumble into such an opportunity. He must be from the same Sect as that bitch, their defensive Visualizations are identical. If we get to him, we can probably find where she is and get revenge."


    The senior brother of the three spoke these words out through gritted teeth. He had been holding onto this grudge for over a hundred years already, but no matter where he looked, he couldn''t find the woman who made him suffer such a loss, and he couldn''t find information about her world or Sect either.


    He had only been able to conclude that she had come from a smaller world and was one of their rising geniuses. But, there were simply too many worlds to go through and check. He couldn''t possibly know all of them, that was ridiculous.


    But after over a hundred years, he finally found a clue.


    Soon, Dob forced himself to calm down. They had already entered the Imia Moon System, his status wasn''t high enough to just casually offend the overseers of this region. Luckily, it seemed that Ryu hadn''t noticed them. But, he still restrained his killing intent further. Blind cultivators were simply far too sensitive for him to slip up now.


    "Come, we''ll board his Astral Ship and wait for an opportunity."

 Chapter 902 VIP

    Ryu really was ignorant to the fact Isemeine actions had put a target on his back. He had been too far away to sense their killing intent and he hadn''t deployed his Spiritual Sense.


    In truth, though Ryu was a bit cautious of the Astral Winds, the true reason he didn''t release his Spiritual Sense was deeper than that.


    For one, it was greatly taboo in the cultivation world to scan others with your Spiritual Sense. Even if he had used it to see, the moment he swept through the wrong cultivator it would cause an unnecessary clash. No one would care that he was blind, that was just the way of the martial world.


    Secondly, releasing his Spiritual Sense would reveal his inherent resistance to Chaos Qi, something that would bring him endless trouble.


    Of course, the charged star particles and solar winds could still injure Ryu''s Spiritual Sense, that much was true. But, with his soul having transcended beyond even the Indestructible Soul levels, this was most definitely something that he could bear for quite some time if he had to.


    Ryu paid the fee to enter the Imia Moon System and learned that the highest class Astral Ship to the True Martial World would leave in a day. The price, though, was enough to make his lip twitch.


    With just the purchase of a single ticket, Ryu had dried up a thousandth of his wealth. Though that didn''t sound like a lot, when one considered how long cultivators lived for, not to mention how long it had taken his Clans to accumulate this level of wealth, it was ridiculous.


    Ryu''s feelings that he was quite rich vanished into thin air. But, the receptionist he bought his ticket from couldn''t help but send him several flirtatious glances. Ryu was not only astoundingly handsome, his temperament felt otherworldly and he was even rich, why wouldn''t she at least try?


    On top of that, Ryu''s cultivation was actually only at the pinnacle of the Immortal Ring Realm, yet he could travel through Astral Space alone. He was clearly a genius.


    Ryu was a bit surprised that someone had seen through his cultivation so easily. The young woman didn''t let him go and she eventually started singing his praises in a vain attempt, thus resulting in her speaking of his cultivation level. But, soon, Ryu came to understand.


    Reading someone''s cultivation wasn''t an exact science and required experience. The people on Sacrum often had a hard time telling his cultivation level, even when he was going all out in battle, because their frame of reference for how strong and dense an Immortal Ring cultivator''s strength should be was a far cry from Ryu''s real level.


    Ryu could even battle Dao Pedestal Realm experts of Sacrum in his base form. How could they reconcile that with the references they had in their minds?


    However, to people here more familiar to top level geniuses, Ryu was an astounding Immortal Ring Realm expert, but it was still within their acceptable range.


    The young woman pouted when Ryu finally extricated himself, leaning back in her chair in a somewhat grumpy mood. She was a young beauty herself, it was just unfortunate that she wasn''t nearly enough to catch Ryu''s attention considering the level of his wives.


    Ryu was feeling a bit pent up due to Elena''s more than forward actions, but he wasn''t desperate to the point of falling into any woman''s bed.


    A few minutes after Ryu left, a young man wreathed in silver strolled in. The air around him was magnificent and it was difficult to get a clear view of his face with all the light around him. However, this didn''t stop the young pouting woman from sitting straight up. Her bosom wasn''t bountiful, but it still heaved with her hardly concealed excitement.


    "Clear a spot in the Violet VIP region for me. I''ll be returning."


    "Yes, young master! There are two places left!"


    "Oh, someone bought a ticket? That''s rare."


    "Ah, yes¡ª"


    The young woman wanted to say more, but she deflated once again as the young man turned to leave.


    The Imia Moon System had several Astral Ship companies, but none were more prestigious than the one run by the Twin Phase Merchant Group.


    The young man who just left was none other than the Holy Son of the Twin Phase Merchant Group, Galemar Iunae. Of course, he wouldn''t have to pay, he only needed to announce his presence and that would be enough.


    By now, the young woman was doubly grumpy. First, the handsome catch had run away from her like she was some sort of over the hill cougar, and then her idol couldn''t be bothered to exchange a word with her. It was like she had been talking at air.


    Soon, another group walked in.


    Sensing the shadow over her, the grumpy young woman didn''t even look up.


    "We''d like a ticket to board the same ship as Young Master Solare. We''re his servants but he''s a bit difficult for us to handle, you understand."


    "Young Master Solare? Who''s that?" The young woman grumbled.


    "Ah, our young master is tall, quite handsome as well. He has white hair and¡­"


    The person leaned over with a whisper as though he was speaking of something taboo.


    "¡­ And he''s blind."


    "Oh! So that''s his name?!"


    The young woman blinked, remembering Ryu''s figure quite well. Their merchant group didn''t ask for names and identity confirmation. For one, it was almost impossible to register everyone that passed through here as they all had such vastly differing origins. And, secondly, they had a fairly strict privacy policy.


    Of course, Ryu never bet on another''s ethics. He only relied on himself and his blade.


    "Yes, that should be him." The person said with a smile. "He sent us off on errands but he didn''t wait for us to purchase his tickets, so now we have no idea which flight plan he chose and when departure time is. Can you please help us out?"


    The young woman felt sympathy for this group of servants. Thinking back to how she had been ignored twice in a row, she felt indignance down to her soul.


    ''Damned young masters and their pretty faces and big wallets and¡­ probably big¡­''


    The young woman furiously shook her head, snapping out of her delusions.


    "¡­ I''m not supposed to do this, but as a fellow servant in solidarity¡­"


    Dob and his two junior brothers walked out with dark smirks on their faces. They couldn''t believe that Ryu was actually rich enough to afford such a ticket, it seemed that this would be the boon of a lifetime.


    In their hands, they clutched three low class tickets.

 Chapter 903 A Hidden Cruelty

    Ryu strolled through the moon system, trying to see if he could find anything useful to his cultivation. After learning just how much more powerful the techniques of even a weak Sect of the True Martial world could be, he was greatly interested in seeing if he could find anything that could boost his strength before he set foot there.


    He knew his comprehension would likely be slower without his eyes, but Ryu was still confident in himself. This also provided him a great opportunity as well.


    In the future, he would need to find a way to break away from the reliance he had on his Heavenly Pupils and evolve it. So, this felt like a trial run of something he would already need to do anyway.


    Regardless, Ryu didn''t believe that he would suddenly become a fool. It would just take him a more normal time frame to comprehend techniques. But, if he had to bet, he would still think that he would be faster than most.


    Ryu was interested in some bow techniques. He was feeling quite nostalgic about his grandfather and wanted to give the archery more of a fair shake than he had in the past. It was also a convenient path to take considering he had just learned his wealth wasn''t as boundless as he had once thought it was.


    Ryu''s Great Swordstaffs had been destroyed in battle, a shame for a great weapon he had only gotten the chance to use once. If he asked for a new pair to be forged, he had a feeling that the price would make his heart ache as well.


    However, Ryu already had his grandfather''s bow and with the Glove of Order, he didn''t need to worry about spending on arrows.


    Ryu had never particularly cared about money or its usage, but watching his family''s wealth vanish like this felt much deeper than wasting his own money. It felt like he was watching the legacy of his Clans vanish, and that was something he had a hard time accepting.


    Reaching this point in his thoughts, Ryu swore to himself that he wouldn''t use his family''s wealth unless he absolutely had to. After leaping over this hurdle, he would make his own money.


    Unfortunately, finding what he wanted proved difficult. Ryu might be blind, but his senses, especially in and around himself, were still sharp. In addition, he also still had full access to his Dao which was practically designed to see through the truth of matters.


    There were quite a few shops that sold techniques, but none were better than the techniques Ryu could just pluck from the Kunan Clan. In fact, it felt that most of these techniques were from lower level worlds and just repackaged to try and entice travelers who didn''t know better.


    Just by touching the preview jades, Ryu could see whether the technique was worth much of anything or not.


    If things were like this, he might as well just pick from the Kunan Clan''s depository of techniques. There was a whole host he had to choose from to the Common to the Ancestral Grade. There wasn''t any use in wasting money.


    Originally, Ryu wanted to become more familiar with the more refined techniques of the True Martial World, which was why he decided to take this route instead. After understanding what separated those techniques from those of his own, then he could take the path of improving them or fusing them to make up whatever they were lacking.


    But now¡­


    Ryu''s steps paused, feeling a strong aura. His Spiritual Sense stretched out, careful to touch people before a large building came into view. Compared to the other buildings he had gone to, this one was on a completely different level.


    ''Twin Phase Merchant Group? That should be the company I bought an Astral Ship ticket from. Sarriel''s notes said that they are among the largest Merchant Groups in this region and even have quite some influence on the True Martial World, at least in the First Heaven¡­''


    The True Martial World was separated into Heavens, of which there were nine. These Heavens could be imagined like the Planes of the Shrine World, but in reality, they were more all encompassing than this. Not only were they much larger, their fundamental laws were vastly different as well.


    Sarriel''s information didn''t give him much of anything beyond the First Heaven. It was either that it was simply too much, or she was fairly in the dark about it all as well. Either way, it didn''t matter much to Ryu. If he couldn''t make due with this much, he might as well give up cultivating right here and now.


    Ryu walked to the entrance of the store, only to be stopped by their guards.


    They both wore shimmering silver robes. Their lapels had twin moons dancing about one other as fleeting clouds surrounded them.


    "Only those at the World Sea Realm and above can enter for free."


    Ryu raised a brow. The rules were quite strict for this region. But, it seemed that they kept a universal standard no matter where they were.


    "Even if I have this?" Ryu asked, raising up his Violet VIP card.


    "Please go right ahead."


    The attitudes of the guards changed and they stepped apart to let Ryu through.


    Ryu was inwardly relieved as this meant he wouldn''t have to waste more money. This made things easier.


    The moment he stepped in, a fluttering silver light appeared before him and a middle-aged man bowed respectfully.


    Ryu couldn''t help but be a bit stunned because the middle-aged man was definitely a Sky God. No matter what the status of a junior, a Sky God wouldn''t ever bow to them, at least not in Sacrum. In fact, higher level cultivators almost never lowered their heads to juniors unless they had the strength to defeat them.


    Something like a Sky God bowing to him, presumably just because he had a bit of wealth, was baffling to Ryu. It was quite the culture shock.


    At the same time, Ryu realized how cruel the True Martial World was just from this interaction alone. Likely scared of what background he had, even a Sky God was forced to lower their heads. He couldn''t fathom what kind of trials he would have ahead.

 Chapter 904 Three?

    "Senior, I would like to browse archery techniques appropriate for my level."


    Ryu spoke maybe more politely than he had in his life. Though his voice was still tinged with the usual cold he had for strangers, its edges had softened somewhat.


    This wasn''t because he felt scared of the middle-aged man before him, but rather because he was understanding of the latter''s plight. And, he was also feeling somewhat grateful that he had gained such a reminder so easily.


    This was no longer Sacrum. Things would be far more difficult here.


    The middle-aged man stood with a smile.


    "Young master can just call me Old Man Balin, I am one of the three Deacons of this small shop. I''ll take you to what you need right away."


    Those on the ground floor of the merchant shop couldn''t help but look toward Ryu. It obviously wasn''t normal for a Deacon to receive just anyone. It was clear that this young man had an astounding background.


    A silvery light enveloped the middle-aged man and Ryu. The two soon appeared in a private, but spacious room. There was nowhere to sit, nor were there the displays there had been on the first floor. Instead, it was just a vast empty space as though they were standing in the middle of the depths of space.


    With a thought from Deacon Balin, that changed quickly.


    Rows of displays began to appear, each neatly arranged.


    "Young master, these are our current catalogue of archery techniques appropriate for your level."


    Ryu swept out his Spiritual Sense. There were quite a number here, easily approaching a thousand or so.


    Ryu stepped forward and picked up a jade. But, he soon shook his head and picked up another. He went through this process several times before Balin finally said something.


    "Young master, are these techniques not to your liking?"


    "They''re missing something," Ryu replied honestly.


    He didn''t expect these techniques to be on the same level as the two best techniques he had taken from those two Hidden Blade Sect individuals. After all, those techniques had cultivation techniques to be paired with. But, he still expected something better than this.


    "Show me your absolute best," Ryu continued.


    "As the young master wishes."


    Balin''s gaze became heavy as he controlled the formations to rearrange everything once more. This time, only a dozen or so techniques remained.


    The moment Ryu picked up the first, the feeling that flooded him was entirely different. As he went through the techniques, each one gave him a vastly different feel, but it was a good one.


    He took a breath, his aura relaxing as he began to think. What was the difference between these techniques and the ones he carried with him from his Kunan Clan? Well, there were a few things.


    The first was that these techniques had an air of mystery that was hard to describe, a certain charm.


    The second was that the circulation patterns required to execute these techniques were extraordinarily simple, even simpler than some lower level techniques that Ryu had learned before.


    The third was that they all relied on a conception and touched the faintest hint of a Dao. It was this third factor that likely gave the techniques the charm Ryu felt from them.


    "I will take these two techniques. <Thirteen Soaring Azures> and <Roaring Sky Serpent>."


    With those two purchases, another thousandth of Ryu''s wealth had vanished. It was hard to believe that two Middle Heaven Grade techniques were actually so expensive. But, it was clear that even in the True Martial World, techniques of this caliber were quite rare.


    After sifting through his memories again, Ryu found that these techniques were known as techniques with Dao Charm. Similar to Crown Herbs, they could display the prowess of techniques beyond their level due to how powerful they were. However, they were likewise very difficult to learn and were usually reserved for the use of extremely high level geniuses.


    There were many people who could use Dao Charm Techniques at lower grades, but found themselves unable to do so as their cultivation progressed. Those like Ryu could continue to do so into the Heaven Grade were already quite rare to begin with.


    ¡­


    Deacon Balin watched Ryu leave with a grave expression. Two individuals appeared to his left and right, both of whom were Deacons as well.


    "Three Dao Charm techniques? Is he overestimating himself?"


    One of the Deacons couldn''t help but question this. Usually, even for geniuses, one would only have a single Dao Charm technique practiced to mastery. This was especially so at lower levels.


    The simple fact was that increasing one''s cultivation was more important, no one had the time to master so many Dao Charm techniques when most couldn''t master even a single one.


    Yet, not only had Ryu taken two Dao Charm techniques, he had even taken the movement Dao Charm technique, <Whispering Petals>.


    "Did you find any information on him?" Deacon Balin didn''t answer.


    p1ease visit n0ve1b(in).ne)t


    "We haven''t been able to find anything about blind boy with white hair. It''s either he''s from a higher Heaven, or he''s carrying the wealth of an entire smaller world on him. Regardless, it has nothing to do with us anymore, just inform the young master of what we''ve found out to sate his curiosity and wipe our hands of this matter."


    **


    The following day, Ryu boarded the Astral Ship and was escorted to his Violet VIP living quarters.


    It would take three months to make it to the True Martial World from here. It was time to see just how far his comprehension speed had fallen.


    The living conditions of Violet VIPs were nothing short of spectacular. Ryu didn''t need to worry about food, accommodations, and he was even offered high class women to serve him. He could only shake his head when he realized that these women were actually in the World Sea Realm, with the Head Servant actually being in the Sky God Realm herself.


    Ryu ended up refusing these tempting services and entered the training room that was also a part of his accommodations. He found that even if he set a full powered punch at the walls, he couldn''t even force the formations to ripple.


    This much was good, that meant he could go all out.


    Taking a seat at the center of the training room and turning the privacy settings on, Ryu began to meditate on <Thirteen Soaring Azures>.

 Chapter 905 CRACK! (1)

    For Ryu, mastering the circulation patterns of the three Dao Charm techniques in his possession was easy, so easy, in fact, that Ryu felt that he was trying to learn Common Grade techniques all over again. But, the reality was that even Common Grade techniques he was familiar with had more complex circulation pathways than this.


    Still, there was a sort of elegance in its simplicity. Ryu had already accepted that more complex didn''t mean better. In fact, maybe some of the most powerful things in all of Existence were Fundamental Runes, the foundation of all that was.


    Even without his eyes, Ryu still had the Origin Flame. Something like memorizing a circulation pattern was as easy as looking at it, it was the actual circulation that might take some practice. But, due to the simplicity of it all, even that came with a ridiculous amount of ease.


    Ryu casually tested out the circulation patterns so that he could get a reference for how much more powerful it would grow into the future.


    <Thirteen Soaring Azures> was a Dao Charm technique that used a beast firebird beast known as the Azure for inspiration. They were an inferior firebird compared to Phoenixes, of course, but they had a certain charm to themselves and they were especially known for their unique blue flames and their beauty.


    The Azure Bird came in thirteen stages of maturity, alternating between cold and hot. Upon birth, an Azure bird would be wreathed in heat, only to evolve and become cold. After six cycles of this, they would reach the thirteenth form, a perfect fusion of hot and cold that would feel warm to the touch.


    This thirteenth stage seemed to be the most docile and non-lethal, but it was exactly the opposite. It was this perfect control over hot and cold that made the Azure Bird so fearsome.


    On the first circulation, Ryu felt a scorching heat in his meridians. But, upon immediately following it up, he felt a bone biting cold.


    He paused, not continuing to the third.


    Lifting up his robes, his eyes narrowed when he actually saw a thin layer of ice coat his skin. Even with the robustness of his body, this technique actually left such injuries on him? If it wasn''t for the fact he had a Fire Spirit Body, the heat would have actually also left burn marks on him.


    Ryu''s expression flickered. He had thought that his body was already far beyond the realms of the Immortal Ring Realm, so how was it that an Heaven Grade technique could actually harm him like this? It felt impossible.


    Ryu lowered his robes and eventually decided to shrug them off. The butterfly obediently took Ryu''s robes and fluttered off to the side, its small body shivering as well. It had felt that the chilling cold Ryu had released just now, and even given its inclination toward the Yin, it felt like it would lose its life.


    Ryu''s robust body rippled and the ice eventually slowly melted, also releasing its clutches on his internal organs.


    After a few moments of sweeping his Spiritual Sense through his body, Ryu understood a few things.


    His meridians were completely unaffected by the hot and cold. This only made sense, after all, it was the third strongest material in all of existence. Ryu was fairly certain that this truth continued to be true even in the True Martial World as it seemed that rarity didn''t really change between worlds.


    For example, the two disciples of the Hidden Blade Sect had still wanted his meridians. And, when they found out his had Heavenly Pupils afterward, their shock was just the same. In fact, the most damning evidence was that they hadn''t immediately recognized his Bloodlines, likely meaning that his Ancestral Grade Bloodlines weren''t easy to find in their world either.


    The unfortunate part, though, was the organs and skin that surrounded his meridians. Just a casual circulation of the first and second forms, without even using the full brunt of qi he could have, had actually caused so much damage.


    If Ryu had gone all out, he realized that he would probably harm himself.


    Ryu wanted to see just how deep this matter went, so he turned his thoughts to <Roaring Sky Serpent>.


    The Sky Serpent was also a powerful beast much like the Azure Bird. While the latter was a much weaker form of the Phoenix, the former was a much weaker form of the Winged Serpent which was actually a beast of legend as well.


    <Roaring Sky Serpent> had fewer forms than <Thirteen Soaring Azures> with just three instead of the enormous sum of thirteen.


    The forms were separated into echoes. The first produced one resonance, the second form three resonances, and the final formed nine, fully manifesting the form of the Roaring Sky Serpent.


    To Ryu, <Thirteen Soaring Azures> could be used more continuously and lay a foundation for his archery. <Roaring Sky Serpent>, however, was more like a single strike kill technique. If he released it, it should be sure to claim a life.


    Learning his lesson the first time, Ryu circulated with even less qi. If before he used 10%, now he didn''t even use a single percent of what he could have.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s stomach expanded violently, his body suddenly being sent flying backward as a resounding roar echoed in his mind. The sound was so devastating that Ryu''s ears began to bleed, the backlash making him cough up a mouthful of blood.


    Ryu wiped the blood from his lips, his gaze cold.


    As though he was a masochist, unwilling to stop until he had forced his body to collapse, he circulated the movement technique, <Whispering Petals>, next.


    CRACK!


    Ryu''s face paled, his body falling.


    He laid on his back, breathing harshly as beads of sweat fell down his body.


    He swept his Spiritual Sense forward, focusing on his leg and shaking his head.


    He had broken his leg taking just a single step and now he had an extra joint he shouldn''t have had.

 Chapter 906 CRACK! (2)

    Ryu got to learn first hand how fast his healing factor now was. Luckily, the injury had been caused by himself so it was far easier to deal with. In less than a minute after snapping his leg back into place, it was in top shape once again.


    Rather than continuing immediately, Ryu began to think. Obviously, there was something different about these Dao Charm techniques.


    Sarriel didn''t mention anything about them since it was probably more detailed than she felt Ryu needed. But, the techniques themselves did a good enough job in explaining with their various introductions.


    In Sacrum, mastery of techniques were separated into Small Success, Large Success, Great Success and Circle of Perfection.


    Ryu had long since started to ignore these rankings because he comprehended techniques so fast that he blazed through to Great Circle of Perfection and stepped beyond it far too quickly. There was no point in keeping track of such worthless titles.


    With the standards he held himself up to, even if he couldn''t see through a technique to the point of using it with just the same flair and beauty its creator did, he could add his own flair to it. The techniques he had mastered from Sacrum couldn''t even be said to be in the Great Circle of Perfection, they were beyond it.


    In the True Martial World, though, especially when Dao Charm techniques were taken into consideration, the ranking system was the same, but it had two extra steps. Before ''Small Success'', there was Initial Success. And, before the Great Circle of Perfection, there was Complete Success.


    This left the ranking system at Initial Success, Small Success, Large Success, Great Success, Complete Success, and finally, Great Circle of Perfection.


    Initial Success allowed you to use 1% of your qi to fuel the techniques, Small Success allowed 10%, Large Success allowed 20%, Great Success allowed 50%, Complete Success allowed 100%, while Great Circle of Perfection allowed you to go beyond what your qi alone could produce, using the Dao Charm of the technique to push you beyond the realms of the technique.


    Right now, Ryu would be in Initial Success of a non-Dao Charm technique. However, just grasping a circulation pattern wasn''t enough to touch Initial Success of a Dao Charm technique.


    This was the reason why he had suffered such harsh backlash. Without stepping into Initial Success, it wasn''t even possible to circulate the qi method without harming yourself.


    ''Interesting.''


    Ryu''s lip curled. Despite his blindness, his eyes burned with a heated passion. He hadn''t felt this sort of excitement in a long time.


    Such a simple circulation pattern actually carried such a punch to it.


    And, just now, when his leg broke, it was because <Whispering Petals> had wanted him to display a speed beyond his body''s capability. It was even more shocking because he had only circulated a small portion of the qi he could, yet the result was so exaggerated.


    Ryu put away <Whispering Petals> and <Roaring Sky Serpent>. Logically, it was probably smarter to learn a movement technique first, but he wasn''t worried as he had time. No matter how far his comprehension had fallen, he didn''t believe that it would take him more than three months to reach at least Small Success in all three techniques.


    Soon, though, Ryu would realize that it wasn''t his comprehension that would be the problem, but rather the inherent difficulty of Dao Charm techniques.


    Even if his eyes hadn''t gone blind, Dao Charm techniques were something even the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils could take as a casual joke. The reason for this was in their name.


    Dao Charm techniques could only be created by those who had reached an unprecedented level of matery in their Daos. Only upon reaching such a high attainment could one then simplify their Dao to allow others to partake in its strength.


    This essentially meant that Dao Charm techniques and comprehending them was akin to taking a step into someone else''s shoes and grasping their Dao.


    It was one thing if your Dao was comparable and similar to another''s. But, if your Dao was incompatible, you would have a very tall mountain to climb.


    This was another reason why even absolute geniuses only focused on one Dao Charm technique at once. Even those who stood at the pinnacle of the world, looking down on all others, might only dabble in two or three.


    If you spent too much time mastering the Dao Charm of others, it could influence and even collapse your own resolve, thus weakening your Dao. In the worst case, you might even end up crippling your Dao entirely!


    Ryu, though, blissfully began to comprehend.


    He had been ready to settle in for several months, only awakening when it was time for him to truly step into this new world. However, after just a few minutes, his expression changed.


    His mind hurriedly retreated as a resounding CRACK! echoed in his ears.


    Ryu''s face paled, a line of blood falling slowly down the corner of his lips.


    Just now, he had started to comprehend, meditating on the images of the Azure Bird he could find in its memory jade. Immersed, he felt enamored. He wasn''t used to comprehending things without the use of his eyes, so he planned on just letting his instincts take over for a time and see how things went.


    His instincts hadn''t let him down. In fact, things were beyond his expectations.


    His soul made him feel like the world was his to absorb and he could practically imprint the images into his Spiritual Sea itself.


    But then, he realized that when he started to do this that his inactive Dao stirred. It was then Ryu had a thought.


    His Dao was designed to grasp the secrets of the Heavens, that was why he had named it Dividing Heaven. So, if he relied on his Dao, wouldn''t comprehending Dao Charm techniques be as easy as breathing?


    He didn''t believe there was any Dao stronger than his own. There was nothing out of his reach with it by his side.


    But, just now¡­


    A crack had appeared in his Dao Foundation.

 Chapter 907 CRACK! (3)

    Ryu''s frown relaxed after a moment. Closing his eyes out of habit, he took a breath before exhaling slowly.


    He understood why this had happened. His Dao was infinitely close to a Hegemony Grade Dao, that was already far better than the foundation of the Daos used to create these Dao Charm techniques. If he was correct, these were True or Lineal Dao Charm techniques at best, only would have to enter the Sky God Realm to even think of trying to use stronger Dao Charm techniques.


    The reason for this was quite simple. Not only was it rare for higher level Daos to be dumbed down to the point of a Heaven Grade technique, but the stress on a cultivator was even greater.


    This was all to say that the problem here wasn''t the grade of Ryu''s Dao. What Ryu lacked was depth.


    The moment Ryu had stepped out of Sacrum, he had had an odd feeling, but it was only now he understood exactly what that feeling was.


    The Daos or rather, the Heavens of Sacrum were far too weak compared to everywhere else. This was also the very same reasoning for why Ryu''s Dao wasn''t as powerful as he thought it would be.


    The "Heavens" he was Dividing were weak Heavens. Unless he could reform his Dao in the True Martial World while facing its Heavens, it would remain as a Dominion Ranked Dao.


    Ryu also had a feeling that he would need to do this for each one of the True Martial World''s Nine Heavens. Only by standing on the Ninth Heaven and daring to Divide it would he be able to complete his Dao and enter the Realms of a Founding Dao.


    What Ryu had no idea about was the fact that forming Hegemony, Ancient and Founding Daos wasn''t so simple.


    In a certain folk tale Ryu had read before, there were only 3000 Great Daos. This was a legend passed down to most, what Ryu didn''t know was that there was truth to this, not the number itself, but rather the fact that there were only a limited number that could exist.


    That limit had long since been reached and the birth of a new one meant destroying an old one. This wasn''t an easy process by any stretch. Just touching the realms of Hegemony would be shocking enough, but the formation of a new Founding Dao¡­ Well, such a thing hadn''t happened in countless Eras.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. If this <Thirteen Soaring Azures> thought that this was enough to make him back down, it was sorely mistaken.


    ''Go ahead. Crack my Dao, shatter it, in fact, destroy it if you can.''


    The crack in Ryu''s Dao was forcefully closed beneath his will, his fighting intent blazing.


    If others had seen this sort of scene, they would have been shocked beyond belief. The reformation of an injured Dao wasn''t as simple as thinking it. Such a crack represented a shake in one''s belief, a blow to their will, the idea of someone rebounding back so fast didn''t make any sense.


    Ryu''s practically blind confidence in himself would be enough to make a Sky God slap their foreheads, but it was precisely this blind sort of arrogance that allowed him to recover as though nothing had happened at all.


    As far as Ryu was concerned, the only thing holding him back was the fact he had yet to lay eyes on the Nine Heavens just yet. Once he did, it would only be a matter of time before he could divide them just the same. But, for now, he would focus on these techniques before him. Every time his Dao cracked, he would repair it with a new understanding, allowing it to get stronger and stronger.


    Ryu knew that surpassing his current level to enter Hegemony wasn''t the only way to strengthen his Dao.


    There were two dividing lines of Daos. One was its Grade and the other was its Strength.


    The grades were: Common Daos. True Daos. Lineal Daos. Dynastic Daos. Sovereign Daos. Dominion Daos. Hegemonic Daos. Ancient Daos. And, finally, Founding Daos. Of course, Ryu was nearing the very limit of the Dominion Dao.


    This could be considered to be the foundation of a Dao.


    However, then there was the strength of a Dao. Nurturing Phase, Fragmented Daos, False Daos, True Daos, Perfect Daos, Transcended Daos, Omniscient Daos, Ordered Daos, Chaotic Daos and finally, Origin Daos.


    Ryu was currently in the Nurturing Phase which was separated into six Mortal Dao levels, three Immortal Dao levels and two Cosmic Dao levels. Specifically, he was at the First Immortal Dao level.


    For Ryu, who was only in the first of the Immortal Realms, this was excellent. No, it was more than excellent. Even if he had only had a Common Grade Dao, it would have been excellent. This was because Daos tended to trail cultivation level. However, due to their power and the sheer importance of Dao, they could make up the difference with their presence alone.


    Someone in the Immortal Ring Realm like Ryu would be considered a genius for just having a Fifth or Sixth Level Mortal Dao. Yet, Ryu was currently trying to strengthen his Immortal Dao even further.


    Since the problem wasn''t the Grade of his Dao, Ryu knew what he was lacking in was the strength of his Dao.


    He also understood that this wouldn''t normally happen if he wasn''t trying to use his Dao to comprehend this technique. If he had used his soul instead, his Dao would have never cracked in the first place. However, Ryu was nothing if not stubborn.


    He had stumbled into a masochistic technique only he would dare to use to strengthen his Dao.


    There were several complicated factors working at once here, that much Ryu was certain of.


    The first issue was that a True or Lineal Grade Dao shouldn''t have been able to crack his Dao, at least not when it was "dumbed down" to the Immortal Dao levels like it was for his Heaven Grade technique.


    This meant that compared to other Dominion Grade Daos, Ryu''s was far more fragile. This should be because there were glaring flaws left behind by forming his Dao in Sacrum.


    The second issue was that while the Dao had been dumbed down to form a Heaven Grade technique, about the equivalent of an Immortal level Dao, whoever had reached a high enough attainment in their Dao to create the technique was definitely well into the Sky God Realms.


    This meant that compared to normal Immortal Level Daos, this technique was far more robust.


    And, as though these factors weren''t complex enough, it was Ryu who was trying to forcefully use his Dao to comprehend it, something that could be considered a sort of taboo.


    However, it was also because of all of these factors that Ryu was improving so rapidly.


    Over time, the frequency of the cracks went way down. Ryu was absolutely relentless, his pursuit of perfection vast and boundless.


    As the cracks became less frequent, Ryu''s comprehension of <Thirteen Soaring Azures> also rapidly improved.


    And then, on one fateful day, he crossed into Initial Success. And then, Small Success.


    When Ryu looked up, blood had dried from his nose, eyes and down his ears. His expression was pale, but the fierceness of his aura had never wavered.


    ''I was na?ve.''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Without how boundless his Dao was, training just this one Dao Charm technique wasn''t nearly enough to improve it. His Dao encompassed the Heavens, but this technique only touched upon Daos of Hot and Cold.


    It was like Ryu''s Dao was a house in need of renovations, and <Thirteen Soaring Azures> had only helped him tile a single corner of a single room.


    If Ryu wanted his Dao to improve as a whole, he would probably need to practice hundreds of Dao Charm techniques of this level. Or, he would need to risk his life to train far stronger Dao Charm techniques which touched upon far more profound concepts.


    However, even Ryu wasn''t foolish enough to do that. A Dao was the representation of a piece of Heaven being sealed within you. Even with his will, it took Ryu time to fix the cracks that appeared. In addition to this time, the backlash of the cracks wasn''t small either. Every time there was a crack, a rampage of heavenly energies would wreak havoc within his body. If the cracks were any bigger than they were, he would only die.


    ''How long has it been. Two weeks? A bit slow¡­''


    Ryu''s brow furrowed.


    If others knew he was unsatisfied with reaching the Small Success stage of a Dao Charm technique in just two weeks, he would be unlikely to make it out of the mob safely.


    However, Ryu didn''t care about the thoughts of others. He only cared about his own standards for himself, nothing else.


    With a thought, he switched over to <Roaring Sky Serpent>


    Almost immediately, a crack resounded in his mind and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. This technique was much stronger.


    There were no labels, but Ryu was slowly building his own understanding of the divide between Dao Charm techniques. Soon, he would be able to naturally guess at the strength of a Dao Charm technique much like he could with a target''s cultivation.


    Ryu slowly repaired his Dao, only to jump right back in. For the sake of power and strength, he didn''t mind being a masochist. He wouldn''t allow anything to block his path.

 Chapter 908 Heaven Grade

    Ryu took deep breaths, spread out like a starfish. He hadn''t thought that as difficult as <Roaring Sky Serpent> had been, that <Whispering Petals> would be even more difficult.


    Because he actually had to move to comprehend the profundities of this Dao Charm technique, he had lost count of the number of times his legs had broken.


    Truthfully, he didn''t have to move. It was just that after the first crack, he felt that there was something beautiful about it that compelled him to move.


    Luckily, after reaching Initial Success, the leg breaking didn''t happen unless Ryu wanted it to. And, of course he only "wanted it" when he pushed past the current 1% circulation he could use with the technique.


    If others saw his training method, they could only conclude that he was a masochist. But, his masochistic tendencies had definitely worked.


    Ryu had reached Small Success in both <Thirteen Soaring Azures> and <Roaring Sky Serpent>, and he had reached Initial Success in <Whispering Petals>. Now, they would at least be usable in battle.


    Ryu flipped himself upward, finding his way to the wall and pressing a button. Soon, a Sky God beauty appeared with a polite smile on her face and her hands clasped before her womb. She looked like a modern-day saint, but the change in her eyes when she saw Ryu''s state was anything but saint-like.


    "Yes, young master. Is there anything you need?"


    This was the first time Ryu had called for service in the almost three months he had spent here. Yet, she had responded without the slightest pause. It was clear that these servants were very professional, albeit a little too promiscuous.


    Then again, the Sky God beauty could hardly be blamed. After all, anyone who could join Violet VIP was someone more than worth such effort. Who knew, maybe if she was lucky, she just might get pregnant. Even though carrying a bastard child wasn''t glamorous, it was all a matter of perspective.


    From her current lowly position, she would instantly rise to an all new height. Any man who could afford such a trip was worth her investment.


    "How much longer until we land?" Ryu asked, ignoring the woman''s forward attitude.


    Steam practically rolled off of his body, his bare torso pumping with vitality.


    "Just about a little over a day from now, young sir."


    "In that case, bring me the entire food quota I''ve missed these last three months."


    The Sky God beauty''s expression changed. "A¡­ Are you sure?"


    "Mm." Ryu nodded.


    The Sky God beauty had been trained to never ask the same question twice as that could easily annoy high profile clients, so she immediately scampered off to do as she was told.


    By now, Ryu had gotten used to the idea of Sky Gods doing such menial tasks. If he was correct, there was likely a difference between this Sky God beauty, those Deacons, and the Sky Gods of the True Martial World.


    Though the Sky God Beauty gave Ryu more pressure than the Sky Gods of Sacrum did, it wasn''t by a large enough margin to constitute the difference between Sacrum and the True Martial World. Instead, it was a sort of in between state.


    In all likelihood, it was either this Sky God beauty had come from a middle level world like Ryu and then benefited from staying in this environment for an extended period of time, or, she had come from a higher level world and was thus stronger as a result.


    Either way, Ryu was certain that it wasn''t the norm for Sky Gods to be servants on the True Martial World. Or, more accurately, it wasn''t the norm for Sky Gods of the caliber of True Martial World standards to be servants.


    This was likely only a role weaker Sky Gods were placed into, and it was a Fate that Ryu would have shared had he not stepped into this world early enough.


    Seeing these scenes around him, he was even more determined to not allow such a thing to happen to him.


    Soon, the Sky God beauty returned with several spatial rings. With a speed appropriate for her cultivation, she quickly cleaned Ryu''s living quarters and began to set up his meal. Then, she stood to the side silently, not disturbing him as he sat.


    The table was long, but it was far too short to fit everything. So the Sky God beauty had no choice but to wait to the side like this, ready to swap things as needed.


    In truth, this was also her method of saving Ryu some face. This amount of food was designed to stuff even someone at a higher cultivation in a single day. But, Ryu had made her bring over food for 90 days!


    Even for a talent like Ryu, eating so much food was too tall of a task. So, the woman planned on pretending like this was all the food there was after Ryu couldn''t eat anymore. Like that, she would be able to help Ryu.


    But, when Ryu really started to eat, her eyes couldn''t help but widen.


    Her first thought was that she had never seen anyone eat so quickly and elegantly at the same time. His skills were so refined that there was no doubt in her mind that he came from a very noble origin.


    But, more importantly, she couldn''t believe what she was seeing. These were all individuals of a Heaven Grade. Not the Heaven Grade of Sacrum, but rather the Heaven Grade the True Martial World. The two couldn''t even be remotely compared.


    Even she would have trouble biting into and chewing just the meat alone, but Ryu practically swallowed it all whole.


    More shockingly, even if he could chew it, it would have left a heavy pit in his stomach. But, when the Sky God beauty glanced at Ryu''s rippling torso, she didn''t see even the slightest bulge. It was as though he had a blackhole in his gut.


    As the Sky God beauty watched, her eyes lit up brighter and brighter.


    Digestion was a huge component of a cultivator''s strength and it was one of the easiest ways to differentiate talents from the untalented. The stronger your digestion, the more robust your qi circulation, and, most important, the stronger your Bloodlines.


    To be able to swallow Heaven Grade food so quickly and without even the slightest frown on his face, the only explanation was that Ryu had at least a Heaven Grade Bloodline.


    When the Sky God beauty thought to this point, her heart rolled in waves.


    A Heaven Grade Bloodline! A real Heaven Grade Bloodline! She practically shivered in excitement.


    If she had a son with a Heaven Grade Bloodline, she could lead her Clan out of her world and finally establish a foothold in the True Martial World!


    If Ryu knew the thoughts of the woman, he would only look at her weirdly. Let alone Heaven Grade, he had four Ancestral Grade Bloodlines. Well¡­ two. As for the third, he really wasn''t sure what it was. It had potentially evolved into an Origin Grade Bloodline, he still had to learn more about it.


    Still, Ryu didn''t have the patience to focus on the woman at all. Every bite he took made him feel as though his shackles were being shrugged off his body.


    He didn''t quite know how to explain it, but this felt like the first time he was truly eating Heaven Grade food. It was like the true benefits had been sealed from him previously and were only making their presences known now.


    Every bite he took made his Bloodlines awaken just a little bit more. He even felt like if he continued, he might begin to awaken a flood of Bloodline Talents.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that in the True Martial World, they didn''t experience Bloodline Talent Awakenings, at least not in the same way.


    Aside from a few exceptionally rare Talents, when someone was born with a Bloodline, all of its Talents were awoken all at once. Something like awakening Talents one by one only happened in smaller worlds.


    However, those from smaller worlds also had to be very cautious with bringing over their Bloodlines to the True Martial World because much like Ryu would have gotten his meridians snatched if he was any weaker, one could imagine what would happen if others learned of his Bloodlines as well!


    Luckily, Ryu had a plan for this. Or, more accurately, Sarriel had a plan she had shared with him.


    ''I see¡­ So the gap is actually so large. Right now, my Bloodlines are like engines without the proper fuel. So long as I eat enough Heaven Grade foods, I should be able to unshackle my Bloodlines to the Heaven Grade. But, right now, they''re probably only about as strong as high level Common Grade Bloodlines in the True Martial World.


    ''It''s no wonder my body cultivation was so weak against those Hidden Blade Sect members.''


    Ryu remembered being confused when he fought those two. His cultivation had been in the Path Extinction Realm, just like them. But, his body cultivation had been the equivalent of a Cosmic Seed Realm expert, so how was it that he hadn''t crushed them far easier than he had?


    Now, he had his answer. His body was being shackled by weakness. He would have to shrug all of these chains off before he finally took another step in his Body Cultivation.


    ''It seems I need more food.''


    ¡­


    Soon, over the horizon, the outline of the True Martial World entered view.

 Chapter 909 Little Silk

    Ryu stepped out of a bath, if it could even be called that. It felt like it had the depth of an ocean and was as vast as a lake. If it wasn''t because Ryu knew that it was artificial, he would think he was really in the middle of the beauty of nature, even down to the delicate fragrance of the flowers that floated on the surface of the water.


    The fragrance clung to Ryu, but was quickly overwhelmed by his own potent, intoxicated aroma. The strength of his Ice Jade Crystal Body had multiplied after its mutation due to the fusion of his Lightning and Fire Spirit Bodies. But, after his rebirth, it seemed to have grown even beyond that.


    After eating three months worth of food, many of the shackles on Ryu''s talents had been undone. In fact, he was na?ve to think that it was only his Bloodlines that were affected. The truth was that it was practically the entirety of his body.


    Outside of his Spiritual Foundation, Meridians and Heavenly Pupils, Ryu realized that practically all of his other talents were shackled.


    His Bone Structure, his Bloodlines, even his qi seemed to be lacking.


    Ryu had always used neutral qi, so he never thought of it being anything special. But, after three months in this place, he realized that there was even a difference in quality between their neutral qis.


    The good news was that this never really mattered much for Ryu considering he could produce Chaos Qi, or so he thought.


    After some experimentation, Ryu realized that even the Chaos Qi he was used to was sorely lacking. It seemed that as he moved, the Chaos Plane his meridians were connected to also changed. While he was in Sacrum, he was connected to their Chaos Plane. But now, as he approached the True Martial World, he was slowly being connected to their Chaos Plane.


    Ryu wondered just how much stronger he would be using the True Martial World''s Chaos Qi.


    But, as soon as he had this thought, he exhaled a breath and checked himself.


    If he wanted to use Chaos Qi, he had to make sure that it stayed within his body. That meant that he could only use it for techniques that didn''t emit qi outside of himself, this included most attacks and defensive techniques.


    The only times he could use Chaos Qi was with a movement technique or similarly body intensive techniques. And, even then, he would have to make sure that no one too powerful was around to see through him.


    The only other exception was if he could ensure that he could kill his target.


    If he was too lax with his Chaos Qi, almost anyone would be able to see through his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    In Sacrum, his meridians were only known for their sturdiness. But, it was clear that in this place, things were very different. In fact, that Sky God beauty had let it slip that she thought he had a Heaven Grade bloodline, and that alone was enough for her to fall over herself trying to get into his bed.


    If a Heaven Grade Bloodline had such an exaggerated effect, what about the real grade of his Bloodlines?


    Ryu didn''t like it, not even a small bit. It wasn''t like him at all to have to hold back and hide himself, but he also knew that it would be far too foolish to do things as he normally did. He would have to find a way to keep his heart firm while somehow following his original intentions less. It left him wanting to roar into the skies.


    ''Fine. I''ll give you all a handicap, you''ll need it.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a cold killing intent toward the whole of the True Martial World. He would get his revenge back for this in spades when he stood at the top of the world.


    If others knew that Ryu was pissed off at an entire world that had yet to truly offend him, who knew how they would react. But, this was unfortunately how deep Ryu''s pride ran. Even this small matter left him in a foul mood.


    His flames flared, dancing across his marble-like skin and evaporating all of the water that touched him.


    The little butterfly flew into action, spinning around Ryu and leaving him in delicate robes of white and sky blue.


    Ryu strapped his grandfather''s bow to his back and tightened the Glove of Order around his fingers.


    He still felt that this Glove of Order had secrets he had yet to see through. Somehow, this seemingly simple treasure from a Mortal Plane Sect had survived a battle of Sky Gods without a scratch. He would have to see what it could do in the future.


    When Ryu stepped out, his temperament shifted.


    "Since my mother left you to me, I''ll take care of you well. From now on, your name is Little Silk."


    The little butterfly, or rather Little Silk now, flapped her wings, allowing the sound of chimes to tickle Ryu''s ears.


    The sound helped Ryu''s heart calm, his previously foul mood easing something.


    ''I''m close to allowing my Bloodlines to break through the Peak Common Grade and enter the Lower Black Grade. Just an extra little push and there should be a qualitative change to my body''s strength.''


    Ryu could only shake his head that three months worth of Heaven Grade food hadn''t been enough. It was likely that he would need more than just food, he would probably need to see what alchemic recipes he could find that targeted improving the body.


    Of course, these pills would have to be refined by himself through his Dao. He refused to allow any impurities to accumulate in his body, it would only slow his process in the future.


    Now that he didn''t have access to the Incubator any longer, this was the best approach.


    "Young master Ryu!"


    The Sky God beauty had realized by now that Ryu wouldn''t fall for her advances, but she was still endlessly polite and settled for forming a good relationship. By now, Ryu knew that her name was Skya.


    Just as Skya greeted Ryu, though, another one of the only three doors on the Violet VIP floor opened, the Holy Son of the Twin Phase Merchant Group walking out.

 Chapter 910 Fly

    Another Sky God beauty quickly greeted Galemar. However, the latter turned his head to the side, his gaze landing on Ryu.


    Even now, Galemar was enveloped in a silvery light that made it difficult even to see his face. If Ryu had his eyes, seeing through this light wouldn''t have been a problem at all. However, as things stood now, Ryu didn''t even send his Spiritual Sense in that direction, so it was hard to tell whether he would be able to see through it or not.


    Ryu could feel the sudden pressure coming from his side. Even without probing Galemar, he could tell that there was a Half-Step Dao Pedestal Realm waiting from his side. The presence of Galemar was so far beyond the two Hidden Blade Sect members that it made them look no different from ants.


    To the Ryu of Sacrum, even a Half-Step Sky God would be a joke. But, the dynamics here were very much different.


    Ryu didn''t trust anyone here, so the moment he felt such a threat, despite the fact his body remained relaxed, he was already prepared to explode with strength.


    Without his Chaos Qi, beating Galemar would likely be impossible. But, if he had to choose between his life and exposing himself, the choice was obvious. In fact, even if he had to choose between just humiliation and exposing himself, he would choose the latter ten out of ten times.


    He would rather be chased for the rest of his life than bow his head.


    Sensing Ryu''s relaxed state, Galemar raised an internal eyebrow. For someone an entire cultivation Realm beneath him to be so calm, it was most definitely a first. He could also sense a slight threat from Ryu, something that shocked him even further.


    In truth, his curiosity toward Ryu was only as far as wanting to know who could afford this ticket as it was rare for even those who could afford it to use their means. It was even rarer that such a person would board from so far away from the True Martial World.


    However, now, his curiosity was even deeper than that. He wondered where Ryu came from.


    Galemar was prideful, but he wasn''t standoffish. Feeling curious, he didn''t mind walking over.


    "Hello, my name is Galemar Iunae, might I ask for your name?"


    The politeness of their Holy Son caught the two Sky God beauties off guard, but they knew better than to show it. They respectfully stood off to the side, keeping their lips sealed and their expression unreadable.


    "Ryu Tatsuya."


    Ryu didn''t bother to hide his name as his mind worked quickly.


    This Galemar definitely had a strong background, but when he said his name, nothing happened. So, Ryu bet that his name wouldn''t cause a commotion either.


    As expected, he was correct. The usual trembling earth and rumbling thunder didn''t manifest.


    It was much harder for a name to cause a place like the True Martial World to quake. In truth, even the names of Founding families had difficulty causing large scenes, only the strongest of Founding Clans could cause equivalent phenomena to what Ryu was used to in Sacrum.


    This just went to show the kind of monstrous world Ryu was facing now.


    "Tatsuya¡­ An interesting name. Are you from a smaller world?"


    "I am."


    "As expected, it is rare for someone to take the name Dragon in the True Martial World, it might offend the wrong people. This would also explain your strong presence, it''s rare for someone to have your momentum without being from a Higher Heaven here."


    Ryu was offended by Galemar''s words, his words were just as matter-of-fact as Ryu''s own.


    It was clear that Galemar had seen through some things, but even if he had, there was no way that he would guess that Ryu was


    "If you need a Sect to join, you can consider my Radiant Star Sect."


    "I plan to first travel and explore before I make a decision."


    "Mm."


    Galemar nodded and bid his farewells. Outside of this small greeting, he didn''t say much else and simply went on his way.


    Ryu let him leave, his expression not giving much away at all. Galemar left a fairly alright impression on him, but he still couldn''t help but feel that Galemar just wanted to keep an eye on him.


    It was possible that he was just being overly cautious. But, the fact that Ryu was from a smaller world might present a heavy temptation to some.


    Ironically, the more talented you were in your home world, the more difficult the transition to the True Martial World would be. Even if you had latent talent comparable to Higher Heavens, it was all too easy for Lower Heavens to squash you like a bug.


    There might not even be Clans with Heaven Grade Bloodlines on the First or Second Heaven, they''d likely only begin to appear on the Third Heaven, and even then they''d probably still be rare. That didn''t even mention the other Talent Pillars.


    BEst


    It was possible that Ryu had already exposed himself a bit by eating all of that food.


    However, Ryu only smiled internally. This sort of pressure, it had been a long time since he felt it. Things had become far too easy.


    This True Martial World¡­ he hoped it wouldn''t disappoint him.


    Ryu strolled to the exit platform of the Violet VIP region. Here, only he, Galemar, and their attendants stood. The Astral Ship slowly touched down, a vast world opening up ahead.


    The moment Ryu took a breath, he felt his body thrum to life.


    He restrained his Ice Jade Crystal Body from absorbing the qi through his skin, but the feeling was still intoxicating.


    When his foot set down, a roar resonated with his mind.


    ''Oh, it seems that was the little push I needed.''


    Ryu''s Bloodlines entered the Lower Black Grade.


    A smile tugged at Ryu''s lips, but he soon frowned.


    He realized that he couldn''t fly in this world at all.


    That was when he remembered something from Sarriel''s notes. In the True Martial World, only Sky Gods could fly. In fact, only Fragmented Sky Gods and above could fly on the First Heaven, only False Sky Gods could fly in the Second Heaven, so on and so forth.


    If he wanted to fly in the Ninth Heaven, he would need to become the highest existence among all there was. The Origin Sky God.

 Chapter 911 Humbling

    Ryu got over this quickly. His battle style would need some adjustment, but he didn''t believe it would take him long.


    He could likely use his wings to try and circumvent these rules. But, whenever there were restrictions to flight, there were heavy restrictions to altitude.


    If Ryu was correct, even with his wings, he could probably fly only about 10 meters above the ground. Plus, using his wings would also mean exposing his bloodlines. He wasn''t sure if someone would be able to recognize them or not. Until he found a method to conceal them better, he couldn''t be so casual.


    He took another breath, ready to shoot forward. But, Galemar threw over a badge that whipped to the back of Ryu''s head with quite some speed.


    Ryu''s neck tilted the side, his hand shooting upward and catching the badge without turning around.


    He looked at it for a moment before realizing he had no choice but to use his Spiritual Sense to sweep his senses over it. After a moment, he realized that this was some sort of identification badge.


    "In three years from now, there will be a competition to enter the Second Heaven. You''ll have to have the strength of the Dao Pedestal Realm by then if you want to have a chance."


    Ryu rolled the badge between his fingers, the heft not seeming to impede his dexterity in the slightest. Eventually, Ryu tossed the badge back.


    "I don''t like owing favors."


    Without another word, Ryu leapt off the Astral Ship, causing an astonished gasp from Skya. They were at least ten kilometers in the air despite the fact they had docked. Even she couldn''t fly in this place as she wasn''t classified as a real Sky God.


    She rushed to the edge beside herself, only to find that Ryu had already vanished beneath the clouds.


    Her heart beat wildly. She had heard that Ryu was from a smaller world, could it be that he would fall to his death just like this?


    Galemar''s expression also flickered. Ryu''s method of descending made him almost impossible to track, and he also wasn''t foolish enough to believe that Ryu would die like this. Even if he didn''t realize before that he couldn''t fly, the moment he jumped he should have.


    For a genius like him, turning back and holding onto the Astral Ship before falling to his death should have been a simple matter. The fact he didn''t meant that he was confident he wouldn''t die.


    Though flying was impossible, if one had a profound enough attainment in movement technique, gliding for a moment and even stepping onto the air for a brief instant wasn''t impossible.


    But, for that to be possible¡­


    Galemar''s eyes narrowed, looking down at the badge he had given Ryu. It was unfortunate that he hadn''t taken it, could it be that he saw through its true purpose?


    It was impossible to see Galemar''s expression through the curtain of light, but he simply remained silent, waiting for the drawbridge of the Astral Ship to lower.


    He walked down the path silently, tossing the badge in his hands.


    **


    Galemar''s conclusion was correct, Ryu did have a profound movement technique. But, it wasn''t his greatest reliance.


    After taking on the treasures of his Kunan Clan, he found many wind related treasures. There was no better coupling for lightning than wind, and the Kunan Clan took this quite seriously. In fact, it could even be said that wind was a secondary element that the Kunan Clan had very much mastered.


    Thanks to these treasures, Ryu had been able to turn his Northern Heavenly Wind Embryo into its mature form.


    One might wonder, then, why Ryu had spent so much effort on a movement technique, then?


    The simple answer was that much like his Bloodlines, many of his treasures were severely weakened in the face of the True Martial World, something that was true even for his Origin Flame.


    Ultimately, these treasures had been born under the Heavens of Sacrum. They were lacking as a result.


    This was the bad news. But, the good news was, just like Ryu''s Bloodlines, he could also bring his Natural Treasures up to standard with some effort.


    Still, a complete Northern Heavenly Wind, even one just born from a middle level world, when fused with a profound technique, was more than enough to allow Ryu to slow his downward descent to a certain point.


    Soon, Ryu could see the lines of greenery below, and he exhaled a breath, focusing.


    The moment he jumped off, he realized he had still underestimated the True Martial World. Even with his trump cards, this would be difficult.


    Ryu struck a powerful palm out at the air. He forced the air around him to solidify under the control of his Northern Heavenly Wind.


    Pain twisted Ryu''s expression as he could feel his bones creaking and fracturing. However, he hung on.


    He didn''t trust that Galemar character as far as he could throw him, a distance that wouldn''t be very far considering their disparity in strength currently. Ryu wouldn''t feel at ease unless he could start this journey without someone breathing over his neck.


    The First Heavens was vast, Ryu didn''t believe Galemar could track him as he pleased, or else he wouldn''t have tried to give him that badge.


    Ryu struck the air again as the ground rapidly approached.


    This time, he followed it up with a strong kick, beginning to circulate <Whispering Petals> and tapping into his Chaos Qi to form Primordial Wind Chaotic Qi.


    He infused it with Northern Heavenly Wind and quickly used his Southern Heavenly Wind to support his stamina and healing.


    When the first tree came into range, Ryu struck outward, hardly chipping its bark.


    But, he had expected this. If the trees weren''t at least this sturdy, he would die instead.


    He danced through the air, striking out palms and sliding from tree to tree. He transferred his downward momentum in horizontal momentum, slowing down further with every branch he shattered.


    BANG!


    Ryu landed heavily on the ground, a jolt of pain running through his body as he felt his legs fracture length wise.


    He collapsed, his legs trembling beneath the pain. But, his gaze was blazing.


    His first experience in the True Martial World was actually so humbling.

 Chapter 912 Enough

    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood before quickly restraining his Primordial Wind Chaotic Qi.


    Half of his injuries were actually due to this wild qi, but he had been forced to endure it because it was the only reason his Heavenly Winds had become strong enough to descend his downward trajectory.


    Certain Primordial Chaotic Qis were more docile than others. Ryu had always thought that Primordial Wind Chaotic Qi was among those that he could control with greater ease, but it seemed that the True Martial World wouldn''t allow him anything easy.


    ''I''ve made a large commotion and I''m not even entirely sure of where I am, who knows what kind of beasts are in this region? I need to be careful.''


    Ryu looked at his legs and frowned. A fracture down the length of your bones was probably the most horrible bone break you could experience. It wasn''t the first time Ryu had lamented being born with his mother''s Bone Structure and not his father''s. But, this time, it would have probably happened regardless.


    The good news was that his Ice Jade Crystal Bone was highly adept at healing itself. But, it would still probably take some time.


    At that moment, Little Silk fluttered down from the skies and landed on Ryu''s shoulder, worriedly looking left to right. The little guy was so frail and light and it could probably not even deploy its wings and still flutter to the ground safely


    But, its worry was likely because of the region they were in.


    Though Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Bone also made him a friend to beasts, he didn''t dare to try it out in this place. Here, he would probably find himself easily oppressed by beasts.


    Beasts had always tended to be more powerful than humans of an equivalent level. However, Ryu''s talent had always been so far ahead of anyone he faced that he never even thought or worried about it. In this place, though, he would have no choice but to treat beasts with their proper respect.


    Ryu restrained his aura and sat in absolute silence, willing his legs to heal faster. But, it seemed that the moment he had stepped onto the True Martial World, even this had slowed down.


    At that moment, the ground quaked, causing Ryu to sigh.


    No longer restraining himself, he sent out his Spiritual Sense, completely enveloping a looming monstrosity.


    Well, monstrosity was a bit hard, it was just a bear which seemed to be covered in shards of grey stone, adding a bit of brightness to its dense black fur.


    The shards surrounded its eyes like goggles, covered its limbs like gloves, and went down the length of its spine. Just a single step of its caused the very ground to quake.


    Ryu didn''t recognize this creature, but that hardly mattered. All he knew was that it was a Higher Seventh Order beast, sitting at the equivalent of the Immortal Ring Realm, and thus being a large problem for him.


    The only decent news was that this stone bear only seemed to have a Common Grade Bloodline. But, even that hardly put Ryu at ease.


    In Sacrum, a Common Grade Bloodline would hardly even let you reach the Spiritual Severing Realm, but now there was one here at the Seventh Order. Plus, Ryu''s Bloodlines had only just recovered to the Black Grade and now his maneuverability was hampered.


    However, after sighing, a spark lit in Ryu''s heart.


    "I would suggest you scram, I''m not in a good mood right now," Ryu said coldly.


    In response, the stone bear roared, the power of its bellow making Ryu''s hair whip backward, his face deforming beneath the pressure.


    The stone bear charged, its stone gloved paw swinging with a might that made Ryu feel that he would be crushed before it even landed.


    The fury in Ryu''s gaze lit. He had already been forced to this state, all to avoid the scrutiny of a young man he had no choice but to admit was stronger than him. Now, a piece of trash of the Common Grade actually thought to take his life.


    He had been forced to take one step back after another ever since he came to this world. He was already over it.


    Ryu''s palm slammed into the ground. Ignoring the pain of the lingering fractures, he launched himself into the air.


    He flipped, remaining upside down as he soared over the stone bear''s side.


    The beast showed a level of agility it shouldn''t have had, turning back quickly and swiping out.


    This time, the ground responded, causing a wave of stone to pierce out from it and appear at Ryu''s landing spot.


    Ryu''s expression flashed coldly.


    He solidified the air again, striking downward just before the wave of sharp stone could reach him.


    His torso flexed, his hips torquing as he began to spin in the air. Taking advantage of the surge of wind, he pushed himself further up and out of the range of the surging earth.


    When he reached a height of three meters, he realized he couldn''t go up any further, but this was all the distance he needed.


    Still upside down, he pulled out his grandfather''s bow from his back, drawing an arrow and pouring his comprehension into the Glove of Order.


    When Ryu saw the pitifully skinny and weak arrow that formed, his fury seemed to reach a tipping point.


    ''<Thirteen Soaring Azures: Singe>!''


    The weak arrow blazed to life, the faint call of a bird echoing as the twang of a bowstring released.


    The arrow shot through the charging bear''s brows, tearing through its skull, down its spine, and out its back.


    BANG!


    The arrow burrowed into the ground, the faint call of a bird still echoing.


    Ryu landed on a palm, his bow still being held in his other hand.


    In the next moment, the stone bear combusted, falling into a pile of ash.


    Even seeing such a scene, Ryu didn''t seem to be satisfied, but the beast was already dead. There was nothing else he could do to it even if he wanted to.

 Chapter 913 Dao Runes

    It took about another hour, but Ryu finally felt that his legs were okay to walk on. In that time, he had three more run-ins with beasts where he was forced to fight on his hands and palms.


    Although he was annoyed, he had to say that it was an interesting and new sort of experience. But, aside from that, it didn''t do much else to help his mood.


    Ryu flipped through the air, landing on his feet. Before him, scattered a few meters apart, there were three stone bears and a stone viper. Well, there were four piles of ash, more accurately.


    It seemed that Ryu had likely stumbled into the territory of the stone bears in all likelihood. He would have to leave soon before things got any more troublesome.


    However, this experience has taught Ryu many interesting things. For one, these beasts were actually quite small. Even the largest of them was barely over three meters tall. It was as though they all had Nemesis'' Adept Body Talent.


    In Sacrum, beasts in the Immortal Ring level realms should have already been dozens of meters in size, or at least in the tens. But, this didn''t seem to be true for the True Martial World.


    Ryu wondered if that made Nemesis'' Adept Body Talent useless, or if that just meant that beasts in this world took longer to grow larger. He was leaning more toward the second, but he wasn''t willing to make a conclusion just yet, not until he understood more about this world.


    Ryu dug through the piles of ash and pulled out what looked like four crystal balls filled with fog. He had purposely controlled his <Thirteen Soaring Azures> to avoid burning these to ash as well, as they were yet another difference between Sacrum and this world.


    In the True Martial World, the Spiritual Root of beasts underwent a special sort of change where their blood could crystallize into Beast Cores. These Beast Cores were concentrations of a beast''s talent and was also part of the reason beasts here were so much more powerful than beasts on Sacrum.


    By cultivating these Beast Cores, beasts of the True Martial World had the ability to purify their blood and elevate beyond their current levels, thus giving them an easier path toward higher grades.


    Of course, ''easier'' was subjective. It was easier than it would be on Sacrum, but not easy, per se. It was still an arduous process.


    ''No Dao Runes¡­ I was probably expecting too much from a bunch of Common Grade beasts. If they had Dao Runes, they would be far more difficult to kill than they ended up being.''


    Beast Cores allowed beasts to also form Dao Runes. These Dao Runes would manifest in their Beast Cores and could speed up the process of cleansing their Bloodlines and returning to their origins. But, it really was expecting too much for Common Grade beasts to form a Dao Rune.


    Much like Dao Charm techniques, Dao Runes were rare and also placed beasts who had them in a class all to their own. A beast with a Dao Rune could display prowess beyond realms of understanding of both their Bloodlines and their Realm of cultivation.


    Likewise, Dao Runes also had added benefits for human cultivators.


    While in Sacrum, Ryu used to soak in blood he gathered from the Spiritual Roots of beasts to strengthen his body, Dao Rune Beast Cores took it even a step further.


    If you found one, you could use it to gain the Bloodline of the beast in question, it was a far easier method than anything Ryu had ever seen.


    In addition to this, if you already had a compatible Bloodline, you could use the Dao Rune Beast Core to either strengthen your Bloodline, or, there was a small likelihood that you could fuse and mutate both Bloodlines into something entirely new.


    Due to this, Ryu was quite certain that he would probably run into all sorts of Bloodlines and talents he had never even heard of on Sacrum.


    Ryu wasn''t very interested in evolving or strengthening his Bloodlines as he didn''t even understand what he had now to the fullest extent. However, Beast Cores were a shortcut to undoing the shackles that Sacrum had placed on him, for sure, especially if they were used in pill concoction.


    Ryu stored the four beast cores, only to realize that the space in his spatial rings had severely shrunk forcing everything into a cramped space.


    His spatial rings had once had dozens of kilometers of space, but now it could only be counted in hundreds of meters.


    It was a good thing that there had been so much empty space, otherwise Ryu had no way of telling how many things would have been destroyed.


    Ryu shook his head, orienting himself.


    He might have been lost, but he was an Origin Grade Ruin Master. If he wanted to find civilization, it wasn''t difficult for him in the slightest.


    Ryu shot forward, gliding through the foliage. His body flickered as he became a streak of lightning, buzzing through the forest like a bolt.


    ¡­


    A day later, Ryu appeared at the edge of the forest, beaten and ragged, not to mention drenched in sweat. However, with a thought, Little Silk had formed him new clothing and his sweat had vanished.


    Remembering his experience of the last day, he could only shake his head.


    Up ahead, a small city stood. It felt a bit inappropriate to call it small since its walls were dozens of meters tall, but considering the scale and reference of Sarriel''s notes, this was, indeed, a small city.


    Ryu went up to the gate and paid the entrance fee, this time using Beast Cores. The Twin Phase Merchant Group had an easy conversion between middle world Qi Stones and their exchange, but Ryu doubted this city did. So, he chose the easier option and entered.


    After this, he would have to take his time to allow his Qi Stones to perfect their fundamental runes before he could use them freely again. But first, Ryu needed to orient himself properly, then figure out his next plans.

 Chapter 914 Lnto The Tigers Den

    It didn''t take Ryu long to find the information he needed. He looked like a noble young man, and he had apparently come at a time where people of this ''small'' city were quite willing to accept tourists.


    This place was known as Cloudy City, surprisingly not named after the environment, but rather the cloudy Beast Cores they were known to have an excess of. It seemed that those stone-like beasts tended to have Beast Cores that looked like that as Beast Core reflected their affinities. It was actually a cloud that made the Beast Cores of this region act like this, though. It was rather a plume of dust.


    Regardless, this place was still known as Cloudy City and it was located within the Stone Prefecture, headed by the Stone Edge Sect and within the Southern Region.


    First Heaven was divided into twelve Regions, each of which had dozens of Prefectures. There were eight Regions in the outer ring and four that split the central pie. The Southern Region was actually one of the four central pies.


    Realizing this, Ryu realized that he had gotten very lucky.


    Cloudy City was near the very edge of the Southern Region and was near the no-man''s land between the Southern Region and the two outer Regions that were attached to it.


    The fact that Ryu had only landed a day away from Cloudy City was exactly the reason why he hadn''t run into beasts too much more powerful than he could handle. If he was even an extra half day further away, he might not have made it here without being torn to pieces.


    Even with this luck, Ryu had run into a Ninth Order Beast he had to rush for his life from. He kicked himself for having stored the cloak within his inner world, or else it wouldn''t have been nearly as difficult for him to cross that distance. Though, he had no way of being sure if the cloak would be just as effective in this place.


    Luckily, Ryu had managed to keep his life and make it all the way here. While he didn''t allow himself to freely use his Chaos Qi, when it came to stamina, no one could match him. He could simply pull in qi from an entire Plane of Existence whenever he wanted. He had that to thank for his survival, not to mention his ability to avoid danger before it came.


    Once Ryu had oriented himself, he realized that he had a lot of options before him.


    He had a few goals. The first was to unshackle his Bloodlines completely and the second was to fix the imperfections in his Dao.


    In order to do both things, he needed resources and time.


    The best choice was to join a Sect. The Stone Edge Sect didn''t seem to be in line with Ryu''s needs, so he would probably have to travel to another Prefecture after finding a list of suitable Sects. Then, he would need to test them to see if they were worthy of his time.


    Ryu wasn''t exactly eager to join a Sect. If it was up to him, he would just do things on his own like he usually did. But, he knew that he would be making a mistake if he didn''t take this route. The reality was that Ryu wasn''t sure he could become a Throne in this place without showing off talent he knew he should keep under wraps. And, even if he could, it wouldn''t be smart to take that route unless he didn''t have another choice.


    Thrones didn''t receive the same reception in the True Martial World that they did in Sacrum, not unless you had the backing of an already powerful existence, something Ryu obviously didn''t have.


    In this place, no one hesitated to kill Thrones.


    Ryu also thought about just using skill as a Ruin Master, but there were multiple problems with this.


    For one, he no longer had his eyes. He had never tried to clear a Ruin without the help of his eyes.


    Though he was willing to try, he didn''t have a suitable Matrix, something he would need if he didn''t have his eyes to complete the necessary calculations. Though he had gained a Tenth Order Matrix during his adventure on the Pedestal Plane, it had quickly become useless.


    Plus, that Matrix was Tenth Order to the standards of Sacrum, who knew if it would even be useful here?


    And, lastly, even if Ryu could fix these issues, he didn''t have the understanding of True Martial World history that he did of Sacrum''s history. Without such a foundation, let alone safely clearing Ruins, he wouldn''t even be able to find them!


    If he wanted to fix that, he would need to join a Ruin Guild. But, he still had a bad taste in his mouth from what he had learned about the Ruin Guild from his home world, and if he was correct, that Ruin Guild had ties to this world.


    Ryu had to be cautious going anywhere near Ruin Guilds in this place, then. If he wanted to learn about True Martial World history and clear Ruins, he would need a different method entirely.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Ryu quickly found information about the Prefectures of the Southern region. There were a total of 64, each controlled by either a powerful Sect or Family, all of which had at least one Sky God.


    The rating system of Sects and Clans in the True Martial World only started once you had a Sky God, everything beneath that Realm was disregarded.


    One Star Clans and Sects had at least one Fragmented Sky God, Two Star had at least one False Sky God, so on and so forth.


    Within these there was a further division of True. True One Star Clans and Sects had not only at least one Fragmented Sky God, but they either had a second, or at least ten Half-Step Fragmented Sky Gods.


    In the First Heaven, there were only two Two Star Clans. Well, there was one Sect and the other was a Clan.


    The Clan was the Iunae Clan and the Sect¡­ Well, it was the Hidden Blade Sect.


    Ryu shook his head at his bad luck. He refused to join a cowardly Sect like the Hidden Blade Sect, and he also had no intention of going to Galemar''s Iunae Clan.


    ''It doesn''t seem like that man''s Radiant Star Sect is listed here, could it be that the Radiant Star Sect is a Second Heaven Sect?''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. For Galemar to offer for him to join a Second Heaven Sect, it seemed that he was more interested than Ryu had originally thought he was.


    ''Wait¡­''


    Ryu''s expression became weird. The Radiant Star Sect wasn''t a Second Heaven Sect, it was in the First Heaven. It was just that Ryu had gone straight from checking the Southern Region Sects and Clans to looking at the only two Two Star powers.


    However, he hadn''t checked the other regions.


    It turned out that the Radiant Star Sect was a True One Star Sect of the Western Region.


    It was odd. Galemar was from a Two Star Clan, but he joined a One Star power? Though it was a True One Star Sect, it was still a bit odd. Ryu''s Ruin Master mind felt that there was an oddity here that should be explored.


    The Iunae Clan should have had everything that Galemar needed, it didn''t make sense for him to join another Sect.


    Suddenly, Ryu wanted to go there.


    "Alright, let''s go play in this Radiant Star Sect."


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    He had just gone through so much trouble to get away from Galemar, but now he was going back into the tiger''s den. Maybe he really was a madman.


    However, once Ryu made a decision, he wouldn''t change it. He bought himself another ticket, this one to the Western Region.

 Chapter 915 A Week

    Ailsa would probably call Ryu crazy if she was able to communicate with him. But, she would also know that there was no changing Ryu''s mind when he had made it up.


    Joining a One Star Sect wasn''t easy, let alone a True One Star Sect. It only made it worse that Ryu was trying to enter a Sect headed by a person he had just gone through so much trouble to avoid.


    In truth, Ryu had likely made this decision because he was already tired of taking the approach that caused the least number of waves. He had already done that, and in return, it netted him a day in the depths of the forest where he was harassed by beasts he wouldn''t have even deemed worthy of eating in the past.


    Ryu didn''t want to lose his sharpness and he felt like this world was already starting to dull his blade.


    If he allowed his edge to vanish, then what was the point of coming to this world in the first place?


    ¡­


    The journey to the Western Region took a month. Unfortunately, travel wasn''t as fast as it had been on Astral Ships. So, though the distance was a mere fraction, it still took a third the time it took to travel from the moon system to the True Martial World.


    In that time, Ryu finally broke through again, pushing <Whispering Petals> to the Small Success Realm.


    Ryu had already learned that he was around the appropriate age to join a Sect.


    In the True Martial World, one would usually join an unranked Sect at the Mortal Realms. Then, upon entering the Immortal Realms, before your path was fully carved out, you would join a One Star Sect if you had the necessary talent.


    Usually, this happened when you were around your late teens. Reaching the Immortal Ring Realm when you were around 15 or 16 wasn''t rare in the Immortal Ring Realm and could be considered a barely above average standard.


    Cultivation was fast and the divisions between lower levels were hardly paid attention to. The main goal of most was to reach the Dao Pedestal Realm by 30 years of age, the World Sea Realm by 50, and the Sky God Realm by 100.


    If you met those standards, then you had a good chance of carving a path for yourself into the Second Heaven. If not, you''d just have to obediently cultivate your life away in the First Heaven.


    Right now, Ryu was 23 years old, his ageing process having been halted during his Rebirth. However, this was actually a bit old, he was running about two or three years behind schedule for an absolute genius since he was in the Peak Immortal Ring Realm.


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t very worried about this. If he started worrying about the standards of the First Heaven, he would even have time to faint at what the standards of the Ninth Heaven must be.


    When Ryu first heard of these ages, though, he was a bit stunned. Reason being, they were only a fraction of the time spent alive. Could it be that these geniuses reached the Sky God Realm at 100 years old, then spent the remaining trillions of years of their lives striving through the Sky God Realms?


    The simple answer was yes. The more complex answer was not quite.


    Life spans in the True Martial World were very different.


    When you reached the Sky God Realm in Sacrum, your lifespan wasn''t dictated by a normal measure of time, but rather how long your Dao could persist before collapsing.


    The longer you lived, the more doubts you would experience, and the closer you would come to an eventual death. The World Sea Realm was the last Realm with a theoretical cap in life span.


    In the True Martial World, there were so many more things to force you to doubt your own path that lifespan in the True Martial World, at least in the first three Heavens, was even shorter than it would be on Sacrum!


    These matters got very complex, very quickly. But from what Ryu had come to understand, this was just a Fate those born here had to accept.


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    On the one hand, they were born with perfect and complete Heavens, allowing their strength to be far beyond what anyone would expect on a lower level world.


    But, on the other hand, they were cursed in their own way, their vitality being sucked away much faster.


    Cultivation was ultimately about stealing from the Heavens, whether that was power or time.


    Unfortunately, the Heavens of the True Martial World were so powerful that stealing from them was just that much more difficult.


    ¡­


    When Ryu reached the Western Region, it took him about another half month to reach the territory of the Radiant Star Sect, upon which he learned that the Sect held entrance exams once every year, the next one being in exactly a week.


    Ryu nodded, he got lucky with the timing. If he had to try when he was 24, things would become more troublesome.


    It would be one thing if he could cultivate, but even without access to his <Intuition>, he wouldn''t easily choose a new cultivation technique.


    Such an approach would likely cause him some issues in the Radiant Star Sect, but he didn''t care so long as he joined. If others wanted to test his patience, he would have a blade for them.


    A week later, Ryu entered the range of the Radiant Star Sect only to find that the region was packed. He was probably the only person that had come alone.


    Air ships of all shapes and sizes hung in the air, each with their own logos.


    Of course, these airships respectfully stayed outside of the Radiant Star Sect''s air space, showing due deference.


    On the ground, there were a flood of disciples, a number that was easily into the tens of thousands.


    They all stood at the foot of a mountain, waiting for the Sect''s formation to weaken.


    And then, seemingly empty space flickered before a dome of blue slowly broke apart.


    Standing on a platform in the skies, three figures wearing disciple robes appeared.

 Chapter 916 Feet

    The robes of the Radiant Star Sect were quite distinctive. They were dense black robes embroidered with a silver that radiated its own light. It seemed that the brightness of this silver light dictated just what level of disciple you were, and these three were clearly Inner Disciples.


    The level of a disciple wasn''t decided by their cultivation level, but rather their skill. There was a large mix of cultivation Realms amongst similarly leveled disciples.


    However, each disciple rank did have its own cut off. This was decided based on talent, age, cultivation Realm, and how long you had been in the Sect. Ultimately, whether you were allowed to stay, demoted, or kicked out, was all decided by the Elders and Deacons of your rank.


    These were things that Ryu would likely learn about later, but for now he had to endure being looked down upon from above. He really hated that feeling, but he couldn''t even fly in this world, so he couldn''t change it even if he wanted to.


    Little Silk, sensing Ryu''s annoyance, sent a spark of ice down his head to cool him down, something Ryu had to admit felt quite good.


    The head of the three, an Inner Disciple b the name of Linus took a step forward.


    "The rules will be just the same as they are every year. First, you will step through the gate where your talent will be gauged. Those who manage to meet the bare minimum requirement will be allowed a chance at ascending the mountain.


    "If you can make it to the first mountain peak within three days, you will be allowed to proceed to the next test where you will be given a test of will and a test of comprehension.


    "Finally, so long as your Dao has been formed, you will be allowed to become an Outer Disciple.


    "First group forward, ten at a time, don''t push and shove or else I will not hesitate to kill you."


    The disciples didn''t dare to make a fuss after this.


    The talent test was quite simple. It took into account age and the four pillars of cultivation to produce a phenomenon. So long as the light above your head broke nine feet and entered the ten feet range and above, you would pass the minimum requirements.


    According to Sarriel''s notes, the talent tests of the First Heaven were very easy to fool because of this. The main reason they were so easy to fake, though, was because no one expected anyone to try and suppress your talent.


    The function of the test required the effort and willingness of the participant. It was very easy to choose to hold back.


    In higher Heavens, though, Sarriel warned that it was almost impossible to do this as their methods were more sophisticated. You would need a treasure to help you in such a case. However, Ryu wouldn''t need to worry about such a thing until at least the Fourth Heaven.


    The first batch of disciple hopefuls all failed. In fact, so did the second and the third. Even the best performer among at least the first 20 or so groups only reached seven feet.


    Linus and the disciples looking down from above couldn''t help but shake their heads. This happens every year. The standards had been known for so long, yet so many idiots came to waste their time. They really took the Radiant Star Sect as some sort of charity.


    According to the standard of the Radiant Star Sect, your four pillars had to at least average out at the Higher Common Grade. Meaning, if you assigned the number 1 to a Lower Common Grade talent, 2 to Middle Grade, so on and so forth, after taking the average, the number had to be 3.00 or higher, that would earn you a height of 10 feet.


    If you averaged 4.00, you would earn a height of 20 feet.


    Black Grade was a completely different animal. A single Lower Black Grade talent would give you 12.00. So, even if you scored zero in everything else, something that wasn''t possible, you''d still gain a passing grade.


    Beyond this, age and cultivation became a multiplier. For every year you were younger than the target age for your cultivation realm, you would earn an additional 10%. For every year you were over, you would lose 10%.


    Ryu understood how this worked, and right now he was about three years too old, so his grade would gain itself a 30% hit. So, the minimum grade he needed was around 4.2 to 4.3.


    It wasn''t until the 37th group that someone finally hit nine feet, close to a passing grade, and not until the 49th that someone finally reached 10 feet.


    With a bright smile on her face, the disciple crossed the barrier and waited patiently for the next phase to begin.


    Soon, more and more people began to appear, all hovering around 10 to 12 feet. Those that understood how the system worked realized that there wasn''t much of a difference between these disciples at all. But, that didn''t stop those with better results from sticking their chests out just that bit further.


    As time passed, more and more talents began to appear. It was clear that they had all been biding their time, waiting to shine later. After all, what kind of hero doesn''t have a grand entrance?


    Within the 121st group, a young man with a valiant aura and a silver spear on his back stepped forward.


    The light above his head rushed up, shattering the 20 foot barrier and only stopping at 23 feet!


    The eyes of the Inner Disciples and Linus finally showed some life.


    The 30 foot mark was completely unlike the 20 foot mark. The 20 foot mark represented an average of 4.00, but the 30 foot mark represented an average of 12.00!


    To reach the 23 foot mark meant that this young man had at least one Black Grade talent!


    Those who recognized the young man came to understand. He was the young master of the Rotris Clan, Rolfin Rotris, an existence known for his powerful spear.


    He was just 20 years old today, but he had already prepared to enter the Path Extinction Realm. He was truly a genius of their First Heaven!


    Not long later, agitated by the appearance of Rolfin Rotris, another 23 foot light appeared, this one by a young man with a heavy saber on his back.


    His gaze met Rolfin across the air. Terron of the Gilvaris Clan had made his appearance known as well.

 Chapter 917 Look Again

    The commotion these two caused was not small, and their rivalry couldn''t have been anymore obvious. However, other than a small smile and nod, the Inner Disciples didn''t do or say much else. It was clear that while this result was impressive, it wasn''t enough to make them lose their composure.


    The groups continued and the commotion seemed to die down. After Rolfin and Terron butted heads, there wasn''t much to raise an uproar about and things fell into a lull. Many more managed to pass, increasing the number of hopefuls from a few, to dozens, and soon the number even crossed a hundred.


    But, considering the number that had failed, this number was much too small.


    Suddenly, another pillar of light soared into the skies, tearing past the 23 foot mark and not stopping until it crossed 25 before it slowed down.


    The young woman who stood beneath the light didn''t even pause her steps. While others had feared they might fail and had waited outside for fear of embarrassment, she directly continued through, the light above her head only barely flickering away after she took her place.


    She looked like a queen of ice, her demeanor frosty and unapproachable. But, even from his spot, Ryu could feel the oppressive fire affinity wafting from her. It was an odd combination that made one narrow their eyes, only to be lost in her beauty a moment after.


    However, this woman''s nose could practically pierce the veil of the Heavens. The arrogance exuding from her made it so that no one even dared to approach her. Rolfin and Terron only gave her a glance before looking away, worried she might get the wrong idea if they stared for too long.


    This woman was Silva Ziltris, yet another well known talent.


    Not long after her, several more who broke the 20 foot mark appeared, each dripping with their own level of arrogance. Though none surpassed Silva, they had their own reasons for seeming so arrogant. When compared to their counterparts, many were indeed worthy of carrying such haughtiness. But, Ryu could only shake his head.


    He couldn''t see the light, so he was just everyone by the reaction of his bloodlines.


    While his Bloodlines couldn''t exactly be suppressed by the likes of these people, they could make it stir since he had yet to fully unshackle himself. Ryu judged them by how much his Bloodlines stirred.


    Still, despite the fact his Bloodlines were technically only at the Lower Black Grade currently, there was hardly any stirring at all. Even if his Bloodlines were suppressed, how could they not be far beyond other bloodlines of equivalent level?


    In Ryu''s estimation, his current Bloodlines were probably about as powerful as a Middle or Higher Black Grade Bloodline in this world, at the very least. As for what it would take to make it stir? It would take at least an Earth Grade Bloodline.


    The people continued and the numbers began to dwindle. Ryu rose up, thinking that he should probably go soon. The only reason he hadn''t gone before was because he hadn''t felt like jostling with the crowd when he would still have to stand up for hours regardless. But, since things had cleared up, it was about time.


    What Ryu didn''t seem to realize was that all the big wigs had also waited for this moment. Well, it wasn''t exactly accurate to say that he hadn''t realized, it was more accurate to say that he didn''t care enough to realize.


    These people were like dancing clowns to him, puffing their chests out and peacocking because they had Black Grade talents. If he had been in the mood to do so, he would have probably been laughing.


    However, Ryu didn''t laugh. Instead, he drilled into his mind again and again that this was the kind of ant-like existence he was now. Until he could hold real power, what right did he have to laugh at these people? Wasn''t he more laughable since he couldn''t even display the kind of power he should be able to with his talent?


    Ryu clasped his hands to his back, slowly walking forward. His mind wondered as he calculated something.


    The best talent of a True One Star Sect like this one should probably be a Quasi Earth Grade or barely Earth Grade Talent. In that case¡­


    "Get the fuck out of my way, blind boy."


    A rush of wind passed by Ryu''s side. Whoever had spoken had likely expected for Ryu to be knocked over by the wind, in fact, they hadn''t even physically touched Ryu at all. However, aside from his robes rustling, Ryu only continued to walk forward as though nothing had happened.


    His Northern Heavenly Wind might not be able to protect him from a ten kilometer fall, but this much wasn''t nearly enough to force it into a difficult situation.


    The hulking beast of a man who had rushed by, wanting to slide into one of the final two slots of this batch couldn''t help but look back, his brow arching up.


    "Oh?"


    Seeing that Ryu was completely unaffected by him, the hulking man didn''t bother to turn back. He hadn''t been picking on Ryu, he just didn''t feel like changing his direction mid sprint. But, it seemed that he had found an interesting character.


    Ryu didn''t say a word as he crossed the threshold, taking the final slot.


    "Nich, what are you rushing for? Stones for brains."


    "If you''re scared of losing to me, just say so!"


    "You''re such an annoying flea. You even left your Stone Edge Sect just to follow me all the way here, don''t you know you''ll never defeat me?"


    "Watch me. There''s no genius in the First Heaven better at body refinement than me!"


    Nich was none other than the hulking man who had rushed by Ryu. The one who spoke to him, though, was known as Tobril.


    These two weren''t the only ones who were bickering back and forth, but as they were fighting, their pillars of light had already broken 30 feet, their talent shimmering with a blinding light.


    "HA! I beat you by an inch!"


    "Look again you¡ª!"


    The two seemed to realize that the atmosphere was oddly quiet at this moment.


    When they looked over, their eyes couldn''t help but widen.

 Chapter 918 Starlight

    A pillar of light broke through the 90 foot mark, approaching the 100 foot mark as though it had no intention of stopping before coming to an abrupt halt.


    The young man standing beneath it had skin as dark as night and eyes as clear as stars. His irises looked as though a blue and golden nebula had crashed into one another before they could finally form his eyes. It was impossible to describe just how gorgeous the sight was.


    The young man was neatly dressed and every hem of his clothing was perfect. He was handsome beyond words and had a magical air about him that made others feel like they could trust him with their lives.


    This young man was completely unknown and was the first reason to cause the Inner Disciples in the skies to open their eyes in shock.


    However, the second reason was right next to him.


    There wasn''t just a single pillar of light that surpassed the 90 foot mark, but there were two. In fact, this second one crossed the 100 foot mark.


    This young man was just as if not faintly more handsome than the dark skinned young man. White hair flowed down his shoulders and back, a gorgeous butterfly fluttering on his shoulder.


    However, as soon as this young man''s pillar reached 100 feet, it was cut down by a third, falling to around 70 feet before stopping. Those that saw this scene couldn''t help but watch with wide open eyes, they knew exactly what this meant.


    This young man was three years older than he should be for his cultivation level. But, after seeing his talent, they easily ignored this, their eyes blazing.


    Still, this didn''t mean they didn''t have questions. How was it that Ryu had such talent but his cultivation was so slow?


    The best explanation was that his talent was concentrated in pillars that didn''t necessarily accelerate cultivation speed, like Spiritual Foundation and Bone Structure. After all, not every Bone Structure was like Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body which allowed him to absorb qi through his skin.


    In fact, depending on what your talents specialized in, it was possible that none of the four pillars would help you. The only exception was the Spiritual Foundation would always help with cultivation speed after reaching a certain level.


    Of course, there was another explanation¡­ And that was that Ryu was from a smaller world.


    Considering the fact no one recognized him, this felt the most likely.


    Linus cleared his throat after regaining his composure.


    "Yes, right. The next stage will begin immediately. Those that''ve passed, you may continue up the mountain. You have three days to make it up the peak."


    Several eyes were still focused on Ryu. Though it was only for a brief moment, his talent had definitely surpassed that of the dark skinned young man. Even the latter looked over curiously, an enigmatic smile spreading across his lips.


    Ryu, however, had already begun to walk forward, entering the forest without a word.


    With a flex of his ankle, he floated up to a tree branch and shot forward, his steps light and quick. His speed alone made the pupils of many constrict. Was this the kind of speed an Immortal Ring Realm expert should have?


    Ryu''s actions were like a BANG that sounded off in their minds, causing everyone to surge forward.


    "Hey, what''s your name." Nich came over to the dark skinned man and asked a question.


    "Me?" The young man chuckled. "You can call me Starlight."


    Starlight tapped his foot and shot forward as well.


    Nich blinked. "What a weird name."


    ¡­


    Ryu''s steps came to a stop, his brow furrowing lightly. He had just realized that there was an odd maze formation here. The moment he entered, his orientation had been completely shifted. It was probably used to spread everyone out evenly to make it more difficult to work together.


    He could only shake his head. He would have usually noticed such a thing before he even took a step into it, but it had actually taken him several seconds to even notice.


    After understanding what was nagging at him, Ryu shot forward once again, his Spiritual Sense flourishing.


    He restrained it to about 10 meters before stopping, focusing on absolute clarity.


    The range of Ryu''s Spiritual Sense was also greatly restrained in this world. Right now he was at the peak of the Soul Birth Realm, yet he only had a full range of about one kilometer. It was more than a little annoying, but Ryu could only accept it.


    This was the new state of his being.


    If others knew that he had such a powerful soul, though, they would be shocked. In the True Martial World, it was rare to have a kilometer wide range until you reached the Soul Ascension Realm, the first level of which was the Cosmic Seed Realm equivalent.


    Ryu suddenly brandished his grandfather''s bow, drawing its string and allowing the Glove of Order to thrum to life.


    This time, he was ready and didn''t lose his composure over the scrawniness of the arrow. He just took it on the chin and released.


    The Glove of Order worked by using his comprehension and drawing on the Heavens to form an arrow. Clearly, Ryu''s comprehensions were both lacking and it was more difficult to take things from these Heavens than it had been on Sacrum.


    What Ryu didn''t know was the fact that the Glove of Order could snatch things from the True Martial World at all was a shocking feat. In addition, the fact he could form an arrow at all was something he had to thank his meridians for!


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he had been forced to re-comprehend the Ruler Realm and beyond so many times, his comprehensions would have been nothing short of pathetic here, not nearly enough for the Glove of Order to do anything!


    A Common Grade Beast was pierced right through the skull in the distance, allowing Ryu to shoot by without the slightest effort.

 Chapter 919 Hegemonic

    Ryu found using the bow without his eyes to be a fascinating sort of experience.


    His grandfather had always said that the most important thing to an archer was their eyes. Suddenly finding himself without a pair, Ryu felt a subtle difference that he hadn''t been able to grasp before. Even after several months, that feeling was still subtle, but bit by bit, he seemed to be getting closer and closer to exactly what that enigmatic feeling was.


    Ryu didn''t chase after this elusive feeling, though. Instead, he focused on other things, realizing that this wasn''t something you chased after. The more effort he put into trying to understand it, the further out of his grasp it would grow.


    So, he turned his attention to the subtleties of pulling on the Daos of the True Martial World.


    With his annoyance at the weakness of his arrows put to the side, he was able to see through some of the issues he was facing in his use of the Glove of Order. Thanks to his own Dao, he was far more sensitive to these things, building a subtle sort of understanding.


    If Ryu was correct, there was a clear connection between Inheritances and Daos.


    This much should have been obvious from the very beginning. Both were a type of comprehension, it just seemed that the latter was far more profound than the former. However, exactly what those differences were wasn''t something that Ryu ever really thought about.


    If he were to put his initial assumptions into words, he would say that a Dao was a culmination of Inheritances. A Dao was an Inheritance that dug deeper and built higher.


    But, the more Ryu thought about it, he felt that it was more involved than just this.


    For one, there was the name Inheritance in the first place. One could hand it down through generations, allowing many people to grasp it at once and through the years. This was something that was widely accepted and known.


    However, with a Dao, this wasn''t the case at all. You couldn''t pass down a Dao, and even an attempt to do so could crush a person. Not everyone could reform their Dao without worry as Ryu could. Many would end up being permanently crippled taking such an approach.


    A Dao had to be comprehended by a person themselves. Outside influence in the process would often become a detriment.


    The more Ryu thought, though, he realized that even this was a superficial explanation and could still be considered to be surface level. When he thought of what he felt was the true reason, his heart couldn''t help but beat out of his chest.


    What was the ultimate difference?


    Inheritances connected with the Heavens in a mutual sort of respect. The Heavens curated, saved and praised Inheritances. It bestowed Birthed Phenomena, it bound them with ties of Fate allowing them to be passed down through generations, and you were even rewarded with Essence when you grasped them.


    But, were Daos the same? Absolutely not.


    Daos were the foundation of Godhoods, the root of breaking free from the Heavens and forming your own path. Not only were they not rewarded, but when Ryu comprehended the second half of his Dao, he was even struck by lightning.


    Of course, it wasn''t a perfect boundary. Ryu still had a Birthed Phenomenon he had yet to use, and when he was cobbling together the bits and pieces of his Dao in the Armament Guild, he was blessed with Essence several times.


    Clearly, there was a sort of lingering connection between the two, and after stepping past a certain barrier, there was a qualitative evolution resulting in the formation of the Dao.


    Why was this so important to Ryu now? It was because he realized now that his Inheritances were weak and needed supplementation. But, he wanted to understand what approach he should take.


    There were two paths as Ryu saw it.


    The first was continuing along his current path. As his Bloodlines broke free of their shackles, his Inheritances would naturally strengthen as well. After all, many of Ryu''s Inheritances came right from his Bloodlines with very rare exceptions.


    His Fire Inheritance was built off the back of his Rage Flame and Rebirth Flame. His Ice Inheritance was built off the back of his Ice Flame. His Lightning Inheritance found its roots in his Lightning Qilin Bloodline.


    This was simply the way things worked for him.


    Unfortunately, Ryu''s Bloodlines had left him disappointed far too many times. They cowered in the face of the Heavens and they cowered when he fought the Valkyries of the Deity Race. He was thoroughly pissed off with them.


    Even after the first time, he was already finished with them. But, the second time was a stride too far. He wouldn''t wait for a strike three.


    Ultimately, Ryu''s Bloodlines were still one of his strongest trump cards. As their shackles were undone, he would be able to blaze through the Heavens and display his might. Maybe even those of the Fifth and Sixth Heaven would still pale in comparison to his talent.


    But what of the Seventh? The Eighth? The Ninth?


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t entirely sure. When it came to talent, he was fairly unmatched. He had never even heard of another person with Great Ancestral Circle Realm talent, and he was a person well versed in history.


    Then, you had to consider the fact that Ryu''s talent was actually beyond that. He had his Heavenly Pupils, his Bone Structure had evolved, his Meridians seemed to have always been beyond the Ancestral Grade, and now his Phoenix Bloodlines had fused into one.


    By now, calling Ryu a Great Ancestral Circle talent was actually doing him a disservice. He was far beyond that.


    However, even if it was the case that Ryu''s talent could match up to the greatest geniuses of the highest Heavens, he didn''t care. When he made decisions, he didn''t do so for the sake of others unless he loved them. He was dissatisfied with the performance of his Bloodlines and didn''t believe that he should rely on them in the future.


    In that case, there was a second path¡­ And that was to evolve his Inheritances until they formed the puzzle pieces of his Dao.


    As Ryu drew his bow and released, skewering another beast to death, the thrumming of his heart only grew.


    Maybe he had been too na?ve to believe that he had formed the perfect Dao in the past. What if the existence of Inheritances was a clue?


    A crack of thunder rocked Ryu''s mind.


    What was his Dao? It was a cycle of yin and yang, a balance between the Heavens and its Cultivators.


    He Divided Tribulation, comprehending the Heavens to pass judgment. He Divided Karma, comprehending the cultivators to pass judgment.


    However, he only looked at it through the lens of a Dao, wasn''t'' this too foolish? The Dao was inherently fueled by the defiance of the Heavens. So, where was the sincerity of his comprehension?


    What Ryu needed was a fusion of Dao and Inheritance, a balance that could be elevated above all others.


    He would form the Inheritance of a world by himself. Then, he would form the Heavens that lorded over it.


    Forming the Tenth Heaven!


    What did it entail to form an Inheritance that would replace Dividing Tribulation? Ryu didn''t even need to think.


    What were the Foundational Elements of the Heavens? What formed all things?


    Wind. Water. Mountain. Earth. Thunder. Fire. Life. Heaven.


    Heaven formed the skies. Earth formed the ground. Mountain formed the foundation.


    Wind, Water, Thunder and Fire connected Heaven and Earth, giving Mountain purpose.


    And then they breathed and formed Life.


    These were ancient words Ryu had read long ago, words he had never cared to think about, let alone recall. They were about the basics of formation theory and toddlers with even a small bit of talent would learn this Earth Pronged Formation.


    It sounded profound, but it was endlessly simple. Without any practice, Ryu could form such a formation right this moment, he had more than enough talent.


    However, what was beautiful about this supposedly simple formation was that it was the only Origin Grade Formation Ryu knew of. It could be used by anyone, but it could also become infinitely more powerful depending on the comprehension and effort of the person.


    The trouble was that who could possibly spend the time to learn in eight different directions? And, even if you wanted to, who dared to say that they could do so?


    Wind, Water, Thunder and Fire were still alright, but just how profound was Mountain? What about Heaven? And then there was Earth with Mountain rested upon and Heavens covered? And none of that even touched upon Life!


    However, Ryu didn''t care. Once again, he had already made his decision.


    The Glove of Order trembled on his palms, the arrow he had formed flickering and vanishing.


    Wind? He had the Heavenly Wind. Water? He was a majestic Ice Phoenix. Thunder? He was a mighty Qilin. Fire? He was an almighty Dragon.


    Life? He had fused Life, Death and Rebirth. Mountain? He had the Natural Enlightenment of Shrine Mountain.


    Earth? He tread upon it as he pleased. Heavens? He would form his own!


    A veil cracked, Ryu''s Dao shifted and charged through the barrier of Dominion Daos and entered the Realms of Hegemonic Daos.


    He felt freer than he ever had before, his power rising to the point the air stilled around him and a light smile pulled at his handsome features.


    But, just as soon as this happened, a crack of lightning descended from the skies.


    BANG!


    At that moment, the veil of the Seventh Heaven trembled, striking down upon Ryu''s Dao and shattering it.


    Ryu didn''t have the strength to fight back against such a thing.


    His chest was struck through, a bloody hole appearing where his heart should have been and his body became charred black to the point that a single push could turn him to ash.


    Ryu collapsed, the rumbling of the Seventh Heaven forcing the other lower Heavens to cower before it finally calmed and withdrew.


    Ryu''s Dao crumbled, falling out of the realms of Hegemonic Dao.

 Chapter 920 A Bit Too Rash

    Ryu''s shot up. Even through blindness, the light in his eyes blazed with life and fury. However, when his Spiritual Sense branched outward and he realized where he was, he froze.


    In the next instant, the wave of pain slammed him, threatening to send him falling to his knees. But, who was Ryu? Wasn''t he a man who had dealt with the backlash of the Phoenix Sky God all those years ago? Not only did he endure it, but he even used it to strengthen his body and then made use of it to kill a False Sky God without even having stepped foot into the Path Extinction Realm.


    Pain wasn''t something that he was afraid of, nor did he cower in the face of it.


    Ryu raised a hand to his chest. A hole had been blown through it, but this wasn''t the first time such a thing had happened. So long as his Realm Heart was intact, he would be just fine with some time. The trouble was more so the lightning that had charred his body through.


    Ryu had never felt such powerful lightning before. It felt like it had encompassed the world, but Ryu knew the truth. It was nothing more than a fraction of a finger width and yet it threatened to rip his life from him.


    After a few moments, Ryu understood why he managed to survive. The Lightning he had begun cultivating thanks to his grandfather, a lightning he named Kunan Lightning in respect for his maternal Clan, had absorbed the more dangerous strands. By now, it was easily hundreds of times more powerful than it had been in the past, carrying with it a danger that made Ryu''s brows furrow.


    However, without Ryu consciously awake to refine it, there was only so much his Kunan Lightning could do. If its core wasn''t formed of the greatest talent of an Ancient Beast, it wouldn''t have been in a position to absorb Tribulation Lightning of this level at all.


    It could be said that Ryu was very lucky in this regard. If his grandfather hadn''t left such a kernel to him, there was no way he would have survived.


    What a funny joke this was. He had a Lightning Spirit Body yet it was lightning that had put him in such a situation. Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t find this very funny at all. What the hell happened?


    Suddenly, he heard a chuckle, causing his head to snap in that direction. He realized he couldn''t see, so he could only send his Spiritual Sense forward without worry about offending a person, and yet he ended up clutching at nothing, his Spiritual Sense crashing against a wall without finding anyone.


    Despite this, Ryu took an enormous leap backward, his pupils constricting.


    Spiritual Sense wasn''t like his <Third Perspective> that could see through anything and anyone regardless of gap in cultivation. Spiritual Sense was tied to the strength of his soul and also the strength of its target.


    If someone far more powerful than Ryu didn''t want to be seen by his Spiritual Sense then they wouldn''t be seen, it was just that simple. Not only would Ryu not be able to see them, but he wouldn''t even be able to sense their cultivation either. All he would know is that the gap between them was enormous.


    Right this moment, Ryu was in an Immortal Cave of sorts. To someone else, it might have looked like a normal shabby cave with grey walls and dull lights, but Ryu was far more sensitive as a Ruin Master.


    The walls were too clean, the cuts too smooth, and the qi too thick. There were a whole host of oddities that shouldn''t appear in a normal cave that was all too obvious here.


    In addition, the altitude was way too high. Ryu didn''t know a lot about this world, but he had already fallen from 10 kilometers up once before. It was enough to know that the oxygen in this place was even scarcer than it had been there.


    That much was fine since the density of qi more than offset it. But, it was something he noted nonetheless.


    This meant that one, Ryu was no longer in the same place he had been when he was struck, two, he was brought here by this person he could hear but not see, and three, this person was obscenely powerful to the current Ryu.


    There was no doubt in Ryu''s mind that this individual could kill him with a finger and on a whim. To make matters worse, the fact that he had survived such a strike to begin with had likely made a few of his secrets more obvious. If this person wanted to extract his talent, there was very little he could do.


    However, that didn''t change the coldness in Ryu''s gaze one bit. He stared forward at the location he had heard the voice, his ears primed for the slightest shift and sound.


    At the same time, he cut off all his other senses and focused on the wind and the wind alone, building up a domain around him with it. It didn''t matter if this expert could hide from his Spiritual Sense, could he also hide from the wind? In fact, an absence of wind movement would be just as great an indicator of location as a blockage of wind would be.


    With his Northern Heavenly Wind, his sensitivity to such things was beyond what most could hope to match.


    "So on guard, how amusing. You would think that someone who dared to challenge the Seventh Heaven as a mere little pup would be braver than this."


    The voice sounded like an odd mix of all and young. No, it was more like they sounded quite young, but their tone, cadence and choice of words were quite old. There were only two real options. Either this was a cultivator who had lived for a long time but still managed to maintain their youth, or it was an old cultivator trying too hard to hard to remain young.


    It was unlikely to be the latter, though, since anyone like that would be more focused on making their tone sound as modern as possible, and this person clearly didn''t care about that at all.


    Ryu, though, was focused on something entirely different.


    "Challenge the Seventh Heaven?" Ryu frowned.


    He was in the First Heaven right now, no? He hadn''t even stepped foot in the Second Heaven, when would he have time to offend the Seventh Heaven? Even he hadn''t set his gaze up so high just yet.


    "Ah, you probably don''t understand, huh? I can tell by your Talent Shackles that you aren''t from this world, not bad, not bad. A talent from a smaller world forming a Hegemonic Dao. Those big Clan geniuses would be rolling in their graves if they heard of this. Well, maybe that''s inappropriate to say considering how young they are, hohoho."


    Ryu''s expression turned colder when he heard this person mention Talent Shackles. If there was any doubt before, it was all too obvious now.


    "Don''t blame me," the voice laughed, "blame yourself. Who so casually comprehends their Dao out in the open? Normal people go into seclusion, prepare a stick of incense, and at least make sure that their yang is not spiraling wildly out of control like yours is."


    The voice seemed to laugh harder now as though his jokes were the funniest things in the world. He didn''t seem to care at all that Ryu wasn''t amused.


    Ryu''s expression darkened, but he knew that the voice was correct. He had gotten used to casually comprehending his Dao in normal day to day life, it was easy to him.


    This Sect selection was far too boring to him, so how could he not use other things to occupy his mind? He just didn''t expect to be struck down by lightning for his efforts.


    Still, the truth of that matter was that if he was in seclusion, he would have been done in just the same. There was no way his Immortal Caves could have stopped that strike. And, judging by the words of the voice, nothing could have stopped it.


    In that case, these were just useless, meaningless words.


    "What do you mean by offending the Seventh Heaven?" Ryu finally asked.


    "Ah, so you speak. I thought you were blind and a mute for a moment. Since you don''t understand, this old man will tell you.


    "It''s a relatively simple matter to improve your Dao through the Common, True, Lineage, Dynastic, Sovereign and even Dominion stages. Most will never achieve such levels, but it isn''t impossible for them to do so. At the very least, there are no obvious barriers.


    "However, forming a Hegemonic Dao is a different matter entirely. Even in Hegemonic Clans, they will only also three to appear per generation, these generations being counted in time spans most lower Heavens cannot fathom.


    "The Heavens will only tolerate a certain number at any given time and the formation of one necessitates the collapse of another.


    "I''m sorry to say, but this mistake will likely be one of your last. With your Dao shattered by the tribulation of a Heaven, your lifespan is likely only a fraction of what it once was and even if by some miracle you could reform your Dao, you''ll just get struck down again.


    "You''ve been a bit too rash, young one. Even those Dominion Clans with aspirations of becoming Hegemonic Clans would first plan for trillions of years before they made the attempt you just did."


    Ryu looked down at his body as a form of habit.


    "My Dao, shattered?" Ryu mumbled. "So what? In fact, I just so happen to need a stronger comprehension of Heaven, I''d like to see who''ll stop me."


    Ryu didn''t trust this person one bit. What was the best way to deal with this situation, then? Make it so that no one dared to approach him.


    Reform!


    Though Ryu couldn''t see it, the expression of the old-young man who had spoken to him glowed, a wild grin spreading across his face as the skies suddenly went dark once more.

 Chapter 921 Limitations

    Ryu had been completely caught off guard earlier and his eyes were also sealed. His ability to read and react to the situation was severely limited, so how could he possibly ready himself for something he didn''t even know would come?


    Ryu had never heard a concept of limited Daos before, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. There were only so many powerful titles to claim, only so many paths to follow, and only so much energy to claim.


    In Sacrum, the world could be considered quite large, but just how much of it was nothing more than empty space? There were vast swaths of blackness, and large gaps between stars, plants and worlds, and even some of the most powerful organizations had territories Ryu could easily cross in a few hours.


    But then compare that to the True Martial World.


    In this place, the region was nothing but land, filled to the brim with Clans, Sects and nature. There wasn''t a hint of empty space anywhere. Just a single Prefecture probably had a larger population than the entirety of Sacrum.


    To make matters worse, none of this even mentioned the fact that there were countless smaller worlds, all with aspirations of stepping foot onto this place and making a name for themselves. The competition was fierce and constant to the point that someone like Ryu wasn''t even an oddity here, there were several individuals who could easily guess that he had come from another world.


    Yet, despite the small scale of Sacrum, wasn''t it still the case that Sky Gods ran out of energy to cultivate their Godhoods? A large reason it took so much time was precisely because of just how scarce energy was, there wasn''t enough to go around.


    But, that didn''t even consider the fact that the Sky Gods of Sacrum were at best as strong as the Path Extinction Realm experts of the True Martial World. The energy the Sky Gods of this world needed was on an entirely different level!


    This was all to say that the True Martial World was constantly being squeezed dry by its cultivators. As a world, it too had to protect itself. Without balance and limitations, how could it continue to exist? If there were no barriers, then wouldn''t this world die out after a few more generations?


    Ryu being struck down like this was just an introduction to the various limits the True Martial World had placed on others. The Seventh Heaven just happened to be the arbiter of Hegemonic Daos. Meanwhile, the Eighth Heaven oversaw Ancient Daos. And, finally, the Ninth Heaven oversaw Founding Daos.


    However, Ryu also had a benefit others did not have.


    As the old-young man grinned, he too seemed to understand something.


    If Ryu cowered and chose to wait to break through, he would only be harming himself. The reality was that it wasn''t just the Seventh Heaven that could react like this.


    The First Heaven oversaw Common Daos, the Second Heaven, True Daos, the Third Heaven, Lineal Daos, the Fourth, Dynastic Daos, the Fifth, Sovereign Daos, the Sixth, Dominion Daos¡­ So on and so forth.


    However, because Ryu had formed his Dominion Dao in Sacrum, he hadn''t received such punishment as it had occurred under the jurisdiction of Sacrum. When the old-young man had said that forming other Daos was simple¡­ He had purposely lied to Ryu.


    As for why he would do such a thing? He wanted to give Ryu the illusion of simplicity, to goad Ryu into thinking that this was just a simple step to take.


    What the old-young man hadn''t realized was that Ryu simply didn''t care. Whether it was a single step or ten, it was all the same to him. He had formed his Dao but others wanted to take it away from him? Did he really seem like a person who was easy to take advantage of? Did he look like someone who took things lying down? Did this so-called Seventh Heaven believe him to be an easy target to bully?


    The old-young man had done this because he knew that this was Ryu''s best chance. Forming a powerful Dao in a lower Heaven had its benefits. Because the tribulation had to travel through so many Heavens to reach this place, it was severely weakened. However, this was just one reason.


    One might wonder why others wouldn''t just travel to lower Heavens to break through, then? Wouldn''t that make things easier?


    However, the reason this wouldn''t work was connected to the second reason, and that was the residual markers of a higher Heaven.


    Why was it that Ryu''s Bloodlines were so weak currently? It was because they had only been nurtured by Sacrum, a world severely lacking in fundamental runes and high level energies.


    If he traveled to higher Heavens, just by virtue of his appearance in such a world, he would begin to slowly strengthen. Even now, being in the First Heaven, such a thing was happening, albeit very slowly.


    When someone was attached to such markers, it was easier for the Will of a Heaven to lock onto you. While it was the Seventh Heaven that initially launched the attack against Ryu, it was the First Heaven that facilitated the attack.


    If thing didn''t work this way, then wouldn''t a hole be torn from the Seventh down to the First Heaven? Such a thing wouldn''t just punish Ryu, it would punch everyone. At worst, the skies of the Seventh and below Heavens would just turn dark for a moment.


    If someone from the Second Heaven descended down to the First Heaven to endure a tribulation of forming a Hegemonic Dao, the lightning would pass down through the Sixth to Third Heavens, when it reached the second, it would help lock on and re-amplify the judgment. Then, when it got to the First Heaven, where you were, it would amplify again.


    The sum would make the tribulation far more powerful than it would have been if you had just stayed in the Second Heaven!

 Chapter 922 Dividing

    If you were in the Third Heaven and descended to the First, it would amplify three times! If you were in the Fourth Heaven, it would amplify four times!


    Of course, the worst part was that these amplifications were not all created equally. There was a division amongst Heavens for a reason.


    If someone in a Third Heaven descended to the Second to endure a tribulation, the resulting strength would be far greater than someone originally from a Second Heaven descending to the First.


    These rules and regulations kept a certain balance in the True Martial World, and it also made many not dare to attempt to find a way to circumvent the rules.


    Ryu, then, had several advantages.


    First, he was from a smaller world. Second, he hadn''t been in the First Heaven for long. And third, the judgment of the Seventh Heaven had to go through six layers of Heavens to reach him.


    The scent of Sacrum was still by far the heaviest on him, and the First Heaven wasn''t familiar with him. This added to the fact that he had never interacted with a higher Heaven meant that the reduction would be to an absolute extreme.


    Even if this wasn''t the case, Ryu would be willing to face death again and again to cross this road. But, this being the case, if he had known this to be the case, he would also know that he, Ryu Tatsuya, would not need a third attempt!


    Ryu''s blind eyes flashed. In their depths, a radiant jade-green formation took root, spinning like an eight-pronged trigram.


    The shattering of his Dao wasn''t a bad thing in his eyes at all. In fact, it gave him a chance to rebuild it exactly as he wanted. He had made a mistake from the beginning, not building the perfect foundation. But, since these Heavens wanted to play, he would take their sentencing him to death as a gift from above.


    Wind. Water. Mountain. Earth. Thunder. Fire. Life. Heaven.


    For Wind, he would give his Heavenly Winds. For now, he only had two. But, if there was an opportunity to perfect them and receive the Western and Eastern Heavenly Winds, he would take them.


    However, this also wasn''t strictly necessary. Technically speaking, the perfect embodiment of wind was the Northern Heavenly Wind and the Northern Heavenly Wind alone, the rest were nothing but embellishments.


    Still, Ryu was nothing if not ambitious. So what if the Northern Heavenly Wind alone was already perfect?


    Ryu''s hair began to flutter, the mountain of the cave they were within trembling to its very base.


    For Water, he would give the kernel of what remained of his Ice Phoenix Bloodline.


    Much like the Lightning Qilin, the strongest ability of the Ice Phoenix was to nurture its own Extreme Yin Water. However, there was a small difference.


    The Lightning Qilin''s cultivated Lightning gained the Judgment characteristic. This meant that when Ryu swallowed lightning treasures, his Bloodline would gift it with the prowess of the Heavens and evolve it into Tribulation Lightning.


    For the Ice Phoenix, however, this didn''t happen. Instead, the Ice Phoenix balances the Extreme Yin Water by supplementing it with Life.


    This meant that so long as Ryu found more and more powerful Extreme Yin items and swallowed them, he would also gain greater and greater vitality and healing factors along with it.


    This Extreme Yin Water could them be used alongside the Ice Flame to display the true prowess of the Ice Phoenix.


    The rumbling of the mountain surged and cracks began to appear along the walls. The old-young man couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. Though he continued to remain seated as though this had nothing to do with him.


    For Thunder he would give his Kunan Lightning.


    Ryu''s hair flickered with radiant blue strands, the cracks in the mountain becoming more prominent as the winds forced it to sways side to side as though it was nothing more than a manmade skyscraper rather than a true powerhouse of mother nature.


    For Fire he would give his the most powerful of his Flames.


    The Rage Flame, the white flame that could not be named, the Origin Flame.


    The top of the mountain shattered, a spark of lightning falling from the skies. It wasn''t even tribulation lightning, and yet it was so powerful. It was almost as though the First Heaven was warning Ryu on behalf of the Seventh, exposing him for the skies to see.


    However, Ryu raised his head arrogantly. Even as the harsh winds whipped against him, and even though he couldn''t see the vastness above him with his eyes alone, a wild grin spread across his face.


    When the old-young man saw this, he slapped less leg, his laughing booming along with the thunderous skies.


    For Earth, he would give his Dividing Karma!


    BOOM!


    For Heaven, he would give his Dividing Tribulation!


    BOOM!


    The skies rattled and quaked, the entirety of the First Heaven being thrown into upheaval.


    This was how Ryu wanted it. He didn''t want to just roll into the True Martial World like a pebble along the roadside. He was Ryu Tatsuya! His name didn''t make the Heavens and Earth quake just yet, but very soon, it would!


    For Life, he would no longer rely on his Phoenix Bloodline. He realized in just this short meditation that his previous comprehension had been too shallow. Life didn''t just represent what the Life Shrine could give him if he turned back now. In the context of this formation, it was countless times deeper.


    Life was what filled the space between the Heavens and Earth.


    Life was none other than himself!


    BANG!


    The skies split open, a streak of lightning snaking down toward Ryu like a roaring flood dragon.


    Ryu''s Dao foundation reformed, soaring into the Dominion Grade in the blink of an eye!


    Ryu faced the lightning as it came down, his battle intent blazing.


    His chest lit up, a lightning seed pushing out and crackling above.


    He pressed two fingers together, a wild surge of qi beginning to rotate about it.


    He didn''t fear the Heavens. He was a man who could split the skies as he pleased.


    They had caught him off guard before, but now that he was ready¡­ Weren''t they too arrogant to think they could deal with him?!


    Ryu''s fingers pierced forward, the roaring lightning splitting in two before even coming into contact with him.


    He stood arrogantly on the raging winds, clasping his hand to his back and daring the lightning to descend again.


    The formation in his eyes rotated, the Heaven Character glowing brightly beneath the darkened skies.


    Dividing Tribulation!

 Chapter 923 Daring

    Ryu felt that he had nothing to fear. This tribulation thought that he was easy to deal with simply because he had been caught off guard previously. Now that he was prepared, could such a weakened tribulation even ruffle his hair?


    Another bolt struck down from the skies, but just as easily, Ryu''s two fingers pierced forward.


    Like sparking spiderwebs, the bits and pieces of yellow lightning spread out in all directions without aim or target. However, at that moment, the Kunan Lightning Seed hovering before Ryu''s flashed, rotating and sucking up everything in its past.


    Of course, what the Seed could absorb while Ryu was unconscious paled in comparison to what it could do when he was actively controlling it.


    It swallowed up the yellow lightning, grinding it to dust and refining it. As time passed, Ryu''s Kunan Lightning Seed began to slowly pulse, its radiant blue color growing brighter as vague runes began to form on its surface before flickering out of existence.


    The entirety of the First Heaven quaked, countless pairs of eyes focused on the bolts of lightning streaking down from the skies. However, no one dared to approach for fear of their own lives. How pitiful would their deaths be if they were taken as enemies by the tribulation lightning? In such a case, not only would the tribulation multiply in strength, but it would also begin to target you as well.


    Ryu unleashed his fury with every pierce of his fingers. Without fail, every time he split a bolt of lightning, his comprehension of Dividing Tribulation would increase manifold, the weaknesses of his Dao quickly being fixed and dealt with.


    His improvement was faster than the tribulation could seem to keep up with.


    Within Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, his soul pulsed about, residual sparks of lightning dancing around its depth of darkness before being swallowed up whole. Every time this happened, Ryu''s comprehension would take another enormous leap forward, his fingers seemingly gaining the ability to tear through the veil of the sky itself.


    At that moment, Ryu had learned the true strength of his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    It wasn''t just about the cultivation speed of the soul, nor was it just about reaching a new level of invulnerability. The true strength of the Perfect Blackbody Soul was its ability to absorb even comprehension itself!


    Ryu approached the clouds above from two angles, his blind eyes blazing with a fiery heat.


    From one side, he used his Dao, using its fracturing and reformation as a strengthening technique.


    On another side, he allowed residual streaks of lighting to pierce into his Spiritual Sea, swallowing them up with his soul.


    As his soul ate the tribulation lightning, his comprehension of it soared, and his understanding of Dividing Tribulation likewise grew deeper.


    The unexpected boon didn''t make Ryu falter in the slightest. He treated the roaring skies like a toy to play with. If he didn''t want it to occur, even the Heavens themselves could not touch the hem of his robes.


    The black clouds began to spin, forming the eye of an enormous hurricane in the skies.


    The rushing winds grew harsher, leaving whip-like marks across Ryu''s clothing and even blowing Little Silk away.


    At that moment, Ryu''s right hand flared outward, the Glove of Order beginning to tremble with a dark gold light.


    The glove looked just as simple as it always hand, covering just Ryu''s thumb, fore and middle fingers while leaving his pinky and ring finger to the elements. It extended past his wrist in a sleek black, looking inconspicuous to all those who laid eyes on it. Until¡­


    It released itself from its shell.


    The Glove of Order roared to life, a black gauntlets sprouting like the scales of a black dragon onto Ryu''s hand and up his forearm.


    The eight-pronged formation in Ryu''s eyes shook, the Heaven Character pulsing with a brighter and brighter light as the residual lightning in the surroundings all surged forward.


    Ryu pulled his grandfather''s bow from his back, a rage flickering in his eyes as he saw the damage it had suffered from him being blown back.


    He allowed the wind to carefully caress the bow, wiping it clean of the dirt and debris that had marred its beautiful and simple frame.


    The trinkets tied to the end of the bow whipped about wildly in the wind, dancing from side to side as though they could be torn off at any moment. However, even after several attempts, they all remained perfectly intact, raising up with the movement of Ryu''s arm and the flex of his back.


    As Ryu drew his bow, the blinding light the Glove of Order released seemed to increase.


    At that moment, the old-young man''s eyes widened, his laughter had long since stopped to be replaced by shock and wide eyes. He was ecstatic that Ryu dared to fight, but he had been ready for him to put his life and death on the line. Whether Ryu would succeed or fail, the old-young man really hadn''t known.


    Just finding someone who dared was hard enough. No, finding someone who even had the talent necessary to be given the option of daring to or not daring was an almost impossible mountain to climb.


    However, this¡­ To find someone with not only the talent, but the daring, and then for them to also survive¡­ It could be said that the goal of the old-young man was almost impossible.


    Yet, this Ryu¡­ Not only did he have the talent, and the daring, and it even seemed like he really would come out with his life¡­


    This son of a bitch actually aimed a bow at the Heavens.


    Ryu unleashed a bestial roar, the arrow of Dividing Tribulation suddenly doubling in size as it was released.


    It was a streak of dark gold seen across the First Heaven. It tore through the descending bolts like a streaking meteor. Everything in its path was shredded to pieces until it met the roaring clouds.


    BOOM!


    Ryu fell from the skies.

 Chapter 924 A Tag?

    BANG!


    The clouds above cracked like glass, the energy keeping them together splintering like a porcelain doll.


    Ryu crashed into the ground below, suddenly finding it impossible to continue standing on the raging winds. However, even as he coughed up a mouthful of blood and nearly crashed to his knees, he still glared upward.


    It seemed that he had been correct. There was a core of energy up there, likely sent down by the Seventh Heaven to the First Heaven, which then targeted Ryu. Under normal circumstances, Ryu would have to wait for the energy to run out, and then he could be considered to have passed.


    However, did Ryu seem like a person who would just obediently be a punching bag? So he just decided to destroy it, using its own power against it.


    The best part was now that Ryu''s Dao could be considered a Dao-Inheritance combo, the Glove of Order responded to it, allowing him to form arrows that were much larger than before. Unfortunately, it seemed to be quite draining on his Focus Qi.


    Before, he had the prayer mat to supplement his Focus Qi, so he hadn''t worried about it in years. But, now that his Inner World was sealed off from him, he lost its support as well, leaving him with only himself to rely on.


    Ryu wiped the rest of the blood from his lip, his eyes narrowing as he looked off to the side. He hadn''t been able to feel this person before, but he could definitely feel him now. This old-young man actually hadn''t run away when his tribulation started?


    Just as Ryu was thinking about this, a searing heat suddenly erupted upon his forehead, causing him to feel a pain that made even him roar out.


    ¡­


    As Ryu was hesitating about his meeting with his mysterious man, Seven Heavens underwent a state of upheaval.


    Just weeks ago, some fool had attempted to form a Hegemonic Dao, alerting the individuals of the higher Heavens. Lower Heavens might be ignorant, but those Sixth Heaven Clans and Sects close to forming Hegemonies, and of course, the Seventh Heaven Clans and Sects, were all in the know.


    They all wanted an understanding of just who this person was, even if it was obvious they had failed. Someone with a Peak Dominion Dao was definitely not to be taken lightly, even by the families of the Seventh Heaven.


    There were only a limited number of people who could have Hegemonic Daos, to begin with, and much of that number was claimed by individuals of the Eighth and Ninth Heavens. That meant most powerhouses of the Seventh Heaven also only had Dominion Grade Daos.


    However, even for such people, forming a Lower Dominion Dao was already top tier. Someone who had a Peak Dominion Dao was definitely at the very top of the Seventh Heaven.


    Unfortunately, it was quickly learned that this individual wasn''t from the Sixth Heaven but rather from a much lower Heaven, making it especially difficult to track their Karma.


    Many believed that this was an individual either from the Seventh or Sixth Heaven who knew they would be slaughtered for overstepping their limits and thus chose to endure a stronger tribulation and descend the Heavens, how else would someone capable of forming a Peak Dominion Dao die so quickly to a tribulation? It served them right.


    The monopoly the powerful families had over the pinnacle level Daos wasn''t a joke. If you didn''t have the backing of a Sect or Clan near the top of the Dominion Grade, you''d be seeking death forming such a high level Dao.


    However, what no one expected was for another to form a Hegemonic Dao just weeks later. And, it was once again someone from the lower Heavens!


    It was impossible for everyone to agree that they were the same person. But, it didn''t matter, just the fact that it happened again was shocking enough.


    Everyone scrambled to find the location of this individual, the tribulation persisting for a much longer span of time.


    However, after checking the Sixth Heaven, they found out that this person wasn''t there. After checking the Fifth, they were once again found to not be there.


    Just when they wanted to check the Fourth Heaven¡­ The tribulation actually ended and all traces vanished!


    The uproar shook the Seven Heavens.


    At that moment, everyone below the Eighth Heaven with a Hegemonic Dao was branded.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s hand became like a block of ice, trying to stop the searing heat on his forehead from spreading any further. The Water Character in eyes shone brightly, but it was to no avail. It took half a day just for the pain to subside, and the result left him shocked.


    On his forehead, an elaborate seal spread like a crown of thorns. It was seared in like a permanent tattoo, still pulsing with a blackish crimson light.


    "¡­ What the hell is this¡­?!"


    The old-young man chuckled. "That, young one, is a tag."


    "A tag?"


    "Yes. Whenever Heavens below the Seventh exceed the number of allocated Hegemonic Daos, those seals will appear on all owners of a Hegemonic Dao, and they won''t disappear until one of you dies."


    Ryu frowned. "The Heavens do this?"


    "Of course not. Truthfully, I lied to you again. The only Dao level with limitations are the Founding Daos.


    "There are only allowed to be 3 Peak Founding Daos, 33 Higher Founding Daos, 333 Middle Founding Daos, and 3333 Lower Founding Daos. Of course, these numbers are ridiculous. There are less than a dozen people with Founding Daos in the whole of the True Martial World, if a single generation produced that many talents, who knows what the world would look like now?


    "The other Dao level limitations are fabrications, formed by the Eighth and Ninth Heavens¡ª"


    The fury that spilled forth from Ryu''s eyes caused the old-young man to halt his words. Clearly, he didn''t need to say anything more, Ryu already understood.


    A tag? This might as well have been a slave mark.

 Chapter 925 Then?

    Ryu didn''t need to hear another word, he had already decided. The moment he found a Clan or Sect that participated in the creation of such a system, he would tear them out by the roots.


    It took a long while for the rage in Ryu''s eyes to subside. He had actually been branded like he was some sort of cow to be herded obediently into its pen. Even compared to kneeling, this sort of humiliation was on another level. It was completely intolerable.


    The old-young man watched silently.


    Most would feel uncomfortable upon this realization. However, this sort of fury that Ryu was displaying was unique.


    It wasn''t as though Ryu was being publicly scrutinized. The only ones who knew of the mark were himself and Ryu. And, clearly, he wasn''t making any attempt to lambast or humiliate Ryu.


    Under normal circumstances, in such a situation, the person in question would feel a little discomfort, maybe a little unhappiness, but without anyone else to witness their humiliation, they would be able to, more or less, deal with it. It wouldn''t take them long to calm down at all.


    However, the old-young man could tell that Ryu''s pride was bone deep. It didn''t matter whether others were here to witness his humiliation or not. The standards he had for himself were far beyond what others could possibly expect of him. In such a situation, did he need to words of others to feel humiliated?


    This debt, he was already planning on paying it back a hundredfold. So long as he had the opportunity, he wouldn''t hesitate to make them pay.


    This sort of arrogance¡­ It couldn''t be taught.


    On the one hand, it would get you into all sorts of trouble others would never have to deal with. But, on the other hand¡­ Wasn''t it exactly this kind of mentality one needed to reach the pinnacle? If you didn''t have confidence in yourself bordering on and surpassing obnoxiousness, was it even possible for you to even lay eyes on that peak? Let alone stand on it?


    The old-young maa through something over that Ryu subconsciously caught. Ryu, who was still feeling infuriated, didn''t know how to react when he felt the soft cloth in his hands. Despite the fact it was in his palm, it still felt fleeting, and though it felt soft, he could subconsciously tell that no matter how hard he pulled, he wouldn''t be able to cause even the slightest tear.


    "Wrap that around your forehead, it will hide the aura of the tag. If you''re lucky, those Hegemonic Clans will fight amongst themselves and kill one of their own before they can find you. But, I wouldn''t hold out hope.


    "Those people, even while being branded like cattle, all have noses higher than the skies above their head, but tails tucked firmly between their legs. Rather than risking fighting so many powerful enemies at once, they would probably rather pour all their resources into finding you instead."


    Ryu''s roaring blood slowed to a crawl, his rage being buried deep within his heart. There was no point in continuing to feel such emotions, they would only distract him. His Grandpa Tatsuya''s words still stuck with him, he just wasn''t very good at following through on them yet.


    "Who are you?" Ryu asked without immediately accepting the gift.


    He knew he didn''t have anything as good as this. The treasures of his Sacrum world weren''t up to standard. Even his grandfather''s bow, which was originally classified as Half-Step Origin Grade didn''t even garner any attention as he walked around with it. Clearly, it wasn''t something that people of this world thought very highly of.


    Well, this was also partially because his Grandpa Kunan''s bow was a bit unique. It didn''t originally have such a great, but rather rose to this level after experiencing so many Tribulation Shrine trials by his Grandpa''s side.


    Originally, it was just an Earth Grade bow and didn''t look very special.


    Interestingly enough, by the standards of Sacrum, it was still Earth Grade now.


    This aside, Ryu didn''t like accepting gifts and favors from others, even if he needed them. He couldn''t very well walk around with such a mark on his head and didn''t know if he had the means to hide it away.


    "Me?" The old-young man laughed. "My friends call me Old Wan, so you can too."


    "That isn''t what I mean."


    "Hoho," Old Wan chuckled. "I''m just an old man, how could I understand the slang of the youth?"


    Ryu was speechless. What did he say that could be considered slang?


    Ryu was a language specialist. He had already mastered hundreds of languages. After just a few months in the True Martial World, he had already grasped their mannerisms, cadences and dialects. He sounded no different from someone born in this prefecture when he spoke.


    Old Wan chuckled, realizing that Ryu didn''t seem to be the jokester type.


    Well, it wasn''t that Ryu couldn''t be a jokester, it was more accurate to say that he didn''t spare this part of himself for people he didn''t know. And, even those he did know only received this piece of him sparingly. He clearly didn''t trust this Old Wan enough.


    "Strictly speaking, the Patriarch of the Radiant Star Sect is my little brother. So, as an older brother, I have to take advantage of my position whenever I can. It''s a shame, though, that the Immortal Cave that little brat gave me has been destroyed by you."


    Ryu remained silent. So this person was related to the Radiant Star Sect, then it wasn''t a coincidence that he was saved. However¡­


    "You''re too powerful to be related to the Radiant Star Sect," he said bluntly.


    "Hoho," Old Wan chuckled again. "I''m flattered, I''m flattered, really. This old bag of bones is only so-so."


    Ryu frowned. Even though he couldn''t see Old Wan, he knew for a fact that if he could, he would see a young man who looked no older than 30 years old at worst. He might even look like a teenager on the more exaggerated side.


    Realizing that he wasn''t going to answer straightforwardly, Ryu asked another question.


    "Why did you save me, then?"

 Chapter 926 Selheira

    Truthfully, the old-young man hadn''t done much other than bring Ryu to safety. As for the healing process, Ryu''s own body dealt with that.


    However, strictly speaking, he was saved. If his half-dead corpse was left in that location, then he would have ended up being ravaged by the next beast that came across him. There was definitely something to be said about that.


    There was only so much protection Little Silk could have given him. He still wasn''t even very familiar with the little one''s abilities. The little butterfly was basically a glorified seamstress. Though, now that Ryu thought about it, Little Silk would make an elite Spiritual Seamstress. Or, at the very least, a very sought after familiar for someone in the profession.


    Ryu didn''t know what changes his mother had made to Little Silk, but since Himari had gone out of her way to give the little one back to Ryu, it definitely couldn''t be simple.


    "Why did I save you? Hoho, isn''t it because you''d be useful to me?"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. That was always the reason, no one would do something for no reason or the mere kindness of their heart, especially not in the cultivation world. There were many cultivators who didn''t even care about their own families after enough generations had passed, Ryu had experienced such a thing personally with his great grandfather.


    Ryu opened his mouth to speak again, but this time, Old Wan cut him off.


    "I am a man who loves to take advantage of my juniors, and you will be no different. Don''t ask questions, just do as I say. If you want to know a little bit more, go become an Inheritor Disciple first, then maybe I can let know a little bit more."


    Ryu''s hand snatched something out of the air again, catching a badge. His frown deepened as he sent his Spiritual Sense forward.


    Inner Disciple badge?


    Even seeing this, he wasn''t happy. If he passed the disciple selection, he would have been an Outer Disciple and he would have to work his way up, passing from Outer, to Inner, to Core, and then Inheritor. The fact that this badge said Inner Disciple right from the very beginning was akin to putting a huge target on his back.


    Ryu didn''t care at all if he was the one who personally chose to place himself in the spotlight. He didn''t care for the thoughts and opinions of others and did as he pleased. However, being thrust into the spotlight by someone else left a bad taste in his mouth.


    What would the disciples do when they realized that a newbie like him, not even in the Path Extinction Realm, had suddenly become an Inner Disciple? He would almost instantly become public enemy number one.


    Did Ryu care about the ire of others? Of course not. What he cared about what the fact this Old Wan had clearly done this on purpose.


    Not only did he want to test Ryu, he wanted to make sure the difficulty was as sky high as possible. Ryu already abhorred being tested by others, and this left him even more disgusted.


    "Ah, ah, ah, none of that." Old Wan laughed. "You owe me for saving your life, right? And you also owe me another favor for giving you that headband. That''s two favors. Now, be obedient."


    Old Wan''s laughter rumbled, he seemed to be having a great time. He understood people as arrogant as Ryu very well. Since he had been seeking out a person with exactly this sort of disposition, how could he not be ready to deal with them?


    Ryu''s expression became several shades colder. But, without a word, he wrapped the headband across his forehead.


    "Selheira!"


    Old Wan''s voice boomed. It took several moments, but a large bird appeared on the horizon. It was a gorgeous, snow owl with only the slightest flecks of black around its crown of feathers. Even from a distance, its coat looked like a bed of soft clouds.


    On its back, a woman stood. A veil fluttered, covering her face, leaving only a pair of gentle and large blue eyes for others to see.


    Her hair was as black as night and done up in a simple, but elegant bun. Despite the harsh winds whistling around her, her domain around her was actually still unmoved, her dress only slightly fluttering from time to time, barely capable of showing off her figure.


    She was extremely tall for a woman. If she and Ryu stood face to face, she would only be an inch or two shorter. And yet, her graceful baring was no different from a petite housewife.


    The snow owl''s wings gently flapped as it slowed.


    "Senior." Selheira respectfully called out.


    Hearing such a voice, Ryu felt that all his pent up rage suddenly vanished. It was so gentle, too gentle, even. It reminded one of the floating clouds and the soft current of a spring.


    "Oh, Selheira, dear, didn''t I already tell you to stop calling me that."


    Selheira smiled lightly. "I must give senior his due respect."


    "Never mind, never mind. This is¡ª"


    Old Wan suddenly realized he didn''t know Ryu''s name. But, Ryu ignored him, having no intention of saying a word to this shameless old man.


    Seeing such a thing, Old Wan coughed awkwardly. Youths these days were truly too willful.


    "¡ªAnyway, this a new Inner Disciple of our Radiant Star Sect. Please take him around and help him get acquainted. Then, you can leave him to his own devices, no need to bother so much."


    "Yes, senior!"


    Despite being given such a task, Selheira didn''t seem dissatisfied at all.


    "Please come along," Selheira turned a gentle gaze toward Ryu before realizing that he was blind. "Oh, I am sorry. Please don''t mind, you can feel free to release your Spiritual Sense around me if it helps you feel more comfortable."


    Ryu nodded lightly, but he didn''t intrude on Selheira as she suggested. He simply stepped forward and fluttered onto the snow owl''s back.


    Selheira had been prepared to appease her steed, but to her surprise, her partner didn''t seem enraged by the new passenger at all. She couldn''t help but give Ryu another glance.


    "Don''t you dare bully that gentle little girl, brat!" Old Wan''s voice shouted as the snow owl began to soar into the skies once more.


    Ryu ignored the old man again, his mind on other things as though he was oblivious to the beauty right by his side.


    Since this old man wanted to piss him off, he''d be sure to flip this Sect upside down.


    Rules? Why would he follow them? In fact, he wouldn''t mind breaking every single one so long as he got the chance.


    Testing him didn''t come without its consequences.

 Chapter 927 Lnteresting Man

    Selheira blinked, a gentle smile spreading beneath her veil as she looked toward Ryu.


    She was quite curious. Old Wan was quite eccentric and seemed quite warm and bubbly, and that he was. But, it was almost precisely because of this that he was so distant to most.


    Many thought that the only way to keep people at a distance was by being mean and cold, but this wasn''t the case at all. In fact, Selheira herself was considered to be quite a gentle beauty of the Radiant Star Sect, and yet no one dared to cross the line with her. Her words were always carefully chosen and bred a certain respect that even the worst of hooligans didn''t dare to easily cross.


    Old Wan was a lot like this as well. But, oddly enough, Old Wan actually seemed to be quite close to Ryu¡­ no, that was the proper way to describe it. It was almost like Old Wan was looking for Ryu''s validation.


    It wasn''t quite exactly like this, either. Old Wan had his own pride, after all. It just felt like Old Wan was dancing to Ryu''s tune rather than the other way around. It was as though he was trying to toe a line his personality wasn''t used to toeing.


    This was, of course, the truth. Knowing how difficult it was to rein in people with Ryu''s personality type, Old Wan was being very careful with his word choice and actions, and this resulted in him acting a bit differently than he normally would.


    Usually, one would be able to pick up on this subtlety, but it seemed that Selheira was quite empathetic.


    Selheira smiled and turned away, not saying much. Ryu didn''t seem to be focused on her at all, his mind turned toward other things. It was a bit rare for a man to be so close to her in the first place, and for them to ignore her on top of that? This Ryu was quite a special character, indeed.


    Of course, it might be explained by the fact he was blind. But, blindness in the mortal and cultivation world represented two completely different things.


    With Ryu''s cultivation, he should be able to see just fine so long as he used his Spiritual Sense, it wouldn''t be much of a problem at all. However, despite getting her permission, Ryu didn''t bother to take her up on it, keeping his Spiritual Sense just as restrained.


    For a normal woman, this might make sense. But, Selheira knew well the sort of captivation her voice had toward men. And, for those that couldn''t hear its profundities, her scent alone was its own enticement.


    To put matters into perspective, Selheira''s scent was intoxicating to the point that she couldn''t stand to smell others. This veil acted to hide her appearance, yes. But its secondary function was to neutralize the scents around her so that she could live more peacefully.


    Knowing all of this, it was no wonder Selheira was a bit curious about Ryu. Her snow owl didn''t reject him, he was unaffected by her voice and her scent, and he didn''t take her up on using his Spiritual Sense. And for her, it was actually quite rare to run into a man who was taller than she was.


    He was an interesting man, for sure. But, that was all.


    Despite Ryu''s disregard, Selheira didn''t seem angry and simply maintained the silence he seemed to want.


    After a few minutes, the sights of the Radiant Star Sect came into view.


    The Sects of the True Martial World, at least of the First Heaven, seemed to be far less fantastical than the Sects and Clans of Sacrum. Ryu was used to floating islands, expansive winter wonderlands, countless moons hanging in the air, and formations that could hold entire cities up in the starry skies.


    Compared to these things, the Radiant Sect was almost¡­ bland. In fact, it looked not much different from the Sect ruins of the Natural Order Sect Ryu had taken advantage of in his youth. The only real difference was that this Sect wasn''t abandoned.


    Of course, it wasn''t an identical copy, it was just similar. The buildings and structures were built into the mountain where they could be. Where they couldn''t be, large swaths of mountain were flattened for convenience.


    The structures were relatively simple, and it looks as though anyone could have done it. The only real specialness of the Sect was its incredibly dense qi. Ryu had never experienced such a strong concentration of qi before. Just this alone made Sacrum look like a joke.


    Ryu understood that it wasn''t that the Radiant Star Sect didn''t want to form a fantastical home ground, it was more so that the laws of the True Martial World were far stricter. If they wanted to replicate what had been done on Sacrum, they would have to be far stronger. Maybe only those Clans and Sects of the Eighth and Ninth Heaven could replicate what Ryu had seen on Sacrum.


    But, Ryu had a feeling that when he laid eyes on those phenomena, it would be like the difference of night and day.


    The snow owl fluttered down from the skies, allowing Ryu and Selheira to glide to the ground from its back. Soon after, it flapped once and disappeared into the clouds one more, the strong gust of wind sending many disciples retreating.


    Selheira apologetically bowed her head to the disciples around, but they were all in a daze.


    Many of them had only seen Selheira from afar, that mysterious tall woman whom so many seemed to be infatuated with. But, as close as she seemed to everyone, she was also endlessly far.


    "My apologies, everyone. I''ll be more careful next time."


    Selheira was used to landing in a more powerful section of the Sect where the flight of her snow owl hardly bothered anyone. It seemed she had been a bit reckless this time.


    Seeing the tall beauty apologizing, many couldn''t take it and hurriedly shook their heads, apologizing instead as though they were lamenting the fact they were so weak.


    After this event, Selheira finally led Ryu forward, and they entered a building. It was maybe only then that those enamored by Selheira finally noticed Ryu. However, the women of the crowd had long since noticed him.


    When had their Sect gotten such a man? And why did he smell so good?


    "Ah, yes. I''m sorry, but I will need your name to register you properly. Do you mind?" Selheira asked gently, looking toward Ryu.


    "Ryu Tatsuya," Ryu responded.


    It was unknown if it was a coincidence or not, but the skies released a low rumble.

 Chapter 928 Commotion

    Selheira''s large blue eyes sparkled as she nodded. Using Ryu''s Inner Disciple badge, she finally officially registered him.


    This was a process that didn''t seem like it would cause much trouble at all. Even the elder that processed it only raised a brow and nothing else. After all, he was quite aware of Selheira''s identity, and he also knew that only an elder could provide a new disciple badge, to begin with.


    However, as Selheira began describing some things to Ryu, a huge commotion had already broken out.


    ¡­


    In the disciple square, or more accurately, the Inner Disciple square, a tall pillar took up center stage. Upon that pillar, a list of names that sometimes fluctuated appeared. It could be said that this list was one of the greatest entertainment features of the Sect. And it was precisely because of that that no one knew how to react when a new name so suddenly appeared without forewarning.


    The pillar grew an extra inch out of the ground, causing the square to rumble for a moment before everything settled back down.


    Ryu Tatsuya? Who was that?


    Those that had seen Selheira enter with Ryu earlier put two and two together and settled down. Realizing this, everyone found it easier to accept. Though it wasn''t time to accept new Inner Disciples yet, someone who could be personally escorted by Selheira probably wouldn''t be too bad. Plus, he was at the bottom of the list anyway and it didn''t affect them much at all.


    However, what no one expected was for there to be another individual in the ground that was looking toward where Ryu had disappeared with Selheira with wide open eyes. This young man was none other than Linus, the overseer of the first round of selections.


    "Holy shit¡­" he mumbled under his breath.


    A friend by his side caught wind of his reaction, and soon information about this Ryu Tatsuya was spread for all to know.


    Participated in disciple selections? Three years too old? Failed to make it through the second round?


    These sort of rumors spread. However, it was still fine while the news was still within the walls of the Inner Disciples. When things spread to the Outer Disciples, though, it was like a nuke had been set off, resulting in exactly the sort of reaction Old Wan had been expecting.


    The Outer Disciples were furious enough, but the top ten and most hopeful to become Inner Disciples during the next round of selections were especially furious.


    When news of Ryu''s Peak Immortal Ring Realm cultivation spread, it was as though oil had been thrown into the fire. Who had ever heard of an Inner Disciple of their Radiant Star Sect not even being in the Path Extinction Realm?! Even the weakest of the Inner Disciples in terms of cultivation was in the 4th Stage Path Extinction Realm! The strongest was already a few steps away from the Dao Pedestal Realm, approaching the Peak of the Path Extinction Realm!


    But then another nuke followed. Due to Ryu''s appearance, the quota for Inner Disciples this year would be reduced by one.


    This was like the straw that broke the camel''s back. Without even laying eyes on Ryu, an overwhelming majority of the Outer Disciples wanted to see him skinned alive.


    ¡­


    "¡­ Right, there are a few benefits you get as an Inner Disciple. You get to pick two techniques from the vault on this level for free. Of these two, you can only pick one cultivation technique. As for the other, so long as it doesn''t break this rule, you can pick whatever you like.


    "Some cultivation techniques are restricted to certain peaks. If you would like to learn one of the seven Radiant Star Cultivation Techniques, then you will not only have to become a Core Disciple, you will also need to pass the test of the Peak Head."


    Ryu would usually not pay much attention to this as he didn''t have any intention of breakthrough through to the Path Extinction Realm until he could find a Cultivation Technique that suited him. However, he had no idea how long such a thing would take.


    In the meantime, he would have to at least pretend as though he was invested in this Sect. Plus, he needed something to mask his Chaos qi and Primordial Chaos Qi. He couldn''t just keep pulling out powerful qis when it was obvious he was using neutral cultivation techniques. Plus, he wanted to see just what was so special about this world''s cultivation technique.


    If he didn''t understand this world first, then how would he know he came across a good cultivation technique when he finally did?


    "¡ªIn addition to this, you will receive ten Body Refinement Pills, ten Qi Refinement Pills and ten Flesh Mending Pills every month. If you want more than this, you''ll have to exchange with merits. You can gain merits by either trading in Qi Stones, though the exchange rate is not very good in order to de-incentivize such actions, or by completing missions.


    "On the topic of missions, you''ll need to complete at least one a month as well. The only way to dodge this responsibility is by climbing up either ten ranks within a month or by being within the top ten itself."


    Though Selheira said this, given Ryu''s cultivation, he really would just have to complete the mission. A rank jump of ten, even though there were more than a thousand Inner Disciples on the list, was a tall task. Every leap of ten was like a watershed, and every skip of a hundred was like entering an all new world.


    "¡­ Alright, I think that''s everything," Selheira said, handing the 30 pills to Ryu.


    Toward these pills, Ryu didn''t have much of a reaction. In his world, the names of these pills were assigned to Common Grade pills. But, they obviously wouldn''t give Common Grade pills to inner disciples, so it seemed that he had far more to learn about this world.


    "Then, I am off. Here''s a map of the Sect, it should help you navigate. Hm¡­ if you need my help," Selheira took Ryu''s badge back and tapped her own badge to it. The disciples inside who saw this almost fainted from shock, "you can contact me with your badge like this. Good luck!"


    Selheira smiled and seemed to almost flutter away.


    When she and Ryu walked out from the registry, though, the commotion had reached its peak.

 Chapter 929 One By One

    Even without spreading out his Spiritual Sense, Ryu could easily feel the amount of attention on him. But, it wasn''t enough to faze him in the slightest. This much was already something he had expected. He didn''t even turn his attention back to Selheira, who was quite stunned by the outcome. Having already memorized the map he was given, his steps pivoted, and he began to walk slowly toward his destination.


    Some in the crowd had had every intention of stopping Ryu, but they suddenly realized that there was a problem in their plans: the beauty right beside him. With Selheira clearly having been tasked with looking after Ryu, did they dare to do anything while she was still nearby? Which of them didn''t recognize this person?


    ? No one knew where Selheira had come from, and they weren''t even sure if she had an official title, but what they did know was that she received ample respect from the elders and even the Inheritor Disciples. She wasn''t someone they could afford to offend.


    Due to this, they could only gloomily watch as Ryu walked away, his steps unhurried as though he couldn''t sense the gazes on his back at all.


    Selheira was still a bit caught off guard by everything, but by the time she had snapped out of it, Ryu had already disappeared.


    Toward this, she could only shake her head with that same gentle smile. People would usually feel quite stifled around her, such a thing usually led to an odd situation where sometimes they would try their best to get as close to her as possible, before then finding excuses to leave soon afterward.


    It was as though their lust brought them forward, but then their instincts made them run. The cycle was perpetual, and even the elders of the Radiant Star Sect seemed to fall into this trap time and time again.


    But Ryu¡­ Well, he didn''t even seem to bother with her at all, let alone find an excuse to leave. He didn''t even say a word and just left.


    Of course, Selheira had already spoken with intentions to leave, so this wasn''t necessarily unexpected. But, it still left her a bit amused.


    Selheira didn''t seem to take this with any sort of special meaning. However, when the Inner Disciples saw how long she spent looking in the direction Ryu had left in, they were all left speechless, not quite knowing how to react at all.


    ¡­


    Ryu didn''t take long to make it to the technique center. Its design, though, made him raise an eyebrow.


    The so-called technique center was actually a cylindrical tower built into the very center of the main mountain peak. It was accessible from all levels, from the Working Disciples nearer the bottom to the Inheritor Disciples and elders at the very top.


    Depending on disciple rank, one could descend lower, but ascending was impossible, separating apart the tiers quite clearly.


    Ryu, of course, entered from the Inner Disciple levels. Since he had been given this opportunity, he wouldn''t waste it. Considering all the trouble he would likely have to deal with, if he didn''t take advantage, he would be too foolish.


    Would any of those clowns outside even believe he hadn''t taken advantage even if he didn''t? In that case, why should he hold back?


    The inside of the tower had a few disciples within, but not too many. Because only the first entry after every promotion was free, this tower couldn''t be visited willfully. In addition, even if it could be, the techniques within cost, with the only exception being, of course, the first entry.


    Those inside didn''t recognize Ryu, but they also didn''t say much. They had been here when the commotion broke out as many took their time picking techniques, so they weren''t aware of just what Ryu''s appearance represented.


    Ryu, also, didn''t bother with them, sweeping out his Spiritual Sense.


    The inside of the tower was very well organized and also enormous. Ryu was certain that there was easily an entire kilometer from wall to wall. The space inside wasn''t larger than the outside either, the tower itself just really was that large.


    Each technique was reserved upon its own pedestal, and they were separated into type and function.


    The floors looked as though they were floating on clouds, while the ceiling didn''t seem to be present, instead replaced by an expansive sky.


    Ryu knew that it was most likely just a simple formation, but it still made the technique room feel quite grandiose.


    Taking a step, Ryu made a line toward the cultivation technique section. His gait was light, but his speed was still quite fast. He crossed a distance of a few hundred meters in just a few seconds.


    There was no one else here, something that made sense. Cultivation techniques were the most expensive of all the techniques here, and many had already picked their one free option after crossing over to become Inner Disciples. Since this wasn''t the usual time to accept new disciples, Ryu was the only one who stood in this section.


    Due to this, his action attracted some attention, making some narrow their eyes. There was definitely something odd about this.


    Ryu, though, continued to ignore them.


    ''Whatever cultivation technique I pick now, it needs to work well with what I have now. Even if I don''t use it to break into the Path Extinction Realm, it still needs to supplement my strength in the right way.''


    Ryu''s thoughts were very straightforward.


    If he wanted to take advantage of his current strengths, he needed a cultivation technique that placed a ton of pressure on his meridians and his comprehension. In addition, it would also be best if this cultivation technique was able to take advantage of his 13 Immortal Rings.


    For now, Ryu''s Immortal Rings only pulled qi toward him. But, there were some Immortal Rings with special abilities on Sacrum, so he was sure that this would be even more the case in the True Martial World.


    With things like this, he began to check these techniques one by one.

 Chapter 930 A Simple Name

    Re-cultivating with a new technique wasn''t a huge deal, though it was a bit troublesome. Ryu was someone who had cultivated three techniques all at once even right up until this moment, there was no limit on such things. It was all dependent on your abilities.


    Reforming your foundations was a bit difficult, but so long as you had the talent and the qi control, doing this wasn''t a huge trouble. There were many examples of experts who had switched between cultivation techniques more than once in their lives.


    Of course, this wasn''t to say that there was no danger in doing this at all. And, this was especially the case with cultivation techniques of the True Martial World, and even more so for those that carried a hint of Dao Charm to them.


    The more powerful a technique, the more resistant it was to change. In addition, if you practiced a Yin cultivation technique, but suddenly wanted to switch to a Yang cultivation technique, you would really be seeking death.


    Re-cultivating required sustaining what you had already built, while building something entirely new. If these things were completely incompatible, they would definitely clash and lead you down the road of cultivation deviation.


    Still, for Ryu, this wasn''t a problem. All three of the cultivation techniques he practiced were neutral in origin.


    Six Realm Opening had given his Pulses and Vessels small realms of their own, essentially giving him additional miniature dantians he could store his qi in. He used these wells of qi to quickly access his Primordial Chaos Qis while maintaining the neutrality of his qi. He had 12 total.


    Abyssal Vortex Qi stored small qi cyclones within the Meridian Nodes. The level of perpetual control over qi Ryu needed to sustain this technique was immense, but it had never been too difficult for him. As time passed, it only became easier.


    Revolutions Amplifier was the simplest of the three, but also placed the most pressure on Ryu''s body. It increased the concentration of qi within his meridians, increasing the revolution of the Qi Refinement Realm.


    All three of these techniques were designed to increase qi reserves. Most couldn''t sustain even one of them, but Ryu used all three without great trouble. Chaotic Silk was a very strong material, having it make up his Meridians was most definitely a blessing.


    But, of these four, the most suicidal thing Ryu had ever done was follow through on Ailsa''s plan and form 13 Immortal Rings, using each one of these Pulses and Vessels as cores. That had truly pushed his Meridians to the very limit.


    Back then, it had been difficult. But, as Ryu''s Meridians continued to evolve, he found that he didn''t even think about or consider it anymore. It was already as easy as breathing.


    Since he had already pushed himself so far, he thought that he might as well push himself again.


    Ryu went through the techniques one by one. It was a built difficult for others to make judgments since only previews were available. But, Ryu had his own methods. He only needed to use his Dao to probe.


    At this moment, his Dao had become like his own personal scanner. With its foundation of Earth and Heaven, he was able to grasp the strength of something he was observing quite easily. Unfortunately, nothing caught his attention.


    It wasn''t that these techniques weren''t good. Each of them gave Ryu a shock as he had never seen anything like them before. Their ingenuity, creativity, and even just their sheer usefulness were beyond what he was used to.


    Once again, the complicated circulation patterns were done away with, and everything was very straightforward. However, what was the most curious was the introduction of comprehension with cultivation techniques.


    If Ryu wanted to cultivate faster, he would usually have to circulate his qi faster. However, with the cultivation techniques of the True Martial World, so long as his comprehension deepened, his cultivation speed would likewise increase.


    There was another problem that Ryu hadn''t considered before as well. Some of these cultivation techniques came with a set of combat techniques that also best utilized their strengths. There were Sword Sutras, Saber Sutras, Spear Sutras¡­ The list was endless.


    Rather than following the normal Initial Success to Great Circle of Perfection, some techniques were separated into three layers of comprehension, some four, some five. From what Ryu could tell, it seemed that the more separations there were, the more powerful the technique, though he wasn''t sure if this was true or not.


    Still, even with how fascinating all of this was, nothing truly stirred Ryu''s heart. He had hoped that he might luck into finding what his <Intuition> had wanted him to find, but it seems that things wouldn''t be so easy for him.


    Even after going through all of the Inner Disciple techniques, Ryu wasn''t satisfied, so he decided to go down to the Outer Disciple level, but he was once again disappointed.


    That was until he descended down to the Working Disciple ranks.


    The number of individuals within the Working Disciple floor was exactly one, Ryu alone. Working Disciples were the only disciples that didn''t get free entry, and their cost of entry was also greatly expensive, some had to spend decades of effort just for one entry. Plus, if you gained a free entry as an Outer Disciple, why would you ever go down to pick a weaker technique? Even Ryu wasn''t planning on doing so, he just wanted to expand his horizons. To him, even these ''low grade'' techniques were fantastical.


    As expected, there was nothing much. Even after going through half of them, nothing stirred Ryu''s heart.


    It was after he went through about 60%, though, that he came to a pause.


    Common Grade:


    .


    Ryu paused for a very long time, holding this jade in his hand.


    For cultivation techniques in the True Martial World, Grades didn''t work the same as they did for combat techniques. Common Grade usually meant it was best for Awakening Realm and Pulse Opening Realm cultivation to use. But, for a cultivation technique, it simply meant it was the lowest class of technique, you could still use it to cultivate the Immortal and Cosmic Realms.


    In this world, even the worst technique could bring you up to the Sky God Realms so long as you had the talent and the time.


    Such a simple name.


    .


    A simple name, for an even simpler, completely un-unique technique just about anyone could use.


    And yet, Ryu was fascinated.

 Chapter 931 Was This Lt?

    The technique wasn''t overly complex. But, in reality, neither were any of the other ones that Ryu had seen. The techniques of the True Martial World were inherently simple. By their very nature, they made cultivation as straightforward as it gets.


    However, even in comparison to others, this was even more simple. Though, just from a glance, Ryu could easily see just how complicated this technique could become.


    The essence of the technique wasn''t hard to grasp. You cultivated by refining pills. The medicinal fragrance of the pill was used to refine your qi and strengthen your body.


    Interestingly enough, the pill never needed to be swallowed. The technique relied on snatching the support the pill refinement process gained from the Heavens to then, in return, refine the body itself.


    To the Heavens, the greatest form of "pill" were Spiritual Herbs themselves. This was the "pill" processed and formulated by the Heavens for human consumption.


    However, cultivators insisted on taking this a step further, fusing together Spiritual Herbs to create greater and more powerful effects. This process was similar to a Dao, in that way. It was snatching more from the Heavens than it deemed appropriate to give.


    At their root, whether it was pill refinement or blacksmithing or formation mastery, all of these professions took the raw materials of the Heavens and used them as catalysts to take more than the Heavens had already given. By definition, they were stealing from the Heavens.


    This technique found a method of becoming a middleman in that process, cutting in and taking advantages that should have been left to the pill.


    It was as simple as it got. The more powerful the pill refined, the greater the benefits the pill refiner would receive.


    So, why was this technique so low-class, then?


    Well, the truth of the matter was that too much was reliant on the cultivator. The more Ryu thought about it, the less "simple" this


    seemed. While the circulation method was simple enough, nothing else about it was even remotely "user friendly".


    It was difficult to describe in just a few words how complex this technique was, especially for Ryu who had very little understanding of alchemy and pill refinement to begin with. Ryu had only just barely begun to dabble in Blacksmithing and only had two creations to his name, both of which hadn''t even survived to this point. And, of course, he knew even less about Alchemy.


    However, if he were to apply his knowledge of Herbology to try and extrapolate instead, the vastness of this technique''s scope left him quite speechless.


    The kind of Heavenly Favor you could snatch was entirely reliant on the pill you were refining. For example, if you had more Yin leanings, then you should focus on refining Yin type pills. This would give you the greatest benefits from the technique.


    This sounded straight forward enough, until you thought of all the paths something like Yin could follow. Even when it seemed that you were running along the same road, you could actually be clashing headlong.


    To wrap his head around this, Ryu thought of Herbology. Take two Yin type of Spiritual Herbs as an example: The May Flower and the Ice Veined Mercury Sprout.


    Both of these Herbs were Heaven Grade in Ryu''s world, both were Yin in nature, both were designed to soothe the soul and both could be used to calm the mind. In fact, their greatest benefit was in increasing the chances of entering a State of Meditation.


    Their purpose was exactly the same. On the surface, it would just seem that their names were different and other than that, they were nothing short of identical. In fact, it might even seem smart to take them together in hopes of maximizing the effects.


    However, any Herbologist worth their salt would spit in your face for even suggesting such a thing. This was because if you took both Herbs at once, even if they wouldn''t clash, their union would kill anyone below the Dao Pedestal Realm¡ªit was that lethal to take such an approach.


    The May Flower worked by causing a cascade of reactions in the mind that resulted in a flow of energy entering the Spiritual Sea. Upon entering the Spiritual Sea, the temperature of the Spiritual Sea itself would begin to slowly lower, thus causing a soothing effect on the mind.


    The Ice Veined Mercury Sprout, however, worked differently. It approached the heart first, causing a cascade of chemical reactions that coated the blood vessels of the body in a thin layer of Ice Veined Mercury. If one peered into the body during this time, it would look as though silver branches were taking root in the cultivator''s body.


    This process slowed the heart and the rush of blood, plummeting internal temperature and allowing the body to enter a state of deep sleep.


    By this point, one might be able to see the issue. Playing with the temperatures of the soul and the body wasn''t a joke in the slightest. In fact, the amount of power it took to forcefully lower an Immortal Cultivator''s body and soul temperature was beyond what most could imagine.


    If you took both of these Spiritual Herbs at once, you''d both force your body and your soul into a state of deep sleep. By that point, you''d be no different from dead. Your soul wouldn''t be able to keep your body alive, nor would your body be able to keep your soul alive.


    The result would be entering such a deep sleep that you would eventually die. Even after the effects of the Spiritual Herbs wore off, it would long be too late. You would never wake up again.


    Now, this was considered an extreme example leading to death. However, most clashing Spiritual Herbs were far more subtle than this, subtle to the point that it might only impact the overall result by one or two percentage points.


    This didn''t sound like a big deal, but what if these poor results accumulated over the course of years, decades, centuries, millennia, millions, billions, to even trillions of years? Would you still dare to say it wasn''t a big deal then?


    It was already terrible from a normal perspective, but what if this was the core of your cultivation path? These small and tiny little deviations over a long period of time would be enough to swallow even the greatest of geniuses whole, and that was just if you were using Spiritual Herbs.


    Pills were the result of a combination of Spirituals, sometimes dozens, and at the highest levels, hundreds if not thousands. On top of this, the refinement process would often change the core function of the Spiritual Herb as well. If you dried a Spiritual Herb and then refined it, it would have one effect. If you soaked it in a medicinal path to extract some unwanted components first and then refined it, it would have a different effect.


    And then there was the matter of how well you processed the herb to begin with. If you refined it poorly, its effects would deviate from the wanted target. Then you would have to multiply such variables over however many pills you needed to refine.


    On top of this, you would then need to consider the clashing effects of the Spiritual Herbs when they were combined, what residual medicinal energy still remained in your cauldron, the atmosphere you chose to refine in, what formations your pill concoction room used, there was even the maturity of the Spiritual Herb and the environment it was grown in to consider!


    Was it more humid than usual? What sort of predators did it survive? What sort of beast dung had it been fertilized in?


    All of these variables suddenly made the cultivation techniques of Sacrum seem overly simple to the point of being trash.


    One could normally mostly ignore these effects. So long as you had a method of expelling Pill Impurities, and you didn''t rely too much on pills, these sorts of variables wouldn''t bother you too greatly.


    However, if you quite literally had to rely on pills to cultivate day after day after day, then how could you ever avoid these effects?


    The worst part was that if you refined Heavenly Favor from a pill not perfectly compatible with yourself, it wasn''t nearly as easy as expelling Pill Impurities. And, from the very beginning, Pill Impurities weren''t a simple matter to deal with. Only high class Clans and Sects had methods to deal with them, and these usually relied on Natural Treasures that had existed for countless generations.


    Ryu''s fingers squeezed the jade, hard.


    He knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg. This Pill Refinement technique was considered Common Grade because it didn''t carry any of its own Charm. How powerful this technique became was reliant on the individual concocting the pills, what pill formulas one could get their hands on or what pill formulas one could create for themselves.


    However, this introduction also mentioned that this Cultivation Technique allowed you to also absorb what it called Heavenly Favor to strengthen your Dao and Inheritances as well. That added a whole other layer of complexities Ryu couldn''t even begin to fathom with his current knowledge.


    Was this it? Was this what his <Intuition> wanted him to wait for?


    Ryu knew that the answer to this question was no. It wasn''t his instincts calling out to him right now, it was something else, something that felt deeper.


    If he wanted to break free of his reliance on his Heavenly Pupils, then why was he still chasing after what it wanted him to do?


    This


    , this technique even Working Disciples neglected, he would take it and bring it to the top of the world.


    ''It''s called the


    , but nothing about it says that you can only do this with Pills. In that case, I''ll call you the <Refinement Sutra> from now on. I''ll take you on a journey to the top of the world.''


    The jade seemed to vibrate in Ryu''s hands, glowing with a barely perceptible light.

 Chapter 932 Technique Types

    Ryu had already made his decision and he wouldn''t take a step back from it. A technique like this one was absolutely perfect for his Dao, and he could already think of several avenues to proceed. But, he also wouldn''t rashly take any steps just yet.


    First, he would have to learn a lot more about alchemy. With his foundation as an Herbologist, his path would be far easier than anyone else''s. But, it would also be a bit more difficult than usual due to the loss of his eyes.


    However, Ryu now had another trump card: his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    He hadn''t forgotten that feeling he had experienced during that so-called tribulation. The lightning had leaked into his Spiritual Sea, only to be absorbed by his soul. However, what was fascinating was that not only was his soul just fine, but it even increased his comprehension of the lightning. The result of this was not only a deepening of his Thunder Character but also his Heaven Character. On top of that, it made splitting the lightning even easier.


    There was simply too little known about the Perfect Blackbody Soul in Sacrum. Ryu hadn''t known much about it other than the fact it made cultivation far faster.


    From Ryu''s perspective, that was all his soul could do in addition to some invulnerable characteristics. The ability to perfectly absorb qi it came into contact with wasn''t something that even Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body could do. However, his soul could accomplish it.


    What he hadn''t known was that in addition to being able to absorb all things, his soul seemed to carry some characteristics of his Dao as well. In absorbing things, it too was able to "Divide" and gain all the benefits that came with the deeper meanings of the word.


    Ryu wasn''t sure if this was an innate ability of his soul, or if it was something else, but what he was sure of was that this wasn''t something he would neglect and forget to take advantage of. If he could comprehend things by devouring them, then just what sort of benefits would that have? The combination of his soul and Dao would be unstoppable.


    If this thought was taken to its logical extreme, what could Ryu accomplish?


    Would he be able to learn the formula of a pill just by tasting it? Would he be able to guess the best method of preparing a Spiritual Herb by eating it once?


    In fact, he wouldn''t even have to eat it at all, just absorbing the residual qi of a pill or Spiritual Herb would be enough depending on the situation.


    ''I will have to see what information I can find out about my soul. It''s likely that the Radiant Star Sect has more in depth information about rare constitutions than Sacrum would have. I will go to their library after I finish choosing my next technique. It will be convenient because I''ll have to find some books on alchemy as well¡­''


    Ryu didn''t seem like a person who would diveheadfirstt into books, but it had to be remembered that as a child, he had spent years in the Tatsuya Clan''s library before finally coming out. And, even after that, it was a place he frequented almost every day. Much of his accomplishments had been built off the backs of books.


    The reason he didn''t show such fervor in recent years was obvious¡­ he already knew everything there was to know by that point. Or, rather, he knew everything that he wanted to know about. But now that he had stepped foot into a new world, he had no issues with diving back into that realm of silence once more.


    Ryu shifted gears and turned his focus elsewhere, gripping the jade in his hand as though it was far more precious than its Common Grade level would dictate.


    He could pick one other technique. Considering he already had two bow techniques and a movement technique, it didn''t really make sense for him to choose anything similar.


    He thought of picking a defensive technique, but quite frankly, he was still quite confident in <Immortal Sakura>. Also, if he began to tweak it and fused it with his own Visualization <Warped Ripple>, its strength could reach an all-new level, especially with his new comprehensions of the space element thanks to Yaana and the Silver Star Visualization.


    Ryu hadn''t used <Warped Ripple> in a very long time since he had already outgrown it, but it might be time to revisit it soon.


    This aside, Ryu also planned on continuing to use the bow for a little while longer. This wasn''t just for his grandfather, but also because he felt like he was close to grasping something new. At the same time, he didn''t have his Great Swordstaffs anymore either way. If he wanted to take a step in that direction again, he would either have to commission a new pair or forge them himself.


    Ryu was more inclined to do it himself, especially since he now had the <Refinement Sutra>. But, such a thing would once again require him to learn more about these worlds.


    One might wonder why Ryu wouldn''t just rely on the knowledge he already had. After all, on his first attempt, he had already managed to forge a Black Grade dagger.


    The issue was that that process had still relied on what Ryu knew from the world of Sacrum. Even if he hadn''t studied it thoroughly, with his level of expertise, some of these matters had still rubbed off on him and as such biased his views.


    Ryu wanted to know what this new world had in store for him. He felt no lingering attachments to his old ways, he just wanted to climb to that highest peak. Whatever method worked best was the one he would use.


    Coming to this point, Ryu felt that maybe he was being too narrow minded even now. The techniques he was avoiding now were just from a Sacrum lens. Sacrum pretty much only had three types of techniques, offensive, defensive and movement. But, what if the True Martial World had others?


    Realizing this, Ryu no longer restricted himself looking for exactly what he needed. Instead, he wondered about, looking out for what new techniques this world had to offer.


    Almost immediately, Ryu found a technique category that had never existed in Sacrum: Healing Techniques.


    It wasn''t that Sacrum didn''t have methods of healing. For example, Ryu had his passive Healing Factor. There were also the Ficia Faeries who were quite adept at it. And, there were of course, the most obvious, pills and Spiritual Herbs.


    Still, these things had great restrictions. You had to have a powerful body or Bloodlines to have a great Healing Factor, Ficia Faeries were the only Bloodline that could share their Healing Factor with others, and pills and Spiritual Herbs spoke for themselves. To form a pill capable of healing a Sky God, you''d need to spend a ridiculous sum of resources!


    But, this was much different. These techniques could stimulate one''s Healing Factor to a greater height, even if you had a poor bloodline.


    Some of the most profound ones worked similar to Ryu''s Spirit Bodies!


    Ryu could heal himself by absorbing Lightning and Fire, something he rarely had to do considering his innate passive Healing Factor. But, some of these techniques were also designed to absorb the elements to heal oneself.


    Just seeing this alone left Ryu quite stunned. These techniques could actually bridge the gap of the talent and the untalented.


    Well, it likely wasn''t so exaggerated. Ryu was only comparing these techniques to his current shackled Bloodlines. One they were unshackled, there was no way these techniques would be able to compare.


    But, this alone showed just how small Sacrum was as a world. Even their strongest Bloodlines could be matched by a Common Grade talent just with a single one of these techniques. It was baffling.


    After Healing Type Techniques, before Ryu could even calm down, he found Secret Type Techniques.


    Secret Techniques were similar to burning Blood Essence. In fact, many of them did require burning Blood Essence. However, in doing so, they could harness the energy to output far more strength than one would be able to on their on.


    However, this was only one type of Secret Technique. There were Transformation Type Secret Techniques that required the blood of beasts to catalyze. One could even gain a Draconic Humanoid Form like Ryu''s own if you managed to stumble into some Dragon Blood by chance.


    There were Movement Type Secret Techniques that focused entirely on straight line speed and running away.


    There was even a Life Saving Secret Technique! By cultivating a clone, you could evade a death blow and escape with your life!


    Each one of these techniques was more fantastical than the last. Ryu was once again shocked, again and again, having never run into such things before.


    But, once again, he hadn''t received the chance to calm his heart when he was struck by another revelation.


    Soul Techniques? Not Visualizations? What the hell are Soul Techniques?

 Chapter 933 To Dare

    The so-called "soul techniques" of Sacrum were Visualizations. In Sacrum, the soul was the core of the will. It dictated everything from comprehension strength to will power and disposition. Due to this sort of design, the "soul techniques" of Sacrum took advantage of this, branching out with this core understanding as its core.


    In fact, it was precisely because of this that Mental Realm Masters had once been banned by Leonel''s Tatsuya Clan. The ability to pressure another with your will and force them to do your bidding was a strength of the Mental Realm Masters and thus a key cog in "soul techniques" for a very long time.


    Still, aside from those that used the soul for such nefarious means, the rest of Sacrum''s soul techniques relied on Visualization. In the same way, Visualizations could be considered to be projections of the will. These wills took form and provided powerful effects.


    Of course, this was the more complex side of Visualizations, a side that went beyond just the comprehension and formation of Fundamental Runes into a novel and new form. However, what was the case 100% of the time was that the soul was a fragile construct that needed to be protected.


    No matter what form soul techniques took in Sacrum, they always treated the soul like a fragile porcelain glass. It was only when Ryu formed an Indestructible Soul that he dared to use his soul in a similar way to the methods these techniques described.


    Because of his Indestructible Soul, Ryu was able to project his soul out and use it to cast techniques he would usually only be able to rely on his meridians for. Of course, this wasn''t solely because of his Indestructible Soul, it was his Indestructible Soul that allowed him to dare to do so, but it was his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline that gave him the method of doing so.


    However, these techniques¡­ Not only did they allow someone without a special soul like Ryu''s to dare, it also gave them the method to do so!


    There were all sorts of such techniques here. The simplest of them were designed to jar the mind for split seconds, forcing an enemy into a state of lull at a critical juncture in battle to gain the upper hand. The most complex of them could even care illusions and force the mind of an enemy into a maze they had to either break or make their way out of.


    Of course, these more complex techniques were more involved and as such required more effort on the user. In addition, it wasn''t as easy to take advantage of the situation as it was in the former, simpler case due to how much concentration it took. These stronger techniques were thus only used as a final means or while with the support of a group or team.


    As for the simpler techniques, if there were offensive versions, there were, of course, defensive versions. Such an attack could be either greatly weakened or stopped entirely depending on the defense that was used and the talent of the soul cultivator.


    Between his Perfect Blackbody and <Divine Chaotic Annihilation>, Ryu didn''t feel he needed to worry about the defenses of his soul, at least not at this juncture. But its attacks¡­


    Ryu felt that this was the category he should choose from. How could he neglect his powerful soul? Since there were such techniques here, he would definitely have to learn one of them. And, since he was going to learn one of them, he might as well choose the most powerful one he was allowed to trade for.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t know enough about Soul Techniques to make a decision about which to choose. He could vaguely tell which ones were the most powerful, and he assumed that these were the ones that required what the introductions called "Soul Runes". But he was still in the dark.


    Realizing this, he decided that he would go to the library ahead of time and then return to this place after he had gotten his fill.


    However, when Ryu went to speak with the elder heading these matters currently, he learned that he would only have one free entry into this place. Even if he had another free technique to pick, he would still have to pay to enter. Although Ryu didn''t lack money, he didn''t like wasting it like this and he was already beginning to feel a slight pinch.


    Still, Ryu decided that it was better to treat his future more seriously as opposed to randomly choosing a technique he believed was powerful. So, he handed the elder the introduction jade for <Refinement Sutra>.


    The elder rose an eyebrow when he saw this, giving Ryu another look. He stared for longer than he usually would, probably because he realized that Ryu was blind. But, in the end, he shook his head. If he advised every disciple walking in and out of here, his tongue would have fallen from his mouth long ago. He didn''t have the time nor the patience, so he let them all do as they pleased.


    Maybe if this elder realized that Ryu''s status was a bit special, he would have deemed to say a little more. After all, the fact that Ryu had been allowed in at such an odd time meant that someone very high up had vouched for him. But, this lazy elder couldn''t even bother to advise disciples, so how could he bother to remember all their names and faces? To him, Ryu''s existence was just as new to him as any one of the other Inner Disciples. He simply didn''t care.


    At the same time, though, Ryu was glad he didn''t need to listen to any nagging. He wouldn''t have listened in the first place, so things were easier like this. Even Ailsa found it difficult to change his decisions, much less some elder he had only just met.


    Ryu nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the complete jade and walking out.


    What he didn''t expect was for another entourage of people to be outside waiting for him.

 Chapter 934 The Genius Of The True MartialWorld??

    Ryu didn''t quite know what to say other than that these people had way too much time on their hands. Could they be considered Inner Disciples?


    Ryu hadn''t really paid attention to the time he had spent there, but it had to be at least a day, maybe a day and a half. He had gone through and read so many techniques, taking his time and going through them all one by one. He just couldn''t believe that someone, no, several someones, would be so free as to wait for him all this time.


    And yet, rather than being embarrassed, the three of them all had sinister expressions on their faces as though he should be scared of their scowls.


    Ryu was a person who had faced an Eleventh Order Wind Dragon while in the Immortal Ring Realm without flinching. He had even fought a true Sky God of the True Martial World in Mistress Holy Wing. Was he supposed to feel intimidated right now?


    Despite this usually being a situation Ryu would lose his temper in, he almost couldn''t help but laugh. After all he had been through, this nonsense bordered on comedy. Is this what the geniuses of the True Martial World were up to?


    No, these people couldn''t be considered geniuses. They were the dregs of the First Heaven and Ryu''s aim was far beyond what they could imagine. They were lucky to be born here while Ryu was lucky to be given this talent he would slowly, but surely, unearth.


    These people before him were nothing more than jumping clowns.


    "Ryu Tatsuya, is it? I would advise that you make your way to the Outer Disciple Ring promptly. There''s someone waiting for¡ª"


    Ryu didn''t even divert his path, walking right through a gap in their trio formation as though they weren''t there. From what it looked like, he was not only blind, but also deaf. He couldn''t be bothered to deal with this nonsense at all. They were lucky that he had been amused rather than enraged.


    The trio were so stunned that they didn''t even react until Ryu was easily 50 meters away. Of course, this was also in part due to the fact that Ryu seemed to glide through the air. While his steps were unhurried, he actually covered extremely long distances with every stride.


    Snapping out of their stupor, the three vanished from their spots, crossing Ryu once more and this time squeezing together to block his path.


    "You¡ª!"


    Ryu''s reaction was swift, swifter than anyone would have ever expected. He had already let them off once in exchange for the laughs, but he had never been a fan of listening to others talk nonsense in front of him.


    When the middle of the three saw that Ryu was actually attacking, a sinister sneer twisted his average face into something far less than average. It looked like this was what he was hoping for all along. The fact that Ryu dared to do this already sealed his fate.


    He struck out with a palm, using over 80% of his strike. For a probing attack, this was already overkill. Most would only use about 30% to probe an enemy before slowly increasing over the course of a fight. The fact that this young man had chosen to use this much out of the gate made his intention shine through all too clearly.


    Ryu''s two pinched together fingers versus his palm, to him, the result was all too obvious.


    Someone who hadn''t even stepped foot into the Path Extinction Realm actually thought they could deal with him? He might have been at the bottom of the Inner Disciple rankings, but he was still ranked 9892nd. There were over a thousand spots between himself and a new recruit like Ryu.


    Just as the youth was feeling cocky, his palm slapped at nothing but air. The sound of whistling wind and compressed nothingness filled his ears for but a moment before two fingers shot through his throat.


    The disciple''s eyes widened, as did the eyes of everyone around him.


    He¡­ dared to kill?


    Ryu pulled his hand back and it was as though he had never pierced a throat to begin with. His long, slender fingers were just as unblemished as they always had been and those that were sharper noticed that his footsteps hadn''t faltered even a single time.


    He left a single afterimage, one that was almost impossible to track, and before anyone could blink, he was already back in the very same spot. No one present had profound enough attainments to understand just how great Ryu''s movement technique was, and Ryu obviously didn''t have the patience to explain.


    The two other Inner Disciples that had come stood frozen in place as Ryu walked between them and their companion collapsed to the ground.


    Just what had happened?


    By the time anyone realized that Ryu had broken one of the Sect''s primary rules, he had already vanished into the distance.


    ¡­


    Ryu had long since memorized the map of the Radiant Star Sect. So, outside of some seemingly forbidden regions that should be left untouched and were blacked out on the maps, he knew where pretty much everything was, including the library.


    The library was about the only place on the Radiant Star Sect accessible to all. As such, it was located on its own mountain. Said mountain was hollowed out entirely and filled to the brim with books and knowledge, much of which touched on either abstract concepts, raw truths, or unsubstantiated research.


    Entry into the library was probably the only free pass in the whole of the Sect. Ryu assumed that this was likely due to some policy passed by the higher ups, but regardless, it didn''t seem like many were taking advantage of this. The old female elder that allowed Ryu in seemed almost surprised to see a new face like Ryu''s, but she seemingly also calmed down assuming that Ryu would find what he needed and leave in a few minutes like every other new face seemed to.


    However, Ryu didn''t have any intentions of doing such a thing, he had plans on being here for a while.

 Chapter 935 The Bad News

    The Tatsuya Library was something not even the elders of their Clan could freely enter. Only Ryu and a select few others could since he was the son of their Patriarch and the grandson of their Saint.


    This was to say that knowledge was very important to those of the martial world, so much so that it surprised Ryu that it was so easy to enter the libraries of the Radiant Star Sect, and even more surprising that no one was taking advantage of it.


    However, Ryu wasn''t one to bother with the stupidity of others and the matter related to him killing a disciple had already been forgotten by him.


    After learning how the books were organized, he quickly found several books on the topic of soul and soul talents. When he opened the first, he was surprised to find that he actually didn''t know as much as he thought he did. Or, rather, Sacrum was far more in the dark than he believed. It seemed that there were some talents that simply didn''t appear in Sacrum at all.


    It wouldn''t be until Ryu left this section to read up on lower level worlds that he would come to understand.


    According to the books here, lower level worlds could sometimes breed talents that were high level, but they would be restricted by the weakness of the world''s Heavens and its Fundamental Runes. Essentially, Ryu''s current talent was no less in substance in comparison to a true Phoenix Bloodline of the True Martial World, the issue was that it was born under the weakness of Sacrum and was thus shackled.


    If one wanted to undo the shackles of their Bloodline or Talent from a lower world, they had a lot of trouble to go through, and there were different methods depending on what Talent you wanted to unseal.


    For Bloodlines, as an example, the best methods were beast meat, Body Realm Cultivation pills and Beast Cores. This was in order of most efficient to least efficient.


    It was also important that the class of the beast be exceptionally high. And it was at this point that Ryu realized that he had made a foolish error in judgment.


    The Astral Ship he had been on hadn''t fed him Heaven Grade beast meat like he had thought. Rather, it had fed him Black Grade beast meat. The difference was that these Black Grade beasts had been in the Immortal Ring Realm, or rather, the Seventh Order.


    For Ryu, who had come from Sacrum, the idea of a Black Grade beast reaching the Seventh Order was unheard of. And, the beasts that he was used to did carry nearly the same pressure as beasts from the True Martial World. So, he had made an error in judgment with his eyes sealed.


    But, this wasn''t entirely Ryu''s fault either. The Astral Ship had advertised it as Heaven Grade meat, and even the Sky God beauty that had served him also thought it was Heaven Grade meat as well. However, it was clearly a piece of false advertising, known to fool those like Ryu who came from smaller worlds.


    Of course, now that Ryu thought about it, the advertisements weren''t for Heaven Grade meat, it was more like "Heavenly Meat". Even if he went to complain, the Twin Phase Merchant Group would have plausible deniability.


    Ryu couldn''t help but shake his head. When had he, Ryu Tatsuya, ever been fooled like this before?


    Still, this was still a bit of good news. After suffering at the hands of Common Grade beasts like he had, if so much Heaven Grade meat could only unshackle his Bloodlines to the Black Grade, it would be too exaggerated.


    ''So, three months worth of Black Grade meat at the Seventh Order was enough to push my Bloodlines from the Peak Common Grade to the Lower Black Grade¡­ I''ll either need stronger Black Grade beasts, or I''ll have to see if I can find some Earth Grade meat¡­ Or¡­''


    There were two other options, and that was, of course, Body Realm Cultivation pills or Beast Cores.


    Beast Cores were the most efficient, especially those with Dao Runes. If Ryu found a single Black Grade Beast Core was a compatible Dao Rune for his Fire Dragon Bloodline, for example, he could instantly unshackle it to the Higher Black Grade. If he was lucky, maybe even the Peak Black Grrade.


    As for Body Realm Cultivation Pills, they had to be for the Blood Tempering Realm.


    Ryu had fallen out of the Blood Tempering Realm and back into the pinnacle of the Vessel Tempering Realm after his Rebirth, so these pills were perfect for him. Due to the point he was in his cultivation, it also wouldn''t raise any suspicion unless he went overboard.


    Unfortunately, unsealing his other talents would be far more troublesome, especially his Bone Structure.


    According to the books, in order to unshackle Bone Structures, one could only use two methods: Beast Cores and Dao Bones.


    Dao Bones were even rarer than Dao Rune Beast Cores were. Beasts with Dao Bones had had their Dao Rune Beast Cores for an extended period of time and managed to transfer some Dao Runes to their bones, multiplying their power several times over.


    Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body was actually considered to be at the Peak Black Grade currently, potentially due to his rebirth or its mutation, Ryu wasn''t sure. But, if he wanted to break free of its current restraints, he would need to absorb compatible Beast Cores, preferably ones with Dao Runes, and it would be even better if he could absorb Dao Bones.


    While unshackling Bone Structures was troublesome, unshackling Meridians was quite easy¡­ Sort of.


    Unshackling Meridians required nothing other than cultivating with high level qi of the True Martial World. The more quality qi your Meridians were baptized with, the better.


    For Ryu, who had access to the Chaos Plane of the True Martial World, this wasn''t difficult. In fact, so long as he started to cultivate once again, it wouldn''t be long until his Meridians directly broke into the Heaven Grade.


    The bad news though¡­

 Chapter 936 Infinite

    The bad news was that the progression of his Meridians was tied to his cultivation. The only reason he would be able to reach the Heaven Grade was because he was in the Immortal Ring Realm. In fact, he would only be able to reach the Middle Heaven Grade quickly because of this.


    If he wanted to break through this cap, he would have to enter the Path Extinction Realm. And, if he wanted to enter the Sovereign Grade Realms, he would have to break into the Dao Pedestal Realm. Only upon becoming a Sky God would he be able to return to the Ancestral Grade.


    But, one had to remember that the true path of the Chaotic Silk Meridians was unlocked by Ryu previously. This meant that his Meridians were no longer of the Ancestral Grade, but were actually of the Origin Grade.


    As for how far Ryu would have to go in the Sky God Realm to finally fully unseal his Meridians¡­ He, quite frankly, had no idea. The book didn''t have such information for him.


    Aside from this bad news, though, there was also great news as well.


    Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation and his soul all didn''t seem to require such dire straits. For the former, Ryu believed that this might be either related to the fact he had succeeded in completing all 13 Rites, or it just might be related to the secrets of the Phoenix Sky God. As for the latter, his soul, he couldn''t even begin to understand what was going on with it at all.


    He didn''t know what his soul had been doing in the Death Shrine, who left it there, or who had managed to unshackle it completely. He simply didn''t have such answers.


    If it had been his parents or grandparents, they would have let him know. But, the fact they said nothing meant they were in the dark about the matter.


    Ryu shook his head and refocused his attention. Now, he finally understood what was going on with lower worlds and how that related to his soul.


    The talents of lower worlds formed and passed on could be considered to be fragmented. This wasn''t fragmented in the sense that the talents themselves were incomplete, but rather in the sense that a lower grade Heaven didn''t have the ability to provide any and all talents. This was where the concept of Favored Races came into play as well.


    Because the Ancient Beast won over the Fey, the Heavens of Sacrum favored Beasts. This not only allowed Beast Bloodlines to be more easily passed down, but it even led to a result where Ryu could be born with four!


    It had to be understood that just because your parents had a Bloodline, didn''t mean you would receive it. And, even if you did receive it, it didn''t mean you''d receive a high concentration of it.


    Someone like Ryu could only appear in a lower world where beasts were favored.


    Likewise, it was exceptionally rare for soul talents to appear in Sacrum. This was why Soul Natures were almost unheard of. In fact, the only few with Soul Natures Ryu had ever meant were members or descendants of the Martial Gods, a people rejected by the Heavens of Sacrum to begin with!


    Ryu came to understand that this was why Sacrum didn''t know more about soul talents. In fact, the truth was that to the True Martial World, there were Six Pillars of Talent, not just Four like there were in Sacrum.


    Spiritual Foundation. Bloodline. Meridians. Bone Structure. Soul. And Dao!


    To the people of Sacrum, a Dao didn''t even become important until the Sky God Realm so it wasn''t considered a Pillar, and disregarding the fact Mental Realm Cultivation had been banned for a large segment of their population, Soul Talents were too rare to be considered a Pillar either.


    It was only after reading the information here that Ryu came to realize that Soul Natures, the very same talent that he, Ailsa and the rest of Sacrum held in such high esteem¡­


    Was actually the lowest rung of Soul Talent there could be!


    Well, lowest rung wasn''t exactly accurate since even Soul Natures could appear as Sovereign, Ancestral and even Origin Grade talents here. Rather, it was more accurate to say that they were the more common type of Soul Talent.


    As for Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul Talent? He didn''t even have the words to describe how rare it was even in this place.


    The Perfect Blackbody Soul Talent was considered to be Ancestral Grade on its own. But, what was especially special about it was that it had the ability to take on the character of its owner, and especially their Dao, Inheritances, and Soul Techniques.


    In this way, the Perfect Blackbody Soul Talent was a lot like the <Refinement Sutra>. It wasn''t a lower grade because it was useless, it was rather a lower grade because its abilities were heavily reliant on its owner!


    Why then was the Perfect Blackbody Soul Talent considered Ancestral Grade and not Common Grade like the <Refinement Sutra>? That was because even if you were useless in all other aspects, the soul cultivation speed of someone with this talent could be considered to be godly!


    Not only was cultivation speed godly, but someone with the Perfect Blackbody Soul Talent could endlessly expand their Spiritual Sea without breaking through to the next Realm. Meaning, theoretically, so long as the walls of your mind and your body were strong enough to contain it, you could make your soul both infinitely powerful and have infinite stamina.


    The best part was that if the Perfect Blackbody Soul Talent was born into a wealthy family, even if you were lacking Dao, Inheritances and Soul Techniques, you could feed it an endless amount of treasures.


    What was the purpose of this?


    Simply put, the Perfect Blackbody Soul can take on any Nature you want it to so long as you nurture it!


    This was why this soul went by two other names in the True Martial World¡­


    The Infinity Soul Or¡­


    The Infinite Soul Nature!

 Chapter 937 Thats Right..

    The more Ryu read about his own soul, the more he understood what had happened that day against the tribulation and the more shocked he was.


    While his soul was ranked within the Ancestral Grade, it could easily become more powerful than most Origin Grade Soul Talents. In fact, it could become more powerful than them all!


    Ryu was very tempted, he was tempted to turn his soul toward that Silver Star hovering in his Spiritual Sea and swallow it whole.


    Back then, when he first got his Perfect Blackbody Soul, it swallowed up his <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> and he hadn''t understood what was happening. But, now it made much more sense to him.


    <Divine Chaotic Annihilation> wasn''t the only thing his soul could swallow, it just happened to be what it was most compatible with.


    According to these texts, there was a mention of a Perfect Whitebody Soul and it was able to repel all things. These Soul Talents were two sides of the same coin, it was just that the Perfect Whitebody Soul was considered to be the pinnacle of the Origin Grade and even beyond, something this book called the Evolved Grade or something to that effect. It was very possible that it had gotten lost in translation.


    This aside, the Perfect Blackbody Soul was considered to be chaotic and heavily yin in nature, so it was very much inclined toward <Divine Chaotic Annihilation>.


    If Ryu wanted it to absorb his other Visualizations, he could. But, he had to be very careful. Nurturing his soul would take time and patience.


    If he wanted to absorb the Silver Star, setting aside whether it could or not without him imploding, this would mean that he would be gaining the Space Soul Nature.


    However, unless he absorbed something else just as powerful as the Silver Star, any other Soul Nature he tried to gain would be suppressed until it could catch up. That would mean Ryu would lose out on the strongest gift of his soul by being too greedy.


    The Silver Star Visualization was beyond anything Ryu could even begin to comprehend right now. Finding something equal to it might even be impossible. As useful as a Space Soul Nature would be, he couldn''t just paint himself into a corner due to a moment of recklessness.


    Ryu wondered, though, if he wanted a Spear Soul Nature or a Sword Soul Nature, how would he get it? Should he absorb spears and swords? That didn''t seem to make much sense.


    As Ryu kept reading, he learned why it was that his soul was considered to be so chaotic and yin in nature.


    The Perfect Blackbody Soul could absorb other souls and snatch what talent it had. It was similar to Little Nemesis'' talent, but on a whole other level. Not only could he take another''s talent, but he could take their memories and even snatch their Daos if he wanted.


    Someone else wouldn''t dare to snatch someone else''s Dao, but what about Ryu whose Dao encompassed Heaven and Earth itself? Wouldn''t taking another''s Dao instead strengthen his own?!


    ''It''s like¡­ This soul was specially constructed for me¡­''


    Ryu shook his head at the ridiculous thought. Soul Talent couldn''t just be snatched like Meridians or Bloodlines could be. Someone''s soul was the foundation of their being, you couldn''t alter it. If you could, whoever left Ryu''s soul for him would have long since taken it for themselves. Such a powerful Soul Talent, who wouldn''t want it?


    ''I see, interesting, so the Perfect Blackbody Soul also has these abilities.''


    Ryu realized that he had still been underestimating his soul. Ryu had reined in the nature of his soul too much.


    If he allowed his soul to begin to influence his Spiritual Sea, not only it, but his Spiritual Sense as well would undergo a fundamental shift.


    Once Ryu''s Spiritual Sense gained the Blackbody characteristic, everything that touched it would feel as though it was sinking into an ocean.


    At its weakest application, Ryu''s Spiritual Sense would feel no different from an empty void, formless and undetectable.


    At a medium level application, it could swallow up someone else''s Spiritual Sense, distorting their senses and making them feel as though they were sinking into darkness.


    At the highest levels of application, so long as someone touched Ryu''s Spiritual Sense with their own, he could swallow their soul.


    Reading to this point, Ryu almost couldn''t control the beating of his heart. This was the first time he had seen the strength of an truly unshackled talent of the True Martial World and it left him without words. Was this the power of a talent without chains? Was this the pinnacle of Existence?


    Ryu subconsciously released his soul. Looking into his Mental Realm, he did nothing as his Perfect Black body sunk into his Spiritual Sea.


    Very quickly, a vastness of beautiful gold, rippling with illusory waters and waves began to turn an ink black. Soon, the only color that remained at all were the flames rotating about his soul and the bright Silver Star that hung above it all.


    Ryu felt his mind tremble. Even without trying Spiritual Qi rushed toward him, catalyzing from normal qi and fueling his soul. In the blink of an eye, Ryu''s soul felt like it had been reborn, shedding the faulty qi of Sacrum and overturning it for the perfect qi of the True Martial World.


    Then, it stepped into the Middle Soul Birth Realm as though it was just a casual stroll in the park.


    Ryu exhaled a breath, forcing all of this to come to a halt. His breakthrough had caused a slight commotion, but it was ultimately still the Soul Birth Realm, barely the Immortal Realms of the soul and not enough to cause an uproar. In fact, he could sense many amused gazes as though they all found this little junior brother of theirs cute.


    However, only Ryu knew just how shocking this had been.


    He spent practically no time on his soul, mostly due to the inherent biases he had against it as a person born in Sacrum. However, he knew well that every step of the soul was worth far more than most.


    There were only five Soul Cultivation Realms if one ignored the sixth, Soul Quintessence. However, there were 12 Qi cultivation Realms. Taking a single step in the former was akin to taking more than two in the latter, and that didn''t even consider the fact that all Soul Cultivation Realm were broken into four pieces, while some Qi Cultivation Realms were divided into nine or more!


    Ryu went from the very bottom of the Soul Birth Realm to the Middle in one inhale. It quite literally could not get more exaggerated than this! It made his Ice Jade Crystal Body look like a joke of a Talent!


    Ryu shook his head. It was about time he stopped patting himself on the back and focused his attention on the books that were here for alchemy. He wanted to see just how he would apply this new Soul Talent of his toward this field.


    However, just when he was going to move, several strong auras descended outside the library and a huge commotion was swept up.


    Ryu looked up a bit confused before a hint of realization overcame him.


    ''Oh, that''s right. I did kill someone.''

 Chapter 938 Didnt Care

    Ryu closed the book he was reading. They had taken longer to find him than he thought, so much so that he had already been here for several hours.


    The truth was that Ryu didn''t know the rules of the Sect, but most Sects regardless of background, unless it followed some sort of obscure, degenerate path, would have rules against disciples harming one another. It was just basic common sense.


    Of course, it also happened to be common sense that Ryu didn''t care to observe. He had little patience for such things. He simply didn''t care.


    If he had joined the Sect through normal means, he would have, at most, crippled his "oppressors". But, since he had done so off the back of Old Wan, then he would act as he pleased. Commanding him around didn''t come without its troubles.


    Ryu casually walked out of the library to find a group of stone faced elders. There were three of them in total, and they could be considered to be quite the lineup. Though, Ryu had no idea why they would send so many experts after a small-time Inner Disciple like himself.


    Every one of these elders were in the Cosmic Seed Realm, the true Cosmic Seed Realm. When they were younger, they had probably been Outer or Inner Disciples. But, after failing to reach the mark to become a Core Disciple or higher, they became lower tier Elders instead.


    Elders were divided into the same ranks as disciples, excluding Working. So, the lowest tier of Elder were Outer Sect Elders. But, considering the fact that Ryu was an Inner Disciple, at least in name, at least one of these three was an Inner Sect Elder.


    As expected, Ryu''s deductions were correct. The stone faced elder in the middle of the other two was, indeed, an Inner Sect Elder. He with by the name of Elder Li and he was in the second tier of disciplinary hall members.


    The two elders to his side, Elder Kai and Elder Guo, were both in the first tier and were Outer Sect Elders. It was likely that these two were only here because the reports of Ryu''s whereabouts came from disciples in their jurisdiction.


    Ryu hadn''t bothered to hide his movements, so when he made his way down, many had seen him. In fact, those who learned of the news afterward all believed that Ryu had run, it wasn''t until the reports confirmed that he had entered the library.


    The female elder frowned when she heard all the commotion, and it only deepened after Ryu walked out. But, she didn''t say anything.


    When Ryu appeared before the three elders, the pressure they exuded seemed to multiply several times over, causing the ground to quake to the heavy winds to rush over Ryu.


    Ryu, who had been uncaring to this point, frowned. However, because he could say anything, a somewhat shrill voice spoke out.


    "What the hell do you three think you''re doing? Is my territory a place you can just stomp around on as you please?!"


    Ryu only raised an eyebrow when he heard this, but the three elders reacted as though they had had their tails stepped on. Their auras receded like a like. No, it felt more like a tsunami. They rushed to hide their strength so quickly that Ryu was pretty sure he sensed at least two of them suffer backlash from the endeavor.


    At that moment, a small old lady walked out of the library, a cane in one hand. Without asking for Ryu''s input, she suddenly used her free arm to wrap around his own, leaving him quite speechless.


    For one, this woman definitely didn''t need his support. He couldn''t see through her cultivation entirely, but she was most definitely beyond these three by no small measure.


    Second, even if she did need his support, Ryu wasn''t the type to go easy on others regardless of age or gender. But, he realized he couldn''t even bunch a step with this old lady holding onto him. It was as though his only choice was to obediently be taken advantage of.


    "E-Elder Aika¡ª"


    The stone-faced elder turned docile and hesitant on a dime. Quite frankly, he wanted to slap his own forehead for forgetting that such an old coot was here. Why someone of her standing insisted on being in this place was beyond him, but what he did know was that this person had been here for so long that even he forgot about her.


    It wasn''t until just now that he snapped out of it.


    Elder Aika didn''t really care about anything normally, but when she did decide that she cared about something, dealing with the fallout would cause even the Sect Patriarch a headache.


    "Hurry up and scram!"


    "B-but¡­"


    "But what?" The annoyance on the old lady''s face only seemed to be growing with each passing moment. Her cane even rose from the ground, a strong swirl of qi threatening to attack.


    "This¡ªThis disciple killed a fellow disciple of his!"


    It took all of Elder Li''s strength to finally squeeze these words out. He hoped that this would at least change things for the better. However, what he heard next almost made him faint.


    "And? Why should I care about a trash disciple who doesn''t even know the value of knowledge?!"


    It wasn''t until this point that Ryu understood why it was this woman was doing this. It seemed that she was fond of disciples who took reading and literature seriously.


    With how fast cultivators read, how much information could they consume in just a few seconds? Let alone a few hours?


    Elder Aika was very used to new disciples like Ryu popping in for a few seconds or minutes before leaving in a rush and never coming back. It was very, very rare for any of them to stay as long as Ryu and even seem like they wanted to stay for more on top of that.


    Beyond this, she didn''t care about anything else.

 Chapter 940 Grand Elders Words

    Enlightened Alchemy. The name intrigued Ryu, especially since, as the language buff he was, he could see several meanings for it, each seemingly more profound than the last. This path seemed absolutely perfect for his Dao.


    With how many talents Ryu had, it was often him, or rather, mostly Ailsa, trying to find a method to streamline and simplify his path. He was talented in too many areas and go down too many rabbit holes to be left to his own devices. While it might sound fun for him to suddenly become a master of everything, such a title would only stick with him at the lower levels.


    As he began to increase his strength and quickly rose up the peak, his so-called master of everything title would quickly turn him into a jack of all trades who had no mastery whatsoever. Even Ryu wasn''t arrogant enough to believe that he could stretch himself so impossibly thin.


    However, in recent days, it felt more and more like his talents were being brought together into one.


    His seemingly unrelated Inheritances fit nicely into the eight trigrams diagram. Then, he managed to fuse his Daos and Inheritances together into a single form that could be divided and combined at will. Well, it would reach that point sometime in the future. And now, this Enlightened Alchemy seemed like a perfect fit for both his chosen cultivation technique and his Dao.


    What was the foundation of the eight trigram diagram? Wasn''t it an attempt at representing Existence itself? And this Enlightened Alchemy seemed to want to refine Existence itself. They were like to sides of the very same coin, both creating, but in different facets and down different paths.


    ''I need to start now.''


    After Ryu had made his decision, he wouldn''t waver on it. He already had the flames he needed, but he had yet to begin cultivating his Yin Water Seed. His grandfather had started his Lightning Seed for him, but now Ryu didn''t have such a luxury. If he wanted to start on his Yin Water Seed, he would need a high level catalyst. Or, at least a quality one to his current self.


    The ideal situation would be for him to create a Yin Water Seed that was just as robust in strength as his Phoenix Flames, but that seemed quite unlikely.


    Ryu''s Phoenix Flames were in the Ruler Realm currently. In fact, from what Ryu had seen, they were in the True Ruler Realm. Likely because Ryu had comprehended the Realm so many times in Sacrum, it had risen to the standard of the True Martial World.


    That meant that Ryu would need a Yin Water Seed of at least that strength if he wanted to concoct to his fullest potential. If he couldn''t, then he would have to lower the strength of his Phoenix Flames until they matched up with whatever Yin Water Seed he managed to grasp.


    There was no choice in the matter. It was either Ryu go and find it himself, or he could go to an auction house that already had it.


    Both had their troubles. Obviously, the former route would be dangerous. Such natural treasures were often heavily guarded, and that was if Ryu could find it in the first place.


    As for the auction house route, setting aside the danger of accepting such a treasure without backing, even if he could afford, who was to say that there wouldn''t be any families who chose to monopolize such a thing first? With how valuable it would be, it should surpass even a low level Dao Rune Beast Core in value.


    Such a treasure wouldn''t have its rarity decided by a grade. Even a Common Grade Yin Water Treasure of a certain caliber would be highly sought after.


    Even if most wouldn''t be able to cultivate a Yin Water Seed like Ryu, and only Phoenixes would be able to cultivate one with Life Characteristics like he could, Yin Water treasures had used far beyond this. So long as you had the proper affinity or foundation, they could help with breakthroughs at a critical time, they could help improve your comprehension of a Cultivation Technique, and they could strengthen your Dao or Inheritances. In fact, it could do all of these things at the same time!


    ''No, this is too important. I will take a look at the auction houses around here first, but if I don''t find anything, I''ll go myself.''


    Ryu closed his book and stood.


    He was confident and the root of that were the evolutions to his Spiritual Sense and the eight trigram diagram that formed the foundation of his comprehension.


    This diagram, especially when coupled with strong senses, was very sensitive to treasures related to its eight cardinal directions. In fact, this was the very same diagram Ailsa used to find natural treasures for him.


    Of course, back then, Ryu''s use of the diagram wasn''t anywhere near as good as Ailsa''s. But now, all of that would change.


    In the past, all Ryu could do was read. But now, he could read and put things into action. This was the charm of wielding your own power.


    ¡­


    Ryu quickly left the library to the astonishment of Elder Aika, she had definitely thought that he would remain holed up here for as long as possible. But, he didn''t make such a decision.


    In fact, Ryu went right up to the Inner Disciple mission exchange and chose a few missions closest to areas of dense coldness and yin. Then, he unceremoniously left as though he couldn''t sense the shocked and apprehensive gazes of those around him.


    Ryu was a man who forced the Sect''s rules to bend around him without a care. There had never been anyone like this before, how could they not pay attention?!


    However, while there were those that were shocked, there were also those that felt cold and infuriated with righteous indignation. If the rules of the Sect could be so easily ignored, then how could they stay whole? How could they trust this place they had poured so much into?


    Of course, there were also those who were far less righteous than this, and a few of them took note of Ryu''s leaving the Sect.


    Still, they hesitated. Ryu was clearly favored by the Sect, what would happen if they were caught and punished?


    But, that was when the words of the Grand Elder lit a fire under them.


    "Kill him if you can."

 Chapter 941 Why Would He Know?

    Ryu had no idea that a pair of old men were trying to get revenge for his arrogance. Clearly, they believed that if Ryu wanted to be so bold and petty, then they could play along as well. What they didn''t know was that even if Ryu had known about their machinations, he wouldn''t have cared in the first place.


    Sending more people after him? Wasn''t this like sending lambs to the slaughter?


    Ryu no longer had to be restrained by his Spiritual Sense thanks to his Perfect Blackbody Soul, it felt like the old days when he could use his <Third Perspective> with impunity. In fact, it felt even better than that.


    Ryu was a bit surprised by this reality, but after a moment, it made sense.


    Currently, Ryu''s soul was a True Ancestral Grade Talent. In fact, it was more like an Origin Grade Talent downgraded due to its difficulty of use. However, Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils had been born in Sacrum and were, as well, restricted by its limited laws.


    If Ryu had been born in the True Martial World, unlocking all 999 seals would have made him a monster. Even Elena''s father wouldn''t have been able to defeat him so easily.


    So, it was no wonder that his current Spiritual Sense was far stronger than his <Third Perspective> had been in the past.


    With Ryu''s greatest weakness now gone, what did he have to fear? Even if the Heavens suddenly attacked him again, it would be impossible to catch him off guard.


    Ryu blatantly blanketed his surroundings as he moved, both so that he could get used to this new feeling, and seeing if he could truly use it as unsparingly as his <Third Perspective>.


    To Ryu''s shock, his Spiritual Sense didn''t seem to have a limiter on it. No, it was more accurate to say that his Spiritual Sense was capped not by his Spiritual Qi and Sea, but rather by his Focus Qi.


    Ryu felt that he could keep pushing his Spiritual Sense further and further, but after about ten or so kilometers, the speed of the expansion slowed considerably, and the strain on Ryu increased as well.


    Ryu had a feeling that in Sacrum, blanketing even after the entire Plane wouldn''t be an issue. But here, the restraints were far more stringent.


    Still, Ryu was more than happy with this result and he restricted his Spiritual Sense to about a kilometer. Since he lost access to the Prayer Mat, he had to be more careful with how he used his Focus Qi so this was the best option for now.


    ¡­


    Ryu soon made it to his first auction house. He decided to focus only on the largest ones in the area, and within the Province, there were three.


    It took him about a month to travel to all of them and check their inventories one by one. As he traveled, he completed his missions swiftly and without a care. In fact, by the end of the month, he had already completed as much as three years worth of missions and wouldn''t have to worry about this for a long while.


    Ryu had noticed that there were some people following him despite the fact they thought they were being stealthy in the first week, but he just as easily lost them. Even though he could kill them, he felt that it was a hassle.


    He had spent most of his time within cities and they had rules against murder as well. He could ignore the rules of Radiant Star, but he wasn''t arrogant enough to dive head first into more danger unless someone provoked him more blatantly.


    ''The three auction houses weren''t bad, but they still didn''t have exactly what I needed¡­ the quality wasn''t good enough¡­''


    Of the three auction houses, two of them had Yin Water Treasures for sale, one had a Common Grade treasure and the other even had a Lower Black Grade one.


    Depending on the Yin Water Treasure in question, the method of telling their quality apart was likewise different. However, with Ryu''s expertise, he was able to differentiate them even without being overly familiar with the two particular strains.


    All he could say was that they weren''t good enough. They would catalyze his Yin Water Seed into awakening, but both were of such low quality that the Seed would at best be of Common Grade. The only way to overcome that was with quantity, but obviously, he wouldn''t be able to find such a thing here.


    The only method was to head into nature.


    Ryu looked upon was billowing snow plane, the frigid air licking at his skin. It had taken quite some time to trudge to this location as no transport dared to step foot here. In fact, if it wasn''t for his awakened Spiritual Sense, Ryu wouldn''t have dared to come here easily either. It was only because he could dodge the beasts before they spotted him that he dared be so free.


    However, what amused him was that two people had actually followed him. What was amusing about it was that these idiots would have been killed with a single swipe of any one of the beasts he had helped them to dodge.


    If by some miracle they actually managed to kill him, how would they even leave this place without his Spiritual Sense? Didn''t that mean that they would die no matter what the result was? Ryu was baffled that people who called themselves cultivators could be so stupid.


    Seeing that Ryu had paused, the individuals rushed forward, feeling that this would be the best chance they could get.


    They glared at Ryu, their auras menacing.


    It had been almost half a year now, almost half a year since they had been chasing this bastard. They had thought they lost him until they suddenly stumbled upon him at an auction house a few days ago.


    This was maybe the only reason Ryu hadn''t acted to kill immediately. He was curious about who these people were. Why were they following him, because they clearly weren''t from the Radiant Star Sect.


    "Where is that white-gold haired bitch with the vicious mouth?! Tell me and I might let you off lightly!"


    Ryu blinked. Somehow, he knew exactly who this person was talking about.


    "Isemeine?"


    Why would he know where she was?

 Chapter 942 Danger!

    "So you do know her!" Dob''s expression became several times more sinister.


    He had had a belly full of hatred for Ryu for a long time now. The trio had wasted months travelling from their usual stomping grounds all the way here, only to somehow lose Ryu entirely.


    They were, of course, citizens of the True Martial World. But, as with many who couldn''t hack it in this world, they left to find opportunities elsewhere. Some of them would get lucky enough to stumble onto chances and come back stronger than ever. But, the lucky chance that should have been for them was snatched away by Isemeine!


    This was the real reason why they were so infuriated. Every time Dob thought about it, he ground his teeth down another layer. It was suffocating to the point he found it difficult to breathe.


    But the bottom rung of the True Martial World cultivators, joining a Sect or powerful Clan was impossible. The only path they had was to try and steal from lower level worlds.


    Much like Sacrum, other lower level worlds often had astounding treasures. Their only flaw was that they were formed beneath weak Heavens, but such a weakness could be fixed so long as the one who gained them returned to the True Martial World and invested a bit more.


    Sometimes, if you were really lucky, an investment wouldn''t even be necessary. Just time and patience would be enough. And, so long as the powerful cultivators of the True Martial World left to smaller worlds, they could extend their lives by thousands of times with ease.


    In such a case, they would just need a good hiding place and patience. In fact, there was even an entire business model centered around this where the most trusted bank of the First Heaven would safely store such things for you!


    By now, though, it had already been over a hundred years since their run-in with Isemeine, it was impossible to tell where she was or what she had done with their lucky chance. The harshest truth was that Isemeine might be far beyond what they could handle now due to that very lucky chance itself!


    Dob wasn''t willing to admit this to himself just yet, but he knew that this was likely the truth. He wouldn''t be foolish enough to go after Isemeine after all this time even if he ran into her, but he definitely wanted to vent some hatred and frustration.


    "Just die!"


    Dob was so furious that he didn''t even consider anything else and just attacked, having every intention of killing Ryu.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. The aura of a Quasi Dao Pedestal Realm threatened to overwhelm him.


    He had somewhat forgotten that this was no longer Sacrum. He couldn''t leap over three realms of cultivation to do battle like he could in the past, and he also didn''t have his eyes which was a negative to his overall combat strength. This didn''t even mention the fact he couldn''t casually use his Bloodline Talents or his Chaos Qi either.


    However, there was good news. He still had his powerful soul, and Dob and his companions couldn''t be considered geniuses. In fact, because they had spent so long touring smaller worlds, their cultivation realms had actually regressed and their foundations became poorer as a result.


    The Silver Star Visualization stirred and Ryu shifted, his body vanishing and reappearing¡­


    A mere half meter away?


    Ryu shook his head and sighed. It seemed that his comprehension of the Silver Star Visualization wasn''t deep enough to travel any further. But, this much was still enough to dodge Dob''s attacks.


    Ryu glilded backward, activating his movement technique <Whispering Petals> to about 0.1%. Even so, his speed was so fast that he left after-images in his wake, widening the distance to 10 meters in the blink of an eye as he pulled out his bow.


    In what looked like one swift motion, Ryu released three arrows at once, each spiraling upon the other and fusing into one just as they appeared before Dob''s chest.


    Dob, who hadn''t expected a mere Half-Step Path Extinction Realm pup to be able to dodge in the first place, was taken off guard. And that movement technique, what was that?!


    They knew that Ryu had gone to buy techniques before he boarded, but that was definitely a Dao Charm technique just now. It couldn''t be that Ryu had learned a Dao Charm technique to Initial Success in just a few months, right?!


    Dob felt a cold sweat trickle down his back, but he still roared and punched out, shattering Ryu''s arrows like they were glass.


    "Surround him!"


    Dob''s junior brothers, or more accurately, lackeys, were in the Seventh and Eighth Path Extinction Realms respectively. So, when they acted, they did so with ferocious speed, their steps gliding atop the thick snow as though it was solid ground.


    Ryu''s eyes flickered with a green color, the eight trigram diagram appearing once more. This region was too dangerous to have a prolonged battle. He would crush them swiftly and leave them no path of retreat!


    With his diagram, Ryu was able to mask his Inheritances as though they were Daos, hiding away the true talents of his Bloodlines as though they came entirely from his own comprehension. And, once he unleashed them, the power was not small!


    The Water Rune in the eight trigram diagram blazed to life, a furious blue color shooting out from Ryu as though beams of light.


    He pulled his bowstring back once more, the dark gold of his Glove of Order leaping to action as it transformed from a glove to gain the scales of a black dragon and form a gauntlet once more.


    A radiant blue arrow took form, sparkling ice shards falling from it like radiant crystals.


    Ryu released that subtle feeling blooming in his heart.


    The eyes of the trio widened, their hearts trembling. They couldn''t understand the profundity of Ryu''s arrow, but something about it screamed danger to them!

 Chapter 943 Not Happy

    [Fallen Apostle: Mana Sense, book 2 of the series, is available for pre-order now!! Link below]


    "Together!" Dob roared.


    His lackeys abandoned their pincer attack, sliding back with a practiced ease and placing their hands on Dob''s shoulders before all three punched out at once.


    Ryu raised an internal eyebrow. It was rare to see such a poor attempt at team work, but he still had to admit that the result was powerful. These three had more raw strength than he did to begin with, his only option was to overwhelm them with skill and comprehension.


    The three of them shattered the arrow of ice, but the residual energies began to crawl up their arms, the harsh cold eating away at their protective qi coats and eroding them.


    Dob realized that if he just stayed back and let Ryu increase the distance, the results would only get worse and worse for them. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fist and shattered the ice threatening to cover his arm and shot forward, circulating his own movement technique to the extreme.


    Ryu could tell that it was just Heaven Grade technique. While it lacked Dao Charm, what it lacked was made up for by Dob''s deeper comprehension and the fact it was a Peak Heaven Grade technique. It was clear that Dob rarely brought out this technique to avoid incurring the greed of everyone around him. But, with the situation like this, he still decided on bringing it out in the end.


    The coldness in Ryu''s gaze only grew more prominent. Large Success Heaven Grade technique? Still not enough.


    Ryu tapped his foot again, raising his use of his movement technique to 0.5%.


    His body tore across the snow landscape like a ball out of a canon, the distance between himself and Dob beginning to increase instead of decrease like it had been.


    His fingers reach for his bowstring once more, his bow being raised up.


    As though blazing meteors, three ice arrows shot forward, appearing before Dob before he could even react. He tried to punch out, but he missed. The impact to his chest caused him to cough up a mouthful of blood, but he hadn''t even landed on the ground yet when two more arrows appeared before him, crashing into the very same location.


    On the third impact, his qi skin shattered and his body was assaulted by the cold from all sides.


    ''It actually took me three head on strikes.''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. These True Martial World cultivators were, indeed, powerful. Even though only the Water Rune had lit up just now, it was still being influenced and supported in part by the other seven runes. If Ryu had to guess, even with him holding back like this, it was still more powerful than most True Daos and probably matched Lineal Daos in strength.


    And yet, it took that much. It seemed that Dao couldn''t breach cultivation gaps that easily in the True Martial World.


    To put this matter into perspective, most only had Common Daos on the First Heaven, it wasn''t until the Third Heaven where Lineal Daos would start appearing and not until the Fourth where they were commonplace.


    There were some exceptions to this, but they were very, very rare.


    The fact that Dob had taken three strikes and even survived them was a wakeup call to Ryu. In this place, he couldn''t just take comprehension to be the end all be all. Foundation and cultivation were very important factors as well.


    "Dob!"


    The two rushed over toward him, but why would Ryu allow them to do as they pleased? Dob might be able to survive, but how could they?


    Ryu''s cold gaze sharpened, releasing four more arrows in quick succession.


    The two lackeys were caught off guard. Something about the speed of Ryu''s arrows seemed even faster than before, a tempest of Bow Qi ripping through their defenses and needling cold wind and qi into their inner organs.


    They froze in place, their bodies quickly turning into ice statues.


    "No, no, no!"


    Hearing Dob''s screams, the two men felt somewhat touched, they hadn''t thought that Dob cared so much. But, what happened next left their midns blank¡­ Not because they didn''t know how to react, but rather because they had their lives.


    Dob''s roars formed a crater of snow around him, the solid earth beginning to tremble somewhat.


    Ryu didn''t even need to think to understand. This was definitely a Secret Technique, but it was already too late to stop it.


    A tattoo on Dob''s back burst apart and formed a bloody rose that sent vines of crimson through the skulls of his two companions. In one moment, they had been turning into ice, and in the next, they had become piles of ash.


    Dob''s own aura skyrocketed, shattering the barrier that had stifled him from so long and stepping into the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    The oppressive danger that Ryu felt multiplied several times over as the qi of Dob''s Spiritual Foundation sprung to life, flooding his meridians.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted as he could feel Dob''s Dao actually strengthening as well. It seemed that this man''s Dao was related somehow to that flower coming from his back. While it was still a Common Dao, it had evolved to the Third Immortal Dao Level, two steps beyond Ryu''s.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    This was shocking. Usually, a Dao would be a Level beneath your current Realm even for a genius. But, Dob''s was actually on par with his just like Ryu''s own! Ryu was absolutely certain that this had to be related to the Secret Technique.


    Dob''s eyes went completely red, his Dao flourishing. As it did so, the qi in the surroundings began to sapped away, making Ryu''s next arrow weaken considerably and almost fizzle out.


    Ryu''s gaze only grew colder at this result.


    If Dob wanted to play, they could play.


    "Take Form and Conquer the World!"


    The skies suddenly rumbled, causing Ryu''s expression to change.


    These were the words he used to summon his Immortal Rings but the First Heaven didn''t seem to be happy with them.


    A strong pressure descended upon Ryu, seemingly wanting to shatter his Immortal Rings entirely and stop them from appearing at all.


    Just as Ryu faltered, Dob was already attacking once more, his strength several levels what it had been before.


    And, as though that wasn''t bad enough, half a kilometer away, a Black Grade Ninth Order Wolf Beast caught the attention of Ryu''s Spiritual Sense.


    It stood up, his eyes radiating a piercing blue as it shot forward.


    In a single bound, it had already crossed over 20 meters. In just a few more seconds, it would be here.

 Chapter 944 Did It Think?

    [Check out my new novel, Spirit Beast Enlightenment! 20 chapters out already!]


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a cold light.


    A mere First Heaven actually dared to be so arrogant after it had just finished being the lackey of a higher Heaven? Did it think Ryu had already forgotten?


    At that moment, the eight trigram diagram in Ryu''s eyes lit up, the Heaven Character roaring to life.


    "I said¡ªTake Form and Conquer the World!"


    Ryu''s words roared out like the bellow of a dragon.


    In the slight lull, Dob had already appeared right before him, his fist mere inches from Ryu''s chest. In the final moments, Ryu''s Immortal Rings shattered the air and took form, a violent and oppressive might ripping apart the gravitational pull Dob seemed to have had on the qi in the surroundings.


    A flood of strength overwhelmed Ryu. The kind of power he suddenly gained access to as his 13 Immortal Rings floated to his back was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.


    He hastily formed a qi barrier between himself and Dob, the latter''s fist being blocked for an instant at the final moment before shattering it.


    Ryu''s body curled, his figure being flung outward like an arrow loosed from a bow.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, but his gaze only grew colder. Although his internal injuries weren''t bad and would heal in a few minutes, he was still pissed. To think even after feeling such a great boost to his strength, and even halving Dob''s own by snatching away the ability of his Dao, he would still be so heavily injured.


    Dob was like a madman, chasing after Ryu. But, with his Immortal Rings summoned, Ryu began to display the true charm of <Whispering Petals>. The movement technique wasn''t designed to maximize straight-line speed like Ryu seemed to be using it for. Rather, it was best known for agility, its wistfulness and elusiveness.


    With his Immortal Rings present, the 1% cap of Initial Success rose tenfold, making it feel as though Ryu was already in Small Success.


    Dob lashed out again and again, each one of his fist strikes leaving craters in the snow and his steps melted away the landscape.


    ''Dammit.''


    Ryu could feel his Focus Qi rapidly draining as he sustained his Immortal Rings. The First Heaven was still fighting back to wrest control from him even now. Without a choice, Ryu had to use his Heaven Character to crush the First Heaven''s Intent, but that was quickly eating away at his Focus.


    The only path, especially with the wolf beast quickly approaching, seemed to be to use his full Dao and kill Dob as quickly as possible. But, if he did that, how would he deal with the wolf? It was already impossible to run away by now. Soon, the wolf would come out from those dense trees and lock eyes with him.


    ''My Focus Qi shouldn''t be this weak. I don''t believe that a true Ancestral Grade Soul has such a weakness. There''s something I''m missing.''


    Suddenly, Ryu''s gaze snapped in a certain direction out of habit despite his blindness. He locked onto the corpses of the two lackeys, his Spiritual Sense surging.


    Like a rolling fog, a dense blackness overwhelmed what remained of their shattered corpses, pulling out the last dregs of their soul and swallowing them whole.


    At that moment, Ryu''s soul reacted as though it had eaten a scrumptious meal, surging with energy it hadn''t had before. It was only then that Ryu realized that his soul didn''t provide a boost to his Focus Qi like most other soul talents would because he could swallow up nutrition to replenish it when it was needed!


    Ryu felt a burst of strength, his soul even threatening to break into the Higher Soul Birth Realm right this very instant.


    He slid past Dob''s next punch, wrapping around him.


    The wolf beast was already within 100 meters. Ryu would have been able to see its figure through the dense trees with even normal eyes had he not lost his sight. By this point, even Dob should have been able to sense the beast, but he seemed to be entirely focused on ripping Ryu to shreds.


    Ryu flipped the situation on the battlefield, twisting his hips and rounding around Dob again. His back now faced the coming wolf beast and he shot backward with the same speed and grace as always.


    ''Come be useful.''


    The wolf released a roar. In another bound, it closed the remaining distance swiping for Ryu''s back.


    Ryu''s Immortal Rings trembled in the skies, threatening to shatter beneath the might. This was something that actually shocked Ryu, he didn''t think it was possible to directly attack Immortal Rings like that, but it seemed that the manifestation of Immortal Rings were far more tangible in this world than they were on Sacrum.


    Without a choice, and unwilling to find out what would happen if his rings shattered, Ryu released them, the pressure on his mind also vanishing like the wind.


    The paw of the wolf beast crashed downward, ready to crush Ryu to pieces. Even being of the Ninth Order, the beast wasn''t too large, barely being four meters tall. Still, its paw was large enough and its claws sharp enough to rip Ryu in two if they should connect.


    However, at that moment, Ryu''s leg pressed against the ground, his thigh bulging.


    <Whispering Petal>. Small Success.


    Ryu''s became like a bullet out of a barrel. His sudden shift in speed was so great that the wolf missed, swiping at the air and sending a scythe of wind toward Dob.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    Ryu vanished beneath the body of the wolf, his void-like Spiritual Sense cloaking him as he disappeared from the wolf''s senses.


    It was all too perfectly timed, even with the earlier slip up.


    Dob and the wolf clashed. And, without Ryu''s suppression of his Dao, Dob''s power imploded to another degree once more.


    Ryu slipped into the trees, leaping onto their branches and hiding in the foliage.


    He breathed heavily, the injuries to his inner organs slowly healing.

 Chapter 945 Fluttering

    [Check out my new novel, Spirit Beast Enlightenment! 20 chapters out already!]


    Ryu watched the fight coldly. Both the wolf and Dob were considered to be of the Ninth Order, or, rather, the Dao Pedestal Realm equivalent. The wolf had spent far longer in the realm and was more well established on top of being a Black Grade beast. As for Dob, his Dao was relatively powerful and he was only on an adrenaline high due to his Secret Technique.


    Even still, Dob was being unceremoniously thrashed by the wolf beast. Ryu once again got a wake up call about just how powerful beasts were. However, he was also relieved that Dob was just powerful enough to occupy the wolf beast in time for his escape.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he continued to watch. At some unknown time, Little Silk found her way back to his shoulder, her wings beginning to flutter wildly.


    Ryu felt the chilly wind on his cheek and couldn''t help but turn his attention toward the little butterfly. The little guy seemed to want something from the wolf beast, but its task left Ryu speechless. Little Silk sure was shameless, she never did anything for him, unless you count a few casually made robes, and yet she was actually asking for this.


    Ryu shook his head and turned away. If it wasn''t for the fact his mother had left Little Silk for him, he would have punted the little runt a long ways away.


    However, Little Silk''s fluttering became more persistent and the chilly wind licking at Ryu''s cheek only grew more intense.


    Ryu turned and glared down at his shoulder, but Little Silk just kept fluttering.


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t much of a fan of this little butterfly, even though it looked quite beautiful. During their first meeting, it tried to kill him for his Bloodlines. Then, during the battle against the Martial Gods, it had been useless. And, finally, somehow, despite not showing any use at all, it gained a favor from his mother and gained something Ryu had yet to see the use of.


    Half of him thought that the reason he had yet to see Little Silk be useful was because she was simply too lazy. But, his more rational side was a bit more understanding. After all, despite raising so many talented beasts¡ªor, rather, watching as Ailsa raised them¡ªRyu never really learned how to fight with them.


    So, he couldn''t really blame Little Silk even if he wanted to be unreasonable. After all, there wasn''t anything the little butterfly could do if Ryu never gave it the chance to help.


    ''Fine, I''ll give it a chance.''


    Ryu stood from the branch, brandishing his bow and waiting.


    He wasn''t planning on draining his strength like this unless he absolutely had to, but since Little Silk was being so insistent, and since she had been given to him by his mother, he would give her just this little bit of face.


    Ryu held out his body, taking deep and calm breathing. The eight trigram diagram slowly rotated in his irises, but his fingers continued to lightly rest on his bowstring, leaving it in its original position.


    His Spiritual Sense blanketed the battlefield, watching for every little movement, and every small weakness. Even as Dob was being torn limb from limb, his left arm having been severed and his organ meat hanging out grotesquely from his gut, Ryu still didn''t move.


    He immersed himself in a subtle, unrelenting feeling, feeling himself getting closer and closer to it with every deep breath.


    Just when it seemed that Ryu would do nothing at all, his arm abruptly moved, pulling the bowstring back to the point his back was stretched tight.


    The eight Characters in Ryu''s eyes all lit up, a raging torrent of wind forming a spiraling cyclone upon his bowstring.


    <Roaring Sky Serpent>. Large Success.


    BANG!


    As though Ryu had seen through the future, the wolf raised its head to howl out its victory the instant Ryu released his bowstring. The timing was so perfect that the wolf was already howling and didn''t even hear the roar of Ryu''s arrow. It entirely assumed that its own roar had simply become far more majestic than it had ever been before.


    However, those thoughts only lasted for a moment before the roof of its mouth was pierced through by an arrow. It borrowed its way through, entering its brain and grinding the fleshy matter to minced meat in just a few split seconds.


    The roar of the Sky Serpent echoed again, but this time, within the wolf beast''s skull.


    BANG!


    The wolf beast''s skull expanded by about 50 percent before it settled back down to its original size. But, by then, the howling wolf''s gaze had become dim.


    Ryu breathed heavily, chest moving up and down as he coughed up another mouthful of blood. To his back, his Immortal Rings slowly faded and his body settled down. But, the coming fatigue came in waves, making his knees feel weak.


    Ryu''s qi reserves were actually doing just fine. After all, qi stamina was never something he would lack. But, the assault on his Focus was something entirely different. Still, he had the remedy for that right before.


    Ryu shot forward, swallowing both the wolf beast''s soul and Dob''s. Almost instantly, he broke into the Higher Soul Birth Realm and his Spiritual Sea became flushed with energy. He couldn''t even stop himself before he broke through again, entering the Peak Soul Birth Realm.


    The more powerful Ryu''s soul became, the more comfortable he seemed to become in using his Dao. The Soul Birth Realm was just the start of the Immortal Realms, so it was no wonder he had such a hard time supporting his Dao which was at the same level.


    The main issue was that he had yet to take full advantage of his soul yet. He could expand his Spiritual Sea almost infinitely without breaking through. He should definitely take advantage of that, so long as his body could handle it, so that he wouldn''t have to worry about such things any longer.


    The larger his Spiritual Sea became, the stronger his Focus Qi would be.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    Ryu ignored Dob for a moment, he knew he had to be quick. The wolf beast was probably an overload of this region, so it bought him some time. But, it likely wouldn''t be long before beasts smelt blood.


    Little Silk fluttered over. It was time to see what the little runt wanted so badly.

 Chapter 946 The Trouble...

    Before Ryu could do much of anything, Little Silk''s thread rushed forward, puncturing the corpse through in several places. Ryu could only watch as the blood, even down to the bone marrow, was all sucked away by the greedy little butterfly.


    By the time Little Silk was finished, even the meat had lost its vitality, making it completely useless to eat. Let alone using it to undo the shackles of his bloodlines, it could be a miracle if his Bloodlines didn''t regress instead if he dared to put just useless meat into his mouth.


    Ryu sent a glance toward the little butterfly, quite speechless. But, surprisingly enough, right then, the aura of Little Silk began to change.


    Before, Ryu hadn''t felt much different from the little butterfly. Though he knew that something had to have changed in the almost thousand years he was absent, without his eyes, it was too subtle for him to pick up.


    However, after swallowing the wolf beast whole, that subtle change became more obvious to Ryu, especially thanks to his soul''s Spiritual Sense.


    Little Silk was an Eleventh Order beast originally. But, right now, it seemed to be giving off the aura of a Fourth Order one.


    What was amazing, though, was that while being of the Fourth Order, Little Silk had the complete aura of a True Sovereign Grade beast. It was after seeing this that Ryu finally understood what happened.


    Using a special method, Ryu''s mother had likely traded Little Silk''s cultivation in exchange for undoing the shackles of place on her by Sacrum.


    Logically, Little Silk''s cultivation alone shouldn''t have been enough to do this. Ryu had a feeling that his mother had done more for him than he knew, probably even harming her foundation even more just to make sure that he didn''t enter the True Martial World truly alone.


    Ryu smiled somewhat bitterly and shook his head. No wonder she didn''t tell him about it. Her foundation had already been harmed once, saving his life, and she had harmed it again to help this greedy little butterfly to unseal itself.


    While Little Silk''s cultivation had plummeted, the might of a True Sovereign Grade Beast was most definitely monstrous. The current Little Silk might even be stronger than Ryu himself despite there being three cultivation Realms between them, this was especially the case since Ryu had beast Bloodlines that could be directly suppressed in the face of a stronger beast.


    Ryu''s current Bloodlines were only Black Grade. There was still Earth Grade and Heaven Grade before he even made it to Sovereign Grade, let alone the fact that Little Silk was at the Pinnacle of the Sovereign Grade, just a step away from Ancestral Grade.


    But, the best part was that Ryu was only human. As much of a part of his strength his beast Bloodlines were, he would never experience the same kind of suppression a true beast would.


    What did that mean? It meant that now that Little Silk finally gained the catalyst she needed to start displaying some of her strength, her use to Ryu, especially in this wilderness, had just multiplied several times over.


    From a greedy and quite frankly useless little butterfly, Little Silk had suddenly become Ryu''s greatest trump card.


    "Not bad." Ryu nodded, a light smile playing on his face. It seemed that Little Silk hadn''t conned him after all.


    ? Little Silk arrogantly flapped her wings before landing on Ryu''s shoulder, her little antennae sparkling with radiant energy.


    Ryu chuckled but didn''t say much. The little one did finally have some capital to be arrogant.


    Right now, Little Silk seemed to be of the Lower Fourth Order. With her current Pinnacle Sovereign Grade Bloodline and presence, anything up to a Lower Ninth Order Common Grade beast shouldn''t dare to fight her.


    "Alright, let''s see if we can get you to the Fifth Order, then we can venture deeper in."


    "~Mii!"


    Little Silk fluttered happily. She spun around Ryu, creating him a new and stronger set of robes that seemed even more beautiful than the last pair.


    Ryu smiled and let the little one do as it pleased before he locked onto a new target. Feeding a True Sovereign Grade beast would be a problem, especially since there were only Common and Black Grade beasts in this region.


    Still, Ryu could only be thankful. If there were stronger beasts, he would be finished. Little Silk''s strength spoke for itself, so there was no questioning the caliber of beasts in this world. Without a choice, he could only hope to make up for quality with quantity.


    As expected, it was difficult. They no longer had Dob to rely on and a Ninth Order Black Grade beast was beyond the two of them to handle. So, their best bet was to target Eighth Order Black Grade beasts. This was the best combination of strength and talent the could match.


    In addition, these beasts had to be compatible with Little Silk to maximize efficiency, but since they were already in a dense land of cold qi, this wasn''t too difficult to find. In fact, it was the easiest criteria to meet.


    Ryu ignored anything that wasn''t a Ninth Order Common Beast or an Eighth Order Black beast. And, he was sure to steer away from anything that was even remotely close to a beast above the Ninth Order, a population of beings that was much too large for his liking.


    It took an entire two weeks and hundreds of kills before Little Silk finally broke through and entered the Fifth Order.


    Their little duo had killed over 130 Eighth Order Common Beasts and over 80 Ninth Order Black Beasts. The unfortunate part was that they had likely caught themselves quite a bit of attention as well.


    Beasts were intelligent. Suddenly seeing so many of the territories they had gotten used to emptied out, many raised their guards and became more alert. Toward the end, it became more and more difficult for the two to make their move.


    But, with the goal reached, Ryu was still mostly satisfied. Raising Little Silk to the Sixth Order would be a tall task. Still, for now, she should be able to suppress Tenth Order Common beasts and Ninth Order Black beasts. The latter skill was especially important because Ninth Order Black beasts were in high concentrations deep into this territory. Without being able to deal with them easily, the risk would be too high.


    Of course, Ryu had been ready to deal with this risk earlier, but now that he didn''t have to, why not take the more forgiving route in exchange for two weeks of his time?


    Feeling that the ire of the beasts was growing, Ryu began to head deeper into the mountain range of snow, his senses primed. He extended his Spiritual Sense from a one kilometer radius to two. With the beasts growing more powerful, one kilometer simply wasn''t enough to react. If Ryu could help it, he would have liked to extend it more, but even with his ability to swallow souls to replenish himself, he had to be more careful.


    He couldn''t afford to go on a killing spree this deep into beast territory, so swallowing up large amounts of souls was a no-go. He would only fight battles here when he absolutely had to.


    Ryu''s eyes began to glow, the Water Character pulsing. He allowed a special sort of pull to carry his steps in a certain direction.


    With the amount of concentrated Yin Qi in this region, anything that Ryu''s Water Character would react to was guaranteed to be a higher class treasure. This was the benefit of a region like this.


    Of course, the downside was that the likelihood a beast hadn''t found it first was very low.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    Such treasures were very good at hiding from Spiritual Sense, but when it came to a method like Ryu''s or the instincts of a beast, they were quite helpless in this regard.


    Ryu entered another forest of trees, his steps so light that he left not a single mark in his wake. His movement was fast, but not hurried. Every shift he made was calculated and filled with purpose.


    It took him three more days before he had finally reached his first destination. He hid high in a canopy of trees, watching a small spring below.


    It was only about ten meters in diameter, but it had an unfathomable depth. In addition, it gave off heat as though it was a hot spring, but the frigid air told a different story entirely.


    ''This should be the Trembling Frost Fog root. It has the effect of lowering temperature, but its odd qi also has the habit of lowering the freezing and condensation point¡­''


    This meant that under the presence of this Spiritual Herb, water needed to become much, much colder in order to become ice. And, likewise, gas needed to become much, much colder to become liquid. This led to a state where it could give off fog like this, and yet still be freezing cold. And, by the same token, there could be a body of water here that would also freeze you to the core with a single touch.


    Ryu had, of course, read up on all the Spiritual Herbs and Treasures he could find information on before leaving, and this one was very good. It met his requirements for forming his Yin Water by a great margin. It was high quality and had great evolution potential.


    The trouble was¡­


    There was an Eleventh Order blue-scaled Serpent sleeping right by it. And, it was of the Pinnacle Black Grade.

 Chapter 947 Unexpected

    Ryu watched in silence for a long time.


    The blue-scaled Eleventh Order serpent seemed to be in a deep state of slumber. However, just by virtue of its aura alone, most creatures in this area wouldn''t dare to approach it while those who were not afraid of it wouldn''t want to get into such a battle without cause or reason.


    The snake coiled around the spring such that getting near it felt like an impossible task. You would have to cross over its body to make it there. By that point, when the instincts of the snake, you would easily find yourself in a life and death situation.


    However, if anyone was watching right this moment, though, their hearts would leap into their throats.


    As though he was tired of living, Ryu jumped down from his hiding spot, landing on the ground without even the slightest sound.


    He moved forward as though he was on a leisurely stroll, stepping forward to the point he was a mere arm''s reach away from the coiled snake.


    After several minutes of observation, Ryu had realized that this beast was actually in a deep state of sleep. Every time it breathed, it would suck in the cold air of the Trembling Frost Fog Root and use it to further refine its body. From what Ryu could tell, it was trying to evolve its Bloodline into the Earth Grade.


    However, it seemed that this beast was only about a dozen or so years into this process, it would take at least two or three more cycles of at least this long for it to even get close.


    Of course, that wasn''t to say that this serpent couldn''t wake up. It was in a deep state of meditation, but its instincts and senses were still just as sharp. It wouldn''t be stupid enough to leave itself so exposed. After all, the martial world was a cruel place, especially to beasts.


    The problem for it, though, was that Ryu had wrapped himself in his Void Spiritual Sense, a name that he felt was quite fitting. With its eyes closed and it being in a sleeping state, the snake could only sense its surroundings with its own Spiritual Sense. When it detected something, it would spring into action and assault whatever target was foolish enough to step into its territory.


    But what the blue-scaled snake could have never expected was that there would be someone capable of dodging its sensory defenses entirely.


    Now, though, there was a second problem for Ryu to face.


    Even without stepping into the spring, Ryu was already shivering as some of the frost licked against his skin. The worst part was that this was just the frost that the snake hadn''t absorbed with much of the rest being taken into the gap in its scales as it continued to refine its body.


    It was cold.


    Ryu wasn''t very used to feeling the impact of the cold. With his Ice Phoenix Bloodline, he had always been immune to such things. But clearly, that would no longer be the case in this world, at least not until he managed to reclaim the power and strength of his Bloodlines, or rather, return them to the states they should be in.


    Ryu exhaled a breath, his gaze becoming cold as violet scales slowly manifest about his body. Soon, even a twin pair of horns made their presence known. Only after this did Ryu finally stop shivering.


    The boost to his strength his draconic form gave him was not small, but he only dared to use it in a situation like this where he was sure that there was no one around to observe him.


    Still, Ryu wasn''t finished, making sure that the Void Spiritual Sense around him remained thick, he also began to circulate Primordial Chaos Fire Qi in his body. The almost scorching heat almost made him sigh as though he had entered a sauna.


    Unsurprisingly, the Primordial Chaos Qi of the True Martial World was even more tyrannical than that of Sacrum. Being connected to this world instead brought Ryu an amazing boost in power that could not be underestimated.


    But what was surprising was that Ryu didn''t feel the same sort of backlash he had felt in Sacrum. He was ready to shred his inner organs apart, but none of that happened this time around.


    Somehow, the Primordial Chaos Qi of the True Martial World was both several times more powerful, and also more docile? Ryu couldn''t really understand why this was or how it could be.


    Unless¡­ Was it his Perfect Blackbody Soul?


    Ryu''s eyes widened, thinking of a possibility. He suddenly felt far less fearful of this Eleventh Order beast.


    With a step, Ryu hopped from the edge of the spring, over the snake''s coiled body, and landed right at the very center of the spring.


    The sizzle and pop of heat meeting cold sounded. But by then, Ryu had already begun to sink into the surroundings, the frigid cold around him reacting quite amiably and with far less volatility than the previous fog.


    Ryu sank deeper and deeper and eventually he laid eyes on the Trembling Frost Fog Root. However, it was right then that something unexpected happened.


    Usually, with Ryu''s luck, this would mean something bad. But shockingly enough, it was the direct opposite of that.


    As though a dry well finally filled with fresh waters, Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians danced to life, breaking through the shackles of the Middle Heaven Grade and entering the Higher. In fact, now that Ryu was paying attention, he realized that it was still rapidly improving.


    Ryu watched in shock. This obviously wasn''t because of the Yin Water treasure. No, this could only be because of the Primordial Chaos Qi.


    Ryu had thought that he would need to have continuous breakthroughs in cultivation before he could finally unleash the full strength of his Origin Grade Meridians, much like anyone else who had come from a lower level world to Sacrum.


    But he had neglected one important thing, his Meridians weren''t like the Meridians of others. His Meridians were connected to a Plane of Existence that was capable of constantly supplying him with higher level qi.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    Even if he couldn''t use this qi personally, just opening up the pathway and allowing the connection would passively temper his Meridians!

 Chapter 948 Bed Of Ice

    Ryu felt like slapping his forehead. Now that he thought about it, it made too much sense.


    When he fought those Hidden Blade Sect Working Disciples, they had only seemed to be interested in his Meridians despite the fact it should have been obvious he had many other talents as well. Even if they couldn''t'' recognize his Bloodlines, they should have been able to tell that he had a powerful one or ones.


    Yet, they seemed deadset on his Chaotic Silk Meridians. Why was that?


    Maybe the answer was right in front of him all along. All of Ryu''s other Talents, aside from his Soul, required copious amounts of resources to bring to their full potential. And, obviously, his Dao couldn''t just be transferred from one person to another. However, his Chaotic Silk Meridians could not only be transferred through special processes, they were a resource in and of themselves!


    After realizing all of this, Ryu settled down and exhaled a breath.


    His difficulties were still the same. He didn''t dare to casually use his Chaos Qi as he pleased, he would have to be very selective and careful. The more powerful he grew, the less he would have to worry about it, but for now he needed caution.


    It was a good thing that he was in the wilderness currently, what better place was there for him to hide himself and strengthen his Meridians as he pleased?


    Ryu really wondered, though, what other hidden abilities had. The Radiant Star Library had so much information and there was even an introductory explanation about the Chaotic Silk Meridians, but that was all.


    For some reason, even they didn''t have in depth information about his Meridians, something that left him quite intrigued.


    Ryu shook his head and focused on the task at hand once more. His feet hit the bottom of the spring and he got a good look at the Spiritual Herb.


    The Trembling Frost Fog Root looking quite inconspicuous, like a blue weed covered in scales of ice. It didn''t have any fancy adornments or embellishments, but Ryu knew that its true strength lied in its roots.


    The Spiritual Herb was barely a foot tall, however it was likely deeply entrenched, hiding its most valuable parts in the bed of this spring.


    Ryu reached down and began to carefully dig around it. With his claws, it wasn''t too difficult at all and the bed of earth, once as hard as ice, was sliced apart like tofu.


    Soon, the waters below had become a bit murky and the Spiritual Herb protruded out from the ground like some sort of tentacled crown.


    At this moment, the roots of the Trembling Frost Fog Root looked quite beautiful up close, but also quite grotesque from afar.


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    They were dotted with crystalline pearls that shimmered with their own light, but also made it look like the roots were covered in boils. However, it was precisely these boils that were the most valuable part of this Spiritual Herb.


    There were 12 roots total, each with 12 "boils" of their own. These 144 pearls actually meant that this Spiritual Herb was at the limit of its maturity, an excellent thing for Ryu.


    Truthfully, he only needed one of these roots to catalyze the growth of his Yin Water. As for the others, they were just luxuries. However, Ryu would take four of them. That much was about as much as he could take without alerting the blue-scaled serpent to the change too quickly, and it also gave him the freedom to sell three of them and make quite a sum.


    This was the equivalent of an Earth Grade natural treasure, so it would definitely sell for an excellent sum.


    Just when Ryu was about to choose the four best of the roots to take, he frowned.


    ''Thirteen?''


    This didn''t make sense. The limit of maturity was definitely 12 roots, the book Ryu read said nothing about a potential 13th. Was this mutated? Or was it something else?


    After some observation, Ryu was certain that there was nothing different about this herb, so it wasn''t likely to be a mutation.


    ''Hm¡­''


    Ryu was a seasoned Herbologist. Oddities didn''t always mean mutation. Often, Spiritual Herbs needed to adjust to their environment. Sometimes this could be as simple as a flower turning its face toward the sun, or more involved like roots digging deeper to reach more sources of water¡­


    Ryu couldn''t help but notice that the 13th root disappeared deeper into the ground. The reason he hadn''t noticed it before was because he had dug all the way around the Spiritual Herb, while the 13th root was at the very center headed straight down.


    Reaching his hand forward, Ryu began to dig again. But to his astonishment, he couldn''t seem to find the bottom.


    He kept going, digging deeper and deeper. After several minutes, the waters near the bottom of the spring were murky to the point even a cultivator couldn''t see through them. Ryu had dug down an extra ten meters but he suddenly hit nothing but ice.


    The frosty chill multiplied several fold, threatening to swallow up Ryu entirely and suffocate his fire qi. But Ryu only responded by circulating more and more of it.


    The bottom of the spring was nothing but a bed of ice. However, the more Ryu revealed of it, the sharper his gaze became.


    When Ryu wiped the earth away on a small foot by foot patch, he found himself staring down at yet another winter wonderland. The ice was so clear that he could see right through it, peering into what was on the other side.


    To his astonishment, there was what looked like an entire world down there.


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat, his senses tingling. He had been a Ruin Master for too long and had been too great at the profession to not know what this was when he saw it.


    It was a Ruin. He had found a Ruin.


    This Ruin though, seemed to already have people in it. No, more accurately, there were people helplessly stuck in it.

 Chapter 949 Wanted It

    ?


    The ice threatened to block Ryu''s Spiritual Sense entirely, if it wasn''t for the cracks made within it by the 13th root, Ryu had a feeling that he wouldn''t be able to observe the situation without his eyes or trying to shatter the ice.


    But from what Ryu could tell, it was unlikely that he would have the strength to deal with this mysterious floor of ice. Just from a logical perspective, even though the 13th root had managed to penetrate it, how was it that an Earth Grade treasure like this couldn''t do what it was designed to do?


    It had to be remembered that the base function of the Trembling Frost Fog Root was to increase the solidification and condensation points of objects. Ice like this should have long since been turned into water just by being in the vicinity of the Spiritual Herb, let alone while having its root growing within it.


    And yet, it managed to remain a solid block of ice, one that Ryu could see, without the insolation of earth in place, was actually in the process of trying to freeze the remaining water in the area. If not for the heat Ryu was giving off, and the Trembling Frost Fog Root fighting back by a measure, Ryu might have been encased in a block of ice by now.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened as he paid more attention to what was below.


    There were three individuals in a state of meditation, but it was clear that this wasn''t their choice. The cold qi in the surroundings had gotten so overwhelming that they had no choice but to do this.


    There were two women and a man. The man and one of the women were especially blue in the lips and pale faced. From what Ryu could see, they were barely holding on. A slightly older woman among them who looked to be in her mid-20s looked like she was in a better situation, but the fact that she had to sit in meditation along with her companions instead of going to get help or even helping them herself likely meant that she was in a worse situation than it seemed.


    Before the three individuals was the statue of a woman in a fighting stance, a current of flowing water dancing around her as though she was still alive. When Ryu''s Spiritual Sense locked onto this water, he could feel it trying to erode his mind. No, maybe erode wasn''t the right explanation. It was more like it was trying to convert all of his qi into cold qi so that it could take it on for itself.


    ''What a tyrannical Yin Water¡­''


    Ryu''s brows furrowed before they relaxed.


    Just a small interaction with this flowing water told him all he needed to know. This treasure was likely the reason the three individuals below were in such a state and this treasure was definitely of a powerful origin.


    Classifying Yin Waters was difficult due to their rarity. There wasn''t a lot of information about them on Sacrum, and the Radiant Star Sect also didn''t have much knowledge to give on the topic. However, Ryu only needed his Ice Phoenix Bloodline, or rather what remained of it, to understand the rarity of what he was seeing.


    When Ryu thought to this point, he shifted, flipping over a palm and put on a silver mask. It was an Ancestral Grade item from Sacrum, but it was at best an Earth Grade item here. However, he didn''t need it to hide his identity, he just needed it as a cover so that he could use his Void Spiritual Sense to obscure any attempts one might make to see his face.


    What Ryu planned to do now could very well expose him, and in the case that happened, he wanted the freedom to go all out.


    The Trembling Frost Fog Root didn''t seem like that big of a deal anymore. That savage water that could even suppress three cultivators of that caliber below¡­ he wanted it.


    Because their auras were so restrained, it was difficult to tell exactly how powerful they were since Ryu still wasn''t quite used to the standard of the True Martial World. But, he was still certain that they were at least in the Cosmic Seed Realm, like the World Sea Realm.


    In addition, the fact they could be so young and still have such cultivation meant that they also likely weren''t from the First Heaven.


    Why would someone from a higher Heaven randomly come to a lower Heaven? In all likelihood, it wasn''t random at all and this Ruin was their goal from the very beginning, but now they had been stuck here for an unknown amount of time.


    Even though Ryu''s actions now could be said to be saving them, he had been in the cultivation world for too long that such saving was never appreciated. Let alone appreciating him for taking away something they would never be able to control in the first place, he''d be lucky if they didn''t spit in his face while ganging up on him.


    In such a situation, Ryu had to be ready. And that, he definitely was.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    Ryu crossed his legs and sat in meditation before placing a palm on the small cracks beneath him.


    At that moment, Ryu began to communicate with the flowing waters, sensing the dancing golden runes within it. At the same time, he reached into the depths of his Bloodlines, remembering the feeling he felt when he forcefully awakened his Rebirth Talent.


    Unlike the Rebirth Talent, this Yin Water Seed Talent of the Ice Phoenixes didn''t need to be awakened. Although it was the core ability of the race, it also relied on external factors, so it had this sort of benefit to offset it.


    At that moment, the illusion of a crystal blue seed slowly manifested out of Ryu''s chest and the waters below surged.


    In one moment, they were still flowing around the palms and body of the female statue. But in the next, they roared upward like an enraged dragon, shooting up toward Ryu.


    BANG!

 Chapter 950 A Lesson

    The Yin Water crashed against the ice. But, ironically enough, after years of tempering under its presence, the ice was as sturdy as a steel wall. In addition, without a master or a vessel to contain it, the treasure had weakened considerably over time.


    And this was precisely what would give Ryu a chance.


    Slowly, but surely, Ryu began to pull the treasured water through the small cracks in the ice.


    When the first drop finally reached him, his Yin Water Seed vibrated to life, swallowing it whole.


    Though his eyes were closed, Ryu''s lip curled into a smirk.


    This was the perfect situation. The three below likely sensed the changes by now, but there was nothing they could do, they couldn''t even turn their attention away from their own bodies for fear that the cold would reach a location they couldn''t turn back from.


    After just absorbing the first drop, Ryu felt that his Yin Water Seed had already roared to life. From an endless cold, a simultaneously endless vitality roared out.


    This was the greatest strength of the Ice Phoenix Yin Water Seed. In fact, it might even be more accurate to call it a Yin Life Seed. It was able to take treasures of extreme cold and conjure up an equivalent amount of life and vitality in return.


    What did this mean? It meant that the life characteristics of Ryu''s Yin Water Seed would always be just as powerful as the ice and water characteristics. The more powerful water treasures he swallowed, the stronger his life and healing methods would become.


    Just from a single drop, Ryu could feel that his Healing Factor, which had slowed considerably after stepping foot into the True Martial World, was beginning to rapidly recover back to its previous levels. In fact, if it wasn''t for the fact Ryu''s Bloodlines were shackled to the Lower Black Grade currently and he couldn''t bring out the full power of his Yin Water Seed Talent, then this would have never been a problem to begin with!


    However, there was good news as well. Because this Yin Water was actually so powerful, even with only the conversion speed of a Black Grade Ice Phoenix Bloodline, Ryu''s vitality still leapt forward by leaps and bounds.


    Just by virtue of having this Yin Water Seed, Ryu could feel his lifespan increasing by thousands of years with every drop he absorbed, he didn''t even seem to have any difficulty in doing so at all. It was as though his Yin Water Seed was the apex predator to all Yin Water treasures, even one as powerful as this couldn''t escape even if it wanted to. Only if its previous owner rose from the ashes and came back to life would it have even a chance at doing so.


    The best part was that Ryu could tell that there was a large amount of strength still sealed away in his Yin Water Seed, waiting for his Bloodline to unshackle to reveal itself.


    There was no doubt that this Yin Water was the treasured familiar of a Sky God. After absorbing so many drops, Ryu could tell that the female Sky God in question was probably within the Perfect Sky God Realm.


    This Ruin was likely left to her inheritor, but the three below were far too weak to capitalize. Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if this was the final test, but he had stumbled into snatching it away like this.


    It really was quite unfair. To the people of the True Martial World, Ice Phoenixes were behemoths of the Eighth and Ninth Heaven, even a Perfect Sky God like this woman would never expect that her inheritor would have such a noble Bloodline.


    But this was for the best as well.


    Considering the probable level of this Ruin, Ryu definitely wasn''t powerful enough to clear it yet. Using his Bloodlines to cheat this great reward away was about the best he could do.


    It seemed, as well, that he had still underestimated these three cultivators below. They were probably in the Half-Step Sky God Realm or very close, that judgment made far more sense.


    ''I see, so that''s your name.''


    After absorbing so much, Ryu was finally certain of the Yin Water''s name. Its first master had called it Flowing Frost. Short and elegant, not to mention accurate. This flowing water with floating gold runes was harsher than any ice Ryu had ever run across.


    It was designed specifically for combat and its first owner liked to brandish it like a whip.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t plan on using it like this and only needed it for his alchemic path. However, as rare as Yin Water wielders were, a Yi Water wielder who wasn''t also an alchemist was even rarer.


    Something told Ryu that deeper within this Ruin, there was definitely a record of this woman''s alchemic exploits, but that would have to wait. Ryu wasn''t foolish enough to dive head first into such a thing.


    When there were only small tidbits of the Flowing Frost left, the most able bodied of the three cultivators snapped her eyes open, a piercing gaze looking up toward the ceiling. There, in a small hole in the discolored ice, there was Ryu who looked back at her calmly despite being blind.


    Ryu was using his Spiritual Sense and the control over his body to focus his eyes properly. He couldn''t allow these people to know he was blind or else that would be one more connection to have back to his true self.


    At the same time, he had no intention of showing any fear either despite how powerful he might be.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    The young woman''s face flickered with fury.


    She had been doing the best of the three and also had the highest chance to subdue the Flowing Frost water. Now that Ryu had taken action, she had obviously lost such a chance.


    Ryu could only inwardly shake his head.


    Such beauty and yet such shit for brains. It might as well be the slogan of the martial world.


    Every one of these powerful people had gotten used to being on top for too long. However, Ryu didn''t mind teaching her a lesson.


    The young woman had yet to recover and her mind was entirely drained. She had already spent years here in meditation, a glare was about all she could muster the strength for.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Void Spiritual Sense completely enveloped her, no longer hiding its presence.


    He latched onto her mind and began to rip at her consciousness.


    The young woman''s eyes colored in shock before she shrieked, grabbing onto her head.


    By the time her shivering body looked up once again, Ryu was gone.


    Her lips quivered.


    "P¡­P¡­Perfect¡­ B¡­ Blackbody¡­ Soul¡­"

 Chapter 951 Return

    Ryu didn''t bother to wait to see what the reaction of the young woman would be. He already knew what it would be, and quite frankly, even if he didn''t know, he wouldn''t have cared to stay regardless.


    While he could use his soul to teach that woman a lesson, whether or not he could kill her was quite clear to him. The answer was a firm no.


    That woman''s soul was easily within the Soul Ascension Realm, swallowing it up with his Soul Birth Realm soul would have been an impossibility. At best, he could cause her a minor injury that would impair her cultivation for a while until she found a method to heal it.


    Healing damage to a soul, especially a high level one, wasn''t an easy task at all. Unless she had a special Soul Talent, that is. However, in most cases, she would spend quite a while dealing with this. Such was the punishment she faced for her hypocrisy.


    If Ryu had had the strength, he would have definitely just outright killed such a woman. But since he couldn''t, he would settle for this.


    After taking five roots, Ryu flashed out of the small spring, finding the blue-scaled serpent still slumbering peacefully. In fact, not only was it slumbering in peace, but it even seemed to have a light smile on its face.


    Due to Ryu''s actions, the potency of the frost had actually increased by a few folds, so the serpent was benefiting even more now than it had before. How could it not be happy in such a situation?


    In addition, by the time it awoke, the Trembling Frost Fog Root would have also likely fully healed itself, reforming its roots once more, so it would be like Ryu was never there to begin with. If anything, this serpent had benefited from Ryu''s actions.


    Ryu stepped over its body, flashing back into the woods. Little Silk fluttered down to his shoulder and the duo shot off into the distance as Ryu''s scales receded.


    Ryu took off his mask after checking the surroundings and exhaled a breath. This trip had been excellent, now he only needed to return and start his alchemy journey. He would also mark this place in his memory and return once he regained some strength, this Ruin was definitely one worth exploring and the three cultivators below definitely couldn''t progress any further after failing the Flowing Frost Sky God''s test.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that he would meet these three cultivators again sooner rather than later, but even if he had, it wouldn''t matter much to him. They would never recognize him to begin with.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    What Ryu was instead focused on was information he had gotten several days ago. It turned out that Isemeine and Eska had come to the True Martial World as well, something that didn''t particularly shock him.


    Eska was a Sky God herself and a woman of great ambition. If she had known about the True Martial World in the past, she would have likely gone long ago.


    If Ryu had to name a woman that was most attune with his preferences, and the woman that he would have likely fallen for first if not for Elena''s boldness, it would definitely be Eska. Her aloofness, her presence and her grace were all very much to his liking.


    Of course, Elena portrayed such an image to everyone who met her as well and maybe only Ryu knew her true, hidden self. But Eska was this way to the very depths of her bones. It gave off a different sort of a feeling, a feeling that Ryu quite liked.


    In the past, he might have said Sarriel as an answer to that question. Sarriel had an added edge and boldness that Eska didn''t have along with the aloofness. However, after their final conversation, Ryu didn''t find himself all that attracted her any longer.


    This was all to say that knowing Eska, this was definitely a place she would want to be. Though she never said anything due to her nature, Ryu had always felt a sort of fire light within her whenever she saw him outdo her in something, and that fire would be quickly doused when she realized that she was a dead woman and there was nothing she could do about it.


    Thanks to Isemeine, though, she had such a chance.


    Pairing the talent Eska had with Isemeine''s talent on top of the former''s knowledge base as a Sky God of Sacrum, no matter how flawed such a foundation was, they would definitely improve leaps and bounds faster than most would.


    In addition, since they had a thousand year head start, Ryu truly wondered how far they had already gone.


    According to Dob, he had met Isemeine a century or two ago and she stole something of his. But Ryu found a lot of issue with that statement.


    If it was really only so long ago, by then, over 700  to 800 years would have passed. Ryu didn''t believe that given such a large amount of time, and knowing the existence of the True Martial World, that the two of them wouldn''t be able to outright kill Dob.


    It was either there was an odd timeline mix up involving a specialty zone, or Isemeine had spared Dob on purpose. The latter choice was unlikely considering the kind of temperament Isemeine had, but it might be possible if the two of them had wanted to leave him a clue about their appearances.


    Ryu almost laughed when he had such a thought.


    Would those two women even want to see him? Their relationship wasn''t exactly deep and they had practically been nothing more than sex objects. Why would they leave him of all people clues of their appearance?


    Well, Isemeine definitely wouldn''t. But knowing Eska, after choosing to become his concubine, she wouldn''t renege.


    All in all, Ryu didn''t have enough information. It seemed that he would have to keep a sharp eye out instead.


    But first, he would return to the Sect.

 Chapter 952 Three Soul Techniques

    Ryu stepped over a pile of corpses, his expression indifferent.


    In truth, they had been more powerful than his restrained self, but now that he had Little Silk at the Fifth Order, even Tenth Order Common Beasts weren''t their match.


    Little Silk relied on Bloodline suppression to deal with those powerful beasts, something that obviously wasn''t possible against humans, however that didn''t mean that she herself wasn''t strong. She could still output the power of about a Seventh to Eighth Order Common Beast.


    And, since beasts tended to be more powerful than humans, when she worked in tandem with Ryu, their strength was far more than what these pinnacle Path Extinction Realm disciples could handle.


    Of course, Ryu relied on a few tricks and a sneak attack. But if they were going to stalk him for so long, he didn''t mind teaching them a lesson they would forever be unable to regret.


    Ryu unceremoniously snatched up their spatial rings and left their corpses behind, not even bothering to clean up after himself. He didn''t feel the need to hide anything.


    These people had actually followed him around for months just to die. It was almost as amusing as it was sad. Every second of cultivation was important, almost a quarter of a year was enough to make great progress in this world, and yet they squandered it on nonsense.


    ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????


    ¡­


    Ryu walked into the Radiant Star Sect, feeling several eyes on him. It seemed that there had been a bet about whether he would return safely or not. A small minority was happy while the majority were grinding their teeth.


    Without so much as a glance toward them, Ryu handed in his missions, an amount that would net him five years of complete freedom, and walked back to the technique tower. Now that he had such a deep well of knowledge, he should definitely pick his second technique. He had already decided that it would be a Soul Technique as well back then.


    He used the mission rewards he had gotten to pay the entrance fee and stepped in, now beginning to scan the Soul Techniques one by one once again.


    Ryu''s soul was in the Ancestral Grade. By all rights, his combat prowess with it should be on a complete other level compared to most. What he was lacking was a method of utilizing it. If he had such a thing, even that young woman from before would have to obediently die if he said so considering her previous state.


    If Little Silk could jump across Five Orders as a Sovereign Grade beast, he should definitely be able to replicate at least a portion of that.


    Of course, Ryu understood that Little Silk could only truthfully jump Two to Three Orders, but he was also an Ancestral Grade Talent. So the value he received in return should be greater, at least in theory.


    There were a few issues.


    The first was that the soul wasn''t like the talent of a beast. Little Silk''s Sovereign Grade was holistic. Beasts only relied on their Bloodlines and nothing else. While they had souls, it wasn''t considered a Pillar of their cultivation.


    The second was that Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul wasn''t exactly designed to attack. Its main function was absorption and adaptation.


    Regardless, Ryu didn''t believe that it would be any issue for his soul to suppress through even an entire Realm above it.


    It had to be remembered that there were only five Mental Realm Cultivation Realms, so one Realm to it was the equivalent of a large jump in Qi Realm Cultivation.


    Ryu sifted through all the techniques before he narrowed them all down to three. He already went through them all once, he just went through them one more time to see if there was anything his new knowledge could pick up on that he had missed before.


    The first technique was [Decay Halo].


    It entrapped an enemy''s Mental Realm in a halo. This halo would perpetually sap away a person''s Spiritual Qi over time. As the battle went on, unless the halo could be shattered via means of the soul, one''s soul would be quickly drained.


    The soul was the root of comprehension and focus. With one''s soul quickly weakening in battle like this, your Inheritances, your Dao and your Focus Qi itself would all dwindle and become more difficult to use. If you lost all three, even if you somehow maintained consciousness, your battle strength would still be more than halved.


    The requirements for this technique were incredibly high and stringent, and it also was an enormous drain on Spiritual Qi. It even said that the user would lose Spiritual Qi at the same rate as the target.


    Unless you were supremely confident in your soul talent, no one would ever use such a technique. What was the use in halving your enemy''s strength if your strength was also halved?


    The second technique was [Swallow Six Senses].


    This technique disrupted the soul and disallowed an enemy from processing information sent by their eyes. At the higher stages, you could take away smell, touch, hearing, taste and even proprioception, the deadliest of them all.


    Proprioception was a sense related to one''s ability to tell where their limbs were in space. If you lost it, even walking would be impossible, let alone fighting a battle of cultivators. This was truly a devastating technique.


    But once again, its use requirements were incredibly high. The drain on Spiritual Qi was immense, and there was a chance at receiving backlash if your enemy''s soul was stronger than your own. During this period of backlash, it would be you who lost the sense you were targeting.


    The final technique was known as [Soul Chain Battlefield].


    This technique was maybe the most fantastical of them all. It formed reaper-like chains when he was cast that pierced the forehead of your enemy and dragged their soul out.


    Once this was completed, a soul link would be created and a battlefield would take form. While this battlefield was in play, the bodies of both the caster and the enemy would be unable to move and their souls would be forced to fight a battle to the death.


    This technique was the most dangerous of them all and the potential backlash was direct death. With how fragile the souls were, very few dared to fight with theirs directly. Plus, the backlash of death wasn''t only if your soul was destroyed by the enemy, if you Soul Chain missed the target or the enemy dodged, the likelihood of death was high!


    As a result, this Soul Technique was also simultaneously classified as a Secret Technique. It was designed to be the final desperate attack of someone with no other options.


    To Ryu, though, all three of these dangerous techniques were incredibly enticing, so much so that he wasn''t sure which one to choose.

 Chapter 953 Choice Made

    It was a tough decision.


    [Decay Halo] was probably the most compatible with Ryu, but [Swallow Six Senses] was the most immediately useful and impactful to his battle strength. However, there was still [Soul Chain Battlefield] which was an excellent life saving measure no matter how you looked at it.


    If someone was forced to battle one on one with Ryu''s soul, his current inability to leap through Realms and challenge past his level would be mitigated somewhat. At the very least, someone would have to be at least three Realms or higher to truly threaten his life.


    But there was also a glaring weakness of [Soul Chain Battlefield] as well.


    It was one thing if you were in a one on one battle in an isolated location, but what if you were facing many enemies at once? [Soul Chain Battlefield] could only target a single person at one time, leaving your body completely vulnerable. So, it would go from a Secret Technique and life saving measure to useless pile of trash the moment you were facing two enemies you couldn''t immediately defeat instead of one.


    [Soul Chain Battlefield] wasn''t the only one with issues either. But how could it be? It wasn''t as though these were high class, flawless techniques. They might sound powerful in their descriptions, but so did the Common Grade techniques several levels down. It took a discerning eye to see through the tricks. After all, what technique creator would want you to think that what was usually their life''s work was weak?


    [Decay Halo]''s greatest weakness was the amount of time it took to work. It was a steady and continuous process, almost like a domain. It took time for the Spiritual Qi of an enemy to be slowly drained. One would have to fight at least a few hundred exchanges before some real, tangible effects began to take root.


    Of course, to cultivators at this level, a few hundred exchanges wasn''t even a few minutes. But the fact that you could levy that many strikes in the time frame was a glaring enough problem. If your enemy defeated you, or you defeated them, before the technique could take action, then wouldn''t deploying it in the first place have been a waste of time?


    Much like [Soul Chain Battlefield], [Decay Halo] was only useful in very specific use cases.


    You wouldn''t use it against someone weaker than you because it was a waste of time when you could just use your fist. You couldn''t use it against someone stronger than you because you lost Spiritual Qi at the same rate as your enemy lost theirs. And, you obviously couldn''t use it against someone who was your exact equal because then you''d both be incapacitated in the end. This meant that there was only one logical case that would be best suited.


    If you were fighting an enemy who you were neck and neck, and you were certain the battle would go on for countless exchanges, AND this person happened to have a weaker soul than yourself, only then could you logically use this technique.


    Unlike [Soul Chain Battlefield] though, [Decay Halo] could be used on multiple people at once, but it was almost never used like this either.


    Why? Well the answer was obvious, if you were losing Spiritual Qi at the same rate as several people, wouldn''t you become a mummified corpse before they felt a thing?


    Then there was [Swallowing Six Senses]. This technique also allowed you to use it on multiple people, but there were glaring warnings against it.


    The drain of the base technique was a big enough problem, but the main issue was the potential backlash.


    The more people you cast this on, the heavier the burden on your Mental Realm, and the more likely it is that you could suffer backlash and in turn lose access to your own senses. With multiple people fighting back for control at the same time, very few would be able to handle such a struggle.


    It only made it worse that while you were in such a tug of war, a lot of your mind and Focus Qi would be occupied, making it more difficult to end the battle quickly.


    Ultimately, what Ryu learned about all of these weaknesses was that Soul Techniques were most effectively used as supporting skills, ones that would only be deployed when you had a group of people you trusted charging into battle with you.


    Of course, beast companions was another possibility, although most of Ryu''s own were sealed away right now. As for Necromancy, not so much unless you were a Summoner Necromancer who could trust your demons to control themselves.


    All in all, these were steep waters, ones very difficult to trudge through.


    But Ryu still made his decision, picking [Swallow Six Senses] after much deliberation.


    In the end, the weaknesses of the other two were far too glaring. In truth, Ryu thought about going with [Decay Halo]. The techniques were about equivalent in drain and [Decay Halo] was more compatible with him, at least on the surface.


    However, Ryu ultimately decided that [Swallow Six Senses] had the better effect of those he was looking for.


    After picking out a Soul Technique, Ryu proceeded to drain the entirety of his accumulated merits by picking out seven Alchemy Techniques. Five of them were for the Pill Path while only just two were for the Potion Path. But this was expected considering the difference in rarity between the two.


    The elder once again gave Ryu a ridiculous look. He found the situation so impossible to believe that he almost broke character and actually said something this time. But in the end, looking at Ryu''s placid expression, he shook his head.


    Ryu walked out with his gathered techniques and began making his way toward his living accommodations.


    All Inner Disciples were afforded similar luxuries based on their ranks and Ryu planned on checking his own now for the first time.


    However, when he made it to his living accommodations, his expression darkened.


    Maybe he hadn''t killed enough people yet.

 Chapter 954 Once, Then Twice

    What should have been Ryu''s living quarters was obstructed by an enormous pile of manure tall enough even to obstruct the door. The stench was foul and potent, traveling so far that it definitely affected those with living accommodations nearby. However, since this had been done by those with much higher rankings, there wasn''t much they could do but turn their rage toward Ryu instead.


    Those individuals, though, only met Ryu''s gaze one time before they suddenly found they couldn''t say a word.


    Ryu''s expression didn''t seem to give anything away, and yet there was such a frigid cold in the surroundings that they were shaken. At that moment, Ryu''s lip curled into a smile, but the air only seemed to grow colder.


    Ryu flickered and vanished, his hand appearing around the throat of a disciple who had just been viciously glaring at him. It wasn''t until Ryu''s coldness reached him that he froze, but by then, it had already been too late.


    Ryu was interested in those who retracted their animosity only because they now felt they couldn''t harm him even if they tried. Such people like to prey on the weak and bow to the strong, he wasn''t a fan of them, nor would he give them the benefit of the doubt.


    "Speak quickly."


    Ryu didn''t even bother to ask a direct question. Anyone with half a brain would know exactly what he was asking about and he didn''t have the patience to waste on trash.


    "M¡ªme¡ªme¡ªMerrick an¡ªand Snyder!"


    Ryu dropped the fool into his own pile of piss. With the Origin Flame, he had only needed to glance at the disciple rankings once to memorize all of the names on it. Both of these names were in the top 1000, and neither was below 700. They could be considered to be in the top 10% of Inner Disciples. From that fact alone, they were probably around the Seventh Stage of the Path Extinction Realm, maybe higher.


    Such strength was beyond the current Ryu with his current restrictions. But his steps didn''t seem to pause as a result of this.


    As he walked slowly up the mountain, large amounts of qi surged toward him. The commotion was enough to shake many awake from their cultivation, causing them to peek out of their abodes only to realize that something big seemed about to happen.


    At the same time, though, they couldn''t fathom how Ryu was absorbing so much qi. Where was it all going?!


    What they didn''t know was that if Ryu wasn''t restricting his Ice Jade Crystal Body, let alone this much qi, he could absorb a hundred times this with ease, even a thousand times wasn''t an exaggeration.


    CRACK!


    The sound of a barrier shattering resounded. Ryu''s Peak Soul Birth Soul broke through its limits, and yet instead of entering the Soul Refinement Realm, he remained firmly rooted in the Soul Birth Realm.


    When one had a Perfect Blackbody Soul, when you reached saturation in preparation for a breakthrough, there were two choices you could make. The first was to step into the next stage and the second was to gather your breakthrough momentum to expand your Spiritual Sea. Obviously, and with a shred of doubt, Ryu had taken the latter option.


    Since he could endlessly expand his Spiritual Sea, he would keep going until he reached the limits of his body.


    In Ryu''s first life, the only man who ever dared to humiliate him to his face was the only man he would call friend in these two lifetimes of his. But this humiliation didn''t come from a place of malice and it was just two boys butting their heads together in a testosterone fuel tirade.


    In Ryu''s second life, he had experienced endless torment from the time he was a baby to the time he was 14. These were memories that he had always thought were a separate part of him, memories that he never cared about when he reawakened¡­ Until the Valkyrie of the Martial Gods forced him to acknowledge that that wasn''t a separate man, a separate life¡­ That was him. That was the person he could have been had he not grasped power.


    Since he awakened that day on the Higher Mortal Plane, he hadn''t allowed anyone to disrespect him, even the slightest slight was returned a hundredfold. He didn''t have time for words, for talking, for listening to the nonsense of others.


    And maybe that was because he had subconsciously always known that that helpless little boy was him, and it could very well become him again.


    The True Martial World was so large. From the first moment Ryu stepped in it, he realized that the mountain peak he wanted to climb to was much further away than he had originally thought.


    On his first day, he was forced to freefall from the skies to avoid the tracking of a young man who was barely one or two years older than him.


    On that same day, he faced a forest of Common Grade beasts he had to fight for his life to escape from.


    And then, when he steeled himself and no longer allowed his thoughts to think of stepping back, even coming to the very same Sect of the young man who had forced him to escape in the first place, he was struck down by the Heavens and he was now only alive because Old Wan saved him.


    CRACK!


    The limits of Ryu''s Spiritual Sea shattered once again, the raging storm of qi growing like the towering tempest. The thickness of it all almost grew to the point where it could be visibly seen with the eye, very faint and pale colors riding in the wind, colors that Ryu had once been able to see without even the slightest effort.


    But now, that ability had also been stripped from him.


    "Hehe¡­"


    Ryu''s smile turned into a cold grin filled with malice and darkness.


    One might say that this event wasn''t a big deal. No one had died. In fact, it was just a harmless prank. With a cultivator''s skill, it could be cleaned away in just a few seconds.


    However when you lowered your head once, you would lower it twice, and then a third time. This world seemed intent on getting Ryu to bend.


    This True Martial World was indeed a cruel place.


    But Ryu would show it who was crueler.


    CRACK!


    Ryu''s palm flipped over, pulling a technique jade.

 Chapter 955 Grey Skinned Man

    It only took Ryu a glance to see through [Swallow Six Senses]. With the Origin Flame, even if it was greatly weakened in this world, his memorization capabilities were still there, at least for a technique at this level.


    The moment he grasped the method, his soul flourished, a dense sort of darkness wafting from his body.


    The more slow and deliberate steps Ryu took, the more people seemed to notice what was happening. It felt like very quickly, the entire Inner Sect was alerted to exactly what was happening.


    Ryu didn''t need to guess where Merrick and Snyder were. Since he knew their rank, he knew exactly where they lived as well. He had already crossed over from the five digit rankings to the four digit rankings, his soul still at work and his steps not having hurried even a mesure. It was as though he was giving both Merrick and Snyder the opportunity to prepare.


    Or, maybe, it was a chance to enjoy the last moments of their life.


    When Ryu was about to cross from the four digit rankings into the three digits, he found a passageway blocked by several individuals.


    Their purpose was quite clear. Most of them were only here to chuckle, laugh and spectate. They definitely had far too much pride to act together, at most only one or two of them would. But it was obvious the kind of event this would devolve into the moment Ryu showed his strength.


    But he didn''t care.


    "Little Silk."


    At that moment, the inconspicuous and gorgeous little butterfly on Ryu''s shoulder flashed, her speed so fast that she appeared before them all in the blink of an eye, drawing a laser of blue across the air that was hardly perceptible.


    In several fractions of a second, Little Silk disappeared and appeared once again several times. By the time one could complete a second blink, she was already back on Ryu''s shoulder who had continued to walk forward slowly as though nothing had happened.


    But in the moment, as Ryu took slow steps, several thin lines of ice blue were drawn across the skies.


    Their faces were still plastered with smiles, not having even registered what happened. But then they started to slowly fall apart, the lines of ice blue severing their bodies into countless pieces.


    As the severed cuts of their flesh fell to the ground, they froze. By the time they hit the stone tiles of the three digit rank section, they shattered to pieces, scattering the ground in shards of crimson.


    Ryu stepped over them, the soles of his feet crunching away at what had used to be living, breathing humans. However, he couldn''t be bothered to care.


    The shock of those spectating from a far distance couldn''t be described in words. Only a handful had been there the day that Ryu had killed the first time and most, although it didn''t make sense, still subconsciously thought that Ryu''s rumors were exaggerated. Would the elders really let a murderer who broke a taboo of the Sect off?


    They felt that it was more likely that the disciple had died through some other means, or maybe Ryu had accidentally triggered a hidden illness within his target during a battle.


    But now, seeing how Ryu hadn''t even hesitated to command his beast to kill, they felt shivers run up thei spine.


    Could it be that Ryu was truly immune to punishment? Was he not worried? Just what kind of background did he have for the Sect to so blatantly show favoritism and bias like this?!


    Up ahead, Ryu finally spotted his targets. Or, rather, his Spiritual Sense long since had and he was only now truly in range. Despite this, his countenance didn''t change. He carried the same cold look, the frigid and dark air around him threatening to suffocate the masses.


    Merrick and Snyder had just been informed of what was happening and had come to take a look. They obviously didn''t care much about Ryu''s rage, they only wanted to see an amusing puppet dance before they taught him a lesson.


    They didn''t really think much before pulling their "prank". They just felt dissatisfied with what they had heard about Ryu, and since they didn''t dare to kill him even after the words of the Grand Elder, they chose this route instead.


    But none of this meant that they wouldn''t enjoy this. The both of them were well beyond Ryu in cultivation and strength, they didn''t believe that this matter would be difficult to handle in the slightest.


    When they locked eyes with Ryu, deep sneers marked their faces. They had prepared quite an onslaught of jarring words for Ryu and they thought that he would have something to say as well. But to their shock, Ryu didn''t say anything. He didn''t ask if it was them, he didn''t ask them why they had done such a thing, and he obviously hadn''t come here to beg for forgiveness.


    The moment Ryu saw them, he took another slow and deliberate step forward, his aura changing.


    "[Swallow Six Senses]."


    Right then, an overwhelming soul pressure shot forward, catching Merrick and Snyder off guard.


    But they were also veterans of battle. When they saw that Ryu actually dared to use a Soul Technique against them despite his cultivation being so far below theirs, they almost burst into a fit of laughter.


    They were almost in the Dao Pedestal Realm and they had long since entered the Soul Refinement Realm, the Path Extinction Realm equivalent of the Mental Realms. For an Immortal Ring Realm expert like Ryu, who only had a Soul Birth Realm soul to attack them¡­ Wasn''t he asking to be humiliated?


    However, just as their sneers were turning into laughs, the wave of Ryu''s soul pressure hit them like a rampaging storm.


    At that moment, the manifestation of a man with grey skin and black robes appeared in the skies. His eyes were missing, his ears and tongue were cut off, his skin was covered in boils and no one could see any of his limbs beneath his thick and wide robes.


    The moment it appeared, it was as though Merrick and Snyder were thrown into darkness.


    Neither could even feel their heads being severed from their shoulders.

 Chapter 956 Ahead

    Ryu caught the heads of Merrick and Snyder by their hair, his expression indifferent as though this was what he had expected all along.


    Those watching felt their knees tremble, unable to believe what they were watching.


    Merrick and Snyder had just stood there, smiles on their faces, as Ryu approached and calmly cut off their heads. It was as though they had welcomed the result, as though they were embracing death with open arms. But everyone knew that wasn''t what had happened.


    Their eyes turned to the illusory grey skinned man that was slowly fading from view, their hearts threatening to beat wildly out of their chest.


    Unlike in Sacrum where the comprehension of a Visualization and its manifestation into the real world was the foundation of "Soul Techniques", in the True Martial World, this step was the final and ultimate form of a technique. It represented reaching the Great Circle of Perfection, the very highest realm there was.


    Soul Techniques were so difficult to learn that most took years just to reach Initial Success. For Ryu, an Immortal Ring Realm expert, to so easily step into such a realm and use it to kill individuals so many stages above himself¡­


    They could hardly believe it.


    But what was maybe just as shocking was the fact he could sever their heads at all!


    With the understanding most had, even if a Path Extinction Realm expert stood completely still and didn''t deploy their qi, even if they had a hundred chances an Immortal Ring expert wouldn''t be able to leave a single scratch on them.


    What should have happened was that Ryu would seal away their senses and fail in killing them, leading to a stalemate. Or, he would have to use his beast companion again like he had before.


    However the result was absolutely shocking.


    Ryu''s hand suddenly glowed with a radiant blue light, forming two sticks of ice that stuck out of the ground.


    One by one, he placed Merrick and Synder''s head on one of their own. Then, without a word, he snatched Snyder''s above key from his corpse and stepped into the cave, shutting the doors behind him without a hint or care for everyone else.


    Those who were still watching could only stand in silence, looking at the decapitated heads that slowly froze over until they almost looked like picturesque statues.


    ¡­


    The inside of the abode of someone in the top 1000 was actually very nice and much larger than the one Ryu had been planning on using. In addition, it came with added protections and wards that lower class abodes would have. Though, the most important accommodation was the dense qi in the air.


    Ryu had already noticed that as he walked up the mountain, the qi only got denser and denser. From his original abode to this one, there was easily a ten times difference. But the qi inside Snyder''s abode was even thicker than that, enough for another ten times different that made Ryu''s pores sing.


    Ryu was somewhat hesitant to cultivate in earnest here as he wasn''t sure if he could be monitored from this location, but he ultimately decided that he could slow his progress down any more by being overly cautious.


    ? Although he didn''t trust large organizations to follow their own rules most of the time, the Sect should give the disciples a great amount of privacy in their own abodes. After doing a double-check with his Spiritual Sense, he decided that he would take the risk.


    There was a line between being cautious and overly so. If he impacted his cultivation too much, he would never make any progress.


    It also had to be remembered that Ryu was already past the golden age for cultivation in this world. His cultivation was too low for his age, even in the First Heaven, let alone the Second or his goal, the Ninth.


    If he continued dragging his feet due to these concerns, the losses would far outweigh the gains. He needed to quickly catch up with those his age and surpass them before the ageing effects of the True Martial World began to kick in and wear him down.


    The good news was that with Ryu''s Hegemonic Dao, it was very difficult for even the True Marital World to impact his ages too much, at least for now. This was why he wasn''t too worried about being too old yet. However, he couldn''t continue to sit idly by and rest on his laurels.


    Once Ryu made a decision, he directly acted on it.


    He entered Snyder''s, now his, cultivation room and sat on the stone platform at the very center after activating all of the protections.


    Ryu''s goal was simple. The first was to become familiar with the several alchemy techniques he had taken in. While doing this, he would practice refining with Common Grade pills and potions first. Of course, these pills and potions would be ones that he had chosen which aligned with his chosen path.


    Only once he reached a certain standard would he think about activating the [Refinement Sutra] and begin to pull Heavenly Favor toward himself when he refined. It would be foolish to do so before.


    Ryu was ambitious, so he wanted to reach the absolute highest standard of pill and potion refinement in a given category before moving along. There were several tiers of classification for pills and potions, and he had memorized them all diligently and calmly.


    Ryu would begin with rebuilding the foundation of the Awakening Realm. He had already completed a perfect 13 Rites, but the Heavenly Blessing he had received back then was only from the Heavens of Sacrum. He would redo his foundation with the Heavenly Blessings of the True Martial World first.


    Then, he would proceed to the Pulse Opening Realm where he would retemper his Pulses with Heavenly Favor, widening and strengthening them.


    Following which, he would proceed to the Qi Refinement Realm. This was where the largest changes to his strength would begin, at least the ones he could measure now.


    But he was getting ahead of himself. In order to perfect the Qi Refinement Realm, he would need Black Grade pills and potions. For now, what he needed the most was to focus on the Common Grade.


    With a calm countenance, Ryu took out a cauldron.

 Chapter 957 Eight Pills

    The world of alchemy could get very complicated, very quickly. However the one thing that wouldn''t change was the foundation of a product''s purity and what kind of reaction it would thus elicit.


    The number one goal of every alchemist was to create a pill or potion with the lowest amount of impurities possible. And, of course, impurities were measured in percentages.


    The minimum threshold one needed to reach for a pill or potion to be viable was 51%. This was considered the entry stage and upon succeeding, one could finally name themselves the equivalent grade of alchemists.


    However, the reality was that most cultivators, unless they were desperate, wouldn''t dare to consume such a pill or potion. Such pills were usually fed to low grade beasts who only performed hard, labor intensive tasks, or they were sold off to poor cultivators who had no other choice remaining.


    It wasn''t until one reached 61% that one entered the realm of frequently distributed pills. These were still considered to be lower class pills, but they were good enough that most could pinch their noses and make do, especially if the effect of the pill was potent enough.


    Upon reaching 71% is when a pill or potion''s value begins to become more hotly contested. In a place like the First Heaven, at least for those who couldn''t enter a Sect of the caliber of the Radiant Star Sect, such a pill or potion was worth fighting for.


    This level could be considered the pill for those who couldn''t be considered to have entered the world of true cultivation. It was the best most of them could hope for and the ill effects were very manageable.


    However, when one entered the world of large Sects and established Clans, their minimum requirement was 81%.


    Pills and potions of this caliber were excellent and rarely left any unmanageable after effects so long as certain precautions were taken, such as restricting yourself to a certain number a month. These pills and potions wouldn''t be widely circulated and would be monopolized by the rich and powerful, the common people would never have a chance to lay their eyes on such things.


    At 91%, however, one would step into the world of true treasures. For every single percentage point at this treasured level, the price of a pill or potion would rise exponentially. Even a genius alchemist who could consistently concoct pills and potions between 71% and 90% might only create a handful of these in their lifetimes. Each step beyond was like transcending a heavenly staircase.


    These categories were separated into Low Grade, Middle Grade, High Grade, Peak Grade, and Transcendent Grade. Any alchemist that could form High Grade pills and potions would be a tycoon in their region, never having to worry about money or resources.


    However, there was still a level beyond this, a level that was only spoken about in legend, at least to the people of the First Heaven. It was a level that could only be chanced upon when a 100% pure pill or potion was formed.


    These were called Rune Pill and Rune Potions.


    Upon reaching 100%, a pill or potion tribulation would form. Depending on the perfection of the concoction, the creation would either survive entirely or survive in part. If the latter happened, a Rune would take form within the creation and bolster its power far beyond what a 99% pill or potion could match.


    This was considered the Rune Grade.


    A Rune even with only 10% completion was so far and beyond the level of a 99% pure pill that it was worth as much as pills or potions even two or three grades above it in strength. The effects would be beyond transcendent and taking such a pill would be beyond even swallowing a heavenly treasure.


    Pills were already designed to be more potent than Spiritual Herbs to begin with. The reason Ryu never relied on them was because he had had the Incubator, a treasure that was likely more unfathomable than he knew since it had been taken from Mistress Holy Wing in the first place.


    However, Rune Pills and Rune Potions were without a doubt more potent and powerful than any Spiritual Herb of the same level. Only Crown Herbs stood a chance, but even then, they were lacking.


    The best part was that Rune Pills and Rune Potions could be formed, given enough skill, with much lower grade and quality Spiritual Herbs.


    There was no doubt what Ryu''s goal was. He would only accept Runed creation. And not just any Runed creation, but one with a 100% completed Rune. Only then would he circulate his [Refinement Sutra] and absorb the Heavenly Favor to reaffirm his foundation.


    For someone else, this might be impossible. But Ryu had many trump cards off his sleeve, the most important of which was his Dao.


    ''The goal now is to pick the perfect concoction that would suit me, and there''s no doubt what that would be¡­''


    Ryu had already decided that the pills he would concoct would have to coincide with his eight trigram diagram. Not only that, but he didn''t want to create eight separate pills and absorb Heavenly Favor eight separate times. No, he wanted to combine them into a self-created pill he would call¡­


    The Dividing Heaven Pill.


    Ryu already had a road map to how he would create this pill as well. The eight trigram diagram was separated into Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Life and Heaven.


    At each stage from Common to the highest there was, he would find the pill or potion that matched each category perfectly. After he could concoct each pill to the complete Rune level, or more accurately, the True Rune level, he would fuse them into one and absorb the Heavenly Favor associated with it.


    At the lowest levels, this was already as difficult as ascending the Heavens. But at the highest levels, the difficulty would increase exponentially with every step.


    However, when Ryu decided on something, he would make no attempts to take a step back.


    Of the eight Common Grade pills Ryu had chosen to start with, the first was the most commonly used wind attributed pill, Chasing Wind Pill.


    For Awakening and Pulse Opening Realm cultivators with the wind attribute, it would help them absorb a large amount of wind qi in a short amount of time. The duration was dependent on the quality of the pill, but there was no doubt that this was the best option with those carrying this affinity.


    The next pill Ryu chose was the Heavy Water Pill. It sunk into your stomach like a weighted stone before spreading throughout your meridians. Over time, the slow accumulation would likewise pull in large amounts of water qi.


    The next was the Pounding Earth Pill. Swallowing it would make one feel as though their heart had become a hammer, forcing your Pulses to resonate. Not only did it make opening Pulses easier for earth affinity cultivators, but it likewise pulled in a large amount of earth qi.


    The next was the Booming Thunder Pill. Its function was almost identical to the Pounding Earth Pill except for the fact it was designed for lightning affinity cultivators.


    The Burning Heart Pill was designed for fire affinity cultivators and the most violent of these pills. It set the stomach, meridians and heart on fire. During the period of ingestion, one would feel as though they were dancing in the pits of hell, but the bright side was that all the food one ate during that period would not only be quickly digested, but it would efficiently convert to strength and power.


    This left Life, Heaven, Earth and Mountain. These four were the most difficult of the bunch to find matching pills and potions for, and it was ironic because their concepts were too profound for Common Grade pills to encapsulate entirely.


    Life was relatively easier. Ryu picked the strongest healing pill of the common grade there was, the Sacred Heart Pill.


    For Mountain, he chose the Focusing Spirit Pill. It was a pill designed to calm the mind and help one increase their chances at entering a State of Meditation. However, those effects were exaggerated. In reality, it just helped one stay calm during a breakthrough.


    For Earth, the Pounding Earth Pill alone wasn''t enough, it would at most cover a portion of what Earth represented, so it needed supplementation. Ryu surprisingly chose the cheapest and least obscure pill of them all¡­ The Foundation Setting Pill. This was the most widely circulated pill in maybe all of existence, and yet he didn''t hesitate to choose it.


    It was designed to help one solidify their achievements right after completing a Rite of the Awakening Realm and bolster their chances at completing the next one.


    And finally, for Heaven, Ryu''s choice was once again endlessly shocking. He chose maybe the second most widely circulated pill after the Foundation Setting Pill, the Qi Fume Accumulation Pill.


    With a flip of his hand, the ingredient for the Foundation Setting Pill appeared all around Ryu to the point where mountains far taller than him were formed.


    This was exactly how it should be. Earth would form the foundation of everything else. The Heavens might not like it, but Ryu definitely did.

 Chapter 958 Foundation Setting

    The Foundation Setting Pill was designed to increase success in completing the 13 Rites. It was advertised as being capable of increasing one''s Rite completion stage by one. Of course, this didn''t include the final four Named Rites.


    Though, Ryu believed that the reason it couldn''t'' do so wasn''t because it was incapable, but rather because those that concocted the pill couldn''t bring it to a high enough level.


    The final four Rites were the most powerful and important of them all. If one wanted to become a true expert in the future, these Rites were the ones you would have no choice but to take a firm hold of. However, if you wanted external help to reach such a stage, the Foundation Setting Pill would have to at least be on the Runed level. Anything less and you could forget about crossing the Named Rites with external help. And, it was probably impossible to cross the final 13th Rite without the support of a full fledged and perfect Runed Pill.


    The first thing Ryu did was quite unconventional. He didn''t reach to start practicing first, but rather meditated on the truth of the pill, its meaning and its purpose.


    Why did Ryu choose such a simple pill for maybe the most important segment of his eight trigram diagram? It was because complex didn''t always mean better. In fact, a simple pill would have been continuously refined over so many years that it would reach the pinnacle of perfection.


    There was no greater foundational pill than this and it even explained itself in its title.


    Just the same way the simpler the Sky God Title, the more powerful it would be, a similar concept could be applied to the function and reputation of a pill. One might not even bend down to pick up a Foundation Setting Pill if they found it by the roadside, and yet it was this very pill that even the greatest of experts relied on in their youths.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, becoming incredibly tranquil. He couldn''t so easily slip into a State of Meditation without his eyes, but he could get close so long as he took his time and reached a great depth of focus.


    With slow movements, Ryu picked up the first ingredient. He rolled it between his fingers, allowing his Dao to envelop it.


    Just like he had done with the ores he used to forge his first daggers, but this time, the process was even faster. Not only did Ryu see through the innate abilities of the Spiritual Herb, he could feel its unique quirks.


    Ryu did this for every single one of them.


    While high grade pills could have hundreds to even thousands of ingredients, this one had just five, making it even easier on Ryu. He knew these five individual herbs so well that if he wanted to, he could detail every line that made up every fiber of its being.


    When Ryu was done, he placed the herbs down around the cauldron, exhaling slowly.


    Alchemy cauldrons came in all shapes and sizes. Most helped the alchemy process in some way, raising the purity grade, quickening the refinement process, and some of the highest and most quality ones could even help to withstand tribulations. Though, those of the caliber of the last were likely maybe only a handful in all of existence.


    The cauldron Ryu chose, though, couldn''t have been simpler. It was called an Embryonic Cauldron, it was unadorned and a simple black. It had only one function: to grow.


    Cauldrons like this were only chosen by the greatest alchemy geniuses. They had no innate abilities of their own, at least in the beginning. They grew along with their alchemist, becoming tempered by the medicinal strength of the concocted pills and potions and growing in strength into the future.


    The cauldrons that could withstand tribulations were all once Embryonic Cauldrons of past masters left for future generations. It was simply too difficult for blacksmiths, who weren''t alchemists themselves, to have a great enough grasp of the profession to create such a high level cauldron.


    Much the same way blacksmiths tended to focus on particular weapons, they would also tend not to focus on alchemy for the same reasons.


    To forge a weapon, one needed a deep understanding of it. This was fine for a blacksmith to do as it wouldn''t clash with their path. But, trying to become a great blacksmith in forging cauldrons would require spending time learning alchemy, which defeated the purpose.


    There were some that had tried in the past as there were many geniuses born in the history of Existence. But none could reach a high enough attainment in both to succeed.


    Thus, Embryonic Cauldrons were created. They were designed with an ore capable of evolution. Even with this ore reached its limit, it was possible to place a higher level ore and infuse high level fires into the cauldron. By then, the cauldron would do the rest, absorbing the essence of the higher level ore.


    As things stood now, this cauldron was perfect for Ryu. He didn''t need a cauldron to make things easier for him, he just needed one that wouldn''t interfere or hinder his progress.


    Placing his hands on both sides, Ryu''s hands began to spring forward with life. The black cauldron quickly heated up in a blazing inferno before Ryu''s hands became ice cold.


    Ryu put the cauldron through several cycles of this at lower temperatures before forcing the dichotomy further and further apart.


    As he did so, the cauldron slowly became used to his wide range of temperatures.


    Ryu was already forcing it to endure temperatures far beyond what was necessary for the Common Grade, but this would make certain that he had no need to worry. In the future, as he concocted more pills and it absorbed more Medicinal Essence, it would naturally progress faster as well.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s aura changed, his eyes snapped open and an eight trigram diagram appeared in his irises, radiating an ancient green.


    The lid of the cauldron rose into the air, revealing a flickering fire dancing within, one that Ryu had only just forced to appear.


    The ingredients flew in one after another and the lid snapped close. If other alchemists had seen Ryu do such a thing on his first try, they would definitely deem him to be overestimating himself, but the unwavering confidence on Ryu''s face spoke of a different story entirely.


    Ryu had read through all of the alchemy techniques he had picked up, but he hadn''t planned on directly using any one of them, that was why he had chosen so many in the first place.


    Alchemy techniques mostly differed in methods of refinement and fusion. However, these were precisely the two steps that would make or break the purity of a pill or potion.


    What Ryu wanted to do was use them as reference to understand how other masters approached the problem. However, his main goal was to rely on his Dao to find the perfect path of refinement and fusion.


    If refinement and fusion was just about memorizing a method, there would be far more genius alchemists in the world. The problem was that this process could differ depending on the Spiritual Herb, its maturity, the environment it grew in, and even the atmosphere it was being refined in. These complexities were then multiplied by the number of Spiritual Herbs participating.


    The best alchemy techniques and the most methods for adaptation and even had calculation methods built in to calculate the best options and paths to take.


    However, Ryu didn''t need these. His Dao was designed to see through the secrets of the Heavens, why would he struggle with a mere few Spiritual Herbs of the Common Grade?


    He had fought against the Heavens themselves for the right to have a Hegemonic Dao, and he would use it to the fullest. A mere Common Grade pill wouldn''t stop him.


    The cauldron sizzled and Ryu''s fingers shifted. The refinement process was already finished. If one looked into the cauldron now, you would find motes of light floated about and a pile of ash below. The dichotomy was akin to heaven and earth.


    The flowing flames danced about the motes of light, coddling and joining them piece by piece, being very selective about the temperatures chosen and which unions came first and which ones followed.


    The flame Ryu was using was without a doubt the Rebirth Flame. However, alone the Rebirth Flames heat wasn''t enough. In fact, at its lowest level, the Rebirth Flame didn''t give off any heat at all.


    If a Phoenix wanted to alchemy, they would usually fuse it with another flame. Luckily, Ryu had many such methods. He fused his Rebirth Flame with his white flame and his Rage Flame. The control he had over them made him feel alive. In fact, it almost felt like his white flame was the most dominant of them all despite the fact he had made his Rebirth Flame the core.


    Suddenly, Ryu slapped the cauldron, his gaze sharpening as he snatched a pill out of the air.

 Chapter 959 Solution

    92%.


    If anyone was here to witness such a feat, shock would be the least exaggerated reaction that they could give. To do this on one''s first try was unheard of, so much so that maybe in the history of alchemy, it had never happened before.


    If this Common Grade pill appeared in the market, there would be countless clans with toddlers on the rise that would fight tooth and nail to make certain that it was their son or daughter that got the chance to consume it. This would be the case even within the Seventh Heaven, maybe even the Eighth. The value of this pill was that exaggerated.


    Of course, value was still a relative term. They would pay an exorbitant amount in comparison to the worth of a Common Grade item. However, it would still be greatly lacking in comparison to an Earth Grade treasure, for example. Though it might dwarf many Black Grade pills of far lesser quality.


    However, Ryu looked toward the pill with disdain, his blind eyes even filled with a sense of derision and dissatisfaction. He had been certain that on his first attempt, he could concoct a Runed Pill, but he had actually failed.


    The only reason Ryu didn''t directly crush the pill was because he knew that he needed to analyze his mistakes. If it wasn''t for this, he would have probably already ground it powder beneath his clenched fist.


    Failure wasn''t something that Ryu was used to. No, it was more accurate to say that failure was something he abhorred. He could remember failing before, even as recently as his battle with Elena''s father, but that sort of failure was always directly branded on his heart.


    The only good news was that Ryu had two methods others didn''t have to rectify this failure.


    The first was his Origin Flame. Replaying the exact process without missing a single detail in his mind would help him greatly.


    The second was his Dao. By using his Dao to analyze his self-created pill, he could see through its flaws and measure out what needed to be fixed.


    Just now, Ryu had only used his fire and he had yet to use his Yin Water. He had been planning to perfect one path and then perfect another before fusing them into one for a better result. If he fused them right from the very beginning, it would be easy to miss small flaws that might stack up into the future and become a detriment to his advancement. By the time he reached that point, it would already be much too late for him to even consider fixing it.


    However, rather than following that initial plan, Ryu changed his mind and proceeded with his potion concoction directly, his thoughts unknown.


    The recipe for lower level pills and potions tended to be almost identical. In fact, most recipes were identical. The main difference was their preparation.


    Because of Yin Water''s attributes, forming higher purity concoctions was much easier in potion making. The reason for this was simple. The fires used in pill making burnt away what was useless and left behind what was important. The waters of potion making, though, extracted what was important instead, ignoring what was not.


    When fire was used, not only was it far easier to accidentally burn away what was important, but burnt materials were toxic in and of themselves. Even in food making, burnt food was considered carcinogenic, and this was increased manifold when pills were in the equation.


    So, when Ryu went through the very same process once again, he wasn''t surprised by the result, though he was still unsatisfied.


    99%.


    Ryu took out a potion bottle and all the clear liquid that almost looked like water to settle inside.


    If the Heavens would wage a bidding war over the first, there might be small scuffles to win the second. A 99% pure potion was among the rarest items in all of existence. There were even some alchemy organizations who wouldn''t dare to touch it, putting it on display for future generations instead in preservation treasures of far higher grade than even it.


    Of course, these were lower class alchemy organizations. The highest class would only deign to do this for potions or pills of the Runed grade.


    Ryu placed the pill and potion side by side, falling into silence.


    The reason his potion making was so much better on the first try wasn''t just due to the inherent advantage of potion making, it was also because Ryu had learned from his first attempt at pill making, shifting some of the mistakes away and making up for it. The result was this.


    ''I accounted for everything but the environment. No matter how dialed in my understanding of the pill and potion recipe is, or how well I can grasp the unique quirks of the ingredients, if my environment screws everything up, then there''s nothing I can do.''


    There were several problems.


    First, this wasn''t an alchemy room, it was a normal cultivation room. Rather than minimizing variables and errors, it actually invited them. After all, a cultivation room was designed to absorb and multiply the qi in the surroundings, thus making the potential variations during the concoction process far more difficult to manage.


    Second, Ryu had skipped a process he hadn''t thought was important. He didn''t wash his Spiritual Herbs.


    Usually, this would be left up to an apprentice or alchemist in training, but the main point was to clear away any outside impurities the Spiritual Herb might have faced.


    Ryu didn''t think it was very important to do this since he had his Dao, but upon further thought, that was a foolish decision. He had been so focused on the Spiritual Herb during the initial stages, if he wanted to account for all the impurities on its surface, there might be trillions to go through before he could finally start. How could he account for all those tiny particles?


    He would either have to wash them, or add another step to his refinement process where he burnt them first before continuing.


    The last was maybe the largest: his cauldron. Much like high class cooking ware, cauldrons had to be seasoned before their use, especially Embryonic Cauldrons. This would wash away any impurities left behind by their refinement process and prime the cauldron for alchemy. But once again, Ryu hadn''t done that.


    Ryu, though, felt that there was a solution to all of this.

 Chapter 960 Sit Tight

    There was a simple solution that Ryu had missed. He had used his Dao before the refinement and fusion process, but shouldn''t he use it during? This would solve all of these issues without him even having to take the steps that were mentioned. He could simply adapt to all these changes on the fly.


    This was probably Ryu''s largest oversight.


    However, Ryu still didn''t start right away. In fact, the first thing he did was crush his 92% pill and drop it into his 99% potion. Then, as though they weren''t worth much at all, he began to pour the mixture into his cauldron.


    The seasoning process was usually done with herbs. One would crush and apply them, smoothing it out into a paste and adding it to the inner surface of the cauldron. But like a blessed nouveau riche, Ryu was actually using a 99% potion and 92% pill instead!


    In fact, one after another, Ryu repeated this process again and again for each of the nine pills that he had chosen. One after another, without fail, each was at 99%.


    By the time he finished with the ninth pill, the inside of his cauldron was glowing with life and vitality. It was just a faint sheen, but compared to the dull black almost cast iron-like visage it had had before, this was akin to night and day.


    During this process, Ryu knew that he could push past 99%, but he didn''t allow his ego to get the best of him this time. If he seasons this cauldron with Runed potions and pills from the very beginning, it just might implode. Then, he would have to start all over again.


    Now, however, it was ready.


    There was no happiness or shock on Ryu''s face. As far as he was concerned, this was just to be expected. He was an Immortal Ring Realm expert concocting Common Grade pills, it was more embarrassing than anything else that he hadn''t immediately succeeded in finishing a Runed pill.


    Of course, this wasn''t how it worked. There were alchemy masters who were long since in the Sky God Realm that had never concocted a single Runed pill in their life. Even if they went back down to the Common Grade and tried, they would still fail, though their results might be five or so percentage points better.


    If you couldn''t succeed within your Realm, you would likely never succeed. This was a simple truth all alchemists knew, and Ryu knew it as well. It was just that¡­


    He held himself to a far higher standard than others held themselves to.


    Ryu was ready to start the next step even after a long day. Common Grade pills simply couldn''t leave a dent in his stamina. But he hesitated before he acted.


    He obviously couldn''t withstand the tribulation from this place. But he also didn''t dare to casually use his pill flame and potion waters outside. His pill flame relied on a combination of Ancestral Grade flames along with the unranked white flame. And, his potion water was the life''s work of a Perfect Sky God.


    He needed to use both pill and potion treasures to step into the combined path of both, a leap he planned to make right now. So it would be impossible to hide either.


    If he had a higher tier cauldron, he could easily hide them both inside without an issue. But¡­


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. There was another possibility. He could simply fuse his Void Spiritual Sense with his flames and Yin Water, making it impossible to tell what it was even if they laid eyes on it. In addition, doing this would multiply his control over both manifolds, it was an absolute win-win.


    Ryu tested it out and found that the solution was viable. He had never had great soul talent in his life, but in recent times, he was finding that it was only getting more and more useful to him. The fact he hadn''t had such a thing in the past was almost a tragedy.


    ''Let''s go all in, then.''


    ¡­


    Ryu stepped out of his abode, causing a commotion for those who were still paying attention to his actions and what he would do. But he completely ignored them and took a leap upward, landing atop the rock structure of the abode.


    When those still lingering in the surroundings saw the swath of Spiritual Herbs, they were shocked for a moment, and then suddenly confused about why Ryu would have so many Common Grade Spiritual Herbs.


    He was concocting Common Grade pills? For what purpose, exactly?


    However, Ryu had already begun, the ingredients for nine pills at once flying into his cauldron before the lid snapped closed.


    The cauldron began to glow a fiery red and a docile blue until both colors fused and became a vibrant violet.


    ? A suffocating pressure manifested from Ryu. It was a Dao the likes of which those here had never felt before, a Dao that made their knees weak and their bodies shiver. But for the life of them, they couldn''t pinpoint its strength. In fact, even if Ryu hadn''t used his Void Spiritual Sense, such a Dao was already beyond those of the First Heaven to calculate. There was a reason why those two Working Disciples of the Hidden Blade Sect had thought he had a Fragmented Dao at first, something only a Fragmented Sky God could have.


    Time ticked by and Ryu''s aura only seemed to grow stronger. The commotion he caused was not small, even disrupting the qi flow much higher into the mountain.


    At that moment, the skies began to rumble, causing a ripple of shock to course through the hearts of those present. Those in the distance who had wanted to approach suddenly froze, beginning to back away instead.


    A tribulation?


    They could already feel the might of the First Heaven weighing down.


    Ryu''s lip curled. Oh? Are you angry? Get angrier.


    "Take Form and Conquer the World!"


    BOOM!


    Within the cauldron, nine streams of energy and liquids hovered. Ryu could either choose to form them individually or take the final step right here and now, and attempt to combine them.


    Without hesitation, Ryu chose the latter.


    The moment he acted, a bolt of tribulation lightning descended, its speed face and its intention menacing.


    However, Ryu only removed a single hand from his cauldron, his eyes glowing with a green light as he pierced upward.


    Dividing Tribulation.


    Under the shocked gazes of all those present, Ryu shattered the bolt of tribulation as though it was nothing more than rotten wood.


    Sparks of lightning fell down and Ryu easily took control of them all, feeding them into his cauldron.


    Test his concoctions? Were these First Heavens even worthy?


    It could just sit sight in a rage and provide his creation with the energy it needed to shatter the 99% barrier.

 Chapter 961 Refinement

    Ryu treated the tribulation like it was something to toy with, his casual strikes seemingly piercing into the hearts of all those who watched him.


    The commotion of a tribulation wasn''t something that could be ignored. Let alone the disciples in the surroundings, even the elders at the highest echelon of the Sect were alerted. But when they too turned their attention to what was happening, they couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    "Who is that child?"


    The elders weren''t familiar with Ryu''s appearance. In truth, they weren''t familiar with the appearance of most disciples aside from the most astounding of the Core Disciples and the Inheritor Disciples. There was simply too much overturn, too much death, too many disappointments to care about investing so much in what was ultimately hundreds of thousands of youth.


    But even with all of this being the case, the moment they saw a disciple like this one, regardless of whether they knew his odds of growing to maturing were small or not, such a talent was so incredibly rare that their hearts couldn''t help but thrum.


    Their Sect had fallen from the ranks of Two Star Sect for a long while. Back when it happened, most of them hadn''t even been elders yet. However, the will of their predecessors lived on in many of them and they hoped to push the Sect back up to its former glory once more.


    Unfortunately it was difficult. Too difficult.


    Not only was meeting the standard itself a tall mountain to climb, but there were also two behemoth-like obstructions in their path¡­ The Hidden Blade Sect and the Iunae Clan.


    The fact that their most talented disciple was a descendant of the Iunae Clan was maybe the greatest humiliation of the Sect. It was all too clear that the Clan had done this on purpose to suppress their prestige and their momentum, not to mention sap away all of their secrets and foundation.


    Every day, Galemar seemed to earn himself a new piece of their greatest treasures. There was no doubt in the minds of the elders that he was bringing these secrets over to the Iunae Clan, likely in exchange for even more benefits. But there was nothing they could do.


    There was no one in the Sect that could suppress him. And even though he wasn''t an Inheritor Disciple, they were running out of excuses to stop him from stepping through that final tier.


    Any other disciple could be unceremoniously suppressed by the elders here. But if they tried to do so with Galemar, it would give the Iunae Clan the excuse they needed to step in. Once that happened, their Sect would truly be finished.


    The rankings might say that they were just a half step from Two Star, but in practice, this gap might as well have been an entire chasm.


    "No one knows?"


    The elder looked around only to find that no one seemed to have an answer for him. That was, until, his eyes landed on Elder Li of the disciplinary faction.


    "Elder Li?"


    Elder Li was snapped awake. Then, with a half bitter smile and half smoldering anger, he recounted the events of a few months ago. As they listened, many elders frowned, and the more hot tempered of them almost blew smoke from their ears. Such a thing had actually happened? Their Sect rules had been so easily flouted with no repercussions?


    It was only at that moment that many elders scanned the region, only to find that there were two heads on ice pikes outside of Ryu''s abode. They could only gasp at the brazenness. He didn''t seem to care about offending them in the slightest. He had just killed two disciples and then called the entire Sect''s attention over and didn''t even bother to hide his actions.


    Why were things like this? They had gone from seeing a bright hope and light for the future, to suddenly finding out that this ungrateful child couldn''t even be properly raised.


    What would happen if they put their full backing behind Ryu and he didn''t die? Would someone with such a disposition even know how to return their gratitude in kind? He would be more likely to raze their Sect to the ground. It might be better to kill such a scourge right here and now.


    However, when they thought about the fact that this young man had the backing of the Great Elder, none of them dared to move. Not that they could, regardless. Anyone with half a brain knew now to interfere with a tribulation, even if it was only for what seemed to be a Common Grade pill.


    When they reached this point in their thoughts, though, they froze.


    That was right. This was a tribulation for a pill. Didn''t that mean that this young man had formed a Runed Pill?!


    At that moment, Ryu''s fingers pierced upward once more, but this time, the momentum of his strike and the power behind it were completely unlike anything that came before it. It was as though he was saying that the Heavens had done their job and could scram now.


    A piercing and blinding white blade light shot into the skies, piercing through the center of the formed Tribulation Clouds and splitting them in two.


    Just like that, the rumbling of the skies came to a stop, replaced by an all new rumbling that came from none other than Ryu''s cauldron.


    Right then, the lid shot up, a resplendent pill following its wake. None present had ever seen a pill so beautiful in their lifetime.


    It was only about as big as two thumb nails, but its surface was formed into a crystal ball, golden runes dancing along it.


    Within this crystal ball, a gorgeous blue liquid swished around the like the waters of a clear ocean. It was an incomparably gorgeous sight.


    However, it seemed to be lacking something, something important that none could put their finger on.


    And it was then that it happened.


    Right where the clouds had split apart, a pillar of golden light shot down toward the pill.


    At the same time, Ryu''s body erupted in flames and he began to circulate the [Refinement Sutra].


    Large waves of Heavenly Favor began to storm into Ryu''s body, his skin glowing a bright light beneath the raging flames.

 Chapter 962 Another Way

    Ryu had chosen to use the very same method he used to hide the specialness of his flames to hide the ability of his Ice Jade Crystal Body. There was no way that Ryu would give up the benefits of absorbing such Heavenly Favor for the sake of hiding himself from the greed of others. He would maximize his absorption by not just using his nose and mouth, but also his skin itself.


    When the Heavenly Favor entered Ryu, he felt his mind shudder, his body entering a state of enlightenment that reminded him all too much of his Rebirth. In fact, it felt as though Ryu had only touched the tip of the iceberg of what his Rebirth could give him and his steps toward re-cultivation were only slowly unearthing the strength that he had rightfully deserved to command in the first place.


    It was as though Ryu was undergoing the Rites once more, everyone watching silently as they caught on to exactly what was happening.


    The first Rite¡­ the second¡­ the fourth¡­ the sixth¡­


    By this point, the elders were already watching with wide eyes. At this speed, wouldn''t he¡­


    The ninth Rite.


    The moment Ryu hit this point, his body released such a blinding golden light that it fused with his red flames, making it look as though he had dipped himself in Ambrosia.


    The Rite of Limitation.


    The rumblings began to quake the mountain, the once stable footing shaking and almost throwing some high class cultivators off of their feet. The commotion began to go beyond just the Sect and began to influence the surroundings.


    Undergoing the Rites while in the Awakening Realm wouldn''t cause such a commotion. However, somehow undergoing the Rites while already being in the Immortal Ring Realm was a different animal all together. All of the effects were multiplying several times over as enormous qualitative changes were taking root in Ryu''s body.


    It was as though the foundation of a skyscraper was being forcefully changed and with every improvement, ten more floors were added. The commotion would be far greater than if you started with the foundational changes from the very beginning. In fact, even Ryu himself felt his body threatening to explode. It was his will power alone that kept him together.


    Undergoing the Rites the first time had been difficult enough. But undergoing them with the pressure of his "skyscraper" weighing down on it was a different monster all together.


    The elders, though, couldn''t help but tremble. In their Sect, was there even a single one who had completed the tenth Rite?


    When they looked toward one another, they already knew that the answer was no. As difficult as completing Rites were in Sacrum, in the True Martial World, it was like pulling teeth from a fully adult Dragon. You would maybe only start finding geniuses who had completed the tenth Rite in the fourth or five Heaven.


    The elders were already shocked enough, but then¡­


    The Rite of Perseverance.


    Ryu roared into the skies, his veins popping out across his skin as his robes had long since been burnt to ash. The momentum of his roar startled the elders and the disciples. It felt as though a mighty dragon was being reborn right before their eyes, the sound alone making their hearts tremble and their knees buckle. However¡­


    The Rite of Death.


    Ryu''s skin peeled away, entering the flames before being incinerated to ash.


    The pain was unbearable, reaching levels that would make most want to smash their head against a rock and end it all. However, even with this being the case, Ryu didn''t have a thought even once. He had completed the 13 Rites once before, and he would complete them again. The True Martial World was his stage, his ground to stomp upon and his skies to plunder.


    Nothing would stop him.


    The Rite of Origin.


    The golden pillar turned into a bloody red, the impact expanding outward. The burning of Ryu''s flesh dug deeper, peeling away at his veins and his muscles until even part of his bone could be seen. However, Ryu''s mind itself was the picture of absolute clarity.


    He refused to lose his mind to the struggle and the pain. If he did so, his Void Spiritual Sense would waver and the secrets he was hiding would be exposed for all to see.


    These small, pitiful steps, that even a child of seven years old could take¡­ he would take them again. Tall, strong and unbothered.


    His 13 Immortal Ring glowed with a fiercer light, glowing with a radiance that seemed to rival even the pillar itself. The more steps forward Ryu took, the stronger it became and more enraged the First Heavens were. However, none of it mattered.


    "I, Ryu Tatsuya, look down upon your 13 Rites."


    The voice was steady and unhurried, yet it coursed with an unwavering arrogance that traveled across the Radiant Star Sect.


    The rumbling of the skies increased, but Ryu had already stepped across the final threshold. As he had already said, there was nothing here that could stop him. If he had succeeded once, he would succeed again. He would never fail in something his 14 year old self had succeeded in. He would never take a step backwards.


    The pillar of crimson slowly faded, leaving behind Ryu''s beaten and ragged body. But, just as quickly as he had been injured, his body seemed to also begin to rapidly heal. First the Heavens would punish, but then they would reward.


    Ryu''s pristine body slowly pieced itself back together, his handsome features shimmering with an added radiance. He felt that just now, he had gotten several times more powerful.


    Before, without his soul, he could probably only fight 3rd or 4th stage Path Extinction Realm experts at best. This was quite pathetic in his estimation since all the talents around him were Black Grade at the highest. This meant that if he was on a higher Heaven, he might only be able to fight those beneath him in cultivation.


    Now, however, Ryu didn''t feel like anyone at that level that was within the Path Extinction Realm could even touch the hem of his clothes.


    And maybe the best part¡­?


    His Bloodlines had somehow entered the Earth Grade. And his Meridians? They had crossed out of the Heaven Grade and entered the Sovereign Grade.


    It seemed he had found another method and released himself of his shackles.

 Chapter 963 Four

    Ryu didn''t believe that the difference would be so large once he completed recultivating the Pulse Opening Realm. Reason being, the likely reason for this large shift and upgrade was because of the blessing of the Rites themselves. It was as though Ryu had just gotten a large concentration of the True Martial World''s energy directly injected into his body, something that immediately caused a large upgrade of his talent and helped them to flourish somewhat once again.


    If Ryu was correct, there probably wouldn''t be such a large chance again until he crossed from recultivating the Mortal Realms into the Immortal Realms. However, this huge boost was enough for a small smile to spread across his face for the first time.


    Even completing the 13 Rites couldn''t move him. Why should it, he had done it once before. But now he felt a lot more like himself, like a weight holding him down had loosened considerably. It felt quite good.


    The gorgeous pill fell from the skies and obediently landed in Ryu''s palm.


    This scene was just as surprising to the elders as anything else had been. Truthfully, many looking on with greedy eyes, were waiting for the pill to shoot off just so that they could intercept it. Ryu looked far too calm and like he wasn''t ready to fight for it at all, so they had thought that there was a chance to take advantage.


    The truth was that if this pill was sold strictly as the Common Grade pill it was, it would at best cost as much as a high end Black Grade Pill, and maybe an Earth Grade pill if the conditions were just right and a bidding war ensued.


    However, if it was sold to an alchemy organization or a merchant group who could use it to promote their fame and draw in talented alchemists into their ranks under the promise that they could observe and study it, this would be a different matter all together!


    By that point, it might be worth more than even some Sky God level treasures! The worth of the pill sitting silently in Ryu''s palm right now was astronomical. And the most shocking part was that he hadn''t even refined it in a controlled environment.


    Runed Pills were known to hold their sentience and their main goal was to live and survive. The idea of one obediently returning to the palm of its creator was nothing more than fantasy, and yet that was the result playing out before them all in real time.


    So many things they couldn''t understand had happened before, and they just continued to happen without pause.


    These people were quite shameless to think of trying to take Ryu''s things. He would sooner crush the pill in his hand than give it to someone else. His pride wouldn''t allow such a thing.


    But truthfully, Ryu had no intention of selling this pill. This was his own self-created pill, one with a recipe only known to him that also happened to carry the secrets of the very foundation of his cultivation.


    Of course, it would take an exceptional alchemist to parse apart the secrets of Ryu''s Dao from just this pill alone. And, even if they did, it was unlikely that they''d be able to use it to harm him. But Ryu knew enough about Karma and its ties to understand that such a thing in the hands of someone else could very well be a great disaster.


    This wasn''t something that he would allow others to have. Plus, he had his own plans for it.


    Those watching could only lament when they saw Ryu put it away. Some of the elders watching from a far distance even hesitated, wondering if they should proposition Ryu to sell it to them.


    But to everyone''s shock, as though Ryu didn''t care for their thoughts or their gazes, he actually sat down once more. This time, several piles of Black Grade materials appeared and the atmosphere froze.


    Ryu began his process once more, the hours ticking by as he refined pills and potions well above the 90% marker, only to unceremoniously pour them into his cauldron and renew the process.


    By the end, the sound of rumbling thunder boomed from above and the second tribulation of the day fell onto the same location.


    And then the third¡­


    The Radiant Star Sect watched Ryu recultivate from the Awakening Realm, up past the Pulse Opening Realm, completing the Qi Refinement Realm, all the way until he completed the Spiritual Severing Realm and came to a stop.


    Beads of sweat fell down Ryu''s brow as he breathed out heavy breaths. He had used his Dao far too frequently and the pressure his body had been under as he underwent these changes was enormous.


    At the same time, while the first two Common Grade pills for the Awakening and Pulse Opening Realms had been fairly easily, the difficulty bumped up considerably for the Earth Grade Pills that he would need to refine for the Divine Vessel and Connecting Heaven Realms, not to mention the Heaven Grade Pill he would need for his current Immortal Ring Realm.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s Dao was still only an Immortal Dao. Meaning, although it was a Hegemonic Dao, it was still only a Hegemonic Dao for Immortal Cultivators.


    As he approached the limit of the mortal realms, his Dao needed to work harder to produce the same effects and it was quickly draining his Focus.


    If he was only refining normal pills, things would still be fine. But he was combining them into a pill that transcended its level by several times. Ryu wanted a pill whose Heavenly Favor could match up to his talent, so it was unsurprising that the toll was already heavy at the Black Grade. If it was too easy, he would actually be disappointed.


    It seemed he would have to find a way to raise his Dao to a Cosmic Dao soon. Either that, or he would need to slow down his progress and concoct only one of these every few weeks.


    Ryu carefully put his cauldron away and leapt down. Before anyone could react, his abode''s doors had already been slammed closed and he entered a deep, intensive sleep.

 Chapter 964 Hungry

    It took several weeks before Ryu even got up again, his mind feeling refreshed but his stomach growling like a wild beast. He realized that he had definitely neglected his nutrition. He was too used to going without food for long periods of time, but the pressure the True Martial World put on him and his body made it so that it was more necessary for him to eat more often, or else the strength of his body would regress.


    Ryu rose, realizing that he didn''t have any clothes. Or, rather, what was left was quite beaten and ragged. This had happened while he completed his cultivation, after all, he needed to coat himself in fire to hide the effects of his Ice Crystal Jade Body.


    Little Silks fabrics held up quite well originally, but as more of his strength returned to him, it became more and more difficult.


    Ryu tore away what remained with a hand, went to take a bath in the included hot spring, then had Little Silk make a new pair for him.


    Ryu stood before a mirror, staring at himself deeply. This wasn''t for his vanity, but rather because he felt a subtle change. In fact, he had felt it yesterday, but it hadn''t quite clicked when his mind was so focused.


    A hint of light. That was what it was. Ever since he completed his Rites, his eyes seemed to have taken a step forward. In fact, he took another step forward with every breakthrough.


    He could only faintly tell when a room was bright and when it was dark now, and he couldn''t even make out individual shadows of people and objects, but this change was enormous. It meant that Ryu really did have a path of unblinding himself.


    In truth, Ryu had been very worried about this. If even the Rebirth of the Phoenix couldn''t breathe life into his eyes, finding a treasure or trigger that could might be even more difficult than ascending to the Peak he sought after.


    But he knew he had to. His wives were in there, his companions were in there, he couldn''t allow them to remain stuck in a cage for all of eternity. Just the fact they had already been in there for over a thousand years made his heart ache.


    He had originally placed them inside for their protection, now he almost regretted doing so.


    Luckily, there was a light now. It was a faint light, but it was there.


    In all likelihood, his Rebirth had already done most of the work in resurrecting his eyes. Now, he just needed a last and final push to finally reawaken them. Once that happened, Ryu Tatsuya would truly be back.


    Still, now that the worries were gone and there was a path ahead, Ryu saw this as an opportunity rather than a curse. He had been trying to break away from his eyes for a long while now and there was no better chance than this.


    Heavenly Pupils definitely had a glass ceiling.


    Interesting enough, there was no talk of Heavenly Pupils in the library of the Sect. It was either because Heavenly Pupils weren''t worth much in this place at all, or it was because it was well above the paygrade of the First Heaven to have information about.


    Whether it was the first or second, only time would tell.


    However, regardless of what it was, because Ryu had consumed so many Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies, and because his Heavenly Pupils were now completing the final step of their evolution in the True Martial World itself, when they did finally awaken, the strength they would hold would be like night and day between their past selves.


    Ryu nodded to himself and turned to head to the door. With his alchemy skill, he should be able to trade a large amount of high level Earth Grade pills for true Earth Grade meat, rather than that fake Common Grade garbage the Twin Phase Merchant Group had tried to pass off as Heaven Grade meat.


    Earth Grade meat was likely very rare in the First Heaven and there might not even be a lot available. And, whatever was, was likely sourced from the Second Heaven by those with connections. But there should be a path available so long as he was willing to pay.


    Now that Ryu''s Bloodlines had returned to the Earth Grade, Common Grade meat wouldn''t even be able to fill his stomach, he needed something more substantial.


    If all else failed, he would go and hunt high level Black Grade beasts himself. His strength had taken a massive leap forward and after completing the Spiritual Severing Realm once again, he felt that he could battle even Dao Pedestal Realm Black Grade talent. He could once again just an entire cultivation Realm and a stage to battle and this was just the beginning.


    When Ryu opened his abode''s door, though, what he found froze his steps.


    Selheira stood outside waiting patiently, a white gown gracing her curves as the wind blew by. She must have been waiting for a while, but she still had that same unhurried and graceful smile on her face.


    When she heard Ryu come out, she turned back with a smile.


    She was about to open her mouth to speak before she suddenly paused.


    "Are you hungry?"


    Her analysis was spot on and she seemed to have the hawk-eye of a mother. Nothing escaped her senses and she pinpointed Ryu''s greatest trouble with ease. Everything else didn''t seem to matter anymore after she realized this.


    Though Ryu was a bit surprised, he still nodded.


    "I was planning to go and trade some of my pills for any Earth Grade meat I could find."


    Selheira blinked before a sense of understanding overcame her. She felt that Ryu was very special, or else Old Wan wouldn''t care about him. While others didn''t know who he was, Selheira was well aware that he wouldn''t take interest in anyone of the First Heaven without good reason.


    "Okay, then I''ll take you to someplace. Come along."


    A familiar snow owl descended from the skies. It gave Selheira an affectionate nuzzle and even moved to Ryu to repeat the same action.


    Ryu didn''t reject, smiling lightly and stroking the owl''s head as Selheira watched on in surprise.


    Ryu was quite fond of beasts. Their motives were straightforward and their thoughts weren''t overly complex. It was nice to enjoy their presence.


    Soon, the duo shot off, Selheira seemingly having forgotten all about her important task.


    Even though she had "forgotten", the commotion at the Sect gates most definitely hadn''t.


    A Sect experiencing four consecutive tribulations, not to mention a fifth from several months earlier, was bound to raise several eyebrows. Soon, news of Ryu''s four Runed Pills spread like wildfire and it brought countless figureheads from all over. It was even said that an expert that had been visiting from the Second Heaven had come as well after learning that Ryu had used a twin refinement technique.


    All of them only had one purpose: to see Ryu.


    Though, exactly what "seeing" Ryu meant could entail a whole hose of things.


    Despite this, Selheira disregarded it all because Ryu was hungry.

 Chapter 965 Gracefulness

    Selheira sat with the same unhurried and unbothered smile on her face as Ryu ate. Much like most others, she was surprised that Ryu managed to eat so much and yet somehow still maintain an elegant demeanor. He put most nobles to shame in both etiquette and how much food he could actually eat.


    What was the most shocking to Selheira, though, was the fact that Ryu was actually so easily absorbing so much Earth Grade meat and ingredients without the slightest sign of bloating. At first, she wanted to warn him to slow down, but after several moments, her delicate brows rose.


    She gained a little bit more understanding of Ryu''s talent at that moment. It seemed that he wasn''t just a heavenly alchemy talent, but from what she knew of the world, talent rarely came alone.


    Without having to worry about Ryu, Selheira calmly began to enjoy her own meal, her actions somehow even more refined than even Ryu''s.


    For such a tall woman, her every action was so gentle and delicate. It made her seem far more petite than she was, despite the fact she was only an inch or two shorter than Ryu.


    There was a comfortable silence in the air. Ryu didn''t seem to feel the need to talk and Selheira was very good at being content. Despite the fact the two hardly knew each other, they didn''t feel the need to force conversation.


    Ryu ended up clearing the restaurant of all the Earth Grade meat they had. It seemed like he could eat more, but there was simply nothing left to eat.


    He could only inwardly shake his head. It seemed that he would really have to rise through the Heavens faster. If he was so limited by resources, it would slow his growth too much. Plus, rising through the Heavens would allow him to have access to greater resources as well.


    One issue with completing the recultivation of the Divine Vessel Realm was definitely the difficulty, but the difficulty wasn''t helped by the fact he had so much difficulty final true Earth Grade materials as well. It was as though he was fighting a battle on two fronts and he didn''t like it.


    Ryu made a move to concoct a few pills in exchange for his meal, but a graceful hand pressed down on his forearm.


    "It''s okay, the shop owner owes me a favor."


    Ryu raised his head to meet Selheira''s gaze. Why did it feel like this woman could tell what he wanted to do before he even acted? It wasn''t as though his cauldron was stashed away, it was just in his spatial ring. A simple flip of his palm would cause it to appear. And yet she had still managed to stop him.


    Ryu wasn''t one who liked to accept favors, and his first instinct was to reject, but for some reason he couldn''t seem to say no at the moment.


    "It''s a small matter, never mind it," Selheira said lightly.


    Ryu could only nod in response and the pair found themselves on the back of a familiar snow owl not long later.


    "I''ve been fascinated by alchemists for a long time, it''s just too bad that I''ve never been very good at it. How long have you been practicing?" Selheira asked.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. "¡­ Three weeks and four days."


    Selheira blinked.


    Three weeks and four days ago? Wasn''t that the day the four tribulations fell? Was Ryu trying to say that that was his first day practicing alchemy?


    Selheira looked toward Ryu. If it was anyone else, she would think they were boasting. Though, being able to concoct a Runed Pill after millions of years of practice was already impressive enough, so there was no need to lie like this. But something about Ryu told her that he wouldn''t care to lie like this, he had too much pride to even think of lying for something as petty as impressing a woman.


    "¡­ You are very impressive," Selheira replied as she looked away.


    Now it was Ryu''s turn to be surprised. When he spoke, he was very much prepared to even be kicked off the back of this flying bird, but Selheira just accepted his words at face value.


    He did, indeed, disdain to lie. But that didn''t mean he also expected any and every one to believe him.


    "My Dao is uniquely tailored to helping me and they were Common and Black Grade pills to begin with, it was nothing impressive."


    Ryu found himself explaining, another thing he absolutely hated to do. Yet it almost felt like he was justifying himself. No, it was like he wanted to put her mind at ease by filling in the gaps for her.


    Ryu paused, not saying anymore before he shook his head and smiled. It seemed he was fond of this woman, something quite rare for him.


    Of course, he had been fond of women before, but this wasn''t in the same way. This was more like endearment rather than infatuation or lust. He even realized that although he could use his Spiritual Sense freely now, he had still avoided using it on Selheira.


    Selheira''s smile became a little wider, but she didn''t call out Ryu''s odd slip in character. He wasn''t the first to react like this around her. By now, she was used to it.


    But he was the first to catch himself and not be embarrassed by the outcome. He seemed so comfortable with himself, as though anything he did was right regardless of whether he had done so intentionally or not. It left her with a unique sort of feeling.


    The two sat in silence until the Sect came into view once again.


    At that moment, a squadron of flying birds came to intercept them. But upon noticing their identities, they were easily let through.


    It seemed that the defenses of the Sect had been raised a great level due to the commotion that Ryu had caused, even to the point they had to patrol the skies.

 Chapter 966 Legs

    "After all these years of friendship, you won''t even let me into the doors of the Sect? What is the meaning of this, Graelor?"


    Elder Li rubbed his forehead. He never thought that having so many connections would end up coming back to bite him like this. He didn''t even know what to say, it was just getting ridiculous at this point.


    "I''ve already said it once, Disciple Ryu is resting. In addition, the Sect does not own the property of their disciples, but they also won''t allow outside parties suppress talents."


    "Suppress? Who''s trying to suppress a talent?! We just want an equal exchange!"


    Elder Li cursed in his heart. Equal exchange? There wasn''t even a single complete Runed Pill to be found on the First Heaven, you would have to go up to the Third Heaven before you even found the first one.


    The cost of traveling between Heavens was astronomical. And even if you managed to hold onto a great power''s coattails to finally manage to make the trip, did you think that you''d be worthy of laying eyes on something an alchemy organization would sacrifice its entire foundation to maintain control over?


    Equal exchange? What kind of equal exchange could you possibly give?!


    At that moment, a snow owl appeared from above and swept down. A gentle surge of wind swept by and kicked up their hair before a pair appeared.


    Most didn''t recognize Ryu, but even those that had come from elsewhere recognized Selheira, the mysterious unranked disciple, or was it elder, of the Radiant Star Sect. She was a complete enigma and her fame had spread far and wide in the First Heaven for no other reason than her gentleness and the mystery around it.


    She seemed to leave a profound impression on whoever she came across, even to the point these world leaders knew a great deal about her¡­ except what her cultivation level was and where she came from.


    The young man to her side looked remarkable as well, but they had no idea who he was. However, Elder Li knew him quite well. Only then did he sigh a breath of relief. Now that this infuriating brat was here, let him deal with the nonsense. All that bullshit about protecting disciples flew out the window the moment he found an opportunity to escape.


    "Disciple Ryu, you''re finally here!"


    The eyes of the leaders lit up. So this was the alchemist they had all been wondering about. No wonder he felt so extraordinary.


    An avalanche of noise was about to begin, but Ryu only spoke softly and yet still seemed capable of suppressing them all.


    "I will exchange one custom Common or Black Grade 99% pure pill-potion in exchange for a preserved Earth Grade beast''s complete corpse. Lower and Middle for Common, Higher and Peak for Black.


    "I will exchange on custom Earth Grade 99% pure pill-potion in exchange for a preserved Heaven Grade beast''s complete corpse.


    "I will exchange one Common Grade Runed pill-potion for ten Heaven Grade beast carcasses. I will exchange one Black Grade Runed pill-potion for ten Heaven Grade beasts carcasses including their Beast Cores. I will exchange one Earth Grade Runed pill-potion for a top class Mystical Grade Dao Charm technique, it will be custom if it is a Dao Charm Soul Technique.


    "I will also exchange an Earth Grade Runed pill-potion for the piece of a Sovereign Grade beast''s body, so long as it''s substantial.


    "I prefer beasts which have fire or ice affinities. In addition, the Dao Charm technique must be either a movement technique, a bow technique, or a sword staff technique if it is not a Soul Technique.


    "As a final point, I will not exchange with the Iunae Clan or the Hidden Blade Sect."


    After Ryu finished with his words, he turned to leave. He had said everything he needed to.


    In truth, these prices were cheap. But he also knew that this was the best he could hope for in a place like this. This would also allow him to gather up resources without having to waste time personally in finding them.


    He didn''t plan on breaking into the Path Extinction Realm until he recultivated up to the Immortal Ring Realm now, so it would take some time. However, he still had to focus on his Mental Realm cultivation and his Body Realm cultivation. In addition, his current Dao Charm techniques weren''t up to his standard yet.


    He might have asked for a Mystical Grade technique, but he wasn''t ready to use such techniques just yet. These Heaven Grade techniques would be with him until the Dao Pedestal Realm, so he had to make the most of them now. He knew that he had a ton more power to squeeze out of them.


    Ryu, though, didn''t seem to realize that his words had set off a bomb.


    His demands for his pills were still reasonable. Some felt that it was far too expensive, but when they thought about the fact that there was no one else that they could get such pills from on the First Heaven, they forcefully accepted it. Plus, they knew that even if there were skilled alchemists on higher Heavens, would they even be free to concoct for small fry like them?


    However, when he spoke of his bans, the elders of the Radiant Star Sect sucked in  cold breath, let alone the others. The representatives of the Hidden Blade Sect and Iunae Clan especially froze in place.


    Some of the elders who had had poor impressions of Ryu suddenly did a complete 180, looking toward the youth''s back with sparkling eyes.


    Of course, they thought that Ryu had done this for the prestige of the Sect. They had been suppressed by those Two Star behemoths for so long, it finally felt good to get back at them.


    But in reality, Ryu just disdained the Hidden Blade Sect and he hated the Iunae Clan because of Galemar. It was just that simple to him. There were plenty of other powers who would have things to exchange and keep him busy, he didn''t have to feed his enemies as well.


    Just as Ryu was making his way into the distance, a powerful aura appeared in the sky and fell like a meteor.


    BANG!


    The figure crashed down in front of Ryu, an icy aura that caused the temperature to plummet around him.


    Ryu recognized him immediately. This was none other than one of the young men he had saved that day in the ice mountain.


    He arrogantly looked up at Ryu, seemingly not realizing that he was almost an entire head shorter until he felt his neck tilting up.


    Feeling slightly uncomfortable and wishing that he had landed further away, the young man adjusted himself and became several levels more arrogant in his tone.


    "My Senior Sister would like to see you. Come with me."


    Ryu looked down at him, his blind eyes unfocused, but his disdain was still all too clear.


    "Does she not have legs? Scram."


    Ryu stepped around the young man who had entered a dazed state.


    The elders of the Radiant Star Sect almost fainted. There was a very good reason why they had stopped everyone else from entering freely but not this young man. He was from the Second Heaven!

 Chapter 967 Senior Sister

    The young man had no idea how to react. At first, he stupidly thought that Ryu was asking a legitimate question and he almost screamed out that it was obvious his senior sister wasn''t crippled. But he managed to catch himself all for his anger to nearly explode through the roof.


    His palm struck out in a rage, causing Ryu''s gaze to turn frosty. However, before he could do anything, the energy that should have hit his back dissipated into thin air and became nothing more than a gentle breeze.


    "Think is Radiant Star Sect territory. Please be mindful."


    A gentle voice came from Ryu''s side and a woman the young man had ignored entirely spoke words that if said by another would have made the young man fly into another rage, and yet when he heard them, he suddenly felt like all the anger in his body was washed away.


    The young man frowned, his head turning to meet eyes almost hidden behind a veiled face. He was so lost for a moment, unable to extricate himself from those deep blue eyes. However, by the time he snapped out of it, he realized that she wasn''t even looking at him anymore. In fact, she had already disappeared into the distance with Ryu.


    He couldn''t understand what was happening. Where had the strength from his blow gone? And what was that just now? A Soul Technique? It couldn''t be that he was that infatuated by a face he couldn''t even see, right?


    The young man furiously shook his head. Some of his friends had said things like the temperament of a woman was far and beyond the most important thing, but he always found it to be nonsense. With his status, if her beauty couldn''t catch his attention and stand out in a crowd, he didn''t even want her. How the hell would he show off if not? If she wasn''t worth showing off, then how would he feel a sense of satisfaction in conquering her?


    However, for some reason, those eyes, even though it had maybe only been a few minutes, he couldn''t get them out of his head.


    ''I have to go to senior sister to ask her if there''s a marker on my soul. This sounds dangerous.''


    The young man left in a hurry, his thoughts unknown to those who were still watching. But at that moment, the legend of Selheira only seemed to become deeper and more entrenched. There were multiple World Sea Realm experts here and many of them didn''t dare to take that strike head on, yet it didn''t even cause a crack in the ground.


    They looked toward one another and chose to remain silent. Even the representatives of the Hidden Blade Sect and Iunae Clan who had had every intention of kicking up a fuss using their Two Star status suddenly realized that there were more hidden secrets remaining in this "dying" Sect than they were willing to admit.


    ¡­


    "Koris, you''ve returned?"


    A light voice sounded out, but it seemed to carry a hint of confusion. It could tell that the young man had returned alone, it couldn''t be that he had forgotten the task she had given him, right?


    It was only after hearing this voice, Koris seemed to snap out of his stupor and it finally hit him what had happened. One part of his mind had been occupied with what might be wrong with him and the other part was filled with a sudden infatuation, so he had even forgotten something so crucial.


    Despite hearing the voice, Koris still knocked on the doors politely and only entered after hearing affirmation.


    "Senior sister Jeneless¡­"


    Jeneless sat in the middle of the highest class training room the First Heaven had to offer, her training robes sticking to her somewhat as she sweat profusely, but she didn''t seem to care because the fear she had instilled in her junior brothers was so much so that they didn''t even dare to look even if she had been stripped naked before them.


    She didn''t say a word even after Koris finished the story of what happened. It wasn''t until several minutes later that she poked a finger and a ray of light entered Koris'' forehead.


    "¡­ Your Spiritual Waves are a bit odd, but not exaggerated enough to indicate the use of a Soul Technique. You also said she dissipated your attack and you have no idea how?..."


    Jeneless rose up. "You can leave now. I will go personally in a day or two."


    "But senior sister, this isn''t worth your effort. This brat is too arrogant, he hasn''t even stepped into the Path Extinction Realm, I could have grinded him into meat paste with my pinky toe if¡ª!"


    "Well, his worth isn''t in his combat prowess, now is it?" She replied lightly.


    "Yes, but they''re still just Common and Black Grade pills. He''s in the Immortal Ring Realm, by now, he could be able to concoct Heaven Grade pills but he doesn''t even attempt to concoct even Earth Grade pills!"


    Of course, this wasn''t true. Ryu had said that he would exchange his Earth Grade concoctions as well. It was just that Koris didn''t have the full story because he couldn''t be bothered to sit around and wait like everyone else and went off to play instead. But he couldn''t let his senior sister know that.


    "It''s likely that he''s just too weak to bring out the full power of that trump card of his."


    "Hm?" Koris'' brows shot up. "Senior sister, you think¡­?"


    "What else could the answer be? You tell me, how many alchemy masters have succeeded in forming a complete Runed pill in the Second Heaven regardless of the pill grade?"


    Koris froze. "¡­ None."


    "And of those who''ve succeeded in forming an incomplete Runed pill, they''ve only succeeded once at most by stroke of luck and those alchemy masters are even alive any longer. This is how rare it is for such a thing to happen throughout history¡­"

 Chapter 968 Profitable

    A bit of Jeneless'' real face began to show, her lovely features forming into a sneer filled with derision and disgust. It was as though she had just heard the "greatest joke" in the world and it only deepened her disdain further.


    "But now you expect me to believe that nameless Inner Disciple of not even a Two Star power can somehow finish not just one, but four in a single setting? It''s worse than just a joke, it''s a slap to the fact of the entire alchemy community.


    "If it isn''t a lie, something I''m not totally convinced by, then it definitely means that he has a world shattering treasure on him, one that he''s actually stupid enough to reveal.


    "The only reason I won''t outright kill him is because then it will be obvious that I have the treasure instead. I''ll just make him obedient and docile, and let him keep taking the brunt of the heat. This kind of treasure isn''t something that even we could protect, so we have to proceed with caution and we also have to act before those Two Star powers do.


    "Once we get our hands on the treasure, then clearing what remains of the Flowing Frost Ruins shouldn''t be difficult at all. Then I can find that bastard that injured my soul and crush him."


    Jeneless grit her teeth, hard. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn''t even dare to seek out revenge. Anyone with an Ancestral Grade Talent would be highly sought after even in the Seventh and Eighth Heavens, she didn''t dare to go up against that.


    However, if she managed to get a Perfect Sky God''s inheritance, there might be a treasure in there that could help her flip the tables and close the gap. If she then used a soul absorption technique, although she wouldn''t be able to make herself a Perfect Blackbody Soul, she would be able to gain some Blackbody characteristics and it would be enough to match up to a Heaven Grade and maybe even Sovereign Grade talent.


    If she could succeed in this, her future would no longer be limited to the Third Heaven at best, she would be able to go beyond and chase greater aspirations.


    When she thought to this point, her blood boiled. Cultivators were born to take risks. Every day of their lives was fueled by this. If you weren''t willing to put your life on the line, you might as well kill yourself.


    At that moment, a splitting headache assaulted Jeneless and she grabbed her forehead. She had gotten too agitated, forgetting that she still hadn''t fully healed her soul.


    Jeneless got more angry when the backlash hit her, but this only made things worse. She eventually forced herself to calm down, taking deep breaths.


    "What about the Recruitment, though?" Koris asked tentatively.


    "Who cares about the Recruitment? He''s only in the Immortal Ring Realm, anyway, it isn''t as though he has fate with it anyway." She replied, still quite irritable.


    "No, I mean that we only came early because of the information we got about the Ruin, but very soon the others will arrive as well. If we let things continue like this, news will inevitably spread and we also won''t have time to return to the Ruin without potentially exposing it."


    "Isn''t that why I said we will have to be careful? Don''t worry about the details, you''ve never been very smart to begin with, I will handle it. Just follow my orders and everything will be fine."


    Jeneless rubbed her forehead and shook her head.


    She never understood why they bothered to recruit from lower Heavens. Sure, a talent or two might appear once every generation, but it probably took at least ten generations for one that could actually rival the top geniuses of the Second Heaven to appear.


    Plus, the entire point was to find a way to break into the Fourth Heaven which was a huge dividing line. So, being the best amongst the Second Heaven wasn''t even the bar they should be looking for, they should be looking for someone who could be the best of the Third Heaven and make a large enough mark in the Heaven''s Path to open up the gateway once more.


    However, every ten years or so, without fail, they would begin this recruitment process, all for the sliver of a sliver of a chance to be the Sect or Clan that raised this genius.


    In her eyes, it was nothing more than pathetic. She would have passed the task on to someone else if it wasn''t for the fact she found clues about this Ruin.


    A Perfect Sky God was a pinnacle expert of the Fourth Heaven, and a powerhouse who demanded respect even on the Fifth. To have such an inheritance in her hands would be maybe an even greater boost in power than upgrading her Soul Talent to the Heaven Grade.


    She had to have it and Ryu seemed to be the answer.


    **


    Ryu had no idea what sort of conversation was happening between Koris and Jeneless, mostly because by the time he got back to his abode, a runner holding a list of orders had already arrived along with several spatial rings filled with materials.


    Ryu was quite speechless. He had just left the gates of the Sect and had taken a leisurely walk with Selheira back here, but who knew that in just a dozen or so minutes, he''d already have so much work on his plate.


    Selheira smiled, "it seems you have a lot of work to do. If you don''t mind, I''ll just watch from the side."


    Ryu shook his head. There was no use in minding such a thing because just by glancing at the list, it seemed that many were asking for Runed Pills. If he wasn''t outside, he wouldn''t be able to concoct them anyway since he didn''t have a special pill room.


    With a leap, Ryu sat back in his normal rocky spot atop his abode and pulled out the first spatial ring.


    It seems that alchemy would be quite profitable for him.

 Chapter 969 Slow

    It didn''t take long for Ryu to notice something quite curious. Each one of these spatial rings contained at least three sets of ingredients. Some included four or five, some even had as many as ten.


    Of course, these weren''t attempts at bribing Ryu, nor were they asking for more than one pill to be formed. Rather, it was simply common practice.


    When asking for an alchemist''s work, not only would materials be provided, but several sets of them would be, in fact. Depending on the difficulty, more or less ingredients would be provided and if the minimum number wasn''t met, then the commissioner would have to accept the possibility of failure.


    If the minimum threshold was met, then the risk would be on the alchemists shoulders. If the alchemist failed, they would have to procure more materials themselves to complete it at no extra cost.


    However, to Ryu, all he saw was free money.


    He didn''t need more than a single set to succeed at all. His Dao was too powerful. In addition, when he spoke about struggling with Earth Grade pills, that was in relation to his self-created pill-potion recipe which embodied the characteristics of his eight trigram diagram.


    When it came to normal Earth Grade pills, Ryu was more than just a little confident. In fact, he was 100% that there was no pill beneath the Heaven Grade that he wouldn''t be able to concoct. The power of a Hegemonic Dao wasn''t to be trifled with.


    Ryu began to work immediately. His mind was fresh and his body was fed, energy was practically brimming out of him.


    He had no plans to store the extra Spiritual Herbs away. Instead, he directly used them to season his Embryonic Cauldron.


    By this point, Ryu''s Embryonic Cauldron radiated the light of a natural treasure. Most alchemy cauldrons wouldn''t experience the tempering of even a single tribulation in their lifetime, but Ryu''s own had already experienced four. In addition to that, it had been seasoned by 64 99% percent pure pills and potions.


    Currently, it gave off the aura of a Black Grade Embryonic Cauldron, but its presence was so dense and whole that it would suppress any Earth Grade cauldron it was in the presence of, being already comparable to Heaven grade treasures after just a single long session.


    Of course, this wasn''t solely due to the tribulations and seasoning, another huge reason for this great growth were Ryu''s Yin Water and Alchemy Flame.


    After absorbing the Flowing Frost Yin Water, known to carry that absolute cold of a Perfect Sky God level existence, Ryu''s Ice Phoenix Talent had catalyzed just as much Life Qi, making what was once a powerful enough natural treasure to be used as a weapon to also become just as potent of a life saving treasure.


    Even though Ryu was forced to seal most of the power of the Flowing Frost within his Yin Water Seed as its full strength would freeze him to death, just the small portion he could used was filled with so much life and vitality that if one didn''t know better, it would be possible to mistake Ryu''s cauldron from a breathing entity.


    Between every stage of improvement, Ryu would always make sure to infuse his Yin Waters and Alchemy Flame into his Embryonic Cauldron, causing it to gain faint traces of their abilities and also expanding its ability to deal with both extreme high and low temperatures.


    The vibrant Life Qi that the walls of the Embryonic Cauldron held were not only already strong enough to increase the purity of the pills Ryu concocted with no effort on his part, but it also breathed life into the medicinal seasonings Ryu used, making their effects even more potent.


    But this was just the effect of one side, there was still Ryu''s Alchemy Flames.


    Being entangled with so many Phoenix Flames made Ryu''s cauldron which was already designed for growth and advancement to soak it all up like a dry sponge. Its walls were slowly beginning to gain a deeper and deeper dark gold light that held a hint of the power of Rebirth along with Life.


    When these two came together, it was simply impossible to find a stronger combination for alchemy.


    If Ryu were to give up on this cauldron right now and hand it off to an Awakening Realm youth just starting on their journey, they might gain as much as 20% of purity in concocting Common Grade pills without any additional effort on their part!


    Such a huge leap''s value didn''t need to be explained. And yet Ryu didn''t seem to care about it at all.


    The only reason he was so diligently prepping his cauldron wasn''t to make the task of concocting easier, but rather so that he could continue to concoct higher level pills in the future. Very soon, he would need a cauldron that could withstand much greater heat and much more frigid cold. If his cauldron wasn''t prepared for this, it would crack and shatter beneath the pressure, ruining his ingredients, potentially injuring him, and limiting his progress.


    Only this way could Ryu ensure that he would always have a cauldron that would keep up with him.


    So, like this, Ryu continued on to concoct hundreds of pills a day. In fact, he concocted several at a time, not feeling that it was very difficult at all. The wide ranging temperatures were easily controlled by him using a combination of methods unique to himself.


    The only time he rested was to devour the food he had gained in return for his services and rest his mind.


    The more orders Ryu completed, the less it was possible for people to believe that it was a fluke and the more red-eyed the elders of various powers.


    If you had a complete set of Ryu''s 99% pure pills for the Common and Blade Grade, you could have your most talented children complete the first and second Realms of Qi Cultivation in quite literally a week or two. Once they entered the Qi Refinement Realm, things would slow, but it would still be possible to complete within a month! And the same was true of the Spiritual Severing Realm which might only take a few months more.


    The results were that exaggerated!


    Very quickly, this became less about helping promising young geniuses gain a leg up, and more like an arms race. In as little as a decade, the Clans and Sects that were stingy now would find their youths wholly lacking. It was as though Ryu was single-handedly shifting the talent of an entire generation upward just on his merits alone.


    The treasures soon came in faster and faster, and the lists became longer and longer. Even the Radiant Star Sect quickly realized that Ryu wouldn''t be taking any time out of his day to concoct for them. If they wanted something, they had to get in line like everyone else.


    But what left the likes of the Radiant Star Sect aching was the fact that even Ryu''s Earth Grade pills wouldn''t be very useful to them. They usually admitted from the Immortal Ring Realm up, what good were Earth Grade pills in such a situation?


    Ryu didn''t really care very much for the Radiant Star Sect, though. He had only come here to erase the annoyance in his heart and because he speculated that there might be something special about this place since Galemar had come here despite being from a Two Star Clan.


    In truth, Ryu had stumbled upon something quite special, that being Old Wan and Selheira who both seemed to have odd and unexplainable origins. In addition, he had managed to get his hands on the [Refinement Sutra].


    But, ultimately, what did the specialness of Old Wan and Selheira have to do with him? In addition, [Refinement Sutra] was such a low level technique that it could have been found in Sects and Clans that couldn''t even be considered One Star, so Ryu could have gone anywhere to find it.


    There just wasn''t very much enticing about this place.


    As the days passed, though, Ryu began to become a bit frustrated.


    The first Body Realm was the Pulse Tempering Realm and the second was the Vessel Tempering Realm. Both relied on suturing his Bloodlines to a certain point and using their momentum to open key points in his body, namely, his Body Pulses and Body Vessels.


    Ryu was very much interested in strengthening his body now because how strong his body was would dictate how well he could use his greatest trump card: his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    He could expand his Spiritual Sea endlessly so long as his body was also endlessly powerful. This was an amazing tool to take advantage of, especially in battle.


    After recultivating the first four Qi Realms, Ryu already found that his soul was lagging behind again. But this shouldn''t be the case. After all, he had an Ancestral Grade soul, he knew he had far more potential to squeeze out.


    The main issue was that while he was at the Peak of the Soul Birth Realm, he already couldn''t expand his Spiritual Sea much further due to him sensing the limit of his body.


    He devoured as much Earth Grade meat as he could get his hands on, only handing over the Ice Qi ones to Little Silk, but the progress was so slow he could only be unsatisfied.


    His alchemy was getting him exactly what he wanted, but it wasn''t working. It had only been a few days, but Ryu knew enough to know that there wouldn''t be any sudden shifts coming.


    ''If only I could use [Refinement Sutra] for my body as well¡­ And maybe even my soul¡­''


    If Ryu could do it, he would. The trouble was that the circulation method for [Refinement Sutra] wasn''t designed to be used in this way. The circulation method was already tied to the meridians from the very beginning.


    He had changed the name to [Refinement Sutra] from [Pill Refinement Sutra] since technically any Heavenly Favor could be swallowed up so long as you had this method. But that didn''t mean that this Heavenly Favor could be absorbed as you pleased. It was unfortunate.


    Ryu fell into deep thoughts, but he unfortunately didn''t get to think for long before he felt Selheira who had been silently sitting by his side all the while shift.


    He looked up only to find a familiar annoying face walking toward them. Hadn''t he already taught this woman a lesson?

 Chapter 970 Sharp

    Ryu was about to begin concocting a new pill, but he chose to take a pause instead, watching as Jeneless and Koris made their way forward. It was very clear and obvious that the Radiant Star Sect had no ability to stop these two from acting as they pleased, even to the point where they simply strolled up to Ryu''s residence like this.


    In fact, if Ryu had been inside, he had no doubt that they would have forced themselves in regardless. They didn''t seem to have such qualms.


    Ryu was quite used to dealing with people like this. Jeneless might have come here after he made her, but that didn''t mean that she would be happy about it. In fact, the fact she buried her rage and came here likely meant that she was going to try to find a way to pressure him and return it a hundredfold.


    Jeneless swept a glance over the region, lingering far longer on Selheira, who sat by Ryu''s side, than anyone else. Though her eyes narrowed, she didn''t say anything to the mysterious veiled woman and simply turned to Ryu.


    "Don''t allow my presence to stop you. Since you dare to concoct out in the open, I presume you also don''t care about having one more observer, correct?"


    Ryu rested an elbow on his thigh, propping his jaw up with a fist as he stared at Jeneless. He didn''t seem to be in any hurry to start, nor did he seem put off by the gaze of someone so powerful.


    "Instead of playing games, why don''t you tell me what you want?"


    Ryu''s bluntness caught Jeneless off guard. In her mind, Ryu would want to stall for as long as possible and take her up on her offer.


    In truth, Jeneless, while 90% certain that Ryu was relying on a treasure, wasn''t quite yet 100%. The reason for that was because Ryu was too casual. Even if Ryu was too immature to know how to hide his secrets and bide his time, was he also stupid enough to concoct out in the open like this knowing that he could be exposed at any moment?


    Jeneless wanted to check personally if there were any tricks that Ryu was playing. She didn''t trust these dregs of the First Heaven to have eyes as sharp as herself. But she also hadn''t expected Ryu to not even entertain her.


    She had heard from Koris how arrogant this young man was, but she didn''t expect that he would still dare to be like this when she was standing right here.


    Koris'' temper flared and he almost exploded. But when he remembered that Selheira was still there, he managed to restrain himself, remembering what had happened last time. He still had no idea how his attack had been so unceremoniously dismissed without the slightest hint of effort.


    He was certain that if Selheira wasn''t there, he could slap Ryu to death with a single palm. Of course, what he didn''t know was that Ryu might not be able to defeat him, but him believing that a single palm was more than enough was nothing short of a pipe dream.


    In fact, if he tried to push Ryu too far, Ryu had some methods that could make him suffer greatly. Ryu would rather be exposed than humiliated, and once he was exposed, his fury would know no bounds. He didn''t have much sympathy or patience for people insistent on pushing him into a corner.


    Jeneless opened her mouth to speak, but was surprisingly interrupted by Selheira.


    "You are Jeneless of the Frost Cap Mountain, correct? If my information is correct, you should be one of the overseers for the coming selection. According to the rules, it is inappropriate for an overseer to see a contestant ahead of the coming date, isn''t that correct?"


    Jeneless froze, his gaze flickering with confusion and then a bit of irritation.


    "Do you really take me for a fool? An Immortal Ring Realm expert participating in such a competition? Do you take me for a dog you can just shoo away?"


    Jeneless was surprised by her own words. She didn''t know why she felt so agitated when meeting Selheira''s gaze. She didn''t even feel her soul hurting any longer, she only felt that this woman was extremely soothing for some reason, but that only made her more annoyed.


    "Not all Immortal Ring Realm experts are created equal," Selheira replied just as gently.


    Jeneless pursed her lips and nodded her head before she released a chuckle.


    "Okay, alright." Her laugh became slightly more unhinged, but just barely managed to remain within the boundaries of elegance. "Then I, Jeneless Revardan, choose to tag Ryu Tatsuya as my Chosen. Should he not appear on the day of the competition, I reserve the right to slaughter him as I deem fit. I assume that you have no qualms about this?"


    Rather than responding, Selheira looked toward Ryu. But, Ryu himself hadn''t budged an inch, it was as though he hadn''t taken it all very seriously at all. Selheira might have spoken for him, but she was very much correct, he had every intention of participating, he was already very close to having the necessary strength.


    Well, "necessary" was relative. Ryu could already compete, but just competing wasn''t his style.


    The skies above thundered and Jeneless'' head snapped upward. She suddenly frowned, looking back toward Ryu himself. Did his name already weigh so heavily in the First Heaven? Something felt off.


    Seeing that she wasn''t going to get a response from Ryu, Jeneless sneered and turned to leave. There was nothing more to say here.


    This plan was actually even better than her original one. Since she had laid claim to Ryu, she had every moral right to step in as she pleased. If Ryu dared not to show up, then dealing with him would be easy. If he actually did dare to show up, then the moment he lost, dealing with him would be even easier.


    When the two were gone, Selheira spoke.


    "I''m sorry for speaking on your behalf."


    "You spoke the truth and got rid of an annoying pest for me, I don''t see the issue."


    Selheira smiled. "You don''t strike me as a person who is so understanding."


    "Usually not," Ryu spoke as he began to concoct his next pill. "Only my family would be able to get away with that most of the time. My temper isn''t the best."


    "Your family?"


    "My parents, my grandparents, and my wives," Ryu replied.


    Selheira smiled. "That''s rare. You sound like you are very close with them, that usually doesn''t happen. Close families in this kind of world don''t happen very often¡­"


    There was a hint of melancholy in Selheira''s voice that made it quite clear that this was something she longed for but couldn''t have. One couldn''t choose your family, unfortunately, and if there was one thing that Ryu was blessed to have in this world other than his talent, it was definitely that.


    Her plight reminded Ryu of Ailsa. Even until the end, he hadn''t seen an appearance of the Faerie King and his so-called father-in-law. With such a large commotion taking place, Ryu didn''t believe for a moment that the Faerie King was unaware.


    But, once again, the Faeries had chosen to remain unmoving and neutral. They simply weren''t a people under a leadership that he could respect.


    Ryu finished off another pill and stored it away before using the rest of the ingredients to season his Embryonic Cauldron further.


    "Then you''ll just have to make your own family."


    Ryu met Selheira''s gaze and there didn''t seem to be any devious intentions behind his unfocused silvery eyes.


    After a moment, Ryu rose to his feet, his thoughts still swarming about. Thoughts of how to increase his body''s strength were still at the forefront of his mind. In fact, even when Jeneless had been here, most of these thoughts had been occupied by it.


    "Let''s go to a place. I''ll give you 70% of the rewards so long as I can borrow your strength and you allow me first choice of the items."


    Selheira''s brows raised. She already had quite the understanding of Ryu and this wasn''t normally something that he would say either. But in the end, she nodded.


    In truth, she wasn''t very interested in this 70%, but she knew that if she rejected it, Ryu wouldn''t bother going anymore.


    Several hours later, thanks to the speed of the snow owl, the two made it back to a familiar mountain range.


    It took several more hours for Ryu to find the true entrance, but once he did, Selheira''s curiosity was piqued.


    "A Ruin? It seems to be a Perfect Grade Ruin at that. I didn''t know you had such skills as a Ruin Master."


    It was clear that Ryu hadn''t known where the entrance was until they got here, yet it only took him a few hours to find. Selheira was maybe more shocked about this than even Ryu''s skill in alchemy. But that was because¡­


    "I didn''t expect that you would also be a Ruin Master, this will make things much easier," Ryu replied.


    Selheira''s brows jumped before the gentle smile returned to her face.


    Ryu was actually so sharp.

 Chapter 971 Useless

    Ryu''s actions had been extraordinarily subtle, so subtle, in fact, that most wouldn''t have realized that he was looking for something, they would have only thought that he was following a map in his head.


    After learning how to use his soul properly, many of the weaknesses Ryu had gained with the loss of his eyes could be made up with a combination of his Void Spiritual Sense and his Dao. Paired with the knowledge he had, even if he wasn''t familiar with the history of this world, Ryu had a lot of skills that he could still easily apply.


    And yet, Selheira had seen through him, so clearly, she was also a very skilled Ruin Master.


    Truthfully, if it wasn''t anyone else, this would have greatly put Ryu off. This wasn''t because Selheira was hiding her skill. After all, they hardly knew each other, so why should she tell him everything she could do?


    It was rather because of Ryu''s run in with the Ruin Master Guild of Sacrum. He still remembered how they tried to interfere with his home and even tell him that he should obediently give it up for the greater good.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool. He knew by now that this Guild that had always been so mysterious in all his lifetimes had a connection with the True Martial World. That was the only way to make sense of a lot of this stuff, and it was quite easy to deduce.


    Logically, it was also quite easy to deduce that this Ruin Master Guild wasn''t a small, insignificant existence, especially since he had yet to hear of them on the First Heaven. But considering Selheira''s mysterious origins, and now the fact that she was exposed to be a Ruin Master as well, the odds that she was connected to them seemed quite high.


    The smart thing to do would probably be to cut Selheira off completely, but Ryu simply didn''t feel like doing so. So, he didn''t. It was as simple as that for him.


    He was a man who wanted to wield power first and foremost for the selfish satisfaction it brought him. He had always wanted to reach the top of the world, even when he thought that his family had already claimed such a spot. His original aspiration wasn''t something as noble as protecting his family or even as understandable as wanting to leave behind a legacy.


    He was just arrogant. He was arrogant enough that the idea of anyone being above him was infuriating, so he wanted to make sure that by the time he reached the end of his life, no one could claim such a thing.


    Ultimately, it was a selfish desire, a selfish desire to act as he pleased.


    Since this was the root of his desire to begin with, he obviously wouldn''t allow this desire to make him do something he didn''t want to do. And since he didn''t want to cut ties with Selheira, he wouldn''t.


    "Let''s enter."


    Selheira''s brows raised.


    That was all? He didn''t ask any questions? He didn''t even seem to care about the answers.


    The more time she spent with Ryu, the more interesting she found him. She had met many arrogant young masters in her life, too many to count, and probably many with more license to be arrogant than Ryu himself. But, none of them actually were more arrogant than him.


    Somehow, though, this arrogance wasn''t as annoying.


    Selheira had no doubt that this was likely because she hadn''t done anything to piss Ryu off yet, but the idea of arrogance not being a complete turn off for her was new. It only made her more interested in Ryu.


    Without much more thought, she followed in after Ryu, wanting to see how deep his Ruin Master skill and knowledge went.


    The entrance to the Flowing Frost Ruin was quite large, so much so that one might be shocked that it managed to remain hidden at all.


    The floors, walls and even the ceiling above were covered in a thick layer of crystal clear ice that even cultivators could easily slip and fall upon. And yet, neither Ryu nor Selheira seemed very bothered by it at all.


    Despite knowing that the likes of Jeneless knew of the location of his Ruin, Ryu wasn''t worried about them returning. They weren''t fools, after such a terrible failure the first time, they wouldn''t return again until they had some assurance of success.


    Please, while the entrance was enormous, finding it was counterintuitively extremely difficult.


    Ruins, especially ones formed by high level experts, wouldn''t normally fit within the normal bounds of logic. That was just how things went.


    Soon, Ryu''s steps came to a pause.


    At the end of the large cavern of ice there were three entrance ways, each one perfectly identical.


    It was just the first test of the Ruin. Although others had come, everything reset to its infancy. This was the only way a cultivator could guarantee being able to test multiple people at once.


    This was one of the simplest and most commonly used tests in a Ruin, it was called the Path Test. Depending on the path the dead cultivator that built this Ruin followed, a Path Test would be used to test a test taker''s fluency.


    While the test was simple, the content itself could be endlessly complicated depending on the standards of the Ruin Creator.


    For example, this one. The paths looked identical but there were three subtly different Daos swirling about them. Despite this subtly, when taken to their extreme, these Daos would have drastically different power and strength outputs, making the choice incredibly important.


    If Ryu had his eyes, seeing through this subtly would be as easy as breathing. After all, that was what his eyes were designed to do.


    Ruin Masters without Heavenly Pupils, though, would have to use a Matrix to calculate things, the Matrix being none other than the greatest companion a Ruin Master could have.


    Ryu, though, only had a Tenth Order Matrix from Sacrum. It was entirely useless here.

 Chapter 972 Not This Time

    A Ruin Master''s Matrix had to be calibrated to the world they were in. Unless it was created in the True Martial World, even if it somehow held the same calculation prowess, it would still be useless.


    When you faced hundreds to even thousands of Ruins in a short span like a Ruin Master, you couldn''t possibly be expected to have an expertise on every Dao you came across. This was where a Matrix came in.


    Using your own comprehension or computational prowess, you would fuel the Matrix with your own understanding to output the comprehension of a path you didn''t comprehend. The Matrix would then output a likely outcome or a list of them, and it was a Ruin Master''s job to interpret and act on these results.


    A true Ruin Master would be able to clear a Ruin no matter how obscure the path the Sky God that formed it followed. This was the true might of a Ruin Master.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have such a Matrix, not even a crude one, that he could use. While it was true he was lacking in power to come to this place alone, maybe the main reason was because he didn''t have a Matrix to rely upon.


    However, with Selheira, there were less things to worry about.


    "Alright. It should take about six hours to make it to the core. You''ll have to forgive me, I don''t have a Matrix to use."


    Ryu''s Void Spiritual Sense shot forth and he seemed to make a choice instantly.


    Selheira was stunned. Six hours? That was about how long it would take her¡­ With a Matrix.


    Selheira flipped a palm over and a radiant blue orb appeared. All sorts of complex runes and gears floated within, dancing and moving in relationship to one another.


    She tossed it over to Ryu who subconsciously reached out and cradled it with his qi. A Matrix was something that you should keep away from the touch of a human as much as possible, or else it could mess with the calibration.


    ''A spherical Matrix?''


    Ryu''s brows rose. He was very much used to cube shaped Matrices. They were easier to create, easier to calibrate, and far easier to use. He had posited that a sphere might be more effective when he was around 200 years old in his first life, but by then, he had gotten so used to relying on his eyes instead that he didn''t care to waste his time on engineering a completely new path.


    Seeing it here now, Ryu realized that he had likely been very correct. And, since it worked on principles he had thought of already, this made things even easier.


    On top of that, this Matrix seemed capable of feeding off of his soul as well despite the fact it wasn''t bound to him. It was only about half as effective without it being bound to him, but it was still enough for him to shave the original six hour estimate down to just two.


    Of course, this was also because the Flowing Frost Sky God''s Dao was quite in line with Ryu''s, making it even easier.


    Selheira watched as Ryu sped through trial after trial. It was as though he was incapable of making a mistake, something that she found hard to wrap her head around.


    If others knew that an Immortal Ring Realm expert was clearing a Perfect Sky God Ruin, and so quickly at that, they would curse at her for speaking nonsense. Quite frankly, even she was having a hard time believing it.


    ''His Dao¡­ Just how powerful is it¡­ Could it be¡­?''


    Selheira looked toward the head band still wrapped around Ryu''s forehead. It was easy to ignore because Ryu''s face was so much more interesting to look at, but she wondered if the fact it was easy to ignore was a function of its ability rather than a coincidence.


    But, despite her curiosity, she didn''t ask.


    In just two hours, the two of them had made it to the very same location Ryu had attacked Jeneless from. The platforms were here, the cold was even greater, but the Flowing Frost Yin Water was already long gone, obviously having been taken by Ryu.


    "This is necessary anymore, here." Ryu handed the Matrix back to Selheira, but she only shook her head.


    "It''s clearly better used in your hands than mine. Ruin Mastery is just a hobby of mine, I''m sure this little one will be far happier in your hands."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    Even after these two hours, he couldn''t sense the limits of this Matrix. And, he didn''t know enough about this world of Ruin Mastery to understand just how valuable it was. But he felt that it should probably be a rare item. Wasn''t this Selheira being a bit too casual?


    "Keep it." Selheira repeated.


    Ryu looked toward Selheira deeply.


    "Not this time," he said lightly, tossing it back over without a second glance. He didn''t seem to care whether Selheira caught it or it fell to the ground.


    Selheira, though, of course caught it, looking toward Ryu''s back with the same gentle smile. It seemed that she was getting very close to annoying him. What an interesting man.


    Ryu walked around the statue of the Flowing Frost Sky God and found the entrance to the final test. This final test was definitely related to potion making as everything else had been heavily battle related. Here, there were no tricks needed.


    Ryu stepped into the corridor and felt the lights blink out.


    Everything to his back was suddenly dark and forward there was only a single section of light. Beyond that second of light was more darkness.


    A looming danger lay in that darkness and even the singular light here was flickering in and out of existence. It looks as though it might blink out at any moment, and Ryu knew that if it, he would definitely die.


    ''A speed and competence test. Not only do I need to concoct the potion, I need to do so faster than the light can give out, and only then will the next light appear and allow me to take a step forward¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered¡­ ''Too easy.''

 Chapter 973 No Problem

    This test was one designed by a Perfect Sky God, but considering there didn''t seem to be a cultivation limit, the tests were instead designed by the level of the person in question. Once the test realized that Ryu was in the Immortal Ring Realm, it likewise properly adjusted itself and the tasks Ryu received were slotted in to be at this level.


    Up until now, Ryu had relied on Selheira to deal with the combat aspects of this trial, not to mention his own expertise as a Ruin Master, but now it required his skill in potion making, something that he didn''t find too difficult at all.


    The first few tasks were simply Common Grade potions, and from what Ryu could tell, he would receive a pass so long as he managed to hit 75%.


    Knowing this, it was no wonder Ryu had dismissed it as too easy. If the bar to meet was just 75%, he didn''t even have to worry about putting his life on the line. In fact, the lights lit up one after another so quickly that Ryu might as well have been leisurely walking at the pace of a mortal without any pressure whatsoever.


    The difficulty increased slightly as Ryu continued, but that was only insofar as it rose the standard from Common Grade to Black Grade and then to Earth Grade.


    ? Finally, Ryu reached the end of the hallway and the task left before him was a bit more difficult. He was meant to reach 80% purity in the concoction of a Heaven Grade potion. And, as far as Ryu could tell, this potion should be a unique creation of the Flowing Frost Sky God, not too dissimilar from his own eight trigram pill-potion, albeit far less complex.


    The Perfect Sky God called this pill the Flowing Frost Potion and it was infused with her Dao.


    There were actually two ways to end up with a Runed concoction. The first was to create a pill so perfect that it warranted tribulation to be birthed, and the second option was to infuse a concoction with your own comprehension of the Dao.


    This path followed principles similar to the [Pill Refinement Sutra], but its goal wasn''t to call down Heavenly Favor. Rather, its goal was to pass down the principles learned by an alchemist over their lifetimes and distill it down to simple and consumable portions.


    As such, succeeding in the creation of this pill took more than just skill in alchemy, it required skill in the path of the alchemist that had created it. If you failed to do so, even the greatest alchemists would fail.


    ''I see, it''s no wonder the Flowing Frost Yin Water was placed before this trial. Without it, completing this task would be practically impossible. With it, though¡­"


    Ryu began, his eyes glowing with a particular eight trigram diagram.


    On his first attempt, he actually failed, only managing to reach the 60% threshold, but his mind remained focused. He had worked so fast getting here that the amount of time he had left was practically astronomical.


    On his second attempt, he crossed 70%, quickly approaching his goal.


    Ryu paused, thinking back. This was a bit difficult because most of the Yin Water was sealed  away within his Yin Water Seed. As such, much of its secrets and profundities were hidden away from him. He could only use bits and pieces of what he could sense to come away with a clear picture.


    In addition to this, the Yin Water the Perfect Sky God had left behind wasn''t exactly the same as it was now. Because it had been fused with an equal part of Life Qi thanks to Ryu''s Bloodline Talent, its fundamental nature had also changed, so Ryu had to piece these apart and find what the original intention of this female Sky God was.


    Ironically, due to his talent, this final trial was even harder for Ryu than it would be for most. However, Ryu still didn''t seem very fazed at all.


    "That should be it¡­" Ryu said lightly.


    Ryu''s third try hit the mark, reaching 87% purity.


    With a light click, a doorway unsealed itself and Ryu walked into an odd inner space.


    Beneath his feet there was an expanse of white grass. The skies above were dark with the exception of a singular golden full moon, and in the distance, there was a small wooden hut formed of soft brown wood with a tree of white bark and branches hanging overhead.


    The light was just enough not to be grating on the eyes and yet bright enough that one wouldn''t have any trouble seeing, not that Ryu could anyway.


    Ryu walked forward, the shoes upon his feet suddenly vanishing to allow him to feel the soft grass. Soon, he made it to the hut and opened the door, only to find the illusion of a beautiful and familiar woman sitting on a rocking chair that swayed to and fro.


    The Flowing Frost Sky God looked up, an unmoved light in her eyes.


    "I never expected that it would be a man who received my legacy in the end."


    She didn''t sound very angry, just somewhat surprised. Potion makers were very rare to begin with, and a large reason for that was because it was difficult for men to wield and rein in Yin Water, it simply wasn''t in their nature and it could very easily affect their foundation and fertility if they weren''t careful.


    Clearly, though, Ryu didn''t have this problem.


    The Flowing Frost Sky God raised an eyebrow when she saw that Ryu wasn''t actually paying his respects and was only looking around the room, she sighed inwardly.


    After all these years, it seemed that not only was her legatee a man, but he was also an arrogant one who didn''t even put a Perfect Sky God in his eyes. It seemed that her luck was quite bad, but she was already dead. How much could she do about it?

 Chapter 974 Request

    "So you do have a Dao Charm Soul Technique," Ryu said lightly, finally finding what he wanted.


    Even after several days, although he had given an option for it, no one had come to him with a Dao Charm Soul Technique. It made him realize that it was unlikely to ever happen. Even if a Clan or Sect did have such a thing, they wouldn''t want to give it to an outsider. And, the likelihood that they actually did was minimal.


    But, a Dao Charm Soul Technique from a Perfect Sky God was excellent. Ryu had only come here for the potion making techniques so that he could see if there was anything that might help him improve and make the next steps of his re-cultivation easier. He also wanted to see if he could find a method to strengthen his body faster as well.


    The option of concocting beasts into pills was always there, but truthfully, Ryu wasn''t very happy with any of the recipes the Sect had. Ultimately, it was just a True One Star Sect, what it had at its fingertips was incredibly limited.


    A Perfect Sky God of the True Martial World, though, was a different matter entirely. The alchemic recipes she had should be on an entirely different level.


    The Flowing Frost Sky God raised an eyebrow as Ryu met her gaze.


    "You have what you need and I''m your legatee. I assume that you left your projection here because you have some unfinished business? Tell me what it is and I''ll finish this cycle of karma for you."


    The Flowing Frost Sky God blinked, feeling quite speechless. Did this mean that if Ryu didn''t find what he wanted, he wouldn''t have done anything for her? And also, why did he make it sound like he was doing her a favor? She had never met a brat more arrogant in her life.


    However, rather than being angry, the Flowing Frost Sky God actually laughed, her gentle giggles making the heart feel quite soothed.


    "You remind me of my elder brother. A stone cold block of ice who doesn''t care about what anyone else thinks, even if said person could kill you with a single finger. It''s unfortunate that my legacy has ended up in your hands, people with your temperament tend to die very early deaths. But maybe this is just Fate''s last joke on me."


    The Flowing Frost Sky God placed her book down and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. Truthfully, she had thoughts of saying never mind and simply vanishing. She wasn''t lying when she said that Ryu reminded her of her elder brother, it was just that her elder brother was long dead, having died staying true to himself to the very end.


    She imagined that Ryu would also have such an end one day.


    She could tell that Ryu was extremely talented at a glance. She could also tell that he was from a lower world and had come here to the True Martial World a lot like her Clan had all those generations ago until they managed to climb to the Sixth Heaven. She also knew that Ryu, much like her brother, wouldn''t be satisfied with such an outcome.


    But since she had waited all this time, she might as well. If her family was going to finally perish today, she might as well do her best now so that she could go into the afterlife with no regrets.


    "My name is Flowing Frost in an ancient tongue likely very unfamiliar to you. My family came to the True Martial world hundreds of generations ago and we managed to climb slowly from the First Heaven to the Sixth.


    "That year, my brother managed to comprehend a Hegemonic Dao and he was filled with pride, even surviving the tribulation the Seventh Heaven brought down upon us and proudly aiming his spear above. It had always been his dream to lead us into the Seventh Heaven and it seemed that we finally had a chance to succeed.


    "Unfortunately, those Clans and Sects refused to allow us a path. They had banded together long ago, setting arbitrary rules and caps so that they could hold onto their power.


    "It was they¡­ The Fading Star Sect¡­ That was the result of our ruin¡­ However, I am sure that things weren''t so simple that day. The hypocrites of the Ruin Master Guild had definitely extended their hands. If not for underhanded tricks, my brother would not have fallen so easily."


    Flowing Frost chuckled and looked up toward Ryu.


    "Those are my enemies. A True Seven Star Sect that has the backing of a Nine Star Guild. Do you still dare to take on these Karmic Ties?"


    Ryu looked toward Flowing Frost deeply before pulling at the headband that protected his forehead.


    "Is that all?" Ryu said lightly as Flowing Frost''s eyes widened. "Because if so, I planned to raze them to the ground from the very beginning."


    Flowing Frost''s chest heaved, her body trembling outside of her control. A child of the Immortal Ring Ring that had already grasped a Hegemonic Dao?! No, a child from a lesser world, no less?!


    Even her elder brother reached the Omniscient Sky God Realm before he grasped his own. This just felt impossible.


    Flowing Frost took a long time to calm down as Ryu slowly covered his forehead once again. In truth, she hadn''t expected much at all. With her family chased to the ends of the True Martial World, she could only place down her Ruin here.


    In reality, her goal wasn''t even to pass on her legacy, at least not by normal means. Her corpse was nearby and perfectly preserved. Within the crystal coffin, her hands held onto a special technique.


    It wasn''t what it sounded like. Flowing Frost wasn''t trying to take over another''s body, but she rather wanted the exact opposite. Using her preserved corpse and the technique, someone would be able to possess her body as though it was their own.


    Such a person would be able to instantly step into the Perfect Sky God Realm and also gain all of her Bloodlines and Talents, in addition to whatever mutations came with fusing with their own.


    Flowing Frost wanted to use whoever came here as a conduit to deliver her corpse to someone worthy, and she of course had methods of ensuring this happened.


    Her main goal was to make sure that the blood flowing through her veins could continue to be passed on to a child. Toward that end, she was willing to allow whoever took over her body to do with her virginity as they pleased, so long as her family line could continue.


    But this¡­ This opened up an entirely new possibility¡­


    "¡­ If¡­ If that is the case, little one, might I be so presumptuous as to ask you for a different request?"


    Ryu nodded. Someone like Flowing Frost was definitely to his liking. Despite her stature, she knew that she needed to rely on him and acted as such. There were many Sky Gods who, in her position, would continue to be arrogant as though he was the one begging for their legacy.


    "Then¡­" Flowing Frost took a deep breath and quickly explained the situation with her body. "¡­ My body is still here, it is perfectly preserved and I am completely untainted. If it would put your mind at ease, I do not mind if you check as well, I will not hold a grudge, especially since it''s my greatest hope that¡­"


    Flowing Frost took another deep breath.


    "I hope that the day you fall in love with a woman that you can trust, you will give my body to her. Once you do, my talent and hers will fuse and she will carry my Frost Clan''s Bloodline.


    "I hope that when that day comes, you will help her to bear a child that carries both your blood and that of my Frost Clan''s, and you will allow my Clan''s Bloodline to continue on living in this way.


    "Can you¡­ Can you do this for me?"


    Ryu paused for a moment, his thoughts suddenly drifting toward Eska. As of right now, Eska was still forced to share a body with Isemeine. But if he did this¡­


    Did he love Eska, though? Not particularly. He had more of an infatuation with her because he loved women with her temperament.


    However, as things stood, Eska was already his concubine and he still owed her and the Zu Clan. Allowing her to step into the Perfect Sky God Realm in one bound¡­ That could be considered him repaying his debts.


    Ryu nodded. "I promise you."

 Chapter 975 Familial Love

    Flowing Frost exhaled a breath, one that she might very well have been holding for the many thousands of years she had been stuck here.


    She had never been able to find a man that she loved in her lifetime, though that was mostly her fault. She kept comparing them all to her elder brother and none of them could seem to match up, no one even seemed to come close so she never learned what true love felt like.


    Inwardly, she felt a bit guilty. Though her elder brother had never said as much, she felt that part of the reason he had pushed so hard to enter the Seventh Heaven was so that she wouldn''t have to spend a lifetime never knowing such a wonderful thing.


    It was quite funny. She would never know what that kind of love felt like, but she felt at peace nonetheless. She never knew romantic love, but she had known familial love, and that was something many cultivators would never know. How could she not feel satisfied with this much?


    Flowing Frost didn''t bother to trigger all the contingency plans she had prepared. Somehow, she trusted Ryu. Those eyes, that arrogance, that unwavering determination¡­ it all reminded her too much of her brother¡­ And she knew that her brother would never lie to her.


    With a peaceful smile on her face, Flowing Frost faded away.


    "I will leave my Frost Clan''s legacy to you, then¡­ I hope that our child will grow to have a temperament as resilient as your own¡­ But more importantly¡­ I hope that they will grow up experiencing the same love that I have¡­"


    Ryu listened to Flowing Frost''s final words in silence, allowing them to seep into his pores.


    He exhaled a light breath, shaking his head lightly. This True Martial World was, indeed, a cruel place. A family with a foundation much firmer than his own, and having given birth to a talent maybe even greater than his current sealed talent, had actually been so unceremoniously wiped out.


    It would leave a bitter taste in anyone''s mouth.


    Familial love, hm? He too had been lucky enough to experience it, and any child he had would definitely experience it as well. He knew that it would be terribly difficult for him to have a baby with sheer concentration of talent within himself, but if he dared to climb to the top of the world, how could he not dare to do this much?


    Ryu took a step forward and picked up the ring that Flowing Frost had left behind. Within it, he found a woman that seemed to be sleeping ever so peacefully. She was even more beautiful that her projection had been, for whatever reason, Flowing Frost had actually dulled her own beauty in not only her statue, but even the projection she had left behind.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. What an interesting woman. He couldn''t fathom why she had made such a choice, but knowing the complex thoughts of women and somewhat understanding how they worked, he knew better than to linger on it for long.


    Ryu slipped the ring onto his finger and a frosty energy thrummed through his body.


    He exhaled a cold, foggy breath and his mind cleared up considerably.


    ''What an interesting treasure. Not only does it preserve bodies in a half alive state, it seems capable of calming the mind and helping one enter a meditation state comparable to the first State of Meditation. This should be extraordinarily valuable¡­''


    The value of one''s Meditation State was incredibly high. Unfortunately, many, even absolute geniuses, could only experience it once or twice in their lifetimes. This was one of the reasons why Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils were ranked number one.


    But for this ring to allow you to enter a comparable state, its value didn''t need to be explained. It was perfect for the current Ryu who had his eyes sealed away.


    After putting on this ring, Ryu began to look around once more and what he found was a bit surprising. He felt that Flowing Frost had ended up leaving far more behind than she originally intended.


    Ryu was fairly good at reading people. He could tell that Flowing Frost had been fairly resigned to her Fate and had only stayed here so long out of duty. She didn''t believe that she would be able to find anyone worthy of the First Heaven, and even if she somehow did, such a person might not have the character to follow through on such a promise.


    Of course, the ties of Karma would be far too strong for anyone to ignore, and it would eventually hamper their progress.


    But, if one had to choose between never advancing to the higher ranks of Sky God, or losing their lives to a Nine Star power, what would the obvious choice be? At least they would get to live life as a powerhouse for the time being.


    However, she had been lucky enough to stumble upon Ryu. She trusted her instincts, and as such, she left behind everything that she had managed to save from her Frost Clan.


    The first thing Ryu looked at were the potion recipes.


    The Frost Clan seemed to have been able to rise to prominence in a relatively short time because they had a great talent for potion making. As such, their wealth was vast and boundless, allowing them to have a leg up every time they rose to a new Heaven.


    The number of Common Grade potions alone were easily in the several billion. The number of variations, notes and step by step evolutions was mind boggling. Ryu didn''t even know if he could name a billion Spiritual Herbs, let alone a billion potions to be made from them.


    ? Even the number of Sky God pills was in the several tens to even hundreds of thousands.


    In fact, just to paint the picture of how little Flowing Frost had held back, there was a detailed accounting of every Alchemy God legacy their family had found and added to their repertoire.


    Throughout their family''s long history, they had claimed the Ruins of 167 Sky Gods, one of which was even a Chaotic Sky God!

 Chapter 976 Swallowing Darkness Mantra

    A Chaos Sky God was just a step away from the pinnacle of the world. Even in the Ninth Heaven, they were revered and respected, the ground they walked upon worshipped to no end. For the Frost Clan to be able to lay their hands on such a legacy, even if it was incomplete, just went to show just the sheer amount of Karmic Luck this family had.


    ''Interesting. It''s a good thing that I didn''t move on to redo the Divine Vessel Realm just yet. This selection of Earth Grade pills is far better than the ones I would have to choose from.''


    When it came to the Common and Black Grade, the First Heaven had vast enough stores of accumulation to have pretty much them all, even if they lacked in the number of variations and changes. However, the higher in grade you went, the more restraining being in the mere First Heaven would be.


    To put things into perspective, there were a few thousand Earth Grade pill formulas in the Radiant Star Sect. However, there were billions of formulas here for the same grade. If it wasn''t for his Origin Flame, Ryu didn''t even want to think about how long it would take him to memorize all of them even with his Immortal Ring Realm cultivation.


    ''Ah¡­ This¡­''


    Ryu shifted his attention and landed on several Soul Cultivation techniques, one of which especially called out to him.


    [Swallowing Darkness Mantra].


    It had to be remembered that the Soul Cultivation method that Ryu relied upon initially was the [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. He had chosen this technique because his soul talent was poor and he wanted to use Tribulation Lightning to make up for his weaknesses.


    However, ever since he formed his Indestructible Soul, and then apparently regained his Perfect Blackbody Soul, he no longer needed to use this method. Ultimately, right now, he was using quite crude methods to accumulate Spiritual Qi in his Spiritual Sea. In fact, it could be said that if not for his Soul Talent to be of the Ancestral Grade, he wouldn''t have been able to make much progress at all.


    This [Swallowing Darkness Mantra], though, was a true Soul Cultivation Method, one designed purely to refine qi into Spiritual Qi and expand one''s Spiritual Sea. In addition, it was especially compatible with those with Darkness Soul Natures, and additionally perfect to be paired with a Perfect Blackbody.


    Although Ryu didn''t have a Darkness Soul Nature and he didn''t plan to form one since it didn''t match his Dao Path, his Perfect Blackbody Soul could replicate Darkness Soul Natures with ease. In fact, it would even be more accurate to say that Darkness Soul Natures were just attempting to replicate his Perfect Blackbody.


    With his mantra by his side, Ryu''s soul cultivation speed would be even faster and he would be able to more efficiently accumulate and condense Spiritual Qi. With a more efficient technique, he would be able to push the limits of his body further without having to be worried about strengthening it any more just yet.


    ''This is a¡­''


    Ryu''s brows rose. This mantra was categorized as a Chaos Grade technique and it should be the self-created technique of the Chaos Sky God.


    In the True Martial World, beyond the Ancestral Grade wasn''t the Origin Grade. Rather, the True Origin Grade was a pinnacle class technique even beyond the Chaos Grade.


    The ranking system went from Ancestral Grade, to Fragmented Grade, to False Grade, up until the Order Grade, the Chaos Grade, and finally, the Origin Grade. Of course, these rankings followed the very same order of the nine stages of Sky God.


    Pills and treasures also followed such a ranking system as well.


    This Chaos Grade Soul Cultivation Technique was more than what Ryu could have hoped to find in this place. Although, it was unfortunately incomplete.


    ''The entire mantra is here, but the Dao Charm and the supporting techniques of it are not. This must be what they meant by the legacy having been incomplete. But according to this journal entry, the Legacy World will open up again in a few millennia. If I can make it to the Sixth Heaven by then, I should have a chance to enter.


    ''It will be more difficult, though, as now the entrance has been exposed.''


    Ryu didn''t mind or care, though. When the time came, anyone who stood in his way could die. In a few millennia, he would be countless times stronger than he was now.


    Ryu ignored everything else and sat down. He easily entered a state of hyperfocus and he began to cultivate the [Swallowing Darkness Mantra].


    The dense black that was now his Spiritual Sea reacted almost immediately, bubbling and quickly condensing.


    It took several hours, but all of the imperfections and impurities in Ryu''s Spiritual Sea were washed away, the speed of which would have definitely shocked Flowing Frost if she was still here.


    Although Ryu''s Spiritual Sea shrank to just 20% of what it once was, he felt like the strength of his soul had increased by more than tenfold. In fact, it felt like twentyfold for more of an accurate estimate.


    The strength of his soul now was enough to dwarf even most Soul Refinement experts.


    Ryu exhaled a breath and his silvery eyes flashed with an all-encompassing darkness before it faded away.


    ''My vision became a bit clearer again¡­''


    Ryu nodded to himself. It seemed that all of his cultivation improvement would help, and he had a feeling that improving in his body would be especially helpful.


    This aside, the best part of this was that Ryu had room to grow his Spiritual Sea by five times once more before he had to worry about the weakness of his body.


    This was truly an excellent technique.


    Ryu rose to his feet and began to look through the techniques once again. This time, he really wanted to see the Dao Charm Soul Techniques that the Frost Clan had accumulated.


    Of them all, one especially stood out¡­ One with a bright golden moon.

 Chapter 977 Dao Of Cycles

    [Full Phase Golden Moon].


    This was a Dao Charm Soul Technique that pulled upon the concepts of Yin and Cycles to display an extraordinary might.


    The Dao of Cycles could be considered a lesser form of Daos of Space and Time, but when combined with Yin, it had great potential to be extremely potent.


    The technique was divided into the phases of the moon: New Moon, Crescent Moon, Half Moon, Gibbous Moon and Full Moon.


    When the technique is first cast, the mind or minds of a target becomes trapped in a perpetual cycle. Within that cycle, one is forced to face their death. Their souls are extracted and they must face the illumination of the Golden Moon.


    According to the words left behind by the Frost Clan, the Golden Moon represented a cleansing tide, one that washed away the old to make way for the new. It was a contradictory yin technique that was especially potent against other yin techniques and targets with great yin affinity.


    The soul was ultimately yin at its base while the body was yang at its base, for the most part. Women would tend to have a more yin leaning body while men would have the opposite. Likewise, women would tend to have more yang leaning souls and men were, also in this case, the opposite.


    This was the first that Ryu had heard of this. He had always assumed that women were yin and men were yang. But when he thought about it, if it was truly 100% of the way no matter what, then what about those born with great Yin and Yang Constitutions?


    People with such constitutions tended to be incredibly sick from birth. However, if they managed to overcome certain hurdles, they would flourish and advance by leaps and bounds extraordinarily quickly. This was because a so-called Yin Constitution or Yang Constitution was automatically considered to be a Great Circle Talent.


    Such an individual was born with Meridians, Bloodlines, Spiritual Foundations and Bone Structures that all fell in line with either Yin or Yang. And, as such, they gained the benefits that a resonant Great Circle Talent would receive.


    In addition to this, Great Circle Yin Constitution and Yang Constitution Talents tended to be more powerful than other Great Circle Talents of their level due to the synergy of their talents. For example, a Black Grade Great Circle of Yin Talent would be even more talented than a normal Earth Grade Great Circle talent.


    Of course, the definitions that Sacrum had versus the True Martial World were different. This was because in the True Martial World, in order to be a "Great Circle Talent", one would also need the pillars of the Soul and the Dao as well, in addition to the Four Pillars Ryu was used to.


    Ultimately, this made those with Yin and Yang Constitutions even rarer and even more valuable and talented.


    So, why was all of this important? It was important because this balance of Yin and Yang was precisely the core Cycle that [New Phase Golden Moon] preyed upon.


    To say one faced death when facing the Phases of the Golden Moon was to put it too simply. While that might be the ultimate result, it did a disservice to the beauty of the technique. The true power in the [New Phase Golden Moon] was in its ability to push and pull on Yin and Yang and shift the balance.


    Everything, whether it was humans, beasts, other races, Spiritual Herbs, techniques, and even Dao, relied on a very specific balance of Yin and Yang. Much like the tides, [New Phase Golden Moon] could push and pull on these delicate balances, disrupting them and forcing them to shift.


    This could be used to either strengthen attacks or even directly force them to collapse, and all of this was done through the manipulation of the soul.


    At the lowest level, New Moon, the shifts were slight and weak. In addition, they were quick and temporary. It was impossible to cause any permanent or lasting changes. But when it came to a sudden use at an opportune time, it could be deadly.


    At the middle level, Half Moon, the shifts were much grander and one can even begin affecting the very soul of a target. Once this level is reached, even forcing someone with a far weaker soul than your own into direct death is very much possible.


    The balance of Yin and Yang of the soul is especially important not only to the livelihood of an individual, but it''s even as fundamental as deciding their personality and the kind of person they are. When this is impaired, it can lead to hallucinations, poor judgment, and in the absolute worst cases: death.


    When one reaches the highest level, Full Moon, souls can be directly extracted and extinguished. The golden lights of the Gold Moon can directly penetrate through defenses and "purify" the soul. Even those who manage to resist this somewhat will find themselves diverting more than half of their attention.


    In this state, one can do almost as they please with an enemy''s soul. They can distort their sense of time, render any soul techniques they might have useless, and ultimately, if an enemy runs out of stamina to fight back, they can be directly killed.


    These matters were difficult for even Ryu to wrap his head around. Even the direct explanations of what the technique could do left him feeling uncomfortable. It wasn''t a discomfort that came from a dislike of the technique, but rather a discomfort that came from not quite understanding the technique fully.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t think that he should just be able to grasp such a high level Dao Charm technique immediately. His experience with [Thirteen Soaring Azures], [Roaring Sky Serpent] and [Whispering Petals] and taught him to temper his expectations.


    However, the fact of the matter was that understanding the path he should take with these techniques was quite simple.


    The core of [Thirteen Soaring Azures] was great heat and oppressive cold. The core of [Roaring Sky Serpent] was vibrational comprehension and resonance. The core of [Whispering Petals] was elusivity and distorting an enemy''s senses.


    However, Ryu couldn''t pinpoint the core of this technique at all.


    It seemed simple enough. The Balance of Yin and Yang, and a comprehension of Cycles.


    But even though Ryu could say as much, that didn''t mean he could understand it.


    It was all too obvious. He had finally met a technique far too complex for him to grasp.

 Chapter 978 This Man...

    Ryu knew what the problem was.


    Soul Techniques were different in that they didn''t have the same limitations as Body Realm and Qi Realm techniques. In fact, their restrictions are even looser than Body Realm techniques as well.


    If Ryu was so inclined, he could use even a Chaos Grade Soul Technique. But whether or not he could bring out its strength and comprehend it was a different matter entirely.


    [New Phase Golden Moon] was ultimately a Transcended Grade Dao Charm Soul Technique. This meant that the Dao that underlied it was the equivalent of a Transcended Grade Dao as well.


    Right now, Ryu was so far away from that level that it was impossible to fathom the gap. The fact he managed to finish reading the technique at all was a testament to just the level of talent he had to begin with.


    Ryu''s current Dao was still at the Immortal Grade. If he wanted to reach the Transcended Grade, he would have to pass through three Immortal Grades, two Cosmic Grades, then evolve through Fragmented, False, True, and Perfect, all before finally reaching the Transcended Grade.


    It was a huge journey to go through. However, that was only one aspect.


    As far as Ryu could tell, the Dao Charm Soul Technique was built on the foundation of a Dynastic Dao, which was three levels beneath his own Hegemonic Dao. Still, if Ryu wanted a good chance at grasping this Dao Charm Soul Technique, he would have to push his own Dao to at least the Fragmented Dao levels before he could even think about it.


    ''Still, this is an excellent Dao Charm technique and the Frost Clan should have others. But I''ve spent too long here, I should fulfill my promise.''


    Ryu walked out of the small hut, having taken nothing but the ring on his finger. He took control of the Legacy World and allowed Selheira a passage in.


    "You succeeded?" She asked with a light smile.


    "I did," Ryu nodded. "Like I said before, you can take 70%."


    Selheira laughed lightly and shook her head. This Ryu was truly very stubborn. She could already tell that the new finger on his ring must be the choice he had made. But she also had a feeling that something wasn''t quite right.


    If she knew that this "choice" Ryu had made was actually just a promise he was keeping for the same of Flowing Frost, she really might not know what to say.


    Selheira didn''t think much about it and simply just entered the hut along with Ryu. But when she saw what was inside, her eyes couldn''t help but widen.


    Her head turned to Ryu and she didn''t see even the slightest hint of reluctance in his eye. He was really willing to give up 70% of this? Just because he said so?


    Many of the things here were simply invaluable, and this just seemed like the tip of the iceberg. Just the [New Phase Golden Moon] technique was enough Clans of the Sixth Heaven to wage war for. In fact, even Clans and Sects of the Seventh Heaven would throw a bid in to add this technique to the repertoire. It was simply too valuable. Dao Charm Soul Techniques were worth the same as Qi Realm techniques even a grade or two higher than them!


    But this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    Ignoring everything below the Ancestral Grade, there were tens of thousand of Ancestral Grade technique, hundreds of Fragmented, False and True Grade techniques, and there were even dozens of Perfect and Transcended Grade techniques, on top of three Omniscient Grade techniques, and though there were no Order Grade techniques, there was still the one Chaos Grade Soul Cultivation Technique here!


    One again, Mental Realm Cultivation Techniques were even more valuable than Qi Realm Cultivation techniques! The price of this¡­ Even the Ninth Heaven Sects and Clans would fight tooth and nail just for a fragment of this technique even if it was missing the attaching techniques!


    And these were just the techniques! The alchemy formulas were just as valuable, and there were still the spatial rings filled with endless vaults of wealth. Selheira herself was quite wealthy, but she had never seen such a large collection of Qi Stones in the same place!


    Selheira turned toward Ryu, her eyes slightly red.


    The look in her eye made Ryu''s brows furrow somewhat, not because it held any sinister intention, but rather because it looked as though Selheira was on the verge of crying.


    Ryu couldn''t understand why she was getting so emotional. Sure, these things were very valuable, but was there a need for this?


    ? It wasn''t that Ryu didn''t understand the value of these things either. He had the accumulated wealth of his four Clans with him, but even that much wealth wasn''t even worth a fraction of what was here.


    If Ryu sold off everything in his possession right this moment, he was very well aware that he might be able to exchange for a single Mystical Grade technique that was here. And the number of Mystical Grade techniques were so numerous that Selheira hadn''t even bothered to count them, starting from the Ancestral Grade instead.


    This was how large the gap was.


    But when Ryu said something, he meant it. Other than the ring currently on his finger, he hadn''t hidden a single thing from Selheira.


    Selheira shook her head, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall before they did.


    She had originally not cared about this place very much. She, herself, was from the Seventh Heaven, although Ryu didn''t know this. The legacy of a Perfect Sky God simply didn''t mean much to her at all.


    However, this wasn''t just the legacy of a Perfect Sky God. It was a repository with a foundation greater than maybe even half of the Seventh Heaven''s Clans and Sects. This sort of wealth was far beyond her imaginations.


    And yet, without the slightest hesitation, Ryu had allowed her in, willing to hand over 70%.


    She had seen Dao Companions kill each other over a fraction of what was here. She had seen her own Clan ripped apart and shaken by internal strife for barely a morsel of what she was looking at right now.


    But this man¡­


    Selheira looked toward Ryu, not knowing what to say. Even she couldn''t say for certain why she was crying, but after she wiped away the first avalanche, more just kept coming.

 Chapter 979 Sweet Smile

    Ryu was quite speechless by this point.


    One of the reasons he had such a favorable impression of Selheira was because of her calm mind and gentle temperament. Logically, it should have taken quite a lot for such a person to break down like this. Individuals with her demeanor were exceptionally rare, so much so that the only one Ryu knew who even came close was his own mother.


    However, even Himari Tatsuya was still several steps beneath Selheira in this regard, and that was because the killing edge Ryu''s mother had was simply too sharp. Although she could display gentleness even greater than what Selheira had displayed when she was before her husband and her son, when it came to her interactions with others, it might even be more accurate to label her as bloodthirsty and violent.


    Selheira, though, regardless of friend or foe, always seemed to maintain the same gentleness. Regardless of how she might be feeling internally, it all displayed outwardly as calm and peaceful.


    It was hard to put into words just how rare someone like Selheira was. Someone with such an unmoved and consistent temperament was bound to have an extremely firm heart and would be able to overcome tribulations of the soul and mind with incomparable ease.


    These were all the things that Ryu had learned about Selheira in just the short time they had been together, but it was enough for him to not quite know how to react when she became like this. It was to the point that for a while, he could only watch silently as she continued to cry.


    Selheira wiped at her tears, shaking her head lightly.


    "I''m sorry, I''ve shown you something quite unsightly. I''m embarrassed."


    Selheira''s voice was still just as gentle. Despite her tears, her cadence didn''t seem to have wavered in the slightest. It only went to show that these tears truly came from the depths of her soul, so much so that she wasn''t even able to stop them before they flooded outward.


    These weren''t normal tears, these were her deepest subconscious thoughts resurfacing after so many years of suppression. Yet even so, it seemed to only take her a few moments to calm down, her heaving chest and reddened eyes slowly softening.


    "I¡­ Really cannot bring myself to take 70% of all of this, it really is too much. I''ve barely contributed to this adventure."


    Ryu didn''t respond, but his lack of response had nothing to do with his pondering her words. He had already made his decision long ago and he had no plans on wasting time considering it again. When he made a choice, he wouldn''t change it.


    Plus, Selheira was mostly speaking nonsense. These matters had been simple for her to help him with, but to Ryu, it was as good as allowing him to get here without having to put his life on the line. If he hadn''t had Selheira, it was impossible for him to have made it so far unscathed.


    In fact, it wasn''t that simple either. It had to be remembered that Ryu hadn''t had a Ruin Master''s Matrix to begin with, it was only because of Selheira that he managed to get his hands on one.


    The only way he would have had even the slightest chance at making it here without Selheira was if he had a Matrix on that level by his side. But, without Selheira, he would have never had such a Matrix to begin with.


    While these matters had been simple to Selheira, as far as Ryu was concerned, this would have been impossible without her. He didn''t do things casually and he would never give up treasures just for the sake of a woman with a pretty face¡ªnot that he could see Selheira''s face anyway. In fact, he would much quicker slaughter ten equivalent beauties before he gave up treasures that would help ease his future path of protecting Sacrum and his family.


    He said he would give Selheira 70% only after he decided he could trust her and realized that it would be impossible for him to do these things alone. It was always as simple as that to him.


    Selheira looked back toward Ryu. Seeing his unmoved gaze and the fact that he didn''t even seem to care to argue with her at all, she sighed lightly.


    "Then I will take this."


    Selheira reached forward and picked up the [Swallowing Darkness Mantra]. As the only Chaos Grade technique here, even though it lacked the supporting techniques and Dao Charm, it was easily worth 70% of what was here.


    Although it was shocking to say, it was the truth. Despite all this wealth, everything else combined couldn''t even be used to trade for this piece of a technique.


    Ryu shook his head, it seemed that this woman was quite stubborn. With her strength, she should be able to tell that Ryu''s soul had undergone great changes, so she could likely already guess that he had looked through the technique.


    However, it was hard to refute her at the same time. After all, she had no idea that Ryu could easily train this technique or that Ryu was able to memorize such complexities thanks to a combination of his synergy with the technique and his Origin Flame.


    Usually, Ryu''s current Origin Flame would be far too lacking to memorize such a highly advanced technique. But, not only had it greatly advanced after Ryu recultivated to the Spiritual Severing Realm, but this technique was also very compatible with his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    In addition, losing this technique was quite the loss as well. Without it, Ryu couldn''t pass it down to others, but Selheira would be able to since she alone held the physical copy.


    It felt like a compromise that was also not a compromise. Although there was a hint of a sour taste in Ryu''s mouth because this wasn''t the result he had been expecting, he also couldn''t say much either.


    Selheira looked back toward Ryu after making her choice. Seeing the somewhat helpless look in his eye, her veil moved to accommodate what could only be a sweet smile beneath.


    Her radiant blue eyes sparkled and her gaze was even somewhat teasing.

 Chapter 980 Rely

    "Alright, since you insist, that much is fine. But, you have nowhere you need to be, right?" Ryu asked.


    Selheira blinked and paused for a moment before she lightly shook her head.


    She had no responsibilities, not truly. No one in the Radiant Star Sect dared to order her around. The only one who would command her to do anything was Old Wan, but even he was simply directing her about like she was his granddaughter, not a servant.


    Her days were quite leisurely, she only cultivated and nothing else. She had even been free enough to come here with Ryu, so she obviously didn''t have much to do.


    As for what that meant for what she was doing here, maybe only Selheira herself knew.


    "Then just stay here. I don''t plan on leaving this place until it is time for the selection, there''s nothing worth it out there for now, nothing but annoyances."


    Selheira''s brows raised. It seemed that Ryu was just as if not more stubborn than her. If she was here, what else could she do aside from reading techniques? By then, Ryu would also get what he wanted.


    She opened her mouth to reply, but Ryu had already closed his eyes, quickly going through one technique after another, clearly searching for something.


    Selheira smiled and shook her head. Since Ryu had already said so much, she truly didn''t have a reason to leave.


    ¡­


    The hut fell into a comfortable silence, only the slightest rustles being heard from time to time.


    Ryu rifled through techniques, his mind having already forgotten about everything other than his improvement.


    Although there were many techniques, and even Dao Charm techniques, far better than his [Thirteen Soaring Azures], [Roaring Sky Serpent] and [Whispering Petals] techniques, he didn''t seem to have any intention of changing them.


    As far as Ryu saw it, he had already invested a lot of time in these techniques and there wasn''t enough time left for him to change things from here on. Dao Charm techniques took too long to learn and even longer to master.


    The truth was that if Ryu really wanted to do it, he could thanks to his Dao having evolved to the Hegemonic level. However, there was something far more pressing on his mind, something that was making him itch, and that was his body''s weakness.


    Despite his somewhat frail bone structure, the prowess of Ryu''s body had always been one of his strong suits, and how could it not be with Dragon and Qilin Blood running through his veins?


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t casually bring out his Bloodlines, so he had to rely on the base strength of his body, but it was very lacking. And as a result, it was also holding back the potential of his soul as well, which was currently Ryu''s greatest strength without a doubt.


    Ryu felt that his best odds were to recultivate the Body Realms just like he had the Qi Realms, this was the only way for him to bring out more of his strength and potential. However, in order to do so, he would need a technique to match, a technique he couldn''t seem to find no matter how hard he tried.


    The Frost Clan had access to countless techniques. And truthfully, Ryu felt that if he couldn''t find a solution here, he might never find an absolutely perfect one.


    The [Refinement Sutra] was simply too perfect. It allowed for recultivation through the absorption of Heavenly Favor. It was a smooth process that didn''t interfere with any of Ryu''s foundations, and in fact, only strengthened it.


    But the body was simply more tyrannical. Many Body Realm cultivation techniques required very early measures to be taken on, and some had great restrictions on the type of Bloodline you could have. Those that didn''t would be very ordinary in nature and not even worth Ryu''s time.


    For example, what Body Realm cultivation technique had Ryu been using all this time? Wasn''t it the [Phoenix Heavenly Body]? It was one of the, if not the strongest Body Realm cultivation techniques there was in Sacrum, and one HAD to have Phoenix Bloodlines to use it.


    However, [Phoenix Heavenly Body] was ultimately a technique that had too many flaws. It was created in Sacrum and, as such, relied on its laws. The problems with Ryu''s foundation, as a result, were equally lacking.


    Ryu realized that even as his Bloodline shackles were undone, the increases to his body''s strength were actually minimal, something that made no sense. After all, the Body Realm''s stages all relied on tempering the blood. Logically, as Ryu''s Bloodlines were unshackled, his physical strength should skyrocket.


    It had to be remembered that in order to cultivate his body, Ryu had to absorb the Vital Qi of beasts that shared his affinity to satiate his Bloodline. Only when he reached the limit would he continue.


    However, obviously, because his Bloodlines were shackled, he never pushed them to their true potential in the first place, resulting in his increases in strength being minimal despite his Bloodlines having improved by leaps and bounds.


    Ryu shook his head as he placed down the final Body Realm technique of the Frost Clan. There was truly nothing here he could use.


    ''Is there really no solution?''


    Ryu frowned. It wasn''t impossible to take this path. There were many Qi Realm cultivators who focused mainly on their qi and allowed their bodies to just naturally progress on their own. There were very few who paid great attention to their bodies in the first place.


    And as things went, Ryu was actually quite lucky because he also had great Mental Realm talent.


    If he relied on his qi to strengthen his body first, he should be able to slowly improve his soul beyond its current limits as well.


    But¡­ Ryu was unsatisfied with his. Greatly unsatisfied.


    It would be fine if his Bloodlines were simply useless, Ryu had already learned long ago that they were unreliable from the moment they cowered before the Heavens of Sacrum. Who knew when they would abandon him in the face of the Heavens of the True Martial World?


    However, for them to be here and for Ryu to simply not be able to make full use of them because of where he was born left a bitter taste in his mouth.


    Ryu closed his eyes, calming his heart. Why did [Refinement Sutra] have to purely be a Qi Realm technique? If only he could use it on his body¡­


    Ryu fell into silence for a very long time.


    There was nothing he could do. Calling down Heavenly Favor required a very specific circulation pattern that only Meridians had, it was impossible to use it for the other pillars of cultivation.


    The Meridians and Meridian Nodes of the Qi Realm had very special and ingrained patterns and formations within them passed down through the human race. Over countless generations of evolution, these patterns were studied, and many were found to contain the profundities of the Heavens, thus allowing techniques like [Refinement Sutra], or rather, [Pill Refinement Sutra], to be born.


    The veins of the body, though, weren''t as strict and exacting as they varied wildly depending on what Bloodlines and Bloodline mutations you had. This was why many Body Realm techniques could only be used by those with certain lineages.


    At that moment, Ryu''s eyes suddenly snapped open, his gaze glowing with a fiery light.


    ''Master¡­ It seems like this disciple of yours is going to have to rely on you again.''


    Ryu''s cold expression suddenly gave way to a wild grin.

 Chapter 981 Elemental War Gods Fourth Stage

    Ryu realized that he should have thought of this long ago. He wasn''t doing a very good job of upholding his master''s legacy, the Elemental War God Visualization wasn''t even at the forefront of his mind in recent times. In fact, he mostly used the Outline Stage to make himself clothes, but even that came to a stop after he got Little Silk by his side.


    Truthfully, it was quite disrespectful of Ryu to do things like this since he was the heir to his master. He should be doing a better job of upholding his master''s legacy than he was.


    Unfortunately, the Visualizations that he had mastered had greatly weakened. The Fundamental Runes they used were from Sacrum and were lacking in comparison to the Fundamental Runes of the True Martial World.


    That said, improving them wasn''t actually all that difficult, especially for Ryu. It only required rebuilding the Visualizations from the ground up using True Martial World Fundamental Runes instead. This wasn''t too difficult, actually, since Fundamental Runes were exactly that¡­ Fundamental. There were often perfectly analogous Fundament Runes to be found across all worlds.


    The only reason Ryu hadn''t done this was because it required time and he found Soul Techniques to be far more fascinating.


    However, the Visualizations of Sacrum surprisingly held up quite well. In fact, so long as Ryu diligently swapped the Runes, the power they would be able to display was not small. At their peak, they should be able to match True Sky Gods and maybe even Perfect Sky Gods.


    Of course, it would likewise be difficult for Ryu to re-imagine them to this level. Once again, it would take time.


    That said, Ryu''s Master''s Visualization was a bit special to begin with.


    It had to be remembered that the Elemental War God Visualization was divided into five stages: The Staff Stage, the Outline Stage, the Skeleton Stage, the Vein Stage and the final Wheel Stage that Ryu had still not quite grasped out used before.


    The Staff stage allows one to summon an Elemental Staff, however Ryu had instead chosen a grimoire as it fit his style of battle much better.


    This stage allowed one to tap into pure Elemental energy a lot like a Faerie. You can also snatch the Inheritances of other races using it, or copying that of other races, more accurately.


    In the second Outline Stage, it allowed you to apply a thin layer of skin onto your body. You could even use it to form Elemental Armor and as a foundation to form a domain on the Monarch level.


    The third stage, the Skeleton Stage, allows you to make changes to your body, even allowing the formation of Spirit Bodies.


    The third stage was the original reason why Ryu had insisted on taking Balaur as his master. Because he already had a Spirit Body, he could finally perfect the third stage of [Elemental War God] and form his Soul into a Spirit Body as well. As a result of this, he was able to break the shackles of his poor talent and it had even allowed him to form an Indestructible Soul in the end.


    If not for his master''s Elemental War God Visualization, Ryu would have still been stuck with poor soul talent and he might have even died when his Perfect Blackbody Soul fused with him. This was because during the process of fusion, his soul had actually shattered! Without the resilience of an Indestructible Soul to maintain his consciousness, he could have died that day.


    It could be said that Ryu was only standing here thanks to his Master passing this technique onto him¡­


    Right now, however, it would be the fourth stage that fixed everything for Ryu¡­ The fourth stage was his key to reforming the foundation of his body!


    As his master had described all those years ago, the Vein Stage was something that he managed to create near the end of his life. Originally, the Wheel Stage had been the final step, but when he had a sudden moment of enlightenment, this stage became the new fourth stage and the Wheel Stage was pushed to become the fifth.


    The Vein Stage was the result of his master''s research into various Elemental Races. It fuses with the Outline Stage and allows one who had comprehended the Elemental War God Visualization to etch their own Meridian pathways!


    The main design of this stage was to allow someone of the human race without special bloodlines to gain the special pathways usually reserved for very specific and even high class races!


    In the past, Ryu hadn''t really cared much about this stage. Not only was the third stage the most important to him, but it had to be remembered that he had four Supreme Bloodlines rushing through his veins. He already had the patterns of the Dragon, the Phoenix and the Qilin, he really didn''t need to mind thinking about what other races he wanted to emulate, it was a waste of time for him.


    He had only briefly considered maybe copying something from a high level race with wind affinity so that he could maximize his Northern and Southern Heavenly Winds, but if he wanted to do this, he would have to first catch such a mighty beast and then dissect them.


    In fact, because each body had slight variations between them, he would have to catch numerous such beasts just to parse apart which meridian pathways did what, and only then would he be able to decide exactly what he needed to copy to have his desired effects.


    His master had copied quite a few of these for him already while he was researching for this technique, but obviously by now, what was recorded was stored away in his eye''s Inner World and he could access it even if he wanted to.


    However¡­ Ryu didn''t need to do any of this to accomplish his goal! He already knew the exact pattern he needed because it was already within his own body! He just needed to copy it!


    The technique was originally designed to copy Meridians, but one had to remember that the bodies of beasts weren''t like that of humans to begin with. Beasts had "Meridians", yes. But they weren''t a separate entity from their veins and bodies like with humans.


    Beasts had Spiritual Roots, an organ that was almost like a second stomach in their gut. From this Spiritual Root, their "Meridians" branched out.


    The reason Ryu''s Master used his technique on Meridians specifically was because he was a Mental Realm Master, it would have been a waste if he used it on his veins and arteries. After all, he didn''t have the Vital Qi necessary.


    However, for Ryu, he could once again perfect his Master''s fourth stage just like he had the third!


    Etching new Meridians was by far more difficult than etching out new pathways for veins through which Vital Qi flowed.


    If Ryu wanted to etch new Meridian Pathways for him, he would have an extraordinarily tall mountain to climb, his Meridians were simply too extraordinary to begin with.


    As such, his Master''s Vein Stage actually had three separate stages within it: Rudimentary, Average and Perfect.


    Rudimentary reconstructed Meridians would appear no different from Common Grade Meridians regardless of what your true Meridian Grade was. Average reconstructed Meridians would be somewhere between your original Grade and the Common Grade. Finally, Perfect reconstructed Meridians would be truly your own.


    The higher you wanted to climb, the more resources you would need. For example, if Ryu wanted Perfect reconstruction, he would need to pour a large amount of Ancestral Grade Elemental Essence into his body. In fact, it might even need to be Origin Grade with how his Meridians were currently evolving.


    However, this was only the hurdle one would face if you had to reconstruct Meridians. Reconstructing veins and arteries was so laughably easy in comparison that Ryu almost laughed to the skies.


    Ryu''s Master needed the extra step because his Body Realm cultivation was weak, as such most of his research was spent on finding a way to convert the changes to his Meridians. However, not only was Ry''s Body Realm cultivation talent extraordinary, what he needed right now was precisely a change to his veins and arteries!


    By now, what Ryu wanted to do should be very obvious.


    He would use the Vein Stage his Master had created to form new circulation pathways in his veins. This new circulation pattern would be precisely the exact same pathway that could be found in every human, a pathway that would allow him to call down and absorb Heavenly Favor!


    Like this, Ryu would be able to circulate his blood and Vital Qi along this path, allowing him to use [Refinement Sutra] to recultivate his Body Realm just like he had his Qi Realm!


    The only difficulty lay in making sure that this newly created circulation pathway didn''t interfere with the pathways he already had. If he ruined them, he would lose access to many of his Bloodline Talents and the exchange wouldn''t be worth it.


    Lucky, his Master''s Vein Stage came with the calculation methods to maneuver around these complex systems. And for Ryu, who was a Ruin Master very much used to using such elaborate calculation methods, this step was probably even easier for him than the already extraordinarily simple etching method!


    By this point, the only thing Ryu needed to consider wasn''t whether he would succeed or not. In his mind, that was already set in stone.


    What he needed to decide was whether he would continue down the path of pills to re-cultivate his body¡­ Or if he would try something else.


    After all, he had changed the name from [Pill Refinement Sutra] to [Refinement Sutra] for a reason.


    And he felt that he had already made his choice. The pill was an absolutely perfect stand-in for the Qi Realm. Although there were many body refinement pills, the number for qi refinement was easily thousands of times more.


    Likewise, Ryu felt that Blacksmithing was the perfect stand-in for the body.


    And while he was at it, he felt that Formation Mastery was the perfect stand-in for the soul... Maybe the [Swallowing Darkness Mantra] was never the path he was meant to rely on in the beginning.


    As for the problem of the circulation method, it was even easier to fix for the soul than it was for his body.


    Ryu''s Dao was simply too perfect for this. This felt like the path he was always meant to take, the one that had been waiting for him all this time, and also the perfect method to fuse all of his talents into one cohesive whole.


    The [Refinement Sutra], maybe the simplest and most ubiquitous cultivation technique in all of existence, would become the foundation of Ryu''s rise to the peak.

 Chapter 982 A New Path

    When it came to his soul, Ryu felt that the process would be even easier than what he should expect for his body, and that was because he had access to something most did not: Heavenly Patterns and an Emperor Phoenix Bloodline.


    One had to remember that one of the abilities Ryu unlocked when he first formed his Indestructible Soul was the ability to use Qi Realm techniques with his soul. For example, right this moment, Ryu could project his soul outward and cast [Thirteen Soaring Azures] with both his body and his soul!


    This sounded like a small matter, but doing so would make one feel as though they were facing two Ryu''s instead of just one! And each one of these Ryu''s would be perfectly in sync with each other. If Ryu did such a thing, his combat ability would more than just double.


    Of course, though, Ryu rarely used this ability because it was simply the perfect trump card. In addition, he couldn''t use it in the True Martial World casually without exposing his Soul Talent and his Emperor Phoenix lineage.


    However, right now, this ability was going to come in handy once again. Using Emperor Phoenix Heavenly Patterns, Ryu could circulate his Spiritual Qi in the very same pattern that he used to call down Heavenly Favor, and just like this, he would likewise be able to refine his soul.


    This just left the choices Ryu would make left. He simply felt that pill and potion making wasn''t quite the perfect choice to make for his soul and his body. In fact, although it skyrocketed the difficulty of what he wanted to do, he felt that if he put the same effort into Blacksmithing and Formation Mastery, he would be able to bring his Soul and his Body to the same level of perfection.


    The unfortunate part was that the Frost Clan was ultimately a Clan of alchemists, so their secrets, their techniques, and their formulas in the aspect of Blacksmithing and Formation Mastery weren''t nearly as deep.


    That said, as a Clan that reached the pinnacle of the Sixth Heaven, the information they did have on the subject were still enough to drown out powers of the First Heaven by leaps and bounds. In fact, even Clans that specialized in Blacksmithing or Formation Mastery of the Fifth Heaven could only barely compare to them.


    The reason Ryu felt that Blacksmithing was perfect for his body hardly needed to be explained.


    Pills were perfect for the Qi Realm because they could easily represent the myriad of changes of the Meridian Pathways and the depth of the Qi Realm. The Qi Realm was ultimately a human created state of cultivation, and alchemy, although Phoenix Flames were among the best one could have to take this path, was yet another human created existence that functioned best to help it.


    On the other hand, Blacksmithing wasn''t directly related to Body Realm cultivation. However, many of the principles of Body Realm cultivation translated perfectly to Blacksmithing. Tempering, the importance of hardness and flexibility, and even the pride Body Realm cultivators took in having bodies as strong as weapons, all of these things influenced Ryu''s choice.


    Beyond this, Formation Mastery was even more directly analogous to the soul.


    Formation Masters were all, first and foremost, Mental Realm Masters. Formations were the translation of the Heavenly Dao into simpler lines that could be digested and used by humans. It was essentially the line of communication between something much larger than cultivators and cultivators themselves, exactly like the soul.


    These three pillars were considered to be the greatest of Secondary Professions, by far surpassing other branching Professions like Spiritual Seamstresses and others. Ryu felt very comfortable choosing them to light his path.


    Ryu was far less worried about his soul. He planned to take his time and he had already left those at the Soul Birth Realm far behind him. Plus, unless he first strengthened his body, the improvements he made to his soul would be limited.


    In addition, there was no rush to get to his soul either. Ryu was certain that between Formation Mastery, Blacksmithing, and Alchemy, finding the perfect match of Formations perfectly tuned for his soul would be by far the most difficult. He had to be cautious and make ample preparations before he made any choice.


    Not only were there far more Formations in existence than there were pills to concoct and even metals to use in Blacksmithing, Ryu''s soul itself could travel down far too many paths. Due to the fact he could gain any soul nature, Ryu had to really think about whether he simply wanted his soul to follow the exact same path as his eight trigram diagram, or if he wanted to take a different path that could supplement it.


    There were too many options before Ryu, and his soul''s talent allowed him to take any of them.


    There was his eight trigram diagram, there were the Visualizations of the Zu Clan Ancestors, especially the Silver Star Visualization which still left him baffled, and there was even the possibility of building his own Visualization from scratch.


    The worst part was that even if Ryu had already made a decision, it still wouldn''t be easy. Like he had already said, there were simply too many Formations in existence, each with countless variations and complexities.


    He almost felt that it would be smarter if he first studied for a few years or even decades before he even thought about making a choice like this.


    Luckily, Ryu didn''t have to be in a rush. He had a Chaos Grade technique by his side that would be more than enough to unleash a great amount of potential from his soul for now. And, [Refinement Sutra] would allow him to recultivate whenever he had made his decision.


    So, all Ryu needed to do for now was focus on his Qi Realm and Body Realm, both of which would be far more straightforward.


    Having made his choice, Ryu felt endlessly relaxed. The path ahead would be difficult, but when had he ever feared something like that? What he cared the most about was having a path to take in the first place. Regardless of how difficult it was, he wouldn''t even feel the need to frown.


    The first thing that Ryu did was casually flip through a few rudimentary books on Blacksmithing. Unlike with alchemy, he had actually Blacksmithed once before, and his talent was just as deep if not even deeper.


    Using his Dao, he could feel the true essence of a metal and forge it into the state it most wanted to be in. In addition, he had even greater talent in creating blueprints.


    Ryu felt that this was actually because of these three paths, although it was the most difficult, he actually had the greatest talent in Formation Mastery. His in-depth understanding of formations made his ability to create blueprints and plans for weapons very high as well.


    However, Ryu wasn''t in a rush to create a blueprint for himself just yet.


    Though he had less choices to make in Blacksmithing, he still had quite a number.


    For example, what weapon should he forge? Should he make a Great Swordstaff? A bow? An arrow? Or since it was his body, should he forge body armor instead? That seemed to also potentially make sense.


    Beyond that, what path should he put his body down? Should he just try to make it as sturdy as possible? Or should he lean into the strength of his Bone Structure and try to maximize the abilities of his Ice Jade Crystal Body?


    And what about his Bloodlines? Blood was the core of Body Realm cultivation to begin with. After all, it was all contingent on Vital Qi. So, maybe, he should just try to create something that embodies his Phoenix, Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines?


    Ryu''s eyes lit up as he read.


    What if he didn''t try to create a weapon at all?


    There was a branch of Blacksmithing that focused not on weapon forging, but instead on creating new and more powerful alloys. These metals wouldn''t appear naturally in nature and could only be created and refined by hand.


    In fact, in Blacksmithing Clans, Sects and Guilds, they would often have secret formulae they wouldn''t share with anyone else, and these powerful alloys would be the base of their strength.


    Ryu blinked in curiosity, feeling his heart stir. He was just casually reading but he didn''t expect to stumble across something so interesting.


    This path did exist in Sacrum as well, but it seemed to be taken much less seriously there than it was here in the True Martial World.


    Much like with the creation of top tier weapons, when these Alloy Blacksmiths created something that pleased the Heavens they would likewise gain Heavenly Favor. In the greatest of cases, the Heavens would take this newly created alloy on as one of its own and somewhere in Existence, it would begin to grow.


    Ryu was endlessly fascinated. He thought it would take him a while to make a choice, but this was already too perfect for him. The best part was that if he was just creating alloys, he could easily forge it into any weapon he wanted afterward and didn''t have to be constrained. This would also greatly help with his body''s flexibility in battle. Without being restricted to a kind of weapon or armor, the things he could do would likewise be freer.


    ''The True Martial World truly comes with a great many mysteries¡­The question now is¡­ What kind of alloys should I forge? What path is right for me?''

 Chapter 983 Lce. Jade.Crystal.

    Ryu felt that probably the smartest thing to do would be to help bolster his Bone Structure. It was among the hardest talents he had to unshackle and absorbing Heavenly Favor had proven to be an excellent shortcut. If he focused on things like this, he should be able to unleash more of full potential.


    The four facets of his Ice Jade Crystal Body were Healing, Friend of Nature and Beasts, Absolute Balance and Symmetry, and finally, Ungodly Cultivation Speed.


    Building an alloy that followed these four facets would be difficult, but not impossible. Ryu already had several ideas based on his knowledge from Sacrum, but he was sure that if he read up on more information exclusive to the True Martial World, it would be long before he could think of several more ideas.


    Maybe the only real issue lied in two factors.


    The first was that Ryu wasn''t sure if this was where he would stop. Because of the nature of his Bone Structure, it was actually strongest when it had things to balance and form into its absolute balance and symmetry. A large part of the reason Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body could display its full prowess was because it had to balance Ryu''s many Bloodlines.


    In fact, this actually led to the second factor that had to be considered.


    Because of Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body''s propensity to become stronger the more of its abilities it was forced to use, it had actually mutated.


    Back then, when Ryu formed his Fire Spirit Body, there was actually meant to be a great clash within him. To form the Spirit Bodies of such volatile elements, from two creatures who were practically life and death enemies, would have been a death sentence for anyone without Ryu''s Bone Structure.


    Even the Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure had been under immense pressure back then, causing it to combust and reform itself into something greater and stronger. As of right now, although it was heavily shackled, all four of its facets had grown explosively in strength, in addition to gaining a potential fifth that revolved around Lightning and Fire.


    This second factor that stalled Ryu showed that his Ice Jade Crystal Body was excellent at reading and adapting to pressure. Much of its strength came from being in tune with nature, and what force was better at adapting than nature itself?!


    Ryu suddenly froze, his body entering a slight state of enlightenment.


    It had to be remembered that Ice Jade Crystal Body, the name of Ryu''s Bone Structure, was actually lost in translation.


    [Author''s Note: First mentioned in volume 2]


    The term "ice" never related to cold or even the water element, it was just the best word Sacrum had to refer to the particular kind of purity the Bone Structure represented.


    Originally, the word "ice" was meant to refer to a transcended state, one where the Bone Structure was capable of changing form and becoming purer and more untouchable. The best word to describe this was ice, which formed delicate crystals and was an evolution of phase from the liquid water.


    The word "jade" was likewise not meant to strictly refer to jade. While it was in one part meant to embody the polished gem, it was also meant to adhere to what the stone represented as well¡­ gentleness¡­ serenity¡­ harmony¡­ and balance¡­


    It didn''t need to be said, then, that "crystal" also had a transcendental meaning. It had countless meanings across just the same number of cultures, but it often went back to perfection, purity and healing, whether that was physically or spiritually.


    If Ryu was to create a more accurate translation of what the name of his Bone Structure should be, it would take him several hundred words at the very least. While the translate "Ice Jade Crystal" wasn''t necessarily satisfactory, it was the best that could be done


    Ice: a rise in purity through a change in phase.


    Jade: a polished and shining beacon of harmony and the core prosperity.


    Crystal: spiritual and physical healing¡­ a transcendent purity.


    Ryu''s mind danced with many thoughts, but he immediately felt that he was honing in on the wrong things. He had been too focused on the results and the symptoms rather than the actual root cause.


    Yes, his Ice Jade Crystal Body had four pillars of talent that made it the Ancestral Grade Bone Structure that it was, and these four pillars seemed to have given birth to a fifth and also seemed to have potential to bloom more in the future.


    This made things overly complicated and shielded Ryu''s eyes from making a near certain judgment¡­ But from the very beginning, he was focused on the wrong thing.


    What matters isn''t the result, but what caused such results to begin with. What he needed to embody wasn''t healing, friend of nature, balance and cultivation speed. No.. What he needed to embody in this alloy was Ice, Jade and Crystal.


    When Ryu thought to this point, the path ahead was all too clear. He didn''t need to worry about making a bunch of add-ons to account for every shift and potential shift he might experience in the future. So long as he focused on Ice, Jade and Crystal, he would create the perfect alloy for him, one that would be able to read and adapt to any path he should so choose in the future.


    After realizing this, Ryu ignored the introductory books on Blacksmithing and began to read what he could on language and even sought to find introductory books on Bone Structures, hoping to find something in depth on his own.


    If Ryu wanted to do this, he needed a more and more accurate picture of exactly what it was the Ice Jade Crystal Body represented, he couldn''t leave any stone unturned, because once he set off on this path, there would be no turning back.


    This was why the [Refinement Sutra] was both the easiest and more ubiquitous cultivation technique there was, and simultaneously why it was the most unused. Many saw it as nothing more than reference material, while most wouldn''t even give it a second glance on the shelves.


    Ryu, though, was determined to make it work for him.

 Chapter 984 Stirred Heart

    Ryu set the books down after a long while and entered a state of meditation. He was once again baffled, though, that even a Sixth Heaven didn''t have even the slightest bit of information on his Chaotic Silk Meridians. In fact, the amount of information he found on high class Talents was actually quite low.


    He thought that the Radiant Star Sect library had taught him enough about his Perfect Blackbody soul and other talents, only to realize that the information the Sect had was actually quite poor. It could only be said to be more detailed than Sacrum, but that wasn''t saying much to begin with.


    Ryu came to realize that he was relying too much on others to gain a good understanding of his own talents. In fact, just now, if not for his expertise as a Ruin Master reminding him of the translation error related to his own Bone Structure, he might have just blindly followed the four pillars and built an alloy based on that.


    However, had he done that, he would have stunted his own growth. Even though the problem wouldn''t be obvious for a long while, by the time he truly started touching the highest reaches of the Sky God Realms, he would only lose out on more and more strength he could have had.


    This was the lingering fear most had that stopped them from going down the route of the [Refinement Sutra]¡­ But it was also exactly because of this that Ryu had come to realize that this cultivation technique also maybe held the greatest potential of any in existence!


    With his new and deeper understanding of his own Bone Structure, Ryu then began to look through the rudimentary information on Blacksmithing.


    Whether it was Blacksmithing weapons or alloys, they followed pretty much the same ranking system that pills did. There was first a purity metric, and this a Rune completion metric.


    This was simple enough and Ryu was already used to the process.


    What was different, though, was the methods Blacksmiths used. Compared to alchemy which only had two methods, pill and potion making, one using fire and the other yin waters, blacksmithing simply had far too many¡­ it could even be said to be as numerous as the creations you could make with them.


    Many blacksmiths did, indeed, use fire, that much was true. However, there were just as many that didn''t rely on any elements at all and only used their hammer and their qi. This second method was especially popular when it came to forging alloys, but even that was just the tip of the iceberg.


    There were blacksmiths that used lightning and thunder as a tempering method, there were some blacksmiths that actually used formations and were almost entirely hands off, there were some blacksmiths that relied on their earth and metal qi to forge, and there were yet some more still that relied on Feng Shui and very specific environmental cues in order to forge the perfect alloy or weapon.


    Compared to Sacrum where practically 90% of Blacksmiths just used hot fire in their practice, this number of methods was almost overwhelming. There were even many that moved Ryu''s heart.


    For example, blacksmiths that used lightning and thunder to forge their weapons¡­ just how grand would Ryu be if he chose such a method? With his control over Tribulation Lightning, would anyone even be capable of matching the weapons and alloys he forged? They would be tempered by the Heavens even before the Heavenly Favor descended!


    And what about the Formation Master Blacksmiths? They also stirred Ryu''s heart.


    They were also known as the Blueprint Masters of the Blacksmithing world. They had the most complex designs, and yet they hardly needed to lift a finger during the forging process, all the work was done ahead of time.


    They would create and set down their complex blueprints first, and then prepare the metals and alloys they would use. Following this, they would pour the metals into what they called Blueprint Casts or Formation Casts.


    Once the metal was inside, the formation would begin to work, setting the mold and completing the creation. All one would need to do is provide the energy.


    As though that wasn''t enough, there was a third that stirred Ryu''s heart as well¡­ The Feng Shui Blacksmiths.


    These Blacksmiths spent their time searching and scouring the world for perfect locations for their creations. Once they found the perfect location, they would set up their formations and their precious materials and then allow nature itself to complete the forging.


    Ryu might be a bit biased because he had a soft spot for Feng Shui, something he had studied with quite some depth as a Ruin Master, but he felt that this form of forging was even more perfect than the previous two¡­


    However, even with that being the case, he couldn''t quickly decide.


    All three methods resonated with him. The Lightning Refinement Method would be the easiest to execute, but it would also somewhat clash with the results he wanted. The alloy Ryu needed to create had to resonate with the Heavens, but if there was Tribulation Lightning involved, especially if there was too much, the aura of judgment would be too great and it would overwhelm the results he needed.


    His Bone Structure was non-confrontational and in complete harmony with the world, and that included the Heavens.


    It was possible to use the Lightning Refinement Method and have the judgment aura help rather than hinder, but it would take a few extra steps that would make the so-called "easiest" method far more difficult.


    The Blueprint Refinement Method was also excellent. It was in the middle of the three in terms of difficulty, and it vibed well with Ryu''s talents, but it was much too artificial and it lacked the spiritual nature Ryu needed to make his creations truly one with the world.


    Then there was the Feng Shui Refinement Method. Using nature to forge was absolutely perfect for the results that Ryu needed, there was no better method for becoming in tune with his Bone Structure and allowing it to flourish.


    It seemed, then, that the answer was obvious. He could obviously go with the Feng Shui Refinement Method.


    But, like with all things, there was another problem. While the Feng Shui Refinement Method was perfect, it was too difficult to employ, and the odds of finding a region perfect for his Bone Structure was next to impossible. And even if such a region existed, it might only exist for a few short seconds once every several millennia.


    And that was just one issue, there was another, larger problem.


    Because this method relied on the whims of nature, the results were often crude, albeit powerful. As such, it was very rare to reach even 80% purity through this method, let alone the Runed level.


    Ryu sat in silence, not quite sure what to do.

 Chapter 985 Herbology?

    It was a difficult choice to make. Unlike with potion and pill making, he couldn''t just casually meld the completely separate practices together, at least not without spending a ridiculous amount of effort and time creating an entirely new path.


    This would be something that Ryu would be willing to do as he wasn''t afraid of a difficult task. But the question was whether or not it would be worth it, and he wasn''t 100% certain of that.


    As much as Feng Shui spoke to him, it really was too difficult to find naturally occurring regions of such quality, and even rarer if you needed a very specific kind.


    In order to succeed, Ryu would need locations that were absolutely perfect as he refused to take in any Heavenly Favor that wasn''t at the pinnacle. However, the shackles of the Feng Shui method were far too heavy.


    Even if he fused it with other methods, such problems wouldn''t just vanish. He would have to make sure that he could use a separate method to make up for it.


    Suddenly, Ryu froze once again.


    ''Maybe¡­?''


    Finding Feng Shui locations wasn''t the only method of taking advantage of Feng Shui. For example, even the arrangement of furniture or plants within one''s house could create a balance that could be taken advantage of. Feng Shui was just, ultimately, the oldest form of Formation Mastery there was, one that relied on the simple to form the complex.


    In fact, the eight trigram diagram within Ryu''s eyes was very much connected to Feng Shui as well.


    It had to be remembered that the eight trigram diagram was among the simplest and easiest formations to deploy. It was only as one progressed as a Formation Master that you could make it increasingly complex and profound.


    This process was very much rooted in Feng Shui.


    According to the history of Sacrum, Feng Shui came first, then the eight trigram diagram, and from the eight trigram diagram countless other formations were birthed into the world taking inspiration from it.


    Did that mean that Ryu could just use his eight trigram diagram in place of his Feng Shui?


    The answer to that was no. Ultimately, there was a reason why the eight trigram diagram was so simple. It was a foundational method, but it wasn''t appropriate to be used in every case. In fact, the reason it was so perfect to use to fuse his Daos and Inheritances was because Ryu could be confident that it would remain bland enough to allow his own talents to shine through.


    Like this, the eight trigram diagram wouldn''t allow his thoughts to deviate, and thus cripple his Dao.


    However, when it came to Ryu''s Bone Structure, it needed something more rigid and real in structure, something that wouldn''t be so flexible.


    This sounded counter-intuitive since Ryu had just learned that one of his Bone Structure''s best abilities was its adaptability. But there was a fine line between being adaptable and being too easily influenced.


    Ryu''s Dao and Inheritances were what gave the eight trigram diagram a rigid structure to follow. However, if Ryu used the eight trigram diagram for his Bone Structure as well, it would be a clash of two easily manipulated spheres of influence.


    Rather than helping, this would actually make Ryu''s Bone Structure too flexible in what it accommodated, making it possible to deviate down any path rather than taking direction from him and him alone.


    The only way to fix this would be if he reforged the eight trigram diagram again with new representations of Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Life and Heaven. Maybe if he forged a new alloy matching with such, then it could work.


    But if he was forging an alloy before even using the eight trigram diagram, then wouldn''t it defeat the purpose of needing the diagram in the first place?


    It was a huge, circular mess.


    That was, unless¡­ Ryu created his own Feng Shui environment, not with the eight trigram diagram which was ultimately a false representation of Feng Shui, but instead with¡­


    Herbology!


    After embarking on the path of alchemy, Ryu''s past as an Origin Grade Herbologist was ever present, but still mostly forgotten. His skills helped his Dao to analyze and comprehend Spiritual Herbs he had never even seen before with far more speed than it alone would have allowed, but beyond that, it wasn''t very useful to him.


    Of course, only Ryu would casually say such a thing. Although an Origin Grade Herbologist of Sacrum was only really about at the level of a Heaven Grade Herbologist at best on the True Martial World, Ryu wasn''t a normal Origin Grade Herbologist. In fact, he had long since left his peers behind. If it wasn''t because of the lack of information on Sacrum, he would have leapt far beyond such a level long ago.


    Being a Herbologist wasn''t just about identifying herbs¡­ One of the main responsibilities was the growth and nurturing of Spiritual Herbs!


    In his first life, Ryu had already lost count of the number of extinct Spiritual Herbs he had resurrected, but that was even the important part.


    During his Herbology Trial back on Sacrum, the very one he took before meeting Ailsa, one of the final test questions was extremely difficult for most others. He was given an environment and his task was to allow a Spiritual Herb that would usually never appear in such a place to grow in it.


    In the end, Ryu''s answer was so perfect that even the overseer at the time was shocked into silence. What he had done back then wasn''t herbology¡­ it was much closer to terraforming!


    Using his skills as an Herbologist, Ryu''s ability to manipulate and twist the environment into following his whims was on a level maybe even many Herbologists of the True Martial World couldn''t even fathom.


    Ryu''s thoughts were simple. What if it was possible for him to form his own Feng Shui environment? If a perfect environment didn''t exist¡­ He, Ryu Tatsuya, would make one!

 Chapter 986 Lntegration

    Ryu''s gaze glowed.


    He rose to his feet, placing the books down and walking to a corner of the small hut.


    Despite its size, there seemed to be a ridiculous amount of space inside, and everything was so neatly arranged and organized that it was all too easy to find exactly what he needed. Ryu had already noticed that this entire space was a treasure in and of itself, but that was a matter he would consider later. Right now, what he needed was exactly this¡­


    Ryu touched one of the many spatial treasures here and his mind entered to find not only exactly what he needed, but almost too many of them.


    As a Clan of Alchemists, the number of treasures related to the profession that the Frost Clan had was almost far too many. Among them, there were thousands upon thousands of incubators. Even the weakest of these incubators could accelerate the growth of Spiritual Herbs in a single day by hundreds of years. The absolute best of them could actually accelerate growth in a single day by millions of years!


    However, using the best of them would be overkill for now. Ryu needed to first start with the Common Grade and only then would he work his way up, just like he had done when recultivating the Qi Realm. In fact, for the Common and Black Grade, accelerating their growth by even hundreds of years was quite ridiculous already.


    The only unfortunate part was that all of these treasures were absolutely barren. As a Clan of Alchemists on the brink of destruction, how could the Frost Clan have not brought out everything they had in a bid for survival? Their incubators had all been stripped of the Spiritual Herbs they once had.


    That said, that didn''t mean there was nothing left. What the Clan had left behind were a large number of seeds. There were huge collections of seeds from the Common Grade all the way up to the True Grade. As for the Perfect, Transcended and Omniscient Grades, there were none.


    But this also made sense. They would have likely used up all of these seeds as well in their attempt to survive.


    Still, this was more than enough for Ryu. With this level of selection, he should only rarely need to procure seeds from elsewhere all the up to the True Sky God Realm. After that, he would have to rely entirely on him. But by then, Ryu was confident he would have partaken in even greater treasures than this.


    Ryu picked out one of the weaker incubators. This one was a Heaven Grade treasure that allowed for 200 years of growth in a single day for Spiritual Herbs up to the Heaven Grade.


    From what Ryu had read, the maturity of Spiritual Herbs in the True Martial World was different than it had been in Sacrum.


    Common Grade Herbs only needed a few months to mature, and could often bloom twice or even thrice a year. Black Grade Herbs could often bloom once a year, and depending on the environment, even twice. Earth Grade Herbs took between two to three years, and Heaven Grade took up to a decade.


    Beyond this, Sovereign Grade Herbs'' maturity was counted in centuries, Ancestral Grade in millennia, and finally, Fragmented Grade Herbs began entering the realms of larger and larger totals, easily touching tens of thousands of years.


    Still, these numbers were quite a bit faster than what Ryu was used to on Sacrum, although there was also more room for these numbers to truly become exaggerated, especially about the Transcended Grade.


    With these incubators, Ryu''s plans would be far simpler. Even if he made a mistake and wasn''t happy with the result, he could simply wipe the incubator clean and start from scratch.


    Once the incubator produced a result that he liked, that was where this wider treasure would come into play.


    Ignoring Selheira''s curious gaze, Ryu stepped out of the small hut.


    The white grass touched his feet, the dark skies above shone down with a radiant gold moon. It was all quite beautiful.


    If the Chaos Grade Soul Cultivation Technique was the most valuable technique in this place, then the most valuable treasure aside from maybe Flowing Frost''s body was definitely this inner world.


    From what Ryu could tell, this hidden space was a hidden pocket of the True Martial World. What did this mean? It meant that whether it was tribulations or the Heavens, it was all completely identical to the outside.


    This sounded quite useless, but when one extrapolated its meaning, this was a great boon for Ryu.


    Essentially, Ryu could concoct pills and potions, refine weapons and test out formations and yet still keep away from prying eyes, all while gaining all the benefits of Heavenly Favor!


    Ryu could grow the perfect environment within an incubator, transfer it to this spacious world, allow it to take root, and once the qi settled down to his liking, he would begin the refinement process.


    This was the absolute perfect treasure to make use of his [Refinement Sutra]!


    Ryu was a bit worried about prying eyes. There would come a time where his Void Spiritual Sense wasn''t enough, or he faced a tribulation too powerful for him to casually swat away, and he would end up putting his life in danger.


    Also, he absolutely hated cultivating under the gazes of so many people. It exposed too much of his baseline and his secrets, but this would fix everything.


    Ryu nodded in satisfaction and re-entered the hut before he immediately began reading everything he could find on Common Grade Spiritual Herbs of the True Martial World.


    It only took him a few minutes to go through and memorize it all, but he entered meditation for at least three to four hours afterward.


    When he opened his eyes, he returned to the stores of incubators and took out ten sets of different seeds.


    With a thought, he seeded and prepared all ten Heaven Grade incubators.


    Sometimes he put all the seeds in at once, at other times he would put in one at a time before acting again to do the same hours later, and sometimes he would put seeds in, in pairs of twos and threes.


    ''Of these ten methods I''ve thought of, there''s a better than 97% chance that one of them will produce exactly the result I need. After I refine it, it could only take me about a day or two and going through about a dozen or so evolutionary cycles for me to produce the absolute perfect environment¡­


    ''By the time I finish with that, I should have the rest ready.''


    The Feng Shui problem was fixed, now came the easier part¡­ Integrating Lightning Refinement and Blueprint Refinement.


    Ryu brimmed with confidence. Within a month, his Body Realm cultivation would catch up to his Qi Realm cultivation.

 Chapter 987 Refined

    Arcs of lightning fell from the skies, illuminating the golden moon above to an even grander radiance than it had in the past.


    Ryu didn''t make a move to stop them, his body sitting in an unmoved silence as the lightning crashed down upon him. He could have easily used his Dividing Tribulation to split the arcs he was experiencing right this moment, or rather, his alloy was experiencing, but he didn''t.


    The way Ryu viewed pill-potions and this path of blacksmithing were very different. He felt the need to protect his pill-potions and coddle them because alchemy was maybe the most hated secondary profession of the Heavens. In addition, the strength of a pill-potion didn''t matter so long as it fulfilled its duty.


    An alloy, though, was very different. This was because to Ryu, this wasn''t a tribulation the alloy had to face and survive in order to be acknowledged. Rather, this was an actual part of the forging process! Without this lightning, he wouldn''t be able to perfect the alloy to the level he wanted and expected of himself.


    Ryu had succeeded in melding together several disciplines into one, but the process was far more complex than he had initially thought it would be.


    The first step was the use of the incubators to get just the right environment. He needed something that was in harmony with nature, but also not willingly ready to sway to its whims. Rather, it would only bend and twist when there was sufficient pressure from the outside. And, said bending and twisting would always be toward the path of becoming stronger.


    It was the kind of Feng Shui island that could maintain warm spring temperatures in the middle of a snow storm, and cool spring temperatures even in the middle of the sizzling heat of the desert.


    It would always have water during a drought and always be dry during a flood. It could weather storms and withstand tsunamis, and always come out of the other side with even stronger protections than last time.


    Such an environment required a very solid foundation and an ecosystem very much resistant to change, and yet still willing to flow with the tide.


    In order to gain such effects, Ryu had to practically create a world. In fact, the only reason he succeeded was because of his Natural Enlightenment¡­ Shrine Mountain.


    Still, this was only a small piece of the puzzle. Once the Feng Shui island was completed, then came the Blueprint Refinement Method. This was where nature clashed with nurture.


    Rather than drawing a blueprint using any of the many methods the Frost Clan had on hand, Ryu instead drew it directly into the earth using the method of Ore Veins.


    Ore Veins were how deposits of metal formed in the real world. In very unique situations, they could sometimes spontaneously form into formations that allowed them to grow explosively.


    Some Clans and Sects of Sacrum would take advantage of this knowledge to draw out lines in the earth that promoted this formation, turning something spontaneous into something much more controlled. Although it often failed, in Ryu''s estimation, this was actually because the lines were only one aspect of what was needed, the other aspect was the perfect environment¡­ A perfect environment that he had already created.


    This method worked doubly well because these lines in the earth were also the perfect locations for Ryu to deposit the metals he wanted to fuse in an all new alloy.


    And that led to the final and most crucial step, the tempering of Tribulation Lightning.


    This was where the fusion of the metals completed and the impurities were hammered out one step at a time.


    This was why Ryu didn''t attempt to weaken the lightning. In fact, the more powerful it was, the better.


    The Heavens became his hammer and his body was the guide. The lightning would strike down upon his head and he would allow it to multiply, gather, and then he would strike down himself with all the accumulated momentum.


    His eyes flashed open and he struck down with a mighty punch once again. Then, he closed his eyes, allowed the lightning to accumulate, and then struck once more.


    Selheira, who had already been watching this scene for nearly a month already, could only sigh. By now, although Ryu hadn''t made it obvious, she was quite certain that he must have some sort of special lightning body, or even the legendary Lightning Spirit Body, even. There was simply no way anyone else could take such punishment without pause if this wasn''t the case.


    But what was maybe even more surprising was that his skill in Blacksmithing somehow felt to be even beyond his skill in alchemy. Somewhere deep inside, although Selheira knew that Ryu wasn''t the type to lie, she still found it hard to believe that he had only been practicing alchemy for a few weeks.


    However, seeing him improve step by step right before her eyes left no doubt whatsoever.


    By this point, she had concluded that it had to be his Dao. There was simply no way one person could be so talented in so many fields.


    She might have considered the legendary Heavenly Pupils¡­ But Ryu was blind so it never once crossed her mind.


    ¡­


    Ryu rose from his position, looking down at the completed alloy. It looked completely unremarkable from the outside, almost like a piece of unrefined mortal iron. In fact, all four pieces that Ryu had completed looked exactly like this.


    However, when you picked them up, one would suddenly feel as though their mind had entered a state of absolute serenity. Shockingly enough, even compared to the ring on Ryu''s finger right this moment, the ring that held Flowing Frost''s corpse and helped him enter the State of Meditation¡­ He somewhat felt that if his self-created alloys were forged by the same method, their results would be even better.


    Even now, completely unrefined, they gave off a sense of oneness and serenity that brought a smile to Ryu''s face.

 Chapter 988 Good For Nothings

    "It''s about time to go, the day should be here," Ryu said lightly.


    He strapped his grandfather''s bow to his back and slid on his Glove of Order once again, his mind the picture of serenity.


    When he and Selheira left the small world, he waved a hand. At that moment, everything around them warped and vanished.


    When they appeared again, they were already in the harsh cold of the snowy mountain range and the ring on Ryu''s finger had gained a very small and almost unnoticeable gem. Even Ryu who wore it almost didn''t notice anything at all.


    Behind them, the cave entrance looked just the same, even the Ruin was just the same, however, if others came, they would find that the true treasures had long since been taken away and they would be none the wiser.


    Selheira whistled and a happy snow owl rushed through the skies, descending before them with a sonorous call. Soon, they were in the air and rushing toward the center of the First Heaven¡­ At this point, there was no point in returning to the Radiant Star Sect.


    **


    Elder Aika sat somewhat grumpily, mumbling beneath her breath.


    "A bunch of useless, good for nothings. The Sect finally gets itself a decent talent and you actually let him be bullied by outsiders. I should kill you all, just a pack of worthless scum¡­"


    Elder Aika''s "mumbles" were more than loud enough for even Path Extinction Realm experts to hear from miles away, let alone the powerhouses present currently.


    Every since Elder Aika heard that her beloved Ryu was being forced to participate in this farce of a tournament because Elder Li didn''t'' have the backbone to stop experts from the Second Heaven, she had become infuriated, even raining down several slaps on the old man''s face without regard for his dignity.


    After Elder Aika learned that Ryu had refused to take orders from the Iunae Clan and the Hidden Blade Sect, her fondness for him had increased a hundredfold. Such a filial disciple who actually also enjoyed reading in the library AND was a great talent was too rare, all too rare.


    Yet these bastards were sending him off to his death, how could she not be infuriated? Let alone Elder Li, she hit and slapped everyone she could find, even the Grand Elder and Sect Leader weren''t spared, suffering her wrath as well.


    The elders could only bitterly withstand it, not wanting to get on the bad side of this old woman any more than they already were.


    "Hoho, trouble in paradise? Why do you sound so upset, Aika?"


    Elder Aika''s head snapped up and without a word, she had already grabbed her cane. The elder who had spoken out immediately retreated, their eyes widening and not expecting such a vicious attack.


    BANG!


    The head of the elder exploded under the stunned gazes of those present.


    Right this moment, the Sects and Clans of the First Heaven had all gathered in the skies. Each Sect and Clan, depending on their status, was granted a floating island. Some had to share their islands with others, but the likes of the Radiant Star Sect didn''t have to do such a thing. They could be considered to be a top five organization of the First Heaven even if they weren''t Two Star, so they would never have to do such a thing.


    These countless floating small islands all surrounded a much larger floating island from above. Although they were separated by hundreds of miles, with the eyesight of cultivators at their level, it might as well have been right in front of their eyes.


    Just now, an elder of the Hidden Blade Sect was flying by on a flying beast and unleashed some taunting words after hearing Elder Aika''s complaints. And yet, despite them being from a Two Star Sect, without the slightest hesitation, Elder Aika pierced outward and shattered their skull into a gory mess.


    "Who else wants to say something smart?! Come! Come! This old lady has time for all of you today! It''s been so long since I stepped out that some of you think that I, Aika Radiance, am someone you can just speak casually to?


    "How many more?! I''m waiting right here!"


    A stunned silence took hold.


    Did an elder in the Sky God Realm¡­ Just die?


    No one who was watching could seem to wrap their heads around what they were seeing. It was difficult even to fathom or comprehend. This wasn''t a small matter that could just be brushed under the rug, even the death of a World Sea Realm expert would lead to all out war, let alone a Sky God!


    The elders of the Radiant Star Sect stood frozen as well, none of them having any idea what they should do.


    The Hidden Blade Sect was a Two Star Sect! Not only were they Two Star, but they were especially known for their insidious methods and long lives. Killing one of their experts was almost impossible with their number of survival methods.


    Wait¡­ That was indeed the case, so how had Elder Aika killed one of them so easily?!


    "Well?! Where are the rest of you?! My patience is thin! Don''t make me come over there, or else I won''t stop until all of you are eradicated!"


    Elder Aika seemed absolutely furious, but even the Hidden Blade Sect, who should have been more enraged than even her, had no idea what they should do. This change of events was so sudden that they couldn''t even react.


    It had to be understood that in order to become a Two Star Sect, one needed a False Sky God. But any Sect that could become a Two Star Sect would usually first become a One Star Sect, and then a True One Star Sect with ten Fragmented Sky Gods, and only then would they finally become a Two Star Sect.


    This was to say that the Fragmented Sky Gods were the real backbone of a Two Star Sect and was the most solid representation of their power. And yet one had just died so casually?! And why did this old woman sound like she wanted to kill more?!


    Just when it seemed that Elder Aika would really storm over, her head turned toward a sudden direction and her murderous aura dissipated into thin air.


    "Ah, my handsome little baby boy is here!"


    The elders were further rendered speechless. But at this moment, the gravity of what had just happened finally began to settle in for the Hidden Blade Sect and their gazes turned savage.


    A mere True One Star Sect dared to infringe on the dignity of a Two Star behemoth?!

 Chapter 989 Quick,Tell This Old Lady

    Elder Aika seemed to have completely forgotten what she had just done and all her attention was turned to the fluttering snow owl in the skies.


    The Hidden Blade Sect was still stewing in their own rage. Some of them even thought of shooting the bird out of the skies, something that would have been extraordinarily easy for any one of them, but when they thought about how easily a Fragmented Sky God had just died, and the fact Elder Aika seemed to be beaming toward this bird, none of them seemed to want to take the risk, at least not until they regained their numbers advantage.


    "Oh, Little Air, you''re here too. This is wonderful."


    Elder Aika couldn''t be bothered to pronounce Selheira''s full name and had long since settled upon this nickname instead. She immediately seemed doubly excited when it was both Ryu and Selheira who appeared at once, almost as though she was greeting her own grandchildren.


    "I should have known it was you from this beautiful creature. Come, come, let me take a good look at you two."


    Selheira smiled gently and gracefully stepped down from her beast''s back, allowing the old woman to cup and squeeze her face.


    Many turned sharp gazes over, trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of what was beneath Selheira''s veil, but maybe by coincidence or maybe due to the machination of the old woman, none of them could even see a thing.


    Ryu sighed inwardly as he stepped down. He really didn''t know what to do about this old woman, but she was more powerful than him by a large margin, even after his recultivation, so toward her he could only acquiesce.


    The old Elder Aika, far more than a head shorter than both Ryu and Selheira, lay claim to one of their arms each, squeezing in between the two of them with a bright smile on her face, it was as though she was on the top of the world.


    "This is too perfect," Elder Aika laughed, "If Little Ryu and Little Air become Dao Companions, wouldn''t our Radiant Star Sect flourish for countless cycles? Come, don''t be shy, how long have you two been together? No, no, how far have you two gone? No need to lie to this old lady, I''m just a little bit curious.


    "I''ve done my time, I have a lot of tips and tricks for such a young and budding romance¡­" Elder Aika pulled on Ryu''s arm and whispered her next words into his ears. "¡­ Don''t let the gentle smile and demeanor fool you, Little Ryu. All women have a wild side, if you want to be a real man, you have to bring it out. If you''re honest with this old lady, I''ll teach you a few skills."


    Ryu was speechless, not even knowing what to say. This Elder Aika was a bit too wild, no?


    Despite the fact she had "whispered" into Ryu''s ears, how could Selheira not hear everything with her cultivation? Any normal woman upon hearing such words would probably flush down to the torso, but Selheira only smiled and laughed gently.


    "Don''t be like this, Granny Aika. We have to be respectful of Ryu and his wives, making such jokes is a bit inappropriate."


    If anyone else had such words, they would have probably sounded quite crass and reprimanding, but when Selheira spoke them, it seemed to diffuse any sort of tension there might have been.


    "Wives? My Little Ryu is already married?"


    In truth, at Ryu''s age, this was very rare. Most people in the True Martial World wouldn''t get married until they had reached the end of their potential, or had stepped into the Sky God Realm.


    When one was extraordinarily talented, it was better if you married and had children quickly upon becoming a Sky God, because the further along the Sky God path you followed, the harder it would be to pass down your lineage. As such, marriage and forming families was more common practice among the young in the higher Heavens.


    But in the First Heavens? Having wives was very rare before crossing your 100th birthday. In most situations where there was a link between two exceptionally young parties, it was, at most, a marriage alliance that wouldn''t be followed through upon until both reached a certain stage in their cultivation.


    "Ai, disappointing, too disappointing," Elder Aika sighed.


    She had spoken in a joking tone, but truthfully, she wasn''t joking at all. She really did have a fondness for Ryu, and she had long since come to take a liking to Selheira. In fact, she seemed to know more about Selheira than most others did as well. However, as crass as she usually was, she was still a woman at the end of the day.


    As a woman, Elder Aika wouldn''t try to casually push Selheira toward a fate of sharing a husband even if it would greatly benefit the Radiant Star Sect. Weren''t these two already part of the Sect anyway? It would only be a small loss if they didn''t get together.


    At the same time, though, she didn''t blame Ryu either. A man having multiple wives was just the way of the martial world. Let alone the likes of talented youths like Ryu, even mediocre men might have multiple wives.


    The only time such a thing wouldn''t happen is if two talents of perfect equivalent standing met young and chose to stay together. But such a thing was rare, too rare.


    Often what would happen instead is that talented men would secure women a step or two beneath them in talent, while exceptionally talented women would either take a step above themselves, or if they were extraordinarily prideful¡ªwhich was often the case with such geniuses¡ªthey would simply choose to embark upon their Dao Paths alone.


    The Heavens were more than just a bit unfair in this case. Because women had to give of themselves, losing their Primordial Yins, it was difficult for them to casually form relationships without harming their cultivation paths.


    Despite her jokes, Elder Aika was such a woman as well.

 Chapter 990 Knowing Ones Heart

    Ryu didn''t say much to these words. His perspective on having multiple wives had already changed long ago, the moment he leapt over the hurdle he and Elena had faced.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. He believed that his destiny was to stand at the very top of the world. Not just any woman was worthy to stand by his side. However, those that would earn such a right, he wouldn''t allow to suffer even the slightest grievance.


    Originally, his plan was to remain with one woman for the length of his life. Even when he met Ailsa, that held true and he didn''t waver¡­ At least not initially.


    The Heavens of Sacrum, though, had a different plan for him. Ailsa had done too much for him, given too much to him, for him to simply ignore her. Like this, his first love might have been Elena, but his second true love was Ailsa.


    The situation with Eska and Isemeine was especially complicated, but he had already come to accept it. As far as he saw it, the two of them, although he only viewed them as concubines and not his official wives, were still considered to be his women.


    Regardless of their feelings, when he chose to settle down at the world''s peak, he expected them to be by his side as well. If not for this, he would never prepare such a valuable gift for Eska, he would have instead found another method to use it and still keep his promise to Flowing Frost.


    And of course, there was Yaana. It was impossible for him to ignore the meaning she held to him and she was, without a doubt, his third wife. That was how he saw it and no one would ever change it.


    The current Ryu was neither opposed nor for accepting more wives. He felt no need to actively search for such a thing, but he also didn''t feel the same pressure he once did to reject it either. His heart was calm and without ripple in this regard.


    A new wife truly would be very useful to him, especially as his Bloodlines quickly increased in strength. It also didn''t need to be said how useful Selheira''s Primordial Yin would be to him, although he wasn''t quite sure if things worked the same in the True Martial World or not.


    But what he did know was that he hadn''t reached the point of needing to have Selheira as his woman no matter what, and he also didn''t plan on pursuing her either. At best, he had a favorable impression of the woman and had taken a liking to her.


    This liking, however, was even less potent than the pull he had felt toward Sarriel. After all, while Selheira was an extremely gentle woman, the kind that most men would pine after and dream of, to Ryu, Sarriel, or rather the Sarriel he had thought he had come to know, was far more to his liking.


    That said, his crush on Sarriel had vanished with the wind the moment he saw that hidden side of her. Right now, he only felt gratitude for the information she had left behind for him, but nothing else.


    Likewise, if he came to find out something about Selheira that changed his mind about her, it would be even easier for him to forget what liking he had for her as well.


    Ryu was just this sort of person. His personality wasn''t to the liking of many, but quite frankly, he simply couldn''t be bothered to care.


    All that mattered was that he knew his own heart.


    Of course, what Elder Aika didn''t know was that there was a Clan of women out there who did as they pleased with their bodies, and it also happened to be a Clan that stood at the very pinnacle of the True Martial World. Maybe if she had been born into the Martial Gods, her outlook on life would be much different than what it was currently.


    It took Ryu no more than a brief instant of time to organize such thoughts in his mind, and he seemed to become calmer.


    His heart shone like a refined jade and he exhaled a breath.


    The air around him shifted and his gaze became tranquil. There was a slight shift in his body and his soul and a rush of powerful, but illusory energies twisted around them.


    When a Dao broke through, it didn''t need to gather up energy, at least not until it formed a Godhood. For such a breakthrough, the only way to tell was by the way the energies resonating around them. But there was such a large tempest of it, that several gazes would help but land on the trio linked together.


    Of the three of them, both Selheira and Elder Aika closed their eyes. The sudden resonance brought about by the breakthrough in Dao was greatly beneficial for those around the person in question, and especially for those so close to him.


    However, because Ryu was the most relaxed, it made it difficult to tell that he was the one undergoing the breakthrough at all.


    The expressions of the individuals changed. Such a powerful Dao Resonance? How was it even possible?


    Their gazes bounced back and forth between the trio.


    They immediately eliminated Elder Aika because she should have formed her Godhood already. This meant that her Daos wouldn''t just resonate with worldly energies, it would also directly absorb them.


    This just left Selheira and Ryu, but it was just too difficult to tell which of them it was. The energies seemed to slightly favor Ryu more, making it seem like it was him. But such a powerful Dao¡­ How could it be in the hands of an Immortal Ring Realm pup?


    This level of momentum felt like one of the final breakthroughs before forming a Godhood, it just made more sense if it was Selheira. But¡­


    The expressions of the Hidden Blade Sect warped. They had felt ignored and disdained. Now that Elder Aika had closed her eyes and focused on the resonance of this energy, wasn''t it the best time to attack?


    "Die!"


    A raging mechanical palm tens of meters across descended toward the trio.

 Chapter 991 Breakthrough

    Ryu''s gaze turned cold. He was the one receiving the most direct benefits from his own breakthrough, of course, so he didn''t need to focus very much on it. After all, it was his insights that had triggered the breakthrough, not the other way around. So, he had already achieved the level of focus he had needed already. All he had to do now was to allow the Heavens to reward him properly.


    Due to this, he was the first to realize what was happening because his Void Spiritual Sense was blanketing the area. With its prowess, Sky Gods of this level couldn''t hide their intentions toward him, but it was already much too late for him to do anything.


    The Frost Clan unfortunately hadn''t left behind any world shattering treasures or protective treasures. Well, at least none that were useful on a Sky God level. The best of them could just barely block a few blows from a World Sea Realm expert of the Sixth Heaven''s caliber.


    However, a World Sea Realm expert that strong was most definitely comparable to a Fragmented Sky God of the First Heaven. So if it came to it, Ryu was confident in blocking one such blow


    Still, it was obvious why his gaze had turned cold.


    Firstly, with his personality, anyone who would deign to take his life would immediately be marked with his hatred. Many others wouldn''t even dare to show rage toward such a powerful expert due to ingrained respect and deep seeded apprehension. But Ryu never held any reverence for such figures to begin with.


    And secondly, he didn''t want to have to reveal such a treasure if he didn''t have to. Such a thing shouldn''t appear on the First Heaven at all. In this place, even Sky Gods were cobbling together Heaven Grade weapons for their own personal use, only the lucky ones with some connections to higher Heavens would be able to get their hands on an Ancestral Grade or Fragmented Grade weapon more appropriate for their level.


    In the end, though¡­


    BANG!


    Elder Aika''s eyes suddenly opened and she pierced out with her cane once again.


    The enormous metallic hand was split in two, and yet the Sky God on the other side was nailed with nine holes, one through the forehead, the second through the nose, the third through the neck, the fourth through the collarbone, the fifth through the heart, the sixth through the torso, and as though to add insult to death, the final three were stacked up vertically right through his crotch area.


    For a moment there was complete and utter silence. But in the next instant, the Fragmented Sky God imploded into a rain of blood and gore as well.


    Under the astonished gazes of those watching, a wilder, even more furious gust of qi manifested. This one didn''t just cover a few dozen kilometers, but rather pulled in qi from the whole of the First Heaven, covering every inch of land and shaking the skies.


    All at once, the energy turned into a rainbow vortex that manifested above Elder Aika''s head, rushing through her body in an endless tide.


    If Ryu''s breakthrough had given many some small insights, Elder Aika''s was akin to handing many the key to the world. And yet, unlike Ryu, Elder Aika seemed to have an excellent level of control over her own, to the point where the only people she even allowed to get a sense for anything were those already on the Radiant Star Sect''s island.


    She was breaking through?


    ? The members of the Hidden Blade Sect stood in shock, firstly because they had lost yet another Fragmented Sky God¡ªtwo in just a single day¡ªand secondly because the breakthrough of a Sky God was so impossibly rare that it had been countless years since the last time such a thing had occurred.


    Even breakthroughs from the World Sea Realm to Sky God were almost impossible to stumble across in the First Heaven, let alone a breakthrough by an expert already in the Sky God Realm!


    Had they been wrong? Could it be that that level of insight previously wasn''t Ryu or Selheira at all, but rather Elder Aika from the very beginning?!


    The Hidden Blade Sect elders watched on, their gazes becoming like blazing torches. However, Elder Aika was still staring at them. Much like Ryu before, her final hurdle of insight had already been completed, she didn''t need as much focus as had been necessary before.


    Ryu felt a swelling feeling in his heart right this moment. The Dao had never felt so clear to him.


    Just now, he had gained some insight into his own heart, which allowed his Dao to improve from the 1st Grade Immortal Dao to the 2nd Grade Immortal Dao. This gave him a Dao equivalent to the Path Extinction Realm.


    But it had to be remembered that most would have a Dao a step below their cultivation Realm, and only the pinnacle of absolute geniuses would ever have a Dao at their level. Ryu had already been in the latter group, but his insights into his own heart had allowed him to transcend even that and grasp a Dao beyond his cultivation Realm!


    And yet, just after this breakthrough, he had suddenly been blessed by another opportunity.


    Unlike others who wouldn''t even dare to bring their Spiritual Sense close to such a vortex of energy for fear of harming their soul, Ryu had enveloped it completely.


    Streams of Fundamental Runes, of Heavenly Secrets, and enigmatic mysteries were imprinted onto his mind one after another.


    Just catching bits and pieces of Elder Aika''s Dao caused world shaking changes within him. First his Dao completely solidified itself at the 2nd Immortal Dao Grade, and then it quickly improved by leaps and bounds.


    What maybe should have taken years or even decades of practice was completed in just a few minutes.


    By the time Elder Aika''s breakthrough was completed, Ryu felt that his Dao sat right at the border of the 3rd Immortal Dao Grade, just a breath away from a power that only Dao Pedestal Realm geniuses should wield, and a power that one could only expect to frequently find among Cosmic Seed Realm geniuses¡­


    But the difference here was¡­ Ryu''s Dao was no normal Common, True or even Lineal Dao¡­


    It was a Hegemonic Dao.

 Chapter 992 Magic Circle

    Ryu''s mind wasn''t on any of this, though, he was entirely enraptured by the profundity of Elder Aika''s earlier strike. If he was correct, she didn''t need to display such might earlier, it was only because of her sudden inspired breakthrough that she had used such a top level application of her Dao.


    Just then, the metal palm split in two but the Fragmented Sky God was riddled with nine holes¡­ It didn''t seem to make sense. If there were nine attacks, then why wouldn''t the metal palm also gain nine holes?


    It seemed that there was a simple answer. After all, even Qi Refinement Realm experts could control their streams of energy perfectly. Maybe she just split a blade attack into nine.


    But what would be the purpose of that? Especially when the nine holes essentially split the man down in half as well. After all, every single one of the lines had gone down a straight vertical line.


    It was then that it hit Ryu. Now that he thought about it, Elder Aika hadn''t swept her cane out either, she had pierced it forward.


    That meant that somehow, a straight line pierce, had become a vertical slice, that then became nine individual holes. The profundity was on a level that Ryu found difficult even to wrap his head around.


    This wasn''t a simple application of qi, it was a use of qi that sat within realms Ryu couldn''t even fathom.


    He couldn''t help but think of an experiment. When one shot out a stream of particles toward two slits, one would expect to receive two streams back on the other side. This was what should happen if particles always acted like particles.


    But what truly happened was that one would receive a wave pattern on the other side with a distribution based on probability, something that made no intuitive sense. This was a mystery of the universe and Existence that Sacrum simply didn''t have a solid answer for.


    However, Elder Aika seemed to have grasped a Dao where she could easily and freely make use of these principles. She could pierce out with a single stream, casually change it into an arc, and then reform it into a single or even multiple streams as she pleased.


    Her level of insights and control over qi was at a level that far surpassed the lower Sky God levels.


    Until now, Ryu had been certain that Elder Aika had been at the Fragmented Sky God level. But now¡­ Now he wasn''t so sure.


    It only confirmed his suspicions further when, upon her breakthrough, her back straightened, her wrinkles smoothed out, and her greying hairs began to slowly fade. However, this final process, Elder Aika seemed to stop it of her volition. Even as she once more became a city toppling beauty and her skin regained its soft, suppleness, she kept her cane and her greying hairs.


    In the end, she was still a great deal shorter than Selheira and Ryu, barely coming up to their shoulders, but she looked like she had become a 21 year old woman once again. If it wasn''t because she had kept those silver strands of hair in her deep black locks, one wouldn''t even be able to reconcile the two images.


    Why was it that Elder Aika''s youth had reaffirmed to Ryu that she couldn''t be  a Fragmented Sky God?


    Well, one would only age to the extent Elder Aika had when they were quickly approaching the end of their lifespan. A genius capable of understanding the profundities of qi to such an extreme and even applying it into their Dao like she had wouldn''t be stifled by a mere False Sky God bottleneck for so long.


    Realizing this, Ryu could only conclude that Elder Aika was far above the Fragmented Sky God Realm.


    It was just a conjecture, and he couldn''t pinpoint her true cultivation because he had too little experience with the True Martial World Sky God Realms, but he was certain of at least this.


    The question was¡­ why was someone so powerful on the First Heaven?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It seemed that he was very correct to come to the Radiant Star Sect.


    Originally, he came because he felt that there was a secret behind why Galemar, a genius of the Two Star Galemar Clan, would choose to come to a True One Star Sect instead of just training with his Clan. And it seemed that he was very correct, there was a secret here.


    Elder Aika chuckled. "What is it, Little Ryu? Has this old woman become too beautiful for you to look away?"


    Elder Aika''s chortling broke the silence, but despite her joking tone, she truly was too beautiful. She was the kind of beauty that should probably choose to wear a veil like Selheira had so as to avoid being constantly harassed. But Elder Aika had been growing old for so long, how could she have the time to care to wear a veil?


    This breakthrough had truly been an unexpected boon. She had expected to slowly die at her current level, but she never expected that she would gain some benefit from a little Immortal Ring Realm practitioner''s Dao breakthrough.


    Elder Aika sent a small glance toward Ryu''s forehead covered in a headband and seemed to have made a guess at something. But she didn''t say anything about it at all.


    To her surprise, though, Ryu nodded.


    "You are indeed very beautiful."


    Elder Aika was stunned speechless. She took Ryu for the cold, stoic type. But it seemed that he had some passion in his heart as well. Or, at the very least, he was the type who couldn''t be bothered to lie about his intentions.


    Ryu liked cold and arrogant women, and Elder Aika definitely wasn''t like that. However, usually, cold and arrogant women also tended to be older women as well, so Ryu had a fondness for women much older too.


    The charm the teasing elder had was undeniable. She had slight oriental features and large silvery eyes. Although her body was quite petite, it was well proportioned and shone through even her very loose robes. And those strands of silver hair gave her a charm most couldn''t match.


    Elder Aika''s personality didn''t suit him, but he wouldn''t mind praising her beauty a bit.


    To others, though, an Immortal Ring Realm expert "flirting" with a Sky God was so unheard of that they didn''t even know what to say. Wasn''t this child a bit too bold?


    Selheira covered her mouth and released a light and gentle giggle. Usually, her laughs were fake, but this time, she couldn''t help but reveal a real one. Ryu was truly an interesting character to her.


    "However," Ryu continued, "I''m much more interested in your attack just now. It was too profound for me to understand."


    Elder Aika''s brows rose. She was surprised that Ryu had noticed anything at all. Most wouldn''t even give that attack of hers a second look.


    Now, she was even more certain that Ryu had an extremely powerful Dao. She was somewhat curious to see him use it¡­


    "This Dao of mine¡­ It''s based on a core technique of the Radiant Star Sect," Elder Aika laughed boisterously after a moment, "perform well and this old lady will give you a copy."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. It seemed that he was right about this Radiant Star Sect having quite some secrets.


    Others might not understand the hidden meaning of these words, but how could he not? Elder Aika seemed to be implying that the techniques of their Sect went far beyond the Fragmented or even False Sky God levels.


    Ryu exhaled. He hadn''t been very interested in the techniques of the Radiant Star Sect¡­ Until now.


    At that moment, a mighty aura descended from the Hidden Blade Sect island. It was no doubt their False Sky God, an existence that was the very reason the Hidden Blade Sect could be a Two Star Sect at all.


    However, before they could do anything, the large floating island they all hovered around began to glow.


    One after another, large scale teleportation arrays began to appear in the skies and groups of individuals appeared one by one, each with more profound auras than the last.


    From above, it looked as though a complex and enormous magic circle was being formed piece by piece.

 Chapter 993 Chosen

    The island below had exactly 27 mountain peaks. Upon each one of these, new formations quickly formed. When they vanished groups of individuals were left behind. Sometimes they were just in pairs, and the largest of them numbered as much as five.


    Among these individuals, Jenneless and her junior brothers were present, commanding the space of an entire mountain range to themselves.


    The 27 mountain peaks completely surrounded the floating island, sitting on its outer edges as though to enclose everything within. From above, it looked no different from a cage locking everyone in. Although none had descended just yet, when they did, it became obvious that they would have no options to escape.


    Maybe in Sacrum, it wouldn''t be a big deal. But to the people of the True Martial World, it was impossible to fly in the First Heaven without first being a Fragmented Sky God. There was simply no escaping.


    "Chosen!"


    A voice boomed from a three meter tall man below.


    The moment he spoke, Jenneless'' lips curled into a slight sneer. Her palm flipped over and a floating Rune appeared.


    She raised her palm into the air and the silvery construct shot through the air, appearing before Ryu''s forehead and floating around it.


    Aside from Ryu, there were only two others who received such treatment. One of them received a silvery rune from a group of people wrapped in vines, and the other received the same rune from individuals with reptilian eyes.


    To the surprise of everyone, two of these runes landed with the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect.


    The first was, obviously, Ryu. But the second was someone Ryu recognized from the entrance exam, a young man with skin as dark as night and eyes as sparkling bright as the stars. However, oddly enough, no one seemed surprised that a young man who should have just become an Outer Disciple was here.


    Ryu frowned inwardly.


    At that moment, the young man turned toward him and smiled. But what was odd was the fact that Ryu definitely hadn''t turned to look at him, what would have been the point? He was blind to begin with, it would have been a useless endeavor. So why was this young man smiling at him?


    For an instant, Ryu thought that the young man had sensed his Spiritual Sense, but that didn''t seem to be the case. Not to mention the fact that even Elder Aika hadn''t detected his Void Spiritual Sense, it seemed that this young man was smiling at him just for the sake of¡­ smiling at him?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but he still didn''t turn toward the young man.


    This situation was far too weird. Even Elder Aika didn''t seem to react to him at all. Selheira also seemed to be quite sensitive, but she too didn''t seem to see an issue with this situation.


    Ryu inwardly shook his head. He didn''t particularly care about this matter. Since he could stand here, who was to say that others could not? It was as though everyone was freaking out about his placement either. Well¡­ At least no one on the Radiant Star Sect side. There was one particular individual on the Iunae Clan floating island that was quite shocked.


    Galemar''s eyes narrowed when he saw Ryu accept the Chosen Rune. He had already heard that Ryu was forced into this situation due to Jenneless'' dissatisfaction, so he had already expected this to happen. But what he was shocked about was that this Ryu was truly the Ryu he knew.


    This was, quite frankly, a death sentence for Ryu. But he was greatly dissatisfied with this.


    Even if Ryu died, the one with claim to his corpse and things would be Jenneless and not him. This would mean that any chance he had at taking a look to see if Ryu''s talents could be used to bolster his own had flown out of the window.


    The worst part was finding out that Ryu, who he had been looking for all this time, had actually been right under his nose. The fact that Ryu had survived such a fall only made him more interested in what Ryu would do for him.


    But now there were no more chances. The overseers would be able to monitor everything that happened on the island and Jenneless would definitely be paying special attention to Ryu.


    At this point, he was almost kicking himself.


    Even though he was supposedly a member of the Radiant Star Sect, he actually spent most of his time in the Iunae Clan. Their facilities and resources were better, why wouldn''t he? But that choice had actually come back to bite him today.


    The silvery light that surrounded him grew more furious for a moment before calming down.


    To his side, someone released a chuckle by his side.


    "What is it, Galemar. Feeling jealous?"


    The one who had spoken was Vanword of the Iunae Clan. In this generation, Galemar was competing with two others for the position of Clan Heir, one of which was Vanword, and the second of which was Krixian.


    He had managed to take a bit of a lead thanks to the headache he had been for the Radiant Star Sect, but this selection was an opportunity for the other two to catch up quite swiftly. There was no greater guarantee to the heirship of their Clan than leading the Iunae Clan into the Second Heaven, the greatest desire of their Ancestors.


    Galemar had been preparing to make solid preparations, as he always did. But for some reason, they had chosen to abruptly push up the date of this selection, making all of his preparation useless.


    These two cousins of his couldn''t have been happier. The three of them were about equal in strength, but when it came to strategizing and plotting, Galemar was leagues beyond. The more time he had, the worst it would be for them. So the two were in quite a good mood, one that only became better when they saw that Galemar was agitated.


    Toward such words, Galemar only snorted and didn''t respond.


    The fact that there were only three Chosen this year spoke volumes about how rushed this was. Usually, at least half of the 27 would have chosen someone or maybe even someones. Galemar had planned to secure himself one with some time and effort, but that was clearly impossible now.


    However, Galemar still saw these cousins of his as fools. Obviously, they had no idea what the true root of his dissatisfaction was.


    "Don''t tease him too much, Vanword," Krixian chortled. "Did you see how valiant that Sky God of the Radiant Star Sect was just now? He''s probably pissing his pants realizing that the Radiant Star Sect isn''t a place you can just casually toy with. Patriarch tried to warn him, but doesn''t he just listen to no one else but himself?


    "In fact, because of this, our Iunae Clan didn''t get a chance to order any of those Runed Pills. Who do you think the reason for that alchemy genius turning us down is?"


    Galemar''s eyes narrowed beneath his sheen of silver.


    He had, indeed, lost a bit of an edge in the race because of this and many of the elders had been dissatisfied. Luckily, Ryu had disappeared shortly after making such great promises, so the situation was salvaged by him. But the Clan was still dissatisfied that they couldn''t get their hands on even one.


    Even when they tried to trade with smaller Clans and Sects that had managed to get their own, they had all flatly refused, firstly because the pills were far too rare, and second because none wanted to chance offending Ryu.


    "It''s worse than that, Bro Krixian. I found out something interesting the other day. Apparently this Ryu Tatsuya is an otherworlder and came to the True Martial World on the same Astral Ship as Big Bro Galemar. However, there''s no registry of his leaving the Astral Ship, I wonder what happened."


    Galemar''s gaze turned cold. He might be better at planning than his cousins, but if they had no strengths, they wouldn''t even be considered for the position of Heir. Both of them were quite intelligent in their own right.


    "Hoho, an interesting tidbit indeed. I wonder if this big bro of ours spent too much time putting on airs and hiding his face behind that twinkling light that he actually scared such a genius away. Say it ain''t so¡­ What kind of scandal would that cause among the Clan elders if they were to find out?"


    ¡­


    While the three representatives of the Iunae Clan were having a sharp battle of words, the third and final individual to land a Chosen Rune was staring daggers at the Radiant Star Sect¡­ This individual was none other than the number one genius of the Hidden Blade Sect, Ysemros.


    If one didn''t know better, one would have thought him to be a necromancer.


    His robes were jet black and incredibly loose. Small gasps of dense black fog left out of his sleeves and hems. At the same time, what looked like a tail of intertwined black vines sways from side to side on the ground behind him.


    His gaze seemed dull and palcid, but within, a hidden sharpness seemed to split it apart.


    A bumpy deep purple tongue licked as his dry, pale lips.


    He seemed eager for the event to begin.

 Chapter 994 Too Small

    With a rush of qi, Ryu found himself being forcefully teleported out of his floating island.


    When he reappeared, he was in the midst of a dense forest. Trees five to ten times as thick as the width of his waist were all around him. The grass beneath his feet was wild and untamed, sometimes being quite low, and at other times, as tall as Ryu''s knees.


    There didn''t seem to be any sort of law or order to the forest at all, like it had very much been untouched by the machinations of humans and other intelligent creatures. Left to grow on its own, there was a sufficient wild smell in the air.


    This place was very much not used to the appearance of humans and everything about this forest screamed danger lurking around the corner. The moment they caught a single whiff of Ryu, maybe everything in the surrounding 100 kilometers would suddenly be out to kill him.


    Such a place already had its own delicate balance struck after countless years of evolution and infighting. The territories and resources had long since been carved out, just the appearance of one Ryu would be enough to wildly change this balance, let alone the fact that there were dozens of other participants.


    Ryu''s Void Spiritual Sense spread outward, immediately finding several threats in the near vicinity. The closest was only about 200 meters away, but the thick foliage made it so that there wasn''t a clear line of sight to him. And, just within a kilometer radius, a distance that was absolutely nothing to cultivators of his and likely their level, there were almost a dozen such threats, each seemingly more dangerous than the last.


    For now, Ryu hadn''t been noticed. But¡­


    As though on cue, the Chosen Rune above Ryu''s forehead flashed. A ripple of qi spread outward and a pillar of light shot into the skies, persisting for half a second before vanishing. At the same time, two more such instances occurred around this wild world. Unfortunately, Ryu hadn''t spread his Spiritual Sense far enough to see them and he obviously couldn''t use his eyes like others could.


    That said, this wasn''t surprising to Ryu. Before he was forcefully teleported away, he was already told that this would happen. This was the burden he would have to carry as a chosen. By this point, Jenneless who was watching Ryu from a mountain peak like a hawk couldn''t help but sneer.


    Usually, she didn''t display her inward thoughts so blatantly on her expression, but the more she thought about what happened that day, the more pissed she became. Something about Selheira really and truly irritated her, making her hatred of Ryu all the more potent.


    A mere Immortal Ring Realm expert looking to participate in this selection? She was looking forward to Ryu''s death.


    Almost the instant the flash of qi went out, the beast that was 200 meters away from Ryu snapped a head in its direction. Its long, lanky arms reached up to the nearest branch, its speed almost impossible to track as it monkey-branched from tree to tree.


    In no more than a half a second, a shadow flashed above Ryu''s head, a fiery, orange furred monkey barely a meter and a half tall falling toward him with wide open jaws.


    Despite its small and seemingly innocuous appearance, the pulsating strength of a Black Grade beast wafted from it, only made more prominent by its Eighth Order cultivation.


    Jenneless watched this happen from above with the same expression. But inwardly, she was partially disappointed. She wanted to see Ryu suffer more, but such a beast wasn''t known for playing with its prey and there probably weren''t any beasts weaker than this on the floating island, this was the best she could have hoped for.


    She shook her head and watched intently. She had to step in the moment that Ryu died so that this foolish beast couldn''t take advantage of Ryu''s corpse and so that she could make sure everything remained intact.


    However, what actually happened left her completely speechless.


    ¡­


    Ryu stood without moving. His Spiritual Sense watched as the orange monkey swung toward him, but his expression didn''t seem to give away that he had noticed anything. Those that knew that Ryu was blind couldn''t help but watch on with a hint of lament. All because of the actions of a Second Heaven genius, Ryu would die here.


    It was right when the jaws of the orange monkey opened, ready to take a bite out of Ryu''s skull that his hand suddenly clawed forward.


    Those watching suddenly felt as though they were watching the massive looming figure of a dragon swipe down with a deadly momentum. Just watching Ryu alone, it felt like they could even hear the faint echo of a roar in their ears.


    Ryu''s claw was so large that the moment it grasped the face of the orange monkey, it forced its jaw shut.


    BANG!


    The momentum of the monkey was halted in an instant, and with just the slightest squeeze, its head exploded and a headless corpse fell to the ground.


    Ryu watched this scene, frowning inwardly. Just a simple action had practically manifested his Dragon Soul, this could be troublesome.


    By now, after recultivating in both Qi Realm and Body Realm, the former to the pinnacle of the Spiritual Severing Realm and the latter to the pinnacle of the Pulse Tempering Realm, his Bloodlines had left the Earth Grade and entered the Heaven Grade. In fact, right now, they sat at the Middle Heaven Grade.


    What Ryu didn''t expect was that with this change, the aura of his Bloodlines also became more difficult to hide.


    The good news was that he had Void Spiritual Sense to mask much of it, but if dragon roars were going to manifest every time he attacked semi-similarly to a dragon, it could prove troublesome.


    Just now, he had subconsciously used Dragon Claw. Dragon Claw was a talent of the dragons and one of their strongest methods of attack. The good news was that Ryu didn''t employ its true nature and at most used about 5% of it, but that much was already enough to explosively increase the strength of his hands and even cause a small phenomena.


    It seemed that he would have to be more careful or else even with Void Spiritual Sense, he would end up exposing himself.


    ''I''ll stick with archery for now, close combat is dicey because my instincts will kick in. Archery is inherently a more controlled and deliberate discipline, so even if it''s highly compatible with my Lightning Qilin Bloodline, it''ll still be easier to hide.''


    While Ryu was thinking about these matters, his grandfather''s bow had already appeared in his left palm and he had already drawn.


    A violent and wild lightning pulsed to light as his Glove of Order glowed, but it very quickly tightened up into a sleek blue steel arrow that pulsed with life and vitality.


    This was none other than one of the few Bloodline Talents Ryu could use freely and get away with¡­ Lightning God and lightning manipulation abilities. With this, even the most violent of lightning called forth by his Glove of Order and the Thunder Character in his eyes were as obedient as kittens.


    By the time he had drawn, several more beasts had appeared but with a single relaxation of his forearm, they were spliced through by a lightning arrow.


    A single release took the lives of three Eighth Order beasts, their bodies exploding with lightning and being charred nearly to ash a moment later.


    Up above, the spectators watched in absolute silence, not quite being able to understand what they were seeing. It felt to them like a fairy tale.


    An Immortal Ring Realm expert¡­ was taking down Black Grade Eighth Order beasts as though they were nothing but trash by the roadside? How was that possible?!


    Jenneless'' eyes widened.


    When she was in the Immortal Ring Realm, could she take down Eighth Order Black Grade beasts so easily?


    The answer was yes, but she was also an absolute genius of the Second Heaven. It was rare, too rare, for such a genius to appear on the First Heaven. In fact, it was rare for them to appear on the Second Heaven as well! How could there be so many of her running around?


    That physical strength¡­ Those archery skills¡­ That lightning control ability¡­


    The last of the three in particular, it felt like it had to come from a Dao Charm technique, nothing less could provide such amazing control over such an unruly element! It was simply impossible!


    ¡­


    Elder Aika''s gaze sparkled. She turned a gaze toward Selheira, but the latter just seemed to be smiling gently like she always did, her demeanor as calm as always.


    The Hidden Blade Sect elders really wanted to say something, but they no longer dared to, so they could only keep it in their hearts.


    So what if he was strong for his strength? Those were still just Eighth Order beasts, if you could kill Ninth Order beasts just as easily and defeat your fellow competitors, you wouldn''t survive regardless.


    Plus, another, larger pulse of the Chosen Rune was coming soon.


    ¡­


    Ryu didn''t know or care about the thoughts of others. Right this moment, he only had one goal in mind: find and defeat his competitors. Since it was right here for the taking, he might as well claim this free ticket to the Second Heaven.


    The First Heaven was already feeling much too small for him.

 Chapter 995 Range

    According to the understanding that Ryu had come to, the Chosen Rune was both a blessing and a curse. While it gave certain advantages that could be claimed at a later date, it also increased the difficulty manifold at the same time.


    For every given period of the time that passed, the Chosen Rune would release a pulse of qi that would be greatly attractive to beasts and a pillar of light that could be tracked by cultivators. Every time this pulse of qi and light was produced, the former would spread wider while the latter would persist for longer.


    Just now, Ryu had experienced the first pulse and the next was quickly approaching. This first one hadn''t been nearly enough to cause him big problems as it only pulled in beasts from about the surrounding kilometer range and the light hadn''t persisted for nearly long enough for challengers to lock onto his location. However, as time passed, it would become increasingly difficult for him.


    The goal of this excursion wasn''t actually related to the beasts or the terrain at all. These two factors just added additional variables to the competition and applied some more pressure on the geniuses trying to elevate to the Second Heaven.


    In truth, the goal was to defeat as many enemy humans as possible and collect Runes of your own. There were currently only three Chosen Runes, but there were tens of thousands of normal Runes taken up by cultivators who hadn''t been given such a chance.


    The top 270 contenders, a number chosen based on the 27 participating Second Heaven powers, would be given three chances at passing a trial of the Second Heaven powers. So long as they passed at least one, they would be able to join said power.


    Of course, Chosen could circumvent this. A Chosen was able to choose whichever power they wanted to join without running into an issue. That said, a Chosen would have to first survive the onslaught of thousands of cultivators seeking to snatch their Chosen Rune away.


    This sounded great, but truthfully, Chosen would usually go with the power that gave them their Chosen Rune. After all, not doing so would be as good as slapping the face of the power that had picked you out, making you an enemy of a Second Heaven Sect or Clan. This wasn''t something that even talented individuals would be willing to do, and it would also make things troublesome for the organization you chose to snub them for since it would place them at odds with a power likely on par with them.


    Of course, there were some powers that wouldn''t care about this at all if the genius was great enough, and some who were already at odds to begin with and most definitely didn''t care. However, how could someone born and raised on the First Heaven possibly know the ins and outs of such struggles? It was usually safer to just not take the risk at all.


    Knowing all of this, it was no wonder that Jenneless'' expression had become so ugly. Ryu hadn''t given her any face when she went to personally visit him, how was she expecting him to do so now?


    Soon, though, Jenneless calmed down. He just defeated some Eighth Order beasts and she was already so concerned, it was pathetic. Ever since her soul had been harmed, she was having far more difficulty thinking straight, meditating, and even controlling her emotions.


    Unfortunately, every time she realized this, she only became angrier at the bastard who put her in such a state and it fueled a cycle of her rashness and lack of emotional maturity.


    She was a person quite known for her meticulousness and intelligence, but now she acted like a woman scorned by love. And, she was far too powerful for those used to her real demeanor to dare to say a word about it.


    ¡­


    Ryu could probably make guesses at Jenneless'' current mental state if he thought about it, but quite frankly, he didn''t care enough to do so. This woman that he had only met once had long since been thrown to the back of his mind. He didn''t even take her giving him a Chosen Rune seriously. As far as he was concerned, such a boon was exactly what he deserved.


    Ryu slaughtered a path through the beasts clinging onto him until he laid eyes on one that was much more to his liking.


    In the distance, there was a prowling jaguar hidden within the shadows of dense foliage. It looked completely black, but depending on the angle Ryu''s Spiritual Sense locked onto it at, it could catch streams of dark gold patterns.


    This beast was most definitely of the Earth Grade, the first one of the Earth Grade that Ryu had come across. In fact, not only was it of the Earth Grade, it was also in the Ninth Order, albeit at the Lower Ninth Order.


    Such a creature was an absolute monster. In a place like the First Heaven, even the best geniuses who were of the Dao Pedestal Realm would be greatly hesitant to battle. Although they should be able to defeat such a creature should they put in a great deal of effort, in a place like this one where the main goal was to defeat not beasts, but humans, it was simply a wasted effort.


    These beasts were the true behemoths of the island and could be considered to be the "bosses" of a given region. One would have to be exceptionally cautious around them, especially one like this that seemed to be so good at stealth.


    To those above, it seemed as though Ryu hadn''t even noticed its presence. In fact, many of the spectators didn''t, and even the likes of Jenneless who was watching Ryu like a hawk only noticed after he had entered a 20 meter range of the creature.


    It could only be said that this jaguar was incredibly patient. At its strength, 20 meters might as well have been a single step away, and yet it continued to wait and prowl, not making even the slightest sound as Ryu approached.


    15 meters¡­ 10 meters¡­


    The moment Ryu entered a five meter range, it pounced.

 Chapter 996 Mountain

    Ryu''s gaze flashed, his palm calmly stretching out and the Mountain Character in his irises glowed with a fierce light.


    At that moment, despite the fact there wasn''t even the slightest bit of strength added to his palm as though he had only held it out to feel the briskness of the wind, a single tap on the jaguar''s forehead forced it into the ground.


    A mighty pressure descended, crushing the jaguar. If there was even the slightest bit more, the creature just might very well be crushed into a meaty paste.


    Ryu rarely used his Natural Enlightenment. In fact, he only used it now because it was convenient. It was the easiest method of controlled suppression he had.


    It had been a long while now since Ryu had grasped Shrine Mountain''s incarnation. The abilities it gave him access to, especially after using it in his eight trigram diagram, were extraordinarily powerful. However, they ultimately boiled down to suppression.


    Shrine Mountain represented a lot more than just this. It was the link between Heaven and Earth, the arbitrator of life, death and reincarnation, not to mention being the core of the mysteriously birthed Shrines.


    ? However, such things weren''t what Ryu could consider using for now. He hadn''t delved deep enough into the mysteries, and even if he had, with Sacrum''s current weakness, it would be almost impossible for such abilities to impose themselves on the True Martial World, that was just the harsh truth.


    That said, the only thing that Ryu would not lose access to was this suppression. Mountain had fused into his Dao along with his other Inheritances, it was what connected his Dividing Karma and Dividing Tribulation, the root of what formed his Dao, Dividing Heaven.


    It could be said that Mountain had become the foundation of Ryu''s Dao, its very core. The core of a Hegemonic Dao that embodied Heaven and Earth itself¡­ A Dao that dared to take the name Dividing Heaven¡­


    How could a mere Earth Grade beast possibly so easily deal with its suppression?


    It would have to be at least of the Tenth order to even think about moving currently, and at least of the Eleventh to be able to maintain its full strength now that Ryu''s Dao was on the verge of entering the Third Immortal Grade.


    The jaguar glared upward at Ryu, its teeth bared and its muscles flexed to the extreme as it tried to pressed upward. But no matter what it did, it couldn''t elevate itself and could only allow Ryu''s palm to press upon its forehead.


    "Be obedient," Ryu said lightly.


    An overwhelming soul pressure descended and crushed the spirit of the jaguar.


    In Sacrum, Ryu wouldn''t dare to use his soul like this. Without the medium of a Visualization, it would put him in danger and force him into potentially suffering backlash. One only needed to look toward Jenneless who actually had a far more powerful soul than his own back then to see the kind of dangerous situations even a strong soul could end up in.


    However, after researching several Soul Techniques of the True Martial World, Ryu had come to understand how their foundations were formed and how the people of this world used their souls directly in techniques without putting them into harm''s way.


    In the past, Ryu had relied on taming beasts by having them follow him willfully.


    Little Rock was a beast he had to battle to a standstill. Nemesis was a beast he had saved from a life of torture. Little Silk was personality defeated and restrained by him. And Little Gem had been a little baby when he met her, making it quite easy to build up a trust bond.


    All of the relationships with his beasts were built on true like this and they could technically betray him whenever they pleased.


    However, now, Ryu had the ability to force beasts to submit whether they wanted to or not. And, he had the soul talent to be completely unobstructed in doing so.


    Beast Taming Soul Techniques were actually quite rare. But Ryu was able to create one of his own just by reading a large number of Soul Techniques and Soul Cultivation Techniques. His soul talent was simply in a stratosphere of its own.


    Maybe there was a reason why of all his talents, the one that the Martial Gods went out of their way to strip away from him was this one¡­ It made one wonder what Ryu''s true Spiritual Foundation was like.


    The jaguar''s gaze went dull and it lost its luster.


    ''Unfortunate. I guess my technique isn''t quite perfect yet. I took control of it, but it lost much of its own intelligence.


    ''That''s fine, I never planned on having a mere Earth Grade beast follow me for a long time anyway. It''s just useful for the time being.''


    "Up," Ryu said coldly.


    The jaguar beast stood. It was about three meters long and two meters tall. It was quite a large beast, but compared to the Ninth Order beasts Ryu was used to, it was actually extraordinarily small.


    When the organizations of the Second Heaven saw Ryu force an Earth Grade beast into submission with a single palm and a few seconds, their eyes widened. The eyes of the only beast taming Sect among them brightened like torches.


    The time it took for a beast tamer to control a beast was a sign of their prowess. To be two Orders below the jaguar, and yet force it to heel within a few seconds¡­ Just what level of soul talent did this monster have?!


    Ryu gracefully landed on the jaguar''s back, standing tall. He raised his body and his mind calmed. It was time to go hunting.


    His Spiritual Sense flourished and he locked onto ten targets at once.


    "Go."


    The jaguar blazed a trail forward, and yet Ryu looked as though he was standing on solid ground, his eyes closed and his mind serene.


    He pulled the string of his bow and released it, it felt like an inhale and an exhale, a picture perfect representation of elite archery.


    In less than half a minute, ten participants had fallen to their deaths, wide eyed. All they saw in their final moments was a flash of darkness.

 Chapter 997 Too Low

    Ryu''s slaughter was cold and ruthless. Oftentimes he wouldn''t even bother to memorize the face of the person he was coming across, the moment he sensed them, he would fire.


    Many couldn''t even see his attacks coming before they landed, their heads exploding into a rain of charred blood and flesh. They didn''t even have the time to call out in despair before their lives were ruthlessly ripped from them and their Runes were harvested.


    As for the beasts, none of them dared to bother Ryu in the slightest, and this was the real reason he had taken control of this jaguar beast.


    Ryu couldn''t release his own Bloodline suppression without revealing himself and he couldn''t use Little Silk for the same reasons. A beast of Little Silk''s caliber was too far beyond what should appear here in the First Heaven and the fact that Ryu had control of her would raise too much suspicion and greed.


    However, this Earth Grade beast was the perfect shield. No black grade beasts dared to even get close to it, causing them to run away due to its sheer aura alone. This allowed Ryu to be entirely focused on slaughter.


    This farce wasn''t something Ryu wanted to spend a lot of effort and time on. With his current standing, he wouldn''t even bother to participate in such a thing if there weren''t adequate rewards on the other side.


    Unfortunately, the price of crossing between Heavens was extraordinarily expensive. It took a large sum of Ryu''s wealth just to come to the True Martial World in the first place, if he wanted to transcend to the Second Heaven, if he didn''t use the Frost Clan''s wealth, he would need to give up at least half of what his four Clans had gathered over the years.


    This was unacceptable to Ryu.


    Of course, wealth wasn''t the only issue. Even if by some miracle you actually managed to gather enough funds, you would still need to secure certain channels and connections to complete the process.


    Ryu had already looked into it previously, and there was only really one method widely available to the First Heaven, and that was to rely on the Twin Phase Merchant Group, the very same Merchant Group run by the Iunae Clan and the very one that Ryu had rented a VIP room from to come to this place to begin with.


    The only other option outside of that was to have a Second Heaven power secure a channel for you, but how else would you gain such favor if not through a competition like this one?


    Of course, there was still a third option, and that was to create a channel himself. But, doing such a thing would require power equivalent to a False Sky God, comprehension of space laws of the False Grade, or being a False Grade Formation Master.


    All three of these things were too far beyond Ryu and he wasn''t willing to waste the time in the First Heaven that it would take to reach such a standard.


    Although Ryu had great confidence in his talent, after seeing the gap between Sacrum and the True Martial World, he understood just how valuable the environment was as well.


    Not only did he need to match up against talents that could push him and squeeze out his true potential, if he couldn''t meditate in higher Heavens, it would be incredibly difficult for his Dao to progress.


    Just now, he had gotten lucky in pushing his Dao to the Second Immortal Grade, and then he even got the chance to experience the breakthrough of a Sky God which pushed him to the pinnacle of this Realm.


    But that was precisely the problem. He had been lucky enough to see a Sky God breakthrough and feel the shifts of the Laws of Heaven around her, and yet the improvement, even with his comprehension abilities, had actually been so minimal.


    And also, how long had Ryu been stuck at the First Immortal Dao level prior to this?


    It had to be remembered that Ryu had formed his Dao over a thousand years ago. Even if the process of his Rebirth was removed from the equation, it still had to be considered that before his battle with the Martial Gods, he had entered a time dilation treasure.


    Of course, it was impossible to meditate on Daos in such a treasure, but one would still be able to refine their mind and calm their spirit, tempering both through time.


    There were two methods by which a Dao could be improved. The first was through comprehension of the Dao and the second was through comprehension of the Self. Ryu had managed to make a breakthrough in the latter fashion after countless years of progression toward emotional maturity. However, in the first aspect, he was making little to no headway at all.


    Ryu had spent three months using [Thirteen Soaring Azures], [Roaring Sky Serpent] and [Whispering Petals] to damage his Dao and reform it. But rather than improving his Dao''s Grade, it ultimately culminated in his Dao breaking through to become a Hegemonic Dao instead.


    This sounded great and amazing, and it was. But it also made progressing his Dao countless times more difficult as well.


    Even though a Hegemonic Dao would be able to leap levels to do battle with much stronger Daos, there would be a hard limit to this.


    For example, there was a huge gap between Mortal Daos and Immortal Daos, and likewise between Immortal Daos and Cosmic Daos. Ryu''s current Hegemonic Dao would still be able to barely match up to a much lower level Cosmic Dao, but that was all.


    Compared to these gaps, the gap between a Cosmic Dao and a Fragmented Dao was so large that they weren''t even considered to be of the same cloth.


    This was why Daos below the Fragmented Dao level were known to be in the Nurturing Phase. They weren''t even considered to be truly birthed yet, as though babies in gestation. Comparing the two would be like comparing an embryo to a grown adult, the gap was too massive.


    If things weren''t like this, just by virtue of his Hegemonic Dao alone, Ryu would be able to crush Fragmented Sky Gods who built their Godhoods with mere True Daos.


    This was the problem Ryu faced. He was on too low of a Heaven right now to progress quickly in his Dao. In fact, only if he made it to the Seventh Heaven would his progress no longer be hindered by such limitations.


    The skies of the First Heaven were far too low!

 Chapter 998 Thunder Blaze

    Ryu was determined to leave this place, and he wouldn''t allow anyone to stop him.


    His killing rate skyrocketed, his hands moving faster and faster. Most couldn''t even see him coming before they found their lives fading. Ryu was simply the only one who would both spread his Spiritual Sense so wantonly and be completely unaffected by the surrounding beasts.


    Others were too scared of beasts sensing their Spiritual Sense and using it to track them, and they most definitely didn''t have a beast to rely upon that would scare away all others like Leonel''s would.


    By this point, Ryu''s Chosen Rune had already pulsed out three more times and his kill count had crossed a hundred. If there was a leaderboard, he would by far and away be first. At the same time, he rendered the pulsing of the Chosen Rune practically useless.


    He moved too fast on the back of the jaguar for his position to be easily pinpointed by the human cultivators, and the beasts were too afraid to even approach despite the qi pulse revealing his location.


    The entire competition had practically become target practice for Ryu. Those watching didn''t even quite understand how to react, their hearts outside of their control. Even the emotions of some of the 27 Second Heaven organizations were stirred. When they remembered that Ryu was just in the Immortal Ring Realm, their eyes even lit with greed.


    Such a disciple, they had to have to him.


    Many here were just disciples in their own right just like Jenneless, but there was no doubt that if they brought back a powerful disciple, not only would they be able to forge a friendship with someone who would clearly blaze a trail toward success in the future, but their Sects and Clans would also greatly reward them.


    However, their hopes were doused when they remembered that Ryu had a Chosen Rune hovering before his forehead. They couldn''t help but turn a glance toward Jenneless, only to be confused by the fact that her expression didn''t look too good at the moment.


    ¡­


    "This Ryu Tatsuya is actually so powerful while only being in the Immortal Ring Realm. It doesn''t even look like he''s used any special techniques outside of his beast taming technique. What kind of power would he wield if he was using techniques?"


    "He''s very close to the standard of a Heaven Class Genius. In fact, he might truly be one."


    "Aren''t you going a bit too far?"


    "Absolutely not. Anyone who dared to participate today was at least at the pinnacle of the Path Extinction Realm. Yet, he hasn''t even used more than a single arrow to slay them despite being at the Immortal Ring Realm.


    "Crossing a full Realm of cultivation, if that isn''t Heaven Class, then what is it?"


    "It''s hard to make such an assessment. If the youths he was facing were true Earth Class geniuses, then I would agree with you. But most of them only have one Pillar at the Earth Grade at best, not to mention the fact that to be considered Earth Class, one must also have the techniques and treasures to back it up."


    These so-called Classes were the methods by which the Second and Third Heaven used to measure geniuses. This wasn''t a system they had created arbitrarily, but rather a system designated by the Heavenly Path that barred those of the Third Heaven from easily entering the Fourth. It was this Heavenly Path that was the reason for these recruitment events.


    In order to even step through the threshold and challenge the path to the Fourth Heaven, one had to be at least a Heaven Class talent, which was why these members of the Second Heaven were so fixated on it.


    These Classes could be considered a holistic view of a person''s battle prowess. This would include the Six Pillars of cultivation, the cultivation methods they used, and the techniques one could deploy.


    "Plus, he can''t be considered a true Heaven Class genius unless he has mastered at least one Heaven Grade Dao Charm technique to Large Success. Although this isn''t a universal rule, pretty much all Heaven Class geniuses have met this standard aside from those with freak bloodlines. But even in such latter classes, if such freaks grasped a Heaven Grade Dao Charm technique, they''d immediately enter the border of Sovereign Class genius."


    The 27 groups discussed among themselves. Despite being separated by thousands of miles, each standing on their own mountain peak, they might as well have been all sitting at the same dinner table.


    "Regardless, he''s still at the very least an Earth Class genius. With the resources of the Second Heaven, he should have an excellent chance to become Heaven Class. Grasping Dao Charm techniques is far easier in a higher Heaven depending on several variables.


    "Considering what we usually find in the First Heaven, this is a great boon. Usually we''d be lucky to find a Pseudo Earth Class genius. Maybe some congratulations are in order for Junior Sister Jenneless for finding such a genius."


    The gazes all fell on Jenneless but her expression only became darker. She truly couldn''t control herself right this moment.


    By this point, many were picking up that there should be a problem here, but most didn''t dare to outright ask. Plus, Jenneless'' Carving Ice Sect was very powerful among those here currently and they were one of only three True Two Star Sects present.


    The other two were the Lurking Vine Sect, which had given a Chosen Rune to the head disciple of the Hidden Blade Sect, and the Thunder Blaze Sect, the latter of which had a representative that surprisingly chose to speak at this moment.


    "Although he is not using a technique, I am 90% sure that he is currently using a very powerful Lightning Inheritance, one that even allows him to control lightning to such a great extent despite only being at the Ruler Realm.


    "This Inheritance feels like it should be on the verge of forming a Phenomena¡­ Dao Charm technique or not, this would be enough to classify as a Heaven Class genius.


    "Since Junior Jenneless'' relationship with this genius seems strained, my Thunder Blaze Sect will take him."

 Chapter 999 Two Possibilities

    Jenneless'' expression became frighteningly cold. These words were nothing less than a slap to her face. Considering her inability to properly control herself currently, it only made her more infuriated.


    She sneered deeply, her sharp eyes landing on the one who spoke.


    He was a tall mall with much of his chest bared even through his robes. Other than this, he looked quite normal and even somewhat reserved. Aside from his stoic expression, there wasn''t anything else that was worthy of note.


    And yet, when Jenneless saw this face, she only became more infuriated.


    "Why don''t you say that again, Varnon. My palms are itching."


    "It can''t be that you''re hard of hearing, right?" Varnon asked rather than obliging. "You haven''t shown anything but a scowling expression since this competition began, something that I find quite interesting. The Jenneless I know is always unfazed by anything.


    "As I see it, there''s only two possible explanations. The first is that your relationship with this Ryu is quite intimate and didn''t end particularly well."


    When Jenneless heard this her eyes widened. She couldn''t believe that Varnon would dare to say such a thing out loud.


    However, this state of shock only lasted for a small moment before an eruption of qi turned the mountain peak she stood upon from a lush and rocky surface into a land of ice in the blink of an eye. The surge of power sent her Junior Brothers flying, but she couldn''t seem to gather enough emotions outside of rage to care.


    "Varnon, I promise you that I will kill you for daring to say such words about me. That I swear."


    The atmosphere grew heavy and even the temperature in the competition grounds below plummeted. Jenneless was simply too powerful, and if not for the enormous amount of ground her qi would have to cover, she might have instantly frozen all of the competitors at once.


    She was absolutely furious. To insinuate that she would have such a relationship with a bumpkin of the First Heaven was already much too far, but to take it a step further and insinuate such a thing with a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert, and then taking it even a step further than that to imply that she was the one scorned by love?!


    Even one of these things would be enough to blow her top even if her soul hadn''t been damaged, but all of them together? It was simply unforgivable.


    For Jenneless to say such words wasn''t to be taken lightly. She had just sworn to kill one of the pre-eminent geniuses of a True Two Star Sect. Such a thing could lead to all out war that could even descend the entire Second Heaven into chaos.


    And yet, Varnon didn''t seem to react to this threat at all, because an instant after Jenneless released her aura, it faltered, an expression of pain forming on her face as she stumbled somewhat, a weak feeling overwhelming her.


    "You didn''t quite let me finish," Varnon said lightly, having confirmed something. "Plus, did I really insult you so much? You might be in the World Sea Realm and he might only be in the Immortal Ring Realm, but aren''t you both still Heaven Class geniuses? And it doesn''t take much of a genius to see that he''s quite handsome, is it really such an insult to speculate like this?"


    Jenneless clenched her teeth so hard that blood almost began to seep out between them.


    Both Heaven Class? Did he really just compare them?


    How many individuals had been higher Class in lower cultivation Realms all to fall out of these ranks as they progressed? The answer was too many, it happened every day! To try and compare a World Sea Realm Heaven Class genius like her to trash in the Immortal Ring Realm was like trying to compare Heaven and Earth, they were fundamentally different!


    Even if Ryu was a Heaven Class genius of the Cosmic Seed Realm, she still wouldn''t have a single care to give! The crossing of every Realm was a new watershed and it required time to once again build up one''s battle prowess. There was no guarantee that one would even be able to climb back up to their original Class at all!


    And on top of that, just look at how old Ryu was, and yet he was still in the Immortal Ring Realm. Obviously, he had spent a long amount of time consolidating and firming up his foundation, so how could that possibly be impressive?


    Jenneless was even willing to wager that even if Ryu broke into the Path Extinction Realm right this moment, his combat prowess wouldn''t even increase by much. Just like that, he would plummet from Heaven Class to barely Earth Class.


    To dare say they were the same¡­ This Varnon was clearly trying to infuriate her!


    Did she even lack handsome men chasing after her?! Why would she come to the First Heaven just to have such an affair?! The more she thought about it, the redder and more furious she became, but her rage had stacked up so far that she couldn''t even begin to articulate her thoughts into words.


    Her damaged soul made it so that it was difficult for her to focus, so before she could even decide how to furiously reply, Varnon had already continued speaking.


    "Of course, there''s also the second potential possibility¡­ And that''s that your soul is injured."


    Jenneless froze. It was instantly too late for her to hide her reaction.


    Varnon''s expression still didn''t shift, but now he knew it was 100% certain. He already hadn''t feared Jenneless before, but with her soul injured like this, he held her in no regard whatsoever. The current her couldn''t even be considered a Heaven Class genius.


    "That said, these two possibilities aren''t mutually exclusive. Both might be true at once."


    Jenneless gripped her fists, hard. Her breathing was erratic and uncontrolled and she only seemed to grow more angry with every passing second, but Varnon had already begun to ignore her.


    "Oh, look at that. Finally some real competition for him." Varnon said lightly.

 Chapter 1000 Dao Heart

    Ryu''s killing spree went completely unchecked as the pulse of qi and pillar of light began to appear more and more frequently around him.


    He stood on the back of the jaguar beast without a care, rushing through the forest and killing anyone he came across.


    "Little Ryu is a bit too murderous," Elder Aika said with a slight sigh.


    In truth, if she didn''t have such a good impression of Ryu to begin with and this was the first side of him she had seen, their relationship would have definitely begun with a poor start.


    Killing in this competition couldn''t be helped, but there wasn''t a flicker of hesitation in Ryu''s eyes. It was clear at a glance that such things didn''t faze him in the slightest. He wasn''t exactly a demonic cultivator, but he didn''t lose sleep at night due to his killing, nor did he even give it a second of consideration before he did so.


    This was just the way Ryu was. When he took action, he never had a shred of regret. It took quite a lot for him to feel such an emotion and he could only name two times in his entire life that he had experienced such a feeling.


    Regret wasn''t something he allowed himself to feel.


    "His Dao Heart is very firm," Selheira said lightly.


    Elder Aika nodded in agreement.


    Killing people that were weaker than you wasn''t exactly a feat of a strong Dao Heart. However, the method by which Ryu was doing so separated him.


    Selheira had seen Ryu interact with those far stronger than himself, and his demeanor was just the same as it always was. He didn''t shift the way he viewed the world based on the circumstances he was in or the oppression he was facing.


    Due to this, he could kill without blinking an eye. But he could also face his own death without blinking either.


    "A Dao Heart as strong as this, though, especially when formed so early on and under a lack of true life experiences can be a double edged sword," Elder Aika said.


    Selheira remained silent. She knew very well that this was true.


    Those who formed such Dao Hearts so early on in cultivation couldn''t be said to have gone through any true trials and tribulations. It wasn''t a matter of suffering, but rather of suffering over long and extended periods of time. Someone that was as young as Ryu and hadn''t experienced the vicissitudes of life could only build such a strong Dao Heart on one thing: pride and arrogance.


    Dao Hearts built on such a thing were incredibly strong, but they were also incredibly brittle when pushed past a certain point. They lacked flexibility and didn''t do well under true stress.


    As such, Dao Hearts like this were often ticking timebombs. It was only a matter of time before they collapsed, shattering your Dao along with it.


    Although neither Aika nor Selheira wasn''t to say it in so many words, they both knew that it was true. So they fell into silence, watching on without a word for a long while.


    "Someone is coming," Selheira suddenly said.


    ¡­


    Ryu rushed through the forest, his hand still a blur. However, just then, his expression flickered.


    A strong ray shot over, piercing right for his jaguar''s head.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. The timing of this attack was quite good and it happened to come from an individual that was nearer the edge of his Spiritual Sense so he hadn''t paid much attention to them originally.


    ''A member of the Iunae family¡­ No, not just a member, it''s him.''


    Ryu''s gaze turned cold. He had wanted to pay this Galemar back for forcing him to skydive through 10 kilometers for a long while. It seemed that he would get his chance today.


    He lightly tapped the back of the jaguar with a foot. The seemingly soft action caused him to flip through the air with tremendous speed, dodging out of the way of the ray of silver light even as it ran through the forehead of his tamed beast.


    Ryu could have saved it, but he didn''t bother to waste his energy on that. Instead, as he flipped through the air, he had already pulled back his bowstring, his expression the picture of calm.


    [Thirteen Soaring Azures: Singe]


    A silver-blue arrow formed at Ryu''s behest, but wrapped around it was a flickering azure light that condensed into a beautiful ray of light the moment he released it.


    Heat waves billowed through the air, warping the wind and distorting one''s vision.


    The spectators shot up.


    Dao Charm technique!


    Varnon, who hardly ever showed an expression, had his brows shoot up. Others saw a Dao Charm technique being used at Initial Success, but he saw a perfect fusion of Fire and Lightning.


    His heartbeat quickened.


    They were called the Thunder Blaze Sect for a reason. They contained both lightning cultivators and fire cultivators. However, their strongest legacy, one very rarely taught to anyone, was one that combined the two!


    Galemar''s expression changed. He hadn''t expected Ryu to directly abandon his beast for the sake of attacking him. It didn''t seem worth it or smart.


    Of course, he hadn''t seen how easy it was for Ryu to tame this Earth Grade beast. In his opinion, it must have taken Ryu several hours and he wouldn''t be willing to give it up easily. He had planned to use this against Ryu to launch a sneak attack and then pin him into a corner. As always, he was scheming.


    But who could have expected that Ryu didn''t give a damn about the beast at all?!


    Ryu''s arrow appeared before him in the blink of an eye. Galemar, who had been preparing another attack technique, felt the scorching heat begin to eat away at the silver light that covered his face, and priming to rip a hole through his forehead.


    Galemar released a low shout, adjusting his attack technique slightly and concentrating it into a finer beam.


    His finger struck outward with an otherworldly momentum, piercing against the tip of Ryu''s arrow and shattering it into pieces.


    He was prepared to launch a follow-up assault, but he quickly found the skies covered by dozens of arrows, each and every one of them powered by an Initial Success Dao Charm technique.


    The spectators sat in complete silence.


    A Dao Charm technique was supposed to be a final trump card, the last thing one pulled out in a battle of life and death. One wouldn''t casually display it unless they had no choice.


    When Ryu immediately brought it out, they had assumed that it was because he took Galemar as a very fierce opponent to face, something that made sense considering the fact that Galemar was most definitely top five in strength among those participating¡­


    But who could have expected that rather than a final trump card, Ryu would be capable of using it as casually as almost any other attack?


    Singe arrows turned the forest into a blazing inferno of dancing azure flames¡­


    And Galemar was stuck in the middle of it all.


    "Die," Ryu said coldly.


    [Roaring Sky Serpent].

 Chapter 1001 Starlight

    ROAR! RUMBLE!


    The air quaked and shook, the surrounding wind spiraling into a tornado of vibrating qi that built up momentum with every ten-meter gap it jumped across.


    Ryu''s arrow accelerated even after it left his bow, every echoing roar seeming to grab more qi from the surroundings, fueling the arrow further and strengthening it.


    The instant the roaring arrow entered the range of the sky of azure fire arrows, it swallowed them whole, fusing the two into a single blazing meteor.


    Galemar stood with his eyes wide open, his expression frozen.


    A heated trench of flames and whip-like marks of wind were left. It stretched for over 10 kilometers, had a width of over ten meters and a depth at its deepest of at least five.


    Galemar, or what was left of him, stood at the start of the trench. Everything above his belly button was eviscerated to ash. His legs stood entrenched in the ground, his hips carrying with them to carve off the arrow''s path.


    The silence was palpable.


    Not only had Ryu just used two Dao Charm techniques, he had even fused them into one perfectly and seamlessly. And just now, they were certain of it¡­ That [Roaring Sky Serpent] was used¡­ To Great Success!


    What these fools didn''t know was that let alone his [Roaring Sky Serpent], even his [Thirteen Soaring Azures] was at Great Success. In fact, he had mastered the first six forms completely.


    There were thirteen forms in total. Six Fire Azure and six Ice Azure. They alternated in power until they fused into one at the thirteenth step to become the true Soaring Azures.


    They were Singe, Chill, Burn, Cool, Scorch, Frigid, Blaze, Frost, Inferno, and Snow, in that order. However after meditating upon them all, Ryu had come to understand that they were merely baby steps. The only reason he cared to use Singe first instead of going straight to Inferno or Snow was to conserve power and so that his Dao Charm fusion would work.


    The reality was that he wasn''t at Great Success at all. He had reached Complete Success in both. However, unless he tweaked the power output, the fusion would fail and there would be little point to the attack.


    Ryu didn''t need to go so far as to display such a thing just to kill a mere Galemar. The reason he had done it was purely to display his talent. He might not be able to display his Bloodlines or his Soul or his Bone Structure and Meridians, but he would never hesitate to display his comprehension abilities.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool, he knew how much power and influence Jenneless likely wielded to dare do what she had done. However, this was ultimately a disciple recruitment event. There would always come a certain point where the potential of a talent would outweigh any worries over internal disputes. Things would often truly be that simple.


    ''Hm¡­?''


    Ryu''s head turned and he found a small strand of silvery qi lurking about. Very quickly, that strand turned into a small ball, then a large sphere, before taking the shape of a human and ejecting out from it to form a naked and handsome young man with silver hair and sharp blue eyes. However, right at this moment, this young man was quite pale.


    "Oh?"


    Ryu had never actually seen this young man''s face before, but he instantly recognized him to be Galemar. It turned out that Galemar had actually managed to survive his blow through some strange means.


    The True Martial World was truly fascinating. Ryu had never seen such a thing before, and because he hadn''t been looking for it, his Spiritual Sense hadn''t picked up on exactly how Galemar had done it.


    The expressions of the Radiant Star Sect elders, though, all changed at once.


    "WHO DARED?!"


    Elder Aika went from calmly observing these matters while dealing with the waves in her heart that Ryu had caused to becoming incomparably furious.


    That technique just now, was none other than one of their Radiant Star Sect''s pinnacle cultivation methods, methods that would only be passed down to select Core Disciple and Inheritance disciples. Every single Elder that had access to them now had to have had at least that much talent when they were a youth.


    They all knew that the real reason Galemar had come to their Radiant Star Sect despite being a member of the Iunae Clan, a Two Star Clan supposedly stronger than their own Sect, was to get his hands on these cultivation methods and their pairing techniques. This was always done with the intention so that he could bring these back to his Iunae Clan as a form of merit and securing his position as the future heir.


    However, how could the elders not see through this? So despite allowing Iunae to join, they never allowed him to learn any of these methods and gave him far harsher tests than they would usually, tests that he had never been able to pass because they weren''t designed for him to pass in the first place.


    Galemar likely knew this, but so what if he did? He had already ridden atop their heads for long enough to become a Core Disciple, could they possibly allow him to continue to do so?


    And yet, just now, he had used one of their core techniques, one branching from the [Eternal Starlight] cultivation methods.


    The cultivation method wasn''t entirely important for now, but what was important was that this cultivation method was known for its endurance and its defense. Likewise, the techniques that matched with it were known for bolstering these two.


    The most powerful life saving method was known as [Starlight Escape]. It allowed one to infuse the essence of their bodies into a bundle of star energy to escape at the fragile barrier between life and death.


    Not only was this capable of saving your life at a crucial moment, but it was incomparably mighty for escape.


    Now that such a technique had ended up in the hands of an outsider, how could Elder Aika not be furious?

 Chapter 1002 Unbridled

    Galemar gave Ryu a deep look before he flashed. His pale body became a ray of starlight that flashed into the distance with incomparable speed. It was much too fast for Ryu to catch up with him, even if he used [Whispering Petals]. However, all of the Runes that Galemar had accumulated still landed in Ryu''s hands.


    ''What an interesting technique.''


    Ryu wasn''t very enraged that Galemar had escaped. Truthfully, all Galemar had ever done to him was give him a bad feeling, like a hand was constricting around him and that puppet strings were being tied to his joints.


    Of course, there was a high likelihood that Galemar had plans to kill him in the future, something that was definitely unacceptable to Ryu. Usually, people who wanted him dead would find themselves dead first.


    However, Ryu still wouldn''t say that he felt an insatiable desire to claim Galemar''s life. After forcing him to flee naked and humiliated like just now, much of Ryu''s pent up rage had dissipated. Plus, he had a feeling that very soon, he would gain another opportunity to kill him.


    Ryu leapt upward and sat in a tree. He laid his bow across his lap and closed his eyes, meditating on other things. So long as he didn''t die, he had already definitely claimed first place in his competition after stripping Galemar of everything he had, there was no need to waste his time in doing anything more. He needed to figure out the formulas he would use to recultivate the Divine Vessel Realm and beyond.


    As for Galemar, he was sure that he would be back.


    If Galemar had chosen to escape immediately, Ryu would have had a hard time even noticing that he was still alive. That was the original design of the escape technique in the first place, although it was extremely fast, it also left behind a shell to fool the enemy. There was no way the process of turning one''s vitality into starlight could be perfect, so the technique purposely chose to remain imperfect and instead use those hints of imperfection to forge a decoy clone to die in your stead.


    It was truly a great technique, so much so that it was odd that it would appear in the hands of a True One Star Sect. However, what was truly important was the fact that Galemar exposed himself so blatantly did a few things.


    It''s possible that Galemar was lost in the heat of the moment and wanted Ryu to know that he was unable to kill the former. But this was unlikely considering Galemar''s personality.


    It was more likely that Galemar already knew that he would be exposed and thus chose to take it upon himself to expose himself. This would reveal to the members of his family that he had managed to do what he claimed he would in the Radiant Star Sect and dull the effect of him being so terribly defeated. After all, the Iunae Clan elders wouldn''t be able to pick out the use of this technique as easily as Elder Aika.


    At the same time, it would act as a provocation toward Ryu. It was even possible that Galemar wanted Ryu to try to chase him.


    Who would have expected, though, that Ryu would actually just sit unmoving and uncaring?


    However, to Galemar, this was the same difference. If he couldn''t lure Ryu into a trap, so long as he kept sitting there, he would bring the trap to Ryu!


    ¡­


    Elder Aika furiously scanned the elders to her back. She gave them all a deep look one by one, trying to see which of them would break first. However, despite having hints of fear and trepidation in their eyes, no one seemed to give anything away.


    "Good, good, good¡­ It seems that I really have been gone for far too long. To think that you would dare to do such things right under my nose. Once we return to the Sect, I''ll be sure to do a thorough investigation. The perpetrators will not survive.


    "And, heh¡­ If I find out that this isn''t the only thing you''ve given that little rat, I''ll make you all wish for death."


    Elder Aika turned her attention back toward the floating island below.


    "From this point on, disciple Galemar Iunae has been expelled!"


    Her voice boomed, drowning out everything in its path. Even the overseers of the Second Heaven paled. Most of them were just in the World Sea Realm, how could they withstand the rage of a Sky God like Elder Aika?


    "I, Aika Radiant, issue an order of immediate death."


    Under the astonished gazes of those watching, despite the proceedings, Elder Aika actually immediately attacked.


    The members of the Radiant Star Sect paled. To actually interfere in the Selection of the Second Heaven?! What was this Elder Aika doing?! Wasn''t she pushing them all into a corner?! How would they deal with the fury of the Second Heaven?!


    No one could even react in time. Galemar, who was still scheming his next move, suddenly paled when he heard such words. However, his body began to shudder when he actually felt the attack coming toward him.


    He would die? Just like this? How?


    At this point, even Ryu was looking up. He awoke from his meditation and he was somewhat speechless, but that only lasted for a moment before he burst into a fit of laughter.


    This Elder Aika''s temper was very much to his liking.


    Galemar''s death was basically sealed. So long as he appeared before Ryu again, there was no doubt that his death would be soon. With Elder Aika''s perception, there was no way she didn''t know this. And yet, she had still decided to attack herself.


    When someone crosses your bottomline, you act. It was always as simple as that for Ryu. He never really considered the consequences.


    If before he was quite indifferent toward Elder Aika outside of her beauty and power, he had actually taken a liking to her now.


    "YOU DARE?!"


    A furious roar sounded from the side of the Iunae Clan and a mighty aura surged forward to stop it.


    He appeared in the path of Elder Aika''s palm in the blink of an eye, but under the stunned gazes of those watching, the palm split into two, shooting around the elder before fusing back into one.


    BANG!


    In the spot where Galemar had been, there was not even the slightest stain of blood.


    The entire floating island threatened to split in two.


    The Iunae Clan elder stood in the air in stunned silence¡­ What had just happened¡­ Was it even possible to control an enormous mass of energy like that?!


    What would happen with the Selection now? Was there even a need to talk about the selection when war was on the horizon?

 Chapter 1003 Fine

    There was a sudden silence that took over. Or, rather, there was nothing other than the reverberating impact of the palm print.


    The Iunae Clan was in a daze. How long had it been since their prestige was challenged like this? How long had it been since an existence dared to stare them in the face and act as they pleased regardless? Even when it came to the Hidden Blade Sect, the two simply stayed in their own lanes, never acting so brazenly against one another. And that was especially so since the Hidden Blade Sect was far too mysterious for the Iunae Clan to dare to do such a thing, while the Iunae Clan controlled the most wealth in the whole of the First Heaven and even had a foothold in the Second Heaven.


    As shocked as the Iunae Clan was, the members of the Second Heaven truly didn''t know how to react. They were existences of the Second Heaven, yet a mere elder of a True One Star power dared to ruined the proceedings of their selection like this?!


    On the floating island, Ryu stood up from his seated position, stretching slightly. He knew that this selection could be considered to be over. Very soon, a large commotion would erupt.


    Three¡­ Two¡­


    BOOM!


    A furious, towering aura shot into the skies and Ryu looked up out of habit.


    Whether it was the Iunae Clan or the Hidden Blade Sect that had already been antagonized by Elder Aika previously, they all stepped forward, their Sky Gods rising into the air, causing a raging tempest of qi to soar.


    Whether it was for their own personal feeling, or in order to display their loyalty to the powerful existences of the Second Heaven, they had to teach this arrogant woman a lesson.


    Control over the situation quickly spiraled out of control as Elder Aika tapped her can, causing a swooshing silvery qi to ripple out in all directions.


    She looked into the skies, her eyes radiant with a blinding glow as she locked eyes with the Sky Gods in the air above her.


    Her robes fluttered, her petite frame standing amidst the raging without the slightest hint of hesitation.


    The Radiant Star Sect had 10 Fragmented Sky Gods, this was why they were known as a True One Star Sect. However, whether it was Patriarchs, Grand Elders or even most of their Sky Gods, all three Sects hadn''t brought everyone out.


    The Iunae Clan and Hidden Blade Sect both had between one to two dozen Sky Gods each. However, they were known as Two Star Sects because they had both had at least one False Sky God. Of course, this was a far cry from the Thunder Blaze Sect, for example, which had over 10 False Sky Gods and were, as such, True Two Star Sects.


    But this gap was enough for many to look at the Radiant Star Sect as though they were crazy, especially since the only Sky God they had brought today was Elder Aika and no one else. Though, there were still about a dozen World Sea Realm experts with them, in the face of a battle of Sky Gods, how could they possibly participate?


    And yet, despite this, Elder Aika seemed completely unmoved. Her hair fluttered, her aura slowly building up momentum.


    "Aika!"


    An elder of the Iunae Clan bellowed in rage. Although he wasn''t Galemar''s grandfather, he was the young man''s grand uncle and could be considered of a similar and close family line. He had been part of the faction of elders who wanted Galemar to succeed the position of Patriarch in the future and had also been the one to react the quickest to protect Galemar.


    But who could have expected that he would actually fail in the end? How could he not be absolutely furious?


    "If you want to attack, then attack. Why are you screaming like a woman? Do I look like I''m afraid of you?"


    BANG!


    Elder Aika''s words had hardly fallen when Galemar''s grand uncle was sent flying into the distance.


    The expressions of the Heaven Class World Sea Realm geniuses of the Second Heaven changed. This seemed like it could very quickly get out of hand, how was this woman so powerful?


    Without hesitation, several shattered hidden talismans on their person.


    When they came down here, although the prestige of the Second Heaven could protect them, the gap between Sky Gods and those below was simply far too large. Even as a Heaven Class genius, the likes of Jenneless had no ability to battle even a Fragmented Sky God even if they were a Common Class genius. The gap was that large.


    Since the Second Heaven were sending some of their best, they, of course, had to protect them just in case of any unforeseen circumstances popping up. So not only did they have protective treasures, they also had emergency talismans to request for help.


    Seeing things going south, they had no choice but to call for help. Only this way could they re-establish their dominance and prestige. If things continued like this, the selection would quickly become a joke.


    At that moment, Elder Aika rose into the air. The ripple of silver she had sent outward formed a barrier of silver light around the Radiant Star Sect''s floating island, protecting everyone within as she was suddenly surrounded from all sides.


    "Pathetic pieces of trash. I was simply weeding out garbage of my Sect, do I not have the right? But since you want to surround me, I hope you''re prepared for the consequences."


    Her aura flourished, a clash of dozens of Sky Gods creating a tempest in the skies.


    Down below, Ryu''s eyes narrowed. The tree he stood within swayed wildly from side to side.


    He admitted that he quite liked Elder Aika''s style, but her actions now pretty much threw him in a vat of hot oil. This was too good of an opportunity for those that wanted to do wrong by him to act.


    He shook his head, chuckling.


    Fine. Come, then.

 Chapter 1004 Glaring

    The floating island shattered into pieces. All 27 groups of the Second Heaven were forced to bring out their own flying treasures.


    Ryu did have such a thing thanks to the Frost Clan, but he obviously couldn''t bring it out. It was too high level and it would likely expose some things.


    The rage winds quickly picked up and the screams of the geniuses falling to their deaths was blood curdling.


    At that moment, though, the other Sects and Clans that were trying to decide whether they should participate or not, realized that their top priority should be saving their disciples. They were nothing but small fry in the face of these behemoths. How could they throw their precious Sky Gods into the fray?


    However, many who had watched their disciples die one by one at Ryu''s hands couldn''t help but sweep their senses over him. If they had a casual opportunity to kill this murderous brat, they definitely would. There was no doubt that Ryu''s kill count was far higher than anyone else''s.


    Despite feeling these senses sweeping over him, Ryu put his bow away and clasped his hands behind his back, a calm expression on his face as he felt the raging winds.


    All things considered, this fall was actually easier than the previous one as it was only a kilometer in the skies as opposed to ten. On top of that, it was above water instead of earth. Plus, he was far stronger than he had been in the past, so even if it was a 10 kilometer fall, he wouldn''t be afraid. His Northern Heavenly Wind had been fueled to a much greater extent.


    Right now, he wasn''t worried about the fall. Instead, he was primed and prepared to deal with those individuals who seemed to be much too invested in him. And, there was one person in particular that his senses were quite primed against.


    As expected, after shattering her talisman, Jenneless entered a flying treasure pike of ice with her junior brothers and shot right for Ryu. Her gaze flickered with a murderous intent. How could she possibly miss this opportunity?


    However, just as she had crossed a small distance, a streak of lightning crossed her path.


    Jenneless ground her flying treasure to a halt and her eyes widened with fury when she saw that it was the members of the Thunder Blaze Sect that had appeared in her path.


    "Oh? Jenneless? What a coincidence."


    "Get out of my way!" Jenneless screeched.


    Varnon blinked as though he was confused. "Get out of your way? In that direction is a battle of Sky Gods, why would you need to go that way?"


    Jenneless grit her teeth so hard that one of them cracked. However, the sudden pain in comparison to what she had been experiencing with her soul was actually a slight relief, making her head clearer for a moment.


    "Varnon, if you insist on this path, I promise you that the moment¡ª."


    "Haven''t you already said something like this before? I don''t fear you even at full power, let alone in this state," Varnon said lightly.


    Jenneless'' gaze flashed, her chest heaving. But in her state, she really didn''t dare to fight Varnon right now.


    "Alright¡­" she said with a surprising calm. "Once the elders learn of the mockery the Radiant Star Sect has made of the selection, I really want to see how you''ll be able to continue to protect him."


    A mere youth of the Immortal Ring Realm wasn''t worth trading their face away no matter how talented he was. The road of cultivation was simply far too long. Maybe he would be worth it if he was in the Cosmic Seed Realm, but in this state, he was absolutely worthless.


    Once they got here, the Radiant Star Sect would be slaughtered down to the final member as a warning to everyone else.


    "That would still be a decision they made, and not the likes of you," Varnon replied cooly. But it was clear by the extra tinge of cold that Jenneless'' words hit the mark.


    ¡­


    Ryu watched this scene from below, but neither group was aware that his Spiritual Sense could stretch so far, nor that he could observe them without their knowledge. However, he was only amused by this matter and nothing more.


    Something told him that the Radiant Star Sect was a bit tired of hiding. What a coincidence, so he was.


    At that moment, a black robed figure shot into the air from one of the many pieces of the falling floating island. On his back there was a pair of black wings formed of metal tubes, pipes and gears. It looked as though it was leaking black oil, but if one smelt the pungent smell near him, it would be possible to notice immediately that this was none other than poison.


    This individual was none other than Ysemros of the Hidden Blade Sect and the third individual to receive a Chosen Rune.


    His gaze was immediately locked onto Ryu, a sinister light flashing beneath his robes.


    At that moment, three pillars of blinding golden light shot into the skies around Ryu, Ysemros and the third Chosen, but that only made the imminent clash between the former two all the more prominent.


    The sleeve of Ysemros flared and several black needles shot through the air toward Ryu.


    One could fly and the other could not. The absolute advantage was all too easy to spot.


    Ryu continued falling through the skies. However, with a single tap of his foot, his body flickered and vanished.


    He hopped from falling piece of island to falling piece, his movements incomparably fast.


    In one moment, he was absolutely still, and in the next, he had touched upon an explosive speed that left not even the slightest ripple in the air.


    He soared in the air, causing the final island he stepped upon to plummet to the ground even faster.


    He seemed to be jumping into thin air, but right at the moment, an Earth Grade scaled flying beast appeared from thin air.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed, an overwhelming soul pressure crashing down upon the beast and directly shattering its intelligence to nothing.


    At that moment, Ysmeros'' black daggers finally collided with the piece of tree Ryu had been falling from, blasting it into a rain of ash.


    The gap in speed was glaring.

 Chapter 1005 Lacking

    Ysmeros'' head snapped in Ryu''s direction, only to find that the latter had already brought out his bow once more.


    "I''ve always been disgusted by the Hidden Blade Sect. To think that you''d try to establish a Dao based on something so cowardly. Hidden weapons? Poisons? Schemes and tricks? You think that you can climb to the apex with such garbage?"


    Ryu''s voice rumbled, the thoughts he had kept suppressed for so long rippling out in waves.


    The bird he stood on the back of shot in the skies with a single flap before surging downward with a mighty speed.


    SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!


    Ryu released arrow after arrow, each formed of highly concentrated lightning. They were resplendently beautiful, looking as though they had been forged of pale blue steel.


    Ysemeros'' hidden gaze flashed with a sinister light. The words Ryu had just spoken were a huge taboo, a taboo that none had dared to speak before the might of the Hidden Blade Sect since they had established their might all those years ago.


    Ysemeros had already wanted to kill Ryu due to the actions Elder Aika had taken. The prestige of the Hidden Blade Sect wasn''t something a tiny True One Star power should ever think of trampling upon. However, now, he wanted Ryu''s life for these words he dared to speak.


    With a thought, Ysemero''s wings flapped and he shot out of the range of Ryu''s arrows. His robes flared outward, causing thousands of little mechanical bugs to surge into the surroundings, forming a net that quickly moved to block Ryu''s exit routes.


    Ryu inwardly shook his head. His skill with the bow was still not to his liking. If he had his grandfather''s skill, how could even his semi-normal arrows be so easy to dodge?


    It always felt like Ryu was on the edge of grasping the essence of the bow, but every time he got there, something would cause him to veer off the path. It almost felt like something didn''t want him to comprehend it.


    Of course, this would have been nonsense to most people. But for Ryu who had his comprehensions constantly falling back to the Ruler Realm again and again, it was a depressing reality he had to face. Even now, he wasn''t 100% certain of what was causing it. He only knew that it either had to be related to his Meridians or the machinations of the Phoenix Sky God.


    The first time Ryu was close to grasping the true essence, he made a breakthrough in his comprehension of his Heavenly Pupils and even formed his own unique Birthed Phenomena. In fact, that Birthed Phenomena was so powerful that he had yet to use it in battle as he hadn''t been forced to that extent.


    That sounded silly to say considering he had almost died just 1000 years ago, but in that battle, summoning his Birth Phenomena wouldn''t have made a difference. This was because Ryu''s Birth Phenomena was built off the completion of his Dao which was, at the time, in the Immortal Grades. In fact, it was still in the Immortal Grades. What use was it in a fight of Sky Gods?


    The second time Ryu was close to grasping the true essence of the bow was actually about a year ago in the First Heaven during his test to enter the Radiant Star Sect. However, he instead ended up breaking through and evolving his Dao from a Dominion Dao to a Hegemonic Dao.


    This time, he was determined to truly grasp the essence of the bow.


    Ryu commanded the bird to explosively retreat, avoiding the surge of metallic bugs. He didn''t fear Ysmeros, but that didn''t mean he would let himself get enveloped.


    His arrows whistled out at a faster and faster speed, but without the element of surprise he had been relying on during the selection, it became difficult even for him to land a hit. Even when he used force to make up for lack of skill, Ysmeros would instead choose to block rather than evade.


    The two wildly clashed in the air, sparks of lightning and fire raging from one side, while a rain of metal and poison fogs cascaded from the other.


    Considering the commotion in the surroundings, this was nothing more than a small blip. However to the surviving participants that were still falling to the ground below, this might as well have been a world ending level clash.


    How could they and Ysmeros know that Ryu had killed the likes of Galemar in a single strike? If not for Ysmeros'' use in tempering Ryu''s bow, he would have long since died.


    ''I''m missing something¡­ it''s right there¡­''


    Ryu''s brows furrowed, his gaze flickering. His comprehension shouldn''t be so poor, so why was he always obstructed at the final step? In fact, it felt like the closer he got, the less skilled his archery became. It didn''t make any sense.


    Compared to his Great Swordstaffs, why was his bow so lacking?


    Ryu was even starting to get a bit frustrated. He had never run into such a problem before. Everything he picked up felt easy and smooth.


    Was it because he was blind now? No, that shouldn''t be the case. His Spiritual Sense was more than an adequate replacement and his grandfather''s mention of the eyes wasn''t meant to be taken literally. A powerful Spiritual Sense could also be the most important core of one''s archery as well.


    Just when Ryu was trying to figure out exactly where the problem lay, a suffocating feeling of danger made the hairs on his neck stand up.


    Ryu''s body flickering just as an enormous hammer construct smashed down as shattered the bird he stood upon to a rain of blood and gore.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Pillars of water shot into the skies as the first pieces of island collided with the waters below. The water curtains blotted out the skies, shooting up tens of kilometers.

 Chapter 1006 Focus

    Everything was in a complete mess and the pressurized water even caused some cultivators to scream out in agony.


    Ryu''s descent started once more, but he found himself assaulted from all sides.


    Ysmeros came from the front, some bastard of the Stone Clan assaulted him from the back, and now these strong pillars of water came from below, all of them seemingly wanting to shatter him like the Stone Clan individual had down the bird.


    By now, all the other bird beasts had already flown up and away, there was no way for Ryu to get another one. His expression could only become frighteningly cold.


    The newcomer of the Stone Clan was actually in the World Sea Realm and was shocked that Ryu was able to dodge at all. He had come purely because Ryu had killed not just one of his sons, but two of them, in addition to his nephew.


    Despite the fact his Clan wanted him to wait it out and see how things would end, his temper wouldn''t allow it. He had acted with the intention of killing Ryu in a single strike to avoid variables, but who knew that a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert could dodge him?!


    Ryu activated his Northern Heavenly Wind and [Whispering Petals], using the impact''s rush of wind to flash a half kilometer back in an instant. In a swift motion, he dodged out of the way of the pill of water and the Stone Clan elder. However, once the momentum was gone, he began to plummet toward the ground.


    The eyes of the Stone Clan elder and Ysemeros widened.


    Complete Success Dao Charm Movement Technique!


    The realized at that instant that they couldn''t let Ryu hit the water. For him, running across the water and even diving down and moving within it would be effortless. Truly powerful Movement Techniques wouldn''t be obstructed by air, qi or water. Only if you ran into a powerful water cultivator would there be an issue.


    If Ryu stayed on the surface, the World Sea Realm expert would, of course, be able to deal with him. But as a member of the Stone Clan, his antithesis was water to begin with. Plus, with all the commotion below, visibility would be difficult and Spiritual Sense would be difficult to rely upon if you weren''t proficient with your soul.


    Despite years of training, this World Sea Realm expert was still in the Peak Soul Refinement Realm, the Dao Pedestal Realm equivalent of Soul Cultivation.


    Unlike in Sacrum where the Soul would just casually keep up with Qi Realm cultivation even without much effort, things were very much different in the True Martial World. If you had poor Soul Talent, it would be glaring. You would then have to rely on Soul Treasures of special Qi Realm techniques to protect this weakness, or else you would be easily taken advantage of.


    Unfortunately, as someone of Sacrum, Ryu wasn''t aware of this, or else he would have immediately begun launching soul attacks.


    Due to his ignorance, he instead chose to retreat with as much speed as possible, his mind still flickering as he pulled his bowstring back.


    In a moment of imminent danger, with two threats rushing after him with the goal of stopping him from entering the water, Ryu became frighteningly calm. He had danced on the line between life and death for too long to be fazed by this.


    He had fought Sky Gods before, true ones! He had killed more than he could even count! Why would he fear this sort of trash!


    That was when it suddenly clicked for Ryu and his heart seemed to release a roar.


    He was an idiot.


    Why was it that during his first attempt to comprehend the essence of the bow, he formed the Birthed Phenomena of his Dao?


    Why was it that during the second attempt his Dao shattered the mold and reached the Hegemonic level?


    Why was it that his Great Swordstaffs were so much more powerful than his bow? Wasn''t it because he had created the foundation of his Dao using the sword?


    Didn''t it all come back to his Dao in the end?


    Whether it was his bow or his great swordstaffs, he couldn''t get their full potential out of them because he kept treating them as separate existences.


    ''The most important thing to a bowman was his eyes¡­ This didn''t mean literally¡­ Grandpa said eyes and not heart or Spiritual Sense because when one''s eyes looks toward something, that is what they are focused on.


    ''The eyes had limited vision. In order to look at someone, the pupils must shift, the head must turn, and sometimes even the body itself needs to be adjusted.


    ''I''m chasing after the essence of the bow, but how focused have I been on it?


    ''Early in my cultivation path, I abandoned it because I favored close combat. And even now, I picked it up again not for the sake of the bow, but for the sake of my grandpa¡­


    ''With such lack of focus, it''s no wonder I keep accidentally grasping other things when I''m searching for its essence¡­''


    Ryu suddenly smiled, his demeanor changing entirely. He could finally hear the bow in his hands.


    His bowstring released.


    The span of time between the release and the arrow connecting with its target was far too miniscule. It was as though Ryu had pierced out a sword instead of loosed an arrow. The separation between action and result was that short.


    A hole appeared between Ysmeros'' brows and he froze in the air.


    "¡­ How¡­?"


    A Kingly aura soared out from Ryu in waves, beaming shimmering lights towering around him.


    At that moment, both Jenneless and Varnon both snapped their heads toward Ryu''s direction, their eyes widened in shock. Their chests rose in waves and their brows shot up. They couldn''t seem to believe what they were seeing or sensing.


    Ryu had become the existence his grandfather always believed he could be.


    "Bow God?!"

 Chapter 1007 Bow God

    Bow God. Sword God. Spear God¡­ The list continued to nine and formed the nine core weapons that stood above all others. These were all fearsome existences that stood in a league all to their own, and what connected them was only a single thing: establishing their Godhoods with their weapons mastery as a foundation.


    This meant something very simple. Their Daos wouldn''t be some grandiose, unexplored law of the Heavens, but would rather be among the nine most explored Inheritances there was. And it was precisely because of this that such existences were so impossibly fearsome!


    Simply put, with every appearance of a new Bow God or Sword God, the appearance of the next was exponentially more difficult, and the next after that was even more so!


    Why was it that Ryu had such difficulty taking the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons and dual wielding them, taking them down a path they had never experienced before? It was precisely because the karmic ties of the spear, glaive and halberd were so mighty that all the Spear Gods, Glaive Gods and Halberd Gods of the past refused to allow him to pervert their treasures weapons in such a way.


    Every time a new such God appeared, it meant that they had forcefully shredded apart the wills of their predecessors and forged their own path anyway.


    For such existences, even if their Dao was as simple as the use of a weapon, they were extraordinarily powerful. Not only were they proficient at killing existences above their level, but their Daos were also far more powerful than Daos at their same level as well!


    In addition, should such an existence transcend and manage to become an Origin Sky God, their Dao would, without a doubt, become a Founding Dao! Not just any Foundation Dao, but one with a chance to become a Peak Founding Dao!


    Bow Gods and their God counterparts were capable of forming exceptionally rare Daos which progressed with every step they took in their Godhood.


    Upon becoming a Bow God at the Fragmented Sky God level, one would have a Common Dao. This Dao would become a True Dao when one became a False Sky God and a Lineal Dao when one became a True Sky God, so on and so forth.


    But if one measured such weapon Gods by the grade of their Daos, there would be nothing but horror in store for your future. Bow Gods and their counterparts couldn''t be measured by such logic. They broke the bounds and restraints of such grades by the very virtue of them establishing their Godhoods in the first place!


    They had already fought and won against the wills of the mighty Sky Gods of the past as mere land immortals, how could they still be restrained?!


    These were the most fearsome individuals in all of existence. Their combat prowess wasn''t logical, their strength wasn''t logical, and their attacks weren''t logical. They broke the restraints of the Heavenly Laws around them and established their own!


    The hearts of Jenneless and Varnon couldn''t help but palpitate wildly. It was obviously impossible for Ryu to be a Bow God, he had yet to establish a Godhood and become a Sky God. But why was it¡­ Why was it that his aura made their minds jump to this possibility immediately?!


    The two had, of course, never met a Bow God or any such God before for that matter. However, the senses of cultivators were extraordinarily sharp, their memories were great, and their instincts were even greater.


    The fact that this was their instant reaction meant that even if Ryu wasn''t a Bow God, it was likely that he was already on such a path.


    Of course, Ryu had no idea what this title represented. Plus, he had already established his Dao and planned to use it to form his Godhood. As such, he had no plans to become a so-called Bow God although the prospect of crushing the wills of Sky Gods before him was quite intriguing.


    However, Jenneless and Varnon came to understand that this feeling of a Bow God that Ryu was exuding right now, or at the very least, the prelude to a genius that would become a Bow God in the future, came from his bowmanship resonating with his Dao¡­ Their level of shock would be on a completely different level.


    Becoming a Bow God was one thing. Being able to manifest the will of a Bow God through a Dao that seemed to touch upon a realm even beyond it was a different matter entirely.


    Basking in such an incomparably marvelous feeling, Ryu finally felt that he felt like he could see the world through his grandfather''s eyes. His heart bloomed and he felt as light as air. A slight hint of tears welled up in his eyes, but the rushing wind ripped them away just as quickly.


    Ryu regained his composure and his expression became a frosty cold.


    His bow shifted and it seemed to glow a resplendent golden light. His body became enveloped with the shadow of a godking. Even as he fell from the skies, he was towering and majestic, his bow aiming for the World Sea Realm expert threatening to take his life.


    SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! SHUU!


    Ryu''s arrows had gone from plain, ordinary attacks to gorgeous starlight being painted across a canvas. There was something absolutely marvelous about each stroke, as though just watching him guide the arrows through the sky was enough to pluck at the strings of the heart.


    The expression of the Stone Clan elder changed and he rapidly sent out several blasts of his hammer.


    Ryu shook his head. ''Seems like the gap is still too large, but this is enough¡­''


    Ryu sent out several more arrows, his bowstring twanging like the strings of a zither. The melodious sound resonated with the Heavens, snatching power from it and powering it even further. He didn''t even bother to use his Dao Charm techniques and waste his qi, he knew that it was a worthless endeavor.


    The Stone Clan elder whose expression had changed was stunned once again. He had attacked all out because he felt an overwhelming sense of danger, flashes of Ysmeros'' ending had played in his mind and he thought he would end up the same way.


    However, to his shock, the air pressure of his hammer swing alone shattered all of Ryu''s arrows.


    That was when he realized that he had been tricked. Who cared how great Ryu''s archery was? The gap was still far too large to be bridged just like this alone.


    Unfortunately for the Stone Clan elder, it was already too late.


    Ryu fell into the waters, disappearing beneath the roaring waves, his gaze still locked onto the Stone Clan elder who had wasted his final chance to catch him.


    The moment Ryu entered the waters, he shrouded himself in his Void Spiritual Sense and became a bolt of lightning, using his Lightning Spirit Body for the first time since he came to this world. None could have expected that Ryu''s greatest speed wouldn''t be with a Dao Charm technique, but rather in becoming radiant blue lightning itself.


    Although Ryu could go toward calmer sections of the water, he decided against it. It was best if he stayed in these rough patches. That way he would be difficult to spot and he could hide among the rubble and trees.


    Like this, Ryu waited, his Spiritual Sense blanketing the surroundings and his mind focused on each and every minute change.


    He already sensed the Stone Clan elder diving into the waters, but he stayed far from him, waiting in patient silence.


    The battle above was still raging on and only seemed to be getting more chaotic. But Ryu was sure that there would be a great change soon. And just like that, there was.


    The skies were suddenly filled with formation circles once again and the path from the Second Heaven was opened up.


    The clouds split and several vortexes formed, revealing the forms of two mighty beings, one of which was from the Thunder Blaze Sect and the other of which was from the Carving Ice Sect. It was clear from this that Varnon and Jenneless had been the most frantic in getting their seniors to come and calm this situation, each of them with their own schemes and machinations.


    "HALT!"


    The voice of an old, wrinkled woman boomed. Even from his position in the waters, Ryu felt his soul shiver.


    Despite the fact everything came to a halt, Ryu didn''t make his presence known. He wanted to see how Elder Aika would deal with this situation. There was no need to put himself in danger needlessly.


    If the Radiant Star Sect really was slaughtered to the last man here, he would have no ability to stop it. In that case, he could only silently slip away.


    Ryu didn''t feel any great loyalty to the Sect and this was beyond his ability to handle. He had a good impression of Elder Aika and Selheira, so he would help them. But as for the others, he simply couldn''t be bothered.


    Especially not that annoying old man.

 Chapter 1008 Lnteresting

    Elder Aika stood amidst dozens of Sky Gods, her countenance cold and unmoved. She didn''t seem to be injured in the slightest despite the fact she had been facing off against so many enemies. In fact, despite the fact the fight had only been going on for a few seconds at most, several more of her enemies had died.


    She stood over the floating island of the Radiant Star Sect protectively, her gaze slowly shifting toward the two newcomers.


    At that moment, Jenneless quickly began to send mental messages to her elder, explaining everything from start to finish.


    Although the gap between World Sea Realm and Sky God was enormous, the fact Jenneless was a Heaven Class genius of the former meant that her standing amongst her Sect was actually quite high. As such, she could get away with a more informal tone when speaking to certain elders.


    Depending on the demeanor of the Sky God, sending them private messages like this when you weren''t a Sky God yourself might earn you their disdain and rage. However, Jenneless didn''t need to worry about such a thing and directly informed her elder in the quickest way possible.


    With the speed of thought of such experts, it only took a second for the wrinkled old woman to be caught up with everything that had happened here, and the same went for the old man by her side. Now that they were, both of their gazes moved over to Elder Aika at once.


    Varnon sighed inwardly. This matter could get complicated.


    Recruiting Ryu was one matter, but the actions of his elder was a different matter entirely. How this situation would be handled was still up in the air.


    The prestige of the Second Heaven was too important, and if this was allowed to pass casually for the sake of an Immortal Ring Realm expert, who knew what would happen later? What if this emboldened these First Heaven Sky Gods to attack the geniuses they sent during the next selection?


    The likes of Jenneless and Varnon all had great talent and treasures on them. They were a great temptation to Sky Gods that had reached the end of their robe. If the next time they sent such Heaven Class geniuses down caused them to be slaughtered and plundered, it would already be too late to regret even if they sought revenge later.


    "You disrupted the selection process of my Second Heaven?" The old woman spoke first.


    "Your Second Heaven?" Elder AIka was stunned for a moment before she erupted into a fit of laughter. "A mere True Two Star Sect wants to claim the Second Heaven for themselves? It''s been a while since I''ve heard such a good joke."


    The gaze of the old women turned frosty. To think the elder of a First Heaven Sect would dare to say such words to her face.


    It was true that while the strongest sent here were True Two Star Sects, they weren''t the strongest of the Second Heaven. The true strongest wouldn''t be looking on the First Heaven for talents, they had already set their sights toward the Third Heaven, hoping to raise disciples that would be able to make it through Heaven''s Path.


    While all of this was true, it wasn''t for the likes of Elder Aika to say. It seemed that they had truly been too casual in the past.


    The old woman immediately swept down with a palm, no longer saying anything else. Her fury rose like a tempest, forming an ice infused palm that caused the clouds above to tremble as though they might start a rainfall of snow any moment now.


    Elder Aika snorted, her cane piercing out once more.


    BANG!


    An enormous hole was shredded through the center of the palm, causing it to lose its structure and rupture from the inside out.


    A surging energy tunneled forth, appearing before the wide-eyed old woman in the blink of an eye.


    The elder of the Carving Ice Sect quickly sent forward a cascade of palms, layering one after another. In the blink of an eye, she had already sent out several hundred palms.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Elder Aika''s seemingly casual strike shot through them all one by one, forcing the old woman to retreat time and time again.


    By the time the booming cacophonies came to a stop, the old woman had retreated dozens of killometers and a sliver of blood flowed from the corner of her lips. Her expression was unsightly to behold, but her heart was trembling as she looked toward Elder Aika with an incredulous gaze.


    How had this happened? How was this possible?


    "Are you done now?" Elder Aika asked. "Put away that slimy attitude of yours, it''s disgusting. The only reason I haven''t slaughtered you all yet is because it will only make things more troublesome for me in the future. I still need time to consolidate my new cultivation Realm and I don''t have the time to waste on small fry. Plus, I wasn''t expecting a breakthrough on the First Heaven so I haven''t even gathered up enough energy yet.


    "I''ll make this very simple. My Radiant Star Sect will be climbing to the Second Heaven and we''ll be co opting your passageway since I can''t be bothered to waste the resources necessary to build my own.


    "You can forget about taking away my Little Ryu too, he''ll be remaining one of us.


    "Now hand over the control center. If you make me come over there, you''ll end up with a fate worse than just a little bleeding."


    Shock and silence.


    None had expected that the reason Elder Aika was so casual with her actions was because she was waiting for these two to descend. The geniuses they had sent wouldn''t have what she needed, only they would.


    The old woman''s unsightly expression only became worse, but the power behind Elder Aika''s casual strike was practically branded into her mind. If she really tried to fight it out, she would lose her life in this pitiful First Heaven.


    But that was precisely what she couldn''t understand. How the hell had such an existence appeared here?


    "Hm? Are you going to make me wait? My patience is thin."


    Ryu, who was watching all of this from below, raised a brow. The Radiant Star Sect was planning on climbing to the Second Heaven? This Sect was truly mysterious.


    Could it be because of Elder Aika''s breakthrough? Is that what they were waiting for? But that didn''t make much sense either because Elder Aika was at the end of her lifespan. The likelihood of a breakthrough should have been near zero.


    It was more likely that the Radiant Star Sect hadn''t had such intentions, but now that Elder Aika held such strength, she unilaterally made the decision on her own. Ryu couldn''t help but wonder exactly what this meant and how this might be related to Old Man Wan.


    Old Wan seemed like more a pacifist while Elder Aika was more fiery. Could it be that they followed Old Wan''s leads in how to do things because Elder Aika was weaker, but now with her breakthrough, Elder Aika could steer the Sect how she pleased?


    That was potentially the case, but that didn''t explain what else could be going on. What was the history of the Radiant Star Sect? Did they have the foundation necessary to ascend to the Second Heaven? And why did it seem like Elder Aika didn''t even take the Second Heaven seriously to begin with? Could it be that the goal isn''t the Second Heaven at all, but rather much higher?


    Ryu thought about these things as he slowly came out of the raging waters, dry from head to toe. It didn''t look as though he had just been submerged at all and the raging waters didn''t provide him any sort of difficulty in standing on its surface.


    At that moment, a snow owl swooped down and Selheira appeared with a smile.


    "I''m sorry, I should have helped sooner, but Elder Aika is very stubborn. When she acts, she tends to forget about all the details."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered when he heard this. They seemed to have a double meaning behind their intent. It seemed that Elder Aika''s impulsiveness might come back to bite them.


    Still, Ryu chuckled, feeling his blood boiling. He had never joined a Sect before, none were worthy of him. If not for Sarriel''s warning about becoming a Throne in this world and the kind of trouble it came with, he wouldn''t have joined the Radiant Star Sect either.


    But the more he thought about it, the more a reckless Sect like this one suited his tastes.


    Looking up at Elder Aika, he had a feeling that she had felt more stifled than he had since he stepped into the True Martial World. Not only that, but she had experienced that feeling for much longer as well.


    She finally couldn''t hold back any longer and burst forth with all her pent up frustration and rage all at once.


    Ryu found that he quite liked it. Things were only interesting if they were like this.


    Would the Sects and Clans of the Second Heaven just sit idly by as a new power rose up? Of course not. Every ascension of a new power often came with the fall of at least one if not many. There were only so many resources to go around.


    Elder Aika''s strength was one thing, but she couldn''t hold up the sky alone. Without deep enough foundations, the Sect would be crushed.


    And yet, the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect were pitifully weak.


    That meant only one thing, and it was the very reason why Elder Aika made it clear that she wasn''t giving Ryu up.


    She would deal with the old fogies, and she expected Ryu to deal with the rest.


    Ryu laughed, his bloodlines thrumming through his veins and his Dragon Soul threatening to roar to the skies.


    Interesting. Interesting, indeed.

 Chapter 1009 Peace

    Jenneless could only watch as the Radiant Star Sect left, her elder unable to do a single thing. This was already the strongest elder they could call down, if they started interrupting Ancestors for such a small, insignificant matter, where would their face go?


    Despite this, Jenneless was truly infuriated, there was just nothing that she could do.


    "Senior, are we really going to let them go just like this? I''m not satisfied?"


    The old woman looked toward Jenneless with quite a bit of surprise. This wasn''t because of the words she was speaking per se, but rather because these words came from Jenneless of all people. In fact, now that she thought about it, Jenneless'' actions until now were off.


    The old woman''s gaze flashed and her expression changed.


    "Your soul? Why is it so damaged?"


    Jenneless'' expression flickered. She didn''t really want to let the elders know about this because it could mess with her current standing in the Sect. Although she was quite secure, she didn''t like taking such chances. Unfortunately, although her original intention was to keep somewhat of a low profile, she was finding it harder and harder to control herself properly.


    Plus, she didn''t want to share information about the Perfect Blackbody soul she had run into because that would mean potentially having to share in whatever spoils she managed to gain. This would also expose other things she was very much not willing to.


    "Do not worry about this, Senior. I will be able to fix it in a few months so long as we return. But this matter is too big to ignore."


    Although the old woman''s gaze still flickered, she could only set the matter aside. Although Jenneless called her senior, their standing was very close to identical. She couldn''t press Jenneless too hard about anything.


    As things stood now, Jenneless was still their best chance at succeeding in crossing the Heavenly Path, so her will was quite important.


    Still, even with this being the case, Jenneless wasn''t a fool. Despite the backing she had, she wouldn''t casually reveal such important things because even she could end up being backstabbed. The lure of an Ancestral Grade soul was far too high.


    The more she thought about that situation, the more odd she found it.


    An Ancestral Grade soul, had it been at her level, should have been enough to directly kill her. The fact that this person had "spared" her had to have its reasons. Jenneless didn''t believe for a single moment that anyone would be so benevolent, especially since she had displayed her killing intent first.


    The only explanation was that this talent had far lower cultivation than herself. This meant that despite having such talent, there was an excellent chance that Jenneless would be able to defeat this individual, maybe even with quite some ease.


    Jenneless was a bit ashamed that it had taken her so long to think of this, but it couldn''t be helped considering the state of disarray her mind and soul was in. But now that she had, she was even more confident in dealing with this individual¡­ so long as she could find them.


    ''Such a person wouldn''t be on the First Heaven for no reason. Heavens below the Fourth have too small of a chance at forming Ancestral Grade talents, especially ones like the Perfect Blackbody which presents much more like a greater talent.


    ''In that case, this person is either from a destroyed Clan or Sect of a higher Heaven, or they come from a lower level world. If that''s the case¡­''


    Jenneless was snapped out of her thoughts by the words of the old woman.


    "She is far more powerful than me, there isn''t anything I can do. However, I would not worry too much about it. If they dare to ascend to the Second Heaven, especially when we''ve entered a rare state of peace, they''ll find themselves to have become public enemy number one."


    The old woman''s words weren''t wrong. Whether it was the Second or Third Heaven, both had entered a rare state of peace as they all focused on grooming the next batch to enter the Heavenly Path. The only scuffles were amongst the younger generation and that was entirely so that they could temper themselves for what was to come.


    However, if someone tried to disrupt that balance now, they would gain the attention of everyone at once. Such a thing would be a death sentence.


    Who cared how powerful Elder Aika was? She couldn''t be everywhere at once, right?


    In addition, they were well aware of just how weak the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect were. Even if they had a genius of an elder, what good did it do them if they were constantly being crushed by their opposition?


    As far as the old woman saw it, the moment Elder Aika dared to step foot onto the Second Heaven, death would be all that awaited them.


    "Hm?"


    The old woman turned her head to find that the Lurking Vine Sect actually had a genius of the First Heaven by their side.


    The old woman frowned, wanting to question what was happening. But to her shock, the teleportation array had already been activated. It was clear that the youths of the Lurking Vine Sect didn''t want to explain their position, simply taking their chosen genius and whisking them away before the elder of the Carving Ice Sect could say anything.


    The old woman''s good mood at the thought of the Radiant Star Sect''s fall vanished. She had wanted to make a united front and teach the First Heaven a lesson they would never forget by not accepting any of their geniuses, but she never thought that two juniors wouldn''t even allow her the chance to make this command.


    She was infuriated.


    Unfortunately, the Lurking Vine Sect was no less powerful than her Carving Ice Sect. If they had made such a choice, it was already too late to do much of anything.

 Chapter 1010 Pansy

    "What do you think you''re doing exactly, Aika?"


    Aika lounged in Old Wan''s cave without a care and even covered her mouth in a yawn, seemingly unbothered by Old Wan''s rare display of seriousness.


    "Don''t talk to me like I''m a child. I''ve caught up to you now, I can do as I please. You''re content to hide like a rat down here, but I am not. I only followed your lead because I was too weak to have a say, but now that I''ve broken through, I''ll be leading the Radiant Star Sect forward as I please."


    "And then what? Condemn all these youths to death?"


    "And who''s fault would that be? Mine?"


    "Who''s fault could it be if not yours? Is it not you leading them toward a march of doom? This is probably the absolute worst time to ascend to the Second Heaven. Even the Iunae Clan who has a small foothold hasn''t dared to do so and is still biding their time until the matters with the Heavenly Path are concluded."


    "You want to compare me to the Iunae Clan? How about we spar a bit, old man. If you can last three moves I''ll take a step back."


    "Aika! Can you not be such a child for once?!"


    "If you''re too scared to battle, just say so, you old, wrinkled, pussy cat."


    "Wrinkles?! Where?!" Old Wan''s voice boomed.


    But his response only made Elder Aika keel over in laughter. Of all the things she said, that was what he had a problem with? This old man was just the same.


    Old Wan, who realized his old habit had resurfaced, coughed. He still looked like a 20 year old young man, but he had let Aika get the better of him again.


    "You''re just the same old pansy. If you had given as much effort as I had during that battle, you think you would have been able to retain that smooth skin? I, as a woman, was willing to give up my youth to battle it out to the end, but you, as a man, couldn''t even deign to do that much, you should be ashamed of yourself."


    Old Wan coughed again. "Listen, you''re a lower level than me¡ª."


    "Was a lower level," Aika corrected.


    "Fine, was a lower level. Breaking through for you is relatively easier."


    "Why don''t you tell the full story? The reason I was a lower level to begin with is because my Dao is far more profound than yours. Look at you, you''ve ascended to at least the Higher level while I''m still at the Lower and you still don''t dare to fight me. Where''d your balls go? Can you even be considered a man?"


    Old Wan, who had finally regained his calm, took a breath and smiled lightly.


    "You''ve always been the fighter, my Dao is not designed for such barbaric things."


    "What use is your foresight? All it''s gotten me is years of annoyances. Pieces of trash from the Second Heaven actually dare look down on me! This is your fault!"


    "Well, didn''t I find Selheira and Ryu? As much as you''re bloviating right now, you wouldn''t have dared do this if we didn''t have the two of them. If not, we would have to reveal too much of our strength to keep the Sect together and we would be exposed before we''re ready."


    "Selheira and Little Ryu both came here of their own accord, what the hell did it have to do with you?!"


    Old Wan coughed. Wasn''t this woman''s mouth a bit too sharp?


    "And it''s also your fault that our disciples are so weak to begin with. You lowered the requirements of joining my Radiant Star Sect so low that I can''t even walk around anymore without wanting to vomit. What absolute trash. If it was up to me, we''d expel them all, all of them!"


    "There are¡­ some with a little potential¡­"


    "Compared to Selheira and Little Ryu, what are they worth? Nothing! You called me over here to complain about how many of them would die, but I say good. Let them die. The more than die, the merrier. By the end of it, only the true elites will be left, only the ones that can break out of their cocoon and shed their Fate.


    "I know that that was your original goal, old pansy. But they''re never going to break out of that cocoon if there''s not enough pressure.


    "We''ll place the Sect in a pressure cooker and those that come out the other side I''ll allow to learn the real teachings of my Radiant Star Sect. As for those that cannot, they can become fertilizer for the next batch."


    Old Wan sighed and shook his head. Finally peace fell.


    A light sound of a throat clearing came from outside of the cave.


    "Is it¡­ safe to enter now?"


    Old Wan laughed. "Old Samson, just come in directly."


    "Haha, Big Bro, Big Sis, I can''t cut in on your time. This little brother has to be polite in case he runs into something he should not see."


    "Old Samson" was none other than the Grand Elder of the Radiant Star Sect and the reason why no one punished Ryu for his reckless slaughter of disciples. But before these two, he only called himself little brother.


    Old Wan coughed lightly at the bold choice in words and Elder Aika rolled her eyes.


    "I''ve been away for so long that you must have grown tired of little Samson," Elder Aika replied.


    "Hehe, it''s been so long, it''s only a matter of time before you two get together. I''m itching to be the best man for your wedding."


    Aika''s eye roll only became more prominent.


    "Me? Marry this pansy? He''s not even a real man. If this old lady is going to give herself to anyone, it''ll be a man who has more than just good looks. I''m not attracted to little mice who can only hide behind schemes. How boring. Just the thought fills my belly with cold ice, no excitement whatsoever."


    Old Samson laughed and Old Wan shook his head.


    They both knew that Aika wasn''t kidding. Aika wasn''t the tsundere type, she spoke what she meant and meant what she said.


    Aika, Wan and Samson had grown up together and could be considered very close childhood friends. If she had taken a liking to any one of them, she would have said so long ago. But by this point, she couldn''t be bothered.


    That said, that was also the reason Samson could get away with saying such things without being slapped to death by her.


    "Alright, this old woman is going to go into meditation. When I wake up, we had better be on the Second Heaven, or else I''ll bend you both over my knee."

 Chapter 1011 Ravage

    Ryu sat in silent meditation, unworried about the things going on in the outside world. His heart felt light and he also believed that he had come to understand something quite profound.


    He didn''t know anything about this so-called "Bow God", but what he did know was that he felt something special when he allowed the essence of his weapon to freely flow between his Dao and himself, becoming the center point of his thoughts.


    It wasn''t just the Bow he could have this feeling with.


    His palm flipped over and a knife appeared. In that moment, even without opening his eyes, he exuded a keen and almost delicate sort of sharpness. There was a subtle suddenness to him even though he hadn''t moved a single inch, as though he could go from sitting to an unconsciously explosive speed in nothing more than the blink of an eye.


    His fingers flickered and in place of the knife a saber appeared. His aura became tyrannical and unmatched, like a towering wave ready to split a land in two.


    Ryu kept switching between weapons but the enigmatic air never faded. It felt as though he could touch whatever weapon he wanted and the effect would be just the same.


    He finally understood just what kind of prowess his Dao had. He had always had supreme confidence, but he hadn''t realized until now just what kind of treasure his Dao was truly¡­ until this moment.


    Great Swordstaffs? Bows? Spears? Glaives? Halberds? He didn''t have to actually choose between any one of them at all. If even the Heavens themselves were forced to open themselves up for his viewing pleasure, then why would individual weapons that could only be considered a small part of them not be as well?


    Ryu was always restrained by his weapons because the ones he chose often rarely had techniques specifically designed for them. This was especially so when it came to the Great Swordstaff which was a weapon that almost never appeared.


    But now, he didn''t have to be so restrained at all.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that Ryu would abandon the Great Swordstaff. In fact, this was precisely the opposite of what he wanted to do.


    The Great Swordstaff was unique in that it embodied both polearm weapons and non-polearm weapons. In fact, in Ryu''s estimation, the only ones of the nine core weapons that he couldn''t imitate with the Great Swordstaff were the bow, the short sword and the knife. As for all the others, he was fairly certain that he could without issue.


    In such a case, why would Ryu force himself to choose? This would be his path of the Great Swordstaff. Rather than trying to forge something entirely new, he would fuse them all into one, snatching the hidden truths from weapon''s masters that came before him and taking it all for himself.


    The best part was that Ryu didn''t have to bother wasting his time on learning each of these weapons individually. So long as his Dao improved, so too would they improve.


    Now, he only needed two things. The first was a new pair of Great Swordstaffs and the second were techniques capable of taking advantage of this strength of his. He was starting to feel that just two Dao Charm techniques weren''t nearly enough. His comprehension was far too high, why would he waste his talents like this?


    In addition, learning these Dao Charm techniques was also a method of training his Dao. The closer to perfection he bought it, the stronger it would become. Step by step, he would push himself to the very pinnacle.


    While others would struggle with just one, he would suffocate them to death with as many as he could get his hands on. And when it came to such techniques appropriate for his level, or in other words, the Heaven Grade, the Frost Clan simply had far too many.


    Despite his arrogant thoughts, Ryu still didn''t bite off too much. Instead, he chose one Heaven Grade Dao Charm technique for each of his chosen weapons.


    The first he picked was a Sword Technique known as [Magnetic Blade].


    It was designed to be a soft type technique which pulled in the attack of an attack. It made a target feel as though their blade was being guided toward a certain direction and like they couldn''t attack exactly how they wanted to.


    The second was a staff technique known as [Buddha''s Stance].


    It was another defensive type technique, but it was precisely designed to absorb the attacks of an enemy and channel it back. It could build momentum and reflect back strikes, multiplying the effects over a long, drawn out battle.


    The third he chose was a spear technique known as [Rising Tempest].


    This technique was known to stack not power, but speed. While the strength of the technique remained relatively the same, the more adept you were at this technique, the more your strikes would increase in speed.


    Of course, speed always translated to strength. This meant that for the technique to maintain about the same power meant that the strikes were actually becoming weaker. It was a matter of trading one kind of strength for another.


    Still, the one thing that was impossible to defend against was unmatched speed. Unmatched power could be run away from¡­ unmatched speed could not.


    The fourth he chose was a glaive technique known as [Rending Stars].


    It was a violent, straight forward, and mighty technique that cleaved everything in its wake. It only had a single doctrine and that was to sever all things.


    The fifth he chose was a saber technique known as [Rising Crimson].


    This technique was very much like [Rending Stars] but its function was different. It worked not to just rend all things, but to force them into collapse, absorbing all the qi in its path and increasing its strength with every meter of space it passed through.


    It would ravage everything in its path.

 Chapter 1012 Im Coming

    The sixth technique Ryu chose was a battle ax technique known as [Winding Paths].


    It was actually designed to be a dual wielding technique and its function was in its relentlessness. It was designed to use the arms like a pendulum, pressuring an enemy until there was no path left to them but death.


    The seventh and final technique Ryu chose was a menacing halberd technique, one that could even be considered half a Soul Technique as much as it was a Qi Realm technique. This technique was known as [Howling Wraiths].


    For every enemy slain, this technique would rip apart their soul and absorb their blood. These two parts would fuse into a whole, forming a wraith that made the base of this technique''s strength.


    When this technique was used, it influenced the soul of an enemy even before physical strikes landed, disorienting them and placing them in a vulnerable state. But its actual physical attack was even more tyrannical, carrying with it a strength that existed on a level all to its own.


    Of all the techniques he chose, this was without a doubt the most violent, but it was also the most powerful, being of peak Heaven Grade. It was definitely a sinister technique that most wouldn''t dare to use for fear of affecting their Dao hearts.


    But quite frankly, Ryu could care less. If he was using this technique to kill someone, as far as he was concerned, his conscience wouldn''t be affected even the slightest bit. He moved as he pleased and acted as he pleased. No arbitrary moral compass would be able to dictate the weight of his heart.


    Once Ryu had these techniques figured out, he began to design his Great Swordstaff. In fact, the reason he chose his techniques first was so that he would be able to design a Great Swordstaff that would be able to take into account all of these aspects as one.


    This experience had taught him the level of synergy his Dao had and he was quickly realizing how his paths could all slowly form into a single whole.


    He would be a man that could not only touch upon the core essence of any weapon he wanted, but he would be able to pair them all with Dao Charm techniques, and then form the perfect weapon to use them all.


    In this world, he really wanted to see who would dare claim to have a better Dao than himself. There would come a day where he stood unmatched.


    It took Ryu several weeks to plan out the blueprint for his great swordstaffs. The main reason was not only due to the complexity of the project, but also because he wanted them both to be forged at the exact same time so that they could truly be identical.


    Since he was using Tribulation Lightning and Feng Shui to accomplish it, it took extra tweaking and balancing to ensure that everyone would go off without a hitch.


    The most complicated part wasn''t actually deciding how to best accommodate the first six techniques, but rather how to fuse them all with the seventh. The halberd technique was truly tyrannical, and if Ryu wanted a weapon that matched it well, it needed a few soul type materials.


    However, soul type materials were usually used in auxiliary treasures that could come in the form of defensive artifacts or Mental Realm amplifiers. But they were rarely seen in weapons.


    In fact, that was why the twin daggers Ryu had which could directly attack the soul were so special. The fact they could was an extremely unique trait.


    Of course, it wasn''t actually necessary for Ryu''s great swordstaffs to have such materials. After all, the strength of [Howling Wraiths] came from the technique and Ryu''s soul, it didn''t actually need a weapon that fused with it, none of this was actually necessary.


    But that was also precisely why Ryu was doing this.


    If he was correct, if he truly combined all of his disciplines so seamlessly into one, his combat strength would take an enormous leap forward.


    When his blueprint was complete, he was even more certain of this.


    If his calculations were correct, so long as these great swordstaffs came out as expected, they would actually have an extraordinary effect: while Ryu was using them, they would be able to increase his comprehension of his Dao Charm technique by two stages.


    This meant that if Ryu was at Initial Success, which represented that he could use 1% of his qi in using the technique, with his great swordstaffs in hand, he would be able to use them to Large Success, which would allow him to use 20% of his qi!


    Once he reached Great Circle of Perfection, which would allow him to display strength beyond 100% of what his qi could produce, pulling in from the atmosphere, the final strength would actually double so long as he had his great swordstaffs in hand.


    And he watched his great swordstaffs being formed after another month of preparations, Ryu was filled with a sense of assuredness. This was the path for him.


    His combat prowess, his blacksmithing, his alchemy, his formation mastery¡­ They would all fuse into one to make him a stronger and more lethal existence. When the time came, whether it was the bastards who dared to brand his forehead or the Martial Gods who caused his grandparents'' deaths, he would wipe them all from existence.


    A mighty and final strike of lightning fell from the skies under Ryu''s gaze.


    With a step, he flashed forward, appearing above the final product to find two great swordstaffs trembling with heavy runic patterns.


    They both radiated a wild aura, wafting a dense black-red fog. They were so large and thick that they could almost be mistaken for a pair of lances rather than a pair of swords.


    When Ryu grabbed them out from the ground, the weight almost sank him to his knees. But with just a drop of blood, they became as light as a feather, causing a raging tempest of wind to fly about the surroundings and slice apart the land.


    Their spines were a dense black but their blades, surrounding the spine entirely, was a dense crimson that thrummed with a will for murder.


    ''A pair of Runed Peak Heaven Grade weapons. Perfect.''


    Ryu held them both out, almost hearing the dancing heartbeat of the two.


    At that moment, the ground beneath his feet rumbled and he looked up. He knew then that it was time. The Radiant Star Sect was ascending to the Second Heaven.


    ''Elena¡­ I''m coming. Ailsa, Yaana¡­ be patient, I''ll unseal my eyes soon. Father¡­ I know you''re out there somewhere. This son of yours won''t let you down.''

 Chapter 1013 Ascension

    ?


    Ryu''s palms flipped upward, causing his Great Swordstaffs to flip through the air, over his head, and toward his back.


    SHIIIING!


    The twin pair of polearm swords crossed with a wild vibration. Sharp sword qi shot into the surroundings like a whirling cyclone, shredding everything in its path before they were deathly silent.


    Ryu took a step forward, his expression calm and unhurried. To his back, two crossed great swordstaffs hovered behind him, following like a pair of obedient children with their auras restrained to an extreme.


    As he walked, Ryu strapped his grandfather''s bow to his back. Although he was capable of forging a stronger bow, he didn''t. Quite frankly, he didn''t think it mattered. With his current level of skill, no matter how weak his bow, as long as you were within shot of his combat prowess, you could forget about dodging.


    The Heaven Grade pair of Great Sworstaffs that Ryu had just forged were stronger than any Ancestral Grade treasure of Sacrum, that much was a certain fact. There was no doubt that Ryu could do the same for his bow. But to him, being close to his grandfather was more important.


    He would make certain that this bow reached the peak of this world.


    Ryu stepped out of the golden moon world''s hidden space.


    When he appeared one again, the rumbling had increased more than tenfold. It felt like the world was collapsing. But in reality, it was the entire mountain range of the Radiant Star Sect that was slowly rising into the air. Not a single peak was being left behind.


    Ryu stood outside of his abode, his expression calm and his head inclined to the skies that only seemed to grow closer and closer.


    A wild and unrestrained aura circulated around Ryu as the skies grew closer.


    The Heavenly Laws bore down, growing to the point they threatened to force many to their knees. In the region Ryu was in, he was still around mostly Inner Disciples. He hadn''t bothered to change his location because he simply didn''t care. So long as he had the golden moon world, it was all the same to him.


    Despite his calm expression, Ryu couldn''t help but sneer inwardly. Even a mere First Heaven dared to put on such airs. He really wanted to see what the Second Heaven would dare to do.


    BOOM!


    The skies were torn apart and many who had felt their knees trembling directly fell to the ground, prostrating themselves. It was a sight so pathetic that Ryu didn''t want to be associated with it in the slightest.


    These Inner Disciples had looks of reverence and deep emotion on their faces. It was clear that they didn''t realize the kind of storm that was waiting for them on the other side. Did they think that things would just be over just like this?


    Ryu felt a rush of qi oppress him from all sides as everything was dark.


    A flashbang went off in his mind, a certain suppressive effect shattering into motes of light and forming a sky of twinkling stars. It felt as though all of his neurons had suddenly become hyper active, being fueled with a substance far beyond what was on the First Heaven.


    But under this sort of baptizing, only he and those with appropriate talent could possibly feel so comfortable. In a Sect where the vast majority of talents were merely Black Grade, and pinnacle geniuses only barely approached the Heaven Grade but were still firmly within the Earth Grade, such a transition was enough to place great pressure on them all.


    At the second highest peak, the Core Disciples appeared one by one, leading the Sect in bearing this weight.


    Many of them were already well into the Dao Pedestal Realm with the very best already being in the Cosmic Seed Realm. They knew what kind of opportunity this was.


    It was one thing to use normal teleportation arrays to enter the Second Heaven, but this method was one where one would have to pass through the Heavenly Laws of the Heavens themselves. It was far more dangerous, but with danger also came opportunity.


    The truth was that AIka hadn''t needed the teleportation pad of the Second Heaven''s powers at all. Rather, what she needed was the location on the other side. Whatever location was that was would likely be a place where all the powers of the Second Heaven converged.


    Most would thus avoid this location, but that wasn''t Aika''s intention at all. If it was up to her, she would plop the Sect right in the center of it all.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t Aika controlling this ascension as she was in seclusion. Instead, it was Old Wan who was, quite frankly, a bit of a pansy.


    He knew Aika too well, but the only coordinates he had were the ones she had given him. So, rather than following them, he chose to deviate a bit.


    BOOM!


    At that moment, even the Inheritor disciples appeared, all of their auras well into the World Sea Realm.


    In the same instant, the veil of the Second Heaven was broken into.


    The Sect shimmered and shined. In the view of those of the Second Heaven, it looked as though the ghost of a Sect was appearing. At first it was just a ripple, and then a faint illusion appeared, and then as time passed, that illusion became clearer and clearer until a wild, whistling tornado of shattered space rippled out in all directions.


    BOOM!


    The Sect felt with a heavy thump, solidly connecting with the land as though it had always been there.


    However, not even 20 kilometers away, the towering peaks of another Sect stared right at them. This Sect was a Two Star Sect and was even one of the 27 that had gone to the selection just a few months ago¡­ The Metal Work Sect.


    It didn''t take long before they went from curious, to stunned, and then quickly to infuriated.

 Chapter 1014 War

    The moment the Metal Work Sect''s territory was encroached upon, they took it as a declaration of war, and that it was. There were only so many resources to go around, how could they just casually allow anyone to appear so close? In fact, the sudden manifestation of the Radiant Star Sect actually caused a lot of those resources to be buried beneath a pile of rubble.


    Their Metal Work Sect followed both the path of blacksmithing and Body Realm cultivation. They placed a lot of importance on the earth and the ore veins hidden within, and just now, the Radiant Star Sect had landed on, precisely, one of their veins.


    The worst part was that the appearance of the Sect had definitely slaughtered everyone that had been working the mine. This included disciples working for merits. With their manifestation, the Radiant Star Sect had already slaughtered their people. How could this be tolerated?


    The Patriarch of the Metal Work, Patriarch Arnoldus, immediately shot into the skies, his fury like a towering tempest as his bronzed chest rippled. With every infuriated breath he took, sparks of fire shot into the surroundings.


    The fact that the moment they stepped into the Second Heaven they found someone who could fly made the hearts of the Radiant Star Sect disciples tremble. This meant that this man was most definitely a False Sky God.


    Many of the Radiant Star Sect disciples were still prostrated on the ground, and even those that finally managed to stand felt as though their bodies were incredibly heavy as though the gravity they were experiencing had doubled.


    The suppression of the Second Heaven was not a joke and couldn''t be casually ignored by those with poor talent. The pressure was good for those who had more potential to squeeze out, but for those that didn''t it was like a death sentence.


    "GOOD! GOOD! You can all die!"


    With an infuriated bellow, Patriarch Arnoldus flipped a palm and manifested a hammer that immediately expanded to a size that looked as though it could blot out the skies.


    Ryu looked up with a calm expression on his face, but just the sudden rush of wind from the hammer rising into the air was enough for him to nearly be thrown off his feet, and that was despite the fact there were dozens of kilometers separating himself and the Patriarch.


    Just when Patriarch Arnoldus was about to swing down, a light cough resounded, dispersing the wild winds as Grand Elder Samson appeared in the skies.


    Arnoldus'' expression flickered beneath his rage. A False Sky God? Wasn''t the Radiant Star Sect a True One Star Sect? How did they suddenly have a False Sky God now? And even if they had one, shouldn''t it be that woman he had listened to that report about? Did that mean that this Sect actually had two False Sky Gods?!


    As shocked as Arnoldus was, the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect were even more shocked. Clearly, they hadn''t known that they had a False Sky God either, but their hearts bloomed with pride and expectation a moment later¡­ Though, how long this would last was completely unknown.


    Samson chuckled lightly. "Listen, our Sect is already here and it can''t be casually moved again, how about we just coexist?"


    When Arnoldus heard this his temper flared up again. "Do you think that''s possible?! Come die!"


    Arnoldus swung his raised hammer down.


    After his initial shock, he quickly recovered. Why would he give a single care about a False Sky God of the First Heaven?! Such trash could be dispatched by him as easily as a Fragmented Sky God of the Second Heaven. How could they be worthy of negotiating with him?!


    Samson lightly coughed again before sighing. Things really couldn''t end peacefully, huh?


    It seemed that Samson''s personality was quite a bit like Old Wan''s. He could only blame their bad luck in landing so near to another Sect''s territory.


    A radiant starlight exuded from Samson''s body, causing his silver robes to flutter.


    Samson sighed again. "Plucking Stars."


    His forefinger and thumb stretched out, pinching at the air.


    BANG!


    At that moment, an enormous hand that looked as though it contained the galaxies of the universe manifested in the blink of an eye. In one moment, the skies had nothing but a mighty hammer, but in the next, a thumb and finger had stopped it in its tracks.


    With a slight pinch, the hammer cracked and Arnoldus'' expression wildly changed as he rapidly pulled back.


    Samson coughed lightly before sighing. It almost looked like he was embarrassed that he put Arnoldus in such a weird situation.


    "How about this, just let the juniors fight it out, hm? The loser of this scuffle will just abandon the surroundings."


    Arnoldus'' expression was solemn as he looked down. When he swept a gaze over the Sect and saw just how many youths were still prostrated on the ground, a slight look of disdain flashed in his eyes. When he looked toward the strongest disciples, his derision only became more prominent.


    Plus, the main issue here was the fact that this small Sect actually had at least two False Sky Gods, the same number they had. The woman still hadn''t appeared yet, but from what he heard, she was even more worthy of fear.


    "Fine. But if you dare to have those above the World Sea Realm participate, I will make certain that I stake my life to slaughter your disciples to the last man!"


    Arnoldus'' voice boom. "Disciples of my Metal Work Sect! Show them your Ire!"


    A mighty roar shot into the skies. If there was one thing the Metal Work Sect was known for outside of their blacksmithing, it was their hot bloodedness. Considering the kind of masochistic Body Realm techniques they practiced, it was no surprise that they were all a group of madmen.


    A war? That was exactly the kind of thing they loved the most. They didn''t seem oppressed by their Patriarch''s obvious loss in the recent exchange either.


    Hearing these roars, the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect who were still prostrated on the ground, and even those that had managed to rise, wore solemn expressions.


    Samson turned back to the Core and Inheritor Disciples, inwardly shaking his head. They were far too weak. Old Wan had his reasons for taking this approach, but Aika had flipped the table.


    "You break out of your cocoons." Samson said lightly before vanishing.


    The expressions of the disciples sank, some of the smarter ones understanding that their elders had no intention of shielding them.


    The Metal Work Disciples had already charged forward, their Working and Outer Disciples being the first in line since they were nearer the base of the mountain to begin with.


    At that moment, a laugh shook the skies and a blaze of lightning arched through the air.


    BANG!


    Ryu appeared at the base of the Radiant Star Sect in an instant.


    His hands flared outward, causing his great swordstaffs to shoot from his back and into his hands.


    With a flicker, he covered a 10 kilometer distance in an instant, circulating [Whispering Petals] to Complete Success.


    His great swordstaffs surged, leaving a trail of crimson in their wake as they cut down every tree in the surrounding 100 meters with a single movement.


    Blood flew through the air.

 Chapter 1015 Lit Fire

    Everything seemed to elevate from the ground. A single swing reaped lives and severed the earth, causing a slight pause to overwhelm the world.


    And then came a rush of wind.


    The trees that had been separated from their roots were suddenly chopped into countless pieces. A wave of sword qi filled the skies, pushing back those that were further away and mincing those that were too close into chopped meat.


    The gazes of the Radiant Star Sect disciples glowed with a fiendish light. Suddenly seeing such a scene, they felt as though a fire had been lit within their hearts.


    If even an Immortal Ring Realm expert dared to charge into such a battlefield, wouldn''t they be too pathetic if they didn''t choose to do exactly that?


    At that moment, the 20 kilometer diameter between the two Sects erupted into a bloody battle, but it was as though Ryu didn''t notice any of it.


    His Great Swordstaffs widly thrashed about. Sometimes they were like swords, swift and elegant. Sometimes they were like glaives, might and unrelenting. Sometimes they were spears, piercing and strong. And yet other times they were like halberds, menacing and violent.


    He seemed to switch between styles as seamlessly as breathing, countering every enemy he came across with the ease of an expert and the grace of a master.


    His skill was far too oppressive. The number of forms the great swordstaff could embody were simply too many. And to make matters worse for the enemies Ryu came across, some of these forms were the likes of which they had never seen dual wielded before.


    Despite the fact Ryu used nothing but Basic Stances, they had reached a level of refinement where they dwarfed even techniques of the same caliber. His killing pace was so swift and unrelenting that more often than not, the 100-meter radius around him was completely devoid of life, a shower of blood raining from the skies and yet not touching even the hem of his clothing.


    It was exhilarating, almost too much so.


    Ryu had been in his fair share of large scale battles, but there was something about this that felt decidedly different in a way that he hadn''t been expecting.


    He was very used to facing hundreds of enemies at once, many of whom assumed that he was much weaker than them. It shouldn''t have made much of a difference that there were others fighting with him to his back. But unexpectedly, there was a bit of a difference.


    In his youth, Ryu had always dreamed of fighting side by side with his father. As much as he loved his grandparents, his relationship with his father was probably the closest and he was the male role model he looked up to the most¡­ He was the man that Ryu least wanted to let down.


    He couldn''t help but wonder if this was similar to the feeling that he would experience when that day finally came. Would this be the same feeling?


    He surprised himself quite a bit. He didn''t really care much for the Radiant Star Sect, at least not initially. However, after Elder Aika''s display, he had formed a bit of a connection that he had never experienced before. He suddenly felt the will to make certain that the name of this Sect didn''t fade into the annals of history. In fact, he wanted to see the day they shone even more resplendently than they ever had before.


    Ryu stomped his feet and roared, his two great swordstaffs crossing about his chest and whipping outward.


    The force behind his strike was so grand that the twin pair of polearms bowed wildly, curving to the point they even looked as though they might break in another second.


    A surging ''X'' shaped attack buried itself into the land and wiped out large swaths of Working and Outer Disciples. It felt as though Ryu was practically invincible and that the sturdy bodies of the Metal Work Sect''s were nothing more than thin sheets of paper.


    Above, the Patriarchs had long since left but there were still some elders watching to monitor the situation. Their expressions couldn''t help but turn ugly when they saw such a scene. They couldn''t say anything either because Ryu''s cultivation was actually lower than that of their own. In fact, there wasn''t a single Immortal Ring Realm expert in their entire Sect.


    It was originally amusing to see Ryu charging, but the moment he swung his polearms, it was as though a hellscape had descended.


    The only saving grace was that the Inner Disciples were coming.


    The weakest of the Working Disciples were in the Path Extinction Realm and even the weakest of the Outer Disciples were nearing the peak of this Realm. By the time one became an Inner Disciple of their Sect, you were already in the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    ? No matter how elite this Immortal Ring Realm expert was, he wouldn''t be able to jump two cultivation levels to battle, especially since even average talents of their Sect had at least one Earth Grade talent.


    Plus, while Ryu was performing astoundingly well, the others of his Sect¡­ couldn''t be said to be so lucky.


    The disciples of the Radiant Star Sect had charged onto the battlefield, having their hearts lit on fire by Ryu. But when they actually began to fight, they realized just how in over their heads they were.


    Many could only last a few exchanges before they were slaughtered, never to rise again. Although the killing speed in the opposite direction wasn''t as grand as Ryu, that was also because Ryu was killing so much that he alleviated much of the pressure.


    And yet, even with that being the case, the Working and Outer Disciples of the Radiant Star Sect couldn''t take advantage, finding themselves dying off one by one.


    BOOM!


    At that moment, thunderous booms rang out as the inner Disciples of the Metal World Sect crashed down from the ground, their knees bending and their bodies radiating a bronzed light.

 Chapter 1016 Inner Disciples

    Ryu''s gaze flickered as the blade of a javelin appeared before his glabella in the blink of an eye. The speed of the throw was so fast that Ryu almost didn''t notice it at all. However, the moment he did, he reacted even quicker.


    His great swordstaff flipped in his palm and he formed a reverse as though it weighed nothing more than a short sword.


    With a single movement, the polearm appeared in the path of the javelin, clanging against it.


    BANG!


    Ryu slid backward, his forward momentum having been stopped for the first time.


    His head turned in the direction the javelin had come from and he took a step forward, his speed faster than anything he had shown until this very moment.


    He was like a blur, his speed impossibly quick and his body like a leaf rushing through a tornado. His gaze blazed with dancing lightning and his twin pair of polearms suddenly erupted with flames, his body descending with the momentum of a meteor.


    The Inner Disciple that had thrown the javelin had been preparing another one when Ryu suddenly appeared above him.


    In the far off distance, the mere afterimage he had been aiming for vanished into the wind, replaced by an oppressive might descending from above.


    BOOM!


    The Inner Disciple hurriedly moved to block, the heat of Ryu''s strike licking against his face and bare torso to the point that it was unbearable even before their strikes collided.


    It made no sense. How could the flames of an Immortal Ring Realm expert possibly affect him to such an extent?!


    However, he didn''t get to think about this for long because when their strikes did meet, the ground beneath his feet immediately shattered and his body was buried beneath.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs continued borrowing into the earth and infusing it with a raging torrent of flames.


    The earth melted and a wild surge of lava spread into the surroundings. By the time Ryu brought his great swordstaffs back up, the Inner Disciple in question had already been melted to spare parts, but the worst part was that the surrounding land had become near uninhabitable.


    Ryu flipped his palms and his great swordstaffs spun in the air, landing to his sides.


    In that moment, his aura changed once again and his grandfather''s bow was pulled from his back and into his hands. Before the great swordstaffs even landed, he had already sent out five arrows, killing three Inner Disciples on the ground and two that were still quickly falling from the skies.


    Whizzing streaks of blue steel arrows rushed out with Ryu at the center. With every passing moment, his speed of killing only became faster and faster, the aura of a Bow God surging from him like a towering tempest.


    Others could only attempt to assault him from a distance, but they quickly found their attempts not only shot down, but in the process, yet another one of their fellow disciples would fall. It was as though Ryu was able to calculate not just a defensive maneuver, but also parlay it into an offensive onslaught.


    Every whistle of an arrow was like the call of the grim reaper.


    The elders of the Metal Work Sect all had on ugly expressions.


    "He''s a Heaven Class talent, we can''t send normal experts after him. Even if he ends up dying later, the foundation of our Sect will be ruined. Hurry them over, now!"


    It couldn''t be helped, the sudden Sect War was exactly that¡­ sudden. Many of their disciples were out on missions, tempering themselves in preparation for the opening of Heaven''s Path. The true elites wouldn''t be wasting these final precious years cooped up in the Sect.


    Although they had sent a message for them to rush back, those that could come would still take a few hours and those that couldn''t weren''t small in number. The Second Heaven was even more vast than the First Heaven, after all.


    A rule of thumb was that each subsequent Heaven was about ten times larger than the last. It had already taken Ryu months to travel between provinces in the First Heaven, travel times would be even more exaggerated in the Second.


    The good news was that the Second Heaven had a far more robust teleportation network than the First did, but even so it still couldn''t be compared to the higher Heavens. So they were now in such a situation.


    "Does my Sect really not have someone that can deal with a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert?! What have we been feeding you all for?!"


    The elders of the Metal Work Sect were just as fiery tempered as their disciples and Patriarch, but there was little they could do.


    "Calm down," one of the elders spoke with narrowed eyes. "When such a disciple appears in such a weak Sect, it means nothing but calamity for them. They will fall here."


    They all fell into silence, but they still had their own thoughts.


    These words were true¡­ but what if the Sect Elders had monsters as well?


    On the peaks of the Radiant Star Sect, the Core Disciples watched on with narrowed eyes, knowing that it would be their turns soon.


    While the quality of the Radiant Star Sect Inner Disciples and lower were inferior, their Core Disciples were not bad. However, this wasn''t due to their own innate talent, but rather because they got a chance to learn a fragment of the Radiant Star Sect''s true teachings.


    However, they had no idea about this. In their minds, they had already learned the full technique and were, as such, quite confident in their strengths.


    Seeing Ryu''s strength, though, their gazes couldn''t help but flicker.


    "It seems that it will be our turn soon. Let''s not lose face in front of this Junior Brother of ours," one of the Core Disciples laughed, a pair of radiant wings formed of starlight forming upon his back.


    This young man was known as Pibin, the 17th ranked Core Disciple of their Sect.


    "See you all down there."


    He laughed, shooting forward like a blazing star.

 Chapter 1017 Trial By Blood

    The Core Disciples of the Radiant Star Sect surged forward. Their speed couldn''t be compared to the lower ranked disciples. It only took them but a moment to enter the thick of the battlefield, rushing through the disciples of the Metal Work Sect before they found themselves crashing against a steel wall.


    The Core Disciples of the Metal Work Sect that remained also entered the battlefield. Although there were less of them since most had gone away to temper themselves, it still took two to three disciples of the Radiant Star Sect to face off against just a single one of them.


    Due to this, despite having the numbers advantage, the battlefield quickly became a case of a steel meeting steel, the resounding crashes causing a tempest of violent winds to surround the battlefield, turning it into a place none even dared to casually step foot in.


    Ryu continued a wanton slaughter of Inner Disciples, but there was only so long that the others of the Metal Work Sect would allow this to continue for.


    At that moment, the highest ranking Core Disciple of the Metal Work Sect that remained shot forward like a blazing meteor.


    "Hey, hey! What do you think you''re doing targeting my junior brother? Do you have a death wish, you brute?"


    Pibin appeared in the path of the Metal Work Sect Core Disciple.


    "Scram! Weak trash has no right to stand before me!"


    Pibin''s face paled. He was known for his speed, but his power was actually quite lacking. This made him probably the worst choice for protecting someone.


    Still, his palm flipped over and a flexible sword appeared. He stabbed out with all the might he could muster, his wings slapped and seeming to fuse his body into a streak of sword light.


    The attack looked quite beautiful, but the power behind it was still far too lacking. A hammer came crashing down, shattering the sword light before it even made contact with it. It was as though the wind pressure alone could destroy everything in its path without the slightest effort.


    "Son of a bitch¡­" Pibin''s expression darkened, his qi surging.


    His sword gained a pair of wings of its own, his piercing strike recovering and increasing in speed.


    BANG!


    Pibin coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body being sent flying backward like a shooting meteor.


    The highest ranking Core Disciple that remained was only 37th in the Metal Work Sect and could be considered to be in the mid-ranges of the Dao Pedestal Realm. Pibin was already in the higher ranges and was ranked 17th. And yet, the gap was still so large.


    "Trash."


    Gan snorted in disdain, raising his hammer once again to chase after Pibin. However, at that moment, his hair stood up as three arrows converged on him from all sides.


    Gan''s expression changed and he released a mighty roar.


    At that moment, Ryu palm reached out and stopped Pibin''s backward moment, dispersing all his momentum into the wind.


    Pibin coughed up another mouthful of blood, his head raising up with a solemn expression before he looked toward Ryu.


    "Thanks," he nodded lightly.


    He was a bit embarrassed. He had stepped out to save Ryu but had ended up being saved instead. He had pretty much lost all face as a senior brother. But he got over it pretty quickly and laughed.


    "This battle, it''s yours," Ryu said lightly.


    Pibin blinked before looking toward Gan who had shattered Ryu''s arrows with a roar, his expression turning solemn.


    However, a moment later, he grinned, a second sword appearing in his hand. This scene caused Ryu to be a bit shocked because he could see that Pibin wasn''t familiar with dual wielding. It even looked like he was doing it on a whim.


    It had to be remembered that to most, even for weapons that made sense like the sword, dual wielding was simply impossible. It wasn''t a matter of controlling two weapons at all, but rather the logistical issues around doing so.


    For example, one would always have a dominant hand, even as a cultivator. One hand would always have large and more robust meridians. And, even if you could control both hands equally as well, the qi would always favor circulation to one side.


    In addition, even though the circulation patterns of the True Martial World were far easier and simpler, they still needed to be modified in the case of dual wielding.


    For example, if Ryu wanted to cast a technique with one hand, he would circulate it in a certain way, but if he wanted to circulate the same technique for the other, he would need to mirror it within his Meridians. If, however, he wanted to use both hands at the same time, he would have to run these qis counter to each other within his body.


    The only way to accomplish such a thing was to either have a lot of practice or to have Meridians as indestructible as Ryu''s own.


    Obviously, Pibin had neither of these things but still made such a choice. And even more obviously, he didn''t have the Ice Jade Crystal Body that Ryu and his mother had to make his Meridians perfectly balanced and distributed across his body as well.


    Ryu understood Pibin''s choice. Speed was his greatest asset, and if he wanted to make use of it, he could only lean into it more and more. There were many ways to do this, but Pibin chose one of the most difficult paths.


    Pibin laughed into the skies, brandishing his two swords.


    "Watching junior brother''s valiance in controlling two weapons helped me make this decision I''ve been hesitating about for a long time now. If I don''t make this choice now, it will already be too late later.


    "Hold tight, junior brother. This senior brother of yours will bring you back the head of this ugly brute."


    Pibin shot forward, brandishing his two blades with blood still leaking from his lips.


    Ryu watched one with the same placid expression before his gaze turned back to the Radiant Star Sect.


    However, he could tell that none of the elders planned to interfere in this. He understood what their purpose was, they wanted to use this trial by fire to temper their disciples. Most would die, and they already expected that. That was the plan to begin with.


    There might not be even a single Core Disciple left after this, but those that survived would undergo a great change and might even potentially be worthy of learning the true techniques of the Radiant Star Sect.


    Seeing everyone fighting with their lives on the line, and seeing just how many of them were falling with every passing moment, Ryu felt an odd feeling in his heart.


    He wasn''t the type of person to care about the deaths of others, especially in the case that they were strangers. But watching these people, who were clearly less lucky than himself talent wise, fight and claw for every inch made him wonder¡­


    Would there come a day where he was stuck in such a place as well?


    Ryu slowly put his bow away. He could use it to support his fellow disciples, but he wouldn''t. He would allow them to fight their own battles. Even if he protected them now, it would just mean that they would die faster in the future.


    While he couldn''t do this for them, he could do something else.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s gaze locked onto the final arrival of the Metal Work Sect. There were three of them, all of them with towering auras at the Cosmic Seed Realm.


    At that moment, the four Inheritor Disciples of the Radiant Star Sect landed as well, their expressions solemn as they looked toward these three. They knew immediately that they were simply outmatched.


    "I''ll take one of them," Ryu said lightly.


    The four looked toward Ryu, with a surprised expressions on their faces.


    Could it be that he could really climb three Realms to battle?


    The reality was that Ryu was embarrassed that he could only climb so far.


    Back in Sacrum, just being an existence at the Cosmic Seed Realm in the first place meant that your talent was extremely high. A talent with a mere single Earth Grade talent would be lucky to enter the Path Extinction Realm, let alone transcending two Realms above it.


    Due to this, back in Sacrum, the fact Ryu could climb three cultivation Realms to fight was highly impressive, because even if his enemies didn''t have a Great Ancestral Circle like he did, they still had astounding talents of their own.


    Here, though, these talents only had one or two Earth Grade pillars at best. Even these three Inheritor Disciples of the Metal Work Sect were only Earth Class Talents. Ryu was embarrassed by the fact that this was truly his limit even after forging his Great Swordstaffs.


    However, this was good as well. At least this meant that he would finally have a good fight.


    The four could only watch as Ryu stomped his feet and shot forward.


    He held his arms out, causing his great swordstaffs to shoot out from the ground, whistling through the air and landing with a BOOM! in his palms.


    He swung down, aiming for an Inheritor Disciple that looked no different from a Greek God.


    BANG!

 Chapter 1018 Accomplishment?

    An overwhelming strength hit Ryu in waves. It felt like the harder he pressed down, the more violent the rebuff. It only took Ryu a moment to understand what he was facing.


    This Inheritor Disciple had the Heaven Grade Bone Structure, Reflective Impact. Such individuals were practically immune to the power of physical attacks and could borrow this power and add it to their own counters.


    However, while this much was true, it had its own weaknesses, weaknesses that Ryu remembered almost instantly.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot back in the direction he came from, finding himself arching through the air. In a world where he couldn''t fly, this made him no different from a sitting duck.


    The Inheritor Disciple''s eyes narrowed. He had clashed with an Immortal Ring Realm expert and he actually hadn''t completely collapsed after a single exchange? For a moment he thought that he was dreaming, but in the next instant, his expression became sinister.


    He was Gan the Impervious, his prestige wasn''t something such an existence could encroach upon just because they felt like it.


    Gan roared, collecting much of the momentum that Ryu had sent into him and beating his chest with a single fist.


    At that moment, the air vibrated, forming a cone of lethal sound waves that appeared before Ryu in an instant. When fused with Gan''s on Cosmic Grade Qi, its speed and lethality reached a new level in an instant.


    Ryu''s expression flickered. His Body Realm cultivation was slowly being rebuilt from the ground up, but it still wasn''t ready to face such a level of attack head on, at least not when he couldn''t enter his draconic form. His Bone Structure wasn''t designed for defense to begin with, so even with it slowly returning to its original level and prestige, it was no good in this situation. In such a case, even this Gan''s Bone Structure would be far better.


    ''It seems that I have a hole in my combat prowess. I need some defensive techniques. I''ll have to either revamp [Immortal Sakura], or use a different method. In any case¡­''


    Ryu''s body became as light as a fluttering leap. In that moment, he didn''t something that should have been impossible, changing his direction in mid air and gliding by Gan''s roaring attack.


    The moment he did, he tossed one of his great swordstaffs to his back and thrust another one beneath his feet. As though he was riding a surfboard on the wind, his feet landed on the flat of his blade, his body leaning to the side as he pulled his bow out.


    "Complete Success Dao Charm Movement Technique!" Gan''s eyes fluttered, his expression becoming solemn.


    If he wasn''t certain before, he definitely was certain now. This young man was a Heaven Class genius. No, he should be very close to the very limits of Heaven Class.


    Rays of sword qi surrounded the great swordstaff that Ryu rode, his speed shooting up as he released dozens of arrows, each one more lethal and piercing than the last. Even those watching from a distance felt their hearts shuddering and their souls seizing.


    Flying swords weren''t something very popular in Sacrum, mostly because it was completely unnecessary. By the time you had the skill in swords necessary to do such a thing, odds were that you would have already long since surpassed the Spiritual Severing Realm. As such, it was a practice that had never been invented.


    In the True Martial World, however, this was very necessary, especially as you rose through the Heavens. That said, those with the skill to use flying swords were few and far apart. It wasn''t just that the coordination was very difficult, but it required having a heart that could guide the sword.


    When Ryu allowed his great swordstaffs to hover behind him, he had already tapped into such an ability. This was likewise the case when it seemed as though he could telekinetically control them.


    Sword qi was very unique in its ability to do this as it was a weapon qi that emphasized not only a style of combat, but also a form of disposition. Swordsmen throughout the ages had been Kings amongst men, as such, their qi embodied this as well. Only those with the disposition of Kings could control the true essence of sword qi, guiding their weapons with their Dao Hearts and soaring through the skies.


    No other weapon could accomplish this.


    Those that saw Ryu gliding through the skies felt their hearts quake. This sort of legendary Sword Heart¡­ it was the first time they had personally laid eyes on it. But why did it seem that his bow was no weaker? And why did it feel like he wasn''t even a true swordsman to begin with?!


    Gan didn''t have the luxury to think so much. He had disdained to bring out his weapon originally, but feeling the threat of his bevy of arrows made his heart pound wildly. He realized that he had no choice but to take this Immortal Ring Realm expert seriously.


    His palm flipped over to reveal a towering and thick spear. It had a thickness of four to five inches, and yet Gan''s palm wrapped around it with incomparable ease.


    He braced it against his hip, roaring as he swept it across his body.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu''s arrows shattered one by one, a towering wave climbing into the skies.


    Gan didn''t dare to let these arrows hit his body, and clearly Ryu knew this because this was precisely one of the greatest weaknesses of his Bone Structure. It could only reflect physical attacks, which meant that Ryu''s qi and element forged arrows were precisely the kind of attack it was helpless against.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed.


    [Thirteen Soaring Azures: Singe].


    Gan''s expression changed, a lethal threat making his hair stand up. He slammed his chest again, releasing a roar that made even the ground quake.


    And yet, Ryu''s arrow seemed to burn everything in its path to ash, even qi itself.


    [Thirteen Soaring Azures: Chill].


    Ryu released another arrow, the faint sounds of chirping birds whistling through the air. A dichotomy of hot and cold ripped through everything, the rush of searing heat and oppressive cold made even the energy in its path expand and contract so quickly that they lost all of their structural integrity.


    They sped forward, appearing before Gan in an instant.


    There was already no other choice. There was only one path ahead.


    Gan''s entire demeanor changed. Although neither of them had been injured in the midst of this battle just yet, the reality was that Gan had felt as though he was dancing on a razor''s edge from the very beginning. The pressure he felt beneath Ryu was unlike anything he had experienced before¡­


    He had chosen not to go out to adventure because he was already well within the Cosmic Seed Realm. There was no time to improve wildly any longer and it was best if he just consolidated what he already had and put it all toward a single path.


    But this interaction made him feel like he was still much too lacking.


    Dao Charm technique¡­ [Rowing Waves].


    Gan took a strong step forward, his spear piercing out with the momentum of a tsunami.


    His Bone Structure glowed, his bronzed skin emitting a light that formed into a solid armor a moment later.


    Ryu''s arrows shattered as a shimmering blue enveloped Gan''s body.


    "Oh?" Ryu''s lip curled.


    At that moment, Ryu''s irises glowed with an ancient green light. Until now, it had been faint, only dancing between Thunder, Water and Fire. But at this moment, they all lit up at once and a suffocating presence rose into the air.


    Gan''s Dao manifested as well. It was at the very same level as Ryu''s, the Second Immortal Grade. It powered a portion of his Dao Charm technique, making it quite clear that Gan had chosen a technique perfectly suited to him.


    But in front of Ryu, if your Dao was too weak¡­ it was better if you didn''t use it at all.


    "Burn. Cool. Scorch. Frigid."


    Ryu unleashed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth tiers of [Third Soaring Azures] all at once. The moment they shot into the air, they lost the form of an arrow entirely, turning into spiraling birds that soared through the skies as though they had life of their own.


    The wave of Gan''s attack shattered, hardly forming before it was frozen into a pile of ice and then shattered beneath a heat wave.


    The four fluttering birds, all a beautiful sheen of azure, appeared before him all at once, colliding with his chest.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Gan''s body jolted. Waves of heat and cold sunk into his armor, causing it to shatter into motes of light and his body to be without any sort of protection at all.


    Gan coughed up a mouthful of blood, looking down to find a bloody hole torn through his chest and four azures birds flying out through the other side.


    In the skies, Ryu stood without a change in expression. When Gan met his gaze, he couldn''t find any sense of accomplishment in Ryu''s eyes, it was as though he couldn''t be bothered to care about this victory at all.

 Chapter 1019 Nine Grades

    Ryu sped back into the Radiant Star Sect, stepping off his great swordstaff with an indifferent expression.


    To his back, the war was still raging, but he no longer felt that it had anything to do with him. He had already fought the strongest enemy he could find. There were probably others of the Metal Work Sect, but none of them were currently present and he couldn''t be bothered to wait.


    If he stayed on the battlefield, he would only be ruining the point of this exercise to begin with, and that was to squeeze out the potential of the youths of this Sect.


    Old Wan''s original intention was to rebuild the Radiant Star Sect from the ground up. In order to do so, he had to slowly build up their destiny. As such, he drastically lowered the standards to the level of a normal True One Star Sect. This was why their disciples, and even their Inheritor Disciples, were so weak.


    Likewise, Old Wan modified the inheritances and techniques of the Sect to fit with their current station as well. Although Elder Aika was enraged by Galemar gaining access to their techniques, the truth of the matter was that it could hardly be considered to be a big deal. After all, it could only be considered to be a small segment of the real technique and didn''t have a fraction of the true strength.


    Unfortunately for Old Wan, Aika didn''t have such patience. The only reason she had gone with his plan was because he had the highest cultivation of them all. Now that she had caught up, she didn''t feel any qualms about snatching the position of head from him.


    Old Wan seemed to understand this as well, so he didn''t even bother to fight against Aika and simply allowed her to do as she pleased. Though, by this point, he didn''t really have much of a choice in the matter. Unfortunately for the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect, they ended up caught in the middle of it all and could now only fight for their lives.


    If these disciples wanted to benefit from the rise of the Radiant Star Sect, they would have to break out of their cocoons.


    Ultimately, even the best disciples of the Sect were mere Earth Grade talents. However, talent wasn''t the end all be all. The Heavens had a path for everyone, it was just that the path of some was narrower and more treacherous for some.


    The only goal these disciples had to have was to reach the limit of their potential. All of the best of them should aim to become Earth Class geniuses first and foremost. Once or if they succeeded, they could try to break past those limits.


    Talent could be improved, Fate could be grasped, destinies could be changed, it was all about how much they were willing to give and if luck would be on their side or not.


    Ryu, as someone born to Sacrum, was destined to be capped by the limitations of his world. He could be considered to have great luck of his own, having the framework for exceptional talent. But by now, Ryu''s scope and understanding of things had already increased to the point he knew that in the whole of the True Martial World, he couldn''t be considered to be a pinnacle talent.


    In the First Heaven, the pinnacle level talents were Earth Grade. In the Second, pinnacle level talents were of the Heaven Grade. In the Third Heaven, the pinnacle level talent were already at the Sovereign Grade. Above that, there was only the Ancestral Grade and above left.


    From what Ryu understood, there was a huge gap between the Third and Fourth Heaven, to the point where there was a trial to pass into it. This was the so-called Heavenly Path that everyone was talking about.


    Coming to this sort of understanding, when one stepped foot on the Fourth Heaven, the greatest geniuses were likely already at the Ancestral Grade and maybe even beyond.


    In Sacrum, the Grade above the Ancestral Grade was known as the Origin Grade. It was a legendary talent level that only really existed in the vague abstract and it was only used when a talent surpassed the Ancestral Grade by a large enough margin that it no longer made sense to mark it there.


    In the True Martial World, it was also considered to be the Origin Grade, but it was divided into Nine Grades.


    There was very little information about these Nine Grades, but it likely followed a pattern of the Sky God Realm''s nomenclature.


    Regardless, it was well beyond Ryu.


    After reading through the records the Frost Clan had left behind, Ryu had a deeper understanding of his talents and where exactly they sat.


    First there were his Bloodlines. In Sacrum, they could be considered to be in the Origin Grade, at least his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines, anyway. As for his odd fused Phoenix Bloodline, he wasn''t entirely sure where it sat even now.


    In the True Martial World they weren''t so simple to pin down. This was because there were huge gaps between Fire Dragons and their Lineages. The same was true of Qilins as a result.


    The weakest of Fire Dragons and Lightning Qilins were, indeed, of the Ancestral Grade. However, the strongest of them had entered the Origin Grade. This Grade was dependent on the number and quality of talents created.


    Beast bloodlines were unique in that they weren''t fixed. Even the weakest of Dragons had the chance to rise to the pinnacle because of the secrets their Bloodline held. This was known as "Returning to Origin".


    This was actually something that Ryu had experienced himself by tempering himself with Mortal Qi. This allowed him to squeeze out much more potential from his Bloodlines.


    But the harsh truth was that this was just the first step. If Ryu''s calculations were correct, his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines were currently just barely in the First Origin Grade. And, of course, he still needed to unshackle it to that level.

 Chapter 1020 Insatiable Desire

    Ryu''s Phoenix Bloodline was a bit weirder and more difficult to pinpoint, and this was because there wasn''t a direct one to one comparison he could find anywhere. As such, it was impossible for him to make calculations or even guesses.


    At best, he knew that the individual pieces that made up the fused Bloodline were also considered to be at the First Origin Grade. As for what they were when they came together, he didn''t know.


    When it came to Ryu''s Bone Structure, it had mutated and taken a half-step beyond the Ancestral Grade and was considered to be a Quasi-Origin Grade talent.


    Then there were Ryu''s Meridians. He was absolutely certain that they were not only Origin Grade, but very high up in Grade. The trouble was that their strength was contingent upon a very unique cultivation method, a method that Ryu simply didn''t have.


    Ryu''s Intuition had likely triggered because he needed a very special method to enter the Path Extinction Realm. Or at the very least, a very special method of cultivating the Path Extinction Realm itself.


    However, Ryu couldn''t wait. He had already decided to take the path of the [Refinement Sutra]. If he waited, who knew when he would stumble onto the unique cultivation method designed for his Meridians? In fact, it was very possible that he might never run into it. And even if he did run into it, how would he have the strength to take it if he stalled his cultivation for so long?


    It was impossible.


    If Ryu was correct, there were likely stages of unlocking that his Meridians could enter. He had to hit every checkpoint in order to unlock it to the highest degree. Unfortunately, he simply didn''t have such good Fate. There were hard choices that needed to be made.


    Once he finished recultivating to the Immortal Ring Realm, he would break into the Path Extinction Realm and blaze through it as quickly as he could. He didn''t have the luxury of waiting.


    When he did this, he probably wouldn''t be able to improve his Meridians any further.


    Ryu had no way of telling what stage his Meridians were at now, but it was likely at the Third Origin Grade at the very least, maybe higher. Regardless, Ryu felt that this was enough. He couldn''t possibly expect to have a Ninth Origin Grade Talent in everything, right?


    Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was another difficult one to deal with properly. It wasn''t a known talent, but rather one he had gained from a Sky God, which made it difficult to pinpoint exactly. Ryu would have to wait until he reached the World Sea Realm to understand exactly how powerful the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation was. He would also be able to gain some inkling at the Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realms.


    All of this information pretty much pointed in a single direction: Ryu wasn''t close to the pinnacle of talent in this place. In fact, he was probably a match for Fifth and Sixth Heaven talent at best, and that was only if he took his time to fully unlock them.


    In fact, it could be said that the only reason Ryu had such great battle prowess even here was because of his Dao. But, in that way, there was also good news.


    One''s Dao was maybe the most important of the Six Pillars. This was why Ryu was confident in his progress into the future. So long as his Dao continued to progress and reach toward perfection, he wouldn''t have to fear anyone.


    But, there would eventually come a point where he met someone who maybe had a Dao that was slightly inferior to his own, but Talent that surpassed him by an immeasurably large distance. When that day came, what would he do exactly?


    Just thinking about it made Ryu''s blood boil, not with rage, but with excitement. He wanted to hurry up and get out of here, he wanted to see what the world looked like from that peak after climbing up himself.


    That said, Ryu wasn''t completely helpless in the talent department. There was still the final Pillar, his soul.


    The Perfect Blackbody was categorized as an Ancestral Grade talent, but this was only because it was also a growth type, not much unlike Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    In reality, its potential was at the very peak of soul talents and would be no weaker than a Ninth Origin Grade Soul Talent so long as Ryu allowed it to flourish properly.


    The only unfortunate part was that it required his other talents to be great. For example, his soul''s ability to infinitely grow within any given cultivation Realm was actually dependent on the strength of his body. Likewise, what Soul Natures it could form was dependent on what treasures and comprehensions Ryu fed it.


    However, Ryu wasn''t worried about this in the slightest. Right now, he was feeling quite inspired.


    Right now, he truly wanted to see what the Heavenly Path had in store for him. He wanted this pressure on his shoulders to get heavier. He wanted to experience what it felt like to be those geniuses below, to reach the limit of his potential and be forced to break through his cocoon or die.


    Ryu didn''t even realize that as he walked, the ground beneath his feet cracked and the air around him rippled wildly. Even the gravity around him itself twisted and bent, growing a hundredfold.


    In a far off distance, in a piece of Existence maybe even Origin Sky Gods couldn''t reach personally, Ryu''s Fate Star sat, still just as completely still as always.


    But at that moment, it trembled.


    The instant it did, its gorgeous silvery gaseous body suddenly earned thousands of chains lashing across its body.


    These chains appeared from nowhere and also slowly faded when the trembling ceased.


    Ryu was completely unaware of this, however his insatiable desire didn''t fade in the slightest.


    In his first life, he never looked toward his Fate Star because he was scared of what he would see.


    In this life, he didn''t look toward it because he simply didn''t care what it had to say.


    These shackles, no matter how many there were, he would shatter them all.


    Selheira, who had wanted to greet Ryu, suddenly chose against doing so. She could tell that this war, despite it only being the beginning, had truly agitated him. The Ryu she was meeting right now exuded an endless eagerness, an undying will to conquer everything in his path.

 Chapter 1021 Just The Same

    Ryu didn''t bother with anything else and simply entered his Immortal Cave within the Inner Disciple sector of the Sect. Once he was inside, he entered the golden moon world and stood in silence.


    The white grass was soft against the soles of his feet and the moon above was particularly beautiful.


    Ryu opened his palms and his great swordstaffs flew from his back and into his palms. One by one, he went through his chosen Dao Charm techniques.


    Until now, he hadn''t gotten a chance to try them out as he had placed most of his focus on forging in the last month. But now, he finally had time.


    The snap and crackling of Ryu''s bones resounded one after another, the fracturing all too obvious and the sound of his shattering Dao being even more obvious. But the Ryu of now couldn''t be compared to the Ryu of the past.


    Before, the Dao Charm technique''s backlash was especially bad because his body was, quite frankly, weak. However, after recultivation of the Pulse Tempering Realm, the sturdiness of his body couldn''t be compared to the past.


    Whereas before a single forced circulation would have caused him to be unable to walk or move, as of now, they only caused small fractures that were quickly healed thanks to his Bone Structure and Flowing Frost Yin Water.


    Ryu''s healing factor was on a level most couldn''t comprehend. Healing had always been one of the four main aspects of his Ice Jade Crystal Body, while his Ice Phoenix Talent allowed him to take the oppressive cold of his Yin Water and turn it into just as much Life Qi.


    While Ryu couldn''t withstand the full strength of Flowing Frost''s Yin Water and much of it was sealed, it was impossible to ever have too much Life Qi. Life Qi could be considered to be right behind Essence in terms of how docile and easily absorbed it was.


    Thanks to this, despite being in the Immortal Ring Realm, Ryu had a healing factor that could put even more Sky Gods to shame. In fact, unlike most at his cultivation level, he could heal from strikes from even Perfect Sky Gods.


    It had to be remembered that the more powerful the individual that harmed you, the more difficult it was to heal from. Higher forms of qi were difficult to dispel for those at lower levels, and that was especially true when the enemy was a Sky God.


    This was why it was so difficult for Ryu to heal from the Phoenix Sky God''s retaliation against him for trying to reconnect with his original Spiritual Foundation. If it wasn''t for him unlocking that legendary ability of his Heavenly Pupils, maybe only his Rebirth could have healed him.


    But now, this shouldn''t be too much of a problem. After all, Flowing Frost was a Perfect Sky God and her Yin Water was, likewise, at that level as well. This meant that the amount of Life Qi within Ryu was of astronomical proportions and the stronger his body became, the more of it he could tap into at once.


    Of course, this was all just theoretical. Who cared if he could heal from the strike of a Perfect Sky God if such a strike would instant kill him to begin with?


    What was important was so long as he could withstand it, even those who wielded Cosmic Qi shouldn''t think of harming Ryu indefinitely.


    Likewise, when working with the backlash of Heaven Grade Dao Charm techniques and their Daos, Ryu was even quicker to heal. This made him even faster than before at comprehending what he needed to. He didn''t need to take breaks, he could simply brute force it, forcing his own Dao to incrementally increase in strength with every step.


    Of course, it also had to be acknowledged that Ryu''s Dao was now much more powerful than the last time he had gone all out to learn Dao Charm techniques.


    Not only had he formed a Hegemonic Dao, whereas previously he had a Dominion Dao, his Dao had also strengthened from the First Immortal Grade to the Second Immortal Grade, and was now only a small step away from the Third Immortal Grade.


    The Second Immortal Grade was absolutely perfect for learning Heaven Grade techniques as it was the equivalent Grade to the Path Extinction Realm, which was the Realm that allowed you a chance at learning the strongest Heaven Grade techniques there were.


    These two factors made Ryu''s speed faster.


    After forming a Hegemonic Dao, Ryu had taken only two months to go from Initial Success to Complete Success in [Thirteen Soaring Azures], [Roaring Sky Serpent] and [Whispering Petals].


    For context, it had taken him three months just to reach Small Success in all of them with a Dominion Dao. In addition, it also had to be understood that each subsequent step was an enormous leap forward. The gap between Small Success and Complete Success was thousands of times larger than the leap between Initial and Small Success, yet Ryu had completed it in less time!


    Now, Ryu not only didn''t need to pause to deal with waiting for his injuries to heal, he also had a much stronger Dao.


    It only took Ryu a single day to reach Initial Success in all seven Dao Charm techniques. A week later, he had reached Small Success in them all and could even seamlessly switch between them all.


    In addition, it had to be remembered that because his Great Swordstaffs were personally forged by himself, he could display the might of Great Success in all seven of them. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that with this, Ryu''s strength hadn''t just increased by a fold or two, maybe even five folds wasn''t enough to describe it properly.


    However, even with such rapid improvement, Ryu didn''t feel that itchiness in his heart going away.


    He wanted to fight, to fight someone who could make his blood boil.


    If he knew that Old Wan had robbed him of this chance, he would probably react just the same way as Aika.

 Chapter 1022 Maybe

    The war outside was still raging on but Ryu had no intention of stepping into it again unless he was called upon. It was all so boring and uninteresting to him at this point. In fact, he felt quite some jealousy toward the disciples currently fighting with their lives on the lines.


    ''At this point, I should be ready to recultivate at least the Divine Vessel Realm.''


    With his Dao having improved, Ryu felt that his control and comprehension should be deep enough to reproduce the effects he wanted in the Earth Grade, which also meant that he would be able to do the Connecting Heaven Realm as well.


    He was approaching perfection. Once he caught up, he would finally be able to break into the Path Extinction Realm and hopefully, finally and truly, break free of the shackles that perpetually hung over his Inheritances, shackles that kept forcing them to fall back down to the Ruler Realm.


    In just his short time in the True Martial World, Ryu had actually broken through several more times. He had experienced six or seven breakthroughs in each back in Sacrum, but he had experienced many times that in the True Martial World.


    This made sense. After all, the laws here were far more complete. As such, even with the passive observation of Ryu''s Dao, grasping inklings to break through the Ruler Realm was all too easy.


    Right now, Ryu''s Dao was too far beyond the Ruler Realm. The Ruler Realm was considered to be the very start of the Immortal Inheritances, which meant that it was the equivalent to the Immortal Ring Realm.


    When you looked at things like this, it didn''t seem that Ryu was far beyond it, so why were things like this?


    Ultimately, it was because Ryu''s Inheritances couldn''t match up to the Hegemonic Dao level.


    While Ryu''s Inheritances could form Birthed Phenomena in Sacrum, they could not do so in the True Martial World. As a result, it was all too easy for Ryu''s Dao to see through their flaws and improve them.


    With each breakthrough and collapse, Ryu''s Inheritances became much stronger. By now, he had experienced over 30 breakthroughs, each one harder than the last, but he was slowly closing in on what he felt was some sort of perfection.


    One Ryu could form a Birthed Phenomena in the True Martial World, he felt that this would be the signal that he had succeeded. But for now, he felt that he was still a ways away from that.


    By activating his eight trigram diagram, Ryu could see through it with some degree of certainty. Right now, he felt like he was about 50-60% of the way there. But, each breakthrough wasn''t created equal. Some might push him forward two or even three percent, but some others would only give him a fraction of a percent.


    With things like this, it could take Ryu anywhere from 10 or so more breakthroughs, to upward of more than double the number he already had now.


    At this point, Ryu felt that this was very purposeful. It was obviously happening for a reason. The Ruler Realm was probably the last Inheritance Realm that could allow this as it was the stage before it truly solidified into a domain.


    As before, he felt that there were only two possible explanations. Either his Spiritual Foundation or his Meridians. Before, he had become certain that it was his Meridians, but quite frankly, he wasn''t so sure anymore. He was confused about it and not quite sure how to take things from here. That said, there was something he had to cling onto.


    In the past, when he had entered the Path Extinction Realm, his breakthroughs had finally been allowed to burst forth. This seemed to point to the fact that it was his Meridians holding him back.


    Knowing this was curious because it likely meant that this was part of the secret to the truth behind what it took to have a perfect breakthrough into the Path Extinction Realm.


    It had to be remembered that the Path Extinction Realm was a Realm where Inheritances took center stage, at least in Sacrum. In the True Martial World, it was both Daos and Inheritances, or sometimes one or the other, depending on the situation.


    Ryu paused, his eyes narrowed.


    Beads of sweat fell from his brow and he held his great swordstaffs out from his body.


    During the Path Extinction Realm, one needed to take their comprehensions and shatter them. This could be considered to be the first true test of immortality. Only by rebuilding and reaffirming your comprehensions would you be able to survive the "Extinctions".


    Ryu had done a lot of research about this, after all, it was the next Realm he would step into and he had already decided to do so with the [Refinement Sutra] which had its own unique methods.


    But when things were laid out like this, the Path Extinction Realm sounded eerily similar to what Ryu was already experiencing. The only difference was that in the Path Extinction Realm, you didn''t have to ''breakthrough'', you only had to rebuild what you already had. Your comprehensions would entirely vanish, and only by rebuilding them could you be blessed by the Heavens and progress.


    The process was more involved than this, but the details didn''t actually matter. What Ryu was more interested in was why these things felt so similar.


    ''Wait, maybe the details do matter¡­''


    Whenever one felt that they had accumulated enough to begin an Extinction, they would enter seclusion. Upon doing this, one would enter a Pseudo State of Meditation that could be considered the closest most would get to the real thing in their lifetimes.


    This was less important, but what caused Ryu to pause was that when one entered this state, their minds and bodies would enter a different Plane.


    The Planes of Existence were four in total, or rather, that was what Ryu had thought before he learned of the Chaos Plane. So, in reality, there were five¡­


    The Chaos Plane, The Real Plane, The Ethereal Plane, The Nether Plane, and finally, the Plane Ryu had found his Realm Heart in, the Abyssal Plane.


    Although Ryu hadn''t known of the existence of the Chaos Plane before, he still felt that the most mysterious of the Planes was the Abyssal Plane. It was this Plane that new worlds were birthed from and thus the other Planes would sprout and grow, and it was the Plane Fate Stars and even Spiritual Foundations called home. And¡­ it was also this Plane that one''s consciousness had to enter in the Path Extinction Realm.


    Entering this Plane allowed one''s body to enter a state of limbo and shatter one''s comprehension without backlash.


    Thinking to this point, Ryu couldn''t help but wonder. Could it be that since his Meridians were connected to the Chaos Plane this was the next unique breakthrough his Chaotic Silk Meridians required?


    Maybe the oddity was related to a difference between breaking through using the Abyssal Plane and breaking through using the Chaos Plane?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It was definitely a possibility. But how could he test it?


    Just as Ryu was thinking, he was alerted to someone calling for him outside of his Immortal Abode.


    He stepped out, drenched in sweat to find Selheira.


    His torso rippled powerfully as he hadn''t bothered to cover himself up.


    Despite this, Selheira didn''t seem to react weirdly and only kept the same gentle smile.


    "There''s been a few changes on the battlefield that you might be interested in."


    "Oh?" Ryu nodded. "Okay, I will go, then."


    Ryu stepped past Selheira. He held one of his Great Swordstaffs in one hand and hopped on the other before shooting into the skies.


    Maybe only those with Ryu''s confidence would jump right into battle barefoot and shirtless.

 Chapter 1023 Spiritual Ore Vein

    Ryu soared through the skies and appeared over the battlefield in just a few seconds.


    With a sweep of his Spiritual Sense, he found much of what he expected. The ground had been dyed red and the number of corpses outnumbered the trees. It was a devastating sort of sight that carried none of the beauty the forest once had.


    However, there was an odd aura in the air.


    ''Oh?''


    Ryu''s brows raised.


    The blood of cultivators was quite valuable. When this much of it was spilt, it was quite likely that this region would become quite amazing in the future, at least in terms of the kind of Spiritual Herbs that grew here. The bodies and blood of cultivators were simply excellent fertilizers.


    Given the situation here, even though those that had died here were all below the Sky God Realm, it was still enough for quite a few high level herbs to grow over the next few decades to centuries. It was also due to this timeline, though, that most couldn''t be bothered to worry about this currently, especially since it would only be a boon for whoever could win this war in the first place.


    However, there were other circumstances where this could cause a more immediate and shocking change, and that was if the resources present here were great enough to begin with and just needed a small push to evolve to a new level.


    What Ryu hadn''t known was that their Sect had actually landed on maybe the most valuable piece of land the Metal Work Sect had, whether by coincidence or not. And this valuable piece of land held their most important ore deposit.


    Not only was this ore valuable to use in the making of weapons, but the Sect also relied on it to cultivate their preeminent technique and the one they were most well known for, the [Metal Work Mantra].


    This unique metal could have its essence infused into their bodies and could be used to directly temper themselves. It was an exceptionally difficult process, and its practice was part of the reason those of this Sect all shared a similarly brutish kind of personality as it took a certain kind of madman to submit themselves to such a thing.


    What was interesting, though, was that it was the very same characteristics that allowed this so-called Metal Work Spiritual Ore to be absorbed by the disciples of the Metal Work Sect that also allowed it to absorb blood itself.


    The sudden influx of blood allowed the ore vein to push past a certain level of evolution that it had reached and transcend to an all new level, increasing its value by tens of times at the very least.


    It had to be known that this Ore was valuable for the Metal Work Sect even into the Sky God Realms, although ores that valuable were rare within vein, they did exist, and now that the entire vein had been triggered to evolve, these ores had touched upon a transcendent level of value, especially for the Second Heaven.


    It had to be known that at these low levels, even Heaven and Mystical Grade resources were especially rare. The best of these Ores could be considered to be at this Mystical Grade.


    One might wonder, then, how could they be useful to Sky Gods of this Heaven? But it also had to be remembered that not all Sky Gods were created equal.


    The Sky Gods of the Second Heaven had all been astounding geniuses of their Era, but they were still mostly Heaven Class talents. To them, Mystical Grade resources were still very much useful.


    What was truly fascinating, though, was that this was only part of Ryu''s deductions. From what he could see, some sort of source had opened up and one of the greatest secrets of the Metal Work Sect had been exposed. From what it looked like, the origin of this special metal wasn''t so simple.


    The triggering of the ore veins'' evolution caused changes deep below the Sect to be exposed.


    ''I see, it should be something similar to a Legacy World, but not quite. It also manifests like a Ruin, but also not quite. It feels more like the closed cultivation grounds of an expert, so it''s much different. Their Dao, or the comprehension of their Dao, should be what triggered the formation of this Spiritual Ore Vein. They couldn''t be bothered to deal with the aftermath, so they just directly left after they were done. How interesting¡­''


    Ryu was able to see through all of these things with a glance, his deductive abilities being at a completely different level. Just by reading the flow of energies and using his Dao to peer into the secret of things, not to mention his own skill as a Ruin Master, he could guess at many things.


    Likewise, he could tell that the Metal Work Sect would be far more antsy now even in comparison to the past.


    "Kill all of them on sight!"


    As though on cue, several booming voices sounded and just as many auras locked onto him.


    The battle on the surface had lessened, but this was only likely because the battle underground had taken its place. Clearly these individuals were here to make sure that the Radiant Star Sect didn''t interfere, but judging by the fact that there were still no Sky Gods amongst them, it must mean that the elders of the Radiant Star Sect had already interfered. If not for this, there was no way the Sky Gods of the Metal Work Sect wouldn''t have acted by now.


    Ryu raised his head, seeing several Dao Pedestal Realm experts surging toward him in full force.


    Clearly, these disciples had only just returned and hadn''t been there during the time Ryu had been fighting. Many of the Metal Work Sect disciples had been returning in droves after receiving a signal that their Sect was in danger.


    To these people, all they saw was an Immortal Ring Realm expert who overestimated themselves.


    If they took a moment to realize that Ryu was using a flying sword, though, their reactions wouldn''t have been so foolish.

 Chapter 1024 Moths To A Flame

    Ryu casually opened up a palm to the sky, causing his unused great swordstaff to shoot from his back and into his hands.


    Just as unmoved, he raised his blade into the air, his expression placid.


    [Rising Crimson].


    At that moment, a huge surge of qi began to surge in from the surroundings. The commotion was so great that even the flying treasures of the Dao Pedestal Realm experts almost spun out of control, their formations dimming.


    Just as casually, Ryu''s arm swung down and the world was suffused with a curtain of crimson.


    By the time everything cleared, there was nothing other than fluttering ash in the air, not a single sign of the previously roaring Dao Pedestal Realm expert was left to be seen.


    Ryu shook his head. It seemed that he was a bit too eager. Using such a powerful saber technique on these people was too much, especially since he didn''t hold back and used it to the Great Success level right off the bat. It was clearly overkill.


    However, he had wanted to see what kind of power it held. Only by understanding yourself could you understand others.


    When he fought that Earth Class Inheritor Disciple, he hadn''t been pushed to his limits, but he wasn''t far from them. He hadn''t brought out his most powerful attack, which was the fusion of [Thirteen Soaring Azures] and [Roaring Sky Serpent]. And, he hadn''t used his Soul Technique, which was probably his strongest trump card at this point. At least, it was the strongest trump card he could use out in the open.


    Back then, Ryu felt that he could probably climb at least one more tier of strength if he truly went all out, without using the talents he couldn''t expose.


    Of course, his greatest reliance wasn''t his talents, but rather, his Dao. This was the true reason he could jump so many cultivation levels. Even when he just used it passively, it was an enormous boost to his strength. But it could be considered to be activated, at least in part, all the time.


    Now, his strength had taken another massive leap forward and he wanted to know where his limits lied. But it seemed that these enemies were too weak to test that.


    Ryu landed on the ground, feeling the crimson soil beneath his feet.


    What he was lacking most right now was defense. Who knew, maybe this opportunity would give him something interesting.


    Since he was following his own path in all things, he didn''t really feel like using Eska''s Immortal Sakura anymore. If there was any Visualization he would focus on, it would be the Silver Star left by that mysterious Ancestor. It had a lot of secrets he had yet to delve into and it seemed to be high level even for the True Martial World.


    In Ryu''s estimation, this mysterious Ancestor had likely made quite a name for himself here and Ryu didn''t mind taking advantage.


    Ryu wasn''t opposed to using the work of others. After all, it was only thanks to his Master that he could follow this path in the first place. He wasn''t so obstinate.


    But after seeing the kind of strength fusing his own unique path into one could bring, it was all he ever thought about. So, if he could self create something, he would prefer to take that path if it could be helped.


    ''There¡­''


    Ryu''s figure flickered, pushing [Whispering Petals] to an extreme. He felt like he was already just a hair away from the Great Circle of Perfection, but this small step felt like a huge chasm to cross.


    Ryu soon found an entrance carved into the ground. It was definitely a new establishment as the previous entrances had been collapsed by the appearance of the Radiant Star Sect.


    Without hesitation, he stepped inside.


    The first thing Ryu noticed was that because the tunnels were fresh and hastily constructed, there was simply no way for him to even think of using his great swordstaffs, at least not as freely as he normally would. And, in such a place, especially with such low vision and winding corners, the strengths of his bow were fairly useless as well.


    However, Ryu didn''t mind this as he stepped forward anyway. That said, he still made a mental note to add some close combat measures to his arsenal. He wouldn''t always be in a situation where weapons were a viable choice, and there might even be some situations where he wouldn''t even have a chance to draw his weapon to begin with.


    Ryu didn''t see much of anything for the first while. It turned out that most people were fairly deep, likely looking for what secrets this expert had left behind. Even if that individual hadn''t cared much about what was here, given how much wider their scope was, even what they disregarded would be quite valuable.


    Ryu''s hands grasped out and a strong surge of radiant blue lightning formed. Sparks flew and grew like a tempest until he activated his Lightning God Talent and formed them both into what looked like solid blue daggers.


    All the while, his steps didn''t pause for even a moment, his casual actions carrying with them an air of dominance.


    The moment he rounded a corner, he struck out, piercing someone through the neck and causing their body to erupt into a pile of ash, his lightning destroying them from the inside out.


    As Ryu was focused on traveling deeper into the tunnels, careful all the while because he was well aware that such a closed cultivation ground must be filled with formations and traps to deal with the potential of interruption, news of these events began to spread through the Second Heaven.


    The war itself was the headliner, but news of the changes to the Spiritual Ore Vein began to leak out.


    At a moment like this one where all the youths of the Second Heaven were looking for tempering opportunities, this event caused them to become like moths to a flame.


    The Metal Work Sect didn''t have the prestige to make these individuals not dare to act, and the Radiant Star Sect most definitely did not.


    A surging tide made their way toward a single location.

 Chapter 1025 Time

    Ryu''s movements were swift and yet somehow unhurried. If there were individuals here to observe him, they would see a young man that looked as though he was taking leisurely steps, and yet crossing impossibly vast distances with every step.


    Those that might have a chance to observe him, though, quickly found that there were ripped from them.


    Ryu completely embodied the nature of his twin daggers, his body moving like the wind and his intentions being akin to lingering shadows. Flashes of lightning were all these individuals saw before their bodies fell into a rain of ash, unable to hold onto their lives.


    Although Ryu moved quickly, he was actually being extremely cautious. There wasn''t an inch that he stepped upon that didn''t first withstand the scanning of his soul. However, he quickly found that many of the potential issues he ran into had been forcibly broken by others already.


    In truth, after so many years, the threat levels of this place had deteriorated greatly. And, it was also likely that whichever individual laid these formations to begin with had first taken away much of their strength.


    Although this individual had left behind things that were no longer of use to them, logically speaking, any formation they had laid that would be capable of protecting them from enemies had to have been constructed of extraordinary items. Knowing that, Ryu had already come to understand that the most dangerous parts of these defenses had long since been ripped away.


    Some fools might believe that they were really getting a good deal here, but they were exactly that, fools. If there was really some supreme treasure lingering in wait in this place, would these protective formations be able to be broken apart by the likes of these people?


    Anything worth doing was difficult, and anything worth taking would be dangerous. It was just that simple and these were how things in the martial world worked.


    Still, though Ryu was aware of this, he had still come here. The first reason was mostly to temper himself, but the second reason was that for those with insights and talent like him, this sort of place might be even more valuable than a Legacy World or a Ruin might be.


    A location where a supreme expert spent an extended period of time cultivating in closed door was akin to a treasure trove not because of what might physically be left behind, but precisely because of the things that couldn''t be seen clearly with the naked eye.


    Just standing by Elder Aika''s breakthrough had allowed Ryu to step from the initial stages of the Second Immortal Dao to the very peak. Even now, he just needed a small impetus to push through, something that probably should have taken him months of effort, at the very least.


    While his Dao was far more powerful than almost anyone he would meet below the Seventh Heaven, and even more than enough to compare with the absolute geniuses of the Seventh and Eighth Heavens, it was also far more difficult to progress in.


    One of the main reasons he wanted to enter the Second Heaven as quickly as possible was because its laws were more complete than the First Heaven, and as such, he would have a better chance at progressing.


    However, his interaction with Elder Aika had enlightened him to another potential method, and that was to rely on those with far higher comprehensions than himself. Whatever lingering and residual energies there were in this place was bound to have profound insights and might even form some phenomena that could be observed.


    This place had been sealed for so long, and there was definitely a strong accumulation of energy. When the evolution was triggered, there would definitely be some powerful Dao insights to observe. However, only those with strong comprehension would have a chance at understanding what was left behind, of that, Ryu was certain, and it was also because of this that he found the efforts the others made, digging deep for treasures, to be so disdainful.


    Rather than breaking through these formations one by one, they should be taking their time to observe them and understand the kind of person this mysterious individual was. Maybe then they''d be able to gain an inkling that would help them once they reached the former core of this formation.


    Ryu''s steps came to a pause and he turned, pressing his hand against a wall.


    There was a strong presence on the other side here, and it was potentially a former core of the larger formation. Whoever dug this tunnel was just lucky enough to miss it, digging around it and being off by about two meters. If the tunnel was started two meters to the right instead, that individual, and whoever was in here, would have died without knowing what happened to them.


    To Ryu, though, this was perfect.


    Despite his confidence in himself, he too wanted to take his time to comprehend this formation before he reached the core. Only by doing this would he maximize his chances.


    Little Silk floated silently on Ryu''s shoulder, watching with a flicker of interest in her little eyes.


    She was quite eager as well, but not for the same reasons as Ryu. After all, to her, the stronger Ryu was, the more powerful beasts they would be able to target in the future, and the more powerful she would become.


    A Sovereign Grade beast like her was an excellent trump card to have especially since she wouldn''t experience any bottleneck all the way up to the World Sea Realm.


    ''I see, fascinating. This senior even infused their Dao into their protective formation. This would be a lot like what I would have to do to use the [Refinement Sutra] on my soul most optimally¡­''


    Ryu removed his hand, his expression flickering. After a moment, he shot away, looking for another node.


    Now that he had found one, finding more would be even easier. Soon, he would be able to form a map of the surroundings in his head.


    While everyone else was rushing to get to the core as fast as possible, he took his time.

 Chapter 1026 Standoff

    Many of the nodes Ryu ran into were damaged and incomplete, disallowing him to get a full picture. But the more he observed, the more fascinated he became.


    After running into his 13th formation node, Ryu stopped for a long while, his expression calm and his breathing entering a rhythmic cadence.


    It was a shame. If his Heavenly Pupils weren''t sealed, he would be able to enter the States of Meditation with ease and this process would become even faster. However, he still had the Frost Clan''s ring to rely on, at the very least.


    With a thought, Ryu''s palm flipped over and his blue steel lightning dagger vanished in place of a hovering ball of white. This ball of white was none other than a Formation Node formed of qi, but it wasn''t any normal Formation Node. In fact, this was the Visualization of one of the Zu Ancestors, Morvar.


    Morvar''s Visualization allowed the one using it to form their Formation Nodes using their Spiritual Qi instead of utilizing precious items or Feng Shui. This allowed the quick deployment of large scale formation so long as you had the stamina to withstand it.


    The issue with Morvar''s Visualization when applied to the True Martial World, though, was that it was too weak. It was incomplete and it didn''t have the necessary foundational firmness to create formations that would be helpful to Ryu, and it also wasn''t constructed with the formation principles of the True Martial World in mind.


    Just looking at this hidden expert''s abilities, the scope and intent was like night and day.


    For example, this formation was such that just the residual impacts of it were capable of forming a Spiritual Ore Vein of such a large scale. If Ryu cared about the wealth here, just digging into these walls might grant him enough resources to build his own Sect.


    Secondly, this individual was able to infuse their Dao understanding into the Formation itself, which was what resulted in the formation of the ore vein to begin with. This alone was on a completely different in comparison to Morvar.


    But there was a third and even more curious matter. This formation didn''t rely on too many external resources or formation flags, at least not in these outer reaches. However, these formation nodes were still here and persisted even after so long.


    The only explanation was that this region relied of Feng Shui to accomplish their goals, but if that was true, why was it forming natural resources instead of the other way around?


    Usually, Feng Shui relied on the atmosphere in the surroundings to form the effects it wanted. It didn''t create energy, it directed, redirected, and controlled energy that already existed. This was why when Ryu was forging his weapons, he had to plant very specific Spiritual Herbs and allow the environment to undergo a form of Terraforming before he could begin the forging process.


    But here, it happened in reverse. The expert lay the formation, and then the Spiritual Ore Vein appeared, whereas it should have been the opposite.


    This was another all too obvious sign of just how high level this individual''s attainments in formations were.


    It was also possible that this person invited an expert to help them, but Ryu felt like it was unlikely.


    Still, not that that actually mattered to him, at least not now. He had found something far more interesting.


    Fusing one''s Dao with your Formation Nodes, what a fascinating concept, and it wasn''t all that far from something that Ryu had already done.


    Using the eight trigram diagram, Ryu created a formation that used his Dao as the Core and his Inheritances as the pillar. The more powerful he became, the more powerful the formation became. This could be considered to be a very similar concept, but altogether different at the same time.


    The huge difference lay in the fact that Ryu was locked into just a single formation while this individual had access to the creation of a whole host of formations that were compatible with their Daos.


    From what Ryu could see, this Dao was greatly defensive in nature. Although Ryu couldn''t see through any more secrets, at least not with the small bits of fragments he had managed to see until now, this was all he needed to know. Of course such a person would be confident in laying defensive formations to protect themselves in seclusion if this was the case.


    But what about Ryu?


    The eight trigram diagram was both the simplest formation in all of existence and the most complex depending on how you look at things. At its core, it represented the very world itself. Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Life and Heaven. Together, these eight pillars represented all things and it was also the foundation from which all other formations were birthed.


    If Ryu used his eight trigram diagram as the pillars and Morvar''s Visualization as the foundation, or even the vice versa, wouldn''t he be able to transcend the weaknesses of this Formation Node hovering above his palm?


    Ryu opened his eyes. ''This could work, but I need to see more.''


    Ryu crushed the Visualization in his palm with a squeeze of his fist and flashed and vanished once more. He wanted to observe more formation nodes to get a stronger grasp of what was going on here. There might even be something intangible that he was missing to take that final step.


    ¡­


    As Ryu rushed about the tunnels and even began to create some of his own, the first of the new arrivals came.


    The Bewitching Charm Sect, the Wallowing Wisp Sect and the Dew Drop Sect all appeared at once. In fact, the moment they did, a sort of standoff began in the air.


    These three Sects were the closest to the Metal Work Sect and it wasn''t too much of a surprise that they were the first to arrive, and even the weakest of them was a Core Disciple well into the Dao Pedestal Realm.

 Chapter 1027 Bewitching Charm

    "Aantha, you''re looking as ravishing as ever. Have you come here today because you''ve agreed to be my Dao Companion?"


    Aantha, an Inheritor Disciples of the Bewitching Charm Sect, smiled when she heard this, a tempting sort of blush lighting her skin. It didn''t seem like the kind of blush a woman would have when she was embarrassed and shy, but rather one that showed off a glow of sexual excitement as though she was imagining what agreeing to such a request would mean.


    The man who spoke, Brune of the Wallowing Wisp Sect, yet another Inheritor Disciple, couldn''t help but feel an excitement light up his lower belly. However, he was also quite used to clashing with these bewitching women, so he knew exactly what such a faint excitement meant.


    "Sure, Brune. Why don''t you follow me back to my Sect? We can forget about these treasures, what good are they in the face of boundless pleasure?"


    Brune smiled a devilishly handsome smile, his green eyes dancing with a hidden light.


    "Why don''t you come back to my Sect, instead? It can''t be that Goddess Aantha wants me to marry into your family, right?"


    "And what is the problem with that? Am I not tempting enough for you?" Aantha pouted, her eyes becoming somewhat misty.


    Brune, despite being prepared, still gulped.


    This woman was far too tempting. Despite what one might expect, she wasn''t dressed provocatively at all outside of the seemingly boundless mounds of tender flesh that graced her chest. But considering how endowed she was in this aspect, such assets would be all too prominent regardless of what she wore.


    However, even so, her figure was too fiery, her gaze too alluring, and her voice seemed capable of tickling the soul with a gentle rush of words.


    Her skin was too perfect, carrying a gorgeous caramel color that didn''t carry even the slightest hint of blemish. Still, all those that saw it couldn''t help but think of the true nature of the Sect when they saw such a scene.


    It was said that the maidens of the Bewitching Charm Sect bathed every sunrise and sunset in the blood of virgin women. It was also said that this cultivation method helped them to absorb the charm and grace of these women, causing the sight one would see before them.


    Not only did they have the charm of demonesses that had graced the beds of many men and had the skills to back it up, they also maintained a youthful air of innocence and shyness. The combination of these two things was absolutely lethal to any male.


    If not for the fact that Brune was an astounding talent in his own right, he would have already fallen into the clutches of this vixen. In fact, if he thought it was possible, against his better judgment, he might have already fallen for her advances. However, talents on his level were constantly warned by their Sect leaders.


    The reality was that all of these women were virgins. This wasn''t because they had to be for their cultivation methods, but rather because they received the greatest pleasure from their cultivation method itself.


    The blush on Aantha''s face right this moment was faked, she was truly feeling sexually aroused. Whenever she circulated her cultivation method, it would feel as though expert hands were gliding all across her body. Her nipples would grow tight and a not so subtle moistness would grace that treasured region between her legs.


    When the women of the Bewitching Charm Sect fought, they would all do so in a state of arousal and they would climax every time they killed an enemy and basked in their blood.


    That was right. Although they were called the Bewitching Charm Sect, the truth was that they didn''t bask in the pleasure of the flesh¡­ Or at the very least, not the pleasure of their own flesh. Instead, they relished in killing and slaughter.


    They were all mad women.


    If Brune truly returned with her, the result would likely be him fighting an all out battle of life and death in her "bedroom" where he would either win and subsequently be killed by one of her sisters, or he would lose his life and Aantha would spend the night in absolute ecstasy.


    To Aantha, the more powerful the man she faced, the more excited she got. And, the more excited she became, the faster her cultivation and comprehensions would progress.


    This was the way of the Bewitching Charm Sect.


    "We''ve wasted enough time here."


    At this moment, a cold voice called out. Everyone couldn''t help but turn to a woman with an expression as cold as ice. But shockingly enough, this woman who was as cold as ice was actually following the entourage of the Bewitching Charm Sect.


    Her beauty felt almost surreal, as though she had walked out of a painting rather than having been birthed like everyone else. This kind of beauty was one that should only bloom from flowers and only be touched by the purest of the morning''s dew.


    This woman was yet another Inheritor Disciple of the Bewitching Charm Sect, Mae. Compared to the constant blushing faces of her fellow sisters, she seemed completely unaffected by it all, standing at an untouchable realm all to her own.


    "I agree with Fairy Mae."


    The final group''s representative, Xan of the Dew Drop Sect, spoke lightly. The sword strapped to his back trembled as though it too was eager to hurry forward.


    Of course, despite their name, the Dew Drop Sect was actually a sword Sect, and a supremely powerful one at that, standing at the threshold to the True Two Star faction ranks.


    "Let''s enter then. We''re a bit late, and it''s better to hurry than lag behind."


    The group turned toward the entrance and tacitly agreed to take the same path. At least this way, if they came across something valuable, they would simply fight it out right here. This would lessen the variables.


    Everyone hoped that they would be the lucky ones to choose the right path, but what were the odds of that? It was far better to mitigate risk and take this approach. That way, if one got lucky, they would all get "lucky". If no one found anything, then none would find anything.

 Chapter 1028 Dao Pieces

    Ryu continued to travel.


    In the beginning, he took his time. He killed those he came across and slowly observed each and every node. Eventually, he even had to start carving out his own tunnels to get nearer to nodes that were too far away from the paths, but even this didn''t make him hurry.


    The picture he had in his mind of the formation only grew clearer, and his comprehensions deepened with passing time.


    Ryu''s wrist suddenly flared out to the side. Without even opening his eyes, he caused a blue steel dagger to beam through the air, piercing the chest of his target in the blink of an eye.


    Lightning wildly flared and danced, crushing this individual in body and soul.


    ''This should be enough, I understand now.''


    This expert used an ingenious method. Essentially, they created their own foundational formation, stripping it of all of its complexity until it could mimic a Fundamental Rune. However, fundamentally, this rudimentary formation would still be exactly that, a Formation.


    This so-called Rudimentary Formation represented the essence of this individual''s Dao distilled down to the greatest and simplest concentration. It was essentially like the creation of a Dao Charm technique, but many times more difficult.


    The Dao Charm techniques Ryu used now were all fairly weak. This didn''t just represent the fact that they were of the Heaven Grade, but rather the Daos used as their foundation specifically. But if they were any more powerful, the idea of making them any weaker would be impossible.


    For example, the current Ryu couldn''t imagine forming his Hegemonic Dao into a Heaven Grade technique, the difficulty was too high, and ironically, his comprehension wasn''t high enough.


    In Ryu''s estimation, if he wanted to create a Heaven Grade technique with his own Dao as the "Charm", he would need to bring it to at least the Fragmented Dao level first.


    Back when Ryu first faced the Working Disciples of the Hidden Blade Sect, they had immediately assumed that he had a Fragmented Dao because they couldn''t fathom the idea of a Dominion Dao. It was only after more observation that they realized Ryu must be the latter and not the former.


    Essentially, the more complex and powerful the Dao, the higher level of attainments within it one must reach in order to simplify it.


    Right now, Ryu was in an odd situation. His Dao was too powerful to make a technique suitable for himself, but too weak to form a higher level technique. Thus, he could only use it as his Dao and nothing else.


    Although, of course, this wasn''t a bad thing. A so-called Dao Charm technique would always be weaker than the actual Dao. What others would call Dao Charm techniques, the actual owners of the Dao would call Dao Manipulation methods.


    Dao Manipulation methods could only be used by those who had actually grasped the Dao itself and not just a small or simplified aspect of it. It was instead Dao Manipulation methods that would be distilled into Dao Charm techniques.


    However, that was a matter for a different time. Dao Manipulation methods could only be used by Sky Gods and Ryu wasn''t nearly ready enough to start thinking about such things.


    All of this was just to illustrate just how impressive what this individual had done.


    Ryu''s scope of understanding was far deeper now than it had been in the past. After several hours of observation, he had already concluded that this individual''s Dao was at the Dynastic Dao level. Although this was three levels beneath Ryu''s own, when it came to the power of the Dao, it was definitely far beyond Ryu''s.


    For this individual to be able to distill their Dynastic Dao down to a level comparable to a Fundamental Rune was even more complicated than creating a Common Grade Dao Charm technique.


    The more simplified the Dao Charm technique, the more difficult it was to create. And the more complex the Dao, the more difficult it was to simplify.


    The difficulty of creating these formation nodes from a Dynastic Dao was far more difficult than if Ryu wanted to form a Mystical Grade or Ancestral Grade technique with his own Dao. It might just barely be comparable to if Ryu wanted to make a Heaven Grade technique with his Dao.


    ''This is difficult, too difficult and well beyond my current self. It''s unfortunate, but it''s an idea that I might be able to explore in the future if it''s still worth it at the time.''


    Ryu didn''t feel too disappointed by this conclusion. He had still gained greatly. Now he could travel to the center of this quasi Ruin and see if he could use the knowledge he had gained here to get a leg up on everyone else.


    Ryu awoke from his meditative state and his figure flashed, approaching the deeper regions of the tunnels, his speed countless times faster than before. Now that he understood this formation, he had no need to be as cautious, and without the need to comprehend any more, he obviously didn''t need to pause his steps.


    ''It''s odd, though. Logically, anyone with such high comprehension abilities should have a Dao more powerful than a Dynastic Dao. Could it be that they lacked the inspiration¡­? Or?''


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed, thinking of a possibility.


    What if this individual only chose to use a small piece of their Dao?


    Ryu''s complete Dao was known as the Dividing Heaven Dao, this was the grand name he had chosen and if he even spoke these words aloud, it would be likely to trigger a tribulation. Even using the full power of his Dao caused the ire of the Heavens to descend.


    However, weren''t there two smaller parts of his Dao? Dividing Karma and Dividing Tribulation.


    He had comprehended these Daos individually before fusing them into one. Individually, they were weaker than the whole.


    What if this individual was the same, having multiple pieces to their Dao?


    It was an interesting thought and it seemed to have a chance at being true.


    Dividing Karma was Ryu''s comprehension of people and living beings. It was most useful when he was facing an enemy with their own thoughts and aspirations, and it was especially powerful when an enemy activated their Dao as he could use it to crush them even faster as his comprehension of them deepened.


    Dividing Tribulation was Ryu''s comprehension of things and physical objects, things that lacked a will of their own. It was this that he relied on to sever bolts of tribulation or quickly deepen his alchemy and blacksmithing skills.


    Together, they could encompass the whole of the Heavens. But each one was more useful than the other depending on the situation in question.


    If Ryu wanted to create portable formation nodes to improve Morvar''s Visualization, there was no doubt that Dividing Tribulation would be better, at least at lower levels. If he was powerful enough, Dividing Karma would allow the formation to adapt depending on who or what it was facing.


    ''Still, even alone, Dividing Karma and Dividing Tribulation was both exceedingly powerful and well beyond the Dynastic Dao level. They should probably also be Hegemonic Daos, although weaker than when they are fused into one.''


    Ryu thrust this matter to the back of his mind, allowing it to brew and stew. Maybe later on, he would think of how to use this information.


    Ryu''s footsteps suddenly came to a pause.


    The tunnels came to an end, opening up to a vast underground catacomb that was kilometers tall and hundreds of kilometers deep and wide.


    However, although there was nothing that could be seen in plain sight, an overwhelming danger tickled Ryu''s mind.


    "Oh, look? Didn''t we already kill everyone? Someone actually dared to appear? Didn''t he see all the corpses?"

 Chapter 1029 Amused

    Brune of the Wallowing Wisp Sect was the one to speak, however, Ryu didn''t look in his direction. Considering his Spiritual Sense, he had no need to. But even if he wasn''t blind, Ryu wasn''t the type of person to waste his effort on giving such people attention.


    He didn''t like banter. If someone pissed him off, he would directly kill them. If he couldn''t directly kill them, he wouldn''t pay attention to them.


    Unfortunately, there were two issues stopping him from taking the former path.


    The first was that these individuals were all at the World Sea Realm. It was clear that by now, the true pinnacle disciples of these Sects were making their way back. All of these individuals had status similar to Jenneless. Meaning, they were all Heaven Class geniuses with World Sea Realm cultivation.


    At this moment, Ryu calculated his limits to be about the Half-Step World Sea Realm Earth Class level. If it was Heaven Class, he should be able to match up to someone at the Lower or Middle Cosmic Seed Realm levels. The leap into the World Sea Realm was truly too large, at least when the targets of observation were these individuals.


    The Cosmic Seed Realm was the Realm where one planted their comprehensions into their formed Dao Pedestals, while the World Sea Realm was where these seeds bloomed and shattered your Dao Pedestals into a vast sea.


    The people of the First and Second Heaven had piss poor Daos in Ryu''s estimation, so their Cosmic Seed Realm experts weren''t very powerful. As such, he could still leap across those gaps.


    However, the World Sea Realm was the Realm where one gained full access to their Spiritual Foundation as it would go from a solid state to a liquid state, making its energy usable.


    Due to this, there was an enormous gap between the Cosmic Seed Realm and the World Sea Realm, especially in lower Heavens like this one.


    Back in Sacrum, the gap wasn''t so exaggerated because anyone who could make it to these Realms were all extraordinary, and that went for their Inheritances as well. But here, it was different.


    It was all a matter of relativity.


    Of course, Ryu was aware of all of these matters and he had also already seen all of the corpses as well. But he had still come. The likes of these people wouldn''t make him take a step back.


    His life was on the line? Good. He liked it that way.


    Seeing that Ryu directly ignored him, Brune was actually more amused than anything else. Of course, this was because it only took a moment of observation for him to realize that Ryu was blind. In addition, in a place like this one, no one dared to casually spread out their Spiritual Sense for fear of triggering one of the hidden mechanisms, so he might not even be able to precisely lock onto their location.


    "Look at that, Brune, you were actually ignored," Aantha spoke coquettishly, her voice carrying a heavy sensual air.


    Brune laughed. "It can''t be helped, he''s blind. He probably stumbled into this place by accident. Look at his cultivation, I doubt he came here on purpose."


    Seeing Brune''s light mood, the rest also seemed to become amused. After killing their way here, they thought that things would be easy, but they immediately found themselves dancing on an edge between life and death. Who could have known that making it here was the easy part?


    There was one person among them, though, that wasn''t laughing, and that was a new addition to the three Sects that had just arrived, Farroth of the Metal Work Sect.


    Farroth was an Inheritor Disciple that had just returned after receiving a summons from his Sect. Previously, he had been out exploring. But he came back to find his Sect half in ruins and embroiled in war. To make matters worse, these other Sects had sent their own Inheritor disciples and they had even slaughtered many of his own disciple brothers on their path here.


    The so-called "everyone" Brune had referred to when he mentioned how many they had killed did include a large number of loose cultivators or disciples of other Sects that happened to be in the area, but there was no doubt that a large number of them were Metal Work Sect disciples.


    How could Farroth not be unhappy?


    That said, the truth behind his silence now was very different.


    "Farroth, is there a need to keep pouting like this? I''ve already said that I''m sorry, I really couldn''t afford to not be cautious so I accidentally killed some of your fellow disciples," Aantha said while licking her lips.


    Despite her words, it seemed like she was still reminiscing about the rush.


    Farroth snorted coldly, but didn''t say a single word.


    The truth was that he actually recognized Ryu, this was a man who had killed one of their Inheritor Disciples despite being at the Immortal Ring Realm. He had had half a mind to warn these people, but once he remembered that they had slaughtered the disciples of his Metal Work Sect, he chose to remain silent. Since these people wanted to use this opportunity to weaken his Sect, he would return the favor. He could only hope that Ryu wasn''t so weak.


    Not all Inheritor Disciples were created equal.


    In Sacrum, becoming an Inheritor Disciple meant that you would likely become the next Sect Master, but in the True Martial World, it was a touch different. While being an Inheritor Disciple could mean this, it also carried other meanings.


    For example, the Radiant Star Sect had Seven Peaks that represented Seven Inheritances. Each one would need a new Peak Lord and as such needed Inheritors. Likewise, there were exceptionally important positions that would need to be filled when the older generation retired such as positions of Grand Elder or a position like the Head of the Disciplinary Hall.


    Inheritor Disciples were essentially the individuals that would take up these high level roles in a Sect once they were ready. As a result, there could sometimes be large differences between Inheritor Disciples, and it was even possible to be demoted from Inheritor Disciple back to Core Disciple.


    As such, Farroth didn''t actually fear Ryu, but he hoped that Ryu would be able to give him a surprise regardless. His position was too sensitive to use to kill these precious disciples of other Sects as it would only make the position of his Metal Work Sect worse. But if Ryu was able to kill them, this would mean that there might even be some that came to help their Metal Work Sect expel the Radiant Star Sect and kill them down to their last man.


    As he saw it, it was a win-win.


    The other disciples laughed when they saw Farroth''s reaction and didn''t mind it too much, only the cold faced Fairy Mae gave Farroth a second glance before turning away, her gaze just as cold as ever.


    At that moment, Ryu suddenly took a step forward, and then another.


    He couldn''t be bothered with the conversations of these people. All this time, he had been observing the catacombs and scanning the region from top to bottom.


    Others didn''t dare to stretch out their Spiritual Sense so wantonly, but he most certainly did. These collapsed restrictions, left in haggard pieces, had no shot at sensing his Void Spiritual Sense. As such, he could be as cavalier as he wanted, so long as he was cautious about his actual steps.


    In truth, this region near the edge was already a great spot for meditation, but Ryu knew that deeper within, the results would be even better.


    After just a few silent minutes, he felt that he had already mapped out all the pitfalls in this region and could begin to move forward.


    Brune blinked when he saw this before he started chuckling to himself again. Didn''t this Immortal Ring Realm brat see that even they were being cautious? Even after a while, the deepest they had gotten was a few dozen meters. At this pace, it would take them a couple years to reach the core, but none of them minded this too much.


    It wasn''t easy to find opportunities to temper themselves. Usually, the main issue would be not having enough of such opportunities. They weren''t as lucky as the higher Heavens, having many ruins and legacies to explore.


    They all understood this very well. Being at the World Sea Realm, they were already near the end of the potential of the Second Heaven where even False Sky Gods stood at the very top. There simply weren''t that many opportunities to improve.


    Now that they had found one, why would they care about a couple years?


    However, the smile on Brune''s face froze after Ryu turned and took his fifth step, then a sixth and seventh.


    In just a few seconds, Ryu had traveled a distance forward further than any one of them.


    The gazes of the geniuses flashed with a cold intent.

 Chapter 1030 Condensed Energy

    The catacombs were seemingly entirely empty without a hint of danger to be seen. But, taking even a single wrong step could cause one to be blasted to death.


    Until now, none of them had died. But the same wasn''t the case for those that had come before them. Yet, there weren''t even corpses left behind. One could tell just how devastating this place could be once something was accidentally triggered.


    The geniuses suddenly found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.


    Ryu continued stepping forward, his speed remaining calm and even, but still crossed two to three meters with every step. In fact, he didn''t even seem to be hesitating in his movements.


    By the time he had made it almost a hundred meters deep, the others realized that there was no coincidence at all. Somehow, this Immortal Ring Realm expert had actually been able to see through something they could not.


    They had heard that blind cultivators tended to have far greater sensitivity to certain things than others, but this was the first time they were experiencing it for themselves.


    But how could they know that this had little to do with Ryu''s blindness and personal talent, and almost everything to do with his prior preparation? While all of these so-called geniuses were rushing here at their fastest possible speed, he had taken his time to observe and understand things. Now, in just a few seconds, he had already surpassed them.


    "Follow his steps."


    This was the decision they all made immediately. However, this wasn''t so easy to do.


    As cultivators, their memories were immaculate, so memorizing what Ryu was doing wasn''t the problem. The main issue was that they all had different starting points. If they had been right next to Ryu, they would have likely already acted to kill him. But they had come from a separate entrance. In fact, because Ryu had carved a lot of his own path, he had formed his own entryway.


    If they wanted to follow him, they would first have to find a way to carve a path that met with the path Ryu was taking, only then could they follow after him.


    Clearly, Ryu knew of this as well, which was why he didn''t even bother with trying to hide his attempt, not that he could. At their speed, it would probably take them at least several days to converge with his path. By then, he would have already long since made it to the core region.


    Realizing this, and seeing Ryu getting further and further away, an anxiousness began to grow in their hearts.


    "Hey, kid! How about you wait patiently for us to catch up, then we can all head down together."


    Brune spoke with the same cheery tone in his voice, but it was clear this was much less of a suggestion and more of a threat. Anyone with half a brain could sense the underlying meaning. Ultimately, they would catch up with Ryu.


    This place was only a few dozen kilometers long. Although they didn''t dare to use their Spiritual Sense to lock onto Ryu''s movements, they could still follow his steps forward with their eyes. With their cultivation, seeing such a distance was more than easy, it was simple beyond belief.


    This all meant that it wasn''t a matter of if they would catch up to Ryu, but when. And when they did, he obviously wouldn''t have the combat prowess necessary to match up to them. By then, he would pay.


    Unless, that is, he obediently waited for them now. In that case, they just might give him a path to live.


    Ryu, who hadn''t even glanced in their direction until now, suddenly turned back.


    "Trash."


    The single word stunned Brune into silence. He, who was very used to putting up a smiling front no matter the situation, finally met something he couldn''t even properly react to. Never in his wildest imagination did he think that an Immortal Ring Realm brat would dare to talk to him like this.


    Ryu turned away and flashed forward several more steps, his pace seemingly only getting faster.


    He activated [Whispering Petals], his steps becoming ethereal and difficult to track. In those moments, it looked as though he was stepping in three to four different locations at once, his movements only becoming more impossible to follow with each passing moment.


    If they could use their Spiritual Sense, with their cultivation, it wouldn''t be impossible to see through what Ryu was doing. But being restricted in such a way, their expressions became incomparably ugly. They couldn''t even spare the time to try to catch up. Each and every one of them became laser focused on Ryu''s feet, trying to make out illusions from reality.


    It only took several minutes before Ryu came to a stop. But by then, he was in the center of the formation and basked in the most concentrated energies. Without looking back again, he sat down cross legged, his hair fluttering slightly as he entered a state of meditation, seemingly not worried about anyone behind him.


    Arrogance. Pure and unbridled arrogance. He didn''t even deign them worthy of his attention.


    Brune regained his bearings after a long while, chuckling a dark laugh. He couldn''t remember ever being humiliated like this in his lifetime.


    He took a step forward and a flash of light suddenly assaulted him from all sides. However, his long black hair reacted, whipped out like vines and shattered the attacks one by one. Then, he took another step forward.


    While he couldn''t find a path of least resistance like Ryu could, what he could do was find paths with triggers that were within his ability to narrow. If he didn''t worry about stamina consumption and only focused on getting onto the path Ryu had used, he would move much faster.


    The others took the same path as Brune, wishing to move as quickly as possible.


    Farroth''s expression flickered and he too followed. But no one seemed to notice that his pace was actually a touch slower than the others. This wouldn''t matter much in the beginning, but as the days waned, the gap would become more obvious. This was exactly what he wanted.


    ¡­


    Ryu truly couldn''t be bothered with the people to his back. The moment he had entered the central region, all of the danger vanished into thin air and there was nothing but a thick and complex qi permeating the atmosphere.


    Below Ryu, there was a complex vein of Spiritual Ore, while above him, there was a slowly condensing drop of liquid. The process of the latter was so slow that only a single drop fell for about every hour, but every time it did so, it would be immediately absorbed by the ore beneath him.


    Although the liquid was no longer crimson, Ryu knew immediately that this was the blood of the fallen disciples. It had fallen through the earth and condensed into a clear liquid that held nothing but boundless vitality.


    This purified blood was then absorbed by the ore below, making it the most valuable part of this region. At least, it was the most valuable physical object. This Ore was actually on the verge of becoming an Ancestral Grade material. If those geniuses could see this, they would already begin salivating.


    Still, Ryu was focused on something entirely different.


    This was a region that a supreme expert had entered closed door cultivation in. All of the energies that had been circulating around here had been of the highest degree. As a result, this location was akin to basking in the presence of a much higher Heaven. Although Ryu had never personally been to any higher Heavens, he felt that this place should, at the very least, be similar in quality to the Fourth Heaven, and that was a conservative estimate.


    In addition, thanks to the locking abilities of the lingering protective formations, this place had managed to keep much of these energies under lock and key. It was only after the evolution of the ore vein was suddenly triggered that the disruption caused the leakage.


    Now, Ryu was able to benefit from this directly.


    Ryu wanted to progress his Dao as quickly as possible as it was his greatest reliance. But being stuck in lower heavens were like shackles on his body. How could he comprehend something if it was in such lower quantity and quality?


    Luckily, he stumbled onto this place.


    Ryu fell into silence, his focus only growing with every moment as he allowed the hours and eventually days to tick by.


    The geniuses approached closer and closer, but Ryu didn''t seem to notice them at all, having entered a state of absolute immersion.


    And then, it happened.


    CRACK!


    Ryu''s Dao foundation cracked and then shattered, but then it just as quickly reformed. This happened again and again, causing the hearts of those that heard the sounds to tremble, their own Daos quaking in agitation.


    And then, Ryu''s aura flourished, a wild energy shooting out from himself in all directions until it suddenly receded like a tide, retracting into his body.


    Ryu''s eyes shot open, a breath leaving his lips.


    He had broken through his limits. His Dao was now at the Third Immortal Dao level, a realm equivalent to the Dao Pedestal Realm, and a level only Cosmic Seed Realm geniuses would be able to touch.


    This level¡­ This level was the very one that most Heaven Class geniuses of the World Sea Realm were stuck at. Ryu had gotten exactly what he came here for. Now there would be little stopping him from recultivating to the Immortal Ring Realm.

 Chapter 1031 A Move

    The rush of energy settled down, but the Spiritual Ore Vein beneath Ryu was a different matter entirely. In fact, it seemed as though Ryu''s breakthrough had shifted the balance, causing the vein which had been on the verge of the Ancestral Grade to break past its barriers.


    Ryu watched this scene quite calmly. With the wealth of the Frost Clan, he didn''t actually need the wealth that was current beneath his feet. However¡­


    ''It''s probably best if most don''t know where my wealth truly originates from. If I can make some purchases with this ore, that would be ideal.''


    The youths that were rushing in Ryu''s direction had no idea what his thoughts were. All they could see was that Ryu who had been sitting idly for several days suddenly began to make a move on the very item they had been eyeing all this time.


    What they didn''t know without the use of the Spiritual Sense was that what Ryu invisibly took away was even more valuable than what he took under their naked eyes, and that was the presence of the energy in the air.


    This energy was too valuable to Ryu and he didn''t want it to dissipate any further. Luckily, he had a small world on his finger that could take this energy in.


    After years of being in the First Heaven, the Frost Clan''s ring had already lost the air of the Sixth Heaven that it had once had. But with this, it would gain the air of the Fourth Heaven and should be able to sustain it for a few years at least with minimal leakage.


    This way, Ryu would be able to train in seclusion as though he was on the Fourth Heaven, allowing his speed to be much faster. This would be especially beneficial for his Dao.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs carved into the ground. He seemed to be able to "see" the shape of the vein. His movements were fluid and quick.


    Usually, the difficult part of mining wasn''t the earth, but rather the ore itself. There was no doubt that even the most ordinary of Spiritual Ore Veins would be far tougher than the earth they took root in. Due to this, it would take a lot of trial and error on the part of a miner to track the path of the Ore and dig around it.


    Unfortunately, Spiritual Sense was very weak in traveling through earth, and even weaker when activated near Spiritual Ore Veins which had their own protective measures. Just the same way that Spiritual Herbs could hide from the detection of Spiritual Sense and one often had to physically lay their eyes upon it to detect them, such was the case for Spiritual Ore Veins as well.


    However, Ryu didn''t have normal Spiritual Sense. His Void Spiritual Sense was also weakened in the face of earth or barriers, but it suffered much less in comparison to other Spiritual Senses. In addition, although Spiritual Ore Veins could also hide from his Void Spiritual Sense, what it couldn''t do was hide from his Dao.


    If Ryu used his Spiritual Sense and Dao in tandem, he could see through the illusions and tricks these Spiritual Ores used to hide themselves and detect their outline. Like this, he could dodge the physical defenses as well and only cut around the vulnerable and much softer earth.


    In just a few minutes, the head of the Spiritual Ore Vein was revealed.


    It exuded a beautiful bronze-red color, shimmering light rubies from certain angles, and like brass from others. Together, it made the scene look somewhat holy despite the fact it required the sacrifice of thousands of disciples for it to reach such a state. There was simply nothing holy about the origins of this Spiritual ore Vein.


    ''It''s quite deep,'' Ryu thought to himself, ''it seems that taking it all away will be impossible. But I can definitely take the most valuable part of it away. This should sell for a huge sum.''


    Ryu forgot about taking all of it away and focused on taking the Vein Core and the Ancestral Grade Ore away.


    "HA!"


    He released a low roar, his body''s strength surging and his pair of swords swinging down again and again with a menacing light.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s Dao originally birthed from comprehensions of the sword. Though the word Dividing had many connotations and applications in his Dao, it had originally grown from a desire to sever and cut!


    Everywhere Ryu''s great swordstaffs passed, he perfectly cleaved the ore, his arms moving like lightning and his blades like death''s scythe.


    ? "STOP!"


    The roars came from several of the youths who had put so much effort into reaching this place over the last few days, but how could Ryu be bothered to care?


    While Ryu was meditating and improving his Dao, the others thought he was waiting for the vein to finish maturing. And now that he had suddenly acted, they were even more certain.


    Cultivators were too useless without their Spiritual Sense. Because they didn''t dare to use theirs in this place, they couldn''t sense the flow of qi and understand the details of what was happening, they could only make guesses.


    As such, they had no idea that Ryu had broken through in his Dao, they just assumed that the surge of energy was caused by the evolution of the vein. And now, their precious vein was being taken away from Ryu.


    However, how could Ryu give a damn about their words? He didn''t pause for a single moment, his arms continuing to swing.


    And then, a large portion of the Spiritual Ore Vein vanished as the first of the youths rushed into the safe zone Ryu had been carefreely cultivating in.


    The first was none other than Brune whose perpetual smile had long since vanished.


    His hair flared out and balls of light surrounded him. He seemed to have completely forgotten that Ryu was an Immortal Ring Realm expert as he attacked with all his strength.

 Chapter 1032 Retracing

    Strands of hair blotted out the skies like beams of radiant white light.


    The Willowing Wisp Sect was one that focused on light elemental qi and area control techniques, but this Brune seemed to have a unique Bone Structure that allowed him to use the hairs on his head as support. This was quite a rare ability, and even looked quite silly in Ryu''s estimation, but the level of control it took to control each individual fiber of hair wasn''t something that could be underestimated.


    There were an innumerable number of paths to follow in cultivation, and unfortunately, the level of the silliness didn''t always coincide with weakness. In fact, they could often be the most dangerous to face.


    In a moment, Brune had taken control of the entire region, his hair becoming like a net that covered all paths of retreat.


    Ryu lightly tapped his foot and dodged out of the first barrage. It was as though he didn''t take the speed seriously at all despite the fact that this was maybe the greatest advantage Brune''s hair had.


    With light steps, Ryu danced around Brune''s attempts to attack him, his expression placid and unmoved. By the third time he did so, Brune''s expression finally became solemn as he realized something. The only way for Ryu''s movements to be so profound was if he had a movement Dao Charm technique.


    When he thought of this, Brune''s heart couldn''t help but shudder.


    If he had used his Spiritual Sense, he could have noticed this immediately. But realizing like this only made him more solemn.


    Movement techniques could be considered among the very hardest types of Dao Charm technique to master, maybe only Soul Type Dao Charm techniques were more difficult. For an Immortal Ring Realm expert to not only have mastered one, but to have even done so with one capable of dodging his attempts at locking him down was far too frightening.


    Ryu lightly stepped and his body suddenly vanished, a breath of relief releasing from his body as though his pores themselves were breathing. But in reality, that was exactly what was happening.


    Ryu''s speed more than doubled and his agility alone seemed to increase at least tenfold. He knew then that he had crossed Complete Success and entered Great Circle of Perfection. If Complete Success could use 100%, then Great Circle of Perfection went beyond, but due to this, everyone had a different method of doing so.


    Ryu''s Bone Structure allowed him to use his pores to absorb qi unlike everyone else who could only use their mouths and noses. Upon reaching Great Circle of Perfection, [Whispering Petals] seemed to have tapped into this ability of his with wind types qis. Essentially, almost like a vehicle with multiple propulsion units, Ryu was no longer just using his legs to change direction, but his skin itself could push and pull against the atmosphere, allowing his agility to reach an untouchable level.


    Facing opponents who didn''t dare to use their Spiritual Sense, Ryu didn''t bother to try and mask this. With a tap of his foot he vanished, appearing to Brune''s back in the blink of an eye.


    "Overestimating yourself," Ryu said coolly.


    A needle of blue steel formed in Ryu''s palm and he flicked his fingers.


    Arcs of radiant blue lightning sparked before concentrating into a single point and flying toward Brune''s back with a speed even greater than Ryu''s own.


    A powerful sense of danger overwhelmed Brune and he immediately forgot about chasing after Ryu.


    He spun with all his speed, facing the coming needle with a solemn expression as he sent his hair forward like a net to bind it.


    At that moment, the other youths caught up and stepped into the safe zone, but by then, Leonel had already stepped out of it, taking a completely different path out.


    "Wait! Where are you going?! Don''t you want to play with big sis?!"


    Aantha took a different approach from the others, but Ryu couldn''t even be bothered to look back.


    Inwardly, though, Ryu shook his head. His Dao Heart was strong enough to ignore Aantha''s charm technique, but his blood still rolled through his body. It seemed that as his Bloodlines grew stronger, their drawbacks were rearing their ugly heads again.


    Aantha pouted when she saw that Ryu ignored her. Her charming eyes couldn''t help but focus on the chiseled definition of his back, licking her lips involuntarily. Ryu''s scent was particularly good, she wondered just how refreshing it would feel to bathe in his blood.


    Usually, she only bathed in the blood of virgin women and had never tried a man''s blood before as it might hinder rather than help her cultivation. But Ryu''s scent was just too tempting, so she wanted to try it out anyway.


    Finally, the last of them, Farroth of the Metal Work Sect caught up. But like this other, he could only watch as Ryu rushed away.


    "Dammit!"


    Brune finally managed to stop the charge of lightning, his hair smoking as though it had been set on fire.


    Without a word to anyone else, he charged back out of the path they had come from. Even if Ryu had taken a different path, so what? Now that he was familiar with the path, he would be able to exit in a few seconds. By then, where would Ryu run?!


    The youths exchanged glances but ended up completely ignoring Brune and looking toward the gaping mined hole before them.


    So what if Ryu took the Ancestral Grade piece, weren''t there still large amounts of Mystical Grade Ore here? After they finished mining all they could, it wouldn''t be too late to fight Brune for the piece of Ore he snatched back from Ryu.


    Brune noticed their actions but he only sneered in his heart. After he took the ore for himself, would it really be so easy to force him to cough it back up? They were daydreaming!


    He burst forward with speed, retracing his previous steps.

 Chapter 1033 Restrained Growth

    Ryu shot out from a tunnel in the ground, but he almost immediately stopped running.


    He landed atop a branch, one of the very few that still remained intact after the initial phase of the war. Considering how sparse the forest was right this moment, it provided no concealment whatsoever and it would only take Brune a single sweep of his eyes to find him.


    BANG!


    A towering pillar of earth and soil shot into the skies before raining down. In its midst, the shadow of Brune could just barely be seen.


    Seeing such a scene with his Spiritual Sense, Ryu sneered inwardly. He couldn''t help but think that this idiot was truly lucky,


    Clearly, Brune had lost his patience and didn''t want to rush through the winding tunnels he had originally taken to reach the surface. But rushing through the earth like that, although it wasn''t as dangerous as the core region, was still very dangerous. If this idiot had run into a node of the formation, he would have died before he even realized what had happened. By then, Ryu''s efforts in waiting for him would have been a waste.


    If Ryu had wanted to run, he could have already entered the Radiant Star Sect. By then, even Brune wouldn''t casually dare to enter for fear of alerting a Sky God.


    Even beyond that, had Ryu just wanted an easy kill, he could have made use of the core region. Considering that he was the only one who could navigate it with ease, he could also make clever use of it to kill Brune before he even understood what happened as well.


    But instead, not only had Ryu left the ground he had the greatest advantage on, he also waited for Brune to come out. His goal was already clear.


    Brune rushed for Ryu as the latter spread out his arms and opened his palms. With a flash, Ryu''s great swordstaffs zoomed out from his back, entering his hands like a clap of thunder.


    BANG!


    Ryu activated [Magnetic Blade], a defensive Dao Charm sword stance. In that moment, it felt as though the one with a net of qi around him was himself rather than Brune. With every movement of his sword, the surging tide of hair Brune had used to attack were attracted to his blade and ripped to pieces.


    For a moment, everything went silent, and in the next instant, the crisscrossing of blades blotted out the skies, shaving down Brune''s hair until it went from hundreds of meters long to no more than a few inches from his scalp.


    Brune was caught off guard by the sudden change, but Ryu had already shot forward.


    Brune''s expression warped and his palm flipped over to reveal a bow. He plucked at his rapidly regrowing hair with one and, forming it into a shimmering arrow of white light that he shot toward Ryu.


    The sound barrier shattered, the arrow reaching Ryu in no more than a breath of time. However, Ryu, who shouldn''t have been able to maneuver in the air, lightly tapped at the wind, his position shifting and his blade rising into the skies.


    [Rising Crimson].


    Ryu''s saber qi rushed forward like a tsunami, an impossibly tall tempest causing the skies to split and the earth to tremble.


    By this point, the two Sects rumbled and shook. A battle at the level of the World Sea Realm was enough to change the landscape of the Second Heaven, and the fact that two Sect with merely 20 kilometers between them were so close by made it inevitable that these vibrations would be felt.


    Such a distance between experts of this caliber might as well have been a single step away. There was no doubt that the Sects would be ravaged.


    Brune watched as the wall of qi surged toward him, his expression impossibly ugly. This was already the third Dao Charm technique Ryu had used in his presence, just what kind of monster was this exactly?!


    Releasing a roar, Brune no longer held back his own Dao. He realized that if he took Ryu too casually, he might really fall here. However, he didn''t feel fear in his heart. Such a genius, just what kind of secrets would be on their body?! Ryu himself might be more valuable than any Ancestral Grade material.


    Brune''s hair grew explosively in size. In a single blink, his hair was already ten times as long as when Ryu initially cut it, exuding an aura of countless arrows blotting out the skies, each and every one being coated with a tremendous sharpness.


    The sun was eclipsed and the only light left was light controlled by Brune.


    His Dao went by a Restrained Growth and it was a True Dao. His hair, his qi, his techniques, their growth were all controlled in the palm of his hands. Cutting off his hair? Who cared, he would just grow it back even faster and stronger than before.


    As Brune''s hair outshone the sun, his bowstring pulled back as well.


    TWANG!


    An arrow shot toward Ryu, but it, too, grew inside. From a small dot, it became hundreds of meters long and dozens of meters thick, rushing forward not to pierce Ryu through, but to crush him into minced meat.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    The arrow ripped into Ryu''s [Rising Crimson], the collision causing a wild tempest of qi and wind to shoot into the surroundings.


    The ground below collapsed into a crater that only grew with each passing moment and the skies above rumbled.


    At the same time, Brune''s net of hair encircled around Ryu, many of its strands being destroyed by the tempest of qi and wind, but it was persistent nonetheless, wrapping around back and piercing toward Ryu''s back.


    Ryu silently lamented his lack of a true defensive technique once again as his body flickered, dancing on the edge of life and death.


    BANG!


    Brune and Ryu''s attacks shattered into a rain of qi and Brune prepared to move forward with another attack, but Ryu''s great swordstaff had already raised for the same attack.


    [Rising Crimson].

 Chapter 1034 Unhappy

    In that moment, the wild surge of qi and wind suddenly vanished, sucked into Ryu''s strike as though the blade qi itself had formed an airtight vacuum.


    Brune''s eyes widened. It was only now that he realized that this was the true strength of [Rising Crimson]. The initial strike wasn''t even Ryu''s all out attempt.


    Brune roared, a radiant white light shooting out from him in all directions as a towering tree of light manifested around him. On the branches of this tree, delicately dancing wisps of white light formed, but of seemingly nine possible locations to fill, Brune had only filled up seven of them.


    Even so, the defenses of the tree were extraordinarily powerful.


    Light qi was considered to be a powerful and rare affinity, even Ryu didn''t have any affinity for it whatsoever, nor did he have an affinity for its counterpart, darkness. Higher level qis like this, especially ones not strapped down by the usual elements, had a great amount of versatility.


    The Wallowing Wisp Sect, however, seemed to hone in on area control and defense, and this allowed them to shine quite well.


    When Ryu''s attack landed, there was a resounded boom and Brune''s defenses quaked. But it still held strong, not showing any signs of collapsing.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed, the runes in his eyes lighting up with an eerie ancient green color as he began to pour out more and more of his strength. It seemed that this battle would be a good one.


    He rushed forward.


    ¡­


    Brune and Ryu continuously clashed in the air. Brune had no ability to lock Ryu down due to the latter''s exceptional movement prowess, while Ryu seemed completely unable to truly harm Brune.


    There was once in their battle when Ryu caught Brune off guard using the full brunt of Dividing Heaven to find the weakness in his defenses and split them in two, but aside from a mild injury that could be considered to be in between a flesh wound and a lethal blow, Brune was just fine.


    At the same time, Ryu couldn''t afford to make such mistakes himself. He didn''t have the strength or defenses of a World Sea Realm expert without relying on his Dao, but his Dao didn''t have any natural defensive properties as its foundation was offensive.


    Still, Ryu danced between the line of life and death, his intent blazing and his heart remaining unmoved. He read and reacted as the situation dictated, and while never clashing with Brune head on, he still gave the latter fits.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Raging cyclones of fire and arcs of lightning surrounded Ryu, the Fire and Thunder characters in his eyes pulsing with a blinding light that matched even Brune''s manifestations in brightness.


    Sweat beaded down his body and coated his exposed torso, but he seemed to only be intent on battling more.


    Time ticked by and minutes became hours. By this point, the individuals who had come to spectate had grown numb. None of them could imagine how it was that an Immortal Ring Realm expert could possibly battle with a World Sea Realm expert to this extent.


    However, it was bound to come to an end.


    At that moment, the youths who had been mining the rest of the ores rushed out, their eyes wide when they realized that the battle was still ongoing.


    Originally, their first intention had been to intercept Brune on his way back to his Sect. Everyone knew that Xan of the Dew Drop Sect had by far the fastest movement treasure among them so it was impossible for Brune to hope to escape.


    But what they hadn''t expected was for Brune to actually still be here, and to be battling to a stalemate with an Immortal Ring Realm boy.


    On one side, Ryu was drenched in sweat and some faint lines of blood from wounds that had long since healed. Brune, however, was clearly much less tired, but his wounds hadn''t healed and were actually more severe.


    When both things were taken into account, they actually seemed to be fairly even, something none of them could properly fathom.


    Ryu was a bit unhappy when he saw that the others had come out. He knew this meant that he wouldn''t be able to continue this battle and it left him feeling not a small bit disappointed. It was especially hard for him to find a single opponent he could go all out against. Although, he still hadn''t used any Soul Techniques.


    Ryu stopped attacking, his arms lowering and his fingers barely holding on to the heft of his great swordstaffs.


    He took a deep breath and exhaled. It seemed that he would just have to go and digest his accumulations. Then he would finish re-cultivating the Divine Vessel, Connecting Heaven, and Immortal Ring Realms. By then, even if all of these people came at him together, he wouldn''t have anything to fear.


    Ryu didn''t look in the direction of these people and simply let one of his great swordstaffs slip to his feet while the other hovered to his back.


    The expressions of the others changed.


    "Stop him!"


    Surprisingly, though, Brune didn''t make any attempt to. He was the one that had been fighting Ryu for so many hours, and that was enough to leave him with a deep impression. Rushing to deal with a person like him would only lead to your death.


    SHUUU!


    Ryu shot into the air, his straight line speed reaching a ridiculous level. In the blink of an eye, he had already reached the entrance of the Radiant Star Sect and he still hadn''t bothered to look back.


    Xan''s body was suddenly wrapped in a light and he shot forward, his speed even faster than Ryu''s. In fact, he was so much faster that as Ryu was about to cross the barrier of the Sect, he had appeared to his back.


    However, at that moment, a graceful figure appeared to Ryu''s side and stretched out a dainty palm.


    BANG!


    Xan flew back out even faster than he had come, clearing the horizon in the blink of an eye.


    [Important Author''s Note below]

 Chapter 1035 Satiate

    Selheira''s gown fluttered as she slowly lowered her hand. As her veil danced in the wind, she truly looked like a fairy, her presence causing the waning light of day to look just that much brighter.


    "I''m sorry, the Radiant Star Sect isn''t accepting any visitors at this time."


    Her voice was soothing and gentle. Despite the fact this was clearly an expulsion order, there was something about Selheira''s temperament that made it almost impossible to get mad. It was as though it would be blasphemous to even dare to speak to her in such a way.


    The Inheritor Disciple geniuses looked toward Selheira with a weary gaze. Xan wasn''t weak. In fact, other than Fairy Mae, he was probably the strongest one amongst them all. And yet, with just a single palm, he had been sent flying to a distance they couldn''t even see.


    Wasn''t the Radiant Star Sect supposed to be weak? How did they suddenly have an elder capable of raising them to the Second Heaven, an Inner Disciple capable of fighting against Inheritor Disciples, and a mysterious Inheritor Disciple that could defeat them with a single palm.


    What the hell was going on here?


    Selheira turned away from them and looked toward Ryu with a smile in her eyes. She looked him up and down before shaking her head.


    "You''re hungry, right? Come with me."


    Ryu raised a brow. This woman always seemed to understand his state and knew exactly what to do about it. She didn''t even mind the glances of the Inheritor Disciples to her back as she led Ryu away.


    Fairy Mae''s deathly cold expression wavered for a moment as her eyes narrowed into slits. Everyone else saw a gentle beauty, but she felt a great threat pressing down on her.


    Selheira seemed to have felt this as well and took double the notice of Mae, however this action only made the latter feel an even more stifling pressure.


    Selheira was well aware of her own unique physique. Most couldn''t see anything but a gentle woman, and that was the case even for Ryu. But this Fairy Mae had actually felt something different, and that was very curious.


    It was very rare, indeed, for such a thing to happen on the Second Heaven.


    ¡­


    Selheira led Ryu to the depths of the Radiant Star Sect this time. It turned out that Old Wan wasn''t so useless after all. While Ryu was out battling, the old man had taken it upon himself to gather a large amount of resources, of which, there were quite a number of Heaven Grade beast meat and even some Sovereign Grade.


    Thanks to Selheira, these resources were worked together into a large meal that Ryu swallowed down with great gusto. With the speed he was eating, Old Wan really wanted to make fun of him, but Ryu''s etiquette was simply too prim and proper. Despite the fact he was eating with such speed, one really couldn''t work up the courage to say anything about it.


    This time, the food didn''t end so quickly. And yet, Ryu just kept eating and eating. It seemed that he wouldn''t stop until there was truly nothing left.


    Realizing that he really had the capacity to continue, Selheira stood with a graceful smile and began to cook more meat.


    Old Wan could only watch speechlessly from the side. Although it hadn''t exactly been difficult for him to gather up this meat, he had thought that it would last at least a few years, but what the hell was this, exactly? He seemed to have realized that he had underestimated Ryu''s talent a bit too much. This was more than about just liking food, this had reached an inconceivable level.


    Ryu truly didn''t stop until all of Old Wan''s food was gone.


    His body radiated a wild, bestial aura that made it feel as though he had already assimilated every ounce of prestige the beast meat had once had. His bones crackled and popped, sounding as though thunder and the roars of dragons were rattling about inside of his body.


    Selheira''s gaze flickered, an odd feeling stirring up inside her. However, this feeling faded once Ryu''s body had properly adjusted itself.


    "Thank you," Ryu said lightly.


    Selheira smiled but didn''t say much to this. She didn''t seem to think that it was a very big deal at all.


    "Hey, hey. Where''s my thanks?"


    Ryu looked toward Old Wan. In truth, he didn''t really like this old man considering what happened during their first interaction. But it was still true that without him, Ryu would have a hard time satiating his hunger.


    Usually, Ryu had no choice but to rely on qi to sustain him, but for those with overbearing bloodlines, this wasn''t the best approach to take and it could even weaken your Vital Qi. Eating top quality food was, without a doubt, the best method.


    Although he didn''t like the old man, who looked more like a 20 year old, he had to admit that he still needed him.


    Still, Ryu was Ryu. When he "met" Old Wan''s gaze, he only nodded faintly and turned to leave. He had important things to do.


    Old Wan''s lip twitched and Grand Elder Samson almost fell out of his chair in laughter.


    "Little Ryu, come to me."


    Just as Ryu was about to leave, Elder Aika''s voice drifted over. As overbearing as she was, her voice directly boomed over the whole Sect and caused the mountain range to rumble.


    Old Wan shook his head. "Completely unladylike."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered but he still changed directions and went toward the voice. His figure flashed, appearing kilometers away in the blink of an eye.


    Soon, he had appeared in the deepest reaches of the Radiant Star Sect and not far from the location where he had initially met Old Wan.


    Ryu found Aika in the depths of the forest and within a foggy region that contained a small lake could be found. Currently, she was in the process of putting her hair up in a tight bun.

 Chapter 1036 Start With..

    Elder Aika seemed to have adjusted to her more youthful looks. After years of becoming accustomed to growing old, the sudden reversion to her young self had left her in an odd state of acting old and yet looking like a young woman. She had even kept several strands of white hair as well.


    She hadn''t changed much since the last time Ryu had seen her, wearing the same robes and such, and even still having her cane, but her demeanor was much more like that of a woman who was just beginning to mature. No, maybe it was more accurate to say that she looked like a woman wise beyond her years, while still maintaining a youthful air.


    For Ryu, this was quite a fascinating sight to see because he had never seen such a thing before. Even Eska, who had experienced something similar, had had time to adjust back to such a state long before she met Ryu because she had been stuck in her soul form for so long.


    "Ah, you''re here. As I said previous, I will teach you the core techniques of the Radiant Star Sect should you want to. If you don''t, that is fine as well. You can take the route Selheira did and simply take what is useful to you and ignore the rest. Regardless, you are already a disciple of my Radiant Star Sect, there''s no need to worry about the minor details."


    Ryu faintly nodded.


    He wasn''t opposed to learning the true teachings of the Radiant Star Sect. Due to the fact he practiced the [Refinement Sutra], he had room to maneuver down any path of his choosing so long as he kept the foundation relatively the same.


    For example, right this moment, Ryu''s meridians still have the characteristics of [Six Realm Opening] This meant that he had 12 miniature dantians within himself that could each store different types of qis.


    As he practiced the [Refinement Sutra] and progressed into the future, these characteristics would fade in strength, but they would always be there. After all, it was the foundation upon which Ryu began his cultivation journey to begin with, it wasn''t so easy to get rid of.


    However, whether or not these qis would be more useful than Ryu''s Chaos Qi and Promordial Chaos Qis was up in the air. It could be said that no qi in existence other than Essence and Primordial Qi could match up in this regard.


    But there was an obvious elephant in the room: whether it was his Chaos Qi or Primordial Chaos Qis, Ryu couldn''t use any of them. Right now, he was battling with normal qi blessed by his Heavenly Favor. If he wanted to boost its strength a bit more, he supplemented it with normal Fire Qi and Lightning Qi.


    When Ryu formed his blue steel weapons with his Lightning God Talent, he wasn''t using Tribulation Lightning, he was using normal lightning. The difference was akin to the gap between Heaven and Earth. But it truly couldn''t be helped.


    Until he had the strength to protect himself, it just wasn''t smart to expose himself too easily in these matters. So, having something like the Radiant Star Sect''s cultivation methods would be good if for nothing else other than to have some powerful qis under his wing that he could use without exposing himself to too much trouble.


    Also, if Ryu was correct, the Radiant Star Sect should be far more powerful than what it showed on the surface, so how could its inheritances be weak?


    "Mm, good." Aika nodded. "There are seven main Inheritances of the Sect, each one with a different approach to how they view the world. Speed, offense, defense, control, qi manipulation, recovery and soul.


    "These are the seven facets, and each is powerful in their own right, manipulating qi in their own way.


    "The doctrine I follow is qi manipulation. It gives us extraordinary control over our qi and its uses and functions. I have reached a level in attainment that allowed me to birth a Dao that takes this to an extreme. This is what truly powerful techniques can do. Although they will not give you something to drink, it will lead you to a spring and teach you how to find them.


    "Of these seven, you can choose as you please. I won''t care too much even if you take all seven, but be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Like I said, these techniques will pull you in their own respective directions. It would be difficult to follow all seven even if you only use them for reference."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Inwardly, he was a bit amused by Aika''s casualness. She didn''t even bother to name the techniques, just listing off what they were good for without much effort or thought. But this was also good for Ryu as well. It wasted less time and got right to the core of things.


    In truth, all seven intrigued him, but the one that he needed the most was, without a doubt, the defensive technique.


    When it came to speed, his [Whispering Petals] wouldn''t be lacking for a long while. When it came to offense he had learned a total of nine Dao Charm techniques to this point, each of which had great offensive output depending on how they were used. When it came to qi manipulation, his talent in it was beyond what most could imagine. When it came to recovery he had a Perfect Sky God''s recovery ability currently, and even beyond in most aspects. As for soul, he already had a technique he was proficient in.


    All this left was control and defense, of which the latter intrigued Ryu the most since the bow inherently had its own control abilities. After all, the most troublesome weapon to deal with from a distance was definitely the bow. Of the nine core weapons, it, without a doubt, had the stronger control abilities.


    Still, even with this being the case, Ryu was aware that he had a great number of weaknesses in all these aspects and it mostly boiled down to one matter: the techniques he had were far too weak.


    For example, Whispering Petals had already been brought to its maximum, but it couldn''t out run World Sea Realm experts. Ryu had to rely on his Dao and its predictive abilities to see through an opponent ahead of time and move accordingly.


    This was ultimately because Ryu''s combat prowess was too amazing. This ironically made a Heaven Grade Dao Charm technique lack in strength.


    When things were framed in this way, the only things he didn''t need to worry about were qi manipulation and recovery. That said, this didn''t make them a pressing problem. While [Whispering Petals] and his other Dao Charm techniques were a bit lacking considering his combat prowess, it wasn''t to the point that he had to deal with them immediately.


    Ultimately, Ryu knew that he would learn all seven eventually, but he still had to be smart with what he chose first. So, he made a decision.


    He would learn the defensive stance first. Then, he would learn the control stance. Once he finished these two, he would re-evaluate.


    "I will start with defense and control," Ryu finally said.


    "Mm, okay."


    Aika flipped a palm and sent two jades zooming toward Ryu.

 Chapter 1037 Perfect

    Ryu caught the two jades out of the air and turned to leave. It wasn''t long before he was once again in his Immortal Abode, standing upon the white grass of the gold moon world.


    Sitting in a meditation position, he looked toward the defensive art first, his mind entering a state of unprecedented focus.


    [Radiant Monument].


    The name of the technique entered Ryu''s mind almost instantly and the use of the art was quite straight forward. Manifest a monument, be protected, it didn''t get any simpler than that. But this was also to be expected. Defensive techniques were better the simpler they were. The more tweaks and tricks one had to use to execute a defense, the less reliable it would be. As such, a technique designed to be defensive couldn''t be too overly elaborate.


    What was interesting about this technique, though, was that these so-called Monuments could even be called Constellations. From Ryu''s understanding, the creator of this technique used the Constellations in the skies as reference for the creation of this technique.


    Ryu wasn''t familiar with any of these Constellations as they were staples of the True Martial World, but if he was correct, this wouldn''t be too bad of a way to rely on concepts of Faith that already exist to gain strength.


    What was fascinating about this technique, though, was that it seemed to use one''s own Fate Star as the core of resonance, forming a type of technique Ryu had simply never seen before. It felt like every time he learned something new in the True Martial World, it would baffle him.


    From everything Ryu had known until now, the Fate Star was nothing more than a faint representation of one''s destiny. The idea of using it in a cultivation technique never even crossed his mind, let alone using it in a fashion like this one.


    This was also where the difficulty of the technique lied. A large part of the complexity of this technique was in the meditation and priming needed to even sense one''s Fate Star to begin with. Not everyone was like Ryu who had personally laid eyes on his Fate Star before. While to others this would be the most complicated and difficult part of the technique, and even be a barrier that stopped the vast majority from even taking a single step, it was so simple to Ryu that he didn''t even need to bother with the meditation method.


    The first part of the technique was to sink into a state of meditation similar to what one would need to use to enter the Path Extinction Realm. Upon doing so, one would be able to sense the Abyssal Plane. And, once one''s state grew profound enough, there would be a chance to sense your Fate Star.


    Once you succeeded in this matter, it became a matter of using one''s Fate Star to resonate with the Constellations of the Abyssal Plane. The more powerful the Constellation, the more powerful your Monument would become, and thus the more powerful your defenses would be.


    In addition, you would be able to cultivate the unique qi of said Constellation and use it to empower yourself.


    Feeling curious, Ryu checked the control technique as well. After learning that it was called the [Infinite Skies] technique, he likewise learned that it relied on a resonance of one''s Fate Star with Constellations of the Abyssal Plane to form these so-called "Skies".


    When Ryu learned this, he paused. In all likelihood, all seven of the techniques relied on this method. In such a case, the Radiant Star Sect was entirely built on this method of cultivation.


    Ryu felt that it was quite ingenious. If he was correct, the simplified versions of these techniques that the others learned were likely distilled versions of very specific Constellations.


    The strength of these techniques obviously depended on which Constellation you resonated with and cultivated qi from. And, if Ryu was correct, even the weakest one was astoundingly powerful. It was likely, then, that Aika and the others had used weaker Constellations as a foundation and simplified them to the point that they could be used by "geniuses" of the First Heaven.


    The only real difference in these techniques was in the meditation method used. Depending on the meditation method, you would have better resonance with certain kinds of Constellations that had certain kinds of abilities. In fact, dividing them into seven pieces like this was to lower the difficulty.


    Ryu retrieved his mind from the jades and opened his eyes.


    If things were like this, since he had seen one of these methods, he had already seen them all. He no longer even needed to go to Aika to ask for the other methods because¡­ he simply didn''t need them.


    Ryu didn''t need to waste time meditating to increase his resonance with the Abyssal Plane or his Fate Star. Even with his eyes sealed, so long as he had one of these meditation methods as a trigger, finding his Fate Star would be as easy as thinking, and resonating with it would be even easier.


    This ironically led to a situation where he actually had too many options. Even without trying it, Ryu knew that he would have hundreds of Constellations to choose from even if he was just looking for defensive ones and removed all those too powerful for him to use with his current cultivation or too weak for him to even care to consider.


    Despite this, this was actually a very good problem to have. Others could only choose whichever Constellation they had fate with or whichever one was the most inviting, but Ryu could directly choose the one he wanted and cultivate it without issue.


    Of course, these thoughts were just about the foundational methods of cultivation related to these techniques.


    With how high level these techniques were, they definitely had accompanying technique methods. While Ryu didn''t need these jades for the cultivation method, he would need them for the techniques that made use of the Star Qi he would call down.


    This Radiant Star Sect was actually so perfect for him.

 Chapter 1038 Quality And Strength

    Ryu refocused his attention on [Radiant Monument]. Although things had suddenly opened up for him like this, it didn''t change much. His first priority was still a defensive measure that he would be able to rely on in battle.


    He sunk his mind back into the jade and began to refine the details of the cultivation technique and imprint it onto his mind. Once he entered the Abyssal Plane, he wouldn''t be able to reference the jade again, so this was the best time to focus on such things. It would already be too late later.


    The entire technique was quite profound, more profound than what Ryu''s current Origin Flame could memorize at a glance. However, Ryu wasn''t put off by this. In fact, he was quite happy about it. This meant that the power of this technique wasn''t small, and it also meant that the Radiant Star Sect had quite some background.


    ''So it''s like this¡­'' Ryu thought to himself.


    Like he had thought previously, all Constellations came with their own special signifiers and strengths. There would, of course, be limitations toward which ones he could resonate with and use. Luckily, due to the uniqueness of the technique, swapping out a Constellation for another one in the future, while not an easy process, wasn''t impossible.


    This made sense. After all, what would limit which Constellations one could pick wasn''t just their talent in using the meditation method, but it was also about their current cultivation level. For example, there were some Constellations that only produced Cosmic Qi. Even if Ryu could battle those that used Cosmic Qi, using it himself would cause his body to implode.


    Constellations worked a lot like Daos, not only in their rankings system, but also in where they gained their power from. In this case, they were most similar to weapon Daos in that they built strength through the generations.


    Faith was a very powerful thing, and there was maybe no grander sight to experience in life than looking up into the night sky. The older the Constellation, the more legends and stories were told about it, the larger and more prominent it was, would all lead to an outcome of a more powerful Constellation.


    This was why one was able to use their Fate Stars to resonate with these Constellations as they both gained their power through the same means. However, connecting with Constellations directly was impossible.


    For one, Constellations were much too far away and even existed on a separate plane. Although they could be seen with the naked eye, even if a Sky God shot into the skies and chased after one, unless you entered the Abyssal Plane and were of extraordinary strength, you would have no chance of even coming close to one of these Stars.


    In fact, physically finding a Fate Star or Constellation was impossible even for Origin Sky Gods. Existence was simply too vast. The only methods possible to use were these resonance methods and by way of things as enigmatic as Fate and Faith.


    This was also why all Nine Heavens, despite being stacked atop of one another, could all experience day and night, not to mention seeing the same night sky. It was all due to the Abyssal Plane.


    This aside, it simply boiled down to the kind of awe individuals had for Constellations. Lore and time were both the most important aspects of a Constellation''s strength, and the more of it there was to be had, the more difficult it would be to establish a resonance.


    Just like with Weapon Gods, Constellation Cultivators faced the same difficulties.


    For the former, the more individuals reached a pinnacle height capable of shaping the path of said weapon, the more difficult it would be for successors to surpass them and become the new Weapon God.


    For the latter, it was similar. The more people observed a Constellation, praised it, had Faith in it, the more difficult it would be to make use of its strength.


    Due to the similarities, Constellations were thus given the exact same ranking system as Daos were.


    First there were Grades of strength: Six Mortal Grades, Three Immortal Grade, Two Cosmic Grades, the Fragmented Grade, the False Grade, the True Grade, the Perfect Grade, the Transcended Grade, the Omniscient Grade, the Order Grade, the Chaos Grade and the Origin Grade.


    Then, there Grades of quality: The Common Grade, the True Grade, the Lineal Grade, the Dynastic Grade, the Sovereign Grade, the Dominion Grade, the Hegemonic Grade, the Ancient Grade, and finally, the Founding Grade.


    There were some differences, though.


    Theoretically, one could create a Founding Dao the moment one started cultivating and raise it from the First Mortal Grade to the Origin Grade over the course of your life. But, this was actually impossible with Constellations.


    This was because a Founding Grade Constellation wouldn''t be able to produce qi as weak as the Mortal Grade, and the same went for the others.


    Ultimately, Daos were internal measures of strength while Constellations were external. The former could grow with you, but the latter had already grown through countless generations all by itself. Why would it lower itself to match your strength?


    Due to this, in practice, the higher quality a Constellation was, the higher grade of strength it had as well.


    What Ryu had to do was to find a balance. He wanted a Constellation of good quality, that was also low enough in strength that he could lose lower grade qi while resonating with it.


    Understanding this and tempering his expectation, Ryu focused on Lineal Constellations. These were the highest grade of Constellations that would still produce Immortal Qi. In addition, they were also Constellations powerful enough to produce Cosmic God Qi as well, the unique qi of the Sky Gods.


    Once Ryu could use Cosmic Qi, he would be able to use Dynastic Constellations, but for now, this was what he was stuck with and he would have to make due.


    That said, if others of the former Radiant Star Sect knew that he planned to form his first resonance with a Lineal Constellation¡­


    It was hard to say how they''d react.

 Chapter 1039 Held Back

    Ryu exhaled and closed his eyes once more. Adjusting himself, he quickly entered a deep state of meditation, his mind drifting off into an almost unconscious state.


    By the time a cultivator reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Ring Realm, they were already faintly able to feel a connection to the Abyssal Plane. It was unknown where this connection came from, at least to the people of Sacrum, but Ryu had a feeling that this connection might very well be related to one''s Fate Star. Of course, this was a conclusion he could only come to after observing the core techniques of the Radiant Star Sect.


    It was mind-numbingly easy for Ryu to feel the presence of his soul shifting between planes, sliding out from the Real Plane and slowly entering the Abyssal Plane. However, what he experienced on the other side caught him a bit off guard.


    Ryu had forgotten one very important thing: He didn''t have just one connection to the Abyssal Plane, he had two. The first was his Fate Star, and the second was what made his heart almost invulnerable to damage¡­


    His Realm Heart.


    It had to be remembered that in order to form his connection with his Realm Heart in the first place, Ryu had no choice but to enter the Abyssal Plane, something he had only been able to accomplish back then with the help of Ailsa.


    Now, however, his soul had entered the Soul Birth Realm and was even far more powerful than the vast majority of Soul Birth level souls in existence. He no longer needed the help of Ailsa, and now he felt his Realm Heart to be even clearer than it had before.


    Ryu hadn''t neglected his Realm Heart, it was just that it just wasn''t quite so useful to him any longer.


    For one, after upgrading his Realm Heart to an Immortal Grade Realm Heart, it could now give him a great boost to cultivating with Immortal Qi. However, right now, he was far more focused on re-cultivating rather than speeding forward, so it hadn''t been able to shine.


    In addition, Ryu had also made the assumption after entering the True Martial World that this ability of his Realm Heart to speed up Immortal Realm cultivation wasn''t very useful to him. After all, it had to be remembered that this Realm Heart was formed under the influence of Sacrum. So, in Ryu''s previous estimation, it wouldn''t be very useful in the True Martial World.


    However, the moment Ryu''s soul presence entered the Abyssal Plane, his heart trembled. He was wrong. Very wrong.


    The instant the connection was formed, Ryu felt that his Realm Heart had also transferred over, separating from Sacrum''s Abyssal Plane and reforming a much stronger connection with the True Martial World''s Abyssal Plane.


    Things that hadn''t been clear to Ryu before suddenly became all too clear to him and his Dao, which had only just entered the Third Immortal Grade, began advancing by leaps and bounds, surging through the Third Immortal Grade.


    Ryu''s heart palpitated.


    The greatest strength of a Realm Heart was in its ability to allow anyone that had fused with it to see through the mysteries equivalent to its level. Back when it was at the Mortal Grade, it had helped Ryu''s Mortal Grade cultivation speed to be ridiculously fast, in addition to helping his Inheritances to rise to the peak of the Mortal Grade in a fraction of the time. When this was stacked with Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils, it made his comprehension speed almost obnoxiously fast.


    But what Ryu hadn''t realized back then, mostly because he had yet to form a Dao, was that¡­ His Realm Heart could also help him to strengthen his Dao as well!


    What was the most shocking was that the barrier between Heavens didn''t matter at all. Right now, thanks to his Realm Heart, Ryu felt as though he was basking in the most perfect laws of the True Martial World, laws that maybe even the Ninth Heaven couldn''t match up to.


    The only unfortunate thing was that these laws only encompassed the Mortal and Immortal Grades so it couldn''t help Ryu break free of the Third Immortal Grade and enter the First Cosmic Grade, but that didn''t seem to matter to him at all.


    Even if he couldn''t breakthrough, Ryu could make his Dao more and more perfect. With his comprehension abilities, it would only be a matter of time before he formed an Ancient Dao and then a Founding Dao. By then, he cared if his Dao was still in the Immortal Grade? He might even have the strength to directly begin slaughtering Sky Gods to improve his Realm Heart!


    When Ryu thought to this point, he forcefully exhaled a breath and returned to his usual calm demeanor. However, it wasn''t long before that calmness became a smoldering fury that sat like a lump in the middle of his chest.


    He knew that he couldn''t do it. He couldn''t allow his Dao to reach true perfection. Not yet.


    It wasn''t as though Ryu could do it instantly. If he wanted to upgrade his Dao from a Hegemonic Dao to an Ancestral Dao and finally a Founding Dao, it would definitely take time. However, none of that mattered if he couldn''t do it.


    After forming a Hegemonic Dao, he was already branded once. Even right at this moment, there were Sixth Heaven powers scouring the Heavens to find him so that they wouldn''t have to face the wrath of the Seventh Heaven.


    What would happen if he suddenly formed an Ancestral Dao? Or even stronger? Would Old Wan even still have a method of hiding him? Would this headband he was forced to wear even still be able to hide him?


    Ryu''s mood became foul. It took him a long while to regain his calm, but by then, his resolve had been tempered into steel.


    On the day that he could match up to these Clans and Sects, he would make sure to raze them all to the ground.


    Ryu turned his soul presence to the vast and dark skies of the Abyssal Plane. Right now, he wanted the most powerful defensive Constellation that he could currently claim.

 Chapter 1040 Trembling Star Qi

    Ryu''s soul presence stood upon his Realm Heart, shuttling through the skies.


    According to the normal cultivation method, he would have to first resonate with his Fate Star. This resonance would cause his soul presence to immediately appear before it. Once this was complete, he could then use the strength of his Fate Star to reach out through the Abyssal Plane to slowly locate the Constellations he had fate with.


    However, Ryu didn''t need to do this. He found that he could freely control his Realm Heart to move about with his soul''s presence. Unlike his Fate Star, his Realm Heart was tethered in place and could move at speeds that defied physics and logic. So long as he didn''t enter the realm of Constellations far more powerful than his Realm Heart, it shouldn''t be in any danger.


    With this method, Ryu could feel the Constellations much more clearly and his speed of observing them was also much quicker.


    Realizing that such a method was possible, Ryu thought of the possibility of exploring the Abyssal Plane for reasons outside of Constellations. After all, this was a place where all sorts of treasures could be born, and all sorts of mysterious phenomena of nature called home.


    For example, it wasn''t impossible for him to find the existence of another Realm Heart here. If he could have his own Realm Heart swallow others, then he wouldn''t need to wait until he could fight Sky Gods to have a chance at upgrading his own.


    If the Godhood of a mere Sky God of Sacrum could already allow it to upgrade once, what about a Sky God of the True Martial World? By the same token, what would it be like to swallow a Realm Heart that had been birthed under the influence of the True Martial World?


    Ryu was in a unique situation that allowed him to even consider things like this. The Radiant Star Sect''s method for dealing with the Abyssal Plane relied entirely on the Fate Star. Without the Fate Star, one could easily harm their soul by venturing this place.


    Soul presence and souls weren''t quite the same. For example, Spiritual Sense was an application of soul presence, so it could be said that Ryu was just extending his Spiritual Sense into the Abyssal Plane.


    However, because of the connection between one''s soul presence and soul, it would be easy to harm the latter through the use of the former, making the Abyssal Plane very dangerous. This could be considered another reason why making it through the Path Extinction Realm was so difficult for many.


    This was all to say that unless you had a Realm Heart like Ryu''s that you could use to explore the Abyssal Plane safely, you could forget about scouring this place for resources. In fact, even if your soul was so powerful that you wouldn''t feel threatened by this place, you would still have no method of bringing things back to the Real Plane without a connection something like the Realm Heart could provide.


    After all, moving qi from the Abyssal Plane and Real Plane through the use of Constellations was very different from bringing a physical object back. However, if Ryu wanted to circumvent this, he only had to allow the object to enter his Realm Heart and then use that connection to bring it out into the real world.


    Realizing this, Ryu made a mental note to check what information the Frost Clan might or might not have about Realm Hearts. But considering their rarity, he didn''t hold out too much hope. He would likely have to rely on himself.


    As he thought, Ryu passed by and ignored many Constellations. Although many he had passed by were able to apply quite a bit of pressure on him, he couldn''t be bothered to care.


    What he needed was something absolutely perfect, something that would seamlessly fit into his battle style.


    Using the methods of [Radiant Monument], he was able to lock into all sorts of defensive type Constellations. But as time passed, they were all pretty much the same. Shields, armors, there were some rare and unique ones like bells, but none of them really caught Ryu''s attention until he suddenly came to a stop.


    ''It''ll be you¡­'' he thought to himself.


    The Constellation before Ryu radiated a mighty aura. It was formed of 27 stars, just shy of the maximum 30 allotted to Lineal Grade Constellations and it took the shape of a mountain. It was the very first of its kind that Leonel had seen, at least when it came to Constellations that fell into the defensive category. All of the other mountains that Ryu had seen on the way here usually fell into the control category, but they weren''t right for what he was looking for.


    Ryu felt that with this Constellation, he would be able to form a nice resonance with this Natural Order which had its own control characteristics. If this defense was fused with that control, the output would be even more powerful.


    Once he resonated with his monument and projected it using the technique methods of the cultivation technique, the ultimate result would be far larger than the sum of its parts.


    Ryu exhaled a breath and stood in place, his soul presence reaching out toward his Fate Star.


    Ryu had forgotten when the last time he looked at his Fate Star was, but it was really no different from what he remembered. It was an enormous, resplendent ball of smoldering hot silver gas, however it didn''t move a single inch from its location as though it was locked and chained in place.


    Without sparing it another glance, Ryu began to tether the Trembling Mountain Constellation with his Fate Star, feeling the resonance coursing through his soul presence.


    In the real world, the golden moon world began to tremble, the skies opening up as beams of silvery light came down from above.


    Unfortunately for those on the outside, it was impossible to witness this moment as the illusory manifestation of a mountain formed around Ryu.


    Slowly, but sure, it turned more corporeal and Ryu began to feel the presence of Trembling Star Qi descend from above.

 Chapter 1041 [Radiant Skin]

    Trembling Star Qi had two abilities. The first was to suppress other qis and the second was to disperse them. Both of these had exceptional defensive effects that made this qi type very powerful.


    From Ryu''s understanding, Trembling Star Qi was also an Ancestral Grade Qi. Though, these meant different things in the True Martial World versus Sacrum, the latter of which Ryu was obviously far more familiar with.


    In Sacrum, Ancestral Grade Qi represented the absolute pinnacle of all qi as the only Origin Grade Qis were Essence and Chaos Qi, two qis that none could control on their own. Though, of course, this didn''t include Ryu who had his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    In the True Martial World, though, Ancestral Grade Qi was quite good, but it wasn''t nearly the pinnacle as there were still nine grades above it. As for the true Origin Qis, they were known as the Primordial Qis and Primordial Chaos Qis with Essence and Chaos Qi being off the scale entirely.


    Still, although an Ancestral Grade Qi was a bit weak in the absolute large scale, it was still the strongest type of qi anyone below the Sky God Realm could control without special methods or talents. As such, just being able to have access to this qi placed Ryu at the top tier of those beneath the Sky God Realm who didn''t have special Meridians or Spiritual Foundations.


    Ryu awoke from his meditation and stood to his feet with a calm exhale.


    There were three main techniques of [Radiant Monument], but they could all be considered to be the same technique, just used at different stages. These techniques were known as [Radiant Skin], [Radiant Aura], and finally the true [Radiant Monument].


    [Radiant Skin] allowed Ryu to project his Trembling Star Qi into a thin film that protected his skin from damage and harm. This would also give his immediate defenses the characteristics of his chosen Constellation and give his skin the ability to tap into the traits of Trembling Star Qi.


    [Radiant Aura] would project this ability further out, forming a pseudo domain of sorts that could work similarly to the Monarch Realm of Inheritances.


    Finally, the [Radiant Monument] stage would be the amplification of [Radiant Aura] and truly manifest the Constellation into being. This was the absolute strongest state of the technique and it, likewise, provided the greatest defense that there was.


    Whether it was [Radiant Skin] or [Radiant Aura], Ryu could still use them without too much issue now as it would only rely on his depth of resonance and his comprehension. However, when it came to [Radiant Monument], the requirements were far more stringent. Not only did he need to meet the requisite requirements of resonance and comprehension, but he also needed to have a certain level of personal strength to withstand the projection properly.


    For a Lineal Grade Constellation like this one, Ryu would likely need to enter at least the World Sea Realm to use its Monument.


    Of course, this was just because he was Ryu. For others, the Realm you needed to reach would have to perfectly match up to the Grade of Constellation you had fused with.


    It had to be understood that Sky God Realms were entirely dependent on your Dao. Meaning, if you wanted to become a Fragmented Sky God, you needed to form a Fragmented Dao. But, beyond this, Daos of certain strengths had caps that were very difficult to surpass.


    Normally, one would need a Dao with a quality just a step below their Sky God level if they wanted any hopes of entering that Realm.


    This means that someone with a Common Grade Dao could only become a Fragmented and False Sky God, and the latter would only happen in exceptionally rare cases. Likewise, this meant that someone with a Lineal Dao would be capped at the fourth Sky God level since the Lineal Dao was the third Grade of Dao quality, or the Perfect Sky God Realm.


    Normally, though, one would usually end up stuck at a Realm below. Meaning, someone with a Common Grade Dao would have no chance at becoming a Sky God, while someone with a Lineal Dao would usually be capped at the False Sky God Realm, which was actually the second Sky God level.


    This was all to say that with a Lineal Constellation, Ryu would have to reach the equivalent level of Sky God to project its Monument, or the True Sky God Realm.


    Simply put, the hard cap for a Sky God level would be one step above, but most would commonly be stuck at one step below, while for those practicing the core techniques of the Radiant Star Sect, they would have to reach the equivalent step to reach the final step of Constellation Projection.


    Ryu, though, believed that he would be able to accomplish it at the World Sea Realm.


    In all likelihood, since Ryu knew himself quite well, he would never get that far. He would probably swap the Trembling Mountain out for another Constellation once he was strong enough to do so.


    ''I''ll wait and see when the time comes. If trading in for a stronger Constellation isn''t worth it, then I won''t do it. It''s possible that the true state of [Radiant Monument] is far stronger with a weaker Constellation than [Radiant Skin] or [Radiant Aura] would be with a more powerful Constellation. In that case, trading up wouldn''t be worthwhile.''


    Ryu closed his eyes and entered a state of focus.


    At that moment, his flawless skin which already shimmered like the moist surface of clear ice became more resplendent.


    The skies opened up and a cascade of star qi fell with a rippling torrent.


    Ryu didn''t rush the process, taking his time and understanding what was happening.


    ''I see. The best way to control this qi is definitely through my Immortal Rings, but it was already so troublesome to deploy my Immortal Rings in the First Heaven, the backlash will probably be even worse in the Second Heaven.


    ''However, there''s another way I can make use of it.''


    Ryu''s attitude shifted and his Bone Structure trembled. At that moment, his skin''s pores opened and the Trembling Star Qi began to pour into his body, before being fed back into the atmosphere. This subtle and exceptionally quick process caused the qi to go from atmospheric to well within Ryu''s control.


    There was a large difference between utilizing free qi in the atmosphere versus controlling qi you had expelled from your own body. The latter provided far more refined control and even worked better than what one could induce with Immortal Rings.


    Utilizing his Bone Structure''s ability to absorb qi through his skin, Ryu had actually made [Radiant Skin] far more powerful than it was initially.


    ''This method will work for [Radiant Skin], and the process is covert enough to not raise any eyebrows, but it won''t work with [Radiant Aura]. [Radiant Aura] inherently needs control of atmospheric qi.''


    Ryu nodded to himself. It seemed that [Radiant Aura] would have to become one of his trump cards, he would only pull it out if he absolutely had to.


    He had learned his lesson from the first time, the True Martial World wasn''t a fan of his Immortal Rings. If he had to fight the Heavens and an opponent at the same time, it would be incredibly troublesome. He wouldn''t put himself in that situation unless he had to.


    What Ryu did know, though, was that the next person who forced him to reveal his Immortal Rings would have an incredibly bad time, because now that his Realm Heart had established itself in the True Martial World''s Abyssal Plane, his comprehension and ability to control Immortal Qi was on a level most couldn''t fathom.


    Ryu opened his eyes and grasped out with his left hand.


    His Storm Talent activated, causing the skies above to rumble with malice.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! RUMBLE.


    True Tribulation Lightning struck down but were all easily controlled by Ryu''s Lightning God Talent to form a menacing saber edge.


    With a single flex, Ryu swung down on his star qi coated arm with all his strength.


    If others could see this, they would think him to be a madman.


    Tribulation Lightning was, without a doubt, the strongest offensive weapon the Heavens had. But to concentrate so many bolts into a single blade took something that was already dangerous and turned it into a weapon of absolute death.


    Just on lethality alone, this blade was definitely stronger than the strongest attack of a Heaven Grade World Sea Realm expert, the very kind of attack Ryu hadn''t dared to take head on just hours ago.


    CHIII!


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and a spike of pain shot through his body.


    At that moment, in one sweep, the blade cut through half of Ryu''s forearm before its momentum ground to a halt.


    Blood flowed like a stream as Ryu retracted his blade. But, very quickly, his wound began to close itself up.


    He lightly nodded to himself. For a mere Ancestral Grade Qi to be able to match up to Tribulation Lightning, which could definitely be classified as an Origin Grade energy type, was not bad indeed. This technique was powerful and it was only at the first stage.


    With this, he could definitely fight more head on battles in the future with less worry about being insta-killed.


    ''It''s time to recultivate.''


    Once Ryu was finished with this, he would enter the Second Heaven and see what opportunities he could find. He still needed to help Little Silk reach her full potential and he was still looking for ways to speed up curing his blindness.


    Plus, he wasn''t a fan of being coddled and babied.

 Chapter 1042 Commotion

    Ryu spent several of the next few months in complete solitude. Back in Sacrum, he rarely had the time to sit in silence and cultivate like this as the was always running from one troubled ground to another. However, this time, he was learning of the benefits of having the backing of a Sect. He actually had what could be considered time for "leisure".


    Of course, if others knew that Ryu''s so-called leisure was just continuous and arduous cultivation, they might very well look at him as though he was a madman.


    Half a year passed just like this.


    As Ryu progressed through his recultivation, it took longer and longer periods of time to reach the levels of perfection he sought after. In fact, if it wasn''t for his Realm Heart raising his comprehension of the Immortal Realms by such a large margin, it would have taken him even longer than just half a year.


    Still, the time was worth it to Ryu. Whether it was his Qi Realm or Body Realm, his strength increased by leaps and bounds every day. In addition, as his Body Realm increased in foundation and strength, the size of his Spiritual Sea vastly increased along with it as he squeezed more and more potential out of his soul.


    The [Swallowing Darkness Mantra] displayed more of its prowess everyday and its inherent compatibility with Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul also shone forth. Despite the fact Ryu only had the cultivation method and not the accompanying techniques, he could still vaguely feel the outline of what those techniques would have been had he had the pleasure of using them. This was a sign of just how well he and this technique worked together.


    The results made Ryu in even less of a hurry to begin recultivating his soul, it simply wasn''t necessary. By the time he recultivated to the Immortal Ring Realm, his Spiritual Sea was already far vaster and stronger than the World Sea Realm experts of the First and Second Heaven. In fact, Ryu was fairly certain that he had outstripped the World Sea Realm geniuses of the Third Heaven as well.


    The World Sea Realm equivalent of the Mental Realm was known as the Soul Ascension Realm. In fact, this was the very same Realm that Ailsa had been in as well.


    The Lower Soul Ascension Realm was the Cosmic Seed Realm equivalent, the Middle Soul Ascension Realm was the World Sea Realm equivalent, and the Peak Soul Ascension Realm was the Sky God Realm equivalent. Or, at the very least, this was how things had worked back in Sacrum, with the legendary Soul Quintessence Realm being entirely unreachable.


    The True Martial World wasn''t too different, but here, the Soul Ascension Realm was divided into four stages: Lower, Middle, Higher and Peak. The first two were Cosmic Seed Realm equivalents while the latter two were World Sea Realm equivalents.


    Finally, the so-called Soul Quintessence Realm was split into Nine States of Quintessence, each of which was related to another stage of the Sky God Realm.


    The current Ryu felt that the vastness of his soul far outstripped individuals at the Lower and Middle Soul Ascension stages, and could be a match for those with soul talent beneath the Ancestral Grade at the Higher and Peak stages.


    This was, without a doubt, Ryu''s greatest trump card.


    The Mental Realm was quite special. After the formation of the Spiritual Sea at the Soul Birth Realm, the Spiritual Qi used wouldn''t have any fundamental difference all the way through the Soul Ascension Realm.


    This meant that while Ryu had to contend against Cosmic Qi when he faced powerful opponents of the World Sea Realm and face quality suppression, he didn''t have to face the same thing when it came to his soul, or more accurately, not to the same degree.


    The qualitative change in Spiritual Qi wouldn''t come until the Nine States of Quintessence, so jumping levels to do battle in terms of the Mental Realm was even easier.


    This same logic also applied to the Body Realm as well, but Ryu had to be far more cautious with displaying his body''s talents in comparison to his soul talents because it was much easier to hide the latter.


    Still, this didn''t stop Ryu.


    In these six months, he recultivated to the pinnacle of the Immortal Ring Realm and the pinnacle of the Vessel Tempering Realm.


    With his current state, he felt that he could be able to crush World Sea Realm Heaven Class talents and be a match more World Sea Realm Sovereign Class talents, theoretically. Ryu had never met a talent of the latter quality, but he knew that the gap between the two Classes of geniuses should be enormous. In fact, said gap would only increase as you moved further up as the difficulty in meeting the requirements would only increase.


    Ryu knew that since so many Heaven Class talents could appear in the Second Heaven, that the Third Heaven would definitely have even more of them on top of at least one or two Sovereign Class talents. As far as Ryu was concerned, these talents would be his real challenge when the Heavenly Path opened.


    This was all to say that he wasn''t sure if he could face such a Class of talent head on if they had so many Realms of cultivation on him, but he felt that even if there was still a gap to close, it probably shouldn''t be too large.


    Ryu opened his eyes for the first time in a long while.


    The ground around him had been completely ravaged by lightning, but it was also quickly healing.


    His eyes could finally make out more than just vague movements. He could see shapes and point out shadows, and he could differentiate what was bright from what was dark. Seeing this progression, he nodded to himself.


    Although he couldn''t feel any of his Heavenly Pupil abilities coming back, he knew that he was on the right track. The closer to perfection he brought his body, the closer he would be to seeing what his Heavenly Pupils had in store for him.


    Much like his Chaotic Silk Meridians, Ryu hadn''t been able to learn much about Heavenly Pupils in his place. It was hard to tell if the True Martial World simply didn''t have them, or if they only existed on the highest tier of Heaven.


    Regardless, Ryu was looking forward to seeing what sort of mutations his eyes had undergone, and most importantly, he couldn''t wait to see Ailsa and Yaana again.


    Ryu smiled lightly before stretching his body.


    All sorts of cracks and pops resounded and he seemed to stand even taller than before. His skin was far more lustrous and his muscles were countless times more defined.


    The recovery of most of Ryu''s talents were complete. Or at the very least, they had caught up to what they should have been if Sacrum''s grading system was accurate.


    His Fire Dragon, Lightning Qilin and fusion Phoenix Bloodlines had all returned to the Ancestral Grade. The same was true of his Bone Structure and Meridians.


    Of course, this probably wouldn''t be their cap. After all, Ryu''s beast Bloodlines had come from overlord creatures of even the True Martial World and they had far more potential than just that. In addition, his Bone Structure had already mutated and his Meridians spoke for themselves.


    If Ryu wanted to improve the state of his Bloodlines, he would have to continue "Returning to Origin". After his trip to the Mortal Planes, he had awakened many memories in Bloodlines that he had yet to have a chance to meditate upon.


    When he came to the True Martial World, those memories had seemingly vanished, but he could now sense them clearly once again. With time, he was sure to slowly progress his Bloodlines.


    As for his Bone Structure, there was probably very little he could actively do about it aside from continue to use the [Refinement Sutra]. The response Ryu''s bones received every time he absorbed Heavenly Favor for his Body Realm was great. He had a feeling that he had not only chosen a good path, he had chosen the perfect path.


    Now, Ryu felt that he could be a match for those pinnacle geniuses of the Fourth Heaven at the same cultivation level. But that thought didn''t fill him with satisfaction. Instead, it filled him with longing and eagerness.


    He really wanted to meet those geniuses that could force his steps to slow.


    "Little Silk."


    With a flutter, a familiar butterfly came over and wrapped Ryu in beautiful white and sky blue silks before landing on his shoulders.


    Ryu nodded and with a step, he vanished and appeared above the Radiant Star Sect.


    At the moment, the battles were still raging on, but the auras of the Radiant Star Sect disciples had completely changed. Many of them had died, but those that were left had become like tempered iron. Maybe not long from now, they would truly become steel.


    Gliding on his great swordstaff, Ryu shot into the distance, leaving the surroundings of the Sect in the blink of an eye. His speed was simply on another level.


    As Ryu charged toward the depths of the Second Heaven, somewhat aimlessly, his mind wandered.


    He had thought about entering the Path Extinction Realm before leaving, but he had still hesitated. Something was brewing in his mind, something that just might change the trajectory of his future.


    On a mountain range a great distance from Ryu''s back, Selheira stood with a gentle smile on her face as she watched Ryu vanish over the horizon. She had a feeling that by the time he came back, the Second Heaven would have experienced quite some commotion.

 Chapter 1043 Furrowed Brows

    Ryu streaked through the skies, his mood feeling light. It had been a long time since he felt that he had the strength to protect himself properly, and now that he could, it made his heart feel as clear as a mirror. The air felt fresher and the skies seemed brighter.


    Right at this moment, Ryu didn''t have any solid goals. He would like to find things that could strengthen himself and speed up the process of unsealing his eyes, but the odds that he would find another Ruin of the caliber of the one left behind by Flowing Frost was highly unlikely.


    His luck was good, but it definitely wasn''t that good.


    In that case, he should try to take this as a training exercise with the aim of helping Little Silk to reach her full potential. So long as he helped Little Silk to return to the Eleventh Order, or the World Sea Realm equivalent for beasts. If he succeeded, then he and Little Silk would have around the same battle prowess, though a Sovereign Grade Beast was probably a half tier stronger than a Sovereign Class genius of the same level.


    If Ryu wanted to do this, he would have to find the greatest concentrations of yin on the Second Heaven, but doing this would also put him in an¡­ interesting situation. This is because there was a high likelihood that such regions were under the control of Jenneless'' Sect which could potentially put Ryu right in the line of fire.


    A smile curled Ryu''s lip into a sneer. Right now, he had no need to run away from Jenneless. In fact, he would welcome her ire with open arms. He would show her that that lesson he taught her back then was just the tip of the iceberg.


    Ryu zoomed through the skies, landing in a convenient city and teleporting toward his destination.


    The Second Heaven was easily tenfold, if not more, larger than the First Heaven. Travelling via normal means, even though he was quite fast using flying sword methods, it would still take him years to travel across this region via normal means.


    Most couldn''t afford to travel around so freely, but money wasn''t a big matter to Ryu at all. Although the wealth left behind by the Frost Clan was just a fraction of what their wealth had once been, it was more than enough to be a Tycoon beneath the Fourth Heaven.


    In addition, even if Ryu ran out of money, he still had methods of creating his own Qi Stones and Chaos Qi Stones, a method he had yet to have to rely on. With his Meridians having returned to the Ancestral Grade, the quality of Qi Stones he could create would cause a clamor on the Second Heaven. There might not even be enough wealth here to trade with him.


    ¡­


    Ryu stepped out of the teleportation platform, a chilling wind wrapping around him.


    Many gazes landed on him when he did, their expressions flickering between respect and ridicule. But those with the latter expressions didn''t last long as they saw Ryu''s expression remain indifferent. Very quickly, even those gazes turned to respect as well.


    Who didn''t know about the frigid cold in this region? Some people thought that just a shield of qi would be enough to last, but would panic when the cold seeped into their Meridians and they turned into ice statues.


    This happened quite often. There were even some individuals who took up posts in nearby restaurants to watch and laugh about it.


    Most in the region had to wear very special beast furs or protective items to protect against the cold. The only individuals who didn''t need to do so were almost considered to be the nobles of this region. Such individuals had talents that either allowed them to resist this cold or become one with this cold, the latter of which was far more respected.


    It was clear that Ryu wasn''t doing anything to resist the cold, clearly he was a member of this latter group. What was the most shocking was the fact that he wasn''t even using qi at all. He simply allowed the cold qi to dance across his skin.


    What was most shocking was the fact that he was just in the Immortal Ring Realm. Usually, even when one had a great amount of talent, you had to have a corresponding amount of strength to make it look so easy.


    Ryu swept a gaze through the crowd but didn''t say much.


    With a hop, he stepped onto his great swordstaff and shot toward the snowy mountain caps in the distance. He wanted to battle.


    The crowd in the surroundings could only silently watch him leave. It wasn''t until he was already gone that it suddenly hit them that Ryu had actually just flown.


    Cities in the lower Heavens didn''t usually have no flying rules since only Sky Gods could do so anyway, so it was too rare for them to see such a scene.


    Within the crowd, there was an individual, though, who was less like the wowed crowd and much calmer. But even so, their brows had furrowed.


    This wasn''t an individual that Ryu knew of, but they were from a Sect that he would have heard of, the very same Sect of Jenneless, the Carving Ice Sect.


    The frown of this individual only became more concentrated when he saw the direction that Ryu was headed in. It seemed that a variable had appeared.


    ¡­


    Ryu immediately sensed the gaze on him, his Void Spiritual Sense locking onto the individual with a far sharper gaze than the others. However, even after taking note of this, he didn''t turn back, his speed becoming even faster as he zoomed into the mountain range.


    Maybe this place would be more interesting if someone had already taken notice of him. It was time for him to let loose a bit.


    When Ryu came above the endlessly snowy and vast wilderness, he began to freefall from the skies, his white hair whipping wildly behind him.


    Down below, a white furred bear beast with icicles for claws looked up, only to release a billowing roar.

 Chapter 1044 Bolder

    BANG!


    Ryu''s feet landed, the beast below him being crushed into minced meat, his irises flickering with the Mountain Character.


    Ryu waved a hand, a Beast Core shooting into his head. The flesh and blood covering it froze over and fell off piece by piece.


    "Alright, Little Silk, get to it."


    Little Silk fluttered with excitement. Ryu had just killed a Ninth Order Heaven Grade beast with a single stomp, how could she not be excited? At this pace, it really wouldn''t be long until she regained her original strength.


    Long strands of silk left her little body, wrapping around the corpse and absorbing it with gusto. It was hard to tell where it all went with that little body of hers that could fit on a single palm. But the fact that Little Silk could remain so small was actually a good thing from what Ryu could tell.


    Beasts in the True Martial World tended to be much smaller. Even the most powerful ones Ryu had come across were just about a dozen meters long, and that was a snake beast to begin with. The others were mostly much smaller than that. Plus, just from a cursory glance around with his Spiritual Sense, the beasts of the Second Heaven tended to be a tick smaller as well.


    What was shocking about this was that Little Silk had been so small since she was an overlord in Sacrum. If Ryu was correct, Little Silk likely had quite a bit more potential than just the Sovereign Grade. But whether he would be able to get that potential out of her without Ailsa''s help would be another matter entirely.


    For now, he could just do his best to help her recover to her peak.


    Ryu took a step forward and vanished.


    In the beginning, he only targeted Ninth Order beasts until Little Silk didn''t get any large help from them any longer. Only then did he change targets to Tenth Order Beasts.


    While Heaven Grade beasts were exceptionally rare on the First Heaven, they were more ubiquitous on the Second Heaven although not exaggeratedly so. What were rare were Sovereign Grade beasts as Ryu had yet to run into even a single one.


    Little Silk quickly recovered to the Seventh Order and made great headway toward the Eighth.


    Ryu only occasionally took some meat from their corpses ahead of time, but it wasn''t too helpful to him. Before, he found Heaven Grade meat to be a delicacy, but right now his stomach felt like a vast pit he couldn''t fill no matter how hard he tried.


    Ryu''s skin flickered with starry light as he punched outward, cracking the skull of a Tenth Order. After weakening it, he stood to the side and let Little Silk fight it. He felt that by allowing Little Silk to use more of her strength, the process of evolution would be much smoother.


    Minutes later, Little Silk won the battle and absorbed the corpse, returning to the Eighth Order.


    ''Okay, it''s time to travel deeper. The Sovereign Grade beasts should be hidden in there somewhere. The more powerful beasts will be in there too.''


    Ryu''s body flickered. Taking Little Silk with him, his speed exploded forth, entering the depths of the mountain range.


    His Spiritual Sense spread out far and wide, covering a range of over 100 kilometers with ease. This was already a range that a World Sea Realm expert could hardly hope to match up to under the suppression of the Second Heaven, yet he had accomplished it at the Immortal Ring Realm.


    Ryu''s mind danced with images of the terrain, locating all the targets he wanted in the blink of an eye.


    After another half day, Little Silk had recovered to the Ninth Order. Her progress had slowed tremendously, but it could only be expected considering the state of things.


    What was interesting was that the little butterfly hadn''t grown in size at all. By this point, Ryu couldn''t help but wonder if his mother had done more to this little one than just allowing her to match up to the true Sovereign Grade rather than being stuck at the Sovereign Grade of the True Martial World.


    Ryu had killed dozens of Eleventh Order Heaven Grade beasts by now.


    In order to not tire himself out as these creatures were truly powerful, he relied on his archery and sneak attacks, targeting these beasts before they were even aware of his presence.


    If others could see him slaughtering beasts even Heaven Class World Sea Realm experts would struggle with, there was no doubt that they would want to cut open his body to see what was hidden within.


    During this period, Ryu got a good understanding of just how rare Dao Cores and Dao Bones were. He only targeted powerful Heaven Grade creatures and he had already killed thousands of them in the last few days, and yet he hadn''t run into even a single one.


    It was an entire three more days before Little Silk could recover to the Tenth Order, but this speed was already astounding. Little Silk couldn''t help but flutter around happily, feeling that his strength had truly become monstrous.


    Now, she felt that she could crush Cosmic Seed Realm Sovereign Class geniuses and she could be of great help to Ryu at this level as well. Now there was just a final push left before she could return to the World Sea Realm.


    However, by this point, Ryu was truly baffled. Why was it that he hadn''t run into even a single Sovereign Grade beast yet? Something seemed off.


    He had ventured quite deep, deep enough that even God Beasts should have appeared by now, but they were nowhere to be seen as well.


    Ryu had proceeded very cautiously as if he used his Void Spiritual Sense too liberally, the likes of a God Beast might be able to see through him and track him. But after days of this caution, he hadn''t run into any such beasts either.


    ''Was I wrong about this place¡­? Why would the Carving Ice Sect settle into such a weak region? It doesn''t make much sense¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Something wasn''t adding up properly.


    Ryu looked toward the true depths of the mountain range. He hadn''t dared to go into that region or even stretch his Spiritual Sense into it since he was absolutely certain that there were God Beasts over there. But it seemed that he would need to be a bit bolder.

 Chapter 1045 Poison?

    Ryu shot forward, his speed leaving faint afterimages in his wake. Although he didn''t use his great swordstaffs to fly, he couldn''t be considered slow in the slightest. He simply preferred to maintain the flexibility of staying on his feet.


    Little Silk sat silently on his shoulder, her aura becoming more and more restrained.


    It didn''t take long for Ryu to notice this at all. He could communicate with Little Silk, at least not in the usual way humans would. The only beasts that Ryu had ever known to speak were the Ancestral Beasts of Sacrum, but he had yet to meet such a creature in the True Martial World.


    Regardless, even without a clear line of communication, he could feel Little Silk''s emotions and intentions. He had only traveled a few dozen kilometers into the core region, but her demeanor had completely changed, from one of excitement to one of restraint.


    Ryu came to a stop, standing atop a thick layer of slow and yet not leaving even the slightest footprint behind.


    His senses spread out, become sharper and sharper. He wanted to understand exactly what was making Little Silk react like this, because from what he understood, Little Silk was confused as well. In fact, if it wasn''t for Little Silk''s connection with Ryu, she might have been aimlessly flapping about by now.


    ''This has to be some sort of technique or formation method. From what it seems like, it''s being used to dull the edge of the beasts in the surrounding, but it''s also so subtle that I can''t pick up on it. In that case, maybe it''s not a formation but rather a scent? Or a special qi?''


    Ryu felt that this made the most sense. There was nothing special about the smell of the air currently, but that didn''t mean there was nothing there. The number of odorless poisons were too many to name in a single sitting, and the number of poisons that were non-lethal and could fly under the radar like this were too numerous.


    Ryu could only sigh. His Spiritual Sense wasn''t quite high level enough to pick up on such small and minute details. If he had his Heavenly Pupils [Ephemeral Tapestry] would expose this poison immediately, but right now he could only speculate.


    After a moment, though, Ryu grinned.


    This region was blanketed with something that seemed to lull beasts into a restrained state. In that case, wasn''t this absolutely perfect for him? Defeating these beasts would only be easier now.


    Ryu''s steps flashed and his body flickered and vanished, his speed becoming even faster. He looked no different from a line of blue in the vast whiteness.


    ''There.''


    After several more minutes of running at high speed, Ryu found his first Eleventh Order beast. It was a large lizard creature with gorgeous violet-white scales. However, as beautiful as its scales were, its actual appearance was ugly.


    It had an enormous jaw, short forelegs and enormous hind legs. It looked like a dinosaur, especially when it opened its large jaw to yawn and revealed the row of rotting flesh lodged in its sharp teeth.


    Such a creature was definitely a top class predator. However, this top class predator, which should have been hunting to satiate its enormous appetite, was actually just lazily lying in its den. It wasn''t sleeping as its eyes were open, but its eyelids drooped as though it might fall into a deep sleep any time now.


    And yet, that time never came. It hovered in an apathetic state between sleep and wakefulness. Ryu could tell that it was in no position to protect itself, causing his lips to curl.


    Ryu pulled his grandfather''s bow from his back, his aura shifting.


    By this point, with the sharp senses of an Eleventh Order Sovereign Grade would have already sensed the danger. If Ryu wanted to avoid this detection before he released his arrow, he would have to be at least 10 or so kilometers away. But if he released an arrow from so far away, although he had more than enough strength to cover this distance, the beast would likewise be able to react in time.


    Right now, though, Ryu was just half a kilometer away. At this distance, someone who didn''t detect him and dodge ahead of time could only face death so long as their strength was beneath the Sovereign Grade Sky God Realm.


    Ryu released his arrow with an exhale. The lizard beast only had time to open its eyes from a half closed position, but that only allowed Ryu''s attack to skewer its skull all the better. It couldn''t even cry out in horror before its life began to fade away.


    With a step, Ryu crossed the half kilometer distance, appearing next to the corpse.  It looked as though nothing at all had happened. If it wasn''t for the blood slowly seeping out from the lizard beast''s eye, it would have been difficult to tell that it was doing anything other than taking a nap.


    "Your turn, Little Silk."


    Little Silk was still feeling a bit languid, but there was nothing much Ryu could do about this. Seeing that the little one didn''t have any energy to absorb such a behemoth, he tapped the corpse of the lizard beast and allowed it into the golden moon world. It seemed that Little Silk''s breakthrough would have to wait until after they left this place.


    After allowing Little Silk into the ring to rest as well, Ryu''s figure flashed. He would allow Little Silk to absorb the beast carcasses that he gathered once she had recovered. But for now, he would focus on accumulating as many as he could.


    With the beasts all in a languid state, it was much harder for Ryu to find them, but that trouble was mitigated by the ease with which he was able to crush them all. He rarely needed more than just a single arrow.


    The days ticked by, and after another three, Ryu believed he finally found the source of this odd phenomena.


    His gaze narrowed as he shrouded his body in Void Spiritual Sense.

 Chapter 1046 Exercise

    Up ahead about 20 or so kilometers, there was a camp. Although it was best classified in this way, it was quite beautiful. The tents were formed with what looked like silvery seal skin, each of them radiating a dull sky blue glow.


    The camp was well organized, almost like a city. It didn''t have walls, but Ryu could sense the powerful formation that enveloped it although one wouldn''t be able to see it with their naked eye.


    Although Ryu hadn''t become the recultivation of his soul just yet as it wasn''t a pressing matter for him, he had spent a lot of time studying formations of the True Martial World when he had time. His talent in formation mastery was especially steep, so it only took a single sweep of his Spiritual Sense to know that this was an Ancestral Grade Formation, not an Ancestral Grade Formation of Sacrum, but a true Ancestral Grade Formation of the True Martial World.


    Just a formation was able to withstand the assault of tens of thousands of World Sea Realm experts or even a handful of Fragmented Sky Gods.


    Such a formation was more than good enough to be laid around a Two Star Sect, and yet it was laid in the middle of nowhere for the sake of¡­ a camp?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Just now when he tried to see through more of the secrets of the formation, he was forced to pull back for fear of being detected. He realized that had he not had Void Spiritual Sense, he would have been sensed immediately.


    ''Such caution¡­''


    From his understanding, to be able to detect Spiritual Sense, a formation had to be exceptional. This ability alone made this formation actually comparable to a formation a tier above. This large-scale formation was definitely approaching the level of a Fragmented Grade Formation.


    Ryu wasn''t in a rush. He had already gathered dozens of carcasses for Little Silk, all of which were at the Eleventh Order and of the Sovereign Grade. From his estimations, this should be enough to allow her to make that final push into the Eleventh Order.


    In that case, he was no longer pressed for time. He could calmly observe what was happening here.


    If he was correct, this camp should be created by the Carving Ice Sect.


    Just from a cursory glance, he could see that it was surrounded by 64 smoking pillars. There was a potential chance that this smoke was the very ''poison'' that Ryu was looking for the source of all this time, while the pillars seemed to be part of the formation flags that formed the important foundation of the Ancestral Grade Formation.


    Although the smoking pillars were outside the formation, if one thought it would be easy to cripple the formation like this, they''d be sorely mistaken. Even Ryu didn''t dare to casually touch them. If anything, those pillars were the most dangerous parts of the formation and had the highest concentrations of power.


    Ryu continued to watch silently.


    Over time, he wanted many to come in and out of the camp, but they didn''t seem to be doing anything special.


    When Ryu realized that he wasn''t going to find out much like this, he chose one of the more powerful individuals and began to trail them. After several more hours, he returned to the camp and Ryu got his answer.


    ''I see¡­ So they''re just like me, they''re hunting beasts using this method. But if this is an available method to Sects, why doesn''t everyone do it?''


    The carcasses of beasts, their bones, their flesh, their Beast Cores, were all exceptionally useful. Ryu didn''t believe that the Sects wouldn''t take the option if they could out of some moral responsibility. So that meant that there was another explanation.


    The first possibility was that it was too dangerous. After all, there were overlords among the beasts as well. There weren''t just human Sky Gods in existence.


    Ryu had yet to meet any special races in the True Martial World, but he knew they definitely existed. And while they weren''t on the lower Heavens, there were powerful beasts among them for certain.


    The second possibility was that it was an expensive endeavor and no Sect would do it casually without very, very good reason.


    The third possibility was just that this was a special method reserved for the Carving Ice Sect solely.


    Of these options, Ryu felt that things were rarely so simple and that it was potentially a combination of all three. However, if he had to pick one that resonated the most with what he had seen, the second possibility was the most likely.


    The odds that it was the third was quite low purely because the Carving Ice Sect was only one of the most powerful Sects on the Second Heaven. If it really had a method of monopolizing beast corpses on its own, over time, this advantage would have long since brought them up to the Third Heaven if not beyond.


    In such a case, then the Carving Ice Sect definitely had a very good reason for going all out like this. Was it due to the opening of the Heavenly Path? This was very possible.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. It seemed that he would have to take the risk of breaching the formation with his Spriitual Sense. Only by getting an understanding of what was inside could he confirm exactly what was happening.


    After a moment, Ryu targeted the most vulnerable parts of the formation and snaked his senses inside, doing a slow and steady sweep of the camp.


    Soon, he made it to the central and largest tent there was, only to find that there was yet another formation.


    Ryu frowned, but he remained patient and calm. Right now, no one knew how deep into the mountain range that he had entered, so they weren''t looking for him. But if they didn''t know that he was here, with their numbers, it would be all too easy to cast a net that it would be difficult for him to escape.


    After several more hours, Ryu managed to carefully make his way into the tent and what he saw left him a bit startled.


    Within, Jenneless sat in meditation, completely in the nude, her soft skin revealed to the chilling wind. Her proportions were absolutely perfect.


    But this was a matter that Ryu could care less about, what startled him was what was happening.


    Bits and pieces of her body were turning into transparent ice. Beneath her, a large amount of beast flesh, Beast Cores and bones were being slowly refined. As they were refined, her flesh was very slowly being turned into ice.


    Ryu''s expression flickered.


    So all of this commotion was for Jenneless? It looked like she was refining her physique to an all new level. With the effort the Sect was putting in, Ryu was certain that the benefits wouldn''t be small.


    Ryu slowly pulled back, ready to regroup and decide what to do next.


    However, at that moment, the odd qi in the surroundings latched onto Ryu''s Spiritual Sense, slowly turning it to ice as well.


    Ryu was easily able to shake this off considering his affinities, but the change caused a disruption in the formations.


    In that instant, Ryu''s heart was hit with a pulse of electricity and his pupils constricted.


    Right then, the pair of invisible formations whirred to life, flashing with pulsing red and blue lights.


    Ryu shook his head, but then he chuckled. It seemed he would have to get some good exercise this time.

 Chapter 1047 Two

    Ryu quickly shrouded himself in his Void Spiritual Sense just as a bombardment of Spiritual Sense spread out in all directions. Just in a few seconds, he felt the area that he was standing in be passed over dozens of times, causing his expression to become serious.


    In Sacrum, having Spiritual Sense that stretched over dozens of kilometers wasn''t very rare. However, in the True Martial World, such existences were almost by necessity Sky Gods, or at the very least, World Sea Realm experts.


    Due to the fact Ryu''s soul was of the Ancestral Grade, the suppression he experienced in the Second Heaven was minimal, which was why his own was able to spread out over 10 kilometers even back before he improved his Spiritual Sea so greatly. However, there weren''t such talents here.


    Ryu was standing quite a distance away. For so many to be able to stretch their senses so far to check on him was just a testament to just how many powerhouses were in this region. In fact, many of them had been hidden before Ryu suddenly alerted them. It was clear that they were on standby for a situation exactly like this one.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he glided back, his figure flickering and vanishing as he moved with as much speed as he could muster without causing disruptions to the qi in the surroundings. He knew that the moment those powerhouses realized that they couldn''t find the person they were looking for, they would begin looking for different markers of movement.


    Although abilities and treasures that could hide one from Spiritual Sense were rare, they weren''t rare to the point that they wouldn''t be immediately thought of in a situation like this one. And, more importantly, their weaknesses were widely known.


    Most of such treasures wouldn''t make one invisible, so they''d still be observable with the naked eye. In addition, such treasures couldn''t hide the impact on the environment one would have. It couldn''t do anything about footprints, disturbed environments, or most important, distortions in the air.


    p¨¤§ád¨¢-¨¾?¦Í¨º¦É.§ã¨®§® Ryu, though, was well aware of this.


    From the very beginning, Ryu hadn''t left any footprints in his wake. His movement technique was more than graceful enough to avoid such things. As such, the only thing he had to be concerned about were distortions in the air.


    These distortions came in two forms. The first was displacement of the wind and the second was currents of qi.


    The faster a cultivator moved, the faster the wind around them would have to move to stay out of their way. Someone with sharp Spiritual Sense would definitely be able to pick up on this by looking for oddities in the wind.


    The qi current issue was even more blatant than the first, albeit easier to hide. Those at the Immortal Ring Realm and above gained great power by pulling in qi from the surroundings, and this was especially so when movement techniques were involved.


    But, even if one only used the qi within their bodies, it would most definitely have effects on the surrounding atmosphere that could be detected as well.


    The moment these powerful Spiritual Senses started looking for such things, the more troublesome it would become for Ryu to avoid detection.


    However, Ryu had two things that were in his favor.


    Firstly, he had exceptionally high affinity with the wind thanks to the Northern and Southern Heavenly Winds. Under his recultivation, they too had been brought to an Ancestral Grade standard and their ability to help him on the Second Heaven was astounding.


    With a thought, Ryu could vanish into the wind as the standard of the Second Heaven was too low to stop him. If he wanted, he could even use his Northern Heavenly Wind to fly as well. Thanks to this, the problem of wind was non-existent to him.


    However, the trouble of qi was far more difficult to handle. If Ryu wanted to escape this coming encirclement, it would be hard to do so without qi. This was because the Northern Heavenly Wind wouldn''t be able to display its full prowess without qi as well. As such, Ryu was heavily capped in the speed he could use.


    At his current pace, he would eventually be surrounded.


    Coming to this point, Ryu suddenly stopped. He pulled his great swordstaff from his back and carved it into a large tree. He placed disregarded bits into his spatial ring before slipping inside and sealing himself shut.


    Right now, he was easily 20 or so meters above the ground. It would be impossible to spot such a defect in a single tree so high up.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as he sat in silence, his aura calm. One would have never thought that he had suddenly become the target of several Sky Gods.


    Ryu knew that escaping now was impossible, but another factor was that he didn''t want to escape. He was very curious about exactly what was happening here, and if he could ruin things for Jenneless, he wouldn''t turn his nose up at the opportunity.


    At the same time, though, he also knew that getting all of the Sky Gods to abandon the camp in search of him was impossible as well. They wouldn''t be foolish enough to make such a choice. Even if some of them left, a good portion would stay behind to make sure nothing else happened.


    Ryu calmly observed what was happening, and to his surprise, two individuals shot into the skies, causing his eyes to narrow.


    Flying without the support of special means on the Second Heaven only meant one thing¡­ False Sky Gods, two of them.


    It seemed that not only was the Carving Ice Sect a True Two Star Sect which meant that they had at least 10 Fragmented Sky Gods, they also had two False Sky Gods on top of that! They weren''t a normal True Star Sect, even among True Two Star Sects, they were exceptionally powerful.


    But what was more interesting was that these two powerhouses both insisted on being present at this camp.

 Chapter 1048 Oddity

    The two False Sky Gods, one man and one woman, scanned the surroundings with a coldness in their eyes. It was clear that they were relying on their eyesight instead of their Spiritual Sense because they had already realized that their gazes would be more effective in this situation. However, even after scanning over the entire horizon with eyes that could easily see for hundreds of kilometers, they saw nothing.


    Although there was a whole range of forest, mountains and cave systems to use as cover, if someone was moving through this terrain, even if they were wearing white and making use of cover, it would still be impossible for them to hide from their sight. The vision of Sky Gods, and cultivators in general, was simply too sharp.


    However, even after several minutes, they found absolutely nothing.


    "Carah, you stay here. I will go," the male False Sky God spoke.


    "Mm." Carah nodded, her eyes still narrowed.


    This matter was too important. Although others had already gone to investigate, they couldn''t afford to be casual. Whether or not their Sect would gain a foothold in the Fourth Heaven come the next opening of the Heavenly Path was all contingent on this.


    With a flicker, Amanrah, the male False Sky God, flickered and vanished, his overwhelming pressure pressing down on the surroundings as though he wanted to force Ryu out of hiding by force.


    Within his chosen tree, Ryu remained calm. Amanrah''s choice wasn''t a bad one, the oppression of a Sky God could easily cause one to slip up. He had made the correct assumption that whoever had come here was unlikely to be at his strength level. After all, False Sky Gods were considered to be the pinnacle of strength in the Second Heaven.


    However, if he thought that this would be enough for Ryu to shudder in fear, he was sorely mistaken.


    Noticing that Carah was still in the air, Ryu realized that he would have to be more patient. But this just gave him the time he needed to investigate this situation more thoroughly.


    p¨¤§ád¨¢-¨¾?¦Í¨º¦É.§ã¨®§® Even False Sky Gods, it seemed, couldn''t sense his Void Spiritual Sense. Or, more accurately, False Sky Gods of this caliber. So long as he was cautious around the formations, he should be able to infiltrate once again and gain a better understanding of exactly what was happening.


    About half an hour later, Ryu finally managed to enter Jenneless'' tent with his senses again. This time, he was prepared for the iciness and guarded himself against it. His ice affinity was exceptional to begin with, he didn''t fear a bit of cold.


    Ryu silently observed Jenneless for a long time before he felt that he finally understood what was happening.


    ''She''s refining her body, but it isn''t a normal refinement, it''s more like an entire rebirth. The further he crystallization goes, the closer she is to success. It''s almost like recultivation, but far more dangerous. With just a single mistake, her life would be forfeit. Even when I disturbed her formation, she still didn''t have the luxury of waking from her meditation.''


    Every time a new beast was brought back, it was brought to a tent adjacent to Jenneless'' where it was first processed via a special method. Then, this refined carcass was passed through an underground passage to Jenneless'' tent where it was silently added to the pool of crimson.


    This refinement process was quite exceptional.


    From what Ryu could tell, the first shocking thing was that even the weakest creatures were of the Eleventh Order and of the Sovereign Grade. And yet, it still wasn''t enough for Jenneless. There must have been hundreds of refined beasts in there, but she was only about 10% of the way through the process.


    The second shocking thing, however, was the individual doing the refining.


    This person was quite mysterious, wearing a cloak of black that Ryu didn''t dare to peek into. At best he could gain a vague shadowy representation of the individual because this person seemed to have treasures that barred out even his own Spiritual Sense. If Ryu pressed forward, not only would he be exposed again and have to move once more, but he had a feeling that he wouldn''t be able to shake this individual off as easily as he had the others.


    Ryu''s brows couldn''t help but furrow. Could it be that the Carving Ice Sect was actually a Three Star Sect with a True Sky God in their midst?


    That was possible, but why would they hide it? In fact, this person seemed like they were hiding as well.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, this wasn''t the first oddity related to the Carving Ice Sect. Was it really a coincidence that Jenneless had found the Frost Clan''s remnants?


    While the other representatives of the Second Heaven had been focusing on recruiting Chosen, Jenneless had gone Ruin hunting instead. But considering what Ryu knew of her personality, she should have disdained to even try to find treasure on the First Heaven. In fact, considering how clearly important she was to the Carving Ice Sect, if she didn''t want to go and recruit on the First Heaven, she just had to say a word and the matter would be shut down.


    So why had this arrogant woman come down to the First Heaven? Could it be that she knew of Flowing Frost''s Ruin from the very beginning? But how was that possible?


    Even if the location of the Ruin was known, it still wouldn''t be enough for Jenneless to make a move. Why would she care about something left by a First Heaven expert? Unless she already knew that it was a remnant left by the Sixth Heaven, or at the very least, she knew that it came from a higher Heaven.


    But how could she know such a thing? If even a mere Second Heaven Sect could find out this information, would the enemies of the Frost Clan have wiped out their last hope long ago?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. There was definitely some sort of oddity here and he felt the need to find out what it was.

 Chapter 1049 Exposed

    "Hm?"


    The cloaked figure suddenly lifted their head, looking around. They felt that someone was watching them, causing them to pause in their refinement for a moment and look around with a sweeping gaze.


    The eyes of the cloaked figure narrowed as Ryu continued to observe.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s gaze flickered. As quickly as he could muster it, he vanished into the golden moon world.


    The moment Ryu vanished, a rippling wave of Spiritual Qi shot out from the cloaked figure, sweeping through everything before locking onto a hollow tree in the distance. There was nothing inside of the tree aside from a single ring. However, the appearance of this singular ring makes the cloaked figure''s heart shudder.


    "Carah."


    A distorted voice boomed.


    ¡­


    Within the golden moon world, Ryu''s expression darkened. He had overestimated his Void Spiritual Sense. At the very least, he had overestimated it at this stage. He had managed to avoid being locked down, but if he was too casual he would be finished.


    ''Time to go.''


    Ryu appeared within the hollow tree once again. He slammed a palm down, causing a formation to rapidly take form.


    Communicating with the Silver Star Visualization, he flooded the surroundings with a towering spatial qi.


    "Huh?"


    The cloaked figure''s expression changed once again. They had expected Ryu to remain hiding, but it seemed that Ryu wasn''t actually so foolish.


    They stretched out their Spiritual Qi once again, looking to mark Ryu for good. But by that point, it was already too late.


    Ryu vanished into thin air.


    At that moment, False Sky God Carah appeared outside of the tent. It had only been a fraction of the second, and yet Ryu''s timing couldn''t have been better. He didn''t hesitate in the slightest, nor did he panic, causing the cloaked figure to lose out on the best chance to mark him.


    "Yes, Ancestor!" Carah replied respectfully.


    The cloaked figure''s gaze flashed with rage. They had actually been outsmarted by a junior, what absolute trash. As for how they were absolutely certain that Ryu was a junior without locking onto him, that was even simpler. Before them, who wasn''t a junior?


    "The scuttling rat has been forced out of their hiding spot. I can''t leave right now or else the refinement process will fail, however you cannot let that rat escape. He has the World Ring in his possession, the final treasure of the Frost Clan. This means that the Ruin was cleared after Jenneless failed. Track him down, now."


    Carah''s heart shuddered. The Ruin was cleared?!


    "Is it the boy with the Perfect Blackbody Soul?!"


    "Yes. Just now, he was secretly observing everything with his Void Spiritual Sense. Luckily, his soul is still weak or else even I wouldn''t be able to detect him. As things stand now, you won''t be able to find him through normal means, bring out the treasure.


    "He escaped using a small scale teleportation array, it won''t be able to send him much further than about 100 to 1000 kilometers, he''s still within range and can''t escape. Anyone in the surrounding million kilometers that doesn''t cultivate my Carving Ice Technique¡­ Kill them!


    "Make sure not to alert those King Beasts!"


    Carah shuddered. Such a range, was it still necessary if only a small scale teleportation array was used? However, when she thought about how important this matter was, she nodded heavily. There was no way around this matter. It was better if they started a massacre than run into individuals who might want to interfere with their plans.


    Carah''s expression turned frighteningly cold. So long as they caught this boy, they would not only gain that legacy, but they would also gain a Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    "Yes, Ancestor!"


    ¡­


    Ryu appeared from thin air, landing lightly on a thick pile of snow without even the slightest disruption to the environment. His gaze flickered with a cold light.


    They probably thought that he had run to escape, but he knew that that would be foolish. If he tried to run right now, he would be caught up to. The distance between this place and the nearest city with a large scale teleportation array was far too large. By the time he made it even 10% of the way there, he would be caught.


    However, the moment Ryu had been caught once, he had already thought of how he might escape if he was caught a second time. He was caught off guard once, but he wouldn''t make the same mistake twice.


    There were two reasons for why he had entered the golden moon world at the risk of exposing its existence. The first was obviously to dodge the cloaked figure''s attempt at leaving a soul tag on his Spiritual Sense.


    In the over year that Ryu had been in the True Martial World, he had made it a point to learn about all the techniques he possibly could. Ignorance was the greatest sin in a world like this one. Although it was still impossible to know everything, when it came to the most commonly used sinister methods, he knew them all. The soul tag was obviously one of these methods.


    The second reason he had disappeared into the golden moon world was to hide the fact that he could personally set formations himself. From the perspective of the cloaked figure, Ryu had pulled out a ready-made formation drawn by someone else before fueling its activation with his own qi.


    As such, this individual had no idea about Ryu''s formation mastery skill and would have no idea that Ryu would set up his own. Due to this, the cloaked figure''s first assumption would be that Ryu would try to escape on foot. Even if he had several more formation plates to use, he would eventually run out.


    Under these assumption, the cloaked figure and the others would never guess that Ryu hadn''t actually run for his life. Instead, he had entered even deeper into the mountain range, entering the territory of the overlord beasts.

 Chapter 1050 Race

    Ryu did a quick scan of his surroundings and found that the smokey fog in this region was especially dense. It didn''t take much time for Ryu to realize that this was most definitely a result of the Carving Ice Sect''s machinations. But what surprised him was that due to the density, even he was beginning to feel somewhat languid.


    However, as soon as that feeling came, Ryu''s Bone Structure glowed, his Yin Water also beginning to circulate. When it came to poisons, although Ryu wouldn''t dare to say that he was immune in the True Martial World, he probably wasn''t very off from it at least when it came to poisons targeted toward lower life forms.


    With a step, Ryu flickered and vanished, moving even deeper.


    The cloaked figure''s estimates were well off. Ryu hadn''t teleported 100 kilometers away, he had teleported over 10 000 kilometers away relying on a combination of formation and his visualization. Of his Visualizations, the Silver Star was the only one that didn''t seem suppressed in the True Martial World. In fact, it only seemed to get stronger even with Ryu''s minimal insights into it.


    Ryu quickly found a secluded area, took his ring off of his finger, carved a piece out of a thick rock, buried it inside, and then disappeared into it.


    Once Ryu entered the golden moon world, he got to work immediately.


    His plan was simple: create his own large scale teleportation array.


    Ryu was missing two things to accomplish this, one of which was far easier to fulfill than the other.


    The first thing was resources. Each large scale teleportation array required a solid foundation of resources, but most importantly, it needed Qi Stones for activation. The better resources one used for their teleportation array, the less Qi Stones you would need to use.


    Of course, this was relative. After all, even if you used exceptional resources, if your goal was a destination trillions of miles away, you would still need to spend an enormous sum for each teleportation.


    Regardless, Ryu didn''t worry much about this. He planned to use a weaker foundation and make it up with more Qi Stones. Although he had the resources to use, he would eventually need to bring this formation outside to set it up and then abandon it. How could he invest a great amount into a formation he was about to abandon? That would be ridiculous.


    The second issue, though, was more difficult to deal with, and that was having the requisite insights into the laws of space.


    Setting up certain formations would always require a foundational understanding of the Fundamental Runes used to build it. Without this understanding, it was impossible to properly set up a formation, and using a formation like this would be asking for death.


    Most of the large scale teleportation arrays in the Second Heaven were set up by Sky Gods. It was one thing for Ryu to use a small scale teleportation array which was designed to send him up to 1000 kilometers away at best. However, for a large scale array which could send him hundreds of thousands to millions of kilometers away, it was impossible to do so casually. In fact, even accomplishing the former without a great deal of training was impossible unless you were a genius on Ryu''s level.


    Still, Ryu had the utmost confidence in himself. The only question was if he would be able to do it in time.


    Anyone who could make it to the Sky God Realm, especially in the True Martial World, was most definitely not a fool. He could shake them off for a small while, but most definitely not an infinite amount of time.


    If he could just teleport away from within the golden moon world, things would be fine. But doing so was impossible for a few reasons.


    The first and most obvious was that this would require leaving the ring behind and thus all of the Frost Clan''s techniques and resources behind. This was an absolute no-go and Ryu refused to do it. The Frost Clan was far too helpful to his future path.


    The second and less obvious reason was that teleporting from one world to another, which is what would effectively have to happen in this situation, was even beyond large scale teleportation. If Ryu had the chance to accomplish the latter, he had absolutely no chance at accomplishing the former with centuries of research and time.


    This meant that he needed to exit the world to leave. However, setting up the array would cause fluctuations of qi to appear in the air, which meant that if he wasn''t fast enough and the Sky Gods of the Carving Ice Sect began to look deeper into the mountain range, he would end up exposed and very dead.


    Ryu reached out a hand and caused a jade to snap into his fingers. This was the weakest large scale teleportation array the Frost Clan had in their arsenal.


    According to its introduction, on the Sixth Heaven it could only send one about 1000 kilometers. But on lower Heavens, even if deployed at an Initial Success level, it would display far greater range. From a cursory glance, Ryu believed that even a 500 000 or so kilometers wouldn''t be impossible if he deployed it at Initial Success.


    Thinking to this point, Ryu began to study the individual Fundamental Runes and how they fit together. He mumbled to himself, drawing in the air with one finger while his mind flipped between the bits and pieces of the array with astounding speed.


    Ryu''s gaze sparkled. He realized that as he continued, he found that bits and pieces of the Silver Star Visualization were also becoming clearer to him.


    His eagerness increased, his finger moving faster.


    ¡­


    While Ryu was in a race against time, a massacre of epic proportions had already begun in the mountain range.


    Carah and Amanrah showed no mercy, even deploying the other Sky Gods of the Sect to help.


    Beneath the Sky God Realm, all cultivators were ants. Once after another, innocents had their lives ripped from them.


    However, even after so long, their target was still not found.

 Chapter 1051 Spatial Qi Dome

    The Runes Ryu drew in the air quickly became more and more complex, his focused state only increasing with each passing moment. He could only lament the fact that his eyes still hadn''t awakened or else this process would have most definitely been far faster. Even if he didn''t rely on its comprehension abilities, just the ability to step into deeper States of Meditation on a whim would make things far easier.


    Even so, this didn''t put off Ryu.


    Largely, Ryu split the formation into two parts.


    The first part was the portion that could be classified to be at the Immortal Realm.


    The formation itself could be classified as a Mystical Grade Formation which was a step above the Heaven Grade and, likewise, a step beyond the Immortal Grades. Or, more accurately, it shared space with the Immortal Grade.


    Mystical Grade Formations and techniques were best laid down by experts of the Dao Pedestal Realm and Cosmic Seed Realm. As such, from this, one can see that the former is considered an Immortal Realm while the latter is considered a Cosmic Realm.


    Due to this, there were portions of the Formation that could be understood by Immortal Realm cultivators, but there were also some portions that could be classified as secrets of the higher realm and was, as such, the second part that Ryu had split the formation into.


    This was important because Ryu could see through the Immortal Realms very easily and quickly by relying on one, his Dao, and two, his Realm Heart. In combination, the speed he flew through the less complex parts of the formation was extraordinary. In fact, it felt that so long as he glanced at it, he would understand it.


    The issues began to creep up when the more complex Runes were in question.


    In the face of Immortal Fundamental Runes, Ryu could clear a hundred a second without pause. However, for the Cosmic Fundamental Runes, it took him between one and three seconds to understand just one. The difference was drastic, especially when it was considered that Ryu''s hundred per second cap in the face of Immortal Runes was only so slow because he had to maneuver around Cosmic Fundamental Runes as well.


    If it wasn''t for the fact this formation was a fusion of the two, let alone a hundred a second, even ten thousand a second wouldn''t be a problem for Ryu. By that point, he would grasp the entire formation in just a few minutes.


    Realizing how slow things would be if he continued like this, Ryu abandoned trying to grasp this formation to the Great Circle of Perfection. Instead, he intentionally left holes in his comprehension and reasoning, allowing his speed to reach a greater height.


    Without trying to master the Cosmic Runes fully, his speed increased to ten a second. As for the Immortal Runes, he still took the path of fully mastering the Immortal Runes. Not only would this help mitigate the overall weakness of his comprehension, but so long as he continued to fully comprehend the Immortal Runes, his comprehension of the Cosmic Runes wouldn''t slow.


    Ultimately, all of these Runes were connected as one. Only by understanding one part would you be able to grasp the reason for the existence of the next. If Ryu took a path of weakening his comprehension too much, then his lack of understanding would compound and eventually stall his progress in the future.


    If he wanted to succeed, he had to find a balance between comprehension and speed that wouldn''t cause too many adverse effects, and that he did.


    In just three hours, Ryu grasped the entirety of the formation, exhaling. His gaze flashed with a blinding silver light.


    Right now, his comprehension was at Small Success. This just went to show how large the gap between the Immortal Runes and Cosmic Runes were.


    He had fully comprehended the Immortal Runes to Great Circle of Perfection, and yet because he had only comprehended the Cosmic Runes to Initial Success, his overall comprehension had actually fallen so far.


    ''It''s time.''


    Ryu knew that this had already taken him much longer than he wanted. Three hours was long enough for a pair of Sky Gods to do almost too much for him to fathom. They would have definitely started doubling back by now.


    As Ryu gathered up the resources he needed to start, his mind worked in overdrive. He would definitely need to adjust his plans now, but the question was how. This time, he couldn''t be so brazen. The gap between himself and his enemies was far too large.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as he hid his face behind a mask.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot out from the rock he had stored the golden moon world ring within. Stealth wasn''t something he bothered with because very soon, the qi storm that would gather up would rock this world far more than the shattering of a single rock.


    Ryu''s soul presence flourished and a large number of items began to flood out from his body, his speed reaching levels more Formation Masters didn''t dare to use for fear of messing up. However, Ryu''s confidence in himself was absolute. He didn''t even think twice, relying on his comprehension to move even faster. In fact, as he deployed the full formation, he found that his overall understanding was quickly increasing.


    "You little rat, so you''ve been here the whole time!"


    A voice boomed from the distance as a man surged through the skies. It was clear that he had only roared like this in order to shake Ryu awake from his concentration and ruin his attempt. Even if he slowed Ryu down by a small measure, it would be enough. How could a junior stay bold in the face of a mighty Sky God?


    Unfortunately for him, Ryu didn''t pause even more a moment, it was as though he didn''t hear it at all, the surging qi of his formation deployment increasing with every passing second.


    However, what was unfortunate for Ryu was that he already knew that he wouldn''t be fast enough.


    His gaze turned frighteningly cold as the pressure of a Sky God shot over, the oppressive might turning from an empty threat, to one that was very real. As Amanrah''s presence descended, even if Ryu wasn''t scared of him psychologically, his body itself turned heavy and his qi became languid in its movement.


    There was nothing he could do about this. It was an absolute suppression.


    By the time Amanrah entered range, Ryu was only 50% of the way through the deployment of his formation, his body already covered in sweat as his nose and ears bled.


    "Come here!"


    Amanrah grabbed at the air, wanting to capture Ryu. It was clear that they all wanted to understand exactly who Ryu was and where he had come from. Plus, it was best to extract talents when the target was still among the living, or else things could get complicated.


    At that moment, though, Ryu looked up, his gaze meeting that of Amanrah''s. The coldness and indifference within it made the Sky God pause for just a moment.


    A surge of spatial qi whipped through the surroundings.


    "You want to teleport before me?! You overestimate yourself!" Amanrah recovered and his voice boomed, the sheer rippling wave of his aura causing Ryu to cough up a mouthful of blood.


    However, just when Amanrah thought he had succeeded, the spatial qi suddenly ramped up, forming a powerful dome of protection that suddenly vanished.


    Amanrah stood in the air, stunned as Ryu vanished.


    It didn''t make sense. He was certain that the formation wasn''t finished, how had this happened? What was going on?


    Amanrah''s pupils constricted as the dome of spatial qi dispersed.


    "This isn''t the aura of a large scale teleportation, it''s a short range teleportation again. He used the half completed formation as a barrier to block my attempt at sealing space so that he could escape again safely. This¡­"


    It was hard to describe this with just the word "genius", this was far beyond just genius, it was savant-like. However, this should make sense. How could a soul talent like Ryu not have skills of some kind? If he didn''t, wouldn''t he be wasting his talent?


    Still, it didn''t matter. Who cared if it was another short scale teleportation? The moment he tried to leave this mountain range again, he would sense it.


    Amanrah''s expression became malevolent.


    ''You little rat, just wait until I get my hands on you¡­''


    Just as Amanrah thought this, a sudden rumbling came from not far again. A behemoth-sized shadow loomed over the fog, heading right for Amanrah.


    "Shit!"


    Amanrah struck out a palm quickly.


    ¡­


    Ryu suddenly appeared. However, if Amanrah saw where he had chosen to appear, his expression would have warped uncontrollably.


    At that instant, Ryu had actually appeared right outside of the camp of the Carving Ice Sect!


    "Enemy!"


    "Enemy attack!"


    Ryu''s palms flipped up, causing his great swordstaffs which hovered to his back to snap into his hands.


    With two swings, almost a dozen Carving Ice Sect disciples fell into bloody pieces.

 Chapter 1052 A Single Word

    "Activate the formation!"


    "The formation?! It''s just one Immortal Ring Realm expert! Slaughter him!"


    The roars of fury and indignance layered atop of one another, however as they did, the pristine white snow quickly gained a flood of crimson, the fluttering white the descended from the sky beginning to feel far less beautiful and far more like a harbinger of death.


    Ryu had appeared without warning and began an all out slaughter without the slightest hesitation. In the beginning, many had been willing to believe he was a disciple they had never seen before, after all, it was impossible to know every single member of their Sect personally. And yet, he didn''t seem keen on taking advantage of this at all.


    At that moment, a familiar figure ran out of the formation, his gaze blazing with fury.


    Jenneless'' junior brother, Koris, couldn''t believe what was happening. This formation had been set up to deal with the potential reaction of the beasts in the mountain range due to their actions. Never did they think that before the beasts could even retaliate, it would be a foolish human who attacked first.


    "With me! Get into formation! This might just be a probe from another power, more could be coming! Don''t rush around like loose sand and deal with this problem swiftly!"


    Under Koris'' leadership, the loose formation of cultivators began to shape up somewhat and the swift killing spree Ryu had been on slowed somewhat.


    "Who are you?! How dare you attack my Carving Ice Sect?!" Koris'' voice boomed, his gaze flashing with battle intent.


    These days, he had a lot of pent up frustration. Considering that he had been chosen to go to the First Heaven along with Jenneless, his own standing in the Sect was quite high, after all, the secret of the Frost Clan''s Ruin couldn''t be shared with just anyone.


    However, now, he had been reduced to a lackey, rushing around like a dog with its tail between its legs just to gather up more resources for Jenneless to use. Although he had always had a healthy respect and even fear of Jenneless, that didn''t mean that he was willing to be beneath her all his life, it was just that he was unfortunate to be born several years later than her.


    But now it was already over. The Ruin was his last chance to surpass her, and since that had fallen through, the Sect had made the decision to back her entirely. Such a large scale refinement could only take place once, and now that things had gone so far, his chances were nil. He would forever be cosigned to mediocrity.


    This all left him in a furious state and Ryu just so happened to appear in time to allow him to vent this frustration. In fact, he hoped that there was more where Ryu came from. If the refinement process could be disrupted entirely, that would be for the best. Since he couldn''t have it, why should anyone else?


    In his fury, though, Koris had no idea that the masked man before him was the very same Ryu he had almost killed several months ago, nor did he know that it was this same Ryu who held such high level alchemy secrets, and neither would he come to know these things because he was immediately infuriated by the fact Ryu directly ignored him.


    Ryu stretched out his great swordstaff, a rippling qi surging around it.


    [Rising Tempest].


    The aura of a powerful spear technique swirled in the air, a tornado of qi wrapping around Ryu''s outstretched great swordstaff to the point it became almost like a heavenly lance.


    "Dao Charm technique!"


    Unfortunately, it was already too late. In the time that it had taken the disciples of the Carving Ice Sect to organize, he had already accumulated the momentum for this technique. Even without revealing his true cards, the power behind this blow was beyond the imagining of those here.


    Ryu tapped a foot and vanished, his speed tearing across space and appearing before the mass of accumulated disciples.


    Carnage.


    Everywhere the revolving cyclone of qi passed, another expert was ripped to shreds. Blood flew and flesh collapsed, bits and pieces of bone rotating outward like the shrapnel of a grenade.


    Koris'' eyes widened, a heart lurching fear taking grip of his chest and throat as he rapidly retreated. He too had thought that it would be ridiculous to use the formation against an Immortal Ring Realm expert, but this¡­ how could he have predicted this?


    Koris retreated quickly, unwilling to get swept up in the carnage. But even as he did so, Ryu seemed to be swiftly catching up.


    Releasing a roar, a towering ice qi surged around Koris, his palms slapping outward as he continued to rapidly retreat. However, at that moment, everything seemed to freeze, even time itself coming to a crawl.


    Ryu retracted his great swordstaff, his steps light and fast as he vanished in a bolt of lightning, appearing again before Koris in the blink of an eye.


    Koris'' expression widened even further than before. "¡­ Lightning Spiri¡ª!"


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs crossed about his throat, sending his head flying into the air just as Ryu himself stepped through a gap in the formation with incomparable ease. After observing the formation for so long previously, how could he not understand its strengths and weaknesses?


    Ryu didn''t bother with anything else as he stepped forward. Although he had come here, it wasn''t for the sake of revenge, though one could say that he derived a small bit of satisfaction from that and a bit of this could be considered payback for Amanrah pressuring him to this extent.


    The truth was that Ryu had more self-control than this. There were plenty of opportunities to make the Carving Ice Sect pay on the Heavenly Path, he didn''t need to put his life at risk here and now when he had so much more of his potential to unearth in the coming months to years.


    As such, Ryu had no intention of courting death, and he also had no intention of interrupting Jenneless'' refinement process. If he interrupted the procedure, then the cloaked figure would no longer have a reason to sit in place and that would just put his life in danger.


    No, the real reason that he had come here was because he had no other choice. The only path to survival here was by co opting the formation they had painstakingly laid out and using it to protect himself as he vanished from this place. Essentially, he would be using their hard work toward his own ends.


    After Amanrah caught up with him, Ryu knew that he would be able to catch up again. And even if he didn''t, there was still the other False Sky God to contend with, Carah. In that case, it was impossible to set up his large-scale teleportation in the wilderness, he needed a safe place¡­


    After some thought, the safest place was glaringly obvious¡­ and it also happened to be the most dangerous place by far as well.


    Ryu''s figure flickered, appearing by one of the billowing smoke towers and tapping it before vanishing again.


    He rushed all around the campsite, slaughtering those who stood in his path and rushing by those he couldn''t be bothered to handle. His speed, especially since he had chosen to reveal his Lightning Spirit Body under this identity, was impossible to match. He made even World Sea Realm experts look like toddlers.


    In just a few moments, Ryu had already gone to over half of the smoke towers, his speed no lessening and the focus in his eyes growing. He knew that there was only a small time frame for him to take advantage of. Sky Gods were simply too fast for him to hope to outrun them as well.


    Faster. Faster. Faster.


    At that moment, just as Ryu had expected, the Fragmented Sky Gods of the Carving Ice Sect were rushing back with all their might. They had been a far distance away, but the moment they heard the warning sounds, they forgot everything and charged back.


    70%... 80%... 90%...


    Ryu''s jaw steeled. He still wasn''t fast enough.


    The first Fragmented Sky God charged in. Ryu recognized her all too easily. She was the very same Sky God who had descended to the First Heaven those months ago. It seemed that this place had become a reunion location between enemies.


    "Die!"


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as an overwhelming pressure descended from above, his chest relaxing.


    It seemed that he really had no choice.


    As the palm descended, a monstrous pressure threatening to force Ryu to his knees, he looked into the skies and closed his eyes.


    He exhaled slowly, his heart calming. From all signs, it looked like he was a person who had accepted death. Until, that is, his eyes snapped open.


    A blazing trail of lightning sparked within his irises, forming a twin pair of tails that danced out of the edges of his eyes.


    In the skies, the snow seemed to come to a halt before a deafening crack of thunder resounded.


    Ryu''s lips parted as he spoke out a single word.


    "Storm."

 Chapter 1053 Talent

    The skies suddenly turned a pitch black, blanketing the mountain range. The rumble of thunder sounded like shots from a canon and the sparks of lightning came in blinding hues of radiant blue.


    With a look toward the approaching Sky God, Ryu spoke the word without flinching for even a moment, his gaze locked onto the approaching old woman. Since these people wanted to taste his power, he would show them.


    Lusting after his talent? There would be a price to pay.


    BANG!


    A streak of lightning as thick as a thigh shot down from the skies, causing the old Sky God''s expression to change drastically. Without a choice, she could only cough out a mouthful of blood as she redirected her palm strike at the last moment upward.


    BANG!


    The Sky God took a single step back, but her face warped with horror. A layer of her skin had been charred entirely black and a painful surge shot up her arm.


    Tribulation Lightning. This was Tribulation Lightning! There was no doubt that his was Tribulation Lightning!


    What was happening? How was this possible?


    The Sky God was entirely flustered and almost didn''t notice that more bolts were descending from the skies as Ryu''s figure flickered and vanished.


    Ryu''s body zipped from lightning bolt to lightning bolt, fusing his movement technique with his Storm Talent and moving about the campsite even faster than he had originally.


    "Stop!"


    The Sky God recovered quickly, slamming out her palms continuously. After being caught off guard once, she was full prepared this time. Now that she could prepare her strikes, she wouldn''t have to face a situation of injury again, but she also found herself lagging behind Ryu as she was forced to defend again and again.


    If there was something Sky Gods feared the most, it was Tribulation Lightning. It couldn''t be helped, the moment they stepped onto the road of Godhood, they were swimming against the tide of the Heavens. As such, the root of their greatest strength was their Godhood, but this also meant that it was also their greatest weakness.


    The Heavens were able to suppress Godhoods, so when Ryu used his Storm Talent, he was using the Heavens as a proxy for diminishing the grade and power of these opposing Godhoods.


    Even so, he didn''t dare to casually meet a Sky God in a head on clash. The gap was simply too large. It was easier to use his Storm Talent as a distraction, smiting his enemies from afar as he quickly zipped around the campsite.


    ¡­


    Within the tent, the eyes of the cloaked figure widened.


    "Storm Talent¡­? That''s impossible!"


    The Storm Talent was an extraordinarily rare ability of the Lightning Qilin, a race that sat atop the True Martial World. Looking at the power and range of Ryu''s Storm Talent, the cloaked figure couldn''t help but tremble.


    "No, this boy is definitely human. How does a human have this Lightning Qilin Bloodline? That Clan would never allow such a thing. All humans who''ve carried such Bloodlines have long since been wiped out, how could this be possible?"


    Unfortunately, this truth didn''t matter. What were they supposed to do? Contact that mighty Clan and tell them that a human was co-opting their Bloodline? Even if you had such information, you would have to have a certain level of cachet just to speak to these powerhouses in the first place.


    However, to the cloaked figure, this was actually a weight off of their shoulders. If Ryu had this Bloodline, it made sense why he was hiding away on the First Heaven. If he exposed the fact that he had such blood, it wouldn''t be just them hunting him down, those monstrous Beast Clans would be the first to do so.


    Since Ryu was hiding away like this, even if he had a great background, it was unlikely that he could use it. It might even be possible that he was the bastard child of a Lightning Qilin who was unaware of his birth. In that case, his status was even lower than that.


    This meant that they didn''t need to worry about retaliation, and the odds that Ryu had been targeting the Frost Clan Ruin from the beginning was very low, so that was another weight off of their shoulders.


    In such a case, this ultimately meant that Ryu was nothing more than a paper tiger destined to die not too far into the future. Although he was cautious enough to hide his identity and his face, such methods could only work for so long before he was crushed.


    Thinking to this point, the cloaked figure actually relaxed, a smirk spreading across their lips. To them, Ryu had suddenly become like a little bug trapped inside a clear glass. He thought he had all the freedom in the world and he could even see the skies above, when unbeknownst to him if he tried to shoot for those limits, he would hit his ceiling very quickly.


    The cloaked figure sneered. They would let Ryu do as he pleased for now.


    The likelihood that Ryu''s aim was the Heavenly Path was almost 100%. By then, with a limited number of youths to sample from, finding him would be even easier. And, under the restriction that he wouldn''t be able to expose his talent freely without putting a target on his back, the refined Jenneless would be able to deal with him with ease.


    ''It''s difficult to tell what kind of weapons he''s using or much about his aura due to the obstructions of his mask. However, lightning is his greatest reliance, clearly. In addition, he should have some sort of water or ice affinity if he could take the Yin Water from Jenneless. I will tell Jenneless to watch out for such geniuses and to always confront them in public. Weeding him out will be easy.''


    With that final thought, the cloaked figure no longer bothered with what was happening outside, focusing on the refinement process entirely as Ryu continuously flickered and vanished.

 Chapter 1054 Symbol

    Ryu didn''t know the thoughts of the cloaked figure, but he could most definitely guess at them. The fact that he had chosen to reveal his Storm Talent and Lightning Spirit Body meant that he was already prepared for the potential outcomes and he was likewise aware of the measure he would have to take to properly protect himself.


    With a final palm strike, Ryu''s hand landed on the final smoke tower.


    At that moment, the cloaked figure''s casual expression and indifference vanished. They had been so focused on Ryu''s Lightning Qilin Bloodline that they had completely forgotten to consider exactly what Ryu was doing running around like that.


    But now, it was already too late.


    The dome formation flourished as Ryu exhaled a breath, his heart rapidly beating as sweat fell from his brow. Not only was running with his life on the line incredibly taxing, but using his Storm Talent in the True Martial World also seemed to be. It felt like each bolt was ripping out large chunks of fortitude from him as though he was falling further and further into debt the more strength of the Heavens he used.


    The old woman, who was rushing after him, suddenly looked into the skies with a stunned expression. The invisible formation was no longer just as Carah, the second False Sky God, made her way over from the horizon.


    Seeing the situation, Carah''s expression turned incomparably ugly, her gaze focusing on Ryu. However, she realized that she tried to pressure Ryu, her own aura rebounded back at her, causing her to hesitate.


    With her strength, it wasn''t impossible to destroy the formation, but once she did so, everything would be ruined. Not only would they lose their protection, but the poison they were using would also lose its effect. It wasn''t without reason that the smoking pillars became the foundation of the formation.


    She stared daggers at Ryu, unwilling to take a loss, but Ryu had already stopped worrying about that. In fact, Ryu didn''t even give her glance.


    Suddenly, all the Sky Gods aside from one was stuck outside of the formation, leaving Ryu practically without any pressure to deal with whatsoever.


    With a flash, Ryu began to set up his teleportation formation again, unwilling to deal or care with the things around him. It was only when he sensed the old woman try to charge at him again that his gaze flickered with coldness.


    A deathly intent locked onto the woman, causing her to freeze in place.


    "Do you believe that I can kill you with a single thought?"


    "Boy! Don''t you dare! If you lay a hand on her I''ll destroy this formation right this moment!"


    Carah''s voice boomed.


    Ultimately, this was still just an Ancestral Grade Formation. It could only up against Carah for a moment, but not forever. If Ryu forced her hand, things really might go south for him, and this time, he wouldn''t have another hand like this to play.


    Of course, Ryu already knew this and had no intention of killing the old woman. Sky Gods were too important to Sects, even one as secretly powerful as the Carving Ice Sect. The death of one was too large of a blow to let slide easily.


    If Ryu killed one, who was to say he wouldn''t target those on the outside as well? By this, it wouldn''t be worth it at all.


    Ryu completely ignored Carah''s words and started setting up his formation again. This time, he was even faster than last time and after just ten minutes, he was finished. He could go at any time now. However, how could he just leave like this?


    There had to be something here that Ryu could use, something that would give him an advantage in the future. If he just left like this, it would be too great of a loss. What would he get out of this trip? An Eleventh Order Sovereign Grade beast companion? That might be more than good enough for others, but it wasn''t enough to Ryu.


    For one, he felt that he would surpass Little Silk very soon. Secondly, even if he couldn''t surpass her, the exposing of his talents was not worth it at all if this was all he received in return.


    He wasn''t satisfied. Others might feel like escaping with your life in the face of so many Sky Gods as a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert was more than enough to hang your hat on, but he was Ryu Tatsuya. He didn''t flinch in the face of Sky Gods to begin with. In his eyes, he would soon surpass them so what need did he have to respect them? Such people weren''t worthy of forcing him to suffer a loss!


    With a sweep of his Spiritual Sense, Ryu began to check each tent one by one until his pupils constricted.


    There, in a tent on the opposite side, there was a pile of Beast Crystal and bones, but they weren''t ordinary in the slightest. There were only a small number of them, but all of them had Dao Runes! There were three Dao Crystals and one Dao Bone, a truly small number, but they were the very same things that Ryu couldn''t find even after days of hunting.


    Ryu flickered and vanished, sweeping these items away before looking around again.


    He still didn''t seem to be satisfied with just this, but right now, he knew that there was nothing valuable to take anymore. What he was looking for wasn''t valuable items any longer, but rather information.


    There had to be a connecting thread here, some information, some leverage that he could use in the future to force these people to play on a level playing field with him. These people had secrets, they had goals, which meant that they had weaknesses. The question was¡­ what was it?


    Unfortunately, even after several more sweeps, Ryu couldn''t seem to find anything.


    He already knew that it would be too convenient for him to gain such a thing here, this was information likely only Carah and Amanrah knew of, along with the cloaked figure.


    Ryu sent his Void Spiritual Sense into Jenneless'' tent once again, but at that moment, a violent and warning aura surged toward him, forcing him to take a step back before coughing up a mouthful of blood.


    Ryu''s expression turned frighteningly cold, but he had still made one more sweep of her tent. Although he didn''t find anything groundbreaking, he did find a symbol that he committed to memory. When next he saw this symbol, he would make sure that things didn''t end so simply.


    With a step, he entered his formation and activated it, vanishing moments later.

 Chapter 1055 Have To Give

    Ryu stepped outside of a warp in space, his expression cold. The image of that symbol danced around in his mind, but he quickly forced himself to forget about it as harping on it without information would get him nowhere.


    After a moment, he took out the three Beast Crystals and the Dao Bone, looking at them without a hint of happiness in his eyes.


    All around, snow billowed and rampaged about, but the cold here was decidedly less than what it had been previously.


    Ryu took a breath and calmed himself, the coldness in his expression receding from one that might boil over at any time to one that was well within his control. There was no use in being so infuriated when there was nothing that he could do about it.


    There were simply too many things to be enraged about if he really looked at things like this. This was simply what happened when you were weak. It was impossible for him to do and act as he pleased when there were so many individuals who could kill him with the snap of a finger.


    Objectively, Ryu knew that these things were true, as he had always known that they were true. But he had no intention of changing himself. He was the same man back when he had no cultivation to speak of, and he would be the same man now that he had a small bit of power to grasp for himself.


    Ultimately, things would always be like this. Until the day that he could stand unmatched on the Ninth Heaven, he would always face such things.


    This was why he couldn''t agree with the way Sarriel viewed the world. If he did, by the time he reached that peak, all of his sharpness would have vanished. In fact, without that sharpness, the likelihood that he would reach that peak at all was minimal. Maybe if his talent would supersede any and everything, it would be fine. But he had already learned of just how far he was from such a Fate.


    Ryu didn''t believe that it was possible to reach the pinnacle without your own arrogance. If you lowered your head once, you would do it again, and then again. By then, one day you''d look up a million miles from your dreams and with no time left to reach them, wondering what the hell happened along the way.


    Were those youths destined to reach the top holding back their arrogance? Were they lowering their heads and biding their time?


    Of course they weren''t. With their talent, they would be sons and daughters of Heaven from birth, proud as phoenixes and dragons, standing their necks stretched out and their noses pointed to the skies.


    As they cultivated, their arrogance would progress along with them, fueling them with confidence and reinforcing their Daos. This feedback loop would make them stronger and stronger, further distancing them from the "trash" beneath them.


    The way Ryu saw it, if he didn''t even dare to hold his head up proudly in the mere Second Heaven, how would he do so in the further Heavens beyond? How would he reach his goals? How would he protect Sacrum? How would he reunite his parents? How would seek revenge for his grandfathers and grandmothers? How would he unseal his eyes? How would he see his wives again? How would he be able to protect them?


    Ryu simply didn''t believe in biding your time and waiting for opportunities. This would give others initiative over your life, this would allow the people riding atop your head to pull at your puppet strings and make you bark to their tune.


    The only way to control your life was by doing exactly that¡­ controlling it.


    Others would say that it was just smart to lower your head before the strong, after all, at some point in their lives, they had likely had to do the same thing in the face of someone who was also far beyond them.


    However, in Ryu''s eyes, this was nothing short of foolish. If he had no aspirations to reach the pinnacle, he just might be willing to accept it. However, anyone who truly wanted to stand on that mountain peak, anyone who truly wanted to look down upon all the living things of Existence without the slightest fear, couldn''t afford to take even a single step back.


    Not a single one.


    Even if you didn''t look for trouble, trouble would come to find you.


    Did you have treasures that you shouldn''t have? Talents that you lacked the backing to protect? Women that were too beautiful for the size of your fists?


    What right did you have to do these things without strength? They would all be ripped from you one by one until there was nothing but a single beating heart left, but even that would be ripped from your chest.


    Ryu could have lived a life of leisure. In fact, he should have.


    He was the Heir to one of the most powerful families of Sacrum. His life was easy even while being a cripple. He had a loving family, a loving fianc¨¦e, a carefree life¡­ In truth, the only thing that caused him dissatisfaction with that lifestyle was his own personal dreams and aspirations.


    However, in the end, wasn''t it all ripped away?


    There was nothing in this life that he could claim without taking it in his own hands. To be complacent was to hand your autonomy over to the hands of another¡­ And he refused to do so.


    Ryu squeezed the Beast Cores and Dao Bone in his hands, the coldness in his eyes dancing like weeping willows.


    He had had enough.


    If he wanted to continue holding onto his arrogance, he couldn''t simultaneously want to have everything remain optimal. Something would have to give, and that something would be the perfection of his cultivation path.


    To Ryu, nothing was more important than his mentality, it was the foundation upon which everything was built. Compared to it, everything else was meaningless.

 Chapter 1056 Tip Of The Iceberg

    There were things that had to be compromised.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool, he knew exactly how dangerous his mentality was and he knew that one day it might very well get him killed. As arrogant as he was, one thing that Ryu had never done was guarantee that he would reach the top of the world, all he had ever said was that was something he would strive for with all his being. In fact, he had never even claimed that he would certainly defeat all the geniuses with far greater talent than his own, he only ever said that he really wanted to meet them.


    Of course, inwardly, Ryu did want to reach the pinnacle and he did want to defeat all of those geniuses in his way, but for the first time, he also had to acknowledge that his starting point wasn''t as good as others. In such a situation, he had to make a choice¡­


    And that choice was between his cultivation path and his Dao Heart. Between these two, he chose the latter.


    What did this ultimately mean? It meant that he would not slow his cultivation speed down for the sake of perfection any longer. That was luxury only those coddled geniuses of the Ninth Heaven had, and a luxury he used to have as a pinnacle genius of Sacrum.


    Ryu had been delaying his entry into the Path Extinction Realm for a long time. By the same token, he had also been delaying his entry into the Soul Refinement Realm as well.


    For the former, it was because even though he had already made his decision about forging forward with the [Refinement Sutra], there was still a small piece of him that wanted to wait and hold on just a little longer in hopes that he would stumble into the proper way to use his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    For the latter, he was obsessed with pushing his soul as far forward as he could. Originally, he had waited until he could fully recultivate his body to its peak. But he had already succeeded in that, and now he was waiting until he decided what path he should take with his soul so that he could complete its recultivation before breaking through¡­


    These were all smart decisions in a vacuum. The stronger his foundation, the more powerful he would be able to become in the future, so it seemed logical to wait.


    But the harsh reality was that it had more bad than good points.


    The longer he remained weak, the more danger he would be in and the less ability he would have to protect his life.


    The longer he remained weak, the more his age would begin to play a factor and he might never have a chance to reach his full potential even if he found the perfect method to break through.


    The longer he remained weak, the more chances there would be for his Dao Heart and the path he led to end up in death.


    So, once again, something had to give.


    The moment Ryu made his decision, he exhaled a breath and his heart seemed to radiate with a cool rainbow light.


    With a thought, a barrier shattered and his soul pressure skyrocketed. He shot past the limiters of the Soul Birth Realm and entered the Soul Refinement Realm, his Spiritual Sea increasing explosively in size.


    Ryu''s body trembled, a pulsing power radiating out from his waves. His soul pressure almost became tangible, causing ripples in the air.


    "Swallow it," Ryu said lightly.


    At that moment, his soul trembled, floating upward to land atop the Silver Star Visualization.


    Ryu could have swallowed this Visualization long ago and gained a Spatial Soul Nature that was impossibly powerful. However, he didn''t because he was chasing perfection.


    Due to the way his Perfect Blackbody worked, the affinities that he swallowed had to be balanced in order for all of them to shine through equally. That meant that if he swallowed the Silver Star Visualization, the only way to ever gain a second affinity would be to swallow something else that was equally as powerful. But how difficult would it be to find something like this?


    Even after familiarizing himself with the power scales of the True Martial World, Ryu found that he had still not found anything comparable. This meant that should he swallow this Visualization, it could very well be possible that he would never be able to gain a second Soul Nature and would thus be giving up one of the greatest strengths of his soul.


    However, this choice of his had also been a great detriment to him.


    If he had swallowed the Silver Star Visualization long ago, how could it have taken him so long to master such a weak teleportation formation? In fact, given his soul strength, he might not have even needed to set up a formation to run away if his Spatial Soul Nature had been formed.


    Now, though, he would no longer hold back. If he had an opportunity to grasp power, he would take it. If he wanted any chance at rising to the pinnacle of all that was, he had to strive for every step or there might come a day where he wouldn''t have the luxury to take another.


    Waves of powerful streams of qi rippled off of Ryu, the world around him becoming distorted.


    His soul strength skyrocketed, breaking through the shackles of the Ancestral Grade and entering the ultimate God Grades. Every second, its foundational strength seemed to double, making it difficult for Ryu to even keep up with what exactly was happening.


    The strong currents no doubt caught the attention of several powerful experts, but none of them dared to approach, believing that a powerful God Beast was undergoing a tremendous breakthrough in one of the rarest affinities there was¡­ space.


    However, very quickly, it became obvious that this wasn''t just a space affinity. In fact, Ryu had barely touched the surface of the Visualization''s true strength to the point where he didn''t even grasp the affinities it represented.


    The Silver Star Visualization wasn''t just a Visualization of Space. The Visualization took Space to such an extreme that it evolved, touching upon a barrier that was both like it and yet entirely separate as well¡­


    Time.

 Chapter 1057 Not Even Himself

    The rippling waves of qi surged around Ryu, his hair fluttering in the air as a delicate sort of force wrapped around his body.


    Ryu watched as his vision became clearer and clearer. From just shadows, he could finally see some light, the changes feeling just as shocking to him as the novel blooming sensation in his soul.


    Right then, the world shifted again and the shadows and lights disappeared, the entire world becoming like layers of space stacked on top of another. The minor fluctuations in these stacked layers of space became precisely the outline for objects and people.


    Ryu blinked several times before the sensation vanished and his vision went back to the blurry layers of shadows and lights it had been before.


    He took a breath before looking down at his hand, his hand. He couldn''t make out his fingers, but he could at the very least tell that there was a hand there outside the sensation of his proprioception.


    Ryu lowered his hand, looking off into the distance before taking a step forward.


    The ground seemed to shrink, a rush of landscapes whizzing by until his foot contacted the snow once more and it all came to a stop.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted, his Void Spiritual Sense spreading out in all directions. He was absolutely certain, with that one normal step, he had crossed an entire kilometer, and that was just casually. If he used his movement technique, how much further would he move?


    Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but shudder.


    Reaching out a hand, he stretched out his finger and pulled down.


    The sensation of passing through layers of space was so strong that he almost felt as though he was passing his hand over the surface of a calm lake. He had never felt spatial qi so clearly in his life before, so much so that everywhere and everything seemed to be formed of it.


    Just being able to feel this sensation alone made Ryu feel that without even taking into account the improvement in his soul, his combat prowess had increased by at least a factor a hundred.


    His pointed finger came to a stop, suddenly pointing toward a hill in the distance.


    In the blink of an eye, the space twisted and a hundred meter diameter of the hill was swallowed into what looked like a blackhole.


    Ryu flipped over a palm and a snowball fell into his hands. However, this seemingly ordinary snowball weighed thousands of pounds. The entire section of that hill had actually been concentrated into the size of a palm!


    In that moment, Ryu truly understood the fearsome nature of Soul Natures. He didn''t even use any techniques. He just thought about what he wanted to do and it all happened so naturally around him. It was as though his talent in the subject of space was so high that he could casually create a technique from his thoughts and will alone.


    This sort of realization was a huge surprise to Ryu. He had read a lot about Soul Natures. In fact, he had planned for the [Refinement Sutra] path he took to coincide with the chosen Soul Natures he had decided on for his soul. However, just reading about them didn''t prepare him for actually experiencing their strength.


    It couldn''t just be Soul Natures that were this powerful. He had once crushed a young man with multiple Soul Natures. It must also be that the grade of his Soul Nature was also incredibly high, something that was greatly helped by the foundation of his soul itself.


    Ryu gripped his fists, feeling the power coursing through him.


    Ryu unclenched his fist, patting at the air with two palms.


    He could feel something deeper, something lurking within the cocoon of space.


    At that moment, it felt as though the air had become a rippling surface of water. Energies spread out in all directions getting faster and faster until they suddenly came to a grinding halt.


    Ryu''s heart trembled. No, it wasn''t a grinding halt, but the surroundings had slowed considerably, but the pace forward was so slow that it really felt as though everything had come to a stop.


    Time. He had just slowed time to a ridiculous degree.


    The ripple of energy recovered rushing out in all seconds as a bead of sweat fell down Ryu''s brows. However, compared to what he had just done, the drain on his stamina seemed completely negligible. He had almost stopped time for a full second and it had just cost him a single bead of sweat, it didn''t even feel particularly difficult.


    Of course, he hadn''t had any target but the general landscape, but Ryu couldn''t see it being much more difficult against a real person or beast. Maybe only someone who had formed a Godhood could resist, but how would they continue to resist when he had formed his own Godhood in the future?


    This wasn''t a normal boon, it was unfathomable. If Ryu had known that this would happen after swallowing the Silver Star, why would he have bothered to wait so long.


    Looking up, Ryu''s heart shuddered again.


    The path between the Heavens, he could see it with a single glance. If he wanted, with just an extra bit of effort, he could cross the divide and enter the Third Heaven right now. It would drain him to do so, but the fact he could do it at all felt almost unfathomable.


    Ryu lowered his palms and slowly clenched his fists again.


    He was even more certain now that the path he had taken was correct.


    He had a Chaos Grade Soul Cultivation technique by his side, how much more did he need? Why had he lagged behind so much? So long as his body could withstand it, there was no reason to hold back his soul cultivation at all.


    So long as the foundation of his Dao Heart remained powerful, any other imperfections could be dealt with in the future. From now on, he wouldn''t hesitate.


    Ryu began to walk forward, crossing a kilometer at a time with absolute ease. Once he found a secure location, he would break into the Path Extinction Realm, nothing would stop him, not even himself.

 Chapter 1058 First Extinction

    Ryu entered a cave region and began tapping the walls. Every time he did so, a ripple would occur in space, deforming the region.


    His skill had already increased after just a few minutes. With a thought, he could make a maze of space. With every pat, he layered another maze on top of another, making the array more and more complicated. Even if someone of the Sky God by some miracle managed to sense him, they would take quite some time to rip through the protections he had left behind.


    After he was done, Ryu made a final stack of space.


    In the end, although the length of the tunnel was just a few dozen meters, it would feel like traversing hundreds of kilometers. This could still be considered a small distance to high level cultivators, but it was a different story if that distance was a maze.


    Ryu flung the sleeves of his robes, pulled off the golden moon world ring, and buried it underground. Then, he entered it and sat in complete silence, adjusting his state of mind as the qi slowly circulated around his body.


    His Realm Heart pulsed silently and slowly as his breathing became deeper and deeper.


    As his mind calmed, Ryu felt that the path to the Third Heaven wasn''t the only one that he could sense. In fact, he could even sense the other Planes. If he wanted to step into the Ethereal Plane right now, he could. He could also do the same with the Chaos Plane that he felt all too clearly. However, for the remaining two Planes, he felt that stepping into them was actually beyond his current self.


    However, this made sense.


    The Ethereal Plane was the closest Plane to the Real Plane, it was practically a mirror image and the two were layered atop of one another, so the difficulty in crossing them wasn''t high.


    As for the Chaos Plane, he carried around a connection to it everywhere he went thanks to his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    However, for the other Planes, the Abyssal Plane and the Nether Plane, he had no such connection with them. The only line he would have to the former was during his breakthrough into the Path Extinction Realm. As for the latter, maybe only if he found a Summoner Necromancer Inheritance here would he be able to establish a connection with it again.


    Still, the feeling that he had right now felt quite special.


    Although he couldn''t enter them all, he could still feel all of the Planes and their relations with one another. It was almost¡­ beautiful. A delicate balance of five that made up all of existence, each of which seemingly extending into infinity.


    Eventually, Ryu had sunk into such a deep state of relaxation that for the second time in his life, he entered a State of Meditation naturally. In a single step, he entered Breath of World, the fourth State of Meditation.


    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® Ryu''s breathing came out slow and steady, fully prepared to enter the Path Extinction Realm.


    He had done it once before, however back then, he hadn''t completed his first Extinction, he had simply established a connection with the Abyssal Plane. He hadn''t been willing to do his first Extinction immediately because there had been a problem with his Inheritances. But now that he had experienced it once before, he knew that his Inheritances would recover as soon as he progressed forward so he planned on completing his First Extinction immediately.


    In his Breath of World state, Ryu''s Inheritances quickly approached perfection. Thanks to his Realm Heart, reaching perfection in the Ruler Realm was far easier than it had been in the past. Although he would no longer delay his cultivation, that didn''t mean that he wouldn''t take perfection when it was presented to him on a silver platter.


    In just a few minutes, Ryu had shattered and reformed his Inheritances hundreds of times, bringing them to the pinnacle of perfection in just a moment.


    A rustling aura rushed about him, an enlightened feeling flooding his veins. His body sung, his Wind, Water, Mountain, Thunder, Fire, and Life Inheritances never feeling clearer to him than they did now.


    Ryu''s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, his connection to the Abyssal Plane being established in a single moment.


    However, right then, he felt a subtle pulse in his Chaotic Silk Meridians and a flash of inspiration hit Ryu like a speeding train.


    What happened every time he took a proper step with his Chaotic Silk Meridians versus when he didn''t? Just like Ailsa had said, a proper step strengthened his connection to the Chaos Plane and an improper step weakened it.


    Why was it that Ailsa had made Ryu wait until he was ready to enter the Immortal Ring Realm before he re-established his connection with his Spiritual Foundation back then? It was because if he reconnected with it too early, then he would lose his connection to the Chaos Plane.


    Just now, when Ryu was about to break into the Path Extinction Realm, he felt his connection to the Chaos Plane weaken slightly. It was very slight, so slight that he would have never sensed it before. It was only because he was both in Breath of World and because of his new Space-Time Soul Nature that he could sense such a subtle change.


    However, this alone wasn''t helpful. Ryu already knew that this was the improper way forward, he was just taking it anyway. What good was telling when he was taking the wrong step if it was impossible to find the right step through it? There were simply too many potential methods of breaking through for Ryu to be expected to go through each and every one of them.


    This time, though, Ryu felt something special when he established the connection.


    Right at the beginning when he was preparing to choose the Plane to project his soul presence to, the connection to the Chaos Plane had actually strengthened by an exceptionally small margin, it was only after he chose to go with the Abyssal Plane that it weakened.


    What did this mean¡­? Could it be that the proper way to breakthrough was to undergo his Extinctions in the Chaos Plane instead of the Abyssal Plane?


    When Ryu thought this, he nearly fell out of Breath of World.


    Such a thought was too dangerous. In fact, it could potentially kill him.


    The reason the Abyssal Plane was used to undergo your Extinctions was because it was the only Plane where the laws were in limbo. This made it relatively safer, albeit still dangerous, to shatter your comprehensions and reform them.


    The Chaos Plane, though, was the exact opposite. Not only were the laws not in limbo, they were as its namesake claimed¡­ In chaos!


    To try an undergo your Extinctions even in the Real Plane would be suicide, let alone the Chaos Plane.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that there were some exceptionally special cultivation methods in existence that insisted their users breakthrough on the Real Plane. Unsurprisingly, the mortality rate of such methods was exceptionally high. However, likewise, the monsters that managed to survive and come out the other side were experts among experts.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Dao Heart shone like a beacon within the darkness.


    Without the slightest hesitation, he severed his connection with the Abyssal Plane and re-established it with the Chaos Plane.


    Ryu''s aura flourished.


    First Extinction.


    Begin.

 Chapter 1059 Four

    Ryu felt as though his very spirit itself was being crushed.


    Going through an Extinction was like expunging all of your accumulation at once. It wasn''t a physical struggle, but it could manifest as such as the strength of the body was being forcefully torn apart.


    To undergo an Extinction was to force one to question their very existence. Every aspect of your being would be assaulted and ground to dust, then amidst all of that pain and right in the middle of what was essentially an existential crisis, you would have to build yourself up again.


    For Ryu who had brought his Inheritances to perfection first before doing anything, the process was incredibly painful. In addition, because he was older than the optimal age, his mind also lacked the same sort of placidity that would have made the situation easier.


    As though all of this wasn''t bad enough, because he was in the Chaos Plane rather than the Abyssal Plane or even the Real Plane, he had to force himself to remain conscious or at any time, an astral wind could shred what remained of his consciousness to pieces.


    The good news was the harshness of the Chaos Plane made crushing his comprehensions even easier than it would have been anywhere else, this was actually a great help to Ryu whose comprehensions were at the pinnacle of perfection.


    However, that was where all of the so-called good news ended. In fact, it was hard to say if even that was good news at all.


    When Ryu entered the Chaos Plane and began his First Extinction, the process of crushing his comprehension happened easily, too easily. In fact, even when it neared the end, it still accelerated, pressing the gas harder and harder as though it wouldn''t be satisfied until even Ryu himself vanished along with his soul presence.


    Back on the Real Plane, Ryu grit his teeth, hard. Beads of sweat fell down his brows and his body trembled. If one looked closely, his body was so tense that every drop of sweat that fell carried with it droplets of blood within.


    It had only been a few seconds, and yet it seemed that he was already on the verge of collapse.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s control was ripped away from him and his soul''s presence threatened to slip into darkness forward.


    Ryu''s teeth cracked, a hint of helplessness threatening to bloom in his heart. He felt as though the Chaos Plane was playing a game of tug of war with his life and it was winning.


    If he had done this on the Abyssal Plane, even if he failed, there was a chance of living although the odds of being able to progress again in his lifetime would be minimal. However, he was absolutely certain that if he failed here and now, his life would be forfeit, there was simply no coming from this.


    Ryu''s consciousness began to fade. He couldn''t even sense his Inheritances properly anymore, after crushing them, it was as though all his affinity for fire, for ice, for thunder, all of it, had just been whisked into the wind, never to return.


    However, at that moment, an anchor that was deep within his eyes flashed with a blinding light.


    Veins popped across his body, the blood sweat falling down his skin beginning to coat his sky blue robes in their grotesque color.


    Still, he held on, the light of his eight trigram diagram becoming brighter and brighter.


    All those months ago, when Ryu had combined his Inheritances and Dao into a single entity, he never thought that it would be the choice that saved him today.


    While his Inheritances were ripped to shreds, his Dao remained intact, becoming the anchor that could always guide him back.


    The sensation became stronger and stronger, almost like he was working a muscle that he could finally feel aching and whining for the first time. His mind to muscle connection only became stronger and more clear. The heavier his Daos became, even though his Inheritances had yet to reform, the calmer Ryu''s state became.


    The existential crisis he was facing became less invasive. The backlash of his body became less apparent. The difficulty of the Extinction became less profound and simpler in his eyes.


    After a few moments, Ryu could feel the chaotic energies of the Chaos Plane baptizing his Inheritances. It wasn''t that they refused to reform, but rather that they were continuously being reformed and rebuilt instead.


    Ryu had always received Essence as a reward for comprehending Inheritances. It made sense, after all, Inheritances was a process of comprehending the Heavens. Every time you grasped a truth of the Heavens, the Heavens would thus reward you.


    But now that Ryu thought about it, was he really comprehending the Heavens? Or was he comprehending the laws of the Real Plane? This was a subtle but simultaneously very important distinction.


    It suddenly became obvious to Ryu that it was truly his Chaotic Silk Meridians that had been holding back his comprehension for so long. In fact, it had been holding him back for so long that even though his Inheritances became more powerful with each subsequent breakthrough, the returns only became less and less until the point he could rarely use them in battle.


    But now, it felt as though Ryu was learning a whole other side of the coin, a whole other side of his Inheritances. As time passed, his seemingly already perfect Inheritances doubled in power, gaining a matching half to them that exuded an aura that was no less powerful.


    The eight trigram diagram pulsed out in waves. In that moment, Ryu''s Dao, which had come in two halves, was slowly beginning to bloom two more, influenced by the changes to his Inheritances.


    Without a choice, Ryu could only keep them separate, worrying about what changes might occur if he allowed them to fuse into one once more.


    As time passed, Ryu''s cultivation and strength began to steadily rise, shocking changes taking root within his body.

 Chapter 1060 Second

    If others were watching, they would feel Ryu''s cultivation increasing by leaps and bounds.


    From the 1st Extinction, to the 2nd, to the 3rd, the 6th, the 9th, and somehow even increasing beyond.


    Ryu couldn''t feel these changes too subtly because he was entirely focused on making sure that he didn''t lose himself in the Chaos Plane. Although he had his Dao to rely upon as an anchor, if he wasn''t cautious, he could still very easily lose his life, something he was obviously unwilling to allow to happen.


    However, even if he was aware, he wouldn''t be very surprised.


    The continuous reformation and destruction of his Inheritances, although happening without his knowledge or acknowledgment, could have been considered a process of Extinction. The difference was that the process was far smoother and safer, likely facilitated by his Meridians themselves.


    Due to this, when Ryu underwent his first true Extinction, its value was far greater than just one. The accumulated breakthroughs and regressions, only to break through again, made the value of a single Extinction for Ryu worth that of dozens to anyone else.


    Logically, the more Extinction one underwent, the more powerful they would be, but it was also a matter of quality as well. Some didn''t crush their comprehensions perfectly and as such had lackluster Extinction results. By the same token, there were some who crushed their comprehensions perfectly, but failed to rebuild them with the same level of perfection.


    Ryu, though, not only gained a perfect accumulation of Inheritances, their destruction was absolutely perfect, and their rebuilding was not only perfect, it was beyond perfect, forming a perfect whole for his Inheritances.


    Ultimately, though, the real underlying reason Ryu shot through the Path Extinction Realm like this was because that was always what was meant to happen.


    According to the original design of the Chaotic Silk Meridians, a wielder of it who followed along its true path would be stuck at the peak Immortal Ring Realm for a very long time. But in return for this patience, they would be granted direct entry into the peak of the Path Extinction Realm in a single bound so long as they could survive the process.


    Just like that, over the next weeks, Ryu''s aura slowly grew through the Path Extinction Realm before settling at its very pinnacle, just a single step away from the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    As Ryu underwent these Extinctions, he could feel his connection with his Spiritual Foundation growing stronger and stronger and he could even faintly feel that he could borrow some power from it now. In fact, if he used some of the strength of his Spiritual Foundation, he felt that his strength would increase by a factor of ten at the very worst.


    This wasn''t surprising to Ryu. After all, the Path Extinction Realm was a primer for the Dao Pedestal Realm which would be the second opportunity a cultivator gained to increase the size of their Spiritual Foundation.


    However, what did shock Ryu was what happened next.


    At first it was very subtle. The duality of it all didn''t really sink in to Ryu, or rather, it was more subconscious as opposed to overt and in his face. But as the weeks continued to tick by, the feelings only grew stronger and stronger.


    By the end of it, Ryu''s heart felt as though waves were rushing through it.


    Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians began to shimmer as though there were two halves to it.


    One half was connected to the Real Plane. This connection was formed through his current Spiritual Foundation.


    This made sense. Although Spiritual Foundations were located in the depths of the Abyssal Plane, they had a natural mode of connecting to the Real Plane. If not, how would the cultivators of the world be born with them?


    Through establishing this connection, Spiritual Foundations chose their partners at birth and became the foundation for them to communicate with the Heavens.


    This connection was formed in Ryu''s lower belly and it was clear and resounding.


    However, there was a second connection that had just been formed, one that was much more infantile and barely perceptible. Still, with Ryu''s current spatial affinity, he could just barely feel it and he had a feeling that it also pointed him toward where the next steps of his improvement lay¡­


    This was the second half of the Chaotic Silk Meridians, the half that was always striving to form a connection with the Chaos Plane, and the half that was only becoming more and more prominent as Ryu progressed.


    Ryu was shaken. Could it be that in order to enter the Dao Pedestal Realm, the next step was to form a connection with a second Spiritual Foundation?


    Ryu''s brows couldn''t help but crease and worry.


    The last time he tried to do that, he had suffered terrible backlash. In fact, if not for his Fate Reversal skill, he would still be suffering now and his cultivation would have slowed considerably. It was clear that the Phoenix Sky God did not want to take on another Spiritual Foundation. Or, at least that was what it seemed.


    What if the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation just didn''t want to be replaced? What if it would allow him to do as he pleased so long as he used this second more subtle connection to communicate with his original Spiritual Foundation?


    Ryu waited patiently for his breakthrough into the pinnacle of the Path Extinction Realm to finish first before he did this again. This time, rather than using his dantian to communicate, he went through this mysterious second connection he seemed to have formed, reaching out toward the Spiritual Foundation he had meant to be born with.


    Now that Ryu had already met it once, finding it again was all too easy, especially now that his soul presence had grown considerably in power.


    Ryu couldn''t help but feel incredible in his heart. The idea of having not just one but two Spiritual Foundations filled him with expectation. Just what kind of monstrous strength would he be able to display? Even if his original Spiritual Foundation was as ordinary as it got, just the fact it would be his second would be enough for him to look down upon the world.


    Ryu calmed himself and focused his attention. This would be his breakthrough into the Dao Pedestal Realm, he couldn''t be so casual about it.


    Soon, he saw his Spiritual Foundation. It was a radiant silver color with veins of pulsing blue. It shimmered like a refined gem in the depths of the darkness, shining even brighter than his Fate Star.


    Ryu reached out toward it and established a connection, wanting to reel it back into his body.


    However, at that moment, it suddenly trembled.


    In the real world, Ryu''s body convulsed and he was suddenly sent flying backward, several mouthfuls of blood flying out from him one after another.


    Each and every one of the bones in his body shattered, his organs shredding to pieces and his body sliding along the white grass like a dead dog.


    His orifices bled and his body convulsed, each breath taking with it another coughing mouthful of blood.


    In the depths of the Abyssal Plane, a certain Spiritual Foundation stood tall and firm, but the chains wrapped around it were even stronger.

 Chapter 1061 Fogginess

    Ryu coughed violently, shards of blood and bone flying out from his mouth. The pain that wracked his body was on a completely different level than almost anything he had ever experienced before. He felt that if it wasn''t for his astounding vitality and the fact he had a Realm Heart, that backlash alone would have been enough to kill him.


    Right this moment, his inner organs were practically unrecognizable, having been shredded to pieces and mixed within his body as though his skin had become some sort of mixing pot of flesh.


    It only made it worse that the shards of his bones had mixed in with it all, becoming like the blades of a blender as they shredded what was in him. In fact, if it wasn''t for his nigh indestructible Meridians, let alone killing him, Ryu would have suffered a far worse fate from his perspective¡­ He would have bene directly crippled.


    Despite the pain he was experiencing, a hint of fury lit in Ryu''s eyes.


    All his first life, he had been infuriated with the Heavens, believing them to have been unfair to him. Some of that even carried over into his second life as well and he wasn''t able to shrug off the anchor such thoughts placed on him until he met Ailsa.


    The current him had not only learned to coexist from the Heavens, but he even willingly learned from it. His angst was nowhere near as furious as it had been in the past and he had even realized that his rage was misplaced.


    This feeling only became clearer as time went on. From the very beginning, it wasn''t even the Heavens that had toyed with him like this, it was those people who had their eyes on Sacrum, his home land. His anger should have been aimed toward them from the start.


    Ryu swore that the day he found out who snatched who chained his Spiritual Foundation and forced him to live the life of a cripple, when he met those people who forced his family toward a dead end, separating his parents and killing his grandparents, when he found the people who chained his Perfect Blackbody Soul and restrained his talent was lever at a time¡­


    He would grant them a life worse than death.


    Ryu coughed, his eyes seeing red.


    At that moment, the Life Character in Ryu''s eyes began to pulse with an ancient green color and his Yin Water began to make his presence known.


    Now that Ryu had broken to the pinnacle of the Path Extinction Realm, his Inheritances had likewise broken through entering the Monarch Realm. They all simulatenously took this step forward as one, strengthening his eight trigram diagram and thus its individual pillars as well. Due to this, the power he could use from Flowing Frost''s Yin Water was a great deal more and his recovery strength had increased by more than tenfold as well.


    However, even with this being the case, Ryu''s recovery was exceptionally slow. It took several days before he could finally move somewhat and more than half a month before he could finally sit up. All the while, Ryu gaze flickered with cold intent.


    Ryu coldly gazed into the distance as though he could see his Spiritual Foundation through the void.


    He forced himself to calm down. Right now, if he wanted to feel rage, he had to let it focus him rather than distract him. So, rather than losing himself entirely, Ryu began to plan out what he would need to recultivate the Path Extinction Realm.


    Although Ryu had broken through, he had yet to saturate his body with the appropriate amount of Heavenly Favor, so he would still need to do this.


    Right now, he would require a large amount of Heaven Grade materials which made this matter a lot more difficult to handle. Doing it once through for the Immortal Ring Realm was quite difficult and most of the six month period Ryu spent was used up on it. One could easily imagine that doing so for the Path Extinction Realm would be even more difficult than that.


    Ryu shook his head, still looking up into the skies. He couldn''t quite focus.


    That sudden backlash had knocked him out of his meditative state and now his mind didn''t seem to want to focus properly anymore. It also didn''t help that simply saying he couldn''t allow his rage to cloud his mind wouldn''t allow this to magically happen.


    Ryu needed to clear his mind.


    He had never had a problem focusing on cultivation before, but the trouble was that he had cultivated to small a time. And, without his eyes, he couldn''t casually slip into states of focus like he could in the past as well, making the problem even worse.


    Shaking his head again, Ryu took a step and appeared outside of the golden moon world ring, his gaze somewhat vacant as he slipped it back onto his finger.


    With another step, he appeared outside of the cave and within the snowy pastures of the region. As he continued to walk slowly, he traversed long distances without much effort at all, and in his silence, he found himself before the large looming mountains of a Sect.


    Ryu looked up, not having come here on purpose at all. In fact, he didn''t have a real purpose at all and was rather just walking around to see if he could clear his mind, but to think that he would be sent to this place of all places.


    Before Ryu, the gates of the Carving Ice Sect stood. Although it looked normal, it was actually already in a state of high alert, and how could it not be? All of their powerhouses were elsewhere. They had to be careful just in case someone noticed and chose to take this as an opportunity.


    Ryu''s gaze was quite dull as he looked forward. It wasn''t despair, just boredom. After his walk, he had managed to dispel some of his heightened fury, but the cloud of fogginess over his mind remained.


    He hummed to himself before taking a step and entering the Carving Ice Sect.

 Chapter 1062 Pocket

    No one seemed to notice Ryu at all. It was impossible for a person to know of every possible face in such a large Sect, and for the current Ryu, bypassing the safety measures of this Sect was all too easy. In fact, from what Ryu had seen, the protective formation of the Carving Ice Sect was actually several orders of magnitude weaker than the one they had built in the depths of the mountain ranage.


    Of course, there were a few reasons for this. For one, the campsite deep within the mountain range was only a fraction the size of the Sect, allowing a more concentrated region of defense. Secondly, this formation was built into the surroundings and was very old, making it difficult to maintain for a Sect that had likely grown complacent. After all, the Carving Ice Sect was a behemoth of the Second Heaven, who did they have to fear?


    Ryu took another step and entered the library of the Carving Ice Sect.


    Although he could have started a slaughter, what would be the point of that? He wasn''t against it for moral reasons, he just felt that it was a waste of his time to kill small fry. Plus, he could probably benefit much more by doing nothing at all but walking around.


    Ryu suddenly had a thought. It probably wasn''t any more difficult to infiltrate any of the Sects of the Second Heaven. The only real difference was that the other Sects would probably have their Sky Gods in house which meant that he would have to be a bit more cautious. But in terms of entering and exiting, it probably wouldn''t be very difficult at all.


    If he was still in the mood later, he might drop by the other Sects to see if they would have anything interesting.


    Ryu used his upgraded Void Spiritual Sense to scan the books and jades of the Carving Ice Sect''s library. Compared to the Radiant Star Sect''s library, they had far more jades than books here, making it a simpler task to read through these records.


    Ryu had expected to find more information, but to his surprise, the books here weren''t much weaker than what he had already found in the Radiant Star Sect. In fact, the Radiant Star Sect was actually not just a single step better in this regard.


    ''Interesting. The Radiant Star Sect is definitely a power from a higher Heaven, and I have no doubt that they restricted some of the information they released in their library to a lower standard, but this standard is still higher than what you would find in the Second Heaven. They probably have information about equivalent to the Third Heaven, so if I want to find a deeper store of information, I''ll either have to wait until they feel comfortable enough to release their true store of knowledge, or¡­''


    Ryu''s thoughts came to a pause when he sensed a light fragrance to his side.


    When he turned his head, he found a petite little beauty trying her best to pretend as though she was scanning through the jades near him, but with Ryu''s senses, how could he not see her glancing at him from time to time? In fact, if not for this, he would have just directly ignored her.


    Seeing Ryu look over, the petite beauty smiled and blushed slightly.


    "Hello," she said lightly.


    Ryu''s eyesight had recovered to the point that make out that shape of people when he looked at them, but really, he only needed to use his Spiritual Sense to understand every inch of this woman''s body. He could tell with just a single sweep that this woman was only pretending to be shy.


    He walked forward and appeared before her, causing her to become slightly flustered.


    After seeing Ryu''s handsome face, she had wanted to see if she could get to know him, so she used one of the best tricks she had. Strong men usually couldn''t resist a shy little damsel, even if he was so good looking. But what she didn''t expect was for Ryu to actually be so straightforward.


    She couldn''t react before her chin was lifted up, the fragrance of Ryu''s breath causing her heart to shudder. Usually, it was her enticing men with her scent, but she had never smelt a man with such an intoxicating fragrance.


    Her knees involuntarily went weak, her body stumbling forward and somewhat falling into Ryu''s embrace.


    However, at that moment, she heard words that made her shudder.


    "Unfortunate, I really was in the mood, but you''ve been touched."


    Ryu suddenly vanished, leaving the petite beauty to almost stumble to the ground.


    She looked around at a loss, her eyes slightly reddening. Somehow, she felt like she had lost a great opportunity all because she wasn''t pure.


    ¡­


    Ryu didn''t think much about the encounter. He had stopped caring so much about such things and felt that it was a shortcut to clearing his mind, but it seemed that Fate liked to play tricks on him.


    He continued wandering around the Carving Ice Sect, learning a lot about their inheritances. In fact, he even entered some of their sacred grounds with no one being the wiser.


    Even so, the fogginess of his mind didn''t seem to want to disappear. He realized that a few hours wasn''t enough to make such a thing disappear, even a few days or weeks might not be enough. So, he simply continued to wander.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    At the moment, he was deep within the core regions of the Carving Ice Sect. Very few people were allowed to be here, so unlike the outer reaches, if he was spotted here it would likely raise a red alert. However, it was also because there were so few people that it was even easier to maneuver through the surroundings. If he didn''t want to be spotted, he wouldn''t be spotted.


    What caught Ryu''s attention was a separate space that was hidden in this location, it looked like a pocket dimension, similar to the one he had found the Prayer Mat inside of, but this one was much smaller and it was clearly well hidden. If not for his new Space-Time Soul Nature, he wouldn''t'' have spotted it no matter how many times he swept his Spiritual Sense.


    ''Interesting¡­''


    With a step, Ryu''s body seemed to phase into the air, vanishing into nothingness.

 Chapter 1063 Entertainment

    Ryu raised an eyebrow after he entered, slightly surprised by what he saw.


    This region wasn''t some sort of secret realm, nor was it some treasure trove. It was similar to what the golden moon world would be if it didn''t also store the final treasures of the Frost Clan¡­ it was simply a place to live.


    The ambience was quite beautiful.


    Snowflakes fell from the skies in measured and controlled amounts. It seemed continuous, and yet there was only a thin layer of snow on the ground as though it wasn''t allowed to grow past a certain point.


    A stream of water flowed by in a continuous and steady flow, but it was impossible to tell where it started and where it ended. It simply went around in loops, forming three miniature waterfalls before coming back to the starting point and doing it all again.


    In the center of this winding stream was a single hut with a rocking chair set on the outside of it. Despite the falling snow, there wasn''t a single speck of water or ice on the chair, one would have thought that it was set in the middle of a spring meadow instead of in this place.


    Ryu walked forward, his senses primed. He was checking to make sure he wouldn''t run into any final lines of defense as doing so might cause issues for him. If he was correct, this was probably the resting place of the cloaked figure he had met in the campsite. That person was quite unfathomable and was likely beyond the False Sky God Realm, so he had to be very careful about disturbing their place of rest.


    At the same time, though, Ryu had no intention of retreating. Maybe he would be able to find more information about what was happening through this place. Since he had already made an enemy out of these people, it was best that he learn as much as he could about them ahead of time, only in this way would he be capable of responding in kind to their threat.


    It turned out, though, that Ryu was being overly cautious. There was simply nothing here. The cloaked figure could have never imagined that someone would not only bypass all of the restrictions to get to this place on top of finding their expertly hidden pocket dimension. As such, they had never even bothered to lay down any more defensive measures, so Ryu walked into the hut as easily as if he owned the place.


    Though this was the case, Ryu was quite careful to leave everything as he found it, ensuring that he didn''t leave any fingerprint of his arrival to this place. If the enemy felt that he was less knowledgeable, they would be more likely to make mistakes that he could capitalize on.


    Ryu swept his gaze through the abode and didn''t immediately find anything too interesting.


    This made sense. Sky Gods, and experts in general, would usually keep their most important items on their person. Why leave things behind when you were powerful and had enough storage to carry them with you?


    Due to this, Ryu didn''t think he would find any obvious smoking gun. What he wanted instead was a small clue, something that he could maybe use to stitch together a narrative that would be helpful to him. But almost immediately, he found something that made him stop in his tracks.


    ''Jade¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed and he hesitated.


    On an inconspicuous table to the side, there was a single jade rested beside what looked like steaming tea. Despite the chill in the region and the perpetual snow fall, the cup remained heated, maintaining the same temperature. However, this wasn''t what Ryu was focused on at all, rather, his eyes were entirely focused on the piece of jade resting by its side.


    Was it carelessness? Or was it just a casual decision made by someone who believed themselves to be right at home?


    It was more likely to be the latter. But it was also likely the case that this jade didn''t hold any groundbreaking information either, or else no matter how casual and relaxed the cloaked figure was, they would still choose to err on the side of caution.


    ''I have to be careful. If I''m not cautious enough, my Spiritual Sense might leave a mark that that person will pick up on¡­''


    Reading through a jade was not too different from flipping through a book. Wherever you picked up from last would have a bookmark and there might even be some signs of wear and tear if it was read continuously.


    Of course, these subtleties wouldn''t normally cause a problem or even be noticed. Jades were obviously far more durable than books and as such the markers of such things were far less obvious. It would take a great deal of time before a jade was worn down.


    Still, that mattered little in the face of someone with sharp enough senses. Those small, insignificant signs could be picked up by someone with sharp enough senses. So, Ryu had to be exceptionally cautious.


    With a step, Ryu walked to the side of the jade and sent his Spiritual Sense inward, slowly beginning to read through it. As he did so, his gaze became sharper and his breathing became steadier.


    This jade didn''t contain some great technique or cultivation method. Rather, it was just a journal, a journal written by a cultivator of times past.


    Ryu understood now why the cloaked figure was so casual with it. Reading about a cultivator ruminating on their life wasn''t very valuable to most, and it definitely wasn''t worth getting bent out of shape to protect it.


    The cultivation world didn''t have a lot of things in the way of entertainment, at least not in the way mortals did. It was hard to care about some action-packed play when you did something far more dangerous just that morning.


    However, there were still some things that cultivators took pleasure in.


    One was games, especially board games that pushed the mind to its extremities. There were very ancient games like Go, and there was even the board game that even the Mortal Plane of Sacrum had played, Domain.


    Thinking of Domain, Ryu felt a hint of nostalgia. Back during his trial as a blind little prince of the Tor Clan, Domain was one of the few things he could use to pass the time, especially since he wasn''t allowed in the libraries.


    Another pass time was considered sinful in some circles. These included indulging in the "finer" things of life whether that was food or sex, or rather, gluttony and lust.


    And then there was what the cloaked figure seemed to like to do, and that was to read the journals of powerful cultivators that came before them. The stories of these people''s lives were far more fascinating than any fiction, but that was only a piece of the puzzle.


    One of the main reasons that reading the journals of powerful cultivators was so interesting was because it could be sometimes used to break through plateaus. Experiencing life through the shoes of another, walking a mile, and allowing your mind to relax and open up was very beneficial to many who had hit a roadblock.


    Ryu shook his head. He wasn''t very interested in such things, though apparently this was also a guilty pleasure of Ailsa''s. Her hobby was a bit sadistic, though. She liked reading journals of cultivators who had tragic love stories.


    This kind of thing wasn''t attractive to Ryu, though. He would much prefer to play a game of Domain. If nothing else, at the very least this jade had given him a path toward clearing his mind. Maybe he should return to the Sect and see if there would be anyone willing to play a game with him.


    Usually, the higher the capacity of the mind a cultivator had, the more powerful they would be in playing Domain, but considering his powerful soul, Ryu wanted to see if he could get some Sky Gods to play with him. Or maybe, Selheira would be willing to play.


    Selheira''s cultivation had always been hidden from Ryu, but he was pretty sure that she was in the World Sea Realm and not quite yet a Sky God. But she should also have incredibly high talent, so she might be a perfect sparring partner in this regard.


    A light smile spread across Ryu''s face as he wanted to return, but he suddenly paused, his gaze sharpening.


    Just now he had been planning on "flipping back" to the exact section the cloaked figure had left off at and leaving as there was nothing else to be had here, but just as he was doing so, he stumbled across something that made his gaze sharpen.


    A word flashed by, too blinding to ignore¡­


    Heavenly Path.


    Was it a coincidence? Ryu didn''t believe that it was. Why would someone as powerful as that be here? How could someone powerful enough to know about the Frost Clan''s legacy come to help the Carving Ice Sect of all Sects? And how could this not be related to the Heavenly Path opening that was quickly approaching?


    Ryu quickly scanned through the jade and read the portion again. He didn''t believe that it was a coincidence. In fact, the cloaked figure had probably "left off" in this place for a very specific reason.


    As Ryu read, and then read again, looking for the bits and clues that made up this section, his heart grew calmer and calmer until he settled on the final piece.


    It all seemed to link back to a single word: Convergence.


    In this journal, this cultivator had experienced the first so-called Convergence. And if what they said was to be taken as the truth then that meant that there was a storm coming that would sweep even the highest Heavens into its maelstrom.

 Chapter 1064 Convergence And Cataclysm

    The Convergence wasn''t a simple concept. As much as Ryu wanted it to be something that could just be explained in a few words so he would be less likely to leave any markers behind of his arrival here, by its very nature, it was very complex.


    Still, after a few minutes, Ryu believed that he had come to understand the concept.


    In the martial world in general, there were a whole host of matters that functioned based on a cyclical timeline. There were mysterious realms that only opened once every ten years, unclaimed Legacy Realms that might only open once every 100 years, Heavenly Paths that might only open once every a thousand years, and so on and so forth.


    Of course, these numbers weren''t real and were rather just examples. The Heavenly Path that separated the Third and Fourth Heavens opened far more frequently than that. But the core idea here was that there were numerous opportunities that worked on timelines like this, and every time they did open, they were likewise tied down by a modicum of Faith and Fate.


    The Convergence was an enigmatic concept that detailed an event when all of these timelines would line up in a perfect and linear fashion, causing a wild influx of Fate to flood the True Martial World all at once and creating an Era that could cause a great upheaval.


    Of course, things were not so simple as that. This wasn''t just a matter of these timelines lining up with one another, as that implied the arrival of something very different from the Convergence¡­ This would be known as the Cataclysm.


    No, what made the Convergence special was the way the timelines lined up.


    Along the path of cultivation, there were certain markers one should meet by the time they reached a given age. The marker of the Convergence was when this timeline would match up with these milestones. This meant that the opening of these Realms and opportunities perfectly aligned with the speed of improvement cultivators had.


    What did this mean? It meant that not only was there a large influx of Faith, but this Faith was also being continuously stacked by the same group of individuals as they grew up together! As a result of this, by the time these individuals reached the end of their martial paths, the amount of accumulated Faith they would have in comparison to their counterparts of other generations would be astronomically different.


    This was the core that belied the Convergence, and much like the Cataclysm, it was a chaotic period, albeit for slightly different reasons.


    The so-called Cataclysm also lined up the timelines, but rather than progressing at the pace of a genius'' cultivation, it rather forced all of these things to happen exactly at the same time. Whether it was a Realm designed for Sky Gods or Awakening Realm experts, they would all open at once.


    This would result in a large influx of Faith behind released all at once, but it would also result in a prolonged drought on the other side. This was often a sign of terribly bad luck that would ruin several generations to come.


    By this point, it should be obvious why these things were so difficult to predict.


    Some of these Realms only opened once every several million or even billions of years, while on the other side of the spectrum, there were lesser Realms that would open every few months and not even survive until the next opening of one of these long standing Realms.


    On top of that, there would always be small deviations in the timelines of these realms, especially for ones that had existed for an enormous amount of time. This was because in more ancient eras, depending on how far you went back, experts didn''t even count time the same way. The alignment of the stars were different, the orbits were different, and even the length of the day and night was different.


    Unless one was a Ruin Master who especially specialized in such things, it would be difficult even to tell where these small deviations would appear. And even then, such Ruin Masters couldn''t be absolutely certain either.


    What did all of this mean?


    Essentially it meant that it was difficult to predict the start of the Convergence, or even the Cataclysm for that matter, until it began. And if this meant anything, then it was potentially the case that the appearance of the Frost Clan''s Ruin was actually the start of this Convergence, but it wouldn''t be obvious to everyone until¡­


    ''¡­ The Heavenly Path opened.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a blinding light. This wasn''t just because of his realization that he was standing at the impetus of the Convergence. No, it was because this made him realize just what kind of monster that cloaked figure was.


    Suddenly, the symbol that Ryu had seen in the tent shifted and clicked into place, fusing with the very symbol that he was seeing in the Jade.


    The Ruin Master Guild.


    Ryu pulled his senses away from the jade, his irises flickering with a frighteningly cold light.


    He wasn''t sure how, but the Ruin Master Guild of Sacrum definitely played a role in the downfall of his family, and if the words of their people were anything to go by, their true foundation wasn''t in Sacrum at all, but rather in the True Martial World.


    Now it seemed that they were interfering in these matters as well, or at the very least, one of their people had come here.


    It was also likely that they wanted to keep a low profile and not draw too much attention to themselves, or else how could they throw in their lot with the likes of the Carving Ice Sect?


    If Ryu was correct, then the Ruin Master Guild likely had a powerful presence even in the highest of Heavens. He didn''t believe that they would need to rely on the Carving Ice Sect if they didn''t have a good reason, or maybe they were also dealing with internal struggles.


    Regardless of what it was, Ryu didn''t care. Since he had found their tails, even if he didn''t step on it now, he most certainly would in the future.


    Ryu turned away and walked out of the hut before leaving the pocket dimension. In just a dozen steps, he had already left the Carving Ice Sect, not even bothering to look back. In his eyes, the Sect itself was insignificant, and they would continue to be so.


    There was something special about this coming Heavenly Path opening that they were interested in, and this only made sense. Whenever the Convergence began, the first to be aware would be the sentience of the Realms themselves. As such, in comparison to normal openings, all openings that occurred during the Convergence would provide much more reward than they had in the past.


    This made sense. After all, if you were going to pick a successor, wouldn''t you want a genius who grew through the Convergence? By the time they reached their full potential, they would be far more powerful than their counterparts.


    What Ryu didn''t know was why the Heavenly Path was among these things.


    He had always been under the impression that the Heavenly Path was simply a test to enter the next Heaven, he didn''t know that they might be picking successors as well. But if this was true, then whatever lied in wait at the Heavenly Path would definitely be worthwhile, and the tests would definitely not be so simple either.


    If Ryu was correct, the Ruin Master Guild might not be the only ones trying to take advantage of this. In fact, it was very possible that other Clans and Sects from higher Heavens would have taken notice. In such a situation, would they not send their youths down as well?


    Maybe he was overthinking things. After all, if the Ruin Master Guild had to be so secretive, then it couldn''t be so widely known just yet.


    But at that moment, Ryu couldn''t help but think of that youth from before. He had skin as dark as night and eyes as bright as stars. He was one of the few and maybe the only man Ryu had ever met who had looks comparable to himself.


    Everyone seemed to have forgotten about that young man, but with his Origin Flame, how could Ryu?


    The answer to exactly who he was might be the answer Ryu needed.


    But for now, Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care about it. His cultivation was stalled with how foggy and fatigued his mind felt. He would consider breaking into the Dao Pedestal Realm right now and abandoning the true path of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, but now that he knew exactly how to progress, it was hard for him to simply make such a choice. Plus, if he cultivated in such a state, the results wouldn''t be good.


    So instead of that Ryu chose to relax. In the years between now and the opening of the Heavenly Path, so long as he didn''t feel that he had reached an optimal state, he wouldn''t cultivate.


    Before he knew it, Ryu had appeared back in Radiant Star Sect territory. A journey that should have taken years on foot actually only took a few weeks as he journeyed the world.


    Ryu looked up and found a familiar veiled figure standing on a mountain peak as though she had been waiting for his return.


    With a light smile, he took a step and suddenly appeared to her side, catching her off guard somewhat.


    Selheira blinked. "It''s only been a few months but you''re at the peak of the Path Extinction Realm already?"


    Ryu smiled and didn''t answer her question.


    "Do you play Domain?"

 Chapter 1065 Rookie Mistake

    Selheira seemed quite taken aback by Ryu''s question. Domain? That was a game she loved to play, but no one here seemed to care very much for it. Some of the elders might, but with her personality, it was hard to work up the desire to challenge them as it might lead to some¡­ less than desirable outcomes. After all, if she went around defeating all of these elders, then where would they put their faces?


    So, ever since she had come here, Selheira didn''t really make any attempts to challenge anyone. The likes of Old Wan and the others were far too powerful for her to be a decent match for them, while the other Sky Gods were far too weak. As such, she truly had no one to challenge her.


    Suddenly hearing Ryu''s request, while she was shocked at first, a light of splendor lit her irises soon afterward as a hardly concealed excitement danced about.


    There were only two times that Ryu had ever seen Selheira shift from her baseline gentleness. The first was when she cried in the Frost Clan remnant, and the second was right here and now. She was truly an anomaly.


    In her excitement, Selheira had already grabbed Ryu''s forearm and taken a step in a certain direction. But to her surprise, while she thought she might have had to pull Ryu along, he simply took a step just as calmly as she did.


    The weight of his body turned to nothing and Selheira felt as though she was pulling on air. She didn''t have to put in any effort because Ryu wasn''t relying on her to move in the first place!


    Selheira blinked before she blushed slightly. In her excitement, she had grabbed Ryu without thinking much. It seemed that she had done something embarrassing again, and unfortunately unlike Ryu, she couldn''t just shrug it off as easily as he did.


    "Oh? This is rare."


    Old Wan suddenly appeared with a "knowing" smile in his eyes. He looked as though he was a small measure away from bursting into a cackling fit, and that only made Selheira''s blush deepen. It took quite a while before she realized that she was still holding onto Ryu''s wrist, and even longer than that to finally return to her usually calm.


    Old Wan chuckled. "I assume you two came here for something?"


    "Ah, right," Selheira lightly cleared her throat, her beautiful voice sounding a half octave higher than usual. It reminded one of a sonorous bell. "I wanted to borrow a Domain board from you, Senior. Is that possible?"


    "Oh? You two little ones want to play Domain? Okay, okay, this is a great opportunity. I''ll spectate, those two old codgers refuse to play with me anymore."


    "Who are you calling an old codger? How about we spar a few rounds, you old coward?"


    Old Wan froze slightly before he coughed. He still hadn''t gotten used to Aika''s senses being so sharp these days, so he had suffered more than just once due to his loose lips.


    Selheira, seeing that Old Wan was in trouble, smiled lightly. "Senior, I just wanted to borrow a Domain board so that I can play a few games with Junior Brother Ryu."


    Aika appeared in a rustle of wind. Despite the fact her soft voice had reached them much earlier and didn''t sound strained at all, in reality, she had been quite a distance away. This forest scape was quite a large expanse of territory and Aika carved out space for it to be larger and larger everyday, seemingly not satisfied with the small scale of the Sect. Although Old Wan protested, claiming that they didn''t even have enough disciples to take advantage of this much space, Aika had simply ignored him and doen as she pleased.


    "Domain?"


    Despite it only being a single word, Aika''s gorgeous features twisted as though she had just stuffed a mound of shit into her mouth. She absolutely hated that game.


    Due to the nature of the Radiant Star Sect, there were many experts of Domain within their walls. This made sense, after all, Domain was a came of the mind and strategy, while the foundation of the Radiant Star Sect was mapping out the stars and calling upon their secrets. The two things coincided with one another quite well, especially in regard to certain paths.


    With her personality, when Aika had first learned about Domain, she went around challenging and crushing everyone. But when Old Wan picked up the game, she could never defeat him, and this was especially infuriating due to the play style Old Wan used.


    Domain was ultimately a game of playing General with the pieces being your soldiers. Aika liked to take more aggressive stances, rushing into her enemy''s territory and crushing them one by one.


    But Old Wan was extraordinarily patient. Sometimes he would let his defenses collapse only to circle around her back and crush her. Sometimes he would pretend to put up a weak counter attack only to suddenly unleash a sudden and powerful strike from a seemingly weak stance. Sometimes the game would even seem like it was just one move from ending in her victory, only for him to flip everything on its head with just a single piece.


    Aika was stubborn, so one could imagine the number of times that she had challenged Old Wan before reaching such a state. She wasn''t traumatized by much in her life, but this was definitely one of those times.


    At that moment, Grand Elder Samson''s laughter slipped out from a bush nearby. He tried to hide it quickly, but it was already too late, he was thoroughly exposed.


    In her current state, Aika was like a sparking fuse, ready to unleash a rush of fire and explosions at any moment, even Old Wan, who was clearly her superior in this aspect at least, didn''t dare to make a single sound. But Samson had actually made such a rookie mistake.


    Aika''s head snapped over like a predator that had found her prey.


    The instant she vanished, screams of agony echoed through the mountain ranges.

 Chapter 1066 Fascinating

    Ryu smiled lightly watching such a scene. This sort of matter, how long had it been since he had seen them?


    He was never the type of person to make jokes and poke fun, or at the very least, he didn''t do it too often or too overtly, but he had always found peace watching those around him do so.


    Last time he had felt this kind of peace his parents were still by his side and his grandparents were still alive. He could remember their dynamics quite well.


    His parents had personalities closer to himself. His father was quiet, prideful and stoic. His mother was arrogant and as proud as a swan. However, when they were together they softened considerably. Ryu could remember times where his parents would be months at a time by each other''s sides without speaking a word to one another. On one side, his father would be brandishing his weapon. On the other side, his mother would be working on a painting.


    Sometimes it would be the vice versa. His mother would be brandishing her swords and his father would be working on his calligraphy.


    There was no conversation between them, no words exchanged, no glances made, but both of them had light smiles on their faces as though there was nothing that they would rather do than this.


    Then there were his grandparents.


    Ryu really didn''t know how his parents had come from them because his grandparents were two pairs of goofballs. Although they all had their more serious sides, especially his Grandma Tatsuya who was the most prideful of them all, they also joked around far more than his parents did.


    It was hard for them to go a day with his Grandma Tatsuya pulling on his Grandpa Tatsuya''s ear, or his Grandma Kunan glaring while his Grandpa Kunan made the same apology he had been making for billions of years, all because he dared to share a drink with Mistress Holy Wing and get drugged into having a child out of wedlock.


    Things only became more lively after Elena entered his life. She was so cold and proud elsewhere, but when she was with him and their family, she finally unleashed her true personality. She was the greatest prankster of them all, and she left Ryu speechless all too often.


    That sort of love that hung in the air, that sort of ambience, it was enough to bring peace even to the coldest of hearts.


    Ryu chuckled lightly, causing Old Wan to look over at him in warning, but he didn''t seem to mind at all. Only Selheira looked toward Ryu with a hint of surprise. Laughter wasn''t something she thought she would ever see on Ryu. Even when he smiled, the cold depth of his eyes still remained, his very presence applying a metric ton of pressure on all those around him.


    Seeing him laugh like this though¡­ She couldn''t help but feel that he was much more handsome this way.


    ¡­


    It wasn''t long before Selheira and Ryu began their game.


    In his first life, Ryu had been an absolute master of the four arts. Feng Shui, Painting, Calligraphy and Strategy. It had been a very long time since he used some of them, especially Painting and Strategy, the latter of which was the foundation upon which Domain was built.


    Feng Shui had become a foundational part of how he forged weapons, while Calligraphy had actually played a strong role in the formation of the first half of his Dao, Dividing Karma.


    Painting and Strategy, though, were like abandoned children. However, this day, the latter finally got a chance to flourish.


    The board of Domain was split into several tiers. Depending on the skill of the players or the level of game they wanted to play, there could be more or less tiers in use at once. Usually, it would be between two and nine, though there did exist simplified versions for children with just a single tier.


    The board tiers themselves were split into different shaped spaces, some were triangular, some were square, some were pentagons and yet some others were star shaped. These different spaces and their shapes represented everything from distance to terrain to special abilities pieces could have depending on the situation.


    The goal of the game was quite simple and there were two methods of winning. One was to either occupy territory and the second was to capture or render the strongest piece the opponent had on the board unable to move.


    Ryu and Selheira didn''t start with anything too crazy, settling for three tiers. Both seemed to use this first game to knock off some rust, but if others outside of the likes of Old Wan, Aika and Samson were watching, it would be hard to tell that this was their goal.


    The moment the two began to play, they seemed to become like entirely different people.


    The gentle Selheira vanished into thin air, a violent and wild aura ravaging her surroundings. She didn''t seem to notice that this happened at all, or else knowing her, she would try to either hide it or blush in embarrassment.


    With her being like this, Ryu felt his bloodlines bubble and churn, experiencing a not-so-subtle suppression.


    However, by the same token, he didn''t seem to notice either, because at that moment, he had also changed.


    His edge vanished and his coldness morphed into a gentle warmth. From a man with a piercing gaze, Ryu suddenly became a gentle scholar, his brows were relaxed and his movements were slow. He seemed unbothered by the changes to the outside world.


    One would think that the two would become like fire and water, but in reality, they didn''t seem to notice what the other was doing at all, all they had eyes for was the board.


    The three elders looked toward one another with a hint of shock in their eyes, not having quite expected this outcome.


    To think that the gentle Selheira would play far more like Aika, while the cold Ryu would play so much more like Old Wan.


    It was fascinating.

 Chapter 1067 Loss

    The first battle between Selheira and Ryu lasted for an entire month and ended in Ryu''s loss.


    It had been clear after the first few days that while Selheira''s style seemed just as aggressive as Aika''s, it was also filled with barbs and wires, pitfalls that even Sky Gods would fall into. Seeing through them all required a high level of foresight.


    The two of them were easily planning moves on an order of hundreds ahead, and in the end, it was close but Ryu quickly found himself cornered.


    Just when the three elders wanted to commentate on what had happened, the two of them reshuffled the board almost instantly and began a new game. Old Wan, Aika and Samson could only look toward each other with somewhat speechless expressions. What was going on here exactly?


    Two brats beneath the Sky God Realm shouldn''t have this level of focus. A Domain game that lasted a month was already enough to drain most people, yet they started up again as though nothing had happened.


    The second battle lasted three times as long and once again ended in Ryu''s loss.


    For the game to last three months as opposed to the previous one without even the addition of a new tier just went to show how violent the confrontation was. If it wasn''t for the fact Selheira unleashed a trap she had been planning from the very first move, she just might have lost this one.


    Ryu smiled lightly, he didn''t seem to mind the losses, or maybe he just didn''t mind who he was losing to.


    "What are you chuckling about brat, you''ve gotten your ass handed to you twice, shouldn''t you show some more backbone?"


    Old Wan jeered from the sidelines. This young man never showed him any sort of respect and he felt like he was finally getting revenge.


    Ryu''s smiling expression dulled somewhat as he looked toward Old Wan with placid eyes.


    "Do you believe that I can crush you in a game of Domain?"


    Old Wan was stunned for a moment before he burst into a fit of laughter.


    Aika and Samson looked toward each other for a moment and took a step back as though they didn''t know this person. They both knew Old Wan too well, he was softly spoken, a bit of a coward, willing to take a step back more often than he was willing to take a step forward, but when it came to Domain he was a bit of a madman.


    "Come." Ryu said simply.


    In a huff, Old Wan, who had been preparing to give a speech about juniors respecting their seniors, sat down. Clearly, since Ryu dared to interrupt him again, he would give this brat a lesson of a lifetime.


    "How many tiers, this senior will be magnanimous and let you choose the parameters."


    "Two," Ryu replied simply.


    Old Wan''s lip curled in disdain. Two was the minimum number, even Ryu and Selheira had just been playing with three. He couldn''t help but think that Ryu was trying to simplify the game to give him greater odds of winning. Unfortunately, he was far too na?ve. While the game would be simpler for him, it would be simpler for Old Wan too. By then, crushing Ryu would only take a few moves.


    "You won''t last an hour, and that''s only if you drag your feet on your moves."


    For Old Wan to say this when the previous two games took four months total, it was clear how confident he was in himself.


    Selheira, who had snapped out of her fiendish state, pouted somewhat. Clearly, four months wasn''t enough for her and she wanted to play some more. But she was curious now as well. Why was Ryu so confident? She was certain that she could not defeat Old Wan, but she had also just defeated Ryu twice.


    Most would say that Ryu''s words were ridiculous, but knowing Ryu, Selheira didn''t think he was the type to spout nonsense just for the sake of it.


    The moment the pieces were set, Old Wan''s aura changed. He became like a vast and endless sea, his depths unknown and his waters dark and blue. Even the wind couldn''t disturb his surface and there was not a single ripple to be found.


    The vastness of Old Wan''s aura was oppressive and mighty. Although Selheira and Ryu had quite some pressure given their age, Old Wan was very clearly on an entirely different level. Sitting across from him, there was no doubt that Ryu was under a great deal of pressure. If he could even think properly, it would be nothing short of a miracle.


    And for a moment, this seemed to be true.


    Old Wan had, obviously, allowed Ryu the first move, but the latter hadn''t budged a single inch since the match was set to begin. He simply stared forward without the slightest ripple emitting from him, it almost felt as though he was frozen in time. Either that, or he had been scared shitless. But Old Wan was so focused on the board that he didn''t have time to pay attention to his surroundings. His mind was constantly running through scenarios, thinking of methods to crush Ryu the fastest.


    Aika and Samson looked toward one another once more, seemingly wanting to nod and concede on Ryu''s behalf, but then the situation changed entirely.


    Ryu, who had been sitting in complete silence, suddenly shifted.


    At first, his air just swayed gently in the wind, but in the next instant, the skies above rumbled and a spine tingling pressure spread into the surroundings. Compared to what it had been before, it was like night and day.


    Ryu''s irises sparkled with a spine tingling jade green glow, his presence growing into a tower.


    Dividing Karma.


    Ryu''s fingers moved and he placed down the first piece, causing the ground to shake and quake.


    To everyone''s astonishment, just three days later, Old Wan''s face became as black as a pot, his bottom lip trembling in shock.


    He had lost.

 Chapter 1068 Easy

    Ryu sat in silence, not even bothering to gloat as though this was very normal. He didn''t seem to mind the gazes that he was receiving at all.


    "You went easy on me?" Selheira asked.


    Though her voice had the same amount of gentleness, it was tinged with a hint of a wronged air to it. Clearly, she wasn''t very happy about this. But then again, if Ryu did this, would their games have even been fun? If the gap between him and Old Wan was so wide, how much wider was it between the two of them?


    However, surprisingly, Ryu shook his head.


    "No, I didn''t."


    Old Wan''s lip twitched. Was this brat trying to humiliate him further, claiming that Selheira could beat him even easier? Forget it, he had lost his bearing as a senior anyway, he might as well let this matter slide.


    But after he regained his calm, Old Wan''s gaze flickered and he suddenly understood something.


    "I see¡­" he said lightly.


    It wasn''t very complicated, Ryu had used the Dividing Karma half of his Dividing Heaven Dao to crush Old Wan in just three days. But as far as Ryu saw it, the fact that Old Wan lasted so long was a true testament to how far apart their skill level truly was.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s Dividing Karma was the more human side of his Dao and it was the first of the two halves to manifest. Back when it first appeared, he had used it to crush the Godhood of a Sky God and knock them down from False Sky God to Fragmented.


    Inherently, it was a Dao about understanding people, their intentions, their weaknesses, and then turning it against them. It could also be used to see through the connections between people, to plot out events on a timeline, and to indirectly attack individuals through their strings of Karma.


    This sort of Dao was perfectly suited for the game of Domain.


    The fact that Ryu''s Dao could be used in the game was already enough to give him a leg up. Not many had Daos that were suited to be used like this as no one would form a Dao just for the sake of a board game, no matter how entertaining it was. It was just that Ryu''s was lucky enough to be applicable.


    But this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    Ryu''s Dao was still in the Third Immortal Grade, it had no business analyzing and reading through Old Wan''s thoughts, so he needed a limiter, and that limiter came in the form of his choice of two tiers instead of three or more.


    No matter how savvy and intelligent Old Wan was, or however many moves he could see ahead, if he was limited by a simplified board there was little that he could do. What good was being able to go 100 miles an hour if the track was too short for you to even accelerate to that speed?


    When Ryu was going against Selheira, while it was true that he might be able to use his Dividing Karma Dao to deal with her since she was a far weaker player than Old Wan and they had only added one tier, there were a few problems with this.


    For one, the addition of one tier wasn''t just a minor change, it was an exponential one. If two tiers had 100 variations, three tiers had over 100 000. The gap was large enough that despite the skills gap between Selheira and Old Wan, the added variables made it almost impossible for his Third Immortal Grade Dao to keep up.


    Secondly, because of the length of the game, his stamina wouldn''t be able to keep up. Using one''s Dao drained Focus Qi at a rapid rate. There was only so long that he would be able to use his Dao in such a setting. In fact, the only reason he had managed to last three days to begin with was because it was just a casual game and not a battle. In an intense battle, he might only last a few hours which was why he rarely brought out his Dao in full strength.


    "I see¡­ Let me experience it." Selheira suddenly said, a bit eager.


    Ryu blinked but still nodded in the end. Old Wan could only slink off in defeat while Aika laughed so hard she forgot her dignity as a Sky God.


    Selheira sat across from Ryu and felt the bristling of his aura. She entered her own state of focus, that familiar wild aura coming out in waves. However, in less than 100 moves, she lost.


    With the speed of cultivators, 100 moves was just a few minutes. Never in her life had she lost a game so quickly, and at the same time, unlike Old Wan who had only had his moves read on a board, Selheira felt as though she had been stripped naked before Ryu, every one of her deepest, darkest thoughts exposed to him.


    There was no doubt the depth to which Ryu could analyze Selheira was far deeper. She was thankful that the match had only lasted a few minutes because she wasn''t sure if she could handle such scrutiny for much longer.


    Ryu smiled lightly. "How about we return to three tiers, I''m feeling good about this one."


    Selheira blinked before nodding, a smile blooming beneath her veil.


    The two began to play once more, and this time, they didn''t stop for years. If it wasn''t for the fact that Heavenly Path''s opening was soon to be underway, they may very well have played each other for decades.


    By the end of it all, Ryu managed to squeak out a small margin of victory with six wins versus Selheira''s five. If it was up to Selheira, they would have played one more match to even the score. But Aika was much too excited to raise the Radiant Star Sect up to the Third Heaven, so there wasn''t even much of a chance to dispute.

 Chapter 1069 Loggerheads

    The Third Heaven had been in an odd state for the past several years. As the opening of Heaven''s Path approached, the tension only seemed to slowly grow and the era of peace that had come before it was slowly being chipped away at, piece by piece.


    Among these groups, the usual suspects were at loggerheads.


    The Sentient Sword Sect and the Demonic Flame Sect were first two. Both were True Three Star Sect behemoths were dozens of Fragmented Sky Gods, over ten False Sky Gods, a mighty True Sky God overseeing their territories.


    For as long as the people of the Third Heaven could remember, these two behemoths had been practically mortal enemies, one claiming to be righteous and the other claiming them to be hypocrites. This was a war seemingly without end precisely because of the strength of both parties, but in recent years, it had been fairly quiet.


    There had been no clashes, no deaths, no sudden powder kegs of conflict to erupt¡­ But that had only resulted in the stifling pressure that was here today.


    The two Sects stood hundreds of kilometers apart, waiting silently in the skies for the Heavenly Path to open. But even across such a distance, they might as well have been noses to nose, their eyes glaring into once another with murderous intentions.


    At first glance, it was difficult to tell which was the sword Sect and which was the demon Sect. Whether it was the former or the latter, both looked like exceptionally refined gentleman and elegant women. On both sides, there were men of dashing appearances and women capable of making cities fall and the skies shine.


    Their clothing were both well kempt and their grooming was particularly perfect. It almost felt like the two Sects were looking toward mirror images of one another, and the ignorant, especially those that had just come up from the Second Heaven, had no way of telling just what was going on here exactly or picking out a "villain".


    It wasn''t until one started paying attention to the finer details and saw that one side only had one weapon of choice that it became clear which side held the Sentient Sword Sect. But even so, if one blinked once and lost focus, it was too easy to become confused once more.


    At the helm of the Sentient Sword Faction, there were three disciples, all of whom exuded an aura of magnificence. Even so, among them one stood out by far the furthest.


    Enren.


    This young man was the only disciple the True Sky God of the Sentient Sword Sect had taken in his life and he had taken on the Sword-Name Eternal Sword.


    One''s so-called Sword-Name was akin to a Dao Title among the people of the Sentient Sword Faction. Due to their unique methods of cultivation, they liked to name their swords and create their own unique sword path using the Sentient Sword Sutra.


    Still, if Ryu had been there, he might have thought this Enren to be amusing. It was certain that Enren didn''t dare to take the Dao Title Eternal Sword because he simply wasn''t worthy of such a title. If he tried to, he would probably be struck down by the heavens for even having such a thought. So instead, he had actually used a roundabout method of patting himself on the back, using his cultivation technique as a cover. In reality, it was no different from slapping makeup on a pig.


    Of course, this was something his counterpart ruthlessly mocked him for constantly, and maybe the only member of the younger generation who dared to do this¡­


    Theris.


    On the side of the Demonic Flame Sect, there were likewise three youths who stood at the forefront with one of them standing out even among them. He had a calm and handsome appeared, only made all the more enigmatic by the dancing glass-like flames in his eyes.


    While he didn''t ruthlessly mock Enren, that didn''t stop Theris himself from taking on the title of Undeniable Flame. Of course, likewise, he didn''t dare to take on such a Dao Title and could only use this name by proxy of his Demonic Flame technique as well. There was no doubt that Enren likewise despised Theris for thinking too much of himself.


    Despite the hypocrisy of both parties, there were none that dared to call them out on it. Getting in the middle of these two swinging behemoths was nothing short of asking for death. If even the other Three Star Sects of the Third Heaven didn''t dare say anything, then those of the Second Heaven most definitely didn''t dare.


    On the ground, the people of the Second Heaven waited in silence, not wanting to disturb too much. The people of the Third Heaven were already uncaring enough to allow them to come, if they stirred up too much trouble, they would be just one word away from being kicked out.


    Among this crowd, the people of the Bewitching Charm Sect, Wallowing Wisp Sect and Dew Drop Sect could be found. But more interestingly there were the members of the Carving Ice Sect, the Lurking Vine Sect and the Thunder Blaze Sect.


    Within the group of the Carving Ice Sect, Jenneless seemed to have regained her usual demeanor. The injuries to her soul had long since been healed and her skin shimmered with a resplendent sort of light as though she was truly carved of ice.


    She looked untouched by mortality and completely transcendent, but very few had noticed as the Carving Ice Sect was still keeping a very low profile. Even Jenneless wore a veil. It wasn''t quite time just yet. Once she entered the Heavenly Path, nothing else would matter. But for now, she had to rein in her arrogance.


    At the same time, on the side of the Lurking Vine Sect, a smiling young man with skin as dark as night and eyes as bright as stars stood with a smiling expression. But as per usual, no one seemed to notice his presence at all.


    At that moment, the ground began to rumble and the skies changed. Everyone believed that the opening had come, but what actually happened instead left them all stunned.

 Chapter 1070 Instant

    "Ahaha! I''m controlling it now and I said we''d go for the very center! No more of your bullshit you old coward!"


    Aika''s voice rung through the skies in a booming cadence causing the eyes of several Sky Gods to narrow into slits.


    Someone was actually ascending to the Third Heaven right this moment? And they actually dared to do so in the no man''s land between the Sentient Sword Sect and the Demonic Flame Sect?! What were they thinking?!


    This region was indeed the center of the Third Heaven and it was the location with the greatest concentration of resources and qi. For thousands of years, the Sentient Sword Sect and the Demonic Flame Sect had been fighting over these lands in a continuous tug of war. Often times, even if one eeked out a victory, they wouldn''t bother to send anyone to claim the land because it would just be won back by the other side not long after.


    So, instead, they region became a free for all between the Sects where they would fight for resources and immediately snatch them before returning, benefiting from the resources, and then coming back to fight once more.


    The idea that some foolish Second Heaven Sect would actually dare to try and claim this land as their own left even the two Sects themselves speechless. They had been fighting amongst one another for so long without challenge from a third party that they were truly without words. They didn''t even know what to say to these matters.


    By the time they realized that this wasn''t a joke and that this was really happening, the outline of the Radiant Star Sect began to manifest itself. Compared to the last time it had done this, due to Aika''s actions, the territory of the Sector was over 20 times larger, covering a span so wide that it blanketed over 50% of the so-called no man''s land between the Sentient Sword Sect and the Demonic Flame Sect.


    Of everyone who was entirely confused about what was happening, it was only the members of the Bewithcing Charm Sect, Wallowing Wisp Sect and Dew Drop Sect who had the most recognition in their eyes, this was because they recognized this Sect all too well¡­


    This was the Sect that had wiped the Metal Work Sect off of the face of the map in the span of just a few years.


    However, even so, this was the Third Heaven and the Metal Work Sect was barely considered a Two Star Sect while the Third Heaven had dozens of Three Star Sects, not to mention the fact that this was the territory of not one, but two True Three Star Sects. Just what was going on here? How could they dare to do this.


    As the outline of the Sect solidified, powerful presences descended from all sides. Before the other Sky Gods could even act, the Sky Gods of the two True Three Star Sects were absolutely furious. Not having had their dignity infringed upon in so long, they hadn''t reacted immediately, but the moment they did, it was absolutely explosive.


    A beam of swordlight that could render the skies rose up from one side and a pillar of flames that seemed to connect the heavens to the earth came from the other. The furious attacks were enough to crush everything in sight, collapsing mountains and ripping the oxygen out of the air for hundreds of kilometers.


    However, just as they were about to descend, the light cough of what sounded like an old man echoed.


    A resplendent barrier of starlight enveloped the Radiant Star Sect and even some of the surrounding territory.


    The swordlight and pillar of flames descended with a crash and burn, causing ripples to spread across the face of this barrier wildly. In just a moment, the entire Radiant Star Sect was enveloped, hiding it from view of everyone else.


    Many who didn''t even see the formation of the barrier due to the speed thought that the Radiant Star Sect didn''t even get a chance to react. As for those that did, they still believed that it wasn''t enough. How could a mere Second Star Sect withstand the fury of two True Sky Gods? The Patriarchs of both Sects had reacted in fury, not even waiting for the subordinates to act first.


    However, at that moment, as the energies began to clear, the barrier became obvious to all, causing a long silence to descend.


    A formation capable of withstand the furious attack of two True Sky Gods? Just what kind of formation was this? And how could it be in the hands of a Second Heaven Sect?!


    "Apologies, apologies. My Radiant Star Se¡ª"


    Old Wan rose into the air, ready and willing to give an explanation, but before he could even get his words out, a petite young woman elbowed him in the sides so hard that he shot into the distance like a streaking star, crashing into a mountain within Radiant Star Sect territory so deeply that it was unknown how long it would take him to crawl out.


    "My Radiant Star Sect doesn''t give explanations. If you want to lose your head feel free to step forward."


    Aika''s voice boomed and was immediately recognized by those who heard her speak earlier.


    The words echoed and the silence felt deafening. Just where had this woman come from, exactly?


    Aika looked around. Seeing that no one respounded immediately, she got bored just as fast. With a yawn, she waved her hand and the barrier disappeared.


    "Those of you young ones who managed to survive the war and want another chance to prove yourself, Heaven''s Gates are about to open. You''ll either sink or swim, leap over the gate like a dragon or sink into the tides like a little fish. The choice is yours."


    After saying these words, Aika casually sat in the skies.


    The disciples below had hardened faces. Compared to years ago, there had already been enormous changes. Whereas before the pressure of the Second Heaven had made many of them fall prostrate, all of them could stand tall now.


    Even so¡­ They hesitated.


    Here, it wasn''t just the pressure of the Third Heaven they had to withstand, but the gazes of the masses, none of whom believed that they deserved to be here, and rightfully so.


    But at that moment, a streak of swordlight shot into the skies, this one originating from their Sect.


    Ryu appeared in the skies, his hands clasped behind his back and his white and sky blue robes fluttering in the wind.


    For an instant, it felt as though all the pressure in the surroundings had vanished.

 Chapter 1071 Belong

    Ryu stood in the skies, tall and proud. He didn''t seem to have eyes for those around him, instead looking up toward the clouds and expanse of blue above him toward the very location that the Heavenly Path would appear.


    For a moment, others were so surprised that they didn''t even seem to notice that he was faintly higher in the skies than even the True Sky Gods of the Sentient Sword Sect and Demonic Flame Sect. But even more surprising than that was the fact that he didn''t seem to be out of his element at all.


    His hair fluttered in the wind, the ends of his headband flying along with it. His robes rippled, and yet somehow still remained wrinkle free. At that moment, he seemed to overshadow even the refined auras of Enren and Theris.


    Over the last few years, although Ryu hadn''t focused very much on cultivation, what he had done was refined his temperament greatly. He was already a man with an aura few could stand to in the past, but now it felt even more exaggerated than it had been before, so much so that many fell into silence for reasons beyond just the appearance of the Radiant Star Sect.


    Enren''s sword-like brows furrowed somewhat as his gaze locked onto the great swordstaff Ryu was flying upon. There was a push and pull on his heart that left him a bit stifled. Was that a flying treasure? Or just a sword?


    The second great swordstaff that hovered to Ryu''s back seemed to make it clear that it was a weapon as they were both identical. However, if it wasn''t a flying treasure, didn''t that mean that Ryu''s sword path was even beyond his own? That was absolutely impossible.


    Enren couldn''t sense any sword qi coming from Ryu at all. His presence was so restrained, neat and tidy that it didn''t leak a single thing. However, when Enren''s gaze flashed, his apprehension turned to derision.


    What the hell was this? Peak of the Path Extinction Realm? Was this a joke?


    Enren was the first to notice and it was far beneath his status to say anything, doing so would only prove that he had been initially bothered by Ryu''s showing and display. In situations like this one, he only had to let others make the comments for him, and that he did.


    After their initial shock, it wasn''t long before many began to notice this abnormality as well. It was simply the nature of cultivators.


    When it was put together that this Radiant Star Sect came from the Second Heaven, then the derision only increased. They didn''t know how this Sect managed to form a barrier that could block two True Sky Gods, but what they did know was that it was clear their disciples were lacking a great deal.


    Even the weakest entering the Heavenly Path this time around was at the Cosmic Seed Realm. While there was no minimum requirement for entry, it was widely accepted that the World Sea Realm was probably the Realm would need to reach to have a good chance at survival. Being at the Cosmic Seed Realm was already enough to earn you some finger pointing.


    Yet, Ryu wasn''t even in the Divine Vessel Realm yet. This matter that had silenced them at first suddenly felt like a great joke all of a sudden.


    The chatter only seemed to increase with each passing second, but there was one group that, once again, didn''t say a single word. These were the very people who were well aware of Ryu''s combat prowess while he had been at the peak of the Immortal Ring Realm. If he managed to scale up his strength to his current level of improvement¡­ just what kind of monster was he now?


    Aantha of the Bewitching Charm Sect, a woman always known for her seductive teasing, had a rare serious expression on her face.


    She might not be able to match up to the geniuses Third Heaven, far from it, but what she knew was that when Ryu was at an entire Realm lower than he was now, he was capable of fighting them head to head without being in a losing position. Now that he had improved so much in just a handful of years, wasn''t it obvious that he would be a match for those Third Heaven geniuses?


    When she had this thought, Aantha wanted to shake her head. These were no normal geniuses, anyone who could stand at the top of the Third Heaven was a Sovereign Class genius. In fact, the likes of Enren and Theris were most likely at least a half-step beyond that or else their titles wouldn''t be so undisputed.


    By Aantha''s side, Fairy Mae wore her usual cold expression, making her stand out from the usually seductive beauties around her.


    Just looking at the trio that headed the Sentient Sword Sect and Demonic Flame Sect, they should all be Sovereign Class geniuses. In the Second Heaven, just having one Heaven Class genius was enough to place a Sect or Clan at the top. But here in the Third Heaven, unless you had a Sovereign Class genius, you didn''t have the right to speak on many matters¡­


    She too couldn''t help but wonder if Ryu was so talented as to bridge such a gap.


    At that moment, the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect grit their teeth. With Ryu having taken the first step, much of the pressure had vanished from them, and now that he was being ridiculed, they felt a hint of fury in their hearts as well.


    They knew well that Ryu''s power level had little to do with his cultivation. They had seen him fight, and it could be said that while he rarely showed up on the battlefield for them, it wasn''t because he was fearful, but rather because it posed no challenge to him.


    With a stomp, several launched themselves into the air, some bringing out their own personal flying treasures, and others forming wings of starlight that spread out from their backs.


    Unfortunately, the flying treasures designed for the First Heaven had no method of working on the Third Heaven. It was almost immediately clear to those that had brought theirs out that they were destined to fall from the sky and embarrass their Sect even further.


    An unwillingness bloomed in their hearts, but at that moment, they felt a strong power envelop them all.


    Elder Aika, who sat cross legged in the skies without a word, gently enveloped these disciples in her strength, pushing them into the air as though nothing had happened.


    The disciples, although they were unsure of what happened, sighed a breath of relief and continued flying into the air, making their way to Ryu''s height and respectfully standing to his back.


    In truth, the display wasn''t very grand. There were a few World Sea Realm experts in their midst, but it paled in comparison to the hundreds that the two behemoth-like Sects had brought. The rest were mostly in the Cosmic Seed Realm with a small minority in the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    A disciple that Ryu recognized, PIbin, the formerly 17th ranked Core Disciple, had just barely entered the Cosmic Seed. He was among the few that used his wings to rise into the skies, standing behind Ryu as though it was only natural.


    Though the display wasn''t powerful, it did tell the people below one very important thing.


    No matter how weak the Radiant Star Sect was, a World Sea Realm expert was still a World Sea Realm expert. The fact that they were willing to stand behind a Path Extinction Realm brat spoke volumes and the world couldn''t help but fall into another silence.


    Ryu, who had been in his own world, looked back. He didn''t really expect this, honestly. He had never joined a Sect before, so he didn''t know the kind of comradery that could come with it.


    During his time with Aika, Samson, Wan and Selheira, he had felt more warmth than he had in a long time, but it never really properly settled in that he was part of a Sect now.


    At that moment, another slight cough rang out and Old Wan finally crawled out of the mountain that he had been thrown into, trying to pat the dust away from himself.


    "Oh? Not bad." He laughed lightly, shaking the dirt out of his hair.


    Old Wan smiled, feeling a bit gratified. The progress of these little ones wasn''t too bad after all.


    Right then, though, a laugh echoed through the air.


    "What the hell is this supposed to be? Comic relief? Where did this clown show of Sect pop out of?"


    The sound came from one of the disciples of the Demonic Flame Sect, standing in a small crowd behind the three prominent youths. Unsurprisingly, he was all a World Sea Realm expert, it was just that his shine lost out to these three, causing him to dull somewhat in their presence.


    Ryu''s gaze slowly turned in that direction.


    Maybe in the past, he wouldn''t care so much, but since the Radiant Star Sect wanted to support him, their face was also his own, and when it came to his face¡­


    His temper was quite short.


    Ryu''s grandfather''s bow appeared in his hands before anyone could react, a shimmering arrow of blue steel manifested out of nothingness in an instant.


    He didn''t even seem to take time to aim as his bowstring was already released.


    The members of the Demonic Flame Sect were shocked for a moment, not expecting this. Someone actually dared to attack them¡­?!


    However, that surprise quickly turned to sneers, sneers that froze only an instant later.


    The arrow that had seemed to be streaking through the air so slowly suddenly vanished.


    PCHU!


    The words the World Sea Realm expert had been about to speak again froze, a bloody hole appearing between his brows.


    Ryu lowered his bow, casually strapping it across his back once more.


    At that moment, the skies began to rumble. The Heavenly Path was descending.


    BANG!


    The head of the World Sea Realm expert exploded.


    [Important Announcement below]

 Chapter 1072 Miasma

    Despite the sudden commotion, there was an odd lack of a reaction from the cultivators in the surrounding area.


    Brune of the Wallowing Wisp Sect who had fought Ryu to a standstill just a few years ago felt a shiver course through his body. Somehow Ryu had gone from being even with him to killing someone of his caliber in just a single strike.


    The members of the Bewitching Chram and Dew Drop Sect clenched their jaws, suddenly realizing that this could very well be them.


    The members of the Demonic Flame Sect, though, opened their eyes wide with shock. Not only had Ryu attacked, he had attacked decisively with intent to kill and had done so boldly in the face of them all. He didn''t care for their faces not one bit, but what was even more shocking was the fact that even with all of them here¡­ none of them seemed capable of reacting. Even their elders were a step slow.


    This realization made them all shudder awake before fury set in. How long had it been since their prestige was infringed upon like this?


    "We will enter first."


    Despite the billowing rage rising like a tempest from his right, Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care. Instead, he spoke these words simply and easily as he urged his great swordstaff forward, leading the members of the Radiant Star Sect forward.


    Down below, Aika''s lip was constantly twitching. She was caught between trying to be the elder she was meant to be and bursting out in the sort of laugh only a madman could match. Ryu''s actions were truly far too much in her liking, so much so that she didn''t believe that she could do better herself. It was too good, much too good.


    In the end, she couldn''t help herself and grinned.


    "HALT!"


    A booming voice sounded just as Ryu was about to enter the Heavenly Path, but he didn''t even glance toward its direction, shuttling in without another word. However, just before he did vanish, his voice echoed.


    "Feel free to come. However many appear is however many I''ll kill. You can find me any time, my name is Ryu Tatsuya."


    The skies rumbled and the eyes of several members within the Demonic Flame Sect widened. Unfortunately, Ryu''s senses had already been cut off by the surging tide of qi around the Heavenly Path, he had no method of seeing their reaction to such a thing, nor did he care.


    ¡­


    A stifling pressure threatened to squeeze Ryu to death. All around, there was nothing more than blinding lights of white and gold, making it impossible to see or feel anything around you. Somehow, it felt like one was both freefalling through the air, and simultaneously perfectly still. The dichotomy was enough to make one''s head spin.


    Without any signs of gravity, it was impossible to tell which was up and which way was down. At the same time, there was no footing, so it was very easy for one to enter a cycle of flailing about, making one look more foolish than maybe they ever had in their lifetime.


    For the first time in a long while, though, Ryu was quite well informed. Before he had left, Aika, Old Wan and Samson had taught him a lot about this Heavenly Path and what he could expect. This portion here could just be considered to be the first trial.


    The white gold around him was formless Essence. Since it hadn''t been bestowed to him by the Heavens, it was impossible to absorb as Essence could only be controlled at the behest of the Heavens, or, if you happened to have a Cultus Faerie princess by your side, then you could control it as well.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have Ailsa by his side currently as she was still trapped within the inner world of his eyes. However, he did have certain advantages others did not in this regard because she was, of course, his wife.


    Ryu had no ability to control Essence as perfectly as Ailsa did and doing so almost felt akin to trying to run in a pool of dense, heavy oil, but if he really focused, he could just barely do it.


    This first trial was quite simple, really, it was a waiting game. The sensation of falling was real. Depending on your talent, you would either fall through this miasma of Essence either more slowly or with greater speed. Essentially, this density of Essence would either be accommodating to you or reject you outright.


    Much like the Heavenly Path Ryu had taken from the Mortal Plane to the Pedestal Plane back in Sacrum, this worked similarly just by a different method. Though, the largest difference here was that Ryu felt absolutely no pressure back in Sacrum, but he could very well feel the pressure getting to him here although he could easily endure it.


    It was just yet another reminder to Ryu that he couldn''t be considered the pinnacle in this place, even for a mere Heavenly Path to the Fourth Heaven.


    Still, Ryu had expected this and didn''t panic.


    According to his understanding, making it into the Heavenly Path more quickly had its own benefits. Depending on the ranking of who made it in first, second, etc, there would be an allocation of Heavenly Favor, the very same Heavenly Favor that Ryu received when he cultivated [Refinement Sutra].


    Unlike the Heavenly Paths of Sacrum which were just stairs, the Heavenly Paths of the True Martial World were more like battle royales and Heavenly Favor was its currency. Heavenly Favor was the measuring stick that all those who entered would be weighted by and it would also decide how much freedom you had within the Heavenly Path.


    The Heavenly Path could be considered its own world, almost like a 3.5 Heaven between Third and Fourth. Within this world, there were many fascinating opportunities, some of which were left by the Heavens, and others of which were left by cultivators.


    If one wanted the best chance at maximizing their opportunities, then there was no doubt that accumulating as much Heavenly Favor as possible was necessary.


    Ryu had already been the one to enter first, but his path through the Essence Miasma felt somewhat slow. It wasn''t just a matter of his talent, but his cultivation was also lacking. You needed both in this situation and this fog seemed to be reminding him.


    But that was fine. He would just cheat. Who asked him to have such an amazing wife?


    Ryu found that his Chaotic Silk Meridians very much rejected Essence, which probably explained why he no longer got huge cultivation boosts from comprehending Inheritances anymore, at least not to his Qi Cultivation. But truthfully, he didn''t very much care about this much anyway. Why should he when he had an entire plane''s worth of Chaos Qi to tap into?


    Ryu reached out to the Essence using Ailsa''s Primordial Yin as a proxy. Rather than absorbing it, he simply moved it out of his way. As he did so, the sensation of falling got more and more prominent until it felt no different from rushing through the skies.


    As he controlled the Essence and built up momentum, it took less and less effort and he began slicing through it all like butter, eventually even beginning to use the Essence to his back to push him forward even faster and break past terminal velocity.


    BANG!


    Ryu felt his body shudder, a barrier of light almost making him cough out a mouthful of blood as he crashed by it.


    He swallowed it down, his gaze becoming fiercer as he moved ahead. He crashed into barrier after barrier, each one coming thicker and more overbearing than the last.


    He assumed that all of these were the checkpoints that Aika and the others had spoken about. He was supposed to pass through them slowly, but with this more hands on, violent method, it was truly enough to injure him quite severely.


    However, he didn''t stop, pushing forward even faster. He wouldn''t leave any of these matters up to chance.


    He was certain that there were hidden characters ready to step into this miasma that would have far greater affinity with it than himself and he had no way of knowing how fast they would move. Aika had said herself that if she entered, she might not even have to pass through the miasma at all and would simply be teleported to the other side.


    If this was the case, then he truly had no time to waste. If his raw talent and cultivation couldn''t make up for his deficiencies, then he would just have to let masochism take their place.


    BANG!


    Ryu finally couldn''t hold it in any longer and coughed up a large mouthful of blood, but this time, he could see it.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened as he burst through the miasma, finding himself falling through the skies. However, before he could fall far, a large influx of Heavenly Favor rushed forward and wrapped around him, causing the cracks in his bones and the ruptures in his inner organs to dull down from a sharp pain.


    As his descending speed slowed, Ryu quickly spread out his Spiritual Sense, narrowing his eyes when he realized that his range was much more limited than usual.


    Lush greenery was what he saw first, but his attention was immediately snatched away by the dense population of beasts. There was seemingly nowhere to run and even less room to maneuver. Without his vision, Ryu couldn''t even scan the region and decide a route to take.


    In the end, he landed on the ground, surrounded by beasts from all sides.

 Chapter 1073 There

    Ryu landed on the ground softly, releasing a minor wince. His body wasn''t in the best condition after what he had just put it through, but he wasn''t very worried, not with the strength he had. Although he hadn''t focused much on cultivation in recent years, just by virtue of the clarity of his mind, his strength had been well consolidated.


    If his cultivation was a tower, although it hadn''t grown any taller, its foundation was now far more robust and wide. The swaying of the winds could no longer impact him.


    Plus, there were very few who could hope to match his healing capabilities at the same level. By the time he scanned the region with his Void Spiritual Sense and attacked, 10% of his injuries had already been perfectly healed.


    Ryu tapped at the air several times, causing ripples to spread. Although they looked gentle and subtle on the surface, the moment they touched the bodies of the beasts that were lurking in the surroundings, they caused a violent chain reaction.


    One after another, these beasts fell, unable to protect themselves. If one looked inside their bodies, it would look as though thousands of small blades had ripped their inner organs apart, destroying them from the inside out.


    Ryu took a step and vanished, appearing over a hundred meters away. Toward this, he could only shake his head lightly.


    Back on the Second Heaven, crossing over a kilometer at a time wasn''t an issue. Here, he could only casually cross a hundred meters. A kilometer was already relatively small in the face of his cultivation realm, but a hundred meters was even worse than that.


    Ryu wasn''t too worried about this either, though. This was just a casual effort to begin with, but even if you put this aside, being able to teleport freely here was something very few could do. This environment was only a small fraction away from the Fourth Heaven. If the metric was strictly about stability and suppression, this Heavenly Path was actually beyond the Fourth Heaven.


    The fact that Ryu''s Soul Nature was enough to accomplish to move so far in this place at all was a testament to just how elite it was, especially since he was still at the starting phase of the Lower Soul Refinement Realm.


    Ryu continued to walk leisurely. He didn''t have a particular destination, so he simply chose a direction and kept his Void Spiritual Sense primed.


    Very soon, there would likely be hundreds of thousands if not tens of millions of cultivators entering. In fact, he wouldn''t be surprised if, despite his efforts, he had still lagged behind and there might very well be a few who entered before him.


    Regardless of which it was, there were a lot of things that he had to do.


    The Heavenly Path was separated into three main phases. The current phase, the so-called Accumulation Phase, was one where one''s main goal was to accumulate as much Heavenly Favor as you could. The second phase, the Opening Phase, was the phase where ruins, inheritances, and the like would make their presences known, shining like beacons that ruptured the white-gold skies above. And finally, the Third Phase, the Final Phase, is where the true bloody nature of the Heavenly Path would make itself known.


    What was important to understand was that these phases weren''t set in stone, meaning, things that could happen in the Final Phase could very well happen in the Accumulation Phase and vice versa, they were more like suggestions than hard rules.


    In the Accumulation Phase, one focused on accumulating Heavenly Favor. This came in the form of exiting the miasma as quickly as possible and killing beasts, just like Ryu was doing now. With every beast that Ryu killed, a small fraction of Heavenly Favor would come toward him, but it was quite small in comparison to the amount he had gotten from his initial entry.


    If Ryu''s calculations were correct as they usually were, he would need to kill 100 000 beasts to double his initial Heavenly Favor.


    All of these beasts were at the Eleventh Order, or the World Sea Realm equivalent. However, they were just of the Heaven Grade. If Ryu was correct, then in all likelihood there were probably stronger beasts somewhere out there that give him more Heavenly Favor, but for now he was stuck with this.


    In the Opening Phase, there would be a chain reaction that would occur. Ruins and inheritances would begin to appear, releasing pillars of light that allowed many to see them from afar. In addition, the fluctuation of their auras would steadily grow as well.


    In the beginning, there would be weaker inheritances, but depending on the caliber of geniuses who had entered and how much Heavenly Favor they had accumulated in the First Phase, there would be more powerful ruins and inheritances to take part in.


    Essentially, the more talented the batch of disciples, the longer the Opening Phase would last and the more chances there would be. It was just unfortunate that given the sides of the Heavenly Path, even if you could see all of the inheritances, making it to them all out would be impossible before the phase ended. As such, most would have to sense the aura of the inheritances and ruins released and only pick the ones that suited them the best.


    In addition, by being accepted by these inheritances, you would likewise gain Heavenly Favor to add to your accumulating total. However, likewise, you could lose your Heavenly Favor as well.


    The best inheritances and ruins were gatekept. Without a certain amount of accumulated merits, you could not enter them. As such, your Heavenly Favor became a key for entry, but also a payment of sorts. If you managed to claim the inheritance, you would receive the Heavenly Favor you paid on top of much more. However, if you failed, you would lose anywhere between half to all of your Heavenly Favor depending on anything from how poorly your performed to the cruelty of the inheritance itself.


    This was yet another reason that even during this phase, the cultivators couldn''t be too willful. If you chose wrongly, you could lose everything in the blink of an eye.


    Finally, the Final Phase would begin.


    During this phase, the Heavenly Favor rankings would appear in the skies and every cultivator would be ranked from top to bottom. Unless you met a certain threshold of Heavenly Favor, your name would not appear, and so long as you did not appear, this would mean that you had failed the test of the Heavenly Path and would be sent back to the Third Heaven once the path closed.


    When the rankings appeared, however, the higher you were on the rankings, the brighter the light around you would be. The brightness of our light wouldn''t just be a function of your ranking either, it would also be dependent on just how much Heavenly Favor you had as well.


    By this point, the goal of the final phase was obvious: to kill.


    Killing and snatching Heavenly Favor was the only path forward. During that phase, rivers of blood would flow and geniuses would fall. It was also during that phase that one would learn if all their blood, sweat and tears was worth it, or if they would fall into obscurity to be forgotten by the tides of history.


    Ryu had a very clear goal that was far beyond just making it onto the Heavenly Favor Ranking, or even beyond being number one. If he couldn''t meet a certain threshold, the number one spot would be entirely useless to him.


    In these years, Ryu had thought a lot about the path ahead of him, and most notably the roadblocks before him. If he could not reclaim his Spiritual Foundation, he would truly have to abandon his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    It was one thing if he didn''t know the path ahead, but now that he did, abandoning it filled him with fury. He wouldn''t delay his cultivation for the sake of an illusory dream, but with one sitting tangibly before him, he refused to allow others to snatch it from him.


    In this time, though, he had calmed down greatly, the fogginess of his mind had slowly but surely cleared and his resolve had redoubled. What he needed wasn''t fury, what he needed was a plan that was equally as tangible as the path of the Chaotic Silk Meridians ahead of him.


    And so, he had formulated one.


    There was one very unique thing about [Refinement Sutra] that Ryu had noticed. Every time he used it, the shackles on his talent were slowly undone even though that was never the purpose for which he had absorbed them in the first place. Ryu could still remember how surprised he had been the first time it happened.


    What was even more surprising wasn''t this, but actually his eyesight. Even the Rebirth talent of the Emperor Phoenix hadn''t been able to restore his eyes, but these bits and pieces of Heavenly Favor were capable of it.


    All of this made Ryu realize that the unique aspect of Heavenly Favor wasn''t in bestowing power, but it was rather in its ability to cleanse, to elevate¡­ to unshackle.


    This was why Ryu didn''t use [Refinement Sutra] to breakthrough, it was only after he broke through would he double back and "re-cultivate" with Heavenly Favor, polishing his strength.


    So Ryu wondered¡­ If he accumulated an astronomical amount of Heavenly Favor, one more potent and dense than any Path Extinction Realm expert should ever have at their fingertips¡­


    Could he shatter the chains around his Spiritual Foundation?


    No, it wasn''t a matter of could, because that was exactly what he planned to do. Even if he had to bury every genius in here beneath his blade, he would definitely accumulate enough.


    He wouldn''t allow anyone to stand in his way.


    Ryu came to a stop, flipping over a palm and bringing out the Matrix Selheira had gifted him. This time, she was too stubborn for him to refuse, especially considering how close they had become.


    ''There.''


    Ryu had no intention of waiting for the second phase to start hunting down inheritances and ruins. He would flip the Heavenly Path on its head if he had to.

 Chapter 1074 Obediently

    Ryu''s figure flickered and vanished. In an instant, he appeared in an inconspicuous clearing within the forest. There didn''t seem to be anything special about it even after a third or even fourth pass through of the senses. However, although he hadn''t trained his Ruin Mastery specifically in countless years, Ryu''s skills in this matter had never dulled.


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while before he suddenly struck out with a pair of fingers, piercing a hole right through the trunk of a tree and pooling his qi into it.


    If others had been watching, they would have seen the appearance of a beautiful scene. As Ryu''s qi coursed through the tree''s branches and roots, it became transparent, exuding a beautiful golden color. Even though the earth itself wasn''t disturbed, it was still possible to see the flourishing of the roots from above, the golden patterns reflecting through the soil and almost turning the earth itself into a glass-like being much like the tree.


    The roots of the tree connected to the roots in the surroundings, spreading the phenomenon. As more and more roots intertwined like filaments of delicate gold, a complex formation took root and the center of the clearing sunk down and an entrance appeared as a set of stairs of intertwining tree roots appeared.


    Ryu took a step forward and disappeared down the staircase without the slightest hesitation. The moment he crossed the threshold, he felt about 10% of his Heavenly Favor vanish, making him realize that this was probably a normal-ish type Ruin if it could be entered so easily.


    Ryu held up the spherical Matrix in one hand and raised his other palm to allow his great swordstaff to fly into it. The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, he slashed downward, splitting a wooden puppet into two without giving it the chance to attack.


    To Ryu''s back, the entrance that had been there vanished, and before him three paths appeared.


    The Matrix in Ryu''s hand rotated just once and he chose a path, his great swordstaff whistling through the wind as he took down one threat after another. He didn''t seem like he was in the middle of a dangerous ruin and looked far more like he was on a leisurely stroll.


    Ryu''s focus was unprecedented, not even taking the time to fully heal himself. By now, about half of his injuries had healed, but he pressed forward as though he was in tip top shape, not having even a single moment to waste.


    In half an hour, Ryu made it to the end of the Ruin, facing off against its final test.


    "You are not who I am looking for. Failed."


    Ryu didn''t respond. Instead, he tossed his great swordstaff into the air and unleashed a vicious kick on the butt of its polearm.


    His blade streaked forward like an arrow leaving its string, whistling through the air and splitting even space itself in two.


    In a brief instant it vanished, jumping an entire 300 meters in a single blink and appearing before the enormous chest of the wooden puppet. Before it could even react, the puppet found itself torn in two, wild, rampaging auras of space and hints of time tearing its insides into pieces.


    "Who the hell are you to speak in such a way to me? The dead and gone have no right to decide my fate as even the living do not have a right."


    Ryu reached out with his palm and his great swordstaff zipped back into his palm with a satisfying slapping sound. He didn''t even gaze toward the enormous puppet again as he rotated the Matrix in his other palm, tapping at the air around it a few times before he nodded and stepped forward.


    Ryu had known from the very beginning that this Ruin wasn''t suited to him, he simply just didn''t care.


    This Ruin was one designed for one with Wood Qi affinity and a certain proclivity toward crafting puppets. Ryu neither had such an affinity, nor did he know anything about crafting puppets, but he had entered anyway.


    While it was best to enter Ruins and inheritances that suited you to maximize your chances, when you had. Overwhelming strength, the "fit" didn''t matter in the slightest. No one could stop him, not even powerhouses who had gained the acknowledgement of the Heavenly Path.


    Ryu walked forward and found the rewards for this Ruin. There was a cultivation method of the False Grade and a puppet forging method. Without much thought, Ryu put them away and accepted the baptizing of Heavenly Favor. Not only did he regain the Heavenly Favor he had paid to enter, but he had also gained about an additional 20% from what he started with.


    If he wanted to gain that much normally, he would need to kill at least 20 000 beasts, a feat that would have taken far longer than just half an hour. If he wanted to accomplish that within just half an hour, he would have to kill 11 Eleventh Order Heaven Grade Beasts a second. Although he could theoretically do this, it wasn''t a matter of his ability, but rather a scarcity of beasts. Plus, the stamina drain was not worth it.


    This path, however, worked perfectly.


    This Ruin, to begin with, was a low class Ruin. It wasn''t difficult at all. The only reason it took Ryu a half hour to begin with was because he spent most of his time walking. If he had run into a higher class Ruin, he might have taken much longer than this.


    Ryu took a step forward and vanished into a portal, reappearing where he had been previously.


    Surprisingly, there was still no one around. He knew that although the entrance had disappeared for him, the entrance was very much still open to outsiders.


    After a few moments though, Ryu understood. Even when he sped up his descent through the Miasma, it still took him several hours to make his way through it. If others had lagged behind, it would definitely take them more than just a half hour to catch up. And, even if they did, it was uncertain if they''d have enough Heavenly Favor to enter or if they''d be willing to spend the Heavenly Favor necessary to enter the Ruin. After all, not everyone would willingly enter a Ruin they have no affinity with and those with wood qi affinity were relatively rare to begin with.


    The entrance to the ruin slowly crumbled as Ryu walked away, his pace just as fast as always. He was clearly unsatisfied and wanted to quickly find the next. He wasn''t competing against others, he was competing against himself.


    ¡­


    Ryu stepped out from another Ruin, not casting a glance as it collapsed behind him. This one was related to the earth element, another element that Ryu had little affinity with, though he did have a unique perspective on it thanks to the eight trigram diagram.


    This was already the fourth Ruin that Ryu had cleared and his Heavenly Favor was almost two and a half times larger than what he had entered with.


    According to what Aika and the others had told him, the Ruins that could appear on the Heavenly Path weren''t simple. They all had somewhat unique airs to them although they might not be the strongest. It could be said that they represented unique and rare paths that the Heavens didn''t want to disappear completely.


    For example, the first Ruin Ryu had entered was of wooden puppet making. This was very rare as it took advantage of the inherent life characteristics of wood qi to produce pseudo forms of life.


    This most recent Ruin that Ryu had entered was created by an earth elemental cultivator who specialized in attacks, something even rarer that maybe wood elemental cultivators themselves as usually, earth elemental cultivators relied on their sturdiness and defenses to win battle.


    Being selected by the Heavenly Path was like gaining a second chance at life, allowing these cultivators to pass on their teachings and gain Karma that would help them during reincarnation.


    Inheritances, however, were different. In comparison to Ruins, they were far more valuable as they weren''t just the product of rarity, but also the power of their original wielders. If one wanted to leave an Inheritance behind in the Heavenly Path, the bare minimum requirement was to have a name that could cause the skies to rumble in acknowledgement.


    This, however, was exactly as stated: the bare minimum.


    The second bar needed to be met is that said person must have had their name ranked in the top 100 of the Heavenly Path rankings some time in the past.


    The second bar was the most important one and the height you reached on the list dictated how long the Heavenly Path would preserve your Inheritance for.


    The greatest difference here, though, was that those who left Inheritances in the Heavenly Path weren''t necessarily dead. In addition, while Ruins would always appear no matter what, someone who had left behind an Inheritance could decide when to allow theirs to appear and when not to depending on the time limit they had been given by the Heavens.


    At a critical time, the boost in Karma gained would add to the cultivator''s Heavenly Favor and maybe allow them a chance to break into a higher order Sky God realm!


    For now, though, Ryu was entirely focused on finding and clearing Ruins. When the time came, even Inheritances would have to obediently bow down to him.

 Chapter 1075 Bronze City

    The city was bustling.


    One might not expect it, but the Heavenly Path did, indeed, have cities. Not only did it have cities, it had many of them.


    With the sheer number of cultivators entering at once, it was impossible to expect that they would just spend their days in the wilderness, hunting after beasts day in and day out. Depending on the whims of the Heavenly Path, one opening could last anywhere from a few months all the way up several decades. Even for cultivators, if the timing was closer to the latter than the former, they couldn''t possibly spend the entire time fighting.


    As a result of this, the cities of the Heavenly Path acted as a sort of recharge station where the currency was, once again Heavenly Favor. Not only did you need to pay a certain amount of Heavenly Favor to enter these cities, but everything within cost even more Heavenly Favor.


    Luckily, the price was quite small. Theoretically, so long as you made it through the Miasma, you would have enough to enter a city at least once, so long as it was a lower ranked city, that is.


    However, these cities weren''t so simple either, at least they weren''t as simple as this explanation made it seem. According to Aika, the cities also represented another opportunity.


    There were certain treasures that could be bought in the city that couldn''t easily be found in the outside world, these ranged from Ruin detection items, special ores, Spiritual Herbs, pills, potions, and even weapons.


    It was said that the Heavens kept a tab on every natural resource to ever have existed, and sometimes, they would allow long since extinct items to reappear within the Heavenly Path to be exchanged for by Heavenly Favor.


    For the geniuses who often entered the Heavenly Path, geniuses who usually had everything at their fingertips, this was a greatly tempting proposition, especially since the price to pay would be much cheaper here than such a thing would ever be in the outside world.


    Ryu appeared outside of one of these cities, covering large and sweeping pieces of ground with every step.


    By now, it had already been just over a month since he had entered the Heavenly Path. The amount of Heavenly Favor he had accumulated was so heavy that golden rings shone deep within the depths of his eyes.


    Before the final phase, gazing into one''s irises was about the only way to tell just how much Heavenly Favor they had accumulated and was a simple way to distinguish the weak from the strong.


    Ryu had no doubt that even if others had entered with more Heavenly Favor than himself, but now, he was most definitely in first place. There was simply no way for anyone else to keep up with him unless they too were Ruin Masters.


    Of course, it wasn''t as though this was an impossibility. From what Ryu had learned, it was very likely that the Ruin Master Guild that had targeted his home world was involved in this matter. However, even if this was the case, Ryu was confident in his abilities as a Ruin Master even in comparison to the geniuses of the True Martial World.


    Ryu entered the range of the city, sweeping his Void Spiritual Sense past its tall bronze gates.


    The cities of the Heavenly Path were separated quite obviously. There were 999 bronze cities, 99 silver cities, 9 gold cities, and just one diamond city. The diamond city would not appear until the final phase, but the other three groups of cities would be present from the very beginning.


    Given the bronze gates on this city, it was most definitely a bronze city. As such, it had the lowest price of entry, but it also came with the worst selection of items to trade for.


    That said, Ryu hadn''t come here to trade for items, nor had he come here to rest. Even if there was an item of extreme rarity before him, one that could change his life forever, unless it could break the shackles of his Spiritual Foundation, he wouldn''t even give it a second look.


    No, his purpose here was very different.


    "Halt!"


    Ryu was quite a distance away, but the booming voices of the city''s "guards" already sounded.


    This was, of course, nonsense. The Heavenly Path regulated itself, there were no shopkeepers, no servants, and there were most definitely no city guards. All of the rules set by the city would simply be followed unless you wanted to be kicked out, it was just that simple.


    There was only one rule at that: no killing. As for the toll fee to enter the city, it would be taken automatically. There was no need for guards at all.


    Seeing that Ryu had no intention of stopping, the guards'' expressions turned malevolent.


    "This bronze city is under the control of the Mystic Sanskrit Sect!"


    The guards were about to threaten Ryu more, but before they could, he came to a stop, standing just a meter before them both.


    Just as the guards were about to sneer and give Ryu hell for not knowing better and provoking them, Ryu''s fists lashed out at the same time. From a certain perspective, it almost looked as though he was casually flicking his wrist, but the power that came behind it was like a torrential storm.


    BANG! BANG!


    The heads of the two guards exploded into a rain of blood and gore.


    Those that had been near the gates or were waiting for their opportunity to step into the city, froze. They couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    The Mystic Sanskrit Sect was a Three Star Sect, only a Sect of such caliber would dare to claim a city to begin with, let alone demanding extra fees for entry, and yet this young man had directly killed two of their disciples without batting an eye.


    Ryu didn''t say a single word from start to finish, entering the city. He didn''t have patience for such garbage, every second of his day counted.

 Chapter 1076 City Lord

    Ryu strolled through the city, deploying his Void Spiritual Sense in full force. He was clearly looking for something.


    He didn''t even flinch as he felt the Heavenly Favor of the two guards roll into his body. It wasn''t a bad amount enough, just about 10% of what he would expect from a usual Ruin he cleared. Killing people was quite an effective method of gaining Heavenly Favor as well, it was just a shame that he couldn''t do so within the city.


    The only reason he had stopped before was precisely so that he would be outside the city limits when he killed. If he killed within the city limits, he would be banned from this city.


    Of course, it was possible to be unbanned, but he would have to pay an astronomical amount of Heavenly Favor just to clear his name. That amount would probably wipe out as much as a tenth of the Heavenly Favor he had accumulated in the last month, it simply wasn''t worth it.


    At the same time, if he didn''t clear his banned status from this city, he would have to go to another one to accomplish his goal and that would be more wasted time. He refused to do such a thing.


    Plus, there was no use in wasting his time hunting down people now anyway. He would let them fatten up like pigs first. Then when the final phase came around, he would be able to kill all those who caught his eye in a single sweep and make it all far more worth it.


    ''There.''


    Ryu found what he was looking for and took a step, crossing the city in the blink of an eye and appearing near its center.


    With his sudden appearance, many who had been guarding the area suddenly flared up.


    "Hey!"


    "Stop!"


    "This area¡ª!"


    Unfortunately for them, Ryu didn''t even spare them a second glance as he stepped toward the pillar that lay before him, pressing a palm against it.


    A rising tide of qi shot into the air, illuminating the entire city even brighter than the golden skies above. A suffocating presence passed over it all.


    Ryu''s body vanished and he entered into an all new world. Looking toward his hand, he found a staff within it. Before him, a shadow wielding a staff also stood before him, emotionless and unmoving.


    In that moment, Ryu''s aura changed as he raised the staff in his hand. Fluttering afterimages appeared in the air, dancing about and opening up like the petals of a lotus.


    [Buddha''s Stance].


    The aura of a Staff God exuded from Ryu as he took a step forward, his hair fluttering as he struck down with all his might.


    The shadow reacted, raising its own rod and counter attacking.


    BANG! BANG!


    Ryu''s stance shifted as his staff collided with the shadow''s. With a slide of his foot and a rotating of his wrists, he guided the shadow''s staff by him, causing it to overextend itself.


    Ryu''s staff spun in his hands, rotating through and snatching away the shadow''s momentum to counter.


    BANG!


    In just three exchanges, the shadow''s head exploded into black motes of light, unable to regather.


    Ryu stepped forward, facing another opponent, and then another. On the outside, the panicking members of the Mystic Sanskrit Sect could only watch as the light on the pillar slowly rose higher and higher into the air, surpassing the mark their young master had left behind and crushing it.


    Just an hour later, Ryu stepped out of the pillar with a badge in hand and faced hundreds of furious gazes.


    "Scram." Ryu said coldly.


    As though it was a commandment of the Heavens themselves, the hundreds of disciples vanished. When their vision cleared, they found themselves expelled from the city, fear stricken in their eyes. Their young master couldn''t accomplish that, how had Ryu done it?!


    Ryu flipped a palm and allowed the badge to vanish into his spatial ring as he prepared to leave the city.


    Much like Ruins and inheritances, cities could likewise be conquered or claimed. However, the amount of authority you would have in the city was dependent on how well you cleared its test. For example, Ryu could control the ban and acceptance of people who came in and out of this city while the former owner could not. At most, that individual could probably just receive some discounts on the items in the bronze city.


    The trouble with conquering cities, though, was that the test was completely randomized and had no continuity from previous openings. It was hard to tell what test this city had provided last time the Heavenly Path opened, but this time it tested one''s skill in the staff, one of the nine great weapons.


    Unfortunately, this was why Ryu couldn''t just casually go around conquering cities. Although he could force Ruins into submission, if he challenged a city he didn''t have affinity with, even if he managed to meet the bare minimum requirement in the end, it would just be snatched up by someone else later on and he would end up wasting his time.


    Obviously, he didn''t have anyone who could just sit idly and guard his cities for him, so he had to claim them with overwhelming strength.


    Ryu didn''t plan to stay here, obviously. It might seem that he had done this out of useless vanity, then, but there was a good reason, that being the benefits.


    The reason the two guards had had such a large amount of Heavenly Favor despite being mere lackies was because they were accumulating Heavenly Favor at the gates as a fee. Now, Ryu could do something similar.


    Every time someone bought an item from his city, he would gain a tax as the City Lord. The accumulation of these small bits of Heavenly Favor could very quickly become astronomical over time.


    If he gathered a few cities like this, he would only benefit.


    Ryu took a step and appeared outside of the city, several furious auras locking onto him.

 Chapter 1077 Young Master Zed

    Ryu casually swept his Void Spiritual Sense through the surroundings. His patience was limited and he had no intentions of waiting for these people to speak. Since they wanted to stand around and glare at him, impeding his path forward¡­ They could die.


    Ryu reached out both hands and his great swordstaffs snapped into place in his palms. His aura flourished and a towering saber qi rushed into the skies, pulsing with an undeniable pressure.


    Then, he swung.


    The cultivators were completely taken aback, none of them expecting that Ryu would be so decisive. None of them were fools, to being with, they were hesitating about whether they should fight it out now or wait for their most senior disciple to return.


    For one, anyone who could surpass their senior brother was beyond their wildest imagination in strength. Their only real chance, and the reason they hadn''t run from the very beginning, was their numbers advantage.


    And secondly, although they hadn''t recognized him immediately, who here hadn''t seen Ryu''s display during the opening of the Heavenly Path? Although they weren''t exactly sure how powerful he was, just the fact that he could kill a Heaven Class disciple of the Demonic Flame Sect was enough to make them shudder in fear, let alone the fact he did so with one arrow in the face of their Sky Gods.


    Hwoever, by the time they realized just how foolish their actions had been, it was already too late. It was only now they understood just how little Ryu cared to explain himself, and how even less he cared about speaking with these people.


    The massacre could only be described as unholy, but oddly enough, by the time it ended, there wasn''t a speck of blood or even the fragrance of death to be found in the air. It was as though they had all been wiped from existence.


    Of course, Ryu had done this on purpose even though it took more energy than he was willing to give. If his city was surrounded by a litter of corpses, who would dare enter it and how would he make profit? For that reason alone, he could only leave these people without a corpse.


    An influx of Heavenly Favor surged into Ryu''s body and his amount increased by 20%. Considering the amount he already had, this was an astronomical change. It seemed that crime really did pay.


    Ryu flicked his wrists and his great sword staffs snapped into their position hovering to his back. He had wasted enough time here. At the very least, his massacre had paid him well.


    Within the city limits, the youths watching felt shivers travel up their spine. It had only been ten minutes, and yet he wiped out just over a hundred disciples of a Three Star Sect.


    Every time he waved those enormous polearm swords of his, he would cast another Dao Charm technique. He seemed to have an endless supply and he never seemed to tire. Those watching had never seen Dao Charm techniques used so freely and recklessly. Most who had them would wait until they were on their very last legs before unveiling them as a final trump card, but this Ryu Tatsuya simply didn''t give a damn.


    But what was even more shocking than that was just how he seemed to be¡­ so at ease fighting so many opponents. He moved as he pleased as though the shadow of attacks above his head would just obediently make way for him, and then somehow by some miracle, they did!


    "Space Soul Nature¡­"


    It was unknown who spoke these words first, but when it finally clicked in for the others, their hearts quaked.


    Soul Natures were rare to begin with, however Spatial Soul Natures were in a category all to their own in terms of rareness. The idea of being able to manifest changes in space just because your heart desired it was enough to cause people endless terror.


    It was no wonder why all those attacks missed, how could they connect when they were traveling through an unknown amount of space? Trying to hit Ryu from afar was like trying to spear a fish through water. The image you were looking at was off kilter from his true position.


    To make matters worse, even if you somehow closed the distance, his close quarters combat strength was so exaggerated that you wouldn''t even last a single strike.


    The murmurings of the crowd continued long after Ryu had left, the imprint he left on their hearts only burning brighter with every passing second.


    Just what kind of monster were they witnessing the birth of?


    Right then, the crowd shuddered as a pair of individuals closed in from the distance, one of whom was in a clearly servile position and the other of whom caused the ground to quake and rumble with his every step.


    What was especially odd about the altter individual was the fact although he caused even the city to rumble with his steps, the ground beneath him never cracked and it even seemed perfectly still.


    Even more oddly, as he closed the distance to the city, the rumbling became calmer and calmer until it disappeared entirely as he stepped inside.


    "¡­ Yes, yes, Young Master Zed, I''ve already claimed this city on your behalf. I didn''t climb very high at all, just enough to take the city lord badge, so you can take your position whenever you wanted, not that it would matter if I did try my best," the servile young man said hurriedly.


    At that moment, the crowd looked toward one another and remained oddly silent.


    This servile young man was none other than the head Inheritor Disciple of the Mystic Sanskrit Sect and supposed senior brother than all the others had been waiting for. But to their surprise, he was all but wagging his tail for this supposed Young Master Zed.


    Soon, though, the Inheritor Disciple, Sonido of the Mystic Sanskrit Sect, paled.


    Something was wrong, where were the guards? Where were his people?

 Chapter 1078 Hard To Find

    Sonido stood shivering before the pillar, finding that it was fully claimed. He hurried to check his spatial, only to find that the badge he thought was on him had already vanished into thin air, being nowhere to be found.


    As Sonido looked around and realized that his Sect mates were likewise nowhere to be found, he became slightly agitated. Unwilling to face young master Zed directly, he hurried to snatch someone off of the streets, his features becoming menacing and stern.


    "What happened here?!"


    Sonido''s voice boomed as Zed watched on indifferently. The latter slowly caressed the pillar, his shimmering bald head reflecting the golden lights above.


    As Sonido listened, his expression only became uglier and uglier. His Sect mates had actually been completely wiped out to the last person without even a chance to fight back, and it was all done by that Ryu Tatsuya person?


    He had known that Ryu was arrogant just by virtue of the fact he dared to kill a disciple of the Demonic Flame Sect in front of so many people. If he dared to do that, then he obviously wouldn''t hesitate to crush a Third Star Sect like theirs. What was more surprising was that he actually had the power to do it so easily.


    Although he had taken out a Heaven Class genius of the Demonic Flame Sect, it could still be argued that that genius was caught off guard, as were his Sky God protectors. After all, let alone the fact of distance, but just the prestige of the Sect was such that very few would even dare to look them in the eye, let alone attack one of them.


    But now, there was no doubt that he had such strength, and if what these people were saying was correct, then he even as an extremely rare Spatial Soul Nature! It was no wonder he was so arrogant!


    "Interesting," Zed said lightly before vanishing into the pillar.


    Sonido watched on with a worried expression. If Zed could surpass Ryu, that would be for the best. But if he couldn''t, then wouldn''t Zed take out his anger on him? How would he even survive this? As enraged as he was about the death of his Sect mates, he was also hesitant to chase after Ryu. It was simply far too dangerous, he could very well lose his life.


    And now that he had lost the support of his Sect mates, the road ahead would be even more difficult. He had gone from believing himself to be nearly invincible, to running into this Zed, and now to finding out he had lost his greatest backing to this unknown variable.


    It was infuriating.


    At that moment, Zed stepped out of the pillar much quicker than Sonido had been expecting, so much so that the latter didn''t even have time to hide his ugly and enraged expression. However, even though Sonido hurried to hide this, it didn''t seem to matter at all because Zed wasn''t in the right mental state to care.


    Zed coughed once, causing a mouthful of blood to fly from his lip. His face paled somewhat as he wiped the remnants of the blood away, his expression somewhat ugly now, a far cry from his previous nonchalance.


    Clearly, Zed had thought that reclaiming the pillar would be relatively easy, but never did he expect to suddenly face an aura that shattered his staff qi entirely before it could even form.


    If it was under normal circumstances, Zed would have a far better chance at dealing with this, but because of the unique atmosphere of the trial, he had no choice but to get crushed.


    The way the pillar worked was that all of your abilities and even your personal strength was sealed away outside of what was being directly tested. This meant that Zed lost everything but his staff qi.


    After entering, you would face off against shadows of the current city lord. Only after defeating the current city lord would you then be able to challenge the rest of the pillar and reclaim your authority.


    If the previous city lord had cleared all of the trials, then you could skip over this step. But if the previous city lord was like Sonido, then you would have to clear them all yourself.


    The reason Zed lost so swiftly was because he couldn''t even last three exchanges against Ryu''s staff shadow. The quality gap between a normal practitioner and a Staff God was simply too large. When all things were equal and there was nothing to rely on outside of staff qi, Ryu''s aura would be so suffocating that anyone who entered wouldn''t even be able to gather up their qi to begin with.


    That led to this situation where Zed had practically just entered before he thrust out. How could his expression not be ugly?


    "¡­ Ryu Tatsuya¡­"


    Zed mumbled this name darkly beneath his breath, a hidden light sparkling within his eyes.


    ¡­


    Ryu had no idea what was happening in his bronze city, nor did he care. His main goal now was to bide his time before he could find another city that he could claim with 100% assurance. There would be no use in him claiming a city that he couldn''t keep, so he had to find cities that tested him based on his strength. If possible, weapon cities would be the most ideal.


    Ryu zoomed through the wilderness, his left palm flipped over to reveal his Matrix. He scanned the region for more and more Ruins, but he felt that he had basically almost cleared this area out. It would likely be necessary that he press onward to a new region as quickly as possible.


    There were quite a few regions in the Heavenly Path, each one with differing climates and different opportunities. The Ruins he wanted to find here were too well hidden and finding them would slow him down too much. The trade off wasn''t worth it although the Heavenly Favor they would give would be far greater.


    Up until now, he had been focused on the easier to find Ruins as they were a right balance of speed and difficulty.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s head turned in a certain direction and he stepped toward it without hesitation.


    When he appeared, he found a small crowd of people, just about a dozen, standing around what looked like a slowly opening entrance to a Ruin.


    Ryu looked down at his Matrix and his eyes narrowed.


    It seemed that he was quite lucky. This should be a hard to find Ruin and these people had just stumbled onto it. In that case, he might as well take advantage of it while he was here.


    Ryu''s head turned and he raised an eyebrow.


    Among the dozen or so people, there was one he recognized. She was from the Bewitching Charm Sect, the woman with a cold expression, Fairy Mae.

 Chapter 1079 Too Late

    The arrival of Ryu caused many to freeze up. He seemingly appeared out of thin air and without even the slightest noise. In fact, many didn''t even notice that he had arrived until several seconds had passed and only because of the reaction of others.


    After a moment, their hearts skipped a beat when they came to recognize exactly who he was. They had all been there over a month ago when Ryu killed that member of the Demonic Flame Sect with just a single arrow.


    Among this crowd, though, there were three who didn''t react like this.


    The first was, of course, Fairy Mae who maintained the same extremely cold expression she usually wore. She looked completely unlike the other members of her Sect who were all like succubi in human skin. There didn''t seem to be anything "bewitching" about her until you took a closer look at her and felt your mind sinking into an endless depth.


    Of course, the number of people who would dare to stare at this ice beauty for so long were few and far between, so it was difficult to notice.


    Ryu had a feeling that this was done by her entirely on purpose, as though she was shielding her true charm for whatever reason.


    Regardless, Ryu, who was using his Void Spiritual Sense to observe her, didn''t feel this very strongly. With his current soul strength, if she was actively hiding her true methods, then it was all the more impossible for her to think about affecting him.


    The second person who didn''t react like the others was Aantha, yet another member of the Bewitching Charm Sect. Unlike Fairy Mae, she was as coquettish as they came, the deep v-line of her dress revealing two plump mounds that seemed as though they might spill over any moment now.


    She was quite the enticing woman, although a few shades beneath Mae, she more than made up for it in outward charm and revealing clothing.


    When she saw Ryu appear, rather than fear and apprehension, she looked as though she had found a new toy, her eyes sparkling as though she might want to strip Ryu down and devour him right this moment. However, even so, she didn''t move from her location which happened to be right beside the third individual who didn''t react as expected.


    This third individual was a young man who visibly frowned when Ryu appeared, however rather than this being out of fear, it seemed to be because of everyone else''s reaction to Ryu.


    Ryu somewhat recognized this young man. He was one of the three who stood at the helm of the Sentient Sword Sect behind Enren. He was probably a Sovereign Class genius, albeit one a small measure weaker than their head disciple, so he had his own pride. And, quite obviously, he didn''t fear Ryu in the slightest.


    "This Ruin has been claimed by me, it''s best you leave."


    The words of the young man seemed to still be within the boundaries of cordiality.


    For one, Ryu was an unknown and it was inadvisable to fight him so blindly. Although he didn''t fear Ryu, he also didn''t want to risk getting injured in the middle of the wilderness, especially when there was such a good opportunity before him.


    Most powerhouses in the Heavenly Path had a tacit understanding not to target one another until the final phase began, only then would the tradeoff and risk be worth it.


    Secondly, he had a decent impression of Ryu if for nothing other than him killing a genius of the Demonic Flame Sect. His Sentient Sword Sect and that Demonic Flame Sect had been at war for far too long. As the saying went, an enemy of an enemy was a friend.


    Still, neither of these two things were enough to make him compromise on his stance. He wanted Ryu to leave, plain and simple.


    Although it was fine for Ryu to come here out of curiosity, he had already seen enough. Plus, he didn''t like the way Aantha and even Mae were paying so much attention to Ryu. He planned on tasting the both of them personally once he got the chance and didn''t want to have to deal with competition along the way.


    Ryu, though, didn''t even glance of him, sweeping his Spiritual Sense through the surroundings and rotating the Matrix in his left palm.


    ''It''ll happen soon¡­''


    If he had a choice, he would just boot all of these people out, but it seemed that he had already missed that chance. It wasn''t something he could help, though, since he wasn''t the one who found this place first.


    The young man of Sentient Sword Sect, Sengun, frowned before he noticed that Ryu was blind. But even after making this observation, a flicker of fury danced within his irises. So what if he was blind? That didn''t mean that he was also deaf. He should have heard his words just now quite clearly.


    Just when Sengun was going to draw his sword, a flash of light appeared in the surroundings, enveloping them all.


    Their visions blurred and their minds shook. It took several moments before they all could see once again, and once they, they found themselves in a vast field.


    The field was well trimmed and had several tall stones strewn across it. A heavy fog hung in the air, making it difficult to see further out than just about a hundred meters even with their sharp vision.


    They all appeared in a group in the very same positions they had been in no more than a few seconds ago. However, of them all, Ryu had already begun to walk, his senses half focused on his surroundings and half focused on the Matrix in his palm.


    Sengun''s expression flickered when he saw this.


    He hadn''t been paying much attention before, but when he saw the Matrix in Ryu''s palm, he suddenly felt that he recognized it.


    The Matrices he had heard of were all in the shape of cubes so he hadn''t recognized it immediately. But could it be that Ryu was a Ruin Master?

 Chapter 1080 True Ruin

    "Wait for me handsome!"


    Aantha fluttered over in a gust of fragrance. Due to the fog, Ryu wasn''t moving very fast to begin with and was still taking his time to calculate some things. Thanks to that, she was able to catch up quite easily, wrapping her arms around his as though she deserved to be there.


    Ryu came to a stop, looking to the side and down at Aantha who had just grabbed his arm and squeezed it onto her chest.


    Although Ryu''s eyes were unfocused and vacant, when Aantha met his gaze, she felt herself shudder from head to toe, a dense, primal fear taking root in her heart.


    She hurriedly released his arm, feeling her heart pounding in her chest like a jackrabbit. The color drained from her face and all of her coquettishness vanished in a single breath.


    Ryu turned away and continued walking. It took Aantha several seconds to compose herself, but once she did, she pouted somewhat adorably. No man had ever treated her that way before, it left her feeling a bit indignant.


    She rushed up to Ryu''s side again, but his time she didn''t dare to touch him. Instead, she just followed after him, pouting her lips.


    "Is there a need to be so mean to me? You know, I wasn''t the one who targeted you back then, and now you''re so big and powerful, can''t you spare some strength to protect me and my sister?"


    Ryu completely ignored these words, not caring in the slightest. Unless he wanted to just kill everyone here, he would just have to deal with this woman. So long as she wasn''t touching him, he could ignore everything else. Although he didn''t blink an eye with killing, he also didn''t do so blindly and without reason. They could keep their lives so long as they didn''t stand in his way.


    He continued forward, his mind revolving with several thoughts.


    This was a higher tier Ruin than most.


    Usually, in their simplest forms, Ruins were just a series of caves and tunnels, maybe rigged with a few traps. Often, they were abodes that immortals had used in their lifetimes before being repurposed, or they were Sect and Clan grounds that became wreckages.


    As a rule of thumb, was separated Legacy Worlds and Ruins was that the former were most frequently created by powerhouses with a lot of forethought and planning, while Ruins were more last minute endeavors.


    Of course, this was just a weak generalization. If Legacy Worlds were always better than Ruins, then there wouldn''t be an entire esteemed profession built around them.


    The core truth was that Ruins were more raw, but this rawness allowed them to not only follow the rules of history, but to also contain their kernels of truth as well.


    There was little a Clan or Sect could do if they were suddenly destroyed but scramble to protect and pass on what they could. But due to this, there was often more to find in Ruins. Instead of some curated and artificial truth, you would find something more raw and real.


    That said, often times, weaker Ruins just became lesser Legacy Worlds for cultivators who couldn''t bother to put in the effort or simply didn''t have the means to do so. There was no doubt that opening a Legacy World in the True Martial World was far harder than doing so in Sacrum.


    However, this Ruin was different, this was much more like a classic Ruin, a true Ruin. Just by virtue of the more open world concept and the larger landscape, this was definitely the Ruin of a fallen Sect or Clan.


    This meant a few things. Firstly, it was far more dangerous.


    Such Ruins created amidst destruction often left behind some aggrieved souls. Due to the trapping of the Ruin within time and place, those caught up in the changes couldn''t reincarnate properly and their souls would be trapped. Once trapped, there was a high chance for them to become wraiths as they experienced the same heartache again and again.


    Secondly, because such Ruins were rashly constructed often by experts who didn''t have a lot of time left on their hands, it was rare for them to be perfectly calibrated. While you could expect other more well organized Ruins to be perfectly curated and designed to be just challenging enough, Ruins like this could have wildly variable difficulties.


    There was a chance that it could be too easy, but honestly, such a chance was very small. If you were in your final moments and you wanted to ensure that your Sect''s or family''s legacy was passed on to someone worthy, would you err on the side of making it too easy or too difficult?


    The answer was obvious, which was why this unique combination of disorganization and high difficulty often made Ruins like this one death traps, even for seasoned Ruin Masters.


    This was why, even for Ryu who was quite confident in himself, he chose to move with a measured pace such that even this succubus in human skin could continue to follow him around.


    Sengun watched silently as Ryu was just about to disappear into the fog, hesitating. He found it embarrassing to follow after a man, but at the same time, he felt that it was probably smarter to do so.


    Just as he was struggling with his decision, Fairy Mae had already moved ahead, following after Aantha without giving Sengun another glance.


    The rest of the crowd of people who had gathered were from all walks of life and they had been moments away from being shooed away by Sengun if not for Ryu''s appearance. However, now they likewise hesitated about who to follow until Sengun moved, catching up to Fairy Mae.


    He refused to lose the women he had his eyes on just like this.


    At that moment, before even moving a hundred meters, Ryu came to a stop, his eyes narrowed.


    A ripple danced through the air, almost catching him off guard. But just as quickly as it appeared, he pierced forward with two fingers, tearing a rip in space.

 Chapter 1081 Front Door

    BANG!


    At that moment, from the fog, a pair of ghostly fingers reached out, only to be shredded to pieces by the spatial fluctuations accumulating along Ryu''s own fingers.


    These days, Ryu almost found it distasteful to use any of his other strengths. Attacking, defending, moving and evading all felt so much easier when he relied on his Soul Nature that everything else almost paled in comparison.


    The moment he sensed danger, he reacted on instinct, accumulating a seemingly benign pulse of spatial energy that shredded the target apart as though it had just met the concentrated point of a blackhole. However, almost the moment he did, Ryu shook his head.


    ''This habit is not a good one.''


    Ryu adjusted himself and corrected his thoughts immediately.


    Yes, his Soul Nature was incredibly powerful, this was undeniable. In fact, because it was his Soul Nature, whereas most had to use up a great amount of stamina to utilize the laws of space, to Ryu, it was as easy as breathing.


    However, although these things were true, it was still necessary for him to access the circumstances and react accordingly. Why would he use spatial qi when facing a wraith when he had the best counter to ghosts in all of existence?


    Tribulation lightning.


    No matter how little stamina he consumed using spatial qi, how could it compare to the ease of killing these targets with lightning? It was easy to get caught up in the amazing nature of spatial qi because it could accomplish so much, so powerfully. It wasn''t a rare affinity without reason. But there would also be times where he would unconsciously end up handicapping himself just for the sake of using his Soul Nature.


    Ryu identified the problem the fixed it immediately.


    His hand reached out an a large amount of lightning formed in his palm. Usually, he would use normal lightning so as not to expose his Lightning Qilin bloodline, but while he hadn''t cultivated much in the last several years, what he had great improved upon was his state of mind and mostly importantly the control he had over his own strength and talents.


    Almost the moment the Tribulation Lightning form, he activated his Lightning God talent and restrained its aura into a small needle the width of a single hair that was also just about a foot or so long. Despite the thinness of the needle, the blue steel radiance it gave off was so bright that it practically dispersed the fog around him.


    Aantha''s eyes locked onto the needle hovering above Ryu''s right palm, another shudder of fear racing through her body. She had hardly recovered from his earlier glare when he suddenly tapped the air and caused the void to shred to pieces, and now he had suddenly brought out another attack that seemed even more powerful that the spatial fluctuation from before.


    And how could it not be? That earlier tap was just a casual wave of the hand, but this needle, while it was thin, contained enough lightning to raze an entire forest to the ground. The fact Aantha could sense the danger at all, though, just went to show just how sharp her senses were.


    Ryu continued to walk forward, Matrix hovering in one palm and needle hovering in the other. From time to time his fingers would flicker and the needle would zoom outward, shredding a wraith to pieces before zooming back to him.


    They couldn''t last even a single attack. Just a single poke cleansed away all of their hatred and animosity, stripping them down to the purest of states and shipping them off into reincarnation.


    Ryu reoriented himself a few times.


    If he was correct, these should be the outer reaches of whatever Sect or Clan fell here. If Radiant Star Sect was used as an example, or rather the former Radiant Star Sect on the First Heaven, this region would be the equivalent to outside its gates, the very location that Ryu and the other prospective Outer Disciples had waited for a chance to prove themselves.


    Due to this, there were no real clues about the power of the Sect or Clan, or even what they specialized in.


    Although there were wraiths around, they had long since lost their former techniques and were basically just mindless ghosts. Only experts that had been extraordinarily powerful in their lifetimes would be able to retain their abilities after becoming a wraith, and only such existences would be able to give Ryu clues to what he needed to know.


    However, the likelihood that such existences would appear here were slim. Although there was a good chance that this Ruin would err on the side of being more powerful than not, Ryu didn''t believe that the Heavenly Path would allow Sky God level threats to appear here. That said, Ryu remained cautious and was ready for anything.


    By this point, most had chosen to follow after Ryu, a fact to which he had yet to react. This was a fairly novel situation for Ryu, he couldn''t remember anyone ever having treated him like this before. Quite frankly, he found it annoying, but he was entirely focused on the task at hand. When the time came, he would deal with these people thoroughly.


    He wouldn''t allow his Heavenly Favor to be split between himself and others.


    Ryu came to a stop and looked up.


    The hazy form of a large and looming gate stood ahead, which meant that he had indeed come to the correct place. This should be the entrance to the Sect or Clan. However, even so, his eyes narrowed for quite a simple reason: the gates were closed.


    If this was a Sect or Clan that had been destroyed and then left their legacy behind using the methods of a Ruin, it made little sense for their gate to even be intact, let alone closed.


    Obviously the first thing an enemy would do in destroying a powerful was to bash in their front door, it was common sense.


    ''Interesting¡­''


    Ryu stepped forward, looking at the several wells that made up the large and looming gate.

 Chapter 1082 Spitting

    The gate were formed by two halves. To each of these halves there were three "wells" each, and in the middle where both gate halves combined, there were three more.


    Complex geometry made up the embroidered patterns between these wells and they looked like quite beautifully designed and structured artwork. Without knowing anything else about this Clan or Sect, their architecture alone was quite beautiful. Or at the very least, that was what others would see.


    For Ryu, he saw something entirely different. The complex geometry wasn''t just a beautiful design, it was a formation, an incomplete formation, at that. Opening the gates required sliding the formation into place and connected the nine "wells" which were really just formation cores.


    ''Is this a formation Sect, then? I can''t imagine that a non-formation Sect would bother to care about this so much. But even so, that doesn''t explain why this gate is closed¡­''


    Ryu reached for and spatial qi formed from him once again. Slowly, he controlled the complex geometry to twist and turn, snapping them into place. And as expected, there were hidden mechanisms within the gates that allowed the patterns that made it up to rotate and even shift in relation to one another.


    In an odd twist, the perfectly symmetrical and beautiful doors became a mess. By the time Ryu was certain he had put everything into its proper place, the shapes no longer looked as beautiful or as pleasing to the eye. There were mismatched shapes, there were more circular shapes on one side and more triangular shapes on the others, and worst of all, of the nine wells, five ended up on one door and four ended up on the other.


    The result was jarring and made the gaze in Ryu''s eyes incredibly sharp.


    None of this seemed like a big deal. After all, it was just a bit of asymmetry, what was the issue?


    Rather than answering this question directly, Ryu thought of his Ice Jade Crystal Body. Why was it so beloved by the Heavens? It was precisely because it was perfectly balanced. Thanks to its existence, Ryu was perfectly proportioned even down to his blood vessels and Meridians. There wasn''t a single aspect of his body that couldn''t be perfectly mirrored onto the other side, bringing him beyond the realms of perfection.


    In practice, this made both of his legs equally as powerful, both his arms equally as powerful, and it gave him an advantage most cultivators did not have. Even immortals would have dominant sides, but only those who were born with the Ice Jade Crystal Body would have no such weaknesses.


    This was all to say that the Heavens loved symmetry, even to the point of blessing it with heavenly favor.


    Whether it was the circulation method of techniques, the creation of formations, or even the concoction of pills, everything relied on symmetry. The most basic requirement for beauty and acceptance by the Heavens was precisely this.


    For a moment, Ryu had even thought he made a mistake. As confident as he was in himself, he would almost believe that he had screwed up than to accept that there existed a formation that did seem to require symmetry at all.


    However, when the doors rumbled and began to open, Ryu realized that he hadn''t made a mistake, the calculation methods of his Matrix had worked just as perfectly as they always did, but this only shocked him more than the possibility of him being incorrect.


    ''This Sect¡­''


    Ryu felt his heart beat erratically.


    For the first time in a long time he thought back to the Natural Order Sect.


    He owed a lot to the Natural Order Sect. They were the first boost he had gotten on his cultivation journey.


    The Natural Order Sect was a Sect of the Mortal Plane that had been destroyed while Ryu was still a Prince of the Tor Clan. Back then, after Ryu escaped the Tor Kingdom, he went to their ruins and began his cultivation journey. From them, he had not only learned his first cultivation techniques, but he had even found a treasure he still relied upon to this day: the Glove of Order.


    The reason Ryu thought of that Sect now wasn''t because he thought that it and this place were related. Instead, he felt that the reason they were destroyed might very well have a small string of Karma connecting them.


    The Natural Order Sect was destroyed for its arrogant name. What right did a puny Mortal Realm Sect have to call itself by such a grand name? Even the people of Sacrum couldn''t withstand it.


    This Sect here, or maybe Clan, might very well have been destroyed because it went against the Heavens as well. This lack of symmetry was nothing short of spitting in the face of the Heavenly Laws, shirking Heavenly Favor, and following a path of unorthodoxy.


    Thinking to this point, Ryu''s lip curled into a smile. This place¡­ Should be interesting.


    "Ah!"


    With a step, Ryu entered the sliver of a crack between the gates and vanished into thin air, suddenly moving as quick as lightning. Aantha gasped and tried to rush after him, but her wrist was suddenly firmly gripped.


    "This place is too dangerous, stop rushing after a man. You''ll get yourself killed," Fairy Mae said coldly.


    "But¡­"


    Mae looked toward Aantha and the latter shut up almost immediately.


    "Let''s go. With caution." Mae said.


    Mae''s expression flickered as she suddenly bolted forward, catching Aantha off guard. What happened to caution?!


    But just as Aantha wanted to keep up, the gates suddenly slammed closed, leaving those who were ready to rush up locked outside.


    ¡­


    Ryu had originally treated this place like just another Ruin to clear to accumulate Heavenly Favor, that was why didn''t care about others following him so long as they didn''t block his path forward. However, the moment he saw the oddity of the gates, his curiosity had been piqued to an extreme.


    This was more than about Heavenly Favor now, he wanted to delve into the secrets of this place without bothersome worms squirming around him.

 Chapter 1083 Cube Vs Sphere

    Ryu shuttled forward with far less burst speed than he had used previously. After crossing the threshold of the outer Sect and vanishing into the fog, he rooted his actions in caution once again, one hand holding up his Matrix and the other hand holding up his lightning needle.


    His fingers nimbly moved about, his Spiritual Sense scanning through the region religiously.


    The area was too quiet. Although solving the puzzle at the gate was a bit difficult, it wasn''t to the point where such a Sect or Clan would deem it to be enough to hand over all of their treasures. This meant that there were most definitely other challenges awaiting ahead, it was just odd that they had yet to appear.


    Ryu came to a stop and turned his attention toward the Matrix.


    The purpose of a Matrix was to calculate. It essentially took a personal input, and an environmental input, to give a holistic output. This could range from anything from noting the safest direction to take in a given Ruin, all the way to helping to decode and decrypt puzzles like the one at the gate.


    Essentially, it had a multiplicative effect on Ryu''s intelligence. Without the Matrix, it would have taken Ryu several hours and potentially even days to decipher the pattern at the front of the gate, while with the Matrix it took him little more than a few seconds.


    A Matrix was best scene as a blank canvas and its programming was decided by the Ruin Master making use it. It was a lot like the framework of an operating system, while all the bells and whistles were decided by its user within said framework.


    Cubical Matrices were easier to form and they were the most popular, even existing in Sacrum. However, this Matrix was spherical, allowing it to calculate many more variables at once.


    The best way to describe it was simply this: a cube Matrix was binary while a spherical Matrix was quantum.


    Cube Matrices were designed in layers from top to bottom. Each layer allowed an additional calculation to be made. For them, the quality was decided by how many layers there were and how many the user could make use of at once.


    Spherical Matrices, though, were beyond this. They didn''t have layers and were more like bulbous amoebas. The calculation was spread evenly across the entire surface and the answer it outputted came back encoded and in bits and pieces.


    This was why Cube Matrices were so much more popular. Spherical Matrices simply had learning curves that were far too steep.


    But why was this important now? Why was Ryu thinking about this matter when he had long since been aware of such things?


    The simple truth was that he had run into a problem. A big one. The royal blue Matrix in his palm was being overwhelmed, and quickly at that.


    If Ryu had a cube Matrix, he wouldn''t be surprised by this. But a spherical Matrix was designed such that it should be nigh impossible for such a thing to happen.


    All Ryu was doing was trying to calculate which direction to walk toward through all of this fog, something that should have been relatively simple. The only goal was to head toward where the qi was densest. This was a task so simple that under normal circumstances, Ryu wouldn''t even need his Matrix to accomplish it.


    The issue was that this fog was clearly designed to fool the senses, and though Ryu''s soul strength was powerful, he wasn''t overconfident enough to rely on it in this sort of situation.


    The reason for that was simple. This Sect or Clan most definitely had Sky Gods, if they were deadest on fooling his senses, there was very little he could do. In addition, the further he extended his Void Spiritual Sense, the greater surface area the fog would have to latch onto. The greater the surface area, the harder it would be for Ryu to keep his wits about him.


    Ultimately, his best bet was indeed his Matrix, but now it was only a moment away from being overloaded.


    Another key benefit of the Matrix was in its ability to take pressure off of one''s Focus Qi. If one would usually need to apply 10 points of Focus Qi to calculate something, the Matrix would allow you to achieve the same result using up only one point. For a spherical Matrix, it would take even a fraction of that. This was absolutely invaluable to Ryu in his first life back when he only had the focus of a mortal.


    This was to say that this Matrix was designed to handle heavy loads, and yet Ryu could tell that if he kept pushing it, it would slam head first into a solid wall and even burst.


    When a Matrix overheated, its structure would collapse and its reliability, even after it cooled down, would be off. You would either need to recalibrate it or rebuild it from scratch, but considering the grade of his Matrix, the current Ryu didn''t have the skill to do either.


    ''This¡­ should be related to the odd asymmetrical formation¡­''


    Ryu, who was a bit lost for a moment, suddenly stood as straight as a javelin, his gaze sharpening.


    With a thought, he moved both of his hands toward the Matrix, allowing his lightning needle to zip around him as a form of protection.


    He tapped his fingers several times, the speed of his movement becoming faster and faster with each passing moment.


    The Matrix looked a bit like a galaxy, filled with large numbers of stars that floated about a bit aimlessly. However, the more Ryu tapped at the Matrix, the more these starlight dots shifted.


    After several minutes, although the outer edges of the Matrix remained perfectly spherical, the inner floating dots that had once been evenly distributed began to shift.


    First the formed a highly concentrated blob at the very center, but then that blob shifted to the right and then elongated into a more elliptical shape. In the end, any sort of symmetry vanished.


    If others were here to see this moment, they would have recognized the hovering shapes to be almost identical to what Ryu had seen from the gate''s puzzle!

 Chapter 1084 Grand Hall

    Ryu had come to realize that the puzzle existed for a reason.


    With how unorthodox the formation had been, why shouldn''t the rest of this Ruin be just as unorthodox? In addition, whoever had left behind this formation wanted the person who claimed their inheritance to understand this unorthodoxy. If they couldn''t, then how could they allow such a person to enter their holy grounds?


    That was when Ryu came to realization that using symmetry to try and understand asymmetry was foolish. First he had to shift the foundation of his Matrix to better match this environment, and only then would it have the ability to calculate properly.


    Almost immediately, the last calculation that Ryu had commanded the Matrix to finish, the very one that had almost overloaded it, finished in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu''s expression flickered as he quickly stepping forward. He began to move with a great amount of speed again, suddenly feeling that there probably wasn''t the danger here that he thought there would be. The wraiths outside were probably just an inevitable consequence of this Ruin, but if Ryu was correct, they probably weren''t the attention of the individual who had left this Ruin behind.


    Several minutes later, Ryu came to another stop, but this time, he stood right outside of cave entrance.


    To call it a cave probably wasn''t the most accurate. It felt more like the entrance to an immortal abode, but for whatever reason, the entrance was opened wide and didn''t have any protection whatsoever if the fog itself was ignored.


    Ryu narrowed his eyes and checked the surroundings for a moment. This should still be the outer region of the Sect or Clan, nowhere near the core region, but the Matrix pointed out this location for him to enter.


    Although it wasn''t 100% of the time, the core location of the Ruin was almost always the place where the treasures were. It could only be said that this Ruin was truly out of the ordinary.


    Ryu took a step forward and entered, his body primed and ready.


    His vision blurred for a moment, and when it cleared, he no longer found himself at the entrance of a normal cave abode, but was rather standing in a grand hall. All around him, balls of gold hung about, looking like light fixtures that hung just a bit too low in the extraordinarily grand hall.


    Ryu didn''t move for a long while, just allowing his senses to spread through the region. There wasn''t any reward here, so that meant that he had yet to come to the end of this Ruin, and whatever these floating golden balls were, they were likely to be part of the test.


    After a brief sweep, Ryu realized that the space was once again perfectly symmetrical. You could split a line right down the middle and reflect it onto the other half perfectly.


    At the very center of the room, there was exactly one light source. But this one light source bounced off the golden balls with almost perfect reflection, brightening up the entire grand hall despite the fact the light itself wasn''t very bold or concentrated.


    It took a while, but Ryu felt that he came to understand what was happening here.


    It wasn''t just the balls that were symmetrical, but the lights as well. With the way they rebounded, there was a perfect distribution of photons across the entirely room, leaving every inch illuminated, including the three doors.


    There was one doorway ahead, and another two, one to the left and the other to the right. There was a fourth that was right behind Ryu, but he ignored it on account of the fact that he should have just come from it even though it didn''t feel that way.


    If Ryu was correct, he needed to concentrate these light sources onto one of these doors by changing the orientation of the golden balls, and the correct pathway to take would be dependent on the arrangement of said golden balls.


    Without even calculating it all, Ryu had a good guess. It was likely that two of these three doorways would have symmetrical patterns while one would have an asymmetrical pattern, the one with asymmetry would obviously be the correct door to choose.


    Having realized this, Ryu began his calculations once again, but as he continued, his brow only continued to furrow further and further.


    The orientation for the left door was¡­ asymmetrical.


    The orientation for the right door was¡­ asymmetrical.


    The orientation for the back door was¡­ asymmetrical.


    All three doors could have light shone upon them with asymmetrical patterns. This left Ryu in a bit of a bind. If all three fit the criteria, then which door should he choose?


    With a flicker of his irises, Ryu chose to test the door right behind him as well, but to his surprise, the door behind him required an arrangement pattern that was perfectly symmetrical.


    ''My understanding of this is too superficial, there has to be something beyond just symmetry here, something deeper and more meaningful. It can''t be that they''re choosing this unorthodox path without reason, there has to be some sort of advantage.''


    Despite the fact it seemed logical to just take the door behind him as it seemed he had been wrong about it, Ryu felt that his initial premise was wrong to begin with. The greatest taboo of a Ruin Master was to be stuck in their ways. Solving puzzles and riddles, especially difficult ones, couldn''t be done without an ability to step outside of your box and way of thinking. Being stuck with one school of thought was an easy way to fast track yourself to death.


    The Matrix in Ryu''s palm flickered and danced as he thought in silence.


    ''Asymmetry¡­ Asymmetry¡­ Light up all three doors but the one behind me¡­''


    Ryu''s Matrix flickered once again.


    The calculation for this one was far more complex, but even so, just thinking of it was the large majority of the problem. Now that he had, nothing would stop him.


    Several minutes later, Ryu flicked his finger, causing a strand of qi to zip outward and collide with a golden ball.


    One by one, they began to shift, the menacing eye of an unorthodox formation beginning to take shape.

 Chapter 1085 Wild Grin

    The final golden ball snapped into place and the region Ryu stood in fell into complete darkness. The refraction was so perfect that there wasn''t a single leaked bit of light. Despite the fact they were all in the same room, Ryu could only rely on his Spiritual Sense to see the other light. Even if he hadn''t been blind, the situation would have been the exact same.


    At that moment, the sound of gears and mechanisms began to whine. Ryu felt the floor beneath him shifting and moving slowly, his own body shifting with it.


    He stood completely still, allowing the mechanisms to push him forward as they pleased. Even so, he maintained a large amount of his focus on his Matrix, ensuring that the situation didn''t change at all.


    By the time Ryu could finally "see" again, he once again stood in a grand hall. But this one, especially in comparison to the last, was most definitely where the true treasures lay.


    There were no large vaults of precious jewels or Qi Stones, or a large library of techniques and mantras, but what there was were three pedestals, each of which had just a singular jade. Although Ryu didn''t know what these jades held, what he did know was that they were most definitely related to the secrets of this Ruin.


    Ryu took a step forward, ready to pick at one before he suddenly stopped.


    He looked down at the Matrix rotating in his hands and his eyes narrowed. If his calculations were correct, he could only pick one of the jades before the other three would completely vanish. This realization left him at a bit of a loss.


    Even after a while, he could pick out any differences between the jades, and neither could his Matrix. It only took him a few minutes after that to understand that there simply wasn''t any difference to pick out.


    The Matrix wasn''t some magical item that could pluck out a future possibility without data. There might be some extremely high level Matrices that could accomplish them, but even if he had one right before him, Ryu''s cultivation wasn''t anywhere near deep enough to even think of using them.


    Simply put, he needed information to make predictions. If there was no data, there was no way to draw conclusions. So, if the creator of this Ruin had gone out of their way to make sure there was absolutely no difference between the three, then there was nothing Ryu could do but do exactly as the creator wanted¡­


    Pick randomly.


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while, his mind spinning.


    There were indeed some Ruin Master chronicles that he had read of where the Ruin Master would run into such things. Normally, there were just two possibilities, each possibility of which had several variations within.


    The first possibility was that the creator of this Ruin didn''t want to put their trust in one successor. There were too many variables along the path of cultivation and trusting just one man or woman, no matter how talented, to definitely reach their full potential was a hard ask. Who could guarantee such a thing?


    The most talented wouldn''t necessarily reach the pinnacle of the world, neither would the least talented most definitely not accomplish anything. As such, Ruin Creators like this one would do their best to place their eggs in as many baskets as possible, hoping that at least one would pan out the way that they hoped.


    Of course, there were variations within this possibility, and the first of them usually happened in demonic or unorthodox paths like this one¡­ And that was a Sect or Clan that split their inheritance into several pieces before demanding those that gained these pieces to fight among themselves to fuse the ultimate inheritance into one. In this approach, they would also be ensuring that only the very best gained their full legacy.


    The other variations were usually just combinations of these two. Regardless, they all came back to the same root, and that was hoping that the best successor would come out on top.


    This led to the second possibility, and that was a more enigmatic one and infinitely more annoying. Compared to the first possibility, this one was far more ridiculous. Although annoyed at the first possibility, Ryu could potentially understand it despite how much he hated to be tested, this second possibility would make a cultivator want to pull their hair out.


    This definitely said a lot. After all, to Ryu, anyone who would take the first approach was just trying to make him run around in circles. He had already passed all of these tests and yet these individuals wanted him to prove himself more? Who did they think they were? He would rather just spit in the face of such an inheritance and leave without it. In truth, the only reason why Ryu was even still here was because he had wasted so much time getting here.


    In any other situation, he would have turned and left. But while he was on a time crunch, trying to gather as much Heavenly Favor as possible, wasting time and not receiving anything in return was a big no.


    This was why the second possibility was even more annoying than the first, because if it was the case, he could very well leave here with absolutely nothing¡­


    And that was the possibility of Karma and Fate.


    Powerful existences, especially extremely powerful existences, placed a lot of stock in Karma and Karmic Ties. The more powerful you became, the heavier those chains would feel and the more cautious you would be in forming them.


    For Ruins and inheritances from extraordinarily powerful existences, they didn''t just test your pure skill, they also tested something more enigmatic.


    In simple terms, they tested whether or not you were lucky enough.


    By this point, one can see what the issue was here. If this second possibility was true, then that meant that two of these jades were blank and only one of them held the true inheritance. Or, if this Ruin Creator was more sinister, then two of these jades contained fake or incomplete inheritances that might even lead to cultivation deviation, while only one of them would contain the true, pure and unrestrained inheritance.


    Thinking to this point, even someone far less prideful and arrogant than Ryu would be pissed off. No matter how you looked at it, whoever left these jades here were playing games and toying with the lives of those who had entered.


    Ryu''s expression turned frighteningly cold. ''Since you want to play games, then¡ª''


    "Hm?"


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and his head turned toward a certain direction straight ahead. At that moment, an exceptionally beautiful woman with a frighteningly cold countenance was slowly shuttled into the room. When her vision cleared, she, too, looked up.


    Fairy Mae''s expression flickered. Although the emotion disappeared quite quickly, Ryu''s Spiritual Sense was sharp enough to catch it. However, he was caught off guard by what the emotion was because¡­ it actually seemed like Mae was¡­ surprised to see him here? That shouldn''t be the case considering the fact he was the one who had led them all here to begin with, if anything, he should be surprised by her appearance, unless¡­


    Unless she was so extremely confident in herself that she felt such an emotion was warranted.


    Mae looked away from Ryu and her gaze landed on the three jades, flickering again. She didn''t move immediately, seemingly going through all the same thought processes that Ryu had before an annoyed look flickered deep within her cold and beautiful irises.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow again.


    As arrogant as he was, he was also very self-aware. There were very few people who would dare to be annoyed right now even though the situation warranted it. There were only two possibilities. Either Mae was no less arrogant than he was, or her view of the world was far beyond the scope of this Ruin.


    As for which it was, Ryu wasn''t sure.


    At the very least, he wasn''t sure until she suddenly flipped a palm over, manifesting an inky black whip as she walked toward Ryu without saying a single word.


    Although Ryu didn''t move or even have a change in expression, he knew what was happening. This woman actually dared to fight him. In fact, not only did she want to fight him, she very clearly wanted to kill him even without exchanging a single word.


    The situation was so surprising that Ryu even wanted to laugh, his lip curling into a slight sneer. That was, until Mae suddenly struck out with her whip, causing hairs to stand on the back of Ryu''s neck.


    It only took a split moment for Ryu to realize that this woman couldn''t possibly be from a Second Heaven Sect. That strength was far beyond a Heaven Class genius.


    In an instant, it clicked for Ryu.


    This Mae must be one of the geniuses who had regressed to a lower Heaven for a chance to enter this Heavenly Path.


    After realizing this, a wild grin spread across Ryu''s face, catching Mae entirely off guard.


    This was a genius from the Fourth Heaven? Potentially even higher?


    His fists suddenly felt incredibly itchy.


    Ryu''s fist shot out like a canon ball as he flipped his other palm to put his Matrix away and reach for his great swordstaff. He had been waiting for this opportunity for too long. He wanted to see just what kind of strength these real geniuses of the True Martial World had.


    BANG!

 Chapter 1086 Mystical Grade

    Ripples of space formed around Ryu''s fist and blasted the whip away.


    Mae''s expression changed slightly. Although she hadn''t put her full strength into that blow, if one was considering her raw strength without the use of techniques, that was still at least 50%. A genius of the Third Heaven''s standard shouldn''t have been able to deal with it so easily.


    Just as she was lost in her surprise, she found her expression changing once again as Ryu slashed down with his great swordstaff in one fluid motion.


    A curtain of pulsing lightning wrapped in sword qi tore a path forward, flickering through the void and appearing before Mae in a split second.


    Mae lightly tapped the ground, her body fluttering and vanishing in a string of afterimages as she sidestepped the blow, only to find that Ryu''s second great swordstaff had made its way into his other palm and had slashed down as well.


    She had hardly dodged the first blow when she found herself already dealing with the second.


    ''He uses both?''


    Mae''s expression changed for the third time in just as many seconds. She had noticed two great swordstaffs hovering behind Ryu all this time, but she had always assumed that one of them was a flying treasure and only one of them was a real weapon.


    Although she had seen Ryu fight before back in the Second Heaven, back then Ryu had already chosen to retreat so that he wouldn''t be surrounded. He hadn''t had the strength to challenge so many Heaven Class World Sea Realm experts at once in that time, so Mae only saw him using his great swordstaff to run once again.


    This was the very first time she was seeing him use both at once!


    It made sense that she was caught off guard. For one, dual wielding polearms was unheard of, even in the True Martial World. It was easier to accept that Ryu had made a stylistic choice in making his weapon and flying treasure look the exact same than to jump to the conclusion that he could use both of them at the same time.


    But this was only the tip of the iceberg of the main issue here, and that was if these weapons didn''t double as flying treasures, that would mean only one thing¡­


    Sword God.


    A pulsing violet qi surged from Mae as she retracted her whip. She raised it above her head, twirling her wrist and forcing it to form a tornado of spiraling qi around her.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The spiraling whip shredded Ryu''s sword and lightning qi to pieces, however he wasn''t very flustered. He didn''t use Tribulation Lightning and it only made sense that Mae could dispel a casual strike like this if she was truly as strong as he thought she was.


    Ryu took a step forward and closed the distance between himself and Mae, his twin great swordstaffs slashing down once more.


    ''Dammit.''


    Mae felt like she was being pressed, hurriedly retreating. Her toes lightly tapped along the ground and her body flickered again and again, but Ryu''s movement was suffocating. He didn''t even seem to need to try very hard to stick to her, his blades forcing her into a more and more passive situation.


    The ideal distance for Mae was anywhere between five and even 50 meters from her opponent, her whip could work its lethal magic the best in the range. In fact, if she was willing to expend more qi, even several hundred meters wasn''t a real problem.


    However, this space wasn''t very large to begin with, only about 200 meters in diameter. But even if it was any larger, with Ryu''s odd movement technique, it felt like it wouldn''t matter.


    "Show me your real strength or I''ll kill you right now."


    Just as Mae was becoming a hint frustrated, a voice drifted to her ears like the whisper of a ghost.


    Ryu''s indifferent and blind gaze seemed to pierce through her soul. By now, his wild grin had already faded and there was nothing more than boredom etched across his features. He was suppressing this woman too easily, he felt almost like a child who had finally gotten the toy he wanted, only to find that it wasn''t as fun as he thought it''d be.


    If Mae couldn''t withstand his casual attempts at battle, she most definitely couldn''t withstand him being serious, and even more definitely wouldn''t withstand his strength if he stopped hiding his real talent.


    There was no one here but the two of them, so as long as he killed her, there was absolutely nothing stopping him from unleashing everything he had. Mae truly didn''t understand just how easy it would be for him to kill her if this was really all the strength she had.


    At that moment, Mae was stunned. That gaze was one that she had never before seen in her life. She was¡­ being looked down upon?


    A flare of rage took root in her eyes and in that moment, their deep black depths danced with a raging scarlet hue that shimmered like rubies burning beneath a golden flame.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, a strong and suffocating aura suddenly pressing down on him before it vanished in an instant along with the odd colors in her eyes.


    Mae stomped on the ground hard and suddenly separated herself from Ryu by an entire hundred meters in a single blink. If Ryu wasn''t so keen on the spatial element, he would have thought that she just slipped into the void. However, what he was sure of was that an illusion of black wings had just appeared for the briefest of instances¡­ or were the crimson? He actually wasn''t sure even with his Void Spiritual Sense. It had been too fast.


    Mae flipped over her palm and her whip vanished. In its place, her slender fingers danced to life as a pair of thin and flexible sabers appeared. Both of them had blades just shy of a meter long that shimmering with a rose-gold color.


    Ryu''s brows raised. A dual wielder? He couldn''t ever remember fighting such a person before. This should be¡­


    Mae vanished.


    By the time she appeared in Ryu''s vision once again, her blade was at his throat, slashing down with a menacing glint.


    CLANG!


    Ryu reversed his grip on one of his great swordstaffs and pulled its polearm up above his head. His movements were as fluid as water and without the slightest awkwardness. However, even with the speed of his reaction¡­


    SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!


    Saber qi roared with life, separating into several pieces that shot around Ryu''s block and left thin lines of blood around his shoulders, neck and even his cheeks.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Despite the stinging pain and close brush with death, he didn''t seem to react much at all aside from this.


    As he blocked, he swung his other great swordstaff down, but Mae had a second weapon of her own.


    The moment their blades clashed, her wrist position shifted and her saber glided up he side of Ryu''s own, using it like a speed ramp to attack his throat again.


    Ryu''s wrist flexed in his reverse grip, causing his great swordstaff''s position to shift and hit the spine of of the blade Mae was skimming against.


    Mae abruptly found her trajectory changing and her saber beginning to aim far higher than she had initially expected, but before she could react to this change, Ryu''s foot struck forward, ready land squarely on her abdomen.


    Despite the situation, Mae''s expression was just as cold. Using the awkward imbalance of her sabers, she twisted into a half spin, retracting her blades and dodging Ryu''s foot before slashing both blades down at his shin.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The two flitted across the room, each one of their exchanges just as brutal. They danced on the edge of life and death without the slightest ripple in their emotions, their cold gazes meeting across their clashing blades without much care or fear.


    The two separated briefly and Mae instantly crossed her blades while Ryu raised his own.


    "[Asura''s Wings]."


    "[Winding Paths]."


    The very same illusory pair of wings appeared behind Mae once again as her rose-gold sabers glinted with a crimson light.


    At the same time, a whistle of wind wrapped around Ryu as the illusion of him wielding a pair of battle axes became difficult for Mae to shake from her mind.


    The two activated their Dao Charm techniques at the same path, but it was clear at a glance that Mae''s was of far higher quality. It didn''t seem to be a Heaven Grade Dao Charm technique. No, just given its aura, it was most definitely a Mystical Grade Dao Charm technique! This was the very first time Ryu had run into a person using such a high level Dao Charm technique!


    The moment Ryu sensed this, he didn''t dare to be careless and his aura shifted and changed.


    A starry light descended from the skies and coated his body in a radiant silvery blue light as he vanished and attacked.


    Trembling Star Qi fell from the skies and Ryu''s attacks gained a lethal trembling might.

 Chapter 1087 Repeat

    Ryu''s skin glowed with a delicate blue light as he surged forward. The qi in the surroundings were suddenly agitated by the appearance of Trembling Star Qi. Suddenly, Mae found it difficult even to control the qi in the surroundings, cutting down a significant portion of the strength of his Dao Charm technique.


    Her expression changed once again, but by then, Ryu had already closed the distance, swinging down with a mighty momentum.


    All of the qi that seemed to have been stripped from Mae''s control accumulated along his blade, a menacing strand of saber qi suppressing her saber technique at the same time.


    It was as though Ryu had a counter for everything she brought out. The longer the battle went out, the harder it was for her to believe that this man truly came from the First Heaven.


    Mae retreated and leapt atop a pillar, glaring down at Ryu.


    "Which Clan are you from?"


    Ryu wouldn''t normally come to a stop in the middle of a fight, and he most definitely didn''t like when others were looking down on him, but the question Mae just asked intrigued him. In fact, it seemed to imply something far greater.


    Mae frowned when Ryu didn''t answer.


    "Don''t you understand the rules? You didn''t know of my identity and yet you started using your Soul Nature immediately. Just be the grade alone, it''s definitely above the Sovereign Grade, did your elders not inform you properly?"


    Hearing this, Ryu''s gaze flickered with a peculiar light. For Mae, though, she only became more and more dissatisfied.


    Not only had Ryu ignored the rules, but he even goaded her into bringing out more and more of her power. If it wasn''t for the fact that he seemed to continuously suppress her, forcing her to pull out more and more of her hidden strength, she might have gone overboard.


    Stepping over the bounds of those rules a small bit was still fine, but if she went all out and others found out, she could be punished and lose out on quite a bit.


    "Also, you entered my jurisdiction and stole my benefits on the Second Heaven as well. Don''t you think you''ve stepped over the line too much? If you don''t give me an explanation, I really well ignore all the rules and kill you here."


    ''Interesting¡­'' Ryu thought to himself.


    This all pointed toward the fact that the higher Heavens weren''t just aware of the Convergence, they were taking advantage of it, even splitting up the benefits amongst themselves. This was probably why Mae was on the Second Heaven to begin with, whatever benefits there were to be had were probably gobbled up by her.


    Ryu hadn''t found much on the Second Heaven to benefit from outside of that hidden experts former spot of seclusion. Originally, he hadn''t thought much about it, but now hearing Mae''s words, it might not have been that there was nothing to find, but rather that the benefits had been split between Mae and unknown number of other people.


    In fact, what Ryu gained from that excursion was probably a fraction of what Mae had received during her stay in the Second Heaven, which was why although she seemed cold and angry, it wasn''t to the point she had to kill Ryu at all costs.


    In reality, up until this point, Mae had still treated Ryu like a normal member of the lower Heavens, reason being, he was just too weak. Although his combat prowess was decent, when Mae last met him, he could barely deal with a Heaven Class World Sea Realm expert alone. Although it was somewhat impressive given his cultivation realm back then, it wasn''t enough for him to be considered even average in her eyes, let alone have her shocked and awed.


    However, this version of Ryu with his Soul Nature was a different animal entirely.


    It was easy to see how Mae could come to her conclusion. Last time she met Ryu, he definitely hadn''t displayed a Soul Nature. She would never jump to the conclusion that he had suddenly gained one, so the most apt explanation was that he had hidden it before and had now chosen to ignore the rules set so that he could benefit.


    Ryu, after listening to Mae talk, could piece together some of these things after a while.


    For one, it seemed that displaying talents and likely even skills beyond the Sovereign Grade wasn''t allowed for whatever reason. And secondly, there were others aside from Mae.


    Ryu''s lip curled and he suddenly chuckled.


    "I''m not part of whatever treaty, alliance or agreement you''re talking about."


    Mae, who was starting to lose her patient toward Ryu''s lack of a response, was caught off guard by these words and her brows furrowed into a deep frown. It didn''t seem that Ryu was lying, and even if it had seemed like it, it wouldn''t benefit him to lie.


    If he was part of the agreement and broke those oaths, when he was found out, he would be severely punished. What good was there in lying to her when she wasn''t the one who needed to be convinced? The old fogies pulling the strings in the background would deal with him when the time came.


    Anyone with even a single braincell would be able to understand this, so she couldn''t fathom why Ryu would even take the chance to lie.


    "All I want is a good battle. I don''t like to repeat myself, but I''ll do it once more. Bring out your true strength, or die."


    Mae''s gaze turned malevolent when she heard this. This Ryu was provoking her again and again, her patience was wearing thin.


    At that moment, strands of crimson qi began to emit from Mae''s body and her aura began to grow larger and larger.


    Counter-intuitively, though, as her aura grew, her cultivation began to slowly fall, from the World Sea Realm, she fell to the Cosmic Seed Realm, and from the Cosmic Seed Realm, she fell to the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    The flicker of red in her irises became denser and denser.

 Chapter 1088 Spread Your Wings And Take Form

    The instant Mae vanished, Ryu reacted and pierced forward. He acted with a swift motion and his blood boiled. Rather than shocking him, Mae''s true cultivation being just a single major realm apart from him actually filled him with untold excitement.


    He was at the pinnacle of the Path Extinction Realm, and she was at the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm. For the first time in a long while, someone so close to his cultivation actually put so much pressure on him, and it made him feel alive.


    BANG!


    Ryu took a step back as their blades collided. His raw strength, despite the recultivation of his Body Realm, was actually a step behind.


    Ryu laughed, the position of his great swordstaff shifting in his hand as he parried the blow to the side, deflecting the rest of its power and piercing his second blade toward Mae''s throat.


    Despite the sheer size of the blade, in Mae''s eyes, she felt like she was facing the illusion of a fine spear tip. Ryu fluidly changed between weapon styles so completely and entirely without the slightest pause.


    The moment he realized he lost out in strength, his skill began to take precedence, closing the gap in the blink of an eye. He flitted around like a shadow, matching strength with speed, and speed with strength.


    His senses enveloped the entirety of the battlefield. Every twitch of Mae''s muscles, every slight feint and intention, every shuddering weakness, was immediately grasped by him.


    However, Mae, after releasing a large number of her shackles, felt suddenly far more relaxed. Her skill in the saber was far inferior to Ryu''s. Although this shocked her, she didn''t allow it to weaken her battle style. In fact, it spurred her on.


    Her qi manipulation could only be said to be the best that Ryu had ever seen outside of Aika. Every time she attacked, her qi would become like sparkling shards of crimson glass, splintering around Ryu''s blade and attacking him directly with its sharp edges.


    Ryu could only best describe it as splash damage.


    Every time these shards of qi rebounded upon his skin, his Trembling Star Qi would waver, dimming somewhat before coming back with a greater and greater force.


    Mae retreated slightly, tossing one of her sabers into the air and forming a great number of hand seals in the blink of an eye before snagging it out of the air once more.


    A fluttering array of black and crimson feathers appeared behind her, condensing into masses of dense qi before slicing through the air toward Ryu.


    At that moment, Ryu had the illusion that he was facing an array of sabers and whips. Sometimes they would be vicious and without restraint, but at other times they would be flexible and illusive before suddenly bursting with a sudden speed.


    Ryu suddenly realized right then that Mae''s use of a whip wasn''t just to hide her true strength, but she managed to apply her comprehensions in other facets.


    A suffocating aura descended and Ryu''s gaze flickered. He didn''t even get the chance to think about how he would deal with this flurry of attacks when there was a sudden change once again, this one just as shocking as the Mystical Grade Dao Charm technique that Mae had yet to use.


    ''Small Realm.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed.


    He couldn''t immediately tell what Mae had reached the Monarch Realm in, but he soon realized that he wouldn''t have to guess because she would make it very obvious very quickly.


    The surroundings were filled with rivers of flowing black and red. The moment they appeared, the strength of Mae''s array of feathers exploded forward, appearing around Ryu with every intention of shredding him to pieces.


    Ryu''s smile widened. Every time Mae showed him something new, he would feel excitement to the deepest depths of his soul. He didn''t even care to use the full strength of his Soul Nature. Since Mae was fighting with restraints, so would he.


    No techniques and talents above the Sovereign Grade? Fine!


    "Monarch!"


    Wild ripples spread out from Ryu''s body, a Small Realm of Lightning and Fire appearing at once, layering atop of one another.


    They clashed against Mae''s variant Water Small Realm. Ryu was enveloped with arcs of lightning and pillars of fire. He didn''t seem to care about anything else at that moment, his entire beign focused on fighting to his heart''s content.


    One blade wreathed in flames, the other sparking with blue arcs of divine judgment, he circulated [Whispering Petals] to Great Circle of Perfection and appeared before her in the blink of an eye.


    The two clashed wildly, sparks flying in all directions.


    Shock waves shook the room, however their strength didn''t so much as cause a single crack, let alone disrupt the jades that still sat in silence. Even so, the two didn''t seem to care, completely immersed in their battle.


    [Rending Stars].


    All the light in the world seemed to vanish, leaving nothing more than Ryu''s blade. He seemed to want to sunder the skies and split the world, even planets and stars couldn''t stand in his path.


    Mae''s gaze glowed with a fierce crimson light.


    [Asura''s Wings].


    This time, Ryu''s Trembling Star Qi was ripped apart by her momentum, completely unable to suppress the technique.


    She swung her saber upward to meet Ryu''s downward trajectory.


    The momentum of their techniques were so fierce that their blades couldn''t connect, blocked by fierce torrential winds and tsunami-like currents of qi.


    The two roared, one sounding like a dragon soaring through the skies and the other akin to an asura ripping a path out of the earth with their claws and hands.


    BOOM!


    The two shot backward, their blood rolling and rumbling within their bodies.


    Their gazes met across the void, sparks flying.


    In that instant, the two acted at once, raising their blades out to their sides as their auras continued to climb.


    "Spread your wings and soar!"


    "Take form and conquer the world!"

 Chapter 1089 Suppression

    An illusory pair of wings soared into existence to Mae''s back. It looked as though they had been plucked down from the heavens themselves, descending to grace Mae''s gorgeous features.


    They fluttered with an oppressive black and crimson light. With every flap, large swaths of qi surged toward her, coating her body and her sabers.


    However, right at that instant, 13 rings manifested, exuding a suppression dark gold light and causing Mae''s Immortal Ring formation to tremble and nearly collapse.


    Even though Ryu couldn''t use his Chaos Qi freely, the foundation of his Immortal Rings had been formed off of its back and were projections from his Meridians. Its strength wasn''t only based on just how solid Ryu''s foundation in Qi Realm cultivation was, nor was it just based on how strong his cultivation technique was, it was the most direct method of displaying the prowess of one of the six pillars¡­ a cultivator''s Meridians!


    In that instant, in no uncertain terms, Mae was absolutely certain that the grade of Ryu''s Meridians left her own far behind.


    The instant she came to this conclusion, Mae realized the poor situation she was in.


    When two Immortal Ring Manifestations took root, things would be fine if they were equal or if there was a small difference between them. But in the case that the difference was exceptionally large, then the suppressive effects would be disastrous.


    Understanding her plight, Mae no longer dared to hold back and she released a low roar, her eyes finally blazing to life with a crimson color.


    Ryu was all too familiar with red eyes. His wife, Ailsa, also had a pair of red eyes. They were gorgeous and beautiful, gentle and flowed like springwater.


    However, Mae''s were far more fierce. Akin to a bed of rubies set ablaze with dark gold flames, they glowed like a pair of torches capable of piercing through even the deepest depths of darkness.


    "Relentless Waters. Passionate Flames."


    Mae''s Small Realm pulsed, gaining a second layer as she shattered a clear barrier, evolving her comprehensions from the Monarch Realm to the Sovereign Realm, layering two now Dominions atop of one another.


    Ryu could tell at a glance that this was a true breakthrough, Mae had somehow used a method to forcefully raise the standard of her Small Realm to a Dominion.


    ''Dao. Peak Dynastic Dao. Second Immortal Grade.'' Ryu''s gaze flashed, a raging torrent of dark gold hanging around him.


    The two shot forward at once, a mighty clash finally causing the room they were in to quake somewhat.


    Every time their blades met, waters would intertwine with arcs of lightning and pillars of fire would try to ravage and devour one another.


    Ryu felt that Mae''s words hadn''t been exaggerated in the slightest. Her waters truly were relentless and her fires truly were passionate. They danced along the tips of her blade, glistening along with the delicate sheen of sweat that couldn''t mar her gorgeous brows.


    One blade was forceful and penetrative. The other was fierce and quick. With every exchange, they only seemed to become more powerful, embodying their very Dao.


    Ryu''s gaze shone, the Fire and Thunder Characters shimmering with a jade green glow. His great swordstaffs spun in his hands with the fluidity of daggers in one moment, then the forceful of sabers in the next, then the resoluteness of rods in a blink.


    He used his skill to bridge the gap, meeting Mae''s overwhelming strength with a glancing blow and her blazing speed with untold power.


    His blood boiled. Thunderous booms of draconic roars and qilin stomps boomed through his bones and tendons.


    They wanted to release themselves, they wanted to trample all enemies beneath their feet.


    Ryu''s gaze was furtive. He wanted an excuse, he wanted Mae to show him more, he wanted her to unleash those last few shackles she had kept on herself, he wanted her to give him a reason to display more strength.


    ROAR!


    Trembling Star Qi mixed with Ryu''s roar, a small hint of his Fire Dragon Bloodline''s talent threatening to spill over.


    The wings to Mae''s back fluttered, causing a wall of qi to block the sound waves before they reached her.


    Her sabers twisted in her palms, snaking by Ryu''s defenses and appearing before his throat. In the moment Ryu had roared, he had to open up his chest, giving her a lane to attack.


    However, at that moment, the glow in Ryu''s eyes didn''t seem to waver even for a single moment. In fact, it was as though he had planned for all of this.


    Deep within the depths of Ryu''s eyes, the eight trigram diagram rotated, the Mountain Character suddenly coming to life.


    In that instant, the Trembling Star Qi seemed to have multiplied in strength by over ten times. At the same time, a huge weight fell onto Mae''s shoulders as the illusion of a mountain appeared in the air above him.


    Mae felt as though her body had instantly become a hundred times heavier, and it was even more exaggerated for the blades in her hand.


    Completely caught off guard, her blade tip dipped down from Ryu''s throat and lost a large amount of its speed.


    With a tap of his foot, Ryu slid by the blade, his body performing a quarter spin as he gathered momentum.


    His foot stomped the ground hard, his arms bulging with pulsing veins.


    Right then, his quarter spin accelerated, becoming a full spin as his great swordstaff whipped a blazing trail toward Mae''s stomach. It looked as though he was trying to cut her body into three pieces.


    Mae''s eyes widened, but there was already nothing that she could do. The suppression was too fierce and the explosion of Ryu''s speed was even more exaggerated.


    BANG!


    Mae''s body bowed into a u-shape, her eyes bulging and her mouth opening to spew up blood as she suddenly accelerated backward with faster speed than anything she had mustered since the battle started.


    BANG!


    The room quaked as she slammed against the wall, slowly sliding down.

 Chapter 1090 Grin

    Ryu came to a stop. He was a hint surprised. Honestly, he had expected to truly slice her into three pieces with that strike, but he had actually failed. In fact¡­


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, looking down at his great swordstaffs. Not only were his wrists trembling on the verge of fracturing, but there were some hair-thin cracks on his blade.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs might have only been Heaven Grade treasures, but he had personally refined them and he knew that their durability was no less than some Mystical Grade treasures. Of course, this was by the standard of the True Martial World at all.


    For a treasure that hadn''t even been properly activated to crack his great swordstaffs like this could only mean that it was an exceptional treasure, likely only meant to activate when Mae was truly in danger. Considering it didn''t activate just now, that meant that it was well aware that Ryu''s strike couldn''t penetrate it even in a dormant state.


    On the other side of the battlefield, Mae''s head slumped, barely holding onto her sabers. She felt as though all the bones in her body were shattered and that her organs had flipped.


    Of course, this was only an illusion. In reality, she had just suffered some terrible bruising that made her ache all over. Even with that strike, Ryu hadn''t managed to break any of her bones, and even her inner organs had only been slightly rattled.


    Even so, she had never experienced such a thing before, even in the cruelty of her Clan. By the time she could start cultivating, she had suppressed all those of her generation.


    Mae slowly looked up, coughing out another mouthful of blood. At that moment, though, Ryu could only narrow his eyes because he realized the blood didn''t come from Mae''s injuries. Or, more accurately, at least not injuries he had caused. Instead, it looked like she was clenching her teeth so hard that her gums began to bleed.


    At that moment, the cold faced Mae suddenly grinned. It was an eerie, blood curdling grin, one that could only come from the face of a demon incarnate. She didn''t look human at all, in fact she looked as though she had just risen from a hellish scape and was prepared to crush all those before her.


    Mae spat out another mouthful of blood, but this one was much less of a cough and a far more brutish behavior.


    At that moment, she began to slowly rise to her feet, her robes being shed off to reveal a smooth plain of delicate, creamy skin. However, before anything untoward could be seen, her body was rapidly being covered in scales.


    In some lighting, the scales appeared to be a pitch black, but in others, they appeared to be blinding crimson.


    A pair of horns grew from her head, a tail coming out from her back even as a pair of radiant black wings appeared upon her delicate shoulder blades.


    With every transformation, her aura became more oppressive, almost like a mountain slowly descending from the skies. Even though her figure hadn''t grown in size at all, it was quickly feeling as though Ryu was standing before a raging dinosaur in female form.


    Mae stood to the tips of her toes, her claws lengthening as her tail slowly swayed behind her. Even though its movements seemed slow, every time it finished one swing, a vicious wind would arc through the air, leaving white marks all across the seemingly indestructible walls and floors of this room.


    When Mae''s transformation was finished, delicate feathers grew out from her ankles, wrists and the crown of her head. Her scales covered her practically from head to toe, only leaving a path of smooth skin at her belly button and her rippling cleavage.


    "I don''t care anymore," Mae suddenly spoke, her voice gaining a mind piercing quality to it.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly sharpened. That was because although he was still looking at Mae, her words had sounded by his ears. It was only several instances later than her afterimage faded and he could feel her sabers piercing toward his throat.


    Ryu brought up his great swordstaffs to block.


    BANG!


    Ryu skidded backward, his wrist shattering beneath the pressure.


    His gaze narrowed as the Life Character of his eight trigram diagram blazed to life and quickly healed him.


    His figure flickered and vanished, using his Spatial Soul Nature once again. Since Mae was no longer holding back, neither would he.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Wild ripples of space surrounded Ryu. By the time Mae''s strikes landed against his blade, they would feel as though they had traveled through a thick miasma of hundreds of meters, weakening them considerably. But even so, every time their blades connected, he would feel his body shuddering.


    Ryu''s Wind Character and Water Character blazed to life, stacking his Small Realms from two to four.


    He swapped between them seamlessly, his great swordstaffs wrapping themselves in tsunami-like waves, hurricane-like winds, thunderous lightning and flames that seemed to want to incinerate the heavens themselves.


    "Die! Die! Die!"


    Mae didn''t seem to care about the changes at all, nor did she care about just how much Ryu had been holding back until now. Her Dao was truly relentless and passionate. Everything that Ryu threw at her was returned tenfold, her vengeful spirit blazing with life.


    No matter how many suppressive effects Ryu stacked, he still found himself being pushed back again and again.


    Suddenly, Mae''s tail lashed out like a whip, finding a hole in Ryu''s defenses and tearing right through his Trembling Star Qi skin.


    At that moment, Ryu understood why Mae''s attacks always seemed to contain a hint of the whip, it was because from the very beginning, the whip was one of her main weapons. Her tail was her whip!


    PCHU!


    Ryu''s heart was pierced through, the residual blast sending him flying back.


    BANG!


    Ryu collided against the very same location that Mae had, even sliding down to where the shreds of her clothing remained.


    This woman was indeed spiteful. There was no doubt that she had waited for precisely this opportunity, and if she could do that, the gap between her and Ryu wasn''t small at all. She might as well have been toying with a child.


    Even so, with his heart leaking out large pools of blood, Ryu suddenly laughed.


    Toward this laugh, Mae''s gaze glowed, the fierce grin on her face turning even more menacing.


    All at once, Ryu''s eight trigram diagram lit up, a suffocating pressure causing the quaking of the room to sway from side to side.


    The sweeping aura seemed to raise Ryu to his feet without any effort, almost as though he was just a step away from breaking through the laws on Sky Gods comprehended and soaring into the skies.


    Ryu looked up and met Mae''s gaze, his blindness seeming like nothing more than an illusion at that moment. His battle intent pierced the veil of the heavens, his Heavenly Favor churning like a boiling vat of oil.


    "Come, woman! Show me what else you have!"


    Ryu vanished, appearing before Mae and swinging down his blade with the pressure of a world.

 Chapter 1091 Asura Race

    Mae''s gaze flickered.


    She had just pierced Ryu through the heart, this battle should be over. Was his vitality really so powerful despite not being in the Sky God Realm just yet?


    And what was this pressure she was feeling? Was this a Dao? What level was his Dao at that it could make her feel this level of pressure? What was happening here?!


    Before Mae could think anymore, Ryu''s blade was already mere inches from the top of her head.


    She roared, her scales shimmering with a bold light as she raised her sabers above her head.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s great swordstaff went flying back, Mae''s sabers quickly pursuing. If piercing his heart wasn''t enough, she would just rip him into inch sized pieces. So what if he had a powerful Dao? It didn''t suddenly boost his physical strength to a level that could match her own!


    However, right when she was about to counter, Mae felt herself shudder as she quickly retracted her blades.


    Just then, she felt that if she continued she would lose an arm.


    She retreated a step quickly, piercing her tail down and causing a small scratch in the ground she used to propel herself backward before accelerating forward again.


    However, it happened again. Just when she wanted to skewer Ryu through, her fatal sense of danger alerted her once more and she dodged to the side, slipping out of the shadow of Ryu''s blade.


    It was absolutely suffocating. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, Ryu''s precision with his blades had reached an unprecedented level. He was neither faster nor stronger, but he seemed to see into the future, pressuring her from a location she hadn''t even stepped into just yet.


    Ryu flickered and vanished.


    Mae''s ears perked up, the tips of her toes trembling as she readied herself to dodge again, but just when she was about to, she felt a vicious blow to her side.


    Her body bent around her hips, her body shooting off to the side like a speeding bullet.


    BANG!


    Mae collided with the wall, rebounding off of it and flapping her wings once to dodge out of the way of Ryu''s follow up blow.


    Ryu suddenly vanished again and Mae''s heart seized. She braced herself but it was already too late.


    BANG!


    Ryu landed a firm kick to the small of her back, sending her flying once again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu was relentless, beating and battering Mae from all sides. He didn''t seem to have any mercy for the fairer sex, his gaze blazing with a brighter and brighter light. Every time he appeared, Mae would fly off in a new direction even faster than the last time. She simply couldn''t keep up.


    "DAMMIT!"


    Mae roared.


    She knew by now that Ryu had seen through her. The reason he kept attacking her with the blunt ends of his great swordstaff and his feet was because it would never do lethal damage. Due to that, her innate senses couldn''t pick up on it as easily.


    But what she didn''t know was how Ryu had seen through her so quickly. It only seemed to take two exchanges before he saw through it and adjusted, flipping the situation on his head. The only explanation was that his Dao was some sort of auxiliary, sensory type Dao, but she had never in her life met one so powerful.


    If this Ryu Tatsuya really brought her to the edge, she wouldn''t be able to hold back any¡­


    BANG!


    The butt of Ryu''s great swordstaff smashed into Mae''s nose from above, forcing her head to snap backward and collide with the hard ground below.


    The jarring change rattled her brain, shaking her to her core. In that instant, her mind went entirely blank before her crimson irises quite literally lit on fire. Her eyeballs blazed as though an abyssal flame was being conjured out of their depths, rising up like a tempest without even the slightest bit of heat.


    ROAR!


    This time when Mae roared, Ryu felt as though the walls of his mind were being collided against and his soul quaked as though it might collapse any moment now.


    Ryu''s expression flickered and he quickly retreated.


    There was something that Ryu was ignorant of, though it couldn''t be helped. There were simply too many things to keep track of, too many things to learn, too many new concepts to integrate. If it hadn''t been for this, the moment Mae transformed, he would have realized that the greatest danger she posed wasn''t in her physical combat strength at all¡­


    The Asura Race was a demonic race. The demonic race in this context were humanoid species that had traces of their lineage link back to the Nether Realm. The closer they were in origin to their Nether Realm ancestors, the more powerful they tended to be.


    It was said that the Asura Race was among the most enigmatic for no other reason than the fact they were said to have descended from the most enigmatic of the Demon Kings¡­ The Dream Wraiths.


    It could be said that not only was Mae''s bodily strength not her greatest asset, it could even be said to be her weakest. There was no doubt that the greatest strength of the Asura Race, especially their women, wasn''t their fists, but rather their souls.


    The moment Mae shrieked, she released a soul attack as though it was second nature. She didn''t have to circulate a technique, nor did she have to put any effort into protecting her soul, she could simply attack just like it was her Soul Nature.


    Despite not knowing this original, Ryu reacted immediately, several blockades appearing in his Spiritual Sea reflecting the echoes of Mae''s screech.


    It was no wonder Mae had been relying on her instincts to sense danger all this time. Not once had she released her Spiritual Sense to begin with because it would count as going against one of the supposed rules she had to follow.


    There wasn''t a single doubt in Ryu''s mind that her soul was far beyond the Sovereign Grade.

 Chapter 1092 Separation

    At that moment, the air was filled with feathers of black and crimson once again. But this time, Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but skip a beat. He could see with a glance that while some of these feathers were just like before and had been formed with qi, there were a large part of them that had been formed with Spiritual Qi instead.


    This attack that had been purely physical before had suddenly gained the ability to directly attack his mind.


    At the same time, an odd coating of dreamy-like energy coated Mae''s sabers and tail as well. Although Ryu had yet to suffer an attack from him, if his deductions were correct, they too could directly attack his soul.


    Ryu couldn''t help but think back to the twin pair of daggers he had received on his birthday from Elena. Those were the only weapons he had ever seen with an ability to directly attack the soul, and yet it seemed that this Mae could self-create such methods.


    ''This is¡­ This is a Spirit Soul Nature.''


    Ryu had only just finished the thought when he was attacked from all sides by the fluttering feathers. They looked so delicate in the beginning, but the moment they attacked, they were vicious and lethal, speeding forward with a lethality that put even most arrows to shame.


    Ryu roared, his soul presence flourishing and lashing out.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu simply didn''t have such targeted methods of soul attacking. Right now, he had only learned two soul techniques, the first was [Swallow Six Senses] and the second was a Dao Charm technique that he had learned from the Frost Clan''s vaults.


    However, he had prepared both of these as trump cards and they weren''t appropriate to be used as a counter here. While Mae on the other hand had a versatile array of methods she could conjure up any time. Her Spirit Soul Nature was akin to his Spacetime Soul Nature in that she could create soul type techniques on a whim.


    And, considering she was most definitely from a powerful Clan, not only did she have the ability to do this casually, but she had also most definitely learned systematic methods of using her abilities as well. These feathers, for example, were definitely not forged on a whim, she was used to using this method.


    As a result, Ryu could only crudely lash out with his Spiritual Qi. But in doing so, he was wasting a large amount of Spiritual Qi at the same time.


    Even so, even in her fury, Mae''s heart couldn''t help but skip a beat. She had never met anyone who could use such a method to shatter her soul attacks.


    Despite this, Mae''s speed didn''t slow. In fact, it sped up. She didn''t want any more variables to appear.


    Her gaze glistened as it flickered with flames.


    Despite Ryu''s blindness, she met his eyes, looking into the depths of his soul.


    Ryu felt his heart skip a beat and waver. Suddenly it all clicked. It was no wonder Mae went to the Bewitching Charm Sect. Compared to those other women, she was on a completely different level. Just a look almost made him want to happily present his throat to her.


    Fortunately, his Dao Heart was incomparably firm. Unfortunately, having been caught off guard, the small delay allowed Mae to close the distance.


    Mae''s blade swiped for Ryu''s throat, mere inches away by the time his vision cleared.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. This time, Mae wanted to separate his head from neck, having already learned her lesson about targeting his heart. No amount of vitality would save him from such a Fate.


    There wasn''t enough time to gather up the spatial qi he needed, the volatile qi and Spiritual Qi in the air made it even more difficult than usual. Just a single lapse in judgment in a battle of this level was enough to seal a person''s fate.


    SHIIING!


    Mae''s blade swept through Ryu''s neck, cleanly separating his head from his shoulders. The separation was as clear as day, a gap forming between the two.


    However, for some reason, Mae felt as though she had swiped at air.


    In that instant, a flicker of flames danced.


    Mae''s eyes opened wide. ''Fire Spirit Body!''


    A blaze of flames reconnected Ryu''s head to his neck, a roar leaving his lips.


    Despite the fact he had dodged the physical blade, a sharp soul blade wreaked havoc in his Spiritual Sea. Ultimately, he couldn''t just freely separate his body as he pleased. If there was no connection between the halves of his body and he "dodged" an attack, he would just be bisecting himself.


    Therefore, whenever Ryu used his Spirit Body to dodge attacks, there was actually the link of his soul between the two pieces. The only time this didn''t happen was if he just opened up a hole in his body for an attack to go through, but because Mae''s strike was a sweep, he had no choice but to do a full disconnection.


    Almost immediately, a devastating wound appeared on Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul, the pain tearing through his body with a vicious momentum.


    Mae''s gaze flashed. She would never miss such an opportunity, so she attacked again and directly, swinging down her second blade without missing a beat.


    However, at that moment, a stifling pressure descended.


    Mae felt her body freeze as the roar of a dragon shook her down to her very core, her blood freezing to a stop that slowed her blade down considerably.


    A firm hand caught her wrist before a palm strike exploded upon her chest.


    Black-red flames tore her scales apart and for the first time, a devastating wound appeared on Mae''s body as she was sent flying backward.


    BANG!


    Mae coughed up a mouthful of blood, her bones trembling and eventually fracturing.


    She looked up as she slid down the wall, a shocked expression on her face.


    At that moment, ruby scales had covered the length of Ryu''s body as towering horns rose from his forehead.


    A fierce red glint danced in his eyes as the claw he had used to strike her danced with flames that made her heart palpitate.


    Mae coughed, slowly rising to her feet with a trembling gait as Ryu walked toward her.


    She grabbed onto her blades, staring ahead toward Ryu with a fierce glint in her eyes.


    Ryu closed the distance, raising his claw.


    Space trembled as the mighty talent of the dragon race threatened to descend.


    The shuddering in Mae''s heart only grew as a suppression that took root in the depths of her soul only gained a heavier and heavier anchor.


    At that moment, her sabers dropped from her hands, her black and red scales slowly retreating to reveal a body of perfect proportions. Beads of sweat glistened down her curves like delicate pearls of diamond. One dripped down the plump flesh of her breasts, caressing her pretty pink nipples for just a moment before slowly falling to the ground.


    While her scales had vanished, her tail and wings remained, giving her an exotic and intoxicating appearance that pulled on the heartstrings of all men.


    Mae stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ryu''s neck, kissing him deeply.

 Chapter 1093 Wild Idea

    Ryu''s dragon claw trembled, his mind feeling as though an explosion had gone off within it. It was as though a wave of towering lust he had been suppressing for countless years came exploding outward all at once.


    At the same time, waves of pain assaulted his senses as he felt as though his soul was being shredded apart beneath his faint resistance.


    In that moment, Ryu gained an inkling into the sort of horror Jenneless had experienced for several months. Pain to the soul seemed to distort all your senses, crippled your will power and even twisted your personality into something unrecognizable.


    If Ryu had used his Emperor Phoenix Heavenly Patterns to defend his soul in the final moments, there was a chance that he might have been able to resist such a terrible injury. But unfortunately, in order to dodge the physical effects of Mae''s blade, he had already exposed the aura of the dragon race. If he then exposed the aura of a phoenix race right afterward, the situation might have gotten far too out of hand.


    By this point, Ryu had absolutely no confidence in ensuring the death of Mae. So if he was going to expose something, he could only choose one fight, and between his head being chopped off his shoulders and an injury to his soul, one of which led to an instant death and the other of which could be managed, the answer was all too obvious.


    Although Ryu no longer had an Indestructible Soul, his current soul was much better in a number of ways. Not to mention all of the auxiliary abilities of the Perfect Blackbody Soul, its greatest strength was its plasticity.


    The Perfect Blackbody soul was designed to perfectly shape itself down whatever path its owner wanted. With this came certain advantages that stemmed even beyond just being able to gain Soul Natures at will, and that was the ability to recover from injuries.


    Ryu didn''t need to scour for soul healing treasures like others, which was of great benefit to himself considering just how rare such treasures were. All he needed to do was cultivate a bit and his soul would mend itself.


    The trouble was that doing so in battle was nigh impossible. If he was facing someone far weaker than himself, he could take the chance. But Mae was clearly an exceptional threat to him. Just in this battle alone, he had smelled death several times.


    And now, he smelled it again.


    His Dao could feel that this was an illusion, an attack on his mind, but his soul wasn''t strong enough to shake it off. No, it was less accurate to say that it wasn''t strong enough, and much more accurate to say that he simply couldn''t. It was akin to someone who had torn their bicep try to curl their arm, the feat was nigh impossible.


    Ryu grit his teeth.


    Even with his mind compromised, he knew that he only had fractions of a second. The moment he watched that bead of sweat fall down her breasts, he knew that he had fallen into a mental attack. That scene was too perfect and everything else seemed to fade away in the face of it. It was akin to a hypnotist''s swinging pendulum, replaying in his mind again and again.


    Compared to the bewitching techniques of the Bewitching Charm Sect, Mae was on a completely different level. He felt as though his entire mind had been co opted by thoughts of her naked body and feeling of her lips.


    Ryu''s mind went through multiple possibilities, but even thinking made his head feel as though it was being split in two. His will power had never felt so weak before, and it was only now that he understood exactly what Ailsa had meant all those years ago.


    She had said back then that someone with Ryu''s Dao Heart and determination couldn''t possibly have such weak soul talent, and now that seemed to come full circle at this moment. Just from a single injury to his soul, he didn''t even feel like himself anymore.


    Suddenly, Ryu settled on a ridiculous thought he couldn''t even bring himself to properly think through. He didn''t feel like he had any time remaining, and even if he did, he mind felt like it was at the end of its rope.


    With a roar, Ryu just barely managed to squeeze out a small corner to himself, using the minor breath of freedom to drop his great swordstaff and flip over a palm to reveal a memory jade.


    Almost instantly, he read through it, flooding his mind with the words, images and videos.


    In one moment, Ryu''s mind was filled with Mae. But, in the next, it was filled with Elena in all sort of compromised positions.


    His mind flashed and he was transported into a scene of Elena taking a back. She raised her legs onto the ledges of her porcelain white tub. She positioned herself right beneath the streaming water, the lids of her eyes half closed and moans of pleasure left her lips. Her breasts undulated and beams of soapy water fell to the side, gently caressing those gorgeous pink protrusions.


    The image shifted once again and Ryu found Elena standing on the tips of her toes wearing nothing but a pink lace thong that left almost nothing to the imagination from behind. She stood by the edge of a desk Ryu recognized all too well because it was his desk, he had lost count of the number of hours he had spent reading and deducing at it. However, this desk that was once meant for only work was being used as a stand-in for himself.


    Elena grinded into its edge, the folds of her pink lace panties tightening and loosening with every forward and back motion. In one moment, Ryu could just barely see the defined outline of her treasured place, and in the next it would vanish.


    A moistness continued to build up as Elena shuddered, nearly falling backward and she barely managed to grip the sides of the desk.

 Chapter 1094 Provoked

    The images shifted again and Ryu found Elena with her head buried beneath a number of pillows that was far too much for just a single person. Her plump bottom was stuck high in the air, but this time there were no panties, nor was there any running water, there was nothing at all left to the imagination.


    Her moist and delicate pink folds glistened in the air, an object that looked all too familiar to Ryu slowly sliding in and out of it through some sort of qi control method that reminded him of [Demonic Strings].


    The reason the object was all too familiar was because Ryu walked around with it everyday between his legs. The replica couldn''t have been more perfect. In fact, if it wasn''t for the fact there was nobody connected to it, Ryu would have thought that it was the real thing.


    Very quickly, Elena''s pretty pink asshole began to wink and the slow speed of her dildo became something decidedly not. Liquids flew and Ryu even faintly worried that Elena would harm herself moving it so fast. But even so, her moans continued to rise like a tempest, even making the noise concealing formations tremble as though they might collapse any moment now.


    Elena suddenly squeezed her legs together hard, her entire body shivering before it went entirely limp. But even then, the floating dildo held her up by their connection. It seemed as though she fell asleep just like that.


    The images shifted once again and this time Elena was completely in the nude, laying into her cloud of pillows on her back. Her legs were propped up and her eyes were closed, a small object formed of glass and was barely two finger widths wide playing with an entrance that made Ryu''s blood boil.


    Elena slowly slid it in, her body trembling as she let the new sensation settle in.


    Her other hand found its way to a delicate protruding bead beneath a small patch of pink diamond hair. She rolled it between her fingers, moving the glass rod slowly and deeply.


    "I''ll make it bigger for you¡­ I''ll take it one day, I promise¡­"


    Elena''s voice memo nearly made Ryu''s nose gush. Although this wasn''t the first time she had spoken as he went through her "diary", this was the first time she sounded so nervous and apprehensive. The stimulation was entirely new and Ryu felt like his head was going to explode.


    BANG!


    At that moment, Mae''s illusion entirely collapsed and both she and Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood at the same time.


    Ryu''s gaze finally cleared and he could look into his surroundings again. He found Mae still slumped against the wall opposing him and his dragon claw still raised high in the air. The wound his Rage Flames had caused on her chest were still rapidly healing and was almost entirely gone, but she was also decidedly not naked.


    However, even so, her breathing was heavy and her face was flushed. For the first time, the cold look in the depths of her eyes had been lit by passion and even her wings and tail trembled.


    Mae had never seen anyone use more lust to break themselves free of a lust charm like this. She couldn''t help but wonder if she was the Dream Asura here, or if it was this Ryu Tatsuya''s woman who was the real Dream Asura.


    As a member of her race, Mae wasn''t exactly new to the realms of self pleasure, in fact many women among her race traded their ideas like they were some sort of hot commodity. But even with such knowledge, Elena had done some things that let alone she, even the whole of the Asura Race hadn''t thought of before.


    Mae felt even weaker than she did before. That strike to her chest was already devastating, but now she too felt like she had just suffered backlash to her soul, and unlike Ryu, it wasn''t as easy for her to heal although she would have an easier time compared to others.


    But there was another thing that was more troublesome. Or, rather, it would be troublesome to her once her soul actually healed. Right now, however, it didn''t seem like much of a problem at all.


    There were now two people, a man and a woman, both with injured souls lowering their inhibitions, and both of whom had just seen maybe the most lust-inducing images possible.


    By the time Mae''s vision cleared a bit of its cloudiness, Ryu was already before her, his gaze heavy and the masculine scent coming off of him in waves making her thighs shiver. Her bloodlines felt agitated, but it only made her body run hotter.


    Mae hadn''t thought about picking out a Dao Companion, she was simply too young. The demon race was more lax about such things, but it could also be very dangerous at the same time depending on the status of the woman involved. Her life was much less complicated if she just didn''t care about such things for now.


    But at the moment, she felt a fire lit within her that she couldn''t extinguish.


    Her mind wavered between clarity and cloudiness. If she really didn''t like Ryu at all, she hadnt'' reached a point where she couldn''t say no, especially considering the trump cards she still hadn''t used. But the problem was that Ryu was just¡­


    Too attractive.


    Even setting aside his looks, his personality was to her liking, and his bloodline was even more so, maybe it wouldn''t be so bad¡­


    Mae couldn''t finish her thoughts before a pair of hot lips enveloped her own. The two mixed saliva, blood and passion without the slightest care in the world.


    Mae''s scales faded and her wings, legs and arms wrapped around Ryu. The pair skipped over foreplay entirely and Mae felt the last sliver of separation between them shatter as a warm heat that ran even hotter than her Asura Bloodline penetrated her.


    At that moment, Mae came to understand why the women of her Clan were so insistent on still finding partners even with all the methods they had on hand¡­


    None of those things could compare to the real thing. Not even close.


    Mae''s back arched, her hazy gaze losing even more focus as she relished in the feeling of her body being used as nothing more than a target for release.


    He seemed to hit all of the right spots and that intoxicating fragrance seemed to be all she could smell. Her throat went hoarse from her cries as her claws dung into the flesh of her chiseled back. She had never felt so good in her life, it was even to the point where the pain of her soul couldn''t be felt by her at all.


    However, what she didn''t expect was for Ryu to directly subdue her. She originally had no intention of giving up her Primordial Yin. In the fact of two people equally as powerful, forcefully taking away a Primordial Yin was impossible, as was fusing two souls.


    Ryu was unaware of this. In Sacrum, while forcing the fusion of two souls was impossible, the taking of a Primordial Yin was set in stone. This was a large reason for the gap between men and women.


    However, due to her Spirit Soul Nature, Mae had more control of these things that most people did. In fact, all of the most talented women of her Dream Asura Race could accomplish this. This was how they protected themselves.


    But as Mae lost herself in the sea of pleasure, she felt Ryu''s aura completely envelop her.


    Ryu, who had no idea about this matter, felt that he had been provoked.


    In Sacrum, although Primordial Yin was practically guaranteed to be lost, if someone too weak took on a Primordial Yin that was too powerful, death was very much a possibility.


    Ryu, who couldn''t quite think clearly at the moment, thought that something similar was happening here and that the Heavens thought Mae''s Primordial Yin was too much for him to handle. As a result, his pride was triggered.


    When Mae felt Ryu trying to forcefully rip her Primordial Yin out of her, she should have felt enraged, but for some reason, an inexplicable feeling of warmth formed in her heart.


    The demon races were a lot like beast races in that their women didn''t want to just be pursued, they wanted to be conquered.


    Rather than feeling infuriated, Mae only felt more aroused and her body shivered from head to toe.

 Chapter 1095 Conquering

    The women of the Dream Asura race were well known for the stamina. Usually, Immortal women, in general, were far more robust than mortal women in this regard. This was why in the rare cases that an Immortal man stumbled upon a mortal woman who stirred his heart, he would definitely feed her as many Immortal treasures as he could afford before even laying a hand on her.


    However, even so Dream Asura Race women were on a completely different level. Not only were their bodies that of beasts, something that Ryu had seen personally, but their lustfulness was well documented. Many of the retellings of succubi in legend came from these very same women.


    Mae, as one of the absolute most talented in her race, especially in thanks to her Spirit Soul Nature, was even more certain of her own abilities, and for the first few hours, she was very much still confident.


    However, after a quarter of the day passed, she began to feel her pleasure peaking over a level she could maintain conscious control over. It was absolutely relentless and Ryu never seemed to tire. In the beginning, she could still remain enough lucidity to protect her Primordial Yin, but as the time went on, she became no different from a small boat rocking in a vicious ocean of tsunami-like waves.


    It was absolutely suffocating.


    She found her body being bent and twisted at Ryu''s whims. She realized at some point along the way that even if Ryu struck to kill suddenly, she would be too out of it to even counter. The waves of pleasure were co opting her nerves and hijacking them for her own personal pleasure.


    As Mae cobbled these fleeting thoughts together over the course of several minutes, she was shocked even with herself. She might have given her first time to Ryu, but she didn''t trust him. It was a very real possibility that she wouldn''t have allowed this to happen at all if her soul wasn''t compromised.


    ''Soul¡­ compromised¡­?''


    Mae suddenly realized that in her distraction, the injuries to her soul had already healed. As for when that had happened, she had no idea.


    Just as she wanted to think about it more, as though Ryu had sensed that she dared to think about something other than the firm rod sliding into and out of her, he slowly pushed himself in, forcing Mae to take as much of him as she could handle. His hips rotated slowly but firmly, making Mae''s mind go completely blank.


    She forgot entirely about what she was thinking about, and at that moment, the last reins she had only Primordial Yin completely slipped away.


    Every part of her body stiffened and her legs shot out as straight as javelins. Even if her eyes hadn''t rolled back, there was simply no way she could have been conscience enough to control her innate reaction at all.


    And yet, as though he hadn''t noticed a single thing, Ryu remained relentless. He had been pent up for too long, caging himself for too long. He hadn''t tasted a woman in years, and over a millennium if he counted the time it took for him to be reborn.


    At the same time, Mae was too enticing. Her every moan, her ever shudder, the softness of her skin, the bouncing of her breasts, even those moist walls that wrapped so firmly around him were enticing to the ninth degree. Even without trying, it was like a vice grip and a kiss of an angel all wrapped into one package.


    How could Ryu know that fucking a Dream Asura, especially one of Mae''s caliber, was one of the greatest pleasures possible on the True Martial World? What was even more shocking was that in the terms of her race, she hadn''t even reached true maturity yet.


    When he felt her Primordial Yin, surge into him, he wasn''t even in a state to care about it at all, just shuttling it toward his Spiritual Sea and letting it expand endlessly while his soul was healed. In his current state, he simply didn''t have the mind to care about anything else.


    It was only a few hours even after that when Ryu''s soul fully healed that he spared a thought toward what he was doing.


    By this point in his cultivation journey, though, Ryu didn''t even flinch. His inhibition toward such things were long since washed away and he moved about as he pleased. Since this Mae had been lucky enough to be pressed beneath him, then she would be his woman, those were the extent of his thoughts before he continued.


    Mae might have already been as limpid as water and as malleable as clay already, but he wasn''t satisfied. His Bloodlines churned with an insatiable greed, conquering Mae over and over again.


    All the while, his Spiritual Sea broke past its limits again and again. It was only after Ryu sensed that his body had reached its limits and couldn''t accommodate a soul that was any more powerful that he allowed what remained of Mae''s Primordial Yin to sink into his body and begin to temper his blood.


    Unfortunately for Mae, this reupped what small amount of stamina Ryu had used to this point and allowed him to keep charging forward like a bull.


    Mae could only hold on for dear life, her throat hoarse from moaning and her delicate skin drenched in sweat that was one part her own and another large part Ryu''s.


    By the end, Mae had not an inkling of resistance remaining. She weakly held onto Ryu, her body twitching and shuddering from time to time. Her mind was hazy and her gaze unfocused, she couldn''t even quite see the man laying on top of her, but she could feel his warmth. In that moment, she seemed to forget about everything else.


    Ryu released a roar and his draconic aura reached its apex, suppressing all things and suffocating all opposition. In his hands, even a Dream Asura would be conquered.

 Chapter 1096 How?

    Ryu rose from his position, feeling refreshed. He swept a gaze toward Mae who had drifted off into a land of dreams and eventually decided on something. With a flip of his palm, he took out some beddings and pillows before laying her on the ground.


    As far as he was concerned, she was his woman now even if she wasn''t his wife, and as such he wouldn''t be so callous as to ignore her comfort. He didn''t need to love her, but so long as she didn''t betray him, anyone wanting to do harm to her would die beneath his wrath. This was simply his pride and his Dao Heart as a man seeking the pinnacle the world.


    Ryu turned toward the center of the room once again. Despite the intensity of their "two" battles, this place was practically unharmed outside of a few scratches. Considering the fact both Ryu and Mae had battle prowess bordering on a Fragmented Sky God of the Third Heaven, the fact that this room could remained untouched meant that the origin of this Sect was almost assuredly beyond the Third Heaven.


    This made sense. Although the Ruins of the Heavenly Path were usually less valuable than the Inheritances, they wouldn''t be shabby either. While Ryu didn''t have affinity with them, none of the other Ruins that he had cleared until this point could be considered to be weak. In the hands of the right person, they could display quite a bit of strength.


    Once again, Ryu found himself before the three jades. Before, he was only a bit confident, but now he was even more so. It could be said that Mae''s boost to his soul had come in timely fashion.


    There was only one major realm separating the two of them with Mae being at the Lower Divine Pedestal Realm. Even so, the benefit Ryu had gained from her was not small, although not as exaggerated as he was used to. Who asked Ryu to have bedded so many women who were so much more powerful than himself?


    Another reason he had benefitted greatly was because Mae was already in the Lower Soul Ascension Realm, a leap upward from Ryu''s current Soul Refinement Realm. If she had been conscious enough to take note of Ryu''s soul strength, she would have been shocked to realize that the two of them weren''t at the same realm of the soul like she had always assumed.


    Ryu found his position in front of the jades and exhaled a breath. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened and a strong pressure descended all at once.


    Before the situation seemed to change and the ripples spread very far, Ryu snatched out three times in succession with lightning quickness.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Every time he reached out, he did so with such quickness that the air exploded beneath his might.


    Just like that, all three jades appeared in Ryu''s palm, a sneer curling his lips. Since this Ruin wanted to play games, he could play games too. The Time Affinity was so impossibly rare that most mechanisms simply didn''t have contingencies for them. Just standing within a time distortion would probably allow Ryu to bypass 99% of all formations in existence.


    Even amongst exceptionally powerful formations, the amount of extra resources, and especially rare resources, that would be needed to deal with the manipulation of time simply wasn''t worth the cost given the risk associated.


    Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if he could count the number of time manipulators in all of existence on just a single hand. No matter how powerful this Sect or Clan, the likelihood that they would be prepared for Ru was minimal, and he was proven correct.


    Before Ryu looked at any of the jades, he did a quick check to see if there were any extra mechanisms in place. It would be a shame if he got this far just to fumble it all at the finish line, but luckily there was nothing remaining so he finally took a peek at the first jade.


    Ryu''s gaze remained placid for a long while before it flickered with a peculiar light. This Sect was indeed quite¡­ special.


    This Sect was known as the Unbalanced Art Sect. This first jade did nothing else but introduce the Sect and its core tenants, or at least that''s what it seemed like on the surface. Considering the unorthodox nature of how this Sect did things, Ryu wasn''t ready to just accept everything at face value just yet. There was a good chance that he had missed something.


    The second jade, however, was even weirder. Rather than talking about the history and the establishment of the Sect, it was nothing but a set of calligraphy pinups, but the issue with this calligraphy was that¡­ They lacked any air of refinement at all.


    Ryu wasn''t sure about his standard in comparison to the True Martial World, but back in Sacrum, he was most definitely a calligraphy master. Even if things weren''t so exaggerated here, he should still be able to tell the difference between good calligraphy and bad calligraphy, and this¡­ this was horrible calligraphy.


    Not only did it lack any air of refinement, but even the letterings were amateurish. Although they couldn''t be said to be ugly, they weren''t nice either. Even a mortal could do better, let along an immortal with perfect control over their bodies.


    The final jade was the only one that seemed to have something useful. It was filled with formations, but these formations seemed to be completely unorthodox, but likewise extremely powerful. In addition, they seemed to be able to achieve things that other formations could not. As someone who could also be considered a Formation Master, Ryu was greatly intrigued as well. However, there was still nothing groundbreaking.


    Still, the situation was too odd.


    Could it be that the first two jades were entirely useless? That would make sense if the person crafting this place wanted to rely on Karma as the final test, but even so, why not keep the jades blank, then? Did someone so powerful really have such a poor sense of humor?


    How did this history lesson, this bad calligraphy, and this catalogue of formations link together?

 Chapter 1097 Dividing Chaos

    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. There was definitely a secret here, he didn''t believe that things were so simple, however it felt like it was entirely beyond even his Dao to see through. It was likely that whatever secret was lying in wait here was too profound for his Third Immortal Grade Dao to see through.


    This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing. After all, if it was so profound, then that meant that the treasures of this Ruin were even beyond what he had assumed them to be. This wasn''t a simple Ruin, and the Heavenly Favor associated with it shouldn''t be small.


    However, what was baffling was that even after several moments, Ryu didn''t feel any influx of Heavenly Favor, leaving him frowning.


    To him, the use of this Ruin was secondary. The most important thing to him to gathering up Heavenly Favor. In fact, the only reason he was willing to waste a few hours with Mae was because he felt that the reward of this Ruin would be able to offset the time he spent.


    ''Completely unorthodox¡­''


    After the reality settled in, Ryu understood that this end result was ultimately impossible to avoid. This Ruin invested so much into a path not widely accepted by the Heavens, so how could it have a great amount of Heavenly Favor associated with it? In fact, it was somewhat odd that the Heavenly Path would even allow such a place to appear here.


    Ryu looked down at the three jades in his hands again, his brows furrowed in thought.


    Suddenly, the ground rumbled and the three pillars that once held up the jades sunk into the ground. The process was slow and deliberate.


    The moment the pillars reached ground level, they rotated, the patterns on their surface adjusting themselves until they lined up with a complex formation on the ground.


    Right then, a blinding light shot up toward the ceiling. For a moment, it felt like the ceiling vanished and all Ryu could see was the vast expanse of a starry night sky. It was like the entire room had been transported into the depths of space.


    The stars connected one after another like a series of bouncing pinballs before the lines of energy converged into one and shot fused into a single beam that streaked down through the skies.


    It was simply too fast from Ryu to react. Before he could do anything, the beam fell upon him and penetrated his forehead. Ryu''s pupils constricted and his body twitched.


    The feeling was all too familiar. The last time this happened, he had been branded for nothing other than forming a Hegemonic Dao. But now he was being branded once again?


    Ryu''s expression turned malevolent, his aura erupting.


    "PISS OFF!"


    Last time he was caught off guard, but this time, the moment he saw the beam, despite the fact he was too slow to react, he was prepared.


    Ryu''s Dao flared up, his eight trigram diagram lighting his irises ablaze with an ancient jade colored light. However, as soon as it appeared, a dark gold appeared, layering the eight trigram diagram with another formation circle that rotated in the opposite direction.


    In that moment, it looked as though Ryu had gained another layer of irises, shifting the ancient jade color of the eight trigram diagram to a bright gold and causing the pair of irises that layer atop of them to radiate a blinding dark gold.


    At that instant, despite the fact Ryu only had a Hegemonic Dao, if others familiar with Daos so powerful were present, they would feel an aura no weaker than an Ancestral Dao, a Dao the likes of which only the pinnacle existences of the Eighth and Ninth Heaven could possibly even gain an inkling into.


    Ryu roared, his body erupting with white-gold Heavenly Patterns, a pair of blinding white wings spreading out from his back.


    "I SAID, PISS OFF!"


    White flames rose like a tempest from Ryu''s body, a suffocating pressure that caused the Ruins to nearly tremble to the point of collapse exuding from him.


    BANG!


    A harsh bang followed by the sound of shattering glass resounded and the feeling of a brand vanished before it could properly form.


    The starry skies above turned crimson as they trembled. It was almost as though the skies had become sentient, realizing that they had actually failed to brand a mere Path Extinction Realm expert. However, at that moment, despite not being able to see, Ryu glared up into the skies as though he would soar up to personally rip it apart with his bare hands.


    His headband fluttered wildly, threatening to fly from his forehead. He was almost goading the skies into attacking again, his fury rising like a tempest.


    Unfortunately for the skies, the energy of the formation flickered and weakened before winking out entirely. It was entirely incapable of striking a second time.


    According to the original design of the formation, it was meant to be able to target the "three" successors from any location in the True Martial World and even beyond into wider Existence. As such, it needed to establish a connection with the starry skies of the Abyssal Plane first, and only then would it find the location of the successors and brand them.


    Upon being branded, the three successors would always be able to sense one another and they would thus target one another until the inheritance came together as one. As Ryu had thought, this was the unorthodox path that the individual who formed this Ruin wanted to go down.


    However, what the creator of this Ruin didn''t expect that all the effort would be wasted. The formation connected with the starry skies just to come all the way back and target Ryu who hadn''t even left the Ruin yet. It was like circling an entire planet to the right just to take one step to the left.


    If it had targeted Ryu directly, it would have had enough energy to attack continuously. In such a situation, no matter how indignant Ryu was, there would be very little he could do about it. But with things like this, it only had the strength to attack once.


    One might wonder why it was so important for Ryu to not be branded if he had skirted the rules to begin with and was the only successor.


    Aside from his own personal pride, Ryu felt that there was something particular sinister about that brand. It was definitely more than just about having him target the other successors.


    The moment Ryu had released all four parts of his Dao, he felt everything so much clearer. There was something more sinister at play here.


    If he was correct, this brand didn''t only allow the successors to be found by one another, but also by an unknown third party. He didn''t know who this party was, nor where they were, but he knew that they were probably enraged by the failure of their plan.


    Ryu looked down at the jades once again as the starry skies above slowly faded away.


    He realized the mistake he had been making all this time. He was subconsciously using the Heaven half of his Dao to make deductions, but from the very beginning, this was an unorthodox Sect and couldn''t be seen through using normal means.


    After Ryu entered the Path Extinction Realm, his connection with the Chaos Plane touched an entire different level and his Dao multiplied from two parts to four.


    The first two parts were known as Dividing Karma and Dividing Tribulation.


    The second two parts, birthed from chaos, were named Dividing Sin and Dividing Dharma.


    Together, they fused to become Ryu''s Dividing Heaven. But this time, the weight behind these two words were far beyond what they had been in the past.


    Dividing Sin was the mirror of Dividing Karma. Dividing Karma parsed the strings of Fate wrapping around an individual, reading them and even giving access to a window to influence them. Dividing Sin was far more direct. Not only did it see through these strings of Fate and Karma, but it could more directly influence them, even forcing change on the mental state of a target.


    Dividing Dharma was the mirror of Dividing Tribulation. Whether it was Tribulation or Dharma, both were the representation of consequences for one''s actions but via different methods. One was the punishment of the Heavens and the other was the result of one''s Karma. One assumed the judgment of the Heavens, and the other broke free of the constraints of the Heavens and placed the rights solely in the hands of the actor.


    Together, Dividing Sin and Dividing Dharma could fuse and become Dividing Chaos. Once they entered this state, their ability to see through the unorthodox path of this Sect skyrocketed.


    This time, when Ryu looked toward the three jades, things that hadn''t made much sense before seemed to become all too clear.


    ''So it''s like this¡­ This Sect¡­ Truly wants to see the world burn.''

 Chapter 1098 Unbalance

    Ryu''s gaze flickered several times before he forced his heart to calm.


    In truth, he had had a hint of worry in his heart. His battle with Mae had been so incredibly difficult and a large part of the reason he was able to win in the end was because she had reservations and certain rules that she was meant to follow.


    Of course, it was also equally as important to consider that he too had reservations about things that he could and could not use as well, and in the end, he was forced to reveal his Fire Dragon Bloodline, something that could have ended very poorly had his and Mae''s relationship not taken such a ¡­ route.


    This wasn''t to say that Ryu trusted Mae with his secrets all of a sudden, however compared to another knowing his secret, he would prefer a woman he had bedded to know instead. At the very least, the connection they shared now, albeit shallow, was still more substantial than one he would share with anyone else.


    For Mae, it was in her best interest that the man she gave her first time to to be as powerful as possible. It wouldn''t suit her well at all for Ryu to suddenly be hunted down for his talent as that would mean that one of her most valuable possessions had vanished in return for nothing.


    At the very least, if she treated Ryu like her man, then it would be an investment into his future, and from Ryu''s perspective, she would only gain from such a thing.


    This aside, the main problem Ryu faced was that Mae was too powerful and she wasn''t the only one of her kind that was here. There may very well be individuals more talented than her who had descended.


    Ryu had already decided before this that if it came to it, and he had to decide between revealing all of his talent or failing to accumulate enough Heavenly Favor, he would more definitely not choose the latter. This was his best chance at having a perfect breakthrough into the Dao Pedestal Realm, he couldn''t just give it up, even if it meant exposing himself.


    He had to have been willing to make that sacrifice. With the strength that Mae had displayed, if he wasn''t willing, the only thing waiting for him was failure, and if he still attempted while holding back, there would only be death.


    But this information here¡­ This could potentially be a game changer and it was a shortcut to a lot of the things that Ryu wanted to accomplish but hadn''t been able to properly think through.


    In the several years he had spent playing Domain, there were many things that became clearer to Ryu, he only needed an impetus of inspiration to break through the final barrier and he would be able to have another enormous leap forward in his strength.


    Ever since Ryu had first met Mae and the other geniuses of the Second Heaven in that powerhouse''s former abode, he had been thinking about formations. This wasn''t only because the method of use the powerhouse displayed fascinated him, but it was also because of his soul.


    Back then, Ryu hadn''t decided to press forward with his Chaos Grade Soul Cultivation Technique, and as such was still looking for a path to make use of his [Refinement Sutra]. As he had previously decided, he wanted to use alchemy for his Qi Realm, blacksmithing for his Body Realm, and formation mastery for his soul.


    The method of infusing one''s Dao into one''s Formation Nodes had greatly intrigued Ryu, especially since he had the Zu Ancestor''s Visualization which would allow him to very quickly deploy large and complex formations to aid and strengthen his overall combat prowess.


    Unfortunately, the difficulty was too high and he couldn''t do it in a short time. At the same time, he had so many other things on his plate that focusing on this distant goal was simply unfeasible¡­ until now.


    The history jade was encoded, containing a special mantra. This mantra held the secrets to the power behind the calligraphy jade.


    The calligraphy jade was akin to a lamp post. The lamp post would be the guiding light that allowed the formation jade to display its true strength.


    Of these three jades, it was the formation jade that had the greatest stand alone power, at least on the surface. This was mostly because the formation jade had the most obvious benefits to be gained. However, if Ryu''s deductions were correct, the most valuable of the jades was actually seemingly the most useless one of them all¡­


    The mantra hidden within the history of the Unbalanced Art Sect was the most shocking of all the items here precisely because it was the secret to peering into the secrets of Unbalance.


    Symmetry was intuitive, many of the ways the Heavens naturally created and allowed things to function fit in line with a certain way living beings lived and interacted with the world. In order to follow the methods of the Unbalanced Art Sect, many of these things had to be unlearned, and the window into doing so was the [Unbalance Mantra].


    According to what Ryu could tell from a cursory glance, the [Unbalance Mantra] placed the soul in a state of Unbalance. If there was an equivalent state one could compare it to, it would be akin to placing one''s body into a state of anti-gravity and losing all sense of equilibrium.


    For many people who experienced such a thing, they would likewise experience feelings of dizziness, nausea, and most wouldn''t even be able to last a few seconds before throwing up.


    For those who practiced the [Unbalance Mantra], the potential side effects were even worse than that. It could lead to cultivation deviation of the soul, something that was far worse than even cultivation deviation of the qi or body. While the latter two would cripple you at best and kill you at worst, the fate one would suffer under soul deviation was far worse from some perspectives.


    Not only could you still be crippled and die, but maybe the worst fate was to have your personality twist and warp unbeknownst to yourself. You could very well think yourself to be acting normal, only for thos around you to perceive you as a completely different person entirely.


    It was said that of a thousand cultivators capable of piecing together the secrets of the [Unbalance Mantra], 900 would die, 90 would be crippled, 9 would never be themselves again, forever losing their true personalities in a whirlpool of confusion, while only one would ever be capable of grasping it fully.


    It was only by placing your soul in this state of unbalance, however, that you would be able to break free of the shackles of convention and see the world in a different light. It would feel quite literally like stepping outside the bounds of reality.. of thought¡­ of even physics itself.


    Just grasping the Mantra alone would make one''s battle style unpredictable, unreadable, untouchable. If the descriptions were correct, it might even allow a mortal to defeat a lower level cultivator if only they somehow grasped this Mantra.


    Even so, this would just be the tip of the iceberg. The true prowess of the [Unbalance Mantra] would be hidden until it was paired with the [Art Mantra] of the calligraphy jade and forge the complete [Unbalance Art Mantra] which would allow the true power of the formation jade to shine through.


    What would shock the elders of the Unbalance Art Sect if they were still alive, though, was that Ryu only stood in silence for all of five minutes, allowing his Dividing Chaos Dao to sink deeply into these jades and slowly construct and fuse them into one.


    After a moment, everything suddenly clicked.


    Ryu reached out a hand, forming a blade and slicing downward. A formless ripple formed and a tear in the void suddenly manifested. Without hesitation, he stepped into it and vanished.


    However, even though he was invisible to the naked eye, to Ryu, he was still standing in the very same spot, in the very same room.


    Ryu''s heart trembled.


    Void tearing. This was an exceptionally high level of spatial affinity attainment impossible even for him. Usually, only Sky Gods could do such a thing, and even then they needed to have exceptional spatial affinity as well.


    From Ryu''s understanding, only Transcended Sky Gods should be able to warp reality to the extent that they could accomplish this. Even for someone with spatial affinity as broken as Ryu''s, he too would have to become a Fragmented Sky God before he could accomplish this, while, of course, raising his soul to the same level.


    The fact that he could accomplish this now only had a single line of reasoning¡­


    The [Unbalance Mantra].


    The [Unbalance Mantra] didn''t come with power of its own. Rather, its strength came from its supplementary strength. Essentially, in the simplest terms possible, when you fused your talents with the [Unbalance Mantra], it allowed you to break the rules and restrictions of said talent and accomplish things that should have been impossible¡­


    Ryu had already guessed that this was the case, but seeing it here personally, he felt that it was all surreal. This wasn''t just a small measure of power boost, if used correctly, his current battle prowess would take an enormous leap forward, this would truly allow him to leap cultivation levels to challenge.


    Although Ryu could do so at the lwoer Heavens, he never really considered this to be jumping levels. After all, his own talent was so much better than theirs. The true state of leaping cultivation levels to challenge would be if he could do so facing enemies like Mae.


    If in exchange for losing out on Heavenly Favor he gained this¡­ it was all too worthwhile.

 Chapter 1099 Changes

    Ryu stepped out of the void, his gaze flickering with several unshared thoughts. The feeling he was getting was odd, too odd.


    From what he could tell, the [Unbalance Mantra] didn''t actually make his spatial qi any stronger. It didn''t grow more powerful, nor was it suddenly able to output more offensive or defensive power. Rather, it was like its structure and fundamental nature had shifted somewhat, changing what it could accomplish.


    If Ryu had to explain it, it was almost like changing water from a liquid to a solid state.


    If you wanted to rip through a piece of paper with water, what would you have to do? Well, the obvious answer would be the pressurize the water until it became no different from a speeding drill. At the highest velocities, water could be just as dangerous as just about any other substance.


    Another approach was time. Even if you dripped water slowly onto a solid piece of steel, given enough time, it would make its way all the way through, let alone a piece of paper.


    Both of these were analogous to cultivation. Time and strength were what were needed in order to accomplish lofty goals. If Ryu had wanted to learn to step into the void, even with his current Soul Nature, it would take him the time and effort he would need to reach the Fragmented Sky God Realm before he could accomplish it and for others, it would take even up until the Trascended Sky God Realm.


    But what if he froze the water into ice first? Would it still be difficult to rip through the paper?


    The answer was obviously no, but it also wasn''t so simple as well. Given enough time or strength, water could cut through steel. But what about ice? Could it do so?


    Technically, the answer was yes. So long as the velocity was great enough, it could accomplish it. But the main issue faced here was the very same issue water faced. Suddenly, when given a large enough hill to climb, even the mutated water, or in this case, Ryu''s mutated spatial qi, wouldn''t be able to reach the peak.


    This was how Ryu saw the changes to his spatial qi. It hadn''t become more powerful, it had just changed its state. At the same time, while water was better at some things in comparison to ice, so too was his Unbalance Spatial Qi inferior to his True Spatial Qi in some aspects.


    For example, Ryu could tell immediately that while he could cross far greater distances with his Unbalance Spatial Qi and even hide in the void with it to somewhat avoid the attacks of those incapable of doing the same, it was also harder to control and maneuver.


    In addition, this didn''t mention the stamina drain.


    Of course, this stamina drain was applied to his soul, and as such, Ryu hardly worried about it. With the vastness of his Spiritual Sea, he didn''t believe there were any geniuses beneath the Seventh Heaven who could match him in this regard, and even at that height, they would likely be rare.


    Even so, it was still something to consider. For a normal individual without a Perfect Blackbody Soul brought to its absolute limits, they would probably only be able to use the [Unbalance Mantra] for a few seconds at a time at Ryu''s cultivation realm.


    Ryu, however, felt that it wouldn''t be an issue to fight a battle of normal length while constantly having it activated, not to mention the fact that keeping it constantly activated was completely unnecessary.


    With this thought, Ryu began to test the effect of the [Unbalance Mantra] on each one of his talents. He wanted to see just what they could accomplish when applied. If he didn''t know about his own combat strength, how could he be expected to maximize it? Since he was already lagging a bit behind in his collection of Heavenly Favor, he might as well lag behind a bit more so that he could fully catch up with these new gains.


    The first thing Ryu noticed was that the [Unbalance Mantra] was ineffective on his Daos. But he wasn''t too disappointed by this. If it was effective on his Daos, then in all likelihood, the odds that he could use his Dao to deduce its secrets would be minimal.


    The second thing Ryu noticed was the change to his Rage Flame.


    His Rage Flame relied on his fury to bolster its strength. The angrier he was, the more powerful the flame became. However, when the [Unbalance Mantra] was applied to it, the shackles of this seemed to be lifted. Rather than relying on his fury, it became completely reliant on the shackles, or lack thereof, on his Bloodlines. Essentially, he could unlock the full potential of his Rage Flame instantly so long as [Unbalance Mantra] was applied to it.


    This realization made Ryu curious as he immediately tried it, only to have his heart skip a beat as he quickly extinguished it.


    In just a brief instance, his clothes had burnt to ash and his ground beneath his feet had turned a bright red. This was the very same ground that hadn''t suffered more than a scratch even during his and Mae''s battle!


    Ryu''s heart palpitated.


    The only time he had reached the fullest extent of his Rage Flames was during his final battle of Sacrum, he couldn''t remember ever being so furious in his life. But back then, his talents were still shackled to the limits of Sacrum.


    But now, Ryu had unsealed his potential to the standards of the True Martial World, and since he had been here, he had been forced to restrain his true talent and never really tested it out.


    Now that he thought about it, though, the moment he brought out his Rage Flames against Mae, he had gone from barely being able to cause her flesh wounds to nearly incinerating her, and that was despite the fact she had a high fire affinity herself!

 Chapter 1100 Singularity

    Seeing the kind of strength his Rage Flame could produce, Ryu was quite excited to see what his other talents and qis could do, but he was very quickly disappointed. This was when he learned that the [Unbalance Mantra] had great effects on certain types of energies and techniques, but not necessarily them all. Or at the very least, the current level that Ryu could use them to limited things.


    Other than making his other talents somewhat more unpredictable, Ryu didn''t notice any changes, until he tested the violet lightning flame.


    Ryu''s violet lightning flame was a fusion of his Tribulation Lightning and his Rage Flames. After his comprehensions had reached a certain level, he gained the ability to separate them at will, something that was good because his violet lightning flame was far too power to be casually. It was by far Ryu''s most potent attack, and after seeing the changes to his Rage Flame, its current strength was beyond his imagination.


    Interesting enough, though, what shocked Ryu was necessarily his violet lightning flame itself, but rather the fusion process. While Ryu was casually fusing them, he felt that the [Unbalance Mantra] was trying to make its impact felt, and that was when Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    Ryu didn''t need the [Unbalance Mantra] to help him to fuse his Rage Flames and Tribulation Lightning, so why was it acting? Unless¡­?


    Ryu''s mind jumped to a thought and his immediately dispersed his violet lightning flame. In one hand, he formed a dancing black-red flame, his Rage Flames, and in the other, he balance a small orb of blue-gold water, his Flowing Frost Yin Water.


    As of now, he had weakened them both to an extreme. However, even so, the power they exuded was mighty. One wanted to freeze the world entirely and the other want to raze it to the ground. One wanted to flood the world with life and the other wanted to destroy ever fiber of it.


    They were two completely opposing and almost disastrously different energies. And yet¡­ Ryu slowly brought them together.


    Ryu watched as the orb of blue-gold and the flickering flame of black-red fused together into one. However, rather than exploding like he thought might happen, they seamlessly melded into one another, dancing with a rainbow of colors that made one''s heart palpitate.


    Ryu''s just steeled and he tossed the orbs dancing with a dark gold violet light. However, he was entirely unprepared for what happened next.


    BOOM!


    The explosion was deafening. After the first impact, all Ryu could hear was a hollow ring in his ear.


    Space warped and twisted, a wide explosion forming before it suddenly shrunk down into a singularity, swallowing up everything before vanishing.


    When everything cleared, Ryu''s pupils could only shrink into pinholes.


    Right there, in the location he had tossed the fusion, there was a semi-spherical hole with a surface as smooth as mirrors. It was only two meters across while being only about a meter deep, and didn''t seem to effect anything else around it, but the fluctuations of wild space within it were enough to make even Ryu''s heart palpitate despite his Soul Nature.


    This region that he and Mae weren''t able to leave a scratch on during their battle was actually blown to bits. If not for the sudden warp in space and the singularity that formed, the destruction would have been thousands of times worse without a doubt, even Ryu himself would have been implicated.


    Of course, Ryu had contained the explosion in layers of space which was likely why the singularity formed to begin with, and this was also why the explosion didn''t disturb Mae, but the result¡­ That was just his Yin Water and Rage Flame at their lowest setting! What if he went all out?!


    The [Unbalance Mantra]¡­ It could allow Ryu to break the rules, fusing two substances that would never fuse normal¡­ And once he released the Unbalance shackles on it and forced it back into the real world, the results of the separation would be devastating.


    But even so, Ryu wasn''t the most excited about this. While it was a powerful attack, yes, he would most be restricted to using normal fire and water qi in battle as he couldn''t expose his true talent unless he absolutely had to. While this fusion would likely still be powerful, Ryu highly doubted that it would be as powerful as the Yin Water of a Perfect Sky God and the Rage Flames of the Dragon Race.


    What Ryu was most excited about was fusing his qi with his spatial qi¡­ and maybe even his time qi when he was really pushed up against it.


    Until now, Ryu could only apply his spatial qi after the fact. While the effects were still good, they were limited and not nearly unpredictable enough. But what if he could fuse his spatial qi with his with his other energies? Just what kind of effect would that have?


    And¡­ What if he could apply the same void breaking prowess to his other qis as well? Just what kind of monster would he become?


    Ryu''s head danced with thoughts before he exhaled a breath, looking down at the other two jades in his hands. If the [Unbalance Mantra] alone could have such power, what if it was properly fused with the other two? Just what kind of strength would he be able to unelash?


    In reality, while the [Unbalance Mantra] seemed ridiculously powerful, the reality was that it was reliant on Ryu''s foundation. If Ryu didn''t have Rage Flames, or Yin Water, or a Spacetime Soul Nature, the [Unbalance Mantra] wouldn''t be nearly as useful to him.


    However, the foundation it laid was exceptional, and if it could have such a powerful foundation, the full extent of its prowess wasn''t to be underestimated.


    With a thought, Ryu began to look into the calligraphy jade, his mind falling into a deep well of thought as he began to deduce it using his Dividing Chaos Dao.


    After several moments, his brow furrowed, a hint of seriousness gracing them.

 Chapter 1101 Calligraphy Jade

    Even with his Dao and his grasp of the [Unbalance Mantra], Ryu found his gaze blurring when he looked toward the calligraphy jade. However, he knew that this was actually a good sign, not a bad one. That was because the first time he looked toward it, he didn''t feel this. This meant that something had shifted.


    The pressure on Ryu''s soul increased and he even felt some of his sense of self slipping.


    The frown on Ryu''s face deepened and he pulled back somewhat. Did this mean that he just couldn''t see through the secrets of the calligraphy jade, then?


    This wasn''t too shocking. In reality, even when it came to the [Unbalance Mantra], if the elders of the Unbalance Art Sect knew that he had grasped it, their shock would be difficult to put into just a few words. While these were the core techniques of the Sect, for a Sect to be this powerful, it wasn''t rare for such core techniques to not be applicable until even the Sky God Realm.


    To them, Ryu would barely be considered a junior with everyone below the Path Extinction Realm being a pup that had yet to grow. For him to be able to use their most important techniques at all would be a great shocker, so this wasn''t surprising at all.


    Even so, Ryu couldn''t help but frown. He was too curious about exactly what the secret of this calligraphy was, they didn''t look special at all. They weren''t written in some unknowable language, nor did they radiate some mysterious power¡­ Not until, that is, he gazed toward them using his [Unbalance Mantra] and his Dividing Chaos.


    The trouble with that, though, was that it didn''t make sense.


    The art of calligraphy gained its strength from what it could make others feel. Resonating with the Heavens and causing change was the core ability of it. But if he couldn''t see through it normally, that meant that normal people would be entirely unaffected by the calligraphy. In which case¡­ didn''t that defeat the purpose?


    Take a Sect banner, for example. Many powerful Sects would have their founder leave behind some words or a mark. This could come in the form of a rule steele, a sword or weapon scar, and there were some calligraphy masters that would choose to write out the name of their Sect to be shown to all those who entered.


    Even if one didn''t grasp the full intention of the calligraphy or all of its mysteries, everyone from the strongest character to the absolute weakness would be able to feel its aura, because that was the point to begin with. How could one feel awe for a Sect if their banner was lackluster? That would be more embarrassing than anything else.


    Back when Ryu first formed Dividing Karma, the very first portion of his Dao, it was through the use of calligraphy that he was able to resonate with the Heavens and punish the False Sky God of the Armament Guild. It was because his calligraphy carried a special air to it that the Heavens were able to sense it and thus exact judgment. It wasn''t his own strength that had accomplished such a thing. At the time, he didn''t stand a chance against a False Sky God of Sacrum.


    Even as a mortal Ryu could make the powerful experts around him feel awe through his calligraphy, borrowing the strength of the Heavens.


    Let alone calligraphy, this was how all four Great Arts worked. Back in Sacrum, there were even stories of mortals becoming Sky Gods in one leap after their artistry reached a certain level. Whether it was Domain, Calligraphy, Painting or Feng Shui, they all followed the exact same pattern.


    However, this calligraphy¡­


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. ''A calligraphy that only I can sense the specialness of¡­ That''s it¡­''


    In that instant, Ryu flipped his thoughts on its head. The Unbalance Art Sect was one that didn''t follow convention. Everything from the puzzles he had had to clear to make it to this place, all the way up to the jades in his hands, were far from conventional.


    In that case, what if instead of crafting calligraphy designed to elicit a reaction of the Heavens and evoke a change in the people, this calligraphy was only designed to affect change within the body of the user him or herself?


    If Ryu took this even a step further, he could consider the fairly regular nature of calligraphy. When one was writing personal notes for themselves, or scribbling down something to remember, would they care about the aesthetics of the piece? Some might, but it would ultimately be a waste of time and core importance of the action itself would be missed.


    ''For myself¡­ for myself¡­ I understand¡­''


    Ryu''s eyes glowed as his lips separated. He held the jade in one hand and pointed out a finger in the other.


    "Strength."


    Ryu quickly etched the calligraphy into the air, a dark gold light following the path of his finger almost unbeknownst to himself.


    The moment the character formed, it solidified and the air rippled.


    Ryu struck with a palm, the character following the arc of his swing and colliding against a nearby wall.


    BANG!


    Ryu shuddered and his arm almost popped out from its socket. But even so, the room quaked and a small splinter formed beneath his palm.


    The results were far greater than Ryu had expected. He had struck with all of his might just now, but his strength was 20% greater than he had expected it to be. In fact, because of that difference between his expectation and the result, he didn''t properly brace himself and almost ended up suffering some backlash.


    A 20% increase in strength¡­ It was unbelievable. For many, that was the difference between a small realm. Raising your power output by an entire fifth, depending on your cultivation level, could take millennia for some, and for others, after reaching a certain point, such an increase was simply impossible without a life changing opportunity.


    Usually, only the Secret Skills that Ryu had learned about just a few years ago could accomplish such a thing, but even then that would require some large sacrifice on your part¡­


    However, this 20% increase in strength almost came at no cost at all outside of some Focus Qi and Spiritual Qi.


    It was astonishing.

 Chapter 1102 Unfortunate

    Ryu retracted his palm and rotated his shoulder a bit. The only real drawback was clearly the backlash. If his body wasn''t strong enough to handle the increase in strength, then he would obviously suffer for it, much like a mortal smashing a fist against a concrete wall.


    However, Ryu wasn''t too worried about this. If he was in a situation where he needed to make use of such strength, he would be beyond needing to worry about such minor injuries. In addition, he had many methods of reinforcing his body that he hadn''t used just now, and even if he didn''t, with his current healing factor, dealing with such a minor ache didn''t even take a single second.


    This ''Art'', as it was called, wasn''t even the only one he had in his arsenal either. There were Arts designed to increase technique strength for example, and such Arts would only place pressure on his Meridians. But since when did Ryu care about pressure to his Meridians? In fact, he often worried that there wasn''t enough.


    If Ryu used the [Art Mantra] on his Qi Realm techniques, or even his Mental Realm techniques, his battle strength would soar. Although he was limited to just 20% now with his current understanding and soul strength, such a boost was ridiculous, especially if he applied it to the right things.


    And the best part was that the ask on his soul stamina felt even less than when he was using the [Unbalance Mantra]. If Ryu was already satisfied with the [Unbalance Mantra] being the reward for this trip, receiving the [Art Mantra] right afterward was more than just a cherry on top, it felt to him that his luck was truly great this time around.


    The opportunities of the Convergence were excellent and he had only just appeared.


    Ryu turned his gaze toward the formation jade. The jade was filled with formations capable of being applied in battle to bolster one''s strength. It seemed that, ultimately, the people of this Sect were formation masters first and foremost, so this was definitely by far their strongest techniques.


    Even if the [Unbalance Mantra] and the [Art Mantra] weren''t applied, from what Ryu could see, just applying the formations as is would give one a great boost to their strength.


    There were nine formations within the jade, however, each of the nine had variations that started from the Heaven Grade and increased to a grade that Ryu simply couldn''t see through at all. There were three formations for offense, three formations for defense, and three enigmatic formations that were difficult to see through.


    However, if Ryu was correct, if the [Unbalance Mantra] was applied, the lowest grade would display the strength of an Mystical Grade formation, and if the [Art Mantra] was applied on top of this, it would display the strength of an Ancestral Grade formation.


    If he managed to fuse the two into one and apply the [Unbalance Art Mantra] to the formations, the weakest Heaven Grade formation would display a strength equivalent to a Fragmented Sky God!


    Of course, these were just based on the standard of the Third Heaven. Ultimately, it would still be a Heaven Grade formation and thus designed to be used by Immortal Ring and Path Extinction Realm experts.


    Still, this was a shocking realization, but it was also because of this that Ryu looked at the jade without any hurry to continue onward. He wasn''t quite sure of how to proceed even after several moments of thought because there were no clues on how to fuse the two Mantras together.


    Ryu had a feeling that the secret to proper fusion would have been hidden in the slave mark the person who set up this Ruin had tried to brand on him, and if that was true¡­


    He would have to figure it out on his own, and he wasn''t exactly sure how difficult that would be. In the worst case, it would probably require deducing a portion of the cultivation technique he didn''t have any access to. That would be just shy of rebuilding this technique from the ground up in difficulty.


    The trouble was that these techniques were so profound that it was far beyond Ryu''s Dao to even begin to analyze them to such depth, and without full and complete comprehension of both halves, it would be foolish to even think of fusing them.


    It was unfortunate, but it seemed that he wouldn''t be able to bring out the full power of this technique, but he didn''t regret his decision at all. If he had to choose between being branded like a slave again and dealing with an incomplete technique, he would choose the latter a hundred out of a hundred times.


    ''Not only will I fuse this technique one day, I''ll make it even better than what it originally was.''


    After this thought, Ryu flipped his palm and put the three jades away, looking over to find that Mae had woken up with a somewhat dazed look.


    At first, she had woken up with a genuine smile she couldn''t seem to wipe from her face, but then she remembered what happened. She blinked a few times, shook her head, and then seemed to notice that Ryu was looking at her.


    After a moment of silence, Mae looked down to find that her breasts were exposed to the air, but she didn''t immediately hide them. For one, that would just make her lose more face, and secondly, there wasn''t much of a point anymore, was there?


    She looked around at the plush pillows and covers around her before she scoffed. While that brute was fucking her he didn''t think about this sort of comfort at all and they did it directly on the cold, hard, marbled floors. It seemed that he finally remembered that she was a lady.


    Mae''s gaze shifted toward the three podiums and frowned somewhat when she saw that the three jades were gone. From what she remembered, it was impossible to take all three at once, could someone else have been here?


    Mae shook her head and stood to her feet, her nude body glistening with a rosy light. It was clear at a glance that she looked even healthier than before.


    Ryu hadn''t noticed it before, but her body was dotted with crimson-black scales here and there, it gave her a somewhat exotic look and made her exposed skin all the more alluring. Of course, that was if her wings and tail weren''t already enough to accomplish that.


    "You took my Primordial Yin?"


    Mae opened her soft cherry lips to speak and these were the first words she uttered.

 Chapter 1103 Soul Nature

    Ryu looked toward Mae. She already knew the answer to the question before she asked it. Usually, he would probably make her know as such, but he didn''t mind giving her a bit of leeway given the circumstances. He didn''t have much patience for people usually, but when it came to people he considered his own, he could give them more rope. When it came to people he loved, he would give them as much rope as they wanted.


    While Mae didn''t fall into that latter category, at the very least, he wouldn''t lose his cool over such a simple question. Instead, he simply nodded faintly.


    Mae sighed and shook her head. With a flip of her palm, a new set of clothing appeared as her tail and wings slowly retreated into her body.


    As things went, this wasn''t the worst case scenario. In all honesty, it was probably worse for Ryu than it was for her. But that wasn''t something Ryu knew yet, or maybe he wouldn''t be so casual about it all.


    "I don''t think you know what that means," Mae said lightly.


    "Does it matter?" Ryu replied, his tone casual. He was smart enough to know that Mae was seemingly implying something, but he didn''t know the meaning of the word regret. Since he had acted as he pleased, he would of course deal with what came with it. This was what it meant to be a true powerhouse.


    Mae''s gaze flashed, a slight heat circulating through her. She liked that overbearing look in Ryu''s eyes almost a bit too much. He really didn''t care at all what came with it.


    "You''re willing to take responsibility?" Mae asked, a hint of confusion and maybe even a bit of speculation in her tone.


    Now that she had revealed her lineage as a Dream Asura, Ryu, even if he wasn''t aware of exactly what it meant to take her Primordial Yin, he should understand that there were certain cultural issues what would come from this.


    Although Ryu had that mysterious bloodline, it was clear that he was human. As a human, he should know of the strained dynamics between the human race and the Asura race.


    The Fifth Heaven was the first Heaven where non-human races and non-beast races began to truly make their presences felt. As one of the first Heavens where this occurred, it was a somewhat new dynamic that made relations very difficult. This strain was only made worse by the True Heavenly Path, the path separating the Sixth Heaven and the Seventh.


    The true pinnacle of the Martial World were the top three Heavens. The competition for entry was stiff and every vied for position. It could be said that the Fifth and Sixth Heaven were perpetual warzones. Comparatively speaking, the Fourth Heaven was a bit better, though still very strained in its relations as well.


    In a situation like this, like races tended to band together, painting other races as the scum of the earth. Although inter-relations between the races wasn''t unheard of, those relationships tended to be very casual, even to the point that the races had come up with methods to protect their Primordial Yins.


    The women of the Dream Asura race were highly sought after and often the subject of desire for countless races of men, so it wasn''t rare for them to mingle with other races like this. But even so, something like what happened between herself and Ryu was very rare and often led down the road of tragedy.


    Things would be fine for her ultimately because the loss of her Primordial Yin wasn''t the end all be all, but there was still the matter of how the young men of her race would react to this change, how her family would react, and how the human cultivators Ryu interacted with following this would react to it. So when she asked such a thing, the weight behind the words weren''t small.


    "I always take responsibility for the things I do," Ryu replied indifferently.


    Mae stared at Ryu for a long time.


    There were many men with false fronts of confidence, many men who were willing to act on impulse in a moment without thinking, only to try to run from it after the fact. Those couldn''t be said to be men with confidence. If you acted without knowing the consequences, it couldn''t'' be considered confidence or bravery, it was ignorance and stupidity.


    However, if you acted not caring what the consequences might be, whatever they might be, then you were beyond confident and brave, you were arrogant to the point you turned your nose up at the world.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool, just judging by Mae''s tone and the context clues surrounding her actions, he understood what her worries must be. If anything, she was asking solely for his benefit because she didn''t seem to be worried about herself at all.


    Mae''s lips parted, but in the end she closed them. She could tell that nothing she said would change Ryu''s mind. It seemed that she had accidentally stumbled into finding a good partner.


    "Let''s go," Ryu said, turning to leave.


    Mae''s brows shot up. This man was really casual about such thing, huh? He already took charge as though it was only natural that she follow him, but even so, she didn''t feel much resistance to it at all.


    "You¡­ You took the three jades?"


    Mae caught up to Ryu, subconsciously wrapping her arm around his. It just felt like a natural action to take.


    "Yes," Ryu replied.


    "How?" Mae asked. She couldn''t even see through these formations and she didn''t believe any who wasn''t well into the Sky God realm could.


    "My Soul Nature isn''t a Space Soul Nature, it''s a Spacetime Soul Nature."


    Mae''s pupils constricted, her heart nearly leaping into her throat.


    "You¡­"


    She was speechless. Not to mention the fact she had never heard of such a Soul Nature, the fact he was just so casual with revealing it left her without words.

 Chapter 1104 Annoying

    Mae fell into silence for a long time. A time affinity wasn''t a small matter, in fact she wasn''t sure if something like this had ever existed before. Usually, it required hard work and many years of contemplation before one could finally grasp time affinity, and even those paragons of the past who finally managed to succeed could only rely on good look and countless billions of years of effort.


    However, Ryu was actually born with such an affinity? Just what kind of monster was he? Not only was he born with such an affinity, but he could even make use of it to trick such a powerful inheritance ground, this was simply too astounding.


    In truth, now Mae was curious. She wanted to know exactly what this Ruin had to offer, but she also didn''t have the cheek to ask Ryu for it. Technically, she had lost their battle, and if not for some lust induced activities, she would have had to use her escape measures or reveal some things she could not. Either way, it would result in her loss.


    Plus, considering the fact that Ryu had just revealed to her the true nature of his soul, she wasn''t even sure if the latter would be an option. Then there was the need to consider his odd bloodline and his Fire Spirit Body.


    Come to think of it¡­


    "Your Bloodline¡­" Mae somewhat mumbled. Since Ryu had volunteered such information, there was no telling what else he would tell her, so she didn''t feel that it was a problem to ask. Plus, she found it hard to believe that there would be anything more shocking that a Spacetime Soul Nature.


    But even so, she was curious about what bloodline that was. She felt quite oppressed in the fact of it, and the spike to his power when he let it rampage wasn''t'' small. He had gone from barely being able to harm her to shattering her ribs in a single strike. The leap was enormous.


    "Fire Dragon," Ryu said without much thought.


    Mae froze. However, because Ryu kept walking, she nearly stumbled forward, her arm still wrapped around his. She couldn''t wrap her head around what she had just heard.


    "You¡­ You aren''t human?"


    Mae was speechless. She was absolutely certain that he was.


    The Fire Dragon was the Emperor of the Dragon Race, a race of beings that one could only barely start finding the dregs of in the Seventh Heaven. Even the weakest of their species were only so low, let alone their rulers.


    Could it be that Ryu had masked it?


    "No, I am human," Ryu replied.


    "Only one of your parents is a dragon?"


    "Neither of my parents are dragons, I just happen to have dragon blood."


    Mae''s jaw nearly dropped and she felt like she suddenly understood everything. No wonder why this man was so unrestrained and wild. His ancestors even dared snatch the Bloodline of the Emperor of Dragons, why would he care about some pressure from her Dream Asura Race? He was already a walking target. If he ever revealed this to anyone else, or if this information was spread, he would be hunted down to the ends of the True Martial World.


    Mae burst out into a rain of cold sweat. She suddenly felt that it wasn''t Ryu who had just taken a step into a hellish scape, but rather herself. Just what had she entangled herself in?


    "How¡­ How is that even possible?"


    "I am not from the True Martial World. I come from a Middle World known as Sacrum."


    Mae suddenly understood, finally she knew what Ryu had meant when he said that he wasn''t part of her group, he really wasn''t lying. However, after she understood this, she was even more confused. How had someone from a lesser world become so powerful? He was still young, albeit older than herself, so how had he managed it?


    She was endlessly shocked by this man.


    Lost in her thoughts, Mae didn''t even notice that Ryu had already led them to the gates of the Sect and opened them.


    On the other side, there weren''t many remaining. There was only Aantha and the impatient young man of the Sentient Sword Sect, Sengun. When the two saw the gates opening, their gazes flashed with astonishment, less due to the fact that the gates were finally open, and more due to the fact the cold-faced Mae was hanging on the arm of a man.


    Aantha was probably the most surprised of the two as she knew things that others didn''t, but she suddenly "understood" after a moment and giggled, rushing up to Ryu and circling him.


    "Hehe, big sis, you caught a big one. How did you manage to get him on a leash? He''s so handsome, you''ll let me have a bite too, right? Don''t be stingy."


    Mae seemed to understand what Aantha was implying and couldn''t help but helplessly shake her head. This "little girl" was truly too mischievous. She did and acted as she pleased without much care for her surroundings usually, and she was even more brazen now as she skipped around like a proud little peacock as though Mae''s accomplishments were her own.


    Sengun was instantly unhappy when he saw Mae do this, but he quickly turned his anger to disdain. However, before he could say anything, Ryu spoke.


    "Let''s go, I''ve wasted enough time, I have to accumulate as much Heavenly Favor as possible before the next phase."


    Aantha was caught off guard. If Ryu was really in Mae''s clutches, he wouldn''t be directing them like this. She couldn''t help but look toward Mae again, her eyes widening. So it was her conquering him, but the vice versa¡­?


    Sengun''s sneer also froze before it then became anger once more. He had come all the way here to not only have his women snatched, but even the likely rewards of this Ruin as well. His patience had run its course.


    "Your spatial ring, hand it over. I want to see what''s¡ª."


    BANG!


    Sengun''s head exploded, frying to ash as a blue steel needle zipped back toward Ryu.


    "Annoying."

 Chapter 1105 How Many Mistresses?

    Aantha''s expression flickered. A single strike? Could it be that¡­?


    Aantha looked toward Ryu and then back toward Mae, then back again. She seemed to have realized something. If Mae wasn''t controlling Ryu, then probably the only explanation from what had happened was that she had been subdued by Ryu instead, and the only way for that to happen would be for Ryu to have battle prowess similar to or even surpassing Mae. In such a situation, the only explanation for the would be for Ryu''s background to be similar to Mae''s.


    Back when she had first met Ryu, she had had her suspicions. After all, someone who could battle World Sea Realm experts at the Immortal Ring Realm had to have their own secrets.


    The reason Aantha had dismissed this, though, was because of the fact Ryu had revealed the fact he was in the Immortal Ring Realm. According to the pact these geniuses had to follow, they had to blend in with the society as best they could, this was why Mae had pretended to be at the World Sea Realm as well. Ryu would clearly breaking one of the most obvious rules by doing this, and she didn''t think anyone would be so bold.


    But now¡­ she wasn''t so sure. Could someone form the lower Heavens really be so talented that he could even defeat Mae? That just felt¡­ impossible.


    "Hm?"


    Aantha froze and suddenly shot forward. In an instant, her nose hovered along Mae''s collarbone and her neck, taking deep sniffs.


    Although the scene in context was somewhat weird, from a distance, it was truly a tempting one. It looked almost as though Aantha was kissing along Mae''s neck, collarbone and shoulders, and even Mae had turned entirely read.


    "You¡­" Aantha was speechless.


    Submitting to a man was one thing, losing your virginity was another, but to even give up your Primordial Yin after just a single day? Just what kind of magic mushrooms did this man feed her?


    Mae, who seemingly realized what Aantha had seen through, turned red and refused to meet her gaze. As for Ryu, he had already made his intentions of leaving clear enough, so after Sengun''s death, he had already begun to move, taking Mae along and forcing Aantha to run around them like a cute puppy with her nose in the air and a skeptical look on her face.


    "With a human?" Aantha finally said.


    Mae coughed, subconsciously tightening her grip on Ryu''s arm.


    With Aantha questioning her like this, how could she not feel somewhat uncomfortable. It wasn''t as though she had planned things to go this way. She hadn''t even really put much thought into what she wanted in a Dao Companion. She wasn''t even 20 years old yet, even in mortal terms that was outrageously young, let along in cultivation terms.


    It had been a few years since Ryu last saw Aantha and Mae, but back then, the two both had cloaking techniques to hide their true age. If not for this, they would have looked like two little girls just entering their teen years. It was only after Ryu spent a few years playing Domain that they truly became women, but even then, Mae was only 19 years old while Aantha was just barely lagging behind at 18 years old.


    This was part of the reason Aantha found all of this so amusing.


    "Hoho," Aantha laughed. It wasn''t in her demeanor to be too serious for too long. Although this was truly a matter of life and death when it was broken down to its barest bones, she still couldn''t help but make light of the matter. "Aren''t you a little too bold? You went and ate up this little princess, and here I thought you were a prude. You didn''t even let me hold your arm before, but look at how obedient you are now."


    Aantha chuckled as though she was both relishing in Ryu''s misfortune and anticipating the entertainment that was coming.


    "I get it, though. Our little princess is too tempting, tsk tsk. My mother always said that women prefer standoffish women, but I never liked being that way. To think that it would really work.


    "And you," Aantha turned her attention toward Mae, "I get that he''s a little handsome¡­ Okay, he''s a lotta handsome, I concede defeat, but you couldn''t last one day without spreading your legs? When did my big sis become such a little slut?"


    Aantha giggled and laughed all the way, seemingly not needing anyone to help supplement her banter. She was having the time of her life, this day was like a gift from the skies.


    "Tell me, tell me, how''d it happen? What''d I miss? Don''t tell me you already fell in love with him back then? I have to admit that he was quite valiant, but that Brune was too weak of an opponent. The love of our little princess can''t be that cheap, right?"


    Aantha poked and prodded at Mae before she finally relented and explained what happened, but rather than calming her down, all of this only made Aantha laugh harder.


    "So he really did beat you in battle, I knew it. He''s a major realm beneath you too, right? To think that big sis would get spanked like this."


    Mae avoided eye contact. Of course, she had left out some of the more salacious details. If she really told Aantha exactly what happened back then, she would never hear the end of it. At the same time, though, she had a hint of worry in her eye.


    "Okay, okay, it''s time for you mister. You have to obediently answer my questions, after all, you''re the hubby of my big sis now, you can''t ignore me like before or else I''ll complain! Tell me honestly, are you two-timing our little sis? How many mistresses do you have running around? Don''t lie to me, I have my ways of finding out the truth!"


    Ryu cast an indifferent glance toward Aantha, but in the end, as he approached the barrier to exit this place, he answered.


    "I have three wives and two concubines not including Mae."


    Aantha fell into a rare moment of silence and blinked.


    At the same time, rather than jealousy, there was actually a look of worry that deepened in Mae''s gaze.

 Chapter 1106 Hunt

    Aantha pursed her lips. She didn''t seem angry with Ryu either. Rather, she just seemed to realize that it had become more difficult to make a joke of this matter.


    Mae knew from the beginning that Ryu had other women. After all, the impetus for their first time together wasn''t just the damage to their souls, but rather also Elena. Mae hadn''t known Ryu for long, but it had been long enough to know that there was simply no way he would carry around the naked images of a random woman he had no affiliation with. Such a man could easily find a woman to bed, why would he need such a thing?


    In fact, even if Ryu wasn''t so outstanding she wouldn''t believe it. That was because men who could cultivate in general didn''t have such worries. Even if they didn''t bed women of their cultivation, there were always women of lower cultivation ranks looking for thick trees to hug. It simply wasn''t an issue to find women for powerful men in this dog eat dog world.


    In addition, beyond this, the Asura Race didn''t have the same stigma against such things. Powerful human women might not want to share their husbands, and this only became more true the more powerful they were. However, powerful Asura Race women, so long as they were subdued a single time, didn''t have the mind to care about such things, they even felt that it was the natural state of things.


    The reason it was a problem though¡­


    Aantha looked form Mae to Ryu back and forth once again. Soon, she realized that Mae didn''t seem to have really told Ryu what this meant.


    "Do you realize what this means?" Aantha asked.


    "Does it matter?" Ryu said without a care, waving his hand and opening up a passage. With a step, the trio appeared in the depths of the forest once again and Ryu flipped over his palm to reveal the Matrix once more. Before this, he had already been thinking about moving to a new region as he had already found all the easy to spot Ruins, so he would just follow through on that now.


    Aantha was stunned by the indifferent answer and suddenly understood something. It wasn''t that Mae was hesitant to tell Ryu, it was more so that Ryu didn''t seem to care in the slightest and Mae didn''t know how to inform him through his indifference.


    Aantha exhaled a breath.


    "In our Dream Asura Race, despite our relative promiscuity, it is still rare for the men of our race to have more than one wife, do you know why?"


    Ryu didn''t answer, completely focused on the Matrix. He didn''t know why, but as he had already said, he simply didn''t care.


    "There are two reasons. The first is related to our women themselves, and the second is related to our culture.


    "The first is because of the uniqueness of our Primordial Yin. We descend from the Dream Wraiths and our status amongst Asuras is somewhat unique. Due to this, it''s difficult for our Primordial Yins to coexist with that of other women''s. You might not feel it now because you''re at the very least at a decent standard of talent, but as time goes one, and especially as Mae grows more powerful, it will become more difficult to manage.


    "Our Primordial Yins are stronger in Yin than almost any other Primordial Yin in existence, and that''s especially so for Mae who has a Spirit Soul Nature on top of that.


    "As Mae grows stronger, the first thing that will happen is that her Primordial Yin may swallow that of your other wives and concubines. The time it takes to do so will depend on how talented your wives are relatively speaking, but the truth is that even if they are far more talented than our little princess, the odds of them surviving is nill because eof the nature of the Dream Asura''s Primordial Yin.


    "If this happens, there will be a trigger and the Primordial Yin will grow many times stronger, wanting to devour more and even beginning to target your Primordial Yang and even further, your soul.


    "If you are swallowed up directly, you''ll die, of course. But worse than that, you''ll be assimilated and become part of Mae''s strength, all of your talent and power becoming hers as well.


    "Due to this, it''s in your best interest that you do everything you can to stop the first step from taking place, so usually even if our men choose a Dream Asura as a wife, he will only assimilate her Primordial Yin and ONLY hers. But even then, the danger isn''t entirely gone.


    "Our people know of these dangers, which is why there are certain strict rules. Men always like to overestimate themselves and always believe they''re the exception to the rule, so because of this, we had to implement cultural changes as well.


    "Upon taking a Dream Asura as a wife or concubine, one must past a test of our Asura Race. Even if you have just a single wife, the pass rate is just 10%. The difficult increases by an entire order of magnitude for every Primordial Yin you have within you. If what you say is correct and Mae truly is your sixth Primordial Yin assimilated, that would mean that you would have to pass a test with only a 0.001% chance of survival.


    "This test must be taken within ten years, failure to do so will result in you being hunted down by a Sky God expert of equivalent power to the status of the Primordial Yin you''ve taken. And, considering the fact that big sis is part of the main lineage and is a princess of the main lineage placed in high regard, you will have to face off again a Transcended Sky God at the best and potentially even an Omniscient Sky God¡­"


    Aantha fell into silence and Mae''s grip subconsciously tightened again.


    However, when Ryu spoke, they were stunned into an even deeper silence.


    "Okay," he replied indifferently.

 Chapter 1107 Descent

    Aantha didn''t know what to say at that point. Even if Ryu didn''t take the survival rate of the test seriously because he looked down on their Asura Race, there was no one who didn''t understand the kind of power Transcended Sky Gods held, let alone Omniscient Sky Gods.


    These were existence that formed Dynastic Daos at the worst and had also brought them to maturity. The gap between someone with an immature Dao and a mature one was unfathomable. Even for Ryu who could be considered to have four separate Hegemonic Daos, he would lose out thoroughly to a mature Common Grade Dao wielded by a Fragmented Sky God, this was how exaggerated it was.


    There was no lack of geniuses who had powerful Daos in states of maturity, and yet had no choice but to settle for weaker variations of their path in order to succeed in forming their Godhoods. Sometimes, one might fall as much as one or two grades before succeeding!


    Although there were some cases of the reverse happening, this was all too rare and wasn''t even worth mentioning.


    Even when it came to Mae who had a Peak Dynastic Dao, she would be expected to form at least a Sovereign Dao by the time she reached the World Sea Realm, only then would she be able to live up to her true potential as a Sky God. In fact, most would hope that she would form a Dominion Dao at the very least, like this they would be able to breathe easy even if her Dao fell two grades during her Godhood formation.


    Daos were very malleable while in a state of immaturity. But after one formed a Godhood, improving the grade of a Dao was almost impossible because doing so would be akin to recultivating every Sky God Realm you had passed through.


    This was all to say that monsters who could reach the Transcended Sky God Realm were usually top class geniuses who had often formed Dominion Daos in their youth, and for Omniscient Sky Gods, this was almost guaranteed to be the path they had taken.


    To show not the slightest bit of fluctuation at their mention¡­ Just who was this man, exactly?


    "This way," Ryu said. It was clear that after he had given his acknowledgement to Aantha''s words, he didn''t really give it a second thought. His main goal was to make up for the Heavenly Favor he had lost out on, he didn''t care enough to be worried about such a thing.


    Plus, it wasn''t even guaranteed that he would be hunted down. Didn''t he just need to pass their little test within ten years? So what were they so anxious for?


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t na?ve enough to believe that it would be so easy. Setting aside the talent of the Asura Race, and the fact that any young man willing to take such a test would definitely be the cream of the crop just by virtue of the kind of test it was, he also knew that it would be difficult for him to use his true strength without exposing himself.


    With all of those worries, he might very well die taking such a test. But even that wasn''t the worst part because the Asura Race was almost guaranteed to be hostile against humans, so even if he passed their little test, that might not be the end of it.


    Bravery that came from ignorance wasn''t bravery at all, it was just stupidity. But Ryu wasn''t ignorant, he was very clear of the challenge. He just didn''t care.


    The things he, Ryu Tatsuya, dared to do, he would never regret.


    Like this, Ryu led Mae and Aantha out of the region and they stayed by his side as he began to clear Ruins one after another without a hint of rest.


    The two Dream Asura women couldn''t help but look toward one another incredulously. In all honesty, the two had been pretty casual during their time here. Mae had only showed a hint of curiosity toward the Unbalance Art Sect Ruin so she displayed some of her skills, but outside of that, they were cruising, and that was the same for all other geniuses of their caliber.


    Ryu, though, was rushing around like a flame was chasing after him. He didn''t take any time to rest. In fact, it wasn''t just the Ruins, but in a month''s span, he also claimed two more cities. By this point, it was hard to look him right in the eyes because the golden rings within his irises were blinding.


    "Why are you trying so hard?" Aantha couldn''t help but ask. "If you really need Heavenly Favor, wouldn''t it be better just to wait for the third phase?"


    Instead of answering the question directly, Ryu turned it back on them.


    "What purpose did you two come here for?"


    Aantha blinked. During their time together, Ryu never really communicated with them. Despite her personality, she couldn''t help but be slightly indignant for her big sister. She wouldn''t like to be tied to this big block of ice for her whole life, so she definitely didn''t want it for her big sis.


    But now he was suddenly asking her questions?


    The worst part was that her big sis seemed to have some rosy colored glasses on. Aantha realized that her usually cold-faced sister was smiling a lot more recently, and she constantly seemed to be leaning on Ryu even though the latter didn''t seem to react.


    This left Aantha speechless. She never expected to see her sister so googly eyed. Was the sex really so good that it overrode everything else?


    What Aantha didn''t see was the little things, things that only Mae was privy to.


    Ryu didn''t talk much to her, nor did he seem to display much emotion, but he would always do small things that only Mae would notice.


    When the wind was too strong, she would suddenly notice that it vanished. When the sun was too glaring, she would suddenly find a shadow over her. In fact, even though they had been running around non-stop for the last over-month, she had never felt any fatigue, and that was when she noticed that just touching Ryu filled her with an overflowing vitality. It was subtle, but he was constantly streaming Life Qi into her.


    All these little things made Mae subconsciously lean on Ryu more and more. She couldn''t help but remember waking up on that bed of pillows. Even if their entanglement wasn''t as close as husband and wife, Ryu was truly serious about taking responsibility for her. At the very least, when he was by her side, he ensured that she didn''t suffer any grievances whatsoever. In fact, she was endlessly comfortable.


    This was a huge contrast to what Aantha was experiencing.


    When they crossed into ice regions, Aantha had to block the wind on her own. When they entered those desert regions, she had to block the sun on her own. When she felt tired, she had to circulate her own qi.


    It was no wonder she was pouting all the time. She thought her sister was experiencing the same things when this was far from the case.


    "We are mostly here for the second phase," Mae replied softly. "We were told by our elders not to try and force things too much, what we deserve through Karma will come to us. Of course that doesn''t mean we won''t fight for the things we want."


    "I see," Ryu nodded.


    With the Convergence descending and Karma quickly accumulating, it would indeed be the case that lucky opportunities would be easier to come by. But, Ryu didn''t believe in sitting on his heels and waiting for things to come to him.


    Ryu suddenly came to a stop, looking straight up.


    "What about you?" Mae asked.


    "¡­ I need to gather up as much Heavenly Favor as possible to break a curse someone placed on me."


    Mae''s gaze flashed with one hint surprise and another hint fury. She had long since truly started taking Ryu to be her man, hearing such a thing enraged her. It was no wonder Ryu was trying so hard.


    "Let''s rest here," Ryu suddenly said.


    With a clawing motion, Ryu reached out toward a certain direction and a large bear beast suddenly appeared from thin air, looking around in confusion. Before it could lock onto Ryu and the two women and roar, Ryu had already severed its head from its body, causing its enormous ten meter long body to collapse.


    Ryu tapped at the air several times and its fur seemed to magically separate from its body.


    Arcs of sword qi filled the air and the bear beast was cleaned and separated into multiple pieces in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu tapped his foot on the ground and a surge of Life Qi caused the roots of several trees in the surroundings to twist to life, forming a pit and spit he skewered the meat onto.


    With a snap of his fingers, a flame flickered into existence.


    Aantha blinked somewhat speechlessly. Could things be done like this as well? He didn''t even need to use his hands.


    Mae suddenly flipped her palms and several spices appeared. With a flick of her wrist, it was evenly distributed upon the beast meat.


    Aantha looked back and forth between the two, suddenly feeling for the first time that maybe they weren''t as bad of a couple as she had assumed before.


    Inwardly, Aantha chuckled. She wanted to see how Ryu would react when her big sis got comfortable enough that her true personalitiy began to poke through.


    ¡­


    In the far off distance, the skies began to rumble.


    The second phase was descending.

 Chapter 1108 Dao Lord

    Ryu took deep breaths, his aura reserved. He hadn''t had any rest in the last several months, even for him, this was greatly taxing. So, he took this opportunity to allow his body to return to its peak condition. With his recovery abilities, he only needed a single day.


    He could sense that things were shifting in the Heavenly Path and that the second phase was about to begin, and he was well aware that although the second phase wouldn''t be as bloody as the third, it would definitely be where heads truly began to butt.


    In addition to this, according to what Ryu understood, the fact that it had taken so long for the first phase to conclude was actually a sign of the chaos that was about to come.


    The Heavenly Path varied in the length of time it spent open, but it was generally accepted that the longer it was open, the more opportunities there would be and the more worthy the Heavens felt that the batch of geniuses who had entered were.


    Given these parameters, the fact the mere first stage had lasted months was enough to tell Ryu all he needed to know. The next coming phases would not be easy.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed opened and a sharp light radiated out in all directions. He looked down casually to find that Mae was sleeping on his thigh, so he didn''t disturb her. As for Aantha, she was still pouting. Thoguh Ryu could have just let them into the golden moon world, doing so would have left his ring on the outside and he didn''t trust the environment of the Heavenly Path enough.


    In a state where everyone was looking for treasures, leaving on just lying around casually was just asking for trouble.


    Ryu looked up into the skies. It seemed that it was about time.


    The golden skies above trembled and arcs of white lightning flashed. One after another, spatial riffs began to appear and glass orbs of various sizes slowly descended.


    These glass orbs, some the size of a palm, and others the size of a city, were all Inheritances, each one exuding its own unique aura. Depending on one''s own affinities, it was either more or less possible to sense these orbs as they descended form the skies like small raindrops.


    Ryu exhaled lightly.


    This phase would be far more complicated. The Inheritances would be decided by first come first serve, and no matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn''t be able to force Inheritances that he wasn''t compatible with to accept him.


    However, all things considered, Ryu was in a better position than most in this regard. He had strong affinities in fire, water, wind and lightning, and even in rarer affinities he had space and time. Beyond that, he was also an excellent choice for Body, Qi and Mental Realm cultivators alike.


    The trouble was that while Ryu felt he had no glaring weaknesses, this was from the standpoint of Sacrum. There was no telling how these former powerhouses of the True Martial World would feel about him, especially when he wouldn''t be able to reveal his true talent.


    Just as Ryu was thinking of a way forward and if he should just mask himself and go all out, the situation suddenly changed in a way that caught not just him off guard, but even the geniuses of the higher Heavens who had been waiting for precisely this moment off guard as well.


    Ryu''s head suddenly snapped in a certain direction even as Mae''s eyes opened as well. It wasn''t just them, but every existence within the Heavenly Path all turned toward this exact same location.


    At that moment, a whirlpool appeared in the white-gold miasma. Lightning arcs of white, gold, bronze and silver flashed as a glass orb that seemed to blot out the skies began to slowly descend.


    If before the largest glass orbs were on the scale of a city, this glass orb made them all look like specks of dust, its body stretching thousands of kilometers across.


    However, just when the observers were getting over this shock, the glass orbs suddenly trembled and then cracked.


    WHOOSH!


    The white-gold miasma separated to reveal a glass orb even a hundred times larger than that descending from above it. It dwarfed the already enormous glass orb, suffocating it beneath its presence as it bathed in the lightning.


    At that moment, diamond-like sparkling crystal lightning strikes appeared.


    BOOM!


    The glass orb stretching thousands of kilometers across shattered, its pieces becoming like planetary rings around the glass orb that stretched hundreds of thousands of kilometers across. The entirety of the Heavenly Path looked as though it was about to be crushed in just a few moments, until¡­ the glass orb came to a stop.


    A pulse of power spread out in all directions and the glass orbs that were falling to the ground were suddenly tethered by some odd energy.


    One after another, the much smaller glass orbs began to rise into the air again before they came to a stop about a hundred meters above ground. Then, the odd energy that tethered them all together pulsed, forming a far more solid connection that manifested like star roads glistening in the skies.


    For Ryu, who couldn''t see clearly what was happening with his poor vision and could only barely make things out with his general senses, it felt like he was looking at a star chart filled to the brim with countless constellations.


    He could see scenes of mighty men drawing bows and wielding spears. He could see roaring beasts and soaring dragons. He would see crying women and playing children. It felt as though the vicissitudes of life were being painted across the skies, held together by this singular glass orb.


    Ryu stood to his feet, his pupils constricted. He didn''t understand what was happening as even Aika''s information didn''t have anything about this, but his heart was still beating wildly. He felt his blood surging and his battle intent soaring.


    Ryu suddenly turned his attention to Mae and Aantha, his lips separating as though he was about to say something. But he didn''t get the chance to at all before a strong aura enveloped him entirely, expelling him from his location and sending him to the very edges of the Heavenly Path.


    It wasn''t just Ryu this happened to, every single genius of the Heavenly Path was suddenly expelled to its outer edges, and it didn''t take much to understand why this was. With the roads suddenly formed in the skies, each one represented a unique path possible to be taken, but each one left to the enormous orb waiting to descend in the distance.


    However, what was clear was that depending on one''s talent, one would either be sent further away or much closer.


    When Ryu looked around, he found that while he hadn''t been expelled to the furthest reaches of the Heavenly Path, he wasn''t exactly close to the enormous glass orb either. In fact, just with a sweep of his Spiritual Sense, he could see quite a number who were placed closer to him.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a hint of coldness, but his expression didn''t change.


    The vast majority of geniuses who had entered were far behind Ryu, but he hadn''t expected for there to be such a number placed ahead of him. It was clear that the individuals who came from higher Heavens were far more numerous than he had expected initially.


    At that moment, the skies trembled once more and the planetary rings around the ginormous glass orb began to shift, forming characters in the skies that formed out into words. Soon afterward, a booming voice echoed in all of their ears.


    It only spoke out two words.


    "Dao Lord."


    Just these words alone sent a whisper through time. It felt as though they had been spoken at the beginning of Existence itself, echoing through the folds of reality only to finally reach their ears on this day.


    Those that were too weak, upon hearing these words, directly fainted, unable to muster up the courage to clear their minds. Even those that managed to maintain their bearings lowered their ehads while the weaker among them prostrated themselves completely.


    There was only one group of individuals who deserved such a title.


    Dao Lords. Dao Sovereigns. Dao Gods.


    These were the three highest titles in all of existence, individuals who ruled over the lands and looked down upon all living beings, the three highest stages of cultivation in all of existence.


    A Sky God of Order.


    A Sky God of Order had descended, leaving their Inheritance behind in the Heavenly Path. A Sky God of Order had appeared, wanting them to fight for their acknowledgement.


    The blood of those who could keep their heads upright boiled, their hearts screaming with fighting intent.


    The one who came out on top in this phase would rise to become an existence that surpassed his peers and crushed them all beneath his feet.


    This opportunity was theirs.


    These were the thoughts each and every one of them shared without fail.


    Ryu stood in silence. His existence of conspicuous. Without thousands of kilometers, he was the only one with his head raised, gazing at the glass orb in the distance, his expression cold as ice.

 Chapter 1109 Once

    Ryu took a breath and closed his eyes.


    "One time. I will allow it once."


    Regardless of who it was, at this moment, as the words Dao Lord echoed, only Ryu dared to speak at all. Of all the countless geniuses, he was also the only one who even thought to speak, let alone do it. But what was most shocking of all were the words he said, words that maybe others could guess the meaning of, but only he knew of the intent with any certainty.


    When Ryu opened his eyes once more, he found that his position had been elevated above the ground and he had been placed on the starry road. All around him, he could see and sense geniuses who had experienced the very same thing.


    It was clear that this second phase would be far different from what it had been in the past. If Ryu was correct, the goal was to make it to the Dao Lord''s Inheritance, but along the way, they would have to prove themselves by being acknowledged by the Inheritances of others.


    This wasn''t just a test of strength, but it was also a test of breadth of talent. There were countless paths one could take to reach the Dao Lord''s Inheritance theoretically, but the number they could actually take in practice would be very limited. Only those with not only a deep depth of talent, but also a wide breadth of talent, would have the best chance at receiving the acknowledgment of the Dao Lord.


    In order to take these star paths, one would obviously have to be acknowledged by the Inheritance on them. The more Inheritances you could be acknowledged by, the more star paths you could take and the higher chance you would have at reaching the center.


    These were rules that didn''t need to be explained, and the unfairness of it all likewise didn''t need to be stated. With the random placement of all those involved, what were the chances that you''d land on a star path with exactly the affinities that lined up for yourself? And even if you did, there was no guarantee that the road ahead would have exactly what you needed either.


    Much of this¡­ would be left up to Fate.


    It seemed that his luck was quite poor. In just a few months, he had run into not just one, but two inheritances that required Fate to partake in.


    "Ahaha, I''m in luck!"


    Ryu''s head turned and he found a young man rushing forward toward an inheritance. He was on a star path adjacent to Ryu''s own and up ahead, in a path that crossed them both, there was a floating glass orb barely a few inches across that radiated the aura of a wind inheritance.


    Clearly, this young man felt that he was in luck. So long as he claimed this wind inheritance for himself, the path ahead would open up and he would be one step closer to gaining the acknowledgment of the Dao Lord.


    But before he could make it very far, several other individuals began to rush toward the wind inheritance as well. There were easily dozens of branching paths that connected with this one inheritance, and among them, there were quite a number who felt that they had affinity for this inheritance as well and they were unwilling to give it up.


    It didn''t even take a moment for the first clashes to begin to echo. All across the Heavenly Path, countless battles erupted, the fight for the inheritances beginning in full force.


    There was no one who didn''t want the inheritance of the Dao Lord, but even if they couldn''t get it, this entire space was a treasure trove. Anyone who could leave an inheritance on the Heavenly Path was a genius amongst their peers, how could they not want for their secrets?


    Ryu looked away from the battle and looked up toward the Dao Lord''s floating glass orb that seemed bigger than even an entire plane of existence. And then¡­


    He sneered.


    Ryu flashed forward, his Northern Heavenly Wind enveloping him as he shot out like an arrow from a bow. His great swordstaffs became as light as feathers and the sound of wind became as silent as the void around him.


    He dove into the battle.


    Everywhere he passed by, a limb or head would shoot into the skies, trails of blood following his wake. He didn''t show any mercy whatsoever, he was like a fiend demon, venting out all his fury.


    His great swordstaffs spiraled around him, forming a whirlpool of blood and wind. Many didn''t even get a chance to scream out in horror before they were shredded to pieces, man and woman alike. He didn''t seem to separate out the genders at all, they were all nothing but walking corpses in his eyes.


    Ryu landed on the ground, a malevolent aura surging around him, his white hair fluttering wildly in the wind as he reached forward, crushing the wind inheritance orb in his hands.


    A surge of light formed and the energy from within the orb quickly formed into a green shadow. However, before it could even fully formed, Ryu swiped across, a strong wind qi shredding it to pieces.


    With a beam, the wind inheritance was transferred to Ryu''s mind and he closed his eyes. Ryu''s Dao quickly dissected the inheritance to its smallest pieces, assimilating it.


    After a moment, Ryu''s figure slowly vanished into the wind. First it was his head, then his torso, then his legs. Almost as though his body was made of ash and the wind was wiping his existence away, he disappeared entirely.


    When Ryu appeared again, he was already well along the path to the next branching inheritance, the malevolent aura around him only increasing.


    Since these grounds wanted to move the massacre up to the second phase, he would oblige. Anyone who stood in his path could be shredded to pieces. He would bathe this Heavenly Path in blood.


    With a thought, Ryu slipped a silver mask onto his face.

 Chapter 1110 Heads

    Ryu appeared in a dark green wind, his body manifesting as though it was being painted back into the world one brush stroke at a time.


    In the region he appeared in, there were just three geniuses remaining fighting over what looked to be an earth inheritance. It had very little to do with Ryu, however he had come here anyway.


    Back when he claimed the wind inheritance, it had taken a sharp wind qi to disperse it, if he had used anything else, he would have failed. Ryu assumed that the same would be true of this inheritance as well, but he had his own thoughts on the matter, thoughts that had germinated thanks to what he had gleaned from claiming his first inheritance.


    Ryu had realized that claiming inheritances like this was a shortcut to improving his own Inheritances. When he had absorbed the green shadow inheritance, or so he called it, he felt his body being assimilated with certain comprehensions.


    Ryu''s own wind inheritance was actually the highest form there was since he had built it on the back of the Northern Heavenly Wind, the truest embodiment of wind qi there was.


    But quite honestly, Ryu rarely used his Northern Heavenly Wind and his Wind Inheritance these days. This was because the Northern Heavenly Wind simply wasn''t as useful here as it was back in Sacrum.


    In Sacrum, even a mortal would have speed surpassing that of a Sky God if they had the full Northern Heavenly Wind. But in the True Martial World, in order to meet that standard, Ryu still had too long of a way to go.


    Right now, Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind was at an Ancestral Grade standard. This was still one step below what it would take for him to be nigh untouchable on the First Heaven. If he wanted to display such untouchable speed on this quasi Fourth Heaven that the Heavenly Path represented, he would have to raise it to the Perfect Grade, equivalent to a Perfect Sky God.


    Due to this, the treasure that was the Northern Heavenly Wind was neglected by Ryu because maturing it to adequate standards was too tall of a task for the current him, and the higher he climbed through the True Martial World, the taller the standards he would have to meet were.


    Even so, this didn''t mean that the Northern Heavenly Wind was useless. The [Unbalance Mantra] opened up all new possibilities for its fusion with his spatial qi. And beyond that, there was still its form as an Inheritance to consider, or more accurately, the Wind Character of Ryu''s eight trigram diagram.


    By assimilating inheritances that were compatible with him, Ryu found that his comprehension deepened and his Small Realm became stronger.


    When this was fused with his Dao and his Realm Heart, he realized that this could be a game changer.


    Ryu had reached absolute perfection in the Ruler Realm, but that didn''t mean he had done the same in the Monarch Realm. In addition, currently, his Inheritances were built off the backs of work others had done and couldn''t be truly considered his own yet, wouldn''t this be a path toward doing that.


    "Kill him first!"


    The trio who were still fighting over the earth inheritance were rightfully pissed that it seemed as though Ryu was waiting for them to deal each other fatal blows before he swooped in and reaped the rewards. Unable to take his blatant attitude, they finally lashed out, attacking Ryu all at once.


    In their minds, since Ryu had come from further away than them, he was clearly less talented and not worth worrying about in the slightest. The fact they were attacking all at once was more respect than he deserved.


    "Monarchy¡­" Ryu said softly.


    At that moment, a domain of shadowy green manifested, dancing with faint runes.


    Ryu vanished into the wind, his body being whisked away like ashes.


    The three charging young men were shocked, their hearts skipping several beats. They were all in the World Sea Realm, so let alone a Small Realm, they had all already formed their Dominions. But for some reason, in the face of Ryu''s Monarchy, they couldn''t even summon their counter!


    Ryu suddenly appeared behind one of them and his blades slashed across, severing their heads into a fountain of blood. They didn''t even get the chance to scream out in terror.


    Ryu landed by the earth inheritance, reaching a palm forward. When he grabbed it, felt a strong resistance, until he activated his Dividing Chaos and his [Unbalance Mantra].


    The perception of the inheritance warped and the glass orb shattered to pieces.


    With a swipe of his great swordstaff, Ryu activated Dividing Karma, severing the connection the original inheritance owner had and leaving nothing more than the inheritance itself which rushed into Ryu''s mind.


    ''So it does work.''


    Ryu nodded to himself and moved forward.


    When he first assimilated with wind inheritance, he could clearly feel the strings of Karma pulling at his fate. He realized then that if he used one of his Daos, Dividing Karma, he could bypass the test of the inheritance entirely and snatch it for himself.


    Ryu didn''t plan on continuously doing this as there was no point, he would just be handicapping himself. It was better if he focused on inheritances that would strengthen himself. Rather, he just wanted a proof of concept in case he ever ran into a dead end.


    He didn''t like the fact he had been teleported behind such weak fodder. He wouldn''t allow fate and luck to dictate whether he could truly forge ahead or not. He would grasp his own Fate in his own hands. Even a Dao Lord wasn''t qualified to pause his steps.


    Ryu flashed forward and he took another star path, this one infused with a strong and pulsing fire inheritance.


    Several gazes turned toward Ryu who was clearly masked. Among them, there were two members of the Demonic Flame Sect. The Sect had been looking everywhere for Ryu, but none had been able to find him, and in the end, the second phase started.


    However, Ryu''s gaze wasn''t focused on these two at all, but rather the heads of the Radiant Star Sect disciple that they hung from their hips.

 Chapter 1111 Good

    Ryu didn''t know these individuals personally, but with his memory, and the small number of disciples that the Radiant Star Sect had sent in the first place, how could he not recognize what he was seeing?


    Toward this, Ryu didn''t seem to have a violent reaction. He just continued to coldly glance at it for a long while, not saying anything.


    "This region inheritance is claimed by the Demonic Flame Sect, I suggest you scram if you don''t want to die!"


    The disciples spoke coldy. It was clear they still foolishly believed that this was the stage for their Sect. If there was anyone who had a chance to stop them, it was the geniuses of the Sentient Sword Sect, other than them, they didn''t put anyone else in their eyes.


    Everything about Ryu was obscured, even down the weapons floating on his back, so it was difficult to tell where he might have come from. But as far as they were concerned, if this person had to hide their identity, they didn''t have any real backing to speak of. Only the weak would feel worried about others finding out about their identities.


    Ryu didn''t say a word to this clear provocation. Instead, he took a step forward, his robes fluttering once before he vanished.


    When he appeared again, his Small Realm had descended, a shadowy greenery enveloping the entire region. In that moment, it seemed as though Ryu was everywhere and nowhere all at once, his speed reaching demonic levels even without the use of his spatial qi.


    "Kill!"


    The geniuses around the fire inheritance reacted instantly. The moment Ryu took a step forward, they had been prepared to retaliate, but they were entirely unprepared for the level of strength they were facing.


    The Demonic Flame Sect disciple who spoke suddenly found his throat being grasped. When he looked forward, his heart couldn''t help but shiver as his legs dangled in the air.


    Ryu truly looked no different than a demon. Half of his head was nothing more than wisps of dark green wind qi, his body seemingly part fog and another part corporeal. Just one of his eyes was visible, but that singular eye seemed to peer into the souls of all those who saw it.


    "You can''t kill me, I''m¡ª!"


    Ryu''s hand suddenly turned into a cyclone of vicious wind, shredding the neck of the disciple to pieces.


    Flesh and blood fell, but the neck fo the disciple wasn''t entirely severed. However, all that remained was a spinal cord dripping with crimson. In that instant, Ryu had skinned and felled the flesh of the disciple in the most gruesome way imaginable, and yet, because his spine was intact, and due to the vitality of cultivators, he felt every second of it.


    Horror painted the faces of the others, but Ryu didn''t give them a single chance. Screams of pain and fear echoed, but that did nothing to stop the massacre.


    Blood splattered and dispersed into the wind, the strong scent of death permeating the atmosphere.


    Ryu slowly appeared from, fluttering wind reforming his body from the ashes. All around him, blood flowed.


    He bent down, picking up the heads of the fallen disciples of the Radiant Star Sect, his gaze cold. After a moment, he exhaled a breath and burned them to ash. This was the only faint sort of peace he could give them.


    Since the Demonic Flame Sect wanted to take this route, every one he ran into would be another one that died.


    Ryu reached forward and crushed the fire inheritance. The inheritance avatar tried to form, but it collapsed beneath Ryu''s pressure even before it could, wilting beneath his presence and causing a surge of information to enter Ryu''s mind.


    Without much thought, Ryu shot forward, heading toward the next.


    The first wind inheritance was movement technique intensive and it taught a method of using one''s Wind Inheritance as a movement domain. It essentially allowed Ryu to separate himself form the world he was in and make perfect use of the Northern Heavenly Wind even without considering the pressure of the world around him. So long as his Inheritance Comprehensionw as deep enough, he could maximize its use within his domain.


    This fire inheritance was less interesting. It was essentially nothing more than a method of using fire qi explosively. It taught concentration and combustion. It wasn''t useless, it just wasn''t as useful to Ryu, especially since if he could help it, he would try to focus on using his wind qi and lightning qi solely in his current masked form.


    If it came down to it, he would go all out and put all his cards on the table. However for now, that would be his battle style.


    If others thought he was an easy target just because of how far back he was, or how limited his battle style was¡­ they would be in for a rude awakening.


    Ryu blazed a trail forward.


    Most of the inheritances near the back seemed to be extremely simple, mostly focusing on the elements. There had yet to be anything more complex and Ryu simply completed string after string of elemental inheritances. As he moved forward, he seemed to only move faster and faster.


    However, among them, this was the very first lightning inheritance Ryu had found. In fact, it was also the largest glass orb he had come across as well, being about twice the size of his body.


    Ryu pushed forward, shattering it to pieces and allowing it to envelop his body.


    By the time the blinding light dimmed, Ryu''s irises were flashing with arcs of radiant golden lightning that slowly, but surely, became a gorgeous royal blue.


    He reached out with two hands at once and a chain whip of coursing lightning formed in both of his palms. The air sizzled and popped, the sheer concentration of lightning making the air superheat.


    BOOM!


    Ryu flicked his wrists and the sound barrier seemed to shatter ten time over, the destructive power nearly causing a tear in the void.


    "Good."


    Now he had a powerful movement technique and a powerful attacking technique.

 Chapter 1112 Hostility

    In the depths of the Heavenly Path, the situation was much different. Although the geniuses were separated by several kilometers, given their cultivations, they were still within ear and eyeshot of one another, making communicating quite easy.


    What would have shocked the geniuses to the back, however, was that the monsters that were so close weren''t the ones they would have expected. In fact, they might not recognize even a single one of these geniuses. There was no a single member of Demonic Flame or Sentient Sword Sect in sight.


    Mae looked around with a hint of confusion on her face. Her little sister, or more accurately, her little cousin Aantha wasn''t too far behind her, just a few dozen kilometers. But Ryu was nowhere in sight, this didn''t make any sense to her.


    Even if Ryu wasn''t from the True Martial World, his talent was enough to match hers at the very least. The weakest Fire Dragon bloodline was already more than enough to be a match with geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heavens, let alone his Spacetime Soul Nature. If anything, he should be one of the closest, so why couldn''t he find her? It didn''t make any sense.


    Something wasn''t adding up.


    Mae felt somewhat indignant in Ryu''s place. She already felt somewhat protective of him, and she definitely didn''t like him being disrespected like this. She was a very young woman after all, and Ryu was not only her first time, but also a man who seemed cold to everyone else and yet was very nice to her. That much was enough to spark the light of infatuation in her heart.


    She found it very distasteful that this Dao Lord would make such a decision, even if she didn''t dare to say it out loud.


    "Oh? Is that Little Succubus Mae? So you did come after all."


    Mae was already annoyed, but hearing this voice, her fuse became shorter. She didn''t necessarily hate this person, but she wasn''t currently in the mood to socialize.


    She looked over to see a young man with flowing golden hair and piercing green eyes. He looked like an emperor incarnate, especially given the tall glaive that hovered to his back. He had a wide grin on his face and he seemed to be somewhat happy to see Mae.


    "Mm¡­ Hello Vie." Mae acknowledged unenthusiastically.


    Vie blinked. Clearly, he wasn''t very used to receiving this sort of reaction from people. He also hadn''t ever offended Mae before, and even if he had, they would have been just little kids back then, there was no need to carry it to this point.


    Just as Vie was about to ask if there was something wrong, a grating laughter came from the side.


    "Rejected before you even got the chance. It''s clear and obvious Mae preferred real men and not girly looking boys like you. Do you think the Asura Race is so casual with their choice of mates?"


    Vie''s expression darkened as he looked over to see a young man with piercing blue eyes and a few layers of radiant blue scales beneath his eyes and at the center of his forehead. He was just as tall as Vie was, but he was a bit bulkier while his mouth seemed to spew out blue flames.


    "You talk a lot for a fake dragon wannabe. Have some shame," Via said with disdain.


    Hearing such word, the young man, Akura, nearly lunged forward.


    His race had nothing to do with dragons. He was a demon race that descended from the Fire Giants a lot like Mae descended from the Dream Wraiths. However, many of their Clan''s techniques tended to be named after dragons to give them a domineering presence.


    Most wouldn''t dare to say anything about it, but why would Vie care for Akura''s face, especially when the latter provoked him first?


    "Come, come, everyone, is there a need to fight like this, we''ve just met each again for the first time in over a decade, how about we exchange some experiences, huh? How were your harvests?"


    A laugh came from the side, a young man with a smooth and bald head calling out with a smile. There was a golden gem at the center of his forehead and a long chain of golden prayer beads rolled between his fingers and palms. This wasn''t the only jewelry he had on either, his wrists were flooded with glistening bracelets and his neck was adorned with flashing diamond.


    It was hard to tell if he was a monk or a merchant.


    "Sure, why not?" Akura said with a sneer. "How about you share your gains first, Mano? Tell us, what''ve you gained in these last few years."


    Despite being put on the spot, Mano only smiled, rolling his golden prayer beads between his fingers.


    "Can''t you see? Buddha has blessed me quite well."


    Everyone snorted. Obviously, Mano was obfuscating. No one cared about his flashy jewelry.


    "Mano isn''t wrong, we''ve met for the first time in such a long time, it''s not nice to fight. But when it comes to outsiders, however¡­"


    The one who spoke wasn''t someone that Ryu would recognize, but it was an individual he had some relations to. This man was none other than Zed, the very young man who lost control of the bronze city to Ryu.


    Right this moment, Zed''s gaze was focused on the only one among them that he didn''t recognize, a young man with skin as dark as night and eyes as bright as stars. In Zed''s opinion, the only person who could have possibly stolen the bronze city from him to the point he could snatch it back was someone who was here, but there also wasn''t anyone among those here who could match him in staff techniques.


    That meant that the only someone he didn''t know could have accomplished it, and that left this young man.


    The young man looked over and smiled lightly, seemingly not sensing the hostility in Zed''s gaze at all.

 Chapter 1113 Roar

    1113 Roar


    ''''Who are you?'''' Zed asked with clear animosity laced in his voice.


    The young man smiled. ''''You can call me starlight.''''


    Zed''s Gazed narrowed. ''''What is your weapon of choice?''''


    Starlight laughed. ''''My weapon of choice?''''


    Rather than replying, Starlight pointed straight up. Zed found his eyes subconsciously following his finger, and yet saw nothing but the endless expanse of the Dao Lor''ds glass orb.


    Almost immediatly, Zed''s temper flared once again. Was Starlight trying to say that the Dao Lord''s Inheritance would be his?


    Zed sneered. ''''You sure are cocky.''''


    Starlight smiled, the handsome radiance of his face causing some female geniuses in the vicinity to take a second and even third look. He didn''t quite seem human, he felt far more like a demi god descended to grace them with his presence.


    As for whether Starlight truly meant it or not, he clearly didn''t have any itentions of explaining. His white robes continued to flutter in the wind, Zed''s fury not bothering him in the slighest.


    ''''I''ve never seen a staff wielder with such a fiery temper, leave him alone,'''' a woman''s voice suddenly echoed out.


    Zed sent a glare over toward a petite young woman who seemed to be barely five feet tall. If not for the maturity of her face she truly would have looked like a little girl of barely 12 years old. Her dress seemed to be formed of small silver blade tied together, causing them to chime with every sway.


    Despite his glare, the petite young woman stared back as though daring him to do something. It was clear that she was protecting Starlight for ''''unknown'''' reasons. Obviously, she just liked the shape of his face.


    ''''Ranna, mind your own business.''''


    Ranna sneered. ''''It sounds to me like you suffered a loss and now want to pout like a little babgy. Maybe if you were half as handsome as him I might care to listen to you. You want to taste my blade? Just because you''re overcompensating with that long rod you carry around everywhere, doesn''t mean everyone''s fooled.''''


    Ranna held up her pinky without the slightest hint of respect. It almost made no sense for a girl who looked so adorable to have such a deplorable mouth, and yet here they were.


    Zed''s expression darkened, however before he could say anything, he was interrupted once more.


    ''''Don''t you think you all are talking a bit too much?'''' Mae interrupted. ''''If you''re scared to battle, then just say so. As for me, I''m done wasting time here.''''


    The group had clearly wanted to scout ahead to see what kind of improvements their counterparts had made. Without fail, all of them were from the Fifth Heaven at the least, some even being from the Sixth. If not for this, why would they be standing around instead of rushing after the treasure that laid before them all.


    Altough Mae was pissed about Ryu not being around here, that didn''t mean that she wouldn''t fight for the Dao Lord''s Inheritance herself, she wanted it just as much as everyone else. She wouldn''t let them stand in her way.


    Vie chuckled when he heard Mae, his golden hair fluttering.


    ''''Princess Mae is indeed correct, instead of all this probing, I''ll let my blade taste your improvement.


    A valiant aura towered out from vie as he took a strong step forward.


    The geniuses only gave each other one more look before they all shot forward at once, their aura blazing. They had been the pinnacle of their respective Clans a decade ago. It was time to find out which of them had lived up to their ptotential and which of them had fallen by the wayside.


    ...


    Ryu''s wrists flickered. Everywhere his radiant blue lightning whips passed by, another body part would explode into a rain of ash.


    He was absolutely relentless, his killing speed touching inconceivable levels.


    ''''How dare you?!''''


    ''''Do you understand the power of the Demonic Flame sect!?''''


    ''''Who do you think you are?!''''


    Ryu''s gaze reflected with an almost reptilian light, his irises flickering between a deep silver and a sapphire blue. It felt as though with every step forward his Lightning Inheritance took, his Qilin Bloodline boiled more savagely.


    He didn''t seem to hear the words of these Demonic Flame Sect disciples at all. His forearms flexed and his steps were firm. His arms crossed his body, leaving arcs of blue lightning in the air. It felt like every time he slahed down, the skies themselves would boil.


    The tip of his whip appeared before the forehead of one disciple, shattering it to pieces and leaving what remained of their neck as nothing more than a charred mess.


    With a pivot of his hips he lashed out with a second whip, forming a cyclone around the body of an oncoming warrior and pulling tight. The cyclone closed in and shredded the disciple''s clothing to pieces before it even touched them, and when it finally did, there was nothing more than a single scream of horror before they were left as nothing more than a pile of ash.


    The flashes of Ryu''s whips were so blinding and loud that they echoed across hundreds of miles. Even those barely withing eyeshot couldn''t help but look over, their hearts palpitating.


    ROAR!


    Ryu roared into the skies, a pent up bestial aura echoing from him.


    At that moment, the geniuses already placed near the center of the Dao Lor''ds Inheritance all looked back at once, their eyes narrowing. Was it even possible for someone with a roar like that to be placed so far back? Was it a beast?


    Mae and a certain blue robed woman looked back toward the same location, their eyes flickering with emotions that were the exact opposite of one another. One softened, and the other exuded a frighteningly cold air.


    This blue robed woman was none other than Jenneless who found hersefl near the geniuses of the Fifth Heaven. And much like Mae, she recognized that roar all too well.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1114 Death Wish

    1114 Death Wish


    Wild arcs of lightning surged through Ryu''s surroundings, his upper robes exploded to reveal a chiseled physique glistening with sapphire blue scales that seemed to have worlds of flashing lightning storms within them.


    Horns grew from his forehead, claws extending from his hands as he grew an extra foot. He couldn''t seem to hold back his boiling blood anymore and it surged like an endless tide, forcing those who were still alive to their knees.


    ''''Die.''''


    His mouth separated to reveal a row of glistening white teeth and canines so sharp that they left ripples in the void as they moved.


    The lightning arcing in the surroundings heeded Ryu''s command, forming several whips that lashed out, shredding the survivors to pieces.


    Ryu reached forward, facing a class orb that was over 15 meters in diameter. Without the slightest hesitation, his claw ripped forward, shredding it to pieces and accepting the baptizing. The information of a complicated Body Realm cultivation method.


    Ryu wasn''t opposed to it, it was just that he felt that he might be able to find something better so he didn''t use it immediately.


    Although he had [Refinement Sutra], he had already unearthed the full potential of his previous cultivation. However, as a Body Realm technique on its own, the [Refinement Sutra] wasn''t good enough. While it would do well, what it wouldn''t be able to do is reach past his limits and unearth potential he didn''t know he had.


    In order to get the most out of his [Refinement Sutra], it was best it be used like a fine chisel while he had another tool to act as a heavy hammer or large saw blade. Ryu needed something that could further unlock the potential of his Bloodlines and allow him to truly flourish.


    The way Ryu saw it, it would be a lot like the [Tribulation Nine Clouds] technique he had used in the past. [Tribulation Nine Clouds] was able to use tribulation lightning to temper the Body Realm, Qi Realm or Mental Realm to break past the shackles of one''s talent.


    What Ryu wanted was a Body Realm technique capable of doing the same thing. Then, when it was paired with his [Refinement Sutra] and the carefully constructed Ores he created, the strength would be risen to an all new level.


    Ryu''s battle with Mae was a perfect example of why he needed such a thing. Without entering his Draconic form and allowing his Bloodlines to flourish, his bodily strength was too weak in comparison to others with similarly powerful bodies.


    If he wanted a body that fcould be powerful even when he suppressed his bloodlines, then he would need a new approach that stemmed beyond it.


    This Body Realm cultivation technique wasn''t bad. It was created by a Perfect Sky God who practiced a Dao related to multiplication and compression. Using these two laws, the body would steadily become more powerful under a process of continuous expansion and concentration.


    The problem was that, for one, although Ryu could manipulate similar laws, he ultimately didn''t have the matching Dao although he did have the ability to mimic it. And secondly, it ultimately just wasn''t very powerful or impressive to him, so he stored it in the back of his mind before continuing onward.


    If worse came to worst, he would just take out some time to ptentially create a fusion of the techniques. The possibilities left to him by having the [Unbalance Mantra] in his possesion were endless, and he would try his best to make use of them all.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu had made it to his next target inheritance. But when he saw the individuals who were battling over it, his expression turned even colder.


    Enren, the head Inheritor Disciple of the Sentient Sword Sect, and Theris, the head Inheritor Disciple of the Demonic Flame Sect.


    Seeing the two of them battle it out in the skies, everyone woh made it to this location stayed a far measure away. None of them wanted to get in the way of the clash of these two behemoths as in the minds of most here, they were the strongest existences there were. The only reason they remained to watch was to see just what would happen before they tried to find a new patch forward.


    With the way the star roads worked ,only the one that claimed the inheritance could continue moving forward along that path. As for the others, they would either die or have to find a new method.


    The only way to make it to the Dao Lor''ds inheritance was using the star roads in the skies, so everyone had no choice but to take this path forward.


    To everyone''s disappointment, though, Enren and Theris suddeenly separated, their expressions cold.


    ''''There''s no point in fighting it out to the end when we''re still so far from the end goal.''''


    ''''Agreed,'''' Theris said coldly.


    ''''Then let''s decide this as simply as possible. Rock, paper, scissors. Best two out of three. Whoever wins claims the inheritance, whoever loses has to find another road forward.


    ''''Alright,'''' Theris replied.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Their fists rocked through the air and caused booming waves of qi to surge in the direction. In the blink of an eye, they had finished and Theris'' expression was ugly. Clearly, he had lost in the end.


    However, just when Theris was about to turn and leave and Enren was about to happily accept the inheritance, a cold voice suddenly rang out.


    ''''Did I agree?''''


    Ryu was looking towards Enren. He had no intention of diverting his path and slowing himself down just because of the agreement between two jumping clowns. And as far as he was concerened, Theris was nothing more than a dead man walking, so he didn''t deserve his attention.


    In an instant, dozens of gazes landed on Ryu, many schocked. They couldn''t believe that a third party dared to speak here. Did this man have some sort of death wish?

 Chapter 1115 Shaking

    1115 Shaking


    Ryu wasn''t one to waste time talking. The moment his voice fell, his lightning whip had already formed, and his Wind and Lightning Small realms had layered atop of one another, forming a region of stormy thunder that made many want to directly prostate themselves. They didn''t even have time to register the trembling of their bloodlines before his wrist flickered and a thick line of pulsing lightning lashed out.


    Enren''s pupils constricted and he immediately raised his sword, tapping at the air three times in quick succession. His blade seemed to become flexible despite the thickness of its spine, curving in three different directions to give the illusion that three attacks had met Ryu''s whip all at once.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The sounds were so close that they layered into one, deflecting Ryu''s whip upward.


    But just when Enren felt that he had dealt with the sudden attack well enough, an arc of lightning danced up his blade, colliding with his chest and leaving him paralyzed for just a moment.


    At the same time, Ryu''s scecond whip extended through the skies like the tail of a flood dragon, its thickness seemed to double and its movement even caused roars and claps of thunder, making the ears of those who wwere simply too close to bleed, some even directly losing consciousness.


    Theris, who was planning to stand by with his arms crossed and chuckle at Enren''s misfortune for abit before teaching Ryu a lesson for daring to try his patience, hurriedly retreat, his palms pulsing outward to form several flaming shields before he unsheated his great sword and slashed downward with all the strength he could muster.


    Clearly, Theris had no idea that between him and Enren, Ryu wanted to kill him most of all.


    Enren coughed up a mouthful of blood, his outer robes exploding into a cloud of ash and his hidden protective flexible armor cracking. His heart couldn''t help but quake. That was just a residual bolt of lightning, what if the real thing hit him?


    In his paralyzed state, Enren couldn''t barely move his eyes just in time to see Theris'' flaming shields explode on impact, sending him flying back like a speeding bullet.


    Even so, in comparison to Enren, Theris had come out far luckier. Because flaming shields exploded, he didn''t have to face that vicious lightning personally, and the swing of his great sword had divided much of the volatile qi. He knew that if he didn''t recover quickly, he would be finished.


    Without hesitation, the moment Enren broke free, his roar became almost pained. He turned his sword blade not toward Ryu, but toward himself, piercing through the crack in his own inner armor and into his heart.


    His hair rose into the skies, shimmering with a blinding white light, his irises releasing two beam-line sword lights.


    ''''Body like Sword!''''


    In the general world, Body Like Sword, or Sword Like Body, or any combination of techniques similar to this, would be one of the pinnacle achievements one could have as a swordsman. However, the Sentient Sword Sect took it a step further. They raised their swords to have true sentience, and in their most desperate situation, they would sacrifice their body to their sword, causing their strength to increase explosively.


    This was the most powerful secret technique of the Sentient Sword Sect, Body like Sword! The fact that Enren was willing to use this technique after just a single attack, despite not being anywhere near to the Dao Lord''s Inheritance, showed just how seriously he took Ryu.


    He shot forward, his body becominng like a beam of swordlight. His speed was no les than an arc of light, he had seemingly become entirely weightless.


    He appeared before Ryu in the blink of an eye, his fingers piercing forward to his forehead. In Body Like Sword, every part of him had become his blade. In this state, the Sentient Sword Sect was night undefeatable in close combat!


    However, at that moment, Ryu squeezed his palm, shattering his lightning whip to pieces and using his Lightning God Talent to reform it into a gauntlet.


    He punched out against Enren''s coming fingers, the collision causing them to twist backward awkwardly.


    The strength of Ryu''s punch continued forward with such momentum that Enren''s forearm bone piereced out from his skin, separating from his elbow entirely.


    At the same time, Ryu''s remaining lightning whip flickered, piercing forward and surging through the hole enren had made in his own chest. Before the head disciple of the Sentient Sword Sect could even scream out in horror, his body erupted into a rain of lightning and ash, even his inner armor being blasted to pieces and pelting down on the surroundings like artillery shells.


    Ryu didn''t even wait for Enren''s final ashes to fall, his body disappearing into a shadowy wind.


    When he appeared once again, he was already above Theris'' falling body. The force of the earlier explosion had been so great that Theris had yet to be able to stop his momentum. And to make matters worse, because of the large explosion, he also hadn''t seen how Enren died.


    Still confident in his own abilities, his body erupted into a pillar of flames that quickly condensed into a demonic form. The flames above his head became horns, the flames to his back becoming a pair of condensed wings and tail, the flames to his front forming into a solid skin of scales.


    His power exploded forth. Even has he flew backward horizontally along the ground, he slashed upward with a booming momentum, the sound barrier shattering what felt like twice over.


    However, before his blade could make it very far, Ryu''s lightning gauntlet condensed even further, becoming no different from a pair of delicate blue steel gloves. And yet, the moment this happened, Theris felt his heart drop to his stomach.

 Chapter 1116 Bullied

    1116 Bullied


    Ryu punched down. He didn''t seem to use much strength in it at all, but what the world didn''t know was that this inconspicous blue steel glove carried with it the concentrated power of a lightning whip capable of making the skies tremble with roars.


    BOOM!


    Theris watched in horror as his great sword shattered into pieces. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing. That was an Ancestral Grade weapon, it had been by his side for countless years and it was the companion he trusted the most. And yet...


    Theris crashed into the ground, his body becoming riddle with the holes of his own weapon. If not for his vitality as a World Sea Realm expert, he would have died directly on the spot.


    BANG!


    Ryu fell down from the skies heavily, slamming a foot into Theris'' ribcage and shattering his heart to pieces.


    Even as Theris breathed his last breaths, Ryu used his claw to pick him up by the neck, looking into his eyes as they slowly lost their luster.


    ''''The Radient Star Sect isn''t something trash like you can stand up to. Remember that in your next life,'''' Ryu said coldly.


    These were words that only Theris could hear, but the moment he heard them, he felt the shredded pieces of his heart palpitate, rushing him even closer to his death. He didn''t need to hear anything else to know that this man was actually the very same man he had been looking for all these months, the same man that he thought had been hiding from his justice so he had instead chosen to target the other sect members.


    He never knew that would be the worst misatake of his lifetime. And now... he was dead for it.


    Ryu''s claw squeezed and Theris'' head and neck shattered into countless little gory pieces. With a wave of his hand, the blood that would have coated him was fried by his lightning and didn''t manage to leave even a single speck on his white and sky blue robes.


    Ryu turned back and with a step, he vanished into the wind, appearing back where the crowd had been. Even though they were all great geniuses to make it to this point, none of them dared to even breathe too loudly.


    With a single sweep of the crowd, Ryu suddenly pierced out with his finger several times. Everywhere he passed by, another arc of lightning would flash through the skies and another member of the Demonic Flame Sect found themselves dead.


    The crowd, who thought that Ryu just wanted them to scram, turned tail and ran, hoping that they wouldn''t be among the number of the fallen. Even so, none realized that if ryu wanted you dead, there was nothing you could do, and if he didn''t care to take your life, then there was no point in running to begin with.


    Ryu turned his attention to the enormous glass orb. Unsurprisingly, being an inheritance that both Enren and Theris were interested in, it was likewise an inheritance that spoke to them both. This was a sword inheritance and the first weapon inheritance that Ryu had come across.


    Ryu reached forward with his claw, dancing lights of sword qi forming that shattered the glass orb to pieces the moment he gave it just the slightest nudge. Then, the core information of the inheritance rushed into Ryu''s mind as he stood in silence for a time. Soon, he opened his eyes and nodded. This was, indeed, not a bad inheritance.


    Given the scale of Ryu''s battles, his Dao charm techniques were already becoming a bit useless. This was only to be expected. After all, his Dao Charm techniques were all of the Heaven Grade, but he was just a half-ste? away from being able to use Mystical Grade techniques.


    Of course, for anyone else, Ryu''s thoughts would be ridiculous. After all, for many, having a Dao Charm technique a step below your best was already excellet. Back then, even the geniuses of the Second and Third Heaven who were long since at the World Sea Realm were still using Heaven Grade Dao Charm techniques.


    Still, Ryu''s scope was far higher than these individuals. He wouldn''t allow himself to fall behind in such a way.


    This sword inheritance, as a result, was actually not bad. It had an evolving Dao Charm technique that could be used from the Common Grade, all the way up to the Ancestral Grade. Beyond that, for most, unless you formed a very similar Dao to its creator, it would be difficult to use the true Dao Manipulation techniques found within. But for Ryu, mimicking the core of others Daos was only a matter of time and effort, he wouldn''t have to abandon his path to follow this one.


    ''''Storm Sword Dao. This is an absolutely perfect match for my Wind and Lightning Inheritances.''''


    Ryu shot forward, mulling over the intricacies of the inheritance. If he could find a bowman''s inheritance that meshed perfectly with what he could use with this identity, then there would be even less of a chance he would hafve to expose himself in the end. That way, he could have his cake and eat it too.


    Ryu suddenly felt like he crossed a barrier, his eyes narrowing as his steps slowed somewhat.


    The sound of battle reverberated in Ryu''s ears as he came to a stop. The number of star roads ahead almost seemed far to numerous and the number of battles happening here seemed to be even more than what was occuring behind him.


    Were there really this number of geniuses here? How was that even possible?


    Several paths ahead, Aantha was fighting with a bit of irritation on her face. She was being ganged up on by several human women. As she saw it, they were just jealous. How was it her fault that she was prettier than them? And okay, maybe it was poor form to make their boyfriends all googly over her, but she couldn''t help that either, she just had natural charm.


    Aantha''s gaze suddenly landed on Ryu who was standing in silence. She didn''t recognize him immediately with his silver mask on, but when she tilted her nose up to the sky, she smelled a familiar scent.


    ''''Brother-in-law! I''m being bullied!''''


    Ryu speechlessly turned his head towards Aantha''s direction.

 Chapter 1117 Patience

    1117 Patience


    ''''Brother-in-law?''''


    Almost the instant Aantha''s voice fell, several gazes turned towards Ryu. The rush was practically instantaneous.


    Aantha had several brothers and sisters, this was just the way things worked in the Dream Asura race. With their promiscuity, even considering the realtivly low birth rates that were a result of their strong talents, over enough time, they would have plenty of children.


    Even so, the person everyone thought of almost instantly was still Mae, which was a bit ironic considering the fact that Aantha and Mae weren''t really siblings and were instead a close pair of cousins. It was just that Aantha''s other siblings were simply far too old to have married themselves to a young man like Ryu.


    Strength mattered too much in the cultivation world, and often talent wasn''t enough to guarantee future success, there were simply to many variables. This was why although there might be many verbal agreements regarding marriage, many wouldn''t be followed through upon until the two interested parties reached a certain status.


    However, for Aantha to call Ryu brother-in-law meant that even if the marriage hadn''t been confirmed with 100% certainty, at the very least, Ryu, and this secondary party, had to be in agreement with one another that they would be Dao Companions. And, the only way for this to happen was if this masked man was of close enough status with someone Aantha was close enough to call sister.


    In that case, there was only one such person that fit all of the requirements, and that was Mae.


    But although everyone reached this conclusion simulatenously, all of them being geniuses with more than powerful enough deductive reasoning skills, they still found it hard to accept.


    Setting aside Mae''s personality for a moment making it hard for them to believe that she would have already settled on a man, just looking at the direction Ryu had come from... What exactly made him worthy of Mae?


    This group here could be considered to be quite top class in talent. Facing the likes of Enren and Theris, they would only need a handful of moves to defeat them despite being several cultivation realms beneath them.


    However, they were still aware than in comparison to the geniuses that were ahead of them, they were far inferior. Those were the true monsters of the fourth, fifth and sixth Heavens, existences that just might have a chance to be accepted as disciples of a seventh Heaven Clan or Sect in the future.


    How could someone who was worse than even them be accepted by someone of Mae''s caliber?


    What made it all particularly bad was exactly this truth. With her talent, it was very much possible for Mae to marry into a Seventh Heaven Clan in the future. So why would she make such a decision before even reaching the Sky God Realms?


    Could it be that Antha was messing around? She was quite mischievous by nature, but would she really allow some random man to take advatange of her big sister like that? Even she wouldn''t cross such a line, right?


    Ryu inwardly shook his head before looking away. Aantha wasn''t in any danger at all, she was just annoyed and now wanted him to fight her battles for her.


    Even so, he wasn''t particularly mad at her for ''''exposing'''' him. As far as he was concerned, since he dared to bed Mae, he dared to publicly claim her as his woman. Anyone who had a problem with it could be escorted to an early death by his blade.


    Aantha pouted when she saw that Ryu was going to ignore her. This brother-in-law of hers was really too hateful, however she still became teary eyed.


    ''''I''m going to tell big sis that you just let me die.''''


    Ryu was once again rendered speechless. If she died, how was she going to inform anyone? For the first time, he was thankful for being an only child. If he had to deal with annoying siblings like this, especially considering his personality, he would have been driven up a wall.


    Plus, this wasn''t just a matter of whether he wanted to help Aantha or not, it wasn''t that simple. Just to make it to her, he would have to detour off of his preferred path, and from here, he couldn''t even sense if the inheritance they were fighting over was even worth it for him. Although it seemed like they were within close distance of one another, that was just because of their cultivations. In reality, they were probably separeted by at least three to four inheritances and several hundred kilometers.


    ''''Who are you?''''


    Suddenly, a cold voice came from not too far from Ryu. The young man had flowing golden hair and piercing green eyes. To his back, he had a glaive as well. If Ryu knew who Vie was, he would have probably classified this young man as someone from his Clan, but seeing as Ryu didn''t know who any of these people were, all he cared about was the hostility in the latter''s voice.


    Ryu didn''t respond. The young man was in an adjacent star path to himself and Ryu could easily reach him by taking that path, but he hadn''t decided which route to take yet as he was still carefully analyzing his surroundings. The number of inheritances here felt like a hundredfold compared to what had been behind them. In fact, Ryu could see several individuals who were even doubling back to take part in several more.


    These geniuses were treating this place like their playground.


    Orthros almost immediately lost his patience. As far as he was concerned, it simply didn''t matter whether Ryu was truly Mae''s husband or not, just the fact his name was associated with the latter was enough to sentence him to death. No one could be allowed to cuckold his elder brother.


    Orthros immediately abondoned the fight over his own inheritance, cutting forward a blazing path toward Ryu.


    At that moment, Ryu''s gaze turned frighteningly cold, sparks of radient blue lightning flying between his horns.


    It seemed that these people really wanted to test his patience.

 Chapter 1118 Temper

    1118 Temper


    When Aantha saw what was happening, she smiled an adorable smile while sliding between three blades with a practiced grace. She didn''t seem to be taking the three women around her seriously at all.


    ''''Brother-in-law, watch out! He''s very, very, very powerful. His name is Orthros and he''s a member of the Sky Clan. His big brother has always had a crush on big sis so I think he''s mad about that, make sure he doesn''t find out how much big sis likes cuddling with you, or else he''ll get really, really, really mad.''''


    Aantha''s voice echoed with ''''concern'''', but if Ryu was a different type of person, he might have already been rolling his eyes at this point. However, not only was Ryu not a normal individual, when he learned of the reason Orthros was targeting him, his already cold gaze turned malevolent.


    All of these young geniuses had tempers, but they were entirely unaware that the one with the most fearsome temper among them was actually Ryu himself.


    At that moment, the skies crackled with thunder and Ryu''s wrist flickered outward, causing a large stream of lightning to condense into a vicious dragon-like whip. At the tip of this whip, a half condensed rune rotated, causing the air to sizzle and pop.


    This lightning inheritance was known as the Flood Dragon''s Whip. It was separated into ten stages. The first was Runeless, and each subsequent stage gained one additional Rune. At this point, Ryu had formed about 10% of the First Rune. Upon forming the full Rune, the whip would be able to display the strength of a Lower Fragmented Sky God.


    The inheritance was essentially just a method of lightning manipulation, something that Ryu didn''t actually need considering he had the Lightning God Talent from his Lightning Qilin bloodline. If he wante dto form a whip, he could just manually do it himself. However what made this inheritance special were the runes themselves. They could amplify the explosive power of the lightning, thus concentrating more power into it.


    When Ryu used normal lightning with a 10% formed Rune, it had about a fifth the power of his normal Tribulation Lightning. But if he used the 10% Rune with his Tribulation Lightning Instead... The effects would be astronomically better.


    Ryu suddenly flickered and vanished. In his place, a twin pair of Small Realms formed almost instantly.


    Those watching couldn''t help but sneer. Aantha had only said a few words but this supposed husband of Mae was actually so afraid that he deployed his Small Realms so quickly? Usually people who had any sort of confidence in themselves would only bring out their power as needed, after all, wasn''t the dream of everyone her to gain the Dao Lord''s Inheritance? If you went all out in every battle, how could you even have the stamina to compete when the time came?


    ''''Your ''''brother-in-law'''' isn''t very impressive,'''' one of the women battling Aantha sneered.


    Even as she spoke, Aantha''s tail suddenly lashed against her arm, leaving a deep gash.


    ''''You talk too much, worry about yourself,'''' Aantha sneered back. Though, inwardly, she was a bit unsatisfied as well. She had been with Ryu for these last several months, but she had never seen him fight seriously. None of the Ruins they went to pushed him very hard at all, so she had no idea if this was truly Ryu''s quality or not.


    What these people didn''t know was that Ryu had gotten into the habit of deploying his Small Realms instantly so he could end battles with greater speed. He didn''t care what others thought about his tactics. Two Small Realms might be the limit for others, but for ryu, this was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.


    When Ryu appeared in a wisp of dark wind, his whip had already lashed out, aiming for Orthros'' head. He struck to kill and he didn''t have the slightest hint of propriety in the face of these genuiuses with strong backgrounds. No matter who he was facing, he would always be Ryu Tatsuya.


    While others were sneering at Ryu''s battle style, Orthros, who had wanted to do the same, suddenly found himself frozen. He too was a lightning affinity cultivator, and almost the instant Ryu''s Small Realm was deployed, he found himself entirely stifled. His qi became sluggish and his reponse became slow.


    By the time he reacted, Ryu''s whip was already near his head and he could only roar, letting out a mighty surging wave of qi.


    BANG!


    Orthros was sent flying back, his defensive wall of qi cracking and almost shattering entirely.


    Ryu''s other hand grasped at the air, forming a second whip with a 10% Rune. He lashed out with it almost immediately, shattering Orthros'' defenses to pieces in the next instant.


    Orthros flew backward even faster, but Ryu seemed to be even faster than that, appearing above him like a ghost, his aura entirely malevolent.


    Ryu''s back flexed, his arms flaring out wide before he whipped them downward with a vicious momentum.


    The skies clapped with thunder, the roar of a might flood dragon drowning out everything else.


    Ryu''s two whips lashed out against Orthros'' chest, causing it to cave in.


    A projectile of blood flew from Orthros'' lips, his robes erupting into ashes and his inner lining of armor only barely reflecting what remained of the damage.


    Orthros barely managed to maintain his consciousness, finally managing to reach to his back and bring his glaive into his hands. Even as he crashed back first into the ground, he countered, striking upward with what strength he had left.


    The glaive''s polearm extended, appearing before Ryu''s forehead in a flash of lightning and piercing right through.


    But just when it seemed that Orthros had successfully countered, Ryu''s afterimage vanished into the wind, appearing on the ground just 10 meters from Orthros as the latter struggled to his feet, only to be met by two whipping whips.


    Orthros was sent flying again.


    A sudden silence fell over the surroundings as Ryu savagely hounded Orthros. It was clear to everyone that due to just a few words from Aantha, Ryu wanted nothing more than to kill Orthros.

 Chapter 1119 Danger

    1119 Danger


    ''''Enough!''''


    Orthros roared into the air, his golden hair dancing with sparkling motes of light. At that moment, his cultivation which had been at the World Sea Realm began to plummted and concentrate, only stopping after falling to the Path Extinction Realm. And yet, his aura seemed to become many times more concentrated in an instant.


    It was clear that he no longer cared about anything else. There wasn''t any of the trash of the Third and lower Heavens here anyway. What good was blending in to him?!


    His glaive struck against the ground, bending wildly as it stopped his backward momentum. Then, he flung himself forward like a slingshot, his glaive''s polearm vibrating wildly beneath the pressure. In an instant, he had already closed the distance between himself and Ryu, bearing down with a suffocating pressure.


    The arc of the glaive traveled from near parallel with the ground right to Ryu''s head, leaving a beautiful path of gold in its wake as sparks of lightning trembled along it.


    However, when it seemed that Ryu would lose his head, his afterimage dispersed into the wind once more.


    Ryu appeared high in the skies, his whips pulling against his arms as though the pair were trully flood dragons struggling against their chains. They seemed far more lifelike now even with just 10% of the first Rune formed. And yet, under a suppressive might, they were quickly compressed.


    Ryu opened his palms and his great sworfstaffs flew into them. At the same time, the coiling lightning flood dragons wrapped around the blades of the great swordstaffs, pulsing with a might power.


    With a single raise of his arm, the crackles of lightning and the booming of thunder in the skies caused the star path to quake. The roar of a mighty beast echoed and Ryu''s great swordstaffs suddenly felt as though they had been forged with the bones of dragons and tempered in the blood of qilins.


    Orthros felt a mighty pressure descend upon him and the faint sparks of lightning he had been accumulating were entirely snuffed out.


    In the skies, a looming shadow appeared to Ryu''s back. In its presence, even the most volatile lightning qi seemed to become completely docile. Its horns pierced the skies and its hooves solidified the earth. Before it, Orthros could only feel that his aura was completely supressed.


    The geniuses in the surroundings felt their pupils constrict. They recognized it almost immediately.


    Birted Phenomena.


    Ever since Ryu had perfected his Ruler Realm Inheritances he had gained access to Birthed Phenomena. However, using such Phenomena in the True Martial World was troublesome for its own reasons. Even partially summoned like this, it was all too obvious that Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena wasn''t human. Using the Birthed Phenomena of an Inheritance obviously birthed from the affinity of his Bloodlines was like screaming to the mountaintops that he had Lightning Qilin blood flowing through his veins.


    However, with his current identity, his bloodline was already exposed, and since he couldn''t use his Immortal Rings for similar reasons, this was the second best option.


    Orthros felt his heart skip a beat. Without the slightest hesitation, before Ryu could even swing, his palm flipped over and a talisman of sorts appeared. He slammed it onto his chest and vanished in a streak of lightning. He was so fast that by the time Ryu swung his arm down, his ttack hit nothing but air.


    BOOM!


    The star path quaked before settling down.


    Ryu slowly fell from the air, his gaze frighteningly cold as he looked toward the direction Orthros had vanished. He had gone down a path that he had previously unlocked, but due to the rules of the star path, Ryu wasn''t able to follow down it. Obviously, Orthros had thought of this and used it to his advantage.


    Others felt shocked by the battle alone, but Ryu was entirely unsatisfied. He rarely failed to kill those he wanted dead, in fact he couldn''t remember this ever happening before. He didn''t like the feeling.


    This was ultimately a failure of his ignorance, he had never even seen such an escape measure before, it didn''t even look like Orthros had to pay a steep price, other than whatever the cost of the talisman itself was.


    ''''Annoying,'''' Ryu growled.


    He only spoke for himself, but what level of cultivators were there around him? Even if he was speaking at a normal level, most in the surroundings several dozen kilometers heard him.


    To the geniuses here, this only made sense. They had far too many protective reasures, normally, to kill one another, so often, they didn''t even try. Their matches had slowly become tacit spars as a result of this. Ryu was probably the only one among them all that had actually been trying to kill his enemy.


    Even so, although they felt that Ryu was somewhat arrogant, they didn''t believe that it was entirely unwarranted. They didn''t know why someone who could form a Birthed Phenomena was placed so far back, but what they did know was that anyone who could form such a thing, at they very least, was a genius of comprehension.


    As steep as the difficulty in forming a Birthed Phenomena in Sacrum was, even saying it was a thousandfold harder in the True Martial World would be an understatement. It wasn''t just that it confirmed a level of genius comprehension very few could match, more importantly, it assumed the existence of an Inheritance that had the ability to reach such a level!


    They had wondered why Orthros'' lightning had seemed so subdued, it turned out that this was because Ryu had suppressed him to the point he couldn''t even raise his head!


    Just who was this young man, exactly?


    At that moment, Aantha''s giggles reached their ears. It seemed that this mischievous young woman, the catalyst for all of this to begin with, was actually quite happy with the results. At the very least, Ryu wasn''t weak, this was a good thing.


    Ryu sent a gaze toward Aantha. Truthfully anyone else who had played with him like this would be dealing with an arrow to the forehead right about now, beautiful woman or not. However, he had always been more lenient toward family, and Aantha could barely be considered that.


    He inwardly shook his head and decided to forget about it. Her punishment would be dealing with those three surrounding her on her own.


    Without a word, Ryu turned toward the star paths once again and chose one. He had thought about going down toward the inheritance Orthros had been about to claim since he could sense that it was a lightning inheritance, but he decided against it. He had finally sensed a soul inheritance and it just might be useful to him.


    Aantha''s pouting returned once she realized that Ryu had dispersed his Birthed Phenomena and was continuing on without a word to her.


    ''''I''m telling big sis!'''' Aantha called out, but Ryu still ignored her. ''''Hey, where are you going!'''' Don''t go down that path, there are some dangerous people over there! Hey! Listen to me!''''


    This time, Aantha seemed to actually be serious, but he was Ryu Tatsuya, since when did danger cause his steps to pause? How ridiculous.


    Aantha was speechless. She somewhat felt like the boy who cried wolf, but Ryu should be able to tell when she was joking around and when she was being serious, right? Why was he being so stubborn?!


    Aantha panicked. If mae found out about this, would she blame her? She had really tried, though!


    Ryu''s body flashed along the start paths, finally appearing at a crossroad. However, compared to the other star paths which either only had a single person others didn''t dare to fight with, or had a number of individuals fighting it out, this one not only had several individuals, but they were also entirely unmoving.


    Even with the appearance of Ryu, they stood each ten or so meters apart from one another, their eyes closed and their robes fluttering.


    Others when they saw such a scene might come to a stop and hesitate. However, Ryu''s steps didn''t even hitch. He was on a time crunch, it would already be too late to regret it if others got to the Dao Lord''s Inheritance before him.


    Ryu had a Dao Sovereign''s soul cultivation technique. It was just a single method and didn''t have the full inheritance behind it. And yet, just its existence alone was groundbreaking. Compared to a Dao Sovereign singular cultivation technique, the entire inheritance of a Dao Lord was far more valuable, to say that it would be life changing was an understatement.


    He didn''t care what little game of arrogant chicken these robe youths were playing. If they wanted to stand around and do nothing, he would simply claim the inheritance and move on.


    The moment the youths realized that Ryu actually had no intention of stopping, their expressions changed somewhat even within their seemingly meditative states.


    At that instant, one who seemed far more relaxed than the others suddenly opened his eyes, turning towards Ryu.


    ''''Since you don''t understand your place, just die.''''


    The gaze of the youngman flashed, a streaking soul attack appearing before Ryu''s forehead in less than a blink.

 Chapter 1120 TWANG!

    1120 TWANG!


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. The spiritual Qi condensed attack was fast, almost too fast. It sank into his forehead without much resistance.


    In the distance, Aantha''s expression become incomparably ugly.


    In the True Martial World, Mental Realm Masters were on a completely different level. Even so, they were incomparably rare and there were only small pockets of them even in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens.


    The ones that did exist were extraordinarily dangerous. Even high class geniuses who could be considered to be at the pinnacle wouldn''t casually offend such existences. This was why despite all the commotion around, no one had stepped within even a single branch of this soul inheritance. In fact, they were arrogant to the point that they didn''t even pay attention to what was around them either, completely ignoring Ryu''s earlier battle.


    These individuals were placed further back by the Dao Lord because their overall talent was lacking. But their soul talent was so exceptionally high, and in such a rare niche at that, that they were among the most dangerous individuals here if not the most dangerous.


    When others saw Ryu overestimating himself like this, they were rendered entirely speechless. Even their elder sibling or senior brothers and sisters wouldn''t be so casual in encountering such individuals, at least not without some sort of Mental Realm protection treasure, but those were simply far too rare.


    However, in the next moment, everything seemed to change. Ryu, whose next step should have faltered, continued forward as though he hadn''t just been attacked. The soul strike of the Mental Realm Master genius was like a pebble falling into the vast ocean. Ryu didn''t even have to put up any defense, his Spiritual Sense was so vast that any damage caused was like a drop in a raging river.


    Before the Mental Realm Master could realize that he had made a mistake, Ryu''s claw had descended.


    Ryu''s palm cast darkness over the Mental Realm Master''s eyes, his claw lifting him up by squeezing the sides of his temples. Even with a slight squeeze, the skull of the Mental Realm Master had already fractured, causing him to cry out in pain and horror.


    Another silence fell as Ryu frowned, shaking his head.


    Although he had tanked that strike, he didn''t feel good. No matter how strong you were, a papercut would still be annoying and it might even sting a bit depending on the situation. Ultimately, despite his soul strength, Ryu didn''t have any solid manipulation methods and wasn''t good enough to defend himself.


    Even so, the slight damage to Ryu''s soul was quickly healed with a slight inhale.


    Ryu might lag behind the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens in a lot of aspect, but when it came to Mental Realm Talent, only the geniuses of the Seventh, Eight and Ninth Heavens could possibly hold a candle to him.


    To put this matter into perspective, these youths here, even despite being in the Path Extinction and Dao Pedestal Realms, were capable of matching the World Sea Realm geniuses of the lower Heavens.


    Likewise for Ryu, even though his current Soul Realm was on part with these geniuses, being at the Soul Refinement Realm, the gap was so astronomical that it was almost child''s play. The only unfortunate part was that Ryu''s soul potential, due to the nature of his Perfect Blackbody Soul, was limited by his body''s strength.


    Other soul talents would give more direct benefits and were more directly applicable in battle. However, Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul''s best ability was in its limitless growth potential. It was just that this limitless potential was ultimately limited by how much Ryu''s body could handle.


    So, unless Ryu found the Body Realm cultivation technique he was looking for, he would continue to be limited in this aspect.


    It could be said that if not for this, even if there were a thousand of this Mental Realm Master genius, he wouldn''t even cause Ryu to frown.


    Luckily, while Ryu was limited in this aspect, his Spacetime Soul Nature more than made up for it, placing him more on par with those Seventh Heaven and higher geniuses at least in this aspect.


    Ryu shook his head and suddenly realized that this man was still screaming.


    ''''Annoying.''''


    Ryu''s claw squeezed and punctured five bloody holes into the head of the screaming young man. Then, he reached forward and took the latter''s spatial ring. There were probably a ton of useful things in there.


    At that moment, the relief that Aantha was feeling turned cold once more.


    Without hesitation, the remaining Mental Realm Masters all flipped their palms over, taking out their own protective treasures and escaping in all directions. They didn''t even give the inheritance a second glance, if the strongest of them had been dealt with like that, the rest of them stood no chance.


    ''''Ryu, you definitely cannot expose your identity now, definitely cannot!''''


    The words entered Ryu''s ears. This time, there wasn''t even the slightest hint of playfulness in Aantha''s tone. However, seeing that Ryu ignored her again while casually tossing the corpse to the side, Aantha became slightly more anxious.


    ''''You don''t understand, Mental Realm Masters are too weak, so they''re incredibly protective of their own, this is especially the case for those of them talented enough to be taken in as disciples. The one you just killed is Terran, his master is Saint Rinushka who has only taken three disciples in his life.''''


    ''''Saint Rinushka is a Perfect Sky God, but even Omniscient Sky Gods wouldn''t casually offend him. In addition, Saint Rinushka''s other two disciples are extremely powerful as well. One is in the World Sea Realm and the other entered the Fragmented Sky God Realm just recently.''''


    ''''The others will definitely tell them what happened here. Do not expose yourself no matter what.''''


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. A Perfect Sky God that Omniscient Sky Gods feared?


    The gap between individual Sky Gods Realms was enormous. The Sky God Realm might as well have been a separation of mortal and God, quite literally.


    Even now, Ryu had no chance in defeating even a Fragmented Sky God of the First Heaven, and that was despite the fact he could crush World Sea Realm geniuses of the Third Heaven with hardly much effort at all.


    This was how huge the gap was.


    For a perfect Sky God to be able to skip not just one Realm, but two....! That made little sense. There had to be some other secret going on here, something that others were missing. Theoretically, even if the Omniscient Sky God wasn''t proficient in matters of the soul, just the passive evolution of their Mental Realm caused by two Sky God Realm breakthroughs should be enough to crush all those beneath them.


    ''''Interesting.''''


    Ryu gave Aantha a faint nod, but he didn''t seem too worried. His decision was still the same. He had no intention of revealing his identity, but if he couldn''t collect enough Heavenly Favor without it, he would rather reveal himself entirely than wallow in mediocrity.


    Seeing that she got a nod from Ryu, Aantha felt happy for some reason before she suddenly shook her head. This stinky brother-in-law was so cold that she almost smiled because of a mere nod, how could she account to herself if this was all the help she got?


    ''''Shouldn''t you help your sister-in-law out a bit in exchange for how nice she''s been to you? Aantha pouted.


    Ryu turned a faint glance over.


    At first, Aantha thought that Ryu would ignore her again, but to her shock, a raging lightning flood dragon formed in Ryu''s palm in an instant. It seemed countless times more lifelike than before, almost as though every time Ryu used it, his comprehension would jump forward another massive leap.


    But Aantha pouted once again. They were too far away, how would a whip help?


    It was then that Ryu shrugged off an inconspicuous bow that had always followed him. It was so low profile that many forgot that he even wore it at all, and it only became more difficult to make out after he put his mask on.


    Ryu elevated two fingers from his grip, pointing forward. At that instant, the raging whip became docile, concentrating into a glistening blue steel, tri-pointed arrow tip. Those that watched this scene couldn''t believe that a whip of over 20 meters long had suddenly become an object barely two inches long.


    What level of lightning qi control and affinity did that take?! It was unfathomable!


    Ryu brought his two fingers to his bow string, slowly pulling. Under the watchful gazes of those in the vicinity, the arrow tip gained a body, quickly formed by dancing lightning.


    Ryu''s aura changed and a suffocating presence descended.


    Aantha''s expression changed along with many others.


    Bow God!


    Ryu released his arrow with a sharp TWANG and the three women surrounding Aantha felt the scent of death.


    Without hesitation, they brought out their protective measures. But Ryu had already lowered his bow and looked away, reaching for the soul inheritance.

 Chapter 1121 Magus Sky God

    1121 Magus Sky God


    The arrow seemed to rip through the void, appearing within Aantha''s battlefield in the blink of an eye.


    The three rushed away in three different directions, but one unlucky soul found the arrow appearing right at the back of her head. All she could feel was a sizzle and a pop, and before she could understand what had happened, her consciousness faded. She could only subtly feel regret. Why had she crushed her speed talisman instead of her shield talisman instead?


    The other two young women rushed away, unwilling to stay any longer and that left Aantha all alone to accept the inheritance. After she got over her shock, she clapped happily and smiled.


    ''''Hehe, no one can bully me anymore,'''' she held out two fingers and gave a triumphant glare toward everyone in her surroundings.


    Ryu was entirely immersed in the inheritance before him, not particularly paying attention to his surroundings. He knew that his arrow would land, and even if they managed to block it, there was no way that they would stay just to suffer a second attack. The strength of a Bow God wasn''t something the likes of these individuals could ignore.


    Ryu hadn''t revealed his weapon Godhood¡¯s to this point, mostly because it wasn''t necessary. But the moment he did, it felt like a boulder had fallen into a calm lake. It felt almost silly to say that Ryu didn''t have any belief in himself when he deployed his Small Realms.


    To them, a Small Realm might be a great trump card to leave in reserve. But someone with a soul strong enough to ignore the strike of a Mental Realm Master and somehow also be a Bow God clearly wouldn''t feel the same way...


    Ryu didn''t care for the opinions of those around him. Now that he had claimed his inheritance, no one could enter this star path any longer, so he was safe to absorb it in silence. In fact, the only reason he had been able to attack Aantha''s star path was because that inheritance had yet to be claimed, if it had been, even his arrow would have been snuffed into nothingness.


    ''''I see, this is not bad I guess.''''


    It was more than not bad. There was a reason the other Mental Realm Masters had been so enamored with this inheritance.


    For one, this Inheritance''s glass orb was larger than a Silver City of the Heaven''s path, stretching out thousands of kilometers. And secondly, it was the first and maybe the only soul inheritance present in this place. Just this, there was no doubt to its value.


    This Inheritance was actually very similar to the Visualization methods of Sacrum, although a bit different. Ryu hadn''t bothered to care about the names of the other Sky Gods he had gotten inheritances from up to this point, but this Sky God he did make a note of...


    He called himself the Magus Sky God, and shockingly enough, he was an Omniscient Sky god, just a step away from the Dao Lord level.


    The Magus Sky God created an Inheritance of what he called Magus Arts, but as Ryu saw it, it relied on the same principles of Fundamental Runes and Rune formation that the Visualization techniques of Sacrum used. The main difference here, however, was that this inheritance was complete with a systematic method and documentation of the True Martial World''s Runes.


    What did this mean? It meant that Ryu didn''t need to waste his time slowly researching the Runes of the True Martial World like he had originally been forced to.


    Ryu had been dragging his feet in bolstering the strength of his Visualizations because it simply took too much work and time that he didn''t have. In fact, he had only managed to do it with his master''s Visualization up to this point, and that was only because it was mandatory for his current cultivation.


    But now, he had a cheat sheet of sorts.


    In addition, if he didn''t want to, he didn''t have to waste any time at all improving the Visualization of Sacrum, he could simply use the roadmap the Magus Sky God had left behind and build his attack portfolio using it instead.


    The Magus Sky God was very adept at neutral defenses and attacks formed by his overwhelming Spiritual Qi. These were attacks like the one that Terran has used against Ryu. They were fast, quickly formed, and difficult to counter without special protective treasures or wasting a ton of qi to overwhelm the Spiritual Qi.


    While Ryu was clearly interested in these, he was also highly interested in the defensive measures. He was lacking in them quite a bit and he didn''t want to have just tank any attacks he came across with his dense Spiritual Sea.


    Aside from this core inheritance, the Magus Sky God had left many other things behind as well.


    There was a cultivation technique, but Ryu wasn''t very interested in it. After all he had a Dao Sovereign''s soul cultivation method, the Magus Sky God was far too inferior in this respect to move his heart.


    Another interesting tidbit was a soul transfer method. This could not only transfer one''s own soul into the body of another, forcefully taking it over, but it could also be used to snatch the souls of others.


    Ryu wasn''t very interested in either facet. He had no intention of leaving his own body, and his Perfect Blackbody''s natural devouring ability was far better than this technique. However, what he was interested in was the mechanism by which such techniques worked.


    Ryu was well aware that his soul was of great allure even to the extremely powerful people, and this was more so than even his Bloodlines. Aside from his Meridians, his soul was probably the most valuable talent he had.


    Even the likes of Jenneless thought of taking it for herself, let alone others with far more powerful means. Ryu wanted to be able to protect himself from such methods, so he had to know all about them and how he might be able to counter them if he ended up in such a situation.


    As Ryu dove deeper into the inheritance, though, he hadn''t expected to find something that was absolutely perfect for this. The beauty of having an Inheritance suddenly shone through. Instead of stumbling around himself, there was actually a method waiting right here for him.


    The Magus Lock.

 Chapter 1122 Magus Lock

    1122 Magus Lock


    The Magus Lock wasn''t a technique, it was rather a magnum opus, a life''s work a ''''Magus'''' could and would spend their entire lives perfecting.


    The Magus Lock was essentially a permanent Visualization built within one''s Spiritual Sea, a lot like Ryu was already used to. And much like the [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] Visualization of the past that used to perpetually protect Ryu''s mind, so too would the Magus Lock, but via a much more profound method.


    While [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] relied entirely on brute force and the use of an esoteric law, the Magus Lock, while it too could rely on brute force sometimes, could also make use of softer method and other forms of subterfuge.


    The Magus Lock was precisely that, a lock placed on the mind that made it difficult to access the core of one''s soul.


    Mental Realm Masters had all sorts of obscure and hard to deal with abilities, this was part of the reason they had been banned in Ryu''s home world, outside of the machinations of the Martial gods, of course.


    They could read minds, control minds, manipulate memories, and even worse the most powerful and skilled among them could accomplish such things with you being none the wiser.


    The only way to protect yourself was to either be quasi omnipotent and all knowing, or to preemptively prepare yourself, and that was where the Magus Lock came into play.


    According to the Magus Sky God, unless you could forge your own soul protection treasure with all of your knowledge as a Magus built into it, it was best not to rely on them at all. It was impossible for soul protection treasures to block against all methods unless they were at a certain level and the Magus Lock was far more reliable.


    Using the Magus Lock was like surrounding your soul in a maze-like construct, filled with illusions and false walls only you knew how to get through, and also the occasional simple and stronger barrier of defense. The more complex the Magus Lock, the more difficult it was to deal with, and the more secure your mind would be.


    The Magus Sky God left behind several potential base Magus Locks that his inheritor could fuse with immediately. It took time, patience, and a lot of hard work to build up Magus Locks on your own, so the Magus Sky God left behind several foundations to pick from.


    Depending on the foundation Ryu picked, the ultimate form of Magus Lock would likewise be different.


    There were three choices.


    One focused on the most on the maze aspects, making one''s mind difficult to navigate. This choice would make one''s mind a lot more difficult to read and control. It was by far the best in this aspect.


    The second aspect focused a lot more on false walls and illusions. This choice made the mind easier to penetrate, but hard to extricate oneself from. It was a double-edged sword of sorts and could be used by those confident in their raw abilities. It was excellent at trapping and ensnaring.


    The final aspect focused on solid and sturdy walls. This made the mind incredibly firm, but it could also be brittle depending on the situation. In addition, it had natural defense against attacks, but it was weaker against more subtle manipulation like mind reading and control.


    Of course, while all three of these aspects had their weaknesses, it wasn''t to an exaggerated point. It was all relative. Any one of these three aspects had stronger defense even in their weaknesses than most similarly leveled soul protective treasures. This was where the strength of the Magus Lock really shined.


    Even so, Ryu completely ignored these foundational methods and began to build his own.


    There were two reasons why one would want to build starting with these foundational molds.


    The first was the difficulty. understanding the runes needed to build a Magus Lock was a tall task and might take years in and of themselves for someone who was less talented, but to then be able to use these Runes to build adequate defenses without your own experience would be nigh impossible in a short time frame.


    The second was plasticity. This would be a relatively new concept to anyone who came across it and it would be difficult to decide exactly how to build up one''s defenses immediately even if you perfectly understood the Runes needed to do so.


    The first problem wasn''t even a problem for Ryu. He had his Realm Heart which had been perfected to the Immortal Realms, meaning he could see through Immortal Grade secrets with absolute ease. Until he reached the Cosmic Seed Realm equivalent for his soul, these would be all the runes he would need.


    In addition, even if he didn''t have his Realm Heart, he still had his Dao which was exceptionally good at comprehending such things. Now that he had the Fundamental Runes so perfectly laid out and labeled for him by the Magus Sky God, this was as easy as breathing to him.


    As for the second problem, Ryu wasn''t a normal inheritor. He was a person who was already used to using Visualizations to protect his mind, so he had a subtle feeling for it already.


    And, once again, even if he didn''t have such experience, he could see through the secrets of the three foundational molds the Magus Sky God had left behind and piece together their concepts to form his own.


    Just like this, Ryu planned to use some of the concepts the Magus Sky God had self-created, the false walls, the maze and the sturdy defenses, and he would also infuse his own concepts. These methods would rely on concepts from [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], which could swallow up qi of all types and spit out more Spiritual qi, [Immortal Sakura], which was adept at taking on frontal attacks and turning them into glancing blows, and most importantly, his own Spacetime Soul Nature would be his greatest defense.


    It only took Ryu a few minutes to come up with the perfect foundation for his Magus Lock using these concepts and soon delicate dark gold runes were dancing within his Spiritual Sea. In less than half an hour, Ryu had defenses he felt made him immune to any soul attacks beneath the World Sea Realm, and even for attacks at that level he felt like he could tank them.


    His aura completely changed, and his gaze flashed with a dark gold hue before it slowly faded.


    Ryu''s hair fluttered in the wind as he took a step forward, vanishing into thin air.


    Dark gold runes danced around his body and within his irises as he moved forward faster and faster.


    This Dao Lord''s Inheritance would be his.


    No one here could stop him.

 Chapter 1123 Nine Pillars

    1123 Nine Pillars


    The dark gold runes continued to float around Ryu. Sometimes they would fuse into forms that were exponentially more complex, but they would also quickly separate afterward, dancing in dark gold motes of light.


    Surges of qi seemed to form whenever these runes fused. It was clear that they had quite some influence on the atmospheric qi, almost like they could have the presence of Immortal rings.


    Ryu''s steps came to a pause, his eyes narrowing.


    This region was eerily quiet. It was difficult to spread out his Spiritual Sense very far in this region because of the star paths'' fluctuations, and his eyes were still semi-blind so he couldn''t lock onto targets further than what his sense could reach, but even so, his ears tended to be quite reliable. For whatever reason, though, this seemed to be a dead zone.


    There were still numerous paths ahead, and just as many Inheritances to choose from, but there were no signs of battle and very few of the star paths were cut off, having already been claimed by others. This seemed to say that there were a very small number of individuals who had crossed through this region, a number small enough that direct combat didn''t seem to be necessary.


    ''''I see...''''


    If, theoretically, there were only a small number of geniuses who made it to this point, but the inheritances remained so numerous, then there really might not be a need for them to fight one another directly.


    ''''In that case....''''


    Ryu chose a path and rushed forward. He continuously kept an eye out for a Body Realm Inheritance that could move him, but although they were less rare than the soul inheritance, of which he had only sensed one to this point, they weren''t as ubiquitous as the others.


    Ryu couldn''t help but wonder about the sheer number of inheritances here compared to the number of geniuses. Unless one had the time to backtrack and take completely new inheritances, it would be impossible to claim all these inheritances, and even if you did, you would just be one person. Even Ryu wouldn''t claim that he would be able to maximize so many methods, he was just one person, after all.


    But the more interesting topic here was the willingness of these experts of time gone past to do this. By this point in the star path, these Sky Gods here were all Perfect Sky Gods at worst, with a good portion being Transcended Sky Gods.


    Such individuals had a great deal of pride in themselves, and rightfully so. They had reached a stage very few could. And yet, here they were, presenting themselves like goods at a marketplace and waiting for geniuses who might never reach their height to pick them. It was difficult to fathom that they would choose to do such a thing.


    The only explanation seemed to be the Convergence. The only reason they would be so willing to lower their standing would be because of such a thing. They hoped that they would land in the hands of a rising genius who would grant them enough Karma to be reborn into a life where they could elevate past their former peak.


    Of course, this was just the surface reason. There was an entirely different reason here for why these inheritances were just so obediently lined up... And that was because of the looming, planted-sized orb that hung above all of their heads, locking them in place.


    The Dao Lord had spoken and none of them had the ability to disobey. If not for the actions of the Dao Lord, many of these orbs would have been silently hidden in the forests, deserts and oceans below, and though those with affinity would be able to sense them, they would still be incredibly difficult to find.


    This was the first time in a very long time that the inheritances were so readily available for the geniuses to simply pick from... and it showed.


    Ryu stood before a glass orb and his palm glanced across its surface. It radiated a dense heat and seemed to want to burn the world to the ground.


    It was rare for a pure elemental inheritance to be found so far up here. By this point, many of the Sky Gods had incredibly niche inheritances that required stronger and stronger affinities to be able to subdue.


    Ryu''s ease of claiming the soul inheritance shouldn''t be taken as the norm for those that were here. After all, with Ryu''s soul talent, he hardly felt the so-called test that was left behind. But this fire inheritance felt different.


    Ryu''s claw clenched and shattered the orb.


    Immediately, a raging tide of flames engulfed him.


    Nine Pillar Flame Sky God. Nine Pillars that help up the sky. Nine flames that burned it down.


    The words were entirely contradictory. Building a Dao on this could easily lead a person astray. To hold the skies up and to burn them at the same time, what kind of nonsense was that? Just reading such words were enough to crack the Dao Heart of anyone with a weak will.


    However, when Ryu heard these words echo in his mind, he laughed. Even when he gained the Magus Sky God''s inheritance, an inheritance that had an excellent claim to be the second strongest here outside of the Dao Lord''s inheritance itself, he hadn''t felt very much about it.


    But this Nine Pillar Flame Sky God, a ''''mere'''' Perfect Sky God, made Ryu laugh.


    A contradictory statement? Not at all. In fact, he felt that it made almost too much sense. All it needed was a little translation, a translation that Ryu saw through the core of all to easily.


    I support the skies today because I can. I will burn down the skies tomorrow because I can. I act as I please and my heart guides my actions. Even the Heavens cannot sate my rage when it begins to burn.


    ''''Good.''''


    Ryu clenched a fist and the fire that seemed to want to burn him to ash all condensed, being swallowed into his heart all at once. In a blink, it was as though there was never an inheritance here to begin with.

 Chapter 1124 Dark

    1124 Dark


    The geniuses at the forefront of the star paths continued to move forward with their fasted speed. As Ryu had expected, there were very few fights if any at this point. There were more than enough paths to take and too few here to take them all. It instead became a battle of who had the most options before them and who had the strongest comprehension toward those options.


    Just now, if Ryu hadn''t grasped the essence of the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God''s inheritance, he would have been burnt to ashes. But because of his level of comprehension, the flames hadn''t even tickled him.


    Ryu had noticed this shift in the inheritances long ago. The inheritances much further to the back required battling an avatar, this could be considered to be the simplest form of test. So long as one had a strong enough elemental affinity, it took a fraction of the effort to defeat this avatar.


    However, as you came to the more robust inheritances, the task became more complex. Although there was less fighting involved, the tests were actually several times more difficult. Due to this, despite being by far the closest, the pace of the geniuses ahead was very slow, and they were still just outside striking range of the Dao Lord''s inheritance.


    As they pressed forward, they continued to jeer at one another, lambasting the ones lagging behind and trying to shake the confidence of those a step or two ahead.


    At that moment, though, Vie frowned, looking toward his spatial ring. He was currently being bathed in a light of pure white gold as he tried to comprehend the inheritance before him. The pressure was immense, and he didn''t have time to divert his attention away, but that vibration just now was from his younger brother.


    Judging by the obstructions in the star path, if this message was just getting to him, whatever had happened had occurred long ago. In such a situation, it was already too late for him to do anything in response, and this left him a bit anxious.


    Despite the danger, he still chose to divert some of his attention to see what was happening. His brother was very strong, they shouldn''t be anyone who could threaten him to the point of forcing him to this extent if he was with the other batches of geniuses.


    Orthros and the others weren''t necessarily of weaker talent than the frontline geniuses that were here, it was just that their cultivations were lower so their overall value to the Dao Lord was lesser as a result.


    Orthros was still in the Path Extinction Realm while Vie had long since surpassed that along with Mae and the others, as such they were also given forward placement.


    Of course, this division was only important after you reached a certain threshold of talent. After all, many of the geniuses that were the furthest back had long since entered the World Sea Realm. The distinction was only made when it was worth it.


    This was to say that Vie had a lot of belief in Orthros, only slightly less belief than what he had in himself. Anything could fluster him was worth taking seriously.


    Ultimately, they were still restricted by many rules in this place, and they couldn''t bring out their true talent without attracting unwanted attention, so they had to extra cautious in how they find things. This was the second reason Vie took this risk.


    Withstanding the pain, Vie slowly listened to his brother''s message, sighing a slight sigh of relief when he realized that Orthros had survived. Afterward, though, his expression became far darker as he listened to the rest of the message.


    After a long while, he turned his attention toward Mae who was being baptized in a raging river of black water. Despite the situation, she was calm and unmoved.


    Vie was human, as such he was well aware of the stigma of a union of human and demon. The two races might as well have been oil and water in the way they refused to mix. Although there was a ton of extra-marital activity, actual marriages were very rare.


    Even so, Vie was enthralled not only with Mae''s beauty, but namely her Spirit Soul Nature. He didn''t like having any weaknesses, and though his soul couldn''t be said to be weak, it wasn''t a strength either. Thos real geniuses of the Sixth Heaven, those absolute monsters who couldn''t be bothered to descend to the lower Heavens like the rest of them, didn''t have such ''''weaknesses''''.


    If he wanted to be like them, he not only had to have Mae''s primordial Yin, he also had to have her obediently fuse her soul with his own and become his wife. Once she did, his only ''''weakness'''' would be filled, and he would be no less talented than those real geniuses. Like this, he would be able to truly fight for a spot to enter the Seventh Heaven.


    However, never had he expected that in the time she was gone, Mae would find herself a husband.


    At that moment, the situation suddenly changed.


    An odd balance was broken as the figure of an unknown individual walked into view.


    No matter who it was, even those focused on their inheritances, they all turned their attention over immediately. In the time they had been here, this was the first time someone had caught up with them. In addition, with how close they were getting to the Dao Lord''s Inheritance, everyone who could make it here was a competitor. In fact, in a lot of ways, catching up was more impressive than having been here from the very beginning.


    All they could see, though, was a pair of silver eyes hiding radiant golden rings. The amount of Heavenly favor this individual had accumulated was absolutely astronomical. It was difficult to look him in the eyes without blinking and looking away, it was simply too hard to maintain eye contact.


    Mae blinked when she looked back before she suddenly smiled. If Aantha could recognize Ryu, how could she not? But unlike her little cousin, the moment she saw that Ryu was wearing a mask, she restrained her reaction, not wanting to expose Ryu and not knowing that Aantha had already done enough of that.


    Ryu looked toward Mae and nodded lightly, letting her know that it wasn''t a big deal. But this sort of action caused the expressions of many to suddenly become weird, especially when Mae''s beautiful smile came with the hint of a blush.


    Mae had only just realized that this was the first time she was greeting her husband in front of so many people, this wasn''t something that she was used to.


    To the side, Vie''s usually bright and cheery expression could only become dark.

 Chapter 1125 Threat

    1125 Threat


    Ryu''s gaze shifted and it landed on Jenneless. A coldness flashed in his eyes. The latter wouldn''t recognize him easily normally, but his mask was too conspicuous. The one who almost ruined her body reconstruction was a silver mask wearing, lightning wielding, dual wielder. Ryu fit this description perfectly.


    In addition, according to that mysterious figure, Ryu had Lightning Qilin blood and had even awakened their Storm Talent. Therefore, he had more than a minor right to have reached this point. The only real oddity was that he hadn''t been here immediately.


    When Jenneless reached this point in her thoughts, her expression turned icy. This was the man who had harmed her soul back then and caused her to make all those foolish decisions. Now that her soul was healed and her talent had evolved to this point, she really wanted to see if this bastard would still dare to be so arrogant.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted away. He couldn''t reach Jenneless right now even if he wanted to, she had taken a star path already and there were several cleared inheritances between himself and her. He might consider killing her immediately if this wasn''t the case, but he would have to leave it be for now.


    Instead, Ryu focused on the paths ahead, still looking for the Body Realm inheritance. By this point, any inheritance that appeared was highly valuable and would form the foundation of his path forward until the Sky God Realms at the very least.


    Ryu took a step forward and began to walk down the star path. He found that the pressure he faced in doing this alone was becoming far stronger. It seemed that there would be a greater challenge than just facing the inheritances themselves from this point onward.


    Dark gold runes danced around him, sparks of lightning jumping between his horns.


    ''''Who are you?''''


    Vie''s words seemed to come like a boom of thunder, but despite the fact they were aimed toward Ryu, the latter didn''t seem to react at all.


    ''''Haha!'''' Akura began to laugh hysterically.


    ''''He''s ignoring you, Vie!'''' Are you going to settle for that?!''''


    Truthfully, Akura wasn''t a fool. He might not like Vie normally, but he was also quite understanding toward his usual demeanor. There was very clearly something wrong with Vie now, he wouldn''t usually wear such an expression.


    Hearing Vie''s interrogating tone, Mae immediately became unhappy, her cold gaze landing on him.


    ''''Did you not hear me, I asked you a question!'''' Vie''s voice boomed again, crackling golden lightning erupting around him.


    Ryu tapped at the air and the dark gold runes around him swiveled. A pulse radiated out in all directions and the sound from Vie was entirely blocked. Under normal circumstances, with his temper, Ryu would have directly attacked. But since he couldn''t, he would have to settle for silencing the jumping clown.


    Vie had never seen such methods before, but when he realized it wasn''t an attack, he seemed to put two and two together and his fury became towering, his golden hair dancing in the wind.


    Seeing the situation, even Mae was speechless. Maybe only Ryu would dare to treat Vie like this, even she didn''t entirely ignore him. His standing was quite high. But after a moment, Mae couldn''t help but laugh inwardly, a faint hint of pride blooming in her chest.


    Ryu never seemed like he was putting on an act for anyone. Most who acted like this seemed to be putting on a false front of bravado, but this was truly Ryu in every sense of the words.


    Ryu''s steps came to a pause as Akura laughed so hard he nearly fell to the ground.


    ''''Shit, Shit, Shit''''


    Akura paid for his laughter, almost getting blasted out by his inheritance. He only remembered now that he was in quite a disparaging situation.


    While Akura was laughing, others couldn''t help but gaze toward Ryu a second and third time. The curiosity they felt couldn''t help but grow.


    ''''Mae, who is he?'''' Ranna, the blade dress wearing petite woman couldn''t help but ask. She figured that since she was among the few women here, Mae was more likely to respond to her than most others.


    Hearing this question, Mae smiled before she hesitated slightly. In her silence, she blushed somehwat, a change that most wouldn''t miss.


    Mae didn''t hesistate because she didn''t want to claim a connection with Ryu, but rather because he was wearing a mask. It seemed like he wanted to hide his indentity, so was it appropriate for her to tell the truth? It might make things difficult on him in the future.


    But at that moment, she seemed to hear Ryu''s words echo in her ears and she smiled a sweet smile.


    ''''He''s my husband.''''


    Ranna''s eyes widened when she heard this. Let alone her, most others were stunned. Even Akrua, who was caught between trying to be serious and laughing up a lung froze. This was entirely unexpected, unexpected to the point that they didn''t quite know how to respond.


    Mae blushed again, realizing the intent by her words. She could have said fianc¨¦, at least that way it wouldn''t be so embarrassing. But the word had slipped out from her cherry lips before she could realize the potential problem with them.


    Several gazes landed on Ryu once again, but just previously, he didn''t seem to notice anyone else.


    Vie''s emerald irises flashed with a malevolent light. To not only harm his younger brother, but to even take the woman he had planned to build an empire with right before his eyes. This person had to die.


    Ryu appeared before an inheritance, his hand stretching out.


    ''''An alchemy inheritance? Maybe there''ll be some interesting insights.''''


    Many watched, wanting to know how Ryu would deal with an inheritance. His talent spoke for itself since he had made it here, but the fact he hadn''t been here from the very beginning also spoke for itself. According to the Dao Lord, he wasn''t as good as the rest of them.


    How Ryu performed from now on would decide if he was really a threat, or if Mae had made a foolish mistake in her choice of man. And some had a very strong investment in the truth being the latter.


    However, what actually happened was more shocking than either.


    Ryu pressed his claw forward and squeezed.

 Chapter 1126 Heavenly Rune Pill

    1126 Heavenly Rune Pill


    The glass orb shattered to pieces, sprinkling downward. There was a strong surge of qi that descended upon Ryu, baptizing him. It seemed that Ryu would be torn to pieces, however, after closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them, the wave of qi became incredibly docile.


    After another few seconds, the inheritance completely assimilated with Ryu as thought it was always meant to be his.


    The other geniuses stood frozen.


    A few seconds? If that? It felt like what they were seeing was absolutely impossible. How could someone assimilate an inheritance so quickly?


    If they were correct, that was an alchemy inheritance, if that was the case, in comparison to other inheritances, it was even more difficult to assimilate than most others would be. The methods and philosophies of alchemists tended to vary wildly across a spectrum, there were simply too many paths to take. And unlike with other paths that usually had the same foundation in the end, this wasn''t necessarily true for alchemy.


    In terms of difficulty, only a formation inheritance or blacksmithing inheritance would be more difficult to assimilate. So why had it been so casual?


    Ryu waved a hand and the last motes of light vanished.


    The most valuable part of this alchemy inheritance wasn''t the concoction methods, although this was indeed quite good. Until now, Ryu had been fusing many lesser concoction methods and using them fluidly while relying on his Dao to produce results, but this concoction method, passed down by a Transcended Sky God, was leagues beyond.


    Even so, the most valuable part of this inheritance was actually the alchemy recipes and the embryonic cauldron nurturing methods.


    The Frost Clan had quite a number of these, however when it came to the alchemy recipes, there were simply too many for any one in existence to claim to have them all. The same was the case for embryonic cauldron nurturing, maybe even more so than usual.


    This Sky God called herself the Favor Alchemy Sky God. She was adept at gathering and concentrating Heavenly Favor in her pills and her cauldron for the sake of increasing her rate of success. Due to this, despite being a Transcended Sky God, she could succeed in forming Omniscient Grade Pills with a 10% success rate. This was a success rate that even Omniscient Sky God Alchemists might not be able to match!


    Her magnum opus was the Heavenly Rune Pill. This was a pill she concocted and carried around with her in day-to-day business. Every decade, it formed a rudimentary rune, every millennium these foundational runes would fuse into a great rune, and every ten millennia these great runes would fuse into a heavenly rune.


    Once the heavenly rune was formed, the pill would be able to begin gathering Heavenly Favor and concentrating it. From then on, for every year that passed the accumulation would increase exponentially.


    The Heavenly Rune Pill was created by the Favor Alchemy Sky God in her twilight years, and due to the difficulty, she had only managed to concoct three of them in total. According to her inheritance, she had left these three Heavenly Rune Pills in a hidden Legacy World that would only begin to slowly manifest itself in the case that her inheritance was claimed.


    According to the description, upon swallowing the Heavenly Rune Pill, its benefit would be entirely dependent on the route you wanted to take.


    The favor Alchemy Sky God had created them with the intent to break into the Omniscient Sky God Realm. According to her, had she lived long enough to allow them to mature for a few billion years and reach complete saturation, she would have a 50% chance of breaking through with a single pill. If she swallowed two, she would have a 70% chance. If she swallowed three, she would have an 85% chance.


    Such percentages for such a Realm were absolutely shocking. Unfortunately for the Favor Alchemy Sky God, she didn''t have such a long lifespan left, and as an alchemist, she had already extended her life many times before, stalling the collapse of her Dao.


    It was quite ironic, she said in her final words. Her Dao had allowed her to achieve her greatest feat in her ending years, and yet the Heavens had still decided that she would die. Even while breathing her final breaths, she didn''t understand why this was at all.


    Ryu frowned when he meditated on the inheritance to this point.


    The lifespan of Sky Gods was dependent on the persistence of their Dao. Logically, if the Favor Alchemy Sky God could succeed in her final moments, her belief in her Dao should have skyrocketed, allowing her many more years of life.


    Something about this felt off.


    For someone like Ryu, he didn''t believe that he would ever reach the point of doubting himself. Under such circumstance he would then, theoretically, live forever. But if the Heavens could arbitrarily decide when your time was up, then did that mean that even after becoming a Sky God your life wasn''t in your own hands?


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while before opening his eyes. When he became a Sky God, he would find out personally.


    These three Heavenly Rune Pills would be greatly beneficial to him, they would be the key to unlocking the true potential of his Bloodlines. If they could help even Transcended Sky Gods breakthrough, then if he applied their prowess to his talent instead, the changes would definitely be shocking.


    He had just a few years to reach this Legacy World before its presence became prominent enough that others would sense it. Since it was on the Sixth Heaven, he would have to be quick. If he wasn''t, he could end up locked out of his own inheritance.


    Although the Favor Alchemy Sky God said that those above the World Sea Realm couldn''t enter, that didn''t mean that Sky Gods couldn''t bar others from actually entering. Ryu couldn''t let those pills fall into the hands of others.


    Ryu exhaled a breath and continued to walk forward, the shock of those around him not moving him in the slightest.

 Chapter 1127 Six Pillars

    1127 Six Pillars


    By this point, Ryu felt that walking to the next inheritance was more difficult than claiming the inheritance itself. He couldn''t tell for certain, but he felt like the pressure on himself was far more than what the others were experiencing.


    At first, he thought that everyone was experiencing the same thing, but that was only because most others had to spend a large amount of time accepting inheritances. As a result, when he had originally gotten here, he hadn''t seen anyone walking along the star paths as everyone was focused on their inheritance. It was only after being here for a while that he came to understand that this pressure he was experiencing was almost a wholly unique experience.


    When Ryu realized this, his expression became even colder, a frigid air circulating around him, only to be overwhelmed by his thrumming Fire Dragon blood. He felt like he was being toyed with.


    First he had been sent to the proverbial back of the line. He was put in line with individuals he didn''t even need a single strike to defeat, and that in and of itself was already ridiculous. If not for his wide range of talents and the sharpness of his sense allowing him to pick the right paths, being placed so far behind would have already made it impossible for him to catch up.


    But now that he had caught up and his methods of claiming inheritances were clearly so far and away better than those around him, the goal posts had shifted and he was faced with another challenge entirely.


    Ryu wasn''t someone who liked to be tested to begin with. He didn''t feel that anyone had the right to test him. Those that were above his head, as far as he saw, simply had more time or luck than he did. But just given an adequate amount of time, he would surpass them all.


    He feared nothing, he was in awe of nothing, he felt no reverance for anything.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya.


    However, if there was one thing that he hated more than being tested by those he had little to not respect for, it was being toyed with. He didn''t know why this remnant consciousness of a Dao Lord was treating him this way, but his patience was wearing very thin.


    At that moment, others seemed to realize that Ryu was moving exceptionally slowly. Of course, this ''''slowness'''' was just comparativly speaking. However, he was already moving at half the speed he had initially come here with.


    Too many individuals were paying a great deal of attention to Ryu, monitoring his every movement. After seeing how quickly he clamed one inheritance, they had felt worried about what would happen if he maintained that speed. If they had known how far Ryu had been forced to travel to make it to this point, they would have been even more certain in their assessment. At that sort of pace, the fact that Ryu had caught up almost made it guaranteed that he would reach the end first.


    But just when these geniuses were somewhat despairing, a great boon fell from the sky. This genius who could claim inheritances in a single breath couldn''t withstand the pressure of the star path!


    Ryu wasn''t the only one who felt some pressure walking along the star path, it was just that the others weren''t aware that what Ryu was experiencing was easily a hundredfold what they were experiencing. They falsely assumed that since Ryu had been placed far being them to begin with, there had to be a reason for this, and that reason was manifesting itself now.


    Coming to understand this, many sighed a breath of relief. Clearly, the comprehension of this husband of Mae''s was off the charts, but when it came to his raw talent, he was wholly inferior.


    The dao was incredibly important to a cultivator as one of the Six Pillars, but it was the only one of the six that relied entirely on comprehension, the others relied on Fate and lucky chances!


    Ryu might have a Dao that grealy surpassed their own, but so what?! A Dao wouldn''t be able to display its truest strength until the Sky God Realm, and just making it to the Sky God Realm with a solid enough foundation to make maxial use of one''s Dao required the other five Pillars to be exceptionally sturdy as well.


    A Godhood needed the Blood, the Meridians, the Soul, the Bone Structure and the Spiritual Foundation to all be exceptionally powerful to display their greatest and truest might. They were all foundational requirements needed to build up the strongest possible cultivator.


    Some often naively believed that a Dao was all that was necessary. After all, without a Dao of a certain level, crossing the barriers of the Sky God Realm was impossible.


    However, even with a Dao of a grade weaker, it was still possible to enter a Sky God Realm a grade stronger. If that was the case, what made that possible? The obvious answer was the other five pillars!


    Normally a Sky God born with a Common Grade Dao would be forever stuck in the Fragmented Sky God Realm. However, there were some that existed that could take a step forward and become False Sky Gods even with the limitation in their Dao.


    This was the power of the other Pillars!


    What was rarely talked about, thought, was the vice versa... Mainly because it was even rare than this first instance.


    There were individuals with incredibly powerful Daos that never reached their full potential. There were even some tales of those who had formed Hegemonic Daos and beyond, never even making it to the Perfect Sky God Realm.


    And why was that...?


    It was because all they had was comprehension. The rest of their Pillars were too weak to sustain their Godhoods and such, they found making even a single step of progress to be ridiculously difficult.


    Such people tended to have exceptional combat prowess and long lives, but they would still eventially be surpassed by others, never able to display the truest and most powerful strength of their Daos.


    A Dao was incredibly important, but it was ultimately just one of the Six pillars. If it was the end all, be all, Mae wouldn''t have been able to survive a single strike against Ryu, and these geniuses here wouldn''t even be able to look Ryu in the eye without prostrating themselves.


    As Ryu walked forward, the pressure bearing down on his shoulders, he learned this truth more profoundly than he ever had before.


    Mae looked toward Ryu''s back with a hint of worry in her beautiful eyes. She couldn''t understand what was happening either.


    Didn''t Ryu have Fire Dragon blood within him? Could it be that his body rejected his blood? Was that why he was struggling like this? Or was it because Fire Dragon blood was all he had?


    No, that''s not true either, because Ryu did have an incredibly powerful soul. Just having sex with him once, she felt her own soul strength soaring. In fact, her damaged soul had been cleanly fixed by her time with Ryu. So at the very least, he had a soul comparable to her own.

 Chapter 1128 Divide

    1128 Divide


    If he had a powerful Bloodline, a powerful Mental Realm, and a powerful Dao, could it just ben then that his other tree Pillars were so piss poor that they dragged him down to such an extent? The more Mae thought about it, the more this seemed to make sense. In fact, even Ryu was beginning to think that this was true, the only difference was that he didn''t add his Meridians into the mix.


    Maybe Ryu''s weakest talent currently was his Bone Structure. It was only at the Ancestral Grade, a level that was around the Fourth Heaven in quality. Although it had been mutated by his Bloodlines and the formation of his Spirit Bodies, it was still only a minor step beyond that.


    It was very possible that the Dao Lord didn''t like this weakness and wanted to pick out a genius who was almost perfect in every aspect. But Ryu didn''t believe that everyone around him was so perfect, they definitely had weaker talents, and there were probably some with talents even weaker than the Ancestral Grade.


    But that then led to Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation. Ryu still didn''t know what grade it was, but for all he knew, it was trash.


    The Pheonix Sky God was, ultimately, a Sky God of Sacrum. Ryu had been able to fight Sky Gods of Sacrum without even stepping into the Path Extinction Realm.


    Ryu had always thought that the Pheoenix Sky God was more special because they were so mysterious, he had even thought that the Phoenix Sky God might have come to the Trtue Martial World long ago, but what if... he had been wrong all along?


    What if the mystery of the Pheoenix Sky God ended in Sacrum and this so-called mysterious figure was only somewhat powerful in their middle grade world? If that was the case, the Spiritual Foundation in his body now was worse than trash.


    When Ryu got here, he struggled even against Common Grade beasts. There was a chance, then, that the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation wasn''t even good enough to be considered common in this place. If the Dao Lord was seeing that, then maybe he had the right to be so disdainful.


    The Spiritual Foundation was arguably even more important than the Dao. Its true importance began to shine through the moment one entered the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    It was the foundation upon which your Cosmic Seeds were planted, it was the foundation that decided the size of your World Sea, it was the foundation upon which your Godhood was built and nurtured! Without it, one couldn''t even begin their path of cultivation!


    If Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was considered to be so substandard, then ther ewas a very real chance he would never be able to enter the Sky God Realm to make full use of his Doa in the first place. Those with exceptionally poor Spiritual Foundations would find it difficult to even cultivate in the Dao Pedestal Realm, let alone make it beyond.


    Until now, all of the cultivation Realms Ryu had passed relide heavily on his will power or his Meridians.


    The Awakening Realm was his will, the Pulse Opening Realm, the Qi Refinement Realm, were both his Meridians, he skipped over the Spiritual Severing Realm entirely, and then the Divine Vessel Realm, Connecting Heaven Realm and the Immortal Ring Realm all placed great pressure on his Meridians, while finally, the Path Extinction Realm relied entirely on his comprehension.


    And now he was at a crossroads. He was finally at the border of a Cultivation Realm he couldn''t will his way through, think his way through, or rely on his Meridians to wade through.


    And the Dao Lord knew that.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s upper robes shredded to pieces, being blasted away by the pressure. It was only now that those sneering within their hearts gained themselves a visual representation of the kind of pressure Ryu was actually experiencing, and it was enough to make their pupils constrict into pinholes.


    The worry in Mae''s eyes became deeper.


    This was just how Fate worked sometimes. Ryu had done well to come this far, even competing with them despite being from a smaller world. Most wouldn''t even be able to make it in the First Heaven, let alone make it to this point to compete against geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heaven.


    Mae knew that she should feel disappointed that she had given her first time to a man with limited potential, but she couldn''t bring herself to feel that way. Those that knew her knew that she wasn''t exactly a sympathetic or soft hearted person, but Ryu had thoroughly conquered her, it was already to late to take a step back.


    Worse come to worst, she would bear the burden herself.


    CRACK!


    Ryu''s body was under such enormous pressure that he had no choice but to grasp his great swordstaffs in his hands to prevent them from sinking to the ground below. However, even as he did so, a deep crack appeared in his mask while his blades trembled.


    It seemed that even his personal items wouldn''t be left alone. If not for the high grade of the golden moon world ring on his finger, it would be on the verge of collapse.


    Ryu''s steps came to a pause. His muscles spasmed, flexing and unflexing as they bore the brunt of the pressure. He seemed to have reached the end of his rope.


    By this point, he had already taken the lead into first place and was even on the verge of leaving the others behind, but it seemed as though this Dao Lord refused to allow him to take even a single other step forward.


    Ryu gripped his fists, his polearms creaking in his palms.


    From this vantage point, all others could see his tall and straight back. He was a single solitary figure, looking up toward the insurmountable might of a Dao Lord.


    Vie and Akura sneered. What was glaring going to do to help? Even Zed snorted. If he was Ryu, he would have just turned back and started collecting other inheritance to bolster his strength, maybe in the future he would be able to find a lucky opportunity to make this Dao Lord regret his choice.


    However, Ryu didn''t do this. In fact, he suddenly began to laugh, the thunderous booming of his voice causing the hearts of those who heard it to quake.


    When his laughter came to a stop, his torso burst with a rain of blood and several of his radient sapphire scales fell to the ground. Even so, his gaze sharpened as they glowed with a bilding light.


    His eight trigram diagram rotated to life and his chest expanded a size. It no longer glowed with a jade-like and ancient green light. No, it pulsed with a radient gold, and seemingly having transcended beyond something.


    ''''DIVIDE.''''


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. He could split even the tribulation of the Heavens. Why would he fear the mere incarnation of a Dao Lord?


    Like a raging sea, the pressure falling like a tsunami toward Ryu was split in two.


    He took a step forward and appeared dozens of kilometers ahead, reaching out with his claw and shattering another inheritance.

 Chapter 1129 Dream Flame

    1129 Dream Flame


    BANG!


    The inheritance shattered into countless motes of lights, its core surging down toward Ryu and enveloping his body.


    In such a state, Ryu should have struggled to withstand the pressure of the inheritance. His body looked like it could collapse at any moment and his blood fell in heavy rivers. And yet, just like before, after a few moments, the pressure vanished, and with a breath Ryu seemed to swallow up every ounce of qi in the surroundings.


    Right then, the wounds accosting Ryu suddenly began to glow, healing swiftly. His body radiated out with a strong pulse and his gaze sharpened. He didn''t look like a person who had just fought against the will of a Dao Lord at all.


    Ryu didn''t bother with anyone else, his eyes closing as he focused on the inheritance in his mind. As far as he was concerned, this was no longer a battle of him and the other geniuses, this was a battle of him and the Dao Lord.


    A pregnant silence echoed over the star paths. Ryu''s roar seemed to replay in their minds again and again, their blood still running cold. All they could see was his back view, and yet it radiated to them a pride that was nigh suffocating. They couldn''t bring themselves to look away and their previous disdain felt like chains dangling from their bodies, wrapping around their throats, wrists and ankles and even stopping them from breathing properly.


    Mae blinked as she looked toward Ryu''s back, her crimson irises reflecting his figure like the still surface of a lake. Her skin began to vibrate and her tail almost stood out as straight as an arrow and her wings quivered. Right this moment, she felt hot, too hot. The heat she was radiating affected her surroundings, even causing a few around her to flush red. The endorphins and hormones that suddenly appeared in the air fillted it with not only a hyper fragrant scent, but it also made those that interacted with it find it difficult to control their inner thoughts properly...almost as though they had inhaled an aphrodisiac.


    If there wasn''t such a large distance separating her and Ryu, she probably would have pounced on him, disregarding the situation.


    Made suddenly howled into the skies.


    Ryu, who was focused on the inheritance, felt a wild pulse spread through his Mental Realm. His usually calm Spiritual Sea, filled with a dense black liquid, began to roll and waves began to stack and grow as though they wouldn''t stop until they formed towering tsunamis.


    Ryu''s mind retreated from his focused state for a moment, frowning.


    He could feel it. Mae''s Primordial Yin, which had been calm until now, was suddenly rampaging. No, maybe rampaging wasn''t the right word. It was more like it was hyper excited and it almost refused to calm. What was more odd was that it seemed to derive pleasure from wreaking havoc.


    Ryu was speechless, what did all of this mean?


    In the distance, Mae''s body erupted with flames, her water inheritance having been completely suppressed. Her tail danced with them, and the black steel feathers of her wings did as well. Her clothing was almost entirely burnt away beneath the passion, but the strong flames made it impossible to see anything. Even if one tried to reach forward with their Spiritual Sense, they would find that even it was being burnt away.


    It was clear that Mae''s flames weren''t only physical manifestations of qi, they were also soul attacks that could burn one''s Mental Realm to ash.


    In an even further distance, Aantha, who was comprehending her own inheritance, looked up and clicked her tongue.


    ''''...It''s been so long since the last episode... Welp, good luck brother-in-law, you can only blame yourself for being too cool...''


    Aantha had thought that this was an inevitable outcome after seeing Ryu in action just now. In the end, she couldn''t really warn him about this, he would be just as ill prepared, if not more so, had she tried.


    Mae was what one might call a... Sadist. The way she showed her love was through pain. The more harm those around her could withstand and still stay by her side, the more they loved her. At the very least, this was how she saw the world.


    When she was young, she aimed all of this toward her parents. When Aantha was born, she too had to deal with this sort of baptizing. It was only after Mae''s talents were suppressed and she was sent down to the Second Heaven that this had come to somewhat of a stop.


    Mae had awakened the greatest talent of the Dream Asura Race, the Soul Flame, sometimes known as the Dream Flame. It burned with a fiery passion, and due to that, the passion of those who had awakened it were likewise just as fiery. Much like Ryu''s Rage Flame, it fed of the natural emotions of its owner. The difference was that while Ryu''s catalyst was fury, Mae''s catalyst were positive emotions.


    In such a state, Mae would ironically try to breed negative emotions. This sounded counter intuitive, but the only way to dim the Soul Flame was by lessening her passion, and the only way to lessen her passion was to harm those she loved. This irony of ironies led to her brewing the personality of a sadist. Whenever she had such an episode, she wanted nothing more than to torture the target of her affections until they bled head to toe, only then would she nurse them back to health.


    Of course, most often, this led nowhere. Mae''s parents were far more powerful than herself, after all. And Aantha had always had protection of others when they interacted. Ryu, though, would be the first to experience this, and he didn''t have the same advantages.


    ...


    Ryu calmly watched the rippling waves in his Spiritual Sea. It seemed that Mae wouldn''t be satisfied until she swallowed up everything, he could even faintly sense her intentions.

 Chapter 1130 Three Inheritances

    1130 Three Inheritances


    Ryu didn''t know the full details like Aantha did, but he had some faint guesses. At the very least, although Aantha was attacking him right now technically, he didn''t really feel any maliciousness despite feeling...maliciousness. It was hard to explain, but at the very least, he could see through the first layer of her intentions.


    The Ryu of just a few days ago would have already been ruined, or at the very least, his soul would have been riddled with injuries. Mae was one of the very few in the Fourth to Sixth Heavens with a soul talent at least somewhat comparable to his own, and at the same time, she had access to a very vulnerable part of his.


    However, the current Ryu was the successor of the Magus Sky God. He had already put up the first iteration of his Magus Lock, so while his Spiritual Sea rippled with waves, these waters simply crashed against his tall stone walls, leaving little to no damage at all, and any that did appear was repaired in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu looked back toward Mae.


    At that moment, she was wreathed in ruby-like sparkling flames. They looked almost like fluttering crystals than an actual fire. Even so, Ryu could almost feel the heat from where he stood.


    She looked toward him like a dom looking toward a submissive. The way she licked her lips made it seem like she wanted to bend him over her knee and leave his ass red and swollen.


    Of course, these were images she seemed to project into his mind through her soul attacks. In fact, as thought she wasn''t satisfied with just this, she then sent him images of her tail going up unsavory places. Seeing such a thing, Ryu could only shake his head. He didn''t think that after Elena, he would find another sex crazed maniac.


    What was he now? Three for six? Four for Six? No, probably five for six. Of his women, Eska was probably the only normal one.


    Yaana looked innocent, but was a wild freak in bed. Ailsa was so sensitive that she began speaking in tongues just a few strokes in. Elena spoke for herself... she was probably the only virgin nymphomaniac to ever exist. Isemeine was an odd character because she seemed to have a fetish for pretending like she hated it, before becoming as pliable as fabric. And now there was Mae who apparently... wanted to peg him?


    The others he could allow, but this one was most definitely not happening.


    After meeting Mae''s fiery passion for a while, Ryu''s lip curled.


    Within his Mental Realm, his pitch black soul was suddenly enveloped by a radiated crimson scaled armor. It snaked over his body before clicking over his head like a helmet. In that moment, the scaled armor took the form of a dragon''s head.


    This was none other than Ryu''s Dragon Soul. After meditating on the Magus Sky God''s inheritance, the methods he had in applying his soul strength and talents was on a completely different level.


    At that moment, the jaws of the dragon opened and roared.


    ''''BE OBEDIENT, WOMAN!''''


    The voice boomed. As the sounds echoed, the raging waters of Ryu''s Spiritual Sea were suddenly ground flat.


    In the distance, Mae felt a shudder go through her body. The passion in her eyes grew, but her expression became far more docile. Behind her, her wings and tail continued to quiver as she bit her lip, lamenting the distance. But in the end, she was indeed forced to calm down.


    This interaction between Ryu and Mae was obviously not missed. Even if one was socially inept enough not to understand the look in Mae''s eyes, there was no doubting the potent aphrodisiac coming from her. The Dream Asura race women could only release such a thing in a single situation.


    Vie''s expression was incomparably ugly. Those men, like Akura, who were much less blatant in their pursuit of Mae but still had such intentions in their heart could only glare as well. But there was absolutely nothing they could do as Ryu looked back to focus on his inheritance.


    To Ryu''s earlier surprise, this was a Wind Elemental Inheritance. Much like the fire inheritance before, he was caught off guard by its existence. The further up one went along the star path, the less elemental inheritances there seemed to be, or more accurately, the less common elemental inheritances there seemed to be. These common elements were, of course, the main four, water, fire, earth and wind. Lightning, light, darkness, and the like, were far rarer.


    After Ryu began meditating on it though, he realized that it was a bit simple minded to call it a mere Wind Elemental Inheritance. More accurately, it was a Death Wind Elemental Inheritance which relied on a very specific type of elemental wraith.


    Ever since Ryu had come to the True Martial World, most of his necromancer abilities had become useless. He didn''t expect to come across his first Summoner Necromancer in this place. What was more interesting, though, was that this Summoner Necromancer seemed to be only capable of summoning this very particular demon. Even so, they had grown to the level of a Transcended Sky God.


    ''''Interesting.''''


    The summoning method was valuable in and of itself, but the methods by which this necromancer used the summoned wraiths was even more valuable than that.


    Ryu nodded to himself and opened his eyes. His gaze turned sharp as he looked toward the path ahead and his will became a towering sword that pierced toward the skies.


    Ryu roared again and shot forward like a ball out of a canon, slicing through the pressure with all the strength he could muster.


    As Ryu vanished over the distance, the geniuses left behind could only grind their teeth. It seemed that there was simply no chance remaining for them. Jenneless could only grip her fists.


    ...


    Over the horizon, Ryu realized that there was only one choice remaining before he reached the Dao Lord. He was about to lament the fact he hadn''t found a Body Realm cultivation technique yet when his gaze suddenly lit up.


    There were three inheritances here, one soul inheritance, one qi inheritance and one body inheritance. It seemed that he was in luck!


    Right then, Ryu''s gaze suddenly narrowed.


    There was actually a person who made it here before him.


    Standing under the baptism of the qi inheritance, trying to claim it for himself, was Starlight. Somehow, he had made it here, everyone forgetting about his presence entirely.

 Chapter 1131 Shadowlight

    1131 Shadowlight


    Ryu gazed deeply toward Starlight''s back. The latter seemed to realize that someone had come and he turned back with a hint of surprise in his eyes. It was clear that Starlight hadn''t believed that anyone would be able to catch up with him.


    When Starlight saw that it was a masked man, he blinked, seemingly trying to figure out who this person might be. Was he another anomaly like him? Or was he someone that he already knew and was just unwilling to expose himself for whatever reason?


    Starlight himself had quite a blanket around him. It looked as though he was here in the present, but it was very easy for people to forget him. Even Zed, who had previously confronted Starlight, had already forgotten about his existence and they never clashed, and the same went for Ranna who had seemingly become infatuated with Starlight''s handsomeness.


    Starlight waited a moment, expecting the same to happen to this person as well. Even though he knew that Ryu would pick back up on his appearance quite quickly considering the fact there were only three paths here and he was the only remaining contestant, he should at the very least have a small lapse here and there.


    However, when Ryu didn''t seem to have any intention of forgetting him, Starlight''s gaze froze.


    ''''You are Ryu,'''' Starlight suddenly said with a smile that seemed to outshine the stars themselves.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted into pinholes. Even after several seconds, he had no idea how he had been exposed.


    ''There''s no need to be surprised. Of them all, you''re the only one that didn''t forget me. I''m a bit flattered. Your soul talent must be quite exceptional, a troublesome opponent, indeed.''


    Hearing this, Ryu slowly calmed. So this was how he had been exposed?


    Geniuses were to intelligent. It was hard to fool them, he had only been able to rely on their ignorance and lack of familiarity with him. But hadn''t Aantha and Mae, who were the most familliar with him among the group, been able to pick him out almost immediately? From that alone he should have been able to tell that this would probably be inevitable.


    Ryu slowly took of his mask. It already had several cracks running through it, so with just a single squeeze of his palm, it shattered into countless pieces.


    ''''Hehe,'''' Starlight laughed, ''''you didn''t have to do that. I have no reason to expose you, right? We can even be friends, there''s no need to be enemies if it isn''t necessary.''''


    Ryu didn''t respond. His qilin scales and horns had already vanished, leaving behind his toned torso dripping with blood. However, he already knew that this was just a small measure and it wouldn''t do anything to stop him from being exposed.


    Back then, due to the Dao Lor''ds pressure, many of his scales had fallen off. After they fell, they lost the veil of protection his mask had provided. So long as someone was curious enough, finding just one of these scales would have exposed his bloodline. Unfortunately, it was impossible to focus on not dying beneath the pressure and gathering up his scales and blood at the same time.


    As for Starlight''s words, they were spoken from a place of superiority. Even with Ryu here, Starlight didn''t believe that he would lose the inheritance. In such a situation, he could afford to be as magnanimous as he wanted. But the moment he lost to Ryu, everything would change. That confident smile of his fade and his thoughts of friendship would vanish.


    Ryu was too prideful to put his fate in the hands of the kindness of an enemy. Since he had been exposed, let him be exposed. If the Ancestral Beasts wanted to target him, so be it. His human race had defeated them once in Sacrum, it seemed he would just have to pioneer another such defeat for them in the True Martial World.


    Ryu''s white hair fluttered, and his gaze glowing with a fierce eight trigram diagram. The pressure was immense, but he tore through it all.


    BANG!


    Ryu slammed his two great swordstaffs before the Body Realm Inheritance. He had been looking for it all this time, and just when he had given up, it had finally appeared. Starlight could wait obediently to be slaughtered. The final winner could only be himself, Ryu Tatsuya.


    Starlight chuckled, seemingly seeing through Ryu''s thoughts.


    ''''A blade that is too unbending is brittle.''''


    ''''A blade that is impossible to bend is indestructible,'''' Ryu replied coldly.


    These were the first words he had ever spoken to Starlight and they boomed like thunder. His aura oppressed the surroundings, his suffocating presence descending down with a malevolent momentum.


    For the first time, Starlight''s pupils constricted. There wasn''t an ounce of hesitation in Ryu''s voice. There was a difference between someone who would just say such words because they thought they sounded cool and someone who said them because they actually believed them.


    Looking toward the blood on Ryu''s body for the first time, Starlight''s seriousness grew a step. He had just assumed that Ryu had gotten injured in battles against other geniuses, in fact that was part of the reason he hadn''t taken Ryu very seriously at all. If the likes of them could injure Ryu, then he wasn''t worth much at all.


    But now that Starlight took a second look, he realized that those wounds weren''t caused by other cultivators at all, in fact they carried a hint of the Heavenly Path''s aura. That only meant one thing, Ryu was harmed by the star paths themselves.


    BANG!


    The body Realm Inheritance imploded before Ryu''s glare, descending downward in an unending stream of light as it descended towards him. Ryu closed his eyes, basking in the oppression. However, as the time passed, he found that gaining the acceptance of this inheritance was far more difficult than the last since it relied on two elements he had little to no familiarity with.


    Due to his Dao, Ryu was able to see the name of the Sky God immediately. It was an Omniscient Sky God who went by the Shadowlight Sky God.


    The shadowlight inheritance, unfortunately was well suited to its name. This Sky God had an exceptionally high affinity for both the light element and the darkness element. By using their clashing attributes and forcing them to coincide within his body, he was able to cultivate a nigh indestructible form.


    However, this was where the other problem came from. For the likes of Ryu, even if he did have an exceptional light and darkness affinity, due to the existence of his Bone Structure, the Ice Jade Crystal Body, this method wouldn''t work very well for him. The two elements would be incredibly docile within him because his body was used to balancing two things that could normally not coexist. He could balance fire and lightning, and even fire and water....


    ''''Wait...''''


    Ryu''s gaze sparkled


    He was a bit surprised, darkness affinity? He apparently did have such a thing. His Dark Phoenix Bloodline could be used in this way.


    Truthfully, he never really carefully considered the secondary affinities of his Bloodlines, but logically speaking, considering the talent of Ancestral Beasts, their secondary talents would dwarf the primary talents of most individuals.


    What was even more surprising was that both Ryu''s Emperor Phoenix and Ice Phoenix Bloodlines had some light affinity, with his Emperor Phoenix''s light affinity even being comparable to his Dark Phoenix''s darkness affinity.


    ''''Is the clash really the most important part, or...''''


    The more Ryu immersed himself, the more he found something fascinating.


    ''''I can evolve this. I can make it better. I''m sure of it. Instead of the Shadowlight inheritance I will call you...''''


    ''''Heavenly Chaos Body''''


    Ryu ignored his light and darkness affinities entirely. He didn''t have time to waste building up new Inheritances and bringing them to a standard his body could use. In addition, even if he did, the original method the Shadowlight Sky God used was inferior in his eyes, not because it wasn''t ingenious, but rather because its grotwh potential was limited and the harm to the body was constant.


    Rather than light and darkness, Ryu would use two opposing sides of control he already had, Heavenly Favor and Chaos Qi. Ultimately, Heavenly Favor was simply a deliverable form of Essence, making it absolutely perfect. As for his Chaos Qi, he didn''t need to source it, he always had access to it wherever he went.


    This Shadowlight Inheritance was built off the back of Runes. It was the process of forming these Runes of light and darkness, and then infusing them into the body, that would give a person strength. So long as you could survive the ''''tribulation'''', you would come out with a body that was countless times more powerful.


    These Runes were no different from the Fundamental Runes that Ryu now had a systematic breakdown of now thanks to the Magus Sky God. By using these two inheritances in conjunction, the Shadowlight Sky God''s legwork, and the Magus Sky God''s research materials, he would fuse the two into a form that elevated the both of them beyond their current levels.


    When he had a body forged of Heaven and Chaos, everything in his path would be destroyed with a thought.


    Ryu ignored everything else and sat down cross legged.


    Starlight was shocked when he realized that Ryu had already comprehended the Inheritance and he even felt his heart leap into his throat for a moment. But to his shock, rather than moving forward to accept his victory and take the Dao Lord''s Inheritance he actually... began to cultivate?!

 Chapter 1132 Mutation

    1132 Mutation


    Ryu sank into a deep state of meditation, relying on the golden moon world. It was times like these that he missed his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils the most, but there was nothing he could do about it. Right now, his priority was to retrieve his Spiritual Foundation. As for his eyes, they seemed to naturally grow better as his cultivation increased.


    A slight gust of wind rushed around Ryu before it settled in an absolute silence.


    The Shadowlight Body required etching tattoos onto ones body. Of course, these tattoos were actually powerful Runes that would cause an effect of tug of war on the body. One would have to both be able to withstand the power of the Rune, while the Rune would likewise fill you with untold power.


    Since his technique was created by the Shadowlight Sky God, he didn''t get the chance to cultivate it in his youth. There was a qualitative change between the lesser Realms and the Sky God Realms that made re-cultivating impossible after stepping over that threshold. But for his successors, and his Clan and Sect members, the Shadowlight Sky God had still gone to the length of creating the entire technique from the foundation up.


    The first Body Realm was the Pulse Tempering Realm, followed by the Vessel Tempering Realm, and then the Blood refinement Realm.


    Ryu was currently at the pinnacle of the Vessel Tempering Realm, which was actually part of the reason his body was weak. The pinnacle of the Vessel Tempering Realm was only equivalent to the pinnacle of the Immortal Ring Realm. It wasn''t until one entered the beginning of the Blood Refinement Realm that one would be equivalent to the Path Extinction Realm, and it wasn''t until the Nine Life Revolutions Realm that one would be equivalent to the World Sea Realm.


    For Ryu, going back was all too easy. His Pulses and Vessels were like wide open channels, having been purified by Heavenly Favor long ago. However, his original [Pheoenix Heavenly Body] technique was too weak, and it was part of the reason he hadn''t entered the Blood Refinement Realm of the True Martial World just yet.


    There was too much potential lingering in his body yet to be unearthed, and a large amount of Heavenly Favor that was still unused. This was very much unlike his Qi Realm where the path he had taken with his Chaotic Silk Meridians couldn''t seem to get enough Heavenly Favor.


    Luckily, in his greatest time of need, the Shadowlight Sky God passed down his inheritance to Ryu.


    The Pulse Tempering Realm and Vessel Tempering Realm chapters were very similar in their requirements, although the latter was far more complicated than the former in what was actually needed in terms of comprehension.


    Taking the six Pulses, one would use three to form ever more complex Light Runes and the other three to form ever more complex Darkness Runes. Once they reached a certain level of maturation and one was perpared to enter the Vessel Tempering Realm, one would then force these Runes to resonate using the Runes drwan throughout one''s skin and flesh.


    The process of forming Runes within one''s Pulses would cause one round of power amplification. The process of then resonating them would cause yet another, solidifying one''s Rune Tattoos and permanently etching them onto the skin.


    This process would be repeated in the Vessel Tempering Realm, this time forming Runes within the Vessels and forcing another resonance. So long as your body could withstand it, your strength would increase by leaps and bounds.


    Ryu immediately began to cross reference the Light And Darkness Runes with the knowledge presented to him by the Magus Sky God''s Inheritance. Logically speaking, the Light and Darkness Runes of these lesser Realms should be relatively simple, but just at a cursory glance, Ryu could tell that the Shadowlight Sky God had created these Runes only after entering the Sky God Realm himself.


    On the good side, these Runes were absolutely perfect according to the standard of these low Realms. On the bad side, they were hyper complex. They were difficult for Ryu to grasp in a short time, let alone a child who was truly at the Pulse Tempering and Vessel Tempering Realm.


    The Runes weren''t two dimensional like most would be at this level. They were three dimensional and they had complex inner workings layered atop of one another like a series of mazes.


    If Ryu stretched out the lines needed to draw out just the first Light Rune, it would stretch out at least 10 meters. This didn''t sound like a lot, until you considered the fact the complete Rune was only about two inches tall. The difference was jarring.


    Even so, it took Ryu only half an hour to master all of the 12 Light and Darkness Runes. Once he was done, he began to modify them, a process that was far harder on him than even he anticipated.


    The idea of complete restricting an Omniscient Sky God magnum opus seemed nice in theory, but actually doing it required a high level of attainments, an exceptionally high level.


    Ryu, however, had several exceptional trump cards. The first was his Dao, the second was his Realm Heart, and the final were his references to both the Magus Sky God and Omniscient Sky God''s Inheritances.


    Both Ryu''s Realm Heart and Daos were absolutely perfect within the Immortal Grades, which was just barely good enough to perfect up to the Vessel Tempering Realm and allow a final breakthrough. In addition, if Ryu had to build such a method by himself from scratch, even decades wouldn''t be enough. He couldn''t see as far as the Omniscient Sky God could and his breadth of knowledge wasn''t nearly good enough, but now with the path laid out before him, he could use it as a skeleton to monkey branch off of.


    ''''First, complete...''''


    A violent whooshing sound shot out from Ryu''s body in all directions. At first glance it seemed like a radiant light, but the undertone was something far heavier, something far more valuable, something far more noble.


    Swirling tattoos began to form across Ryu''s skin, emitting a deep and dark hue that sometimes pulsed with a radiant gold color.


    ''''Second formed.''''


    This rushing aura was far more sinister. The oppression of what felt like Chaos Qi, but was somewhat dissimilar to Chaos Qi, rushed through the surroundings, shredding everything apart. A dense aura of destruction wafted from Ryu''s body before it condensed and formed thick black and swirling tattoos across his chest, back and even some of his neck.


    Then came the third, then the fourth.


    Counter-intuitively, Ryu seemed to become faster with every success until he completed the first set of six.


    The tattoos across Ryu''s body seemed to reflect what was inside him. Roaring dragons, stomping qilins, soaring phoenixes. However they were all suppressed by the Heavens above and Hell below, suffocated in swirls of complex Runes that made it difficult to make out exactly what they were.


    Ryu suddenly released a mighty roar, lights of dark gold and white gold shooting out from his body.


    At the same time, Ryu''s Bone Structure seemed to reply the fiercest, immediately shattering beneath the dual pressures. However, when one saw the look of absolute indifference and calm on Ryu''s face, it was clear that he had not only expected this, but he had forced it to happen.


    Ryu''s greatest weakness was his Bone Structure, but it was also the foundation upon which he had built his [Refinement Sutra] on. If he wanted his Bone Structure to maximize the benefits of the Heavenly Favor he had gathered through the [Refinement Sutra], he needed to destroy it and allow it to rebuild it.


    In the past, Ryu''s cultivation technique had been far to weak to accomplish this. And although he could have forcefully destroyed it himself, without an appropriate method of building it back up, he would be doing nothing short of crippling himself for no benefit.


    But now, he had the perfect technique. The Shadowlight Inheritance didn''t just break you down, it used light and shadow to rebuild you, molding you in the form of the Shadowlight.


    Ryu, however, wasn''t using the Shadowlight to rebuild himself. Instead, he was using Heavenly Chaos. He would reform his body using Essence and Chaos Qi, the Primordial Daos themselves would become his body.


    In one instance, you would form the Shadowlight body.


    But in the other, you would form the Heavenly Chaos Body.


    The difference was more exaggerated than night and day, than the stars and the ground, than Heaven and Earth.


    BOOM!


    A wild fluctuation shot out in all directions as Ryu''s Bone Structure mended itself back together.


    At that moment, it could be said that an evolution that had started with his Fire and Lightning Spirit Bodies had completed... Or more accurately, the first step along its path had reached a life altering point.


    Having been restructured under a true baptism of Heaven and Chaos, the Ice Jade Crystal Body could no longer be called as such. In fact, Ryu felt that there was only one name appropriate for it now, a name that did this mutation justice.


    The Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure.


    PN = Pirate note


    PN: Yo, Erdiul here, I have to say, I''ve been copy writing his chapters since pandanovel started having issues, and I''ve never noticed until writing them myself, his one chapter releases have way more words than his normal two chapters releases. Awespec might be a Webnovel lover, but damn, he sure puts in the grind. I respect that.


    Also, please stop pinging me on discord to release the chapters when I''m not online, I will release them when I can, while I can. Remember that I''m doing this out of my own free will, even going far enough to edit mistakes made by the author, editing for free. Cheers!


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1133 Heaven And Chaos Aspects

    1133 Heaven and Chaos Aspects


    Ryu raised his head to the skies, unleashing a mighty roar. A vortex of white gold and dark gold spiraled out, seemingly wanting to rip a hole through the miasma in the skies, almost like it had entirely ignored the Dao Lord Inheritance between itself and it.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed open, a radiant pulse within their depths. He could finally see, truly see. Although the abilities of his Heavenly Pupils seemed to still be sealed, Ryu was familiar enough with normal eyesight to know that this was most definitely not normal sight. In fact, it was comparable to his eyesight back in Sacrum without activating [Third Perspective].


    While he couldn''t see the flow of qi since his [Ephemeral Tapestry] ability was likewise still sealed, it felt like this mattered less now that the true abilities of his soul had been unsealed. He felt like he was a step closer to unsealing his eyes and this might have been the largest step he had taken torward that goal.


    The haziness in his eyes vanished and they gained a sharpness to them that pierced through the veil of the world. He finally laid eyes on the Heavenly Path personally, not being restricted by the range of his Spiritual Sense and he felt that it was quite...


    Small.


    Ryu slowly stood to his feet, feeling the changes within his body. His every movement contained unprecedented power. Completing the Pulse Tempering stage was a huge leap already, but compared to that, completing the Vessel Tempering stage and entering the Blood Tempering stage was a qualitative change even over that.


    Ryu finally felt that all of the Heavenly Favor in his body had been swallowed wholly and completely. At the same time, the special properties of the alloys he had self-created to represent his Bone Structure had been the guiding light to his forward path.


    The serenity and oneness with the world he had felt from his self-forged alloys was even more prominent now, almost suffocatingly so. It was clear that all four aspects of the Ice Jade Crystal Body had been raised to a completely different level.


    When it came to the healing aspect, Ryu''s passive healing factor was already exaggerated thanks to Flowing Frost''s Yin Water. But at this moment, it was hard to tell which of them was more powerful.


    Ryu''s Heavenly Chaos Body was split into two aspects, one of Heaven and the other of Chaos. His Heaven aspect could borrow atmospheric qi, assimilate it into his body, and repair it. By the same token, his Chaos aspect could tap into the Chaos Plane to do the same, but it was more complex than this as its function wasn''t exactly the same.


    The Heaven aspect was more in line with convention, but the Chaos aspect was not. During a repair relying on Chaos Qi, Ryu was even able to rearrange his body parts. He could shift his heart to the right, split his lungs further apart and move his inner organs to avoid damage.


    This wasn''t too useful considering Ryu had a Spirit Body that he had already exposed. Why use this method when there was one that was much more convenient and easier to use? Even so, Ryu had a feeling that this aspect was only so weak because his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure was only in its infancy stages.


    Right now, the Bone Structure could only be considered to be a Fragmented Grade Bone Structure. Ryu would have to continue perfecting it to continue to break convention.


    When it came to the beast loving aspect of his bone structure, the effects were far more exaggerated now than they even had been.


    By now, this aspect had become so incredibly weak that it showed no effect at all. When Ryu first entered the True Martial World, his Bone Structure had been chained to the point it couldn''t even work on Common Grade beasts. By the time it was unshackled completely, he was already about to step into a Heaven where it wouldn''t be too difficult to find Ancestral Grade beasts. It simply never had a chance to shine in its truest form.


    However, the current Ryu was entirely on a different level.


    His Heaven aspect made him look no different from a beast in the eyes of other beasts, making them feel as though he was one of their kin with just the slightest intention from him.


    His Chaos aspect, suppressed and dominated. Just like Little Silk had suffocated beasts with her presence, weakening them just by existing, so too could he do the same. Regardless of cultivation level, so long as the beast was of inferior grade to his Bone Structure, they would experience this.


    The cultivation speed aspect could only be said to be more exaggerated than ever. He could still absorb qi through his skin, but on a range that completely dwarfed his original abilities. The best part was that once he entered the Fourth Heaven, the Ice Jade Crystal Body wouldn''t be considered to be mind boggling. Although still impressive, it wouldn''t be enough for others to chase him to the ends of the earth.


    As for his Chaos aspect, he could complete Void Qi. Below a certain standard, qi attacks that touched his body would simply vanish into an endless void, never to return. This was an ability eerily similar to another, much higher level Bone Structure, the Void Bone Structure, but now it was Ryu''s own.


    Even with all of this said, the aspect that had undergone the greatest change, was most definitely Ryu''s Balance aspect. And yet, it was the most enigmatic and difficult to describe.


    If Ryu had to describe it, it had gone beyond just balancing what was within his body. It was as though his every movement carried with it the belssings of the Heavens. Even without Immortal Rings, he could guide the qi in his surroundings and they would happily follow him, increasing his bodily strength passively.


    With just a single thought, he could cause qi in the surrounding tens of kilometers to follow his fists and kicks almost as though they were already part of his body.


    And that was just the Heaven aspect...

 Chapter 1134 Mimicry

    1134 Mimicry


    The Chaos aspect of his Balance aspect could only be described as destructive. The Chaos aspect of his Cultivation aspect could already disperse qi that touched it, but this aspect could directly twist, bend and destroy it.


    If every movement of his Heaven aspect made him fuse with the world, every movement of his Chaos aspect disrupted the world, shattering its laws, distorting its foundations, and ripping everything known to shreds.


    Just by existing, Ryu''s Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure was entirely contradictory, and yet it was perfectly balanced and didn''t show any signs of lashing out against Ryu.


    Even so, this wasn''t the greatest change that Ryu''s Heavenly Chaos Body had allowed. In fact, even if he gave up all of the other changes, so long as he could keep this one, he would have been endlessly satisfied.


    Due to the qualitative change in his Blance aspect, his Bone Structure had gone beyond just being capable of balancing opposing elements and qis... it was now even capable of balancing things far more enigmatic. For example..Cultivations Paths.


    Every step Ryu had taken with his Chaotic Silk Meridians was a threat that he would lose its true abilities forever. This was because if Ryu took too many steps down a conventional path, he would lose the chaos path that his Chaotic Silk Meridians truly wanted to follow. This was why the start of his journey required losing connection with his Spiritual Foundation. Only in that way would his connection to the Heavens be faint enough for Chaos to flourish.


    But now... This was no longer necessary! Because Heaven and Chaos had been perfectly balanced within his body, his Chaotic Silk Meridians weren''t suffocated at every turn. This gave Ryu far more leeway in his cultivation path. Even if he took a wrong step in the future, he wouldn''t forever lose access to the true path of his Chaotic Silk Meridians!


    Ryu gripped his fists and space itself trembled before he exhaled and relaxed. Without a word, he turned around and left the Body Realm Inheritance. Even with the Dao Lord''s inheritance right before him, he didn''t seem tempted by it in the slightest. It was almost as though he was teaching the Dao Lord a lesson.


    He had gotten here under his own power, so he would likewise take his time in accepting this so-called Dao Lord''s inheritance. What could they do about it?


    He, the one the Dao Lord least wanted to accept, could saunter around as he pleased, picking and choosing the inheritances he wanted most, while those the Dao Lord most wanted to accept could only struggle with one inheritance at a time.


    This was the gap, this was the difference. In the face of even a Dao Lord, he would remain true to himself.


    Ryu didn''t care for Starlight''s gaze in the slightest. Starlight could just consider himself lucky that he had gotten here before Ryu and had already begun to assimilate with the Qi Realm inheritance, or else Ryu would have taken it as well.


    Ryu appeared before the soul inheritance and reached a hand forward, crushing it.


    A wave of pressure descended, this one even more dangerous than any Ryu had faced before. This wasn''t because of the power, but more so because of the oddity. Those without exceptional soul talent would find themselves lost almost instantly. However, with his Magus Lock, facing an inheritance designed for those at his cultivation level, what did Ryu have to fear?


    In truth, Ryu didn''t need this inheritance, he felt that the Magus Sky God''s inheritance was very well suited for him and he didn''t need another. However, there was no use in not taking advantage of something right in front of him. There was nothing wrong with more knowledge.


    Although he couldn''t possibly follow all of these paths, having a large selection he could pick and choose from, especially considering his original ignorance of this world, was invaluable. Plus, this was another Omniscient Sky God, so their inheritance couldn''t possibly be shabby.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, there was another glass orb that descended before the Dao Lord''s. Although it was nowhere near as big as the Dao Lord''s, it was still much larger than the Omniscient Sky God''s he had come across so far.


    ''''Could it be that it was a Dao Lord Inheritance as well?''''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. If this Dao Lord could crush the other one, just how much more powerful was he? Did he have strength infinitely close to the Dao Sovereign Realm? Or was he from a higher Heaven?


    There were probably only a handful of Dao Lords in the Sixth Heaven, they could probably be counted on a single hand, and that was if they actually existed. This meant that if this Dao Lord could crush another so easily, it was likely that he was from the Seventh Heaven... or even higher.


    ''''Interesting,'''' Ryu thought placidly.


    The soul inheritance finally finished rushing into Ryu''s mind and he mullted it over for a moment before his gaze shone with a peculiar light.


    The Puppet Mimicry Sky God.


    This Sky God was able to change the fluctuations of their soul at will to match that of another person''s. Hiding one''s identity was only one of the much lesser abilities of this inheritance, the far more exaggerated ability was being able to assimilate the abilities of a target.


    Wasn''t this very similar to his Perfect Blackbody?


    The main difference here was that the Puppet Mimicry Sky God had found a way to use a wisp of his soul to accomplish the same thing. He had been worried about losing his sense of self by fusing with too many other souls, so he created Wisp Souls or Puppet Souls.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed.


    Right now, he could only have one Soul Nature. There was nothing he could do about it. His Spacetime Soul Nature was too overwhelming and it would be too difficult to find something of comparable quality to balance it out and allow him to gain a second Soul Nature.


    However, this Puppet Mimicry Sky God''s inheritance was a game changer. If he used this technique to create Wisp Souls, he could bypass this limitation and gain other Soul Natures.


    Ryu didn''t have a pressing need for other Soul Natures right this moment, but if he came across something interesting in the future, he, at the very least, wouldn''t have to simply watch the opportunity float away.


    ''''Not Bad,'''' Ryu thought to himself.


    Storing the inheritance away in his mind, Ryu looked up toward the Dao Lord''s glass orb.

 Chapter 1135 I Am...

    1135 I am...


    Ryu looked toward the Dao Lord''s Inheritance for a long while, seemingly thinking about something. His actions almost made this so-called race to the finish line a joke. He had claimed one inheritance, meditated on it, cultivated in it, then gone to claim a second inheritance, and the formerly first place individual was only barely showing signs now of succeeding in his first.


    Ryu sent a glance toward Starlight just as it seemed he was about to succeed and stepped forward.


    At first, Ryu had thought about waiting for Starlight and moving forward at the same time. He wanted to see what would happen if he chose to do so for reasons he had personally. But in the end, he chose to move ahead first.


    At this moment, although they would likely only be a few seconds apart, it couldn''t possibly be clearer who was in first place.


    But as Ryu walked down the final path and made it to the only point of the Dao Lord''s Inheritance that touched the star path, ready to shatter it, he found a nigh unbreakable barrier blocking the path of his hand forward.


    Ryu didn''t seem to be too surprised by this result. There was no anger, no rage, his gaze didn''t even flash with his usual cold light. It was simple and pure indifference. However, what was surprising was the voice that came afterward.


    To this point, Ryu had claimed a lot of inheritances, but not one of them had an intact consciousness remaining. At best, there would be some lingering whispers or wills left behinds just to faintly guide the inheritance into the hands of someone worthy, but outside of that, there was nothing else.


    But this shouldn''t have been surprising. From the beginning, this Dao Lord had been far more hands on than the others. It was they who had shattered the original Dao Lord Inheritance that wanted to descend. It was they who had decided to add additional pressure to Ryu''s walk along the star path. And it was of course they who was stopping Ryu''s hand path forward.


    ''''A moment, young one. Wouldn''t it be a shame if things simply ended like this?''''


    A soothing voice echoed, and a chuckle pervaded the region. It was the kind of tone and echo that could make a person feeling incomparably comfortable.


    This pause was enough, just long enough for Starlight, who was only a few seconds behind Ryu to begin with, to catch up. At that moment, the inheritance which had been a simple matter for Ryu to crush and accept the baptism of, gained itself a faint layer of protection. It seemed that the only path to it now was to defeat Starlight.


    Once again, Ryu wasn''t very surprised by this. He was certain that this would have happened one way or another.


    If he was a step behind Starlight, the inheritance would have just gone direct to the latter. If he had stepped out at the same time as Starlight, then this battle would have been inevitable one way or another. Now that he had stepped out a few seconds before Starlight, in the words of the Dao Lord, it was a ''''shame'''' for things to end like this, likely due to the disparity of just a few seconds. But even if Ryu had beaten him by over a day like he could have, the Dao Lord would have just said that he wanted him to pass one final test.


    No matter how you looked at it, this was an inevitable outcome.


    Starlight looked toward Ryu''s side profile. He didn''t seem to have a gloating expression in his eyes at all, he simply looked with a deep, unfathomable depth of curiosity. This was clearly something far outside of his expectations, he truly hadn''t expected such a thing.


    ''''Welcome, my two potential inheritors,'''' the Dao Lord said with a smile.


    The Dao Lord didn''t say anything about Ryu''s lack of a reaction, maybe because in his eyes it was only right that a Path Extinction Realm cub obediently accept his plans, or maybe it was because he had never really taken the time to observe Ryu in the first place.


    ''''A great strand of Karma ties the three of us together, so I will tell you both about myself before you make a decision whether to move forward or not. A master must seek out a perfect disciple, but said disciple must accept this master as well, so I will explain to you two why I am qualified.''''


    A threat, or at least that''s how Ryu read it. Explaining his pedigree so that they could ''''decide'''' was practically just telling Ryu to take a look how tall the mountain before him was and to obediently turn back and stop wasting time.


    ''''Unlike the other inheritors here, this Dao Sovereign is still alive.''''


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. Even Starlight, who was usually quite even keeled, felt his heart skip several beats.


    Alive was one matter... Dao sovereign was a completely different matter...


    The Dao Lord... No, the Dao Sovereign chuckled.


    ''''In my youth, I looked for a method of becoming a Dao Sovereign, so I travelled through the True Martial World and experienced many things. Back then, I was on the verge of death, so I chose to leave behind an inheritance in this Heavenly Path. Although I could have done so on the complete Heavenly Path, I chose against it.


    ''''I wanted to gather up a large amount of Karma and I felt that the best way to do this was to help a lower genius rise up through the world and eventually conquer the higher Heavens.''''


    ''''By a stroke of luck, however, I was able to breakthrough in the twilight of my life, shedding the mold and even evolving my Dao Title beyond. As such, you two are very lucky. By accepting my inheritance here, you will have done the equivalent of becoming my in-name disciple. But even so, you will have more knowledge at your fingertips than even some of my inner and core disciples, as you will have the foundation that allowed me to become a Dao Sovereign!''''


    The Dao Sovereign allowed his voice to echo. His voice didn''t seem laced with pride, but the Heavens themselves seemed to naturally lace it with a grandiose air.


    ''''I''m sure that you will want to know my name by now,'''' the Dao Sovereign chuckled.


    ''''Hear me well, the name of this potential master of yours rings far and wide.''''


    ''''I am the Chaotic Space Sky God.''''

 Chapter 1136 Chaotic Space

    1136 Chaotic Space


    The words of the Chaotic Space Sovereign were gentle and calm, and yet just the name itself made the skies boom and the earth tremble. The star path itself threatened to collapse to ash and Ryu felt that his heart was about to rupture with how fast his blood was being forced to pump.


    This name was big. If it was big here, then it was definitely bigger in the Heavens above. Even without understanding the Weight of it, just the name itself spoke volumes. How grand, how imposing, how absolutely dominating.


    The Chaotic Space Sovereign had still not shown himself from beginning to end, but Ryu and Starlight both could ''''feel'''' his smile. It was a gentle smile, one that didn''t have any hint of gloating behind it. Once again, it was as though the Heavens themselves refused to allow this man to be humble, announcing his presence wherever he went.


    ''''In my youth, I formed an Ancient Dao that managed to retain the form of a Hegemonic Dao upon entering the Sky God Realm. I was born with the Ancient Dark Nebulae Spiritual Foundation, an Order Grade Spiritual Foundation, the Death Star Bone Structure, a Chaos Grade Bone Structure, the Auror Clan''s Bloodline, a Chaos Grade Bloodline, the Stellar Destruction Soul and a Spatial Core Soul Nature, both of which were at the Chaos Grade.


    ''''And finally, I was born with the Chaotic Silk Meridians, my only Origin Grade Talent.''''


    Each talent was more devastating than the last, some even more shocking just because of what they meant to Ryu. He said that his Chaotic Silk Meridians were Origin Grade... didn''t that mean that he had the true method of cultivation? Didn''t that mean if Ryu got this inheritance, he would finally be able to stop stumbling around blindly? Didn''t that mean that Ryu''s cultivation speed would finally match up to his true talent?!


    But even beyond that, the Stellar Destruction Soul was on wreathed in Chaos and the Spatial Core Soul Nature was just a way of grading Soul Natures, what was truly important was the Chaotic Space Sovereign actually had a Spatial Soul Nature, which made his inheritance even more invaluable to Ryu.


    Even as Ryu went down the list, it was hard to find something he wasn''t compatible with. The Death Star Bone Structure, the Dark Nebulae Spiritual Foundation... the only wild card was the Auror Clan''s Bloodline.


    Starlight, to Ryu''s side, was breathing exceptionally heavy at this point. No matter how calm of a person he was, he simply couldn''t remain calm.


    ''''Some will look at my list of talents and believe me to be lucky because of their grades, but I have always said that synergy between talents is far more important than having individually strong talents. Whether it was my Dao, my Spiritual Foundation, my Meridians, Soul or Bloodline, or even my Bone Structure, all of them were perfectly molded by me until they followed just a single path.''''


    ''''After stepping into the Sky God Realm, because I understood this truth, I rarely found those equal to me. I could flip the skies with a palm and split the earth with a step.''''


    The visions of both Ryu and Starlight blurred. They saw the vision of a man with fluttering white robes and an obstructed face. Chaotic dark rainbow energies fluttered around him.


    In the skies above, a might dragon roared, its silvery scales reflecting in the darkness. This was most definitely a rare spatial affinity dragon, one that Ryu had only met just a single time before.


    It roared just a single time before swooping down with a mighty momentum, its claws ripping through the veil of space.


    And yet, the man, who was nothing more than an insignificant dot compared to the size of the dragon, only pressed a single palm forward.


    An enormous box of dark rainbow energies pressed forward. It seemed to exist outside of this plain of reality, carving out a segment of space for it.


    The moment the dragon''s claw collided against it, it disintegrated to nothingness.


    There was no great clash, no devastating explosion...no, it was just a silent vanishing, like a wisp of smoke in the wind.


    The dragon roared in pain and its enormous body blinked away, vanishing in space clearly with the intent to run. But before it could, the transparent box of dark rainbow energies changed into a cone and the man light pressed its base.


    The gentle motion sent the cone flying forward at an impossible speed to track. Just as the dragon blinked into existence thousands of kilometers away, it froze.


    It looked down at its chest slowly, only to find a hole that didn''t bleed a drop of blood where its mighty scales and beating heart should have been.


    The dragon''s eyes dimmed, and it slowly fell from the skies, its wings fluttering like pieces of a broken kite. It didn''t seem like it ever stood a single chance.


    ...


    ''''This is Chaotic Space. It destroys everything in its path with a silent deadliness. There was no space more violent and destructive than it, no offensive output that could possibly be greater. Chaotic Space reigns supreme above all!''''


    This was the first time the Chaotic Space Sovereign didn''t hide the pride in his own voice, and the Heavens seemed to respond in kind, booming with golden lightning and violent thunder.


    This was a man who, with just a thought, could slay a dragon of such rarity, of such power and of such prestige. To disintegrate even such power to absolute nothingness.


    Starlight''s gaze burned with a fierce light.


    This was true power.


    ''''I have said enough, the two of you understand what is at stake now. If you succeed today, you will become my disciple in name. If you make it to the Complete Heavenly Path, you will be able to find there the second half of my inheritance, you will become my Inheritor Disciple and I will hold nothing back from you.''''


    ''''As a reward, I will even give you a chance to change your current Meridians to gain the strongest set of Meridians there is... The Chaotic Silk Meridians!''''


    The Dao sovereign''s voice faded, and the pressure vanished, allowing the two to move with absolute freedom.


    Starlight turned to Ryu instantly, his aura towering.


    ''''Do you know why the Dao sovereign wants me and not you?'''' Starlight asked.


    He wasn''t one to speak like this, and he certainly hadn''t looked down on Ryu before. But after hearing what was at stake, he didn''t seem to want to leave anything up to chance at all.


    ''''It''s because of that Spiritual Foundation,'''' Starlight sent a glance toward Ryu''s dantian.


    ''''How can you be a real genius when you''ve accepted the God Foundation of another? You were destined to fail from the very beginning!''''


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    This was the first time he had heard such a thing, but at that moment, it all clicked into place.


    The problem wasn''t whether or not the Phoenix Sky God Spiritual Foundation was weak or not. It might be, or it might not be. The main issue was that it was inherited from someone else!


    In Sacrum, this was an absolute honor. However, in the True Martial World, it was akin to chaining yourself.


    Ryu knew exactly why Starlight only chose to tell him this now. He wanted to limit the variable by dealing an absolute blow to Ryu''s confidence!

 Chapter 1137 Refuse

    1137 Refuse


    Ryu didn''t say a word. Oddly enough, he directly closed his eyes. When he opened them once more, they glowed not only with blinding rings of Heavenly Favor, but his Dao Heart itself was so bright that it nearly caused Starlight to blink.


    Ryu punched out. It was a punch of absolute simplicity, and yet it had already stepped into the realms of a Fist God, gathering all of his energy into a single point. His body seemed to shift through space although it hadn''t, appearing with the very same steady stance right before Starlight.


    Starlight''s gaze narrowed. Ryu didn''t even bother to respond to his taunts, and just now his Dao Heart had shone so brightly that even he could sense it.


    The Dao Heart shouldn''t have been something that was tangible, and most certainly shouldn''t have been sensed by someone beneath the Sky God Realm. The only explanation was that Ryu''s own was so radiant that it forced the world to acknowledge its existence.


    Even so...


    His punch was weak.


    Starlight struck out with a palm, colliding with Ryu''s fist.


    A jarring feeling shot through Ryu''s body as he was forced to take two heavy steps backward. In just that exchange, he felt that Starlight was an immovable wall, one he couldn''t break through even if his strength suddenly doubled, and that was even after cultivating his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure.


    It was a strength difference that was almost intrinsic. It wasn''t just about talent, although that in and of itself was a huge marker. Whether it was the treatment Starlight received from his youth to the pills and herbs he had consumed, to the teachers he had had along his path, and most definitely to the techniques he had practiced and even briefed through.


    Starlight was on an entirely different level.


    Ryu''s expression didn''t seem to change in the slightest as he threw out a second punch, and a third. Starlight''s palms casually countered. his brows furrowing. He couldn''t believe that someone who had given him so much pressure could be so weak.


    He hadn''t been lying to Ryu when he said those words about his Spiritual Foundation. In the True Martial World, passing down a Spiritual Foundation was a method only weaker Sky Gods used, and it was normally only targeted at weaker talents and poorer backgrounds as well.


    Back in Sacrum, the greatest way for a Sky God to accumulate Karma was to test a genius and have them inherit their Spiritual Foundation. Other methods such as Legacy Worlds and Ruins had varied results and could sometimes be gamed by those that weren''t worthy. Sky Gods were ultimately capable of making mistakes as well, and it was impossible for them to see through countless generations of change.


    In the end, this had become the best method there was and Sky Gods with reproducible methods had become legends whose Spiritual Foundations appeared again and again throughout history. This was the benefit of being able to directly target the most prestigious talents and entice them. Ryu was one such person, of course, although his own circumstances were somewhat different.


    However, in the True Martial World, this wasn''t possible at all.


    Such talents tended to be born in Clans and Sects with large amounts of accumulated Karma and Faith. If a Sky God tried to take such a talent under their wing, they''d find all remnants of their former selves shredded to pieces before they could even make contact. A clan or Sect with such protections would never allow their young genius to suddenly have their future coopted by a stranger whose motives were entirely unknown.


    But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The main issue with taking on a Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation was that even if it had been reverted back to a mortal state, it still had the lingering influences of what had once been a Godhood.


    Ryu hadn''t noticed such influences yet because he had yet to begin to use his Spiritual Foundations in cultivation in earnest, but once he did, he would realize just how much pull the Phoenix Sky God had.


    This would just be like when Ryu tried to dual wield spear, glaives and halberds all over again. He had always had the skill and willingness to succeed, but the pull of Faith and Karma had made it almost impossible for those weapons to cooperate with him properly.


    Likewise, when Ryu tried to take the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation down his own path, it too would fight back. When he tried to plant his Cosmic Seeds, it might very well reject them. When he tried to grow his Cosmic Seeds and shatter it to form a World Sea, it would likely fight back. When he tried to form his own Godhood, it would most definitely fight back, far more fiercely than ever before.


    The only way to counter this was to follow down the path the Spiritual Foundation wanted you to follow, the path that it was used to, the path it wanted to see.


    But if you foolishly chose to do such a thing, you would find yourself shackled by the same limitations of the God that came before you. Your ceiling would no longer be decided by you, it would be decided on the limitations of the Sky God that came before you... A Sky God who had clearly long since died.


    It wasn''t even possible to reject this fate. The last time Ryu tried to completely remove the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation from himself, he was injured so badly that he very nearly died. There was simply no getting away from it. With such an intimate connection formed, it was impossible for anyone to do anything about it.


    In such a situation, Ryu was destined to fail. It only made it worse that this Sky God was from a lesser world. He simply never stood a chance to begin with. From the start, no matter how great his determination was, he was destined to never amount to much.


    And this was why the Dao Lord had refused to choose him, this was why the Dao Lord would continue to refuse to choose him.

 Chapter 1138 Realization

    1138 Realization


    Ryu punched out again and was almost lifted up and off his feet this time.


    He rolled his shoulder, exhaling a breath before a surge of dark gold and golden energies surged around him in a nebulae-like fog. He felt that he understood this body of his quite well now, well enough to truly fight.


    Ryu''s hair fluttered. There was only one way to climb to the greatest peak.


    Go all out.


    Ryu''s hands opened up and his great swordstaffs snapped into his palm. Suddenly, he shifted forward like a shadow, his body vanishing as several Small Realms enveloped the surroundings. When he appeared again, his great swordstaffs were swinging down with the force of a torrential storm. Arcs of blue lightning and sharp dark green winds enveloped everything there was.


    Starlight''s gaze narrowed but he still struck out with the same palm.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The two exchanged a flurry of exchanges, but the calmness of Starlight was in clear contrast to Ryu''s absolute frenzy, the coldness in the latter''s eyes being contrasted by the stillness of the former. The gap seemed to be all too obvious even as the lightning and wind Small Realms enveloped one another.


    Ryu unleashed a roar and his skin erupted with a torrent of sapphire light, shrouded him in an instant. His radiant blue scale manifested, and a pair of horns grew from his head once again. His speed and power exploded forth, his lightning turning to Tribulation Lightning and his wind gaining the support of his Northern Heavenly Wind.


    At that moment, his blades, snaking with blue lightning and dark winds shifted. The blue lightning became more radiant, and a hidden rune began to dance within them. At the same time, the dark wings gained a tinge of a gold color.


    Ryu''s speed caught Starlight off guard. Even though he raised his palms, Starlight found a blade appearing right at his neck, prepared to shred him to pieces.


    Starlight''s pupils constricted. At that instant, Ryu''s overall combat prowess had increased by at least a hundred-fold. Was that true Tribulation Lightning? How was that possible? And what was that wind? A Northern Heavenly Wind? An immature one?


    Starlight''s bright irises flickered with a peculiar light before his body shifted. Ryu''s blade seemed to pass right through him.


    Almost instantly, Ryu was certain that this was a Spirit Body of sorts, but it was even more enigmatic than his own. It looked as though it was simply designed for movement and evasion in a way his own were not.


    A Dark Spirit Body.


    BANG!


    A sudden overwhelming pressure crashed into Ryu''s chest and his scales shattered, his ribs nearly following suit as a projectile of blood left his lips. He shot back like a ball out of a canon, the shockwave-like pressure still following up again, and then again, for a second and third palm strike. Although he had only faced one attack, it felt no different than having faced three.


    Ryu landed heavily on his feet and nearly fell to his knees.


    Starlight walked forward, a hint of curiosity and confusion in his eyes. Ryu could exude the aura of a Fist God, and sometimes when he swung those enormous blades of his, he exuded the aura of various weapon Gods. It was enough to shock most, even him, quite frankly. How could one person be a God of so many disciplines.


    However, for some reason, when he was actually fighting Ryu, he felt that the latter''s actual combat sense was far weaker than a God of a weapon or martial art form should have. It made little Sense.


    Logically, a Fist God should be a God of Combat, likewise for a Sword God or any other form. Against them, that casual palm of his shouldn''t have had any chance of landing.


    Then again, when Ryu was in his Fist God form, Starlight had been forced to simply counter him directly and couldn''t find any holes like he had just now. Could it just be that using the aura of a Sword God with something that was clearly not a sword just left such flaws?


    That should probably be it.


    Having had his curiosity somewhat satiated, Starlight walked forward a hint faster, half his body still in a shadowy wisp of smoke as though he could vanish at any time.


    And then he did.


    Just when Starlight appeared, he found a fist before his chest.


    He hurriedly blocked but was still forced to take a single step back.


    Ryu coughed as he rose to his full height. The wound to his chest was healing at a visible speed. He seemed to have completely abandoned his great swordstaffs, having seen through the same problem that Starlight had.


    He simply didn''t have the time to fix it, but what he did have were his fists and legs.


    Ryu''s arms spread out and the lightning and wind that had been coating his great swordstaffs shot towards his palms, instantly coating his hands in a blue steel gauntlet.


    Starlight''s gaze narrowed as stronger and stronger arcs of lightning began to come off Ryu in strong pulses. Then, as though a bolt of lightning had just struck where Ryu had been standing, he vanished and appeared before Starlight.


    Starlight dodged, vanishing in the shadows, but Ryu flickered in a trail of lightning once again.


    Arcs of lightning and wisps of darkness chased and intertwined against one another. It felt as though the elements themselves were battling it out rather than two young men.


    Whether it was the ground, the air or even high in the skies, their speed brought them everywhere.


    Sometimes, flashes of their true forms would appear. Fists would collide, shins would rebound off of one another, and elbows would send booming sound waves in all directions.


    Even so, after every exchange, Ryu would feel his body shake and rattle, his inner organs threatening to collapse. If not for the danger his tribulation lightning gauntlets displayed, his situation might have been a lot worse. Starlight didn''t seem to be in a rush toward a hurried conclusion, seemingly still probing to satisfy his own curiosity.


    Suddenly, Starlight''s palm become a finger and he pointed forward just as Ryu''s lightning body became corporeal.


    A burning hole tore through Ryu''s collarbone with such force that it nearly ripped his right arm from his shoulder.


    A sudden realization overcame Ryu as the burning pain shot through him.


    Starlight had only just started using qi.

 Chapter 1139 Bloody

    1139 Bloody


    Ryu''s gaze went cold. He suddenly felt like he understood the true reason for the gap. Whatever qi Starlight was using was exceptional. Even when he wasn''t actively using it, the benefits it had on his body were overwhelming. There might very well be other things that enhanced him in this way as well.


    At that moment, the lagging geniuses began to catch up. They had half expected to find Ryu in the process accepting the final inheritance, they simply didn¡¯t believe that he would be able to assimilate the Dao Lord''s inheritance with the same speed. But what they actually found left them pleasantly surprised.


    Ryu was locked in battle with another, didn''t that mean that they still had a chance? In fact, they could even let the two of them tire one another out before they rushed forward themselves and claimed the rewards.


    They looked warily toward one another, seemingly realizing that they had to be wary of one another once more. But before this could even last very long, they noticed something else that made their expressions incomparably ugly.


    Up ahead, all the countless star paths there had been converged down to just three, and of those three... all three had already been claimed! It was only then they realized that just what kind of childish dream they had been holding onto. All of the star paths leading to the Dao Lord had already been claimed by these two, they couldn''t enter the battle for the final inheritance even if they wanted to!


    Vie gripped his fists, hard. He had thought from the very beginning that he had a good chance in succeeding, only for things to actually turn out like this. When he saw that the three paths ahead weren''t even connected, he was even more infuriated. There was no sign of a third individual, there was no lingering aura, nor was there any corpse. This meant that one of either Ryu or Starlight purposely chose a second inheritance without needing to, essentially cutting off the rest of their dreams.


    Vie had no idea that the so-called second inheritance that Ryu had claimed was a soul inheritance those here didn''t have a chance of gaining the acceptance of anyway, but when fools got a chance to blame others for their own shortcomings, they would grasp at whatever ideas came to mind.


    After realizing that their chances had been squandered, the geniuses only now truly focused on the battle in earnest and began to notice details they had been too hyped up on hope and expectation to notice before.


    For one, they didn''t seem to recognize either one of these young men. Ryu had been with a mask before, and Starlight was too easily forgettable, although they had interacted with the latter, they didn''t even remember having done so.


    Only Mae felt her heart clench when she saw Ryu, especially when it was very clear that he was in a bad state.


    ''''This is... Origin Grade Immortal Qi?!''''


    That was absolutely impossible. Origin Grade Immortal Qi only existed on the Seventh Heaven. Could it be...?


    Mae felt her heart skip a beat.


    Ryu had already come so far. He wasn''t even born in the True Martial World, but he could already stand up to geniuses of the Fifth Heaven like her and the others. This wasn''t just a small bit impressive. If he gained the Inheritance of a Dao Lord, he would definitely be able to close the gap entirely and face them even when they no longer faced their restrictions.


    Although she wanted the inheritance for herself, she could still manage to feel happy at the chance he was able to receive, especially since as someone linked to him, and judging by how Ryu usually treater her, she didn''t doubt that she would benefit as well.


    But this...wasn''t this a bit too unfair? Those of the Seventh Heaven shouldn''t even be interested in this wave of the Convergence. According to historical records, they would only make themselves known when the wave of Fate was much higher. A genius of the Seventh Heaven might stumble in inheritances of this level taking a stroll out of their backyard, why would they stall their cultivation, suppress themselves, all to come down here for this?


    But it seemed that life wasn''t meant to be fair.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his gaze shifting to the tear in his collarbone. His scales, one of his greatest defenses, had been directly ripped through as though it wasn''t there at all.


    At that moment, Ryu realized that there was no way he could continue like this. The gap was too enormous.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, his gaze the placid reflection of calmness.


    After cultivating his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure, his sensitivity toward Heavenly Favor and its inner working had skyrocketed. Let alone winning this battle, he felt that even the enormous amount of Heavenly Favor he had gathered up until this point still wasn''t enough to reclaim his Spiritual Foundation. He wasn''t sure if even claiming the Dao Lord''s inheritance would be enough.


    He knew too little about the Martial Gods, but it seemed that whatever their standing in the True Martial World was, it was too much for Heavenly Favor at this level to deal with. There was likely not enough Heavenly Favor in the whole of this Heavenly Path to deal with their seal, maybe only if he went to this so-called Complete Heavenly Path would he have a chance at succeeding, but by then, he wouldn''t just be facing Fifth Heaven geniuses...


    There would be Sixth Heaven, Seventh Heaven, Eight Heaven...maybe even Ninth Heaven.


    He didn''t know where this Starlight came from, but he most definitely came from one of these higher existences, and he couldn''t even last a few exchanges. Let alone a few exchanges, Ryu had yet to see what Starlight''s real cultivation was. He could only faintly tell that he was still using Immortal Qi, so at the very least, he wasn''t in the Cosmic Seed Realm yet.


    The towering mountain before him only seemed to be getting larger.


    And yet Ryu grinned, bloody teethed and all.

 Chapter 1140 Constellation Qi

    1140 Constellation Qi


    Starlight sent forward a second attack. While it had felt that a lot of time had passed since the first, the reality was that it had only been the span of half a breath. Starlight didn''t seem intent on letting up, having become bored of Ryu''s display.


    However, what he hadn''t expected was for his next strike to miss entirely. Ryu simply vanished, appearing exactly one meter to the side.


    ''''Space talent?'''' Starlight''s brows shot up, but Ryu had already begun his counterattack.


    Ryu''s body flickered with lightning as a surge of icy intent coursed through his body, a wild surge of vitality filling his body, meeting up with his Southern Heavenly wind and swallowing up the intent eating away at his collarbone as he sent a strike forward.


    Starlight''s gaze narrowed as he met the blow with his palm, exchanging three strikes in quick succession before his body flickered into the shadows. However, when he reappeared once again, Ryu''s fist was already in front of his face. In fact, it seemed that Ryu had made it to the location before even he could.


    Starlight''s frown deepened and wisps of dark fog left his body, leaving a void around his body that made Ryu feel as though he was punching through a different dimension. And yet, too suddenly for Starlight to react, Ryu''s fist shifted out of said dimension and hit him squarely in the face.


    BANG!


    Starlight''s head was forced to complete a quarter turn, his neck muscles bulging as his gaze locked onto a position to his right as though he was looking for something. Although he didn''t move a single step back, his eyes were opened wide with shock.


    His face had been hit? No, more importantly, how had his void dimension been punched through? How could a low Heaven genius have such a high comprehension of space?


    Starlight was so distracted by his shock that he couldn''t react to the palm that landed flat on his chest a moment later, sparks of lightning shredding his outer clothing and leaving faint marks of char in its path.


    Starlight stumbled three steps back, his head finally slowly turning toward Ryu.


    ''''It really is him,'''' Jenneless thought with wide open eyes. By now it was all too obvious. The man with a Perfect Blackbody soul who had attacked her back then was actually this ant she thought she could casually crush with a thought?!


    Ryu didn''t even spare Jenneless a glance as he punched out once again, his fists howling with golden wings, frightening ice and arcs of lightning. For the first time, he unleashed his ice affinity in the truest sense and the biting cold licked across Starlight''s face and made him feel uncomfortable.


    The moment this ice was release, Ryu''s vitality skyrocketed, and his sapphire blue scales were all coated in a faint sheet of frozen water that more than doubled his defensive prowess.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    His punches were immaculate. Every single one perfectly concentrated all of his strength into a single point, the raging torrent of his fury, his frustration, his will being fused into a single point.


    Starlight retreated again and again, finding it difficult to find a way to reclaim the momentum. The moment Ryu had abandoned his great swordstaffs, his battle sense had become seamless. In fact, it felt like his close combat skills were simply on a level all to their own.


    However, to make matters worse, his spatial talent was absolutely suffocating. It didn''t matter what domain Starlight released, it felt like he could waltz through it as though it was his own backyard.


    ROAR!


    Suddenly, Ryu''s body erupted with flames. The change once again caught Starlight completely off guard, especially when his Tribulation Lightning and these flames fused into one. The explosive power shot up as the purple lightning flame tore a part through space, appearing at Starlight''s chest.


    BOOM!


    Starlight was finally lifted off of his feet, shooting backward like a beaming star.


    Ryu stood on the star path. All the elements in the world seemed to bow to his command. Ice, fire, lightning and wind were all corralled beneath his might, forced into submission and concentrated into his attack force.


    However, Ryu didn''t seem satisfied in the slightest. Dark gold runes began to float around him.


    He would throw everything he had into this battle. Seventh Heaven genius? Dao Sovereign? The Martial Gods? None would block his path!


    Ryu raised up two fingers on one hand and threw out a mighty punch with the other that soared after Starlight. Then, his body flickered and vanished. He stepped around the void as thought it was his home and appeared above Starlight, several dark gold cones of condensed soul attacks forming around him.


    He sent them forward without the slightest hesitation. At the same moment, his earlier fist attack appeared, crashing down toward Starlight in a wreath of fire, ice, lightning and wind.


    Facing a physical attack and a soul attack at once was enough to devastate most if not all opponents.


    But just when Ryu''s soul attacks descended, a chained necklace around Starlight''s neck trembled and the dark gold spiraling cones shattered on contact. Reacting just as quickly, Starlight punched out, causing his backward momentum to accelerate just out of the range of Ryu as he collided with the latter''s fist attack.


    Starlight flipped through the air and landed on the ground. His smiling expression had vanished, but it hadn''t been replaced by coldness or rage. Instead, it seemed to be a mix of indifference and stoicism. The void trembled around him slightly and the dense fog of darkness increased. Eventually, it felt like it was only possible to see the starry light of his bright eyes.


    At that moment, Ryu picked up on the void trembling as a connection seemed to be established with some far off, distant existence or even.... plane?


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    Starlight''s palms came together before separating. Each of them began to follow a circular pattern, rotating in the opposite direction of one another before meeting again.


    An oppressive power descended, and yet Ryu felt intimately familiar with it.


    This was Starlight making use of his cultivation method''s qi manipulation method, it was no different from the constellation techniques of the Radiant Star Sect. The fact this was happening at least meant that Starlight was becoming semi-serious, but this wasn''t what shocked Ryu.


    It really was no different from the constellation techniques because it was THE constellation technique...! Just....different... As though it was the opposite side of the same coin...


    Constellation Qi fell and the flickering image of a six-armed buddha with skin as dark as night appeared to Starlight''s back.


    The oppressive aura he exuded alone seemed to shatter all of Ryu''s momentum.

 Chapter 1141 Everything

    The Constellation shot forward, fusing with Starlight''s body and causing his fog-like domain to gain a dark gold tint to it that sprung out four extra arms.


    The dark star qi caused those who sensed it to shudder, even Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    This was a Dominion Grade Constellation, he was absolutely certain. But that should be impossible! Even Ryu himself was limited to using a Lineal Constellation because Lineal Constellations were the highest grade of Constellation that still utilized Immortal Qi, if he went any higher, he would have to assimilate Cosmic Qi which would likely cause his body to directly implode.


    However, not only did Starlight not give a damn about this, he actually fused the Constellation with his body, a process that shouldn''t even be possible.


    Ryu didn''t know what to think. These techniques should have been in Aika''s hands, could it be that she had some sort of relationship with Starlight as well? That wasn''t impossible. Ryu knew too little about the Radiant Star Sect, he had no idea what secrets they held or why such a powerful Sect with clearly powerful heritage was hidden away on the First Heaven.


    However, he simply didn''t have the time to think about it as one of Starlight''s newly formed arms pressed forward lightly.


    The movement didn''t seem to have much energy behind it at all, and yet the oppressive pressure reached Ryu in an instant. It was as though he was touching him through the void, and though his spatial senses could pick up on this, his body wasn''t fast enough to react.


    Ryu felt a palm print appear on his chest. His ribcage was deformed, the organs beneath it being crushed and twisted, skewered through the very bones meant to protect it. Breathing suddenly felt like inhaling nails, but that was soon overwhelmed by the feeling of being sent flying backward.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, shards of flesh and bone following it as his vision nearly went black.


    In that moment, he could finally sense Starlight''s cultivation and it was funny enough to make him laugh.


    Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. A full Realm beneath him. Even if Starlight''s figure suddenly shimmered to reveal a toddler, Ryu would believe it.


    A second palm appeared and descended with an unholy might. While the first seemed to have been incomparably gentle, this one left devastation in its wake, leaving tears through the void and space, crashing down like a flaming meteor. However, what was particularly shocking about this flaming meteor was that it was wreathed in flames that felt eerily similar to Mae''s own, flames that could directly burn the soul.


    BOOM!


    The palm enveloped Ryu and swallowed him whole before retracting as though its job was done.


    A mangled figure covered in dark gold flames was left behind. They licked across his body and dove into his carved-up flesh, seemingly wanting to devour him from the inside out.


    Ryu coughed, slowly standing to his feet.


    ''''Alright...'''' he said lightly.


    The flames continued to lick at him, but for some reason, they couldn''t quite seem to catch on. In fact, as time passed, it was quite clear that they were growing weaker before they were entirely snuffed out, never to return.


    Starlight''s gaze narrowed. He hadn''t expected Ryu''s soul defenses to be so powerful. Unlike himself, Ryu hadn''t relied on a treasure, he relied on his own abilities. But this was shocking enough. Considering Ryu''s other talents, his soul couldn''t be too impressive. His most shocking ability was definitely his bloodline, but Starlight wasn''t moved by it.


    For one, although Ryu seemed to have somehow gained the Lightning Qilin Bloodline, it was lacking in too many facets. He lacked the supporting Bone Structure or Soul. He couldn''t cultivate a Beast Core so his Tribulation Lightning came from himself, and unless he had the Storm Talent, which would continue to be a fatal weakness.


    Secondly, his Bloodline seemed to be one of the lowest grades of Lightning Qilin Bloodlines, so the boost to his bodily strength was likewise wholly limited. The fact Starlight could blast holes through his scales even when they were doubly protected with an Ice Inheritance spoke volumes.


    Thirdly, humans with beast Bloodlines tended to suffer in other ways that didn''t relate to being hunted down by the Beast Clans they stole the Bloodline from. For example, their soul talents and qi cultivation talent tended to take a huge hit, which was the reason it was so surprising that Ryu''s soul talent was seemingly exceptional.


    Regardless, Starlight didn''t feel like being in any great rush. If Ryu''s soul talent was so excellent, he wanted to preserve that for himself. In that case, it was in his best interest to not completely destroy Ryu''s body. Plus, he wanted to see what other secrets Ryu might have and if there was anything else about him worth preserving...


    A strong pulse of vitality exuded from Ryu''s body, causing Starlight to sneer.


    ''''No matter how good your healing factor is, there is no way you''ll...''''


    Starlight''s thoughts froze as he watched the beaten and mangled Ryu suddenly heal to over 50% in an instant. His pupils couldn''t help but constrict into pinholes, nothing was making any sense. How could he heal from injuries caused by his Void Soul Dominion Grade Buddha Constellation?!


    Ryu took deep breaths and looked into the skies.


    ''''I don''t like it...'''' He mumbled to himself. ''''...I don''t like it at all.''''


    He was incredibly sensitive to certain things. He could see the shift in Starlight''s thoughts, in his focus. He was treating him like a hobbling prey he could take down at any times, but he preferred to watch him bleed out instead due to the convenience.


    And yet, despite his usual demeanor, Ryu wasn''t infuriated by this.


    Arrogance that stemmed from ignorance wasn''t true arrogance. Ryu had never assumed that his talent was unsurpassable. He had always chased after this feeling, after this battle right here. If he had just assumed he was already the best, what good was telling himself that he was? As a pat to the back? As a nice warm cookie to soothe his belly?


    What utter nonsense.


    What he didn''t like was that he had finally found what he was looking for, and yet he couldn''t fight to his heart''s content...


    So he would.


    Ryu looked down from the skies and met Starlight''s gaze.


    ''''Your strength will decide whether I die the moment I step foot out of this Heavenly Path or not. Or who knows, maybe it will decide if I die before even leaving this Heavenly Path at all. I would like to see how much you can force out of me, I want to see what a true genius of the True Martial World can do.


    ''''Give me everything you have.''''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and his aura flared.


    ''''...Take form and conquer the world.''''

 Chapter 1142 Causality

    The golden miasma above rattled and boomed, the Heavenly Path''s perpetual golden light becoming dark for the first time.


    The ground rattled, trees that stretched countless kilometers into the skies swayed, and the very water bodies that did exist in the place formed tsunami-like waves destroying everything in their path.


    Ryu''s silvery irises glowed with a fierce and undying light, the wound to his chest quickly reforming as the tattoos on his body danced, exuding a radiant light.


    To his back, 13 mighty and trembling dark gold rings of qi took form, shaking the world.


    Mae''s gaze couldn''t help but constrict. She had seen these Immortal Rings before, but they were nothing like she had experienced before. The unbalance Art Sect''s grounds were designed to be cut off from the Heavens, this was the best sort of location to practice their techniques, but as a result of this, when Ryu spoke the enchantment to summon his Immortal Rings, she hadn''t felt the true weight of those words...


    Until now.


    The heavens seemed to be absolutely infuriated, and yet Ryu''s aura only continued to climb. The higher Heaven he was on when he summoned his Immortal Rings, the more oppressive the backlash. It was almost a unique form of suicide to dare to summon these rings in the Heavenly Path of all places... But that only made them all the more powerful.


    Ryu immediately sensed something as his Immortal Rings took shape, but he pressed down the feeling, knowing that he couldn''t allow himself to explore it, especially not here. If the world wanted to see it, to bring him down, then they would have to force him!


    Ryu punched out and Starlight almost immediately reacted, sending out a palm in retaliation.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu coughed up several mouthfuls of blood as he was forced back again and again, but he continued to send out strikes until his gaze flashed.


    ''''Storm.''''


    The rumbling thunder above solidified just as Ryu''s own Immortal Rings likewise Solidified. The fury of the Heavenly Path was palpable, and yet Ryu only made personal use of it, turning the fury of the Heavens toward himself and activating his Storm Talent.


    Arcs of white, gold and radiant royal blue lightning descended from the skies, piercing toward Starlight and causing his expression to change. He was once again surprised. Ryu really did have the Storm Talent! No, not just the Storm Talent, but the Lightning God Talent as well! This didn''t make any sense!


    The truest form of Tribulation Lightning fell from the skies and Starlight was forced to dodge, and then dodge again.


    Ryu shuttled through space and appeared before Starlight, his gauntlets having turned into a shimmering swirl of white, gold and royal as he smashed downward.


    Starlight''s gaze flashed with an annoyed light. Every time he felt that he had Ryu suppressed, he would come out with more bullshit, and what were those words he had spoken before supposed to mean? He usually considered himself to be an even keeled individual, but for some reason that look in Ryu''s eyes was pissing him off.


    If you''re weak, then just admit that you were weak. What sort of weak person hides trump cards and brings them out one by one just to get defeated again and again. If you''re weak, shouldn''t you bring out everything you have right at the beginning?!


    Starlight''s temper flared. It was as though Ryu truly thought there was a chance to defeat him with just this pitiful amount.


    ''''you don''t have the bones of the Qilin. You can''t assimilate with lightning properly. You can''t reforge your Spirit Body as it should be so you can''t even summon as much lightning as you should be able to with that talent. You have three of the four pillar talents of their race, but your use of them is pitiful. Just piss off!''''


    Starlight''s frustration had been building up ever since Ryu''s first appearance and now it just felt like it was bubbling over.


    The void trembled once again, and a second Constellation formed. It was once again exuding the aura of the Dominion Grade and it formed a shimmering dark gold shield.


    The shield slotted perfectly into one of Starlight''s four foggy hands, forming an impenetrable defense and gently pressed forward.


    Ryu found his fist meeting an undeniable force. Even as lightning erupted all around it, he couldn''t make it through, and he found himself flying backward like a ball out of a canon once again.


    Even as he was flying and Starlight was regaining his bearings, the latter opened up the void again and a third Dominion Grade Constellation descended, forming a sword that was transparent and reflected the starry skies within itself.


    In his fury, Starlight''s foggy arm raised the sword and slashed downward, causing a mighty sword qi to surge forward and appear before Ryu in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted and his body flickered with a bolt of lightning, dodging out of the way. And yet, even though he had dodged, it felt as though time had come to a stop. Scenes played in Ryu''s head again and again. In 9 of 10 of these scenes, Ryu managed to doge, but in the tenth, he was slow to react, causing him to lose an arm.


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat and his body seemed to shift backward.


    SHIING!


    A sharp pain rushed through Ryu''s left shoulder and his left arm flew into the skies, a pillar of blood and a spark of lightning following with it.


    Ryu almost couldn''t believe what he had just seen. Was that a time-based ability? No, not quite, he had time affinity, he would at least be able to stop it if he had no other choice. That was causality, Starlight had seen ten futures and picked out the one he liked best and forced Ryu to accept it at the same time.


    Ryu wasn''t entirely unfamiliar with such abilities... Was this how people had felt when he used the [Fate Reversal] ability of his Heavenly Pupils?


    Starlight, though, didn''t rely on Heavenly Pupils, he relied on a Constellation.


    Holding his bloodied arm stump and gazing toward Starlight, Ryu suddenly realized that of his six arms, only two were filled... At the same time, Starlight seemed to be quite furious.

 Chapter 1143 TSSSUUU!

    1143 TSSSUUU!


    Mae couldn''t help but cover her mouth, her pupils trembling. She could only barely feel the oddity of the strike, but the result of it was more than enough for her heart to quake.


    The other spectators felt the oddity as well and something in their hearts told them that there was simply no way of dodging. In fact, if they had been in Ryu''s position, let alone an arm, they might have very well lost their heads.


    Mae bit her lip, hard. As much as she was feeling suffocated by Starlight''s pressure, she felt even more resistance to the idea that the man she had just given herself to would die just like this. She hadn''t even gotten a chance to know him, to truly know him, would things really end like this?


    Arcs of lightning surged around Ryu and his body became almost incorporeal. The stump of his shoulder connected to his spinning arm via a flash of radiant blue and when he came back to form, half of it had been reattached.


    Ryu''s control over his soul was beyond most individuals now. Another might have been forced to allow their soul to passively disconnect from their severed arm, but Ryu, after realizing there was no getting away from losing his arm, had purposely maintained this connection, allowing him to disperse his body into lightning and reform his whole figure, albeit somewhat imperfectly.


    Even so, his healing factor was quickly making him perfect, so long as he had some time. Unfortunately, though, although he had reacted extraordinarily quickly, Starlight''s second strike was already descending and Ryu felt his body forcefully frozen in time.


    Countless scenarios played out until Starlight settled on the path of causality that cost Ryu his leg.


    A swordlight flashed by and a sharp pain shot through Ryu''s body as it was his left leg''s turn to take a spin through the air.


    It felt as though Starlight was purposely mutilating him. No matter how many times Ryu tried to reconnect his body part, not only would it be imperfect, but a third, fourth, and even fifth strike would follow up soon afterward, too enigmatic for him to dodge completely.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, the crimson droplets drizzling down his neck.


    His current body looked absolutely ridiculous, by self admission. It looked as though some shoddy, black market doctor had sown his limbs onto the stump that remained of his body. Bits of flesh, muscle and tendons barely held him together, but his limbs were disconnected enough that they looked as though they might fall away from him any moment now.


    Ryu could already feel that if he tried to close in the distance between himself and Starlight, the latter''s control over causality would only increase. Rather than 1 out of 10, there might be 2 of10, 3 of 10, or maybe even 5 of 10 scenarios he could use to force Ryu into a dead end. If Ryu pushed his luck, one of those scenarios would likely take his head.


    However, what was also clear was that Starlight was making no attempt to close the distance. It was as though he was poking and prodding at Ryu like a toy, seeing if he had anything more to give.


    Ryu shook his head, his chest still open and his back still straight. He took heaving breaths as the next swordlight came.


    Despite the state of his body, his gaze remained the same. He had already spoken what he needed to say once, he felt no pressing need to speak again.


    Unbendable and unbreakable, that''s what he would be.


    A pillar of Rage Flames enveloped Ryu''s body in a torrent. The surging black-red flames danced with his tribulation lightning and his aura completely changed.


    His limbs shifted into place as though they had never been severed. His radiant blue scales turned a royal violet, the horns on his head growing yet another size.


    ROAR!


    The skies trembled as a cloak of crimson enveloped Ryu, his Dragon Soul manifesting with a menacing arc as the storm above his head grew more violent. The Heavens raged with even greater fury, almost as though Ryu''s very existence was taboo.


    The dark gold tattoos that covered Ryu''s body seemed to have gained life. Almost like a dry well finally being filled with flowing fresh water, it soaked it all in, becoming brighter and brighter.


    Facing the swordlight, Ryu turned into an arc of violet lightning flames, shifting to the side and dodging.


    This time, Starlight''s causality was entirely broken. But rather than closing the distance, Ryu''s aura changed and his grandfather''s bow appeared in his hands.


    The storm in the skies surged as arcs of blazing blue, white and gold lightning descended. With just a thought, Ryu corralled them all, forming an arrow dancing with a 15% complete Rune.


    Ryu released three arrows in quick succession, and then three more. Each and every one carried the fury of the storm, the wrath of the Heavens being concentrated into an arrow barely a finger width thick.


    The sound they unleashed when they were released was akin to a thousand claps of thunder, layering upon one another and causing the fabric of space to crumble and quake as it attempted to quickly reform itself.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Starlight''s brows jumped.


    He had seen Ryu release the aura of a Bow God before, but it was only now, facing it personally, that he could feel the true pressure. The sharpness in Ryu''s gaze was unlike how it had been before, his blindness seemingly having been entirely cured.


    In the past, Ryu relied entirely on his Void Spiritual Sense. However, as his grandfather had always said... the most important thing to an archer were his eyes!


    Starlight hurriedly blocked before him, his heart jumping. The power of these lightning flames was easily multiples of what the Tribulation Lightning had been before. In fact, this was more akin to the power a young noble Lightning Qilin would be able to display with their Tribulation Lightning alone.


    Starlight felt quite speechless. Had that been the aura of the Fire Dragon he had sensed before? He had berated Ryu for daring to hold back when he was so weak, but seeing Ryu take out talent after talent that could get him executed by Races and existences even he didn''t dare to provoke left Starlight not knowing what to say.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Starlight''s body shuddered as he blocked with his shield.


    The two subsequent attacks made his arm numb as he was forced to take two steps back.


    With a thought, he shook his shield gently and the rest of the accumulated pressure vanished in the blink of an eye as though it had never been there.


    Ryu had caught him off guard at first, but his sword had such an ability, only a fool would believe his shield was just a simple shield. In fact, it too could shift causality, but its ability was much more life saving.


    His sword could pick a causality and outcome that suited him best while his shield could split the outcome of an attack between numerous casualties, decreasing the power by whatever number of casualties he had conjured up. Just now, with a simple shake, he had weakened Ryu''s attack by a factor of ten!


    Starlight wasn''t worried about either his offense or defense, even in the face of the current Ryu, but inwardly he was still shocked.


    Ryu''s overall foundation as a cultivator was entirely too weak before him. Even if he had used Rage Flames and Tribulation Lightning separately, he would have been nothing more than an ant. It was only after he fused them that they barely reached a standard that could harm him if he was too casual in responding.


    But even so, that was only if he was too casual.


    That said, he could understand now what Ryu said about dying when he took a step out of here.


    Was it worth it?


    Starlight almost laughed at his own thoughts. What choice did Ryu have? He had a choice between dying here at his own hands and dying outside? How would anyone with the heart of a cultivator choose the first?


    Even if there was just the slightest chance for survival, a real man would fight!


    ''''Hm?''''


    For the first time, the Dao Sovereign''s intent perked up. But this had nothing to do with Ryu''s Bloodlines. He had already deduced that Ryu was from a lesser world. In those places, all sorts of wild things happened. So long as Ryu got a bit lucky when coming here, he would be able to unshackle those talents and display these abilities. It was just unknown how long he would live after doing so and offending those Ancestral Beast Clans.


    No, what caught the Dao Sovereign''s attention was something entirely different.


    Starlight felt another attack coming so he raised his shield once more, prepared to block once again, allow himself to reset, and then counter.


    But what actually happened left him frozen in space.


    Ryu''s attack seemed to shrug off his shield entirely, an odd, unnoticeable fluctuation breaking through the realms of causality, or at the very least, the realms Starlight''s shield and sword could control.


    TSSUUU!


    Ryu''s arrow tore a hole through Starlight''s chest, leaving a bloody hole in its wake. In the end, Starlight just barely shifted to the side, escaping the Fate of having his heart torn to shreds.


    Ryu stood in the distance, his gaze dancing with the irregular and unsymmetrical runes of the Unbalance Mantra as he pulled back his bowstring again, his aura of a Bow God flaring as the storming skies turned more violent.

 Chapter 1144 Pressure

    The reversal seemed all too sudden, most weren''t prepared and even less understood what they had just seen. An odd, amorphous pressure filled the surroundings, filling those in the surroudings with an uncomfortable tingling sensation that pulled at their souls, but even so, none could pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.


    Ryu, however, didn''t seem surprised in the slightest. He didn''t feel any sense of accomplishment injuring a genius of this caliber, no pride, no sigh of relief, his Dao Heart was as firm as it had always been and his expectations were the very same they had always been.


    The arrow that had pierced through Starlight''s chest had only just done its job, but even as it had been in the air, Ryu had already released another set of three, and three more followed even after them.


    The skies seemed to have gone entirely quiet and the Immortal Rings to Ryu''s back were suddenly unleashed from the pressure they had been experiencing. Almost instantly, they pulsed and the amount of atmospheric Qi Ryu could pull toward himself more than doubled in the blink of an eye.


    The surge of Qi filled Ryu''s limbs and his body, a trembling of his Spiritual Foundation bringing it all under control before he unleashed yet another barrage.


    Starlight''s eyes were wide as the pain shot through his body. He subconsciously tried to activate his causality ability once again, but he realized almost immediately that the energy cost had skyrocketed past a thousandfold what it had been before. Just creating a single instance might entirely drain him of all his remaining Qi!


    He didn''t have time to think about why this was at all as he hurriedly rushed backward, but how could he be faster than arrows? His actions were destined to fail from the very beginning, he instead just wanted a small bit of breathing room so that he could raise his shield again.


    BANG! BANG! BOOM!


    Starlight coughed up a moutful of blood, the power of the strikes making him shudder. His heart nearly leapt out of his throat. He had already dialed in the strength of Ryu''s lightning flame, so how had it suddenly become even stronger again? The strength had, at least doubled! Again!


    Even without its causality ability, Starlight''s shield was exceptional in its defensive prowess. Even now, there wasn''t even the faintest dent in it. But the problem was that without being able to impact causality, it was entirely reliant on Starlight to have the strength to hold it up as it didn''t have the dispersal or negation abilities other treasure shields would have.


    Another barrage was already heading over and Starlight''s gaze couldn''t help but flash with a furious light. Did he really think that he was helpless?!


    Starlight''s aura surged and the void split open. This time, he didn''t bother to bring out one weapon at a time, instead bringing down two at once... if they could be called weapons at all.


    Both were balls of rotating light. One was surrounded by an event horizon as though it was a blackhole concentrated into the size that was barely a foot or so across. The second looked like a miniature star surrounded by the arms of a spiral galaxy.


    Regardless of which it was, the blackhole or the star, they each gave off the oppressive aura of a Dominion Grade Constellation, exuding a mighty push and pull.


    Almost immediately, the space around Starlight distorted and twisted in unpredictable ways. The arrows that Ryu had shot, which had been following along just slighty curved paths, now began to waver and zigzag in the air, not following any sort of laws of physics that made sense to the average human mind. In fact, even with his Spacetime Soul Nature, Ryu was having a hard time understanding what changes were happening.


    Almost immediately, Ryu concluded that this had to be because these distortions were beyond just space and time, there was a hint of the aura of creation and destruction within them, auras Ryu was faintly able to discern thanks to his familiarity with Chaos Qi and Essence.


    He wasn''t just twisting and distorting existing spacetime, he was creating and destroying them as well. While Ryu could gain a faint inkling of what was happening, due to the additionally applied affinities, it wasn''t with 100% accuracy, making it suddenly very dangerous to approach Starlight, but simultaneously useless to attack him from afar.


    So Ryu did what any sane madman would do.


    Without the slightest hesitation, he flipped his palm and allowed his bow to disappear, taking a step forward and shooting toward Starlight like a blazing meteor.


    Even Starlight was caught off guard by this choice, most would choose to be more cautious than not when facing an ability of an enemy they knew so little about. But almost in an instant, Ryu had entered a ten meter range of Starlight.


    Starlight sneered and violent auras of destruction began to descend around Ryu, threatening to twist the space around him, and thus Ryu himself, to dust.


    But just when Starlight was about to succeed, Ryu''s gaze lit up with two eight trigram diagrams, both rotating in opposite directions, one of which was a blinding gold and the other of which was a dense, dark gold.


    Almost instantly, the world which had been a blur to Ryu became sharp and as readable as a book. Using his own eyes to see the world through his Dao somehow made it all feel different...as though it had all become...


    Easier.


    Ryu took a step and vanished, the oppressive aura of a Dao descending as what felt like a dozens of Small Realms stacked atop of one another.


    Wind. Water. Thunder. Fire.


    And then as though that wasn''t enough, the flickering image of a mighty mountain descended and Ryu''s Trembling Star Qi made an appearance once more. However, this time powered by his Mountain Character, rather than exuding the aura of a Lineal Grade Constellation, it seemed to shoot well past that, even faintly displaying strength that bordered the Dominion Grade!


    Ryu''s strength exploded forth all at once.


    He appeared past Starlight''s shield and sword. Even standing in the midst of the twisting strength of his blackhole and star, Ryu seemed entirely unaffected. With the trigrams dancing within his pupils, he seemed as though he could see through the world, that even the Heavens themselves had to bow in his presence.


    And then he punched forward.


    BOOM!


    Ryu rocketed an even larger hole through Starlight''s chest, obliterating his heart.


    However, at the same time, Ryu''s own right arm splintered and spurted with blood, his stern lips leaking with a hint of crimson themselves.


    One would understand what happened when one noticed the faint runes of strength swirling around his wrist.


    The first time Ryu used the Art Mantra, he could only manage one for a boost of 20% without getting too injured. However, after cultivating the Shadowlight Inheritance, and entering his Drago-Qilin form, his capacity had skyrocketed. He had just stacked four of them!


    The second 20% boost applied to his already 20% boosted strength, so on and so forth. Meaning, a stack of four strength runes was akin to more than doubling his strength output. It was no wonder his arm nearly exploded on impact.


    The lingering pressure of Ryu''s blow sent Starlight flying out like a broken kite. Even so, Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    He was a Fist God, he had been able to perfectly control his strength even with it being double, especially with his Dao activated. He should have been able to concentrate all of his strength into the hole in Starlight''s chest, which meant that Starlight shouldn''t have taken even a single step back despite his injuries, let alone fly back like that.


    The only explanation was that final distortion before his fist landed.


    Ryu coolly retracted his fist.


    At that moment, he looked no different from a deity. His horns pierced toward the veil of the Heavens, his eyes rotated with the formations and an oppressive aura radiated from him, all while his body was covered with scales and yet entirely unable to cover the handsome features of his face.


    Tattooed runes danced over his body in the most lifelike of manners, and just like this, a man who seemed to stand not a single chance at all had reversed the tables.


    And yet, he didn''t follow up, his senses picking up on something incomparably dangerous.


    *Cough*


    Starlight rebounded against the ground and coughed.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed further. A blow to the heart like that to someone who didn''t have a Realm Heart or wasn''t a Sky God should probably be fatal. But then again, this was knowledge he had from Sacrum...


    The void to Starlight''s back split once again and a strong pulse of darkness descended. As it did, Starlight''s body entered its spirit form, and when he came back into being, the hole in his chest had entirely vanished.


    Ryu faintly nodded to himself. He, too, could absorb lightning and fire to heal himself, it was just that he had never needed to... but he also hadn''t thought that such a thing could help him survive such a devastating blow if he hadn''t had his Realm Heart.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that Starlight had a very unique Bone Structure... He wasn''t the only one who shared a talent with the Dao Sovereign. While he shared the Chaotic Silk Meridians with the Dao Sovereign, Starlight shared the Death Star Bone Structure.


    Starlight slowly rose to his feet, taking deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling.


    His gaze flashed with a cold light an an unbearable pressure descended.


    The pressure of an Ancient Dao.


    PN = Pirate Note


    Yo, Erdiul here. This is the last chapter of the month, so a reset is gonna happen tomorrow. I probably won''t be posting immediately starting next month, as pandanovel is gonna be making some changes. If these changes don''t happen, I might start sharing chapters again, but you guys will have to wait for like a week or so. So back to stacking.

 Chapter 1145 Not Working

    A violent rush of pressure spread out from all sides. Starlight''s robes, or what remained of them, fluttered wildly, his aura only increasing with every passing moment. And then, everything seemed to become eerily quiet.


    Whether it was the thunderous storm above, or the crackling of Ryu''s lightning flame, it all fell into the very same silence.


    Starlight''s gaze, which had just been marred by fury, seemed to have become entirely placid, even his five summoned constellations, which had been exuding mighty presence themselves, became the picture of calmness, not fluctuating even in the slightest.


    Ironically, subtlety and subtleness suddenly took center stage, boldly proclaiming its presence. It became difficult even for those watching the battle to remember that there were actually two people on the battlefield and not just one. For some reason, every time they looked away from Starlight, he would vanish from their psyches until they looked again.


    He seemed to not exist at all, to have no weight and presence, to be... void.


    Suddenly, a Small Realm of complete darkness descended and everything was swallowed into this void. Qi vanished on touch, senses seemed to be sealed within a vacuum, and Ryu''s piercing gaze seemed to have become useless.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. ''Second Immortal Grade..


    It was a step below Ryu''s own down, but it was highly impressive, although it was mitigated somewhat by the fact that Starlight was a half step away from the Path Extinction Realm already. Even so, the fact that he had a Dao a step above his current cultivation Realm when most would be lucky to have one astep below spoke volumes, almost more than the fact that it was an Ancient Dao.


    If it had been at the First Immortal Grade, Ryu wouldn''t feel a need to take it seriously at all. But, because it was just a step below his own and Ryu couldn''t fuse his Daos, it was enough for them to be somewhat on par, which effectively canceled out much of the advantages that Ryu had just clawed back.


    "Die."


    The word was likely something that Ryu shouldn''t have been able to hear. But even more important than that, the attack was supposed to be something that he could see. And yet, just at the final moment, Ryu barely managed to dodge.


    A sword swung by Ryu''s body, just barely missing his shoulder.


    A strong pull of causality tried to pull Ryu back into a preferred timeline.


    With the distance between himself and Starlight suddenly becoming less than a meter, the pull was far more violent than it had ever been before, and with Starlight''s Do seemingly perfectly infusing into his Small Realm, it even faintly began to suppress the layers of Ryu''s own at the same time.


    Ryu''s Spiritual Sea pulsed and a wave of Spiritual Qi shattered the pull of causality by pouring more strength into the Unbalance Mantra. However, before he could relax, the devastating push and pull effects of Starlight''s blackhole and star constellations descended, threatening to shred him to pieces.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a cold light and his palms suddenly slammed together, stronger and stronger waves of Spiritual Qi forming in the region around him.


    In that moment, a formation took shape, if it could be called a formation at all.


    It formed half of a shield on one half, and on the other there was half of a clock which had odd runes written into it as opposed to numbers.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and the hand of the clock rotated once before striking at one of its runes and unleashing a hollow DONG! Sound.


    A strong pulse formed a ring of pressure around Ryu that dispersed the pressure and sent Starlight back, forcing the latter to take three heavy steps backward.


    This was the first time Ryu had unleashed one of the formations of the formation jade, but the result was a pleasant surprise, at least it was for a moment before the formation suddenly collapsed.Ryu''s pupils constric d. He didn''t immediately understand what had happened because Starlight''s blade had already descended again like the silent strike of a deadly assassin.


    Ryu was finding it harder and harder to pinpoint Starlight''s location, almost as though the latter was becoming better and better at countering his senses as time went on. This time, he didn''t manage to get out of the way of the sword entirely before a faint line of red appeared on his torso, and then another.


    Ryu''s gaze was entirely cold.


    He slammed his palms together once again, forcing the half shield, half clock formation into existence once again. But this time, it crumbled even faster.


    ''It''s the Small Realm. The formations need a state of unbalance to workproperly, but I can''t fully suppress Starlight''s Small Realm which follows an entirely orthodox path. If I wanted to sustain the formation. I would have to entirely orthodox path. If I wanted to sustain the formation, I would have to continuously feed it Spiritual Qi. It would be the equivalent of spending the energy needed to form it again and again, and sometimes even multiple times a second:


    Even Ryu couldn''t stand such an expenditure and he realized that the Unbalance Mantra and its connecting techniques weren''t infallible... At least not when he could fuse them. Such an obvious weakness likely wouldn''t exist if he had the full inheritance.


    Ryu''s gaze turned colder at this prospect and he realized why he very much disliked the person who left behind that Rune.


    Ryu dodged backward again and another blade mark appeared on his body.


    He knew that things couldn''t continue like this. He was reacting rather than being proactive. His Da was fully focused on sensing his surroundings now and that was just barely enough to see through Starlight''s strikes in the final moments and avoid fatal damage. But if he was so passive, it was only a matter of time before he suffered.


    Ryu''s jaw set and he took deep breaths.


    He could tell that Starlight still hadn''t gone all out. Even still, behind that cold gaze of his, Ryu could see the disdain and derision. At this point, it seemed that he wasn''t going all out just to prove a point, the very same point he had been trying to prove from the very beginning.


    Ryu dodged backward again and another blade mark appeared on his body.


    He knew that things couldn''t continue like this. He was reacting rather than being proactive. His Dao was fully focused on sensing his surroundings now and that was just barely enough to see through Starlight''s strikes in the final moments and avoid fatal damage. But if he was so passive, it was only a matter of time before he suffered.


    This is not working... So be it. If the world rejects me, I shall be the enemy of the world.


    Ryu''s slit pupils became malevolent.

 Chapter 1146 As I Please

    Ryu''s gaze became brighter and his Da Heart seemed to have become multiples lighter.


    Ryu had never been the type to inch forward his battle strength like this.


    There was only one reason he had. For every one less talent he showed, there would be one less enemy he had. He was already an enemy of the Qilins before Starlight forced his Fire Dragon Bloodline out. His soul was already the target of greed for no other reason than the fact he existed. He had no doubt that the oddity of his Unbalance Mantra had caught the attention of more than just a few, and he couldn''t have been more correct if even the Dao Sovereign himself reacted to it.


    He had been holding onto a faint hope, a faint inkling that so long as he did his best to minimize the number who wanted his head, maybe he would be able to find a narrow path to survival. No matter what anyone said, one less monstrous Clan or Sect chasing after you wasn''t just one less enemy, it was one less army after your head.


    For once in his life, Ryu had tried to be smart about his actions.


    And quite frankly, he hated it.


    This wasn''t what he had imagined fighting these geniuses would feel like. He had alwaws imaoined himself putting his heart and soul into everv battle Even if he lost and survived by the skin of his teeth, he would go back, heal, and come back even stronger until the day he died or finally reached that mountain peak.


    That was what he wanted more than anything else, but this so-called True Martial World seemed to want to deny him even such a simple wish at every turn. His talents couldn''t even be considered to be anywhere near the best their geniuses had, and yet they didn''t seem to need a reason to crush him.


    Ryu found himself thinking about Sarriel''s words a lot more often these days.


    He had known back then that they had had logic to them, he just didn''t like their sentiment, so much so that any attraction he had had for Sarriel vanished in the blink of an eye off the back of just a single statement.


    But she wasn''t wrong. It wasn''t just about himself. He had a family, his wives were still sealed in his eyes, Elena needed his help, his mother was weak and frail currently, his father was nowhere to be seen, Sacrum was facing an existential crisis... There were too many things that needed him to live, to survive, to grovel before the rising sun in greeting of another day that he should be "thankful" for.


    However, he then thought back to his talk with Patriarch Ember before he ended the latter''s life.


    Back then, Patriarch Ember had been indignant and jealous. He roared about Ryu''s hypocrisy, saying that Ryu only dared to do the things he did because there was no one in Sacrum that could touch him in the realms of talent... no one that was on his level.


    And in his final bout of fury, Patriarch Ember asked Ryu what he would have done if he was reborn with the talent of a commoner and given the choice between death and lower his head.


    Ryu had sneered. The words flowing out from his mouth like clear river waters.


    "If I had your pitiful amount of talent, my corpse would have already been hung out to dry and picked clean by passing birds.


    "I would rather die than become like you."


    Ryu laughed, his laughter rocking the Small Realms around him. Indeed, he would rather have his corpse hung out to dry than eek out another pitiful day of existence.


    Who cared if he managed to survive another day? Even the Dao Sovereign almost died as a Dao Lord before he could reach his current level. In fact, the fact that he had set up another inheritance in the Complete Heavenly Path told Ryu that he was likely facing such an existential crisis again, that was why he was so obsessed with making sure that his Inheritance ended up in the right hands, even to the point of crushing the inheritance of another Dao Lord before it could fully ascend.


    He had all that talent, all that backing, and even the very same peak tierMeridians that Ryu had, and yet he still couldn''t make it.


    Did this Dao Sovereign ever have to lower his head in his life? Did he ever have to eke out an existence? Did he ever have to hide his talents for fear that others might harm him?


    Of course not!


    And yet Ryu was expected to do so and somehow still manage to surpass him in the future?! How could that even be possible?!


    Ryu''s laughter became more uproarious and the quaking of the Small Realms only increased.


    "In this life, I, Ryu Tatsuya, will do as I please! I will not accept any less, even on my deathbed. If you want my life, come and take it!"


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s aura completely changed as the two eight trigram diagrams in his pupils converged.


    At the same time, towering pillars of raging flames took form around him, their bases stabilizing the earth and their peaks holding up the skies.


    The violet scales on Ryu''s body trembled before becoming far thicker. Their colors faded for a moment before coming back fiercer and far brighter.


    However, this time, rather than a royal violet color, they were entirely white, brimming with vitality.


    The cry of an Emperor Phoenix shook the skies as a twin pair of white feathered wings spread out from Ryu''s back. Within the depths of his now white eyes, three flames rot led around a fourth, one of Death, one of Rebirth, and the final of Life.


    Heavenly Patterns of gold erupted around Ryu as all of his talents seemed to solidify into one. His strength and aura skyrocketed as the twin eight trigram diagrams finally converged into one.


    BOOM!


    The headband on Ryu''s forehead was shredded to pieces beneath the pressure, and just as quickly, the brand that marked him was practically burnt away to ashes as the aura of his Dao rocketed upward.


    Lower Hegemon.. Peak Hegemon... Lower Ancient... Middle Ancient... Higher Ancient...


    Peak Ancient!

 Chapter 1147 Suffer

    Ryu''s aura was akin to a blazing torch in the dead of night.


    The temperature skyrocketed, to the point that it was felt even beyond the protective veil of the star path. It transcended barriers, elevated beyond restrictions, suffocated opposition.


    However, it seemed as though Ryu wasn''t satisfied with this alone.


    His wings spread out, their subtle movements causing a torrential storm of vicious winds to rush out in every direction. They fluttered, a dense concentration of royal blue Heavenly Patterns appearing across their surface and subsequently across Ryu''s body.


    With a single flap, Ryu vanished from his location, appearing before Starlight with a descending dragon claw, his glistening, sword-like nails suddenly exploding forth with swirling black Heavenly Patterns.


    All of Starlight''s aura was shredded to pieces beneath the might of his draconic claw, the clouds above splitting into six and the ground below collapsing.


    The sharpness of Ryu''s attack caused Starlight''s expression to change. He was completely taken off guard. He had believed with every fibre of his being that this battle would be over the moment he revealed his Dao, but to his shock, Ryu had a Dao surpassing his own both in maturity and grade!


    And what were those patterns? They seemed to nearly close the gap between their qi quality. Those blue ones radiated with an aura that seemed indestructible, and those black ones radiated an air of destruction that shredded through everything in its path.


    Suddenly, Starlight''s eyes widened.


    Phoenix Heavenly Patterns!


    Lightning Oilin. Fire Dragon. And now Ice Phoenix? No, Dark Phoenix? No, Fire Phoenix? No...All three?!


    Starlight''s expression changed again. Ryu''s claw had already appeared before him and he could feel that his Dao had suddenly become suppressed from all sides. It felt like no matter where he tried to escape, he would be swallowed up whole.


    He was now experiencing what everyone did facing Ryu''s Dao, but on a level it had never been before.


    At that moment, Starlight''s instincts screamed at him to do something that seemed to make no sense whatsoever, and yet he still followed it without hesitation. He retrieved his Dao, burying it within the deepest parts of his Do Heart before roaring out and countering with as much strength as he could gather in short order.


    BANG!


    Starlight flew out like a shot from a canon. The wind was torn to pieces around him and he nearly vanished into the ground.


    Cracks appeared in his causality sword, and warped distortions threatened to force his blackhole and star constellations to collapse. The sudden difference was drastic.


    Ryu stepped forward, ready to follow up, but his gaze suddenly flashed instead. His intentions changed on a dime and he pressed his hands together.


    The nine pillars in the surroundings pulsed to life, golden Heavenly Patterns spiraling into existence on their body.


    The aura of an Emperor Phoenix towered into the skies, a bridge between life and death seemed to be formed and the gatekeeper was none other than Ryu himself.


    At that moment, Starlight flipped through the air, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he swiftly recovered. He landed heavily on his feet, his gaze landing on his cracked constellations. A malevolent expression took root deep within his irises.


    With a squeeze of his fists, Starlight''s constellations crumbled into motes of dark gold. He didn''t say anymore words as the void to a new plane appeared behind him once again.


    BOOM!


    In one moment, there was silence, but in the next instant, thousands of bronze, gold and silver hands and arms tore a path out of the void, even grabbing its edges and pulling them apart further.


    This time, the constellation didn''t fuse with Starlight''s body, but there was n doubt that its aura was on a completely different level, an aura that could only possibly come from a Hegemonic Constellation.


    A mass of arms and hands appeared to Starlight''s back. They coiled and wrapped around one another like an enormous star, capable of blotting out even the skies.


    Starlight pressed his own hands together, mirroring Ryu from across the battlefield. Their gazes met, but neither said a word as their qi continued to rise into the skies.


    Suddenly, their irises flashed with murderous intentions and their assault began simultaneously.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    On one half of the battlefield, there was nothing but a torrent of flashing palms, each carrying the power to level a mountain and split a planet in two.


    On the other side, flames seemed to envelop the world. Arrows, spears, javelins, whips, even stars and cacophonic booms.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed. His palms separated and he pressed two fingers together on his right.


    The skies rumbled and the clouds split, the streaks left behind by his previous Dragon Claw. It was clear at that point that Ryu''s previous attack had shredded apart some of the Heaven''s resistance, making the effect of his Storm Talent even more potent.


    Lightning coalesced and a strong spatial qi surged.


    Before the bolt could even descend, it vanished into thin air.


    At the same time, a blazing red-black flame wrapped in pulsing black Heavenly Patterns shot forward out of Ryu''s fingers.


    The flame shot through a gap in Starlight''s defenses before a flash of blue so bright it caused the latter to squint suddenly appeared and fused with it.


    The aura of Ryu''s Unbalance Mantra surged and his Rage Flames erupted with unprecedented power just before the fusion was completed.


    However, just when it seemed that the most devastating part of the attack had been formed, the spatial qi fused with the violet lightning flame, causing the fused product to blink out of existence once again.


    A mind numbing threat of danger suffocated Starlight, but it suddenly felt unstoppable.. and it only became worse as Ryu unleashed a mighty roar.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu began to furiously punch at the air, but each and every pulse of Fist Qi came infused with large swaths of Spatial Qi, causing his fists to seemingly vanish into thin air, only for Starlight''s constellation of planetary arms and hands to suddenly find itself counter at every time.


    What once was a battle of flames and hands became a battle of human fistsand constellation palms.


    And Starlight would suffer all the worse for it.

 Chapter 1148 Fuse

    Starlight circulated his qi, the void to his side ripping open as he dodged.


    Unfortunately, he was a step late and a terrible ripping pain tore into his shoulder.


    His arm twisted into the air. It was hard to tell if it was a sword, a drill or a flame that had attacked him. To his mind, it felt as though it was all three, the slicing, twisting and burning was all visceral. Starlight couldn''t remember having ever suffered such a devastating injury before. This was in one part due to his young age, and another part due to just how weak the lower Heavens were, but regardless of what the reasons were, he felt as though his consciousness was about to fade.


    Starlight released a low growl. One of the arms from his constellation was torn off. It shrunk quickly and attached to his bleeding shoulder stump. A dense bronze, silver and gold colored metal crept up half of his neck and chest before he suddenly pushed out.


    Ryu''s body rippled as he dodged and he vanished from where he stood. He reached out at thin air and a lance of fire coated with swirling Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.


    Ryu''s back flexed and his gaze flashed with its fused gold and dark gold trigram diagram. It felt that just by meeting his gaze, he could see through any and everyone with just a single look.


    BANG!


    The lance rocketed out of Ru''s hand with a world-ending momentum.


    Starlight''s metal arm changed its form and a towering swirl of sword qi took shape as he swung down with all his might.


    Arm blade and lance met, both pausing in the air, unable to move even an inch further. But in the air, Ryu had already vanished.


    Starlight''s gaze flashed and his free hand formed a peculiar hand seal. Just as Ryu appeared to his side, the void was torn open once again and another constellation with Hegemonic Aura descended like a clap of thunder.


    Ryu felt his body shake and quake, his inner organs rattling and his bones threatening to snap, but his gaze was still firm and resolute as he punched out. his arm vanishing into the void even as a world-splitting attack landed on his chest.


    BANG! BANG!


    Starlight''s only remaining arm exploded on contact, but at the same time, a hole was blown through Ryu''s chest, a beam of dark light seemingly reaping his life.


    Ryu coughed out a mouthful of blood. It was so dense and full of life that it almost looked more black than it was red. Even so, the sharpness in his gaze didn''t fade for even a single moment.


    The dense corrosive energies that blew through his chest seemed to want to suffocate his healing potential, but he had already expected something like this. He knew in his mind that he couldn''t allow Starlight to regain his bearings, and he most definitely didn''t want to give him a chance to escape. A mistake on either front could come back to bite him.


    So he took the most dangerous approach, an approach that maybe only one with the vitality of a Phoenix would dare to take.


    Ryu''s assault was relentless and devastating. Every single one of Starlight''s counters would have been a deadly blow to anyone else, a hole through the chest, a skull shattering palm, there were even several blows to his dantian in an attempt to cripple him entirely, a fate his Chaotic Silk Meridians were enough to save him from.


    On the other side, Starlight''s injuries were just as devastating and much of his body was coated with the dense metals of his planetarv hand constellation.


    Starlight roared in frustration in his mind. His entire battle style was built on the back of his Dao, and because he had been sent to the lower Heavens, he had only had time to cultivate the main core cultivation method of his Sect which allowed him to call down Constellations for his use.


    This was supposed to be a good thing, a thing only geniuses did. Building one''s own sort of Dao Charm techniques was the way of the Higher Heavens.


    But he had never expected that he would run into an enemy with a Peak Ancient Dao capable of suppressing other Daos. He felt as though he was fighting with both his legs tied behind his back and a broken leg to top it all off.


    Starlight roared. He was unwilling to give up the Dao Lord''s Inheritance, completely unwilling! This was what he had come here for! What was the point in coming to this backwater hellhole if he couldn''t get his hands on it?!A look of madness flashed through Starlight''s gaze and the hands of his planetary hand constellation descended one after another. Just a single palm seemed to be capable of blotting out the skies, and yet so many of them were coming down at once.


    Starlight vanished in their midst and he opened his arms out wide before slamming them toward one another with such force that all the land beneath the star nath was entirelv wined out Fven the snectators who hadn''t heen able to speak even a single word, lost in their own shock, felt their hearts suddenly skip several beats.


    "FUSE!" Starlight roared.


    At that moment, the planetary hand constellation rushed forward, slamming into Starlight''s back.


    If the members of his Sect could see him now, they''d think him to be a madman. Fusing with Dominion Grade Constellations was already Starlight''s limit, and that was only possible thanks to his dense Bloodline. Doing the same with Hegemonic Grade Constellations was far beyond him.


    It had be remembered that Constellations represented the pinnacle. As such, it was more accurate to look at their Grades as though they were in the hands of Sky Gods. Many, upon crossing into the Sky God Realms, would find their Daos dropping an entire level even if they were incredibly talented, many might face a drop of two, three, or even four levels if they were unlucky and lacked the proper inspiration.


    This was to say a Hegemonic Grade Constellation was akin to someone breaking into the Sky God Realms and managing to maintain a Hegemonic Grade Dao! The difference was akin to Heaven and Earth!


    Starlight''s body blazed with a black light and his Death Star Bone Structure seemed to respond to his madness as he entered a state of half-life and half- death.


    BOOM!


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood. He crossed his arms before his body and braced himself, but he was still blown back by the aura alone.


    When he managed to stabilize himself and look up, he found a Starlight that looked no different from a deity.He had grown to five meters tall, his entire body, from head to toe, covered in radiant bronze, silver and gold metals. His eyes looked like the vacant abyss of darkness while a large mass of arms came out from his back.He suddenly moved and the space around him cracked like glass. He appeared before Ryu like a towering mountain and slammed a palm down.


    Ripples of tearing voids shook around his body and several palms appeared out from within them.The pressure from just one made Ryu feel as though he was about to be forced to his knees, but now there were suddenly dozens, all converging toward him.

 Chapter 1149 Too

    The sense of danger was stifling, but the coldness in Ryu''s gaze was piercing.


    The Mountain Character in his eyes practically burned with life, the eight trigram diagram rotating.


    The aura of Ryu''s Natural Enlightenment flourished, an image of his Trembling Mountain Constellation taking shape and forming as he forcefully stepped into the last stage as he caused it to manifest.


    The silvery Trembling Star Qi coated Ryu and his body, his true defenses skyrocketing.


    Ryu''s aura blazed and he pushed out several times even as a world-trembling mass of gi began to form between his horns.


    As his Constellation and Natural Enlightenment fused, his very presence seemed to suppress all things. His fists carried the overbearing pressure of a holy mountain, one that had stood the test of time, that bore the weight of worlds, of life and death, the very pillar of reincarnation itself.


    Shrine Mountain.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu''s lips leaked with blood, but he stood firm as he met Starlight''s palm strikes head on his hod withstandino the pressure of a Constellation that had withstood the test of time without backing down even a single measure.


    Shrine Mountain was the protector of a world, a silent support even when none were left, and a delicate light even in the deepest depths of darkness.


    Ryu roared, his silvery Trembling Star Qi trembling once and suddenly gaining within it dense packs of blue Heavenly Patterns. They traveled directly up and down or left and right, leaving patterns with only the sharpest of 90 degree angles. And yet, even in their simplicity, there was an elegant beauty to them.


    Ryu''s body stabilized even further, his quaking coming to a stop.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu and Starlight stood before one another, their attacks raining down in an endless torrent of fury and barrages.


    Starlight''s knee suddenly shot up, seemingly in an attempt to catch Ryu off guard, but the latter only replied with his own knee.


    A concentrated shockwave blasted out in all directions before the two separated for just a moment before they accelerated forth once again.


    A battle that had been one of trump card after trump card had suddenly become nothing more than a bloody street brawl. Elbows met elbows, knees met knees, palms met fists. Every single clash threatened to shatter the fabric of space itself, delicate and fine lines akin to cracked glass spreading out from each one of their collisions.


    "DIE!" Starlight roared.


    His usual casual demeanor had long since vanished. He had a vicious glint in the deep abyss that his once star-like eyes had become.


    Whatever pride he had had as a genius of the upper Heavens had long since been washed away.


    No amount of excuses could satiate the maddening fire in his heart right now.


    The void tore open behind Starlight once again and the very beam of black light that had torn a bloody hole through Ryu''s chest appeared again, one that had unfortunately still yet to close.


    However, this time, Ryu felt no need to exchange an injury for an injury. His body flickered and he vanished, appearing to Starlight''s side and unleashing a mighty fist.


    Starlight knew that he had missed, and so his reaction wasn''t slow. He struck out with great speed, seemingly in an attempt to counter Ryu, over the silvery palm that was about to meet Ryu''s fist suddenly vanished into a wisp of smoke.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted and he reacted just as fast, his Dao could see through all deception. However, his body was already reaching the very edges of its limits after having been pushed to this point and with the dense fog of void Starlight had sent forward with his previous attempted strike, Ryu didn''t have time to accumulate enough spatial qi to vanish again.


    The palm reappeared once again, slamming against Ryu''s chest.


    Ryu felt his bones rattle before they shattered. The already bloody hole in his chest leaked blood even faster as he was forced to take several steps back, torrent of blood flying from his lips.


    Ryu could only inwardly shake his head. He didn''t have the time to meditate with his improved Dao and refine his Fist God aura to a level that matched his current status. His attacks were lacking in the proper potency and the only way he could bridge the gap was by fusing as many of his talents together as possible. Unfortunately, there was a clear weakness to this approach, and that was that every powerful attack needed several moments of set up time, moments he simply didn''t have in a fight of this caliber.


    Starlight pressed his advantage as his aura grew and suddenly a resounding crack echoed and his aura shot upward.


    Starlight seemed stunned by the change for a moment before his laughter rang out arrogantly and without restraint.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as he shook his head inwardly. He had almost forgotten that Starlight was only at the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm. With how small the time he had spent cultivating was, how could all of his talents have been maximized.


    Just now, he was certain. Starlight''s Palm Inheritance had just entered the Monarch Realm. He had been so suffocated by Starlight''s other talents that he hadn''t even noticed that his enemy had been working with a mere Ruler Realm Inheritance all this time.The torrent of palms that surrounded as a rippling illusion began to appear to Starlight''s back.


    The geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heavens trembled when they saw this.


    They were certain. Birthed Phenomena. A Birthed Phenomena was being born.


    Starlight''s laughter became more uproarious as his suppression of Ryu became more and more dominant. Blood and flesh flew, and Ryu''s once gorgeous white scales began to fall one after another. And yet, even so, the coldness in Ryu''s eyes remained as his gaze shifted to the slowly forming Birthed Phenomena.


    Ryu forcefully withstood another palm strike and exhaled slowly.


    The geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heavens trembled when they saw this.


    They were certain. Birthed Phenomena. A Birthed Phenomena was being born.


    Starlight''s laughter became more uproarious as his suppression of Ryu became more and more dominant. Blood and flesh flew, and Ryu''s once gorgeous white scales began to fall one after another. And yet, even so, the coldness in Ryu''s eyes remained as his gaze shifted to the slowly forming Birthed Phenomena.


    Ryu forcefully withstood another palm strike and exhaled slowly.


    Ever since he had created it, he had never summoned it. It felt like a special part of him, something that shouldn''t be brought out casually...


    "Birthed Phenomena..? I have one too."

 Chapter 1150 My Promise

    Starlight could hardly register Ryu''s words enough to sneer at them before the world came to a grinding halt.


    The skies above split in two and a pit encompassing the world swallowed up the ground. It felt like the world was ending and those in the surroundings prostrated themselves almost immediately, unable to withstand it.


    At the same time, Starlight''s Birthed Phenomena was vanquished into the wind before it could even properly form.


    Ryu suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, subconsciously putting a hand to his chest. He was shocked by the pressure he was feeling right now.


    Compared to his Immortal Rings, or even his Dao, it seemed that the Heavens didn''t want this to happen even more... however, by some oddity, it simultaneously felt as though the resistance was the smallest as well.


    If Ryu had to describe it, it was like the Heavens wanted a reason to act, but couldn''t find one and could only mope about in silence. While Ryu''s Immortal Rings tested its bottom line, and his Dao was artificially attacked by it due to the machinations of those selfish powers, there was nothing that stood in the way of his Birthed Phenomena.


    BOOM!


    The cracked space that had been fluttering around Ryu and Starlight finally gave way, unable to withstand the pressure.Starlight, who was still stunned by the dispersal of his own Birthed Phenomena, was sent flying like a broken kite, too late to defend himself.


    At that moment, what could only be described as a perfect replica of Ryu descended. However, it was lacking in something very obvious... a pair of eyes..


    Where a pair of silver irises should have been, there was nothing more than a vacant darkness, an abyssal depth that seemed to want to swallow up everything in path.


    This was not just any Birthed Phenomena, it was an Origin Birthed Phenomena, one forged by Ryu''s own hands when he finally completed his Dao back in Sacrum. Now, under the evolution of his Dao, it had only grown even stronger than it had been back then.


    The Birthed Phenomena summoned by others were usually from inheritances passed down by their Ancestors. Even so, they were incredibly powerful, and even rarer than that. However, the harsh reality was that these Birthed Phenomena would never be as powerful as it had been in the hands of their Ancestors. These people were working with nothing more than echoes of the past, faint ripples passed down to the current generation.


    However this power... This was all Ryu''s own...


    Ryu took a step forward, feeling as though the entire world was under his beck and call.


    His Birthed Phenomena moved along with him, a sharp contrast to the ones he had summoned in the past which would only stand by and observe him coldly. In the past, Ryu had never thought too much about his Birthed Phenomena''s lack of movement, but it was only now he understood that this represented a lack of acknowledgement, a fundamental incompatibility... An incompatibility that he no longer had to deal with.


    BOOM!


    Ru''s fist shredded the space before him, appearing before the slightlypanicked Starlight in the blink of an eye.


    Starlight''s body bent like a bow, his sliver, bronze and gold protection cracking all over under the might of just a single strike.


    Ryu took another step forward, sending forward another strike.


    His Birthed Phenomena moved again. It felt as though its movement could call upon all the energies of the world, as though this location wasn''t owned by the Heavens, but rather Ryu himself.


    Starlight was sent flying once again, but this time, his metal coverings were shattered entirely. He rebounded against the ground heavily as he tried to stand, but he collapsed once again. He had almost forgotten just how many injuries he had hidden beneath his constellation''s armor. But now with hisconstellation threatening to disperse, and with him lacking the qi to sustain it, an ugly expression couldn''t help but twist his features.


    He had lost. He had really lost.


    Starlight''s head tilted up and he looked toward Ryu as though he was looking at the greatest enemy of his life. But Ryu hadn''t taken a single pause, he had already suffered at the hands of the cockroach-like abilities of these rich geniuses twice before, he didn''t want there to be a third time, and definitely not for someone like Starlight.


    However, after sending this third strike, Ryu didn''t send a fourth. His Dao was too sharp. He could tell that it was already too late.As Ryu''s fist gi approached Starlight''s head to shatter it, the latter glared forward as though trying to sear Ryu''s face in his mind.Starlight smiled a malevolent smile.


    "Don''t get cocky. You can barely fight me while being an entire Realm stronger. When next we meet, I''lI crush you to nothing along with the Radiant Star Sect. The Fading Star Sect won''t allow such trash to continue existing."


    Ryu didn''t even see how Starlight did it, but he vanished into thin air. He didn''t bring out a talisman, or break any seal, he just disappeared. The only explanation was that whatever it was activated the moment Starlight''s life was in mortal danger. There had simply been no chance to kill him in the first place.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist qi exploded where Starlight had just been, hitting absolutely nothing.


    Ryu stood in place, heaving deep breaths. He was more drained than he had maybe ever been, his body hardly holding itself together.Even so, Ryu suddenly began to laugh. This was that feeling. Even if he died when he stepped foot out of here, to have experienced it once and for him to confirm that he wasn''t wrong for having chased it all this time... it was worth it!


    Ryu''s gaze turned toward the Dao Lord... no, Dao Sovereign''s Inheritance.


    He reached a hand out and finally touched its surface. The Dao Sovereign was entirely silent, or maybe he had already stopped paying attention. There was a limit to how much he could twist the rules of the Heavenly Path and he had maybe already gone beyond them. At this point, there was really nothing else he could do.


    Ryu rubbed the surface of the glass orb, a bright smile on his face. He hadn''t felt this happy in a long while.


    The Dao Sovereign watched this in silence. He had to admit that he was quite impressed by Ryu''s Origin Birthed Phenomena, this wasn''t something that could be casually accomplished and it was just as rare as a Founding Dao. The only difference was that a Founding Dao was guaranteed to be powerful no matter what, while Origin Birthed Phenomena tended to vary in their ultimate results.


    He still couldn''t put his trust in Ryu because the problem of his Spiritual Foundation was still far too glaring. But who ended up with his inheritance in this place mattered little. His true hope of entering the legendary Da God Realm would be the person who claimed his inheritance on the Complete Heavenly Path.


    For now, this little one could take this and enjoy it for as long as he could. He doubted that he would survive for long, and even if he did, his true disciple, the one that gained his main inheritance, wouldn''t allow a second to exist regardless.


    Ryu continued to smile. His claws sharpened and he shattered the glass orb.


    However, just when the inheritance was about to bathe him in its light, his claw straightened out into a palm.


    His Origin Birthed Phenomena moved with him and the action seemed to say if he wanted the world to stop, it would stop obediently.


    Ryu''s smile curled into a sneer.


    "You want my, Ryu Tatsuya''s, karma? You think too highly of yourself."


    Ryu''s palm squeezed down and his Origin Birthed Phenomena closed its fist, shattering the Do Sovereign''s inheritance into nothing.This Dao Sovereign had tried to snub him at every turn. He had suppressed him, he had wagged his finger in his face, and in the end he had made Ryu fight for him as though he was some kind of sideshow.


    "I fight for no one but myself."


    Ryu''s Dao Heart blazed so fiercely that he outshone even the miasma of Heavenly Favor in the skies. In fact, at this moment, this mass of Heavenly Favor seemed to become greatly agitated as the aura of Ryu''s Dao continued to rise.


    "When the time comes, I will go to the so-called Complete Heavenly Path as Ryu''s Dao Heart blazed so fiercely that he outshone even the miasma of Heavenly Favor in the skies. In fact, at this moment, this mass of Heavenly Favor seemed to become greatly agitated as the aura of Ryu''s Da continued to rise.


    "When the time comes, I will go to the so-called Complete Heavenly Path as well and shatter your inheritance to pieces once more.


    "My name is Ryu Tatsuya! And that is my promise and my Dao!"


    These were the last words the Dao Sovereign heard before his incarnation vanished.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s Dao shredded past the Immortal Grades and entered the Cosmic Grades. A monster whose Dao surpassed his cultivation realm by two had been born.

 Chapter 1151 Bright As Stars

    The eyes of the geniuses suddenly widened.


    Ryu''s words were like anvils falling on their hearts. Even if it was happening right in front of it, they didn''t believe what they were seeing, they refused to believe what they were seeing. Who would give up the Inheritance of a Dao Lord?! If they had known that this was the Inheritance of a Dao Sovereign instead, who knew how shaken they would truly be.


    And yet, Ryu had done it without the slightest hesitation. That smile on his face had nothing to do with finally having this Inheritance before him and everything to do with the happiness of finally fighting the battle he wanted to fight. He smiled for himself, not this Dao Sovereign who thought himself to be so great and imposing.


    If there was anything Ryu absolutely abhorred, it was being tested. He might have been able to let the Dao Sovereign''s arrogance slide if he faced the same test as everyone else, but to nearly force him to his knees and then to stop him at the final moment even when he had clearly passed the star path''s test with much greater ease that Starlight had already crossed Ryu''s bottom line.


    Even so, back then, Ryu had hesitated. The inheritance was simply too perfect for him. A Dao Sovereign with a Spatial Soul Nature and even the Chaotic Silk Meridians... It was as though the Heavens had placed this Inheritance down for no one other than himself.


    But in the midst of his battle with Starlight, Ryu, who had faced far more pressure than he ever had before, realized that there was simply nothing worth compromising his own heart for. Even if you became the most docile individual in existence, so long as you came across someone powerful on a bad day, your life would be in their hands.


    Ryu refused to live such an existence. He would rather die.


    He didn''t want the Dao Sovereign''s Karma. He didn''t want his Inheritance to sully his Dao Heart. He didn''t even want others to think for a moment that he was associated with such trash.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, and he would make certain that that name shone far and wide for as long as he breathed.


    Suddenly, a blinding pillar of light descended from the skies and crashed into Ryu''s body. The agitated miasma of Heavenly Favor reacted more violently than it ever had before, pouring down with greater and greater might.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body being in far too terrible a state to withstand such pressure.


    He collapsed onto the star path, his body being suppressed beneath the pillar.


    At the same time, his Origin Birthed Phenomena could only slowly fade from his existence as he lacked the stamina to keep going. By this point, his Focus Qi had hit rock bottom and he could hardly see straight, let alone sustain such a talent.


    The Unbalance Mantra alone was a huge drain on Ryu''s soul and Focus Qi, the fact that he needed to fuse and use multiples of his talents at once just to deal lethal damage to Starlight only made that drain even faster.


    "Ryu!" Mae called out beside herself, but she couldn''t move forward at all. The second phase was still going on, so the rules of the star path were still in place. There was no path forward for the rest of them to move.


    Vie looked toward Mae and the dark expression in his eyes had already reached its peak.


    They hadn''t seen the silver masked man on the way here, so it had already been obvious that one of those two had been him. Beyond that, it only took a little guess work to realize that he was Ryu, especially after the clear use of lightning and those scales.


    He hadn''t thought that someone who started so far behind them would be so powerful. But to make matters worse, he had been forced to kneel along with everyone else when Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena appeared. If it wasn''t for this barrier stopping him, he would have already shot forward to deal a lethal blow.


    Giving up a Dao Lord''s Inheritance? He didn''t believe that Ryu would do so!


    That was nothing more than a ruse! He was certain.


    That pillar of light that Ryu was pinned beneath right now should be the inheritance of the Dao Lord and right now Ryu should be trying his best to assimilate with it.


    Vie flipped his palm and rolled a peculiar object in his palm. He had prepared this for Mae, it was a treasure that would allow him to maximize the benefits he received from her soul and fix his only weakness, allowing him to truly match up to those Sixth Heaven monsters.


    However, it would be worth it if he changed his target.


    If his target was Ryu instead, he should be able to take the entire inheritance for himself.


    Vie had to admit that Ryu''s ploy was clever in its intent, but the execution was far too sub standard. That said, what else could he have done given the circumstances? It wasn''t exactly like there was the time or a chance to think of something better.


    No matter how talented and powerful Ryu was, he was a man on his last legs.


    Vie didn''t believe he would last more than a few exchanges with him right now.


    With a subtle flip of his palm, Vie''s treasure vanished and his emerald irises blazed as he locked onto Ryu''s position.


    Vie sent a glance around him and sneered. Clearly, it wasn''t just he who had these same thoughts, but he had come here prepared to fight these individuals for the Inheritance regardless. None of them would stop him!


    Ryu, who was trapped beneath the pillar, didn''t have time to worry about the thoughts of these people. Although the situation was painful and the pressure was only worsening his injuries and draining his stamina even further as he tried to resist it, his gaze remained incomparably sharp.


    It had actually worked, he hadn''t thought that it would. But now there was a faint light of hope.


    The blazing intent in his gaze grew fiercer as the golden rings within his eyes began to shine as bright as stars.

 Chapter 1152 Rainbow

    Ryu didn''t care what these geniuses thought of him. They didn''t understand what it meant to have a backbone, to have true pride in oneself.


    They thought themselves to be strong willed, but that was only because they had never faced true adversity before. If any of them had experienced what he had at the hands of the Dao Sovereign, even if they succeeded in the end, they would have obediently bowed their heads like dogs and thank the Dao Sovereign for giving them such a chance with their tails wagging.


    As far as Ryu was concerned, at this point, one more reason for him to be chased was fine. It hardly changed whether he would die at their hands or not. After a certain point, death was death, he couldn''t end up more dead.


    This opportunity, however, was a potential game changer.


    The Heavenly Path was ultimately a place where one changed their Fate. This was why Heavenly Favor was used as a reward, it was why one tied karmic bonds with Sky Gods far beyond their imaginations, and it was why there would be a final third phase battle where one would fight with their lives on the line.


    Even so, when Ryu didn''t gain any Heavenly Favor from the Unbalance Art Sect, his antennae were raised. There seemed to be something in existence here that was outside the normal bounds, and if one could step outside of those bounds to be rejected of all Heavenly Favor, could it be possible to do the opposite?


    In order to be rejected by Heavenly Favor, one needed something quite exaggerated, an entire cultivation system that exists beyond the realms of reason and reality. In that case, if one wanted the opposite effect, one would have to do something equally as exaggerated likea?|


    Rejecting the Inheritance of a Dao Sovereign who could even affect change on the Heavenly Path with nigh impunity.


    On this day, a legend of sorts was born, and said legend had his own Origin Birthed Phenomena. As such, the Heavens responded in kind.


    The moment Ryu''s Unbalance Mantra faded, his Focus Oi unable to sustain it, a cascade of Heavenly Favor descended. In fact the torrent was so exaggerated that Ryu couldn''t even stand properly. It took something quite unique for Essence, which was known as the gentlest of all energies, to have this sort of devastating effect on a person.


    "Come on... Come on.


    And yet, Ryu didn''t want it to stop. In fact, he wanted more, and more of it.


    ''It''s not enough... It''s not enough yet... It''s not nearly enough..


    Ryu clenched his teeth. He needed to shatter the chains on his Spiritual Foundation. He didn''t have any other method of gaining a second Spiritual Foundation. With such a clear path ahead of him, why would he veer toward a new one?


    Unfortunately, even with the sudden boom of Heavenly Favor, it soon began to taper off.


    Ryu''s jaw clenched. It wasn''t enough, it still wasn''t enough.


    Martial Gods!


    Ryu clenched his fists with what strength he had remaining, his gaze entirely bloodshot. He was furious to an extreme, but there was nothing else that he could do, this was probably already about as much as this lesser Heavenly Path could accomplish.


    Could it be that he would have to go to the Complete Heavenly Path to have a chance? But how could he make any waves over there as a mere Path Extinction Realm expert? Ryu had no doubt that the geniuses who entered that path would be at the Cosmic Seed Realm at the absolute worst. In fact, he would be surprised if some would have already stepped into the Sky God Realm.


    He might be able to cross such levels in the lower Heavens, but setting aside the fact that he still couldn''t fight Sky Gods of the First Heaven even now, if he had to fight a Sky God genius of the Sixth Heaven, how could he hope to succeed?


    No matter how unwilling Ryu was, though, the pillar of light continued to shrink and weaken until it was nothing more than a small beam of breaking light upon his forehead. Then, it vanished entirely.


    The moment the pressure vanished completely, Ryu coughed up another mouthful of blood, slowly trying to push himself to his feet before he eventually succeeded. His expression didn''t seem to be happy in the slightest. In fact, his smile had entirely vanished, replaced by a dark glint.


    He had failed. He still needed about 10%, but considering how much Heavenly Favor he had already gathered, that 10% was an astonishing amount. Even if he killed all of the top geniuses during the third phase, it wouldn''t be enough to fill the gap. It only made it worse that he didn''t believe he even had the strength or stamina remaining to do something like that, especially since they all had those absolutely ridiculous life preserving methods.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled.


    He had come here with too much confidence, believing that he would definitely be able to reclaim his Spiritual Foundation, but in the end he had still come up short. It wouldn''t even be possible to carry this Heavenly Favor outside with him as this was a very special environment that allowed it to thrive. It would all have to be exchanged for rewards before they left.


    "There''s still a way. The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s pills, so long as I swallow one, it should have enough momentum to shatter those chains.


    Even if it''s a waste, it can''t be helped.


    "There''s also potentially another way as well. If Heavenly Favor is the counterpart of Essence, there''s like a similar counterpart for Chaos Qi. If I can find and learn what it is, there''s a chance I might be able to gather it from the Chaos Plane myself and shatter the chains on my own.


    ''Both are viable options!


    Ryu raised his head and looked into the skies. So long as he didn''t die, he would find a way. He wouldn''t allow his path forward to be blocked by anything.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and his eyes shifted from the skies above to something below. However, before he could realize what it was, the star path began to tremble and the miasma above split as a ancient, four sided cube began to descend. At its base, a city with walls of diamond made its presence known, shimmering with all sorts of lights.


    One by one, the ancient cube began to etch names across its surface, but what was peculiar was that there were two lists, one of which had relatively smaller numbers to the side of the names that appeared and another that had much larger numbers.


    What was even weirder than that, though, was the fact that the side with the smaller numbers seemed to exude the fiercest auras, so much so that they were entirely dwarfed by the former side.


    The main difference, though, was the color of these numbersa?|


    The side with the larger numbers were written in blocks of black and maybe a faint bronze. However, the side with the smaller numbers were written in silver nearer the bottom, gold nearer the top, and in a bright, resplendent rainbow color at the absolute peak.


    Ryu''s gaze was absolutely focused on the list with the smaller numbers, his heart skipping a beat.


    7. Ryu Tatsuya - 9999 (Gold)


    His name didn''t move him in the slightest. What he was moved by was something entirely different.


    3. Titus Tatsuya - 3 (Rainbow)


    1. Primus Tatsuya - 4 (Rainbow)

 Chapter 1153 Retreat

    Ryu''s eyes widened, his heart, or rather what remained of it, nearly beating out of his chest. Primus Tatsuya? He didn''t give a damn. However, when he saw his father''s name, he latched onto it like a fish might water or a baby might take their first breath of air.


    "Haa?|"


    Ryu laughed lightly. He might have laughed more forcefully if it wasn''t for the fact that even breathing felt like a tall task. His father had been here, and had even done well enough to place so high, how could Ryu not be beaming from ear to ear?Ryu''s gaze shifted down the list, seemingly looking for something else. But it was cut off at the top 10000 and there didn''t seem to be anything else to see beyond that. He had been somewhat hoping to see Isemeine and Eska somewhere, but they where nowhere to be seen.


    This maybe wasn''t too surprising. It was only 10000 names whereas there were more than a hundred times that had entered just this time alone, let alone the number that had appeared across all time. It was a hard ask to expect them to appear.


    "These points, thougha?|"


    There was something weird about all of this. Logically speaking, almost every single person who had made it far along the star path should be near the top of the rankings on the all-time list. This was no normal opening of the Heavenly Path, this was the flashpoint that would start the Convergence.


    Just by virtue of the existence of so many geniuses, the concentration of Heavenly Favor should be beyond the vast majority of openings. The only ones that should be able to match up would be the opening that corresponded to over Convergences. And considering how rare Convergence events were throughout history, they should be pitifully few.


    This was to say that the fact Ryu was first place during a Convergence event, and yet only seventh on the list, a?| It felt fishy, off somehow.


    There were only two explanations that Ryu could see for this.


    The first was that he was missing something quite big, a large piece of the puzzle was that was so enormous that it was foolish of him to try and draw a conclusion about what was happening at the momenta?|


    The second was an extension of the first but somewhat more targeteda?| and that was the obvious fact that the Heavenly Path''s trials were not over yet. In that case, these rankings didn''t represent any sort of finality and there would be something else that tested them beyond what Ryu had assumed the third phase would be.


    The third phase was supposedly a battle royale and it was the phase Aika had given Ryu the least information on. Ryu had assumed that this was because it was self-explanatory, but there was also another potential reason, and that was that the third phase was too unpredictable to give advice about.


    In this case, the fact that Ryu was already in seventh place at the start of the third phase should be seen as a shocking feat. If he was correct, then by the end of this, there would be several new names on that list of ten thousand, that''s the only way the Convergence would live up to its name!


    Ryu completed his thoughts almost instantly, but he wasn''t the only one paying attention to the list. The fact that three of the top ten shared the exact same last name didn''t escape the attention of those here.


    Originally, these geniuses didn''t give a damn about this incomplete Heavenly Path, their goal had always been the complete Heavenly Path. Ultimately, although there were some legends of the past that would be on this ranking list, compared to the monster on the Complete Heavenly Path''s list, most of them weren''t worth much of anything at all.


    Anyone who had to pass through the incomplete Heavenly Path to begin with was almost assumed to be inferior. After all, if you had to ascend from the Third Heaven, what could you be worth in the grand scheme of things? Convergences were very rare, so the geniuses who descended here from high Heavens were also extraordinarily rare.


    Even so, because of this, their assumption had been that while higher Heaven geniuses wouldn''t dominate the majority of the list, they should probably occupy the top 100 or so positions with relative ease.


    Never had they expected that the top of the list would be occupied by an unknown. Not only were they an unknown, which was shocking enough, but they shared a last name with another anomaly that had appeared out of nowhere in Ryu!


    All of this was difficult to accept.


    "Ryu!"


    While everyone was distracted, it was Mae who made it to Ryu''s side first, her gaze clearly showing her hints of worry. But at the same time, her crimson irises flickered with an almost bestial light at the same time. With her expression bouncing back and forth between the two, she looked quite crazy... or sexy, truthfully the line between the two feelings was too blurred to tell.


    Mae made a grabbing motion out of the air and several fragrant pills appeared in her hands before she pushed them into Ryu''s palms.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. These pills were all of exceptional quality, but they were unfortunately not 100% pure. Ryu had never eaten pills to improve his cultivation in the path because he didn''t want their impurities to slow his cultivation speed, so he had relied on the Incubator instead.


    Now, as an alchemist, Ryu could trust himself to concoct his own pills without a worry for their impurities, but he hadn''t gotten a chance yet to use this self-reliant ability of his.


    While he was grateful for Mae''s lack of hesitation in giving up pills that were so valuable, his talent was already lacking enough as it was, he couldn''t afford to muck it up any more with these external factors.


    Just as Ryu was about to return the pills, he hesitated, suddenly thinking of something.


    So what if they were impure? He just had to make them pure. A pill was just the result of refined ingredients. Most wouldn''t have the skill to refine them down any further, but his skill wasn''t something others could compare to, especially with the evolution of his Dao.


    Ryu was preparing to re-refine the pills when several auras blocked his path from all sides.


    He looked up coldly to find all of the so-called geniuses blocking all of his paths of retreat.


    Mae''s expression went cold as her head snapped up, golden flames beginning to dance in her eyes. She was already on the verge of an episode and didn''t need much else to push her over the edge. Seeing so many surrounded Ryu when he had just been in such a battle, how could she not be infuriated?


    "I hope you all won''t get in my way," Vie said coldly. "His head is mine. If you want to taste my blade, you can go ahead and try me."


    Akura sneered. "Ooo, scary. Yeah, sure, I''ll let you have all his Heavenly Favor to you, my precious prince. All you have to do is crawl under my crotch once, how about it?"


    Vie''s gaze flashed with a malevolent light. In any other situation, he probably would have attacked Akura immediately for saying such a thing, wiping that disgusting, jagged and sharp toothed grin off of his face. However, he knew he couldn''t afford to get embroiled in such a battle now.


    The likes of Mano and Zed didn''t say a single word, but the fact they were still here and hadn''t even glanced toward Vie after he spoke those words spoke volumes in and of itself. Even if they didn''t have the same methods Vie did to steal Ryu''s inheritances, that didn''t mean they wouldn''t make their own attempts. In addition, even if there was no inheritance to be gained, one only needs to look up at the leaderboard to see the value of Ryu''s head.


    Within the crowd of geniuses, Jenneless'' gaze flashed dangerously. But now that her soul had been healed, she had returned to her usually calm and calculating self. Ryu might have already noticed her, but that didn''t mean that the others did. For now, she would bide her time and wait patiently for an opportunity.


    Ryu retracted his gaze after a single moment. These people were talking about him as though he wasn''t here, how amusing.


    He looked down at the three pills in his hand, trying to see if he had enough Focus Qi to succeed. In the end, he concluded that he didn''t have enough to reforge these as Runed Pills as that would require combining all three. He could only work on one and push it to 100%, that would have to be good enough for now.


    But after that, his Focus Qi would be even more spent.


    Focus Qi would never technically drop to zero. Just before it did, a person would directly faint, there was no amount of willpower that would stop it. Right now, Ryu was dangerously close to that limit. Even if he healed his injuries to 30-40% with this 100% pill, pills that could increase Focus Qi didn''t exist as far as Ryu knew.


    Still... one problem at a time.


    A small flame flickered on Ryu''s palm and suddenly enveloped one of the pills. But after that, his Focus Qi would be even more spent.


    Focus Qi would never technically drop to zero. Just before it did, a person would directly faint, there was no amount of willpower that would stop it. Right now, Ryu was dangerously close to that limit. Even if he healed his injuries to 30-40% with this 100% pill, pills that could increase Focus Qi didn''t exist as far as Ryu knew.


    Still... one problem at a time.


    A small flame flickered on Ryu''s palm and suddenly enveloped one of the pills.


    It was only now that the other geniuses realized that the lack of respect was mutual. Ryu didn''t even seem to be aware of their presence as the pill became more and more resplendent beneath his flame.

 Chapter 1154 Fools

    Mae''s brows jumped when she saw what Ryu was doing. Those were both top class Mystical Grade pills. They were worth far more than what one could find on the lower Heavens not only because of their grade, after all, the lower Heavens did have alchemists capable of creating such concoctions. The most important reason was because the ingredients used and the pill formulas used were astonishingly rare. Even Mae only had three more left.


    However, she soon calmed down. Ryu had no reason to destroy pills she gave him, plus she had seen him accept an alchemy inheritance previously. The main issue, though, was whether the current Ryu could do such a thing to pills of this level. After all, one needed to have strength equivalent to the Divine Vessel and Cosmic Seed Realm to concoct pills of the Mystical Grade.


    Unfortunately, Mae wouldn''t be able to get her answers immediately as a sharp light suddenly came from her side.


    Mae''s expression turned cold as het tail lashed out like a whip, cracking as if thunder through the air as it shattered the oncoming attack.


    Her head turned toward Akura whose mouth was still open in an attack position. Even so, his lips had a little bit of a sneering arc on them. It was clear that he hadn''t attacked very seriously, but at the same time, he had no intention of just allowing the couple to talk and rest as they pleased without any sort of pushback. If Ryu really recovered, wouldn''t they be screwed?


    "I suggest you piss off before i get angry," Mae said coldly.


    "Oh my," Akura shivered, his scaled cheeks and brows trembling under his command as though to really sell the fact that he was scared, "don''t glare at me like that beauty, I scare easily. Tell you what, become my woman and I''ll let you off. I just want a taste, just a few nights, after all I can''t take a tainted woman as my-"


    A piercing coldness seemed to invade Akura''s soul. He could hardly tremble once before Ryu suddenly reached out a palm, causing his abandoned great swordstaffs to stream toward him like arching meteors.


    He caught the polearm of one and sent in flying toward Akura with even faster speed. Through the air, numerous cracks began to appear on the blade as it trembled and quaked. Akura''s eyes widened as he hurried to defend himself. Ultimately, it was just a Heaven Grade weapon from the lower Heavens, he couldn''t believe that it could do much to him if he was cautious. Then, he would be able to sneer and deride as he pleased. But then something astonishing happend.


    BOOM!


    The great swordstaff exploded out with such force that many of the geniuses in the surroundings were forced to retreat even as a tragic scream echoed from Akura who was enveloped by the blast.


    Vie and the other geniuses watched on with wide eyes.


    The self-destruction of weapons wasn''t unheard of to them, it was just rarely done and only in the direst of situations. But what was even more shocking than that was that a Heaven Grade weapon from the lower Heaven could actually produce such devastating results.


    Just the same way as a Path Extinction expert of the First Heaven stood no chance against a Path Extinction expert of the Fourth Heaven, so too was it the same for their Heaven Grade weapons, pills, formations and the like.


    But this didn''t seem to be the case with Ryu''s. In fact, it even surpassed their understanding of Heaven Grade treasures by a great margin. It was difficult for them to accept what was right before them.


    Haggard coughs echoed and everyone''s brows seemed to shoot up when they saw Akura''s state afterward. He had the strongest defenses of them all, and yet he was entirely riddled through with holes, his body flooded with a torrent of blood that was very clearly his own. He looked as though he was a step from the grave as he lay on what remained of the fluttering star path.


    Ryu looked down coldy. No matter what kind of state he was in, no one could freely run their mouths in front of him unless they wanted to be taught a very painful lesson. If it wasn''t for his state, Akura would have been more than just heavily injured, he would be dead.


    Mae looked toward Ryu with a googly-eyed look only teenage girls would understand. But before she could say anything, she found herself swept up and onto Ryu''s great swordstaff before he shot directly into the air.


    Ryu couldn''t maintain his Sword God aura for long with the current state of his Focus Qi, but he hoped to maintain it for just long enough to leave this place.


    He shot forward, blazing out of the trail Akura''s state had now left wide open. The others were so shocked that they couldn''t react immediately, and when they did, their gazes turned malevolent, but also somewhat cautious. Ryu clearly had one more great swordstaff to use, and none of their defenses were as great as Akura''s. If they weren''t cautious enough, they could die.


    Immediately, they all brought out their flying treasures to pursue Ryu, but to their shock, they refused to work.


    "What the hell?"


    "What''s going on?"


    Ryu and Mae got further and further away, getting even higher in the skies.


    "Shoot them down!"


    Not having time to understand what had gone wrong, they immediately changed tactics, preparing long ranged attacks. Unfortunately none of them were archers so their effectiveness in the long range wasn''t nearly as great as Ryu''s. To make matters worse, their hesitation in the beginning had allowed Ryu to shoot outside of the effective range of their strikes.


    Jenneless hesitated. She had already analyzed that of all those here, her long ranged attacks were definitely the most potent. But if she acted now, her relatively lowkey existence would be gone, and she only felt that she had a 10% chance of taking Ryu down. In terms of nimbleness and speed, a sowrdsman''s sword was on a completely different level, it was no different from an extension of their bodies.


    "After them!"


    It was unknown who spoke first, but the group began to jump down from the star path one after another, unwilling to wait patiently for it to vanish any longer. They landed heavily on the ground below and began to race after the pair, circulating their movement techniques.


    However, while Ryu and Mae were flying unobstructed through the skies, they had to deal with the terrain disadvantage on the ground, weaving into and out of trees, climbing mountain and hills, and to make it worse, they were even obstructed by the many beasts of the Heavenly Path as well.


    Mae looked back as they got further and further away, a hint of surprise on her face.


    "Why can''t they fly?" She mumbled to herself.


    "They''re fools," Ryu replied coldly. "For one, they were on the star path. If flying had been allowed on the star path, wouldn''t you just be able to skip all the trials and go right to the Dao Lord''s inheritance?"


    Mae was suddenly enlightened. Could it be that they just didn''t realize that they could use their flying treasures now that they were on the ground? If that was the case, they really were idiots. But... that didn''t explain why Ryu could fly.


    "And second, they haven''t realized that the third phase has already started. If I''m correct, you''re meant to use your own abilities to reach the diamond city which is hovering in the air. If that''s the case, they wouldn''t allow the use of flying treasures. As for my flight, it exists outside of the bounds of their restrictions because it''s my own personal ability."


    Ryu zipped forward, his Focus Qi quickly draining it''s last remaining dregs.


    Black spots and flashing lights began to appear in his vision, but he grit his teeth, soaring forward at the fastest speed he could musted until the shadow of the large ancient cube and diamond city were cast over them.


    As expected, several chains dangled from beneath the city. If Ryu was correct, you were supposed to use your own abilities to climb up with these chains and weather whatever trials came with them. Ryu, however...


    Ryu angled his great swordstaff upward and tore a path almost straight up, holding onto Mae''s waist tightly as his vision threatened to give out.


    He began to feel light headed and a strong feeling of vertigo overwhelmed him. He simultaneously felt the need to close his eyes and throw his guts up. However, he contined to push, going further and further until he soared beyond the city limits.


    A wave of relief hit Ryu, but that relief came at the worst time. His body seemed to shut down and his vision went entirely dark. His sword lost its aura entirely and he began to fall through the skies, his grip on Mae loosening.

 Chapter 1155 Effort

    Ryu fell out of the skies, threatining to undo all the hard work that he had just done.but very luckily for him, he wasn''t the only one that could flywithout the aid of a flying treasure.


    Mae realized what had happened immediately and reacted with her greatest speed, grabbing Ryu with one hand and his great swordstaff in the other.


    "Oof"


    Mas''s gaze was colored with suprise when she noticed the heft of Ryu''sgreat swordstaff. Was this sort of heavy weapon really the kinf one should dual wield? Just imagining the strain on one''s joints made her heart tremble. Just because they were cultivators didn''t mean that they were immune to the wear and tear of tendonitis and other related musculoskeletal ailments. In fact, those kinds of hidden injuries on cultivators might be even worse that they''d be on mortals.


    If a mortal suffered joint pain or weak tendons, they could just stop and rest. But a cultivator''s life was filled with activity if which hidden injuries were the bane of.


    However, Ryu didn''t seem like a person suffering through joint pain. But then again, considering what she knew about him, if he was, he wouldn''t show it.


    When she thought about how Ryu threw his weapons away mid battle, she became a hint more worried. Was she overthinking things?


    If Ryu was simply far stronger than her, she could accept it. But the problem was that these great swordstaff felt so heavy and she knew that ryu''s bodily strength despite the bloodlines was only comparable to hers.


    There might have been some changes since they last fought, but that didn''t change the fact that Ryu used these weapons long before any changes to his physique.


    Despite the weight of Ryu and the weapon. Mae managed to soar forward, allowing the winds to carry her to the sity limits. She was shocked to find that just flapping her wings took a heavy toll on her. It made her realize that if it wasn''t for Ryu''s Sword God aura, making it here in such a short time would be almost impossible.


    She realized that it was too difficult to sour over the city waslls, so she landed on the small ledge of earth around the base of it. "small" was just relative. WHile it was indeed small in comparison to the entire city given its scope and size, there was still several hundred metres of distance between their location and falling down to the ground below entirely.


    Mae sat Ryu and took deep breathe. She had only flapped once and yet she was actually so tired. What was up with this third phase? It was too different from what she was expecting. The incomplete Heavenly Path should be a test for First, Second and Third Heaven geniuses. It shouldn''t be able to bring out anything that made her struggle so much under normal circumstances, atleast not outside the inheritances themselves(or maybe due to interference of dao lord the Heavenly path became difficult?)


    Mae heitated whether to move forward with Ryu or rest here for a moment before Laying Ryu''s head on her lap and loooking toward the ledge of the city with a semi-worried experession. How long would it take them to catch up? Would there be enough time?


    "Hmm?"


    Mae looked toward Ryu''s hand an noticed the pull in it.


    "100%?"


    Mae had been so distracted by the flying that she hadn''t even noticed that Ryu had succeded in re-refining the pill as well. It was no wonder he had collapsed, his Focus QI must be entirely spent.


    "This is absolutely ridiculous. I''ve never heard of someone running out of Focus Qi before they ran out of stamina or qi in general..."


    What Mae didn''t know was that Ryu had the Southern Heavenly Wind fused into his body, on top of the vital life forses of countless vitality related talents. And on top of that, even e Dao God would run out of qi before Ryu ever thought of it being a problem. He might not be able to use his Chaos Qi, but htat didn''t change the fact that his meridians were connected to an entire plane.


    Ryu''s life force itself would give out before his qi ran out.


    Mae shook her head and toook the pill out of Ryu''s hands before opening his mouth and putting it in. After making sure the pill melted and didn''t start to choke him, she relaxed as Ryu''s wounds began to heal.


    It wasn''t an exaggerated pace, but it was definitely at a speed that could be seen with naked eyes. Even so, Mae couldn''t help but be shocked. This spped was more that what she had expected as well, especially considering the devasting nature of Ryu''s wounds. It wasn''t just the wounds themselves, but rather the exceptionally high level qi that had caused them.


    For a pill to be able to force them out so quickly was beyond her expection. Now, it seemed that she just had to wait for Ryu to wake up.


    Mae looked up. She expected to crane her neck to see the ancient cube above, but by some mystical power, she could see the list clearly no matter what angle she looked at it from. She couldn''t help bu read those names again, going over Tatsuya again and again.


    There was no doubt that those were Tyu''s relative, but why was it that she had never heard of them?


    The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens were exceptionally vast, this much was true enough, But a person or people that could rank in the top three of all time, shouldn''t she know them? Unlwess they were from an exceptionally ancient time?


    But that didn''t make sense either. Because if they were so ancient, then shouldn''t Ryu have been born on the fourth Heaven at worst? If he had family members that went ahead of him, it didn''t make sense for him to have still come from a smaller world, unless...


    "Tatsuya...Dragon....If his other family members are dragons, maybe that would explain things...they''ve never really been...cohesive"


    Mae''s gaze flickered. It was also possible that she just didn''t know of them yet because they had already gone ahead to the Seventh and higher. If they could rank first and thirs here, that wasn''t exactly impossible...


    ....


    As Mae was trying to understand the complicated family tree of her new husband, the other geniuses had finally caught up. The issue they faced, though, was now they had to climb hundreds of kilometers ahead of them and pressure was already great.


    Vie looked up with an ugly expression. He could tell at a glance that climbing to the city would be a tall task. By the time he mase it, wouldn''t Ryu have already greatly recovered?


    He cursed under his breath. This was all AKura''s fault, he regretted not killing that half-dead bastard when they chot by him earlier. If not for his incompetence, Ryu wouldn''t have been able to break out of their encirclement and flight or not, he wouldn''t have been able to make it here so easily.


    Gritting his teeth, vie grabbed onto the chain and strapped his glavie to his back with his other hand. There was no time to waste and there was only one objective ahead.


    He had already accepted that he was less talented some others, that was fine. His current goal had already been to surpass the Sixth Heaven geniuses to begin with, so he had started off with that assumption from the beginning. One more person that was more talented than him wouldn''t make much of a difference.


    What would make a difference, though, was his attitude.


    Ryu Tatsuya, right? Fine, he could be more talented than him for now, but he would claw back whatever advantage he could if it meant risking his life!


    In this life, he could only be number one!


    Vie released and growled and began to climb with his greatest speed. enduring the pressure of the chains.


    ....


    The city gates of the diamond city loomed, casting a shadow over the deeply slumbering Ryu. However, at that moment, in a distant Heaven, an old man slowly opened his eyes.


    A deep pressure radiated, nearly crumbling the Immortal Mountain he mediated within to ash.


    THe moment this pressure radiated outward, the Sect below was in an uproar.


    "Ancestor is awake!"


    "Ancestor has come out from seclusin!"


    "Ancestor is still alive?"


    Dao Soverign Chaotic Space sat in complete silence. His expression didn''t seem to have wother anger or sadness on it. He had seen too much in life and his reaction toward such things weren''t what most would expect.


    Even so, when his memories fused with that of the incarnation he left in the incomplete Heavenly Path, his gaze still narrowed somewhat.


    A youth willing to look at the inheritance of a Dao Soverign in the eye and crush it. That youth''s Dao Heart is exceptional, and considering the fact he was branded, it was obvious that he could have formed an Ancient Dao long before and just hadn''t wanted to attract more attention.


    He might have bothered to care if the youth had any other Spritual Foundation, even if it was a Common Grade...but an Inherited Spiritual FOundation?


    The Dao Sovereign closed his eyes once more, his deep wrinkles settled.


    The youth wasn''t worth his effort.


    That Tatsuya name, though...it sounded familiar but he couldn''t quite remember where he had heard it from before.


    ....


    What the Dao Sovereign didn''t realize was that in destroying his inheritance. Ryu''s action had also caused his incarnation to be damaged, albeit just a small amount. This change had disrupted the flow of memories from his incarnation, leaving him with only a vague impression of the Tatsuya name.


    Had Ryu not done this, the casualness of Dao Sovereign Chaotic Space would have vanished.


    Fucking shit when I was reading it was so short but when I was writing it was fucking long. Enjoy! < Written by the guy who wrote the text.


    GAB is currently being provided by members of the discord, and GAB fans are helping with writing them down. I myself Erdiul did not provide this chapter, I''m only uploading them, as I''m working on two other novels atm, and GAB is being provided through images on the discord. If you want to help out with this you can join the discord to help:


    Discord link for Pandanovel, for quick updates > https://discord.gg/Gmb86aUSFP


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1156 Blank

    Sleep wasn''t something that he had experienced for years, there was simply no need for it. Even during his games with Selheira, there were enough breaks in between that his focus Qi never truly hit rock bottom.


    Ryu had never experienced what it meant to run out of Focus Qi. It could be said that a large part of that reason was because of the prayer mat, but beyond that, he had never been forced to use so many talents and fuse them in such a way at the same time. In addition, maybe the greatest reason was the Unbalance Mantra which constantly forced him to deconstruct the world he was used to and reconstruct it in a completely novel way.


    Either way, the fundamental truth of it all was that it had taken a great deal out of Ryu. However, he also knew that he didn''t have much time to allow himself to fully reset. If he did, he might as well give his life up now.


    Just ten minutes into an incredibly deep sleep, Ryu shot up, one of his hands flying toward his chest. He looked down to find that the hole was gone.


    His vision felt like it was spinning, and he couldn''t quite see straight as a pounding headache hit him. He was quite used to this feeling. Back when he was a mortal, fatigue was a common occurrence, and when he pushed himself not to sleep for a night or two, this was exactly the kind of backlash his brain would assault him with. This sort of headache wouldn''t go away until he had a true and proper rest, and neither would the brain fog, but in this matter, he didn''t have much of a choice.


    Ryu took deep breaths. He had recovered a percent or two of his Focus Qi, that would have to be enough. Someone else with weaker soul than his own wouldn''t have been able to gather up nearly that much with just ten minutes of deep sleep, so Ryu could only thank his Perfect Blackbody Soul for this.


    "Are you okay? You should rest more," Mae suddenly spoke.


    Ryu turned and now did he realize that Mae was actually so nearby. He shook his head; a lack of Focus QI was truly troublesome. If he wanted to keep himself awake, he would have to restrict himself in several ways and wait for himself to recover.


    He wasn''t mortal, so he didn''t need to sleep necessarily to refuel his Focus Qi. But it would still be faster to do so while asleep. Unfortunately, he didn''t have such luxury.


    "I''m fine. Let''s go. The third phase probably starts within the city limits and the others will catch up soon. The trial to make it here is difficult, but not difficult enough that they''d be denied for more than an hour or so. The fastest of them probably only need half that time."


    Ryu forced himself to stand and ignored the spinning of his head. Functionally, his body was in good enough condition to fight, especially after taking the pill. But would have to limit himself in a few ways for at least the next few hours.


    For one, he was lucky that he could see out of his eyes now because maybe one of the greatest drains of Focus Qi was Spiritual Sense. If he had to use that to see things, he would have to give up whatever advantage he had gained by coming here so early or else death would be his only path forward.


    Secondly, he couldn''t use his Dao because if his Spiritual Sense was one of the greatest drains, then his Dao was the greatest drain. This was of course the same of other miscellaneous abilities like fusions and the likes.


    His best bet was to rely on his body. If need be, he could activate his Bloodlines and their talents as well, so long as he didn''t try fusing his anything other than his lightning flame. His lightning flame was naturally fused, it actually took Focus Qi to separate them. So, he would just have to use it as is.


    Unfortunately, maybe the greatest loss was in his Weapons God auras, but he would just have to make do.


    No fusing, no Dao, no Spiritual Sense, and no techniques.


    Ryu shook his head. He had expected something like this to happen when he chose to go all out but dealing with the fallout was really pissing him off especially since he couldn''t succeed in killing Starlight. The greatest benefit out of that fight was learning which Sect he came from, but Ryu didn''t dare to try and deduce what Starlight''s relationship with Radiant Star Sect was because at this point, even that sort of brain power would drain his Focus Qi to zero.


    Ryu grabbed onto his great sword staff which had been pierced into the ground and dragged it along. Usually, it would hover to his back, but for obvious reasons, that wasn''t possible now.


    Mae blinked for a moment before following after Ryu.


    "Are you sure you''re okay to hold that? I can carry it for you."


    Ryu frowned and looked down at his great sword staff.


    "It''s not heavy" Ryu said casually, stepping before the large diamond gates.


    The gate was separated into several tiers. It was clear that the tier to each you opened the door would dictate something quite important, but Ryu wasn''t certain what the criteria was at a glance. Without his Dao or Heavenly Pupils, it was annoying to try and understand things the normal way. He only realized now that he didn''t miss his Heavenly Pupils as much as he should only because he had his Dao. But now that he was missing both, there was nothing but frustration.


    Ryu took a breath and calmed down. Volatile emotions tended to drain Focus Qi than not. It would be really too foolish of him to allow his emotions to get the best of him here and now.


    "It''s not heavy...?"

 Chapter 1157 Ancestor

    Mae didn''t know if Ryu was just saying this to save face or if he meant something else.


    "The weapon is designed specifically for me, I personally forged it. It''s probably heavy in your hands, but it''s as light as a feather in mine."


    Mae blinked when she heard this. She had never heard of a weapon changing its weight depending on who was holding it. That seemed like something only a weapon that had birthed a spirit could do, but such weapons were...


    Ryu pierced his great sword staff into the ground and placed his hands on the gate. He felt a pressure weighing down upon him. But to his surprise, it vanished into thin air a moment later and the gates just swung open on their own, all nine tiers, in fact.


    Ryu blinked before he understood. It wasn''t a gate that relied on strength, but rather on the amount of Heavenly Favour you had already accumulated before coming here. He had a large amount, so the trial was child''s play to pass. In fact, not only this, but the moment the gates opened, a surge of Heavenly Favour descended.


    High in the skies, the ancient cube shifted, and Ryu moved up exactly one place. His score of 9999 began to shimmer, radiating a beautiful rainbow colour before it began to tick down, zooming down from 9999 right down until there was just a flashing 1 on the leader boards.Ryu''s gaze flickered. He couldn''t see the amount of Heavenly Favour he had as intimately as before, but he felt that the amount he had just gained wasn''t small. At the same time, he realized something.


    Before, he believed that he needed 10% more before he had enough to unshackle his Spiritual Foundation, but he realized now that 10% felt like a far vaguer proposition. If Ryu was correct, he would need at least 2 before he had enough.


    Ryu suddenly pressed a hand to his forehead, a piercing headache taking hold of him. He had been worried that thinking too much would harm him, but he didn''t expect it to be so exaggerated. His thoughts felt jumbled, and his previous conclusions felt like nonsense. Come to think of it, he had originally thought of the 10% figure when his mind was already clouded by the fog of low Focus Qi. How far away was he really?


    Ryu shook his head. He realized that thinking was useless right now as he took a step forward, entering the city limits.


    "Try to follow after me", Ryu said before the doors slammed shut.


    Ryu waited on the other side, and very soon the doors began to open once again.


    The city itself wasn''t too interesting, at least not in comparison to what Ryu thought he might find. It looked like all the other cities he had been to just much larger and much more... shimmering. Even the roads were paved with rainbow-coloured gems that had made just walking feel special.


    Much like the other cities, there were many shops and amenities in the vicinity. This city probably had the best resources to trade for in comparison to the other cities. Of course, since Ryu had a ton of capital, there was probably nothing he couldn''t buy. But if he wasted his Heavenly Favour here, it would be too much of a tragedy.


    The main destination was probably that tower in the city, the very one that seemed to connect the ancient cube and the city into just a single existence.


    The doors shut after Mae, and she looked around with a hint of sparkle in her eyes as well.


    Seeing that she was here, Ryu turned and started heading toward the tower in the distance. Mae had only been able to open six tiers of the door.


    Although she spent most of her time following after Ryu, she had been able to make up a lot of ground thanks to the second phase, she had accepted quite a few inheritances herself.


    Even so, she couldn''t bridge the gap.


    Ryu had a feeling that most of his originally 9999 gold Heavenly Favour hadn''t come from his attempts in the first phase, or even the second phase, they had instead come from rejecting the Dao Sovereign. Without this, he probably would have only been able to open to the sixth tier as well, maybe seventh.


    "Do you know them?" Mae asked, pointing to the skies.


    "Them?" Ryu was a bit slow to understand what Mae was talking about due to his current state, but when he realised, he smiled, "Titus Tatsuya is my father."


    Mae was taken aback. She didn''t know that Ryu was even capable of smiling a smile like this one. Any time she had seen his lips curl upward, it was in some sort of malevolent grin. She couldn''t help but feel that her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest.


    "Your father? Why are you...?"


    Mae wanted to ask why Ryu was here instead of in a higher Heaven then, but she was worried that it might be a sensitive topic.


    "I don''t know. He should have been in my world''s Nether Realm; I have no idea how he ended up here and why he hasn''t come back yet. I assume he has a good reason; he wouldn''t leave my mom for so long without one."


    "Then what about Primus..."


    Mae stopped talking because she saw Ryu''s smile vanish. There wasn''t any anger, there was just a clear indifference and even a hint of disdain and disrespect.


    "He is my Ancestor."


    Ryu didn''t say anything more, so Mae didn''t ask anything more on the subject. Though, she could quite understand. Ryu seemed like one who didn''t respect his elders, but he obviously respected his father, so why didn''t his so-called Ancestor get the same respect?


    Beyond that, if she knew that Primus was Ryu''s great grandfather, she probably would have been even more weirded out. Usually, when the relationship was that close, one wouldn''t use the term Ancestor...


    The duo made it to the bottom of the tower quite quickly. Although Ryu couldn''t do much, the Northern Heavenly Wind was a treasure that was directly on his body, he didn''t need Focus Qi to use it so his speed was still excellent.


    Discord link for Pandanovel, for quick updates > https://discord.gg/Gmb86aUSFP

 Chapter 1158 Forge

    Facing the tower, the two fell into silence. It felt like there was something else on the other side of this that weighed quite heavily, something that they couldn''t take lightly. But at the same time, the fact that they had gotten here first wasn''t a small advantage either.


    There would always be small variations in the third phase. But this was too far different from what they were used to. This tower wasn''t in any of the historical recounting, it felt like it came out of nowhere.


    Mae sighed slightly as she looked toward Ryu. Given his current state, asking him to face another challenge of this caliber right now was far too much. He was almost being punished for performing too well in the previous phases. In fact, she felt bad for getting here on what was basically a free ride. If it wasn''t for Ryu, she would have been stuck climbing those chains below like everyone else. Being here now and not having earned it left a somewhat bitter taste in her mouth.


    What made her feel worse was the fact that Ryu didn''t even get the Dao Lord''s Inheritance in return. At least if he had gotten it, he could still come out as the biggest winner. But he had essentially fought that battle for nothing.


    "Did you... really reject the inheritance?"


    Mae leaned toward believing Ryu''s words, but that was only because given their relationship, she owed him at least that small amount of respect. However, somewhere deep inside, she hoped that he had tricked everyone and really had claimed the inheritance.


    "I have no need for it," Ryu replied simply.


    Mae opened her mouth to reply, but she didn''t even know what to say to that.


    The weight of a Dao Lord wasn''t small. They represented the very pinnacle of the True Martial World, they were existences who could change the world with their will alone and rewrite the very laws of the world.


    One had to understand that an inheritance wasn''t like stumbling into the techniques a Sky God once used. No, it was like all of the teachings of a Sky God being infused directly into your mind. It was on an entirely different level.


    It took a significant sacrifice for a Sky God to leave behind an inheritance to begin with. If the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign had still been a Dao Lord and was relying on his inheritance and its karma for a chance to extend his life, Ryu''s actions would have driven him mad to the point of ignoring all forms of decorum to make Ryu pay.


    This was why if Ryu presented any sort of threat, the Dao Sovereign would have taken action. After all, he couldn''t allow Ryu to do the same thing to the inheritance he had left behind in the Complete Heavenly Path.


    All of this was to say that the inheritance of a Sky God was almost like gaining all of their most valuable cultivation related memories. Every infused inheritance was like a breath of experience that wouldn''t hinder your path forward, but only embellish and improve it.


    Even a genius of the Ninth Heaven would fight over such an inheritance, let alone one of the Fifth Heaven like Mae, or one who wasn''t even from the True Martial World like Ryu.


    To give up the inheritance of not only a Dao Lord, but a Dao Lord who had succeeded in breaking into the Dao Sovereign Realms, wasn''t a small sacrifice. Although Ryu''s Dao Heart had improved and he even managed to have his Dao surpass his cultivation Realm by two stages, most would say it wasn''t worth it.


    Even so, regardless of the circumstances, Ryu would have never accepted that inheritance. He wouldn''t allow anyone to disrespect him, even if it was a Dao Sovereign.


    That said, if others thought that this was the sole reason Ryu had been so decisive in rejecting the inheritance, they would be sorely mistaken. There was another reason Ryu had rejected it, although it wasn''t the deciding factor, it was just a small tidbit that affirmed his decision.


    When the Chaotic Space Sky God had mentioned rewards for claiming his full inheritance on the Complete Heavenly Path, he had mentioned giving them a set of Chaotic Silk Meridians as a reward.


    This was an exceptionally tempting reward, and it was maybe the reason Starlight had pressed so hard for it, and ironically also the reason he was willing to give up in the end. After all, to Starlight, there was still one more chance waiting for him, a chance that would give him a shot at the real reward.


    However, the temptation of the reward shrouded a very important question.


    Where would the Chaotic Space Sky God be getting such a set of meridians from? It couldn''t come from himself because he still had aspirations of becoming a Dao God, that was why he left his inheritance behind to begin with, how could he kill himself to hand his own over?


    There was potentially the chance that his Clan''s Bloodline made it more likely for these Meridians to be born, but in that case wouldn''t it be coming from his own clansman? Why would he give such a thing to an outsider?


    All of these questions seemed to lead to one answer.


    The Chaotic Space Sky God had a method of procuring and hoarding Chaotic Silk Meridians. In fact, there was a chance that the Chaotic Space Sky God hadn''t even been born with his own originally, it wasn''t outside of the realm of possibility that much like he offered to give them a set, he too had been gifted his own.


    It was easy enough to sense a person''s Spiritual Foundation as a Sky God. However, because Ryu had always been cautious with his Chaotic Silk Meridians, he had constantly maintained a shroud of Void Spiritual Sense over them. While this shroud might be easy for a Dao Sovereign to see through if they were to see him in person, a mere incarnation had no ability to do so.


    To make a long story short... How could Ryu know how the Dao Sovereign and his Clan would react to learning that he had been born with the Chaotic Silk Meridians? In fact, for all he knew, the method of training Chaotic Silk Meridians you were born with versus one that was transplanted was completely different.


    In that case, why lament choosing his Dao Heart over a mere Inheritance?


    He, Ryu Tatsuya, could forge his own path forward.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with determination, and he took a strong Step forward, gripping his great sword staff in a hand and entering the tower.

 Chapter 1159 First Time

    Mae watched Ryu vanish and exhaled a sigh. After a moment of hesitation, rather than stepping forward she sat down and crossed her legs in meditation.


    Slowly, but surely, tendrils of her Soul Flame began to etch a complicated formation into the surroundings. As time ticked by, the formation grew more complex and layered, but Mae''s face also simultaneously became paler and paler.


    Even she couldn''t quite understand why she had made this decision. She hadn''t known Ryu for long, but maybe this was just the way the women of her race were. She had been subdued once, then Ryu even triggered a response she only had for those who were her closest relatives. She didn''t even really think about the consequences of what she was doing until she was already halfway through, and by then there was already no point in stopping.


    She smiled lightly.


    Over an hour later, the doors of the diamond city finally opened up and the first wave of geniuses rushed in, hurrying toward the tower. They already felt a great deal of anxiousness after seeing that Mae and Ryu had already entered. If they were any later to react, then maybe they would never get a chance to benefit from the third phase at all.


    The geniuses rushed up, but when they saw the protective barrier of Mae''s formation, their expressions warped and quickly became incomparably ugly.


    The Dream Asura race was a very powerful one on the Fifth Heaven, however this wasn''t just because of their overwhelming physical battle prowess, it was because they matched this with top tier soul talent, especially that of their women.


    Although it was said that Dream Asura Race descended from the mighty Demon Kings, the Dream Wraiths, this connection was so thin by now that their relation could be said to be minimal. It was akin to the relationship between Nemesis and the Wrath Knights.


    Even so, this small connection was enough for them to strike fear in the powers of the Fifth and even much of the Sixth Heavens. There was a reason why Mae was able to make her way through the Unbalance Art Sect''s Ruins, albeit a step slower than Ryu, and that was precisely because of her overwhelming soul talent, and most importantly...


    Her mastery over formations.


    "Get out of the way," Vie growled. At this point, he had entirely lost his cordial personality and he no longer cared to maintain a good relationship with Mae, and that was only especially so after he understood that she is making this sacrifice for another man.


    Mae didn''t reply and simply continued to sit in the centre of her formation with a light smile on her face. Her Soul Flames were already incredibly dangerous. When under the support of a formation on top of that, none here dared to take it lightly. A formation master given preparation time was maybe the deadliest kind of enemy you could face.


    Seeing Mae''s blatant disregard, Vie''s veins threatened to pop along his forehead, the frustration within him bubbling.


    His soul talent was one of his greatest weaknesses to begin with, how could he dare to casually face this formation? Under normal circumstances, his soul protection treasures might be able to defend against a wave or two of Mae''s Soul Flame attacks, but when it was layered, controlled and sustained in this fashion, he simply didn''t stand a chance.


    "Why are you doing this?" Ranna asked. Her dress of daggers clanged, and she was clearly unsatisfied. They could all tell that Mae was only here for the purpose of stalling them. There was no way she could block them all forever, this was just a delaying tactic, and one that could very well end miserably for her.


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Mae said lightly. "None of you deserve this more than he does, so just wait here obediently"


    The faces of the geniuses twisted.


    Even if this was true, none of them wanted to hear it, and worst of all they didn''t want to hear it from the person currently blocking their path.


    The world of cultivation didn''t have a concept of fairness, and even face and dignity could be thrown away if there were enough benefits to be gained. Clearly, these so-called geniuses had long since surpassed that threshold.


    "If it weren''t for the fact that we''ve been suppressed in coming down here, do you think that we would fear the likes of him? You had better get out of the way, or else don''t blame us for being impolite," Vie growled.


    Mae closed her eyes and said no more. If they wanted to come, then they were free to.


    ***************************


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had only just gotten his body back in working shape, but it felt like he was knocked down a peg once again.


    He stood in a room of darkness. The only light source seemed to be the radiant blue armour coming from his enemies. They pressed down in an endless swarm, coming out from the darkness one after another, each with an aura drenched in the want for murder.


    Ryu gripped his great sword staff with both hands, putting all of his might into every swing.


    In the beginning, it took just a single effort to cut down three enemies. Soon, a single swing could only take down two. Then just one. Eventually, each enemy started taking two swings, then three.


    Ryu felt like he was being quickly overwhelmed. If it was a matter of stamina, no one could be his match. But without the supporting structure of his other talents, it all felt useless.


    Ryu was quickly being drowned. As it began to take four and even five swings, the next swarm of enemies would already be upon him before he could react.


    The blades and fists rained down on him, leaving devastating wounds one after another.


    Ryu unleashed a roar and a wave of pressure shot out from him, shattering the surrounding dozens of blue armoured warriors.


    Blood dripped from Ryu''s body as he huffed and puffed, his brain feeling foggy.


    Even so, wisps of dark gold qi came off of him in waves.


    Ryu realized he didn''t have a choice and he could only hope that there were no methods of detecting what he was doing.


    For the first time since he stepped into the True Martial world, Ryu unleashed his Chaos Qi.

 Chapter 1160 Absolute Best

    Ryu suddenly felt comfortable all over.


    This was the first time he experienced the Chaos Qi of the True Martial World. It felt both familiar, and yet completely unfamiliar at the same time.


    Even with his ability to deduce having been nerfed by his weakened Focus Qi, he could immediately see the benefits of having power qi.


    Back in Sacrum, Ryu had never been too focused on using high level qi, he had used neutral qi over 90% of the time. After he learned the secret of his Meridians, he began to use Chaos Qi almost exclusively, but due to the fact that this change had come right after he skipped over the Spiritual Severing Realm entirely, it was hard to tell if the boost in strength had come from his new cultivation realm, or his Chaos Qi.


    Ryu wasn''t sure about Sacrum, but he knew that here, in the True Martial World, suddenly being able to use Chaos Qi wasn''t just a small game changer. He felt as though all the strength he could display by fusing all of his talents into one could be matched by his Meridians alone.


    Ryu swung his great swordstaff out once again. He mindlessly pushed forward, relentless in his pursuit of speed and higher achievement. He forgot about everything else, swinging again and again. He didn''t spare any thought.


    toward battle tactics or where he was going, he threw all other thoughts from his mind, letting his body instinctively react to everything before it.


    Ryu''s Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure began to react to the sudden influx of Choas Qi.


    When Ryu had originally constructed it, he was before the senses of the Dao Sovereign, so how could he not be incomparably cautious with how he utilised Chaos Qi? It could be said that while the Heavenly Favor aspects of his Bone Structure had gotten the chance to perfectly saturate his body, the same couldn''t be said for his Chaos Qi.


    One would think that due to this, Ryu only had access to half the strength of his Bone Structure due to this, but the reality was far more exaggerated than this.


    The strength of the Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure used the clash of two elements as its foundation. If one was lagging behind another, the results would inevitably be lackluster. Even so, Ryu had experienced a great change. But now, compared to what was happening now, the previous shift could only be said to be a joke.


    Ryu''s bodily strength took large leaps forward in strength again and again as it greedily soaked up the excess Chaos Qi that Ryu lacked the Focus Qi to properly control. Ironically, it was precisely this lack of control that allowed him to benefit so much.


    As though a dry well was finally graced by rainfall, Ryu''s Bone Structure began to display its truest state. From an inferior form, it greedily increased in strength, taking large leaps forward again and again.


    At the same time, Ryu found that his vision was becoming clearer and clearer.


    If he had reached the pinnacle of what natural eyesight could be at his cultivation level before, he blasted by that barrier. It very quickly became something entirely unnatural, and yet oddly enough, Ryu couldn''t feel the presence of his Heavenly Pupils.


    As his eyes became sharper and sharper, capable of seeing things far beyond the realms of what normal eyes should be capable of, he felt that his Heavenly Pupils were actually becoming more distant. No, it wasn''t that they were becoming more distant, but rather that his sense of when they would awaken was becoming clearer with the strengthening of his eyes. And he felt that...


    He wasn''t even close.


    He didn''t know what the Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies had done to him, but whatever mutation it had caused was taking far more effort to unseal than even his original talents had been. Even with his current brain fog, Ryu knew that this wasn''t actually a bad thing. In fact, if it wasn''t for the fact that Ailsa and Yaana were trapped within, he would only see this as a good thing.


    The more effort it took to unseal his eyes, the more powerful they would be when he finally undid the final seal. In fact, if his Spiritual Foundation wasn''t immediately important to his breakthrough into the Dao Pedestal Realm, he might consider aiming all of his accumulated Heavenly Favor toward his eyes instead.


    If his eyes took too little effort to unseal, it would instead be a disappointment. If he survived to the day he could see the world through those eyes again.


    He didn''t believe that anyone would be able to stop his steps.


    Ryu roared and slashed out with his great swordstaff. The tattoos that coated his body began to squirm, some roaring like swimming dragons, some soaring through the skies like crying phoenixes, some burning like an internal flame and others striking down like mighty tribulation lightning.


    However, as soon as these images appeared, they would vanish into a complex network of Runes as though they had never changed in the first place, making it seem like nothing more than a trick of the eye.


    Radiant Dark Gold and White Gold energies swirled around Ryu.


    Suddenly, the sound of a shattering barrier echoed. However, it wasn''t a normal breakthrough. With the current state of his mind, it took Ryu several seconds before he realized that the change actually came from his eyes.


    It was said that the eyes were the window to the soul, and at that moment, it was as though the figurative had become literal.


    Ryu didn''t have the words to describe it, but it felt like his Soul Nature had transferred to his pupils. No... maybe transferring wasn''t the right way to describe it. It was more like they had suddenly gained a shared link between the two of them.


    Even without trying, Ryu could suddenly see arcs of space and trails of time. When the two layered on top of each other, a surge of complex information threatened to overwhelm him entirely. But shockingly enough, rather than depleting the small hints of Focus Qi he had left, it was immediately processed by him with the ease of breathing, as though it came naturally, as though...


    It was his Nature, his Soul Nature.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s instinctual reactions became faster. He peered into streams of causality with ease and without spending even the slightest hint of effort or even qi. While he couldn''t change them, just the ability to see them increased his battle effectiveness by what felt like over 100%.


    The battle almost became effortless. He glided forward, his blade seemingly appearing in the weak spots of his enemies as though it had teleported there.


    The endless stream of blue armored warriors wasn''t coming fast enough so Ryu began to sprint forward, his speed touching seemingly impossible realms as he rode on the currents of air, his body bounding forward as light as a feather.


    "Get out of my way!" Ryu roared, echoes of dark gold energy shooting out from his mouth.


    Every one of his actions was fueled under the power of Chaos Qi, its destructive energies crushing everything in its path.


    It seemed to form a domain around Ryu, crippling the normal qi that the armored warriors used. In the past, Ryu''s control of his qi would be so precise and timely that such a thing would never happen. But due to this, he had never noticed just the kind of destructive capabilities Chaos Qi had on others when used.


    In retrospect, this should have been obvious. Most couldn''t step into even Sacrum''s Chaos Plane without protective items, let alone the True Martial


    World''s Chaos Plane.


    Just using it in a wild and an unbridled manner such as this was enough for Ryu to feel stronger than maybe he had ever felt before.


    He hacked and slashed at everything in his path. There was no technique, no thinking, just instinct and reaction, not to mention a vicious, raw power.


    Ryu''s limbs crackled and popped, his skin shimmering. The pores on his body expanded and contracted, his skin, bones and flesh restructuring themselves.


    Ryu didn''t know how much time passed or how many enemies he killed. Still worried about his Focus Qi, he didn''t dare to spend any thought on miscellaneous matters, he just had to keep going, he had to gather enough Heavenly Favor to unseal his Spiritual Foundation. He didn''t care if he truly died the moment he stepped foot out of this place, but so long as he had a single breath in him, he would do his absolute best.


    Outside of the tower, Mae still sat in the center of the formation, her beautiful and delicate features derided by paleness and dripping sweat. The corner of her pink lips drizzled with droplets of blood, painting a particularly tragic scene.


    Even so, she sat in silence, not making a single sound as attacks continued to bombard her formation from all sides.


    At that moment, in the skies, the names on the ancient cube glowed and Ryu''s number finally shifted, ticking up from 1 (rainbow) to 2 (rainbow).

 Chapter 1161 Both

    1161 Both


    The more Ryu let his body move as it felt and the less he thought, the more wild he seemed to become. But at the same time, his Focus Qi likewise began to slowly recover. Although it was much slower than the pace he would have recovered had he been sleeping, it was still an improvement nonetheless.


    The enemies he faced fell in extraordinarily large numbers, again and again. His slaughter was relentless and he forgot about everything instead of killing faster, swinging harder and suffocating the opposition with his momentum.


    Suddenly, Ryu reached a point where his blade had nowhere else to swing.The enemies stopped coming and he stood there, huffing and puffing, his Chaos Qi causing cracks in the folds of space around him. These cracks weren''t visible to the naked eye, but he could see them with his current pair. It made him wonder just how much further he could traverse with his Spacetime Soul Nature if he was using his Chaos Qi at the same time instead of neutral qi.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu looked up in the world of darkness and found a staircase slowly forming before him. He didn''t even wait for it to finish forming before he took the first step.


    A heavy pressure bore down, but it seemed to be shredded apart by his Chaos Qi before it could even descend on his shoulders. Ryu was a bit surprised by this, but that didn''t stop him from taking a second step, and then a third.


    Soon he came to understand what was going on. These stairs were using Heavenly Favor to test him again, much like the miasma he had passed through to enter the Heavenly Path to begin with. However, unlike last time hen Ryu restrained his Chaotic Silk Meridians, he had let them have free reign this time.


    Heavenly Favor was just technically a derivative of Essence which was Chaos Qi''s only equal. So, how could Heavenly Favor alone withstand Ryu''s Chaos Qi? It was shredded apart like half melted butter and instead of slowing down, Ryu''s speed only became faster and faster.


    Even if Ryu was facing Essence itself, he doubted that the process would be any less easy. Who else could boast to have the capabilities of countering Essence if not for the wielders of Chaotic Silk Meridians?! From the very beginning, it seemed that this test had been laid out for Ryu and Ryu alone.


    In the outside world, although Ryu was unaware of it, his numbers continued to jump. From 2 (rainbow), to 3 (rainbow)... and then from 3 (rainbow) to 4


    (rainbow). ..


    Ryu''s original hypothesis had been correct. These trials were the trigger point that caused the large gain of Heavenly Favor, without it, the number in the all time leader board would have never been reached. But what was especially fascinating was that Ryu''s amount of Heavenly Favor was the highest in recorded history when it came to how much one had entered the third phase with from the second phase.


    Thanks to this, Ryu had been able to open all nine tiers of doors which allowed him to unlock the highest level of trials in this very tower. Due to that, Ryu not only had entered the third phase with the most Heavenly Favor ever , but he had also gained an opportunity that allowed him to accumulate more Heavenly Favor than anyone else before him.


    Du to this, by the time he had made it 10% the way up the staircase before him, he had already caught up to his great grandfather, reaching 4 (rainbow). But very quickly, he began to surpass that, and then surpass himself again and again.


    5 (rainbow)... 7 (rainbow)... 8 (rainbow)... 9 (rainbow)...


    In the outside world, the geniuses were getting anxious. But when they saw Ryu''s numbers climb beyond the realms of reason, they felt as if someone was stabbing their hearts through with countless needles. They realised that even if by some miracle they managed to kill Mae now, it wouldn''t matter.


    There was simply no catching to these all time numbers.


    It was clear that in this trial, speed was rewarded. You weren''t just competing with yourself, you were competing with those around you as well. This was why you could fight and snatch Heavenly Favor from one another. But if the third phase concluded without giving them a chance to battle at all, they would have lost everything!


    Mae breathed heavily, not having the strength to even to wipe the dripping blood from the corner of her lip. But even so, her smile was blinding.


    At at moment, a new batch of geniuses managed to reach the diamond city and open the doors. But when they saw what was in front of them, they cou dn''t help but be shocked.


    "Big sis!"


    Aantha called out when she saw the state of her elder cousin. She didn''t know exactly what was happening, but when she saw so many ganging up on Mae, how could she not be infuriated?


    "SCRAM!" Aantha roared out, moving forward like an enraged lioness. It was rare that she didn''t have a playful expression on her face, and right this moment, she seemed to be truly infuriated to the max.


    Vie''s gaze flashed. Wasn''t this an opportunity? He really wanted to see who Mae would choose, her "husband" or her little sister?


    "Capture her first!"


    He seemed to have completely forgotten the young noble persona he usually had. All he cared about at this point was success, he wouldn''t allow anything to stand in his way.


    Aantha sneered. Did these people think that she was easy pickings? Just because she let her big sis have the spotlight didn''t mean that she was a target any of these people could easily target.


    Her body glistened and she morphed into her demonic form. But just when others thought it was complete, she shimmered once again, her black-red scales becoming a glistening gold as a halo of light appeared above her head.


    She raised a staff in her hand and countless swords of light formed. If Ryu had been there, he would have felt that this ability was eerily similar to the Magus Sky God''s inheritance, but also somehow more... natural, almost as though it was Aantha''s Soul Nature.


    And that it was.


    Mae wasn''t the only one born with a Spirit Soul Nature, so too was Aantha. These pair of cousins were maybe the most talented women born to the Dream Asura Race in a very long time.


    And this group had managed to piss both of them.

 Chapter 1162 Everything

    1162 Everything


    Ryu continued to shoot up the stairs, his speed still getting faster and faster as his body reached saturation with Chaos Qi. He felt more powerful than he ever had before, he also felt that if he battled Starlight again now, even if he had to restrain his Chaos Qi, although it would still be a hard fought battle, he would still have more than 40% left in the tank.


    Of course, this didn''t allow Ryu to be complacent. For one, after descending here, Starlight was suppressed. This wasn''t a natural sort of suppression. It was just that when talent reached a certain standard, it could only flourish in the best of environments.


    Let''s say that the Nine Heavens were separated by percentages, where these percentages dictated the completion of the Fundamental Runes of their plane. The Ninth Heaven would be the only one at 100%, while the First Heaven would be at 10%. The Seventh Heaven, which Starlight was from, would be at 80%, while this Heavenly Path would be at around 45% since it was between the Third and Fourth Heavens.


    While these Fundamental Runes would pressure those with weaker talents, for those with higher talents, they would have a greater ability to make use of them on a subconscious level. Once one''s talent reached a certain standard, a lack of certain Fundamental Runes would actually have a negative impact on your strength.


    For example, when Ryu conjured up his Rage Flame, it couldn''t just manifest out of nowhere. Such a talent was essentially the Heavens giving him the right to use one of its many techniques and abilities, whereas his body was the vessel and catalyst that allowed it to happen. This meant that the use of any talent necessitated the environment be conducive to its existence.


    The current Ryu''s Fire Dragon Bloodline wasn''t exceptional to the point of not being able to bring out its full power on these lower Heavens, but the same was not true of the likes of Starlight and the other geniuses. Their tale ts were well into the Origin Grades of Sacrum, and as such relied on these Fundamental Runes to thrive. Their coming down here actually suppressed them by no small measure.


    Of course, this also meant that Ryu''s Chaos Qi was currently very suppressed right now, but this was only if he released it outside of his body. That was the beauty of the Chaotic Silk Meridians. Because it connected Ryu directly to the Chaos Plane, there was never a time he didn''t have access to 100% of its prowess.


    This was just one matter. There was still the matter of Starlight being an entire cultivation Realm beneath him, and the fact Starlight was still young.


    Ryu also didn''t let it escape him that Starlight''s range of techniques during their battle had been quite limited. Outside of his Constellations, he had nothing else. It seemed that he had left his Sect so young that he hadn''t had time to learn any of their other Core Teachings.


    These things were more than enough for Ryu not to become complacent. It was still unknown if he could defeat the geniuses of the Fifth Heaven with any sort of ease while on the Fifth Heaven, let alone the Sixth Heaven, or the


    Seventh Heaven above that which was an enormous leap.


    Knowing this, he wouldn''t allow anything to stop his forward momentum. He had experienced what it felt like to battle an utmost genius once, and he was addicted to it. He wanted to see what those monsters of the Seventh Heaven could do if they were his equal in cultivation Realm, he wanted to see what the eighth Heaven above them could do, and he most definitely wanted to se those of the Ninth Heaven.


    The fire in his heart was burning fiercer than ever. He seemed to have forgotten that he could very well die the moment he stepped out of this world, or maybe... he simply didn''t care. He lived in the moment, he did as he pleased, and if the world was foolish enough to allow him to reach that pinnacle he was chasing after with his life intact...


    He would unleash hell upon it.


    ROAR!


    Ryu reached the top of the steps, a radiant Heavenly Favor descending down toward him from all sides.


    Ryu Tatsuya - 10 (Diamond). He had reached the very ceiling.


    Then, without the slightest hesitation, Ryu''s gaze pierced the veil. What he was doing now was insane. Although his Focus Qi had recovered somewhat, it was still more than 90% drained, and though his body had healed, his mind was still in a foggy state. This wasn''t the ideal moment for a breakthrough in any sort of orthodox path.


    However, it just felt right to Ryu. It might not be perfect, but it was immaculate in its imperfection. Right now, his momentum was the highest it would ever be, and his Dao Heart was more resplendent than it ever had been before.


    It was time for one final push, one final gambit.


    The world wanted him to die when he stepped foot out of this place. It would probably try to brand him again for daring to form an Ancient Dao, it would try to chase him down for daring to be born with Bloodlines he shouldn''t have, for daring to have talents others lusted for.


    In that case, there was no need for him to hold back either.


    Ryu''s gaze landed on his Spiritual Foundation, an intimate fondness resonating with his soul. However, at that moment, it was bogged down by thick chains, dampening its shine and its aura. It was just in its infancy stages, how could it fight back against something so sinister?


    When these chains had descended, Ryu must have just been a baby. He couldn''t even see the world clearly yet, let alone tell that his future had been cut off by worthless scum.


    At that moment, though, he was prepared to take his destiny back into his own hands. This world, the Martial Gods, not even the Phoenix Sky God, none of them could stop him!


    Without the slightest hint of hesitation, Ryu roared, unleashing all of the Heavenly Favor he had accumulated until this moment. He concentrated it all onto one point, just a singular link in the chain. He unleashed all his pent up rage, all of his fury, all of the emotions he had experienced in his two lifetimes.


    He recalled the death of his grandparents, his conversations with every single one. The soothing voice of his Grandma Kunan, the imperial pride of his Grandpa and Grandma Tatsuya, the last shoulder carry of his Grandpa Kunan...


    The chain rattled and quaked, taking everything Ryu had to give.


    But even when Ryu had unleashed everything, his name falling from the list entirely and vanishing from the all time records, there was no change.


    Ryu fell to his knees, fatigued. He had given it everything he had, even reached the ceiling of this incomplete Heavenly Path, a feat no one before in history had accomplished. And yet, it wasn''t enough.


    Ryu laughed. It wasn''t a laugh of sadness or madness, it was just a carefree laugh. He had nothing to regret, he had reached into the very depths of his soul and given it everything he had.

 Chapter 1163 Diameter

    Ryu took deep breaths. His eyes were tired, but he still looked toward his Spiritual Foundation one more time, a light of determination sparking within. their depths once again.


    There were other methods. He would definitely find something that worked. Definitely.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation rattled once, almost as though to acknowledge his promise. However, as it did so, a miniscule hairline fracture on the chain link Ryu had targeted cracked.


    The sound of glistening gems echoed as Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation rattled again. And then again.


    There was one mistake that Ryu had made in all of this. It wasn''t he who had to put in a great deal of effort to finally get his Spiritual Foundation out, it was rather the Martial Gods who had to create a perfect seal to ensure it never got out to begin with.


    Just one blemish, just one even miniscule, tiny, insignificant flaw... was enough for all of that to be ruined.


    RATTLE.


    BANG!


    The chain link imploded and Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation began to glow with a fiercer and fiercer light, its power growing explosively by the moment.


    Under some mystical sort of power, the Heavens seemed to sense the Rites that Ryu had completed, not just once... but twice. The moment the first link broke and the faint line of connection became clear enough for the two to sense it, Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation began to grow explosively in size.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. He hadn''t expected this to happen.


    When he fired at the chains, he had felt just how overwhelming they were. He had a feeling that this might be the case, which was why he had aimed for just one chain link to begin with. If he had aimed for the entire length, considering the lack of reaction after fully concentrating it, his result would have been even more fruitless.


    Ryu had never expected the variable to be Spiritual Foundation itself. He had considered the fact that his innate Spiritual Foundation might be very powerful due to the Martial Gods actions, but it was equally as possible that locking down his Spiritual Foundation was just the most convenient way to stop him from cultivating. As for why the Martial Gods would want such a thing, Ryu had assumed that it was because of his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    In Sacrum, especially when the Martial Gods were all suppressed under the Shrine Mountain, someone like Ryu with Chaotic Silk Meridians was especially dangerous. One only need look at the results of their final battle to see why the Martial Gods would be so shaken.


    Back then, Ryu had only just stepped into the Path Extinction Realm, and yet he had slaughtered their Sky Gods as though they were nothing more than ants. Of course, a large part of why this was possible was actually his Dao, but even without his Dao, had Ryu just been a Realm or two stronger, the results would have been the same.


    To the Martial Gods, an existence that could crush them without even forming a Godhood was unacceptable, his presence would have and did end up ruining much of their plans. If he actually did step into the Sky God Realm, who would be able to touch Sacrum anymore?


    All of this seemed logical. But now... Ryu was wondering just how much of this was true.


    Maybe what the Martial Gods feared wasn''t his Meridians at all, but rather his Spiritual Foundation itself. Maybe the goal wasn''t to block his path of cultivation itself, but to rather block his path of cultivataion with his Spiritual Foundation.


    Ryu had no way of knowing if this was true or not, or maybe it was just a combination of his thoughts. It was more likely that it was a combination of his Meridians and his Spiritual Foundation that the Martial Gods didn''t want to be birthed into the world.


    Regardless, the persona of his Spiritual Foundation suited him just fine. The moment it got even the slightest breathing room, it refused to be tamed. It grabbed onto the first line of life it had had in its lifetime and it grew explosively.


    With every explosive growth, another chain link would shatter, and then another.


    The connection between Ryu and his Spiritual Foundation only became clearer and brighter, almost to the point of feeling overwhelming. Ryu hadn''t expected that there would be a sudden change in him when he connected to a second Spiritual Foundation. He felt like he was looking in two different directions at once, but rather than it overwhelming his senses, it felt more like he had gained a sudden enlightenment, almost like he had gained a pair of eyes in the back of his head.


    What was clear was that his connection with his original Spiritual Foundation was far deeper than anything he had ever felt for or with the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation. At that moment, he understood intimately why it was that the opinion of the Chaotic Space Sky God looked down on him. If this was the difference between having your own Spiritual Foundation and relying on another person''s, the gap couldn''t have been more clear.


    Ryu was so entranced in this feeling and watching the chain links break that he almost forgotten that if he didn''t hurry to break through, he would likely end up losing the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation. In fact, there would also be a chance to face backlash from the Phoenix Sky God if he accidentally tried to replace it as well.


    Ryu''s aura changed and he immediately began to circulate his Chaos Qi, as the connection between himself and his Spiritual Foundation solidified, he slowly began to use his Chaotic Silk Meridians to shift it from the Abyssal Plane the Chaos Plane. Bridging that connection was his Realm Heart.


    The layers of chains snapped and a resplendent silver and blue glow surged through the Planes.


    This silvery blue light descended upon Ryu, and just when Ryu thought his Spiritual Foundation had reached the maximal size of 40 kilometers after being blessed by the 13 Rites, it shot past this number, doubling, and then again, and then again.


    By the time Ryu felt his connection with his Spiritual Foundation solidify entirely, his Spiritual Foundation had grown to 999 kilometers in diameter!


    Discord link for Pandanovel, for quick updates > https://discord.gg/Gmb86aUSFP

 Chapter 1164 Beyond Perfect Extreme

    Ryu was almost shocked into silence.


    If there was one thing that was the same between Sacrum and the True Martial World, it was the sizes of Spiritual Foundations. Half a meter for Common Grade, one meter for Black Grade, two meters for Earth Grade, three meters for the Earth Grade, up to five meters for the Ancestral Grade, and then finally doubling to ten meters for the Origin Grade.


    In a rare instance, for Spiritual Foundations of the True Martial World, all those above Ancestral Grade shared the exact same size, however this wasn''t to say that they were all of the same strength. The differences came from the strength of these Spiritual Foundations and their special abilities, special abilities that would begin to manifest themselves in the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Some would provide access to very special and rare types of qi, others would cause mutations in one''s Meridians, others would provide special benefits to one''s Cosmic Seeds or apply special properties to one''s World Sea or unique nurturing for one''s Godhood...


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á---n?¦Ía| §ãom The benefits were potentially endless and there were simply too many to list. This was why many said, quite accurately at that, that the true benefits of the Spiritual Foundation wouldn''t begin to make themselves clear until the Dao Pedestal Realm!


    However, Ryu had never heard of a Spiritual Foundation capable of growing beyond the 40 kilometer mark, or more accurately, he had never heard of one growing beyond 81 kilometers.


    This might sound confusing, but the explanation could be found within the fine print of the first Realm of cultivation, the Awakening Realm.


    It was already known that during the Awakening Realm, one underwent their Rites. Entering the first Rite, or Awakening, would allow one to connect with their Spiritual Foundation for the first time, and each subsequent Rite completed would double the size of the Spiritual Foundation.


    This was where the hidden suppression was located.


    40 kilometers was just a rounded estimate. In reality, if one started at 10 meters, during one''s second Rite you reach 20 meters, then 40 meters, then 80 meters, then 160 meters, then 320... all the way until 40,960 meters. This meant that technically, rather than your Spiritual Foundation being 40 kilometers, it was really 40.96 kilometers.


    Why did this difference matter? That was because if you tried to double it again, it would be 81,920 meters across, 920 meters beyond 81 kilometers.


    What was the problem with this?


    The issue lied in the so-called 9 extremes. Even compared to the 9 extremes, the number 81 was particularly auspicious, representing the extreme of the 9 extremes. To surpass 81 kilometers seemed like a ceiling the Heavens didn''t allow Spiritual Foundations to exceed. As such, all Spiritual Foundations, regardless of strength, capped themselves at 10 meters across upon awakening. This would allow geniuses to experience a maximum of the 13 Rites without missing out on the benefits of any one of them.


    But for some shocking reason, Ryu''s own Spiritual Foundation completely broke this rule, reaching 999 kilometers across which would be considered the extreme of the extreme of the 9 extremes. In fact, there were colloquial terms for this.


    The number nine was known as the Immature Extreme, 81 was the Imperfect Extreme, while 999 was the Perfect Extreme. This was exactly why all Heavenly Pupils had precisely 999 seals to be undone before they could reach maturity. Ryu truly didn''t know what to say when he saw this, his Spiritual Foundation didn''t seem to follow any sort of conventional rules.


    These were terms that only Feng Shui masters and Formation Masters would be so clear on, but it was precisely because Ryu was so clear on them that he found it difficult to wrap his head around.


    But what he didn''t know was that this was only the beginning of the surprises for him, because just when he thought his Spiritual Foundation was finished growing, it shuddered once again, shattering the final layer of chains.


    1000 kilometers.


    BOOM!


    The silvery blue light that fell upon Ryu grew fiercer and fiercer.


    Even in his shock, Ryu no longer hesitated and finished circulating his breakthrough method.


    The pillar of silvery blue light doubled in size, then doubled again.


    A flood of strength surged through Ryu''s body as the barrier to the Dao Pedestal Realm shattered to pieces.


    At that moment, in the depths of the Abyssal Plane, a Spiritual Foundation that had called itself King vanished, and when it finally reappeared, the entire Chaos Plane quaked.


    Ripples of wild energy shot out in all directions, and suddenly, the volatile Chaos Qi in the region stabilized. The silvery blue energy rooted itself without even the slightest hint of trouble, but what was the most shocking was what happened next.


    The Chaos Qi was suddenly being catalyzed into something entirely different.


    If others could see this, they would have been frozen in shock. The Chaos Qi seemed to be evolving, but what could Chaos Qi possibly be evolving into? Wasn''t it already at the highest extremes of what qi could be? And more importantly, how could an immature Spiritual Foundation cause changes in it?


    But at that moment, Ryu felt it.


    The catalyzed Chaos Qi completely changed and it suddenly flooded into Ryu''s body. Upon entering the Dao Pedestal Realm, the final barrier himself and his Spiritual Foundations finally vanished and large swaths of Qi Fumes flooded his Meridians with energy a half-step from becoming Cosmic Grade.


    Ryu in silence, feeling the energy flooding his body. He was absolutely certain of what it was, there was no doubt.


    This was the only energy that could stand up to Chaos Qi, the only energy in existence that was its equal.


    Essence.


    His Foundation was catalyzing Chaos Qi into Essence. It was catalyzing Chaos Qi into Essence. It was... catalyzing Chaos Qi into Essence.


    At that moment, Ryu''s Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure began to evolve again, the Heavenly Favor that had once been its foundation being stripped away as the much higher form of Essence took its place. And then, a name whispered itself into existence, and yet it rang in Ryu''s ears like a clap of thunder.


    The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    The name echoed in Ryu''s head, even making his ears bleed, and yet he didn''t seem to notice at all.


    He understood what was happening. His Spiritual Foundation''s ability to reach the Perfect Extreme like it had when it reached 999 kilometers, and then... it would take a step beyond. Just now, it had taken his Chaos Qi, granted to it by his Chaotic Silk Meridians, brought it to the Extreme... and then took it a step beyond.


    Chaos Qi was already at the extreme, so how could you take a step beyond it?


    It was a concept as old as time itself, one that could be found at the very core of Formation Mastery and Feng Shui, a concept birthed along with the universe itself, and yet one that was a mystery of mysteries...


    The extreme of the extreme of water was fire....


    The extreme of the extreme of wind was earth....


    The extreme of the extreme of Chaos Qi was Essence.


    Discord link for Pandanovel, for quick updates > https://discord.gg/Gmb86aUSFP

 Chapter 1165 Bronze Resonance Qi

    Ryu stood in silence for a long while. He was so stunned that he barely registered the evolution his body was undergoing once again.


    p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ão§® This wasn''t just a small change, it was game changing. In fact, this change, even without considering the other abilities his Spiritual Foundation might have, was enough to change everything.


    Ryu obviously couldn''t use Essence as it would pose the same problems that Chaos Qi did to him. Flaunting his use of it would be like lighting up a beam told the he was here. However, this restriction wasn''t as daunting as it been with his Chaos Qi, and that was because of the existence of Primordial Qi and its derivatives.


    Ryu couldn''t use Primordial Chaos Qi for obvious reasons. Primordial Chaos Qi could only come from the Chaos Plane and there were no known techniques that could extract such a thing. The same was true of its derivatives. No matter how far down the ladder you went with Chaos Qi, it would always have the air of Chaos Qi in it.


    Even if Ryu took out a Common Grade Chaos Qi, just the fact it had the air of Chaos Qi on it would make people look at him twice or thrice over.


    Chaos Qi was too caustic to normal cultivators, and the fact that Ryu could use it freely would be a red flag he couldn''t escape from. Rather than opening himself up to such questioning, it was best to avoid the possibility altogether.


    By now, it was obvious why Essence was so valuable to Ryu. Now that he could use his Spiritual Foundation as a proxy to control it, he could break it down into Primordial Qi!


    Of course, being able to use Primordial Qi, while not as shocking as being able to use Essence or Chaos Qi, was still too shocking. The only cultivation techniques that could produce and allow one to control Primordial Qi in the True Martial World were all located on the Ninth Heaven. Not only were they all concentrated in the Ninth Heaven, but they were only in the hands of the powerful Clans and Sects of the Ninth Heaven.


    However, the benefit here was that Ryu could use the Primordial Qis as a catalyst to use the derivatives of them, just like he could with his Chaos Qi and Primordial Chaos Qi, and because they followed the conventional path, no one would bat an eye so long as it wasn''t too high level!


    By controlling Chaos Qi and Essence, Ryu had essentially gained the ability to pick and choose any qi, of any level, that he wanted to use.


    Chaos Qi and Essence were beyond Origin Grade. Primordial Qis were Origin Grade, the final and ninth grade of the Origin or the Sky God Grades.


    If Ryu wanted he could take a step down and catalyze Chaos Grade Qis, or take another step down and form Order Grade Qis, or take another step down to form Omniscient Grade Qis... he could go all the down to Fragmented Grade or even lower to Common Grade if he wanted.


    The entire spectrum of the world''s qis had been opened up to him. The world was quite literally his oyster.


    The only drawback that Ryu saw was that his creation of Primordial Qi wasn''t as smooth as his creation of Primordial Chaos Qi, so these qis would likely be something he had to prepare ahead of battle rather than during battle.


    Still, as far as Ryu was concerned, this was a minor drawback. So long as he formed a seedling of his target qi, catalyzing the creation of more would be far And, because his foundation had been forged with [Six Realm Opening], he had 12 total miniature dantians within his body that he could use to separately store different qis. And, even beyond that, he now had two real dantians to store even more.


    ''Starlight used Order Grade Immortal Qi, which should be the standard of absolute geniuses of the Seventh Heaven. In that case, using qi that is two steps down should be alright. We will stick with Transcended Grade Immortal Qi for now. I''ll keep some Omniscient Grade Qi as a trump card, and Order Grade as a last resort...''


    [Author''s Note: I wrote that Starlight used Origin Grade Immortal Qi earlier, that was a mistake on my part, still had Sacrum on the brain. He used Order Grade, which is the seventh level of the nine Origin Grades]


    Ryu closed his eyes for a moment.


    He realized that he couldn''t quite make a decision on what kind of qi to pick because he currently lacked the necessary techniques. He had already outgrown all of the techniques he might want to use with the exception of the Radiant Star Sect''s core teachings, but they produced their own qi anyway.


    ''In that case I''ll just pick a qi that''s well suited to the most neutral ability of my Meridians: its toughness...''


    The Transcended Grade Immortal Qi Ryu picked had the greatest requirements for Meridian sturdiness of them all. This was the perfect choice since it was the only ability of his Meridians that he could use without the world taking notice. In fact, just in terms of toughness alone, Ryu''s Meridians were well on par with Meridians that had this as their only fixture.


    This Transcended Grade Immortal Qi was known as Bronze Resonance Qi. It had an exceptionally high density and it tended to clump together when it was in the presence of its fellow globulles of energy, where it would then When it resonated with enough like-energy, it would concentrate further and increase its density. Usually, those that used this qi would only dare to use a small amount in a stream of neutral qi because this qi''s strength was decided not by the qi itself, but rather the amount of it there was. In a high enough concentration, could even dwarf qi a grade above it.


    Funny enough, the main ability of this qi wasn''t in attacking or defense, but in construction. It was a favored qi of secondary profession professionals as it gave structures stability and permanence. For those that used constructs in battle, it was invaluable.


    Ryu reached out a hand, still in meditation, and a large gathering of Bronze Qi formed on his palm. It quickly followed his lead and formed a radiant bronze rod. While it looked simple, just the veins popping out around Ryu''s forearm as he tried to hold it up told a completely different tale, and this was a Ryu whose body had just undergone a qualitative change!


    Ryu dispersed the qi and began to gather up a silvery energy. This was Silver Resonance Qi, a step above Bronze. However, this time, Ryu couldn''t even gather up the qi properly before the back of his hand crashed against the ground so hard that if not for the improvements to his body, he would have fractured it into pieces..


    ''Good'' Ryu thought.


    If things were like this, he might not even need to use Silver Resonance Qi at all as a trump card. Bronze Resonance Qi alone at a high enough concentration was a bulldozer. Anyone else''s Meridians would have been crippled trying to hold this much Bronze Resonance Qi alone.


    At this point, with a single circulation, Ryu''s weight could increase by tens of thousands of folds, but in the next moment he could be as light as a feather. This was the beauty of having hidden dimensions within your body, and even further, the beauty of having two dantians.


    Ryu wanted to take his time to really feel out the Dao Pedestal Realm, but after a moment, his head spun and he nearly lost consciousness.


    Ryu grabbed his head and slowed down. Inwardly, he shook his head at himself. Due to the breakthrough, he had felt exceptional. But he hadn''t realized that although his breakthrough had healed all of his injuries, it hadn''t replenished his Focus Qi. Just now, he had almost ruined everything by using up the little bits he had left.


    Exhaling a breath, Ryu slowly stood to his feet and looked around.


    He had thought he had reached the top of these stairs already, but it seemed that this wasn''t the case, there was one more step remaining. He had been so enamored with his breakthrough that he hadn''t even noticed.


    Ryu raised his foot and took a step others would have struggled with, with absolute ease. He exhaled a breath and suddenly a flood of Heavenly Favor descended once again.


    Basking in it, Ryu''s body slowly vanished from the tower, and when he appeared again, he was standing outside, a complex array of golden illusory flames flickering in and out of life around him.


    Ryu frowned and his eyes opened. When he saw the scene before him, his gaze became frighteningly cold.


    Beaten and haggard, Aantha and Mae stood by side. Their once beautiful black wings were torn in several places as though in a malicious attempt to keep them grounded. Their clothing was barely holding onto their bodies, leaving their scales with the task of maintaining their modesty, but it seemed that their attackers were trying their best to ruin even that. At the same time, they took heaving breaths, their skin pale beyond measure and their stamina running on near empty.


    It took a single look for Ryu to realize that Mae had never stepped into the tower like he thought she had. He had assumed that she had followed right after him, but it was clear that he was wrong.


    How could he not understand why she had made such a decision?


    Ryu was instantly incomparably furious.


    Ryu took a single step forward and struck out with a palm. His body seemed to move through space as though it didn''t exist and he appeared before the two women.


    A bronze palm coalesced from his own, expanding in size with every meter it crossed and eventually enveloping the entire battlefield. It was so heavy and looming that even without striking the ground, its gravitational pull alone shredded it to pieces, causing bits and pieces of earth to cling to it.


    At that moment, dozens of geniuses were blown away, some coughing up mouthfuls of blood, and some fairing far worse and ending up with crippled limbs.


    Even so, the fury in Ryu''s gaze did abate in the slightest.


    "You all deserve death!"


    Ryu''s aura rose like a violent torrent, his gaze locking onto Vie who was standing much too far away for someone who had likely instigated all of this.


    He could see the lines of space and the layers of time with his eyes alone. This man''s fingerprints were all over this. He deserved to die first.

 Chapter 1166 What Do You Say?

    The moment the biting cold words left Ryu''s lips, the ground around him shattered, a dense bronze aura surging out from. Gripping his great swordstaff in one hand, he suddenly flashed forward, appearing before Vie in the blink of an eye and swinging down with the might of a mountain.


    Vie''s pupils constricted, but his reaction was slow, his glaive swinging upward to meet Ryu''s strike. However, the moment their blades met, Vie felt like the entire world was crashing into him. His grip instantly tightened on his polearm, but it hardly seemed to matter. The ground beneath him alone withstand it, his feet shooting through the ground to the point even hips were buried.


    Even so, Vie barely managed to block despite coughing up a mouthful of blood and feeling as though his arms were going to collapse.


    Ryu''s fury reached a new peak, matching with a hint of frustration. There was a letting your qi run wildly like this wasn''t a battle style that Ryu had ever used before, only by perfectly controlling your qi could you bring out 100% of your strength. Allowing it to run rampant was akin to dispersing your strength and weakening yourself.


    To make matters worse, Ryu had just broken through and hadn''t had the Focus Qi to consolidate his Realm, so he was even more unfamiliar with this power than he had been with his Path Extinction Realm cultivation. This was like a double hit to his current battle prowess.


    Even so, despite his frustration, his second swing came down even fiercer and wilder. Since he couldn''t control it, he would unleash more, and even more on top of that.


    Vie''s expression changed. He had never seen anyone use qi like this. Ryu was wasting at like 90% of the qi he was expelling, wasn''t he worried about running out?!


    Even though he thought this, Vie was all too aware that even if Ryu did run out eventually, it would have nothing to do with him. After all, there was no way Ryu would run out before this second strike landed, but if he let it land, he might really be finished.


    "Big brother!"


    Vie was immediately prepared to activate his life saving measures, but just before he had to, a rain of daggers assaulted Ryu to the side. They slowed down when they met the wildly fluctuating Bronze Resonance Qi that formed a pseudo domain, but their was still more than the amorphous blob of slowly concentrating energy could deal with.


    Ryu frowned, however he didn''t move a single inch toward the daggers, his great swordstaff falling even faster.


    Let alone Vie, Ranna, who had sent the daggers to begin with, was absolutely Was Ryu trying to exchange his life for Vie''s? Did he think that her attack was so easy to ignore? Not only were all of her daggers special, but whether it was her techniques or her Dao, they all melded perfectly into one. Inwardly, though, Ranna smiled. This was good, didn''t this guarantee that Ryu''s Heavenly Favor would become hers? By then, it wouldn''t matter that she had been delayed outside of the tower for so long. No matter what changes happened from here on, she would be in control of her own destiny...


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!


    The daggers reflected off of Ryu''s skin as though meeting a steel wall, not even the faintest white mark was left behind.


    Vie''s expression changed. ''Shit!''


    BOOM!


    The city of diamond rattled and shook, rippling waves of earthen torrents spreading out in all directions.


    Ryu raised his great swordstaff, his expression livid. Another fleeing piece of trash.


    He extended his blade, pointing it toward Vie''s little brother in the distance.


    "I promise you the next time I see either one of you, you''ll only leave with your heads separated from your shoulders."


    Ryu''s words echoed and a wild fluctuation of Bronze Resonant Qi caused the rippling earth to be suppressed back down to flat land.


    Feeling the suppression and an instinctual fear, Vie''s younger brother immediately fled. a joke, he hadn''t stood a chance against Ryu before, how could he know that the latter had entered the Dao Pedestal Realm and had such improvements to his body?


    Ryu didn''t even bother, his head turning toward Ranna who had dared to take advantage of the situation.


    Ranna''s petite figure trembled and she immediately explosively retreated, a fear taking root deep within her heart.


    At that moment, Ryu''s battle against Starlight seemed to replay in all of their minds. None of them seemed to have realized that Ryu''s Focus Qi was nearly at rock bottom, as such, they all assumed that Ryu was toying with them like this without even using his strongest talent. In such a situation, how could they be casual about taking action?


    Ryu turned his head back toward Mae and Aantha, his expression softening somewhat.


    "Take a rest. When you feel like you are 100%, enter the tower. No one will enter before you do."


    Ryu''s words were domineering and couldn''t be questioned. He spoke clear enough them all to hear. It was clear he simply didn''t care who it was, no one would be able to stop his steps. Since he had said so, he meant it.


    Mac and Aantha looked toward Ryu and then toward one another before nodding and sitting down to meditate.


    The atmosphere became oddly quiet, but it was obvious to everyone that the only reason Ryu didn''t pursue kicking them all out was so that he could stand before Mae and protect the two sisters. He slammed his great swordstaff into the ground, standing tall and unmoving. The geniuses could only grit their teeth. The imposingness of Ryu''s momentum wasn''t something they wanted to face.


    As Ryu stood there, his Bronze Resonance Qi continued to leak out, solidifying in the air. The more he hesitated, the more impossible it became to even approach Ryu, let alone defeat him and made his words sound foolish.


    After taking several pills and resting for a few minutes, the two sisters stood.


    Unlike Ryu who needed to replenish their Focus Qi, they only needed to replenish their qi and heal some injuries. At their cultivation, and considering their injuries weren''t too severe, so long as others didn''t interfere, just a few minutes was more than enough.


    "We''ll be back," Mae said gently. Her gaze seemed to flicker back and forth between something demure and something else that was much more... demonic, but it that she managed to suppress it this time as she took a step inside.


    Ryu nodded and Mae entered, leaving Aantha with a silly grin on her face.


    Aantha came over and patted Ryu heavily on the shoulder a few times. She a bit silly doing it, having to stand to the tip of her toes just to make it look semi decent. She seemed to be trying to be much older than she was, but the lack of maturity just made it cute.


    "You''re not, not bad at all. I was going to tell auntie and uncle how useless you were, but you''ve somewhat redeemed yourself. Not bad, not bad indeed. My big sis''s husband has to be at least this good, if not, wouldn''t you be too useless?"


    Oddly enough, Aantha''s words pissed the spectators off far more than they pissed off Ryu. In fact, Ryu didn''t seem to be bothered at all, he only shook his head and smiled.


    Aantha was caught off guard. Did this brute just smile at her? He could do that too? That was possible?


    "Come on, smile again, I didn''t see it clearly the first time."


    "You''re wasting time, little girl. I''m not going to stand on guard here forever. Soon as Mae comes out I''ll leave you to fend on your own."


    "You wouldn''t dare!" Aantha was clearly offended. "Don''t you know that your future happiness is in my hands? What if I tell uncle bad things about you? How are you going to stop a Sky God from beating a layer of skin off your butt?!"


    Ryu''s brows twitched. He would rather die than be spanked, even his own parents had never raised a hand against him. What nonsense was this little girl spewing?


    "Keep talking nonsense and I''ll peel a layer off of yours first."


    Aantha gasped, apparently not expecting such retaliation. She turned and ran toward the tower.


    "Big sis! Big sis! Your husband likes little girls! You have to divorce him immediately!"


    Ryu shook his head as Aantha vanished into the tower. He really had to find some time to discipline this little girl eventually. She was already an adult but she still acted like a 12 year old.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® The smile on Ryu''s face vanished as he turned back. He looked down to find that was only five meters from him, standing with a cold expression on her face.


    He didn''t say anything. This woman had kept quite a low profile. In fact, from his eyes, she hadn''t made a real move against Mae or Aantha, which was the only reason he hadn''t everything to deal with her immediately. But since she had come forward now, she clearly had something to say.


    "I think we both know that you have a lot of secrets that you want to keep, so I''ll propose something that helps but sides. In exchange for letting me into the tower, I''m willing to swear an oath to not reveal your secrets to my elders for span of three days. That gives you a lot of time to do quite a number of things."


    "You can reject, but this will also mean that the moment you step out from this place, your death will be inevitable. There are many Sky God elders waiting for our exit to the Fourth Heaven, there will be no escape, and even if your elders and that of the Dream Asura Race team up, you''ll stand no And I''m sure you know there''s no certainty that the Dream Asura Race will be willing to help you in the first place. It seems to me that Mae made her choice in spouse without her seniors'' approval."


    "So what do you say?"


    Hearing Jenneless'' words, the eyes of the surrounding geniuses glowed. Indeed, this was an excellent opportunity. If they all swore the same oath, then Ryu really might let them in!

 Chapter 1167 Cold Palms

    Jenneless'' words seemed to give them hope. They all looked toward Ryu with a fervent gaze, some even hoping that the carrot and stick approach might work. This was a compromise for them all to take, but the also couldn''t look like they were begging too much. For one, they had their own pride. And second, if they were in too weak of a position, why would Ryu negotiate with them?


    Even so, the more they thought about it, the more they realized the kind of precarious position Ryu was in. They were all geniuses, and they all had astounding levels of backing. The idea that someone else would target them to steal their targets never even crossed their minds because they were really only of seeing the world from their perspective.


    It was only after Jenneless spoke that they began piecing things together.


    Indeed, they didn''t recognize Ryu and he was unlikely to be from a higher Heaven than their own considering his age and cultivation combination. And if Mae had had a husband, this was something that would have been announced given her stature. The fact it wasn''t meant that the Dream Asura Race didn''t even know about it yet. Plus, on top of that, the likelihood that they would protect a human was minimal.


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Then they began to think about the talents that Ryu had displayed. Just setting aside everything else, just his beast Bloodlines was enough to have him chased to the ends of the earth, let alone the fact he now had a complete Dao Lord Inheritance, or so they thought.


    No matter how calm and collected Ryu looked now, he must be under a world of pressure, the kind of pressure that could easily crush him at any moment.


    And yet....


    "You really think too highly of yourself."


    Ryu''s words didn''t seem to be laced with fury or anger, he didn''t seem to take Jenneless'' threats seriously in the slightest.


    "I, Ryu am a man who spit in the face of a Dao Sovereign. Do you that I would bend the knee to your schemes?"


    Ryu had hardly finished speaking when he suddenly moved, his great swordstaff swinging down toward Jenneless'' head with a fierce momentum.


    Jenneless'' piercing blue gaze turned malevolent. If Ryu wanted to fight, they could fight!


    At the aura of a World Sea Realm expert exploded forth and the geniuses in the surroundings were taken aback. There was a World Sea Realm expert among them? Their hearts couldn''t help but skip several beats.


    BOOM!


    An icy palm met Ryu''s blade, a swirl of ice blue and radiant bronze qi swirling about in the surroundings. They took turns freezing and collapsing once another in a fierce confrontation.


    Ryu was forced to take three steps back, but Jenneless took just a single one. However, even in taking just this singular step, she seemed stunned by the result. Ryu had actually made her retreat? This was an outright humiliation to her.


    What the geniuses in the surroundings didn''t realize was that Jenneless hadn''t been among them because her talent matched theirs. Rather, it was a combination of talent and cultivation. From the beginning, the Heavenly Path was designed for World Sea Realm experts a step away from Sky Godhood. The reason that the upper Heavens had sent geniuses around the Path Extinction and Dao Pedestal Realm down was because their own World Sea Realm experts couldn''t be bothered with the incomplete Heavenly Path and their efforts were entirely focused on snagging opportunities in the Fourth to Sixth Heavens.


    Jenneless, however, was different. She was only considered a pinnacle genius of the Second Heaven. Even after having her body entirely reformed and restructured by that mysterious expert, it was only enough to be considered a quasi Fourth Heaven genius, beyond the likes of Enren and Theris, but nowhere near the likes of Mae and Vie.


    However, the difference here was that her cultivation Realm was an entire two Realms beyond their own, almost three considering how close she was to the Sky God Realm already.


    For Jenneless, these last moments before the Sky God Realm were her last chance to completely re-sculpt and reform her path forward. Entering the tower was far too important for her, but her mission and her existence were far too conspicuous, so she had had no choice but to keep a low profile until things very clearly refused to go her way.


    Now that she had ended up in the situation, she felt both furious and helpless, but she forced herself to calm down. She remembered her task at hand.


    She exhaled a breath and her gaze sharpened. Instantly, she stopped holding unleashing her Dao and her Divinity.


    An oppressive cold rippled in the surroundings, savage in its presence, but malleable in its movements, pervading any and everything it came across.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. The methods of a World Sea Realm expert were indeed great. He had gotten used to battling ones that were exceptionally weak, so used to it that he had forgotten that if the talent gap was closed, he was essentially fighting someone three Realms above him.


    In his current state, Ryu couldn''t summon his Small Realms even if he wanted to. But if he did, he had a very clear feeling that they would be suppressed by Jenneless Divinity.


    Ryu in his stance and began more defensive, dodging out of the way of successive flying palms. What was it about today? He had such bad luck with palm experts.


    However, as he had this thought, his eyes overlayed images of Jenneless pulling out a sword and piercing toward his thought.


    Ryu reacted a step faster, seeing the causality ahead of time. But he felt that the cold around him was gripping him from all sides, as though someone was placing their cold hands on his skin. Every time he shivered, his speed slowed by another measure until the sword blade was before him and seemingly undodgeable.

 Chapter 1168 True Heavenly Favor

    Ryu realized that the situation was bad, and not just because of Jenneless. If he struggled with Jenneless, it was only a matter of time before everyone else realized that he wasn''t able to bring out as much strength as he had beforeand chose to take advantage.


    By now, he had replenished some of his Focus Qi, but it was only about 5% or so, and at that state, it still left him woozy. But it seemed that he didn''t have a choice. So long as he didn''t pass out and could stay on his feet, it would beenough.


    The trouble was that it seemed that the lower his Focus Qi was to start, the less time it took to completely drain it.


    30 seconds. 30 seconds and I have to kill her!


    Ryu''s aura changed and the pressure of a Sword God rippled from him. Almost instantly, his head threatened to split in two under a sudden migraine, but he ignored it, the pressure of his aura pressing down even fiercer.


    At that moment, Jenneless'' sword blade wavered and her sword qi was greatly suppressed.


    CLANG!


    Her sword glanced off the side of Ryu''s neck as he pressed down with his great swordstaff. Jenneless, who hadn''t expected her sword to be completely unable to tear through Ryu''s throat, was caught completely off guard.


    The great swordstaff''s blade swung forth in a wide arc. Compared to the free flowing and reckless of before, his fighting style had suddenly become streamlined and controlled. Almost instantly, his wildly rippling qi was pulledunder his will and a dense bronze aura coated his every action, giving it an undisguisable heaviness that crushed the earth beneath him.


    Jenneless just barely reached out a free palm across and perpendicular to her body to block the blade, but it wasn''t enough. Her body was bent into a ''U'' shape at her side hip, half of her body''s bones being crushed in an instant as she was sent flying off to Ryu''s right.


    Ryu stepped through the air, vanishing into the void and appearing above Jenneless. With his current eyes, the distance he could cross through his Spacetime Soul Nature was on an entirely different level. His Soul Nature affinity was already exaggerated for his cultivation level, but now it was even more so.


    Ryu swung down and Jenneless weakly attempted to block with her sword as her other arm had been practically crippled. However, what chance did this block of working?


    The crowd winced as they watched Jenneless'' arm crumple in real time. The disparity was so great that it was despairing.


    Her body rebounded against the ground like a ragdoll, crumpling up like a once pristine sheet of aluminum gone to waste.


    Ryu landed overtop of her, bending down and picking her up by her neck.


    "You have one of those life saving treasures on you, don''t you? You must really want me to crush your neck right now," Ryu looked into Jenneless'' eyes. Right this moment, she looked more dead than alive. Once a beauty, she couldn''t even match up to an old hag at this moment.


    Ryu realized that he had overestimated this woman. Or maybe more accurately, he had underestimated just how much his inability to use Focus Qi was impeding his battle prowess. If he could exchange a splitting headache for this kind of prowess, it was very much worth it.


    What was even better was that he was certain that this was just the tip of the iceberg. His Focus Qi was running on empty and every attempt to focus hurt, and yet he was able to display this kind of strength. He predicted that his strength was at least double if not more of what he had displayed just now.


    "I have to find a way to increase my Focus Qi in the future, I can''t let this happen again."


    The Magus Sky God''s inheritance and the Favor Alchemy Sky God inheritance were the most likely to be able to help in this regard. Though, Ryu believed that his greatest help would likely be his very own soul.


    There was a reason the experts of Sacrum could get away with not cultivating their Mental Realms after the ban, and that was because the soul would naturally grow stronger along with the rest of your cultivation. Over the years, your soul and Focus Qi would naturally increase, allowing you to meditate and go into seclusion for longer and longer periods of time.


    Although they weren''t the exact same, the stronger the soul, the denser one''s Focus Qi. Before he got the prayer mat, Ryu had actually been very poor in this regard and he could only make limited usage of his Heavenly Pupils without tiring out.


    ''Wait, doesn''t this mean I have a shortcut to improving my Focus Qi?"


    Replenishing Spiritual Qi wouldn''t help with increasing Focus Qi, if it did, Ryu would have done it long ago. However, cultivating the soul and breaking through would. The trouble was that practically no one could do that, especially not in battle.


    That was when Ryu suddenly realized something. He had neglected of the most fundamental abilities he had gained after fusing with his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. After some thought, he unceremoniously stripped Jenneless of everything she was wearing, not that her naked body was anything to look at in her current state. She looked more like a beaten ragdoll than a beautiful young woman. Then, he took all of the spatial devices she had on her. He checked everywhere she might have one, even using his Void Spiritual Sense at the cost of another splitting headache to double and triple check.


    When he was finished, he made a decision.


    Ryu''s soul bore down and ripped into Jenneless.


    Jenneless, who had been completely unconscious, suddenly woke up and began to screech. Her cries echoed through the diamond city and made those in the surroundings tremble at the horror.


    Ryu was careful and let the process continue for a few minutes, completely expressionless. But just when Jenneless was at the end of her rope and about to die, something deep within her triggered and Ryu was forced back as shevanished.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® This time, Ryu wasn''t too surprised by this. In fact, he had done it on purpose.


    He took a breath and exhaled. After absorbing a large portion of Jenneless'' Spiritual Sea, his own had expanded and the borders of his soul shot by its original limit. He still had quite some more room to go as well because his body was so much more powerful now than it had been in the past.


    Due to this, Ryu had hacked his way into gaining more Focus Qi. If he was at 5% before, he was now at over 15%, not because his Focus Qi had been replenished, but because he had gained more of it, an important distinction.


    To the current Ryu, Jenneless was more useful alive. She was weak in talent, but for some reason that organization insisted on using her, he felt that there had to be a reason for this.


    He could have scanned her memories using the Magus Sky God''s inheritance, but he instead chose to leave a mark on her using his Void Spiritual Qi. While the former action could be detected, the latter could not.


    Since they had gone through so much trouble with Jenneless, Ryu believed that they would continue to use her. That would be his opportunity to find out exactly what these people were scheming and why they were scheming it.


    Plus, out of Jenneless'' escape, he had regained enough Focus Qi that he no longer needed to fear anything in this Heavenly Path.


    As he looked around at the geniuses that remained, whether it was Ranna, Zed, Mano, or even Akura who had managed to heal himself somewhat and make it up here, he could sense the hatred in all of their eyes.


    Even so, he suddenly grinned wildly.


    This sort of suppression in the face of opposition was exactly what he lived for. So what if you all were talented? So what if you all had powerful backers? He had dared to turn down the inheritance of a Dao Sovereign. Even now with his death seemingly imminent, he dared to scheme against an organization of the Ninth Heaven. What could possibly stop his steps?


    As Ryu suffocated the forward path of the geniuses before him, his Heavenly Favor actually began to increase again... and then again...


    This was the true Heavenly Favor... one gained by crushing your enemies.

 Chapter 1169 Comfort

    As Ryu''s Heavenly Favor soared, the geniuses around him felt more and more suppressed, and though they didn''t notice, their own Heavenly Favor began to plummet.


    Not much was known about the Convergence, it was an event far too rare, even to the extent that the likes of the Ruin Master Guild had to be cautious in how they approached it and secretive in their actions. However there had always been legends about it and many wrote tales of what it could be like if the Convergence was taken to the most logical extreme.


    Many wondered about what the Convergence was and what it existed for, if it was a random event brought about by coincidence and simply a byproduct or necessity of a function of a long enough period of time, or if there was a deeper meaning to it all.


    Ultimately, the Heavens had a much heavier hand in many things than most gave it credit for, but it was also known for its fairness and order. The Convergence seemed to be something out of the ordinary, something that wouldn''t appear unless there was a viable and tangible reason for it.


    This was especially so because a single Convergence seemed to be followed by several cycles of Cataclysms, or periods of time where Fate was entirely and dried up. As a result, there seemed to be a heavy price to pay for allowing the Convergence to take place.


    There was one theory that was more interesting than the rest, though...


    The True Martial World had a cap of 3333 Founding Daos, and yet they had nowhere near that number filled out. In fact, they foolishly added artificial restrictions on lower level Daos in order to maintain control over the Lower Heavens.


    The oddity here wasn''t the selfishness of the large Clans and Sects, this much was a given. But the real question was about whether the Heavens were happy, enraged, or indifferent about this.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® If the Heavens were happy, then everything would be fine. It was in the nature of everything to want to survive, so since the Heavens had a cap of 3333 Founding Daos, maybe it was the fact that it didn''t want too many Daos as it would place too much stress on its existence.


    This seemed to make sense, until one realized that it was entirely contradictory to almost everything else the Heavens stood for.


    The Heavens had always pressed for the evolution of the people under its charge, this was why it was the natural state of living beings to improve through natural selection, it was an inevitable pressurized outcome pressed on by the Heavens themselves.


    And then there was something else to If the Heavens really wanted to limit Daos, then why would it allow the Convergence to happen to begin with? Especially since the Convergence was maybe the greatest opportunity in existence for those of Lower Heavens to make their way to Upper Heavens? If the Heavens really wanted to limit the number, then why allow this chance at all?


    It was possible that the Heavens were neutral, but while this wasn''t as contradictory as it being happy, it wasn''t perfectly in line with what was known about the Heavens either for the same reasons as listed previously. Everything seemed to point to the dissatisfaction of the Heavens with the current state of things, even to the point of allowing several cycles of cataclysms to occur in exchange.


    So the question was why? If the Heavens were unhappy, then what was it trying to do about it? There were a few hypotheses but the one that rang the loudest was maybe the reason the Ruin Master Guild was so anxious, and it was also the why Sacrum, which had a chance to break through the current mold thanks to its Shrine, was having so much attention paid to it despite being a mid level world...


    This answer came in the form of a very fascinating question...


    What if the goal of a Convergence wasn''t to concentrate the Faith of several Generations into the hands of the leaders of just one... But was rather to concentrate it in the hands of just a single person? What if only that was the true Convergence?


    The light on Ryu became fiercer and fiercer.


    After using up all of his Heavenly Favor on unsealing his Spiritual Foundation, he had crashed back down. Luckily, he still had one step left to go in the tower and was able to reclaim much of it, though unfortunately it wasn''t enough to return to number one.


    At this moment, though, first place seemed to be nothing more than a joke. The sudden gap between Ryu and his great grandfather had expanded to the point it didn''t seem right to place them on the same list any longer.


    The numbers jumped and jumped, moving so quickly that it was impossible even for their eyes to track what was happening. And then...


    The ancient cube cracked.


    At first it was just a small splinter, but it quickly began to spread, moving faster and faster until it suddenly entirely broke apart.


    The cascaded down toward Ryu in a blinding torrent, but unlike the previous time when Ryu was pushed to the ground, this time... it felt like a gentle spring breeze, caressing his skin and rustling his hair.


    Oddly enough, Ryu couldn''t feel much of anything outside of that. He didn''t feel his power skyrocketing, he didn''t feel his cultivation increasing by leaps and bounds, he didn''t feel his blood rumbling or his heart thumping with anticipation. He just felt....


    Peace.


    It was like a security blanket was wrapping around his shoulders, like his mother was kissing his forehead or his father was giving him a pat on the shoulders.


    the first time in a long while, Ryu just felt... relaxed, like everything would be like there was nothing to worry about.


    He took a breath and then exhaled.

 Chapter 1170 Hm?

    When Ryu looked up, the geniuses subconsciously turned away. Even they didn''t realize why they had done it, but what was certain was that the moment they did, they felt their hearts sink as though they had lost something forever.


    At that moment, the tower doors opened once again, and Mae and Aantha stepped out.


    Before Ryu could say anything, however, everything shifted. Under the shocked realization of everyone present, the Heavenly Path was closing.


    Ryu realized this as well, and he felt a hint of lament. Before he had been forced to run to the diamond city, he had sensed the remnants of a Dao Lord''s Inheritance. Of course, this wasn''t the inheritance of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign, but rather the inheritance of the Dao Lord that had originally descended first only to find their glass orb shattered by the Dao Sovereign.


    Ryu had wanted to see if there was anything he could still scrounge up from that inheritance, but it seemed that he had lost his chance.


    He shook his head. Although he could have abandoned Mae and Aantha and simply gone to get it, he wouldn''t be himself anymore if he did that. There was no Dao Lord Inheritance worth his dignity in Ryu''s eyes, and especially not his woman''s happiness. Even before Mae had made such a sacrifice for him he would have felt that same way, that was simply just the sort of responsibility a man should take upon himself, let alone now that she had done such a thing for him.


    ''We''re just not fated,'' Ryu let it drift from his mind as his body vanished.


    When Ryu appeared once again, he found himself in a room of white. He wasn''t too surprised by this, this place should be where rewards were exchanged, although he wasn''t sure if that would still be possible considering the fact the ancient cube had shattered, the fact that he had been sent here gave a small light of hope, at least.


    Ryu wouldn''t feel too bad about it if he didn''t get this chance, he felt that his gains this time were quite tremendous. But then again, his greatest gain was snatching something that should have been his to begin with, so maybe they weren''t as great as he thought.


    Regardless, just the inheritances of the Shadowlight, Favor Alchemy and Magus Sky Gods were worth their weight in Qi Stones. The Puppet Mimicry Sky God wasn''t too bad either. Though, Ryu''s favorite was definitely the Nine Pillar Sky God''s inheritance.


    Ryu looked down at his body, wondering what that mysterious energy from before was. But since he couldn''t seem to sense it and was still a bit worried about his Focus Qi, he decided to leave it be for now and he continued to walk forward until he found himself in a grand


    All around him, weapons, treasures and armors of all shapes and sizes could be found. What astonished Ryu, though, was that these were all Origin Grade treasures without a doubt. No, that was his experience from Sacrum talking... Here, they called them God Treasures, and they were the treasures predominantly used by Sky Gods.


    Much like in Sacrum, Origin Grade, or rather God Treasures could be used by everyone, much like techniques of that grade. The main difference here was, though, that the power of the treasure would grow along with the user until it reached a peak.


    A flood of light rushed through and an ancient voice echoed.


    "Ryu Tatsuya. Highest Honors. All God Treasures unsealed. You may pick three."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. From his understanding, you were supposed to exchange your Heavenly Favor for these God Treasures, but this voice just directly told him to pick three. While this seemed nice as he didn''t have to worry about the price, Ryu had a feeling that he was being artificially capped and shafted.


    He could see the number of Heavenly Favor he had gathered, but he was sure that it was a lot. A hell of a lot. If there wasn''t such a cap, he felt that he should be able to exchange for any treasure he wanted and more than just three at that.


    However, these thoughts of Ryu''s didn''t last for long.


    He stopped along a line of Fragmented God Treasures and when he looked at the price, his lip twitched. They alone ranged from dozens of Gold Heavenly Favor to hundreds. By the time you went up to False God Treasures, some already required Rainbow Heavenly Favor.


    At that point, Ryu took back all of his complaints. If this trend continued, if he could exchange with his Heavenly Favor, he might be able to buy one Perfect God Treasure at best. Although this would still be enough to be incredibly proud of, it definitely wasn''t as good as being able to choose any three he wanted.


    Ryu continued to walk forward until he reached near the end of the hall. The highest grade treasures in this place were Omniscient God Treasures and just from the auras they gave off, despite being his behind glass cases, was enough to shock him. If not for his mental fortitude and strong Dao Heart, just walking to this location would have been impossible.


    Since he had been given such rewards, it was foolish of him to not check what the strongest treasures here had to offer first, or else he would be selling himself short.


    Despite not even seeing the lineup yet, Ryu was certain that at least one of his treasures had to be an escape treasure.


    e¦Áglesnovel`c,om All of these geniuses had methods of escaping death and he was absolutely certain that none of these methods were at the standard of an Omniscient God Treasure. If they could escape with lesser means, Ryu didn''t believe that he could preserve his life a few times with these treasures.


    He wasn''t sure if a God Treasure controlled by a Dao Pedestal Realm expert could help him escape from Sky Gods, but he would have to at least try his best.


    Though he thought this, Ryu wasn''t too optimistic.


    ''Hm?"


    Ryu''s brows jumped before a wide grin spread across his face. It seemed that he was more lucky than he thought. He had never seen such a treasure that be more perfectly tailored for a person.


    As Ryu was grinning, he didn''t notice a subtle pulse of energy flash within him.

 Chapter 1171 Speed

    Ryu''s gaze landed on a delicate pair of wings that could fit in his two palms. Its feathers were entirely transparent and even looked quite silky to just his eyes alone, but with it, there were delicate vein patterns pulsing with silvery energy.


    The pair sat within a glass encasement, separating them from the world and making them seem as though they were an uncountable distance away. Just below this glass case and at the start of the pedestal it sat upon was a name plate.


    Quivering Spectral Wings.


    There wasn''t a hint of explanation beyond this, but Ryu could sense that the name held weight. As he gazed at it more deeply, he began to feel his completed Dao stir and he realized something. This wasn''t an overt test, but it was a test nonetheless.


    The Heavenly Path knew that cultivators could get overwhelmed while having such a selection before them, they might even want to take everything in sight, and that was especially so for Ryu could pick out any three that he wanted.


    While the Heavenly Path had allowed Ryu to do so, that didn''t necessarily mean that he could. For one, the pressure he faced just walking here would have been enough to force the others to their knees, and secondly, if he didn''t have the insight needed to understand these treasures around him and how they functioned, then he would be blind in picking.


    If he let his ego get the best of him and he picked out the best treasures no matter what, he might end up being on the losing end.


    For one, these treasures weren''t children''s toys, if he used them incorrectly, let alone them helping him deal with his enemies, they had the capability of directly killing him.


    And secondly, even if they didn''t kill him, if the treasures became glorified paper weights because he had no idea how to use them, wouldn''t he be cosigning himself to death?


    However, who was Ryu? Maybe at his current strength he wouldn''t be able to see through all of the secrets of these treasures before him, but what good would doing that do him anyway? It would just be showing him abilities he didn''t have the strength to utilize anyway.


    Right now, he had more than enough strength to see through the abilities he could use with his current strength and talent and that was world changing. These Quivering Spectral Wings could very well be the saving grace that he needed.


    As with most winged treasures, there was no doubt that the foundational ability of the Quivering Spectral Wings was increasing speed, and given its name, it was no surprise that it required a strong spatial affinity to use as well.


    According to what Ryu could deduce, this pair of wings, much like the Unbalance Mantra could do for him, could bring forward the bar one needed to reach to be able to enter the void.


    Usually, entering the void was a Transcended Sky God''s ability, however with Saptial affinity, the timeline could be brought forward. Ryu himself would have been able to do it the day he broke into Sky Godhood due to how exceptionally high his Spacetime Soul Nature was, and others could have variable outcomes depending on how deep their own affinity for the element was.


    Of course, considering how exceptionally rare spatial affinity was to begin with, and even further, how difficult it was to have a high affinity in it even after managing to gain such a rare affinity to begin with, the number of people who could move this timeline forward were an exceptionally small portion of this population.


    Yaana was a part of this small population. In fact, her own affinity was so high that she used to spend most of her time lingering in the void and watching Ryu in her first life. Of course, entering the void in Sacrum versus the True Martial World were two completely different feats, but it was still a feat nonetheless.


    What was fascinating about the Quivering Spectral Wings was that it could perform about as well as Ryu''s Spacetime affinity could. Meaning, so long as one had a small amount of Spatial affinity, one could break into the void and travel through it at the Fragmented Sky God Realm as well!


    For Ryu, because his affinity was especially high, if his calculations were correct, so long as he entered the World Sea Realm, he would be able to rely on the Quivering Spectral Wings to enter the void without activating the Unbalance Mantra.


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t sure how accurate his calculations were because they were made with estimates. Right now, he wasn''t quite sure how much greater his strength was with two Dao Pedestals and he also didn''t know what would happen once he started cultivating them in earnest. In addition, he knew too little about the secrets of his original Spiritual Foundation and he also didn''t know what other twists and turns his Chaotic Silk Meridians had for him as he continued his cultivation journey.


    There was a very real possibility that Ryu would be able to accomplish this even before the World Sea Realm, but only time would tell.


    Still, all of this said, what was explained until now wasn''t enough for Ryu to have given such a reaction. Even without the Quivering Spectral Wings, he could enter the void right now, he just had to drain his soul stamina and Focus Qi. What need did he have for such a treasure?


    The answer to that question came back to the original foundation ability of the Quivering Spectral Wings...


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Án?¦Íel Speed.


    While the Quivering Spectral Wings could increase speed normally, it wouldn''t be able to display its truest abilities until one could enter the void... Once one accomplished this, they would be nigh untouchable.


    So long as one entered the void, you would no longer be obstructed by qi and wind pressure, making it exceptionally convenient for travel. In addition to this, the laws were much more lax and could be bent with greater ease.


    If the current Leonel entered the void with this treasure, even a Perfect Sky God wouldn''t be able to catch him, and as his cultivation increased, his speed would increase along with it.

 Chapter 1172 The...

    This was just the tip of the iceberg as well.


    In truth, although only Transcended Sky Gods could enter the void, Sky Gods as low as being in the Fragmented Realm could influence it. This was why Ryu had never thought of using the Unbalance Mantra to escape, the likelihood of success was too low.


    It didn''t matter if only he could enter the void if those Sky Gods could sense him and force his pocket of space to collapse. And, even if they didn''t have the strength to collapse his pocket of space, so long as they could sense him, they could track him until his stamina ran out and he was forced to step out or die within the void as the pocket of space collapsed.


    However, now, Ryu didn''t have to worry about this, so long as he reacted fast enough, escape was no longer a fool''s dream. On top of that, there were contingencies.


    The Quivering portion of the Quivering Spectral name was actually the opposite of what one might think it did. Rather than destabilizing a region, it stabilized it. When one entered the void with the spectral wings, an ability would activate to solidify the pocket of space. Not only would this lessen the stamina drain on the person entering the void, but it would also make it useless for weaker Sky Gods to attack the void as well as their attacks wouldn''t be able to penetrate.


    This meant that not only would Ryu be invincible in speed within the void below the Transcended Sky God Realm, those below that Realm also wouldn''t be able to harm him so long as he entered the void!


    In addition, in the case of an absolute emergency, the Quivering Spectral Wings didn''t have to rely on Ryu entirely at all. In exchange for the treasure becoming dormant for a few days, so long as Ryu was below the Seventh Heaven, and his target was also, he could transport himself to an entirely different plane instantaneously to escape.


    It could be said that this pair of wings were simply too perfect for Ryu. Compared to the life saving methods of the other geniuses, it required more work on Ryu''s part, but its overall value couldn''t even be compared, this was especially so due to the abilities of God Treasures.


    Despite the power of this treasure, the input required on Ryu''s point was very much limited. He could use it at almost no extra cost to his stamina at all so long as his affinities were in line with it. This was the power of God Treasures!


    Ryu reached for the glass case and opened it. Almost instantly, his gaze sharpened.


    The pair of wings seemed to want to fly away however Ryu''s current eyes could see the trajectory of space all too easily. The moment it blinked out of existence, his hand shot forward like a speeding arrow, ripping into the void before pulling out.


    Ryu looked at his palm with a smile on his face, a small pair of wings within them. Although it fluctuated wildly with spatial qi, none of it could hurt Ryu. In fact, it felt quite comfortable.


    Ryu pressed a finger to his forehead and made a small cut. After so long in the True Martial World, he had also learned how to become the master of their treasures.


    A radiant bead of blood came from his forehead and dripped onto the small pair of wings. They quivered once before fusing into Ryu''s arm and rushing up his tattooed arm, up his bicep and toward his back.


    Ryu blinked with a hint of surprise, not because of the fusion of the treasure, but because he could feel that his Heavenly Chaos Body was baptizing it with Essence and Chaos Qi. Ryu wasn''t entirely sure what this meant, but he could feel that the Quivering Spectral Wings were truly becoming a part of him, he could even feel it interacting with his Northern Heavenly Wind and Spacetime affinity.


    Ryu stood in silence for a while. He felt that maybe there were some things he didn''t quite understand about the evolution of his Bone Structure. His current body didn''t have the strength to cause large changes to an Omniscient God Treasure, but what if he had been an Omniscient Sky God already? What would that have meant?


    Ryu''s gaze flickered before he threw it to the back of his mind.


    The Quivering Spectral Wings had called out to him nearly immediately, but scanning through the rest of the treasures, his next choice wasn''t nearly as obvious. Now that he had one escape method, he wouldn''t take another. Although it would help with his survivability, if he gave up powerful opportunities just because he was too worried about preserving his life then he would no longer be Ryu Tatsuya.


    If these wings weren''t enough for him to remain alive then he might as well stop cultivating now and accept death. He wouldn''t allow himself to grow so pathetic.


    There were many weapon treasures around Ryu, all of which he could use thanks to his Dao, but he ultimately struck off weapon treasures from his list.


    Right now, Ryu was leaning more toward auxiliary treasures, he wasn''t even keen on picking out something like an armor either for the same reasons he didn''t want to pick out another escape treasure. What he needed right now was something that could help him bring out his full potential as quickly as possible, and potentially unlock potential he didn''t know he had or never had to begin with.


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Án?¦Íel Every since he had baptized his bloodlines with Mortal Qi, he could vaguely feel the origin of his Bloodlines and the memories within them, but even to this point, he hadn''t been able to take full advantage of that, and that was despite unlocking his Bloodlines to the equivalent level they had been on Sacrum already.


    Ryu felt that there had to be something that helped him.


    As his eyes scanned through the Omniscient Treasures, though, he didn''t find anything that called out to him clearly.


    Ryu sighed somewhat, it was probably inappropriate to hope that he could be handed everything he needed on a silver platter. Plus, if he did some experimenting with Essence, there was no telling what results he could have, maybe he wouldn''t even need this treasure.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as it landed on a... tome?


    It hadn''t really called out to him before. Even now, it looked quite plain, it didn''t seem to have any hyper specific affinities and it was very malleable.


    The Compendium.


    That was its name, nothing more, nothing less.


    ... Interesting...

 Chapter 1173 The Compendium

    Even without reaching for the God Treasure, Ryu instinctively knew that it was empty. It was no wonder he hadn''t sensed anything special from it to begin with, it simply wasn''t that type of treasure. However, its usefulness, or the reason for its Omniscient Grade, still wasn''t obvious even after acknowledging this.


    At a surface layer, The Compendium was an encyclopedia, but it was one that was empty until it was fed with a source. Essentially, the ability of this God Treasure was to take a sample of an object, whether it was a Spiritual Herb, a Spiritual Ore, or any other natural treasure, and tag it. It could then connect with the stream of Faith connected to this natural treasure and compile all information that could be found on it and summarize its secrets from most important and foundational, to the most secretive and profound.


    How in depth the information was depended on how much of the item you were willing to give up. A single piece of a natural treasure might only get you the foundational energy, but if you were willing to sacrifice the whole thing, the information you would receive was obviously greater.


    Of course, this was only if you wanted information immediately. If you were more patient, you could allow The Compendium to passively absorb the energy of target and slowly tease apart the answers you were looking for.


    The more Ryu stared at it, the more information he received, and the stronger the fire in his eyes grew. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.


    Couldn''t he use The Compendium to unlock all the secrets of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, then?


    Ryu closed his eyes and exhaled a breath, calming himself before he shook his head.


    The Compendium was an Omniscient Grade Treasure, obviously this was a sign of its limitations. As expected, when Ryu looked deeper, The Compendium could only look through Faith and Karmic Strings up to an Omniscient Grade, anything beyond was likewise beyond it.


    Ryu didn''t know much about his Chaotic Silk Meridians, but what he did know with absolute certainty was the fact that it was beyond the Omniscient Grade. It was a disappointing let down from a high he enjoyed for just a few moments, but if things were so easy, he would be far too lucky.


    Even though the Compendium had such limitations, Ryu felt that it was incredibly valuable to him. The reason was simple: his Bloodlines.


    Starlight''s words had been annoying, but they had some valuable intel to them. Setting aside the fact that Ryu wasn''t sure how to make use of his Bloodlines to a maximal degree, just clues on how to unseal it to a greater extent was invaluable to him.


    While The Compendium wouldn''t be able to bring his Bloodlines to a greater height, what it could do was help him brighten the path up to the Omniscient Grade.


    What Ryu wanted The Compendium to do was to sharpen the vague memories in his mind. He felt that by feeding the Compendium his blood while focusing on certain memories in his blood stream would enlighten him to their secrets, allowing him to unlock the shackles on his body faster than he would be able to otherwise.


    Setting this aside, if The Compendium was used cleverly, its uses were far beyond what its description seemed to suggest. When it was boiled down, the real ability of The Compendium was to peer into Fate and read it. An ability like that was invaluable.


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Án?¦Íel For example, if Ryu gave it someone''s item or a piece of their body, he would able to find their location through The Compendium. Beyond that, he could probably measure out what their future intentions were, or if he was talking to them, he could probably tell if they were lying or not. A single drop of blood from an enemy would probably reveal all of their abilities to Ryu, in that case, "trump cards" would have no worth before him at all.


    Ryu, as the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, was very used to peering into Karma and making use of it to his advantage, so when he saw The Compendium, while anyone else might take its abilities at face value, he saw hundreds of steps ahead.


    In fact, even what was listed here was too few.


    If Ryu found a treasure, he could probably feed a bit of it to The Compendium and use it to find more treasures like it. If he had clues about a Ruin, he could feed the clues he had gathered to The Compendium to find the tracks to its entrance. In fact, with Ryu''s affinity, he was certain that he could even use The Compendium to sense others trying to track his own Karma and sever it ahead of time.


    In any other Dao Pedestal Realm existence''s hand, this God Treasure was truly just a glorified encyclopedia, but in Ryu''s hands, it was so much more than that.


    Without hesitation, Ryu reached forward and removed The Compendium from its glass casing. Unlike the Quivering Spectral Wings, The Compendium didn''t fight Ryu at all. In fact, it seemed to take the opportunity to move toward Ryu of its own accord.


    Ryu could vaguely sense warmth coming from The Compendium, almost as though it understood him as intimately as he understood it. He could somewhat understand The Compendium.


    When it was created, it was probably truly meant to be an encyclopedia, even its creator didn''t realize what they had on their hands and foolishly continued to use it like that. Although The Compendium wanted to be more, to do more, it was just a treasure and could only rely on its owner to bring out its full potential.


    Somehow, The Compendium could feel that Ryu saw more of it than anyone else ever had, it could feel that Ryu would use it properly, so how could it not be eager.


    Ryu smiled lightly and pierced his brows once allowing it to drop onto The Compendium''s pearly white and gold engraved cover.


    The Compendium glowed for a moment before it turned into a blaze of light and entered Ryu''s brows.


    Almost instantly, a familiar rush of energy surged as The Compendium appeared in Ryu''s Spiritual Sea, floating silently as it greedily absorbed what Essence and Chaos Qi entered.

 Chapter 1174 Last Choice

    Although Ryu hadn''t been surprised by the Quivering Spectral Wings entering his body, he was surprised by The Compendium entering his Spiritual Sea, and that was because he hadn''t sensed the aura of a Mental Realm Treasure on it. It seemed to have broken convention and chosen this location for itself based on its own personal preference.


    God Treasures definitely had intelligence of their own, so this alone was surprising, but the choice was, especially because Ryu could vaguely feel that The Compendium was influencing his gaze much like his soul did. It seemed to have sensed an opportunity for itself there.


    At the same time, much like the Quivering Spectral Wings, it greedily soaked up the energies of Ryu''s body, seemingly not being able to get enough. And to The Compendium''s surprise, its new owner didn''t do anything to stop its actions, even when its pace of absorption increased.


    That was when The Compendium learned something very shocking. When it came to energy expenditure, its new owner was like a bottomless sea, no matter how much it took, there was always more to take.


    At that moment, Ryu realized something as well. By relying on Essence, The Compendium was actually able to speed up its passive scanning ability through a unique method. This made it almost unnecessary for Ryu to ever sacrifice an entire treasure to it.


    ''Interesting..."


    Ryu turned his mind from The Compendium. Now wasn''t the time to cultivate. Setting the fact he was still somewhat worried about his Focus Qi, this wasn''t an appropriate place to begin cultivating. Although that mysterious voice hadn''t said as much, he knew that there was highly likely to be a time limit here and he still had one more treasure to pick out.


    Ryu, though, was quite relaxed, he felt very satisfied with the two he had picked out until now.


    For his third treasure, he preferred something that could help him break the shackles of his eyes faster, but after the first look, he already felt that was impossible, there wasn''t another treasure similar to The Compendium lurking around the corner.


    At the same time, Ryu felt that the slow progression of his eyes unsealing was occurring on purpose, almost like a mechanism of his body protecting itself. This seemed to explain why it slowly unsealed with his cultivation upgrades and even when his bodily strength increased.


    If he to unseal his eyes faster, then he just had to increase his strength faster and he would be able to see his wives again soon.


    Ryu began to look around again. If there weren''t any auxiliary items that called out to him, then a defensive treasure or an offensive one wouldn''t be too bad. He wasn''t entirely opposed to it, he had just wanted to target what he felt was more important first.


    Maybe something for Little Silk? For some reason, Little Silk had been quite dormant since she swallowed all of those Sovereign Grade beasts.


    ¦Ñ¦Á§ád¦Á- n?¦Íe|`c,0m In truth, the current Little Silk was far inferior to Ryu. Sovereign Grade was exceptional on the First Heaven, but entering the Fourth Heaven, to say it lagged behind was to put it nicely. Although Ryu believed in his mother, it was hard to believe that the secret she left behind on Little Silk was exaggerated to the point it could help him even on the Fourth Heaven.


    Little Silk had helped him enough until now and it could be said that the little guy was the reason he was able to gain a firm hold of the First Heaven to begin with. If he could find a way to help her in the future, he would, but for now he felt that his progression was more important.


    He threw that idea to the back of his mind and continued to look.


    Maybe something to speed up his cultivation speed? The Dao Pedestal Realm was and final opportunity to grow one''s Spiritual Foundation, so it was quite important. Plus, the Cosmic Seed Realm and its Cosmic Seeds would lay the foundation for one''s Godhood, these were fairly important milestones. Having a treasure to help them wouldn''t be too bad.


    But once again, Ryu shook his head. Treasures that helped speed up cultivation often came with drawbacks. Plus, it was unlikely that his path forward would remain conventional considering his Chaotic Silk Meridians, so it might end up being useless to him.


    Maybe something to help evolve his Realm Heart?


    This idea lingered with Ryu for much longer. After his Dao entered the Cosmic Grade, he felt its progress hit rock bottom.


    Of course, this made sense. This was an in-between world sandwiched between the Third and Fourth Heaven, the laws here were too incomplete to allow the fast progression of an Ancient Dao. And because his Realm Heart was still in the Immortal Grades, it was impossible for it to help him.


    Suddenly Ryu''s mind flashed. Chaos Qi had never been able to help his Realm Heart evolve, but what about Essence?


    Ryu flooded Essence toward his Realm Heart after this thought, but he was almost disappointed.


    He shook his head. If Chaos Qi couldn''t do it, Essence shouldn''t be able to either, he had pretty much already expected this. It had to be remembered a Realm Heart a fledgling world, it was perfectly balanced, it was a Combination of all energies!


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat when he suddenly had this thought and he began to pour both Chaos Qi and Essence into his Realm Heart. This time, his Realm Heart didn''t directly reject the qi and even began to make slow progress forward.


    Ryu felt ecstatic. This was much slower than absorbing a Godhood, but that much was obvious. At this pace, it would probably take him a few days to evolve his Realm Heart into the lower Cosmic Grades, but this was so very worth it. Now he didn''t have to worry about hunting Sky Gods for the time being.


    ''Excellent.''


    Ryu almost forgot that he had a third treasure to pick until he suddenly paused on one particular item. It didn''t particularly feel like a treasure, but it was rather an orb...


    ''It''ll be you.''


    Evolution Orb.


    It was very simple in its function. One could place their treasures within it and the orb would nurture it to grow.


    Ryu need this treasure. As someone who could forge his own treasures, it was almost unnecessary, especially since it couldn''t evolve the treasures he had just received past the Omniscient Grade.


    However, Ryu refused to switch his grandfather''s bow for another one. He would definitely allow it to see the summit with him.


    The most important thing to an archer were his eyes... his grandfather had told him that again and again.


    To Ryu, his grandfather''s bow was exactly that, the lingering remnants of his Grandpa Kunan''s gaze.


    He would bring it to oversee the world.


    Like this, Ryu made his last choice.

 Chapter 1175 Hidden Test

    Ryu held the orb in his hand for a while. Unsurprisingly, it greedily absorbed the Chaos Qi and Essence within him. But unlike the other two, the results of this were nearly immediate.


    His grandfather''s bow, which was on the inside, was wrapped by the glow.


    From the beginning, his grandfather''s bow was at the Ancestral Grade of Sacrum. However, here, that did mean much. In fact, it was weaker than many Earth Grade treasures. But after just a single breath of time within the orb, it shed those shackles and entered the true Ancestral Grade.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed when he saw this. In an instant, this bow had become his best weapon by a large margin, and it seemed that with just an extra few minutes, it would enter the Fragmented Grade.


    This much shouldn''t be too surprising. The materials the bow was constructed out of were, indeed, of the Ancestral Grade and even of the Origin Grade, the issue was that they had been baptized under Sacrum''s law, as lacked the complete laws needed to the True Martial World''s standards.


    However, with the presence of both Essence and Chaos, not to mention the guiding hand of the evolution orb, this weakness was almost instantly handled before it began to grow it to a new level. This was an Omniscient Grade God Treasure at the end of the day. Evolving a treasure with this sort of priming to the Fragmented Grade was as easy as breathing for it. It probably wouldn''t even begin to struggle until it came time to raise it to the Transcended God Grade.


    Ryu nodded once and let the treasure fuse with his body. It seemed that it was time to leave.


    **


    At this moment, or it could be said that this had been the case for months already, the Fourth Heaven was in chaos. This was because of one simple reason: news that a Sect had primed itself to transcend the Third Heaven''s barrier to the Fourth Heaven had spread like wildfire.


    Unlike process of raising through the first three levels, or even through the to Sixth Heavens, one couldn''t casually decide they wanted to progress and act as they pleased. Instead, it was necessary to prove yourself through the Heavenly Path first.


    The obvious question, though, was how could a Sect go about doing this especially since the Heavenly Path seemed to be designed for the younger generation? And the answer was precisely in that. A Sect had to rely on their younger generation to pave a path for them


    When such a request was sent in, the Heavenly Path would begin a second test, one that was covert and under the surface. This would test the skills of the geniuses the Sect or Clan had sent in to measure whether or not they had reached the minimum standard of the Fourth Heaven.


    Unfortunately, while the process of this test was supposed to be secretive, with the cheating methods of the upper Heavens even allowing them to suppress the Daos of others, how could they not have a method of knowing much? only thing they didn''t know was which Sect would be coming forward.


    The commotion wasn''t small. It had been too long since anyone had dared to do this. While it wasn''t guaranteed that their disciples would reach the appropriate level, just the audacity alone was enough to infuriate the powers of the Fourth Heaven.


    Unfortunately for them, they had no idea where the Sect was choosing to settle down. If they did, they would have probably surrounded the region already, prepared to blast them to nothingness the moment they took a single step forward.


    Even the various Clans and Sects primed themselves, ready to crush anyone and anything foreign that entered their territories.


    The only region that was relatively calm was the central region as they felt that had correctly assumed that no new blood would dare to encroach upon their territory, it was so far beyond the realms of reason that they didn''t even put up their guard.


    That said, that didn''t mean that these Clans and Sects had no methods of dealing with this new Sect that thought too much of itself. While the location of a Sect''s ascent was unknown and chosen by the Sect itself, what wasn''t random was the exit of the Heavenly Path.


    If things followed the pattern of the past, even if this Sect passed, it should be just barely. This meant that the disciples they sent in should be their absolute best. If they were slaughtered the moment they took a single step out, that Sect would suffer a devastating blow they might never recover from.


    Due to fear of this, the Sect would definitely have to send powerful experts to the central region to protect their disciples, and by then, they would suffer even greatly.


    In the the participants of the Heavenly Path would be geniuses of the First, Second Third Heaven. But this time, geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heaven were participating as well. This meant that these Sects and Clans had sent powerhouses of their own down.


    Any disciple that could be sent to the lower Heavens for the sake of the Convergence had an status, so the powerhouses that were sent down to retrieve them weren''t weak in the slightest. In fact, because these powers knew this, they would send even stronger powerhouses than normal for both the sake of face and as a display of power.


    It could be said that this was the absolute most foolish time to think of ascending.


    This led to an odd situation where experts of the Fourth and Fifth Heaven casually chatting to one another without a care in the world and ignoring everything around them, and yet also being fully prepared to crush any sort of dissent.


    And at that moment, fluctuations of Heavenly Favor began to move and quake. The phantom of the ancient cube appeared, before collapsing into a blackhole.

 Chapter 1176 Chit Chat

    The powerhouses frowned. Usually, the phantom of the cube would reveal the new ranking, but this time it directly collapsed before it could even begin to solidify. At that moment, the idle chit chat faded and everyone looked toward the center of the plaza as one.


    However, even though the blackhole had appeared, there was no movement even after several minutes.


    "What is going on?" A voice echoed.


    "What? Is the mighty Elizaren feeling anxious?" A laughing voice echoed to the side.


    Elizaren was a man who very clearly exuded a powerful aura, even if he denied being a Sky God, only a fool would take his words at face value. What was especially important about him, though, was the fact that he had a head of radiant gold hair and piercing green eyes. It was clear he was from the same Clan as Vie and his younger brother, the Ashmen Clan.


    Elizaren threw a glance over the speaker but didn''t say anything. It was either he was better than his junior at feigning calm and civility, or this was truly his personality. At the very least, he didn''t seem intent on using a smile to fake his happiness like Vie had.


    "Oh my, no answer? Tsk, tsk."


    The man who had spoken looked eerily similar to Akura, a descendant of the Fire Giant demons, though he seemed to have spotty scales. This was, of course, the Draco Race. While they had nothing to do with dragons, they seemed to love naming themselves and their techniques off of things that sounded similar.


    "Come now, gentleman. There''s no need to fight."


    A man with a large belly stood out to speak. It was hard to tell whether he was a merchant or a buddha. On the one hand, his body was flooded with jewelry, heavy chains, tons of golden bracelets and rings, he even had a gem right in the middle of his forehead. And yet on top of all of that his head was shaved clean, he had a staff in one hand and rolled prayer beads in the other.


    It was quite funny to see such an interaction, since this was almost exactly how the interaction between their juniors-Via, Akura and Mano-had gone.


    The only difference was that while these powerhouses of the Fifth Heaven spoke, those of the Fourth remained eerily silent, unwilling to say anything that might offend these bigwigs. While it was the case that the gap between the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens were far smaller than the gaps of the lower and higher Heavens, there was still a hint of hesitation to be found with.


    Just when the group was jeering at one another, the blackhole trembled and a figure was thrown out, coughing out heavy mouthfuls of blood.


    The surrounding cultivators frowned. It was a young woman who had clearly been stripped and humiliated. But while she was treated in this way, there wasn''t much of a show to see as her skin and flesh was all a mangled mess. It was clear that while she had been treated as such, her innocence hadn''t been tarnished.


    Even so, the surrounding elders frowned. If this was a daughter of their Sect or Clan, just the fact she was treated like this would be a slap to all of their faces. Although women had many disadvantages in the martial world, when it came to who was protected the most, they were most definitely at the forefront. Even the lowest ranked female in a Sect or Clan wouldn''t be allowed to treated like this by outsiders.


    However, after a several sighed a breath of relief, realizing that they didn''t recognize this person at all. It was only then they began to look around, wondering who this woman might be tied to, and even beyond that, could have possibly happened to her.


    Suddenly, a shadow moved and enveloped the girl before vanishing.


    The group was surprised. Of course, this wasn''t because of the actions themselves as it made sense that such a person would want secrecy. But they were more shocked by the speed and methods. Also, this person seemed to have been hiding themselves from the very beginning.


    The spectators looked toward one another, seeing the odd look in each other''s eyes before turning away as the blackhole pulsed once more.


    To their surprise, yet another beaten and ragged individual popped out. The gazes of everyone flickered. The Heavenly Path was a cruel place, and that was especially so for the last phase. But this one at a time thing the Heavenly Path seemed to be doing right now was more than just a little bit odd.


    Usually, a large group would be spit out first, and only then would the highest contenders come out one by one. This was because only the best would be able enter the reward of the Heavenly Path, and as such they would exit one by one at the end after exchanging their Heavenly Favor.


    But for some reason it was in... reverse this time?


    "Vie?!"


    Elizaren''s brows shot up. He waved a hand and the injured Vie was immediately brought to his feet and forward.


    The shock in Elizaren''s heart was palpable. The only reason he could think of for Vie ending up like this is because he was ganged up on by the other geniuses, and considering Vie''s charisma, the only way for that to happen was if he ended up with a world shaking treasure. So in reality, although Elizaren looked concerned and his face was ugly, he was actually gleeful inside.


    He acted quickly and looked like a concerned elder, so no one reacted faster than he Once Vie was in his range of influence, there was nothing more to worry about and he laughed like a madman on the inside.


    However, after Elizaren got a hold of Vie, his expression changed and flickered.


    If Vie had been ganged up on, he should have had the auras of several attacks on him...


    So why was there only one?


    Just as Elizaren was about to try and heal Vie to question him, there was another sputter and another young man stumbled out.


    "Akura?!" The elder of Draco Race reacted quickly as well. But after seeing Vie''s appearance, he was much less optimistic about his own descendant receiving a godly or reward.


    The expressions of the Fifth Heaven elders turned cold. What had happened, exactly?


    The trembled once again and the geniuses began to come out at a faster and faster pace.

 Chapter 1177 Losers

    One after another, geniuses in various states of injury were forced out. While this made the likes of Elizaren and the Draco Race elder, feel much better, when they saw the expressions of these geniuses, their own became much more serious. They didn''t see not a single happy expression anywhere, it was as though... they were all losers?


    What was more odd was that they couldn''t sense any God Treasures coming from these youths either. While it was possible to hide with various methods, it didn''t seem logical that they would have all used such methods, especially since they should have just received such a reward.


    For youths that hadn''t seen much of life yet, they would still be waving around their first Fragmented God Treasure around. With their elders here, it wasn''t as though they had to worry about having their treasures snatched. Plus, considering the status of the Sky Gods present, they wouldn''t flinch in the face of a Fragmented Treasure to begin with, there was simply no need to be so cautious.


    This seemed to imply something a step beyond this as well. Clearly, these Sky Gods didn''t make the assumption that these God Treasures could fuse with one''s body either. It was obvious that Ryu was quite special in this regard.


    The more of this the elders saw, the more confused and somewhat anxious they became.


    "Vie, boy, stop pretending to be out cold, do you think you can fool my eyes?" Elizaren hissed a qi line message into Vie''s ears, startling him awake.


    Originally, Elizaren had thought that maybe Vie was pretending to be out cold so that it would be more convenient for Elizaren to take him away without being questioned by the others. But as the situation unfolded,


    Elizaren was beginning to think that Vie had only done this for the sake of saving face and avoiding embarrassment. This left Elizaren with a belly full of rage he was just a step away from taking out on this junior of his.


    Vie had left their Clan with a great deal of competence even as a small child, how had he come back so useless?!


    Some felt that it was a mistake to send their youth out like this without guidance in what should have been their most formative years. Elizaren had disagreed with them because he didn''t believe that any real experts could be formed in a greenhouse. But seeing the state of Vie now, he was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong from the beginning.


    Vie startled awake without much of a choice. Facing his senior''s gaze, the embarrassment of what happened seemed to echo through his very bones.


    To the side, Akura was in an even worse state than Vie was, one because he was far more injured, and secondly because Hulidyr''s methods were far more savage and violent.


    Without a choice, the two could only explain what had happened. At the same time, the same situation was occurring all across the plaza. Even though there was a ton of noise, for some reason, it felt too quiet at the same time, a suffocating pressure radiating out as the elders of the Fifth Heaven realized what had happened one after another.


    "... You''re telling me that you didn''t have enough Heavenly Favor to trade for anything?"


    "I... I don''t know what happened, but they didn''t even send me to the treasure exchange location. One moment I was on the Heavenly Path, and the next moment I was here, just as injured. Everything I had worked for seemed to have just been snatched without rhyme or reason..." Vie explained in a low voice.


    Elizaren''s expression turned incomparably ugly. Compared to all of the other opportunities Vie might have gained on the First, Second and Third Heaven, there was no doubt that the Heavenly Path should have been the biggest boon. The fact he got nothing out of it basically meant that this entire experiment had been useless. Their geniuses had wasted almost a decade of their growth for nothing in return.


    "THERA!"


    The voice came out in a booming cadence, causing the entire plaza to rumble. The sturdiness of the Fourth Heaven couldn''t be even remotely compared to the Third, and yet the wild fluctuations in space seemed to be hinting toward an existential collapse.


    Hulidyr''s gaze was tinged with a wild fury as it landed on a confused beauty.


    This woman was truly gorgeous beyond compare. As a Sky God, her body had been refined to absolute perfection, but the tinge of demonic air surrounding her only made her all the more enticing. The pair of folded black wings on her back gave her an exotic air, almost akin to a fallen angel, and yet she was no less elegant for it.


    This woman was Thera of the Dream Asura Race. Since all the others had sent representatives, how could the Dream Asura Race not do the same for their two little princesses? In fact, Thera was the elder sister of Aantha and likewise the elder cousin of Mae. If those little two girls were the crown jewels of this generation, then Thera was most definitely the crown jewel of her own having stepped into the Sky God Realms at such a young age. At that moment, Thera had just been waiting patiently for her little sister and cousin to appear when she suddenly found herself being roared out. As a gorgeous woman, she was obviously not used to such treatment, but even if she was, given her status as a Sky God, there were very few who dared to be so rude to her. She couldn''t help but frown.


    When she saw that it was a member of the Draco Race, her frown deepened and her disdain intensified.


    "What do you want, Hulidyr?"


    "What do I want?! Don''t you think you owe me an explanation?!"


    Thera''s frown deepened once again. While everyone else had juniors to explain what had happened, Thera didn''t have such a thing, obviously, so she had no what had occurred.


    Hulidyr sneered. "Didn''t your Dream Asura Race plan all of this out very well? You didn''t even announce that your Princess has a Dao Companion despite her status, doesn''t that make it obvious that you were scheming something?!"


    Thera was bewildered.


    The only true Princess of their race right now was Mae. She knew her little cousin too well, how could she not know if Mae had a Dao Companion or not? Plus, when Mae had left their Clan, she had been barely over 10 years old. Right now she was probably approaching 20 years old, but that was still far too young to pick a Dao Companion, especially considering the drawback of pairing with their Race''s women.


    There were too many young geniuses who never made something of themselves in the future. Such people were rampant and could end up swallowed by a Dream Aura woman''s Primordial Yin, so it was important for their women to wait.


    If Mae had a boy toy, Thera wouldn''t care, their race was far looser with such things. Plus, she was indeed already at the age where she would start wanting such things. However, the words Dao Companion necessitated a heavier meaning and assumed a fusion of the souls. This was a completely different meaning from a one or two night stint.


    "Don''t speak nonsense to me, Hulidyr. If you want a reason to fight, just take out your weapon. Do you think I fear trash like you?" Thera replied coldly.


    Surprisingly, Hulidyr only laughed wildly when Thera said this.


    "Look around you! Do you see how many have the same question?! Your Princess'' little husband ruined all of their futures!"


    Hulidyr was "certain" that this was a plot of the Dream Asura Race. If Ryu was trash then he would probably make fun of Mae for having no eyes. However, because Ryu was so powerful, it felt suspicious, suspicious to the point he concluded that this must have been a plot of the Dream Asura Race.


    There were many Clans and Sects on the Fifth Heaven with the strength to enter the Sixth Heaven but didn''t due to various reasons. Among them, the Dream Asura Race was definitely near the top. Something like this might be the perfect flip in momentum they needed to make that final push.


    Pairing their Princess with such a paragon seemed like the perfect plan, and it was especially telling that while so many had been ejected, Mae and Aantha still hadn''t come out.


    Thera''s expression changed and she scanned the region, only to find that there were several individuals that were looking at her with unfriendly Her brow couldn''t help but furrow once again, but this time, there was a hint of confusion and a bit of worry.


    The Dream Asura Race had no need to fear anyone, but getting on the bad side of so many powerful powers at once was bad, very bad. Those two girls had always been mischievous, especially her little sister, but this was a greater problem than what they normally stirred up.


    Just then, the blackhole pulsed again and people began to be ejected in large groups. Some were in groups of dozens, and others came out in hundreds.


    At that moment, a large number of Radiant Star Sect members were ejected and they gasped for air.


    They had done it, they had finally done it.


    Among them there was Pibin, maybe the only one of them Ryu knew by had lost many brothers, but those that had survived had come back far sharper.


    What they didn''t expect, though, was that the moment they did, several suffocating auras would force them directly to their knees.

 Chapter 1178 Giggles

    The disciples of the Radiant Star Sect immediately panicked. They had just escaped a hellish scape, so how could they expect that just when they thought they were finally safe, they''d be attacked in this way, and by individuals they couldn''t even see through the cultivation realms no less.


    Pibin''s head whipped around, hints of fear coloring his eyes. He didn''t recognize any of the people who were standing around him, but what he did see that without fail, all of them were standing in the skies. Although he couldn''t quite think straight at the moment, he was still sharp enough to know that he was on the Fourth Heaven now, so he was also sharp enough to realize that anyone who could fly here was at least a Perfect Sky God.


    Why were Perfect Sky Gods surrounding them? Not even a single one of them was a Sky God to begin with, and even if they were, a Perfect Sky God would scoff in the face of a Fragmented Sky God, how could they ever care enough to surround them in large numbers like this?


    Of course, large was relative. There were only three of them. But to Pibin, even one was too many, let alone three.


    The furious Fifth Heaven elders seemed to look over at this time as well. After a moment, they seemed to understand that these few disciples should be from the Sect that planned to move into the Fourth Heaven. While they hadn''t personally sensed the aura of that Sect, these experts had, so it wasn''t surprising that they could pick out the disciples.


    What was surprising, though, was the fact they had sent their Perfect Sky Gods immediately. Even so, while the powerhouses of the Fourth Heaven didn''t dare to casually interrupt the conversation of the Fifth Heaven experts, they didn''t necessarily fear them either. They wouldn''t choose being overly polite over dealing with a threat that pointed a blade at them all.


    The disciples of the Radiant Star Sect grit their teeth as they trembled in fear.


    Although they had had a huge boost to their confidence recently, not everyone could maintain their usual air before Sky Gods. Even if they had beeen geniuses of the Sixth Heaven, before this absolute gap in strength, they would have reacted the very same way.


    "Are little ants looking at us with some defiance, or am I imagining that?" One of the three Perfect Sky Gods chortled.


    "Enough games, just kill them directly," another replied.


    "Why kill them so early? Obviously an example needs to be made. With this new era coming around, it''s clear that a few have gotten a bit too confident for their own good. We need an example so that I don''t have to waste my cultivation time on this bullshit again."


    The words of the last Perfect Sky God seemed to sway the second.


    These three represented the strongest of the Fourth Heaven.


    One were a robe of blades, clearly reminiscent of the petite Ranna. This was a Sky God of the Infinity Blade Sect, Sky God Syriah, a woman with a sharp gaze and an even sharper tongue.


    The second was a bald older middle-aged man wielding a rod. He seemed to bear faint resemblance to Zed and his Dao seemed to follow the same path as well. This was a Sky God of the Resonant Bo Sect, Sky God Sage.


    The third was a man wearing silver and gold robes. He wasn''t a representer of a Sect or Clan, and in truth, he wasn''t tethered to the Fourth Heaven either as he roamed between the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens...


    This man was none other than Saint Rinushka.


    Just as the three were about to discuss how this matter would be dealt with, the blackhole pulsed once more and chaos seemed a measure away from breaking loose.


    Aantha stepped out from the portal, a giddy smile on her face. This was in large contrast to the others who had come out earlier. Almost the instant they saw this, the elders of the Fifth Heaven were furious and they seemed to side Hulidyr''s theory all the more.


    Fifth Heaven elders reached out with their palms.


    "Little girl, come over here. We have some questions for you!"


    "You are?!"


    Thera''s temper immediately flared. She didn''t know what really happened on the inside, but how could she let these angry old men lay a hand on her little sister?


    While the elders had reached out casually, Thera lashed out with all her the skies darkening as it was blanketed by the afterimages of what looked like a whip. It moved so fast that it formed a net above, shredding apart space as it repelled the palms of the Fifth Heaven elders that had reached forward.


    Only fools were surprised that Thera had dared to attack all of them at once. These Sky Gods were used to doing as they pleased, but wasn''t Thera a Sky God as well? They were living a foolish dream if they thought that she''d allow them to place a hand on her little sister.


    Aantha only seemed to realize the danger she was in now as she paled somewhat. She had just been on cloud nine, how had things become like this?


    Luckily, one of her elder sister''s whip afterimages gently wrapped around her waist and pulled her over.


    The commotion seemed to cause the atmosphere to freeze and no one dared to make rash movements. Even the Fourth Heaven experts who had been ready to deal with the Radiant Star Sect disciples narrowed their gazes. The logistics of this matter was becoming more and more complicated. If dealt with the Radiant Star Sect disciples now, it would be overshadowed by whatever battle was happening between the Fifth Heaven experts. How would that be sending a message, then?


    Aantha patted chest when she landed by her elder sister and she exhaled a few breaths before seemingly going back to normal.


    "Attack a little girl like me, don''t you bunch of old fogies have any shame?!"


    With her sister as her backer, Aantha immediately began to berate the Fifth Heaven Sky Gods. She was a little princess and had lived her life in leisure, how could she not be furious? It was fine if she was attacked by members of her generation, but when had the older generation become useless enough to attack a little girl like her?


    Thera smiled bitterly, watching her little sister make an already bad situation worse. But she didn''t stop Aantha either. Thera had been in the martial world for long enough to know that showing weakness was how you got taken advantage of. The more Aantha was like this, the more the others would hesitate.


    "Little girl!" Hulidyr nearly popped a blood vessel.


    Aantha scurried about her elder sister. The roar of a Sky God wasn''t something she wanted to face.


    Thera waved a hand and the sound waves dispersed.


    "I advise you to control yourself, Hulidyr. This is the last time I will warn you."


    "Hoho, I''m very much afraid," Hulidyr said sarcastically. "I won''t be leaving here until you explain what happened to our young geniuses! If the Dream Asuras don''t have an answer for me, you can wait for the declaration of war!"


    Hearing this, rather than being afraid, Thera actually sneered, her pretty features distorting into a malevolent grin that chilled the air.


    "With you? Since when did the likes of you speak for the Draco Race? And even if all of you pointed your blades toward my Dream Asura race, do you think we would fear you? If we retreat into Dream Mountain, what can you do to us? By then, you could just wait obediently for our attack!"


    The Sky Gods of the Fifth Heaven fell into silence when they heard this. Clearly, they had some reservations about this as well.


    Aantha snorted. "Why are all these old fogies so mad?"


    Hulidyr his teeth. Thera was one matter, but he really wanted to slap this little girl to death with a single pat.


    Thera turned toward Aantha, seemingly wanting answers herself.


    "The say that Little Mae''s.... Dao Companion harmed their geniuses and stopped them from getting Heavenly Favor. Is this true?"


    "Oh?" Aantha blinked. She had entered the tower by then so she hadn''t seen Ryu strip the remaining geniuses of their luck, but she eventually nodded. "I don''t know about stopping them from getting Heavenly Favor, but big bro did beat them all up."


    Thera blinked. Aantha was already calling him big bro? Thera knew her little sister too well, even her own boyfriends of the past were run to the point of insanity by her, and they had all been Sky Gods of elite ilk.


    Before she could ask more, though, Aantha continued with a laugh.


    "You should have seen them, that Vie and that ugly Akura have always been chasing after big sis. Vie and his little brother both had to use their escape treasures or else they would have died. And then Akura said some disgusting stuff about big sis and big bro got mad and almost killed him even though he had just gotten out of a big battle.


    "You should have seen it!"


    Aantha giggled as she animatedly told her stories as though she wouldn''t be satisfied until the world burnt to the ground. Even though the faces of the surrounding Sky Gods only became darker and darker, while the young geniuses felt like finding a place to bury their heads, she still continued without a care in the world.

 Chapter 1179 Oath

    [Sorry everyone, my mom''s birthday is today (well, it''s actually on tuesday, but monday is a holiday in canada so we''re celebrating it today instead) so I''ll be uploading today as though it were a weekend]


    Aantha''s antics were something that Thera was very much used to, plus considering the fact that she wasn''t'' the target of the teasing and she didn''t mind it at all. What she was more concerned about was Aantha''s confirmation that Mae had a Dao Companion. Since when? And how had that happened?


    "Mae really has a Dao Companion? How? When?" Thera asked with a frown, cutting Aantha''s animated story off.


    "Ah... About this..." Aantha stumbled over her words, not quite knowing what to say. Could she even tell the truth?


    Mae and Ryu had entered a ruin together as strangers, then left half a day later as Dao Companions. If she told the truth, wouldn''t that make her big sis seem a bit too cheap? So, Aantha decided to embellish the story.


    "Ah, right, big bro met big sis on the Second Heaven after his Sect rose from the First Heaven. You know big sis, she was very cold and didn''t really care about anyone, but big bro fell in love at first sight and pursued her. Back then there was a war and big bro was basically the only vanguard of his Sect. He had only been in the Immortal Ring Realm, but he was fighting against the World Sea Realm geniuses of the Second Heaven. Big sis had to pretend to be one of them back then, so she ended up being tricked and losing out on the reward of an expert''s immortal abode.


    "Although big sis didn''t admit it, I know her too well, since then she had big bro in her heart."


    The more Aantha spoke, the more confident she seemed to become in the love story she was spinning and she even to nod to herself. However, while she did so, she didn''t seem to realize that everyone else was shocked about the details.


    His Sect elevated from the First Heaven? What was that supposed to mean? Was he not one of them? Or was it instead that he had joined a Sect of the First Heaven and instead of leaving them, he forcefully helped to raise them up? That was definitely against the rules of engagement.


    " ... When big sis and big bro met again, for the fourth time, it was in the Heavenly Path and there was this annoying ant of the Third Heaven present. We all entered the rune together and big bro showed off his Ruin Master skills again and led us to the core of the ruin.


    "I guess the tension between the two of them had built up for too long, because after they entered they ruin, big sis came back hanging off of big bro''s arm. I''ll leave it to your imagination what happened because big sis refused to tell me about it too."


    Clearly, Aantha hadn''t left out the details because she had a moral compass. Instead, she truly didn''t know.


    Aantha nodded to herself, satisfied with her story.


    Thera, however, had a face full of black lines. How could she not be able to tell when her own little sister was talking out of her ass? But it was fine enough that no one else seemed to be able to tell. To them, Aantha was like this, they had little reason to believe it outside the fact some of them wanted to pin the blame for what happened onto the shoulders of the Dream Asura Race.


    "That''s enough, Aantha. Focus on the more important details. Who is this person? Where is he from? Why is he so powerful?"


    Thera''s words seemed to be implying something else entirely. She was a hint worried about Mae being taken advantage of. Although the family had great for her, Mae had ultimately left them all as a little girl, it was hard to tell how she might have changed away from their protective umbrella.


    Aantha blinked. "You don''t have to worry about that, big bro is from a small world, he only came to the True Martial World recently,"


    Thera''s brows shot up. It was no wonder her little sister and even Mae had their guards lowered so much. If Ryu had come from a supreme power, they would have definitely been far more hesitant. Such people always had ulterior motives.


    Aantha laughed. "Don''t you think it''s really embarrassing that these so-called geniuses lost to big bro? It''s even funnier now, right? Big bro has been here for not even ten years, yet he''s already surpassed you all."


    Vie''s temper finally couldn''t seem to hold it in any longer. "I''d like to see what he stands when the rest of us aren''t suppressed!"


    Aantha sneered. "Maybe you''ll just lose a little less embarrassingly."


    Elizaren and Hulidyr had expressions as dark as the night sky. The more this Aantha talked, the worse it all seemed to become. Their patience in this regard was wearing thin.


    Just the blackhole pulsed once again. From the very beginning, they had all been paying keen attention to it and several heads snapped over all at once.


    At that moment, a young woman stepped out with a cold expression. Even so, her eyes seemed to smile somewhat, as though something satisfying had just happened. Her cheeks carried a rosy glow and her long black hair glistened with life and vitality. She was truly a young woman blooming into her prime right before their eyes.


    "Big sis!" Aantha called out.


    Aantha started off quite excited, but she paled almost instantly as her voice was drowned out by several attacks launching all at once. Numerous Sky Gods acted in unison, seemingly wanting to grab a hold of Mae for themselves to ensure that the truth got told.


    Mae hadn''t been expecting this result and paled as well. As for Thera, she was absolutely furious. It seemed as though these people had forgotten the terror of the Dream Asura race. If that man found out what they were doing to his daughter, would they even be able to survive? Where did they get such boldness from?!


    Thera''s aura changed and sparse scales began to pop up all along her voluptuous body, even her hips and breasts seemed to increase by one size as she whipped out with a vicious momentum. The others were attacking to grasp Mae gently, but she was attacking to crush everything in her path.


    The auras of the attacks only caused Mae to pale even further. She couldn''t move an inch, the power of Sky Gods was too far beyond her and no amount of preparation could have had her ready for such a thing.


    Thera''s whip crushed everything in its path, snapping both the residual palm and claw energies of Elizaren, Hulidyr and the big bellied, jeweled monk, lloron.


    With her quick reactions, her attacks managed to get there first and she quickly acted to disperse as much of it as she could before it impacted, however just before she could deal with it all and sweep Mae toward her like she had done with Aantha, Elizaren''s gaze flashed and the glaive hovering to his back trembled just once.


    Thera was caught off guard. She hadn''t expected for someone to be shameless enough to use a God Treasure in this situation and she found her reaction speed slowed.


    "ELIZAREN!" Thera was thoroughly infuriated.


    A wall of energy continued toward Mae who was still entirely incapable of moving. Before it even reached her, her figure shuddered before being thrown back. She felt as though all of her bones had shattered at once, her inner organs rattling to the point they were almost shaken into a meat sludge.


    "MAE!"


    Mae''s sped out like a cannonball, headed directly for a pillar. Given its sturdiness, if the two were allowed to collide, the end result could only be devastating. Elizaren frowned. He had expected Mae to get hurt and get flung out like that, but the direction was unfortunate. In reality, he had just wanted to get another chance at grabbing her and this was the best way, but there were too many variables to calculate exactly how she would land.


    Thera''s gaze went entirely red. If Mae died here, she wouldn''t be satisfied until she massacred every young genius present here. She would make them all pay in blood!


    Just then, no one seemed to realize the blackhole trembled once more before swirling shut.


    Just when Mae was about to collide with the pillar, a figure appeared behind her, reaching out from the void and gently placing a hand on her back. The aura of a Palm God pervaded the air, descending with a suffocating presence.


    With the touch of a deity, all of the force seemed to vanish and Mae was cradled into a soft landing.


    At that moment, a young man with a frighteningly cold gaze stepped out. His clothes were beaten and ragged, revealing a torso that was both chiseled to an extreme, muscle fibers that vibrated like steel cords, and skin that was layered in complex tattoos of dark gold and white gold.


    Almost immediately, he was the center of attention. Whether in terms of looks or aura, it felt like even the Sky Gods present couldn''t be his match as his white hair fluttered in the air.


    The young man looked down at the frail young woman he cradled in his arms. She looked like a single touch would cause her to fall apart.


    Mae''s gaze was blurry as she looked up to see the young man''s face. For some reason, despite his weakness in the face of so many experts, she sighed a breath of relief. She tried to speak, but only blood flew from her mouth.


    Ryu''s expression darkened further, the very void itself trembling.


    He looked up with a piercing gaze, scanning through the Sky Gods before he landed on Elizaren.


    "When I become a Sky God, you will be the first person that I kill."


    The oath was soft but it echoed like a clap of thunder, the skies above responding with a furious boom.

 Chapter 1180 Tall And Mighty

    The rush of thunder and lightning seemed to go beyond what most normal oaths could possibly account for, and very soon it became clear why.


    A searing charge that superheated the air rushed through the darkening clouds above. In that moment, that searing feeling seemed to transfer itself to Ryu''s forehead, having locked onto him the instant he stepped out from the void.


    While everyone had their attention on Ryu, Ryu himself looked up into the skies, his piercing silver gaze seemingly shredding everything in its path.


    Right then, a of as thick as a grown man''s thigh shot down from It crackled and popped, its numerous and blinding light making it seemed as though the world itself had cracked line fragile glass.


    Those who this felt their hearts grow cold, and the Sky Gods among that this bolt of lightning suddenly had a frightening light flash within their irises. There was no doubt in their minds that this was suppression coming down not from the Sixth Heaven like before, but rather the Seventh Heaven. This boy had actually formed an Ancient Dao!


    The more they learned about this Ryu, the less they believed that he could possibly be someone from a lower world, it simply didn''t make any sense to them. They, maybe rightfully, looked down upon all those that came from lesser worlds although many of their origins could be traced back to such humble beginnings. The idea that a first generation small world ascender could display such strength was beyond their understanding.


    Regardless, it no longer mattered. The strength of such a bolt was more than devastating enough to turn him into a pile of ash. On top of that, since Mae was in his arms, she would die as well, thus saving them the trouble of having to explain her injuries. It was akin to killing two birds with one stone.


    Even the geniuses who had a chance to form Ancient Daos, coming from Sixth Heaven powerhouses, didn''t dare to do so, knowing the consequences. But this arrogant boy actually dared to.


    Elizaren, who had been the target of Ryu''s threat, had been above to blow his top. A mere Dao Pedestal Realm brat had actually dared to threaten him, how could he not be infuriated? But seeing the scene before him, he only snorted inwardly. Saying such words right before dying could count as the worst kind humiliation.


    However, what no one expected was for Ryu to sneer at that moment.


    In the reward center of the Heavenly Path, he could have very well chosen a God Treasure similar to the headband he had worn up until this point, hiding himself from the sensory perception of the higher Heavens and saving himself the trouble.


    However, he hadn''t done so. That wasn''t because he was a fool, it was rather because he knew for his Dao Heart to shine the most brilliantly, hiding and cowering was no longer something that could do.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed as the bolt of lightning appeared right above his forehead.


    "Divide" He said coldly.


    BANG!


    At that moment, as though the lightning had met a forcefield, it dispersed an entire meter around him, sparking out in different directions.


    Just as the bolt shattered, Ryu opened his mouth and inhaled. His Tribulation Lightning Seed, gifted to him by his grandfather, reacted greedily, sucking up all of the and dispersed lightning.


    Under the astonished gazes of those watching, Ryu swallowed the lightning that should have killed him in just a single gulp. Let alone putting her in danger, not even a single hair on Mae''s head was frayed, much less harmed.


    The skies above rumbled with a fiercer momentum, a formation that seemed to span the entire Fourth Heaven slowly manifesting as though it had been provoked. However, Ryu only looked toward this formation indifferent, his expression unmoved.


    It big and scary at a glance, but he could tell that this formation was actually a great distance away, this was nothing more than its shadow. After passing the heavy barrier between the Seventh and Sixth Heavens, it hardly had a fraction of its strength remaining.


    "If you want to scare me with just this, you upper Heaven Clans and Sects are more foolish than I thought."


    Even though he said this, Ryu did absolutely nothing to stop the enormous formation. The bolts of lightning continued to accumulate and he only smiled a malevolent grin, his white hair fluttering in the air.


    At that moment, his heroic disposition seemed untouchable. No one dared to approach him for good reason. If they got involved, the tribulation would think that they were trying to help Ryu and increase its power. Due to this, they ended up in a situation where a junior had slapped the face of a Sky God, and yet stood perfectly at ease as though nothing at all had happened.


    Aantha smiled, tugging at her big sister''s sleeve.


    "See, see? I did good this time, right?" Aantha laughed, looking for praise. She seemed to be the first to recover before everyone else.


    In though, she received a knock to the forehead.


    Aantha grabbed her head with two palms, trying to avoid another blow. She was clearly very much aggrieved, however when she looked toward her elder sister for an explanation, the latter was still looking forward with a stunned look in her eye.


    "... Big sis, you can''t try to steal big sis Mae''s man, what would you do if people started calling you a cradle robber?" Aantha mumbled.


    Thera snapped out of it and looked toward her little sister with a glare and a slight blush. Didn''t this little girl know how to mince her words?!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu was enveloped by a rain of lightning. The barrage continued endlessly, and it was ironically because of this that they all knew that he had to still be alive...


    By the time the tribulation passed and the formation began to run out of energy, Ryu stood in place with nothing more than a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead.


    He stood tall and mighty...


    And then the ground began to rumble once more.

 Chapter 1181 Pill Slave

    The rumbling of the ground only grew more and more intense, once again seemingly sparing Ryu from immediate death. It was as though everything. It was as though everything happening one after another was intent on ensuring this young man survived as luck was on his side.


    "A Sect, a Sect is rising to the Fourth Heaven!"


    Those that hadn''t been in the know were stunned by this change, and that was especially so for the common citizens of the Fourth Heaven.


    That said, those experts of the Fourth Heaven were absolutely stunned as well, and that was because the Sect wasn''t rising in a random location as they had expected. Instead, it was rising in the most central region of the Fourth Heaven... it was rising up right here!


    To say that this was bold was a complete understatement. All those here had thought that they would scurry and hide, maybe choosing a more remote, easy to defend location of the Fourth Heaven. Never had they expected this.


    At that moment, the uproarious laughter of a valiant woman echoed through the Fourth Heaven, the forcefulness and power of the voice causing the Sky pupils to constrict. This power, this boldness... this person was dangerous.


    From within the walls of the Radiant Star Sect, Old Wan sighed. However, this sigh likewise echoed across the Fourth Heaven, almost as though to let everyone know that the Radiant Star Sect had more than just one expert, but also being slightly reluctant to do so for whatever reason.


    Just when these two sonorous welcomes were still echoing, the coughing and wheezing of a third echoed. He sounded like he was coughing up a lung, as though an old man on his death bed. There was no doubt that this person was Samson.


    "Dammit! You two are so embarrassing!"


    "Big sis, it''s not my fault. I was taking a deep breath and a fly got caught in my throat."


    "Well maybe next time don''t take such a large breath, you flattened all the trees for a thousand kilometres, what''s wrong with you? I can''t be associated with this foolishness."


    A chuckle echoed,


    "What are you laughing about?! Weren''t you just sighing?! Sigh some more! Let me hear it! You want to pretend to be an angsty teen and a pacifist right?! Be more angsty! Pacify me!"


    The sound of choking followed soon after.


    "-I-Dammit-Okay!-Go and-get the-children!"


    "Oh, right! I almost forgot about Little Ryu!"


    -There are-Others-You know-!"


    "Forget them, those little brats need to earn my affection. Just look, we almost failed our ascension. If it wasn''t for Ryu, we''d still be on the Third Heaven, how embarrassing would that be?"


    Hearing this, the disciples who had been forced to kneel blushed, lowering their heads.


    "-Hurry up-and go save-them!-What if-something happens!"


    "Who dares touch my children?! I''ll take their heads off their shoulders and shove it up their asses!"


    The blushing disciples felt a hint of warmth when they heard this, clenching their fists. They had embarrassed their elders again, they had to do better in the future.


    Gritting their teeth, they slowly pushed, standing to their feet.


    The Fourth Heaven fell into silence. The only one who didn''t seem confused was Ryu who looked up with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he eventually smiled.


    It seemed that in all these plans he was making, he had forgotten to account for one thing... And that was the Radiant Star Sect. He hadn''t thought about using them as a shield... but while he had forgotten them, they had never forgotten him. Maybe he didn''t need to go on the run after all.


    Realizing this, Ryu did something unexpected. Rather than being prepared to flee as he had been from the very beginning, he sat cross-legged on the ground, cradling Mae gently. With a thought, he looked into her spatial ring and pulled out a pile of pills.


    Looking at them, he frowned and shook his head. His wife couldn''t be consuming such inferior pills.


    A flame erupted in Ryu''s hands and it enveloped the pills entirely. It didn''t seem to be controlled in the slightest, and yet rather than being incinerated, a strong pill fragrance began to emit in the surroundings.


    Ryu laid Mae''s head on his chest and raised his second hand, causing a rippled river blue-gold waters to manifest, chilling the region entirely.


    Ryu''s Yin and Phoenix Flames enveloped one another, working in a delicate balance. What was once a pile of pills that must have been dozens tall concentrated and until there were just three remaining.


    The skies split but this time for a wholly different reason.


    Radiant Heavenly Favor descended, baptizing the three pills.


    The Sky Gods in the surroundings had been too shocked to move, first at the audacity to begin concocting right before them all, but very quickly it became shock at the level of skill given his cultivation level, and even beyond that, it became all the more shocking when the formation of three perfect Runed Pills appeared.


    The value of these Runed Pills was objectively far below what these Sky Gods care for, but among alchemists, a Runed Pill, especially a perfect Runed Pill, might sell for as much as a God Treasure given the right circumstances.


    The fact that something like this had happened so casually left them entirely stunned.


    Ryu took one of the pills and carefully fed it to Mae. She hardly had the strength to open her mouth, let alone chew and swallow, but the pills melted the instantly it touched her cherry lips, sinking into her body with a comfortable, warm feeling.


    Almost the odd dents and bruises that had begun to color her body fixed themselves and began to fade.


    "Mm..."


    Mae''s lashes fluttered and her eyes opened. She moved, but winced almost instantly.


    "Careful, it still needs a few more minutes," Ryu said.


    Mae was stunned, only now realizing she was in Ryu''s arms. She blushed profusely, looking around to see just how many people were looking at her. When she saw Aantha''s lewd gaze and her elder cousin, she could only bury her head in Ryu''s chest, too embarrassed to look any further.


    "I think that''s about enough," Elizaren said coldly. "Since you have such alchemy skill, I won''t kill you. You''ll be a nice little pill slave for the Clan."


    Ryu didn''t even look up toward Elizaren, still ensuring that Mae was healing properly.


    "You''ll take who as a pill slave?" The voice appeared from nowhere and was seemingly everywhere at the same time.


    In the skies, Aika stood with her robes fluttering.

 Chapter 1182 Who?

    Elizaren''s pupils constricted as he looked up. He hadn''t noticed when Aika appeared, somehow he got the feeling that she had always been there, but that was absolutely impossible. Let alone Elizaren, though, the gazes of the three Fourth Heaven representatives couldn''t help but tremble. They felt Aika''s strength even more forcefully.


    ".. Who are you?" Elizaren asked.


    SLAP!


    Elizaren''s eyes widened, his face swinging to one side. He didn''t notice how it had happened, and he had never before experienced such a feeling in his life, but he knew for certain at that moment that he had been slapped.


    His body trembled and his eyes reddened, a fury bubbling up within that was only moments away from being unleashed.


    "Don''t reply to my questions with a question of your own. There''s only one person here asking questions, and that''s me. Open your mouth for something other than giving me an answer and I''ll rip your tongue out next time."


    "Now, I won''t repeat myself again, who are you going to make a pill slave?"


    Aika''s overbearing words caused the atmosphere to freeze.


    Elizaren slowly turned his head back toward Aika, veins popping up all along his forehead. He forced himself to take deep breaths, trying to calm down. He wasn''t a fool. While it might be the case that Aika had used some unique method to catch him off guard and wasn''t actually much stronger than he was, until he figured out what that method was, he was better off being cautious.


    SLAP!


    Elizaren''s head whipped in the opposite direction, a tooth flying out along with it.


    "My patience is limited. I don''t have the time to wait for you to feel like answering to do so. When I ask a question, you answer. Immediately."


    "YOU-!"


    Elizaren finally lost all grasp of rationality, about to lash out with all his might. But before he could take even a single step, he felt an undeniable force pry open his so wide that his jaw disconnected and grab a hold of his tongue. He couldn''t even fight back as the force ripped up, tearing out his tongue and a large wall of skin at the back of his throat along with it.


    The pain made Elizaren''s might go blank. He couldn''t even scream without a Dool of blood gurgling in his throat and threatening to drown him.


    He fell to the ground on all fours, blood falling from his mouth as though a waterfall of crimson.


    Aika looked down toward Elizaren, seemingly one part disgusted and another part bored.


    "What useless trash. I will not repeat myself, Ryu Tatsuya is an Inheritor Disciple of the Radiant Star Sect and not something the likes of you can lay a hand on. Any Sky God who dares to target him will be slaughtered mercilessly by me."


    Aika raised her hand, seemingly about to kill Elizaren. However, Ryu''s voice echoed at that time.


    "You can kill anyone else, but I''ll kill him personally," he said softly.


    Aika blinked and looked towards Ryu.


    "Aiya, I wanted to establish my dominance but here you are taking away from my shine, Little Ryu." Aika seemed somewhat aggrieved but she changed the topic even faster. "That new look suits you, makes my Little Ryu look even more handsome and rugged. This seat approves."


    Aika floated around Ryu once, then twice, nodding her head. If Ryu didn''t know better, he would think she was salivating.


    After she seemed to be finished teasing Rvu Aika looked toward the other disciples. Although they now stood to their feet, she could see the dents in the ground. With her expertise, it didn''t take her much effort to realize that they had been forced to kneel earlier.


    Like a pair of flashing bolts of lightning, her eyes landed on Saint Rinushka, Sky God Syriah and Sky God Sage. At that moment, Saint Rinushka seemed to be in a hint of a daze, seemingly only now beginning to realize something. As for latter two, their gazes were crossed between malevolent and cautious.


    Sky God Syriah stood forward, prepared to speak.


    "This is a territory shared by the Infinity Blade and Resonant Bo Sect, it cannot accommodate a third. Since you have proven yourself to be exceptionally powerful, the Fourth Heaven, of course, welcomes you, but you must follow certain rules."


    Sky God Syriah didn''t want to seem too weak, but she knew that she could not come off as too strong either. Doing so would only put her life in danger.


    Regardless, their Sects were the nearest to this location, if need be and they faced an existential crisis, it wouldn''t be impossible to call Transcended and even Omniscient Sky Gods over if it was absolutely necessary.


    As had been repeated many times, the gap between the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens was probably the smallest among all nearby Heavens. Every Sect within these three Heavens of a certain level of reputable strength had Transcended and Omniscient Sky Gods, the only difference was the strength they wielded individually.


    This was an inevitable result of the strong bottleneck to enter the Seventh Heaven.


    "Proven myself?" Aika laughed, her bell-like laughter being one part heart warming and another part domineering and valiant. "Do you think I need to prove myself to the likes of you?"


    Aika waved a palm down and Sky God Syriah couldn''t even react to it.


    BANG!


    The eyes of the surrounding Sky Gods widened. This time, there was no sudden sneak attack. There were no hidden or mysterious methods. There was just raw strength. In an instant, Aika had gathered up qi from the several thousand miles and concentrated it into a single palm attack, smashing Syriah into a meat patty.


    "Oh? You didn''t die?" Aika smiled almost like a cat toying with a mouse.


    Instantly, it became clear that she had, indeed, intended to kill Syriah with that strike. But not only that... but she could really do so with just a single palm if she chose to. If not for a God Treasure, the half dead Syriah would really be nothing but a puddle of flesh.


    "My disciple..." Saint Rinushka trembled. "... My disciple, why didn''t he come out? Where is my disciple?! WHO DARED TO TOUCH MY DISCIPLE?!"

 Chapter 1183 Annoying

    Aika put a pinky in her ears, twisting it around with annoyed expression.


    "Stop yelling."


    Her voice was soft compared to the roar, and yet it stifled completely.


    Saint Rinushka hadn''t felt very much during this whole process. He wasn''t even a person of the Fourth Heaven as he roamed between them all without a care in the world, the only thing he cared about were his disciples, he cared so much that he had even come to pick up his youngest disciple personally. It was then that he was invited to help the Infinity Blade and Resonant Bo Sect as a precautionary measure to ensure their victory.


    Since their payment was quite handsome for something that he thought would take little to no effort whatsoever, he decided to participate. He didn''t think that a Sect rising from the Third Heaven could pose any threat when even Sixth Heaven Sects had to take him seriously. He honestly thought that the Infinity Blade and Resonant Bo Sects were blowing things out of proportion but as a lone cultivator, he had a propensity to take funds where he could get them, especially when he deemed the task doable.


    However, most of this had been secondary to him. All of this time, he had been waiting for his disciple to come out, feeling more and more pride as time went on. While everyone else was throwing a temper tantrum about the outcome of their disciples, he was the most confident. He hadn''t considered for a moment that his disciple might be dead.


    Even after the blackhole closed, he had held out hope, thinking that there might have been some kind of mistake, maybe some sort of special reward or event was coming. But as more time passed, and Ryu passed his tribulation, and Aika appeared and began attacking...


    The further and further his heart sank.


    When Aika suddenly stifled his roar, the fury bubbling up in his chest spilled over.


    "LITTLE GIRL, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU WATCH YOUR TONE WITH ME!"


    Saint Rinushka''s aura flourished, wild plumes of Spiritual Qi coming off of him in waves.


    Almost immediately, the surrounding Sky Gods took hold of their juniors and shot off into the distance, placing as much distance between themselves and Saint Rinushka as possible. They hadn''t done this during the previous clash between Thera and the other, they hadn''t done this when Aika appeared and began to attack, but the moment Saint Rinushka seemed to have lost himself to rage, they reacted without the slightest hesitation.


    Aika''s eyes narrowed, waving her hand and causing a barrier to protect Ryu and the others to her back. When she saw this, Thera sighed a breath of relief and took Aantha hurriedly into the distance as well. If Saint Rinushka was enraged, even she couldn''t do much about it. There was a reason despite being a Perfect Sky God, he was so well respected. If he ever succeeded in becoming a Transcended Sky God, there would probably be no one beneath the Seventh Heaven that could deal with him.


    If they allowed his Spiritual Qi to touch them, it would latch on like a loach and never let go. Even if he didn''t target them with it now, if he ever found them displeasing in the future, he could trigger that qi whenever he wanted, and the trouble was that that qi was almost impossible to purge. Setting aside the fact that even an Omniscient Sky God would have trouble, just finding it alone after it had sunk into your body felt like a task.


    "I don''t like your tone," Aika said coldly, striking down with another casual palm strike.


    The ripples of Spiritual Qi around Saint Rinushka trembled and he vanished from his location, just barely dodging Aika''s attack as he formed several hand seals. He didn''t even know who had killed his disciple, but since someone had given him a target to vent on, he would use it!


    However, just before Saint Rinushka could finish his final hand seal, his heart trembled.


    "Idiot," Aika sneered.


    A second palm strike seemed to manifest out of nowhere. No, it was like there had always been two to begin with.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Aika''s Dao had always been fascinating to him. Even without being able to tell its exact level, he felt that it couldn''t possibly be weaker than a Hegemonic Dao, and there was a very real possibility that it was even higher than that.


    The fact that Aika could maintain such a thing while in the Sky God Realm was shocking. If she truly had an Ancient Dao, that meant that she could become a Dao Sovereign and even a Dao God if she was lucky enough.


    However, Ryu didn''t think along these lines anymore. What was the point when he didn''t even know what her current cultivation was?


    All Ryu knew was that if Aika had enemies on the Seventh Heaven... And she already dared to forcefully raise the Radiant Star Sect up...


    Her cultivation couldn''t possibly be low.


    Saint Rinushka''s expression changed as he hurriedly retreated in an ugly manner, his previous demeanor gone.


    The shockwave ricocheted off of his body, sending him flying into the distance and coughing up mouthfuls of blood.


    "Saint Rinushka! It was him! He killed your disciple!"


    Vie''s little brother shouted out immediately. It didn''t seem to matter that he was the one who had said it, there were simply too many present back then.


    Saint Rinushka''s blood flew from his lips, but his gaze turned crimson when he heard this, a malevolent gaze landing on Ryu.


    At this moment, though, Ryu was still paying attention to Mae''s health, he hadn''t even looked up after being exposed as though he couldn''t be bothered to care.


    "Good... Good..."


    "Annoying, just die," Aika said coldly.


    Her aura changed and she seemed to have stopped playing around. The cane in her other hand trembled and she pierced out with it just a single time, and yet a tsunami of qi formed, enveloping Saint Rinushka in an instant.


    He didn''t even get the chance to breathe again, any threatening words he was about to say being stifled.


    When Aika''s attack vanished, so too had Saint Rinushka.


    Aika yawned once. "A clone? Do you think that matters?"


    A great distance away, a man meditating deep within an Immortal Abode froze. When his eyes suddenly opened, they were entirely vacant.


    He had died.


    The man was a Transcended Sky God. Saint Rinushka.

 Chapter 1184 Immediately

    Aika looked around, but this time, the surrounding Sky Gods shuddered.


    This petite beauty in the skies was practically a raging dinosaur in a small woman''s form factor. She had just killed a man so widely feared by their Sects and Clans as though it was just another day, but what scared them the most was that even until this point, they still couldn''t sense this woman''s Godhood or her cultivation level clearly.


    While they still held out hope that Aika was using some sort of treasure to hide her true strength, the solemness of their expressions didn''t lessen.


    Logically, this made sense, it was in Aika''s best interest to display as much power as possible, while also keeping herself as a mystery. However, this didn''t seem to make sense when she took out someone who could threaten an Omniscient Sky God with a single strike.


    Aika waved her hand and took the saint''s spatial ring. She looked at it for a second and seemed a hint disdainful before she tossed it toward Ryu.


    "You deserve a little reward, Little Ryu. Take this as the first of many."


    Ryu blinked, catching the spatial ring out of the air. Even without looking, he knew that the wealth of a Sky God was no joke, and this would be especially so for a Mental Realm Master that was so widely feared. Aika seemed to have handed this over far too easily, but maybe she was truly disdainful of it all.


    There was nothing Ryu could say so he only nodded lightly, placing the spatial ring in the golden moon world.


    Aika laughed. "You aren''t willing to look now?"


    Ryu smiled lightly and shook his head, looking down at Mae. It seemed that she could finally move now, but she was still a hint embarrassed, so her head was still buried in his chest.


    "Alright, alright, I''ll stop teasing you," Aika spoke nonchalantly before turningbtoward the remaining Sky Gods. "Is there anything else you all have to say?"


    At that moment, as though on cue, the rumbling of the earth came to a stop and the Radiant Star Sect solidified. It loomed in the distance, and though much simpler and less magnificent that the other Sects around it, just the presence of Aika alone raised its level by several times. If a genius like Ryu was taken into account as well...


    Many could only suck in a cold breath. Maybe it made sense that they were so bold in getting to this point, they didn''t fear anyone to begin with, and rising to the Fourth Heaven might not even be their final goal...


    Seeing that no one wanted to step up, Aika nodded to herself. She had expected more battles, but it seemed the old fogey she had just killed had a higher status than she had originally assumed. This was good, that meant that she had deterred them all properly.


    Suddenly, Ryu had gone from a lone genius, to one with the backing of a Sky God no weaker than the strongest Sky Gods in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens. And the most shocking part was that she should likely just be one of three... Those other two didn''t even bother to make an appearance.


    Conventionally, this would mean that Aika was the weakest of the three, and that only made them feel more fear.


    Of course, this wasn''t true, Aika was definitely the strongest of them all. But this wasn''t something they needed to know, nor would it matter either. Aika could guarantee that whether it was Samson or Wan, both of them would have had just as easy of a time.


    The cultivators here could not possibly compare to them.


    "Good" Aika said coldly. "Little kiddos, let''s go. This mama bear has rewards for you all!"


    The eyes of the Radiant Star Sect disciples glowed. They didn''t know how they had gotten so lucky. Just a few years ago, they were not even part of the best Sect of the First Heaven, but now they were on the Fourth and forcing them into submission. They couldn''t help but feel a hint of pride... but at the same time, they felt undeserving.


    They clenched their fists. They had to work harder or else they''d simply be left behind. With this sort of prestige, it wouldn''t be long before the Radiant Star Sect started to recruit disciples. When that happened, they would have no chance of maintaining their current positions. They understood the ways of the world. It was impossible to expect Aika to always protect them.


    Aika gathered up a large amount of qi, gathering everyone up, including Ryu


    and Mae.


    "A moment, please!" Thera suddenly called out.


    "Hm?" Aika looked toward Thera with a sharpened gaze as though she was itching for another battle.


    "Big sis!" Mae called out, recognizing Thera''s voice and responding before she remembered that she was supposed to be embarrassed.


    "Oh," Aika said in understanding and clearly some disappointment. "You come along, too."


    Before Thera could protest, she and Aantha were swept up like children too. She couldn''t help but blush in embarrassment, but she couldn''t resist even if she wanted to.


    The remaining Sky Gods watched in silence. Elizaren, who was still coughing up blood, looked forward solemnly. He realized at that moment that the youth he thought would be all too simple to deal with was most definitely not simple.


    Radiant Star Sect? He had never heard of it, but it couldn''t possibly be a new Sect, that was simply impossible. At the same time, he just didn''t believe that Ryu was from a smaller world either. They needed to find out as much as they could about this Sect, such an existence couldn''t pop up out of nowhere. It might even be a scheme of a higher Heaven to maximize the Convergence.


    Elizaren clenched his jaw as the group disappeared into the distance. Furious, he sent voice messages to everyone in the vicinity.


    ''Use all of your connections, find out everything you can about the Radiant Star Sect immediately!"

 Chapter 1185 Frustration

    The group descended and it wasn''t long before Ryu, Mae, Aantha and Thera were in a group all to themselves, within a mountain range that was apparently Ryu''s now. Aika left after leaving a message that she would like to talk to Ryu about some things after he was finished.


    After an awkward moment of silence, Mae realized that it was probably her duty to introduce everyone.


    "... Ryu, this is my elder cousin, Thera. She''s Aantha''s big sister and a genius of our family," the more Mae spoke, the more comfortable she seemed to become. But for some reason, she was still a half step behind Ryu and didn''t dare to meet Thera''s gaze. Though, this didn''t seem to be out of fear, but rather embarrassment.


    "You are her elder cousin?" Ryu asked with a frown.


    Thera seemed to realize that there was something off with Ryu''s tone, though Mae and Aantha were in their own little worlds. Even so, she still nodded, a hint of the arrogance of a Sky God exuding from her. Regardless of how talented Ryu was, there was still a huge gap between them. Plus, she was senior by every metric.


    However, none of them could have guessed what Ryu would say next.


    "Then how did you fail to protect her? Aren''t you a Sky God? You can''t protect your own family?"


    Ryu didn''t raise his voice, but his tone was ice cold. It was clear that he wasn''t feigning, he was truly pissed. What if Mae had died?


    Thera wasn''t greatly outmatched by anyone who had been present, so long as she was willing to risk a little, there was no way Mae would have ended up in such a near death state. His eyes weren''t perfect, but it was still enough to see the vague series of events and he realized that all of them had held back and it was Elizaren''s sudden shamelessness that caused the problem. But even so, it ultimately boiled down to Thera''s negligence and over confidence.


    Ryu had thought this many times before and he was absolutely certain. It wasn''t bravery if it stemmed from ignorance, and it wasn''t confidence if it stepped from an overblown sense of pride. Just judging by how this woman tried to look down on him initially, she was too used to being on top, and that had almost caused the death of her own little cousin.


    Thera was so stunned by Ryu''s words that she was rendered speechless. In fact, let alone her, Aantha and Mae had their mouths hung open too. It seemed that they had come to understand something else about Ryu in that moment. That temperament of his didn''t just come out versus those of the same generation. Most couldn''t even meet the gaze of a Sky God, and yet he was boldly scolding one.


    "You..." Thera managed to squeeze out these words for but a moment before she realized that she should probably be enraged. "... Watch your tone with me! Even if I wasn''t your senior, I''m still a Sky God, and even if I wasn''t a Sky God, I''m still a relative of Mae, shouldn''t you show some respect?!"


    "I''m already giving you respect by talking to you. Do you think anyone else would have such an opportunity? If you weren''t a Sky God and Mae''s relative, we wouldn''t be having this conversation at all, I would be killing you."


    The sharp intent in Ryu''s gaze seemed to form blades in the air, even Thera somewhat felt her eyes watering. If it wasn''t for her pride, she would have blinked a few times without a doubt.


    Ryu felt a slight tug at his sleeve. Although he didn''t look over, he could guess that it was Mae wearing a slightly pleading expression. But right now, he was pissed.


    "Boy! Is it not your fault that she was placed in such a situation to begin with?! If it wasn''t for you, do you think anyone would dare to touch a princess of my Dream Asura Race?! Do you know who I am?! Do you know who her father is?!"


    Ryu sneered. "If it only takes a Dao Pedestal Realm "junior" to cause the reputation of your Dream Asura Race to be meaningless, then what good was it in the first place? Why are you bringing it up at all? To smack your own face?"


    Thera was so infuriated her chest heaved and her face reddened. She had never been scolded like this even by her parents, let alone a junior so many cultivation Realms beneath her. The worst part was that she couldn''t even do anything without fear of how Aika would retaliate. That woman treated Ryu far too well.


    "Okay! Okay!" Aantha hurriedly got in between them before Ryu could say anything further. "We''re family now at the end of the day, right? Right? Let''s just let bygones be bygones this one time, big sis will be better in the future."


    Rather than calming her down, hearing her own little sister say such things almost made Thera faint with fury. What was "be better in the future" supposed to mean?!


    "All I know is that you large Clans and Sects love to trumpet your own superiority while making sure that everyone beneath you never has the chance to rise up. That isn''t superiority, nor is it the kind of heart an expert should have."


    "A true cultivator shouldn''t walk through the world thinking about what next genius might be born in the next generation or the next one after that, they should walk through the world with the confidence of knowing that no one will ever be able to catch up to their steps.


    "But instead, you probably grew up expecting everything to just be handed to you, you can''t even tell the difference between a truly dangerous situation and one that''s not because no one has ever seriously come after your life you first opened your eyes."


    "I promise you that in the future, I''ll shred your Clan and all Clans like yours to pieces. Before me, you don''t have the right to be arrogant because you fear me enough to suppress me!"


    All of Ryu''s frustration seemed to bubble forth all at once, his even and cold words finally ending in a furious roar.

 Chapter 1186 Tired

    Thera''s expression changed several times, her cherry lips opening and closing without a sound coming out.


    These were the kind of words she would expect someone who didn''t understand how the world worked to speak, but even so just Ryu''s accomplishments in the Heavenly Path made what he said difficult to ignore, the fact that he was her little cousin''s Dao Companion only made those words all the more impossible to ignore.


    However, before she could find a way to respond, Ryu shook his head, the echo of his voice seemingly vanishing in a single moment as he turned and walked away. He didn''t want to continue this conversation, it would only frustrate him more.


    "Ryu!" Mae rushed after Ryu, seemingly forgetting the rest of her family.


    Thera''s expression continued to change, but she didn''t chase after them. What was her status? How could she chase after a junior? Even if she was willing to, she doubted that it would mean much of anything. However, what she did feel frustrated about was that little girl. She left for a few years and suddenly didn''t know how to act.


    Dammit, she had come here to pick Mae up and bring her home, but now it seemed that that was going to be delayed. Considering that young man''s temper, he didn''t care about her face at all. If she tried to coax Mae into leaving now, it would definitely explode in her face.


    "...How Naive."


    These were the only words that Thera could say after a long while.


    Aantha pouted, "He''s not na?¡¥ve, he''s tired."


    Thera rolled her eyes. Even her own little sister was on his side, what kind of spell had he put on these little two girls? Forget it, she had a phase where she had cold and standoffish boys too, they''d grow out of it, then they''d have to be obedient to her again.


    "You''re protecting him like he''s your husband, look at you."


    "Don''t take your frustration out on me just because you lost to a junior," Aantha stuck her little tongue out.


    Thera released an exasperated sigh. "He''s lucky that he was only lashing out to be protective of Little Mae, or else I would have had to teach him a lesson regardless of who''s backing him."


    "So shameless," Aantha responded. "You can''t win with words so you want to use your strength instead. Tsk, tsk, I''m disappointed in you big sis."


    Thera blushed, but eventually, she still shook her head and sighed.


    "Just at how protective he is of Mae, and he''s only her Dao Companion. What if they had a child? How protective would he be of that child? What would he do to someone who might hurt his child if he''s willing to yell at a Sky God like me over a woman he''s known for such a short time?"


    Aantha fell into silence. She seemed to be a bit of an air head, but her sharpness wasn''t something that most could match. Those with Spirit Soul Nature''s all had exceptional intelligence, it just came with the territory.


    Ryu wasn''t the type of person who cared about morality, he acted as he pleased, and he often did so for the sake of his family. While his own martial path caused him to fear no one, would he be willing to extend that sort of callousness to his women? To his children? To their children? To their children''s children?


    Could he be as callous as his great grandfather and completely disregard his family even though he disliked the man for that very reason?


    What were the actions of the powerful Clans and Sects of the True Martial World... of any world for that matter... if not a showing of familial love? To care for those close to them, shielding them away from the waves and tides of the world?


    How far would you be willing to go to protect your own?


    The fact that Ryu had gone on such a tirade, triggered by his want to protect Mae, an irony of all ironies. In fact, that put it quite nicely. Ultimately, it was hypocritical, because his own actions given the same situation may very well not be so different.


    Ryu had always said that if he was born with poor talent, he would rather be hung up as a corpse to dry out beneath the sun''s rays. However, it was one thing to hold oneself to such a standard, but what about those you cared about?


    Sarriel made her decision quite clearly. She would rather lower her head than place her family in danger, and when she finally gained power, the world would likely pay a hundredfold for the suffering she had to go through to reach that point and there was no doubt not a single soul would ever have the courage to touch her family members.


    Ryu had disdained her choice, but when he was truly faced with the same question, what would he do? His actions and demeanor seemed to make that answer obvious.


    Regardless, Aantha was serious when she spoke. She believed that Ryu would normally reprimand Thera for her failure, she didn''t doubt that. But that sort of tirade? He wouldn''t usually speak such words. Only when he had the strength to trample an enemy might he allow such words to permeate the air, only then would he allow his enemies to know how foolish they had been.


    However, he was truly tired now.


    Aantha didn''t know what other battles Ryu had fought without her knowledge, but she knew this much for certain. Whenever this man was allowed some decent rest, what came out on the other end would be even more monstrous than what they were seeing now.


    Aantha, who very much liked chaos, smiled. She wanted to see what happened when Ryu truly entered the middle tier of the Heavens. How would everyone react? What would they do? How many would Ryu kill? How brazen would he be? -


    She almost to be a fly on the wall for everything.

 Chapter 1187 Summary

    "Ryu!"


    Mae hurriedly caught up. Ryu''s strides might have been long, but he wasn''t moving very fast to begin with.


    Ryu looked back and his gaze softened somewhat. He wasn''t the type of person to fall for a woman just because he had bedded her, Isemeine was probably a prime example of that. But Mae putting her life on the line to ensure his success in the tower, although he hadn''t really needed it, had moved him enough.


    When Mae saw Ryu''s gaze, she blushed somewhat.


    "I''m sorry," Ryu said, "I''m just tired. How about you follow me to see Aika?"


    Mae blinked. She was stunned for a moment. Did Ryu just apologize? The more she learned about Ryu, the more she felt that he wasn''t exactly what she had originally assumed him to be. But rather than being put off, she found herself falling further and further. A cold man might initially be attractive, but spending the rest of your life with a man who was endlessly stoic wouldn''t make for a fun time.


    The more she realized that Ryu wasn''t so rigid, the happier she felt. She too was presumed to be cold while not entirely being so.


    "Oh, okay!" Mae nodded, blushing as Ryu grabbed her hand. Everything she did with Ryu felt like a first, if her fellow Dream Asura sisters could see her now they would probably laugh their tails off. Imagine a Dream Asura blushing because someone held her hand, she was such a disgrace.


    Ryu took a step and vanished into the void.


    Mae was somewhat caught off guard, she had never traveled through space like this. It felt almost like a cool breeze was gliding across her skin, but what was even more odd was that there was definitely no breeze. When crossing through space, there couldn''t possibly be any wind.


    When her vision cleared, she found herself in a beautiful oasis surrounded by mountains. But she was suddenly surprised by something else. A Dao Pedestal Realm junior could travel so far in space on the Fourth Heaven?


    In that step, Ryu had crossed at least a kilometer with ease, and that didn''t seem to be his limit either. If this was the Third Heaven, she could accept it, but the very fiber of the higher Heavens was on a completely different level.


    "This..."


    Mae blinked again, but feeling the warmth of Ryu''s hand, she smiled before realizing there were people around them.


    Up ahead, there was Samson, Old Wan, Selheira and finally Aika. They sat at a familiar table, seemingly sparring in another game of Domain, but this time they seemed to be analyzing a game, one that Selheira and Ryu had played.


    Old Wan was the first to look over, his brows raising when he saw Mae.


    "Hoho, bringing your little Dao Companion here," Old Wan looked toward Selheira and even somewhat subtly toward Aika, the latter of which was far too quick to spot to avoid another beating. "Bold choice, bold choice indeed. Respect."


    Samson looked up with interest and immediately began to laugh as well.


    "You pretty boys really have it easy, bold doesn''t even begin to describe it. Look at that, they don''t even look angry. Little Ryu, you have to teach me your ways, I''m so powerful and yet these women are still so unruly. How can a weakling like you-AH!"


    Aika kicked Samson out of his chair, sending him flying into a mountain range in the distance.


    Ryu smiled and shook his head. "Everyone, this is my wife, Mae."


    Mae lowered her head in a greeting, regaining much of her usual demeanor. She seemed to realize that she wanted to put her best foot forward this time.


    Old Wan opened his mouth to say something but was stifled by a glare from Aika.


    "Come, come!" Aika waved. "We have much to discuss."


    Aika didn''t seem to mind, and Selheira smiled as she brought out another seat for Mae. As for the things they were going to discuss, it was likely that everyone else would soon learn about what was happening here anyway. The truth behind the Radiant Star Sect wasn''t exactly a secret, it was just that these things had happened at a higher pay grade than these Clans and Sects could deal with.


    Soon, they had situated themselves and Aika reclined up in a tree nearby, looking up into the skies. She had seemingly become far more serious than usually was.


    "Old Wan, you explain, I''ve done enough today," Aika said.


    Old Wan coughed. He had expected this, and he knew that this was probably the reason he didn''t get kicked to oblivion this time either. Poor Samson was still trying to dig his way out.


    "I''ll try to keep this nice and simple, there''s no need to overcomplicate things."


    "The Radiant Star Sect was once a Sect of the Seventh Heaven. In fact, if we went deep enough, the Radiant Star Sect was once a Sect of the Eighth Heaven. However back then, we weren''t the Radiant Star Sect, we were the Dual Radiance Star Sect."


    "Unfortunately, due to some conflict, we split into the Radiant Star Sect and the Fading Star Sect. We weakened greatly after the split and were slowly pushed out of the Eighth Heaven and became probably the strongest existence on the Seventh Heaven."


    "Problems tend to come in pairs, though, and the Fading Star Sect was obsessed with returning to the Eighth Heaven, not that I could blame them, and that required fusing the legacies of both Sects once again which would, of course, require assimilating us."


    "We were evenly matched and could hold our own, but the values of the Fading Star Sect were more aligned with certain powerhouses, causing us to be schemed against in the shadows. In the end, much of our foundation was destroyed and were chased down the Sixth Heaven."


    "It was too difficult to survive with the constant harassment, so we made the choice to scatter and many of us ended up on the First Heaven."


    "The plan was to slowly rebuild and wait for a certain event. There are legends of luck cycling and certain geniuses being blessed enough to catch a wave from the First Heaven that leads them all the way up to the Ninth. Of course, it''s not usually so exaggerated. Some of these geniuses come from the Third Heaven, some from the Fourth or Fifth, and some might only reach the Sixth or Seventh or Eighth, but with patience there could be some great rewards to claim.


    "Unfortunately, Aika is impatient and now that she''s the most powerful among us, she makes the decisions."


    "The end."


    Old Wan nodded, satisfied with his summary, but very soon an apple whizzed by and hit him in the head.


    "Stop trying to con children, tell everything, in detail, and stop glossing over the danger."


    Old Wan was too used to trying to con people. In truth, he had done well to con Ryu when they first met, even placing the latter in debt almost instantly. But Aika wasn''t like that, she preferred the more straight forward approach, she wanted Selheira and Ryu to know exactly what they were getting into.

 Chapter 1188 Speechless

    Old Wan coughed, rubbing his aching head for a moment. After a while, he sighed and started from the beginning again.


    "There isn''t much to add, the danger should be obvious. Your enemies are people who had Eighth Dimensional heritage, whether that''s their core techniques or their bloodlines. Those that were willing to offend our half despite knowing this definitely have comparable backgrounds."


    "The nitty gritty details are still not things that we are fully aware of, but what we can say is that this isn''t a casual matter."


    Old Wan took a sip of tea before taking a slight look up. But what he found surprised him.l


    Selheira was smiling her usual smile, Ryu was just as cold and expressionless, while the only one who seemed to show any emotion at all was Mae who only now realized what she was getting herself into. Even so, she just gripped Ryu''s hands a bit harder, looking forward with a cold gaze.


    Old Wan sighed, he felt that these youths didn''t truly understand what they were up against.


    The Dual Radiance Star Bloodline had diluted somewhat after their separation. The Dual Radiance Bloodline was the strongest with both halves fused into one, but the last person born with that was Aika, a fact that may very well have led to the final destruction of the Radiant Star Sect, or at the very least, the version of themselves that had been on the Seventh Heaven.


    Even so, just the appearance of that bloodline alone, even if one''s other talents were subpar, would put one on a completely different level.


    The Fading Star half of the Bloodline allowed fusion with Constellations. The Radiant Star half of the Bloodline allowed the amplification of Constellations and the easier communication with them. When the two were put together, it was without a doubt a Chaos Grade Bloodline. In fact, it was a Chaos Grade Bloodline that was a half step away from an Origin Grade Bloodline and in the right hands could show off the color of a true Origin Grade Bloodline.


    The reality was that even with just half of this Bloodline, it was still considered a Chaos Grade Bloodline at its strongest. Although there would always be variables between people depending on Bloodline density and awakening this was a fundamental truth.


    In Old Wan''s opinion, even if these few ran into a couple entry level geniuses of the current Fading Star Sect, the results would be quite devastating. He didn''t think they stood a chance at the same cultivation level. In fact, even if the Fading Star Sect individual was a realm or two below them, depending on who it was, they might not win either.


    And that was just Ryu and Selheira, he didn''t think this Mae stood a chance at all. Although Selheira was from the Seventh Heaven, the Fading Star Sect was an anomaly even there, very few dared to challenge them, and even then they would usually have to band together to do so.


    Old Wan sighed again. "You brats, there''s no need to put on such a brave face. Let alone the higher ups, the young geniuses under them aren''t the kind of people you can take casually. Don''t be complacent, it will take a lot of work to


    catch up to them."


    Old Wan looked toward Ryu."That goes especially for you. I''m worried about you and how you''ll take a setback. Being too rigid makes you brittle."


    Old Wan seemed to be doing this out of good will and a hint of teasing, but Mae frowned.


    "My husband already defeated your so-called genius of the Fading Star Sect?"


    "Hm?" Old Wan looked toward Mae, raising an eyebrow. Obviously, he didn''t believe and thought that she was just trying to save face for Ryu.


    Mae''s frown deepened. "He called himself Starlight and he entered the Heavenly Path. Ryu defeated him for access to a Dao Lord''s Inheritance."


    "Dao Lord?" Old Wan''s pupils constricted.


    Before anyone could say anything more, a rush of wind passed by and Aika appeared before Ryu, so close that their noses almost touched as she stared. She seemed to be trying to find any sort of fluctuation at all, but to her surprise, while Ryu did flinch, it was actually to grab toward his great swordstaff. It a very subtle action, and Ryu seemed to feel somewhat embarrassed that this had been his reaction toward Aika of all people, but how could it escape the sharp senses of a Sky God?


    When she saw this, Aika almost burst into a fit of laughter.


    "It seems like you owe my Little Ryu an apology, you''ve underestimated him."


    Old Wan frowned, seemingly not believing it.


    "Was it a child?"


    Mae was getting more frustrated with Old Wan''s reaction by the minute. Why was it so hard to believe?


    "He was old enough and in the Half-Step Path Extinction Realm."


    Hearing this, Old Wan was even more stunned. Although it was clear that Ryu''s cultivation was higher, the of a single Realm shouldn''t have been enough for Ryu to win.


    "Where''s the Dao Lord Inheritance? What was his Dao Title?" Old Wan asked, seemingly wanting to confirm.


    Mae looked toward Ryu, hesitating. Not quite knowing what to say. However Ryu, replied just as simply.


    "He was a Dao Sovereign, not a Dao Lord. His Dao Title is Chaotic Space. I didn''t accept the Inheritance because he''s not worthy of my Karma."


    Silence fell over the oasis, even Samson peeked out from the rock he was buried beneath. At that moment, the skies shook and quaked, a heart shuddering tear in the void appearing above as though the Heavens were peering down with an eye.


    The pressure that descended caused the table that sat between them all to crack and then shatter into pieces.


    The earth trembled and the mountain range threatened to collapse entirely. Let alone the Radiant Star Sect, it seemed that the entire Fourth Heaven would collapse any moment.


    Whether it was Aika, Samson or Wan, they all had constricted pupils. Aika, who was still close to Ryu almost forgot that they were practically nose to nose, but she was entirely entranced by the sparks of radiant lightning coursing through Ryu''s irises.


    Aika suddenly pulled back, feeling as though her heart was about to race out of her chest. She had always reprimanded Samson and Wan for being too cowardly and not bold enough, but this Ryu... Maybe he was the exact opposite... maybe he was too bold.


    The atmosphere slowly settled and Old Wan seemed to realize that neither were lying. When he looked at Ryu this time, he almost felt silly. He actually ignored a Dao Sovereign. Whether that was out of ignorance or bravery, it didn''t matter. Regardless of which it was, such a person wouldn''t flinch at the little vague story he had told.


    Selheira''s gaze sparkled as she looked toward Ryu, her radiant blue irises splitting as they fluctuated between circular and vertical pupils. She eventually had no choice but to close her eyes, waiting for the her overheating blood to chill.


    "... What are your talents exactly?" Old Wan asked slowly.


    "You don''t know?" Ryu asked plainly.


    In truth, Ryu had always been working under the assumption that Old Wan knew everything about him. But now that he knew Old Wan''s origin, he had a different sort of perspective.


    To Old Wan, a Hegemonic Dao wasn''t all that impressive beneath the Sky God Realm, he had probably seen many who had formed such Daos, only to fail in the end and end up with lower grade Godhoods.


    Even if Ryu was a Hegemonic Dao Sky God, Old Wan might raise an eyebrow. but it might not be all that impressive to him either as he had probably seen many, might very well have one himself, or maybe even an Ancient Grade Dao, Ryu wasn''t sure.


    With those things as a frame, why would Old Wan be all that interested in Ryu? At most, he''d be curious about how he was on the First Heaven, but even that was something he could brush off, after all, hadn''t he ended up on the First Heaven as well?


    Knowing that, Old Wan wouldn''t have been curious enough to even care to check out what Ryu''s talents were. The only reason he had taken interest in Ryu at all was because of his slow burn plan to return to the higher Heavens. Ryu was obviously had a higher starting point than the First Heaven geniuses.


    "I''m not that shameless," Old Wan said with a cough.


    "My talents aren''t that impressive," Ryu said expressionlessly. "I have five Bloodlines. The Fire Dragon, Lightning Qilin, Dark Phoenix, Ice Phoenix and Emperor Phoenix Bloodlines."


    "My Bone Structure is a mutated Ice Jade Crystal Body. My soul has a Space Soul Nature. My Dao is in the Peak Ancient Grade."


    "What?"


    "I said I have five..."


    Old Wan got up and moved, nearly putting himself nose to nose with Ryu just like Aika had.


    "You... Your Dao..."


    Old Wan''s gaze shifted to Ryu''s forehead, realizing that the headband was gone and the brand had suddenly vanished.


    He was truly speechless, he didn''t even seem to realize that Ryu had purposely skipped over several details.


    Old Wan had been taken aback by the mention of five beast Bloodline, three of which were actually sovereigns of their races. His shock had caused him to over what Ryu said in the middle and he only seemed to snap back into it after Ryu mentioned his Dao.


    The difference between a Hegemonic Dao and an Ancient Dao was enormous, so large that Old Wan went from indifferent to completely shaken.

 Chapter 1189 Not For You

    Ryu looked at Old Wan indifferently. A Hegemonic Dao was never his limit, it was just an artificial cap placed on him by those higher Heaven Clans.


    It had to be remembered that in Sacrum, forming a Dao before the Sky God Realm was practically unheard of, so much so that it wasn''t even one of their pillars of cultivation. A Dao had just been a vague idea in Ryu''s mind, one that he only barely decided to act upon after a few days of tinkering in the Armament Guild. Not long after that, he perfected in the middle of battle. He hadn''t even known what level his Dao was at if he hadn''t met those two disciples of the Hidden Blade Sect.


    If those of the True Martial World knew how Ryu had formed his Dao, their level of shock currently would be countless times higher.


    Ryu had casually formed a Dominion Grade Dao initially. After a small while of closed door cultivation and some pain, followed by some casual meditation during the start of the Radiant Star Sect''s disciple accepting trial, he had improved it to the Hegemonic Dao Grade. If it wasn''t for being struck by lightning and nearly dying, he would have long since formed an Ancient Dao. As far as Ryu was concerned, reaching the Realm of a Founding Dao wouldn''t have been difficult even without his Realm Heart was only a matter of time and not being suppressed by others.


    Comprehension had always been Ryu''s strongest point, much greater than any one of his individual talents. He didn''t find any of this to be impressive at all.


    Selheira smiled. "Senior Wan, it seems that Ryu can defeat you even if you added more tiers to Domain now!"


    Old Wan''s brows jumped. He had been trying to forget that shame, to think this little girl would bring that up, and here he thought Selheira was far too docile and mature to involve herself in such childish teasing.


    Old Wan shook his head before slowly calming and taking a seat.


    Someone who could form a Peak Ancient Dao was on a completely different level. Someone with just a Lower Ancient Dao only had a less than 1% chance of maintaining the Ancient Dao, but someone with a Peak Ancient Dao had a 10% chance!


    However, this wasn''t what Old Wan was focused on at all. He knew the odds of Ryu maintaining an Ancient Dao while crossing into the Sky God Realm was minimal. What he was really focused on was just how much higher the odds of maintaining a Hegemonic Dao while entering the Sky God Realm was when an Ancient Dao was formed.


    With a Peak Ancient Dao, Ryu had at least a 50% chance of maintaining a Hegemonic Dao. This was a complete game changer. An immortal with a Hegemonic Dao and a Sky God with a Hegemonic Dao were two entirely different concepts. If Ryu could become a Sky God with a Hegemonic Dao, setting aside his other talents, this alone would be enough to place him at least in league with the powerhouses of the Seventh Heaven. At that point, Ryu would become more than just a stepping stone of the Radiant Star Sect to return to its former glory, he would become far more like an integral part.


    Of course, if Ryu knew what Old Wan''s thoughts were, he would be disdainful of them. This wasn''t even remotely his goal.


    That said, judging by Old Wan''s demeanor, Ryu could make a few guesses, and this was precisely why he hadn''t said anything about his Perfect Blackbody, his Chaotic Silk Meridians or his Spiritual Foundation.


    Old Wan seemed to be the nicest of the three Sky Gods between him, Samson and Aika, but he was actually the most scheming, Ryu had no ability to see through his thoughts. In addition, while Ryu could defeat him in a game of limited Domain, Ryu stood no chance against his scheming when there were no restrictions... which is exactly what the real world could be considered as.


    On the other hand, while Aika seemed to be the most unruly and arrogant of them all, she was actually the only one of the three that Ryu actually believed in and trusted. But because she had such a deep relationship with Old Wan, Ryu couldn''t casually tell her things either.


    On the surface, it looked as though Aika had Old Wan by the balls, but Ryu felt that anyone would be na??¡¥ve to take this at face value.


    Despite her personality, Aika had been reined in by Old Wan for such a long period of time that she entered her twilight years. If not for her sudden breakthrough, Aika might have very well died of old age without ever returning to the Fourth Heaven, let alone the Seventh, and she could definitely forget about the Eighth.


    Given how unruly Aika was, no normal individual could rein her in, even if said person was supposedly stronger than her.


    At the same time, while Old Wan said he hadn''t checked Ryu''s talents, Ryu didn''t believe him at all.


    He had played Old Wan in a game of Domain before, this wasn''t a man who left any stone unturned, and this wasn''t a man who would use a piece without knowing exactly all of weaknesses and strengths.


    As Ryu saw it, Old Wan saw the return of the Radiant Star Sect to the First Heaven as a reset in a game of Domain. He was shuffling pieces around, ready and prepared to slowly press forward until his enemies were suffocated to the point they could no longer retaliate.


    Toward that endeavor, in Old Wans'' eyes, everyone was a pawn, even Aika who seemed to have gained the upper hand for now would be slowly reeled in at his own leisure.


    Ryu had caught a glimpse of Old Wan''s real personality when he challenged the latter to a game of Domain. He seemed like a docile man who was willing to allow life to come to him, but when he was challenged in something he took pride in, his true arrogance rose to the surface uncontrollably.


    The only mistake Old Wan had made was not properly understanding Ryu''s Dao, but there was simply nothing he could do about this. Just by function of what a Dao was, while an expert might be able to vaguely understand what it could do, understanding it to its very core was impossible, because then it would be your Dao and not the Dao of someone you were observing.


    This was why Ryu''s Dao was so special to begin with. When it came to understanding others, his ability was beyond even many Sky Gods.


    Now that his Dao was at the Peak Ancient Dao and had entered the Cosmic Grades, he was even better at it than he had been before and he was even more sensitive to the changes in Old Wan.


    Of course, none of this was to say that Old Wan was evil. All this meant was one simple thing.


    If Old Wan could achieve a goal more valuable than the worth he placed on Ryu, he wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice the latter.


    It was as simple as that, and Ryu understood that intimately.


    So right now, Ryu operated under the assumption that Old Wan already knew all of his secrets. Or, more accurately, all of his secrets as they were the day he first stepped foot in the Radiant Star Sect.


    At the same time, he was intent on operating under the assumption that he was ignorant to this as well.


    As far as Ryu saw it, the moment he joined this Sect, he was already in a game of Domain. However, he had no hatred for the Radiant Star Sect. If it wasn''t for Aika, he would have never cared much about this place to begin with. But since she had treated him so well, for as long as he was allowed to, he would help her to reach her goals.


    Ryu stood to his feet, still holding onto Mae''s hand.


    "If that''s all, then I''ll go and rest now."


    Ryu smiled lightly toward everyone and turned to leave.


    "Hold on! Hold on!" Old Wan suddenly called out.


    "Hm?" Ryu turned back.


    "You''re trying to pull the wool over our eyes, you mentioned everything but your Spiritual Foundation and your Meridians, what about those?"


    Ryu smiled mysteriously. "I don''t want to tell you."


    Without another word, Ryu left.


    Old Wan chuckled. "What a cheeky brat."


    ...


    "Do you want to leave now?" Ryu asked Mae.


    Mae shook her head no. She felt a bit guilty about her elder sister, but she really didn''t want to leave so soon.


    "Okay, come rest with me, then."


    Mae blushed, seemingly taking a different meaning from Ryu''s words than what he actually meant. Right now, Ryu was truly tired, he didn''t have the energy to do anything else, and wasn''t resting with a woman far better than any pillow?


    Even with her misunderstanding, though, Mae nodded with a smile. Because of her sister she hadn''t been able to experience that first night they had together in a long while and she couldn''t stop thinking about it.


    When she entered Ryu''s Immortal Abode and realized he truly meant sleeping, she blushed even harder, feeling a hint ashamed.


    It seemed that she had gone through a lifetime of blood rushes thanks to this man. She was usually not fazed by anything, but she seemed to become flustered every other moment with this man.


    Even so, when they settled in, Mae couldn''t help but smile, resting her ear on Ryu''s chest. His heartbeat sounded as though it held a portal to a vast world, endless and vast. It felt almost like she was resting in the universe''s womb.


    "Ryu?" Mae called out.


    "Hm?" Ryu was already drifting off and barely mumbled a response.


    "Are your Spiritual Foundation and Meridians a big secret?"


    "Not for you," Ryu mumbled. "I have two Spiritual Foundations, one is from a Sky God and the other is called the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. My Meridians are the Chaotic Silk Meridians..."


    Mae''s eyes widened, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest.


    But when her head snapped up, Ryu had already drifted off to sleep.


    Mae''s breathing was extraordinarily heavy.


    Shockingly enough, the first she muttered wasn''t Chaotic Silk Meridians but rather...


    "... Beyond Perfect Extreme... Beyond Perfect Extreme...."


    Ryu had spoken these words so casually, but to Mae it felt like her entire world was spinning. This was a talent so shocking that even a Princess of the Fifth Heaven like her shouldnt'' have been aware of it. If it wasn''t for that...


    It took a long time for Mae to calm down, and she only managed to do so while watching Ryu''s sleeping figure.


    Eventually, her heart returned to normal as she stared at Ryu''s peaceful visage.


    After a long while, she smiled and fell into his embrace as well.

 Chapter 1190 Milky

    It was the first time that Ryu had laid his head down to rest in several years. This wasn''t the first time Ryu had entered a deep sleep after a long while of wakefulness, but the circumstances around this time were entirely different.


    Setting aside the fact that Ryu''s Focus Qi was almost entirely drained, the changes to Ryu''s cultivation were most definitely the largest, ignoring his Dao for the moment. The problem wasn''t just that Ryu had broken through to a new realm, because this also wasn''t the first time that had happened, obviously. The problem was that Ryu''s body chemistry and biology had completely changed.


    Accommodating a new Spiritual Foundation sounded simple enough, until you remembered just how important the structure and pathways of one''s Meridians and Meridians Nodes were. You couldn''t just randomly form a new attachment and expect everything to work the same.


    The moment Ryu''s eyes closed and his body entered a dormant state, his Chaotic Silk Meridians reacted, beginning to slowly grow and expand. New pathways began to form within his body, gathering strength from his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    This was a process that probably should have taken decades, centuries, even. By the time Ryu woke up, given the suppression of the True Martial World and its variety of changes on aging, he would have probably been a middle aged man if he was lucky.


    Of course, that was only if no one was paying attention to him. Because Mae was by his side, she would have realized that something was wrong and stepped in to place him in a medicinal pool or something similar that could supply him the energy that he needed.


    One might wonder why this was. After all, the Chaotic Silk Meridians were connected directly to the Chaos Plane. Why would it even need external measures to build more of itself?


    But the trouble here was the process of Meridian formation itself. There was a reason the Chaotic Silk Meridians were so sturdy. Although Ryu was immune to Chaos Qi, there were other qis that he most definitely wasn''t immune to like Primordial Chaos Qi, the substance of which while not necessarily ubiquitous in the Chaos Plane, was prevalent enough to cause a worry.


    For the safety of its owner, the Chaotic Silk Meridians severed the connection to the Chaos Plane during this evolution, stopping this dangerous qi from potentially leaking into the rest of the body, and especially not its owner''s more sensitive inner organs.


    However, this ultimately meant that Ryu had nothing to rely upon other than qi he could passively absorb through his breathing, he could only rely on the Qi Fumes of his Spiritual Foundation. These Qi Fumes, though, couldn''t possibly be compared to the Qi Fumes of most other Spiritual Foundations, and that was especially the case since the Dao Pedestal Realm allowed Spiritual Foundations to truly start exposing their real strength.


    Under the influence of his Spiritual Foundation, Ryu was flooded with Essence and the process of restructuring his Meridians moved so fast that if his body was cut open, it could be observed with mortal eyes.


    However, this wasn''t all.


    Rather than spinning out a spiraling pair of Meridians of dense black, Ryu''s new Meridian Pathways radiated a bright pearly white. His closed eyes leaked these strikes of white, and as his pores which opened and closed with his breath did so as well.


    After the first month, Mae woke to a milky light gliding across her skin. It was sticky and didn''t disperse easily, it seemed to want to seep into her, but unlike Ryu, she couldn''t cultivate through her pores. However, when she touched her lips, she realized that that milkiness was something she had been inhaling already.


    Mae blinked, looking down at her skin again and realizing why she had woken up. She felt a separate stickiness that didn''t come from the milky energyj. Instead, it came from the waste her body was expelling. Not just her, but Ryu as well.


    Her brows jumped. ''This is...''


    Mae was certain, this was Embryonic Qi, it was Qi that only appeared in the womb. The amount of it that gathered was directly proportional to the kind of talent your child would have, but it was usually impossible to sense ahead of time and people knew very little about it. Often, because a child was too talented, a pregnancy could extend for millennia just so that a child would have enough time to absorb all that they were owed.


    But why was it appearing here? Was she pregnant?


    Mae panicked somewhat. It wasn''t like she and Ryu had used protection, and though it was unlikely, technically it only took one time.


    Mae quickly calmed down. Being pregnant right now was highly inconvenient as it would likely ruin her cultivating prime years, but it wasn''t the end of the world either. At worst she would lose out on a few years and have to deal with some annoying rumors, but ultimately Ryu was her Dao Companion and his future was bright. It wouldn''t be long before those people shut up.


    After a small while, Mae calmed down and smiled. But with her mind clear, her brows furrowed.


    Embryonic Qi wasn''t supposed to be detectable during pregnancy, so what was going on?


    Also, her cultivation... She had only just entered the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm not long ago, why was she already on the verge of the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm?


    Mae''s expression changed several times.


    In the end, she shook her head. Sliding off of the bed, she carefully carried Ryu to a cleansing pool. What was shocking, though, was that Ryu showed no signs of waking up, even after she cleaned the both of them up and changed the sheets to their bed, he didn''t even so much as flinch.


    The months continued to tick by and a larger and larger tornado of qi formed above Ryu''s Immortal Abode, expanding to the point that it even became visible to normal eyes from thousands of miles away.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1191 Never

    Ryu''s gaze suddenly snapped open. He was immediately flooded by a comfortable feeling, but in the next instant there was an almost piercing pain in his eyes. His gaze pierced through the ceiling of his own Immortal Above and through a large amount of qi. He was forced to close his eyes a moment later just to barely reel it in. In the beginning, even his own eyelids couldn''t seem to stop him from seeing.


    When he regained control, he opened his eyes slowly and the pain receded.


    He touched his eyes for a moment, wondering what had happened. Distance didn''t seem to matter for them anymore, and neither did obstructions apparently. But the weird part was that he still couldn''t feel his Heavenly Pupils.


    Ryu shook his head and looked down at his body. He wasn''t wearing the same clothes he had been wearing previously.


    He sat up slowly. ''Hm?''


    To Ryu''s side, Mae sat in meditation, but what surprised Ryu was her cultivation. She was at the Peak of the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Ryu was stunned, was this how fast her cultivation was supposed to be? According to his senses he had been asleep for only a little more than a year, and last time he checked her cultivation it was at the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Wait, that was right, she was actually about to break into the Cosmic Seed Realm.


    Ryu was speechless. Cultivation on the True Martial World was much faster, but not to this extent.


    On the First Heaven, Ryu was a bit old to still be in the Immortal Ring Realm, but it was only by a year or two. The standards on the Second and Third Heaven only increased incrementally by a year or two as well. There was a big gap between the Third and Fourth Heavens, but it was only about double the gap the previous had been, and the gap between the Fourth to Sixth Heaven was so close that it was counted in just a few months.


    This meant that for the First Heaven, one was considered a genius if they entered the Path Extinction Realm at around 18 or 19 years old. By the Third Heaven, you would be a genius only if you accomplished this feat by 15 or 16 years old.


    For the Fourth to Sixth Heavens, one would only be a genius if you accomplished this by 10 or 11 years old. The fact that Mae was still at the Dao Pedestal Realm after 19 years was a bit slow, but not exaggeratedly slow. This was just the tradeoff the Clans and Sects who had sent their children down had expected.


    Not only were their talents suppressed down there, but the resources were more limited as well, so reaching that point in 19 years was actually very good.


    However, Mae was only 20 years old now and she was about to enter the Cosmic Seed Realm. Whether it was the Fourth, Fifth or Sixth Heavens, this was fast, blazingly so. Even here, it should have taken years to cross such Realms.


    BOOM!


    Ryu covered his face with a forearm as Mae''s aura flourished, a large cyclone of qi descending. It wasn''t just any qi, but it was the great dividing line. It was, without a doubt, Cosmic Qi. She had truly broken through that layer in just a year.


    Ryu wasn''t sure what had happened while he was asleep, but whatever it was Mae had benefited greatly. The surge of Cosmic Qi was so great that even Ryu was almost blown away.


    The current process was especially delicate because Mae should be planting her first Cosmic Seed. That required drilling into her own Spiritual Foundation. The bigger the Cosmic Seed, the better. But the bigger it was, the more difficult it was to drive it into your Spiritual Foundation. In addition, the deeper the Cosmic Seed was buried, the better. But once again, the deeper you went, the more difficult it was.


    Ryu slowly stood and moved away, not wanting to disturb her. He had to figure out what was going on with his own body.


    When Ryu did find a place though and he sent his senses internally, his brows couldn''t help but jump.


    His body was filled with branches of white and black entangling one another and separating, living in a pseudo sort of harmony that left Ryu speechless.


    He had seen this once before... This was what Ailsa''s body looked like with her dual Meridians, one dark and one light.


    Ryu fell into silence. For he and Ailsa to become Life Partners, they had to be compatible on a level that was far deeper than most could imagine, but he hadn''t expected for it to run this deeply. He didn''t feel that this was a coincidence at all.


    With a thought, Ryu probed this white set of Meridians.


    To his astonishment, they were already at a Dao Pedestal Realm level, as though they had cultivated themselves from start to finish in just a year. In fact, setting aside that, it had even followed the pattern of his cultivation to this point, opening up additional miniature dantians.


    Ryu didn''t immediately recognize this pair of Meridians, he didn''t have much experience with such things to begin with.


    His first assumption was that it must be an extreme opposite of the Chaotic Silk Meridians, but he wasn''t sure if something like that existed. There was no opposite of the Chaos Plane flooded with Essence, for example.


    After a moment, he sensed a milky energy sliding through his Meridians, causing his brows to jump. Every time this energy moved, he felt endlessly comfortable.


    ''Embryonic Qi?''


    He knew what Embryonic Qi was, but that was all the more reason it was hard to believe that it was gliding through his Meridians right now.


    Embryonic Qi wasn''t like Essence or Chaos Qi, it had no function in battle whatsoever and couldn''t be used as such, which was why it wasn''t placed on the list of most powerful. Even so, it had no business being in Ryu''s body, even women pregnant with absolute geniuses wouldn''t be able to feel it so clearly.


    Ryu''s pupils flickered.


    He didn''t realize at that moment that this pair of Meridians wasn''t actually his Chaotic Silk Meridians taken to beyond Perfect Extreme. More accurately, the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had constructed its own using Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians as nothing more than a blueprint.


    These Meridians had never before appeared in the world.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1192 Reset

    "This energy..."


    The milky energy that ran through his Meridians was objectively quite little. Due to the robustness of his Meridians, Ryu was very much used to having qi pushing right up against his limits to a point the meridians of most others would burst.


    However, this small amount of energy felt absolutely magical. Setting aside just how comfortable it felt with it gliding through his veins, the lightness of his body felt particularly foreign. He realized that it wasn''t just because he was well rested, but also because there were fundamental changes to him.


    A suppression he hadn''t quite been aware of had been lifted, for one. As a foreigner to the True Martial World, he hadn''t perfectly assimilated. Something like that would take decades, but now he was perfectly suited to this location.


    Ryu''s heart lurched. Looking at his Realm Heart, it had already broken into the Cosmic Grades. Not just this, but it was already on the verge of entering the second Comic Grade, reserved for World Sea Realm experts.


    This was a shocking change, especially for just a single year.


    It had to be understood that originally, Ryu had only been able to say that it would take him a few days to reach the first Cosmic Grade with his Realm Heart because it had long since reached perfection of the Immortal Grades. It was just a single half step from the Cosmic Grades.


    However, evolving beyond that would take time, a lot of it. To go from the lowest reaches of the first Cosmic Grade, to perfection of the first Cosmic Grade in just a little over a year... That was absolutely astounding.


    Ryu didn''t believe that this was just a change caused by Essence and Chaos Qi, this milky energy, this Embryonic Qi, definitely played a huge role.


    Ryu quickly looked toward the rest of his body but he didn''t find any huge changes outside of his blood also running far smoother, that was until he looked toward his bones.


    Ryu''s brows jumped once again, looking at his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure with a deeply contemplative look. The changes to it didn''t seem to be immediately obvious, but the more he looked, the more astonished he felt.


    If he had to describe the feeling, it was like his Bone Structure had taken perfect root in his body.


    Whenever a mutation occurred, there was always the chance that it could have poor cascading effects, and that was especially so for Ryu''s Bone Structure, this was because without this particular Bone Structure, whether Sacrum or not, it would have been impossible for Ryu to be born with so many opposing Bloodlines. If anything ever went wrong with his Bone Structure, death wouldn''t be far off. Namely, Ryu had to keep the Balance Aspect of his Bone Structure in line.


    However, at the same time, Ryu faced another problem, one that he had been ignoring until now, and that was that if his Bone Stucture remained at Ancestral Grade, how could he ever accommodate more powerful Bloodlines?


    With the Balance Aspect of his Bone Structure also tied to the Ancestral Grade, it couldn''t possibly hope to force balance in Bloodlines that were far beyond it.


    That put Ryu in a bit of an awkward situation. On one hand, he needed his Bone Structure to evolve just so that he could continue to improve his Bloodlines without worry about his body eating itself alive. But on the other hand, if he accidentally went down a poor path of cultivation, then he would lose the aspects of his Bone Structure that allowed him to maintain balance in the first place.


    Luckily, the first mutation Ryu had undergone was undergone by two of his most opposed Bloodlines, his Fire Dragon and Lightning Qilin Bloodlines. Due to it being catalyzed by them, the adverse effects had been limited.


    And even luckier than that, or so it seemed, his second mutation was related to balance...


    But this wasn''t entirely true, now was it?


    The Shadowlight Sky God''s Godhood wasn''t related to balance, in fact more accurately, it was related to taking advantage of imbalance and finding power within that. This was a subtle difference, but it was a difference nonetheless.


    While stabilization would eventually come, it first required suffering, which obviously required allowing his Bloodlines to clash in the first place. But if this was allowed in the first place, there was no telling what might happen in the future.


    This ticking time bomb, though... seemed to have entirely disappeared. It was hard to describe, but it felt like the Embryonic Qi was able to bring Ryu back to his origin. It was like it could sense the talents that the Heavens had originally granted him, and then was able to slowly guide him back toward that path.


    On the one hand, that meant he couldn''t just swallow as much Embryonic Qi as he wanted. This made sense, Embryonic Qi wasn''t some cheat code, or else there would be a tragic number of mothers and their unborn children who suffered fates worse than death.


    However, what this did mean was that Ryu could force his body to evolve and rely on Embryonic Qi as a "reset" of sorts. It would never make him weaker, but would rather strengthen him by optimizing the changes in his body to perfection.


    This change was enormous because it was akin to a mysterious energy consolidating all of Ryu''s improvements into a single path that suited him the most. He had guessed that after some rest, his strength would at least double. But with the way things were looking now, his power hadn''t just doubled.


    Ryu suddenly punched out. His entire body flowed like water, as though he was a newborn.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, his punch still hanging in the air. His gaze flickered for a long while before they became decisive.


    With a light grunt, Ryu shopped down at his own arm with a great amount of force, coating his hand in qi.


    PCHU!


    His entire arm was severed from the elbow, falling to the ground with a sickening plop, and yet Ryu''s expression didn''t so much as change.


    ?¦Á?d¦Á-¦Ç¦È¦Í¦Å|¡¤?¦Èm


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1193 Impossible

    Ryu gazed down at his severed arm. His blood drizzled down for a moment, but it came to a stop just a moment later.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as he stared, watching his skin, bone and flesh wiggle about, already in the process of reforming.


    With a thought, Ryu moved a drop of Embryonic Qi toward his arm.


    Suddenly....


    SHUUU! PCHU!


    Ryu was nearly forced a step back by the speed of his arm''s regrowth. It had returned in no more than a split second, and though it had cost one drop, the convenience was entirely unmatched. Regrowing a limb should have been nearly impossible, it was almost impossible under the suppression of the True Martial World as well.


    Yet, Ryu had just done it in a split second.


    What was more curious, though...


    Ryu bent down and picked up his severed arm. As his blood dripped, he watched as the grass beneath him began to grow at explosive rates, his very blood itself had a revitalizing effect on the plants around him, to the point that their changes could be observed with the naked eye.


    There was another thing that Ryu had neglected until now. The tattoos that had covered him had disappeared. He had only had them for a short time to begin with, so he had realized it immediately. He was used to having fair and smooth skin, so after a year of sleep, he hadn''t really noticed the change. But now, looking at his own arm, he was only more aware of it now.


    ''Little Silk...''


    When Ryu had this thought, a beautiful little butterfly appeared from seemingly nowhere, almost catching him off guard. Ryu was actually surprised by Little Silk''s speed.


    ''Hm? This is...''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Little Silk hadn''t just returned to the Sovereign Grade like she should have. Instead, this little one was in the Ancestral Grade. Actually, it looked like she was at the very extremes of the Ancestral Grade.


    Ryu kept feeling that his mother had done something to Little Silk, but he still couldn''t tell what it was.


    Shaking his head, he tossed his arm to her.


    "Devour it."


    Little Silk reacted quickly, wrapping the arm in silky filaments with a great amount of speed. Soon, the arm was entirely swallowed.


    BANG!


    Little Silk suddenly broke through, her body being wrapped in a light as yet another cocoon form.


    Ryu shook his head, it seemed that she would go dormant for another period of time. He hadn''t expected that using his body parts for this purpose would be so effective, it was both a bit amusing and troubling.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled. ''I''ve wasted a year here already, there''s no telling what''s happened to the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s Realm, I need to hurry.''


    Ryu rolled his neck, feeling it crack several times. He was somewhat eager to stretch out his legs, he wanted to see what these Heavens had in store for him.


    Shaking his head, Ryu realized that he had to calm down. He had yet to consolidate anything and understand his own power. In addition, while he had a lot of knowledge about the Dao Pedestal Realm, he had yet to experience it personally, so he had to familiarize himself with this new Realm and its abilities as well, especially since his current circumstances were much different from what one would expect from the usual Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Ryu sat down and looked internally. Namely, he was focused on his Spiritual Foundation. As curious as he was about the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, he was actually even more so for the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation, this was especially after he found out that it might limit his future.


    Ryu''s consciousness descended into the bed of white flames. Having entered the Dao Pedestal Realm, he could sense it more clearly than he ever had before, even directly establishing a connection with it. Ryu could even vaguely feel the ability to move these white flames whereas in the past he could only rely on the fumes they emitted.


    Ryu pushed, descending further and further before he suddenly froze, coming to a grinding halt.


    Up ahead, just before the white flames gave way to a solid platform of pearly white marble, something was there...


    It was wrapped up tight, not by qi or energy, nor by the flames, but rather by a pristine pair of white wings that seemed to have feathers individually crafted by a master artisan. The beauty of these wings alone was difficult to describe, they looked both carved of stone and yet soft to the touch, both as amorphous as flickering flames and as delicately sculpted as precious leaf metals.


    Even with Ryu''s consciousness''s appearance, it didn''t move, remaining completely still.


    Ryu slowly moved toward it, circling around it, freezing when he made it to its side.


    Right there, the curved and long neck of a majestic bird. The plumes that covered this majestic neck were just as perfectly crafted and almost somewhat looked like the scales of a dragon, so immaculately polished that it reflected the flickering flames around it.


    The head of this creature was wrapped up by its wings, making it impossible to see, even its tail was beautifully tucked within. If not for its neck and wings, it would have been difficult to tell that it was a bird creature of some sort, and if Ryu was a betting man, there was only one bird creature it could have been.


    Ryu''s heartbeat accelerated.


    Living Spiritual Foundations weren''t unheard of, it was just that they were exceptionally rare, so rare that they were entirely ungraded. However, this wasn''t the only reason they were ungraded, the other problem was that they were far too difficult to grade because they had the ability to grow and evolve.


    However, there was also a large problem with Living Spiritual Foundations, and that was that depending on the creature it was, the path you could take with it was exceptionally narrow, exceptionally. You had to manage not only a cultivation path that was ideal for yourself, but also the creature, and for obvious reasons, abandoning the creature was not an option.


    The worst part was that because one couldn''t even begin to unearth the secrets of their Spiritual Foundation until the Dao Pedestal Realm, by then you could very well be following a path that was entirely unsuited for your Living Spiritual Foundation.


    As though that wasn''t bad enough, the creature of your Living Spiritual Foundation could not be found in real life. These creatures were always unique, and while they might resemble some ancient creatures, or even some common creatures, using them as a template would end just as badly.


    Ryu took a breath. This was troublesome.


    The good news was that because it was a Living Spiritual Foundation, the influence of the Phoenix Sky God was entirely irrelevant. Passing on a Living Spiritual Foundation was like passing on a newborn, it was a blank slate no matter how the Phoenix Sky God had used it in the past.


    The bad news was that this blank slate would still only respond to one path the best, and that path may very well not be Ryu''s own, adding further blockages and variables to his future cultivation.


    Ryu exhaled, shaking his head.


    Regardless, a sleeping Living Spiritual Foundation wouldn''t be able to awaken until it was fully released at the World Sea Realm. While that was part of what would make things even more difficult, Ryu didn''t believe that he couldn''t figure it out.


    Ryu rose, prepared to go and observe his own Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    But right at that moment, the sleeping bird creature suddenly trembled.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened. It was awakening now? That was impossible.


    ?¦Á?d¦Á- ¦Ç¦È¦Í¦Å|¡¤?¦Èm


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1194 Psyche

    Living Spiritual Foundations were usually buried within the solid state of the Spiritual Foundation they were birthed from. As a result of this, until one could plant their Cosmic Seeds and shattered their Spiritual Foundation, forming their World Sea, it would remain stuck.


    This truth added an extra layer of complexity to understanding Living Spiritual Foundations. Because they spent so much of the early cultivation process dormant and asleep, its communication with its owner was non existent, and as such it was far more difficult to comprehend the wants and needs of this never before seen beast.


    Essentially, the Spiritual Foundation was like the egg shell of the beast, and only by cracking through it could it give birth to this beast and finally be able to study and comprehend it. The fact that this was happening to Ryu three cultivation Realms ahead of time made little to no sense... but that was when he noticed another oddity.


    This white majestic bird creature was never embedded within the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation to begin with. Instead, it seemed to take root within this river of white flames. Could it be that the creature had used the white flames as an extension of its egg shell, allowing it to be birthed ahead of time?


    There was something off about all of this, Ryu felt like he was missing something. Could it be that this wasn''t a Living Spiritual Foundation at all and instead something entirely different?


    No, that shouldn''t be the case either. Ryu wouldn''t make such a foolish mistake, he was a Ruin Master. Although there was a lot of knowledge of the True Martial World that he wasn''t aware of, when it came to things that he was well-researched on, his judgment was unmatched and perfect.


    There was no doubt that this white creature had a very strong tie to the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation. In fact, it was very obvious that the reason why Ryu hadn''t sensed it ahead of time was precisely because of this as well.


    Suddenly...


    The majestic and long neck of the bird creature slowly raised, its wings trembling as it seemed to be struggling to unfurl itself. Despite the fact nothing seemed to be binding it, its body trembled and Ryu could even feel faint cries of silent pain coming from it.


    For some reason, Ryu felt a pang in his heart. He wasn''t a person who easily felt sympathy. He cared little for those that he had no karmic connections with, and even for someone like Mae, it wasn''t until he saw that she was willing to sacrifice for him did he truly begin to treat her like one of his wives.


    However, the moment he laid eyes on this creature, and more importantly felt its pain, he felt a protective instinct that echoed from the depths of his soul. He didn''t want any harm to come to this little one and he wanted to clear all paths for it.


    Ryu moved his consciousness forward to help, but suddenly froze in place, his brows furrowing.


    Were those really his feelings? Was that a connection born from the fact that this was his Spiritual Foundation? Or was he being manipulated?


    For some reason, Ryu felt that these feelings of comfort and wanting to be protective didn''t come naturally, but was rather a sort of ability this white bird had. It was able to make even he, who had a heart as cold as ice, feeling sympathy for it.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled.


    Just what was this creature exactly?


    Before, he had made the assumption that these white flames were similar to the white flame currently in his Spiritual Sea, but now that he was here he felt that they were different, almost an immature version of what he was used to.


    He had a feeling that the truest form of that white flame came from this struggling bird and he was curious enough to explore it, but now he couldn''t help but hesitate.


    They say that creatures born to Spiritual Foundations had never before appeared in the world... but a creature that was able to influence the psyche of a Dao Pedestal Realm expert as an infant was practically unheard of.


    If Ryu still had poor Mental Realm talent, then it might be possible. But the current Ryu was on an entirely different level. During his year of sleep, his Spiritual Sea had reached a point of saturation, and given the current capacity of his body, there was simply no one below the Seventh Heaven who could match him within the Soul Refinement Realm.


    On top of that, he had the Magus Sky God''s Inheritance protecting his mind even further.


    But this little bird got through all of that as a baby?


    The bird trembled once again, still struggling.


    Ryu''s frown deepened before he shook his head. Regardless, even if this little bird would be difficult to deal with, he needed it. His Chaotic Silk Meridians needed two Spiritual Foundations and he didn''t even know how he would go about getting a new one if he had to. You couldn''t just communicate with any Spiritual Foundation, and even if you could, they wouldn''t just accept you.


    No matter how troublesome it would be, he knew the earlier he communicated and began to observe this little creature, the better chance he would have in the future of choosing a path that could make them both happy.


    After a breath, Ryu reached forward. His qi surged forward, feeding the bird and allowing it to gradually grow in strength. Ultimately... he cultivated.


    The struggling of the little beast weakened and its pain signals lessened as much of the burden was taken on by Ryu.


    After a hint of hesitation, Ryu brought out another drop of Embryonic Qi. By now, Ryu had realized that by passing qi into his white set of Meridians, he could produce this qi. However, even with a fusion of Essence and Chaos Qi, he could only form about a single drop an hour, and currently had only had about three dozen or so remaining.


    But for his Spiritual Foundation, it was worth it.


    The moment the white bird absorbed the drop, it let out a world shattering cry that almost dispersed Mae''s breakthrough attempt entirely.


    ?¦Á?d¦Á-¦Ç¦È¦Í¦Å|¡¤?¦Èm


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1195 Remind

    Ryu''s consciousness went blurry and he was almost kicked out of his own Spiritual Foundation.


    The white bird... no, the White Phoenix, the only name that seemed to do it justice, snapped through its final restrictions all at once, unfurling its wings and displaying its might to the world for the very first time.


    Large amounts of qi flooded toward it from Ryu Meridians, and ultimately from the outside world. Ryu realized almost immediately that his cultivation speed had sky rocketed, or so he thought. He hadn''t actually tested to see what his new speed was with his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure as his original Bone Structure had boosted his cultivation speed as well. But now, with so much qi flooding into his mouth, nose and pores all at once, he felt that the difference was night and day.


    Much of this qi was greedily taken in by the White Phoenix that soared across his Spiritual Foundation, taking in the surrounding 40 kilometers with great enthusiasm. Despite being a newborn, it did seem to struggle with flight in the slightest, zipping around with a speed that made it look as though it was blinking through space.


    Ryu was quite mesmerized. The creature was far too beautiful, it didn''t feel like something human eyes should be allowed to see.


    It wasn''t until Ryu realized the commotion the newborn was causing in the outside world that he hurriedly communicated with it to calm down and stop. Surprisingly, the little one was very obedient. Almost the moment Ryu called for it, it flapped its majestic wings once and appeared before him.


    Despite being a newborn, the White Phoenix towered over Ryu, standing at twice his height.


    Even so, the little one lowered its long, majestic neck, nudging at Ryu''s consciousness as though it wanted a pat on the head.


    Ryu sighed internally, reaching out and stroking its soft crown feathers to its delicate purs. He realized now that he had thought too much. The reason he had felt such a want to protect this little one before wasn''t because it was scheming, or even because it had the strength to impact his psyche, it was more so that this little one was truly that innocent.


    Its mind was a complete blank slate and all it knew was that it liked Ryu, nothing more, nothing less. It didn''t even have complex thoughts, it just wanted Ryu to pet it and it wanted to absorb qi, that was all.


    Living Spiritual Foundations were akin to Life Partners. They had both incorporeal and corporeal existences and Ryu could summon it to the Real Plane so long as he chose to.


    This was actually one of the fundamental advantages of a Living Spiritual Foundation. One had to remember that the Spiritual Foundation was exactly that, the foundation of cultivation. Without it, one could not cultivate and it was the basis for communication with the Heavens.


    Summoning a Living Spiritual Foundation was akin to summoning Immortal Rings... if those Immortal Rings were on the greatest steroids known to man. It was almost impossible to compare them in anything other than function, because a Living Spiritual Foundation was so far beyond.


    No matter how weak a Living Spiritual Foundation, it would always have this absolute strength. When it came to wielding and controlling atmospheric qi, none could match them.


    Outside of this, though, it was difficult to tell what other abilities a Living Spiritual Foundation would have.


    Because the creatures of Living Spiritual Foundation would have never before appeared before, such Spiritual Foundations would likewise be one of a kind and have little to no records of them. Considering that was added to the fact the history of the Phoenix Sky God was so obscured and blurry, and Ryu truly had no one else to rely on but himself.


    All things considered, this wasn''t too bad.


    Of all his talents, the one thing that couldn''t be stolen was his Spiritual Foundation, so Ryu could show it off as he pleased... not that it would make too much of a difference, there were plenty of other things people wanted to kill him for.


    "Why don''t you tell me your abilities?" Ryu asked.


    The White Phoenix, who was enjoying Ryu''s petting, blinked its large crystal eyes, tilting its head to the side in what looked to be confusion.


    Ryu sighed. Yeah, that was about the response he expected.


    The other thing that separated real beasts and the unique beasts of Spiritual Foundations was that Living Spiritual Foundations had little to no intelligence whatsoever, they were more like true beasts, forces of nature, if you will. The only reason Ryu had been partially worried about its motives wasn''t because of the creature itself, but rather because of what influence the Phoenix Sky God might have had on it.


    Beyond that, Living Spiritual Foundations couldn''t really die either. Even if Ryu summoned it and some bastard blew it to bits, it was only a function of time until it appeared again. Though, such a thing would harm Ryu''s ability to cultivate until it was repaired.


    Hust when Ryu was about to leave the little one to its own, it suddenly raised a claw. It had paused with its head tilted for a very long time before it made this move.


    It''s sharp claw glistened with a fierceness that could make even the greatest sword blacksmith open their eyes wide in shock. Then, it tapped at the air.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted as a flood of what he could only describe as white Heavenly Phoenix Patterns appeared, spreading out quickly.


    For a long while, Ryu remained silent.


    The Dark Phoenix Patterns were the ultimate attack, Ice Phoenix Patterns were the ultimate defense, while he could use the Emperor Phoenix Patterns to create, even shifting into the form of a true Phoenix if he wanted to.


    But these white Patterns... These gorgeous white Patterns that left him in an absolute trance...


    Why did they remind him of the Unbalance Mantra so much?


    ?¦Á?d¦Á-¦Ç¦È¦Í¦Å|¡¤?¦Èm


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1196 Less Than...

    It wasn''t exactly the same, it was more subtly the same. He could feel the laws of the world twisting around the little phoenix''s claw, echoing across the planes and breaking their rules one after another. But the main difference was that the Unbalance Mantra passed the laws of the universe through a filter, distorting them as though one was observing them through a puddle of water, the more proficient you were, the thicker you could make that layer of water and the more you could distort those laws.


    These White Phoenix Heavenly Patterns, though...


    It didn''t feel like it was distorting laws, rather it felt like it was creating new ones, layering them atop of existing ones and twisting reality around its own small region.


    This was a subtle difference, but the implication was enormous and almost difficult to put into words.


    With the Unbalance Sutra, there was only so much you could distort laws. In addition, distorting these laws didn''t break them down or reform them. Essentially, it was only allowing you to access things that you couldn''t just yet ahead of time. If you were to take the most unflattering summary of the Unbalance Mantra, that would definitely be it.


    This was probably something the creators were aware of as well, which was why the Art Mantra was created alongside it, only by putting these two together was it worthy of being the legacy of an extraordinarily powerful Sect as the power of Unbalance alone wasn''t enough.


    However, the White Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were entirely different. It was creating its own.


    While it was far weaker than the Unbalance Mantra as of now, by a large margin at that, its future potential couldn''t even be properly seen. When the Unbalance Mantra hit its limit, these white Heavenly Patterns would only just be hitting their stride.


    Ryu carefully reached out a palm, trying to touch the beautiful Heavenly Patterns. They seemed to have characters from all four Pattern systems that Ryu was familiar with, the Fire, Ice, Dark and Emperor Phoenix Patterns...


    The Fire and Emperor Phoenix Patterns were very similar, the latter just being a hint more golden than red. They were drawn like the vein patterns of gorgeous feathers, weaving in and out of one another and exuding nearly unmatched magnificence.


    The Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns moved only straight up and down and were the simplest of them all, forming nothing but perfect 90 degree angles while radiating a delicate white-blue color.


    The Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were the most sinister of them all, forming swirling black patterns that looked almost like warped tornados prepared to shred everything in their path. It was the most difficult to absorb directly without being sucked into the darkness, but it also carried beauty in its own right.


    The only way Ryu could describe these White Phoenix Heavenly Patterns was as a combination of all three. It was more free flowing, more unrestrained, all while radiating a purity that the Unbalance Mantra simply didn''t have.


    When Ryu used the Unbalance Mantra, he could almost feel the Heavens fighting back against it. This was why there was so much danger involved, one could damage their souls and even end up as a completely different person, and that was only if you had the talent in the first place, if you lacked the talent even trying would likely end in death.


    Somehow, though, this little one seemed to avoid all of that. As though the Heavens couldn''t bear to harm it either, it helped it act as it pleased, even moving to the side to accommodate it.


    Ryu''s palm touched the patterns and they dispersed into the wind. They were incredibly fragile and held almost no power, but this was inevitable. Not only had he already been aware that these patterns would be far weaker than the Unbalance Mantra in the start, this little one was still an infant.


    It was unlikely that this pattern would be able to display any real strength until he entered the Sky God Realm, but this honestly could have been far worse. After all, usually he wouldn''t awaken this little one until he was in the World Sea Realm, giving him even less time to help it mature.


    Now, he had an additional three Realms to help its growth, and his Embryonic Qi was a cheat code of sorts toward this end. If he was diligent with it, he might be able to make real use of this before the Sky God Realm.


    After some thought, Ryu sent two thirds of his Embryonic Qi forward.


    The little phoenix greedily opened its beak, swallowing every one with undying vigor. It released another cry that echoed out of Ryu''s body and caused the Radiant Star Sect to tremble. Luckily, the little one seemed to have its lesson from last time and restrained itself somewhat, allowing Mae''s breakthrough to suffocate it somewhat.


    Radiating a blinding white light, the little phoenix actually grew double in size, its wings now covering a span of just over eight meters. Such changes had only taken 20 or so drops, which was quite astonishing. That amount would take Ryu about a day to produce, but if he wanted the little phoenix to show such growth through normal cultivation, it would have taken almost a year at least.


    A year worth of progress in a single day, that was game changing.


    What was most shocking, though, was that when the little phoenix grew, Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation grew as well. He had already taken a large step toward the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm in just this one session.


    ''At this pace, I''ll reach the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm in less than two weeks. I''ll be at the entrance of the Cosmic Seed Realm within half a year...


    Ryu''s gaze glowed.


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was already at a step beyond the extreme of the extreme, so he didn''t need to cultivate it within the Dao Pedestal Realm at all. If not for the fact he had two Spiritual Foundations, the moment he entered the Dao Pedestal Realm, he would have already been at the entrance of the Cosmic Seed Realm.


    Even so, Ryu knew that he had to go to it. It was this Spiritual Foundation that had made all of this possible, he wanted to personally see it in a way he had neer been able to before.


    After taking a glance toward the White Phoenix who was happily flying around, Ryu vanished and appeared above a Spiritual Foundation of silver and blue.

 Chapter 1197 Arrogant

    Ryu felt his consciousness tingling. It was hard to describe, but it was as though he was looking at something larger than himself, far larger. No matter how his consciousness enveloped the Spiritual Foundation, he couldn''t seem to see to the end of it. Even he couldn''t see the limits of his own Spiritual Foundation.


    When Ryu learned of the first ability of his Spiritual Foundation, its capability to turn Chaos Qi into Essence, he had obviously wondered what other things it could do this with. But now that he was here, standing in its presence, Ryu laughed to himself.


    "What an arrogant Spiritual Foundation."


    Without even trying, Ryu could feel that this one wouldn''t listen. Even when it came to turning Chaos Qi into Essence, this was something that happened passively because he had anchored it within the Chaos Plane to make it his "second" Spiritual Foundation.


    "You allowed yourself to get shackled while I was an infant but now you want to be arrogant? Don''t you think you''re a bit hypocritical?"


    Ryu didn''t seem to be enraged, which was actually quite odd for him. The idea of his own talents rebelling against him was something that Ryu had hated for a long time already. But truthfully, this didn''t really feel like rebellion to Ryu, it wasn''t that the Spiritual Foundation refused to allow him use it, it was more so that his current self was incapable.


    It was said that the Dao Pedestal Realm was the point where one would begin to learn about their Spiritual Foundation, but this was just the beginning. It wasn''t guaranteed that one would learn what they needed to, and even if they did learn something, there was no guarantee that they would be able to use it immediately.


    A Living Spiritual Foundation was the perfect example of this. Usually they were unusable until the World Sea Realm and even then one would still need to slowly learn about them. For a Spiritual Foundation like this one to have such high demands wasn''t surprising at all.


    In response to Ryu''s words, the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation vibrated.


    "Hm?"


    Ryu''s brows jumped. At that moment, a large amount of illusory chains suddenly rushed forward. Although they moved like they wanted to swallow Ryu up whole, he didn''t seem to be panicked. He could feel that his Spiritual Foundation didn''t want to harm him.


    The selection of a Spiritual Foundation was a relatively unknown process and happened without the knowledge of the cultivator, but as a Ruin Master, Ryu knew a few things.


    Compatibility with a Spiritual Foundation was decided from conception, but which one you would end up with was actually decided amongst the Spiritual Foundations themselves, or at the very least, this was the leading theory.


    This meant that Ryu''s Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had to fight off other Spiritual Foundations to become his Spiritual Foundation. Having gone through all of that, and after being chained for almost a billion years, how could his Spiritual Foundation turn on him now? That was why Ryu had just mostly been teasing his Spiritual Foundation earlier on.


    What he hadn''t expected was for it to actually react.


    The illusory chains built up around Ryu before coming to a stop.


    "These..."


    Ryu''s brows jumped. How could he not recognize these chains, they were the very same chains that had held him from his Spiritual Foundation for so long, keeping it sealed away for over nine cycles of a hundred years.


    Ryu blinked. "You can produce these chains?"


    The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation vibrated.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. He reached out and touched the illusory chains.


    Almost instantly, he felt everything within him "die". It was as though his entire connection with the world had been severed, a chilly wind kissing at his neck.


    Ryu hurriedly pulled his hand back, his expression paling somewhat.


    That feeling... had been absolutely horrible. It truly felt that he was dying. No... It felt like he had truly died and that his life was over. He couldn''t sense the Heavens, he couldn''t sense the Planes, he couldn''t breathe, and he felt as though the reaper had tapped on his shoulder, ready to take him away.


    The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation vibrated again.


    Taking deep breaths, Ryu eventually calmed down and he slowly began to understand.


    His Spiritual Foundation couldn''t do anything for him right now, at least not without him getting much stronger. If not for the fact he had planted it within the Chaos Plane, even forming Essence for him would have been impossible.


    However, the one ability his Spiritual Foundation did have was this copying ability. It was able to take in Chaos Qi to produce Essence, and after so long being chained, how could it not also be able to produce the very restrictions that had suffocated it for so long?


    Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation could pump out a near endless number of these and Ryu simply couldn''t believe that there was any area control ability that could possibly be stronger than this at his cultivation level.


    Ryu could manage to wrap an enemy with these chains, he didn''t believe that beneath the Sky God Realm could shrug them off. And, as he grew stronger, the replication of these chains would only grow more perfect until the point he could reform the real thing.


    When that time came, he would allow the Martial Gods to have a taste of their own medicine.


    When he could produce an endless amount of these chains and restrain Spiritual Foundations as he pleased, he would be able to cut off the talent of entire Clans with a single thought.


    While the Martial Gods likely spent an enormous sum of resources and effort to chain his Spiritual Foundation, he would be able to produce the same results as easily as breathing.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered with a frighteningly cold light.


    After a moment of silence, Ryu reached toward the chains again. Just now, he had actually felt fear, he refused to allow his heart to have such a thing. He wouldn''t leave this place until he was unmoved by these chains.

 Chapter 1198 Forgotten

    Mae''s eyes opened slowly, a hint of excitement in her eyes. She had never thought that she would be able to enter the Cosmic Seed Realm so quickly. In fact, not only had she entered extremely quickly, but she had consolidated her Realm extremely quickly.


    Among all the Realms beneath the Sky God Realms, the World Sea Realm took the longest to enter firmer, however right behind it the Cosmic Seed Realm was a very close second.


    Sensing and swapping your Immortal Qi for Cosmic Qi was just the beginning. Afterward, you needed to form your Cosmic Seed, condensing your Inheritances, Dao and comprehensions into a small and concentrated form. And then, even after you succeeded in this, you would then need to endure the planting of your Cosmic Seed.


    It had taken Mae several months to finally succeed, almost half a year if she was correct. But this was already very fast, extremely so. It wasn''t unheard of for this process to take upwards of half a decade.


    Of course, those that took so long weren''t very talented to begin with, but it was still important to note that it was within the realm of possibilities. Even in line with that, a year was considered fast already, for Mae to take less than half that time...


    Mae looked toward where she had sensed Kyu disappear. It was a bit dangerous to enter seclusion in the same place, and that phoenix cry that had come from Ryu had definitely destabilized her a bit, adding about an extra week to the consolidation of her foundation. Even so, Mae''s gaze was especially soft as she looked toward where Ryu was.


    She knew that if it wasn''t for Ryu, this sort of improvement speed would have been impossible.


    That Embryonic Qi had cleansed her entire foundation. It had slipped into the cracks she hadn''t even noticed were there, and it had also consolidated much of her talent into a strong pillar. It didn''t feel as though she had changed qualitatively, but everything just felt... stronger and more compact, it was difficult to explain.


    No matter how great of a genius you were, your foundation was bound to have small imperfections, this was inevitable. Going back and fixing these flaws was especially difficult and it required something on the level of Ryu''s [Refinement Sutra]. However, in order to make something like that work for you, you would have to have Ryu''s level of skill in craftsmanship to begin with, something most obviously didn''t have.


    Mae looked down at her dainty palms, they looked even more flawless. Even disregarding the increase in her cultivation realm, her base strength had increased at least tenfold. She was already a genius her family had doted on, standing at the top of her generation. But now, she felt like she could suppress even the last hundred generations of her family in pure talent alone.


    Suddenly, Mae heard movement. She looked up and her brows jumped when she saw Ryu. Her heart stopped beating entirely, a strong sense of fear and trepidation taking root within her. Just meeting his gaze, it felt as though countless slithering chains had wrapped around her body, squeezing her arms to her side and cutting off her airways.


    Ryu''s presence felt exceptionally sharp. Even though she wanted to look away, she found that she couldn''t at all, and not out of a lack of attempts. It felt like so long as Ryu didn''t want her to look away, she wouldn''t. It was almost as though she was experiencing a case of sleep paralysis.


    Ryu seemed to realize what was happening and suddenly closed his eyes, shaking his head.


    The pressure Mae faced vanished into thin air and she nearly collapsed, gasping for breath. That feeling had truly been too suffocating, in just a few moments, her body was drenched in fragrant sweat and her clothing clung to her curves.


    "Are you alright?" Ryu came forward, a hint of apology in his gaze.


    His session with the chains had lasted for longer than he thought it would, but things had ended up working out. It was no good for him to leave while Mae was still in seclusion.


    His cultivation hadn''t changed much because he hadn''t been too focused on it, only improving to the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm and approaching the Higher Dao Pedestal Realm. But even so, his entire demeanor had changed, becoming quite unbearable for most to withstand. Someone weaker than Mae might have felt their Dao Heart collapse the moment they made eyecontact with him.


    Mae caught hold of Ryu''s hand, taking deep breaths. She smiled lightly and shook her head.


    "I''m fine."


    Ryu nodded and didn''t press for more answers.


    "Congratulations on a successful breakthrough," he said with a soft smile.


    Seeing Ryu go from so domineering to so caring at the flip of a hat, Mae suddenly found her gaze locked onto his. A flame flickered within her eyes and her demeanor shifted, the heat in the surroundings suddenly skyrocketing past a realm of normal comfort as though she was trying to scorch them both to ash.


    Mae''s gentle smile became like a devilish woman''s grin, the excitement in her eyes only growing.


    "You know, in my Dream Asura Clan, we have a saying. After every major breakthrough, the slate is wiped clean. In the eyes of the men of my Clan, I''m an innocent virgin again."


    Mae blinked, pouting almost too sexily. Although Ryu''s expression didn''t change, his gaze never shifted from the fire in Mae''s eyes.


    "Look at me, so vulnerable..." Mae said softly, licking her lips.


    Claws appeared on her slender fingers. She reached up, raking them across Ryu''s chest, shredding through his robes and drawing blood.


    Ryu didn''t so much as flinch, but his lip did suddenly curl.


    His own hand reached forward, grabbing Mae''s collar with an unexpected gentleness... until he suddenly ripped down with fierce momentum.


    Mae squealed as her clothing was shredded to pieces, leaving behind sweat matted, laced undergarments that hardly hid anything. Her pretty pink nipples and lips seemed to invite Ryu forward with their faint wetness.


    Mae leaned back, bringing her bloodied fingers to her lips as the excitement in her eyes grew.


    Ryu stood to his height as Mae sank into the bed before him. He pulled his robes off, his cold gaze never leaving the excited Mae even once. It seemed that this woman had already forgotten the lesson he taught her last time.

 Chapter 1199 Red

    Mae''s cries echoed through the walls of the immortal cave. All of the pent up frustration of the last over year seemed to vanish all at once. She thought that it might have been a trick of the mind, but it truly felt far better than it had the first time. It was like every connection she made with Ryu was far more intimate and sensitive than it had been in the past.


    She realized very quickly that this was because Ryu had no reservations toward her any longer, but this reservation only made her more excited. Her body shivered from head to toe, the fire in her eyes raging like a tsunami.


    She couldn''t even control her own body as she entered her Asura form, barely breathing under the suffocating weight of Ryu''s body.


    At some point, her moans hardly sounded like moans anymore and became much more like howls of excitement. As good as the soundproofing of Immortal Cave was, the previous phoenix howl had really stretched it to its limits. While it had still been able to suppress moans, it stood no chance against these.


    **


    Thera felt like banging her head against a wall. This was supposed to have been a trip that took a few days at most, but now it had been almost two years and she was still here. Such a time frame might as well have been a blink of an eye to her under normal circumstances, but the truth around this time made her nothing short of frustrated.


    When she began to hear the excited cries of her own little cousin, she could only stand speechlessly. At first she thought Mae had to be faking it, in all her life, and she had experienced a lot, she had never come across anything that would force her to make such sounds. However, the longer it went, the hoarser her voice became, the more Thera realized that it was simply impossible.


    Thera''s face turned red as she covered her ears, shaking her head. She refused to get sexually frustrated while standing guard out here, what had she done to deserve this?


    Unfortunately, her mind couldn''t help but wander. What was going on in there? What was he doing? She really wanted to take a peek. They weren''t cultivating anymore, right? And how could they stop a Sky God like her from seeing what she wanted to see?


    She didn''t really feel that it was too taboo, she was a Dream Asura. She had even been in orgies before, it couldn''t be worse than what was happening now, right?


    Just as Thera was fighting her inner demons, she didn''t realize that the sounds had long since come to a stop.


    The sound of rolling stones echoed and two figures walked out.


    Mae looked over with a weird expression. Her elder cousin had her forehead pressed to the stone walls of the immortal cave, covering her ears with two palms. This was fine enough, but she was drenched in sweat and was practically heaving for breath. As though that wasn''t bad enough, she was red from head to toe and her wings kept quivering.


    Mae thought of a possibility and suddenly went red herself.


    Suddenly, Aantha came rushing around a corner with an evil grin on her face, appearing by Ryu''s side and elbowing him a few times.


    "Hey, big bro, what were you doing to my sister?"


    Ryu was expressionless, but Mae buried her head in his shoulder. When she entered that state, she didn''t give a damn about anything else. She had known she was being too loud, but that part of her almost wanted others to hear. Unfortunately, Embryonic Qi hadn''t seemed to fix that.


    "Don''t ignore me, tell me the truth. She was faking it to stroke your ego, right?"


    Toward this, Ryu''s expressionless visage gave way to a smile. Even if a woman entered his bed with the intention of doing that, by the time the second minute came around, she would have forgotten that it was meant to be an act.


    "Look at this face, so cocky!" Aantha stamped her feet in frustration, teasing this man was so difficult.


    Thera took advantage of Aantha''s distraction to gather herself once again, but when she looked toward Mae, her heart skipped a beat.


    "Little Mae, you entered the Cosmic Seed Realm?"


    "What?" Aantha jumped, ignoring Ryu and going toward Mae.


    Aantha pouted, she had just entered the Dao Pedestal Realm and was on the verge of reaching the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm. She already thought that she was very fast and was ready to brag, but how had Mae left her so far behind?


    Suddenly, Aantha looked toward Ryu''s crotch and reached for it with a hand as though she was intent on investigating herself. To her surprise, though, Ryu didn''t even have to move, it was Mae who caught her wrist.


    "What are you doing, Aantha?"


    "Look at this! Aren''t we sisters?! You aren''t even willing to share!" Aantha''s eyes threatened to tear up, but when she saw it wasn''t working, she sighed and pulled her hand back, crossing her arms over her chest in a slight tantrum.


    Thera completely ignored Aantha, looking Mae up and down with a great amount of scrutiny. She had sensed someone breaking into the Cosmic Seed Realm, but for safety, the design of the Immortal Caves of most Sects worth their salt made it difficult to tell which surges were coming from where.


    Learning that it was Mae, Thera''s heart couldn''t help but shudder. Did that mean she had succeeded in less than half a year?


    "... Mae, we need to return," Thera said seriously.


    Mae subconsciously gripped onto Ryu''s arm with greater strength, causing Thera to roll her eyes. She had never seen a Dream Asura fall so head over heels, what a blunder.


    "You know yourself that this is necessary, your reaching the Cosmic Seed Realm so early is completely out of expectations, you''re missing out on a lot of important milestones. The Clan has many resources you haven''t used to consolidate your foundation yet and are extraordinarily important to your future breakthroughs."


    Mae frowned, but she knew that Thera was correct. Plus, she felt bad making her elder cousin wait here for her for so long.


    "It''s okay, you can go. I have something dangerous to do and it isn''t convenient to take others along. I will go and visit your Clan soon," Ryu said lightly.


    After hearing this, Mae''s gaze went slightly red. She truly didn''t want to leave, but it seemed she would have to.

 Chapter 1200 Weak

    Ryu watched Mae leave silently, his expression the same as always. It was only when he met her gaze one final time did he smile lightly as she vanished.


    When they were gone, Ryu turned to enter his Immortal Cave once again to enter the golden moon world. But before he could make it very far, a familiar figure landed in his courtyard.


    Aika looked Ryu up and down. "You sure know how to sleep and enjoy yourself."


    Ryu smiled but didn''t explain himself. Someone of Aika''s level should be able to tell that the pressure he was exuding was far stronger than it had been in the past, or maybe she simply couldn''t be bothered to care because he was too much weaker than she was.


    "I did tell you that the Radiant Star Sect had rewards for you, but you seem to really like doing things on your own."


    There was a hint of resentment in Aika''s voice, as though she could tell that Ryu wasn''t the type to put his full trust in others. He obviously wouldn''t do it out of respect if he could even ignore the likes of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign. In fact, Aika could tell that Ryu hadn''t ever expected the Radiant Star Sect to save him in the first plan and he had initially had his own plans.


    Ryu smiled again, but once again didn''t explain anything.


    Aika shook her head. If this was Old Wan, she would have already been annoyed enough to throw out a kick, but for some reason she didn''t feel like doing so to Ryu. The main difference was probably that Old Wan would reveal such a smile because he thought everyone else was too slow to keep up with him and his thoughts, something that was probably true albeit annoying. But Ryu smiled like that out of self-reliance.


    On the surface, the two things seemed to be the exact same, both saw themselves as being alright without the help of anyone else. However, the difference was that Ryu seemed to have the capacity to open up and trust.... Just not with her.


    "I actually am planning on forging a new pair of weapons for myself, this time of the Mystical Grade. If the Radiant Star Sect has materials I could use, that would be of great help."


    Aika rolled her eyes. Mystical Grade materials? In her youth, materials at that level wouldn''t even be good enough to pave the roads. And even with the current state of the Radiant Star Sect, so long as it was a material that appeared at a decent enough frequency beneath the Sixth Heaven, she would be able to get it for him.


    That meant that even Transcendent and Omniscient Grade materials weren''t out of the bounds of reason. Ryu was worth it. If the Heavenly Path could give him God Treasures as a reward, the materials needed to forge such treasures were the least they could do.


    "The reward is much better than that. We still have many resources of the Radiant Star Sect and even the former Dual Radiance Sect, although just half of them. The problem is that these disciples wouldn''t be able to withstand their usage, only Selheira has used them."


    Ryu raised his brow at this. These did sound useful, indeed.


    "The worst issue we face is that only those with the Dual Radiance Bloodline can make maximal use of our resources. Without it, the core teachings of our Sect become quite... ordinary. Even for you, you''ve probably realized that the techniques already have less and less use."


    "While it isn''t impossible to grant this Bloodline, the mountain to climb is tall and you would also have to purge your other Bloodlines. Knowing you, I doubt you would accept that though it would save you a lot of trouble in the future."


    Ryu shook his head lightly.


    His Bloodlines were his roots. If he purged them, wouldn''t he make the final moments of his grandparents meaningless? Each one of them had given their last moments to guiding him and shining a light on his path forward. how could he abandon them?


    Aika''s gaze dimmed somewhat when she saw this. Though she had expected it, she was still somewhat disappointed.


    The worth of Ryu was even greater than it had been in the path. The weight of a Peak Ancient Dao wasn''t a joke. In addition, he seemed to have a special Bone Structure that could take on two opposing Bloodline fusions like the Dual Radiance Star Sect. If he was willing, he would become only the second person after Aika to have it after so long.


    However, even knowing it was a Peak Chaos Grade Bloodline, he didn''t even hesitate to shake his head no.


    Of course, it was impossible for it to be so strong while they were using such roundabout methods. But even if it was weaker, it wouldn''t be to an exaggerated extent.


    Ryu smiled. "Senior Aika, so long as the Radiant Star Sect doesn''t abandon me, I will bleed and sweat for it."


    Aika looked up and met Ryu''s gaze. His eyes didn''t seem to give anything away, but Aika''s own flickered with an imperceptible light.


    After a long while, she nodded slowly.


    In one step, Ryu could rid himself of the ire of the Ancestral Beasts and gain himself an even more powerful Bloodline, but he rejected it without hesitation. A person with a Dao Heart so firm... maybe she should just believe in him for now.


    "Just let me know what materials you need and I''ll get them to you. Even if they''re Sky God materials, I''ll get them. I need to plunder a few Sects to re- establish our foundation anyway," Aika said with a laugh.


    Ryu felt a rare warmth in his chest. He couldn''t remember the last time someone had been so willing to protect him.


    **


    Weeks later, Ryu stepped out of the Radiant Star Sect, sliding a hand through his pristine white hair. The badge of the Radiant Star Sect hung on hip, swaying with his steady gait. Two years ago, this might have been a useless detail, but now...


    Two great swordstaffs trembled to Ryu''s back, radiating a deathly aura as he reached for one.


    The weapon was entirely pitch black, its polearm sitting at two meters long while the great sword was just short of a meter and a half long. The spine of the great sword was entirely cut out, but from time to time a subtle white- gold light would form like cracks in reality, before vanishing as though it had never been there in the first place.


    The great swordstaff hummed when it entered Ryu''s hands.


    Ryu tossed it into the air, leaping forward with a step as light as wind. A sword howl echoed across the skies as Ryu zipped into the distance, the aura of a Sword God piercing the skies and causing all those of the Sect to look over.


    Many disciples of the Radiant Star Sect clenched their fists. In this time, while the reputation of the Radiant Star Sect had been rising, the reputation of their disciples had been plummeting. Due to Aika and her recent actions, no one they had come across dared to lay a hand on them, but their words were piercing and their ridicule was endless.


    Now that Ryu was finally stepping out, that image would finally begin to shift.


    Pibin looked toward where Ryu had vanished, clenching his fists hard. He had to work harder.


    Ryu knew little about these details, but the difference was the same to him, it hardly mattered. He wasn''t a very patient man, if others thought they could speak as they pleased, they would be in for a rude awakening.


    Currently, Ryu was entirely focused on reaching the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s Legacy World. It was located on the Sixth Heaven, so his first goal was to make it there.


    Travel between the Fourth to Sixth Heaven was far easier than travel between the First to Third. While it required very special circumstances and a lot of resources and effort to do the latter, doing the former only required a fee. Though this fee was quite steep, too steep for most beneath the Sky God Realm, it was still far cheaper than what was required in the First to Third. Plus, Ryu didn''t lack money.


    Because the Radiant Star Sect had appeared at the center of the Fourth Heaven, there wasn''t very far for Ryu to travel. After just a handful of hours, his sword howl appeared over the horizon. He didn''t seem to care how many heard or saw him.


    He fluttered down from the skies, the guards of the city ahead feeling a sheen of cold sweat on their backs. The aura of a Sword God was absolutely suffocating, and it was clear that Ryu''s was far stronger now than it had been in the past. But that much was obvious, right now, he was about as close as he could be to being a true Sky God, this wasn''t something even Fourth Heaven guards could handle.


    Ryu crossed the threshold into the city, his expression unmoved. His hair fluttered, the badge on his waist rattling.


    Long after he vanished into the city, the guards looked toward one another, seemingly trying to confirm something.


    Radiant Star Sect? That had to be wrong... That was a huge joke, they were the top heavy sect, the sect with no future whatsoever, the sect that was bound to fail...


    Their disciples were all weak.

 Chapter 1201 Wait

    The city was simply known as Fourth Heaven. As the center of the Fourth, it was a hub of tourism and business. Of course, those that could enjoy it were very few in number to begin with. With the sheer size of the Fourth Heaven, even the First, Second and Third Heavens combined couldn''t match up to it, and crossing the wilderness was something those beneath the Sky God Realm wouldn''t dare to do.


    As such, though there weren''t any rules about who could and couldn''t enter the city, it effectively became a highly elitist region where only those who could afford teleportation or had seniors in the Sky God Realm, or were Sky Gods themselves, could make it to this place.


    Of course, the final exception was being part of the two strongest Sects of the Fourth Heaven... At least in the past, anyway, because now there weren''t just two strongest, there were three, the third of which was the infamous Radiant Star Sect. As for the first two, they were well known by all, the Infinity Blade Sect and the Resonant Bo Sect.


    Most were distracted by the powerful Sword God aura that soared over from the horizon, but with the countless tall buildings and especially the tall walls of the city, very few had gotten a good look at who Ryu was.


    With the rules against flying treasures in the city, it was impossible for them to see, and with the large stream of citizens entering at any given time, it was even more so.


    Ryu had already disappeared into the crowd by the time the guards realized that they had made a mistake. They had completely forgotten to make Ryu pay the toll price for entry, and without paying the toll fee, Ryu also didn''t have the temporary badge he needed to be in the city.


    One of the guards opened their mouths to say something, but Ryu was long gone. With his Spacetime Soul Nature, he simply moved far too fast.


    They could only look toward one another with a hint of helplessness in their eyes.


    ...


    Ryu didn''t know about any of these things. He didn''t care much about paying attention to the Fourth Heaven city around him. Though it was far grandiose than any structures he had ever seen, Ryu wasn''t one to wear his heart on sleeve. He had one destination and he didn''t plan on wasting time.


    Though Ryu had this intention, his steps paused. He realized that he had yet to properly fuel his body in all this time. It had been almost two years now, but he had gone straight from a coma to training.


    His sharp gaze scanned the region before he shook his head. Any food here would likely pale in comparison to what would be available on the Sixth Heaven. He would get to the Sixth Heaven first, then he would eat before setting out.


    Ryu didn''t seem to realize that the slight pause in his footsteps had earned him the attention of a few.


    "Is that a Radiant Star Sect Badge? They still dare to appear here?"


    From on high, on the top floor of the restaurant Ryu had been tempted to enter, several figures sat, enjoying themselves. Not only did they occupy several tables themselves, but even the surrounding few tables were empty out of respect.


    In this city, the only people who could be granted such respect were disciples of the Infinity Blade and Resonant Bo Sect, however they couldn''t be normal disciples either. Without being at least Inner Disciples, the powerhouses who could open up shops in this city could directly ignore them without consequences.


    "Hm?"


    At that moment, a familiar face''s gaze sharpened. This young man was none other than Zed, the young man that had lost control of a Bronze City in the Heavenly Path to Ryu. Of course, he was still unaware of this as he had assumed that it had been Starlight, something he quickly forgot about due to the odd and mysterious energies that protected the latter from the memories of others.


    However, what Zed did remember at that moment was that Ryu seemed to also be extremely powerful, so now that he thought about it, it may very well have been him back then. And even if he didn''t think this, just Ryu''s feats afterward were worthy of remembering...


    The issue was that Starlight was so difficult to remember that Ryu''s exact combat prowess back then was likewise very difficult to remember. Things became muddled and after two years of non-activity, that fear that should have been seeded deep within their hearts had become indignance.


    The good news was that due to Starlight, this generation''s batch had managed to avoid shattered Dao Hearts due to this one encounter. The bad news, however, was that they had forgotten that Ryu wasn''t someone to be trifled with.


    "Junior Brother Zed, you recognize this person?"


    Zed''s expression darkened. "He''s Mae''s Dao Companion and one of the only three to enter the tower back then."


    "So he''s the one who snatched all the Heavenly Favor?"


    Zed''s Senior Brother looked down with a cold expression, the aura of a Cosmic Seed Realm expert causing the restaurant to sway.


    A silence fell over the table as they all looked over at once. Zed was quite well known as one of the top three geniuses of their Sect, he just happened to be the youngest so he was the most suitable to be sent below. Even after just two years of being back, he was swiftly catching up to them, already on the verge of entering the Higher Dao Pedestal Realm.


    His loss wasn''t just a matter of himself, it was a matter of the face of the whole of the Resonant Bo Sect.


    "So he''s finally appeared."


    Shitu, Zed''s Senior Brother, stood to his feet.


    "He looks like he''s headed toward the teleportation platform. Let''s go."


    "But..."


    Another hesitated, but didn''t dare to say it. Even though she didn''t say what was on her mind, they all shared the same thoughts. Bullying the other disciples was risky itself, over the last two years they had been slowly pushing the envelope and only slowly increased their measures as Aika remained indifferent.


    But when it came to Ryu, they had all been informed of just how protective Aika was of him.


    Shitu sneered. "If a Sky God interferes in a matter like this, the Radiant Star Sect will become even more of a joke, there''s a reason that Sky God hasn''t appeared since that day, in my opinion your caution all this time was a waste. So long as we don''t kill him, it will be fine. In fact, not killing him will be even better. That way, the one talented disciple they have will have his Dao Heart crushed and he''ll never raise his head again."


    The gazes of Zed and the others glowed when they heard this.


    Ryu''s figure flashed and he appeared in the region of the teleportation platform. Or, rather than a platform, it was more accurately called an open concept tower. There were no doors or windows, just wide floor to ceiling openings that one could enter.


    Of course, this was the only region one could use flying treasures in, but usually the ones using the highest levels were Sky Gods that could fly on their own and weren''t restricted by the rules to begin with.


    "I would like to open a path to the Sixth Heaven," Ryu said plainly.


    The attendee who had set up one of the many podiums surrounding the open concept tower suddenly shot a gaze up. When she had seen Ryu earlier, she had already begun to prepare a normal short distance teleportation. Even for Sky Gods, traveling between the Heavens like this was extremely rare.


    "Uh... Right," she shook her head. "The cost is a thousand Lower God Crystals."


    After Cosmic Qi Stones, there were God Crystals. Lower God Crystals were considered to be the currency most frequently used by Fragmented, False and True Sky Gods, so to say that the price was steep was somewhat of an understatement. That kind of money could buy you a weaker God Treasure.


    She looked toward Ryu after saying this, seemingly expecting him to change his mind at this moment. But Ryu only nodded and prepared to hand over the expected price.


    "WAIT!"


    Shitu''s voice echoed as a group rushed to keep up with him. Ryu''s speed had been greater than they expected and they almost missed him entirely.


    "This person can''t use the teleportation platforms!"


    Shitu was speaking nonsense, he had no idea that Ryu hadn''t gotten a city pass when he entered. His goal was purely to humiliate Ryu, and as one of the few disciples of the Resonant Bo Sect with high prestige, he had the right to almost act as he pleased within the city with how rare it was for Sky Gods to interfere in such matters.


    Ryu didn''t turn back immediately, and since he didn''t recognize the voice, he didn''t immediately realize that Shitu was speaking nonsense. When he did turn back, though, as saw the badges on their hips, his gaze went frosty.


    Shitu sneered, calming to a pause. The echo of his voice was loud and blustering, ensuring to catch as much attention as he could.

 Chapter 1202 Resonance

    "Are you going to take my payment, or not?" Ryu asked, turning back to the attendant without a word toward Shitu and the others.


    Ryu was in quite a good mood. He had just left secluded training, he had had quite a good time with his wife, his mind was clear and his purpose was even clearer. In practically any other state, he would have already attacked, but he had food on his mind currently, something that would only elevate his mood further in his estimation, so he preferred not having to deal with this at all.


    Unfortunately, it seemed that he wouldn''t have such a choice.


    The attendant seemed to freeze, not quite knowing what to do. Anyone who could take out so many God Crystals was no normal person, however she had an innate fear of the two big Sects ingrained in her over many decades, this wasn''t something so easy to shake. In addition, in her mind, if they were making things difficult for Ryu, it meant they knew who he was and thus understood their limits. If that was the case, then it only seemed to make sense to offend Ryu for their sake.


    Even so, the attendant couldn''t help but begin to sweat bullets. The pressure of Ryu''s indifferent gaze was like a mountain pressing down on her shoulders. She was already in the World Sea Realm, but this Dao Pedestal Realm junior felt like the scariest opponent she had ever come across.


    Her lips trembled and her hands practically vibrated, the sweat falling down her brows quickly accumulating around her collarbone and down her robes. Her heart beat so loudly that she couldn''t seem to see or even hear anything around her, all of her sensory perception being overwhelmed by a nearly audible thumping.


    Shitu''s sneer deepened. As if the people of Fourth Heaven City would ever side with an outsider.


    "Trying to run? I can''t say that I''m surprised, the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect are all cowardly trash."


    It was only now that the gathering spectators noted the badge on Ryu''s waist, their gazes sparkling with understanding. However, what they didn''t expect was for Ryu to suddenly flicker and vanish. Shitu was entirely caught off guard, but Zed, who was more than familiar with Ryu''s temper, reacted first.


    Zed''s gaze blazed, his bronze rod appearing in his hands. Its heft was so great that its appearance alone caused the paved roads to quake and splinter. As he swung it, the harsh whistling sound and loud boom of collapsing air was suffocating.


    Ryu appeared before him, his figure towering and his gaze ice cold. His aura suddenly flourished, a cloak of crimson shrouding him, rising, and forming the head of a roaring dragon as he raised his hand into a claw.


    He activated Dragon Soul and Dragon Claw at once, his lips opening to release a devastating roar.


    "KNEEL."


    Ryu''s voice shattered Zed''s momentum, suffocating the sound of his momentum and even his momentum itself. His claw descended, flecks of Bronze Resonance Qi appearing and sliding between the ruby scales of Ryu''s Dragon Soul.


    The heaviness of his blow magnified and the speed suddenly accelerated, crashing onto Zed''s rod and driving it back with such force that it landed on the latter''s head. The force was so great that Zed''s head nearly exploded on contact, the only thing protecting him being a radiant bronze halo that suddenly formed.


    Even so, this bronze halo could do nothing as he was driven into the ground, his rod crushing his nose and teeth, and his knees being driven into the ground.


    A single explosive exchange had ended with a winner that couldn''t have been more obvious, and yet Ryu didn''t seem to be satisfied in the slightest, raising his leg into the air and driving Zed''s face into the cracking ground below.


    BANG!


    Zed shuddered, his eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head and his teeth flying out with a cough of dense red blood.


    A harsh silence fell over the region as the boom continued to echo, but Ryu didn''t move for the sake of spectators, nor did he feel a need to let the moment have breathing room. The moment he drove Zed into the ground, his figure had already flickered and vanished, crossing a large distance in just the blink of an eye.


    Ryu had already deduced that Zed was probably at least 50% stronger here than he was on the Heavenly Path, and that wasn''t because of the increase in cultivation, but rather purely due to the change in location. He could use his full talents now.


    That change was far higher than even Ryu had expected, it seemed that the suppression was not small. If not for this, Ryu wouldn''t even need two supreme talents of the Dragon Race to deal with him, not to mention his Bronze Resonance Qi, his body alone would have been enough.


    Even so, he neared the Cosmic Seed Realm Shuti without the slightest fluctuation in his gaze, his indifference palpable and his momentum only steadily rising.


    "Take Form and Conquer the World."


    This time, Ryu''s voice was soft, and yet it caused the skies to rumble and the earth to quake.


    Ryu''s Meridians rocked and swayed within his body, his Spiritual Foundations lighting up as one of his great swordstaffs shot from his back and into his palm.


    The cry of a phoenix tore through the city, a pair of glorious white wings appearing to Ryu''s back that eventually separated into a soaring White Phoenix that shrouded the city in its pressure.


    Shuti''s pupils constricted into pinholes. Ryu was simply too fast, Shuti hadn''t expected the attack to begin with, and even after being slowed by his clash with Zed, he only seemed to have accelerated faster, not giving Shuti enough time to put up solid defenses.


    Shuti hurriedly took out his rod, entering the best defensive stance he could.


    BOOM!


    The surrounding Resonance Bo Sect disciples were sent flying.


    Shuti was forced into a retreat, what he wanted to just be a single step back became two, then three, then four, by the time he looked up, he had already been forced out of the plaza, his arms trembling and faint fractures running up and down his arm.


    He had done everything he could to not be sent flying, but his pride had cost him more than he gained. Especially since Ryu only landed on the ground for a moment before he flashed forward, appearing above his head, the cry of a Phoenix echoing as Bronze Resonance Force surged forward from all directions.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1203 Pay

    Shuti stabilized himself after dozens of steps, gritting his teeth so hard that blood flowed between them. He couldn''t imagine how a Dao Pedestal Realm brat could put out so much power. Even though he had been caught off guard, this was still unacceptable.


    Shuti suddenly looked up, feeling a shadow shroud him from the sun.


    He was instantly infuriated, this Dao Pedestal Realm ant actually dared to follow up. Did he really think that he was a push over?


    Ryu''s gaze blazed, his great swordstaff falling from above.


    Shuti released a roar, prepared to counter with his full strength. A surge of Cosmic Grade Qi rushed forward. Under normal circumstances, this alone should have suppressed Ryu''s mere Immortal Grade Qi, however Shuti quickly felt that something was wrong.


    Why couldn''t he suppress this ant?


    Shuti threw this thought to the back of his mind, simply pressing forward with all his might. Suppression or not, he didn''t believe that Ryu could win an exchange when they fought head to head.


    SWOOSH!


    Shuti''s rod hit nothing but air. He stumbled forward, shocked. In that instant, he felt an overwhelming danger coming from his back, but it was already too late to react.


    BOOM!


    Shuti froze for a moment, feeling his inner organs rattle as his bones cracked one after another. His inner armor couldn''t seem to hold up, his entire body being thrown out.


    After just an instant, he shot out like an iron ball from a canon, whipping through the air so fast that he nearly burned a layer of his skin off. But before he could even make it very far, a fist appeared before his face.


    Shuti felt as though he had run into a steel wall. He thought he faintly sensed the aura of a Fist God, but his brain was rattled a moment later, making it impossible for him to lock onto that feeling.


    He was sent flying once more, only to be hit again, and then again.


    BOOM!


    Ryu appeared high in the skies, standing on the back of his great swordstaff. His aura flourished, burning a suffocating image into the minds of those of the city. The mighty momentum of a Sword God flooded everything, causing everyone to remember exactly what they had sensed previously.


    Ryu raised a palm.


    The skies above continued to rumble, trembling and shaking as though something was stirring up within. The pressure that fell on Ryu''s shoulders only increased with every passing moment, the punishment for speaking such blasphemous words seemingly about to catch up with him.


    Suddenly...


    BANG!


    A streak of golden lightning streaked across the skies, descending toward Ryu with such a fast speed that all most saw was just a blinding flash of light.


    Lightning God.


    Ryu reached into the skies and caught the burst of lightning as though he was wrangling a snake, his aura surging as the unruly streak quickly became a stable javelin in the shape of a three meter long needle, perfectly smooth from tip to tip.


    "Piss off." Ryu said coldly, his back stretching and his arm cocking back.


    BANG!


    The lightning javelin left his hand like a speed bullet, his arm itself shattering the sound barrier and sending it flying forward with a menacing speed.


    Fear took root in the hearts of the spectators. Tribulation Lightning was something that caused them all to feel an innate fear, and yet it was controlled by this young man as though any other normal beast.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The air crackled and popped, the streak of lightning burning everything in its path. However, just when it seemed that Shuti would suffer the blow, the all encompassing aura of a Sky God caused everything to fall into silence.


    A figure appeared on the ground by the crater Shuti lied in, waving a hand upward and catching the lightning javelin. The Sky God frowned for a moment before squeezing and shattering the javelin into countless pieces. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the unruliness of the lightning. Sparks flew in all directions, bombarding against the ground.


    While the Sky God was fine, he was forced to act again to ensure that none of the sparks landed on his people. The result was far more humiliating than what he had been imagining.


    Ryu looked down from the skies, his face expressionless. He had already sensed this Sky God long ago. His Spiritual Sense was at a level that even Mental Realm specialist World Sea Realm experts couldn''t quite match up. This Fragmented Sky God had no ability to hide from him.


    The Sky God looked up. "Flying treasures are not allowed in Fourth Heaven City. Get down."


    The voice was commanding and carried a surge of qi. This should have been enough to cause any treasure beneath the God Grade to malfunction, however aside from a slight rustling of his hair and robes, Ryu hardly swayed at all.


    "If you''re blind, just say so," Ryu said coldly. He turned his great swordstaff and began to fly toward the open towers. "Next time, the Resonant Bo Sect should send their Sky Gods forward faster, it''ll save your disciples some humiliation."


    Ryu turned his back toward the Sky God without another word and didn''t bother to explain himself. The Sky God could only be said to be blind if he thought Ryu was using a flying treasure, if he wanted to humiliate himself, he could do it alone.


    Ryu stepped into the tower and looked toward a new attendant.


    "Activate the formation to the Sixth Heaven," he said coldly.


    "I... This... But..."


    Ryu hadn''t paid, nor had he gone through any of the procedures.


    "I was just attacked in your city, but you still expect me to pay for our services? I wouldn''t mind calling my seniors here if this is the game you really want to play."


    The attendant was completely flustered, his reaction even more poor than the previous young lady''s had been.


    "Let him go." A voice echoed from nowhere and seemingly everywhere.


    Soon, Ryu had disappeared, leaving the city in silence. The only sounds seemed to be the coughing Shuti and wheezing Zed.

 Chapter 1204 Qi Realm Digestion

    Ryu''s back view vanished and a silence continued to hang over the city. It felt like he hadn''t left at all, and even the presence of Sky Gods couldn''t erase the lingering Sword God aura. Fighting an entire cultivation Realm above yours was almost unheard of. Ryu didn''t care much about it, and in fact, he felt that he was still far too weak. This was inevitable, he was a man who had once been able to battle three, and even four cultivation Realms above his level, while Shuti wasn''t only less than a full cultivation Realm above him, he wasn''t even a true genius.


    The fact it had taken him so much effort only fueled Ryu''s desire to achieve more all the more. He wasn''t moved by the shock of others, he only measured himself by the expectations he held, not the expectations of others.


    Even so, the city seemed to still be suffocated by his presence even long after he left.


    "... A Living Spiritual Foundation..." The Fragmented Sky God muttered.


    He tilted his head to the skies. He didn''t know why the Heavens had suddenly tried to attack Ryu, but at this point, every time Ryu enraged the Heavens, it only made his combat power stronger due to his Lightning Qilin talents.


    "... How can he make use of it before the World Sea Realm..."


    The expression of the Fragmented Sky God darkened. After seeing just how weak the disciples of the Radiant Star Sect were, it had made the problem their two Sects were facing feel less oppressive. But the moment Ryu appeared once more, it felt like that weight had dropped onto their chests once more.


    This Ryu was troublesome, more than just a small bit troublesome as well. They had to figure out a way to deal with him, and it had to be via the hands of someone beneath the Sky God Realm or else it would be meaningless.


    Ryu had snatched the Favor of their younger generation, and the only way to get it back was for them to snatch it back themselves.


    However, if worse came to worst, and there was no choice remaining...


    The Fragmented Sky God''s expression turned malevolent. If the Heavenly Favor couldn''t be snatched back, then it was better to crush the person who wielded it. A dead genius was no longer a genius.


    **


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and he appeared in a tower not too dissimilar from the one he had just stepped into. The air was far more suffocating and there was a certain heaviness that hadn''t been there before. There was no doubt that this was the Sixth Heaven.


    Ryu took a breath and then exhaled, allowing his body to adjust himself. This was the first time he had crossed two barriers at once, the change in environment was much more obvious. At the same time, he was beginning to feel the limitations of his body.


    It was hard to pinpoint the current Grade of his Bone Structure, but his blood, at the very least, was still at the Ancestral Grade. That was a level that could be found on the Third Heaven, so it didn''t need to be said what kind of geniuses would call the Sixth Heaven home.


    Ryu closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, his aura flourishing. The suppression vanished, two eighth trigram diagrams, one gold and another dark gold, rotating in each one of his irises. A suffocating presence exuded from his body, shattering the chains of the Sixth Heaven.


    The attendant that was nearby had a frozen sneer on his face. Ryu had instantly gone from a country bumpkin who didn''t know what was good to him to a towering monster.


    Ryu swept his gaze through the teleportation platform, causing the attendant to involuntarily take a step back.


    The eight trigram diagram slowly vanished from Ryu''s silver irises as he, too, vanished.


    Ryu walked out from a restaurant, an odd feeling sitting in his belly. He was actually... full. He hadn''t even eaten his usual volume, after just three dishes, he knew that he couldn''t eat anymore. Even when he was a mortal, he hadn''t felt so full.


    One reason was because his mother had never prepared him a large meal to begin with, taking his weak body into consideration. And the second reason was even in a dormant state, his Bloodlines were still exceptionally powerful, and they were the main drivers of digestion.


    But now, he almost felt heavy.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, circulating his qi. It seemed that he would need to find himself a technique that could make up for his weak digestion.


    After some thought, Ryu changed direction and found his way to a pavilion. From a cursory glance, this was similar to the first Merchant Guild he had entered when he made his way to the True Martial World. He quickly found what he was looking for and chose the most appropriate Mystical Grade technique for him.


    "I''ll take this," Ryu pointed toward the technique description.


    The attendant raised an internal eyebrow. A Qi Realm Digestion Technique was a rare ask, indeed. Most would choose a Body Realm one. The fact this person was making this choice could only mean that their Bloodline was especially weak.


    Of all of one''s talents, Bloodline was the only one that could be passed down and it was an elevated starting point for many. Having a weak Bloodline almost guaranteed the fact that this person was from a weak family and lineage.


    Although the attendant quickly concluded this, his expression didn''t change, a customer was a customer, especially when they were buying such an expensive technique.


    Due to the rarity of such techniques, they were quite expensive. This one technique was almost as expensive as a God Technique despite only being Mystical Grade. This was a good sale.


    Ryu tossed over a single Lower God Crystal. "Get me the most detailed map of the Sixth Heaven you can with the rest. Keep the change."


    The gaze of the attendant immediately became more attentive.


    ...


    Ryu stepped out of the pavilion with a sharp look in his eyes. He could feel that he was being targeted already.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1205 Above

    Ryu twirled the technique jade he had just gotten. Despite the fact he had already picked up on such a thing, his expression was calm and he sunk his mind into the jade. After a moment, he had already memorized the circulation pattern and rotated it once.


    Almost instantly, the pressure in his stomach alleviated, the dense energy of the God Beasts he had eaten earlier weakening and dispersing throughout his body. After a second circulation, it almost vanished entirely, and Ryu exhaled a breath, feeling much lighter on his feet.


    It made sense that he would be targeted. The same conclusion the attendant had come to, others could as well. The main allure was obviously his wealth. He had just eaten in one of the most expensive restaurants in the whole of the Sixth Heaven, and then he had casually used a God Crystal to pay for a Mystical Grade technique, this much was just inevitable.


    To these people, he was a fat sheep without backing. If they didn''t target him, they would be too stupid.


    However, depending on who it was, he would deal with the situation differently.


    He currently needed more information than a mere map could provide him. The memories of the Favor Alchemy Sky God were from far too long ago and the Sixth Heaven should have undergone a great number of changes since then. Plus, there was also the matter of the powers he might alert by opening up this Legacy World in the first place, he had to be cautious with how he approached these matters.


    Anyone who could enter this city to begin with wasn''t a normal individual, they wouldn''t be common bandits. But even so, no one who would target him for bringing out a couple God Crystals would be of exceptionally high status either.


    There were two possibilities.


    The first was a lower tier Sky God, likely Fragmented or False. Such a person would likely have recently broken through, and having used all their wealth on their breakthrough, they were low on funds and thus willing to stoop this low.


    The second was a genius disciple of any number of Sect. To such individuals, they wouldn''t feel like they were stooping low because Ryu would be around the same cultivation as them. In addition, God Crystals would be quite tempting to them. Such a person likely wouldn''t be a top tier genius, otherwise their seniors would be doting on them constantly and they wouldn''t go so far just for a few God Crystals.


    Ryu''s Void Spiritual Sense flourished. Invisible butterflies formed of his Spiritual Qi rose into the skies, quickly scattering.


    This was a method of the Magus Sky God. He had sensed the intent, but the actual location was harder to pinpoint. If not for his Magus Lock sensing someone probing him, he would have missed this as well. It was obvious that whoever this person was, their Mental Realm was not bad.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t know of the standard of the Sixth Heaven intimately, so he couldn''t make an accurate conclusion just with this alone.


    Soon, the invisible butterflies swarmed two individuals.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It seemed that both of his theories were correct, it seemed that he was quite lucky.


    Shaking his head, Ryu realized that there wasn''t a chance to get the information he wanted... Unless?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    ...


    Ryu glided through the wilderness, his steps light. His body was brimming with energy and he even felt that his body had become somewhat stronger after his meal. Using Essence and Chaos Qi to process food was indeed a bit overkill, but it helped Ryu to maintain his advantage.


    The tree beneath him hardly swayed as he pushed off of it, his speed suddenly accelerated.


    To his back, he heard a sneer.


    With a flash, a figure appeared before him.


    A young man stood tall and straight, a haughtiness between his brows. It was clear and obvious that this was the Fragmented Sky God who had just broken through, he barely looked a day over 18 years old, but this was normally what happened when one broke through to such a major realm.


    ''Interesting, he didn''t attack immediately,'' Ryu thought to himself.


    There was really no reason for a Fragmented Sky God to block his path like this, that could allow unwanted variables. If he was smart, he would have just attacked to kill immediately.


    ''This makes things more annoying. The odds that the other one will step out now are nearly zero, Ryu shook his head inwardly.


    He had wanted the Cosmic Seed Realm expert to appear first so that he could capture them with his chains. Then he would stuff him into the golden moon world then used the Quivering Spectral Wings to escape the Sky God. But now things were more complicated.


    ''Maybe I should just try an information organization instead...''


    Ryu could have taken this route from the beginning, but he hadn''t wanted to. Information organizations were exactly that... information organizations. You could buy anything from them given the right price, but that also meant that anyone who came to get information from them was also part of the menu.


    If Ryu asked a specific enough set of questions, he would likely get flagged and the organization would take advantage. That would end up making his life more complicated, not less so.


    As expected, the Cosmic Seed Realm expert that had been trailing him came to a stop.


    The Fragmented Sky God frowned when he noticed that Ryu wasn''t paying attention to him. There was indeed a reason he had stopped, and that was because he had heard rumors about the Radiant Star Sect, they had made it all the way up here. However, since it had only been two years, not many knew what was real and fake, so he wanted to probe Ryu first.


    What he didn''t expect was for Ryu to not show any sort of fear whatsoever.


    Suddenly Ryu''s gaze sharpened and his aura flourished. Before the Fragmented Sky God could react, Ryu vanished into thin air.


    When he appeared again, he was already behind the Cosmic Seed Realm expert, a sky sundering rain of illusory chains swooping down from above.

 Chapter 1206 Interesting

    The Cosmic Seed Realm expert had been especially tense. When he noticed that he wasn''t the only one targeting Ryu, and the fact that his opponent was a Sky God, a cold sweat burst on his back. He didn''t believe that he could hide from a Sky God, and more importantly than that, a Sky God targeting a junior wasn''t exactly an honorable deed. If he was that Sky God, he would want to silence all those who knew about it.


    In that moment, the Cosmic Seed Realm expert realized that in his greed, he had actually thrust himself into a dangerous situation.


    His body tensed and his eyes scanned the region for an opportunity to escape, he couldn''t have been on higher alert, so the moment Ryu appeared behind him, he sensed that something was wrong and reacted quickly, his figure flickering as he moved to dodge.


    ''Fast...'' Ryu thought with a narrowed gaze. ... But that doesn''t matter!


    Twin eight trigram diagrams appeared within Ryu''s eyes, a suffocating presence descending as the skies above crackled with thunder.


    The dodging Cosmic Seed Realm expert found his body suddenly slowing, and then completely freezing. Let alone his body, even his thoughts slowed, he lacked the thinking speed to realize what was happening until it was entirely too late.


    The chains fell, wrapping around him tightly.


    An instinctual fear rooted in the depths of his heart surfaced. Despair took hold of his body and he forgot to resist entirely. His body''s functions shut down, his qi couldn''t circulate and his thoughts were filled with nothing but death.


    He realized at that moment that he would rather die than suffer such a Fate, however he couldn''t even more even as his heart faded.


    Without hesitation, Ryu threw him into the golden moon world and a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back.


    By this point, the Fragmented Sky God had already reacted, closing the distance in an instant. But when he saw the look in Ryu''s eyes, he didn''t see the fear he felt he should have.


    ''God Treasure!''


    Despite this, when the Fragmented Sky God saw the wings on Ryu''s back, his greed took over his other senses. He didn''t seem to care about anything else. All he knew was that Ryu was worth far more than just the God Crystals he had seen earlier, and now it would be his!


    "I''ll remember you," Ryu said lightly.


    At that moment, his wings quivered just once and he vanished into the void, causing the Fragmented Sky God to miss entirely and hit nothing but air.


    The Fragmented Sky God fell forward, his eyes widening in shock. His head whipped around, but outside of small ripples in space that vanished an instant later, he actually couldn''t sense a single thing. Ryu had truly vanished into thin air.


    ''The void? That''s impossible... Even a God Treasure shouldn''t be able to allow that, unless...''


    The only explanation seemed to be that Ryu had exceptionally high Spatial Affinity, enough that he could bring out more power in that God Treasure than he should have been able to at his cultivation level.


    The Fragmented Sky God stood in silence, his chest heaving. The good news was that he had hidden anything that could point toward his identity ahead of time, even hiding his face. But he was still frustrated.


    His spine suddenly shivered, remembering Ryu''s last words before he shook his head and laughed at himself. How ridiculous. Setting aside the fact that he had used his God Qi to hide his face, even if he hadn''t, so what?


    A Dao Pedestal Realm youth wanted revenge against him? It was nothing short of a joke. Only after entering the Sky God Realm would one understand just how large the gap was, and just how unguaranteed reaching this step was.


    Even geniuses of the Sixth Heaven weren''t guaranteed to reach this step, let alone a Dao Pedestal youth that had come from much lower. Plus, he had a weak Bloodline, making it even more impossible.


    ''Don''t let me catch you.''


    ...


    Ryu stepped out of the void, hid the golden moon world ring and quickly entered it. The face of the Fragmented Sky God dancing in his memories. As for his supposed shroud of qi, Ryu''s gaze had seen right through it as though it hadn''t been there. And, even if he couldn''t do that, the Magus Sky God''s methods gave him more than enough ways to remember and find an aura in the future.


    However, Ryu just slotted this to the back of his mind, ignoring it for now. He was a grudgeful person, he would definitely deal with this man in the future without a doubt.


    When Ryu entered the world, he found the Cosmic Seed Realm expert writhing on the ground, his mouth foaming, tears falling from his eyes and snot dribbling from his nose. He looked far more like a scared child than an expert of the cultivation world.


    Even after Ryu removed the chains, he was still far too shaken to move, but Ryu no longer cared at that point. He didn''t need this person to be coherent.


    Ryu grabbed the head of the Cosmic Seed Realm and his soul''s presence descended. Under normal circumstances, this would be possible to resist, but given the state of this young man, he had no chance whatsoever of doing this.


    Ryu began to rifle through this young man''s memories with incomparable ease. Normally it would be quite useless to go through so much, but Ryu wasn''t actually looking for specific information, he was looking to understand the current landscape of the Sixth Heaven and cross reference that with the details the Favor Alchemy Sky God had left behind.


    After Ryu was done, he nodded to him and moved to pull back when his gaze suddenly narrowed. There seemed to be a deeper layer of memories in this young man''s mind. In fact, now that Ryu thought about it, although he had gone through the latter''s whole life, he hadn''t seen anything about his Dao, his cultivation methods or even the techniques he used.


    ''Interesting...''


    Ryu pushed through, looking to see if he could reach down toward this deeper layer, however, he suddenly shuddered.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1207 Shiver

    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body staggering as he took three heavy steps back.


    His back suddenly felt a cold shiver and he instinctively looked into the skies. Without hesitation, a pair of wings appeared to Ryu''s back and he vanished into the void.


    BOOM!


    Just outside the range of the golden moon world, about a dozen kilometers away or so, a mighty pressure descended. It ripped through the skies and collided with the earth, ripping through it and destroying everything within a kilometer range.


    Deep within a lofty Sect, several old men and women opened their eyes at once, a coldness suffusing them.


    "Someone tried to pry into the core techniques of our Sect?" One of them spoke.


    "They failed."


    "Yes, but who? I''m not certain that they are dead."


    "It''s difficult to tell, the connection was suddenly severed. Whoever it was reacted extremely quickly and managed to avoid it by tearing into the void, thus making the connection waver and eventually fail. But that leaves more questions than answers."


    "Indeed..."


    A silence fell.


    Anyone who could tear through the void was an exceptionally powerful Sky God, but such an existence should also be aware of how foolish it was to use a soul scouring technique to try and pry into a Sect or Clan''s secrets. Such memories were protected by the Well of Faith a Sect had accumulated, trying to provoke it wasn''t just provoking the current Sky Gods, but also poking their Ancestors as well. So long as a Sect''s foundation was intact, this was an impossible task unless you were several levels above any expert a Sect or Clan had ever had. There were even cases of long destroyed Sects still having this protection epochs after their destruction.


    That begged the question, though... Who could both be foolish enough to try such a thing and yet still have the power to tear through the void? It didn''t seem to make sense. If a powerhouse had chosen to do such a thing, he would have some confidence in doing so. But if such an existence had such confidence... it didn''t make sense to target their Sect in the first place, there would be nothing useful.


    What made the most sense was that someone who had overestimated themselves had attempted to do something foolish, but then how had they escaped?


    "Keep an eye out. Should this person appear again in any meaningful capacity, I will know..."


    ...


    Ryu stepped out from the void once again, his pupils constricted. It seemed that his ignorance had almost cost him again. One of the reasons Mental Realm Masters were banned was also because of their ability to steal Core Techniques. But after trying to do the same thing, he realized that the protections of the True Martial World were on an entirely different level.


    Ryu exhaled a breath. If he hadn''t reacted fast enough, he would be dead now.


    "The Shadowless Sect...''


    The Shadowless Sect was a True Six Star Sect, and given the vague information Ryu had learned about them through the soul search, it was no wonder this young man, or, rather, Aborin, had been able to hide from his initial senses.


    The Shadowless Sect was known for their movement and spying techniques, they were very much adept at hiding themselves and escaping. If Ryu hadn''t been quick enough back then, Aborin would have slipped through his fingers, he had even been forced to use the time half of his Spacetime Soul Nature, and that was despite the fact he had sneak attacked the latter.


    This Sect was probably the worst one Ryu could have chosen to accidentally offend as their prestige and power in the Sixth Heaven was exceptionally high. To think that he would end up in this situation because of one of their relatively normal disciples.


    Ryu shook his head. He didn''t know what information the Shadowless Sect had managed to gain in that very brief interaction, but he would have to be more careful.


    Luckily, the territory of the Shadowless Sect wasn''t anywhere near where he needed to be. His current destination was on the outskirts of not a Sect or Clan, but rather a Guild of Alchemists, the Heavenly Dew Pavilion. They were a group of potion makers and they were highly respected in the Sixth Heaven, their only competition in the alchemy front was the Tranquil Hand Pavilion, but their territories were quite far apart.


    Although they were classified as a Guild, and were as such less finicky about certain things, they were no doubt dangerous. They were classified as being True Six Star as well, although combat wasn''t what they were known for. This ranking was justified due to their current Pavilion Head.


    What was more troublesome, though, was the fact they were related to alchemy as well.


    It had to be remembered that although the Frost Clan''s main enemies came from above the Sixth Heaven, there was no doubt that Sixth Heaven powerhouses participated in their downfall. Since the Frost Clan was so powerful in alchemy, for two Guilds to rise up after their downfall... Ryu wouldn''t believe that they had nothing to do with it even if a guillotine hung over his head.


    In that case, he would have to be especially careful, especially since he had Flowing Frost''s Yin Water with him. If there came a need to concoct pills, depending on what the Favor Alchemy Sky God had left behind, he would have to weigh the consequences.


    Ryu wasn''t very worried about it, though. Given the fact he held her inheritance, everything should run smoothly. The trouble would come depending on the commotion he would trigger upon opening the Legacy World itself. But those would be good problems to have. The real issue would be if someone got to it before he could.


    Ryu shook off his feelings of discomfort easily and chose to keep Aborin alive and bound for now. He didn''t want to give the Shadowless Sect anymore information about him, and killing one of their disciples would alert them and give them even more details about who might he be.


    For now, he would make his way to the Heavenly Dew Pavilion.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1208 Seperation

    It took Ryu about a month to reach his destination.


    In reality, it shouldn''t have taken so long, a few days would have been more than enough. With the robust teleportation network of the upper Heavens, travel to anywhere but the most remote regions was actually quite easy.


    However, Ryu chose a slower path for two reasons.


    Firstly, he wanted to make sure that once the Shadowless Sect inevitably investigated this region, there wouldn''t be any obvious tracks leading to his next destination. Every teleportation platform used required payment, and such things were always registered. In addition, with the memories of high level cultivators, the odds they would forget Ryu''s face was next to zero.


    The second reason he chose to do this was to better acclimate himself to the environment of the Sixth Heaven and to further consolidate his cultivation.


    In this month, Ryu had crossed the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm and entered the Higher Dao Pedestal Realm and was already a small measure away from the Peak Dao Pedestal Realm. The White Phoenix seemed to grow exponentially everyday, however Ryu couldn''t seem to feel very happy about it.


    His cultivation was fast, blazingly so. The last time he experienced this sort of speed was back in Sacrum where every step felt extraordinarily easy. But now that he was lacking the same combat prowess, this speed made him uncomfortable.


    One would think that this was because his foundation was shaky, but this wasn''t the case at all. Even if he wanted an unstable foundation, his Embryonic Qi didn''t seem capable of allowing it. Every step he took was incomparably firm.


    Even so, Ryu felt that every step he took forward was another lost opportunity.


    His steps might be firm, and his foundation might be incomparably solid, but even two people with perfect foundations could have differences between them. If a Common Grade talent had a perfect foundation, how could they compare to an Ancestral Grade talent with the same? And what about someone even more powerful?


    The further you went in your cultivation, the more difficult it was to change these things and the more set in your path you would be. This was why experts of a certain caliber would only allow those beneath certain cultivation realms to become their inheritors.


    In truth, Ryu was overly worried about this. He was aware of this as well, which was why he didn''t slow his cultivation speed just yet. The Dao Pedestal Realm, especially to the True Martial World, was just considered to be the beginning, the situation wasn''t yet helpless.


    His greatest weaknesses were his Bloodline and Bone Structure. Both had their own difficulties.


    His Bloodlines were at the Ancestral Grade, and though it was difficult to tell, after some back and forth with The Compendium, Ryu had concluded that his Bone Structure was firmly within the Fragmented Grade.


    The easy solution, depending on how this expedition went, was to rely on the Heavenly Favor pills to elevate them both.


    However, to use such valuable pills right now when they could potentially be extremely useful to him in the future felt like a waste.


    Therefore, Ryu hoped that he could use The Compendium to make as much progress as he could first and only use the pills when he truly had no choice any longer. In fact, he also had thoughts of using the pills to create a weaker pill formula that was better used by him now.


    How possible that would be just yet, he wasn''t sure, but it was a possibility.


    In this last month, though, Ryu had run into many issues, the first of which was one he never thought would be one, and that was the issue of separating his Bloodlines.


    The first time he dropped his blood on The Compendium, the results were... less than satisfactory. That was because the unique combination of his blood led back to karmic ties related to him and him alone.


    Ryu should have probably expected this, but he hadn''t thought so far ahead.


    The Compendium was a God Treasure, ironically of the Omniscient Grade, but it wasn''t actually Omniscient. When it took in Ryu''s blood, who else could possibly have such a unique combination of blood? Rather than analyzing each one like Ryu had expected, it took them all as a single whole and gave Ryu little to nothing.


    How could it come back with something? How many people in existence had five Ancient Beast Bloodlines in one body? It treated Ryu like an all new creature instead of a product of five separate entities.


    This was a hurdle that Ryu was still struggling with climbing over. He had never thought that something seemingly so simple would actually be so difficult.


    Activating one Bloodline at a time in his body was easy to him. But that process was just suppressing, not true separation. His body had long since become one. No, it was more accurate to say that it had always been one since he was conceived.


    After a month of attempts, Ryu was getting absolutely nowhere and he had even already made it to the outskirts of Heavenly Dew Pavilion territory. Every time he thought he had succeeded, he would realize that this was far from the truth.


    By the end of the month, Ryu realized that it might very well be impossible to begin with, and ironically, his Bone Structure probably only made it more difficult. Because his Bloodlines were so perfectly balanced, separating them was extraordinarily difficult.


    Ryu stood in the middle of a field, swaying bundles of wheat surrounding him as he took a breath and exhaled.


    Suddenly, his gaze flashed.


    ''Maybe?''


    What was the reason Ryu felt so close to The Compendium before? It was because it reminded him a lot of his Heavenly Pupils, and even beyond that, his Dao. The ability to see through Karma and take advantage to deduce information...


    He had tried all conventional methods in an attempt to separate his Bloodline, but why had he never tried to use Dividing Karma on them?


    If he separated his Blood from his body, and then used Dividing Karma, wouldn''t it give him the results he wanted?


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1209 Divide

    Ryu pricked his finger, causing a long stream of blood to flow out. His recovery was so fast that even after the thick mass of ruby liquid was double the size of his head, he showed no signs of going pale.


    All this time, Ryu had been practicing with his normal blood, not his Blood Essence. If he had been using the latter, he would have likely already died by now. Blood Essence was too precious for such a thing. And, theoretically, he should be able to have the same effect as Blood Essence with his normal blood so long as he matched quality with quantity instead.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he calmly watched the mass increase, stopping when it was about half the size of his body, his face still ruddy and fresh.


    If this worked, it would be game changing.


    Ryu had only ever used his Dao on others and on external comprehension. But if it worked on himself, it could change things greatly.


    This made sense. After all, whether it was Dividing Karma or Dividing Tribulation, both were targeted toward others. Dividing Karma was created to observe a sword scar, while Dividing Tribulation was created to challeng the Heavens.


    Things only changed slightly after his creation of Dividing Dharma and Dividing Sin, and more specifically Dividing Dharma which dealt with the direct consequences of one''s actions following karma doing its duty.


    Even so, none of these things were directly related to Ryu himself, and as such, he had locked himself into one kind of thinking. If it wasn''t for The Compendium forcing his hand, he didn''t know how long it would have taken him to try this.


    There was another barrier to this as well, and that was Ryu''s choice of forming the eight trigram diagram. His Inheritances had always been more internal to him while his Daos were influencing the outer world. After all, his Rage Flames, for example, came from within him, as did his other Inheritances. But his Dao felt like something separate.


    But now that he thought about it, there was no logical reason for this separation. While it was true that he had been born with his Rage Flame or his Ice Flame, or many of the other things his Inheritances relied upon, he also had external Inheritances like the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons.


    That separation he had subconsciously made was ridiculous, and the moment he challenged it, he realized how wrong he had been.


    Sometimes the most ignorant one could be was about things one didn''t feel the need to question, and what was especially difficult about that was that it was difficult to realize what you had chalked up to common sense that couldn''t be considered common sense at all...


    Ryu was eager to see what shedding these shackles would give him.


    His gaze flashed and a suffocating pressure rose from him.


    Logically, if Ryu wanted to use his Daos on himself, taking his blood out of his body first didn''t seem to make sense. But there was a very good reason Ryu had chosen to do things this way, and that was because he had a great deal of respect for his Dao and the strength it had.


    If he divided his blood within his body, there was no telling what might happen. It wouldn''t be certain that he would be able to fuse them, and given the clashing nature of many of his Bloodline, they could end up making his body a battlefield and ultimately kill him.


    That would be a far too tragic way to die, so Ryu chose caution first.


    A twin pair of spinning eight trigram diagrams appeared in each one of his irises, exuding a mighty presence.


    Suddenly, Ryu could see everything about his blood. Much of it looked like swimming phoenixes, entangling and detangling themselves. However, just within, there were two slumbering beasts, both resting their large heads on their forearms. They didn''t seem to care about the world at all.


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat. Two of his most powerful Bloodlines were slumbering?


    He slowly shook his head. In order to accommodate two races that hated each other so much, maybe this was the only way. However, just this sight alone seemed to make everything so much more obvious to him.


    As for the phoenix portions of his Bloodline, they seemed to be struggling as well. Although they were awake, sometimes a fire and ice phoenix would run into another and cancel out, vanishing into nothing. The same would happen when a Dark Phoenix met an Ice Phoenix. At the same time, whenever the three ran into the weakest strands of Emperor Phoenix blood, they would turn and run.


    Seeing his Bloodlines in such a state, Ryu realized how laughable his idea of "perfect balance" was. This wasn''t perfect balance, this was mere tolerance.


    His Bone Structure couldn''t do anything about this, he had to take action himself.


    Ryu knew that his Bone Structure would continue to grow. The only reason it was so weak was because the Essence and Chaos Qi that had formed it in the first place was at a level Ryu could use currently. Ryu was still using them at an Immortal Grade, if he could use them at full strength, he would probably already be one of the strongest existences in the True Martial World.


    However, there simply wasn''t any time.


    In order to use the full strength of Essence and Chaos Qi, he would have to be in the final Sky God Realm. But even before that, while gaining access to Cosmic Grade Essence and Chaos Qi would evolve his Bone Structure further, there was no tell if this change would be enough to cause large changes to his Bloodline or not.


    Of course, in all likelihood, it would. But would that change be satisfactory? Would it be enough to match Ninth Heaven geniuses? Surpass them?


    The answer to that was definitely no.


    Ryu couldn''t wait until he was a Dao God to unlock his full potential, there had to be a faster method.


    Ryu''s aura surged. "Divide."


    The sphere of blood quakes, rippling like the surface of a lake.


    Suddenly, the slumbering Fire Dragon and Lightning Qilin shook, their eyelashes fluttering and their eyes cracking open.


    A searing pain pierced into Ryu''s eyes as he met the crack in their gazes.


    At that moment, two roars echoed into the skies.

 Chapter 1210 Fury

    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    His first thought was that he did well by not allowing such a thing to happen within his body. The second thought he had was of the sheer violence of it all. The two had only barely cracked open their eyes, seemingly sensing a disturbance, and the result was immediate fury as though neither could stand to be in even remote proximity of one another.


    However, at that moment, Ryu suddenly remembered something else.


    This wasn''t the first time his Bloodlines had awoken like this. In fact, the last time they had awoken, it wasn''t to bluster and bloviate like they were doing now, trying to assert their dominance as though he was their Bloodline rather than the other way around.


    The last time his Bloodlines opened their eyes was in an act of cowardice. They sensed the fury of the Heavens and they ran away with their tail tucked between their legs.


    Ryu could still remember the level of rage he had had toward his Bloodlines back then.


    How ironic. He had gone from absolutely abhorring them and even trying to carve out a path without them, to suddenly being entirely reliant on their improvement for the sake of his future.


    Seeing their fury, Ryu''s gaze went cold. The pressure of his Bloodlines now was far beyond what it had been in Sacrum, but he knew well that if the Heavens suddenly descended with punishment again, there was no doubt that they would cower again.


    ''Trash...''


    Despite the fact that the words were internal, both the Fire Dragon and Lightning Qilin seemed to sense it. They looked toward Ryu at once, the crack in their eyes slowly widening as the sphere of crimson began to boil.


    The phoenix aspects of Ryu''s Bloodline retreated, but the Emperor Phoenix strands, suddenly feeling its dignity provoked, suddenly rose up. While it hadn''t been slumbering like the other two, it had been quite lazy and lackadaisical, until this moment.


    All at once, they rose up, their auras blazing.


    Ryu sneered.


    From his birth, talent had never been the problem. However, ever since coming to the True Martial World, he found himself lacking at every turn of the corner. Right this moment, other than his soul which he was certain was already comparable to the best geniuses of the Ninth Heaven, at least in terms of raw talent, everything else was lagging behind in the extremes, he was dwarfed even by many Fourth Heaven geniuses.


    While his Meridians should compare as well, without any guarantee that he would be able to deduce the rest of the cultivation method, there was no way that he could claim this, and this limitation would likewise bottleneck his Spiritual Foundations if he didn''t proceed appropriately.


    The logical solution to this was to simply throw in his lot toward his soul, focusing entirely on the Magus Sky God''s Inheritance and becoming an unstoppable existence.


    But... would he really become unstoppable?


    Due to the way his Perfect Blackbody worked, without a powerful body, he would never be able to pull out its true potential. What good was a soul that could infinitely expand if he could never tap into a large majority of that infinite expansion because the rest of his body couldn''t handle it?


    Unless he wanted to become a lich and abandon his body entirely, this was something that he would always have to contend with.


    Unless you were a perfect talent in all aspects, one Pillar would always restrict the other. This was why they were called Pillars in the first place, the absence of one would already make your foundation unsteady.


    He had gone from someone with untouchable talent to someone suddenly being stared down by his own talents because he had the audacity to want to get the most out of them.


    The more he thought about it, the colder Ryu''s gaze seemed to become.


    In that moment, it felt as though four beasts were standing in the middle of a lush field of wheat.


    "You three have a lot of nerve..." Ryu said softly.


    Suddenly, illusory chains shot out from Ryu''s body, whipping toward the Emperor Phoenix, Fire Dragon and Lightning Qilin portions of his Bloodline.


    ROOOAARRR! QIIIIIIII!


    "Pipe down." Ryu said coldly.


    BANG!


    he illusory chains wreaked havoc, tearing the sphere of crimson apart and shackling the mighty overlords of their races one after another.


    The Fire Dragon found its neck wound tight, its eyes still half open and half closed.


    The Lightning Qilin''s hooves were bound, its body stumbling and whining as it collapsed.


    The Emperor Phoenix lost control of its wings, the both of them being pinned down to its body while its lofty head was brought to the ground.


    The chains shook and rattled, but every time they did so, Ryu only suffocated them all the more, squeezing down tight and hard.


    These might be Bloodline with the potential to reach the peak levels of the Origin Grade, but right this moment they were merely tempered to the very beginning of the Blood Tempering Realm, a Body Realm only equivalent to the start of the Path Extinction Realm.


    The Lower Blood Tempering Realm was equivalent to the Path Extinction Realm. The Middle Blood Tempering Realm was equivalent to the Dao Pedestal Realm. The Higher and Peak Blood Tempering Realm were equivalent to the Cosmic Seed Realm and approaching the World Sea Realm.


    Even if his Bloodlines had been at the Half-Step Nine Life Revolutions Realm, his chains would have been able to suffocate them, let alone the fact they weren''t even close currently.


    "You five have long since forgotten that this is my body. You dare to forget your pride and prestige before the Heavens, and yet be so arrogant before me..."


    The chains squeezed down, suffocating the essence of the Bloodlines as though he would truly kill them where they stood.


    "...The only reason I haven''t shattered you all is because you represent my Ancestors, their blood, their sweat, their tears..."


    The chains squeezed down once more, the roars suddenly becoming whimpers.


    "...You shouldn''t fear the Heavens, you should fear me. It will always be me who decides your Fate long before the Heavens get a chance."


    Infuriated, Ryu controlled the chains to squeeze down once more. Unable to resist, the phantoms of the three overlords shattered, becoming nothing more than fluttering blobs of energy within the crimson sphere. However, after doing this, the brightness of the sphere of blood quickly dimmed.

 Chapter 1211 Behind

    Ryu was indifferent to this change, but inwardly, he felt a tremble. He was very much used to this tremble, it was the very same thing he had felt that day the Heavens descended on Elena''s ceremony.


    Feeling this, Ryu''s lip curled. That was exactly how it should be. His Bloodlines were in service of him, not the other way around. If not for his family, after what they did to him that day, a day he saw as nothing short of a humiliating one, he would have long since purged these Bloodlines from his body.


    Suddenly, the gloominess Ryu had been feeling over the past few days vanished into thin air, a cold smile spreading across his face.


    He instantly thought of a few things.


    For one, if he could use his chains like this, then it wasn''t impossible to mitigate the risk of using his Dao on his body.


    Secondly, where did the strength of his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure come from? Wasn''t it through an imbalance?


    The function of the Shadowlight Sky God''s Inheritance was in taking an imbalance and forcing his body to balance it. Through that process, he strengthened his body. The fact he used Light and Dark Qi hardly mattered, which was why Ryu had been able to use Essence and Chaos Qi.


    Logically, if Ryu let his Bloodline rampage within his body as they pleased and used the methods of the Shadowlight Sky God to strengthen himself, then the results would be extraordinary. And, now that he had a method of reeling them in and controlling them when that time came, it was most definitely worthwhile to try.


    With a flick of his finger, Ryu opened The Compendium, allowing several pages to flutter open as he placed large amounts of blood on each one.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed as he watched the result. At that moment, large streams of information began to enter Ryu''s mind. Information that had once been vague suddenly became clearer and clearer.


    Ryu''s eyes lost focus, illusory shackles slowly unwinding within his body. He could feel his foundation slowly becoming larger and larger.


    others might struggle with deciphering the information of The Compendium. It was a jumbled mess of images and runes. The sentences were incomplete and difficult to grasp causality from. But, beneath the rotating eight trigram diagrams within Ryu''s eyes, they were all pieced apart one after another, slotting in with incomparable ease.


    Ryu began to string together memories, illuminating vague comprehensions of the past and strengthening them. The changes weren''t large given a broad perspective, but on a micro scale, the feeling of improvement felt like lightning. Ryu had never improved the comprehension of his Bloodlines with such speed before.


    This process lasted for several hours before it slowly came to a stop.


    Ryu''s gaze regained focus and he looked forward, the intent hidden within his irises blazing.


    After a moment, a flash of determination rushed through him. The twin eight trigram diagrams blazed to life, rotating faster and faster and a crack of thunder rang out in the skies above.


    In that instant, Ryu turned his Dao toward himself, forcing his Bloodlines apart.


    A shocking pain coursed through his body. His skin began to bubble in some areas and split in others. His right leg was as cold as ice, but his left arm felt as though it had been dipped into an infernal hell. Cracks of lightning surged out from where his heart should have been and his left leg erupted with a black flame.


    Despite his body collapsing from the inside out, Ryu''s gaze was as cold as could be. The only thing that gave away the pain he was under were the beads of sweat falling down his brow.


    Suddenly, his right eye erupted with a blazing black-red flame and his left eye froze over. He could hardly see at all.


    ''Not yet...'' Ryu thought to himself.


    A whirlwind of ice, fire and lightning formed in the surroundings. Heavenly Patterns began to appear, then the scales of dragons and qilins.


    Feathers appeared on one side of Ryu''s body while scales appeared on the other. The raging storm only grew worse and worse.


    ''Not yet...''


    Ryu''s expression could hardly be seen. The commotion in his surroundings was only growing, but he didn''t seem to care in the slightest. His body was enveloped by his talents. Some seemed to try to freeze him into a block of ice and others seemed to want to burn him to ash.


    ROOOAAARRRR! CRACK! CRACK!


    Ryu''s bones shattered. Standing seemed impossible at this moment, but his qi barely kept him upright.


    At first they were splinters, but they quickly became large fissures, and soon after they shattered like glass, then became small shards, before eventually becoming nothing more than finely ground sand.


    ''Now!''


    Ryu''s chains surged and complex dark gold and white gold Runes began to appear around him once again. His tattoos appeared once more, exponentially more complex and even more powerful than that.


    The skies above crackled and surged, forming a cyclone of black cumulonimbus clouds.


    A strike of lightning as thick as a grown man''s waist descended, the strength of which was unlike anything Ryu had ever faced before. Even so, he didn''t dodge this time, allowing it to strike him without implementing Dividing Tribulation.


    Ryu''s body shuddered and his entire body became nothing more than a charred mess. The lightning danced across what remained of his skin, but his tattoos only shone brighter and with greater force, seemingly taking it as a sort of impetus.


    Ryu raised his head and roared, finally unleashing the suppressed Embryonic Qi within him.


    BANG!


    His aura surged, his cultivation entering the Peak Dao Pedestal Realm. At the same time, he entered the Middle Blood Tempering Realm.


    His charred skin was blasted away as though the shrapnel of a grenade. Their disappearance revealed red, unprepared flesh. But just as quickly as it appeared, it thickened and became more lively.


    Ryu gripped his fists, his presence soaring into the skies. Every time his bones crackled, the roar of dragons and the call of phoenixes would sound, the echoes suppressing everything in his surroundings.


    Ryu released his chains from their hold on his Bloodlines and a final resonating BOOM collapsed the air in the surroundings.


    A rush of power surged through him, fueling him to new heights.


    Ryu''s closed eyes opened, as he exhaled just once.


    His Bloodlines had finally left the Ancestral Grade behind.

 Chapter 1212 Sightless Eyes

    The improvement was more than Ryu was expecting, or maybe he was only so surprised because he had underestimated his Bloodlines too much to begin with. As he had said previously, his Bloodlines couldn''t be considered to be in balance, it was far more accurate to say that they tolerated one another, almost like an unorganized bundle of items forced into a small box. They ended up entangled like long wires, and it became difficult to extricate the power they should have had individually.


    In reality, Ryu should have long since guessed that this was the case.


    Back when he began his Body Realm cultivation, he had already known what he should have been able to expect from his Bloodlines. At the start of his journey, his Phoenix Blood should have given him 1000 jin of strength each while his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines should have given him 2000 jin of strength each, this was the benefit of having Ancestral Grade Bloodlines in Sacrum.


    Comparatively speaking, a Common Grade Bloodline would have merely 500 jin, Black Grade 600, Earth Grade 700, so on and so forth. In this vein, Dragon and Qilins were actually considered quite monstrous in strength because even compared to most other Ancestral Grade Bloodlines that were only 1000 jin, they had double that!


    Of course, now Ryu understood that the real reason for this was because his Dragon and Qilin Blood was never truly Ancestral Grade in the first place, or more accurately, that wasn''t its cap. As for his Phoenix Bloodline, while they seemed in line with other Ancestral Grade Bloodlines, once Heavenly Patterns were added to the equation, they didn''t lose out to those two in the slightest.


    However, what was important here was that when his Bloodlines came together, the strength he should have gained dropped. His Phoenix Bloodlines gave him 800 jin of strength each instead of 1000, which was the equivalent of a Heaven Grade Bloodline as opposed to the Ancestral Grade it should have been.


    At the same time, his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines dropped to 1700 jin of strength each, and while this was still 70% more than most other Ancestral Grade Bloodlines, this drop was the equivalent of an entire Black Grade Bloodline between the two of them.


    Ryu had never really thought much about this loss in strength, but after seeing a visual representation of what was occurring in his body constantly, he realized that he had been entirely too foolish in ignoring such a thing...


    It was no wonder that things like this. Ironically enough, Ryu realized that if he had been born in the True Martial World, he probably wouldn''t have seen his first day of life through.


    It was only because he was born in Sacrum that his Bloodlines were weakened enough to fall to the Ancestral Grade, whereas even the weakest Dragons, Qilins and Phoenixes here were within the nine Origin Grades.


    It was only because his Bloodlines had weakened that his Ice Jade Crystal Body was capable of "balancing" them. And it was only because his Bloodlines had been crudely "balanced" that he could live without having to suffer perpetual pain.


    This was all to say that if not for these series of coincidences, Ryu would have never been born at all. And if he had still managed to be born, his life would have been a short lived one. Let alone worrying about being a cripple, he would have nothing but death to look forward to. Ironically, it was his lack of talent that had saved him. But it was also this lack of talent that would lay the foundation for the future.


    Using the Ice Jade Crystal Body as a foundation, Ryu was able to catalyze the creation of a new Bone Structure mutation. After the first step, he had entered the Fragmented Grade, but sensing it now and comparing it to where it had been before, he was certain that it had stepped into the Perfect Grade.


    This was a huge change, and Ryu couldn''t help but wonder why that was. While the Perfect Grade was merely decent within the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens. it was an enormous change for Rvu. He couldn''t quite understand how he had undergone such a huge change after just a single session, until, that is, he looked toward The Compendium and sensed his Bloodlines.


    His Bloodlines, all of them seemed to have entered True Grade.


    Ryu understood then. The reason his Bone Structure had entered the Perfect Grade was because it had no other choice, it was forced to. It was either it adapted, or Ryu would die once he released the chains from his blood. There was no third choice.


    It seemed that the clash of his Bloodlines and the Shadowlight Sky God''s Inheritance were perfectly suited toward one another.


    The reason his Bloodlines had entered the True Grade in one step was because this was the true baseline of his Bloodlines. Just by awakening them, he had skipped forward three Grades.


    From the perspective of the Dragons, Qilins and Phoenixes, this was far from impressive, and there were many Bloodlines stronger even on the Fourth Heaven, however this was game changing for Ryu.


    The obvious reason for this was because Ryu didn''t have just one Bloodline, he had five of them, six even, if he counted Fire Phoenix and Emperor Phoenix separately. Numbers couldn''t always overwhelm quality, but when they all gave him access to the talents of Ancient Beasts, it made excellent headway.


    With Ancestral Grade Bloodlines, by using them in unison to the best of his ability, Ryu was able to match up against a Seventh Heaven genius. Of course, that genius was suppressed and an entire cultivation Realm beneath him, but this still spoke volumes.


    Now that he had so many Bloodlines at the True Grade, the strength he could output was definitely not just at this level.


    In the Sixth Heaven, the strongest talents were probably around the Omniscient Grade. Each step beyond was like ascending the Heavens as talents became rarer and rarer, so Ryu could disregard anything beyond that. Just with his raw Bloodlines alone, if he fused all of their abilities into one like he had against Starlight, he could probably match up against the very peak of the Perfect Grade and the lower extremities of the Transcended Grade.


    Of course, this would take a lot out of his Focus Qi. But the fact he had this in his arsenal was good.


    ''This is a decent first step'', Ryu concluded.


    Now that he knew the true baseline of his talents, he could see a path slowly forming ahead. The easy progression was definitely done now since he had awakened them all and every step forward would be far more difficult, but Ryu never feared difficulty.


    Rvu clenched his fists. strength coursing through his body like a stampede of horses. Disregarding his Bloodlines, just the change to his Bone Structure was enough to add a huge boost to his strength.


    ''I will need to find time to solidify my foundation with the [Refinement Sutra] before I step into the Cosmic Seed Realm and the Peak Blood Refinement Realm.''


    Ryu looked up before calmly covering his body in a new set of white and sky blue robes. By now, he should have caused more than enough of a commotion. The qi in the atmosphere should also be sufficiently volatile and different to scry from afar, whoever wants to understand what''s happening will definitely have to come in person and that should delay them.


    After a thought, Ryu took out a formation flag and dropped it.


    The silver flag fluttered down to the ground, however before it could hit the tall delicate brown wheat, space rippled like the surface of a lake and it vanished entirely.


    In that moment, nothing seemed to have occurred. But if there had been a third party observing, they would have blinked in confusion, realizing that they could neither sense nor see Ryu any longer. In fact, they were even vaguely forgetting his existence.


    This formation was one of the nine of the formation jade of the Unbalance Art Sect. Three were for offense, three for defense, and three were unique existences that were difficult to pinpoint. This formation fell into the final category of unique existences.


    This formation''s name was maybe just as unique as its uses...


    The Sightless Eyes Formation.


    It took advantage of a storm of qi and "anchored" it. This explanation sounded completely contradictory. How could you anchor a raging storm, and if you did anchor it, how could it be a raging storm any longer? Plus, once you had anchored it, what was the benefit of the raging storm any longer? Wasn''t it just a calm atmosphere once again?


    But it was exactly this sort of contradictory confusion that the Unbalance Art Sect was so excellent at and it was precisely this sort of confusion that Ryu would take advantage of.


    He had been racking his head for a long time about how he would hide his actions from the prying eyes of others. None of the solutions he had thought of were perfect, but this method would at least give him an insurmountable head start.


    ''It''s time to go,'' Ryu thought to himself before vanishing. Within this formation, only he would dare to move so quickly.


    ...


    As Ryu moved, the commotion he had caused spread far and wide, catching the attention of many. However, he was practically in a no-man''s land. It was a region at the very edges of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion''s territory, there was simply no one present.


    But now, countless auras perked up all at once.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1213 Confusion

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Several auras surged over at once. They didn''t seem to have expected one another and could only meet one another''s gaze with a sneer.


    The first to arrive was a group of three. They came from three different directions, but they landed at the same place. However, they were all oblivious to this oddity. Each one of them believed that they had simply landed here together in a common coincidence. It only made sense considering their cultivation level.


    All three of them were the Cosmic Seed Realm, however their auras seemed to carry wisps of the World Sea Realm. When they looked toward one another, despite their sneers, the wariness in their eyes were exceedingly obvious as well.


    In reality, the three of them should not have been here at this time. Not a single one of them was a genius of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion. The experts of the Pavilion would still take some time to reach this location. This was in the outskirts of their territory, and for obvious reasons, there were no teleportation platforms to this place. It would usually take several days'' journey to reach this point.


    Of course, Sky Gods would be much faster. If a Transcended Sky God made a move, something that was a very real possibility, half a day was within an expected range.


    These three geniuses, however, had been making their way to the Heavenly Dew Pavilion for an upcoming event and just happened to be nearby. As a result, they had surged to this location in just under an hour, expecting to be the lucky one to claim this treasure for themselves. But as luck would have it, there were three others.


    And unfortunately, because they recognized one another, they also knew that the others weren''t so simple to handle.


    Zovaes. A handsome young man with skin as pale as ice and eyes as red as the hues of dusk and dawn. His sneer was the deepest of the three, his black robes corroding the beautiful wheat in the surroundings. From beneath his robes, black fog would emit from time to time, forming the shape of howling souls before vanishing in the next instant, however he seemed completely unmoved by this.


    This was an Inner Disciple of the Howling Shadow Sect. Standing just a measure away from becoming a Core Disciple, he was already well known across the Sixth Heaven. Interestingly enough, he didn''t have much of a cruel reputation, but that was because no one had ever seen him kill before. However, if one were to believe that he was truly so innocent... well, naivete killed.


    Iroh. A big bellied, bronze skinned cultivator. He stood shirtless and wore a beast skin shirt that was difficult to even see through his big belly. On his back, there were two war hammers with polearms of exaggerated length and thickness. The teeth of the hammers faced forward with his body, looming tall over his shoulders like a twin head of menacing dragons.


    This was an Inner Disciple of the Twin Earth Dragon Sect, one of the very few organizations to dare to truly hold the title of Dragon, very much unlike Akura''s Clan who only dared to name their techniques after vague representations.


    Juno. If Ryu was still paying attention to this region, he would have immediately recognized the marker of the Shadowless Sect hanging from a badge on this young man''s waist. He was the most normal of the three, but he was almost exaggeratedly so, so normal that he was difficult to pick out in a crowd, so normal that it was easy to forget his face after looking away just once.


    The principles of his technique seemed to work differently from Shadowlight, but the end results were exceedingly similar.


    All three of these Sects were without a doubt True Six Star Sects, three of the nine on the whole of the Sixth Heaven. Each one was a monstrous existence in their own right.


    The three stood in a stalemate for a long while before Juno frowned, his gaze flickering as he looked around. Suddenly, his brows jumped and his heart skipped a beat. For him to have such a change in expression given his normal baseline was something even Iroh and Zovaes took note of. The moment the latter two realized that something was wrong, they too began to look through the surroundings.


    "A formation... A powerful one..." Zovaes muttered.


    If one were to compare sensory abilities, he and Juno were probably about on par with Iroh being the dunce among them. However, even with that being the case, one couldn''t be a top class genius with glaring deficiencies, so while Iroh was a bit slower, it wasn''t by a large extent.


    They didn''t even realize when they had walked into such a thing, something that left the three of them sweating. If none of them even noticed, then how powerful was the person who laid it?


    "This kind of formation is a quicksand type. The harder we try to leave, the fiercer we''ll fall into the trap," Zovaes continued. "Only a Sky God would be able to find a way out forcefully, but even then it would take time. We can likely only wait for the experts of the Heavenly Dew Sect to arrive and help us leave. There is also the possibility that it was them who set up such a formation to begin with, in which case we''ll just have to wait for them to finish..."


    Suddenly...


    BOOM!


    A second eruption of qi caught the three off guard and they turned toward the same direction simultaneously.


    ...


    The aura of Favor surged from Ryu. He didn''t stand far from the three geniuses that had just come. Ideally, no one would have come in time, but things like this couldn''t be helped. As all things went, this wasn''t the end of the world.


    Seeing the Legacy World slowly opened, Ryu dropped another formation flag and set yet another Sightless Eyes formation. With the two of them stacked on top of one another like this, Ryu was even more confident that a normal Sky God wouldn''t be able to see through his formation with any sort of ease.


    This was the power of unconventional formations.


    Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a Dao Pedestal Realm expert to set a formation that could fool a Sky God no matter how much preparation they had. Even for Ryu, who had a Mental Realm that dwarfed most Cosmic Seed Realm experts of the Sixth Heaven, it was an impossibility...


    But so was breaking into the void as a Dao Pedestal Realm expert.


    The strength of the Unbalance Art Sect was in their unorthodoxy. Others were simply not prepared to deal with it, and now that Ryu had layered two, it should give him enough time to do what he needed to do.


    The only unfortunate part was that three had entered the first formation while he was setting up the second. The slight delay in the two formations syncing would allow them to see through the formation and make it to his location. However, given that they weren''t Sky Gods, Ryu felt that it was a worthy enough tradeoff.


    Without hesitation, he jumped into the portal, not even looking back toward the three who were no doubt rushing toward him right this moment.


    ...


    The three geniuses, while being caught off guard, rushed forward with great speed. They didn''t waste time to inform the others. If they were foolish enough to miss this opportunity, that would be their own fault.


    In a flash, they appeared before the portal, exhaling a breath. Juno was, without a doubt, the first to reach it, but he didn''t step forward immediately, sensing his surroundings and checking for a trap. Given the importance of the event they were heading to, they couldn''t rule out the possibility that others were trying to deal with them ahead of time.


    However, when Juno sensed that it was actually a legacy world, his indifferent gaze lit up like a blaze. A Sky God''s Legacy World!


    He rushed in soon afterward, no longer hesitating.


    ...


    The first thing Ryu saw was an expanse of whiteness. Below him was a jet black pillar wrapped by white clouds.


    In his opinion, the odds that young men heading into this Legacy World were alchemists was probably high considering the region they were in. But after having actually laid eyes on them, he didn''t sense as much, which made him feel more confident.


    If they blindly entered an alchemist''s Legacy World without alchemy skill, it could be guessed how that would go.


    But Ryu didn''t get ahead of himself. There was no telling if the Favor Alchemy Sky God would find other ways to test them outside of alchemy. He chose to remain cautious in the end.


    Ryu looked up and saw an endless sea of black pillars identical to his own. However, to his back, there was an equally large expanse... and the same to his right... and his left...


    Ryu suddenly realized that there was no obvious direction he should be heading in.


    ...


    At that moment, the other three geniuses found themselves in the same situation. All of them looked around in confusion...


    Where was the challenge?


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1214 Where

    Ryu''s gaze sharpened. After a year of rest and a subsequent period of closed door cultivation to refine his Dao Heart, his mind was fresh and sharper than it had ever been before. In fact, his improved Dao seemed to have made his analytical abilities far faster and sharper as well. So after just a few breaths of silence, he already understood what was before him.


    Where was the challenge? This, in itself, was the challenge.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God... To choose such a Dao Title, and to even place Favor first, it might be less accurate to think of this esteemed Sky God as an alchemist, and more accurate to think of her as a scholar of Faith who happened to dabble in alchemy.


    Of course, it wasn''t that exaggerated. Obviously, "dabbling" wasn''t enough to describe her expertise. But this gist of it was that the Favor Alchemy Sky God wouldn''t just want someone who was good at alchemy to get over her legacy, but would also want someone with affinity and comprehension of Faith, Fate and Karma, only then would they be a worthy successor of "Favor".


    Standing here, with infinite pillars stretching out in directions, perfectly spaced and without even the slightest hint of deviation between them, the goal seemed obvious after some thought. You weren''t meant to know which direction to go in, you would have to rely on nothing but yourself to figure it out.


    Normally, Ryu would be annoyed. This felt a lot like yet another luck-based inheritance where the Sky God wanted to test their potential karmic ties and how strong or weak they might be. But almost the moment he had this thought, he threw it out.


    A Sky God who dared to put Favor as the first of their titles wouldn''t make such a choice. The life''s blood of the Favor Alchemy Sky God was in gathering Favor to change her Fate, that was what she pursued even during the end of her life and it was precisely this pursuit that had resulted in her magnum opus, the greatest creation she had ever concocted.


    If such a person were to rely on luck to pick a successor, they would be doing nothing short of slapping their own faces, spitting at all the hard work they had put into their lives. No, the Favor Alchemist didn''t want Ryu to rely on luck to find her Inheritance, she wanted him to sense the strings of Fate and Karma, following them until he found the core of her inheritance.


    Coming to this conclusion, Ryu directly sat down, taking a breath and exhaling.


    He closed his eyes for a moment, shedding all distracting thoughts. When he opened them up again, each of his irises had a pair of eight trigram diagrams slowly turning in opposite directions.


    The world before him shifted slightly. He could no longer see the Lines of Fate without his Heavenly Pupils, so reading them was far more difficult. However, he could see subtle shifts in the world down to the smallest details.


    He could see the currents of the wind as though they were drawn out on a weather map. He could see the ever so slight deviations in the black pillars, while it seemed at first glance that they were absolutely perfectly spaced, this wasn''t actually true on second look. Finally, he could see the shifts in the clouds, and interestingly enough, they didn''t perfectly follow the flow of the wind either, almost as though there was something else influencing them.


    After a while, the eight trigrams slowly faded from Ryu''s eyes and his gaze carried a hint of coldness to them.


    It seemed that he was more unlucky than he thought.


    There were three paths, three perfectly identical paths.


    Ryu didn''t believe that this was a coincidence. Those three paths should be leading him right to the only other three that had entered this Legacy World with him. The Favor Alchemy Sky God must want him to get rid of them first, only then would the real path appear.


    This made sense, in a way. But it felt somewhat... out of place.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God didn''t seem to have many battle techniques in her inheritance, at least not in the portion Ryu had already received. Nothing in her memories seemed to note that she was a fan of battle either. Although this was the easiest way to clear out competition if many appeared at once, this didn''t seem like something she would do. Unless...


    Ryu''s gaze flashed.


    ''I see. The point isn''t to find them and battle them. The point is likely to use the tides of Fate that can be see to deal with them one by one, maybe even dealing with them all at once!''


    Ryu fell into his thoughts once again. This was much more difficult than just battling them, and battling them would be difficult already. Trying to fight three Half-Step World Sea Realm experts while keeping in mind that he was on a time crunch would be like throwing himself into the fiery pits.


    However, trying to manipulate the Line of Fate was also extremely difficult. The calculations required were exaggeratedly long, and given his time crunch, it would be extraordinarily difficult.


    ''These pillars... could be a lot like grid lines...''


    Ryu''s perspective shifted and he felt as though he had been transported into a game of Domain. His heart fluttered and the twin eight trigram diagrams appeared in his irises again.


    ''The slight deviations in the pillars, they aren''t all created equal to begin with...''


    The grid lines in Domain were the battlefield. However, on Domain, unlike a game like Go or Chess, the grid lines weren''t all made equal. There were square spaces, triangular spaces, hexagonal spaces and pentagonal space. These deviations represented changes in terrain, certain advantages and disadvantages, and traps.


    The key to dealing with these three as swiftly as possible would be these seemingly identical pillars.


    However, the question was... where were the pieces he was manipulating?

 Chapter 1215 What Happened

    ''The pieces... the pieces...''


    The pieces couldn''t be himself and the three others, although he probably would have to manipulate them at some point, a game of Domain couldn''t be played with only four pieces.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s gaze glowed. The wind and the clouds were moving differently in relation with one another. Logically, this made little to no sense. The clouds should be relying on the wind to pick and choose the direction of their flow, but in this case that wasn''t happening.


    ''Could it be that the pillars are both the grid lines and the pieces?''


    When Ryu observed again, he found the reason for the clouds moving in opposite directions. The wind would cause a slight shift in the pillars, causing it to move in a certain direction. The result would be the wind pulling in one direction and the pillars pulling in another. What was especially odd about this was that the clouds seemed to be an anchor of sorts, almost to the point that Ryu hadn''t been able to tell that the pillars were moving at all in the first place.


    It was a three level system. The wind was one, the pillars were two, and the clouds were last. By shifting one, changes would result in the next.


    This layer of complexity was easy enough to manage, simply direct the wind in the opposite direction of where you wanted the clouds to go and as anchors, the clouds would shift the pillars into the position you wanted.


    However, what was more troublesome was the fact that the wind seemed to have a set pattern of flow. Changing it in one region wouldn''t end there, it would lead to a cascade of complicated events down the chain.


    If Ryu wanted to move the pillar to his right further to the right, it would require taking into account six layers of movement. He could only seem to directly manipulate the wind and clouds on the pillar he stood on himself, which meant if he wanted to shift a pillar on to his right, he would need to account not only for his layer of movement, but the cascade of events down it.


    One could see how easily overly complex this would become. By the time he wanted to manipulate a pillar hundreds or even thousands away from him, the number of convoluted variables he would have to deal with were ridiculous.


    As though this wasn''t enough, if he also had to contend with the others trying to shift the wind and clouds as well, the headache would be a supreme one. Of course, that wasn''t the only problem to contend with, because even if the three were far out of their depth and didn''t even realize what kind of trial they were in, they would still be doing one very important thing...


    Moving!


    Geniuses wouldn''t just remain idle and wait for something to happen to them. They would definitely try to force the issue and pick a direction to rush toward.


    Ryu suddenly grinned, his gaze cold. ''Interesting...''


    The only question that remained was how did he "win" this game. So what if he could manipulate the pillars, how would that help him crush the opposition?


    Once again, that answer lied within the pillars.


    You won in Domain by cornering the King, a situation where there were no viable movements left. If he saw the pillars as grid lines, it wouldn''t be impossible to force this, he just needed them into a functional dead end.


    Ryu''s eight trigram diagrams appeared once again, spinning faster and faster.


    "There''s no time to waste, I''ll crush all three of you at the same time."


    Ryu''s hair fluttered, the sharpness of his gaze seemingly seeing through all things.


    ...


    Iroh reacted about as Ryu had expected. After several moments of looking around for clues, he realized that he wouldn''t find anything and picked a direction to charge toward.


    It wasn''t just him who made this choice, but Zovaes as well. Zovaes could tell that there was something up with this region, but he was also sharp enough to know that he wouldn''t be able to figure it out in a short time just staying in place.


    The difference was, while Iroh ran in a completely straight line, Zovaes'' movements were more erratic. Sometimes he would go forward, sometimes he would backtrack, sometimes he would move to the left or right, and sometimes he would stop entirely.


    Of them all, the only one who didn''t move at all was Juno. He seemed to have sensed something was off and he quickly began to deduce what was happening. But in an irony of all ironies, it was precisely because of this that he was the first to fall.


    Juno''s gaze suddenly sharpened, but it was too late.


    The pillars around him shifted ever so subtly before suddenly accelerating. Before he could guess what was going on, the pillar beneath him suddenly gave way. His heart leapt into his throat as he tried to quickly react. He thought that maybe it was wrong of him to stay in place for so long, maybe what the Sky God was testing was decisiveness.


    Unfortunately, the moment his pillar gave way, there was no longer another chance.


    Iroh, who was zipping forward at the fastest speed, didn''t seem to realize what was coming for him, but there was no doubt that he would be the next.


    He seemed to sense something in the final moment as well, but Ryu''s timing was too perfect. The instant his foot landed on the pillar, the world collapsed around him. He tried to leap to the next, but a powerful force sucked him downward.


    The most difficult of the three was definitely Zovaes. His movements were completely erratic. However, that was only a matter of perspective.


    If he suddenly entered a region with very few options, how erratic could he be?


    Zovaes didn''t know how it happened, but he suddenly found himself in a corner with only a few options before him. He suddenly hesitated, not knowing which direction to go in, but that likewise sealed his fate.


    The pillar beneath him collapsed and he never got the chance to make a choice.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Three geniuses fell into a wheat field all at once, their eyes wide.


    What had just happened?

 Chapter 1216 Give Me A Reason

    1216 Give Me a Reason.


    Ryu took deep breaths, beads of sweat falling down his brow.


    Even now, his current limit of perfection in a game of Domain was a three layer game, up from his previous limit of two. But the complexity of this trial was at least four, approaching five. If the other three had been fighting back, Ryu didn''t know if he would have been able to do it.


    The requirements the Favor Alchemy Sky God had left behind were almost oddly high. From Ryu''s understanding, she had only been a Transcended Sky God who failed to become an Omniscient Sky God. For someone like Ryu who had a Peak Ancient Dao so perfect for her Inheritance to struggle to this extent... wasn''t she asking for too much?


    Of course, there was another, more obvious possibility, and that was that the Favor Alchemy Sky God had been looking for a successor who had already become a Sky God. If Ryu was a Sky God and maintained his Ancient Dao, this would have obviously been a breeze, but there was a great deal about this that made too little sense.


    It wasn''t impossible to be looking for a Sky God successor, the problem was that nothing seemed to suggest this in the first place.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God had left her inheritance on the incomplete Heavenly Path, a place where only lesser geniuses would enter under usual circumstances. But let''s say that she was unable to reach a level where the Complete Heavenly Path would accept her Inheritance, why was it that she didn''t make it clear in the Inheritance she had left behind that Ryu should have waited until he entered the Sky God Realm first?


    It could be said that outside of some geniuses of the Eighth and Ninth Heaven with similar Daos to Ryu, there was no one else beneath the Sky God Realm that could pass the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s test.


    It wasn''t that the Transcended Sky God Realm was some inferior existence. To Ryu, who had met Dao Sovereigns before, this seemed a little low. However, to greater existence, anyone who could reach such a level was in the 1% of the 1% of the 1%. Even that wasn''t enough to illustrate just how rare of a genius you needed to be.


    However, the issue was that the level the Favor Alchemy Sky God was at, versus what she was asking for in a successor, wasn''t proportional.


    Ryu exhaled a breath, finally catching his breath. After a while, he shook his head. His Focus Qi was critically low right now, even if it cost him some time, he had to rest. He made a decision and closed his eyes to meditate.


    ...


    Hours later, Ryu awoke. However, he didn''t find himself on the pillar he had expected to find himself on. Instead, he found himself in what looked like a prayer hall.


    A wide set of bronze stairs were before him, lined with sticks of essence that were above a meter tall each. A pedestal was located on the top stair, upon which a tome was open.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He should have needed another push to get to this place, so how had he just appeared? It was almost like the Favor Alchemy Sky God was tired of waiting and just decided to scrap everything else to allow him to appear here.


    Something just felt... off. Nothing alone was enough to force the oddity, but together they stacked up to the point he could no longer allow them.


    "Tell me why I shouldn''t kill you right now..."


    The voice caused Ryu to narrow his eyes. It was so soft and soothing, and yet so filled with murderous intent. Even so, he couldn''t take this murderous intent seriously, if she had wanted to kill him, she should have already taken action while he was asleep. Why was she so insistent on asking him this question? It was obvious she couldn''t bear to kill him, not because of some superfluous reason, but because she needed him.


    Ryu looked up and found a strikingly beautiful silhouette, a far cry from the wrinkled woman he had seen in so many visions before. Her hair was the most unique Ryu had ever seen, it looked black at first glance, but every time it shifted, a shimmering white underlayer could be seen almost like the sun peeking over the horizon.


    Her eyes were deep and unfathomable. There didn''t seem to be a start or end to her irises, her entire gaze was taken up by an expanse of twinkling stars, making it look as though she had a galaxy within her, almost as though if you cut her open, starlight would spill out rather than blood.


    She stood in the air, her bare feet peeking out from her almost transparent pink robes. Her hair was so long that even with her in the air, it almost brushed against the ground. She didn''t look quite human and almost felt like... A force of nature.


    Even so, Ryu met her gaze calmly as his thoughts flickered. He didn''t even quite understand her question, what had he done that was worthy of death?


    "Favor Alchemy Sky God?" Ryu asked in the end, unable to say anything.


    "Did you not hear my question?"


    Hearing this, Ryu almost laughed. Why did she suddenly sound like a little girl who was enraged about someone stealing her doll?


    Ryu really didn''t like it when people threatened his life, but it didn''t even seem like that was what was happening here. It felt like this woman was looking for a reason to let him off, the problem was that he didn''t know why she was mad in the first place. What had he done?


    "What''s so funny?!" The Favor Alchemy Sky God all but stomped a foot.


    Ryu shook his head. "I really don''t know what I did wrong, so how am I supposed to answer your question?"


    "You don''t know what you''ve done?! You''ve snuck down from the higher Heavens to interrupt my Inheritance process and you don''t know what you''ve done?!"


    Ryu was speechless. Higher Heavens? Snuck down? He wasn''t even from the True Martial World, what was this nonsense?

 Chapter 1217 Fool?

    1217 Fool?


    Suddenly, Ryu understood. He had an Ancient Dao and it was what he had relied upon to pass her trial, however there was a distinct lack of branding on his forehead. If you put two and two together, this conclusion was almost obvious. How could anyone reach the conclusion that he, as a Dao Pedestal Realm expert, was able to avoid a brand created by the Higher Heavens?


    Even now that Ryu knew what the Favor Alchemy Sky God was getting at, it was difficult to explain in a few words, and even more difficult to prove it.


    "I see... I''m not from the Higher Heavens."


    Instead of waiting for the Favor Alchemy Sky God, Ryu''s aura flourished and his Qilin, Dragon and Phoenix Bloodlines flourished.


    "I am from a Middle World."


    This was the easiest way to prove himself. The Higher Heavens would never allow such Bloodlines to come together, only in the lower worlds where the variables were so enormous and variable could something so ridiculous happen.


    It had to be understood that for Ryu to appear, his grandparents had to come together, then his parents, but he appeared. But here, his grandparents would have never been allowed to do such a thing, their Ancestors would have preferred to kill them than allow such a thing, so it was even less likely for such a thing to happen twice and produce his parents, and then somehow even let them come together.


    It was impossible.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God blinked. "... How?"


    Ryu smiled lightly. "I have the Lightning Qilin Bloodline, that matched with my Dao makes it much easier for me to deal with Lightning Tribulations compared to the usual person. Unless I''m faced with a Tribulation designed for someone far above my cultivation Realm, it won''t pose any threat to me, but such a tribulation would never target me to begin with."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s eyes lit up. So by resolving the Tribulation, Ryu was able to avoid being branded?


    Seeing her accept this explanation so easily, Ryu was somewhat speechless. Was this really someone who had reached the height of Transcended Sky God in her lifetime? She was really like a little girl?


    Of course, she looked like a grown woman, her curves spoke for themselves. However, Ryu had gotten used to judging people''s ages based on their character and auras. So long as your cultivation reached a certain standard, you would pretty much always be at your prime, around 21 years old or so. So, even though the Favor Alchemy Sky God was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, he could only stand to look at her like a little girl.


    Suddenly, the Favor Alchemy Sky God bowed lightly. Her almost see-through pink lace robes were so loose and thin that the small action nearly made her breasts fall out, but she didn''t seem to notice at all.


    "I''m sorry, I made a poor assumption. I apologize if I scared you."


    Ryu was rendered speechless again. Why was this Sky God so na?¡¥ve, and even going so far as to apologize to him? What was he supposed to say to this?


    "It''s not a problem," Ryu said lightly. "But why would it be a bad thing if I was from the Higher Heavens?"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God pouted.


    "I deduced the future many years ago and it said that my successor would be someone from a small world. I was angry because I thought I was wrong. My premonitions said that you would have a method for me to reform my body."


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat.


    Almost immediately, the image of a na?¡¥ve little girl was wiped from his mind. Looking into the innocent eyes of the Favor Alchemy Sky God, he saw nothing more than a monster wrapped in beautiful silks.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God wasn''t na?¡¥ve. No, it was more than she had all the right to be na?¡¥ve because she seemed to know what would happen long before it happened. If you could guess all the things that would happen to you before they happened, why would you ever build a sharp aversion to danger? Why would you ever learn to be properly skeptical? Why would you form any sort of wariness toward the world?


    He might not have believed her if he only said he was from a lower world, after all he had just told her that himself. The most shocking thing, and the reason his reaction was so violent, was because did have a method for the Favor Alchemy Sky God to reform her body.


    It was a method he had kept aside for Eska and one he still planned to give her... But why did the Favor Alchemy Sky God sound so sure that he would be willing to give this method to her instead?


    Ryu''s casual expression faded. He no longer looked like he was facing a little girl and the soft edges of his expression vanished. In its place, there was a deep coldness.


    "What do you want?" Ryu said with a narrowed gaze.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God didn''t seem to notice this change in Ryu, or maybe she was just used to people reacting like this to her abilities.


    "I would like to use the body in your possession."


    "I''ve prepared this body for my concubine, why would I give it to you?" Ryu asked coldly.


    "Because the help I can give you is greater. In addition, you will be able to gain other methods to help her in the future."


    "If finding other methods was so easy, why couldn''t you find them with your methods?"


    Did he look like a fool?


    Flowing Frost''s body was a very rare opportunity. Flowing Frost was a Perfect Sky God who had preserved her body at her prime, separating from it so that she could give a worthy successor something in exchange to help her family seek the revenge they deserved.


    Where else would one find a Sky God willing to give up their prime years so unselfishly? Such a thing was obviously next to impossible.


    But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Not only had Flowing Frost done such a thing, but she had also primed her body such that it wouldn''t reject another soul. Such methods were practically unheard of.


    Why should he give the Favor Alchemy Sky God such a thing?


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1218 You

    1218 You.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God looked down after hearing Ryu''s question. This was indeed a glaring issue. If finding a new body was so easy, she wouldn''t have to go through all of this trouble.


    "In addition, I made a promise, one that won''t necessarily be possible to keep if you take the body." Ryu said with just as cold a tone.


    He didn''t describe the details of this promise, mostly because he wanted to see just how accurate the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s clairvoyance was. When she reacted with confusion, he got his answer. It was clear that she didn''t know about this at all.


    "Do you know the reason Flowing Frost gave me her body despite the heaviness of the cost to her?" Ryu asked.


    "I..."


    "The Frost Clan''s Bloodline, that body has the last remnants of it. You can probably guess now, right?"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s brows shot up and she immediately went red. She seemed entirely too flustered given her age, but given her personality, maybe this should have already been obvious.


    She took a breath and exhaled. "... I had been researching that pill for a long time already, this is a good opportunity to see if it works..."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, wondering what this woman was talking about now. As her blush slowly faded, it couldn''t be that she really planned to accept, right? Or was it that this pill was a more dangerous one than her tone was making obvious?


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God looked up and nodded. "I accept."


    "You accept?" Ryu frowned.


    "Don''t overthink it," the young woman waved her hands in a somewhat flustered manner. "I created a pill that I haven''t named it quite yet... I can complete it with a hint of your Yang Essence. So long as I swallow the pill..." she blushed profusely again. "... I can get pregnant without going through... That..."


    Ryu''s brows raised. Such a thing was possible as well?


    "... It''s quite ingenious actually. The pill will enter my body and slowly release its medicinal effect over an extended period of time. Whenever it senses that my body is in good condition for conceiving, it will release another wave of your Yang Essence. This pretty much guarantees conception over a long enough period of time, and it doesn''t require..."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God blushed once again. She had never tested this pill for obvious reasons, but due to her intellectual curiosity, she had ended up researching it. Although she didn''t look at it, if there was one thing she was obsessed with, it was making money. So she had thought of all sorts of pill formulas over her lifetime that could make the lives of cultivators easier, and this was definitely one of them.


    But this idea never actually sold. Very few Sky God women were obsessed with having children for obvious reasons-it was too great a hamper on their potential and most wanted to wait until they had reached the limit of their talent-as for those that did want to have children, they tended to quite like the process itself... so, commodifying the chain of events proved more difficult than the Favor Alchemy Sky God had thought it would be.


    "... Does it really feel that good?" She muttered. "... They don''t know what''s good for them..."


    Ryu was almost tired of being rendered speechless by this woman. He shook his head.


    "Even if you can accept carrying my child, this isn''t good enough."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God released an exasperated sigh. "Don''t you know how much I can help you? Just setting aside the flexibility of having a Sky God by your side, what about a Sky God alchemist?"


    "Having a Sky God by my side will only dull my sharpness. I have no need for a Sky God alchemist. I can''t take pills above my level, and for those at my level, no one can make pills that are better than mine. You would only hinder me," Ryu replied plainly.


    "What did you just say?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. There was a hint of sharpness in this woman''s eyes now, it seemed that she didn''t take his words lying down.


    Instead of answering with words, Ryu just flipped his palm, revealing a delicate ore. At first, the Favor Alchemy Sky God only glanced at it once. But then she looked at it again, and then again, and then she eventually came so close that her nose was practically pressed up right against it.


    Then, Ryu took out another. But this time, it wasn''t an ore, it was a crystal pill with a river of rainbow colors swimming within it.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s eyes opened wide. It had taken her several looks to understand what she was looking at in the ore, but when it came to the pill, she saw through it instantly. A pill using both pill and potion refinement methods, reaching the very pinnacle of the Runed Grade.


    The ore was none other than the ores produced when Ryu used the [Refinement Sutra] for his Bone Structure. There was maybe no other ore in existence at the same level that shared this level of mysteriousness.


    The pill was created when Ryu used the [Refinement Sutra] on his Qi Realm. What he needed was the Heavenly Favor from these two, so he never needed to consume them and as such, they had just been accumulated in his connection. If the Heavenly Favor Pills were the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s magnum opus, then these pills and ores were Ryu''s own magnum opus. And seeing them now...


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s little heart couldn''t help but tremble.


    She stared at them with her large, unblinking eyes, the depth of a galaxy still hidden within them. She truly didn''t seem human at all, but she carried the adorable air of a little girl one wanted to protect with their lives.


    Suddenly, the Favor Alchemy Sky God looked Ryu in the eyes.


    "You. Do you have a Dao Companion?


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1219 One Condition

    1219 One Condition


    Ryu truly thought that he had been finished being taken off guard by this woman. But she once again rendered him without the words to speak. It simply didn''t make sense how this woman could go from being flustered speaking about the most mundane things, to suddenly asking something like this so boldly.


    What are you talking about?" Ryu asked.


    "Aren''t people with common interests supposed to become Dao Companions? I''ve never seen someone with my level of skill in alchemy, but you come very close. And, only someone who truly loves alchemy could possibly concoct such a thing. Doesn''t it make sense to be Dao Companions?"


    Ryu looked at the Favor Alchemy Sky God who seemed to be quite serious before he shook his head.


    "Sorry to disappoint you, but I have four wives and two concubines. In addition, I do not love alchemy, it is a means to an end and I happen to have the skill for it."


    "Nonsense! You definitely love alchemy, I can see it in your eyes. You''re a person who loves challenges, you love information, you love deciphering said information... You love being the smartest person in the room, having the sharpest mouth. Something happened in your life that suppressed this side of you, but as time passes, people don''t change much, you will revert back to the mean soon."


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. For a long moment, he couldn''t refute, and even when he wanted to speak, the Favor Alchemy Sky God had already continued.


    "Also, what is this about wives and concubines? So what, is that what a Dao Companion really is? The point of a Dao Companion is to be a companion in the Dao. Most people use that term too freely. The true root of it is to share a similar foundation and a similar end goal."


    "From what I can tell, of your women, only one of them is aligned with you so perfectly. Isn''t it simple, then? Just give me time and you can pick one of us as your official Dao Companion! She started earlier, it''s not fair!"


    Ryu had been prepared to react quite coldly. In a situation like this, a Sky God of the Favor Alchemist''s caliber would most definitely say some nonsense about being far better than his wives anyway, but her approach was different from his expectations. At the very least, he could respect it.


    Ryu already knew who she was talking about, there could only be one: Ailsa.


    "I''ll never choose just one, you can forget about this. Also, I have no intentions of taking you in as a Dao Companion just because you say so, I don''t even know you."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God bit her lip in a frown. Eventually, she sighed and fell into a seated position on the wide stairs. She felt a bit helpless at this point.


    Ryu watched her for a long while before he opened his mouth to speak again.


    "Tell me the truth, why are you really here? Although finding another body is almost impossible, for someone like you it shouldn''t be the case, right?"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s eyes flickered with a hint of sorrow.


    "I reached the end of my lifespan, there was no escaping it. Putting my soul into another body would have just caused me to die just the same."


    "Then what is the difference between then and now?"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God sighed a deeper sigh.


    "It isn''t that I cannot find a body, it''s that I cannot find one as perfectly suited to me as Flowing Frost''s. Because she ended her life in her prime, while I lost mine at the end of mine, we are like two halves of a whole. If I enter her body and swallow a Heavenly Favor Pill, I can snatch the Favor that should have been hers and claim her lifespan for myself."


    "After that, so long as I break through and return to the Transcended Sky God Realm and step beyond and finally reach Omniscience, I can break free of her Fate entirely and reclaim my own, setting me back on the right track."


    Ryu''s eyes widened.


    When the Favor Alchemy Sky God had said he was only close to her level of skill, although he hadn''t said anything, he didn''t really believe it. However, hearing what her magnum opus could do, Ryu realized just how far the gap really was. In fact, her saying close was only giving him the benefit of the doubt and adjusting for the difference in cultivation.


    If what the Favor Alchemy Sky God said was true, then even if Ryu reached the Transcended Sky God Realm one day, there was no telling if he''d ever catch up to her.


    Using a pill to shift one''s Fate onto your own, cheating death and extending your lifespan... If others knew that such a thing was possible, what kind of shocking abilities the Favor Alchemy Sky God had...


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled. This na?¡¥ve woman before him was indeed the strongest alchemist he had ever come across. Let alone come across, she was the strongest he had ever even read about or heard legends of.


    How was it that this woman was stuck at the Transcended Sky God Realm? Was crossing the Sky God barriers truly so difficult?


    ''... The more talented you are... The more difficult it is...'' Ryu thought to himself.


    "...So what you mean to say is that the reason you couldn''t find a body is because you specifically needed this one?"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God waved a hand. "Of course, finding any normal body is easy. I can even concoct a pill that a soul could swallow to reform their body. It''s just that that pill would be useless to me."


    "So that means you can make my concubine a body of her own?"


    "Sure, if she pays a proper price. I don''t work for free!" The Favor Alchemy Sky God mumbled.


    Ryu almost rolled his eyes. This woman was truly a dunce, wasn''t the solution right in front of her? Yet she was still being like this.


    "Alright, I accept. However, in this exchange, you owe me, remember that."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God looked up with an excited expression, nearly spilling forward. However, Ryu''s thoughts were elsewhere.


    ''... Eska''s life should have reached its end already too, so how is it that she can live without special methods...?''


    "There is a condition." Ryu suddenly said.


    "Anything!" The Favor Alchemy Sky God said quickly.


    "Just a question... Are you human?"


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1220 Yes?

    1220 Yes?


    "... Why are you asking such useless questions? Does it matter?"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God looked away, trying to avoid Ryu''s eye contact. But it was clear and obvious to anyone that she wasn''t a very good liar. What was more important, though, was that she didn''t seem to want to divulge this information, which was... odd. That said, it was precisely because of this that Ryu had asked to begin with.


    There was an odd feeling coming from the Favor Alchemy Sky God. But even if Ryu couldn''t sense that, just her eyes alone painted a picture that was impossible to fathom. She had no irises, no whites, and seemingly no pupils either. It was as though her eyes were nothing more than a pair of glass orbs which reflected the night sky.


    Ryu wasn''t exactly opposed to non-humans. In fact, most of his women weren''t human, and he could hardly be called a true human himself since most of his strength came from his beast Bloodlines.


    Plus, there was such a large deviation between the humans of the upper Heavens as well. The only guaranteed method of passing down their strength was through their Bloodlines. After many years of preserving and guarding these Bloodlines, two "humans" might be as far from human as could be. If you looked into their bodies, they wouldn''t even seem to be the same species of being.


    However, the main issue here was that Ryu still felt that the Favor Alchemy Sky God was trying to hide something, and if his guess was correct, it was related to her identity.


    Despite the fact he had fused with her Inheritance, when he compared and contrasted it with what he knew about the other Sky Gods he had become the successors of, he realized just how little he knew.


    If you took the Shadowlight Sky God, for instance. Ryu knew that he was from the Shadowless Sect, he knew his name and surname, he knew many of his dreams and aspirations in life, and he also had a road map of the key points of his life.


    However, when it came to the Favor Alchemy Sky God, outside of the circumstances of her death, he got nothing else out of it. He wasn''t even sure if she had ever joined a Sect before, he couldn''t even confirm if she was truly from the Sixth Heaven or if she had just settled here.


    Ryu sneered. "You wanted me as a Dao Companion just seconds ago, but now you can''t tell me something so fundamental about yourself? How would you ever beat my Ailsa?"


    The difference was striking. Ryu didn''t even need to ask to know quite literally everything about Ailsa. He could even see how many times she had peed the bed as a child if he so chose to, they were that intimate.


    Even if he took a step back and considered his other wives, because their souls were fused, the effect was quite nearly the same, although not as in depth. He could still know and understand their thoughts and emotions with a single thought. How could they compare to the Favor Alchemy Sky God who wanted to keep something like this a secret?


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s expression changed several times. To Ryu''s shock, she actually seemed to take his words quite seriously.


    "I am ... I am ... I am not from the True Martial World."


    "You are from a lower world too?" Ryu asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "No."


    Ryu frowned. It couldn''t be that there was more out there than even the True Martial World, right?


    But that didn''t necessarily need to be the case either. The True Martial World was just technically the Real Plane. There were still many other Planes. The Nether Plane had living creatures on it, so did the Ethereal Plane, and given how little Ryu knew about the True Martial World up until this point, he wouldn''t be surprised if there were other things he didn''t quite understand.


    "Are you from one of the Planes?"


    "Ah... Yes?"


    Ryu''s frown deepened. Why did she sound so uncertain?


    "Stop, stop, stop!" The Favor Alchemy Sky God suddenly covered her ears and buried her head into her knees. She seemed to be in great distress.


    Ryu didn''t even know how to proceed from here. He had thought that there would be a secret behind this, but he didn''t expect it to be so difficult to get it out of this woman.


    "You aren''t a Martial God, are you?" Ryu asked with a sharp gaze.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s head suddenly snapped up, a look of sheer disdain and derision in her eyes.


    "Don''t compare me to those sexual deviants!"


    Ryu''s lip twitched. He wanted to refute, but then he thought of the jade burning a hole in his spatial ring and nodded his head. That was probably an apt description.


    "Wait, what do you know about the Martial Gods? You''re way too weak to come into contact with them and you can''t have stepped foot on the Ninth Heaven before, you wouldn''t have come back alive..."


    "Hm? Why wouldn''t I come back alive?"


    "Isn''t that obvious? Setting aside your Bloodlines, you would probably be crushed by the weight of the gravity alone with your current talent level. Even if you managed to survive that, without the backing of a Dao Lord at the very least, a single step in the Ninth Heaven might cause you to accidentally tread into a God Beast''s territory."


    "On the Ninth Heaven, you''re still considered a junior even at the Transcended Sky God Realm and you can''t travel on your own until you reach the Omniscient Sky God Realm at the very least. So how could you survive?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t refute.


    "Don''t think you can distract me! What do you know about the Martial Gods?!"


    "My First Wife is a Martial God Princess," Ryu replied indifferently.


    At that moment, though it was incredibly fleeting, for the first time, Ryu sensed a lethal threat from the Favor Alchemy Sky God. It looked like, in that moment, she had every intention of killing him.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1221 Absolute Domain

    1221 Absolute Domain


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God slowly reeled in her rage, seemingly remembering that she still needed Ryu''s help. Or, maybe that was just how Ryu interpreted. Even so, she said quite resolutely afterward...


    "I don''t want to be your Dao Companion anymore."


    She looked down, a gloominess between her brows.


    Ryu chuckled, finding this to be quite amusing.


    "What are you laughing about?" The Favor Alchemy Sky God looked up sharply.


    "My First Wife might be a Martial God, but I plan to destroy them in the future. They''ve touched what they shouldn''t have touched."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God looked at Ryu deeply as though to confirm whether or not he was telling the truth. But even after she seemed to, she still snorted and looked away. It seemed that the information that Ryu had just divulged was enough for her to be very unhappy and she wasn''t done with her tantrum yet.


    With a wave of his hand, Ryu took out a glass coffin.


    "Take it," he said. "But two of those three Heavenly Favor Pills are mine. In addition, I will need you to handle the creation of my concubine''s body."


    Ryu reached out a hand with a plain expression. He had come here for all three of the pills, but since the Favor Alchemy Sky God said she needed to use one to succeed in fusing with Flowing Frost''s body, he was alright with giving one up.


    Favor Alchemy Sky God''s gaze lit up as she scurried up. One would have thought that she was looking into the window of a candy store. But, this was most definitely not the reaction a little girl would have to a dead body, so that completely ruined the illusion that remained.


    With a wave of her hand, the tome on the altar above zoomed toward Ryu almost too fast. He was forced to take three steps back just to catch it and stabilize himself. The tome closed, and above it, a jade bottle appeared with two almost foul looking pills within it. They looked as though they had been formed of mud pies, something that was far from Ryu''s imagination of what these pills should have looked like.


    However, Ryu didn''t think that the Favor Alchemy Sky God was tricking him, especially when she wrapped her arms around the glass coffin and suddenly zipped into the golden moon world before he could even react.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He had planned on separating with the Favor Alchemy Sky God. Like he had said, having her by his side would only dull his blade, and he really didn''t need her for alchemy either. Although she was more skilled than he was, there was a ceiling to how good lower level pills could be, and they had both reached it. At best, she would have some unique ideas and perspectives he had never considered before.


    Though that would be quite powerful as a tool for future improvement, Ryu didn''t like the potential tradeoff.


    "Why did you enter my ring?" Ryu asked.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God didn''t answer. At first, Ryu thought she didn''t hear him, but then he remembered who he was dealing with. She was probably hoping that not answering would make him forget about her. Sometimes she really was no different from a little kid.


    "I know you''re there," Ryu said, shaking his head.


    "I need time."


    "What are you talking about?"


    "When I assimilate with this body and swallow the pill, my cultivation will return to nothing. It will only take me a few hours to a day to return to the Fragmented Sky God Realm, but it will probably take a few years to return to the Transcended Sky God Realm. I need to enter a semi-secluded state."


    A semi-secluded state was one a cultivator would go into usually when they were taking part in a mass cultivating event, like being part of a large number of people observing a Daoist Painting or a Sword Scar or a Holy Battlefield.


    This was to say that the Favor Alchemy Sky God would have one eye closed and one eye open. It was enough to focus on her cultivation, but not to a great enough extent that she wouldn''t be aware of what was happening around her.


    This made sense since she was just recultivating steps she had already gone through.


    Ryu shook his head. It could be worse.


    He looked down at the tome in his hands. "What is this?"


    "Cultivation techniques."


    When he heard this, Ryu thought about just tossing it to the side. He hadn''t really come here for cultivation techniques, and nothing about the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s memories made her seem like a powerhouse. He had enough things to worry about, like delving into the inherited memories of his Bloodlines. Now that they had awakened, it should be easier to see some secrets.


    However, after a moment, Ryu decided to look out of curiosity. She had refused to answer, but maybe her cultivation techniques had some secrets that might reveal something about who she was really.


    Almost immediately, Ryu''s attention was caught.


    [Absolute Domain]...''


    Despite the domineering sounding name, this wasn''t an attacking or area control ability, nor was it defensive... It was a movement technique broken into several points. To Ryu''s shock, there was a Common, Black, Earth, Heaven, Mystique, and Ancestral Dao Charm version of this technique. On top of that, there were a complete nine God Grades and methods of integrating it with compatible Daos.


    Ryu didn''t know what to say. This was the very first time he had ever seen such a thing. Was this how the inheritances of those powerful Sects and Clans worked? Just what kind of advantage would you have practicing the exact same techniques throughout your lifetime?


    For Ryu, he was already getting somewhat frustrated. It felt like every time he mastered a technique, he had to leave it behind. He had mastered eight Dao Charm weapon techniques, but he had hardly gotten to use them because they had already become useless to him.


    But if things were like this... It was a game changer.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1222 Effort

    1222 Effort


    ''A star map...?"


    Ryu''s gaze flickered several times. One of the last things he expected to see when he looked into this technique was such a thing.


    Star maps were usually only useful for those like Ryu who were traveling from lower level worlds. There were also some rare instances where geniuses of the True Martial World might travel out to meet rare phenomena where they might be useful, and potentially on the surface of other Planes as well. But all in all, at least in the True Martial World, they weren''t all that common. A normal map was far more useful.


    Ryu''s brow raised as he thought of another instance. Didn''t the Radiant Star Sect also have such a thing? It was useful for keeping tabs on the constellations they thought were worthy of resonating with, as well as what their strengths and grades were.


    The fact that he was seeing a star map for this technique meant that there was likely something similar here. Maybe the Favor Alchemy Sky God even had some sort of connection with the Radiant Star Sect that he was unaware of.


    After a few moments, though, Ryu realized that this probably wasn''t the case. The star map didn''t even seem to be a real star map. No... This wasn''t the proper way to look at it. Rather, the purpose of the star map wasn''t in what star maps were usually used for. There was nothing conventional about these stars and their alignment at all.


    After just a few breaths, Ryu was truly speechless this time.


    "... Who made this overly complicated technique?" Ryu mumbled. "Who has the time to think about all of this in the middle of battle?"


    "Hey, don''t insult my ancestors. Obviously, it''s only meant to be used by smart people. If you''re too stupid, just say so."


    Ryu opened his mouth to respond, but in the end he just shook his head. He didn''t expect that this little woman had such a sharp mouth when she wanted to. Then again, whenever she was offended or seemed to have strong feelings about something, that side of her seemed to always come out. If it wasn''t for the fact she needed Flowing Frost''s body, maybe she would have already attacked to kill before when she thought he had a connection with the Martial Gods.


    Ryu found that he was already being more lenient with her, though. This wasn''t because he had some emotional ties to her, nor was it because she was beautiful, he had seen women just as beautiful before, and many more beautiful women that he couldn''t be bothered to give a second glance to.


    It was rather because he had already understood that the moment he had given Flowing Frost''s body over, he didn''t have much of a choice other than to see this woman as the future mother of his child. He had a strong karmic tie to Flowing Frost and he would definitely fulfill his promise. As such, he didn''t really have a choice but to coexist with her.


    Ryu also wouldn''t be surprised if the Favor Alchemy Sky God saw things the same way. Otherwise, there was little reason for her to be so straightforward in asking to be his Dao Companion. He doubted that he was that charming.


    She had already made the decision to tie herself to himself, but she didn''t particularly have much of a choice. That was also the reason why Ryu hadn''t just accepted her with wide open arms. Even though he would do as he pleased from now on, that didn''t mean he would start letting his pants dictate everywhere he went and everything he did.


    That aside, the technique was truly extraordinarily complex.


    The first step of the technique was memorizing the star map and how it aligned with the locations in the True Martial World or any other world you might enter. This essentially meant that before you could even take step one, you have to memorize what most wouldn''t be able to memorize even given an entire lifetime. Even for the current Ryu, if it wasn''t for the fact his Origin Flame had entered the Fragmented Grade, it would take him years just to complete this portion.


    Once the memorization was complete, one would need to continuously update it with the various star orbits and the shifts in the True Martial World''s position in real time. Slight deviations would decide whether this technique was functional or not.


    This was easily ten times more difficult than just memorizing, it basically required having a perfect star map in your head at all times.


    Only when you had perfected this could you finally think of using this technique, this movement technique that could be used for nothing other than evasion.


    The purpose of the technique was to read the stars in the midst of battle, comprehending their subtle shifts and using a step to neutralize all attacks. It was like finding a strand of life in the midst of death, but after looking at it for a while, Ryu realized that it could be used to find a strand of death in the midst of life as well.


    However, to reach that point, you had to be absolutely perfect in your integration of the technique.


    The most troublesome part of the technique that the Grade you mastered would decide what level of expert the technique worked on. If you mastered the Heaven Grade level, your technique would only be useful against those at the Path Extinction Realm plus one above, encapsulating the weaker Dao Pedestal Realm experts.


    However, if said Dao Pedestal Realm expert had a Dao at the level or better than the Hegemonic Dao Grade, then the technique would likewise be useless against them. As for Cosmic Seed Realm, no matter what level their Dao was at, it would be useless.


    Of course, this was great for the lower Heavens as there were only a very small number of geniuses with Hegemonic Daos considering the artificial cap placed on them. But Ryu''s goal had always been far above this.


    The way he saw it, this technique was a lot of work to only be useful against such a small number of opponents.


    ''Maybe I''m asking for too much. I can use the Mystic Grade level of the technique now, which makes it useful up against weak World Sea Realm experts. It''s not really fair to ask for more.


    Ryu frowned. Although this was logical, he still felt that it wasn''t enough. Was it worth the effort this technique would take?

 Chapter 1223 Split

    1223 Split


    The restrictions on the technique made sense.


    This technique couldn''t be considered weak by any means. Techniques were meant to work against those of your level, any that could work even a single level above was considered a top tier technique amongst top tier techniques.


    Whether this technique was strong or weak wasn''t decided by who it could be used against, but rather how effective it was against enemies of the same level, and if Ryu was correct, mastering this technique could practically make something invincible at the same cultivation level. If you had a middling comprehension, you would never be touched. If you had a perfect comprehension, you could even use it to kill in a single strike without your enemy even being capable of reacting.


    Such a technique was excellent.


    But Ryu had his reasons for his reservations. The fact that a technique of his would suddenly become useless against an enemy that was too high leveled was a huge turn off.


    Usually, even if he relied on Common Grade techniques, although it might become ineffective, it would never truly become useless. If he wanted, he could still use the Dao Charm techniques he had comprehended against stronger enemies, and they might even still be effective in certain situations it was just that they could no longer be the foundation of his combat strength.


    This technique, however, as though it was a faucet, was entirely useless the moment the knob was turned past a certain point. It couldn''t be used at all. And this sort of thing turned Ryu off completely.


    He already had a Focus Qi issue. This technique would be nothing short of a Focus Qi guzzler. He was at a point where he had to economize what he had left. This was the price to pay for his Dao so far outpacing his foundational talents. Using his talents to their peak potential with his Dao as a guide took far more out of him than it would for more others.


    Ryu didn''t abandon it immediately. He began to think about his options.


    How would the Unbalance Mantra work on this technique?


    Unfortunately, there was no easy way to check without putting in the work already. If the Unbalance Mantra could help him to break the normal laws that bound this technique and push it past its limiters, this would make it worth it... Depending.


    The Unbalance Mantra already placed a great strain on his Focus Qi, if he stacked it with a technique like this, would he even last a few minutes in battle?


    Then again, this would only need to be used under strenuous circumstances to begin with.


    Ryu closed his eyes and exhaled.


    In truth, he was on a ticking timeline right now. He knew it wouldn''t be long before the Sky Gods of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion caught up. However, the reason he was taking his time was because he knew that whether he left now or later, the difference would be the same. It was either he would be able to vanish through the void, or he wouldn''t.


    A weak Sky God would never be able to find him. However, a strong Sky God, even if he left hours in advance, would be able to find his traces through the void. Ripping space open would always leave markers. Unless he could escape far enough away, it was useless.


    But given his current limits, he could only hold out for a short while at best.


    The best choice he had was to pretend to be just like the three young men previously. Why would anyone believe that a Dao Pedestal Realm expert could outdo three Half-Step World Sea Realm experts.


    In addition, Ryu had another benefit. While the common people might not know about the Radiant Star Sect, the Sky Gods were definitely in the know. The badge on his waist was currently a protective talisman. So long as he didn''t seem to have anything they wanted, they wouldn''t be willing to take the risk.


    So, Ryu took his time, having already made his choice in this matter.


    Suddenly, just a few seconds later, his gaze snapped open, a blazing intent shimmering within them.


    He had just thought of something that just might change everything.


    "Little woman, what do you know about Constellations? Have you ever heard of the Radiant Star Sect?"


    "Little wha-the Radiant Star Sect? You mean the Dual Radiance Sect?"


    There was a faint excitement in the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s words that made Ryu narrow his eyes.


    "Not anymore."


    Her tone dimmed. "Right... They did split into two... That''s unfortunate... They''re not bad, their inheritance is very good, I''ve learned some of it just by watching from afar."


    Ryu didn''t pursue the last of her words, instead he asked another question.


    "What do you think is the viability of fusing the [Absolute Domain] and the Constellation techniques of Radiant Star Sect."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God was silent for a long time.


    "... I guess that for you, that would probably be the only way. This method isn''t bad, if you have the talent for it. It will depend on you."


    Ryu''s brows raised, but he didn''t say anything. The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s had all but confirmed that she was not human. At the very least, she had a Bloodline or a talent that made learning this technique far easier than it would be for Ryu.


    But Ryu had his own methods.


    If he used the communication aspect of the Radiant Star Sect''s core technique and resonated with the constellations in the region, the stars in the region would be reflected in his mind. He wouldn''t have to waste time and energy memorizing or calculating, at least not for the star map. He could put all of his energy into the calculation of his next step in the movement technique.


    In addition, if he moved his Realm Heart around in that Plane as he moved through Real Plane, then the resonance could be almost instantaneous.


    The most difficult preparation aspects of the technique would be dealt with. And, because he didn''t need to assimilate the Star Qi into his body, he wouldn''t be limited by his lack of Bloodline or his cultivation level, he just needed to use the Constellation as an extension of his senses.


    Ryu''s eyes glowed. "This will cut the time I need to spend learning this technique to just a fraction. Even with the drawbacks, this would make it worthwhile to learn!''


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1224 See Through

    1224 See Through


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God was silent as she paid some attention to Ryu, but in reality her heart was beating quite fast.


    In truth, the [Absolute Domain] technique wasn''t as simple as it seemed. Though it was funny to say this considering just how complex it was, what she meant by this was that it wasn''t just a movement technique like Ryu thought. Rather than just a movement technique, it was more accurate to say that this "movement" technique was the very foundation of her race''s strength. Every one of their techniques, talents and Daos were built off of it as a foundation.


    Adjusting such a foundational technique wasn''t nearly as easy as Ryu was making it sound. The more things a technique relied upon, the more set in its ways it was. Just like how Ryu struggled so greatly with dual wielding spears, glaives and halberds because there was too much Fate weighing it down, [Absolute Domain] was similar.


    If Ryu had just said it casually, maybe the Favor Alchemy Sky God wouldn''t be reacting like this, she would just take it as a fleeting idea he would give up on in time. However, the way Ryu had spoken just now, it sounded like he had already figured it out.


    Indeed, the Favor Alchemy Sky God was correct. Making changes to such powerful techniques, especially ones that were so foundational, weren''t so easy no matter how much "sense" the method made.


    It really did seem like the perfect solution.


    [Absolute Domain] relied on reading the stars like Fate, and using those stars to decide the next step you would take in battle. When used defensively, you would be untouchable. When used offensively, your attacks were unavoidable.


    In theory, if instead of memorizing the map of stars for every location of the True Martial, you instead resonated with a nearby constellation, all of that work could be done for you and you could skip a lot of steps, focusing entirely on the profundities of the technique instead of getting bogged down in the little details, many of which would be useless to you most of the time.


    Even so, logic and sense didn''t always win out. There was no logical reason why Ryu struggled so much dual wielding polearms. He had a unique body type that allowed him to do things others could not, if he wanted to dual wield, he should have been able to. But he never managed to take out more than 20% of what their true strength should have been.


    In reality, the explanations Sacrum and the True Martial World had for this were different, but fundamentally the same as well. To the people of the True Martial World, this was known as a defense. In the case that a Clan or Sect didn''t have any worthy successors for a long while, this protection would stop their core teachings from deviating down a weaker path. Only when a path overwhelming would changes be forced to occur.


    This allowed Clans and Sects to slow their declines while they waited for a generation that could raise them up again.


    However, for some reason, at this moment... Ryu didn''t seem to struggle at all. In fact, after a few minutes, his eyes had already opened.


    Star Qi circulated around him as he stood in place. Suddenly, small pockets of stars began to accumulate around him, forming a small galaxy.


    Ryu suddenly took a step.


    The step was incomparably simple, but if one had been observing him closely, it would have felt like he vanished more a moment before suddenly appearing once again. Those with far sharper senses would have felt that his body had suddenly become filled with such an overflowing well of profundity that their minds were overwhelmed, making them react just a half step later.


    Ryu came to a stop and frowned.


    ''He''s already at Half-Step Initial Success...'' The Favor Alchemy Sky God muttered. ''Is this the power of an Ancient Dao? It shouldn''t be so exaggerated... No, there''s something else going on. The scope of his Dao is broader than any I''ve ever seen, and also, because he''s using his Realm Heart as the anchor, it''s able to see through all the secrets of the Lower Cosmic Grades, making it even easier. This method that he''s created for himself has taken a complex technique and simplified it to the point that not only will the Focus Qi consumption be kept to a minimum, but improvement is also strikingly fast...''


    Half-Step Initial Success might not sound all that impressive, but it was already enough for Ryu to crush anyone at his cultivation level.


    The overload of senses that one would experience was a proxy of Ryu''s unrefined version of the technique. However, the [Absolute Domain] technique was so profound and powerful that even it displayed in such an unrefined mode only seemed to help its power output.


    Even so, Ryu wasn''t satisfied. He closed his eyes, feeling the problems.


    It felt too weighty, too clunky.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God shook her head. ''This is a weakness that will likely never vanish. Because he''s relying on resonating with the Constellations, he''ll have to contend with all sorts of different types of Star Qis rather than the pure Star Qis of the [Absolute Domain]. Even though he isn''t calling that Star Qi down, it would be impossible for it to have no influence over the movement at all.''


    ''If he''s lucky, he''ll run into a movement type constellation when he needs it the most and it will help him in using [Absolute Domain]. But if he runs into a defensive or a mountain type constellation like the one he''s resonating with right now, running will feel like rushing through thick oil...''


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God was still impressed, though. A solution like this one was bound to have its drawbacks, the fact he could use it at all, and so quickly at that, was shocking enough.


    In the future, if Ryu ever needed the movements to be perfect and he had a planned battle, he could just look up the star maps ahead of time, that way he wouldn''t have to rely on such crude methods. That might be the best ideal he could hope for.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed and another idea came to mind. He waved a hand and the gathering of the stars dispersed. After a moment, they began to reform, but they formed a decidedly silvery light, different from the gentle whiteness of before.


    At the same time, Ryu began to slightly shift the position of the stars. It was ever so subtle, but every time he finished with a star node, it would seem to snap into place as though they had finally slipped into the right place.


    Ryu took another step.


    This time, his body seemed to ride a stream of the universe. It was a gorgeous sight, his hair fluttered, his feet moving as though he was dancing. The Heavens seemed to sing and the Planes resonated.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s heart skipped a beat and her cultivation almost went awry. This fact alone was more shocking than anything else. In just a few hours, the Favor Alchemy Sky God had already returned to the Immortal Ring Realm, her cultivation was so smooth she might as well just have been sipping water. The understanding she had toward these lower realms couldn''t have been any sharper, but she had actually almost made a mistake just now.


    "You..."


    Ryu had done two very important things just now.


    First, he had used his ability to see the flow of time and space to adjust the nodes into the perfect position. Even for the Favor Alchemy Sky God, when she used Absolute Domain, her Domain would have very slight deviations in comparison to the stars in the skies.


    Light moved very fast, but it wasn''t instantaneous. The Stars in the skies that they saw were, in reality, their past selves. However, given the vast size they were working with, the orbit changes were very slight even so, it would take countless millions of years for the night sky to change in any meaningful way.


    However, Ryu seemed to see through this stream of time and adjust the stars such that they were in perfect alignment. Just this change alone made his version of [Absolute Domain] maybe more perfect than any that had ever existed before.


    The second thing he did was something he had tried on a whim. He was curious about his Silver Star. Although his soul had already devoured it, that only meant that its very essence was already ingrained into his very being, this meant that Ryu could visualize it and manifest it whenever he wanted, up to a level where his cultivation could still withstand it, that is.


    It was just a casual attempt, but Ryu hadn''t expected that the Silver Star would truly be so compatible with Star Qi itself. As such, he was able to replace the influence of the Constellation he was resonating with, with his Soul Nature and its Visualization.


    Like this, a perfect connection was formed between Ryu, the Stars, his Eyes and his Soul, creating a movement technique that was endlessly profound. At that moment, the Favor Alchemy Sky God couldn''t even quite decide what level of Success Ryu had reached.


    There was a very clear difference between the Ryu who struggled with dual wielding polearms and the current Ryu...


    The Ryu of now had a Dao that would see through the Heavens.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1225 Am I...?

    1225 Am I...?


    Ryu''s gaze flashed like lightning, his steps coming to a stop.


    This was indeed game changing. Not only did he manage to maintain the mysteriousness of the [Absolute Domain] movement technique, he had also added the unpredictability and speed of spatial manipulation. If he ever met an opponent he struggled against, he could even add the variable of time to his steps as well, making his steps even more mysterious and impossible to fathom.


    While the foundational layer of the technique would still be useless against those at and above the World Sea Realm, Ryu actually felt that if things were like this, then...


    Ryu sent a glance toward the Ancestral Grade version of the technique, his gaze narrowing.


    The main difference between the techniques were the complexities of the calculations. The best analogy was like imagining the enemies this technique would be used against like planetary bodies with strong gravitational pulls, while the technique itself was an attempt to escape orbit.


    When Daos and cultivations reached a certain level, the gravitational pull was too strong for the technique to reach escape velocity and thus its calculations became useless.


    In order to counter this, the technique would add another layer of complexity, extending the range of the stars that entered the scope of the technique and adding additional variables to the foundational calculations. And, of course, the final piece was adding more force to the escape attempt, or more accurately, using stronger qi.


    This last piece of the puzzle wasn''t something that Ryu could change no matter what he did. His cultivation level was his cultivation level, even his Essence and Chaos Qi were capped at a certain standard, he couldn''t just start using Cosmic Grade qi just because.


    However, what would happen if he raised the standards of every other aspect of the technique except this one?


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    ...


    On the outside, Zovaes, Iroh and Juno stood to their feet, their frowns deep. After being kicked out, they once again found themselves trapped in the formation. They stood in place, realizing there was no point in moving.


    They exchanged a look and began speaking about their experiences. Soon they realized that although their approaches were all different, they had ultimately all fallen in the same way. Their only conclusion was that they weren''t fated with this Legacy World.


    When they had entered, they felt faint traces of a fortune telling or Dao Seer type aura, as well as some instances of alchemy. They knew from the start that they weren''t truly fated with this inheritance, but since they had entered, it was inevitable that they would try their best.


    But the question was... who had set up this formation? And since they weren''t here, did that mean they had succeeded? Had they been kicked out by this person?


    The hours continued to tick by. Half-Step World Sea Realm experts of Sacrum, a few hours might as well have been a few seconds. However, to these young men of the True Martial World, their patience was already being tested after the first few minutes.


    At that moment, they suddenly sensed two changes. First it was the invasion of a powerful aura from the distance that caused the formation to tremble, allowing the three to see faint inklings of paths of escape. However, the second caught them off guard enough that they didn''t take these chances immediately. A white-haired Dao Pedestal Realm junior suddenly fell from the portal, landing not far from them.


    The expressions of these three sharpened almost immediately, but when they saw Ryu''s cultivation level, they frowned. For three geniuses like this, how could they just casually accept the idea that Ryu was the one who not only trapped them, but also claimed an inheritance they couldn''t?


    Their best guess was that Ryu had stumbled into Legacy World after they had entered, that should explain why he had lasted longer than them. They had spent quite a long time in there, so it wasn''t outside the realms of possibility.


    Their gazes shifted to the badge on Ryu''s waist, their gazes flickering. Radiant Star Sect? They had heard something about them recently, a big commotion actually. But this was the first time they had actually come across one of their disciples.


    For some reason, their elders had refused to tell them about the truth behind the Radiant Star Sect and that made them see it as some sort of mysterious existence. Of course, that was just for important disciples like them, for lesser disciples like the one Ryu had run into earlier, or the Fragmented Sky God with little talent that he had run away from, they were fairly in the dark about the happenings.


    Could it be that this event would be the first instance of the Radiant Star Sect stepping into the Middle Heavens? If that was true, then this disciple before them should probably be one of their best, right? Though... His cultivation was a bit low given the importance of the coming event.


    Juno''s gaze suddenly flashed as he thought of something. Didn''t the Radiant Star Sect''s Matriarch kill Saint Rinushka? If he remembered correctly, that person should be in attendance... That should be an interesting interaction.


    Suddenly, the powerful aura that was in the distance appeared before them just as the portal winked out of existence.


    A woman wearing robes of white, gold and red flashed before them, her afterimages making their heads spin. Even so, her gaze narrowed as she looked toward the closing portal. She realized immediately that there was no point in making a move, whatever had been in there had likely already been claimed, or the Sky God who had left it behind hadn''t found anyone acceptable and decided to close up shop for another few generations.


    Unfortunately, when the woman scanned the four before, she realized that three of them were from Sects she couldn''t casually choose to offend. When her gaze landed on Ryu, her frown deepened. It seemed that she had heard of the Radiant Star Sect as well, but she hadn''t thought that she would suddenly meet one of their disciples here.


    ''Could it be...? This is unexpected, we weren''t really prepared for this... not that preparation is possible.''


    Suddenly, Zovaes, Iroh and Juno stepped forward, cupping their fists and bowing deeply. Although this woman was on the ground, they knew who she was. This was Fairy Claire, a genius of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion that had once trained on the Seventh Heaven before returning.


    There were very few who had Hegemonic Daos on the Sixth Heaven.


    Extremely few. Fairy Claire was one of the few who existed outside of the quota due to having stepped foot on the Seventh Heaven and having gained their acknowledgement. Her performance the last time the Complete Heavenly Path had opened had been excellent and she had entered the top three despite being an alchemist.


    She and the number two of that generation had long since returned. However, the whereabouts of first place were completely unknown.


    Ryu didn''t know who this woman was, but he didn''t have a habit of bowing. He simply gave the young woman a faint nod of acknowledgment, but otherwise, his face was expressionless.


    Fairy Claire''s hadn''t been paying much attention to them, having already turned her attention to the closed portal and the surrounding shattered formation. Of course, what she didn''t know was that Ryu had purposely allowed her aura to shatter the formation, otherwise she would have been trapped for a time as well. However, after realizing that Ryu wasn''t showing the same respect she felt should have been a given, her gaze narrowed.


    She swept a cold gaze over Ryu before asking the four a question.


    "What are you doing here?" She asked coldly.


    "Fairy Claire, we are here for the Heavenly Dew Pavilion''s tag team event. However, when we were on our way, we sensed a commotion and came here to investigate. We found a Legacy World here and entered. Unfortunately, we didn''t seem to have succeeded," Zovaes explained.


    "Then what about this formation?" Fairy Claire asked skeptically.


    "We... Do not know, it was here when we got here."


    Hearing this, Fairy Claire''s pupils immediately dilated and her eyes flashed as she looked around.


    For the first time, Ryu''s heart skipped a beat and he looked at Fairy Claire seriously for the first time. Those eyes... They weren''t quite Heavenly Pupils, but they were very close to his current eyes. In fact, they honestly surpassed his current eyes in terms of sheer ability.


    Fairy Claire frowned after a moment. She couldn''t find any traces of escape, the only fluctuations were from the portal or the shattered formation. Logically... That meant that whoever set up this formation was among the four of them here.


    With her pupils still dilated, she looked at them one by one.


    Seeing this, Ryu didn''t hesitate and activated the Unbalance Mantra. If he let this woman scan him freely with eyes like those, it was impossible to tell what she would see. At this point, he didn''t care that he was giving off an aura similar to the destroyed formation, protecting his secrets was more important.


    Fairy Claire''s gaze caused the three geniuses to shudder beneath her gaze, their spines tingling with an uncomfortable feeling. But when she looked toward Ryu, she suddenly gained a bout of vertigo that made her head spin.


    She grabbed her forehead and took a step back, blinking several times as she shook her head.


    "Scanning people with such eyes is rude, don''t you think?" Ryu asked coldly. "Am I very familiar with you? What gives you such a right?"


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1226 DIFFERENTIAL

    1226 Differential


    Ryu''s words caused the pupils of the three geniuses to constrict. Who spoke to Sky Gods like this? Even as geniuses of their Sect, they would be slightly differential to World Sea Realm experts despite only being a half step away, and that was even if such World Sea Realm experts were far beneath them in status and talent. This was just the way of the martial world, it was a logic they had learned early on, and one they only continued to learn the higher their cultivation Realms became.


    However, Ryu disregarded these rules entirely, and he didn''t disregard them with a normal individual either. This was a genius amongst geniuses, a woman whose level they might never reach the heights of.


    Fairy Claire slowly recovered, shaking her head. When she finally registered the words Ryu had said, she froze, raising her head slowly as though she couldn''t believe what she was hearing.


    After regaining her bearing, she stood to her full height, her gaze sharpening as she looked toward Ryu. She seemed to have become a completely different person, her aura oppressive and overbearing. However, for some reason, when she looked into Ryu''s eyes, she felt her own beginning to sting and water. It was a subtle feeling, one that she didn''t quite grasp in her rage....


    She hadn''t ever been spoken to like this, even as a child, let alone since she became a Sky God.


    Ryu didn''t move. He realized that with Fairy Claire''s eyes, although she was on the weaker side in comparison to the overall landscape of Sky Gods, she could see through his path of escape because of those eyes. As such, there was no point.


    Even if he outran her in the beginning, she would eventually catch up, and swiftly at that. It was clear that he was correct in not bothering to waste time running, if he had then he would have been found out just now, and he would lack the witnesses in Zovaes, Iroh and Juno to ensure his safety.


    It was doubtful that Fairy Claire would dare to kill him arbitrarily in the first place, at worst she would just teach him a lesson. But the added security of witnesses placed him more at ease.


    "How rude..."


    Hearing the little woman''s voice enter his ears, Ryu just barely managed to refrain from shaking his head. He could tell that the Favor Alchemy Sky God was talking about him and not Fairy Claire. He couldn''t be bothered to argue with this little woman.


    Just as Fairy Claire was deciding what she should do, another powerful aura entered range. She and Ryu looked into the distance at the same time, something that once again made her frown. Was she just distracted? How had a Dao Pedestal Realm expert sensed the change at the same time?


    A middle aged man descended, looking around with a frown. His aura was clearly several times more powerful than the Fairy, however given his light greeting to her, their statuses were probably on par. Even so, Fairy Claire respectfully returned the greeting, using the opportunity to sleep out of what could only be described as an awkward situation.


    The middle aged man asked the same questions Fairy Claire had, but this time, it was Fairy Claire who responded. In the end, though, she mentioned that the aura of the broken formation...


    "... The broken formation here seems to align with the aura of this disciple of the Radiant Star Sect, Senior Ronelis."


    Ronelis'' gaze sharpened once more when he heard of the Radiant Star Sect, his eyes landing on Ryu. Ryu met his gaze coldly, his back still straight and his momentum fierce.


    Ronelis immediately didn''t like the look in Ryu''s eyes. He wasn''t used to seeing the eyes of juniors at all, most would look away the moment they sensed him, but this boy was testing his patience already.


    "It seems that the Radiant Star Sect is indeed arrogant. I really want to see if your elders would dare to come to snatch you back if I imprisoned you for disrespecting your seniors."


    Ryu didn''t say anything, he couldn''t be bothered to say anything. It was clear these people were wary of the Radiant Star Sect and had not found a convenient excuse to probe them. He was only a step short of yawning.


    He was quite used to these political games. Back when he was a cripple, they were all the games he could play, he had seen every play in the playbook. Now that he could cultivate, he truly preferred to play these games with his fist instead. Unfortunately, these two were far too powerful for him.


    Ronelis sneered when he saw that Ryu didn''t respond.


    "It seems that you''re more cowardly than I thought, unable to speak now? Even if you say nothing now, it''s already too late. This formation was set up in Heavenly Dew Pavilion territory, this Legacy World also appeared in Heavenly Dew Pavilion territory, do you think that you can just do as you please? Today I definitely want an explanation from the Radiant Star Sect, what can you do about it?!"


    With the hearing of a Sky God, how could he have not heard what Ryu had said to Fairy Claire before? It was just that he didn''t want to bring it up so as to uphold the prestige of the pride of their Heavenly Dew Pavilion.


    At this point, Ryu couldn''t seem to hold back any longer.


    "So I have the bravery to be rude to you, but can''t speak? What kind of logic is that? Is that the brain you used to deduce your Dao? If you want to see the worth of the Radiant Star Sect, all of this probing is unnecessary and embarrassing, quite frankly. Don''t you just have to wait for your little tag team event? Feel free to imprison me if I receive anything less than first place."


    Ryu sneered, his momentum ramping up. This event sounded interesting, since it was convenient, he might as well make his true debut into the True Martial World.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1227 BOTH

    1227 Both


    In the end, Ronelis and Claire could only narrow their eyes. Since Ryu had been so bold with his claims, it was indeed inappropriate for them to say anything more. In addition, it was a bit embarrassing to claim that this was their territory when it had taken them half a day just to make it here.


    Ronelis, rather than being enraged, laughed.


    "Good, good. They say there are many heroes among the young. In that case, I''ll take it upon myself to escort you young heroes myself."


    With a sweep of his sleeve, Ronelis picked all four of them up.


    Seeing this, Ryu sneered inwardly. This tactic was so obvious even a child could see through it. It was obvious that Ronelis just wanted to make sure that he didn''t suddenly run away. Once Ryu was truly within Heavenly Dew Pavilion territory, his life would be entirely under their control. They wouldn''t have to worry about missing out on an opportunity to probe the Radiant Star Sect.


    Ryu shook his head, but he allowed himself to be swept up, not that he could fight back much against it to begin with. It seemed he would just have to put his money where his mouth was.


    The three geniuses looked toward Ryu with peculiar gazes that seemed a cross between disdain and surprise. Surprise for the fact he dared to speak with Sky Gods like this, and disdain because his words made it seem like it was less bravery and more ignorance. Claiming to guarantee first place with them here... What else could it be if not ignorance.


    "Fairy Claire, stay here to see if you can find the traces of the one who set up this formation. The Heavenly Dew Pavilion isn''t so easy to take advantage of."


    Ronelis spoke once before his figure flickered, pulling the four along. He hadn''t expected to end up playing babysitter here, but this was the best option given what he had before him. He would be certain to make sure to get his money''s worth out of this.


    However, he had no idea that Ryu''s sneer only deepened. She would spend quite a long time looking because there was absolutely nothing to find but some shattered formation flags. They were currently escorting the so-called formation master to their home right this moment.


    Despite having nothing to lean upon, Ryu quite easily crossed his legs and closed his eyes in meditation. This irritated Ronelis who tried to add some extra turbulence to the ride, but he couldn''t do much. If he removed too much of the protections, these few geniuses would be shredded to pieces. How could they withstand the speed of a Sky God?


    No matter what he did, Ryu seemed to glide through the wind effortlessly, his face the picture of peace.


    ...


    Half a day later, the Heavenly Dew Pavilion loomed over the horizon, its tall golden, white and red structures shimmering like the sun. It felt difficult to look at the city directly without blinking. It was hard to believe that people actually lived in a place like this, it looked more like an ornament than a city.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu was abandoned. Clearly, Ronelis felt that since he was within their territory, there was no escaping, and he was quite confident about this. He had the right to be, though. Ryu, indeed, couldn''t leave as he pleased since things were like this. However, he didn''t plan on it in the first place.


    First things first, though, he had to find out what this contest was actually about.


    In truth, even Ryu knew that he was being quite arrogant this time around. The only reason he knew an event was happening at all was due to Zovaas'' words earlier. Then he had made the bold claim that he would be first place just to get out of being imprisoned.


    For all he knew, Sky Gods would be involved in this matter and he didn''t have a single chance. He had made the assumption that it was within his scope since Iroh and the others were participating, but the reality was that he wasn''t 100% certain of defeating them either, at least not without using his Chaos Qi. He wasn''t quite sure of the limits of his current strength either.


    In addition, Zovaes had called it a "tag team event". And Ryu, very obviously... didn''t have a partner. He apparently had a day to not only figure what was going on, but to also find himself a partner for these events.


    Given Ronelis'' disdain and pettiness, he highly doubted such a thing would even be possible. If worse came to worst, he would have to rely on the little woman.


    However, he didn''t know what kind of history the Favor Alchemy Sky God had and if she could even show herself. In addition, she might not be willing to help him while she was focused on her cultivation anyway.


    After looking around and listening in on conversations for a few hours, Ryu finally understood what was going on.


    This "tag team" event was known as the Warrior Alchemist Festival. Alchemists weren''t known for their combat strength and Fairy Claire was an extreme of an extreme example, as such, they needed to foster relationships with other powers.


    This was quite easy as everyone needed pills, especially cultivation geniuses looking to optimize their path forward.


    This Warrior Alchemist Festival was a tacit test for the disciples of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion and their ability to form connections. They would use their influence to find talented geniuses to pair with to undergo a series of challenges, and whichever duo came out on top would receive great rewards.


    Only by performing well in both combat aspects and alchemy aspects would a duo have the ability to win. Otherwise, doing well in just half of the challenges would place you well behind in points. Even if you came in number one in one aspect, you might not even be in the top ten overall.


    When Ryu learned of the details, his gaze flickered.


    Finding a partner was impossible. It seemed that he would just have to do both aspects on his own.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1228 New Comers

    1228 New Comers


    There was only about a day or two until the event started. Since he had all the information he needed, Ryu didn''t feel the need to hang around and gather anything more. As for gathering intel on the contestants, he didn''t think it was necessary. Whether they were powerful or not, nothing he could do in a day would meaningfully change his chances. Rather, it was best that he rest and accumulate his Focus Qi to its highest possible peak.


    Everyone seemed to be at a pinnacle Cosmic Seed Grade standard. In reality, it was more complex than this. Rather, everything was timed such that the geniuses at the pinnacle of the World Sea Realm once the Complete Heavenly Path opened. Given the time left between then and now, most participants just so happened to be at this level.


    From Ryu''s understanding, only about half of the geniuses were participating now, though. Zovaes, Iroh and Juno, along with one other, were the favorites, and he had already met them.


    Only half the geniuses of the Sixth Heaven were participating since the Heavenly Dew Pavilion was only one of the two prominent alchemy pavilions of the Middle Heavens. The Tranquil Hand Pavilion was holding their event at the same time, accumulating the other half of geniuses.


    Ryu strolled into an inn, looking for a room. But even as he made his way to the counter, his eyes narrowed, sensing that something was off. The way the receptionist looked at him was peculiar.


    Ryu stood in silence without saying anything for a long time. The receptionist, who had seemingly been waiting for him to speak first, very quickly began to feel uncomfortable. At first, he was quite confident and even had a hint of a sneer on the corner of his lips. However, the longer Ryu stood, not saying a word, the more oppressive the atmosphere seemed to become.


    The lounging area of the inn wasn''t empty by any stretch of the imagination. With such a popular event on the way, the city was filled to the brim. As such, there were many talking and jeering, enjoying their expensive meals. Not many noticed Ryu''s entry at all.


    In truth, when Ryu had entered, he had already expected that he would have difficulty finding a place to rest. Most of these regions would have been booked long ago. The only reason he didn''t find a large crowd of people heading to the city was one because he had been in a remote region to begin with while most who could have afforded it would directly use the teleportation formation, and second because he was technically late. For events like this, unless you appeared a month in advance, you were already late.


    However, the gaze of the receptionist painted a different tale. It wasn''t that there were no rooms, this person had been primed and prepared to humiliate him. Ryu''s gaze was too sharp. Even without actively using Dividing Karma, his ability to read people, especially weaklings like this, was unmatched. With just a glance, he could peer into this person''s very soul.


    There was obviously only one person who could do this, and that was, without a doubt, that senior Ronelis. Ryu doubted he could find a place to stay even if he went to every inn in this enormous city.


    Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted and the sound of fireworks echoed in the distance. Ryu gave the receptionist another indifferent glance before turning and leaving.


    With the pressure of Ryu''s gaze gone, the receptionist almost fell to his knees. He gasped for breath, his sweat falling like pearl beads. It was as though he hadn''t even dared to sweat until Ryu had vanished. He could only fall back on his stool, gasping for breath.


    Ryu walked out of the inn along with a huge crowd of young geniuses who had entered along with him and looked into the skies. But when he saw what it was, he couldn''t help but narrow his eyes.


    "Is that a list? The Heavenly Dew Pavilion has never done that before."


    "I hear that these are the geniuses that are going to enter the Complete Heavenly Path this time. I don''t know the details, but apparently it''s a really big deal this time."


    "Yeah, but usually they want to remain neutral. If they release a list like this ahead of time, won''t they offend some of the big Sects? If you start ranking their disciples now, you''re bound to alienate a few. At that point, it''s not worth it."


    "They won''t be so petty. Plus, it only matters if the list is inaccurate, right?"


    "Hm? Battle achievements? That''s so interesting! Oh, it''s not ranked, it looks like I was wrong."


    Ryu didn''t need to see the rest. The moment he saw this, a grin spread across his face. Despite this, the smile didn''t seem to reach his eyes, the coldness within them only deepening. Wisps of black flames danced in his eyes beside himself. Without their suppression, his Bloodlines seemed to react on their own all the time now, the dense darkness within him overflowing.


    The list continued to scroll until it reached the top. The list separated into a new category titled "Most Intriguing New Comers". After reading about geniuses they had heard about for all of their lives already, seeing the title of this list, the crowd seemed to come alive once again. Everyone loved a good underdog story, who knew, maybe one of these newcomers could grasp their attention and claim victory in the end.


    Didn''t something like that happen before, too? Though, most of them didn''t quite know of the details, their parents and others suppressed this information for some reason.


    However, everyone seemed to fall into silence when the list scrolled to the top.


    Unknown - Disciple of Radiant Star Sect - Peak Dao Pedestal Realm.


    Battle Achievements: Not much is known about this young rising star, and even less is known about his Sect. However, there is one thing that is quite well known, a bold quote from the young man that just may echo through the firmaments.


    "There''s no need to probe me and my Sect. If I do not claim first place, let the Heavens strike me down!"


    The city was speechless reading these words. When they saw the picture matching the battle achievements, several who were already standing around Ryu almost snapped their necks looking toward him.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1229 Heavy As The Skies

    1229 Heavy as the Skies


    After a few moments of silence, the region around Ryu seemed to disperse entirely. Everywhere around him, people circled, but none was closer than two to three meters. They all looked toward him with a varying range of expressions, but it could clearly be stated that reverence was more definitely not one of them.


    Most of the participants were in the Cosmic Seed Realm. Those that had the greatest chances in the combat stream were all in the Higher Cosmic Seed Realm at worst. Of course, it wasn''t yet clear if Ryu was an alchemist or not. Theoretically, he had somewhat of a chance if he was an alchemist so long as his soul was in the Lower Soul Ascension Realm at the very least.


    Though having a stronger soul than one''s Qi Realm cultivation was rare, it wasn''t unheard of for secondary profession geniuses. About 3% to 5% of them would be at this standard, so if Ryu was so bold, it wasn''t difficult to assume that his soul was also at that standard.


    Of course, the Soul Ascension Realm, at least the Lower Soul Ascension Realm, was the Cosmic Seed Realm equivalent. But unlike Qi or Body Realm cultivation, it was harder to sense Mental Realm cultivation without a cultivator taking it upon themselves to release their Spiritual Qi.


    They were correct about that, Ryu''s Mental Realm was long since at the standard of the Soul Ascension Realm... it was just that he hadn''t actually stepped into that Realm yet. He was still at the Soul Refinement Realm, and because his body had recently strengthened, he still had more room to strengthen his soul as well.


    Even so, while they had heard of arrogant alchemists, they all came from one of the two Pavilions, Ryu was very clearly not one of them...


    That meant that it was either Ryu was challenging as an outsider alchemist, or just as bad, he was participating in the combat stream.


    No matter how you looked at it, he seemed ridiculous.


    "Hey!"


    A young man with a bold voice stepped forward. He was from the Fifth Heaven and was already at the Peak Cosmic Seed Realm. Just judging by the boldness of his Vital Qi, he was clearly a Body Realm expert alongside his Qi Realm cultivation. In addition, he gave off an aura that was familiar to Ryu, an aura that came from Akura.


    A descendant of the Fire Giant Demon Kings, the Draco Race.


    "Your words are quite bold. Are you an alchemist or a combatant?!"


    The young man was immediately recognized by the crowd. He was among the "new comers", though he couldn''t quite fit into that category. Honestly, this so-called "new comer" category just encompassed all those that weren''t well known Sixth Heaven geniuses, and as such, Galloth of the Draco Race was among them.


    Ryu turned a cold gaze over, the grin on his face making Galloth narrow his eyes.


    He could sense an undisguised excitement in Ryu''s eyes, a look that only the madmen of his race had. The flickering black flames seemed to want to spill over, the earth beneath his feet cracking and ruining the beautifully paved roads.


    "Both."


    The echo of Ryu''s words seemed to cause their hearts to come to a stop. Despite the fact he had spoken softly, for some reason, it roared in their ears like the bellow of a dragon. Their minds went entirely blank, and by the time they had reacted, Ryu had completely vanished.


    Almost instantly, there was nothing but an uproar, the loud voices of the cultivators that were left behind matching the booming of the fireworks shooting through the skies.


    When was the last time someone had taken both streams upon themselves? The answer to that was at the forefront of all of their minds, it was none other than Fairy Claire. Back then, not only had she taken both streams upon herself, but she had come back with a first place trophy in both streams.


    Since then, there had been quite a few who had tried to replicate the feat, and there were many more who had tried before her, but none had been able to replicate the dual first place feat.


    The alchemy discipline took much too much effort to perfect, to also be a strong combatant on top of that took a genius of all geniuses. Without mastering three Dao Charm techniques of the Mystical Grade and having a Dao of at least the Hegemonic Grade, you couldn''t even hope to replicate such a feat, and that was the minimum standard.


    How could you have time to do such a thing?


    Even if you considered all secondary professions, there would only be a handful every few generations that could replicate such a feat. The worst part was that even if by some miracle Ryu was indeed one of these geniuses, he would need to be at the Peak Cosmic Seed Realm to claim the victory he sought after, how could he possibly do it an entire Realm below?


    Not even an hour later, the New Comers List updated once again. There was only a single question and a single one word reply.


    "Both."


    ...


    The simmering prelude to the event began to boil over. The next day seemed to pass like a flash, and the existence of Ryu became like a flashpoint.


    When the day came, Ryu, who had been meditating on the top of a building, flashed and vanished.


    His white and blue robes fluttered as he appeared in a landing square that rocked back and forth under the roars of the crowd. A single cultivator was already enough to fill the skies with their voice, let alone the millions of them that were present.


    High above in a sky box of sorts Ronelis and Fairy Claire stood. They seemed to look over at the same time, their gazes indifferent as they saw Ryu''s appearance.


    Their exposing of Ryu''s words seemed to be innocent, just a few changes to his words. However, what was important wasn''t the words themselves, but rather the implications.


    If Ryu failed here, it was very likely that he would never step into the Sky God Realm in his lifetime. This was no longer about probing the Radiant Star Sect, this was about Ryu protecting his Dao Heart.


    The pressure was as heavy as the skies above.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1230 First Combat Stream

    1230 First Combat Stream


    Ryu''s appearance caused no small amount of commotion. Outside of Zovaes, Iroh and Junio, who were all smart enough to be aware of what was really going on, most others probably doubted his appearance. In their estimation, Ryu was a young man who had spoken without thinking and happened to be overheard by others, painting himself into a corner. Actually appearing would only cause him problems. While not doing so would cause him a host of problems in the future, if he was at least a decent talent, washing away that shame wouldn''t be impossible. However, to their astonishment, he had truly appeared.


    Many couldn''t help but admit that he looked the part. Even if his cultivation was low, his bearing was undeniable and his looks were unimpeachable. There were quite a few handsome men amongst the participants, and many more of them that were more well known for their looks than even their talents, however Ryu''s appearance, something that had been quite the hotly discussed topic in the last few days, was not only an excellent match for the majority of them, it quite frankly suppressed quite a few as well.


    One would think that Ryu''s debut would have caused nothing but animosity, but this wasn''t the case.


    While it was true that a large number of people sneered in disdain, he had also managed to gather a small fan club for himself as well. Since his picture had been disseminated ahead of time for all to see, it had more than enough opportunity to attract swooning young women.


    As such, though there was a chorus of boos when he stepped into the arena, the high pitched screeches of young women were just as and if not even more piercing despite being fewer in number.


    "Didn''t I tell you? Look, look, he''s even more handsome than Adlael, I''m dying, I think I''m dying!"


    "KKYYYYAAAA!"


    Adlael''s name seemed to come up the most often with Zovaes, actually, being brought up the second most. This wasn''t too surprising, Zovaes was indeed a very good looking man, it was just that his more sinister aura made many young women with the propensity to fangirl more apprehensive than horny.


    Adlael, however, was the fourth genius with a great chance of claiming first, and he was quite known for his warm smile and boy-next-door looks as well. He was especially famous in this region because he was the number one alchemist of this generation''s Heavenly Dew Pavilion.


    He lacked the edge of battle worn and bloodlust filled cultivators, and his presence was delicate, but inviting. He stood with short cut brown hair and warm brown eyes that bordered on a pale milk chocolate to caramel color. His smile was like a spring breeze and it never seemed to fade even amidst the weight of the crowd''s scrutiny.


    If Ryu had a fan club, then Adlael had an entire cult. The young woman who had spoken first was all but beaten to death the moment such words came from her mouth. At this point, it wasn''t about reality, but was more so about fanaticism.


    Ryu and Adlael stood nowhere near one another, but their contrast couldn''t have been greater.


    Adlael''s hair and eyes were likely the most common across all of existence, however his features were refined to absolute perfection and his aura made others feel comforted and invited. On the other hand, Ryu was the exact opposite. He was the only youth present with flowing white hair, it danced in the wind with a delicate fragrance most didn''t have the pleasure of smelling. His aura was cold and arrogant, exuding a presence that placed him above rather than on par with others.


    Who did they like more? The warm, cheerful husbando? Or the cold, detached one? The wars seemed to rage in the stands even though their two subjects didn''t glance toward one another even once from start to finish. They were in striking opposition to one another, a fact that would only become more glaring in just a few moments...


    The crowd was so enamored by their own little storylines that they almost didn''t notice a certain Elder Bartien descend and begin to describe the first event.


    As always, the first event would be one of alchemy.


    The purpose of the tag team event always followed the same structure. First, the coming combat stream would be described before introducing the alchemy stream to do their job. Depending on the challenge presented, it would be the job of the alchemy stream to concoct a pill that could help their partner at a crucial moment.


    The first combat stream challenge was actually quite straight forward: a race.


    The outline of a track with several checkpoints appeared in the skies. Judging by the length, it would probably take the fastest among them about an hour to complete. However, what was worthy of note was the fact that the so- called checkpoints also happened to be regions of great danger as well.


    For a power on the level of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion, there was no doubt that it had quite a number of resource intensive regions in its territory. Much like everything in the cultivation world, these resources came with their own dangers whether it was beasts or environment.


    In this race track, they would have to go through the Pink Rose Fields, the Amber Caves and the Whispering Hallow Valley.


    The first was well known for its hallucinogenic properties, the second was well known for the oppression of its heat, while the final was well known for the exact opposite: its bone chilling cold. The fact that one could only forge a single pill to try and deal with all of these troubles not only tested the skill of an alchemist, but also how well they knew their partners.


    After all, this was an exchange meant to promote unity and friendship between alchemists and presumably the powers with a willingness to protect them. If you didn''t understand your partner intimately, how good could your friendship be?


    "... All materials will be provided for free by the Heavenly Dew Pavilion. You all have one hour to decide the pill you will concoct and finish it!"


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1231 Normal Pills

    1231 Normal Pills


    Ryu indifferently moved to his spot. He was skeptical about trusting the Heavenly Dew Pavilion in this matter, but if it came to it, he would just have to use his own ingredients. Although doing so would shave some time off his concoction period, it was better that than dealing with faulty ingredients. In fact, concocting with ingredients that were a bit immature would be far better than ones that were rotten or poisoned.


    Ryu sat on a platform meant for alchemists. They were all spread out and the crowd could see each one of them clearly. Down below, the combatants of the combat stream were ready and waiting, but what was interesting was that no one seemed to know who would partner with who yet aside from some very obvious ones like pairs that happened to be soon-to-be Dao Companions.


    This secrecy was likely to be part of the games.


    While the alchemists sat upon pillar-like platforms that raised them into the skies, each one of them was assigned an attendant who would bring forward their list of requested Spiritual Herbs.


    Ryu already knew that he had to be fast. If the Heavenly Dew Pavilion wanted to play tricks, he would have to make it as obvious as possible what was happening, and that would likewise require him moving quite quickly.


    No one knew Ryu better than himself, so the moment he saw the track, he already knew what he wanted. With a flick of his wrist, a list was formed and it fluttered downward.


    At the same time, Adlael reacted as well, their pair of lists hitting the palms of their attendants at the very same time.


    The crowd ate up. If before they had superficially placed Ryu and Adlael on the same level just because of their looks, at this moment they were invested in what would happen. Seeing this, Ryu felt that the crowd was far less annoying than he had originally thought. If they were this invested in him, at least in the beginning, it would be far more difficult for the Heavenly Dew Pavilion to pull something.


    In the end, Ryu had clearly overthought things. With how confident the Heavenly Dew Pavilion were of him falling flat on their face, why would they need to do anything extra? In addition, they didn''t know what pills Ryu would choose ahead of time even if they had certain guesses due to the events lined up, so how could they prepare such ingredients ahead of time? For organizations of this caliber, even sometimes high quality Spiritual Herbs would be thrown out and used as fertilizer, let alone rotten ones.


    Although the attendant gave Ryu''s list a weird look, that was all. Not long later, at a speed similar to Adlael''s attendant, the ingredients were brought back in a basket that gave off a refreshing scent.


    Ryu sent a strand of qi forward that plucked the basket out of the attendant''s hand. With his other hand, he brought out his Embryonic Cauldron. By this point, it was still only in the Heaven Grade, but despite this, the aura it gave off was full and expansive. At a single glance one could tell that it was no normal cauldron.


    The moment the crowd saw Ryu''s Embryonic Cauldron, their reactions were explosive. Any genius who dared to nurture their own cauldron was at an elite level, just this alone made them realize that Ryu was no normal alchemist. But the aura of Ryu''s cauldron was even more important than that, it seemed to carry the vastness of the skies above and the sturdiness of the ground beneath their feet. Several Alchemy Sky Gods watching in the vicinity couldn''t help but narrow their eyes.


    They didn''t know anything about Ryu''s battle prowess, but just from this cauldron alone, they knew that his alchemy skills were serious.


    The only oddity was that the Embryonic Cauldron was a bit weak. Logically, since Ryu had cultivated to the Peak Dao Pedestal Realm already, his alchemy furnace should have already had time to enter at least the Lower Mystical Grade.


    Of course, what they didn''t know was that Ryu had gone from just entering the Dao Pedestal Realm to the peak of it in less than two years. If only his active cultivation time was included, it was only a handful of months, barely three.


    However, when they saw the ingredients that Ryu had picked, they doubted their judgment for a moment. If it wasn''t for the fact that passing down a Heaven Grade Embryonic Cauldron to a new owner made no sense whatsoever, they would have doubted their judgment.


    When Ryu''s picks were compared to Adlael''s, the difference was quite striking.


    "The young Adlael is concocting a modified Boiling Blood Pill. His additions and reductions to the formula are all perfect. This is probably the number one pill choice for this event. The pill itself isn''t a difficult one, but the modifications will be where the skill gap is truly shown," Elder Bartien commented, keeping the crowd enthralled.


    The Boiling Blood Pill was on a Body Realm Pill, however it had certain side effects. It pushed the body to the limits by exciting the nerves and forcing the heart to pump faster and move larger volumes of blood. The side effects were numerous, but they weren''t all bad. For example, one was a more alert mind.


    As one might expert, amplifying the blood flow to the brain would make it easier to stay out of a hallucinogenic state and thus deal with the Pink Rose Fields. At the same time, the added temperature rush from the flowing blood would make dealing with the harsh cold of the Whispering Hallow Valley far easier. The final side effect of the pill was one where one''s body temperature would plummet once the "boiling" period was over, thus making dealing with the Amber Caves far easier.


    This sounded simple, but each one of these "side effects" needed to be timed perfectly to the speed of the combatant. At the same time, they needed to be mild enough that they wouldn''t impede future performance, but strong enough that they could actually fight back against the environment.


    This was why the specific modifications made to the pill were so important and also why it tested the realm of the alchemist.


    In this situation, just concocting the most perfect Runed Pill was useless. In fact, sometimes, creating a pill of poorer quality would help an alchemist rather than harm their chances. After all, certain effects couldn''t be too potent if one wanted to time them correctly.


    All of this, though, only made Ryu''s choice seem all the more odd.


    He seemed to be concocting a normal... Soul Nourishing Pill? The Boiling Blood Pill wasn''t exactly some super famous, high class pill, it was about on the same level as any normal Soul Nourishing Pill. But the trouble was that a Soul Nourishing Pill would be hard pressed to help even with the Pink Rose Fields, what use did it even have for the others...?

 Chapter 1232 Dawned

    1232 Dawned


    Ryu''s expression was indifferent and unmoved. He could tell what the others were thinking, but he seemed to care even less.


    The reality was that because the percentage purity of the pill wasn''t how the pills would be judged, if Ryu really wanted to create a Soul Nourishment Pill, even if he by some miracle took first place in the combat stream, his ranking in the alchemy stream would be so low that it would make his first place almost entirely irrelevant.


    The final rankings would be decided on a combination of one''s alchemy score and one''s combat score, and by virtue of that, the pills concocted had to directly help with the combat stream. If not, wouldn''t it entirely ruin the purpose of this tag team event?


    The alchemy score wouldn''t be decided until the use of the pill was measured after the combat stream. Only then would the skill of the alchemist and their warrior be measured and parsed apart.


    Some believed that the reason Ryu was concocting this pill was because it was the one he was the best at, and they couldn''t help but sneer. How could you claim that you wanted to get first when you didn''t even understand the rules of the event? Even if he was the best alchemist of his generation, it would all be useless. He could even concoct a Runed Pill and it wouldn''t matter, not that anyone here actually thought that such a thing was possible.


    Ryu thought for only a moment before he began to move. However, even just this caused a commotion.


    He pressed two fingers together and a stream of radiant blue came out. This caught the alchemists here somewhat off guard. It wasn''t that they had never seen potion path alchemists before, but the trouble was that they were all women... Ryu was the only male present who had taken this path.


    The smoothness of his Yin Water, the beauty, was enrapturing. It felt like the bluest of waters were floating in the air, golden koi fish swimming within its tides. The movement of Ryu''s fingers seemed to be one with the world and the rowdy crowd became entirely silent.


    However, just as the crowd was almost entirely distracted by this, Ryu''s other hand moved. Pressing two fingers together, a delicate flame appeared. It was a delicate red-gold and didn''t seem to give off any heat at all. And yet, when it appeared, Adlael''s own flames seemed to become subdued and less unruly.


    Adlael''s pupils constricted just the smallest bit. He hadn''t paid much attention to Ryu at all from the beginning. Whether it was an inner arrogance, or as a sign of not wanting to put too much pressure on a junior, it was difficult to tell. But at this moment, he could no longer ignore the latter.


    The concoction process was purposely held out in the open, not only in the presence of an overwhelming crowd, but also in the presence of several other alchemists, all concocting different pills and causing variants currents of qi. This was without a doubt the most difficult environment to concoct within, it was yet another test for the alchemists.


    But now, the currents seemed to be entirely controlled by Ryu.


    The shock of Ryu controlling both Yin Water and an Alchemic Flame threw the crowd into an even deeper silence. But what shocked them even greater was the auras of the two. They were majestic and undying. One could almost feel the rumbling of the Phoenix Blood within Ryu''s body.


    The warriors of the combat stream narrowed their eyes, and this was especially so for Iroh.


    Back then, Iroh hadn''t said anything, but he had definitely sensed the Dragon Aura in the air when he arrived there, he was particularly sensitive to it. However, since the others hadn''t said anything, he kept that detail to himself. But suddenly sensing the rising Phoenix within Ryu''s body, he couldn''t help but second guess himself. Had he mixed up the two majestic creatures?


    No, that was impossible, how could he make such a mistake? Just who was this Ryu?


    ''Phoenix Blood?'' Fairy Claire''s pupils constricted into pinholes.


    Others might be confused about what they were seeing, Phoenix Blood simply wasn''t something one ran into on a daily basis, and the types they had seen weren''t nearly as dense as what they were seeing now.


    Fairy Claire, however, had seen this kind of Phoenix Blood up close and personal all those years ago...


    Her aura turned chaotic and her indifference vanished. She looked down toward Ryu, her gaze sharpening with every passing moment.


    Ryu suddenly looked up.


    It was a great taboo to become distracted during the concoction process, and yet Ryu still spared the time to meet Fairy Claire''s gaze. The coldness in his eyes seemed to note that he had sensed her threat. Even so, his hands remained steady, the delicate and subtle control never vanishing.


    The Spiritual Herbs surged into Ryu''s cauldron, his pace only increasing.


    His challenge to Fairy Claire seemed quite blatant, but to the crowd, especially the lovesick fangirls, saw something completely different.


    "Where is he looking? Fairy Claire? Is he... Is he serenading the Fairy with his alchemy?"


    The words were only spoken by a single person but they spread like wildfire. And right then, the moment the rumors seemed to have reached their fever pitch, the skies rumbled and Ryu''s cauldron quaked.


    The crowd looked up all at once. It had just been a bright and sunny day, what was going on?


    At that moment, the cauldrons of the surrounding alchemists all seemed to go out of control one after another. The most shocking part was that Adlael was among them.


    Ryu''s cauldron lid rumbled and it seemed that his would go out of control as well, but it was at that moment that he slapped the side, causing the lid to shoot into his palm as his other hand reached forward, snagging three pills between his fingers, all radiating perfect.


    BOOM!


    The skies crackled and a streak descended from above.


    It suddenly dawned on them all at the same time...


    Pill Tribulation!


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1233 Wheel Of Samsara

    1233 Wheel of Samsara


    The first lightning strike descended with the swiftness of an instant, appearing above Ryu''s fingers in an instant. The Sky Gods who could still react felt their hearts skip a beat, could it be that Ryu was unaware? Why was he holding his pills like that, he should have allowed his cauldron to take the brunt!


    However, just when they felt that it was because Ryu couldn''t react, he suddenly raised the three pills up.


    BANG!


    The lightning that should have crushed Ryu sunk into his body through the pills, fueling his Tribulation Seed. His pills only withstood a small amount, his body taking on the rest.


    In the end, what was left were three crystal balls with swirling liquid within. On their surface, powerful Runes danced, shimmering amidst the towering smoke columns that surged in all directions. Amidst the hundreds of failures, Ryu stood out on his own.


    ''Not quite enough,'' Ryu thought to himself, looking down at his Embryonic Cauldron.


    Others might be expecting him to purposely lower the quality of his pills so that he could have the "perfect" side effects, but he had no intention of doing that. He refused to concoct anything but perfect pills in his Embryonic Cauldron, and he took that quite seriously. When the day came that his Embryonic Cauldron stood above all others, it would be quite worth it.


    Plus... what need was there to focus on some perfect pill formula when he was the only one that would pass anyway.


    Ryu swept a glance and whether it was the worst alchemist to the best, all of them had failed, even Adlael looked down at his billowing cauldron with a blank expression, his perpetual smile nowhere to be seen.


    Ryu stood to his feet, sending another glance toward Fairy Claire. The opinions of the crowd couldn''t mean any less to him, he didn''t care what rumors they concocted or what thoughts they had in their minds. Fairy Claire was very much aware of what his glance meant and that was all that mattered.


    The Sky Gods stood in abject shock.


    Setting aside the competition, they had just witnessed the birth of not just one, but three Runed Pills. This was an unprecedented event, even more so since these didn''t seem like normal Runed Pills, those Runes looked complete and perfect.


    However, with the perspective of the competition in place, a shocking realization came over them.


    The failure to complete a round meant disqualification. At this moment... Didn''t that mean that Ryu was the only one who could proceed?


    This wasn''t a rule that Ryu was even aware of. His original intention was to make others perform so poorly in the alchemy stream that the ultimate result of the combat stream, so long as he placed decently, firmly placed first place in his hands.


    Of course, he had never had any intention of placing poorly in the combat stream to begin with, but it was just a contingency plan. He wasn''t foolish enough to think himself to be invincible, and there was no need to play around with his own Dao Heart unnecessarily.


    What he didn''t realize was that this securing of his Dao Heart had practically ruined the entire tag team event.


    **


    On the Fifth Heaven. Dream Asura Clan.


    The return of Princess Mae caused quite a commotion. The oddity of her absence hadn''t been quite large to many other than her family itself, but her return was especially explosive. Returning as a Cosmic Seed Realm expert was already enough to put many elders on alert, the speed was much too fast. However, it was what happened after that seemed to alert the entire Clan.


    First, news that Princess Mae had a Dao Companion shook the foundation of the Dream Asura Clan. Given her lineage and who her parents were, this sort of event should have come with the fanfare it deserved, not casually decided on a whim and done with a man the Clan had never heard of.


    These two facts were alone enough to cause a great commotion, but then Princess Mae entered their Ancestral lands. Not only did she enter them, but she traveled into Samsara and returned. The Wheel of Samsara hadn''t opened in hundreds of generations, but even the last time it had opened, the young genius who had entered never returned.


    It was said that the Wheel of Samsara was a test one would either pass immediately or never at all. While the test taker would experience countless vicissitudes of life, a blink of an eye would pass in reality.


    To the shock of the Dream Asura Clan, not only had the Wheel of Samsara appeared for Mae, but after a moment, she walked out of it, her mind in somewhat of a daze, her deep red eyes carrying a spinning wheel of golden flames that made it so only Sky Gods could look her directly in the eyes without their souls burning up.


    As though this wasn''t shocking enough, in one step, Mae''s cultivation had been at the Lower Cosmic Seed Realm, but after another, she had reached the Peak of the World Sea Realm, her aura already containing traces of Godhood.


    But, what was even more astonishing than this was the fact her Dao had entered the Middle Ancient Grade.


    This should have caused a tribulation to descend, something the Elders of the Dream Asura Clan were very much aware of. However, because the changes had occurred within the Wheel of Samsara, for whatever reason, the Heavens, or more accurately the formations of the Higher Heaven Clans and Sects, didn''t sense the changes at all.


    Even so, the Dream Asura Clan entered an odd state and large movements began to occur beneath the surface.


    Not everyone was as bold as Ryu, and honestly Ryu''s boldness was a product of his lone wolf persona. The Dream Asura Clan was an enter family tree of individuals spanning billions. Their life and death couldn''t be left up to casual whims.


    On that day, the Dream Mountain range closed for unknown reasons to the outside world and all information was sealed away.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1234 Insignificant

    1234 Insignificant


    The location was one of dense darkness and even denser heat. The only light seemed to come from the faint emissions of molten rock that had turned various shades of red and orange beneath the intense heat.


    The depths of this volcano was located on the Eighth Heaven. It was a mountain range simply known as Molten Essence, the kind of location that would scorch your lungs to black with a single inhale. Even Sky Gods wouldn''t casually step into this place.


    Despite this, hidden in a deep crevice a man sat. Sweat and soot matted his face, wounds littering his exposed chest. Rags hung from his body and only his pants seemed to be somewhat intact. His hair was a bright, fierce red, along with his beard, they seemed to shine even brighter than the molten rock around him, but not nearly as bright as his two piercing red eyes.


    He stared ahead, unmoved and unhurried. The wounds on his body, rather than being aggravated by the surrounding heat, actually seemed to be slowly healing them instead. Even so, he didn''t seem to be relaxed at all despite the indifference on his face. He seemed to be vigilant, looking out for something.


    His breathing was slow, his mind sharp. The fatigue of these countless years didn''t seem to slow him down in the slightest. His determination was just as great as it had been on the very first date.


    He suddenly looked up. Above him, there was nothing more than molten rock , but his gaze seemed to pierce through it, seeing to the dark skies above. With the amount of volcanic activity in this region, the skies were cast in a perpetual night everyday.


    This was actually one of the reasons reaching this location was so difficult and a reason why the man had chosen to hide here despite the fact his chasers were just as immune to the heat as he was. Because of the soot taking the place of the clouds above, outside the range of this oppressive heat, there was an expanse of cold so piercing that even those with affinity might not last even a few minutes. The number of experts who had died just making it to this location made it a hellscape.


    There were some who could deal with one extreme environment, or the other, but how many could deal with both? But just now, this man sensed something.


    A shadow descended through the mountain range and appeared within the volcano .


    The man slowly stood to his feet, walking out from his cave''s crevice with an indifferent expression on his face. He didn''t sigh, he didn''t frown, he just seemed used to it. However, when the shadow appeared before him, and he looked into the latter''s eyes, even for him, there couldn''t help but be a small flicker.


    "Titus."


    "Primus."


    The two spoke at once with the same casualness. One would have never thought that they were grandfather and grandson. Even so, this only seemed natural for them. Titus continued to observe his grandfather as though he was prepared for the latter to make a move at any time. Surprisingly, though, seeing this, Primus'' demeanor turned malevolent.


    One would have thought that if a grandfather saw his grandson being wary of him, his fury would be founded upon this. Wouldn''t a grandfather want his grandson to love and trust him? In that case, it would make sense that he was so infuriated. However, rather than this being the case, Primus'' next words painted a completely different picture.


    "Do you think anyone has the right to command me?"


    Titus'' pupils constricted.


    Primus'' meaning was clear. The only reason he could be here to chase Titus was if and only if he had fallen in line and agreed.


    Primus was enraged not because his grandson didn''t trust him, but rather because his grandson actually considered the idea of his grandfather submitting to others. In all these years, this was the only time Titus had ever seen Primus display an emotion outside of indifference. His words were only short of saying "how dare you?" The pride running through his veins was so dense that it exuded outward without even his conscious effort.


    "Is that so? Then why are you here?" Titus asked indifferently.


    "I will be ascending to the Ninth Heaven now," Primus returned to his normal self as though nothing had happened. "I still have some karmic ties that will hinder my ascension to Dao God. I''ve come to deal with them. After this, I will go and see that great grandson of mine."


    Titus hadn''t shown any reaction, even when Primus mentioned Dao God. He didn''t seem to care in the slightest, even though this implied that the Primus before him was not only a Dao Sovereign, but a Peak Dao Sovereign.


    However, when he heard great grandson, Titus trembled from head to toe, his indifferent gaze becoming dazed. Great grandson? How would Primus go and see him?


    From the very beginning, hadn''t Titus been fighting for a method to find his son''s soul and return it to where it should be? Titus had not the slightest clue that his son had not only returned, he had no idea that the Tatsuya Clan had fallen and that the Martial Gods had once taken over Sacrum.


    Primus had known these matters for years. Ryu had already returned over a thousand years ago. The Tatsuya Clan had already been destroyed several hundred thousand years ago. But he casually mentioned one of these events and didn''t seem to have any intention of mentioning the latter.


    No... it wasn''t that he was intentionally hiding these truths, it was rather that to him, they felt like insignificant facts. If not for the fact that Ryu had some relevance to the conversation, he wouldn''t have mentioned him at all either.


    To him, these facts, the fact Ryu had lived, or the fact his Tatsuya Clan had been destroyed, were insignificant, no different from the temperature or the weather.


    Even his grandson''s reaction to the wellbeing of his great grandson didn''t move him in the slightest. Without much care, he flipped a palm, revealing a small glass orb.

 Chapter 1235 Thats Exactly Right

    1235 That''s Exactly Right.


    The aura of the orb was no different from an Inheritance of the Heavenly Path. However, the worth of something like this to Titus couldn''t be understated. No matter how perfect an Inheritance was to a cultivator, there would always be some deviations. However, if Titus accepted an Inheritance from Primus, it would be like the last puzzle piece sliding into its location perfectly.


    Not only were they related, they were only two generations apart, and they were born to the same line. Their Bloodline, its quirks, the methods to improve it, were almost perfectly in line, and even if it wasn''t perfect, it was 99.99% in line with one another.


    Accepting such an Inheritance would allow Titus to improve at a speed thousands of times faster than before without exaggeration. Not only that, but his strength itself would likewise skyrocket even without taking a single step in cultivation.


    Even so, Titus eyes seemed to be glued to Primus.


    "Little Ryu... Is alive?"


    Primus didn''t like to repeat himself so he didn''t bother to answer. Rather, he tossed the glass orb.


    "Use it, or don''t. I don''t particularly care."


    Titus caught it reflexively, mostly because his mind was still on his question. But seeing that Primus wasn''t answering, he realized that this meant that it was true. His son was alive, his son was really alive.


    Titus'' gaze reddened, his jaw clenching.


    Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.


    "...You... You said that you would go and see Little Ryu, why didn''t you say anything about father? Have you already seen him?"


    Primus was already leaving. With his speed, he was already quite a distance away by the time Titus'' voice reached him.


    "Because he''s dead." Primus said indifferently.


    Titus'' eyes widened. A surge of blood rushed into his head and he moved without thinking. In a blink, he had already appeared in the skies blocking Primus'' path, a pair of wide black wings, each stretching over three meters, appearing to his back.


    "What did you just say?! Repeat that!"


    For some reason, Primus actually paused. Looking into Titus'' gaze with an unmoved expression, he remained silent, seemingly trying to avoid something.


    Titus'' voice roared, he didn''t seem to care about how far it was echoing or if those chasing him could catch up based on his. Hearing that his son was alive in one moment, and then that his father had died in the next, he felt like his world was spinning. All the happiness he had felt plunged into the greatest depths of darkness, his Rage Flames spilling over.


    As they billowed outward, their usually red-black hue looked far more black than anything else. It was so exaggerated that it was almost impossible to recognize the original foundation of it. Despite the heat in the region, it rose once again, so much so that the fabric of the Eighth Heaven seemed to be warping and waving as though its joints were melting apart.


    Titus'' fury only continued to rise when Primus didn''t answer. His wounds erupted to black flames, new wounds appearing as the flames continued to spill out of his body as though they were rushing out with every pump of his heart. He was so infuriated that he couldn''t even see straight.


    He realized at that moment that Primus must have known about this matter for a while, he had known for years at the very least, maybe even longer than that. The only reason he bothered to tell Titus about it now was because he wanted to deal with what remained of his Karmic Ties. This interaction might have never happened if Primus didn''t need it for his ascension.


    Primus could have stopped it. He knew Primus could have stopped it.


    Back when Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was sealed by outside forces, he could have stopped it. Back when Ryu was forced to kill himself to have a chance at changing his family''s fate, he could have stopped it. When the Tatsuya Clan was on the verge of destruction, he could have stopped it.


    The Martial Gods probably had no idea that the Tatsuya had a Dao Sovereign in their Lineage. If they were aware, they would have never taken action in the first place.


    No one above the Perfect Sky God Realm could seem to step into Sacrum, however, Primus, as a man born there, could enter with ease even as a Dao Sovereign. If he had been present, if he had just shown his face once, how could any of this have happened? How could these thousands of years of suffering even begin if he was willing to be an Ancestor for even a single brief instant of time?!


    Just as Titus was about to lose control and attack, disregarding the difference between them, Primus suddenly spoke, his words calm and not carrying even the slightest trace of emotion.


    "Do you know why you''re suffering right now?" Primus looked toward Titus. "It''s because you''re weak. You were too weak to change your son''s fate, too weak to protect your family, too weak to survive the Nether World, too weak to stand boldly in the Eighth Heaven, too weak to even have the right to question me like this.


    "But it''s not only because you''re weak, it''s because the powerful Clans and Sects oppressing you have no pride, no backbone, no courage. They bully you because they can, they bully you because they fear losing a grip of their strength, fear that one day they will fall to be the ones that are bullied instead."


    "Quite frankly, I find the both of you to be wholly pathetic."


    Titus couldn''t seem to breathe. The heat building up within his body was so great that it suffocated his own breath, tightening its hold around his throat.


    He was so infuriated that he laughed.


    "That''s why? You refuse to help your family because you don''t want to feel like a bully? Is that right?"


    The words sounded so ridiculous that Titus'' laughter came out in roars akin to an enraged dragon, dispersing even the heavy soot in the skies. But...


    Primus'' response was even more shocking.


    "That''s exactly right. Such hypocritical actions are beneath me. You want revenge? Get it yourself. Either that or alert an enemy strong enough to interest me."


    Without another word, Primus turned and vanished, his speed at a level Titus had not a single chance to catch up to.

 Chapter 1236 Interesting

    1236 Interesting


    Titus'' eyes burned with black flames.


    His father had never said anything, but if there was one person he had always wanted the acknowledgement of, it was Primus. For him to die with Primus'' knowledge, and yet for the latter to do absolutely nothing to stop it....


    Titus felt so suffocated that he wanted to destroy everything. Black scales faded in and out of his skin, if one peered into his body, it would be possible to see these black scales coating his inner organs and even his heart, making the centerpiece of his body look like breathing magma as the scales expanded and contracted to reveal the burning red flesh beneath.


    His killing intent soared. He wanted nothing more than to rip Primus apart limb from limb, beating him to the point he had no choice but to admit his wrongs and die with grievances. But Titus knew well that not only did he have nowhere near the strength he needed to do that, even if he ever reached such a strength level, he couldn''t see Primus folding even in the face of death.


    In addition... He just couldn''t.


    Thinking of his father, Titus'' heart ached, the pain no less pronounced than when he held his son''s corpse. What made it worse was that he knew his father wouldn''t want him to spend his life trying to kill Primus.


    To Titus, Primus was just a shadowy figure. To Ryu, Primus was just an amorphous existence he had never interacted with. To Saint Tatsuya, however... He was a father and the man he respected most. Even if it was just in memory of his father, Titus couldn''t bring himself to do it.


    Titus looked down at the Inheritance in his hand. Not once, even after he had caught it, did he ever have the intention of using it.


    ''I will keep it for you, father''


    Titus gripped his opposing fist hard, the rage in his eyes growing to the point it seemed to solidify. He would find his father in the Nether World and give this Inheritance to him, the Inheritance he should have had all along.


    Titus put the Inheritance away without a second glance, but the fury in his eyes didn''t seem to want to go away. He looked in a certain direction, his heart pounding and his veins rushing with black flames. He wouldn''t be able to calm down for a long time.


    He had been far too lenient. All he had wanted was to find a method to enter the True Martial World''s Nether World and grow strong enough to protect himself within it. However, even when he didn''t go out of his way to interfere with these Clans and Sects, they seemed to want to find trouble with him left and right.


    Titus had never had the same grand aspirations as his son or his father. Not everyone wanted to sit atop of the world, especially when for much of his life, Titus had thought he was already there. If not for his son, he might have never stepped foot onto this path.


    Despite his appearance and fierceness, Titus was actually quite soft hearted. It was why from a very young age, he had taught his son how to treat others with kindness and respect. Ryu was a difficult child to manage because he always had his own ideas about things, but Titus had done his best.


    A prime example was Ryu''s relationship with the young genius of the Deep Eruption Sect. Maybe any other father with such power, upon seeing their crippled son so injured after a bout with a subordinate''s child, especially since said child could cultivate while Ryu could not, would have retaliated swiftly and harshly. This was simply the way of the martial world. And yet, Titus had never done such a thing, even though Ryu had hated that young man''s guts at the time.


    There was nothing Titus liked to do more than to practice the spear while his wife painted or played the zither by his side. That was the state he felt the most peace in, and also the state he most wanted, a state he could have spent his whole life in if the world had allowed it.


    It was ironically because of this that his imprint on the Heavens he had travelled through hadn''t been very great. He had done so many amazing things, and yet so very few knew him... And that was because he had never seen this place as his home, the thought of moving his family here had never crossed his mind even a single time.


    But it seemed that his stance had made others think he was too soft, that he was someone easy to target and crush.


    A pillar of black flames seemed to connect the earth and the skies.


    Right now, all Titus wanted to do was kill.


    With a stomp, he suddenly vanished. When he had appeared again, he was already in the depths of a snowstorm, ice and snow that had lasted for countless billions of years melting around him in a flash as he left a trail in his wake.


    He had been too soft. These people will experience the terror of Titus Tatsuya on this day.


    **


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed for a moment as he looked into the skies. He felt something odd in his heart just now, but he couldn''t quite describe what it was, or even why he was feeling such a thing in the first place. He seemed to forget entirely about the number of eyes on him right this moment as he continued to look up.


    To everyone else, it seemed that he was waiting for another round of lightning to fall, so they felt a great amount of apprehension that they too looked up, trying to detect something. But after several moments passed, they realized that there was nothing to see.


    At this moment, though, the Sky God of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion appreciated the distraction. They were quickly communicating, trying to figure out where to go from here. These weren''t rules that they could simply flout on a whim just because. They needed an explanation that at least sounded good to the ears, the idea of just allowing Ryu to win was simply impossible, they couldn''t allow such a thing. But at the same time, they couldn''t show too much bias either.


    Fate was far more complicated in the True Martial World than it was in Sacrum, things weren''t as simple as poorly received actions tanking a Sect''s Faith, there were even some Sects that purposely did horrible things. However, there was still a certain amount of decorum they had to keep within reasonable limits.


    Elder Bartien suddenly received a message and stepped forward. By the time Ryu looked down from the skies, the Sky Gods had already conversed and came to an adequate enough solution. With how fast Sky Gods thought, without the limitation of having to open their mouths, it wasn''t surprising that they had communicated so quickly.


    Clearing his throat, Elder Bartien began.


    "This event is truly unprecedented in the history of this gathering. The Alchemy Council of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion has decided that this junior here has nothing left to prove, it would be a waste for him to continue to participate in the Alchemy Stream as his skills are clearly far and above that of his peers.


    "As such, this disciple of the Radiant Star Sect will be given the number one rank in the Alchemy Stream and will not need to participate in the coming rounds.


    "Following this, we will reset the first round and begin concocting once more before moving on to the Combat Stream. Prepare yourselves. Attendees, please prepare another batch of ingredients for these participants."


    Elder Bartien moved quickly through his diatribe. He spent most of the time praising Ryu before quickly changing the subject, but there was another obvious problem here.


    If Ryu was no longer participating in the Alchemy Stream, didn''t that actually place him at a disadvantage even though he would gain the default first place?


    These Alchemists weren''t fools..


    They spent their whole lives just in search of one 100% pure pill, most of them didn''t even dare to hope to form a Runed Pill, and many more had targets of 80% or 90%, believing that even 100% was impossible.


    Even if it was a fluke for Ryu to form a Runed Pill this time around, there was no doubt that his skill was far beyond their expectations. One didn''t just "accidentally" form a Runed Pill, even if this was the first Runed Pill Ryu had ever formed before, there was no doubt he had countless 90%+ pills under his belt at a minimum.


    Such a youth couldn''t possibly be allowed to participate in this event, their only hope to crush his Dao Heart was in the combat stream. If he was actually allowed to continue concocting pills for himself, even that would become questionable.


    Unfortunately, the crowd was too in awe of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion actually conceding, even in the face of admitting that their number one genius was inferior. Most wouldn''t even care to pay attention to these minor details.


    Ryu sneered inwardly, but he didn''t say anything. He had secured his first place and that was all he cared about. He had never really thought about using his alchemy to shore up his combat strength before.


    "Though... That is an interesting idea...'' Ryu thought to himself.


    While he thought about this, the Alchemy Stream competition quickly came to an end. By the time Ryu looked up again, the crowd was in an uproar.


    It turned out that Adlael''s plan all along was to also participate in the Combat Stream. It seemed that the Heavenly Dew Pavilion wanted to regain their face through this method.

 Chapter 1237 In Fact

    1237 In Fact


    Ryu''s robes fluttered in the wind. He stood in a long line of cultivators, his fingers twirling three Runed Pills. Those that were nearby him couldn''t help but look over, gulping from time to time.


    The worth of Runed Pills were simply impossible to measure. It could be said that Ryu had sold them far too cheaply on the First Heaven, but that couldn''t be helped given the circumstances. The price you could force others to pay was only as good as the upper limit of your customer base''s limits.


    Seeing such pills up close and personal, many were eyeing Ryu immediately. They had almost forgotten that Ryu had stated that he would most definitely win, Originally, this was probably something he would be targeted for anyway, but before the combat stream even began, others had found a new reason to target him.


    The Heavenly Dew Pavilion didn''t have the face to ask Ryu to sell his pills to them. However, if someone else snatched them, such an ask would be far easier. The fact that there were three only made it all the more enticing, they could experience the feeling of eating a pill, even two, and sell just one.


    Only the likes of Adlael and Juno seemed to be the picture of calmness, even Zovaes and Iroh stole glances toward Ryu from time to time. In truth, though, the calmness of the former two was likely only due to their innate personalities as opposed to any true state of calmness.


    Ryu could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. The gazes of so many geniuses seemed to make his body react on its own.


    This was a subtle change, but it was one that made a secret look flicker in the depths of his pupils. His body was acting much more like a beast''s would now than ever before. On the one hand, this was good because it meant that his Bloodlines were displaying their prominence and prowess. On the other hand, this was bad because he would normally never react like this.


    His hair standing up was a fear response that wasn''t reflective of the calmness of his mind or the excitement of his heart.


    ''How disgusting... It seems that even now you haven''t learned your lessons, hm?'' Ryu shook his head then raised it.


    Elder Bartien''s voice had just barely opened when Ryu popped the first pill into his mouth with a flick of his finger.


    "BEGIN!"


    His words had just fallen when the first Runed Pill landed on Ryu''s tongue. Those closest to Ryu reacted instantly, shooting toward him with a violent momentum. Seeing him swallow one of the pills immediately, they felt a great deal of heartache, but they still pressed forward. There were still two remaining, they still had a chance.


    One would have thought that in the face of such a talented alchemist, these people would be more focused on building relationships. However, in their minds, a Runed Pill was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Ryu might be talented, but what were the chances he would create another such pill?


    However, shockingly enough, just when the first wave of cultivators had attacked to kill and snatch, another group took the exact opposite approach. They blocked before Ryu, punching out toward the coming cultivators.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The "race" had just begun but the starting line was in chaos. The crowd was shocked before they erupted.


    It was called the combat stream for a reason. Even during a so-called racing event, participants were allowed to obstruct one another and battle. In fact, it was a requirement to pick up certain markers at each checkpoint, so it wasn''t rare for participants to attack one another to snatch these checkpoint markers and ruin someone else''s race.


    But this was the very first time that battle had erupted at the starting line.


    Several of the cultivators who had blocked the first volley of attacks for Ryu looked back with smiles as though to make sure that Ryu had seen them, but to their surprise, Ryu was no longer there. They hadn''t even noticed when he had so suddenly vanished. Their eyes couldn''t help but widen, how had a Dao Pedestal Realm expert moved without them noticing.


    BOOM!


    Suddenly, in the distance, far ahead of everyone else, a violent cyclone of qi formed. This qi was so thick that it wasn''t only visible to the naked eye even without the masses having Ryu''s [Ephemeral Tapestry], it danced with complex golden runes, runes that could have only appeared due to a Runed Pill.


    A Soul Nourishment pill wasn''t a cultivating pill, it was used to quickly replenish stamina and Spiritual Qi and was mostly used by alchemists, other secondary professions such as Blacksmiths and Formation Masters, as well as Mental Realm Masters.


    However, when used on Ryu who had a Perfect Blackbody Soul that had yet to reach its upper limit, matched with the power of a Runed Pill, it had such an exaggerated effect. Ryu''s soul strength seemed to double in the blink of an eye, before it suddenly doubled again, then again.


    By the time he reached the limit of what his current body would withstand, his Spiritual Sea was still overflowing with Spiritual Qi with nothing to latch onto. But rather than this qi suddenly becoming useless, a pair of crystalline wings appeared to Ryu''s back.


    The eyes of the Sky God''s constricted. A God Treasure, there was no doubt.


    With a single flap, Ryu vanished out of their line of sight. He was so far and away in first place that the echoes of the first clash hadn''t even settled down yet when he disappeared from the line of sight of most.


    Everyone''s expression couldn''t help but change. The crowd might be relatively more ignorant, but those of them that considered themselves experts felt that in that moment Ryu was simply too fast for the Dao Pedestal Realm. His speed just now was faster than what most World Sea Realm experts could match, and that was before he suddenly vanished into the kernels of space.


    It had only been a moment, but the winner seemed obvious.


    No, that couldn''t be the case. He still needed to pick a Pink Rose, retrieve an Amber Crystal, and excavate a Hallow Ore. These weren''t things that simple speed could help a person with at all.


    After a moment of being stunned, the other four geniuses rushed forward, coming to the same conclusion, before everyone else rushed after them.


    They popped their pills into their mouths one after another, rushing forward with even greater speed as their blood began to rush and boil.


    They felt that they were swiftly catching up, but every time, they found nothing more than the trail of Ryu''s appearance.


    The residual Spiritual Qi emitting from Ryu seemed to suppress everything and he could seem to teleport endlessly at the same time.


    At the end of the day, Spiritual Qi was still a type of energy. In high enough concentrations, it can move mountains. And when it was filtered through the use of an Inheritance like the Magus Sky God''s, it only became more devastating.


    When Ryu was finally rounding back and slowed to cross the finish line, the crowd finally got a glimpse of him, a true glimpse.


    A dark gold cone of solidified Spiritual Qi hovered before him, complex runes dancing across its surface. It moved with a thought, piercing against the wind. Harsh flames danced across one side of it and a violent cold frost crept up the other side.


    There was no doubt that these were residual energies of the valley and the Amber Cave. Yet, Ryu had moved so fast that they hadn''t even had the time to vanish.


    Ryu crossed the finish line with an indifferent expression, his hands opening to reveal the three checkpoint harvests. Even though his hand directly touched the Pink Rose, something that should have sent him into a hypnotized state, he was unmoved by it all.


    With his Magus Lock in place, how could any casual attack of the mind affect him? In fact, after swallowing his Runed Soul Nourishment Pill, his Magus Lock had only gotten several times stronger and more powerful.


    Ryu found his platform and sat in silence. He couldn''t seem to hear the crowd around him, but maybe that was because they were entirely silent as well. Even the crowd hardly seemed to notice as the others caught up, their eyes entirely on the white haired young man who had just shocked them all. Back to back events, two first places... no, at this point, it should be three first places in a row as the Heavenly Dew Pavilion had already conceded the alchemy stream.


    Of all the things that one might have expected this time around, this may very well have been the last.


    Adlael crossed the finish line like second. He looked up toward Ryu who sat on his pillar, an unreadable expression in the depths of his eyes. He had just gotten two second places in a row, but that seemed to have been entirely overshadowed. The glory of twin first places should have been his...


    What he didn''t know was that Ryu hadn''t even known about the existence of this competition to begin with. If not for Adlael''s elders, he would probably be tucked somewhere in secluded cultivation, not here....


    Just as an uproar was about to tear through the crowd, the skies rumbled and then suddenly split.


    The expressions of Fairy Claire and the other Sky Gods all changed as they looked up. Even Ryu''s eyes snapped open, his gaze looking upward as well. Only the Sky Gods knew what this meant. Someone was tearing a path open between the Seventh and Sixth


    Heavens.


    No, it wasn''t someone, it was several someones, a large number of them, in fact.

 Chapter 1238 Dangerous

    1238 Dangerous


    The scene could only be described as Armageddon. The skies shattered as though glass, reality warped and twisted, and at that moment, an enormous dome-like formation that was normally invisible to the eyes appeared. The formation was formed of gears and countless moving parts, an illusion of artistry and beauty that could make one neglect one very obvious part...


    For all intents and purposes, this "beautiful" formation dome was a cage, a cage to keep those of them on the lower Heavens suppressed.


    However, Ryu was maybe the only one thinking of such a thing at this moment, because everyone else, including the Sky Gods of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion, felt their hearts leaping into their throats.


    Descending from the Seventh to the Sixth Heaven was an extraordinarily difficult task. Crossing the Complete Heavenly Path was an entirely different beast than the incomplete Heavenly Path, and the more powerful you were, the more effort it took to accomplish it.


    The skies seemed to vanish into a sea of fire that made Ryu''s expression flicker. These flames looked familiar.


    Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but skip a beat. ''Origin Flames?''


    Ryu''s figure suddenly flickered then vanished. Everyone was trapped in the awe and majesty that almost no one noticed, not even the Sky Gods. The only person who seemed to realize what was going on was the person who had been paying attention to Ryu from the very beginning, unable to take her eyes off of him even in the face of what looked like a catastrophe...


    That person was none other than Fairy Claire.


    However, even for her, other than noticing that Ryu had entered the void, she could sense nothing else. Her eyes were useless in this situation. The world was bending and warping too much, if she tried to focus on seeing through its changes, her eyes would only begin to bleed and she might go blind for a period of time.


    Even so, she was absolutely shocked. How could a Dao Pedestal Realm expert enter the void? Was that because of the God Treasure? No, there was simply no way. God Treasures were extremely powerful and could aid others in doing the impossible, but it wasn''t to the point they could allow an Immortal to do what only a Sky God could do, especially when that Sky God would usually have to be at at least the Transcended Realm.


    She looked around and her eyes continued to snap about, but as expected, after just a few seconds, blood began to pool out like dripping tears.


    She stumbled back, blinking several times.


    "Fairy Claire!" The Sky Gods around her finally seemed to notice. "You can''t use your eyes to observe this event, it''s too much for you, you must be careful!"


    ...


    Ryu had no idea what happened to Fairy Claire after he entered the void, he was entirely focused on moving forward. As such, he didn''t realize the difference between his eyes and Fairy Claire''s. While observing the world, he could easily see the spatial nodes and tides of time. He didn''t even feel the slightest strain.


    If Fairy Claire''s eyes were a soft metal like gold, his own were akin to a refined, un-scratchable, unbendable alloy created by the fusion of countless powerful ores. The two could only be compared as Heaven and Earth.


    Although Ryu''s eyes were still sealed, the underlying strength of his eyes was still there. Eyes were usually known to be as the most vulnerable, or one of the most vulnerable, parts of the body, even for cultivators. But while he hadn''t noticed this just yet, Ryu''s own eyes were no less sturdy than his flesh and muscle, in fact, it might be even more so.


    This allowed Ryu to see things others couldn''t.


    In reality, those of the upper Heavens had always been aware that the shattering of the space between Heavens would lead to the appearance of Origin Flames. The problem was that they didn''t have systematic methods of grasping it outside of unbridled power.


    Ryu, however, had several advantages. First, he already had a foundation built upon not just one Origin Flame, but two of them. Secondly, he could see and even predict the appearance of the sparks. And, lastly, he had a strong immunity to the other flames.


    There was another important point as well. Right this moment, outside of exceptionally powerful Sky Gods, Ryu was probably the only one who dared to travel through the void right this moment.


    If even observing the atmosphere could strain the eyes, one could imagine what could happen to the body if you dared to enter it. The void was only as safe as the attacks outside of it. If an attack could warp the void and collapse it, entering it didn''t matter, you would die regardless. Since this phenomena had caused reality itself to warp, then it was clear and obvious that it was already at this level.


    However, Ryu could see through the void and avoid the changes ahead of time. He could see the kernels of space, which ones were still sturdy, which ones were on the verge of collapse, and which ones had already collapsed and were still trying to repair themselves.


    Like this, Ryu not only vanished from sight, but he carved a quick path toward the skies. He didn''t seem to care who was descending anymore, all he Ryu, however, had several advantages. First, he already had a foundation built upon not just one Origin Flame, but two of them. Secondly, he could see and even predict the appearance of the sparks. And, lastly, he had a strong immunity to the other flames.


    There was another important point as well. Right this moment, outside of exceptionally powerful Sky Gods, Ryu was probably the only one who dared to travel through the void right this moment.


    If even observing the atmosphere could strain the eyes, one could imagine what could happen to the body if you dared to enter it. The void was only as safe as the attacks outside of it. If an attack could warp the void and collapse it, entering it didn''t matter, you would die regardless. Since this phenomena had caused reality itself to warp, then it was clear and obvious that it was already at this level.


    However, Ryu could see through the void and avoid the changes ahead of time. He could see the kernels of space, which ones were still sturdy, which ones were on the verge of collapse, and which ones had already collapsed and were still trying to repair themselves.


    Like this, Ryu not only vanished from sight, but he carved a quick path toward the skies. He didn''t seem to care who was descending anymore, all he saw was an opportunity to get stronger.


    He felt more and more that the Origin Flames had to have something greater to them than just bolstering his memory, but it was impossible to test this out unless he strengthened them.


    That said, this would be easy.


    There were only two ways for Ryu to succeed, two methods he had long since thought of.


    The first was to step out of the void, very dangerous for obvious reasons.


    The second was to stay within the void and wait for a spark to come to him. But doing that would require him to wait until a spatial node collapsed first. Very, very dangerous, even more so than the first option because in that case, Ryu would not only be facing the attacks from the outside, but also maybe the most dangerous power in existence: collapsing space.


    Even so, he took the second option without hesitation.

 Chapter 1239 Fork In The Road

    1239 Fork in the Road


    While the second option was more dangerous for most, for Ryu, it was basically the only option he had. In his current state, the only thing protecting him from dying right this moment was the uncollapsed space. If he stepped outside, his current cultivation and strength level wouldn''t be able to hold up at all.


    Even so, Ryu wasn''t worried.


    Strength was created on the edge of danger, and if there was one thing Ryu didn''t lack, it was guts. Plus, he didn''t feel that he was throwing his life away at all.


    At that moment, Ryu''s aura changed. Twin eight trigram diagrams appeared in his irises and a dense sense of ancientness began to exude from him. The Time Qi deep within Ryu began to rumble and roll. At the same time, his Chaos Qi rumbled.


    This situation was probably one of the only times Ryu would be able to use his Chaotic Silk Meridians freely. With the volatility of the surroundings, it was almost impossible for anyone to parse apart the different qi in the atmosphere, and even if by some miracle or great strength something sensed his Chaos Qi, it could easily be ignored as well.


    If even Origin Flame sparks could appear, was Chaos Qi so shocking? Even strands of Essence might appear. The very fabric of an extremely powerful Heaven was currently cracking and folding, all sorts of powerful phenomena would appear. If anything, Ryu''s Chaos Qi would be far too weak to catch the notice of anyone with power enough to care or sense such a thing.


    Ryu unleashed everything he had, even popping yet another Runed Pill into his mouth. A flood of Spiritual Qi surged out in all directions, but he used it up as fast as it appeared. The stress that using the time aspect of his Spacetime Soul Nature placed on him was great, but the drain of Focus Qi was actually not as bad as the drain of Spiritual Qi.


    This made sense. It was his Soul Nature, by definition seeing through time came naturally to him. The only unfortunate part was that his Spiritual Qi didn''t get the memo. However, with the support of Runed Pills like this, that worry became almost non-existence. So long as he was within normal realms of time usage, his Focus Qi shouldn''t become a problem.


    "There''


    Ryu flickered and vanished just as the node collapsed. He reached out toward the Origin Flame Spark.


    Just as he was about to touch his, his gaze sharpened with a blinding light. He could sense something else coming with it. However, even so, he still continued to grab forward, bracing him.


    A spark of black lightning descended, trying to shatter kyu''s body into ash.


    Ryu roared, his Chaos Qi swapping to Primordial Chaos Lightning in an instant. He pointed downward and sent out a streak of it.


    As though moth to a flame, the streaking black lightning changed course, rushing downward to catch up to the Primordial Chaos Lightning as Ryu palm clamped down, snatching the Origin Flame Spark.


    A surge of power entered Ryu''s body and his Origin Flame, which were fairly dormant most of the time, suddenly rushed forward and swallowed up the Spark. With just that one action, Ryu felt the shackles on his Origin Flame loosen considerably. It rose from the Fragmented Grade to the False Grade instantly.


    Ryu''s gaze lit up. Just a single spark was able to do this, what about if he gathered more?


    His gaze became like lighting as he continued to look around. He didn''t have time to focus on what changes might have occurred, he could always do that later. He didn''t know how much longer this phenomena would last, so he had to take advantage.


    A half second later, Ryu moved again and snatched another spark, then another. His Origin Flame rose from the False Grade to the True Grade, then entered the Perfect Grade. When he grabbed his fourth Spark, it didn''t breakthrough in grade, but he could sense that it had become substantially stronger. It wasn''t until he had snatched a fifth one that it raised its level once again and entered the Transcended Grade.


    Ryu continued to move as fast as he could, but the returns were quickly diminishing. Even after gathering three more, he still hadn''t entered the Omniscient Grade and he could already sense the phenomena beginning to wane and reality beginning to mend itself.


    In addition, if Ryu wanted to avoid problems, escaping now would probably be his best chance, if he waited until later, all sorts of variables might crop up. Who knew what the Heavenly Dew Pavilion would do if he actually ended up winning the event?


    Of course, there was his Dao Heart to worry about. But Ryu could already guess that the likelihood of this event continuing was next to zero after these changes. In that case, staying here would be like putting a target on his back for next to no reason.


    ''There.''


    Ryu flickered and vanished again, the silvery wings on his back flapping once and taking him forward with a great deal of speed.


    "This is..."


    He found himself standing at a fork in the road. If he took the path toward the Origin Flame Spark, this final spark should be enough to enter the Omniscient Grade, that would be a huge, qualitative change.


    However, if he took the other path, he could sense a huge stream of Northern Heavenly Wind.


    At the moment, just like his Origin Flame, his Northern Heavenly Wind and Southern Heavenly Wind were both at the Fragmented Grade. They were still very useful toward his speed and his recovery, but they were becoming less useful. It was difficult for them to have much effect with the suppression of the higher Heavens being so much greater.


    A Fragmented Grade Natural Treasure was exceptionally useful on the Third Heaven, but by the time you crossed into the Fourth, it would already be lagging behind.


    Ryu narrowed his eyes. It was clear that the Heavenly Wind was in a far larger quantity, which was also why this was the first time Ryu had laid eyes on one during this entire process.


    He flickered and vanished, heading toward the Northern Heavenly Wind without hesitation.


    While he didn''t know what changes would occur to the Origin Flame, he knew exactly what a Northern Heavenly Wind could do for him.

 Chapter 1240 Impossible

    1240 Impossible


    Ryu rushed forward with great speed, his figure flickering several times as he surged in the direction of the Northern Heavenly Wind.


    He made it to its side extraordinarily quickly, but he could already sense that the spark of Origin Flame from earlier had vanished. Even so, he was unmoved, he had already calculated that something like this would happen.


    He entered the stream of Northern Heavenly Wind, inhaling with all of his might. Harsh winds whipped against his skin and cut into it. If it had been any other Dao Pedestal Realm expert in this situation, they would have been shredded to pieces in an instant.


    The Northern Heavenly Wind was the embodiment of wind, and though it was the second most gentle after Southern Heavenly Wind, it was also still a force of nature. Casually entering a stream of it was bound to lead to death and destruction. Only by fusing with a curated embryo or a restrained mature version of it could one fuse with it normally.


    If it was so easy to fuse with such natural treasures, doing so would have never been the test of gaining a Sky God''s acknowledgement back in Sacrum.


    Ryu quickly realized that this huge stream of Northern Heavenly Wind wasn''t the true source of the wind, but he had no ability to make it to this source. It seemed to exist outside the bounds of reality, or more accurately, the bound of this Plane.


    This made sense when he thought about it. Only small sparks of Origin Flames were making it through, so why would it be greatly different for the Northern Heavenly Wind? Even so, unlike the Origin Flame, the residual Northern Heavenly Wind didn''t separate and it came out in a strong and steady stream.


    The moment Ryu opened his mouth, his tongue, gums and throat were lacerated to pieces, but he continued to inhale. Time was of the essence, he didn''t have time to slowly check the waters and dip his toes in. He had to absorb as much as he could, as quickly as he could.


    Almost instantly, his Northern Heavenly Wind entered the False Grade, then the True Grade. The upgrade speed was so fast that Ryu almost felt overwhelmed.


    As his wind improved, the lacerations he suffered began to plummet and he began to inhale even more strongly. He followed down the path against the flow, pushing himself toward the stronger and stronger streams.


    He was so focused on this that he didn''t realize that while the rest of his body was practically being torn to pieces, he had never had to squint his eyes even once. The most vulnerable part of his body had somehow become the strongest without him even noticing.


    Perfect Grade... Transcended Grade....


    Ryu felt a rush of euphoria as he reached the Omniscient Grade. His body felt so light and the suppression of the world around him seemed to vanish entirely. He felt that if he wanted to soar through the skies, he wouldn''t even have to bring out his Great Swordstaffs to do so, with just a thought, the wind could lift him into the air.


    But almost the instant he stepped into this level, progress slowed to a crawl. Ryu watched somewhat helplessly as the stream of Northern Heavenly Wind began to slow. Reality began to quickly repair itself and the stream slowed.


    A flicker of determination flashed through Ryu''s eyes as he stomped hard, surging forward.


    His eyes rotated with twin eight trigram diagrams as he held out his hands.


    Then, he did something maddening.


    "BREAK!"


    Ryu roared, smashing down against the weakest spatial node he could find. Instantly, it cracked and shattered, causing the slowing stream of Northern Heavenly Wind to suddenly erupt once again.


    BANG!


    Ryu was blasted backward, retreating with even more speed than he had come with. All of the skin of the front of his body was torn to shred and his bones fractured once after another. He would have lost consciousness in that moment if it wasn''t for the stream of Spiritual Qi from his Runed Pill keeping him awake.


    Ryu clenched his teeth that had entirely lost the protection of his lips. He opened his mouth and allowed the raging stream to enter him, shredding his throat and inner organs to pieces.


    Just as quickly as the stream formed, it seemed to vanish. But just in that final moment, Ryu managed to push through.


    A resonating light of golden green exuded from him as his Northern Heavenly Wind to that final step, entering the Order Grade, or as some people would refer to it as... The Lord Grade.


    Ryu''s eyes opened wide as though he was wide awake. He rushed out from the spatial node, taking deep breaths as he finally turned off the Unbalance Mantra and the Quivering Spectral Wings. Despite everything he had gone through, it was actually the Unbalance Mantra that had placed the greatest strain on him.


    Ryu caused a drop of Embryonic Qi to surge through him and his injuries began to quickly heal. In the blink of an eye, his skin had reappeared and he waved a hand to don a new pair of robes.


    He looked back toward where the Heavenly Dew Pavilion had been. In his attempts, he was already quite a long distance away. The distance he had traveled through the void, it would take a Sky God several hours to cross outside of it. He couldn''t even see the beginning of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion''s crowded regions even with his keen vision.


    Ryu took a inhale before turning his back toward the Heavenly Dew Pavilion. He guessed that that was enough of a debut for now. But he wanted to know who had descended from the Seventh Heaven and what they were here for.


    If he was correct about who these people were, then his life would become far more difficult very, very soon.


    Ryu''s lip curled into a sneer as he flickered and vanished, his velocity even without stepping into the void reaching seemingly impossible levels.

 Chapter 1241 Timebomb

    1241 Timebomb


    It originally took Ryu a month to make it to the Heavenly Dew Pavilion''s outer territory. This time, however, it didn''t even take him a week. Had he used the Quivering Spectral Wings, he might have been able to complete the journey in just three to four days. The amount of speed he had access to right this moment was simply ridiculous, he practically glided through the air, not facing the slightest wind resistance.


    ''This should be enough time for news to have spread and for others to have a general understanding of what''s going on here!''


    Ryu had realized that the little woman had been silent for a very long time, but he also wasn''t the type to randomly start a conversation with someone he knew so little about, so he hadn''t cared enough to pay great attention to it at all.


    He walked into the city slowly, and as expected, there was an odd air to it.


    He wasn''t very worried about exposing himself. Whatever fame he would have gotten for participating in that event was likely overshadowed by these events. On top of that, less than a week wasn''t enough time for such news to spread anyway.


    In addition, if the Heavenly Dew Pavilion was looking for him, they wouldn''t be looking here. First they would check the closest teleportation platforms, and when they realized he hadn''t used any of them, they would change their target to the vicinity where he should have been.


    There was no way they would believe that a Dao Pedestal Realm expert like Ryu could travel in a week what, realistically, should have taken him months to travel. Even if they used the speed they observed during the event to measure him, they would still be several weeks short of his actual speed.


    Ryu found a restaurant and entered it. He didn''t plan on using an information network.


    For one, the price on such information was definitely ridiculous, maybe only Transcended and Omniscient Sky Gods would be able to afford the price. Secondly, he may very well be the one they were looking for, so how could he be so casual about leaving a trail for others to follow? As long as he was patient, he bet that he could find the information he needed.


    It took a while, and Ryu devouring quite a bit of food, but he finally began to hear some faint inklings. He had to change his strategy from passively listening to using his newly strengthened Northern Heavenly Wind to carry hidden words to his ears. It was a subtle art, but when he got the hang of it, he was able to listen in on even Sky Gods.


    ...


    "... The situation right now is quite bad."


    "What do you mean? It can''t be that they plan to wipe out the whole Sixth Heaven, right?"


    "Let alone the Sixth Heaven, those people wouldn''t care even if they massacred all the Heavens beneath the Seventh."


    A silence fell.


    "Just what happened?"


    "Not many people even know. They just showed up a few days ago and started terrorizing. It was as though their first goal before anything was to establish dominance, as though they thought we had forgotten just how powerful they were."


    "It was only earlier today that they made their first demands. They''re making every Four Star Sect and Clan and above send out all of their geniuses beneath a hundred years of age. Those that don''t comply will be wiped out."


    "They''re actually so bold? Even if they''re powerful, how many of them could there be? And just how arduous is it to descend from the Seventh Heaven? If they infuriate everyone, won''t they just die here?"


    "Watch what you''re saying. We''re not at a level where we can hide our words from supreme experts, if you want to die, take yourself."


    "This isn''t the time for that. This is being blown way out of proportion. Isn''t the city running just fine? And how many did they send? A dozen people? Two dozen? I don''t believe that the gap is large enough that such a small number of people should be able to dictate how we run things."


    "Yeah? And what if there''s a Dao Lord among them?"


    The silence immediately became deafening. Although Ryu couldn''t see the person on the opposing side, but he could tell that he was probably sweating buckets by now. As for his companion, he decided not to rub it in, clearly his reaction had probably been similar when he found out.


    "... Do you have any idea why they''re doing this?"


    "I''m not 100% certain, but I''ve listened there''s something wrong with that formation. It''s being overloaded and no one seems to know why?"


    "Formation? The Dao..."


    The voice trailed off, clearly he was worried about speaking about this as well. The Dao Restriction Formation was an open secret no one seemed to want to talk about, mostly because the implications were far too humiliating.


    "How could it be overloaded? The only way for that to happen is if..."


    "Someone must have broken the restrictions..."


    "But that''s impossible, should a Tribulation descend during an attempt? Even if they somehow succeeded, wouldn''t they have a brand on their foreheads?"


    "I listened that someone broke the Hegemonic Dao limit, but for whatever reason that plus one disappeared. I assume that one of the Sixth Dimensional Clans or Sects dealt with him. But not long after it vanished, an Ancient Dao appeared, and not even a few years after that, another Ancient Dao appeared right after that."


    Listening to this, Ryu frowned. Shouldn''t individuals be aware that he had formed an Ancient Dao? Why did they sound like they had no idea? Was this a secret kept by the Sixth Heaven? But it was the geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heaven that had seen him, unless...


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. Starlight.


    Starlight had an odd ability to vanish from the minds of others, but what happened when others interacted with him? How arduous would it be for those who constantly kept forgetting Starlight to also remember the individuals he had interacted with? If Starlight was a blank, wouldn''t Ryu''s battle with him also transformed blank?


    But that left one problem. Starlight should have returned to the Seventh Heaven, no? Then shouldn''t those of his Sect be aware of him?


    Wait... Why had he made the assumption that Starlight had been able to return to the Seventh Heaven?


    He had presumed that because he could remember Starlight easily that the latter''s abilities weren''t useful on him... But what if they were to a small extent and Starlight had simply exited to the Fourth Heaven just like everyone else?


    Didn''t that mean that he had transformed a ticking timebomb?

 Chapter 1242 Subtle Feeling

    1242 Subtle Feeling


    If Starlight didn''t return to the Seventh Heaven, that meant that his goal was the Complete Heavenly Path, but that was beside the point. The more troublesome aspect was the fact that Ryu didn''t know what he was doing, and after feeling the sense of loss that came with your mind being messed with, Ryu wasn''t confident in himself any longer to make deductions about this Starlight. He felt like he was lacking something.


    Suddenly Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    "The Convergence, how could I forget about it?''


    Ryu''s heartbeat jumped. It took a long while before they came down.


    Since he had come to the Fourth Heaven, he hadn''t thought about the Convergence even a single time. It seemed to make sense that he was so focused on the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s Inheritance, after all, that had always been his first goal, but why had he chosen to focus so much on it to begin with?


    If he took a step back and observed it, did it really make much sense? Those two pills were two that he couldn''t even use effectively right this moment. While he could still technically take them, it would be far too much of a waste, especially when Ryu felt that he still had far more room to improve.


    In addition, right this moment, according to the rules of The Convergence, the greatest opportunities should probably be on Fourth Heaven right now. The timing would be such that a perfect momentum would build up until it reached the Sixth Heaven and the Complete Heavenly Path was prepared to open.


    From the timing, it should be somewhere between five to ten years left, it had already been almost two years which meant that all the opportunities of the Fourth Heaven might very likely be gone by now. He had spent a year of that time in a coma, that much couldn''t be helped. But he had wasted six months of that strengthening his Dao Heart using those chains, and then months after that traveling covertly and rolling around in bed with Mae.


    It wasn''t just Ryu either. Many of the geniuses of the Fourth and Fifth Heaven would have begun concentrating their time in the Sixth Heaven as well. They would all naturally believe that the best opportunities waiting for them had to be on the strongest of the Heavens, having no idea that there was likely someone behind them sweeping them all up for himself.


    By now, most of the opportunities on the Fourth Heaven were probably already monopolized by Starlight.


    As shocking as this was, Ryu still wouldn''t have reacted like this if this was all.


    If the timeframe was meant to be five years, that was fine. If you added the under two years he had wasted that was only over six years. If that six years was split over three Heavens, everything slid into place well.


    However... Thinking back to the tag team event, their participants, at least the ones with the greatest chance to win, were all Half-Step World Sea Realm. Those that would enter the Complete Heavenly Path and have the best chance of ranking the highest would be at the Half-Step Sky God Realm.


    If this was the metric of measurement, it would take even the greatest geniuses of the Sixth Heaven ten or so years to cross this divide. For the majority, it would take upwards of double that time.


    What did that mean? It meant that if things were meant to be in line with Ryu''s generation, then The Convergence should be on a much slower timeline, but why did it feel like things were speeding up? No, more accurately, why did Ryu have such an impression? What reasoning did he have for it? There shouldn''t be any references for him to prove this.


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly widened and he almost stood to his feet.


    He had it, he knew where this feeling was coming from.


    Back in Sacrum, his third [Intuition] had activated, but it was exceptionally vague. All it told him was to not break through just yet and Ryu had concluded correctly that this was due to his Chaotic Silk Meridians. Since then, there was a vague lingering feeling of what he should do and shouldn''t do, a faint feeling that vanished entirely after his eyes were sealed.


    Back then, Ryu had truly gone overboard. In order to reach further into the future and extract more power from his future self, he had absorbed far more Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies than he should have. The result was him losing access to all of his Heavenly Pupil abilities and he was even blind for a period of time.


    But now, that unclear feeling had come back. It was extremely subtle, far more subtle than it had been in the past, but the fact that Ryu could sense it at all when his eyes should be sealed should be a sign that his eyes had become significantly more powerful than they had once been.


    That wasn''t what was important currently, though. What was important was that he could feel a faint sort of concern related to the coming conclusion of his opportunity.


    Ryu didn''t need to think to know what it was: it was the Inheritance of the Chaotic Space Sky God. It was clear and obvious that his [Intuition] was referring to it when it spoke about his opportunity. Even so, he had no intention of accepting that Dao Sovereign''s Inheritance, it was all meaningless to him except for one matter: the timing of The Convergence.


    Due to this faint feeling, Ryu had a ticking time bomb within him, and he could clearly feel it speeding up. This could only mean one thing...


    The actions of Starlight, likely under the schemes of the Higher Heavens, was speeding up the pace of the Convergence, so much so that what should have been a several decades long time frame had shortened to maybe half of a single


    decade.


    A coldness flickered within Ryu''s eyes.

 Chapter 1243 Spatial Nodes

    1243 Spatial Nodes


    This obviously wasn''t the only problem either. Just now, they had said that they would be gathering up all of the geniuses. If they gathered up all the geniuses of the various Sects and held them under the name of investigation, how would these geniuses be able to participate in The Convergence? If Ryu was correct, this group of Higher Heaven individuals probably descended with even more geniuses that would only continue to speed up the process.


    In maybe a handful of years, the Complete Heavenly Path might be forced to be opened far ahead of schedule.


    On the surface, this wasn''t a problem, but Ryu was too far behind. The faster the Convergence was, the faster it would outpace him. The faster it outpaced him, the less benefits he would be able to gain from it. The less benefits he gained, the more unlikely it would be that he would one day reach a point where he could stand atop the cultivation world.


    This alone was the greatest failure to Ryu, but even aside from that, he had too many enemies. If he didn''t continue improving with great speed, then his only option might really just be death.


    There was only another matter that Ryu hadn''t considered.


    Why had Starlight chosen to tempt fate and enter the Radiant Star Sect back then? If Aika had caught a whiff of him, no matter how talented he was, his only path would have likely been death. In fact, even if he was at Aika''s cultivation level, given Aika''s talent, would he still be able to escape death?


    Ryu slowly stood. He wasn''t the type of person to sit idly by when action was required. Even now, though he wasn''t entirely certain of exactly how to counter this, he knew he wouldn''t find the solution just by sitting here. He had to do something.


    Ryu left the restaurant and moved toward the teleportation platforms. The first thing he had to do was return to the Radiant Star Sect to see what Aika would have to say about this. It was said that her enemies came from the Seventh Heaven as well, so how would she deal with this?


    "HALT! Identify yourself!"


    While he might have seemed lost in his thoughts, Ryu was paying keen attention to his surroundings, even using the wind to pick up on conversations in case there were any other tidbits that he might have missed. So, he had sensed this coming from a mile away, quite literally.


    Ryu was quite conspicuous. He was probably the youngest person in the city right now, and that was because everyone else had probably already been shipped off to those Seventh Heaven experts. No one would think that a person would so flagrantly ignore the rules of those experts, so when others saw that Ryu was a Dao Pedestal Realm expert, they simply assumed that he wasn''t from any great powers. After all, the law that had been sent down targeted all of the powerful Clans and Sects.


    However, as Ryu attempted to pay for teleportation down to lower Heavens, he had to extend forward God Crystals. How could a normal Dao Pedestal Realm expert have such wealth? It was absolutely ridiculous.


    Ryu stood on the platform, but with the sudden roar, the various attendees didn''t dare to activate it at all.


    Ryu looked up and saw a Sky God rushing from the distance, but he simply tapped his foot. A surge of spatial qi rose like a tide.


    In the past, Ryu could have passed through the Heavens on his own, but that was the First to Third Heavens and in exchange for a great amount of stamina. While he could set up his own formation to travel through the Fourth through Sixth, the effort and time he would waste would be far too much. He didn''t need to fuel this teleportation, though. All he needed to do was to use a faint bit of spatial qi to connect the nodes. As for the rest...


    WHIR. WHOOSH.


    "STOP! STOP THE FORMATION!"


    The attendees panicked but it was already too late. Ryu was enveloped by a blinding light and by the time the Sky God landed, Ryu had vanished completely.


    The Sky God was furious as he lashed out against the attendees, but he didn''t seem to understand in time that it wasn''t their fault at all.


    "Find out who this person is! Now!"


    ...


    On the Fourth Heaven, a ripple of Spatial Qi took form and the attendees were somewhat caught off guard. Usually there would be some communication from the other side first, but this hadn''t happened this time. This would only happen if there was an crisis activation or if the teleportation platform on the other side was co opted.


    All of the powerhouses of the Fourth Heaven central city were alerted one after another, but when the ripples ended, there was actually no one there at all.


    A long distance again, Ryu appeared in the middle of nowhere. He had only used the teleportation platform for a small moment. Once he sensed the Fourth Heaven, he had stepped out. Since he had been stopped on the Sixth Heaven, he had no reason to believe that it wouldn''t happen on the Fourth Heaven as well.


    This would be incredibly dangerous for most others to do, but with Ryu''s eyes and his Soul Nature, he was in a unique situation. Not only could he do it, his steps were incredibly accurate. He had appeared just a few kilometers from the Radiant Star Sect, in a secluded region, with great ease.


    However, what Ryu saw when his vision cleared caused his pupils to constrict.


    The location the Radiant Star Sect should have been in was an empty wasteland. There wasn''t a single soul and there wasn''t even the slightest hint of rubble.


    ''What happened...?"


    Large disturbances of qi continued to echo through the skies. Although it wasn''t as bad as when the Sixth Heaven seemed to almost collapse, the streaks and tears were very clear to Ryu''s eyes.


    Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but narrow.

 Chapter 1244 Untouchable

    ?1244 Untouchable


    Ryu fell into silence for a long while.


    If the Radiant Star Sect had been destroyed, they had done enough for him that he would most definitely avenge them. He wouldn''t allow this slight to go unavenged.


    However, he didn''t immediately feel rage as he usually would, and that was because while there was a volatile qi in the air consistent with what one might see from a battle of powerful experts, it wasn''t quite that just yet.


    ''This isn''t instability from a battle, this should be... ascension?''


    Ryu didn''t recognize it immediately because he hadn''t been present after the first few ascensions of the Radiant Star Sect. This made sense, after all he was in the Sect while they rose to a Higher Heaven, so he wouldn''t have been left behind to see what the aftermath would look like. But given the larger than normal traces of spatial qi in the surroundings, Ryu felt that he was correct.


    The Radiant Star Sect hadn''t been destroyed, they had likely risen to the Fifth Heaven. If they had risen to the Sixth Heaven, Ryu, who had just been there, would have sensed it. The uproar of a Sect rising wasn''t small in the slightest.


    Ryu also felt that this made the most sense as well. The Radiant Star Sect had spent so long in slumber on the First Heaven and only moved after Aika had broken through by gaining inspiration from Ryu''s own breakthrough. Wouldn''t it be too preposterous if Aika had so boldly led them upward, no longer hiding their origins, only to die to a small group of Seventh Heaven existences?


    That made little sense on its face. While Aika was a bit reckless, it wasn''t to the point that she would put everyone in danger just due to her own selfishness. Although it seemed that way with the weaker disciples of the Radiant Star Sect, in reality, the opportunity those few of poor talent were gaining right now was the greatest of their lifetimes.


    "This is a bit troublesome now, though...''


    Ryu didn''t know why they had rushed to rise to the Fifth Heaven, but it might very well be related to the appearance of the Seventh Heaven experts.


    Aika had implied back then that there were other strongholds of the Radiant Star Sect scattered in bits and pieces. Since they hadn''t gathered at the Third Heaven, it was more likely that these individuals were dispersed throughout the Fourth to Sixth Heaven. In that case, with the coming changes, Aika might have felt that it was better to gather with them sooner as opposed to later.


    That, though, left Ryu in a bit of a bind. He had just left the only teleportation platform that could help him travel between the Heavens with ease, and he obviously couldn''t go back now. They were on high alert, and even if they weren''t, while he was relatively unknown on the Sixth Heaven, he had stirred trouble on the Fourth Heaven multiple times, and his greatest concentration of enemies was probably on the Fifth Heaven.


    Even so, Ryu knew that he had to go to the Fifth Heaven now. Trouble was that he would need to gather the materials he needed to build the formation on his own, and without being able to use the large cities... that would be a tall mountain to climb.


    Ryu turned and left the area. He doubted there would be anyone paying attention to the region since the Radiant Star Sect had already left and no one had any idea that he had returned to the Fourth Heaven, but it was better to be cautious.


    The Radiant Star Sect had originally landed in the middle of the Resonant Bo Sect and the Infinity Blade Sect. One didn''t need to be a genius to know that they very much hated Ryu, so caution was the name of the game currently.


    "This is also an opportunity...'' Ryu thought with narrowed eyes. ... He wanted to see if Starlight had truly cleansed the Fourth Heaven of all opportunities


    Ryu''s figure flickered and vanished, his speed even faster than it had been on the Sixth Heaven. In fact, right this moment, Ryu felt that even if he didn''t enter the void, he could almost match a Fragmented Sky God in speed. Although this was still just "almost", and probably only comparable to the weakest of Fragmented Sky Gods on the First Heaven, for a Dao Pedestal Realm expert to have such speed was absolutely ridiculous.


    However, as Ryu moved, he thought of a problem. It was a bit challenging to fuse the benefits of his Spacetime Soul Nature and his Northern Heavenly Wind. Unless...


    Tattoos on Ryu''s back seemed to appear for a moment. Suddenly, on his next step, he blasted forward. His figure became half illusory, his movement finally crossing a barrier it shouldn''t have.


    Ryu had never seen a Fragmented Sky God of the First Heaven go all out, but he suddenly felt extremely confident that right this moment, at least on the Fourth Heaven, he was far faster than them. But that also implied that if he descended to the First Heaven, he could leave them in his dust.


    Just now Ryu had activated a bit of the Quivering Spectral Wings. They were a treasure of wind and space to begin with, and they knew more about fusing the two seemingly incompatible elements than Ryu could possibly know.


    It felt contradictory. If you were traveling through space, there was no wind to worry about. But if you were using the wind resistant capabilities of the Northern Heavenly Wind, then you would obviously lose this benefit if you used space...


    However, in that moment, Ryu grasped two concepts.


    The first was of mass.


    The second was shrinking.


    And if he put the two of them together....


    Ryu''s speed suddenly shot up once again. Despite how fast he was moving, his hair moved as though he was only experiencing a mild breeze, his robes hardly fluttering at all.


    At this moment, he felt entirely untouchable.

 Chapter 1245 Traces

    ?1245 Traces


    Mass and Shrinking.


    Mass was just a function of one''s impact on the space around them, and by extension, gravity. Mass was constant while weight fluctuated depending on the g forces acting on a body. How much a Mass warped space decided its gravity.


    Speed impacted Mass as well. As speed approached that of light, Mass approached infinity.


    The faster one wanted to go, the more pressures weighed one down. This was why it usually required breaking laws of reality, or rather having the strength to, that allowed one to break these kind of rules and exhibit strength and speed beyond reason.


    However, there were other methods as well.


    What Ryu had realized, however, was that he could control space such that his mass had a smaller and smaller effect on it. At the same time, his Northern Heavenly Wind also had the capability of making him lighter and lighter. By stacking these effects, he could limit the heaviness of his body and his higher and higher speeds.


    Then there was shrinking.


    When Ryu usually used his Spacetime Soul Nature, what he was doing was shrinking the earth beneath his feet. This was done by taking two spatial nodes and bringing them closer together. This was a weaker form of "teleportation" as compared to entering and crossing the void, but it was still exceptionally powerful.


    However, when this earth shrinking was done, all of the space in between would increase in density, this likewise increased drag and slowed Ryu considerably. In addition, such an action was essentially stretching his body out, increasing his surface area. Not only did this increase drag even further, but it also increased the acting forces on his body. While his mass was the same, because he covered a larger area, he was far more fragile.


    For example, a piece of paper could survive a gust of wind... But what if that same piece of paper was stretched, its mass and material remaining the same, until it was ten times larger? A hundred times? A thousand times? Before you even reached that point, a small gust of wind which couldn''t even harm a fly would shred it to pieces.


    After Ryu comprehended these two concepts, utilizing his Spacetime Soul Nature and his Northern Heavenly Wind to counter them instead of just passively accepting them caused his speed to increase by leaps and bounds. Even as he ran, he only seemed to continue accelerating despite the fact his effort hadn''t increased.


    Ryu''s comprehension was simply on another level. Just with a slight quiver of the Quivering Spectral Wings, he had learned enough to practically be untouchable beneath the Sky God Realm and Sixth Heaven in speed.


    As for where Ryu was going with this speed, though, even he wasn''t 100% certain. The first thing he had to do without a doubt was to target the largest city he could without being exposed. He had some tiny understanding of the layout of the Fourth Heaven, so he used it to his advantage, quickly making it out of the two Sect''s territory.


    Ryu was cautious as he entered the wilderness. This was the Fourth Heaven, not the First Heaven. There would be God Beasts in this place and it would be a shame if he got himself killed strolling into the wrong one''s territory.


    He wasn''t sure how effective the Friend of Beasts aspect of his Bone Structure was currently, but he preferred to not learn the hard way.


    Soon, Ryu made it to a perfect city. It took him not even a day. This city, although he didn''t know the name, was massive enough to have the information and resources he might need, but tiny enough that it wouldn''t be on anyone''s radar.


    Ryu slipped inside after paying the entrance fee.


    He didn''t immediately go to the stores to exchange for the materials he would need. He would only do that at the end when he was certain that it would be his last task here. Him doing such a thing would be bound to attract attention.


    This time, Ryu had shrouded his cultivation level and his face, but given the climate, this likely wouldn''t be enough, so he didn''t rely too heavily on it.


    Ryu went to a few places and found maps that were more and more detailed.


    He didn''t plan on heading to the Fifth Heaven immediately. Before that, he wanted to comprehend the Fourth Heaven in its entirety.


    Ryu seemed to have a lot of skills, so it was exceptionally easy to forget... But his greatest skill, between even the both of his lives, wasn''t his comprehension skills, nor his determination, or even his various talents and Daos...


    His greatest skill, if he had to name one, was as a Ruin Master. If there was anyone who could find the opportunities resting in this Fourth Heaven, it was him, and the best part was that he knew exactly what to look for.


    He adjusted his requirements based on the current combat strength of the geniuses that should be at this level currently. Then he lined them up with what he slowly cobbled together.


    In the end, he even chose to leave the metropolis he was in without buying what he needed and go to another, then another. The ideas rolling around in his head continued to increase. Time passed and Ryu didn''t even seem to notice that an entire 30 days had passed without him doing anything.


    But then, his gaze suddenly shone with an exceptionally dazzling light.


    "... Yes, an Immortal Sakura..."


    The words drifted into his ears. This conversation was happening over a hundred kilometers away, but Ryu''s ability with his Northern Heavenly Wind by this point had increased to the point that even this was nothing more than a joke.


    The instant he heard Immortal Sakura, his gaze became like a blinding torch in the night.


    He had heard about Eska and Isemeine on the First Heaven, but it seemed that he had finally found their traces once again.

 Chapter 1246 News

    ?1246 News


    Ryu listened in for a small while before he frowned lightly.


    Isemeine was in a very unique position, actually. As a Martial God, her growth in the True Martial World should be quite explosive. Even if she was born with the usual restrictions of Sacrum, so long as she was diligent in finding methods of breaking free of those constraints, her power would easily skyrocket.


    From Ryu''s understanding, Isemeine''s line of Martial Gods was just considered a branch family of the Martial Gods. But the branch family of a Ninth Heaven Bloodline was without a doubt exceptionally powerful. Just to put things into perspective, the Dual Radiance Bloodline was at the pinnacle of the Eighth Heaven. Even after being cut in half, they were still the powerhouses of the Seventh Heaven.


    When things were framed like this, and one remembered how powerful Starlight was despite only having half of that Bloodline, then one could also come to understand just the level of capacity Isemeine had in her body.


    On top of that, while becoming a Sky God in Sacrum made you quite weak in the overall scheme, the perspective Eska had wasn''t something that Isemeine and even many of the True Martial World could compare to.


    This might sound ridiculous, but think for a moment the kind of steps Eska would have to take to reach her current level.


    In the True Martial World, one began to hone their Dao from the time they started cultivating, it was considered to be one of the six pillars of cultivation. However, in Sacrum, one didn''t even think about Daos until well into the World Sea Realm. And then, one had to build an entire Dao from the ground up to form one''s Godhood.


    The difficulty of working backward to form your Dao as opposed to building it up with every step from the very beginning was extraordinary. There was even an argument to be made that stepping into the Sky God Realm as a resident of Sacrum was far more difficult than it was to do here.


    There was another matter as well.


    In Sacrum, how many billions of years of diligent, slow and grueling cultivation did it take to move to the top of the world? However, in the True Martial World, how much faster was cultivation?


    Simply put... How could the Dao Heart of a Sky God who had spent their entire lives in the True Martial World even begin to compare to Eska''s Dao Heart? Maybe only those monsters that had transcended the Omniscient Sky God Realm and became Dao Lords, Dao Sovereigns and Dao Gods could possibly begin to compare.


    It was because of this that Ryu had never truly been worried about Eska and Isemeine, he felt that they would likely thrive. The combination of the two of them should be quite exceptional.


    But just the vague inkling of this conversation left him a bit displeased. The real situation might be far worse.


    According to the news, an immature Immortal Sakura had appeared on the Sixth Heaven. Due to some changes in the environment, changes that Ryu speculated might be related to all the volatile changes caused by the shattering of reality, it broke free of its shackles and stepped into a completely new tier.


    Immortal Sakuras were exceptionally rare, even in the True Martial World. Between Sacrum and the True Martial World, there wasn''t really a difference in rarity, the difference was in the power of said items. The fact that Ryu''s Northern Heavenly Wind, for example, was still such a great treasure painted that.


    When the tree appeared, so too did Isemeine and Eska. It seemed that the two were still focusing their growth around it. It made sense for Eska who had built her entire Dao with it as a foundation. Logically, Eska might be able to maintain her Godhood and simply retool its basis so long as she found powerful enough references. It would be extremely difficult, but not impossible.


    At the same time, Isemeine was a combat expert, having such defensive abilities would only help her. In addition, she was probably being guided by Eska as well, so since they had to share the same body, they would likely negotiate on how to improve.


    There was a great battle and Isemeine and Eska managed to claim the Immortal Sakura seedling for themselves, but they ended up heavily injured.


    According to the story, the two had indeed already stepped into the Sky God Realm, in fact they were Perfect Sky Gods.


    This was a bit surprising to Ryu, but not impossible to accept. What he was more concerned about were their heavy injuries.


    Judging by the discussions, Isemeine and Eska weren''t all that well known, their appearance had surprised many. If not for the Immortal Sakura being too important to them, they wouldn''t have appeared at all.


    This made Ryu question some things.


    Eska might be able to remain inconspicuous if it was necessary, but Isemeine was too fiery tempered and personality wouldn''t allow such a thing. So why would they remain low profile if they didn''t have to?


    In addition, was it really so difficult for them to remain low profile? After all, they could freely change between two entirely different personalities. If one got in trouble, they could become a completely different person and easily fool the eyes of even a Sky God. That was because it wasn''t technically a disguise at all, they had truly become entirely different people because they were two people sharing the same body.


    So the real question was... Why was it that the two had been in hiding for so long? And even beyond that, why did they remain on the Sixth Heaven instead of going forward to the Seventh and beyond like his father had? They should have had plenty of opportunities to do so.


    Just as Ryu was thinking about this, he gained his answer as the remainder of the conversation drifted to his ears.


    His gaze couldn''t help but narrow.

 Chapter 1247 The Worst Of The Worst

    ?1247 The Worst of the Worst


    According to the news, there were rumors that they had gained the Inheritance of a Taboo Sect.


    For some reason, just hearing the words Taboo Sect made Ryu''s heart skip a beat. He wasn''t certain of why until his mind landed on the Unbalance Art Sect.


    When he thought about it, the appearance of the Unbalance Art Sect was too odd. Not only was the Ruin too exceptional and powerful to appear like it had on the Heavenly Path, but near the end when he had accepted it, it had tried to mark him and force him to fight it out against other inheritors.


    Although it wasn''t necessarily guaranteed, only particularly sinister and darker side Sects would do such a thing. Having inheritors slaughter one another was generally frowned upon, at least in Sacrum, anyway. Ryu wasn''t sure how the culture of the True Martial World accepted it, but it did leave a bad taste in his mouth.


    Luckily, he was able to stop himself from being branded at the last moment, but his situation could have been much worse if he was too casual about it.


    Ryu shook his head. He had no way of knowing if the Unbalance Art Sect was a Taboo Sect or not, though they seemed to check several boxes. What was important was that Isemeine and Eska seemed to have been caught up in such a thing and it had caused them to go into hiding, until they were now suddenly forced to reveal their tracks.


    But now it seemed that upon having revealed their tracks, they were currently being hunted down. Somehow, not just one of them, but both of them had been locked onto. Even these random passerbys mentioned that they seemed to be two women sharing the same body.


    But rather than this being a shocking realization to them, it was instead an indictment. To them, this was only proof that Eska and Isemeine had dabbled in the occult. How else could two people share the same body if not for one possessing the other? This was a taboo in and of itself.


    Ryu walked out from the city and vanished, his gaze cold.


    He wouldn''t even know how to begin to help those two at the moment. They were already well into the Sky God Realm, and their combat prowess was more than their current Realm as well, but they were still in such a situation.


    Because of Eska, their progress through the Sky God Realm would always be exceptionally fast. While it was true that the strongest Sky Gods on the Sacrum were only True Sky Gods, it couldn''t be measured this way.


    One had to remember that in Sacrum, even skipping the Fragmented and False Sky God Realm was possible. Such a thing was unheard of in the True Martial World.


    In reality, you could look at the Fragment, False and True Sky God Realms of Sacrum like three huge dividing tiers that denoted one''s talent in the Dao. Eska, who had become a True Sky God, was akin to the best of such talents and she had meditated on her Dao for trillions of years.


    With access to the complete laws of the True Martial World, paired with Isemeine''s youth, vitality and talent, her speed of improvement would only continue to increase.


    However, it was ironically also due to her speed of improvement that others were even more certain that these two dabbled in the taboo. Everything they did now seemed to point back toward this problem and Ryu didn''t have a way out for them.


    But now... he was suddenly very interested in these Taboo Sects. He had found many odd markers on the Fourth to Sixth Heavens that pointed out certain inconsistencies and oddities. He had originally planned to ignore them for the sake of focusing on more sure fire opportunities... but now he had changed his mind.


    "Little woman," Ryu suddenly called out.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God had been quiet for a while, days in fact. It was quite a surprise since, at least at the start, she was quite talkative. Oddly enough, even after Ryu called out to her, she didn''t respond instantly. It wasn''t until Ryu called out a second time that she responded.


    "... They''re here for me. Don''t contact me unless you have to."


    The words were short but Ryu''s gaze only narrowed further.


    Here for her? Who?


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. His senses grew piercing as he spread them out in all directions until he suddenly realized that she wasn''t talking about a threat that was on its way... she was talking about the experts of the Seventh Heaven that had descended.


    Ryu''s brows couldn''t help but jump as he came to a stop, the tree branch beneath him swaying.


    A moment later, Ryu had entered the golden moon world. He found a large formation taking up at least half of the space. He could only shake his head, this woman had really made herself at home.


    He reached a hand forward to touch the formation, but...


    "Unless you want to be blown to bits, I wouldn''t suggest stepping in," she said from the other side.


    "What are Taboo Sects?"


    Ryu didn''t beat around the bush and asked his question directly, but the Favor Alchemy Sky God didn''t immediately answer. This sort of silence, though, told Ryu that she definitely knew the answer, so he simply waited patiently.


    "Taboo Sect are Sects against the Natural Order."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He couldn''t help but this of the Natural Order Sect of the Mortal Plane of Sacrum for some reason. Even to this day, the Glove of Order on his hand was still of great use.


    "It''s said that many years ago, the Ninth Heaven was separated into two factions, each of which had created two completely different cultivation systems. The Nine Martial Powers and the Nine Taboo Powers.


    "Back then, Taboo didn''t have any other meaning than to represent a way of cultivation, the Taboo Path. As for the Martial Path, it meant just that, the Martial Path.


    "However, the Taboo Sects lost that battle. As a result, the Martial Path became the only path, the standard path. As for the Taboo Path, not only did it fall to the wastelands, but their name''s meaning altered entirely.


    "Now, Taboo only denotes to evil, the occult, the most terrible of the worst..."

 Chapter 1248 Taboo Power

    ?1248 Taboo Power


    ''Taboo refers to evil...'' Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    As a Ruin Master, he was very much familiar with how language changed overtime, he could even be said to be quite a language connoisseur. It was why he had very carefully chosen the language he used to name his Dao, something most others wouldn''t even think about.


    Often times, tracking the changes in language was the best way to read the complexities of history and uncover secrets that had long since been buried.


    The saying that the victors wrote history couldn''t be more true, but the one that the victors could not do was erase the context of language, at least not without destroying all of their literary works as well. Even if they burned everything ever written by their enemies, would they do the same to themselves? And if they didn''t dare to do this, then the context and ebbs and flows of language would always remain, this would forever be something that they could not escape.


    Something like the shift in meaning of Taboo was definitely a nice crumb trail that Ryu could look into. Those words of the Favor Alchemy Sky God were spoken casually, but to Ryu they revealed quite a lot and gave him a piece of ribbon to tug at and untangle.


    "Do you know the names of these Nine Taboo Powers?"


    "... Their names have long since been wiped from history, how would I know?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He didn''t believe those words for a second, but it was curious. What the Favor Alchemy Sky God related to these people?


    "What''s your relationship with the Taboo Powers?" Ryu asked.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God frowned, her aura fluctuating. "Stop asking me questions."


    "Are you from one of these powers?"


    "No. Leave me alone."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. At least when she said no, she didn''t seem to be lying, but that only made him more curious. If she wasn''t a part of them, then why was she so agitated. Also, the timelines didn''t seem to match up properly either.


    Although Ryu didn''t know anything about these Nine Taboo Powers, it should have been very long since they fell. This conflict should have started and been concluded countless cycles ago. The Favor Alchemy Sky God may have died a long while ago, and had been waiting for him for just as long, but it wasn''t to the point where she had history that went that far back.


    "What do you know about the Unbalance Art Sect?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    "What did you say?"


    The startled tone in her voice already told Ryu everything he wanted to know.


    "So, they are indeed part of the Nine Taboo Powers. Quite interesting."


    The Unbalance Art Sect''s inheritance was oddly powerful despite the fact Ryu had yet to succeed in fusing its individual pieces. It simply didn''t make sense for it to appear like it had, and as it had. And it was hard to understand why they had been destroyed as well. The survivability of a Sect like that one should have been off the charts.


    Of course, there was always the possibility that they simply couldn''t find people with affinity with their Core Teachings. But such a thing wouldn''t have left a Ruin behind. And more importantly, a Sect having trouble finding successors wouldn''t pit the few they managed to find against each other for slaughter, that would be the epitome of stupidity.


    "What do you know about the Unbalance Art Sect?"


    "About them? I guess you could say I''m their successor."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God nearly jumped from her meditating position, her qi nearly going out of control again.


    "This is bad, this is very bad..." she bit her lip. "... it''s no wonder, it''s no wonder..."


    Ryu seemed quite calm despite her reaction. He planned on wiping out all the Clans and Sects that participated in the current garbage system of the True Martial World for no other reason than they pissed him off. He didn''t care about helping other people, he just wanted to vent his frustration, that much was enough for him.


    To him, this wasn''t "bad" it was just the inevitable happening a few steps ahead of time. Plus, he had never been caught like Eska and Isemeine had, and he had also stopped himself from being branded. In addition, he had used the Unbalance Mantra in public many times before, but no one seemed capable of seeing through it. Just by its very nature, it was difficult to almost impossible to see through.


    He was simply unmoved by it all.


    However, Ryu was curious about something.


    "What''s no wonder?"


    "I..."


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God shook her head several times but still ended up answering. It turned out that Ryu wasn''t her only way out of the fate of death, she had deduced three other paths. But the reason she had chosen Ryu in the end was because his Fate seemed unbound and difficult to track and trace: Being by such a person''s side would help to shroud her from being discovered by those Dao God monsters.


    However, it turned out that the reason it was difficult to track was because of this.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God seemed to abandon her cultivation and began to tap at the air in front of her as though she was trying to divine something. Stars descended and an abacus that covered the skies and was forged of star qi manifested.


    The more she tapped, the paler she became, but it didn''t seem that this paleness was coming from fatigue, but instead what she was seeing.


    Suddenly, the abacus collapsed into motes of starlight and reconvened together to form the image of a shackled silver star. When the Favor Alchemy Sky God saw this, she nearly fainted.


    Ryu didn''t have an unbound Fate at all. Instead, he had the exact opposite, his Fate was entirely chained and his destiny was under the control of others. How could she have made a mistake like this? This was the worst kind of failure. Ryu wasn''t her best choice, he was the worst choice she could have made.


    Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall uncontrollably.


    Ryu, who was watching this in silence, recognized his Fate Star immediately. He had seen it himself many times before. So, although he couldn''t guess at what the Favor Alchemy Sky God had been doing, he could deduce the result of it.


    Also, he could tell that these tears weren''t for himself, nor were they for the little woman. She was shedding those tears because she seemed to have already concluded that she had floundered at something, something far larger than herself.


    Life and death wasn''t so easy to play around with, even with an apparently miraculous pill like her own. By using Ryu as the catalyst to extending her life beyond what the universe had in store for her, the Favor Alchemy Sky God had bound herself to Ryu to an even greater fashion than even Ailsa. Although Ryu and Ailsa were Life Partners, they still had the ability to live their own lives if they so chose to do so, but the Favor Alchemy Sky God didn''t have such a luxury.


    While she had mentioned something about taking on Flowing Frost''s Karma and Fate, what she hadn''t mentioned was that she wouldn''t have a choice but to take on Ryu''s as well. The moment she had died, she had lost the right to control and maneuver her own Fate.


    This was the greatest weakness of her Heavenly Favor Pills, her magnum opus... Cheating death was simply too difficult. And now it seemed that she would have to pay the price for it.


    How far could such a person even go? With such a chained Fate, with such a restricted Fate Star, would it even be possible for Ryu to enter the Sky God Realm? She truly didn''t know the answer to that question...


    At this point, every bit of progress Ryu made forward would only become a greater anchor when that day came. And when he finally tried to form his Godhood, to take his first steps toward shedding all mortality and separating himself from the Heavens, how would his Fate Star react?


    This was all her fault, her stupid mistake. She had divined Ryu like a normal individual of the Martial Path, but because he had interactions with the Taboo Path, the method of calculation should have changed entirely. Because she was unaware, she had made a fundamental miscalculation right at the start...


    Her divination never stood a chance.


    Ryu looked indifferently toward his Fate Star and turned to leave. He didn''t feel like saying anything more, and the Favor Alchemy Sky God definitely didn''t feel like talking. In fact, she had stopped cultivating entirely, there was no doubt that her Dao Heart had suffered severe damage.


    However, Ryu didn''t feel like it was his duty to console her. If she didn''t want to believe in him, that was her prerogative.


    In the beginning, Ryu feared gazing upon his Fate Star because he was scared of what it showed him.


    Now, he didn''t bother to gaze upon it because he simply didn''t care what it had to say.


    He had shattered the chains on his Spiritual Foundation, and he would likewise shatter the chains on his Fate Star.


    Nothing in this world would bind him.


    Since he had gotten his answer from the Favor Alchemy Sky God, his objective remained the same. He wanted to see who was truly the best Ruin Master in the True Martial World...


    Himself? Or those elderly codgers on the Ninth Heaven.


    A diabolical grin spread across Ryu''s face. He just so happened to want to express a bit of fury.

 Chapter 1249 Absolute Shock

    ?1249 Absolute Shock


    ''This should be the area.''


    Ryu had done a lot of preparation in the last month or so. For most, a month wouldn''t be nearly enough to gather enough information to find a Ruin, but Ryu wasn''t a normal individual.


    For one, his memory was immaculate.


    After the Origin Flame had reached the Transcended Grade, he found that he not only remembered things like he could before, but he did so with far greater ease and clarity. Clarity was easy enough to describe, but what was more abstract was this so-called "ease".


    If he had to describe it, it felt like his mind had far more neuronal connections. When he had a thought, if in the past there would be two or three ways to reach the same conclusion, each with varied times of deduction, now he had ten times that amount.


    If there was an objective measurement of intelligence, it would be this. The amount of flexibility his mind had now, and the number of unique connections he could make between seemingly unrelated information had undergone an astronomical change.


    The greatest fundamental change that this had caused was that mastering techniques and other matters related to comprehension had skyrocketed, and this was especially so for Daos.


    Ryu had felt that his Dao had reached a bit of a bottleneck after entering the Peak Ancient Grade. He was already on the verge of entering the Cosmic Seed Realm, but his Dao was still at the First Cosmic Grade. He was on the verge of going from a genius who had been two grades ahead of his cultivation realm, to one that was only on par.


    Although geniuses usually had a Dao one realm behind their cultivation Realm, this was unacceptable to Ryu for obvious reasons.


    As things stood now, his Dao was the only thing allowing him to stand up to the geniuses of his generation, if it continued to slip, he wouldn''t have any method of challenging such geniuses any longer.


    The easiest method to deal with this was obviously his Realm Heart. But after it had also entered the Cosmic Grade, its progress had slowed down considerably even with the backing of Essence and Chaos Qi. Of course, this was still much faster than trying to wait for him to be capable of killing Sky Gods to upgrade it first, but it wasn''t fast enough.


    However, it seemed that the Origin Flame would help more with this than he thought. Not only could he use the Realm Heart to peer into the secrets of the universe, but he could use the Origin Flame to organize and analyze this information with much greater speed, and as a result, improve his Dao with greater speed.


    All of this paled in comparison to what Ryu felt was his greatest gain from all of this, and that were the changes to his Focus Qi.


    His Focus Qi didn''t increase, nor could the Origin Flame replenish it. That said, because of the increased efficiency of his mind and the additional neuronal connections he had gained, he had functionally gained a ten times increase in Focus Qi only because he used it up so much slower.


    When Ryu realized this, he came to understand that a lack of Focus Qi could also be dealt with like this. In that case, wouldn''t it also be possible to try to see if there were any methods of streamlining the usage of his techniques and talents to make them more usable?


    This was a very difficult task and Ryu even felt that it would require a whole new branch of Dao than what he was currently working with.


    When Ryu had that thought, he realized another thing that was astonishing.


    Wasn''t that fundamentally what a Dao was? A shortcut to executing something that usually took a lot of effort under usual circumstances.


    Ryu came to a stop in the middle of nowhere, his gaze blazing like a torch.


    That explanation, no matter what Dao you were talking about, it fit.


    Aika''s Dao gave her the control of a God over her qi, how it functioned, how it moved and operated, and she could execute it all with a thought. But if she didn''t activate her Dao and instead tried to manually do everything, how much more effort would it take?


    Ryu''s Dao was an even more obvious example of this. It helped him see through things and their fundamental nature. How much more effort would it take him to do the same thing if instead of relying on his Dao, he tried to learn everything from the ground up instead?


    The tall grass around Ryu rippled and an upswell of qi formed. The hum of what could only be said to be the foundation of the universe echoed in his ears.


    Ryu could see it... He could see his Founding Dao...


    An illusory Ryu raised his foot, looking toward the threshold before him. However, Ryu hesitated.


    He felt like he could have formed his Founding Dao whenever he wanted by relying on the Realm Heart, but this felt different. This sort of enlightenment was completely different, one that solely relied on himself... It was an even further sort of realization that no amount of observing the Realm Heart could have led him to.


    However, there was a reason he hadn''t gone full steam ahead on forming his Founding Dao until now.


    At that moment, Ryu''s gaze became quite frighteningly cold.


    He didn''t think anymore as his body seemed to cross that threshold.


    The world became silent.


    Frighteningly so.


    There wasn''t a rumbling of the earth or the skies. No formation activated, there wasn''t even the slightest hint of lightning in the skies.


    Ryu''s hair gently rose before settling down on his back. The grass around him stopped swaying entirely, the small sounds of insects and chirping birds vanished, it suddenly felt neither hot nor cold as though temperature had become a figment of his imagination, and even when he subconsciously breathe, the vacuum of his lungs couldn''t seem to pull any air in as though the air molecules themselves were frozen in time.


    Ryu vaguely realized that he was observing his lungs attempt to expand and fail to suck in any oxygen. It was a vision that felt far different from turning his Spiritual Qi inward... it was as though his chest had been cut open, his ribs split, and his lungs put on display for him to see.


    Then Ryu seemed to realize that this vision wasn''t real at all. No... He was envisioning what his lungs would look like with such precision, such perfection, that the thoughts in his head actually felt so real, so alive.


    He suddenly thought about his heart, and there it appeared..


    Ryu''s mind flashed through countless thoughts, countless scenarios, even things he had never seen before, and yet they all appeared with just as much clarity and realism. It felt like he could just reach out and touch them if he wanted to, as though he wasn''t just imagining them, but that he was also imprinting them onto reality, creating them, even.


    Shifts and changes began to appear in Ryu''s Realm Heart. Its entire foundation seemed to have changed entirely. The overall difference felt too subtle to point out, but Ryu felt that the change was huge even though he couldn''t quite point out why.


    There wasn''t the slightest peep or rumble. However, at that moment, on the Ninth Heaven, several figures slowly opened their eyes. Even with such a simple action, the bounds of reality before them shattered, the void tearing open under their slight movement.


    It had been too long since they had been stirred by anything. They immediately tried to find what had awakened them, only to realize that there was nothing to pin their senses onto.


    To these individuals, distance didn''t matter, space didn''t matter, even reality itself didn''t matter most often. Anything they wanted, they could make appear with a wave of a hand, anything they wanted to find could be found with a thought, and yet...


    They couldn''t find anything.


    "A Founding Dao..."


    The voice sounded ancient, too ancient. It roused Mother Earth and stilled the skies.


    This was the only thing that could possibly escape their vision, it was the only thing outside the bounds of their control.


    They had no way of knowing where this feeling was coming from, but their immediate assumption was that it had come from the Ninth Heaven, how could an existence born anywhere else possibly form a Founding Dao?


    But it was also because of this that they didn''t act. Whichever Clan or Sect had birthed this person would keep it as a complete secret for as long as possible. In fact, these people observed one another, wondering if this individual had come from one of their powers. They knew such a thing would be fruitless, though. If they revealed this matter too early, there was no doubt the others would team up to address them. How could they possibly allow a single power to have two Founding Fathers?


    That said, there was one person who knew exactly who this individual was. She was a woman sitting in despair, looking at the world with hollow eyes. Ever since she had come to understand the mistake she had made, she didn''t know how to confront the world. She gave up on cultivation and her Dao Heart seemed to have been entirely shattered. The only reason she didn''t directly die was because she had already taken on what lifespan Flowing Frost should have had....


    However, when she perceived the changes around Ryu, the stare of the Favor Alchemy Sky God shifted from one of helplessness to one of absolute shock.

 Chapter 1250 Holistic Vs Focus

    ?1250 Holistic vs Focus


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s eyes opened wide, her expression becoming one of abject shock. It wasn''t just that this was a Founding Dao, that much was shocking enough and it still didn''t guarantee that Ryu would be able to enter the Sky God Realm, if anything, it would only make it harder.


    What was so shocking was the fact that she couldn''t immediately see through the grade of this Founding Dao. It felt far too abstract for her to fully grasp.


    To put this matter into perspective, the Favor Alchemy Sky God was from a race of people well known for their intelligence. Not only was she from such a race, but she could be considered the best born of them in countless generations. She had never, Never, come across something in her life that she couldn''t comprehend at least in part.


    But when it came to Ryu''s Dao, she didn''t even know what grade it was at outside of understanding that it had reached the Realms of a Founding Dao, let alone begin to understand what it could do and what its abilities were.


    This realization left her truly without a single word to speak. Her bottom lip trembled, the tears in her eyes still not having dried as she looked up as though she could see through the barriers of the world around her and right to Ryu.


    Ryu himself stood in silence. The world around him felt both fascinating and somehow dull at the same time, as though he could both see things he had never seen before, but because he could see through them with such ease, they lost their novelty almost immediately.


    What was especially shocking was that the burden of using his Dao seemed to have vanished entirely. He didn''t know if it was an illusion or not, but it felt as though his Dao had transcended the need to use Focus Qi, as though it had become a part of his being no different from any of his other fundamental senses.


    Did one have to strain to see for long periods of time? What about feeling, was there a limit to it? And what about tasting?


    Although each sense did have such limits, one would fatigue after keeping their eyes open for too long, one could grow insensitive to touch and taste if the repetition was too great, but even so, fundamentally, they had much greater staying power than most things.


    Somehow, Ryu''s Dao had entered this range of use.


    Ryu clenched his fists. The most profound breakthroughs seemed to come in the most unexpected of ways, and he truly didn''t expect such a breakthrough to come so casually. It felt that whenever he just let his mind wander as it pleased, he would take large leaps forward.


    Fundamentally, he had the Origin Flame to thank for this shift in perspective.


    It was his decisive in going after those Sparks even given the danger of the situation that had allowed him this opportunity, and at the same time, it put into perspective that while these natural treasures might not be able to directly give him exactly what he wanted, they were all part of a fundamental fold of existence, they were foundational to the universe itself...


    How could such treasures not have unique insights for him to benefit from?


    Ryu looked up. He took a breath and exhaled.


    The air that he couldn''t seem to breathe previously seemed to enter his body without any sort of effort now.


    ''I''m headed in the wrong direction. My original deduction was decent, but it was ultimately still a guess. This direction however... This one is correct!


    Ryu pivoted and he vanished.


    His original destination definitely had a Ruin worth exploring in it, however this Ruin only had a 40% probability of being related to the Taboo Powers. The effort it would have taken to raise that percentage likelihood before took more time investment than he wanted to put in. it was more efficient to just visit them all one by one than to try to press.


    However, his mind felt as though things he couldn''t quite grasp in the past had become easy beyond comparison.


    With his new deductions, the odds that this Ruin was related to the Taboo Powers fell from 40% to just 3%, as for this new direction he was headed in, it rose from 36% to 84%.


    It took only a day for Ryu to reach this new location and he immediately sensed activity.


    ''There''s something odd about this land. There''s a formation here, a high level one at that.''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and he saw through the spatial nodes, noting where the formation had been anchored. If he had taken just a single step more, he would have already fallen into the formation.


    When Ryu observed the formation, he realized that he could tell that it had been set up exactly 33 days ago. Not only that, but he could tell that it was a Fragmented Grade Formation that seemed to have been laid at the hands of several World Sea Realm experts.


    The amount of detail Ryu could comprehend now even without actively using his Dao was astonishing. He felt almost as though his eyes were already back, these were the kind of things he used to be able to see all of the time.


    ''For World Sea Realm experts to lay a Fragmented Grade Formation, they should be quite excellent. Their souls are probably on the verge of entering the Sky God Realms''


    The Body, Mental and Qi Realms became a bit murky once one entered the Sky God Realms. Cultivators would usually fall into two categories after crossing this step.


    The first were colloquially known as Holistic Cultivators, the second were colloquially known as Focused Cultivators.


    The Sky God Realm allowed one to choose between fusing the three Realms into one and practicing them all at once, the first group, or keeping one or all three separate, the second group.


    This meant that, technically, it was very much possible for there to be Focused Cultivators who had one or more Realms still stuck within mortal limits, while having taken one or more to enter the Sky God Realms.


    These few hadn''t quite succeeded in this, but it seemed that they already had plans of separating their Mental Realm from their Qi and Body Realms.


    Ryu''s gaze turned cold.

 Chapter 1251 Pillars, Flames And Nine

    ?1251 Pillars, Flames and Nine


    Someone had gotten here first, but in Ryu''s estimation, this was better than the alternative. After all, he had taken into account the possibility that Starlight had already cleared everything of import and thus he was wasting his time.


    Though, of course, the odds of this being the case was low. While it was possible for Starlight to find many, clearing them all was probably an impossibility for any one person. Just thinking about the history of these Heavens, it was impossible. How could one person possibly gather up what was essentially the entire past of the Fourth Heaven to themselves?


    Ryu circled the formation once and seemed to understand it. After a moment, his gaze flickered and he entered the void, traveling through a spatial node. When he came out the other side, he was already within the limits of the formation and the scenery around him had completely changed


    Up ahead, there were nine tall pillars, each marked with dancing flame patterns. The heat was so oppressive that even Ryu felt his skin prickling as his hair stood on end. He felt a suppressive might coming from above that seemed as though it could incinerate him at any time.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. "These nine pillars...''


    He couldn''t help but remember the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God. Was it a coincidence? Was he overthinking things?


    Whether it was pillars, flames or the number nine, they were all quite ubiquitous in the cultivation world. It wouldn''t be rare if two techniques or paths followed this sort of path. If anything, it would be more odd if not a single thing did.


    Pillars held special significance as they represented one of two things. The first interpretation depending on the language was upholding the Heavens. They stretched into the skies and held up the canopy, supporting the Heavens and falling in line with them. The second interpretation, though, one that was, albeit, far more rare, was to upheaval of the Heavens.


    Pillars connected the Earth and the skies, something that could be seen as quite taboo in the eyes of many. Though, this sort of interpretation was probably something that only those of similar knowledgeability would comprehend. Most wouldn''t even think of this interpretation.


    At the same time, fire was among the two more powerful elements, a title it shared with lightning, while also carrying unique significance to the origin of the universe and creation itself.


    The number nine needed even less introduction. It was the Immature Extreme, a number among the few with the greatest significance in all of existence.


    For these three concepts to come together wasn''t rare at all. But even beyond that, there didn''t seem to be an explanation for it.


    If the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God was related to this Ruin it would be odd. For one, if Ryu was correct and this Ruin was a Taboo Power Ruin, how could that inheritance be related? There was nothing unordinary about the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God''s inheritance other than his madness.


    In addition, if the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God was part of the Taboo Power, how did he manage to leave behind his Inheritance along with everyone else''s? That was especially odd since the Unbalance Art Sect had to stow away their Ruin amidst a field of normal Ruins just to avoid detection.


    Ryu stood in silence for a while, observing the pillars. He could tell that this was the first test of the Ruin so he didn''t move rashly.


    ''Since I''m here, even though you reached this place before me, you can forget about benefiting''


    Ryu lifted his foot and suddenly vanished. His body looked as though it had been burned to ash, the bits and pieces of his flesh fluttering in the sauna- like wind. Waves of heat barraged him endlessly as though it wasn''t satisfied with this alone, but just as suddenly he appeared again, whole and healthy, and this time within the limits of the nine pillars.


    Ryu flipped a palm and revealed the spherical matrix that Selheira had given him.


    Although he wanted to see how far his casual use of his Dao could bring him, since there were others here, he didn''t have the luxury. He would have to focus on speed this time.


    ...


    Deeper within the Ruin, a group of three moved. All three of them were well into the World Sea Realm, and each one of their auras was enough to cause the hearts of geniuses of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens to tremble.


    "Hm?"


    One of them paused. The world around them was painted in red gold, everywhere they looked the violence of fire and heat was in full effect.


    "What''s the matter?"


    "I feel like I sensed something just now, but I can''t lock onto it."


    "Someone entered the formation?"


    "Bullshit, even the Sky Gods of this place wouldn''t be able to enter so silently. They''d have to just destroy it forcefully, but the formation is still intact."


    "Don''t underestimate them too much, there could be a few worth paying attention to."


    The one who had spoken earlier sneered. "Didn''t their top three get sent running back with their tails between their legs last generation? Their first place didn''t even dare to show his face, and the other two only lasted a few decades before they ran back home, what worth do they have exactly?"


    "Even so, the gap between the World Sea Realm and the Fragmented Realm is enormous. Keep that attitude up and you''ll die without knowing what happened."


    "Kiss my ass, I really want to see which one of those cowards dares to kill me."


    "Stop wasting time. We''re close to the core, even if someone entered, they won''t have the time to catch up. We can deal with them later, for now focus on the task at hand."


    "Yeah, yeah..."


    "If you want to order me around, Senior Sis Jojo, just marry me and I''ll let you order me around as you please."


    "Sure, my first order is for you to snip your balls off, get to it, husband."


    The third of them burst into a fit of laughter.


    The three had no idea that Ryu was blazing through the challenges it had taken them days to make it through as though strolling through a park.

 Chapter 1252 Easily?

    ?1252 Easily?


    As Ryu moved forward, the heat constantly threatening to burn him to a crisp as he moved.


    In truth, the Favor Alchemy Sky God would probably have the answer he wanted in regards to this significance of the Nine Pillars and whether or not they were related to the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God, but considering the state that woman was in, he didn''t quite feel like communicating with her. Plus, she had said those words about not wanting to expose herself.


    Ryu felt a strange case of dejavu in this instance. The Favor Alchemy Sky God was quite the beauty, but much like that day he learned of the truth of Sarriel''s Dao Heart, he couldn''t find himself feeling very attracted to her right now.


    She felt more despair toward his Fate Star than even he did, and though he could guess at the reasons why, he simply didn''t care. He simply couldn''t understand giving up so easily, not when you still had the strength to fight.


    To Ryu, cultivation was a beacon of light. He couldn''t fathom having the strength of a Sky God at his figure tips and shuddering at the sight of a few chains.


    In his eyes, the Favor Alchemy Sky God was even worse than Sarriel. That was because Sarriel was suppressing her true nature for the sake of a greater good, or what she thought was the greater good, and her family.


    He could tell that the Favor Alchemy Sky God was carrying a similar sort of burden, and yet the moment she ran into a roadblock all she could do was cry and sulk. Ryu hadn''t even been able to sense her cultivating since the day she saw his Fate Star, she had legitimately given up.


    If it wasn''t for the sake of his promise to Flowing Frost, he really wouldn''t want to have a child with this woman. He wouldn''t even know what to do with himself if his child was born without a backbone. What kind of failure would be as a father if he allowed such a thing to happen?


    Ryu shook his head, taking a sidestep and avoiding a pillar of flames that erupted from the ground. Keeping his promises was really going to screw him over this time, this woman would be like an anchor in his life. Given her current state, he didn''t even know if she would still agree to have children.


    If she really made such a choice, Ryu would be forced to act, though he wasn''t sure how he would deal with such a situation. After so long, she had already returned to the False Sky God Realm. The current Ryu couldn''t even face off against Fragmented Sky God, let alone a False one. And that was one of normal caliber, while the Favor Alchemy Sky God was presumably a woman of great talent.


    Ryu''s steps came to a pause. Several paths laid out before him, Ruins seemed to love to implement these sort of diverging paths, but it was also the easiest and simplest way to add complexity and truly te the affinity you had with those trying to gain what you had left behind.


    He could see with a glance where the others had entered, and the matrix seemed to say that this was the right path to take as well, but Ryu didn''t move immediately despite the fact there wasn''t much time at hand.


    ''interesting...''


    If this was a Taboo Power Ruin, then there would presumably be something here that was outside the general norm. He couldn''t expect every power to be like the Unbalance Art Sect and have all sorts of chaotic practices and unreadable restrictions, but how could a Taboo Power be Taboo if everything it did was in line with the norm?


    Until now, the Ruins were quite straight forward. The first challenge was withstanding the heat, something that Ryu was mostly relying on his Rebirth Flame to do. After his Bloodline had entered the True Grade, his Flames had likewise strengthened a great deal.


    His Rebirth Flames worked much the same way they did in Sacrum. That meant that with a True Grade Rebirth Flame, and given that it was currently at the First Cosmic Grade along with his Dao, or in other words the Peak Dominion Grade, he was immune to all True Grade Flames at and below that Fragmented Grade flames two steps above, so on and so forth.


    His Inheritances improved quite conveniently now after he had tied them to his Dao with his eight trigram diagram. So whenever his Dao progressed, especially given its nature, his Inheritances automatically progressed as well.


    Of course, this was just Ryu''s guess. Even he hadn''t quite nailed down what level his Dao was at currently. Although he was certain that he had formed a Founding Dao, as for its current grade... that was a bit murkier.


    He had made the initial assumption that it was still at the same level because that was what generally happened. But what he found interesting was that though he could feel the searing heat of the flames, it wasn''t quite as hot as it should have been.


    ''I see... My ignorance regarding my Dao Grade threw my judgment off a bit. It isn''t this direction, it''s that one!


    True Grade Flames at the Dominion Grade was probably around what a genius flame cultivator of the Fourth Heaven would have around Ryu''s cultivation level. It made sense, but that was also why Ryu had neglected quite an obvious point.


    That was around the standard of the Fourth Heaven, but was this Ruin a normal Ruin of the Fourth Heaven?


    If the just over 10% chance that this wasn''t a Taboo Power Ruin was true, then yes, everything still made sense. But if it wasn''t...


    How could it be that the current Ryu could resist these flames so easily? Something wasn''t adding up.

 Chapter 1253 Trial By Fire

    ?1253 Trial by Fire


    It clicked for Ryu right then.


    If he was a member of the Taboo Powers and he knew that his legacy was on the verge of being destroyed, but he wanted to leave something, anything behind, how would he hide it?


    The answer was quite obvious to him if he thought about it for just a moment. He would probably leave behind one, maybe even a few Ruins. These Ruins would then have two layers to them, one being a fa?ade, and the other being my real legacy.


    The fa?ade would leave behind a real enough legacy so that no one else would consider the possibility that it was a fa?ade in the first place. But the second layer, where he chose his true inheritor, would be hidden quite deep and likely only to be found by those who both knew what they were looking for, and, as an extra added precaution, had affinity and a willingness to carry on his legacy.


    Ryu couldn''t help but think of the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God again.


    Could it be that he was a victim of this? Did he stumble into a Ruin like this one, but not knowing of the power that lay hidden beneath, a Taboo Power, he left carrying with him the relatively more normal inheritance instead?


    From what Ryu understood about the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God''s past, he didn''t have any Sect nor Clan as backing, he had made it that far all on his own. And given his fiery temper and casual disregard for authority, this was even more impressive.


    It might seem that Ryu didn''t understand how insane most of his actions were, but action without understanding wasn''t bravery, it was ignorance, and Ryu didn''t fancy himself ignorant. He knew quite well how difficult it was to maneuver around the cultivation world with his demeanor, and that was why he found the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God to be such a kindred spirit.


    ''If this is true... How powerful is the real inheritance?''


    If his speculation was correct, as he felt it had a good chance of being, the real inheritance would likely be as groundbreaking as the Unbalance Mantra, Unbalance Art and the Unbalance Formations. It also happened to be right in line with Ryu''s affinities, so he felt that he had to see this through properly.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered with determination as he stepped forward, entering the path furthest to the left. The three youths who had gone ahead of him probably thought that they would leave him in their dust, not realizing at all that they were only scratching the surface of what was here.


    ''This also means, then, that whoever came here likely doesn''t know that it''s the Ruin of a Taboo Power.''


    Ryu had already deduced that these people were from the Seventh Heaven just judging by the formation left outside. Logically speaking, powers of the Seventh Heaven would likely not dare to mess around with Taboo Powers that the Ninth Heaven powers had banned. It didn''t make much sense for them to come around to look for such things in specific.


    There was a small possibility that they were looking for Taboo Power Ruins and just didn''t know what to look for. After all, even Ryu had almost fallen for it. But he felt that it was very small.


    It was more likely that they were like Starlight, or even in cahoots with Starlight, just doing their best to gather up as many Ruins for themselves as they could.


    Almost the moment Ryu stepped onto the path, a wall of heat hit him. A heat wave should have been intangible, but it truly felt as though he had rammed into a steel wall. The Matrix in his palm fluctuated wildly and a layer of his skin was charred off, even his hair caught fire.


    Ryu grit his teeth. He wanted to take a breath, but he knew such a thing would only incinerate his inner organs. At this point, his best option was to not breath at all, relying on circulating his qi instead.


    ''My eyes seem to be just fine...''


    Ryu finally noticed just how powerful his eyes seemed to become. Even though his clothing and skin had been incinerated, his eyes were completely intact. They were actually sturdier than the rest of his body.


    ''These flames... Why is it like this?"


    When Ryu noticed that even his Matrix threatened to collapse, he understood just how shocking these flames were.


    Matrices were incredibly sturdy objects, they were designed to survive the worst of conditions within Ruins so this went without saying. The secret, though, was that they were entirely created from qi, an incredibly stable qi that was unmoved by outside interference. For a wave of heat alone to almost collapse it, especially since it was a Matrix from the Seventh Heaven, was far too shocking.


    However, this same wave of heat had only charred a layer of his skin and left him scabbing and broken, but it somehow wasn''t enough to turn him entirely to ash? Once again, something wasn''t adding up.


    ''I see, so this is truly a trial by fire...''


    Ryu slowly put his Matrix away, it wasn''t necessary anymore. This was no longer a Ruin, it was a Legacy World.


    This place wanted to baptize him in flames. Its goal wasn''t to kill him, its goal was to break his spirit. How would it break his spirit if it killed him immediately?


    There were many people in the world who wanted to be leaders, but not everyone could be leaders. There were many people who wanted success, but weren''t willing to do what was needed to come by it. There were many people who claimed to fight against the Heavens, but bowed their heads at the slightest pushback.


    Just like Ryu had speculated before, even if one found the true inheritance, the Taboo Power behind it wouldn''t want just anyone to get their hands on it.


    Ryu''s lips curled into a fiendish grin. He looked particularly demonic now with his skin charred and his eyes and teeth seemingly being the only parts of him that were intact.


    He really wanted to see how a fallen power like this one still had the balls to test his resolve.

 Chapter 1254 Vanished

    ?1254 Vanished


    Ryu could only walk forward by dragging his feet. Breathing felt like coughing out smoke, a piercing pain filling his entire body. At this point, he looked less human and more like a walking monstrosity of flesh and blood. However, he continued to take one step after another.


    It was difficult to read a person''s expression when an entire layer of their skin had vanished, but the clarity in Ryu''s intact eyeballs painted their own sort of picture. He placed one foot after another, trudging through the endless sea of fire.


    There didn''t seem to be a floor beneath him, the skies had no limit, even if he looked left, right, back and forward, there were no markers, no limiters, no sign that he was even progressing. Even what he was walking upon felt more like an illusion than anything else.


    However, Ryu was unmoved. He dropped one foot in front of the other. His feet were perfectly spaced apart without the slightest deviation. His pace was perfectly even, never slowing up nor speeding up. It was as though the destination didn''t matter to him and he was enjoying the journey itself.


    Ryu''s Dao Heart simply wasn''t something that others of his generation could match with. This trial had clearly adjusted its difficulty to his current strength level, or else rather than losing just a layer of skin, he would have lost his life instead.


    But after six months of tempering himself with those divine chains, it was difficult for anything to move him. He was already a person with a sturdy mind before, but now he was simply on a level of his own. Only he knew the kind of suffering he had undergone in that half year.


    Those chains didn''t cause any pain, nor suffering, but they severed every meaning you could possibly find in life. It erased you from existence, it cut you off from everything you held dear, it made you feel worthless, insignificant...


    How could a little pain compare to that?


    Ryu didn''t bother to circulate his Embryonic Qi. He knew that the moment he did, the heat wave would just shatter his newly formed skin without a care in the world. Instead, he continued to walk, one step after another, perfectly even, perfectly controlled.


    Although Ryu was doing this, and he was quite curious about the Taboo Powers, he wasn''t to the point of feeling any sort of pity or oneness with them. In fact, the only reason he was putting in so much effort to find out about them wasn''t even because of their strength, at least not in the grand scheme, anyway.


    It had to be remembered that the Taboo Powers had lost. Ultimately, they were inferior to the Martial Powers.


    Knowing this, why would Ryu bother to go out of his way to learn their cultivation methods if they interfered with his current methods? The only reason he continued to use the Unbalance Mantra and was continuing to learn about this Nine Pillar Flame Inheritance was because, at least on the surface, they didn''t seem to be hindering him in any way.


    Of course, there was the chance that there was some underlying reason the Taboo Powers had lost. But the way Ryu saw it, schemes meant nothing in the face of absolute strength. If the Taboo Powers were truly so powerful, what schemes the Martial Powers had come up wouldn''t hold any weight whatsoever. The fact that they had been eradicated and almost wiped from history could only mean that they were inferior.


    If the Taboo Powers had been on the come up and the Martial Powers had suppressed them before they could grasp power, Ryu would be more understanding and much more intrigued. But if the little woman''s words were correct, then why should he give them this benefit? They had all been powers of the Ninth Heaven at the time, the pinnacle of what could be, and they had still fallen.


    There was no pity to be had for those that had fallen to those of the same level, especially since Ryu felt that not much would have changed had they won instead of the Martial Powers.


    Too few people had a mentality similar to Ryu. It was likely that if the Taboo Powers had won the war, the ultimate result would have been them proceeding to suppress everyone below them just the same.


    Ryu might be inclined to help the Taboo Powers survive and carve out a piece of existence to grow, he would even overturn the current Martial Powers for them, but carrying out their legacy as though they were the ultimate good wasn''t something he would ever do.


    These inheritances were powerful because they were from the Ninth Heaven. If he had stumbled onto a Ruin from a Martial Power of the same level, so long as they had never directly offended him, he would just as easily take up their strength and fuse it into his own as well.


    The grievances of the Taboo Powers, their hopes of revenge, their want to rise to the top once again....


    What did that have to do with him?


    "Fuck off," Ryu growled.


    His throat was incinerated, but he continued to move.


    A pillar rose into the skies and another layer of flesh was torn from Ryu''s body, then another pillar, then another.


    By the time six had formed, Ryu was basically nothing but ligament, tendons, bones and his pair of eyes.


    When the seventh rose from the ground, his bones began to slowly turn black.


    When the eighth rose, the sound of crackling echoed about his bones.


    Ryu slowly raised his head, the flickering depths of his eyes calm and cool, unmoved by the skyrocketing temperatures around him.


    And then the ninth rose. But the position of the ninth was right beneath his feet.


    When it appeared, he was completely enveloped by fire, his body vanishing.


    The nine pillars continued to rage on.


    And when they finally began to dim and vanish, nothing was left but a sea of flames.


    Where Ryu should have been, there was nothing. He had completely vanished.

 Chapter 1255 My Body

    ?1255 My Body


    Ryu''s eyes snapped open.


    He found himself sitting in a pool of lava. The lava had an odd cooling effect that definitely wasn''t normal, but what he did realize was that he wasn''t standing at the moment. When had he begun sitting? Could it be that he had been here the entire time?


    Ryu looked around.


    The pool of lava was quite small and contained by cultivation standards. It was, likewise, surrounded by nine pillars that seemed to be dripping with dense golden liquid and that fell into the pool. It was clear that the power of this lava pool was being sustained by these pillars.


    After a while, Ryu seemed to understand. He had likely been plopped into this pool the moment he crossed the threshold. Everything else had been an illusion. The rise of the nine pillars likely coincided with the dripping liquid from these pillars.


    ''My body...''


    Ryu suddenly realized that he had crossed several levels of the Blood Tempering Realm, shocking him greatly. This wasn''t because the change was that groundbreaking. After all, the Blood Tempering Realm was only the equivalent of the Dao Pedestal and Cosmic Seed Realms, for a Ninth Heaven inheritance, this sort of gap was negligible.


    What really shocked Ryu was how thoroughly it had done so and how he hadn''t even been aware of what was happening.


    The Blood Tempering Realm was a bit more complex compared to the Vessel Tempering and Pulse Tempering Realms. It was separated into Red Blood, Rose-Bronze Blood, Rose-Silver, Rose-Gold, and finally Origin Blood which turned you blood a slight shade of royal blue.


    Ryu had experienced some of these temperings before, but after his rebirth he had fallen back to the Vessel Tempering Realm. Of anyone in existence, Ryu had probably recultivated these realms more than anyone else, so he was quite intimately familiar with it all.


    ''No, that''s what it is... I didn''t undergo just the Blood Tempering Realm, I underwent my first Life Destruction? What is just the first? How many did I experience?''


    Ryu couldn''t put his finger on it. Something had changed about his body, and because he didn''t have a proper reference for how powerful this baptizing was, nor just how much his body had changed while his mind was absent, he found it difficult to pin it all down.


    ''Could it be that I underwent all nine Life Destructions?''


    It was no wonder such a thing would be so difficult to accept. The Nine Life Revolutions Realm was the pinnacle mortal realm of the Body Realm, for all intents and purposes, it was the World Sea Realm equivalent. Most weren''t even guaranteed to reach one Life Destruction, let alone all nine of them. Of course, while Ryu had always planned to undergo all nine, he too acknowledged how difficult this would be, which was why it was hard to believe that he would have experienced such a difficult thing in his sleep.


    Only Ryu would describe it as such. For most, it was brutal torture, how could the realm his mind had been trapped in be considered "sleep". Many would have never made their way out.


    Ryu looked down at his body, his gaze flickering several times.


    "Little woman, what happened to me?"


    Ryu had no choice but to ask the Favor Alchemy Sky God although he didn''t expect an answer. To his surprise, this little woman actually answered.


    "... You underwent the Nine Pillar Flame Tempering."


    "What is that? How is it different from Nine Life Destruction?"


    "It is very different. Like I said before, the word Taboo used to only refer to the powers themselves, but there was a reason the word was chosen. It also described breaking the mold. The Unbalance Art Sect was a Sect of Formation Masters, they broke the mold in formations and their creations.


    "The Nine Pillar Flame Sect was a Body Realm power. Their Nine Pillar Flame Tempering refers to recultivating the Body Realm nine times. The reason you feel that you are both in the Blood Tempering Realm and the Nine Life Revolutions Realms at the same time is because of this.


    "It''s actually nothing more than an illusion. Your blood right now is probably much more gold than it is blue, and that''s a time that you''ve recultivated the Pulse, Vessel and Blooding Tempering Realms over again, nine times over.


    "You are currently in the Pinnacle of the Blood Tempering Realm, but it isn''t any less powerful than if you had completed the Nine Life Revolutions Realms.


    "While this is excellent, it will also make your Life Destructions countless times more difficult. Your First Destruction will feel like the 10th. Your Second Destruction will feel like the 19th. Your Third will feel like the 28th. If by some miracle you complete all Nine Destructions, it will feel like you had completed 82."


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    He hadn''t expected such a thing, but now that he had heard her explanation, he felt that she was very much correct. He was still trying to analyze things through a lens of his normal comprehension of cultivation, but without his knowledge, he had already been thrust into a completely different one.


    The irony wasn''t lost on him. He had just been thinking about how he wouldn''t casually divert his path if it affected his future, only to find out that he had been thrust on such a path without even his knowledge.


    While this sounded great, and his Body Realm would likely be exceptionally powerful from now on even given the weakness of his Bloodlines, he now had no choice but to separate his Realms now when he entered the Sky God Realm.


    While he had planned on doing this anyway, the issue was that now one path was already set to match that of the Taboo Powers and he didn''t know how this would affect other things.


    Ryu knew that he didn''t have much of a choice, so he shifted his mentality and began looking through his body with this new perspective.


    The moment he did, the things he found left his pupils constricting once more.


    ''My Bone Structure? Bloodlines? What happened to them...?"

 Chapter 1256 Single Bound

    1256 Single Bound


    Ryu sat in silence for a long while. Deducing exactly what had happened was difficult, but now that he had a general understanding of the process, his deduction path was far clearer than it had been before and he slowly began to feel some real clarity.


    The Blood Tempering Realm was a bit unique in that it focused entirely on one''s blood, but it was also simultaneously the Realm that the Pulse and Vessel Tempering Realm had been building up to.


    The strength of one''s body came almost entirely from one''s blood. Bone Structure could play a strong or small role in this strength depending on which you had been born with, but obviously for Ryu, it was the latter. His Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure was definitely not known for its strength.


    The unique aspects of the Blood Tempering Realm was something that Ryu was looking forward to mostly because the uniqueness of the Realm would allow him special access to his Bloodlines in a way he had never seen before, almost like the Dao Pedestal Realm and what it had done for his Spiritual Foundation. If not for entering the Dao Pedestal Realm, Ryu wouldn''t have been able to see his Spiritual Foundation so up close and personal.


    Often, Cultivation Realms gave one unique access to certain things that cultivators would otherwise have trouble comprehending on their own, or at the very least would take much more effort. In the depths of the Blood Tempering Realm, it would be the easiest for Ryu to make the most changes to his Bloodline, is what it came down to.


    Of course, this wasn''t a life changing matter either. Obviously, if the Blood Tempering Realm gave such an opportunity, the Nine Life Revolutions Realm was an even greater opportunity. It allowed Ryu the chance to rebuild his body from nothing, this was an objectively better chance than the Blood Tempering Realm which was also why Ryu hadn''t been obsessed with the Blood Tempering Realm either.


    But it was precisely because of this that the change was so surprising. His Bloodlines and Bone Structure had undergone a huge change.


    When he looked into his body, there were nine dense globules of molten gold liquid. When he probed them, he felt as though his Spiritual Sense was being burned away. If not for his powerful soul, just this action alone would have likely caused him a great deal of pain.


    These nine globules acted like anchors. They were constantly burning away impurities in his blood and only allowing the most powerful of strands to survive.


    Ryu realized something at that point. The Nine Pillar Flame Sect wasn''t a pure fire affinity Sect, in fact from what it looked like, there was quite a heavy emphasis on the earth element... No, it wasn''t the earth element, but it reminded Ryu a lot of the Earth Character of his eight trigram diagrams.


    It was a character that exuded stability and represented foundation. When this character was fused with the fire element, or maybe it might even be more accurate to call it the Fire Character as well, it solidified and formed this molten metal-like substance with the behavioral tendencies of flames.


    When the Fire Character and the Earth Character were fused, they gained the aspects of creation and innovation that underlied the Fire Character, and the unique nature of the Earth Character.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu had built his own Earth Character on the Dividing Karma half of his original Dao, and the Dividing Sin half of the chaos half. These Daos were both related to Karma and Fate, one seeing through them and the other manipulating them.


    This sort of comprehension made Ryu more compatible with the Nine Pillar Flame Sect than he had realized until this very moment.


    If the Nine Pillar Flame Sect still existed, they would have been endlessly shocked by the current state of Ryu''s body. That was because it was exceptionally rare to be able to sustain Nine Pillars within one''s body. Only the greatest geniuses of their Sects had been capable of doing so, and throughout their history, they had only number three total.


    The time the Taboo Powers had existed for shouldn''t be underestimated just because they had been destroyed. Their history was already enough to dwarf Sacrum several times over. For Ryu to only be the fourth capable of them, it was endlessly shocking.


    ''I see. These ''Pillars'', the anchors within my body, are the catalyst for future Life Destructions. They then become the foundation and help me to reform my body.''


    This made the methods of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect seem far less suicidal. If he could use these globules of golden molten metal to guide the process, it would indeed be far easier. Of course, that was still relative. These globules would make undergoing normal Life Extinctions incredibly easy, but undergoing a single Life Destruction for Ryu now was akin to undergoing nine all at once.


    That said, because Ryu had a perfect Nine Pillars, he was in a more unique position than most and at least the first six shouldn''t put his life in any danger, only as he continued to attempt a seventh, eighth and eventual ninth would he have to truly be careful.


    Ryu suddenly felt a hint of excitement.


    One had to remember that back when Ryu formed his current Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure, he had to destroy his Ice Jade Crystal Body first and then reformulate it using the Runes. But that process was crude and couldn''t possibly have been perfect.


    Under normal circumstances, if Ryu had to undergo a Life Destruction, he simply wouldn''t have the capability of focusing on so many things at once. A Life Destruction was among the most dangerous things a cultivator could ever experience, he could at best hope for incremental changes to his foundation.


    But if he relied on these Nine Pillars as his foundation, if he gathered enough treasures, Ryu felt that even leaping two grades with his first Life Destruction wouldn''t be impossible.


    His Bloodlines and Bone Structure already seemed on the verge of entering the Transcended Grade right this moment. Very soon, if the Nine Pillars got a little push, they would likely cross that threshold.


    That meant that if Ryu prepared well enough, he could form an Order Grade foundation for his body, placing him firmly on par with the best of geniuses of the Seventh Heaven in a single bound.

 Chapter 1257 Unwilling

    1257 Unwilling


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he immediately began to make some calculations.


    He would need quite a bit of things to succeed in this matter, but the foundation of it all, he had already decided, would be by his self-created Alloys.


    Heavenly Favor had become useless to Ryu as he now had Essence. As a result, recultivating only required him to communicate with his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. Essence, as the strongest qi there was, was perfect for filling in the imperfections of his foundation, making his every step perfect. Embryonic Qi only made it easier.


    However, this didn''t mean that his methods were useless. In fact, they had opened up a whole new world to Ryu.


    If the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s magnum opus were the Heavenly Favor, then Ryu was currently building up to his own using the [Refinement Sutra].


    In order to undergo Life Destructions, one not only needed sufficient attainments and mental fortitude, but it was also important to prepare a large amount of natural resources. During this progress, the resources were to nurture one''s body and help the process along. If one had sufficient resources, one''s Life Destruction could be made countless times easier.


    Ryu had an idea at that moment. He wondered what kind of results he would gain if he absorbed his self-created alloys.


    This matter wouldn''t be as easy as he made it sound. In order for the alloys to be of use to him, they would have to be at the standard of his current body. Ryu was at the entrance of the Nine Life Revolutions Realm right now, and he was comparable to a person who had undergone one Life Destruction already. That meant he would need an alloy at the equivalent of the World Sea Realm to cross that barrier and complete his first Life Destruction.


    But that was only the bare minimum requirement. It had to be remembered that he would be undergoing the equivalent of nine at once. That meant he didn''t just need an alloy comparable to the World Sea Realm, he needed one that was near the best of what the World Sea Realm could provide.


    Essentially, to put it simply, he needed to forge a top tier Pinnacle Ancestral Grade Alloy.


    Such a thing, even for Ryu, wasn''t simple. His skill still wasn''t there yet.


    He would first need to bring his soul up to his current standard. Then he would need to plan and strategize quite a bit. Even after all that was done, he wasn''t guaranteed to succeed. By the very nature of these alloys, they were at the very edge of his capabilities. He was really stretching himself thin, but it was very much necessary.


    If there was any shortcut to strengthening his talent, it was this.


    Of course, his alloys would only be one aspect, he still needed to gather a great deal of other materials. This should be the relatively easier task since Aika had agreed to help him with such matters, he just needed to get to the Fifth Heaven first.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s gaze flashed.


    BANG!


    His aura flourished and his presence soared. At that moment, his Bloodlines and Bone Structure entered the Transcended Grade, but he could already feel his body creaking and whining.


    It seemed that forcing his Bone Structure to improve in order to continue balancing his Bloodlines was putting a great strain on him, but this was the only method he had. His Bone Structure would eventually give way if this continued, but Ryu had already found his solution.


    So long as he had an option to change his Fate, nothing else mattered.


    Ryu slowly rose to his feet. His skin sparkled, golden molten liquid sliding down his body as it emitted its own line. His hair danced like fine crystalline filaments, seemingly unaffected by the heat. He felt like his body was brimming with power.


    With a flip of his palm, Ryu popped the last Soul Nourishing Runed Pill he had formed. A large amount of Spiritual Qi flooded his Spiritual Sea, its borders expanding again and again. This time, not a single ounce of it leaked. With the strengthening of his body, his soul had so much room to grow that it seemed that even a Runed Pill wasn''t enough to satisfy it.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It seemed he would probably need about three more to satisfy his Spiritual Sea, but it had already grown to almost double its original size. Before he had already been able to match up to World Sea Realm experts of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heaven in terms of Mental Realm capacity, but now he had firmly surpassed them, rivaling Seventh Heaven Mental Realm geniuses.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have the materials here, but they were easy enough to gather. Even a small city would have what he needed.


    With a step, Ryu rose out of the pool of lava, but he didn''t leave immediately.


    This pool was obviously a great treasure, capable of tempering him while he wasn''t even aware. Obviously, it would require suffering quite a bit to benefit from it, so not everyone would have the fortitude necessary. And, of course, there was the elephant in the room that stepping into the pool was like putting a target on the back of your head. At any time, you could be found out like Isemeine and Eska and end up hunted for the rest of your life.


    Ryu, unfortunately, didn''t have an easy method to take it away, and it didn''t seem like brute strength and time would do it either, otherwise it might be worth it. He could tell with a glance that this place would definitely try to resist him if he attempted to take the pool away.


    This pool was the last hope of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect. They probably wouldn''t put all their eggs in one basket, they might even hope that in the future another Ryu would appear and take it on.


    However, Ryu didn''t want to give up so easily. He could imagine how greatly his beast companions would benefit from this sort of path...

 Chapter 1258 Opportunity?

    1258 Opportunity?


    "Do you have a way to move this?" Ryu asked.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God didn''t answer for a long while and it seemed that she wouldn''t. Ryu could only leave it be and he turned to leave.


    "... If you tried to move it you would only destroy it. The only thing you can do is to leave a method of finding this location again, because it will definitely move after you leave. However, leaving such a method behind will be very difficult."


    Ryu nodded slightly. They wouldn''t leave such an easily exploitable loophole, if he wanted to leave behind a method of tracking his Ruin it wouldn''t be simple.


    After Ryu left, the Ruin could likely appear anywhere between the First to Sixth Heaven. It might even appear on one of the Heavenly Paths.


    In order to find it again, it would take like thousands of years. This is because in order to find it this time, Ryu relied on many historical accountings and clues that spread over tens of thousands of years. Even if he knew what he was looking for specifically, it would take a great deal of time to lock down its location again, and Ryu simply didn''t feel like waiting so long. By the time this time period changed, he doubted this pool would even be of any real use to him any longer.


    If it unluckily appeared in the Incomplete Heavenly Path like the Unbalance Art Sect, he couldn''t even go back now. Even if it appeared in the Complete Heavenly Path, thousands of years from now, he would have already transcended it as well. This didn''t even mention the fact that finding clues about a Ruin appearing in either one of them would be nearly impossible. It would probably require millions of years before he could lock it down in any one of those locations.


    This was all to say that Ryu was very much aware of how he would be out of luck the moment he stepped out of here unless he could do something about it.


    Suddenly, his gaze narrowed.


    That was right, if this Ruin planned teleporting and moving after he left, there should be a formation here. The formation itself wasn''t too important, but the way it functioned was. A formation wouldn''t have the power within it to execute such an enormous task, especially not when it was designed to only activate once every several million years, if that.


    This meant that the type of formation here was one that would gather up qi from the surrounding to execute the task it needed to. As such, it wouldn''t be as contained as most formations and would have some leakage, though contained.


    For someone with a Spacetime Soul Nature like Ryu, following this leakage through a stream of spacetime wouldn''t be difficult so long as he left a unique marker behind.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and he began to scan the region. He was looking for the hidden formation as he was sure there was one, however what he actually found surprised him.


    ''... I see...''


    Ryu had been looking at it wrong all along. This place was entirely stationary, it was he who had been transported here. He had likely not noticed because his mind had been warped at the same time. But if he was correct, the moment he stepped out of here, he would likely step into a barren place.


    This made much more sense when he thought about it.


    The more powerful the individual, the stronger teleportation channel they needed. Likewise, if you were attempting to transport a large amount of energy like what was within this pool, it would take an enormous channel, one larger than what one would even need to move a Dao Lord.


    If you tried to transport this pool normally, even if you didn''t have a Spacetime affinity like Ryu, tracking it would be easy so long as you had a certain understanding of space, much like Transcended Sky Gods who could tear their way into the void.


    However, if instead of transporting the entire pool, you only transported the doorway to the pool, just how much easier would it be?


    "That means I''m..."


    Ryu''s head snapped as he looked around. He was suddenly very interested in this place and where he was currently. He didn''t feel anything different about the region at all, so it would be logical for this place to still be on the Fourth Heaven, but Ryu didn''t believe that.


    It was more likely that this place was simulating an environment that he was used to so that he wouldn''t suspect a thing. It was clear that whoever had created this place was extraordinarily cautious, Ryu even had a feeling that trying to exit this place would end in failure. Unless he had absolute strength, breaking out of this place would be impossible, there was no way they would make it easy.


    ''Could I be... on the Ninth Heaven right now? No, maybe I was wrong all along. The Unbalance Art Sect appeared in the Heavenly Path, could this place be within the Heavenly Path as well?''


    Ryu''s senses continued to spin. He wasn''t in a hurry to leave because he had a feeling that whatever location was outside of this hidden underground cave could give him a great opportunity, it was only a question of whether or not he could grasp it.


    There was only one exit out of here, but that location would definitely seamlessly bring him back to the Fourth Heaven. As for everything else, it was nothing but reddened walls, radiating heat due to the lava pool they surrounded. As a result, there was nothing but solid red rock all around aside from the nine mighty pillars that surrounded the pool.


    It suddenly clicked for Ryu.


    The Nine Pillar Flame Sect wasn''t a formation power like the Unbalance Art Sect was. Whatever protections they had would be built upon their own unique foundations, they wouldn''t trust outsiders for such an important matter.


    That meant that the defenses of this place, all of its inner workings, all of its secrets were built into these nine pillars.


    If there was a way out of here, it was definitely them.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed.

 Chapter 1259 Show Me

    1259 Show Me


    Ryu stepped toward the first pillar and began to study it. At first glance it seemed smooth outside of the golden liquid dripping down from its body and into the pool below, glowing a faint red gold. However, after staring at it for a long while, Ryu finally saw the Runes dancing just beneath the first layer of its surface.


    With the help of the Origin Flame, they were all directly imprinted into Ryu''s mind. Various connections were being quickly made in his mind and the comprehension of the profundity of these pillars was quickly increasing, even to the point the globules of golden liquid within him began to slowly take shape and form up, solidifying into small rods that quickened the purification of Ryu''s Bloodlines.


    This realization caused Ryu''s gaze to narrow.


    Could it be that this trial wasn''t over just yet? Was this left behind here on purpose, or was it a coincidence? If Ryu had left like he intended to, these globules within his body would have had a difficult time forming up, it would have taken him many years and attempts likely.


    Even so, Ryu didn''t feel that this was what the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had intended, that was because just to see these Runes took someone with special abilities on the level of Ryu. To actually understand them, though? That was another can of worms.


    If the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had expected this out of a successor, they had expected far too much. This wasn''t a normal ask of anyone and it was even more annoying than leaving things to luck.


    Ryu thought for a moment and thought that he might have missed something else. The process it took to get here was far too complicated, even someone who could awaken from that world and survive wouldn''t necessarily be able to do this. Did the Nine Pillar Flame Sect want an Inheritor? Or did they just want to kill anyone who even tried.


    There seemed to only be two logical conclusions.


    The first was that the Nine Pillar Flame Sect was similar to the Unbalance Art Sect. They only planned on giving out a portion of their Inheritance from the very beginning and would make him fight for the complete one some time in the future after enough successors had been gathered, that was the first option.


    The second option was that figuring out the rest of their Inheritance was part of the trial itself. Though completing the pillars would have been difficult if Ryu left, he felt that any genius given enough time could figure it out. Of course, "time" was relative and it might very well take millions of years, but this amount of time to a Dao God was negligible.


    Obviously, becoming a Dao God would be the minimum requirement for reawakening the Taboo Powers, so Ryu felt that this frame of thought was still appropriate.


    Between the two, Ryu felt that either one might be correct, but he leaned toward the latter. He could feel the spirit of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect and they didn''t seem to be excessively scheming.


    Ryu circled the pillars and eventually passed through them all. The first one had taken him the longest, taking an entire day. But the second went even faster, and the third even faster than that. They all built atop of one another.. making comprehending one result in the next being simpler to the eye.


    ''Interesting...''


    Ryu still couldn''t comprehend the pillars fully, but his current comprehension was already enough for that mysterious golden liquid to begin forming from his own Nine Pillars. They had gone from globules of gold molten liquid, to sturdy rods piercing into his bones, and now they were producing more molten liquid on their own. As this molten gold formed, it seeped into his bones, fracturing them slightly before those fractures were instantly filled by this liquid.


    Ryu watched these changes in silence. He felt that his Bone Structure was evolving again, but this time it wasn''t his Bloodline forcing it to do so. He wasn''t sure if this would make his Life Extinctions easier or harder, but he knew that for now it only benefited him.


    Ryu turned his attention away from his body and began to look toward the surroundings once again. This time, the surroundings look very different to him. As expected, there was a formation that extended from the pillars into the floor and around the walls, protecting it.


    ''If I can find a small gap...''


    Ryu''s plan was simple.


    With his current understanding of the Runes, while he didn''t fully grasp them, finding some weaker points wasn''t impossible. Normally, he wouldn''t be able to exploit these weaknesses, but because he shared a similar aura now, it was very much possible that it would let him through.


    If he entered the void and slipped past the walls, he would be able to see what was on the other side.


    Was this reckless? Absolutely.


    He had no idea what was on the other side. For all he knew the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had hidden their final hope in the depths of a blackhole and when he stepped out he would be shredded to pieces.


    Of course, that was ridiculous. No teleportation would work directly into a blackhole, the spatial tunnel would collapse the moment you got close. But the sentiment was the same regardless.


    However, the more progress Ryu made, the further from the pinnacle he felt. He could feel how difficult rising to the top would be, and making it there without taking any risk would be impossible.


    He had just had a huge change to his foundation, and yet he still felt that he would have to bring out everything to battle Starlight if they had been on the Seventh Heaven. Of course, that was assuming that Starlight had improved his cultivation from the Immortal Ring Realm, which he certainly had.


    This was unacceptable to Ryu, but pouting wasn''t something within him. Rather than wasting time, he would simply go harder.


    ''Show me what''s on the other side.''


    Ryu''s gaze blazed to life as a pair of silvery crystalline wings spread from his back.


    With a step, he vanished into the void.

 Chapter 1260 Infinity Mist

    1260 Infinity Mist


    Ryu suddenly felt a great pressure crashing down around him from all sides. It felt as though he was trying to squeeze his body through a tube. The spatial nodes were so close and binding that it felt as though he was being stretched out. At any moment, he could be snapped to nothingness, but his gaze remained resolute as he pressed forward with even greater speed.


    "Ah!"


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God suddenly realized what Ryu was doing and she went entirely pale. He was a complete madman.


    She hadn''t said anything while he was observing the pillars because she had yet to put two and two together. Plus, when she saw that his aura was slowly getting stronger, she could feel that there was clearly some logic to what he was doing. But she could have never expected this.


    Some wild explanation wasn''t needed. Ryu''s madness could be summarized in a single sentence.


    He was currently trying to circumvent the protections a Ninth Heaven Sect had put in place to protect their legacy!


    A Ninth Heaven Power, not just any Ninth Heaven Power, but one that had stood at the pinnacle of all things. This was a power that produced several Dao Gods in its time, a Power that had once produced a Founding Father!


    No matter how you sliced this, this was complete and utter madness, it was shocking beyond compare and it really painted the kind of daring that Ryu had in his heart. How could the Favor Alchemy Sky God hold back her shock? He was practically playing with his life!


    Her heart quaked. This sort of recklessness wasn''t something she had. She had spent her entire first life without experiencing much true hardship or putting herself in danger. She only did the things she knew she could do and she spent her time accumulating as much wealth as possible all so that she could continue pressing forward with her experiments. She had always believed that her talent was alone to take her to where she wanted to go.


    Never in a million years could she have expected that she wouldn''t have even managed to become an Omniscient Sky God, let alone a Dao Lord, or her true goal of Dao God. She still remembered being entirely unable to accept it even until the very end.


    She did have good reasons, great reasons, in fact. As an alchemist, there was no need to put herself in danger. She had all the resources she could ever want at her fingertips and she could even make them more powerful than the sum of their parts. She felt that risking her life was a foolish pursuit, especially since there was so much riding on her shoulders.


    But what had been the ultimate end to it all? She was now tied to the Fate of another and she couldn''t easily escape it. In fact, escaping it was probably impossible.


    Seeing Ryu now, she felt as though she had just suffered a rude awakening. She had truly wasted her first life in its entirety.


    ROAR!


    Ryu unleashed a bellow, streaking out of the final node. He could feel that the rock around him had vanished. Sensing the outside of one''s void was incredibly important for anyone entering it, or else what would happen if you exited too early? It would be a really foolish way to die for a small rock to suddenly appear in the middle of your brain.


    When Ryu stepped out, he found himself in a field of grey fog. Almost instantly, he felt a crushing weight.


    The bones in his body shattered one after another and he was nearly forced to his knees. It was only after entering the void once again and circulating a drop of Embryonic Qi was Ryu finally able to breathe again.


    His gaze couldn''t help but sharpen. He didn''t know what that grey fog was, but it was actually so heavy and yet somehow light enough to remain in a gaseous form. It sprayed across his body like fine mist and it even felt quite good for a few split seconds, until the weight aspect clicked and it suddenly felt like every square inch of his body was experiencing the pressure of a beast in the depths of an ocean millions of miles deep.


    The only part of him that still seemed fine were his eyes, which made him raise their evaluation in his heart once again. He didn''t know what kind of changes the Black Vein Spirit Seeking Lilies were causing within him, but they were most definitely enormous. There was simply no way his eyes should be this sturdy otherwise. Ryu even had a feeling that much of his 999 years of rebirth were spent reconstructing his eyes.


    If not for his eyes, his benefits from that Rebirth would have definitely been far greater. One had to remember that he had been around the Shrines at that time, the support he could draw on should have been at the level of the True Martial World. Logically, upon Rebirth, he should have already been at the level of a genius born in the True Martial World with his particular set of talents. But he was actually still weaker than even First Heaven geniuses back then.


    This had been rolling around in Ryu''s mind for a while. He had originally thought that the mutation of his Bloodlines had just been inferior to the original product. This wasn''t impossible, after all not all mutations could be exceptionally powerful. But it seemed that there was another reason...


    Ryu shook his head. This wasn''t the time to think about this, he was in a bit of a predicament, if "a bit" could be used to describe an existential crisis.


    He couldn''t stay in the void forever, and he obviously couldn''t survive the fog.


    Despite the sharpness of his gaze, he couldn''t see through this fog at all and his Void Spiritual Sense was actually entirely useless. It was clear that this was a measure that the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had either left behind, or a choice in location they had chosen carefully.


    Ryu had reacted extremely quickly just now, not even a few split moments. His body was already nearing the level of a Sky God, and yet he couldn''t last a few fractions of a second. If one was too reckless and didn''t have a method of getting out immediately, even extremely powerful Sky Gods would die.


    The time he could spend in the void had increased exponentially since he stepped out of the incomplete Heavenly Path, but it was still not indefinite. He could at most last an hour or two.


    The trouble was that how far forward he had to go was completely unknown. If the Nine Pillar Sect were smart, they would definitely choose a place that was as thick and dense as possible, and there was no guarantee that it would be any worse.


    And now, he couldn''t even see the way back. He had only gone straight, so logically he should just be able to back pedal and go the way he came again. But when Ryu turned back, even after moving a while, the inheritance ground was nowhere to be seen.


    That was when he understood that the inheritance ground wasn''t stationary, it was moving through this vast grey fog and now finding it would be a nigh impossible task.


    "Do you know what this grey fog is?" Ryu asked, much too calm given the dire situation he was currently in.


    "Grey fog?" The Favor Alchemy Sky God replied somewhat weakly.


    Ryu understood. It seemed the Favor Alchemy Sky God couldn''t see what was going on either, so he took his time to explain it.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God immediately paled.


    "Infinity Mist... You actually ran into... Infinity Mist only appears at the bottom of a very rare few oceans. Millions of miles deep wouldn''t be enough to describe it. There''s a point of concentration where the water is under so much pressure that surpasses a liquid form and enters a solid for. This state continues for a very long while, but its said that beneath the solid state, there''s a further layer after billions more miles. That layer is known as the Infinity Mist Layer.


    "This phenomena can only appear in the oceans of the Ninth Heaven. You''re actually on the Ninth Heaven right now...!"


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. "Didn''t you say that if I stepped onto the Ninth Heaven..."


    "Your body is stronger than it was when I made that statement, but that''s irrelevant. Infinity Mist is a very unique material, it has reached such an extreme of pressure that its somehow both easy and impossible to move through.


    "Even the pressure of the Ninth Heaven cannot penetrate through so many layers of ocean, this might as well be an entirely different world. Even a Dao God wouldn''t casually step into such place. Just making it here would be an incredibly difficult journey!


    "I have no idea how the Nine Pillar Flame Sect managed to pull it off, teleporting here is even more impossible than teleporting into a blackhole. At least a blackhole is like a sink that pulls all things in, but Infinity Mist can''t be penetrated by anything."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He understood at that moment that there was no way out.


    Up above him, there was a sheet of ice billions of miles thick.


    Below him, there was only more Infinity Mist and likely, eventually, a bed of rock.


    As for to the left and right, if this ocean was billions of miles deep, its width and length couldn''t be properly described at all.


    How would he even find where the inheritance had gone in this place?

 Chapter 1261 Glow

    1261 Glow


    Despite the realization, Ryu seemed to become calmer.


    "Little woman, go into the cottage. You''ll find several rings filled with the umplanted seeds of quite a few Spiritual Herbs. Plant the ones for the Soul Nourishing Pill."


    Ryu couldn''t enter the golden moon world himself. If he did, who would maintain the void they were in currently? If it collapsed, even the golden moon world and the little woman wouldn''t be spared. The Favor Alchemy Sky god had yet to recultivate to the Transcended Sky God Realm, but even if she had, without Ryu''s eyes, it was incredibly difficult to enter the void in this place. Spiritual Sense was absolutely useless. The only reason Ryu had been able to enter the void was because of his eyes.


    The Infinity Mist was thin enough that he could see through it as though it was fog. Of course, this means that his vision was still incredibly limited, but it was still better than most others in this situation.


    This was all to say that although the situation felt hopeless, there were still some small threads of hope to grab onto.


    After a moment, Ryu sat cross legged. He didn''t move a single inch and his mind entered a state of unprecedented calm.


    When his eyes flashed opened, a twin pair of eight trigram diagrams, one gold and the other dark gold, rotated slowly within the depths of his irises. He observed the void before him, scanning the spatial nodes.


    If the Favor Alchemy Sky God was paying attention, she would have realized that Ryu was actually using his Dao to strengthen his comprehension of the spatial elemental and spatial qi.


    Ryu''s goal was simple. He needed to reach a state where his ability to stay in the void and his ability to replenish his stamina reached equilibrium. To put this in simple terms, he wanted to reach a state where he could stay within the void indefinitely. This was his best option currently.


    Using up the last hour or two he had remaining trying to find the inheritance would be nothing short of cosigning himself to death. The odds of him succeeding were next to zero. This was worse than looking for a needle in a haystack, a savage enough analogy had yet to be created. The worst part was that the odds that he would accidentally slip by the inheritance just an arm''s reach away was far higher than actually finding it.


    Even so, Ryu was perfectly calm.


    The reality was that even Transcended Sky Gods couldn''t stay in the void indefinitely, only Dao Lords could do so casually and without much effort without having strong spatial affinity.


    However, Ryu had his eyes, his Spacetime Soul Nature, an Omniscient God Treasure, and most importantly... A Dao that had become a Founding Dao.


    According to Ryu''s understanding, those with spatial affinity could cut down the time necessary to enter these states by a large factor. Those with high spatial affinity could enter the void as soon as the Fragmented Sky God Realm.


    Ryu quite believed in himself. His soul was already more powerful than many World Sea Realm experts and could be said to be comparable to World Sea Realm experts of the Seventh Heaven by now. He didn''t know if it would be possible to achieve, but he wanted to see just how powerful a Founding Dao was. If it was worthy of its rarity and title.. it would be able to help him do at least this much, right?


    Ryu lost himself focusing on the nodes before him.


    The Infinity Mist had a very odd property. If Ryu had to describe it, it was akin to a wheel of paddles. The harder you accelerated such a wheel, the more effort it took to spin it faster and the harder you were working. However, if you slowly ramped up the speed instead, the easier it was.


    Judging by how much water was above him, appearing so far beneath the ocean should have killed Ryu instantly, it didn''t matter how fast he reacted, how could the reaction speed of a Dao Pedestal Realm expert be enough?


    And yet, Ryu was still here and alive. This went back to the oddity the Favor Alchemy Sky God had mentioned before. The pressure was both enormous, and yet small. However, if Ryu had foolishly rushed through the mist, he would have died before he even understood what was happening.


    It was a fascinating dichotomy. This was ironically the only region of this ocean that Ryu could possibly survive in.


    Up above, there was a sheet of ice billions of kilometers thick. If he had appeared there he would have frozen to death instantly. If he had appeared above that, not to mention the fact it was also incredibly cold at that depth, the pressure of the water would have killed him instantly. And, even if by some miracle he appeared at a pressured depth he could resist, the oceanic beasts would have shredded him to pieces with a single glance.


    This didn''t even mention the fact that outside of the Infinity Mist, breaking into the void would have been countless times more difficult with the pressure of the Ninth Heaven descending.


    So, the current Ryu was in an odd duality where he was both in the most dangerous region he could possibly be in, and simultaneously the safest.


    Something about this made him feel an endless sort of peace, his heartbeat was steady and his thoughts ran smoothly.


    But it was also because of this that not even a minute into his deductions, he realized this plan was unfeasible. His comprehension speed was too slow, and it was once again because of the Infinity Mist.


    The region here didn''t quite react like normal space should.It was too calm, too sturdy. Ryu even realized that here, he could actually spend double the time in the void as usual, giving him three to four hours as opposed to his one to two hours.


    Ryu shifted his focus from observing the world to observing the runes on his Quivering Spectral Wings instead. However, after another minute, he frowned. This frown though, lasted for only a moment before his thoughts shifted once again.


    ''I got it...''


    Ryu shifted his approach once again. This time, he didn''t focus on the world around him, or even the Quivering Spectral Wings. Instead he focused on the Runes of the Nine Pillars.


    The Faver Alchemy Sky God had said something quite profound a moment ago. Teleporting here should be even more impossible than teleporting into a blackhole. So, how had they done it?


    The space here wasn''t a problem, it was actually very steady. The problem was communication. How could you draw a link between this location and another if the Infinity Mist blocked everything. The real question, though... Did it really block everything?


    Weren''t Ryu''s eyes able to work just fine?


    Of course, that was just Ryu being purposely obtuse. There was obviously a difference between him using his vision and connecting a spatial tunnel.


    But there was something else that was quite important here. He was currently standing in the void right now and his vision wasn''t obstructed at all, the only problem was that there was nothing to see but spatial nodes here.


    The void was an expanse of nothing but black, even the spatial nodes were invisible unless one had a certain amount of affinity.


    One could imagine reality like a double layer sheet. Entering the void was like peeling up one layer, forming a bubble, and slipping in between the two layers. But upon doing this, the bubble would constantly be trying to collapse around you.


    ¡¤?¦Èm If you looked around, all you could see were the walls of this bubble, everything else was still pressed down between the two sheets and forced into a two dimensional form factor. Only within the bubble could you directly observe the outside world, but if you tried to see beyond your bubble, all you could see would be spatial nodes, or points where these two sheets connected to one another.


    Why was all of this important?


    Well, these two sheets were obviously something that even the Infinity Mist couldn''t penetrate.


    Theoretically, if you could run a signal from one location to another using nothing but spatial nodes hidden within the void, then you could connect two locations no matter what obstructions were between them, even if that obstruction was Infinity Mist.


    The problem would be exiting the spatial node and entering the first layer. This would be where the most obstruction was. Unless...


    ''Unless the inheritance has been within the void all along. It was never in the Infinity Mist at all, I just stepped out from one void into another and I didn''t even notice because it felt like reality...''


    Ryu''s gaze glowed.


    This realization seemed to mean nothing, after all, the void was just as large as the ocean. This didn''t make it any easier to find. In fact, it only made it more difficult. That was because Ryu was in one bubble while the inheritance was in another. In order to find the inheritance, he would need to peel up the layers all around him to find the bubble, whereas if he was in the Infinity Mist, he might be lucky enough to spot it with his eyes.


    However, to Ryu, this meant everything. That was because of one question...


    How was the inheritance maintaining its void bubble and moving around at the same time?


    That answer hit Ryu all at once: the Nine Pillars!


    Ryu''s body began to glow and his Nine Pillars manifested through his skin around his body. At that moment, the pressure of the void trying to collapse around him seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 1262 Caution

    1262 Caution


    Ryu was surprisingly calm by this "sudden" breakthrough that wasn''t much of a breakthrough at all. It was more accurate to characterize it as a novel application of an ability that he already had, at the same time, his vision for what the Earth Character could be and accomplish widened tremendously.


    He had already gained a unique appreciation for his Founding Dao, and he also gave some credit to the Origin Flame.


    One would have thought that in this sort of situation, he would have to go down to the wire to find a solution to his immediate predicament. However, only a couple minutes of his three to four hours time limit had been used before he found a solution.


    What was especially impressive was how his mind had jumped from thought to thought seamlessly, trying each one with ease. Usually, people had a habit of sticking to the first idea they thought of, finding it difficult to step outside of the box they had created for themselves. This was why the most intelligent people weren''t usually those who just knew the most, the most intelligent individuals were the same individuals with the most intellectual plasticity. The flexibility of the mind was the true measure of IQ.


    Just thinking felt so comfortable to him, it didn''t feel like it took any effort at all. The world felt brighter and everything felt like it was at his fingertips.


    Ryu''s thoughts shifted away from the impressiveness of his feat. He wasn''t one to linger on his victories and at the moment, he had far more important things to do.


    His Nine Pillars had an overall stabilizing effect on the void around him, making it far easier for him to remain within. However, this time still wasn''t indefinitely, it was rooted in the stamina of his body.


    The good news was that his bodily stamina could be easily replenished by his Embryonic Qi. What couldn''t be easily replenished, though, was the Focus Qi required to keep it activated. His Focus Qi was draining quite slowly, but within a month or two he would be entirely tapped out. If he included the improvement to his Focus Qi that would come after he concocted more Soul Nourishing Pills, he might be able to last up to a year if he really pushed it.


    The real question was whether or not a year would be enough.


    The vastness of this place was impossible to fathom. Even if Ryu was given millions of years, it wouldn''t be enough to explore it all. Plus, that didn''t mention the fact that the inheritance was moving around, so even if by some miracle he would search everywhere in just a single year, there was still a non-zero chance that he could very well never find the inheritance.


    Even so, Ryu was still almost eerily calm. He had always been a calm person in general, even when he faced death, but the current him felt even calmer than usual. It was a subtle feeling, almost as though the title of Founding Dao and the weight that came with it was steadily feeding him the demeanor and arrogance of all those who had held such a title in the past.


    Ryu took a step forward. Standing here indefinitely wouldn''t get him anything.


    His mind was spinning with thoughts. Finding the inheritance wouldn''t be as impossible as it seemed only because of, precisely, the Nine Pillars.


    Ryu was very familiar with the aura of the Nine Pillars and he could see nodes for thousands of miles around him. All he had to do was spot the spatial node that carried this unique aura. Although it would be difficult as a thousand miles was nothing given the span of this ocean, it still wasn''t as helpless as it had seemed in the beginning.


    This also didn''t mention the fact that Ryu was also quite confident in spotting spatial nodes that had recently been disrupted by the inheritance as well. If he followed their trail, spotting the inheritance wouldn''t be difficult either.


    Beyond that, Ryu was curious what he could find down here.


    Truthfully, Ryu wasn''t a fool, he knew that anything that could survive down here wouldn''t be so easy to lay his hands on. He might very well come across many treasures that he could only stare at from a distance.


    That said, who said that this would be the only time he could come here? Now that he had what could almost be said to be a personal doorway, so long as he gained enough power and strength, or thought of external means, he would be able to slowly benefit over time.


    What Ryu was most looking forward to were the kind of Water Qi Natural Treasures that could appear here. There was no doubt that any such treasure would be incredibly special.


    There was, of course, the chance that a powerful flame might appear as well. That''s because when things reach an absolute extreme, they tend toward their opposites, something that Ryu was intimately familiar with.


    However, he had no way of knowing this for sure.


    Ryu began to descend with great speed. He wanted to find the bottom of the ocean, the true bottom. If there was anything to be found, it would either be at the barrier of ice above, or the ground below, it would be much rarer for treasures to appear floating aimlessly in the middle.


    Ryu didn''t even bother trying to go upward because that would just be seeking death. Even if a treasure appeared that, trying to get it would be nothing short of suicide. If even a single strand of that cold touched him he would be finished, no amount of escaping into the void would save him.


    The journey was unsurprisingly smooth though Ryu tried to be cautious. Although the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s words had made it pretty clear that it was almost impossible for creatures to survive done here, wasn''t he here? Hadn''t the Nine Pillar Flame Sect made it down here? He simply had no way of knowing for sure.


    Of course, the Sect had done most of the heavy lifting for his presence here, but it was a fact that he was here nonetheless.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s brows raised and his caution shot through the roof.

 Chapter 1263 How?

    1263 How?


    Ryu hadn''t even approached it yet but he could also feel the shift. The Infinity Mist had suddenly gone from incredibly stable to volatile, and down below, he could sense the presence of a fiery fire qi, one that was savage beyond compare.


    It seemed that he was correct, but this left Ryu in a dilemma.


    If below was filled with some of the greatest heat known to man, and above was filled with the greatest cold, then didn''t that mean there was nothing to benefit from at all?


    Ryu stood in silence, his gaze narrowed.


    Indeed, how could it be so easy to take advantage of a place like this? Even if he found a Spiritual Herb just floating around, the odds that that Spiritual Herb could kill him with a thought was incredibly high.


    This was the Ninth Heaven. Not only was it the Ninth Heaven, but it was one of the most forbidden regions of the Ninth Heaven. Even Dao Gods didn''t dare to casually step foot into this place, a weaker Dao God might not even be able to make it to this location at all. It was na?¡¥ve of him to think that he, as a mortal not even of the Sky God Realm just yet, could take advantage of this ecosystem.


    Ryu slowed considerably until he couldn''t bear it anymore. He could feel that the pressure on his bubble was slowly increasing as the influence of the Infinity Mist waned. He was only able to break the void in this place so easily because of the Infinity Mist in the first place, if he entered a region where the pressure of the Ninth Heaven could begin to manifest, he would be finished.


    Ryu sighed internally. It seemed that he wasn''t in a position to take advantage of this place at all.


    Shaking his head, he decisively retreated and began to look for the inheritance in earnest. He was confident in himself, but he wasn''t foolish. Risks were only worth taking if there were good odds of survival. If there was even a 10% chance, Ryu would have taken the chance. The benefits would likely far outweigh the detriment.


    But Ryu couldn''t even see 10% odds. Going any further down would incinerate him, plain and simple.


    Not only that, but as the pressure around his void bubble increased, the more Focus Qi he would waste and the worse his situation would become. Unless he could get something excellent in return, it simply wasn''t worth it.


    Ryu wandered around for several days, diligently and patiently scanning his surroundings. He was entirely unhurried. Despite the amount of time that had passed, he didn''t feel any stress.


    At that moment, the Favor Alchemy Sky God contacted him with the prepared Spiritual Herbs. Ryu accepted the transfer of herbs and crossed his legs in the void. With a calm heart, he began to concot.


    In truth, the Favor Alchemy Sky God was surprised that they were still alive. Although she hadn''t said anything or reacted much, she had thought that their lives were pretty much forfeit at this much. It could be said that the reason she was indifferent to it all was because she had pretty much given up already after seeing Ryu''s Fate Star, plus... she had already died once before.


    Compared to dying to Infinity Mist, the Favor Alchemy Sky God believed that she had already experienced the worst kind of death... That slow, helpless death... The kind where you watched your body deteriorate right before your eyes without the ability to stop it.


    The only reason she was observing the world around her at all was because Ryu had surprised her with the formation of his Founding Dao. If not for this, she wouldn''t have even bothered to listen to Ryu''s voice in the first place. But the fact that they were both alive and breathing was truly a shocking realization to her. She wondered how Ryu was doing it.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu finished concocting quite swiftly, but to his surprise, his Runes didn''t fully solidify. After a moment, though, he understood. It seemed that Runes could only fully solidify when there was Tribulation Lightning involved, but how could a tribulation even sense what was happening down here, let alone descend.


    A flash of inspiration hit Ryu and his finger sparked with lightning. His Lightning Embryo activated and struck down upon his pill.


    At that moment, the partially solidified Runes began to glow and finally condensed. Only then did Ryu pop it into his mouth, allowing his Spiritual Sea to expand and expand again.


    His soul swallowed it all like a greedy mistress, taking everything Ryu could throw at it.


    After a few minutes, Ryu opened his eyes with a relaxed expression.


    Indeed, there was one treasure that was here that he had entirely neglected, and that was the Infinity Mist itself. But while it was the most docile, it was also incredibly dangerous.


    In addition, it had to be remembered that the Infinity Mist only existed in this incredibly special state. Ryu had reason to believe that if he actually managed to take the Infinity Mist and he displaced it, the result wouldn''t be what he wanted.


    Without the extreme pressure of the water above, the Infinity Mist would collapse. First it would form a solid so cold that it might very well kill Ryu directly, and if he managed to survive that it would suddenly expand wildly into a large amount of water.


    A small handful of Infinity Mist could probably drown an entire ocean, that was how exaggerated it was.


    With all the pressure that was here, it had been concentrated to its limits. This Infinity Mist couldn''t be taken lightly at all.


    So the question was, how could he take advantage of it?


    Ryu fell into his thoughts.


    It seemed the only way to succeed would be to find a method of maintaining or simulating this level of pressure, but was that even possible? If he had the strength to apply so much pressure, he would already be undefeatable and this Infinity Mist would already be useless to him.


    The logical answer seemed to be to observe the Infinity Mist and the Fundamental Runes that made it up and recreate it... But how could he do that if he couldn''t observe the Infinity Mist directly?


    ''How...?''


    Ryu, whose thoughts had been flowing so smoothly previously, was suddenly stumped.

 Chapter 1264 He Knew

    1264 He Knew


    This was quite a dilemma.


    The Nine Pillars worked well in the void, but Ryu knew they wouldn''t have a single ounce of usefulness in front of Infinity Mist. It was currently relying on his comprehension of spatial qi and his Spacetime Soul Nature to be able to do this.


    From Ryu''s understanding, the Nine Pillars were designed to prop up the Heavens, to find solidity within the Earth. However, these two concepts, Heaven and Earth, were figurative. The Earth represented the foundation of the cultivator using it, while the Heavens referred to what the cultivator aspired to.


    So, because Ryu had a foundation of Spacetime, his Earth, and aspired to enter the void through the use of it, his Heaven, it could work in this aspect.


    In this way, the Nine Pillar Flame Sect was quite similar to the Unbalance Art Sect in that it allowed one to bridge the gap between what one could do currently and what one would be able to do in the future. When it was framed like this, it gave Ryu a great deal of understanding. Though, of course, this simplified explanation came from Ryu''s in depth comprehension in the first place.


    This was all to say that Ryu couldn''t expect to step out into the Infinity Mist and use his Nine Pillars to protect himself.


    "The only thing that can seem to survive it is my eyes, but I have no idea how long they would last..."


    It wasn''t lost on Ryu that his eyes had fared far better than the rest of his body when it came to dealing with this odd mist. But it had to be remembered that he had only spent a fraction of a moment out in it. Although his eyes had fared better, there was no way of telling if this would be an indefinite matter or not.


    Of course, it would also be very difficult to accept if it truly was indefinite. Because that would mean that Ryu''s eyes were more powerful than even the bodies of Dao Gods, which just felt like nonsense on its face. Even in all his arrogance Ryu would never believe such a thing.


    It was likely more accurate that his eyes were far above his body''s current level, but not to the point of being able to ignore any and all damage.


    Plus, what good was it even if his eyes were immune? It wasn''t as though he could separate them from his body. If he stepped out with them now, it would be like leaving two treasures behind for whoever the next powerhouse who came here was. All that would be left of him would be two floating eyeballs.


    Ryu fell deeper into his thoughts. Every solution he thought all ran into the same problem: Infinity Mist simply didn''t allow energy to pass through it.


    ''Why can''t I observe it properly through the void... what is stopping me...''


    Being in the void made Ryu feel that he was a world away. He could vaguely sense the world around him, which was why he was able to orient and direct himself. But whatever sensory feedback there was ended up greatly diminished by the time they reached him and they even had to be interpreted through a unique lens.


    It was akin to trying to observe the world through a funhouse mirror. How could one gain a good picture of Fundamental Runes like that?


    Suddenly, Ryu''s heart skipped a beat.


    He remembered back to his time in Sacrum. He had used an Immortal Cave left behind by his family''s Clans to distort time and prepare for the biggest battle of his life. However, there was a very large problem that he had had to contend with back then, a problem that all those who used time distortion to speed up their progress had to deal with: and that was the distortion of laws.


    When one was within time dilation, the laws were unclear and distorted. If you tried to meditate on them, to increase your Dao or your Inheritances, the result would more than likely be cultivation deviation. Even if you succeeded and weren''t harmed, it was more likely than not that you would have cracks and imperfections in your foundation.


    Of course, most people would have such imperfections even if they weren''t in a time dilated setting. After all, if everyone was perfect, then they''d all have Founding Daos and it wouldn''t be as rare as it was now. Also, progressing one''s Dao wouldn''t be so simple and easy.


    But this wasn''t why Ryu had suddenly thought of this. His mind was filled with just a single thought. That distortion...


    Wasn''t it very similar to what he was seeing right now?


    Everyone knew about time dilation and the kind of distortions it could cause. This was a problem even in the True Martial World, there was simply no escaping that distortion. But what almost no one talked about was the kind of distortion that space could cause in those same laws.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered.


    Time caused distortions. Space caused distortions. What about spacetime?


    When Ryu increased his speed by shrinking the land before him, the resistance he faced was akin to all the qi of the shrunk land bombarding him at once. But when the land hadn''t been shrunk, he faced a similar resistance, it just wasn''t as violent.


    At the same time, wasn''t time always moving? Just standing here, breathing, he could be said to be experiencing the movement of time. So why was it that those laws didn''t feel distorted to him then but did when time was sped up?


    In both cases, what matters most was the degree to which space and time was moving. Whether it was the distance through which you were observing and moving, or the speed at which the seconds ticked by.


    That was when it hit Ryu like a speeding wall of steel. There was no such thing as observing undistorted laws. Space was always moving. Time was always moving. By their very definition, laws were always distorted. In fact, their fundamental state was distorted.


    Ryu''s gaze blazed.


    He knew how he would observe the Infinity Mist now.

 Chapter 1265 Simple

    1265 Simple


    On a one person scale the distance through which Ryu tried to meditate was always moving. Depending on how much he tried to observe at once, he would be moving his observations relative to space, and thus experience distortion.


    On a planetary scale, worlds were constantly moving in relation to one another, shifting and moving themselves through space. Even if by some miracle Ryu managed to nail down the parameters of his observation, it wouldn''t matter because the very land he was standing "still" upon was moving.


    On a solar system scale... on a galaxy level scale... on a universe''s scale... Everything was constantly moving through space.


    Time was even more obvious. Even if Ryu sat still for the whole of his life, time would continue to move. Even after he died, it would continue to move. It was the most relentless force in all existence, it stopped for no one, and even after the whole world had died and all beings ceased to be, it would continue to move forward.


    To add an even further layer of complexity, both concepts were relative. Depending on a whole series of complex variables, whether it was time or space, both could be considered to speed up or slow down.


    These things were constantly changing, shifting and moving. The larger your perspective, the more complex it became and the more difficult it was to nail down properly.


    These thoughts washed over Ryu like a violent sense of enlightenment. His body trembled once and the entire world seemed to have become still.


    Ryu knew what this feeling was. He had experienced it once before. It was a Natural Enlightenment.


    He thought for a moment that the Infinity Mist would be able to stop even this, but it seemed that he had greatly underestimated the Ninth Heaven. No... He had underestimated the Greater Universe.


    The void''s layers seemed to expand like a balloon. All of a sudden, Ryu''s bubble, which had only been able to accommodate himself and maybe two others, was granted nigh infinite range. In fact, Ryu''s heart couldn''t help but skip a beat when he saw the floating inheritance in the far off distance.


    He could see much further in the void than he could on the Real Plane. There wasn''t the obstruction of qi or landscape or the curvature of the land to stop him, even seeing out for billions of miles, something impossible even for Dao Gods, was suddenly possible and he spotted the inheritance clearly ahead of him.


    Of course, Ryu knew that this wasn''t his own power. This was the result of the Heavens descending.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s body was suddenly ravaged by a wild light. Despite how violent it had initially felt and appeared, his entire being was invaded by a comfort feeling, as though the soft hands of countless goddesses were gently caressing his body.


    Ryu had had many breakthroughs since coming to the True Martial World, but never had he experienced something like this. Even back on Sacrum when his cultivation used to increase by leaps and bounds just because of his insights, he had never experienced such a thing.


    That was when Ryu seemed to understand something.


    This wasn''t a normal baptizing. This was...


    ''It''s giving me a talent?!''


    Ryu''s pupils trembled. This beyond just a Natural Enlightenment, or maybe this was how Natural Enlightenments were bestowed upon the people of the True Martial World?


    Ryu could feel that his Bone Structure was being shattered, and yet he didn''t feel even a single ounce of pain. It was a mysterious feeling, almost as though he was in his mother''s womb once again, but this time, he had the awareness to watch his body grow and mature.


    This was the last thing Ryu had expected to happen. He was only trying to figure out a method to observe the Infinity Mist and he believed that he had.


    All he had to do was manipulate the flow of space around him until it reached a level of distortion that he could read. In fact, if he manipulated spacetime instead, the results would be even more perfect. He even believed that if he applied this sort of comprehension, then even if he entered a state of time dilation, he wouldn''t be affected by it at all as long as it was within his abilities to unwind.


    Since the space here was so stable thanks to the Infinity Mist, he had an even easier time unwinding the distortions and as such, he felt that it would be very easy to observe the Infinity Mist like this.


    Ryu did know that he had opened up a door, though. He had a faint inkling that if time and space were distorted at once, almost like two sides of the same core, the effect on them would be minimized. In fact, he even had the idea that if he unwound the distortion of space and time that was natural to the world, he would be able to comprehend concepts even faster than he could now.


    But what he didn''t expect was that this casual comprehension would cause such a big change. Even so, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.


    While it was true that he had casually thought of this, this deduction was world changing. While it might not be comparable to inventing fire, it honestly wasn''t too far off. Such a fundamental comprehension of space and time, as long as its distortions and where they came from, hadn''t been grasped by anyone yet.


    The idea that cultivators were always experiencing distortions in the laws they observed was something that made obvious sense once one thought about it, and it was so simple that even a child would be able to grasp it if it was explained slowly, but it was simultaneously a fact that could flip the world on its head.


    And of all the cultivators to ever exist, it was Ryu who had comprehended it.


    Not only that, but he had birthed a new talent as a result of this comprehension.

 Chapter 1266 Boundless

    1266 Boundless


    Ryu didn''t know how long the comfortable feeling lasted for. In an irony of all ironies, he completely lost track of time, or maybe it was that it had become almost meaningless to him. After he had seen through the final layer of distortion casting a veil over the world, it felt like time and space had just become yet another variable no more complex than any other facet of the world.


    Most believe time and space were the most complex of the elements, but Ryu couldn''t bring himself to feel that way. In fact, he even felt that it was the simplest of them all, the most straight forward, the most fundamental.


    How could they not be? They were the only two that one would always feel no matter where you were, no matter what you were doing, no matter what your goals or aspirations were, no matter what your station in life might be.


    Maybe that was why, of all that qi in the world, it was time and space that cultivators would naturally gain some control of as they grew more and more powerful. Transcended Sky Gods could break through the void even if they had no talent for space to speak of. Dao Gods could peer through time, even gaining a recollection of events that had occurred in a certain location so long as it was within a certain limit and the parties were within a certain level of strength...


    Neither of these abilities necessitated affinity, and maybe that was by design.


    It was akin to a familiar concept, one so benign and uninteresting that you believed that you had already seen through it completely, and it was it was also precisely because of this that it was so difficult to step outside of the box, to see what others had not seen, to grasp what was right before you all along.


    This was a method of viewing time and space that maybe no one else in history had grasped. To call the two most enigmatic elements simple and easy to understand wasn''t something even the most arrogant of cultivators would do, even if said individuals had some of the strongest affinities for the two known to man.


    However, the further along Ryu''s body''s reconstruction went, the more firm in these ideals he became and smoother his qi seemed to flow. By the end of it, he was so relaxed and assured in himself that even a light smile seemed to appear on his face, his mind peaceful and unhurried.


    The blinding light came to a slow stop and Ryu opened his eyes.


    Within them, an unfathomable depth hid. His silver irises seemed just a hint brighter than normal, but the depths of his pupils seemed to have become as deep as an endless abyss. It felt as though his gaze held the entirety of the starry skies within them, the vastness of time and space spreading out like an illusory net.


    Ryu''s hair sparkled with an added sheen. It no longer seemed to be just white as it gave off a faint holy light. Every time it swayed, small motes of light would drift into the air like fireflies, vanishing mere meters away and yet lingering in the psyches of those that saw it.


    His features had become more refined and otherworldly. Faint lines of imperfection that had been nigh undetectable before seemed to have entirely disappeared. However, it was his temperament that had undergone the largest change.


    Ryu was always someone who carried an air of indifference and coldness. His more majesty-filled demeanor wouldn''t appear unless something triggered it, as was the case for his more maddened and rage-filled side. However, at the moment, his coldness had been replaced by something else. No, it was more accurate to say that it had fused with something else, as though he had merged with the vicissitudes of life and the unfathomable breadth of space.


    Observing him felt like staring into the cold endlessness of space. That feel of insignificance whether through the span of space or time.I think you should take a look at


    A person wasn''t even a single speck in front of the breadth of existence... A Dao God''s lifespan was nothing significant before the breadth of history...


    Small. Insignificant. Meaningless.


    For those that were weaker of heart, just observing the current Ryu for too long might shatter your Dao Heart.


    When Ryu moved, he felt like his limbs were wading through water. It wasn''t That he felt heavy, but that he was brushing up against the lines of reality. It was a completely novel feeling and one that was difficult to describe in any other way.


    He had reached a point where his ability to see spacetime had gone beyond just that. He could reach out and touch it, he could feel it. Every slight distortion, every tweak, every crevice. It felt as though he could just reach out and twist them as he pleased, manipulating them to his will.


    Ryu finally looked into his body and what he saw left him a bit stunned.


    His bones were entirely translucent. It looked as though he had carved them of the finest crystal, but they still weren''t perfectly clear. An odd dark fog moved about within them. This fog would twinkle from time to time as though it had bright and shining light to show the world that this fog wouldn''t allow it to.


    As Ryu observed it, he couldn''t help but think of one matter...


    Didn''t this look a lot how those ancient books referenced the start of the universe? A wild mass of heated energy, shooting in all directions with a great acceleration. Over time, this mass of fog would begin to slow and cool down, forming the stars and planets and they knew it today.


    Every time Ryu moved, so too did this fog, a blazing energy shooting forth and filling his limbs with an endless strength.


    It seemed both delicate and not, both oppressive and harmless. At the same time, it carried a near endless amount of mysteries that hurt Ryu''s head when he tried to fathom their depths..


    ... Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure..."


    Ryu seemed to hear and repeat its name....

 Chapter 1267 Boundless Cosmos

    1267 Boundless Cosmos


    This wasn''t exactly what Ryu was expecting, though it could be said that he was so lost in the feeling of comfort that he didn''t really think much about what his Bone Structure might have ended up becoming. But in the end, it made sense.


    It seemed that this new Bone Structure hadn''t entirely destroyed his foundation and built a new one, or maybe it was just a coincidence, Ryu truly wasn''t sure. However, he could feel hints of the Heavens and Chaos he had used to build his previous Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure within.


    Of course, with a name like Boundless Cosmos, this Bone Structure was bound to carry with it aspect of Heaven and Chaos. From what Ryu could see, it was simulating the creation of its own universe, without these two aspects, how could it do such a thing? This was why Ryu felt that it might have just been a coincidence. But then again, he truly didn''t understand much about this talent bestowal process.


    Talents had to appear somehow, they had to be created in the hands of others before they could be passed down. There were many theories on how they occurred, whether by simple evolution, enlightenment like this, or if the Heavens simply had a rolodex that it used a lottery to decide upon who prospered and who lived a life of mediocrity.


    It might even be all three. Who knew, maybe from now on, Ryu''s Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure would appear in this rolodex and the next genius to be blessed with it might be born in this coming generation or the next.


    But, as of now, these details meant little to Ryu. What he cared more about was what this Bone Structure could do, and if it was a worthy step forward or if it was a step back.


    He felt exceptionally powerful right now, but it was hard to tell if this Bone Structure had a better potential than the one he was creating. That was because this Bone Structure was built off of his sudden enlightenment toward Spacetime, while his previous Bone Structure was perfectly curated for him.


    One of Ryu''s biggest problems was the balancing of his Bloodlines. Did this Bone Structure have a Balance Character? Would it be able to deal with his Bloodlines?


    Things seemed fine for now, and everything had gone smoothly, but this region was an odd one to begin with. It was hard to tell if his Bloodlines had accepted the new status quo, or if they were just waiting to leave the suppression of this hellhole to unleash a new kind of hell in his body.


    Then there were other useful parts of his previous Bone Structure like speed of cultivation. Being able to cultivate through the pores of his skin was a huge benefit. When it was paired with his Embryonic Qi, his cultivation speed was simply blinding. One helped with speed while the other cleansed him, removed impurities, and solidified his foundation.


    Of course, another large reason this was so beneficial was because of his Meridians. After all, his previous Bone Structure was limited in talent, it was only because of his Meridians that its effects in cultivation speed could be so exaggerated. But without that synergy, would he still be able to benefit the same way?


    And, of course, there was the most troublesome issue, and that was whether or not he would have enough information about this bone structure of his to make educated choices about his future to begin with.I think you should take a look at


    He had all the information he could ever need about his Ice Jade Crystal Body at his fingertips. As for his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure, he was creating it himself, who could have a better understanding of it than him? But now there was this sudden change and this great bestowal, but it might very well come with the consequence of having to feel around in the dark for his next step forward.


    The best example of this were his Meridians. He had to be cautious with every step because he simply had no way of knowing for certain what his next step should be. If he now had to do that with his Bone Structure as well, it might become more trouble than it was worth even if its eventual potential was higher than that of his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure.


    The worst part was that at least his Chaotic Silk Meridians would give him feedback on whether or not he was headed in the right direction, but there was simply no reason for his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure to do the same thing.


    These were all thoughts that Ryu had almost instantly. Others might have been lost in the ecstasy of the moment, but he wasn''t one to get lost in his past achievements, even if said past achievements had occurred just minutes ago.


    Even so, the moment Ryu started intently observing his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure, his heart couldn''t help but skip a beat.


    He felt like he could intimately understand it... Was this a reward for being the one to birth this talent? Or was it because of his Founding Dao?


    Ryu turned his attention to his Meridians and then his Spiritual Foundation just to check, but as expected, although he could gain a faint inkling of the path forward for them, far clearer than the past, it wasn''t nearly as sharp as it was for his Bone Structure.


    The very first thing that Ryu noticed was the boundless strength coursing through his body.


    There were certain Bone Structures that would cause unique changes to Vital Qi, the base energy used in Body Realm cultivation. In fact, after fusing with the Nine Pillars, Ryu''s Vital Qi had gained a faint suppression characteristic that came from the Earth Character of the Pillars.


    But compared to that suppression, this was on a whole other level.


    Ryu felt that he could naturally fuse the vicissitudes of time and space into his casual punches, but this was the more complex aspect of his Bone Structure. What was more simple and straight forward was the boundless energy and power.


    As though the big bang was fueling his body, a single punch from Ryu would feel like colliding with a celestial body... and maybe in the future, it would truly feel as though the weight of the cosmos was behind him.

 Chapter 1268 Anything

    1268 Anything


    This feeling gave Ryu a feeling of weight that went beyond just his body. He felt as though he was wielding an energy countless leagues beyond Bronze Resonance Qi, just in terms of heft and density, it was impossible even to compare the two.


    But what was especially mystical about it was the fact that Ryu didn''t feel as though the power came from his body. It was as though he was accessing a strength that was beyond the limits of himself, extending beyond a reasonable time and space.


    It took him a while to understand even with the current strength of his mind. But after a while, Ryu realized that it was exactly because of that. The laws of the world had a looser restriction on him all of sudden. He wasn''t moving and acting through distortions anymore, his strength, his qi, his power, were all as pure as they came, even the source itself extended beyond the current realm around him, he ground beneath his feet and the skies above his head.


    It was difficult to explain it more clearly. It was a mystical feeling that even Ryu himself couldn''t quite grasp, but it simultaneously felt as natural to him as breathing.


    Extended from this, Ryu felt that the limitations of the void and space were much looser on him as well. He was certain that he could enter the void even without relying on the Unbalance Mantra and Quivering Spectral Wings. In addition to this, the distance that he could cross and move through in a single bound had been accelerated greatly.


    Beyond this, he felt that his control over time had increased significantly as well. In the past, he hid this ability for two reasons. First because this affinity was especially rare, so rare that even in dozens of generations, a single person with such an affinity might not appear. Secondly, it was too excellent of a trump card. Saving it for use at the right time was far better than using it randomly and giving his potential enemies the chance to prepare for it.


    Ryu understood the way of the world and he knew that no power was infallible. Any affinity, when taken to an extreme, could be exceptionally powerful. That was especially the case since he felt that time and space were actually the simplest of them all. So, though his affinity was rare, he chose to hide it.


    Of course, there was another reason for this, and that was because the amount of stamina it took was absolutely ridiculous.


    Now, however, using time felt so simple that Ryu actually felt that it was faintly easier to use than even his Spatial Element which had already been greatly improved. It was hard to believe; but Ryu was certain that this wasn''t just his imagination.


    Ryu realized now that hiding his time affinity as a trump card now wasn''t in his best interest. Since there wasn''t the burden of difficulty anymore, the losses outweighed the gains. With his Bone Structure, masking the fact that it was actually his Soul Nature was much easier. Compared to souls, Bone Structures were much more difficult to steal, that was because snatching them required essentially giving up your body. Unless you were a person who only had a soul left to begin with, you wouldn''t do so. And if you were already at that point to begin with, then you might as well snatch an entire body.


    If Ryu was going to be scared of even such an outcome, he might as well stop cultivating all together.


    The next thing Ryu noticed was a change to his blood vessels.??


    Ryu''s original body was a complex network of swirling black silk and the dense veins and arteries of a Body Realm cultivator. Outside of being thicker than usual, Ryu''s blood vessels weren''t very special, especially not when compared to geniuses of the higher Heavens.


    However, his blood vessels emitted a dull silver color that was only a shade or two away and a bit of loss in luster from grey. Intertwining with the silky black, it looked quite beautiful, albeit not very human. It looked more like a complex and layered three dimensional abstract sculpture rather than the body of a living, breathing being.


    These blood vessels were where the oddity of Ryu''s Bone Structure could influence the Vital Qi of his blood, but interestingly enough, it seemed to have a calming effect on his Bloodlines.


    There were several kinds of Bone Structures in existence. Ones that could influence Bloodlines, ones that couldn''t. Ones that granted affinities; one that didn''t. Ones that could bolster defenses, ones that were strictly offensive... There were even Bone Structures that could influence any number of Pillars, even one''s Spiritual Foundation.


    Ryu''s was clearly a Bone Structure that could directly influence his Bloodlines. In fact, since it had rebuilt his circulatory system, it was network connectivity with his Meridians and inner organs as well.


    When Ryu saw how docile his Bloodlines were even without his Ice Jade Crystal Body, he sighed a breath of relief. After this, he began to analyze why this might be and came to a quick understanding.


    Just like was the case with his strength, his odd silvery-grey energy that churned within his bone and fused with his Vital Qi seemed to displace him from the influence of the world around him, allowing him to surpass some of the restrictions that many faced...


    Why was it that Fire and Ice couldn''t mix? Why was it that his Dragon Bloodline hated his Qilin Bloodline? Why were his Bloodlines constantly pushing and tugging against one another when they had already been born into the same body already? Wouldn''t it be in their best interest to be silent and obedient?I think you should take a look at


    But then it hit Ryu.


    One could argue that Fire and Ice couldn''t mix because of their innate properties, and this would be true enough. But Ryu''s greatest struggle with his Bloodline was the result of three Emperor Line Bloodlines being within him. The Emperor Phoenix, the Fire Dragon and the Lightning Qilin were all the rulers of their own races. They abhorred the idea of sharing a body and having to dim their dominance.


    But how did these Bloodlines know that they were Kings and Emperors?


    Once again, it came back to one thing... Faith.


    Why was it that Ryu had struggled to dual wield his spears? The glaive? The halberd? Why was it that when he battled Starlight he was forced to abandon his Great Swordstaffs because they were hindering him more than helping?


    It all came back to Faith.


    When he was fighting Starlight, he found that his Sword God aura was unrefined and limited, but that wasn''t because of his own flaws, but rather because it was resisting his application of it to his Great Swordstaff.


    Realizing the problem, he had no choice but to throw his Great Swordstaffs to the side and use his fists alone. Using a Fist God''s aura on his fists had no such bottleneck at all and he was able to freely flow in the midst of battle and even suppress Starlight in terms of pure battle skill.


    This was the same premise matched with the issue of his Bloodlines.


    They were all bound by the strings of Karma and the Chains of Faith. He was carrying not only his Bloodlines, but all the memories of his predecessors, and was further tied by their Faith and Fate. He couldn''t do as he pleased with his Bloodlines because they would always be tied down in this matter.


    Normally, although he had the ability, Ryu preferred to keep his Dragon and Qilin Bloodline separate, for example. It was more powerful to fuse them together, but his stamina when doing so was too easily limited and the backlash was great. This was why after he gained control, he rarely used the both at the same time.


    But now...


    Ryu''s pupils couldn''t help but constrict.


    The bounds of the world seemed to have vanished. After this odd grey energy fused with his Vital Qi, it loosened the restrictions on his Bloodline.


    His Ice Jade Crystal Body and his Heavenly Chaos Body worked by forcing a balance on his Bloodlines. But his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure removed the need for balance between his Bloodlines entirely because it separated him from the bounds of Fate.


    No, this might not be completely accurate... It was more like it had replaced the bounds of Faith that had once tied him down with new chains, but these chains found their roots within his own world, his own universe.


    In this world, the Fire Dragon, the Lighting Qilin and the Emperor Phoenix Bloodlines didn''t know they were Kings...


    His Spear didn''t know that it was designed to be used with two hands...


    His Sword God Aura didn''t know that it couldn''t be applied to a Great Swordstaff with great ease...


    Ryu had a completely blank slate, a slate he could use to write anything.

 Chapter 1269 Variables

    1269 Variables


    This wasn''t just a small change, it was huge. However, Ryu''s reaction wasn''t greatly exaggerated. His vision was further, and though he saw the benefits of this matter, he also immediately saw the potential downsides.


    What did it really mean to be separated from Faith? Would the talents of his Bloodlines still carry the same power? What about their deterrence toward and pressure upon other Bloodlines? What about their cultivation methods? Would the same methods still work or would he have to create all new ones? How much would he be able to decide about them from now on? And how much of this freedom was good freedom rather than being left with a bevy of too many choices?


    One might think that this freedom was a good thing, but having too many choices was just as bad as having too little. There was a reason that the best method of cultivation was to fuse all of one''s talents into a single powerful path, often that was what a Dao represented in the first place.


    Usually, even when well established matters were inconvenient, there was a reason that things had evolved as they did. When you started arbitrarily picking and choosing, randomly shifting and changing things, you would cause more issues than solutions.


    Ryu faced such a situation now. It was annoying that his Bloodlines clashed, but it was also a reminder that they weren''t perfectly designed to be synergized in the first place. It was akin to the feeling of pain. Feeling pain seemed annoying and like something one would intuitively want to get rid of, but those who couldn''t feel pain were constantly in true danger of dying without even being aware.


    Much the same, the clashing of Ryu''s Bloodlines was a reminder to him of the issues of their coexistence. Of course, it wouldn''t be as exaggerated as him dying without knowing what happened, but what could happen is his Bloodlines weakening without his knowledge. If he fitted them together inappropriately, they would shave at the sharp edges of one another, effectively dulling their blades overall.


    This was the problem with unlimited freedom, but Ryu was still calm after realizing this as well. He was a Herbologist, he was very much used to using the characteristics, often very complex characteristics and wildly variable ones, to force the best outcomes. Compared to this, his body was an even easier canvas to work on because rather than dealing with the variability of the environment, his body was a closed system entirely under his control.??


    In addition, though his Bloodlines could now exist without the original chains of their Faith, that didn''t mean that The Compendium had become useless, because the separation only function within his body and under the presence of his Bone Structure. He could still pull his blood out of his body and allow it to reconnect with the Faith of the world in that way. In fact, this would be a useful way of testing his progress.


    Even so, Ryu knew that he had to be quite cautious from now on. He could very easily steer down the wrong path now if he wasn''t careful. In fact, it was even possible that, if he wasn''t cautious enough, he might accidentally erase one of his Bloodlines. This would happen if he strengthened one too much more than another, or in any number of other situations.


    ''Maybe I should just...?''I think you should take a look at


    Ryu hesitated.


    In his strongest state, he fused all of his Bloodlines into one, activating them in unison. He had only done it once before in battle when he faced off against Starlight. He had felt exceptionally powerful back then, but it took up a great deal of Focus Qi.


    Now, thanks to his Origin Flame, it would take up less Focus Qi to enter that state and he could maintain it for far longer despite the fact his Bloodlines had become much stronger since then. However, if he fused all his Bloodlines into one right this moment and formed a Draco-Phoenix Bloodline, the difficulty in entering this state would probably vanish.


    In truth, the difficulty now was already greatly minimized thanks to his Bone Structure alone. But taking this step would make that incredibly powerful state his default, it would also minimize the risk of taking the wrong path in the future. And, of course, this fusion was only possible thanks to the absence of Faith pulling them apart and resisting. But for the same reasons it benefited, it was highly risky as well.


    It was hard to simulate what would happen if he did this. What would happen to his ice and fire talents? How would the Death Qi of his Dark Phoenix Blood match with the Life Qi of his Ice Phoenix? What about the Emperor characteristics of his Lightning Qilin, Fire Dragon and Emperor Phoenix Bloodlines? Would they fuse together, becoming even stronger? Or would their different characteristics cancel each other out, stripping him their power entirely?


    Would he still be able to access his Heavenly Patterns? What about his other talents? Would they evolve? Would they be dissolved? Would they fuse and become all new talents he had to unlock once again? Or would they all be available to him instantly?


    The number of variables were far too numerous and Ryu''s current Dao didn''t seem capable of parsing them all. There were too many and it seemed that even his Founding Dao had reached its limits.


    Ryu shook his head. He felt that it would be far too reckless to take such a step until his Dao was powerful enough to cover its entire scope. Although the shackles of his Bloodlines had been loosened, their history, namely all of the evolutions they had undergone through the years, along with his own unique genetics, had not disappeared at all. That length of history was too much to account for, especially when it was the histories of all five of some of the most powerful Bloodlines in all of existence.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flickered as he thought of something.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1270 Incongruency

    1270 Incongruency


    There was another thing that was greatly tied to Fate, and that was which Talents awakened and which ones didn''t. Theoretically, now that Ryu had been freed from such chains, he should be able to more casually unlock the talents of his Bloodlines. Without the chains of karma deciding which talents were supremely powerful and which ones were more rare occurrences, they would all have the same difficulty of awakening.


    This, of course, wasn''t too huge a deal for Ryu. This was because of his most powerful talents, he had already awakened a large portion of them. What was holding him back was the bottleneck the strength of his Bloodlines placed on him a bottleneck that was still here even without these invisible chains.


    Ryu''s thought, though, was actually quite simple. While his Bone Structure erased chains, he also happened to have a method of adding them. That being, obviously, the chains that he had taken from the Martial Gods.


    He wondered if he purposely chained his own Bloodlines, sealing away his own talents, and then attempted the fusion, if that would be able to limit the variables he had to account for at once.


    This felt like taking two steps back for the sake of taking just one forward, but that wasn''t the case at all. Despite the fact he had awakened so many powerful talents, they were useless without the backing of powerful Bloodlines, they were akin to a fancy car frame with an old and worn engine under the hood. It simply wasn''t worth it.


    By chaining his talents, it would be akin to forcing certain genes into dormancy and simplifying everything to the greatest extent. Then, after completing the initial fusion, he could slowly unfurl the rest, slowly pulling them together like a zipper, one step at a time.


    The question was... how much did Ryu believe in this method?


    If the end result was something worthwhile, even if the road was bumpy, he would take it. But what if it wasn''t?


    One had to understand that the chains were just a temporary measure. Just releasing them one by one would just be working Ryu toward the same inevitable result of the full brunt of his Bloodlines having to clash with one another.


    There was a very real possibility that Ryu would reach a point where he couldn''t unseal anymore of his talents for fear of regressing instead of advancing like he should. This was just reality. There was nothing in the cultivation world that came with great ease, even if you had a Founding Dao on your side.


    But the real question was, even if he one day reached that point, would his fused Bloodline still be stronger than his current state? Or. more accurately. what he could have accomplished if he never fused them at all? Or not?


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have the answer to that either.


    ''I''m treating this fusion as though it''s irreversible, but I don''t think it is...''


    Ryu''s eyes glowed. As long as he was willing to withstand some pain, something that he was never afraid to do, unfusing his Bloodlines could happen at any time. In fact, with as fast as his mind worked now, he could already figure out how.


    He would have to extract his own Blood Essence, separate it from his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure, and then infuse it into his body once more. It would be a long, drawn out and painful process. The more powerful he had become at the time, and the more fused his Bloodlines were, the harder it would be.I think you should take a look at


    ''Since there''s a way back... Why hesitate?''


    Ryu''s gaze turned somewhat fierce. His aura shifted and a suffocating pressure came from him. It seemed to extend beyond what a human should have been capable, like chains of the Heavens descending to suffocate everything.


    The images of chains descending filled his irises before flooding the corners of his body.


    Ryu restrained his talents one after another, even the ones he had yet to awaken. Dragon Soul, Dragon Claw, Storm, Lightning God, Yin Water Seed, Ice Flame, Death Flame...


    Counterintuitively, Ryu felt as though his body was getting lighter and more relaxed. He hadn''t even realized the kind of pressure these talents had been forcing on him until this very moment. It was as though the Heavens had been punishing him for holding onto strength that was far beyond him. His blood flowed more freely, his breaths came with greater ease, and he could even feel the strength of his Bone Structure even more clearly than the past.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and an incomparable comfort spread throughout his body. At that instant, he understood the incongruence within him.


    He had awakened talents that only the greatest geniuses of the Phoenix, Dragon and Qilin race should have access to, but he had the Bloodline only the weakest of them would have.


    This imbalance was caused by the fact he was born in Sacrum and as such, the standard he needed to reach to awaken these Talents was much lower. But the True Martial World obviously didn''t care about that.


    That was when it hit Ryu like a ton of bricks. It wasn''t just the likes of Starlight who was facing suppression of the lower Heavens, so was he. The difference was that he didn''t have a more powerful talent to offset it.


    Of course, this suppression only impacted his Bloodlines and his Body Realm cultivation, which was probably why his body didn''t feel as powerful as it should have been after he formed his Heavenly Chaos Bone Structure. But it all seemed to make sense now.


    The suppression added with the weakness of his Bloodline in trying to support talents that were beyond it made his body sluggish and weak.


    At that moment, the rush of silvery grey fog churning from Ryu''s Bone Structure suddenly accelerated its movement speed and the strength of his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure surged.


    There was no doubt in Ryu''s mind right then that the grade of his Bone Structure was no less than that of his Dao. This was the feeling of releasing an Origin Grade talent, a talent of the Dao God Grade.


    He clenched his fists as his body trembled with ecstasy.


    Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed his Bloodlines together the moment the last of his talents was fused.

 Chapter 1271 Fusion

    1271 Fusion


    Ryu felt time dilate. He realized there was a natural shift in time within his body, as though he had his own personal time dilation whenever he entered a state of cultivation.


    He understood immediately that this was one of the innate abilities of his Bone Structure. He could actually dilate time depending on the strength of his vital qi, speeding up his cultivation speed with great ease without suffering even the slightest bit of distortion.


    Ryu faintly nodded to himself. This was probably the basic ability that underlied on the extended benefits of his Bone Structure, and it made sense that he would have it. This was what he had been reflecting on to begin with when he had a breakthrough in comprehension, so the fact that the Heavens had gifted him this sort of ability seemed to be in line with expectations.


    This, of course, made things even easier on Ryu.


    Speed was only a factor of time and distance traveled. Now that he had such a great grasp of time and space, everything within his body seemed to be within his grasp. He seemed to have broken away from speed, from acceleration, everything came easy almost as though he was standing on another plane of existence... No matter how hard a two dimensional creature pushed, it would always be weaker than a three dimensional creature... That was the kind of feeling Ryu had as he fused his Bloodlines.


    He brought them together, weaving their complex network of genes and mutations together.


    His skin rippled with a delicate white gold light. A process that should have been complex, difficult, not to mention painful, came as easy as breathing.


    Ryu felt that even his passive time dilation was 10 times. This meant that for every second that passed, he could speed up the process within his body by 10 seconds. A day was ten days. A year was ten years. However, this was still just the tip of the iceberg as he felt he could accelerate it more in exchange for this odd silvery-grey fog.


    From Ryu''s calculations, he could speed up his time dilation to as much as 100 times. However, Ryu would only be able to keep this up for a small time, about an hour from his estimates. It wouldn''t be worthwhile unless he was in a truly dire situation where he needed to squeeze four days'' time into a single hour. But other than that, it was much easier to maintain his passive strength in this way.


    As a result of this, to the outside world, Ryu''s process of fusion was not only smooth, but it was astoundingly fast. He sat in his pocket of the void, the surroundings completely unable to pressure him any longer. Even without the Nine Pillars, he felt that he could stay within the void indefinitely.


    Although the layers of the void had closed and the distant inheritance ground had suddenly vanished, Ryu was unmoved. At this point, he was very much confident that he could find it again with an easy degree of difficulty.


    BOOM!


    A dull boom echoed within Ryu''s body, his muscle fibers growing like the wild vine of trees and his body expanding. He went from a person of sleek, lean mass, to a thick, bulbous body builder. The steel-like cords of his muscles pulsed wildly.


    Ryu could feel that this strength was coming from an entanglement of his Fire Dragon and Lightning Qilin Bloodlines. Much of their hidden underlying strength was being forced out by Ryu right this moment, causing them to quickly force his body to compensate for the surging power.


    In the past, Ryu''s strength had been limited. With the overlapping of his Bloodlines, bits and pieces of them were restricted so as to make room for the others for a total of 5000 jin as his baseline.


    Of course, in the True Martial World, that baseline was much higher after his recultivation, but they were still individually limited by one another. In Sacrum, he had lost 1000 jin. While his baseline should have been 6000, it ended up being just 5000. However, in the True Martial World, it was even more exaggerated, he lost what felt like more than half. Even more if one considered the fact that these Bloodlines weren''t at their full potential just yet.


    Being able to feel the full strength now was truly shocking. It felt like so much power that should have been his long ago was being unearthed and dredged up. However, Ryu had no desire to be such a muscular man.


    Much of his cultivation journey up until now, Ryu had emphasized flexibility. Of course, that was because the Balance aspect of his Ice Jade Crystal Body had made it very much easy for him to do so. It would have been foolish of him to not focus on it when it was such a large part of his potential. Even so, flexibility was more important for reasons beyond just matching the path of his Bone Structure.I think you should take a look at


    Speed of reaction in battle, being able to maximize the strength within you, minimizing the chances of injury... These were all important aspects that flexibility allowed. Although it wouldn''t be impossible to maintain his current level of fitness with such large muscles, not only was he not quite a fan of the aesthetic, it would also be undeniably much harder.


    Ryu chose to chain the overflowing strength coursing through his body and began to focus on concentrating the flesh of his muscles. He circulated the methods of the Shadowlight Sky God, using the clashing of his Bloodlines as a proxy for the clashing of light and shadow. With the sped up time, his body quickly acclimated and adjusted to the energy.


    When his muscles shrank to an adequate size, Ryu would release the chains. and being the process all over again. He was patient and unhurried. Even with the time dilation, the days began to quickly pass in the outside world, but Ryu showed no signs of moving.


    Suddenly, on a day almost two months later, his eyes suddenly snapped open, a wild pressure surging out from him.


    The most shocking and immediate change was to Ryu''s eyes. If one looked deeply into them, it was possible to see a ring of white gold just around his pupils. At first glance, it looked like the reflect of a ring of light, but after several moments, it would become apparent that this was actually a part of Ryu''s irises themselves.


    Aside from this, it looked like nothing had changed about Ryu at all. His face was still shockingly handsome, his body was slim, well proportioned, and looked to have a hidden, explosive strength within its tightly coiled fibers, and his hair was still a gentle white color, although it did give off a faint light of its own external from the outside world''s reflections.


    When Ryu moved his wrist and looked at the back of his hand, for a split moment there seemed to be a flash of light that reflexted the line of a row of transparent, crystalline scales. But just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. Even so, Ryu could almost "feel" them, as though they were a new organ beneath his skin.


    Even without testing it, Ryu knew that his durability had been raised to an extreme level.


    Although Ryu''s body had always been strong, that was only relative. His bones were used to being quite fragile and weak, so the power he could. output was artificially limited. At the same time, his skin and muscles, which were extensions of his Bone Structure, were docile and soft as a result as well.


    But now, he not only had a Bone Structure that carried an enormous amount of weight with it.


    Ryu could feel that his Bloodline was now firmly within the Omniscient Grade, the very peak of it, in fact. With all its talents sealed, Ryu only had access to his affinities and this raw strength, but even then, the results were actually so exaggerated.


    His next Life Extinction had suddenly become even more important. While he was reconstructing his body to enter the Nine Life Revolutions Realm, he would be able to gain some keen insight about this new, nameless Bloodline and the kind of things he could do.


    Ryu gripped his fists and released, strong pulsing lights forming. With a thought, a layer of white gold scales appeared, somewhat reflecting an opal depth before he released and exhaled. He felt as though the power of the world was in his hands, and the best part was that it felt easy, as smooth as breathing, as natural as his gait.


    Ryu lowered his hand.


    Although he hadn''t gotten what he had expected out of this trip, it was much more fulfilling in the end. Personal strength would always be more important than external treasures. Without the Infinity Mist restricting and solidifying the space here, making it far more docile than Ryu had ever seen, who knows how long it would have taken him to comprehend the truth of time and space?


    ''I''ll come back to this place when I''m stronger. But first...''


    Ryu took a breath and his gaze sharpened.

 Chapter 1272 How Tragic

    1272 How Tragic


    This breakthrough had all begun with Ryu''s attempt to claim a small piece of this nigh inifinite Infinity Mist for himself, so now that he felt that he could, how could he forget about taking advantage? Now, Ryu could finally clearly see through the distortion of the void, it was entirely unable to harm his comprehension in the slightest.


    Ryu found that his eyes were even sharper now than they had been in the past. There was a nice positive feedback loop between his Bone Structure, his Soul Nature and his eyes. In fact, there was also the included benefit of the blood vessels running through his eyes as well.


    Whenever Ryu pushed his eyes past their normal limits in the past, they would begin to bleed. This made quite a lot of sense as the blood vessels in the eyes also happened to be some of the most sensitive. But, now that his eyes had become maybe the sturdiest part of his body, it was highly unlikely for this to happen.


    That said, this wasn''t the most important part of his new discovery. In the past, his Bloodline had almost no effect on his visual prowess despite running through this eyes. Even now, they didn''t, and that was of course because none of his Bloodlines had any sort of eye talents, at least not any that he had managed to awaken. And even if there were, the likelihood that they could boost anything in his eyes, when they were already so powerful to begin with, was next to nothing.


    However, the silvery-grey fog of his Bone Structure, something Ryu had thought to name Cosmos Fog, was different. Just like it fused with his Vital Qi along the rest of his body, so too did it fuse with the blood vessel running in his eyes.


    This made Ryu feel as though he could tap into quite a host of eye related abilities, but this was beside the point for now. He had a feeling that he would be learning a lot more about his Bone Structure over time because the impact it had on his body was much larger than even he was aware currently. What was most important was that this Cosmos Fog allowed Ryu''s previous ability of seeing through spatial nodes and ripples in time even sharper.


    To say that it was sharper didn''t do the change quite enough justice. Ryu almost felt as though he was looking at an entirely different world. He could peer into the two dimensional folds of the void when unopened as easily as he could look up into the sky. At the same time, he could watch the distortions in the laws unravel themselves as though it was his own observation forcing them into a straightened position.


    He didn''t need to put any effort into unwinding these distortions at all, they just naturally presented themselves to him in the simplest light possible.


    Just like that, Ryu was able to see the Fundamental Runes of the Infinity Mist in their most vibrant state. It almost felt like he had cracked open a book, and the tale of the unique force of nature before him was laid bare. He could observe its every curve and crevice, his mind feeling completely at ease.


    That was when Ryu found something quite interesting. This Infinity mist was actually quite a beautiful feat of chaos, and yet a picture perfect example of order at the same time. It was far more in line with himself than he had guessed, and it was fascinating.


    This Infinity Mist had gone so far beyond the normal laws of physics, pushed to the brink and then stepping beyond. It was under so much pressure that rather than becoming solid like it should have, it actually became a gas. How was this not unlike Ryu''s own Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation? They almost felt like two peas in a single pod.


    Ryu wondered...


    A flash of light passed through Ryu''s gaze and a pulse of power extended from his eyes. It was a completely novel feeling, different from the effect of the powers he was used to using with his eyes, and yet it still felt so completely natural all the while.


    A small whirlpool formed before him and a string of Infinity Mist came forward. At this point, the Infinity Mist should have unleashed itself, first becoming a large block of ice, before quickly drowning Ryu in a tsunami-like wave of water.


    But what was especially beautiful was that it had been wrapped in a layer of silvery grey fog, none other than Ryu''s Cosmos Fog.


    Ryu had realized just now that using his Cosmos Fog, he could change the laws in a small area. By copying the existing Fundamental Runes of the Infinity Mist that he had just witnessed, he could allow it to stay in its default state, its most comfortable state. As a result, the Infinity Mist likely didn''t even realize that it had entered the void, it probably felt that it was still floating amidst its own kind.


    There didn''t seem to be a great application for this at this moment since Ryu could only use this ability on such a small scale and only manipulate a few laws at a time, but he could imagine the kind of effect it would have when he became far stronger. In fact, he might even be able to use it now to completely counter some abilities of his enemies.


    Ryu tossed this to the back of his mind for the moment and brought the Infinity Mist forward, and in a feat that would make others feel that he had completely lost his mind... He actually swallowed it!I think you should take a look at


    A stream of silver grey fog and gentle blue mist came forward together, falling into Ryu''s mouth and moving down his throat and into his body at a controlled pace.


    Ryu''s actions could only be said to be completely and entirely reckless. It had to be remembered that just a small piece of Infinity Mist, although it seemed harmless, the moment it didn''t feel the insane pressure of billions of miles of ocean pressing down on it, it would explode forth. A small handful of Infinity Mist was probably enough to drown the entire First Heaven, and yet Ryu had allowed that into his body.


    But he had a very good reason for this, and that was seeing what his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation would do if it came into contact with such a thing.


    Ryu felt, initially, that his Spiritual Foundation had a copying ability, but he didn''t think that this was necessarily true in the ground scheme. It felt like he was missing something.


    But then again, his Spiritual Foundation had begun to produce those chains for him, what other ability could it possibly have if not a copy ability?


    However, after Ryu''s Dao became a Founding Dao, he began to question it. Why would a Spiritual Foundation known for breaking its limits have a copying ability? It might still be possible to deduce if there was a long chain of abilities that could simulate it, but Ryu wasn''t familiar enough with his Spiritual Foundation to know this.


    In addition, the chains were actually somewhat unique. After all, his Spiritual Foundation had spent almost a billion years restricted by those chains, causing it to be intimately familiar with them. It could be said that his Spiritual Foundation had gained a unique comprehension of its over all this time, thus allowing its replication.


    If one thought about the ability of Spiritual Foundations, this wasn''t unacceptable.


    In the Cosmic Seed Realm, one planted the seeds of one''s Godhood in the future. In the World Sea Realm, you grew these seeds and used their roots to shatter your Spiritual Foundation from a solid state into a vast sea, allowing you to finally access the world of energy within it. In the Sky God Realms, this vast energy became the foundation upon which cultivators built up their paths, their worlds, their Godhoods.


    This was all to say that all Spiritual Foundation had a "copy" ability. They were able to map onto themselves the Dao of their owner, growing along with them. For Ryu''s own Spiritual Foundation to be able to graft onto itself a treasure of such a level wasn''t impossible. In fact, it would be more odd if it had been unable to do so. But that didn''t mean it had a "copying" ability.


    Even so, Ryu felt that there was a line connecting his Spiritual Foundation and this Infinity Mist. While his Spiritual Foundation might not have a copying ability, what it did have was an existence intimately familiar with Infinity Mist. Ryu wanted to see how it would react to its appearance.


    Slowly, but surely, Ryu fed the Infinity Mist through his body, using his Cosmos Fog as a layer of protection between it and the rest of him. He knew how much danger he was putting himself in, but his expression had never changed even a single time. Others might find this to be dangerous, but he was exceptionally calm.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as the Infinity Mist crossed the final barrier, entering through the delicate white strands of his second set of Meridians.


    Nothing happened, nothing at all. But Ryu realized that this was because his Spiritual Foundation didn''t have much of an effect on his Cosmos Fog. though this made sense. His Cosmos Fog didn''t follow a path, it was nothing more than a blank slate. There was nothing to push beyond Perfect Extreme.


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened. It seemed he would have to take a risk after all.


    ''Don''t disappoint me, or else we''ll be dying together.''


    Although Ryu thought this, he had a mad grin on his face. What a tragedy it would be if he died right after such an enormous breakthrough.


    Even so, without the slightest hesitation, Ryu dispersed his Cosmos Fog, unleashing the Infinity Mist.

 Chapter 1273 How?

    1273 How?


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened, his senses reaching the most heightened sense they could. Whenever he risked his life like this, he didn''t do so recklessly. Although there was an inherent risk involved, he always felt that he had adequate reasons to do so.


    When he came to this world, he knew there was something dangerous on the other side. However, he had believed that what benefits he could gain were beyond what detriment there was, and in the end, he had been correct.


    This time, he was facing off against his own limits, bringing into his body a substance that even Dao Gods feared in high enough quantities. He was nothing short of a madman, but he had a sure belief in his Spiritual Foundation as well.


    Ryu had certain thoughts about the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. He had always thought that the Martial Gods had decided to target him, and then chose to seal away his Spiritual Foundation and his soul... But what if his premise was wrong from the very beginning? What if the sealing of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had little to do with Ryu himself?


    If one thought about it, the entire interaction that Ryu had with the Martial Gods of Sacrum was quite odd.


    One had to remember that Ryu had only dealt with the very fringe branch members of the Martial Gods. Elena''s mother was only one of countless wives and concubines her father had. If it wasn''t because Elena''s mother had greater ambition than just this, maybe the Martial Gods wouldn''t have come in the first place.


    Of course, this theory had some holes in it. That was because the Ruin Master Guild was very much involved in this matter as well. It was clear that Sacrum had some special place in the thoughts of the powerhouses of the Martial World, it was just that they weren''t able to enter due to the suppression of the Heavens.


    But this was still somewhat countered as well... Even though the top tier powerhouses couldn''t enter, Elena''s father could. So why hadn''t he? And the Ruin Master Guild, why hadn''t they sent more powerful experts?


    There was a potential explanation for this, of course. Back then, before Sacrum had weakened, or more accurately, Shrine Mountain, it was even more difficult for powerful existences to enter Sacrum. However, that explanation would have only been good enough for a Ryu who had no reference for how powerful the people of the True Martial World.


    To put this matter into proper perspective, as a Path Extinction Realm expert, Ryu had been able to crush World Sea Realm experts. During that battle, he had even been able to crush Sky God Realm experts of the Martial Gods, though he had relied on his eyes to do so.


    Ryu, back then, was thought about to be among the weakest talents of the True Martial World. Although he was a top tier genius of Sacrum, that meant nothing in this place. That was the reality.


    What was this all to say? The shocking part of all of this was that if you took an absolute genius of the Ninth Heaven and sent them to Sacrum instead, wouldn''t they be able to crush Sacrum even easier? So why hadn''t they done this? Why had they allowed such weaklings to come in the first place?


    As he was thinking of this, Ryu''s mind suddenly flashed with a thought and he felt like everything slipped into place. This line of thought all started with just a single thought... How had the Martial Gods found Sacrum to begin with? What had triggered their curiosity over the world?


    What if the Martial Gods never cared about Ryu to begin with? What if, instead, they had noticed the birth of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, and instead of allowing it to grow and waiting for it to pick its owner, they decided to chain it ahead of time?


    This seemed to be in line with the actions of those powers. They didn''t like the idea of anyone rising up and growing enough to be able to threaten them in the future, so it was in their best interest to take out whatever talents that had the capability of turning the tides ahead of time.


    With that sort of thought in mind, Ryu might have never been the target to begin with, his Spiritual Foundation was the target from the very beginning and he just occurred to be the talent connected to it.


    So how did all of this tie back?


    If Ryu was correct, the Martial Gods sealed his Spiritual Foundation and left it at that. To them, he was already a cripple who would never be able to cultivate, and even if he got a new Spiritual Foundation through an Inheritance, they never had much respect for such cultivators to begin with, and even beyond that who cared if he got a lesser Spiritual Foundation anyway? If his new Spiritual Foundation was a threat to them, they would have already long since sealed it.


    Ryu guessed that he was forgotten at that point, but maybe someone, out of curiosity, decided to trace where his Spiritual Foundation would have gone had they allowed it to be Awakened. As a result of that, Sacrum was found and the peculiarity of its Shrines were also exposed.


    But with this in mind, it had to be comprehended that the only people bored enough to do this in an attempt to find an opportunity would be the weak to begin with.


    In order for a smaller world to birth a talent that the Martial Gods felt they had to seal no matter what, there was a chance that this world had something special about it. Of course, these odds were quite small, after all worlds of all shapes and sizes could birth talents of all kinds. No matter the world, they had access to a great pool of talents, all of which were interconnected. If not, how could Ryu possibly improve his talents like he was doing now?


    However, even in such cases, there were odd exceptions. The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was so impossibly rare that the faction behind Elena''s mother had to check.I think you should take a look at


    It had to be remembered that different worlds had different pools of talent. For example, Sacrum didn''t birth many with Soul Natures. Another world might not birth many great Bloodlines. It was ultimately worth the check.


    In the end, Elena''s mother''s faction stumbled into a gold mine... But they ultimately hit a steel plate in the end.


    This theory was one Ryu felt had a great deal of merit to it, but it was impossible to check to see the truth. In addition, it still had its own flaws. It still didn''t explain how the Ruin Guild was related to this, for example, but Ryu had his own working theory for this as well.


    If he was correct, the Ruin Guild was here by nothing more than coincidence. The Ruin Guild likely had a branch in all worlds and just so occurred to have one in Sacrum by proxy of that policy. However, it was impossible to tell whether they had gotten news back about Sacrum or not. It was more likely that they had been...


    Ultimately, this meant one very important thing to Ryu: his Spiritual Foundation wasn''t to be underestimated. It was an existence that the Martial Gods feared so much that they had to chain it ahead of time regardless of the person it would be gifted to...


    What was a little Infinity Mist to that?


    BANG!


    Ryu felt as though a great weight had suddenly landed in his body. Almost as soon as it was released into his Spiritual Foundation, Ryu felt as though everything would be destroyed, starting with this inside of his body.


    However, Ryu remained calm even in the face of this, that was because Infinity Mist didn''t act like this. If it did, then he would have been dead the moment he appeared within it. It was ironically too violent for him to be scared, something else was happening here.


    As expected, the moment the Infinity Mist was released, it sank down, crashing into his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation and causing cracks to form all across it.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. This was quite shocking, that was because this was something that should only happen when one was entering the World Sea Realm, he didn''t know what it meant for his Spiritual Foundation to crack ahead of time.


    Even so, Ryu continued to watch without doing anything, he felt that this was actually a good thing. There was a very important fact that kept him going: he didn''t feel even an ounce of pain right now...


    Under Ryu''s careful gaze, the Infinity Mist burrowed into his Spiritual Foundation and took shape before a wild number of roots began to spread out in all directions. Then... It slowly came to a stop.


    There Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was partially cracked, but still mostly intact. The Infinity Mist had taken shape as something Ryu was quite sure he knew of even though he had never seen it before...


    A Cosmic Seed.


    At the same time, through those cracks, a large amount of energy was spewing out. There was no doubt that this energy was the very same energy that World Sea Realm experts would use freely.


    On top of this, Ryu felt like he intimately comprehended this Infinity Mist more than maybe anything in his life, maybe more than even his own Dao.


    At that moment, Ryu understood.


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Foundation was far too huge. How long would it take him to crack it into a World Sea with his own comprehension?


    It all clicked into place. He could replace his own Cosmic Seeds with Beyond Perfect Extreme Natural Treasures!


    This realization was both shocking and amazing, but it gave Ryu another headache...


    Where was he supposed to find other materials on the level of Infinity Mist?

 Chapter 1274 More Questions

    1274 More Questions


    Ryu was, indeed, in a bit of a predicament. Infinity Mist was an extremely unique existence to begin with, in any other situation, he wouldn''t even be capable of creating a void bubble tough enough to withstand a material on this level. Infinity Mist was, luckily, a unique item that was able to solidify space as opposed to destroying it, but it was exactly that... unique.


    Another powerful item on this level would only destroy. In fact, items of this caliber warping space and laws around themselves wasn''t uncommon in the slightest, it was expected. Just take the lower extremities of this ocean as an example. Further down, there was a great heat that Ryu couldn''t even approach. He shouldn''t have even been able to feel the heat through the void bubble he was in, but the fact he could meant that the items below were already bending and twisting space.


    This was the reason why Ryu wasn''t invincible within the void. So long as he was around a Sky God who could sense him and was strong enough to warp space, a single attack in his direction would mean death. Although he could use his Nine Pillars to make it sturdier, he would never be able to make them sturdy enough to the point that he could defend against a Sky God.


    This was all to say that the current Ryu likely didn''t have a chance at ever forming another such Chaos Seed without either thorough planning or years of effort in increasing his strength, there really wasn''t another option.


    There was always a tradeoff to be had with such great talent, though, so Ryu reached a state of peace quite quickly. This was simply how his life had gone up until now.


    He hadn''t really thought about it before, but his Spiritual Foundation was over 20 times larger than anyone else''s, how could it take the same amount of effort to break it free from its solid state and give himself access to its flow of energy? The more difficult it was to accomplish something, the more rewarding the end result was.


    Plus, Ryu had not just one Spiritual Foundation, but two. He would use the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation to lay down Cosmic Seeds of his own comprehension, and he would use the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to gather these amazing treasures.


    ??


    The only real problem he faced, aside from the difficulty, of course, was the issue of where to gather these treasures. He was less worried about how many he would need only because Ryu didn''t want to reach just the bare minimum to begin with. If he could reach perfection, then he would do so. It was useless to worry about how many times he would need to do this.


    There was a certain feedback loop between the size and stature of one''s Spiritual Foundation and the number of Cosmic Seeds one would need to form to reach the World Sea Realm.


    Of course, the larger and more talented one''s Spiritual Foundation was, the more Cosmic Seeds one would need, but there was also a range to take into consideration. If one reached the minimum range, it could be possible to force the issue using one''s own control of one''s Cosmic Seeds to finish the rest of the breakage, while the so-called "perfect breakthrough" would be to allow one''s Cosmic Seeds to grow to the point the breakage happened naturally and smoothly.


    Back in Sacrum, most would only be able to form one Cosmic Seed and would simply pour everything they had into it until it reached perfection. For many, this was enough to shatter their Spiritual Foundation. But Ryu wasn''t actually sure of the standard of the True Martial World. He hadn''t expected to cultivate to the barrier of the Cosmic Seed Realm so quickly in the first place, so his research on the matter was limited.


    That said, he believed that he had already reached perfection in one Cosmic Seed just now with the Infinity Mist, but what was interesting was the fact he still felt that he was in the Dao Pedestal Realm, as though this breakthrough wasn''t enough. Or, it was possible that only the changes to his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation would be registered in the first place.


    "Little woman, tell me about Cosmic Seeds, what do you know about them?"


    As Ryu spoke, he began to leisurely make his way toward the inheritance. Since he had completed everything he needed to complete here, it was time to go back. But, he wouldn''t mind breaking into the Cosmic Seed Realm first.


    The void here couldn''t distort his senses, so his comprehension was perfect. even more perfect than most others. As a result of this, the barrier of the Infinity Mist toward the secrets of the Ninth Heaven was also useless against him. So, he had no problem cultivating in this place.


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God, though, took a long time to answer. That was because she was still in shock.


    She didn''t know what was happening outside clearly at first, and that was because she had felt that it was useless to even check. After all, with the influence of the Infinity Mist around, her Spiritual Sense was useless.


    However, when Ryu''s breakthrough began, she felt something shift within her, a familiar sort of aura that sent a jolt of electricity down her spine. She hurriedly sent her senses out, only to find that the influence of the Infinity Mist had practically entirely disappeared, not only that but Ryu was just leisurely swallowing up the Infinity Mist.


    She didn''t even say a word back then. She found that now, for some reason, matters of life and death left her unfazed. It was probably because she had already given up on life, so she felt detached, watching on from the outside as though she was nothing more than a third party observer.I think you should take a look at


    Even now, though, she was still in shock by what she had seen, so when Ryu asked the question, it was only several seconds later that she registered wnat was even happening.


    "I... Right... Cosmic Seed, they''re..."


    Ryu shook his head. "I don''t need to know what they are, I need to know what the standards of the Cosmic Seeds of the True Martial World, how many do I need to form, etc."


    Cosmic Seeds were just the physical manifestation of one''s maturing inheritances. They weren''t one''s Dao, but rather its branches, its various roots. Whatever derivatives of one''s Dao there were could be added to one''s Spiritual Foundation as Cosmic Seeds which would then grow and shatter one''s Spiritual Foundation into a World Sea. Following this, they would then begin to build the foundation of your Godhood.


    Ryu, for example, had built his Dao with eight prongs each for a total of sixteen. There was Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Life and Heaven, then there were Heaven and Chaos aspects of both, forming the total. Of course, these were his Eight Trigram Diagrams.


    Ryu already believed that forming these 16 would be the perfect number of Cosmic Seeds for his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, but in the end he couldn''t help but hesitate. That was because... 16 was a bit of an odd number.


    Nine was known as the Immature Extreme, but the number Eight had its own significance. It was the number of balance, this was why the eight trigram diagram held so much weight. In fact, the number eight was the reason why Nine was so special in the first place, it was the act of taking a step beyond it that made Nine an Extreme in the first place.


    To have two Sets of Eight, one for Heaven and another for Chaos, if Ryu had to coin a term for it, would probably be the "Beyond Perfect Balance", a state he felt was just right.


    The trouble with this, though, was that he didn''t know how true this was, this was his own speculation and he could end up with a Spiritual Foundation with a shaky foundation.


    What if it would be better to fuse his 16 planned Cosmic Seeds into Eight? It would be far more difficult, but it would be worth it in the long run, but wasn''t his Dao a fusion of the two to begin with? If there was anyone that could do it, it was him.


    "Ah... Right," The Favor Alchemy Sky God shook her head, trying to focus. "It depends on your Spiritual Foundation and the grade of your Dao.


    "It''s hard to pin down much, honestly. That''s because even a perfect Cosmic Seed might help to enter the World Sea Realm smoothly, but it might hinder you in the future because it doesn''t correspond well enough with the Godhood you want to create.


    "Ultimately, it''s less useful to look at your Spiritual Foundation or the quantity of Cosmic Seeds, and decide instead what''s best for the Godhood you want to form in the future. The Cosmic Seed Realm is probably the most crucial step you''ll take before the Half-Step Sky God Realm, but it''s also extremely difficult because it''s hard to see that far ahead.


    "What I can say is that if you want to succeed in maintaining your Founding Dao, you''ll need a Godhood that can sustain its power. And the only way you can have a Godhood that can hold its power is by forming flawless Cosmic Seeds.


    "These Cosmic Seeds not only have to be perfect individually, but also perfect as one. This is why the quantity matters less, that''s because they''ll all form a single World Tree in the end.


    "At the very least, your Cosmic Seeds must attain a Deity Grade if you want to succeed."


    Cosmic Seeds followed the same grading structure as Mortal Endowments. Heir Grade, Impose Grade, Rule Grade, Small Realm, Dominion, Divinity and finally Deity.


    Even so, the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s words, rather than clearing the course before Ryu, left him with more questions. He could only fall into his thoughts.

 Chapter 1275 Large Advantage

    1275 Large Advantage


    On his way to the Inheritance, Ryu asked the little woman a few more questions and he realized that his Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed wasn''t as perfect as he thought it had been. In Sacurm, the act of a Cosmic Seed forming roots to begin with was already the marker of maturity, but it seemed that this wasn''t enough.


    The Runes of his Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed weren''t perfect enough and were still somewhat lacking. Even though it had formed roots, it was still at the Small Realm level, nowhere near the Deity level.


    After finding the tracks of the Inheritance once again, Ryu began to absorb the more Infinity Mist in an attempt to perfect it. As he did so, he felt that the vision he had of Infinity Mist in his mind was only growing clearer and clearer with each passing moment. It truly felt like it was becoming one with him.


    The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was truly amazing. Not only could it withstand the impact and assimilate with such high level treasures, but even beyond that it was capable of taking said treasures and refining them into Runes. These Runes would then become part of Ryu''s psyche and memories as though he was the one who had personally comprehended them all. This Cosmic Seed was no different than if he had created it personally.


    Ryu realized now, though, that not only would he need to find such Beyond Perfect Extreme treasures, but he would also need to find them in large enough quantities. Although Small Realm was enough to reach the maturity level, Ryu wasn''t the type to settle for the bare minimum.


    Truthfully, though, Ryu didn''t think that the difficulty would be as high as he had originally believed, at least not in the aspect of finding these locations.


    Infinity Mist was incredibly dangerous to step into, and even worse to reach in the first place, but was it a secret? Not at all. Most powers would have some documentation of this region, at least on the Ninth Heaven, that is. In fact, all dangerous regions such as these would be widely available to that masses. No one could step into them and control the territory, after all, it was far too dangerous to do that.


    Such regions ended up being used as training grounds amongst countless powers. There might be rare occasions where one power held dominion over them, but in the grand scheme, learning about these territories would be easy.


    The real question was... what would he do after he learned about them? It wasn''t like he could have a convenient teleportation to them all, and even if he did, how would that help him? Not everything was as docile as Infinity Mist, if he entered such a region now he would be blasted to death...


    ''Or could I?''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He didn''t believe that the Nine Pillar Flame Sect was the only one to take advantage of these dangerous regions to hide themselves. It might very well be possible to find the location of other Taboo Power Ruins and use them as a proxy to enter these locations. As for whether or not he would actually be able to harvest anything in those locations... Well, that was a problem for a future date.


    Ryu slated this matter to the back of his mind as the Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed trembled.


    At that moment, a budding flower of the more delicate blue took form. It swayed back and forth, its edges misty and uncertain, but this sort of haze only added to its beauty. It greedily swallowed up the qi coming from the cracks of Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation, growing larger and larger. However, although it was growing larger, Ryu noticed that the cracks weren''t becoming any more prominent.


    ''This is its limit, true perfection.''


    Ryu had never known that Cosmic Seeds could bud before the World Sea Realm, but here it was right before him.


    He felt that his comprehension of the Water Element had grown exponentially. In truth, Ryu didn''t know much about the base element, after all, his affinity was more so toward ice and not water. Although both had the same root, the way they functioned and the way their laws manifested was greatly different.


    But right now, Ryu felt that his Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed directly supplementing his comprehension of the Water Element, making it far more firm and robust. If not for the fact he didn''t want to throw the balance of his eight trigram diagrams off, his Water Character would have already broken through several times over.


    That said, even without breaking through, the rise in strength was noticeable.


    ''Interesting. I''ve been using my Dao to raise my Inheritances all the while, but the opposite is possible as well.''


    Ryu was certain. The Beyond Perfect Extreme Natural Treasures that he found in the future would better suit him if they matched his current affinities. That meant he would have to find the extremes of a region of lightning, of fire, and of wind. If these four weren''t enough, he would begin to branch out into other matters.


    With a step, Ryu vanished and he appeared once again in a familiar region. The lava-like pool was right before him and the nine pillars that had surrounded it had dimmed. However, seemingly sensing Ryu''s appearance, they shone once more and began to drip.


    Ryu nodded to himself. It seemed that this place entered dormancy when he was away. This was the best method of preserving this spot for future generations. Obviously, they hadn''t put all their eggs in Ryu''s basket.I think you should take a look at


    With a wave of the hand, Ryu marked this region. In the past, he didn''t have the skill to do so, but he was confident now. He would be able to teleport this area with just a bit of effort on his part now. Finding the Ruin again would be as easy as breathing.


    After confirming things, Ryu walked toward the exit, but his feet suddenly paused, a frown pinching his brows. Soon, they smoothed out and he shook his head, walking forward and vanishing.


    Not long after he had vanished, a shadow flickered and an old man appeared seemingly from thin air. His back couldn''t seem to hold up the weight of his body any longer so he was excessively hunched over. The length of his greyed brows and beard were so long that it was clear he hadn''t cut them in millennia. They pooled on the ground around him, forming a swirling pile of white hair.


    He looked toward where Ryu had disappeared with murky eyes that revolved nine golden pillars. Looking down, he discovered the marks Ryu had left behind. He raised a wrinkled hand with the intention of dispersing them, but then he hesitated.


    After a moment, he lowered his hand again, looking toward where Ryu had disappeared once again.


    "... Truly an anomaly..."


    It seemed that this was the first time this old man had spoken in years. His voice came out in a hollow whisper, almost as though the sound had to crawl and scrape its way out of his throat and just barely ran out of energy when it finally reached his lips.


    The old man raised his hand again and touched the pillar to his side. He wasn''t a fool, he could see it in Ryu''s eyes. That brat wasn''t thankful or even worshipful. The odds that he would hold the Nine Pillar Flame Sect as anything more than karma to repay in the future was minimal. This wasn''t the kind of heir he wanted, but he also couldn''t bear to crush a seed that had a chance of growing.


    Ryu wasn''t the first to make it here. As he had thought, the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God had been one. What Ryu was wrong about, though, was the fact the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God hadn''t ended up in the wrong place, he had ended up right here as well. The reason his Inheritance didn''t have anything else was because even after his death he didn''t betray the Nine Pillar Flame Sect.


    But in the end, he had died as well.


    This was the unfortunate state of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect.


    In order to be recognized by their Inheritances, one had to be bold, arrogant, willing to look up into the Heavens and say no. But it was also this personality that made their people overly brazen, causing many of them to die early.... Including the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God.


    The difference, though, was that the Nine Pillar Flame Sky God had a great amount of empathy in his heart and soul while Ryu clearly did not.


    ''Maybe this lack of empathy and conscience is exactly what we need.''


    The old man turned and seemed to vanish. He was tired and weary, he already didn''t have many years left, but that matter was relative. Given his lifespan, he probably had the time to watch ten more Ryus come here and die.


    A sigh resonated through the depths of the ocean.


    The Nine Pillar Flame Sect had been great enemies with the Unbalance Art Sect in the past, but somehow both of their legacies had appeared in the hands of the same young man.


    He had sensed the Unbalance Mantra on Ryu immediately and thought about simply killing such a successor, but in the end he had chosen to show compassion.


    Whether or not that would come to bite him in the future, he didn''t know. But after all these years of attempts, he felt that maybe it was simply time for the Taboo Powers to give up.


    The Martial Powers were too strong, too cautious, and even after all of these years, they hadn''t grown complacent... they didn''t let off even small worlds that might have a chance to threaten them in the future.


    How could such an enemy, with already such a large advantage, ever possibly be taken down?

 Chapter 1276 Borrow

    1276 Borrow


    Ryu felt the world before him warp and he stepped out, he was within the depths of a stretch of lava. The last time he had been here, he had felt nothing but an undying heat, but it seemed that this time, it hardly affected him.


    Ryu had a feeling that this lava wasn''t very hot to begin with, it just happened to be an exact replica of the world his mind had projected when he was within that golden pillar pool. This was probably a failsafe in case someone managed to make it back here without passing the test of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect. That way, one would mistake the world that had just been in their mind with this one.


    Thinking to this point, Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but flicker.


    To him, this choice of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect was... stupid. They were already a dead Sect, and their last strand of hope could be destroyed with just a single misstep on their part. The fact that they were allowing those that had failed a path to live seemed to be a form of naivete of the highest order.


    However, Ryu''s gaze didn''t seem to reflect derision.


    In his interaction with the Unbalance Art Sect, he knew that they were quite cruel. Their original intention had been to split their Inheritance into three and have those three fight it out amongst themselves for the true successor.


    This is one of the bloodiest and cruelest methods that a Sect or Clan could use, that was because such battles would never end with just three.


    Such geniuses would definitely form their own cohort, their own factions. They would build up their own Clans and Sects and use them as weapons to both protect themselves and give them a larger network to deal with so that finding their targets would be far easier.


    In the end, wars would be waged and entire Heavens would be laid to waste.


    One of the cataclysms that ended one of the many Eras of Sacrum was sparked exactly by this. Many Sky Gods had their own kinds of Inheritance trials, of course with the Phoenix Sky God being amongst the most unique of them all. However, the Nine Demon Sky God had one that could probably be said to be as unique.


    The last time his Inheritance appeared, it was split amongst nine youths. These nine youths had the task of fusing them all together for the sake of gaining the Nine Demon Sky God''s full Inheritance.


    By the end of it all, there were three that rose to maturity and the war of their three Clans ended an Era of Sacrum.


    It all seemed silly to Ryu now. After all, the Nine Demon Sky God probably couldn''t match up to even a Path Extinction Realm expert of the True Martial World. To end so many trillions of lives for a mere weakling''s Inheritance just felt... gross.


    But this was the cruel reality, and if Ryu was in the position of the Unbalance Art Sect, he couldn''t guarantee that he wouldn''t make a similar choice. He didn''t need the weak to try and restore his Clan or Sect, he needed the cream of the crop.


    However, the Nine Pillar Flame Sect was different. They showed compassion. Mercy.


    Did Ryu have such thoughts and feelings? The reality was he didn''t, at least not toward strangers who had little to nothing to do with him. He found such compassion to be meaningless in the grand scheme and it only allowed others to take advantage of you. The largest currency in the world was the size of one''s fist, that was the bottom line.


    Ryu''s fist wasn''t big enough to even have space for compassion in his heart. And even the Martial Powers with the largest fists there were refused to show such compassion for fear of what might happen to their future generations if they allowed others to rise.


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while before he slowly began to walk out.


    At that moment, the suppression of the Fourth Heaven hit him in waves. He could feel these heavy sort of chains restraining his body more clearly than ever. Before, it had only been his default state, but now, with the contrast right before him, it felt mind numbingly obvious, he couldn''t believe that he hadn''t seen it before.


    "FINALLY! FINALLY WE MADE IT OUT!"


    The roar of a young man echoed through the skies.


    Ryu''s expression didn''t change much. It seemed that while he was still within the lava pool, the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had decided to trap anyone else who had been within the Ruin at the same time. This made sense, it was best to limit the variables as much as possible when you were doing such things. It was clear that the Nine Pillar Flame Sect understood these matters, but that only made it more baffling that they actually provided a path toward escape after failure.I think you should take a look at


    Ryu didn''t change his pace in the slightest, walking out from his tunnel at the same time as the other three. When the latter three saw him, they were taken aback. They had been so excited to escape with their lives and even gain an Inheritance on top of that that they had almost forgotten that there was indeed another person.


    When they saw which direction Ryu had come from, the young man who had roared out sneered.


    "What a fool. How this person made it past our formation is beyond me, does he even have two braincells to rub together?"


    Usually, upon hearing such a thing, Ryu would have already attacked. Ironically, it wasn''t because he was easily triggered, but rather because he didn''t like flies buzzing around his ears. Why would he waste time sitting here and listening to the insults of others, especially when they were clearly outright fools? However, his mind was elsewhere currently, he was thinking about many things and didn''t have the time to spare for this sort of nonsense.


    Among the three, it was only their so-called Senior Sister Jojo whose gaze narrowed when she looked toward Ryu. Despite clearly having the aura of a Divine Vessel Realm expert, this Ryu was far too... calm. He was facing off against three World Sea Realm experts, after all. Even if he didn''t know they were from a higher Heaven, that shouldn''t have made a difference.


    Also, that tunnel...


    Jojo was a woman whose hair could only be described as a river of purple-red flames. Her eyes carried the same color and she had a valiant air that reminded Ryu a lot of Isemeine. However, her features were even fiercer than that of Isemeine''s, her brows flickered with bundles of flames and she was wearing a heavy armor that made it impossible to see her figure. In fact, this rose-gold armor gazed as though it was built for a man and Jojo simply took it for herself.


    Even her weapon wasn''t that of a woman''s, a huge great sword with a half a meter width and two meter length hung from her back. If not for the clearly gorgeous and delicate features of her face, it would be hard to tell that she was a woman at all.


    And gorgeous it was. The fieriness of her brows and hair couldn''t hide in the slightest. Nothing could change that small pink mouth and delicate nose, nor the tender angles of her face. She looked like a woman that should be painted by a flowing river, but instead she was a heavy cavalryman who shook the earth with her every step.


    The two young men with her shared a similar set of fiery hair, but it was decidedly less purple than Jojo''s and far more red than not. Interestingly enough, their brows also gazed like dancing fires. It seemed that this matter might be related to the cultivation methods that they used.


    All three had extremely high attainments in fire, and that probably also explained their skill with formations. If they were weapon smiths, something that Ryu could catch a faint aura of, formations could be considered a part of that discipline depending on the kind of forging they did.


    It was quite surprising to see a group of individuals with such powerful bodies, who likewise had such high attainments in the soul. Now that Ryu thought about it, these three were actually quite perfect for the Nine Pillar Flame Inheritance, it was just too bad that they didn''t have the skill.


    Well...


    Ryu gazed toward Jojo. He had felt an odd gaze on him, so instead of leaving like he had intended to, he looked over.


    Jojo had two overly burly men on either side of her, both of whom were well over two meters tall and carrying a bulkiness not normal of men. It was clear to him that while Jojo didn''t properly fill out her armor, the two men definitely did.


    They were an entire head taller than Jojo, although Jojo herself was easily around 6''3. And yet, her aura was clearly the fiercest.


    Ryu scanned Jojo''s face unabashedly, but when he looked down, expecting to see more, he shook his head. Too bad, what was likely a stunning figure was hidden away. Though, it was also possible that she was a hulking mass just like those two junior brothers of hers.


    Seeing this reaction, Jojo suddenly sensed annoyed. What was it, did he expect her to be wearing one of those useless skimpy armors most of those female "warriors" wore? She suddenly wanted to punch this asshole in that handsome face of his.


    Sensing his Senior Sister''s annoyance, Brutus, the one who had been laughing and then sneering not long after, stepped forward, the enormous sword on his back quivering.


    He had already been irritated by Ryu''s appearance, but his Senior Sister''s own annoyance appeared to trigger him more than anything else.


    "Let me borrow your head for a bit," he uttered with a surprising amount of calm before suddenly vanishing with a speed not normal for his body size.

 Chapter 1277 Auras

    Chapter 1277 Auras


    Ryu''s gaze didn''t change much. In his eyes, Brutus was almost too slow. He had already realized that the latter was going to move long ago, he could seem to see the progress of the most likely event and it hardly left him moved. It was as though the same slowing effect he could have on his cultivation could happen to his thoughts as well.


    The only unfortunate matter about this was that this slowing effect had no impact on the real world. While he experienced Brutus moving exceptionally slowly, that didn''t mean that the latter truly was moving that slow, nor did it magically give him more time to react... At least not in this state.


    Brutus'' fist appeared before Ryu''s face, a fiery momentum shifting behind it. The air crackled and popped as it was superheated, a powerful aura enveloping the surroundings.


    Suddenly, motes of silvery lights began to accumulate in the surroundings. Ryu, who had been standing perfectly still, seemed to shift by no more than a single inch, and yet that inch seemed to change everything.


    Brutus'' fist shifted through an afterimage, his body flinging forward. He didn''t receive the feedback he expected from his fist and almost tilted over entirely.


    Just when he managed to catch himself from falling any further forward, Ryu''s heel stamped down upon the back of knee, forcing his already off balance body to the ground.


    Brutus didn''t even have the time to feel the humiliation of the situation before the back of his head was grasped by a strong hand. Ryu''s indifferent expression flashed with a fierce light, the sudden pulsing sound of his heart echoing through the surrounding as he drove Brutus'' forehead into the sturdy, obsidian-like ground.


    BANG!


    The entire cave system shook and quaked.


    Jojo and her remaining junior brother felt their hearts skip a beat. That sudden explosive power was absolutely shocking, not in the sense of its raw power, but in the sense that it came from the body of a Dao Pedestal Realm expert in the first place. They couldn''t even fathom how such strength could come from someone in such a weak realm.


    Of course, they had no idea that Ryu already had access to Cosmic Qi thanks to his Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed. Although the world viewed him to be in the Dao Pedestal Realm, it could be said that he already had the strength of a Cosmic Seed expert. In fact, he wasn''t a normal Cosmic Seed Realm expert either.


    The Cosmic Qi that came from the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation wasn''t something many could fathom, but maybe the most important part wasn''t the quality, but rather the quantity.


    Due to not wanting to risk exposing his Chaotic Silk Meridians, Ryu didn''t make us of it directly. Instead, he used it as a catalyst to allow his body to utilize Cosmic Qi instead of Immortal Qi. But due to the fact his Spiritual Foundation was so much larger than that of others, the sheer amount of Cosmic Qi he had despite only having formed a single Cosmic Seed was absolutely ridiculous.


    In addition, his Cosmic Seed was at the Deity Grade.


    A Cosmic Seed wasn''t just about cracking one''s Spiritual Foundation, nor was its only use in the future where it would form the foundation of one''s Godhood. Even now, just its existence gave Ryu a certain control over ther laws and regulations in his surroundings, exactly like an Inheritance would.


    Just by existing, it seemed to give Ryu the power of a God. When he moved, his surroundings listened and fueled him with strength.


    Also, at the moment, very few at his level would be able to match him in explosive power. Never mind the fact his Bone Structure gave him the weight of a world behind his attacks, or the fact he had Dragon and Qilin Blood perfectly balanced within his body, there was still the factor of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s Inheritance to consider.


    The current Ryu had a body refined to the equivalent of one Life Destruction completed. The Nine Life Revolutions Realms was the equivalent of the World Sea Realm. While it seemed that Ryu was far behind them in terms of cultivation, he used the same Cosmic Qi they did and he had a body equivalent to their Qi Realm cultivation in Realm, albeit a few smaller stages beneath.


    They had been foolish to assume that he was beneath them in the first place.


    Brutus coughed up a mouthful of blood, his teeth shattering and clattering all along the ground.


    The veins of Ryu''s hand and forearm bulged, his indifferent gaze narrowing somewhat.


    In reality, he had smashed Brutus'' head downward with every intention of crushing it into a meaty paste. He was a bit annoyed that he had actually failed to do so. Although he hadn''t entered his strongest physical state as he hadn''t made use of his scaled armor and the like, this was the strongest explosive output he had with his raw power alone.


    It was truly impressive to have such a thick skull.


    Brutus seemed to finally realize what had happened to him and his body immediately began to boil. His rage came out in a furious roar as he tried to lift his body.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed further. There was a large disparity in the weights of their bodies, while they were around the same height, Brutus was much thicker and wider.


    Ryu''s body flickered as he took a step back, dodging out of the way of Brutus'' furious lash-out. However, to his surprise, Jojo and her remaining Junior Brother did nothing. It didn''t seem that they had any intention of acting. Ryu couldn''t tell if this was because this was their culture, or if it was because they were simply that confident in Brutus.I think you should take a look at


    That said, despite the failure, Ryu didn''t feel threatened in the slightest.


    Brutus stood to his feet explosively, leaping slightly into the air and landing with a heavy BANG. He faced off against Ryu, blood streaming down his face like a waterfall.


    Ryu could tell at a glance that outside of a thin layer of skin that was broken, the rest of Brutus'' face was just fine. Thick skull didn''t seem to do this man justice in the slightest.


    Brutus licked his lips, not minding the sweat and blood that got caught up on his tongue.


    "You''re not bad. Since when did these puny Heavens have such a person. Your Qi Realm cultivation is weak, but your Body Realm and Mental Realm cultivation must be quite exceptional."


    In just a single exchange, Brutus could tell that Ryu''s Body Realm had to at least be in the Nine Life Revolutions Realm, while his Mental Realm cultivation had to be at least equivalent to Soul Ascension Realm. Whether it was the fact he had broken their formation to enter, or the fact that he had been able to so easily react to his speed, both pointed toward a powerful Mental Realm.


    This [Absolute Domain] technique around him also spoke volumes.


    In reality, Ryu was still at the peak of the Blood Refinement Realm, he hadn''t technically completed his first Life Destruction yet. But this conclusion by Brutus was still good enough considering Ryu himself had been confused about which Realm he was in.


    Ryu didn''t say anything to Brutus'' words. Instead, he took a step forward and vanished, causing Brutus'' expression to change once again.


    Brutus had been certain that this sort of movement technique could only be used defensively, that was why he was cautious about attacking again, he didn''t want Ryu to use his strength against him like he had last time. But to his surprise, Ryu actually took the initiative to attack.


    Suddenly, the aura of a Fist God enveloped the surroundings.


    Brutus felt the aura but didn''t even feel the existence of the punch.


    By the time he registered that Ryu''s fist was before his face, he was already frozen in shock.


    ''I''m dead?''


    Suddenly, the aura of a Sword God split Ryu''s Fist God aura right down its center. It was powerful and violent, an aura that seemed to come more from a Saber God than it would ever come from a Sword God, and yet it was that of a sword nonetheless.


    The strength of Ryu''s attack plummeted just as it landed on Brutus'' face.


    BANG!


    The burly man was sent flying. He crashed into the wall like a sandbag, his eyes rolling to the back of his head for a moment as he slumped. He suddenly started awake a moment later, a cold sweat pooling along his back as he shuddered.


    Ryu lowered his fist slowly, looking over toward Jojo.


    The young woman still stood there, her hair and brows as fiery as ever and her arms crossed over her armored chest. She hadn''t moved a single inch, and the Sword God aura had already vanished, but with how everything slowed in Ryu''s perception, how could he not know it was her?


    He couldn''t help but raise an internal eyebrow. A Sword God?


    His gaze shifted to the massive sword on her back. Although his expression was still the same, he was a hint surprised. A genius of the Seventh Heaven had such a comprehension?


    Just when Ryu was going to think to do something else, he suddenly looked into the skies, his brows raising.


    Up above him, there was nothing more than molten and heated rock, but he could seem to see through it as though it wasn''t there at all.


    In the distance, a snow white bird flew forward. On its back, a familiar figure stood with her dress fluttering in the wind.

 Chapter 1278 Nothing To Do With Him.

    Chapter 1278 Nothing to do with him.


    Ryu felt at peace for some reason when he saw Selheira approaching from the distance. He had always felt that there was something odd about her aura, he had previously concluded that it must have been related to one of her Six Pillar talents, and he felt that he was almost certainly correct now.


    She had a way of making all those around her feel endlessly comfortable and at ease. She had a gentle demeanor and calm bearing, something that felt far more appropriate for a woman of smaller stature. But despite the fact that she was at least as tall as Jojo, if not a bit taller than that, she carried the grace and charm of a more petite woman without it seeming odd or awkward.


    While she wasn''t usually the type of woman Ryu liked most, and he didn''t really think about taking her on as a wife, he still felt that her company was nice, especially since she was a good opponent in Domain. Though, Ryu wasn''t sure if she''d still be much of a match for him now. During their games he had restrained his Dao as well, but now his Dao was even more powerful and had powerful effects even when he wasn''t actively using it, not to mention the existence of the Origin Flame within him smoothing out his thought processes.


    It was funny, though, Selheira''s gentleness had vanished when she faced him across a board, but he didn''t feel put off by it. Who knew, maybe that was why he liked playing with her so much to begin with.


    Ryu looked down from above and toward the three before him. With a shake of his head, he turned and left the cave, appearing out in the sunny skies for the first time in a long while. He didn''t really pay attention to how much time had passed while he was away, but it was probably at least several days if not weeks. It was harder to measure such things between Heavens and especially in the presence of Infinity Mist.


    Selheira spotted Ryu and smiled. However, before either of them could say anything, Ryu felt a fierce aura to his back.


    He hadn''t stopped paying attention to Jojo in the slightest, he had just felt like he wanted to see Selheira so he had taken a step out. However, what was surprising was that the current Jojo seemed to be furious.


    This clearly wasn''t because of Ryu, or else she would have shown this anger previously. Even when he turned and ignored her, she didn''t seem to react much to it. But now seeing Selheira, she seemed to have lost all of her composure in its entirety as though she had just spotted a mortal enemy.


    Before Selheira could even descend from the skies, Jojo unsheathed the giant blade from her back, stomping on the ground so hard that it rippled out for hundreds of meters like the waves of the ocean.


    Jojo''s junior brother, who had just stepped out of the cave supporting Brutus, was shocked silent. He had been following Jojo for a long while, and he had been hearing about her in the Sect for years, but he had never heard of her drawing her sword. No one had been able to make her take a battle seriously enough to do such a thing. She usually just relied on her fists and her Sword God Aura. But this time, she actually pulled it out without even exchanging a single blow.


    At first he thought that she was targeting Ryu, but when he got the full view of the situation, he realized that the target was actually a veiled beauty in the skies.


    Jojo''s roar filled the skies and Selheira seemed to finally notice her.


    Ryu frowned. Jojo had moved too fast for him to react to stop her. He had originally thought that she would be targeting him, so he wasn''t prepared for her target to be elsewhere entirely.


    Selheira''s smile dimmed somewhat. Sensing her change, her snow white owl flapped its wings and hit a speed that Ryu had never seen it touch before. It slipped to the side, leaving Jojo chopping at air.


    However, Jojo shifted her stance at the moment, swinging her sword and using it like the guiding lamppost in her flight. It was clear that Ryu wasn''t the only one who could use Sword God Aura to fly, it was just that Jojo''s methods were a bit different than the usual. Rather than placing her sword beneath her feet, she continued to swing it while using the flying momentum to add to her strength.


    This seemed like an insignificant difference, but the amount of control she was exhibiting was astonishing. At the moment, although she was clearly relying on her sword to fly, she looked no different from a Sky God using the laws around them to fly instead.


    Selheira''s smiling brows seemed to finally dim down entirely, flattening out. This was a face that Ryu only saw when she was focused on her next move in Domain, but this time.


    Selheira''s arm trembled and her fist suddenly punched out. The soft silk of her dress fluttered, but a devastating roar seemed to echo out from that dainty fist. The skin of the back of her hand and forearm glistened like the rainbow and sparkled like crystals, a devastating BOOM roaring across the skies as she punched against Jojo''s blade.


    BANG!


    Blade and fist met, a shocking wave of rebound rippling out like the sudden waves of a once calm but now disrupted lake.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. If it wasn''t for the strength of his eyes, just looking at such a scene would have probably hurt. The strength of these two women was astonishing, and it didn''t even look like either one of them had gone all out, they were still probing one another.I think you should take a look at


    Even so, Ryu didn''t seem to have the intention of interfering. That wasn''t because he didn''t feel like protecting Selheira, it was rather that this didn''t seem like the kind of thing it was appropriate for him to interfere in. These two clearly had a history.


    Of course, if it seemed like Selheira was going to suffer, he would do something. But it was still unknown if he was in position to save her if she couldn''t protect herself, at least not without truly going all out.


    Ryu thought that he had caught up with Seventh Heaven geniuses already, but this felt a bit too exaggerated. These two didn''t feel like just Seventh Heaven geniuses.


    Ryu had fought with Starlight before, and back then he had suffered quite a bit even at the hands of a young man who was an entire cultivation realm beneath him. However, the reality of that was that Starlight had relied heavily on his various talents to output that kind of strength. But right now, Selheira and Jojo were using nothing particularly outstanding talent wise outside of Jojo''s Sword God Aura.


    Obviously, though, Sword God Aura wasn''t an innate talent. Even if you were born with a Sword Soul Nature, you weren''t guaranteed to form Sword God Aura.


    All of this just seemed to be their base, casual strength.


    Of course, there was something else to consider, and that was the fact that Starlight had been very young and he had yet to cultivate the special techniques of his Sect fully, nor integrate them seamlessly into his battle style. That might be why he had to more heavily rely on his talents to bridge the gap his skill lacked.


    Even so, watching the two women clash in the skies like this, Ryu felt that he was seeing a Heaven beyond a Heaven. Even if they were indeed beyond the standards of the Seventh Heaven, that didn''t change anything. His goal was to surpass all and even subdue the powers of the Ninth Heaven to make them pay for what they had done. Feeling complacent about catching up with the Seventh Heaven wasn''t something that he would do.


    Suddenly, the clash of the women above came to a sudden stop.


    Jojo landed on the ground with a heavy boom and Selheira''s beast companion, more aggressively than usual, swooped to the ground, kicking up dust and nearly blowing down trees in the distance.


    The two stared at one another, one furious and the other cold.


    Jojo sneered. "Still the same overgrown bimbo, just seeing your face annoys me. What''s with that veil, can''t let the world see your ugly mug?"


    Ryu was speechless. Why did it feel like these two were both fiendish foes and friends aat the same time, did he just not understand relationships between women well enough? No, that couldn''t be the case, that was because this was more like a relationship between men.


    If he saw that bastard today, his first instinct would have probably been to beat him to within an inch of his life first, then they could talk after.


    Selheira seemed unmoved by these words. Her lips only slightly parted as she spoke lightly.


    "That armor is still just as flattering on you."


    It seemed like a compliment, but given the context, only a fool would think so. Jojo remembered that look Ryu had given her earlier and suddenly a comment that would have usually rolled off her shoulders became extremely annoying.


    "Say that again. I''ll strip you naked and hang you from the highest pole I can find."


    "How uncultured. What would your mother think?"


    "What did you say about my mother?!"


    Ryu looked back and forth between these two and shook his head. He had been trained by Elena long enough to know not to interfere, this matter had nothing to do with him.

 Chapter 1279 Remnants

    1279 Remnants


    Ryu looked over toward Brutus and Jojo''s second junior brother. He seemed to want to know if he could tell anything from their gazes, but instead he saw them avoiding the confrontation just as much as he was. It seemed that they were actually quite scared of Selheira, because they didn''t remotely have this level of fear when they had been interacting with Jojo alone.


    This was interesting to Ryu because everyone that he had seen interact with Selheira couldn''t wait to fawn over her. That meant that whatever these two men had gone through was traumatizing enough to even override the usual gentleness of her usual aura.


    Ryu''s lip couldn''t help but curl as though he had just found out something quite amusing. He had an inkling about a deeper side of Selheira, after all no normal individual could have such an aura while playing Domain, but this was even funnier than what he had been imagining.


    As for whether that changed his opinion of her negatively, not at all. In fact, it was the opposite, if anything. Gentle women weren''t his cup of tea to begin with, he just had a particular fondness for Selheira that, of course, didn''t cross the line into that sort of relationship. But this was far more interesting to him.


    Selheira suddenly looked over. Seeing Ryu''s smile, her gaze flickered and she seemed to regain her calmness. Jojo, who was very familiar with Selheira, couldn''t help but narrow her eyes. This was an oddity that she had never seen before. It definitely wasn''t purely because Ryu was a man, and it definitely wasn''t because he was a stranger, she had seen Selheira do far worse things in the face of far more established individuals.


    Suddenly, it clicked.


    "You came here for him?" Jojo asked, still somewhat skeptical, but when she saw Selheira''s reaction, or lack thereof, her lip curled into a sneer once more. "The mighty Selheira fell for a Dao Pedestal Realm junior? Say it ain''t so."


    Hearing these words, Brutus and his junior brother, Raine, shuddered. The two women had had many arguments in the past. As usual, Jojo would be the harsher and more outwardly abrasive of the two while Selheira would layer her words in hidden meanings and hidden sharp edges. However, no matter how they insulted each other, everything would remain relatively calm until one of them eventually crossed a line.


    They always managed to cross this line at some point, they simply couldn''t help themselves. And whenever one of them was truly enraged, that was when the true battle would begin. Once that started, it might be weeks before they stopped, and usually that would only come when they passed out from exhaustion.


    Hearing Jojo try to besmirch Selheira''s reputation by tying her to this unknown man, they knew that that line had been crossed. They could only brace themselves and prepare for the worst. However... what they were preparing for never came.


    "He''s my junior brother, you talk too much." Selheira looked from Ryu back to Jojo. "You constantly walk around with those two brutes, have you tied the knot yet? Or are you still keeping things casual?"


    Jojo hadn''t expected for her insult to be thrown back at her so forcefully. Usually by this point, Selheira would have already attacked, and with great force at that. She was already prepared, but now she was hearing something that even Selheira hadn''t dared to say in the past.


    "What did you just say to me?!"


    Jojo''s temper flared. The surrounding land was suddenly sliced apart into countless spiraling trenches. They were so deep that the distance couldn''t have been measured even in hundreds of meters, and yet they were neat and perfectly ordered. It looked more like someone had carefully carved these patterns out over countless years as opposed to just being a sudden outburst.


    ''Even in this state her Sword Qi is actually still so controlled...''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Earlier, when Jojo dispersed his Fist God Aura, he had already been quite shocked although his expression hadn''t shown it. He wasn''t very familiar with how to use such auras properly and he was practically the equivalent of a child swinging around a baseball bat that was far too heavy for him. He had simply never seen it used the way Jojo had, and so easily at that.


    But seeing this, he was beginning to gain some understanding, and his thoughts toward how to use this aura were also increasing by the day, not to mention giving him ideas for expanding it. He always treated aura casually, but now that he thought about it, there was no reason it shouldn''t be as carefully manipulated as qi.


    Selheira ignored Jojo''s outburst, another surprise to her, and she actually appeared by Ryu''s side.


    "You''ve been missing for a while," she said with a light smile. "Have you eaten?"


    Ryu''s brows raised and he shook his head. "Not in a while."


    Selheira''s smile became sweeter as she took Ryu''s arm, taking him toward her beast companion.


    The large white bird looked toward Ryu with a hint of curiosity in its eyes. It wasn''t the same look it had given Ryu in the past, but rather a far different one. It felt that Ryu had changed quite a bit, but it still recognized Ryu quite well, leaving it feeling odd.


    Even so, the large beast still gracefully lowered its head and body, allowing the two of them to step onto it.


    "Where do you think you''re going?!"I think you should take a look at


    Jojo seemed to recover from Selheira taking a man''s arm faster than the other two did. That said, she still couldn''t understand what she was seeing currently. Hadn''t she just said that he was her junior brother? What was she doing now, exactly? Jojo had plenty of junior brothers, she would never take one of their arms like that.


    Plus, now that she thought about it, Selheira had never had a Sect, and even her Clan was quite reclusive, so much so that even Jojo didn''t know what her last name was or where they had come from. They were quite a mystery even to the Seventh Heaven.


    So since when had Selheira even had a Sect to gain herself a junior brother in the first place?


    "I don''t have time to play with you today. You''ve been slacking on your training too much," Selheira said lightly as they were lifted into the air.


    "Excuse me?!"


    Jojo was more enraged by this than even the implication that she was in bed with her two junior brothers, so much so that rather than asking anymore, she directly attacked, her Sword God Aura enveloped by a raging inferno of flames this time as well.


    Selheira was ready to move, but to her surprise, Ryu extended a finger outward first, his gaze flashing with a subtle light as the aura of a Finger God manifested from him, puncturing through Jojo''s Sword God Aura and dispersing it.


    After losing its foundation, the flames spread out like wildfire, falling from the skies akin to motes of light and laying waste to the land below.


    ''Not bad,'' Ryu thought to himself, nodding casually. He didn''t really take this matter very seriously.


    Jojo had used force and strength to disperse his Fist God Aura earlier, and he used finesse instead. An eye for an eye, as he saw it.


    His mood wasn''t bad currently, so he didn''t even feel like pursuing this matter any further. The snow white owl vanished into the clouds and flapped its wings once, speeding into the distance.


    Jojo was left stunned. What the hell had just happened?


    Was that a Finger God Aura she had just sensed? Wasn''t he a Fist God? What was happening?


    "You''ve grown stronger," Selheira said with a smile.


    She was quite surprised that Ryu had such strength as well. After all, Jojo was a rival even to her. That said, Ryu didn''t believe that this feat was very impressive. If he couldn''t find the weakness of such an attack with a Founding Dao as his foundation, he might as well stop cultivating all together.


    "A little," he said lightly. "The Sect is okay, I presume?"


    "Senior Aika heard that the Seventh Heaven Sects and Clans had sent people down so she was too eager to stay on the Fourth Heaven. She ascended to the Fifth Heaven and began to gather up the remnants of the Sect that remained."


    "The remnants?"


    "Mm... The Radiant Star Sect had many contingency plans. The original goal was to calmly and slowly rise through the Heavens again with Senior Wan as the head, but because of Senior Aika''s breakthrough, everything was ignored at that point. She is very eager to see this matter through now, she doesn''t want to wait."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Remnants?


    He had ignored such politics in his second life because he preferred to use his fists, but he was well aware that when it came to matters like this, they rarely went as smoothly as you would like. Some people would get their own ideas, others would selfishly throttle progress for the sake of their own goals, those that were too idealistic would be crushed.


    After so many years apart, was it really so simple for them to come back together as though nothing had happened?


    Aika''s leadership would truly be tested. Although she seemed ruthless, Ryu knew how soft she was inwardly, especially for those she saw as her own. It would be difficult for her to see this through properly.


    Ryu remained silent. It seemed that only time would tell.

 Chapter 1280 Plural?

    1281 Plural?


    Ryu and Selheira flew through the air in silence. There didn''t seem to be a need to exchange many words, neither felt a particular need to be chatty. Just the same as always, Selheira took Ryu to a place where the two could eat and watch with a smile on his face as he did so.


    The only thought in Ryu''s mind was why it seemed that Selheira wasn''t hiding herself like many others were. But he felt that it was only right. If she was from the Seventh Heaven, she probably would be outside the net of people that the others would be trying to catch, and by proxy of his relation to her, Ryu also gained this sort of protection.


    That said, Ryu was still quite curious, and he was only becoming more so, about Selheira''s identity.


    It seemed odd that she would have such a high standing in the Seventh Heaven, and yet come down to join the Radiant Star Sect. And beyond that, wasn''t she afraid of implicating her current family? Why was it that she was unmoved by the trouble that might come with being a part of the Radiant Star Sect?


    Ryu was sure that Aika and the others were aware of Selheira''s identity although he hadn''t been told. So it was even more confusing that Selheira would openly admit to being his senior sister. She didn''t seem to care about hiding anything at all.


    It had to be remembered that the fall of the Radiant Star Sect was as a result of the machinations of many powers of the Seventh Heaven, not just one, and that number included what was probably the most powerful Sect of the Seventh Heaven as well, the Fading Star Sect.


    Ryu himself was a person who was reckless with making enemies, but he was never eager about implicating those around him. If there was a Tatsuya Clan here that he had to protect, he wouldn''t tell anyone his last name, that was the truth.


    Though he didn''t know Selheira''s last name, the fact that Jojo was very familiar with her spoke volumes on its own.


    This might be explained away by Selheira''s Clan having a great relationship with the Radiant Star Sect, but if the relationship was so great, why wasn''t their support more than a single World Sea Realm expert? And how had they avoided being implicated and thrust down to the lower Heavens just like the Radiant Star Sect had been?


    None of this seemed to make much sense at all.


    Ryu looked into Selheira''s radiant eyes. Most would be forced to look away at this point, the purity and gentleness within them was too much. It made one feel as though they were stepping on only a floor of white marble covered in thick layers of mud. It was the feeling of dirtying something that shouldn''t be dirtied, blaspheming something that shouldn''t be blasphemed.


    She was like a blankslate that forced those who looked upon her to reflect on their own insecurities, their own weaknesses, their own failures. It was an uncomfortable reality for many, and one that many refused to face.


    And so, they would look away, unable to continue maintaining their gaze with this beauty.


    However, Ryu was unmoved by it all. Maybe there did exist some insecurities deep within him that he wasn''t willing to face, but the reality was that the current level of Selheira''s abilities weren''t enough to force him to look at himself. His Dao Heart was far too firm to be moved by anyone beneath the Sky God Realm.


    He seemed to want to look for answers within her eyes, but he didn''t ask anything. He wasn''t the type of person to pry into the life of another, and he also didn''t like explaining himself very much, so he wouldn''t force others to do so.


    Selheira''s smile deepened, her gentle brows seeming to relax to another level. Staring into her eyes truly felt like peering into a lake of crystals, her white hair giving off a gentle fragrance and light that made it seem far more alive than dead.


    "A "little" stronger, hm?" Selheira said lightly, recalling Ryu''s evaluation of his own strength. She found it to be quite amusing. If this was a little stronger, then what had everyone else been doing with their lives?


    Ryu didn''t respond immediately and instead took another bite to eat. "... Meaningless in the grand scheme."


    Selheira''s gaze flickered. She could tell by that single sentence just the kind of standards Ryu held for himself. It didn''t seem fake, or to be for show, this was just what he held in the very depths of his bones.


    "I see..." Selheira nodded. "... I should tell you that your wife''s Clan had gone into seclusion, something that happened just before those of the Seventh Heaven descended. I''m not sure of the reason why, but you might know more than me."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Mae had returned for the sake of completing one of her Clan''s coming of age ceremonies, and she had vaguely described to him what it was, but she hadn''t gone into much detail likely because she couldn''t. Ryu hadn''t blamed her for that, these were obviously the secrets of her family, and without him being accepted by them first, her telling him such things would only put his life in danger.


    Clans took their secrets very seriously, and Mae knew this well. The Samsara Wheel of the Dream Asura''s was especially something that should be kept under wraps, the fact that she had even told Ryu any tidbits at all was too much, quite frankly.


    "Understood. Thank you for telling me."


    Ryu hesitated for a moment and then ended up asking anyway.


    "Have you heard anything about the woman associated with the Taboo Powers currently?"I think you should take a look at


    Selheira blinked in slight surprise. Ryu rarely took the initiative to ask her about anything, so the fact that he had made her realize that this was probably important. He was too content to sit in silence and listen to their breathing, so she didn''t believe for a moment that he was just trying to make some small talk.


    "... I don''t know much. But, no news is good news, right?" Selheira uttered with a smile.


    Ryu''s irises flashed with a peculiar light, but he didn''t say anything. Selheira''s word choice was too obvious to need to be explained. However, he didn''t refute anything she had said, the fact that he had asked in the first place meant that he was willing to take this sort of risk with this person in specific.


    Did he trust Selheira?


    Well, there were many things one could fathom from a game of Domain that even millions of years of relationships couldn''t allow you to comprehend. How one strategized, how one dealt with hardship, how one attacked, one''s capacity for violence, for vengeance, for love. It was all laid bare before him in a game of Domain.


    So if he had to answer the question, it could only be yes.


    Not long later, the two got up and left the restaurant they had entered and Selheira led Ryu to a teleportation platform. Soon, they had smoothly entered the Fifth Heaven and made their way to the region of the Radiant Star Sect.


    However, what Ryu hadn''t expected was the thick scent of blood in the region. They hadn''t even gotten close, but it was so dense that the air was practically painted in red as well and a stinging sort of heaviness was trying to make his eyes droop.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, just how much slaughtering had taken place while he hadn''t been present? It felt like he was bearing witness to a bloody war that had raged on for centuries. What had happened here exactly?


    Soon, he could see the familiar outline of the Sect over the horizon. The sound of clashing weapons echoed in his ears.


    He looked toward Selheira and her face was deadpan.


    He had known Selheira for years now, and this was only the second time he had seen such an expression. Her usual had always been a gentle elegance and smile, this expressionless appearance was something that was very clearly not that.


    Ironically, both of these instances had happened today.


    The first was against Jojo. And the second was privilege here and now.


    Ryu looked toward the distance once again. He didn''t see even a single known face in that crowd, not one. He continued to scan the battlefield, but that conclusion remained as accurate as it had been the first time he thought it.


    However, what was clear was that all of these people were excellent, all of them were in the World Sea Realm, and all of them were at the pinnacle standards of the prodigies that Ryu had met up until now, maybe only shy of Selheira and Jojo.


    Just what was going on?


    "They''re fighting for the privilege to be Senior Aika''s husbands."


    Ryu didn''t believe his ears for a moment.


    A bunch of World Sea Realm experts fighting to be that miniature tyrannosaurus rex''s husband? Did they have a death wish?


    He didn''t know Aika''s cultivation, but just logically speaking, at worst she was a Dao Lord. Without at least strength of that level, how could she dare to do all of this? In fact, if Ryu had to bet on it, he felt that Aika was definitely a Dao Sovereign.


    Was this supposed to be a joke? A grand prank everyone was pulling on him as a return gift?


    But that blood, that smell, their fury....


    All of that was very much real.


    Also... Husbands? Plural?

 Chapter 1281 Annoyed

    ?1281 Annoyed


    Ryu''s expression was a bit weird. His reaction probably wasn''t what Selheira might have expected, only because he didn''t know the truth behind what was happening now. For all he knew, this was Aika''s choice. Truthfully, she did seem like the type. Since she hadn''t found a husband until now, picking out several fit with her archetype, at least from what he knew about it.


    It wasn''t exactly unheard of either. Take the Martial Gods for example, they were an exceptionally powerful Clan and their rules on such things were far more lax than many others. Isemeine''s own mother had two daughters from two different men, and they both fought over her just the same.


    And if Ryu was correct about the Martial Gods, they were an existence amongst the Martial Powers of the Ninth Heaven, which meant that this was the standard they upheld for themselves even in those highest of echelons.


    Of course, there were men like Elena''s father who had many wives who didn''t have other partners outside of himself, at least not out in the open, anvwav But there would also be those powerful women among them like Isemeines mother who could act as they please and build their own reverse harems.


    If even one of the most powerful powers of the True Martial World was like this, who was to say that Aika couldn''t be?


    Did the idea leave Ryu uncomfortable? Not really.


    He hadn''t had such thoughts toward Aika although she was exceptionally beautiful. He had met too many beautiful women in his life, if he fell for every one, there wouldn''t be enough minutes in the day or days in the year to account for all of them. Although he wouldn''t hold himself back from adding to his harem, he wouldn''t go out of his way to do so either, and there would likely come a time where he felt that there was enough.


    Ryu had never entered the cultivation world with thoughts of having a huge harem. His family life didn''t prime him for such a thing. His father only had his mother, his grandfathers only had his grandmothers. If it wasn''t for the oddity of his second lifetime and the existence of Ailsa as his Life Partner, he would have been content to only know one woman all his life.


    This was to say that this matter didn''t leave him very moved and he never even considered the fact that Aika was his own to have or that she even owed him such a thing. Beyond that, the disparity in their cultivation also spoke volumes as well.


    Ryu wasn''t one to believe he had to be more powerful than his women. In his mind, he would eventually be the strongest there was, so why care about current strength? In fact, whether it was Elena, Ailsa or Eska, they had all been far more powerful than him when he met them, in fact even Isemeine had been as well, if it wasn''t for his breakthrough during their battle he would have lost at her hands as well.


    Even so, there was something to be said about maintaining the usual boundaries of the cultivation realm.


    Like cultivators usually married like cultivators. The idea of a Sky God marrying someone who wasn''t even in the World Sea Realm was asinine.


    With the cruelty of the world, marrying someone that was beyond yourself was only asking for both parties to suffer, that was simply reality.


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t one to care about such things at all, no one could possibly believe in him more than himself, but it was still something to consider nonetheless.


    This was all to explain that Ryu didn''t immediately feel negative emotions when he learned of this, in fact, he quite understood it. Whether it was because this was what Aika wanted, or if it was for a greater purpose, they both made perfect sense.


    It had to be remembered that Aika was the only one of both the Fading Star Sect and the Radiant Star Sect to have been the Fading and Radiant halves of the former Dual Radiance Star Sect''s Bloodline. As such, her womb was maybe the most valuable thing they had remaining.


    If she wanted multiple husbands to maximize her chances of conceiving a child with the same gifts as herself, it was quite understandable. One''s Bloodline was about the only thing that could be passed one through birth in the first place, it was important to take advantage of it.


    However, these thoughts paused when Ryu saw the unhappiness on Selheira''s expression.I think you should take a look at


    "Is there something the matter?"


    Selheira looked at Ryu''s expression, and seeing his reaction, for whatever reason, she actually seemed to relax and her deadpan visage smoothed out. Her expression became gentler and her arm, which was wrapped around Ryu''s, wound tighter to the point that Ryu could even feel the softness of her chest on his upper arm.


    Ryu raised an internal eyebrow when he felt this. Although Selheira had been holding onto his arm all the while, he hadn''t minded it much. That was because it was quite platonic and benign. It was more akin to an elder sister holding onto her brother''s arm, there wasn''t much to overthink about it, especially since she still kept a certain distance.


    Something like allowing him to feel her chest wasn''t something that she would do in the past. She seemed very aware and intentional about it, but still continued to answer his question as though nothing at all had happened.


    "I can explain it quite simply to you, although Senior Aika isn''t being forced, it''s effectively like this.


    "There are three legs of the Radiant Star Sect that remained between the Fourth to Sixth Heavens that were called forward. They''re led by Old Jiao, Old Xuan and Old Xu. According to the original plan, they were supposed to lay low without any outward facing presence. They would find children from discarded families born with great talent, take them in, and give them the Radiant Bloodline.


    "Over time, these hidden factions would grow stronger and stronger, and once Old Wan''s plan was complete, they could move forward with a strong base. However, Senior Aika''s breakthrough has changed everything because they now have a talent capable of holding down the fort on her own. In the past, Senior Aika was already capable of defending the Sect on her own, which was why so many survived in the first place, but in order to do so she had given up a great amount of her lifespan and vitatlity, resulting in many thinking she would never have the chance to breakthrough.


    "This change though was great, because it meant that even if they charged back to the Seventh Heaven now, they would be able to adequately protect themselves."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. To think that the breakthrough of just one Aika could give them such confidence.


    It had to be remembered that the Sect had enemies on the Eighth Heaven had brought them to the Seventh Heaven in the first place before they split. There was always the chance that such enemies could come back around just in case to make sure that the Sect never rose up again. Entering the Seventh Heaven didn''t just mean that they were on the Seventh Heaven, but it also meant that those of the Eight and Ninth Heaven would have a much easier time reaching you.


    This realization made Ryu re-evaluate Aika once more.


    "Now that these matters are settled, though, those old men are thinking about the future already and they felt that Aika should choose a husband. The problem is that there''s no one of Aika''s generation that''s worthy, and there isn''t a single one of the younger generations who can even shine her shoes.


    "Asking for this annoyed Aika greatly and she snapped. She rightfully believed that her alone was enough, but the old men began to speak about the future and how although she was enough to hold the fort on the Seventh Heaven, what about their return to the Eighth Heaven? Or what about one day finally reaching the Ninth Heaven as their Ancestors had always wanted before they were divided?


    "A single Aika wouldn''t be enough for this, they would need at least a half dozen, and how could such a thing be possible if the full Dual Radiance Bloodline never appeared again? Their only hope was for Aika to have children.


    "Senior Aika was infuriated by all of this, but the old men said they would allow her to pick whomever she wanted, they weren''t forcing her to marry anyone, not that they could.


    "Reaching her limits, Senior Aika had a fiery burst of rage and said that if she was going to have to pick a husband, she would just be like all those other Patriarchs and have more than one, and that''s how this all started."


    Ryu and Selheira looked down toward the carnage in unison.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. This situation was definitely more complicated than he had originally thought.

 Chapter 1282 Fall Of A Genius

    ?1282 Fall of a Genius


    The approaching Ryu and Selheira caught the attention of many below. Those that were here hadn''t been back for long, but many had already met and seen Selheira before. As were many, they were easily captured by her gentle aura and calming presence. But no matter what, it was difficult for them to have an outward showing of jealousy to the fact she was hanging from another man''s arm when they were quite literally fighting for the right to have another woman as their wife. So, though their strikes became more furious to vent their discomfort, they didn''t do or say anything else.


    Considering they had just met Selheira not long ago, for all they knew, she was already married to another. Although she still had the air of a virgin, without exceptional senses it was hard to tell at a glance, and even if it was the case that she was betrothed, it wasn''t rare for women to wait until after they had entered the Sky God Realm to consider losing their Primordial Yin. There was no shortage of techniques that benefited from an intact one.


    Selheira''s snow white owl landed on the tall walls of the Sect. Upon it, there were many observing the proceedings. And, of course, the likes of Old Wan, Samson and the others were present. This was quite an important event, after all, so how could they not be?


    The two looked toward Ryu and though their expressions didn''t show much, there was a peculiar change in the depths of their eyes, as though they were seeing something they couldn''t quite understand, but also couldn''t quite put their finger on what it is they were trying to understand in the first place.


    Aside from Samson and Old Wan, there were the trio of Old Jiao, Old Xuan and Old Xu.


    All three of them didn''t look particularly outstanding, but that was probably what was also so remarkable about them. They dressed in simple robes that looked as though they had been knit in thick wool. They looked more like retired, old mortal men who spent their days in rocking chairs and watching their grandchildren play than the backbone of a once exceptionally powerful Seventh Heaven Sect.


    But again, this was what made them so remarkable. And now that Ryu thought about it, it was also what made the likes of Samson, Aika and Old Wan so remarkable as well. He never felt any sort of discomfort around them, almost as though they had no strength in their bodies at all. Aika had even completed a breakthrough into what should have been at the very least the Dao Lord Realm without so much as harming him, and that was while she had her arm around him as she gleefully pretended to be an old lady.


    Of course, Aika''s level of control was even more exaggerated than just this, but the fact that all of them could do the same wasn''t a coincidence at all.


    There was no doubt that these characters weren''t just Sky God Realm experts, but they were extremely deep into the Realm. In order to qualify as the backbone of such a Sect, they would definitely have to be at least the Omniscient Realm.


    Ryu hadn''t noticed before because he was very much used to being unmoved by the auras of powerful figures, he simply didn''t allow his body and psyche to bow down. But now that he held a Founding Dao in the palm of his hands, it felt that everything was oh so very "obvious" to him now. If he wanted to understand something, he simply had to reflect on it for a moment and the answers seemed to manifest on their own.


    His current level of intelligence was unfathomable.


    These old men had noticed Ryu''s arrival long ago, but seeing him calmly observing them without reserve made them more curious. Aika had mentioned two Inhertor Disciples before, and Selheira was obviously the first, while this young man should be the second, but they were also a bit confused.


    They could see through the wall of talent that was hidden well within Selheira''s body, but when they turned to Ryu, it felt like they couldn''t see anything at all, and this left them shocked.


    What shocked Old Wan and Samson was that they too had this feeling. Although they hadn''t been able to see right through Ryu before, they could tell certain things and make certain deductions. But now... There was nothing. His air of mystery was on a different level.


    Seemingly sensing the oddity in the fact that most were paying more attention to Ryu than they were the battle for the fate of their Matriarch, Samson couldn''t help but laugh and lighten the mood considerably.


    "What are you still doing up here, Little Ryu? Are you going to miss this opportunity?"


    He didn''t seem to realize that Selheira''s arm was around Ryu''s, or maybe because he was so used to Selheira''s personality he didn''t take it seriously at all. After all, Aika had a habit of taking Ryu''s arm too, but no one thought that she was in love with Ryu.


    Ryu smiled lightly. "If Senior Aika had wanted me, couldn''t she have just named me? There''s no need to force such a beauty''s hand."


    Samson''s smile froze, as did the smiling expressions of the other older men as well. The ambience of the atmosphere wasn''t bad despite the circumstances, it could be seen that much of the tension that Ryu had expected to find was here, or maybe these old men were just very good at hiding it.


    However, this was only something that one very used to bloodshed could say. The scent of blood was so thick that even the air itself seemed to have been dyed red, so it couldn''t be that these old men hadn''t noticed. Plus, weren''t these young men supposed to be the future of their Sect as well, so how were they so casual about it all?I think you should take a look at


    That said, Ryu didn''t care very much about this either. He wasn''t the morality police and these young men weren''t being forced to participate. This was no different from any other competition of the martial world, the survival of the fittest and the superiority of the largest fist.


    At the same time, the reaction of these elders had nothing to do with this matter either. There was only one they had for Ryu''s response just now...


    Arrogant.


    In Ryu''s opinion, Aika had had the option to choose any husband she wanted. Of all those young men down there, many of whom were around Ryu''s age, she couldn''t have known any one of them better than she knew him. And yet, she chose to hold this sort of competition.


    Of course, Ryu held no sort of animosity toward Aika for this. As he had said previously, he had no such feelings toward her, and she was free to do as she pleased. She was a powerful woman who was far closer to the pinnacle of the True Martial World than he was. If a group of unbiased individuals were to choose who among the two of them were more likely to fulfill Ryu''s goal and aspirations, it would be unanimously decided that she would be the better choice.


    However, even with all of this being the case, if people thought that he would be a complicit, jumping clown, fighting it out and shedding blood for the sake of winning the heart of a woman he only cared for platonically...


    They were sorely mistaken.


    In Ryu''s eyes, since he wasn''t her first and immediate choice, he wouldn''t force it nor would he bail her out for her decisions.


    Of course, in the mind of others, this was ridiculous. Aika was a Dao Lord at worst, why shouldn''t a mere Dao Pedestal Realm expert be forced to prove himself to her?


    In truth, Samson had only been joking around. In his opinion, although he couldn''t see through Ryu properly, his cultivation was still on the weaker side. And though he had defeated Starlight, Starlight had been an entire cultivation Realm beneath him, not to mention crippled by the suppression of the lower Heavens.


    He hadn''t truly intended for Ryu to fight and was just making a joke to tease this overly serious young junior of his, as was his usual.


    But he hadn''t expected Ryu to answer with such a casual smile, such frankness. He wasn''t putting on a show, he wasn''t saying it for the sake of the crowd, he didn''t even sound like he was looking down on the young men fighting for their lives down below, he had just casually stated something that he felt to the depths of his heart.


    This didn''t even mention the fact that he had casually called Aika a "beauty", as though that was an appropriate method of address for such a powerful expert.


    At that moment, the Dao Hearts of those present fiercely shook.


    Their expressions changed and many hurriedly fell to the ground, crossing their legs and closing their eyes, forgetting everything around them as they entered a deep state of meditation.


    Of those that moved, there were even many younger Sky Gods. The only ones that seemed unaffected were many of the women and the strongest of them who only frowned once before their brows smoothed out.


    Even so, the way they looked at Ryu had forever changed.


    This young man that they had just met had a bearing beyond his age, and an arrogance so deep and boundless that its depths couldn''t be properly measured.


    However, at the same time, they came to the same conclusion that Aika had. Such a sharp sword and unbendable blade, should it ever be broken one day... Would either cause the world to collapse or result in the fall of a genius.

 Chapter 1283 Lost

    ?1283 Lost


    Selheira looked toward Ryu''s side profile, her gaze unreadable. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but her long-time beast companion couldn''t help but twist its neck back, seemingly sensing something odd.


    In truth, Selheira''s thoughts weren''t that difficult to read.


    Most men in Ryu''s position, when they heard that Aika was holding a competition for her hand in marriage, would feel an unsettled jealousy and unhappiness. Then, like most others, they would jump into the fray, wanting to prove themselves.


    This was how men of the cultivation were. Even with women that weren''t their own, they often felt an entitled sense of closeness to them, as though their own personal feelings should dictate everything, even when those personal feelings stemmed from nothing more than pride and ego.


    Ryu was clearly a very prideful person, however the way that pride manifested was more important than anything else. After she saw Ryu''s reaction to Aika''s "competition", she seemed to have fully and entirely relaxed.


    Did she love Ryu? She couldn''t say that. But she wasn''t opposed to being courted by him, even though, quite frankly, he didn''t seem very interested in doing even that.


    Even so, she wasn''t dissatisfied and was very satisfied with the current state of things. She had already done her own due diligence, and if she had her own requirements, who was to say that Ryu didn''t have his own despite the fact he had many wives already? In fact, the very fact he had multiple wives, given what she knew of his temperament, actually made it even more likely that his requirements for more were even higher.


    At least, this was how Selheira had felt a moment ago. But seeing so many powerful men fall because of a simple short two phrases from Ryu that could hardly be counted as full sentences, she felt her heart unexplainably pound.


    She knew that this was because she had lowered her defenses toward Ryu, but for him to take advantage of this so soon to make such a sweeping display of masculine and yet reserved power left her eyes glistening.


    ''... How unfair...'' she thought to herself. But in the end, she smiled and looked away.


    Ryu didn''t react much to the reactions of those around him, he felt similarly unmoved by it all. If anything, he felt that the Dao Hearts of these people were far too weak. This was likely because of that grueling half year he had put himself through, but even so, if these people had been given the same choice, would they dare to stay in contact with those chains for an entire half year?


    At that moment, Aika suddenly appeared high in the skies. Ryu looked up and greeted her with a smile, she could tell that there was no resentment or unhappiness in Ryu''s eyes, he had just been speaking casually, exactly as his tone had implied. At the same time, though, Aika saw something else.


    Ryu clearly had no intention of fighting if the goal was to win her heart. However, if she asked him for a favor to fight on her behalf and get her out of the mess her big mouth had put her in, he would probably do so without hesitation.


    At that point, it wouldn''t be about Ryu being led by the nose and tested for the sake of winning a woman''s heart, instead it would be him repaying the mountains of kindness a senior had given him over several years. In his mind, these were wholly different things.


    Aika didn''t say anything, but the mood seemed to shift again with her presence.


    Indeed, it seemed that her Dao Heart wasn''t even as strong as a 20 some odd year old boy''s. She was too easily agitated, leading even to situations like this one, but she was too far into life to change no, too much of her strength was built on her current ways.


    It would be nice if she had a husband who could take on such burdens for her, but she had never met such a man.


    Samson was too much of a jokester. Old Wan was too scheming and calculative. Old Jiao, Old Xuan and Old Xu had never been very close with her to begin with and they lacked the talent Same and Old Wan had to begin with.


    As for those outside of her Sect, all they had ever done was ignore her.


    She sighed. At the moment, she just looked tired.


    Coinciding with Aika''s appearance, the battle below came to a stop. In the end, three remained, the exact number that Aika had called out previously. Of the nearly three dozen that had participated, just this number was left, and their identities weren''t very surprising at all, each one of them was ranked first in their own respective factions.I think you should take a look at


    Bruiser. The young man lived up to his name, wearing a pair of dense black gloves with spikes over the place of his knuckles, he looked as though he could be willing to smash even a star to smithereens if one allowed him to.


    Dried blood caked his temples and streaked down his forehead. Though his hair looked black at first glance, when the sun rays hit it just right, it lit with a hidden red, making the dark bits of flesh that were still stuck in the grooves of his spiked knuckles.


    He was under Old Jiao''s faction and exuded an aura that was both sinister and tainted.


    Robion. From his back extended a pair of dense black angel-like wings. When they flapped, a fog of blackness invaded the surroundings, making there be no doubt that this was most definitely from a special bone structure. Just from the obvious aura alone, it was at the Omniscient Grade at the weakest, and that was just its inactive state.


    Aside from this, his features were quite pale and handsome. They held a sharpness, from his jaw even down to his nose, but his eyes were surprisingly dull, taking away from his sword-like brows.


    He didn''t hold any weapons, but the black metallic features on his wings dripped with an oozing blood.


    He was under Old Xuan.


    Brianus. He was the tallest of them, and also somehow held the oddest weapon. It was a rod, technically, but it looked far more like a pillar. It was as thick as his already thicker than normal waist, and just to hold it, he had no choice but to wrap his entire arm around it.


    However, even so, this rod turned pillar was caked with blood and of the three, Brianus had probably killed the most.


    He was under Old Xu.


    It seemed that the final three who would become Aika''s husbands in the future had been selected. However, rather than celebration, the atmosphere was oddly silent, maybe due to the massacre below, or many due to Ryu''s words.


    Aika sighed, and looked down.


    This wasn''t a matter that could be simply retracted. Although many of the geniuses below were only severely injured and not entirely dead, a good number of them had truly lost their lives, over half of the nearly three dozen that had participated. And of those that had survived, it was unknown if they would ever be the same again. Even if their bodies managed to escape the fate of being crippled, what about their Dao Hearts? Could they withstand such a loss?


    If Aika just uttered she hadn''t meant what she said, what about all of these lives? Could she even continue to command the Radiant Star Sect? How would people respect her in the future? She would be seen as a tyrant, and despite what seemed to be her personality, she couldn''t bear such a cross.


    But what could she do other than accept?


    When her elders of the past had told her that her big mouth would get her into trouble in the future, she thought it would be at the hands of a powerful enemy. The irony that mere World Sea Realm experts had such a hold on her right now wasn''t lost on her in the slightest, but it only seemed natural. Eventually one''s faults would catch up with one.


    Ryu looked up toward Aika as her pink lips slightly parted. It seemed that she was about to speak, but he could sense the hesitation, then the sudden determination. Her chest expanded and she was ready to bite the bullet when she was suddenly interrupted.


    "That said, it''s just a bit unfair if I participate now. They''ve all just fought a difficult battle. How about I let them rest for a week, then we''ll battle. We can do a battle royale of four."


    Ryu''s uninterested voice echoed. Many who had been affected previously had begun to wake up one after another, and part of the reason Aika had taken so long to speak was to avoid disturbing them. It would be too bad if their future potential was completely shattered because of a few words.


    Very few expected Ryu''s words, but what was even more surprising was that Ryu didn''t wait for the answer of everyone else as he turned to leave.


    Watching his back view, for some reason, Aika felt that she had suddenly lost something.

 Chapter 1284 Let Alone

    1284 Let Alone


    Ryu stood in silence, his white robes fluttering in the wind.


    The last week had passed with great speed, almost as though it was the blink of an eye. One would have thought that for the likes of Ryu, such time would have passed by exceptionally slowly, especially since this was a day he would be putting his life on the line, but he was just as relaxed now as he had been back then.


    His hands clasped behind his back and his two Great Swordstaffs floated gently without a touch in the same position they had always been in. They reflected a black and white light, appearing to be a different sort of beauty depending on how one gazed upon them, and at which angles one did so. It wasn''t the kind of treasure one would ever guess to have been crafted by a youngster like Ryu even though it was only at the Sovereign Grade.


    None of his enemies were there yet despite the fact the Sect''s walls were lined with people, but Ryu didn''t seem to react to this at all.


    It probably made sense that the others would be dissatisfied. In their eyes, Ryu was only a Dao Pedestal Realm expert, the fact that their positions were delayed for an entire week, was quite unacceptable to them. However, they could only delay this matter for so long. Since Aika had made the final decision, what choice did they have but to comply?


    Soon, three persons came crashing down from above, landing heavily on the ground below. Brianus'' pillar dove into the ground, hiding half of its entire length instantly, and yet it was still several heads taller than the young man. Bruiser''s steel knuckles shimmered beneath the high sun. As for Robion, he was the only one among them who managed to land gently, the sharpness of his facial characteristics carving through the wind.


    In this past week, Ryu hadn''t asked anything about these three. Quite frankly, he didn''t care enough to know. He didn''t even know what their names were.


    That said, they had learned everything there was to know about him. They knew he came from a small world. They knew that his performance in the Incomplete Heavenly Path was the reason that the Sect had managed to enter the Fourth Heaven. They also knew that he already had several wives, and yet he actually dared to participate in this matter.


    Although it couldn''t be uttered that these three had never had females in their lives, they had in fact had many, they hadn''t taken any of them as their true women. Marrying so young with their level of talent was quite rare, and it was obvious that Ryu had likely only done so because of the customs of his small world.


    Even with all of this said, they didn''t look down on Ryu for these things. Of course, that wasn''t because they were magnanimous or big hearted, nor was it because they deemed themselves to be good people. It was rather because of Aika and the existence of her influence.


    If this Ryu was a normal person, why would Aika set out a special event for him in this way?


    They didn''t believe for a moment that Aika had special feelings for Ryu, or else she would have just named him previously instead of making them go through all of this. But what could be said is that she had special enough consideration for his talent to allow this sort of exception.I think you should take a look at


    "I knew that there was something off about this," Bruiser suddenly said, looking Ryu up and down. "You''re already in the Nine Life Revolutions Realm, you are indeed at our level."


    Reading another''s cultivation had never been an exact science, and it was even more complicated in the True Martial World with the myriad of matters to take into consideration. It took one who was either exceptional in matters of the senses, or was intimately familiar with the method of cultivation their target was using, to see through such matters.


    Making it to the Nine Life Revolutions Realm, especially before entering the World Sea Realm first, was an exceptional feat.


    There were many disciplines that believed the body to be the foundation of all things. It housed both the soul and the Meridians, without a strong enough body, housing powerful iterations of either was impossible. This was also why those with greater talent tended to likewise had more powerful bodies just by default.


    Having a stronger Body Realm than Qi Realm or Mental Realm was actually seen to be as quite desirable, it was just that it was very difficult to achieve.


    While it seemed that the Body Realm had no requirements for cultivation, this was only true at its lower Realms. While it was still acceptable if Ryu had been in the Blood Refinement Realm, the idea that he was already in the Nine Life Revolutions Realm meant that he had completed a Life Destruction.


    Doing so required an intimate familiarity with one''s body. This was beyond one''s flesh and bones, it even required a deep comprehension of one''s martial way. This was because in order to keep yourself together while experiencing such pain, one required an exceptional Dao Heart. On top of this, to complete a Life Destruction, one would have to sever connection to their soul and Spiritual Foundations and the like as well. The only way to re- establish such connections was to have intimate familiarity with them.


    A World Sea Realm expert would have already formed their Cosmic Seeds and grown them to maturity, they would have the most optimal understanding of themselves.


    For Ryu to do this before even stepping into the Cosmic Seed Realm first was absolutely astonishing and it was a feat that couldn''t be looked down upon.


    Ryu didn''t say anything although he had very clearly heard Bruiser''s words. However, Bruiser seemed to have already understood this, after all, he had heard about Ryu''s personality from others. This wasn''t a man fond of socializing or speaking with strangers.


    So, after he had spoken, he had already sneered. "Even so, the completion of just a single Life Destruction paired with Peak Dao Pedestal Realm Qi Realm cultivation isn''t nearly enough for even one of us, let alone three of us."

 Chapter 1285 With Anyone

    1285 With Anyone.


    Bruiser''s words seemed to have implied something. It was clear that the three had already decided that this was a prize they would be keeping to themselves.


    The three had never thought that they would be sharing a woman in their lifetimes, but the worth of Aika was too great. Let alone the fact they would never gain a more powerful woman in their lifetimes, the benefits to having her on their cultivation speed and resources would be enormous.


    The problem was that they were keenly aware of the machinations and schemes that occurred within harems. This wasn''t something that would be left to just the women. When ambitious people were placed together in a cutthroat environment, things were bound to happen.


    Who was to say that Aika would never choose to have other husbands? Who was to say that she wouldn''t get bored of them after a single night and never call them again? Who was to say that they would even be able to share a night with her at all, after all it wasn''t as though they had the power to force it upon her.


    Knowing all of this, these three, although they had formerly been enemies, had decided that the best course of action progressing would be to bind their futures together. No matter what, they would move forward as a united front, taking on the role of Aika''s first husbands.


    If they could focus less on scheming, and more on benefitting the most from their situation, their lives would be much brighter.


    And now, their first test stood before them. They would show the world this sort of united front and make it implicitly clear where they stood on these matters.


    "Are you finished talking yet?" Ryu asked. His expression carried an obvious indifference. "I planned on dealing with all three of you from the very beginning. I don''t have a inclination for sharing my women.


    "With anyone."


    Ryu''s words seemed to shake the three awake, their gazes flashing with hints of hesitation, shame and rage.


    At the same time, Ryu''s words drifted to the city walls, causing many to frown. Although this was the sentiment of many men here, there was also the matter of knowing their limits.


    On the city walls, there were many prodigies lower than the World Sea Realm and higher that were present, many of whom would have jumped at such a chance. They might never gain such an remarkable woman in their lives, wasn''t it a matter, of course, to fight for her and this chance?


    Many looked over toward Aika to see her reaction. Knowing this woman''s fiery temper, she might even smite Ryu down where he stood. Saying such things in the presence of everyone, wasn''t that just like treating her as though she was just any old woman? How could Aika stand for this?


    Though some thought it was odd that Aika hadn''t shown up at the beginning of the other battle, but had for this one, they were more eager to see what her reaction would be now. And yet, there was no reaction at all, her expression was simply impossible to read. It was neither cold and indifferent, nor calm and relaxed. It was in an odd in between state that left many without the words to describe it.


    Ryu seemed to be the only one that didn''t glance toward the city walls, as though Aika''s response to his words hadn''t mattered to him.


    With a gesture of his palms, his Great Swordstaffs flew up and landed gently within them. He flicked his wrists and they spun in his palm, his shoulders and hands rotating with an almost hypnotic flexibility.


    Then, they suddenly came to a stop.


    BANG!


    The earth split into three, the residual wind pressure shattering it. Ryu''s body began to glow as a pair of white wings extended from his back and white-gold scales began to cover his body. A pair of horns that seemed to want to pierce the skies, standing as black as ink, appeared on his forward as a Phoenix''s cry echoed through the skies.I think you should take a look at


    The pupils of several individuals constricted into pinholes.


    Living Spiritual Foundation!


    Qi rushed toward Ryu from all directions, a oppressive weight swallowing up the atmosphere. But what was even more shocking was that it most definitely wasn''t Immortal Qi. There was no doubt, that was most definitely Cosmic Qi.


    However, before this could shock those present to the point of disbelief, the aura of a Sword God flourished, splitting the clouds above and rumbling the earth beneath.


    Ryu''s irises reflected with a hidden golden light, shimmering brighter and brighter.


    He seemed to have gone all out from the very beginning. His presence was absolutely suffocating. And yet, he wasn''t finished.


    Motes of starlight descended from the skies above, gently wrapping around Ryu and then suddenly dispersing, filling the battlefield like the lines of a game of Domain.


    Everything happened so quickly that the three youths could only stand and watch. They felt a pressure pressing against their bodies.


    Ryu raised his foot, his body leaning forward slightly.


    The hairs on their necks stood at attention, their bodies being pulled taut as they felt a keen sense of danger.


    By the time Ryu''s step had landed, his body flickered and vanished, leaving nothing more than an afterimage.


    Bruiser punched out on instinct. Although Ryu felt overwhelming, he was still within the realms that he could understand and react to. His battle instincts kicked in and he knew that he couldn''t allow Ryu to take the initiative, so he reacted as though he had been ready all along.


    And yet, when he punched out, it felt as though his fist had entered a quagmire. Ryu was right before him, not even half a meter away, and yet for some reason, Bruiser already knew that his fist would never be able to reach Ryu''s face.


    If one looked from the side, it looked as though Bruiser''s arm had shrunk to the size of a toddler''s, barely able to punch out a single foot, let alone cover half a meter.


    Ryu''s great swordstaff trembled and blood spurted.


    Bruiser''s arm was amputated from his shoulder, spinning wildly in the air as his blood surged like a fountain.


    The elders shuddered.


    Spatial Soul Nature!

 Chapter 1286 Calm And Unhurried

    1286 Calm and Unhurried


    Bruiser could barely see the sharpness of Ryu''s gaze behind the curtain of his own blood. He was stunned as a wave of pain wracked his body. He didn''t even quite understand what had just happened, or at the very least, he was step slower than everyone else. That was because from his perspective, everything about his attack had gone perfectly, so how had he missed? Even worse than that, how had he lost his arm?


    The pain quickly became rage. His arms were the most important part of his body, they were what his Dao was built upon, what he had been training his entire life. And yet, just like that, he had suddenly lost one.


    Regrowing arms wasn''t impossible, but without investing a ridiculous amount, he would have to restrain the regrown arm from start to finish. If he wanted the exact same arm he had just lost back, he would require an even higher grade healing pill, one that it was uncertain if he would even be able to afford.


    Bruiser lashed out with his remaining arm in fury, however in his current state, the very same foolish end would be waiting for him. Luckily, for his sake, Brianus and Robion acted immediately. Their perspective was different, so their understanding of what had just happened was far deeper than Bruiser''s.


    Ryu, who had been about to make a follow up attack, shifting his stance instead.


    With a small step to the side, he shifted out of the way of Brianus'' massive swinging pillar, his sharp nose was one a single millimeter from its coating of qi, but his gaze was calm and unhurried.


    He took another step and his neck barely slid out of the way of Robion''s sharp wings.


    His great swordstaffs swung out in an elegant arc, one thrusting forward like a raging spear and hitting Brianus squarely on the chest. The other clipped against Robion''s wing, slamming it shut against his body and throwing his balance off.


    Brianus was sent flying like a ball out of a canon while Robion crashed and skidded along the ground.


    Ryu took another step, the ground shrinking as his body appeared above the flying Brianus. This singular step caused Bruiser''s own follow up attack to fail miserably.


    A curious look flickered in Ryu''s gaze as he appeared above Brianus'' flying body. He had been 100% certain that he would pierce through his chest. His great swordstaffs carried the weight of the world behind them and had a sharp edge, the fact that Brianus had flown out as though he had been hit by a blunt hammer across the chest was intriguing.


    Brianus, who observed Ryu immediately, slammed his pillar into the ground, causing its full almost 10 meter length to vanish to just two or so meters once again. The earth trembled and roared, waves extending out in all directions as he forced himself to come to a strong and sturdy halt.


    With a quick movement he palmed the side of his pillar and grabbed, shooting his arm into the sky.


    The pillar, which had just been buried, rocketed up toward Ryu, a suffocating aura of destruction following it. Ryu could sense the vague hint of a Dao hidden beneath this seemingly simple attack, it carried a momentum that held a willingness to pierce the skies, uncaring about the obstructions that lay before it and its goal.


    Ryu''s body pulsed and nine golden pillars within him glowing with a magnificent light. The space between his white scales began to glow with the same fierce light, making him seem far more resplendent and magnificent.


    "Down."


    Ryu swung his great swordstaff with a mighty momentum, smashing all the Dao intent hidden within Brianus'' pillar and crushing it back into the ground until it vanished below.


    Just when Brianus was shocked and preparing to retrieve his pillar, Ryu vanished out of the skies above him, appearing right before him with a swinging, sweeping attack already half completed.


    Ryu''s senses flashed as he sensed that Robion had already recovered with great speed. If he continued, he would definitely suffer a devastating attack from the back. And yet, Ryu didn''t shift his attack this time.


    Suddenly, Robion felt as though the world around him had twisted. The ground beneath him moved with much lesser speed and for several split moments it felt as though he wasn''t moving at all despite the fact he was rushing forward with his greatest speed.


    Robion roared, his qi spreading out in all directions and a domain of darkness forming around him, only then did he barely manage to break free of the effects, but by then, Ryu''s sweep had already landed a devastating blow.


    BANG!


    Brianus shot out to the side, crashing into the walls of the Radiant Star Sect before he could even stop himself. His bones shook and rattled, his inner organs shifting out of place and threatening to reposition themselves.


    Ryu''s figure flashed and vanished once again, appearing Robion''s back and stamping downward. His eyes glowed with a fierce light, the aura of the Nine Pillars rising out form him like a tide willing and able to suppress the ground below and even the skies above.I think you should take a look at


    BANG!


    Robion was drilled into the ground below, coughing up a mouthful of blood. It was clear that his body was much more fragile than Brianus'', but his wings had still protected him from excessive damage..


    It was simply too much, it didn''t even feel like Ryu had far surpassed them in terms of strength. Rather, his movement technique, his timing, his senses, and most importantly, his Spatial Soul Nature made him a suffocating opponent to deal with. It was a gap in skill, not strength.


    What was also clear to the older of them was that Ryu''s movements carried hints of the power of the laws of the world, even a single punch carried a great deal of weight. This should have been something possible only for Cosmic Seed Realm experts, but it was all truly baffling.


    Ryu was definitely still in the Dao Pedestal Realm, so how was it that he was using Cosmic Qi and wielding the laws of the world, none of it was adding up properly.


    Even with their thoughts, though, Ryu didn''t stop. With a step he had already appeared behind the rushing and still furious Bruiser. The gap in the speed was simply too great, and the gap in their senses was even larger.


    His eyes glowed with a dark gold light as his Mental Energy manifested. A complex maze appeared in the skies before concentrating into a single point and beaming into the back of Bruiser''s skull. It flashed fore but a single moment, but those that had gazed too deeply at the maze felt their minds turning sluggish, a slight headache taking shape at the core of their minds. They had no choice but to close their eyes tightly to finally escape the annoying dull pain.


    As for Bruiser himself, he fell forward, collapsing.


    Ryu swept a gaze, landing on the ground with a light step.


    He was the most understanding of how he had won this battle so easily, but he was also confident that he could do it again. If he were to say how much of his strength he had used just now, ignoring trump cards that he couldn''t show, and probably also removing his self-created Birthed Phenomena from the equation, it wasn''t even 50%. Of course, a large portion of that weight was carried by his Dao since he didn''t have to actively use it either, but it was less than 50% nonetheless.


    These three hadn''t used their full capabilities either. He hadn''t sensed any one of them taking out their Daos, and they hadn''t used the techniques of the Radiant Star Sect either, but that was also because Ryu had simply not given them the chance to.


    Even so, Ryu wasn''t that proud either. These three geniuses were born here on the Fourth to Sixth Heavens, they were among the geniuses that the three hidden factions had gathered during their time. They had only been gifted the Bloodline of the Radiant Star Sect after the fact, and even then it was only a small portion.


    The geniuses of the former Radiant Star Sect had all long since entered the Sky God Realm, and they were among the many on the Sect walls now.


    If anyone thought for a moment, it was clear and obvious that Aika had only picked out these few to fight because she wanted to stall for as much time as possible. If she really cared about extending her bloodline, she would have chosen among those men.


    But that didn''t have anything to do with Ryu now, he had done his job and even stretched his legs a bit.


    He spun his great swordstaffs and then tossed them to his back.


    With a step, he appeared on the walls before Aika with a smile and a nod.


    To be quite frank, Aika thought too much previously. To Ryu, a life and death matter was simply another challenge on his path. Even if it had occurred because of her, he wouldn''t hold a grudge.


    The sense of loss she had felt didn''t come from his dissatisfaction, it rather came because Ryu had never had any intention of using this matter as a springboard to truly become her husband.


    There was a very important reason for that as well. Marrying Aika for the sake of the Radiant Star Sect was akin to promising his future child to them, that meant marrying into the Sect.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, his women had to carry the name Tatsuya. He had no thought for Aika until he was strong enough to make that happen, and even if that day did come, he would necessarily be interested in her in the first place.


    Seeing Ryu''s calm smile, for some reason, Aika finally felt an odd sort of peace.


    She really couldn''t remember. When was the last time a man had fought for her?

 Chapter 1287 Fallen

    1287 Fallen


    Ryu didn''t say much of anything as he looked toward Aika, he only smiled lightly, a smile that was quite breathtaking. If it wasn''t for the fact that Ryu was far too junior to her, knocking off several points from him, Aika might even admit this to herself. But it was too difficult to look at someone so much weaker than her as a viable partner.


    Even so, Ryu''s bearing was no less magnificent than a man that should be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with her. And his large, looming presence, which was even currently casting a shadow over her petite frame, was somehow quite comforting even though she was well aware that she wouldn''t even have to lift a finger to deal with him.


    Aika found herself at a loss for words, unable to find the words that she should be speaking at the moment. It was quite suffocating.


    "... You''ve improved quite a great deal."


    "Not much," Ryu shook his head.


    Aika grit her teeth. This Ryu was too good at dealing with awkward situations, what did he even come and stand before her for if he didn''t plan on carrying on a conversation properly. He just seemed to be observing her as though he would be able to read her mind if he looked close enough.


    Suddenly, Ryu titled his head up and looked toward everyone else.


    "I think that that''s enough talk of marriage, right? If even those of Aika''s generation do not dare to mention marrying her, when would it be the turn of us juniors? It''s a bit ridiculous, don''t you think?"


    If Ryu had spoken these words before his battle, it would have sounded quite ridiculous, almost as though he knew he was too weak to intervene and as such wanted to find a different method of avoiding watching Aika marry off to another man or men. But now that he had won such a right and he was clearly straight forwardly giving it up, it held far more weight.


    Even so, the elders couldn''t help but frown. They had gone through so much trouble to get this chance, even managing to get Aika to paint herself into a corner with her words, so how the hell had they managed to land on the one man who would actually give up such an opportunity?


    Old Jiao stepped forward. "I will give you the due respect as Sister Aika''s future husband, but you should also remember your place as exactly what you''ve claimed to be... a junior. This matter is related to the future prosperity of the Sect, it cannot be taken so lightly."


    When Ryu heard this, he looked up into the skies, his hands clasped behind his back. He really had wanted to avoid politics, but here he was, dealing with it again.


    This Old Jiao truly knew when to advance and retreat. If he had treated Ryu dismissively, it would have made this competition for husband seem like nothing more than a joke. After all, how could someone purported to be the husband of Aika of all people be disrespected by the rest of the Sect? That was akin to claiming that all of this was meaningless.


    But at the same time, he managed to use the tag of "future" and Ryu''s own words to spin this matter in a light that was favorable to himself. Maybe no one believed that Ryu could win a war of words with these old fogies. Aika had never been good at such things, which was why she had landed herself in such a situation to begin with.


    "Indeed. So can Senior explain to me how the prosperity of the Sect will be helped by our most powerful expert degrading herself to the level of marrying World Sea Realm experts?"


    With the way Ryu was looking, no one expected him to suddenly answer. It truly looked like he had given up, but the moment he spoke, it felt as though daggers had been drawn. In fact, with such words being spoken, even Aika didn''t escape entirely unscathed as it had been she who had picked out such a method to begin with.


    Old Jiao''s expression couldn''t help but freeze. Old Wan, who was standing by the side and watching silently, couldn''t help but have a flicker in his gaze, but he still didn''t say anything. This Ryu had beaten him in a game of Domain, something maybe no one else would believe even if he personally admitted it. If these old fogies thought it would be easy to outmaneuver him, they would be sorely mistaken.


    "The face of a Sect is one of its most important assets. Its disciples are another extremely important asset. With this choice of yours, you''re putting both in extreme danger.


    "What supreme genius would want to choose a Sect with no face? How will future generations hold their heads high with such history weighing them down? And have you even thought about the danger this would put them in? What if I wasn''t here and the three of them had succeeded, what do you think your enemies would do with three World Sea Realm experts who were suddenly so closely tied to Senior Aika? Even further than that, what if Senior Aika actually bore their children? How much incentive would there be for the powerful to target their fathers for the sake of forcing the hand of the Radiant Star Sect?"


    "This... This wouldn''t happen, there''s a great taboo against-"


    Ryu laughed. "Don''t speak to me of taboos and this world. I''ve met more shameless powers in just my few years of being here than I''ve met in my entire lifetime. In fact, the most shameless individuals of even my world happened to come from here as well.


    "And even if this wasn''t the case, do you think they''d still have the protection of their status as juniors after they married Senior Aika? The moment they did, they would become part of her generation and thus be free game. Even if this wasn''t truly the case, this is an argument that any one of those Sects or Clans could make, because it''s simply that ridiculous for there to be such a gap between husband and wife.


    "If you all really took this path, there would be nothing more than a future of humiliation and embarrassment up ahead. Are you all really so eager to rely on the strength of a woman that you''re willing to lower your heads to this extent? Where is your pride? Where is your backbone?


    "Shouldn''t you all be working hard to protect Senior Aika to your backs? Or is that you want her to spend her entire life lifting you all up? Has she not already sacrificed more than enough? If not for a lucky breakthrough, she would be at death''s door today. If not for her sacrifice, most of you would not even be alive. You don''t get to retroactively take all of that away just because things ended well, at the time she truly had the resolution to die."


    Ryu''s gaze shifted toward Old Wan and Samson for a moment before he shifted away. In truth, he was truly disappointed in these two. They should have been Aika''s best friends, and they were even the most powerful of those present aside from her, but they had allowed this to happen anyway.


    Of course, this trouble was also part of the reason that that Radiant Star Sect was a deserving Sect of being a part of. Might didn''t rule absolutely. Which other Sect could the likes of Ryu speak so candidly with the most powerful of them without being blasted into pieces before he spoke a second sentence


    This was no longer Sacrum where he had the backing of the mighty Tatsuya Clan. This was the True Martial World and he had no one but himself to rely on.


    "If you really care about the future of the Sect, you''ll improve your strength and reach the point where you''re worthy of sharing some of her burden. Until that day, you all can forget about marrying her. The status of future husband is currently occupied by me. Anyone of my cultivation realm, whether that be Mental Realm, Body Realm or Qi Realm is free to challenge me, if you can defeat me, you''ll have the right to refute my words.


    "But until there''s a junior better than I am that dares to do what I don''t, I would advise you to give up on it."


    Ryu''s gaze swept past the other juniors of the Radiant Star Sect. He noticed the glowing gazes of several young women, but he was all too good at ignoring such things. He was more interested in the reaction of the men as they were the few he was challenging.


    His words had come like an avalanche, so much so that Old Jiao and the others couldn''t even properly react.


    As expected, though, many of the young men had quite passionate gazes. They had already taken note of Ryu earlier when his mere words targeted their Dao Hearts so fiercely, but now that they had stabilized themselves, they felt as though they had been triggered to the greatest extent. Ryu was challenging their very foundation.


    Suddenly, a laughter echoed through the skies. It was an creepy laughter and it was difficult to tell exactly where it had come from until a pair of figures suddenly appeared in the skies.


    Ryu''s head turned and his eyes narrowed. He didn''t remember one of them, but the second one he remembered all too well. This was none other than Starlight.


    "I hadn''t expected for the Radiant Star Sect to have declined so far."


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 Chapter 1288 Off

    1288 Off


    Ryu didn''t say a word as he observed the two in the skies. Just the fact they were here could only mean one of two things, either they weren''t aware of just how strong Aika was, or they were aware and simply didn''t care. If it was the latter, it would mean that the man beside Starlight right this moment was no joke.


    Whether it was the expression of Aika, or Samson and the others, they all turned malevolent in an instant. It looked as though they had just seen an enemy of a lifetime.


    The man up above had eyes that were an impossible radiant blue, but his skin tone was just the same as Starlight''s, dark as night and without a hint of the slightest imperfection. The contrast made the both of them look otherworldly, and almost suffocatingly handsome. It felt like one was gazing upon a work of art as opposed to two humans instead.


    But it was maybe exactly as a result of this that gazing upon their smiles was so infuriating. It felt as though they were looking down on them with condescension, fully aware of just how amazing they looked, and seeing the rest of the world as far beneath them.


    Ryu had already deduced that these instances of extremely dark skin and eyes as bright as a supernova must be markers of the Fading Bloodline, the other half of the formerly Dual Radiance Bloodline that only Aika had been born with in the last several generations.


    "Asce... You have a lot of nerve appearing before me."


    Aika''s gaze became akin to two blazing torches. However, in Ryu''s opinion, there was something very much off about her reaction. The Aika he knew wouldn''t have uttered something like that. She would have hurled insults, fully prepared to crush her enemy. More than likely, she would have already been prepared to act or in the process of doing so.


    While saying something like "you have a lot of nerve" seemed to be taking a strong stance, but very clearly by the fact Aika seemed to have no intention of attacking, there was a problem here. And if even Aika wasn''t eager to attack, then what about everyone else?


    "Don''t speak to me like that, Aika. It''ll break my heart. If I didn''t appear before you now, wouldn''t your supposed allies be throwing you into the fiery pits of hell? How could they ask an esteemed beauty like yourself to marry the dregs of society, is that supposed to be a joke? The moment I heard about such a thing, I rushed over at my greatest speed."


    Although Asce''s words sounded insincere, Ryu didn''t miss the flicker of rage in the depths of his eyes. It wasn''t the kind of rage one had when a family member or a loved one had been wronged, rather it was the kind of rage a child would have when their favorite toy was snatched by another. It was so superficial and shallow that it was too difficult for even someone with such a thick face to hide.


    Aika stared into the skies, her gaze smoldering. One might say that it was unimaginable for a mere gaze to kill another, but the space between Aika and Asce who was above truly began to distort beneath her fury, the space around both Starlight and Asce beginning to shake and quake uncontrollably.


    "Aiya, is there a need to be like this? I''ve truly come with good intentions. The Heavens would shed real tears if I allowed this to happen. Luckily, though, it seemed that you have one decent disciple who knows and understands his place, or else I might have had to start a massacre."I think you should take a look at


    Asce spoke with a light smile on his face, one that looked every bit the part of warm and inviting, and yet his words were stone cold, enough to make the blood curdle and the spine tingle. Many felt suffocated to the point of being unable to even think straight. Asce''s words alone seemed to double the gravity in the surroundings, making their hearts have to work harder just to properly pump.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he gazed in the surroundings. He could tell something immediately, and he even grasped Asce''s Dao. But it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. he had actually caused so many changes with just a few words just a slight shift in his mood. This was truly a shocking affair.


    Aika''s Dao had always fascinated him, but this was already the second Dao affiliated with this Dual Radiance Sect that had intrigued him. He wasn''t sure, though, if this was because this was how all the Daos at the standard of geniuses of the Seventh and above Heavens were, or if it was just associated to the specialness of this Sect in particular.


    Ryu''s gaze regained his focus as he registered Asce''s insult, but his expression didn''t change very much. It was hard to tell if he had heard anything at all, his heart surprisingly calm. He wasn''t known for having the best temper, and even that was an understatement. But right now he found it quite easy to maintain his composure.


    Ryu felt that this might very well be associated to the fusion of his Bloodlines. With his Fire Dragon Bloodline able to rampage about on its own, its ability to push and pull at his mood was greatly mellowed out by the more docile and stoic Phoenix Bloodlines.


    Even with this being the case, though, Ryu took note of Asce''s face and aura. He wasn''t someone who let things go.


    The things he did were for himself, they weren''t for others to comment on in an attempt to twist them into a humiliating matter.


    Aika''s expression only became colder when she heard these words from Asce, but before she could continue, Asce spoke again.


    "This is a nice transition into the main topic of today, though. I''ve come to give the "Radiant" Star Sect one more chance. Obediently marry me, Aika, and we can bring the Sect back to its former glory. We will rebuild the Dual Radiance Sect of our Ancestors and stand tall on the Eighth Heaven once more!


    "Of course, you can choose to reject. But not only will I ensure that every last one of your disciples is slaughtered to the last, you can forget about stepping foot onto the Seventh Heaven."


    Asce''s smile was just the same, without the slightest fluctuation to his charm.

 Chapter 1289 Echo

    1289 Echo


    Much like with the Incomplete Heavenly Path, a Sect had to send in disciples to gather a certain amount of Fate and Faith for the Sect in question to be able to transcend to the next level. Ryu had been able to do it and reach an adequate standard on the Incomplete Heavenly Path, but the Complete Heavenly Path was a completely different animal. Without several disciples performing excellently, it would be simply impossible to reach this appropriate standard.


    The last power that had managed to reach this standard was the former Frost Clan, but it had already been countless generations since then, and before they could even readily accept the rewards that came with their success, they were eradicated almost down to their last man.


    This was a blight on the history of the Sixth Heaven and a reminder that transcending to the Seventh Heaven wasn''t something that everyone could aspire to. In fact, even the geniuses who managed to bring themselves to the Seventh Heaven would choose to turn back in the end, returning to their lives of leisure.


    Of course, this was tacitly allowed by the Seventh Heaven. If the Seventh Heaven became too much of a myth in the eyes of the people of the lower Heavens, after enough time passed, they might begin to believe that the gap was closer than they thought, and soon there might be many who thought themselves great enough to challenge their bottom line.


    However, by allowing the powers of others of the Middle Heavens to send their geniuses in, and allowing the beset to receive the resources and guidance of a Seventh Heaven power for a small time, they would be able to return later with tales of just how inferior they were.


    This aside, the difficulty of even getting such an honor was extremely difficult, and it would change depending on the kind of competition one would face. This was because the Heavenly Path, or more accurately, the Complete Heavenly Path, would never allow more than one Clan or Sect through at a time.T/his chapter is updated by


    This meant that the difficulty was relative to the number of powerhouses partaking in the event, and since so many had come down from the Seventh Heaven, the difficulty was similar to a Sect attempting to rise to the Eighth instead of the Seventh, the gap was enormous.


    Because of all of these reasons, the idea of a single person gathering enough Faith to allow it, especially in the face of such competition, was absolutely ridiculous. And if they were purposely targeted by a Seventh Heaven power at the same time, that difficulty would only skyrocket.


    Asce''s threats were most definitely not empty, but it only made Aika feel all the more disgusted.


    "You know that I''ve always loved you, Aika. Plus, how could there be a better couple than the two of us, we were made for each other."


    Aika finally couldn''t hold back her sneer.


    Love? If he had so much love why was he only proposing marriage now that she had regained her youth. The Fading Star Sect could have come to chase after them long ago, but because they believed Aika was at the end of their rope, they felt that it was unnecessary to extend the time, effort and resources it would take in order to do so. But now that she was young and beautiful again, there were these talks of love? She could gag.


    The subtle cool touch made her almost release a sigh of pleasure, the timing and the amount being just right.


    Ryu looked back toward the skies after a moment, finding two faces without the slightest expression on them. For the first time, Asce''s smile had entirely vanished.


    "Still not scramming yet?" Ryu asked.


    A vein on Asce''s forehead suddenly appeared like a roaring flood dragon before it slowly vanished. His control over his temper seemed somehow both excellent and frightening at the same time, but all the same. Ryu was unmoved by it.


    His gaze shifted from Ryu to Aika. "So is this your decision? When you hold the corpses of your apprentices in your arms, remember this moment well."


    Aika''s brow twitched, her temper threatening to flare out of control again, however Ryu spoke before she could.


    "You speak boldly for someone without the apprentices to back up your words. Is the defeated one by your side supposed to be your backing?" Ryu asked lightly.


    Starlight''s gaze suddenly sharpened before he sneered. "... This is the first time I''ve seen someone take so much pride in defeating someone an entire cultivation Realm below them."


    Ryu took a step forward, his feet landing on the very edge of the Sect''s walls.


    His eyes began to glow furiously as two rotating eight trigram diagrams appeared in both.


    The skies rumbled and the earth trembled, but as though they had both sensed something that frightened them, the retreated like the tide, not daring to show themselves.


    The aura of a Founding Dao covered the surroundings, grabbing the hearts of those in the environment and refusing to let go.


    Whether it was Starlight or Asce, both of their eyes widened to the point their hearts stopped beating entirely.


    "Would you like to try for round two?"


    Ryu''s voice boomed, its echo spreading everywhere. It was as though the Fifth Heaven had lost all capability of resisting, its laws bending out of the way to allow his voice to spread further.

 Chapter 1290 I Dont...

    1290 I Don''t...


    There was a deathly sort of silence. Many of those who seemed to have wanted to compete with Ryu in the future once his cultivation caught up found themselves going entirely pale.


    They had never sensed a Founding Dao in their lives, many of them didn''t even have a full understanding of what it meant to have one... until this moment.


    The gap was so large, so profound. They couldn''t even properly sense what level Ryu was standing at. They could only feel that he was impossibly far beyond them, and that was despite the fact that most of them were Sky Gods who had already matured their Daos past the infancy stage and had built their Godhoods.


    Whether it was the people of the Radiant Star Sect, or the duo in the skies, both groups had entirely forgotten how to breathe. It felt like they were witnessing an existence that stood beyond them.Ne?ww chapters will be fully updated at novelhall.com


    Ryu had thought a lot about hiding himself. He felt like that was all he had been doing since he entered the True Martial World, which was greatly ironic considering how he had looked down upon that little arrogant Fey woman.


    Due to this, he had been completely confident that he could crush Ryu now, it wouldn''t even be much of a competition. He was unmoved when he saw Ryu''s new abilities, unmoved when he saw him defeat three World Sea Realm experts, unmoved when he felt the strength of his body... But now...


    Starlight suddenly realized that he stood at a crossroads.


    On one side, there was the option to cower. If he took this route, he would never be able to raise his head up again. He could already feel his Dao Heart crumbling just at the thought that this might actually be a viable option, a constricting feeling taking hold of his chest.


    On the other side, there was the option to fight... to battle with maybe the only junior with a Founding Dao in the whole of the True Martial World, likely in all of Existence. The gap between Ryu''s comprehension and his own was impossibly enormous, and he could very well lose miserably, maybe even to the point of losing his life....


    However, at that moment, Starlight suddenly opened his mouth and roared. It wasn''t a valiant roar, it wasn''t a roar of determination or glory, it was rather a savage, uncontrolled sort of roar, one that came from the deepest parts of his soul, the roar of a man forcing himself to face his fears.


    Starlight took a step forward, the stars in the skies suddenly manifesting as a familiar sword appeared in his hand.


    His was red, his expression distorted as veins popped across his body. A flood of star qi descended from the skies, his own Ancient Dao manifesting down in waves, but clearly muted and controlled before Ryu''s presence.


    "I don''t fear you!"


    These words seemed to take all of Starlight''s strength, but a moment after, his gaze glowed with a blinding light, his Dao taking another step forward and entering the Second Cosmic Grade. At this moment, his Dao had actually taken two steps farther than his current training level.

 Chapter 1291 To Kill

    1291 To Kill


    The echo of Starlight''s roar shocked many, but Ryu''s lips only curled into a sneer. Staring at Starlight who had blood running down the corners of his mouth, he seemed to finally understand the kind of weight a Founding Dao held. Just to gather the courage to speak those words, it felt to Starlight as though he was battling against the Heavens themselves. He had truly injured himself.


    But now that he had leapt over that hurdle, it would be much easier to do so in the future, and his overall strength had actually taken another enormous leap. His Dao had reached the extremities of immaturity and was only a step away from maturity. When that day came, he would step into the Sky God Realm, it was truly impressive.


    As for Ryu himself, he was still uncertain of the stage of maturity his Dao was at, he didn''t even know what level of Founding Dao he had. Founding Daos, just like other Daos, had weaker and stronger ones among them. But he couldn''t even tell what stage of development he was at, it was truly baffling.


    However, he didn''t feel very anxious about this, as time progressed, he would eventually tease apart its mysteries. But for now, he didn''t mind knocking down a Seventh Heaven''s genius down a peg.


    Just when Ryu was truly about to attack, whether it was just a projection or not, his gaze narrowed as he looked off into the distance. At the same time he acted, so too did the Sky Gods that were present, every one of them looking in the same direction. The only one that didn''t was Asce whose gaze seemed to flash with a light before he changed his mind, realizing that it wouldn''t be possible.


    Asce''s hand fell on Starlight''s shoulder and he tapped just once. While Starlight was in his peak state, the two suddenly vanished.


    BOOM!


    The skies roared and a wave of pressure came from the distance.


    Aika and the others acted quickly, forming up barriers that protected the weaker from the suddenly rush of heat and debris. The sound alone was enough to burst eardrums, truly making those who heard it feel as though the Heavens themselves were billowing in rage.


    Ryu''s brow furrowed. Just what could have happened?


    Now that he thought about it, that direction... he hadn''t thought much initially, but that was mostly because he wasn''t very familiar with the layouts of the middle Heavens.


    He disappeared for months at a time, he never asked for their resources, if it wasn''t for Aika basically telling him that he was an Inheritor Disciple without the chance to refute, he might not have even been that.


    His actions left them speechless most of the time, that was because the one thing they didn''t lack was resources, they had a great deal of them even, but he didn''t seem to care about it at all. It was even to the point that he had rejected Aika''s offer of gaining their Bloodline.


    This might not seem like a big deal since so many others had gained it, but this was only a small portion. Aika was willing to invest enough to give Ryu the full Bloodline, but he had still rejected it.


    And now he had suddenly come out with a Founding Dao, a Dao that was beyond anything they could even fathom, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.


    Old Wan didn''t say anything as Samson lamented, simply watching the direction from which Ryu had disappeared silently.


    ...


    Ryu''s Quivering Spectral Wings flapped once, sending him forward hundreds of kilometers at a time. He crossed the distance between the Radiant Star Sect and Dream Asura Mountain so quickly that not even a minute passed before he exited the void, appearing in reality.


    What he saw left him infuriated.


    Strung up outside, Dream Asuras who had been late to return were strung up like skinned meat, their life and death unknown as their blood continued to drip.


    High in the skies, three Sky Gods stood, while on their ground, several young geniuses continued to bombard Dream Asuras who had yet to be strung up while the Sky Gods above them bombarded against the defense of the mountain range.


    "Who the hell is this?" One of the juveniles suddenly noticed Ryu.


    "Who cares, there would be bound to be spectators, let them watch. Since when did trash of the Fifth Heaven have the right to go against our orders? So long as it''s a member of the Dream Asura Race, string them up and let them bleed out, I want to see how long the rest of them can hold on for."


    Ryu''s expression became deathly calm, his stare shifting from the juveniles to the skies above. Standing in the air in the Fifth Heaven, these people were in the Transcended Sky God Realm at worst.


    He suddenly really wanted to kill.

 Chapter 1292 Law

    1292 Law


    The disregard was nothing short of blatant.


    Ryu wasn''t the type of person who cared for the crimes committed by others, he didn''t have a bleeding heart and he was usually unmoved by such things. But it was a different matter entirely when such things were related to him.


    Mae was his woman. He couldn''t say that he cared about her entire extended family, but disrespect toward her family was disrespect toward her. And disrespect toward his wife was a slap to his face.


    He was immediately enraged, but it was a smoldering fury that bubbled beneath the surface. His gaze toward the Sky Gods in the sky became sharper and sharper, growing to the point that even they seemed to notice his presence, frowning as they turned back toward him.


    Ryu struggled with seeing through the training Realms of Sky Gods. In the past, he hadn''t cared enough to figure it out because it didn''t really matter. Whether Fragmented or a Dao God, both could kill him with a single finger. Did it matter greatly, then, what their exact cultivation levels were?


    But at this moment, he really wanted to know. He stared and stared, his eyes glowing with a brighter and brighter light as twin hidden wheels rotated in the opposite direction within his irises. The frowns of the Sky Gods became deeper, for some reason feeling deeply unsettled by Ryu''s gaze.


    Feeling annoyed, one of them raised a hand, ready to crush Ryu with a single palm. But it was at that moment a blinding light charged out from Ryu''s eyes and it all suddenly clicked into place, solidifying. It felt as though his eyes had taken another step forward, a trembling shackle finally shattering under his effort.


    His pupils constricted and an odd energy suddenly shot through the body of the Sky God.


    When one''s influence over the Laws reached a certain point, it was possible to break free of their restrictions and lift oneself into the air, flying freely... being a Sky God.


    This also went to show just how large the gap between Sky Gods were as well, because even those with far greater talent couldn''t break these rules. Even if you were from the Ninth Heaven, you wouldn''t be able to fly on the Fifth Heaven unless you were a Transcended Sky God. This was the absolute rule of the world.


    But it seemed that it was possible, in this case, for a Spiritual Seamstress to circumvent these rules. These robes they wore could stimulate the Laws, activating more than their base training would allow, and as a result, allowing them to fly in the air.


    However, the abilities of this robe were limited to this. Otherwise, it would be like granting a Fragmented Sky God the skill of a Transcended Sky God. In that case, there would truly be no hope for the Lower Heavens to ever compete.


    When Ryu saw through this, his gaze sharpened as he suddenly took a step forward, vanishing into the Void.


    BANG!


    The Sky God in the skies was taken off guard. A Dao Pedestal Realm brat had dodged his strike?


    Ryu suddenly appeared before one of the youths who had just spoken, punching out. His aura flourished, a grey fog manifesting around his fist as the aura of a Fist God roared.


    The youth was taken off guard but he reacted quickly, punching out with a fist of his own.


    BANG!


    The youth slid back several meters, his arm trembling. At the same time, Ryu was forced to take two steps back.


    "Fuck!" The youth roared, the pain swelling up in his fist. He looked up toward Ryu, his murderous intent pulsing.

 Chapter 1293 Deserved

    1293 Deserved


    Ryu stretched out a palm and his great swordstaff slammed into his hand. Like a raging tide, his strength soared, he didn''t look like a person who had just stepped out of one battlefield to enter another.


    "Who are you?!" The youth growled. Although he had been caught off guard, no junior of the Fifth Heaven should have been able to push him back like that, especially not only two cultivation Realms beneath him.


    The gaze of the youth flickered and he calmed. When he began thinking more rationally, he realized that while Ryu''s Qi Realm cultivation was two Realms beneath him, his Body Realm cultivation was likewise in the World Sea Realm, this eased the tension in his heart.


    But even so, the fact that he was from the Seventh Heaven and Ryu was only from the Fifth still left him simmering.


    The Sky God in the sky who had just missed his strike wanted to attack again, but he hesitated. In the end, he retracted his palm. It was much better if someone at Ryu''s level took him out, it was far beneath his status to actually attack twice.


    They had come here to establish their dominance, and how could they do that if he was the one to attack? Things would be fine if he had just crushed Ryu out of annoyance, but since Ryu was a young genius, it would be better if things ended this way. Plus, according to the demands they levied a few weeks ago, all those of Ryu''s caliber should have been sent to the Sixth Heaven under their control, but he was actually here instead. So, clearly, Ryu was yet another who had ignored their orders.


    In this case, he deserved to witness first just how inferior he was, and only then would he be strung up and dealt with properly. As for him, he still had to focus on crushing the defenses of this Dream Mountain.


    "The one who''s going to kill you," Ryu said lightly.


    This time, Vanneak was ready. His saber moved like water, curving through the bounds of reality and leaving afterimages in its wake. It was a great skill that seemed to swallow up any angles that Ryu could use to attack. And yet, star light suddenly began to fall from the skies like shooting stars. It was a gorgeous sight, so gorgeous that Vanneak almost didn''t register the power strike that suddenly ravaged his torso.


    BANG!


    Ryu appeared, his great swordstaff thrust out in a perfect line. Vanneak''s body curled, crashing into the barriers that protected the Dream Mountain Range, only to be blasted away once again when the reverberations of his seniors'' attack hit him as well.


    He flopped to the ground like a dead dog.


    Ryu''s timing had been perfect. His singular assault wasn''t enough to deal with Vanneak, but how could he continue to fight after taking the echoes of a Sky God''s attack head on? He didn''t even stand a chance. The only reason he was still alive was because Ryu wanted him alive.


    The expressions of the Sky Gods above changed, but Ryu had already appeared before Vanneak, pulling him up by his hair, his gaze malevolent.


    "Is my wife''s Clan something the likes of you can touch? Who do you think you are?"


    The icy abyss of Ryu''s voice almost forced Vanneak''s heart to stop beating. The latter''s mind was in too much disorder to understand how he had lost, all he could feel was an infinite amount of pain and he felt that Ryu was responsible for it all, causing his heart to shudder with helplessness and fear.


    Ryu hand dropped as he began to drag Vanneak by his hair toward the first stake. It was only then the Sky Gods seemed to acknowledge what was going on, their expressions changing.


    "Stop!"


    Their voices boomed, just the sound causing Ryu''s ears to begin to bleed, but he didn''t seem to acknowledge what was happening in the slightest as he continued to walk.


    The Sky God who had originally attacked Ryu raised his palm again, prepared to attack with greater strength this time, but before he could, the mountain range suddenly began to rumble.

 Chapter 1294 Fine

    1294 Fine


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He had entirely ignored the words of the Sky God that had spoken, but the moment he heard such rumbling, his head turned back immediately. That was because he could sense the formations of Dream Mountain being undone one after another. However, this opening was unique in that it wasn''t a complete dismantling. Rather, it was as though a winding path was being formed through it all, enough for just a single person to squeeze through at a time, maybe two but only if their shoulders were practically glued together.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    Slowly, a mighty aura strolled through the opened path. Although Ryu could feel them through other means, his eyes couldn''t find them at all. No matter how hard he looked, his gaze would always be distorted. It was different from the distortion of space and time and definitely affected even his soul itself.


    Soon, however, the aura manifested, walking out from the final barrier and appearing.


    The first thing Ryu saw were the wings. They were simply far too large, stretching out an entire kilometer in two directions. One couldn''t even see the normal size man at the center of it all. Quite frankly, Ryu had no idea how such a large pair of wings had made it through such a narrow passage to begin with, unless this man had only activated his Asura form right this moment.


    His eyes were entirely red. There were no white, no pupils, no irises, no distinguishing characters in the slightest. It was like he had removed his normal eyes, replacing them with two flesh balls of red instead. It felt like one was looking at a true demon, even orbs of flames casually forming and dispersing around him from time to time.


    Originally, she had been curious about how Ryu would handle the situation, so she wasn''t planning to act. She also didn''t need to use very much effort to ensure that a Fragmented Sky God would never be able to kill Ryu in her presence. However, although she didn''t feel threatened personally by this man, his power was already at the stage that if she was too reckless, Ryu would be the one to suffer for it. So rather than letting things get too out of hand, she decided to act ahead of time this time around.


    The three Fragmented Sky Gods had long been immobilized in place by the red eyed man. They couldn''t even move a single inch. And now that they were frozen between the two, the situation felt even worse for them.


    Obviously, they hadn''t come here with the intention of overpowering everyone they came across. Rather, they had felt that there was no way mere Fifth Heaven powers would dare to raise even a single finger against them.


    But now, they had been insulted by a Dao Pedestal Realm expert, and were also suddenly in the line of sight of two powerhouses, easily four Sky God Realms beyond them. Obviously, they chose to remain silent while they immediately called for help.


    "It''s fine," Ryu suddenly said. He looked up and smiled at Aika lightly. "Thank you for coming. I''ll be back."


    He took a step forward and appeared to the side of the red eyed man. Standing in the heavens on his great swordstaff, he didn''t look like he had an ounce of fear in him.


    The Dream Asura man didn''t say anything and simply looked at Aika one more time. His wings seemed to shroud the heavens as he vanished into the route that he had created. Ryu followed after, urging his great swordstaff forward.


    Aika didn''t hold Ryu back since he had already said so much. He wasn''t sure what this Dream Asura Race wanted to accomplish. Although they had dealt with this situation, this was only the beginning. In fact, one would be hard pressed to call this situation "dealt with" at all. Instead, they had just delayed what seemed to be the inevitable.

 Chapter 1295 First Step

    1295 First Step


    There didn''t even seem to be a viable solution to it the more Aika thought about it.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    In the end, she simply shook her head, scanning the youths that remained behind, none of which seemed to dare to move.


    Without a word, she vanished. It was impossible to control what would happen in the mountain range now, she could only hope that Ryu would be able to protect himself. Something had definitely happened within the Dream Asura, and she had a feeling that it was related to that little girl, or else they wouldn''t have taken Ryu in like that.


    It would be up to Ryu to survive now.


    ...


    Within the pathway, Ryu felt his vision distorting and his mind twisting. It was difficult to see even right before his eyes even though when he had just been outside everything had seemed so free and clear. Even so, he continued to walk forward slowly.


    That path seemed designed to try and make him feel suffocated, as though he would never make it out, as though all the walls of the world were crashing down around him. And yet, this was meant to be an opening. He could only imagine how the full brunt of the formation would feel. But just the same, he was unmoved.


    "I told you to go and save him! When did I say to test him?! When did I say to intimidate him?! When did I say to make him walk up the Samsara steps?!"


    At this point, even the red eyed Dream Asura man was speechless. He was the very one who had gone to get Ryu, and it could be said that given his status, he would probably be the last person who would be tasked with such a matter.


    This man was none other than Patriarch Rogryll, the current head of the Dream Asura Race and Mae''s father. He could be uttered to be the most powerful individual in the Dream Asura Race other than a few elders and secluded Ancestors..


    He had never in his life imagined that his daughter would actually come to scold him one day, let alone to scold him for the sake of a man. Mae had never been such a type to begin with. Although she sometimes lost control of herself when her Soul Fire and talent began to act up, she had been exceptionally restrained ever since she came back from the Samsara Wheel. In addition, this was very different from her usual outbursts as well.


    Usually, she would want to harm those she loved as a sort of sadistic fantasy, but clearly right now she was trying to protect Ryu from harm, not harm him more.


    And now, without regard for his face as her father or even as the Clan Patriarch, she was scolding him so boldly. Couldn''t a father test his son-in- law? Did he not even have this sort of right anymore?


    Off to the side, Aantha was holding her belly in laughter. Her own father and mother tried to stop her, but their attempts only managed to stop her from rolling on the ground.


    Every time she looked up to find Rogryll to find his stoic face looking straight ahead as though he was unable to hear his daughter''s severe words, she began to wheeze again. This was the funniest thing she ahd ever experienced in her life.


    Down below, Ryu was unable to hear a thing, and many thought that he couldn''t see them either. However, even if he could hear them, it was unlikely for him to care enough to say much.


    Instead, he was inquisitive about what this first step would feel like.

 Chapter 1296 Frozen

    1296 Frozen


    Ryu''s foot descended and made contact with the first step. Let alone him, there were a large number of Dream Asuras up above that were heavily invested in what would happen. In the beginning, they had been quite indifferent. With the usual culture of the Dream Asura Race, although it was a bit surprising, it wasn''t unacceptable for Mae to have already laid in bed with a man. However, the more they saw her berate her own father, a man she was usually greatly respectful toward, the more curiosity they had toward this Ryu.


    At the same time, there were those who were more invested in his failure as well, eager to see him struggle.


    Even those who were aware of the Samsara Steps would have issues when facing them, let alone Ryu who was completely in the dark about what was happening at the moment. He might very well assume these steps to be normal and suffer greatly as a result. They had all seen the Patriarch enter, and he had clearly not explained anything to Ryu beforehand.


    The Dream Asura Clan was split into four factions. The current ruling faction, or Mae''s father''s faction, had been in power for a long while. The other three factions, led by other branch heads, weren''t weak by any stretch of the imagination, though. It was more accurate to say that the talents of Mae''s faction simply went a longer way in securing the position of leadership.


    The soul fire was an exceptionally rare ability and not everyone would be born with it. In fact, there were only Mae and Aantha in this generation. However, aside from the soul fire, the general fire affinity unique to Mae''s branch gave them access to unique strengths of the Dream Asura Race. These four factions were divided by their usual talents. Mae''s faction was known as the Soul Fire Faction, then there was the Soul Wind Faction, the Soul Earth Faction and finally the Soul Body Faction. The first, obviously, specializing in wind, the second in earth, and the last in Body Realm cultivation.


    It had to be remembered that the Dream Asura Race was quite special, and that was doubly so for Soul Fire Faction women. One had to reach an exceptionally high standard in order to have more than one wife, because if you took more than on Primordial Yin and couldn''t handle it, your only path forward would be death. Then you would not only waste your women''s most precious thing, but you would also lose the Dream Asura Race genius.


    Due to this, and to avoid any complications, many of the young men that were chasing after Mae were still virgins to this day. This was already extremely difficult for normal young men, let alone young men of the Dream Asura who had far higher sexual desires than young men of other races. There were even some that went so far as to take artificial castration pills so as not to fall victim to temptation early.


    And then, all of a sudden, Aantha came back having claimed to already have a husband.


    How were they supposed to take this lying down, exactly?


    Behind Balreak of the Soul Wind Faction, an extremely handsome young man stood in silence, his hands clasped behind his back. He had a pale pale and almost green complexion like his father, but that faint, alien-like glow only added to his charm. However, this charm was somewhat ruined by his sunken eyes and unpleasant mood.


    This was Caijor, the current highest potential Soul Wind Faction youth.


    The sorrow of his gaze was intense as Ryu''s foot landed on the step. He watched in silence, no other emotions present on his face aside from this all pervading gloominess.


    And then, Ryu froze.

 Chapter 1297 More Pressure

    1297 More Pressure


    The eyes of a young man behind Iarhorn of the Soul Body Faction, a young man who went by Hurath, lit up when he saw this. For those familiar with the Samsara Steps, they would only freeze on the first step for a split moment, the most powerful among them would break through it so fast that it would seem as though they hadn''t paused at all.


    But the fact they could see such a pregnant pause by Ryu meant that he was stuck.


    Hurath was actually Aantha''s brother and, obviously, Mae''s first cousin. But he didn''t seem to care about his status in the slightest. Every time he looked toward Mae''s back, he couldn''t help but lick his lips. He had the same carefree gaze as his father, the only difference was that he seemed to apply it to women as well.


    Hurath was probably the only one among the young men who were silently brooding here that hadn''t protected his virginity for this moment. He found it all to be foolish, wouldn''t it be fine if he just didn''t try to absorb his partner''s Primordial Yin? Those fools were just being far too cautious.


    At least that was what he thought until this one vixen practically sucked his soul from his cock. He had been so enraptured that his instincts took hold, not only did he release into her as deeply as he could, he even snatched up her Primordial Yin like a fish out of water.


    It was truly an embarrassing moment, but he didn''t let that deter him. As far as he was concerned, he was still talented enough to take up two Primordial Yins and support them both. So long as he didn''t take on a third, he should be fine.


    In fact, the woman in question was currently hanging from his arm, but he didn''t hide his greedy gaze at all.


    Up above, Rogryll couldn''t help but frown. On the outside, Ryu had managed to meet his gaze without issue, and he had even attacked directly for the sake of the Dream Asuras, so his opinion of the youth wasn''t bad.


    But seeing him now, Rogryll was beginning to believe that maybe Ryu was simply too naA? ?ve. Maybe he had thought that since Aika was present, he would definitely be safe, so he hadn''t felt any sort of fear. Clearly, this was ignorance because even with how powerful Aika was, meeting his gaze while he had ill intentions was akin to signing yourself off to death.


    The longer Ryu spent stuck on the first step, the greater his dissatisfaction grew.


    Ryu was being pulled in all sorts of directions. Every time he overcame one, another would pop up, and then another. Even he was beginning to grow a bit frustrated. If he had known that this would happen, he would have simply rushed through with his Spacetime Soul Nature.


    Suddenly, a strain crashed down around Ryu''s Dao Heart. Having finally made it through his Magus Lock, the pressure of the Samsara Steps threatened to shatter everything he had built up until this moment.


    Sweat beading down his forehead and he grit his teeth. A violent sort of aura began to exude from him as he grew more and more annoyed. He had never thought that having experienced so many lives would come back to bite him in this way.


    These steps were designed such that even Omniscient Sky Gods could walk them. The strain was scaled differently depending on the cultivation of a person so it was always possible to train themselves. So long as they weren''t Dao Lords, it was still possible to train themselves on these steps.


    But this only sealed Ryu''s downfall all the more.


    If Ryu had been in the Omniscient Sky God Realm, then the stairs wouldn''t have been able to support the kind of strain it would need to match up to all the lives he had lived. But because he was only in the Dao Pedestal Realm, scaling the pressure to match him was all too easy.


    He was only in the Dao Pedestal Realm, and yet he was currently facing more strain than even a False Sky God would on these steps!


    [PS : Chapters usually get updated about 5 hours from now, so i don''t understand why some were still asking about when they will be updated, and while the chapters have been updated now, please remember that from now on chapters will be uploaded on the usual time which is 5 hours from now]

 Chapter 1298 Arrogance

    1298 Arrogance


    Ryu felt like the world was collapsing around him, his expression finally twisting somewhat. His lips pulled themselves into a thin line and his jaw began to pop with veins. It truly felt like every aspect of his body was being stretched to the thinnest possible degree.


    A string of doubt entered his heart.


    Retreating now was impossible because that would mean shattering his Dao Heart. Although this staircase allowed for failure, that was under the assumption that the pressure was within the limits of what the trial taker could manage. In addition, there would always be some backlash when one failed, causing cracks in one''s foundation. It was only a matter of whether the benefits you had gained outweighed what was snatched back upon your failure.


    The worst part was that Ryu had a completely unbending Dao, it didn''t allow for failure and it didn''t allow for retreat. Even worse than the usual, the backlash for his failure would destroy him, this was the problem with being so uncompromising. As a result, the negatives he would experience would be easily tens of times that of anyone else in this position regardless.


    However, moving forward also felt entirely impossible. This was just the first step, and there were thousands ahead. If the first step felt like this, what about the second? The hundredth? The thousandth?


    He couldn''t go forward and he couldn''t retreat. It felt like he was entirely stuck, destined to suffer for the rest of his days.


    The string of doubt in his heart only seemed to grow.


    Had he needed to take a step onto these stairs? He had already assumed it was a test, didn''t he hate to be tested? But the reason he had moved forward anyway was because he was curious, because he was arrogant about his abilities, because he felt that it wouldn''t be a big deal for him one way or another.


    His arrogance had always been such a huge problem, and this was hardly the first time it had landed him in such a situation.


    The first time was when he insisted on breaking through into the Spiritual Severing Realm with hardly any preparation. Cultivation had been so easy for him up until that point that he took it for granted. He broke through directly, out in the open, not even in a secluded location, and he had suffered greatly for it, his actions resulting in the death of his grandfather who had gone all out just to save him.


    No, was that really the first time? Even before that, when he was just a blind little boy in the Tor Kingdom, how many times had his arrogance made his life harder than it needed to be? He had been slapped by his "father", he had been publicly whipped, he had even been forced to watch a Granny Miriam die because of him.


    The more Ryu thought, the more savage and violent the veins across his body and face became. It looked as though roaring dragons were raging beneath his pale skin, unwilling to give up until they had broken through.


    For maybe the millionth time, Ryu thought about Sarriel and her words. She had a great deal of hubris in her bones, he had personally seen it, but she was willing to place it down for the sake of her family, willing to lower her head, to suffer grievance, to feel a constant pang in her heart again and again all so that she could grow powerful enough to one day avenge them and rebuild her Clan.


    A saying he had thought of even more times than that came to Ryu once again.


    What mattered wasn''t that you knew something, but it was more important how you came to know it. What was important wasn''t how you had come to be a certain type of person, but what mattered more was how that had come had built a certain comprehension, but rather how you had come to grasp it.


    This was what Yaana had experienced. Her revelations from her past life were still within her, but because of her Black Rose, it didn''t hinder her and rather helped her. If it had been anyone else, remembering once again would have been thousands of times more difficult.


    As for why it was important now, it was because Ryu sensed that maybe this philosophy applied to personalities as well.


    If you never experienced fear, then how could anything you do be counted as bravery? If you were usually an easy going person and one day you snapped because of ill treatment, could you still be called a hot head?


    By the same token, if Sarriel''s hubris was so bone deep, could her actions be called cowardly? Or was it more accurate to call her resilient?


    If a leader was forced to sacrifice someone, but he was well known as a caring and kind person, versus a cruel and selfish person, wouldn''t the optics be different?


    Actions didn''t come with absolute conclusions. They would change depending on the context.


    Was it really right for him to look down on Sarriel so much? At least currently, her journey was still continuing, and yet here he was, about to witness the end of his own.


    The pressure had squeezed down to the point Ryu''s vision was beginning to swim. His bent knee trembled and threatened to collapse, a strong rush of pressure beginning an attempt to push him down from the stairs.


    The seed of uncertainty within his heart grew larger and larger, making him feel every pump of his heart as though it was an increasing weight that was pressuring him.


    Dao Hearts had always been relative. Ryu''s own was exceptionally powerful, but when compared to that of a False Sky God, or rather, closer to a True Sky God, the gap was still enormous. Just the act of having a fully formed Godhood by proxy created a Way of the Soul that was far beyond that of land bound cultivators.


    And now, Ryu was suffering as a result. The only thing that kept his standing was the very same hubris that was weakening by the second.

 Chapter 1299 What Could...

    1299 What could...


    Rogryll''s frown only deepened. He began to feel that something was wrong. It was one thing to pause on the first step for so long, but it was another thing entirely to have been stuck for so long, and to have such outward and visible pain. He could even see the blood leaking from between Ryu''s lips.


    Things weren''t adding up. If his Dao Heart was truly this weak, then after experiencing this level of pain, he should have already given up long ago. But if his Dao Heart was strong, he shouldn''t be struggling this much in the first place.


    Nothing seemed to be making any sense. However, he was the only one thinking this deeply about the matter.


    Everyone else felt that Ryu was simply too pathetic, aside from maybe the other elders who felt that the situation was odd as well. As for Mae, she wasn''t thinking about this matter at all because the more she saw Ryu suffer, the more furious she became. If it wasn''t because she knew that disrupting someone on the Samsara Step would cause a flaw in their Dao Heart, she would have already flown down personally.


    At this point, Ryu was entirely on his own.


    Her cousin suddenly chuckled. "What trash."


    Mae, in her fury, snapped her head in his direction, her furious crimson irises looking as though they had been lit on fire.


    "What did you say?! Say it again!"


    Hurath''s was taken back for a moment before his gaze softened. He seemed to look toward Mae with care and affection in his eyes as his tone softened.


    "I''m only stating the truth, Mae. Even children can make it past the first few steps. In fact, of the exactly 10 000 steps, even a child who has passed through Awakening yet can take at least ten steps. In fact, I myself made it to the 16th step at the age of five years old. For a grown man to not even be able to make it to the second step is pathetic."


    Mae''s gaze blazed. "There''s clearly something wrong going on. Isn''t it precisely because it''s so ridiculous that you should use your head and try to think of another explanation? You think that someone without a strong Dao Heart can turn down the Inheritance of a Dao Lord even when it was handed to him on a silver platter?!"


    "Ryu has my Primordial Yin, so you''d better give up any thoughts of watching him die! I don''t care even if these stupid steps really think that his Dao Heart is so weak. In the Heavenly Path, it was he who protected your daughter and your niece. He treats me extremely well and he''s also the reason I was able to enter the Cosmic Seed Realm so quickly. Don''t use your small minds to look down on him!"


    Mae seemed to be about a step away from truly losing it. Her temper had become more even keeled after stepping out of the Samsara Wheel, and she hadn''t even had a flare up of her Soul Fire in a very long time, but this matter seemed to have triggered it once again.


    No one could understand how these strong feelings had managed to survive through the experiences of the Samsara Wheel, but what they didn''t know was that it was precisely because of the Samsara Wheel that they had become so powerful. Using the Samsara Wheel experiences and matching them with what she knew from this life, then comparing and contrasting them, she realized that there were truly no other men like Ryu.


    She had been young when she lost her virginity to Ryu, and truthfully it was more of a impulsive moment than anything else. It was easy for doubt to creep up as a result. If the her before she entered the Samsara Wheel had seen this scene with Ryu, and then heard her fathers words, and the ridicule of others, she couldn''t guarantee that she wouldn''t waver.


    But thanks to the Samsara Wheel, she had the experience of a woman who had lived thousands upon thousands of years. She was far more strong minded than she had been in the past, and she was far more certain of her choices.


    Now, even her paternal figure couldn''t cause her mind to waver.


    However... The news that Mae had already lost her Primordial Yin was akin to a boulder falling into the calm waters of a lake. A raging wave shot into the skies, and everyone''s expressions changed one after another, even Hurath, whose stare had been gentle toward Mae just a moment ago, turned twisted and gloomy in an instant.


    In the Dream Asura race, virginity wasn''t taken very seriously, which was why no one had cared much about this. In its place, however, Primordial Yin had taken precedent. The current Mae was akin to a woman who had lost her virginity out of wedlock in the most conservative of cultures. And yet she had so boldly proclaimed it as though to draw a line in the sand.


    Rogryll''s stare flashed for a instant before his expression too became gloomy. He slowly shifted his gaze from his furious daughter, unwilling to continue looking at her at the moment. Instead, he looked down toward where Ryu was, a thick, bloody smell beginning to permeate in the air.


    He held killing intent in his heart, and it was no small piece of it.


    ...


    Ryu felt a shudder in his mind. At that moment, at the center of his Spiritual Sea, one of his Primordial Yins began to rampage about, becoming a blazing golden blaze that seemed to want to swallow up everything in its path. Seemingly reacting to Mae''s fury, it turned toward Ryu''s other Primordial Yins, looking to swallow them up whole.


    Ryu''s daze was awakened by this sharp anguish in his head. It felt as though someone was drilling through his skull and into his brain.


    It was only his powerful Dao Heart that had kept Mae''s strong Primordial Yin in line in the first place, not to mention his powerful soul. But with his Magus Lock compromised, and now his Dao Heart cracking, what could possibly keep it in line now?

 Chapter 1300 Deafening

    1300 Deafening


    Ryu unleashed a roar. His mind felt like it was being shredded to pieces, a large surge of energy building up like a ticking time bomb within his Spiritual Sea.


    Mae''s Primordial Yin was on its own rampage. Unable to get at Ryu''s other Primordial Yins immediately, it shifted its attention to his actual Spiritual Sea, soaking up the excess Spiritual Qi in the region as though a greedy beast that couldn''t be satiated, Ryu could even feel that he was quickly losing Focus Qi, something that he was only vaguely aware of, and yet extremely shocked about nonetheless.


    He had never heard of something that could eat up Focus Qi on its own. Focus Qi was an intangible thing, as far as Ryu understood. He didn''t have a spot in his body where it was stored and its amount seemed to be inextricably linked to the Spiritual Qi in this body. While it was impossible for him to train it directly, at least not without copious amounts of time, so long as he strengthened his soul, he still had a chance.


    But right now, Mae''s Primordial Yin was targeting even it, making his will to fight back, which had been diminishing to begin with, sink into further and further depravity.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, how did the Prayer Mat work? If it was impossible to target Focus Qi directly, how was it that it seemed the Prayer Mat could extend his Focus Qi into infinity. If not for his eyes still being sealed, he would never have to worry about his Focus Qi draining again.


    But now, the answer to that matter didn''t seem to make a difference in the slightest. This new additional stressor to his body was just an insult atop of injury. He already couldn''t handle the pressure of the stairs alone, let alone an additional matter after his life on top of all that.


    He just felt tired.


    It was truly fascinating. Will could be built like this as well?


    But when he pondered about it, it made sense. Whenever one stopped once, it was all too easy to stop again, and then again. A runner who was just starting off on their first mile might be greatly motivated in the start, only to begin to break down after the first lap. At that point, some might continue to push themselves, while others might slow to a walk, catching their breath before continuing again.


    One might think that the one that took a small break before starting up again was the less likely of the two to stop again, but the brain was an peculiar thing. It wasn''t in your brain''s best interest for you to propel your body. It wanted you to relax, to keep yourself out of danger, to pass on your genes silently and then die a peaceful death.


    So if you halted once, you would be likely to stop again, and then again.


    The words again resounded in Ryu''s mind. He felt as though the word habit was the only thing that he could focus on. He had built a certain habit, a habit of pressing forward. If he inverted that habit now, if he took a single step back, he would find himself crushed by a new habit.


    A habit all too willing to give up.


    Ryu''s voice resounded in a roar. He gathered up all the power he had left and took a second step.


    CRACK!


    The echo was deafening.


    The moment his second step landed, he was blown backward, collapsing onto the ground.

 Chapter 1301 Indefinite

    1301 Indefinite


    The darkness felt indefinite. Ryu''s consciousness was blurry and he couldn''t seem to see anything but a fuzzy light at the end of a tunnel that must have been countless kilometers deep. His steps felt as slow as a mortals, and no matter how hard he ran, he felt like he was moving through water. He couldn''t sense his qi, his Spiritual Foundations, he couldn''t even sense his Spiritual Sea, the one among them that should have been the absolute easiest to do so.


    It was a helpless feeling, almost like a child floating within their mother''s womb, but this feeling held no sort of comfort. There wasn''t the calming whisper of a mother''s voice, nor was there the warmth of a mother''s nurturing, there was nothing but an endless void, a depth of coldness that was almost unfathomable to the masses.


    Ryu stood in the depths of this void in silence, unmoving and without a word. Despite the pain that he could vaguely feel coming from his body, he felt disassociated from it at the same time. It was an odd experience, an out of body one, as though he was no longer within himself. He had never separated his soul from his Spiritual Sea before, but he imagined that it would feel similar if he ever did it.


    Ryu didn''t move, he didn''t say anything, he didn''t even think.


    He knew what had happened. He had tried to force himself to take the second step and his body was entirely unable to handle it. Not only was he heavily injured physically and even psychologically, what was most important was that his Dao Heart had shattered.


    He wasn''t sure if he had been consumed by Mae''s Primordial Yin just yet, but he wouldn''t be too surprised if that was the case. His Magus Lock had been shattered ahead of time by the pressure of the stairs, so there wasn''t anything to stop it to begin with, not that it would have made much of a difference. Even if his Magus Lock had been present, without the anchor of his Dao Heart, it would have only been a matter of time before her Primordial Yin made it through and continued its rampage.


    It was an interesting conclusion. Logically, one should feel regret. However, Ryu felt that without the pressure of the stairs trying to force him to admit his wrongs, he couldn''t be bothered to.


    Was his arrogance wrong? Did they lead to worse outcomes than they might otherwise? Maybe, but so what?


    It was an inherently selfish answer, one that cared for no one else but himself and what he felt was the most fulfilling. But it was his truest answer.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed. He felt that that answer was what he was looking for all along. However, he had been being pulled between too many lives, many of which he hadn''t even been conscious of considering those 999 years he had spent in rebirth were nothing more than a blur.


    The purpose of the Samsara Steps was to force you to face your existence and refine your Dao Heart by resolving the questionable things you had done one by one. It was crude in its methods, definitely far cruder than the Samsara Wheel, and it was precisely because of this Ryu hadn''t been able to think clearly.


    The Samsara Steps had taken those 999 years to have been part of his real life, almost half of it, in face, extracting out what were nothing more than jumbled messes of unrecognizable, irregular dreams, and forcing him to face them and answer for them.


    That was all nonsense. How was he supposed to account for the reason why he had bitten off the head of a living fish while unicycling in a vat of black oil? And that was just one of the many ridiculous dreams he had had during that period.


    It could be uttered that the steps had been truly biased to him, but that was just how existence was. How amusing, he hadn''t ruined his path of cultivation by offending one of the many big shots he had come across, but actually had done so while walking up a flight of stupid steps.


    Maybe that was the irony of life, one could ruin themselves or die in any number of ways. The fact that he had experienced such a thing seemed to only make his original way of existence make all the more sense. Who cared what the world around you did? You might be the best person in the world and still get murdered on a Tuesday night at the whims of a serial killer you had never met in your life.


    For some reason, despite facing the end of his cultivation journey, Ryu felt at peace.

 Chapter 1302 Finished?

    1302 Finished?


    Suddenly, the foggy light up ahead cleared up and Ryu felt his eyes slowly opening. The wave of pain and discomfort only seemed to become stronger and stronger, as though he was finally reconnecting with his body again, causing the signals of the nerves to become firmer and more forceful. Even so, Ryu didn''t so much as frown as he finally caught sight of what was ahead of him.


    Up above, there was a tall ceiling that must have been at least 10 meters or so. All around him, there was a plush, soft bed that made him feel as though he was floating on air. It was just unfortunate that he couldn''t enjoy this very much considering the state of his body.


    He ignored the pain and looked at his body. He was practically bandaged from head to toe. The only parts of his body that were spared were the pieces above his neck, parts of his arms, his lower abdomen and his crotch below that. What was a bit amusing to him was the fact that other than these bandages, he wasn''t wearing anything else. Whoever had bandaged him had definitely gotten a good show.


    Ryu slowly pushed himself up. The plush bed worked against him, making the effort he needed to succeed exceptional. However, he didn''t waver, and though it took several seconds, he managed to sit up, swinging his feet to the side of the bed.


    At that moment, the door to the room suddenly opened and a young woman waddling forward with a bucket of water and clothes hanging all around her shoulders and neck came in. When she saw that Ryu was actually sitting up, her eyes widened and she dropped the bucket, her gaze turning red.


    It took quite a while for Mae to calm down.


    In truth, she wasn''t this distressed about Ryu''s injuries, injuries were just a normal part of the cultivation path and the fact that Ryu had suffered such terrible ones, while could make her upset, wasn''t enough for her to react like this. It was rather because she was certain that Ryu''s Dao Heart had been shattered, the foundation of his Dao was likely unstable now, and his future path of cultivation was cut off... and she felt that it was all her fault.


    In her short time with Ryu, she might not have known much about his past, but she knew everything there was to understand about his personality and demeanor. He was prideful, he would rather die than lower his head, and he had more ambition than even her own father did.


    Others might not believe that Ryu had turned down the Dao Lord, but how could she not? Ryu had told her about his Chaotic Silk Meridians, he had shown her his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, he had even shown her his Embryonic Qi. Those were secrets she wouldn''t'' even blame Ryu for never telling her in the first place, but he had so candidly and honestly.


    Such a man, how could she lie to her about such a thing?


    If only she hadn''t tried to save him, if only she hadn''t asked her father to bring him to protect him, if only she had told him about the danger of the Samsara Steps ahead of time...


    She didn''t believe for a moment that Ryu''s Dao Heart was so weak, she was absolutely certain that something else had happened. She didn''t know what it was, but this didn''t change her belief in the slightest. How could the Ryu she know be frail of heart?


    Ryu smiled, lightly wiping the weeping from Mae''s cheeks with a thumb.


    "Are you finished crying, now? How about we talk, how''ve you been? What did you encounter while I was away?"

 Chapter 1303 Why Dont I?

    1303 Why Don''t I?


    Mae threatened to burst into tears again hearing Ryu''s caring voice, but she managed to force it down. He had already spent so long comforting her, she didn''t want him to have to do that again. So, she slowly explained, even though she knew that he was only trying to distract her.


    She went through her experiences in the Samsara Wheel, recounting the countless lives she had experienced, before she finally described how her talent and cultivation had changed in the end.


    "... I''m certain that it''s because of your help. I didn''t have any confidence in performing so well in the past, but now I''m not even 20 years old, but I''m already on the verge of entering the Sky God Realm. I never thought that I would be that face. Maybe only geniuses on the Eighth Heaven would be as fast or faster than me."


    Her story had been long enough that she had been distracted to the point of smiling again. But when she mentioned her cultivation speed and remembered that Ryu could likely never cultivate again, her eyes brimmed with tears once more. However, before she could cry again, she felt a sharp pinch on her bottom that made her yelp a bit.


    "Don''t worry about that sort of nonsense. Is a mere Dao Heart shattering capable of stopping my steps? You look down on your man too much."


    The voice came from nowhere, or more accurately, it came suddenly. After Mae had entered her room with the water buckets to clean off of Ryu, something that she had done twice a day since the moment he lost consciousness, she hadn''t closed her door. The two had seemed lost in their own world and seemingly hadn''t noticed the presence of another individual.


    However, though Mae started, Ryu turned an indifferent gaze toward the door. After the rampage of Mae''s Primordial Yin, his Spiritual Sea had taken quite the hit. For others, their soul cultivation path would practically be crippled at this point, but Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody was designed to grow and morph. What he had lost could simply be replaced by recultivating again.


    Even with this weakened soul, though, there were very few that could hide from his Void Spiritual Sense, and even fewer that could sense it. He had kept tabs on his surroundings the entire time.


    He was too acquainted with the intrigues of powerful families. After his failure, this was no longer the Clan of his in-laws, he might as well be in enemy territory. As such, he was always vigilant.


    He could have healed himself long ago, in fact, he had Embryonic Qi, after all. Of course, it would be harder than normal, or else he would have woken up in a perfect state already as his qi circulated on its own in his sleep. But it was still very much possible with a more aggressive stance. The reason he hadn''t was to keep up pretendings and he liked these sort of recollections of failure. It reminded him that he still had a very tall mountain to climb.


    At that moment, a woman that Ryu had never met before entered the room. When she saw that the bandaged Ryu had Mae on her lap, her gaze couldn''t help but narrow.


    Ryu''s crotch was only partially obstructed by Mae''s thighs, so it wasn''t even very difficult for the woman to get a full view of it from her vantage point. However, Ryu only calmly looked at her, seemingly having no intention of hiding himself.


    The woman gazed at Ryu''s crotch without the slightest hint of embarrassment herself, sizing it up with an inscrutable expression before she suddenly shook her head.


    "Is that thing the reason my niece can''t seem to think straight anymore? Why don''t I cut it off?"

 Chapter 1304 Unacceptable

    1304 Unacceptable


    Mae''s temper seemed to want to flare up again, but a firm hand continued to grip her hips. Ryu continued to look at Mae''s aunt without much of an expression. He didn''t seem to care about her words in the slightest.T/his chapter is updated by


    Ryu only really had two modes. The first was his ruthless. Whenever he heard disrespect, he couldn''t be bothered to go back and forth, he would simply attack directly. Most of the time, he didn''t have to deal with the chatter of others because they would honestly be dead before they could say much.


    The second mode was one that he had sharpened in his first life, and that was dressing down his enemies with his words. The more powerful he became, the less he seemed to use this ability, and he honestly didn''t care for it very much. That was because it reminded him of weakness. Why would you waste words on a person you could directly deal with?


    However, for some reason, at the moment, he didn''t feel that it was much of a burden. He simply felt that it was part of who he was and he felt that same sort of odd... peace about it. So, the side of his lip curled and he looked Mae''s aunt up and down.


    "You seem to be far more interested in it than she is. Aren''t you a married woman? Shouldn''t you have a little more shame than to stare at your own niece''s man naked?".


    Now that she thought about it, how was this person even speaking to her at all, and how did his eyes have such life in them? She had seen many whose Dao hearts had been shattered before, their Dream Asura family was quite unique in this as they had many powerful methods of testing themselves for this matter, as such there were obviously many who had overestimated themselves and ended up in the same situation as Ryu. But...


    Mae''s aunt, Kelcyne, shook her head. She felt that arguing with someone so shameless would only make her enraged to the extreme. In truth, the reason she was so casual was because she was practically the only person on Mae''s side to begin with.


    Mae''s father, Rogryll, was absolutely infuriated, and by extension, her mother had to stand on his side or else their Clan''s Patriarch would be humiliated not just once, but twice. This wasn''t something she was willing to allow, so even if Rogryll''s wife was on her daughter''s side, she didn''t have an outward showing of it and hadn''t even come to visit Mae in these few days.


    The politics of such a family were quite deep and complex, so it was only natural that many interactions weren''t as simple as they seemed on the surface.


    "Mae, there is an important family meeting now, which is why I''ve come for you."


    "Ah..." Mae had completely forgotten. Their family was still in an awkward state right this moment and they were preparing for the final phase of their retreat, so it was about time for them to leave.


    It had to be remembered that the reason they were doing all of this was because Mae''s Dao had entered the Ancient Grade. This was something that circumvented the rules of the higher Heavens and the purpose for the Seventh Heaven descending so early was precisely so that they could find the individuals who had broken this rule so many times.


    This also explained why so many were infuriated. The family was bearing a great burden for Mae at this moment, even having to relocate, and yet her actions were quite excessively selfish in their eyes. It was fine if she had a boy toy, but she had actually lost her Primordial Yin to a cripple, this was entirely unacceptable.

 Chapter 1305 Where?

    1305 Where?


    Mae looked toward Ryu, but before she could even give him an apologetic look, Ryu slowly stood to his foot, placing her down by his side.


    "Ryu?" Mae''s gaze flickered.


    Ryu smiled. "You expected me to allow you to go alone? Help me get ready."


    Mae blinked, her eyes beginning to moisten. Indeed, she had had every intention of leaving Ryu behind. That was because she wanted to face off against the pressure alone and didn''t want to force him to listen to the kind of disparaging remarks he would definitely hear. But Ryu had clearly never had such intentions. His words toward Kelcyne were only said to infuriate her.


    Ryu''s policies toward his women were quite simple. His wives were allowed to be as willful as they wanted, even toward himself, however no one else was allowed to do the same, even himself. No one was allowed to make them suffer, no one was allowed to make them suffer injustice, no one was allowed to paint them into a corner...


    Or else they would have to face his wrath.


    "Okay..." Mae said softly, lowering her head. Her gaze bloomed with a hint of happiness shrouded by worry. At that moment, she looked no different from a dainty newly wed, prepared to help her husband bathe and dress.


    Kelcyne''s gaze narrowed, her own eyes flickering with an unreadable light. It was clear that she hadn''t expected that Ryu would do this either, it was completely contradictory to his earlier words.


    Seeing her niece''s eyes overflowing with love, she shook her head and took a step out.


    Of these eight thrones, four were dainty and quite feminine, bedazzled with tasteful jewels and had four extreme beauties perched upon them. Each of them was seductive and wore clothing that tightly wrapped around themselves. Two of these beauties had skin that was akin to dripping milk chocolate, while the latter two had skin like condensed milk dew, but all four had enticing figures and deep ravines prominent upon their chest. And yet, very few dared to look at them for too long.


    Three of the remaining four thrones were more forward and had a simpler, but much larger and robust build. In these seats were the three leaders of the Soul Earth, Soul Wind and Soul Body Factions.


    Finally, there was a throne with a back double the size of that of the others. Upon this, none other than Rogryll of the Soul Fire Faction and current leader and Patriarch of the Dream Asuras.


    Over an hour ago, Kelcyne had come in and took her place on one of the four feminine thrones, perched behind her husband and leader of the Soul Body Faction. She had told them all that Mae would be here after quite some time, but no one had expected for it to take so long.


    Just as Rogryll seemed to be about to release a pressure high enough that many would start to faint, the large doors, standing at over 100 meters, slowly opened. But what shocked them all was that it wasn''t just one person, but rather, two.


    Ryu held Mae''s hand and entered the hall, an indifferent kind of sharpness on his features. He didn''t seem moved by the atmosphere in the slightest.


    Mae, who had instantly felt a shudder, was shielded a moment later, her tense body relaxing. Looking toward Ryu''s side profile, she felt a sense of safety she hadn''t felt in a very long time.


    Ryu neither increased his pace, nor slowed it down. It gazed as though he was walking leisurely through a park rather than facing the aura of an Omniscient Sky God.


    Suddenly, he came to a stop, remembering a memory from the past that made him chuckle. He suddenly recalled the time he accidently got engaged because he had sat in the wrong spot. Instead of risking that again, he gazed toward Mae with a smile.


    "Wife, where do we sit?"


    Ryu''s deep voice was filled with a hint of amusement that was entirely inappropriate.


    He didn''t seem to take this situation seriously in the slightest.

 Chapter 1306 Describe

    1306 Describe


    Ryu''s voice didn''t seem to fit the occasion at all. He quite frankly seemed to be far too relaxed, far too happy, for the given situation. Was he not aware that the atmosphere was so tense specifically because of him?


    Rogryll''s gaze couldn''t help but narrow. He had thought of the same problem that Mae and his sister-in-law had instantly. How was Ryu even out of bed right now? Let alone laughing and smiling? It didn''t make much sense to him at all.


    They had all witnessed enough shattered Dao Hearts to know that this wasn''t normal in the slightest, but they were all likewise certain that Ryu''s Dao Heart had, indeed, been shattered. Not only was it impossible for him to have been blown off the Samsara Steps without this occurring, but the phenomena that occurred after he lost consciousness was also undeniable.


    Recalling that moment, Rogryll''s brow inwardly furrowed.


    The Dao Heart, should one never cultivate a day in their life, would be quite malleable and overall not very important. When one began to cultivate, the purpose of the Dao heart shifted and it became the foundation upon which your strength was built upon, and most importantly, that you Dao hinged upon.


    The Dao Heart was the manifestation of the will. And it was upon this will that something as Heaven Defying as cultivation was built.


    One could imagine what would happen to a large building that suddenly lost its foundation. The more powerful an existence was, the more that was built upon their foundation, the more devastating the backlash. When the pressure of the Samsara Steps were added upon this, the end result should have been obvious...


    Even Mae was dazed, let alone everyone else. Soon, though, she felt that she was most comfortable like this, she could easily sink into Ryu''s chest and use his heart like a soothing rhythm to calm the beating of her own.


    A quietness fell once again, no one knew what to say.


    Ryu sat so naturally and looked unbothered. Somehow, it felt like the central thrones had shifted and the halo that had once been above them was now above the casually smiling Mae.


    Regardless of how lascivious the Dream Asura Race was, there were still certain moments where they wouldn''t be so intimate in the face of the public, and this was definitely one of them. But it was quite clear that Ryu simply didn''t give a damn.


    They didn''t like his relationship with Mae? Alright, then he would simply show them there was no changing it with a single action. He really wanted to see what they would do about it.


    He leaned back in his chair, resting an elbow on one armrest. With an absolute beauty in his lap, he looked like the most comfortable person in the hall, while those who were going out of their way to push him to the edge were suffering beneath their own efforts.


    Rogryll had long since closed his eyes as though he couldn''t be bothered by what would happen. When he opened them, a deeper quietness appeared to have descended. He gave Ryu a deep look, but the latter''s smile didn''t fade in the slightest, looking his father-in-law in the eyes with an incomparable sense of relaxation.


    Rogryll looked away a moment later and his lips parted.


    "This meeting determination begin now. Very soon, our Clan will be returning to our roots within the Nether Realm, but there is still a great amount of preparation left to be done.


    "Elder Rayword has returned with news of our negotiations and determination now describe the terms."

 Chapter 1307 Requirements

    1307 Requirements


    An elder across from Ryu and seated on the same level as Thera and the others stood to his full height. Although he was quite willowy, his height was tall and his posture was surprisingly firm. His face, though, was covered in odd dark spots that didn''t quite seem natural. Ryu, though, who had been in Sacrum''s Nether Realm before, recognized these spots.


    They exuded a hint of Nether Qi and was most definitely a sign of poisoning. Though, it didn''t seem that this elder''s life was in danger, which was interesting.


    In truth, he had also been a hint surprised that the Dream Asura Race wanted to return to the Nether Realm though his face didn''t show it. And that was because they had spent so long away from it that there was simply no way their bodies were still perfectly adjusted to the environment. Just looking at this elder, it was quite clear that he was very much correct.


    It took quite a deal of effort to deal with Nether Qi if you weren''t acclimated to it, but the current Dream Asura Race didn''t have much of a choice. It was either they succeed in this endeavor, or they give up their lives to the higher Heavens of the True Martial World.


    To them, it was clearly better to give up their homes and protect a genius with an Ancient Dao than it was to give up Mae.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. Indeed, although he didn''t have much patience for it, the rage of the Dream Asura Race toward him wasn''t entirely unwarranted. Of course, he still didn''t care very much about it, he wasn''t a person who was very sympathetic to begin with even if his enemies were in the right, let alone the fact they were very much wrong about him being a cripple.


    "As descendants of the Dream Wraiths, we are given a great deal of face in the Nether Realm. Our return has been accepted, but there are many stipulations.


    "The first is that we can only settle on the Fourth Nether Plane at the highest."


    This requirement was simply too heavy, but Elder Rayword wasn''t even remotely finished.


    "The third requirement is that we must pick out several Sky God women with remaining potential to marry into the surrounding Clans to establish ties."


    The murmurings only grew louder and louder.


    The logic of this was quite clear, it wasn''t only a check and balance that protected them from the Dream Asura Clan, but it also helped the Dream Asura Race integrate with their world easier. After generations, just how many experts would have fallen in love with one another and married? Intermarrying was a common practice and there were many Dream Asuras who weren''t perfectly pure blood as a result of this.


    But even so, the idea of being forced to do this left a sour taste in their mouths, especially since the requirement was for the most astounding women among them.


    "The fourth requirement is that our geniuses beneath the Sky God Realm will be sent to exchange pointers with their own for a year before returning."


    If the murmurings were just that earlier, the ruckus was only growing now. Many older men and women had even been unable to control themselves, slamming a hand down on their armrests.


    This was simply an open scheme.


    Only sending 10 million? Marrying off their best daughters? Sending their children to "exchange pointers" for an entire year? They just wanted to swallow up their Dream Asura Race and absorb their Bloodline to increase their strength.


    By the end of it all, what would be left of the Dream Asura race but a dispersed number of offspring with just a trace of their original Bloodline? Wasn''t this too sinister?


    "The fifth requirement is that we must allow the adjacent Clans and Sects to send in one descendant into our Samsara Wheel every year."


    The meeting chamber exploded, the furious shouts of innumerable elders descending like a torrent.

 Chapter 1308 Vanished

    1308 Vanished


    The uproar wasn''t small in the slightest. It felt like every time that Elder Rayword opened his mouth to give them another requirement, it would only get worse.


    Elder Rayword hadn''t been chosen randomly. For such an important matter, how could they send someone who they couldn''t trust and who didn''t have the cache necessary to negotiate? While Elder Rayword wasn''t necessarily a great talent of any one of the four factions, he existed in a lane of his own and was an exceptionally powerful soul expert.


    Due to this, his senses were very keen and he was able to read people quite easily. In addition to this, his mind was sharp and his speed of thought was exceptional. It could be said that there wasn''t a single person present who would have been in a better position than him too, whether it came to a matter of skill, or that of raw power.


    However, this only made things worse. The fact that Elder Rayword had gone but this was the best he could get out of the situation left their hearts cold. What else could they do if not complain? The terrible part, though, was that Elder Rayword didn''t seem to be finished.


    "The Sixth requirement is that the Samsara Steps must be open to the public and placed in one of their Alliance Cities. Like this, all those with the mind can partake to strengthen and sharpen their Dao Hearts."


    The fury of the experts in the surroundings boiled over. This wasn''t even sharing now, it was a forceful seizure of their core treasures. It was akin to crippling the future of their Dream Asura Race and giving the benefits of others to them.


    None of those present were surprised about the Nether World being familiar with their treasures, that was because the Dream Asura Race was obviously from the True Nether World to begin in. A very long time ago, they had been forced to leave, making a new path for them in this world. But now, they were being forced to return.


    Many didn''t believe that they had heard correctly. They even looked to their sides, checking with those around them to ensure that they really had heard what they had heart. But all they saw were the bewildered gazes of those around them.


    He dared to speak like this in this sort of setting?


    At that moment, it wasn''t they who were enraged, but it was Rogryll''s temper that suddenly exploded out of control once again. He had been silent all the while, allowing those around to do as they pleased, but this Ryu seemed to think that just because he hadn''t said anything, everything would work out in his favor.


    "Silence."


    This was the only word he said, his voice rumbling. Not a single person dared to speak, when Rogryll voiced his commands, even his own brother didn''t dare to refute, even his own wife didn''t even consider it, let alone everyone else.


    However, who could have expected that not even a brief moment would pass before Ryu spoke again.


    "I speak where I please and as I please."


    Even Rogryll, who thought this matter was over, felt astonished. But even this was only for a brief instant before his aura flared, a pillar of pressure descending.


    Mae wasn''t spared in the slightest. The moment she felt it, her look paled and she spat out a mouthful of blood.


    At that moment, Ryu''s smiling look completely vanished.

 Chapter 1309 What Use Is It?

    Chapter 1309 What Use Is It?


    This was already the product of Rogryll holding back. He seemed to remember that his daughter was on Ryu''s lap at the last moment, and pulled back a measure. If not for this, the pressure of his aura alone might have shattered Ryu''s body to pieces. However, Ryu himself didn''t seem to be aware of this. He sat up from his leaning position. Ignoring everyone around him, he looked down toward Mae. She was pale faced, blood dripping from her lip. She looked as though she might pass out at any moment. Ryu''s frown deepened, the chilliness in his expression spreading out. At that moment, if it wasn''t obvious before, Ryu''s own aura seemed to be just as suffocating. Even when he was ignoring the entire world around him, his fury was deep enough to set the clouds themselves ablaze. Ryu placed a hand on Mae''s abdomen. After a moment, he placed a finger in her mouth and dripped a hint of Embryonic Qi into her mouth. Very quickly, a rush of light spread throughout her body and a milky whiteness flashed before vanishing. Before the eyes of everyone present, Mae''s pale expression became rosy once again and she seemed to finally be able to breathe again. It was only at that moment that Ryu seemed to remember where he was, but when he turned his gaze toward Rogryll, it was as though space itself was collapsing. Their gazes seemed to be corporeal, clashing and causing fissures in space to form. "The last person who did this to her, I swore to kill."


    The icy chill in the room was palpable. The temperature plummeted. Rogryll was already feeling a hint of regret. He had lashed out without thinking, and it had ended up in this sort of situation. But hearing Ryu''s words, he was so infuriated that he laughed. It was a laugh that rumbled like thunder, causing the hall to shake and quake. However, before this laugh, the iciness in Ryu''s gaze only seemed to grow deeper and deeper. Before he could speak again, though, he felt Mae''s hand grab onto him. Mae didn''t seem to want to see this matter go any further. Ryu, who had been about to stand, slowly leaned back into his chair once again, but the smile didn''t return. "I won''t kill you, but one day you''ll have to suffer a fist of mine."


    "The moment you chose to negotiate, you had already lost. You have no backbone, you have too many concerns, you are weak."


    Ryu''s words boomed, their echo no less thunderous. It was as though his voice traveled through the void, quaking the surrounding voidal nodes and making it echo with more force. Rogryll felt suffocated. He wanted to lash out again, but how could he make the same mistake twice. He felt as though a twin pair of fire laden hands were wrapping around his throat. He had never felt so stifled in his life. Usually, he would have just attacked to kill, but how could he? No matter what he said, the imprint of that woman''s strength was still in his mind. And even if she didn''t care about a cripple like Ryu, the fact that he had been crippled in their territory was still something he wasn''t quite sure how to deal with, this didn''t even mention the pressure coming from his own daughter. Who knew that Ryu actually wasn''t finished yet, though? "You could have simply gone and staked your land. You think that every power on the Plane you chose would gang up against you? Do they not have enemies of their own? Do they not have people who would much rather them be destroyed? Do they not have concerns of their own? "But now you''ve not only taken a stance of weakness, but you''ve announced your arrival at the same time so they''ll be perfectly ready. "If you aren''t weak willed, then you''re too stupid to lead anyone. "What options do you have remaining here? To die at the hands of the Higher Heavens? Or to leave 99% of your Clan behind and send off 10 million to suicide themselves? Both of these options mean death because of nothing more than cowardice. "How foolish can you be, exactly? But I''m not sure what I''d expect from a father willing to allow his own daughter to take on such a burden. "What value does your strength and power have if it can''t be used now?!


    Important Links

 Chapter 1310 Palm

    1310 Palm


    Ryu took a seat and then fell into Mae''s bed. He placed his hands behind his head, closing his eyes in peak comfort. However, Mae herself couldn''t seem to do the same. In fact, she paced around her bed, her expression flickering between several states constantly.


    She could still remember that look on her father''s face, she had truly never seen him so enraged before, and yet Ryu was treating it like it was no big deal at all. Even now, he didn''t seem to be very afraid of her father suddenly lashing out in a moment of rage and crushing him.


    That said, at the same time, she couldn''t help but smile from time to time, feeling that Ryu had indeed protected her honor very well. She had entered that space expecting to have to deal with an avalanche of comments that she would have no choice but to swallow, but even if these people looked down on her and Ryu, they hadn''t even gotten the chance to say anything. In fact, somehow, in the end, it was actually Ryu who ended up looking down on them.


    When they forgot to be scared beneath Ryu and Rogryll''s auras, they became embarrassed and furious rather quickly. Somehow the situation of them looking down on Ryu never came because they were too busy being lambasted instead.


    And now, the culprit was lying back without a single concern in the world.


    Mae looked toward Ryu and her lip was unable to help but twitch when she saw the light smile on his face. He looked as though he had already drifted off into a peaceful dream and didn''t have the time to care for the things around. him. She was left alone to carry the burden of worry all on her own, but this time there wasn''t much that Ryu could even do to help her.


    What could he do about her own inner thoughts? It was either she believed in him or she didn''t, there wasn''t really another path to take.


    Mae sighed. In the end, she finally took a small seat at the edge of her bed, smiling bitterly.


    She didn''t believe that Ryu didn''t understand the kind of situation he was in currently. Cultivators acted no differently from mortals when their backs were against the wall, and that was precisely the situation they were in right now.


    They felt suffocated. On one side, there was the threat of the higher Heavens, on the other there was the ultimatum of the True Nether World. It seemed that no matter what path they took, only death awaited them, and more importantly, desperation.


    Desperate people didn''t think logically, they had less concerns, and they were less worried about consequences. Ryu had furious so many people, there were bound to be a few who lashed out when they no longer cared about the outcome.


    It only made matters worse that they felt that all of this was Mae''s fault to begin with. In addition, they felt that Ryu''s existence was a slap to their faces. They were making all of these sacrifices for Mae, while she herself was willingly ruining her future. How could they not be enraged?


    If they knew that the person they hated so much was just casually taking a nap without a concern in the world, they just might implode.T/his chapter is updated by


    ...


    "How much more difficult is it to form a Godhood with a Hegemonic Dao as opposed to a Dominion Dao?"


    Starlight froze, almost instantly understanding what his Master was trying to get at.


    "How about an Ancient Dao, then?" Asce asked calmly.


    "Can''t... He just accept a weaker foundation? If he willingly gives up his Founding Dao during his breakthrough, he''s pretty much guaranteed to form a Peak Ancient Dao."


    "You''ve over made simpler the matter. You cannot just choose to lower the quality of your Dao, it''s a natural process that occurs. For every cultivator you hear of successfully breaking through with a weaker Dao, there are another five just like them who never manage to break through at all because the difficulty is just that great.


    "Taking another step back and assuming that he does succeed in breaking through, is the journey over, then? You would still need to improve your Dao from Fragmented to False, and then from False to True, and then True to Perfect.


    "Each one of these steps is even more daunting than the last. There are many geniuses with Ancient Daos that never succeed in making it to the Dao Lord Realm. The reason why you have the view of "giving up" on your Dao and lowering it to succeed is because this is a view that''s been purposely promoted by your seniors for your own good.


    "If you can''t smoothly breakthrough with a Dao at your level with ease, then it''s better that you lower it now or you risk never succeeding in the future.


    "The gap between Sky God Realms is too enormous. Who cares if you have an Ancient Dao at the Fragmented Realm? A False Sky God with a Sovereign Dao can still crush you with a single finger. What''s most important in this world is your cultivation Realm."


    "Yes... But... Isn''t your Cultivation Realm limited by your Dao?"


    Asce chuckled. "What''s the limit for an Ancient Dao?"


    "... Theoretically, Dao Sovereign. It''s also possible to become a Dao God."


    "How many Dao Sovereigns does the Seventh Heaven have? What about the Eighth? How many Dao Gods are in the whole of the True Martial World? You need to focus first on becoming a Dao Lord, only that way can you roam without fear even on the Ninth Heaven. Unless you can do that, what worth is there in having mere potential to reach a stage almost no one can reach in the first place?


    "Cultivation isn''t about emotion, it''s a science, it''s a balance of probabilities. Overestimating yourself will only limit your future potential."


    "So... he''s not worth worrying about?"


    "Likely not. That child is a brittle lightning rod, ramrod straight, taking on too much, unwilling to take a step back. If I''m honest, the fact that he''s formed a Founding Dao gives him the right to be arrogant, but it also seals his fate.


    "That said, this isn''t the reason I haven''t told others about this just yet. Aika seems to care about that boy quite a lot, and I know her well. The more we know about him, and the less others do... The more opportunity there''ll be in the future to place her in the palm of our hands."

 Chapter 1311 Why Wasnt He?

    1311 Why Wasn''t He?


    Ryu''s mind drifted. The back of his eyelids had never been more interesting to him as compared to this moment. He felt relaxed and his thoughts felt more flexible now than they had in a very long time. It was as though he was a child again, and his imagination ran wild.


    The shattering of his Dao Heart wasn''t something Ryu had wanted, but he hadn''t thought that things would end up like this. What was interesting was that rather than severing his path, it felt as though his Dao Heart had only been another chain looped around his body, weighing him down.


    It was an odd feeling because Ryu was certain that his path of cultivation was severed, at least right now. He could sense qi, but he couldn''t gather it, nor could he control it. His Liviing Spiritual Foundation didn''t respond to him any longer, and he couldn''t sense his Chaotic Silk Meridians nor his Realm Heart any longer.


    It was a truly out of body experience, if his body was all of the most crucial pillars of cultivation.


    The only thing that seemed to listen to him at all was his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation and by extension the Embryonic Qi he had used to heal Mae. But he didn''t quite understand that either. He wondered what it was about it that allowed such a thing, or was it because he had connected it in such an unorthodox way? Or maybe it was because it had its own thoughts and had chosen him of its own accord?


    Of those answers, Ru felt that the last one was probably the most likely. His Spiritual Foundation was definitely special, but he didn''t believe that it was so special that it could ignore something as profound as the shattering of his Dao Heart. It was more likely that the simplest truth was the correct one.


    His White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation wasn''t his to begin with, it had been passed on by another. It could be said that in order to succeed in gaining its favor, it was precisely his Dao Heart that had been tested. That was the purpose for all the pain and horror he had experienced in the Tor Kingdom. But now that his Dao Heart had vanished, the linchpin that had kept this Living Spiritual Foundation attached to himself had vanished.


    By the same token, his original Spiritual Foundation, didn''t have such high requirements for him. It had chosen him from birth, so it didn''t need a linchpin, or rather, the linchpin was his existence itself.


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    It was no wonder, then, that the Living Spiritual Foundation wasn''t responding to him. And due to the fact it was that one in control of his main Meridians, it had taken his Chaotic Silk Meridians along with it.


    Ryu couldn''t help but sneer when he saw this. He was pissed, and he managed to maintain his calm and relaxed bearing nonetheless.


    There was actually something in his body, occupying his space, that was so easily able to rip its support away from him. If it wasn''t for the fact he had yet to recover from the backlash to his Spiritual Sea, he would have already summoned the chains to surround and lock it down. It sure had a lot of nerve.


    It was unfortunate that Ryu had already entered the Dao Pedestal Realm. If he had still been in the Path Extinction Realm, the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation wouldn''t be able to take his Meridians hostage like this. The Dao Pedestal Realm, though, increased the connection between his Spiritual Foundation and Meridians a great, severalfold stronger than the Spiritual Severing Realm did. In addition, it expanded the Spiritual Foundation, increasing its individual strength.


    This was an odd conclusion to come to, especially since it was actually the Spiritual Foundation that allowed this. If the Dao Heart was the center of this matter, then why was it that one had to Awaken to be allowed the chance to cultivate to begin with?


    If Ryu was correct, it was actually precisely the Dao Heart that the Spiritual Foundation observed when choosing a cultivator to follow for the length of their life.


    Despite feeling that this was correct, this still didn''t quite feel like an answer. It seemed like excessive steps, for little reason or return.


    But then something else clicked for Ryu, as for what it was, it might surprise many. That was because what he had thought about was the ban of Mental Realm Masters in Sacrum.


    During that period, no one under the jurisdiction of the Tatsuya Clan had actively cultivated the soul... and what had that resulted in?


    Well, the results spoke for themselves. The Tatsuya family ended up lacking any experts in the field of sensory matters, and as a result of that, they were unable to catch the trap of the Martial Gods before it was too late and they were destroyed... But this was the matter that Ryu was referring to.


    Despite not putting any focused effort into soul cultivation, their souls still increased steadily with their Qi Realm Cultivation. Although it was still much weaker than a soul that was actively cultivated, why was it that this was possible?


    At the very least, the reverse wasn''t possible. Ryu couldn''t just cultivate his soul and allow his body to naturally grow stronger over time. But that didn''t seem to make sense, why was one possible but the other wasn''t?


    Ryu felt that he had an answer: it was the Dao Heart.


    The Dao Heart formed the foundation of all things. As one cultivated, it had to grow stronger in order to support one''s increasing strength and eventually one''s Godhood. But why was it that this influenced the soul and allowed it to grow stronger?


    If Ryu was correct, the Dao Heart didn''t influence the soul at all, it was the soul. Rather, it was the true soul, it had always been.


    Unfortunately, this opened up more questions than answers.


    If the Dao Heart was the true soul, then what did his Mental Realm cultivate? What was the little body floating in above his Spiritual Sea? What about his Perfect Blackbody Soul?


    But even more importantly than all of that, if it was the true soul, since it had shattered...


    Why wasn''t he dead?

 Chapter 1312 A Fascinating Thought

    1312 A Fascinating Thought


    It was a truly fascinating thought.


    The reality was that most wouldn''t even dare to have the line of thinking that Ryu did. That was because although he seemed to be calm at the moment, if he was truly correct, the weight of this discovery was akin to shocking enlightenment that might fundamentally change the foundation of cultivation itself.


    The idea that Mental Realm cultivation wasn''t being executed properly and that one of the Six Pillars of cultivation had been misunderstood all this time wasn''t a small matter in the slightest. Who would dare to look in the face of countless trillions of years of discovery and essentially spit in the face of it?


    But even though this matter seemed unacceptable, there was one matter that seemed to seal the idea for good in Ryu''s mind... and that was the matter of his own will power.


    Back when he first met Ailsa, she had had something very interesting to say. She had been baffled by the fact he could have such weak will power despite the fact his Mental Realm cultivation talent was so poor. To her, this seemed to suggest that there was something wrong with his soul and that it had definitely been tampered with much like his Spiritual Foundation had been.


    There were two curious things about this.


    The first was that Ailsa seemed to be subconsciously aware that the Mental Realm was related to will power, but hadn''t taken a step further to accept the reverse, that being that the will power was the soul itself, and by extension. the Dao Heart.


    The reason this was interesting to Ryu was because these were the sorts of secrets that were the easiest to keep, secrets that everyone seemed to be subconsciously aware of, and some might even find to be curious, but because no one else was questioning it, it didn''t seem to make sense to investigate any further.


    The easiest secret to keep was an open secret, one that felt like a conspiracy theory on its face and everyone scoffed at. Though, Ryu didn''t believe that this had been done on purpose. It was more like a case of continuous confirmation bias over countless generations.


    But now he remembered that there were many names for these souls. They were also the Governing Ethereal Soul, the Awakening Ethereal Soul and the Alive Ethereal Soul. And most intriguing to Ryu, they were also called...


    The Original Spirit, the Yang Spirit and the Yin Spirit.


    Of course, these were just the core souls. A step beyond that there were still the so-called Seven Corporeal Souls.


    Ryu began to piece together the various information about these souls and eventually came to a concise conclusion.


    The Seven Corporeal Souls were tied to the body. Their existence maintained health and helped a body to continue living.


    The Yin Spirit provided life qi to these Seven Corporeal Souls and gave a living being the will to continue to live.


    The Yang Spirit was responsible for consciousness. It made one aware of their life and provided a self-identity of sorts.


    Finally, there was the Original Spirit. This was where free will and intelligence originated. It was what gave a person the uniqueness of their personality and maybe even a drive to be more.


    Ryu was immersed in his thoughts.


    Maybe all this time, the only spirit that he had known of was the Yin Spirit, this was the soul that if it was shattered, life would cease to be. This was always what he had pondered the soul to be. As for the other souls, they were just loosely strewn, incomplete concepts within his mind.


    But, was any of this reality? And if it was true, which of these souls was his Perfect Blackbody?


    Ryu entered a deeper and deeper state of focus, suddenly forgetting everything around him.

 Chapter 1313 Finally

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    1313 Finally


    Even after several moments, Ryu found nothing out of the ordinary. However, his mood didn''t change. If finding something out of order was so simple and easy, considering how much effort most had to put into understanding their bodies in order to succeed, in cultivation, how could someone have not found it before?


    Of course, Ryu had no idea if he was the first to think of this matter or not. It was very much possible that someone had figured it out and he simply wasn''t aware of it at all. Or, it was very much possible that they had already tried and simply found nothing.


    That said, Ryu felt that he was in a very unique position.


    For one, he had experience with losing parts of his soul, evolving it and then regaining his own soul back. But what was even more important than that was something that should have been a bad thing but had suddenly become a net benefit instead....


    His Dao Heart had shattered.


    This might sound like an odd benefit, but if he was correct in the fact that his Dao Heart was just one of his many souls, then the fact that it had been compromised would make it easier to pick out faults.


    Most others that had suffered such a fate wouldn''t even have the mind to care about cultivation, let alone pay attention to their bodies to spot peculiarities. This also left Ryu with another interesting thought.


    It was said, in those legends, that after one died, the Seven Corporeal Souls dissolved with the body, vanishing with it. However, the remaining three souls dispersed.


    There were many tales about what might occur with the others, so many that there was absolutely no consensus at all. The only thing that these folk tales seemed to agree on was the fact that the Original Spirit would be the one that entered reincarnation to be wiped of its memories and reborn. As for the other two, there was absolutely no decided upon conclusion at all.


    At that moment, Ryu had an absolutely wild thought.


    What if his soul wasn''t located in his Spiritual Sea at all, and was instead right here?


    He looked down at his cracked Spiritual Foundation. These cracks had occurred after the Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed was planted, so he hadn''t originally mused much about it. Why would he be thrown off by cracks when that was precisely what state his Spiritual Foundation should be in at the moment?


    But now that he looked again, he finally noticed it.


    These cracks, they were more numerous than the last time he checked. In addition, rather than giving up a large amount of rich Cosmic Qi, many of these fissures were instead giving off a deathly sort of qi that was swallowing up much of the Cosmic Qi his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was producing.


    Ryu descended and touched down on his Spiritual Foundation, feeling a shudder in his heart. He could almost hear it wailing. It wasn''t a real, physical sound, but he was being washed by its sadness. The hopelessness hit him in waves and all those emotions that he hadn''t been able to sense previously flooded him as thoug he was facing a tsunami.


    Ryu realized now. It was actually a confounding of several events. It wasn''t just that he was used to having portions of his soul snatched from him, it was also that this section of his soul wasn''t connected to him via normal means, and most important...


    He finally realized what those weird alterations in his Realm Heart were.

 Chapter 1314 Frankly

    1314 Frankly


    It was far more complex than Ryu could have imagined, it was no wonder that he hadn''t understood what had happened previously, but now that he was piecing things together, it was slowly beginning to make more and more sense.


    The changes in the Realm Heart began from the moment his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had appeared. What was key here, though, was that the appearance of the Realm Heart, or more accurately, the method by which it was connected with Ryu was very similar to his Spiritual Foundation.


    The Realm Heart, too, was an existence within the Abyssal Plane. It, too, was an immature sort of construct that had to be slowly evolved and molded into the future. And most importantly, when Ryu had been a "cripple" in his second life, it was the Realm Heart that had replaced the function of his Spiritual Foundation and allowed him to continue cultivating as though nothing at all had happened.


    Now, Ryu had just found out that his Spiritual Foundation housed his Dao Heart. Even if it wasn''t precisely his Realm Heart, it most definitely housed it. Somewhere deep within this vast construct, his Dao Heart was found.


    So, the question was, what would happen if an immature Realm Heart, so very similar to the function of a Spiritual Foundation, was attracted over by someone before it could evolve and gain a mind of its own?


    The Realm Heart was akin to a baby in the womb, unmolded and undecided. But back then, it had been rushed into Ryu''s body, fusing with him and becoming one with him. By now, the two were already an inseparable existence.


    If Ryu was correct, when he reconnected with his original Spiritual Foundation, his body had suddenly gone from having three souls, to four. Better yet, the purpose that the third and fourth soul played, were very much the same, causing them to overlap.


    What was even more extreme about this matter was the fact that it was the Realm Heart that had allowed Ryu to accept a second Spiritual Foundation in the first place. That meant that not only did they fulfill the same functional role, they practically took up the same location in his body, bringing them closer on both a metaphysical and purely physical level.


    Ryu stood in silence. For some reason, all of this felt... too convenient.


    It felt like every step of the way here, someone had been pulling him along on a leash.


    His gaze shifted from his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation. The only answer seemed to be this mysterious Phoenix Sky God, and existence he couldn''t understand even in the slightest.


    This person was so enigmatic even in Sacrum, and now that Ryu was in the True Martial World, he hadn''t heard a single word about this mysterious existence.


    It seemed odd to expect such a thing, but the reality was that the more he learned about this person, the more he felt that it was impossible that they hadn''t come to the True Martial World before. Not only had they come, but they most definitely should have put a powerful impression here.


    Ryu didn''t like this sort of feeling in the slightest.


    His gaze turned cold, but he still returned to his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    Now that he understood the peculiarities, the question that remained was how would he fix his Dao Heart.


    Quite frankly, Ryu wasn''t entirely sure how to do this. And at the same time, he was a bit worried about doing it properly.


    Being unable to train was unacceptable, and a injured Spiritual Foundation wasn''t something that he could accept either.

 Chapter 1315 Proceed?

    1315 Proceed?


    Logically, one would think that the only way to heal a Dao Heart was to grab a hold of their mind once again, self-healing and reaffirming one''s identity. But this was clearly nonsense. Ryu felt better than he had in a long time, and yet his Dao Heart was still shattered and his Spiritual Foundation was still leaking this deathly sort of energy that he couldn''t allow to continue for fear of what might happen to his Cosmic Seed.


    This was another peculiar matter that was worth exploring, though. Why did he feel so much better?


    Of course, there was the fact that his Realm Heart wasn''t allowing him to feel the despair that should come with this matter, and the fact that he was apparently very much used to not having all of his souls working properly in a tandem as they should. But he felt that this wasn''t all.


    Now that Ryu knew that his Dao Heart, one of his souls, was actually within his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, he couldn''t help but think.. What would hundreds of years of being chained up have done to it?


    In one way or another, one of his souls had been in contact with those chains for such a long time, what kind of effect would that have had on him? Who knew if it was related to how jaded he had become or not?


    It was hard to tell, though. He had been in contact with those chains before, but he had still taken a very long time to get adapted to them. If he really had such a deep familiarity with them, it wouldn''t have taken nearly as much effort.


    There was probably only one of two explanations for that. Either the effect was minimal because it wasn''t actually connected to him at the time and it couldn''t be considered "his soul" at the time, or the second option, and the one Ryu felt was more likely, was the fact that the Spiritual Foundation itself probably wasn''t the Dao Heart, and instead the soul was hidden somewhere within it.


    If this second option was true, then there was likely a separation between the chains and the soul, not allowing the former to affect the latter to a great extent.


    But then the question was... Why did he feel so much better?


    That coldness became the base of all he was, and though he had learned to smile once again, it still wasn''t something that came naturally to him. It had taken a great deal of effort on Ailsa''s part to even get him to this state, but even then, it was akin to pulling him against the tide of his new nature.


    But now that his Dao Heart had suddenly shattered, all of those restraints had suddenly turned into a puff of air. His true self reached its central alignment once again, and he felt an internal peace that came from his souls no longer pulling him in two separate directions.


    Of course, the influence of those years were still within him, they were his experiences nonetheless.


    When these things were put into perspective, it was no wonder he felt so relaxed. His Dao Heart was no longer a burden pushing him in a direction he didn''t want to go in, and his Original Spirit regained the flexibility it had once had to grow with him.


    Now the question was... How would he fix this?


    Well, now that the Dao Heart was as vague a concept as it was to him in the past, the answer was no longer metaphysical and he could take real, solid steps toward resolving this matter. As for the answer he had come up with, it was something that he had overlooked for a long time...


    The [Refinement Sutra]. Most accurately, the refinement of his soul which he had ignored due to having the training method of a Dao Sovereign to use instead.


    But now, it seemed he wouldn''t have much of a choice.


    How would he proceed, though?


    How could he set up a structure in his current state, let alone one so important. Even his Dao itself wasn''t responding to him right now, so how could he even trust himself to build something so life altering?

 Chapter 1316 Qi?

    1316 Qi?


    Ryu stood in silence for a very long while, his mind trying to figure out where to take his next step. He was quite confident in himself, but even he knew that it was very much possible for him to make mistakes. He wouldn''t be foolish enough to believe himself infallible.


    If he had his Founding Dao currently, it would have been a small matter to do this. In fact, if it wasn''t because of the situations he had been thrust into recently, he might have already chosen to do it long ago. But now, it was difficult...


    The only potential way forward seemed to be to form a stopgap measure, re- establish his Dao Heart, and then make changes later. But this issue with that was that he had no idea if that would even be possible. For example, if he tried to change the path of his Qi Realm Refinement now, it wouldn''t be a simple matter. It would require a purge and an entire overhaul.


    The only reason it had been relatively easier to change his foundation the first time was because the gap between Sacrum and the True Martial World was absolutely enormous. The idea of reworking the former in place of the latter was too easy.


    But, if he had to do it now, he would either need to create a new system with a gap that was just as significant, or he would need to undo his previous work first before he could lay down a new foundation. Although it was said in so many words, this was essentially like crippling himself.


    When you were talking about the body and the qi, it was still relatively easier to do this, but now Ryu was working with the soul.


    Any method that he chose had to take into account all 10 of his souls, fusing them into an entirely new method, a method that was invulnerable by other soul methods. However, in doing so, it would be extremely difficult. This went almost without saying.


    ''In the end, I still don''t understand enough about these matters. Without my Dao to peer through these secrets, it would take far too long for me to slowly understand it, probably at least centuries. Maybe...''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened as he turned his attention back to his Spiritual Sea. He gazed upon the damaged embryo of his soul.


    What was his Perfect Blackbody Soul?


    This question was more important now than ever. If it was just one of his 10 souls, then this technique wouldn''t work. The damage to the other souls wouldn''t be something that he could recover. But... Ryu had a feeling that it was something different.


    Just take his Chaos Qi for a moment. His Chaos Qi wasn''t actually a part of him, it was just a byproduct of his Meridians. The more Ryu thought about it, the more he believed that his Perfect Blackbody Soul was similar.


    Rather than actually being one of his souls, it was a projection of their abilities. It was also the anchor the connected his corporeal souls with his incorporeal souls.


    The problem was that this was just a hypothesis, Ryu had no way of validating just yet. He needed more time to research.


    Luckily, he had the Inheritance of the Magus Sky God, but would need to take his time to comb through it properly and find the information he needed.


    "This will take some time, but I should come out far more potent on the opposite end. I''ll set this aside for now, but there is something else that''s captured my attention...''


    Ryu appeared above his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation once again, his gaze sharp. He looked toward the eerie energy surging out of it. It swallowed up his Cosmic Qi, annihilating it and leaving nothing but a foul smell of death.


    Ryu looked at this qi deeply. Even when he tried, he couldn''t manipulate it at all...


    What qi was this? What did it mean?

 Chapter 1317 Karmic Chains

    1317 Karmic Chains


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while. He hadn''t expected this qi to actually allow him to manipulate it in the first place. If there was such a benefit to Dao Hearts shattering, or at the very least, a benefit that was easy to take advantage of, it wouldn''t be such a depressing matter for it to occur in the first place.


    Ryu felt a great amount of discomfort just being in the presence of this qi. He realized that this was a qi that didn''t even hold any true power, it just continuously attacked his psyche, as though it was filled with the negative emotions of the world.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s heart skipped a beat as he remembered yet another legend that he had read. This time, though, this legend was most definitely based on a true story, because this was something all cultivators were aware of.


    In the Nether Realm, the matters of reincarnation seemed to be handled by the Dream Wraiths, or more accurately, at least the memory portion. It was the Dream Wraiths responsible for taking up souls, wiping their memories, and then thrusting them back into the cycle of reincarnation to be born again.


    This process, from Ryu''s new comprehensions, should have stripped more than just memories, but even someone''s inherent personality.


    He never really thought much about where these memories went. After all, the assumption seemed to be that it vanished. When it was destroyed, it stayed like that.


    However, that was his old way of thinking... thinking that slotted memories into a box of the incorporeal, as not having any form, or substance. But now that he knew of the existence of the Original Spirit, was that still the case?


    The Original Spirit was where one''s personality was stored, it was what made a person them. But now did that happen? Who decided these matters?


    Ryu had never really thought about it. Why did he have the goals he had? Was it because of how he was raised or was it because he was always destined to end up this way?


    Now that he thought about it, the likelihood that this was his first incarnation was very low. He might have lived dozens of lives before, just like everyone else. The universe had a finite amount of energy, this was a well known truth.


    This was less important now for the answer they could provide, and far more important for the sake of comprehending Ryu''s train of thought. If these matters had a substantive reason for them, wouldn''t they manifest in a physical sort of way? And in that case, how could it ever be fully erased?Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    How could he give it up?


    Since he was unable to manipulate this energy personally, then he would find a vessel to carry it in instead.


    The chains seemed to have been provoked, but their rage was entirely meaningless. No matter how many came, they were easily crushed by the Karmic Qi, unable to withstand even a single split moment.


    However, Ryu''s gaze was only becoming sharper as his smirk widened.


    "I haven''t bothered to learn your true name, but from now on... You''ll be known as the Karmic Chains."


    **


    Many days later, Ryu suddenly shot up, catching Mae who still seemed to be concerning off guard. In these days, she had wanted to wake him up many times, but she felt that it was inappropriate. However, her worry only grew deeper, she believed that Ryu was experiencing delayed effects from his Dao Heart shattering. But he had suddenly sat up like nothing had happened.


    Seeing Mae''s expression, he smiled. "War time?" he inquired with a laugh.


    Mae blinked. How did he know?


    Ryu grinned. "Weak willed men like your parent are simple to manipulate, that''s how."


    Mae''s lip twitched. Who dared to speak about her parent like that?


    She didn''t get to say anything more before her room''s entrance shattered.

 Chapter 1318 Sneer

    1318 Sneer


    Ryu sent a calm gaze toward the door. Once again, it was Mae''s aunt, but this time she was clearly more aggressive than before.


    Although things seemed to have ended in a silent matter, that wasn''t true in the slightest. Mae''s father hadn''t attacked him in the end, but the boiling fury was very much still there. Ryu''s words hadn''t just insulted their King, he had insulted the totality of the Dream Asura Race.


    Becoming the Patriarch of their Race wasn''t a simple matter. In fact, it was incredibly difficult. There were no hereditary titles. Although it seemed like there were because Mae''s father and uncle both held prominent positions, the reality was that they had fought for them just like everyone else. Although Mae''s current standing was that of a princess, if anything ever happened to her father, she would very quickly lose this sort of status.


    Insulting their Patriarch was akin to calling the rest of them useless. Kelcyne had heard Ryu''s words from outside the door. Ultimately, although they weren''t blood related, her respect for Rogryll was exceptionally high. She had already spent a long time swallowing her anger, but Ryu broke it open like a flooding dam once again.


    Seeing the sneer on Ryu''s face, though, she seemed to realize that he might very well have uttered it on purpose.


    "Is this what you do? Can you only talk, sleep and rely on women? Even that elder outside was a woman, wasn''t she? Don''t you find it to be pathetic?"


    Ryu yawned. "Are you finished?"


    He was actually feeling a bit tired. These days had passed by quickly to him, but it didn''t change how much focus it had taken. In truth, he did want to take a bit of a nap at the moment, but this was surprising to him. Even if he stayed awake for years at a time, at his current cultivation, it would be possible.


    In frustration, she huffed and turned.


    Ryu and Mae followed. It wasn''t long before the sound of war drums entered their ears. It seemed that the estate that Mae called home was quite isolated.


    Kelcyne looked back, but she only saw Ryu''s lip curled. When she remembered his words about manipulating Rogryll, her anger threatened to flare up again.


    Indeed, two days after Ryu had dressed down the entire council of Dream Asuras, they too had felt their rage boiling over.


    As Ryu had said, their attempt at negotiation had exposed the fact that they planned to act, this lost them the element of surprise. The only way to make up for this was speed. The Nether Realm would never imagine that just days after sending individuals to negotiate, that the Dream Asuras would come bearing arms.


    "Mae, you will be leading a troop of the Soul Fire Faction," Kelcyne finally got to what she had meant to say originally. She realized that she couldn''t stall this subject any longer.


    Mae''s expression changed when she heard this, and then a hint of sadness flashed within her eyes.


    Ryu didn''t miss this at all. Looking forward toward where Kelcyne was leading them, and the fact that no one else had come to explain anything, it was too easy for Ryu to assemble these matters together.


    The sneer on his lips only increased.

 Chapter 1319 Hand It Over

    1319 Hand it Over


    Mae''s standing in the Dream Asura Race was exceptionally high. It didn''t sound like a problem for her to be leading troops, but the problem was context.


    The strongest existences of the Dream Asura Race were within the Omniscient Sky God Realm. This was the sixth level of the Sky God Realms. To a power like this, one would still be considered a baby even as a World Sea Realm expert.


    Logically, the ones that would be leading the armies would have to be, at the very least, in the True Sky God Realm. This would be the proper arrangement that would also maximize the strength output of their families.


    They had many True Sky Gods. Even though their numbers were in the billions, even if a single troop was only a million or so individuals, they would still have more True Sky Gods than they knew what to do with. This would still be the case even if the troops were only 100 000 or even 10 000, they would run out of assignments to hand out.


    So, then one had to ask themselves the question... Why was it that Mae, a mere World Sea Realm expert, was leading a troop?


    This seemed like one was placing a great deal of responsibility on her shoulders, a sign of great strength... But how could a World Sea Realm expert lead a troop filled with Sky Gods?


    The answer was that she wouldn''t be leading such a troop. In all likelihood, she would be part of garbage units, filled with those beneath the Sky God Realm. Such garbage troops were like probers in wars of this scale. They would often be the first to fall and die.


    Garbage troops could be eradicated by the passing by of just a single Fragmented Sky God, they wouldn''t even be able to retreat or fight back. Their only task was to move out and get a lay of the land. If they were eradicated, that was even better, because that would alert the more important troops in the back to an approaching enemy.


    Logically, as an exceptionally talented youth of the Dream Asuras, Mae should be in one of the more powerful troops, performing a small role and being well protected. Being thrust into such a situation was almost like her father sending her out to die.


    Of course, it seemed like Rogryll had no other choice.


    The smile on Ryu''s face vanished.


    Kelcyne felt a cold shiver run up her spine. For some reason, she felt that the current Ryu was incredibly dangerous. She couldn''t even react as it was snatched from her hands.


    "After this is over," Ryu''s voice came from the distance as he had already pulled Mae past her aunt, "I''ll be taking Mae away from this family. Consider this the gift I''ll be giving you all."


    Kelcyne didn''t even know how to react to these words.


    They were going to the Nether Realm for Mae in the first place, how could you "take her away"? That would just put her right back in the line of danger to begin with. Wasn''t this too stupid?


    Kelcyne''s surprise was overshadowed by her rage once again.


    She hadn''t explained to Ryu that the troop they were leading would be inferior units, and she had no idea that Ryu had already inferred this. In her mind, she thought that Ryu thought he would actually be the commander of Sky Gods.


    When she thought to this point, she looked toward his arrogant back and didn''t even bother to explain.


    She could kill this arrogant bastard herself, but that would forever sever the relationship between her and her niece, she didn''t want that. But now she very much hoped that he would die during this war.


    Her smirk deepened. She wished she could see his face when he came to understand he would be commanding nothing but the dregs of the Dream Asura race, trash who couldn''t break into the Sky God Realm even with their entire lifetimes.


    She turned around with a huff.

 Chapter 1320 Change

    1320 Change


    Ryu led Mae forward, twirling the token in his hand. He looked toward his wife, seeing that the worry on her face was heavy, but not as heavy as the sadness. Maybe if it wasn''t for Ryu, she would have already gone to confront her father about this matter, but she knew that given the fact things had already gone so far, doing such a thing now would only make matters worse.


    Ryu wasn''t the type to spend his time comforting others, and he didn''t have much sympathy and patience in his soul, however when it came to those he cared about, it was a very different matter.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    He took Mae''s hand. She was so absentminded that she almost didn''t seem to notice. When she felt a familiar warmth, she looked over and gave him a bit of a forced smile. It was clear that just a simple action wouldn''t be enough to wipe her worry away completely.


    "These matters aren''t things that you have to worry about, you only have to stand there and look pretty, no one will harm a hair on your head."


    Mae blinked when she heard this before she suddenly spurted with laughter. It wasn''t that what Ryu had said was so funny, but rather that this was entirely different from the Ryu she knew. She hadn''t even known that he was capable of saying such words.


    At the moment, she felt that Ryu was actually quite a lot like her. She too was a cold and distant person to most others, she might have even been mistaken for a block of ice to most strangers. But she had a fiery passion within her for those she cared about.


    Back in the Incomplete Heavenly Path, she hadn''t even hesitated to put her life on the line for Ryu, and that was only because he had pierced her heart just the slightest bit. These weren''t things she had to think much about.


    Mae looked up toward Ryu''s side profile. Many couldn''t seem to meet the latter''s gaze and were forced to look away.


    "You have nothing to concern about," Ryu retracted his gaze, looking down toward Mae with a smile. "My wife has the right to be as unruly and unreasonable as she wants, if even I don''t dare to scold her, what right does anyone else have?"


    Mae''s heart skipped a beat. She didn''t know why, but these simple and authoritative words seemed to have put her completely at ease. All of the weight that had been on her shoulders vanished and her mind felt clear and at peace. Her qi even seemed to move on its own, circulating like a raging torrent.


    Her skin glowed and her deep crimson eyes gained a ruby-like luster. It felt like one was staring into a half opened ruby mine, countless irregular gem- like cuts reflecting in her irises.


    Ryu stood in silence by her side, a calm smile on her face. Mae was already at the extremities of the World Sea Realm, there was nowhere to go forward but the Sky God Realm. That said...


    Mae''s aura rose like a tide, large swaths of qi flooding into her body. Her body seemed to leave the ground on its own, and although it was only by a few inches, it was a shocking scene nonetheless.


    It took several minutes for this rush of qi to calm down. All along, Ryu, who stood by her side, hadn''t moved a single gaze. He swept a cold gaze through the Dream Asuras as though they would really attack. This infuriated those in the surroundings even more, and yet they still didn''t dare to move. For some reason, they felt a great amount of danger coming from Ryu.


    Mae eventually touched the ground, her face slightly flushed. She hadn''t expected to break through like this, but it was impossible for her to have entered the Sky God Realm like that. After all, entering the Sky God Realm required a deep comprehension and conversion of one''s Dao, but that wasn''t the breakthrough she had had just now. Rather... It was a change in her Dao Heart.

 Chapter 1321 Change Of Mind?

    1321 Change of Mind?


    No, it wasn''t entirely accurate to say that she hadn''t broken through to become a Sky God. Rather, it could be said that she had done so in one facet, the Mental Realm.


    There were two paths of entering the Sky God Realm, the first was to take the complete path, and the second was the one that Mae had taken, and not even consciously at that. She had thought that she was still very far from entering the Sky God Realm, but she had reached the Soul Quintessence Realm just because of a few words from Ryu.


    Mae was so happy that she jumped up and down, even diving into Ryu''s arms. She truly didn''t care about those around her any longer and her heart was as light as a feather.


    Ryu smiled, holding her in his arms. Indeed, it seemed that his speculations about the Dao Heart were correct.


    This was the first time Ryu had helped someone breakthrough. The first was in the Armament Guild, the second was Aika and now the third was his wife. He didn''t believe that it was a coincidence.


    As the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he had a small control over Karmic Qi. Although the Karmic Qi he controlled could only be filtered through his eyes and its techniques and wasn''t as wild and unrestrained as the one that had come from his cracked Spiritual Foundation, it was Karmic Qi nonetheless.


    His ability to not only speak to aid someone, but to also pick the perfect words to enlighten them or take the perfect action to push them along was unmatched.


    Ryu realized at that moment that his Dao wasn''t just capable of guiding himself, if he cared enough he could easily guide others. And even more importantly than that, it seemed that although he couldn''t use his Dao to its full extent right now, he still had access to a small portion of the same small portion he could always use without actively triggering it.


    There was a reason Ryu hadn''t thought of this before. Usually, guiding someone''s comprehension was a huge taboo in the Martial World. You could easily lead someone astray or ruin their foundation. Even Dao Lord, Sovereign and Gods wouldn''t easily do this unless the person was far beneath them.


    Suddenly, the value of Mae to the Dream Asura Race skyrocketed. The odds that her Dao would drop out of the Ancient Dao Ranks upon her breakthrough now was nearly zero, and there was even a non-zero chance that if she took some time and had some patience that her Dao would be even stronger than the Middle Ancient Dao Realm it was at now.


    Those who were seasoned enough to understand this matter felt a shudder in their hearts.


    What would they do now?


    Ryu, though, never had any intention to use this as leverage. After their small delay, he had already brought Mae before their "garbage units".


    As expected, they were quite pathetic. It wasn''t that they were all old or crippled, it was rather that they basically had no future.


    Many of them were middle aged and healthy, but clearly beyond their prime. Those that weren''t were already close to reaching a level where their odds of entering the Sky God Realm was nearly zero, and even if they did, they would probably never make it out of the Fragmented Sky God Realm in their lives.


    What was worse was that while many of them were in the World Sea Realm, there were even some in the Cosmic Seed Realm and even a not insignificant number who were even at the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    These people weren''t like the older cultivators who had reached the end of their potential, they were rather younger, much younger. They were individuals who had volunteered for this chance. They likely came from poor branches of the Clan who couldn''t afford to raise them up, if they wanted to progress, this was the only route forward.


    As Ryu was observing these people, the situation in the Dream Asura Race was growing heated. Mae''s breakthrough wasn''t just a small matter that could be brushed under the rug.


    Eventually two people came forward. Before they even spoke, Ryu knew what they wanted to do. They felt that it was a opportune time to change their minds.

 Chapter 1322 His Own Pace.

    1322 His Own Pace.


    Ryu sent an indifferent glance toward the three individuals. He didn''t recognize any one of them, but he had already been here long enough to recognize their clothing. These were individuals of the Soul Wind, Soul Earth and Soul Body factions. It was amusing because even though he hadn''t appeared personally, Rogryll was still to prideful to even send a person of the Soul Fire Faction.


    All three individuals were on the older side, but they were completely unlike the members of this garbage unit. They had reached the end of their potential, that was true enough. But unlike these garbage units who didn''t have any hope of stepping into the Sky God Realm, they were instead stuck in the Sky God Realm.


    If Ryu had to guess, he would say that they were at least in the True Sky God Realm, likely the Perfect Sky God Realm. He was getting better at pinpointing the cultivation of Sky Gods, but he still didn''t have full and complete assurance, especially not with his Dao sealed away currently.


    The three seemed to have expected the juniors before them to greet them first, however Mae''s trust in Ryu had reached the point where she didn''t act unless he did, and Ryu didn''t seem to have any intention of saying anything.


    The garbage units, who had had a gloomy atmosphere around them from the very start, felt suffocated at the moment. They didn''t dare to say or do much of anything in front of Mae, let alone these Sky Gods. Although they too couldn''t tell their level of strength, in their eyes a Sky God was a Sky God, anyone of them could kill them with a flick of the finger, what was the point in parsing them?


    Eventually, the elder of the Soul Body Faction opened his mouth to speak. Of the three of them, he seemed to have the softest aura.


    This made sense, the Soul Body Faction was led by Mae''s uncle, and considering Kelcyne''s approach to dealing with this situation, it reflected some of her husband''s opinion as well. At the very least, Mae''s uncle wasn''t as infuriated as the others, but that made sense. It wasn''t as though Mae was his daughter, and he cared little about his son''s infatuation with his own cousin.


    "Little Mae, is there a need to be so stubborn? This was just a small punishment, so long as you return and apologize, everything will be fine."


    Mae''s brows shot up. She wanted to speak, but she then suddenly felt the strong pillar of support to her side. Her partially opened lips closed and her grip around Ryu''s arm tightened. It seemed as though she was fully prepared to allow Ryu to speak for her.


    Ryu looked this elder in the face, he was still looking at Mae, but he was slowly starting to become more and more uncomfortable as it seemed that Mae had no intention of answering. Without a choice, he could only look toward Ryu.


    Upon doing this, his gaze was much sharper and the heaviness of the atmosphere increased. Even so, Ryu didn''t hurry to speak, scanning them one by one as though he couldn''t feel a single thing.


    The garbage units, who hadn''t had much of an impression of Ryu to begin with, and didn''t have nearly enough social credit to have information about what happened in the meeting all those days ago, were shocked.


    They were certain that Ryu wasn''t a Sky God. The collapse of Ryu''s Dao Heart made it even more difficult to read his cultivation level, but even so, the dividing line between the two states was clear enough even for Dao Pedestal Realm experts to be able to tell.


    So how was he standing so unaffected?


    The cracked formations within Ryu''s eyes fused and his wavering aura stabilized.


    "If you don''t want me to reveal the matters of the Dream Asura Race to your subordinates, I would suggest that you return. Even if Rogryll himself came before us, my answer would be just the same. This will be a final repayment to the Dream Asura Race. Following this, I will take Mae away."


    There was a reason Ryu insisted on doing this. Despite the fact he didn''t particularly care about the emotions and investments of others, he still had the natural thought that those born into a Clan owed it, especially if you were at the highest levels of nobility.


    Mae had received a lot from the Dream Asura Race, so as her husband, Ryu would pay it back then take her away. In his mind, things were that simple.


    In reality, Ryu''s thoughts aligned with the bigshots of the True Martial World far more than most knew, but his way of life was to always walk as he saw fit. Quite frankly, he didn''t even care if he came off as a hypocrite to others, nothing could shake his heart.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s Manifested Phenomenon raised its hands, a large surge of energy moving toward it. In that moment, Ryu''s inability to cultivate seemed to have vanished into the wind. The qi was rapidly converted to Spiritual Qi and flooded into his mind as though there was an endless abyss waiting for it.


    Ryu turned around and ignored the three elders.


    He hadn''t revealed his Manifested Phenomenon to show up. Rather, given the current state of these garbage units, they could accomplish nothing. But without control over his qi, there was also nothing he could do to help. But luckily, he had a work around.


    His Manifested Phenomenon could communicate with the Heavens in place of his Spiritual Foundation, but it too was reliant on his Dao Heart to a certain extent. However, he realized that he could solidify it using his Cosmos Fog, allowing it to rely on his Bone Structure to manifest rather than the Heavens.


    Although his current Manifested Phenomenon was only about 10% as strong as it would usually be in this state, it was good enough for his needs.


    Without a care for the Sky Gods behind him, Ryu''s alchemy cauldron flew from his Spatial Ring, but rather than sitting before him, it appeared between the large hands of his Birthed Phenomena. The cauldron looked like a speck of dust between its palms, and yet the control over it was absolutely immaculate.


    He didn''t care about making the Dream Asura Race regret their actions, nor did he care to explain to them that they had made a mistake in the first place. In truth, he didn''t expect them to let him take Mae no matter how much he contributed to them.


    But he was Ryu Tatsuya... He did things at his own pace.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 1323 Corps Formations

    1323 Corps Formations


    Ryu stood stoically, his white hair fluttering wildly and his hands clasped behind his back. He looked forward toward the garbage units, not minding the Sky Gods to his back that were stuck in place, seemingly unable to make a choice.


    It was impossible for Ryu to suddenly make these troops powerful. Maybe if he only had to deal with one at a time, and if he was given a few weeks at least, he could make something happen with his skill. But not only did he not have any time, there were over a million of these troops. The idea of doing anything that could fundamentally change their fates was ridiculous.


    What Ryu needed to do was to establish a usable foundation that could be usable, and the best option he had in succeeding in this endeavor were formations.


    Formations weren''t unheard of on the battlefield. In fact, they were exceptionally common in the True Martial World. Whenever there were large scale wars, only those with these powerful formations that could pour the strength of large numbers of warriors into a single strike would be of any use.


    With a troop like this, so long as the formation was decent enough to make use of at least 10% of everyone''s strength, they could even battle a small group of Sky Gods, assuming these Sky Gods weren''t stronger than the False Sky God Realm, that is.


    However, while this 10% number seemed low, the number of individuals who had access to formations of this level were almost non-existent. The idea of being able to use 10% of the strength of over a million cultivators at once was mind numbing.


    To put this matter into perspective, even a Fragmented Sky God couldn''t say that they were a hundred thousand times more powerful than a World Sea Realm expert. This was an astronomical number impossible to put into perspective.


    While a Fragmented Sky God could battle an army of a million cultivators with ease, and slaughter every single one of them. If this army had a formation to gather their strength into a single point, even such an expert would have no choice but to turn tail and run.


    Of course, even if there was such a formation, it was impossible for them to stop a Sky God from running from them. As such, such a formation could be said to bring about a stalemate in this situation.


    But once again... Such formations were far too rare, impossibly so. Even those that could manage to reach the 10% threshold were often limited in the number of people that could use it at once. They would most often be limited to squads of 10, and if one was lucky you might run into an inheritance that granted you with one that could be used with a battalion of 100.


    Of course, there were some legends of formations that could make use of a 20% threshold, some even spoke of 30%. At that point, you might only need a troop of 100 000 World Sea Realm experts to battle it out against a Sky God.


    But these were practically fairy tales to the people of the Fifth Heaven.


    The strongest formation that the Dream Asura Race had access to was only able to reach a 5% standard, and that formation could only be used by 100 individuals at once.


    They even had a super large scale formation that could be used by up to a trillion people and had a standard of 22%!


    Unfortunately, there was a great weakness of the Unbalance Art Sect Corps Formations. In fact, there was quite a large weakness, one related to the Nine Pillar Flame Sect at once.


    The problem with the first was obvious... the irregularity of the Unbalance Art Sect. Just practicing their methods could make a person go mad, so one could imagine what would be required of such powerful formations. Finding enough people who could withstand the Unbalance Mantra, especially after they had been destroyed, was absolutely impossible.


    There was a work around for this, and that was for the central of the Corps Formation to withstand the weight of the calculations and such on their own. But in his wounded state, it was simply impossible for Ryu to do so. Even if he was in top condition, he would have to bring his soul to a Sky God standard first, or at the very least an equivalent standard.


    He might be able to withstand the small scale formation, but the medium scale and beyond was too much.


    As for the Nine Pillar Flame Sect Corps Formation, while it was less demanding on its mind, one could imagine that its demands of the body were on a completely other level. And, unlike this Unbalance Art Sect Corps Formations, this burden couldn''t be handled by others for you.


    It seemed, then, that Ryu''s only choice was to use the Frost Clan''s formations... but he had never had any intention of doing so. He had already decided, he would use the Nine Pillar Flame Sect Corps Formations. However, in their current state, if these garbage units tried to activate such a formation, after a few seconds their Vital Qi would burn up and they would turn to ash.


    So, Ryu had to counter this.


    ''Little woman,'' Ryu spoke to the Favoured Alchemy Sky God for the first time in a long while. ''Pay attention to me closely. I''m going to start concocting now, after this, I probably won''t have time to do this again. It''ll be up to you to continue producing them during the war.''


    The Favoured Alchemy Sky God''s lip twitched, what was this brat talking about. Since when did she have to observe others to concoct? There were probably many top tier Dao Lord alchemists who weren''t a match for her in this regard. Also, was she someone who could just be casually commanded around like this?


    Unless...


    The Favor Alchemy Sky God''s pretty eyes widened.


    A untamed aura came from Ryu as pillars plumed of fire and water qi began to surge in from the surroundings.


    A smirk spread across his lips, the thundering heavens above seemingly reacting before he had even begun.


    That was right. He was going to forge a new pill.

 Chapter 1324 Belonged

    1324 Belonged


    Ryu''s gaze flashed.


    Without his Rebirth Flame and access to his Yin Water, he could only rely on external qi. There was no doubt that his alchemy skill had taken a huge plunge downward as a result, but it couldn''t be helped. The only way he had managed to fuse his Bloodlines was by sealing away his Talents and he wasn''t quite in the right state just yet to unseal them.


    However, even with this being the case, Ryu''s confidence was still at an all time high. There was simply nothing that could stop him. Wielding a Founding Dao, even while restricted, made him feel like a god amongst men. And, though his Birthed Phenomena was only about 10% as strong as it would be in its peak while being forced to rely on his Cosmos Fog to manifest, compared to the last time he had used it... it wouldn''t be an exaggeration that it was still hundreds of times more powerful.


    It felt like all the qi in the surrounding 10 kilometers was all under Ryu''s control. The Dream Mountains were, unsurprisingly, a very mountainous region. With the ground shaking and swaying beneath them, it felt as though an avalanche could be triggered at any time.


    The concentration of qi grew so high that streams of icy blue and fiery red began to form two atmospheres, each with their own surging temperatures.


    The little woman''s expression couldn''t help but change. She knew what Ryu was trying to do, but she hadn''t been able to pay close attention to his earlier changes. In addition, she had just come to Ryu''s side, so she wasn''t very certain about his usual standard of concocting. Although she had seen the results of his alchemy and black smithing before, those were just results and she hadn''t seen anything related to the actual process. She had no idea if this was how Ryu usually did things or not.


    But what was certain was that she was in awe.


    Ryu didn''t know that his current choice had opened up an entirely new door for alchemy. He had only done this because he truly didn''t have any other choices. With his Dao Heart shattered, much of his talents weren''t working properly, and this was the only thing he could think of that would allow him to concoct. But...


    He realized that what he could accomplish now felt far greater than anything he had experienced in the past. It wasn''t in terms of quality, but rather quantity. He felt that if his cauldron was larger, it wouldn''t be impossible to concoct pills made for giants and monsters amongst men even kilometers in size, or more appropriately for the current moment... concoct for millions of people at once.


    The hands of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena rose. The two streams of qi were separated and suddenly supplemented by a third type that came out of nowhere. Ryu''s Spiritual Qi surged, forming globules of golden qi that became like the stars of constellation maps. They quickly connected, forming one connection after another until several magnificent formations were created at once.


    It looked as though the inner workings of a complex watch had been stripped clean, magnified, and then displayed to the world. Gears turned, springs sprung, and mechanisms clicked into place, becoming more and more complex the larger amounts of Spiritual Qi Ryu poured in.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!


    Ryu made use of the Magus Sky God''s inheritance. With his Embryonic Cauldron as a core of the formation, he expanded its abilities outward, creating an alchemy cauldron with his Spiritual Qi that matched the enormous size of his Birthed Phenomena.


    The skies trembled and Ryu''s gaze, rotating with twin eight trigram diagrams, one gold, the other dark gold, sharpened and resonated like the surface of a blazing star.


    The self-created cauldron lid flew into the skies, shattering under the might of the thunder above. It had reached a point where even the rumbling thunder itself was a threat, vibrating with the ground below and shaking everything in its path.


    Suddenly, it was as though a roaring lightning serpent king was descending from the skies along with its clan. Lightning covered the dark clouds, making it look more like the skies were covered in golden clouds rather than the dense, black cumulonimbus monstrosities there really were.


    Ryu opened his arms and his Birthed Phenomena followed suit. His tattoos glowed a fiendish dark gold color. When his Birthed Phenomena opened its mouth this time, it didn''t just passively accept the fall of lightning, it actively inhaled, taking everything that came.


    It all surged into Ryu''s body, tempering it and feeding his sealed Lightning Embryo.


    And then, it all fell into silence.


    Finally, with the lightning having vanished, the transparent innards of the self-created cauldron could be seen, and the result made people such in a cold breath.


    Pills. Millions of them. Each one radiating a dense heat to the point of emitting a deep crimson color. However... This wasn''t the most astounding part.


    Each and every one of them was Runed, without fail. Although the Runes were only partial and not complete, most hadn''t seen even a single Runed pill in their life, let alone over a million in a single setting.


    Ryu took deep, gasping breaths. Sweat matted his forehead. However, a sharp wind suddenly passed by in the next moment, leaving him refreshed and without the slightest hint of fatigue.


    "In the next half an hour, I will teach you all a formation. Those that succeed, will be allowed to have one of these pills. If you are too useless to learn it, I will leave you behind."


    The garbage units suddenly sensed agitated. They had a opportunity to eat a Runed Pill? Even those noble geniuses that constantly suppressed them wouldn''t receive such a chance, right?


    The Soul Body Faction opened his mouth to say something. He sensed that this was truly too much of a waste, but when he thought about how Ryu had been treated in the Dream Asura Race since he had come, he was far too embarrassed to say anything. It was even to the point he didn''t even look to them to provide such a large amount of materials, he directly supplied them himself.


    They had no claim to his pills at all.


    Those in the surroundings could only watch those pills floating in the skies, knowing they couldn''t touch them. It sensed like Ryu was taunting them.


    Even if Ryu was useless in every other aspect, just this alone was enough to prove that he belonged.

 Chapter 1325 Now

    1325 Now


    Even as the center of the world, Ryu''s indifference was just as palpable. He didn''t change based on the attention others gave him. It felt like even if the world itself was collapsing, he would be the very same Ryu, unmoved and unbothered by it all.


    He began to slowly teach the methods of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect to the soldiers below, but his methods were clever and shocking.


    When many taught Corps Formations, they would begin with describing the holistic formation, before breaking it into parts and passing it down. This was because in order for a formation to work properly, all those within it had to have an understanding of the overall situation.


    However, Ryu didn''t do this, that was because his comprehension of the formation was far beyond anything these individuals could imagine. He was able to give control over small portions of the formation, while also giving them exactly the amount of information they needed to execute it perfectly.


    He acted as though it was he who had created the formation, and truthfully, those watching had no reason to believe anything different.


    But the mind numbing part about it all was that due to Ryu''s methods, it was absolutely impossible to reverse engineer the Corps Formation. Even if the Dream Asura Race caught every single member of this garbage unit and interrogated them one by one, it would be useless. That was because, much like he had done for Mae, Ryu''s method of teaching the formation was different for everyone he spoke to. It was as though he could see through their very foundations and describe it in such a way that only they would understand.


    Unfortunately, it wouldn''t be until many years later that the Dream Asura Race realized how useless their attempts were. That was because Ryu was actually speaking to these members of the garbage units through his Spiritual Sense, all at once. Even they weren''t aware that this was the case until they looked toward one another and saw the fire in their eyes.


    But even this was only a small part of the reason. Even if someone broke through these barriers and formed a rough understanding of the Corps Formation... what good would it be to them without Ryu''s alchemy?


    But Ryu claimed that this newly created pill of his could form a separate vessel for Vital Qi. Not only could it force a separate vessel, but it could directly absorb qi from the atmosphere, incorporating it into the pill and becoming new Vital Qi.


    The shock of this matter couldn''t be understated. It was as though Ryu had created a separate Bloodline within the body of a weak individual without affecting them in the slightest. If the alchemy world came to know of this, they would be thrown into an uproar.


    Of course, what this pill could do was still limited. For example, it could mimic a Bloodline, but it couldn''t become it. It was temporary, and it also wouldn''t increase the strength of the person wielding it, after all, it was fabricated to supplement the existence of the Corps Formation.


    That said, while it wouldn''t increase individual strength, what it could do was increase the formation''s overall strength, making it seem as though exceptionally talented Body Realm cultivators had all gathered together.


    But even with all of this said, maybe the most astonishing part of all of this was the pill''s incorporation of the secrets of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect. If these low-quality unit soldiers were lucky, after swallowing this pill, they could gain an inkling of the secrets and it would greatly help their cultivation into the future.


    The idea of bestowing understanding through a pill was only something that Ryu had casually thought of doing and it had actually worked out. The astonishing weight of this matter absolutely couldn''t be understated, it was no less shocking than the Favor Alchemy Art Sky God fooling death!


    Ryu finished teaching and then he waved a hand, causing a pill to fall into the hands of each one of the low-quality unit members before him. They all shook in excitement, not believing that they had something so valuable upon their palms.


    "We will move out now," Ryu said coolly. "I suggest that none of you try to hide the pills that I''ve given you, or else when the formation activates, only death awaits you."


    A bucket of cold water was poured over those that had other thoughts.

 Chapter 1326 Fool

    1326 Fool


    News of what had happened returned to the ears of Rogryll and the other Faction Heads. They didn''t quite believe it, but they knew how much the Dream Asura Race hated Ryu currently. If it wasn''t so important, these elders might have even favored not to say anything.


    "Why didn''t you ask him to stay?" Mae''s uncle, larhorn, spoke in Rogryll''s stead.


    The Soul Body Faction elder smiled bitterly, not sure if he should say it. Ryu''s arrogance seemed to make quite a lot of sense now. Even ordinary alchemists were so arrogant, let alone a genius of his caliber. However, no matter how arrogant he was, it was too difficult to repeat his words.


    "Speak." Rogryll suddenly commanded.


    The Soul Body Faction elder realized that there was simply no escaping this matter. Since Rogryll had laid down a command, he didn''t dare to disobey. He didn''t have as much conviction as Ryu, and he didn''t want to lose his life.


    "He..." The elder shook his head helplessly. "After I saw the situation, I swallowed my pride and tried to mediate. I knew that both he and Mae were too important now. But he said... he said..."


    "Speak." Rogryll said more forcefully, his temper threatening to flare up.


    "He said... He said to: "Tell that dogshit Patriarch to come and speak to me himself. If he has the wealth to compensate for 1 203 389 Runed Pills and the psychological damage both I and my wife have experienced in the last few days, we can talk about how the Dream Asura Race will apologize to me and whether or not I''ll care to forgive."


    The elder began to cough violently after he had said these words. It felt like it had taken all the strength in his body to speak these words, a weight on his chest pressing down firmer and firmer. And that was because Rogryll, though expressionless, was radiating a dangerous aura that caused even the wind to shudder.


    If Ryu just wanted to be compensated, that might still be fine. But he actually spoke about this sort of compensation as though it was just the first step toward gaining his approval.


    As though that wasn''t bad enough, Ryu didn''t state the level of the pill, he directly mentioned their rank as a Runed Pill.


    Logically speaking, a sub-Sky God level pill, no matter how high level, whether it had 100% purity or not, whether it had complete Runes or not, would always be less valuable than a Sky God level pill. However, in practice... it was hard to say. In fact, Ryu''s pills might auction off for more than even the strongest Omniscient God Pill the Dream Asura Race had.


    The garbage units were entirely caught off guard. They had been nervously waiting in one moment, their hearts in their throats. But in the next moment, Ryu had forcefully activated their teleportation formations.


    The only words he had said was that he didn''t like to command and he didn''t have any time to waste.


    The garbage units outside of Ryu''s own were suddenly in despair. What did his unruly nature have to do with them?


    Although the elders made an effort to not call them garbage units to their face, they knew exactly what they were. They were already destined to die even if they were prepared, but what about now? How would they even survive?


    Before they could even hopelessness further, many began to cough and wheeze. The air of the Nether Realm was heavy.


    Up in the skies above, clouds of violet and dark green passed by, three blood red moons hanging high, but it didn''t seem as though it was night time yet.


    Up ahead, a city with black steel walls stood. Its gates were still wide open and some tourists and businessmen were still trying to get into the city. They had never expected for armies of millions to so suddenly appear.


    There were main powers of the Nether Realm and this was one of the fringe cities of their weakest. They were ruled by the Lizard Demon Race.


    "What an absolute fool," Ryu said coldly.


    This father-in-law of his was absolutely infuriating.


    Ryu waved a hand and suddenly a sparkling butterfly with wings patterned with swirling runes of radiant white and sky blue appeared. Its wings spanned five meters, and though it was small for such a beast, its aura was undeniable...


    False Sky God Realm!


    Ryu took Mae''s hand and stepped onto Little Silk''s back, rising above his troops.

 Chapter 1327 God Beast

    1327 God Beast


    Mae was shocked.


    In the True Marial World, beast taming was very difficult, especially in the higher Heavens. That was because the higher Heaven one entered, the more talented the beasts would become at a rate that was rapid to the Heavens in question.


    By the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens, beasts would have already long since surpassed the Ancestral Grade and have entered the Origin Grades to become God Beasts. The shocking part about God Beasts was that, unlike humans, they were virtually guaranteed to reach their potential. So long as a God Beast was born, so long as they were given adequate time, they would reach the matching Sky God Realm to their Talent Grade.


    Simply put, the largest concentration of Sky Gods wasn''t within the human race, or other humanoid races, they were most definitely found within the beast races.T/his chapter is updated by


    Of course, beasts couldn''t just dominate the continent because of precisely that... there were many races among them as well. They might have the largest number of God level existences, but it didn''t matter much due to the fact they weren''t united. Expecting beasts to be united was similar to expecting all the Sects and Clans of the human and humanoid races to also be on the same side, it was ridiculous.


    Even so, the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens had no notable beast tamers among them, that was because it was far too dangerous. If a beast came across a human using a beast as a pet or a mount, their first reaction would be immediate hostility, even more so than if they just came across a human normally.


    The beasts might not be united, but they were one entity when it came to their hatred of beast tamers.


    The only notable beast taming Sect in the whole of the True Martial World was one of the supreme rulers of the Ninth Heaven, one of the Nine Powers that laid claim to all the best resources and talents of the True Martial World. Only they had the cachet necessary to do such a thing.


    In reality, he was thinking about how novel this situation was. He had never been on a battlefield like this before, at least not with support to his back. The closest thing he could remember was when he had fought against the Martial Gods all on his own.


    That feeling had made his blood boil. Relying on nothing more than the blades in his hand and the thumping of his heart to drive him forward, nothing could stop him.


    He suddenly felt that Corps Formations weren''t his style... He yearned for the day he wouldn''t have to rely on such a thing at all.


    Ryu closed his eyes for a moment. Breathing the foul air of the Nether Realm, his body should have felt uncomfortable, but he actually felt at peace. He wondered if he would find his father here...


    Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and the garbage units found themselves standing at attention. Their fear and trepidation was washed away by a mighty tide.


    Tattoos flashed across Ryu''s skin, flickering in and out of existence in complex, swirling patterns that held the vicissitudes of an ancient aura.


    The clouds above suddenly rumbled.


    One after another, the members of his army swallowed the pill Ryu had given them. A large cloud of qi surged in from all directions, forming nine mighty golden pillars that rose around the army, piercing the ground and rushing up to the skies above.


    "Charge."

 Chapter 1328 Formation

    1328 Formation


    Ryu''s words were light, but they echoed like a clap of thunder.


    The army rushed forward, the nine pillars seeming to teleport them forward. The movement speed of such a troop was off the charts, and the oppression they had felt from the Nether Qi around them vanished, blocked out by the towering pillars around them.


    Little Silk flapped her gorgeous wings just once, a sparkling radiance of sprinkling ice descending in a gentle hail, At that moment, the overbearing heat that the army had felt was reduced by a great measure. Their blood, which had felt like rolling magma charging through the veins, suddenly became calm and unhurried.


    They felt as though the power of the world was now in their palms.


    The Lizard Demon Race had long since been alerted, the City Lord rushing out of his abode and soaring into the skies on the back of a flying treasure. It was clear that he didn''t have the right to step into the air under his own strength, and when he felt the rumbling of the earth, his heart shook.


    This sort of Corps Formation... He had never seen such a thing.


    This was just a medium sized city compared to the overall might of the Fifth Nether Plane, or more accurately, the Lizard Demon Race in specific. Their elite troops only numbered 100 000, and their City Lord was only a True Sky God. Without reinforcements, if the Dream Asura Race displayed their greatest strength, this city wouldn''t even last half an hour.


    However, they had sent inferior units first. The Lizard Demon City Lord saw through this immediately and realized that he was being looked down upon.


    Even so, when he sensed the Corps Formation, his expression still couldn''t help but change. He had never seen such a mysterious formation before, and it was actually able to both gather and filter qi. Those within it were entirely unaffected by the Nether Qi that outsiders should have been forced to struggle against.T/his chapter is updated by


    Suddenly, though, the City Lord noticed something else. There were at least a dozen inferior units below, but only one of them had access to this formation?


    In their race, those closer to snake-like existences were the more noble of them and it was a sign of their bloodlines being closer to the demonic dragons and serpent demon that they descended from.


    This race wasn''t very good at formations, but all this was relative. They were nothing before the best legions of formation masters from races that had many more soul talents. However, this formation was still beyond a True Grade, and was actually a Perfect Grade Formation.


    A Perfect Grade Large-Scale Formation, at least of this level, could within the all out strength of at least half a dozen to a dozen Perfect Sky Gods for several days before collapsing, and Ryu''s troops didn''t even have the strength of one Perfect Grade Sky God.


    At this current standard, they could only fight a Fragmented Sky God head on at best. Ryu''s actions currently truly looked like he had only come here to court death. At least... that was what the City Lord believed.


    Who would have expected that Ryu''s gaze to suddenly change when it landed on the formation. It was as though he had become an entirely different person, the world dancing in the palm of his hands.


    Ryu suddenly raised a palm. The nine pillar formation reacted to him, his Birthed Phenomena appearing to his back as his whirling Dao formation appeared in his irises once more.


    An enormous sword formed in the air, reaching a point where from tip to tip, it was longer than even the city it rose above.


    Ryu''s palm descended and the sword followed his actions, rushing toward a point on the formation.


    Just as the City Lord was sneering...


    BANG!


    The formation cracked like the glass, its glittering motes of light descending down toward the city in a beautiful rain.

 Chapter 1329 BANG!

    1329 BANG!


    The City Lord was completely taken off guard.


    Their formation had fallen... in a single strike? How was that even impossible? He was certain that there were no Perfect Sky Gods present, let alone the Omniscient Sky Gdo it would take to shatter the formation with such ease.


    The only explanation was that Ryu had targeted the Formation''s weakness, but it had only just been displayed, how could he see through it with such speed? No, even beyond that, Ryu was far too weak to see through such a thing. Although it was difficult to see Ryu''s strength through the volatile energies, and especially the strength of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s shroud, the City Lord was still sharp enough to be certain that he wasn''t in the Sky God Realm''s just yet.


    "They must have scouted out the region beforehand! There are spies!''


    The City Lord was suddenly standing on tenterhooks. He didn''t know who to trust around him, but Ryu''s army wasn''t going to let him have the chance.


    Ryu closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. The nine pillars within his body resonated with a golden light that shone through even his skin. His tattoos appeared once again, the light of the pillars refracting through their complex structures and making them shine even brighter than they had in the past.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    Ryu hadn''t expected earlier that he would be able to channel the strength of the formation into himself like this, it was only after the formation was deployed for the first time that he had sensed the distinct possibility.


    What was shocking about this matter was that according to the original formation of the Corps Formation, this shouldn''t have been possible. Corps Formations were already complex enough, the idea of filtering all of that accumulated strength into the body of a single person without them being crippled or destroyed was ridiculous.


    This proportion was shocking, but it was less important than the second matter Ryu gained, and that was his access to the excess energy.


    The formation was boosted from 63% to 65%, while Ryu gained entry to the remaining 35%. Of this 35%, Ryu could once again only use 2% for himself, but this was only part of the picture. If instead of allowing the strength to enter his body, he used his comprehension of the Nine Pillars to wield and control it, he could use all 35%! In fact, he could stop the first 65% from returning to the army below, taking on all 100% for himself!


    There was no doubt that this was a huge drain on Ryu''s Focus Qi. Controlling so much power, most of which wasn''t his own. However, this was exactly what Ryu wanted.


    The being of the Prayer Mat exposed one very important thing: it was feasible to enhance Fcous Qi and even target it directly, he just didn''t know how.


    At first, he was blind to how to do this, but with his discovery of the secrets of the souls in his body, he realized that the answer might very well be hiding within his body. And, just like he had used his shattered Dao Heart to find the position of where it resided, he would use the drainage of his Focus Qi to find where it truly lay.


    Once he succeeded in comprehending this, he would create a pill that could replenish Focus Qi. In fact, if he took it a step further, he might even find a technique of cultivating it directly so he would never have to rely on outside sources again.


    Ryu''s stare glowed and his hands grasped at the air. He gripped them tightly and the Birthed Phenomena to his back roared. Even with its eyes closed, it still seemed to look down upon the whole world.


    And then... Ryu punched.


    The aura of a Fist God descended, but never in his life had Ryu thought that this aura could be so powerful.


    BANG!

 Chapter 1330 CRACK.

    1330 CRACK.


    The devastation was hard to describe. It was as though a pillar had run through the center of the city like a drill bit. A perfect partial cylinder had appeared in the body of the city, leaving the ground with a smooth trench that extended from the front of the city to the back and even extended beyond.


    Every building, every formation, every person that had been in the way of this strike was leveled to the ground. There simply wasn''t anything left in the region, and yet the strength was so perfectly controlled that even those a single centimeter out of the way hadn''t had a single hair on their heads harmed.


    However, just because the attack was controlled, didn''t mean that the air it had displaced would be.


    A instant after the world had fallen into silence, it was as though a hurricane formed by the heavens themselves had descended. The rush of wind hurried to fill in the void-like space that was left behind, the blast of air leveling the rest of the city to the ground.


    Only a few buildings seemed to remain, and these were the central hubs and the gathering places of the most powerful individuals to begin with.


    At that moment, it felt like all those that had fought to enter the city were nothing more than a joke. Let alone them, even the garbage units didn''t believe what they were seeing. Those that weren''t part of Ryu''s corps were at a loss for words, while those that had taken part couldn''t believe it.


    They were all used to Corps Formations, they had all thought that they would have to take action for things to work properly, but they had never expected that they wouldn''t even have to lift a finger to gain this sort of result.


    That level of power, the accumulated strength of 100% of over a million cultivators was shocking enough. But when it was amplified by the aura of a Fist God, it wasn''t just a 1+1 kind of result, it was exponential.


    Just 10% of a formation of a million would be enough to face off against a Fragmented Sky God, but it had to remember that that was just raw power. In truth, because the formation could use raw power to match a Sky God, it actually had access to more raw power than even a Fragmented Sky God did. In fact, that was already enough to match the raw power of a False Sky God.


    His hope for life was rekindled and he stepped forward with a strong momentum.


    Ryu looked down. His eyes couldn''t be fooled, he knew that his City Lord had been heavily injured. The shocking part was that his energy was quickly replenishing and his body was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Sky Gods were truly existences all to their own.


    ''He... should be a True Sky God,'' Ryu thought with narrowed eyes.


    "Little Silk, this battle will be yours."


    Little Silk flapped her gorgeous wings, a strong storm of ice rushing forward. It seemed that she didn''t need to be told twice.


    Although Little Silk was only a False Sky God and the gap of one Realm in the Sky God Realm might as well have been Heaven and Earth, Ryu had still given this order. That was because he planned to support Little Silk from the back. But to his shock, Little Silk had only flapped once before the City Lord was suddenly covered in a layer of ice. He seemed to be struggling, but Little Silk only flapped her wings a second time.


    CRACK.


    The City Lord froze in place.


    A suddenly harsh wind came, shattering him to pieces.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed as he looked down at Little Silk. He knew that his mother had left a mystery in this little one''s body. The fact that she had made it to the second Realm of the Sky Gods so quickly proved that, but it seemed that he had still undervalued the little one.

 Chapter 1331 Little Silk

    1331 Little Silk


    Ryu truly hadn''t expected this. If he had known, he probably wouldn''t have needed to put him in such a dangerous situation by draining his Focus Qi to such an extent and could have just relied on Little Silk instead.


    The most shocking part was that Ryu was certain that this was nowhere near Little Silk''s strongest attack. As her namesake stated, Little Silk''s strongest abilities were in weaving Ice Laws into thin, imperceptible silky lines. That was how the two of them had met in the first place. If not for his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, Ryu would have run headlong into this little one''s trap and split himself into countless pieces.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    But despite not using her strongest attack, Little Silk had taken out a Sky God a level above her with ease.


    After some thought, Ryu turned to Mae and asked a question.


    "Are there divisions among Sky God Realms?"


    Mae blinked in confusion. Her first interpretation of the question had to be incorrect because she didn''t believe that Ryu would ask such a stupid question. It was only after a instant that it clicked for her.


    "Do you mean within the nine Realms? Yes, each Sky God Realm is divided into four, Lower, Middle, Higher and Peak. Beyond Peak I''ve heard that some Sky Gods that fail to breakthrough can enter a sort of false state of the next realm and use some of its power. They usually take on the name Quasi."


    It clicked for Ryu then. Indeed, all this time, due to his biases from Sacrum, he had treated the Sky God Realms like a pinnacle that was extremely difficult to achieve, he hadn''t truly treated them like he should have. The Sky God Realms were just like any other cultivation Realm, of course they had divisions.


    He was already having trouble deciphering between Sky God Realms already, so if he had to parse the individual sub Realms as well, it would of course be far more difficult.


    This wasn''t by coincidence. He could see that it was a combination of two things. The first was his mother''s Blood Essence, not just any Blood Essence, but that of her Ice Phoenix Bloodline. The second was a kernel of a mysterious energy.


    Ryu had only vaguely sensed this energy once before, but his current memory was nigh infallible. This energy came from a Shrine, specifically, the Ice Shrine.


    It seemed that he had been holding Little Silk back all this time.


    It had to be remembered that Little Silk was already at the pinnacle of the World Sea Realm, just a step away from the Sky God Realm from the very beginning. However, in order to allow her Bloodline to catch up to the standards of the True Martial World, Ryu had suppressed her cultivation speed and first fed her a large amount of Sovereign Grade Beasts. Then, his plan was to steadily progress her past that point until she could stand toe to toe with God Beasts.


    Unfortunately, before that could happen, she failed to suppress her cultivation any longer and entered a cocoon.


    Since then, Ryu had essentially ignored her. He didn''t send Little Silk away because she had helped him greatly during the start of his journey in the True Martial World, and he also had the sentimental attachment of her being a helping hand from his mother as well, but he had ceased having high hopes for this little one.


    The only reason he had brought out Little Silk even this time was out of convenience as flying above the formation would make many things easier.


    What he hadn''t expected was that he was the one who had overthought things from the very beginning. Had he allowed Little Silk to breakthrough the instant they stepped foot into the True Martial World, she would have instantly caught up to the standards of the beasts here, that''s because it would only be then that his mother''s Blood Essence could properly erupt without killing Little Silk.


    Right this moment, every time Little Silk took a step forward in her cultivation, he would naturally increase her talent as well until she reached a standard no less than that of a majestic Ice Phoenix.


    But this time, she would be a new species entirely.

 Chapter 1332 Open Arms

    1332 Open Arms


    Ryu smiled lightly. He wasn''t enraged by his mistake, he only felt that he was a little silly.


    His mother probably hadn''t explained all these things because she didn''t want him to feel guilty about the loss in her Blood Essence. She had already been so weak after risking her life to save him, if Ryu had known that she had given up any more, how would he have felt? But in Himari''s eyes, she was a mother, it was her duty to protect her son and do all she could for him. Since she was injured anyway and would take some time to recover regardless, why not do it all in one go?


    At the same time, Ryu had to lay down his pride. He wasn''t the only one in his family with great talent, and the talents of those in his family extended beyond just what their fists could do.


    This method used by his mother was absolutely ingenious, and Ryu himself would have never thought of it. Although it required some sacrifice on her part, Phoenixes were in a unique position to recover Blood Essence, a position that most other races simply weren''t in. With the supplementation of the Ice Shrine and Life Shrine, so long as she would given time, this process of recovery would actually only make her stronger.


    Little Silk was already at the standard of a True God Beast. This was the equivalent of a human who had broken into the Sky God Realm with a Lineal Dao.


    According to Ryu''s calculations, she would become a Perfect God Beast after breaking into the True God Beast Realm, so her talent would always be a step above that of her Sky God Realm.


    As one could see, humans entering this Realm would be said to be in the Fragmented Sky God Realm, True Sky God Realm and so on. For beasts, they would be said to be in the Fragmented God Beast Realm, True God Beast Realm and so on. So this title was truly appropriate for Little Silk.


    The only surprising thing was that a City Lord of the True Nether Realm''s Fifth Plane had fallen so easily to a "mere" True God Beast. After all, a Lineal Dao was only the third rung of Daos, wouldn''t a Sky God of the Fifth Plane be more powerful than that?


    Blood Essence was always something that could only be given willingly, but never taken by force. Realizing his mother had given up such a precious thing to Little Silk, Ryu had another thought. Why was Blood Essence so mysterious? How could something corporeal be regulated by will power? And then it hit him like a truck.


    Blood Essence and Focus Qi felt like two sides of the same coin.


    One of them was corporeal and could be regulated by the will of the mind. The other was incorporeal and could be regulated by the physicality of the body.


    They should both be hidden within the Seven Corporeal Souls!


    Ryu''s gaze gained an incomparable sharpness.


    If he was correct, this would be a world changing matter. On the one hand, he would be able to create methods of increasing, training and replenishing his own Focus Qi rather than anticipating for it to naturally increase on its own.


    But that was the last of the shocking matters...


    If he was right, wouldn''t he be able to do something that no one had ever done before...?


    Wouldn''t he be able to snatch Blood Essence by force?


    If he could succeed in this matter, would he still have to worry about increasing the talent of his Bloodlines? Wouldn''t those troublesome beasts arrive to chase him anyway? In that case, he would just greet them with open arms.

 Chapter 1333 Body Formation

    1333 Body Formation


    Mae''s heart was practically beating out of her chest. She had a lot of love for Ryu, but it could be said that among his wives, her actual faith in him was probably the lowest. This wasn''t about a matter of trust, but rather an understanding of how he did things, how he reacted in complex situations. and what kind of strength he could tap into when his back was against the wall.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    Of all his wives, the one who probably had the greatest utmost trust in him actually wasn''t who one might expect. If Ryu was asked this question, his response would be Yaana without a shadow of a doubt. Or more accurately, a Yaana who had awakened her memories of her first life.


    The person who had seen Ryu accomplish the most heaven defying acts wasn''t Ailsa who had followed him from almost the beginning of his cultivation journey, but rather Yaana who had protected him in secret for hundreds of years.


    Yaana''s role had always been to protect Ryu from the void as he ventured the world, cleared Ruins, and completed his streams of research. She had seen things others couldn''t imagine, and that was when Ryu was a mortal without the ability to cultivate.


    Compared to her, Mae''s understanding of Ryu was far too limited. So seeing this scene, while Yaana would have only nodded to herself, feeling that it was only a matter of course, Mae was completely floored. She couldn''t believe what she was seeing at all.


    She looked toward Ryu''s somewhat tired but resolute face, her heart fluttering out of her chest. Ryu seemed to be stuck in a moment of enlightenment, allowing her to observe him a great deal more, and she couldn''t seem to get enough of him. She was so lost that even after Ryu had awoken from his stupor and looked toward her, she almost didn''t notice at all.


    Ryu smiled, touching his palm to Mae''s delicate forehead and moving it up to smooth out her hair. It was only then that Mae was stunned out of her silence and blushed, but the ease in her heart superseded her embarrassment. She wanted to ask Ryu how he had done it, but with so many people here, she didn''t feel that it was appropriate.


    "It''s unfortunate," Ryu suddenly said, looking into the distance where some of the Sky Gods had vanished.


    The central figures were then the Heart and Lungs. The Lungs provided the oxygen that the blood needed to support the body, and the Heart which circulated the blood to carry this energy to the locations that needed it.


    What was interesting was that cultivators could entirely replace the need for oxygen with their qi, and this filtering and replacement process also occurred within the lungs. Whether it was oxygen or qi, both were passed to the blood by the lungs.


    It felt like the Heart and Lungs were the core of the engine, the driving force, and the others were the pieces that kept everything running smoothly.


    So in all of this, where was his Focus Qi?


    The answer was all of them.


    Ryu had come to an understanding, an comprehension he had had for a long while now, but only now did he apply it in such a novel manner.


    The body was a formation.


    The way Qi Realm cultivators used techniques was by using the configuration within their Meridians to circulate their qi and activate the world changing strength they wanted to use. Body Realm cultivators did the same with veins. The only exception were Mental Realm cultivators, but even then they just used their Spiritual Qi to free form formations.


    What if, though... The Mental Realm had its own formation within the body and most people had just missed it? And what if the core segments of that formation were, precisely, the Seven Corporeal Spirits?

 Chapter 1334 Audacity

    1334 Audacity


    Sacrum had formed Visualizations, even the people of the True Martial World had to use proxies to exercise power with their souls. The Magus Sky God, for example, had formed all sorts of methods to solidify and give life to Spiritual Qi, many of which Ryu had benefited from.


    These were all absolutely ingenious methods, and they were worthy of respect... But what if the Heavens were looking down in disappointment from the very beginning? What if they had been born with such a method hidden in their bodies all the while?


    It made sense that this was never found. The connections between the Lungs, Heart, and the various detoxifying and energy refining organs were just veins. They could be easily mistaken as the circulation routes of the Body Realm, in fact they might even be assumed to be absolutely useless.


    This made sense. After all, all Body Realm methods required circulating Vital Qi to the muscles, most accurately, active muscles that could be controlled with the mind. But these organs were all controlled by the brainstem. Even cultivators could only control the beating of their hearts with very special methods, and even then the change in heart beat was usually a proximal result of another action, rather than direct control.


    Why would Body Realm Cultivators use circulation pathways that didn''t lead to any results? They would obviously focus their attention on the vein patterns that could explosively increase their output strength.


    Even if one wanted to unearth what secrets these ''dormant'' formations in the body might have, if it wasn''t done through the lens of the soul, it would be akin to looking in the wrong direction. So long as you kept the thought that you were looking for some great secret of the body, you would forever be unable to unearth the mysteries of those patterns.


    The moment Ryu had these thoughts, he had fallen into a deep state of enlightenment that Mae noticed. It was then he used the Origin Flame to force his body into the same exact state it had been when the Prayer Mat was active within him.


    And then it all clicked.


    ''It seems that I can only take an hour break to replenish after every battle... Unless..."


    Ryu sent his mind toward the little woman, but then he shook his head. He needed the Favor Alchemy Sky God to concentration on concocting the pills that would sustain the army behind him. Without it, no matter how much Focus Qi he had, it would all be useless.


    "In an hour, we set out." Ryu''s voice echoed.


    Ryu sat in a lotus position, entering an unprecedented state of focus. Once again, he missed his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. If only they unsealed, he would be able to complete these circulations even faster. However, he couldn''t be too greedy right now. He might very well be one of the only people in the world who could actively replenish their Focus Qi, and now that he had such a method, he didn''t believe that he couldn''t find a way to cultivate it rather than just replenishing it.


    ...


    As Ryu was quickly replenishing his Focus Qi, the Sky Gods that had fled into the distance had already sent out alerts of what had occurred and very soon, the whole Fifth Plane was in an uproar.


    In a metropolis that was far larger than the one Ryu had leveled to the ground, a male with an inhuman shade of green eyes sat on a throne, a female with a human''s upper body and a cobra''s lower body to his side.


    When he got the news, his stare couldn''t help but sharpen before he sneered.


    "What audacity. Call Empana and the others here."

 Chapter 1335 Empana

    1335 Empana


    Very soon, the throne room was filled with a blood thirsty aura. A young man with long legs and even longer strides entered. He was dressed in a suit, but he looked less professional and far more like he was about to enjoy the night life in a nearby redlight district.


    His suit was a deep shade of black, his slacks were quite tight on him and only flared out slightly below his caves. His shirt was slightly open and his suit''s jacket was perfectly smoothed out, its cufflinks matching the golden chain wrapped around his neck.


    He looked entirely human with the exception of his crimson irises and his slit pupils. If one looked even closer, it would be possible to see that within his hair, which was faded to one side, there was a subtle hint of crimson scales as well that would have been entirely hidden beneath his gelled jet black hair had he not chosen this particular haircut.


    This man was exceptionally young and looked no more than 17 or 18 years old, but his aura was undeniable. There was no doubt that he was a Sky God. The only explanation for his exceptionally young appearance was that he had broken through at an incredibly young age as well.


    Such a genius shouldn''t have any place on the Fifth Plane, and judging by his slightly annoyed expression, he didn''t take these Sky Gods whose auras were clearly far beyond his own seriously as well.


    This young man was none other than the Empana that the Patriarch of the Lizard Demon Race had called forward.


    "Son, the Dream Asura Race has attacked. I''ll need you to go and wipe out their units."Fiind updated novels at novelhall.compana dissatisfaction became even deeper. "They definitely sent their garbage units in first, you want me to take action to deal with scrums?"


    "They''ve already wiped out a city," the Patriarch replied calmly.


    "What trash," Empana cursed.


    The other Sky Gods frowned. Talking like this before them showed a deep lack of respect for his superiors, but they still didn''t dare to say anything. It was hard to tell if this was because of Empana himself, or if it was because of the prestige of his father.


    Regardless, it seemed that this unruly Empana could only be curbed by his own father.


    "Please try your best, Little Empana," The snake woman used a gentler approach.


    Empana only snorted and turned to leave. Although this woman could only be the companion of the Patriarch if she was seated in such a position, and especially if she dared to talk to Empana and supplement the Patriarch''s words, it seemed that Empana didn''t treat her like he would a mother.


    There was a complicated flash in the Patriarch''s eyes but his expression became indifferent once against quite quickly.


    ...


    Empana walked out shaking his head. He was planning on relaxing today, he was supposed to be on vacation and yet this bullshit had happened. Clearly, he wasn''t as unruly as he seemed or else he would have brushed his father off entirely, and it was also clear he hadn''t done it out of fear or else he wouldn''t have dared to talk like he had in the first place.


    "Haha! Why the long face, Empana?" A boisterous voice came booming from the side.


    "Fuck off," Empana said in a moment of rage before his eyes suddenly lit up.


    Before him, a man with scarred eyes stood before him. Despite this, the arrogant Empana didn''t look down on this blind mind, in fact, he approached him like a friend would, throwing an arm over his shoulder as though an uncle trying to lead an innocent young girl down a disgusting path.


    Ryu had a feeling that if he used more than one drop of Embryonic Qi, the results would be even more effective, but he had to be cautious with using his Embryonic Qi so freely since he only had a limited amount.


    Plus, no matter how much faster it made the process, there would always be a cap, that was because the cycle needed to finish at least once for his Embryonic Qi to take effect. And, in order to finish one circulation, he needed utmost focus.


    If he had his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he could probably reach that level of focus even in the midst of battle. But without them, he needed a quiet place.


    It took Ryu five minutes to complete a single circulation, so this would be the cap of his speed for now.


    "Time to set out."


    Ryu sent a glance toward the other garbage units aside from his own and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. Although he hadn''t reached the number cap of the Corps Formation, he was already at his limits. A single 100% strike almost wiped him out entirely, if that 100% strike was fuel by 10 times the number, he might kill himself in the attempt.


    Even so, Ryu took the other garbage units along. If his own unit reached its limit, it would be more convenient to swap that way.


    Not long later, Ryu had left the region with everyone and the teleportation platform hidden by the Dream Asura race flashed again.


    The troops that appeared looked incomparably serious as though they were ready for the fiercest battle fo their lives and they were actually left by Iarhorn, the Head of the Soul Body Function.


    They had moved to organize as fast as they could. Regardless of how impulsive Ryu was, they couldn''t be as willful, which was why it had taken them some time to follow up. But even so, it had only been 15 minutes... so how could there be a leveled city before them right now?!


    ...


    In the far off distance and outside of larhorn''s line of sight, Ryu came to a stop, his gaze suddenly blazing.


    Over the horizon, five oppressive auras came swiftly. One was ahead, one was right behind the first, and the last three flew together, even further back than the first two.


    When Ryu locked eyes with the first, Mae was shocked to find that his aura had suddenly became chaotic. It looked as though he was about to attack using the formation again and everyone seemed perfectly prepared, but seemingly for no reason and completely foolishly, Ryu shot out from the range of the formation entirely, even leaving Little Silk behind.


    He didn''t even use his Birthed Phenomena. Without access to his Dao, he couldn''t even fly in the skies and rapidly dropped. Even so, his battle intent only kept blazing.


    He roared, punching out toward the scar eyed man.


    There was simply no suspense. A fist bypassed Ryu''s defenses, crashing into his chest and sending him flying toward the ground like a sparking meteor.


    "RYU!" Mae''s screech came with an eruption of his soul fire, her jet black hair becoming coated in burning golden flames.


    Unfortunately, she was far too slow to react and far too weak to do anything.


    The scar eyed man dove into Ryu''s crater, his fists raining down like an avalanche. He looked like he had met the enemy of a lifetime and he wouldn''t take a single break until he could crush Ryu''s body into a meat paste.


    Mae became as pale as white clouds. Ryu wasn''t even a World Sea Realm expert, but that was a Sky God. It was over, it was all over.

 Chapter 1336 Who Is This?

    1336 Who is this?


    Ryu felt like all the air in his body was being pummeled out one fist at a time. He couldn''t even see the sky above him because the fists were so densely packed. It truly felt like there was no mercy being given to him at all.


    Empana didn''t think much about it at first, he just thought it was someone overestimating themselves, but then his expression became weird. He hadn''t sensed it in the beginning, but that young man definitely wasn''t a Sky God. The scar eyed man shouldn''t even need to lift a finger to kill such a person, let alone using so many fists.


    The more Empana thought about it, the weirder it became.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his bones fracturing one after another, but a sudden blazing light came from the depths of his pupils.


    He suddenly swung his leg up, aiming for between the scar eyed man''s crotch.


    The scar eyed man sneered, blocking with a simple squeeze of his thighs. But right then, another flash of light came from Ryu''s eyes and the subtle hint of a chain manifested. Seeing this chain, the scar eyed man seemed to have been frozen solid, a deep fear flashing in his gaze.


    The chains vanished as soon as they appeared, but by the time the scar eyed man recovered, he felt a strong pain between his legs.


    His breathing heaved and he seemed to vomit up his next breath of hair instead. The pain shook his body and seemed to shut him down again, but before he could recover once again, a heavy palm smashed into the bridge of his nose.


    Ryu put all the power he had behind that strike, even using his Cosmos Fog to make his strike instantaneously far heavier at the point of contact.


    Even so, the scar eyed man''s nose only deformed and wasn''t even close to breaking despite being one of the most fragile parts of his body.


    That said, Ryu didn''t seem to care. Seeing the tears forming at the edge of the scar eyed man''s closed eyes, he grinned with a wild satisfaction, his second palm descending with even more force.


    "You son of a bitch! You''re cheating!" The scar eyed man growled.


    First Ryu had used his chains, and then he had used his Bone Structure. Both were huge no-no''s, but clearly this little bastard didn''t care at all.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Ryu replied coldly, his chains appearing again just as the scar eyed man was about to recover.


    BANG!


    To Ryu''s astonishment, the moment he pulled back his chains again, prepared to attack the scar eyed man again, he found a fist in his abdomen.


    He was smashed into the ground again, but it was a truly novel feeling. He hadn''t managed to get up from the first assault, so his back was still against the ground. For him to feel as though he had hit the ground again, the only explanation was that the scar eyed man had shattered another crater into being through his body, one that he then fell into moments later.


    Ryu coughed up another mouthful of blood.


    The scar eyed man was at a loss for words before he roared into the skies.


    This happened every time, Ryu would get the snot beat out of him and yet say some bullshit technicality that he couldn''t immediately refute.


    Indeed, he had just said that Ryu was a cripple, so how could a cripple cheat? Obviously, he shouldn''t have access to qi and talents and the like, so what was he cheating with? He had been trapped into a corner with his own words.


    Ryu smiled satisfactorily before looking toward Mac. He felt a bit bad, he acted before he could explain anything and he had given this wife of his a bit of a scare. Of course he felt somewhat guilty.


    "Mae, there''s no need to worry, this is a subordinate of my family. His name is-"


    Mae''s eyes opened wide. But then she almost couldn''t refrain from rolling her eyes, wasn''t it a bit too late to say all this? She had already figured out most of it.


    However, before Ryu could say his name, he was cut off.


    "Say that again and do you believe that I''ll bend you over my knee and spank you like a toddler in front of your woman?"


    Ryu gave the scar eyed man a look before looking back toward Mae and correcting himself.


    "This a slave of my family, feel free to order him around as you please!"


    Empana was rendered speechless. That clearly wasn''t what the scar eyed man had meant? Plus, knowing this man''s character, he would definitely...


    The scar eyed man grinned a devilish grin. The temperature skyrocketed and the three that had followed Empana suddenly began to feel uncomfortable. He really looked more demon than human right now.


    "Alright," Ryu shook his head, correcting himself again. "His parent leads a underling troop of my Clan."


    The scar eyed man was rendered speechless before he suddenly exploded.


    "You disgraceful son of a bitch!"


    Once again, the scar eyed man could do nothing. As one said, the sins of the parent would be borne by the son. He couldn''t deny his father''s truth, nor could he deny his father himself. In the end, he had no choice but to admit that he was indeed a underling of Ryu''s.


    Mae covered her pink lips with a hand, a loveable laugh coming from her. Ryu was still the same Ryu, but she had never seen him tease someone to this extent without it carrying some undertone of maliciousness.


    At that moment, Empana suddenly landed, his confusion clear on his face.


    "lanjor, who is this?" Empana asked inquisitively.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed but he didn''t say anything. Indeed, it seemed that he was hiding his real name.

 Chapter 1337 Impatience

    1337 Impatience


    lanjor looked toward Empana. "Just as he said."


    Empana raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t say much else on the topic. He knew how stubborn this man could be, so he knew there was really no point in asking further. He didn''t think much about it, though. Clearly, lanjor was unwilling to admit the relationship he had with Ryu because it was embarrassing. Empana couldn''t imagine what kind of family would be backing Ryu if the likes of lanjor was only a subordinate.


    Even so, that was that and this was this.


    He looked toward Ryu and his eyes narrowed. Ryu didn''t carry the attitude someone who wasn''t a Sky God should. Given the distance between them, he could quite literally kill Ryu with a glance, but Ryu stood in silence, gazing at him with indifference.


    What made this matter particularly odd was the fact that Empana was no normal Sky God. Given the youth of his features, even Sky Gods more powerful than him had respectful demeanors when they met him, let alone those who weren''t even Sky Gods yet.


    At that moment, a snort echoed and Ryu''s knees buckled. His body swayed to the side before he managed to stabilize himself. However, when others expected him to fall, his body suddenly became ramrod straight, his gaze blazing with a cold intent.


    His head turned toward a certain direction. A woman wearing a dress that didn''t fit the occasion in the slightest stood. The violet, gold embroidered dress was especially tight around her large chest and midsection, but it flared out at her hips and it lengthened, sprawling across the ground for three meters or so. It looked more like a design for a wedding dress than something someone should wear day in and day out.


    The one who had snorted was her. She wasn''t nearly as patient as Empana. In fact, it wasn''t that Empana was patient, but rather that he was giving due respect to lanjor by not pursuing this matter. But, clearly, Leah didn''t care nearly as much about lanjor''s face.


    She was dissatisfied with someone who wasn''t even a Sky God standing amongst them, and even more dissatisfied that they didn''t show any amount of respect. She was clearly a belle with a vicious heart. If not for lanjor, she would have likely directly killed Ryu.


    Seeing the coldness in Ryu''s gaze, she gazed as though she had finally lost her patience and was about to attack again.


    Empana remembered what his father had told him about the enemy having a powerful formation... could it be that Ryu had gotten this formation from the Ninth Heaven and passed it down to the Dream Asuras? But why the hell were they leading a garbage unit? None of this made any sense.


    Suddenly, Empana, who was observing Ryu, frowned as he noticed something was off.


    ''... A cripple?''


    Empana suddenly "understood".


    In his opinion, Ryu may very well have come from the Ninth Heaven, but his standing wasn''t high. Even if he was a cripple, just his identity would be enough for the Dream Asura Race to hand this lady to him with hat in hand, but they were obviously displeased with their relationship or else Ryu wouldn''t be leading a mere garbage unit. That meant that Ryu might not be allowed to use his true identity, and he might even have been expelled from his Clan due to his status as a cripple.


    That might very well explain why Ryu and lanjor were being so vague about their origins. Even if they had a good relationship, that didn''t change Ryu''s status as a cast away.


    As Empana pieced these things together, he felt calmer. He felt more assured about the coming interaction. Even if he didn''t kill Ryu for the sake of not shredding all pretenses, defeating him and sending him away should be fine.


    Leah struggled to stand up, her lips turning blue and much of her skin being covered in thin sheets of ice. Despite her rage, she continued to tremble, unable to gain her bearings properly.


    However, when she felt the presence of Little Silk lock onto her, her heart shuddered and she fainted, before waking up, and then fainted again. Her consciousness was fighting to hold on, but the cold was corroding even her soul.


    "Don''t test me," Ryu said coldly, "I don''t have much patience for nonsense."


    "Let''s talk about something else," Empana said lightly. "Like, for example, why the Dream Asura Race is leading an army into the territory of my Lizard Demon Race."

 Chapter 1338 Sound Of His Voice

    1338 Sound of His Voice


    Empana''s gaze was sharp, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn''t seem to fear Little Silk at all, or maybe he had something else to rely upon.


    Ryu looked toward Empana, saying something the latter had never expected.


    "Isn''t it obvious? We are conquering land. Don''t tell me that you want me to explain that as well?"


    Empana''s gaze narrowed. He looked toward Ianjor, but the latter seemed to be having the time of his life, the only thing he was missing was popcorn. He had spent the first years of his life losing verbal spars to Ryu, those losses somehow made beating the snot out of Ryu not nearly as satisfying. No matter how hard he hit Ryu, he felt that he couldn''t vent his frustration. But, at the same time, seeing Ryu making others suffer filled him with endless pleasure.


    Empana was rendered speechless. Why did he feel like this long time friend of his wasn''t on his side anymore, was his relationship with this superior of his really so good?


    Unfortunately, Empana had misunderstood things. Ianjor didn''t care whether Ryu or Empana came out on the losing end of this matter, he just liked to see others suffer verbal losses at Ryu''s hands. It was a guilty pleasure of his, it didn''t mean much more than that.


    "So you plan to continue." Empana said this, and it didn''t seem to be a question at all.


    "Yes," Ryu responded plainly.


    Empana''s sharp gaze became cold, his hair fluttering and even the golden chain around his neck rising from his collarbone. He seemed ready to erupt at any moment.


    "It seems that the Dream Asura Race doesn''t understand kindness," Empana spoke, but this time he looked up toward Mae. He could tell that she was the true Dream Asura. It was easy for Ryu to ignore threats because he likely didn''t give a damn about the Dream Asura Race and only wanted this woman, but it would be hard to say if she felt the same.


    Mae didn''t speak. It was as though she was satisfied to allow Ryu to speak for herself.


    Empana cursed inwardly. It was no wonder this family didn''t want to see these two together, she didn''t listen to anyone else but this damned cripple.Alll latest novels at novelhall.compana, though, was having a completely different thought process. All the while, he had been focused on the favor he was returning to lanjor, not quite realizing that maybe the only reason he was alive was because of lanjor as well.


    "Alright, alright, give me a second here."


    Janjor finally seemed to have decided he was finished watching the show anwrapped an arm around Ryu''s shoulder, leading him a not so far distance away.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. According to his understanding of lanjor''s character, he wouldn''t do this just for the sake of mediating. This was a man who would rather watch the world burn.


    "Don''t overthink things, I still hate you," lanjor sneered.


    Ryu sneered in return and didn''t say much other than to urge lanjor to hurry up.


    "Spit it out already."


    "Don''t rush a blind man, didn''t you parents teach you manners?" lanjor snapped.


    "I''ve been blind several times before, and it had nothing to do with how fast or slow my mouth moved. Also, when are you going to tell me what someone would want to do with those useless eyes of yours."


    lanjor paused. Ryu had uttered it casually, but the fact Ryu could see through this at all was an astonishing matter. Clearly, Ryu understood that the scars on his eyes weren''t self inflicted. But, from Ryu''s understanding of lanjor, his eyes were useless. Well, useless to Ryu who had Heavenly Pupils, lanjor only had normal eyes.


    So Ryu was only making a joke. He thought that someone had blinded lanjor as punishment for his smart mouth.


    Indeed, lanjor''s expression flashed with a hardly concealed rage before he suppressed it.


    "Stop talking so much," lanjor snapped, "you really love to hear your own voice. Listen, I have something to tell you. It''s about Empana..."

 Chapter 1339 Birth Right

    1339 Birth Right


    Ryu raised an eyebrow but didn''t say anything as lanjor put up a barrier. He seemed to remember that this guy was using a fake name, and there was probably a reason for this.


    It didn''t make much sense if the reason for this was just to hide the identity that Ryu knew about. After all, so long as he was powerful, who cared if he came from a small world? At worst he would suffer a bit of discrimination, but Ryu didn''t believe that lanjor cared about these matters. So, there had to be another reason.


    That said... it was odd that Ianjor would change his name, but not his appearance. Why would he need to hide one but not the other?


    When Ryu thought to this point, his thoughts immediately drifted to the Heavenly Path and the names left behind, but then he shook his head again. He had already been to the Incomplete Heavenly Path, and Ianjor''s name wasn''t there. Unless he only appeared on the Complete Heavenly Path? But then how had he made it to the Complete Heavnely Path in the first place?


    Ryu shook his head, he was going on in circles. Over nine cycles of a hundred million years had passed since Ryu saw this man last. Although others felt that lanjor''s cultivation was quite substantial, Ryu felt that he was actually quite slow given how much time had passed.


    But it was also precisely because of this that he felt that there was another secret to this matter. But he wasn''t one to pry into the secrets of others, he didn''t like explaining himself, let alone asking others to do the same.


    "Empana isn''t a basic character, I don''t know how much you know about the Sky God Realm in the True Martial World, but in order for him to look so young, he broke through before he was even 20 years old."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He didn''t know much at all, but he had met one person on pace to do such a thing... Starlight. Starlight was still a teenager when Ryu met him and now he was already in the World Sea Realm. He could very well breakthrough before he was 20, and even if he missed the mark, he would only be a little bit over.


    However, that was the standard of the very pinnacle of the Seventh Heaven, and very nearly the standard of the Eighth Heaven''s geniuses. But this... was just the Fifth Plane of the Nether World. Unless the standard of the Nether Plane was far higher, something wasn''t adding up.


    "What are you trying to say."


    "I''m trying to say that every Plane has its own birth right. The only cause the Dream Asuras can come back and there was even a negotiation on the table was because they have enough claim to the Nether World and they have ties to a Clan near the very top, are you getting it?"


    "Why is this important right now?"


    "The important piece of the puzzle is the matter of Birth Right."


    "You''re trying to say that Empana has a Birth Right to the Fifth Plane and he''s come back to get it?"


    "Exactly right."


    "And what does this have to do with me?"


    "What doesn''t it have to do with you? You''ve come to wage war on the Fifth Plane at the absolute worst time possible. Under normal circumstances, most of the other Clans here would be willing to observe the Lizard Demons suffer, but do you think they would now?


    "Right now, all they''re worried about is reducing the competition as much as they can, and they''ll do whatever they need to toward the end.


    "If you cause too much trouble, you won''t just face one army, you''ll face three, and just to make certain that everything goes smoothly, they might even chase you to the True Martial World.


    "Empana is probably one of their strongest combatants, why do you think he was sent out so early? Does that sound like a normal reaction to you?"Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1340 The Best?

    1340 The Best?


    Ryu''s gaze turned incredibly sharp. He hadn''t know about any of this, but neither had the Dream Asura Race. If they had, there was no way they would have been goaded into directly attacking like they had. Ironically, for the wrong reasons, Ryu had still made the wrong decision.


    His attack this time was indeed based off of the fact that the others wouldn''t care to act themselves. There was no way so many powerful Clans would be harmonious. However, he had miscalculated, this was indeed a problem.


    "That''s not even the half of it," lanjor chuckled, seemingly taking pleasure in Ryu''s misfortune. "That little wife of yours has a special scent on her. I can tell that her Soul Fire is quite powerful."


    Ryu gaze lanjor a cold glance, but the latter didn''t seem to see it at all.


    "If she''s so powerful, then her claim to the Fifth Plane is just as strong as anyone else''s, and she''s also within the appropriate age range, while also happening to be quite a beauty. I''m sure I don''t need to explain much else about this to your, right? But I will anyway because this matter is more than about lust.


    "The Plane favors young geniuses, but it favors young couples even more so. The younger you are and the higher your cultivation, the better. Empana is already ranked one in this regard, he has no match. But the other Clans are aware of this and still dare to participate, that means they had trump cards of their own.


    "If they found out about this little wife of yours existence, its hard to tell how they might react. You know how lascivious demons are, their Plane Spirits are just the same. The prefer two young geniuses mated together in holy matrimony because this means that its blessing will be perfectly passed down to the next generation through the both of them.


    "For demons, whose entire inheritance is based on their Bloodlines, something they''re quite like beasts in this regard, this is of utmost importance to them."


    lanjor laughed harder the colder Ryu''s expression became.


    He didn''t know exactly what had happened here, but he had some guesses. A genius young lady of the Dream Asuras, probably a little princess to her people, was here leading garbage units? Even if you ripped his heart out of his chest he wouldn''t believe that this wasn''t Ryu''s fault.


    "What are you talking about? Speak clearly," Ryu said coldly.


    "It''s simple, really. More than just one person could benefit from this Birth Right, or else why do you think I''m here? Out of the kindness of my heart?"


    Ryu looked toward Empana who was staring at the two of them quite patiently. Weren''t he and lanjor quite good friends?


    "Don''t get me wrong, he''s a great guy, and I am good friends with him, but that''s not enough to take the risk to reveal myself without adequate benefits. If you''re obedient, maybe you can get some benefits too. The best way to protect your missus is to be more valuable than she is."


    Ryu frowned. What was lanjor trying to do here?


    Yes, he felt that his value as a Ruin Master was beyond what these people could imagine, but would they believe that? Just bringing up that a Dao Pedestal Realm expert would be more valuable to them than the masters they had already collected would get lanjor laughed out of the room.


    What mattered most was what could be proven in a short time. The gaze of this Empana individual was sharp, and the longer Ryu and lanjor spoke like this, the more suspicious he became. He wasn''t even trying to hide the fact that he was observing the two of them at all.


    But before Ryu could say anything more, the barrier lanjor had put up vanished and his laughter echoed throught he skies.


    "Empana, you''re in luck, I''ve found you the best Ruin Master in the Nether World."


    Let alone Empana''s expression, even those of his associate changed entirely.


    Ryu''s expression became frighteningly cold. This would probably be the most risky situation he had been in since he had stepped into the True Martial World.

 Chapter 1341 Goal?

    1341 Goal?


    Ryu didn''t say anything, but Empana''s gaze immediately became sharp. It seemed as though he wanted to see through Ryu completely. But when he looked back toward the formation, his eyes could only narrow. The fact that Ryu could be the center of such a formation definitely meant something, but...


    Leah, Satra and Kritcsz felt like they had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.


    It was true, Demons were quite poor in aspects related to secondary professions. Whether it was alchemy, black smithing, formation mastery, or anything of the like, they were wholly lacking. Another reason why they wanted to take advantage of the Dream Asura Race so much was to benefit from this, but given that they were so powerful even without such backing, it wasn''t enough for them to treat the Dream Asura Clan any better.


    It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say a middle of the road Ruin Master from the True Martial World could step onto the Nether World and immediately become the best they had... but a so-called middle of the road Ruin Master would have to be well into the Sky God Realm. The idea tha such a person could not even be in the Sky God Realm at all was far too ridiculous.


    If Ryu''s cultivation were to be measured and placed against the standard of Ruin Master, he wouldn''t even have the right to call himself a Ruin Master, let alone be middle of the road.


    Those three felt that they were in the right for directly dismissing the idea. The only reason Empana didn''t was because for one, he thought that he had guessed Ryu''s identity, and second he trusted lanjor. But even with these two things on Ryu''s side, he didn''t have full confidence at all.


    "Are you serious?" Empana finally asked.


    "Of course," lanjor said with a grin. "If you can find one better, I''ll help you out for free. I won''t even ask for a part of the reward."


    Empana''s brows jumped. He might trust lanjor, but he also knew that this guy didn''t like to get himself into trouble without reason. In fact, Empana was surprised that he had managed to invite him at all. For him to be willing to put that on the line to vouch for Ryu...


    **


    The situation progressed smoothly and very soon Ryu was stuck in a perpetual forward tide that he couldn''t free himself from. It was hard to tell how much of this was planned by unluckiness and circumstance versus how much of it was perpetuated by this so-called friend of his.


    Ryu was finding more and more than it was difficult to see through Ianjor''s intentions, but it made sense. He was a man who had experienced both almost a billion years of life, and the rigors of the Real Battle World. He had gotten the best of both worlds and his mind was operating on a scale that most would never be able to touch.


    Even Ryu was finding it a bit unfathomable.


    It wasn''t long before Ryu found him standing in a throne room, facing the Patriarch of the Lizard Demon Race with Mae by his side. But he wasn''t alone. Aside from the Patriarch''s wife, there was still Empana and a small number of much older, wrinkled men.


    Ryu stuck out like a sore thumb as the only individual outside of Empana with such youth in the room. His presence shrouded Mae entirely, making her seem quite forgettable in the grand scheme. If it wasn''t for the situation, he would have sent her inside to the Frost Clan''s ring to be with the little woman, but given the situation, it didn''t seem that Empana had any intention of letting either one of them be out of his sight. Ryu even wondered if the only reason Empana had agreed so readily was because he had already seen through Mae....


    After Empana finished speaking to his father, a heavy stare fell onto Ryu before it shifted to Mae and back again.


    "What is your goal here?" The Patriarch asked lightly.


    His presence alone should have crushed Ryu, a heaviness that could only come from years of cultivation and the burden of rule descending.


    Ryu sighed inwardly. He really didn''t know what this lanjor had gotten him into.

 Chapter 1342 Matrix Duel

    1342 Matrix Duel


    Ryu could only try to control his temper. He might be arrogant, but he wasn''t a fool. Although Mae''s father was annoying, he was right about one matter. Ryu was only so brazen because he had Mae by his side.


    The feeling of censoring himself made him feel uncomfortable all over. If it was just himself, he wouldn''t care to speak out what was on his mind. He was the same man who dared to look a True Sky God of Sacrum in the eye and ogle her body openly. He didn''t have such a reservation within him. But because Mae was here...


    If Sarriel was here, she would definitely be having a grand time laughing at him Wasn''t he doing now precisely what he had looked down on her so much for?


    Ryu closed his eyes for a moment.


    He only did this to try and adjust himself, but this action made the Patriarch frown. Since when did people he was speaking to not answer his questions immediately? Just the patience to wait to answer was something that very few could have before him.


    Ryu slowly opened his mind and his state seemed calmer.


    "I will help your son secure his Birth Right and in exchange you will carve out a proper place for the Dream Asura Race on the Fifth Plane. I''m sure that once your son has secured such a thing, neither you nor he would care much about them, right?"


    The gaze of the Patriarch sharpened.


    "What is this bumbling fool here for?"


    "Please calm down, Master Morhorn, my husband is still speaking with the guest," the Mistress of the Lizard Demons spoke softly.


    "A Matrix is designed to pull energy from the outside world. It then uses the energy it pulls in to form the raw data of its calculations. It''s completely self- sustaining, it doesn''t rely on the outside input of its user. The users only job is to decipher the data."


    Morhorn''s face turned red from all his fluctuating emotions, but he still replied.


    "So what? If your mind isn''t expansive enough, how would you sort through all of that data?"


    "Are you a fool?"


    "What did you say to me?!"


    Ryu turned over coldly. "I asked if you were a fool. The data the Matrix pulls in comes from all angles. Only a fool would attempt to sort through it all. If the Matrix was all you needed, what would be your role as a Ruin Master? A normal amateur would just take one with them on their adventures.


    "It''s your job to decide what data is necessary for your calculations and which ones aren''t. The better a Ruin Master, the more you can narrow your data down. The best can whittle it down to the point that even a mortal could safely absorb it all.


    "So aren''t you too useless if you can''t even do this?"


    Morhorn grit his teeth. "Pure sophistry! Theoretically what you say is true, but in practice no one can narrow down the data range to that level. Even if you have a singular target, even if its simple, the amount of data that would come from it is astronomical. Even a small rock would have endless streams of information about its size, its weight, the irregular angles that made up its outer shape, its chemical structure on the inside, the perforations that may or may not run through its body, what bacteria and living organisms might grow on it or had grown on it, even information about just one of these things would overwhelm a mortal, and you expect me to believe that you can just narrow it down enough as you please?"


    Ryu looked away from Morhorn, feeling uninterested by the conversation. It was clearly on a level that this fool couldn''t understand. Even if he sounded smart, it was the equivalent of a fluff piece, extra, irrelevant words in an essay that could have been half as long.


    "It''s quite simple to prove this," Ryu closed in hand, the pieces of his Matrix flying back together. "We''ll do a Matrix Duel."

 Chapter 1343 Scram

    1343 Scram


    Morhorn''s expression changed.


    It was difficult for Ruin Masters to compete with one another and it often took a long time to prove who was better among them. Ruins weren''t pies that could just fall out of the skies and weren''t easily used as competition grounds.


    As such, Ruin Masters had to find different ways to compete and check the rise in their skills, and this ultimately came down to Matrix Duels.


    In a Matrix Duel, both Ruin Masters would bring forward their Matrix in an attempt to swallow the other. Whichever Matrix consumed the other first would win.


    This was a devastating sort of duel because it usually meant that one Ruin Master would forever lose their Matrix. In many disciplines, the Matrix was akin to a living, breathing object. The more time a Ruin Master spent with it, the more comprehension they would have toward its unique quirks, and the easier it would be to use. This was one of the reasons why Ryu had rejected Selheira''s gift so many times, it didn''t make sense that she would give up such a valuable Matrix for no reason.


    This aside, the ultimate truth was that any Ruin Master worth their salt would have a Matrix worth more than half the sum of their total wealth. If they ever stopped improving their Matrix, they were essentially giving up on themselves and looking down on their own skills.


    In order to mitigate these losses, the Matrix Duel was transformed into a twofold competition. The first was the creation of a new Matrix while the second half became the consumption process.


    But it was precisely because of this that Morhorn was so baffled. Ryu actually. dared to do this?


    While one could theoretically be correct about the use of a Matrix not needing cultivation, the reverse was definitely not true. A powerful Matrix could not be created without the help of powerful cultivation. Unless this Ryu was shameless enough to try and force the Ancient Matrix Duel down his throat?


    Morhorn sneered. "So you want us to compete with our own Matrices? You''re quite shameless, aren''t you? You want to rely on how rich your family is to compete with me?"


    Ryu''s Matrix was extraordinarily rare. Most Matrices were cube shaped and were limited in the calculations they could do because they worked similar to a so-called computer. Ryu''s Matrix was a quantum computer. They were fundamentally not on the same level.


    Ryu was unmoved by this goading. "You''re a Ruin Master and don''t have wealth that exceeds that of a single family? Aren''t you embarrassed?"


    Morhorn''s expression turned livid, but Ryu pretended as though he hadn''t seen anything.


    Was Ryu talking nonsense? Absolutely not. His current wealth could only be said to be astronomical. Of course, this wealth was concentrated in the techinques he knew and the improvements he had made to his body, but this was the best kind of wealth to him.


    He was on his own, barely knew anything about the True Martial World, but he had found the Frost Clan''s store of wealth and the Nine Pillar Flame Sect beyond that. The first could be said to have been a lucky encounter, but the second, which had given him wealth far surpassing the first, was entirely reliant on his skill.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    Ryu clapped his hands and a strong Spiritual Qi began to condense. To his back, the vague outline of his Birthed Phenomena took shape, even fainter than usual. It seemed that the more he used it, the more he was able to control its state of activation. Now, it could barely be seen with the naked eye, and yet all those in the throne room couldn''t help but turn their eyes toward it.


    Morhorn''s expression turned a sickly color of pale violet, but he clapped his hands as well, quickly beginning to manifest a powerful energy.


    Without a word, the competition between the two had begun. Morhorn didn''t have the face to tell Ryu to wait to allow him to adjust himself and he entered enraged and fuming. All he could think about was forcing Ryu to bend the knee as quickly as possible.


    The first step was core formation, and this would be precisely where Ryu fell. Core formation relied entirely on energy, and how could a mere Dao Pedestal Realm expert match up to him, a Sky God, in this regard?!


    Ryu''s own core could never match up to his!


    Morhorn sneered and looked up but his expression suddenly changed.


    Ryu had already leapt past core formation and begun to form the exterior components of his Matrix. But that could only mean that he hadn''t concentrated much energy at all, that meant that Morhorn would have a huge advantage, but if Ryu finished before him?


    Morhorn was suddenly flustered.


    The formation of the exterior was where the calculation abilities of the Ruin Master began to take shape. Depending on the size of the core, various Fundamental Runes could be called forths. These Foundational Runes would solidify thanks to the power of the core and take shape around it like the gears of a machine. It was similar to Visualization, but outside the body.


    These Fundamental Runes had to be a perfect balance of the atmosphere and simulate real life as closely as possible, only in that way would it be sensitive enough to sense the environment around it and complete its calculations.


    However, the smaller the core, the smaller the scope and weaker the sensitivity. It would be impossible for this kind of Matrix to swallow Morhorns.


    But then Morhorn''s expression altered once more. The surge of Fundamental Runes was similar to nothing Morhorn had ever seen. It was like rivers of gold were forming in all directions, forming a steady stream.


    Before Morhorn could react, the Matrix in Ryu''s hand had grown to the size of a peach, then a melon, then a watermelon.


    Morhorn could do nothing but watch as his Matrix was engulfed by nothing more than Ryu''s own growing in size. Ryu hadn''t even consciously set the Matrix against his, but he simply couldn''t stand up to it...


    Morhorn''s face turned ashen. He had actually lost in such humiliating fashion.


    "You can scram now," Ryu uttered coldly.

 Chapter 1344 One Month

    1344 One Month


    Empana''s gaze sharpened. He looked toward Ryu''s side profile, his thoughts unreadable.


    This was completely unexpected. He felt that Ryu had something to rely upon, but after Morhorn blocked him from using his Matrix, he thought that Ryu''s chances had plummeted and he was just moving forward because he had hopped onto the back of a tiger he couldn''t get down from. But now...


    "You cheated!" Morhorn practically screamed.


    Ryu didn''t answer, his expression indifferent and unmoved. It was clear that he couldn''t be bothered to deal with Morhorn at all, he was simply beneath his notice.


    Morhorn lost it when Ryu ignored him, fully prepared to attack, but just as he raised his hand, he found himself flying. A projectile of blood flew from his lips as he slammed against the sturdy walls of the throne room. As he slid down, he was shocked to find that it was actually Empana who stood in the location he had just been in.


    Empana''s father frowned. He didn''t seem to like the action Empana had just taken, but the latter had moved far too fast. It was clear that Empana didn''t want to seek counsel about this matter.


    "As a Master, you should take your word more seriously," Empana said lightly.


    "Please leave."


    The Mistress of the Lizard Demon Clan''s eyes flickered, but she remained silent.


    Without a choice, Morhorn could only stand to leave. His eyes seemed to have been lit on fire, but he didn''t dare to say anything. He flicked his sleeve and gave the others a glance. Soon, they had followed him out as well, leaving no one but Ryu and Mae behind.


    "We will set off in one month," Empana said lightly, giving Ryu a deep look. "Please feel free to enjoy the city and all it has to offer."


    ...


    The family of three watched Ryu and Mae leave, but none of them said anything, even long after they had left. It wasn''t until a long while later that the Patriarch finally spoke.


    "What is your meaning, Empana? I don''t need to say too much because I''m sure you''re aware how important Morhorn has been to our family, he leads all such masters and has a large influence amongst the alchemists and blacksmiths as well."


    "He was inferior in skill, do you want me to place the wellbeing of this small city ahead of the importance of my Birth Right?" Empana asked. "It seems you''ve forgotten that my stage isn''t the Fifth Plane, what happens here has little to do with me. What the Lizard Demon Race has lost will be returned a hundredfold once I truly establish myself on the higher Planes."


    BANG!


    The Patriarch slammed a palm on his armrest. "Child, who do you think you are speaking to?! I think it''s you who''ve forgotten who your father is!"


    "Have I?" Empana smiled. "If I had forgotten who my father was, would I even allow you to speak to me like this? Do you know who my master is? Who I rub elbows with? Why do you think I allow you to command me if not for this?


    "Mistress, I-!"


    BANG!


    A whipping tail came from nowhere. It moved so fast and swiftly that Morhorn didn''t even feel his death. His head, brain matter and skull all splattering against the wall like an abstract painting.


    Mistress Ellaura smiled pitifully and shook her head as though she was mourning the mess Morhorn had dared to cause even in his death. She waved a hand and everything was incinerated to ash, and yet not even a single bit of furniture was harmed at all.


    With a sudden flash, a shadow appeared to Ellaura''s side.


    "There''ll be a change of plans," Ellaura said lightly before slithering away.


    ...


    The situation on the Fifth Plane turned particularly odd. The Dream Asuras were still warring and the response of the Lizard Demon Race was quite muted, until it all suddenly came to a stop. It was unknown why but everything fell into silence for a long while and the Dream Asuras took control of a small area not even enough for a small Clan.


    The rest of the Fifth Plane didn''t seem to have the time to care as the time was swiftly approaching.


    As for the man that had caused much of this, he was sitting in silence, his wife by his side. The words about enjoying the city that Empana had spoken seemed like an beginning for freedom, but in reality it was a confinement order. Ryu was sure that if he tried to take even a single step out of the city, he would be finished.


    However, Ryu had long since regained his calm.


    Mae sat off in the same room as Ryu, not bothering him. She seemed to be able to sense the tension of the atmosphere as well. Although neither of them had been threatened, only a fool would relax completely in this situation. It only made matters worse that she could sense some inner turmoil within the Lizard Demons as well.


    Ryu, though, was entirely focused on himself. Nothing else mattered.


    Since his garbage units had been basically confiscated from him, what was more important to him now was studying these souls of his. He had even spent some time describing things to the little woman to see if she could create the pills he needed to target Focus Qi.


    The Focus Alchemy Sky God, who had been practically dormant for months now, suddenly lit up. She couldn''t believe that Ryu had actually discovered onto something like this. She was excited to the point that she ignored everything else to focus on researching this new pill.


    As she did this, Ryu turned his attention toward his Seven Corporeal Souls once more. If it was possible to target his Focus Qi, then it was definitely possible to target his Blood Essence as well.


    He felt more and more now that maybe he had targeted his Bloodlines too superficially. What changes would there be when he managed to find his Blood Essence and fuse them as well, would his road ahead be smoother, or more difficult? And most importantly, would he grow stronger?


    The next month passed by extremely quickly, it was simply too short a time for cultivators. Soon, Ryu and Mae stood amongst a small forces of at least 10 000, led by Empana and his friends. It was time to set out.


    Ryu swept a gaze over them all, memorizing each one of their faces. He seemed to be entirely focused on doing this for reasons that maybe only he would understand. Then, he closed his eyes as though nothing else mattered.

 Chapter 1345 Green And Blue

    1345 Green and Blue


    Ellaura and the Patriarch stood on a balcony high on the Clan Estate''s walls. They looked down to see everyone off, their expressions quite serious.


    If it was up to the Patriarch, he might have participated. But the reason he couldn''t was because his Bloodline was far too close to Empana''s. When the time came, this may ruin things on the other end. As a result of this, each of the Fifth Plane''s strongest existences would only send forward who they most wanted to take the Birth Right for themselves while the remaining individuals would only be of the supporting cast.


    Empana shot a glance toward his father but didn''t say anything to him.


    "General Jorlumin."


    "Yes, Young Master!"


    A strong, powerful man standing at almost three meters tall stepped forward. His steps alone seemed to cause the ground he walked upon to crackle and creak, his armor trembling and clanging as he walked.


    "The troops will be under your charge, you will be responsible for making sure that they follow orders as swiftly as possible. We will be following this young man''s lead, however he''s not someone that the troops trust wholeheartedly, so this set up will make things run smoothly."


    Jorlumin looked over toward Ryu, a great deal of pressure descending. He didn''t seem to be doing it on purpose, but it was rather the weight of countless years of experience and even more dead bodies. Looking into Jorlumin''s eyes made one feel as though they were swimming in a river of blood.


    However, Ryu didn''t say anything, remaining silent. He was all too used to these sort of strategic games. Not giving Ryu the ability to directly command these 10 000 or so elite troops was as good as putting a muzzle on him.


    Of these discoveries was one innovative technique he called [Soul Walking].


    Separating the soul from the body wasn''t an unheard of technique, in fact there were many that could do it, however Ryu had only heard of such things in Sacrum. This became possible after the Soul Birth Realm. However, in the True Martial World, the pressure and climate was much tougher and it was difficult to survive as nothing more than a soul with supporting treasures.


    However, Ryu had gained more of an hunch after beginning to use his Three Souls and Seven Spirits as a foundation. Then, by relying on the plasticity of his Perfect Blackbody Soul, he was able to accomplish quite a bit.


    He had learned to split his soul in two, withstanding excruciating pain for the sake of a temporary puppet of sorts that acted as a second him. The astonishing part about this puppet was that it was invisible and entirely undetectable for the simple fact that it was constructed of Void Spiritual Qi on top of having Ryu''s innate Spacetime Soul Nature. It was the perfect spy. In these months, Ryu had used his [Soul Walking] technique to split his Original Spirit in two. Then he descended into the catacombs of the Lizard Demon Race and read through their records. He probably knew and comprehended more about this Birth Right Phenomena than even Empana and his father did.


    As such, he knew that these portals were separated into Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black, White and Gold.


    The closer to Gold one was, the better the starting position, the greater the Heavenly Favor, and the better chance you would have at becoming the ultimate winner.


    Most usually, the best of a Plane would be granted a Green or Blue Portal, Indigo and beyond was very rarely documented, and the final three was entirely unheard of.


    But to Ryu''s silent shock, this portal was actually colored Violet with only slight touches of Indigo.


    His expression gave nothing away and those around him, who were entirely ignorant on the matter, didn''t say much as they came forward to enter. Soon, they had all vanished, the portal swirling close.


    It was only Ellaura, who stood beside the Patriarch, whose eyes flickered, her pupils unconsciously narrowing as her tail swung beside itself.

 Chapter 1346 There

    1346 There


    The process of transportation took longer than any teleportation that Ryu was familiar with. He had even traveled through from the Fourth Heaven to the Sixth Heaven before, a distance across two entire Heavens, and it had still not taken this long. Let alone that, he had once gone from the Fourth Heaven all the way to the deepest depths of the Ninth Heaven before, and it still hadn''t taken this long.


    The length of time was truly baffling, and it was only after three or so seconds of shock that Ryu came to understand something.


    When he had first entered the Incomplete Heavenly Path, he had to move through a miasma. lanjor had already said that this world didn''t have an Incomplete Heavenly Path, but this Birth Right matter, although much rarer than the Incomplete Heavenly Path, did seem to be something similar. At the very least, it mirrored the Heavenly Paths somewhat.


    In that case, this process could be similar to that.


    ''I see...''


    Ryu floated for a long while. He didn''t push or pull anything, and eventually, an entire half an hour later, he heard the rumblings of an argument. Unfortunately, it was too muffled for him to hear anything clearly, but it was getting closer and closer until everything around him suddenly popped like a bubble.


    Ryu could finally see something other than the endless swirling violet around him. He found that he was standing within a hall far too grand to fathom, and yet also quite natural in its construction. It was clear that it wasn''t formed entirely by intelligent creatures and was very much the work of mother nature for a great deal of its composition.


    The walls had this curved and rough, earthy texture to them. The "pillars" were just fused earth carve outs that curved from the ground to the tall ceilings above. And that, they truly were. These tall ceilings extended upward for what must have been at least 500 meters, one could only crane their necks to get a glance.


    "... Finally, we had to wait here for almost an hour for this piece of trash to finally get it together, is it really worth it? How far behind are we by now?!" Leah''s voice echoed.


    Mae finally seemed to calm down when Ryu took her hand, but Leah only snorted.


    "You have time to act all lovey dovey now? How about you hurry up and point us toward a direction, "Ruin Master""


    Ryu didn''t seem to have heard her speak at all and was only checking to make sure that nothing had happened to Mae. After he did that, he checked the temperament of each and every person. Even as Sky Gods, they couldn''t seem to sense the scan of his Void Spiritual Sense at all, in this path moth, his skill with his soul had reached an entirely new level, he didn''t even need to project his Birthed Phenomena first despite being crippled.


    ''As expected.''


    The moment Ryu had taken Mae''s hand, there were several who had fierce reactions despite reacting as though nothing at all had happened. They could hide their expressions, but they couldn''t hide the fluctuations of their souls.


    Mae had likely broken out of her cocoon before anyone else had. And it also seemed that the others were far more aware of their surroundings than Ryu was otherwise so many wouldn''t know.


    If Ryu was correct, these people had probably come to "understand" why Empana had taken Ryu, and they all felt that it was due to Mae. In order to keep her compliant and obedient, he had allowed Ryu to be here until he wasn''t needed anymore. Maybe Empana already knew which course to go as well.


    There seemed to be several in the crowd who had been scheming before, although they were unobtrusive about it. This explanation would explain a lot of things.


    After he had his answer, Ryu sneered inwardly.


    "That direction."


    Not even a few moments after coming from his bubble, Ryu pointed.

 Chapter 1347 Incompetent?

    1347 Incompetent?


    Leah was stunned for a moment before her expression warped. Was this Dao Pedestal Realm brat trying to make fun of her?


    But to her surprise, the moment Ryu pointed out a direction, he began to move. It wasn''t just him, but even Ianjor began to move as well as though he had utmost confidence in what Ryu was doing.


    Empana frowned. No matter how much confidence he had in Ryu, this was a little too ridiculous. Everyone else had taken several minutes to even gain a faint idea of which direction to go in. But Ryu didn''t even take out his Matrix and just pointed in a direction. What was going on here?


    Everyone looked toward Empana to see what they would do, however Empana remained silent for a long while, looking toward Ryu''s back. And yet, Ryu seemed to have no intention of slowing down, he didn''t look for Empana''s approval either.


    It was then Empana seemed to realize that now that Ryu and Mae were in here, what could happen had suddenly opened up to a world of possibilities. They weren''t tied as one group, precisely because of Mae''s existence. It was very possible that the portal had registered the existence of two people with Birth Rights.


    After thinking to this point, Empana followed without a word. Although there was a hint of dissatisfaction in Leah''s expression, she didn''t dare to say anything now that Empana had gone forward, there even seemed to be a hint of attraction in her eyes.


    Mae looked toward Ryu''s side profile, seemingly wondering the same things as everyone else. However, Ryu only gave her a smile.


    There were simply too many fools in the Ruin Master profession, a lot of snake oil salesmen. The shame of it all was that many of them weren''t even aware that they were. The reason Ryu had simply pointed out a direction to walk in seemingly without much thought was because he really hadn''t put any thought into it.


    Ryu didn''t respond, looking around with a curious gaze. But this only made Leah''s response all the more fierce. Her body flickered and vanished. She appeared before Ryu, her fair hand snaking out to grab toward his collar. But before she could succeed, a chilly wind made her retreat, a look of vigilance taking hold of her pretty face.


    "Am I very familiar with you?" Ryu looked at her for the first time, speaking coldly. "Keep your hands to yourself."


    Leah was stunned before her shoulders started trembling in anger. Why was Ryu speaking as though it was some great injustice to be touched by her?!


    "You''re an incompetent, bumbling fool pretending to be something that you''re not, and yet you still have the cheek to say such a thing?! You''ve brought us right back to our starting point, don''t you feel any shame or embarrassment?! We were in the same place for over an hour and didn''t see even a single group return, but you''ve made a ridicule of us all!"


    "Is that so?" Ryu asked, his gaze turning toward a certain direction.


    Leah was stunned. She had been so enraged that she hadn''t really looked around, but when her head turned in the orientation of Ryu''s look, there was indeed another team. They were easily two kilometers away from them, but such a range was insignificant to Sky Gods, it was more surprising that Ryu had spotted them before she had.


    Indeed, they had entered the tunnel for three hours, what was one hour in the face of that? For all they knew the teams had only returned after they had been in their own tunnels for that long as well, causing them to miss them by an initial two hours.


    "So what?!" Leah countered angrily. "Doesn''t that just mean you''re both incompetent?!"


    It was unsurprising that voices echoed quite far in the catacombs. Due to Leah, they were spotted immediately.

 Chapter 1348 Percentage Return

    1348 Percentage Return


    The other group was just as large as that of the Lizard Demon Race. However, they were an odd Race of Demons that looked as though their skeletons were on the outside of their bodies rather than the inside, their flesh and blood entrapped in a cage of dull white that looked almost like highly refined ash.


    Their skulls appeared over their faces like masks, their eyes flowing with an eerie greenish-blue flame that flickered with their emotions or lack thereof.


    They called these Demons the Exo Demon Race. They were well known for their defensive abilities and they were a nightmare to deal with. Their control over their skeletal system was quite similar to the control that Ryu had once had with his Skeleton Summons back in Sacrum.


    Their leader was quite clear. He was a young man that stood a head over everyone, his body so brawny that he looked like a tank, and his skeleton having extra bones where they most definitely shouldn''t appear. It made his bones look more like an armor than they should, and yet he moved as naturally as flowing water, something astonishing both given the state of his bones and his brawny size.


    This young man''s status was similar to the Exo Race as compared to Empana''s status in the Lizard Demon Race, he was their Prince, Norrian. Of course, though, Norrian was far inferior to Empana as the former could never hope to sniff out a place on the Eighth Plane. And yet, he was still giving the latter such a provocative glance currently, one that only became deeper after hearing Leah''s words.


    Norrian might look like a burly meat head covered in a bone shield, but he was also quite intelligent. He realized that no one around Empana was from the Eighth Plane, and how could they be? The Eighth Plane was too busy worrying about their own Birth Right, how could they have time to worry about trash from the Fifth Plane?


    When he saw that there was even a Dao Pedestal Realm expert that seemed to be crippled on Empana''s team, he was so speechless that he couldn''t even muster up laughter. Wasn''t this a bit too pathetic?


    Ryu shook his head and didn''t even bother to respond to Leah.


    Just because they had returned to the Catacombs, did that mean they were still in the same spot? How vast were the catacombs? It was impossible that they had exited from the same space. They were all Sky Gods, if they had walked around in a huge circle, how could they not notice? They were definitely paying close attention.


    That said, Ryu didn''t need luck, nor did he need his Matrix, he only needed his eyes. Now that he knew what he was looking for, it was all too easy.


    His gaze scanned the region.


    The tunnel that he had picked at random was a +11% return on their time. Obviously, he had to focus on tunnels that maximized this return and avoid the ones that might even have a negative return on time investment.


    ... 6%... 3%... negative 1%...


    It seemed that Ryu had actually been quite lucky the first time around. A +11% return seemed to be one of the better ones.


    He appeared up and down until his eyes sharpened. ''+27%.... Perfect.


    "There," Ryu uttered lightly. Ignoring everyone else, he pulled Mae along and took a large leap forward, climbing up the side of the catacomb walls with swift steps before entering a tunnel that was about 120 meters off the ground.


    Empana''s eyes narrowed. He had been observing Ryu all the while and his inferences couldn''t be faked. He seemed to have really figured something out.


    He sent a gaze toward Norrian and noticed his Ruin Master murmur something into his ear before the former''s gaze narrowed as well.


    Norrian and Empana''s gazes met and sparks flew.


    Empana made a decision and then followed after Ryu, but not before lanjor had. Without a choice, everyone else could only quickly follow as well. But to their astonishment, The Exo Race was also quickly making their way over.

 Chapter 1349 Collapse

    1349 Collapse


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, but he didn''t say anything. The Exo Race had been here for much longer, so it wouldn''t be surprising if they had managed to pick out the best tunnel in the region. But it felt like these odds were quite small.


    From Ryu''s understanding of the situation, Empana was by far the most likely to be the winner. He was the greatest talent, held the greatest personal strength, and had even entered from a violet portal. All of the odds were in his favor.


    That said, the other Clans wouldn''t just keel over just because, and there would obviously be other dark horses trying their best to grasp this opportunity. These Clans definitely had their own aces in the hole, while it was also clear to Ryu that the Lizard Demon Race wasn''t of one mind and purpose. Targeting Empana ahead of time before he could build up steam made a great deal of sense.


    The worst part was that even if this wasn''t their intention, the results would be just as devastating. That''s because if they were calculating which tunnel to enter and not just following them, then they would be shocked to find that Ryu had picked out the right tunnel and even faster than them at that.


    Given that situation, they might assume that it was out of luck the first time around. But if they were smart, they would follow a second time and maybe even a third to confirm.


    Ryu''s appearance was too conspicuous. Why would Empana bring along a Dao Pedestal Realm expert if not for a very good reason? They didn''t need to know the backstory, all they needed to guess was that Ryu was important for reasons other than his cultivation. Just a little curiosity would go a long way. If they also remembered that Empana had actually chosen to wait for Ryu for over an hour, it would make the situation even worse.


    This was a situation where despite the fact the deductions up to the conclusion were wrong, it didn''t matter. So long as they took an interest in Ryu and decided to follow, it would be hard to control the situation.


    As though that wasn''t bad enough, even if Ryu chose a poor tunnel on purpose the next time around, they might still choose to follow since they felt that Empana was their greatest competitor. So long as they stuck by Empana''s side, they didn''t have to worry about others winning and they might shrud off Ryu''s actions as trying to throw them off his scent.


    All of these thoughts flashed through Ryu''s mind in an instant, his speed of thought still greatly helped by his Origin Flame. He realized that although much of his cultivation was locked away aside from his body''s strength, those external treasures still worked just fine.


    ''What to do... Ryu thought to himself. After a moment, he came to a decision.


    ...


    Within the tunnel, the group was rushing forward, but Ryu was obviously a limiting factor. However, with a thought Little Silk appeared beneath Ryu and Mae''s feet. With a single flap of her gorgeous wings, they soared ahead at great speed.


    The other Sky Gods, who were going to use this as an opportunity to teach Ryu a small lesson, lost their chance.


    Ryu sneered inwardly, but he didn''t say anything. Even so, his thoughts kept swarming.


    "This will be a bit tricky to execute. It''s hard to tell... No, I can pull this off.


    If Ryu wanted chaos, it seemed to be in his best interest to slow down. But if he slowed down too much, it would make him too obvious, so instead he had directly summoned Little Silk. That said, this wasn''t all bad. He gained an excuse to bring her out and gained some more security toward his and Mae''s safety for the time being. It was this next part that would be more difficult.


    Ryu swerved and moved through the tunnels at great speed. The roaring of the earth echoed through the smooth walls as it was clear that the Exo Demon Race was making their way forward swiftly.


    "Collapse the tunnels," Empana ordered again.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, but he didn''t say anything. The team could only see the back of his head as he continued to shoot forward, winding through the turns and variations of the tunnel.


    Five hours later, they shot out from the tunnel, finding themselves in the very same enormous catacomb once again. By now, Empana had an idea of what was going on, but Leah was completely livid.


    Unfortunately for her, Ryu didn''t pause even a single second before shooting out of the exit and toward another tunnel.

 Chapter 1350 After Them!

    1350 After Them!


    Ryu''s speed caused Empana''s own gaze to change somewhat, but he realized that Ryu hadn''t accelerated, he was still flying at the same speed. Rather, this seemed to be a good idea, if they disappeared into a tunnel now, it would be easier to lose Norrian. After all, it would be hard to tell which tunnel they had entered from.


    What Empana didn''t know was that it was trivial for a Ruin Master to find out such a thing. Even the worse, most incompetent Ruin Masters could track a location living beings had passed through recently. However, Empana wasn''t a Ruin Master, so how could he know this? If it was possible to avoid detection like this, then Ryu wouldn''t be so worried about others following his actions and finding out he could do something they couldn''t.


    The group rushed into the tunnel and vanished.


    Dozens of minutes later, the Exo Demon Race rushed out after them.


    Norrian''s expression became ugly. There were so many tunnels around them, but they all looked the exact same. He had no way of telling which one they had entered.


    "...There was some lingering ice qi in the air back in the tunnel, maybe there are some traces left here somewhere-"


    "Young Master, you don''t have to worry about this. This is the easiest thing for me to track, they''ve entered this one here!" The Ruin Master by Norrian''s side spoke quickly.


    Norrian''s eyes lit up, he clearly trusted this man implicitly. Without hesitation, he rushed forward.


    ...


    Empana''s frown deepened as he looked toward Ryu.


    By now, he was certain that Ryu knew what he was doing, or else a situation where they had run into not just one group, but two, would never happen. However, he wasn''t sure if Ryu had done this on purpose or not.


    After a moment, he vibrated his head. How could that be possible?


    What he didn''t know was that the moment they had exited the tunnel the first time, he had already sensed which tunnel the White Devils had entered. Reverse engineering which tunnel to enter next so that they would be slowed enough to meet them again was simple arithmetic to Ryu.


    Ryu suddenly felt that this feeling was quite novel.


    Back in Sacrum, he had accumulated a lack of respect for Sky Gods because he had always toyed with them in the palm of his hands. But this was always built off the back of his family''s strength. Doing it with his own now felt... different.


    He would enjoy playing these Sky Gods to death.


    Ryu suddenly put his Matrix away just a few moments after and zoomed like a ball from a canon, urging Little Silk forward. He zipped into a tunnel.


    Without hesitation, Norrian dashed forward after him.


    At the same time, Ralora''s expression changed. Then, she made a split moment decision.


    "After them!"

 Chapter 1351 Smirk

    1351 Smirk


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, his expression serious. However, the curl on his lip seemed to give away what was happening inside of him.


    He was a Dao Pedestal Realm Ancestor, in the midst of thousands of Sky Gods, each with the ability to kill him with a single finger, and yet what he was feeling wasn''t fear. His heart thumped out of his chest, a wild thrill flooding his veins. He felt like he was standing on top of the world, his restrained bloodlines beating against their chains as though they might break free at any time.


    Empana and Ianjor rushed from Ryu''s back, the latter looking toward Ryu''s back. Others couldn''t tell the difference between Ryu''s feelings right now, but he definitely could. Ryu looked to be as cold as could be, but he could see that faint curl on his lip. It was easy to miss it, or dismiss it as a quirk of his expression, but Empana knew it was a sneer.


    That sneer only appeared in one moment: when he was playing people in the palm of his hands.


    It was a sneer he had seen too many times, a sneer that even the powerhouses of Sacrum had greatly feared despite it coming from a mortal, and maybe a sneer that the True Martial World would come to fear very soon as well.


    It seemed that very soon the name Ryu Tatsuya would echo with a roar.


    Little Silk responded to Ryu''s urging with an even faster speed. Despite only being the False Sky God Realm, it seemed that this little one''s velocity was truly quick. It seemed that now it wasn''t just that the others were following Ryu, but rather that Ryu was leading.


    Empana''s eyes narrowed. He noticed the shift. Even Jorlumin, who had started constantly looking toward him for confirmation before acting, was now moving to Ryu''s rhythm. Through a more roundabout method than lanjor, Empana seemed to realize that something was very wrong.


    However, this wasn''t a moment that he could do anything about it. Given the situation, if they stopped now, then the only result would be battle. It was impossible for things to go differently.


    They rushed forward and made it to the other side, their faces sinister and prepared to launch powerful attacks. However, that was when, one by one, they froze, their faces paled and they collapsed to the ground in pieces.


    When they hit the ground, their bodies trembled, separating into countless frozen pieces, each one entirely unrecognizable on their own. It looked as though meat had been chopped them and then flash frozen, sealing all of the blood and flesh within.


    "HALT!" Norrian roared. Ralora''s group had no choice but to follow suit as well.


    They looked forward, hard, and barely managed to see imperceptible lines of silk. However, evne when they focused, they couldn''t be sure that they had spotted them all. In fact, it was much easier to tell that there was something ahead by the chill as opposed to their senses.


    However, even if they focused on the chill, with how many lines there were, and how they overlapped so well over one another, how could they possibly tell them apart completely.


    There was only one choice, they had to destroy them.


    Gritting their teeth, they gave the order.


    On the other side, Ryu didn''t even bother to look back. He knew what choice they would make. However, destroying Little Silk''s silk attack was easier said than done. Even if they had powerful flame users, it would take them at least a few hours to make sure it was all cleared.


    Ryu smirked inwardly. That was perfect. It would be an adequate buffer.


    Finally, the scenario in the catacombs had changed. Ahead of them was a world that looked completely divergent from what they had become used to.

 Chapter 1352 Luck

    1352 Luck


    Up ahead, to the left of where they had exited, there was a huge, gaping opening. This opening led to what could only be described as the thickest jungle Ryu had ever seen. Even the grasses that wrapped around the roots of the tall rainforest tree canopies wrapped up to their waists. The sheer humidity alone made even the Sky Gods feel some difficulty breathing.


    Even without stepping into it, Ryu knew that this place was extremely dangerous. The first test was just making it to this point. There hadn''t been any dangers outside of their own fellow man, or demons in this case. However, things would likely change from now on.


    Ryu, once again, didn''t bother to take out his Matrix. Trying to analyze such a large world was only a waste of their time. Once again, it was best to dip their toes in and see what variables were best to focus on. So, he took a step forward, urging Little Silk ahead as he prepared to lead everyone again. However, at that moment, something that made his lip curl happened.


    "A moment," Empana said lightly.


    Ryu wasn''t surprised by this. If Empana continued to let him do as he pleased, he would be too incompetent. Others probably didn''t notice it yet because they weren''t as sharp as Empana or lanjor, but how could Empana not realize how people who had been under his command suddenly listened to Ryu unconditionally?


    In fact, when Ryu had just urged Little Silk forward, those around had been ready to move forward with him. They only seemed to snap out of it after Empana said something, but even then some had given Empana looks of confusion as though he didn''t have the right to say anything in this situation.


    They had completely forgotten about Ryu''s cultivation realm. This was the power of competence. At this point, even Leah was silent let alone, let alone everyone else. The greatest weight of Ryu''s achievements weren''t only the entrapment of the other Races, but also the rainforest before them. Clearly, he had led them down the right path.


    Even so, Empana couldn''t allow this to continue unchecked.


    Ryu stopped Little Silk''s forward path and looked back, his expression unreadable. This was the first time that Empana had seen Ryu''s face in the last several hours. For some reason, evne he seemed to have expected some sort of huge change. But in the end, Ryu was still the very same Ryu, unmoved, unhurried, and cold as ice.


    "...But getting here in less than a day? Well, you have as much chance of doing that by luck as you would in finding the exact same grain of sand on a beach twice in a row."


    Empana''s gaze sharpened. "Is that so?"


    Ryu sighed as though he was lamenting something.


    "You just don''t quite understand, Empana," Ryu casually clarified how the tunnels worked as though he was lecturing a child. Empana understood immediately that things were going left. If Ryu explained things like this, it would have the opposite effect, because even though he was self-admittedly not a Ruin Master, lack of proficiency was incompetence. This was why leaders consulted their experts behind closed doors and not in front of the masses.


    Realling that be bad almost lost control of the situation, Empana was quick on his feet and immediately changed tactics. He hadn''t wanted to use this because it might strain their relationship earlier than he wanted, but he fet that this would happen eventually and it was more important that he regain the hearts of the people right now.


    "I see, thank you for the explanation, Ruin Master. Then I would like to ask you another question. Why is it that you waited until the end of these last few hours to deal with our enemies? If you had dealt with them much earlier, wouldn''t they be stuck much further behind us?"


    A realization suddenly came over everyone and they looked toward Ryu with unfriendly gazes.


    It was true, if Ryu had done that after the first or second tunnel, wouldn''t they have shaken them off long ago? But now they were only an hour or two away from breaking free of those lines of silk at worst, and then they would be right after them again.


    On top of that, they would gain the advantage of them clearing the forest of peril first.


    The hostile gains seemed to have returned a hundredfold stronger, and this time it seemed that it might even be hazardous for Ryu.

 Chapter 1353 Chaos

    1353 Chaos


    Ryu could feel the shift in the atmosphere, but his expression didn''t change much. If it did, it was rather into an even deeper smile. It seemed that these little political games could be fun... depending on the stakes, that was.


    It was too bad, though. This Empana might be very talented, but if it was a matter of intelligence, he was too far inferior, and when it came to who had the sharper mouth, they weren''t even in the same league.


    "Oh?" Ryu blinked, somewhat confused by Empana''s words. "I''m in the Dao Pedestal Realm. I was brought here to be a Ruin Master. My commands are also supposed to be given through General Jorlumin here. If you wanted me to take a more active role, I could, but I''ll need more authority. I''ll help out in whatever way you need."


    Empana froze when he heard these words. The implications almost made him blush with shame. On top of that, Ryu seemed to hit all of his weaknesses at once.


    Wanting a Dao Pedestal Realm expert to help you get out of a dangerous situation? Wasn''t that far too ridiculous?


    At the same time, during that situation, if it wasn''t for Ryu''s orders, they wouldn''t have died in the attempt just like those that had rushed through. If they hadn''t followed his orders, they would have been the ones dead on the ground. When they realized this, they felt a shudder go through their souls.


    Also, there was the most apparent part. If Ryu wanted to deal with them, could not he have just uttered nothing at all? If he had just remained silent, considering how fast they''re going, at least half of them would have died and Ryu would have been the only one to make it to the other side.


    The moment others thought to this point, they began to find that Empana''s words were a bit ridiculous. Even though they thought this within their hearts, they did not say it out loud, nor did they turn a questioning gaze toward Empana. What a joke, how could they do such a thing to the hope of their race?


    Even so, Empana''s prestige took a major hit.


    Empana remained silent for a long while. He knew that he had suffered a loss, one that he could not easily reverse without being given time. He found it hard to believe that he was out maneuvered by a Dao Pedestal Realm expert, but this was probably how Morhorn had felt as well. There was really nothing else for him to say about this matter.


    Air was not the only problem here. The density of water vapor in the air seemed to also be pushing qi away, making it far more sparse here than it should be. If they used their qi too freely, they would definitely end up like fish out of water.


    Ryu, though, was fascinated by this, because it reminded him a lot of Infinity Mist. Even moving in this atmodimension made his body feel heavier than normal, let alone breathing and gathering qi.


    And yet, this water vapor was the most normal of waters that could be found even in mortal worlds.


    ''It''s not just the water, but how it''s being used...''


    Ryu had only just stepped into the rainforest, but he believed that he already understood what the key to making it out of this place was. His mind was as sharp as ever, and he once again did not feel like he needed to rely on his Matrix. However, did the others need to know that?


    ''They should break through in about three hours...'' Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    ...


    While Ryu was leading the Sky Gods of the Fifth Plane by the nose, the situation on the Sixth Heaven of the True Martial World was quickly heating up as well. This was surrounding two matters.


    The first was the escape of Isemeine and Eska. The second was the quickly approaching Complete Heavenly Path and the troubles that it had bought.


    However, these matters had nothing to do with the current Ryu as he tried to carve out a path to survival. But what did have to do with him was a tunnel that suddenly split the Fifth Plane in two.


    Out from this impossible massive portal, a man with raging red hair stepped out.

 Chapter 1354 Again?

    1354 Again?


    Ryu didn''t know about the commotion caused on the Fifth Plane due to the appearance of this person, nor the sudden alerting of the much higher Planes of existence as a result. All he knew was that the three hour timer in his head was about to hit zero.


    ''It''s about time,'' Ryu thought.


    They had traveled quite a distance into the rainforest and most everyone was drenched in sweat but lanjor, Empana, and, of course, Ryu and Mae. This was because of none other than Little Silk.


    As they had moved, wasting time, Ryu wasn''t entirely idle. He was analyzing the water vapor around him, something that came like second nature due to his Cosmic Seed. Unfortunately, because his Dao Heart was shattered, his progress was limited as though his talent was sitting behind a filter of some sort.


    Even so, his speed was blazing, so much so that it was hard to imagine what it would have been like had it not been filtered like this. He grasped over 90% of the secrets in just an hour and was already able to direct Little Silk to undo it and cast a cooler domain around them. By the end of the third, he had grasped 100% of it and felt like a fish in water.


    Suddenly, he flipped a hand over and revealed his Matrix before swiftly putting it away. Then, he urged Little Silk to turn and shot in a certain direction.


    The others looked toward one another and were about to move forward swiftly. However, they stopped, looking toward Empana first after a moment of hesitation. The Lizard Demon Race wasn''t made up of fools, they realized that their actions before were questionable.


    Empana inwardly shook his head before shooting after Ryu. Only then did the others follow.


    ''This entire rainforest should be a formation of twisting water vapor. There''s a minimum of three sources, likely up to 12 in total. They can only be located in hyper specific areas and this one should be the closest.''


    Not even a dozen minutes later, Ryu and the others appeared in a particular region. It was a rare section of the rainforest that was clear of tall, thick trees. In fact, it was the first time they had come across such a place.


    Not only was it a clearing, but the vegetation in the immediate area looked as though they had been burnt to a crisp. But oddly enough, the humidity in this region was the lowest they had come across as the others finally felt as though they could breathe properly.


    Ryu briefly explained what he had done in the last hour and how he would now bring the others to the safest geyser to enter. The diea of having to enter these dangerous locations shook everyone present. They realized just how much they were putting their lives in Ryu''s hands.


    However, just when they had begun to access the geyser, the others appeared once again.


    Empana''s gaze flashed. He didn''t know how, but he was almost certain that Ryu was doing all of this on purpose. But what he couldn''t understand was how precise he was. Was it really possible for a person to do this? And what was his purpose?


    Beaten and haggard, Norrian and Ralora appeared with their people around the clearing. Anyone with sharp eyes could tell that they had suffered greatly.


    Empana''s brows furrowed and he suddenly became even more confused. This sort of destruction couldn''t just come from Little Silk''s silk threads, so what had left them in such a state?


    Ryu smiled and didn''t say anything. He had uttered this rainforest was dangerous... when had he said that the geysers were the only danger?


    Norrian and Ralora had lost so many people to Little Silk, and then they lost even more people entering this rainforest. Without a choice, they could only collaborate or else they felt they wouldn''t stand a chance.


    Who knew they would find Empana''s group completely unscathed?


    Their eyes spitting fire. landed on Ryu''s body simultaneously. They were practically fire.


    "Kill them all!" the two roared.


    This time, there was simply no avoiding the battle.


    Surrounding, Empana braced himself, his stare turning malevolent.

 Chapter 1355 Weakest

    1355 Weakest


    A raging torrent of qi filled the region. Despite the cold expression on his face, Ryu''s inner organs threatened to spill out of his body, and that was despite the fact Little Silk had blocked more than 90% of the volatile energy. Even beyond that, it also seemed that most were purposely avoiding him.


    Norrian and Ralora weren''t fools. They, of course, had already seen through how special Ryu was. Plus, to them, Ryu was basically inconsequential. Even if he wasn''t as amazing as they assumed and it would just be a faA?¡ìade on Empana''s part to hide the true expert that was guiding him, it wouldn''t cost them anything to spare his life for now.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, his pupils dancing back and forth as he tracked the happenings of the battlefield. He couldn''t deploy his Spiritual Sense without involving his Birthed Phenomena, but releasing that now would draw too much attention.


    Most probably would never believe that a Dao Pedestal Realm expert could possibly follow their battle even with Spiritual Sense, let alone with their eyes. But this was precisely what Ryu was doing,


    A battle of thousands of Sky Gods went about exactly how one might expect, but the terrain caused a great amount of difficulty. Usually Sky Gods would just be able to level this sort of forest to the ground. But despite the commotion, they only swayed slightly, forcing the combat to be split into countless smaller groups.


    What was most important to Ryu, though, was that these smaller groups were forced out of the calm region near the geyser, and pushed into the forest where the humidity was the densest. The result was them having to work ten times as hard to execute attacks they had once been able to do easily. Their stamina was quickly draining in real time.


    Norrian and Ralora fought with ugly expressions. They noticed the problem immediately.


    Their people were already harmed by the hazards of the rainforest, and they had been forced to expend far more energy than Empana''s people in a far shorter time. But now they had triggered a battle in such a disadvantageous situation.


    Others might think them stupid, but they truly had no other choice. If things continued like this, then the gap between their groups and Empana would only grow larger. By the time they reached the next set of trials, would they even have a chance left to compete?


    Empana''s people seemed to realize this as well. Somehow they had gone such a long way through the forest without being this harmed, and yet the Exo Demons and White Devils were actually in such a sorry state.


    They had witnessed Little Silk''s line of silk for themselves, they didn''t believe for a moment that it was that that had caused so much damage to their enemies. The only explanation was that the danger lay in the forest itself. Their respect for Ryu shot to the skies even further. This was normally something that Empana would wear an ugly expression for, but he was engaged in battle as well. He didn''t have the luxury of caring for such matters.


    With the Exo Demons and White Devils allying, despite the number of people they had lost, they still had a slight number advantage of about a few hundred. He had to work hard to ensure that this number advantage didn''t increase while he battled against Norrian and Ralora at the same time.


    ''He''s hold back... A lot,'' Ryu thought to himself.


    He could see through with quite some ease. He might have a problem with deciphering the actual cultivation level of Sky Gods, but picking up on body language cues was something that he had gotten used to as far back as when his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils were intact.


    Empana was intelligent. He knew that for these families to dare to challenge him they definitely had something that they were relying on. In that case he didn''t want them to know what his bottom line was too soon.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Soon...''


    The catacombs didn''t provide a chance to deal with everyone at once. However, this rainforest was very different. There was no doubt that over 90% of them had died.


    After Ryu vanished, Empana slowly pulled himself out from a ditch in the far off distance. His Spiritual Sense had been locked onto Ryu the entire time, but the moment the eruption happened, he had vanished. When he looked around, his expression turned uglier and uglier.


    Ryu was dead?


    The skepticism within Empana was strong, but there didn''t seem to be another good answer. He didn''t believe it was possible for Ryu to survive when even he had been so heavily injured. Granted, he was closer to the geyser than Ryu was, but he was also countless times stronger than Ryu was. Even his beast companion wasn''t worth more than an exchange or two to him.


    What Empana didn''t know was that Ryu was very much alive, and maybe he wouldn''t learn this for a while.


    That said, Ryu wasn''t scott free. He was taking quite a risk right now, separating from his Sky God buffers.


    However, what kind of benefits could possibly come without risk?


    ...


    Ryu descended with Little Silk and Mae quickly. He couldn''t see anything and the only two factors that let him know that he was still with them was the hand in his and the solid body beneath his feet.


    He took a calm breath, his stare glowing. He could feel the changes of the space around him. They were definitely moving across a large distance in just a short time.


    Suddenly, there was a powerful flash and Ryu''s stare was filled with a blinding light. He blinked once, and when his vision focused, his pupils constricted.


    ''.. Unfortunate.''


    He had made a bet this time, and it seemed that it hadn''t paid off.


    He, Little Silk, and Mae stood on a tall pillar. However, this wasn''t the problem.


    All around them, there were many other pillars. Some were empty, but it was the ones that weren''t that was the problem. And even worse than that, there were exactly nine of them, a number Ryu realized represented each one of the Nether Realm''s Nine Planes.


    Upon these filled pillars, geniuses of the Sky God Realm stood, each one having taken a lead in claiming the Birth Right of their Plane.


    Without a doubt, he and Mae were by far the weakest here.

 Chapter 1356 Emotions

    1356 Emotions


    The situation was more than just not good. Ryu had done a lot of research for this event, combing through the ancient texts of the Lizard Demon Race. But he had never considered the possibility of the other Planes coming together like this, it just didn''t make much sense.


    From his understanding, the Birth Rights were separated by the Plane. They should have no connection with one another, unless....


    Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    When he first entered the Nether Plane, he felt that it was ridiculous for the Convergence of the True Martial World, and a similar event of the Nether Plane, happening at the same time. The odds of one happening ws just far too low, the idea of them both happening at the same time was asinine.


    However... this was the reality before him. In all likelihood, this matter wasn''t normal in the slightest. If he was correct, this was the Convergence of the Nether Plane taking shape right before his eyes.


    ''Unbelievable... This sort of thing...''


    Ryu''s expression became unprecedently serious. Once was a coincidence, two however....


    Even if one considered how old the universe was, how many generations had passed, and how old the Clans and Sects at the very top were, statistically enough time still had not passed yet for this to occur spontaneously. That only left one answer...


    The Heavens were preparing for something. Something so large that it didn''t even bother to discriminate between the Races and Worlds. But Ryu couldn''t even fathom what kind of event this would have to be to trigger such things.


    Ryu stopped thinking about these matters. He wasn''t even in the Sky God Realm yet, he didn''t yet have the cache to think about such things. What was more important than that was figuring out how to survive this matter.


    He looked around, not caring or even avoiding the gazes of those around him, maybe much to the astonishment of those that were here. They could tell with a glance that Ryu was in the Sky God Realm. Such a gaze, if they could move, would likely have caused them to directly kill him with a palm strike before they even got a chance.


    "Four of nine are here. Aside from the Fifth Plane represented by us, there are three others. Seems to be the Ninth Plane, the Eighth Plane and the Seventh Plane..."


    Ryu shook his head. This made sense, who else but the strongest Planes could reach this place before he had? Of course, he had also been forced to delay a lot in order to shake free of the others, but in his mind it was still extremely impressive of them. He didn''t seem to take their status seriously at all.


    The second thing Ryu noticed was that there was an invisible barrier blocking the pillars from interacting with one another, other than light, it blocked pretty much everything else, even sound. Aside from reading the lips of others, they couldn''t even communicate.


    In just a few minutes, he felt as though he had just taken a great rest, his body adjusting itself to perfection.


    Once he was finished with this, he gazed toward the Favor Alchemy Sky God.


    She was completely focused on her research, her hair even being slightly haggard. Ryu was quite neutral about this woman, but he couldn''t help but feel that she looked quite beautiful in this state.


    Who uttered that only men could be attractive when they were focused?


    That said, he felt that she gazed far more adorable than she did gorgeous. She had a sort of innocence to her that was rare. It didn''t feel like she was a woman who had experienced countless years at all.


    After some hesitation, Ryu jolted his head and pulled away. He needed to think of a different solution for this matter.


    ''... It will have to be that. But I can''t deploy it on my own, it can only be done through Mae. If I want that to succeed, I''ll need a large number of Spiritual Sense replenishment pills, but that might not be enough.


    Ryu needed something more potent, more powerful. All the Spiritual Sense replenishment pill formulas he knew were designed for the one soul system, not the Three Soul and Seven Spirit system. Ryu felt that there was extra potential here that he had yet to excavate.


    Luckily... he hadn''t spent the last month idle.


    His current comprehension of his Three Souls and Seven Spirits was on a completely different level than what it had once been. He had already contemplated of several ideas.


    ''I''ll make some small modifications to those formulas and take advantage of Mae''s Soul Fire, it should have a more potent response.''


    Mae''s Soul Fire was heavily tied to her emotions, that was why when she was agitated or felt heavy feelings of love, she reacted quite oddly. This had come under more control after she left the Samsara Wheel, but the underlying foundation was still there.


    By extension, according to legends, the Seven Spirits were tied to certain emotions as wells. Namely Fear, Aggression, Affection, Mood, Joy, Pleasure, Desire and Melancholy. If Ryu succeeded, he would be able to allow a new door for Mae to open up as well, and she may very well improve by leaps and bounds.


    But this would just be the first part of his plan. It would all be meaningless if he couldn''t make the rest work properly...


    His goal was simple. He would have to release another one of the Unbalance Art Sect''s treasured formations.

 Chapter 1357 Humiliation

    1357 Humiliation


    "Isn''t that the Fifth Plane? The place Empana is from? Don''t tell me he lost to this kind of trash?"


    The people of the Eighth Plane were quite indifferent to what was happening. They couldn''t communicate with those outside of their pillars, so other than casually observing those that were around them, they didn''t care to do much else. But when this was suddenly noticed, they all turned toward the pillar Ryu and Mae were on.


    Not only was there no Empana, but it didn''t even look like any of the Lizard Demon Race were present.pana was quite famous amongst the youths of the Eighth Plane. If one wanted to rise to a higher Plane, you couldn''t just be mediocre if you wanted a place. The kind of pressure you would face was unimaginable, and with so many geniuses around them, why would powerful Sects of the Eighth Plane care to recruit people from as low as the Fifth Plane? If anything, they might give the Seventh Plane a glance.


    This was all to say that Empana was quite well known amongst them, though, unsurprisingly, also quite looked down upon for his identity. When these few saw that he wasn''t even the first of his own Plane, they couldn''t help but be amused. The only one who remained silent among them was a young man who could only be described as a beautiful demon.


    He was tall, but not exaggeratedly so, standing at about three inches shorter than Ryu. He had incredibly pale skin, only accented by a group of radiant sapphire scales beneath his eyes and his just as radiant blue eyes. He was a picture perfect man, carrying a hint of exoticness that could make women swoon, almost like the vampires of legend with an edge of the robustness of dragons.


    It was hard to tell if he was silent because he found this sort of gossip to be beneath him, or if it was because he respected Empana more than these people, or maybe it was because his mind was simply wandering elsewhere.


    However, the answer was more obvious when he looked away from Ryu to take a look at the Ninth Plane''s geniuses. They were the only group which, even after all this time, didn''t care to pay attention to those around them. At the same time, it was impossible to see their forms, each one shrouded in fog.


    That said, they were also the Plane with the most competition. They didn''t have just one group, but seven of them, each one led by their own leaders and varying greatly in size. The beautiful demon knew that each one of these groups represented a legendary existence...


    "Senior brother Enydark! Are you okay?"


    The beautiful demon, or rather Enydark, finally snapped out of it, looking up. His face was drenched in sweat as his wild grin slowly faded. His indifference returned as though nothing at all had happened.


    "It''s nothing," he said lightly.


    His companions looked toward one another, clearly not believing his words, but there was nothing more that could be said about the matter since he had already spoken.


    Another pillar shook at that moment and the people of the Sixth Plane appeared. Not long after, those of the Fourth Plane appeared, then came the Third.


    Just when some thought that even the Second Plane would appear before Empana even had a chance, or maybe it was that he had already fallen, another flash appeared on the Fifth Plane.


    Empana, lanjor and several hundred others finally appeared, beaten and haggard. When the saw Ryu sitting down and meditating calmly, their expressions warped.


    lanjor wasn''t surprised at all, he already knew that this would happen. His expression only warped because he had been manipulated by Ryu again and it pissed him off. He really wanted to bend this brat over his knee, but then he remembered that he had already said that his father was the subordinate of Ryu''s family. Fighting Ryu was one thing, but disrespecting him would be like disrespecting his father.


    When he thought to that point, he almost blew his top.


    Empana, however, felt that he had never experienced such shame in his life.

 Chapter 1358 Flashing Platforms

    1358 Flashing Platforms


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice that others appeared. He was in a very crucial part of his thoughts and he didn''t feel like getting up to greet people.


    "This bastard!" Leah''s shrill cry echoed and she directly struck out with a palm.


    She was the only one among Empana''s friends remaining. Whether it was Satra or Kritcsz, they were all dead. Among Empana''s soldiers, only Jorlumin and a few elite troops remained. It could be uttered that Ryu had truly screwed them over.


    Seeing that her friends of a lifetime had fallen, but this Dao Pedestal Realm brat was completely unscathed, how could she not be completely infuriated?


    Unfortunately for her, almost the moment she attacked, her qi spun in reverse. Her arm exploded and a large portion of her chest was taken out. Her lips moved, as though she was trying to say her final words, but it was all useless.


    Leah collapsed, dead.


    Even after all of this, Ryu didn''t even open his eyes. He didn''t have much sympathy for fools, especially not fools who were as annoying as house flies. With a simple look around one could see barriers separating everyone. Why would this trial disallow fights between Planes, but sanctions fights within Planes? This was clearly a safe zone, but this foolish woman had attacked with intent to kill.


    The only unfortunate part was that it was she who had attacked and not Empana. If it had been him instead, that would have made things much more convenient.


    Ryu''s mind continued to deduce and think, quickly reaching the end of his thoughts. The timing was a bit off, but it was still fast enough. He believed that he had a solution. He turned to Mae, ready to break things down for her.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    As Ryu was silently explaining things, the Second Plane''s pillar trembled and a group appeared. Very soon after that, the First Plane''s did as well, but under the gaze of everyone, it actually began to lower until it disappeared from all of their sights.


    No one had appeared for the First Plane. Maybe they weren''t even aware of what was happening, or maybe they had all died before reaching this place.


    The challenges should have been adjusted based on the strength of the individuals in question, theoretically. But that didn''t mean it would definitely allow a winner through. The fact that no one of the First Plane had made it through wasn''t surprising at all. Even those of the Second and Third Plane that had managed to reach this point were in a completely sorry state. It was hard to imagine that they''d be able to make it through the next round at all.


    After the First Plane''s pillar vanished, the others began to rumble before moving forward in unison. Those that had rushed to Leah''s side could only leave her corpse be. There simply wasn''t any time to waste on someone who was already dead. They gave Ryu cold looks, but that was about all they could do.


    Ryu stood to his feet, taking Mae''s hand as he looked into the distance. Mae''s gaze flickered, a hidden golden flame dancing within her crimson irises.


    The pillars rumbled to a stop, lining up in a perfect straight line. They all faced the same direction, looking ahead to what looked like a vast nothingness before the barriers around them slowly faded.


    The world fell into darkness with only the faintest of lights illuminating the pillars. Then, a flashing rectangular platform of gold appeared before each one of the pillars...


    The issue was that there was only one of them.


    This one pillar flashed and disappeared, taking turns appearing before the pillars one by one before getting to the end of the line and returning to the first.


    Beyond this step there was a vast nothingness.


    Confusion settled in. Just what did this place want?

 Chapter 1359 No Hesitation

    1359 No Hesitation


    ''Is that so?'' Ryu''s gaze flickered. He looked as though he had already figured something out, but he didn''t move immediately.


    Those on his pillar were all subconsciously watching his actions. Even after what had happened, his actions previously hadn''t been forgotten by them. If anything, they were even more focused. They realized now that the only way to survive wasn''t just by listening to Ryu''s words, but they also had to follow his actions. That was the only way to guarantee that they wouldn''t be harmed.


    But this made things difficult for Ryu, because his speed wouldn''t be faster than theirs, and Little Silk''s speed wouldn''t be faster than Empana''s, that much was impossible.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. There was nothing that could be gained in this world, worth gaining, that wouldn''t cost him something in return. His aura changed and his Birthed Phenomena appeared to his back.


    Mae reacted without Ryu saying anything, her crimson eyes blazing to life with her Soul Flame. The Soul Flame spilling over, making it look as though two balls of fire were floating in front of her face.


    At that moment, a soul stirring moan came from Mae''s lips. She squeezed her legs together hard, pressing her body against Ryu''s as though she wouldn''t be satisfied until Ryu had vanished into his body.


    No one got the chance to react to this because Ryu had already vanished, his timing perfect. Just as the platform blinked into existence before him, his body appeared upon it.


    The once blinking platform solidified with Little Silk, Ryu and Mae on it. Mae, though, didn''t seem to notice despite the shock of everyone else. She had pressed her chest to Ryu''s, kissing at his neck without a care for those around them.


    Ryu smiled somewhat bitterly on the inside, but he didn''t stop Mae. If she didn''t vent her desires like this, she might really implode. As long as she didn''t suddenly start stripping herself naked, it would be fine. She was his wife anyway, others could only look but not touch.


    Of course, he didn''t blame Mae for saying this. This was probably the fiercest experience she had ever experienced. It could already be said that she was quite tame.


    She dotted kisses all along his jawline as he focused on the path ahead. As expected, the blinding violet rainbow road finally came to a stop a long distance away. The pillars in the back could barely be seen even with Ryu''s vision.


    Ryu wasn''t actually sure this time around if the others would be able to profit from this. For a moment, he forgot what was ahead of him and his eyes narrowed, looking toward what was happening in the far off distance.


    As expected, Empana and the others immediately tried to step on the road, but to Ryu''s surprise, after a single step, they slowed considerably as though they were fighting against a raging tide. Ryu could think of multiple reasons why that might be, but he didn''t care about the truth of the reason, all that mattered was that they were slowed considerably.


    He looked forward once more and he saw that the road ahead was flickering..


    One of two things could happen. He could accept the rewards as they were, that was the first. If he did this, then the other pillars would receive their chance immediately and have a shot at catching up.


    The second option was to continue walking forward. If he did this, the other pillars would gain a opportunity likewise, but the difference was that he would receive nothing in return for his efforts but a tough road forward. And it was very likely that with individuals of the Eighth and Ninth Plane here, they might have received a violet evaluation as well.


    Ryu''s stare turned cold. He looked down at the woman trying to melt her body into his and smiled. Like he had said, his wife didn''t deserve any less than number one.


    He took a step forward, looking as though he could collapse off the end of the bridge. But, instead, a black road appeared.


    What stood ahead of him was a long stretch of black, then white, and then gold. It was an unknown road ahead, but he took it without hesitation.

 Chapter 1360 Lust

    1360 Lust


    An overwhelming pressure descended upon Ryu. Mae paled instantly, almost knocking her out of her clearly horny state. However, when she found comfort and warmth in Ryu''s chest, she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, leaping up and wrapping her legs around him as well. She sunk her nose into his neck, breathing in his masculine scent.


    Ryu''s gaze remained sharp. This sort of pressure, it was very familiar... Wasn''t this the pressure of the Samsara Steps? It was like that... but far more profound. It seemed like less of an artificial pressure, and one that truly came from the turning wheels of Samsara instead.


    Ryu suddenly grinned. ''Is that so?''


    These arrogant steps, he had yet to come to settle his debt with it, and yet it had actually dared to appear before him again? He had planned on absolutely crushing it. Part of the reason he hadn''t gone all out in finding a method to heal his Dao Heart was, of course, because he his personal strength was useless right now and they were in constant danger, but more importantly than that, to Ryu at least, was the fact he wanted a perfect Dao Heart, one that would be infallible even in the face of those cheating steps.


    He could already feel an overwhelming pain. It was no wonder, his Dao Heart was shattered. However, he was completely unfazed by it. Mere pain was nothing. The question was if it would dare to stop his steps this time...


    And the answer was no.


    Ryu grinned wildly, taking a second step, and then a third. The pressure multiplied every time. Feelings of doubt and helplessness descended, it was a far more profound sort of pressure, the kind one couldn''t avoid by just forming a larger fist. However, it was also the kind of pressure that was the most useless before Ryu.


    How could the pain and despair of this road match up to what Ryu had been constantly experiencing since his Dao Heart shattered?


    The irony of it all was that this road was meant to push you to your breaking point, but Ryu had already passed his. He was already experiencing the worst case scenario of this road... So what could it do to him?


    Ryu moved forward so quickly that he didn''t even notice when the road beneath him turned white. By the time he looked up, coming to a grinding halt, the road beneath him was paved in shades of gold, the road ahead completely empty.


    Mae was drenched in sweat. If not for the formation that Ryu had deployed, she wouldn''t have been able to hang on until this moment. But even with the formation, the process was very hard on her. The further they went, the more her loins burned.


    "Ryu... Ryu..."


    A low growl left Ryu''s lips. His heart was practically shining with a radiant light, a similar light coming from Mae that connected one another. Their connection was so deep at the moment that he could feel the full brunt of her lust.


    His blood boiled and he forgot about everything else.


    He pressed Mae down to the ground, sealing her lips.


    The golden road seemed to explode with a blinding light that connected the Nine Planes. In the center of it all, a man entered a woman and her feverish cries echoed.

 Chapter 1361 Leg Quaking

    1361 Leg Quaking


    The two completely forgot about the world, immersed in one another as though everything else was irrelevant. What they didn''t seem to notice was that the reaction of the golden path had only become fiercer the moment the two connected, it was as though it was stimulated by their actions, its blessings rising to an entirely different level.


    Their bodies and tongues intertwined. Despite having her mouth occupied, the sounds that Mae made were no less soul stirring. It was as though her heart itself was crying out, the feverish blaze of his Soul Flame roaring out of control and enveloping the two of them.


    The husband and wife pair enjoyed the comfort of one another in a flame of gold, their silhouettes barely visible from the outside. But even the sign of their shadows moving wasn''t something that the others had a pleasure of seeing. They were simply too far away.


    The moment Ryu had forgotten about everything, taking Mae down, the pressure in the surroundings had multiplied several times over.


    His Birthed Phenomena, which had been present from the beginning in order to help Mae facilitate the formation, suddenly solidified completely, something he hadn''t been able to do ever since his Dao Heart shattered... and the result was devastating.


    A towering figure of Ryu appeared in the skies. Projected all across the Nether Realm, its aura infallible, untouchable. As the pulsing lights of the golden road increased, so too did its aura.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    Mae''s flames seemed to be supplemented by a mysterious energy. It rolled and roared.


    Within Ryu''s second dantian, his Beyond Perfect Extreme began to glow, the hidden death like energy vanishing piece by piece as it solidified. However, this only lasted for a moment before several more cracks began to form.


    This time, though, it wasn''t because his Dao Heart had shattered again. This time, it was because of the formation of a Cosmic Seed, a Cosmic Seed no weaker than one formed by the Infinity Mist.


    Her Cosmic Seeds'' roots connected to one another, weaving in a complex but organized pattern. They solidified, intertwining and pulling into one another.


    In the history of breakthroughs into the Sky God Realm, this was maybe the smoothest. She wasn''t even conscious of it, her Godhood forming a large and looming world in his World Sea as though it was crafted just for her.


    Her power soared, her features becoming more beautiful and dignified.


    But once again, she did not seem to notice at all, her Soul Flame roaring and her wings and arms wrapping around Ryu as tightly as she could muster.


    It was then that the blessing of the Birth Right descended. All this time, it seemed that it was nothing more than a precursor. In fact, the flames that had descended and had naturally flowed into Ryu''s Beyond Perfect Spiritual Foundation was none other than the mother flame of existence... the Origin Flame.


    The Origin Flame was the origin of all flames, the last sparks remaining from the beginning of all things... When it appeared in such large quantities, it could only mean that something proportional was appearing.


    This inheritance, though, had little to do with Ryu as this was not his Birth Right.


    That said... to be receiving such an Inheritance while so deeply immersed in dual cultivation...


    This could only be uttered to be the very first time.


    Mae''s forehead was hit by a focused beam of light and she gasped, her back arching as she experienced a leg quaking orgasm.

 Chapter 1362 Not Resolved

    1362 Not Resolved


    Mae''s Dream Asura Bloodline began to roar, echoing like the howls of Primordial Beasts.


    The Dream Asura Bloodline was one that originated from the Dream Wraith, but it had to be remembered that the Dream Wraiths were exactly that... wraiths. They didn''t have physical bodies, so how was it that they had descended to create descendants like the Dream Asuras?


    The truth of this matter wasn''t something that many knew. Maybe a Ruin Master who had studied this niche subject might come to know, but following the long, meandering path of family trees and evolution just to find out what was ultimately a worthless low level Clan. The Dream Asuras were simply not valuable enough for Ruin Masters with the skill to find this sort of stuff to pay enough attention.


    However, the Heavens didn''t need to do research, it didn''t even need to use much effort. It knew implicitly about all those under its power, and the moment it connected with Mae, it could see her entire family line and exactly how the Dream Asuras had come into being.


    The Dream Wraiths. The Horned Devils. The Fire Giants.


    Three Lineages, three Demon Kings, three Bloodlines that suppressed and ruled over the others.


    The unprecedented strength of the Asura''s body came from the Horned Devils. Their supreme flame control came from the Fire Giants. Their soul talent, darkness affinity and a portion of their wind affinity came from the Dream Wraiths.


    The most prominent and the foundation of it all was the Dream Wraiths, but the existence of the others were clearly strong supporting roles.


    This didn''t mean that all Dream Asuras had access to these Bloodlines. Even Ryu hadn''t picked up on it, and maybe one of the things he was best at was spotting sparse Bloodlines and helping to target them to grow stronger. It was something he had witnessed Ailsa do for all of his Beast Companions until she was sealed away with his eyes.


    From the Transcended Grade, it entered the Omniscient, then it shattered through that and didn''t come to a stop until it had entered the Chaos Grade.


    Her entire body was undergoing a rush of changes. Every single thing seemed to stack on top of one another, forming a flawless path ahead.


    Her body was powerful. Her soul was powerful. Her qi was powerful.


    She was absolutely perfect.


    And yet she didn''t seem to care about any of it at all, completely immersed in Ryu''s touch. The world could have come to an end and she might still not care enough to look up. She gave him everything she had, even down to the very last of her thoughts.


    And it seemed to have worked.


    Ryu''s own Bloodlines churned, but his own changes were much more subtle. The balance of his fused Bloodline tended toward perfection, settling in and reaching a state of utmost tranquility. However, this sort of the change was the kind Ryu had chased after the most.


    It was impossible to tell how much time had passed, and maybe these two simply didn''t care.


    Covered in sweat, laying atop of one another, their gaze met with a light and subtle sort of smile. Nothing else in the existence seemed to be important.


    To the world, however, this was a different case entirely.


    The tumult was enough even to notify the Dao Gods. It appeared that while Ryu had succeeded, he had done nothing to resolve the actual peril he was in.

 Chapter 1363 Raging Storm

    1363 Raging Storm


    Mae stirred awake, a comfortable feeling spreading all across her body. She had never experienced such a thing before. No... maybe, that wasn''t entirely true. She had felt something similar when she first tasted Ryu''s Embryonic Qi, but that was still only faintly comparable to what she was experiencing now.


    She felt a warm body pressed against her. She looked up and found Ryu lightly smiling at her, a slight emotion that filled her with even more warmth. The peace within her very soul radiated outward, warming her body, slowing her heart beat, and causing her to smile involuntarily.


    Suddenly, Mae sensed something and looked down at her hands. Her body jolted. The Sky God Realm? How was that possible? Why did she feel so powerful? It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, at least not from a Fragmented Sky God.


    As the princess of the Dream Asuras, just how many Fragmented Sky Gods had she seen? Even if she was only counting True Sky Gods, it was far too many for her to even care to place a number on it. It could be said that even if she was intimately familiar with exactly how to divide up their cultivation Realms, she was still quite familiar with the general range of their strength.


    Her strength however... was so far beyond it that she found it hard to fathom. For a moment, she thought that she had broken straight through to the True Sky God Realm instead, it was only after checking her World Sea that she knew that that was impossible. It was still acceptable if she had entered the Fragmented Sky God Realm without realizing, after all, she was just a step away. But it was unheard of to cross multiple Sky God Realms at once.


    It had to be understood that this was something only possible in Sacrum who weren''t quite working with the same Sky God Realms although they shared their names. Even the meaning of the Sky God Realms was entirely different between Sacrum and the True Martial World.


    What woman didn''t want her man to be able to give her the world? But for Mae it was more than that. Most women might only care about the intent behind it, so long as her man had the purpose to give her everything she could ever dream about, it was enough. But Mae felt that even if she truly asked Ryu for the world... he would hand her the access the next day.


    At that moment, any sort of disbelief that Mae might have had in Ryu vanished into the wind. She truly believed that he could accomplish anything so long as he wanted to.


    She couldn''t find the words to say, but her form moved on its own, deeply kissing Ryu. A romp session that had only just ended began again, and this time Mae''s passion was somehow even greater than it had been before.


    ...


    The raging storm within the Nether Realm had yet to come to an end. The faint image of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena continued to linger in the skies, unmoving.


    In a corner of the Fifth Plane, the Dream Asuras looked up with stunned expressions, not quite sure how to react. They had all witnessed that manifestation before, it had appeared back when that young man was concocting all of those pills. But why did it seem so much clearer than it did before?


    Rogryll''s expression became serious. He cared less about the image and more about what the implications might be. Just what did this mean? And what did it mean for his daughter?

 Chapter 1364 All Good Things End

    1364 All Good Things End


    Ryu chuckled. The couple had already put their clothes back on, but this girl was still clinging to him. It was as though even a breath of space was too much. Even so, the bright smile on his face made him happy. This was a sort of feeling that he would never get tired of.


    He could remember exactly when the last time he had felt so good was. He was still six years old, a few days from his seventh birthday. That day he felt like the world was in the palm of his small hands, as though nothing would be able to stop his steps.


    Back then, he already had aspirations of reaching the peak of the world, he couldn''t wait for his awakening so that he could finally start cultivation. He had already had his eyes on various records, wanting to break them all. He thought he could reach the Sky God Realm in one bound, he had never taken the ages of those so-called "geniuses" seriously.


    Of course, that sort of high flying feeling had vanished not long after, casting him into an abyssal hell. But all these years later, he felt that he had finally broken free.


    When his Dao Heart had shattered, he had already felt a great deal better. But that was just relatively speaking, it had to be remembered that that foul karmic energy was still being produced, dampening the true highest state that he could reach. But now that his Dao Heart was complete and newly reconstructed, he almost wanted to smile to the skies above, his heart as light as a feather.


    Ryu realized in that moment that the situation with his Dao Heart was even more complicated than he had initially thought.


    Originally, the failure of his Awakening had cast him into an abyss, but what exactly did it mean for his Dao Heart to be so close and yet so very far away from him?


    Ryu''s original theory was that his body had learned to compensate for the lack of his Dao Heart, and once he began to cultivate, he was stuck in a rut he couldn''t pull himself out of. Because his Dao Heart''s function was taken over by his other souls, it wasn''t perfect and the flexibility he might have had in the beginning was no longer there.


    This stuck Ryu in a certain mindset that he couldn''t extricate himself out of, only amplifying his victim complex even after he gained himself the strength, power and talent that he had so long wanted.


    But the good things could only last so long.


    The inheritance ceremony had long since come to an end, there was only so long that Ryu and Mae could remain here. It wasn''t long after this that they were teleported out, and as one might imagine, the situation was far from good, but it was also much odder than anything Ryu had expected as well.


    The first thing he saw was lanjor and Empana in a sorry state, most of the others completely dead with the exception of Jorlumin and one another.


    His first thought was that this was due to him, but then he recalled that they weren''t this injured after they caught up with him. His second thought was that this was connected to the bridge, but he felt that this didn''t make sense either, after all it attacked the psyche more than the physical body, and even the injuries to the body should be more internal than anything else, but it looked like they had been attacked from the outside.


    The third thought he had was that the higher Planes were taking out their rage on them. After all, in the past they might have been satisfied with reaching the violet road, or even the indigo and lower. But after seeing Ryu and Mae reach the golden road, how could they be satisfied?


    But this didn''t seem to be the case either because they weren''t encircled by them despite the fact these people were observing from a distance, seemingly waiting for something.


    Suddenly, Ryu smiled, he knew who it was.


    He looked at the inconspicuous figure by Jorlumin''s side.


    That should be the mistress of the Lizard Demon Race, it seemed that she really had appeared. Even though he acknowledged this, Ryu didn''t quite say anything just yet.


    And as expected, countless gazes landed on him and Mae all at once.Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1365 Love

    1365 Love


    Empana''s pupils constricted when he saw Ryu. The latter was like a completely different person, and yet just the same at the same time. His features were sharper, his skin clearer, his hair shinier and more luscious. But what was the most important was that his aura had completely changed. If it was like a bent and damaged blade previous due to his crippled status, it shone forth now like a shimmering and unbreakable force, a kind of aura he had rarely seen in Sky Gods, let alone a Dao Pedestal Realm expert.


    It was hard to pick up on exactly what Ryu''s cultivation was, even for him as a Sky God. His body seemed to both be in the Nine Life Revolutions Realm, and not. His energy level seemed to be both in the Cosmic Seed Realm, and not. His Mental Realm seemed to both have reached the status of a Sky God... and not.


    It made him several times more mysterious, and even though his overall aura couldn''t compare to him, it made Empana hesitant and cautious. Every time he thought he had a strong understanding of who Ryu was and how to deal with him, the situation would change and he would find himself in a bind that was impossible to deal with.


    But being so focused on Ryu, he almost missed Mae entirely. No, it wasn''t just because he was focused on Ryu, but because the latter seemed to have entirely given herself to Ryu. It wasn''t just in body, but in soul, in mind, of heart. By her husband''s side, no matter how powerful she was, she had willingly lost her color, aiding in supplementing his aura instead of exposing her own.


    It was a beautiful sort of balance, and it was incredibly rare. Empana had seen countless immortal couples, but as one might expect from the title, the women were prideful and had their own sense of self. They might love their partners and their husbands, but it wasn''t enough for them to give up their ambitions completely. This was why there were even sometimes cases of Dao Companions betraying one another. In a world this cruel, sometimes... love just wasn''t enough.


    Even so, Empana felt that in the current state Mae was in, the idea of betraying Ryu was so far from her psyche that she wouldn''t even consider it if her life was on the line. Even if it meant dying in his stead, she would do so with a bright smile on her face.


    The worst part was that Empana couldn''t see a reason to call her a fool, and that meant quite a bit coming from someone like him.


    Given his background, Empana never really put much stock in love. His father loved his mother, but how had that worked out? His mother had died with grievances, his father had married for the sake of appeasing Clan elders and upholding tradition, and his so-called step mother had ruined his chances at receiving the highest level blessings that he was at least capable of.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    Every time she thought she had an opportunity, she, who thought she was very good at scheming, would be crushed long before she even got the chance.


    Her gaze flashed. There would be no chance to evade this time, she no longer cared about being overly covert.


    "Jorlumin."


    "Yes!"


    Jorlumin moved to act, but just as he was about to burst into action, the others that had remained as onlookers until now suddenly burst forward as well, all of them surrounding Ryu and Mae.


    Jorlumin hesitated, but then remained by his Mistress'' side. Her safety was his top priority.


    There was something odd going on here. They should have all returned to their own Planes, leaving the Fifth Plane as the only ones with direct access to Ryu and Mae, but things hadn''t come up that way.


    The only explanation was that someone had interfered, and just as expected, the only group that hadn''t moved, those of the Ninth Plane, suddenly looked up into the skies.


    Auras more powerful than could be fathomed appeared one after another, each no more than a projection, and yet no less imposing.

 Chapter 1366 Who Are You?

    1366 Who Are You?


    The entire region was locked down. As expected, there was only one level of existence that could possibly interfere with the teleportation of such an important existence, and that was most definitely the Ninth Plane.


    To the shock of those present, seven figures appeared, the weakest of their auras being at the Dao Lord level. It was impossible for these younger cultivators to parse apart their cultivations exactly, but this much was obvious to them, there simply couldn''t be any other explanation.Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    There were seven groups from the Ninth Plane, and there were seven figures in the skies now, it was clear what was happening, it simply couldn''t have been more obvious.


    Instantly, without even taking another step forward, those that had moved to surround Ryu and Mae rushed away, not daring to get close. Even many of the Fifth Plane that had had some intention and technically had the greatest claim, separated themselves.


    One after another, the shadowy figures of the Ninth Plane began to remove their cloaks. Of course, this wasn''t for the others, it was rather because the figures in the sky hadn''t masked themselves. Out of respect for their seniors, how could they not do this?


    That was when the projections in the sky solidified.


    One rode on a steed as crimson as the skies above, wearing an armor of jet black billowing with dense black smoke from its joints and crevices.


    The second had a body so large that his head almost disappeared into the thick clouds above, thick clouds of fire surrounding his ankles, wrists and waist.


    The third was a beauty stunning beyond words. A rain of ice descended around her like glistening gems. From afar it looked as though small, sparkling diamonds were constantly falling around her as her white gown fluttered in the wind, revealing a stunning figure. This beauty was widely known as the number one of the Ninth Plane, a gorgeous, picturesque and perfect woman from head to toe. It truly looked as though she had just stepped out from a painting.


    However, he didn''t receive a response. Exo Demons? They had all died under Ryu''s schemes, how could they step forward now?


    Ryu found it quite amusing, was this how he looked to others sometimes? He might have already been enraged usually, but he still found it in himself to smile, even on the verge of laughter. He found it all ridiculous.


    It was obvious he and his wife who had gained the greatest. The Ninth Plane was definitely aware of this already. But instead of talking to him directly they wanted to put on airs and talk instead to a race of people he had wiped out despite being the Dao Pedestal Realm? How could it not be funny.


    Ryu''s amusement was quite a standout feature given the situation. The fact he wasn''t kneeling beneath the might of the Skeleton King''s aura was one thing, after all it wasn''t as though the Skeleton King was releasing an oppressive aura on purpose, if he had, let alone kneeling, these people would directly die. But this sort of smiling, laughing attitude... What was that?


    No matter how much the Skeleton King wanted to ignore Ryu now, he couldn''t. He looked down and he frowned, or he seemed to. It was hard to tell on a creature without the slightest hint of flesh.


    "Who are you?"


    "Me?" Ryu pointed at himself as though he was somewhat stunned. "I''m Ryu Tatsuya, nice to meet you. What''s your name?"


    The skies rumbled and the expressions of the Demon Kings sharpened.


    Before they could say anything, the skies split once again.


    At that moment, Ryu''s casual smile faded, his gaze meeting that of the man that stepped out from the skies.

 Chapter 1367 Good Luck

    1367 Good Luck


    The expressions of the seven figures in the sky were ones of shock. Although they didn''t fear anyone, they had still placed up a barrier in the skies. They had just not wanted to deal with any hassle, so they had directly blocked the entry of any other foreign powers, that way things would definitely go their way.


    Ultimately, they were still just projections, and things could get very annoying very quickly if any Dao Lords appeared in their physical form. But to their astonishment, the aura of this person had far surpassed the Dao Sovereign Realm.


    Even so, even with that being the case, it shouldn''t have been so easy to deal with their barrier. Although they had only sent their projections, it was their real bodies that had worked jointly to put up this sort of barrier.


    In the Sky God Realm, it wasn''t just leaping levels to do combat that was extremely difficult, but while in the lower Realms a true genius might be able to battle hundreds, even thousands at their cultivation realm, in the Sky God Realm one would be a genius if they could even fight two or three at their same cultivation level. Thus were the troubles of the Sky God Realm.


    For this man to be able to casually walk through a barrier formed by all seven of them at the same time, just what kind of existence was he exactly?


    When they observed that this man''s gaze was focused on the young boy below, their expressions became ugly, they even began making preparations to bring their true bodies here. In their opinions, this person was obviously here to snatch this treasure out from under their noses.


    However, they had no idea that the real situation was completely unlike what they had thought it to be.


    Ryu met the gaze of his great grandfather for the first time. Although they had never met before, there was simply no denying the dynamics of their blood. It only took the both of them one glance to understand who the other was, and in typical fashion, neither seemed prepared to speak immediately.


    Primus'' gaze moved away from Ryu, sweeping a gaze over the others. Those that had already been kneeling under the pressure that Skeleton King had levied felt as though their very souls had begun to burn. They didn''t know how Ryu had met such a gaze for such a long time when they were feeling like this when they didn''t even dare to look up.


    Primus descended from the skies without a word, landing half a meter from Ryu. He didn''t seem to notice that the auras of the projections in the sky had become sharper.


    "Fellow Sovereign, this isn''t very appropriate," The Skeleton King said coldly.


    Primus waved a hand and a hole was blown through the Skeleton King''s chest. The edges began to burn rapidly, the Skeleton King on the verge of turning to ash in the blink of an eye.


    "I am here to speak with my descendant, I advise you to shut your mouth. My temper isn''t very good."


    The pupils of the Sovereigns constricted into pinholes. The situation had changed once more, the weight of such words changed the situation entirely once more. Suddenly, the Ryu they felt was on the chopping block had such backing?


    Just what kind of family was this...? Tatsuya?


    They looked up into the skies. It had definitely rumbled when the name was spoken, where did they remember that name from? Or was it an illusion?


    It made sense for the skies to rumble if a family had a Dao Sovereign, but the trouble was that this place was the Nether World. The influence humans had here should have been limited.


    "This is my Inheritance, take it or don''t. This can be considered our Karma coming to an end."


    Ryu, who had been mostly silent all this while, couldn''t seem to hold back his sneer any longer.


    "Our Karma will come to an end when I kill you."


    Primus, though, only shook his head and chuckled. "In this world, the next, or any other, those that I have exceeded will never catch up to my steps. If you start even one step behind, you will remain there. Forever."


    "What a coincidence, I feel the same way."


    Primus tossed the inheritance forward, not caring if Ryu caught it or not. As he was about to turn away, his expression changed. This was something that didn''t happen to a man of his caliber, he couldn''t'' remember the last time anything had surprised him.


    Ryu''s hand snatched outward, but just when it seemed that he would catch the inheritance, a large amount of chains appeared, surroundings it and locking it into place. Only then did he catch it.


    He tossed the Inheritance up into the air and allowed it to land on his palm, unmoved and unbothered by the chains.


    "Karma is an interesting thing," Ryu said lightly. "To you, so long as you hand this to me, or have the intention to give it to me, your job is done. What I do with it afterward doesn''t matter, even if I destroy it or never look at it again.


    "But you''ve underestimated me, Primus. Karma may be beyond your control, forcing you to scour the lands just to find me. But to me, Karma is something I can casually manipulate with as I please.


    "Your inheritance? This junk in my hands? Is worthless before my eyes, as are your petty tricks."


    Ryu''s hand squeezed down, the chains shattering the Inheritance to pieces.


    "Good luck breaking into the Dao God Realm. I wish the ghosts of grandfather and the rest of the Tatsuya Clan torment you for the rest of your days."

 Chapter 1368 Other Ways

    1368 Other Ways


    Primus'' expression slowly returned to normal. Soon, it was as though nothing had happened. He gave Ryu another glance before turning toward lanjor and walking toward him.


    Ryu frowned. It couldn''t be that he planned to take out his frustration on lanjor, right? Although he hadn''t shown it, he felt a great amount of shock when lanjor seemed to imply that Primus had stolen his eyes. He had a lot of hatred from his so-called great grandfather, but he still didn''t believe that he would do such a thing, in fact he felt that he even somewhat comprehended the kind of person he was, which was why it was so surprising.


    But even so, he could see a possibility of the first happening. But this? This wasn''t just petty, it was pathetic.


    Primus'' hand reached out and lanjor couldn''t even move beneath his might. The latter''s forehead was sucked into Primus'' palm.


    "Interesting. Someone actually dares to touch my disciple like this."


    Hearing this, several had a change in expression, of which Empana and Ryu were probably the worst. Empana never thought that lanjor would actually be the disciple of a Dao Sovereign, while Ryu never thought that his great grandfather would actually care to take a disciple.


    But after seeing the state of lanjor''s eyes, Ryu seemed to understand something. If Primus took a disciple, there had to be a reason, and it likely wasn''t good. Now that he thought about it, Janjor''s talent was never this good, his odds of making it even to the Dao Pedestal Realm was fairly low, barely 50%, let alone the Sky God Realm and beyond.


    However, the lanjor he had met today was extremely talented, so much so that he could keep up with the likes of Empana even while holding back. There was something curious going on here.


    At the same time, Ryu came to understand something else. Primus likely wasn''t just here for him. A disciple was like a child, it could even be argued that lanjor''s relationship with Primus should be deeper than his own with Primus. The amount of Karma he needed to close with Ianjor should be at least equal, if not surpassing him by a great measure.


    lanjor struggled, but how could he do anything under Primus'' might?


    "I''m not your disciple, you bastard!"


    Ianjor was furious. In his opinion, Primus was far too shameless to call him a disciple.


    He remembered how excited he had been when he first became Primus'' disciple. He didn''t know who Primus was initially, all he knew was that he was an extremely powerful man far beyond his imagination. But very quickly, that dream became a nightmare.


    Primus pulled his hand back and looked at his palm, seemingly calculating something.


    At that moment, a flame sparked from his shoulder and leapt down, quickly forming a clone. This replica vanished into the void and the world fell into silence. Time seemed to tick by slowly, but in less than five minutes, the clone had appeared once more, this time, in its palm, the throat of a man with his hair singed and destroyed had appeared.


    If those of the Seventh Heaven had been here, they would have been completely shocked. This was the current Patriarch of the Raging Inferno Sect. And if Ryu had paid more attention, he would have known that this was the very same Sect that Jojo and her band of junior brothers was from.


    What was more important than all of that was that this man was a Dao Lord!


    lanjor''s countenance changed. How could he not recognize this man, this was the very same man who had taken his eyes!


    "Mm, it should be him. It seems that he didn''t dare to fuse with your eyes yet."


    Primus raised another palm and a box flew out from the Patriarch''s spatial ring and into his hands. He opened it and within was a pair of glistening red eyes that pulsed like polished gems.


    Primus picked them up and before Ianjor could react, he forced them into his scarred eyes.


    lanjor screamed out, grabbing his head, but Primus had already ignored him.. Indeed, he was finished with lanjor, he had already repaid their Karma.


    "S-senior, please spare my life!" The Patriarch began to beg, realizing that he had offended someone he couldn''t afford to offend.


    Primus didn''t even respond, his replica squeezing its palm and killing the man in a single move.


    A wild surge appeared, before it could take form, Primus waved another hand and it was concentrated into his palm.


    Primus looked up, not taking the energy in his hands seriously despite the fact it was the condensed essence of a Dao Lord.


    "Alright, there''s a simpler way to do all of this. For the next 10 years, no one can touch my great grandson."


    There was more than one way to complete Karma. This was less convenient, but 10 years was nothing to him.

 Chapter 1369 Rain Of Ashes

    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. He couldn''t say that he hadn''t expected something like this, but he was more so hoping that Primus would be more stubborn. In his opinion, this Ancestor of his seemed quite similar to him, but in this regard.... he was weak.


    Others saw it as necessary. Ryu saw it as a concession. To be so close the peak Realm in all of existence, and to still have such worries and insecurities, he wanted nothing to do with it. But just the same, he had no way to chase Primus away, the same way he couldn''t stop him from attacking lanjor.


    lanjor''s screams continued to echo. He bent forward, grabbing at his eyes as his body spilled over with flames. However, these screams quickly became a backdrop as Primus'' words echoed in the ears of everyone else.


    These Sovereigns had thought that they would only need to wait a moment before taking action. The relationship between Ryu and his great grandfather clearly wasn''t what they had expected it to be, and there was no need to take action if they didn''t need. However, the sudden change had caught them all of guard.


    Mae had been very quiet this entire time. She had thought about what it would be like to meet Ryu''s family, but she hadn''t expected things to go like this. She hadn''t even envisioned that Ryu would actually have such a potent great grandfather, this man alone could lay waste to her Dream Asura Clan ten times over and still not break a sweat. But she had thought that Ryu came from a small world? Had he lied to her?


    Mae shook her head. Ryu was a man who had casually told her his greatest talents without any sign of holding back, she didn''t think that he would hide or lie about this matter. There just happened to be a story she didn''t understand.


    It didn''t seem like this was the reason for Ryu''s everyday confidence either. His relationship with this great grandfather of his was strained, and with Ryu''s personality, he would never rely on this man.


    However, how would this matter go? She didn''t quite know. She could only squeeze on Ryu''s arm just a tiny bit more.


    Ryu gave Mae a glance and smiled lightly. He chose not to worry about this man anymore.


    At that moment, a pair of wings spread from his back, but they very clearly weren''t his own, but rather a high level God Treasure. They didn''t think much of it at first. After all, wasn''t it a bit too much of a joke for a Dao Pedestal Realm expert to escape them? Even worse than that, he wouldn''t even be able to leave their encirclement.


    He wanted his face back, and he didn''t want anyone to interfere.


    "All of you stay out of this!" he growled.


    The weaker individuals on the ground felt a strong fear grip their hearts. Even a single attack from a Dao Sovereign, even if they weren''t the target, could directly kill them. The gap was too large, especially if there was a clash between two of them.


    The Skeleton King charged for Primus, his rage causing the barrier to creak and quake. He sent out a fist, one that towered above the skies and changed and quake. He sent out a fist, one that towered above the skies and changed its color.


    "Annoying flies." Primus uttered coldly, flicking out a finger.


    A small spark of fire danced outward, hobbling through the skies like a fly caught in the wind. But without fail, it tracked the Skeleton King''s fist, landing on it perfectly and suddenly vanishing.


    There was only a moment of pause before the Skeleton King froze. Maybe if his face hadn''t been entirely made of bone, one could have clearly seen the look of horror on his face.


    But it was already too late.


    His body erupted into a ball of flames, his screams filling the skies.


    By the time he fell to the ground, he was nothing but a rain of ashes.

 Chapter 1370 Roaring Title

    The pupils of the remaining Sovereigns constricted, but they did nothing but observe. To them, this was just the death of a competitor, but it was also a reminder of how cruel the martial world could be. The Skeleton King had practically gone his entire life unobstructed, he probably never thought that he would die on this small Fifth Plane.


    Primus swept a gaze over everyone else and clasped his hand behind his back. Finally, his eyes landed on the Fire Giant who shuddered uncontrollably. In the far off distance, his body, which had already begun to run away, rushed away even faster, not hesitating to use several life saving measures in a row.


    He wasn''t a fool. This was a cruel man without any scruples, and he clearly took the fire element as his primary power. To a man who would even experiment on his own disciple, why wouldn''t he be even crueler to someone who had just been his enemy moments ago?


    The other Sovereigns felt a cold shiver run down their spine. Just who was this man?


    The Ice Queen''s pupils constricted. "The Human Dragon..."


    Her voice was freezing as ice, but as delicate as sparkling morning dew. She was truly a joy to listen to, but her words were anything but. When these words settled in, the skies split open. The clouds spun, forming a majestic crimson dragon. It opened its jaw, its sharp row of teeth glistening as it roared.


    This roar couldn''t even be considered to be a clap of thunder, it was far more pervading, far more devastating, so loud and imposing that the earth flipped and mountains collapsed beneath its might.


    They suddenly understood. This man never used his own name, that was because he never told anyone his name. He wasn''t a person who liked to explain himself, so when would he care to leave his name behind? Instead, others had named him the Human Dragon, but this wasn''t just because of the blood that ran through his veins...


    It was uttered that he had an never-ending greed, one akin to the Dragons of legend. He had built up vaults of endless treasures, but these treasures weren''t what one might expect. Rather than being overflowing natural resources, or an abundance of Qi Stones, it was rather ... people.


    He had such a belly full of fury but nowhere to expel it. His gaze landed on Ellaura and Jorlumin and he punched out without hesitation. Their gazes only had time to flash with fear before they were incinerated into ashes. lanjor had not once felt so frustrated in his life. Primus had suddenly appeared again and waved a hand to make all his problems go away, but rather than making him feel better, it only made him feel all the more infuriated.


    How much effort had he put into getting revenge? And yet that opportunity was snatched up right from under his nose, and by the man he hated the most in this world, no less. How could he be anything but frustrated?


    "FUCK!" He roared out again. "SHUT UP!"


    His head tilted up to the skies, trying to silence the roaring cloud dragon, but what good would that do? If anything, it roared louder, the backlash causing his blood to flow in reverse.


    He covered his ears, frustrated and agitated, but slowly, he began to regain his calm. His rage wasn''t helping him, unlike the Tatsuya Clan, he didn''t have his calm. His rage wasn''t helping him, unlike the Tatsuya Clan, he didn''t have the Rage Flame, and even if he did, it wouldn''t close the enormous gap between them. He could only swallow this insult and take note. He would have his revenge, he swore he would.


    Empana hesitated but in the end, he sighed and shook his head. It seemed that the friend he had known wasn''t real. He had lost yet another person.


    He looked up into the skies, feeling a bit empty.


    Ryu appeared out from the void, a frown on his face. He looked back to see the looming dragon in the air, although he could tell it was slowly fading away, it was so powerful that his ears almost bled from here.


    After checking that Mae was okay, he shot forward again.

 Chapter 1371 Descent

    The situation with the Dream Asuras was quite tense. Very few understood what was going on, and even the likes of Rogryll and his fellow faction leaders were a bit confused. They had rushed into the Plane prepared for war, but what really happened had left them speechless.


    The Lizard Demon Race had actually carved out a land for them, and they gained far more than they had originally hoped for when they first sent their negotiation partner forward. But it was exactly because of this that they felt that something was off. In fact, they had been on their guard this entire time, waiting for the other foot to drop.


    Rogryll had chosen to take advantage of this though, quickly forming fortifications and bringing in a large amount of material from their Dream Mountain. Although their enemies might be planning something odd, this still benefitted them somewhat.


    One of the difficulties of such an attack was that they''d have to always be on the offensive. Any layman general knew that it was far easier to defend than it was to attack, and that would constantly put them in a disadvantageous situation.


    Now that they were given some break and could build up fortifications, they had entered a situation where they would at least have a place to retreat to if things went south. In the end, they could only hope that their own fortifications were better than whatever plan the Lizard Demon Race and the others had. Luckily, given their success with Dream Mountain, if there was one thing they were good at, it was setting up large scale defensive formations.


    Of course, these formations were less great at defense, and much better at misdirection and confusing the mind. After all, they were Dream Asuras and the Dream Mountain got its namesake from elsewhere.


    Even so, Rogryll couldn''t help but feel suffocated, and even his wife, who had always respected his every word and action, had begun showing some signs of dissatisfaction. She had already avoided meeting her daughter so that she could put up a strong front with her husband, but in the end what had happened? Rather than forcing her daughter to retreat, their actions had actually pushed her further away.


    Mae was caught off guard for a moment, but her eyes reddened soon as well, hugging her mother tightly. In her heart, she thanked Ryu once again, but she felt that between them such words didn''t need to be said aloud. He could feel her emotions as clearly as day.


    Ryu stood to the side and didn''t say much. He had a light smile on his face as he looked up into the skies. Even though he had done this for Mae, that didn''t mean he had to forgive himself. His pride was still the same, it was just more fluid than it had been in the past, and that made the weight on his shoulders seem lighter than it ever had been.


    Rogryll''s face was just as unemotional as usual, stone faced and etched by a chisel. He stood with his arms crossed, allowing the mother-daughter pair to reunite as they pleased.


    Ryu suddenly frowned and he looked up into the skies. There was nothing there, and the cloud dragon had even faded already. However, Ryu continued to look. He knew that something was coming.


    Rogryll looked up many seconds later, suddenly realizing that Ryu had noticed before him. But then it happened.


    The skies divided and it was as though a rotating cyclone of dark violet energy had taken root. And then... she descended.


    Ryu had already seen the Ice Queen previously. She was truly one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. But compared to this woman, she could only be said to be wholly inferior. It wasn''t just a raw beauty, but an elegance and a demeanor that couldn''t be matched, a holy goddess unblemished by the world and indifferent to everything.


    The moment she appeared, her gaze descended, landing on Mae who was still in her mother''s embrace.

 Chapter 1372 Gospel

    The woman was dressed in the most simple of clothing, a white gown with no embroidery that stopped just above her ankles. Even at this angle from below, a mysterious power seemed to block one''s vision any higher, the force the likes of which even Ryu''s current eyes couldn''t see through.


    Her hair was a dashing purple color, but it was difficult to tell if the individual strands were physical or nothing more than a foggy mist, seemingly dancing between the two stands like a puff of cloud.


    Her eyes were a much lighter shade of violet, a gorgeous contrast that left one completely entranced, while her skin reminded Ryu a lot of his own, almost icy to the appearance, nearly transparent and glistening, a pale sort of whiteness that didn''t carry the usual deathly aura one might expect. And then there were feet, bare and spotless, dangling in the air like twogems. She was truly a perfect woman, but more importantly than that.


    ''Dao God.''


    Ryu was absolutely certain. He had never seen a Dao God in person before, and he had most definitely never been able to truly distinguish the overall strength of Sky Gods, but this time he was still truly certain. There could be no other way to describe this perfection than to say that she had reached the pinnacle of the cultivation world.


    But maybe even more importantly than that... ''She''s a Dream Wraith.''


    When Ryu thought to this point, his body relaxed and he watched on calmly as this perfect woman descended, landing by Mae and her mother. She moved so smoothly that it was hard to tell how she had moved at all, it didn''t even seem like she was flying, but rather that she was gliding through the air.


    Mae''s mother, Gathana, seemed to realize that something was wrong before her daughter did. After all, she was a strong expert in her own right and she could feel just how unfathomable this perfect woman before her was. She tried to pull her daughter back with her, but a mysterious force halted her actions, causing her to step back on her own, missing Mae''s hand.


    Mae was frozen and unable to move as well, and she could only watch as a slender finger that shimmered like a polished gem lifted her chin.


    "A Dao God wants to take you in as a disciple, why aren''t you accepting?" Ryu asked Mae with a smile.


    Mae was startled, her eyes widening. Obviously, she hadn''t known the status of this woman.


    "B... But, you uttered you would take me away." Mae said softly. It seemed that she still somewhat preferred to go with Ryu.


    Ryu''s smile brightened. "I did say that, but how could I bear to take you away from your parents now? I''m sure if you ask this perfect woman to take care of your family, she would without hesitation."


    Mae''s eyes illuminated as well, enthusiastically jumping into Ryu''s arms. It was as though her greatest worries had vanished.


    As a wife, if she had to choose, she had the duty to choose her husband. But how could she not want her family to get along? However, she hadn''t wanted to power Ryu either. This made her happier than anything else could.


    The woman was stunned once more. Why did it look more resemble Ryu was the one accepting a disciple and not her? Mae seemed to have completely forgotten about her? And when had she accepted? It was like Ryu''s word was gospel to this young woman.


    And "perfect woman"? Was that what he had just called her? It didn''t feel appropriate at all, but it also didn''t feel appropriate to become enraged because of it... What was happening here?


    At that moment, in the far off distance, a man carrying a Fire Giant resemble it was a plaything slowly closed the distance, appearing above the Dream Asura fortified city as well...

 Chapter 1373 Please

    Primus descended and landed on the city walls, looking down with indifference. While he could enter the void, taking the Fire Giant with him would be a waste of his effort. He didn''t have a Spatial Nature like Ryu did, so entering the void required his raw power, and the more powerful the object he was taking with him, the more effort it took.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t just toss a Dao Sovereign into a spatial ring, it would destroy the space within. While he was a treasure hoarder, that only came to interesting talents and cultivators that caught his attention, in terms of actual wealth, he could be said to be a bit of a pauper, and any wealth he did have was directly invested into his strength.


    As such, he didn''t have a strong enough or high quality enough spatial ring to withstand the power of the corpse in his hands, so he could only carry it and appear out in the open like this... Not that he cared very much. Someone like him who hated to explain himself had long since grown numb to the gazes of others. He simply didn''t care.


    After he landed, he swept a gaze toward the situation below and then directly ignored everyone, laying the Fire Giant''s body down and taking out a great number of tools. He began thinking to himself that he might have to invest a bit in this matter before he lost himself in his own world.


    Ryu sent a glance toward Primus and directly ignored him as well. But just because he could ignore him, didn''t mean that others could. Even the perfect woman''s brows furrowed, not quite understanding what was happening. What she did understand, though, was that the corpse in Primus'' hands was one of the strongest experts of the Fire Giants and probably the Sovereign with the highest chance to enter the Dao God Realm in the future. But now he was just being dissected in front of so many eyes?


    Suddenly, the matter became several times more complicated.


    If she took Mae''s family in, and news about this was found out, how would the Fire Giants react, exactly? She knew that if it was her descendant that had not only been killed, but had their corpse disrespected like this, who knew how much fury she would react with?


    Experts weren''t known for their fairness. It would be easy for the Dream Asuras to be implicated. On top of that, it wasn''t entirely certain that they didn''t deserve to be implicated. After all, why would an specialist capable of killing such a powerhouse, especially while being unscathed, appear here of all places and begin dissecting a corpse in such an inconvenient location?


    There was a very simple answer to that, and it was of course because of Ryu. Primus didn''t want to waste the energy it would take to monitor Ryu from afar, it was far easier if he was in the vicinity, that way he could focus on his task and his natural, unconscious alertness would make him aware of any danger.


    This was something that Ryu took advantage of, his bright smile lighting up the skies above.


    "My name is Ryu Tatsuya, remember it well." Ryu and his Birthed Phenomena punched out in unison, an enormous blackhole of swirling spatial qi forming and ripping a tunnel from the True Nether World and the True Martial World.


    Ryu''s laughter echoed through the skies as the True Nether World was set ablaze. They had already speculated it before, but it was truly a human that had appeared in their skies. A human had received their Birth Right?! This was unacceptable!


    The ridiculing laughter filled the skies.


    Primus slowly stood to his feet, his stare flickering before it returned to calm. "Decent." He said lightly.


    With a step, he took the Fire Giant and vanished into the swirling portal after Ryu.


    A mixed expression took hold of both Rogryll and the perfect woman, while Mae''s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She suddenly realized that she would truly favor to follow Ryu than to be taken in as a Dao God''s disciple. But now, there was no other choice.


    She bowed deeply toward the perfect woman. "Please take me as your disciple, senior."


    The perfect woman startled awake before nodding lightly.

 Chapter 1374 Worthy

    Entering the Dao God Realm didn''t necessarily mean you had a Founding Dao. In fact, the majority had Ancient Daos. The Dao Gods with Founding Daos were on a level all to their own, and the perfect woman had truly not expected that this disciple of hers would have such a husband.


    Although she hadn''t uttered anything, that didn''t mean that she hadn''t originally been a slightly bit unsatisfied. It was only after deciding that the pros of taking Mae on were better than the cons did she choose to take her on as a disciple anyway.


    Women were disadvantaged in the cultivation world. Often, giving away their Primordial Yin weakened them, especially if they were cultivating certain techniques. For Dream Asuras that were heavily reliant on the soul, giving away a Primordial Yin was akin to giving away a piece of their talent, and that was often difficult to overcome.


    The perfect woman herself was unmarried. She would have cared less to little at all if Mae was just not a virgin, but allowing a man to take her Primordial Yin was a bridge too far... unless that man was truly excellent.


    In such cases, giving away a Primordial Yin wouldn''t be a poor choice, it might even be better than giving it away. She didn''t know exactly what talents that young man had as he seemed capable of shrouding it even from herself a small portion, but she knew that his soul talent was exceptional, and it wasn''t'' just due to taking on Mae''s Primordial Yin.


    The fact that he had a Founding Dao, although it was still in its immature stages, was huge as well. In fact, she felt that it was quite regretful that she and Ryu weren''t compatible, or else she might want to take both husband and wife in as disciples. Of course, she didn''t know that Ryu would like reject such a proposition.


    She also felt quite satisfied with Ryu''s actions. A man should take on the burdens for his wife.


    She didn''t know what kind of relationship Ryu and Primus had, and it seemed more complicated than she knew, but it was enough to know that the latter was related to the former.


    The Dream Asuras were in shocked disbelief, they hadn''t expected such a blessing to come. Just moments ago, they were blaming Mae for their woes, and then everything changed.


    The process was extremely effortless and Corindra actually remained, staying behind to guide Mae and oversee the process. In the end, she could have sent someone else, but it seemed she took the task of taking on her first disciple very seriously.


    Days later, Mae''s mother and father came to Corindra respectfully. They brought forward two rings, one of which held the Samsara Wheel, and the other of which held the Samsara Steps.


    "Many years ago, our Ancestors took this with us from the Dream Wraith Clan, I thought that since we were returning, we should also give these back," Rogryll spoke, head lowered.


    Corindra''s brows raised and she waved a hand, allowing the spatial rings to float into her hand. She examined them with great interest. In truth, these were just fringe projects, but lower level Planes cared a great deal about them. The Dream Wraith Clan had better versions.


    "These Samsara Steps have been poorly repaired, and even seem to have been damaged again recently."


    The husband-wife pair looked toward one another, feeling a bit helpless. However, before they could explain how the Samsara Steps had been damaged during the journey to the True Martial World and had to be repaired by one of their Ancestors, Corindra waved a hand and the steps appeared, soon afterward, a scene began to replay and her brows became tighter and tighter.


    "These are no longer the true Samsara Steps, it has been repaired into a far cruder product. It artificially targets your memories and their subsections rather than truly testing the Dao Heart. This boy had Phoenix blood and has experienced rebirth, but these Steps foolishly took this into account in the worst possible way.


    "Take this back, this is a faulty product, it''s gone on much too long to fix. I will receive the Samsara Wheel and adapt it before returning it to your family, the Dream Wraiths have no need for these treasures, use them to become more worthy of your daughter."

 Chapter 1375 Blood

    Mae''s mother and father were thrown off. Let alone them, even Mae was super surprised. Ryu hadn''t told her what really happened either, but hearing it explained let them not quite knowing what to say. Mae, who was certain that something went wrong, was still relatively fine. But her parents, especially her father who had made a big fuss over the matter. felt somewhat embarrassed..


    In the end, they could only respectfully bow their heads and leave respectfully, a complicated light flickering in their eyes.


    They truly didn''t know if this kind of man was a blessing or a curse for their daughter. He was truly powerful and talented, but he was also head strong and had a sense of indifference to the world and all the things that it brought that could be extremely dangerous.


    To face off against an entire Clan''s hostility all because you couldn''t bother to explain or defend yourself... did he feel it was beneath him? Did he feel that they weren''t worthy of his effort? Maybe it was that they were so insignificant to him that their opinions were worthless in his eyes?


    The more they thought about it, the more uncomfortable they felt. Even in the end, he just up and left, taking all the pressure on his shoulders without even explaining his intentions to them. In fact, he had helped out the Dream Asura Clan a great deal, and he didn''t even do it for them, he had done it all because of their daughter. He didn''t even care what collateral benefits he gained out of it in the end.


    Rogryll looked into the skies. He had to continue improving, or else soon enough he would only be able to look at the back view of his own son-in-law. At that point, he might really have to apologize. He couldn''t have that.


    Mae''s mother could seem to hear the thoughts of her husband. In the end.she could only roll her eyes.


    ...Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    Ryu appeared high in the skies of the Fifth Heaven, his calm having long since returned and his Birthed Phenomena having vanished. He brought out one of his great swordstaffs as he fell from the skies and stepped onto it. His Sword God Aura surged as he shot into the distance..


    When he reached the location of the Radiant Star Sect, he could only shake his head.


    Not long after he left, Primus stepped out of the void, leisurely strolling forward, a Fire Giant still in his hands being swung around as though it was some sort of rag doll.


    Ryu appeared in the central region of the Sixth Heaven and the commotion wasn''t small. He frowned because the situation was much more volatile than he had thought, so much so that no one seemed to notice him in the skies at all, and he also couldn''t spot the Radiant Star Sect immediately.


    There were several large camps in the center region, many of these so-called "encampments" dwarfing even Third Heaven official Sects and Clans. These encampments all seemed to be from the Seventh Heaven and they had come down here as though this was their home.


    Ryu didn''t really care much, after all, this wasn''t his home either. He had been in the True Martial World for a long while, but he still saw Sacrum as his one and only home. In all likelihood, when he reached the pinnacle of this world, that was where he would return to.


    In this sort of situation, it wasn''t surprising that many conflicts had occurred.


    Tension were clearly rising.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s pupils constricted, his good mood vanishing into thin air. The scent of blood wasn''t something that could move his position one way or another, he simply didn''t give a damn about how many people died.


    But these people sure had a lot of nerve.


    In the distance, surrounded by countless people, Isemeine was strapped to a pillar by chains, her body covered in whiplashes, lacerated flesh and dried blood.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1376 Cumrag

    "Tell us where your partner is, and maybe we can give you a quick death, a youth sneered.


    Isemeine remained silent. Of course, these people didn''t seem to know that her and Eska were the very same people, but she had obviously done this for one purpose. The less they knew about her, the better. It was only a small mistake that allowed people to know that her other identity even existed.


    Her and Eska sharing the same body was a true cheat code. It was better than any disguise technique in existence as they were truly two separate people, it couldn''t be seen through even by a high level Sky God. And the only ones with a chance were those that specialized in the soul and could see through some of the quirks.


    It could be said that Sacrum had some point on the Real Martial Universe as well, since even the True Martial World didn''t have such a method as it was a created method by the Zu Clan.


    Originally, rumors had spread that Isemeine had been possessed by Eska, but after they were seen, the "experts" felt that this was impossible, that was how they had become to separate people all of a sudden.


    "Still stubborn?" The youth raised a whip, ready to lash out again.


    The lash went right across Isemeine''s chest. It was just unfortunate for the lascivious few in the crowd that the wounds were far too severe to enjoy any sight that might have come from it. It was even more unfortunate that she had been caught like this.


    "Tsk," the adolescent clicked his tongue, "how boring. There''s nothing to see. Someone come clean her up and feed her a few healing pills, dress her up nice and proper, we''ll start again once she''s more presentable.


    Isemeine, who hadn''t moved all the while, looked up with a frighteningly cold expression. Her white gold eyes seemed to spit fire. She had a fiery personality to begin with, but she had managed to control it all the while.


    Clearly, this was beyond her ability to withstand.


    The youth''s eyes narrowed, but he didn''t take a step back. For him to be here, there was no doubt that he was a genius of the Seventh Heaven. While he was yet to be a Sky God, this sort of stare wasn''t enough to throw him off completely. Even so, he felt a frightening shiver creep up his spine. It was clear that he had forgotten that Isemeine was, in fact, a Sky God. If she could have been captured easily, she wouldn''t have been in such a state to begin with. No one would casually take her out of her chains just to appease his lust.


    Isemeine came to her senses and suddenly roared out. "STOP!"


    But very soon, she saw that her worry wasn''t warranted. Ryu had stopped at the perfect location, his hand stretching forward and touching a barrier.


    "Interesting enough," Ryu uttered lightly before his hand tapped the barrier and it seemed to vanish.


    He stepped forward as though nothing had happened at all and he appeared in front of Isemeine.


    "What were you saying?" Ryu asked inquisitively.


    Isemeine was speechless before she rolled her eyes.


    "Still just as insufferable, unbelievable. Do you even understand what you''ve done?"


    Ryu shrugged with a grin. "Enraged some insignificant figures"


    Isemeine was rendered speechless again. What was wrong with this man, and why was it that he could never do anything normally. But at the same time, she didn''t know what to say because she had truly never expected him to come for her.


    In her mind, she was barely better than a cumrag to Ryu. Maybe if it wasn''t for Eska''s influence and her strict upholding of tradition, she might have already tried to move on and forget this man. Unfortunately, she knew if she even had a thought to bed another man, Eska would appear and likely fight her to the death.


    And yet now, the man she felt like she should hate had actually appeared here.

 Chapter 1377 Gouge

    "Stop being stupid!" Isemeine finally said after she recovered her bearings. "1 have my own plans, do you think pile of trash would actually be able to capture me if I didn''t want it to be the case?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, looking Isemeine head to toe.


    "Even if that was true, no." Ryu replied simply.


    Isemeine''s heart skipped a beat. "Why?"


    She thought she would hear something sweet about not wanting his women to suffer, or maybe some tsundere-like words that still carried an obvious hint of affection in them. But what she actually got left her speechless.


    "A concubine of mine being hung up and whipped publicly like this, isn''t that too humiliating for me? What would I do if other men saw your body? Who would pay me back for my losses?" Isemeine was speechless before her face turned red then black.


    "RYU TATSUYA! YOU BASTARD! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE, I SWEAR I''LL BEAT YOU BLACK AND BLUE!"


    The others watching, stunned by the current circumstances, didn''t even know what to say. They had been trying so hard to piss this woman off, even saying the vilest of things, but the most they got was a glare and a few insults that ended up pissing themselves off even more than what they had gotten from her. And yet this man had just said one line that completely set her off.


    Also... concubine? Wasn''t this man aware of the rules? How dare he say something like that out loud?!


    Isemeine was a beautiful woman. After reaching the Sky God Realm and awakening to her Martial God Bloodline all the more so than she had even in the past, the result was quite a bit more shocking. Plus, her streamlined, powerful and somewhat muscular body was a novel sort of unusualness that made these geniuses, who felt that they had already tasted all the kinds of women under the sun, feel a sort of hotness that they couldn''t quite put their fingers on.


    But Isemeine... was too powerful for such a thing to happen. It took the experts of the Seventh Heaven descending to capture her, but Ryu, he...


    "Him?" Jojo frowned. Wasn''t this Selheira''s boy toy?


    Suddenly, a wild grin spread across her face as a feeling of subterfuge spread through her. Wasn''t this amusing? The boy Selheira liked was flirting with other women in public, and a runaway of the True Martial World, at that? What could be more amusing than this.


    "Senior sister?" The other members of the Raging Inferno Sect raised their brows. It was rare to see such an expression on their Senior Sisters face, it didn''t match her personality at all.


    "What so funny, Jojo?"


    A handsome man with azure hair and eyes, and shoulders broad and wide, looked over from the group of Azure Lightning Sect members. He had an amiable look in his eyes, but there was also a clear light of passion. This sort of fiery, unruly and untameable woman was the kind he liked the most.


    "Don''t make my gouge your eyes out, Litaor"


    Litaor raised his head up and laughed. "You can indeed do that if you want, 1 am not a match for you, but wouldn''t that be a bit too unfair? Sister Jojo''s beautiful body is always hidden beneath that dense armor, is it still a crime to observe your valiance?"


    Jojo snorted. ''Glib tongued bastard.''


    Still, he had a point. It would be too much to gouge out the eyes of the head disciple of such a Sect just because he took a glance at her face. "Haha! Litaor, if you tease Jojo any more, you''ll be emasculated by the next morning sun."

 Chapter 1378 Immortal Deities

    Another robust and proud man stood forward. His hair was a bright shade of white, so bright that he looked like a sun himself. This was the head disciple of the Stalwart Sun Sect, Reykian. He was the final disciple to appear, the Fading Star Sect members nowhere to be seen.


    In truth, the gathering of these three was quite a sight to behold, and an extremely rare one at that. That was because these were three of the four members the most radiant in the Seventh Heaven despite their youth. They were known as the Immortal Deities. Though... behind their backs, especially behind the backs of two of them in particular, they were known as the Immortal Couples.


    Why was that? That was because the fourth, and the only member not currently present, was none other than Selheira.


    But many took this to be a joke. Reykian, who had always pursued Selheira, was widely known as not being a match for her despite the fact the two had never fought, and that was because Litaor, who had always pursued Jojo, couldn''t last even three moves against her. And yet, Selheira and Jojo''s battles were widely known and praised.


    Reykian and Litaor''s battles were also widely praised and they were well established as equal to one another, and yet the latter couldn''t last three moves against Jojo, who Selheira could fight for days and nights on end. It was clear who was superior.


    Normally, when two women were so much more superior than their so- called male counterparts, they would never be matched together. It would elicit a rain of toads eating swan meat comments. The problem here, though, was that Reykian and Litaor, though not yet Sky Gods, were widely accepted as the two best bachelors of the Seventh Heaven.


    Though there were many men more powerful than them, in the years of the Seventh Heaven, it had been a very long time since existences as talented as them had appeared. It was just a shame that "their women" were even more monstrous than that, practically dinosaurs in such excellent, elegant figures. One might be wondering, then... where was Starlight in this equation?


    He, himself, was also exceptionally talented, it was just that he was too young. As such, he was a bit off from being compared to these four... at least in the past. But once more time passed, and the gap of their cultivations closed, there would likely be a fifth Immortal Deity of the Seventh Heaven.


    It was just unfortunate that this Immortal Deity had been vanquished before his legend could even take form.


    "Oh, that''s what it is," Ryu uttered lightly, ignoring Isemeine''s ravings.


    He reached out a finger and a dense grey fog took shape and wrapped around an end of the chains.


    CRACK!


    The atmosphere froze and they all turned over at once.


    The yelling and screaming Isemeine fell into Ryu''s arms weakly, but she continued to curse.


    "-you damned, limp dicked bastard! Just you wait, just you wait!"


    Unfortunately, it was hard for her to continue to be red faced and enraged when she was suddenly being cradled like a baby. She somehow felt both humiliated and calm at the same time, it was a truly frustrating combination of emotions.


    "Hush," Ryu uttered lightly. He took out a robe and covered Isemeine. Then he put a finger in her mouth and sent a drop of Embryonic Qi into her body.


    Isemeine''s eyes widened. Setting aside the fact she felt like a baby sucking on a pacifier, her body, which had been beaten and worn, suddenly recovered in a flash.


    All of a sudden, all of her strength and elegance came back.

 Chapter 1379 How?

    "Limp dick, huh? Why did I just hear you saying it was enormous, though?" Ryu looked toward Isemeine earnestly as though he was definitely asking this question in the utmost seriousness.


    Isemeine, who had been in a daze, snorted. How could she not be shocked? Why did a Dao Pedestal Realm expert have the ability to heal a Sky God like her? Especially a Sky God with such a powerful body on top of that. The trade off from having a body that was so hard to injure also meant that once it was injured, it was harder to heal than others. But Ryu hadn''t even used a treasure, he seemed to use his own qi as though it was as simple as breathing. This was especially so for Isemeine who was of the Heavenly Dew Branch and had a ridiculous healing factor.


    What was even more shocking than that was that she not only felt that she was fully healed, but even that her talent had increased a little bit. It was all too ridiculous.


    "What does its size have to do with it being limp? Put me down, you bastard."


    Ryu chuckled. "Your strength has returned already, if you wanted to go down wouldn''t you do it yourself?"


    Isemeine snorted again and looked away. "It''s clearly a test. That annoying bitch refused to allow me to have other men, so I''m stuck with you. If you can''t even let me rest my legs like this, what worth do you have?"


    Though she said this, Ryu never really had any intention of letting her go either. While Isemeine thought she was staying in his arms so that she could protect him from sudden attacks, Ryu was thinking the exact opposite.


    Suddenly, a clicking sound caught Ryu''s attention and he turned to find Jojo standing almost nose to nose with him. Of course, he had seen this young lady coming, what he hadn''t expected was for her to land so close. She really didn''t have a single lady-like fiber within her. In that way, though, she was probably a lot like Isemeine, albeit a bit more eccentric with this kind of choice in clothing... or rather armor.


    "What are you doing, exactly?" Jojo asked, curiously looking Ryu up and down.


    "Who''s this?" Isemeine asked. "You really can''t control your dick, how long have you even been here? Now you''ve got girls chasing after while you''re clearly a fugitive now? My future is in shambles."


    Jojo''s expression changed, what the hell was this woman talking about? She wasn''t...


    "Oh? Jealousy, is it? I didn''t know you had it in you. You two are quite similar, you''d be excellent harem partners."


    Jojo''s expression darkened. "Watch your-"


    "You''re comparing me, a Sky God, to a little girl? Unbelievable."


    At this point, Isemeine was certain that Ryu was just saying whatever he felt would piss her off the most, and it was unfortunately working. But she also felt something else, this Ryu was a lot different than the Ryu she remembered. She had been just as chippy in the past, but it had never deteriorated into this sort of back and forth because Ryu was too cold to allow it.


    At first, she had thought that Ryu only let her run her mouth so much because she was a Sky God now and he could no longer suppress her, and he might never be able to anymore especially considering her gains and improvements. But this was a man who didn''t know how to write the word fear, here he was, cradling her, when he knew very well there were dozens of Sky Gods of the Seventh Heaven ready to pounce.


    Even if he could deal with these juniors, something that wasn''t certain in her estimations, what would he do about the others?


    "Stop!"


    "How dare you!?"


    Litaor was infuriated, as were many other members of the Azure Lightning Sect. One of their own had died just like that, how could they allow it to slide? Unfortunately for them, Ryu didn''t seem to notice their rage at all.


    Who could keep up with someone with a Spacetime Soul Nature? Especially when space and time were being used in tandem with such ease? Ryu appeared before the second person. This was an individual of the Stalwart Sun Sect, so it wasn''t a surprise that the second voice to call out had actually been Reykian. But what did his rage have to do with Ryu?


    Yet another head was twisted to nothingness. Ryu only seemed to appear before them for a moment and they were dead. It was an attack that they didn''t know how to defend against, the violent blackhole seemed to form within their bodies. By the time they found the location, it had already done too much damage and death was the only path remaining for them.


    The worst part was that it targeted their souls as well, shredding their birthed souls to pieces and not giving them the slightest chance at survival.


    "Again."Ryu said lightly.


    This time, Isemeine didn''t point and simply gave Ryu a direction with her mind. She seemed to realize that the only way to lock Ryu down would be her fingers, so she kept them all guessing.


    Before anyone could do anything, a third had died. As expected, they had been waiting for Isemeine to point again, but it never came. They could only watch as a third died, completely unable to stop it.


    It was right then, when Ryu was about to move on to a fourth, that the Sky Gods could no longer remain still. Isemeine''s became taut as though she was ready to battle at any time, but she couldn''t stop a intense aura from descending.


    A powerful barrier was formed and space was locked down, restricting Ryu''s Spacetime Soul Nature forcefully.


    Ryu chuckled. "Amusing"


    A pair of wings emerged on his back and his vanished again. This time, a scythe of wind and space formed, slicing the head from its neck and then shredding it to pieces as it flew through the air.


    The fourth corpse collapsed.


    The tumult grew.


    Finally, the Radiant Star Sect and the Faded Star Sect emerged one after another. However, it seemed that the former had a large problem on their Even the likes of Aika couldn''t flip a palm to change the feelings of the Nine Martial Powers toward the Taboo Powers....


    How would they deal with this?

 Chapter 1380 Too Annoying

    Ryu''s body felt light and powerful. As though this was the first time he had killed in a long while, it felt like an injection of adrenaline was pulsing through him. It seemed that his much lighter personality hadn''t come with a weaker murderous aura.


    "Hm? That''s all? Unfortunate."


    Hearing this, Isemeine rolled her eyes. This man was so unreliable. Here she thought he was doing this because he was enraged on her behalf, but now it sounded like he just wanted an excuse to kill. What did he treat human lives as, exactly?


    "If your hands are feeling so itchy, I can name quite a few Sky Gods too."


    "You say that like I wouldn''t dare to do anything," Ryu sneered.


    "What could you do?" Isemeine responded, voice laced with disdain.


    "Give me 10 years and I''ll show you."


    "Oh my, I can already feel myself getting wet. Just 10 years? What a manly man," she couldn''t have said these words with more sarcasm if she tried.


    The more Ryu and Isemeine bantered, the more stifling the atmosphere seemed to become, but the two of them didn''t seem to notice at all, they were entirely focused on their own sexual tension, it seemed. It was absolutely ridiculous, didn''t they know how much danger they were in?


    Aika appeared with a frown. With her status, she shouldn''t have come to such a thing, but when she realized that it was Ryu, how could she not? But this matter was definitely troublesome, even she couldn''t be as unruly as she usually was in this situation.


    Asce, of course, wasn''t very far behind if Aika had appeared. He was pleasantly surprised by this sort of outcome. Ryu was a great annoyance to him despite what he had said to Starlight, he knew quite well how amazing it was to have a Founding Dao, even if it was immature. But now, he had all the reason in the world, and Aika couldn''t protect him.


    Without a word, Asce raised a hand. Aika flinched, hesitating, however Asce didn''t seem to notice as he struck down with the full force of his palm. He didn''t seem to have any intention of giving Ryu a chance to escape. He would feel much better when this sort of scourge was dead.


    BOOM!


    Asce frowned. His palm had just descended, but he found Aika standing before him, her fair and small palm extended forward, forming a barrier just a mere three inches from his own. It seemed that even now, Aika didn''t have any desire to touch Asce.


    Asce, though, quickly calmed down. "What is the meaning of this, Aika? Are you ignoring the mandate of the Ninth Heaven?"


    Aika, who wasn''t very good with words, didn''t know what to say immediately. She used her fists most often because she didn''t like to think. Anything else was a waste of time to her. But it was in situations like this that her weakness was the greatest. She had acted without thinking, knowing that the situation was bad.


    Her Radiant Star Sect had barely managed to reach this point. She knew how much of a bad situation they were in. Though they had her, the talents under them were lacking. The only ones she had belief in were Selheir and Ryu, and she quite liked them both.


    A Sect, even if it had powerful existences, needed fresh blood. It was the best way to gather Fate, and that was needed if they wanted to make sure the Sect didn''t crumble again. Saving Ryu seemed to be a must, but she couldn''t think of a proper reason outside of this. She couldn''t very well say that she wanted to protect one of her Sect''s disciples, right? Because then that would implicate the entire Sect.


    She knew that her family was from this place, and that they were powerful, but she didn''t quite understand what kind of status they had,


    That said, even if she had known, she probably still wouldn''t have said anything. For one, she was just a peripheral member of their collateral branches. And second, and most importantly, she had no method of proving it.


    This second part was the most important. Most wouldn''t believe because it was too ridiculous, what was a Martial God''s descendant doing here? And even if they did believe, more likely than not they would just try to kill her in secret to avoid any possible complications.


    All in all, it was entirely useless to try and use this identity.


    "This fool is going to get me killed," Isemeine wanted to shed tears, but she found the situation far too amusing and ridiculous to squeeze any out. To think that things would end up like this.


    Many frowned when they heard Ryu''s words, but they hesitated again when they saw the state of Isemeine. If she had such a great background, why hadn''t she uttered anything? That only meant one of two things, maybe even both. Either she was worthless to this power, or she couldn''t prove it. Either way, they had ability to deny so long as they pretended it was all ridiculous.


    Suddenly, Ryu vanished and appeared before Core Elder Faerd.


    "Go on. I can see it in your eyes, you don''t believe it. You want to pretend like it''s ridiculous, to give yourself some plausible deniability, right? Hit me, then. We''ll see what happens."


    Ryu grinned wildly, standing before the Core Elder.


    Faerd, whose gaze had practically just been spitting fire, suddenly hesitated.


    "What''s wrong? Not moving? What happened to your earlier confidence?"


    Ryu''s smile became brighter and brighter.


    Isemeine closed her eyes and uttered a little prayer. ''What did I do to deserve this?"


    What she didn''t know is that her act, contrasted with Ryu''s confidence, made Faerd feel as though he was being baited.


    But... that smiling face... was just too annoying.


    ROAR!


    Faerd punched out, his expression turning fierce.


    But his life force hardly got the chance to gather before a pillar of red light appeared. When it disappeared, so had Faerd.

 Chapter 1381 Is That So?

    The eyes of the surrounding Sky Gods constricted. All at once, they looked into the skies to find a middle aged man carrying the head of a giant that must have been at least 200 meters from shin to forehead. They recognized this sort of creature instantly, and it was the kind of realization that sent a shiver down their spines.


    The Fire Giants.


    If there was anyone who could stand toe to toe with the Nine Powers of the Ninth Heaven, it was most definitely the Nine Demon King Clans of the Nether World. Seeing one dead, and not only dead but being paraded around without the slightest care in the world, they felt more suffocated by this sort of realization than even the aura that was being exuded from Primus.


    Of course, Primus hadn''t been too far away. He had been just outside this encampment. There wasn''t anywhere to leisurely lay the Fire Giant corpse like there had been on the city walls back in the Nether World here since there were nothing but tents, so he had just chosen to do that instead.


    But, as maybe he should have expected, this great grandson of his was a magnet for trouble. Primus faintly felt that Ryu was doing this on purpose, but it didn''t matter to him one way or another. He was well aware of what it meant to protect someone with connection to a Taboo Power as well, but once again... he simply didn''t care.


    Primus was many things, but a coward was not one. He never feared the Martial Gods, he simply couldn''t be bothered to raise a hand against such weak beings. It was a waste of his time and a stain on his prestige.


    But now, his own personal feelings on the matter didn''t matter at all. All that really mattered was his word. He had uttered that no one could touch Ryu for ten years, so he would make certain that no one touched him for ten years, not a second more and not a second less. As for what troubles came with it, he didn''t really consider them at all. Wasn''t this how Karma worked?


    Ryu was wrong about one thing. Primus wasn''t going out of his way to sever Karma with his family because he feared it, he saw it as nothing more than a natural progression of cultivation, that was all. He was obsessed with increasing his strength, and he did whatever was necessary to do so. Dealing with Karma was just one of his many measures.


    If he acted, he definitely knew what he had done. What was the point of saying so much and expecting something that had already been set in place?


    Ryu smiled. "Nothing else? A shame, a shame. Alright, goodbye everyone."


    Just as Ryu was about to go, Jojo stopped him, her gaze still filled with a malicious light. It seemed that she was still very much upset, but Ryu was more surprised by something else: her backbone.


    No one here knew the true relationship between himself and Primus. For all they knew, he was just an overprotective great grandfather and he wouldn''t tolerate anyone disrespecting Ryu, and yet Jojo still stepped up.


    Ryu couldn''t help but commend her a bit inwardly. He found a lot more light in things recently, and he was less annoyed than even he expected himself to be.


    "No one will be able to protect you inside the Heavenly Path. I''ll make you pay for that foul mouth of yours." Jojo snarled.


    The members of the Raging Inferno Sect almost jumped out of their skin. Even if everyone was thinking it, how could you say it out loud?! What if he really died and his Ancestor came after the Sect for revenge? Even if it wasn''t Jojo that ended up killing him, she couldn''t escape culpability.


    "Oh? Is that so?" Ryu smiled, looking from Jojo''s beautiful face to the armor that obstructed everyone''s sight from what he sure would be a worthwhile look. "I look forward to seeing what''s beneath that armor, then. I wonder how many strikes it can withstand."

 Chapter 1382 Lord Husband

    Ryu''s laughter erupted as he vanished, dodging out of the way of another furious strike from Jojo.


    Jojo was so infuriated that she roared into the skies. "Cowardly bastard! Leave your name behind!"


    "HAHA! My name is Ryu Tatsuya, remember it well. It''s a name that''ll trample even over the likes of the Nine Powers soon enough."


    "Also, for those seeking revenge against my woman, you should take note that she has Martial God Blood running through her veins. I wonder how the Nine Powers you fear so much would react to knowing you had hunted down one of their own for so long?"


    This time, Ryu''s words carried a completely different weight. A man who had a Dao Sovereign personally protecting him, a Dao Sovereign he didn''t quite seem to take very seriously at all... a person who even dared to say such disparaging words about the Nine Powers right in public view...


    RUMBLE.


    The skies quaked and shook, moving about furiously, however no smite-like strike came down. The skies calmed not long later, and the pupils of many constricted.


    There were countless in the crowd, quite a few that were only members of the Sixth Heaven, members that Ryu would have remembered quite easily if he cared to pay attention to them. One such person was the very familiar Fairy Claire.


    After all this time, she had finally found Ryu again after all her attempts previously. But right now, the shine of the so-called fairy had dimmed considerably. With Jojo and Selheira around, it was hard for her to carry the same sort of shine, but she didn''t seem to care about this at all, she just wanted to ask Ryu a few questions about a certain man.


    Isemeine had an extremely athletic build. Her abs were defined, although not too prominent, her quads were cut, and her bottom and chest were powerful. When she was in a relaxed state, her muscles could only be clearly seen when she took a deep breath in. But when she was in battle, she was like a war machine.


    She was a stunning specimen of a woman, slender and powerful.


    Eska, however... was elegance and grace incarnated.


    Of all his wives, even compared to Ailsa, her breasts were the largest, matching those wide, willowy hips. She didn''t have the defined muscles of Isemeine. Instead, her every edge was soft, and yet only her chest and bottom rippled with the beauty of well placed fat. With just the slightest touch, your fingers would sink in, vanishing into a puff of clouds.


    However, these weren''t what Ryu liked the most about her. He loved her eyes. Not their white color or their gorgeous reflection, but rather than lofty, untouched and flawless gaze, the kind of look of an Empress overlooking her people, the kind of look that didn''t carry even the slightest hint of embarrassment even as a man scanned her from head to toe.


    "Lord Husband," Eska uttered lightly.


    She seemed to want to say more, as she actually wanted to speak to Ryu about significant matters. But she never got the chance to because her lips were covered by Ryu''s.


    Eska didn''t struggle, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms and legs around his body. Her every action gracefully accepted the raging lust of her husband. Her movements were delicate, and her slight panting breath could stir up a man''s very soul.


    Ryu hadn''t felt this aroused in a very long while.

 Chapter 1383 Different

    Ryu lost track of time. He seemed to have forgotten that he had plans to breakthrough into the Cosmic Seed Realm and potentially even attempt to finish his first Life Destruction, but it seemed that there was also a bit of a price to be paid for his newfound carefreeness.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    He found that being able to embrace Eska was quite a wonderful feeling. She was a woman in every sense of the word, and there wasn''t the slightest bit of imperfection in her. Ryu had called Mae''s newfound master the perfect woman, but he had never said that she was the only one he knew. In fact, one such perfect woman had her legs and arms wrapped around him right this moment, riding the waves of his lust.


    When he had finally vented all the emotions in his heart, Ryu looked deeply into Eska''s eyes. Though they were a bit hazy, they still carried the same loftiness, as though she could exit this room right this moment and be well prepared to lead a nation into war. It was the kind of look that almost made him drift away again, but this time he managed to control himself.


    "Lord Husband... You are... Very different from what I remember," Eska uttered softly, her voice akin to orchids gently waving in the wind.


    Ryu smiled, but this only surprised Eska more. Ryu had never smiled at her before. In fact, whenever they embraced one another like this, the both of them were quite cold and detached. One would have never guessed that they were husband and concubine, and some might even make the assumption that Eska was some sort of escort. Though, of course, this idea would be thrown out the moment they saw her beauty and elegance. Such a woman could play any man she wanted to in the palm of her hands, why would she have to sell her body, when a King might very well sell his Kingdom if he thought he had a chance to just touch her once?


    "Do you prefer the old me?" Ryu asked.


    Eska paused, not answering immediately. She looked at Ryu with a deep gaze, as though trying to see through something. But even after several moments, she didn''t have an answer. Just when Ryu thought that she wouldn''t answer at all, her faintly pink lips, akin to the first blossom of her Immortal Sakura, parted.


    "Yes", she said lightly.


    Another man might be hurt by such a word, but Ryu only smiled more boldly. He seemed to feel that Eska had something more to say, and that he was very much correct about.


    "Lord Husband, there are still important matters to talk about."


    After saying this, Eska returned to her natural element. Indeed, she had been about to say something important, but then Ryu kissed her and hours flashed by in a flash.


    She hadn''t gotten to say what she wanted to.


    "Right, you were saying something important," Ryu nodded, his expression becoming


    more serious.


    "Is this matter truly resolved? It''s a bit..." Eska hesitated. "Originally, my and Isemeine''s plans were to be captured and brought to the Ninth Heaven. During the trip, we would find a chance to slip away because making it across the divide is a bit difficult without a lot of resources. But now..."


    "Ah, so Isemeine wasn''t actually talking nonsense. You allowed yourselves to be captured." Ryu nodded.


    "Yes, mostly. The inheritance that we received makes us quite good at escaping, and we also gain great benefits for being of one body. We can currently, quite confidently, escape from even Dao Lords. But if we have protection from your Ancestor.."


    Ryu shook his head. "Don''t rely on him. He is only protecting me for 10 years to close the Karma between us and ease his bottleneck into the Dao God Realm. Even if he knows you are my woman, he won''t lift a finger to help you."


    Eska''s gaze flashed with understanding. This explained quite a lot, it was no wonder the Tatsuya Clan of Sacrum had landed in such a sorry state, their Ancestors didn''t care to defend them.

 Chapter 1384 Separate

    "Then what should we do?" Eska asked.


    "Well, for now, they probably won''t dare to do anything. In fact, it might be even better if you appeared so that they could know that you were also tied to me."


    Eska''s gaze flickered. The Ryu she knew probably wouldn''t do this, but he seemed to be far more flexible now. In the past, he would have directly ignored the existence of Primus and come up with his own plans as though the latter didn''t exist.


    Eska could sense the hatred Ryu had for Primus, but he still spoke of using him without a care in the world. It was an odd dichotomy that was hard to properly pin down.


    Ryu had indeed changed. Half of his Dao was perfect to use in manipulating people and the situation. If he was the Court Minister or a Chancellor of an Empire, he would probably be unstoppable without raising his fist even once. But until now, he had completely ignored this portion of his Dao as though it was worthless. Well, not entirely, he still used it in battle to see through the intentions of people and react accordingly, but this wasn''t where its full potential lay.


    But now, he didn''t care very much about the details. Since Primus wanted to protect him for the sake of fulfilling his Karma, he would have to pay a due price. The death of his grandparents, of Primus'' own flesh and blood son... making Primus the public enemy of the Nine Powers wasn''t even enough.


    This man Primus didn''t care about offending such behemoths. He had directly killed a Dao Sovereign of the Fire Giants, a Clan of Demon Kings that stood toe to toe with the Nine Powers, and that didn''t even include the Skeleton King he killed right before that. At least the Skeleton King''s death was due to adequate reasons, but the Fire Giant was killed for no reason at all.


    It was clear that Primus simply didn''t care about such things, so what Ryu had brewing for him was far worse.


    "Tell me about your legacy, Ryu suddenly said, changing the subject.


    It also allows us to have access to two separate Daos as well, and it allows us to complement one another using them."


    Ryu listened carefully, and this sounded great, but honestly it wasn''t nearly as amazing as Ryu felt the Unbalance Art and Nine Pillar Flame Sects were. There was something that was missing here.


    "... The most important part of the inheritance is the Twin Twilight State. When one becomes the Twilight and the other becomes the Shadow, our talents fuse, creating an entirely new talent. At the same time, our cultivation increases by the sum of its parts. Currently, our cultivation has reached the Transcendent Sky God Realm. When we fuse into one, completely and fully, we approach the Dao Lord Realm."


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It seemed that he had asked and he had received. This was indeed huge. But more so than their cultivation realm, he was more interested in something else...


    "Your talents fuse?" Ryu asked.


    "Yes, they fuse and become all new talents that sit on a much higher grade than usual. When we fuse our cultivations, we at best gain one Realm. But when we fuse our talents, the changes are much more significant than that. Even the weakest of them are at the Order Grade, and the strongest of them reach the Origin Grade. The best change is in our Dao, though... When it comes together, it reaches the Peak of Ancient Daos. These people are truly not a equal for us, they''re just a convenient way to reach the Eighth Heaven."


    "I see. " Ryu''s gaze flickered. This was indeed a big deal, but he had also thought of something quite important. "... So you and Isemeine...?"


    Eska fell into silence for a long while, it was clear that this was something that she had also thought about a lot.


    "We''ve opted to stay together. The benefits we receive now would disappear if we ever separated. We aren''t twins, but in our current state, we fare better than even the greatest geniuses of the Twin Twilight Clan. Even without entering the full Twin Twilight State, our battle prowess is naturally at the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    "Only when we''ve attained all of our objectives might we think about it again... But truthfully, I think we both have gotten quite used to this state."

 Chapter 1385 Coldness

    Ryu nodded. In the end, he felt that this was a decision best left up to them, and he didn''t really mind one way or another. He quite liked Eska, and Isemeine had her own charm. Them being in the same body was more entertaining to watch than anything else, and since they preferred to keep things this way for the sake of their strength, he wouldn''t'' be the one to get in their way.


    After a while, Ryu reluctantly rose from bed.


    "Wait here, I have a few breakthroughs to finish first. Then we''ll go out together."


    Eska''s gaze flickered as she observed Ryu vanished deeper into his immortal cave.


    He was the only one whom she had ever heard speak of breaking through so casually, he didn''t seem to take it seriously at all. She thought that maybe things would change after coming to the True Martial World, but apparently not.


    Now that she thought about it, how long had it been since Ryu had come? She could intimately feel his age when they were as one as she felt that he hadn''t changed much since he entered that odd White Phoenix cocoon. By her calculations, that meant that he spent nearly 1000 years in a rebirth state, which meant that he had only been in the True Martial World for two years at most? Was it even that long?


    From what she knew, the Ryu of old had been in the 1st Path Extinction Realm. But now, he was already on the verge of entering the Cosmic Seed Realm? So soon? And why did his body feel like it was both in the World Sea Realm equivalent and not at the same time? If she also accounted for the fact that Ryu would have to recultivate his foundation just to reach the standard of the True Martial World, she couldn''t help but shake her head bitterly. This man was hard to understand through common logic.


    Of course, she didn''t know that after Ryu had completed his rebirth, his cultivation had fallen as well, or else maybe she would have been even a little bit more surprised.


    Ryu actually had some ideas on this. He felt that with his new Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure, it wouldn''t actually be impossible to pick out and choose a new Spiritual Foundation. It was just whether it was worth it, and even if it was, he didn''t


    yet have the strength to do so.


    It had to be remembered just how strong Spiritual Foundations were. Whether their


    owners were worthy or not, they all had the potential to withstand a Dao God''s cultivation. When they weren''t under the ownership of another and didn''t suppress themselves, they were probably the greatest treasures in all of existence. They couldn''t just be carelessly submitted.


    Even the Martial Gods could only seal his Spiritual Foundation away, and that was only after he had been born. Just the seal alone was so powerful that Ryu, who had gathered more Heavenly Fate than anyone else in the history of the Incomplete Heavenly Path, could hardly cause a hairline fracture on the chains that bound it.


    In the end, it was actually precisely because his Spiritual Foundation was so utterly powerful that it ultimately was able to break free. But it also had to be remembered that because it was bound to him, it was far weaker than it could have been!


    And then there was the obvious elephant in the room... and that was whether or not the so-called Phoenix Sk God would allow it.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered with coldness. But in the end, he sneered. He would be ready when the time came.

 Chapter 1386 Happiness And Despair

    A flood of Embryonic Qi rushed out of Ryu''s body, flooding into the body of the White Phoenix. The little creature, who had just been looking around somewhat adorably, was shocked awake before greedily swallowing. However, very soon, what was greed turned into worry and then fear.


    Accelerated growth was great, too much accelerated growth made it feel like it could die at any time. Its eyes flickered with a wronged light, but Ryu didn''t stop. In his opinion, if this ticking time bomb was going to be in his body, it might as well become useful.


    More than a full minute later, the rush of Embryonic Qi came to a stop because Ryu had run out. It seemed that his Embryonic Qi still wasn''t an endless flow, something hard for a Ryu, who had gotten used to being able to tap into an entire Plane of Existence for his qi, to accept. But it was what it was.


    Ryu felt that it would probably take him a week or two to recover that much


    Embryonic Qi, but it was still much faster than it had been in the past, while the White Phoenix had undergone a great amount of growth.


    Watching it writhe and be forced to grow, Ryu sat in silence, watching it. Various thoughts surged through his mind before he tossed them all out, focusing on the task at hand.


    He wanted to form his Cosmic Seeds. This time would be far more involved than they were for his first two, funny enough. During that process, he only needed to


    absorb outside sources and his Spiritual Foundation formed the rest on its own. But this time, it would be dependent on his comprehension.


    On top of that, Ryu couldn''t just forge his Cosmic Seeds out of the elements, it had to be beyond that, they had to be a match for his Dao, and his Dao had no particular elemental leaning. However... he already knew exactly what he needed to do.


    And that was of course to form an eight trigram diagram upon this White Phoenix


    This made sense, though. His Natural Enlightenment wasn''t at a very high level, at least not according to his own standards. At the same time, Natural Enlightenments progressed far more slowly than other comprehensions did, and it was heavily reliant on the natural phenomena that one observed from the very beginning.


    It was also slightly worrisome that his Natural Enlightenment came from a small world. Could it continue to support his Founding Dao?


    Ryu believed so. If Shrine Mountain was able to produce the Shrines, it was more special than he knew. It was up to him to unearth those mysteries.


    He sat in silence, entering a deep State of Meditation. Soon, Ryu actually slipped into Breath of Earth, something he hadn''t experienced ever since his eyes were sealed away. Although it was only the second State of Meditation, it was a great boon to him currently. He could only give the credit to the Origin Flame although it wasn''t nearly as good as what his eyes could accomplish.


    ''Mountain...''


    Ryu''s stare flickered beneath his eyelids as he pondered back to the Prayer Mat. He remembered sitting upon it just once, and he felt like he had sat within the bosom of the world. He saw all the births happening in that instant, those beautiful cries of joy... but he also saw all the pain, all the devastation, every single death that had happened in that mountain as well.


    That was the burden Shrine Mountain held everyday, that sense of pride in what it had created, but also that sense of despair in knowing that they all had the same, inevitable end. That was a cycle of karma, of it beginning, of it blooming, of it twisting and distorting, or of it brightening and purifying, leaving a mark on the world before it faded into obscurity, scattered and forgotten... or permanent and shimmering.


    A surge of Cosmic Qi began to swirl around Ryu. The commotion was violent, so much so that the barrier of formations around his Immortal Cave shattered in that instant.


    The qi accumulated until it was visible even by the eyes of the ordinary man. One stream of gorgeous, bright and vibrant rainbow color, and another of dark, sinister and ominous.


    They all rushed into Ryu''s immortal cave, the thunderous thunder shaking the Sixth Heaven.

 Chapter 1387 Condense

    The furious debate within the heart of the Radiant Star Sect was raging on. They furiously butt heads, seemingly not willing to back down for even a moment. At the forefront, Old Xu, Xiao and Jiao were all making a ruckus, and the points they made weren''t all that unacceptable either.


    "... This is absolutely ridiculous, how can we have a disciple like this one? We weren''t even aware that he had an Ancestor like this. If not for what happened today, how much longer would we have been in the dark about this matter? Such an existence could head a Sect stronger than our own and no one would bat an eye."


    "Why would such a person even join our Sect? Could it be that his intention had always been Aika? And we simply let him have her?"


    "This isn''t even the main problem. We''ve given him so many resources, and he doesn''t seem to be very talented either. From my understanding, he joined the Sect as an Immortal Ring expert, but he was already into his 20s. That''s an inferior speed even for the First Heaven, let alone the Sixth, or the Seventh and beyond. His foundation is already questionable."


    "His greatest strong suit is his Dao, but how many in the history of our Sect have formed Ancient Daos and then failed to breakthrough? All such people are incredibly stubborn, and someone who could form a Founding Da would be even more stubborn in this regard, who knows if he''ll ever manage to break into the Sky God Realm?"


    These three just seemed to get more and more furious the more they spoke. Maybe they were still remembering the defeat of their disciples, but Old Wan and Samson didn''t seem to react like this. These men had given up a great deal for the Sect, much like they had. They at least a modicum of respect for them in this regard, at least enough not to assume the worst.


    Plus, their worries made sense, although their questions of Ryu''s talent was ridiculous.


    Sects were extremely meticulous with how they selected disciples. Those that came from powerful Clans were always noted and monitored, they had much taller bars to clear if they wanted to become Inheritors, or touch upon the Core Texts of the Clan.


    The commotion lasted for a long while until it slowed to a crawl and eventually ceased entirely. It gently came to a stop, far more calm than the initial commotion would have made seem possible.


    However, very soon that chilled atmosphere heated up once again as a uproar even larger than the last formed. Once again, it was another two Cosmic Seeds, forming at the same time.


    Ryu hadn''t initially had any intention of breaking through more than once, but he found that first so easy that he did it again... and then again... each one was more furious than the last. If after the first the Sixth Heaven rumbled, but by the time he completed the sixth cycle and had formed 12 Cosmic Seeds, it seemed as though the Plane of Existence might very well break apart at the seams.


    However, none of these six cycles even began to compare to the seventh. The skies turned dark and the aura of a Founding Dao seeped out in all directions. All of the qi of the Sixth Heaven seemed to surge toward just a single location. Those that didn''t know what was happening within the walls of the Radiant Star Sect even believed that it was Primus who was taking action.


    While he was in the process, though, Ryu frowned.


    He had been impeccably balanced up until this point, and he was currently forming his Earth Character Cosmic Seeds... but it was off.


    His glance flashed as he made a decision. Without hesitation, the qi around him doubled again as he began to create his Heaven Character Cosmic Seeds at the same time.


    "Condense!"

 Chapter 1388 Soared

    Ryu''s veins bulged across his forehead, but his demeanor was calm and unhurried. He was confident, and his mind was more than strong enough now to manage it all. In terms of comprehension, for him, the Heaven and Earth characters were the easiest, because they were the true core of his Dao. However, logistically, they required the most qi and demanded the most of his control.


    While he was condensing the Earth Character, he realized that if he followed through with it alone, forming the Heaven Character afterward would be impossible. It was akin to trying to insert a new rope into an already completed and complex knot. It wasn''t possible to bind them perfectly unless the first knot was undone, but if the analogy was taken to reality, undoing the knot would mean destroying his already created Cosmic Seeds. That was unacceptable.


    The only solution was to form the final and most perfect knot right at the start, and that meant laying out all of the ropes ahead of time... simply put, he needed to complete his Heaven and Earth Character Cosmic Seeds simultaneously, all four.


    This placed a great deal of pressure on his body. His Meridians were able to take it easily, but that didn''t mean the rest of his flesh could. And, because he hadn''t expected this to happen, he had used all of his Embryonic Qi already.


    Luckily, his body was already at the standard of the World Sea Realm, but it seemed that this alone wouldn''t be enough.


    Ryu, though, simply continued to endure. So long as his Meridians didn''t rupture, something that was probably quite impossible for him, it didn''t matter what happened to the rest of his body.


    His skin began to crack, as did his bones. Though, the latter was a bit odd. His bones seemed to have two layers, or rather, three. One was like a glass casing, the second was also something like a glass casing, but it was far denser and a tinge darker, while the final was an endless depth of grey fog. It was the first and thinnest layer of glass that cracked, but the underside seemed to be perfectly fine. Unfortunately, that didn''t magically stop the pain.


    That said... if there was one thing he could endure, it was pain. In fact, there was a broad smile on his face.


    He could feel it. He could step into the World Sea Realm in a single bound. His base would be powerful and sturdy, he could already sense the doorway before him. This was the stage of his grandparents, people he looked up to like an insurmountable mountain laid out before him. However, even as he looked toward it, his body continued to break down.


    Ryu''s eyes slowly opened, a sharpness within. It seemed that things wouldn''t work out well if he continued like this. Even so, the grin on his face only became deeper.


    ''Alright, let''s see then.''


    Though it was called a Life Destruction and sounded grand and imposing, it was ultimately just the equivalent of the World Sea Realm, an irrelevant and quite frankly trash Realm in Aika''s eyes. But this amount of energy usage was absolutely ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as Ryu forming 16 Cosmic Seeds.


    Although the quality of Cosmic Seeds was far more important than the quantity, 16 was absolutely ridiculous, especially since they were all so absolutely perfect.


    And now this Life Destruction was taking up as much energy as she felt someone might need to enter the Sky God Realm, just what was going on? How was it so strong?


    What she didn''t know was that Ryu''s body was already the equivalent of nine normal Life Destructions. While he was completing his "first" now, in reality it was akin to doubling that number, making it the equivalent of nine Life Destructions. This was already beyond the normal limits of a peak Body Realm expert on the verge of entering the Sky God Realm.


    For all intents of purposes, it was probably as close to the Half-Step Sky God Realm one could get without actually entering it!


    At that moment, a roar shook the skies and the blood mist condensed in one, violent, vacuum-like surge.


    Ryu appeared with shimmering skin, naked and proud in the skies. He looked as though he had been carved of gems, his blood pulsing through his veins.


    The last of the qi rushed into him, his 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Cosmic Seeds solidifying all at once.


    BOOM!


    The cry of a White Phoenix rushed into the skies, Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation cracking and then suddenly shattering into countless pieces.


    His aura soared, and then rose again.

 Chapter 1389 Unavoidable

    Ryu felt as though an explosion had gone off in his dantian.


    The Awakening Realm was extremely important. Completing the Rites allowed one to expand their Spiritual Foundation. The larger it was, the better. The next chance to improve one''s Spiritual Foundation wouldn''t come until the Do Pedestal Realm, a Realm that Ryu had completely blazed through and hadn''t really gotten the chance to settle within.


    A Spiritual Foundation''s magnitude upon Awakening was a part of its potential, while the rest seemed to rely on the cultivator themselves. But there was another boon possible from one''s Spiritual Foundation''s potential, and that was the size of the World Sea Realm upon breaking through. This change in size would be a role of the original size...


    A phantom would appear in the skies, mirroring the true size of one''s Spiritual Foundation. In fact, the White Phoenix that appeared to Ryu''s back was only a phantom as well as the true White Phoenix was still in a state of evolution, basking in much of its own power.


    White Runes filled the skies, an enormous whirlpool forming and blotting out the skies. It was a suffocating sight, and it continued to expand to the point that even many Sky Gods couldn''t seem to see the end of it at all.


    All of this qi rushed into Ryu''s body as though it was a bottomless pit. It was unimaginable how his Meridians could withstand this kind of strength, and yet he stood in the skies as though nothing at all was happening, allowing the qi to wash over him, to strengthen him, to perfect him.


    It was a sight that many would never forget in their lifetimes, a sight that one would never expect to see from a World Sea Realm expert''s breakthrough, and yet here it was, right before their eyes. And then, just when it seemed like it was over... it happened.


    Those white flames, flowing like cotton and the wind, but very much unlike fire, appeared, wrapping around Ryu''s body as though a beautiful thread of silk. Ryu''s eyes became sharper and sharper, to the point that he thought the seals on his eyes would finally be lifted. But even though it didn''t end up happening, it felt as though he could already peer down on the world, as though everything was already dancing on the palm of his hands.


    What he hadn''t expected was for the absorption of the Silver Star to result in this, but he felt that it made sense. There was so much excess power, where could it have gone? His soul probably wasn''t yet strong enough to deal with it, but his eyes... he felt that they had become indestructible, reaching the point where even if a high level Sky God wanted to burn him to ashes, all that would be left of his body were his Meridians and his eyes.


    But his casual experimentation had caused the time between his eyes'' world and the real world to dilate to the point that Ailsa and Yaana were forced to live a life in that enclosed space. He was so infuriated, and yet he didn''t know where he could vent his frustration.


    What he hadn''t noticed was that Ailsa had yet to finish talking.


    "... I took a risk. Sometime after the first long cycle of years, the situation within your eyes changed and I think the outside world began to impact it. The energy became so much richer and I was able to pass my days helping the three little ones to improve alongside Yaana. We at least had each other, and the expansion of your Heavenly Pupil World left us with some entertainment, at least.


    "Soon, the outside world began to impact your world more and more and I was able to learn so much... Eventually, the hazard came... There were large fluctuations of space that began to come with the surge of your world''s size. We had to be extremely careful, or we would lose our lives even before our old age could take us first...


    "... But soon, the fluctuations became so large that they were unavoidable..."


    Ryu''s heart clenched.


    "Luckily, it came with an opportunity... We don''t know what''s on the other side, but we have no choice but to go. I hope that I can see you again, your wife... your Life Partner... loves you very much..."

 Chapter 1390 Strained And Limited

    The commotion slowly came to a stop and Ryu stood in silence. Many thought that he should feel a great amount of jubilation, but he didn''t. In fact, he was enraged with no one other than himself. His mood plummeted and the spatial fluctuations around him only grew fiercer. Many couldn''t even get close for fear of what might happen to them in the attempt.


    What could be on the other side of those spatial fluctuations? Wouldn''t it just be the world that they knew? Even if it was a small world, there was no way that he wouldn''t be able to sense her. In fact, if she had long since left his eyes, it should have been at least a year or so in his time, she would have definitely found him by now, no?


    There was no one in this world that Ryu could sense better than Ailsa. To put this matter into perspective, he could even faintly feel Mae in the Nether Realm now, although it wasn''t clear, the feeling was definitely there. He could sense Elena vaguely even on the Ninth Heaven. But, he couldn''t sense Yaana and Ailsa at all.


    Originally, he had thought that this was because they were sealed in his eyes, and that made sense. But now...


    There seemed to be a very obvious answer sitting right in front of him, an answer that smacked him in the face and left him even more infuriated than he was originally...


    They hadn''t just been displaced through space, but time as well. How could he sense them if they weren''t even living in the same timeline as him any longer?


    "FUCK!"


    Ryu roared, his voice echoing like a clap of thunder before he vanished entirely. He didn''t even say anything to anyone, nor did he wait to accept congratulations. It was as though he had simply vanished into thin air, and only a rare few could even track where he had gone in the first place.


    ...


    Now, in the Soul Ascension Realm, one would purify and perfect one''s soul. For normal people, this would polish it, turning it from an opaque white into a crystalline glow at the peak. Once it reached the pinnacle of purity, it would transform, as would one''s Spiritual Sea, and the normal Spiritual Qi would transcend to something entirely new. At this point, at the pinnacle of the Soul Ascension Realm, one would be in the Sky God Realm of the Mental Realm.


    If there was an opportunity to glimpse what was going on inside, it would be through it.


    Ryu looked deeply, trying to find what he needed to see. It had to be here.


    Then he realized, he just had to follow the thread of the Silver Star. There was obviously some of its lingering energy here, so he should be able to find a line to his eyes.


    ''There!''


    Ryu found it and concentrated on it. His Spiritual Sense was the strongest it could be in here, and he followed it immediately.


    He felt as though his head was being squished from all sides, almost as though he was trying to look down a pipe to glimpse a vast realm on the other side. His vision was both constrained and strained, but he pushed through.


    And then he saw it, the realm on the other side.


    He fell into silence.

 Chapter 1391 None Of Them

    His Heavenly Pupil World was a mess. He could tell that it probably once used to be some semblance of vibrant, and even now there was wild life and plant life struggling to survive. But it had been completely ravaged by the toil of time, and more importantly than that, the surging spatial tears that would appear randomly and at all periods of time. One region would only just barely survive, and yet another would appear in its place.


    What surprised Ryu the most, though, was just how complex the world was. The fact that it had wild life at all was absolutely ridiculous. Spiritual Herbs made sense because there were many planted here before his eyes were sealed, and there was, of course, Ailsa to take care of them. He wouldn''t have been surprised even if his world had Spiritual Herbs that had never appeared before, but wild life?


    For wildlife to appear here, there were only two possibilities. The first was that his beast companions had mated, but that was impossible unless they had managed to take on human forms. In Sacrum, beasts had no human forms, even if they made it to the Sky God Realm. But he had heard some inkling about it being possible for God Beasts of the True Martial World, but the requirements were impossibly high, likely


    Dao Lord at the worst.


    Technically, this was possible. They had been stuck in here for a very long time, and there was a woman among them in Little Gem, as disgusting as it felt to think about that little adorable griffin mating, the assumption here was that she had long since grown up.


    The problem with this was that while the wild life he could see were powerful, they weren''t nearly powerful enough.


    Ryu was certain that along with the Spiritual Herbs, Ailsa would have also spent her time helping the little ones to improve. Setting this aside, if they managed to make it to the Dao Lord Realm and had children, their offspring couldn''t possibly be so weak.


    That only left one explanation and one that he hated to admit to... and that was that so much time had passed that these beasts had naturally evolved to this state. However, without a Protector to bestow them with the ability to cultivate, this was basically the limit of their potential.


    Ryu gripped his fists, scanning the region. Suddenly, he felt a raging pulse emit from his eyes. As though he had been hit by an avalanche or even a falling star from above, a rush of power nearly tore his mind apart.


    He understood what was happening instantly. While his eyes were still sealed, while he was within his world, he could access the strength he would have, at least in part. But this partial strength was so overwhelming that he could feel even his real body shuddering. Suddenly, he understood exactly why it was that his eyes had yet to unseal.


    Ryu took a deep breath, his dull silver eyes suddenly gaining a fluctuating light. Suddenly, the disorganized world became like a library in his mind. If he could see the lines and voids of space before, he could even predict them now, on top of seeing what they had once been.


    His [Third Perspective] blanketed the entire world in an instant and he didn''t miss a single thing. He raised a hand.


    "[Rob the World of Color]. [Fate Reversal]!"


    Ryu stood before the portal he was sure they had entered in a complete and utter daze. He didn''t understand what he was seeing at all. That was because...


    This portal didn''t have aspects of time at all, it was entirely space.


    Ryu''s expression turned a ghastly sheen of pale. The implications of this weren''t something that he was willing to think about, but his mind worked too fast.


    Indeed, if they had a choice, why would they enter a tear with aspects of time? Yaana would have definitely been able to tell the difference. Not only would she make sure not to pick a tear with time fluctuations, but she would also pick one of the more stable ones to maximize their chances at success.


    This portal here definitely fit those criteria. It was completely stable. There was no time qi aspect. It was the optimal choice, it was far better than every other tear that Ryu had seen to this point. In fact, he had no doubt that Yaana had taken action to make it even more stable as she and the others crossed.


    So why couldn''t he sense them? They should be in the same timeline as him, they should be within the range of his thoughts. Why were their souls so dormant within his own?


    He could only think of two explanations, each one as bad as the former.


    The first was that they had never made it through. They died in the portal. He never got news of their death because they had still been within the seal, and even if his eyes unsealed now, he would never get word. It would forever be in the dark.


    The second was a variation of the first. They had almost made it through the other side, but the gate on the other side wasn''t nearly as stable as it was on this side. They could be in any number of states of limbo...


    If they had entered a blackhole, they could be in both the present and the past, their bodies stretched to the point of existing in two states at once.


    If they entered a wormhole they could very well have ended up in the past anyway.


    If they had simply entered a field of danger, they could have ended up in the depth of Infinity Mist like he had, or any number of other impossibly perilous regions practically cut off from the outside world.


    What all of these possible causes had in common was that...


    None of them were good.

 Chapter 1392 Levels

    Ryu closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. He had just pulled himself out from an abyss of perpetual rage, and yet here he was again, peering down from the ledge. He wondered if this was just a function of the martial world. Maybe it was impossible to be happy and carefree.


    At that moment, he seemed to see Ailsa''s face. The roll of her eyes, the teasing expression in her gaze... When he had first met her he thought that they were far too different to be Life Partners, but wasn''t her usual baseline how he acted now? They were practically a match made in heaven, their banter could probably make even a Dao God cough up blood in rage...Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    At least when they worked together, that was. When she was reprimanding him instead, those words were just as grating and annoying, a taste of his own medicine. He knew exactly what she would say in this situation. Though, he didn''t know if that was because he had been traumatized, or if that was because he knew that wife of his so well...


    She would probably call him a fool, probably say that he had far too much to live for, that he was too lucky to be steeped in dissatisfaction and rage all the time. Of course, that speech would probably be less effective in the True Martial World where he had had to work so hard to reach this stage, but it likely would have been true nonetheless.


    There were always many less fortunate than him, and even more who had no ability to decide even the next step they would take on in life.


    Ryu exhaled a breath and his eyes opened, sharp, and yet still softened. He took a step and vanished, landing in a field of gold and silver. As far as the eye could see, Gold and Silver Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies lay.


    Ryu took a seat and stared out toward this beautiful scene, his mind quite blank. Even he didn''t know how long he spent there, but did it matter much? With the time dilation he had spent in this place, it was probably the case that even months would feel like seconds to the outside world. It was just a shame that he couldn''t enter this place with his body and he only could with a portion of his soul.


    Suddenly, he sunk into Breath of Earth, and then Breath of Heaven, and then Breath of World. He hadn''t experienced this sort of depth of meditation in years, and it was even more exaggerated with the amplification of the Origin Flame.


    And yet, he wasn''t thinking of anything, he wasn''t trying to meditate on anything, and the state seemed to be entirely wasted... or so it seemed.


    Under its presence, he reached a state of peace he never had. It was ironically a feeling that he couldn''t even quite bask in because he had forgotten all things. But an unknown period of time later, when he opened his eyes once more and all of that feeling seemed to rush him at once.


    He could suddenly feel his Dao far more clearly than he ever had in the past, and his Dao Heart felt polished and shimmering, a radiant blue-silver coming from his skin and circulating around his body.


    In truth, Ryu didn''t know what level his Dao was at. He didn''t know its exact grade, whether it was a Lower Founding Dao or a Peak Founding Dao, or even if Founding Daos had such distinction in the first place. He also didn''t know how close he was to maturing it, or if his Dao had actually regressed.


    Right at this moment, his eyes were in a state of hyper evolution. He had consumed far too many Black-Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies, and then he had forced himself to use [Heaven Gate] to accelerate his growth through trillions of years. Right after that, he had "died" and experienced a rebirth, using up his rebirths in a single go. And yet, his eyes still hadn''t unsealed themselves yet.


    While in that state of hyper evolution, he had formed the eight trigram diagrams within his Spiritual Sea as that was the only place it made sense to put them. But once again... the eyes were the window to the soul.


    He had unknowingly activated his eyes in a way they had never been before, and his Dao and his eyes became inseparable.


    But there was a very good reason for this as well. His eyes saw through the mystery of all things, and so did his Dao. Just the same way the eight trigram diagram was perfect for his Dao, it was likewise perfect for his eyes. They seamlessly matched one another.


    With all of this laid out, the reason why his Dao was in such a situation made perfect sense. His Dao and his eyes had reached about the same level now, but one of them was sealed away while the other was flourishing. The reason why he couldn''t tell the exact level of his Dao was because his eyes were adding a large variable to the output of his Dao.


    But this was also an excellent thing as well.


    Every cultivator hoped that their paths would align. The greatest variables to a cultivator''s path were the talents they would be born with and how they would fuse them toward a single intent.


    But now, one step after another, Ryu seemed to be finding that seamless, singular journey for himself. His eyes, maybe the greatest variable in his life other than his Chaotic Silk Meridians and the Phoenix Sky God''s Spiritual Foundation, had already merged into him in a way he hadn''t even been quite aware of until now.


    In fact, it may very well be possible that once his eyes awakened, it would not only carry the nature of his Dao, but also that of his Soul Nature. One step after another, they would come together to create a new Heavenly Pupil never before seen.


    And that just left one matter... Just how close to maturity was his Dao?


    Even compared to the first, this was the most puzzling to Ryu, and it maybe explained why his Dao''s level also fluctuated so much...


    His Dao was just a step away from the Sky God Realm. Or, most accurately, the Second Cosmic Grade. In fact, it might even be more precise than that to say that it was already a half step within.

 Chapter 1393 A Sudden Urge

    Ryu continued to stare out at the field. He could practically feel every ounce of Ailsa''s hard work, he didn''t even want to touch it, not that he could. While his soul could enter here, at least a portion of it, his eyes were still sealed. It was impossible to move things in and out. That said, even if he could, he probably wouldn''t. Not until Ailsa was back.


    Looking at the beauty of the field of Spirit Seeking Lilies, Ryu remembered how he used to use their petals with impunity. He never really worried about running out, and why would he? He had a Cultus Faerie by his side, carefully cultivating them. By the time he finished consuming one, two more would appear in its place. She did that without complaint, even when he hadn''t treated her the best.


    "It''ll be here for you when you come back," Ryu said lightly, standing to his feet slowly. Then, he vanished.


    When he appeared again, he was within his immortal cave once more. Eska sat at the edge of their bed, looking as elegant as ever. She didn''t move a single inch. Though she could feel Ryu''s agitation, she didn''t feel that their relationship was close enough for her to comfort him... not that she was very good at comforting people to begin with. She probably wouldn''t usually be self conscious about such a thing, but right now she felt hyper sensitive.


    Ryu gazed toward Eska quite calmly, the rage in his belly having already disappeared.


    He hadn''t forgotten his master and the other Zu Clan Ancestors, but he somewhat wished that he could. The Zu Clan Ancestors had already experienced so many years, how could they survive such time dilation? Even if they could, maybe they would have already lost their minds. He remembered that the youngest amongst them, that petite woman with a fiery personality and the creator of [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], was already beginning to somewhat lose her sanity.


    Even so, he didn''t check, reason being those two worlds were distinct and he couldn''t seem to access the other one just yet. It had to be remembered that the usual inner world of Heavenly Pupils wielders was just a bland cubical. The reason Ryu had a world like his was because he had fused with the Incubator. That separated his world into two, one he used like a spatial ring to hide his greatest treasures, and a second where he, or rather Ailsa, raised Spiritual Herbs.


    That second world was where the crystalline jade and the Prayer Mat were. He still couldn''t sense either one of them.


    His master was his benefactor. He was a man even that repressed and depressed version of him could respect. He had never thought that he would take a master in his life, but he had ended up doing so, and this master was not only the reason he was able to break free of his previously atrocious soul talent, he was also the reason he had found a path of his own to follow after entering the True Martial World, faced with adversity from all sides...


    Ryu suddenly wanted to forge... he wanted to concoct... he wanted to draw an array the likes of which he never had before.


    He stood and entered the Golden Moon World. But the moment he began, the ring began to vibrate with his actions. The Golden Moon Ring vibrated and latched onto the outside. Like tendrils of delicate gold, they squirmed into the voidal paths of existence, forcing the world itself to resonate as well.


    It was only several days later that Ryu came out, his aura far more refined. It was clear that he had made use of the [Refinement Sutra], allowing his Body Realm and Qi Realm to enter a state of absolute perfection.


    But it wasn''t just that. Even his soul felt different. His gaze carried a sharpness it never had before, his look alone carrying the weight of a thousand worlds.


    He had left behind the Dao Sovereign''s Mental Realm cultivation technique, taking his own.


    Two Great Swordstaffs hovered to his back, ringing like the chimes of the Heavens, while a bow was strapped across the chest of his fluttering white robes.


    "Let''s go," Ryu spoke lightly, extending his hand toward Eska who took it with an elegant grace.

 Chapter 1394 Why?

    Ryu and Eska''s appearance was heart shuddering. Let alone the juniors, Sky Gods who had experienced countless years of life couldn''t seem to pry their eyes away from Eska. Her every movement carried the imposing air of a Goddess, the majesty of an Empress, the grace of an angel. She seemed to be both a part of Ryu and her own separate existence all at once, the aura of a Sky God who stood at the Transcendent Realm radiating out in every direction.


    On the Sixth Heaven, she would already be a nigh untouchable existence. But now, she hung from the arm of a junior without the slightest hint of rejection. And yet, Ryu didn''t seem out of place in the slightest. To the shock of the onlookers, it even seemed like he belonged there. His aura wasn''t shrouded, it instead seemed to elevate Ryu.


    While a Supreme Sky God hanging from the arm of a World Sea Realm expert would usually cause gazes of derision and even some disdain, some feeling that the woman in this situation would value herself too lowly, these thoughts couldn''t even seem to begin to form, let alone be spewed.


    The way his white robes, etching with lines of sky blue danced in the wind, the way his hair seemed to radiate its own light, glowing like the beautiful fog of a white-gold nebular, the way his great swordstaffs sung to his back, echoing with his every step...


    The swordstaffs radiated a silver color, their blades as thin as a cicada''s wings. Their spines were entirely cut out, living nothing but the sharp rim of the blade behind. Their polearms were simple and unadorned, and even seemed to be somewhat dull. But the undeniable air of an Heritage Grade weapon resonated, and yet seemed to already carry some of the mystery of a God Weapon.


    The gathering wasn''t small, as was expected for the opening of the Complete Heavenly Path. It could even be uttered that it was even larger than usual with those of the Seventh Heaven having come to take part. And yet, the appearance of Ryu stole the complete center of attention.


    Jojo grit her teeth, grinding them with such strength that it seemed that she might very well crack them. This bastard had actually appeared with yet another woman, did he have no sense of shame?


    She really wanted to project some disdain toward this woman, but she truly couldn''t find even the slightest flaw on her. On top of that, it was actually yet another Sky God, making her far stronger than herself. It was infuriating.


    Ryu chuckled. Was it noble to use such methods? Absolutely not. However, if he didn''t piss this type of woman off and then conquer her, what use would there be in living? This was the price to pay for attacking him, not once, but thrice.


    Ryu made it to the encirclement of the Radiant Star Sect. At the forefront, it was they and the Fading Star Sect who stood. To his surprise, Selheira seemed to actually have intentions of entering this time, though he probably shouldn''t have been. It was probably only this sort of matter that could interest her.


    Her gaze and smile were still as gentle as ever, she didn''t seem to notice that Ryu had a woman on his arm at all, something that left Jojo quite exasperated. She had tried to goad this woman into action several times in recent days, but she hadn''t reacted at all. It seemed that she was wrong about the kind of relationship these two had.


    Ryu welcomed Selheira and Aika, but he seemed to be waiting for something, and indeed, it didn''t take long for it to appear.


    Primus suddenly appeared in the skies, his expression just as indifferent. He waved a hand and a power surrounded Ryu to the point that he was completely immobilized. He didn''t explain anything else and simply sat in the skies, focusing on a piece of flesh that he was dissecting.


    Ryu couldn''t even change his facial expression, it was as though he was completely frozen in time. But, he didn''t need Primus to explain to him what was going on.


    Primus had uttered he wouldn''t allow anyone to touch Ryu for 10 years, but he couldn''t enter the Heavenly Path at his level, not without the purpose to completely obliterate it.


    So... why would he let Ryu enter at all?

 Chapter 1395 Self-Deprecation

    This was a change that was completely unexpected. No one but the most powerful could feel what Primus had done, but it made them just as confused. They didn''t know what was happening, and obviously Primus wouldn''t be explaining it to them either.


    Eska''s expression changed somewhat, but she soon calmed down. She had an understanding of the situation that others didn''t, so she could easily guess what had happened. She hadn''t thought enough about the matter to guess this ahead of time, but now that she had, it made perfect sense. Primus had no reason to risk his chances of completing the Cycle of Karma just to allow Ryu to enter a place that was insignificant to him.


    He obviously didn''t care about Ryu''s progression or how far he would make it. Maybe in Primus opinion, just having him follow him around was a great boon for Ryu and he was actually trying to waste it.


    If it was up to him, he would just directly lock Ryu up for these ten years. The trouble was that if he didn''t actually help Ryu, then how would he be completing the Cycle of Karma? That said, he didn''t have to go above and beyond.


    For the sake of Ryu, he had already offended the Nine Powers by being the de facto protector of both Isemeine and Eska. He was already doing more than enough. He didn''t have to jeopardize himself any further. Plus, this situation would only be until the Complete Heavenly Path gateway closed. After that, he would release Ryu as though nothing else had happened.


    Ryu couldn''t move at all as there was a sudden WHOOSH.


    Qi began to swirl and rainbow clouds began to shimmer into existence one after another. Soon, an enormous portal had formed.


    Usually, when such a large pull of spatial qi was created, there would be some great changes to the region. But this time, nothing of the sort happened. In fact, it was impossibly calm and tranquil, without even the slightest wind.


    She felt that it was improper to keep pushing. With a sigh, she waved her hand.


    "Enter."


    Her command left no room for questions.


    Selheira gave Ryu a glance before flickering and vanishing, being the first to enter. Soon, a storm of youths began to fly by.


    Jojo didn''t forget to give Ryu a glare. "Coward!"


    After she said this, she too vanished. Once all of the Seventh Heaven geniuses were gone, the Sixth Heaven geniuses made their move, then the Fifth, and finally the Fourth. Soon, only the seniors and Ryu remained.


    Eska sighed. She had never released Ryu''s arm as though to signify that she would remain by his side, but at that moment, she suddenly felt a rush of a milky white qi enter her body. Before she could be surprised, she remembered to maintain her calm. She had seasoned too many years of life to lose her composure so easily.


    At that moment, the gateway began to slowly shrink, accelerating toward closing until next time.


    It was then that a dense grey fog flickered in Ryu''s eyes.

 Chapter 1396 Childish

    Inwardly, despite the relaxed expression on his face, Ryu''s soul was roaring. He was pouring everything he had into this next moment, and compressing it. His Cosmos Fog was an excellent secret weapon in this situation, but it wasn''t perfect. Against a Dao Sovereign, it would probably be used up in less than an instant of time, that wasn''t enough for him to do anything. So, he was pouring all of his recently recovered Embryonic Qi into, fueling his bones and forcing them to produce more and more.


    However, even when he had tapped out his Embryonic Qi reserves, it didn''t quite feel like enough. It seemed that he had still underestimated Primus. No, he had underestimated what it meant to be a Dao Sovereign, one with a step into the Dao God Realm at that.


    His Cosmos Fog wasn''t infallible and he was learning the hard way. However... he wasn''t done yet.


    At the instant of time before the portal closed, the cry of a Phoenix suddenly echoed.


    Ryu''s body exploded forth with countless Runes, each radiating a white gold. At the same time, his soul released a subtle ripple, one that could only come from the Unbalance Mantra. And as though even that wasn''t enough, a pair of translucent wings appeared to his back, rippling with strong wind and spatial qi. And then...


    His Founding Dao erupted.


    It all happened in the blink of an eye. First his Cosmos Fog formed a thick layer around his body, breaking him free for an instant of time.


    Primus looked down with an indifferent expression, hardly reacting to this matter. But the fact that he took his eyes off of what he was doing at all spoke volumes. Even so, it didn''t mean enough to change things. He would simply increase the range.Plus, he could tell that whatever Ryu had used just now was running out, quickly at that.


    However, just when he wanted to lock onto Ryu again, there was a distortion. Ryu''s Unbalance Mantra seemed to warp reality itself, but it wasn''t it alone. Those White Runes that coated his body seemed to latch onto those warped rules, shredding them to pieces and putting them back together in a completely incomprehensible way.


    Ryu shot back like a ball out of a canon, spitting up a mouthful of blood. He ricocheted across the earth, suddenly finding himself several kilometers away from the portal he had just been a few meters from. The gap between Dao Sovereign and World Sea Realm experts wasn''t something that could be closed by a few tricks.


    The other Sky Gods remained silent. Primus'' speed was unlike anything they had ever seen before, even Aika felt a cold sweat drip down her back. She had had her suspicions before, but now she was certain. She wasn''t just a small measure weaker than this person, she couldn''t even track his movements.


    Primus could have moved long before, but it was as though he had purposely waited until the final moment he could, and even then, it seemed like he could have waited even longer if he had really wanted to. It was a hopeless disparity.


    At that moment, the portal closed, blinking out of existence. The wind came back and the birds began to chirp once again, the rainbow clouds above fading out of existence as a silence fell.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then another, while Primus only gave him a glance, ready to vanish once again. But right then, Primus'' gaze focused as he turned back toward Ryu.


    Eska had rushed over to his side, a sparkle of worry in her eyes as she bent to his side. But when she touched him, Ryu''s body seemed to crumble. First the white Runes dissipated, and then his skin crumbled, leaving behind a fog that scattered into the air. But there was something else mixed within the fog, something heavy and dense, so much so that when Eska''s finger touched it, she recoiled it, looking at her once slender, beautiful finger in shock.


    Right now, her once flawless finger was bruised and crushed as though it had been chewed up by some sort of mechanical beast and spit out. Despite the pain, she felt far more shock.


    As the last of Ryu''s body crumbled, a formation took the shape of two middle fingers, causing Eska to be speechless. Since when had Ryu been so childish?


    "Fuck you, old bastard. I''lI see you on the other side."

 Chapter 1397 Lord Husband Does Nota?|

    Primus stood in silence. Even now, he didn''t quite understand what had happened. Even after several moments, he still didn''t. But if it was so easy to see through, then how could it have fooled him in the first place?


    For the first time, he felt a hint of seriousness. This wasn''t because he had failed to stop his great grandson, but rather an understanding of what it meant for Ryu to be able to outsmart and out think him. Simply put, if Ryu could do it once, he could do it again. And in a situation where his Karma hinged on Ryu''s cooperation this was...


    Very bad.


    At that moment, Primus suddenly grinned.


    It had been a long time since he had felt any sort of blood boiling conviction. His opponents were too weak, and this was part of the reason he was going to force his way into the Ninth Heaven. He never thought that this feeling would actually come from someone who wasn''t even in the Sky God Realm yet, let alone his own descendant.


    Primus laughed, his laughter echoing throughout the world and reverberating. Compared to the commotion that Ryu''s breakthrough had caused, this was simply on an entirely different level. Just his laughter alone increased the temperature of the Sixth Heaven by as much as ten degrees Celsius across the board, and it didn''t even seem like he had done it on purpose.


    Without another word, he walked away and flickered and vanished. The next thing those present felt was a surging aura that tore the skies open.


    The gazes of the Sky Gods present constricted. That tear... it was definitely leading up to the Seventh Heaven, but how could it possibly be so easy to open such a path without a Spatial Soul Nature... unless?!


    Half-Step Dao God.


    They all turned a deathly sheen of pale. It was only the change of a few words, and yet it felt to them that they were being suffocated. The gap between what they thought Primus to be and what he actually was was so enormous that it drowned them. Suddenly, they felt that it was more reasonable that he had entirely ignored the face of the Nine Powers.


    Indeed, the guidance of a Half-Step Dao God was far better than one might expect from the Complete Heavenly Path. Why would Ryu even care to enter if he wasn''t holding a resentment against his great grandfather?


    Eska didn''t explain anything further, but everyone latched onto this story, and they felt that Ryu was even more untouchable than they had presumed in the past. A Half-Step Dao God in his lineage was already enough for Ryu to be untouchable, but for this Half-Step Dao God to feel a great deal of guilt and responsibility toward him...


    Well, in that sort of situation, even the Nine Powers would be hesitant about exactly how they approached Ryu, even if they had a resentment against him. This was the reality. No one wanted to deal with a lone wolf who was so powerful, especially when he felt that he had nothing else to lose.


    Of course, Eska had purposely chosen these words. Not only were they the truth, but they gave herself and Ryu a shield of protection that would last for an extremely long time, at least on the Seventh Heaven. She could clearly sense the change in demeanor immediately.


    Asce''s expression darkened for an instant before he slowly recovered and returned to his usual self. Such a thing wasn''t enough to throw him off of his game entirely.


    "I see. So a doting Ancestor procured a wife for his descendant, is that it? I sympathize with you, fairy."


    Asce''s words were quite melancholic, but also laced with daggers. It was a bit below him to attack someone younger in this way, but with the way he veiled his words, they didn''t sound wrong to those who heard them at all.


    Eska looked toward Asce with an indifferent glance.


    "Lord Husband does not speak of his family matters. I learned about this matter at the same time as you all. I chose Lord Husband on my own. Please mind your words."


    Eska''s words carried a biting cold with them.

 Chapter 1398 Shit

    Asce''s gaze flickered, but he maintained his smile. "I see, I''ll be more mindful in the future. Apologies, fairy."


    Aika snorted and took Eska''s arm, leaving Asce and the others. Clearly, her intention was to have Eska come with them once they had cleared the requirements of the Complete Heavenly Path.


    She sighed inwardly. Although they now had Ryu, she was still slightly worried. The difficulty of the Complete Heavenly Path wasn''t set to the Sixth Heaven. The rewards that appeared and the difficulty would all be scaled to the geniuses that entered. In fact, even those that could enter were adjusted depending on the situation.


    Usually, the World Sea Realm was the highest state you could be in to enter a Heavenly Path, whether it was the Complete or Incomplete one. However, this time, it had actually allowed some who had some aspects within the Fragmented Sky God Realm in.


    Luckily, the Seventh Heaven hadn''t expected this change, so those that had entered had only been from the Sixth Heaven. But the gap was frightening indeed. While there would definitely be some checks and balances, it was impossible for things to be perfectly fair, and she wasn''t entirely sure what would happen this time.


    Her senses felt that there was something special about this opening, but she couldn''t put her finger on it. She felt like if they failed this time, they would regret it for a lifetime. But she unfortunately couldn''t take action herself. This was all she could do and it left her feeling frustrated, as though she had been born far too early.


    ''Good luck...''


    ...


    Ryu appeared in a twisting miasma of Heavenly Favor once again. With his improved talent, he should have been able to move through it much more quickly, but he still felt somewhat sluggish. There was definitely a change here that he wasn''t aware of. But this wasn''t something that he could focus on at all, because the state of his body right now was terrible, and he had run out of Embryonic Qi to heal him.


    Ryu took a deep breath. It should be fine, in a few minutes he would finish forming his first drop of Embryonic Qi and his body would be back in tiptop shape. So long as his body was in an optimal state, he could protect him and then find an area to recultivate his soul to his previous level and get rid of his headache.


    Unfortunately, the Golden Moon World was sealed now. It was obvious that the Heavenly Path had sensed the Favor Alchemy Sky God and taken action. Obviously, they wouldn''t allow such an obvious loophole, or more accurately, a treasure of a former Sixth Heaven Clan wouldn''t be able to fool this world.


    Suddenly, Ryu fell through the last of the miasma, causing his expression to flicker. He contemplated that he would have enough time to at least heal his body, but it seemed that the illusion of him moving slowly was exactly that. His talent had, indeed, gained a great boost.


    ''Shit.''


    Ryu vaguely sensed it even before it landed, but he couldn''t do anything about it.


    BANG!


    His already badly mangled body was sent flying like a ragdoll.


    Down below, a man with burning red gaze stood, seething. No... his eyes were actually a light shade of brown, it seemed that he was just so enraged that his eyes had taken on this color.


    ''Mental Realm Master..'' Ryu contemplated as he flew out. ''A Sky God? What good luck...''


    He already had a guess who this was. Who else if not the elusive First Disciple of Saint Rinushka. He had nearly overlooked that Aika had slain that man, but this individual certainly didn''t forget.

 Chapter 1399 WHAT?!

    Saint Rinushka wasn''t a man that Ryu was intimately familiar with. In fact, he had only met him once. The trouble was that he had killed his youngest disciple, he still remembered how annoying that little bastard was. Of course, he didn''t know his background at the time and it was only Aantha, Mae''s cousin, who had informed him... not that it would have made much of a difference.


    He killed who he wanted to kill.


    Unfortunately, the issue with being so disobedient was the fact that someone would always come to demand a debt. At moments like these, he almost felt that Primus was a bit noble. It was too bad that he was also a spineless piece of trash.


    Pierthorn looked at his hand, somewhat astonished.


    At first, he couldn''t believe his luck. He had recognized Ryu long ago. Due to this man, he had gone from a person that stood on top of the world and whom not a single soul dared to offend, to a man who had spent the better part of the last two years on the run.


    Under his master''s influence he had offended a lot of people, but no one that he couldn''t deal with personally, he wasn''t that shameless. The trouble wasn''t who he had offended, but rather who his master had offended.


    As a Transcendent Sky God that had ridden on the heads of many Omniscient Sky Gods, it was safe to say that the Saint had a great number of enemies. He had obviously thought that Aika would just be one more to this number, but who would have expected that not only would his clone die, but Aika would even be able to use a mysterious method to target his real body at the same time.


    This left his first disciple carrying a heavy weight. As the saying went, a master for a day was a father for a lifetime, and unfortunately it was the Fate of the son to carry on the sins of his father. This was the reality of it all. He had benefited from his master''s umbrella, and because he had, he had to deal with the consequences. This was Karma.


    Even so, that didn''t mean that he was happy about it.


    ''I need to go all out. If someone witnesses this...''


    The current location wasn''t exactly hidden. They were in a rocky land, and there were many mountains in the distance. There was some sparse greenery, if they could even be called that. They were far more grey and brown than they were green. At the same time, there was this odd pressure above as though it was leading people by the nose, dangling a piece of meat before them just far enough away that they couldn''t fully understand what was happening.


    There was no region for him to disappear quickly outside of the mountains, but they weren''t a range, but were rather far more spread out than was usual for such a group. Speed wasn''t his forte, so this would be dicey. The only choice was to crush Ryu with his full force as quickly as possible.


    He stopped holding back. Retracting and flicking his palm, his Spiritual Qi surged.


    Ryu immediately tried to pull out his God Treasure, but that failed. That mysterious energy dangling a piece of meat almost slapped him out of the skies, and not long later he crashed and rolled along the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.


    He didn''t stay there, immediately rolling up to his feet, but he had only just when he grabbed his head, roaring out in pain.


    Pierthorn''s Spiritual Qi was fast, descending without technique first and crashing into Ryu''s mind.


    "What?!"


    Pierthorn''s eyes widened. He had begun preparing a true technique out of pure habit, he hadn''t thought he would need it. But the fact Ryu was screaming meant that he still wasn''t dead.


    "What kind of mental defences could possibly protect a Soul Ascension Realm expert from me?!"

 Chapter 1400 I Cana?|

    Ryu''s Magus Lock threatened to collapse entirely. Just in case, before he had split his soul, he underwent a great deal of trouble to rebuild and reconstruct his Magus Lock. With his talent, he was already infinitesimally close to the Soul Quintessence Realm, at least in terms of the size of his Spiritual Sea - when his soul wasn''t split in two, that is. Even so, the Magus Lock he had on right now was the representation of the best of his abilities, and yet half of it had collapsed due to a single attack.


    Much like the change to Cosmic Qi after the Cosmic Seed Realm, entering the Soul Quintessence Realm allowed a qualitative change in one''s Spiritual Qi that was impossible to fight against with quantity alone. Ryu had plenty of quantity, but when it came to quality, it was several steps behind Pierthorn.


    At that moment, he almost regretted not attempting to break through. In truth, his soul talent was so exceptional now that if he focused for a month or two, entering the Soul Quintessence Realm in one fell swoop wouldn''t be an issue. But he discarded this thought the moment he had it. What was the worth of his Perfect Blackbody Soul if he couldn''t make full use of it?


    It had to be remembered that at its foundation, the Perfect Blackbody Soul was only ranked at the Ancient Grade. That was a talent barely good enough to be ranked in the Third Heaven. The only way to unearth its full potential was by one, having a powerful enough body that you could take advantage of its ability to infinitely expand, and two, by swallowing up Natural Treasures or profound understandings that could grant you powerful Soul Natures.


    Ryu refused to cut off his potential just because of a mere Pierthorn.


    ''FOCUS!'' He roared in his mind.


    Ryu activated what was left of his Cosmos Fog to slow the time within his body even more than he would normally be able to with his Spacetime Soul Nature alone, and then he began to circulate the technique of the Prayer Mat, moving that mysterious energy through his Seven Spirits as he quickly began to replenish his Focus Qi.


    Of course, his Focus Qi hadn''t dwindled. The problem was that Pierthorn''s attack, on top of the migraine he already had, was whipping his mind out of focus. He couldn''t control his qi or his body, and if he just sat here, he would only be able to wait for death.


    Knowing this, he immediately activated this circulation method, not for the purpose of accumulating Focus Qi, but rather to force his body into a state where focus was its number one priority.


    In that instant of time, he managed to regain control of his body and he forced his Spiritual Sense to manifest. The feeling was akin to his body being ripped in two. Having torn his soul apart not long ago, forcing his Spiritual Sense to manifest was like sticking a finger into a festering wound and trying to dig out the infection with a jagged nail.


    Ryu had experienced a great deal of pain in his life, but this had to be among the very worst. Even so, his mind was extremely pointed as his cold glare landed on Pierthorn.


    However, just when he was about to chain Ryu up, the latter vanished again, appearing hundreds of kilometers away with beads of sweat falling down his brow.


    ''I can''t let this continue, there has to be a way to vanish completely.''


    Ryu had already reached the state of being able to enter the void even without his God Treasure. The problem was that his soul was too injured to allow him to maintain it.


    Entering the void was a very dangerous matter. After crossing the threshold of the skill and/or strength needed to do so, the actual process itself could end your life. One had to rely on their innate talent to avoid these potential dangers.


    However, at the moment, those fast twitch responses that Ryu relied on from his instincts had instead become roaring pangs of pain.


    ''I can...''


    Ryu flipped his palm, his Matrix appearing. Then, gritting his teeth and releasing another roar of pain, he vanished into the void.


    If his talent couldn''t keep up, he would have to rely on his mind to calculate what his soul couldn''t. As for whether he could focus long enough to do so...


    Pierthorn landed heavily in the location Ryu had just vanished, gnashing his teeth. As a Mental Realm Master, he could still sense Ryu''s location, but he didn''t have the strength of a Transcendent. How could he still attack Ryu?


    ''Follow him, he doesn''t seem to be able to keep this up for long!''


    Though he articulated this, Pierthorn was sweating. Since he had attacked, he really couldn''t allow Ryu to leave. But Ryu, who he wanted to follow, was already over a thousand kilometers away.

 Chapter 1401 Limits

    Ryu felt as though his head was being pounded by a continuous string of hammers. Even so, his gaze was entirely focused on the matrix before him.Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    Flying through the void without access to his usual level of Spacetime affinity was like blazing through a belt of asteroids at full speed with your eyes blindfolded. Even when he took out his matrix, the only difference was that while he was still blindfolded, he could barely hear the whistling of the asteroids... from within the cockpit of his ship.


    It was truly not the best of situations, and if he ever failed to remain within the void and stepped out of an inappropriate location, he could very well find himself impaled by even the most mundane of materials. Losing his life to a stray and wandering leaf, or a bird''s shit falling from the skies, wasn''t on the top list of his priorities for the day, but given his situation, both were equally likely to happen.


    If his body was suddenly superimposed with something it shouldn''t be, death would be near immediate depending on which body part it was, and his life might be at risk even if it was a relatively less important body part.


    On top of this, there was another worry that was creeping up in the back of his mind, and that was the situation of the Heavenly Path. The moment he had entered, he had been attacked, so he had no method of trying to figure out exactly what sort of land he was within right now, and what sort of challenges he might face. For all he knew, Pierthorn was his "task".


    The Incomplete and Complete Heavenly Paths should be different in the way they functioned. The Incomplete Path was split into stages, and it granted opportunity to most. But the Complete Heavenly Path had already undergone a significant change by even allowing those with Sky God aspects to enter in the first place. There was no telling exactly what might be going on, and he didn''t like the fact that he was wasting so much time without being able to lock in and figure things out as quickly as possible.


    His gaze flashed with a cold light that was disrupted by yet another pang of pain. He wasn''t even allowed to be angry anymore, what a terrible deck of cards he was dealt. If he didn''t make Primus'' life a living hell for this, his name wouldn''t be Ryu Tatsuya.


    The distance between Ryu and Pierthorn now was several thousand kilometers. But this was the trouble with dealing with a Mental Realm Sky God. The range of their Spiritual Sense was infuriating.


    There really was no fairness in this damned world. He, a World Sea Realm expert, was not only tossed into the same combat zone as a Sky God, but the arena itself was also so small that said Sky God could cover a large majority of its range with his Spiritual Sense. On top of that, he had even been sneak attacked the moment he entered, it was a perfect trifecta of absolute bullshit.


    Even if he managed to hide from Pierthorn now, it wouldn''t even take the latter an hour to find him unless this space was much larger going the other way. However, judging by the curve of the barrier, and assuming a perfect semi sphere, Ryu already calculated that it wasn''t.


    If he wanted to hide from Pierthorn, he would need to set up a concealment formation strong enough to hide from Soul Quintessence Realm expert. But how would he do that?


    That state of his soul was terrible, and even if he was in top condition, it would take a great deal of luck and effort to pull it off. To make matters worse, as though they needed to be, he didn''t have the time or the bandwidth left to deal with this.


    If he wanted to pull it off, he would have to stay within the void, and staying within the void would necessitate him using his Matrix. Usually, he would still have enough endurance remaining to divide and deal with this matter as well, but right now he couldn''t afford such a thing.


    ''Run, I have to keep running until my life force energy recovers enough to heal my body at least!''


    While he was so concentrated on the state of his mind and soul, his body felt as though it was falling apart. Taking a hit from a Sky God while in such terrible condition already was practically a death sentence for anyone but him...


    But even he was reaching his limits.

 Chapter 1402 Terrible Luck

    A bloody grin spread across Ryu''s face as he immediately turned to the left and bolted with his fastest speed. When was the last time he had been forced to run away from someone so much more powerful than him? Probably back when he had first stepped onto the Pedestal Plane. But the woman that had left him in such a sorry condition had fallen so far behind him by the time he saw her again that he couldn''t even be bothered to kill her.


    This Pierthorn, though... he wouldn''t make him wait for long. He would have his head on a pike soon enough.


    Pierthorn noticed the barrier soon and guessed the same thing Ryu had. When he realized that the latter couldn''t run away, his eyes glowed with a fierce light and then he relaxed. He laughed into the skies as though he was a man locked in a cage for years that had suddenly been released. Why wouldn''t he relax? What chance did Ryu stand now? Especially since it seemed as though there was simply no one else in this region.


    He realized that soon Ryu wouldn''t be able to hold on. However, the moment he had this thought, he caught himself.


    His master had been an extremely cautious person. Despite being a Transcendent Sky God that even Omniscient Sky Gods were hesitant around, he only traveled with his clone and he never put himself in the line of danger if he didn''t have to. And yet, he had died simply because he had provoked the wrong person.


    He knew well what Ryu''s background was and who his Ancestor was. While Aika had been an unknown to his teacher, how could the same be said of Ryu? If he had all of this information and still somehow managed to fumble the situation, he would be worse than a fool.


    ''What can he use to escape me? Treasures? No, I''ve tried using my treasures here already, and yet I can''t access any of them. Even my alchemic pills, ones that I meticulously prepared, aren''t where I stored them. It''s obvious that this world wants you to rely on nothing but yourself.


    ''In that case, the only thing he could possibly use to hide from me would be a formation... but how could a World Sea Realm expert lay a formation that I can''t see through? So long as I catch the faintest fluctuations, he would be finished.


    ''The last possibility is hiding underground, Spiritual Sense doesn''t travel as far through the ground, but he doesn''t seem to be an earth qi cultivator, so he shouldn''t have any earth escape or fusion techniques, and if he tries to dig one the normal way, the residual effects would be too easy for me to spot, it would be even worse than the formation...''


    ''There''s got to be a pocket somewhere, anywhere,'' Ryu thought to himself.


    His senses couldn''t be spared to find a location. He was trying to run into one by luck, but he quickly found out how foolish that was. He needed a better method, something that would actually work.


    He grit his teeth, but then his eyes flashed with an idea.


    He stripped himself of his clothes and then tossed them out of the void.


    The moment this happened, his clothing and the rock overlapped and flashed. They both crumbled.


    ''Where is it?''


    Ryu couldn''t calculate everything as precisely as he could in the past, so he had suddenly lost track of exactly where his clothes had gone. He felt like he was suffocating, his mind about to reach the end of his rope when he finally found it an entire kilometer away from where he had been standing.


    He rushed into the hole that had been formed and collapsed, gasping for breath in the fetal position because the hole that had formed was only large enough to accommodate such a thing.


    He nearly passed out, but he bit his tongue hard.


    He couldn''t help but shake his head inwardly. His fortune was truly terrible.

 Chapter 1403 Too Long

    Ryu tried to regulate his breathing. He didn''t even waste the energy to create a larger space around himself, it would not only be an effort he couldn''t afford to put out right now, it wouldn''t be easy and it would cause a disturbance that he wasn''t willing to deal with.


    This many kilometers beneath the surface, the pressure was off the charts, and the hardness of the rocks reflected that. The density of material in a nigh Seventh Heaven environment was already sturdy enough to withstand the battle of high level Sky Gods, let alone Ryu''s fists, especially so far beneath the surface. So, he had to make do for now.


    On the surface, Pierthron was in his own bind. He had actually lose track of Ryu. At first, he thought it would be easy to find the little bastard even after he slipped away. Those orbs of light that he had left in his wake had shrunk Ryu''s chances of escape by even more. They were essentially ranged probes that could act as stand-ins for his own Spiritual Sense. So long as someone passed by within a certain range of it, or there was an odd energy fluctuation around it, or even another Spiritual Sense passed over it, he would be in the know.


    But Ryu seemed to have vanished into thin air.


    Pierthorn''s expression became frighteningly cold. He was no longer worried about Ryu escaping, so he was easily able to remain calm. He could even take his time to adjust his condition and be prepared for when Ryu appeared again, but he didn''t do this. He had barely used any energy, and the stamina of a Sky God was far more than a World Sea Realm expert could fathom. He wouldn''t give Ryu an opening to do this.


    ''He''ll need to recover. The moment he starts pulling qi in from his surroundings, it will be a simple matter to find him. Even a concealment formation can''t hide qi outside of its bounds...''


    What he didn''t know was that Ryu had absolutely no need to draw in qi from the outside. Why would he with access to an entire Plane''s qi within him?


    ...


    Ryu''s Embryonic Qi finally recovered a drop and he immediately used it, but not long after, his expression turned dark. A single drop of his Embryonic Qi could even cause large changes in a Sky God like Isemeine, so why didn''t it fully heal him?


    ''Taboo...''


    Ryu''s annoyance increased, but there was no need to panic. Pierthorn still couldn''t find him, so it didn''t matter if he took a few more minutes to fully recover.


    It was clear that because his body had firmly stepped onto a Taboo Path now, it would take more than just one drop of Embryonic Qi to heal him now. It was also probably in part due to the fact that it was Infinity Mist that had harmed him so much as well. This was an extremely high level of energy, and its effects couldn''t be easily waved away with a hand. If not for the fact it was partially under his control, he would have died.


    Despite feeling that this made some sense, Ryu wasn''t satisfied with this explanation. Embryonic Qi was also an exceptionally high level energy, one existing on the same level as Essence and Chaos Qi. Why was it restrained by the Taboo Path?


    The reality wasn''t that it was restrained, but rather that the Taboo Path was restrained. Matters of Faith, Karma and Fate intertwined themselves with every aspect of the martial world, and this was only doubly so in the True Martial World.


    A complex formation lay in its depths, at the center of which was a flickering white flame, the name of which Ryu had still never tried to pronounce. With this white flame as the center, waving about like a ball of content, his soul always seemed to tend toward perfection.


    What breaking into the Soul Ascension Realm had taught him was that there was, indeed, a limit to the Perfect Blackbody, a limit that went beyond what the soul could do, and rather pushed up against what the Heavens could allow... And this formation would help him reach that.


    It would have to do at least that much since it made him abandon a Dao Sovereign''s self-created technique. It went to show just how much confidence Ryu had in himself now.


    Maybe what he liked most about this formation, though... was how it perfectly melded with his Magus Lock, intertwining and even becoming a part of it. This was the reason his Magus Lock had actually been able to withstand Pierthorn''s blow.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s eyes flashed open, a dense coldness within. He was now in his peak condition.


    There was no one here? He faced a Sky God alone? And he even had a protective talisman in that old bastard?


    Good. It was about time he found out what the true extent of his power was. What did it mean for Ryu Tatsuya to use 100% of everything he had?


    Right now, Ryu wasn''t the only one struggling. The mighty Seventh Heaven geniuses came across their own partial Sky Gods one after another, unlucky enough to have not broken through themselves. In fact, it almost felt as though the Heavenly Path had done it on purpose for one reason or another...


    However, at the moment, Ryu wasn''t thinking about the Fate of others. He had revenge on his mind.


    BANG!


    The earth exploded as Chaos Qi spilled out in all directions.


    His Chaotic Silk Meridians screamed to life, suppressed for far too long.


    Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 1404 Mental Realm Sky God

    Pierthorn was completely taken off guard by the sudden raging tide of qi. At first he thought that his patience had paid off and that Ryu was just a fool who couldn''t control his own cultivation energy properly. But very soon, that thought was through to the back of his head as he spotted Ryu high in the skies, standing upon a great swordstaff with his bow drawn into a full moon.


    Even from here, he could feel the coldness emitting from Ryu. He was actually... enraged?


    Pierthorn was so stunned, and then suddenly furious himself, that he laughed. A World Sea Realm expert dared to be angry with him? Dared to show discomfort and dislike toward the situation of losing to him? Who did he think he was?


    PAK!


    The release of Ryu''s arrow interrupted Pierthorn''s thoughts. The arrow was akin to a roaring wave, the snap of the string like a pop of a bubble holding back all of its seething power.


    It appeared before Pierthorn so quickly that he almost couldn''t react, but out of sheer instinct, he raised his hand, runes of Spiritual Qi gathering and forming a shield before him.


    The collision was immediate and sparkles of qi radiated through the air. However, to Pierthorn''s shock, the arrow actually shattered his shield!


    ''Just what...''


    PAK!


    The second arrow appeared before his forehead and Pierthorn didn''t have time to think at all. He couldn''t understand how a World Sea Realm expert could possibly have such overwhelming qi, so powerful and dense, so utterly surpassing that of his own.


    While he hadn''t entered the Sky God Realm in the Qi Realm just yet, the gap between the Lower World Sea Realm and the Peak World Sea Realm was absolutely enormous. In addition, because he was in the Mental Realm, his consciousness was able to allow him greater fluidity and control over his qi, making him far stronger in that aspect than most Peak World Sea Realm experts. Even if he was to refrain from using his Mental Realm Master abilities, there was no chance for normal World Sea Realm experts to match him.


    ''This qi..''


    Pierthorn''s eyes widened.


    The third arrow came.


    Pierthorn hadn''t even dealt with the second, but his powerful consciousness caught sight of the third hidden in its shadow. It moved so perfectly, so seamlessly. It was a level of skill with the bow and arrow that he hadn''t seen even from Sky Gods.


    It was then that he sensed it.


    Bow God.


    Pierthorn''s neck soared from his head, or rather, his head, part of neck, and half an angled piece of his torso, shoulder, arm and all, flew from what remained of his body.


    Ryu stood to his full height, swinging out his great swordstaff casually. Usually an arc of blood would follow, but his newly forged great swordstaffs, each with a blade as thin as a cicada''s wings, were impossibly perfect. So much so that during that cut, not only had he not felt a single ounce of resistance, it was too swift even for blood to latch on.


    The feeling of not having to suppress his power made him feel like a god, but even more so than that, the power alone was shocking. The gap between the World Sea Realm and the Sky God Realm was enormous. His qi should have no ability to deal with Pierthorn''s, and yet his arrows, formed of nothing but Chaos Qi, had been able to pierce through as though they were equals.


    There was a problem, though. His qi was so potent that it simply didn''t even make sense to use his bloodlines, the gap was too large. This was already his strongest state outside of using his Dao more actively and manifesting his Birthed Phenomena. Of course, there was also using Infinity Mist, but that was a death sentence for him currently.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and his body suddenly vanished.


    BANG!


    The location he had just been standing in erupted in a blaze of sword qi, or something that seemed to mimic it.


    Ryu''s expression darkened.


    After the Soul Birth Realm, cultivators already gained the ability to survive the death of their body. But Ryu obviously knew this, so whenever he dealt a deathblow, he took this into account and drove his qi to rampage a body.


    Obviously, a Mental Realm Sky God was even better in this regard. Let alone just surviving, they could live without their bodies entirely.


    The Zu Clan Ancestors had to rely on a special jade to sustain themselves, but someone who had entered the True Soul Quintessence Realm could survive years without their body. There were even some cultivators who discarded their bodies entirely.


    Of course, more didn''t choose to do this as it painted oneself into a corner, and it also required giving up all of your talent outside of your Dao and Soul Nature. This was a path only extremists would take, especially since there were many other related dangers that Ryu couldn''t be bothered to think of right this moment.


    The short of it was that he had been aware of this, so how could he not take action to prevent it?


    Unfortunately, it seemed that he had still underestimated Sky Gods.


    "BOY!"


    Pierthorn''s furious roar shook the world. The agony in his voice was clear, but the rage was even clearer.


    His Spiritual Qi spilled over, fueling a suffocating presence.

 Chapter 1405 Black Spiritual Qi

    Ryu opened up a large range between them with quite some speed, his steps were light and his Soul Nature moved with even more fluidity than even his feet. He didn''t seem panicked and he even somewhat wanted to see how much strength Pierthorn really had.


    The truth of it was that Ryu had caught Pierthorn off guard and then pressed his advantage without giving the latter room to breathe. This was what his Spacetime Soul Nature was best at, though shockingly enough, in terms of pure offensive power, it was likewise shockingly powerful.


    Pierthorn, for obvious reasons, had never fought someone that could out-maneuver him in such a way, and that was especially so when it was from a distance. A Mental Realm Master''s greatest strength was in long ranged combat, but he had been completely outplayed.


    But now... he was absolutely furious.


    His Spiritual Qi lurched and then solidified. Like dominoes being stacked up in quick succession, countless barriers formed around him. Even after dozens had been formed, he didn''t seem to have any intention of stopping, and to make matters worse, each barrier felt like a moat of thousands of kilometers. Even with his Spacetime Soul Nature, Ryu didn''t feel as though he could cross even one of them, let alone so many.


    ''Fascinating..'' That was the first word that came to Ryu''s mind, before he suddenly realized that the barriers weren''t what he should be focused on at all.


    Those illusory swords formed in the air once more, but they were even more solid than they had been in the past. At the same time, he sensed the faint hint of something different, something quite subtle, and yet powerful. It was akin to a pinch of baking powder that would make pancakes rise, small and insignificant, and yet its lack of presence wouldn''t be missed all the same.


    ''Dao.''


    Ryu was certain, and once he was, he latched onto it. His eyes reflected a sharp light as the illusory swords descended. Something told him that he needed to understand Pierthorn''s Dao before they reached his range, or else dodging just might become impossible.


    Then it clicked.


    Ryu shifted and vanished, dodging out of the way of the sword he hadn''t seen until just moments ago. His Sword God Aura flared and the swords faltered further, dimming once more to become nothing more than keen beads of light in his eyes. Nothing of them was real but a small, centimeter wide sharp hue of light. 99% of the swords were fake, but that only made it more devastating.


    The true blade could be hidden anywhere within the swords and even his Spiritual Sense couldn''t see through them. He might step past a blade that he thought he had already dodged, only to find his throat slit.


    But that was only the first layer of the illusion. The second layer was the movement of the illusory swords themselves, and then the third was their solidification.


    More important than all of that, though, was just how subtly Pierthorn used his Dao. If not for Ryu''s hyper sensitivity, he wouldn''t have known he was using it at all. It was hard to imagine just how many had died to Pierthorn without even knowing how it happened.


    ''Is this how Sky Gods battle? How boring.''


    Ryu raised a palm and his Great Swordstaff slapped into his hand with a satisfying pop.


    He raised it, leisurely, blade tip pointed toward exactly where the roaring Pierthorn was. Having lost his body, Pierthorn was absolutely furious, he didn''t even seem to realize why it was that Ryu had managed to dodge his attack at all. But by the time this transient thought passed through his mind and he tried to remind himself to calm down, it was too late.


    A blade suddenly appeared before his somewhat weak soul form, but what was scary wasn''t the blade itself, but rather what coated it... a dancing blade energy of concentrated Spiritual Qi.


    Black Spiritual Qi? He had never...


    His body was cut apart, shredded to pieces, and then consumed whole.

 Chapter 1406 Luck Based

    Ryu''s face twisted with some disgust as he felt Pierthorn''s power trying to return to him.


    It was no surprise that Ryu had relied on the ability of his Perfect Blackbody Soul. There was truly nothing more effective against other souls than the devouring character of his own. However, the troublesome aspect of this was that he actually had to... devour.


    It wasn''t that Pierthorn disgusted him as a person, though sneak attacking a World Sea Realm expert when you already had a foot into the Sky God Realm was pretty despicable, the real reason his face twisted in disgust was because Pierthorn''s memories had come with them, that and the fact he felt that this Mental Realm Master''s Spiritual Qi was nowhere near pure enough.


    Upon entering the Soul Quintessence Realm, Spiritual Qi was no longer referred to as such and was instead called Quintessence by some, Spirit by others, and some others yet still called it Spiritual Quintessence.


    It should have been to Spiritual Qi what Cosmos Qi or God Qi was to Mortal Qi or Immortal Qi, but it felt muddled and quite trashy when Ryu sensed Pierthorn''s, as though he had been in too much of a hurry to breakthrough, something odd considering his usual caution.


    Of course, what Ryu didn''t know was that Pierthorn hadn''t been in a rush at all.


    Just like normal Qis, Spiritual Qi had grades, it was just that this didn''t become obvious until solidifying it all into Soul Quintessence. This grade was decided by not only your Soul Talent, but also your cultivation method.


    Ryu had been using a Dao Sovereign''s training method until this point, and even after he had abandoned it, it was for good reason. Quite frankly, he had never seen Spiritual Qi this poor. As for before he had entered the True Martial World, he chalked much of that up to his soul being messed with before his birth.


    Why certain bastards and the heavens liked to test one''s fortune so much, he would never understand. Then again, much of his strength now was due to the luck of what he was born with, that was exactly the point. The luck of the draw had already played out in all of their lives already, doing it any more was like slapping the faces of those that hadn''t gained the luck of the draw with constant reminders of how inferior they were, never giving them a chance to rise up.


    Ryu shook his head. He didn''t know when he had gotten so sentimental, but his stare quickly became frigid again. He looked forward and toward the entrances.


    He wasn''t just anyone anymore. He was a man with a Founding Dao. A Dao that could change the very fabric of the Heavens should it be allowed to grow to that point one day.


    "Reveal yourself to me."


    Ryu uttered lightly, his Birthed Phenomena rising from behind him.


    The portals seemed to swirl with various colors, much of which was a faA?¡ìade, but a deeper layer of which was laid bare beneath his consciousness.


    His eyes locked onto one with a silvery construct wrapping around its base. It was familiar, calming, even. It was a silver that he had seen through for much of his life.


    His Birthed Phenomena collapsed and his body stumbled, but his grin spread across his lips.


    With a step, he vanished, appearing before the entrance and stepping through without hesitation.

 Chapter 1407 Lucky

    Ryu''s vision went black and his Spiritual Sense was entirely cut off. It felt as though he was in his mother''s womb once again, without the sense of comfort or warmth. In fact, it was quite cold. If this was a passive cold, it would have still been fine. But this level of cold was like fine steel needles piercing into his skin, slowly inching deeper and deeper until it touched upon his bone and continued.


    Ryu frowned, but he didn''t resist, not that he could.


    He could feel the intention of the path. It wasn''t like him to turn back.


    Oddly enough, he couldn''t even quite feel that he was moving forward right this moment, even his proprioception was cut off. The only reason he was certain that he was moving forward at all was because of the confidence he had in his own will power and his control over his body, but he also acknowledged that this could very well be an illusion.


    A feeling of disgust welled up inside of him again. If you were going to test luck, then just test luck. Why were you layering a competence challenge on top of that. It didn''t even seem to make sense, it was more cruel than anything else.


    Ryu was slowly finding himself being disgusted with the Heavens again, a novel feeling, at least it was novel compared to how he had felt in the past.


    After Ailsa woke him up, he felt a much deeper understanding for the Heavens and found it to be just an amorphous blob following rules that had been decided long ago. As for who decided those rules, he didn''t know, nor did he know if it was possible for a sentient being to decide such important things in the first place.


    However, as he had learned long ago, it was more important how one had come to a conclusion, than what conclusion they had come to.


    In the past, he hated the Heavens because of a false sense of unfairness, especially when he had been given so much more than most others. It was a petty hatred, and one that came from a place of weakness. But whether it was this Heavenly Path, or the Incomplete one, he found himself feeling dissatisfied with how the Heavens did things for much more substantial and honestly mature reasons.


    Ryu didn''t turn back. Even if he had made a mistake in his choice, he would go down with the ship. He was a sharp and decisive person, these petty tricks couldn''t sway him, no matter how much pain they came with.


    Was that it? Was that the Complete Heavenly Path? Was this already the end?


    Of course, asking a World Sea Realm expert, especially a Lower World Sea Realm expert, to battle it out with a Mental Realm Master Sky God was a top level test in every perception of the word, but Ryu felt a bit... dissatisfied.


    ''No, this should just be the first reward. But... Why does it emit a suggestion of finality to it?''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered and it suddenly landed on a floating cube in the skies. It bobbed slightly, radiating an ancient aura. But more importantly than that, it had words on it.


    Ryu smiled. He was so used to figuring things out on his own that he hadn''t even noticed there were rules right in front of him.


    ''I see...''


    The Heavenly Path wanted him to make a choice. He could take a God Treasure now and leave happily. When his eyes cleared once more, he would be in the Seventh Heaven. Or...


    He could continue and try for greater rewards.


    Ryu''s lip curled and he walked past the treasures, leaving out the other end.


    What he didn''t know was that he was rather lucky in this regard.

 Chapter 1408 Protector Spirits

    The truth was that Ryu was correct, these were paths that tested ones luck. Not everyone would find a room of treasures and a path to exit immediately, many more would find challenges, and only a number slightly less than this would die, never to see the light of day again.


    The Heavenly Path wasn''t so kind, and it was surprisingly because of Ryu''s choice that someone else was able to get lucky.


    Most who were lucky enough to reach the stage that Ryu had chose to leave, they had no business here, nor did they feel the need to continue risking themselves. The large majority of them were Sixth Heaven geniuses and this was more than they had expected of themselves.


    However... the Seventh Heaven geniuses, many of whom were matched up against Sky Gods along at least one path, beaten and bloodied, glared at the cube and continued forward.


    These treasures that floated before them were ones that they would eventually get their hands on so long as they continued along their current path. But what they wanted as a chance to change their Fate entirely, this wasn''t enough... they were more ambitious... they wanted more...


    And they were willing to risk their lives for the chance.


    ...


    Ryu''s gaze flashed once again and he found himself in a lush forest. It was far less barren than the previous area, and though he was a bit tired after pushing his Dao to the limit, his smile didn''t fade. This sort of small fatigue would vanish soon enough, and it was the far better Fate in comparison to the state he had been in the last time.


    Feeling his Chaos Qi circulating through his body, Ryu actually felt quite vibrant. It was as though he had been forced to breathe through a mesh all his life, and it had finally been removed now. He didn''t know if he would continue to use his Chaos Qi or not as this world seemed different from the last, but at least for now, he allowed it to move freely.


    The truth was that despite his shift in mentality, Ryu wasn''t going to rely on Primus fully. Ten years was just a short time, and if he revealed all of his cards, then he would be screwed when the time came. Also, Primus wasn''t invincible, it was very likely he would cause so much trouble that there would eventually come a point that he wouldn''t be able to deal with them.


    Of course, the obvious choice seemed to be to target those with the most Protector Spirits and relax in the beginning. But if you did so, you would only be shooting yourself in the foot. That''s because the Protector Spirits could add to a person''s power. If you waited too long, you could find yourself without a Protector Spirit and suddenly not a match for even those that were once far weaker than you.


    Ryu was in the high four digits, close to five digits, in terms of his current ranking. It seemed that almost 10 000 cultivators had entered this region before he had, but he still didn''t feel worried.


    ''Interesting. So it encourages team work, too? How potent are these Protector Spirits?''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he read the last of the rules. He was a bit stunned because he hadn''t expected such a thing.


    The cube floating in the sky recommended that Protector Spirits above the Bronze Grade be attacked in groups. The group that succeeded would be rewarded evenly with the strength of the Protector Spirit.


    Ryu couldn''t help but frown when he perused this. That was because the challenge of this Heavenly Path had already been modified to accommodate for the stronger specialists of the Seventh Heaven. If that was the case, then this warning wasn''t one that could be ignored.


    But... he really didn''t feel like teaming up with anyone.


    His head turned toward a certain direction.


    The only way to find out whether he was assured or unwise was to fight a Bronze Grade Protector Spirit first. He really wanted to see just how potent they were at this level.


    He took a step and vanished.

 Chapter 1409 Mocking

    Ryu''s speed was quick, but he still lagged behind. When he made it to the first Bronze Protector Spirit that he had sensed, there was already a group of individuals present. They were three in number and they wore the garb of a Sect that he found very familiar, but Ryu cared less about this and the fact that one of them was even more recognizable to him.


    Vie. That golden haired, green eyed young man that wielded a glaive, the very same junior of the man that he sworn to be his first kill as a Sky God.


    Ryu raised an internal eyebrow. Vie was much too strong currently compared to what he should be. It hadn''t been that long...


    His eyes narrowed. That was right. There was a time stretch between the Nether Plane and the True Martial Plane. There had been one back in Sacrum as well, but the reason he didn''t really consider it was because he didn''t know if it translated to this world as well. He hadn''t thought much about how many changes had taken place because he pretty much expected these sort of large, broad turnovers to occur. But he realized now that he had been neglectful.


    Vie had already cultivated to the Middle of the World Sea Realm, and he was side by side with two Peak World Sea Realm geniuses of his Sect. They were working well to deal with the Bronze Protector Spirit, so focused that they didn''t immediately notice Ryu. Then again, they couldn''t be blamed. Ryu had gotten into the habit of using his Void Spiritual Sense when he could, so most wouldn''t notice his presence unless they laid eyes on him directly. And sometimes even that was impossible if he chose to travel through the void.


    It could be said that he would already be among the best killers of True Martial World, at least at his cultivation level, so long as he had the thought to do so. However, in this situation... he didn''t really feel the need to hide himself.


    He took a strong step forward and the three young men realized that he was here. They frowned when they recognized Ryu, not having thought that they would be in such a situation. Usually they would disdain a Lower World Sea Realm expert, but it was hard to do so after learning his background. As for Vie, who understood even more about Ryu, his reaction was even more serious than the others.


    The last time he had met Ryu, he had been at the peak of the Dao Pedestal Realm while the latter was in the Path Extinction Realm, yet he had lost handily. Now that they were in the same Realm, he had thought about revenge, but now... he didn''t even feel the confidence to stand before him.


    Much of the matters that had happened back then were muddied in Vie''s mind due to the existence of Starlight, but matters that were directly related to himself, like how he had to pretend passing out to escape from the embarrassment of his loss, were fresh in his mind.


    The sound of Ryu''s fingers pinching together was akin to a hammer forging a piece of hot metal. The eldest found himself frozen, his momentum entirely incapable of moving any further.


    Ryu''s body alone was only a small measure from the Sky God Realms. In fact, it could be said that he was even a half step as he had technically completed what amounted to 10 Life Destructions, one more than the supposed absolute limit.


    Against weak World Sea Realm experts like this, he didn''t even have to circulate his qi. The gap caused by that half step was enormous.


    The eldest''s expression changed and he tried to retrieve his blade. Unfortunately...


    SNAP!


    Ryu twisted his wrist slightly and the rigid blade of the glaive shattered, crumbling to pieces that fell to the ground.


    Ryu looked down toward the fallen pieces with a hint of melancholy in his eyes, almost as though he lamented destroying such a weapon and wanted to apologize for it. The eldest, though, was far too shocked to be enraged by Ryu''s clear and obvious mocking. Soon, though, he would have hoped that that mocking expression would have stayed.


    Ryu looked up, his gaze flashing with cold. "Trying to kill me, hm? Do you think your petty tricks can fool my eyes?"


    Ryu grasped at the air and the fingers of his hands vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 1410 Insights

    1410 Insights


    The eldest froze. He looked down at his chest.


    Ryu hadn''t even closed the gap between them. The length of his glaive''s polearm was almost two meters, and the blade alone was an additional foot and a half. The fact Ryu had caught the tip of the blade met that there were at least two large strides between them, not enough for a single arm to cross, especially not when Ryu hadn''t taken a step forward.


    So... why did it feel like his heart....


    Five bloody holes burst from his chest and blood flowed in five rivers. It dripped to the ground as he crashed backward, his expression growing dull as Ryu''s five fingers appeared once more. However, not a single one of them was bloodied, as though Ryu didn''t want to stain himself with the blood of someone so insignificant.


    Ryu strolled past the eldest, before he even hit the ground.


    Vie and his remaining partner were shaken. They still couldn''t sense Ryu with their Spiritual Sense, but they could definitely sense the fall of their comrade. Their immediate choice was to retreat, moving back from the roaring bear spirit with their fastest speed.


    Ryu watched this scene without much of a chance in expression. He was far more interested in the Bronze Protector Spirit. His goal, in the first place, was to see if they were really so powerful. As for Vie, he was an insignificant character he had already defeated once. He also felt it was more intriguing if Vie was alive for the day his senior died. How would he feel knowing that he was the trigger for everything?


    Vie felt a bitterness rise up his throat when he realized that Ryu had directly ignored him, not even sparing him a glance. But it also reinforced a sensation of inferiority that had been kept deep within his soul.


    At that moment, his gaze went red and he unleashed a roar, his toes slamming into the seemingly soft soil and leaving a small pit as he rushed forward, his glaive swinging upward.


    His Dao Charm technique bloomed and he seemed to become a towering mass of qi. He rose from not even two meters tall to over three, his glaive increasing in size to match him. His aura soared past the eldest and continued rising in an instant. It was clear that while his cultivation was the weakest among the three, his talent and even his combat power was the highest.


    "VIE! STOP!"


    The head of the bear spirit shattered into motes of light. A single punch, an instant death.


    Ryu didn''t even look toward the bear again after sending out that fist. His steps were faster than Vie could react to. He appeared by his side.


    Vie froze, his large body dripping with cold sweat. He could only look at the fallen bear spirit, not understanding. Their trio could have vanquished the spirit, that much he was confident in. Not much time had passed yet, which was why they hadn''t, and they were also reserving their might knowing that they would have to battle far more battles.


    But even if they went all out, could they defeat it in a single strike? No, that was impossible. Just by function of the fact they were fighting in threes while Ryu was alone was a slap to the face of that possibility. He was simply...


    On a level all to his own.


    BANG!


    Vie'' body folded as Ryu''s fist slammed into his hip. A raging torrent of energy threatened to shred him to pieces, his body flying out like a broken kite caught in a roaring storm.


    At that moment, the final motes of light from the Protector Spirit latched onto Ryu and a barely perceptible symbol formed at the center of his forehead.


    ''Hm? Interesting''


    Ryu waved out a hand and he felt that his might had increased, but the thing was that he hadn''t used the Protector Spirit''s power. Instead, he had used its insights.


    It seemed that the Protector Spirits had more to give than just their temporary power.


    Realizing this, Ryu was more determined than ever to kill as many as he could on his own.

 Chapter 1411 Martial Forms

    Ryu''s senses swept through his body, his mind sharp as he checked for the changes. This Protector Spirit seemed to have the ability to change aspects of his muscle memory. He felt that his energy usage had become more efficient, and his muscles fired in a more coordinated and organized motion.


    Though Ryu understood this immediately, he was still surprised. He didn''t understand it so quickly because it was simple, but rather because of his now complete Origin Flame and his Founding Dao, there was very little he couldn''t understand at this point, and his body was among the count that found it almost impossible to baffle him.


    ''Martial Forms...


    It had been a long time since Ryu had thought of these two words. He had stopped practicing his four Martial Forms a long time ago because he had already reached the limit of their usefulness. But he didn''t forget about them, rather they were still a part of him. It was just that he hadn''t had the time to refine a newer, stronger version of them.


    If he still had Ailsa by his side, she would have already probably long since done it for him, especially since he was certain that her current level of strength and understanding was far beyond what it had been in the past.


    His Tatsuya Martial Form had helped him with stability and power, focusing on his lower body and his bones. His Kunan Martial Form had helped with his speed and explosiveness, focusing on his quick twitch muscles and his reaction speed and adaptation to situations. His Ice Phoenix Martial Form had maximized his endurance and durability, focusing on the efficiency of his blood flow and oxygen use. Finally, his Fire Phoenix Martial Form focused on his recoverability and flexibility. It concentrated on accelerated healing and the flexibility of his muscles and overall body.


    All these things were extremely important, and Ryu would have never stopped practicing them had he not stopped seeing the benefit from them. He thought of them from time to time, and subconsciously completed some movements, but it wasn''t to the point of diligence that he had reached in the past, not by a long stretch.


    But this feeling... it was eerily similar to what he remembered them to be.


    Of course, he hadn''t been a fan of the idea in the first place, but he had thought that working with Selheira might not have been too bad. He was the only person he had really considered as he always felt calm in her presence.


    But now, he knew that this was impossible. He could tell that if he split the Protector Spirit with others, then he would also have to experience a split in this boon as well. That would fracture the insights he could gain and that would be unacceptable.


    If he was going to reform the Martial Forms of his family, he would have to make them absolutely perfect. He wouldn''t settle for anything less.


    "In that case, I can''t just concentration on a quantity of Protector Spirits, I also need to find compatible Protector Spirits, and they won''t necessarily have elemental similarities... I''ll have to observe their combat style."


    The bear had nothing to do with the Lightning Qilin, it couldn''t even use lightning, and yet it was a perfect match for the Kunan Martial Form which focused on speed and explosiveness. Although it was lacking in the speed part, it fit in perfectly with the latter.


    This would make things more complicated. After all, there were only two ways to observe a Protector Spirit battle. Either to do it himself or observe others as they did so. Either way, it was trouble.


    If he observed a battle and found a Protector Spirit he liked, he would have to take it.


    If he fought himself, and found that the Protector Spirit wasn''t to his liking, then he would have to remove himself without allowing the spirit to follow.


    Ryu smiled. ''Now things are getting interesting.

 Chapter 1412 Fun

    News of a white haired man floating around, snatching spirits and running from them spread like wildfire. The requirements of this round were much less stringent than it had been in the past, and as such the geniuses were taking their time to exhale breaths and rest between their battles. During this time, they socialized and networked with those they felt they had similar potential to their own, and they of course shared what they had experienced.


    It was safe to say that many were furious, but curiously enough, there were also many who were mocking this man.


    They all knew who this white haired man was, it was none other than the Dao Sovereign''s descendant, and that was precisely why the polarization was so great. On the one hand, those that had their Protector Spirits snatched felt infuriated and thought that Ryu was simply abusing his status. On the other, those that had witnessed him "running away" felt that he wasn''t worthy of having such blood run through their veins.


    It couldn''t be helped. Not everyone was as stupid as Vie''s seniors. When they saw that Ryu was interested in their Protector Spirit, they gave way to him as a sign of good will. Who in their right mind would want to offend such a monster? They even assumed that maybe Primus had stopped Ryu from entering before them so that they wouldn''t see what trump card he would hand him. How could they even fathom the idea of a World Sea Realm expert escaping a Dao Sovereign?


    Then there were those that witnessed him running away. They were even more straight forward with their ridicule, feeling that someone like Ryu truly wasn''t worthy.


    Like this, two groups of people grew to hate Ryu for completely different reasons, and Ryu, who caught a whiff of it, felt that it was more entertaining than anything else. Usually, he might just directly kill anyone he came across saying such things about him, but he found himself just laughing.


    If he wasted time here killing everyone who uttered something, then where would he put his tears when time ran out and he didn''t create the ultimate Martial Forms he wanted to? Though there was no time limit clearly stated, he felt that only a fool would treat it as such. There would definitely be at least one other round, and there was no doubt in his mind that many who were dragging their feet now would regret it when that time came.


    That 999 number he had calculated wasn''t just the number he needed to kill Silver Protector Spirits as easily as he had killed the first bear spirit he had eliminated with a single fist, but it was also the limit this Heavenly Path would allow him to absorb as well.


    This was another worry. He wondered if... the limit for Silver would be even lower, making his dreams of killing Golds effortlessly fly away with the wind. Unfortunately, he couldn''t calculate that until he absorbed one first.


    Ryu punched out several times, feeling the insights of the scorpion inundating him.


    ''Less than a hundred left."


    Ryu had already begun to radiate a strong bronze aura. His aura was radiating out in all directions, but this only made him smile.


    This aura made him easier to find. Usually, he would already be being overwhelmed from all sides. But the shield that useless Ancestor of his gave him was actually quite useful. Many approached from the distance, but when they saw who it was, they turned tail immediately.


    This was a really good feeling. The last time he had had such a badge of protection, he had been a cripple of the Tatsuya Clan. He wasn''t really able to enjoy it at all, aside from being able to speak some sharp words to World Sea Realm experts that annoyed him.


    But now, he truly felt free. It seemed these next ten years would be fun.

 Chapter 1413 Not Enough

    Chapter 1413 Not Enough


    Ryu''s hand gripped down, shattering the face of the 999th Bronze Protector Spirit. After the first hundred, the rest had become even easier to kill as the power of the spirits flooded through him. By this point, his Bronze Aura shone so brightly that it could be mistaken for gold under certain lights, and a blazing pillar of light surrounded him constantly. He could feel without even checking himself that his presence alone could be spotted from dozens of kilometers away through sight alone, if one used the feel of his aura and matched it with their Spiritual Sense, hundreds of kilometers shouldn''t be a problem.


    By this point, Ryu had already completed the Martial Forms to a standard of the True Martial World. When he used them now, he felt the world reacting just as violently as they once did in Sacrum, the problem was that he still felt that... this wasn''t good enough.


    He imagined that this was enough to stand tall in the Seventh Heaven, but the Eighth? Definitely not. In fact, he wasn''t sure if completing the Silver Protector Spirits would allow him to reach that level, it was likely that it would take him assimilating some Gold Protector Spirits to do that.


    As he thought about the matter, he flowed from one Martial Form to the next, his body practically screaming with excitement. His fused Bloodlines agitated themselves in a positive way, reacting with a beauty and understanding that made Ryu''s bones sing.


    Using the Martial Forms was far sharper than just relying on the insight the Protector Spirits gave alone. That was because these insights came in bits and pieces, and while it was subconsciously ingrained into your bones, what it lacked was the nuance necessary to flow from one state easily to the next.


    For example, if Ryu wanted to be explosive, his body would naturally tap into the bear spirit and spirits like it. If he wanted to be fast, it would tap into the scorpion spirit and ones like it. However, he couldn''t seem to be both fast and explosive at the same time.


    This made sense. After all, the muscle memory was built in pieces rather than holistically over a long period of time. It was like training running form and breathing technique separately. If one wanted to go and run a marathon right afterward, but had never practiced them together, who was to say how well things would go?


    It was time. Ryu took a step and vanished.


    He was getting a bit obsessed to the feeling of this kind of speed, this kind of power. The Protector Spirits flowing through his veins threatened to overload his mind, and would have overloaded practically anyone else''s. But from what Ryu could tell, both his soul and his Dao worked in tandem to suppress and control them.


    Once he fused with the Silver Protector Spirits, they would become the de facto rulers of his consciousness and this strength, and it would then become up to him to suppress and control them.


    Regardless of what it was, he felt confident in his success.


    Even though he thought this, he knew that the more powerful he made the Martial Form individually, the more difficult they would be to fuse. He had to be cautious with how he approached this, but he would also prefer nothing at all than settle for something imperfect.


    "This region is a bit...."


    The terrain didn''t change much as it was still a dense forest, but Ryu realized now why he hadn''t really been bothered until this point. It wasn''t just because of Primus'' protective shield, but also because the elite had already begun hunting much higher Protector Spirits. Clearly, they hadn''t thought to limit out like he did, they probably didn''t have sharp enough senses to realize that there was a "max" in the first place.


    Ryu came across the first Silver Protector Spirit almost instantly and he was immediately interested.


    The issue was that the aura he was intrigued in wasn''t the spirit itself, but rather the cluster of five battling it, each of them with a slight silver aura themselves.

 Chapter 1414 I鈥檇 Rather...

    Chapter 1414 I''d Rather...


    A group of five faced off against a roaring wolf spirit beast with three spiraling tails. The tails moved like shadows, throwing faints and jabs that they were on high alert against, only to swipe down with its claws, catching one of the five off guard and knocking them back several paces.


    It was clear why Ryu wasn''t interested in this Protector Spirit. Its main ability was in using its body and subtlety to trick its enemies into misunderstanding its true intentions. It was actually a beautiful style because it not only hid the fake in reality, but it could also his the reality in what was fake. You could never see the real strike coming because it felt like just as much as a feint as all the others.


    Under normal conditions, Ryu might be interested in such a thing. It would pair well with his Spacetime Soul Nature. If he could layer reality and fiction throughout both time and space, he would be almost impossible to deal with. However, he was solely focused on one matter right now. If he split his attention, he would never accomplish his goals, and he couldn''t waste precious space on useless spirits to him, at least relatively useless, that is


    But that also meant that he would have to wait until these five finished, he didn''t want to have to kill the Protector Spirit to deal with it, or else it would fuse with his body. It was a good enough time to observe them.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. Down before, one of the five was familiar. Iroh, of the Twin Earth Dragon Sect, that big bellied young man he had met after exiting the little woman''s Legacy World. He still wielded those two hammers, and he was just as ferocious as ever. However... he had stepped into the Sky God Realm with his body. On top of that, he had a silver aura around him.


    A single Silver Protector Spirit was worth as much as Ryu''s 999 Bronze Protector Spirits. This was why it took him absorbing that many to be able to defeat a silver one just as easily as he had defeated his first Bronze Spirit. That also meant that he couldn''t use this advantage to deal with this group either.


    He shook his head inwardly. Breaking through the Sky God Realm with one path shouldn''t have been so common. The default path was to enter the Sky God Realm in the Qi Realm and proceed through smoothly. This would raise the norm of your body and soul naturally, and this was the path most people took.


    He could feel an agitation deep within, an agitation he hadn''t sensed the last time he saw Iroh, maybe because his Bloodlines had been so restricted for so long. He knew what that feeling was...


    It was a rivalrous spirit.


    It seemed his Bloodlines, his Dragon Bloodline in specific, felt that it was on the same level as Iroh and his Sect brothers. That... Left a taste of disgust in his mouth.


    He was a powerful Fire Dragon, the Emperor of all Dragons. A mere lizard wanted to be on the same level as him?


    The smile on his face became cold, a arrogant disdain roaring from him as his body erupted with a white gold aura. Scales of white coated his body, bright white wings shredding his robes apart and exposing a powerful, chiseled torso.


    Iroh''s gaze narrowed. He didn''t know what Ryu wanted, but he felt a discomfort deep within. His gaze turned red, a low growl coming from his lips as his large, iron belly rumbled..


    BANG!


    Ryu''s Chaos Qi flourished.


    "I originally planned to ask you all to hand over that snake spirit within you and we could go our separate ways... but I think I would prefer to beat it out of you instead."


    A wild, toothy grin spread across Ryu''s face as he took a step forward, vanishing.

 Chapter 1415 Smooth

    Chapter 1415 Smooth


    Iroh''s pupils constricted. He could feel something stirring deep within him. His better judgment told him not to fight Ryu, it wasn''t worth offending the Ancestor that stood to his back. But the moment he heard those provocative words, his large belly thrummed with a bronze light, his gaze turning into slits and the earth beneath him rumbling.


    He reached out with his twin pair of hammers, his gaze as fiery as that of a dragon''s... but that only fueled Ryu''s fighting intent all the more.


    The other four reacted in the same way, suddenly surging forward. But even as they did, motes of starlight descended from the surroundings. The forest floor became like a gorgeous floral arrangement of twinkling light. It felt like countless seeds, holding the breath of life itself, floated in the surroundings. And in that very moment, Ryu that had already vanished, but was still firmly within their senses to grasp, slipped from their senses entirely.


    [Absolute Domain] flourished, spreading out far further now than it ever had in the past. Its beauty was captivating, but the danger it posed was even more So.


    Ryu hadn''t felt that such a marvelous movement technique was the best way to maximize his strength against Pierthorn. But against these rumbling dragons?


    The difference was clear.


    Five pairs of hammers swung toward Ryu. As expected of dragons, when they saw something they didn''t understand, rather than being shocked into silence, their first instinct was to blast right through it.


    Ryu slipped through like a fish in water. His agility with his large and heavy great swordstaffs almost painted the illusion that he was instead wielding a pair of thin short swords, his movements akin to an assassin in the night and flickering shadows beneath the moonlight.


    He struck out, knocking Iroh off balance slightly. His Sword God Aura flared.


    He gripped it and manipulated it, dulling the forceful and blunt Hammer Qi that Iroh used further.


    Before he could follow up, four more pairs of hammers came swinging down toward him. He wanted to flicker and vanished, but they stomped along the ground, disrupting his movement technique.


    Ryu''s grin spread wider and wider as the pressure increased. His advantage had only lasted for a brief instant before it was unceremoniously crushed, the overwhelming power of his enemies coming forth like a tsunami onto loose sand.


    Even so, his smile only seemed to grow brighter, the excitement thrumming through his veins unlike anything he had experienced in a very long time.


    How long had it been since he battled to his heart''s content? How long had it been since his battle wasn''t just about life or death, but rather about his own desire, his own will, his own forged determination to reach the peak of all there was?


    His body glowed and the call of a Phoenix echoed. Ryu used it as a proxy to activate the Unbalanced Mantra. What once was a soul type technique was being wielded by his Qi Realm with the ease of breathing. As his comprehension of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits deepened, his control only increased.


    He glided backward, using the momentum of Iroh''s strike to shoot himself just outside the range of the latter''s follow up strike. But to his back the three had already begun to circulate, and even the fourth, which he had heavily injured, collapsing half his face, was actually standing to his feet. If there was one thing dragons were known for, it was their durability. Even if he had shattered every bone in his body, he would have still tried to stand one more.


    Ryu''s gaze grew sharp and, finally, his Dao, which had been like a smoldering fire, needing just a single spark to erupt once again, roared to life.


    The suffocating presence of a Founding Dao nearly pressed the five to their knees. They shook it off quickly, fear flickering in their eyes, soon replaced by determination, but... a split second was all too important.


    Ryu punched out once, his body moving even faster as he stepped into the void. When he exited his fist pressed down on the plated chest of another genius.


    BANG!


    His chest crumbled just like his fellow disciples face, being crushed under the weight of Ryu''s fist, targeting a weakness in his crafted armor, and also being powered by the [Art Mantra].


    Ryu darted to the side, dodging out of the way of another hammer. It just barely grazed his shoulder as the flat of his hand slammed down on its body. The hammer, already swinging downward, swung down even faster, its speed becoming too great for the second Twin Earth Dragon Sect genius to stop. He was thrown off balance and found his nose colliding with Ryu''s knee.


    Ryu drove his knee upward with a great amount of force. All of his energies seemed to be in perfect alignment.


    His Soul Nature reached out, neutralizing the domain around him. What was gravity if not a function of space?


    His Chaos Qi circulated through his physique like a roaring wave, fueling his every assault with a power that had no business being in the hands of a World Sea Realm expert. It matched the tsunami that was his Vital Qi, the two qis moving through his body in perfect unison and fueling his strikes.


    His Spiritual Sense, matched with his [Absolute Domain] seemed to pick up on every and anything, from the slight twitches of his enemies'' muscles, to even the slight beads of sweat that pooled along their pores as they began to strain them.


    His Martial Forms activated on their own from time to time, exploding his efficiency to another level and his Focus Qi was like a steady stream, flowing slowly, and efficiently.


    He darted in a Meditation State without even realizing and four of the Twin Earth Dragon Sect members fell beneath his fists, knees and kicks one after another, leaving none but Iroh standing, heaving deep breaths.


    PAH!


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs flew into his palms once again, the qi that had been weighing them down finally having been dispersed.


    "Come."


    He pointed out his blade.

 Chapter 1416 Begin

    Chapter 1416 Begin


    Iroh''s gaze flashed with rage, his chest heaving. He seemed to hesitate, and then he closed his eyes in resignation. Before Ryu could even react much, he released the Protector Spirit that the former was targeting and allowed Ryu to take it.


    Ryu''s fighting spirit dampened, but he didn''t say anything. Even after defeating the four others, he was still not 100% confident in dealing with Iroh. The logistics of fighting in a team made it so that even if you were extraordinarily powerful, it was more important for you to fit in than display some outward showcase of strength.


    Iroh had been greatly restricted in the battle because he not only had to cover for his teammates, but he also had to restrict the kind of attacks he used so that he only targeted Ryu and didn''t harm his allies. He was quite confident in his own strength, but if he wanted to maximize the chances of his people and his Sect, the best thing to do was to avoid this battle.


    It was impossible for Ryu to not be disappointed. At the same time, though, he also knew that it was a bit foolish of him to waste so much time here. He had a feeling that things wouldn''t end so easily, but that only made his lip curl into a smile.


    He was technically in the wrong for this event. He had targeted them, and he was trying to steal the fruit of the labor. But Ryu had never been the kind to care about things like this. If someone did it to him, he would just directly kill them, and if he couldn''t at the moment, he would survive and then kill them the first moment he could. As for doing it to someone else, he wouldn''t lose any sleep over it.


    Beaten and groggy, the four other members of the Twin Earth Dragon Sect followed Iroh''s lead. Though they were reluctant, they were in the worst position to resist at the moment. Their hearts clenched and they seemed to want to burn Ryu''s face into the memories, but the latter didn''t seem to notice them.


    Without a word, Ryu turned and left, somewhat catching them off guard. They half expected for Ryu to demand the rest of their spirits as well, in fact it was a risk that Iroh knew he had taken, a risk he might not take with anyone else. But he had sensed the dragon''s pride within Ryu''s heart. Since he had already spoken about what he needed, he wouldn''t take more if he didn''t have to.


    All things considered, this had gone far better than they had hoped. But that didn''t mean that the rage in their hearts had lessened. Watching Ryu leave, they burned the humiliation into their hearts.


    "That bronze aura is far too strong. We cleared a few dozen Bronze Protector Spirits, and that was only because it had to be split between us! Indeed, they had wanted to get to Silver Protector Spirits as fast as possible, and the only reason they defeated a few dozen Bronze Protector Spirits in the first place was because there were five of them.


    "Iroh, we need to kill him. My blood won''t stop boiling until I do, I don''t care who his Ancestor is!"


    SLAP!


    This made it not only more challenging for Ryu to find the exact kind he needed, but he was also forced to offend quite a number of people... Not that he cared.


    After fusing with a Silver Protector Spirit, his strength doubled and the ease with which he crushed these people, and the next Protector Spirits he came across in the rare instant he found one unoccupied, was exceptional.


    His numbers continued to climb even as the number of infuriated parties did, but Ryu''s smile was just the same.


    Very quickly, the rumors of Ryu running away were overshadowed. The individuals who had moved on to Silver Protector Spirits had much more backbone than those that had remained to target Bronze Protector Spirits, this resulted in far more clashes. That said, when they felt Ryu''s strength, they still ultimately chose to take a step back, making the very same choice that Iroh had.


    This led to many half fought battles and extremely resentful individuals, but their rage was mostly met with a chuckle by Ryu.


    If the situations were reverse, what would he do? Quite frankly, he wouldn''t give a damn about a Dao Sovereign and their great grandson. Was it his fault that these people were cowards?


    Regardless, it was better for him, less time wastage.


    Even so, his pace was far slower than it had been against the Bronze Protector Spirits. The latter had only taken him a few hours at worst, but even after three days, he was only about two thirds of the way through to the 999 number he needed.


    Even so, he could feel his physical strength increasing. His combat skills were sharper, faster, and it wasn''t just a matter of the Protector Spirits, it was his Martial Forms.


    He realized that the act of comprehending and sharpening his four Martial Forms, and even more importantly the act of trying to fuse them into one, was making his senses incredibly sharp. No, that was the wrong way to look at it, it was more so that his body was finally catching up, albeit slowly, to how keen his mind already was.


    He hadn''t acknowledged that there was such a huge gap. But the act of calculating, and then having his body react, rather than calculating and having his body react in tandem was huge. His battle prowess relied too much on his raw strength, and not enough on his actually, well... battle prowess.


    He also acknowledged just how much his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils had masked this weakness. It was also somewhat embarrassing that it had taken him so long to realize this, but he had been too concentrated on other things. He had thought that his greatest weakness was his lack of talent, but there were more ways than just increasing his talent to strengthen him.


    Ryu clenched and unclenched his fists, shattering the head of another Silver Protector Spirit with just a single blow.


    It was time to move on to Gold Protector Spirits, but this was likely where the true trouble would begin.

 Chapter 1417 He Should Be...

    Chapter 1417 He Should Be...


    There were practically none. The Golden Protector Spirits seemed to have a layer of mystery to them, not simply appearing in open space. However, Ryu felt that this was actually quite a benefit to him. That meant that whatever lag he had in starting wasn''t as excessive as he once thought. He didn''t want to be overly confident-a blatant lie-but he doubted that there was anyone who would be better suited to him at finding these golden spirits. But first...


    Ryu chose to change his approach this time around. Since golden spirits were so few in number, there was very much a chance that the ones he wanted might be in the hands of others already. At the same time, there were likely an extremely small number that had them in the first place.


    Since there was a radiant aura around those that had claimed spirits, why not take advantage of it? He wanted to see who his competitors were as well, this might potentially be like knocking down two birds with a single stone.


    To his surprise, though, Ryu came across the members of the Radiant Star Sect first before anyone else. They were none other than Brianus, the man who wielded a pillar as a weapon, Robion, a man with a air of angel-like wings, and Bruiser, a man who relied on his fists and pair of brass knuckles for everything.


    They were decently powerful, though they had lost against Ryu back then.


    However, since then, they had broken into partial Sky God Realms, one after another. They were much more potent than they had been in the past. And yet, their state currently could only be said to be... sorry.


    Ryu nodded after saying this and vanished in a step.


    The three looked toward one another. Was this arrogant prick always so nice? Why couldn''t they remember this?


    It was hard to be angry at such words, especially since it was clear that Ryu had followed his own advice. Even so, they shuddered inwardly, feeling a hint of remorse as they watched Ryu vanish into the distance. They had meant to say something, but it was too late now.


    The gap between the Silver Protector Spirit and Golden ones was enormous, it felt like fighting against true Fragmented Sky Gods.


    Although the word pseudo Sky God sounded impressive, the reality was that compared to true Fragmented Sky Gods, they were pitiful. Truly stepping into the Sky God Realm was a holistic and sweeping change, pseudo Sky God Realms wouldn''t even be able to display their true strength and power until they took that step.


    ".. He... he should be fine," Robion finally said. "So long as he can make it out of the range of the Golden Protector Spirit''s territory, it won''t chase him. His movement ability is far beyond ours."


    It was embarrassing to admit, but that was how any of them had survived. One could tell how potent a Golden Protector Spirit was until they actually faced them, Peak of the Eleventh Order their asses, how could someone not in the Sky God Realm be that powerful?


    Even if they ingested all the Silver Protector Spirits they could until they were brimming, it wouldn''t make much of a difference. Even so, Ryu''s words made them feel better. Even if they couldn''t get Golden Protector Spirits, they still had some rewards to gain.

 Chapter 1418 Not A Chance

    Chapter 1418 Not A Chance


    Ryu chuckled to himself. The range of his Spiritual Sense was far beyond what those three knew, so of course he had heard their conversation. He found it somewhat amusing, and another part a bit warming. It was interesting having Sect mates not try to stab him in the back, not that he had much experience in being a part of a Sect in the first place. He was much more used to being a lone wolf.


    Though he laughed, he began to take this several folds more seriously. If the Protector Spirits were so powerful, then anyone who had actually managed to kill one was on a completely different level. It seemed that he couldn''t rely on the number of spirits he had swallowed alone to carry him to victory.


    ''We''ll fight one first. Depending on how it goes, we can make a plan!''


    Though he thought this, his mind was already spinning with such plans. His mind worked too fast, and he was immediately comparing and contrasting how things had gone on the side of the weaker spirits, and how things would go this time.


    What was interesting was that Bronze and Silver Protector Spirits were wanderers, they didn''t have a restriction to their territory, but they would lose track of you if you fled far enough away from them, and you could also easily distract them by passing them off to another person or group.


    But it seemed that the reason Golden Protector Spirits were so difficult to find was because they were hidden within their territories, and they didn''t wander. Instead, they had defined barriers that they couldn''t cross.


    With a flash of his step, Ryu crossed another several hundred kilometers and then came to a grinding halt. He could almost smell it, the scent of a formation so perfectly concealed that he had almost stepped into it even with the sharpness of his eyes. This person certainly had a great amount of skill, though not enough.


    At first, he thought that this was simply the barrier of the Golden Protector Spirit, but after another split second, he tossed this from his mind.


    It was quite paradoxical for Ryu of all people to say this, especially when he would rather die than be a servant. But that didn''t mean that he assigned the same level of pride to everyone else.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. ''He''s not here. This is like an animal trap, there''s no use in looking for him.''


    With a step, Ryu entered the void, crossed the entire formation as though it wasn''t there at all. In the back of his mind, though, he added one more competitor outside of the Seventh Heaven geniuses and those on the same level as Iroh. This Adlael, and that comforting, smiling, handsome face of his, was quite interesting too. Unfortunately, he wasn''t clever enough to catch Ryu in a trap.


    ''After this, I will take my time to examine the formation. It must do something, and whatever it does do, it should have already targeted those three... There''s no way that they crossed this region without being tagged first.


    Ryu stepped into the territory of the Golden Protector Spirit and froze.


    ''After this, I will take my time to examine the formation. It must do something, and whatever it does do, it should have already targeted those three... There''s no way that they crossed this region without being tagged first


    Ryu stepped into the territory of the Golden Protector Spirit and froze.


    It wasn''t a large creature. It was the size of a normal, mortal panther, sleek and black, potent and slim, radiating a dull golden aura. It almost looked real. The peril signs pulsed in Ryu''s mind and his heart constricted. It was so wild and domineering that his hairs stood on end, his own white hair whipping back gently despite the lack of a breeze.


    ''I can''t overcome this thing right now.''


    Ryu, who had consumed 999 Bronze Protector Spirits, and 999 Silver Protector Spirits, didn''t stand a chance.

 Chapter 1419 Anyway

    Chapter 1419 Anyway


    Ryu didn''t move immediately, his senses firing at extremely high rates. Subconsciously, though, he felt like he understood something, and that was that he was nowhere near the limits of the World Sea Realm. He didn''t believe that the Heavenly Path was artificially inflating the strength of this Eleventh Order Beast, nor could he sense that there was nothing artificial about its strength at all. In fact, it was far more corporeal and real than the other spirits had been.


    Rather than being an illusory construct, the creature was very much real, or it at least felt that way. The only sign that it was a Golden Protector Spirit was the aura around it. It was like the Heavenly Path was trying to display the truth right before his face, boldly presenting it and daring him to see through the reality.


    It was a harsh reality. Even with the boost of 999 Bronze and Silver Protector Spirits, he still couldn''t defeat a spirit within the normal bounds of the Realms below God Beast. And it made sense.


    Until now, the strength of the Taboo Powers that he had come across were absolutely overwhelming. The Unbalance Art Sect had given him the ability to enter the Void even before the Transcendent Sky God Realm. The Nine Pillar Flame Sect had allowed him the ability to have the bodily strength of a pseudo Sky God of the Body Realm without even touching the dividing line between mortal and Godhood.


    On top of that, it had to be remembered that the Unbalance Art Sect''s Inheritance had still not been quite successfully fused by Ryu. At the same time, he had only just completed his first Life Destruction, he still had eight more to go before he even thought about crossing into the Sky God Body Realm.


    Just how much more room was there for him to grow stronger? None of that even considered the fact that he was still at the Lower World Sea Realm, though this matter was less important for this deduction for one very simple reason...


    If the Taboo Powers were so powerful, how had they lost? There was only one explanation, and that was that the Nine Powers, including the Martial Gods and those of their ilk, were more powerful than even these explanations would suggest.


    It seemed that she might truly have to form a team. She had been too prideful to do so, a seemingly misplaced feeling for a woman of such grace and gentleness, but Ryu wouldn''t be too surprised had he known. After all those games of Domain, he had long since discovered Selheira''s true side. She was a gentle woman who wouldn''t even mind sitting by his side as he ate and wiping his mouth from time to time, but when it came to things she took keen interest in... she was highly competitive.


    ''I''m still so far away?'' she looked up toward the scorching skies, the reflection of crystals bouncing from her blue irises. Her white hair shifted in the wind, though this wind was stale and far too dry, providing no sort of relief or relief from the wind at all.


    She seemed to be very disappointed in herself, but if one looked closely... she didn''t have the aura of even a single Protector Spirit. She hadn''t absorbed even a single one, and yet she had beaten this Earth Dragon Spirit Beast to this point.


    Selheira suddenly looked up, her gaze narrowed.


    In the distance, a glowing golden armor became akin to a second sun. Selheira would recognize that armor anywhere, who else would it be if not


    Jojo?


    She didn''t seem to be alone though, followed by Litaor and Reykian both. As


    they approached, Selheira could already tell what their intention was.


    Jojo gave a look to the Earth Dragon as she circled around its territory, her expression indifferent. The same though, couldn''t be said of the two young men. When they saw the lack of energy field around Selheira, their hearts jumped another beat.

 Chapter 1420 Part of His Strength

    Chapter 1420 Part of His Strength


    Jojo stopped five or so meters from the boulder Selheira was seated upon. Her nose was turned up in one part frustration, and another part reluctance. It was a look that made Selheira amused for a moment, before she realized what kind of response she would have to give for the coming question. The thought made her very unhappy, but she knew that it would be foolish to turn down a good thing.


    "Well come on, then. Do I need to spell it out for you? Did all the meat in your head go to your chest?"


    Selheira raised an eyebrow and then sent a glance toward Jojo''s chest. No one knew clearly what kind of figure Jojo had aside from herself, that was because she was quite notorious for her armor. She never took it off, with the only exception being when she had absolute privacy. However, that only made it more amusing.


    Whenever Jojo changed her armor to a new one, the most obvious change wouldn''t be the color, or the design, but rather the two, rounded metal plates that would have to make space for her chest. Without fail, they grew larger and larger every time. At this point, they bulked as much as that enormous heavy sword on her back to the point that it felt more comical than anything else, and if not for her gorgeous face, would have made many laugh at her.


    Women didn''t usually wear such bulky armor, but because Jojo insisted on doing so, it was like she was always wearing two steel balls on her chest.


    Selheira had never heard of an already large chested woman making fun of another large chested woman. Wasn''t she making fun of herself at this point?


    Of course, Selheira had thought of something else that was quite amusing, and that was the possibility that it was all a fa?¡ìade. It would be quite funny if Jojo''s armor breast insertions were filled with nothing air. She wouldn''t have enough tears for her laughter.


    Even with the veil, Jojo could tell that Selheira''s lip was twitching. She knew this woman too well, and feeling her gaze, she was starting to get annoyed. "Let''s go already, this event won''t go on forever."


    Unfortunately, he had exhausted all of his Embryonic Qi in the last three hours, so he would need another few minutes to recover. He spit at the fresh snow and slowly pulled himself up, breathing haggard breaths.


    If not for his Chaos Qi and his Birthed Phenomena, that battle would have been more of a joke than it already was. His Infinity Mist couldn''t even land because his control over it was so poor, he realized that the idea of using it in battle any time soon was a fool''s dream.


    He had also grown too used to thinking of each cultivation Realm like a single block, as though the only dividing lines that mattered were the ones between Realms, and not the sub-Realms within. But he could very clearly feel the weight of the fact he was still in the Lower World Sea Realm now, facing off against Peak World Sea Realm spirits.


    Was it time to collaborate with others, then?


    Ryu grinned a bloody grin.


    Of course not. If his unrefined power wasn''t enough, then he would have to use his other skills.


    After his rebirth, he had drifted away from his various skills. These were things he only ever began to study because he didn''t want to be useless, and practicing them in this life made him remember that helplessness.


    Now, however...


    He grinned wider.


    He just felt that they were a component of his strength.

 Chapter 1421 True Great Circle

    Chapter 1421 True Great Circle


    Ryu already had a perfect map of the region in his mind, he didn''t need to go and double check. The problem was how he would set up anything. Doing it in advance was obviously impossible because that would require stepping into the beast''s territory. Once he did so, it would have free reign to attack him as it pleased and by then, he would have to focus everything on surviving.


    Of course, there was another path, and that was to focus all of his attention on closing the gap. But Ryu felt that it was impossible if he was also considering a time frame on top of everything else.


    In the back of his mind, though, he was constantly thinking of just where the gap lay, and he believed that he had some understanding.


    It wasn''t just sheer talent, and it wasn''t just sheer battle prowess either. Rather, it was a combination of the two that made the panther beast so absolutely powerful, and would likely also make the monstrous geniuses of the Eighth and Ninth Heavens so powerful as well.


    In terms of talent, it wasn''t just about having a high grade. If Ryu was correct, the Eighth Heaven had likely figured out a method of restricting the types of talents their descendants could receive, causing them to align far more.


    If one thought about it, Ryu''s original talents had nothing in common. His Ice Jade Crystal Bones, his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, his Chaotic Silk Meridians, his Perfect Blackbody Soul... Each one was more powerful than the last, and they were all equally his birthright, but they didn''t fit into a single path properly.


    His Bloodlines were even worse, clashing and fighting against one another, and just in order to have them coexist well with one another, he had to restrict a great deal of their power.


    Talents of the Eighth Heaven, at least in Ryu''s speculation, were not like this at all. Every one of their Six Pillars was in perfect Harmony with one another, causing an effect that was larger than the sum of its parts.


    It wasn''t just having all talents at the same level, but talents that perfectly complemented one another, layering atop of one another, uplifting one another, pushing them to such an elevated level that they echoed with a strength beyond their grade.


    Exceptional geniuses of the Eighth Heaven were like at least Omniscient True Great Circle Talents. That actually seemed low, but if Ryu''s comprehension of the situation was correct, then even a True Great Circle Talent at this level could crush him.


    The question then, was how could he fight back? Or, how could he fuse his current talents into an approximation of a True Great Circle Talent at the very least?


    ''I''ve got it.''


    Unfortunately, these words weren''t for the answer to his question, but rather for how he would deal with the panther beast. In reality, all of these thoughts of True Great Circle Talents had happened at the back of his mind.


    Was he discouraged? No. In fact, he felt a faint excitement bubbling up within him as he charged into the panther''s territory.


    Ryu''s gaze was sharp as he moved with an nimble quickness. Star qi descended from the skies and formed a star map that hovered just above the ground. He pushed his [Absolute Domain] to the limits as a streaking black shadow closed the space to him with great speed.


    He suddenly flickered and vanished, but the moment he did, the panther beast reacted, pivoting as though inertia couldn''t affect it at all and rushing toward the location Ryu would appear nearly before he did. However, when it got there, it found that Ryu was still in the place he had been before.


    Ryu''s aura flared and he slapped his palms together hard, a flourishing tide of Spiritual Qi spilling out in all directions. This time, he didn''t hide anything and his Spiritual Qi rolled with a dense blackness that nearly looked like dark fog crawling along the ground. It felt like any moment not, a bone yard of skeletons would rise from the ground, reaching out of the dense, black fog.


    However, just as quickly, the fog condensed, forming innumerable kernels that sped off in all directions, each one carrying the dense characters of Morvar''s Visualization.


    The Formation Eye Visualization.

 Chapter 1422 Sightless Eyes

    Chapter 1422 Sightless Eyes


    The Formation Eye Visualization technique had been incredibly useful to Ryu in Sacrum, but here, it wasn''t able to sustain the formations of the True Martial World. They were essentially meant to be like portable, self-created formation flags. However, they didn''t have the proper supporting Fundamental Runes to work properly in this world.


    Ryu hadn''t had the skill or the time to improve them to the standards of the world. Even now, he still didn''t. Though, it was probably more a function of time than skill now.


    So why was he deploying a useless Visualization technique? It was because he was cheating. Each kernel of a Formation Eye was sustained by his Birthed Phenomena and his Founding Dao. Using the much weaker core of the Visualization as a foundation, he was able to trick the Heavens into thinking that it was indeed a Formation Eye that was present.


    A Formation Eye was essentially a signal to the Heavens. When they were arranged in a certain way, Heaven''s Laws reacted accordingly and allowed a formation''s effects to take hold. However, if a formation flag was too weak, and tried to form a much stronger formation, then it would fail and shatter.


    But Ryu realized not long ago that he had a built in ability to stimulate the Heavens to follow his will. His Birthed Phenomena pulled in and controlled much more qi than he could alone, while his Founding Dao carried a supreme power over the laws that allowed him to understand all things. Together, they could form a weak approximation of the real thing.


    Ryu knew that it wouldn''t last long. He had poured far more strength into the form of the Formation Eyes so that they would be able to sustain themselves, but they would last for nothing more than a few minutes at best before collapsing under his might. If that happened, he would need to trick the panther beast into giving him enough time again, and it would be much harder the second time around without a doubt.


    Ryu roared, the delicate skin across his body, and even the flesh beneath, suddenly splintering and cracking as roaring black lightning began to descend from his Birth Phenomena. The violence was heart shuddering, and the qi in the surroundings, as though being judged by a higher being, began to scatter and rush about, the commotion becoming so violent that a whirling tornado of blackness shot into the skies.


    "SIGHTLESS EYES!"


    Ryu''s palms, pressed together so hard his wrists fractured, began to outpour with a whirling violence of Spiritual Qi just as volatile beneath the raging black lightning.


    He pulled his bow back once more, the raging, crackling black lightning thunderous to light. But this time, there was an added trace of black flame...


    This black flame wasn''t his Rage Flames or his Death Flames, but rather a dense mass of destruction that seemed to have aspects of both.


    Primordial Chaos Fire Qi.


    SHUUUUU! BANG!


    The panther beast tried to dodge again. It moved in the wrong direction, but it did so with such speed that Ryu still somewhat missed, causing his gaze to grow cold. Even so, the ribcage of the Golden Protector Spirit was blazed open, his skin a mass of boiling flesh, its bones cracked and haggard, its inner organs threatened to fall out.


    What strong defenses...


    Ryu fired several more arrows. He could feel that the Formation Eyes were about to waver and vanish, but he didn''t panic. In the state the spirit was in now, it could no longer threaten him. However, the load of using such powerful Primordial Chaos Qis was practically ripping him from the inside out


    He released a final arrow and the panther spirit seemed to unwillingly collapse.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flickered. In all of his thought and effort, he had forgotten one very important thing.


    Did this panther spirit even align with his Martial Forms? Why was it that he couldn''t tell immediately?


    The moment he had this thought, the Sightless Eyes Formation collapsed.

 Chapter 1423 Perfect Picture

    Chapter 1423 Perfect Picture


    A feeling of danger blared in Ryu''s mind. He was surprised, the danger could only be coming from the panther spirit, but given its wounded state, it should be able to make such a large surge. Even so, his surprise didn''t make his reaction slow.


    Although setting up the formation had taken up a lot of Spiritual Qi, he was practically a bottomless well. He didn''t even feel fatigue, and the only reason he was injured at all was because of the backlash of his Primordial Chaos Qi. But that wasn''t enough either to stop him.


    He side stepped, his gaze reflecting the depth of an endless scape of stars. His Absolute Domain] moved him out of danger with incomparable ease and he could feel a vicious wind kick up as the panther spirit flew past the side of his head.


    "It''s tail," Ryu thought immediately, ducking with his greatest speed.


    Unfortunately, one could only rely on gravity itself to duck, it was probably one of the slow movements that a cultivator could rely on, but even according to his [Absolute Domain] it was his best choice.


    The danger and warning signs blared stronger and stronger. Even as Ryu ducked, he knew that he wouldn''t make it. Despite his earlier injuries, the panther beast had never managed to actually lay a hand on him. Had it, he felt that his life would have already been forfeit, it was that strong, and his defenses were limited.


    His mind worked faster and faster. This tail was aimed for his head, just a slight brush would be enough to crack it like a watermelon.


    Even in this situation, Ryu felt a eerie calm. It was the calm he always felt in the face of death, a calm that came from a deep well of confidence, a calm that would never leave him no matter what changes to his personality occurred.


    He raised his bow once more, his breathing steady as he released another arrow. It pierced through the panther spirit''s eye and it trembled once before it collapsed.


    The panther spirit rose into a tide of golden aura that shot into Ryu''s body.


    The latter felt a huge surge of strength and he almost felt invincible. It was completely unlike anything he had sensed from the Bronze and Silver Protector Spirits, the disparity almost felt far too exaggerated.


    ''No more tricks, I''ll fight with my own strength now! Ryu thought to himself.


    The strength granted by the protector spirit was at least decent enough that he wouldn''t be as helpless as he was because. Although it wouldn''t close the gap. Ryu felt that that final attack was a strong wakeup call. In the end. schemes would never be as useful as your own personal power.


    Some might argue that the Unbalance Formations were part of his strength, especially since they only worked with his Birthed Phenomena and his Founding Dao, and Ryu would actually agree now. However, if he relied on such things too often, it would come back to bite him one day.


    When he imagined standing atop the world, he didn''t imagine doing it with formations created by others and makeshift solutions to save his life by a hair. He imagined his palm being able to cover the skies and his steps being able to quake the earth.


    This wasn''t the path for him. But that didn''t mean that he wouldn''t use it to climb the mountain where he could.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, then fell into meditation. After consuming enough Embryonic Qi to heal himself perfectly, he didn''t move immediately, turning his attention to the insights of the panther spirit, but even deeper than that, the truth behind its strength.


    He had to dig deeper than the surface, much deeper.


    He replayed the process of the fusion again and again, relying on the Origin Flame to paint a perfect in his mind.

 Chapter 1424 Much Better

    Chapter 1424 Much Better


    Ryu found himself going back further than he thought he would have to, or more so, it wasn''t that he had to, but instead that he found himself entranced. The movements of the panther spirit were just great enough that he felt overwhelmed, intrigued and highly impressed, but they were also weak enough that he could actually see what was so special.


    The strength of the panther spirit was perfectly controlled, almost too perfectly controlled. Every movement was intentional, and yet could be stopped in an instant and reversed at will, almost as though it could...


    A sense of enlightenment overcame Ryu. He was thinking too much about his muscles and firing signals to them, but not nearly enough about his Vital Qi and how it circulated. In fact, he didn''t think very much about circulating his Vital Qi at all. The only times he did was back when he had to absorb the Vital Qi of beasts to improve his body, and also when he used his master''s technique.


    He felt that he had had this revelation before, but he had never taken it very far, at the very least, he never tried to apply it to concepts of his Martial Forms. His Vital Qi was the fuel of the engine that was his body. Whenever he used his body''s strength, he would only circulate his Vital Qi passively, but there was much more strength to be had especially if...


    Ryu''s heart shuddered again, the nine pillars that anchored his flesh and bones vibrating as he felt like he had come to understand something. There were more applications of the Nine Pillars than he knew, he just hadn''t had the time to continue to meditate on those Fundamental Runes that he had already memorized.


    Subconsciously, Ryu tried it. He ran his Vital Qi as fast as he could in one direction, then, abruptly, he changed the direction to the complete opposite path.


    He coughed up another mouthful of blood before pushing himself up weakly to his feet. He flowed his Embryonic Qi once again and his body quickly healed. Then... he did it again.


    If others were watching him, they would think him to be a madman. He had nearly died the first time, but he didn''t even hesitate to try again, and this time he seemed to go even harder than he had before, pushing himself to the utmost limits.


    But this time... Nine Pillars lit up.


    Ryu threw out a punch with the full strength of his blood backing it, but just when it was half way there, he pulled it back violently, his Vital Qi circulating in the reverse direction as he took a step back, but just when he was half way through his step back, the circulation of his Vital Qi changed again and his hips pivoted, the leg he was using to step back suddenly becoming a furious kick.


    His leg lashed out against the air, the after images of his punch and his step back still lingering.


    CRACK!


    The snap of wind was fierce and immediate, a scythe-like invisible blade cutting against the stone and ripping a hole through it.


    Ryu slowly lowered his leg. Just with this alone, he felt his combat prowess had increased by at least 50%. In fact, that was still quite conservative. But, it wasn''t enough.


    ''I can do better...'' his stare flickered as he turned toward his Bone Structure.

 Chapter 1425 Himself?

    Chapter 1425 Himself?


    Ryu was still considering the best ways to use his Bone Structure. In reality, its ability could be described in a single phrase, and yet it was exactly that ability that provided him such a broad range of possibilities. In truth, this was probably the case for all Bone Structures and he was not exactly special. His far weaker Ice Jade Crystal Body had four abilities, but each one was broader and more variable than the last and could be used in an endless amount of applications.


    Take his sped up cultivation as one. It essentially allowed perforations in his skin that enabled him to absorb qi through his skin instead of just through his mouth and nose like everyone else. This increased flexibility was great and made the Ice Jade Crystal Body comparable to much higher forms of Meridians in terms of cultivation speed, especially when paired with his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    Ryu had never really thought about it before, but naming this ability "speed cultivating" had pigeonholed him. If he had instead looked at that ability as the connection between his skin, pores and Meridians, the strengths that he would have been able to unlock would have been on a completely different level.


    For example, if he had made use of this ability for anything other than cultivation, he would have been able to use external qi before entering the appropriate realm. He could have easily expelled qi from his palms, his fists, his elbows, his legs, even his head had he so chosen, catching his enemy off guard. As a fight tactic, this would have been invaluable.


    Even after he gained the ability to attract atmospheric qi, this ability would have still been invaluable because it could catch enemies off guard. Everyone could sense atmospheric qi being gathered, but no one except those with the best of Heavenly Pupils could see what was going on with the qi inside your body. There was a clear advantage in using one over the other.


    His mind was spinning, however he was able to force himself to calm down. No matter what constraints held back his other talents, his Bone Structure was a blank slate. It was up to him to see just how far he could push it.


    He could use his Bone Structure in conjunction with his Soul Nature to form a domain of sorts within his body separate from the outside world. This allowed him to cultivate at an accelerated speed. Objectively, it was even more useful than his Ice Jade Crystal Body just in terms of cultivation speed alone.


    But if he could speed up the circulation of his qi for cultivation, what about other things?


    That was much harder. This was because the time dilation worked the easiest within his body where it was the center of his own universe. He had to expel qi for the sake of an attack, that would change the scope of the time qi and it would be as difficult as trying to affect the timeline of another person, requiring much more energy. But...


    What about Vital Qi? Vital Qi did not have to be expelled from his body at all and it simply fueled his physical strength.


    ''Something is missing in the loop. Still, the act of punching or moving at all is impacting that outside world and would thus require me to increase the scope of my time qi, unless...!"


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat. He did not need to continue the time dilation through to the end of the attack, what if he simply used it to position himself instead?

 Chapter 1426 Hunting

    Chapter 1426 Hunting


    Ryu''s thoughts were simple. With this new fighting style of his, he was relying quite heavily on the feint, but his speed hadn''t increased at all. In fact, although his Vital Qi was being stabilized and controlled by the Nine Pillars, his actual explosion toward his true attacking posture was a small measure slower. His mind could pick up on this easily and it was a matter of just a small few fractions of a second. But even at the World Sea Realm, fractions of a second were the equivalent of several meters if not dozens of meters of movement. The difference was vast.


    But what if he used his Nine Pillars and his Bone Structure at the same time?


    It would be difficult, extremely difficult, maybe even more difficult than learning the method the panther spirit used, and that would have taken weeks to perfectly master in Ryu''s estimation. But for some reason, Ryu didn''t feel that this one would take him as long because this method was complicated for many different reasons. While the former method, the method of the panther, relied on control, specifically Vital Qi control, this wasn''t about that. Instead, it relied heavily on timing. And with Ryu''s mind and his Origin Flame, perfect timing was well within his strengths.


    The panther spirit''s method required splitting Vital Qi into several streams across the body, one main stream and several smaller streams of equal strength. The main stream would be used to direct the path of attack. If the attack was chosen to be followed through with, the smaller streams would converge on the point of attack. If the attack was abandoned part of the way through, the smaller streams would still converge, but rather than adding to the strength it would ebb it away, weaken it, and turn the momentum to another direction before splitting once again and repeating.


    It was clear how much manipulation and concentration this took. To apply it in battle would take great talent, hard work, instincts, and an expansive mental capacity.


    Ryu''s method, though, was still even more complicated than that, not in explanation, but rather in application.


    Ryu''s speed exploded forth, his Vital Qi and his qi working in tandem to fuel the strength of his body. His pauses became slightly longer, causing his afterimages to have slightly more permanence, but his over speed rose by a great measure, his attacks becoming more layered.


    Suddenly, his speed dropped again, but this time, after he left another afterimage, his body suddenly appeared in his hands and an arrow trembled to life.


    It was so fast it was blinding. Not the arrow, but the formation of the technique. It was as though Ryu had manifested it from thin air.


    [Thirteen Soaring Azures: Snow]


    A blizzard formed in the surroundings as the arrow was released. All around, a icy cold wind of sharp qi spun, ripping the surroundings to pieces.


    Ryu appeared out in the cold winds of the snowy fields, his expression calm as his hair danced behind him.


    In the midst of battle, he could use those small pauses to accelerate the completion of technique patterns. Meaning, when he began to move again, he could instantly cast his techniques without the slightest lag. This definitely wasn''t the only application either, he could do the same for his Mental Realm techniques as well.


    If his previous discoveries had increased his strength by 50%, this was at least an boost by a factor of three. Overall, he was almost five times stronger than he had been before.


    ''Let''s go hunting.''

 Chapter 1427 Missing Something

    Chapter 1427 Missing Something


    Ryu slid out of the way of a swinging vine, or at least it moved so quickly that it was truly difficult to pick up on what it truly was. Thick fur? A tentacle? A tendril of some sort? It might have even been an arm moving at extreme speed.


    Even so, Ryu slipped and shuffled forward, moving in the midst of the swinging vines as though he had eyes dotted all across his body, there was nothing that he couldn''t see and his movements were no longer hindered by such speed.


    When he was fighting against the panther spirit, the reason he kept getting caught up wasn''t because of his mind, his mind was plenty fast enough to see through the movement and his eyes were the strongest part of his body. While these "vines" looked like blurs to almost anyone else below the Sky God Realm, to Ryu they practically moved in slow motion.


    His problem the entire time was that his body couldn''t keep up. By the time he registered a feint, or a change in trajectory, the attack would have already landed. But now, things were very much different. His body still couldn''t keep up, but what had changed was the fact that he could suddenly and abruptly change his direction, something that would have completely shredded him apart in the past.


    Of course, it also helped that he had already absorbed a Golden Protector Spirit. Even with the addition of just one, his speed and power had undergone a sharp increase. Due to this alone, he would have already been just barely able to keep up with the changes of speed. But with the addition of his new perspective and abilities...


    He looked like a fish in water, shifting and moving, pausing and accelerating at will. He left countless afterimages through the bundles of vines, or what his sharp eyes were easily able to pick up on as hair.


    Up ahead, a mountain-like beast that looked like a mount of white shaven fur stood. Ryu had never seen a creature like this, nor had he ever heard of records of it, but he wasn''t a beast tamer, at least not by any official metrics, so this was still acceptable.


    Even though these tendrils did look like thick lines of hair, or fur, Ryu could feel an aura of flexibility coming from it, an aura that reminded him of his Ice Phoenix Martial Form. That made him feel as though these weren''t hairs at all, but rather arms covered in hairs, or maybe even that feeling was part of the illusion of flexibility that was being projected to him.


    The mystery enthralled him, pulled him in. Was there really such a beast? Or was it something else?


    His irises spun with life, each one gaining a white gold and a dark gold eight trigram diagram. The sharpness of his eyes increased and his Founding Dao beared down with full force.


    He could see it, the patterns of lines being drawn across in the skies in an elegant sort of dance. Without hesitation, he accelerated backward, his Spacetime Soul Nature activating when he found a gap and transporting him outside the range of the beast entirely.


    He exhaled a breath and his breathing grew steady. These days, his Southern Heavenly Wind didn''t feel as useful as it should, mostly because of his Embryonic Qi, but he could still calm his beating heart with a single huge breath, letting him know that it was very much still there.


    The location was the enclosure Ryu had left not too long ago. The signs of battle hadn''t faded, and even seemed to be screaming with life as though to make sure the world never forgot what happened here.


    A white haired boy flashed and landed, a slight contemplative look on his face. His formation was still there, intact, and it was working as expected, but the Golden Protector Spirit he wanted was actually gone. Whoever had been here had not only been able to detect the formation, they had avoided it, and then cleared the spirit anyway, before leaving.


    It was unfortunate. His formation was actually designed to do nothing at all unlike one who had the protector spirit. It would have trapped whoever exited here so long as they had it, and then he would come and deal with them.


    He couldn''t help but wonder just who could evade him so easily. He didn''t lose often, even when he had been holding back for so long. Only then... only that one stain on his record existed, and he would deal with that person eventually. It was just a shame that they hadn''t entered this time.


    He smiled to himself and turned to leave. Oh well, it was still fine. There were plenty of other traps to check.


    Ryu rushed forward and slid, moving with greater and greater speed as he pushed against the space in the surroundings to decrease the resistance against his slide. Suddenly, he felt like he was in the depths of space, moving without the slightest hint of slowing.


    The more he fought these battles, the wider range of applications he thought for his abilities, and the sharper his intuitions seemed to grow.


    He didn''t think that he was stretching himself too thin. If anything, he wasn''t stretching himself thin enough. He had a complete Origin Flame, his ability to handle and select from a number of abilities to use in any given situation was better than also top standard Sky Gods. At the same time, paired with his Founding Dao, his ability to master and perfect these abilities was on an even higher level than that.


    If he didn''t master a thousand techniques, and then acquire a thousand more, he would be undervaluing himself.


    His wrist shifted and his blade tilted up, slashing against the underbelly of the lion spirit.


    Sparks flew and his gaze turned sharp. Indeed, being able to move and keep up in speed wasn''t enough to close the divide in defenses.


    However, he had something for that.


    His gaze exploded with sparks of black lightning. It appeared he would have to use his Primordial Chaos Qis again.

 Chapter 1428 No Idea

    Chapter 1428 No Idea


    Ryu hopped out from behind the lion spirit after sliding out from underneath it. He hopped to his feet with a swift agility, his head bending backward to just dodge out of the way of its whipping tail. Even as he did so, he sensed the lion spirit''s body leaning forward, pressing its great weight onto its front paws.


    Ryu understood what it was trying to do immediately, it was a double kick with its hind legs. It flowed smoothly from one failed attack to the next, its attempt with its tail not having stopped its follow up strike.


    This thought quickly buried itself into Ryu''s psyche.


    In the state that he was in, leaning back, his knees bent, and his momentum swinging strongly in one direction, it didn''t seem like he had the time to dodge at all. In addition, because he was moving, even if it was only by gravity, the burden of speeding up time within himself was far greater.


    Ryu nodded silently to himself. It seemed that his new combat method still had a great deal of weaknesses, and these weren''t weaknesses that he could make up for by being more clever... Unless.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and his Spatial Qi flared. The air around him solidified and his body came to a sudden and jarring stop. Just as the two hind legs were about to cave in his chest, his vital qi circulated with a huge surge, tearing a path toward the heels of his feet. His Northern Heavenly Wind took root and his power bubbled up.


    He drove his heels into the ground, shooting backward with a great amount of speed, just dodging out of the way of the two hindleg kicks. However, he didn''t move far, his body suddenly freezing in the air again just a centimeter out of the way.


    His Vital Qi shifted from his legs to his arms, fueling a large amount of force in his torso as he landed heavily on the ground. With a furious intent, his Primordial Chaos Lightning surged and he swung down with all the effort and strength he could muster.


    BANG!


    The lion spirit beast was smashed into the ground, a long line of blood splitting its back in two and slicing into its spine. The earth beneath its feet shattered into a crater and its body curved as it was swallowed up by Ryu''s force.


    Ryu''s feet flashed and he appeared above the lion spirit before it could move. The Mountain Character in his eyes lit up with a raging torrent of wind and his Spacetime Soul Nature surged, bending the world around them and increasing his weight by several times over.


    He smashed down with a boom, his black lightning flickering as his two blades pierced into the shoulders of the lion beast. As it roared, he twisted. A shocking flood of black lightning and black flames poured into its body, and soon... its roars fainted into faint whispers and then nothing at all.


    As Ryu inhaled, another surge of Golden Protector Spirit rushed into his body. Insights of bulldozing power and control flooded into his mind and he slowly began to refine his Martial Forms even more.


    A transparent cloak formed over Ryu''s ragged white robes, making them perfect and whole. It looked as though he was dressed in the starry skies, almost like he had printed a star map onto himself.


    Ryu shot into the air, came to an abrupt stop, went forward, then backward, then rushed down. Every time, the movement was abrupt and sudden. However, it was still quite jarring.


    Using a Visualization, or a spell, as the proxy by which he controlled the elements made the process smoother, almost too much smoother. He felt like his inner organs were being rocked with every sudden movement. He realized that he would need to match the process with his Nine Pillars, at least slightly, jus to make sure his insides didn''t rock too much.


    Ryu''s toes touched down on the ground and he shot off into the distance, looking for a new target, but his thoughts were still focused on the lion spirit. He wasn''t quite satisfied just yet, even though he was improving by leaps and bounds with every battle.


    It came down to one word: prediction.


    Prediction should be what he''s best at, and he truly used to be, before his eyes were sealed. By using [Lines of Fate], he could see the most likely outcomes even without understanding all the trump cards of the person he was facing. Of course, the longer he battled uttered individual, the better the predictions would become, but far beyond what he could do not for sure.


    The only other way he could think of to close that gap aside from awakening his eyes was more battles, more experience, more life and death experiences. He felt like he had plenty, but it just wasn''t enough, he needed his tactics to be in his very bones.


    Ryu suddenly felt something rumble within him.


    His eyes narrowed. His Bloodlines?


    He thought back to the overly furred bear spirit he had faced before the lion spirit. There was something about that battle that he had missed, something that felt like it was on the tip of his tongue but didn''t quite click. It felt like it was stirring again, but he still couldn''t quite...


    Ryu entered the territory of a new Golden Protector Spirit. He felt like his progress was far too slow, so even as he thought, he attacked, unleashing a furious barrage as his [Absolute Domain] formed once again.


    In the not too far off distance, a recognizable team of three had gathered. Iroh of the Twin Earth Dragon Sect, Juno and Zovaes, three individuals that Ryu had entered the Favor Alchemy Sky God''s Legacy World with. The density of Bronze and Silver on them suggested that they had each slain hundreds of each between them, and their strength was quite excellent as a result, Interestingly, though, Iroh was no longer with his senior brothers, seemingly having traded up for stronger teammates.


    Unfortunately, this didn''t seem to have helped. The three kneeled on the ground, defeated and bloodied.


    But they had no idea where their opponent was.

 Chapter 1429 Battle Hungry

    Chapter 1429 Battle Hungry


    Ryu''s movements became more and more erratic. It was impossible to tell which direction he would go and when. Sometimes he chose the best option to dodge, sometimes the second best, and at other times the third. Sometimes he would attack rather than dodge at all, distorting the future path of the battle with a subtle grace. He would move up, and then abruptly downward. To the right, then suddenly up. To the left, and when it seemed he would change his trajectory again, he would continue, or even sometimes come to a complete stop.


    When equaled with the [Absolute Domain], to say that Ryu was easily ten times more powerful than when he came into this round wasn''t an exaggeration at all, and this was the case when the Protector Spirits and their boost to his overall strength was ignored.


    The drastic change made Ryu wonder how much more he had left to unearth, how much more strength was buried within him that he had ignored in favor of chasing after more talent.


    This was a product of his own mistakes, his own arrogance. He was too used to being the most talented person in existence. Before he had left Sacrum, that was what he truly was. He could crush everyone around him with his talents alone, there was still a small need to unearth its secrets, but he had always just relied on his base abilities to do so.


    Was it really doing his best to unearth his talents if he just relied on one of them-his Heavenly Pupils-to casually see through everything? Just how much stronger would he have been if he had truly taken all of this seriously?


    In truth, much of Ailsa''s teachings were also geared toward elevating his talent levels, but he didn''t blame her at all. The fact that she could raise his talent at all when it was already so great by Sacrum standards just showed how excellent of a Life Partner she was.


    Beyond that, he was already guaranteed to reach the pinnacle of Sacrum, it was only a question of how much he lapped everyone else.


    But now... he was behind, so far behind that he couldn''t quite see where the pinnacle lay. Forced into a corner, and without a route to increase his talent in a short time, he was forced to pick up what he had and forge it into gold.


    There''s more, I know there''s more!


    It glanced off once again, but Ryu repeated the process, swinging his other great swordstaff, then he repeated again, gathering the other. The violent storm of blades descended in a continuous, furious barrage.


    His skin glowed with runes, his bones creaking and bending beneath the continuously increasing might, but as though he had lost his mind he continued to strike, again, and again, and again, each powerful swing coming stronger than the last.


    BOOM!


    The turtle spirit''s four powerful legs gave out, its body crashing into a crater of its own creation and its shell cracking like a fragile egg.


    Ryu raised both of his great swordstaffs, a violent swirl of black lightning and black flames gathering into one as he roared and swung down a final time.


    The turtle spirit was obliterated. From head to toe its body was ripped to shreds and then burnt to ash, torn apart like a pillow filled with goose feathers, and incinerated as though it had stood there to be cremated.


    Ryu landed heavily on the ground, sucking in a deep breath as the surrounding winds raged, pouring into his lungs. For the surrounding several kilometers, winds poured in, a heart shuddering hurricane forming as Ryu filled his lungs. He swallowed so much that his wounds burst at the seams, pooling over and dripping, but he didn''t seem to care as he unleashed a roar.


    Flames billowed from his mouth in a cone that swallowed the clouds above.


    He was battle hungry. He hadn''t taken a rest for weeks, but he still wanted more, needed more. The feeling of constant improvement was addictive and he never wanted to give it up.

 Chapter 1430 Curious

    Chapter 1430 Curious


    The Ice Phoenix represented Life. The Fire Phoenix represented Rebirth. The Dark Phoenix represented Death. The Emperor Phoenix represented Creation. The Fire Dragon represented Rage, the truest kernel of fire, of Kingship and Emperorship, of rulership. The Lightning Qilin represented Judgment.


    As Ryu continued to battle, he continued to think about what it truly meant for his Bloodlines to be fused into one, but even more important than that, he wanted to understand how he could match it with the rest of his talents, but he had made little progress, mostly because he couldn''t understand the first question.


    He stood just outside the territory of yet another Golden Protector Spirit, one of his great swordstaffs was held out, trembling with a surge of micro movements. The condensation of Spatial Qi upon it was enough to tear through the void several times over.


    Suddenly, he moved.


    When he appeared again, he stood to the back of a gorilla spirit beast, slowly lowering his blade.


    The gorilla spirit beast was completely frozen in place, space pressing down around it until it exploded. It was shredded to pieces by countless sharp blades of qi that looked like swirling disks of concentrated galaxies. And then, the spirit fell, broken into pieces.


    Ryu turned back with an indifferent expression.


    Space was said to be the sharpest qi there was, but Ryu felt that this was the analysis of the ignorant. It was all dependent on several factors, and ultimately there was no sharper qi than blade qi. The sharpness of space was dependent on creating a space of nothingness that everything else was forced to bend around or disappear within. When this was used cleverly enough, and with enough skill, it could match up and surpass a blade.


    However, it was also easier to deal with, at least in Ryu''s opinion.


    When he jumped through space, it was foolish to only open a single tunnel when opening many would be just as easy for him. When he was distorting time, why only speed things up or slow them down? Why not stratify them with countless minor changes, each stacking atop of one another either both positively and negatively to form holistic change? And....


    When he was slicing through space, why only use one blade? Why form a simple line that could be followed even by a child? Why not rely on the chaos of space, the raging fury of a blackhole?


    Looking toward the pieces of the gorilla spirit beast, he felt like he had comprehended something else once again.


    For once, chasing effortlessness was leading him down the wrong road. He had to take advantage of his sight, of his sharpness in the ways of space and time, and crush everyone else with sights they had never seen before.


    It had been over three months since he had started hunting Golden Protector Spirits, and he had finally felled one in a single strike. His spirits brimmed with power and his combat prowess could only be calculated on an entirely new scale.


    Ryu took a deep breath and closed his eyes, absorbing the new insights. Then, he moved.


    "Hm?"


    Ryu came to a stop not long afterward. Down below, he saw the cadavers of three individuals. He didn''t know exactly who they were, but he recognized the emblems that rested on their chests. This was Iroh and the others, but they were part of another segment of potent Sixth Heaven.


    There were two main alchemy powerhouses, the Heavenly Dew Pavilion, and the Tranquil Hand Pavilion. From Ryu''s understanding, these three should be a part of the latter, and they should be no less potent than Iroh.


    The fact they were dead, and seemingly not with the ability to struggle at all was... curious.

 Chapter 1431 Target of Interest

    Chapter 1431 Target of Interest


    Ryu stayed there for a while. It was definitely one person, he could tell that. Although they had put quite some effort into making it seem like it was more than one, what they couldn''t change was the essence of their attack, its very core. However, it seemed that they knew that some sharper individuals might be able to tell this, and had, as a result, morphed and changed what their aura was. Ryu didn''t recognize it and he didn''t feel like taking the time it would take to decipher it all.


    It was true that he could, but why? These people had nothing to do with him, and whether this person would be a threat to him in the future... so what?


    He already had too many enemies in here. He hadn''t forgotten about Starlight, and there was still Jojo. He had also yet to come into true conflict with those geniuses of the Seventh Heaven, but it was really only a matter of time. The only reason he hadn''t clashed with them yet was because there were so few hunting Golden Protector Spirits. By now, everyone had realized just how difficult it was to hunt above the Silver level, and many were still focused on Bronze.


    At the same time, many were beginning to notice the benefits that Ryu had from the very beginning, they began to attempt to gather more and more, and this led to more conflicts as the number of spirits began to whittle down.


    Just due to this alone, even if he had the mind to, was enough for Ryu not to care about this matter. As the number of spirits lessened, he could feel the walls of time closing in around him and very soon the beneficial round would come to an end.


    The feeling of improving every day, every moment, even, was intoxicating and Ryu almost didn''t want to move on at all. However, he exhaled with a smile. Why should this be the only place he could improve? He had a feeling that very soon he would come against plenty more enemies he could sharpen himself against.


    With a step, Ryu vanished from the region of the fallen corpses, not thinking much of it at all. A long distance away, though, a encounter was taking place.


    ...


    Adlael stood on a hill of green. This region was a field, but it was anything but flat. As far as the eyes could see, rounded hills of green with vibrant, tall grasses stood. It was a beautiful region, especially when you stood atop a hill and could catch its full glory in your eyeline.


    The two sighed at once. It was the kind of conversation that truly made an observer want to punch them both in the face. The feigned humility made them come off as more arrogant than it did humble, and it was hard to tell if they were aware of this or not.


    "This much is still fine and acceptable," the black robed man finally spoke. "I can allow you this small victory, but I would hope that you remain cautious. There''s been some very interesting changes, there''s even a particular young man that I have my eye on."


    "What a coincidence, I have my eye on one as well. He''s quite interesting."


    "Ah, I have a feeling I already know who you''re speaking about. It''s typical of you to be so concerned with someone you lost to. Like my parent always said, a true man should know when to let go, to instead learn from it, and grow from it."


    Adlael chuckled. "Indeed, indeed. I have a feeling I know who you''re speaking about as well. Considering your father''s words, it would make sense that you


    have an eye on him. After all, he lost quite handily to my target of interest."


    "Very true, but I believe that he will shine from this instant onward."


    "You speak of shining quite candidly as though you have no intentions of killing him when it suits you. That smile on your face is quite casual as well, is this also the candor your parent spoke of?"


    "Of course, how could it not be. To greet everyday with a smile of confidence and radiance, that is the way of a true man. I might swing by your target of interest to see if he can do the same."

 Chapter 1432 Air

    Chapter 1432 Air


    Ryu didn''t expect to be interrupted. It had been months since he had entered this round and those that he came across tended to steer well clear of him, even when he had this swirling pillar of Bronze, Silver and Gold around him.


    However, up ahead, over 10 kilometers away, he could see a young man in black robes. This distance wasn''t enough to tell if a person had come for you, at least by normal standards. But even at this distance, Ryu was quite certain.


    His steps came to a stop and he continued to look ahead indifferently. He didn''t seem to have any intention of closing the distance for this person, not that 10 kilometers was a large distance considering their cultivation realms. Even so, that didn''t stop the black robed young man from being surprised.


    Ryu had spotted him not from 10 kilometers away, but from over a hundred. The dense trees didn''t seem to impede his sight at all, and the only reason he had continued forward was because this was the direction of his next target. But seeing that this person was also observing him from so far away, he felt that he wasn''t planning on vanishing like all the others had.


    He didn''t say anything, just standing in place, looking at the young man. Usually, one might feel some pressure to speak, but it was as though Ryu was looking at air. His cheery mood had vanished and it was replaced by his usual cold demeanor. He didn''t feel like this person was a friend, and no amount of smiling on their part would change that.


    The black robed young man blinked. He had expected Ryu to notice him only when they were within a kilometer of each other. He hadn''t exactly tried to hide himself, he was just waiting outside the barrier of Ryu''s destination, waiting for him to approach. Just behind him, there was a monkey Golden Protector Spirit that he knew was Ryu''s target.


    Ryu''s wrist trembled slightly, and suddenly all of the trees in the ten kilometer radius between himself and this man were shredded. First they were cut off once, rising into the air from their trunks upward, and then by some mysterious force of the wind, they were split into countless strips of wood, raining down in such a fine mist that the skies somehow still remained clear.


    The black robed young man pursed his lips into a smile, looking down at his robes. There was a single line going through them, though they quickly healed, his smile couldn''t help but brighten.


    "Sorry, sorry. My name is-"


    In the distance, Ryu''s afterimage had still yet to fade, but the attack was upon the young man.


    To the young man''s surprise, as his perceptions were flaring out, wondering which direction Ryu would come from, Ryu came right from his very front, his blades swinging down with a mighty force right before the former''s eyes.


    The black robed youth blinked, seemingly slow to react. This Ryu that Adlael had been interested in was quite... curious.


    Having a Half-Step Dao God as an Ancestor was interesting enough, but to be this... well, odd, was another layer of mystery that left him quite baffled, especially since he seemed to have seen through the truth of this round.


    After a moment of what gazed like hesitation, but was instead a casual thought, the black robed youth struck out with a palm...And hit nothing but air.


    Ryu had suddenly vanished again. The black robed youth realized too late that the portals around him and never closed, not only that but they had looped and been layered around one another intertwining in a mess of spatial qi that he didn''t have nearly enough affinity to see through. The only way to deal with them was to crush them by brute force, but by the time he crushed one layer, ten more would show up in its place, and if he made a second attempt, Ryu''s blade would descend.


    BANG!


    He miscalculated. His body was sent flying forward. Somehow, Ryu''s blade strike was even faster now than it had been before.


    Ryu didn''t even look at the young man, his blade pointed toward the monkey spirit from just outside the territory boundaries. His spatial qi condensed and quaked and he suddenly moved.


    In a flash, the monkey spirit froze, rising up into the air under a mysterious power before it was shredded to pieces by countless silver radiant blades.

 Chapter 1433 Dividing Sin

    Chapter 1433 Dividing Sin


    Ryu slowly lowered his blade, looking toward the black robed man. The latter had already landed on his feet, his smile still there.


    ''The gap is pretty big, huh?"


    Though he had this thought, Ryu didn''t really seem to be very panicked. However, his deductions were spot on, that much he was certain of. By this point, he had already assimilated over 600 Golden Protector Spirits, and by his estimations, this young man hadn''t taken in even a hundred.


    Of course, it was also the case that the more spirits you absorbed of the same rank, the less obvious the benefits. But even so, the fact he had taken Ryu''s strike so easily meant that at their base strengths, the gap was quite large.


    Ryu was quite curious about who this man was, but observing him seriously for the first time, Ryu actually smiled too. That was because he felt like he was looking at a young man he had seen before, this black robed young man and Adlael were actually so similar, they might as well have been carbon copies of one another despite not looking like the same person at all, and Ryu found it quite amusing.


    "So between the two of you," Ryu suddenly said. "Who''s the leader and who''s the puppet on a string?"


    For the third time in the short moments he had met Ryu, the black robed young man was startled again, and this time, he didn''t quite recover quick enough.


    The reason Ryu found all of this so amusing was because two grown men didn''t just happen to share the same personality. There were only two options, either they were raised by the same person, or one had latched onto the other, following his footsteps very closely before breaking off and deluding himself into thinking he was his own person.


    If you guessed wrong, then your faA?¡ìade of greatness would shatter, and he felt that his already had.


    What he had sensed wasn''t Ryu''s Dao, but rather a small part of it, and a small part of it not actively activated either. This was Ryu''s Dividing Sin, or at least his Dividing Sin in part.


    Dividing Sin was the mirror of Dividing Karma. The latter could already see through the thoughts and intentions of people, but the former could comprehend them, ripping them open layer by layer, forcing open open wounds and pouring salt into them.


    When Ryu had uttered that he could become the most supreme of court ministers with just Dividing Karma alone, he wasn''t lying. If he used Dividing Sin at the same time, or even combined their functions into one as he was able, breaking down the resolve of a young man like this with just a few words was as easy as breathing.


    When Ryu had uttered that he could become the most supreme of court ministers with just Dividing Karma alone, he wasn''t lying. If he used Dividing Sin at the same time, or even combined their functions into one as he was able, breaking down the resolve of a young man like this with just a few words was as easy as breathing.


    That''s because no matter how talented this young man was, what he didn''t have for certain was a Founding Dao. The black robed young man wasn''t facing a Half-Step Ancient Dao at all, he was facing a true Founding Dao, and existence of the level of which he had never graced before.


    He knew that he should control himself, he knew that Ryu was trying to get him riled up, but it simply didn''t matter.


    When a future Dao God spoke, you listened.


    The young man gripped his fists, his smile becoming colder.

 Chapter 1434 Indentical

    Chapter 1434 Indentical


    Ryu pointed his blade forward. "I already know what your elder brother would do. He would smile and leave without a word, it''s not quite time yet for him to reveal himself, after all. But I''m far more interested in what you''ll do. I mean, unless you want to follow in the footsteps of your big brother a bit more.


    The black robed young man took a breath.


    He was intelligent, highly so, far beyond what these geniuses of the Sixth and Seventh Heavens could compare to. He had already succeeded in his goal on the Sixth Heaven, and so had his "elder brother". The Heavenly Path to them was just a convenient way of returning to the Seventh Heaven, whereupon they could return home with ease. They still planned to benefit from the Path as it seemed far different than what it had been in the past, and there might even be some things here that even they could benefit from. However, the goal stayed the same.


    They couldn''t bring too much attention to themselves.


    That sounded amusing to say. After all, Adlael was known as the best alchemist of one of the top two Alchemy Pavilions of the Sixth Heaven. While he, Ramon, had likewise taken a similar position in the opposing Pavilion. They were as high profile as they could get...


    But it was all relative. They had already been forgotten in the grand scheme, and that was always their plan, a plan that had gone perfectly until now. And what had changed...? Well...


    Ramon really wanted to kill right now.


    Ryu beamed, his smile brightening up the world. "Come!"


    The word had barely come out when Ramon moved, his speed tearing space in two, a trail of void following in his wake. It tore apart Ryu''s attempts at controlling the space around him and he almost couldn''t react when a palm had appeared before his chest.


    Without even a forced thought, Ryu could tell that if he let this strike hit him, it would pierce right through his chest as though he wasn''t standing here at all. He wouldn''t die thanks to his Realm Heart, but he would be in a state where battle was next to impossible without using his Embryonic Qi.


    But that was the thing. The best plans weren''t the most clever ones. They were the ones where an opponent knew what was coming...


    And yet couldn''t do anything about it.


    A portal suddenly opened before Ryu''s blade and Ramon''s palm hit nothing but air. At the same time, dozens of portals the same size as that one appeared all around Ramon.


    Ramon''s brows jumped. He couldn''t sense which portal the blade would come out of. He threw his effort behind his hidden Matrix and he began to calculate, his mind spinning at a high octane before he struck out at a portal.


    He sneered, his smile forgotten as Ryu''s blade appeared out from his right. But then... his expression changed.


    Out from every portal, an uniform piercing blade came out from them all. And... each and every one had a completed vortex of raging spatial qi around them.


    There were too many, and Ramon didn''t have time to understand how Ryu had suddenly multiplied his blade. Spatial qi couldn''t do this, and there was no technique that could make each one so perfectly... identical.


    BANG!


    Ramon was swallowed up. Small vortexes of spatial qi swallowed him whole, suddenly combining and forming an attack that raised him into the air. shredding him from top to bottom.


    He unleashed a shout of anger, but even after obliterating the first layer, there was another, and then another.


    His shout was distorted and swallowed, his body disappearing beneath countless crisscrossing blades.

 Chapter 1435 Far Enough

    Chapter 1435 Far Enough


    Ryu lowered his blade slightly and he vanished, appearing on one of the few trees remaining in the region. His expression didn''t seem to be one of victory, but it wasn''t one of fear either.


    Right then, Ramon fell out of the air, his clothes shredded to pieces and his skin covered in dense, but thin lines of blade marks. He looked to be in a sorry state, and he was, but Ryu could also see that it was very surface level. Ramon had obviously been able to protect himself from the greatest damage, likely relying on some sort of qi shield as his body didn''t seem that impressive to Ryu.


    ''My Dao is far more useful against actual humans than it has been against the spirits. It''s no wonder..."


    Ryu had gotten the feeling when this battle started that his Dao was far more effective, and now he understood why that was. Using it against real people, who had thoughts and emotions, and could be manipulated, was far easier than constructs that only knew how to battle. It was no wonder although he was certain Ramon was far more powerful than any single spirit he had battled until now, Ryu still felt that he was still in more manageable ranges in terms of what he could deal with.


    Even so, Ramon was truly impressive. Ryu was certain that even if he gave up all of the Golden Protector Spirits he had, that attack just now could still kill a Golden Protector Spirit in a single strike. But Ramon''s life wasn''t even in danger despite the blood covering his body.


    Impressive, truly impressive.


    Ryu grinned.


    He had learned something else. He had done it on a whim to counter Ramon, but the feeling felt good. Having a Matrix in one hand and a blade in another felt right. But at the same time, it was also a bottleneck.


    In the past, this Matrix had helped him greatly, but now he felt like it was holding him back. Of course, it was still a help, but it felt like it could only amplify a small part of his strength.


    This made sense. After all, he had both an Origin Flame, a complete one at that, and a Founding Dao. It was no wonder that his Matrix couldn''t keep up and amplify it all.


    The Void Spiritual Qi lapped against his skin, feeling like a cool breeze, and then he felt as though every inch of him was being scanned. This only lasted for a split second before his own Spiritual Qi rumbled forth, vibrating and dispersing Ryu''s Spiritual Qi.


    However, Ryu had already hit the ground, accelerating backward and skipping through space.


    "Babye, say hello to your elder brother for me."


    "You think you-"


    Ramon looked around and Ryu was gone. When he looked toward the ground, his gaze flared with anger. Even during the battle, Ryu had been forming a large scale teleportation formation concealed within the layers of his attacks of space and time. He was simply on a completely different level. Ramon had simply never seen anyone beneath Sky God had such a strong Space Soul Nature, and to use it like this, so cleverly, with such layers of complexity... Even Sky Gods couldn''t do that.


    Even now, he didn''t comprehend how right he was because he had still not picked up on Ryu''s time affinity at all. It was too deeply hidden, too perfectly shrouded.


    Ramon stood in place for a long time, taking deep breaths before he settled down and his smile slowly returned.


    Fine. He would just have to go and check on his choice instead, then. At least this Ryu knew his limits.


    He slowly unclenched his fists as the last of his blood dried and his wounds closed up completely. He would recall this, and when the time came that he no longer had to hold back, his retaliation would be had.


    ''If you can make it far enough for me to care, that is. Regardless, that soul is mine.''

 Chapter 1436 Fragmented Sky God

    Chapter 1436 Fragmented Sky God


    Ryu appeared in a dense miasma of snow. It took him a moment to realize that he was actually buried deep within a snow mound, but he didn''t mind. He had known that his teleportation would be a bit crude as it was a new ability he was using and he was teleporting to an unfamiliar place, so he had designed it to send out a pulse of Spatial Qi first, that way he wouldn''t find his body magically fusing with snow and killing himself.


    Since it was so convenient, he decided to stay in place. The cold of this place used to bother him even with his Ice Phoenix Bloodline, but that had stopped after he gathered more Golden Protector Spirits and had improved his Martial Forms. Plus, even if it was too cold for him, the best place to be in that sort of situation was buried in the snow anyway.


    He crossed his legs and began to meditate, namely focusing on what he had just learned.


    "I was right," he whispered to himself.


    Blacksteel Bone Structure. Blacksteel Meridians. Blacksteel Soul. Blacksteel Spiritual Foundation. And a Bloodline the name of which Ryu didn''t know, but most definitely emitted an energy that melded and fused the other ones well.


    A perfect set of Omniscient Grade talents and a Bloodline that supplemented them all. There were very few talents that shared a name across the six Pillars, but Blacksteel was one that did, at least across five, and Ramon was the beneficiary of it.


    Despite the sound of its name, the Blacksteel talent wasn''t one of purely defense, though it was quite great at that as well. Its main attribute was the first part of its namesake: blackness. This wasn''t just in the sense of the color, but in terms of the philosophy of it. It absorbed, consumed, swallowed everything in its path.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. The Blacksteel Soul was like the child of the Perfect Blackbody Soul. Although the former started as an Omniscient Grade Talent, and also had some characteristics of an Indestructible Soul, it would end as one as well. Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if Ramon was suddenly very interested in his soul now, not that it made much of a difference to him.


    In fact, now that he thought about it, the Blacksteel Meridians had some mirrors of his Chaotic Silk Meridians as well. It was very strong and sturdy, and was probably among the top most Meridians in terms of durability. If he had used his Chaos Qi during the battle, or more accurately, had projected it outward, there was no doubt that Ramon would be intrigued in it as well, not that that was saying much.


    Everyone wanted his Meridians.


    There might come a day where his Dao was so powerful that it would be able to subconsciously tell all of this on its own, but even when that day came, his soul would grow to the point where this Internal Matrix of his could even see through to the future.


    The weeks passed by in a flash and Ryu opened his eyes, exiting his eyes'' world as though only a few seconds had passed. Then, he grabbed onto the kernel of his Origin Flame and crushed it. He grabbed out with his other hand and began to use the formations to draw, writing out a formation that looked like flickering stars in the night sky, dense and vast.


    The more he wrote, the clearer he felt his mind was. The larger the formation grew, the slower and slower the trickle of his Focus Qi became as though he was a machine of efficiency.


    When he finished, he wanted to raise his head up to the skies and roar.


    With the combination of his Origin Flame, his self-created Mental Realm cultivation technique, and his Founding Dao... His Dao functioned as though it stood beyond its station in maturity.


    He saw the world with impossible clarity, and matters that he couldn''t understand in the past shifted into place, slotting in as though they had always been meant to be there, and most shocking of all... that feeling that had alluded him for so long, that deduction related to his Bloodline, clicked grew, the slower and slower the trickle of his Focus Qi became as though he was a machine of efficiency.


    When he finished, he wanted to raise his head up to the skies and roar.


    With the combination of his Origin Flame, his self-created Mental Realm cultivation technique, and his Founding Dao... His Dao functioned as though it stood beyond its station in maturity.


    He saw the world with impossible clarity, and matters that he couldn''t understand in the past shifted into place, slotting in as though they had always been meant to be there, and most shocking of all... that feeling that had alluded him for so long, that deduction related to his Bloodline, clicked into place.


    For maybe the first time in history, a World Sea Realm expert had a Dao no less powerful than a Fragmented Sky God.

 Chapter 1437 Molded

    Chapter 1437 Molded


    Ryu felt an unimaginable level of... control. It wasn''t power, not exactly, it was more like he could sense every little thing, even down to the atoms of the world itself. Everything was in his grasp, and nothing could escape his attention.


    He had never felt this way before, even when he had fully unlocked his Heavenly Pupils, even when he was in a far weaker world with far greater restrictions like Sacrum. It was all simply... unimaginable. It almost felt like the Heavens themselves were pouring power into him, and in a real sort of way, that was exactly what was happening.


    A Dao was exactly that, an external source of strength granted to you by the Heavens as a reward for your comprehension. Depending on what you had come to understand about the reality of the world, certain amounts of its laws were laid bare before you, opening themselves up so that you could use them as freely as your Focus Qi would allow.


    The amount that had been opened up to Ryu hadn''t changed, but a few things made it feel as though that was what was happening, the most important of which was efficiency.


    Having a Founding Dao was both a gift and a curse. Most didn''t actively use their Daos in battle, but rather did so passively because of the drain on Focus Qi. It wasn''t until they entered a hyper intense state of battle that they would lay it all on the line and ignore the potential consumption. Even the Saint''s disciple was like this, his use was so subtle in the beginning that Ryu had almost missed it.


    For Ryu, this was even more so. He was lucky that he had received the Origin Flame not long after forming his Founding Dao, or else he would have felt the drain far more significantly. Without the Prayer Mat, his chances of using his Founding Dao, his current greatest reliance, in the midst of battle would be like a baby trying to wield a heavy duty God Treasure.


    But even with his Origin Flame, Ryu had been very careful with how he used his Dao, not only for the sake of hiding his identity, but also sparing a thought for his Focus Qi as well. Now, however, whereas using his Dao in the past cost a steady river, it was no more than a drizzle.


    Battle. He wanted a battle.


    Ryu flickered and vanished. His passive use of his Dao was so great that even with a casual intent, he easily crossed what was ten times his previous greatest distance, leaping across thousands of kilometers. With just that single step, he had already appeared within the territory of a Golden Protector Spirit.


    [Absolute Domain] was activated again, but this time... Ryu used a level the little woman would never think possible at his level. The technique was divided into grades, and certain levels were always restricted in their use against certain enemies. A Heaven Grade [Absolute Domain], for example, would always be useless against a World Sea Realm expert no matter how cleverly they used it.


    So what about the Fragmented Grade against one?


    The white scaled crocodile spirit seemed to rush itself onto Ryu''s blade. The gap in tactics and movements was so immense that a third party observer would have assumed that the spirit was simply tired of living, of the hardships of life.


    Ryu didn''t even have to use his Spacetime Soul Nature cleverly, nor did he have to use his Chaos Qi, he didn''t use anything but the strength of his body, and even that was less than 10% used.


    He stood in silence as the spirit poured into his body, its physical form collapsing.


    He suddenly comprehended just how potent [Absolute Domain] was. And by extension, he understood just what kind of monster he had formed with his own hands.

 Chapter 1438 Interesting

    Chapter 1438 Interesting


    The power was intoxicating. Every enemy he came across didn''t have the ability to last even a single exchange against him. [Absolute Domain] used the very stars to map out projections that could allow for a perfect defense. If you were still enough, this perfect defense could easily become a perfect offense. If you were even more skilled, then you would have to sacrifice nothing at all. A perfect offense and defense would seamlessly meld into one another, creating a battle style far beyond anything that Ryu had self-created in the last several months.


    Soon, though, this intoxication wavered and Ryu''s coldness returned. In fact, it was a coldness that suffused from the depths of his soul and it dashed all the previous happiness he had had.


    He had put his everything into these last several months, carefully honing himself and building little changes to his combat strategy that made large differences in his strength.


    But the moment he made use of [Absolute Domain], it all became useless. He felt like he was being pulled along by someone else''s strings and he was relying on a Dao forged by another person. It was a feeling that made him unhappy and disgusted, and if this was the him of just a year ago, or even a few months ago, he would have vowed right here and now to never use [Absolute Domain] again.


    He didn''t like the feeling. It was like an elder was casually patting him on the head, and an elder he didn''t know or have any love for, shaking their head at his naivete.


    Indeed, how could anything he could accomplish in a few months, even with the backing of a Founding Dao and an Origin Flame, possibly match up to what he was experiencing here? The [Absolute Domain] was indeed very difficult to use, and it required memorizing all the star maps of existence itself. However, there was a proportional reward for succeeding.


    Usually, a technique with such a steep entry requirement would be too greatly flawed to be used by anyone and it would be cast as a failure. But this technique was obviously one of the very few that was worth it.


    It was a sharp reminder, and almost painful one, of how far he still had to go and his happiness toward the success of his self-created Mental Realm technique was dashed. No, it wasn''t dashed, instead it turned into a boiling flame of lava that poured through his veins.


    Ryu quickly used the [Absolute Domain] to tear a path through the remaining quantity of Golden Protector Spirits. He knew that [Absolute Domain] or not, the Golden Protector Spirits could no longer pose a challenge to him. If he wanted to catch up, creating a method of combat that could rule over even [Absolute Domain], then he needed to fight against the Diamond Protector Spirits.


    Each one was taken aback when they realized it wasn''t a Diamond Protector Spirit at all, but rather a man. They slowed to a stop, but unlike the first group of stragglers, they were much closer. Clearly they weren''t here just to observe.


    And then came the team of the Fading Star Sect. There were five of them, that being the number of teams. As for their numbers total, there were 20. None of them seemed to have any distinctive characteristics, but with just a glance, Ryu picked out Starlight as though it was as easy as breathing.


    He grinned, but he didn''t say anything.


    And then came those four, maybe the four that everyone had been waiting for from the very beginning.


    Litaor of the Azure Lightning Sect.


    Reykian of the Stalwart Sun Sect.


    Jojo of the Raging Inferno Sect.


    Selheira of the Radiant Star Sect.


    Ryu raised a slight eyebrow. ''Interesting!

 Chapter 1439 An Honor To Be By His Side

    Chapter 1439 An Honor To Be By His Side


    "You-!"


    Jojo shot forward like a meteor streaking across the skies. The pillar of gold around her seemed thirsty for power as it greedily drank in the surrounding qi, fueling her, empowering her.


    Ryu wasn''t too surprised by this. Everyone would follow different paths. While he was focused on internal constructs lik maximizing his explosive power or flexibility, others like Jojo might have focused on finding methods of forcing the reaction of atmospheric qi with nothing more than her body.


    Maybe a few minutes ago, this would have baffled Ryu. Wasn''t controlling atmospheric qi a strength of the Qi Realm? He had never heard of Vital Qi doing such a thing. But this time, with just a single glance, even while using his Dao passively, he saw through the secrets.


    When he used his Ice Phoenix Martial Form, he could swallow a large amount of air, and then guide this air through his body to promote his speedy recovery, It was the perfect sort of blueprint for the ability he was seeing right here. Wasn''t that a rudimentary form of his body using atmospheric qi to its benefit?


    Taking it a step further, wasn''t this a concept his master''s magnum opus was based upon? His master Elemental War God Visualization could carve out pathways in one veins and arteries to mimic the passages of ancient and powerful beasts. Then these circulation patterns could be used to provoke the activation of talents you shouldn''t have access to at all. Wasn''t this another method of atmospheric qi usage?


    The difference lay in the fact that Jojo wasn''t absorbing the qi into her body, nor was she fusing it to a technique. Rather, it was like the Heavens had enveloped her with a second skin, causing each and every one of her actions to thrum with its support. It was a more active usage of an ability that one could passively gain access to after forming their Cosmic Seeds, but adapted to be used with one''s Bloodlines.


    But more pointedly than that, it was a far weaker version of what his Birthed Phenomena could do.


    Ryu had these thoughts even as Jojo appeared before him, but he didn''t seem to have the intention of moving at all.


    Selheira had already appeared, grabbing her wrist. The knuckles came to a stop a mere half centimeter from Ryu''s sharp nose and the smile on his face. never faded. He looked into Jojo''s eyes without much care and even a bit of a teasing light.


    She was powerful, truly powerful. If it was before he had succeeded in creating his Mental Realm Cultivation Technique, he might have to run from her like he had from Ramon even despite the completion of his absorption of 999 Golden Protector Spirits. But now...


    He didn''t feel like he had to fear her at all.


    "It''s a bit inappropriate to attack my Junior Brother when we''re working on the same team, don''t you think, Jojo?"


    Jojo seemed to have forgotten that she hated Ryu''s guts. Instead, she was having the time of her life.


    When she spoke about Ryu''s relationship with Selheira, she had made the same assumptions that Selheira had. She thought that since Selheira had shown the slightest fascination in Ryu, then it would really only be a matter of time. Selbeira''s instincts were sharp, and if she liked a man, even if it was just a little bit, he was worthy of a second look. After all, she knew things about Selheira that no one else did.


    What she, and clearly Selheira, hadn''t thought of, was the possibility that the man Selheira had her eyes on might reject her. If it was someone else who had uttered what Ryu had, it might have come off as posturing, even an attempt to make Selheira chase him rather than the other way around, but Jojo already knew enough Ryu to know that there was little to no chance that he would do such a thing. That man too boldly spoke what was on his mind, and she could sense that he meant every word.


    And clearly Selheira could too, or else she wouldn''t have reacted the way she had.


    This was better than even a birthday present, it was better than stumbling on a God Treasure in the wild, it was better than even if she would step into the Sky God Realm right this moment. To see Selheira embarrassed like this, she could live out the rest of her life with a blinding smile on her face.


    She had never seen this gentle beauty take such a loss, and she was having the time of her life.


    She fell to the ground, slamming her fists as she laughed. She almost forgot to chase after Ryu, and most had. Who could blame them? Who hadn''t heard what Ryu had said? Who hadn''t seen what he had done?


    Reykian, however, looked as though he wanted for bloody murder.


    Ryu didn''t think too much about what had just happened, looking at the colossus before him. While it was true that his women could be as willful as they wanted, those women could only have the title of wife and they had to actually be his woman. He didn''t have a habit of bending over backwards just because someone was a beauty, even if she showed fascination in him. If he took in every woman who showed interest in him, he wouldn''t even have enough time to go around.


    Was it a bit cruel to Selheira? Probably. But he was getting a bit displeased that she just assumed that she could have him if she wanted him. He was Ryu Tatsuya, a man destined to stand on the tallest peak of the world, it was an honor to be by his side, not the other way around.


    A mountain in the distance rose into a titan of over 10 meters tall, wreathed in blue armor that radiated like crystals.


    He pointed his great swordstaffs forward.


    "Let''s end this battle before any unwanted guests arrive. Shall we?"

 Chapter 1440 Stupid Heavenly Path

    Chapter 1440 Stupid Heavenly Path


    Ryu inwardly whistled, feeling the strength of this titan. The gap between the Golden ranks and the Diamond ranks was more than twice that of the Silver and Golden Protector Spirits. It felt ridiculous that someone not in the Sky God Realm could be so powerful. Even now, it didn''t seem like it was using qi.


    Was this what Ninth Heaven geniuses felt like? To be so powerful even without full access to its abilities, it seemed that the Ninth Heaven lived up to expectations. Even so, there was absolutely nothing this beast could do that Ryu couldn''t see through.


    "There''s only one Diamond Protector Spirit? Not multiple? In that case, 1 don''t have much time at all...


    The distance between here and where he had just left from was a few tens of thousands of kilometers. If the strongest of them used their greatest possible speed, it was a distance they could cross in less than a dozen minutes.


    Could he defeat this titan that fast? His confidence said yes, but his understanding about his Dao said... maybe. The spirits didn''t function the same way humans did and his Dao wasn''t as effective against them. However, Ryu''s confidence overrode his other thoughts as a grin spread across his face.


    With a stamp, he flickered and vanished. As soon as he moved, the fist of the titan spirit moved as well, collapsing all of the spatial tunnels that Ryu had formed. Ryu''s brows couldn''t help but jump as he came to a stop in the void, just barely avoiding the fate of being crushed into a meaty paste.


    Alright, maybe he was a bit too eager. This spirit was something else power wise, and it was obvious that no one, not even someone who had consumed 999 Golden Protector Spirits, should be able to defeat him. There was only one Diamond Protector Spirit because he was meant to work with everyone else who was worthy.


    However, Ryu wasn''t a fan of the idea. He stood in the void in silence for a long while. Well, it was only a few seconds, but such a thing was an eternity in a battle of this scale. What interrupted his attempt at thought, though, was a sudden pressure that came from the titan spirit. Some part of its bloodline was pressuring him, trying to close down the spatial nodes he was standing within.


    Ryu could fight back against this with ease, especially with his affinity, but it still made him an extra hint cautious. This titan spirit was even more powerful than he knew. His better judgment was right to tell him to be cautious, and he was foolish to have tried to ignore it, albeit for just a split moment


    ''Hm...'' Ryu sighed.


    He had gained some insight about his Bloodlines after he succeeded in completing his Mental Realm cultivation method. He had learned that he could use his Bloodlines as an extension of his instincts in battle, almost like a Sixth Sense..


    Within his Bloodlines carried a whole host of memories that came from beasts he shared a lineage with. Within those memories not only included the talents that he had awakened one by one, but also various miscellaneous thoughts and experiences, anything that survived, really. Part of the reason it was so difficult to awaken talents was precisely because of this. There was a sea of completely useless information within... but there was also a whole host of useful information in there as well not related to talents at all.


    The blood had paths that it preferred to move along, muscle memory borne of countless generations of experience and a tie of Fate that made it run more smoothly when completing certain pathways. However, tapping into that required a subtlety and talent that was even beyond what it took to find and unearth talents within your bloodline in the first place.


    There was no up, no down, no left, no right. There was no heaviness, no speed, no time. It couldn''t move because it didn''t even know how to go about doing so. All of its sense of body was stripped from it and it became as lame as a newborn, unable to do anything for itself.


    Ryu took a breath. He didn''t have much time. If the titan wasn''t a spirit, it would probably just rage and send its Bloodline pressure outward. Any power that it could send out that had its full brunt behind it would be enough to shatter this formation. Ryu still wasn''t sure if it could do that, so he didn''t want to risk it at all.


    He raised his blade and his gaze sharpened. It all came down to whether he could harm this titan spirit or not, and he only had one thing that he felt could allow it.


    His Infinity Mist Cosmic Seed flared. His control was much better now, far better than it had been in the past, but it still felt as though he was trying to leash a dragon, the spurts of failed control causing his body to shred itself apart


    Even so, his gaze flared and he rushed forward, swinging his blade down with a mighty pulsing strength.


    BANG!


    The feeling of slicing something apart never came. Rather, it felt like it was fracturing everything in his path. Even his great swordstaff shattered into so many pieces it looked as though it had been burnt to ash. Toward this result, he could sigh. That was why he had only tried it with one great swordstaff. It seemed that he would only have one weapon from now on, aside from his bow, that is.


    The Titan''s head was crushed, and the only reason the rest of its body hadn''t followed suit was because by that point, Ryu''s control had dissipated.


    All at once, Ryu was suddenly flooded by a radiant blue energy and the amount of acumen was so great that he was certain he would have roared out in pain if not for the Origin Flame. He suddenly understood that maybe it wasn''t the fact that the Heavenly Path was being stingy, but rather that it simply hadn''t believed a single person could take in so much.


    But now... It was all his.


    Unfortunately, the procedure was much longer than he expected it to be.


    Ryu almost snarled. ''This stupid Heavenly Path wouldn''t let other individuals impede with me, would it?"


    He had only just had this thought when the first blazing paths of individuals entered the frayed edges of his quickly shrinking Spiritual Sense.

 Chapter 1441 Rounds

    Chapter 1441 Rounds


    Ryu took a breath, his body entering a state of focus. It was incredibly hard to do so when he knew quite well that there were a whole host of people rushing toward him, though. Even so, the first thing he did was check on the state of his body.


    His qi could move, albeit slowly. His body was a bit languid and his reflexes were shot. But the greatest change was in his mind, it was practically shut down, as though a business that was boarded up and closed off for the day. Its full effort was placed behind assimilating with this coming information.


    Then Ryu understood. The reason his thoughts were so slow and his reflexes so shot was because he could only control himself with a sliver of his mind right now, only barely enough to remain conscious. He had a feeling that if not for the Origin Flame, he wouldn''t be awake right now at all and might even fall into a coma for an extended period of time, leaving the others to do whatever they wanted with his body.


    He didn''t even have the mind to spare for computing exactly how long this would take and for all he knew, it could end either in the next second, or take several years to finish.


    Ryu snarled inwardly. This didn''t make any sense. The Origin Flame was a God Treasure that stood at the pinnacle and its greatest reliance in the help it provided to bolstering the mind. Plus, he had just made great headway into his self created cultivation techniques, his mind should be the sharpest it could be.


    Ryu grit his teeth and disregarded it all. Figuring out the reason this was happening would take a mental capacity that he simply didn''t have right now. There was no use in trying to figure out when, very soon, he would have some unwelcomed guests.


    He gripped his remaining great swordstaff and closed his eyes. Relying on his mind right now would be impossible. He exhaled a breath and white scales manifested all across his body as his Bloodlines thrummed with life. A wide pair of wings spread and horns that arched toward the skies grew from his forehead.


    like that one, so straight forward and ruthless, only appeared when the Heavenly Path had a great reward to give out and it only wanted a chosen few, or even just one to benefit from it.


    But what didn''t make sense was that this single elimination style round was followed up by a team battle style round. It was completely inconsistent and it didn''t line up, it was as though the Heavenly Path was confused...


    Or was it?


    What if, the entire time, this was the outcome it wanted? For just a single person to gain all of the benefits? Were they just naA? ?ve in assuming this was meant to be a team battle round just because the introduction of the rules had uttered so? But in that case, why had the Heavenly Path said so at all? Adlael was certain that if it had simply said nothing, most people would try t work alone until they were forced to do otherwise. But in this situation, mos had teamed up first, and then begun to battle.


    This wasn''t the only oddity either.


    Usually, the Heavenly Path was only open to World Sea Realm experts and below. Those that had come from the Seventh Heaven, and even himself and Ramon, had remained in the World Sea Realm as a result of these thoughts. But this time, Half-Step Sky Gods had entered, many forgoing their foundations to force this change upon themselves, and the Heavenly Path had allowed it.


    Beyond that, it seemed that most of the World Sea Realm experts had been purposely matched up against the Half-Step Sky Gods of the Sixth Heaven just to gain a right to enter this "team battle" round....

 Chapter 1442 Far More Interesting

    Chapter 1442 Far More Interesting


    The confusion weighed heavily on Adlael and it made him hesitant to take action. He had a feeling that if the others of the Eighth and Ninth Heavens had been aware that these huge changes were coming, they wouldn''t wait for the Convergence to reach their Heavens before taking action, they would have sent their youths down as well despite usually disdaining the Lower Heavens.


    Were both he and Ramon wrong? Had they been too casual up until this point? Should he throw caution to the wind and take this victory for himself?


    Adlael''s eyes narrowed slightly. He was a cautious person by nature, and he much preferred to lean back and plan diligently. This was a far cry from how the rest of his branch family members were, most of whom were crazed, battle hungry maniacs. But it was also because of this that they were constantly and unwittingly, often, the pawns of others.


    He was tired of that kind of life, but clearly the pride of being a Heavenly Dew was ingrained into his veins. He had come to this Heaven, but he had still disdained it, still believed that there was nothing much it could do for him aside from a scant few things that he carefully decided upon.


    I will wait until the next round. If things are still so... odd, it will mean that ! am correct in my presumptions and this Heavenly Path opening is far different than it ever has been before.


    Adlael continued to stand in place, watching as the countless auras converged onto Ryu''s position. He didn''t have any intention of moving, but it seemed that Ramon wasn''t the same, and it also didn''t seem like this was out of any attempt to gain benefits, at least not the same benefits that Adlael was after.


    Ryu''s breathing was steady and even. His eyes were closed and his Spiritual Sense had already been torn to the point it couldn''t maintain its state at all. It winked out of existence entirely and Ryu was left with nothing, and yet he didn''t seem to have the intention of opening his eyes,


    The first grounds that made it to his location were those of the Radiant Star Sect, but not long after the four Immortal Deities appeared. It seemed that the Radiant Star Sect had a combined movement technique that they used that pulled upon Star Qi to function, allowing them to outstrip the Immortal Deities who were only casually working together.


    Selheira''s heart lurched when she realized that Ryu''s head was about to be pierced through. She had stubbornly come to a stop, but that slight pause made it so that she wouldn''t be able to reach in time.


    It was then, though, that Ryu suddenly took a step to the side. It was a precise six inches, just enough that the arrowhead and the arrow''s aura missed him. His hair danced in the wind, but nothing else happened even as the ground behind him was torn to shreds.


    Ryu''s body might be in a sorry state, and his qi might not move to his command, but he had an upper hand that everyone else didn''t. He was the only one to have absorbed a Diamond Protector Spirit, even if it was only in part.


    Reykian suddenly cut forward like a blazing sun.


    "Reykian, you dare?!" Selheira suddenly roared.


    Reykian''s flight stumbled for a moment, but his gaze only became a steely cold as he rushed forward. Not far behind him, Litaor moved as well, but lojo didn''t do anything to stop him, she just looked on, quite amused by the situation. She had thought that Selheira would be infuriated to the point of maybe even attacking Ryu herself, but to think that she would actually say something to stop Reykian. This was all much more interesting than killing Ryu herself.


    Selheira sent a gaze toward Jojo and then shot forward. Jojo didn''t seem to have any intention of stopping her either, she just sat back and watched the show.


    If it was just Reykian and Litaor, there would be no suspense. But she culd sense that there were many other participants at play here, and she wanted to see who would sink or swim. Who knew, maybe she could reap the benefits in the end?

 Chapter 1443 Frustration

    Chapter 1443 Frustration


    Ryu couldn''t feel anything. He saw nothing but darkness, the only exception being a slight spark of blue in the far off distance. But this blue wasn''t a light at the end of the tunnel, it was instead the power of the Diamond Protector Spirit engulfing his senses. He ignored it, focusing on the darkness.


    Suddenly, slashes of red, gold and blue appeared all around him. They seemed intent on slicing him to pieces.


    He could feel his body being pulled in several directions. One part wanted to crush them with absolute strength, another part wanted him to slide by and dodge flexibly, another part wanted him to roar and force them into submission.


    Each and every one of his Bloodlines, even while fused, had their own ideas on how to deal with the situation, and what made it worse was that just picking one didn''t seem to make sense. There was another layer of complexity that Ryu had neglected to mention earlier, and that was that all of these Bloodline memories that had managed to make it so far, came from absolute experts who had one stood at the top of their cultivation paths.


    How would such existences react to being in the body of a weakling like Ryu? Would they even be able to acknowledge the fact that they weren''t as powerful as they once were? Were these attacks possible to crush? Was he even fast enough to dodge them? Could he roar them into submission?


    He didn''t know the answer to any of these questions and the pressure of indecision weighed down on him. There was no path that seemed correct, they all felt wrong.


    He took a step and felt a searing pain rack his body, dulled by the occupation of his mind. It was hard to tell if he had just been grazed, or if he had lost an entire limb, but he still didn''t open his eyes.


    The flashing lights overwhelmed him again. There seemed to be even more attackers now, a large number of them, and there seemed to still be more coming from the distance. His world of black was overwhelmed by blades of light, varying in color and spanning across the entire rainbow.


    He once again felt the several pulls on his body, each one wanting him to do something different. His instinct was to rein in control of his blood, to command it as it was his. But in this situation, this wasn''t an option. If he didn''t, then he would have to rely on his own combat prowess right now, and his mind wasn''t nearly sharp enough to do so.


    The only way forward was to find a kernel that linked them all, to find a method of counter attacking that aligned with all of them. But even as he tried, he was starting to get more and more frustrated. As he continued to move, he continued to get hit, and for all he knew, he was on his last breath and the only thing burning within him was his frustration.


    He had gone through all of this trouble to fuse his Bloodlines, even giving up the talents that he had painstakingly awakened, and for what?


    The boost to his body was negligible compared to his cultivation method. His Bloodlines had once been the leading reason for his strong body, but now he was entirely reliant on a cultivation method that made him stronger in some aspects, but far weaker in others.


    The Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s Body Realm Cultivation method made him more powerful in body than any Nine Life Revolution expert should be, and yet it was the reason one of his strongest trump card, his Embryonic Qi, was now suddenly far more useful on others than it was on himself. It was a double edged sword that swung at him every time he swung at an enemy.


    The frustration of his breakthrough came boiling over.


    The Dark Phoenix, the Fire Phoenix, and the Ice Phoenix all flickered between a physique of incorporeal flames and a corporeal body wreathed and the most gorgeous of intricately sculpted feathers.


    The auras that radiated as one brought many to their knees. When Ryu appeared before their kneeling forms, they couldn''t even mount a resistance, finding their heads twisted off and their torsos bloodied with an extra bowl sized hole.


    The five beasts began to shimmer as though forming a formation of sorts, but seemed to be lacking something to take that final step. Even so, it didn''t seem to matter at all, the suffocating weight of their emanations bearing down with full, overpowering might.


    In the distance, Selheira faced off against Ramon. She hadn''t been able to get close from the beginning, this mysterious figure appearing to block her path. She didn''t even know who this person was, but no matter what she did, she couldn''t get by him at all.


    When she felt the sudden change, her raging bloodline settled and her eyes opened wide.


    Litaor was thrown away like a broken rag doll, Reykian had an arm ripped from his shoulder and a leg broken in the wrong direction.


    "This..." she mumbled to herself, not understanding what was happening.


    Of course, she knew better than most. Those were definitely Bloodline Phenomena. But they should only be able to appear in the strongest of each race. Ryu himself had activated them before, but that was only in Sacrum. It had been impossible to even think of doing so in the True Martial World, he was too far away from it. The Strings of Karma here were too powerful to allow a human to tap into such things.


    But even if Ryu could succeed with one? How could they be okay with sharing space with the others?


    It was right then that a sixth beast appeared. A Phoenix wreathed in golden flames rose up and roared with a sonorous call that made one feel as though it was tapping into the very embodiment of nature itself.


    Ryu''s strength soared again and his punches and kicks became more furious. Ramon looked toward what was happening and his eyes narrowed. But then he looked toward Selheira as well as though something else had caught his interest too.


    "I see, no wonder. Now, veiled beauty. Would you mind telling me what a Crystal Dragon is doing walking around amongst humans?"


    Selheira''s eyes snapped back toward Ramon, her radiant blue eyes suddenly becoming a stream of rainbow as her pupils turned into slits and her white hair began to emit its own rainbow colored light.


    "Speak again and I''ll kill you right here."

 Chapter 1444 Crystal Dragons

    Chapter 1444 Crystal Dragons


    Ramon''s lip curled into a smile. He didn''t seem to take Selheira''s threat very seriously. It was either because he didn''t feel that the threat was worth his time because Selheira wasn''t willing to do what it would take to follow through, or it was the case that he didn''t fear Selheira whether she did so or not.


    However, the thoughts toward the truthfulness of the second option was put into question if one could see the fist he held in his robes as he clasped his hands to his back. He seemed to be prepared for battle if he had to, but he also felt that if Selheira was here and his assumptions about her lineage were correct, then in all likelihood what she was facing was similar to the restraints he likewise had on himself. In that case, there was truly less to worry about.


    In the end, after taking one loss to Ryu, he was unwilling to take another in such quick succession, especially since it seemed that Ryu would be able to pull himself out from his predicament. Well... at least this predicament. What it would mean for him to enter the Seventh Heaven with all those here knowing he had such Bloodlines and could even access their Bloodline phenomena... that was another matter entirely.


    So, Ramon chuckled in the face of Selheira''s fierce glare.


    "Crystal dragons, they had gentle spirits and they were unwilling to war and shed blood like their fellow brethren. They even descended from the Ninth Heaven, avoiding conflict and settled into the Eighth Heaven. But I wonder, why is it that one of their own is on the Seventh Heaven? It can''t be that the Crystal Dragons feel that even the Eighth Heaven is too bloody for them, right? Does your race want the True Martial World to provide a nursery for them?"


    Selheira''s expression darkened considerably.


    Ramon didn''t seem to notice that his words had begun to lack their usual airiness. There was nothing cloaking his animosity at all, or at the very least, it was hardly as veiled as it had been in the past. Instead, he seemed to be having a hard effort shielding the true intentions in his heart. But that was also because he truly was curious about Selheira all of a sudden.


    "What''s more interesting is that you''re quite a rebel. Taking on a human form so early, could it be that you''re trying to abandon your lineage? Some teenage angst, is it? Or is that you''re such a great talent? Maybe a little bit of both? A great talent, disgusted by her family''s actions and wanting to strive to return to the Ninth Heaven without relying on the talents she was blessed with? What an interesting tale."


    As Ramon spoke, he grew more and more comfortable. It seemed that he had thought too much about it, he was still great at reading people, it was just that Ryu who was such an annoying nat. He could still control the flow of most conversations he was a part of and nothing would be able to stop his steps, not even that senior brother of his.


    Selheira still didn''t respond to his taunts,


    It would usually take even a talented beast to enter the Dao Lord Realm before they could take on human form, but the Ninth Heaven, or at least geniuses with lineages that hailed from it, worked on a different plane entirely. They could make a choice and often, the hapless form of a human was very useful in taking on certain paths.


    The problem was that these paths had great limitations especially when you weren''t strong enough to take on human form on your own...


    Unless you had the aptitude to break those restrictions.


    But whatever the truth was, Selheira had no intention of explaining and Ramon suddenly felt an intense sense of danger. Without hesitation, he turned and fled.

 Chapter 1445 Rage

    Chapter 1445 Rage


    Ryu''s rampage raged on and he didn''t even realize what was happening to him. It wasn''t because he had lost his mind or that his Bloodlines had altered his thoughts, it was rather that this was simply the side effect of having such a small part of his mind left to his control. Just the activation of his Bloodline Phenomena had resulted in his mind being completely focused on the signals it was sending him and how to act.


    He had no idea how much time passed, but when the fusion with the Diamond Protector Spirit finally came to a stop and he could finally use his Spiritual Sense once again, he spread them out just in time to find his Phenomena slowly fading away one by one.


    Ryu''s eyes opened in slight shock, but before he could even understand that view, what he saw around him left him speechless.


    He looked down at his hands to find them marred by flesh and blood. The space beneath his nails was clumped with skin and bone he had ripped apart and his body was completely drenched.


    It wasn''t like Ryu was a saint, so he didn''t really care about how many he had killed. The main problem was that he didn''t remember enough of it, and the moment he regained his lucidity, all that strength had vanished.


    Well, a part of it had. The main reason he was able to kill so many wasn''t just because of his Bloodline Phenomena, but mostly because of the Diamond Protector Spirit. It was just so much more powerful than the Golden Protector Spirits that even absorbing a small smidgen of it had made it so that his strength output was far beyond everyone else.


    In fact, the longer he fought, and the more he assimilated with it, the greater strength he absorbed and the more helpless the battle had become for everyone else.


    Of course, realizing that it was helpless, many had run, and most of them had escaped. They could just consider themselves lucky that Ryu didn''t have a Spatial Bloodline, or else there was simply no way they could have succeeded. He would have definitely killed everyone.


    The reality was that with his mind occupied the way it had been, he couldn''t use his Soul Nature properly, and this was doubly so since most of his battle instincts had been controlled by his Bloodlines just now.


    Ryu took a breath. What a joke.


    Ryu never really thought about it before, but what did the Rage Flame truly represent? How was it possible for a flame to get stronger just because of your emotion? Was emotion more physical than he thought? What was he missing?


    But then it clicked. The Seven Corporeal Souls, they didn''t just symbolize his inner organs, but didn''t they also represent various emotions and emotional states as well?


    There was Fear, Aggression, Affection, Mood, Joy and Pleasure, Desire, and finally, Melancholy.


    But when were things ever so simple? This was just one translation and the true manifestation of these words represented something much higher.


    For example, what was "Mood" and how was it different from just about everything else? And what was the difference between Joy and Pleasure versus Desire?


    There was something deeper here and it was something that Ryu had neglected...


    What about Aggression? If he thought through the possible translations he could get anything from a fearsome will to protect, to insecurity and retaliation, and then finally there was...


    Rage.


    In that state, when he had suppressed everything else and began to feel frustration and unwillingness, he had tapped into something extremely primal, something beasts could do naturally and yet he couldn''t do as easily as a human.


    Ryu understood then that the clue to controlling his Bloodlines and his Bloodlines Phenomena actually resided in his Seven Corporeal Souls.

 Chapter 1446 Spiritual

    Chapter 1446 Spiritual


    The more Ryu learned about the three souls and seven spirits, the more he realized that the odds that he was the only one who knew about them was middling at best. He had run into too many of his abilities that would benefit from them to believe that he was the only one who could have figured all of this out. He was arrogant, but he wasn''t foolish.


    He wasn''t the only one ever born with Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, if he had been, it wouldn''t be ranked number one as the ranking was dependent on the feats of its past owners and the ties of Fate between them. He wasn''t the first to form a Founding Dao and he most definitely wasn''t the first to ever have an Origin Flame.


    While he was in a unique situation that allowed him to master these things so early on and without the backing of others, there were definitely other geniuses out there that had Ancestors that could lay out the truth for them without any effort on their part at all, and there were most definitely lone cultivators who had progressed into the Sky God Realms-deep into them, at that-that had Daos much more powerful than his current that could see through the secrets of such things.


    However, whether or not these people had an understanding of the full scope was unknown, and only time would tell Ryu that.


    Much of what he knew about the souls were based on folk tales he had pieced together. He hadn''t run into any information on them even in the Taboo Ruins that he had visited two of by now. However, that didn''t mean that there wouldn''t be clues on higher Heavens.


    Regardless, he would just have to keep this matter in the back of his might. Right now, what was most important was understanding the changes to his body and what might have triggered it.


    His most important gain was understanding that emotion was intangible at all. When you felt rage, your body heated up. When you felt sadness, there were pangs in your heart. When you felt anxiety, your mind would fizzle out of control and your blood might race at speeds it shouldn''t. When you felt depressed, you might feel a feeling of emptiness.


    The deep and profound effects emotions had on the body were clear and obvious, almost like an open secret that could be easily waved away. Ryu, for example, just assumed that since emotions were just a balance of changes to the brain and soul, the fact they could impact the function of the body was only natural.


    What he hadn''t considered was if there were certain centers of such things within his body itself, separate from his brain and soul.


    However, the Seven Corporeal Souls of beasts had taken a different line of evolution, forming into a robust cultivation network.


    It all made sense to him now. They were called Spiritual Roots because they were truly spiritual, they were the very core of a beast''s being.


    It wasn''t that a beast didn''t have a soul in the normal sense, but rather that their own manifested in different ways.


    Then, the question was obvious. What did it mean for Ryu who had taken the Bloodline of beasts and yet didn''t have Spiritual Roots to use them properly? What roadblocks would he run into? What difficulties would he have in controlling and manifesting their talents?


    Ironically, all this time, he had been so focused on his Bloodlines as being a part of his body, trying to wrestle with his Vital Qi, his Bone Structure, even his master''s Elemental War God legacy to figure out a method of using them.


    However, all the while, the secret was far more spiritual.


    Beasts were often seen as unaware and unintelligent, endowed with their gifts from the heavens and being unallowed to change their Fates.


    But what if from the very beginning this was just the sacrifice for their Spirituality? What if they were even more spiritual than humans could ever hope to be?


    And what would happen if a human like Ryu finally comprehended all of this and pieced it together one by one?

 Chapter 1447 Time?

    Chapter 1447 Time?


    The avalanche of insights made Ryu feel as though he was riding on a cloud. He was sure that if he hadn''t fused his Inheritances with his Dao, allowing the former to progress smoothly along with the latter without much effort, he would have formed yet another right this moment, and this Natural Endowment might be even more powerful than his Shrine Mountain Natural Enlightenment.


    What mattered most in cultivation wasn''t that you knew something, but rather how you came to know of it. One conclusion of the exact same thing would be worth different weights to different people depending on how they had made their way to said conclusion.


    Ryu had always known that beasts were more in tune with the Heavens, he had always known that they were more blessed and that their cultivation was often smooth sailing so long as they had the talent to continue forward. These were things that everyone knew.


    But it wasn''t until now that he understood what it truly meant.


    This was why Ancestors couldn''t just pass down their Dao insights to their juniors, it was the one pillar that couldn''t be messed with, at least not by normal means. That you knew something didn''t mean that you understood it. and even if you felt you understood it you might have come to understand it poorly or in a manner that was far too lacking compared to what its true grandeur deserved.


    That path before Ryu seemed to have opened up wide and he knew what he had to do.


    Somewhere within his Seven Corporeal Souls and the eight organs that made it up, there were the secrets of his Bloodlines. He now firmly believed that some combination of pathways in his veins and arteries, and certain links between these organs could represent that natural path of his Bloodlines.


    For example, his Fire Dragon Bloodline didn''t just represent wrath or rage, that was just a singular aspect, and maybe even a foundational aspect, but it wasn''t the whole. In Ryu''s understanding, the Fire Dragon represented Defiance of the Heavens, or maybe the will to battle against the Heavens.


    The wording could change in countless ways and each might have a slightly different approach or produce a different result. The closer he got to the truth, the more strength he would be able to pull from his Fire Dragon Bloodline and the more powerful the talents would become.


    Under normal circumstances, he would have to be very careful about what wording he chose or what way he selected even after choosing a wording However, that was only when he had to consider the binds of Fate that bound him.


    If one could theoretically disregard those ties of Fate and the paths their predecessors had taken in the past, so long as they chose a road that their Bloodline was compatible with, one wouldn''t be hindered at all.


    For example, in such a situation, one could turn the Fire Dragon Bloodline from a more intricate and inwardly brooding Bloodline, to one that was purely rage filled. You could discard all the complexity and just focus on wrath, and the Bloodline would be perfectly fine with that. You could even make it even more simple and shed the pretext of emotion entirely and just focus on the power of the flames, and the Bloodline would still be alright with that.


    Without the influence of previous karmic ties, one could follow any number of paths their Bloodline was suitable with.


    And Ryu... just so happened to have a method of doing exactly that.


    Time? He didn''t need duration to figure out a optimal method of weaving a needle through all of his Bloodlines that would make all of his Ancestors happy.


    His Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure thrummed and his Cosmos Fog pooled into his Blood.


    "Take Form and Conquer the Heavens."


    The world around Ryu shattered as his Bloodline Phenomena appeared once more.

 Chapter 1448 Take Form

    Chapter 1448 Take Form


    The violent storm around Ryu raged. It was a furious tempest, the kind that could pull apart the seams of space even without the reliance on Soul Nature, or maybe it was precisely because of the passive effect of his Soul Nature that the result was so exaggerated.


    The Birthed Phenomena that appeared high in the skies seemed to blink into and out of existence. What destabilized them wasn''t Ryu''s inability to control them, but rather because they seemed to be somewhat hesitantly fusing and yet were still incapable of taking the final step.


    Even in this weird half fused, half unfused state, the power that was coursing through Ryu''s body threatened to roar out on its own. The nine pillars within himself barely managed to contain it, but even then, every time his Birthed Phenomena partially fused, a thunderous power would awaken and nearly shred them apart.


    Ryu could feel that it was already madness to take things this far. The strength of his body right now wasn''t just a few times stronger. He felt like he could rip mountains apart with his bare hands, like a single stomp could create a river the split a single continent into two, like he could pluck stars from the skies and plant them into the earth below.


    It was like his foundation had finally awakened and his body realized just how much power was hidden within it. The Bloodlines all synergies into one and their output would already be too great to imagine if it was just a sum total, but the reality was that every time they hesitatingly fused just a small bit, they would erupt with strength beyond themselves.


    Ryu realized after a moment that what was limiting him wasn''t the wording he had chosen, nor was it his Bone Structure. No, what was limiting him was the actual strength of his body. His Bloodlines still had an air of self preservation, if they truly fused, he would be ripped apart from the inside out.


    When Ryu was originally born, the Heavens had only allowed his existence because his Bloodlines were whole but separate. Not only were they separate, but they also weakened certain aspects of one another, not allowing any particular single entity to display their full might. This was why when Ryu opened his Body Pulses and Body Vessels, each of his Bloodlines took a hit in the amount of power they should have been able to provide him even in Sacrum.


    But now, he was trying to bypass those limiters, and in doing so, he was taking on a strength that was beyond him.


    Even so, Ryu grinned and the chains he had latched onto his Bloodlines began to release.


    The moment they showed the slightest inkling of doing so, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, one of his shoulders imploding into a rain of blood as though a bomb had gone off inside him.


    Ryu coughed and his smile was still a bloody grin. He was confirming something and it seemed that he was correct.


    This power he was experiencing now, it was a mere fragment of what he truly had access to.


    He suddenly slammed his hands together and his Birthed Phenomena began to blink out of existence one by one until there was nothing left but a roaring red dragon.


    In the past few moments, his Birthed Phenomena had been mostly illusory. their true strength being unable to shine through properly. But now, with just a single remaining, it was so solid that it almost looked as though Ryu had summoned a true Fire Dragon, its scaled a dense ruby red with a concealed black flame dancing within each one.


    To Create something from nothing


    The call of a phoenix left Ryu''s lips. A cyclone of golden clouds appeared above the shredding apart the thunderous clouds of the Lightning Qilin before it and blazed with a fire that seemed to bless the world around it.


    Countless Heavenly Patterns appeared, each one doing so naturally as though Ryu didn''t even need to think or consider before they manifested, as though they came to him as naturally as they possibly could.


    The swirling patterns of the Dark Phoenix. The sharp edge patterns of the Ice Phoenix. The fragile feather patterns of the Fire and Emperor Phoenix.


    They swirled in a mass of profound creation that echoed across the skies.


    The power was intoxicating, and for the very first time in his life, Ryu felt that he could truly sense the power of his Bloodlines. This was the strength that he had been born with, strength that was ripped from him, concealed from him, strength that he had unearthed himself and strength that he would continue to empower.


    That was the beauty of the balance he had struck.


    The Heavens had bestowed this upon him and it wasn''t as cruel as he had once thought it to be. He was a naive boy, enraged with the world, and demanding that it owed him more... but it didn''t. All it owed him was the chance.


    He was bestowed strength in one part, and he took strength in the other. He both created this strength and was bestowed this strength. This was the beauty of the Heavens, this was the freedom of what it meant to live, it was why he strove to reach the apex of all things, to test his fortitude against those that dared to create strength as he had.


    And there was still far more to gain, far more to take.


    Ryu smashed his fists together and his heartbeat resounded into the surroundings. He felt good, better than he ever had in his entire life, as though the world itself was in the palm of his hands and it could escape unless he allowed it to.


    However, he knew that there was still more he had gained from this second round. These benefits were the ones he had taken with his own hands, benefits that he had forged with the treasures already within his body. But, there were external treasures that he had yet to benefit from, only that way would the cycle be complete.


    His thoughts wandered the Diamond Protector Spirit and the insights that it had passed onto him. These would be the new benefits that he gained from the Heavens, and one day he would create more power from it as well.


    But for now, it was about time he found out what he had bled for.

 Chapter 1449 Lines Of Fate

    Chapter 1449 Lines Of Fate


    Ryu''s senses flourished, after what felt like eons of battling it out in his own mind, he could finally feel the freedom of having full control of his faculties once more, and quite frankly, it was exhilarating.


    Up until this point, the Protector Spirits had caused minor changes to his muscle memory, they didn''t actually change anything fundamental about his body and he expected that this would continue.


    Whatever the Diamond Protector Spirit gave should be far beyond what the other spirits had been capable of, but whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, still remained to be seen.


    Until now, the focus that Ryu had toward increasing his own muscle memory and increasing his battle prowess while working with what he had was great. However, the breakthrough in his understanding of his Bloodlines and how they might be related to the Seven Corporeal Souls made him less enthusiastic about it.


    He no longer needed Martial Forms, or even the self created fusion of his Martial Forms, because he could tap into the truest strength of his Bloodlines whenever he wanted now. The Martial Forms weren''t necessary.


    Of course, this Martial Form would still be the perfect foundation for the future rebuild of his Clans, but that was of no use to Ryu now. Although it sounded selfish for him to not be excited about this, the return of Ryu''s Clans was entirely dependent on his personal strength. While there were still his parents alive, and Ryu believed in them as much as a person could believe in their parents, he still chose to see things this way as there was no better method of spurring him onward.


    With that framework in mind, while such a boon would be useful, it wouldn''t be useful enough in the interim. In fact, it might even be detrimental.


    If he had all of these other muscle memories, pulling and tugging at his body while he was trying to battle, he would have to waste valuable time and mental fortitude to pick the right one amongst them and use that. It might even force him to change the current paths he wanted his Bloodlines to take to be more in line with what his body wanted to do now.


    Of course, this was all the worst case scenario. Ryu had more belief in the Heavens than that. It couldn''t possibly reward him for going above and beyond expectation by strapping him down with a greater burden, right?


    He thought this somewhat jokingly as he was fully prepared for this to be the case. He had come to understand the Heavens as an entity that could be sometimes a useful idiot, at other times an unwitting pawn, and somehow still choose to be a devil incarnate and a holy saint back to back on the very same day. This was just the way of the Heavens.


    This trial didn''t seem like it was formed for just one person to benefit, and in the eyes of the Heavens, if Ryu overestimated himself by doing this, then he only had himself to blame, much like he had almost died just hours ago.


    Even so, Ryu wasn''t worried. If he was strapped with another negative gift, then he would just have to break through like he had just now, taking his fate into his own hands. One day, he''d be able to make whatever curse he was afflicted with a blessing.


    He smiled to himself. He had all of these thoughts in the blink of an eye, but when he actually explored into the truest center of his body, his heart couldn''t help but skip a beat.


    Ryu''s current body was formed of what he liked to call six important centers of power.


    It was weak and even incomplete but Ryu could feel it. If he allowed these subtle feelings to pull him along, he could read ahead to find out exactly what path the Heavens wanted for him. If he used his self-created Mental Realm cultivation method, the feeling wouldn''t even have to be subtle, it would be like having a cultivation jade handed to him for his perusing.


    He couldn''t even fathom what it meant to have gained such a reward, but he could guess something.


    Was it that the powerful Clans of the Eighth Dimension, the ones that had fused all of their talents into a single path and had formed True Great Circle Talents, had all received this reward in the past? Was that how they had built their hegemonies?


    Ryu''s heartbeat threatened to rush out from his chest and he let it all sink in one beautiful thought at a time. And then, he couldn''t help but laugh to himself heartily.


    It was no wonder this reward was "meant" to be split.


    If he had enlisted the help of others, this reward could have been split most probably about a dozen ways. They wouldn''t have allowed the rabble to participate, so it would have been himself, Selheira, those other three "Immortal Deities", and probably Starlight as well.


    If he had gotten a sixth of the benefits, the rewards would have still been excellent and beyond him imagining, he could have probably focused the lines of Fate on his Chaotic Silk Meridians and elucidated their truest path for himself.


    But now, he could do that and then some.


    He knew that there was a limit to what he was feeling right now.


    For one, there was time. As more time passed, the Lines of Fate would grow weaker and it would be harder to gleam the secrets the Heavens wanted him to see.


    Second, there was his strength. He could read the Lines of Fate clearly, but only up to a certain point. Anything beyond was marred by mysteries that even Dao Lords and beyond would have trouble seeing through, and he would need his Dao to be at least that strong to peer into the secrets.


    However, what did it matter? Since this was a reward of the Heavens, he didn''t just need to ramble about and wish that he was correct, he had 100% confidence in its validity.


    Of course, this was only in the individual strands of his various talents. Whether he agreed on how the Heavens wanted him to fuse them together was another matter, but that was a bridge he would tackle when he got there.


    Right now, he could finally see through the true path of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, and he didn''t hesitate to delve into the Lines of Fate to see what it was.

 Chapter 1450 Vessels

    Chapter 1450 Vessels


    Ryu didn''t want to wait. Although he knew that he had more leeway with his Chaotic Silk Meridians now, more than he ever had, he still wanted to be certain that he was most definitely walking the correct path. If he didn''t do this now, who knew if he would accidentally take a step so wrong that he would regret it for a lifetime? He had made recultivating sounds like an easy task, but that wasn''t even true recultivating as his cultivation level never actually fell.


    In this world, if you took a step forward, you would often be finished.


    Ryu had considered methods of wiping cultivation clean, but such methods were drastic and the required one to restart from absolute zero. And then, from further on, every step they took would be arduous and difficult. That was especially so when it came to recomprehending what had been lost.


    But now, he had the path right before him. How could he wait?


    Ryu entered the world of his Heavenly Pupils and began a focused session of meditation. He didn''t miss even a single detail, and the more he learned, the more astonished he was... about just how lucky he was. In fact, it felt like something more than luck, it felt much more like divine intervention, as though some Dao God was watching over his every step.


    But the amusing part was that that was technically true. Reason being.


    [Intuition] was the reason he had been guided to this step to begin with. But, it wasn''t entirely like that either.


    Of course... the requirements were high. Much like the first method, it required a Dao God, but this time, it rested on your shoulders to reach that state.


    Even so, this was a bit of a relief to Ryu even though he didn''t really need to think about it anymore. Essentially, even if he had missed out on the first opportunity, so long as he became a Dao God one day, he would be able to unearth the true potential of his Meridians. Though...


    Become a Dao God with a set of Meridians that could only be particularly sturdy and tough was as hard as ascending the Heavens themselves with all of your limbs tied.


    The third method... Was the sacrifice of a world.


    This was the method that Ryu''s path fell into, but it could be said that within this tier, his benefits were of the highest.


    The weakest journey in this method was to capture the Protector Spirit of a low level world. Ryu''s own world, Sacrum, was already a middle level world, so one could imagine just how weak a low level world would be to the people of the True Martial World.


    The greatest journey was to claim a Guardian Spirit from a world on the level of the True Martial World, or more accurately, one of its Planes.


    The middle journey of this method was to find a Realm Heart before it could create a world, and this was the category that Ryu fell into.

 Chapter 1451 Order and Chaos

    Chapter 1451 Order and Chaos


    Finally, there was a path just above that of Ryu''s but just below the greatest path, and that was to fuse with a Realm Heart that was just on the cusp of forming a new world, right when it was at the very peak-most of its potential.


    Although it was a little bit disappointing that Ryu wasn''t using the strongest of all the paths. The fact that he had stumbled into such a high class path for his Meridians without even knowing what he was doing was a blessing. If he had never failed in his Spiritual Severing, he would have been out of luck until he reached the Dao God Realms.


    Unfortunately, the path to becoming a Dao God to unlock his Meridians was cut off from Ryu now that he had already stepped onto another path. He could no longer reach perfection with his Meridians by relying on his cultivation alone, but it was still fine.


    This outlined, though, why Ryu felt that he was so lucky. What were the odds of something like that happening? He even had a feeling that the Protector Spirit of Sacrum had forced him to fail on purpose, knowing what it would mean.


    When those warriors of Heaven descended and called him a traitor, Ryu came to understand that his place in Sacrum''s heart was actually quite high.


    If he was supposed to be a hero of his world of some sort, then why wouldn''t the Protector Spirit be looking over him? In doing something like making him fail in his Severings on purpose was all too easy, especially considering how reckless he had been back then.


    Ryu shook his head. These things didn''t matter for now. What mattered where one would take it from here.


    Just what was this vessel for? Two things.


    A Child of Chaos was different, much different, and it could be said that becoming one was akin to gaining a constitution of sorts. Just the mere existence of a Child of Chaos could cause techniques to fall apart, laws to cease to be, and even the qis of the world to collapse.


    Up until now, Ryu was forced to dispel his Disorderly Qi and use it as a sort of great divider to crumble the techniques of others. But if he had been filling his vessel with Chaos Qi from the beginning, he wouldn''t even have to expel Chaos Qi to do so, just a touch would be enough.


    It was like how once one formed Cosmic Seeds every movement pulled on the natural laws of the world. This was what made Cosmic Seed Realm experts so much more powerful than Dao Pedestal Realm experts and also why it was a huge dividing line. There was a reason Cosmic Qi was named as such, it could pull on the rules of the world and meld into them, using them to fuel you.


    Becoming a Child of Chaos allowed you to do this, but toward the Chaos Plane rather than the real Plane. This was meant to be the Cosmic Seed Realm equivalent for his Chaotic Silk Meridians, and he had almost missed out on it entirely.


    Not only this, but finally doing so would give Ryu the immunity to Original Disorderly Energies that he had been looking for for so long. He would finally be able to use them freely and without restriction.


    And once he tied himself to the laws of the Chaos Plane, he would finally be able to take the first step toward understanding Chaos enough to begin to build skills around his Disorderly Qi and use its truest strength!


    He felt that there were more capabilities that a Offspring of Disorder should have, but before he even began to delve into them, he turned his focus toward his Realm Heart. After confirming the method, he began to pour all the Disorderly Qi he could muster into his Realm Heart.


    Not long ago, he had sensed his Realm Heart coming into being and he could finally sense its Natural Enlightenment. But now, he was happy that he had been too busy to meditate on it.


    He didn''t need another Inherent Awareness of Order. He needed one of Chaos.

 Chapter 1452 Familiar

    Chapter 1452 Familiar


    Ryu snapped his eyes open a long while later. He had lost himself in cultivation and he didn''t seem to care very much for the next round. In reality, though, he was only being smart.


    Once the second round was over, the strength boost that the Diamond Protector Spirit had given him, not to mention the other three sets of 999 Protector Spirits of various grades that he had gathered, would all be gone. In that situation, his ability to climb cultivation ranks to challenge them would be limited and he would need to be far more cautious. It could be uttered that there was a potential chance this might be the last one he would receive for a while, depending on how the next round would go.


    As expected, all around Ryu, there was a familiar treasure room. Though, he used the term "familiar", loosely. That was because while this treasure room looked almost identical to the one he had seen after the first round, the rewards were even more tantalizing.


    Just the first one Ryu saw was of a Dao Lord Treasure, and he very much doubted that it was the strongest thing here. The gap between Omniscient and Dao Lord didn''t need to be described, but it should be understood that it was enormous. This gap was as large as the gap between Omniscient and True.


    It was clearly a honeyed trap. The Heavenly Path wanted to test the resolve of the survivors once again to persevere, and this time, many might really come to fall. After all, Ryu had taken the largest benefits from the first round, and what the others had received might very well be limited. Some might see a treasure room with treasures that hadn''t improved at all, or maybe their selection of treasures might be even worse than the first round.


    Would they gamble on a better result? Or would they simply just take what they could get and accept things as they were?


    Did they have the resolve of a cultivator?


    Ryu stood and shook out his arm. He could feel a power surging through him and a confidence in his gait. He had already been confident, but that was most an internal matter, something driven by his own heart and his own thoughts.


    But he wouldn''t need to worry about that. What he did need to worry about, though, was the odd movement in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    His Spiritual Foundation had clearly formed a home in his Realm Heart, and changes to the latter would impact the former. But he didn''t quite know how.


    The Heavens had mapped out a path for him, but it had already taken him over a day to outline the path of his Chaotic Silk Meridians up until this point, and his Spiritual Foundation seemed to be even more difficult to manage than that. On top of that, there was the added layer of complexity that came from trying to marry not just one path, but two of them.


    Ryu sensed that it was okay to stall for time here a bit, but he didn''t want to end up wasting too much time, or else he would start the next round too far behind again. There needed to be a balance, like all things.


    The Lines of Fate the Heavens had drawn for him weren''t going away just yet, and he could still sense them with resounding clarity. He would just have to wait to see what his Spiritual Foundation was trying to whisper to him.


    With that thought, Ryu''s body flashed and he exited the treasure room, not even glancing at what was around him.


    A flash of blinding white light assaulted his senses.


    When Ryu appeared, he saw an endless sea of pillars and almost couldn''t refrain from chuckling. It appeared that testers in the Heavens were very much fond of pillars, though he had to wonder what that meant for the little woman.

 Chapter 1453 Heavenly Favor

    Chapter 1453 Heavenly Favor


    The little woman''s test, too, had a series of pillars just like this. She had called herself the Favor Alchemy Sky God... now that he thought about it, being allowed to place the word Favor in your title must mean something quite extraordinary.


    What was even funnier than that, though, was that everyone who had decided to take on this test was formed into a line. It seemed that the third round hadn''t even begun yet, which actually meant they had all been waiting for Ryu.


    What a shame. If he had known that, he would have taken all the time he wanted. Why would he have accelerated his pace just for the comfort of others-


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s thoughts were whisked away from the unhappy stairs of the many he had just heavily injured or fought barely a day ago.


    A Steele he found all too familiar appeared high in the skies, exuding such an oppressive might that even many of the geniuses that had had the resolve to step into the third round were nearly forced to their knees.


    The cube shaped, ancient Steele trembled with a heavenly might, but Ryu could feel something else... It felt like it was looking for something.


    One by one, the countless names that colored its surface began to erupt with strength and a blazing fire. It happened quickly, but just as quickly they faded as the flame began to soar up the Steele.


    ''It''s looking... for something? Don''t tell me-


    Ryu didn''t even get to finish his thoughts. The ancient cube went through what must have been billions, trillions, even, of names in an instant, the blazing fire becoming bolder and bolder as it raised to the very top. And right then, that was when they all seemed to finally register what was happening.


    1. Ryu Tatsuya


    2. Primus Tatsuya - 4 (Rainbow)


    ....


    4. Titus Tatsuya - 3 (Rainbow)


    The blazing titles were seared into their psyches. Many of them weren''t exactly sure what they were seeing, but the likes of Ramon was stunned to the point he forgot to maintain his carefree attitude, while Adlael''s expression became serious.


    Ryu''s name didn''t even have a number beside it, but it shimmered like a raging light, pulsing and vibrant without comparison.


    Who here could match the strength of a Founding Dao?


    Who here could match the strength of a Mature Dao?


    It was like it was being handed to him on a silver platter.


    But then it all came crashing down.


    Ryu felt his heart flutter and he brought a hand to his chest, feeling a bit woozy.


    What was that?


    But then it happened again.


    In a distant location on the Abyssal Plane, a blazing Silver Star stood, chains that seemed to match the hues of its colors pulled against it, keeping it from rotating and displaying its true might.


    And that was when an enormous tide of Fate made its way over. It wasn''t under Ryu''s control, but had rather happened naturally. The amount of Heavenly Fate that he had just been infused with was so enormous that it had no other outlet. In order to help Ryu to deal with it, the Heavens moved it to the only place it felt it should naturally go...


    His Fate Star.


    It was a benign action. No, it should have been a great boon. How many Clans and powers had spent lifetimes trying to play with Fate, trying to change it tangibly and evolve their Fate Stars beyond the level of what they had been born with? It should have been yet another great reward.


    But for Ryu, it was the exact opposite.


    The chains that had remained dormant for so long rattled and Ryu tumbled to his knees.


    A thick scent of death began to emit from his as all of his Heavenly Favor plummeted like a boulder in a raging ocean.


    His link with the Heavens weakened, his Dao felt as though it had slipped out from his grasp, and the Lines of Fate that had felt so clear just one moment before snapped, disappearing entirely.


    Ryu coughed, a thick black blood flying from his lips.

 Chapter 1454 Impossible

    Chapter 1454 Impossible


    [Author''s Note: I ran out of ideas? Limmmaaooo. I''ll never run out of ideas to torture my lovely readers. Enjoy <3]


    ''Son of a bitch... Ryu held a hand to his chest, still feeling as though it was practically being ripped apart. Even given the situation, after the first round of pain, that is, his smile returned and he couldn''t help but chuckle.


    Maybe in the past, he would have been enraged by this sort of thing and started lifting up a few middle fingers to the sky, he might have even started roaring. But right now, he found this situation more hilarious than anything.


    Of course, his laughter was more than a little bit self deprecating as well. Since when had things ever really been easy for him? Imagining that he would get a victory on a silver platter... Well, it wasn''t like the world to allow him that.


    He could vaguely gain a hint of what had happened, just before much of his Dao was cut out. His eyes were still sealed, so he couldn''t gaze upon his Fate Star anymore, but his senses were far sharper than they had once been and he could vaguely measure its presence.


    Just like it had always been, his Fate Star was unmoving and stalwart, like a blazing light that would burn brightly, and yet give out just as quickly. It was the very same feeling his Fate Star had always given him, nothing had changed, even after all the improvement he had made. It was like a constant reminder that his demise was inevitable and he would never reach the pinnacle.


    Now, though, his Dao Heart was simply far too firm to give a damn. He had ignored his Fate Star and he felt that it was only a moment of time before he found a way to shatter its restrictions much like he had shattered the restrictions of his Spiritual Foundation.


    But it was unlike these bounds placed on him to not at least cause him some trouble before he dealt with them. His Spiritual Foundation had caused him such bad backlash that he felt months feeling as though he had stepped into a burning, hellish inferno. There hadn''t been a single inch of his body, back then, that hadn''t been harmed.


    Now, it seemed like it was his Fate Star''s chance at a turn to screw him over. Such was the cycle of life.


    She caught herself again. When had she become such a tsundere? It''s all that guy''s fault, couldn''t he tell that she liked him? Couldn''t he treat a lady more delicately? What was that nonsense he had said before? She looked away unhappily. She didn''t feel like herself right now, and it was for more reasons than just Ryu, she knew that.


    She cast a slight peek toward Ramon. This man, she didn''t have complicated feelings toward. Instead, she really wanted to kill him. But to kill him she would have to do something she really didn''t want to do. He could count himself lucky.


    Ramon didn''t seem to notice Selheira''s glance, but it wasn''t an act either. Usually he would be far more focused on his surroundings, but in this situation, he simply couldn''t be. He was so completely focused on Ryu that he had forgotten everything else.


    His heart was beating out of his chest as well and he almost couldn''t put his thoughts into words. It was like all speaking ability was deprived from him.


    Once again, he was the only one other than maybe Ryu and Adlael who understood what was going on. No, maybe only he and Adlael. If Ryu knew what was really happening, maybe he wouldn''t have gathered up the conviction to begin cultivating at all. In fact, he couldn''t believe that Ryu had made it to the World Sea Realm at all, let alone so fast. How was that possible?


    If it wasn''t for those chains, how powerful would he be? Would he already be a Dao God in just a few handful of decades?!


    The words sounded ridiculous, and even Ramon felt that he was a fool for even thinking them, but from what he knew approximately those chains, it hardly made sense for Ryu to be alive, let alone for him to be capable of cultivating.


    The only way for it to be possible was if his original Fate so far outstripped the restrictions that even with it, he was able to do so much.


    But it was still only just that. With those chains... touching the realm of the Sky Gods was simply impossible.

 Chapter 1455 Martial Gods

    Chapter 1455 Martial Gods


    "Those chains... " Ramon gulped, unable to breathe properly.


    The Martial Gods were among the most powerful nine powers of the Ninth Heaven. This was a truth everyone knew. However, Ramon knew better. They weren''t just one of them, they were the most powerful entity. For whatever reason, they chose to keep the facade of their equality with the other eight.


    The entire race was an anomaly. They called themselves the Deity Race, but even this was something they had made up. The so-called Deity Race... were just humans, humans who had reached the extremities of cultivation and became so powerful that they no longer deigned to call themselves human. Instead, they called themselves Gods.


    The Martial Gods were a power that none but maybe their Dao Gods could understand properly. They had countless Bloodline branches within them, each one seemingly having no relation to the other, and each one capable of reaching the pinnacle of cultivation.


    The four branches that had come to Sacrum were only considered minor Bloodline branches of the Martial Gods, and yet if the strongest of them decided to descend back to the Eighth Heaven, it would only take a handful of years for them to form a hegemony.


    And yet to the Martial Gods, they were mere minor branches not worth thinking too much about, small rabble that could be used to bolster their strength in the outer regions of the universe, and even worth little enough to have their potential sacrificed to a weak Middle World like Sacrum.


    Outside of their minor branches, there were still their elite branches, and then there was still their main branches, which were further split up into minor, elite and the true Deities.


    The Martial Gods had no less than dozens of powerful Bloodlines, and by the time one reached the main branches, each one could form a powerful force of their own on the Ninth Heaven that could survive on its own. A single Bloodline of their True Deity Bloodlines could easily split off from the family and form the Tenth Power.


    This was how powerful the Martial Gods were, how infallible they hegemony was.


    At the very top, though, of these countless Bloodlines, only three reigned supreme.


    The Divine Wing Bloodline.


    The Divine Hegemony Bloodline.


    And the most powerful of them all.


    The Divine Chain Bloodline.


    It was Adlael''s voice, Ramon barely heard it. But even though he just managed to, how could he focus on it?


    HIs Dao Heart had shattered. He was as good as dead.


    Adlael''s expression turned red. Maybe even Ramon himself would be shocked to see such a thing. Since when had this senior brother of his cared so much? But maybe that was simply the predicament of siblings...


    The younger didn''t understand the offerings of the older until it was too late.


    Adlael''s aura leaked and his fury towered. An illusory white flame danced in his long hair and golden Fundamental Rune appeared around him, causing space to crack and fragment as though his fury alone was enough to rewrite reality.


    He grit his teeth, hard.


    ''Martial Gods! I swear I''ll slaughter you to the last man!"


    Even in his fury, he didn''t dare to think of the names of those he wanted to slaughter... even in his fury, he didn''t dare to think of the name of the Divine Chain Branch.


    Ramon''s pillar trembled and it began to sink into the ground until it vanished entirely. He seemed to be holding onto a last breath, but to the task at hand... it simply no longer mattered.


    Ryu sent a glance over, as did many others. The strength that Adlael just revealed made them all grow cold. Even so, Ryu was focused on something else, and maybe that was because Adlael''s gaze was focused on him.


    He could see a familiar fury in the eyes of the young man who had always had a serene smile on his face. The only difference was that Ryu had dealt with that emotion by becoming cold and detached. As for Adlael, he had dealt with it with a pretense of politeness and agreeableness.


    Maybe this was the gap that separated a man born at the top of his world... and a man born at the bottom of his.


    Killing intent suffused Adlael''s gaze. He couldn''t kill the Martial Gods now, but he most definitely could kill Ryu. If one part of the blame for Ramon''s fall was those overlords of the Ninth Heaven, then the other half fell onto Ryu.


    It was a preposterous shift of blame, one that made Adlael seem far weaker than he was. But seeing that familiar gaze, Ryu''s bloody grin only became wider.


    His aura blazed.

 Chapter 1456 Random

    Chapter 1456 Random


    Ryu turned his attention away from Adlael. If he didn''t have such a tough road ahead of him, then would it even be worth it?


    This was what he came to the True Martial World for. As much as he wanted to say that it was to grow more powerful so that he could protect his family from the Martial Gods, that was only one of the reasons. In truth, even if Sacrum wasn''t in danger of being constantly targeted by these bastards, he would have still come.


    What he wanted most in life was to battle against the strongest, to feel his blood boil even as it leaked from his body in the midst of a bloody battle. He wanted to feel that euphoria of crushing his enemies in his fists, of climbing over adversity and coming out on top.


    His aura flared and was quickly suppressed by the blinking chains. Spikes of pain shot through his body, but his grin didn''t fade as he focused on the rules.


    He scanned them quickly and understood what was going on. This was a battle of snatching Heavenly Favor that relied on the Dao, but with a twist. Rather than them all starting at the same point, they would have a divide between them, and ironically, it was those that had to climb up from the First Heaven to reach this place that had an advantage. Or at the very least, those that had performed well did.


    This was a struggle between those that had been handed all the luck in the world, whether that be in terms of backing or talent, and those that had fought for everything, tooth and nail.


    Ryu realized now that even though only his name was on the list of the ancient cube, there were some here that had survived the Incomplete Heavenly Path that had managed to gain a small boost compared to others as well. He assumed that these were people who had come down from the Fourth or Fifth Heavens in order to participate. But their boost was negligible compared to his own.


    In the coming round, there would be a series of challenges and duels, both of which would provide opportunities.


    The challenges were divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond, much like the second round. The greater the challenge, the more Heavenly Favor you could snatch from it. But likewise, the penalty for failing would be far harsher as well.


    Duels had two categories that they fell into, and within each of these categories, there were further divisions.


    When Ryu saw this, he had mixed feelings, because the truth was that no one here had even remotely half of his Heavenly Favor. Even if he gave them a small chance at it, they wouldn''t be able to challenge him until the last stages of the rounds. Unless...


    Ryu looked at the chains on him. How would the Heavenly Path decide how much Heavenly Favor he had, exactly? Would he still be first to go? And if he was first to go, how exactly...


    There was really no knowing. His Fate Star had seemed to screw him over, but he wouldn''t know how much until he started.


    The first part went more effortlessly than he expected. After finishing its calculations, the Heavenly Path lit up Ryu''s pillar and it moved forward by a step. The faint markings of a Domain Board lit up and when Ryu looked upward, he could see tiers rising into the skies.


    ... Interesting...


    The challenges began to flash before Ryu, each one carrying a different, but slightly shrouded aura. It seemed that this trial would test his senses as well.


    Unfortunately, he could sense the deficiency in Dao, Right now, it was like he was cut off from the Heavens, he wasn''t even sure if his Dao was even as potent as a Lineal Dao any longer, let alone a Founding Dao. He couldn''t sense anything ahead of him clearly as a result.


    Ryu''s eyes continued to scan the challenges, each of which represented a different position on the board.


    ''Fine, I will pick at random,'' then, he thought somewhat bitterly.


    The moment he pointed, he felt the descent of a task rock his pillar.

 Chapter 1457 Challenge

    Chapter 1457 Challenge


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. The challenge came, but soon after, it shattered.


    He took a look at Adlael''s pillar as it was forced a half step back and it seemed that his position was weakened considerably. The floundered attempt at a challenge knocked down his Heavenly Favor by a peg and the position of his turn was pushed back.


    ''It seems that my Heavenly Favor still counts as the same. It seems that no one will be able to challenge me!


    Ryu''s indifferent gaze met Adlael''s furious one as he vanished. He didn''t have time to care about this person, he didn''t even know where he was going right now. He might very well be going off to his death. He was sure that these folks would get a kick out of that.


    Ryu appeared in a world. The moment he looked around, he sighed. He should have known better than to rely on his luck, but what other choice did be have, exactly?


    The world wasn''t dangerous, or anything, but it was an endless vastness of calm and still waters. The skies above were a gorgeous blue, and the waters were so clear that the docile wildlife and plant life below could be seen with surprising clarity and depths.


    This was clearly a world that relied on maybe one of a few things. It could be tranquility, peace, and it would likely also have some large relation to water, all things his own Dao had nothing to do with, let alone with it being so weak.


    Under normal situations, who the world was created for the sake of was meaningless to him. His Dao could see through all things, so he would be able to figure out the essence of the challenge without issue.


    Now, however...


    Ryu took a breath and calmed himself. If the Heavenly Path sensed that he wasn''t making any progress, he would be kicked out in a few minutes at best. There was little to nothing he could do about that. However, there wasn''t exactly nothing he could do.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    He had to find a path that could help him to progress regardless of the obstacle, and in order to do that, he needed to understand what exactly the state of his body was.


    He sat into a position of meditation on the water''s surface. His body was more incorporeal than not, so he had a feeling that it was just his soul that was sent in and not much else. But that made sense. A Dao Discourse focused on comprehension, not combat. The duel aspect of the round came purely from the other participants, not the challenges themselves.


    "No, there''s something..."


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened. After some hesitation, he took a step in that direction. He split his Dao in two once again and suddenly a rush of power came back to him.


    It seemed that he was correct.


    His Dao had two aspects, one more in tune with Order and another more in tune with Chaos. Dividing Dharma and Dividing Sin fell into the latter category, and as a result, their restrictions in the face of this backlash was far weaker.


    In thanks to this, he had gone from feeling as though he only had a Lineal Dao or weaker, Hegemonic Dao.


    Even alone, Dividing Dharma and Sin should have been Ancient at worst, but it seemed that though the restrictions were far weaker, they were still there. Even so, this was a great boon and could help him tide the waves until he could fix this situation completely.


    However, there was an unfortunate tradeoff.


    Dividing Dharma and Sin didn''t work well against constructs or in challenges like this, this was why his Dao was stronger against actual people than the Protector Spirits...


    Looking at the world now, he felt no sudden enlightenment. That meant one thing...


    It seemed that he wouldn''t be able to take the path of clearing one challenge after another and blasting through to the end... If he wanted to use his Dao and have a chance, his only option was to challenge actual people.


    Ryu chuckled a bit. Well, at least this would make things somewhat more interesting?


    He suddenly felt a strong pull on his body and he was ripped away. In a bit of disoriented state, Ryu appeared on the pillar once again, his figure the subject of many gazes.


    It seemed that he had been ejected. He failed.

 Chapter 1458 Idiot

    Chapter 1458 Idiot


    Ryu remained in his seated position as his pillar moved back. The chains around him flickered into and out of existence, and it almost felt like his entire body was an open wound. They were akin to searing alcohol, pouring into his organs.


    However, he remained calm. He could sense the gazes, most of which were marred by ridicule, but he didn''t mind it. Normally, he would directly strike to kill these people, at least his former self would, but given the state of the round, he doubted that such an outside interference would be allowed.


    Instead, he began to inwardly meditate, not minding the world around him... for the moment.


    The second chosen to move forward was Selheira. She gave Ryu a glance but didn''t say much afterward.


    The good news was that no one could challenge Ryu in this state and he would be able to protect himself by relying on the large influx of Heavenly Favor that he had from the start, but it was hard to tell how long this would last.


    The problem wasn''t even just whether or not the Heavenly Path would allow it to continue or if there might be penalties to consider, but there was also Rvu himself. Knowing him, would he allow himself to rest here in mediocrity?


    Of course not. She knew with absolute certainty that if he couldn''t succeed in clearing these challenges, he would choose another path instead, even if it meant putting his life on the line.


    Selheira looked away and picked out a challenge. Everyone watched as she entered a world of tranquility not much different from Ryu''s. The difference was that the moment she appeared, the world around her began to shift and change, moving forward with great speed as though she didn''t need to move because the world itself would move forward.


    The seconds ticked by and before even a minute had passed, Selheira exited, her steps as calm as her expression. Her pillar moved into place and everything clicked. The square of the Domain Board she stood within flickered and lit up as though a piece had been placed.


    "Who decided to let this bimbo go before me? Absolutely ridiculous," Jojo muttered as her pillar began to move.


    She soon appeared in a world of fallen golden spheres. Each one was polished to perfection and reflected like a blinding star. At the same time, they were enormous, dwarfing mountains in size. If just a single one landed on the earth below, it would be obliterated, let alone Jojo who stood upon it.


    Which of them wasn''t a genius amongst geniuses? How many of them had never faced adversity in their lives, let alone have such a close shave with death? It was unacceptable.


    Selheira unconsciously almost said something, but when she remembered she was supposed to be made at Ryu, her lips pouted slightly. Not that anyone had a chance to see it beneath her veil.


    "Trash." Litaor said coldly, his pillar finally locking in place as he made his choice.


    However, just when he was about to enter his challenge, his pillar rumbled and a pressure descended.


    At that moment, Ryu''s pillar shot forward even though he stayed in silent meditation. He didn''t even open his eyes as his pillar and Litter''s faced off.


    "You..."


    Litaor''s expression darkened, his gaze flashing with a dangerous light. Ryu didn''t attack Selheira or Jojo, but he actually dared to attack him in this state?


    "... Are you angry about my words?" Litaor said with a laugh. "Just die with that anger, then."


    He suddenly punched forward, his might descending in an endless torrent.


    "Idiot." Ryu said lightly, his eyes still closed.


    Litaor was blasted back and his pillar glowed red as he was forced into a retreat. He gazed around confused, but could do nothing as his pillar was pushed back to the starting line, and then even further back than that as though a punishment had been calculated.

 Chapter 1459 Both

    Chapter 1459 Both


    Litaor was a fool. He spoke about Ryu being enraged by his words, and yet the one between them to make the foolish choice was him.


    As Ryu had expected, attacking outside the confines of the rules of the round was strictly prohibited and would be punished accordingly. Litaor wasn''t thrown out, but he was sent backward a substantial amount, probably what amounted to about one and a half turns. That meant that unless he could do something drastic, he would always be a half step behind everyone else.


    He was also likely lucky that he had learned this lesson now. There was a chance that the punishment could have been far worse the further along they wenit.


    Beyond that, Ryu also confirmed something else. It might have been called a "duel", but it wasn''t one in the normal sense. Anything that happened in this round would happen within the confines of a Dao Discourse. Although Ryu hadn''t gotten up or opened his eyes, it wasn''t just out of arrogance, it was because he knew he didn''t have to.


    Had Litaor waited just a few seconds, the Heavenly Path would have likely spawned a duel arena for them akin to the challenge arenas that they had seen for the first three turns taken. Then, they would have a battle of Daos. This was how things would work.


    But he was impatient and he took Ryu''s challenge as an insult, and as a result of that, he was crushed.


    Luckily for him, it was just a Bronze Challenge and he only lost 10% of his Heavenly Favor. But he didn''t feel "lucky" at all right now. Instead, he felt furious and wanted to vent, but he truly had nowhere to do so.


    ''But what now?'' Ryu wondered, his eyes opening as he looked forward.


    The steele in the skies had explained a lot, but it seemed to have purposely left some things out as well. For example, the punishment was definitely not listed, or else Litaor would have never made such a mistake.


    Another thing that wasn''t explained was what would happen in this situation. Was his challenge considered successful? Was it canceled now that Litaor was punished? And if it was successful, then what would happen now?


    These were all things the round seemed to want them to figure out for themselves, and this felt... interesting to Ryu.


    He felt that he was starting to understand the game within the game, because he had another thought soon after.


    Just now, his challenge had failed. The obvious thought would be that continuous challenges weren''t allowed, but was that really the case? Ryu could think of several other potential reasons.


    One could be that Litaor''s punishment had affected him. It was unlikely, but there was a small chance that this was the case. Maybe the Heavenly Path decided that he was partly to blame as well. Though this sounded ridiculous, what was important wasn''t logic or fairness, what was important was what hidden rules there may or may not be.


    The second was that the Heavenly Path wouldn''t allow him to challenge someone on the same level as himself. If he challenged Reykian now and lost, he would move laterally, and not forward, so maybe he would have to fail another turn, wait for everyone to start their second challenge, and then he could trigger another duel.


    The third possibility was that there were hidden duel types, maybe more than the two that were introduced. These hidden types could be related to Heavenly Favor quantity, Heavenly Favor ratios between the two participants, it could be related to the challenge type or compatibility... Maybe Challenge Disputes triggered while a challenged party was going after a highly compatible trial would automatically fail.


    After all, part of one''s turn was picking the right Dao Trial for yourself. So maybe there was a hidden reward for picking perfectly.


    These were just three possibilities, Ryu could think of dozens more, and that was the point.


    Now he had to play another game within the game. He had one of two choices before him.


    The first was to lean back and allow others to make attempts and mistakes, learn from them, and build a database of hidden rules in secret.


    The second was to choose methods of testing out the rules out in the open that might misdirect others into choosing the wrong possibilities or premises of the rules.


    ''Why not both?'' Ryu thought to himself, watching Reykian complete his Dao Trial.

 Chapter 1460 Tiles

    Chapter 1460 Tiles


    Ryu didn''t seem to have eyes for anything else other than his task. His mental focus was entirely drawn to the minute changes of the world around him. He didn''t even seem to notice Selheira who was just a stone''s throw away. If he had paid more attention, he might have noticed her slight glances every so often. But the state of his mind really didn''t allow him to focus on anything else.


    Initially, his thoughts were skewed toward being more forceful. Before he noticed the subtle hidden rules of the round, he had planned to attack every person who made an attempt and crush them in that way. He thought that maybe if he did this, not only could he force others back, but he would be able to accelerate his forward progress as well.


    But now that he took a step back, he noticed many issues with his previous thoughts, issues that went beyond just the fact he had failed to challenge two trial takers in a row. If he had been allowed such a continuous challenge, what chance would others have?


    Taking a step back, there would be no reason that Ryu would be the only one capable of taking this sort of action. Would the Heavenly Path essentially allow free rein of the strong?


    A more cynical Ryu would say yes. The Heavens were cruel and uncompromising. It only wanted the strongest to flourish.


    But if that was the case, then why had it allowed him to begin with such a head start just by virtue of the fact he had stepped onto the Incomplete Heavenly Path? That path, by its nature, was constructed for those of lower birth and gifted them a chance to change their Fates.


    This told Ryu something. The Heavens might be cruel, but they always left a path for survival and it wasn''t in its best interest for one power to rise up and then continuously suppress the budding flowers that could have bloomed into lofty trees.


    The Heavens didn''t just want experts, it wanted those experts to be constantly pushed and strained. If those experts were permitted to snuff out any resistance before it could even take form, they would naturally stall evolution and even weaken over time as a result.


    The current situation of the True Martial World, where Daos were suppressed and limiters were placed on the number of experts that could be raised up, should be exactly the kind of situation that the Heavens didn''t want to see.


    The fact that they were so far from the true cap of Daos painted that picture perfectly. In fact, the Convergence might be the attempt of the Heavens to change the current status quo, to raise up something that could crush the current system and hopefully not uplift it themselves...


    These thoughts were fleeting in Ryu''s mind as he watched one after another go. Some failed, but they were in the minority. Anyone who could make it this far was definitely capable of clearing a Bronze Challenge. What was more interesting was how much effort they had to put in, and that was where the variability was quite wide.


    One would think that the deeper they went into the round, the less strong the participants would be as they were granted less and less Heavenly Favor. But this wasn''t the case at all.


    There was a rollercoaster of performance levels, some didn''t surprisingly well, almost matching the performance of the three Immortal Deities, some were clearly holding back in Ryu''s estimation, and there were some who performed quite terribly, all things considered.


    Of course, the worst of them were those that failed on purpose, and the best of them was Adlael.


    The game of Domain was complex, and one of the reasons it was so difficult was because of the territory triangles, squares, pentagons and hexagons.


    The board was filled with these shapes and they came together to form various territories. These territories provided various buffs and debuffs to your units and could affect the success of your assault or defense.


    This was a simple concept and it was something that could be found in many games, but what made Domain different was the various shapes as it was far more akin to real life.


    Most game boards were uniform. Go, for example, was an array of squares,


    the corners of which were most important. Chess was similarly an array of squares, but this time their centers were most important.


    Domain reflected the variability of nature, and each shape had its own function.


    It was too complex to explain in a short time, but essentially what was most important about the shapes on a Domain Board wasn''t the shape itself, but rather how it interacted with those around it.


    A triangle could come into contact with six other shapes, three from its sides and three from its corners. A square could come into contact with eight.


    A connection to a side represented a strong influence over the tile and a corner connection represented a weak influence.


    Each tile would have a base affinity, but it would require a formulae taking into account each surrounding shape to unearth its true affinity. If there were a piece or pieces on the tile, its affinity would be influenced once again depending on the piece and its actions.


    Realizing this, Ryu came to understand something new.


    Picking out the perfect Challenge seemed to rely entirely on your senses, but was that the case? What if he could guess the affinity of a tile ahead of time without access to his Dao at all?


    Since he had gone first, he didn''t have enough data to complete the formula. But now, he had just witnessed the turn of dozens. He felt that he could take action with about 70% accuracy.


    With a confident smile, Ryu locked onto a challenge and surged toward it. It seemed that he wouldn''t have to be so passive after all.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1461 A Clue

    Chapter 1461 A Clue


    Ryu smiled as his eyes quickly scanned the region. He had been about to choose this particular challenge, but then he came to a stop just before, seemingly thinking about something.


    The choice wasn''t as easy as it seemed, that being because his Dao was weakened considerably. He needed to find a challenge that could be cleared with the Dividing Chaos-that being the fusion of his Dividing Dharma and his Dividing Sin.


    But the problem was still quite clear. His Dao was less useful against inanimate beings, and now that it was weakened even further, it was even more difficult to use it for outside its intended purpose.


    Dividing Dharma was the mirror of Dividing Judgment. It was meant to present punishment. The latter was a punishment of the Heavens, and the other was a consequence of cause and effect.


    To make a complex matter simple, Dividing Dharma could only work when there were Karmic Strings formed and a line of cause and effect could be followed, and that required intent.


    Dividing Sin was even more unreasonable on this front. It could be said to be a punishment as well, but rather one doled out by Ryu himself. It once again required a target that had an intent of their own, or else how would he manipulate them?


    These last months had taught Ryu a lot about the weaknesses of this Dao. Truthfully, he had gotten complacent and cocky within himself. He had formed a Founding Dao, something only a handful of people throughout all of history had been able to accomplish. Why shouldn''t he be cocky, especially when that was his normal disposition to begin with.


    But whether it was his battles against the Protector Spirits, or this trial, he had come to understand that there might very well not be such a thing as a flawless Dao, even if that Dao was a Founding Dao.


    From the beginning, his Daos and his comprehension ability had been two of the main reasons he was so confident in his ability to reach the peak. While he had always been focused on improving his other talents as well, this was always something that he could hold on to.


    But now, it was almost too obvious to him just how flawed that line of thinking was. These chains could even strip him of his connection to his Dao, and why would that be surprising in the first place? If it could even stop his Spiritual Foundation from connecting with him, stop his Fate Star and strip his Fate from him, stopping him from sensing his Dao seemed like the easiest of that long list.


    Ryu looked down at the chains that bound him.


    He had known long ago that the chains that he could replicate were missing the essence of what these Divine Chains truly were. It was part of the reason he was so lazy with naming them and also why he rarely used them. But their strength was still undeniable, and quite frankly more than he had thought them to be originally,


    At the same time, there was another thing as well...


    A clue.


    In the Sky God Realms, what separated Daos wasn''t just a name. The gap between an Immature Dao and Mature one was far deeper, and it was also the Realm of existence one had to be in to begin using their Dao as a conduit for self-created techniques. These were called Dao Methods.


    Dao Methods were a lot like Dao Charm techniques, but far stronger. The use of Dao Charm techniques would still be prominent in the Sky God Realms, but only because creating Dao Methods was so difficult.


    Ryu suddenly wondered... Since his Dao could exhibit the strength of a Mature Dao thanks to his mind, could he create a Dao Method in advance?


    What was more important than any of that, though, was his comprehension of the fact these manifestations, the Holy Wings, the Divine Wings, or these Divine Chains, each had a unique ability to hold... Spirituality.


    This was the best word that Ryu could find to describe it, and he felt that it was a secret that might be able to fix the weakness of his Dao.


    But he knew that he couldn''t do it all in a single step. Even trying would be foolish.


    Much like his Lineages which would have taken trial and error to figure out if not for his Bone Structure, his Daos were much the same except far more complicated in his opinion.


    However, Ryu still felt that it was a bit poetic.


    A Chain for his Dao of Dividing Chaos.


    Wings for his Dao of Dividing Order.


    There was really only one question. How would the Martial Gods react to this?


    The moment he thought of the question, he laughed. The timing of his laughter, due to his speed of thought, was barely after Litaor had finished.


    What would the Martial Gods think? Why would he give a damn?


    Ryu clapped his hands and chains began to surge out from him. At the same time, his soul connected with Elena''s Primordial Yin. He caught the vague outline of a pair of wings and he latched onto it.


    Immediately, Ryu realized that he was being too casual with his thoughts. He could feel a strong suppression against his actions. It was immovable and suffocating....


    And yet nothing against his Cosmos Fog.


    The resistance shattered as Ryu''s Cosmos Fog flooded the chains and the wings, severing them from the greater bounds of existence and from the Karma and Fate that bound them.


    The process was far easier than Ryu thought it would be, his Bone Structure shouldn''t be so strong yet. But he understood why this was a moment later.


    The chains were as bound to him by Karma as they were to any Martial God. Since his very birth, it had been tying down his Fate, changing the course of his life. In a way, he had more of a right to control these chains than any junior of the Divine Chain Branch. Since they had taken so much from him, he would start collecting that owe now.


    As for the wings, they were his wife''s. By dominating Elena''s Primordial Yin, they were as much his as they were hers. Who would dare to interfere the matters between a husband and wife?

 Chapter 1462 Ash

    Chapter 1462 Ash


    What happened next was unlike anything the juniors here had ever laid their eyes on. The Complete Heavenly Path, the flawed trial of the Heavens, the very location that they were certain that even Dao Lord, Sovereigns and Gods alike could never directly interfere in...


    Quaked.


    In the white expanse of the land they were in, dark clouds suddenly formed and boomed. It was a sound so loud that it was impossible to properly describe, so much so that even these prodigies of the various Heavens felt their minds collapse as their ears began to breathe.


    Their entire souls were consumed by fear, by inadequacy, by a willingness to drop down to their knees and obey.


    Ryu looked up from his seated position and shook his head.


    ''Idiot''


    As soon as he thought this, a pressure even more overpowering than that descended. It crushed the clouds and destroyed them to their last wisps of misty waters. The booming crackling of lightning arched through the skies, but it didn''t make it very far at all before fizzling out.


    Ryu somewhat understood what had happened, which was why he had said what he said. The Martial Gods were very used to taking control of matters of Fate, whether that be their own or that of their targets. This sort of power had given them a great deal of control over what they could do, even to the point that they could seal away a talent like Ryu.


    But this came with its own drawbacks as well.


    Just now, that tribulation that triggered was more definitely something crafted at the hands of the Martial Gods themselves. It wasn''t a Heavenly Tribulation, but it was much more like the tribulation that Ryu had faced when he formed his Hegemonic Dao, and again when he formed his Ancient Dao.


    It was artificial, and as a result, the Martial Gods had lost out in two important ways... well, three if Ryu was lucky.


    The first was that they failed to target Ryu. Why would the Celestial Realms allow outside interference into its Heavenly Path, especially against someone with so much accumulated Heavenly Favor.


    Ryu nodded to himself.


    He was able to infuse Dividing Chaos into these Divine Chains, and Dividing Order into these Divine Wings, but doing so required him to keep his Daos separate. As a result, they were at the pinnacle of the Ancient Dao level as opposed to his true level, that of the Founding Dao.


    If he wanted to use his Founding Dao in the same way, he would need to find a vessel for it that was just as powerful.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that Ryu had lost his Founding Dao. So long as he dispelled these vessels, something he could do with a thought, he could fuse his Daos once again and form a Founding Dao.


    The real question was whether or not these chains would allow him to maintain the strength and power of his Daos should he do so.


    Even though this was a somewhat depressing thought, Ryu wasn''t as downcast about it as he seemed. That was because so long as he found a vessel powerful enough for his Founding Dao, just like he had regained the full strength of the two halves, he would likewise regain the full strength of his whole Dao.


    And... there was also no telling what completing this round might give him.


    "I guess this is the end of this, right?"


    Ryu smiled for a moment before his pillar shot into a challenge he had been aiming for.


    He appeared in a world that seemed to be falling apart. Everywhere you looked, pillars of fire blazed and they were quickly closing in on him.


    Ryu grinned, his wings suddenly spreading out wide. But after a moment, he chose not to flap them, instead punching out with a fist wrapped in chains.


    The entire world crumbled to ash.

 Chapter 1463 Ash (2)

    Chapter 1463 Ash (2)


    Ryu stepped out from the challenge world, stretching his neck. Now that wasn''t too bad, right? Then, his gaze landed on Litaor who suddenly had a look of horror pasted on his face.


    "What''s the matter? Aren''t you taking a bit too long? Hurry it up, would you?"


    Beads of sweat began to pour down Litter''s brows. He could even look at Ryu directly without feeling a fear constrict his heart. He knew that it was partially because he had access to nothing but own Dao in this world, and it was clearly inferior to Ryu''s own, but that didn''t do anything to move the needle,


    If you told a child that there was nothing lurking in the dark, would they even believe you? Right now, Litaor felt like that child and he couldn''t even seem to bring himself to take a step forward. His heart was beating out of his chest, and he didn''t even know which challenge he should pick.


    Maybe that was the key. Maybe if he picked a random challenge, Ryu wouldn''t follow through with challenging him?


    They had all seen the last round play out. There had been a few challenges and each one taught them something interesting, but none were more interesting than a challenge that succeeded.


    It turned out that after a successful challenge, you would then have to face the challenge zone that the person you had forced into a duel had challenged. This added another layer of complexity, because even if you hated someone, you had to make sure that their Dao was similar enough to yours that if you won, you wouldn''t screw yourself over. And at the same time, even if your Dao was similar enough, you had to be wary of whether your enemy would pick poorly on purpose and lose just to mess with you as well.


    There were really only two options. Either Ryu was bluffing him and wanted him to pick poorly on purpose, or Ryu...


    Wait, this Ryu had just cleared a fire elemental challenge. His Dao clearly skewed in that direction.


    The reason why Litaor was so hesitant was because his own Dao was related to lightning, obviously, as he was a genius of the Azure Lightning Sect. And, he had seen Ryu''s Lightning Qilin Manifestation, so he had been all too hesitant to move forward.


    But just because Ryu had the Bloodline, didn''t mean that he could use it. Fire and Lightning were the two strongest elements there were. He had simply never heard of a Dao that used them both.


    "What''s the matter? Didn''t you like to tell people to hurry up? What are you dragging your feet for? There''s still a lot of people left to go, we can''t all be waiting on you."


    Litaor''s gaze turned red. He felt a heart shuddering amount of rage brewing up within him, so much so that he felt like he might suffocate if he didn''t unleash it right now. But his rationality was telling him that Ryu was goading him on purpose, that he wanted to harm him, to kill him.


    Litaor released a turbid breath, one filled with such heat and animosity that small clouds of crackling lightning formed.


    Ryu smiled, that disgusting, overly confident, uncaring for the world smile.


    And then Litaor suddenly felt small. His pillar broke off and the challenge was won by Ryu.


    "Oh what a shame." Ryu clicked his tongue. "I could have sworn with all that talking you were doing, you''d have some strength to back it up."


    Litaor felt something within him snap, and for the moment, Jojo had a serious expression on, something rarely seen on her delicate features.


    Since Ryu had been here, he had already shattered the Dao Heart of one person, and had clearly just heavily swayed Litaor''s. Just what kind of person was he to do this so easily?


    If she knew that just a few months ago Ryu had also induced the hearts of several Sky Gods to shudder as well, how would she react?


    Ryu''s chuckles echoed as he entered into the challenge.


    Thunderous lightning flood dragons plunged from the skies and toward Ryu, looking to crumble everything in their path.


    Once again, Ryu punched a single chain infused fist... And the world fell to ash.

 Chapter 1464 Well And Truly

    Chapter 1464 Well And Truly


    Ryu stepped out, still absentmindedly thinking about something as he looked down at his chain covered hand.


    He was trying to gauge whether or not his Dao was truly stronger in this state. Of course, having a method of using your strength, rather than just blasting it at everything, had its benefits. The main issue, though, was that a Founding Dao was on a completely different level.


    Would he be able to clear the challenges as easily with a Founding Dao as opposed to this? The answer was yes. Even though his Dao had a weakness against inanimate objects, the term weakness was only relative. What chance did challenges of his level pose to a Founding Dao? Especially one that was equivalent to a mature Dao.


    Ryu was quite certain of this, but he still felt that there was something... beyond his former Dao right now. It made him understand that he had overestimated himself once again. Just because he had formed a Founding Dao, didn''t mean he was invincible, and if he wanted to maximize what he could get out of it, it was likewise in his best interest that he put all the effort he could into improving it.


    If he treated his Founding Dao like he did his weaker talents, and focused on pulling out every inch of strength he could from it, just how much stronger would it be?


    In just a few months, just by focusing on his combat style, he had increased his battle effectiveness dozens of times over, and those were with talents that were considered quite weak at this level.


    So what about a talent that was strong?


    ''It''s not that simple...'' Ryu thought to himself.


    What separated powerful talents from inferior abilities was often that they were already nearing perfection. It would be likewise dozens of times more difficult to make the same leaps in improvement he had with his weaker talents,


    Even so, he kept this in mind. And first, he would start his Dao in two halves like this. In fact, he felt it would be even better if he split them once more into their four original foundational pieces.


    The feeling that his Dao had matured even while it was still in an immature state... Maybe that was the sign of his success.


    From now on, his Dao would always exhibit a tier one beyond its current condition because of his successful endeavor.


    Ryu almost wanted to laugh again when he thought to this point. He had almost stressed himself out with yet another path he had to grit his teeth and walk to the end of, but for once...


    He already had the answer.


    His aura changed and a flicker of a white flame danced between his brows. It pulsed with a radiant light and the auras of his Divine Chains and Divine Wings shifted.


    Then, he looked up. He seemed to finally notice Selheira''s gaze on him and he grinned. She snorted, a sound that came out far more adorable than he thought it would, and looked away. But that only made the laughter he was holding onto echo.


    The echo was just as grating on the ears for everyone else as it had been the first time Ryu laughed, but this time, there was no sudden change to the situation, no heart rending pressure, just the endless, undying confidence of a man who stared adversity in the eyes and came out on top regardless.


    The geniuses present all felt a weight on their shoulders sink them down.


    Selheira couldn''t help but look toward Ryu again. When she first met him, he wasn''t this bright, he wasn''t this cheery. She didn''t know what had happened in those few months he had disappeared, but that chilling wind he usually gave off had vanished, but he also hadn''t suddenly become soft either.


    He was just... well and genuinely Ryu Tatsuya.

 Chapter 1465 Failed?

1465 Failed?


    But how could Ryu have possibly failed?

 Chapter 1466 Vertigo

    Chapter 1466 Vertigo


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a blinding light and his senses felt as though a flash bang had gone off. It took much longer than normal for it to clear, something that was decidedly odd for him considering he was so used to his eyes being powerful.


    When he could see again, he found himself in a world of vast whiteness. It was hard to tell if there was a real floor beneath him, the ceiling did not seem to have a limit, and he couldn''t sense any walls. It was impossible to tell if he''d smack into a solid wall after one step or a million steps.


    ''What the hell is this?"


    Ryu felt that there was a non-zero chance that he had failed. In context, it didn''t make any sense, but there was really no telling. If rules were hidden, this might very well be a punishment that he didn''t know about.


    Because of his continuous challenges, Ryu hadn''t made any forward progress, and had instead been moving laterally. Each time he did so, he had to challenge another Bronze Challenge. It was very possible that there was a hidden rule that limited the number of Bronze Challenges that one could take on at a time. It was also possible that every time Ryu challenged, it counted as another turn, and there was a hidden rule about the number of turns one could have without progressing forward.


    Ryu could think of dozens more potential rules just like this that would have resulted in him being kicked out like he had been, and they made him sigh. Although he still wasn''t sure that he had actually failed, the more possibilities he thought of, the more likely that it was. The only reason he was holding onto some hope was because...


    This world was too odd.


    Was this a waiting room for the failures? But if it was, then where was Ramon? Then again, maybe there was another reason...?


    In Domain, there were pieces, and these pieces could both be sacrificed and revived. Since the proceedings above took place on a Domain Board, could it be that he was a piece that could be considered to have been "sacrificed"? As for why Ramon was not here, maybe his disqualification was different from his own. After all, Ramon had lost his Dao entirely, his ability to participate was in question.


    Even though this was semi-reasonable, Ryu did not believe that this was what was going on here. It was more likely that this was a separate world entirely. at least 60% likely. But why was he sent here?


    He tried to take a deep breath, but even the act of contracting and relaxing his diaphragm caused another bout of vertigo. It was like just trying to control his body in this world was asking too much.


    The good news was that, at the very least, the strength of the vertigo was much weaker. If he made his breaths more shallow, took it slower, and most importantly did not move, he could limit the dizziness to a minimum.


    ''What a bad joke..."


    Even controlling his qi gave these bouts of dizziness, and it was even more oppressive than when he had tried to take a step before. This world was making certain that he stayed completely still, and there was obviously a reason for that.


    Ryu eventually managed to straighten himself and stand tall. Afterward, slowly but surely, he began to test each part of his body, checking each one thoroughly to see what gave the strongest bouts.


    Slowly but surely, he began to notice a pattern. His gaze became sharper, albeit slowly, of course, and he began to test his hypotheses and and it was all becoming clear to him


    "How fascinating. This room, I wonder if it would be possible for me to replicate it somewhere in the future?''


    Ryu threw those thoughts to the back of his mind, focusing on the task at hand. He mapped out everything and pieced them together.


    Then... he lifted his foot again to take a step forward.

 Chapter 1467 Easy?

    Chapter 1467 Easy?


    Ryu began to feel a hint of excitement.


    Someone else might have taken quite a while to understand what was happening, but felt that he had already figured it out, and if he was correct, this wasn''t a punishment at all, it was a boon even better than the Line of Fate he had been able to sense before the chains descended upon him.


    The formation in this place-or what he thought was a formation-was more complex than anything he had ever sensed in his life. It was so far beyond his understanding that he didn''t even bother to try and see through its secrets and he was entirely focused on benefiting from it.


    The bouts of vertigo that he was experiencing wasn''t because the room was making him feel dizzy, it was rather the room sending him signals that he was using his body incorrectly.


    Just think about what it felt like to ride in a vehicle. The purpose of motion sickness was the signal that told your brain that your senses were experiencing something that your body wasn''t, that sort of cognitive dissonance was the root of motion sickness and it could even be said to be an evolutionary quirk of those that had sharper senses in general.


    It didn''t need to be explained why sharper senses were better for an individual, but what was important here was that this room was amplifying that inherent sense millions of times over.


    To make a long story short, it was like Ryu''s senses were constantly relaying back to him that what his mind was commanding his body to do, wasn''t exactly what his body was doing. It took a small little imperfection, stacked them up, amplified them, then relayed all of that back toward Ryu.


    The number of flaws like this were so numerous that even when Ryu was trying to just take a single step, his body almost shut down completely. It seemed that according to this room, he wasn''t even walking properly, let alone fighting, circulating his qi or Vital Qi properly.


    Ryu began to focus on causing minor changes to his gait as he walked forward. With the Origin Flame, he was able to remember every feeling and sensation perfectly, and every time he made a small change that lessened the feeling of vertigo, he never forgot it.


    Even as he walked forward, he found that qi began to move around him as though he was becoming in tune with the Heavens. But the closer he got to that feeling, the more he felt a different discomfort, one separate from the original vertigo.


    His Child of Chaos constitution was interfering with his ability to benefit from this boon. How could he be in tune with the Heavens when his body was literally formed to reject the Heavens?


    If he kept pushing and succeeded, he would actually go backward. His alignment with the Heavens would cancel out his Child of Chaos constitution and he would then just become...


    Normal.


    At least that was what he speculated, he couldn''t be certain. But the feeling of discomfort was clear and obvious. The moment his alignment reached a certain level, it began to push against his constitution and the clash was already starting to weaken them both...


    And that was just with him fixing the rhythm of his gait. The alignment would definitely grow far stronger once he began to line up far more important things with the will of the Heavens.


    ''Nothing can ever be easy, huh?"


    Ryu fell into deep thought. There had to be a way out of this.


    This room was either based on a timer, or he had to walk out of here. If it was the former, it was fair enough, but if it was the latter, wouldn''t he be stuck here forever unless he could resolve his two halves?


    His immediate go-to was his Bone Structure once again, it had helped him out of an countless number of ruts just like this one. But...


    How could he separate himself from the fate of the Heavens themselves? Especially when it was at the Heavens that had bestowed this Bone Structure to him in the first place?

 Chapter 1468 Muscle Memory

    Chapter 1468 Muscle Memory


    Ryu''s frown deepened, a look of deep contemplation on his face.


    He realized now that even using his mind in this place had quite some effect on him, but for him to not have noticed the vertigo meant that his mind was already working on a scale of near perfection. That was at least some good news. He didn''t know how he would fair if he couldn''t even think straight without being sent into a tailspin.


    Even so, that didn''t really help him with his situation. If anything, the fact his mind was so close to perfection just meant that he had even less room to make improvements to the rest of his body. It was no wonder he had entered the threshold so quickly. He had only barely just begun to fix his gait, and yet the energies of the world already began to resonate with him.


    "Wait a moment...''


    Ryu frowned. There was a very obvious question here. How was his mind so close to perfection? No, more accurately, how was it that it had come so close to perfection without him noticing first?


    Just subtle changes to his gait had made it so that he could feel the energies of the universe swirling around to his cadence, to his own rhythm... How many times had he improved his mind through thought and action that had gone....


    Completely unnoticed?


    One answer was that it was a combination of the two that had managed to cross the necessary threshold, but that felt incorrect. No, it felt, rather, that it was missing something very important.


    Ryu trembled.


    How much power did names hold? And how could he have possibly missed something so obvious?


    Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.


    The answer was within his eyes.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    His eyes were akin to a Child of Order constitution concentrated into his pupils.


    But then what did that mean for him? In this situation he was currently stuck in, what good were his eyes that were still sealed away?


    Well, why was it that his eyes seemed to advance every time he made a cultivation breakthrough? In fact, why was it that after his breakthrough into the Cosmic Seed Realm, and then the World Sea Realm beyond that that he was finally able to enter his Inner World again and notice that his wives had vanished?


    It was because his eyes needed this attunement, they needed this sort of Harmony with the Heavens to finally complete their evolution, to take that final step and finally be unsealed.


    And he bet that once he completed this, the moment he stepped into the Sky God Realms once more, his eyes would return to him.


    And right then... Ryu Tatsuya would well and truly be back.


    That just left one last question, a new one that he had formulated as he finally came to this conclusion.


    How could he take that step? How exactly could he take this comprehension and transmit it into his eyes instead?


    Ryu thought for a long while, not quite having an answer. In theory, everything lined up. But how was he supposed to transmit something that his body was doing into something his eyes? They weren''t even quite connected.


    The only way he seemed to feel that this was possible would be if he rewired his entire brain such that what was filtered through his eyes could be conveyed directly into his muscle memory as well.


    But there was no precedent for such a thing, and he even had a feeling that it bordered on ridiculous pseudo science that would sooner get him killed than give him a solution.


    "Wait... Muscle Memory...!"

 Chapter 1469 Martial Forms

    Chapter 1469 Martial Forms


    Ryu''s gaze became so fierce that he directly ignored the vertigo that came from his sudden movement. A blazing light of desire boiled within himself as he realized the answer had been right in front of him the entire time, so much so that it was almost amusing that he hadn''t seen it before.


    The Heavens had already given him the answer he needed: The Protector Spirits!


    Every time Ryu absorbed a Protector Spirit, it taught him something. But even putting it like that wasn''t quite accurate. Rather than actively teaching him, it was more like it branded his mind, turning something that wasn''t originally his default state, into one that was.


    When it did that, the Protector Spirit turned into streams of energy that entered his body. Ryu was certain, if he used the Origin Flame to replay those moments in his mind, he felt that he could build a similar system with these natural energies around him.


    The Heavens hadn''t made changes to his actual brain, it had instead made changes to his soul, and then by proxy made changes to the filter through which his brain saw and reacted to the world...


    His eyes!


    Il Ryu had only experienced it a single time, he might not have enough information to translate those methods into something that he could use here. After all, what the Protector Spirits had done and what he was attempting to do were on two entirely different levels.


    The Protector Spirits, especially the Bronze ones, had only wanted to target a very small portion of him. They keyed in on small details like a slightly more efficient method of swinging his fist, a sharper and more efficacious method of changing direction.


    However, what Ryu was doing was on a much larger scale than that. And luckily... he already had a blueprint.


    His Martial Forms.


    Ryu began to cross reference the changes, breaking them down into their simplest parts and like the building blocks of a language. The more he did so, the more he began to comprehend the flow patterns of his seven spirits much like he did with formations and their individual parts.


    The greatest boon in the end might actually turn out to be this very understanding, because it even allowed him to understand the circulation pattern of the Prayer Mat more than he ever had before.


    After feeling that he had all of the building blocks of the language, Ryu began to translate, taking the four perfected Martial Forms that he had created and turning them into flow patterns that moved through his seven spirits.


    Once this was completed, he began to layer those understandings on top of one another, almost as though he was trying to align their shadows just right.


    Even when he was using the "perfected" Martial Forms individually, bouts of vertigo came in waves and he realized they weren''t nearly as flawless as he had thought, so he made many changes until they shone resplendently. If Ryu put any one of these Martial Forms up for auction, even the likes of the Emperor Phoenixes, Fire Dragons and Lightning Qilin would fight tooth and nail for them.


    But Ryu wasn''t finished as he finally seemed to realize the problem was no longer his Martial Forms, but rather that he didn''t have enough of them.


    That was right. He had long since had more than just four Bloodlines, so why did he only have four iterations?


    He shaped a fifth, and then a sixth. Then he fused the Phoenix ones together, the shrieking design of a radiant White Phoenix taking shape within his body, and then he began to force his Dragon and Qilin Martial Forms into one.


    He bent and distorted them with his will, his body trembling mightily until just two remained.


    Then, he hurled them both toward his soul.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1470 Complacency

    Chapter 1470 Complacency


    Ryu was very much used to pain. It was practically his way of cultivation. Any step he had taken forward at this point required at least a half step back, if not something far worse. He had experienced all sorts of things, whether that be trials of the heart, trials of the mind, and the most frequent of them all... Trials of the body.


    He had been ready for this to happen to him once more, for a heart rending pain to shear his soul into two or for him to be forced to roar out in pain, or anything else on that spectrum of outcomes to occur to him.


    But the truth was very much different. He felt at absolute peace, so much so, in fact, that it was as though his soul had been bathed in a warm spring, like he was a baby once more, being cradled in the arms of his mother.


    It was gentle, subtle, and yet gorgeous all at the same time. He couldn''t find even a single thing wrong, as though he was finally at peace, as though he had finally taken his final step toward the pinnacle of all that was.


    And that was when he snapped out of it.


    His gaze turned sharp as he looked around. All around him, the vast expanse of whiteness was still there, endless and without defined borders. Just what had that feeling been just now?


    It was a lot of things. Calm, soothing, caring, gentle... but they boiled down to one preeminent emotion in Ryu''s estimation...


    Complacency.


    That was the feeling that had been pumped into him just now.


    He had already taken his final step toward the pinnacle? What kind of joke was that? He had just fought the Diamond Protector Spirit, and if it was just like the Gold and lower Protector Spirit before it, even it didn''t represent the pinnacle. Instead, it represented what was average. The true geniuses of the Ninth Heaven were impossibly far beyond it, and yet he had no choice but to use tricks to defeat it even with the support of three sets of 999 Protector Spirits bolstering his strength.


    The final step? No matter how arrogant he was, it was always toward the realization that he would one day reach that step, not that he was already there, not that he deserved that sort of adulation and praise just yet.


    This wasn''t too bad, as this was what happened to all those that relied on their talents for their strength. The likes of Ramon and Adlael were most definitely far weaker in the Sixth Heaven than they would be on the Seventh, same went for Jojo or Selheira.


    The main problem he had with this was that his Child of Chaos constitution didn''t rely on his location, because the vessel was internal and the source of power for the vessel was the Chaos Plane itself which he could access directly through his Meridians.


    This made him feel uncomfortable.


    He no longer hated the Heavens, but he had come to like having the control of his abilities in the palm of his hands.


    It wasn''t just about satisfying his own vanity either. Once his Child of Chaos constitution grew to power, it would suppress his Child of Order constitution depending on the region. That would cause an imbalance, similar to what he was feeling now.


    Of course, this wasn''t the strongest his Child of Order constitution would be as it was reliant on his eyes and his cultivation level. But Ryu knew that there would only be so much he could mitigate this risk in the future.


    Unfortunately, this wasn''t a problem that Ryu had the ability to fix. He racked his brain for a moment, but eventually shook his head.


    He was being too greedy, expecting everything to be perfect immediately. That was never how his path of cultivation had worked, so why would it start to work like that now?


    Plus, this was far better than any gift he had ever been given before. Even under a soft estimate, his strength had increased by at least a hundredfold. Even when he stepped onto the Seventh Heaven, he shouldn''t fall behind those that would regain the maximum access to their talents.


    Now, he only had one task left.


    He had to get out of here.

 Chapter 1471 Out to Get Me

    Chapter 1471 Out to Get Me


    Ryu shot forward with blazing speed. As he moved, the world of white began to twist and warp as the golden runes around him grew more and more dense.


    Just by perfecting his running form, he had gained at least a 10% addition to his speed. Whether it was the recruitment of his muscles to explode forth at once, or the stabilizing of his core in maintaining an upright posture, or the smooth transition from ground to forward momentum, the springyness of his calves and achilles up to the perpetual motion of his arms...


    Everything was absolutely perfect. A running coach might shed a tear watching him, and the Heavens seemed to continuously praise him as a result.


    BANG!


    Ryu suddenly came to a halt, a large number of swirling Golden Runes spinning around him, layering upon one another in a complex formation and then suddenly sinking into his body.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow when he saw this. He actually felt his cultivation bump up by a small level. So he would get rewarded for being in tune with the Heavens by the Heavens cultivating for him?


    How ridiculous...


    Someone born with that Bone Structure would be an absolute monster at this sort of pace. They might enter the Sky God Realms before they were even ten years old. That sort of pace was something Ryu couldn''t even keep up with.


    Ryu could tell that he had lost quite a bit of efficacy from the attempt to help him cultivate. The Heavenly Favor had been neutralized by his Chaos Qi, and there didn''t seem to be a workaround for this.


    Even so, if he relied on just this and now his Embryonic Qi at all, he felt that he could reach the Middle World Sea Realm in about a month or two. That pace was absolutely ridiculous.


    Even geniuses of the Seventh Heaven like Jojo and Selheira spent years in individual World Sea Realm stages. Ryu would have never been that slow thanks to his Embryonic Qi, but just the fact this ability alone had helped him like this was world changing.


    It was like he could translate his comprehension ability directly into cultivation speed, and that was something that would truly put the world on notice.


    Ryu walked forward again, but he quickly found himself to be disappointed. There were actually no Origin Treasures here? He had thought he would definitely see some Dao God Treasures, but it seemed that even the Heavens could not provide such things.


    It was impossible that Ryu hadn''t performed well enough. He defeated a Half- Step Sky God as a World Sea Realm expert. He consumed three sets of 999 Protector Spirits and even the Diamond Protector Spirit all on his own. He performed so well in the third round that the Heavens created a new test for him, and even that he had passed as the only some in its history.


    That meant only some thing: the Heavenly Path simply didn''t provide a chance to exchange for Origin Treasures.


    Ryu shook his head. This was a great shame.


    He had little concern now, but there was some thing still lingering in the back of his mind, and that was his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    He had stumbled upon Infinity Mist, and had managed to complete his Origin Flame, but he still needed many more rewards of similar level to finally break it free. Unless he did that, he wouldn''t nevertheless think about entering the Sky God Realm.


    Although those Lines of Fate he had gained had disappeared, he still knew the path ahead for his Chaotic Silk Meridians. If he didn''t break through with both of his Spiritual Foundations, he could be forced to lose one.


    Ryu shook his head. He was fine, he was a Ruin Master. If anyone could locate those treasures, it was him.


    "Hm?"


    Just as Ryu was thinking this, a message appeared in the skies.


    When he read it, his lip twitched.


    "These fucking bullshit Heavens. I swear I should have never given you the benefit of the doubt. You''re plotting against me after all."

 Chapter 1472 Unexpected Details

    Chapter 1472 Unexpected Details


    Ryu shook his head.


    The Heavens were giving him a choice. Either he could pick five treasures from any of the given God Treasures here, or he could receive a divination of fate that could be used to bring him toward exactly what he needed to perfect one thing.


    Ryu assumed that this "one thing" was meant to be a limiter on what he could ask for. For example, he couldn''t just ask to perfect his path of cultivation itself.


    He actually didn''t believe that the Heavens would stop him from asking such a thing of it. The problem was how much quality the response would have. Someone might jump at the chance, but Ryu, as a Ruin Master, understood better than anyone else what it truly meant.


    "One thing", translated in this context, wasn''t about quantity, necessarily, or at the very least, not directly. Rather, it was a hidden warning about the breadth of the requests Heaven would allow.


    One of the most poetic and enigmatic lines of all cultivation was as follows.


    One begets Two. Two begets Three. And Three Begets All Things.


    The rawest understanding of the saving was that all things were connected, but there was a secondary portion that was often ignored, and one that Ryu felt that he had come to understand over the course of his life.


    All things were connected, but it wasn''t up to you to decide how they were. All sorts of things could happen throughout your life that you might have never expected because a living being could never truly comprehend the vastness of the world.


    A pebble kicked today might become a boulder that caused an avalanche the next. The fluttering wings of a butterfly might create a storm thousands of miles away. And one seed of cultivation planted now could become far more broad and all encompassing in the future.


    It was the Heavens giving a subtle warning. Start small, and you might receive a great many things in return. Start too large and you would miss the forest for the trees.


    The Heavens would never leave a message as crude as "pick one thing". The only explanation was that there was a far deeper meaning to it and it was yet another test.


    Even though he saw through it easily, Ryu still felt that he was being screwed over. The Heavens might be able to divine exactly what he needed and where exactly to go to get them, but he would likely still have to risk his life to do so.


    And yet, on the other hand, he could pick out five God Treasures. It was clearly dangling this matter in his face. He could practically imagine the warriors of Heavens up above getting a good chuckle out of this ridiculous farce.


    The worst part was that that wasn''t even the only one pair of great Swordstaffs present. There was another pair, but this one was wreathed in Tire and lightning, one a gorgeous sapphire blue and the other a beautiful ruby red.


    At that point, Ryu was certain. The Heavens were doing this on purpose. They wanted him to pine for these treasures, and they had even perfectly picked out these treasures for him. Maybe some Heavenly Messengers had even forged these weapons specifically for his sake.


    Even so, the reason Ryu was so frustrated and irritated wasn''t because he was deliberating on what to do. Instead, it was because he had already made his choice and he was annoyed that the Heavens were testing him.


    No matter how much he changed, that part of him would never change. He absolutely hated to be tested.


    Fine. I''ll allow it this time. Give it to me.


    Ryu took an annoyed breath and spoke.


    "Enlighten the path of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation for me. Specifically, I would like to know what treasures it needs to allow it to enter the Sky God Realms."


    After some deliberation, Ryu decided to make it as short and concise as possible. The matters of his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation already roped in a ton of highly contentious materials. Just the first two Cosmic Seeds it had formed both used two of the greatest treasures in all of existence.


    So while he was feeling a bit reluctant, rather than asking for the Heavens to lead him down the path of true perfection, he instead went for perfection through the Cosmic Seed Realm and into the World Sea Realm.


    Essentially, Ryu was asking for the location of the relics he would need to release the Cosmic Qi Sea and form his World Sea.


    What he received, though, was something more comprehensive than he thought he would. For a moment, as he watched all of those beautiful relics around him vanish one after another, he felt that he had narrowed down his scope too much.


    But after a while, he shook his head. This was perfect, and this was a truly worthy exchange.


    The first thing he received was a perfect roadmap to each Natural Origin Treasure. Not only did he suddenly know all of their locations, he was even given several methods of entry that he could use, what dangers were associated with them, there were even some clues on how he might survive, though these last tips were far vaguer than the others.


    If he felt the danger was too great, the Heavens actually provided a roadmap to relics of slightly lesser value that would still allow him to complete his task. In fact, he even had the decision of using fewer Natural Origin Treasures and breaking through prematurely.


    "These details...''

 Chapter 1473 So Similar

    Chapter 1473 So Similar


    This was far more than anything Ryu could have expected, and the best part of it was that he didn''t need to worry about this suddenly vanishing from his mind like his previous rewards. That was because this was raw information, but that also told Ryu something else.


    In all likelihood, this information only painted things as they were now. If he dragged his feet too much, or took too long to take action on this current information, what he had now would become more and more inaccurate.


    Ryu shook his head when he realized this. The Heavens were really trying their best to screw him over, but there wasn''t much he could do about it. At the same time, it made sense that this information wouldn''t just continuously update at his leisure.


    For every update, it would take another analysis of Fate, and after a couple times, the amount of energy that would cost would far outweigh the rewards Ryu deserved.


    Even so, just the fact that the Heavens could just take a peek at everything across Existence and pick out exactly what he needed in a flash was fascinating. He began to wonder if he had really made the right choice.


    Had he been too selfish? Should he have asked the Heavens to find Ailsa and Yaana? It hadn''t even crossed his mind because the wording designated something that would help his cultivation, but what if he had twisted it a bit to suit his needs. After all, Ailsa was his Life Partner, a true Cultus Faerie. Technically, wasn''t she a help to his cultivation too?


    This thought stuck with Ryu and he felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.


    The reason this thought had suddenly come to him was because of the data he had received, some of the locations weren''t even in the True Marital World at all. Some were in the Abyssal Plane, some were in the True Nether Plane, but there were also some on smaller worlds as well.


    The Heavens had actually given him multiple choices on how to progress forward, and among those choices, there was the chance to gain Origin Treasures from weaker worlds, and then find a way to upgrade them.


    What was important to Ryu wasn''t this. He felt that the effort to upgrade Origin Treasures was even more difficult than just finding them, so there was no point. He might as well aim for the real thing immediately. The main reason he was harping on these so much was because of one obvious thing...


    The Heavens had scanned the entirety of Existence. If Ailsa and Yaana were out there somewhere, and not flung onto a completely different timeline, then the Heavens would be able to find them in an instant.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, shaking his head.


    He knew he was being too emotional about this. With how long those two had spent in his Inner World, they were far more powerful than he was by now. If they were really in a location that could be easily accessed and reached, they would have long since come to him. It wouldn''t be up to him to save them.


    Even by conservative estimates, Ryu believed that they were at least True Sky Gods. He simply didn''t have the strength to overcome something that they could not.


    This said, there seemed to be plenty of other things he could have asked about, his Fate Star being one. But Ryu felt that he was already on the path to breaking free. In addition, his Spiritual Foundation was seen as so important that even though his Fate Star was already sealed, the Martial Gods chose to take a step further and end his path of cultivation anyway.


    There was a not insignificant chance that raising his Spiritual Foundation to the ends of the World Sea Realm might actually be an impetus to break his Fate Star free.


    As for his Chaotic Silk Meridians, he had already gained enough data about it thanks to his last set of benefits from round two. Although it was a shame the Lines of Fate had vanished, Ryu had a feeling that they would reappear as soon as he fixed his Fate Star. He could only hope that they wouldn''t have faded too much by the time he succeeded.


    There were several individuals present, many of them the Sky God Representatives of their various factions. Among them, there were many God Realm women who wouldn''t even care to give men of their own Realms a second look, let alone a World Sea Realm brat. And yet, at that moment, their air seemed to have been swept away by Ryu''s breath.


    Several of the male Sky Gods frowned, but they also didn''t take action immediately.


    They didn''t recognize Ryu, but those golden runes were a different matter entirely. Just who was this child to have such a constitution, exactly?


    Suddenly, the golden runes were absorbed into Ryu''s body and vanished in a blink. At the same time, his cultivation took another step forward.


    ''More than the Heavenly Path for sure. This speed of cultivation is not bad.


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly opened and his gaze landed on a particularly striking beauty. Lightning crackled in her irises and her hair was a gorgeous azure color. He had sensed her stare for a extended while, and he returned a smile.


    It was clear she was of the Azure Lightning Sect, one of the three most powerful factions of the Seventh Heaven. In addition, despite her youth, she radiated the aura of a True Sky God already. Impressive, indeed. Ryu believed she was definitely not more than a thousand years old.


    "The Seventh Heaven sure does have his share of fairies."


    The Sky God, one known widely as Fairy Azure or Fairy Lilac, was startled. The embarrassment of being caught by a junior made her blush slightly.


    She looked away, but by the time she understood what she had done and tried to force herself to look back, Ryu had already vanished, a pair of translucent wings appearing to his back as he tore into the void.


    "Where do you think you''re going?!" A voice boomed.


    They didn''t want to rashly take action against Ryu, but that didn''t mean that they would allow him to casually leave either. How could they not have questions?


    "You want me to stick around and play politics with you all? Unfortunately, I have things to do. You can ask your juniors how I embarrassed them when they come out."


    Fairy Azure''s heart skipped a beat. Those words...


    "You can ask your junior how I embarrassed them when they come."


    ... Why did they sound so similar to that man?


    She blushed once more, even more profusely than the first time.

 Chapter 1474 Natural

    Chapter 1474 Natural


    As Ryu moved, his mind flashed with several thoughts. He knew that Primus likely already knew where he was, and he also knew that even though he had yet to show himself, he was likely only a thought away. He didn''t believe that the barrier between the Sixth and Seventh Heavens would be something that would stall Primus. He had to lose him.


    The reason for this was simple. As amazing as it sounded to drag a Half Step Dao God on adventures and have a perfect sheen of protection, there were several issues with this.


    For one, these areas weren''t places that even Dao Gods could ignore. Even a Dao God would have to be cautious against something like Infinity Mist, especially if it appeared in large quantities, let alone a Half Step Dao God.


    That said, if Ryu was to say that he was caring for Primus'' safety, who would even believe him? Of course, this was ridiculous and he never had any intentions of minding such a thing. The real issues were what came next.


    He had already seen what happened when Primus thought that he was entering a place with even minor danger that he, himself, didn''t want to or, rather, couldn''t enter. Who was to say that Primus wouldn''t attempt to stop him again? And this time, he might even go as far as to string him up and throw him into a living spatial ring.


    Of course, that was an exaggeration. The bounds of Primus'' oath were tighter than they seemed. If he just captured Ryu and turned him into a jail mate, how would that be repaying Karma? He had to at least give Ryu something in return or else the Karma would remain the same, or even become worse in some cases.


    However, that didn''t mean that Primus had to let Ryu do whatever he wanted to do. He could easily keep things within a certain bound of reason, and following Ryu around to chase Origin Treasures was very clearly beyond that bound.


    Of course, this wasn''t because he had suddenly grown a heart, but it was rather that someone with Ryu''s level of Dao wouldn''t fall in such a place. However, when Ryu appeared, he couldn''t help but frown.


    This was an extremely rare expression for a person of his caliber, and his focus was entirely on the chains that restrained Ryu. The others hadn''t observed because the golden runes were so dense and the chains had become so faint, but he could see it clearly.


    ''Divine Chains? From that Clan? Why is this boy plagued with such a thing?''


    If Ryu had heard these words, he would have been shocked. The reason was quite simple. Didn''t Primus already know what happened to him?


    Ryu had spoken to Primus about what happened in Sacrum, at least in part, and mostly in accusations. Back then, Primus had essentially said that he wouldn''t take action because the Martial Gods that invaded Sacrum were beneath his notice, and by extension, that obviously extended to Ryu''s False Spiritual Foundation and everything of the like.


    It was partially for this reason that Ryu felt Primus was full of shit. What was weak about the Divine Chains that bound his Spiritual Foundation? And what about the ones that bound his Fate Star, they were even stronger?


    If he still couldn''t step in for such a thing, wasn''t he blowing hot air?


    But Primus seemed genuinely confused. The fact was that Primus never knew about these chains. He believed that Ryu being born with a False Spiritual Foundation was just a means of the Heavens balancing out a talent that should have never been born. He had believed that it was natural.

 Chapter 1475 Smile

    Chapter 1475 Smile


    The square of people turned silent. Had they just let a World Sea Realm expert... escape them? Just what level of Spatial affinity did that take? Of course, they had seen the God Treasure, but they were all specialists of the Seventh Heaven, how could they not comprehend that Ryu could enter the emptiness even without the aid of that treasure. Just who was that boy? Was he from the Eighth Heaven? They looked toward one another, but no one had an answer. They could only wait.


    What none of them expected was that that wait would take another three months. Ryu had exited the Heavenly Path, so they had all assumed that the next batch would come soon, but this wasn''t what happened at all.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    After waiting for so long, some even began to think that maybe it was the case that Ryu had fallen for the allure of the treasures and he wasn''t that great at all. That would explain many things, and maybe the artifact he had taken out was just a facade for the real treasure he used to escape?


    But very soon, as their geniuses finally began to come out, they soon realized just how ridiculous their thoughts were.


    These thoughts, though, didn''t even have a chance to fully take root as a rumbling of the ground shook them to their core.


    A Sect was rising?!


    They had lost count of how many generations had passed since this last occurred. The suppression of the Seventh Heaven on the Sixth was so absolute that they even dictated the number of Hegemonic Daos that could appear below.


    They sent individuals recently to deal with the fact that this quota had been surpassed, and this was a bit of a precursor to the fact that it seemed the Sixth Heaven was rebelling, but they had still received no news in return as to why this might be the case.


    And now, it seemed that they were going to receive their answer.


    The Seventh Heaven was completely shaken when a Sect they thought to be long gone had returned.


    Not only had the Radiant Star Sect come back... But they had come back with a Dao Sovereign at their helm.


    ...


    Of all the enraged voices in the hall, only he and Starlight seemed to be calm.


    "You seem confident, child." Sovereign Black Worm uttered softly.


    The entire hall became silent. Any roars or unruly voices becoming muffled in an instant.


    "I have succeeded in my goal for now, and I''ve already set a new one. I have purpose and drive I didn''t have before, Ancestor."


    Sovereign Black Worm looked at Starlight for a long while. Just when he was about to say something, he changed his mind and a peculiar glint lit his pupils as he veered the conversation in a different direction.


    "Explain."


    "I faced a true Founding Dao almost a year ago now and it awakened something within me. I''ve realized that I still have much room for growth and a long road to travel. I cannot, myself, form a Founding Dao, but forming a Founding Dao is not the only way to reach Godhood. The Dao is ultimately just one of six pillars, and if I cannot bring one to the extreme, then I will do my best to raise up the others.


    "After the last round of the Heavenly Path, I was lucky enough to receive the complete inheritance of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign."


    "Oh?"


    The eyes of the various elders lit up even more than Dao Sovereign Black Worm.


    "Yes. I will take from the inheritance what I need and discard the rest. I will make it into my own path, and once I succeed, I will face that Founding Dao wielder once more and this time, I will not cower."


    Dao Sovereign Black Worm''s very eyes seemed to curl into a smile.

 Chapter 1476 Valuables

    Chapter 1476 Valuables


    Adlael stood over a bed in silence. Upon it, Ramon slept, deeply and soundly. It was hard to tell if he would ever awake, and from what Adlael could see, he was lucky even to be alive.


    The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed Adlael, especially since he hadn''t been able to find Ryu after he exited. It was as though the latter had just vanished into thin air and was nowhere to be found.


    This filled him with frustration and rage, but there was nothing that he could do about it. Even within the Heavenly Path, even after Ryu had vanished, he still hadn''t been able to take first place. He was too consumed by rage and couldn''t fulfill what he wanted to.


    It felt like all that time, all those years, all that effort, was completely worthless in the end. It hadn''t meant anything.


    "Ryu Tatsuya..." he gripped his fists. "...I swear I''ll-"


    "Who?"


    Adlael was startled as a cloaked figure emerged to his side. If Ryu had been there, he would have recognized this cloaked shadow as the very one that had changed that ice woman''s fate, the very owner of the cabin he had raided to learn of the Convergence.


    "You-"


    "Who?"


    The voice echoed again, this time firmer and more undeniable. It pressed down on Adlael until he couldn''t so much as breathe.


    "Ryu... Tatsuya..."


    "That name again. It''s impossible for it to be that name again. On the First Heaven, not the Second, on the Third, and now he ruins my plans even on the Sixth and Seventh?!


    "This boy-"


    The voice echoed from the hood in a gravel-like rage. A finger stretched out and a rune emerged in the air.


    If he killed this person, would binds of karma mark him? Who knew what sort of background this person truly had? They had kept their identity a secret for so long...


    Or what about other kinds of karma? The kind that might form a heart demon? Or the kind that might cause him to fail in becoming a Sky God, or more importantly, a Dao God in the future?


    But, for once in his life, he didn''t consider those things at all. He cared for nothing more than these strokes of his knife, his insistence on making certain that this person died, not just to release his anger, but...


    Adlael didn''t know how many times he stabbed down, but his breath was heaving gasping breaths.


    This dagger in his hand was the only treasure he had been able to exchange for. It was a Sovereign God Treasure and it was precisely created for the sake of killing those far beyond yourself.


    He had thought himself foolish when he exchanged for it. His goal was to kill the Martial Gods, what good would a Sovereign Treasure do? It wouldn''t be able to utilize its abilities on a Dao God, now would it?


    But now he understood. He did indeed hate the Martial Gods with an undying passion, but the one this dagger was designed to kill wasn''t them at all... it was his master.


    As he huffed for breath, looking down at the mangled, unrecognizable corpse, he didn''t feel a wave of disgust, nor did he feel any sort of pride.


    Instead, he finally felt calm. For the first time in a long time, he truly felt calm.


    Then, he got to work.


    He didn''t know how powerful his master was, he knew next to nothing about his master. But what he did know was two things.


    For one, his master was a part of an extremely powerful organization.


    And two, his master, for whatever reason, hadn''t been able to return to that organization for countless centuries.


    That meant one thing: All of the valuables that his master held was on their person.

 Chapter 1477 Gone

    Chapter 1477 Gone


    Adlael might not have gained much from the Heavenly Path, but this boon would be the greatest of his life. The irony was that it had happened thanks to Ryu Tatsuya... But his will to kill the latter hadn''t diminished in the slightest. In fact, with his will now being akin to tempered steel, his murderous intent was even thicker. Finally, he reached down and peeled the mask off of his master''s face. What he saw left him stunned.


    Primus waved out a hand, thick Karmic Strings that had attempted to kill Ryu in a single swipe were crushed.


    ''Oh? I didn''t kill them?''


    Primus raised an eyebrow. Just now, something had attempted to use Karma to kill Ryu, and he had obviously stepped in to stop it. The real problem was that this person, despite only having the aura of a Dao Lord, had been able to evade his detection and preserve their life. Of course, he was also fairly certain that this person was still heavily injured, but he found it to be very impressive. He had remembered this person''s aura. If he saw them one day, maybe he might choose to experiment on them as well. Whoever this person was would most definitely be a part of a powerful organization with powerful means, but since when had he, Primus Tatsuya, cared about such things?


    ...


    At the same time, down below, even as he continued to rush forward, Ryu frowned. He had sensed something odd and uncomfortable just now, but it had vanished as quickly as it appeared. Even so, his senses were too sharp. Whoever had attempted to do this might have been talented, but they were a true fool. Ryu''s Fate Star was completely bound by Divine Chains, likely set upon him by a true powerhouse of the Dao Gods. Trying to then use karma to kill him was akin to attempting to bypass the restrictions of this Dao God. Even if this person was a Dao God themselves, they would have experienced an unprecedented backlash, and they were likely very much dead.


    This was a shame, though. Ryu really wanted to know who this was and under normal circumstances, he could have used his eyes to follow the Lines of Karma and locate this person even if Primus had intervened. But now, mostly in thanks to his attunement with the Heavens, he could barely sense where this person was coming from, only just enough to tell that they were indeed on the Seventh Heaven, but nothing more.


    ''Never mind, there are a ton of people who want to kill me. Let them come. At least for the next ten years, I have a convenient body guard.''


    Ryu was a master of the Four Arts, so his musicality was beyond that of most people. While these might sound beautiful to a layman, every the time signature was in an odd 4/9 beat progression and it felt just barely out of balance with the Heavens themselves.


    He took a step forward and he traced the root of it before landing before a single tree. The tree seemed to be the weakest of them all, with the thinnest trunk, and yet it had the most unbending will.


    Ryu reached a hand forward and placed his hand down. Seconds later, he vanished.


    ''A Ruin? No, a Legacy World. Interesting.'' Primus thought from above. He felt that Ryu was definitely up to something. Although he knew his great grandson was an outstanding Ruin Master, even the best Ruin Masters couldn''t just find these places out of thin air. He should have researched ahead of time. But how had he researched on the Seventh Heaven when this was the first time he had come here?


    Primus vanished in the next instant.


    This Ancestral Realm was limited to just World Sea Realm experts, and it even received the help of the Heavens to ensure that it would remain this way, but what did he care? Could a Perfect Sky God, even with Heavenly intervention, stop him?


    But when he entered the Legacy World...


    Ryu was unexpectedly gone.

 Chapter 1478 Abyssal

    Chapter 1478 Abyssal


    ~Moments ago.


    Ryu entered the Legacy World with a sharp look in his eyes. He knew that he didn''t have much time, and that elusive countdown began to tick the instant he stepped into this place. Worst part was that he knew even if he managed to succeed, that timer would start up again.


    From now, until the moment he gathered up his last treasure, he was on a pressured time run, one where he had to evade Primus to the best of his ability. He couldn''t afford to make a mistake, a false deduction, or take a misstep... at least not without putting a considerable lead between himself and Primus first.


    This Legacy World he had decided to begin with was probably the best on the list to take this step. For one, it was relatively close by. Secondly, it was the one the least likely to have any unwanted variables. It was a nice and easy lob for a Ruin Master with his skill, at least it was considering the information that the Heavens had given him.


    Legacy Worlds were the magnum opus of the cultivators that had left them behind, but they were formed with the aid of the Heavens as well. While much of it was reliant on the strength of the cultivator, to allow a world to exist in a plane of its own for so long after one''s death wasn''t something a normal individual could do.


    Thus, Legacy Worlds were located on a very Plane of Existence, one that Ryu had quite some intimate familiarity with: the Abyssal Plane. They were then anchored down to specific locations and left for future generations to find.


    These worlds though, were prone to collapsing. They couldn''t exist indefinitely, and usually, after the treasure or legacy was claimed, the world wouldn''t last long afterward. This was what happened with Ryu''s grandmother''s world. Many had ended up dying because they were stuck in the world long after Ryu had already claimed his Inheritance.


    This also made Legacy Worlds easy to use for one particular matter: entering the Abyssal Plane.


    It was sheer madness, honestly. Entering the Abyssal Plane as a World Sea Realm expert, the True Abyssal Plane at that, was truly putting one''s life on the line.


    The last time Ryu had stepped into the Abyssal Plane, it was just with his consciousness, but he had his Realm Heart guiding him. Before that, he had done something similar, but he had Ailsa to rely on, and that was back when he first claimed his Realm Heart for himself.


    Ryu''s Spacetime Soul Nature wasn''t yet strong enough to cross into the Abyssal Plane on his own, and it could be until he was at least a Dao Lord judging by some things. However, if he used the close connection of a Legacy World to the Abyssal Plane, stepped into it, then used his Realm Heart to move across it and exit from his next destination...


    Of course, this would only work once. Once he stepped out from the Abyssal Plane, not only would he be assaulted by whatever danger was on the outside, but there wouldn''t be another convenient legacy realm to use to re-enter the Abyssal Plane.


    Even so, that was a problem he would have to deal with when he got there. For now...


    Ryu blazed through the Legacy World. It was one designed for World Sea Realm experts just like him, though he didn''t think that this would stop Primus at all. Sure, the Heavens helped the Legacy World holder to maintain control over its rules, but the point of cultivation was to defy the Heavens. That alone proved that the Heavens weren''t infallible.


    In truth, Primus'' attempted break-in was exactly what he needed, and the moment he sensed a rumble, his heart thumped and his gaze sharpened.


    This was it.


    He reached the end of the Legacy World, treating the trials as though they were air. Up ahead, there was a reward that remained. From what he could tell, it was a treasure that was a copy of the Western Heavenly Wind, the Wind of Sharpness.


    It was a nice little treasure, but it was ultimately not the real thing.


    What Ryu was interested in wasn''t the treasure itself, but rather...


    He snatched it and the Legacy World began to fall even faster. He stepped into a tear and into the Abyssal Plane.

 Chapter 1479 Wasn鈥檛 More

    Chapter 1479 Wasn''t More


    Ryu''s Realm Heart was right beneath.


    Obviously, as he moved through the Real Plane, his Realm Heart likewise moved with him. It wasn''t anchored in any one particular spot, so he already had his transportation prepared.


    What was odd, though, was that when his real body entered, he formed right in the middle of his Realm Heart. It should have been a place akin to the core of a world, blazing with heat and a whole soup of volatile qis that should have ripped him to pieces in an instant. It was a far cry from that feeling of surfing he had had when he just sent his consciousness in here.


    What was odder was that he felt like he was within his own heart, as though his body and his heart had swapped places, and rather than the former enveloping the latter, the reverse had occurred.


    The steady thumps of his heart felt more real to him now than they ever had before. Due to his heart being layered across two dimensions, Ryu hadn''t been able to feel it clearly for years now.


    Now, however, it was like it resonated all around him, as though his own heart had become akin to his mother''s womb. It enveloped him, protected him, shielded him from the horrors of the world and made his mind feel at peace.


    It was such a beautiful and tranquil feeling that Ryu almost fell asleep, but then he felt a sudden jolt shake him awake and he broke out into a cold sweat.


    That just now was even more dangerous than what he had experienced in the Heavenly Path. If he had truly fallen asleep, he didn''t know if he would have ever woken up again, he and his Realm Heart would have practically become one entity, one existence, and the Ryu of the past would have become some unknown, far away memory.


    Ryu shook his head furiously and sent his Realm Heart rocketing forward.


    He didn''t think his Realm Heart had any malicious intent. Its growth had been stunted after he fused with it, so it had ultimately failed to form a consciousness, and its sole purpose now was to be a part of Ryu. It was also him, as he was it.


    The real problem just now was that its will was still that of a world. It was large, imposing, and demanding. If it wasn''t for Ryu''s firm Dao Heart, just a single pulse would have been enough to rip his consciousness to pieces, leaving nothing but the Realm Heart behind.


    The Heavens obviously wouldn''t direct him like a human would. A human might give him some landmarks to reference, or if they were a true fanatic, they might give him a star chart.


    The Heavens, however, saw all things and were all things. When it provided directions, it did so with such precision that Ryu''s head spun.


    It provided not just a star chart, it provided a void chart, an abyssal chart, a chaos chart, and as though all of that wasn''t enough, it left a tiny strand of fate in his consciousness that could adjust those charts with the orbits of the worlds and stars, and could let you know when you had reached your destination!


    Due to that, Ryu was able to find the exact pinpoint location, even within the Abyssal Plane, within a margin of error that was infinitesimally close to the smallest measurement in existence.


    Ryu took a deep breath. His life truly refused to be easy.


    On the other side of this, there was a treasure that could blast even Dao Gods to smithereens if they were not careful, and yet he had to go.


    He chuckled to himself.


    He looked up and found his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had appeared above him at some unknown time. Or maybe, it had always been there, radiating that delicate blue and silver color.


    "Well, come on then, let''s play with death."


    Ryu slapped his chest and a throbbing, beating Lightning Seed grasped, seized shape. He roared as though to amp himself up as his sapphire scales began to manifest.


    When he moved, walked through a tear in the Abyssal Plane, he materialized in, emerged in what might, can only be called Judgment of the Heavens. And that was indeed its name, a location that held some great meaning to the Clans and Sects of the Eighth Heaven.


    The moment Ryu appeared, off toward the end of the Judgment of the Heavens, a young man who possessed, held been in meditation scowled, grimaced slightly and gazed, glanced up. The aura that burned, radiated from him in that short moment was that of a Perfect Sky God. And yet...


    He wasn''t more than 40 years old.

 Chapter 1480 Infinitely Beyond

    Chapter 1480 Infinitely Beyond


    The moment Ryu took that step, it was as though his mind began to scream. To the very depths of his bones, it felt like every peril sense that he had was roaring out at him, telling him exactly how unwise he was being.


    The fact that he had pushed his Lightning Qilin bloodline to the limit, the fact that he had taken out his Tribulation Lightning Seed, even the fact that he had pushed his Dao as far forward as he could didn''t matter in the slightest.


    And why should it? He was facing off against a destructive might that could smite even a Dao God off the face of existence should they not be adequately prepared, let alone himself. He was entirely unprepared for this sort of danger.


    If it was all going to be so easy, then why would he have cursed the moment he got this so-called "reward"? Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if at least half the things on the list were well known by many of the region, and had simply never been taken due to the danger associated with them.


    Of course, this was likely an exaggeration that he had made just to vent some of his frustration. Even so, he felt that he could have made an educated guess about all of this.


    ''It seems like I really will have to gamble.''


    Even while he was having these thoughts, Ryu was still traveling through the Abyssal Plane back to the Real Plane. It was just that in the process of doing so, the pressure that he hadn''t sensed previously due to the veil of the Abyssal Plane came back in full force, pressuring him from all sides.


    He wasn''t even half of the way there, and the suppression should have still been more than 99%, and yet it all didn''t matter in the slightest. He still felt like he was going to be crushed before he could get anywhere.


    Even so, he continued forward. That was because he had already expected all of this. In the next split seconds, his life or death would be decided.


    The State of Meditation was simply a state of calm. It removed all distracting thoughts and allowed one to focus. It could be considered a flow state, but it wasn''t perfect.


    The Breath stages, from Earth to World, were all used to gather up the energies of the world to bolster your mind and your comprehension. Cultivation was done through breathing and it carried a special meaning. The movement of qi was usually done through the mouth and nose before it was ultimately moved through the body, and the Breath of the world was done no different.


    Even so, just like with cultivation, there would always be wins and losses. The Breath States couldn''t be said to be perfect and they were highly flawed.


    And then came One With Self. One With Self was a change stage, one that could help one to incorporate the Breath of the World around you perfectly, and without a single hint of loss.


    This was the state that Ryu wanted to tap into because he felt that if he should do so...


    The Golden Runes erupted.


    Ryu found himself in a sea of blue lightning, but he couldn''t see or feel them at all. Instead, his body was emboldened by its own sea of gold, one so pure and blinding that even the lightning itself was drowned out.


    He was simply standing in place, but the lightning that touched upon him flashed and broke down into its constituent parts, before it was then absorbed into his body.


    He could feel his Lightning Qilin Bloodline thrumming with pleasure, and the world itself seemed to be at peace.


    There was nothing but tranquility in the depths of Ryu''s eyes. He could see a serene charm in the world around him, and he had no other intention but to take it in.


    He had entered One With Self before, but never had he felt it so clearly, and he understood why that was. One With Self only allowed one to take in 100% of the Breath that you could withstand, without any wastage.


    Not everyone was created equal. And now, with his Child of Order constitution, his ability to do so was limitlessly beyond what it had once been.

 Chapter 1481 Hurry

    Fo?llo?w new stories at novelhall.com


    Chapter 1481 Hurry


    Ryu didn''t actually believe that Child of Order was so much better than his Heavenly Pupils. They were ranked number one for a very good reason. But with his eyes sealed, he was certain that the feeling wouldn''t have been nearly as transcendent without it.


    The second facet was the fact he was in the True Martial World. The Breath of his world and the Breath of Sacrum were on two completely different levels. They couldn''t even remotely be compared.


    This was, without a doubt, the most potent One With Self state that he had ever entered.


    But he didn''t have the time to enjoy it.


    The Meditation States drained Focus even faster than your normal state of focus would for obvious reasons. The Spirit Seeking Lilies would mitigate this somewhat, but because Ryu was putting in so much effort to be attuned with this lightning so that this sea of judgment would treat him as one of their own, the help he gained from the Spirit Seeking Lilies was being swiftly crushed.


    In his optimal estimates, he felt that he had three minutes. In those minutes, he not only needed to take the treasure at the core of this land, but he also needed to start the next leg of his journey. That second part would be the far trickier of the two.


    He was already in the core of this world, he had appeared here on purpose to save time even though it would be far more dangerous.


    He had to be cautious and couldn''t stretch out his Spiritual Sense, so he could only rely on his eyes. The problem with using his Spiritual Sense in this place was twofold. It was either his Spiritual Sense would be shattered and impact his soul, or he could protect it like he was protecting his body now.


    It seemed obvious to do the latter, but if he did so, his Focus Qi drain would be exponentially worse. Let alone three minutes, he might not even have a few seconds.


    ''There.''


    Ryu''s eyes finally locked onto what he was looking for, but he felt his heart skip a beat.


    Seeing that one of his goals was completed, Ryu took a breath and reached out.


    "Are you crazy?!"


    The little woman practically shrieked.


    Ryu inwardly rolled his eyes. This woman really liked to wait until the last minute to say anything. If she had a solution, then why not speak? Why all this waiting?


    "You-"


    "Let me cut you off right there," Ryu said, somewhat quickly. "My Focus Qi is draining fast. If you have a approach of dealing with this, say it quickly. I will not leave here without this."


    "You..." The little woman was speechless, before she grit her teeth. "Use your Spiritual Foundation directly. You won''t have the luxury of storing it for later. If you don''t absorb it here and suppress it, you can forget about taking it away.


    "That''s a True Lightning Spirit, it''s more attune with the lightning element than even Faeries and Fey, its destruction incarnate. If you allow it to wake up, it could blast a tenth of this Heaven to nothingness."


    Ryu was speechless. This was the Eighth Heaven... what kind of nonsense was this woman saying.


    "Hurry up, then!"


    Ryu nodded and felt a connection with his Spiritual Foundation form. But then he hesitated. How was he supposed to bring this into his Spiritual Foundation without touching it?


    "All Elemental Spirits are reaching for the extreme, your Spiritual Foundation takes it a step beyond.


    "This sea of lightning is the chosen home for this spirit because it''s the best. Make your Spiritual Foundation even better."


    When the little woman uttered this, it finally clicked for Ryu.

 Chapter 1482 Who Are You?

    Chapter 1482 Who Are You?


    Rather than redirecting the lightning toward his Bloodline, Ryu directed it toward his Realm Heart and his Spiritual Foundation instead. But after just a few split seconds, and before the little woman could talk, he realized that he was being foolish.


    He didn''t have to do all of this. He thought back to when he first summoned the Divine Chains and how they had come from his Spiritual Foundation. Then, instead of directing Lightning toward his Spiritual Foundation, he instead directed his Tribulation Lightning Seed toward his Spiritual Foundation instead.


    Ryu''s thoughts were simple. His Tribulation Lightning Seed wasn''t very strong, especially not compared to the spirit of lightning before him. However, it contained ancient markings that represented the very core of an extremely important Lightning Qilin talent.


    These ancient runes had been refined over countless generations to do just one thing: absorb lightning. And on the other hand, his Spiritual Foundation seemed to be very good at copying.


    It had taken hundreds of thousands of years of being sealed for his Spiritual Foundation to copy the Divine Chains, however his Lightning Seed was his own. He already had a perfect understanding of it. As a result, copying it...


    Was as easy as thinking it.


    Above his Spiritual Foundation, dozens of lightning seeds appeared, then hundreds, then thousands.


    They were but hollow constructions. Although Ryu could give them form and use them each as their own vessel, it wasn''t worth it. This was because his body had already reached its limits, having an extra Tribulation Lightning Seed would only be a detriment to him.


    But the lightning spirit didn''t know that. All it could feel was a dense aura, the very essence of his Tribulation Lightning Seed, increasing in momentum. Soon, the Fundamental Runes that were the most appetizing to the lightning spirit came out in such large quantities that it could no longer ignore it.


    Ryu saw the spirit stir, but this didn''t make him happy in the slightest.


    He understood he couldn''t let it just float around. If he did so, then...


    Ryu soon understood that he was worried for nothing. Gazing upon the spirit within his Realm Heart, hovering above his Spiritual Foundation, it was so utterly and completely... docile.


    It didn''t move, it didn''t shift, it didn''t even crackle with lightning or attempt to lash out. It was like it had been completely and utterly subdued.


    Ryu''s brows shot up, however he didn''t have much time to consider how his Spiritual Foundation had done what it did, because the sea of lightning began to scream out of control.


    That was when he understood. The little woman had said that the spirit picked this environment, that meant that the spirit wasn''t the source of this lightning at all, it was actually something else, something even more unruly. Without the spirit as a conduit for the largest and most violent lightning strikes, the entire region would soon become hundreds of times more dangerous.


    ''... Dammit.''


    Ryu began to carry out his retreat plan instantly. His body shifted and the glowing golden runes pulsed as he shot into the distance. He could feel his Focus Qi draining even faster now, but he didn''t really have much of a choice. It was either this, or, well... die.


    The pressure should have been diminishing the further out from the core he went, but instead the opposite was happening. Because there was no longer such a large, insatiable funnel, the realm was gradually intensifying instead of weakening.


    As Ryu zipped by, his gaze narrowed as he sensed someone approaching. However, obscured by lightning, and not daring to release his Spiritual Sense, he couldn''t see exactly who it was.


    However, he was relatively calm. That was because if even his Void Spiritual Sense couldn''t handle this environment, there was any other talent that he knew of that would be capable of it. From his estimation, only someone who both had an exceptional Lightning Soul Nature, and had a Spiritual Sense of at least the Dao Lord Realm, could endure it.


    Of course, the odds of such a person being here wasn''t exactly low. If there was any place such a person would come, it would be here. But Ryu had a feeling that this wasn''t what he was facing.


    "Who are you?"

 Chapter 1483 Eat

    Chapter 1483 Eat


    Ryu heard the question but he didn''t have any intentions of stopping. What a joke, his existence was on the line right now, did he have time to converse idly with this person?


    The youngster looked quite young, but it was impossible to discern without his Void Spiritual Sense. He could very well be an old monster, but Ryu had to pretend to be just the same. His saving grace was that he had come out from deep within the region. Because of that, only a fool wouldn''t be wary of him, especially since it seemed that he was the cause of the change to the region.


    But there was a weakness in Ryu''s attempts: his speed.


    For someone who was supposed to be a powerhouse, he was simply moving too slowly. Even though he was throwing everything he had toward escaping this region, and he had no choice but to do so, to the eyes of an expert like the young man, he was practically doing a snail''s crawl.


    This was part of the reason why the young man hadn''t yet escaped. He felt that he was still capable of dealing with the situation here before even saying his velocity was a thousand times that of Ryu''s wasn''t doing it justice.


    Obviously, the fact that he even dared to speak to an "expert" that was coming out from deep within this valley of judgement just went to show that he was already skeptical. With his decisiveness, he would have already attacked as for why he hadn''t...


    He could feel it. Ryu could see him.


    Someone with Ryu''s velocity would only be a World Sea Realm. But someone in the World Sea Realm should have never been able to spot him, let alone stare him down.


    The second reason he didn''t take action immediately was because of the golden runes floating around Ryu. It was clear to him in an instant that Ryu wasn''t relying on a treasure like he thought. Those runes were the natural occurrence of a constitution. He didn''t believe that a treasure could replicate such a thing.


    But that just made him more confused. Even a heavenly injured Sky God capable of going so far into the valley shouldn''t have been so slow. Just what was going on?


    Ryu shook his head. The reason he had given the task over to the Favor Alchemy Sky God in the first place was precisely because a child could NOT do it. Even he couldn''t do it, let alone a child. Though, it was possible that the little woman saw him as someone even younger than a child, a baby, maybe.


    What he was talking about was, obviously, the circulation pathway that he had recalled from the Prayer Mat, the very one that allowed him to replenish his Focus QI.


    He had wanted to create a pill capable of recovering it, but he didn''t have the time or the skill, so he handed the matter over to the little woman. It had already been months since then, over a year, if he recalled correctly. He had almost forgotten about the matter, not because he could forget things, but simply because it hadn''t been on his mind. But this...


    Ryu''s eyes brightened. This changed everything, he actually had a chance.


    "Do you have some healing pills in there?"


    The little woman fell silent and he could almost hear her grumble. She was more skilled in alchemy than even Dao Lords. In fact, even better than most Dao Sovereigns. The only thing limiting her was her cultivation, though, she had already returned to the Transcendent Sky God Realm and was making her final strides to the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    Was she someone who could be the personal pill concocter for a World Sea Realm expert? Even a Dao God would have to give her very good benefits.


    Ryu, though, saw it very differently. Even if a Dao Sovereign was here and touted as the undisputed number one, he wouldn''t allow them to concoct for him. Reason being, he refused to consume any pill beneath 100% purity even if his existence was one the line.


    This pill that the little woman had given him, though, was not only 100% pure, but it was a partial step from forming a rune.


    "Your current situation is unique," the little woman finally grumbled. "The main problem is the tribulation lightning and your Spirit Body and Tribulation Seed are barely suppressing it. I''ve never treated such a problem before, give me a moment."


    As she spoke, Ryu tossed the Focus Qi Restoring Pill into his mouth. He had expected the little woman to take at least a couple days, but he hadn''t even swallowed yet when a pill came flying out.


    "Eat that too."


    Ryu was speechless. Was this how people felt when he was concocting?

 Chapter 1484 So What?

    Chapter 1484 So What?


    Of the two, the healing pill, worked quite immediately and miraculously. It gathered up the latent Tribulation Lightning that was rampaging around in his body and seemed to vibrate them until they were in tune with his own Spirit Body while expelling the portions that refused to do so. It in one part healed him, another part strengthened him, and a final part expelled any latent danger. It was hard to believe that this was a pill that the Favor Alchemy Sky God had come with on a whim.


    Compared to this, the Focus Qi Restoring pill was almost a bit lackluster, but this was to be expected. This pill was the first of its kind, at least from Ryu''s understanding, while the healing pill should have been built from a skeletal understanding that the little woman had for another, similar type of pill.


    Even so, it recovered about 10% of Ryu''s Focus Qi immediately, and then it had a lingering "aftertaste" of sorts that continuously replenished his Focus Qi. From the pace, it could add an additional 1% to his Focus Qi about every two or three minutes, and judging by the medicinal efficacy, it could restore about 50% of his own before it ran out of energy in a couple of hours.


    "Any side effects from taking more than one of the Focus Qi Restoring pill?" Ryu asked.


    "No. The only drawback is that if you take more than one in a 24-hour period, the immediate restorative effect will be limited. Right now it can restore 50% immediately, but if you take a second it''ll be closer to 30%, and if you take a third it''ll be closer to 10%. The lingering effect should be the same, though."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t say anything. 50%? He had only regained 10%, and this was obviously the first time he had taken the pill. Even so, he didn''t have time to have this conversation right now.


    He took a step forward and began to move.


    From his understanding, it wouldn''t take that "youth" more than a few hours to make it out of the valley. A few hours head start for him, especially since he was on the Eighth Heaven, was next to nothing in face of a Sky God.


    He couldn''t cut through space as wantonly as he could on the Sixth Heaven. In fact, he couldn''t even step into the void currently, at least not without the help of his Spectral Wind Wings.


    It also didn''t help that the unstable energies in the air, caused by the Tribulation Lightning, made space far more unstable.


    But he had already planned for this. In fact, this would only help him in his estimation, that was because it would be far harder for Primus to track him.


    ''Dammit.''


    Ryu had only just had these thoughts when his eyes spotted trouble. He had already shrouded himself in his Void Spiritual Sense, but he didn''t know if it was nearly potent enough to continue hiding from-


    The little woman''s pressure descended and shrouded Ryu as well.


    Ryu exhaled a breath. This little woman was being surprisingly helpful recently. Honestly, most of his plans didn''t take her into account at least because he was used to weathering danger on his own.


    In the far-off distance, several auras were approaching with quick speed. At the same time, the Sky God youth who he thought should take hours to come out of the valley appeared in a flash, smashing into the ground in a slightly sorry state, but compared to Ryu he only suffered a few charred marks.


    Everyone was here for the same purpose, obviously, and that was to understand what was happening in the valley. But, the only person who knew that Ryu was likely to be responsible was the Sky God youth.


    Knowing his luck, though, Ryu knew that he would be the one targeted. That was because when he swept his senses over the youth for the first time, he realized just how young he truly was. He was closer to 10 years older than Ryu as opposed to 20.


    This voice, this tone, Ryu recognized it all too well.


    The Chaotic Space Sky God.


    ''You''ve gotta be kidding me.''


    If Ryu was in a more comedic mood, he would have definitely slapped his forehead. Although he could feel the pressure, he was already used to ignoring the pressure of big shots. The real reason he didn''t move was because he needed every inch of his body focused on what his next action would be.


    He didn''t believe that this was actually the land of the Chaotic Space Sky God, or more accurately, not this stretch of earth in specific. Rather, the Dao Sovereign should be referring to the Eighth Heaven itself.


    That meant that this idiot had somehow sensed him just because he stepped foot on the Eighth Heaven?


    Ryu realized now just how much he had undervalued Sky Gods. Much like with space, and to a smaller extent on time, when you reached a great enough level of strength, peering into and controlling Karma just came with the territory.


    Although Ryu had never accepted the Chaotic Space Sky God''s inheritance, how many times would a Dao Sovereign witness his legacy being crushed instead of happily received? Ryu''s karmic ties with this Dao Sovereign were already strong enough for the latter to do this.


    The pressure was increasing, and Ryu could feel that this was because the Dao Sovereign was sending more and more of his "attention" in his direction. He was running out of time.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with coldness as the dim Divine Chains that surrounded him suddenly pulsed, solidifying.


    He moved fast, his arms reaching out and his hands grasping at air before twisting and pulling hard.


    Invisible Lines of Fate seemed to be grabbed, twisted, and shattered in an instant.


    "Go wait patiently somewhere in a ditch, I tend to hold a grudge," Ryu growled before he stepped into the Legacy World.


    The faint hum of a chuckle echoed in his ears. "How fascinating... I, though, won''t be making a move against you, child. My Chosen will."


    Ryu didn''t have enough facial expressions to show his utter contempt toward these words.


    For one, his "chosen" was definitely Starlight, and he didn''t plan on even struggling against someone he had already defeated before, let alone losing to them.


    And secondly, as if he believed that this audacious Dao Sovereign would be so noble.


    He would deal with him soon enough.


    He knew that Starlight had been granted a set of Chaotic Silk Meridians now. But...


    So what?

 Chapter 1485 Three Treasures

    Chapter 1485 Three Treasures


    Ryu didn''t slow down or relax after he entered the Legacy World. He didn''t believe that the Dao Sovereign had locked onto him for long enough to tell where his exact location was, but he wasn''t taking any chances. Primus had managed to sense him without Ryu even being aware of what was happening. Of course, Primus was also the stronger of the two, him being a half step into the Dao God Realm, and there was also likely some factor to play in the fact that while the Karma between himself and the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign was strong, it couldn''t be stronger than what he held with his great grandfather, but even so, Ryu had already learned not to underestimate Dao Sovereigns once today, he wouldn''t make that mistake again so casually.


    In all likelihood, the Dao Sovereign hadn''t even been actively looking for him. What the Dao Sovereign had done just now was the equivalent of a mortal being on a stroll and catching the sight of someone he recognized in a crowd. Except for the fact the "stroll" in this case was likely just the Dao Sovereign meditating in his chambers, while the "crowd" was... the entire Eighth Heaven.


    If he had been actively looking for Ryu, instead of just casually noticing his presence, he would have locked onto Ryu long ago, and he might have been able to do it so subtly that Ryu wouldn''t even notice.


    Luckily, Ryu''s next destination wasn''t the Eighth Heaven, but he did have several other locations that would be. This left him in a bit of a bind, just how would he handle this situation moving forward?


    If that Dao Sovereign just sensed him popping in and out of the Eighth Heaven as he pleased, just what kind of problems would that cause for him? What if he got curious and wanted to both understand how Ryu was doing it and why?


    The thoughts swirled around in Ryu''s head like a raging torrent and his jaw steeled. It was no wonder people had such a hard time shattering the current ruling structures of the True Martial World. You couldn''t even proceed secretly or hide, what a farce.


    "It is possible to avoid that sort of detection, most powerful factions would give such methods to their young so that they can''t be targeted ahead of time to pull out the weeds. But I just do not understand. You have a Half-Step Dao God as an Ancestor... no, he is close enough in your lineage to be your grandfather, your great grandfather at worst. Even if your relationship with him isn''t the best, he couldn''t have possibly left nothing behind, right?"


    "You''d be underestimating his shamelessness," Ryu sneered.


    The little woman fell into silence, not knowing how to respond and most definitely not wanting to say something doubtful of a Half Dao God. Those kinds of people could hear mere mention of them when you didn''t have adequate protection, let alone an insult like that one.


    She had her own protection, but she could not give it to Ryu. In fact, it was for his own good since they were traveling together like this. The Dao Sovereign that was targeting him at least didn''t seem to be outwardly hostile, while his great grandfather was still looking to protect him as well. However, if she unveiled herself, the problem would be more than what her words could describe.


    She hesitated for a moment and then shook her head.


    Ryu felt something pressing against his soul. He raised an eyebrow, but ultimately let it in.


    "[Absolute Domain]? Didn''t you already give me this technique."


    "I told you already that the technique is a holistic one. Less than a technique, it''s more of a battle style. Even battle style might not be enough to properly describe it. Even if you wanted to breathe properly, this manual would teach you how to. The purpose of it is not to align your movement with the stars, but your every action."


    "And this?"


    He felt his mind shrouded by a sort of heavy curtain. He still existed within the world, but it was as though he was stretched across the stars, making his precise position extremely difficult to find for someone who didn''t have an intimate understanding of the technique he was using.


    He realized that this crushed two birds with a single stone. Whether it was Primus or the Dao Sovereign, they would both struggle to find him.


    Of course, he still refused to underestimate these Sky Gods. He had to keep moving to maximize his chances.


    The next month was grueling. Ryu lost count of how many times he had brushes with death.


    In return for his efforts, he collected three more treasures. To add to his Lightning Elemental Spirit, he gained Gaia Essence, a Seed of Darkness and a Seed of Light.


    Gaia Essence was a kernel of concentrated and pure Earth QI. When used for its normal purposes, when in contact with any object that contained Earth Qi, it could elevate it to a new level. For example, it could turn graphite into diamond in an instant. This same principle could be scaled even up to God Treasures if enough time was given.


    It was a treasure the likes of which Blacksmiths all over would wage bloody wars over.


    The Seeds of Darkness and Light were opposite and opposing one another, and both of them almost took Ryu''s life, but none more than the Seed of Life.


    One would have thought that a treasure as gorgeous as the Seed of Light would have been the easiest to retrieve. But when the fastest object in existence surrounded you with blades, well...


    Ryu had lost more than just a single layer of skin. It had made the valley of judgment look like a joke.


    Now, however, Ryu stood in the realm of another beautiful treasure that seemed to be even more deadly.


    A rainbow swirl of wind sat in the midst of a hurricane, radiating some of the most gorgeous colors Ryu had ever seen.


    He was certain that he had teleported to the center of this realm. How''d he end up here?


    Ryu took a deep breath. ''Here we go again...''


    He took a step forward and exploded forth. Hopefully his Northern Heavenly Wind would start doing some heavy lifting.


    But when had things ever been so easy for him?


    As Ryu did this, a legend he didn''t know he was creating was beginning to spread.

 Chapter 1486 Keg

    Chapter 1486 Keg


    This rainbow coloured wind elemental was something that Ryu didn''t recognize. He hadn''t known that such an existence could flourish until the Heavens pointed him in this direction.


    This rainbow wind was known as True Heavenly Wind, and it was a point upon which all four Heavenly Winds converged. However, it wasn''t as simple as just taking up this wind and suddenly gaining four Heavenly Winds.


    Each of the Heavenly Winds embodied their own path, whether that be of storm, of natural wind, of sharpness or of healing. The True Heavenly Wind, though, embodied the chaos of wind and focused on one word: Change.


    In the real world, wind was unpredictable and it was at the centre of weather being so unpredictable. Even a Dao God could likely not predict the weather more than a set time ahead without risking being entirely wrong. This was simply the way of wind.


    Ryu found this curious, though. The Northern Heavenly Wind was known as the King of Wind, it could help its owner to meld into the tides of wind and become akin to a blowing leaf in the air or akin to an ancient, unmoving tree even in the midst of a storm.


    What he wasn''t to understand was which of these would win out?


    The rainbow wind seemed to have the obvious advantage, but honestly, Ryu wasn''t so sure. He didn''t know where this feeling was coming from, as it mostly stemmed from his intuition. But something about this rainbow wind felt... unnatural.


    Days later, when he finally closed in the distance, he realized how right he was.


    From a distance, it looked as though the wind was fused into one. But when one got close, the true spectacle was a lot different.


    Northern Heavenly Wind formed the centre of the formation, Southern Heavenly Wind formed the exterior almost like a motherly embrace holding everything together, and Western and Eastern Heavenly Wind bounced within the two like rampaging children.


    At that moment, a pair of Divine Wings appeared to his back. The winds shredded them to pieces a moment later, but Ryu kept reforming them, his face growing paler and paler.


    ''Got it.''


    Ryu shot forward, knifing through a section of the formation as though he was throwing himself at death. A scythe of wind shimmered through the air, appearing before him in an instant. It was the kind of wind that could split apart even a Dao Lord, let alone Ryu. And yet, he continued to rush forward, unfazed.


    In the last moment, the wind, as chaotic as it was, oddly split and then shot off in seven different directions, not of which were toward Ryu.


    This was the easy part. Natural formations, ones constructed by chance and at the hands of the Heavens were extremely powerful, but they were powerful in their simplicity.


    Humanoids and intelligent creations often complicated formation and formation runes because they couldn''t match the easy elegance of the Heavens. As such, even formations as potent as this one were relatively easy to understand so long as one wasn''t distracted by the pomp and circumstance on the surface and delved saw through to the very core.


    Even so, predicting how Heaven itself would react to a change in equilibrium of this arrangement would be as difficult as forming such a natural formation yourself. Something that was nigh impossible for most.


    BANG!


    Ryu pushed on a side of the Northern Heavenly Wind, tipping its structure to one side by just three degrees.


    And then all hell broke loose.


    Winds rampaged, lightning began to crackle as other elements seeped in, and soon it felt like the powder keg would explode.


    It was in this situation that Ryu absorbed.

 Chapter 1487 Return

    Chapter 1487 Return


    Ryu appeared in the Abyssal Plane, gasping for breath. Everything about these matters was annoyingly difficult. Of course, if others heard his thoughts, they would curse him to the high heavens.


    The list of natural treasures that the Heavens had given him would be worth entire Clans and Sects even on the Ninth Heaven. It was a boon the likes of which hardly had any match at all.


    The more Ryu thought about it, the more he actually felt that his actions didn''t quite warrant such fanfare. It was almost like the Heavens wanted him to finally complete the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    Ryu had always wondered why the Martial Gods went through so much trouble. It all seemed that their actions had simply pushed him to this point. Maybe he would have never maximized his talents if they never interfered with him in the first place. After all, there was a point in his life where he thought Sacrum was all there was.


    Of course, Ryu felt that no matter what, he would have eventually found the True Martial World. But by then, he would have likely long since become a Sky God of Sacrum. Changing his foundations at that point would have been almost impossible, or at the very least, far harder than what he was doing now.


    Even if he became a Dao God, those lingering issues from using the wrong cultivation methods for so long would have made him among the weaker Dao Gods and they could easily deal with him even with all his talents.


    Plus, if he had become a Sky God before coming to this place, then how would he have entered the Heavenly Paths? The main reason for most of his success until this point?


    ''There''s likely something I''m missing...''


    Ryu coughed as he pushed himself up, heaving deep breaths.


    Since the rainbow wind incident, he had gathered several more treasures. By this point, two entire years had passed. He somewhat wondered how others were taking his sudden disappearance, but he didn''t care enough about it to go back and check on it, especially if this might lead to Primus catching him.


    He needed a representation of Order. Something that could allow his Spiritual Foundation to take that final step.


    Technically, the Heavens already said that he was perfect. On its list, there wasn''t any such thing written upon it. Which made sense, why would the Heavens give up a portion of itself for him?


    It was only during those decades in the midst of a time warp that Ryu began to feel that something was missing, that something was out of place.


    Then it clicked for him.


    He sighed as he stepped back into this familiar world.


    He had returned to Sacrum.


    ...


    The Clans and Sects of the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Heavens were in a complete uproar.


    Over the last two years, some troublemaker had appeared at key sites, one after another, causing disturbances to their divine lands of cultivation and shifting their balance.


    However, every time, this person escaped completely unscathed.


    This triggered a wild legend to begin to spread, one of a thief in the night and a master that could evade the capture of even Dao Gods.


    At one of these spots, Titus Tatsuya stood firmly in silence for a long period before his voice boomed with laughter.


    The ground cracked, peaks collapsed, and the skies split as the skies ruptured.

 Chapter 1488 Favor

    Chapter 1488 Favor


    Sacrum.


    It felt odd to step back into this place after so long. Of course, this wasn''t due to a suppression of sorts. Due to the fact he was born in Sacrum, no matter how powerful Ryu became, so long as he was careful not to collapse reality itself, he could always return.


    Rather, it was because he could sense things now that he never could in the past. He could almost "see" Shrine Mountain''s looming presence, infusing itself into the very vibrant life of the world. And it was precisely due to this that he could feel just how special Sacrum was.


    Most of it was constructed of what one would expect from such a weak world. But, hidden within, there were tendrils of laws that reminded Ryu much more of the True Martial World.


    One had to wonder why it was that a Clan like the Martial Gods would be so interested in a middle world. The answer to that was obviously the Shrines, but why?


    Usually, treasures of Origin that appeared in this place were inferior. You would have to invest as much as Ryu did into them before they could display their true strength. By the time you went through all of that trouble, you might as well have just found your own Origin Grade treasure on the True Martial World itself. It wasn''t worth it to farm lower level worlds for these enormous powerhouses.


    Of course, a higher world might be different. Ryu wouldn''t know, he had never been to one before. For all he knew, their existences were close enough to the True Martial World that the tradeoff would be worth it. Maybe you could find an Origin Grade treasure for cheap over there and only exchange the worth of a Chaos Grade treasure to raise it up to an adequate level.


    If that was possible, higher worlds would definitely be overrun. Just thinking about it, even Ryu was tempted.


    This was all to say that it didn''t make sense that the Shrines were so valuable, and their insights so sharp. The more Ryu had learned about the True Martial World, the more he understood just how ridiculous their existence was.


    That said, Ryu hadn''t come here for the Shrines. What he was looking for was something very different, and he wasn''t even sure it existed. And even in the case that it did...


    One might argue that a lower world wouldn''t block entry to the World Sea Realm just as Temple blocked entry to those above the Perfect Sky God Realm, but this wasn''t the case.


    Ryu had checked this as well. Such a world would only block those above the Fragmented Sky God Realm, a Realm Ryu obviously wasn''t within.


    So Sacrum, for some reason, was not only far easier to find for some godforsaken reason, it was also far easier to enter.


    This all seemed to point to one explanation: the Martial Gods. Obviously, it was their actions that had caused all of this, right?


    Well... Ryu wasn''t actually so sure about that. Something felt off, like he was missing a large piece of the puzzle.


    "Hey."


    Ryu''s voice boomed before he suddenly sent out a series of punches. Back in Sacrum, he had already been able to massacre Sky Gods like they were baby chicks despite barely having entered the Path Extinction Realm, and those were Sky Gods of the Martial Gods.


    Even though they were suppressed, compared to many of these Sky Gods, they were wholly insignificant.


    Single fists of Ryu, especially while in the Chaos Plane, were comparable to a concentration of armageddon for each one of these invaders.


    Over 90% of them were wiped out in an instant.


    The Heavenly Warriors rushed forward to eliminate the rest, but Ryu caught one securely by the shoulder.


    "You all, isn''t it about time you did me a favor?"

 Chapter 1489 Natural Breath

    Chapter 1489 Natural Breath


    The Heavenly Warrior froze and slowly turned back to Ryu. Donning a familiar black armor with golden accents, the warrior didn''t seem to understand what was happening. It stared blankly at Ryu, but it didn''t move. It was like a robot that had run into a scenario it hadn''t been programmed for, so it was constantly rebooting and reassessing the situation as though it was looking for a way out.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. Had he overestimated the intelligence of these Heavenly Warriors? But the last one had spoken to him, it even seemed to have emotions, so what was going on here?


    Just as he was thinking so, the skies split.


    BOOM.


    A much taller Heavenly Warrior, standing at three meters and towering over Ryu appeared.


    "Heaven''s Chosen, what are you doing?"


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. This was the second time he was called this, and he still had no idea what it meant. If he was such a Heaven''s Chosen, why''d these fools allow him to be a cripple for so long?


    If he had never been compelled to reincarnate, just how much faster would he have been able to progress in his cultivation with the full backing of the Tatsuya Clan? And with his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation at that! Not only would he not have to concern about the ticking time bomb that was likely to be his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, he would have been able to save his family from collapsing.


    Of course, he knew that things weren''t so simple.


    For one, he would have never met Ailsa. Although she had left her family with her own problems, by the time she made that decision, Ryu would have been well along his path, and he would have shunned her with great vigor for the sake of Elena.


    If not for the fact he had been separated from Elena, Ailsa would have never been able to crack his cold exterior.


    He thought about what it might mean to try and kill one of these guys. Maybe if he killed enough, he could convert their essence into what he needed. But he felt that it would be greatly inappropriate to do so. These were the people that were protecting his home.


    He, of course, wasn''t a soft-hearted person. But he knew how not to ruin his own benefits as well.


    If there was no one protecting Sacrum, and it became overrun, it would fall on his mother''s shoulders to handle everything. And if that happened, how would she be able to heal her injuries?


    But this Heavenly Warrior actually paused.


    "From my understanding of your Spiritual Foundation, you do not need such a thing."


    "Humor me." Ryu said.


    Following Heaven''s path for you would only get you so far. Ryu trusted his instincts just as much as he trusted the information the Heavens had given him. Since his instincts told him he needed one more thing, he believed it.


    "You are already on a path to doing so. You have Shrine Mountain''s will on you."


    Ryu frowned. He was gazing for something deeper than that.


    "You have left your world, and now you look down on it. Yet you return to it for help."


    Ryu''s frown deepened when he heard this. He didn''t look down on his world; he simply acknowledged the reality, and that was that it was weaker than the True Martial World.


    "Reach the state of Natural Breath first, then you can consider such things."


    Ryu''s brows shot right up.

 Chapter 1490 A While Longer

    Chapter 1490 A While Longer


    Ryu didn''t know what to say when he heard these requirements. The Realm of Natural Breath was the very limit of the Natural Enlightenment Realm. In the Sacred Realm, it was paired with the Sky God Realm, but in the True Martial World, the standard that he truly wanted to reach, it was on an entirely different level. Even Dao Gods might not reach such a standard.


    In the past, Ryu had wondered why Natural Enlightenment Realms were so much more difficult to progress than Mortal Endowments. But now he knew that it was likely related to the fact those individual realms represented something entirely different.


    For example, the Mortal Endowment comprehensions were divided into Heir, Impose, Ruler, Small Realm, Dominion, Divinity, and Deity. However, the last stage, the Deity Realm, also known as the God Realm, was further divided into nine pieces in the True Martial World.


    However, the Natural Enlightenment Comprehensions were not divided like this at all.


    There was the State of Listening, the State of Feeling, the State of Immersion, the State of Control, the State of Heart, the State of Soul, and the State of Natural Breath. There were no further divisions within these realms other than Lower, Middle, and Higher.


    Knowing this, it was no wonder Natural Enlightenments were seen as so much more powerful than Mortal Endowments. It was because each individual step you took in one was simply worth far more than a step you took in the Mortal Endowments.


    But none of that understanding made Ryu''s task easy. How was he supposed to do any of this?


    The worst part was that even if he succeeded, he wouldn''t even be able to use that comprehension to strengthen himself; he would have to sacrifice it to his Spiritual Foundation. Of course, in the future, he would be able to benefit from it. But in the short term, it would be like he was giving up a large portion of himself.


    That said, it wasn''t as though he could use a State of Natural Breath Natural Enlightenment right now anyway. Any attempt to do so would drain his Focus Qi in an instant.


    But that only made the task of the Heavenly Warrior all the more ridiculous. Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if he was near the topmost of all of Existence in terms of comprehension. It would be nigh impossible to find someone who could match him. And yet, even he felt that this task was impossible.


    Was he supposed to wait until he finally became a Dao God to unshackle his talents? That was unacceptable.


    After some hesitation, Himari waved a hand and the formation vanished.


    Without the filter, she looked quite pale and even a little bit sickly. She had planned to meditate for centuries, millennia, even. This was the way of Sky Gods of Sacrum. Time passed almost fleetingly to them.


    But it had only been a handful of years, and Ryu had already come back, far more powerful than he had been in the past.


    "Mother," Ryu swept his mom into a big hug, enjoying her warmth.


    Himari was stunned again, and her tears fell faster.


    It was an odd scene, her expression was just the same, and yet her tears fell on their own as though controlled by their own mind instead of her own.


    Himari looked up, still wondering if this was truly her son.


    No, this had always been her son, her real son. Not the one scarred by a single lingering incident that left an indelible mark on his life, but rather the son she had birthed, the young man filled with curiosity and hope toward the world, with eagerness to face anything that would come so long as he had a sliver of a chance.


    Ryu found his head buried into his mother''s bosom, not out of choice, but rather because his mother was much stronger than himself and had taken his head to be some sort of soft plushy.


    Himari cried harder, and Ryu could only smile bitterly and allow his mother to hold him as she pleased. The smile on his face was as bright as it could be.


    "Mother, mother, I brought something to heal you. Stop crying already; I''ll drown."


    "Don''t tell your mother what to do, Little Dragon. Stay here a while longer."


    Ryu could only acquiesce.

 Chapter 1491 Pesky Fly

    Chapter 1491 Pesky Fly


    Ryu didn''t know how long passed, but his mother did eventually let him go. Finally, he was able to take out what he had prepared.


    He knew that he would be returning to his mother''s side, so how could he not remember her ailments?


    Himari had made it quite far into the Sky God Realms, but that didn''t mean that Ryu was helpless, especially since he had the treasures of the Frost Clan and the little woman by his side.


    In the years he was away, the little woman managed to make it to the Omniscient Sky God Realm and was already striving for the Dao Lord Realm. It turned out the environment of the blackhole was a tonic to her rather than being toxic. In fact, it was also in part thanks to her that he was able to succeed in the end.


    While it made him curious about who she really was, he was far more interested in how she could help his mother.


    Due to his foolish actions, his mother had given up quite a bit of her lifespan. And, because she was at the standard of the True Martial World now instead of Sacrum, her lifespan was likewise shorter as a result. Every year counted, and he couldn''t allow her to stay like this for long.


    Luckily, she hadn''t actually ended up transferring the lifespan to him as he hadn''t needed it, ultimately. But one couldn''t just casually pool their life together into a drop and then suck it back up as though nothing had happened.


    After understanding the situation, the little woman had constructed a pill perfect for the situation.


    The result was near instant. Rosiness returned to Himari''s cheeks and her aura flourished. To Ryu''s astonishment, her aura likewise continued to rush forward like a tidal wave, entering the Transcended Sky God Realm and even soon knocking on the door of the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    This could only mean one thing. His mother''s insights into her Dao were far beyond what her current cultivation realm dictated. In all likelihood, she was only restricted by the environment here. There wasn''t enough qi, so much so that even a healing pill had allowed such a result.


    Ryu didn''t think twice and simply handed his mother all of the cultivation treasures of the Frost Clan.


    "Little Ryu, this is inappropriate."


    Himari''s eyes sharpened as she hid Ryu to her back, apparently arranged for battle. Despite seeing her grandfather-in-law, her expression was quite fierce.


    She had been married to Titus for millions of years, but she hadn''t seen this man before even a single time. Instead, she recognized him purely based on his aura.


    "Ignore him, mother. He''s just a pesky fly."


    Ryu pulled his parent deeper into the Life Shrine. What he found most amusing about the situation was that he had a not-so-unfounded confidence that Primus wouldn''t be able to enter the Shrine even if he wanted to.


    As expected, Primus didn''t move, and his expression also didn''t change.


    "I''ll be absorbing those treasures into my Spiritual Foundation now, mother. I don''t know how extended it''ll take, but probably not too much."


    "Why does the grandfather-in-law seem to be looking for you?" Himari asked.


    Ryu sighed. He might call Primus directly by his name, but Himari didn''t do so. This wasn''t out of fear, but rather because his grandfather still called Primus'' father even after all he had done. It was purely out of respect for Saint Tatsuya that Himari still called Primus by this title.


    "I would take his gift to sever Karma, so he uttered he''d follow me around for 10 years. It''s quite annoying."


    Himari, though, actually sighed a breath of relief when she heard this. Didn''t this mean that she didn''t need to worry about her son as much?


    Ryu smiled and found a place to meditate, his heart reaching a state of calm quite quickly.


    He looked toward the treasures floating within his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. They all seemed docile and silent now. Hopefully, it would remain like that as he began.


    It was about time he saw what this Spiritual Foundation of his was really about.


    And then, it would be time to become a Sky God.

 Chapter 1492 Easy

    Chapter 1492 Easy


    The process was far easier than anything Ryu could have imagined. But as time passed, he wondered why it was he had thought that it would be a complicated process at all.


    These furious Heaven''s treasures, capable of changing the landscape, upturning the earth, and causing devastation the likes of which could completely alter the environment of a world, had all been laying in his Realm Heart completely docilely.


    They had long since lost sense of the methods that Ryu had used to deceive them inside, and yet not a single one had fought back against him.


    Thinking even further back, whether it was the Infinity Mist or the Origin Flames that created his first to Beyond Perfect Extreme Cosmic Seeds, both had formed quite easily.


    Origin Flames were on the more obedient side to begin with, but was Infinity Mist? It should have long since shredded him to ash, but that hadn''t happened at all.


    Ryu gently placed the Gaia seed within and watched as his Spiritual Foundation cracked. Large swaths of Cosmic Qi flooded him.


    He had sensed Cosmic Qi long ago, but the Cosmic Qi of his original Spiritual Foundation felt so different, so utterly refreshing and almost oppressively powerful. If Ryu didn''t know better, he would think that it was even stronger than his Chaos Qi.


    Of course, this was nonsense. Chaos Qi and Essence were the two strongest sis in all of existence, a Spiritual Foundation wouldn''t produce a qi that was stronger than them. The difference lay in the fact that as this Cosmic Qi-this Beyond Extreme Cosmic Qi-flooded his body, he felt a control over it that he had never felt from his Chaos Qi.


    He still didn''t have methods to perfectly control his Chaos Qi, and his body was still essentially a vessel whereupon Chaos Qi could filter into. It wasn''t truly his qi, it was rather qi he could siphon from the Chaos Plane.


    This Beyond Extreme Cosmic Qi, though, was well and truly his. While he couldn''t control Infinity Mist perfectly-a problem that would likely transfer over to his other treasures, he was sure-this Cosmic Qi was a different story entirely.


    In a far-off corner of existence, a Fate Star, chained from all sides, trembled in a final struggle, but there was nothing that it could do.


    Its power was being sapped away by the Laws of the Heavens. Although it still had so much more to give, the Heaven''s could sense it.


    Ryu was disappearing because his journey had come to an end.


    Primus looked toward the Life Shrine, then looked up into the skies. He could vaguely feel that something was off. But after a moment, he actually frowned.


    "Mm..." his voice rumbled. "This is too much."


    If he helped Ryu with his Fate Star, he would be paying back more Karma than he wanted to. Instead of balancing Karma, he would end up flooding their relationship with too much positive Karma. Whether it was positive or negative Karma, he wanted neither.


    You couldn''t sever Karma by overdoing it, or else that would defeat the purpose. If you did that, you would end up forming new Karmic ties that you would then have to do cruel things to reach balance.


    But if he forced himself to do cruel things to his descendent just to balance Karma properly, it would affect his Dao Heart. After all, he refused to act against the weak. That was his martial way.


    At the same time, though, this wasn''t something that you could do by a half measure.


    Or was it?


    Primus looked into the skies thoughtfully.


    "Actually, what''s most important is my mentality, now isn''t it?"


    A confident and almost menacing grin spread across Primus'' face as he vanished.

 Chapter 1493 Give a Damn

    Chapter 1493 Give a Damn


    Primus appeared high in the skies, facing off against a Fate Star that dwarfed him in size. To say that he was a speck of dust before it wouldn''t be an exaggeration at all. The density of silvery light was so blinding that it was difficult even for him to look at it directly, and that was even after it dimmed considerably.


    Even so, he reached forward and grabbed a chain link as thick as a world. Almost the instant he did, he felt something assault his very Dao Heart.


    "Cute." He sneered to himself. "I suggest you come personally, or else I''ll shatter your little contraption with a single squeeze."


    "Do you think that''s possible?"


    A voice echoed from nowhere, and yet everywhere at once. If one didn''t know better, one would think that it was the star itself that had spoken. But this was quite far from the truth. Rather, it was the owner of the chains.


    "Someone like you who would seal away an infant in their mother''s womb because you fear what they might become is weak. I do not believe you could form any technique that could pause my steps for even a moment," Primus replied.


    There was silence for a long while before a response came.


    "Then do it."


    Primus'' sneer became a wild grin as his claw snapped downward.


    Dragon''s Claw.


    CRACK.


    The roar of a dragon echoed through the depths of space even when Primus didn''t open his lips. It was as though his movements alone could evoke the will of the ancient beast, reverberating through reality itself.


    The chain link shattered.


    A fluctuation rippled, and though it quickly calmed, nothing escaped Primus'' senses, not in the depths of battle.


    But now, although he wouldn''t be so unlucky as his Fate Star could finally move again, his future potential was still mostly cut off.


    One didn''t just need talent to reach the end, they needed luck. The more talented you were, the heavier that luck needed to be, or else you would end up like the little woman... having all of that talent and yet stopping at the Transcendent Sky God Realm as her life was expunged.


    For Ryu who had a Founding Dao, he might not even reach as high as the little woman before reaching the end of his lifespan.


    It also most definitely didn''t help that this ordeal would take a huge portion out of his lifespan as well. You couldn''t just straddle the edge of life and death lacking losing some life.


    Putting all of this perspective, it made Primus'' efforts seem laughable. The Dao God even assumed that Primus was doing all of this for the sake of familial love, something he found even more amusing.


    However, Primus'' grin didn''t vanish.


    "Do you think I give a damn?"


    Silence fell.


    "You talk about as much as I would expect from trash. If you desire to say more, come here and face me. If you''re too cowardly, then stay where you are and shut your mouth, or else in the future, I''ll make sure the name of the Martial Gods holds no weight at all."


    CRACK.


    Primus shredded apart chain link after chain link, and eventually, the balance was tipped.


    Ryu''s Destiny Star roared with life and finally began to rotate. At first, it was slow, but when it snapped its first chain on its own, it began to move faster and faster until it released a radiant light.


    In the Life Shrine, Ryu''s smile hadn''t faded, and the cracked ceramic that was his body began to reassemble itself together again, solidifying once more as a flood of revelations returned to him.


    ''Hm? Those Lines of Fate...?''


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: Hey! I''ll be updating this novel this month, expect mostly daily updates unless I''m busy. You may know me from updating Shadow Slave, Paragon of Sin etc, so you know I keep my promises. Cheers.

 Chapter 1494 Guarantee

    Chapter 1494 Guarantee


    Ryu looked into his body and felt that those Lines of Fate that he had thought had vanished due to the Divine Chains of the Martial Gods had come back. It seemed his rewards hadn''t just disappeared after all, they were just heavily suppressed. Even so...


    Ryu sighed. He had spent decades within the influence of the black hole. Due to his Spacetime Soul Nature, this hardly bothered him and he was likewise still able to make great progress in his cultivation, at least in terms of comprehension. But that didn''t change the fact that that amount of time had truly passed.


    The Lines of Fate he received from the Heavens were designed to fade with time, and now, they were far more difficult to get a read on than the first time Ryu had laid his eyes on them. Even with his Dao being the equivalent of a Fragmented Dao currently, it still wasn''t enough to put anything in sharp detail.


    He already couldn''t get much information about his Taboo Paths for the same reason it was harder to heal his body with Embryonic Qi. But now, he also couldn''t seem to get a clear look at his Meridians or his Spiritual Foundation. Everything was fuzzy.


    ''I''ll need to break into the Sky God Realm so that I can get a good look again...''


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled.


    He had two things to accomplish before he took that step, though. He had already reached the peak of the World Sea Realm, and he felt that he only needed a small spark to push his Dao into true majority.


    What he needed to do now was help his body and his soul to enter the Sky God Realms first. First, he would do his soul.


    This choice was the obvious one to make. The more powerful his soul was, the more focus he would have to undergo those ridiculous Life Destructions. He would be able to keep his mind about himself and keep his will focused on the edge of death.


    In addition, his soul was the most flexible part of him. It could withstand a huge amount of strain and it was nigh invulnerable, not in terms of being immune to damage, but in terms of the damage that it could recover from.


    That was when Ryu put two and two together. The only way Primus would leave would be if he pondered that he had properly severed Karma. And what better way would there be than to release Ryu from the bounds of his Fate Star?


    There was only one way to know. Ryu would have to unseal his eyes and gaze upon his Fate Star again, but he had a feeling he already knew what he would see...


    His expression relaxed.


    Since Ryu had pondered through all of this, he could also guess the state of his Fate Star at the moment. He was the wielder of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Although it was sealed, he had a nigh innate comprehension of Fate, Karma and the strings that bound all those with life.


    He knew more intimately than anyone what had happened to him, but so what?


    Ryu grinned at his mom. "You know, mother, I never really got to take advantage of being the son of a powerful Clan."


    Himari blinked, not quite understanding what Ryu was getting at. The words would have made her feel a little sad if it wasn''t for the shit-eating grin on Ryu''s face.


    She smiled beside herself. She hadn''t seen that grin in such a long time.


    She squeezed Ryu''s cheeks, hard. "Are you attempting to mock your mother, Little Ryu?"


    "Haha! I''m going to break into the Sky God Realm. I need a protector, and who better than the woman who can guarantee my life?"

 Chapter 1495 Torture

    Chapter 1495 Torture


    Ryu''s words didn''t contain even the slightest hint of embellishment. The moment he sat down to enter a state of meditation, he knew that regardless of what happened, even if he made the worst mistakes of his life in quick succession, his mother would be able to guarantee his life.


    His mother was the Saintess of the Life Shrine, and not only that, but she was now on the verge of the Omniscient Sky God Realm. With the Shrine at her back, she was easily as powerful as a weaker Dao Lord.


    Of course, these were just Ryu''s estimations, and he wasn''t completely certain. It wasn''t until recently that he could just barely make out the demarcations between Sky Gods, so trying to guess at this stuff was difficult.


    Even so, even if Himari was just a True Sky God, or even just a False Sky God, just how easy would it be for her to protect Ryu now?


    Even on the Ninth Heaven, one might not have a Dao Protector this powerful to enter the mere Fragmented Sky God Realm. And even if one was of such noble birth, would they be better in this respect than Ryu''s mother who had the backing of the Life Shrine?


    At the moment, Ryu probably couldn''t die even if he wanted to. Only if something like what occurred before, with the Heaven''s themselves deciding his time had come to an end, couldn''t he possibly have a shot at fading into the afterlife.


    Obviously, though, this danger had already passed and it was time for him to make that step.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled slowly.


    Soul Quintessence.


    It was a legendary Realm in Sacrum. And now, he was about to take that step.


    ''Little woman,'' Ryu suddenly thought.


    After a moment, a pill magically manifested in his hand.


    That was right, he didn''t have just one Dao Protector, he had two. One was his mother, with the backing of the Life Shrine. The second was the Favor Alchemy Sky God, an Omniscient Sky God who just might be the best alchemist of the True Martial World.


    He was untouchable.


    But that was the smallest matter of importance, in Ryu''s opinion. He had felt his eyes sharpen just now, and he could almost taste them unlocking. His [Third Perspective] could do the same thing, and he was pretty sure that only a Dao God would be able to sense it.


    What was more startling to Ryu was the fact his Spiritual Qi could now freely enter and exit the void. This wasn''t just a matter of senses, but he had naturally acquired the ability for not only himself to move through the void, but even extensions of him.


    He could imagine the kind of flexibility that would give him in battle. He felt that the powerhouses he would be able to overcome would be on an entirely new level.


    Ryu knew that there was likely more to gain from his soul now, but this wasn''t the time to care about such things. Instead, he wanted to keep up this momentum.


    He hadn''t focused on cultivation in years, all of that bottled up energy was now rushing out at once and he wouldn''t fall off of the wagon now.


    Almost immediately, his body shattered.


    Himari''s pupils trembled, but she maintained her calm. She could easily tell the difference between death and a Life Destruction when she saw one. After all, she had undergone Life Destructions as well. Although she looked dainty and frail, it was the blood of the Lightning Qilin that ran through her veins.


    Now, though, she understood why Ryu wanted her to look after him.


    What better energy could there be to use to recover from a Life Destruction than Life Qi?


    She waved a hand and large pools of Life Qi rushed formed. Ryu''s body became saturated with almost more energy than he could use, but his mother''s eyes were sharp.


    Since her little boy wanted to tease her, she would teach him a little lesson and help him at the same time.


    A gorgeous smile bloomed across her cherry lips. Himari had let her husband handle Ryu''s training when he was young, but that wasn''t because she couldn''t or that she was too soft to put her baby through such things.


    No, it was rather that the two of them had decided that Ryu should at least reach Awakening before she started to torture him.


    Her smile became even more beautiful.

 Chapter 1496 Nine Life Destructions

    Chapter 1496 Nine Life Destructions


    ''Shit.''


    Ryu could feel what his mother had done immediately. He couldn''t even divert his focus to deal with it either. Why would he have any defenses up against his own mother? He was entirely focused on the task at hand and he had no measures to deal with the situation.


    It wasn''t exactly dangerous, and Ryu had planned on doing something similar himself, but it was difficult to force it like this.


    Whenever a Life Destruction was completed, in order for it to be a success, one needed a large amount of resources. These resources, while the body was in a Destruction State, would be absorbed and then used to reconstruct it. Obviously, this energy would likewise be used to strengthen the body.


    This process of deconstruction into your smallest parts, followed by reconstruction with a larger amount of energy, was how Body Realm cultivators made the final steps toward the Sky God Realm.


    The success of your Life Destruction, then counted on two factors.


    The first was how thorough your Destruction was, that being how small you could blast the pieces of your body into. How well one did in this phase was essentially down to two factors: how strong you were in relation to your body and your will power.


    The first factor decided how powerful the outward blast was initially. The more power you had in relation to your body, the more thorough the destruction would be.


    The second factor, though, left those that didn''t with a chance.


    The first felt contradictory. The more powerful you managed to make your body, the more difficult it would be to complete a Destruction, and thus the less thorough your Destruction would be.


    However, that was where the second factor came in.


    If you had the will power, you could lengthen the Destruction process, sending out pulses of energy again and again until your body was thoroughly destroyed. Or, you could even use an external source to destroy yourself. This would make the process much harder on yourself, but it would be worthwhile in the end.


    Ryu, obviously, didn''t need to deal with this. He had more power within himself than he even knew what to do with. A single careless blast of Primordial Chaos Qi was enough to rip his body to shreds.


    What was left, then, was the second phase. This phase was dictated by only one matter: how much energy could you withstand?


    Ryu, obviously, as this was his Second Life Destruction of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s Taboo Path, could consume a great deal of energy. In addition, his comprehension of the Nine Pillars, especially with the help of his Quasi Mature Dao, increased his capacity further.


    His comprehension of the Nine Pillars was equivalent to a Fragmented Sky God of the Sect, but he was still firmly yet to enter the God Realms. On top of that, he had his Bloodlines that were quite difficult to satiate on top of his Bone Structure which felt like a bottomless abyss.


    And yet, his mother brought him to his absolute limits instantly.


    The beauty of Life Destructions was that improper or incomplete foundations could always be made up for in future Life Destructions, so long as your will was strong enough.


    Ryu''s mother had clearly seen through flaws that even he had, but he wasn''t surprised by this in the slightest. Ryu knew from the beginning that his first Life Destruction wasn''t perfect. After all, he had done it hastily and the treasure chosen weren''t optimal either. The reason he had never panicked about it was because he knew what his mother was doing right now.


    She gathered up far more energy than last time, paying close attention to see the changes.


    As Ryu took step after step, he began to understand his Spiritual Foundation more and more.


    It couldn''t just limitlessly increase his potential. Or, more accurately, the method by which it did so was extremely important.


    He could just overload himself with energy and wait for his Spiritual Base to do something. He had to really ride the edge of pain and agony, moving slowly as he approached his own "extreme" until that mysterious energy finally kicked in.


    He had to imagine himself like a flame slowly approaching the extremes of heat, before it suddenly became the most piercing, biting cold. Or like Infinity Mist, he had to become an ice so bold and solid that it eventually was pushed beyond, becoming a mist that carried the weight of worlds in a single spritz.


    When his Spiritual Base sensed Ryu riding that edge, it would help give him a little nudge to push himself over.


    If Ryu went too far, he would die. If he didn''t push himself enough, his Spiritual Base would ignore him and he would just be sitting in agonizing pain for no reason.


    This was the perfect case to push himself to his limits. This wasn''t only because his Life Destructions were the perfect conduit for pushing himself like this, but also because his mother was in control of how much energy was forced into him.


    Thanks to this, he could focus entirely on maintaining his will power as he rode that edge.


    And like this, he completed his Fourth Destruction, his Fifth, his Sixth.


    His momentum didn''t stop as his Bloodlines finally passed into the Omniscient barrier and inched toward Lordship.


    His Seventh was completed, then his Eighth. On the ninth, even in a mist of blood, his Nine Pillars blinked boldly, making him look like a golden cloud rather than the cloud of blood and gore he truly was.


    His strength was abundant and he felt like he could break the body of a Fragmented Sky God with a single fist.


    Then, his body began to come together once more.


    With every Destruction and Reconstruction, his understanding of his body deepened, especially that of his Bone Structure. He could truly feel its weight.


    When his Bloodlines entered the Lord Grade, his entire attention moved to his Bone Structure.


    It was already a talent of the highest order, there was nothing to improve in terms of talent.


    In terms of strength, though, that was a different matter.


    "Give me everything you have."


    Ryu''s will echoed and he poured all of his mother''s Life Qi into his bones.


    He wanted more.


    The gate of the Body God Realm towered right before him.

 Chapter 1497 My Own

    Chapter 1497 My Own


    Ryu had spent most of the last several decades of his life in an idle. Most of the time in the blackhole''s range was spent repeating the same monotonous task again, and again, and again. As such, especially with the strength of his mind, he had a lot of time to think about other things.


    In one of his many streams of thought, he thought about how important the Soul Quintessence was to Sacrum. It was a legendary Realm, one that even Sky Gods could reach. And he couldn''t help but wonder...


    Just how much of that was due to Sacrum''s weakness, and how much of it was a hidden truth that lay right before his eyes? What was it about Sacrum that made the Soul Quintessence Realm different?


    If he thought back, Sacrum didn''t have concepts for the Sky God Realm, at least not in the general sense.


    Back in Sacrum, "failing" to become a Sky God represented the Fragmented Sky God Realm, and only if your Dao was strong enough could you become a True Sky God. Most True Sky Gods didn''t become False Sky Gods first, they instead leapt direction to the True Sky God Realm.


    How the system worked wasn''t entirely important to Ryu. What was important was the fact that Sacrum''s Sky God Realm system was completely different, so why didn''t it work the same for the Mental Realm?


    Although there were some slight differences, the emphasis on Soul Quintessence was still the same. And that made Ryu quite curious.


    Why was that? What was he missing?


    He didn''t exactly need to figure all of these things out for himself, so he asked the one person he could at the time: the little woman.


    He didn''t receive the response he wanted out of it. And how could he? The little woman didn''t have any familiarity with Sacrum, so she wouldn''t know. To her, the Soul Quintessence Realm was the Soul Quintessence Realm, separated into Nine States of Quintessence, each one the equivalent of Sky God Realms from Fragmented to Origin.


    Much the same way, following a similar scheme, the Body Realm became Enlightened Body Realms.


    Until this point, the Body Realms were as simple as they came. There was no comprehension needed, just pain.


    Despite the change in name, nothing about this changed. Instead, the Body Realms chased such a depth of simplicity that with would become complexity. It was a Realm where every movement of the body would cause the Heavens to move and tremble along with your intentions.


    If one heard this, it would sound a lot like the Golden Runes around Ryu, or rather, Golden Runes that were inconspicuously missing.


    Since he had entered Sacrum, these golden runes hadn''t been mentioned a single time because they simply weren''t around him any longer.


    In these years, Ryu had come to understand another limitation of his rewards. The room of white had taught him how to enter the state of oneness with the Heavens, but it hadn''t taught him how to maintain it.


    As time passed, his body would change in countless unknowable ways, his strength would grow and he would have to learn to control it, his qi would evolve and gain different properties, even as his comprehensions evolved, the laws around him would manifest in different ways, meaning he would have to move at a different cadence to be in tune with them.


    Ryu had realized this immediately, and he didn''t have an immediate solution. But when his Lines of Fate returned, although they were blurry, it felt like his thoughts had clicked into place.


    If he wanted to maintain that oneness with the Heavens, he would have to do something, something that would allow him to rely on himself and not an external treasure like the room of white to improve himself.


    Right now, he could feel that path more clearly than he ever had before.


    Soul Quintessence. It meant perfection, the very essence of it. But perfection of what was the question.


    And now... he would make them his.


    The Golden Runes began to turn from Gold to Silver, radiating a resplendent light brighter than the golden runes had ever been.


    In that instant, Ryu''s soul suddenly changed. His Spiritual Sea became so thick that it was able to be called one anymore, it was more like an endless plane of thick, black oil, even the gentle waves that usually coloured its surface were far more muted.


    The void began to tremble around him.


    The fog of qi around him almost seemed to solidify into illusions. One Ryu after another layered atop of him, as though he was looking through every law of causality at once.


    BOOM.


    Ryu''s Dao fused into one once again. The flood of strength caused the entirety of Sacrum to rumble and roll, the might of a Founding Dao causing every other present Dao to dim. In fact, even if they tried to use their Daos now, they would find themselves completely unable to.


    All at once, a flood of strength poured into Ryu and finally, he felt his eyes twitch. It was different from what he had experienced before. It was different from just a sharpening of his vision, he was able to feel it as though it was just barely over a hill he was climbing past.


    Ryu exhaled a slow breath and the fog moved again. Rather than layering upon him, they split out.


    One was wreathed in chains, the other had a blindingly radiant pair of rings, and the last was an amorphous blob without pondered or structure.


    Their auras would flare from time to time as though Ryu was testing something, but every time he didn''t like it, he would disperse it and then try again.


    Suddenly, his eyes opened and he looked up into the skies. Reflecting in his pupils, a radiant Silver Star sat, a Star that looked so familiar, and yet so foreign at the same time...


    ''You want to take my Fate away? Okay... I''ll make my own.''


    The Divine Chain and Divine Wings shattered. They''re two foggy constructs fusing into the amorphous blob that suddenly became a small, rotating star.


    It was a Star that looked exactly like his Fate Star. His Dao fed into it and quickly began to expand more and more powerful until it expanded once, and then twice, doubling in size every time.


    Nothing would bind him again.


    Ryu''s White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation shook, soon followed by his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. Their Cosmic Seeds began to bind and intertwine, forming separate Godhoods of their own.


    As the Silver Star grew in size, it quickly began to resemble something else as well.


    A certain Silver Star that gave Ryu his Spacetime Soul Affinity to begin with.


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: I always had a theory that the owner of that Silver Star was a future Ryu, this kinda just makes me even more confident of that theory. Could still be wrong, but I''m kinda leaning towards it more now.

 Chapter 1498 Rumbled

    Chapter 1498 Rumbled


    Was it a true Fate Star? When Ryu felt it succeed in forming, he knew that that wasn''t the case, it didn''t even have the slightest control over Fate, nor could it seem to absorb Heavenly Fate. Instead, it was rather like his own kernel, a seed for something that it might be able to become in the future.


    Ryu''s Cosmic Seeds weaved together, intertwining and forming the solid foundation of a Godhood. And then, his Dao flourished, growing stronger and stronger.


    In that moment, it all clicked for Ryu.


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was odd. It was an existence which, rather than relying on his own Dao to flourish, instead seemed to need external items. This wasn''t how cultivation was supposed to work and he had been thinking about what it could mean for his Spiritual Foundation to work like this. Even so, he had followed his instincts, not to mention the path the Heavens had laid out for him, and chosen to trust it.


    If he didn''t have the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, it was doubtful that he would have been so confident in just moving along like this, but because he had it as a buffer, he hadn''t felt the need to chase down this answer too much.


    Although his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation might be another ticking time bomb within his body, at the very least, for now, it was his own, and he had some confidence in keeping it that way the stronger he became.


    Now, however, he understood.


    The purpose of the external items wasn''t just to unseal the Spiritual Foundation and unleash its true potential, it was also to enhance the abilities of the Spiritual Foundation as well, making them more prominent and obvious to the senses. At the same time, when it was unleashed, it had an impact not only on itself, but also the Realm Heart that it was stored in.


    His Spiritual Foundation seemed to be described in a single word: amplifier.


    It could take in anything it sensed, copy it, and then even amplify it in the end. To do this, it needs a foundation of the Heavens itself, and so, it forced Ryu to collect Natural Treasures that could fill in this void.


    At the same time, the reason he didn''t need to plant the kernels of his Dao like everyone else had to was because his Spiritual Foundation already encompassed all that was Heaven and Earth. To it, his Dao was just one of the many branches that fell under that umbrella.


    His Spiritual Foundation could already sense his Dao, it could fuel it and uplift it. When his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation and his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation worked as one, he experienced an amplification to his Dao that was similar to his Internal Matrix.


    The problem wasn''t a backlash of sorts, but rather that there wasn''t enough energy.


    Obviously, she had more Life Qi here than Ryu could even handle, but what was missing was...


    After some thought, Himari waved a hand and picked Ryu up, pulling him outside of the Shrine.


    And it was then all hell broke loose.


    It was a good thing that after the war, the only living being on the Shrine Plane aside from Himari were just a few beasts that barely succeeded to survive, or else Ryu''s deeds might have inadvertently caused a genocide.


    The Fire Shrine rumbled.


    The Lightning Shrine rumbled.


    The Life Shrine rumbled.


    The Death Shrine rumbled.


    The Ice Shrine rumbled.


    ...


    A great number of Shrines suddenly became hyperactive as though vying for supremacy and Ryu''s attention. There were even quite a number among them that the Tatsuya Clan hadn''t even been able to discover in their heyday.


    Then, streams of pulsing energy hurried forward, pouring into Ryu.

 Chapter 1499 Deserved

    Chapter 1499 Deserved


    Ryu didn''t feel any sort of pressure. After all the hard work that he had put in to finally reach this point, stepping into Godhood was far easier than he could have imagined. There was no tribulation like he was expecting, there was no sudden change that put his life on the line, it even felt like in one moment he was breathing in, preparing himself, and in the next, it was already done. And when he finally opened his eyes, it was like the world had begun to flourish with colors.


    A gentle smile spread across Ryu''s handsome features, his gaze quite calm as he watched the stream of colors around him.


    [Ephemeral Tapestry.] It was back.


    His Heavenly Pupils were finally back.


    Ryu just sat in silence, observing the world with his own eyes for what felt like the first time. These eyes had been by his side for a thousand years in his first life, in his second life, it had followed him the moment he awakened his memories. These last years without it had felt like a part of him was missing.


    He had expected a rush of strength, but instead, it was like a gentle, soothing stream. Everything was right in the world.


    He looked down at the world around him and his gentleness finally moved from its baseline. What the hell happened to the Shrine Plane?


    It wasn''t that it was destroyed, but rather that it looked... almost too whole. After all the battles that took place here, battles that surpassed Sacrum''s cap of power, the Shrine Plane had taken a real beating. It looked like crumbled porcelain. Ryu believed himself that the only reason it was still being held together was one, because of Shrine Mountain''s presence, and two, because of the Shrines themselves.


    But now, it truly looked whole. Although it had an odd stream of oddities like lands of lava right next to lands of ice and cold, it was truly whole, and it was beautiful in its own sense of the word.


    It was like nature had come together in perfect harmony, while the stretch of land beneath Ryu directly was endlessly beautiful. Lush trees and grasslands, calming lakes, wide blue skies, a temperature that was neither too hot nor too cold. It was truly a paradise.


    That was when Ryu realized that this stretch of perfection extended for what was easily tens of thousands of miles, while the lands of lava and cold that were side by side were millions of miles away. It was just that he could see them as though they were right before his face.


    Ryu knew that it was in part so easy to do this because he was still in Sacrum, but the feeling was still intoxicating, as though the entire world was in the palm of his hands, as though he could finally control his own Fate once again.


    Finally, Ryu looked inwardly and his gentle smile brightened.


    The Lines of Fate within him, even though he had yet to strengthen his Dao, might as well have been written in plain English and laid out right before him. He almost laughed.


    Before, he could only see up to the Fragmented Realm, his current Realm. But now, he could see all the way up to the Omniscient Realm before things began to get somewhat blurry. In fact, he felt that he could read all the way up to the Dao God Realm if he wanted with just some time and patience.


    His eyes were on an entirely different level, and so were these rewards.


    Who could claim to know the path to the Dao God Realm with absolute assurance? Even a Dao God couldn''t do such a thing for their disciple, and yet here it was.


    Of course, this wasn''t a guarantee to reach Dao God, it was just a roadmap. Whether Ryu could accomplish what the Heavens set out was one matter, and whether he wanted to follow it was another entirely.


    For one, Ryu had already deviated from the path.


    Taking his Bone Structure and his Soul, then fusing his Body Realm and Mental Realm cultivation into a new and oddly intertwined path that fed off one another, wasn''t in the Heaven''s plan for him.


    In this regard, he had already stepped off the path of the Heavens, but he didn''t want to take a step back either. He quite liked this path of his and he felt it had more potential than what was being shown to him here.


    With this new path of his, not only had he succeeded in crafting a vessel that could finally take on his Founding Dao, he was able to make that feeling of oneness with the Heavens permanent.


    Ryu took a breath and fluttering Silver Runes formed around him like migrating butterflies. It was a truly beautiful sight and one that left him at even more peace.


    That said, that didn''t mean that he would ignore the suggestion of the Heavens. There were great insights here, ones that he could use to help and refine his path further.


    What was interesting, though, was that there was nothing in these Lines of Fate about his Taboo Paths or even the White Runes of the White Phoenix. But he understood this as well. Whether it was the Taboo Paths or the White Runes, both existed outside the purview of the Heavens, so the Heavens obviously couldn''t give him advice on their use.


    However, when it came to the true uses of his Spiritual Foundation, methods of maximizing the use of his Realm Heart and his Beyond Perfect Spiritual Foundation, or ways to implement and use his Chaos Qi and its own branching abilities...


    This was all knowledge that Ryu would greedily consume.


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: Huge buff, I''m kinda scared bro is gonna get mega nerfed again soon. An Awespec classic.

 Chapter 1500 Dead Man

    Chapter 1500 Dead Man


    Ryu wasn''t sure exactly how strong he was now, but he was sure that he had significantly closed the gap against Eighth Heaven geniuses, especially since the weight of his Dao counted just that faintest bit more due to the fact he had a vessel to use it now.


    Honestly speaking, the only thing he was lacking in were the techniques to maximize his strength. Anything that he had learned previously would obviously be useless now, and even if he was still in the World Sea Realm, if he was honest with himself, it wouldn''t make a difference.


    For a long while now, Ryu had lacked techniques to use. Aside from [Absolute Domain], and some general methods of the Radiant Star Sect''s core materials, he had nothing else to use aside from his own power and skill.


    The final time he had learned a Dao Charm technique, he hadn''t even stepped foot into the True Martial World yet; it had truly been that long. He wondered if the gap between him and those geniuses might no longer be just a case of his raw talent or power output, but in terms of their technique foundations.


    He contemplated about this problem for a fair bit, and by that he meant a few minutes, before he placed it to the side. Even if he wanted to find some techniques suitable to him, where would he do so?


    The Radiant Star Sect was a good bet, and he felt that there was maybe a reason his Dao was so perfectly suited to the shape of a star, but Ryu was pretty much still the very identical Ryu, relying on the Radiant Star Sect wasn''t in his blood.


    Of course, he would return after he was done here, and of course, he would use their techniques. But what he meant by ''rely'' was that he wanted his own techniques, his own methods to use his power, his own strength so arrogant bastards like the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign couldn''t try and lead him by the nose.


    ''Well, the initial step toward that end is understanding myself,'' Ryu thought simply.


    The initial thing Ryu did was summarize what the Lines of Fate did tell him about his skills.


    First was his Bone Structure. He had already deviated from the path the Heavens intended, but that didn''t faze him. Paying attention to this anyway would tell him more about its hidden abilities.


    ''Unfortunate,'' Ryu chuckled. He had some plans for making Primus'' life a living hell once he was finished with this, but it seemed like this wasn''t in the cards for him.


    But he had another odd thought. If Primus had known about the chains, then why not do this from the very start.


    Then, Ryu "understood".


    To Ryu, Primus had waited for Ryu to "die", that way the act of unleashing his Fate Star was less impactful and thus the Karma exchanged was just enough to not form positive Karma.


    Essentially, if Primus had acted any earlier, not only would Ryu have been released, all of his initial potential would have been the same, and that would defeat his purpose.


    Although that could have been fixed by harming Ryu directly, Primus was too prideful to attack a junior who was also far weaker than him, so he chose this route instead.


    All of this made perfect sense to Ryu, though he didn''t know that it was inaccurate.


    Even if he knew the truth, though, would it matter?


    The ultimate truth was that Primus had stood on the sidelines while his family was completely slaughtered. In Ryu''s book...


    He was a dead man.

 Chapter 1501 Isnt that--?

    Chapter 1501 Isn''t that--?


    Ryu moved on to a more interesting path, that being his Meridians. He wanted to see if there were any other odd deviations that the Chaotic Silk Meridians would need to take after entering the Sky God Realms.Visitt  for the latest updates


    It felt good to know he could read the perfect path now and wouldn''t have to stumble around blindly, but in an irony of all ironies, he could only bitterly chuckle at the result.


    Of course it would be the case that his Chaotic Silk Meridians would fly the straight and narrow from now on. Other than the fact it would support two Spiritual Foundations now, it couldn''t have been any simpler. He just had to progress both.


    If anything, the only anchor holding him back was his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. This was because improving it was a headache.


    Although he wouldn''t have to gather anymore treasures, just the sheer amount of energy it would take was mind-numbing. By the time he was ready to enter the False Sky God Realm, he would probably have to have absorbed as much as one would have to in order to enter the True Sky God Realm. And from there, it would only get worse.


    Of course, that didn''t include the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation either, so just to become a False Sky God, Ryu would have to gather the average energy of someone closer to a Perfect Sky God.


    ''This is just asinine. My talent isn''t even certainly better than those of the Eighth Heaven or higher, and I''m sure they don''t have to go through this much trouble...''


    Ryu chuckled at himself and shook his head.


    His talents were great, but they had yet to synergize like those of the Eighth Heaven and above had. Due to this, not only was he not 100% confident just yet in having surpassed them, their progression was also leagues simpler than his own.


    ''Perfect. Just how I like it. I love getting kicked, Heavens. Keep it coming.''


    Ryu was in a great mood, honestly. None of what he was reading fazed him, but when he caught sight of something else, his heart skipped a beat.


    EmbryonicEssenceEmbryonicEssence


    The words echoed in his ears and he subconsciously knew that it was referring to his second pair of Meridians, a pair that he had honestly ignored outside of its ability to heal him.


    He wasn''t sure. Even his Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns were firmly on the side of Order. Just because something was dark didn''t mean that it was chaotic. Death, in some ways, was the ultimate sign of Order.


    Once again, he was getting ahead of himself, though, because completing this loop didn''t seem like a simple task.


    For one, the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation was a bit... unruly. But that wasn''t his main concern.


    The only time it was "simple" to form such a link was during the Spiritual Severing Realm. The second easiest time was meditating on the experience of the Spiritual Severing Realm''s success.


    Ryu had not only skipped over the Spiritual Severing Realm, he had no experience with this at all.


    In addition, he was a Sky God now. Changing his body prior to Godhood was an almost simple task, but now it was like everything had been locked into place.


    Given the strength of his body, if he wanted to succeed, he would need at least a Perfect Grade God Herb. But even that wouldn''t help his lack of experience in the matter at all.


    ''Fantastic,'' Ryu thought, a little bit less amused. ''Hm?''


    He suddenly gazed up and smiled. What was this guy doing back home?


    "Hey, over there. Isn''t that Primus'' disciple?"


    The man in the distance faltered before his fury streaked through the skies.


    "Ryu! You son of a bitch! If I don''t tear you limb from limb -!"


    A string of curse words echoed through Sacrum.

 Chapter 1502 Redder

    Chapter 1502 Redder


    Ianjor had been in a decent mood. He was finally back home after such a long while, and the Fire Shrine ended up being far more useful to his cultivation than he had thought it would be.


    But then, just when he was on the verge of a minor breakthrough, there was a huge surge from it, and the Shrine practically kicked him out as though he was some dog by the roadside.


    Before he could even understand what was happening, the entire Plane entered a state of chaos, and he was thrown around from left to right, and then right back to left as though he was a puppet on a string.


    Just when the commotion finally stopped and he regained his bearings, he realized that Ryu was in the distance, and he didn''t even need to think to know that it was this little bastard that had ruined all of his fun.


    But as though Ryu wasn''t satisfied with just this alone, he actually called him that bastard''s disciple? This was information he hadn''t even personally told Ryu. Instead, it was all because he had stepped into that stupid trial and let that stupid, sadistic bastard get a hold of him to "sever" Karma.


    "Fuck him. Fuck Ryu. Fuck this whole Tatsuya family."


    He roared and made a move, but to his shock, when Ryu retaliated-something he had already expected-the strength was far beyond what he was expecting it to be.


    As usual, Ianjor was controlling his strength. One would think that Ryu would show a little bit of courtesy for that and provide some kindness in return.


    Ryu did nothing of the sort.


    Ianjor''s eyes widened as Ryu''s fist seemed to phase through his own, colliding with his chest like a speeding meteor.


    Ianjor was sent flying backward, his body arching and the back of his clothing setting on fire.


    Before he could even crash into the ground, though, he phased through and into the void. It wasn''t under his own power at all, but rather that of Ryu''s.


    The feeling of weightlessness and disorientation hit him in waves, and it only got worse when he suddenly found himself in the Chaos Plane.


    Ianjor''s eyes opened wide. How had this happened? One couldn''t just casually teleport a person around as they pleased, especially when that person was beyond yourself. Ianjor was already an Omniscient Sky God, and that minor breakthrough he was about to make earlier would have put him well on the way to stepping into the next minor level.


    Transcendent Sky Gods could already attack those hidden within the void, so sending one that was already past that level into the void without their consent was nigh impossible.Fo?llo?w new stories at novelhall.com


    This was a self-created ability of Ryu''s and a fusion of [Lines of Fate] and [Fate Reversal]. The latter formed the connection with the opposing party, and the former showed them what he wanted them to see.


    Ianjor still couldn''t see through it, but he didn''t have to. The instant before Ryu''s punch hit, all of those possible realities would have to choose one real one.


    Under no circumstances, when he was restricting his strength, he wouldn''t be fast enough to react to that instant of time.


    But now that he was being shameless...


    "Who the hell cared?"


    BANG!


    Ryu was compressed flying back.


    "It''s my turn now!"


    Ianjor wailed on Ryu from all sides, beating him black and blue.


    However, at some point in time, Ryu''s chuckles began to ring out, causing Ianjor to pause for a moment. When''d this guy become such a masochist?


    Suddenly sensing something, Ianjor''s head snapped up. In the distance, a familiar white-haired beauty moved through the skies.


    "... Shit."


    Was all Ianjor could say before he was frozen in place. He could only lower his head like a wronged child, unable to look up.


    "Son of a bitch? Bastard? Who was he cursing exactly? Dammit! Had he known she was here, would he have even dared to say such a thing?"


    The sound of Ryu''s chuckles only made him redder and redder.

 Chapter 1503 Not for Him

    Chapter 1503 Not for Him


    "... Yes, ma''am... of course, ma''am... I''ll never say that again, ma''am... You have my sincerest apologies ma''am... Yes, yes, I''ll remember this day, ma''am... No, no, ma''am isn''t the only thing I can say, ma''am..." Ianjor quickly spoke.


    Ryu was doing his best to hold back his laughter after being scolded as well. Truthfully, he didn''t even know what he did wrong, other than it being obvious he had "used" his mother. Then again, that was probably enough for Himari to give him a stern talking to.


    It was amusing. The last time Himari had scolded him, he had been just about to turn seven years old. It was a common occurrence back then. After his Awakening Ceremony, though, most things changed. Namely, Ryu changed. Though one part of it was likely because his mother wanted to go easier on him because of the trauma his failure had caused, Ryu didn''t believe that if he had taken a different path, his mother would have just stood by the side as he became a profligate playboy.


    Most of the reason he had been "spared" was because he had practically entirely lost his sense of playfulness. Life wasn''t fun for him, so he made it about work. It was hard to find something to pick at when your child spent 95% of their life in a library.


    Though, now looking back, that was probably a blessing in disguise. The original Ryu would have never wasted his time on the arts, or the library. He would have never become a Ruin Master either; it was far too boring. He had liked to fight, and he had spent practically every waking minute swinging around his spear.


    Finally, Himari seemed satisfied and let Ianjor go, causing him to walk away dejectedly. Only after she was finally gone did Ianjor give Ryu a death glare.


    Ryu grinned. "Why are you looking at me like this, I got rebuked too-"


    Ianjor clamped a hand over Ryu''s mouth. "What the hell is wrong with you? Look at you what way? Are you trying to get me into trouble again? It was just a normal look, okay? A NORMAL look."


    Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. "Is mother that scar-"


    Ianjor''s hand clamped down harder. "Stop!"Fo?llo?w new stories at novelhall.com


    Ryu got a hoot out of that one. Ianjor was probably, what? At least closing in on a billion years old by now, and look at him. One would think that he was still a toddler.


    Ryu shook his head. "I''ll do whatever I need to for power, but I have my own bottomline. I don''t think I crossed it with Empana, not even close, but it wasn''t exactly the best thing to do."


    Ryu''s senses weren''t sharp enough to distinguish between Sky Gods back then, so he couldn''t really tell Empana''s nor Ianjor''s level. But what he had known was that they were both stronger than Mae''s father. This went to show their sheer level of talent. Ianjor convincing Empana to take him on rather than just directly killing them, and that had saved Ryu a whole lot of headache and probably heartache.


    On the one hand, Empana would have never made it so far without him, especially considering the plot of his stepmother. So, in a sense, Empana did owe him. But on the other, it could be argued that Empana had helped him out.


    Truthfully, Ryu sensed that he was just getting soft if there was a third hand to consider. The old him would have probably never thought about Empana again. After all, if he wasn''t useful to the latter, would he have even lived long enough to take advantage of him in the first place?


    Even so, Ryu''s was less sorry toward Empana and more so toward Ianjor. After all, Empana and Ianjor had been friends, and Ianjor had used that trust to get Ryu an in.


    "Don''t overcorrect and suddenly become a pansy," Ianjor sneered. "Empana and I are friends, but we''re also rivals. In fact, we''ll probably have a real battle soon enough. Though, it''ll probably be delayed given the circumstances."


    Ryu knew that these two were probably part of the same Sect of the Eighth Nether Plane, and it seemed that not everything was harmonious up there. Though, that made sense for the Nether Plane. It was a world of demons, after all.


    "Speaking of which, you could probably participate in that tournament now. Well, you''re still way too weak, but there''s still some time considering your speed of improvement."


    An expression of "ick" spread across Ryu''s face. He didn''t have a lot of luck with tournaments. He didn''t do well with sanctioned events, period.


    Back in the Mortal Plane, his "father''s" man had attempted to kill him. On the Pedestal Plane Patriarch Ember had tried to interfere and take his life. On the Sixth Heaven, he had been pushed to participate in that event to begin with. In the Incomplete Heavenly Path, the Dao Sovereign had snatched away the inheritance he had already rightfully earned...


    All for what, exactly? Because he had the audacity to win. He adored to fight, but tournaments definitely were not for him. He was too good at pissing people off.

 Chapter 1504 Intention

    Chapter 1504 Intention


    "What''s with that look?" Ianjor''s brows raised. "Don''t tell me the great Ryu Tatsuya is afraid of a little competition?"


    Ryu shook his head. "Annoyed by inconveniences, is more accurate. I don''t have the time to throw myself into danger, just to offend people whose heads are far bigger than their guts."


    Ianjor understood what Ryu meant, but he was still surprised by it. No way the Ryu he knew would turn down something like this even if he knew what the outcome would be.


    Would Ryu definitely win? Ianjor didn''t believe so, he hadn''t even met the minimum requirement to participate yet. Though, technically speaking, there wasn''t really a "minimum". It was more like a "if you''re not foolish and don''t want to die a premature death, you won''t even attempt it if you''re not at this level", kind of thing.


    However, what was Ianjor''s guilty pleasure if not making Ryu''s life a living hell?


    "Have you given Voice to your Sky God Title yet?" Ianjor asked with a grin.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    Did he have a Sky God Title? Yes, yes he did. He knew what it was, and it floated around in his mind just when Ianjor asked. Just the thought of it caused the skies to split and the ground to rumble. The clouds above looked as though a million mile blade had suddenly run through them.


    Of course, this didn''t mean much. This was Sacrum, and there was no one in Sacrum, not even Primus himself, who had extra Faith in this land. Ryu''s feats were simply too outstanding, while Primus hadn''t even made his presence known in this land in trillions of years.


    Ianjor''s grin widened. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. It would be a real shame if you missed out. Just how disappointed would you be in yourself. A once in a several epoch opportunity vanishing, merely like that. Oh the humanity."


    If one took it a step further, it wasn''t even merely the name itself.


    Not everyone was a Ruin Master like Ryu, and not every Ruin Master was also a master of linguistics like he was either. Most people didn''t pick out the best and most special characters, or had to sift through thousands of languages before they found the perfect combination for them.


    As a result, what did that mean?


    It meant that what was most important behind a God Title was its intention. There were probably trillions of languages in existence, and a mind-boggling number of word combinations between them. Someone might even think themselves clever and try to combine multiple languages into a single title.


    But none of it would matter.


    Even if two Sky Gods had completely different names, so long as the Intention behind it was the same, they would clash.


    And once that happened, one would either have to swallow up the Faith of the other, or deviate their path to avoid dying.


    Given that there were only so many paths, and thus only so many Intentions a person could have, the difficulty of this matter was far greater than the thought Ryu had given it in the past.


    His God Title was definitely grand and imposing, and it carried his will to rule above all.


    But was he really the only one to ever have such grand aspirations?


    "... and now that you comprehend some of the history, there''s only one thing left, the difference between Voicing your God Title and not."

 Chapter 1505 Voice

    Chapter 1505 Voice


    "Your God Title can exist in two states, one that acts as a confirmation to yourself and the other that acts as a confirmation to the world."


    "Before the Dao Lord Realm, the gap between individuals who stand on either side wasn''t enormous. However, upon reaching the Dao Lord Realm, the difference between those that have voiced their God Titles and those that had not become as vast as an endless chasm. One would assume them to be of two different God Realms."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. This, he didn''t know.


    "In addition, at this point, the grade of your Title becomes of invaluable importance."


    Ryu frowned. The grade of your Title? Honestly, he had never thought about it. That was because he always felt that a God Title was inextricably linked to your Dao. In fact, he wouldn''t be surprised if most had a God Title and a Dao Title that were one and the same.


    Dividing Heaven was his Dao Title, a worthy name for a Founding Dao.


    "Aww, don''t be confused lil bro, big bro still has much more to explain," Ianjor chuckled. "The Grade of your God Title is linked to the Grade of your Dao, but there is a range. In addition, the Grade only really matters if you become a Dao Lord."


    "Those that become Dao Lords, their weakest Dao Level is that of a Dominion Dao. Though, most would have Hegemonic Daos."


    "You need at least a Hegemonic Dao to gain a Lord Grade Title, though there''s a small possibility of gaining a Sovereign Title that would boost your chances of entering the Dao Sovereign Realm in the future. Likewise, there''s a very small chance that someone with a Dominion Dao might be able to snatch a Lord Grade Title as well."


    "The same is true continuing onward."


    "You have the best chance at a Sovereign Grade Title if you have an Ancient Dao, and an extremely small shot at a Deity Grade Title."


    "Finally, with a Founding Dao, you have the best chance at a Deity Grade Title, and since there''s been so few with such a level... normally, anyway."


    Ryu sighed. He knew that the other shoe was going to drop at some point. When could things ever be simple and easy for him?


    Ianjor grinned. "I knew it. Just look at the snotty look on your face, you have a Founding Dao, don''t you? This is just perfect."


    He laughed so hard Ryu thought he might piss his pants.


    At this point, Ryu was speechless. Where was the clamor? Where was the shock? Where was the adoration?


    "And?" Ianjor''s eyes narrowed.


    "That means if they don''t beat those of their generation, they''re out of luck then, no?"


    "What are you trying to say?"


    Ianjor''s gaze turned dangerous, but Ryu''s grin only became wider.


    "If I kill them all, what chance would they stand?"


    Ianjor fell into silence. "Do you even understand what doing that would entail? Forget whether you would do it, do you have any idea what the fallout would be?"


    "A lot of angry old bastards with a foot in the grave," Ryu nodded as though it was only a matter of course.


    "I thought you wanted to avoid trouble? Also, you sound dangerously close to the Martial Gods right now."


    "Avoid trouble? I''m not scared of trouble, I just don''t like unnecessary inconveniences for little to not worthy rewards. But this... This is a worthy reward.


    "What would the gaze on their faces be? After all these years of suppressing everyone else, of deciding who would possess which Daos, of which level, of robbing babies in their cradles and stealing their Fates from them...


    "How would the Martial Gods and the other Nine Powers react to their own children being stripped of everything they''ve ever worked for?"


    Ryu''s grin turned from lively, light and radiant, to a dark, fiendish grin.


    Rage he had buried within him bubbled forth.


    "The day I Voice my God Moniker is the day I''ll crush all of their futures."


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: Will be busy the coming days, delayed chapters will be the result.

 Chapter 1506 Heart vs Conviction

    Chapter 1506 Heart vs Conviction


    Ianjor didn''t say any more. He didn''t know why he wasted his time to begin with. Those big Clan and Sect youths were anything but innocent. Even so, Ryu''s eagerness to do it had thrown him off to some extent.


    "You''ve misunderstood me," Ryu said after his murderous intent faded. "There might be a smile on my face now, but I didn''t suddenly become a good person."


    Ryu looked off into the distance.


    "Once I become strong, I have no intention of gatekeeping who can and cannot become powerful. If my descendants are too weak to maintain the strength I built on their own, then they weren''t worthy of it to begin with. Though, I will, of course, give them probably the greatest advantages of anyone else.


    "But that doesn''t mean that I''ll clutch my pearls as I''m making my way up the mountain."


    Ryu looked at Ianjor seriously, the distance suddenly seeming much less interesting.


    "I''m telling you now, but though you''ve made it to become an Omniscient Sky God, your temperament isn''t firm enough yet."


    "Are you trying to lecture me?" Ianjor sneered.


    "Yes. Yes, I am.


    "I''ve learned quite a lot about Dao Hearts recently, and how powerful a Dao Heart is isn''t decided by how solid it is. It''s decided by how far it can bend without breaking.


    "People have thought me to be inflexible in the past, and they were probably right. Inflexibility isn''t the problem, it''s how the desire of the word is displayed.


    "I won''t bore you with a lesson on linguistics, but I will give you an example. A person who has a Dao Heart built on their undefeated win streak versus someone who has a Dao Heart built on their will to assert victory no matter what. What is the difference?"


    Ianjor frowned. Those words sounded almost the exact same. A win streak versus claiming victory no matter what, weren''t they the same just with different wording?


    However, since Ryu was asking, he knew that that wasn''t the answer.


    Ryu laughed. "Isn''t it? Inaction can often have even more devastating effects. Why don''t you ask my Tatsuya Clan?"


    "At least none of you were tortured for millions of years on end."


    "Are we ranking levels of oppression now? What a novel pastime," Ryu chuckled.


    "You''re infuriating."


    "I''m realistic and won''t be changing for anyone," Ryu corrected. "Don''t take anything I''ve remarked the wrong way. I truly do not care if they have the heart to ''help'' out the less fortunate or not. I could care less. I determine make my own way up that mountain, and I don''t need their pity.


    "But when I''m taking action in the face of their inaction, don''t paint me out to be the monster just because they have hearts of gold and convictions of shit."


    Ianjor and Ryu''s gazes clashed.


    In the end, Ianjor shook his head and sighed.


    "Try not to die, lil bro. It would be a shame if you didn''t even get there after all this bloviating."


    Ryu grinned. "I''ll be just fine. I''m not planning on croaking until I can rip the Spiritual Foundation out of every Martial God Dao God."


    "Good luck with that, I have some cultivating to do."


    Ianjor flashed and disappeared over the horizon while Ryu watched without saying much.


    Then, he heard the click of a tongue.


    "Little Ryu, how can you treat your only friend like this? You''re going to make mother worry."


    Ryu was speechless. Why did his mother make it sound like he had an inability to make friends?

 Chapter 1507 Does it Matter?

    Chapter 1507 Does it Matter?


    In truth, Ryu understood Ianjor''s perspective. He wasn''t a person of weak character, and Ryu knew that he could be ruthless when he had to be, or else he would have never made it to the Omniscient Sky God Realm. The main issue was in the difference of their upbringing.


    In the beginning, Ianjor''s Sect was a subordinate of Ryu''s. They were treated extremely well under the rule of his father and grandfather, Titus and Saint Tatsuya. However, after the Tatsuya Clan was destroyed, and Ianjor''s Sect followed soon afterward, it was ironically another Tatsuya that made his life a living hell.


    Ianjor had experienced two sides of the system Ryu hated so much; he had seen one life where those above you were kind and treated you like humans with real lives and real aspirations, and he had seen the other side where you were treated like nothing more than cattle. Just the fact that Ianjor could make it out from Primus'' torture with such a bright outlook on life went to show the level of conviction he had. Ianjor was probably the only one who could still almost be considered a "junior" that had a Dao Heart anywhere near as firm as Ryu''s own. He had gone through far more than Ryu in life, and he had come out the other side a man with beliefs that wouldn''t be swayed so easily.


    On the other hand, there was Ryu. He had been that person at the top of the world, and before he failed his Awakening Ceremony, his father had ingrained into him the way a ruler should treat their subordinates. It was because of this that he met Ianjor in the first place.


    Ryu''s only viewpoint was as a person who stood at the top of the world. And yet, it was his own so-called great grandfather that had led to the downfall of his Tatsuya Clan. Ryu didn''t divide things into "action" and "inaction." As far as he was concerned, inaction was a form of action. Even what Ianjor saw as "action" could likewise be considered a form of inaction.


    Every time his father handled Ianjor''s Sect with respect, it could be considered a lack of disrespect. Every time his father allowed Ianjor''s Sect to grow and prosper, allowing them to keep much of their own resources, it was a form of not acting to steal, a form of not taking advantage. The so-called line between activity and inaction could be easily twisted with a few swaps of words and language. For Ryu, who had millions of possible translations of these worlds in his mind, these words didn''t hold any water to him.


    What held weight, what held importance, was what always had... The intention. He didn''t care how much of a bleeding heart these people had. In fact, if they had such a thing and still did nothing, they might even be worse than their crueler counterparts. As he had said... he wouldn''t lose sleep over it.


    "What do you think, mother?" Ryu asked.


    Himari appeared by Ryu''s side, looking at her son''s side profile with an inquisitive gaze. She could tell that Ryu wouldn''t change his mind even if she uttered something. This little boy had always been stubborn like that.


    "Are you sure you want to hear mother''s opinion?"


    "Yes."


    "So tell me, who is morally correct?"


    Ryu didn''t answer. In that mess, who could decide?


    On the one hand, a major mass of people gained a reason to live and a belief in something higher than themselves. Their lives were objectively better.


    But on the other, it was all built on a facade with one group that sneered at it and another group that tried their best to uphold it.


    One would hope that an objective answer could come from the Heavens, but the Heavens were just a bundle of laws of reality, what lessons could it give on morality?


    Ryu suddenly laughed.


    "What is it?" Himari asked.


    "I didn''t know mother was such a nihilist."


    "Are you teasing your mother?"


    A dangerous light flashed in Himari''s eyes, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. So, Ryu cleared his throat and raised a finger, putting on a serious expression.


    "Maybe I am. Maybe I''m not. Does it matter?"


    After saying this, Ryu disappeared into the void, running away at his fastest speed.

 Chapter 1508 Where?

    Chapter 1508 Where?


    Himari shook her head and watched Ryu run away. She didn''t bother to do anything, and why should she? She was in a very good mood. Even her injuries had been healed by the little woman''s pill, so it wasn''t strictly necessary for her to stay here any longer. Maybe after all this time, she could finally reunite with her husband.


    "100 years, hm?"


    Her eyes twinkled, then she too vanished. For a long while, the Shrine Plane would be entirely uninhabited.


    Ryu successfully "escaped" his mother. However, it seemed that his time in Sacrum had not ended yet as he sensed something.


    His playful expression vanished as he suddenly appeared before a familiar man.


    The King Cultus of the Cultus Faeries, Ailsa''s father, stood in a vast endless void. Ryu wasn''t surprised by this in the slightest. After all, this was a common ability of the Faeries, and Sacrum was also a much easier world to do it in. Part of the reason it had been so easy to bring Ailsa around with him during the start of his journey was because she could do this. Though, she was in the Ethereal Plane rather than the void.


    King Cultus was taken off guard, clearly not expecting Ryu''s sudden appearance. He had sensed the commotion, much like everyone else of Sacrum had. But rather than ignoring it, he had actually come, his heart weighed down by something unspeakable.


    While he could hide from everyone else, though, it was impossible for him to hide from Ryu, and the latter sensed him almost immediately.


    Ryu didn''t say anything as he observed the man.


    It wasn''t a secret that there was no love lost between these two men. Ryu was hugely unsatisfied with his actions, but the straw that broke the camel''s back wasn''t how he had treated Ryu, but rather how he had treated his daughter.


    Ryu''s choice to stand up to the Martial Gods for the sake of his mother was exactly that, his choice. But during that entire process, King Cultus did not show his face even a single time. One would have thought that the Faeries had nothing to do with the Fate of Sacrum at all.


    It was enough for Ryu to have little to no respect for this man at all.


    King Cultus'' shock slowly ebbed away as he met Ryu''s eyes. He could tell that he was no match for this young man. Even back then he was already no match considering what he had done to the Martial Gods. It could be said that the Tatsuya Clan could go back to being the ruling power of Sacrum whenever it was they wanted.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    Ryu actually didn''t know why he bothered to appear before this man. He didn''t think he deserved to know what had happened to Ailsa either, after all, he didn''t step up the last time Ailsa needed him most, so how would he step up now?


    Maybe it was just a petty desire to make sure this man knew that he was superior, and his nonsensical attempts to keep him and Ailsa apart were worthless before him then, and they certainly were worthless now.


    With that thought, Ryu seemed to have the intention of leaving directly, but King Cultus actually spoke.


    "My daughter..." he said slowly. "She is not of this world anymore, what happened to her?"


    Ryu''s gaze flashed like lightning. The pressure was so much that King Cultus fell to a knee, coughing up a mouthful of blood.


    "What do you mean she''s not of this world anymore?"


    The low rumbling Ryu''s voice pressed into the deepest crevices of King Cultus'' body, making even the marrow of his bones tremble.


    "Child, you''ve finally visited," Queen Cultus spoke lightly.


    Ryu looked into her eyes and he relaxed. "I guess you can say that."


    Queen Cultus chuckled lightly. "Your personality is quite similar to my daughter''s. I am not surprised that the two of you are Life Partners. But I also cannot help but worry as a mother anyway."


    Ryu didn''t respond to this. He had just been with his own mother, it wasn''t too hard to understand how she might be feeling.


    "I do not have much longer to live, I only hope that you''ll bring my daughter this letter. I was absent for most of her life, though not due to my own choosing. So I hope that you can help me."


    Ryu could hear some of that hidden bitterness.


    Indeed. Ailsa''s mother had been here all the while, but when her daughter was very young, she vanished all to wait for Ryu to finally appear millions of years later.


    This woman had lost her eldest son, and then effectively her eldest daughter as well. The first couldn''t be helped, but what parent wouldn''t feel bitter that their daughter chose a stranger over them? Especially since the nobles of the Faeries never took Life Partners seriously.


    "You can give it to her yourself."


    Ryu tossed something forward and then vanished.


    Before Queen Cultus'' expression could sink, she caught the pill out of the air and her expression changed.


    She turned around and looked for where Ryu possessed gone, but he was already nowhere to be seen.


    "I''m not your worker mule. You cannot just order me to concoct pills for you on command. I have a life."


    "Do you?" Ryu asked, sending his senses into that tiny Golden Moon World.


    The little woman threw a tantrum at these words, but Ryu just listened with amusement written all over his face.


    "Let''s obtain to something more serious. According to my calculations after getting my hands on this treasure, it''s impossible for it to be a simple matter of time dilation, at least not given the time. So what happened? What does another world mean?"


    The little woman fell into silence.


    Ryu remained only mumbling to himself and spoke to the little woman out of habit. After all, he had spent decades under the influence of that blackhole, he had to perform something to pass the time and that ended up being teasing the little woman.


    So, he didn''t notice when she fell into silence. But he definitely listened her reply.


    "The Title Stele only appears once every several generations. It''s such a powerful tool, so why haven''t the Nine Powers taken control of it yet? Where perform you think it proceeds after the battle is complete?"

 Chapter 1509 Speak of Duty

    Chapter 1509 Speak of Duty


    Ryu didn''t quite know how to respond to this. He had just learned about the Title Stele, and it wasn''t a prominent, deity-like treasure in his mind like it was for everyone else just yet. So he hadn''t even put two and two together until the little woman spoke.


    Even so, she said it like it was common knowledge, but Ryu highly doubted that this was the case. If anything, it was likely that only a small number of people were aware, while the rest just assumed the Title Stele was brought out by the Nine Powers whenever they so fancied.


    The idea, though, that there were still some powers outside the control of those Nine Clans and Sects made Ryu''s heart palpitate.


    He didn''t think that there was a huge shift in power like there was in Sacrum. Dao God should truly be the limit of cultivation. However, that didn''t mean that there weren''t worlds more powerful than this one.


    Their Heavens had a limit of 999 Founding Daos. What if there was a world with higher limiters than that? Or maybe, what if all Heavens had the same exact limiters, but the difference was that they actually filled their quota while they very much did not?


    There were only a handful of Founding Daos in existence in the True Martial World, nowhere near the limit. It would be interesting to see what a world packed to the brim with such existences would look like.


    He wondered, could it be that the actions of these powerful Clans were making their universe weaker than it should be? And if they knew that there were other worlds, why would they do something as stupid as limiting their strengths like this?


    The way those Nine Powers acted, one would think that they already stood at the top of everything and now they were just maintaining their power. But if they weren''t, then weren''t they too stupid?


    The thoughts swirled around in Ryu''s head until he realized that there was a convenient person to ask right here.


    "... Are they stupid?"


    These were the only words Ryu could come up with. He had so many questions, but in the end, they all distilled down into that single thought.


    The little woman was stunned before she suddenly sputtered with laughter. She laughed so hard that Ryu thought that he might end up hurting himself.


    Now that he thought about it, this was most definitely the first time he had heard this woman laugh, at least in such an earnest manner.


    It was quite beautiful in its quirkiness. Though, the longer she laughed, the more Ryu wondered if it was because of the way her laughter sounded that she had made a concerted effort not to.


    Not to toot his own horn, but he was quite a witty person. He didn''t believe for a second that he had said nothing amusing in the last several decades. But this was what brought her over the edge?


    The little woman''s laughter sounded like the cross between a silver bell, a fairy''s whistle, mixed in with the honk of an elephant''s trunk. It was shocking how something could simultaneously be so beautiful and yet so jarring at the same time.


    The longer she laughed, the more certain Ryu was that she had just been holding back. It was like decades of pent-up humor had rushed out all at once, drowning her in a pleasure that made her grab at her belly.


    It wasn''t until several minutes later that she managed to calm down, gasping for breath. She slowly came to realize what she had done, and her face blushed with shame.


    Ryu grinned. "Don''t let me ruin your fun, please, do continue."


    "Shut up!" The little woman snapped.


    "If you wanted me to call you a little elephant instead you should have just told me."


    "Stop it!"


    "Okay, okay, little dumbo-"


    Ryu vanished and entered the Golden Moon world, a hand on his chin.


    "Definitely little," Ryu nodded.


    Hope was on the more petite size. Most of Ryu''s wives were over six feet tall, but she was the height of a more normal woman. She also didn''t have Ailsa''s towering breasts or Eska''s wide birthing hips.


    Of course, she was still a one in a million beauty. Her proportions were perfect, her face was delicate even when she was pouting, and those eyes that seemed to hold the depth of the cosmos themselves were mesmerizing.


    Her eyes were truly fascinating. The more powerful she grew, the more shocking Ryu found them. She had no whites at all, neither did she have pupils. Her irises took up her entire eyeball and they swirled like the colors of a deep purple nebula, accented by twinkling stars.


    Even now, she was wearing pink. She couldn''t have been more of a little woman even if she tried.


    "What are you doing here?!" Hope frowned.


    Ryu chuckled. "Shouldn''t I be asking you that? You know, originally, you said you would only stay in the Golden Moon World until you returned to your full power. Well, now you''ve not only returned to that strength, but you''ve taken a step beyond to become an Omniscient Sky God.


    "So you tell me, why are you still here?"


    Hope''s eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. She immediately looked away from Ryu''s eyes, not wanting to meet them.


    "What''s it to you? It''s not like you need this place that much. Why are you being so mean?"


    The little woman looked like she might burst into tears again, leaving Ryu without the words to say.


    If you were going to be on the verge of becoming a Dao Lord, couldn''t you at least act like it?


    "I was merely checking up on you, making sure you didn''t have anything more important to do. Wouldn''t want you wasting away your time following me around, right?"


    Hope sniffled. "I have nothing better to do," she finally mumbled.


    Ryu smiled and didn''t resist the urge to pat her head. He was practically two heads taller than this slight woman; how could he stop himself?


    Hope was startled, but eventually didn''t resist.


    Ryu shook his head. He really had no idea how this slight woman had survived for so long on her own. He almost wanted to make sure she would stay so that he was the only single that could take advantage of her.


    "Speaking of duty," Ryu grinned. "When are you going to have my baby?"


    Hope turned as red as a tomato and seemed to lose all speaking function.


    Was this the same woman that had demanded he be her Dao Companion the initial moment they met? What changed?


    After Ryu got his fill of teasing the slight woman, he set his sights on the True Martial World again. Namely, Elizaren.


    He had a promise to uphold and his initial kill as a Sky God to claim.

 Chapter 1510 Open

    Chapter 1510 Open


    The Fifth Heaven felt... weak. Standing high in the skies, this was the only thought Ryu could have. He didn''t even feel the usual restraint of the Heavenly Laws pressing him down, and he wasn''t even using his Sword God aura to fly either. Though, he was using a hint of his Cosmos Fog to bend the laws to his will, allowing him to fly as though it was the First Heaven.


    He remembered the first time he stepped foot into this land. Even the First Heaven was such a heavy burden on him. Anyone else would have said that they "didn''t expect this" or that "everything had happened too fast," but Ryu only grinned. This was what his sweat and blood had earned him. He wouldn''t diminish his accomplishments with the fake humility of polite society.


    "Elizaren!"


    His voice boomed, the Sect below quaking.


    The land was quite beautiful. It radiated the sharp aura of the glaive, even the waterfalls of gold in the far off distance that started from nothing and disappearing into nothingness just as quickly, radiated that same sharp aura.


    However, what did its beauty have to do with Ryu?


    The booming echo of his voice caused the Clan to shake and quake. At the same time, several powerful auras locked onto his position, their killing intent practically palpable. Ryu could feel their thoughts oh so clearly.


    The feeling of having his eyes back was so intoxicating, far more intoxicating than his Dao alone had ever been... at least in the past. Now that his eyes were unsealed and the gateway to his soul was free and clear, Ryu could finally feel the true strength of his Founding Dao. It was only now he realized just how much his sealed eyes had held him back.


    Sensing the aura of the True Sky God Elizaren down below, he wasn''t fazed for even a moment. A Sky God two Realms above his own...? Who cares?


    Elizaren was shocked by what he was seeing. He remembered Ryu''s words, how could he not? But since then, so many things had happened. The Dream Asuras had vanished, and the Radiant Star Sect which they had once seen as a middling Sect, had suddenly risen to the Seventh Heaven.


    Some speculated that maybe they had already been wiped out. It wasn''t like the Seventh Heaven would take kindly to the appearance of a new Sect, and they didn''t have a pipeline of information from above either.


    However, the fact that Ryu was here and being so bold at that... how could they still believe that?


    "I will not harm you during this battle. I hope you''ll remember my kindness and not attempt to use the might of your Sect to pressure my Sky Clan. We will let bygones be bygones after this battle."


    Ryu looked into Elizaren''s eyes as though he was looking at a fool.


    "You... overestimate yourself. In this world, there is no one that can harm even a hair on my woman''s head without signing their own death warrant."


    "YOU-?!"


    At that moment, a billowing Cosmos Fog came off from Ryu''s body. It looked like a normal grey cloud at first, but then it began to spark with light, and within tiny micro-tears, it was possible to catch a glance of the cosmos within.


    In an instant, the two were enveloped in this dense domain, while the Spiritual Senses of the Omniscient Sky Gods of the Clan couldn''t even manage to penetrate.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed. "[Earth Gate]... Open"


    "You..." Elizaren''s eyes widened when he understood what he was seeing, a panic taking hold of his heart. "Heavenly... Heavenly..."


    Ryu drew two fingers across the air as the glow in his eyes slowly faded.


    Those of the Sky Clan watched with rapt attention, but they didn''t expect that the fog would slowly dissipate just moments later.


    Ryu stood to one side, Elizaren to the other.


    Just when they considered that Ryu''s bluster was all for show, Elizaren''s body trembled and then slowly fell from the skies... In two pieces.

 Chapter 1511 Stalker

    Chapter 1511 Stalker


    Ryu sent an indifferent gaze toward the people below, his gaze landing on Vie for only a moment before he waved a hand. A strong power enveloped Elizaren''s body and his Godhood was ripped out of him. No one could say a word as Ryu turned to leave. He could feel the fury of the other Sky Gods of the Sect, but what could they do but watch? They probably assumed that Ryu had used a treasure of some sort that could kill a True Sky God instantly, and even if it was a one use item, could they even kill him now? All they could do was swallow their rage.


    Vie gripped his fists hard, watching Ryu leave slowly and leisurely as though he hadn''t just humiliated their entire Clan. The feeling of defeat was etched deep within his heart.


    ...


    "You..." Hope didn''t know what to say. All the while, she had been telling Ryu how foolish he was. He couldn''t just stroll into a Sect like that just because he had become a Fragmented Sky God. His strength wasn''t enough to deal with a True Sky God at all. The distance between Sky Gods was so fierce that even the current Ryu was no match for a True Sky God of the Second Heaven, of which there were only a handful to begin with. The gap between Sky God Realms couldn''t just be made up with by talent. In fact, perhaps only the very best geniuses of the Eighth Heaven could barely manage to battle equally with an incredibly weak True Sky God. And yet... And yet Ryu had killed him with a single swipe of his fingers.


    "Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils... When... How... You..." Hope didn''t know what to say or what to do with herself. She felt flustered, excited, exasperated, and without words all at once. Her body was even threatening to shut down completely.


    The Number One Ranked Heavenly Pupils. No, on the True Martial World, it had fallen to Number Three behind the World Pupils and the Time Pupils, but this wasn''t because it was weak at all. Setting aside the fact that even the lowest rated pupils were incredibly powerful, the only reason the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils was no longer number one was purely because it had been countless generations since it had last appeared in the True Martial World. Due to this, the World Pupils and the Time Pupils had managed to surpass it in terms of Faith accumulated, and as such had moved up the rankings. These two Number One and Number Two Ranked Heavenly Pupils, respectively, had likewise surpassed the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils in terms of Heavenly Bestowed Power.


    But even so, the Number Three ranked Pupils... Number Three... When she was in her prime, the only no Heavenly Pupils above Number Ten appeared below the Ninth Heaven! Even further than that, Heavenly Pupils couldn''t seem to be birthed beneath the Eighth Heaven either!


    "You can close your mouth now, you''re drooling a little bit," Ryu chuckled. "Aren''t you afraid I''m going to take your Heavenly Pupils?"


    "The Heavens-"


    "Don''t answer seriously when I''m unhappy. Didn''t you want to be my Dao Companion? You have to learn how to coddle your man''s feelings."


    "Who wants to be your Dao Companion!?" Ryu ignored the little woman that had suddenly turned tsundere. He also threw this annoyance to the back of his head too, he didn''t have the time to care about that right now. Soon enough, his Heavenly Pupils would be back where they deserved: first place.


    His [Earth Gate] right now was interesting. In the past, after he used Heaven or Earth Gate, there would be a substantial distance between the moment and when he could use it again. In the worst situations, it might even be decades. Right now, though, he felt that he could turn it on and off as he pleased, and there was no cool down other than the Karmic Qi of his eyes alone.


    Obviously, though, and quite unfortunately, he couldn''t just casually use it as he pleased. It was an annoyance, but he couldn''t rely on that old man to protect him. Any use of his eyes had to be covert, and the only reason he dared to use them at all was because of the evolution of his Bone Structure and his Void Spiritual Sense.


    Earth Gate was anything but covert, considering the huge Phenomena that would appear behind him whenever he used it. That was fine, though. Just slay whoever saw it, simply enough.


    He tossed Elizaren''s Godhood in his hands. It seemed that he could finally start hunting Godhoods now to speed up his Realm Heart''s growth.


    ''Hm?''


    He looked up, his eyes narrowing when he saw a familiar beauty up ahead. This woman, wasn''t she that person they called Fairy in the Heavenly Dew Pavilion? What was she doing here? Was she stalking him?

 Chapter 1512 Miss Stalker

    Chapter 1512 Miss Stalker


    Fairy Claire stood in the distance, somewhat hesitantly. She had already spotted Ryu flying through the air, and was a bit surprised by that. But more than that, she was a bit embarrassed because she could feel Ryu''s gaze on her as well. He had actually spotted her long ago; this wasn''t part of the plan.


    "Hello, Miss Stalker. Why are you following me around?"


    Claire froze, and her expression was practically flushed red after she heard these words. The people of the Heavenly Dew Pavilion would never believe what they were seeing even if they were present. This wasn''t the Claire they knew at all.


    Was she a stalker? By the strictest definition... probably.


    The only reason she was here was that she had done a lot of research about Ryu, and she found out about his oath. If he was anything like that man, which she thought he had to be if they were related in some way, then he would definitely keep his promise.


    She hadn''t actually been waiting for a long while, only a few weeks. Originally, she had thought that she should wait a few more years, but she was too anxious about it and ended up coming here anyway.


    Luckily, she had. Who knew that someone could actually progress to the Sky God Realms so fast? She thought that she might have looked insane standing around here, waiting for Ryu for decades. Maybe he would never come at all; it wasn''t like becoming a Sky God was an easy task. In fact, it was harder the more talented you were.


    But now she was kind of regretting her actions. She was already labeled as a stalker, and she felt like Ryu could see right through her. She could even react as he landed just five or so meters from her, a curious look in his eyes.


    Ryu found all of this to be quite amusing. His first meeting with this woman was when she practically kidnapped him, and since then they hadn''t had any other interactions. But he had sensed her gaze on him several times, none more fervent than the moment before he entered the Complete Heavenly Path.


    And now she was here.


    He could make a few guesses as to how and why; it wasn''t too difficult to comprehend how. After all, back then, there had been many witnesses to his oath, whether by the older or younger generation. Plus, even if only the old had heard it, Claire was a Sky God herself, so these were the people she rubbed elbows with to begin with.


    However, the why was more curious? Looking at her nervous and flustered appearance, he shook his head.


    ''No, it can''t be. My charm isn''t that great.''


    It was possible, then, that Ryu was just an illegitimate child, but she knew Ryu''s personality well after... stalking him for so long. If his relationship with Titus was so poor, he would have never called him father.


    "Well, good luck." Ryu patted her shoulder and flashed into the distance.


    "Wait!" Claire called out. "What do you mean good luck?!"


    Ryu didn''t turn back and shrugged.


    "If my mother found out you were chasing after her man, she''d cut you into a thousand pieces."


    Ryu''s giggles echoed through the skies, and in an instant, he had vanished over the horizon, leaving Fairy Claire in a stunned silence.


    A brief sigh came from her lips.


    She could do all of this, but she never had the courage to stay on the Seventh Heaven by that man''s side. Hadn''t she returned to the Sixth Heaven? Content to spend her days being called Fairy by everyone she came across?


    Maybe if she had stayed to fight, she would have positioned a better chance. But a woman like her wasn''t the kind Titus was looking for.


    This made it easier, though. She just wanted to know a little bit more about him... this was enough.


    The sobs fell down Fairy Claire''s cheeks as she began to slowly walk away.


    By the time she returned to the Heavenly Dew Pavilion, her sobs had dried, and the thoughts of romance had been thrown to the back of her head.


    To her surprise, there was an odd atmosphere, one not usual for the Pavilion.


    Adlael had returned.

 Chapter 1513 Luck

    Chapter 1513 Luck


    Ryu returned to the Seventh Heaven, a feat that wasn''t actually all that difficult for him now. All he really had to do was take some time to draw out a large-scale formation. He didn''t have the resources necessary to do it, but the black hole within him was all he needed, really.


    It was still an impossible task to control those treasures within him. In fact, now that they had all banded together, they were even more unruly and difficult. Before, he could just barely manage to use the Infinity Mist at a great cost to himself. But now, just budging things made him feel like his body might explode.


    It took him entering Breath of Heaven and focusing for about half a day before he could manage to take out a sliver of the force hidden within his black hole Natural Treasure. Luckily, that sliver was more than enough to power his formation and send him right back into the Seventh Heaven.


    He took a breath and exhaled, feeling that the air was truly just a little bit sweeter up here. But this only lasted for a moment before he broke out into a sprint, blinking in and out of the void.


    ''Goddammit!''


    Ryu took deep heaving breaths, barely managing to calm his beating heart. He made a mental note to himself to not randomly teleport into these higher Heavens anymore if he still wanted his life.


    On the lower Heavens, from the First to the Sixth, humans still managed to control a large bulk of the land. Even if Ryu spent years adventuring, the odds he''d run into a God Beast were incredibly low. On the Seventh Heaven beyond, though, Nature began to fight back, and quite frankly, it was winning.


    The vast majority of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Heavens were wild lands filled with danger. Only a small portion actually managed to house civilization, and they were all built around the powerhouses of a Sect or Clan.


    Hope had always been quite bored in these years and had thus taken to taking care of Little Silk. Although she said that she was still busy and that''s why she was staying by his side, Ryu knew that was all ridiculous.


    The real reason Hope stayed by his side was likely because she was curious about where he would go. Her Fate was tied to his own due to the method of reincarnation that he had used, so when he had his near-death experience, she should have felt it as well.


    Interestingly enough, she hadn''t mentioned that matter a single time. This was a far cry from the Hope that almost collapsed when she learned that Ryu''s Fate was chained.


    "She''ll wake up soon, and definitely be more powerful than a hooligan like you."


    Ryu laughed. He found that he didn''t mind this small woman''s company all that much.


    It took several weeks, but Ryu eventually made his way out of the wilderness and ventured into "civilization". Well, at the very least, the outer edges of it.


    But sensing the qi in the air, he shook his head and sighed. His luck really wasn''t all that good.


    Considering the density of lightning qi, this was definitely the Azure Lightning Sect''s territory. If they found out he was here, how many experts would they send to chase after him?

 Chapter 1514 Troublesome

    Chapter 1514 Troublesome


    Ryu moved with lightning-like swiftness. Though he was in Azure Lightning territory, the truth was that he didn''t feel much pressure at all. The number of spatial experts were far too few, and even those that were likely had weaker affinity than himself. Unless someone locked onto his aura before he entered the void, was actively scanning the void, or he chose to expose himself, the danger he was in was relatively lesser.


    Plus, he had just spent the last several chasing down treasures the likes of which even Dao Gods might drool over. If he lost his life so casually now, wouldn''t it be too ridiculous?


    However, Ryu was still in a bit of a predicament. He wasn''t sure where the Radiant Star Sect was.


    In the past, Aika had been quite arrogant, stamping down the Sect right in the middle of the Heaven she ascended to. But Ryu highly doubted that she could continue to be so arrogant after coming back to the Seventh Heaven. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    Granted, it would likely be less due to Aika herself, and mostly due to the external pressure from the elders and grand elders that had returned from the Sixth Heaven as well.


    Ryu wasn''t too worried, though. Finding out about the first Sect to rise up to the Seventh Heaven in several generations was an easy task. He was sure that there would be some wars that had broken out, and in a territory like this one, controlled by one of the Sect''s competitors, it would be even easier to find information.


    Ryu hesitated for a moment and chose to step out of the void. He slipped a mask onto his face and tied his flowing white hair up.


    He didn''t very much like to tie his hair up like this, but the minor details would likely go a long way in a situation like this one.


    The town he approached was known as Thunder Brace City. Seeing the guards all wearing brass braces embedded with azure coloured gems, one could easily decipher where the place got its name from.


    Ryu smiled to himself. He missed having his eyes. Now he could freely scan everyone he came across and they would truly be none the wiser.


    ''And then there''s my "handler"...'' Ryu thought with a chuckle.


    On a building in the distance, the moment he had stepped into the city, someone was tasked with following him. They were quite covert and this person was in the Perfect Sky God Realm, but they couldn''t escape Ryu''s eyes at all.


    The middle-aged man didn''t seem to have malicious intentions, it was more likely that whenever someone stepped into the town with a mask, they were assigned someone to watch over them.


    ''Security is actually so tight. Is this because of the potential war that''s likely still ongoing? Or has it always been this way?''


    Ryu asked the little woman since he wasn''t sure.


    "This is fairly common on the Ninth Heaven, but this is definitely new to me for this Heaven. Then again, it''s been a very long time since I returned here, I didn''t even know your Heavenly Pupils had actually fallen so far until recently."


    Ryu nodded to himself. Indeed, he probably shouldn''t rely on Hope for information.


    ''I can''t afford to eat as much as I want either, how troublesome...''


    Ryu''s body was exceptionally powerful right now, enough to barely rival a weaker False Sky God.


    One could imagine, then, the kind of gaps there were between Sky God Realms if he was "only" able to fight a single level above with his body.

 Chapter 1515 Battle of Faith

    Chapter 1515 Battle of Faith


    Ryu had undergone the equivalent of dozens of Life Destructions. One would think it would give him more than just that.


    Regardless, in return, he gained a wild appetite and even greater difficulty in appeasing it. And now that he was a pauper, his current funds could probably only fill him up halfway, and that was if he was willing to dump it all into these meals.


    He probably should be focused on returning to the Radiant Star Sect and getting Aika to feed him, but he hadn''t eaten in decades. It was no longer as easy to ignore his rumbling stomach. In fact, he felt that his body still had more room to grow so long as it was finally properly satiated.


    ''Forget it. Return to the Radiant Star Sect first, then get pampered by Senior Aika. Much better plan than wasting time here.''


    Ryu began to do as he usually did, listening to conversations as he walked toward an information center.


    To his surprise, he heard nothing about the Radiant Star Sect, which didn''t make sense unless...


    ''Censorship? That''ll make things a little bit more troublesome... Fine, we''ll see how far I can push this.''


    Ryu strolled into an information center, a small building squished between two skyscrapers. It could have been easily mistaken as some sort of garbage dump.


    "Hello, I would like a map."


    The old man at the counter looked up. A pipe hung from his lips, and his gaze seemed quite dull. However, Ryu didn''t miss the hidden sharpness within it.


    "A map of what?"


    "A detailed map of this region, and a lesser map of the whole Seventh Heaven."


    "A map of the whole Seventh Heaven? Do you know what you''re asking for right now?"


    Ryu laughed. "You sound like I''m trying to rob you. I don''t need a detailed map, just general locations of where the powers are and where the danger zones are."


    "Kid, let me give you some advice. Don''t stroll into a territory, masked, and then go around asking for maps. That''s an easy way to get yourself killed."


    "The Radiant Star Sect?"


    "Oh, you''re a young brat. Right. You don''t know. In the past, there was the Dual Radiance Star Sect. They fell from the Eighth Heaven in disgrace and it was likely due to their internal struggle because they separated into the Fading and Radiant Star Sect soon afterward and became the ruling powers of the Seventh Heaven.


    "However, the Fading Star Sect ganged up with... Well, let''s just say the Fading Star Sect caused the Radiant Star Sect to collapse, murdering the Grand Elder and Patriarch at the time.


    "Those two men were the fathers of Sovereign Aika and Lord Wan respectively.


    "Now, those two have come back, and Sovereign Aika has entered the Dao Sovereign Realm."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. Now that he understood Aika was definitely a Dao Sovereign, didn''t that mean she could sense him when he appeared as well? If she was paying attention, that is.


    It was hard to tell... but considering they were at the center of the conflict, even if she did sense him, would she have the time to come and get him in the first place?


    "They''ve come back with a vengeance and have sought to reclaim their old lands. The trouble is that that land has been split between the Azure Lightning Sect and the Raging Inferno Sect."


    The Raging Inferno Sect. Wasn''t that Jojo''s Sect?


    "Not the Fading Star Sect?" Ryu questioned curiously, although he already understood why.


    The old man only smiled and moved on as though he didn''t ask the question.


    This was a clear and obvious ploy by the Fading Star Sect. Now, the Fading Star Sect could easily force other Sects into the conflict.


    "Sovereign Aika single-handedly repelled the first wave of attacks, causing the tension to increase.


    "The problem is that the Radiant Star Sect has a deficient foundation. Their junior generation is weak aside from Fairy Selheira, but the Fairy was well known before the Sect, and her growth can''t be accredited to them.


    "Realizing this flaw, the Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sect have chosen to make this a Battle of Faith.


    "If the Radiant Star Sect doesn''t hurry and bolster their Faith, their Faith Well will collapse, and the Sects won''t have to do anything but sit back and watch them crumble."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. What was a Battle of Faith?

 Chapter 1516 Good Enough

    Chapter 1516 Good Enough


    Ryu left the old man''s information shack moments later, not asking about the Battle of Faith. He had a keen understanding of which questions he could get an answer to, versus which ones he very much could not ask without raising suspicion. The question of Battles of Faith was most definitely one of the latter. This was the reality, and he had to be cognizant of that.


    But it wasn''t as though this was the end of the world, after all, he still had the little woman, and not long after he left, he asked her the burning question.


    In Sacrum, Faith was crucial as well, but it was more illusory. However, he remembered long ago that he had learned from Sarriel, that in the True Martial World, Faith took physical shape in the form of a well spring of sorts. In order to truly destroy a Sect or Clan, this well spring had to be destroyed first, and if this wasn''t done thoroughly enough, there would always be a chance for a comeback.


    Although Ryu knew this, Faith still felt more illusory to him than not, more like something that could cause the sky to rumble for an instant than anything else. But even when you spoke someone''s name and the Heavens reacted, it would usually be up to the person themselves if they wanted to smite you, not the Heavens.


    Essentially, there was probably no one in existence who you could just die from the mere mention of, and he felt that it was likely the same for Sects and Clans as well.


    For example, he mentioned the Martial Gods all the time. He even cursed them, swearing to destroy them on top of that. But wasn''t he still standing here just fine?


    He imagined that with the ways and methods of the Martial Gods, there were countless individuals who were cursing them every second on the second.


    Maybe it was because he was a native of Sacrum, a "country bumpkin," so to speak, but he really found it hard to wrap his head around these matters.


    "A Battle of Faith is exactly what it sounds like, but on a deeper level, it''s similar to two powers changing the states of their Wells of Faith and using them as a grinding edge against one another.


    "This will have obvious, cascading effects and there will be little anyone can do to stop their enemies from crushing them at that point."


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened. For all of their core techniques to suddenly lose strength?


    But then what about the Taboo Powers? Why did their techniques still work? Or could it be that...


    The Taboo Techniques he was using now were far weaker than they had once been in the past?


    It was a shuddering thought, because it revealed one very crucial thing.


    The Taboo Techniques had lost their Well of Faith to support them, but the techniques of the Nine Powers definitely did not and they should be no less powerful if not more powerful than the Taboo Techniques had been at their peak.


    Just what level were the geniuses of the Ninth Heaven on, then?


    "Well, then. That''s quite the problem, now isn''t it?" Ryu chuckled and strolled right out of the city.


    The old man hadn''t given him a map, but it told him enough.


    So, the Radiant Star Sect was somewhere between the inferno Sect and this lightning Sect...


    Good enough.

 Chapter 1517 Suffocating Encirclement

    Chapter 1517 Suffocating Encirclement


    "Who was that?"


    A shadow appeared behind the old man who was still rolling Ryu''s Fragmented Crystal between his fingers.


    "Some young whippersnapper," the old man chuckled.


    "I don''t think if that was the case you would have talked to him for so long."


    "There''s the scent of stars on him."


    "He''s from the Fading Star Sect?"


    "If he was, would he be here and so out of the loop?"


    "But wouldn''t he know what was going on if he was from the Radiant Star Sect as well? I don''t think any disciple from that Sect, especially not such a weak one, would dare to appear out in the open like this so flippantly. Does he not want his life?"


    "Maybe, unless he wasn''t playing the fool. If he knew all of that, I reverse your question onto you, why would he come here?"


    The shadow fell silent before finally speaking again.


    "So you know who he is?"


    "I have a guess."


    The shadow''s eyes narrowed. This old man only dared to have a guess when he was more than 90% likely to be correct.


    "Who is he?"


    Ryu felt that it was in one part due to his body, and another part due to his new status as a Sky God, not to mention his breakthrough in forming his own unique constitution.


    The world around him didn''t just match his movements, it was eager to do so, rushing and even pushing the other energies around it out of the way so that they could be first in line.


    He had restrained himself while in the old man''s city, but now that he needed speed, gorgeous silver runes danced around him and fueled his body with every step. He could even feel his cultivation enhancing by incredibly small increments.


    And then he met the first line of defense.


    Sensing all the exceptionally powerful Sky Gods around him, Ryu was quite speechless for a moment. They were being more shameless than he thought they were, this was completely brazen.


    The instant he had heard about the Battle of Faith, he knew immediately that the Azure Lightning Sect and the Raging Inferno Sect would do what they could to suppress them, including encirclements if they had to.


    But usually, this would be done more covertly.


    "Where''s the shame?" Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle to himself as he shot past them.


    Get into an all out battle with these Perfect Sky Gods? That would be the pinnacle of foolishness.


    That old man had no idea that Ryu could casually enter the void even while in only the first Sky God Realm, so he had no idea that things would be this easy for him.


    This would cause the old man to lose a bit of the wealth he was planning on making off of Ryu, but who inquired him to be such a busy body to begin with?


    Ryu continued to move and he was finding himself to be more and more without words. The encirclement was practically endless and stretched as far as the eye could see. It took him three more days of traveling just to see the density of Sky Gods finally whittle down a little bit, but by the end of it, he was entirely stunned.


    So these were the suffocating methods of these "powerful" Sects. How noble of them.


    Ryu, whose personality had mellowed out quite a bit in recent years, suddenly found his gaze turning cold again.


    He didn''t rely much on the Radiant Star Sect, if at all. But he owed Aika quite a large debt of gratitude and his impression of Selheira wasn''t bad either.


    These people were truly pissing him off.


    Ryu stepped out of the void when he sensed the final encirclement and spotted the Radiant Star Sect in the distance, his unfamiliar aura suddenly becoming akin to a blazing torch in the night.

 Chapter 1518 Ranks

    Chapter 1518 Ranks


    The region was filled with laughs and cheer. All around the Radiant Star Sect, encampments of juniors that had practically turned into miniature night-scene cities had popped up everywhere. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    As many Sky God elites as there were, there were just as many servants, dancers, and chefs. It was as though while they were busy oppressing the Radiant Star Sect, they couldn''t forget to enjoy themselves, and at the same time, dampen the mood of the Sect.


    If Aika could have just directly destroyed these people, she would have. Unfortunately, she could not.


    For one, the hit to her reputation for casually committing a mass genocide against so many juniors would be astronomical. Even when the likes of the Martial Gods acted against Ryu, they did so covertly, not wanting anyone to know about their dirty deeds.


    Of course, Sarriel had already informed Ryu that Faith worked differently in the True Martial World. Being "bad" didn''t necessarily mean you would have unfortunate Faith.


    That said, being "bad" when your Faith Well wasn''t conform with "bad" could ruin you. The Radiant Star Sect was ultimately a Sect on the side of good. It wasn''t a demonic or devil Sect, so they didn''t gain standing by being dreadful people.


    Plus, there was Aika''s own individual feelings on the matter to consider as well. Even if they were a dark-aligned Sect, she wouldn''t have it in her. As such, she could only brood in disgust and unwillingness every day.


    Ryu, though, could tell that these night-life miniature cities weren''t there just for show. It looked like they were all just casually enjoying themselves, but he could easily see that there was structure to them.


    Each one had about half a hundred Fragmented Sky Gods, half a dozen False Sky Gods, and at least one True Sky God. They were perfectly distributed into "legions" of their own and probably designed to look unorganized when in reality they were ready for battle at any moment.


    If Ryu wanted, he felt that he probably had a pretty good chance of just immediately assassinating entire camps worth of the legions before they even realized that something was wrong.


    But he couldn''t do that. At least not yet.


    Core Disciples were False Sky Gods and Inheritor Disciples had to become True Sky Gods before the age of a thousand years old.


    There were usually age gates at every step, or else one would fall to become Elders.


    Outer, Inner and Core Elders were all one level above the expected Sky God Realm, meaning Core Elders were at least True Sky Gods.


    Grand Elders were Perfect Sky Gods, though some would be a level above at Transcendent and Omniscient as well, leaving their Patriarchs at around the lower levels of that.


    Of course, one would not even dare to name a Supreme Elder unless they were at least a Dao Lord on the Seventh Heaven! This was what made them all True Seven Star Sects.


    Whether it was the Raging Inferno, Azure Lightning, or Stalwart Sun Sect, they were all True Seven Star Sects.


    Then how could they match up to Aika whose sole existence made the Radiant Star Sect an Eight Star Sect?


    The reason was, of course, the Fading Star Sect... who was also an Eight Star Sect.


    ''So each of these legions has at least one Core Elder, followed up by a bunch of Inner and Core Disciples, huh?''


    Ryu chose one at random, not caring much as his aura flared up.


    In the atmosphere of joy and laughter, silence fell. As expected, these people looked casual, but they were all completely ready to throw everything away for the sake of battle.


    Several Spiritual Senses swept over immediately, but when they saw a masked young man wearing robes of white and sky blue, they couldn''t help but frown.


    Why did a Fragmented Sky God dare to appear here?

 Chapter 1519 Scum

    Chapter 1519 Scum


    Ryu strolled slowly. The land beneath his feet wasn''t dry, nor could it be considered lush. It carried a brittle sort of consistency to it that gave way to softness the more weight you pressed down. The trees in the region had been cleared, and the ambience of nature was suppressed by the brazenness of these encampments.


    Walking forward so boldly as just a single person inevitably brought many eyes on him, even more so when his palms turned over and a twin pair of daggers appeared in them. He balanced the tip of one blade on a finger, spinning the other one on his palm. His steps never paused, but his Silver Runes began to appear around him with every time he took.


    The air seemed to grow stiller and stiller, the rustling of the leaves of the few sparse trees that did remain falling into silence as well.


    "It''s been a long time," Ryu said softly.


    He didn''t project his voice with qi, but the Heavens seemed to resonate with him, carrying his vibrating tones ahead as though it insisted that the world must hear him.


    The Core Elder in charge of this encampment narrowed his eyes. He could feel immediately that Ryu wasn''t a normal Fragmented Sky God, but did it matter? He could be the greatest genius and still not be a match for a True Sky God like him.


    But when he looked around, he found that more than half of his Outer Disciples were frozen, their momentum entirely crushed as though they had forgotten what kind of backing they had.


    The subtle hints of Ryu''s Dao fused into the Heavens themselves, bearing down on their psyches and ripping at their heartstrings. Every step he took felt like it echoed right through their chests, their blood flow slowing and their faces paling.


    Core Elder Briza was ranked 20083rd amongst Core Elders. This middling rank was one that he was very proud of, and he wore that pride on his sleeve. Watching these disciples under him react in this way made his teeth itch with rage, but he forced himself to calm down.


    Reprimanding them would be a hit to morale, and he also couldn''t attack Ryu directly or else Aika would have an excuse to make a move.


    A Fragmented Sky God dared to appear in their midst, and yet, despite having over 50 of the same rank on their side, they hardly dared to move?


    What kind of nonsense was this?


    Ryu took a step and slid out of the way of a fist, the hand he was using to palm a dagger''s blade whistling ahead once, then again.


    He took another step and emerged to the side, his dagger-balancing hand flicking its wrist again. The dagger vanished in a blink, but Ryu didn''t seem to care, flicking his free wrist again as though he was controlling air.


    He came to a stop, standing behind the last disciple who was looking around in confusion. He could find Ryu at all and had no idea where he had gone. He couldn''t believe that someone could move so fast as a Lower Fragmented Sky God.


    But then a spurt of blood came from his throat at the same time as two of his companions had a similar spurt come from their foreheads, while the last two were split cleanly down the middle, falling as though they had been hacked in two by a great sword rather than a small, six-inch dagger.


    "Still not enough," Ryu said lightly.


    Core Elder Briza''s eyes bulged, red veins popping out.


    This didn''t make logical sense.


    It had to be remembered that Sky Gods were a completely different level of existence. Battling five at the same level wasn''t anywhere near as easy as it had been in the lower Realms. There were plenty of examples of young geniuses falling to ambushes of less than even a dozen.


    This was the cruelty of the Sky God Realms, and it was also because of this that it was even harder for individual geniuses without backing to rise up on their own.


    But at this point, he was starting to believe that Ryu was hiding his real cultivation.


    "You scum!" He roared. "What is your real cultivation! Is that why you''re wearing a mask!?"


    Core Elder Briza''s words made everyone''s eyes bulge with the same fury.


    Ryu sneered. "If you want to attack, just do it. It''s unbefitting a True Sky God to need such excuses."


    Briza no longer cared what Ryu said. The moment he had planted that seed of reasonable doubt, he signaled everyone.


    "Attack at once, take this scum down."

 Chapter 1520 Living Hell

    Chapter 1520 Living Hell


    By this point, Ryu''s arrival had caused quite a bit of commotion.


    Battles were actually quite frequent given the circumstances, but even then, a battle like Ryu''s, where one person came to seek revenge, was completely unheard of.


    Several figures appeared on the Sect walls of the Radiant Star Sect, but their faces were colored in confusion. Because Ryu was wearing a mask, they didn''t recognize him. Also, the Ryu they knew used Great Swordstaffs, not daggers. In addition, those gorgeous silvery runes floating around him seemed to be a constitution of some sort, and this wasn''t something Ryu had either. It didn''t help that this person was in the Sky God Realm either.


    Last time they had seen Ryu, he was in the Lower World Sea Realm. Even Selheira had spent more than a decade in the Peak World Sea Realm before breaking through, and Jojo had still yet to breakthrough herself-though there was news that she would do so soon.


    The only thing that reminded them of Ryu was the arrogance and the white hair. But there were plenty of arrogant geniuses that overestimated themselves, and white hair was quite common when a sample size of the countless trillions was taken into account. Even Selheira had white hair, for example.


    Aika, Old Wan and the others appeared as well, but they were hidden within the clouds, frowns on their faces.


    Soon, however, Aika''s eyes lit up.


    She had been under a lot of pressure recently. Technically, this entire matter was her fault. She thought that with her strength alone, she could change everything and turn the tides.


    If she had listened to Old Wan instead, and bided their time on the First Heaven, slowly moving through the ranks over many years, they wouldn''t be on such a back foot right now.


    But she was too eager. She wanted revenge. She wanted those that had killed her family and oppressed her for so many years to pay.


    And now, here they were, suffering because of her.


    ...


    The youths on the tower walls frowned, still not recognizing who was below.


    Their own prestige had taken quite a hit as well. They had come from all corners of the Sixth Heaven and they had quite some reputation themselves. But their losses after the Complete Heavenly Path were heavy, the three strongest of them had almost died at the hands of Adlael.


    Brianus, Robion and Bruiser frowned. They had all broken into the Fragmented Sky God Realm by now, and they were all on the Sect walls, so everyone also knew that it couldn''t be any one of them down there.


    So who was this person? And weren''t they being too reckless?


    Even so, they were rendered speechless moments later.


    ...


    Ryu glided through the battlefield, his steps light. He seemed to be both using and not using [Absolute Domain] at the same time, although as though he had taken the skeleton of the technique and condensed it down to a simple handful of steps.


    Everywhere he passed, blood streamed down in a fine rain. And yet, not a single ounce of it touched him. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    The fury of Core Elder Briza was billowing forth. He was especially furious that his suppression wasn''t working in the slightest. If this continued, all of their Fragmented Sky Gods would inevitably fall.


    He looked toward the Core Disciples by his side and his gaze flashed with a dense light.


    The worst part, though, was that two headless corpses stood, their bodies about ready collapse.


    "The Raging Inferno Sect members are rather weak, don''t you think. Those flames couldn''t even though make me sweat.


    "Are you going to send more False Sky Gods at me? Or are you going to take action?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    When the youths on the wall heard this voice, their eyes widened. How could they not recognize Ryu''s voice?


    Briza''s face turned completely red. This was the worst possible outcome.


    "Oh. Since you''re not coming, I am."


    Ryu vanished and when he appeared again, he was barely ten meters from Core Elder Briza. This time, he no longer bothered to hide his Spacetime Soul Nature, directly stepping through space itself and appearing suddenly and majestically.


    His boldness made Briza''s blood boil, but he couldn''t even react in time as one of his disciples found their heads spinning in the air.


    "Come on, you''re too slow, old man. Try to keep up."


    Another False Sky God''s head spun into the air.


    "Why are all these disciples so pathetic? I just broke through and I thought I could have a nice fight. Instead, it feels like I''m mowing weeds."


    Laughter began to ring out in the Radiant Star Sect even as Briza roared with a billowing fury.


    Ryu chuckled and vanished merely when Briza lost his patience. He appeared high in the skies, sitting on a sword with his feet dangling as though he was just trying to enjoy the scenery.


    "Tell you what. If you can make it up here without using a flying treasure, I''ll hand my head to you on a silver platter."


    Briza had never been so enraged in his life. He was a Core Elder, he was revered, he was respected, when had a junior ever spoken to him like this before?


    He took a breath and forced him to calm down.


    "A coward who hides his face and his name isn''t worthy of my rage. You will die in due time."


    The words had been a bit shameless, but they were the only things he could say.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s mask arrived flying at him, fast. It carried an oppressive aura of a Sword God and it appeared before Briza in an instant.


    Briza snorted. What kind of joke was this? Was this supposed to scare him?


    He put a hand up to capture it casually, but then his expression changed. He clamped his fingers down merely a moment too late and it rolled up his palm, rebounding and slamming against his face.


    He took a step, then another step back, his eyes spitting fire as he glanced at the handsome man in the skies above.


    Ryu grinned, his charming smile akin to a second sun in the skies. At that moment, it was hard to think of him as anything but absolutely radiant.


    "My name is Ryu Tatsuya, Inheritor Disciple of the Radiant Star Sect. Remember my name well. Whether it''s the Raging Inferno Sect or the Azure Lightning Sect, or any enemies that might come later, I''ll be sure to make your lives a living hell."

 Chapter 1521 Where and Glares

    Chapter 1521 Where and Glares


    The aura of a Fragmented Sky God had never felt so oppressive before. Briza felt blood rushing to his head, but he froze when he caught sight of what was around him.


    Dead. They were all dead. His entire encampment of elite geniuses, they were all lying in a pool of their own blood.


    As though to add insult to injury, Ryu waved a hand and a mysterious power gripped them. They were torn to shreds as their Godhoods were pulled out from their bodies.


    They quickly soared out of Core Elder Briza''s reach before he could do anything. He wanted to take out a flying treasure, but he froze due to Ryu''s previous words. The embarrassment stalled his attempt and his feet were practically rooted in place.


    Ryu smiled, waving a hand as he turned toward the Radiant Star Sect.


    "Oh, right. I almost forgot. I challenge every single Fragmented Sky God of the Raging Inferno Sect. I will fight one battle every hour, on the hour. Make sure to send your best; my hands are itchy.


    "If you don''t dare to, well... that''s fine as well. I''ll just kill them all from the shadows instead."


    Ryu''s uproarious laughter seemed to finally unveil some of the shadows that shrouded the Radiant Star Sect until this point. They felt like some of their frustration had finally been vented to a certain degree.


    ...


    "Senior Aika, I''m hungry!" Ryu complained.


    Aika looked at Ryu, somewhat incredulously. The last time she had seen Ryu, he had already undergone his change. But back then, he learned about Ailsa and Yaana soon afterward, not to mention entered the Heavenly Path and then disappeared, so she hadn''t really had time to take note of it.


    But the Ryu of the past would have never asked her for anything, let alone said it in such a joking manner.


    That said, she vanished in a blink. Before Ryu could even properly react, she returned with a beast as large as a small hill. In fact, it exuded the aura of a Transcended Beast, leaving Ryu a bit speechless.


    "I was joking, you know."


    "Well, I''m not," Aika harrumphed. "Old Wan, get to cooking."


    This time, it was Old Wan that was left without words. He was a dignified Dao Lord? When had he become this brat''s personal chef?


    Even so, he too had no choice but to comply.


    "Where''s Eska?" Ryu asked after a while.


    This question earned Ryu quite the glare, causing him to hold his hands up in mock surrender. He didn''t expect that asking for his own concubine would lead to such a thing. ViiSiit  for latest novels


    "Don''t you mean: Where is Selheira?"


    Ryu chuckled, finding all of this amusing, but none more amusing than Aika''s blushing face. Clearly, she recalled as well that she was technically promised to Ryu at this point, not that either of them took this seriously.


    Soon, Old Wan recovered, and the meal was completed. But as the three watched Ryu eat, Samson still stuck in the mountain kilometers away, they were stunned.


    They had thought that Aika''s actions were overkill, as usual. But the more Ryu ate, the more they realized he actually had no intention of stopping anytime soon.


    This wasn''t a normal Transcended God Beast, it was a God Beast of the Seventh Heaven. The amount of energy concentrated within its body was tenfold that of a similarly leveled beast of the Sixth Heaven, and that might not be exaggerated enough.


    Simply put, there was a reason there was more wilderness than civilization on the Seventh Heaven. God Beasts were on a completely other level here.


    Aika vanished and fetched another Transcended God Beast.


    She had to be somewhat careful with which ones she picked out since beasts were so strong on this Heaven. If she was honest, these Transcended God Beasts were on the weaker end of the spectrum. And yet, Ryu showed no signs of stopping.


    It wasn''t until Ryu ate what must have been a dozen God Beasts that he finally displayed some sign of slowing down. Or so it seemed, until Aika fetched forward an Omniscient God Beast and he ate the whole thing as well.


    Ryu let out a satisfied sigh and smiled. He could finally feel his cells thrumming with energy. If before his body was equivalent to a Lower False Sky God, it was now equivalent to a Peak False Sky God.


    He realized he had to be more mindful in the future about his food, or else he would be weakening himself. Luckily, he had Aika with him to help him out with this.


    "So, Eska?" Ryu asked.


    "She waited for you for a while before she decided to go off on her own adventures. Unfortunately, she''s also too powerful to take in as a disciple. She offered to help with our plight, but I informed her that it was best she do her own thing."


    Ryu nodded. This made sense, somewhat. Eska and Isemeine were Transcendent Sky Gods, this was a bit too high for a new disciple. But couldn''t they just pretend like she was hidden along with the rest?


    Ryu gazed toward Aika and understood. It seemed that this was a decision Aika had made on her own; she didn''t want to put Ryu''s life in danger, especially without his consent.


    He smiled lightly. "She''ll come back, right?"


    "She should," Aika nodded.


    "Then she''ll fight with us, you don''t need to worry about how I feel about it. So long as she agrees, it''ll all be fine."


    Aika''s eyes brightened before they began to glare again. Eventually, Ryu gave in.


    "Where is Selheira?"


    "Selheira is also doing her best. From time to time I send her out of the encirclement, and she''ll complete some feats on her own. None of the other disciples are strong enough to protect themselves the way she and you can. The fact you made it here speaks volumes.


    "She will be back soon as well. For now, we are trying to hold on."


    Ryu smiled. "I''m not a fan of just holding on; I prefer to bite back."


    He stood to his feet, stretching. "It''s about time we see how many Fragmented Sky Gods they''ll send."

 Chapter 1522 Angry

    Upstodatee from


    Chapter 1522 Angry


    Ryu stepped out from the depths of the Radiant Star Sect and took a seat on the edge of their tall walls. Looking down, he observed the situation, but the more he saw, the more amused he became.


    There was nothing going on. Send their Fragmented geniuses after Ryu? Why? They were content to just sit by and wait. Would this make them look like cowards, maybe. But what would happen if they actually followed Ryu''s orders? Wouldn''t it make it look as though they were following the word of a mere Fragmented Sky God?


    Plus, their true geniuses weren''t wasting their time in these encampments. Their cultivation momentum was precious. So most of the disciples below were just men and women who basically had no chance at reaching the pinnacle of the Seventh Heaven. Of course, that wasn''t to say that they were useless. If they were, they would have never been allowed into the Sect to begin with.


    In order to differentiate, the concept of "cultivation momentum" had to be explored. This was basically referring to how swiftly one could move through levels, how many bottlenecks they might face along the path, or if their energy accumulation would slow or speed up with time.


    When Ryu first entered the True Martial World, he was much older than he should be given his cultivation Realm, even by the First Heaven''s standards. Now, he had firmly caught up, at least with the standards of the Seventh Heaven. He had yet to come across any bottlenecks either.


    However, the youths below were already mostly slowing down. Although it wasn''t exaggerated, and most of them below would still become True Sky Gods at worst, it would take them many years to accomplish this feat. This was unlike the geniuses with momentum to likely become Perfect Sky Gods or even Transcendent Sky Gods. And definitely not like the youths with a small chance to become Omniscient Sky Gods.


    As one could see, there was no percentage chance placed on becoming a Dao Lord because it was nigh impossible to predict. Many were hesitant even to claim that one would certainly become an Omniscient Sky God too, only the greatest of geniuses on the level of Jojo and Selheira could be given such a label.


    But given the fact that Jojo had lagged behind in her breakthrough, one could see the trouble that being supremely talented brought you. Jojo wasn''t like Selheira, she didn''t have some secret lineage that was pressing her forward. She just occurred to have excellent comprehension abilities, and as such she was suffering the blow of her talent much more than Selheira was.


    This was all to say that the Raging Inferno Sect had no inclination in calling back their true geniuses, and with those that remained here, they were even less likely to put themselves forth to be slaughtered by Ryu.


    They frowned and swept their Spiritual Senses around, not finding anything with any sort of immediacy. But then their eyes widened.


    Their numbers? Why were they so low all of a sudden?


    They stood to their feet, looking around, and yet still not sensing anything.


    Half a day later, Ryu appeared on the city walls again, sitting there as though nothing had happened, the same shit-eating grin on his face.


    "I gave you all an opportunity, but it seemed you didn''t cherish it. In that case, I''ll make it quite simple for you all.


    "For every quarter of an hour my challenge isn''t accepted, I''ll massacre another encampment."


    The Core Elders frowned for a moment and then scoffed. Did he think that-


    "I knew you all might not believe me, so I seized it upon myself to buff up my resume a little bit."


    Ryu snapped his fingers and at that moment, a dozen encampments suddenly went up in flames.


    The Core Elders in charge of them suddenly rushed out, looking haggard and beaten. Behind them, only a handful of Core Disciples managed to make it out, but in most of the dozen few, the Core Elder was the only one to survive.


    The expressions of the Core Elders were frighteningly ugly. Not only had their encampments been wiped out, but Ryu had even picked to use flames to do it. It was a complete and utter humiliation.


    "You all look very angry," Ryu uttered in an understanding tone. "Don''t worry, so long as you comply, we can stop all of this from happening."

 Chapter 1523 Go to Them

    Chapter 1523 Go to Them


    The Core Elders ignored Ryu, but they directly started to move their encampments, scanning the regions for more triggers. It was only when they couldn''t find anything that they begrudgingly took this step, but seeing Ryu''s smile, their level of discomfort was growing.


    Soon, a quarter of an hour passed, but the encampments had long since moved. They wanted to see if Ryu would still dare to be so-


    BOOM! Another dozen encampments went up in flames.


    Two explosions. Two dozen encampments. Over a thousand disciples were wiped out, just like that.


    "Ah, my mistake," Ryu said with an apologetic smile. "I meant to only take out one, but your movement ruined my formation triggers. I think you can only blame yourselves at this point."


    Many of the Radiant Star Sect disciples had come to watch the show. After the first explosion, how could they not want to see what Ryu was up to? But now, they just felt awe.


    What was happening?


    "Well, time is ticking. Another quarter of an hour will pass quite quickly. I would suggest not moving, though. You might make it worse next time."


    How could the Core Elders listen to Ryu? They immediately moved the encampments again. This time, they even directly destroyed all of the core infrastructure.


    In their minds, Ryu had somehow tagged their encampments with the runes of his formation. If they purposely left behind some of the core structures, then Ryu''s formation would be disrupted. ViiSiit  for latest novels


    Another quarter of an hour passed by. Another snap of his fingers. Another explosion. This time, three dozen encampments directly went up in smoke.


    Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "I tried to warn you. No one seems to want to listen to me when I tell the truth."


    Core Elder Briza was seeing the world in shades of red at this point.


    Second, Ryu was just a Fragmented Sky God. Ultimately, it was hard for him to have a huge impact on the overall situation even if he crushed every Fragmented Sky God the Raging Inferno Sect had.


    Ryu felt that the perfect Realm for this battle was probably the Perfect Sky God Realm. If he was at that level, he felt that just three months would be enough to crush their Faith and leave them with nothing.


    Unfortunately, he was a long way from that and had to take a different route.


    This was nothing more than a precursor.


    Another quarter of an time passed, and he snapped his fingers again.


    Another portion passed, and he snapped them once again.


    The encampments were vanishing one after another and Ryu played them like puppets on a string. Even when the Core Elders promised that they were contacting their geniuses, Ryu still snapped his fingers a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth.


    Eventually, the Core Elders could only look on in despair.


    The entire first encirclement had been wiped out. Tens of thousands of disciples, each with potential of their own, crushed before they could even rise.


    Ryu shook head. "It seems the Raging Inferno Sect and the Azure Lightning Sect are formed of cowards. I''m very disappointed."


    "We stated they were coming!" Core Elder Briza roared. "Do you think it''s easy to travel across the Seventh Heaven?!"


    Ryu chuckled. "I stated every portion hour, so it''ll be every quarter hour. Do you desire to make me out to be a liar?"


    Briza wanted to tear Ryu to shreds, but he barely had a hint of rationality left. If he stormed the walls, it wouldn''t be an encirclement anymore, but an act of war. At that point, any one of the Sect''s experts could cut him down.


    "Anyway, since your prodigies refuse to come to me, I''ll go to them. Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to package up their corpses in a nice coffin and ship them right to your door."


    Ryu vanished again. This time, he would appear in the Radiant Star Sect again for several weeks. But the news that came with his coming storm would make the likes of Briza shed tears of blood.

 Chapter 1524 What to Do?

    Chapter 1524 What to Do?


    Ryu zipped through the void, his speed on another level than what he had displayed previously. As he did, he looked through his spatial devices and shook his head. He had been very good on the spatial ring front for quite a long time, but he suddenly felt that he wouldn''t have that luxury for a while, not until he was able to rob some richer people than the disciples he had just killed.


    The Golden Moon World wasn''t exactly that large to begin with, and its greatest strength could be said to be the fact it could house living things. However, in terms of size, it would be hard-pressed to be called a small ring in the Seventh Heaven. In addition, to make this matter worse, due to the suppression of the Seventh Heaven, the size of the world had actually shrunk considerably.


    Due to this, although Aika had slaughtered a lot of beasts for him to take on the road, the actual number he could keep was quite limited, and that was also taking into account leaving some space for the little woman.


    The good news was that the spatial device could at least survive. If it was any weaker, it might have collapsed entirely when he first stepped on the Eighth Heaven. But now, he was in a bit of a bind.


    There were his eyes, of course, but how could he expose his Heavenly Pupils so easily?


    Of course, there was another problem he was facing too. Without Old Wan, how was he even supposed to be able to cook this meat? It felt like the world wanted him to starve.


    ''Let''s go watch the situation.''


    Ryu''s figure continued to flash forward until he entered the range of the Raging Inferno Sect. His eyes narrowed almost immediately.


    There was a veil around this region, and he had only just stepped through the outer ring. He wasn''t found or anything, but he could feel that he was being "monitored." He had a feeling if he traveled far enough into their territory, he might end up being branded and then surrounded from all sides.Visitt  for the latest updates


    The larger the area you were trying to conceal, the more chances there would be a defect because there was a larger area to cover. In addition, just logically, a hiding formation wasn''t a defensive formation. Usually, most could just stroll right in unbeknownst to themselves. Obviously, then, the larger the area, the more likely someone would be to accidentally stumble into the area you were trying to conceal. Then, at that point, what would be the point?


    But the introduction to the formation was quite clear. Larger equaled better, there was no mincing words about it.


    Thus, the problem Ryu was facing was obvious. He obviously only needed the formation to cover himself, but if he used it on such a small scale, it wouldn''t be strong enough to counter the Raging Inferno Sect''s detection formation.


    If he took a step back and threw out all forms of propriety, making a much larger formation than he needed, how would he sneak around to get a lay of the land?


    According to his calculations, he would need to make the formation at least a hundred meters wide just to counter this outer ring of the formation. Assuming the formation got stronger the deeper you went, he might have to form one of several kilometers wide just to conceal himself.


    At that point, even if the Shadowless Trace Formation was a defensive formation as well, he''d be screwed. Once the first person accidentally bumped into the barrier, he would be in an all-out struggle to keep his life.


    Ryu''s figure vanished, and he stepped outside of the bounds of the Sect''s outer ring, his eyes narrowing.


    ''What to do?''


    It seemed that he might have to just leave this place and try to find other methods.

 Chapter 1525 Shameless

    Chapter 1525 Shameless


    Ryu sat in silence for a long while, his mind spinning with many thoughts. It seemed that he was unwilling to give up just yet, but all signs pointed toward this matter being impossible to deal with.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    "Don''t risk your life on something so stupid-"


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed with a blinding light. He completely tuned out what the little woman was saying, his mind entering a slight state of enlightenment. Of course, this wasn''t serendipity, but rather because he finally had his eyes back. He could slip into States of Meditation whenever he wanted now, and his already insane comprehension abilities were touching upon an entirely new level.


    ''Yes, yes, that can work.''


    Ryu''s fingers spasmed, and a soft cloud of Cosmos Fog took shape. He began to manipulate the clouds into the shape of an oddly twisted formation. Usually, formations were perfectly symmetrical and perfectly polygonal-meaning they tended to be shapes that were equal on all sides. Unbalance Formations were exactly that, unbalanced. This Shadowless Trace formation looked like someone had taken a cylinder, fixed the top and bottom, and then randomized all the points in between, turning it into an almost twisted tree of some sort.


    Ryu observed the formation for a while and then began to pour spatial qi into it. He seemed to be testing something. The longer his experiment went on, the brighter his gaze became.


    ''Perfect, I was correct.''


    Ryu had suddenly had a flash of inspiration. One of the many skills of his Bone Structure was the ability to create his own personal warp on time. He hadn''t used this ability much recently, mostly because he was constantly on alert toward a black hole trying to shred him to pieces, but it wasn''t one he forgot.


    The capacity to distort time for yourself personally, and yet not suffer any loss in comprehension of the Dao, was absolutely huge. If Ryu wasn''t the only one capable of this, he was probably among a very, very, very small elite few.


    Normally, when time was adjusted around cultivators, the laws around them would distort, making it impossible to meditate on the Dao without entering cultivation deviation. However, not only did Ryu not have this problem, he had his own personal system within his body, and because his Meridians were connected to the entire Chaos Plane, there technically wasn''t any limit placed on him aside from Focus Qi.


    This was an amazing ability, so amazing that Ryu completely forgot that his Bone Structure had been granted to him by the Heavens not just due to a sudden comprehension of Space, but also one of Time as well.


    He had been so enamored with what his Bone Structure could do in the aspects of time that he completely neglected to check what it might be able to do with space.


    Ryu realized that because his body was technically taking up a larger space, every one of his movements was likewise becoming more and more in tune with the Heavens. As such, for a given movement, he gathered even more runes than he should have.


    ''What an unexpected find...''


    Ryu''s speed likewise increased hundreds of fold from his previous expectations, shocking him. The good news just appeared to keep coming for him.


    Right now, moving through the void, and using his Spectral Wings to boot, he was probably at the very top end of what a True Sky God could manage.


    After some thought, he mumbled beneath his breath.


    "[Earth Gate]... open."


    His speed skyrocketed once again, though he had an extra drain to worry about. At this point, his speed was on par with Perfect Sky Gods.


    Ryu grinned. "Who said the gap between Sky God Realms was insurmountable, again?"


    When the little woman heard this, her first intention was to cough up blood. Did this little brat think that all of this was normal?


    "Don''t get on your high horse. Everything is always relative. If you have such abilities, others can have their own unique talents as well."


    "What was that?" Ryu asked. "I can''t hear you."


    "Shameless."


    Ryu''s laughter resounded with a boom, and yet no one of the Raging Inferno Sect could even hear him.

 Chapter 1526 Inner Ring

    Chapter 1526 Inner Ring


    Ryu tore through Raging Inferno Sect territory at an unprecedented speed. As a Fragmented Sky God, limited to such a speed, it would have taken him days to travel from one end of the Sect to another. However, as a Perfect Sky God, it only took him a couple of minutes to leave the outer ring and enter the inner ring.


    This was a bit of a wakeup call for Ryu, not because he hadn''t known the level of strength that acted as a gap between Sky God Realms, but instead because it reminded him that even if this was a large distance to him, that didn''t mean it was a large distance to others. If he was not careful enough, getting trapped in the core of this Sect would be enough to end him.


    But wasn''t that part of the fun?


    Ryu felt the formation shift again when he entered the inner core, as he had expected. It became more robust, more thorough. If he had stepped into this region as casually as he had stepped into the outer ring, he would have been found immediately and likely besieged from all sides.


    Thankfully, he was prepared this time.


    Now that he had entered the inner region of the Sect, a bit of its character began to manifest. The earth was a red-hot crimson color that made it feel like you were stepping onto another planet. This color theme was well matched even by the leaves of the trees and the foliage of the vegetation below them, only slightly accented by muted colors like browns and blacks.


    He still couldn''t see any Sect walls, but he could sense that the elevation was actually descending, an interesting phenomena because Sects and Clans preferred elevation. Even the Radiant Star Sect of the First Heaven had their core Sect up in the clouds, and no one had batted an eye.


    Whether it was strategically or otherwise, it was odd to place your Sect in a situation where it could be besieged by outside forces at such a disadvantage.


    Most Sky Gods couldn''t fly, and that was especially on the Seventh Heaven. Even if you factored in flying treasures, most would choose to fight on the ground. How could a flying treasure allow you to display your fullest might?


    As a result, most of the benefits and disadvantages that mortal armies worried about, in terms of terrain advantages and anything of the like, were the same for Sky Gods as well, just on a much larger scale.


    Leonidas didn''t believe that such a powerful Sect would be so stupid, so he continued moving forward, slowly coming into contact with more and more people.


    As he did so, he was starting to understand, and he also felt he had begun to grasp why there were no walls either.


    The entire Raging Inferno Sect was like a superheated sauna. The closer you got to the center, the more outrageous the temperatures became.


    Soon, Ryu found the answer. It wasn''t a technique at all, or more accurately, it wasn''t solely a technique. It was a token badge each of them wore.


    He pondered about stealing it but Hope''s voice immediately stopped him.


    "It''s not going to work-"


    "That''s what you stated last time, and aren''t I here now?"


    Hope rolled her eyes. "It''s not the same. Those tokens are designed to self-destruct when anyone other than their owners touch them, let alone analyze them."


    "No crafted treasure is infallible."


    "That''s true, but they don''t have to be. The formation around them does."


    Ryu''s eyes lit up with understanding. It seemed that these badges were just superfluous to the larger formation he was already inside. If he wanted to suppress their function, he''d have to suppress the entire large-scale formation.


    He continued to move, trying to see what else he could understand.


    "-Senior Sister Jojo is struggling with her breakthrough, that''s what I heard."


    "Lower your voice, are you trying to die?!"


    "We''re in the Outer Sect, who''s listening?"


    Ryu''s steps came to a pause.

 Chapter 1527 Childish

    Chapter 1527 Childish


    After hearing the conversation, Ryu got the gist of it even though these Working Disciples had almost no details whatsoever.


    Everyone else of their generation had managed to breakthrough, but Jojo hadn''t. Whether it was Selheira, Reykian, or Litaor, three of the former so-called four "Immortal Deities," they had taken that step already.


    In fact, after taking note of some other conversations, he learned that the four Immortal Deities title remained, it was just that Jojo had been replaced by Starlight who had also recently broken through to the Fragmented Sky God Realm.


    The fact that even Working Disciples were aware of what was going on likely meant that Jojo was under quite some level of pressure.


    The Immortal Deity title was just something that those of similar stature had come up with when they were bored, and Faith didn''t really fight back against it because those four were truly the most talented of their generation and several generations around them, especially Jojo and Selheira, Litaor and Reykian less so.


    Now, of course, Starlight was seen as having potential that could maybe even surpass Jojo and Selheira, ever since it was revealed that he had Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    Ryu chuckled when he heard this.


    In the past, he might have been pissed off. But now that he knew the tiers of differentiation that came with having Chaotic Silk Meridians, he was certain that even if Starlight had the backing of a Dao Sovereign, the likelihood that his Meridians were on the same level as his own was slim to none.


    Plus, he had been able to deduce something else.


    Transplanting talents was never easy, you would almost certainly lose some aspects of its efficacy. Although some would be skillful enough to mitigate these losses and turn them to zero in some cases, for something as complex as Meridians that spanned every nook and cranny of your body, such a perfect method simply didn''t exist.


    Whether it was because his Vessel was lacking in comparison to Ryu''s, or because the transplant wasn''t 100% perfect, Starlight would be inferior to him in both aspects.


    Still, Ryu was a bit envious.


    Because Starlight had the backing of the Dao Sovereign of the Fading Star Sect and was also now the true Disciple of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign, an elite of the Eighth Heaven, he could boldly proclaim the existence of his Chaotic Silk Meridians and only the most insane would blink their eyes with greed.


    Of course, he had a second layer of protection as well.


    Anyone who was knowledgeable enough to know how to steal Meridians wouldn''t believe that Starlight had only just chosen to reveal his Meridians; they would likely deduce that he had had them transplanted.


    Transplanting a talent once was hard enough, doing it twice after it had already been stolen once was impossible.


    "It''s been too long, Jojo!"


    The tone of the man was beginning to become exasperated. It was clear that he was only a few seconds away from losing his temper completely.


    "It''s only been three years since I returned from the Complete Heavenly Path. What is that kind of time worth? So what if it''s harder for me to breakthrough than others, that just means my path is more worth walking. The more you all harass me like this, the harder it is for me to calm my mind and breakthrough, then you want to complain about me not doing so fast enough! Do you not find that ironic?!"


    "Watch your tone, young lady!"


    The voice boomed and the pressure of an Omniscient Sky God nearly flattened Ryu, but he managed to stabilize himself.


    This was trouble. If this person scanned the region, he couldn''t guarantee that he could escape detection.


    Fooling such a large formation was one thing, fooling the eyes of such a high-level Sky God was a completely separate matter entirely.


    "I have been watching my tone, I''ve been watching my tone for too long! You all have never wanted me to be the face of the Raging Inferno Sect, you''ve always wanted me to fall head over heels for that useless twerp with the face of a woman-"


    "That''s your Senior Brother you''re talking about."


    "Oh, now he''s my Senior Brother? I could have sworn he was my husband by the way all of you talk about him."


    "That''s enough." The man had truly had it up to here. If not for how much he appreciated Jojo''s talent, he would never allow a mere World Sea Realm expert to talk to him in this way.


    "You have three days. In three days, I want to see that you have abandoned that Sword God Aura and that you''ve broken into the Fragmented Sky God Realm. If not, I will ignore all of your wishes and marry you to Ragash and allow him to benefit from your Primordial Yin and constitution.


    "We are in the middle of a Battle of Faith. Every day you don''t break through is another hit on us, especially since news that the Inheritor Disciple of the Radiant Star Sect has returned and he is exceptionally powerful among those of his level."


    "So you want to ruin my future just to get some bonus points from people who don''t matter."


    "Jojo, you are not a child anymore. Following the path to Sword Godhood would be something that you would have to abandon eventually regardless. We let you indulge in your fantasies only because it didn''t matter much at the time, but now we can''t allow it anymore.


    "It''s your choice. Either you can become a legend on your own and find a husband worthy of you in the Eighth Heaven, or I will slap a piece of cow dung on your flower and use you to elevate Ragash instead!"

 Chapter 1528 Interesting

    Chapter 1528 Interesting


    Ryu stood in complete silence, not moving an inch as the Omniscient Sky God disappeared into the distance. If he was just a little bit more careless, or the Omniscient Sky God was just a little less enraged, he knew that he could have easily been discovered.


    He hadn''t expected to run into such a powerful being so far from the true core of the Sect, but he had never been known for his good luck anyway. Luckily, he had managed to stay safe from detection or else he would really be screwed. He was under no illusions that a formation that he could set up as a Fragmented Sky God could fool the eyes of someone just a step away from Dao Lordship.


    After staying silent for a while, though, and pulling away some of his mental faculties from his fight or flight senses, Ryu''s gaze flickered.


    This was an opportunity.


    Of course, he wasn''t thinking about something as simple as bringing Jojo over to his side. With him and Selheira, the Sect had more than enough powerful Fragmented Sky Gods. Plus, even if Jojo broke through and managed to keep her Sword Godhood, he didn''t believe for a second that she could last even a single round against him.


    Of course, that was a bit arrogant. Jojo''s understanding of Sword God Aura had always been exceptional and he had learned quite a bit just from his short battle with her. There was no doubt that she knew and understood many more things that she hadn''t shown, and likely also had other hidden talents that he hadn''t taken into account.


    For the sake of being reasonable, if he didn''t use his Heavenly Pupils, he gave her maybe a 40% chance of beating him. If he was in a circumstance where he could, though, she simply wouldn''t stand a chance.


    Even so, he didn''t give a damn about Jojo''s individual power. What was important here was the symbolism, namely what she meant to the Raging Inferno Sect.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com the short conversation, Ryu could tell that Jojo was an important piece that they put quite a bit of importance on. Even in this Outer Sect, she was treated like a queen and they had even sent an Omniscient Sky God to speak to her personally.


    Did she have a family or Clan? Was that Omniscient Sky God one of her Ancestors?


    How soon would this marriage be announced? And how publicly?


    Would Jojo fight back against it? Or would she bide her time? It didn''t seem like she had given up at all. He would have expected someone in her circumstance to burst into tears by now. There was no one else around and she had no idea that he was observing her, and yet she just sat there in her room, her great sword laid across her lap, as her gaze remained just as intensive as it had been the first time he saw it.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. ''Decent woman.''


    After some thought, Ryu slipped away. He needed more information.


    Also, there was no way that the Raging Inferno Sect didn''t have someone or at least something monitoring Jojo. With her temper, they might have already assumed that she might try to run away. In fact, if she didn''t know this, she might have already tried to do so.


    Ryu''s Dividing Chaos Dao sparkled in his eyes as he floated through the Sect, nudging certain interesting conversations in the direction he wanted them to go in and slowly pulling together the data he needed.


    ''Interesting, interesting...''


    He slipped through the shadows again. Then, he hurried to rush out of the Sect before his stamina was truly tapped out again. Only after he had finished doing this did he step out of the void, heaving for breaths.


    He had cut it a bit close, but the grin on his face painted quite a sinister future.

 Chapter 1529 In-name Master

    Chapter 1529 In-name Master


    Ryu had learned several bits of important information.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    Firstly, Ragash was a True Sky God. This was a bit troublesome, but it also made sense. They wouldn''t be sacrificing someone as talented as Jojo at the altar of politics if he wasn''t at least this good.


    Ragash was among the older guard of geniuses in the Seventh Heaven. If not for the matters of the Convergence and the fact he was born too early, he would be among the so-called Immortal Deities as well.


    There were many geniuses just like Ragash and it reminded Ryu that he was just at the bottom of the Sky God barrel right now. The world was much deeper than a mere Litaor or Reykian; even Adlael wasn''t enough to represent all that was truly out there.


    Unfortunately, this made his initial plan difficult.


    He knew how much Litaor loved Jojo. If he found out that Jojo was getting married to someone else right from under his nose, he might be impulsive enough, especially under Ryu''s goading, to lay down a gauntlet even given the current circumstances.


    But Litaor wasn''t Ryu; he couldn''t just challenge someone two God Realms above him. In fact, Litaor would already be considered to be at the absolute pinnacle of geniuses if he, as a Lower Fragmented Sky God, could battle evenly with a Middle Fragmented Sky God.


    This unfortunate reality made this plan useless. It would have been nice to pit these two Sects at each other, though, especially since they were the two surrounding the Radiant Star Sect currently.


    Even so, that didn''t mean that Ryu was helpless.


    The second thing Ryu learned was that Jojo was actually an orphan. The Omniscient Sky God wasn''t her family member but was rather her in-name Master.


    This is why it was so important to the Raging Inferno Sect that Jojo get her act together. Everyone else of the Immortal Deities had already broken through, and Starlight had even though somewhat replaced her in the public eye. If she lagged behind any further, people would take notice.


    In usual times, this could be ignored for a while. After all, cultivation was a marathon, not a sprint. But in a Battle of Faith, every little change could dictate millennia or even more worth of consequences.


    That''s what made this all the more perfect.


    The plan was almost solid in Ryu''s mind, but he yet needed to make sure he had covered all his bases. So he changed direction and began to make his way toward the Azure Lightning Sect as he slowly recovered his stamina.


    He couldn''t use Litaor in the manner he originally hoped, but that didn''t mean that he was entirely useless. In fact, the fact he was so weak just may be an asset.


    Days later, Ryu entered the Azure Lightning Sect and began to look around. He slowly gathered his information, though it was a bit harder.


    Jojo had yet been near the outskirts of the Sect, but because Litaor had broken through in grand fashion, his status had only been elevated. One would have thought he was a Core Disciple.


    But Ryu yet managed well. At the very least, there were no random Omniscient Sky Gods running around here.


    ''Perfect...'' he thought to himself.


    As Ryu was yet within the Azure Lightning Sect, the final bits of patience the Raging Inferno Sect had with Jojo seemed to have run out.


    While Ryu was gone, she had indeed attempted to make an escape, but it was handily thwarted. Not only was the security around her unceremoniously tightened, but news of an announcement of marriage came down soon after.

 Chapter 1530 Annoying

    Chapter 1530 Annoying


    Hours later, Ryu pulled away from the Azure Lightning Sect, his gaze flickered. It wasn''t with seriousness, it was instead with an amused light. This was more fun than he had ever given it credit for, and thinking about what he was going to do made him want to keel over with laughter already.


    What he learned from the Sect was about what he expected. Litaor was still in the Lower Fragmented Sky God Realm, so there weren''t any sudden great boons that would make him a match for Ragash, but Ryu had already known this.


    It was also impossible to expect Ragash to lower his cultivation to battle Litaor. The difference in Dao wouldn''t disappear, and that would have an impact on battle sense and experience that Litaor would know he couldn''t overcome.


    Simply put, it was foolish to try to put them head to head... at least physically.


    Ryu slipped back into the Raging Inferno Sect. At the same time, he had the little woman concoct him a few more Focus Pills. These pills had been a great savior to Ryu in these past few years, and it seemed like they would have to come in handy again.


    When Ryu made it back to Jojo''s living quarters, he shook his head.


    ''This woman is truly annoying.''


    The security had been tightened considerably. The only silver-lining was that since Jojo was only in the World Sea Realm, the guards they had left to monitor her were only in the Fragmented Sky God Realm, so slipping by them was easy enough. The main problem was who else might be watching.


    Even though they weren''t present, that didn''t mean they were there. There hadn''t been anyone monitoring Jojo so closely before her first attempt at escape, but hadn''t it failed anyway? That meant that there was likely someone much more powerful who would sweep their Spiritual Sense by this region from time to time. That would make things more difficult on Ryu, but he had already made his choice.


    First, he waited.


    Treasures were obviously far more durable than living beings. Ryu was as strong as a Peak False Sky God in body, at least to Seventh Heaven standards, but he would have to be at a True Sky God level to be strong enough to shatter a treasure at that level.


    Plus, if he wanted to break this chain without also causing a commotion, he would probably have to be comparable to a Middle or even Higher True Sky God. That''s the only way he could do it with enough ease that it would be clean and quick.


    ''Seems I can only use Earth Gate again,'' Ryu mumbled to himself. Having practically no limits on using this ability was truly convenient. But first, he had to accomplish something else.


    After knowing Jojo''s exact situation, he slipped away again, moving around the Sect.


    As expected, he didn''t hear talks of marriage even a single time. It seemed that the Sect hadn''t released the information just yet.


    Ryu smiled. ''What a shame? Why don''t I help out with that?''


    So, that was what he did. He set off and spread the news.


    It wasn''t that the Raging Inferno Sect was planning to keep this a secret. After all, the less sudden this matter was, the better chance they''d have at it not impacting their Fate. If a Sect suddenly forced one of their most promising disciples into a marriage, wouldn''t it be a blow to their reputation?


    Ryu was just helping them along.


    After he was done, Ryu departed the Sect again and came back to the Azure Lightning Sect, then began to distribute the news.


    By this point, the news had the Raging Inferno Sect in an uproar, and even the elders were confused as to how this matter had distributed so quickly. But they allowed it. After all, this was only helping them out.


    The news spread far enough that it entered the hearing of various data networks even before Ryu came back to the Azure Lightning Sect and began spreading it again.


    However, Ryu still felt that this wasn''t enough, so he departed the range of both Sects and even went to Stalwart Sun Sect and the Fading Star Sect.Visitt  for the latest updates

 Chapter 1531 The Fire of Youth

    Chapter 1531 The Fire of Youth


    Ryu ended up not entering the Fading Star Sect. The risk-to-reward ratio wasn''t worth it, and he felt a great sense of danger just standing in its outskirts, but his excursion to the Stalwart Sun Sect went just as well as the previous two.


    By the time he was ready to return, over a month had passed, and the news had well and truly spread across the Seventh Heaven.


    ...


    Litaor sat with a dark expression on his face. His mood had been particularly volatile in the last several weeks. Everyone knew why, so no one dared to ask.


    Flashes of lightning sparked in his azure hair and eyes. He crushed the glass in his hands, sweat beading down his body.


    At the moment, he was more than half-naked, having just ended a training session that lasted an entire three days. His body was only a few more rounds from giving out completely, so he had tried to take a seat and relax. But the moment his body came down from the brink, he was infuriated again.


    "Again," he growled.


    If he was already a Dao Lord, who the hell would dare to touch his woman?


    Who didn''t know that he had been in love with Jojo since they were children? Even though they were the scions of two different Sects, it wasn''t like the Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sects were in disharmony. They hadn''t warred in generations, and there was still a good chance that he could take her as a wife. It might even be a good thing, bringing the two Sects closer together.


    He didn''t realize until now that those elders that always smiled to his face were likely laughing behind his back at his childish naivete?.


    Those same elders that had encouraged him to pursue her were also the same elders who didn''t even accept his meetings now.


    They all understood what he would ask, and they didn''t even want to entertain it. Who would antagonize another Sect now for no reason?


    In fact, although it wasn''t as blatant as with Jojo, he was under house arrest as well. Upstodatee from


    Litaor should be thankful, even though Ryu was going to make him even more furious very soon.


    As for the orb in Ryu''s hands, it had recorded Litaor''s words of fury. It had taken Ryu three days before he finally got something decent, but the wait was worth it.


    Ryu turned and left with swift steps.


    When he was just a moment away from leaving the Azure Lightning Sect completely, he sensed it.


    He looked back and grinned. Litaor had actually accomplished something quite rare. His Dao had improved after entering the Sky God Realm.


    That sort of commotion would definitely be experienced by the Sky Gods of the Sect, and the importance they placed on Litaor would rise again. Who knew, maybe they might entertain his requests now.


    Ryu didn''t absolutely need it, but if they did, it would make him laugh like a madman.


    ...


    Ryu covertly passed the recording off to an information network. There were very few who would dare to take this sort of hot potato on, but he picked well. How could he have not done his research?


    Soon, information about Litaor''s fury spread, and yet instead of reprimanding their disciple, the Patriarch of the Azure Lightning Sect only chuckled and voiced it was just the fire of youth.


    Even if Litaor hadn''t broken through, this would have likely been the response. But after he had, forming a Peak Hegemonic Dao, something only the current Patriarch and Supreme Elder of the Azure Lightning Sect had, he was even more important. The Sect wouldn''t allow anyone to tarnish him. In fact, they started to promote Litaor''s breakthrough. While in the middle of a Battle of Faith, this would be an enormous boon for them!


    It was when this commotion was reaching a true fever pitch that Ryu snuck back into the Raging Inferno Sect, slipping into Jojo''s abode once again.


    After sifting through her things, he found several examples of her handwriting. With swift movements of his wrist, he copied every stroke perfectly, even mimicking her Sword God Aura.


    Then, he slipped this to a random Working Disciple and appeared before Jojo.


    "[Earth Gate], open."

 Chapter 1532 Guilty Pleasure

    Chapter 1532 Guilty Pleasure


    When Jojo saw Ryu suddenly appear before her, she was at a loss for words. In truth, she didn''t think about this man too often in the last several years, but that was mostly because she was dealing with her own difficult issues-clearly. However, that wasn''t to say that she didn''t think about him at all. At the very least, she recognized him immediately, and that only made her all the more stunned.


    Ryu grinned, clutching the chains that held her down. "You-what are you-?!"


    Ryu grunted and the chain bowed and flexed. With [Earth Gate], he could choose one aspect of himself to progress a great deal. In the past, this used to be done by a measurement of years. For example, back in Sacrum, he could force a progression of a hundred years or so when he first unlocked this ability. But as he progressed, he gained the ability to instantly improve thousands of years, or trillions during his final battle with the Martial Gods.


    However, now, it was no longer like that. After his mutation, it wasn''t a matter of years, but he seemed to be able to take an entire step up in Realm. As such, though his current strength was at the Peak of the False Sky God Realm-at a Seventh Heaven standard-if he used [Earth Gate] to increase his pure physical strength, he could reach the True Sky God Realm.


    BANG. The chains finally couldn''t handle it any longer and snapped under his pressure, causing Jojo''s eyes to widen like saucers. What the hell had she just seen? She had to be seeing things, none of this was real. That was right, she was still dreaming... somehow, even though it had been months since the last time she slept...


    It just didn''t make any sense for Ryu to be so strong, he had no business being able to display that kind of...


    She was hauled over his shoulder. "Alright, be obedient."


    Jojo was stunned. When had she ever been treated like this?


    "You-Put me down!"


    Ryu patted her butt so hard that her thick armor cracked. "Spout any more foolishness and I''ll expose that flat chest of yours."


    Jojo froze.


    Ryu erupted into a fit of laughter. "I mean, seriously. What were you thinking? If you really got married one day and your husband noticed what you''ve been hiding all this time, he''d return to sender."


    Jojo''s surprise immediately turned to rage.


    "How dare you say that to me?!" She beat at his back with her fists, hoping to at least draw blood. But what chance did a World Sea Realm expert have of harming Ryu''s body? In fact, he felt it was a subpar massage because it couldn''t get deep enough. Even so, he only laughed harder.


    "Okay, okay. I apologize, my little flat-chested princess. Let me be your knight in shining armor and take you out here."


    Suddenly, Ryu changed her position in his arms and picked her up like a true princess. Then, he shot through the roof.


    Jojo''s eyes bulged again. She thought that Ryu had a method of escape, that he was ready and prepared to help her out of here, and though she hated him, she was hoping that this was true as well.


    But was he just trying to get her killed?!


    All of the disciples in the surroundings looked over, only to find their Goddess being swept off her feet by another man. Jojo''s face was slightly red from all the rage and yelling she had just been doing, and now her expression was completely stunned. Unfortunately, without the context, she just looked like a young maiden in love.


    "Since when could the likes of the Raging Inferno Sect or Litaor steal my, Ryu Tatsuya''s, woman?"


    Ryu''s laughter echoed with a boom as Jojo''s home collapsed. What no one seemed to notice until it was too late was that the home fell with such perfection that it looked like it had been detonated. And right then, beneath this oddly perfect detonation, a hidden formation sparkled to life.


    Several powerful auras swept forward all at once.


    Jojo''s eyeballs practically bulged out of their sockets.


    "Who do you consider you''re-"


    "No."


    Ryu''s playfulness vanished. "Who do YOU consider you''re talking to?"


    The pressure of a Sky God descended from all sides and Jojo felt her knees turn weak. She almost directly collapsed, but the defiance in her eyes didn''t change as she grit her teeth.


    "If you want to kill me, then kill me! Do you consider I''m afraid of you?!"


    Ryu''s pressure vanished and he chuckled.


    He had seen this woman withstand the pressure of her Sect and not shed a single tear. Even now, she was defiant.


    Maybe he was being unfair by calling her a brat. If it wasn''t for the fact she liked to pretend to have towering breasts, she might be quite similar to Ryu. The difference, though, of course, was that Ryu didn''t have such insecurities.


    Ryu raised his fingers up and with a snap, Jojo''s armor shattered to pieces.


    She screeched, covering her body.


    "What are you screaming about, woman? You''re wearing a full body suit."


    Watching Jojo covering her chest when she was clearly covered up left Ryu without words. How could this woman be so confident and yet unconfident at the same time? She needed to be studied.


    "Just rape me and get it over with," Jojo growled, standing in a half stance between wanting to cover her chest and not wanting to appear so fragile.


    "Who wants to rape such a flat chested woman?" Ryu snorted. "Here, put this on. Go change. And obviously, don''t be stupid enough to try and run from me."


    Ryu threw a dress at Jojo.


    "What is this for?" Jojo looked at the dress with disgust.


    "Didn''t you hear me, we''re going on a date."


    Jojo grit her teeth, but seemed to realize she didn''t have a choice and went off to do as she was told.


    Watching her walk away in that skin-tight bodysuit, Ryu shook his head.


    Jojo wasn''t truly flat-chested, they were just a bit small. But there was nothing small at all about that hips and that swaying...


    Ryu refocused himself. This was all a necessity, he nodded to himself. This wasn''t for his own guilty pleasure at all.


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: Holidays...yeah, so I won''t be available for the coming days. That means no chapters. Will release them when I''m available again. Merry Christmas.

 Chapter 1533 Breather

    Chapter 1533 Breather


    "Well, don''t you look decent," Ryu said with a smile.


    Jojo was truly a beauty, and a unique one after that. Her hair didn''t even look like hair, it instead flowed like a raging sea of purple-red flames. Her eyebrows were the same, seeming both quite sharp and a bit thicker than what one would expect on a woman, but it just worked perfectly for her.


    Her features were a little fierce, but that had little to do with her looking like a man, and much more to do with her abrasive personality. Now that she was being forced to wear a dress, one of flowing black that matched her quite perfectly, it took some of her edge off and it made it far easier to appreciate her.


    Now, instead of looking like a delicate bobble head slapped onto a body much larger than itself-something that was the usual for Jojo when she wore her over-sized rose-gold armor-she looked like a real woman with all of her proportions in the right place.


    Despite lacking the charm and perfection of a Sky God, Ryu couldn''t deny that she was an exceptional beauty. If she managed to maintain her Sword God Aura and entered the Sky God Realm on top of that, she would easily be among the most beautiful women Ryu knew.


    Still, he preferred his Eska. Everything about her was perfect, and she was also the type of woman he liked the most. It was also quite easy for her to outclass Jojo since she was well into the Sky God Realms by now.


    He sighed inwardly, his thoughts drifting to Ailsa and Yaana. He wanted to know how they were doing, or if they were alive at all. It was difficult to tell. Even though their Primordial Yins seemed to tell him that they were still around, who knew if they were simply in a world much too far off for anything to be registered?


    "What are you trying to make me do here?" Jojo frowned, a bit unhappy with Ryu''s words. She wasn''t here just to be ogled by him. In truth, the fact she put the dress on at all meant that she deserved more credit for understanding her current situation than Ryu gave her credit for.


    She absolutely hated dresses and she felt quite naked without her armor. She only put it on because she could tell though Ryu had said it lightly, if it came down to it, he wouldn''t mind forcing her to wear it.


    "I already told you," Ryu recovered with a smile.


    "You want to show me off in public?"


    "Of course. Let''s go," Ryu gave her his arm to hold.


    Jojo''s expression twisted with disdain but took his arm anyway.


    "Are you really so poor with women that this is your only choice?"


    Ryu chuckled. "I get to take the famous Jojo on a date, who cares if I used some unscrupulous means?"


    Jojo''s lip twitched and she looked away as Ryu shot into the skies. Almost immediately, she spotted a city. It seemed that wherever Ryu had teleported them to, he had already thought ahead.


    "Wait, that''s Azure Rising City, you''re insane!"


    "What''s the problem?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    "That''s one of the nine most important cities under the Azure Lightning Sect''s territory. You''re from the Radiant Star Sect, stepping into that place is a death sentence. No, just appearing in the air like this is-"


    Ryu had already shot forward on his great swordstaff, appearing above the city and descending without a care in the world.


    "You..."


    "Ah, this food is good. Waiter, bring me three more, this isn''t enough."


    ...


    In just a few minutes, the news had already spread all across the city, let alone the fact that they spent hours going from place to place without a care in the world. However, the odd thing was that they weren''t harassed even a single time.


    At that moment, the City Lord, a man who went by City Lord Hill, was drenched in his own cold sweat. He had already contacted those he should contact, but he still felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. It was something that he hadn''t experienced in a long time as a Transcendent Sky God.


    The only reason he could think of that made Ryu so bold was that Aika was somewhere nearby watching, and the idea that a Dao Sovereign was overlooking his every movement made it difficult for him to even breathe. Just gathering up the courage to contact the powerhouses of the Sect had left him in a puddle of goo.


    ''They''ll be here soon... then it won''t be my problem anymore.''


    ...


    "Sure, let''s do it," Ryu chuckled.


    Jojo''s eyes appeared to finally light up for something. Unsurprisingly, it was related to the sword.


    The square was quite spacious and up ahead, there were nine pillars that stretched into the skies, each one radiating a different aura.


    This reminded Ryu a lot of Sacrum''s Armament Guild, but this situation was a bit different. Rather than nine different weapons, there were just three. Well, there were two weapons, the last one was just the fist.


    The Fist. The Halberd. The Sword.


    Each got three pillars and there was an eager line of people who loved to test themselves against it. Against this line, Ryu and Jojo easily cut to the front. Anyone who had even a modicum of intelligence knew that these two were just a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.


    "Come, come, give me a sword," Jojo remarked eagerly. "I''ve always wanted to try out this thing but it''s never been appropriate for me to come here."


    Ryu chuckled. "Just use your own sword."


    "Bah, I don''t want to use that thing. I''ll never use something from the Raging Inferno Sect again, whether it be their treasures or their techniques. Fuck them."


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. After a moment he smiled and handed Jojo a sword he casually plucked from one of the many he had killed since he stepped foot into the Seventh Heaven.


    With a wild excitement, Jojo swift cut a slit into her dress and rushed forward.


    ''She''s close...'' Ryu thought after a moment, looking into the skies. ''It''s just about time...''


    Jojo, for the first time in a long while, felt free.


    When one was trying to make such an important breakthrough, pressing appeared like the correct thing to do, when in reality you might benefit more from a deep breath.


    Whether her took this opportunity or not. Well... that would be up to her.

 Chapter 1534 Uproarious

    Chapter 1534 Uproarious


    Jojo stomped the ground hard, unleashing a roar. It looked like she was about to charge into the heat of battle. There simply wasn''t anything "delicate" about her roar at all. One would have thought that it came from the throat of a bear-like man.


    She swung her sword forward, and the claps of thunder echoed. Then she swung with all her might. It looked like a wide swing, one where practically every part of her body was exposed to counter-attack. It felt like the most foolish thing one could do in a battle amongst elites, and yet there was something about the way she moved that made Ryu feel that, at least to another World Sea Realm expert, there would be no holes to exploit at all.


    BANG.


    The pillar suffered a strike, a gash appearing upon it that quickly healed. Then, a pillar of light shot into the skies.


    Jojo pierced the sword into the ground, standing valiantly like a warrior on the peak of a mountain: bold and righteous.


    "You swing like a girl."


    Ryu''s voice cut through the atmosphere of shock, and Jojo almost immediately turned back and glared at him.


    "What did you just say to me?!"


    Ryu grinned. "You heard me. You might be weak, but you''re not weak enough to miss what I said."


    The spectators were in relative silence.


    That pillar just now had shot out a beam of light of exactly 10 meters. Even as a Fragmented Sky God, if you could get nine meters, you would be just about average. For a World Sea Realm expert to get that sort of result, it was enough to leave them in silence.


    In truth, this pillar was only designed for Fragmented, False, and True Sky Gods to use. If anyone stronger attacked, it would be destroyed. If anyone weaker attacked, it wouldn''t even register.


    Of course, that said, what was being tested wasn''t raw strength. No matter how powerful Jojo was, it wasn''t at the level of a Sky God just yet. Rather, it was a measurement of comprehension.


    Sometimes, geniuses on the verge of entering the Fragmented Realm might come to these pillars. If they could get five or six meters, they would feel confident enough to attempt a breakthrough into the Sky God Realm, and many would cheer for them.


    However, getting nine meters was the hallmark of a Fragmented Sky God''s comprehension! Getting 10 while in the World Sea Realm was entirely unheard of.


    "You just like chatting a lot of shit; don''t you have anything better to do?" Jojo snarled.


    "My bad, my bad," Ryu held up his hands. "If the little princess is content with just this, I won''t say anything more."


    Ryu made a motion with his fingers and sealed his lips.


    Jojo''s temper was threatening to flare up again, but then she thought of something and sneered, handing the sword to Ryu.


    "What''s this? Giving up already?" Ryu chuckled.


    "No, I want to see what you can do since you''re talking so much. I''m a World Sea Realm expert, and I hit at a Fragmented God level. You''re a Fragmented Sky God, right? Show me a False Sky God''s strike."


    The spectators couldn''t help but chuckle when they heard this. Jojo was obviously getting back at Ryu.


    She had spent decades in the World Sea Realm, preparing to enter the Sky God Realm. She already had the Dao comprehension necessary if she wanted to take that step; the trouble was that she wasn''t satisfied. She wanted to incorporate her Sword God Aura and become a true Sword God.


    "Oops..." Ryu chuckled. "Why are your Daos so weak?"


    This pillar was not perfect. It couldn''t just account for every kind of comprehension a person could have. In fact, even if one had a Hegemonic Dao, you would be outside the purview of what this pillar could reliably access.


    If Ryu''s eyes were correct, and they almost always were, these pillars were actually designed for Dynastic Daos.


    That was decent enough, as having a Dynastic Dao gave you a chance of becoming a Perfect Sky God in the future, or even a Transcendent Sky God if you were extraordinarily lucky. But such a Dao was five levels below Ryu''s...


    What chance did it stand?


    BOOM.


    The pillar grew to 9999 meters before a flashbang went off across the entire city. The moment the standard reached beyond the standards of a True Sky God, it could no longer withstand the tirade of forces and the failsafes within the pillar triggered, shutting it down until it was entirely dim.


    Ryu smiled. He had gone a bit overboard, but that was fine.


    He turned back toward Jojo, but she stood in a complete daze, her eyes having glazed over.


    The surrounding spectators stood in silence as well, staring at Ryu as though they were looking at some kind of monster.


    However, very soon, their attention was pulled away by something entirely different.


    RUMBLE.


    Jojo''s hair fluttered in the wind, her dress flowing like a wild cape. If not for the latter''s length and heft, she might have previously been exposed to the entire city.


    Her aura suddenly rushed upward, and a resounding sword cry tore into the skies.


    Ryu grinned.


    He couldn''t say that this was unexpected because it very much was. After he showed her that path, it would be surprising if she missed it, especially considering her current state.


    At the moment, she wasn''t thinking about breaking through at all. Her entire focus was on Ryu and their little competition. Her body was entirely relaxed, and there was even a smile hidden deep within her eyes. She hadn''t had this much fun in a long while.


    And then the door suddenly opened.


    BOOM.


    The aura of an Ancient Dao rose into the skies, rising from the Hegemonic grade. At the same time, it was layered by the aura of a Sword God, making it almost sense like a Founding Dao.


    In that moment, the "guests" had previously begun arriving, powerhouses of both the Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sects, but they were only in time to find a mighty sword piercing through the skies.


    Jojo unleashed another howl and her Cosmic Seeds fused into one, a resplendent glow covering her body.


    Then she laughed, a booming laughter that sounded even more uproarious than even Ryu''s own.

 Chapter 1535 Uproar

    Chapter 1535 Uproar


    The uproar of Jojo''s breakthrough was felt across thousands of kilometers. It felt as though the air was constantly being sliced apart by large scythes of regal blades, moving so quickly and violently that they seemed to supercharge the air itself, raising the temperature by steady increments of one or two degrees at a time.


    It was the kind of breakthrough that these people had never felt before, the kind of breakthrough one might only expect to see on the Eighth Heaven.


    Ryu''s lip curled into a smirk. It seemed that it had all paid off.


    No one but he knew of this power of his Dao, and if he had had a softer temperament in the past, he would have been more like Old Wan, starting off in the First Heaven and diligently raising up a small power of elites that would slowly grow into a wellspring of vibrant, undefeatable talent.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    In a few million years, he''d probably be able to nurture an entire Sect and Clan worth of Ancient Dao users, likely with a handful of Founding Dao users sprinkled in for good measure. If that was matched with his alchemy and blacksmithing skill, not to mention his formation mastery, what chance would the Martial Gods stand?


    In truth, if he laid down his blade, he could do the same for the Radiant Star Sect right this moment. It would even be easier than what he was thinking of previously because they already had the foundation of an Eighth Heaven Sect, especially if he was able to destroy the Fading Star Sect and fuse them back together.


    Unfortunately, though Ryu had mellowed out quite a bit... he still had no interest in this matter.


    What he was interested in wasn''t the easiest path to rise to the top; he wanted to use his own fists to do so. While it was fun to do this once in a while, especially when there was something important like a Battle of Faith on the line, he had no intention of being like Old Wan, plotting and scheming from that background.


    It could be said that this was why he loved the game of Domain so much.


    Plotting and scheming was fun, but lounging around and waiting for months, years, decades, maybe even generations for a single plan to bloom properly, wasn''t like him in the slightest.


    Domain was like a microcosm of reality, and it could be quickly accelerated.


    This plot alone, one that wasn''t even truly finished just yet, had taken him over three months of constant pressure and back and forth travel to execute. The worst part was he hadn''t even fought a single battle, and other than some accumulation of qi that took place passively due to his new constitution, nothing else happened.


    If she went back to the Raging Inferno Sect now, they wouldn''t even have the capital to punish her. They needed her, and her breakthrough had changed every aspect of their dynamic.


    However, was that in her personality?


    They had burned her once. What right did they have to partake in her ascend now?


    Plus... she could feel that none of this was a coincidence, even right down to her sudden breakthrough.


    It sensed odd that Ryu would merely come here to show her off. And if he was going to show her off, why not do so in Raging Inferno Sect territory? Was it a coincidence that they had been teleported to the only place that had these pillars?


    Suddenly, her eyes widened. Apparently, she only realized now that there was a real beast beneath Ryu''s feet.


    How was it possible for this bastard to do so many impossible things? Did he understand how hard it was to tame a beast of the Seventh Heaven? Did he know what kind of trouble even bringing a tamed beast from the Sixth Heaven could cause here?


    "You..."


    Jojo suddenly felt exasperated. Did this man not understand how to take a rest for a moment?!


    "I''m coming with you only so that I can kick your ass."


    She spoke through gritted teeth, eventually taking Ryu''s hand.


    What she didn''t expect was that she wouldn''t even have the strength to resist before her waist was pulled into his body.

 Chapter 1536 Howls

    Chapter 1536 Howls


    Jojo''s eyes widened, feeling Ryu''s warmth even amidst the frigid air. She had never experienced such a thing before, but she was even more shocked by the strength in Ryu''s body.


    How could she know that Ryu''s body was already at the standard of a False Sky God. Trying to resist it without using qi was never going to work. Now she just looked like a dazed maiden once again.


    Ryu smiled broadly and looked toward the oncoming Sky Gods.


    "The Raging Inferno Sect tried to marry my woman off to trash all because they felt she wasn''t breaking into the Sky God Realm quickly enough. Then dregs I had long since defeated from the Azure Lightning Sect thought it was his place to seek justice for my woman.


    "I, Ryu Tatsuya, can only say that I find these two Sects to be quite amusing.


    "One doesn''t have eyes and can''t see talent when it''s right in front of them. The other overestimates themselves, lusting after swan meat as toads in the bottom of a well."


    Ryu''s irises spiraled with eight trigram diagrams, his aura descending. His Dao didn''t flourish, but rather it seemed to enhance Jojo''s presence.


    Even from such a distance, he could easily see the rage of the oncoming Sky Gods. But what good would their rage do them, exactly?


    Little Silk flapped her wings once and appeared higher in the skies.


    "I''ve said it once and I''ll say it again. If your Sects have anyone in the same Realm that can defeat me, I''ll hand them my head on a silver platter. But since the Raging Inferno Sect and the Azure Lightning Sect were too cowardly to accept this, I''ll give you another chance.


    "If you can find anyone in your Sect''s one realm above me that can defeat me, I''ll do just the same.


    "Trash will remain trash, so why don''t I give you all this small advantage?"


    Ryu''s laughter boomed throughout the skies as he disappeared into the distance on Little Silk''s back. It could only be stated that the Azure Lighting and Raging Inferno Sects had been thoroughly humiliated on this day.


    Ryu''s expression became serious as he sent a punch out.


    His physique was met with an unstoppable force, and he was forced to glide backward to dissipate it, waving his fist around as though it had caught fire in that short stint.


    This woman''s temper wasn''t just fiery, but she was also quite powerful.


    She had spent much longer in the Peak of the World Sea Realm than Ryu, and her foundation was extraordinarily solid. Her temperament was perfect for that of a swordswoman, and her Dao should be somewhere in the Ancient Grade. It was only a bit difficult to pinpoint because her Sword God Aura also seemed to have an amplifying effect on it.


    In addition, her Dao might be inferior to Ryu''s, but her method of using her Sword God Aura was leagues beyond Ryu, not to mention the fact her other Pillars were exemplary as well.


    The Raging Inferno Sect wouldn''t have known that she could become a Sword God in the future, so when they picked her up as an orphan, it had to be purely because of her other talents.


    Ryu wasn''t sure what they were, but for a Sect of that level to pick her up and raise her as they did despite her not having any background to speak of, it had to be said that whatever skill she did have should have been astonishing.


    "Is that all you got? You prim and proper, lady-faced whore."


    Ryu was rendered speechless. It only made it worse that he heard the echo of Samson''s laughter in the distance.


    "Alright, woman." Ryu stood to his full height. "In my world, we punish children with spanks."


    Jojo sneered. "If you can touch a hair on my head, I''ll start using my true name again."


    "Is that supposed to be an incentive or something? I already knew that only a dry as bone, meathead like you could possibly choose a name like Jojo. It surely wasn''t your caregiver."


    Jojo seemed to get enraged all over again, charging forward with menace.


    The howls of swords echoed the Sect.

 Chapter 1537 Loss

    Chapter 1537 Loss


    Ryu took a step back before drawing a line across the air with his finger. A sword of qi formed, dancing with silvery runes that almost instantly suppressed the momentum of Jojo''s sword. Stars danced around him and [Absolute Domain] took shape, a light smile playing his handsome features as he took a step to the side, and then another. He moved with an unmatched fluidity, every step he took carrying a beautiful sort of elegance to it.


    To his surprise, Jojo didn''t immediately get frustrated after two misses. It was like she had forgotten about everything else, even her own mind and personality, when she entered the midst of battle. In fact, Ryu felt that his Dividing Chaos Dao was even somewhat stonewalled. It was as though even her soul had become a piercing blade, focused and unbothered by everything around her, thrusting forward with an indomitable will.


    She struck again and again, the wide arcs of her great sword forming a storm of scythes in the air. From afar, even they had a hidden beauty to them, forming the shape of a lotus with petals of flickering flames.


    Jojo''s dress fluttered in the air, pressing hard, and Ryu quickly noticed several hundred moves ahead that he was actually slowly being cornered.


    A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. This woman had sworn not to use any Raging Inferno Sect techniques, just by virtue of that, it was already unfair that he had used [Absolute Domain]. He had mostly done so to end the battle quickly, and he had used it quite casually. Ultimately, he didn''t want to spend a lot of time on this woman''s whims as he had better things to do, but maybe... he should change his tactics.


    Although he was using the technique casually, for Jojo to be able to rely on her instincts alone in an attempt to counter it, was more than just a little bit commendable.


    "Alright," he said lightly.


    [Absolute Domain] vanished and Jojo became almost like someone stuck in a tug of war battle just after their opponent let go of the rope. Her momentum faltered as though the things she had just been calculating went up in smoke.


    Even so, she reoriented herself almost instantly and "found" Ryu again. This time when she swung, her strike was a hundred times stronger. It was obvious to Ryu that she had been holding back for the sake of cornering him, but since that was no longer necessary, she rushed forward with everything she had.


    BOOM.


    Their swords clashed.


    In the midst of battle, Jojo''s hair and brows looked much more like flames than they ever had before. They flickered between corporeal and incorporeal, and yet the harsh winds that kicked up beneath their clashes couldn''t even begin to blow them out.


    The more fiery her hair became, the stronger her attacks and Ryu discovered that even his bones were starting to becoming a hint numb.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    His arms danced and the pressure on Jojo exploded.


    The disciples below felt their hearts clench.


    Dual wielders were incredibly rare, and True Dual Wielders were the bane of everyone''s existence. They always had far higher combat prowess than their counterparts and fighting them felt like you were facing off against two enemies at once.


    When Ryu used a weapon like the sword, a weapon that could more comfortably be dual wielded, his advantage rose like a tide and it seemed as though Jojo''s fire might be smothered out completely.


    And yet she stood like an indomitable wall. Her stance became more defensive. She picked and chose her spots, not allowing the sudden reversal to impact the brightness of her heart.


    ''Brightness?''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, but at that moment Jojo''s chest truly began to glow as though a portal was opening up from within her heart.


    Her great blade suddenly accelerated, appearing before Ryu''s neck in an instant and blowing by his defenses.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow as he was completely cut through.


    Many gasped, but just as quickly, Ryu disappeared into sparks of fire, appearing within Jojo''s guard. His swords rested on her neck, causing her to blink in slight confusion.


    Just then, when she realized that Ryu wasn''t doing anything for some reason, she pulled back. But she hadn''t expected this.


    Ryu smiled. "You''re a little too inexperienced. Go back and train a bit."


    The previously calm Jojo almost blew her top.

 Chapter 1538 Cruel

    Chapter 1538 Cruel


    Ryu laughed, dodging out of the way of a sudden strike.


    "Hey, didn''t I win? I didn''t expect the little princess to be such a sore loser."


    Jojo glared at Ryu. In battle, it wasn''t that she learned how to temper her rage, but rather that she could channel it. She had really wanted to tear this bastard to pieces, but she had actually lost. Even though it was because she had been taken off guard, if it was a real battle, she would still be dead. She would have to go and complain to the kings of the underworld.


    Even so, how could she know that Ryu actually had a Spirit Body. Was he aware of how rare such a thing was? Especially on a human. Usually, only the Fey and Faeries would have such abilities, and not even all of them at that.


    Ryu looked down below and noticed something that he had spotted earlier but had pretty much ignored due to the circumstances.


    Selheira and Eska stood together, both looking like a pair of regal white-haired goddesses. Well, you had to mostly fill in the blanks for Selheira considering her veil still covered more than half of her face. Ryu could look through it easily if he wanted to, but something told him that she would definitely sense it if he did and he had teased this woman enough.Upstodatee from


    With a flash of his step, Ryu landed and smiled brightly at the two women. Then he ignored Selheira and looked Eska up and down. Usually, she would be unmoved by this. But for some reason, ever since Ryu''s change, she found herself feeling a hint flustered around this man.


    Ryu didn''t blame her. Everyone had their own preferences. He quite liked Eska''s temperament and she was the woman he liked most in general. As for Eska, it just seemed that she preferred the current Ryu by far.


    Of course, preferences were one thing and love was another. People could easily set aside their preferences for such things.


    Among his wives, only Mae was somewhat close to Eska in terms of temperament, but he had a place in his heart for them all. In truth, Mae was only lacking in maturity. He bet that the next time he saw her, she would be able to give Eska a run for her money.


    In the past, people had been left quite speechless about this relationship between Eska and Ryu. Their main assumption was that it had something to do with the influence of Ryu''s great grandfather. The gap between a World Sea Realm expert and a Transcendent Sky God was far too wide.


    Jojo saw red. "You-!"


    Selheira lightly hummed and then spun to walk away. Her steps appeared slow, but they were actually quite quick. In a flash, she had almost disappeared over the horizon and deep into the Sect.


    "You wait right there!" Jojo roared.


    Soon, they had both disappeared and the sound of another battle erupting echoed.


    Ryu shook his head and laughed. Eska appeared like she wanted to say something, but ultimately held back.


    "You don''t have to be so reserved, just say what''s on your mind."


    "... You are... quite cruel to Selheira."


    "Am I?" Ryu asked with a smile. "You''re so eager to have another woman thrown into the arms of your husband?"


    Eska tumbled into silence and didn''t immediately reply. She understood that though Ryu had changed somewhat, the kernel of truth that made him him had not changed at all.


    He was still endlessly prideful, still stubborn, and still of his own mind regardless of the thoughts of others.


    Selheira had clearly rubbed him the wrong way and even after all these years, he hadn''t forgiven it. It was like he wanted to see her pride whittled down to nothing before he would be content.


    "I''m not being cruel, I''m just making the same assumption she did. I can do as I please and go about my life naturally, and in the end she''ll fall into my palms anyway. Isn''t that right?"

 Chapter 1539 Jojos Talent

    Chapter 1539 Jojo''s Talent


    Eska''s moans echoed through the room, her bodyflowing like jelly in Ryu''s palms. Compared to Isemeine''s tight and toned body, Eska was more softer.


    Every inch of her skin was as smooth as silk and it felt if you pressed into her too hard, you could easily leave a bruise.


    Of course, that was ridiculous since she was so powerful, and yet Ryu found himself being incredibly gentle with her.


    He felt a mixture of peace and warmth when he was with this woman now, a far cry from how theirrelationship had originally begun. It was almost amusing when he thought about how far they had come.


    Ryu kneeled over Eska''s body, using one of his arms to prop himself up and the other to rub his thumb across her delicate cheeks.


    Her legs rested on his hips and wrapped around his body, both inviting him in and holding him tight.


    At the moment, despite how weak she felt, she also felt flushed with strength. Something deep within her was stirring and she could feel that it was due to Ryu again.


    She hadn''t gotten to ask all the questions that had been bubbling up inside her, questions related to the Embryonic Qi that Ryu had given her. But at this point, this was the least of what she was concerned with.


    Even though Ryu had just finished and wasn''t moving at all, she felt so close to him that she could melt. It was like every time she met this man, he would chip away another layer of her guard.


    Eska had given up on the idea of love long ago. While she knew what kind of man she liked, none had truly stirred her before. When the time came to give up the chastity she had protected for trillions of years for the sake of her family, she didn''t even hesitate to do so.


    Now, with the fate of her Zu Clan being up in the air, and her likely being the only member remaining, she felt that she finally found some peace in Ryu''s arms.As cruel as it sounded, the existence of the Zu Clan had been a great load to her. The larger the world around her grew, the more responsibility she felt she had.If it was just a matter of resurrecting the Zu Clan, then wouldn''t it be easy? Ryu was already by far the strongest expert of Sacrum, so long as his parents and great grandfather were ignored, and she was his concubine.


    It would only take a wave of the hand for him to help her in this endeavor.


    Even if Ryu for some reason refused, wasn''t she a powerhouse now as well? One even stronger than Ryu?


    So why couldn''t she do it herself?Visitt  for the latest updates


    Hope didn''t answer, but sending his senses in, Ryu could see that she was pouting. He suddenly remembered why he had originally given her the little woman nickname, she was like a child in a woman''s body.


    "What do you think of Jojo?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    "Are you asking me to rate your women now?!" Hope replied with an almost booming anger.


    Ryu rolled his eyes. "That''s not what I meant. I meant of her talent, don''t you find it interesting? It''s like she has Rage Flames, but in constitution form instead.


    Have you ever heard of that talent?"


    "... Yes," Hope finally replied, "but it''s very rare."


    "Oh?"


    "It''s not one talent, it''s two. Well, technically three depending on the situation. It''s a mixture of Bone Structure and Soul Nature, and the final "talent", depending on how you look at it, can be considered her Dao which resonates with both."


    Ryu''s brows shot up. "So she''s like those Eighth Heaven talents who have all their talents fused down a single path? No wonder she''s so strong."


    "No, she''s far better than them."


    "She''s mightier than an Eighth Heaven talent?"


    "No, she''s definitely weaker than the best of them."


    "Then?"


    "There''s a difference between the artificial and true version. Those who had their talents artificially forced at birth can only gain some of the benefits ofsynergized talent even if they do so with all Six Pillars.


    "Jojo''s potential, though, is higher."

 Chapter 1540 Calm

    Chapter 1540 Calm


    Ryu listened to the little woman speak for a while before he understood and grasped the situation.


    The gist of it was that even though Jojo only had three talents on the same path, because they all happened naturally, although it would be weaker in the beginning, in the future she had the opportunity to far surpass those more artificial talents.


    Ultimately, the only one of the pillars that should be passed on from generation to generation was Bloodline. However, these incredibly powerful Clans and Sects had found methods of forcing the other talents to fall in line as well. This made them far stronger in the short run, but their potential was more limited.Upstodatee from


    Of course, this wasn''t to say that these geniuses had their potential completely cut off. Hope made sure to emphasize that though she explained things this way, the loss in potential was at most around 10%. When this was matched with the overwhelming amount of resources and advantages these geniuses were born with, the loss was almost negligible, which was why they dared to do such things in the first place.


    It was likely also partly due to this reason that these Clans and Sects suppressed everyone else as well.


    Ryu couldn''t help but realize that Jojo had formed an Ancient Dao, and yet she hadn''t been struck down with a brand. This was actually something that he had been waiting on.


    But it seemed he had thought too much. The Seventh Heaven did have a limit on the number of Ancient Daos it was allowed to produce, but Ancient Daos were so rare that Jojo smoothly claimed a quota for herself without issue.


    This was a good thing for Ryu, not because Jojo was stronger, he didn''t really care about that. It was just that the rarer Jojo was, the more regret the Raging Inferno Sect would feel, and the funnier the fallout would be.


    He was having a grand time of it. Soon, they''d probably send their experts in a vain attempt to deal with him. That would be fun as well.


    His hand subconsciously rubbed Eska''s ass and she squirmed a bit, moving into a more comfortable position before going back to sleep.


    ''A fusion of a fire-based Bone Structure and a will-based Soul Nature? How fascinating, they don''t seem to be related, so why did they fuse so well?''


    Ryu laughed. "I cleaned myself because they don''t have any right to catch a sniff of my woman. Who do they think they are?"


    Hope was speechless; she didn''t even have a response for this.


    Ryu flashed and vanished, appearing atop the Sect walls. Almost the moment he appeared, there was a wash of relief from one side and a tsunami of rage from the other.


    "Not bad, not bad," Ryu nodded. "You all finally stopped being cowards and sent your people. Now, will you all fight together? Or will it be done one by one?"


    In the crowd of Azure Lightning Sect disciples, Litaor''s eyes were spitting fire, but he forced himself to calm down. Technically, he shouldn''t have come at all. The Azure Lightning Sect''s inaction would help to separate them from this whole ordeal.


    But the problem was that that recording kept circulating, and Jojo possessed even broken through in an Azure Lightning Sect city. No matter how you looked at it, they had to come.


    The only thing he repented was that he wouldn''t be the one to end it.


    At that moment, within the crowd of raging disciples, a young guy stepped forward.


    He possessed a beard and head of red hair. He would have looked like a guy of the Tatsuya Clan if not for the fact he was too short. Though he wasn''t some dwarf, he was still slightly below average for a male cultivator, standing at barely six feet. Without cultivation and body tempering, and if he was a normal mortal, he might very well have been 5''7 at most.


    Even so, he was decently handsome and possessed a solid bearing to him. At the very least, although he was the center of today''s drama, he managed to remain the calmest aside from Ryu himself.


    This guy was Jojo''s supposed fiancee, Ragash.

 Chapter 1541 Regression Pill

    Chapter 1541 Regression Pill


    "Oh? Sending forward a True Sky God?"


    Ryu couldn''t help but laugh. He had been pretty clear about his limits. Although he could kill a True Sky God, he didn''t really want to publicize that. But he also didn''t believe that these guys would be stupid enough to present their faces to be smacked, so since they had brought forward such a person, they obviously had a plan of their own.


    Also, he knew that though they hadn''t appeared due to their status, the various Elders along with Aika, Old Wan and Samson were definitely watching this scene. There was a reason that they hadn''t launched an all-out attack on the Sect, they didn''t dare to. Whatever plan they had would likely not be too out of bounds, and if Ryu was correct, he could already make a guess as to what it was.


    Ragash took out a box from his spatial ring and allowed it to fall to the ground. Although he held it casually, the instant it crashed into the ground, the surroundings thousands of kilometers quaked.


    BOOM.


    Dust kicked up, the earth cracked, and the walls of the Radiant Star Sect shook violently.


    Yet, somehow, the box didn''t create a sinkhole or anything of the like. It landed on the earth and pushed it down about a centimeter before stopping. It was a truly shocking scene.Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com


    Ryu took a seat on the walls, lifting up a knee and resting his chin on a forearm. ''What an interesting material.''


    He realized that there was still quite a lot he didn''t know. His Dao was responsible for his great skill in Blacksmithing and things of the like, but it was because of that that he no longer did the normal leg-work that others would have to for their Secondary Professions. He wondered how much better he would be if he actually had time to study.


    With a click, the box opened and a fragrant aura spread out. However, very quickly, that fragrance tipped over some sort of threshold and it became a bit foul and spoiled. In the end, it almost smelled like milk with a squeeze of lemon.


    The more one smelled it, the more uncomfortable you would feel as though something unnatural was going on.


    In addition, this move shut down another matter.


    Because of the nature of the Regression Pill, it wasn''t something that Ragash could easily reverse on a whim. That meant that Ryu couldn''t use the excuse of a clear assassination ploy to pull out of the battle.


    If Ragash took a normal suppression-type pill, he could shatter its restriction with just an intention of his will. That way, if he was on the verge of losing to Ryu, he could just break free and even attempt to kill Ryu. Although there would be some loss of face, with Ryu dead, there would be no one left to carry that Faith of the Radiant Star Sect.


    "I will take this pill and return to the False Sky God Realm. Do you dare?" Ragash''s voice suddenly boomed, a wall of superheated air flooding the atmosphere.


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    The reason Ragash was asking him if he dared was fairly obvious. Even if he returned to the False Sky God Realm, it wouldn''t be perfect. He would still have all the insights of the True Sky God Realm. He would probably instantly transform into the strongest False Sky God on the Seventh Heaven.


    Even so, his voice had only barely echoed when Ryu appeared before him.


    Ragash''s gaze narrowed. Ryu actually appeared barely five meters from him when he had yet to even then take the pill? Was he truly so arrogant? Did he not know that he could kill him with a single fist?


    Suddenly, Ragash''s eyes widened when he noticed that the pill was already in Ryu''s hands.


    A cold sweat beaded down his brows. When had that happened? How''d he miss it? Was his Space Soul Nature really so powerful?


    He wasn''t scared of Ryu, but if he lost this pill without using it for its intended purpose, his Sect''s path Lord would directly kill him.

 Chapter 1542 Show Me

    Chapter 1542 Show Me


    Ryu smiled; he could feel Ragash''s nervousness. If he just destroyed the pill, wouldn''t that be funny? The pill spun between his fingers, the dexterity capable of making one dizzy.


    "Is this your answer?" Ragash managed to say coldly, pretending not to care about the pill.


    Ryu''s smile deepened. "Although you''re a bit shameless, I like it. Honestly, I expected today to be a bit boring. The truth is that your Sects aren''t capable of producing anyone below the True Sky God Realm that can defeat me.


    "On the way here, I was dragging my feet because I''m a cultivator, not a janitor. Do I look like a person who has the time to take out the trash?"


    The eyes of the various disciples went red.


    "However, if you all think that you can conveniently hide this battle within this encirclement, you''d be sorely mistaken. This battle will take place so that the entire world can witness it."


    Ryu''s smile looked particularly devious.


    "Little Silk."


    A clear, resounding cry echoed that almost reminded one of a majestic phoenix. The gorgeous butterfly swept down, and Ryu vanished, appearing on its back.


    "Who would like to come?" Ryu asked, looking toward the Radiant Star Sect disciple.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    He had barely spoken when Jojo and Selheira appeared over the horizon. He had, of course, sensed them already. They didn''t hesitate to make a move, stepping onto Little Silk.


    An old man cleared his throat, and Old Wan, who was pretending to be among the elderly again, walked out with a hunched back. Though, it was truly ridiculous to see a middle-aged man act like this.


    However, when others saw him walking through the air without even the slightest hint of Sword God Aura like Ryu or Jojo, their eyes widened.


    Dao Lord!


    "I''ll be escorting these children I guess, aiya," he stretched his back. "Making an old man do so much work, you all have no respect for the elderly."


    No one dared to speak... aside from Ryu.


    "Now that everyone''s here," he said lightly, his digits flickered, and the pill shot through the air, appearing before Ragash in an instant.


    Ragash, who was distracted, barely managed to catch it in the end. Though he was a bit embarrassed, he managed to not make too much of a fool of him.


    He took deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to block everything out. In the end, he was still a True Sky God, a Realm and maybe only one in a million would reach even if you were born on the Seventh Heaven. He was better than this.


    He swallowed the capsule in a single bite. He wasn''t worried that Ryu had messed with it. After bringing everyone here, how could he have the face to just poison him to death.


    Ragash felt a slight sickness in his stomach, but that was to be expected. This pill wasn''t comfortable in the beginning.


    Then, it all reversed.


    His cultivation regressed by a grade and his aura became more refined. When he opened his gaze again, he was ready.


    The first thing he beheld was Ryu''s smile, but it no longer annoyed him as much as the first time. He was ready and focused.


    He took a step forward, his aura blazing. He seized at the air, a pair of fire-forged gauntlets emerged on his arms.


    The ground erupted as he suddenly vanished, appearing before Ryu with a fist that descended as though a meteor from the skies.


    Ryu''s grin didn''t fade, but his robes fluttered, the aura of a Fist God erupting from him as he punched out.


    BOOM.


    Ragash shuddered before he was sent flying backward as though a speeding bullet.


    Ryu clasped his hands behind his back. "Come on, you''ll need to go all out. I want to see what a True Sky God can really do, show me something."


    Ragash''s regained calm almost vanished in an instant. Ryu was doing this on purpose, still calling him a True Sky God even when he had clearly regressed.


    He would repay him by tearing him limb from limb.


    Ragash unleashed a roar, flames blazing out of his body from all directions.

 Chapter 1543 Woman鈥檚 Dao

    Chapter 1543 Woman''s Dao


    Ryu became more serious. Ragash''s first attack was a fool''s errand. Trying to overwhelm Ryu with power when his current body was so powerful was the pinnacle of foolishness.


    However, these sort of qi-based attacks were a different matter entirely.


    Ragash''s Dao had only been artificially suppressed. It wasn''t as thorough as what Yaana had experienced with her Black Rose Life Partner. There were still bits and pieces of that comprehension hidden within Ragash.


    In addition, something that was most definitely not suppressed was his comprehension of techniques and the amount of qi he had in him.


    Essentially, Ragash''s Dao and power output had been restrained to the False Sky God Realm, but his combat sense and even his stamina were still firmly at the True Sky God level, whether that be in terms of body or qi. His body likewise kept about the same durability.


    To make a complex matter simple, when Leonel said that the current Ragash was probably the most powerful False Sky God of the Seventh Heaven currently, he wasn''t exaggerating in the slightest.


    Under this pressure, Ryu glided backward calmly, deploying his [Absolute Domain] as silvery runes danced around him.


    Ragash swept toward him, his arms spread out wide as though inhaling all the fires of the world, and then he roared.


    ''What...'' was all Ryu could think before he was swallowed up by a vortex of fire.


    Ragash stood with a violent glint in his eye. He was cautious and didn''t immediately rush into the flames, waiting to see the result. According to his information, Ryu''s movement techniques were more than good enough to at least attempt to dodge that, so he smelled signs of a trap.


    What he didn''t expect was for Ryu to appear completely unscathed.


    "What the hell was that?" Ryu asked, incredulous. He looked like he wanted to have a conversation mid-battle. The fact he wasn''t taking things seriously at all infuriated Ragash to no end.


    Without a word, Ragash rushed forward again, closing the distance in an instant and unleashing a flurry of attacks.


    "Was that supposed to be an attempt at breathing fire?"


    Ryu tilted his head to the side, blocking the next pair of strikes with his forearms and sliding out of the way of the final one. His movements were fluid and unhurried, there was simply nothing that could escape his eyes and even less that could escape his [Third Perspective]. He watched the battle from millions of angles at once, his Internal Matrix taking in the information and spitting out the perfect response every time. Fo?llo?w new stories at novelhall.com


    Then, in a short opening, Ryu kicked out, landing the perfect sole of his feet right against Ragash''s chest.


    He looked toward Ryu, his eyes flashing with a hint of madness and humiliation. After being woken up, he understood what happened, and yet it filled him with a hint of fear.


    He assumed that it was related to Ryu''s Dao, or it was at the very least a Dao Charm technique, but he hadn''t even sensed it activate.


    How could he know that Ryu was only passively using his Dao? His Dividing Chaos didn''t need to directly apply pressure on people, he could use it as a method of analysis, and then use more normal means to impact a person... such as his barrage of insults earlier.


    Of course, though he was saying Dividing Chaos, in reality he was only using one part of it, that being Dividing Sin. It was even more impossible for others to sense just a small usage of what was ultimately just a single quarter of his Dao.


    Ryu chuckled. "Finally ready to battle? It looked like you were a bit shaken in fear just now. Are you doing alright? Feeling nervous."


    Ragash grit his teeth hard. "You use a woman''s Dao and yet you''re so proud of it. You don''t have the heart of a warrior at all, how could I fear you?!"


    Ryu blinked. A woman''s Dao?


    He burst into a booming laughter. Ragash was trying to put his Dao in the same box as female cultivators that used charming or coaxing Daos. He had to admit, it was a decent try and Ryu even found it amusing.


    "You want to know why you can''t sense my Dao and yet you''re certain I used it?" Ryu asked with a grin.


    Ragash didn''t respond, his brows furrowing hard.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll tell you. It''s because I''m only using a small portion of it, and passively at that. You would have already lost this fight had the mighty Crown Fire Lord not just saved you, but you want to call it a woman''s Dao?"


    Lord Crown Fire''s gaze glinted with a dangerous light, but he didn''t even dignify the dig with a response as though it was simply beneath him.


    As for Ryu, he didn''t even look toward the man, his knuckles smashing together. In his view, the longer this was, the more humiliating it was, the more disparaging it could be, the better.


    "However, since I can''t count on the Raging Inferno Sect not cheating, I can show you what it would feel like to face a ''man''s Dao''."


    "Starting with how to truly roar like a Dragon."


    Ryu''s smiling expression suddenly vanished and the skies rumbled. His chest expanded and veins of ruby red crawled up his collarbone and throat as his diaphragm followed suit and expanded as well.


    BOOM.


    ROAR!


    A blazing cyclone of fire suddenly manifested before Ragash and he felt his knees go weak.

 Chapter 1544 Battle

    Chapter 1544 Battle


    Ragash felt completely overwhelmed. It wasn''t just the heat; it truly felt like a mighty dragon was bearing down on him. It was the sheer size, the weight, the rage. It overwhelmed his senses and sought to crush him. His fragile mind, which had only just recovered, felt like it was being peeled away, layer by layer, step by step.


    He barely managed to remember to defend himself, crossing his arms before his chest. He hoped to be sent flying, but the breath, under Ryu''s control, became akin to a convection oven, wrapping around him and billowing with steam and heat that charred him completely through.


    By the time the flame faded, he stood there like a statue, his arms still crossed, and his knees slightly bent. He was entirely black from head to toe, and the slightest movement caused him to crack all over. Blood began to pool out of the cracks, causing his body to tremble more and resulting in more cracks that leaked with more blood.


    Ryu''s lips closed. "Mm, a bit overcooked."


    The arena was silent.


    In truth, from the moment Ryu''s games began, Ragash never stood a chance. The problem wasn''t his strength, but rather his psyche. This was simply the power of a Founding Dao, not just of any level, but the equivalent of the False Grade.


    After months of research, Ryu understood everything about Ragash''s character, and he had even toyed with his emotions thoroughly. There was little worse for a man than having his woman so publicly stolen from him.


    It was unlikely that Ragash had feelings for Jojo as deep as that of Litaor, at least not feelings that went beyond feeling that she was a beauty he would like to take advantage of. But it didn''t matter. Not everyone had the mental fortitude to ignore the chatter of the public and find motivation from an internal drive.


    To make a complicated matter simple, Ryu had essentially spent months whittling away at Ragash''s pride, his sense of self. The fact the latter''s Dao Heart didn''t already shatter was a testament to how much of a genius before Ryu got his hands on him.


    But right now, if Ryu were to put a number on it, Ragash probably couldn''t even properly use even 10% of his strength.


    Ryu shook his head. ''How boring.''


    He had known for a long time that he could use his Dao like this. He had mentioned that he could probably become the greatest political official to ever live if he so chose. It just didn''t give him the same amount of satisfaction. He meant it when he said it was boring.


    If not for the fact this would deal the greatest blow to the Raging Inferno Sect, he would have preferred to have a good battle with Ragash. He was probably one of the few that could give him such a great battle without also being far beyond him in strength.


    Unfortunately, no matter how Ryu''s maturity had seemed to regress in some ways, he was still quite a serious man when he had to be.


    Others might see it as his maturity regressing, but Ryu felt that it was the opposite. He was less stubborn about useless things, more flexible, more secure in himself and his way of doing things.


    A cold face didn''t always equate maturity. He had seen enough stone-faced beauties to know that this was far from the case.


    "Well, that''s one down. Does the Raging Inferno Sect have anyone else?" Ryu asked with a smile, knowing full well what the answer would be.


    What a joke. He had just taken down the most powerful False Sky God there probably was on the Seventh Heaven, who else could they possibly have?


    Unfortunately, she hadn''t had the strength then, and she didn''t have the strength now. Her gaze was filled with thus much fury. She wanted to fling curses that could paint the skies red, but she didn''t dare to do so.


    She had suffered so much, and for what? Because a grown woman couldn''t stand the idea of her daddy doting on another little girl? Just the thought filled her with such a belly of fire that her hair and brows began to flicker uncontrollably again.


    But she controlled it. She had to control it.


    She wasn''t a disciple of the Radiant Star Sect, they had no reason to protect her. It was foolish of her to come in person to begin with, but she had simply wanted to see how matters would end. She hadn''t expected such an ultimatum.


    She wasn''t a fool. She knew that the Sect must have something to rely on or else Lord Crown Fire wouldn''t be thus calm.


    It was then that a laughter cut through all of it.


    "You want to take a Sword Sky God as an in-name disciple? I don''t even think they''d do that on the Ninth Heaven; Lord Crown Fire''s standards must be impossibly high, which is weird considering how trash the rest of your Sect''s disciples are."


    The words were obviously a power play by Lord Crown Fire, but trying to play with words with Ryu correct here was digging your own grave, don''t you think?


    "The Raging Inferno Sect tried to pawn off such a good disciple to this good-for-nothing?" Ryu pointed toward Ragash, and the latter suddenly erupted into a fountain of blood, collapsing to the ground. "And now that he''s lost you want to take her back. There isn''t such a good thing in the entire world.


    "So now that we''ve reached this point, how about you stop wasting everyone''s time and bring out what you''re trying to rely on?"


    Ryu looked into the skies as the audience fell thus silent that pin drop could exist heard.


    "Let me guess," Ryu grinned. "You''ve realized that you can''t win on your own thus called for help from your father?"


    BOOM.


    The pressure of a Dao Lord drenched the skies.


    However, it wasn''t Lord Crown Fire at all.


    It was an expert of the Fading Star Sect.


    Ryu''s grin widened. He really wanted to see what they were going to do here.


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: New year! Same me! Hope you all had a great year, and if not, I hope the service I provided over the year made it a little bit better. It will continue though, how long? Not sure. I will notify when I do have to stop, and I will try to find a good replacement if possible. But that''s for the unknown future. For now I will continue as usual. Let''s hope we all have a great entry into 2024. Cheers mates.

 Chapter 1545 Realization

    Chapter 1545 Realization


    The presence of a Dao Lord was already something greater than what the average person could bear to begin with. At a certain level, a layman couldn''t feel the difference... an oppressive aura that could crush them was an oppressive aura that could crush them, what good would it do to try and parse them?


    What no one would have expected, though, was that even as this presence appeared, that Ryu would say such words.


    Toward this, even Lord Crown Fire could no longer remain perfectly calm, his eyes narrowing. This boy''s words were always so sharp and unforgiving, every time he spoke Lord Crown Fire could practically feel his Sect''s Faith being drained away.


    It couldn''t be a coincidence, Lord Crown Fire didn''t believe so. He even believed that it was related to Ryu''s Dao somehow. What he didn''t understand was how the Dao of a mere Fragmented Sky God could possibly function on this scale.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    And then he finally appeared...


    It was an old man, but not in the sense of being decrepit and aged, but rather in a wisdom-filled, ancient sort of way.


    His dark skin-tone seemed carved of stone and his white hair was a bright contrast. He wore clothing that looked as though he had just begun preparing for bed, a simple, loose, linen-like pair of pajamas and his bare feet walked across the skies as though it was solid earth.


    To his back, there was a youth. His skin was also dark, but his eyes shone like the stars in the skies, filled with an impossible flood of charisma and beauty. His features were handsome enough to make women swoon and his temperament was even more alluring.


    As he walked, a dark rainbow of colors flashed around him similar to the way Ryu''s silver runes acted. But the difference was that everyone knew what this was...


    The Childe of Chaos Constitution.


    Suddenly, this young man''s gaze flashed as they landed on Ryu, but Ryu only smiled back, brightly and without restraint. His own charisma seemed to leak out at that moment, competing with and even somewhat swallowing up that of Starlight''s.


    The threat was blatant and clear.


    If the Fading Star Sect were to attack the Radiant Star Sect, they wouldn''t use a Faith Battle. They would sweep down with overwhelming strength and crush everything in their path. Ultimately, they just hadn''t been willing to pay the potential price they would have to.


    Now that things had come this far, they would settle for humiliating the Radiant Star Sect.


    After eventually returning to their home, the Radiant Star Sect was trapped within their own territory, and now they were being asked to compensate their oppressors for their audacity in fighting back.


    How amusing.


    Ryu, though, didn''t say anything, a surprising turn of events for him.


    The reality was that he knew it was useless. If this Battle of Faith continued, in another year or two he might bring these Sects to their knees. But ultimately, the Fading Star Sect wasn''t even so involved; they were just using the two Sects as pawns in their game. Plus, there was still the Stalwart Sun Sect to worry about, yet another powerful, yet unscathed player in the game.


    The Radiant Star Sect was too weak, and Aika was truly too rash in coming back so quickly. If she had lingered around in the Sixth Heaven for a few generations, the situation would have been much better, but she didn''t have the patience for that.


    Quite frankly, neither did Ryu. The divergence was that Ryu would have just acted alone if he had the power of a Dao Sovereign. If he had that kind of power, this war would have ended in a few days.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t.


    Ryu suddenly realized now why he had never joined a Sect before.

 Chapter 1546 Change

    Chapter 1546 Change


    Ryu''s gaze shifted and landed on Jojo. As expected, this woman was quite calm as though she was prepared to accept anything that might happen, even if it meant returning to the Sect that had thrown her aside like trash.


    She didn''t look to Ryu for help, and didn''t even glance at Old Wan who would technically be her best chance. She just sat there, her expression calm.


    Deep within her eyes, however, there was a burning passion. It seemed she had already sworn that if she survived this, and one day held power on the same level of these Sky Gods, she would wipe them all out without the slightest hesitation.


    The humiliation of this day... she would return tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold.


    Ryu fell into his own thoughts. He knew that there was something else he was missing; the Fading Star Sect wasn''t just taking a hard stance for the sake of saving the Raging Inferno Sect. There was definitely something deeper, and it was probably related to the Convergence and the Title Stele.


    At that moment, another powerhouse appeared in the skies. Compared to the Fading Star Sect, her arrival was much more muted. Ryu could almost feel the gloominess around Aika. She was so powerful, and yet so helpless at the same time. She was a fighter, she wasn''t a planner like Old Wan. She just wanted to use her overwhelming power to overturn everything, but she didn''t expect that things would end up like this.


    She was worn out and it showed on that beautiful face of hers. She knew that she had made a mistake, but the idea of having to swallow this sort of humiliation after she worked so hard to get back here filled her with fury.


    She had thought that she would never be able to see this stage again. Back on the First Heaven, as she grew older day by day, without a breakthrough in sight, she thought that her friends, her family, her mother, her father, her siblings, would have all died in vain.


    Finally seizing an opportunity to reverse the tide, she rushed back up here even though Samson and Old Wan had advised her not to. And now, she was doing the same thing she had been doing on the First Heaven, sitting around and waiting.


    Even standing here in silence, it was taking everything in her to not unleash a bloody storm of attacks.


    The whispers in the back of her head were loud. So long as she killed this man, it would all be over. How would they be able to survive her assault without a Dao Sovereign?


    The skies rumbled and the clouds parted. In the far-off distance, Aika could feel the well-spring of the Radiant Star Sect''s dried Faith Well begin to bubble again, a large amount of Faith pooling together and rushing forth in a flood.


    Aika''s brows raised. Her cultivation didn''t increase, but she suddenly felt so much more...


    That was all; she sensed more. More of what, it was hard to tell at first. Until she tightened her fists and a great amount of Star Qi accumulated.


    Her eyes widened.


    Her Bloodline. The Radiant Star Sect''s Core Teaching. The way the two linked...


    She had disregarded something. Her standard of talent was far beyond this Heaven. She had a Peak Chaos Grade Bloodline, and her Dao was strong enough to allow her to enter the Dao Sovereign Realm.


    Suddenly, she punched out.


    Dao Sovereign Fading Shadow''s eyes narrowed. He placed a hand on Starlight''s shoulder and retreated in a flash. But the fist that would have crashed with him dissipated just a centimeter before his face before trickling into the surrounding wind as though it was nothing more than a feint.


    Ryu straightened himself out, his eyes filled with a hint of annoyance. But then he shook his head and sighed. He owed Aika. She had helped him out a lot and never really asked for anything in return other than to be a disciple of her Sect. So, let that be repayment.


    Crushing the Faith of others wasn''t the only thing you could do in the middle of a Faith War; you could also bolster your Well of Faith.


    All this time, Aika had been fighting with two hands tied behind her back, her Bloodline and foundational techniques restrained by the Radiant Star Sect''s lack of Faith. Now, however...


    Things had changed.

 Chapter 1547 Inspiration

    Chapter 1547 Inspiration


    For once, Aika restrained herself. Pulling her fist back, she looked toward Ryu, a swirl of complicated feelings in her eyes.


    In truth, Ryu was an inspiration to her. She hadn''t said anything when she noticed his change, but she was a Dao Sovereign. After she had made such a comment about Ryu''s Dao Heart being too rigid once before, how could she not sense his change now?


    But this action taught her something else.


    He might have changed, but the core of his being remained the same. Bowing for him was just as hard as it had been in the past. Rather than saying that he had changed for other people, it was more accurate to say that he had changed for his own sake, feeling that this state of mind was better for him... but he never lost his own sense of self.


    Aika had been holding on to a version of herself for a long time that she felt she needed. It was a sense of self that was filled with an edge and was constantly ready to charge forward and rush at the world without regard for the consequences.


    It had served her well, even helping her rise to the point she stood near the pinnacle of what was possible for the True Martial World. But it had done nothing to help her achieve what she truly wanted, what she dearly sought after the most.


    So this time, for once, she pulled back.


    "Jojo is a disciple of my Radiant Star Sect and no one can take her away. The territory of the surrounding regions can be negotiated. Come forward with a fair proposal and this Sovereign will choose. If anything short of what I deem to be fair is proposed, I will take it as an act of war and directly attack.


    "The Radiant Star Sect isn''t one that you can bully as you please. I will make anyone who dares to have such thoughts bleed in the worst kind of way."


    After saying these words, Aika waved a hand and all members of the Radiant Star Sect vanished, leaving the city in silence.


    ...


    "Did I do good?" Aika stood with her arms akimbo, a grin on her face. Considering her current youth and her petite body, she looked like a woman in her late teens asking her elder brother for praise.


    What truly left Jojo speechless, though, was the fact that she wasn''t asking Old Wan, but rather Ryu.


    "The former Dual Radiance Sect''s techniques could only be maximized with the use of our bloodlines to begin with. However, after the Radiant Star Sect''s Faith plummeted, it became even weaker.


    "I gave you all the chance to absorb the Radiant Star Sect''s Bloodline in the past, but I don''t fault you for rejecting. Now, however, I believe that the Radiant Star Sect''s techniques are finally worthy of geniuses like you..."


    Aika smiled a sincere, beautiful smile. "... Thanks to Little Ryu."


    Jojo already sensed quite comfortable around this somewhat adorable Dao Sovereign, so she couldn''t assist but pout.


    "Is it really because of him? Or are you just saying that?"


    Aika chuckled, suddenly looking much more wise than she usually appeared. For a moment, the shadow of that old woman that once ran the Radiant Star Sect''s library returned and Jojo could distinctly feel her age for the first time.


    "That boy is a true mystery. Although I named him an Inheritor Disciple, gave him access to all of our resources and techniques, he really treats this old woman like a cheap slut."


    The last words broke the illusion for Jojo and she almost choked on air.


    Selheira covered her mouth and giggled, unable to hold it back.


    "His Dao Heart is exceptionally solid and he isn''t easily swayed by outward showings and gestures. He is confident in himself and never depends on anyone else, regardless of the situation. I trust that even after that bow, the Heavens probably still don''t truly register him as a member of my Sect."


    Selheira fell into silence, feeling Aika''s words etched into her heart.


    "I don''t think he''s suited for being under the banner of someone else. Maybe if we were his kin it would be different, but..."


    Aika shook her head. "I think that, if he''s willing... I should allow him to take the peril and attempt to become our Throne."

 Chapter 1548 Impossible

    Chapter 1548 Impossible


    Selheira''s eyes widened, as did Jojo''s.


    A Throne? No way. Absolutely no way.


    Becoming a Throne meant exceeding the potential of every other disciple to ever be born within a Sect. However, even that wasn''t enough. It had to be by a large margin on top of that.


    It had to be remembered that a Throne was a disciple so excellent that a Sect or Clan didn''t dare to take them under their banner. It was thus easier for such a Sect or Clan to provide resources to this genius in exchange for being bound to the Faith and the Faith they could gather.


    However, the problem with this was simple. Who was this petite woman standing before them now? She might look fragile and delicate, but her aura was as clear and resounding as it got...


    A Dao Sovereign!


    Thrones were practically unheard of because they didn''t receive the same level of protection they did in Sacrum to begin with, but Thrones this high up in the Heavens were even more ridiculous.


    "No! It''s too dangerous!" Selheira spoke too quickly to stop herself, her eyes filled with a clear unwillingness.


    She knew more about this than even Jojo did because she was intimately familiar with the history of the Radiant Star Sect.


    In the past, the Radiant Star Sect and the Fading Star Sect had been one entity. It wasn''t so easy to just sever Karma and become two separate existences, even after so long had passed. In fact, one of the reasons the Radiant Star Sect had managed to survive by the skin of their teeth wasn''t just because of Aika''s use of that sacrificial technique that left her old and decrepit, but also because of the Fading Star Sect''s caution.


    The Fading Star Sect didn''t want to just destroy the Radiant Star Sect; they wanted to absorb their Faith Well and reclaim their techniques, returning to the glory of the former Dual Radiance Sect.


    Because they had to be cautious and not just focus on completely wiping out the Radiant Star Sect, the latter had managed to survive.


    "Regardless, for the next while, I will personally guide the two of you." Aika looked toward Selheira, who stood more than a head taller than her. "Selheira, I know you desire to convince him otherwise, but I''m sure you understand his character by now, right?"


    Selheira''s radiant blue eyes dimmed. For a moment, her pupils seemed to tremble into slits before returning to their original shape.


    It was said that when a Crystal Dragon fell in love, it was a matter sanctified by the Heavens and engraved into their very Dao Heart. It was simply not a matter that could be changed after the fact so casually.


    It was an irony of all ironies to Selheira, though.


    She had left her Clan to escape the Fate of constantly being beneath the claws of the Fire Dragons. She felt that her Clan was too subservient, lacking in edge and drive.


    It really wasn''t their fault. They were beasts, at the termination of the day. Their talent was likewise mandated by the Heavens, and they were bound to follow a particular path.


    Crystal Dragons were unlike other Dragons in that they were calm and tranquil, but they were no less emotional creatures than the Fire Dragons that rooted their power in the Flames of Rage.


    The dilemma was that because they were so gentle, they also tended to be more sensitive, and every decision they made, especially when it came to matters of interpersonal relationships, shone bright and fierce.


    In the end, she had somehow ended up falling for a Fire Dragon. It felt like her whole existence was surrounded by a cage, and she couldn''t escape no matter how hard she tried.


    It was why she had tried to regain control of the relationship, tried to dictate how her and Ryu would come together, tried to claim ownership of him rather than the other way around.


    The shame of it was that even after he lashed out as a result, and she wanted to completely cut ties with him in response, she could do so.


    And now she was stuck in the same loop as all her answers, sensation pain for a man she dearly wanted to forget the existence of.


    It made it impossible to focus on anything else.

 Chapter 1549 Trust

    Chapter 1549 Trust


    Ryu sat in silent meditation.


    He was in part right to not like this method of dealing with enemies. He had spent so much of the last few months dealing with this matter that he hadn''t had any time to cultivate at all. It felt like he had mostly wasted his time.


    Of course, this wasn''t true. At the very least, though his actions hadn''t cut down the Raging Inferno and Azure Lightning Sects, what they had done was essentially resurrect the Radiant Star Sect.


    Now, even if their techniques hadn''t returned to their former peak, they weren''t too far off. Their disciples should no longer be at a disadvantage when facing off against similarly powered experts. What was more important than any of that, of course, was Aika, Old Wan, and Samson.


    There was no doubt that even with the return of their scattered branches, these three were still the absolute strongest experts of the Radiant Star Sect. In fact, they were existences that could technically make the Radiant Star Sect the strongest of all the Sects, albeit extremely top-heavy.


    Two Dao Lords and a Dao Sovereign, each having just regained at least 90% of the strength they should have already had, if not more.


    No other Sect had so many powerhouses. Even the Fading Star Sect only had a single Dao Lord and a single Dao Sovereign. As for the three under them, the Azure Lightning, Raging Inferno, and Stalwart Sun Sects, they only had a single Dao Lord each while the rest of their experts were below that level.


    Of course, the Radiant Star Sect was still at a severe disadvantage, but this disadvantage came from foundation and the mid-tiers.


    In a battle of super experts, the four Sects of the Seventh Heaven could easily occupy Aika, Old Wan, and Samson. Then it would become a battle of the lower-level Sky Gods.


    Unfortunately, the Radiant Star Sect only had three Omniscient Sky Gods, that being Old Xu, Jiao, and Xiao. While, between the three Sects, there were probably at least two dozen, if not three.


    The gap became worse as they descended down the rank.


    There were a rare few that understood Faith better than himself. He knew what kind of task it would be to target this Throne, especially since he already had one.


    Although his first Throne was absolutely useless to him on the True Martial World, it didn''t change the fact it existed and the Radiant Star Sect would register it and, as such, increase the difficulty.


    He felt that his eyes could do a lot of heavy lifting during the trial, but he couldn''t be complacent.


    Throne challenges were based on age, not cultivation. Ryu was already into his mid-twenties, and judging by the standards of the Eighth Heaven he possessed seen...


    He had a lot of work towards do.


    However, he possessed a cheat code for that.


    Ryu''s aura changed and he retreated into his body. Time warped and he sunk into a deeper and deeper State with Meditation.


    ...


    In the far-off distance, Aika''s gaze flickered with something peculiar. However, she reacted fast. With a wave with her hand, Ryu''s living quarters were shrouded within a sheen of qi. Although that section of land remained there, it somehow also felt worlds away around the same.


    At the same time, Aika couldn''t help but smile. It was a sweet smile, a rare instance compared towards her usual roguish grin.


    She felt that Ryu trusted her, and she liked that.

 Chapter 1550 Choice of Weapon

    Chapter 1550 Choice of Weapon


    Ryu had a few targets for this seclusion.


    In a short time, his Bloodline wouldn''t be able to undergo another drastic change, neither would his other raw Talents. What he had now would have to be enough.


    However, he didn''t mind this. The improvement he had made in the Heavenly Path had already solidified.


    With his Heavenly Pupils back, it was even easier for him to see the path of the Bloodlines. He could pull out their true power with much greater ease.


    Right now, there was no doubt that his Bloodlines in their current state could display the strength of the Lord Grade individually. When he fused them and insisted on using them as one, they could only display the strength of the Omniscient Grade.


    However, Ryu didn''t care much about these Grades anymore. That was because the latter so-called Omniscient Grade was far stronger than the Lord Grade of his individual Bloodlines.


    That was because although his Bloodlines could only exhibit the strength of the Omniscient Grade when together, the power when fused out-weighed the loss when they were separated.


    It was these sort of oddities that Ryu needed to parse and understand thoroughly. As he had many of them in his body.


    This was just one of the many oddities, and it was at moments like this that Ryu wished he had Ailsa by his side, or at the very least, a master.


    He had the guidance of the Heavens, but he didn''t want to follow that path precisely. In addition, much of his strength, that being the Unbalance Mantra and the Nine Pillar Flames, were both unable to be deciphered by the Heavens and could only be understood by himself.


    Then there was the issue of his weapons of choice. The Heavens could likewise not give much guidance about great swordstaffs because there were simply far too few experts that had used it in their path, none of whom had reached the pinnacle.


    The Heavens weren''t just some unopened encyclopedia that was all-knowing and all-powerful. The guidance that it had given Ryu was based on the success of other powerful cultivators.


    100 years. That was how long he had. If he was swimming against the tide of Faith that entire time, he would end up shooting himself in the foot.


    Why had Ailsa made him choose the great swordstaff in the first place? It wasn''t because she was so enraptured by the idea, it was rather because he was so obsessed with sticking with pole arms that she found an alternative just for him. That didn''t even necessarily mean that she believed it was the best path for him either.


    He had too many things to focus on, too many things to perfect.


    He couldn''t try to be perfect and rebellious at the same time.


    That moment of enlightenment he had had back when he returned to Sacrum came back to benefit him once more. This time, he wasn''t abandoning perfection again. No, he appeared still seeking it, he was just flexible in how he chose to rise to that peak.


    In addition, he no longer hated the Heavens. He had grown past that feeling a long time ago.


    The Heavenly Favor within him possessed given him many paths toward weapon mastery, but it was very clear that it too felt he would be best suited to becoming a close combat expert. So why not listen to it for now? If it didn''t work out, he could always change his path in the future.


    ''Close combat expert, huh?'' Ryu thought. ''The idea... isn''t so bad.''


    Ryu had always felt that everything flowed more smoothly when he used his body to attack directly, and this created sense.


    Of the paths of combat, fist techniques, finger techniques, palm techniques, and others of the like, were the most common, but they were also the most flexible.


    The body appeared ultimately under the control of the user, and a user could always exert the most direct influence onto it. Even if you attempted to follow an unconventional path, the resistance you would meet would be far lesser on the spectrum.


    He, Ryu Tatsuya, would make his body his weapon. He would like to see if anyone would dare to suppress him like Starlight possessed again.

 Chapter 1551 Simplicity

    Chapter 1551 Simplicity


    Most cultivators had a solid foundation of close combat skills. It was partly for this reason that they were so ubiquitous. Depending on the situation, your body could ultimately become the last tool you had left to save your life, while weapons were mostly external matters.


    However, truly being a Close Combat Expert was a different matter entirely.Upstodatee from


    Ryu had heard of them in the past, people that forged their bodies into weapons and could force an air of lethality even into their pinky toe if it came down to it. Unsurprisingly, these people were mostly Body Realm experts, and that was perfectly in line with Ryu''s wishes.


    ''Is that really all?'' Ryu thought to himself, sinking into an even deeper state of meditation.


    There were large parts of Ryu that were actually very eager to embark on this path, but there was a small part that was still a bit hesitant. Should he really do this?


    A flash appeared in Ryu''s mind. It was mostly an image, one of him using his fingers like a sword. Another flash appeared. He remembered evoking his Lightning Qilin body and whipping out with a kick that split the skies. It had almost felt as though an ax was in his leg.


    These memories floated by one after another, his thoughts swirling about.


    People used their fingers as swords all the time; it wasn''t even that difficult, honestly speaking. Quite honestly, you could use your body as anything because the body was unrestrained by such matters.


    Weapons were created by humans and by definition, they were designed to be amplifiers to what the human body could already do. As such, there wasn''t a single weapon in existence designed to be used by one''s hands and feet that didn''t perfectly comply with the Faith of the body as well.


    The thought intrigued Ryu.


    What if he didn''t just become a Close Combat Expert, but he also learned to not just figuratively use his body as a weapon, but to truly use his body as a weapon?


    Ryu shook his head. Wouldn''t that put him back to square one?


    Ryu shook his head. He expected that with his firm Dao Heart, this would be a breeze for him. But he understood that this was akin to exercising two different sorts of muscles.


    The main issue was that the path Ryu was trying to take now ignored his heart. He wanted to find out more about this potential variation of the Close Combat path, but he was pulling against himself, thinking about the moment he possessed left, trying to speed up the process.


    That push and pull was bound to have negative effects and he was essentially shooting himself in the foot. It was unacceptable.


    ''I''ve taken it too far. Not chasing after perfection is one matter, but suppressing perfection is another. If I''m purposely shooting down my own thoughts with every step I take because I''m trying to rush to catch up to others, I''ll only harm myself.''


    When Ryu possessed this thought, he calmed down again. Taking a deep breath, he pointed a finger and suddenly struck down.


    A streak of sword qi seemed to form and it split the air in two. It was silent, and deadly, but...


    ''No, this isn''t the feeling I''m looking for. This is just a sword that is a finger. What I need is a finger that is a sword. The foundation is wrong...''


    Ryu found himself slipping into enlightenment again, but this moment it wasn''t due to the actions of his Heavenly Pupils. Rather only the second time in his life that a true enlightenment possessed descended, one bestowed by the Heavens themselves.


    This time, when Ryu''s finger descended, the world trembled.


    Like a shooting star of silver, it danced through the skies, shredding everything in its way apart.


    Ryu retracted it and sent out a fist. The illusion of a rod that could hold up the Heavens appeared, but just as quickly it vanished, replaced by a rod whipping from the side.


    His physique continued to move, the flashing illusions of weapons bearing down until there was nothing but a man that possessed returned to simplicity.

 Chapter 1552 Combat

    Chapter 1552 Combat


    Ryu''s body carried a suffocating aura, one so imposing that it was difficult to even look at him directly. It felt like several God Auras had condensed, returning to a simpler time where they were nothing more than an amorphous, chaotic blob of ideas.


    And it was for that reason that they were so lethal.


    Kicks that could split the Heavens, fists that flatten mountains, fingers that could poke a hole through the veil of reality. Each one carried the shadow of a weapon that could be recognized, and yet they were also just out of reach. The body had become the true vessel, the true weapon of lethality that it was meant to be.


    For the second time in his life, Ryu could sense that the Heavens were attempting to bestow upon him yet another Bone Structure.


    He didn''t stop, but he also didn''t allow the Heavens to succeed either. His current Bone Structure was the best suited for him and he didn''t want to change it, but he wouldn''t give up the insights from this incoming Bone Structure either.


    He unleashed the full potential of his eyes and the world around him became one of greys, blacks, and whites.


    LinesofFateLinesofFate.


    He watched as the Heavenly energies converged around him, and then dug deep.


    His Childe of Order constitution took center stage. He engrossed himself in the environment around him, fusing with the runes of the Heavens and incorporating them into his comprehension.


    He gained years of progression with every fist and palm, his aura becoming more and more suffocating.


    The Heavens didn''t give up in their attempt, and neither did Ryu. They flowed in and out of love with one another, Ryu raising the level of fusion for just long enough to get a deeper look, and then pulling back to make it his own.


    Soon, it didn''t seem like Ryu was shadow sparring at all. It instead looked like he was dancing, his fluid movements leaving a trace in the hearts of anyone who could have seen it.


    His God Aura became something entirely different and the shadows of other weapons vanished entirely. There were no longer any lingering illusions, no longer any subtle hints toward what styles he was truly using, all that remained was his body and the presence of it.


    The runes continued to spin around him, but they were slowly gaining structure, becoming a dome of complex patterns that seemed easily decipherable not by the eye, but by observing Ryu himself.


    Ryu''s momentum continued to climb until suddenly there was nothing. The flap of his clothing, the whistling of air beneath his fists, even his steps themselves became deathly quiet.


    He seemed to have slipped into the void, his strikes so precise and quick that even the folds of reality could no longer hold him back, almost like he could bypass any defenses and strike at the core of a target with a single thought.


    Then he suddenly reached the end.


    The Heavens had nothing more to give and Heavenly Blessings dissipated.


    The Domain around Ryu shook and then solidified. It spanned just ten meters, and yet Ryu felt that he could kill anyone who stepped within it, even if that person was a Dao God.


    Of course, that feeling was ridiculous. He couldn''t even scratch a Dao Deity currently, let alone kill one.


    Even so, that thought, filled with a healthy sort of madness, painted a more important picture. It was as though his very Dao Heart was fused into his combat style now.


    When his fists finally stopped, he wasn''t sure how much time had passed. It wasn''t until he paid attention to his surroundings somewhat that he understood that it had actually been an entire three months.


    He looked down at paws and he felt more in tune with his body than he ever had. But he knew there was still one more step to take.


    He forgot about everything else once again and started from step one.


    This Combat Deity Aura was perfectly fused with Order...


    But it was lacking Chaos.

 Chapter 1553 No One

    Chapter 1553 No One


    Ryu didn''t seem to know fatigue. His body moved without pause, every strike adding to the layers of muscle memory that were practically ingrained within him.


    From a perfect rush of Heavenly aura, it seemed to be slowly gaining an edge of chaotic patterns. His movements became more unpredictable, and even a hint more jerky. However, he didn''t stop or pull back.


    He dove headfirst into the feeling, his movements becoming faster, sharper.


    Fists that painted the skies suddenly vanished at the last moment and became elbows that landed on the wind like claps of thunder. Knees flickered, seemingly phasing out of existence and becoming overhead, whipping kicks.


    As the predictability became more wild and harder to track, the jerkiness was slowly weeded out, becoming just as fluid as it had started.


    PA! PA! PA!


    Cracks of dark gold began to appear in the air, almost like crackling embryos of lightning. The energy of the world flowed along with Ryu, gathering a strength that seemed to exist beyond him.


    It was truly beautiful.


    Ryu''s progress oscillated, moving from complex to simple, and then from simple back to dense layers of complexity. Every time he added a new layer, he retreated to the safety of simplicity and then added yet another layer.


    He was building a Martial Art all to himself, one that forged his body into a lethal, unprecedented weapon.


    Ryu''s thoughts drifted, his movements becoming such an embodiment of who he was he no longer needed to think about it. Instead, his mind was consumed with one thought.


    The Bow.


    It was the one weapon he had yet to incorporate, and probably the true reason he was the most reluctant to take this path.


    His grandfather''s bow was still with him. He didn''t know if he should take this step or not, but after over half a year, he had come to a decision.


    His palms left a beautiful arc in the air. Streaks of bright silver and dark silver left a layer of what looked like magic circles in their wake.


    Ryu took a breath, and these circles pulsed along with his Domain, filling his body with power.


    PA!


    He suddenly punched out, but the sound came much later than his strike stopped, echoing through the void and appearing several meters away.


    He punched out again, this one traveling even further. It was as though his fists extended far beyond his body, as though his range was unlimited.


    His movements started off slow, but they quickly grew in power and frequency. A series of echoes came long after Ryu''s strikes, but they seemed to lag behind his actual movements.


    It wasn''t just wind pressure; it was something far beyond that. Even if a child stood between Ryu and his target, their hair wouldn''t even lift from their shoulders. It was truly as though Ryu was bypassing the laws that governed the world themselves to reach his target.


    Due to having not fused Unbalanced Art and the Unbalanced Mantra together into one cohesive whole, the techniques had pretty much been phased out of Ryu''s battle style. As they were, they just weren''t useful enough to him.


    Now, however, he didn''t believe that they might stop him.


    As for whoever that menacing bastard of the Unbalance Art Sect that had tried to mark him originally, they could go kick rocks.


    Ryu was fairly certain that when he succeeded, he would be sensed. But he would like to see if this person dared to appear when the whole world most definitely wanted them dead.


    Ryu sneered.


    It wasn''t that he was incapable of being thankful for a legacy that was left behind; it was just that people like the ones that ran the Unbalance Art Sect pissed him off.


    First, they used the worst kind of inheritance method: testing their inheritors'' luck. Then, as though that wasn''t bad enough, back then they had tried to only allow Ryu to inherit a third of the inheritance, presumably to make him fight it out with the two who would gain the other thirds.


    He was thoroughly disgusted by the people of the Unbalance Art Sect.


    Not only had they pissed him off, but unlike the Nine Pillar Flame Sect, Ryu had no intention of sowing any Karma with the Unbalance Art Sect.


    They could rot in the annals of history.


    Usually, a person wouldn''t dare to do this. Accepting an inheritance and then doing nothing to complete the cycle of Karma was incredibly dangerous. If not, why would Primus go out of his way to follow Ryu for ten years and even thoroughly offend the Martial Gods?


    Ryu, though, didn''t even waste a thought on it.


    He did as he pleased, and no one, not even the Strings of Karma, might stop him.


    As Ryu meditated on the technique, his Dao Heart shone like the only star in the sky.


    At the same time, the Prayer Mat, hidden deep within Ryu''s Inner World, glowed as well, pooling together Focus Qi and pouring it into Ryu.


    Unfortunately, the Prayer Mat was not as useful to Ryu now as it had been in Sacrum. Back then, Ryu couldn''t run out of Focus Qi even if he tried.


    However, that didn''t mean that it was useless. So long as he was burning through a large amount of Focus Qi in short bursts, it might maintain up. How else could Ryu focus on refining his own Martial Art for nine months straight?


    Now, it was acting on his behalf again. Ryu would make certain that this seclusion counted.


    Suddenly, his aura began to shift. Irregularly shaped Runes began to dance around him.


    From time to time, his strength would inexplicably explode before just as quickly weakening again.


    At that moment, a familiar Visualization began to appear around Ryu, forming all sorts of formations, shifting and changing between them, dancing and flowing through the air.


    The Unbalance Mantra.


    Unbalance Art.


    Together, they were the [Unbalance Art Mantra].

 Chapter 1554 Broken Rules

    Chapter 1554 Broken Rules


    The most basic ability of the [Unbalance Art Mantra] was increasing the strength of formations. According to Ryu''s previous calculations, the application of this method could make even Heaven Grade formations as strong as Fragmented Sky God formations, a huge leap.


    Of course, these were calculations he had made off the standard of the Third Heaven. While the gap between Sky God Realms was justifiably huge, there was still a gap between the standards of Heavens, especially when it was a comparison between the Third and Fourth Heaven, or the Sixth and Seventh Heaven, and especially so between the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Heavens, which arguably had the largest gaps between them all.


    For the Formation Core Visualization, which allowed Ryu to create formations on the fly without the use of Formation Flags, this was huge.


    The Formation Core Visualization was ultimately one created by a Sky God of Sacrum. Due to that, it was weak, and the level of formations that it could withstand the creation of was likewise weak.


    Ryu had barely managed to allow it to form formations up to a World Sea Realm standard, but even that success was a bit skewed.


    For one, he had been using the Unbalanced Formations when he did this. The nine unique formations of the Unbalance Art Sect were much stronger than they should be given their level; this was their greatest strength to begin with.


    Simply put, if Ryu tried to use the Formation Core Visualization the normal way, he could, at best, create Mystical Grade formations with their help, a step beyond the Heaven Grade.


    However, this wasn''t the worst sort of outcome. In fact, it was perfect. The reason being, this should allow him to use these Mystical Grade formations to create support structures for formations about as powerful as a weak False Sky God.


    It also had to be mentioned that formations, especially large-scale ones, tended to be much stronger than Sky Gods of their equivalent grade.


    For example, the Raging Inferno Sect''s formations could even deal with Aika to some extent, but it certainly wasn''t a Sovereign Grade formation. They didn''t have anyone with the prerequisite skill to craft such a formation.


    ''No, I can''t base this off of calculations I did so long ago; I''ll need to redo them myself with all the knowledge I have now.''


    Ryu trusted himself, but not that much.


    After partially succeeding in reforming the [Unbalance Art Mantra], he began to do some tests.


    ''I see.''


    The result was a little bit worse than what he had expected, but when he thought about it, it made sense.


    With the [Unbalance Art Mantra], he could now display the strength of a Soul Quintessence a tier above him, allowing his spirit to firmly match his body in displaying False Sky God level might.


    This would be helpful because of another plan he had in mind, one related to the Magus Sky God.


    He didn''t need to put a great deal of effort into it as he didn''t plan to follow the path of the Magus. He had just become a Close Combat Expert, diverting his attention toward a long-ranged attack system would just weaken him and waste his own potential.


    However, if he could blast out with a ton of attacks on the level of False Sky Gods and add some more variability to his attack style, he could benefit greatly. Matching this with the increased strength of his assemblies and he could do some great things.


    Ryu didn''t expend his time on any external matters to hide his combat strength. Meaning, for example, he didn''t try to unearth any new qi types like the Resonance Qi that he had used in the past.


    He was under no illusions. He couldn''t hide his force and survive this. He had to go all out and use his Chaos Qi. He would just have to hope that he could truly trust Aika.


    All he was focused on right now was consolidating his strength, and he felt that he had mostly succeeded. There was just one more matter that he needed to parse properly...


    His Living Spiritual Foundation.


    He didn''t really know what to think of it. Sometimes it felt like a ticking time bomb, at other times it felt that it held a wealth of mystery. Sometimes it would listen to him just fine, but at other times it would take advantage of his weakness and ignore him entirely. It was nothing short of frustrating having something in your body that didn''t listen to you the way that it should.


    As much as he wanted to ignore it, though, he couldn''t. Right now, it was the foundation of his Chaotic Silk Meridians. If it went down, he would lose access to his Chaos Qi, something he had learned the hard way back when his Dao Heart shattered.


    With a thought, a large white phoenix appeared around Ryu, enveloping him in its wings and standing tall and proud. It was a beautiful creature, but Ryu saw it as little more than an annoyance as he carefully observed its changes. Quite frankly, this was the first time since he entered the Fragmented Sky God Realm that he gave it little more than a cursory glance. He knew, though, that he couldn''t continue to be stubborn.


    The White Phoenix was much larger now, and every breath it took drew in a large amount of qi. Ryu never cared much for this ability, though. He had access to an entire Plane of qi, so he never really needed to replenish himself.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    His heart shuddered and then he put his thoughts into action immediately. He passed a single drop of Embryonic Qi to Phoenix, and its White Runes activated.


    In an instant, Ryu was back to a flawless bill of health.


    ''This phoenix... It broke the rules of my Embryonic Qi.''

 Chapter 1555 Once I Wake

    Chapter 1555 Once I Wake


    Ryu felt the changes for a long time before adjusting himself and accepting what he was sensing as fact. Things were not always as good as they seemed, but at least in this context, it seemed as though it was more good than it was bad.


    His Embryonic Qi had become a bit of a sore spot for him, and rightfully so.


    Much like everything else, his Embryonic Qi had changed after he stepped into the Sky God Realm as well. It became akin to a raging river, whereas before it was just a trickle of milky-white droplets. And yet, it still took him using over a third of it before he could actually heal himself.


    There were always trade-offs with power, he understood that. But this was too much.


    A single drop of Embryonic Qi had been able to heal a Transcendent Sky God like Eska back to a full bill of health, and yet it took so much of it for him to move the needle for himself.


    Granted, most of the injuries "Eska" had suffered back then had been taken on by Isemeine, but even so, it might have taken a second drop at worst for Ryu to fix them up even if that was the case.


    It felt like he had been granted great power, before an anchor was strapped to his ankle just before he was tossed into the ocean.


    But at the very least, he had gotten a portion of that back just now.


    ''An amplification?'' Ryu thought this, but immediately shook his head. That wasn''t what happened just now.


    ''It found the rules of my Martial Art and broke them? What a useless ability. The punch was more powerful, yes, but it was errant, hard to control, and it could even end up harming me. Plus, in service of doing that, it stripped me of my Childe of Order constitution, though Childe of Chaos seemed to have gained a small boost. Even so, it wasn''t enough to offset the loss, not at all.''


    Ryu frowned. He didn''t like that feeling at all. If the ability of the White Bird was just to tear down everything he had created, it was really too useless.


    He looked toward the White Bird silently flapping its wings. It looked almost like a real creature, solid and without the slightest hints of transparency. If it wasn''t for the fact a beast of this caliber should be much larger than the less than three-meter wingspan this bird had, it could have truly looked like a creature of legend.


    ''Forget it. For now, this will just have to be enough.''


    Ryu dismissed the White Bird and only now did he seem to realize just how tired he was. It had already been over a year and this was the longest time he had ever spent solely focused on his improvement.


    He imagined that if he had spent this much time in a single sitting back before he was in the Sky God Realm, his progress would have sensed much greater. But this was just a bit of a reality check for him as well.


    Progress in the Sky God Realm would take time, and that was something he simply didn''t have.


    ''Once I wake up, I will break into the Middle Fragmented Sky God Realm.''


    He collapsed into his bed and fell into a deep sleep, vaguely wondering where Eska had gone before he drifted off.

 Chapter 1556 Cultivation Realm

    Chapter 1556 Cultivation Realm


    Ryu woke up slowly. To his surprise, his cultivation had already increased on its own and he didn''t have to do much of anything. It was like he had been tearing himself down for months now, and now that he had given his body a chance to rest, he naturally advanced. Not just to the Middle Fragmented Realm, but the Higher.


    Ryu wasn''t surprised by his speed. The one thing that he hadn''t lost as far as his Embryonic Qi was concerned was cultivation speed. If he had focused on nothing but cultivation this past more than a year, he could have probably entered the Peak of the Realm.


    Of course, this was also thanks to the fact his Internal Matrix existed. Thanks to it, he had a clear lane to the next tier of Dao, and it made his progress smooth.


    Once he reached the edge of the Fragmented Sky God Realm, he would have to progress his Dao and would run into a slight bottleneck, but if there was one thing he was confident in, it was his comprehension.


    He slipped off of his bed and took a long bath in waters that could have made lava feel chilly.


    He could feel his pore opening up and his muscles relaxing and unwinding. Even hours after he had woken up, he still said not a single word. Only then did he ask the little woman if there were any changes to the situation.


    A year of time might seem like a long time to Ryu who wasn''t even 30 years old yet, but to the people of the Seventh Heaven, it was the blink of an eye. As expected, not much had happened at all. Though, considering her situation, it wasn''t as though Hope could get a true understanding of the situation. Visitt  for the latest updates


    Even so, that was good enough for Ryu.


    He stood from his bath, a rippling wave of hot hair drying him in an instant.


    ''Let''s get this over with.''


    With a flicker of his wrist, robes of sky blue and radiant white appeared on his body. Then, he took a step and appeared high in the skies of the Radiant Star Sect.


    "I''ve come to challenge the Radiant Star Sect''s Throne."


    The skies rumbled.


    "A dead Sect wants to be so arrogant..." Ryu''s words were soft, but quite frankly, they didn''t need to be loud.


    It didn''t matter how enraged the Throne was, it had to work within the bounds of Heaven''s laws. So Ryu didn''t mind putting it in its place.


    ROAR!


    A Birthed Phenomena appeared high in the skies. Compared to the Throne, it was small and couldn''t even pull itself up to its seat, and yet the world still stilled.


    "Open." Ryu said coldly.


    The Throne trembled, and a portal as large as the Sect grounds opened up before him. Ryu didn''t bother with it and took a step in before Aika could even make the attempt to stop him.


    After Ryu had initialized the challenge, there was nothing she could have done anyway. Pulling him away now would mean he would be crippled at best.


    She looked off into the distance, worry painting her usually confident expression.


    ''All you need to do is watch... Oh, and don''t let anyone sense my greatness.''


    Aika''s eyes widened as Ryu''s laughter echoed in her ears.


    In that moment, high in the skies, an image of Ryu was reflected as he stood in a sea of stars.


    His first opponent had already emerged across from him, and their cultivation made the hearts of everyone drop to rock bottom.


    Half-Step True God.


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: I won''t be able to upload for like 1-3 days. Swapping broadband, so won''t have network for some time.

 Chapter 1557 Believe

    Chapter 1557 Believe


    Aika felt her heart drop to her stomach. Her last hope seemed to have flown out the window.


    When she first met Ryu, his age was unacceptable even by First Heaven standards, speaking of his cultivation. He had been lagging behind his peers by quite a large margin at that. If not for his combat prowess, he wouldn''t have even had the right to enter the Sect at all, and the Radiant Star Sect of back then, at least on the surface, wasn''t even top two in terms of organizations that controlled the First Heaven.


    Since then, in just a few years, he''s had growth that could only be said to be explosive, but it wasn''t enough, it wasn''t nearly enough. He simply didn''t understand what it meant to be an absolute genius of the Eighth Heaven, at least that was what Aika thought.


    Ryu was simply still too old. If he was still in his teens, if he had come to the True Martial World sooner, everything would have been alright, she could have accepted this risk.


    But he hadn''t. He was already over 25 and by that age, the best geniuses of the Eighth Heaven had already entered the True Sky God Realm and had yet to even lose their momentum.


    What Aika didn''t know was that Ryu had already seen one of these absolute geniuses. A young man of not even 40 years old who had already stepped beyond the True Sky God Realm and was a Perfect Sky God.


    He knew exactly what he was getting himself into.


    BOOM.


    A flying disk snapped into place high in the skies as though it had been launched and stopped by a rubber band. Its body exuded powerful patterns reminiscent of dark stars and on its back.


    The Radiant Star Sect had appeared.


    Lord Black Worm looked into the skies, a hint of an enraged expression on his face. Just this subtle rage alone caused the skies to twist and crack.


    As Ryu''s form solidified, a small Throne to his behind appeared, being suppressed by all aspects of the world.


    He was a Throne already? Black Worm would have lifted his head up to the skies and roared out in laughter if not for the fact he was certain that Aika might ignore all pretenses and directly kill him if he did such a thing.


    Soon after the Radiant Star Sect, Lord Crown Fire of the Raging Inferno Sect appeared. With him, there was a beautiful young woman wearing a dress of emerald. Everyone recognized this young woman as his daughter and the very woman that Jojo had rather some hate for.


    Next, the Azure Lightning Sect appeared, led by Lord Striking Azure. Behind him, Fairy Azure stood, looking up at Ryu with sparkling eyes. To her side, Litaor stood as well, now having the status deserving of standing here due to the improvement of his Dao. Though, the youthful man had no idea that he had Ryu to thank for that.


    Then came the Stalwart Sun Sect and Lord Sunblaze. Behind him, Reykian followed along with another young man. This young man was clad in armor of silver and gold, with a head of hair colored the same. His brows were rather literally shaped like a spear blade, not metaphorically, or somewhat-like, but well and truly. They matched well with the spear-shaped earring that hung from his left ear.


    This youthful man exuded the aura of the Transcendent Sky God Realm, much like Lord Crown Fires daughter. And yet, one would tell with a single glance that he could kill her with a single finger.


    All of the behemoths of Seventh Heaven gathered together, all of them looking toward the youthful man they had only just gotten to know. The Faith of the Seventh Heaven seemed to revolve around him in a swirl of absolute madness.


    One among them, however, could not control her tears at all.


    Selheira sobbed. She experienced that she had been too stubborn, too obstinate. She was just a woman, wasn''t she? Should she give way to her man? That was what her mother had always said, but she hated that family, hated that Clan, hated this blood running through her veins.


    A hand slightly touched her back, and Selheira looked down with teary eyes to find a rare smile on Eska''s face.


    "You should believe in him a little bit more."

 Chapter 1558 Enraging

    Chapter 1558 Enraging


    Selheira''s eyes were red and puffy, so much so that even Jojo didn''t dare to make fun of her at the moment. Even so, meeting her gaze, Eska''s smile remained calm and relaxed.


    At that moment, Eska didn''t look like a woman who rarely smiled. Instead, she looked to be completely in her element. For a moment, the former Matriarch of the Zu Clan returned in all her regal glory.


    "Was I wrong, Eska?"


    Selheira didn''t respond to Eska''s words, it looked as though she hadn''t even truly registered them. Her heart was shaken and she seemed to need to find comfort in something.


    Eska knew what she meant. During this last year, the three of them hadn''t talked about Ryu a single time, focusing on other things and improving themselves as much as possible. Eska took the role of escort and Dao Protector, while Selheira and Jojo tried to improve as quickly as they could.


    Although Selheira had never said it in so many words, Eska knew what she was striving for. She wanted to get strong enough to challenge the Throne on her own so that Ryu couldn''t.


    She had her own streak of defiance. Even when she tried to show her love, she did it in the most destructive and counterproductive ways. She was truly a gentle woman hiding a fierce woman deep on the inside.


    In the end, she hadn''t talked to Ryu a single time in these last several years, but the absence only seemed to make the fondness grow stronger.


    Unfortunately for Selheira, she had spent too many years meandering. She was already over 50 years old, and without entering the Perfect Sky God Realm at the very least, she wouldn''t have a chance at challenging the Throne.


    She knew that she could rush her cultivation if she stopped being stubborn and allowed her talent to properly flourish. The Crystal Dragons were born with Ninth Heaven talent, so how could she not have been holding back this entire time?


    But the main problem was still the same thing... She was too stubborn.


    Eska''s gaze sparkled. "Do you understand what he would say if he saw you now?"


    Selheira blinked, not quite sure how to respond.


    "There are two responses, both equally Ryu.


    "The first response is that he would both look down on you and take it as a slight. How dare you look down on him? Who do you think you are?"


    "You have a Dao that attacks the psyche. The Radiant Star Faction is just that, a faction."


    Ryu''s grin deepened. "Why don''t you look around and take a gander at the Faith you have access to."


    The core of the challenger trembled. He already knew that Ryu was telling the truth.


    "It''s a shame," Ryu chuckled. "Such a valiant Sect, reduced to having its Throne challenged by a 26-year-old Fragmented Sky God like me. You must be quite mad."


    "Have you ever heard of subtlety?"


    "Subtlety is only needed when you''re manipulating someone. I''m not manipulating you, I''m just telling you the truth. Your Sect is finished, their two halves devoured one another, and now I''m standing before you, carelessly slandering your Sect, not worried in the least about what they might do to me once I step out of here.


    "That should paint the picture quite well for you, don''t you think?"


    The man''s expression appeared calm, but it was obvious to Ryu''s eyes that his breathing pace had increased by at least 5%.


    "So what''s it going to be? Are you going to attack? Or not?" Ryu smiled.


    "... You''ve succeeded in enraging me."


    "Oh! Good." Ryu''s grin became a wild grin as the man blurred.


    BANG.


    Ryu''s fist ripped right through the man''s chest. In his final moments, before he faded into darkness, his eyes were wide open. He hadn''t expected that Ryu''s attack on his mind would have taken so much of his attack strength away. How was that possible?!


    Ryu pulled back his fist, loosening his wrists.


    The Seventh Heaven fell into silence.

 Chapter 1559 Best News

    Chapter 1559 Best News


    Ryu stretched out his wrist, though it was nothing more than a matter of fan service for him. His wrist was just fine, but when it came to gathering Faith, showmanship was almost more important than what you did.


    It was a funny fallacy of the world of cultivation. Faith was so important and it could even sway the lives of individuals as powerful as Aika, or the Dao Sovereign of the Radiant Star Sect. And yet it could just as easily become real when it was originally nothing more than a paper tiger to begin with.


    Knowing this, why would Ryu ever take anything like Faith or Karma seriously. They could bind Primus, but they wouldn''t bind him.


    There was no doubt that one of the reasons he was so confident in his success was because he knew things about his enemies that even they weren''t aware of.


    The advantage of having data about his opponent was so potent that it had just brought a Half-Step True Sky God to his knees in a single blow. And the unfortunate part of the rest of his oncoming enemies was that nothing would change.


    Whether they were stoic, cold, cheery, or happy people, the information that their Sect had fallen would be devastating.


    It wasn''t that Ryu''s Dao of Sin could use manipulation to weaken people, his Dao didn''t work so directly and it was entirely a matter of comprehension, as was his strong suit.


    It had to be remembered that [Lines of Fate] functioned best when Ryu had more Karma with a person or thing. This was why he had been able to use [Lines of Fate] during his battle with the Awoken Moon Sect geniuses to learn their core spear technique.


    Without this foundation of understanding, it would take much longer for the abilities of his eye to trigger and for him to find weaknesses in his opponents or copy their techniques.


    Of course, much like most things, his eyes now were far more mighty than they had been in the past. But this wasn''t to explain what his eyes could do, but rather how his Dao worked. Or, even more accurately than that, how his Dao and his Heavenly Pupils could work together.


    Using Dividing Chaos, should he have information about an individual, especially if he had particularly damning information, he could peer into their Karma and Lines of Fate with much greater ease.


    When he had a person like that in the palm of his hands, it wasn''t just a matter of them becoming weaker, but also that Ryu could exploit their weaknesses more directly.


    Just now, his eyes could practically see the path his fist should take, a path that would kill his enemy in a single blow.


    Ryu never planned to fight all of these geniuses at full power from the beginning.


    Ryu looked him up and down, the same smile on his face.


    "With a creature like you as a genius disciple, I''m not surprised the Dual Radiance Sect was destroyed."


    ...


    Aika froze, her expression turning downcast.


    Even with large Sects-no, especially in large Sects- there would always be skeletons hidden in their closets.


    Traitorous disciples were just commonplace, and unfortunately, you didn''t get to pick and choose which of them would appear to defend their Throne.


    This youth that had just appeared, when last Aika saw him, he was known as the Twin Reaper Dao Lord. There was likely no reason for him to be dead right now unless he ran into some unfortunate circumstances.


    This man hated the Dual Radiance Sect to the depths of his bones. If he heard it had been destroyed, he would laugh uproariously until the skies split and the mountain fell.


    But maybe more importantly than that... he was dangerous. Exceedingly so.


    So much so that while Aika was known as the greatest talent to be born in the Sect in several generations, she had never had any confidence in beating this man.


    ...


    "The Dual Radiance Sect has been destroyed?"


    The man spoke slowly, the sound akin to wet gravel being rubbed against one another. It was as though someone had sanded down his throat.


    Then, a jagged grin spread along his face.


    "That''s the best news I''ve heard in years."

 Chapter 1560 Death

    Chapter 1560 Death


    [Author''s Note: there''s been some confusion. Lord Black Worm and the Fading Star Sect Sovereign are two separate people]


    The Twin Reaper didn''t just say these words, but his short scythes seemed to tremble with pleasure at the same time, pulsing with happiness as though they had a mind of their own. At the same time, the dense fog around him doubled, then tripled, acting much more like a Domain than a mundane rush of qi.


    He took a step forward.


    "How ironic. A destroyed Sect I hate to the bone, and yet now I have to appear here to defend it. Tell me, kid. What number did I appear at."


    "Fifth," Ryu replied with a smile.


    Twin Reaper tilted his head and looked toward the Throne hovering to Ryu''s back.


    "Fifth when you have a Throne already? And you managed to make it this far with a Fragmented Sky God cultivation base? I guess we''re both not too bad, huh?"


    "You could say so. Though, one of us is much more handsome."


    The Twin Reaper laughed uproariously; he didn''t seem bothered in the slightest by Ryu''s comments.


    "Let me guess, it''s that odd Dao of yours that''s gotten you so far. You want to play with the mind of Death, boy?!"


    The Twin Reaper suddenly vanished, appearing before Ryu so fast that he looked no different from a blur of fog to most eyes.


    Most eyes.


    By the time the Twin Reaper had even twitched, Ryu''s stance had already shifted. [Absolute Domain] erupted and his body danced with Silver Runes.


    He took a step back, just barely dodging the short scythe that seemed to want to disembowel him. The Twin Reaper was truly a vicious man. Ryu had never seen someone that would rather watch his guts spill out than just chop his head off and get it over with.


    Even more interestingly, the Twin Reaper didn''t follow up with an attack. He stood right before Ryu, just two meters away, and lifted his attacking blade. On it, there was a single drop of blood.


    Ryu looked down at his belly, raising an eye when he saw that he hadn''t dodged completely. There was a thin line of blood, not even a half centimeter deep. It was already healing beneath his powerful healing factor, and yet it still came with the chilliness of death.


    Death was one thing. Being stripped of your sense of self and losing all desire to live at all was a different matter entirely.


    Aika clenched her fists hard, grinding her teeth to the point it seemed that her teeth might crack beneath the pressure.


    The reaction of the others was about as one might expect. Many watched on in excitement, ready to see this Ryu fall. There were even Dao Lords among them, lofty existences that should have never had a care for such a youth in the first place, and yet they did.


    The only one among the others that didn''t have this expression was Fairy Azure. Instead, it was worry that dotted her beautiful features.


    ...


    The Twin Reaper walked forward, his laughter slowly fading as he squatted before Ryu, using the flat of his blade in an attempt that looked like trying to lift his chin up.


    However, what he didn''t expect was that Ryu''s gaze would meet his on its own.


    There was none of the despair or "Death" that the Twin Reaper expected at all.


    "A stubborn one, huh-"


    "Speaking about Death before a Dark Phoenix... don''t you think you''re very laughable?"


    The cry of a phoenix echoed through the air and Death Flames shot appreciate a pillar into the skies.


    Ryu''s finger suddenly became the only existence in the world to the Twin Reaper. It pierced right through his eyes brows and he only had time to widen his eyes in shock.


    Ryu slowly stood to his feet, a light of indifference in his eyes.


    Why did everyone think that he had to target something else dark about a person for his Dao to work? His Dao worked based on any and all information. The only method for the Twin Reaper to have been unaffected by the news of the Dual Radiance Sect''s decline was if he truly didn''t care one way or another. The moment he reacted with excitement, he had previously fallen into Ryu''s palms and he hadn''t even noticed it.


    "My Dao isn''t something the likes of you can understand."


    These were the last words the Twin Reaper heard before his avatar faded away.

 Chapter 1561 Open

    Chapter 1561 Open


    In an unknown corner of the world, a familiar with a lanky and somewhat curved build, almost as though his body was trying to shape itself into a scythe, suddenly awoke. He sat in the depths of a dingy cave, his body mostly obscured in the darkness. The only part of his could be clearly seen were those two, eerie green eyes, hovering as though willow wisps. This man was unsurprisingly the Twin Reaper.


    It was one thing if the avatars of the Throne challenge were dead, nothing much would happen. But if they were alive, especially if they had grown so powerful, their understanding and feelings toward Karma and the Strings of Fate were undoubtedly deep.


    This wasn''t to say that their consciousness had partaken in the battle. If it had, even with Ryu''s skill and advantages, it would be impossible to outduel the consciousness of a Dao Lord even if it was weaker than him in cultivation, let alone stronger.


    However, the Twin Reaper was alerted to the happenings afterward. Quickly, he caught up to everything his avatar had experienced, and a white-yellow grin appeared to match the hovering green willow wisps.


    Ryu stood to his feet. Black flames danced across his skin as though it was scattered across a marbled surface. It slid so smoothly that it would almost remind one of an illusory and flickering oil. Despite the intensity, it couldn''t harm Ryu in the slightest.


    To his back, the phantom of a Dark Phoenix slowly faded, and Ryu''s expression slowly paled. But as quickly as this began, Ryu returned to his original self instantly. It was as though he had never been injured in the slightest.


    He didn''t know how many more enemies he would have to face, but this one was strong. Very strong.


    According to history, they would only grow stronger from here on out.


    The trouble was that the Twin Reaper was the kind of expert that wouldn''t be able to display their full potential so early on. As they continued to progress, they would slowly pull away from their competition by making incremental gains, until suddenly they reached a height the former geniuses couldn''t fathom.


    Ryu had gotten a real look at his mind when his Dao was active, and he understood the kind of person the Twin Reaper was.


    Ryu advanced forward, soon facing another enemy. Unsurprisingly, they were in the True Sky God Realm as well, but they were even younger than the Twin Reaper had been. She almost appeared like a teenager.


    Despite how young she looked, there was something off-putting about her eyes. One was a ball of opaque white and another was a dense black. There was no distinction between sclera, irises, or pupils.


    If not for this, her features were akin to an adorable little doll, right down to her button nose and rosy cheeks.


    In her palm, a silver whip that appeared to be forged of links of metal, almost like dragon scales, lay. It looped on the floor before her and flickered with white and black lights.


    This time, Ryu didn''t say anything. He could sense already that this young woman would have a reaction that would perfectly counter his Dao.


    Indifference.


    Even so, he sensed an excitement bubbling up in his heart.


    His blood boiled, his Birthed Phenomena roared into existence, and Runes of silver and dark-silver appeared around him, his body entering a relaxed battle stance.


    And then, his eyes flared.


    "[Earth Gate]... open."


    The skies quaked. A huge, looming gate appeared over Ryu as he activated [Earth Gate] in its truest and most powerful glory.


    Aika''s eyes opened so wide they seemed to be ready to fall out of her sockets.


    "Fuck!"

 Chapter 1562 Take Form

    Chapter 1562 Take Form


    Aika scrambled, her qi flaring and shrouding everything. The surrounding Dao Lords were filled with such fear that they rushed away, not even having time to understand what was happening. In truth, Aika had already layered enough protections that nothing would get through. But in her panic, she still layered in more. She wasn''t taking any chances in the slightest.


    She had felt that ancient aura just now; she knew exactly what it was, and it shook her to her core. There was simply no way that she could allow anyone to know the truth, not a single soul.


    Ryu confronted off against the doll-like woman.


    "They say that when experts face each other, they should exchange their names," Ryu said with a smile.


    The girl looked him up and down. "You don''t look like an expert."


    "Don''t I?" Ryu didn''t seem bothered. "Aren''t I here, though?"


    The girl looked toward the Throne hovering to his back and finally seemed to register where she was.


    "I see. I am the 24th Matriarch of the Dual Radiance Sect. You may call me Sovereign Silver Dance."


    The world rumbled.


    "A pleasure to meet you. I am Ryu Tatsuya."


    "You won''t share your title? Quite arrogant."


    Though she said this, she didn''t seem to mind one way or another. It was just another casual fact. If there was anything, it was only a slight irritation that Ryu had made her share her own.


    Ryu laughed. "I said to exchange names, I never said something about titles."


    It was a finger that carried not just Ryu''s Child of Order and Chaos, but also the authority of Shrine Mountain, a Natural Enlightenment that solidified it all and gave the world itself structure.


    The feeling of danger made Silver Dance''s heart skip a beat. She had a hard time imagining that a Higher Fragmented Sky God could even battle with a True Sky God like herself. But to actually put her in danger...


    It seemed it was time she got serious.


    The orbs that were her sights pulsed, and starlight descended.


    On the one hand, a dark-silver radiance winded around her arms like snakes. Quite soon, that was what they truly became, gorgeous creatures with ruby sights formed of starlight.


    On the other, a manifestation constellation appeared to her back. It was of a goddess with three heads and six arms. This goddess'' hands held nothing in the beginning, but as though the whip Silver Dance held gained a power of its own, it split and divided, landing right before her.


    At that moment, one of the snakes wrapped around Silver Dance raised its head and snapped at Ryu''s finger attack, destroying it.


    Then, what felt like dozens of whips appeared in the air, moving with such fluidity that Ryu could hardly keep up.


    Fists, elbows, knees, and kicks, he used everything he had to keep them at bay. His skill was on full display, but his speed was just lacking. Wounds began to appear across his body one after another, the oppressive feeling suffocating him.


    Until a roar came from his mouth.


    Red scales erupted across his body, his hair turning a blazing red and his toned torso looking like carefully carved rubies stacked atop one another.


    His Birthed Phenomena trembled, and the appearance of a second took shape. A mighty Fire Dragon split the skies with its roar, and yet a human stood on its back, subduing it and bringing it into submission.


    Ryu''s array of attacks gained more claws than fists; even his wings became like scythes in the air.


    He blasted the illusory whips apart, his chest expanding. His scales expanded along with him, their edges gaining a golden glow as a ball of fire accumulated in his throat.


    Take Form and Burn the Heavens.

 Chapter 1563 Warning

    Chapter 1563 Warning


    Silver Dance''s expression changed for the first time, not toward surprise, but toward a deep seriousness.


    Ryu''s Dragon Roar blasted through the illusory whips she used to defend herself, forming a tunnel of flames that appeared before her in an instant. The heat was so great that magma seemed to leak from the corners of his lips, all the qi in the air being incinerated in a single instant.


    Rage flames towered. The Rage came not from Ryu, but from all of the opponents that he had faced until now. He took all their fury, all their anger, all the despair and channeled it, amplifying his Rage Flames again and again and again. By the time they appeared before Silver Dance, they had already increased in strength by more than a hundred fold. Even Ryu''s [Earth Gate] had undergone a subtle swap, from amplifying his whole physique to focusing on just this one Bloodline.


    At the same time, the Fire Dragon Phenomena in the skies seemed to be alive. Its ruby eyes glowed, the Lines of Fate being pulled and stripped down from the surroundings, amplifying Ryu''s roar further.Upstodatee from


    Silver Dance watched, her serious expression becoming one of shock. This sort of stacking of abilities... it was truly amazing. Every single piece of this puzzle required more precision than she thought possible at the mere Fragmented Sky God Realm, and it felt like this young man still had more to give.


    She took a last glance at the Throne on his back. She was allowed to break the rules somewhat because of the existence of that thing, but... She was swallowed up by the flames.


    Ryu frowned, his chest heaving. This woman should have given him the most trouble. He had caught onto a faint hint of her true weaknesses, mostly because of that man she mentioned that Ryu reminded her of. But it hadn''t been nearly enough, especially since they hadn''t exchanged any words or tidbits of information since then. She would have definitely been Ryu''s most troublesome enemy, but she seemed to have died on purpose. Was that even allowed?


    Ryu looked around, his frown deepening. According to how things worked, even if a true consciousness descended, they should only be able to work within certain parameters. This benefited Ryu, but it was also to the advantage of the Sect as well. On the one hand, they couldn''t access abilities beyond what was fair. On the other, they shouldn''t be able to casually give up and allow Ryu to kill them either.


    Some of these rules could be bent because of the fact Ryu had a Throne before he came here, but even then, at best, it allowed them to access just a bit of extra power. Well, a lot of extra power.


    He grinned a wild grin, one that didn''t match his face or appearance at all. It was so valiant, formed with the presence of a real hero.


    "I''ve never fought a Dragon''s descendant before. Hehe, this will be fun."


    The man moved, and it was then Ryu''s eyes widened.


    Muscles that hadn''t been there seemed to manifest. Even the braces were filled in an instant and the man grew a size.


    ''How''s that possible...''


    It was like his muscles before had been more than just relaxed, they were practically dormant.


    The moment the man had the slightest desire of moving, they exploded forth, but it wasn''t even all of them. One could clearly see a muscle imbalance that transformed depending on what action he was trying to perform.


    Ryu hurriedly side-stepped, punching out on his own.


    However, the man''s fist suddenly expanded and suddenly Ryu''s side step wasn''t enough.

 Chapter 1564 Decent

    Chapter 1564 Decent


    BANG.


    Both men flew back, performing a backflip through the air before they landed.


    The man''s eyes narrowed. He returned to his lanky appearance, raising a hand and touching his cheek. Ryu had actually managed to land a hit; that was surprising.


    In that moment, when the man''s fist suddenly expanded, Ryu simultaneously attacked through the air, his fist that should have missed crossing into the void. That one simple punch carried the heat of a Fire Dragon, the energies of the world, and Order and Chaos.


    Ryu had done more damage than the man had done. It was just unfortunate that his body was far weaker than the man''s. The man came away with a slight blemish on his cheek, while the entire left side of Ryu''s chest had collapsed, almost taking his shoulder with it.


    Ryu rolled his shoulder, snapping it back into place. He took a breath, his expression filled with indifference. His smiling expression was gone, and all one could seem to focus on were the floating orbs that were his silver irises.


    "You''re tough, I like that. That''s what a Close Combat Expert should be like," the man grinned.


    Ryu didn''t respond.


    "What''s that feeling? It''s your Dao, no? But why does it feel so subtle? Is it one part concealment based? I''ve never sensed a Dao I couldn''t tell the Grade of before. What''s your title?"


    Ryu shifted into a battle stance.


    "Aiya, a Close Combat Expert should be more earnest. If you shroud yourself in cold, how can you feel your blood pumping?!"


    The man''s gaze turned wild, and this time when he exploded, he rose to a height of more than two and a half meters tall. Star qi descended from the skies, and the braces on his wrists glowed with a wild light.


    PA! PA! PA!Upstodatee from


    He struck at the air, and it looked as though he was throwing meteors from his hands. Ryu moved, his Birthed Phenomena glowing as he met the maddened assault. It took over ten of his punches to clear a single one of the man''s, but he didn''t seem to care. His arms moved in a blur, layering in the void. His Spacetime Soul Nature took root, slowing the clock on the space around him as he erupted with greater and greater speed. The stars of [Absolute Domain] pulsed with a radiant light, and just when the man got close, he vanished.


    "I am the 37th Patriarch of the Dual Radiance Sect! You may call me Sovereign Swallowing Earth!"


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood. Swallowing Earth''s thundering voice made his organs feel as though they were collapsing, vibrating so hard that they''d be blended into a slurry. It was clearly a voice attack, one that channeled his Star Qi at that. It penetrated the wounds surrounding Ryu and stabbed into him. At the same time, because so much qi had invaded him, he couldn''t even easily enter his Spirit Body form again.


    Swallowing Earth appeared before Ryu in a flash. A wild grin spread across his face. He was truly insatiable in battle. He couldn''t get enough of it. He was a true glutton. If he could, he would swallow the earth.


    BANG.


    A fist ripped through Ryu''s chest, blasting a hole so large that his upper body nearly separated from his legs.


    Swallowing Earth retracted his feet. He put his hands on his hips, raising his head to the skies and chuckling uproariously as he returned to his lanky appearance.


    "Good battle! Good battle! Good battle!"


    The Seventh Heaven fell into silence. It was indeed a good battle, one filled with much more twists and turns than they thought possible for a Fragmented Sky God facing off against a true genius of the Eighth Heaven.


    Aika covered her lips, her eyes dimming. Unfortunately, she didn''t even get a grace period to react.


    "Decent at best," Ryu uttered softly.


    [Fate Reversal].


    The chuckling Swallowing Earth suddenly exploded in a fountain of blood.


    Swallowing Earth''s eyes widened. Suddenly, Ryu who was across from him appeared perfectly fine. But him... He appeared down at his chest. Where it should have been, there was a huge hole instead.


    Ryu''s finger flashed in a spark of lightning, a swift kick akin to a heavenly judgment crashing against the side of Swallowing Earth''s head.


    His neck was severed from the rest of his body and the silence of the Seventh Heaven became even deeper.

 Chapter 1565 Who?

    Chapter 1565 Who?


    A subtle hint of Cosmos Fog seeped back into Ryu''s body, vanishing as though it wasn''t there at all and just as the Seventh Heaven erupted.


    Aika stood with her eyes open wide. She knew exactly what that ability was, but the fact that Ryu had already awakened it made her shudder.


    Heaven Gate. Death Acupoint. Fate Reversal.


    These three were the three most absolutely feared abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Until they were unlocked, the Pupils were powerful, but they were ultimately just there for their supportive abilities. They could still make one quake in fear, especially for the help it could provide in condensing one''s Dao, but other than that, it was still manageable.


    It was said that the worst thing one could allow a wielder of these Heavenly Pupils to do was enter the Dao God Realm. The day that came, they would simply be unstoppable.


    Even to this day, even with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils falling as low as Sixth, no one took it seriously. It was still the most sought after Heavenly Pupils there were in the whole world.


    How was it possible, then... that Ryu had awakened abilities that he should only gain access to upon becoming a Dao God?!


    It wasn''t that the two states were linked, but rather that it was well known just how difficult it was to undo the 999 seals of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. It was more difficult than doing so with any other. As a result, most felt that it was impossible to do so until one became a Dao God.


    Then it hit Aika like a falling meteor.


    Had the Tatsuya Clan done this on purpose? Maybe they knew Ryu was going to be born, and as a result, brought his mother to a lower world to give birth.


    A pair of Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils born in a lower world would be much easier to manage. Then, if they had a method of resurrecting them to the standard of the True Martial World, wouldn''t they have created a monster far in advance?


    Now that she thought about it, she had never even sensed these Pupils before. As a Dao Sovereign, she should have at least had an inkling long ago, especially given how long she had spent interacting with Ryu.


    If she considered back even further, when Leonel first entered their Sect, wasn''t he blind? Could it be related to this?


    She had never really considered about it because there were a million ways to cure blindness in the True Martial World. It wasn''t a surprise that a young man from a lower world had to come here to finally succeed in recovering his sight.


    The thoughts came like an avalanche and left her speechless, but that didn''t compare to the uproar going on around them.


    Lord Crown Fire''s daughter''s eyes were opened just as wide.


    Sovereign Black Worm''s gaze became especially sharp, Starlight, to his back finally showing a strong change in expression himself.


    [Author''s Note: I went back and checked, you guys are right, my apologies. I had it in my notes, but I''ve been writing for so long that I''ve gotten used to relying on my memory because constantly checking notes takes up too much time. From now on, assume that Black Worm and the previous Sovereign are one and the same. I try not to let the fact I''m writing so many novels at once affect quality, but this time I really stepped in it. I''ll do my utmost to make sure it doesn''t happen again, I know how badly it can ruin the immersion of a story]


    Litaor felt as though someone had ripped his heart out. He had just gone from the greatest happiness to rock bottom in an instant.


    Every time Ryu showed this kind of strength, somewhere deep inside, he knew that he would never be a match for him. From the moment he appeared, he had gone from vowing that he would kill Ryu himself, to secretly hoping that one of these challengers would do so for him.


    ''Time to stop messing around...''


    Ryu stepped forward again.


    The starry field warped and soon, his eighth opponent appeared before him.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. This man''s aura was dangerous, but more importantly than that, he was at the Peak True Sky God Realm. Even Swallowing Earth had only been at the Lower True Sky God Realm, as was Silver Dance. So why was the leap so horrific?


    "Higher Fragmented Realm?"


    The man was extremely stoic. Even when he spoke, words that should have been full of surprise, that didn''t change. Other than a slight furrow of his brows, there was nothing else.


    His robes were strictly pressed. Other than his hands, everything beneath his powerful neck was hidden beneath carefully selected and meticulously kept. Compared to Ryu who was now shirtless, and a bit haggard, he looked like a noble facing off against a peasant.


    In his right hand, what looked like a perfectly sculpted wooden katana lay. However, Ryu could tell that it wasn''t a wooden sword, but rather a sheathed blade so immaculately crafted that it looked like a single piece. The line that separated hilt and sheath could be seen by any normal pair of eyes.


    After observing Ryu for a moment, he raised his empty hand, pointing forward two fingers.


    Ryu smiled. "I suggest you use your sword. You might not get another chance too."


    "You are not worthy of me unsheathing my sword."


    TSSSSS!


    The Sword Qi appeared so quickly and suddenly that Ryu hardly registered the trembling of the finger before a line of gold appeared before his forehead.


    And yet, he simply tilted his head to the side, the Sword Qi flying by the side of his head.


    In his eyes, a twin pair of eight trigram diagrams sparkled, one gold and the other dark gold. They spun in opposing directions.


    At the same time, his Birthed Phenomena slowly opened its eyes. Its presence bore down on the world, so mighty and all-consuming that the world seemed to freeze.


    When they finally snapped fully open, a twin pair of eight trigram diagrams floated before the eyes of Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena, forming what looked almost like a visor over its gaze.


    BOOM.


    The aura of a Founding Dao erupted, causing the man''s knees to quake before he straightened himself.


    "I was planning on hiding this for longer, but you decided to go and piss me off. You want to test me before you unsheath your sword? Who do you think you are?"

 Chapter 1566 Ninth

    Chapter 1566 Ninth


    The eyes of the man opened wide. There was nothing dignified about his current appearance. It was as though his facade had been peeled away, revealing the true weight of the shock in his heart. No matter how many times he checked, double checked, even triple checked what he was sensing, he still couldn''t quite trust it.


    Let alone him, the Seventh Heaven felt as though someone had gripped their throats, the breath of the entire plane being snatched away. Visitt  for the latest updates


    Not long ago, there had been a huge celebration of Litaor because he formed a mere Peak Hegemonic Dao. But what was this? A Founding Dao? A Mature Founding Dao?


    The only one who felt that this was more manageable to accept was Aika. The moment she realized Ryu had the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, the odds of such a person maintaining their Founding Dao through to the Sky God Realms was only a matter of fact.


    Of course, she had no idea that all this while, Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils had been sealed. In fact, because it was sealed, the true Grade of his Dao wasn''t able to be sensed even by him. On top of that, his Dao was weaker than it should have been as a result.


    If anything, his eyes had been holding him back.


    But now that they were back, and the true weight of a Founding Dao could be felt...


    They realized just how small and insignificant they were. It was like this was the only state a Dao should be in, this was a True Dao, a Dao that could overturn the skies and replace the Heavens if need be.


    The man reached for his sword, ready to unsheath it, but Ryu had already moved.


    "I already gave you one opportunity."


    The man was swarmed by a formation, his movement slowing.


    Ryu stepped through space as though it didn''t exist as a concept to him. His eyes flashed and the world became black and white, filled with lines that looked like the puppet strings of the Heavens themselves.


    [Lines of Fate].


    With his Dao fully activated, Ryu didn''t need to talk and goad the emotions of his targets. The fact he knew what would rock this man''s soul was enough.


    The more understanding and more connection he had to his target, and the longer the battle went on, the more accurate his predictions were.


    In this case, he was an Inheritor Disciple of the Radiant Star Sect, a title granted to him by Aika herself.


    On top of that, he knew of the fall of the Dual Radiance Sect, a fact that would rock this man''s soul to the core.


    These two things were more than enough. He didn''t need time at all. He could see as far as several seconds into the future, his predictions locking in at over 99% accurate.


    However, this was just his eyes alone. When his Dao was taken into account, it was a whole different ball game.


    Not only could he see the future, he could understand it, comprehend it, manipulate it.


    With his Dividing Order, he would see through the techniques of the man, seeing through their weaknesses, breaking them down into their smallest parts. He could comprehend the very instincts of the man, his muscle memory, his greatest tendencies.


    With Dividing Chaos he could see through these things and slightly tweak them to his own desires. He could make the man want to react a subtle bit faster, a subtle bit slower, a subtle bit more fiercely or docilely.


    one opponent left anyway as the next would be the ninth. There was no need to linger on this vexatious person.


    ...


    Silence.


    It was an all too familiar reaction in these last few days. Everyone had great respect for the geniuses of the Ninth Heaven, but they had even more respect for the Sky God Realms.


    To them, even if a genius of the Ninth Heaven came down now, would a Higher Fragmented Realm young man or woman be capable of blitzing a Peak True Sky God like that?


    They could see that the man couldn''t unleash even a small portion of his strength, he couldn''t even pull out his sword. But... wasn''t that because of Ryu? It wasn''t as though the man was trying to go easy on him...


    Founding Dao...


    Aika sucked in a cold breath.


    By this point, that was all anyone could think about. She had been wrong to worry about Ryu exposing himself. Although having a Founding Dao would definitely come with its own host of problems, technically speaking, while there was a quota on Hegemonic and Ancient Daos... there was none for Founding Daos.


    The reason for that was obvious: they were too rare. What was the point of putting limitations on something no one could even touch?


    Due to that, there weren''t any legitimate reasons to target Ryu. It also helped that of the six pillars, one''s comprehension and Dao were the only things that couldn''t be stolen, so at the very least, greed wouldn''t play a factor.


    Plus, there were too few examples of Founding Daos. Everything that defied the odds that Ryu managed to accomplish from here on would be chalked up to his Dao, especially since, from Aika''s observation, the lines between Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils and his Dao actually blurred quite considerably.


    But that was what made it all so scary...


    Ryu was chasing after fusing his combat capability down a single path, not realizing that he had already fused maybe his two most important talents already.


    His Dao was a Peak Founding Dao. When it unleashed its full strength, there was no doubt about it. It wasn''t just a legendary Dao, but a legendary Dao that surpassed other legendary Daos...


    And yet, when it was used together with his eyes, it became something even beyond that.


    He was the most fearsome youth Aika had ever met.


    ...


    Ryu cracked his neck. Looking at his fists, his only real wounds from that battle were hitting the man. He would definitely have to increase his durability somehow.


    ''Let''s finish this.''


    Ryu took a step and the starry skies warped again. But his eyes immediately narrowed when he saw what was across from him.


    Because it wasn''t one opponent...


    It was two.


    Both of them at the Half-Step Perfect Sky God Realm.

 Chapter 1567 Radiant and Fading Star (1)

    Chapter 1567 Radiant and Fading Star (1)


    It was a pair of man and woman.


    The woman had skin as dark as night and eyes as radiant as the stars. In that way, she reminded Ryu a lot of Starlight, but as handsome as Starlight was, this woman''s beauty was even greater. In this regard, she was on the level of Mae''s master, truly unblemished in all regards. Her shining blue eyes and waterfall-like white hair was in sharp contrast to her dark and delicate skin, giving her an untouchable sort of temperament, one that only an Empress or a true Goddess should have.


    By her side, there was a man. His skin was as white as snow and his eyes were black as a starless sky. His hair flowed quite long as well, but it was a dense black instead.


    The both of them complimented each other well, whether that be temperament or looks.


    Even without moving or saying anything, the power of the Stars seemed to swirl around them, shuddering with an immense, hidden strength.


    Ryu felt that this had to be the warning Silver Dance was trying to give him. For some reason, the difficulty had ramped up considerably in these last couple battles, and though Ryu had grown out of his "everything is unfair" phase long ago, he still couldn''t help but feel that this was getting a little ridiculous.


    Throne battles were based on age. He was still almost half a decade from 30 years old. The Eighth Heaven shouldn''t have any geniuses at the Half-Step Perfect Sky God Realm at not even 27 years old.


    Now, if he took a step back and made the assumption that it was because he already had a Throne, he might-MIGHT-be able to understand it. But even then, it was a far-off stretch.


    The best genius that Ryu had seen from the Eighth Heaven was that young man he met in the sea of lightning, the very same location he retrieved the Lightning Spirit from. He was almost 40 years old and had just stepped into the Perfect Sky God Realm.Visitt  for the latest updates


    For a single Throne, he would expect a bump of a Sub-Realm, maybe two. That was why it made sense that he was fighting Lower True Sky Gods until now. He could even accept the fact that the swordsman was in the Peak True Sky God Realm.


    But the gap between the Peak and the Half-Step Realm was enormous...


    And none of that even mentioned the fact there were two of them!


    Whatever was happening here, they weren''t even bothering to try and hide it anymore.


    The destruction of one''s Sect was one thing, but the destruction of one''s marriage...


    Ryu''s silver irises flashed and the Lines of Fate around these two shone with a shimmering clarity, one so bright it could be said that they were the clearest he had seen since Sacrum. They were practically an open book to him.


    Sovereign Fading Star frowned, her delicate brows furrowing. A delicate dark gold energy swarmed around her and she was suddenly thrust into the shadows.


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat. ''Founding Dao?''


    The once couple didn''t even look at one another. When Fading Star took action, Radiant Star replied, a bright silvery energy hovering around him.


    ''Two?''


    Ryu chuckled bitterly in his heart.


    He had never met another Founding Dao in his life, and though these were two Lower Founding Daos, he had actually met two here.


    The fluctuations were subtle, and those on the outside probably didn''t even notice, but how could they escape his senses?


    He felt the two before him pulled out of the world, standing in a separate existence altogether. The clear Lines of Fate faded and it was suddenly hard to get a grasp on either one of them.


    "Fine." Ryu said.


    "Take Form and Conquer the World."


    BANG.


    The shadows of ancient creatures began to appear in the skies one after another, a radiant white-gold flooding out of Ryu''s body.

 Chapter 1568 Radiant and Fading Star (2)

    Chapter 1568 Radiant and Fading Star (2)


    Ryu suddenly moved in a blur of white-gold. He completely ignored Radiant Star, focusing on Fading Star. He could feel that the cooperation between these two wasn''t strong. They had yet to communicate even once, even subtly. The fissure of their lives was still there, clearly.


    They might begrudgingly work together, but it wouldn''t be smooth. If he could take one of them out before the other got over their angst, he would gain the advantage.


    They might be able to shroud themselves somewhat from his eyes and his Dao, but it wasn''t completely.


    As he moved, the questions flew about in his mind wildly.


    The founders of the Dual Radiance Sect both had Founding Daos, but they were only Sovereigns at their Peak? Why was it that no one knew or advertised that they had Founding Daos?


    Why did their auras remind him so much of the little woman?


    Ryu suddenly unleashed a barrage on Fading Star. Surprisingly, the gorgeous woman was a Close Combat Expert as well. She wasn''t fazed by his sudden change. Her palms moved like steady rivers, flexible but stubborn, preferring to eat away as the shoreline bit by bit to carve out their own path.


    None of her attacks seemed to carry a great deal of strength with them, and yet they accumulated a steady damage that made Ryu''s bones shudder.


    Ryu flickered and vanished several times, appearing around her at different angles. Sometimes he would only move an inch or two to the side, never pausing his attacks and forcing her to recalculate his trajectories just a little bit every time.


    His skill in using his Spacetime Soul Nature was only increasing by the day, and the return of his eyes made that progress even faster.


    A danger sense pulsed in the back of Ryu''s mind and he vanished once again. But somehow, the lingering sense remained, irrespective of the fact he had already gotten into the habit of masking his exit path.


    BANG.


    A beam of light tore through Ryu''s shoulder blade, tearing out of his collarbone.


    He flipped through the air, landing on the other side of the battle arena and looking down.


    That power... it was strong. He couldn''t even dodge it if he wanted. He seemed to have understood some of Radiant Star''s Dao. Radiant should be translated from a word more similar to lighthouse. He had an extremely powerful ability to illuminate his path. Depending on how much weight each of those words had, it could be an extremely broken ability, and it definitely wouldn''t be swayed by his maze of space and time, unless...


    "That was unnecessary."


    A calm and soothing voice echoed. It had a gentleness like Selheira''s, but a hidden coldness akin to Eska''s.


    Ryu blinked, but soon realized that Fading Star wasn''t talking to him.


    "When the Fragmented Sky God is too arrogant."


    "Does he not have the right to be arrogant? Maybe if you had a Peak Founding Dao you''d understand."


    "What good is a Peak Founding Dao in the Fragmented Sky God Realm? If he manages to keep it when he enters the Dao Lord Realm, then it might be worth something."


    "And if he does so you''ll say Dao Sovereign next, right?"


    "That''s only natural. Nothing is more important than Cultivation Realm. If it was possible to become a Dao God with a Common Dao, they''d crush this boy or even us with ease."


    "But it isn''t possible, so why even mention it?"


    "To illustrate the point. It''s called an analogy."


    "An analogy is best used when it''s plausible. You just mention a hypothetical that''s impossible by every metric."


    Ryu finally couldn''t hold it in and chuckled, causing both experts to look toward him. The pressure they exuded was massive. It seemed that even though Fading Star was defending him, she still didn''t want him to try and interfere.


    But since when would Ryu be pushed back by a couple of glares?


    "Tell you what, Senior Radia-"


    "Sovereign-"


    "-Senior Radiant Star," Ryu continued, "as a man, you should learn to be more flexible. Arguing with your wife about such things will only make you seem petty."


    Radiant Star frowned.


    "Me, for example. I don''t even argue with my wives," Ryu shook his head as though lecturing a youth. "Life is better when your wife is both willful and happy. A man''s job should be knocking down his wife''s obstacles, not trying to convince her what she should and shouldn''t do."


    Radiant Star''s frown slowly faded back to his original indifferent expression. Then, he looked toward his wife.


    "I''m going to kill him."


    Fading Star didn''t get a chance to say anything before her husband moved.

 Chapter 1569 Climb It

    Chapter 1569 Climb It


    Ryu smiled as Radiant Star suddenly appeared before him. In his eyes, the former Sovereign was a bundle of lines that looked like the puppet of the Heavens themselves. He was suddenly far more solid again, and listening to him and his wife argue had just made him all the easier to read.


    Reading was one thing, though...


    What about controlling?


    Suddenly, one of the Lines of Fate became particularly tight. The Sovereign frowned for a moment, but in the heat of battle he couldn''t quite react to it, he could only subconsciously move. It was just unfortunate that he just so happened to follow exactly what that taut line wanted him to do.


    His finger attack was easily sidestepped by Ryu, and a fist was driven into his gut.


    BANG.


    An explosive wind formed around their collision, a concentric circle akin to a clap of thunder blowing out the back of Radiant Star''s robe.


    A slight grunt left his lips, but he absorbed the blow well, taking a step back and suddenly flickering and vanishing. He appeared ten meters away from Ryu, looking down at the hole in his clothing.


    His skin and body were just fine, but the hole in the fabric themselves felt more humiliating than he was willing to admit.


    "I don''t think this is the fight you want," Ryu said with a smile. "At the very least, not now."


    Radiant Star didn''t respond immediately. After a moment, he grabbed onto his robes and pulled, tearing it away from his torso and revealing a powerful and toned physique. It honestly didn''t look too dissimilar from Ryu''s own.


    He had to admit that he had moved with the same strength he had just now. Despite his words, he just wanted to teach Ryu a lesson. What he didn''t expect was that his strength would plummet by another measure, and because his wife was being petty she didn''t continue to shroud him from Ryu''s Dao.


    That only made him angrier. It felt like she was taking the side of another man in an argument.


    Somehow, Ryu had gone from "child" to "man" in his mind, but no one ever accused a man in love of being a rational man.


    "I will admit that your Dao is powerful."


    He collided with a barrier that sparkled with bright silver and landed heavily on his feet.


    Ryu wiped blood from his lips with a forearm, shaking his head.


    In truth, he knew quite well of his limits. Finishing these battles quickly, attacking the psyche of his enemies, using his low cultivation Realm to his advantage... a mixture of all of these things were the reason for his continuous victories.


    Ironically, against Radiant Star and Fading Star, he had gained his largest advantage. He understood too many of their weaknesses, and his Dividing Chaos had a strong hold on them. In conjunction with his eyes, he could play them like puppets on a string...


    Or so he should have been able to.


    That punch that Radiant Star nonchalantly shrugged off, despite Ryu''s lack of a reaction to his surviving it, was everything Ryu had.


    He was a Close Combat Master now; that punch had combined everything. But it only blew a hole through Radiant Star''s clothes.


    In contrast, Radiant Star had hardly tried just now, and yet the shift was so subtle.


    Ryu''s eyes glowed. ''Battle... is so interesting...''


    In Sacrum, what decided a battle would always be who had the largest fist. But here, he felt that variables were so much more wide-ranging, and it wasn''t just because his Dao and eyes could play with Fate and Karma either.


    He stood to his feet, his wings suddenly spreading wide from his back.


    "I''m going to need you to make a choice, Senior Radiant Star. It''s either you want a real battle, or not. Which is it?"


    Radiant Star''s indifferent expression didn''t change.


    "You seem to still think you can dictate things."


    "The larger the mountain, the more I want to climb it."

 Chapter 1570 Taller Mountain

    Chapter 1570 Taller Mountain


    Ryu''s aura flared, and the sonorous call of a Phoenix echoed.


    His White Phoenix manifested, and his Chaos Qi churned. His white scales suddenly erupted with sharp blue lines that made him look particularly ethereal. At the same time, his claws were lit with swirling patterns of black as his wings were adorned by complex golden-red feather patterns that flowed perfectly with the existing patterns.


    "More abilities do not make you stronger," Radiant Star commented lightly, his fist having already appeared before Ryu''s chest.


    BANG.


    Ryu''s back rebounded against the barrier once again, but he was already so close to it that he was prepared. Using the momentum, he bounced back, erupting with a Dragon''s Claw matted by Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.


    Radiant Star slapped his wrist to the side, striking his chest with another palm.


    "Trying to gather the power of the Heavens before someone with a higher cultivation than you is foolish. The moment they start taking you seriously, this is the only outcome."


    BANG.


    Ryu rebounded against the barrier again. His gaze was sharp, and his battle intent didn''t waver, but the outcome was just the same every time.


    [Lines of Fate] felt worthless, [Death Acupoint] kept missing again and again, he thought about using [Fate Reversal], but he hadn''t taken nearly enough damage to make it worthwhile yet. Plus, he didn''t know if Radiant Star somehow had the ability to avoid that as well.


    His series of combinations didn''t falter. Every time he was countered, he would have the perfect response ready, and yet every time he would take a hit, and then another. It felt like with the barrier, every one of Radiant Star''s strikes was worth double.


    Ryu''s claw met a palm as his knee was slapped down by another. As his foot was driven hard back to the ground, the palm his claw had met deviated, parrying his arm to the side and cracking his collarbone in the same motion.


    Blood continuously drizzled out from Ryu''s lips, but he could feel it, a slow change.


    BANG. BANG. BANG.


    Ryu suddenly blocked a continuous flurry of three strikes with a knee and two elbows. He shifted to the side, erupting with an uppercut to Radiant Star''s ribcage.


    His entire body roared with power, from his plant leg to his pivot leg, up his winding and powerful core all toward his fist.


    His qi roared inside of him and lashed out, the Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns on his knuckles sparkling with a dancing radiance.


    BOOM.


    Distance didn''t mean anything to him, his Dao illuminated the path.


    Time didn''t mean anything to him, his Dao would always make certain he reached where he needed to at the right moment.


    Defense didn''t mean anything to him, his strikes would always ring true.


    Offense was everything to him, nothing could block him.


    Ryu could tell that this was a Dao Charm technique... No, it was beyond that. It was a technique that Dao Charm techniques would be derived from, a technique that only Radiant Star himself could possibly pull off with any sort of real mastery.


    And the moment it appeared Ryu suffered a series of bloody wounds. A fist to the gut, a kick to the side of the head, a finger that pierced right through his body.


    BANG.


    He collided against the barrier, his bones rattling within him.


    [Fate Reversal].


    Ryu finally used it, and Radiant Star''s expression changed. The latter''s aura flared up instantly, but marks still appeared across his body.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, feeling as though he had just partially failed at something.


    He struggled to his feet, his eyes still on the couple.


    "Alright, I think that''s about enough," Fading Star suddenly said.


    Radiant Star frowned as he looked back at his wife, but she was sporting a glare of her own at this point.


    "Don''t make the child reveal more than he has to; you''ve proven your point."


    Radiant Star crossed his arms, but ultimately didn''t do anything more.


    "Child, please tell us about the current circumstances of our Sects."


    Ryu frowned, looking up.

 Chapter 1571 Distaste

    Chapter 1571 Distaste


    Ryu raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. It seemed that they weren''t fighting anymore? He kind of got the feeling that these people didn''t really care about this battle, either that or they felt that this matter was too skewed and couldn''t be bothered to partake in it.


    But that made him also feel that these people, despite being the founders of the Dual Radiance Sect, were somehow also the least bound by its Karma. Which made no sense. Logic seemed to dictate that since they were more powerful, they should also be the most unfettered. But this wasn''t true.


    Honestly speaking, if not for the overwhelming benefits, no powerhouse would ever start even a Clan, let alone a Sect. At least with a Clan, you would likely have descendants one way or another to obstruct your path. So making a Clan, giving it structure, and benefiting from it in that way just made more sense than not. But with a Sect, it seemed that you were going out of your way to be masochistic, bringing together a whole host of people with little to no connection between one another and trying to make them a cohesive whole.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, it was an interesting choice for a couple to take this route. Two powerhouses, already marital partners and Dao Companions, were the ideal starting conditions for a Clan.


    This was all to say that the binds of Fate that one gained from starting such an organization were heavy. At least with a Guild, it was loose enough that you could gain some benefits and avoid many of the drawbacks. But there was no such thing for Sect.


    Somehow, though, these two had come out unscathed from not only the formation of their Sect but its destruction as well.


    And once again... they reminded him of the little woman so much.Upstodatee from


    Ryu suddenly thought of something.


    Taking a step back, the Dual Radiance Sect was a rare Sect where Bloodlines were shared across their various groups and small Clans. In a lot of ways, they were linked by blood much like a Clan was... Was there a secret behind this?


    In the end, Ryu just simply explained what he knew. Although he looked relaxed, he never really put down his guard.


    The two listened calmly and didn''t seem surprised by anything he said.


    Even so, just because he didn''t have the same disgust toward the idea of taking a master, that didn''t mean that he would casually take one. He had crushed the inheritance of a Dao Sovereign without a care in the world because he had disrespected him, and he didn''t even feel the slightest regret.


    These two hadn''t exactly disrespected him, well Fading Star certainly hadn''t, but they hadn''t really impressed him either.


    Radiant Star thought that his display was awe-inspiring, but as far as Ryu was concerned, it was a stage he would inevitably reach given time.


    The reason he took in his first master was that he could provide something to him that Ryu couldn''t fathom at the time, and it quite literally changed his life.


    Plus, it might not take so long for him to display what Fading Star had either. He still hadn''t brought out his Dao Vessel. Although he didn''t have much practice using it, the gap between a Lower Founding Dao and a Peak Founding one was enormous.


    On top of that, weren''t these two dead already? And even though they seemed to be able to shirk the limitations on this Throne Challenge somewhat, they were still restricted by the Heavens to the insights of a Perfect Sky God.


    What insights could a Perfect Sky God give him that would be the equivalent of what his master had given him back then?


    Seeing that Ryu didn''t answer immediately, not only was Fading Star not angry, even Radiant Star didn''t seem angry.


    In fact, for the first time, Fading Star smiled.


    "I have a particular distaste for people trying to test me, but since I''ve taken the initiative to take you in as a disciple, I won''t mind it this once."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    The lights of the world seemed to go out.

 Chapter 1572 Burning

    Chapter 1572 Burning


    "What just happened?"


    Everyone was watching the battle with rapt attention, and then the couple whose words they couldn''t hear suddenly said something about taking Ryu as a disciple, and then the image vanished.


    Sovereign Black Worm''s expression turned dark. He didn''t like this turn of events at all.


    First, Silver Dance clearly gave up the fight on purpose, and now these two had somehow broken free of Fate entirely, leaving behind the restrictions of the Heavens and doing things on their own. Visitt  for the latest updates


    He calmed himself with thoughts not too dissimilar from Ryu''s own. Even if they broke free of some restrictions, they couldn''t possibly break through them all.


    However... the vanishing of the image was something that was difficult to swallow... That most definitely wasn''t a normal feat.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. Fading Star''s aura, that had just been in the Half-Step Perfect Sky God Realm, suddenly stepped beyond and entered the Perfect Sky God Realm, then beyond that and entered the Transcendent Sky God Realm, then the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    The higher it went, rather than slowing down, it actually accelerated. It treated the Dao Lord Realm and even the Dao Sovereign Realm like they were fluttering leaves in the wind.


    That was right... She stepped into the Dao God Realm.


    Ryu stood in silence. According to his information, the highest Realm they had reached was the Dao Sovereign Realm before quietly passing away. In fact, according to that same information, they didn''t have Founding Daos at all. Instead, they supposedly had Middle Ancient Daos.


    It was incredibly difficult to raise your Dao level they higher you went. A Middle Ancient Dao was already the elite of the elite of the elite on the Eighth Heaven. And these two, because they synergized so well in battle-at least when they weren''t bickering-they were a match for someone with a Higher Ancient Dao.


    But all of that was thrown out of the window now. Clearly, these two had hidden their real strength for the entirety of their existence.


    As for why, Ryu could only guess that they wanted to avoid the ire of the Ninth Heaven... but he wasn''t even sure if that was true. With this strength, these two should be capable of protecting themselves... Right?


    "You have to be capable of accomplishing something I don''t believe I can even with time."


    Ryu wanted to say: "Impress me." But since Fading Star was taking such a step forward and displayed an olive branch of goodwill, he chose to take a step forward as well.


    There was no need to be rude to a person who was trying to ingratiate themselves with you.


    "What an arrogant little shit..." Radiant Star muttered.


    This was the first time he had said something so vulgar, but he couldn''t seem to help himself. Ryu was basically spitting in the face of his own philosophy about Cultivation Realm and even saying that reaching the Dao God Realm for him was just a function of time.


    Fading Star smiled. Although Radiant Star said this, the truth was that neither of them would have the patience to take in anyone as a disciple without at least a near guarantee of reaching the Dao Sovereign Realm-barring unexpected death.


    "Something you don''t believe you can accomplish given enough time, huh..."


    Fading Star''s slender finger suddenly reached out and tapped at the air.


    Suddenly, Ryu felt the binds of Karma and Fate twisting and turning.


    "Fading Star, what are you doing?!" Radiant Star, who was still nonchalant a moment ago, suddenly rushed forward in an attempt to stop his wife. But unfortunately for him, while she had returned to the Dao God Realm, he didn''t. It would take too much time to unseal himself, and by then it would already be over. "Dammit!"


    His cultivation began to soar, but it was too late.


    Right then, Fading Star paused and looked at Ryu.


    "You have one question, Ryu. One question, and it will be answered. One burning question you have in your heart."


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat, his lips slightly parting. And then the words tumbled out on their own as though Fading Star had pulled them out of him.


    "My wives, Ailsa Tatsuya and Yaana Tatsuya, where are they?"

 Chapter 1573 Answer

    Chapter 1573 Answer


    Radiant Star looked like he wanted to tear Ryu apart for even daring to ask a question, and yet it was already too late. He knew from the start that even if he did return to his true strength, it would have all been useless. How would he stop his wife one way or another?ViiSiit  for latest novels


    At least, he couldn''t do so without harming her.


    Fading Star''s aura surged, and Ryu felt the Lines of Fate burst apart as though they had been infused with far too much energy.


    In that moment, the Laws of the Heavens had been shattered. Nothing worked properly, and even the foundation of the world themselves couldn''t be brought together. There was no distinction between a Plane and the Void, and life and death were separated by the thinnest of lines until they suddenly overlapped entirely.


    Fading Star blinked, feeling somewhat surprised for a moment. The scope of the question was beyond what she was expecting. She had meant to warn Ryu to keep the scope as narrow as he could, but he had already subconsciously done that. It was obvious he had a clear understanding of the Lines of Fate as well and what it would mean to ask any question.


    And yet, though the question could be considered narrow enough, it was still more difficult than she imagined. She felt that maybe it was because he had asked for two people at once, but the way Ryu spoke, it seemed like they should be in the same place.


    She suddenly felt a hint of annoyance for the first time. She didn''t like men who had multiple wives, and she never thought that she would stumble into wanting one as a disciple. Why''d her disciple have to be so fickle? If there was one, she could finish her cool master impression without worries.


    She shook her head and sighed. In the end, she chose to narrow the question even further and only focus on Ailsa. But she was left even more speechless when even that didn''t seem to be enough.


    Was she really going to embarrass herself like this? What was going on?


    Fading Star was stubborn. Given her words about being tested, and how much they mirrored Ryu''s own, this was a given. Originally, she had just planned to give up enough to leave her tired for a few days, but this time she really pushed it.


    "Fading Star! What are you doing?!"


    Blood began to pool out of her nose, but her gaze became firm.


    Even so, Fading Star''s display moved him.


    There was obviously a price to pay for activating this technique in the first place, but she had already been willing to pay that price. After suddenly being forced to pay more, she didn''t actually pull back.


    Ryu could see more than she probably knew. Or maybe she did know and she had continued anyway.


    He knew that she had received an answer; it was just that that answer wasn''t satisfying enough to her, so she had continued to push.


    For that reason alone, he found it commendable.


    Even though Radiant Star looked as though he wanted to tear Ryu limb from limb, Ryu''s gaze never left the beautiful founder of the Dual Radiance Sect.


    BOOM. The skies shook, and from above the shattered Lines of Fate began to gather once again. The process was slow, but they pieced themselves back together bit by bit, motes of grayish light fusing into solid lines that connected to Fading Star''s body step by step.


    And then, the world froze.


    Everything flashed and entered a state of limbo. Even the blood coming from Fading Star''s body floated as though in zero gravity, forming beautiful patterns in the air, patterns that made Ryu''s heart skip a beat.


    He didn''t know why, but in this state of nothing, the irregular and erratic movements of the blood made his heart beat wildly.


    It felt like he was watching the creation of the world from its infancy... a spark of life was all it needed to reform once again.


    BANG. Ryu''s head snapped backward as a beam of information entered his mind, and Fading Star collapsed.


    The world fell silent as time began to move once again.

 Chapter 1574 Who Dares?

    Chapter 1574 Who Dares?


    Ryu felt his mind shuttling through the vastness of space. He tore through layers of worlds, and every time he felt that he had finally reached the end, he pierced through another veil and continued onward.


    He saw civilizations of all kinds as he moved, and his heart went from one of awe to shock, and then he eventually felt that it was all too incredulous. Was it even possible for the world to be so large?


    He saw places so primitive that fire had yet to be invented. Instead, they huddled around steamy geysers and volcanoes to keep themselves warm, eating raw meat they peeled off the bone with their teeth like animals.


    He saw many places just like Sacrum, middling of the road worlds. But some of them had extremely strange power sources, things he couldn''t even fathom.


    One world used water as its only source of power, using its movements. The warriors were all Water Qi cultivators, and the bottom rung of society was forced to work every day in mills, using their qi training to move large wheels day in and day out.


    Another world harnessed the power of the wind, doing much the same as the water world.


    There were all sorts of "elemental worlds" like these ones, but they weren''t what fascinated Ryu the most at all.


    He passed over several worlds where the people were as weak as children. They had souls that snuffed out with a breath and bodies so frail that even the weakest beasts of their world could tear them apart.


    But what was even more fascinating was that their beasts were also just as weak, so weak that even if Ryu was feeling hungry and ate all several billion of them, he wouldn''t even be able to satiate a small part of that hunger.


    The entire world seemed to be lacking in substance and foundation, and yet they were able to create such fantastical things.


    Granted, those fantastical things were also still extraordinarily weak in his eyes. But when they were taken as a function of how weak the people creating them were, it was enough to leave him in complete shock.


    What they had succeeded in doing would be the equivalent of an Awakening Realm expert creating something that could kill a Sky God. At that sort of scale, how could it not be impressive?


    Some of these civilizations were more impressive than others.


    It was something that Ryu could only barely grasp, and yet it floored him. He was so uncaring about the Cultivation Realm of others, but hearing of Ailsa''s made his heart burst with all sorts of emotions.


    Pride... Happiness... Anxiety.


    He could barely grasp an understanding of what was going on. They were in battle? Why? Who was fighting? And for what?


    It didn''t seem to matter because he couldn''t take his eyes off his woman.


    He knew that cultivation could refine one to their true peak, and yet it all felt like too much. Ryu of all people even felt a slight hint inferior, his firm Dao Heart being the only thing that made him still confidently call Ailsa his woman.


    "HAHA! AILSA!"


    A booming voice just barely managed to catch Ryu''s attention. It was truly something because Ryu seemed to have tuned the rest of the world out entirely; it could only be said that this voice was capable of overturning words.


    Gruff, deep, cold, and a hint sinister.


    "I swore to take you as my wife, but I didn''t expect you to be a whore who had already opened her legs for another man-!"


    Ryu didn''t hear anything else, and maybe that was for the best... he didn''t even see the man clearly, all he felt was a familiar fury suddenly erupting within him.


    Who dared to speak to his wife in this way?!


    Ailsa''s eyes widened as she suddenly sensed something familiar.


    "Little Ryu?"

 Chapter 1575 Warmth

    Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    Chapter 1575 Warmth


    Ailsa was in a daze. She, too, didn''t hear the rest of what the man was saying. It didn''t really matter to her; she had heard it a million times.


    She was Ryu''s Life Partner for a reason; their personalities were practically mirror images of one another. The only reason Ryu seemed so different from her when they met was because his own personality had become twisted and cold. This was all to say that a person''s words were completely unable to affect her. As far as she was concerned, once someone said something that pissed her off, their death date wasn''t too far off.


    However, she wasn''t thinking about that right now.


    How long had it been? Billions of years? Trillions maybe? She didn''t know; she had truly lost count. It had just been too long, too long...


    Tears began to pool in her eyes as her head swiveled, looking for where she had sensed that feeling coming from.


    It would have probably broken her heart to know that Ryu was standing right in front of her, his head inclined toward the direction of the man who dared to speak those words.


    Ryu was nothing but an illusory construct, something less than a ghost. It could be said that the only reason Ryu could even appear here in the first place, aside from Fading Star''s efforts, was one due to his soul connection with Ailsa, and two because of his own attunement with Fate and Karma.


    However, while he could see Ailsa clearly, she could only vaguely feel his presence.


    "Where are you?" Ailsa said with a hint of excitement in her voice, the tears already having begun to stream down her fair cheeks. The yearning in her heart practically burst out in wild waves, the surrounding air and space trembling.


    Ryu forced himself to look away from the man when he heard these words. He didn''t have much time and no matter how he racked his brains, he couldn''t figure out how he could do anything to that man.


    So Ryu didn''t try at all. Instead, he felt a wild burning in his eyes as he began to churn through a large amount of Karmic Qi.


    He felt that his eyes would likely be dormant once again due to this. However, it wouldn''t be for long. So long as he could break into the Perfect Sky God Realm, they would come back. He had already completed the calculations.


    Even so, if he had to choose between crippling his eyes forever and giving his wife this small bit of warmth, he would choose the latter every single time.


    This was the one duty he had, the one duty that he took more seriously than anything else, a duty that burned like an endless flame within his heart.


    His wives would be the most carefree women in the world, doing what they want, feeling what they want, he would make the world their oyster.


    There was no one who would make them shed tears, not even himself. That was his promise to him as a man, as a husband.


    And nothing could stand in the way of him doing that, no matter what sacrifices he had to make. Even the world itself couldn''t stop him.


    At that moment, Ailsa felt something warm wrap around her. They were thick, silky lines of Karmic Threads, enveloping her body not just in warmth, but in Ryu''s very existence.


    In the end, they only conveyed one thing oh so very clearly.


    Wait for me.


    Aisle''s tears fell like a tide. She had been so worried, so lost. But suddenly, the world felt brighter again.


    For the first time in a long while, a smile bloomed on her face even amidst the streaking tears.


    It was a smile that lit the entire world in a gorgeous glow.

 Chapter 1576 Beaming

    Chapter 1576 Beaming


    Ryu snapped back into his body, a dangerous glow gleaming from his bleeding eyes. His silver irises had turned somewhat opaque, and though he wasn''t blind, he had been regulated to vision near to that of a mortal''s.


    He was on his hands and knees, having fallen at some unknown point. But even so, the dangerous aura he was exuding was so gloomy and all-pervading that his Birthed Phenomena seemed to have gained a tinge of darkness to it as well.


    It was hard to put into words the kind of fury he was feeling right now, not just due to that man, but due to his own weakness. He wanted nothing more at that point than to shred the world to pieces, but he slowly restrained himself, the darkness being peeled back somewhat.


    He didn''t know who that man was, but so long as Ailsa didn''t kill him first, he would enjoy the day he got to drive his fist through his chest.


    Ryu slowly stood, the blood streaking down his cheeks and the faded color of his eyes gaining the attention of the two Dao Gods immediately, but not more than his rage just now. It had truly felt palpable, as though his fury was somehow taking the reins of Fate and forcefully twisting them.


    "Fix my disciple," Fading Star gave a look to her husband.


    Fading Star wasn''t doing too well herself. She seemed to have lost a lot of weight. Her breasts weren''t as towering as they had been before and her cheeks almost seemed to sink into her bones. At the same time, her life force felt like it was whittling away.


    Radiant Star was standing close enough to her to prop her up, but the two still seemed to be in a spat so Fading Star was only using his arm just enough to not fall over on her face.


    "What?" Radiant Star asked, speechless. "He''s not even your disciple yet, do you see him showing any respect and subservience? When did he worship you as his master, I must have missed it."


    Fading Star only continued to glare at Radiant Star.


    Radiant Star shook his head and waved a hand. A strong amount of silvery Star Qi descended and practically plowed into Ryu''s face before he could react. Two streams went up his nose, another two into his ears, and the last forced open his mouth. It was the most invasive thing that he had experienced.


    Some of those little mortals managed to expand from their own planets, even leaving their worlds and extending their reach outside of their galaxies.


    If he were to scale their power to his own, and then their feats to his own, they were impossibly more impressive.


    If mortals who couldn''t even run faster than a few miles and hour, could step beyond their stars...


    Why couldn''t he find a way to streak across Existence itself?


    Ryu sank down to his knees and pressed his head to the ground.


    Fading Star''s smile suddenly beamed as Radiant Star shook his head, looking away. Even so, there seemed to be a smile tugging at his as well, a smile that turned to panic when Fading Star tried to hurry forward to help her disciple up.


    Radiant Star had no choice but to stand to the side and stop Fading Star from collapsing as she helped Ryu up.


    Fading Star beamed, placing two hands on Ryu''s shoulders and looking up at him. The more she looked, the more satisfied she felt.


    She had never had a disciple before and she felt a bit giddy about it.


    She had never had a child either, though she had many children by proxy in a weird sort of way.


    It could be said that in this way, Ryu was both her first disciple and her first son. How could she not be happy?


    Though she really wanted to do something about his multiple wife situation and lecture him about how he shouldn''t focus his attention on one woman at a time, she decided not to start off on the wrong foot. Considering how much Ryu had been willing to give up just now for his wives, at the very least, he wasn''t neglecting them.


    Her smile grew wider and despite her somewhat sickly appearance, she too seemed like she could light up a world.

 Chapter 1577 Ryuuuuuu

    Chapter 1577 Ryuuuuuu


    Radiant Star shook his head, not liking the enthusiasm of his wife, but he allowed it. Ultimately, they hadn''t been able to have a child the conventional way because their talent was too high. It also didn''t help that they spent practically generations being petty to one another. He could count on his fingers the number of nights they had ended up in each other''s beds in the last thousand years. That wasn''t really conducive to child-making.


    As for Fading Star, she wasn''t even paying attention to her husband at all. The more she looked at Ryu, the more satisfied she was, and that was despite the fact he looked like he had gone through a few garbage shoots to get here.


    "Look, isn''t my disciple very handsome?"


    Radiant Star''s lip twitched but he didn''t say anything. For a man who always wore a deadpan expression, this was about as much as you''d get out of him.


    Fading Star laughed, leaving her own usually deadpan expression somewhere far off in the past.


    "Ah, what am I doing? Sorry, Little Ryu, I''ve never had a disciple before, my etiquette and understanding of the culture isn''t the best. I''ve heard that I''m supposed to give a gift, but the truth is that this isn''t my real body, I''ve just used an ability to firm up the connection between myself and this avatar.


    "Tell you what, I can give you a gift, but it won''t be the usual kind. A genius needs pressure to grow, but too much pressure comes with death. You''ve gone around slapping the faces of too many people, even with those eyes of yours, you could die a thousand times over and not understand what happened even as your consciousness fades.


    "That''s the reality of the world."


    Ryu didn''t refute. She was probably right, though he felt he was more competent than that. At the very least, he had avoided a Dao Sovereign like Chaotic Space, and that was before his eyes were unsealed. He wasn''t as fragile as he seemed.


    "Now, tell me. Where did you learn [Absolute Domain] from?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow but eventually replied.


    "Someone taught me."ViiSiit  for latest novels


    The husband-wife pair looked toward one another.


    "Are you still in contact with this person?"


    "I am, but the restrictions of this Throne Challenge don''t really allow me to..."


    Hope rarely used harsh words, but the first time Ryu complained about [Absolute Domain], she had even called him stupid. That was enough to paint the picture.


    Still, Ryu wouldn''t have imagined that it was this deep.


    The three began talking as though Ryu wasn''t there. Well... Fading Star and Hope did, Radiant Star was basically thrown to the side not much unlike Ryu.


    Ryu didn''t mind it. He might have had he not known who Hope was, but he could stand to give her a little bit of leeway.


    "... I didn''t manage to break into the Omniscient Sky God Realm so my life was running out... I ended up finding a method... then I met Ryu and he..."


    Suddenly a pair of sharp gazes fell on Ryu, Fading Star''s brows were wrinkled. But Ryu wasn''t a fan of explaining himself, since the little woman was too air-headed to explain what had happened naturally, then that was just how it would have to be.


    Obviously, Hope had just gotten to the part of the story where she had agreed to carry Ryu''s child. The way she had explained it made it sound like Ryu had forced her to do so, when in reality how could he, who hadn''t even been in the World Sea Realm back then, force a Sky God to do anything?


    It was because Hope''s little calculations had deduced that, with the help of her Magnum Opus pills, Ryu''s appearance would give her a chance to survive. In exchange, Ryu had given her Flowing Frost''s body.


    Originally, he was going to give Flowing Frost''s body to Eska to occupy, but he met the little woman first. He was reluctant, but she made her promises and he eventually agreed in the end.


    In fact, after seeing his alchemy skill, she had asked him to be her Dao Companion. All of these things were glossed over by Hope as she was trying to summarize her story.


    Well, knowing her, she was probably embarrassed to admit it as well, especially in front of these two who she obviously respected a great deal. She had been hoping that Ryu would fill in the blanks for her, but he just stood there, his arms crossed.


    The tips of her ears turned red and in the end, she was forced to say it on her own. By now, she knew that if Ryu was being stubborn, no amount of puppy dog eyes would change anything.


    "Please... please... please... please..."


    Such a pleasing voice, and yet saying such annoying...


    "Alright, alright," Ryu muttered.

 Chapter 1578 They are Called...

    Chapter 1578 They are Called...


    Ryu was more than a little bit annoyed, but he chose to let it slide.


    The truth of the matter was that he absolutely hated putting his life in the hands of others. A large part of the reason he was here in the first place was precisely because of that. Who else would choose to challenge a Throne when they had the full support of a Dao Sovereign like Aika?


    In truth, Aika treated Ryu no differently from how she would a disciple. Who else could boast having had a Dao Sovereign hunt down meals for them?


    In a lot of ways, though, taking on a Master was similar to placing your life in another''s hands. Setting aside the obvious about whether or not such a person would really have your best interests at heart, just allowing someone else to guide you in cultivation was as good as trusting them with your life.


    This wasn''t about being suddenly attacked in the midst of cultivation. Any master that the likes of Ryu would take would likely be far stronger than him, whether he was conscious or not wouldn''t really affect the end result if such a person had sinister intentions.


    It was more so about trusting another person''s judgment, trusting them to make decisions about yourself and things that would impact your life great hundred, thousands, millions of years into the future.


    Cultivation was your life in a world like this.


    But this was also why Ryu never based his decision on who to take in as a master on trust. Being fully reliant on another person would never be his style, and he had refused his fair share of much stronger guards by now purely because he felt that it would impede his growth.


    This was all to say that when he took in a master, he always planned to take their teachings with a grain of salt, accepting what he felt might be useful and ignoring what had yet to be proven to be fruitful to him.


    So, when Fading Star threw that accusatory glare at him after Hope''s terrible retelling of their meeting encounter, Ryu practically shut down completely. He went from willing to listen to some of this woman''s teachings to planning to ignore all of them.


    If it wasn''t for the little woman''s incessant pleading and the fact they had some rapport at this point, he would have stuck quite firmly to that decision.


    He might have changed, but what still fundamentally made Ryu, Ryu, was still there as the core of his being.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    It was true that it made sense that Fading Star would trust Hope''s words more than his own. It also made sense that given Hope''s retelling of the story, Fading Star would likewise have a poor reaction to it. Fading Star already didn''t like the fact Ryu had multiple wives, so she was already leaning toward a distaste of how Ryu treated the women around him.


    When Fading Star heard Hope''s story then, once again, her reaction could only be said to be natural. In fact, it wasn''t all that baseless either.


    Ryu heard a sigh.


    "Ryu, I can only say that I''m sorry. I didn''t want to get us started on the wrong foot, but I can''t un-spill what''s been spilled," Fading Star said softly. "For now, I can only do my duty as your master. As for what you do from here on, it will be up to you."


    Ryu looked toward Fading Star but he didn''t reply. Hope, who was still by his side, pouted as flashes of guilt sprung in her eyes, but she didn''t even seem to realize that she might have looked a little too... comfortable around Ryu.


    "Since things have already started like this, I will try to be more straightforward with you, then," Fading Star nodded, some of her dignified aura returning. "I hope that you will not have Favor Alchemy bear your child until after she''s become a Dao God. Also, I hope that you will marry her and give her proper status once you do as well. Repaying your benefactor is commendable and I would never stop you from doing so. In addition, it is because Favor Alchemy relied on others that she is in this position. But since you two seem to be close, I would hope that you''d take a bit more care of her plights as well."


    Ryu didn''t reply, but Fading Star seemed to have already expected this and simply continued without missing a beat.


    "I can also say that I am not a fan of taking on multiple wives. In my ideal world, Favor Alchemy would be your only woman, but I am also aware that I''ve long since overstepped my bounds. I will not try to place such restrictions on you, I can only hope that you show her the same care and affection that you''ve shown your Ailsa and Yaana."


    Hope''s lip twitched as she knew there were more than just those two, but she did her best to hide it.


    Fading Star gave her a glance but didn''t say much more about the topic. Since they had already started off so badly, she felt that she should just say what was on her chest outright. If she waited until later after she had mended their relationship somewhat, then it might put her right back to square one. It would be easier to climb out of the negatives than to be on a mountain peak, fall, and then be expected to walk up an even taller peak.


    "I planned on also not tell you this for a while, I wanted to build up some trust and rapport between us before I did so, but since things have gone down this route, I will also tell you quite straightforwardly.


    "I took you in as a disciple because your potential is excellent. Although your talent is lacking, severely so compared to what you might face in the future, in terms of potential to expand and grow I have never seen anyone that is your better.


    "But even that is only a small part of the reason.


    "We have an enemy, an enemy the likes of which can''t be defeated through normal means. This person goes from world to world, swallowing up their potential and turning it into their own. They''re even able to swallow up their core of Reincarnation, commandeering the process and using it to create talents that can be used.


    "This person is without a doubt the strongest Dao God across all of Existence and they have been obsessed with trying to find a way to step beyond that Realm even though one does not exist...


    "They are called... The Phoenix Sky God."

 Chapter 1579 Mancer

    Chapter 1579 Mancer


    Ryu should have had a fierce reaction to these words. But honestly... he didn''t.


    What was more interesting to him was the fact that Fading Star dared to speak this person''s name aloud despite their power, and there wasn''t even the slightest reaction.


    Now that he thought about it, he wasn''t exactly skimpy with how often he said that name. And considering how wary Fading Star was about this person, it was doubtful that she could casually shroud herself from their attention.


    So this meant something else.


    Now that he thought about it even further, the legend of the Phoenix Sky God was so muddled that it took him years of research just to find a plausible method of awakening their Spiritual Foundation. There were so many stories and iterations of the Phoenix Sky God and their life that it was impossible to take any one of them as the truest truth.


    Sometimes they were a man, sometimes a woman. Sometimes they were born in a great family, and at other times, they were pauper who rose up like a tide.


    Ryu wondered how much of this was manipulation on the part of the Phoenix Sky God, versus how much of it was true... if the Phoenix Sky God was so obsessed with controlling reincarnation, who was to say that they didn''t actually live all of those lives?


    The moment Ryu had this thought, his eyes couldn''t help but narrow.


    Such a person, capable of tossing everything away and reincarnating again, and again, and again, only to still inevitably rise to the pinnacle... Just how formidable were they?


    Talent alone couldn''t be enough, and neither was just keeping your memories from a former life. Yaana was the perfect example, it was only a great series of events, including the use of her Life Partner, that allowed her comprehension in this life to quickly catch up with that of her last life. By now, she had likely even already ascended beyond it.


    However, without that series of coincidences, comprehending something you had already comprehended in the past based on memories was many times more difficult than it would have been otherwise.


    Of course, if Yaana could stumble into a series of coincidences that allowed it, it wasn''t impossible that someone else could do the same. The issue was, triggering that series of coincidences again and again would be exceedingly difficult.


    It had to be remembered that Yaana relied on a Life Partner to achieve what she had. Such a thing was a Blessing bestowed by the Heavens and relied on someone who was your perfect mirror image being born on the same day and at the same time as you.


    Plus, only Faeries had Life Partners, even the Fey did not, as it was an evolutionary quirk of their descendants. Though, the Fey had a different albeit similar inborn ability.


    This was all to say that unless the Phoenix Sky God continuously reincarnated as a Faerie, it was all useless... not to mention the fact that according to the story, he or she, most definitely hadn''t. If they were true, that is.


    Fading Star sighed. She had pretty much expected Ryu''s response, though she was completely wrong about what was actually causing it.


    "Regardless, the reason I''m telling you this is because under adverse circumstances, people shine the most. We created many methods of transferring talent, Bloodlines and the likes in hopes of succeeding. This culminated in the creation of a new profession...


    "The Bloodmancer."


    Ryu finally raised an eyebrow. Honestly, this explanation would have probably been enough for Ryu to take her as a master, but she seemed to have wanted to take no risks with "impressing" him.


    This was more a matter of pride for Fading Star; she was clearly an arrogant woman despite her soft tone. She didn''t want to risk introducing Bloodmancers to Ryu, only for it to fall flat and for her to have to try again. That would have been too humiliating.


    That aside, Ryu nodded to himself.


    Back then, Aika had offered Ryu the Radiant Star Bloodline so casually. It might seem that just accepting another Bloodline was easy, especially with all those vials of blood Ryu''s family kept, but it was actually notoriously difficult.


    The only reason Ryu could so casually make use of those vials was that he already had those Bloodlines within him. Planting them into someone else was a nightmare.


    That was also why Flowing Frost had given Ryu her entire body; this was the only way she knew to ensure her Bloodline went on.


    In a way, transplanting Meridians was actually far easier than doing so for a Bloodline.


    This wasn''t to say that people didn''t have methods; there were, and they existed. It was just a matter of how crude were they and how much of the original Bloodline you could keep?


    Just take Ryu, for example. He was the prime example of why you couldn''t just stuff a body with powerful Bloodlines and hope for the best. It had taken him a lot of climbing to get out of the pit his many Bloodlines had put him in.


    But the Dual Radiance Sect had a lot of success with transplanting their Bloodlines. He never thought much of it because he knew so little about the True Martial World. He subconsciously just thought that every powerful Clan or Sect could do so.


    However... what if the Dual Radiance Sect was a clear exception?


    "I can see that your Bloodlines are powerful, and the fact that so many managed to be born in a single body is a miracle. What you''ve managed to do with them is even more amazing.


    "But I can say with great assurance that I can mold you into an existence far beyond what you are now and teach you the ways of Bloodmancy. As for the rest of my inheritance, you can take it if you want, or ignore it if you don''t. I don''t want to try and smother you, at least not until we''ve rebuilt some of our trust.


    "I can help you see your Bloodlines in a completely new light."

 Chapter 1580 Bloodmancy

    Chapter 1580 Bloodmancy


    Ryu didn''t really expect this turn of events. Quite frankly, he had thought that Fading Star would teach him more about manipulating Karma or things of the like since they clearly had this in common. Even so, this unexpected twist was actually very much appreciated. If he could find methods of improving his Bloodlines, how could he not jump at the chance?


    He stared at Fading Star seriously as she began to speak, soaking up everything she was saying.


    The first thing Fading Star did was actually change the way he viewed Bloodlines in the first place. He felt like he was a child and she was trying to shift his perspective on things. Ryu had already begun to see his Bloodlines more like living, breathing entities, but Fading Star, or rather, Bloodmancers in general seemed to take this even a step further.


    As Ryu listened, he realized what it was she was referring to.


    The Seven Corporeal Souls.


    "... Necromancy and Bloodmancy share a suffix, and this doesn''t necessarily mean what it seems to. The root of Mancy comes from the word divination, a word that translates to a great many things but ultimately refers right back to insight, usually insight that most people wouldn''t be able to easily glean..."


    These sorts of explanations were what Fading Star began with. She was a very thorough teacher, albeit a bit of a bland one. She was highly specific in her choice of words and almost overly verbose in her speech. The little woman was already yawning, and that was despite being an Omniscient Sky God who obviously didn''t need sleep in the normal sense.


    It was obvious to anyone why this woman would have never taken in a disciple before. She''d probably kill anyone else with her long, drawn-out tirades. She seemed to jump from tangent to tangent before finally getting to the point, and then jumping into another tangent.


    And yet Ryu listened to every word of it.


    Radiant Star had had a smile on his face, expecting Ryu to suddenly fade away or make a snappy comment. But he didn''t even look bored as his gaze became more and more intense.


    These talks of language, these specifics of the origins of words and the root of a discipline were things that Ryu had been swimming in all his life as a Ruin Master. These were normally things he would have to fill in himself later down the line, so why not take them in from the source directly?


    "... However, the act of divination is only one portion of what are shared between Necromancy and Bloodmancy. There are many branches of Necromancy, many of which require things similar to that of Bloodmancy. Improving a corpse, shedding away its weakness and blooming it toward its strength are similar mirrors to Bloodmancy...


    "... The blood is a living entity. It can be counted as a separate part of you and part of you at the same time...


    "... Training the blood, then, is no different from training a beast companion or a corpse puppet. Much like those things, it has chains of its own. A Bloodline only exists because it was passed down, and as a result, there are strong bounds of Karma that can and will restrict it...


    "... This is a perfect time to explain why it is that Summoner Necromancers can exist. The formation circles that they use to summon their Demons to fight for them is more so a method of Bloodmancy than anything else. It''s here that the two disciplines overlap the most...


    "... A Demon can be considered to be a creature that exists somewhere between a beast and a human. On the one hand, their Bloodlines are highly important...


    "... What''s interesting then is why it is Demons can be summoned but beasts can''t be, what is that difference? And it''s that observation that sparked the first instant Bloodmancy-"


    But Demons, being stuck in the middle, didn''t have perfect protections. And the fact their Bloodlines skewed so heavily more important than any of their other talents made it so that a skilled Summoner Necromancer could take advantage of it, summoning and controlling them to do battle for a short time.


    Even this, though, was only surface level analysis.


    When Ryu took a step deeper and really got into the weeds, he felt like a whole new world was opening up to him.


    He seemed to understand now why humans were so "average", and yet could be so absolutely powerful in some cases, and yet so pitifully weak in others.


    It was all the balance of the souls, the perfect balance between attaching yourself to the Heavens and self-reliance. It opened you up to a breadth of potential that the other Races simply didn''t have.


    Radiant Star shook his head slowly. This annoying brat actually reached a state of enlightenment. Maybe he was wrong after all.


    Of course, what he was wrong about wasn''t whether Ryu was an annoying brat or not, that was pretty much ironclad in his mind. What he was willing to admit, though, was that this kid and his wife were like two peas in a pod.


    Even he couldn''t listen to his wife go on and on like that, it was a source of many arguments for them. Though, everything was a source of argument for them these days... or rather, all days.


    However, Ryu could. Not only could he, he could do so eagerly.


    Looking at his wife''s bright smile, it took everything in him to refrain from rolling his eyes. He had an image to upload.


    Ryu didn''t have a thought for his surroundings at all, he was completely focused on his body and that sense of balance.


    Even though Fading Star had yet to explain a single thing about how Bloodmancy actually worked, he felt he had already grasped it.


    Right now, his Blood was concentrated into his Seven Corporeal Souls, but humans had a clear advantage that they weren''t taking advantage of.


    What would happen if you gave control of your Blood to your Soul? What if instead of being concentrated in your Seven Corporeal Souls, your Blood also lay new roots in your Three Incorporeal Souls?


    And what would it mean for his Blood to form a connection with them...


    Especially since he remembered quite clearly...


    Wasn''t his Dao Heart his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation?

 Chapter 1581 Dominance

    Chapter 1581 Dominance


    The thoughts moved about in Ryu''s head like lightning. It had been a while since he was guided by a master, and he didn''t even believe that Fading Star''s methods would work on most people, but they just clicked for him.


    This was the type of person he had always been. Though, in the past, he had thought that this was just the person he had been forced to be.


    When he Awakened in his second life he had completely given up secondary professions. He didn''t look at formations, he didn''t think about alchemy or anything of the sort, he didn''t even paint or play the zither anymore, things that he still hadn''t picked up again.


    He had once been a master at those things, but it had always been nothing more than a means to an end. He didn''t want to be a useless man, or rather... he didn''t want to be more useless than he already was.


    If he couldn''t cultivate, he had to at least be able to do something, be something.


    But those dark feelings had shrouded one important fact...


    He actually did enjoy those things.


    He enjoyed breaking down a pill formula and learning to perfect it. He enjoyed learning about Runes, building Visualizations and creating formations. He enjoyed pouring over mountains of text, only to string together minor little details that almost anyone else could miss.


    These things were part of him, they were part of who Ryu Tatsuya was.


    A connection seemed to be formed within him. His Bloodlines and Soul were suddenly bridged and he began to see them in the new light.


    In the Incomplete Heavenly Path, Ryu had traded for an Omniscient God Treasure known as The Compendium. It was able to absorb any object with Spirituality and form a network of information about the Faith tied to it.


    It had played a huge part in helping Ryu to reach this point. Being able to tease apart the different Strings of Karma and give each of his Bloodlines a Bloodline Phenomena was entirely reliant on understanding the underlying Faith that bound them, something that he couldn''t have done easily with his eyes bound.


    "It''s a matter of practice, unfortunately," Fading Star said with a smile, happy that Ryu was interacting with her. "Like I said earlier, the parallels between Necromancy and Bloodmancy are many. It takes quite a lot of practice for a new Necromancer to control a corpse puppet, this is the same but on a much higher level."


    Ryu nodded. He remembered when he was first learning to control a corpse puppet, he had lost to that genius of the Loom Clan.


    He shook his head. It had been a while since he thought about that Tae woman and her family. It also made him wonder how Granny Miriam''s sister was doing.


    He had been stuck in that reincarnation cycle for almost a thousand years, a lot would have changed. Maybe he should have checked up on them when he went back...


    Even so, it was weird to compare controlling an external corpse versus controlling your own self. Why would the latter be difficult?


    Then again, wasn''t that what all training was? Controlling yourself?


    Plus, this wasn''t just a matter of the self either. Like Fading Star had said, this was practically like trying to bridge Heaven and Earth, using the influence of the self to influence strength bestowed by the Heavens.


    Humans were the most suited to this, but that didn''t mean it was easy either.


    "Then after I can maintain the connection for long enough, what do I do?" Ryu asked.


    "Ah, this is the best part. There are many branches of Bloodmancy, not much unlike Necromancy. But in your case, you need a very specific balancing ritual. You have too many powerful Bloodlines within you. If you want them to be harmonious...


    "You need to make them harmonious.


    "You can call this Dominance Bloodmancy."

 Chapter 1582 Temperament

    Chapter 1582 Temperament


    ''Dominance Bloodmancy...'' Ryu thought.


    "Dominance Bloodmancy is a path that takes the soul and makes it the center. It would be akin to becoming the inverse of a Demon. Not much unlike a Faerie or a Fey.


    "However, the difference is that this is a deliberate choice and it stirs your Bloodlines away from their usual Faith and tethers them more to your own path. This is an especially powerful path if you have a Soul Nature that is compatible with the fusion of your Bloodlines."


    "And if I don''t?"


    "Well, it''s hard to conclude that just yet. Who knows what the fusion of a Dragon, Qilin and Phoenix is? It can pull in so many directions that you have quite some leeway to choose, and that''s the power of Bloodmancy.


    "You used a Spatial Soul Nature against us. It seems to have an extra hint of something else, but as a whole, it feels like something that''s equally as broad and wide-ranging.


    "Whether the two can come together into one will be dependent on you."


    "And will it ever be permanent?" Ryu asked.


    "Over time, the more you refine your control, the more natural it will become and the permanency it will have.


    "I personally follow the Path of Multiplicity, it makes my Blood Essence practically unlimited and I can share it with as many people as I please. But this isn''t just an auxiliary ability. In battle, endless Blood Essence allows me to overextend myself with ease. Without this ability, I would have never been able to solidify the connection between you and your wife.


    "This is an example of my Bloodmancy reaching a state of permanency, or at least close to it."


    Ryu nodded slowly, falling into his thoughts again.


    "Then, Ryu, this is all that I wanted to teach you. You can find the intricacies of Bloodmancy laid out for you in your Lines of Fate. If you''re interested, you can also check to see my and my husband''s inheritances as well."


    Radiant Star frowned, clearly having not consented to this. But it was too late for that.


    "We will bid you goodbye now. As for your gift... you will find out what it is soon."


    Ryu was absolutely floored. He had to admit, the woman was perfect. With her white hair done up in an elegant, empress-like bun, and her blue eyes shimmering like the stars, her face only made it more perfect...


    Especially those little dots of crystal scales below her eyes.


    Those must have been why she always wore the veil. It made her identity as a Crystal Dragon all too obvious.


    "Am I very beautiful?" Selheira asked in the same gentle tone.


    "You already know that you are," Ryu responded. He was never one to mince his words.


    "Yes, but a woman likes to hear her man say it."


    "Her man?" Ryu raised an eyebrow, a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes. It was the same glint he had had when he dressed Selheira down in public back then.


    Even though she remembered the memory quite clearly, Selheira didn''t back down. In fact, she did the opposite, leaning over Ryu who was still lying down and even pressing a hand to his chest.


    She usually dressed quite conservatively, but there was no dress in the world that didn''t have a neckline. Leaning so far forward, how could there not be two large mounds of fair skin to see?


    Seeing that Ryu wasn''t averting his gaze at all, Selheira felt herself flush. The way he was so unabashedly confident in staring at her didn''t make her angry at all. In fact, it turned her on. It was the reason she had always been so attracted to Ryu in the first place.


    He never suddenly saved her life. He didn''t do any life-altering favors for her. He rarely even talked to her.


    But his temperament... she absolutely loved it.


    Deep inside, she was a dragoness, and a dragoness needed a Dragon to put her in her place.


    Those Fire Dragons in her generation only knew how to blow their own horns. They were nothing but hot air.


    She breathed in, her eyes quivering under Ryu''s masculine scent. In that moment, her eyes even turned to slits and a moan-turned-growl echoed from her throat.


    Her lips pressed down onto Ryu''s.

 Chapter 1583 A Beast (1)

    Chapter 1583 A Beast (1)


    Ryu had to admit, he was a little stunned. Savoring Selheira''s soft lips, his mind spun like a whirlwind. He had been with a Faerie, he had been with a Human, a Deity, even a real Demon, but he had never been with a beast before. A full beast.


    It took Selheira''s approach for him to realize that this gentle woman was a dragon through and through. He hadn''t known this before, and had only really treated her as a human girl until his eyes awoke again.


    Her claws pierced his soft shirt and dug into his skin. She didn''t even seem to be doing it on purpose, it was just that the palm she had pressed down to his chest had gained something extra in her excitement.


    Selheira pulled back, a line of saliva connecting her lips to Ryu''s. She licked at it, a savage sort of aura coming from her. She truly looked like no different than a beast in heat.


    Her nipples poked out from her dress, a dense heat filling the room as though her blood was ready to explode inside of her.


    As she looked into the calm look in Ryu''s eyes, she only felt more excited. That regal air of his hadn''t disappeared even after her sudden assault. That was exactly what she wanted, it was exactly the man she wanted. She knew she wasn''t wrong.


    "Strip," Ryu suddenly said.


    Selheira shuddered for only a moment before she did as she was told. She stood and her dress slipped to the ground, revealing a powerful body beneath. Her skin was almost as white as snow, but it felt more like an illusion than anything else. It wasn''t the skin tone itself, but it rather felt like there was a thin coat of crystal all over her body. It went all the way up those long, almost imposing legs and didn''t even end at those towering, proud breasts.


    Her curves were soft, and her lips had almost felt like clouds, but with his eyes Ryu wouldn''t miss the hidden power beneath those lines.


    She reached to her back and unclipped the band across her chest. Her breasts fell in a healthy, enticing bounce, the rest of the band practically springing away the instant it got the slightest leeway.


    Her fingers pulled at the lining of her panties, slowly pulling them down. A line of moistness sparkled under the light of her skin, her body''s heat only rising and becoming more red.


    Her treasured region didn''t have the slightly hair to it at all. Instead, just above it, crystalline scales of light pinks, violets, and blues were embroidered.Th.e? most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m


    "Come here," Ryu commanded.


    "Oh god, yes..."


    She had waited for this for such a long time.


    "You''re quite interesting," Ryu said with a calm tone. "Do you really want me to treat you like my woman? Or do you want me to treat you like a sow?"


    "Whatever you want, husband..." she said, her eyes misty and completely out of focus.


    "Husband, huh? It seems like you''re still making decisions for yourself."


    "I''m sorry... Please punish me..."


    A sneer spread across Ryu''s lips and Selheira''s legs shook when she felt a cock slide between her legs.


    Ryu still had a palm clamped around her throat, she could only take in slow, shortened breaths, and the stimulation was getting to be overwhelming.


    The feeling of Ryu''s cock sliding up and down her wet slit almost made her pass out.


    But when he bypassed that moistness and slid right into a hole she never thought of using, the feeling of humiliation and domination completely overwhelmed her.


    Until now, these were all matters she could think of. As much as she seemed like she was letting Ryu take control, there was just a small part of her that kept her autonomy.


    The moment that vanished and she truly felt like a toy, she had an orgasm that shook the room.


    Ryu pushed her onto her back, his hand pressing down onto her throat and his cock driving into the deepest parts of her asshole.

 Chapter 1584 A Beast (2)

    Chapter 1584 A Beast (2)


    "Oh god... yes..."


    The words had meant to be "how could you treat me like this"? But they had been translated into a completely different language by the time they came out of her mouth.


    The feeling of humiliation and domination was so perfect she lost it. She had actually lost her anal virginity before her actual virginity. She could feel her Primordial Yin being stripped from her in the worst imaginable way. Was this how she would lose it?


    Yes. It was. And she loved every minute of it.


    Her legs spread wide, her pussy glistening but vacant, she let out cries only a beast woman could. She was drowning in pleasure she couldn''t even fathom.


    She reached down between her legs, wanting to fill her other hole up too, but it was almost immediately ripped up by Ryu''s free hand.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" He growled.


    "I''m sorry, husband. I''m sorry..."


    Ryu flipped Selheira over, pressing her head into the bed and driving into her even faster. Her screams echoed into the sheets.


    He suddenly drove into her deepest parts and her entire body seemed to go erect, she pulled up so far that Ryu''s cock popped out, a strong geyser of liquids coming from out of her.


    Her body trembled wildly and she fell back down, gasping for breath.


    "I''m sorry... I''m sorry..."


    She muttered these words again and again, completely incoherently.


    Ryu slapped her plump ass, causing her to shudder again.


    Realizing that it was a call to attention, she obediently got back into position, propping her ass up and using her slender fingers to pull herself apart.


    Fragrant liquids drizzled down. It was a beautiful scene. Who knew how many of her pursuers would run to the ends of Existence just to lay eyes on this.


    It was so humiliating it made her eyes water again. How could she spread her out like this? Didn''t she have any shame?


    Only by him.


    Ryu suddenly picked Selheira up and in a single brief step, the two stood before a mirror.


    He dropped Selheira and she stumbled forward, her legs much too weak to stand on their own any longer.


    "I want you to see the state of you."


    Selheira palms pressed against the mirror, leaning forward. Her heavy breathing fogged up the glass, but she could still see it. Her hair was a mess, sticking to her face in a mixture of sweat and tears. But all she could see was the absolute pleasure in her eyes and the man with broad shoulders and the cock of a War God looming over her back.


    And then that magnificent cock was driven right into her again, this time in the one place she wanted it most.


    Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her hands nearly slipping down the mirror. Friction barely kept her upright as she rode a raging sea that made her knees feel like they were made of air.


    Then she heard the growl. It was the first thing Ryu had said that wasn''t a snarky quip or a degrading statement.


    It was a growl full of dominance and marking its territory.


    She nearly died with pleasure as she felt it pumping into her.


    She fell to the ground and her wrists were pinned up, the rest of it pouring down her throat and all over her face as though Ryu was painting a beautiful portrait.


    With what strength she had left, she sucked at the tip. Even if she only had an ounce of energy left, it was her duty to please her man, her husband, her king.


    She pulled out every last drop and then kissed it passionately.


    "I''m sorry..." she mumbled incoherently. "I made you dirty... Let me clean you up, husband..."


    Her tongue circled around it, her kisses dotting up and down the shaft.


    The mighty Crystal Dragon had been slayed.


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: I''ll be damned...

 Chapter 1585 Human

    Chapter 1585 Human


    Ryu laid back, looking at the ceiling. Between his legs, curled up like a kitten, or maybe like a dragon, Selheira lay apparently sleeping. She used his thigh as a pillow and she seemed to have completely forgotten the word around her, a look of satisfaction on her face. This woman didn''t seem capable of even sleeping normally, it seemed. She just curled herself into a ball, and when he thought she''d try to sleep by his side, she took the weirdest position possible.


    He couldn''t lie, he found it a little amusing.


    At the end of the day, Selheira was, indeed, not a human. In fact, Ryu had never heard of a beast taking human form at all. It should be something that only the absolute highest levels of beasts were capable of, or it was possible that Selheira was using a special technique of some sort.


    From a human lens, she was very obviously a masochist, a woman who liked to be dominated and ruled. And on that spectrum, she was pretty far on the crazy side.


    Mae had a little bit of that in her, and their first time together had been mostly him suppressing her more Matriarchal tendencies, while Elena was a woman of many fascinations, she liked to try all sorts of things. There was Isemeine as well, but that was even less about Isemeine''s desires and just the result of the nature of their relationship.


    This was all to say that there weren''t any real masochists among Ryu''s harem, and certainly none on the level of Selheira. It was probably even more accurate to say that less than the fact they were masochists, it was more so that Ryu tended to like to be in a dominant position, resulting in this series of "coincidences".


    He still remembered his first time quite well. Elena had let them take the reins, and their time was sweet, soft and as tame as could be. However, while he loved Elena with all his heart, and he also cherished that memory...


    He hated that feeling.


    Elena could have snapped him like a twig millions of times over back then. Even when it came to penetrating her, he could feel how she had to concentrate on controlling her muscles so that she didn''t harm him.


    He hated everything about that night except for the woman in his arms. It was maybe the greatest moment of weakness he had had in his life.


    It could be said that this had birthed a tendency to really take the reins now that he had strength of his own. He wouldn''t say that he "took it out" on his women as he knew how to be gentle as well. There was nothing taboo about his first time with Ailsa, nor Yaana.


    However, when he felt any sort of pushback, he unleashed his own beast.


    The point wasn''t really about him, though. Everyone had their own nature, their own likes, and he actually felt that calling Selheira a masochist might be inappropriate only because calling her one would probably require calling all female beasts one.


    This was less about Selheira''s quirks as a woman, and more so her nature as a beast.


    They were a primal race and the imbalance between men and women was even fiercer than it would be among others.


    This was the price to pay for that great, Heaven Blessed talent. There was less room to maneuver along their own paths and follow their own wishes. They too often fell into a cookie cutter mold and pushed out the door with a bundle of power in their arms.


    Her Dao Heart was clearer and she was at peace, the frustration of the past few years completely forgotten.


    Which was funny, considering she was sleeping there with her hair a mess and with dried tear streaks on her cheeks.


    Even so, she was like the perfect little beauty even though there was nothing little about her. How such a tall woman with such large breasts and wide hips could also give a petite woman a run for her money in her realm of expertise was beyond Ryu.


    But he liked it.


    Selheira stirred, seemingly sensing Ryu''s gaze. But what she was really feeling was his heat, because after observing her body in silence for so long, he was already at full mast again. Her cheek was resting on his thighs, the point of her little nose just a few centimeters from that raging heat. She tilted her head, kissing at his balls obediently as though she was ready to take responsibility for what she had caused. But, she didn''t get far before Ryu had reached down and cupped her chin, pulling her up toward him until she straddled him, his cock resting between her cheeks.


    "Husband?" She asked softly, a hint of confusion and lust in her sparkling blue eyes. From time to time, that blue would flash with gorgeous pinks and violets, swirling before returning to normal.


    Ryu pulled her chin down and kissed her. It was a soft kiss, gentle and lacking any sort of roughness. It was long and sustained, stirring something else within Selheira. Tears began to run down her cheeks, but this time for a completely different reason entirely.


    They pulled apart.


    "You know what to do," Ryu said softly.


    Selheira nodded, somewhat weakly. She reached back and grabbed Ryu''s shaft, ready to slide it into her asshole again. She felt it wasn''t her place to choose the place she wanted, she deserved to be degraded and conquered.


    A flare of heat came up her chest again as she felt the tip slide inside her. But before she could swallow the whole thing, Ryu''s hands held up her waist.


    "No," Ryu shook his head, pulling her up and grabbing her waist. They swapped places and suddenly Selheira found herself pinned down.


    Ryu''s eyes gazed into hers with a clear softness and her tears flooded even faster. Her heart beat could practically be seen between those soft breasts of hers, her white skin flashing with red.


    She felt Ryu at her entrance. He slid in oh so slowly, allowing her to feel the grace of every inch.


    "I''m going to teach you how to make love like a human," he said softly, covering her lips.


    Selheira''s palms pressed against Ryu''s cheeks. As she closed her eyes, savoring the sweetness, her tears fell like the rain and her lips were covered by a familiar warmth.

 Chapter 1586 Clicked

    Chapter 1586 Clicked


    Ryu sat in meditation, Selheira curled up on their bed in a deep sleep. But it seemed the sweet smile on her face had yet to fade away. The current Ryu, though, was completely focused. Those things had been pushed to the back of his mind and the front was trained on his internal structures, namely his Bloodlines.


    It seemed a beast''s Primordial Yin was different than he expected, though this made sense considering the fact they didn''t have souls in the traditional sense. Everything was rooted into their Spiritual Roots and everything spread out from there.


    Due to this, Selheira''s Primordial Yin was neither extracted in the normal sense, nor did it act in the normal sense.


    Rather than finding its place in his Spiritual Sea like the others, it was actually swimming through his blood. And truthfully, this would have been a very troublesome matter in any other scenario.


    The trouble was that Ryu could feel Selheira''s Primordial Yin resonating with his Fire Dragon Bloodline, forming a feedback loop that was strengthening it again and again. It could be said that even compared to Dual Cultivating with Sky Gods back when he was still a mortal, Selheira''s Primordial Yin still managed to have the largest direct impact on him.


    If he hadn''t learned of Bloodmancy, his Fire Dragon Bloodline would have already gained enough backup to directly swallow all of his other Bloodlines, and it was hard to tell what would happen if that occurred.


    Maybe the most positive scenario would be that it would use his other Bloodlines as fodder and energy to directly improve itself, reaching the pinnacle of the Fire Dragons and beyond like it had been meant to from the very beginning.


    But that was if he looked at the situation with rose-colored glasses because even in that ideal scenario, he would probably have to spend years curled up into a ball, suffering unimaginable amounts of pain.


    Destroying the Bloodlines of a person wasn''t just about getting rid of the amount flowing in their veins, it required targeting their Blood Essence, their very souls, it required needling organs and drilling into the bone that produced it.


    That didn''t even mention the fact that Bloodlines were the foundation of a body''s strength, removing them meant removing that strength. As painful as Body Realm Cultivation was, reversing it was even more so.


    It was a horrifying process.


    ''Women are dangerous,'' Ryu thought to himself with a chuckle.


    Many looked at the balance of the existence of Primordial Yin, one imbalanced in the favor of men. In many ways, this was true, and it was also why Clans and Sects were fiercely protective of their female disciples.


    However, if you weren''t a strong man and thought that you could just go around charming exceptionally strong women, you find out the hard way that your life wasn''t so infallible.


    The universe simply didn''t allow useless men to gather up large numbers of exceptional women.


    Mae''s soul was only one such example. It seemed like a unique instance where the backlash would grow stronger the more Primordial Yins he took in, but then there was this situation right here. There were any number of similar but alternate situations out there that could make a man really pay for his greed.


    Of course, Mae''s soul wanting to be in sole possession of Ryu, and thus acting up due to the existence of his other wives, was precisely those Matriarchal tendencies Ryu was talking about coming into effect.


    For now, he was able to suppress them all quite easily. This helped after re-establishing connection with Ailsa because her own Primordial Yin had suddenly grown far more powerful, suppressing Mae''s thoroughly.


    However, there was also something about Bloodmancy that was slightly different from the methods he had learned in other disciplines.


    It felt... much more fluid, much more individual. He felt that this was why Fading Star started off with that entire lecture and didn''t teach him any Bloodmancy directly.


    If he couldn''t grasp that feeling on his own, it would have simply been a path that he had no Fate with.


    And that was why he followed his gut and even the guidance of his Dao.


    He could feel the mysteries and how his body was subtly pulling him in one direction or another.


    Then it clicked. Layers of enlightenments piled atop of one another and made things clearer and clearer.


    Bloodmancy relied on the advantage of humans, that balance between Heaven and Earth, between the guidance of some higher power and your own wishes. There was no more perfect outlet for these comprehensions.


    Selheira''s Primordial Yin seemed to be quickly understanding that despite their quirks every part of Ryu''s Bloodlines were, in fact, her husband.


    She warmed up to them, wrapping her rainbow energy around each and every one.


    Though Ryu casually referred to it as a rainbow color, this wasn''t exactly accurate.


    Selheira Primordial Yin, much like her crystals, were only made up of extremely light shades of blue, violet, and pink. They warmly wrapped around one another, creating a gorgeous array of colors that almost reminded him of [Ephemeral Tapestry].


    Like the guidance of a sweet housewife, Ryu''s Bloodline grew more and more docile beneath Selheira''s touch. She pulled at them, guiding them down the path to strength, but at the same time, she didn''t fight with them. She stood back and watched with a smile as her man grew stronger and stronger.


    Harmony.


    Ryu could feel it, that ever elusive balance between his Bloodlines. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t fuse them together and bring out their full strength at the same time. He always had to choose one or the other, which was why he had formed individual Bloodline Phenomena instead of a completely new creature.


    However, Selheira''s gentle guiding hand and his delicate control through Bloodmancy were quickly coming together and forming a magnificent monument.


    Ryu could feel his Focus Qi rapidly draining, but his mind didn''t waver, he didn''t even think about it as he pressed forward.


    He inched closer and closer...


    And then it suddenly Clicked.

 Chapter 1587 Strength

    Chapter 1587 Strength


    Ryu felt his body settle down.


    It was an odd feeling, and it was almost embarrassing because he immediately thought of exactly what it felt like. He had spent a millennia as a mortal, dealing with much of everything else a mortal dealt with. Although, thankfully, his quality of food was so excellent that he didn''t need to defecate, passing gas was just a natural part of the process anyway.


    He would have shook his head and laughed at himself. It really did feel like he had been holding in a fart for too long and finally got the chance to release it. A bloating he hadn''t even known was in his body was released and his skin rippled with a golden light that spread into the surroundings.


    His mind felt at peace. No, his mind had already been mostly at peace, but it was like his boy had entered such a realm as well. It took him a moment to understand what it was, but then that eventually became clear as well.


    The tranquility of his Incorporeal Souls had been transferred to his Corporeal Souls. It was like his body had entered a deep sleep and had come back feeling refreshed.


    It felt amazing.


    Ryu released his grip and his excessive use of Focus Qi finally came to a stop, but the feeling only dimmed somewhat, not vanishing entirely.


    Even without his hands on the reins the entire time, Selheira''s Primordial Yin swam around, giving his Bloodlines order and structure they had never had before. It was able to naturally find a method of pulling them together so that they could bring out their full potential rather than holding one another back.


    Ryu''s eyes opened and he shifted slightly. Suddenly, a burst of silvery runes appeared around him.


    He frowned, not quite understanding. His eyes narrowed.


    He chose to shelve the idea for now. It wasn''t that he felt it was a waste of time... well, not entirely. It was just that one''s focus in the Sky God Realms should definitely be their Dao and using it to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of your body.


    Essentially, Ryu should be creating his own techniques; that''s what the strongest did.


    Plus, the last time he had learned a large slate of techniques, he stopped using them not even a month later because he had already outgrown them. Learning techniques of a certain grade when your cultivation speed put most to shame was little more than wasting your time.


    He had seen this first hand during his battle with Starlight. The latter was exceptionally young and he had yet to learn the Core Techniques of the Fading Star Sect. Aside from his Constellations, he had nothing else.


    That hadn''t been stupid of Starlight, it had been the smartest thing to do. Starlight''s cultivation speed was obviously exceptional as well. He had been a Realm below Ryu, and now they were in the Fragmented Realm together. By contrast, Ryu had spent all that time learning techniques for his Great Swordstaff, only to have to abandon it in the middle of their battle because it was revealing too many weaknesses to exploit.


    This was why focusing on which methods you used was far more important, and also why Ryu''s main concentration was on combining his paths rather than finding new ones to follow.


    Toward that end, he felt that he was much freer to do that. At the very least, his Bloodlines wouldn''t restrict him.


    In the past, he could only display the Lord Grade level if he kept them separate. But now, he could fuse them and maintain the same level without any drop-off, and the result was astonishing.


    Strength that had been buried impossibly deep within him spilled out from a slight clench of his fist.


    In that instant, he had gone from the Seventh Heaven equivalent of a False Sky God''s body, to without a doubt the equivalent of an Eighth Heaven False Sky God''s body.

 Chapter 1588 [Bonus] Lackluster

    Chapter 1588 [Bonus] Lackluster


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Chronotitan <3 1/6]


    The change was qualitative and his Vital Qi was overflowing. With this kind of strength now, he could easily use his body alone to one-shot Seventh Heaven False Sky Gods. Trampling them beneath his feet wouldn''t be an issue at all.


    If he could progress his Bloodlines to the Sovereign Grade, he believed that he would finally catch up to the topmost standards of the Ninth Heaven.


    But this still felt... lackluster.


    Ryu looked down at his hands, the wave of pressure still coming off of him.


    Honestly, maybe he was the only one who would ever have such a thought. Fading Star would have never guessed that her disciple would have already made such progress when she had only just left. It could be said that Ryu had already stepped into a level of comprehension of Bloodmancy that made little sense considering his lack of familiarity with the discipline.


    But he wasn''t satisfied. It felt like there was something missing, and he could somewhat tell what it was.


    Selheira''s Primordial Yin was guiding his Bloodlines and allowing them to fuse, but it was a roundabout method.


    It couldn''t be said that he was truly all of a Dragon, Qilin, and Phoenix. Instead, he was bits and pieces of each one, creating something new.


    This seemed to be the point. Wasn''t this what he was chasing after in the first place?


    But honestly, the answer was no. He wanted it all. One Dragon genius alone was already standing at the top of the Ninth Heaven, so why were the combinations of his Bloodlines worth so little? It was unacceptable to him.


    It wasn''t Selheira''s fault, obviously.


    The Crystal Dragon was appeasing his Bloodlines. For the sake of the whole, she coaxed them into turning down some aspects so they would clash less. Ryu could even see some of that.


    Much like everything else, he felt it would take time.


    ''Time, time, and more time...''


    That said... what if his Rebirth wasn''t the only thing to help his eyes survive?


    Ryu frowned.


    His Rebirth itself was a mutation. Phoenixes of exceptionally pure Bloodlines would have a chance at nine Rebirths, while he would only have one. However, his one Rebirth was long, continuous, and it opened up the path for him to finally step into the True Martial Realm. He owed it a lot.


    But he never thought about if there was something else that helped his eyes out...


    He couldn''t sense anything either.


    That led back to the first point. The fact his personal pocket of time distortion disappeared wasn''t surprising; the fact that there had been one in the first place was.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool; if it would have obviously happened, he would have never made such a mistake.


    He suddenly got the feeling that he was being toyed with again.


    The Zu Ancestor was supposedly a man who could move backward and forwards through time, something that should be completely impossible. But if he didn''t really believe it in the past, how could he not now? That wasn''t because he had found some shocking detail, but rather because he didn''t believe that Eska would lie to him. Their relationship had long since progressed beyond that point.


    This meant that the things the Zu Ancestors had told him should be true, and that man should exist just like that... at least in their memories.


    If he took a step back and asked himself another question, he shuddered...


    A man who could move fluidly through time, how much power would he have? What wouldn''t he be able to control?


    But why was the Phoenix Sky God considered the most powerful Dao God, then?


    Ryu''s eyes flashed with a dangerous light.


    Could they be the same person?

 Chapter 1589 [Bonus] A Corner of Faith

    Chapter 1589 [Bonus] A Corner of Faith


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Chronotitan <3 2/6]


    Control over Spacetime and Reincarnation, Life and Death. They felt like two halves of the same coin, and a person who could control them all would truly be invincible.


    No. If he took a step back, control over Reincarnation, Life and Death would seem to naturally lead into Spacetime. It was too difficult to separate them, especially if you started broadening their definitions, and even more so if you were Ryu.


    Ryu didn''t usually think in words. He knew and understood too many languages. Plus, thinking in words alone took up too much time. Instead, he thought in concepts, feelings, images...


    In fact, Ryu was fairly certain that this was why his Comprehension was so exceptional.


    When he thought of Spacetime, he didn''t just think of space or time.


    Space was a whole bunch of things. In one sense, it was a fabric upon which reality was woven, in another, it could be thought of as distance, in yet another, it could represent emptiness or the lack of something; there was even an emotional and more human component to it as well.


    Time felt much more straightforward to the layman. It only moved forward, it was constant, etc...


    But was it?


    Time seemed to be regal and unimpeachable, but in Ryu''s mind, its most important characteristic wasn''t that it was constant, but instead that it was the exact opposite.


    He most associated the word "time" with the word "relativity," whether that be in a physical science sense or even, once again, in an emotional sense. Why did time seem to fly by when you were doing something you enjoyed, versus not? Why was the same allotted time worthwhile in some sense, and yet wasted in others?


    His Fire Dragon Bloodline stirred and it roared. The echo should have shredded his body to pieces, but he just sat there, his gaze impossibly cold.


    He could feel his Dao Heart shaking. Ever since he had forged his Dao, this was the very first time he had ever doubted it. Standing before the person that was said to be the strongest in all of Existence, a person who had already reached the mountain top he was looking for and scorned it, trying to find another, he felt a feeling of inferiority trying to wash over him.


    And for the first time, he felt that he caught the faintest strand of the Phoenix Sky God''s Fate, their true Fate. Not one obscured by fairy tales or one buried beneath thousands of lives, but the real one.


    And then he felt a gaze.


    It felt like a looming pair of eyes that stood above Existence, one that could see to every corner there was with the slightest bit of intention on their pair.


    It didn''t even seem to be focused on Ryu at all, rather it had just caught him like a fly passing by in its periphery and it took casual note of it.


    And yet, Ryu''s body was suddenly covered in a cold sweat from head to toe, his Dao Heart quaking so violently that it began to crack along its edges.


    The Spiritual Foundation that the Martial Gods had gone through so much trouble to seal, maybe just so that another Phoenix Sky God didn''t appear, shook and trembled as though it might collapse beneath a mere periphery glance.


    And then it vanished.


    Ryu''s entire body went limp. It was something not even under his control, his body had tensed so much that his muscles had shredded apart after going beyond their limits. There was simply no strength left to stay in a seated position, let alone move.


    Ryu was forced to lay there, staring up at the ceiling as though it had wronged him.


    For a long while, he didn''t say or think anything, just letting his Vital Qi, or what barely managed to remain of it, slowly heal him.


    Then a wild grin spread across his face.

 Chapter 1590 [Bonus] Laugh

    Chapter 1590 [Bonus] Laugh


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Chronotitan <3 3/6]


    It wasn''t until a long while later that Ryu managed to get up. It had been a long while since he was so injured, which was saying something considering he had just been through a Throne Challenge.


    He had never been so thoroughly unable to do a thing. He was sure that there were much lower-level Sky Gods capable of doing much the same to him, but this still felt different.


    No one had ever been able to make him feel a thing purely based on their cultivation level. That gaze... it held a completely different sort of weight. He could imagine what might have happened had the Phoenix Sky God actually looked at him.


    Just from that nonchalance, Ryu was also fairly certain that he wasn''t part of some grand master plan the Phoenix Sky God had.


    Someone searching for a way to break free of the pinnacle of all that was would never invest so heavily in an unborn child. And if they had seen something in Ryu''s future that made them take such actions, there was no way they would be so nonchalant about Ryu getting a grasp of a faint trail of their Faith.


    There was no doubt. Ryu was probably just one of many. Maybe he would pay off one day, maybe he wouldn''t. Regardless, it would be no skin off the Phoenix Sky God''s back.


    And that made Ryu laugh.


    He suddenly really wanted to kill.


    Ryu eventually sat up, pulling himself up until he stood on his feet. He didn''t even bother to glance at the rest of Fading Star''s inheritance; he felt that he had gotten enough out of the woman and didn''t need to tie their Karma any closer than it already was. Plus, he was focused on his own path.


    Ryu casually put on a pair of white robes and seemed prepared to step out when Selheira stirred.


    "Go back to bed," he said, realizing that this woman had yet to recover.


    Ryu had no idea how long the battle had been going on for, but just to make it to the wall and not be stopped by any number of elders, he had to cross over a hundred kilometers in a single instant.


    The hints of rage within him were forming sparks, flying around like dying embers until they caught hold of dried leaves and sparked furious flame.


    He was wrong. This wasn''t an all-out war at all. This was, at best, a fraction of the Fading Star Sect''s true strength. As for why they hadn''t brought everyone, he had no idea. But down below, there were three Omniscient Sky Gods, almost a dozen Transcendent Sky Gods, and there were at least a hundred Perfect Sky Gods. Even then, Ryu was certain that this was a mere portion, maybe 20%, of the Fading Star Sect''s strength.


    But where were Aika, Old Wan, and Samson? The Fading Star Sect would definitely never dare to send such a powerful contingent if they could be wiped out with a finger. It would deal too great a blow.


    Ryu''s rage sparked to another level when he noticed Eska amidst the warriors below. While she wasn''t injured, the pressure she was under was tremendous. Her Immortal Sakura stood like a valiant pillar, protecting far more than her fair share. Without her, the entire right side of the battlefield would have already collapsed.


    He just stood there. He could feel several gazes land on him at once, and he could even faintly hear several generals of the Radiant Star Sect roaring at him to retreat.


    It made sense. He was weak. Why would Aika call him out to him when the flames of war had been sparked? What was he doing to change? Even a Perfect Sky God''s impact would be limited, and they were probably the main fighting force in a war of this level.


    It was the same with Selheira. It was better to let the two hopes of the Sect rest easy while the elders tried to handle everything for them. It was Aika''s responsibility to give them to grow, at least that was the way she saw it.


    Ryu could feel the sincerity... it was just he didn''t want it.


    He felt like he was transported back to the day he was forced to drive a dagger through his own heart, to rest his future on the whims of someone far more powerful than him giving him a chance.


    The more he thought about it, the fiercer his aura flared.


    His breakthrough into the False Sky God Realm wasn''t complete. This was an ascension of a God Realm, how could it be as simple as a Sub Realm?


    Violent swirling forces of qi gathered around him, whipping across with force that put hurricanes to shame.


    BOOM.


    A Throne appeared in the skies.

 Chapter 1591 [Bonus] Throne Ryu Tatsuya

    Chapter 1591 [Bonus] Throne Ryu Tatsuya


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Chronotitan <3 4/6]


    It was simple and unadorned, its main body made of an almost unpolished greyish black steel. The only thing that was slightly special about it were the twin stars at its center, but that was all it needed to unleash the truest might of its majesty.


    In the True Martial World, Thrones weren''t a true protected class. There were even many examples in history of them being hunted down and killed by the very Sects and Clans they had claimed a Throne from in the first place. It could be said that becoming a Throne was a very lonely road, one you would inevitably have to walk to the end of on your own.


    However, if this was the case, what was the point of becoming a Throne, then?


    In Sacrum, when a Throne was formed, a Sect or Clan was forced to open up the doors of their treasury, showering their Throne with both techniques and resources. But if in the True Martial World, a Throne could be casually killed, then what would be the point of any genius risking themselves like this?


    Like with all things, there was always balance. And if Ryu had to choose, he liked the way things worked in the True Martial World much more. That was because rather than relying on what the Sect would give to him...


    He could take what he wanted instead.


    At that moment, the Fading Star Sect members below suddenly felt as though their strength was being ripped from them. It wasn''t in a literal sense, but rather that their techniques lost their sharpness, their Daos seemed to lose their connection with the Heavens, falling in grade, and their Star Qi fell flaccid.


    Omniscient Sky God Stardust, a woman with delicate brown skin and eyes like glowing ash, reacted with astonishment.


    How could Ryu possibly be able to suppress them so much already?!


    What the Fading Star Sect hadn''t calculated was the result of their meddling in addition to Ryu''s own odd way of doing things.


    The gathering of Faith shouldn''t start until after a Throne was claimed, so technically speaking, even if Ryu awed the Seventh Heaven, it shouldn''t count.


    Unfortunately, the rules were twisted by the Fading Star Sect as they made efforts to ensure that Ryu would die, resulting in things starting much earlier.


    Then there was the fact that Ryu had never really considered himself a disciple of the Radiant Star Sect. He moved about the world with a highly independent mind state and much of the Faith he gathered was still concentrated on him.


    The result was as such... but there was a third variable that Ryu would only find out about later and that the Fading Star Sect couldn''t have possibly prepared for.


    In the last few days, a commotion had broken out on the Ninth Heaven as an unfamiliar Dao God, unaffiliated with any powers, descended on the realm of the Martial Gods.


    Her might was near unparalleled and she strolled into their grounds without a care for the face of the Clan. Then she announced something quite simple...


    She had taken in a disciple. Not only had she taken in a disciple, but she personally disallowed all those above the Omniscient Sky God Realm from taking action against him.


    After saying her piece, she turned and left without a word. It was clear only after she left that she didn''t target the Martial Gods for any particular reason, but only that she had heard that they were the strongest of the Ninth Heaven. So long as she made herself clear here, then everyone would find out soon enough...


    That her disciple''s name was Ryu Tatsuya.

 Chapter 1592 [Bonus] Roar

    Chapter 1592 [Bonus] Roar


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Chronotitan <3 5/6]


    Eska was surrounded by three Transcendent Sky Gods. The pressure on her was tremendous, but her defenses were immaculate.


    In the surroundings, beautiful pink-gold cherry blossoms fell from the skies as her white hair fluttered in the wind. Every one of her movements was elegant to an extreme, her fair palms drawing arcs in the air that gathered large amounts of Spiritual Quintessence in a single breath.


    Fluttering butterflies, squeaking hummingbirds, cute little foxes barely a meter tall with swaying tails... creatures of all shapes and forms appeared around her, countering the methods of the Sky Gods around her.


    One suddenly broke free of her restraints, striking out at her chest with a fist swirling with Star Qi.


    Eska''s expression didn''t change. This wasn''t the first time such a thing had happened, people who thought that they could take advantage of her in close combat because she seemed to focus on the Mental Realm.


    The reality was that even if that was her focus, getting close wouldn''t help... not to mention the fact that it wasn''t.


    A pulse of white gold qi rippled around her and her face seemed to flash with hints of Isemeine''s features.


    Then she struck out with a palm.


    BANG! Visitt  for the latest updates


    The fist didn''t even connect with her palm. A rippling cyclone of cherry blossoms wrapped around her arm and palm, forming a barrier.


    The attacker only paused for a single moment before being sent flying backward with such force that even without touching the ground, it was ripped apart into a deep trench.


    And then Ryu''s suppression descended.


    Eska felt something almost magical wrap around her, and it even somewhat felt like Ryu''s arms. It was a gentle and guiding sort of feeling, and it filled her with strength.


    This was to say that if they retreated far enough, Ryu''s ability would disappear. Because they were so far away, they were already the least impacted in the first place.


    In addition, because Ryu was so weak, he couldn''t possibly follow after them. It was fine if he was on the city walls and under the formation''s protection, but if he stepped out here to help, he would lose his life without even knowing who took it.


    The three elders obviously knew this, but they had to keep up appearances.


    The entire battlefield entered a retreat.


    High up on the city walls, Ryu had obviously seen through this as well. The fury within him was towering and a wild itch was in his heart.


    BANG.


    The section of the city wall he had just been on trembled wildly as he accelerated off of it.


    He fell from the city walls before anyone could stop him.


    He grabbed at the air and pulled out a pill from nowhere. He could hear Hope''s voice berating him but he didn''t seem to be able to hear her at all.


    He swallowed it and suddenly a large, pulsing cloud of Spiritual Quintessence bloomed into the surroundings with a roar.


    His soul''s strength skyrocketed, breaking against its bounds again, and again, and again.


    His Bloodlines flourished and a towering Birthed Phenomena appeared in the skies. It opened its eyes and a gorgeous silver star appeared on its back.


    The pressure of a Peak Founding Dao descended with might and majesty that the bounds of space and time twisted around Ryu.


    BANG.


    Ryu punched out just a single time and a series of holes was blown through three False Sky Gods.


    He took another step, his fist retracting and his eyes glowing.


    The world seemed to roar for him.

 Chapter 1593 [Bonus] Synergy

    Chapter 1593 [Bonus] Synergy


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Chronotitan <3 6/6]


    Ryu was like an untraceable shadow. He seemed capable of reading and calculating the state of the entire battlefield, vanishing before anyone with any real power could lock onto him. In fact, no matter how hard they tried, it seemed impossible to lock onto him properly.


    It made no sense. Everywhere he appeared, he would be accompanied by a towering Birthed Phenomena and a gorgeous Silver Star. He was the easiest to spot on the entire battlefield.


    And yet, it also felt like there was a swirl of Fate, Faith, and Karma constantly protecting him.


    His eyes and his Dao pushed and pulled against one another, and Ryu was able to use the latter to mask the presence of the former. And on top of that, the more he overlapped their abilities, the more powerfully they resonated and the stronger they became.


    BANG.


    His fists became lethal weapons of destruction. Everywhere he stepped, he reaped the lives of False Sky Gods as though they were nothing more than broken weeds.


    A single fist reaped the lives of many. Two took out entire troops. Three colored their hearts with despair.


    The morale of the Fading Star Sect members was being ripped out of the skies like a god plucking down stars from the sky.


    Ryu''s Dao Vessel flared and caught onto this despair, sinking its claws in and ripping into them, making their bodies even weaker and prime for the picking.


    At the same time, it resonated with his Throne, pulling at the Lines of Karma it could see so clearly. While Dao of Chaos sunk its claws into their psyches, his Dao of Order shredded apart their techniques, breaking them down into the simplest forms until they could be casually seen through by a single glance on his part.


    His eyes shone, and he could seem to see through everything. Even though he still didn''t dare to activate any ability of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils right now aside from the undetectable [Third Perspective], that didn''t change their sharpness in the slightest.


    Even though he could battle against the Perfect Sky Gods of the Fading Star Sect, he could step through their attacks like a fish in water, unmoved as [Absolute Domain] guided his steps.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s scales flashed and instead became a radiant blue. He rose into the skies, opening his arms wide as though he was inviting them all to attack.


    BOOM.


    Arcs of blue lightning roared, forming serpents and dragons in the skies as the once-blue skies, only somewhat tainted by the dense smell of blood, became ravaged by dark, rolling clouds.


    The eyes of those below widened.


    Storm Talent!


    They couldn''t comprehend how so many legendary abilities were stuffed into the body of just a single young man, but it was too late for them to even consider it.


    Lightning began to fall from the skies like pillars of destruction.


    Heavenly Judgment.


    Ryu''s Dao wrapped around it. His comprehension of the bolts of blue with a thickness that could eradicate entire mountains.


    When one passed judgment, it was their duty to understand. What were the charges, what were they guilty of? Only then could a judgment be passed fairly... justly.


    And there was no one in this world that understood more than Ryu did.


    As for what their crime was, that was obvious enough.


    Pissing him off.


    BOOM.


    The entire battlefield was lit by arcs of lightning, the devastation raging everything in sight.

 Chapter 1594 Not Like That

    Chapter 1594 Not Like That


    Lightning rained from the skies like the judgment of the Gods.


    Even so high up, Ryu was like his own lightning rod, but rather for the attacks of his enemies below rather than the forces of nature themselves.


    Large swaths of God Qi rushed into him from all sides, still fueling his breakthrough as though he couldn''t be satiated.


    Attacks stormed toward him from all sides, but they quickly found that even though Ryu looked like a single target, he was practically one with the skies.


    His body seemed to move even faster than when he was teleporting. He was lightning and lightning was him, he could easily appear anywhere in the range of his Storm Talent...


    And then he began his assault again.


    His body vanished into a bolt of lightning that struck down with a mighty air of judgment. The ground exploded and his target was minced to pieces as his real body appeared.


    The carnage was even faster than last time, Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena looming in the skies like an overlord.


    It rode upon a Lightning Qilin, its majesty unmatched as the world seemed to be in his palms.


    The slaughter was endless and the Fading Star army was crushed. Their attempts to fight back all fell flat and they were chased out, most of their Sky Gods beneath the Perfect Sky God Realm unceremoniously slaughtered.


    They ran for their lives, tucking their tails tightly between their legs.


    Ryu stopped chasing after them, his gaze a frightening cold. After a moment, he waved a hand and hundreds of Godhoods rose into the skies, rushing toward him.


    There was most definitely a taboo around gathering them like this, it was just that Ryu couldn''t be bothered to give a damn. Were the police of morality going to upgrade his Realm Heart for him?


    The battlefield fell into silence for a moment before the cheers erupted. It was deafening and it seemed to roar across the Seventh Heaven.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    "What are you thinking?" He asked.


    Eska looked at him, seemingly surprised by the question. Ryu didn''t seem like the type to rely on the analysis of others. If he asked her for information, she wouldn''t be surprised at all. But he clearly wasn''t just asking for information, he wanted to know her perspective.


    "... The Convergence..." she said slowly.


    The two had only talked about it for a short time. Ryu had wanted her to try and take some advantage of it as well if she had the opportunity. That was part of the reason why Eska was traveling around with Selheira and Jojo, aside from just protecting them, of course.


    "... There''s been a striking lack of opportunities on the Seventh Heaven, at least not anything that could be considered out of the norm, and that''s not characteristic of this Convergence you described.


    "There should be an avalanche of lucky chances that could be found anywhere, especially with youths with as much Faith swirling around them as Selheira and Jojo.


    "But the journey we took could be considered to be almost eerily normal. We did find some things, but nothing that would be enough to turn heads.


    "Then there was the odd actions of Lord Crown Fire, he seemed to almost too easily give in as though he was deferring to the Fading Star Sect. And yet, when the Fading Star Sect launched this attack, there was no sign of the other Sects.


    "In addition to that, it could be said that the youths that stepped out from the Complete Heaven Path were also startlingly average. Part of that is because Lord Husband outshines them by a large degree, but there''s another part of it as well.


    "Selheira didn''t seem to have gained much at all. Her path is a bit unique, so it somewhat makes sense. But Jojo hadn''t either. The one who benefited the most would be Lord Husband and Starlight, but the latter has practically gone into hiding.


    "There''s..."


    A hint of worry sparked in Eska''s eyes.


    "I have experienced a lot, and I''ve come to feel that the Heavens are an incredibly fair Judge. The Convergence is meant to be a chance for all, but too many of its chances have concentrated on Lord Husband, it''s throwing the balance off.


    "The Heavens will not like that."

 Chapter 1595 Too Much

    Chapter 1595 Too Much


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He couldn''t help but feel that Eska was on to something. He had never really thought about it before, but there seemed to be a semblance of propriety from the higher-ups.


    The Fourth and Fifth Heavens only descended to the Third Heaven, but not to the First and Second. The Sixth Heaven didn''t even participate in the Incomplete Heavenly Path, only descending to the Fourth and Fifth Heavens after it had completed. Then, the Seventh Heaven only descended to the Complete Heavenly Path, while the Eighth and Ninth Heavens did no such thing.


    In fact... wasn''t the only exception to that Starlight?


    Originally, Ryu thought that this was because they couldn''t be bothered to participate in the gatherings of small fry. But was that really the case?


    This was the Convergence. It was essentially the Heavens supplementing the growth of countless geniuses, or what should have been. How many things had Ryu already found that could rival the resources of the Ninth Heaven?


    He found not just one, but two Taboo Sect Inheritances. On top of that, he had gained a shocking Childe of Order Constitution, on top of the Heaven''s perfect cultivation plan, tailored just for him.


    That was just the tip of the iceberg too. How many world-ending treasures were floating in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    No, if he took yet another step back, wasn''t it the culmination of Heavenly Favor from the Incomplete Heavenly Path that allowed his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to be released in the first place?


    If he was analyzing a gathering of Faith, he couldn''t just think about external items he had received, he also had to acknowledge the changes within himself as well.


    His Spiritual Foundation... His Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure... The changes to his Bloodline... The unsealing of his eyes...


    That wasn''t all either, he had even gone to the True Nether Plane and basically stolen a large amount of their Faith as well. His Birthed Phenomena was probably a deity down on the First and Second Nether Planes. He even elevated his wife from a mere Fifth Heaven genius to a Direct Disciple of a Dao Goddess.


    Then there was his Internal Matrix. He basically shattered the rules of the Heavens, and his current False Grade Dao was already the equivalent of a True Grade Dao, and that was accomplished within the Complete Heavenly Path.


    However, Ryu finally noticed that those solar flares weren''t as one sided as they seemed. In fact, they seemed to lash out at the world for energy, absorbing something and incorporating it into itself.


    This should have been a good thing, no? His Fate Star was strengthening itself. With all the Faith that he was gathering up, this was inevitable. Right...?


    And yet, Ryu''s reaction was incredibly fierce.


    You couldn''t just casually add or subtract from your Fate Star. It was the foundation of the luck you''d have in your life, and it illuminated your path forward. You couldn''t just take Heavenly Favor from one origin and push it into another.


    If Heavenly Favor was just Heavenly Favor, why was it that Ryu had to concoct a very precise kind of pill when practicing the [Refinement Sutra]? The pill had to be aligned with his talents or else it would never work properly.


    Taking in Heavenly Favor you shouldn''t was a lot like stuffing your face with random medicine after you got the sniffles.


    The best way to break free of the limits of a Fate Star''s limitations was by meeting those limitations in life and shaking free of them. This could be by cheating death or by meeting a bottleneck and finding a lucky opportunity to shake free of it.


    This wasn''t what was happening right now, though. There was so much Faith gathering around Ryu that it started leaking to his Fate Star, and now a whole host of Heavenly Favor that wasn''t in line with his goals or path were seeping into him.


    This would have never happened with his original Fate Star. Like with most things, Faith in this situation was flowing from areas of high concentration to low. It saw his Fate Star as an easy outlet.


    ''Shit,'' Ryu''s pupils trembled.


    He suddenly remembered the Throne Challenge. Were all those flubbed rules really just the action of the Fading Star Sect?


    "Where did Aika and the others go?" Ryu asked, a bad feeling swelling up in his chest.

 Chapter 1596 Ethereal Qi (1)

    Chapter 1596 Ethereal Qi (1)


    There were only really two ways that this sort of situation would go, and Ryu''s instincts toward the bonds of Karma were practically screaming.


    The first way was his death. The Heavens would throw everything at him to release the Faith he had gathered and allow it to spread across multiple people. This wouldn''t be a conscious effort, but rather just a natural phenomena no different from heat rising or condensation in the morning.


    The Convergence was designed to build up a large number of experts, at the price of a Dark Age of sorts, usually to deal with a coming threat, though it was often just a natural phenomena of coincidence.


    The fact that so much build up for an entire world was concentrating on Ryu alone was unacceptable to the Heavens and it would try to rectify that. The Heavens didn''t know good or evil, it only knew how to maximize the survivability of its children and focused on increasing the strength of its best as well.


    However, there was a second method as well.


    Depending on how desperate the Heavens were, or how pressing the matter of this Convergence was, it could choose to take a different route, and that was to create an opportunity that surpassed every other opportunity before it.


    Ryu''s mind immediately went to the Title Stele, but he dismissed that idea almost immediately. It was a hundred years from now, or rather, 98 by now, it was too long. A century was a mere blink of the eye for the Heavens, but in the midst of a Convergence where Fate was swirling together into large tides, there was no time to lose. The fact it had waited this long was only a testament to how large what it was cooking up was.


    So, the moment Ryu realized what might be happening, he instantly asked about Aika and the others.


    "It''s hard to tell, it felt like it was happening everywhere at once. For some reason, there was this huge shift and the Ethereal Plane and Real Plane clashed heavily.


    "According to Old Wan, the Ethereal Plane is very sensitive to the elements and elemental shifts. There''s a Guild here that gathers information, they''re extraordinary and their methods are shocking. They brought news from the Eighth Heaven that someone''s been stealing a ton of high level Natural Treasures and destroying cultivation grounds that have been used for generations."


    "So what exactly is happening?" Ryu had a vague understanding, but he wanted to be certain. He needed everything laid out so he could make the proper decisions.


    "Like I said, the Ethereal Plane is particularly sensitive to the Elements. It''s unlike the Nether Plane which is sort of a mirror world where Reincarnation and the like lies, instead it''s layered right on top of our world and we are very connected in many ways.


    "Any treasure of sufficient level that appears here also spreads out anchors in the Ethereal Plane. The loss of one is fine, but the loss of so many caused a destabilizing effect that has opened up far more gates to the Ethereal Plane.


    "Like this, Real Qi is spilling into the Ethereal Plane, and Ethereal Qi is spilling into our Plane. The effects are particularly strong on the Eighth Heaven and gateways to the Eighth Heaven located right here in the Seventh."


    "Gateways?" Ryu asked. This was a clear foreign concept to him.


    "There are bridges to the Eighth Heaven from here that exist, but they are mostly dormant from a forgotten age, no one dares to use them because unless you have the strength, you''ll be slaughtered, and if you have the strength, you won''t need them.


    "The effects are definitely strongest on the Eighth Heaven because that''s where he... or Lord Husband took most of the treasures from.


    "As for the effects of the Ethereal Qi, it''s a bit more difficult to explain but it''s almost as though it''s filling in gaps cultivators didn''t even know they had. In its presence, people who have been stuck at bottlenecks for years without hope of advancing suddenly did.


    "It''s almost as though the Ethereal Qi is another half to Real Qi and after experiencing one for so long, experiencing the other is like a wave of relief.


    "As for where Aika and others have gone, they all started a huge battle near one of the largest sights. It seems that Sovereign Black Worm is inching toward becoming a Dao God."

 Chapter 1597 Ethereal Qi (2)

    Chapter 1597 Ethereal Qi (2)


    Ryu would have laughed if the joke wasn''t so very unfunny.


    That was right, why was he trying to draw a line between what actions he triggered and the Heavens doing? The Heavens wouldn''t actually physically do anything, it would just feel like a series of unlucky events that would stack together against him.


    Something like all those treasures he gathered up being the impetus his current greatest enemy needed to rise to a step he would have otherwise had absolutely no chance at was exactly what the sort of bad luck his previous good luck had triggered.


    Sovereign Black Worm was a much older Sovereign than Aika, although much less talented and less powerful, his foundation was solid and he had experienced a lot. If this so-called Ethereal Qi could really fill in the gaps like Eska said, this was a world changing matter. It was no wonder even the usually lazy Samson had made a move.


    There was no doubt that those three had to go all out to stop Black Worm, if they failed everything the Radiant Star Sect was would be finished for good. There was simply no battling against a Dao God. Even if Black Worm failed and only became a Half-Step Dao God like Primus had been, his strength would soar to unimaginable levels.


    This was a huge problem. There was no way that Aika and the others had disseminated this information, it would practically break the clearly fragile Sect. Instead, this should all be the product of Eska''s deductions, and he didn''t question them for even a moment.


    Ryu fell into silence, his mind churning.


    Fighting against Fate was something he never feared doing. Swimming against the tide and rising above the expectations of others was something he would never get tired of.


    However, this felt different. It was as though he had been playing a game of Domain and was suddenly ripped out of his chair, forced to watch as someone else played his savegame for him.


    It was agonizing.


    "Ethereal Qi," Ryu suddenly asked. "What the hell is that?"


    Ryu''s Life Partner was a Faerie, he was far more understanding of the Ethereal Plane than most, he had even been to it before. Well... he had been to Sacrum''s, not this True Ethereal Plane''s. But he had never heard of this concept before and Ailsa had never mentioned it.


    "I''m not sure either," Eska shook her head. "On the surface, it''s impossible to tell the difference. It''s only after you take that qi into your body that you''ll feel a subtle hint of something different. Ethereal Qi is just a name I casually gave it."


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and his pupils constricted. This wasn''t because of shock, but rather because he was concentrating his vision.


    Black Worm becoming a Dao God would mean the end of the Radiant Star Sect, and though he thought of his new master, something told him that those two simply didn''t care. They probably had no intention of interfering. In fact, wasn''t the Fading Star Sect technically a branch from his master''s faction?


    Ryu really thought long and hard. He wasn''t used to doing this. Ever since he gained the ability to cultivate, he had preferred letting his blades and fists do the talking, but now he needed something else.


    ''The gateways,'' he thought. ''Eska said that the phenomena is concentrated on the Eighth Heaven. The Eighth Heaven is already fiercely protective of their territory. Right now, it''s even more so, there''s no way that they''ll allow Black Worm to return to the Eighth now. If they sense him, they''ll directly kill him rather than letting a Dao God rise.


    ''That means that Black Worm''s only chance is through those gateways, but if they''re suddenly closed... wouldn''t this Ethereal Qi vanish?''


    A plan was quickly forming in Ryu''s mind, but nothing would be solid until he could actually lay eyes on those gateways.


    "Alright, I''m going," Ryu said, taking a step ready to vanish.


    "Ryu!" Eska said somewhat sternly, not letting go of his hand.


    Ryu looked back with some surprise. This woman rarely showed so much emotion, she had never refuted him either.


    "It''s much too dangerous, trust Aika." She said sternly.


    Ryu blinked before he smiled. Before Eska could react, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and slipped his hand out of hers while she was in a daze.


    "You''re learning well," Ryu said with a grin. "My wives can indeed be as willful as they want."


    Eska''s eyes widened as Ryu vanished.


    She pressed a hand to her cheek. "... Wife?"


    The word sounded somehow both foreign and sweet on her tongue.

 Chapter 1598 Very Ryu

    Chapter 1598 Very Ryu


    "What are you doing, this is stupid!"


    Hope''s voice rang in Ryu''s ears.


    "That so?"


    The noncommittal answer nearly sent Hope over the edge. This was just being a daredevil, the man was looking for death.


    Messing with the Sects the way he had was already a huge misuse of his time and a complete disregard of his own personal safety, but now he seemed to have become addicted to it.


    This was a battlefield that even Omniscient Sky Gods wouldn''t dare to step into, so why the yell was a Fragment-or she guessed a False Sky God now-going?!


    And why had his breakthrough still not ended yet?! He couldn''t even hide himself properly because the qi was flying about everywhere.


    "Ryu! Seriously! I can''t protect you!"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming stern. He was quite lenient with Hope these days because he had started to think of her like a friend, but he had his own stubbornness.


    "What was the first thing we talked about when you insisted on following me?" Ryu said.


    Hope froze.


    She remembered quite well. Ryu had actually tried to tell her to piss off back then because he didn''t want the fact he had a Sky God ready to jump in at the last moment to impede his progress. Ever since he had regained the ability to cultivate, Ryu had made it an art to get himself into life and death situations and make it out on the other end even stronger than before. It was what he had been doing ever since he was 14 years old in this life, and now that he was approaching his thirties, while having experienced many more years than that, he had no intention of stopping.


    Of course, by now, the both of them understood the real reason Hope had insisted on following back then.


    He was much faster than he had been in the past, not just due to the strengthening of his body, but also that of his qi.


    In addition, his Perfect Blackbody Soul, after taking the pill Hope had concocted, had already caught up to his new bodily strength and was pushing up against barriers that put even most True Sky Gods to shame.


    It could be said that while only his Qi Realm was beyond the Fragmented Realm currently, his body was infinitesimally close to breaching the True God Realm, while his Soul and his Dao were already on that level.


    However, all of this was meaningless in the face of such powerhouses that could crush him with a single finger. Even that might not be doing them justice as it was likely that a single glance would be enough.


    Even though his target wasn''t them, but rather the gateway itself, there was no doubt that all of them would be around that region. If there was one thing Hope was correct about, it was that this was very stupid.


    But it was also very Ryu.


    The Spectral Wings appeared on Ryu''s back and he accelerated even further, slicing through the void as though it wasn''t there at all.


    There was a reason he wasn''t trying to hide himself, and that was because he knew that it was useless. There was nothing that he could pull out of his bag of tricks that would hide him from the senses of a Dao Sovereign.


    This time, he was really gambling with his life... and his trust of Aika.


    Ryu crossed the Seventh Heaven with a blazing speed and soon he saw exactly the scene that would have likely killed anyone else.


    It could only be described as Armageddon. Space and reality seemed like fleeting concepts as those behemoths in the sky did battle.


    Aika, Old Wan and Samson fought against not only several Dao Lords and a Dao Sovereign, but also armies of billions below.


    It was absolute carnage.


    And they all sensed Ryu at the same time.

 Chapter 1599 Innovation

    Chapter 1599 Innovation


    Aika''s eyes widened. "RYU!"


    Her voice was filled with both fury and agitation. This was the absolute worst possible outcome; she couldn''t imagine what Ryu thought he was doing here.


    Ryu turned a deaf ear to it. It was cute, but honestly, he didn''t have the patience for it right now. His eyes were flashing like lightning as he oversaw the battlefield.


    In the skies, Aika was locked in battle with Sovereign Black Worm, but he had seen for himself the gap between Aika and Black Worm''s strength, especially after the change to the Radiant Star Sect''s Faith.


    The only reason Black Worm was able to keep up was because of...


    Ryu''s eyes landed on the armies. There were five of them, each one formed of billions of troops. Together, they formed dozens of phantom warriors that pooled their strengths together, sending them into the skies to face off against the true behemoths.


    Every time one of these phantom warriors fell, millions below would lose a shroud of protection and fall beneath the might of the aftershocks. The only reason Ryu himself hadn''t suffered such a Fate was because he was in the Void currently and using his eyes to stay out of the way of shockwaves that could crumble the nodes he was using.


    Old Wan and Samson were in a three v two situation, fighting against Dao Lords of the Azure Lightning, Stalwart Sun, and Raging Inferno Sects.


    Although he knew it was a three v two battle, sometimes it would seem to be six v two, sometimes a three v four.


    Different incarnations of them flashed one after another, their souls splitting to launch dual and even tri-layered attacks that seemed to distort the mind.


    Ryu didn''t really know what it was, but it seemed to be an ability they all had so it couldn''t be a technique, most likely. Then he remembered that Radiant Star said he didn''t really understand each Sky God Realm like he should and he threw it to the back of his mind.


    Right now wasn''t the time for that.


    His gaze descended onto a distant and very dormant, ancient platform. It was thick and just with his eyes alone Ryu could tell that rather than being a platform, it was a pillar, one that sunk deep into the earth for countless kilometers.


    The moment the formation took shape, he unleashed his eyes, using [Lines of Fate] to read and control these wild fluctuations of energy until the formation had suddenly expanded so far that it enveloped the first army, and then the second.


    He was going to make them regret not making it the first priority to take him out the moment he appeared.


    He didn''t care if there were Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns here. The moment he, Ryu Tatsuya, appeared on a battlefield... his enemies should know that their days were numbered and act accordingly.


    Ryu didn''t bother to envelop the Dao Lords in the skies, his entire focus being on the armies below.


    The moment the Sightless Eyes formation enveloped them, they became completely disoriented and their formations seemed just a moment away from collapsing.


    However, at that moment, Ryu''s Dividing Chaos sunk into the Sightless Eyes formation.


    This formation was one that had existed for countless generations. It had been refined and re-refined by the experts of the Unbalance Art Sect so many times that it had reached the acme of perfection.


    However, today, it would show off a completely new sort of color and form.


    ''Innovation...'' Ryu thought...


    It wasn''t that his Dao could do nothing, it was that he wasn''t nearly creative enough with it.


    Watching what those mortals could accomplish with their pitifully weak bodies lit up a fire in him.


    He was nothing but an ant on this battlefield, but he would make the largest impact there was.


    This time when Ryu roared, it echoed across the skies.

 Chapter 1600 Bright

    Chapter 1600 Bright


    Ryu''s mind felt like it was filled with fireworks, one thought after another linking together in ways he never thought of in the past... or maybe he had and he had simply ignored them.


    He was a Ruin Master, maybe the greatest Ruin Master of this corner of Existence, but it had colored his perception of the world in ways he hadn''t truly seen until recently.


    He had such flexibility when he looked at language and how they were used, but his thoughts themselves were filled with such rigidity. When it came to things outside the bounds of normal cultivation, it was as though he was no less foolish than others.


    Never in his wildest imaginations could he have thought that mere mortals could display such feats of power, and yet it had happened, it was true.


    All his life he had been so obsessed with cultivation. One way or another, even if it meant driving a knife through his own heart, he wanted to reach that goal one day. And he had eventually gotten it...


    But the result caused him to abandon everything else. What good were the arts, were games, were enjoyment to his path of cultivation? They were just distractions, deviations from his true purpose and things only designed to slow him down, weigh him down.


    All he thought about was the next breakthrough, the next cultivation realm, the higher Dao-nothing else mattered.


    And those sort of thoughts had stifled him.


    He wasn''t just Ryu Tatsuya the cultivator.


    Ryu could only deploy his throne in hopes of helping more, but from the looks of it, Black Worm was already out of his range.


    But how easily he was able to survive had little to do with Ryu now. So long as the man stayed away, he could accomplish what his real goal was.


    He appeared near the gateway, his eyes flashing like lightning. He ran over the runes, cobbling them together in his mind and building one model after another before tossing them away.


    Ultimately, he realized after just a few seconds that understanding the runes weren''t going to help him. Insofar as they were important, they were really just incredibly solid and almost stiff. It wasn''t overly complex, but they were reliable, something you might expect from a teleportation platform designed to go across the Heavens.


    There were no loopholes to take advantage of, and even if there were it would hardly matter because the largest failsafe here was the sheer girth of and tonnage of the pillar hidden beneath the earth. Any slight deviations or mistakes there could be was more than absorbed by it and there was no easy way to "crack" this thing.


    Flickering tears of space spun around the region, pumping out with what Ryu assumed was probably the Ethereal Qi everyone was going crazy about. It should have been dangerous to even stand in this region, but with his Soul Nature, spatial tears were the last thing Ryu feared. In fact, he found it lamentable that there weren''t more.


    ''More...? It''s possible, but only as a last resort. It would be too hard to control that. Aika, Old Wan and Samson might get swept up in it... They''re all powerful, but no one is above space, especially not space created by an object so powerful and well-constructed.''


    Ryu gave the battlefield a glance before turning his focus back to the hidden pillar.


    His mind churned, trying to think of a solution. But the longer it went on, the more he felt that it wouldn''t work. He was running out of time, his Focus Qi would definitely run out before Black Worm died.


    Suddenly, his eyes shone with a bright light.

 Chapter 1601 Stroke

    Chapter 1601 Stroke


    Ryu''s mind felt like it was filled with fireworks, one thought after another linking together in ways he never thought of in the past... or maybe he had and he had simply ignored them.


    He was a Ruin Master, maybe the greatest Ruin Master of this corner of Existence, but it had colored his perception of the world in ways he hadn''t truly seen until recently.


    He had such flexibility when he looked at language and how they were used, but his thoughts themselves were filled with such rigidity. When it came to things outside the bounds of normal cultivation, it was as though he was no less foolish than others.


    Never in his wildest imaginations could he have thought that mere mortals could display such feats of power, and yet it had happened, it was true.


    All his life he had been so obsessed with cultivation. One way or another, even if it meant driving a knife through his own heart, he wanted to reach that goal one day. And he had eventually gotten it...


    But the result caused him to abandon everything else. What good were the arts, were games, were enjoyment to his path of cultivation? They were just distractions, deviations from his true purpose and things only designed to slow him down, weigh him down.


    All he thought about was the next breakthrough, the next cultivation realm, the higher Dao-nothing else mattered.


    And those sort of thoughts had stifled him.


    He wasn''t just Ryu Tatsuya the cultivator.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, the Herbologist who created a method to improve one''s Spiritual Foundation when even his mighty Tatsuya Clan had thought it impossible.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, the Ruin Master who found the location of the Death Shrine when it had always been the stuff of myth and legend.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, the man who as nothing more than a mere mortal, found the thread of the mighty Phoenix Sky God''s Faith and ripped it out from its tapestry.


    His Dao flourished and poured into the Sightless Eyes formation. At that moment, it became more than just a disorientation of the senses, but instead became a disorientation controlled in Ryu''s very palms. What had once been a random action, beset by the whims of the volatile energy in the air, was gripped like a writhing snake in Ryu''s palms.


    At that moment, the avatars in the air shifted and their focus moved from Aika to Sovereign Black Worm. The man who was already unable to match Aika''s strength on his own was simultaneously besieged by large swaths of enemies, shocking him to no end.


    His intention moved and he shot out a palm toward Ryu''s formation, realizing that he had to break it as soon as possible. But in an irony of ironies, it was actually Aika who stopped it this time, barring his path. To make matters worse, the avatars likewise took up arms to stop him from descending toward the formation and causing him to retreat again and again away from Ryu.


    Ryu didn''t even look up toward the skies. He could feel the rage of a Dao Sovereign boring holes into him, but the indifference painted across his face was as hot as a searing iron on Black Worm''s own.


    Pushing off the ground, Ryu suddenly accelerated. He could feel that his Focus Qi was draining far slower with his Dao Vessel taking the brunt of his Dao activation and wielding the formation as well, but his time was still limited.


    The survivability of the former Dual Radiance Sect members were off the charts. Their Constellations were like different tools in their toolbox, each perfect for any given situation.


    Black Worm was even worse as Ryu was quickly beginning to understand why he had chosen such a ridiculous name. The man didn''t even seem to care how many pieces he was chopped up into, and to make matters worse he seemed to carry some of the same control over Karma and the like that Starlight had.


    Ryu could only deploy his throne in hopes of helping more, but from the looks of it, Black Worm was already out of his range.


    But how easily he was able to survive had little to do with Ryu now. So long as the man stayed away, he could accomplish what his real goal was.


    He appeared near the gateway, his eyes flashing like lightning. He ran over the runes, cobbling them together in his mind and building one model after another before tossing them away.


    Ultimately, he realized after just a few seconds that understanding the runes weren''t going to help him. Insofar as they were important, they were really just incredibly solid and almost stiff. It wasn''t overly complex, but they were reliable, something you might expect from a teleportation platform designed to go across the Heavens.


    There were no loopholes to take advantage of, and even if there were it would hardly matter because the largest failsafe here was the sheer girth of and tonnage of the pillar hidden beneath the earth. Any slight deviations or mistakes there could be was more than absorbed by it and there was no easy way to "crack" this thing.


    Flickering tears of space spun around the region, pumping out with what Ryu assumed was probably the Ethereal Qi everyone was going crazy about. It should have been dangerous to even stand in this region, but with his Soul Nature, spatial tears were the last thing Ryu feared. In fact, he found it lamentable that there weren''t more.


    ''More...? It''s possible, but only as a last resort. It would be too hard to control that. Aika, Old Wan and Samson might get swept up in it... They''re all powerful, but no one is above space, especially not space created by an object so powerful and well-constructed.''


    Ryu raised the brush and the hair formed together until his qi, becoming as sharp as a sword.


    His eyes flashed open and his brush glided across the air as though the downstroke of a resonating note.


    What was surprising though was that he didn''t bother to take out a canvas. Instead, he pushed his qi directly into the world itself and his paint...


    Were the Spatial Tears.


    The world of Ryu''s eyes had been filled with bright colors ever since he mutated his eyes for the first time and created [Ephemeral Tapestry]. Now, he felt like he had unlocked a unique use for it.


    He could see the world in ways others couldn''t imagine. Each one of these Spatial Tears radiated a slightly different color, and when they were bent and folded beneath the stroke of his brush, they seemed to come alive.


    He suddenly felt a peace the likes of which he hadn''t in a long time.


    He used to feel this peace back when he painted in Sacrum, but it never lasted long, soon replaced by agitation and anxiety, hoping that the next stroke of his brush would push him toward enlightenment and finally allow him to cultivate.


    It had ended up being counterproductive and he grew to hate those moments.


    But this time, that feeling never came.


    Wide mountains, grassy lands, a sun that shone like rainbows and a sky akin to a pot of gold. It was a fantastical painting, the kind that only appeared in fairytales... and yet it was the way Ryu saw it.


    And it also happened to be the scenery of the world directly on the other side of this teleportation platform.


    At that moment, the combination of strong Spatial Qi and the aura of the painting became akin to an error in the pillar''s programming. It suddenly thought that it had appeared on the wrong side of the platform and began to vibrate wildly, unable to understand what had happened.


    A permanent teleportation platform of this kind was permanently tethered to a specific location. This meant that on the other side of this gateway, there should be an identical pillar and there was a great attractive force between the two.


    But now, this side of the gateway suddenly felt as though the other side had appeared right above it, something that made little sense. And due to this, its extreme stability became its greatest weakness. It felt like something was wrong, and yet there was nothing it could do about it.


    The moment Ryu finished the last stroke of the painting, the first crack appeared in the platform, then another.


    Ryu slowly awoke from his peaceful state, a smile on his face. But he was already prepared to retreat, he couldn''t be caught dead in this blast radius.


    "RYU!"


    That was when it happened.


    Before Ryu could react, Hope had appeared to his back, her palms striking out against an overwhelming force.


    She was unable to stop it completely and crashed right into his chest.


    Ryu felt all the bones in his body shatter, his ribs skewering his organs. And yet, as the explosion of Spatial Qi took hold, he still looked up calmly, holding Hope''s limp body in his arms.


    Up above, there was a man standing in the skies with his palm stretched out, a hint of surprise coloring his gaze. It was one that only became deeper when he realized that Ryu had the wherewithal to note his presence and the fact that he wasn''t surprised in the slightest.


    There was a very good reason the man thought that Ryu should be surprised, though...


    And that was because he wasn''t Black Worm, nor was he some hidden Dao Lord of the other Sects.


    He was none other than Old Wan.

 Chapter 1602 Explain Yourself

    Chapter 1602 Explain Yourself


    "What have you done, Wan?!" Samson''s voice came from a distance.


    One of Old Wan''s incarnations had suddenly split off and attacked Ryu, but the words had hardly come out when there was a sudden BOOMING shockwave that enveloped the entire battlefield.


    Large amounts of Spatial Qi and solid pieces of debris flew out in all directions, moving with such speed and carrying such lethality that even Perfect Sky Gods found themselves losing their heads while others were riddled with hoes in the midst of the carnage.


    Any battle there had been had suddenly ceased to be and everyone could only work on protecting themselves lest they become like the Perfect Sky Gods down below.


    The harsh climate blew whatever Ethereal Qi there might have been in all directions, scattering it into the wind in quantities so thin and minuscule that even one with a Childe of Order constitution would have an almost impossible time picking them out.Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.comson drove a forearm into Old Wan''s collarbone and throat, his eyes completely red as the entire mountain shook as though it might collapse at any point.


    "Explain yourself!" He said through gritted teeth. Looking at Old Wan''s calm expression, he felt like he was losing his mind. However, this sort of scene was about what one would expect... it wasn''t just Old Wan''s calm response to the current situation, but also the fact Samson might have been billowing a head full of rage, but there wasn''t an ounce of killing intent in him.


    And why would there be? He would rather listen to the explanation of the man he had known for thousands of years than attack to kill him for a boy he had known for less than half a decade.


    Ryu didn''t need to be here to see the scene to know what would happen. In fact, he knew Aika''s personality well enough by now that even if she had witnessed it, her reaction would have been much the same as Samson''s.


    She was a woman with a fiery temper, but she was also soft. For her to be manipulated by the likes of Old Xu, Jiao and Xiao into marriage with a junior, one could imagine that while she had the largest fist in the Sect, she had never used it without propriety.


    On the one hand, her kindness was the reason Ryu had been able to gain so much help from her despite the differences in their station. And on the other hand, her kindness was also the reason why there was little chance Ryu would gain justice from her hands even if she were to know of Old Wan''s actions.


    Obviously, all of these things were well within Old Wan''s expectations.


    "What the hell are you talking about?!"


    "The records of the Sect are things you''ve never bothered to read, and though Aika has her recalling of history painted in rose. There is no mysterious founder coming to swoop down and save us all, Samson. We are on our own. If we want the Radiant Star Sect to rise again like it should, then we have to take matters into our own hands."


    "And what are you going to do if one of those founders comes back and they did indeed take a liking to him?"


    "If they were going to come back, they would have done so a long time ago. They''ve always treated this Sect as nothing more than an experiment."


    "What are you-"


    "And even if they do come back, so what? Are they going to destroy the whole Sect they created because of one me? At worst, they''ll just put my head on a pike. Better that than the Sect drowning.


    "I already didn''t like Aika''s actions back then, you know that. I wanted to take the slow and methodical approach to our return to the Seventh Heaven, but right now we only have a fraction of the foundation I wanted us to have.


    "There are consequences to every action, and this is the consequence of ours."


    "How high and mighty of you. Go tell Aika that."


    "You know I could, and you know exactly how she''d react. She would agree with all of my words and then blame herself. Her Dao Heart would be harmed and she''d never advance again."


    Samson grit his teeth, wanting to agree and yet not at the same time.


    "And what are you going to do when the boy''s grandfather finds out?"


    Old Wan sneered.

 Chapter 1603 Enlighten Me

    Chapter 1603 Enlighten Me


    The fact Samson had waited to ask this question last told Old Wan all he needed to do about the kind of weight he put behind it. That being... None at all. First he had attacked with emotion, then with the founders, and then with Aika, before only finally mentioning what should have been the greatest threat to them, the seemingly overprotective Half-Step Dao God. For someone like Old Wan, that was all he needed to hear.


    "I think you already know the answer to that."


    "Do I?" Samson replied. "Enlighten me."


    "It''s clear the man is cut from the same cloth as his grandson. I know a man trying to sever Karma when I see one, and you do too. Maybe by now he''s a Dao God, maybe not. Either way, it doesn''t matter."


    He hadn''t been certain until he saw Primus trying to stop Ryu from entering the Complete Heavenly Path. With how deep his comprehension of Karma and how good his deduction skills were, that was enough to take a speculation to a certainty.


    Half-Step Dao Gods didn''t just follow around Dao Pedestal Realm expert no matter how "over protective" they were. Someone who had lived that long and a Dao Heart far more sturdy than that, it was hard for them to even feel familial love in the same ways.


    Most of the truest Dao Companions to ever exist had gotten together at a very young age. Those that came together while deep into their cultivation years weren''t nearly as tied to one another and often didn''t even use the title of Dao Companion at all. Instead, they preferred the more layman titles of husband and wife, and some didn''t even use that.


    It was a fact of life that no cultivators could escape and it was exceptionally rare to break free of that mold.


    Whenever higher level cultivators showed rage toward the treatment of their youths, it rarely had to do with love at all and was almost entirely reliant on one, their face, and two, their Karma.


    The only reason Old Wan didn''t dismiss it outright was because Ryu had come from a Middle World. There was a small chance that things could work differently over there. But that was all thrown out the window the instant he saw that scene.


    If there was anything that struck fear in him at all, it was the fact that Ryu had somehow managed to wiggle out of Primus'' grasp. As for the rest of it, he didn''t even consider the matter.


    "And that''s your reply? That''s it. A young genius who''s done nothing but help us, snuffed out just like that. And for what? Because you were scared of the future?"


    Back to emotion, it seemed. Old Wan wanted to sigh, but he knew that if he didn''t handle it well it would only cause a fissure that couldn''t be mended. This wasn''t the time for witty remarks.


    "Hm?" Selheira''s eyes slowly opened and she released a yawn that sounded more like a grumbling roar. It shook the immortal abode before settling down. "What is it?"


    Eska explained the situation.


    "You want me to pretend as though Husband is dead?"


    "Yes."


    "Why?"


    Eska looked at Selheira instead of answering. Then, said something that almost made the Dragoness enraged.


    "Will you listen to me or not?"


    Her words came with a majesty of a woman who had lived for trillions of years. She even looked like she might directly kill Selheira if the latter responded the wrong way.


    Selheira managed to rein in her temper, realizing that she was asking the wrong questions.


    "What happened to Husband?"


    "I don''t know yet, but I don''t like it."


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: Well, Old Wan is a fucking retard. LMAO. Classic Awespec though, MC can''t stay in sect for too long, that would be blasphemy. Gotta make him hate someone in the sect, or a gigantic meteor might hit earth and eradicate all life.

 Chapter 1604 Dried Up Innovation

    Chapter 1604 Dried Up Innovation


    Ryu wasn''t surprised in the slightest. In fact, the moment Hope suddenly called out like she had, he knew what had happened. He had put too much effort into bringing Black Worm away and dealing with the other threats for one of them to suddenly sneak up behind him, whether they were far more powerful Sky Gods or not.


    From the moment he met Old Wan he understood what kind of person he was. He didn''t believe that there was anyone so morally righteous and good that they would leave him be. Other than his eyes, there probably wasn''t a single secret on Ryu''s body that Old Wan wasn''t aware of... of course, that wasn''t taking into account new talents that he had formed since he met him.


    Back then, Ryu had completely passed out due to the backlash of forming a Hegemonic Dao and it was Old Wan that saved him. There might have been a part of Old Wan back then that felt that his talents were useless to him, not just because he was already a Dao Lord, but also because the "stench" of Sacrum was thick around Ryu. Ultimately, without being upgraded first, stealing Ryu''s talents back then would only weaken Old Wan rather than strengthen him. Ryu had likely started as a casual gamble that cost Old Wan nothing.


    It seemed odd to be thinking about talent stealing when Old Wan didn''t do that at all. Rather, he chose to kill Ryu directly instead.


    It could be said that most of this was, indeed, just baseless speculation on Ryu''s part. What wasn''t baseless, though... was their game of Domain.


    Domain was one of the four Arts for a reason. Much like the first three, Painting, Calligraphy and Music, they were a gateway into the heart and soul of a person.


    Old Wan never realized just how much of him Ryu had forced to lay bare during their simplified game, or maybe he had and that was the very reason he had never tried to play Ryu again despite being upset about his loss.


    Old Wan''s character was clear in Ryu''s mind. He was a man who was almost fiercely patient, he acted without hesitation and he took gambles without cowardice. He moved only with a perfect understanding of those around him, and that was the very reason why he was shocked when Hope suddenly appeared from within Ryu''s ring.


    First it was Isemeine, then it was Eska. Old Wan had never thought that Ryu would actually have a third Sky God around him, at least not one strong enough to react to his strike.


    But more importantly than all of that, he was a person who did whatever he had to for victory.


    ''I can''t wait to kill you.''


    Those were the words Ryu''s eyes had conveyed to the Dao Lord. Old Wan probably knew that he wasn''t dead, at least not yet. He wasn''t the kind of man who would take something on Fate. If it wasn''t for the fact that Old Wan had no easy method of finding him right now, Ryu was certain that there would be a follow up assault.


    Ryu''s main worry, aside from his own life, was that of Selheira and Eska.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    Eska was highly intelligent, but in this situation it would be nothing more than a detriment. The moment she pretended that he was dead and played along after rightfully feeling that something was off, she would be marked by Old Wan as a person to take note of, and even if her life wasn''t in any immediate danger, it would be soon.


    The rage in Ryu''s heart burned like a smoldering fire, and if others could read his thoughts they''d think he was a madman... mostly because this moment wasn''t the time for him to be thinking about such things at all.


    The instant Hope collided with him, Ryu had changed tactics. Even if his body was in tiptop condition, there was no way he could make it out, and that was disregarding the fact Old Wan would have never allowed it.


    As he rose to his feet, his gaze was frighteningly cold, almost as though the air before his face had suddenly frozen over.


    He didn''t have much time, if it could even be considered time at all. The three groups seemed to be from different factions, and as such, while they were all guarding the gateway, they had also kept their distance, causing them to be quite spread apart.


    Even so, it would only take seconds for them to close in the distance.


    Ryu closed his eyes and took a breath. His smoldering rage became a calm flame and his mind settled down.


    This was for the best. He didn''t do well in Sects and he was much better on his own. As much as he wanted to put Old Wan''s head on a pike, his rage was using up too much of his mental space. A dead man wasn''t worth so much of his thoughts.


    His eyes flashed opened and he suddenly moved.


    A pill came out from the Golden Moon World, and if Hope had been conscious, she would have probably blushed down to her collarbone. This pill was none other than the very same pill she would have to take to get pregnant with Ryu''s child.


    Of course, it wouldn''t be instant. The pill worked by sensing when a female cultivator was likely to conceive and pulsing out her Dao Companion''s Yang Essence over a long period of time.


    Hope had long since collected what she needed, Ryu had dual cultivated with his women on more than one occasion in her presence. She was just, quite frankly, much too shy to actually go through with it.


    Ryu never cared to press her on the matter because his lifespan was counted in millennia at worst by now, and he also wasn''t ready to have any children.


    But at this moment, it was the only way out.


    The moment his Yang Essence took root in Hope, it was as though a part of his Primordial Yang was in her, the complete reverse of how taking a wife worked. It was an odd feeling, but it was precisely the feeling he needed to latch onto.


    The three groups suddenly appeared around him and Ryu''s eyes suddenly shone like the stars in the skies.


    "[Fate Reversal]!"


    His voice boomed like thunder and in that instant, Hope''s injuries were washed away and thrust onto the approaching parties.


    One after another, they fell from the skies, dead.

 Chapter 1605 Plan

    Chapter 1605 Plan


    Ryu''s eyes blurred, blood vessels popping one after another as crimson streaks fell down his cheeks. Trying to completely reverse the Fate of an Omniscient Sky God, who had been hit by at least half the strength of a Dao Lord, and separate to kill over a dozen Perfect and Transcendent Sky Gods at once, all as a mere False Sky God himself, was something beyond just playing God.


    Teasing apart Hope''s Fate was particularly difficult because it was so tied to his own, but the damage his own body had taken was far too little to kill these Sky Gods. If anything, it would just tickle them a little bit.


    Even so, that foundation was part of the reason he felt that he could succeed. Swapping the Fates of others was one thing, but tugging and pulling at the Fates of so many at once was a completely different tier of difficulty.


    He didn''t believe that he could have succeeded unless he had some sort of anchor that went beyond the norm tying him and Hope together. In the end, he only had one shot at it and no room for error, so he had to go all in.


    Luckily, it had ended up working out in his favor, but they had to move.


    He got up, or rather he tried to. In the end, he ended up stumbling with Hope in his arms and coughing up a mouthful of blood.


    He looked down after barely managing to catch himself.


    ''Why is she not awake?''


    Ryu''s expression became more than just a little hint gloomy. Hope should have woken up by now, all of her injuries were healed, so why was she in a state like this?


    Blood leaked from Ryu''s eyes and lips, but he didn''t have time to even wipe them away. If he didn''t get moving, he would be finished.


    With a wave of his hand, he stored all the corpses away. Leaving them behind was like leaving behind evidence of his eyes.


    ''With the current situation of the Eighth Heaven, sensing things shouldn''t be nearly as easy, if possible at all. Just looking at it, the two Planes are stacking atop of one another, there''s no way to easily do what was possible in the past...''


    Before, the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign had sensed Ryu immediately. But with his eyes back and [Third Perspective], Ryu would definitely sense it if someone''s senses locked onto him. However, there was no such thing right now. That could only mean that the Dao Sovereign was either occupied or couldn''t-likely even both.


    Considering the Dao Sovereign''s attempts to make it to Dao Sovereign from Dao Lord, there was no doubt in Ryu''s mind that he would now be going all out to become a Dao God much like Black Worm had. The entire Heaven was definitely embroiled in war.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood and began to circulate his Embryonic Qi. Almost instantly, his body was a great measure better.


    He looked at Hope and eventually had no choice but to put her away into the Golden Moon World as he slipped away.


    It seemed that strengthening his body had in turn strengthened his Taboo Body Cultivation, which had, in turn, made it even harder to heal once again.


    But that was fine. Right now, even if he was in tiptop shape it would matter little if he ran into someone who could kill him.


    The immediate danger was pretty much solved, but he wasn''t out of the woods yet.


    He had learned over these years to not underestimate the methods of these great powers.


    Anyone who was guarding the gateway at a time like this had extremely low standing amongst their powers, but it was still likely that they had a soul tie or something of the sort in their main Sects.


    While Ryu had shrouded himself well enough, there would likely still be several auxiliary methods of tracking him down.


    He couldn''t stay on the Eighth Heaven, but he couldn''t return to the Seventh, and he certainly couldn''t go to Ninth as whatever problems he had to face here would likely be multiplied several times over.


    There was no way for him to return to the Nether Plane, and he wasn''t sure if he wanted to either. That would come with its own host of issues, especially after Primus killed that Fire Giant. He could probably hope that Mae''s master would protect him, but how would he even get a message there?


    He really only had two options.


    The first was to leave the True Martial World entirely, return to Sacrum or try to make it to one of those other worlds. In the first case, he''d enter closed-door cultivation and hop from Shrine to Shrine, hoping for enlightenment. In the second, he''d be rolling the dice on something even Dao Gods didn''t dare to do casually.


    The second was to gamble on the Ethereal Plane.


    He would stick out like a sore thumb in that place, but he had his methods. Relying on Ailsa''s Primordial Yin, it wasn''t impossible to mask himself as a Faerie for a time.


    On the Seventh Heaven, if he wanted to do this, he would be out of luck. But on the Eighth, where the two Planes were touching, so long as he found a weak spot in the void, he could manage it.


    The trouble was that any weak spot would have the largest concentrations of Ethereal Qi, and on the other side there would be a large influx of Real Qi. That meant no matter which side he was talking about, both would be teeming with experts.


    The only good news was that the space in those areas would be so volatile that the only way someone would be able to spot him was either by luck or having a spatial Soul Nature as strong or stronger than his own.


    And that was if he didn''t use the very same method he used to sneak into the Raging Inferno Sect.


    With that thought, his Cosmos Fog flourished and his internal size began to expand wildly.

 Chapter 1606 Dare?!

    Chapter 1606 Dare?!


    Ryu activated Shadowless Trace, expanding the formation within himself. The pressure on his Focus Qi was still very much there, but he didn''t need to activate it to the same degree as he had to against the Raging Inferno Sect. Although the Eighth Heaven was far more dangerous, the situation here was only helping him. There was no easy method to sense things in this place, no with the volatility of the space.


    As Ryu moved, he observed the world more, and as he did so, he came to realize that despite how "calm" it all looked, the Eighth Heaven was in complete chaos. There were no storms in the skies, or tornados of spatial tears. In fact, it looked like a normal day to most people... Until he looked at things with [Ephemeral Tapestry].


    Ryu had pushed his eyes too far and the world looked mostly like a blur to him right now, but he could still see it. Colors clashed in the skies, ripping each other apart and canceling one another out. It felt like the qis were fighting for supremacy, vying for complete control of the Plane.


    The problem was that they did so completely silently. When one portion of Real Qi met an equal portion of Ethereal Qi, they canceled one another out. It was like two objects of equal and opposite spins colliding together and coming to a complete stop.


    The result of this situation was truly shocking. It felt like the qi itself was disappearing... and yet not at the same time. It couldn''t possibly be so dangerous. Ryu had even absorbed some of this Ethereal Qi himself to see what would happen.


    Although he had done so in incredibly small quantities, there wasn''t a huge change at all. Instead, it just filled in the gaps naturally. How could the qis be so dangerous and yet so helpful at the same time? It didn''t make any sort of sense.


    Ryu thought about it for a while as he moved and thought that maybe his Chaos Qi might be to blame, potential? Chaos Qi should neither be Real Qi or Ethereal Qi. All of the Real and Ethereal Qi here was just a derivative of Essence. Technically speaking, Essence should probably be made up of both types, in which case Chaos Qi was unable to be affected by Ethereal Qi at all.


    This must also be why he had never felt anything when entering the Ethereal Plane in the past. How could it even begin to affect him?


    On the one hand, it was unfortunate because it likely meant that Ryu wouldn''t be able to benefit from this like others could. But on the other hand, it should mean that he was immune from the potential drawbacks.


    But the coincidences were starting to add up too much. He felt like he was missing something extraordinarily important...


    And then, for some reason, his mind drifted to Life Partners.


    His eyes widened.


    Was it related to why Life Partners existed? Why was it that Faeries were born to be attached to some object of the Real Plane? What was the purpose?


    His mind flickered with thoughts that rushed atop of one another. He was constantly trying to force his thinking outside of the box he had subconsciously placed it in, trying to free his mind from rigidity of thought.


    However, there was only so much a change in thought process could do. He needed more information, and he would get a chance to do so soon.


    Ryu quickly found the source he was looking for and he was immediately stunned. The spectacle was far more than anything he had been expecting. Could he even get close to such a battle?


    High in the skies, there were three individuals, each one immaculately handsome or beautiful. Illusory crowns hung above their heads and they radiated out with an unbridled majesty.


    Across from them there was a group of individuals wearing robes that fluttered with flames across its hems. It was a uniform Ryu recognized well.


    But then he saw something else. An old man doing something just as stupid as his son.


    "TITUS! YOU DARE APPEAR BEFORE ME?!"

 Chapter 1607 Out of Luck

    Chapter 1607 Out of Luck


    Ryu felt his mood suddenly take a turn for the better. He didn''t even remember why he was so mad before. Unfortunately, as soon as that feeling took hold he felt a wave of worry again.


    He could sense his father''s strength. He was only an Omniscient Sky God. Those three Faeries above were already Dao Sovereigns. The bastard yelling just now was yet another Dao Sovereign. It didn''t even seem right for an Omniscient Sky God to even breathe this air, let alone expose himself here.


    His father was also not in the best of shape. It looked like he had been through hell and back. Either that, or he had been in a constant state of fight or flight for the last few centuries.


    Unfortunately, Ryu had no idea how true that was. Titus had been on the run for a long while now, and Primus certainly didn''t do much to help it when he came around to ''sever'' karma. And yet, Titus has still come here.


    Ryu was a bit worried, but honestly he didn''t feel that the situation was existential although all logic pointed to the fact that he should be.


    Few people knew Titus Tatsuya as well as Ryu did. Ryu didn''t believe that there was a situation where he could survive that his father couldn''t.


    His father wasn''t cut from the same cloth as him. Titus was a man that was often difficult to read. He was fiercely passionate, and yet it was cloaked beneath a veneer of calm and stoicism. He had a fiery temper, and yet he usually feigned level-headedness. What he probably lacked in wits was more than made up for in tenacity.


    Ryu wasn''t trying to say that his father was stupid, far from it. It was more so that he had yet to meet someone who could keep up with him intellectually and his father wasn''t on that level.


    Even so, it didn''t mean that the likes of these people could better his father either. Because if Ryu was smarter than his father, then compared to these people, he was an elephant to an ant. In which case, compared to Titus...


    Ryu''s gaze flashed over the battlefield before it landed on a woman wearing the same cloak of flames. She wasn''t the one who had just roared out, but her expression was more furious than anyone else''s. She looked as though she could really eat Titus alive.


    ''Goddammit, father...''


    Ryu touched his chin, wondering if he was just coping before. Was his old man really more handsome than him? What was going on with all of these love debts?


    Something seemed to break in the woman. She was so completely infuriated that her equally as golden eyes consumed her sclera, making it look like two polished balls of metal had become her eyes instead.


    She pulled at the air and a stream of molten qi took shape, forming a whip that stretched thousands of miles as she struck down.


    Ryu''s eyes widened. The scale of the attack was unbelievable, and the power was even more devastating.


    Some of that previous worry returned. It just felt impossible. His father couldn''t cross two Realms to do battle, could he?


    Titus was split in two.


    Blood and gore erupted in all directions, and Ryu, who had just been laughing and smiling a moment ago froze. His fingers suddenly dug into his biceps so hard that he drew blood.


    He hadn''t just watched his father die, right?


    No, that was impossible. His father would get himself into a situation where the only path was death, there was simply no way. He wouldn''t make a mistake like that...


    Even the woman in the skies seemed stunned as her bottom lip actually trembled. Maybe she thought that something would be different as well.


    But how far could they push the man? He was bound to run out of options eventually, right? Even this time, they had finally managed to corner him again by pure coincidence due to this eruption taking place near his hiding spot.


    Had he just finally run out of luck?


    "If you''re finished with your little, insignificant spat," a female Faerie spoke lightly. "We can continue with official business. Though, I would like to talk to someone with more authority. Someone who can have their emotions so easily swayed by a mere Omniscient Sky God has no right to speak to me."


    "What did you just say to me?!"


    BOOM!

 Chapter 1608 Dragon-Phoenix

    Chapter 1608 Dragon-Phoenix


    The shockwave was strong enough to shatter the heart of a Perfect Sky God by the sound alone. If Ryu wasn''t so far from the battlefield, and if he hadn''t hidden away in the void, it would have been entirely impossible for him to survive as well.ViiSiit  for latest novels


    And then came the spiraling wave of flames and the Phoenix cry that peeled across the skies. It was so light and airy, almost like lightning during a spring''s light drizzle.


    The flames took shape into this Phoenix, its body soaring into the skies and spreading its wings with the majesty only a creature of its caliber could match.


    Auras surged and the skies trembled.


    The Dao Sovereigns who were just about to get into a battle of their own found themselves shocked.


    They backed away, confusion and then awe appearing in their eyes.


    There was no doubt what this was. It was Rebirth, a pure, shocking Rebirth.


    When they realized that it could only be coming from Titus, their hearts seemed to freeze over. Didn''t he have Fire Dragon blood?


    Much of these issues had started over that blood in specific, when had he gained the strength of the Fire Phoenix? Was that even a Phoenix at all?


    It looked like a Phoenix, the aura matched the shocking presence of a creature of that caliber, and there was even that elegant shape they had only ever seen in stories.


    But it was laced with black.


    The proud, ruby feathers, each one perfectly sculpted and glistening under the sunlight seemed to have been tainted by a devilish aura. It didn''t just understand Rebirth, it seemed to command it.


    The woman roared, infuriated. However, deep in her eyes, there was a conflicted expression. Just now, she really thought she had killed him and her heart was in turmoil, and now he attacked her master instead of her despite the fact she had just dolled out a killing blow.


    "Don''t overthink it," Titus said coldly as though drawing a hard line in the sand. "I can''t deal with him yet on my own, but I can certainly deal with you."


    The woman''s dreams shattered and her anger seemed to flare up again.


    Titus'' flames surged into his body and in an instant, a man covered in scales of red with dancing black runes within them appeared. His horns seemed capable of poking holes through the skies and his wings spread out so far around him that they seemed to dwarf him.


    A battle erupted in the skies as Ryu''s heart rate calmed down a bit. He looked down at his bloodied arms and shook his head. What a mess.


    He had half a mind to take his old man back to the Radiant Star Sect right now, but he wasn''t the type to do that to begin with. He''d only feel better when he killed Old Wan himself.


    However, that didn''t mean that he could leave Eska and Selheira in danger because of his own selfish wants. So he''d have to ask his father to do something about that.


    ''But how...'' Ryu wondered. By the look on his face, one would have never guessed that such a world-shaking battle was happening in the skies.


    The truth was that Ryu was actually quite wary of Old Wan. He was the kind of man who, when given enough information, would be especially dangerous.


    He miscalculated because Ryu had changed enough and there was enough about him that he didn''t know. But the addition of Hope was a new bit of information, if he also found out that Ryu had a Dao Lord for a father, it would be another bit of information, and things would begin to add up very quickly.


    Simply put, he couldn''t just let his father stroll into the Radiant Star Sect and then stroll out. He had to find a way to remove his women from an otherwise dangerous situation, while also keeping Old Wan in the dark about it. He would probably also have to keep Aika and the others in the dark as well, because he couldn''t trust them either.


    Ryu mulled it over. He almost didn''t realize a familiar woman was suddenly falling from the skies like a streaking meteor.

 Chapter 1609 What?

    Chapter 1609 What?


    Ryu looked up, finding that his father was still high in the skies while that woman was buried actually not too far from him. Well, "not far" in a Sky God''s sense. She was still thousands of kilometers away and would find it impossible to spot him.


    Titus held a halberd that was redder than red, it felt. It was almost fluorescent in color and reminded one of the depths of hell.


    Then, he struck down.


    ''You can do that?''


    Ryu''s eyes widened. It felt like Titus had just taken Dragon''s Claw and Dragon''s Breath, and fused it into his halberd. It took the doctrine of splitting the skies in five and two, and incorporated them both into a single strike.


    Doing this was obviously extremely difficult. As much as weapons were pulled in all directions by the previous masters that wielded them, Bloodline Talents were even more so. There were very specific ways to use them and there were very specific methods of evoking their greatest strength.


    Pulling a claw attack and a breath attack and compressing it down into a weapon attack was like fighting against three pulls of Faith at the same time, two of which were exceptionally strong themselves.


    Ryu hadn''t been able to balance all of that. Or, rather, he simply didn''t have the time to. He had too many talents, and his life was too short. At the same time, he was continuously pressed from all sides by challenges he had to overcome.


    First he had abandoned his path of dual polearm wielded, then he abandoned the Great Swordstaff, and now he had compressed his understanding of things down to just his own body...


    In truth, he was very satisfied with that. He had accomplished something most couldn''t even imagine and every inch of him had become a lethal, nigh untouchable weapon.


    But seeing his father''s strike, he wondered. How much potential had he left on the table?


    Ryu shook his head. He really did believe that his current combat style was exceptionally strong and it was definitely the best for him. His father had had millions of years to refine this combat style to this point.


    Not a single Dragon had come after Titus for a clear and obvious reason.


    "It seems you understand nothing. Do you understand where my Fire Dragon Bloodline comes from? If you did, you wouldn''t be saying something so stupid."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. Then, he vaguely remembered something the Wind Dragon who had appeared at the Armament Guild had said about Primus in specific.


    The woman seemed a bit flustered after Titus directly called out her bluff, but she hid it well.


    "Do you take me for a fool?" She replied. "Even if your Fire Dragon Bloodline is special, do you think I didn''t sense your Phoenix Bloodline?"


    "Did you? Where?" Titus asked.


    The lady was stunned when she realized that Titus was actually toying with her. But when her senses focused on Titus, she really didn''t sense a Phoenix. In fact, she didn''t sense anything. It was as though he wasn''t even standing before her.


    "Enough." An older Faerie spoke. Even with his age, the handsome lines of his face had yet to fade and he looked toward Titus sharply. "What Aeliana says is correct. You aren''t qualified because you control no Sect. Once they realize what has happened here, they will send more powerhouses, and this time, there won''t be convenient bolts of lightning for you to take note of.


    "I would suggest that you simply leave."


    Watching them trying to convince his father to go away like this made a smile tug at the corner of Ryu''s lips. The strong didn''t ask or "suggest" anything, they took.


    But this was also interesting for another reason. They seemed to be very eager to have this space all to themselves.


    Why was that? What were they hiding, exactly?

 Chapter 1610 Balance

    Chapter 1610 Balance


    Titus looked around as though he hadn''t heard the demands, his brows furrowing for a moment.


    This point should be a region of connection between the two Planes. There should be an entrance to the Ethereal Plane somewhere, but there wasn''t actually any obvious opening.


    He wasn''t really looking to go to the Ethereal Plane, honestly. He would much rather ascend to the Ninth Heaven... after he finished wiping the Sect that had chased him for so long off the map.


    However, this Ethereal Qi had helped him to break into the Dao Lord Realms earlier than he had thought he would be able to.


    The Rebirths of a Phoenix were exceptionally valuable and most wouldn''t even be able to unlock one, let alone the full slate of nine. Using them just to break through a Realm was a complete waste, even if it was a Realm as great as the Dao Lord Realm.


    This was because the chance at Rebirth was about reconstituting the body into a more elevated form. If it was wasted on advancing, then you would lose the opportunity to strengthen your talent, and would instead just get the benefits of a higher cultivation Realm.


    Although this would be worth it to most and there were examples of Phoenixes saving their Rebirths to do precisely this, Titus was after something much greater.


    This Ethereal Qi filled in the gaps for him and allowed him to enter the Dao Lord realm. At the same time, he had completed his Rebirth while he formed his Incarnations and it was the best use for a Rebirth that he could think of outside of a general power up.


    Ultimately, it was this that allowed him to leap forward an entire cultivation Realm to battle the annoying woman who was partly the source of all his troubles.


    Titus and his son were very different in many regards, but when it came to their taste in women, it was practically identical. He didn''t like such forward women, and even if he did, there was only room for one woman in his life.


    Once again, this was a trait that he and his son also shared... at least for a time, this was this case.


    The sight was gorgeous, and yet it was just as dangerous as it was beautiful.


    Ryu had gathered many treasures on the Eighth Heaven, but a Fire treasure hadn''t been among them. There was an obvious reason for that: he already had several Origin Flames.


    Thanks to the True Nether Plane''s trial, he had gotten himself a boatload and hadn''t bothered to gather another.


    It wasn''t like it was easy picking up these treasures. Each one he took was another huge risk to his life. He had lost count of how much he had suffered while gathering these treasures in the first place. He couldn''t gather up another one that he couldn''t control just because.


    There was no room in Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation for this treasure because the fire aspect was already occupied. It would have relied on Ryu alone controlling them, and that was something he was entirely unable to do.


    So why was all of this important now?


    It was because this location was one Ryu had never visited, and it had a treasure he had never attempted to take, and yet there was a fissure fusing the two world''s together right here...


    Why was that?


    The answer was obvious, to Ryu at least.


    The balance between the Planes had been formed through a not-too-solid connection between these extremely high level treasures. Among them, some were more rooted in the Real Plane and others were more rooted in the Ethereal Plane.


    This one just so happened to be more rooted in the Ethereal Plane and now these three were present trying to stop the aura from the other side from leaking too fiercely, likely because it would put whatever power they were in charge of in great danger.


    Now, though... Titus had tipped the scales, causing the fire treasure to suddenly roar with life.


    In the far off distance, Ryu''s eyes narrowed. This flame was definitely not like the docile Origin Flame in the slightest. It was wild, unrestrained and violent.


    It wanted to burn the entire world to ashes and do it again once everything grew back.

 Chapter 1611 Easy

    Chapter 1611 Easy


    BOOM!


    The world seemed to lose its color. Fragments of spatial glass spiraled through the surroundings, each one carrying either a reflection of the world around it or a window into the world beyond it. It was the most ethereal sight that Ryu had ever seen, and he completely forgot about his father for a moment.


    He had never seen space react like this. The push and pull between two worlds, the fragile construct that separated the two, it felt like... vibrations... resonance... wavelengths... strings...


    The thought almost left Ryu''s control as it sprinted down several possibilities. It all moved so fast that he thought of several possibilities before he even realized that the battle in the skies had reached a penultimate point.


    The flame that erupted didn''t even seem to have a form. It was both everywhere and nowhere at once, covering everything.


    Ryu realized that neither his father nor the three Faeries even knew the exact location of the core of it. He could see his father''s brow knitted into a tight frown of worry, not for himself, but for his son, obviously. He felt that if Ryu was fine, he would have told him where to look already.


    Ryu chuckled to himself. He didn''t do it on purpose, but that was nice payback. Who asked the old man to suddenly die in front of him?


    His lips moved again and the words drifted toward his father.


    This time, however, they didn''t make it. The qi was too volatile and his voice had to duck in and out of several worlds. Let alone making it to Titus, even the three Faeries who were in the process of protecting themselves and trying to kill Titus didn''t sense it.


    Ryu frowned. He knew where the kernel was. Even with his eyes in this fatigued and somewhat blurred state, it was easy for him to find it. It didn''t even take effort.


    But if he couldn''t get the information to his father, then it would all be for naught. He certainly couldn''t go and get it himself; he would die a hundred times over.


    Ryu was speechless. What was with this old man''s fascination with dying?


    What he didn''t know was that Titus had already unlocked three Rebirths, but he had had no good opportunity to use them. One he had been forced to use out of pure necessity, just to save his life. And now, after all these years, he used the second and third on the same day.


    His aura exploded forth, the Natural Treasure becoming a catalyst that turned his flames into something completely new.


    The black and red fused together, gaining hints of a silvery luster. Eventually, it looked like a complete black flame with a border of shimmering red and silver.


    Titus'' aura exploded, his body seemingly unable to contain it. His cultivation rose from the Lower Dao Lord Realm to the Peak in a single bound, but his actual strength itself seemed to be on an entirely different level.


    Seeing this scene, Ryu finally stepped out from the void. He didn''t think that it was necessary to hide anymore.


    If there was one person he didn''t mind asking for favors from, or relying on...


    It was his own father.


    The appearance of a young man in ragged white robes startled the Dao Sovereigns who had just been entirely focused on Titus. When they realized it was a False Sky God walking through the air as though it was land, they were even more floored, not just by the fact he was clearly flying, but also the fact he hadn''t been burnt to ash yet.


    Titus looked over and was somewhat stunned when he saw his son''s bright smile. After he got over his shock, his eyes went red. It was subtle, something hard to tell considering his irises were already so crimson already, pouring some of its light into his sclera.


    "Oof..."


    A strong hand slapped Ryu''s shoulder so hard he thought it dislocated it for a second.


    "Easy. You have no idea how many things I''ve been through in the last day. It started with a wild beast lady, then the most powerful Dao God in Existence glanced at me, and then some bastard sneak atta-"


    Ryu was pulled into a hug much too tight for him to get out of.

 Chapter 1612 Topic

    Chapter 1612 Topic


    Ryu was speechless, the old man was really treating him like a kid.


    He was quite tall, standing at 6''9. But, quite frankly, as someone with Fire Dragon blood in him, he should have been taller. Much of that was suppressed by his Ice Jade Crystal Body, which kept him to a more streamlined and ideal height for a cultivator. Even when he lost it and gained the Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure, the latter wasn''t designed with bodily strength in mind, so it didn''t have any functions to change that. His father, his grandfather before him, and even Primus were all born with the Tyrannical Emperor Bone Structure. So, even now, his father was a head taller than him. Of course, that was because he was also still in his Dragon Form. But Ryu knew that even when his old man was in his human form, he was still at least a forehead taller. So Ryu had his entire head cradled in his father''s chest as though he was still a toddler.


    Even so, after being speechless for a moment, he laughed and hugged his father back. He felt that only an insecure man would do anything else.


    Titus grabbed Ryu''s shoulders and pushed him back, looking at his face as though he wanted to get a really good look at him, even ruffling Ryu''s hair. He probably had an avalanche of things to say, but Titus was quite similar to his own father in the he didn''t usually express his love in words. He rather preferred actions. As for words, his son had always been far better with them.


    "Those matters you spoke about... We''ll have to talk about them later. As for this."


    Titus looked toward the three Faeries who had snapped out of their stunned states and looked more angry now than anything else. Their plans had been completely ruined, but they also felt a pressure now from Titus that they weren''t certain they could even properly handle.


    It was asinine. They were Dao Sovereigns, no mere Dao Lord should be able to pressure them so much, even if they were from the Ninth Heaven or Ninth Ethereal Plane.


    No, it felt like something different...


    Then it clicked for them.


    Why were they so obsessed with the fire treasure? It wasn''t just because it was objectively valuable, but because they were Fire Elemental Faeries though they had done their best to hide it somewhat.


    The suppression wasn''t coming from the difference in raw strength. Rather, Titus was just personally immune to them.


    "And are you saying that because of your second wife?"


    "Uh..."


    Ryu looked toward his father almost as though to say: "How did you know that?"


    "Your mother told me."


    Ryu was even more speechless. He only met his mother after Ailsa and Yaana got trapped in his eyes, and he definitely wouldn''t go out of his way to-


    ''Elena...''


    Ryu cringed a bit. While he was undergoing his Rebirth, Elena had spent quite a lot of time with his mom. She had also been insane enough to pass along those... images to his mom to hand to him as well. That woman would really be willing to do anything. His mother never mentioned it... or did she?


    "Wait, where''s mother, then?"


    "She went to look for her own opportunity."


    "You separated already after just getting back together after so long?"


    "Don''t try to change the topic, Ryu."


    Ryu subconsciously stood up straighter as his father looked at him. His posture was already perfect, so he practically shifted his weight to his toes almost as though he would stand on them but not quite.


    "A man only has so much energy in his life. It''s impossible for you to love so many women equally and fully, and it''s equally impossible for them to always be alright with being neglected. I know your personality well. Your mother was aware of five women, including Elena, in the span of just a few years since your rebirth. Of those women, you probably only gave a few status. And what would you do when the neglected women have finally had enough of you? Do you think your charm is endless? It''s only been a few years now, but what about in a thousand? A million? A billion?"

 Chapter 1613 It Could...

    Chapter 1613 It Could...


    Ryu took the lecture in silence, coughing from time to time.


    His father was right, he knew that. But honestly, he never really worried about it.


    What would he do if a woman he neglected chose to leave him? Well, he wouldn''t really care, so long as she never married again. Because if she chose to lie with another man after losing her Primordial Yin to him, it wouldn''t just be a matter of her any longer, it would be about his pride and his Faith. He would never allow that.


    In truth, he would probably kill such a woman and her lover, never thinking twice about it.


    Was it fair? Of course not, he knew that. But Ryu wasn''t a man who dealt in fairness to begin with.


    Most of these women his father was talking about had a clear understanding of his personality before they took action. The only exception to that was Mae... well, he guessed Isemeine as well.


    When Ryu thought of this, his relatively calm expression became a frown.


    He really liked Eska and she wasn''t among the neglected, at least for now. But now she shared a body with Isemeine, and Isemeine had a completely different set of morals and personality. If not for Eska''s influence, Isemeine would already be thinking about leaving him. In fact, she might have already acted on it.


    If Isemeine did such a thing while sharing Eska''s body, even if they were technically separate, Ryu couldn''t say he wouldn''t care anymore. He wouldn''t even be able to kill Isemeine without affecting Eska or maybe even killing her as well.


    He wouldn''t even know what to do in the situation aside from burning everything related to her lover to the ground, and even then he''d still be furious.


    Ryu blinked, then nodded. "Yes, father."


    "Good. Even if you want more women, you have to ensure that you not only have the resources, but also the time for them. Anything less and you will only be harming yourself and them."


    Ryu nodded again. He felt that his father was right, he just didn''t really think about it. He just did as he pleased.


    His heart was freer than it had once been, but it seemed that there were drawbacks to that as well.


    "Now," Titus continued. "I assume I already understand what you meant by "beast girl". But what about the rest?"


    Ryu chuckled. Indeed, in retrospect, it was probably less what his mother told him and that comment instead that triggered the lecture. Either way, he appreciated it. He was young and still blind to some things.


    Ryu told his father about the Phoenix Sky God, causing a line of worry to appear.


    Ryu shrugged. "In the end, I was unable to cultivate and they gave me a chance to. I''ll make them regret it if they dare to do anything to me in the future."


    Titus sighed. Indeed, his son did have two sides. When he was stubborn like this, it didn''t matter what he said.


    "Then your Sect?" Titus asked.


    "I''m still not sure how to deal with it. I don''t want to leave those two in danger, but I also don''t want to alert Old Wan of anything. The less that man knows, the better."


    Suddenly, Ryu''s eyes lit up. "I thought of something. There''s a chance he could see through it, and you might have to clash with Aika, but it could work..."

 Chapter 1614 Harboring

    Chapter 1614 Harboring


    BOOM!


    The skies above the Radiant Star Sect seemed to explode, and a power that had only just gotten out of one battle was instantly thrust into another.


    High in the skies, a man radiating the might of a Fire Dragon descended. His fury painted the skies in red-black flames, the very Rage Flames that gave the Emperor of Dragons their power. The power of emotions was something only the strongest of techniques could tap into. And in this Realm, the Fire Dragons almost had sole ownership. And it showed.


    BANG!


    Several auras appeared in the skies, from a grieving Aika, to even the likes of Old Xu, Jiao and Xiao.


    Titus stood in the skies with his hands behind his back, his aura radiating down. Those with Bloodlines felt their own rolling. It felt like a suppressive effect that they had simply never experienced before.


    Aika was in a foul mood and she almost lashed out immediately, but it was Old Wan and Samson that held her back.


    Someone with the aura of a Fire Dragon had descended. Didn''t that mean that this man was from the Ninth Heaven? Even if they tried to discount that, how else could a mere Dao Lord have such a powerful aura if they weren''t from the Ninth Heaven.


    BANG!


    She was slammed into the ground below, hitting the earth with such speed that cracks spread out wildly in all directions. The Sect shuddered and their walls collapsed.


    Aika felt as though all the bones in her body had shattered, and Samson, who seemed to be the last who could stand in the skies now, felt his expression turn ashen.


    ''Old Wan was right. We really aren''t ready to be on this stage,'' he thought to himself.


    Titus raised a hand to deal with Samson, but at that moment, a voice came out.


    Two white-haired beauties, one with equally white eyes and another with radiant blue ones rushed out. As for the one that was calling out, it was the latter.


    "WAIT!"


    The voice came out like an agitated roar, it echoed like the rage of a dragon. But almost the instant it appeared, Titus waved another hand and Selheira was grabbed so tightly by a formless energy that she couldn''t even speed, let alone move.


    Titus snorted and seemed prepared to leave when his gaze landed on Eska.


    "... This Sect is harboring remnants of the Taboo Powers?


    Samson''s heart turned to ash when he heard this. He knew that this would become a problem in the future. Even though Ryu had said Isemeine was a member of the Martial Gods, the Taboo Powers were the enemy of all nine powers!

 Chapter 1615 How?

    Chapter 1615 How?


    Titus swept a gaze over everyone, the coldness in his expression deepening.


    "Radiant Star Sect, huh? What a good Sect."


    He waved a hand and Eska was grabbed. Even Aika could hardly resist, let alone Eska and Selheira. The two were grabbed without being able to put up the slightest fight.


    "We''ll see how the world reacts to this."


    Titus vanished. But he had only done so for a moment before a ball of fire descended from the skies above. Clearly, it was one last parting gift.


    Aika pulled herself out of the rubble. Her hair was a mess, but her body was in even worse condition. When she saw the ball of fire descending, ready to envelop the entire Sect, she shrieked, her qi spiraling into a tempest that shot into the skies after the ball of fire.


    It was caught by one pillar of star qi, then another, and then another.


    She poured everything she had into it, but balls of flames still fell onto the Sect in droves, burning down buildings, killing disciples, unleashing unholy hell and carnage...


    Aika found herself burning everything within her just to resist this ball of fire, her mind unable to stop itself from drifting to Ryu.


    If he was still here... couldn''t they have stopped this?


    It was a ridiculous thought, but only as ridiculous as it was that a mere False Sky God had been able to turn the tides against Black Worm like that, even costing the Fading Star Sect, the Stalwart Sun Sect, the Raging Inferno Sect, and the Azure Lightning Sect millions of powerful warriors.


    At that moment, the Radiant Star Sect had somehow leveled the playing feeling against those behemoths thanks to the actions of that one young man...


    And yet she, as a Dao Sovereign, couldn''t even do the same.


    The disgust she had for herself reached a fever pitch as she pushed through the last of the ball of fire.


    She stood there in the skies, her head hung low, her hair drifting over her face. Her two small hands were charred black and her clothing was burnt through in many places. If not for the volatile aura and qi around her, she would have probably lost her dignity to the face of the entire world.


    With a grin, Ryu swept them both into his arms, even Eska who very much wanted to escape. But between escaping Ryu and embarrassing herself a little before her father-in-law, she seemed to choose the latter.


    She felt odd calling a man a fraction her age father-in-law, and a man even younger than that Lord Husband, but at this point, this was the bed she had chosen to lie in, so she would do so.


    "Father, can you give us a moment, please?"


    Titus nodded and vanished, his voice echoing through the skies. "I will be going to find your mother now. I believe you''ll be just fine on your own now."


    Ryu nodded and looked toward Selheira and Eska.


    Selheira just looked happy to be there. Eska, however, was much more reserved. He could see a light of happiness in her eyes, but it was subdued, filled with thoughts of other things and separate worries.


    "Eska, I hope it''s not too much to ask-"


    Hearing Ryu start like this, Eska was stunned, not quite understanding what he could possibly want to say.


    "-But can I see Isemeine for a moment?"


    Eska''s brows raised, but eventually she nodded.


    "Of course."


    In that moment, the soft, cloud-like waist of Eska was replaced by a more robust and firmer frame.


    Isemeine''s skin was just as soft and supple, but the muscles beneath were on another level compared to Eska. She was a slender, but powerfully built woman.


    Isemeine was ready for a quippy reply, but when she saw the gentleness in Ryu''s eyes and felt his masculine touch, her tongue went soft for a second.


    She shook her head. "Finally decided to seduce me? What is it, you thought that I''d be more okay with a threesome than the big chested bimbo? Well, you''d be right, but you didn''t hear it from me."


    She said this and then looked away stubbornly.


    Ryu chuckled. "No, that''s not what I called you out for. Tell me, Isemeine, how do you see our relationship?"

 Chapter 1616 Complex

    Chapter 1616 Complex


    Isemeine frowned.


    "What the hell are you asking me all of a sudden? Did you suddenly become soft?"


    She had noticed that Ryu had changed considerably after their first encounter in the True Martial World, and she had continued to observe him from within Eska.


    The problem was that she hadn''t really known Ryu all that well to begin with. She was just the useful flesh toy he brought out when he felt like he needed to vent.


    Honestly speaking, if it was another woman, they would have grown to absolutely hate Ryu. Well, she had hated Ryu in the past, but it was for an entirely different reason. She didn''t really care all that much about him using her body because it was a good time. What she cared about him was him infringing on her dignity and looking down on her.


    She was a Mighty Martial God, someone who should be respected and worshiped. It was more insulting to her when she was writhing with lust and yet Ryu preferred to sit there and watch her die than touch her.


    As a Martial God, she simply had a different relationship with sex than most others of the cultivation Realm. Her own mother had children with two different men, and many more lovers outside of that. Of course, her fathers likewise had many lovers of their own. Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    That was simply the culture. It was ingrained into their very bones and minds that the only use of Dual Cultivation for them was growing stronger and birthing stronger babies for their Race.


    Martial Gods rarely fell in love. Or, more accurately, they rarely fell into an unselfish, all encompassing and loyal kind of love. They might favor one person over another, but something like giving up the reins on their sex life to another was almost entirely unheard of.


    In fact, the only person Isemeine known to have done this was Elena. Well, she might as well count herself as well, but that wasn''t really out of her own personal choice. That annoying Eska was always nagging too much.


    Ryu smiled and shook his head. This was an expected response, honestly.


    "Just tell me."


    Isemeine nose quirked up to one side then wrinkled.


    "I guess you''re a decent fuck buddy."


    The moment she spoke, she felt a hint of heat from her side. She looked over and seemed to finally take notice of Selheira. The latter looked quite calm at the moment, but her crystal slit eyes seemed to paint a different picture entirely.


    Isemeine laughed.


    "It looks like your little puppy doesn''t like my words."


    When Selheira didn''t respond to these words, Isemeine grinned and didn''t seem to mind it until she suddenly squealed, jumping up. If it wasn''t for Ryu''s arm around her waist, she might have gone soaring.


    "Be obedient," Ryu said.


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    "Bleeding heart?"


    Isemeine''s white-gold irises flickered when she saw the danger in Ryu''s gaze. Indeed, maybe he hadn''t changed so much after all.


    However, by the time she broke out of her daze, Ryu was already looking around. Right now, they were deep into a mountain range, one that his father had likely already killed the top level creatures of or else he would never leave Ryu here so casually.


    Truthfully, Ryu had things to do and he would prefer to head to the Ethereal Plane immediately so he could check out some things. But his cultivation wasn''t the only thing that deserved some effort in his life.


    With a step, he flashed and vanished. When the trio appeared again, they were even deeper into the mountain range and had found a small oasis. The area was quite peaceful, and it seemed that a very powerful creature had called this place home in the past. The qi was so dense you could breathe it in like humid air and there was a slight drizzle of mist falling everywhere that felt both refreshing, and somehow didn''t make them feel wet and sticky, almost as though it evaporated the instant it touched their skin.


    Selheira seemed to like the surroundings, burying her head into her side of Ryu''s chest.


    "Well isn''t this nice," Isemeine chuckled. "Better than losing your first time on a jagged rocky surface. Seems like you''ve improved over the yea-AH!"


    Isemeine yelped again, then glared at Ryu.


    "How the hell are you doing that! You''re not strong enough to harm my body!"


    Ryu smirked. "You sure you want to test that?"


    Isemeine''s gaze flickered with uncertainty. She had already unearthed a lot of the potential of her body, and as a Martial God... there was a lot of it.


    She and Eska might "only" be Transcendent Sky Gods, but the strength within them was much greater. It was just that they never used it because using Taboo Powers so openly was dangerous.


    Even so, that didn''t mean that Ryu could just make her feel pain like that so easily.


    Ryu''s smirk deepened. Then, he looked from Isemeine''s eyes down to his crotch.


    Isemeine rolled her eyes, but she still obediently got down on her knees.


    "This is not turning over a leaf you know," her next words were muffled as she wrapped her lips around it, "... this is," she pulled back, "not fun for me at all..."


    Seeing Isemeine like this, Ryu''s understanding of her deepened. She was clearly not happy with him, but she tied almost none of her unhappiness with this sexual act. In fact, she felt happy doing it, because the act itself aroused her. She even seemed to like the fact Selheira was watching.


    Even as blood was diverted from his mind, Ryu''s thoughts didn''t slow.


    He couldn''t just randomly decided to take Isemeine as a wife. Even if Eska wouldn''t say anything, he knew that every woman, or every person for that matter, had a temper of their own regardless of how gentle they seemed. Selheira was probably the most obvious example of this.


    The word wife to Eska held a lot of meaning and he had felt her wild fluctuations of emotions when he said it. If he just casually bestowed it on Isemeine now, how would she feel?


    No, he needed something else.

 Chapter 1617 Alright

    Chapter 1617 Alright


    Satisfying both women wasn''t hard for Ryu. As big a game as Isemeine liked to talk, if he were to rank which of his women were the most sensitive, her and Ailsa would probably have to duke it out for first place. Maybe due to watching him with Eska again and again, she had a lot pent up inside of her and she was even more sensitive than usual, something that was hard to imagine.


    Ryker sat cross legged, looking out onto the oasis. His mind had already drifted elsewhere. Between him seeing the Phoenix Sky God and now, he hadn''t really had a moment to rest and reflect, and quite honestly, it was still bothering him. He hadn''t been in the mood to have sex at all, he just did so because he felt that he had been neglecting Isemeine too much. If he wanted to avoid the future his father warned him about, he couldn''t do that.


    Even so, his mind couldn''t help but be consumed by that topic. He wanted to get stronger at a rate that was much faster than this. His already insane speed wasn''t enough.


    He released some control over his qi and his breakthrough into the False Sky God Realm continued. He greedily sucked up the thick qi, but his body felt like a bottomless well.


    At this point, he felt that it was actually a bit ridiculous. Others already saw him as a False Sky God, but that was purely because of the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation. His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, though, was insatiable. There didn''t seem to be enough energy in the world for it.


    Which was ridiculous because he had yet to feel it give him any tangible benefits aside from auxiliary matters.


    He had used it to form his Embryonic Qi, and that was amazing. But aside from that, was there much else?


    He couldn''t use the treasures in it without killing himself, the large well of qi others would have benefited from was useless to him because he had already had an endless well of qi to pull from the Chaos Plane, even the Divine Chains it had allowed him to grasp had been sacrificed for the sake of his own Dao Vessel.


    He shook his head, finding himself becoming frustrated.


    He had thought he felt better after going on a rampage, but Old Wan''s attack and Hope''s current state had just brought him right back to stage one. Ultimately, this was all caused by his weakness... again.


    He was strong for his cultivation Realm, he was probably already closing in if not infinitesimally close to the geniuses of the Ninth Heaven. But it wasn''t enough, it never felt like it was enough.


    This was what he wanted, wasn''t it? A rise to the top.


    It was. It was exactly what he wanted. The trouble was that he didn''t want to have to deal with all the politics that came with it.


    He never thought about coddling the emotions of all his women because it felt like a waste of his time. He never wanted to join a Sect because dealing with those kinds of interpersonal relationships had always made him gag, even back when he was a youth and his father was taking him around to visit their subordinate powers, he had always hated it.


    He never wanted to be leader, he never wanted to be a King or an Emperor, he just wanted to have the strongest fist, the strongest blade, the greatest strength. Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    "You didn''t cum..." she mumbled beneath her breath, her words slurring.


    Ryu looked down at the woman who looked more drunk than anything else, suddenly feeling the need to laugh. His irritation vanished.


    He hadn''t, but he wasn''t really in the mood to. Watching Isemeine blindly knead at him, trying to understand why it wasn''t getting hard yet, he was feeling more and more amused.


    "Seems you''re not very good at this," Ryu chuckled.


    "... You take that back, you bastard!"


    She pulled herself over and her face practically collapsed in Ryu''s lap, her tongue flailing about wildly but mostly missing her intended target.


    Ryu smiled. He could feel the fluctuations in Isemeine''s soul and it was adorable in her own way.


    !


    When he thought about it, about the only thing he truly understood about Isemeine was that she was extremely prideful. It didn''t seem so with how she acted in bed, but when he accounted for the fact she didn''t see sex like most did, it made more sense. She saw the act as a pleasurable thing where no one party was truly in submission to the other.


    So of course, she didn''t attach her pride to such a thing. However, when she could reciprocate, her pride did begin to leak into this act it was usually unrelated to. Ryu caught a faint inkling of how he could manipulate Isemeine into true submission. He didn''t even need to use his Dao, his normal comprehension abilities were good enough to see the path on their own. But he ignored it.


    He reached down a hand and stroked her hair.


    "Alright, alright," he chuckled, letting his blood flow freely until the heat assaulted Isemeine''s cheek.


    After giving Isemeine exactly what she wanted, Ryu felt more relaxed.


    He hadn''t gotten an answer to everything going on in his mind, but he had never expected to. There was no one answer to subduing those feelings of malcontent in his heart except to get stronger than anyone else. His women were the same way, there was nothing else to do aside from getting to know them better.


    To him, the two were just two opposing sides of the same coin.


    He looked up toward the skies, feeling an elevated sense of self as his breakthrough reached a peak.


    "In that case, I''ll go to the Ninth Heaven as quickly as possible. I won''t leave Elena alone for so long again. After that, we will go to the Nether Plane for Mae. Only then will I go to the Ethereal Plane for myself."

 Chapter 1618 Return

    Chapter 1618 Return


    "You''re going to the Ninth Heaven?" Selheira asked with a frown.


    Clearly, she didn''t like this idea very much. It also didn''t help that her Crystal Dragon Clan had been banished to the Eighth Heaven, so she herself wasn''t even allowed to step onto that Plane of Existence. In fact, technically speaking, no one outside of the Ninth Heaven was allowed to step onto it.


    On the Eighth Heaven, the likes of the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign could already sense Ryu just by having the faintest Line of Faith between them. On the Ninth Heaven, one could easily imagine that the situation would be far worse.


    Taking a step back, for most people, just stepping onto the Ninth Heaven was a death sentence, not because of attacks from others, but purely because of the environment.


    The Ninth Heaven was a region of absolute perfection. It was the place where qi was the most complete and the Dao could be felt the most strongly. In such an area, when someone weak of body and weak of mind stepped foot into it, death would be the only path.


    There was a long time where Ryu''s talent was weak to the point that just stepping onto the Ninth Heaven would have flattened him like a pancake.


    It wasn''t a matter of strength, there were even mortals on the Ninth Heaven. It was a matter of oneness with the Heavens and aligning with it, resonating with it.


    Of course, even these mortals born on the Ninth Heaven were of greatly exaggerated strength. Many of them, without ever sensing qi in their lives, could crush cultivators from the lower Heavens. Of course, these would be weaker cultivators, but it would be a shocking feat nonetheless.


    Ryu didn''t find this fact too surprising, though. As a six year old, before his Awakening Realm ceremony, there were many Awakening Realm experts who couldn''t hold a candle to him, and that was by a standard of the Shrine Plane.


    Of course, that was a different situation. After all, he had been trained by his father ever since he could walk, which was quite an early day considering his Bone Structure and the balancing abilities it gave him.


    But the point still stood.


    Now, to Selheira, Ryu''s will to step onto the Ninth Heaven was asinine.


    Now, he just needed a method to go to the Ninth Heaven. That was far easier said than done...


    The only method he had was the Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s inheritance, and though there was a chance he could find it again, even if he did it would teleport him right to the bottom of that vast ocean. There was no other path than death down there.


    While he could survive while in Infinity Mist, that was just due to its unique properties.


    If he went high enough, he''d meet a block of ice millions of kilometers thick. He wouldn''t even get to start drilling through it before the cold killed him.


    Even if by some miracle he made it through and survived the cold, the pressure above that block of ice was so great that opening the void was a pipe dream, he would be crushed instantly.


    None of that even mentioned the creatures. While there were no creatures that called the Infinity Mist home... at least not from what he knew, that wasn''t the same for the ocean itself.


    All in all, trying that route was a bad idea.


    ''I''ll have to find a way to take advantage of this disruption in space, maybe? I don''t know if I have the skill to draw a formation capable of crossing that barrier, especially since there are definitely protections... maybe there''s another gateway?''


    Selheira hesitated. "Husband, maybe..."


    "Hm?" Ryu looked over at Selheira.


    "If it''s for you... we can return to my Crystal Dragon Clan. I''m sure that they have a method of returning to the Ninth Heaven despite the banishment..."


    "Oh?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.


    Honestly, he didn''t have a very good streak going with parents in law, but since Selheira had mentioned this, it must mean that it wasn''t impossible.

 Chapter 1619 Smile

    Chapter 1619 Smile


    "Little Silk," Ryu called out and a beautiful butterfly appeared, sparkling with a crystalline rain of gorgeous blue ice.


    Ryu, Isemeine, and Selheira stepped onto her back, and they shot off into the distance.


    "Tell me about it," Ryu asked without turning to Selheira.


    He knew that Selheira had some history with her family, but it must not be as bad as he assumed if she was willing to return like this. Though, it was possible that she was just doing it for him, he could sense a slight longing in her as well.


    Honestly speaking, someone who had been and was as weak as Selheira-World Sea Realm back then and only Fragmented Sky God now-definitely could not have left such a powerful Clan on her own. Sneaking away was impossible...


    Setting aside her cultivation, her overall talent had taken a huge hit as well due to the fact she abandoned her Dragon heritage.


    It could be said that she was in the worst possible position to ever sneak away from such a powerful Clan.


    It was also important to mention that while the Crystal Dragons had been "banished", it wasn''t an act of war. They were a docile race of Dragons and left in silence without a single ounce of blood being shed. Effectively, they were still the second most powerful line of Dragons in the whole True Martial World.


    Although raising their young and cultivating on the Eighth Heaven had, indeed, weakened some of their edge, it wasn''t exaggerated to the point they were no longer cut from the same cloth. There was not a single power on the Eighth Heaven that dared to offend them.


    "I..." Selheira''s eyes dimmed. "I really hate the Fire Dragons. We did everything for them, we are the reason they''re so powerful today, and we never asked for any credit. We were just the silent Clan in the background.


    "Because of our nature, it''s impossible to pull ourselves away from a subservient role. We were always designed to be subservient to someone, the only question was to who.


    "As a result, in order to become the strongest of us, most have to chip away at their desires, at their pride, and cast it away in favor of a humble bearing. It isn''t that we''re all born this way, but that it''s impossible to become stronger without following this particular path.


    You didn''t start off born to follow their path. However, in order to follow said path, you had to slowly shed away anything that was unique to yourself, almost as though you were watching yourself die in exchange for power.


    "... You can fly faster," Selheira said lightly. "With me here, no one and nothing will bother us..."


    Ryu nodded without a word and pulled them all into the void. With Little Silk''s speed, their pace of travel accelerated to an exaggerated extent.


    Selheira was true to her word. It felt odd, but they were not bothered by anyone or anything. It was a peculiar feeling for Ryu was fairly certain he would have gotten into trouble by now. Traveling across the Eighth Heaven, especially toward a position at its very center with all this wilderness in between, should have been a death sentence. Let alone making it to the Ninth Heaven, he might have died in just this attempt alone.


    But he hadn''t, and in just a few days, he could see it in the distance.


    It was a mountain range of crystals, so blinding beneath the sunlight that even he had to squint.


    They stepped out of the void and the sight became clearer... until a long shadow was cast over the world.


    Ryu looked up and his pupils constricted. It wasn''t his first time seeing a Dragon, but for some reason, this felt...


    Different.


    It wasn''t as large as the Dragons of Sacrum, but it was far more imposing. Stretching out a hundred meters from head to the beginning of its tail, and another 50 meters after that, its body glistened with radiant scales of light pink, pale violet, and gorgeous sky blue.


    Even gliding barely a few hundred meters overhead, the wind pressure was near nonexistent, as though even its method of flight was gentle.


    The dragon inclined its head and looked down. Then, Ryu could have sworn it smiled.Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1620 Submission

    Chapter 1620 Submission


    Ryu met the gaze of the Crystal Dragon, feeling something stirring inside of him.


    It was submission.


    He could feel his Fire Dragon Bloodline withering away as though it wouldn''t be satisfied until he bowed he scraped.


    Ryu ignored it, looking at this Crystal Dragon for a long while. Their gaze only met for a brief moment as the creature was simply too fast, but for Ryu, it might as well have been an eternity... not because he was trembling in fear, but rather because his eyes seemed to want to burn the image of this beautiful creature into his mind.


    It truly was the most beautiful beast he had ever seen.


    It was only after it had flashed into the mountain range that Ryu turned his attention to his Bloodline and shook his head. In the past, he would have probably gotten angry, but he didn''t really see the point right now.


    Seeing what Selheira had to go through, he understood that humans with Beast Bloodlines were actually better off, at least in part. There were still a lot of shackles that Ryu had to deal with, but rather than his Bloodlines because the only path for him to take, they were just supplemental. Compared to Selheira, he was actually in a far better state.


    Plus, he didn''t care how agitated his Bloodlines were. They were under his control and nothing else could dictate their actions.


    If he had wanted to, he could have triggered an activation of his Bloodmancy and any effects similar to what had just happened would have been fully under his control.


    He didn''t because it would have been a waste of his effort.


    Ryu suddenly looked over to find that Selheira had tears streaming down her cheeks. In line with her race, they sparkled like little droplets of gems.


    "There''s no need to cry," Ryu said lightly. "Just take it as revisiting home after a long while, a reprieve from your hardship. The rest of it will fall into place with time."Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    "Husband deserves all the women in the world."


    Isemeine gagged. "Oh god, I think I''m gonna throw up. I''m going now, no need to torture me on the way out."


    ...


    Little Silk descended and soon it was just Ryu and Selheira standing at the entrance of the crystal mountain. There was a huge archway before them and the air was filled with a delicate scent that was just a few strokes away from intoxication. The smell almost assaulted the mind, forcing you to rid yourself of anxiety and rage. It almost begged you to give yourself over to tranquility.


    Selheira''s feet seemed rooted in place and her body started shaking. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t seem to take another step.


    "If you don''t want to enter, we don''t have to. I can easily think of another way," Ryu said lightly.


    If he had known that Selheira would have such a fierce reaction, he wouldn''t have accepted her offer. He didn''t want her to think that this was his only path. With or without this, he would have found a way. Wasn''t it just going to the Ninth Heaven? Who could stop him from achieving his goals?


    "I..."


    Selheira didn''t expect herself to have such a fierce reaction, but even the smell was making her feel disgusted.


    This gentle and coaxing environment was like the worst sort of nightmare to her. It was like the murderer of her parents was trying to whisper sweet nothings to her. It made her skin crawl with a grotesque stickiness that filled with waves of nausea.


    "Okay, let''s go," Ryu turned around and pulled Selheira away. She couldn''t even respond properly, but clearly she didn''t want to enter. Rather than waiting for her to give the answer she obviously didn''t want to, he would make the decision to leave for her.


    Selheira pulled back against Ryu''s hand, but the hesitation was clearly painted all over her face. Ryu could even see the regret taking root for the fact she had stopped him at all.


    It was then that another shadow was cast from the skies above.

 Chapter 1621 Good Eyesight

    Chapter 1621 Good Eyesight


    The dragon landed. Its four limbs shook the earth and when it lowered its head, the wind seemed to still.


    One would have expected the breath of a dragon to smell of sulfur, blood, and burnt flesh, and yet it was just as sweet as the air of this Crystal Mountain.


    The maw of the Crystal Dragon opened and a low, grumbling roar echoed. Its gaze moved from Ryu to Selheira, then back again before focusing on Selheira entirely.


    Selheira lowered her head, but at the very least, her trembling seemed to stop.


    The dragon probably didn''t expect it, but Ryu wasn''t as ignorant to their language as one would expect. Of course, Ryu was a bit unfortunate in this regard as well, because his comprehension of Dragon Tongue wasn''t refined enough to understand this vastly different dialect-at least not entirely.


    Sacrum was one matter, but the True Martial World was clearly cut from a different cloth. That said... he had his own methods.


    His irises dilated and spun with twin eight trigram diagrams. The stilled wind picked back up slightly, and suddenly the Crystal Dragon looked back toward him. Ryu, however, was focused on translating.


    "Selheira, you''ve returned... And who is this?"


    Ryu felt that he got the gist of it. He connected with something inside of him and seemed to stir up some lingering deep inside him.


    He opened his mouth, but then he shook his head. If he tried to speak now he would just end up ripping his throat apart and spitting up blood. The Dragons were very particular about their language, and their methods of speaking put extreme amounts of stress on the body. Let alone his throat, he might very well shred his internal organs apart as well.


    He sighed and then activated his Fire Dragon Bloodline, but time he focused the manifestation of his scales on the inside of his body, coating his throat and inner organs. This usually happened anyway, but this time he activated it alone without the external changes.


    Then, he opened his mouth and roared.


    Dragon Tongue coming from Ryu was nowhere near as gentle as the low growl of the Crystal Dragon. It was aggressive, loud, and abrasive.


    It was the tone of a Fire Dragon, and it presented itself as such.


    The slit pupils of the Crystal Dragon narrowed as the skies rumbled and shook.


    "My name is Ryu Tatsuya, Selheira''s husband."


    The Crystal Dragon looked him up and down, a motion that was hardly registered considering the size of its eyes were taller than even Ryu''s body.


    "May I know who you are?" Ryu asked.


    The Crystal Dragon seemed a bit surprised this time, but then smiled.


    "I am Lysander, Selheira''s father. My wife is in seclusion for now, otherwise, she would have never missed this chance to see our little girl after so long. Does that answer your question?"


    Lysander''s gaze seemed to have a meaningful hint of something else.


    Ryu understood the implication. He was wondering whether Ryu was asking about his name or asking about his status...


    Ryu, though, wasn''t thinking so deeply. He was just trying to steer the conversation away from this current rut.


    Lysander''s amusement seemed to deepen. At the same time, he relaxed, almost as though he had seen through Ryu entirely.


    The dragon opened his mouth to speak again, but then taking a glance at his daughter, he realized that he''d get scolded again if he said what he wanted to say. So, he chuckled instead.


    "You are better than I would have hoped. My daughter has good eyesight."


    Ryu didn''t even know how to respond to this. The dragon seemed to get too much of a kick out of his discomfort.


    "Come. I believe this mountain, while being a hellish trap for my daughter, will actually do you quite good. And you, Selheira... you may gain more from this than you know as well. It will depend on yourself."


    Lysander leapt into the air and the two were taken with him by some mysterious energy.


    Selheira was taken aback. Her reflex was to disregard her father''s words, but this was the first time he had said such a thing...


    But that was the thing with Crystal Dragons, even when you were being manipulated... you would never know.


    For all she knew, he had waited all this time for this moment in specific...


    -----


    Erdiul''s Note: Wow, a non braindamaged father-in-law. Rare Awespec writing.

 Chapter 1622 Good

    Chapter 1622 Good


    Ryu allowed the Dragon to carry him forward. Though, quite frankly, he didn''t really like the feeling. He could see an amused glint in Lysander''s eyes as though he was aware of this as well.


    Ryu was slowly beginning to understand why it was that Selheira was annoyed with her family. That said, he seemed to treat Selheira herself extremely well, but that seemed to grate on Selheira''s nerves all the more.


    The trio flashed and appeared deep within the Crystal Mountain. All around, Dragons continued to fly, most of them Crystal Dragons, but Ryu spotted a few who weren''t, a number much larger than what he would have expected.


    The method of reproduction was a bit odd as far as Ryu knew. Having a child by two Crystal Dragons increased the chances of birthing one, but it wasn''t guaranteed.


    It was odd since humans who were born with Dragon Blood were guaranteed to have an offspring that had this Bloodline. However, it wasn''t the case here.


    He had already seen a Wind Dragon, a Lightning Dragon, he had even seen a Spectral Dragon.


    Dragons were all arrogant, even if it manifested in different ways. He was certain that regardless of how the Crystal Dragons acted, they too, deep down, were also cut from this cloth.


    And these Bloodlines were the perfect example of how.


    When two Dragon Bloodlines were formed in the same body, only one could come out dominant. There would be no mixing or fusion of the two, and this was the ultimate result.


    Sometimes, a long line of Crystal Dragons might randomly form a Wind Dragon because the suppressed Wind Dragon genes had a sudden flare up. Or, it could be the opposite in that the Crystal Dragon genes were much too weak.


    In the end, this was their result.


    Selheira suddenly frowned. "I don''t want to go there."


    What was even more odd than this was the fact that such a trial... it should definitely be taken on your own, so why had Ryu come with Selheira? Was it even possible? Would they move as though they were alone? But then what was the point of bringing him in here as well?


    "Hey," Ryu let go of Selheira''s hand, wrapping the arm around her shoulders.


    Selheira leaned into him, feeling his warmth and slowing her breathing.


    "Come on," Ryu lifted Selheira up, hoisting her onto his back.


    The girl was heavy, as heavy as he would assume her Dragon form was. But after tossing her around for a few rounds in bed, Ryu had long since known this.


    He was used to his own body being as light as a feather, mostly due to the Northern Heavenly Winds that he had, not to mention his former Bone Structure. However, that didn''t mean that that was all his body was capable of taking.


    Selheira was taken aback. Her first reaction was to say that she wasn''t a little girl, but thinking about her actions, she wasn''t all that different from that reality either, now was she.


    Being a little willful, she rested her chin on Ryu''s shoulder, feeling more at peace.


    "Let''s go," Ryu said with a smile. He began trudging up the mountain, but he didn''t forget about Selheira. In fact, he began to ask her questions.


    "How was your childhood, Selheira?"


    She was a bit surprised. "Why are you asking all of a sudden?"


    "Shouldn''t a man know about his wife?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    Selheira smiled beside herself, tightening her grip around Ryu.


    "Well... my childhood was very good, actually..."

 Chapter 1623 Forward

    Chapter 1623 Forward


    Selheira spoke about her parents. It turned out that her mother actually wasn''t a Crystal Dragon, but was rather a Fire Dragon, an odd union, to be sure.


    Usually, it was Fire Dragon men taking hold of Crystal Dragon women. This was probably the most common union across the entire Dragon Clan.


    Selheira didn''t see her mom often. She was quite a proud and arrogant woman, as one might expect. Even so, she was quite gentle around Selheira and coddled her as much as her husband did.


    So as one might expect, Selheira''s childhood wasn''t filled with much hardship at all.


    "How did your parents meet, then?" Ryu asked, a bit confused.


    The banishing of Crystal Dragons shouldn''t have been a recent matter.


    Selheira smiled, pressing her cheek against Ryu''s.


    "My father went to get her."


    Ryu could hear the smile in her voice, and he understood the implication. It seems the old man wasn''t so gentle after all. He could probably imagine the pushback.


    However, they clearly didn''t quite have a happily ever after. The old man was here while his wife was probably still on the Ninth Heaven. Though it seemed she came to visit from time to time, because Selheira was a Crystal Dragon, she couldn''t be by her mother''s side for extended periods of time.


    It was also clear by the way that Selheira spoke about them, that she didn''t hate her parents. She actually loved them quite deeply. She probably hated the fact she was born a Crystal Dragon and not a Fire Dragon.


    "What about you, husband? How was your childhood?"


    Ryu smiled. "Good..."


    He talked about his parents, his grandparents. He had quite a unique experience as a man born to such a high-level Clan. He had practically the full support of four separate Clans and even now, he was considered their successor.


    "Then do you want a lot of children, husband?" Selheira asked.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He never really thought about it. But he would have to give his wives at least one child each, right? He couldn''t leave them barren. So by definition, it seemed that he was already locked into such a path.


    He smiled bitterly. It seemed that his father was more right than he knew. Honestly, he didn''t think that far.


    He put a lot of thought into his cultivation, but these were things that never crossed his mind because, once again, they weren''t his top priority.


    "I guess I will have to."


    "Then how will you cherish them all?"


    Ryu sighed, thinking about how much effort his parents put into just him alone. How his mother cooked his meals even well into his hundreds, how his father trained him and taught him the value of running a Clan from infancy to now...


    Could he really put the equivalent amount of effort into all of his children? Was it even fair to try and do so?


    "Not sure," Ryu finally responded.


    Selheira giggled. "Maybe you can use your incarnations."


    Ryu had heard that word a lot recently. It seemed to be an ability of Dao Lords to split themselves into perfect clones.


    Though he knew Selheira was joking, it felt kind of gross to think about having to split his attention like that for his children.


    ''Well, it seems I just have to lie in the bed I made now.''


    Ryu suddenly made it to the top of a mountain range, overlooking what seemed to be an endless rise and fall of many more.


    He didn''t know what this old man wanted out of them... But it seemed he wasn''t done yet.


    He took another step forward.

 Chapter 1624 Wonder

    Chapter 1624 Wonder


    Lysander watched the scene of his daughter and son-in-law with a cocked eyebrow. At the moment, he was a bit speechless because...


    Where was the trial?


    Ryu was just walking as though it was a leisurely stroll and hadn''t seemed to have been assaulted by anything yet, which was entirely atypical of this Holy Ground.


    While they were standing in place, it still made sense for there to be no movement, but after walking up the first mountain range? That was impossible.


    His plan had already gone awry after Ryu chose to carry Selheira, but he had hoped that Ryu would at least suffer for this choice and then things could go back to square one.Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    But it didn''t happen like that at all. Ryu was strolling through their Holy Ground as though it wasn''t a Holy Ground at all.


    ''Who gave this brat such a strong Dao Heart?''


    His daughter seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on. She should have been just as shocked, but she was so lost in her fantasy world of learning about her husband that she didn''t seem to care at all. It was like in Ryu''s presence, she had completely shut off her brain, letting him handle everything.


    Lysander sighed. "Raising a daughter is really a thankless job."


    His daughter''s temperament was excellent, and that wasn''t just his bias as a father speaking. She was strong, meticulous, she was certain in her own path and willing to divert from the teachings of even a powerhouse like him and her mother if it meant dancing to the beat of her own tune.


    And yet, the daughter he knew had become a blubbering fool he could practically see hearts in the eyes of.


    Seeing this scene, he had hints of worry in his eyes. It wasn''t because of his daughter''s actions, per se. After a small interaction with Ryu, he quite liked this son-in-law of his.


    Ryu was quite arrogant, but he also seemed willing to embarrass himself a little bit if it meant appeasing his women. That much was clear from their conversation, especially when he tried and failed to make small talk.


    "Can you?"


    She sounded both hopeful and a bit helpless. She wanted to believe, but... how could someone help another''s comprehension? Things simply didn''t work like that?


    But then again, her husband did have a Founding Dao. That was something even her father didn''t have, maybe he could?


    She honestly wasn''t sure.


    "Hm..." Ryu mumbled. "I''ve been thinking about a lot of things recently. While I was speaking with my master, I was sent across Existence and I saw many things that I could have never imagined."


    "Like?"


    "There was a world of mere mortals capable of harnessing the powers of Stars to travel across the cosmos. It was maybe the most impressive thing that I''ve ever seen."


    "Mortals?" Selheira''s brows jumped, feeling extremely surprised. She found it hard to believe, but she didn''t think that Ryu would lie to her, nor would he make such a foolish decision.


    "I was surprised as well. But I double and triple checked. Even a child of this world who hadn''t cultivated even a day yet could kill them with a slap, and yet they accomplished so many fantastical things.


    "What was most impressive about them, though, was that they were perfectly capable of passing on their knowledge from person to person...


    "Their advancements weren''t made in a single generation like most are forced to here. In fact, even for Clans and Sects of the True Martial World who want to maintain their power, it''s necessary for them to give up a great deal, sacrificing potential for sustainability.


    "But these mortals continuously improved from generation to generation simply by passing down their knowledge... something we "immortals" are completely unable to do to the same effectiveness.


    "It made me wonder... if there was a way."

 Chapter 1625 Pass Down

    Chapter 1625 Pass Down


    Selheira blinked, taken aback by Ryu''s contemplative demeanor. It was a side of him she hadn''t seen before, at least not outside of their Domain sessions. She had some thoughts of her own on the matter, but her father practically wilted when he saw his daughter choose to hold her tongue.


    Ryu chuckled. "You know, I can feel you biting your tongue. I thought it would just be once or twice, but what happened to the woman that wanted to kill me?"


    Selheira panicked. "When did I...?!"


    Ryu''s grin widened. "You never did? You could have fooled me. Your style of playing Domain is so aggressive."


    Seemingly realizing what Ryu meant, Selheira blushed. Her style of playing Domain was very... aggressive. It was the first time Ryu had seen a side of Selheira that wasn''t gentle, and it was that glimpse that made him grasp her personality fully.


    He rarely knew the details of his women''s lives... well, except for Ailsa, Elena, and Yaana. Elena and Yaana because he had spent a ridiculous amount of time with them, and Ailsa because she was his Life Partner.


    However, knowing details was one matter, but grasping their character was another. There wasn''t a single one of his women that he didn''t understand intimately in that way.


    "I''m sorry..." Selheira said softly.


    Ryu laughed almost a little too hard.


    "Do you know what type of woman I like most?" Ryu said.


    "Eska," Selheira said.


    Ryu, who was ready for a quippy reply, was suddenly rendered speechless. In the end, he smiled bitterly. It seemed that he wasn''t the only one who understood the character of the other intimately.


    "So once again, it''s a path limited to only the greatest of geniuses."


    Selheira fell into her thoughts before responding.


    "Is the gap really so large?"


    "On this front, yes. But I don''t know if it''s because their methods of passing down knowledge are so much better, it''s rather that their path is... unique. It''s more conducive to being passed down. Technically speaking, in their worlds, someone could leave a child a blueprint that, should said child take it seriously enough, it would be possible to craft the strongest weapons of their races.


    "However, for us, cultivation is mostly an individual journey designed to combat against the Heavens. By its nature, it should be hard to pass down and share knowledge...


    "Or so I thought."


    "Is it not like that?" Selheira asked.


    "Well... The Heavens have a vested interest in making sure its Races are as powerful as possible. In my home world, they even picked out a supreme race to rule over all others.


    "The Heavens want people to progress, it wants us to become stronger. Many of the limitations we face today are artificially crafted by powerful Clans who stand atop everyone else."


    "And you have a way to fix this?"


    "I''ve been thinking about the Four Arts a lot... I wonder about the legend of mortals transcending to Godhood in a single bound by reaching their extremes...


    "And I wonder if there''s a hidden secret within them... one that might help with this exact issue."

 Chapter 1626 Play for Me

    Chapter 1626 Play for Me


    "The Four Arts? Husband, are you familiar with Arts other than Domain?" Selheira asked with a bit of expectation in her voice.


    Ryu chuckled. "It might be too much to say familiar. I mostly used them as a means to an end. I have a small understanding of them."


    "Can you play something for me? Music, I mean," Selheira continued with even more excitement.


    "Oh? Do you like music a lot?"


    Selheira blushed slightly. While she was transitioning to her human body, she spent a lot of effort trying to become more... "Ladylike" so that she wouldn''t stick out like a sore thumb.


    Part of that came in the form of her gentle demeanor, and part of that came in even more superficial ways like learning some etiquette and more "feminine" hobbies.


    Much of those things she hated. Her "gentleness" reminded her a lot of her Crystal Dragon lineage. And, honestly, of the things she had tried, even compared to Domain, it was what she was best at.


    However, when it came to music... she liked it very much. It was just a shame that she didn''t have much talent for it, it never really... clicked with her.


    Music was very much a human creation, she couldn''t get a hang of it as a beast. While she could mimic, actually grasping the tone and feel of a piece was beyond her.


    Ryu listened to Selheira''s explanation and smiled.


    "Hm, I can. What would you like to hear? I can play the flute, the lyre, the guqin..."


    "What are you best at?" Selheira asked.


    Ryu smiled. What was he best at? There was really no distinction. He could be considered an "expert" in them all. With his former Ice Jade Crystal body, his dexterity and fluidity of mind was on a completely different level, and with his Heavenly Pupils, whether it was his memory or sharpness, they had always been on another level compared to mortals.


    Actually, his Ice Jade Crystal body had played a much larger part. That was because it allowed him to be ambidextrous, easily using both of his hands just as easily, and independently of one another as well.


    Often, as a musician, hand independence was the biggest mountain to climb. It was something that even martial artists would struggle with. This was why you couldn''t just find dual wielders everywhere, despite the fact dual wielders had an obvious advantage against single weapon wielders.


    When you played the flute, you pressed down pads or covered up holes, changing the frequency at which the instrument resonated to and thus changing the sound of the note.


    So, if he listened to his Northern Heavenly Wind...


    Didn''t that mean that he could play the tune that resonated the most with the world he stood in?


    Couldn''t he play the music of the Heavens themselves?


    The Crystal Mountains in the surroundings began to tremble slightly, glowing.


    Ryu was lost in his thoughts and Selheira was completely enamored by the music, tears streaking down her face in torrents.


    How could it sound so beautiful? Why could she feel it to the depths of her soul?


    She felt like her Dao Heart was glowing, her cultivation stirring and reacting. She could sense her path clearer now than she ever could before, as though Ryu was transferring the effects of the Crystal Mountain directly into her ears.


    He stripped away the trial, stripped away the challenge. He found the root of the trial itself, sinking down to its very purpose.


    The music seemed to be capable of ignoring all the protective layers around the greatest benefits of this mountain range, finding the core and giving it freely to the world...


    As though it wanted everyone to see this beauty.


    At some unknown point, Ryu''s fingers stopped moving, but the music didn''t.


    With every breath he took, with every exhale he pushed out, his body resonated with the world and the music continued.


    The fragrance was intoxicating, and the feeling seemed to echo in bones.


    Ryu felt that if he were to throw out a punch at this moment...


    He could raze the world to the ground.

 Chapter 1627 Tremble

    Chapter 1627 Tremble


    Ryu stopped moving his feet. His eyes were closed and the last echoes of the gentle music came to a slow stop.


    The feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He didn''t expect that his Northern Heavenly Wind would have such an ability.


    No, it wasn''t quite the ability of the Northern Heavenly Wind, it was his innovation that had allowed it. And without his comprehension ability, Northern Heavenly Wind or not, it would be a pipe dream to find the resonance of the world around her.


    It also had to be remembered that the Northern Heavenly Wind he was referring to was barely an Omniscient Grade treasure right now. Although he had gained a Wind Treasure for his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, it was much like the others in that Ryu couldn''t use it.


    Northern Heavenly Wind was a gentle treasure just like Origin Flames, so if it had been alone, it wouldn''t have been a problem. This was also the case if it had been Southern Heavenly Wind, the Breath of Life. But the Eastern and Western Winds were too tyrannical, while the Wind that Ryu had taken was a fusion of all four.


    And yet, he was still able to accomplish this.


    Ryu felt that this new ability was perfect for his close combat style. It wouldn''t overlap with his Childe of Order Constitution, but would instead fuse and enhance it. Both of them could resonate with the world, but one was based purely on moving the energies of the world, while the other focused on actually understanding them.


    Childe of Order didn''t help Ryu to comprehend anything. Instead, its activation simply seemed to force the qi in the surroundings to follow his command.


    This musical resonance, though, wasn''t a one size fits all like the Child of Order Constitution. In fact, Ryu felt that it actually had more potential than the Child of Order Constitution did.


    That wasn''t because of the ability itself, but rather how perfectly it fused with his abilities.


    This resonance with the world was the perfect foundation for his Dao. He had already managed to form a Dao Vessel and this covered many of his weaknesses, amplifying his Dao usage to a great degree...


    But he still lacked Dao Techniques.


    Then Ryu had another thought.


    ''How do I apply this to my Dividing Chaos Dao...?''


    Resonating with the World was only one aspect of his abilities, how could he do the reverse?


    He had multiple potential answers, but only two that stood out.


    The first was a musical theory answer. Reversing a score, maybe changing its key, transcribing a major piece into a minor one... all sorts of things could work.


    But then there was a cultivation answer. Was there a deeper comprehension to understand? Maybe...


    Ryu''s eyes flashed like a blazing strike of lightning. Wasn''t he walking around with the Chaos Plane in his Dantian? Anywhere he could sense the Real Plane, he could sense the Chaos Plane. In that case, wasn''t it just a simple matter of sensing the resonance of the Chaos Plane in this location and reacting to it? Writing a separate Score of Music just for it?


    As Ryu was slowly weaving together new Dao Techniques, Selheira was entirely lost in her own world as well, she didn''t even seem to realize that Ryu had stopped moving and was instead focusing on something entirely different.


    The small protruding tail suddenly lashed out from the small of her back, becoming long, thick and powerful.


    It slapped against the ground and caused the mountains to tremble wildly.


    Her foundations seemed to be solidifying more and more, a pair of wings exploding from her delicate shoulder blades. Despite her slender form, each one was ten meters in length and could wipe out a city with a single flap.


    Her weight became heavier and heavier as her eyes slit into an array of pale violet, pink and sky blues.

 Chapter 1628 Who Did This?

    Chapter 1628 Who Did This?


    Selheira''s changes came fast and quick, her tail beating against the ground with a fervor. Her delicate pink lips parted a roar that rended the skies echoes. Her power improved by leaps and bounds despite the fact her cultivation didn''t budge even a single inch. It was truly as though she was a flower blooming in the depths of Spring, a gorgeous rose budding for the world to see.


    It was a long while before Ryu snapped out of his state of enlightenment. Truthfully, he could have kept going, and only he would dare to snap out of it on purpose. But, he had felt diminishing returns from his thoughts and felt that in order for him to make another huge leap, it would probably take about a decade or so of seclusion.


    He was unwilling to hole himself up for that long. He had never been in seclusion for that long before, at least not truly, but aside from that, he had things to do. He couldn''t waste so much time.


    Plus, he could slip into a state of enlightenment whenever he wanted, and more importantly than that, he knew that improving would only really be a matter of gaining a complete Northern Heavenly Wind. That would cut down a time of a decade to just barely a few hours, if that.


    He turned his attention toward Selheira and found that this woman of his had undergone a great number of changes.


    A twin pair of smooth, white horns curved on her forehead like a crown, nestling with her long, white hair. Her wings were more oppressive than his own, and she had a tail he had never been able to form.


    Her scales were beautiful. Encased in reflective crystal, they emitted the same delicate pink, violet and blue colors of the surrounding world.


    She was still on Ryu''s back, and very clearly still had her human form, and yet she seemed to have become more of a Dragon than ever.


    She had fallen into a deep sleep, her wings and tail drooping to the ground as she lazily snored on Ryu''s back. From time to time her nose would wrinkle and her lips would spread out into a smile before she went back to sleep once again.


    It was quite adorable, if Ryu did say so himself. Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    Checking Selheira''s state, he realized that she had actually managed to resolve much of her path. What should have been her suppressed Bloodline Talents had returned in their full glory, and not only had her weight increased significantly, but her strength was on an entirely different level.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle to himself.


    His body was extremely powerful. Despite being in the Fragment Sky God Realm, its strength was easily at the equivalent of the False Sky God Realm. At the very least, that was easily so in the Seventh Heaven.


    But he felt that Selheira''s natural state easily output just as much power if not more.


    ''It seems that this is the weight of talent.''


    It was the gaze of an expert in deep thought, one entirely focused on Ryu and practically boring into his soul. Ryu could feel the pressure quite distinctly, and aside from the Phoenix Sky God, this was the first time someone had been able to pressure him to this extent with a gaze alone.


    It was clear that Lysander''s cultivation was extremely profound.


    Lysander was quite confused. He had sent the two in there to have a breakthrough... well, he had done so mostly for his daughter, hoping that with her husband by her side, she''d be able to gain a different sort of enlightenment from the Holy Ground as compared to the past.


    But instead of that happening, Ryu practically ignored the Holy Ground entirely, and in the end it was Ryu''s breakthrough alone that helped Selheira where the Holy Ground couldn''t.


    Of course, it was because Ryu was in the Holy Ground that he found the perfect environment to resonate with and thus help Selheira, but if the responsibility were to be divided, it was clear that Ryu played over 80% of a role.


    Selheira suddenly roared, her meaning clear. She wanted her father to stop glaring at her husband.


    Lysander shook his large head, chuckling. His daughter was entirely on this man''s side, what a thankless job indeed.


    He flicked a large claw and Ryu''s ring went back to him.


    "So, why did the two of you come today? I know that my daughter wasn''t eager to visit."


    "Help us go to the Ninth Heaven," Selheira spoke before Ryu could say anything. "Oh, and do you have any soul healing treasures?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He hadn''t asked Selheira to ask that, he had only mentioned Hope''s situation briefly. He didn''t know much about Crystal Dragons, but beasts also didn''t have souls in the normal sense. Would the old beast even have such a thing?


    "Mm... show me."


    The fact Lysander said this instead of asking why surprised Ryu a bit, but by now he understood the character of this old beast somewhat. He clearly liked to act mysterious, who knew how many things "show me" could mean. It was the perfect response to make it seem like he knew more than he did.


    After some thought, Ryu took out hope, holding her in his arms.


    "Hmm..." Lysander''s voice came out in a low grumble.


    Soon, his gaze had darkened. "The Soul Reaper Taboo Sect... Who did this?"


    Ryu remained silent. Old Wan''s life was his, no one could take his kill.

 Chapter 1629 I Want to Go!

    Chapter 1629 I Want to Go!


    Lysander''s large eyes narrowed.


    "The Soul Reaper Taboo Sect is a scourge of the True Martial World. They''re the-"


    Ryu shook his head, wanting to tune most of this out. These sort of appeals to morality were exactly the kind he didn''t give a damn about.


    Back in Sacrum, Mental Realm Masters were apparently the worst scum of the earth, then there were Necromancers for having the audacity to use the dead as their puppets.


    Had he ever cared back then? No, never. Even with it being his own Tatsuya Clan setting the rules he couldn''t be bothered to give a damn.


    If it wasn''t for the fact his understanding of Necromancy was too shallow to be used in the True Martial World, he would be using it here as well, regardless of the thoughts of all of these people. Th.e? most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m


    Sure, maybe the Soul Reaper Taboo Sect was "horrible". Maybe they committed mass genocide and maybe they ripped families apart or sacrificed babies.


    In the end, it was a waste of his time to even consider those things. If Lysander thought that he would suddenly become up in arms because of his explanations, she was sorely mistaken.


    Arguably speaking, what the Nine Powers had done was just as bad.


    Where was Lysander when the Martial Gods were massacring his family?


    Taking a step back from even that, what about the artificial formations and cap they had placed on Daos? Did they know what kind of environment that bred? Did they know how many Clans like the Frost Clan had fallen for trying to bump up against the current status quo? Did they even care?


    Who knows, maybe Lysander was just as enraged about these matters as well. To be fair to the Dragon, Ryu didn''t really know him.


    However, for Ryu personally, he didn''t have the patience for such stuff. Unless everyone was perfectly good, you couldn''t even start to have these conversations. And even then, one''s definition of "perfectly good" varied wildly and might not even turn out to be so perfect in the end at all.


    Lysander had already stopped speaking, seemingly sensing Ryu''s indifference on the topic. But true to his nature as a Crystal Dragon, he didn''t seem to be enraged by some things.


    He had begun speaking on these things because he was personally passionate about them and didn''t believe that Sects like the Soul Reaper Taboo Sect or their inheritances should exist.


    However, this son-in-law of his was quite firm of a Dao Heart. His words weren''t going to change his mind, and given his reaction, he shouldn''t be the one who harmed this woman either. Logically speaking, that didn''t make much sense anyway.


    Although both of those women had already lost their Primordial Yins, who knew what other methods Old Wan might have?


    As for discarding Hope''s soul, Ryu didn''t believe that Old Wan would do so, at least not yet. He would only do so when it benefited him the most, and that would be only after he could use it to deal with Ryu.


    He understood that man''s character very well, and he would make him pay for it.


    Dearly.


    Selheira, who was still on Ryu''s back, looked toward his side profile. She could feel his anger, but she could also see how well he suddenly controlled it and used it as fuel...


    A Fire Dragon wouldn''t be able to do that.


    If it was her mother, she likely would have already begun to rampage, going to wherever she had last seen this person.


    But in Ryu, it smoldered and burned, simmering with an eerie darkness that could explode at any time.


    Honestly, if Ryu knew her thoughts, he would feel like she was actually giving him too much credit. He wasn''t all that good at controlling his temper at all.


    However, what he could do was dream day and night of his fist driving through his target''s chest.


    "Please send me to the Ninth Heaven," Ryu suddenly said.


    "Please?" Lysander was suddenly taken aback. He didn''t expect Ryu to be the type to use words like that either. This boy seemed to surprise him more and more every moment.


    Ryu didn''t respond. He wanted to see his wife, and for his women, especially if it was Elena, his first wife and love, he was willing to do things he normally otherwise wouldn''t.


    "It''s a bit troublesome..." Lysander muttered. "Not for you, I''ve heard that your master has caused quite a commotion. Your status won''t be any less than those geniuses and they won''t casually deal with you either.


    "But... Selheira isn''t ready to go. Crystal Dragons-"


    "No! I want to go!" Selheira suddenly said.


    Lysander sighed and shook his head. "Forget it, forget it. Fine, fine."


    The two were suddenly swept up again and Lysander shot into the air. Ryu thought that there might be a formation, but Lysander just shot right into the skies, piercing through an invisible veil high above the clouds and suddenly pulling them into an endless darkness.


    It seemed that he would see his wife very soon.

 Chapter 1630 Dragon Emperor

    Chapter 1630 Dragon Emperor


    Ryu felt it before he saw it. The first time he went to the Ninth Heaven, he was buried deep under layers of ocean, so insulated that he couldn''t truly feel the Ninth Heaven, and that was a good thing too. Back then, had he appeared within the majesty of the Ninth Heaven, he would have been crushed to death. Ryu knew this, but when he really experienced it himself, he realized how large the gap was.


    The Eighth Heaven was nothing compared to the Ninth Heaven. In fact, it felt like the gap between the Eighth and Ninth was even larger than the gap between the First and Eighth. It wasn''t a matter of qi quantity, but rather that it felt like this was the first world Ryu had ever stepped into that was truly... Complete.


    When Lysander broke through the final layer, the breakthrough Ryu had been trying to suppress rushed through like a wild roar through the skies. He sucked in the qi in the surroundings so greedily and wholly that a vortex formed. The clouds above swirled beneath the spinning suction force and Ryu was forced to open his mouth wide and roar to the skies.


    Ryu felt like he was standing on top of the world. He couldn''t even quite see the world around him clearly, it was too obstructed by the rolling qi in his [Ephemeral Tapestry], flooding the world with colors.


    Lysander was speechless. He had noticed that Ryu''s cultivation was a bit odd, but there was something about this boy''s body that made it very difficult to read what was going on inside him clearly. Now, he realized what it was.


    He had never heard of someone pausing such an important breakthrough before, but seeing what was going on here, he had an inkling as to why this was.


    Ryu literally couldn''t complete a breakthrough on a smaller Heaven, at least not without absorbing energy for days on end. Even when he first broke into the Sky God Realm, he had the help of the Shrines.


    The requirements of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation were truly excessive, a bottomless, insatiable pit.


    Ryu''s hair fluttered wildly, his silvery eyes glowing so bright they almost looked blue.


    The feeling was absolutely intoxicating...


    To the weak, it looked like nothing more than a streak of red through the skies. However, to him, he could see it quite clearly...


    If the Dragon could have been called rugged, it would have been.


    Dragons usually had gorgeous scales and a majestic temperament, but this Dragon was nothing like that.


    Its scales were dark. Though red, they seemed to have somehow been stripped of all their light, replaced instead by an exuding darkness.


    One side of its head carried a ghastly scar, one that somehow seemed both fresh and healed at the same time. This scar ran through an eye that billowed with a dense black fog, while the other eye was a slit orb of crimson, one that was the only point of light on the creature''s entire form.


    Its belly wasn''t ruby like the rest of it. Instead, it was covered in a layered, leathery blackness. Even its wings were filled with scars and holes, its roar causing the entire Ninth Heaven to tremble as the clouds above were replaced by rolling plumes of fire beneath its presence.


    Pyrothos the Undefeated.


    Beneath the sudden appearance of the mighty Dragon Emperor, the Land of Dragons fell into silence. They cowered in the burrows and shrunk their bodies. It felt as though the entire land was covered in the shadow of this creature.


    Lysander sighed. This was a problem. The concentration of Fire qi in the region had increased to the point that Ryu would burn himself up if he suddenly started wildly absorbing any and all energy that came across him.


    "LYSANDER!"


    The guttural roar collapsed mountains and Lysander had no choice but to reach out a claw and press down. A crystalline energy rippled outward, forming a barrier that blocked much of Pyrothos'' voice and repelled some of the fire qi, allowing Ryu to finish his breakthrough.


    Unfortunately, Pyrothos was incapable of seeing that action as anything less than a challenge.

 Chapter 1631 Pyrothos

    Chapter 1631 Pyrothos


    Pyrothos, as expected, was immediately infuriated. His maw opened wide, scars running along his throat lighting up like molten metal as a fireball began to form.


    "Pyrothos, this isn''t necessary. I only acted to save the lives of my daughter and son-in-law. They are too weak to handle your aura."


    Pyrothos didn''t answer, the fireball suddenly rolling in his throat like tempered metal before it suddenly erupted akin to an iron ball from a cannon.


    BOOM!


    The world seemed to collapse. The laws bent and twisted, however, under some mysterious power, rather than breaking into the void like an attack of such power should have, it somehow forcefully stabilized the world around it, forcing it to withstand its power.


    Lysander unleashed a roar, sending Ryu and Selheira far from himself as he sparkled with a crystalline light.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Lysander slid through the skies, tall mountains of crystal forming as he blocked the fireball that rolled through the skies far more like molten metal than a bundle of flames.


    "Pyrothos!" Lysander spoke with exasperation.


    The Dragon Emperor suddenly burst through the mountains, appearing before Lysander with such speed that the latter couldn''t react.


    A claw appeared around Lysander''s throat, the Dragon Emperor''s claw glowing with dark runes.


    All the land for tens of thousands of kilometers collapsed as Lysander was slammed into the ground.


    Pyrothos stood above the Crystal Dragon arrogantly, drawing blood as he pressed the latter''s head into the ground.


    The Dragon Emperor snarled, sulfur and plumes of black smoke emitting from the sides of his maw. His one foggy black eye and one crimson pupil flickered with malice as he bent down, pressing into Lysander harder.


    Lysander seemed to have given up, until he heard a familiar roar that made his expression change.


    A mournful roar echoed through the skies as Pyrothos bit into one of Veridia''s gorgeous wings, ripping to the side.


    A sickening tearing sound echoed along with an equally sickening crush. Skin and bone were shorn as Veridia''s entire wing was ripped away.


    Blood flowed in rivers.


    "STOP!"


    Pyrothos didn''t seem to have heard anything. His claw raised into the skies, one pressing down into Veridia''s chest and the other glowing with an eerie black light.


    Lysander landed heavily by the two dragons, his eyes struggling.


    "Please, this is enough-"


    Pyrothos'' claw ripped into Veridia''s face, taking both of her eyes and shredding apart her beautiful, reflective scales.


    As though he wasn''t satisfied with this alone, the claw that had been in Veridia''s chest was pulled out and suddenly ripped her jaw open, crushing the bones in her lower maw as his second claw ripped into her mouth.


    "This foul tongue, I''ll be taking it as well."


    Veridia''s tongue was torn out and much of her throat was burnt through. Even if she wanted to make a sound, it would be nigh impossible.


    Lysander''s eyes bulged, his crystalline eyes reddening. His entire body flexed and the world trembled before it suddenly became eerily still almost as though it had been forcefully stabilized.


    Pyrothos snorted, billowing ash of black coming from his nostrils and spilling over Veridia''s half-dead form.


    He pushed off her body and launched himself into the skies, not even looking back at Lysander who remained unmoving from start to finish.


    ...


    In the distance, Ryu watched this scene in silence. He had been sent so far away by Lysander that if not for their sheer size and his Heavenly Pupils, seeing across such a distance would have been impossible.


    His gaze didn''t carry coldness, nor did it carry indifference. And, as he stood there, holding onto Selheira so that she wouldn''t rush off, he seemed to understand something. It was all so insignificant, so small, and yet the consequences had somehow become so drastic...


    He burned the image of the Dragon Emperor into his mind.

 Chapter 1632 Leave Her?

    Chapter 1632 Leave Her?


    Ryu stood in absolute silence, his heart calm. He didn''t know the Dragoness well, and he didn''t know her husband all that well either, but as far as he was concerned, the crime of making his woman cry was enough to sign his death warrant.


    He took a deep breath, not immediately exhaling.


    He had learned a long while ago that his Dao would progress faster the stronger the world he was on. All the time he had spent on lower Heavens had actually slowed him down quite significantly. However, in this world, it was as though his comprehension was unleashed to the fullest extent.


    Standing there, holding onto Selheira tightly so that she wouldn''t run off, he drew blades across his thoughts, visualizing a future he would stand on the tallest mountain.


    His Dao Heart trembled and shone.


    Selheira''s cries and roars filled his ears and they seemed to form their own sort of music... not in a sick, enjoyment sort of way, but rather in a sobering, rage-inducing sort of way.


    This world was filled with things that could fill him with fury, so many things that could piss him off to an extreme, so many things he might be willing to discard his life for just in exchange for a small percentage chance of getting immediate revenge.


    And then his mind suddenly landed on Lysander. Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    He could feel that the gap between Lysander and the Dragon Emperor wasn''t so far apart. In fact, if Lysander was willing to go all out, it would be a battle that raged on for years before a winner was decided. This was more so a guess on Ryu''s part than it was based on actual analysis, and it was mostly useless because he knew that Lysander never would...


    Lysander hadn''t acted because his mind was weighed down by logic, by weighting the odds. And it was likely that Pyrothos even knew that. In a sick sort of way, Pyrothos was far more flexible than even Lysander.


    Considering Pyrothos'' temper, he probably would have wanted to kill Veridia, but he didn''t because he knew that would cross the bottom line of Lysander''s calculations.


    Ryu found it all so... pathetic.


    "It''s okay, Veridia. You''re too injured, don''t stress yourself," Lysander spoke lightly.


    After hearing this, Veridia actually seemed to calm down and Ryu understood something else.


    It was said that Crystal Dragons were the ones who guided the Fire Dragons and helped them to rise up. The tempers of the Fire Dragons would have destroyed them soon enough, but it was the Crystal Dragons that helped them channel it toward the right matters.


    Pyrothos seemed to shrug off Lysander''s guidance, but Veridia wasn''t the same. She was easily soothed by her husband''s words. If she still had her eyes, she might have still been glaring. But at least now, she seemed to have calmed down.


    "Mother, husband is a good man. Don''t be mad."


    Veridia snorted and went back to nuzzling her daughter.


    "What do you plan to do?" Ryu asked, speaking to Lysander.


    Lysander''s surprise was painted all over his face. Shouldn''t he be asking Ryu that question? Then, he suddenly realized what Ryu was referring to and sighed.


    The large dragon shook his head. "There is nothing that can be done. There are some things in this world you simply must accept as they are. Change is slow and will take time."


    Ryu clasped his hands behind his back, looking off into the distance.


    Change is slow, huh? Well... when you were weak, it certainly was.


    This time, Ryu chose to hold his tongue, not for the sake of Lysander or Veridia, but rather because of Selheira. Plus, he seemed to realize that his words in this situation would do nothing.


    "Are you going to leave her like this?" Ryu asked.


    His meaning was clear. Was he going to let his wife suffer so that he wouldn''t enrage Pyrothos again... or not?

 Chapter 1633 Planned

    Chapter 1633 Planned


    Lysander''s gaze trembled.


    If Pyrothos heavily injured Veridia, and she came back soon afterward relatively healed, then he might very well take it as another insult.


    Setting aside whether he even could heal his wife, should he?


    Ryu had obviously come to understand this, which was why he asked first. Standing there, looking at Lysander, it didn''t seem like there was a gap between their stations at all. It even felt like he wasn''t the son-in-law in this situation at all, but rather the father-in-law.


    "I..."


    "Husband, please heal my mother..." Selheira said between sobs.


    Ryu didn''t respond, his gaze still on Lysander. Selheira had no idea whether he could heal her mother or not, but she seemed to want to believe in him, having lost faith in her father.


    Lysander sighed. "It must be done with propriety in mind. He-"


    "Meaning you want her to keep these scars." Ryu summarized what would have likely been a long diatribe.


    Lysander didn''t respond. Even now, saying yes left a bad taste. But Ryu was clearly correct. Even if they healed Veridia, if they didn''t at least leave the scars, it would only cause more problems in the future.


    If Veridia was heavily injured now, if she suddenly reappeared like she was just fine, the next clash might end with her death. At that point, the Dragon Race would be finished... because there was no way he would stand down after his wife died. Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    It could be said that if Ryu still had his Beast Companions by his side, they would all be little monsters. There was also a reason Little Silk was growing so fast... aside from his mother''s help, that is. The little girl was already on the verge of becoming a Dao Lord and had long since reached the standard of the Ninth Heaven.


    The only shame was that because she was evolving so often, Little Silk spent 90% of the time stuck in a cocoon.


    Ryu shook his head. It was his fault for choosing a butterfly as his main companion. The funniest part was that he didn''t really choose her, it just happened because she dared to attack him on a whim back then.


    ''Hm... maybe I should think about taking beast taming more seriously again... I don''t really want to replace Little Gem, Little Rock and Nemesis, but...''


    Ryu shook his head again.


    They were across Existence, likely dancing back and forth across the same line of life and death that Ailsa was. If he let sentiment dictate his action, then he would actually end up harming them more.


    ''Maybe...'' Ryu thought.


    Things weren''t so simple. He could trust Little Silk after she had been by his side for so long, but if he suddenly made a random beast so powerful, how long would it take before they turned on him? It wasn''t like he could suppress them with his soul after they grew so strong.


    This was the main reason he had never thought about doing this seriously, but who knew...


    ''Innovation, huh... maybe... It''s an interesting thought.''


    "I know you might not want to listen to me, Ryu, but if I may... I believe you should spend more time understanding what each Sky God Realm actually means. Right now, this is your greatest weakness."


    "Alright," Ryu said casually.


    In truth, he already planned to do this.

 Chapter 1634 Mother!

    Chapter 1634 Mother!


    Ryu found a place of seclusion not far away. By this point, Lysander had already left and only Veridia was left behind. The Dragonness didn''t have any intentions of leaving anytime soon because there truly wasn''t much else she could do.


    Dao Gods didn''t have all the time in the world to just lounge around and do as they pleased, or more accurately, human Dao Gods didn''t. Many human Dao Gods, or humanoids in general, spent a lot of their time in secluded cultivation.


    Beasts, however, didn''t go into "closed door cultivation". If there was anything analogous, it would be the long slumbers and hibernations they tended to go into from time to time. Then there were those who spent long periods of time in battle to hone themselves.


    Pyrothos was among those who had spent much of his time embroiled in battle. Though Beasts didn''t form Daos in the same way that humans did and they also didn''t have the same "Six Pillars", they did still have Dao Bones and Beast Crystals. It was just that they functioned differently...


    Whereas a human''s Dao would be based on often esoteric comprehension, a beast''s Dao Bone was almost always forged through battle and was almost always just a raw increase in either one of their talents or their general physical prowess.


    Pyrothos'' title, the Undefeated, was forged because his Dao Bone was on a completely different level. If it were to be translated into human terms, he would definitely be the equivalent of a Founding Dao.


    The battle scars that covered his body were almost all a product of his youth, and often against those with cultivations far above his own. He never bothered to hide them, nor did he put any effort into healing them because in his opinion, scars were a dragon''s pride.


    When he appeared, he exuded fear in those around him and he suppressed the very world. And when his Dao Bone activated, he could burn down worlds.


    It could be said that Ryu''s assessment that Lysander could battle Pyrothos for years on end was incorrect, one of the very few false assumptions Ryu had ever made in his life.


    Simply put. If Pyrothos wanted to kill... there was likely no one in the whole of the True Martial World that could stop him.


    It could be said that Ryu had just laid eyes on one of the three strongest existences on the whole of the Ninth Heaven, a monster incarnate. What he had done to Veridia could be considered mercy...


    "Aren''t you the same with father?"


    Veridia snorted. "How can these two things be compared? Do you know how much hardship your father went through for my hand? How many tests did you put him through? It can''t be that many since I saw you last just ten years ago. How can you get to know a person in such a short time?"


    Selheira blushed. Let alone ten years, she had only known Ryu for barely five, and he had vanished into thin air for 90% of that time.


    "And also, how can a human please you? Won''t he be too small?"


    "Mother!" Selheira wasn''t shocked by her mother''s crassness, that was a given. But even so, wasn''t talking about her husband''s endowment a bit too much?


    "Look at you, already defending him so vehemently. If you''ve already done the assessment and feel that it''s worth it, mother won''t try to change your mind. But I will tell you that while a Dragonness can be happy with mediocrity for a decade, maybe even a century, our lives are long. If he can''t please you, it will begin to wear on your after a millennia, two... ten..."


    Selheira didn''t even know how to respond. How was this not trying to change her mind?


    "Mother! I''m a human now, the proportions are different!"


    "Ah! Right," Veridia said as though she had forgotten this. "Even so-"


    "You don''t need to worry!" Selheira said quickly. "If it''s the ratio of body to endowment, husband does very well for himself. Very well.


    "Also, you may not know this mother, but human love-making is very special. They can do things that feel even better than just being big!"


    Veridia snorted with laughter and Selheira laughed along with her.


    Ryu was oblivious to the crass mother-daughter conversation.

 Chapter 1635 Control

    Chapter 1635 Control


    Ryu sat in meditation.


    In Sacrum, the Fragmented Realm referred to a failure, a fractured comprehension and an inferior breakthrough.


    However, the meanings of this Realm were entirely different in the True Martial World. Well... entirely different was a bit of an exaggeration. In a lot of ways, there was quite some overlap. The main distinguishing factor lay in the fact that there was an obvious path of progression from one step to the next when one was referring to the Sky God Realms.


    Ryu realized that those around him were correct.


    He understood so much about the mortal realms and immortal realms. From the Awakening Realm to the World Sea Realm, he had studied so much about them that it made him practically sick-especially since he could never practice them himself.


    Even when he came to the True Martial World, the overlap was so perfect that he never had to learn more about them. In fact, because the people of Sacrum often spent so much longer in these Realms, taking millions and billions of years to progress, in many ways, their comprehension of the Realms between Awakening and World Sea was even beyond the people here.


    Ryu''s mistake was in translating the hubris he had gained from realizing his superior knowledge on this front, and then applying it to the Sky God Realm...


    In fact, for much of Ryu''s life, he just assumed the Sky God Realm was just like the World Sea Realm, a monolithic Realm with only a single stage you either reached or didn''t.


    But if he couldn''t understand these Realms intimately now, how could he bring out their full strength?


    Upon reaching Omniscient Control, it wouldn''t just be a matter of amplifying power, but the world would return its feedback, allowing one''s senses to transcend normal limitations. Whether it was one''s speed of thought, one''s Spiritual Sense, or even one''s sixth sense for danger and detecting things, it would reach an entirely new Realm.


    It was even said that against weaker opponents, Omniscient Sky Gods could even peer a little into the future, not because they could control time, but because those with inferior Omniscience could simply not hide their intentions against such an expert.


    These were the levels of control, each one stacked atop one another.


    At this point, Ryu realized that he had indeed been far too neglectful. He didn''t even fully grasp False Control. In fact, he never really used it outside of a passive effort. Most of the "control" he exerted came from his Childe of Order constitution, and it only became more so after he formed his new combat style.


    At the same time, Ryu understood what that mysterious feeling coming from his Spiritual Foundation had been.


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had been strengthening the Control he exhibited. No... it felt deeper than that, larger, more substantial. Almost like rather than strengthening it directly... it was giving him the capacity to potentially do so?


    It was a weird feeling, one difficult to fully grasp until it suddenly clicked.


    False Control was the state where one could take full control of their body, even shifting and displacing organs if they so chose.


    What if this new feeling was related to that? What exactly was his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation trying to tell him?


    Ryu fell into his thoughts and then he remembered something else. Those streams of karma he received from the Complete Heavenly Path... weren''t they still there?


    They had faded, but could they hide from his eyes?

 Chapter 1636 Whole, Idol, Transcendent and Omnipresent

    Chapter 1636 Whole, Idol, Transcendent and Omnipresent


    "I see..."


    Ryu had never paid attention to these details in the past. It was clear that, at least sometimes, he should listen to those with greater experience than himself. It was times like these that he missed having Ailsa by his side, she would have corrected his path a long time ago.


    Ryu shook his head and forced himself to remain focused.


    The problem he was facing right now was a bit... complex.


    According to what he was learning here, the main reason he wasn''t gaining as much from his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation as he thought he should was because rather than being in his dantian like it should be, it was instead in his Realm Heart.


    Due to this, his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was technically a world away. And as a result, because he wasn''t paying much attention, it was likewise easy for him to miss what it was trying to do for him, on top of the fact many of its uses had been... mutated.


    Originally, in the Fragmented Control Realm, one would have small sparks of control. They could be limitedly applied to techniques and in single bursts. When the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation erupted, these small sparks of control truly bloomed and brought it to Perfect Extreme before taking a step beyond.


    Logically, this seemed to mean that he would gain access to False Control a step early, but this would be incorrect.


    Instead, the Beyond Perfect Extreme of Fragmented Control was instead something called Whole Control.


    Whole Control was capable of taking the single targets of Fragmented Control and elevating them to a new level, taking a Fragmented Technique and raising it to the standards of a False Technique.


    Essentially, when Fragmented Technique was under the influence of Fragmented Control, it would reach its full potential. Under Whole Control, it would transcend that potential.


    Whenever Transcendents attacked and the world collapsed, they were losing a lot of their own strength and less of it actually ended up impacting their actual target. This allowed a person to control 100% of their strength all the time...


    Then there came the Beyond Perfect Extreme of the Transcendent Control of the Transcended Sky God Realm was a step beyond Perfect Transcendent Control.


    If Transcendent Control broke law, and Perfect Transcendent Control strengthened them, then Omnipotent Control, the Beyond Perfect Extreme of Transcendent Control acted like the True Control equivalent of Fragmented Control.


    The reality was that Transcendent Control, much like Fragmented Control, could only be applied to limited techniques and attacks. But Omnipotent Control made it much more Domain-like...


    Breaking into the Realms of Control that only Dao Lords could have.


    And then there came the Beyond Perfect Extreme of Omniscient Control... Omnipresent Control.


    Although it was called Omniscience, Omniscient Sky Gods could only sense things and read the future that was aimed at them directly.


    However, with Omnipresent Control, a wielder of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation could extend that Omniscience beyond themselves into an Omnipresent State, reaching the Realms of Dao Sovereignhood.


    Why was it that the Chaotic Space Dao Sovereign had been able to sense Ryu the moment he appeared on the Eighth Heaven...?


    Wasn''t it because he had an ability similar to this?


    Now, the trouble that Ryu was facing was the fact his path was a little different from this...

 Chapter 1637 Cracked

    Chapter 1637 Cracked


    The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was stuck in Ryu''s Realm Heart instead of his dantian, and as such, his Control had to come from his Realm Heart as an extension.


    The trouble with this was that if the Vessel was too weak, then the Control would also be weak...


    But in this regard, Ryu''s problem was actually the exact opposite. Rather than being weaker, it was actually much stronger.


    A Realm Heart was the embryo of a world. The only limiting factor to his Control was the strength of his Realm Heart.


    Ryu had swallowed more than enough Godhoods that his Realm Heart was already at a False Grade standard.


    The trouble was... his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had caused a great change.


    The Realm Heart was an incarnation of Order-in a lot of ways, it was the truest kernel of Order, the starting phase of a world. But his Spiritual Foundation had turned it into the incarnation of Chaos.


    Due to that Ryu''s Control was a bit... well-


    Ryu''s eyes opened and he pressed out a finger. He exerted False Control over his body and it quickly became Chaotic Idol Control.


    When he tapped at the air, there was no energy, no sudden commotion, and yet in that moment, it felt like his body had just fallen through reality.


    It was as though his Childe of Chaos Constitution had suddenly gained an exaggerated buff. Just making changes to his body broke the laws of the world in a way that only Transcendent Control should be capable of.


    A glow was coming from Ryu''s chest and a domain was rippling around him, the very Domain of his Realm Heart itself.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s body suddenly grew until he stood ten kilometers tall. The mountain range he had been in collapsed like it was made of rotten wood, while Selheira and her mother were taken aback by the sudden change.


    This was the Ninth Heaven, not the first. You couldn''t just casually fall through space or shatter the ground. Just because Pyrothos had done it, didn''t mean that Ryu should be able to. He was a Dao God Beast! While Ryu was just a False Sky God!


    He also realized that through his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, he should have access to the more normal Fragmented and False Control as well.


    He tested a few things, trying to see if he could grasp Whole and Idol Control as well to balance out their Chaotic counterparts.


    Days later, Ryu shook his head and stood up from within the rubble. He smoothed out his hair, lost in thought.


    He felt that his path was beginning to feel a bit muddied. There were so many factors and entangled variables that parsing through them all was difficult.


    Ultimately, this was mostly because he didn''t have the cultivation method designed for his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    The Karmic Strings the Complete Heavenly Path had left behind for him were a great help, but they didn''t actually have cultivation methods. It was akin to having a summary of what he ought to do, but not exactly how to do it.


    It was even more difficult to follow when there were so many other variables in his body.


    For example, the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation seemed to be an anomaly. No, more accurately, the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation was.


    His Karmic Strings gave him information about how his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation would act if it was in his dantian because those Strings of Karma couldn''t see through the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation at all. To them, it might as well not exist at all.


    So Ryu was stuck extrapolating on his own, trying to understand things that were beyond him.


    The fact he was also dealing with Taboo Powers didn''t make things any easier at all.


    Ryu looked down toward Veridia.


    "Mother-in-law, if I want to steal a cultivation method for the Chaotic Silk Meridians, where should I go?"


    Veridia''s maw opened slightly, but no sound came out.


    Was this son-in-law of hers a little bit cracked in the head?

 Chapter 1638 Primus

    Chapter 1638 Primus


    Veridia looked at Ryu, speechless.


    For one, this boy had just admitted to having the Chaotic Silk Meridians, and that was its own can of worms. Although she was a beast and they didn''t have the same talent system or structures, how could she not know the value of this pair of Meridians?


    Even Selheira was surprised because Ryu had never told her exactly what his talents were. She could vaguely feel them, but she didn''t know the exact specifics.


    In fact, whether it was Veridia, Lysander or Selheira, they all thought that Ryu''s Embryonic Qi was a product of a lucky encounter and not something he could quite literally produce with his body.


    Other than his Spacetime Soul Nature and his Dao, much of everything else about Ryu was a mystery to her. And even then, she still thought that Ryu only had a Space Soul Nature and she wasn''t aware of the time portions at all.


    Suddenly, Selheira smiled. It seemed that Ryu wasn''t trying to hide such things from her, they just didn''t come up in conversation so there was no need to care so much about it all.


    "Boy, do you have any idea what you''re saying right now?"


    "Of course I do," Ryu nodded. "But I just got a master to back me, if I don''t take advantage, won''t I be wasting her good will?"


    Veridia''s gaze sharpened as she suddenly realized something. Her son-in-law''s name was Ryu, could his last name be...?


    "You''re the Tatsuya."


    "Yes, that''s my name," Ryu nodded.


    Veridia frowned. "I don''t like speaking in his human-"


    "Mother, husband understand Dragon Tongue, just speak in it."


    "Are you sure? Dragon Tongue spoken by me could kill him."


    "Husband will be fine."


    Veridia hesitated then began to speak again.


    "Primus isn''t a human, he''s a real Dragon. In fact, he was once meant to become our Dragon Emperor. Unlike Pyrothos who was obsessed with battle, though, Primus has always been obsessed with experimentation, of breaking the shackles of our Bloodlines and improving them further. He was more of a craftsman than a Dragon, and his approach was incredibly odd for a Fire Dragon to have. Just by virtue of his existence, he shouldn''t have had an interest in such things, but he forged his Dao down a... novel path.


    "His studies took him across Existence and he visited many worlds. This left many of the elders feeling extraordinarily unhappy because in order to do this, he was always restraining his cultivation and limiting its strength so that he wouldn''t be rejected by these worlds.


    "Unfortunately, even with all of this, there was still no one in Primus'' generation capable of defeating him, even when he was multiple cultivation levels below him. His innovation in combat and in the methods of applying our Bloodline Talents were akin to something never before seen.


    "In fact, it could be said that it was because of Primus'' existence that the elders felt the Crystal Dragons were no longer necessary. There was no need for the Crystal Dragons to potentially be a thorn or hidden pitfall at their side if Primus could do their job even better than them while also being of their lineage.


    "During one of his expeditions, though, Primus met and fell in love with a woman. It was said that she was a mortal, and after meeting Primus, she managed to become a Dao God through the Great Art of Painting. It turned out that Primus was the inspiration she needed to take that step and she was Blessed by the Heavens with a never before seen physique.


    "Primus used this as his own inspiration, breaking free of the shackles of beasthood completely and became a human with a Dragon Bloodline rather than a pure Dragon.


    "However, rather than taking advantage of this new path, one that was undoubtedly astoundingly powerful, he chose to use his new flexibility to do away with much of his foundation, living out his days with his new wife.


    "Dragons do not have surnames. However, Primus created one of his own, which is why Tatsuya literally translates to Dragon. I guess in this facet, he wasn''t very creative.


    "Unfortunately, Primus'' efforts were mostly useless. After a short time relative to what he thought he would get after such a sacrifice, his wife died."

 Chapter 1639 Dare

    Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    Chapter 1639 Dare


    "I''m not really sure what happened, most of the details I''ve just given you might be incorrect or off. I only know the general gist of the story."


    "Primus didn''t return immediately after the death of his wife and I''m not even sure where he is now. But I have heard some information about how he has returned to the True Martial World."


    "However, while he''s returned, he hasn''t come back to the Clan, so it''s hard to tell what his intentions are or if he even has any intentions at all."


    "The main point is that your lineage is a bit... special as a result of this. At least part of you is the product of an unknown physique and a Dragon who broke free of its shackles. I''m not sure what that means."


    "But at least under normal circumstances, the Fire Dragon Clan will not harm you. They might detain you, maybe even as a method of trying to get Primus to return, but harming you is unlikely."


    "That said... your Bloodline also isn''t very good and I can''t see anything special about it. If you were born in the Fire Dragon Clan, your standing wouldn''t be very high at all."


    "You''re also several generations removed from Primus as well, three if I''m correct. So whatever specialty he might have passed on has long since diluted. If you were his son, it might be a different situation. But at least for now..."


    Veridia''s voice trailed off as she realized that Ryu was wholly uninterested in these things. The matter of how good his bloodline was or wasn''t would be dictated by him, not what he was born with and certainly not by Primus.


    If there was anyone he had some interest in and sympathy for, it was his great grandmother. She probably didn''t know she was marrying a psychotic bastard who would sit on his hands while their only son was murdered.


    Veridia shook her head and Selheira giggled.


    "There are the Dragons. The Qilins. The Phoenixes. The Griffins. The Rocs. And then there are four human powers. The Martial Gods. The Beast Mimicry Sect. The Arcane Mancer Sect. And finally, the Devouring Heaven Sect."


    "The human powers likely all have at least one method capable of cultivating the Chaotic Silk Meridians, but it would be nigh impossible for you to get it."


    "The Martial Gods won''t allow anyone without their Bloodline into their inner circles. They populate themselves too well and they have too many Bloodlines, they do not take in outsiders. And those they do certainly won''t be able to earn a look at such a valuable technique."


    "The Arcane Mancer Sect is one that dabbles in many mysteries of the mind. They are the strongest Mental Realm Masters on the Ninth Heaven and they have extremely high requirements for Soul strength and talent... the problem is that they''re also the most sinister of the Sects as well. If you enter without a backer, you''ll be devoured by one faction or another, whether it''s their Soul Eaters, their Necromancers, or even their Illusionists. Even the most docile members of their Sect are extraordinarily dangerous and you would likely die before you even understood what happened to you."


    "The Devouring Heaven Sect is the smallest of all of these groups and they only accept those with the Devouring Talents, that being the Perfect Blackbody Soul, the Devouring Heaven Meridians, the Devouring Heaven Bone Structure, and those of the like."


    "The trouble with them is that they take in all their disciples as babies and children, raising them up from infancy. The other Sects you might be able to join as you are now if you jump through some hoops, but even then... it''s impossible. They are even more selective than the Martial Gods."


    "Then there''s the Beast Mimicry Sect... They''re dangerous for other reasons, especially to you. Even if you have the talent to be a Beast Master, just the fact you have Beast Blood in you will make you incompatible. Their techniques will be able to work against you, and if you attempt to use them, they will clash against your own nature."


    "Even if by some miracle you managed to make it in, just by virtue of those last points not only would you be in danger of losing your mind to the control of another interested in having such a specimen under their control, but you never be able to rise up their ranks high enough to exchange for such a technique because your talent for their techniques would be far too poor."


    "Even if you took a step back and tried for one of the Beast Clans instead, as there''s no guarantee that they wouldn''t have such a human cultivation method, you would be sliced up the moment you entered their borders. If they sensed your Bloodlines, they would chase you down to the ends of the Heavens."


    "And that''s the main problem you''re facing. Even the Beast Mimicry Sect doesn''t dare to tame one of the five Beast Powers, so they wouldn''t even dare to take you in to begin with."

 Chapter 1640 Unlucky

    Chapter 1640 Unlucky


    Veridia was far more patient in explaining these things than she would have been to almost anyone other than her own daughter. However, the more Ryu''s reaction remained indifferent, the more annoyed she found herself getting.


    She could tell that this was just Ryu''s default state, it was really starting to piss her off. A Fire Dragon would have at least reacted with disdain, since when one would have been so calm? Even the Crystal Dragons weren''t this annoying.


    Maybe she had mentioned those names too casually, or maybe Ryu simply had no way of understanding from their names alone.


    "You don''t need to try and explain it again, I get it. But I also never said anything about joining any of them. I don''t do well with Sects."


    Veridia thought back and realized that Ryu had used the word "steal". She had just directly ignored it because that was even more ridiculous than what she was willing to accept. Even a Fire Dragon wouldn''t be so crazy, none of this made any sense to her. In fact, she had thought that maybe she had mistranslated Ryu''s meaning and just filled in the blanks herself.


    But he...


    Veridia shook her head. "What are you thinking? Even those hidden Guilds don''t dare to steal from these powers. Don''t think that your master''s deterrence is that great. She might be a Dao God, and her husband might be one as well, and that''s enough for people to not go out of their way to bully you, but if you''re messing with their Faith, they will attack to kill regardless of who you are.


    "Ultimately, the backing of two people is not enough to offset the prowess of an entire Sect. Even if you returned to the Fire Dragon Clan under your great grandfather''s umbrella and were acknowledged as one of us, it still wouldn''t be advisable to make an enemy out of one of these Sects."


    Ryu''s indifference broke out into a smile.


    "Selheira, do you want to come with me? Or do you want to spend some more time with your mother?"


    Selheira was about to answer when Ryu suddenly shook his head.


    "Actually, that''s okay. Just stay here. Don''t worry, I''m not going to do anything stupid."


    He could tell from his soul''s fluctuations that she wanted to stay with her mother for a bit longer and actually wanted Ryu to stay with her. But Ryu felt that he had already wasted enough time. He hadn''t forgotten the true reason he came to the Ninth Heaven, and that was to see Elena.


    The rest of it could wait.


    Well, now that he had learned that all the human Clans had the technique he needed, couldn''t he just get his wife to steal it for him? Would it even count as stealing, then?


    WHOOSH!


    Little Silk appeared in a swirling icy wind.


    Veridia snarled, dispersing the cold in a wave of heated breath that made Little Silk shiver.


    Ryu sighed. Having a beast for a mother-in-law would really take some getting used to. Anyone else who did that, he would have already snapped at. Little Silk was his companion after all.


    "Your Immortal Sakura Visualization, can you transfer it to me again?"


    "Yes, of course," there seemed to be a hint of happiness in her voice.


    A stream of information entered Ryu''s mind as he was lost in thought. The shimmering image of a gorgeous crystalline Immortal Sakura appeared to his back without much conscious thought.


    As they flew through the skies, Ryu pulled out a paint brush and began to absentmindedly slide it through the air. Runes danced and the construct of the Immortal Sakura seemed to become more solid before fading away as though Ryu had erased it to try all over again.


    Ryu lost himself in this feeling for months, not quite noticing the time tick by until his gaze sharpened and as a city in the distance sharpened.


    As he entered the territory of the Martial Gods, he could finally feel it clearly... Elena''s soul.


    A smile crept onto his face. He could always vaguely feel her, but the feeling wasn''t the same as it had been on Sacrum.


    On Sacrum, he knew exactly where she was at all times. Well, he had after he awakened her Primordial Yin from a slumber during his second life.


    However, in the True Martial World, other than knowing that she was alive and likely that she was on the Ninth Heaven... he knew nothing else.


    A palm flipped over and a familiar jade appeared. He twirled it between his fingers, remembering the crazy girl that had filled it up with images that would make the devil blush he laughed.


    The jade disappeared and he leapt off of Little Silk''s back, swinging down from the skies with a soaring momentum.


    He landed with a heavy boom that was much duller than he would have otherwise expected nonetheless. But he didn''t care much.


    He knew where Elena was, he just needed a teleportation channel to that location, and this city was going to be his ticket.


    The appearance of a young man high in the skies wasn''t eye-catching. There were many soaring through the skies like this, relying on various treasures...


    However, there was only one riding on the back of a beast, and an Omniscient God Beast at that.


    Ryu''s entrance was so eye-catching that it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that almost every soul in the city that could be looking toward him now was doing so.


    Ryu''s laughter boomed.


    "Ninth Heaven! I, Ryu Tatsuya, am here!"


    The skies flashed and rumbled, the foundations of the city shaking and quaking.


    In the heart of the city, a large-bellied, sloppily dressed city lord wiped the sweat from his brows.


    "I just want peace, just peace... I went out of my way to take over this fringe city on the outskirts of Martial God territory... Why am I so unlucky..."

 Chapter 1641 Two Streams

    Chapter 1641 Two Streams


    City Lord Horace dabbed away at his forehead, trying to cobble together a procession to welcome Ryu. But Ryu himself seemed oblivious to all of this. He made a direct beeline to the teleportation platform before he realized that he was a little bit too eager.


    He could feel Elena now, but that didn''t mean he could just hop into a teleportation platform and make it right to her.


    That wasn''t because he was worried about what was on the other side. Quite frankly, he couldn''t be bothered to give a damn right now. It had been a while since he was able to flaunt his younger master status, but it was a role he was confident in sliding right back into. Soon, the Ninth Heaven would be filled with as many Mistress Holy Wings as he could find.


    But, no. The main problem he was facing was that he had no idea how to translate his sensory information about where Elena was to the teleportation itself. He could point in a general direction, but he had no idea how that direction related to the teleportation destinations themselves.


    In the worst case, he''d have to randomly pick locations until he got close enough.


    He could just wait here as he was pretty sure that Elena could feel him by now too. But that would defeat the purpose. He had come to visit his wife, if he had to wait for her to come to him because he was lost, wouldn''t that be too embarrassing? Plus, the purpose was to make her happy, how could he make her do all the leg work?


    Ryu''s brow furrowed.


    Would he have to just continue traveling with Little Silk''s help? But it had taken him months to get here, almost an entire half year. If he kept traveling that way, it would probably be years before he made it.


    He was lucky enough in that he had been on the edge of Dragon territory to begin with, and relatively close to the Martial God territory. But if he had to make it toward a region he assumed had to be the core of Martial God territory...


    ''A map would fix this, but can I even get one?''


    Getting a map in the lower Heavens was already impossible, let alone on the Ninth Heaven. He would probably die just for asking for one if not for his master.


    As Ryu was lost in thought, a man billowing with fat rolls trotted over, dotting his forehead with a damp handkerchief.


    "Young Master Ryu, apologies, apologies, I am late. My humble city welcomes you."


    Ryu looked over and raised an eyebrow.


    He had somewhat expected this, but... it really had been a long time since he didn''t need to be annoyed by the disdain of others.


    This City Lord Horace was clearly a Dao Lord, but he was actually bowing and scraping.


    If Ryu wanted to take offense, he was finished. He could only hope that this young man didn''t say anything about how he ended up in the city. If he was lucky, maybe they would just start fighting immediately, or whatever rage Ryu had would be aimed toward the young man.


    That Ryu was only a False Sky God, but this young man was already a Perfect Sky God and seemed to be a few years younger than Ryu on top of that. He really didn''t understand why a Dao God had taken such a disciple-


    Horace furiously shook his head. Such thoughts were how people ended up dead.


    He dabbed at his forehead, sending the young man off with a smile.


    The instant the young man disappeared, Horace threw off his top layer of robes despite the fact he was in the middle of the populated streets. He tossed his City Lord Badge to his second in command and roared into the skies.


    "Fuck this! If anyone asks for me, tell them that I''ve gone out into the wilds to die."


    Horace brought out a flying treasure and shot into the skies, not caring about anything else. He was a Dao Lord, even those two arrogant brats weren''t guaranteed to reach his level. Was he really consigned to a life of bowing and scraping for them?


    On the Ninth Heaven, there were two streams of cultivators. The first stream were the normal cultivators, ones like Horace. The second stream however...


    To reach Sky God by 18, True God by 21, Perfect God by 24, Transcendent God by 30 and Omniscient God by 40.


    Those were the benchmarks, benchmarks denoting who were the true geniuses and who were not.


    Obviously, Ryu had long since fallen off of this chart. While the young man was far ahead of these benchmarks.


    However, what was important to Horace weren''t the benchmarks themselves, but rather the fact that there were no such time limits for the Dao Lord Realm and beyond. It could be said that the moment one stepped into this Realm, nothing else mattered. There were even many geniuses who managed to maintain this pace to the Omniscient Sky God Realm, and yet never took the next step.


    It was true. The more talented you were, the more difficult taking that step was. It was the paradox that had haunted many a genius.


    He had wanted a life of leisure, but life wasn''t kind to him. He wanted nothing to do with this any longer.


    Ryu didn''t know what happened after he left, nor did he care. In fact, the first thing he did was sense for Elena, and when he realized he still had a ways to go, he commandeered another teleportation array, pointed in the direction he wanted, then vanished again.


    He realized quickly as he did this for a third and then fourth time that the cities weren''t all interconnected. Instead, it seemed that the periphery cities were only connected to some higher-level cities, but none too far above it.


    This was likely a protection. You wouldn''t want a person being able to send an army to the core of your territory after conquering just one city... but even so, it left Ryu curious.


    He was told before that the Martial Gods were extraordinarily cautious given their strength... and now there was this.


    What were they so wary of, exactly?

 Chapter 1642 Mildew

    Chapter 1642 Mildew


    A familiar young man stepped out from a teleportation portal and a swath of elites swarmed him, bowing in subservience.


    However, the young man didn''t seem to notice them. He frowned, realizing that his target was once again not here. What the hell was going on? Was this man making him chase him around everywhere? Although the young man didn''t curse, his scowl caused the qi in the air to ripple and the surrounding guards to bow even lower, fearing that they had offended him in some way or form.


    In the fringe cities, maybe only the City Lords would understand who this man was. But they could see it all quite clearly here as guards of a city nearer to the core of Martial God territory.


    His hair was a blazing shade of red and his eyes burned like two golden embers. He wore robes emblazoned with the same colors, he was unnaturally tall and the air seemed to crackle and pop around his body.


    This was clearly a young master of the Flame Swallower Branch of the Martial Gods.


    While they weren''t on the same level as the Divine Chain, Divine Wing and Divine Hegemony Bloodlines, they were firmly considered a low tier Branch within the Martial Gods, and their standing was far above that of these guards.


    The structure of the Martial Gods was quite complex because they had several Bloodlines and branches within them.


    Aside from the Hegemonic Tier which were considered to be the ruling class of the Martial Gods and included the three Divines, there was still the High Tier, the Middle Tier, the Low Tier, and beneath them, there were what was commonly known as the dregs.


    There was quite some movement between the Tiers and there were dozens of Bloodlines. However, it was well known to never offend someone of the Low Tiers or above because they could easily have parents or relatives of much higher Tiers.


    The Martial Gods were unique in that they worked a lot like the Dragon Race did. Any Bloodline could bloom at any point regardless of who the parents were. Though, it was more likely to have one of your parents'' Bloodlines, it wasn''t impossible to end up with another. In fact, it was common enough that such a rule was in place.


    That said, even if this young man''s parents were also of Low Tier Branches, that wasn''t for these people to complain about because they were part of the Dregs.


    The Dregs Tier were made up of a random assortment of Martial God Bloodlines that had long since been fazed out. They weren''t necessarily weak or powerful, but through the process of evolution, their inferiority had been decided.


    And much like with evolution, it wasn''t always the weakest that lost out. It was easy for unfortunate circumstances to lead to the fall of an otherwise powerful Bloodline. Even with all of this said, the Dregs were still the Dregs for two very important reasons: they had no political power, and more importantly than that, the techniques and cultivation methods they often needed to bring out their full strength had long since been lost.


    "Where did he go?" the young man snarled.


    The head guard hesitated. It was against the rules to tell one of another''s destination. Who would use their services if they did so?


    The fringe cities might not care much about these rules, but how could they not? The closer you were to the core, the more open options there were, and if even the likes of this young man could dictate where and when they gave out classified information, then who would choose to come to their city?


    The air popped with more embers as though fire qi was being pulled through the gaps in space.


    "I asked a question!"


    ...


    Elena laughed beneath Ryu''s cold glare.


    "You know, you''re kind of handsome when you glare like that. It makes me shudder in all those unknown places. Well, maybe they''re not unknown to you, I''m sure you and your-"


    "Watch your mouth, woman. Don''t impugn the reputation of Nuri, or it won''t just be my words that are venomous."


    Rather than being enraged, Elena''s eyes lit up.


    "So you''re a virgin? This is great!"


    Ryu''s expression darkened.


    Elena leaned forward, about to kiss Ryu before he could react, but that was when a shadowy figure appeared before her, blocking her lips with a fair palm.


    "Hey, hey, hey! You two are no fun!" Elena pouted. "Such a prudish couple, but I can''t even get a little kiss?"


    There was a push of space and Elena hopped back, smiling as she watched Nuri vanish again.


    "Hehe, I''ll get you one day, Grumps. Save those handsome lips for me."


    Ryu shook his head as the memory resurfaced. But the moment one came, it felt like they came in an avalanche.


    "Hey, Grumps, I heard you revived another Spirit Herb from extinction. It was the Mildew Diamond Petals, right? Tell me the truth, you did it for me, right? Right?"


    Ryu was speechless, what was this woman talking about.


    "What the hell could it possibly have to do with you?"


    "Hehe, aren''t the Mildew Diamond Petals a beautiful pink color? It sparkles like my hair and eyes, right? Don''t tell me you didn''t think of me even once."


    Ryu sneered. "Did you also know that it''s a fungus that grows anywhere damp and moist? It''s particularly clingy and irrationally difficult to get rid of. It only went extinct because people got fed up and took up arms to wipe it out."


    The double meaning was clear, and the underlying threat was even clearer, but Elena just clapped her hands.


    "So you really did think of me?"


    Ryu didn''t even know what to say. And it was then, in a sudden flash, that Elena stole his lips. Nuri had gotten so used to Elena''s antics that she wasn''t even on guard against her anymore. Unless there was killing intent, she almost never reacted anymore.


    "Hehe," Elena skipped back, dodging out of the way of an infuriated wave of spatial qi.


    "I''m only so clingy because I have to be. A man as stingy as you would never pursue me. The fact you''ve noticed makes me happy."

 Chapter 1643 I Believe

    Chapter 1643 I Believe


    Ryu was stunned. However, that only lasted a moment before he was truly enraged.


    It felt like this woman was toying with him simply because she could. His body was too weak, his reaction speed far too slow to even think about dodging her. She was already in the Dao Pedestal Realm and even Nuri had to be on top of her game to stop her from doing as she pleased, let alone him.


    But that truly made him furious. On the one hand, he was relying on his adoptive sister to protect him, and on the other there was this woman who seemed to be able to steal and take from him as she pleased.


    That was his first kiss. It wasn''t something he gave a damn about before, he wasn''t some love struck fool who felt the need to protect something like that. But there was something particularly rage-inducing about the fact it had just been taken from him without a word.


    As Elena giggled and vanished into the distance, dodging out of the way of Nuri''s assault, the cold aura that pervaded the surroundings only grew deeper and deeper.


    Suddenly, Ryu hacked up a mouthful of blood, his vision going black.


    "Ryu? Ryu!"


    Nuri realized that something was wrong immediately and rushed to catch him. The last thing he saw before everything went dark was her worried expression.


    Ryu shook his head. That memory wasn''t a good one at all.


    Back then, he had truly been infuriated. He was so angry, in fact, that his Fire Dragon Bloodline had activated.


    Elena smiled. "Granny Kunan let me in."


    "Bullshit." Ryu almost barked out.


    As if that would happen, he knew how much his grandmother abhorred the Holy Wing Clan. It was Elena''s grandmother who drugged and raped his Grandpa Kunan. The only reason there wasn''t all out war between the Ice Phoenix Clan and the Holy Wing Clan was because that bitch had his grandfather''s child. Nothing more, nothing else.


    Although Elena''s mother wasn''t that child and thus mostly unrelated to this, his Grandma Kunan would happily burn in hell if it meant the Holy Wing Clan was wiped off the face of Existence.


    "Hehe, it''s the truth. We have a very good relationship."


    Ryu frowned, not understanding. Last time he was awake, although his grandmother didn''t exactly target Elena, she wasn''t fond of her either. Not that it mattered to him since he was annoyed by this woman as well.


    "Don''t worry your handsome little head over it, Grumps. Does my future husband need to worry about the affairs of women? You just lie there and look pretty."


    Ryu felt a spark of rage light up inside him again. He had been trying to remain calm because he was smart, he already knew what must have triggered all of this in the first place, and he didn''t want to stumble into another problem.


    Elena''s words were the most insulting he had ever heard in his life. He was Ryu Tatsuya, a man destined to stand at the top of the world. Even if he couldn''t cultivate, he would be better at everything else until the world acknowledged his right to wield real strength.


    "Insult me again, and I swear I will wipe your Holy Wing Clan off of the map."


    Ryu''s silver irises practically flashed with blue beneath their coldness.


    And yet, Elena just smiled.


    "I believe you could do it."

 Chapter 1644 Responsibility

    Chapter 1644 Responsibility


    Ryu didn''t know what he expected to hear, but it certainly wasn''t that.


    "Why do you look so surprised?" Elena giggled. "Wait, stay like that, it''s the first time I''ve seen that expression on your face. It''s almost as handsome as that cold, stern look. No, no-go back!"


    Elena seemed to be having the time of her life trying to get Ryu to change his facial expressions on her whim, and it was ironically because he was trying to keep in control that they kept changing in the first place.


    "Are you finished?"


    "Not yet," Elena grinned, poking at Ryu''s cheek.


    "Alright, that''s enough," Ryu spoke as he slowly pushed himself up.


    "Hey, easy. Your body isn''t-"


    "My body is fine."


    "No it isn''t!"


    Ryu sneered. "That''s none of your business."


    "Didn''t you just say your body was fine? Now you''re not denying that it isn''t anymore?"


    "I do believe you!"


    "Leave me alone, woman."


    Ryu pulled back his rage, he used the sudden surprise the woman gave him as a chance to try and extricate himself from this situation. He felt that if he didn''t rein this under control, next time he might truly end up dying. By then, what would the point of all of this have been? To live a mortal and die a mortal? Absolutely not.


    To this day, Ryu still had no idea how Elena managed to convince them to allow that to happen. Though, some of them were probably paying attention from the shadows. It wasn''t like he could tell the difference even with his eyes back then.


    Finally, though, after his condition stabilized, Elena went away and disappeared for quite a while.


    She never really told Ryu why she had vanished back then, but Ryu had a feeling that she had just given up.


    Even for someone who had lived for almost a million years like her, at least that was the case back then, there was only so much patience she could have. She had already done more than her fair share and Ryu seemed to have no intention of meeting her halfway.


    For someone as prideful as Ryu, just one rejection was enough for him to never bother again. He had no idea how Elena had done it.


    Then that fateful day came.


    Ryu sat under the moonlight, looking out toward the open double doors that led to his terrace. The Tatsuya Clan was quite hot year ''round, so even in the depths of the night, he didn''t feel particularly cold.


    His mind flickered to that woman before he shook his head. Why was he thinking about her again?


    Women... he had had their fair share throw themselves at him, but he never took any of them seriously. His pride didn''t allow it.


    Sometimes he thought about finding a mortal woman to marry one day... it wasn''t like he wanted to be alone. But he felt that that would be like giving up, like resigning himself to the fact that he would never be able to cultivate in his life.


    His head suddenly snapped back as his [Third Perspective] sensed something. But when he saw the scene before him, he was baffled.


    Beneath the moonlight, her exposed skin was nothing short of perfection. It glittered like a silvery, polished metal, her pink-diamond hair and eyes twinkling with their own light.


    Her curves, the healthy, elastic drop of her breast, the faint sheen of red that seemed to point to an embarrassment he had never seen her wear before...


    It was all accentuated by the fact she struck such a valiant pose, her arms akimbo and her legs spread to reveal another patch of sparkling pink.


    "You''re the first man to see my everything, now you have no choice but to take responsibility. Come, put a child in me!"


    Ryu was speechless.

 Chapter 1645 Situation

    Chapter 1645 Situation


    Ryu sat there, frozen. It wasn''t the first time he had seen a woman naked, but it was certainly the first time he had seen one not only so beautiful, but also one that he was so intimately familiar with.


    He had been noticing it more and more in these recent weeks, but she was truly a beauty. It was easy to overlook because he had always felt so annoyed by her, and her quirky personality made him focus far more on that than how she really looked. But at the moment, he truly felt that the only two who could compare to her on the Shrine Plane were his mother and Nuri.


    However, those two were women he never looked at in this way. He loved them, but only as far as one would love a mother and his sister. Elena, however...


    It was like a dam had broken in his heart, and to his embarrassment, something below stood at attention before he could control it.


    Ryu frowned as he felt the changes within him, not liking it in the slightest. He remembered the days when he could control his blood freely, but now he couldn''t even stop this from happening.


    Elena smiled like a spring breeze. Her blush was still there, filling her delicate skin with a pink hue and a subtle hint of sweat that both made her glisten and filled the room with a subtle aroma of sparkling water and roses.


    She stepped forward, sitting on Ryu''s lap. She huddled in his arms, happy that he didn''t push her away. Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    Seeing the hesitation in his eyes, she giggled and felt a great deal of warmth at the same time. She had never seen this man hesitate about anything. In a lot of ways, she felt that she was lucky.


    "Are you just going to sit there?" Elena breathed in his ear, making goosebumps race across Ryu''s skin. It felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff and his heart wanted to beat out of his chest.


    Ryu took a breath and suppressed it. Then, he shook his head.


    Elena''s eyes turned a hint downcast. It was also the first time Ryu had seen such a reaction from her and he immediately felt a pang of regret, a foreign emotion and one he couldn''t remember the last time he had felt.


    Currently, she was in the middle of a hunt, an event held by the Martial Gods for the Dregs. It was a chance to gather Contribution Points.


    The Martial Gods were actually quite a progressive Clan, all things considered. This wasn''t just about their views on sex, but rather how they treated their lessers.


    Because Dreg Bloodlines weren''t necessarily useless and were often just forgotten streams of their former glory, if there were any geniuses that climbed up within them, then it could be possible to resurrect one of these branches and allow them to climb back up to the status of one of the tiers.


    There were many examples of this in the past, though "many" was just relative. Ultimately, due to how long a period of time these "many examples" occurred in, it was still an extraordinarily rare event.


    Elena''s life, unfortunately, hadn''t been as easy as Ryu had assumed it might be.


    Ryu knew that her father had high standing and doted on her quite a bit. In addition, her mother might have much lower standing, but she also at least had enough resources to separate away from her battle amongst Elena''s father''s other wives that she could target Sacrum.


    What Ryu hadn''t taken into account was that none of this mattered in the Martial God Clan. Who your parents were held little significance unless they were the highest existences, meaning powerhouses that were at least Dao Sovereigns. And even then, a Dao Sovereign would have too little weight to push around in a Clan of this magnitude.


    Elena''s father was an extraordinary genius in the eyes of the Martial Gods, but he wasn''t even a Dao Sovereign yet. He had made it to the Omniscient Sky God Realm while following the genius stream, and had only very recently did he become a Dao Lord.


    As for her mother, she was, once again, just one of many wives. Her standing was even lower.


    Even if her father''s name carried some weight, it was spread out so far across all his children and wives that it was hard for Elena to claim any piece of it herself.


    And that led to the current situation.

 Chapter 1646 Stop!

    Chapter 1646 Stop!


    When she returned to the Martial God Clan, Elena had to rebuild her entire foundation. As such, she had only very recently entered the Sky God Realm. Let that five years, in fact.


    Though it had been less than five years, in that time she had already made it to the True Sky God Realm. If one ignored her real age, she was currently on pace with the genius stream. She had a little bit more than a year to make it to the Perfect Sky God Realm to keep up that pace.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t how things worked. The only reason she was even considered as a member of the younger generation right now was because of her father''s influence in the first place. If not for this, she wouldn''t even have this opportunity at all...


    And that truth came with its own hardships. Especially since her Holy Wing Bloodline was a mutated variant that, rather than being classified amongst the Middle Tier like it should have been, had instead been classified amongst the Dregs.


    At the moment, she was being besieged from three True God Beasts, all three of whom were at the pinnacle of their Realms, while she herself was only only at the Middle True Sky God Realm.


    Every sub realm in the Sky God Realm was practically an impossibly vast chasm, especially when one was referring to creatures born on the Ninth Heaven.


    The fact that Elena was fighting against three at once and still holding on was a testament to her strength, especially since she didn''t have the techniques of others to bolster said strength.


    The Divine Wing Bloodline would never give her their techniques even if they might suit her, while the Holy Wing Bloodline techniques didn''t suit her nor work with her path.


    Even so, facing off against three black-scaled Wyrms, her palms formed an avalanche of diamond-pink in the skies. Blood leaked from the corner of her lips, but her armor flashed valiantly.


    This, though, wasn''t enough to piss Ryu off. In fact, there were three things that he had been able to deduce immediately.


    First, there was a group of three about a hundred kilometers to Elena''s north west that were biding their time and waiting. From what he could see, especially by the herbs one of them stuffed into their spatial bag, they were likely responsible for the fact these three beasts had been lured here in the first place.


    Her rage only flickered in her eyes, not even reaching her overall expression. She struck out with a palm that caused space to tremble. It didn''t make even a single sound, but it was fast.


    So long as it touched Ryu, he was finished. And at his cultivation Realm, he shouldn''t even be able to react.


    She was a Martial God. She might only have a Dreg Bloodline, but it didn''t matter to her in the slightest what sort of background Ryu might have since he wasn''t also a Martial God.


    They were the Gods of the True Martial World, their pride should never be impugned upon. Against outsiders, even if Ryu had a Dao God for an ancestor, the Clan would never give her up even if she was a Dreg. This was their bottomline, their Pride as Martial Gods.


    Just when it seemed that Ryu would lose his life, there was a gust of wind so chilly the woman felt it down to her bones.


    The strike slowed down considerably and Ryu took a step and vanished into the void.


    The old woman''s eyes widened at the unexpected change, not only the fact this young man had someone so strong protecting and following after him, but also that he was able to break the space of the Ninth Heaven as a mere False Sky God.


    ''Space Soul Nature!''


    Little Silk appeared, flapping her wings gently.


    "Stop right there!" The old woman barked, but Little Silk appeared in her path as Ryu vanished into the distance.


    Ryu didn''t even look back, his gaze filled with a murderous intent.

 Chapter 1647 Die

    Chapter 1647 Die


    The three black-scaled wyrms looked like vicious, snake-like beasts. Their bodies were covered in horns and their menace seemed to pervade the air with a poison-like Domain. However, rather than attacking one''s body, it felt like it attacked one''s mind instead. Fear, trepidation, disgust... It made you feel all sorts of emotions that ebbed away at your Focus Qi and made you feel inferior before their might.


    However, if on one side it seemed to be a bundle of darkness, on the other, there was a sparkling, transcendent-like aura, one that filled the skies with sparkling shards of diamond and palms that could blot out the sun.


    Elena weaved in and out of their trio of attacks, her dress fluttering along with her hair. Oddly enough, the wyrms couldn''t seem to touch even the hem of her clothing, but every time she tried to output enough strength to deal a deal blow to them, more blood would leak from the corner of her lips, causing her to clench her jaw as though to stop herself from crying out in pain.


    A tail whip came from her side and her gaze flashed with determination. With a step forward, she struck out a palm to her side, a large, pink and illusory palm forming and grabbing it.


    BANG!


    Elena''s winced, her entire body feeling like it was falling apart. The weight and strength of these wyrms were even more sinister than their domain. She had been avoiding meeting them head on all this time, but she realized that if she didn''t, she would never get the chance to win. They''d just slowly whittle her away until she had absolutely nothing left to give.


    A coughing rain of blood came from her lips, but she didn''t let it stop her next movements.


    A pair of wings appeared on her black, glittering like delicately sculpted pink diamonds. The domain of the wyrms seemed to be suppressed in that moment, just in time for the follow up attacks of the two remaining wyrms.


    If there was any advantage that she had, it was the fact that her body was much smaller.


    The beasts of the Ninth Heaven had their sizes suppressed even more so than the others. However, these True God Beasts were still over 15 meters long and had heads that dwarfed her in size. Thanks to this, it was incredibly difficult for them to attack her at the same time without also attacking one another.


    However, it was just a fact that they were simple.


    The third of them, however, wore extraordinarily elaborate robes. One of their shoulders were adorned by feathers from what must have been from an extraordinary beast considering the aura it was giving off, forming a pauldron of energy. The other shoulder, and the entire side of that shoulder for that matter, seemed to be weaved from strong, black scales. As for the feather shoulder''s side, it was in perfect contrast to the feathers themselves.


    The feathers were a delicate white with veins of red, and its half of the robes was a blazing red with embroidery of white.


    Like this, the robe formed a dichotomy of red, white and black, and despite the imbalance, it seemed to work together well.


    When the young woman wearing this robe saw one of the wyrms die, her eyes flashed with rage. Her seething anger seemed to scare the two Dregs by her side and they felt their hearts shudder.


    "Die, you bitch!" She ground out through her teeth. It seemed that the only thing that could satisfy her would be if Elena died under this assault, but even then it felt like she would never recoup her losses...


    However, just when it seemed that Elena would die, the illusory palm the first wyrm had broken free from seemed to solidify and she reaffirmed her grip before the beast''s tail whip could gather up momentum.


    At the same time, the last surviving wyrm maw bore down on her, trying to eat her whole.


    Unfortunately for it... the tail of its companion suddenly appeared in its way.


    And in that same instant, a young man wearing robes of white and sky blue appeared before the feather and scale robed woman, his gaze seething.

 Chapter 1648 Let Alone

    Chapter 1648 Let Alone


    The three were taken aback. Ryu had appeared out of nowhere and they hadn''t even sensed it. How was that even possible?


    "Space Soul Nature!" The feather and scale robed woman called out in shock.


    The number of those that could step into and out of the void on the Ninth Heaven, while also being below the Dao Lord Realm, would not exceed two dozen. In fact, the young woman felt that even this didn''t quite do the shock of this matter justice.


    The spatial affinity it took to do this was so impossible to put into words for her that she didn''t even register that Ryu was just a False Sky God for several seconds...


    And it also didn''t help that Ryu didn''t bother to speak nonsense.


    He could have killed them in the shadows. They probably wouldn''t have even known what happened. But he felt that such a death for these people would be far too easy.


    Even on the Ninth Heaven, the world needed to know that the women of Ryu Tatsuya weren''t people that could be casually touched. And if you did...


    You had to be ready for the consequences.


    Ryu''s fist landed on the woman''s chest, a rumbling might causing the skies to tremble.


    "You-"


    BANG!


    The woman felt as though all the air in her body had been unceremoniously pulled out. She could feel every moment of her ribcage uncomfortable deforming and almost snapping beneath the pressure. Just a few extra hundred pounds of force and it would have happened, an increment that was infinitesimally small in the eyes of experts of their caliber.


    She hacked up a lung full of air and shot backward, slamming against a tree.


    Ryu frowned, not liking the result in the slightest. He had wanted to blast a hole right through that woman''s chest. For experts like this, that would mostly be a non-fatal wound anyway. At the very least, she would be able to survive a long while in that state.


    He could tell that this woman was the beast tamer controlling the wyrms. Her body was frail as she didn''t practice any Body Realm cultivation methods, and Ryu''s own body was exceptionally powerful.


    And yet she had managed to tank the blow.


    ''Fine,'' he thought coldly.


    The punch shuttled through the void and smashed against the face of the air solidity controlling warrior, while his flickering wrist slapped down, sending the intangible spear piercing into the ground.


    Blood and teeth flew from one as the other stumbled forward, losing their balance.


    Ryu took another step forward, black-red flames erupting from him as he pierced a claw into the intangible spear wielding young man. It was just one mistake, one stumble, and yet he had lost his life for it in an instant.


    His companion felt his head spinning. That one punch of Ryu''s had almost taken his head clean off, he could even feel micro-fractures forming in his neck.


    Ryu realized at that moment that these two were nowhere near the same level as the first young woman, but he also didn''t give a damn.


    He grabbed the rigid spear of the young man while he was flailing and pulled him forward.


    The young man couldn''t even react as he was sent head-first into Ryu''s elbow, his entire face bending into a u-shape as his skull deformed.


    He too fell to the ground.


    Dead.


    Rage Flames danced across Ryu''s fingers and into his hair. As he walked toward the young woman who had finally managed to gather herself, he looked like a demon who had just stepped out from the abyss.


    The young woman coughed and wiped away the last bits of saliva from her pink lips with a forearm. She too could feel the Founding Dao, and it shocked her to an absolute extreme.


    Just who was this?


    However, shock was one thing, fear was another.


    She sneered. "You can kill the Dregs of the Martial Gods, but can you kill me? Do you even understand the weight of offending a disciple of the Beast Mimicry Sect?"


    Ryu didn''t care to ask why a disciple of this Sect was partaking in an event like this one. He didn''t give a damn.


    "Let alone offend you... I''m going to enjoy killing you."


    Horns grew from Ryu''s head, scales grew along his body and claws curled from his nails, glistening beneath the sun.

 Chapter 1649 In That Case...

    Chapter 1649 In That Case...


    Ryu took a step and his speed suddenly accelerated forward.


    Enrika had thought of many ways this interaction could go, but she never expected this. And quite frankly... that was because she was more than just a little bit of an airhead. Either that, or her head was too far in the clouds, riding on a wave of arrogance, to realize the truth before her.


    She had no idea where Ryu had come from, but he had just casually killed two Martial Gods right in the middle of their territory without having the aura of a Martial God himself. On top of that, he exuded the aura of a Founding Dao.


    Without knowing his background, any sane person would assume him to be a big shot who wouldn''t give a damn about her status as a disciple of the Beast Mimicry Sect... This was only logical.


    However, Enrika wasn''t completely in the weeds.


    If there was a ranking down for the power one least wanted to offend, the Beast Mimicry Sect would probably rank at the very top, and that was even beyond the sinister Arcane Mancer Sect.


    The Beast Mimicry Sect held this status precisely because of their ability to control beasts. Their Sect Members were already numerous, but one then had to multiply by a factor of ten or more to account for all their beast companions. There were even many Elders and geniuses of the Sect that curated their own Beast Clans, creating new species that were only just shy of the well known legendary beasts.


    The personal frailty of a Beast Tamer almost didn''t matter at all. That was because what was most important wasn''t their personal strength, but rather the strength of their souls and their intelligence.


    Unfortunately for this woman, Ryu didn''t believe she had any of this at all. That was because rather than pulling out what other beasts she might have had, she instead stood there talking like he was going to let her do as she pleased.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Enrika''s body cratered in three places, her gaze going blank as she felt her life slipping away from her.


    His palms formed jaws of their own, snapping down with Dragon Claw from two directions at once.


    He clamped the up jaw of the wyrm with one hand and the lower with the other.


    The roar of the beast echoed through his very soul, the attack even more potent now than it had been before. But this time, Ryu shrugged it off with even more ease, his shoulders and arms flexing as his claws sharpened.


    A roar echoed from Ryu''s own lips and the call of Dragon''s Roar made the wyrm''s blood run cold, its eyes glazing over for a moment.


    A soul attack?


    He was unmatched in this respect.


    His claws ripped through the bone of the creature as he lifted it up, Rage Flames billowing forth from his body as he swung the creature down toward Enrika.


    CLANG!


    A shield of Spiritual Quintessence formed, but the backlash of the soul technique crushed the body of the wyrm, leaving it crying and whimpering in subservience.


    Ryu lifted it up again and plowed it into the ground. He raised a fist and accelerated it forward, ripping through its eyes as layers of space and time tore through the creature''s body.


    He pulled out a bloody hand, flames burning the blood to ash as he flashed and appeared by Enrika''s floating body.


    Shields sprang up in his way one after another, each one sturdy and powerful. Ryu could see that she was quickly returning to her peak form.


    ''She sacrificed her beasts for the sake of saving her life. It''s no wonder she only summoned one... in that case.''


    Ryu''s claw became a single finger. His image and that of his father overlapped as an extraordinary amount of piercing power descended.

 Chapter 1650 Reliable

    Chapter 1650 Reliable


    High in the skies, his Birthed Phenomena roared to life, shaking the already trembling skies.


    He concentrated Dragon''s Claw into a single downward motion.


    The world shook as space bowed to his whims.


    PCHU!


    Enrika''s head was torn clean through, her eyes only snapping open at the last minute to show her horror. She had been planning all sorts of nasty things for the moment her life finally wasn''t in danger anymore, only for this to happen.


    She couldn''t believe that Ryu actually dared to kill her.


    Her throat was caught before she fell to the ground, her gaze vacant. But Ryu''s eyes couldn''t help but narrow.


    He had sensed something just now.


    Reaching down, he ripped the pouch on the woman''s side away and found that there were hundreds of beasts within.


    Of course, most of these beasts were just small fry, a large number of them only being at the Fragmented Sky God Realm. Clearly, Enrika had been sacrificing the lessers because she didn''t want to use her more valuable beasts, and that had made her suffer dearly in the end.


    Because so much of her soul was diverted to sacrificing her beasts, she could only control one beast at a time and had probably already given up on controlling the beasts fighting Elena.


    To make matters worse, because she was only absorbing the weaker beasts as a healing sacrifice, it was taking her longer than it otherwise would have, making her outcome all the more set in stone.


    But this wasn''t what Ryu had sensed.


    He realized that Selheira''s father had greatly improved his Golden Moon World. It was just as large as it was on the Sixth Heaven and no longer shrunk down, or else Ryu realized it might have collapsed the moment he stepped onto the Ninth Heaven.


    A smile spread across Ryu''s lips as he took a step and vanished.


    When he appeared again, he found a delicate beauty with a slight frame, taking long, heaving breaths. She stood over three corpses, her fingers dripping with blood and her gaze somewhat absent.


    Elena had been waiting for those hidden in the shadows to attack, which was why she had tried to drag out the fight. But in the end, she was being injured so severely that she had no choice but to take that step and brace herself for whatever might come.


    But to her astonishment, no one came at all. She could only wonder what happened...


    Until she smelled a familiar scent.


    Before she felt it in her soul, or before she even saw him, she smelled that scent first...


    Ryu didn''t know, but the only reason she had started paying attention to him in the first place was because she really liked how he smelled.


    It was so calm and earthy, reminding her of cinnamon spice and hints of citrus and pine. It was the sort of masculine scent she could lose herself in for years, never becoming bored of it.


    Her gaze turned misty as she slowly looked up.


    "... Hubby?" Her voice cracked.


    Ryu swept her waist into his arms and hugged her tightly.


    "I''m sorry I left you alone for so long," Ryu said softly.


    The tears Elena had been trying to hold back fell like a flood as she held onto Ryu even more tightly.


    Even when he had been a frail man she could knock over with a finger, he had always felt so reliable to her. And now... all those feelings had come flooding back.

 Chapter 1651 Dares?!

    Chapter 1651 Dares?!


    Ryu held the sobbing Elena, his gaze dimming somewhat. This was his fault, he knew it was his fault.


    Even if he had spent 999 years stuck in a cycle of Rebirth, a Rebirth that was likely responsible for the reason he had been able to relay his foundation so quickly to begin with, what about the almost decade afterward? It was an irrational feeling, he knew that.


    Until quite recently, just setting foot on the Ninth Heaven would have killed him. This wasn''t a matter of the Martial Gods hunting him down, but rather the environment itself was something his body simply couldn''t withstand. That was a huge issue to contend with even before he got to the many people and things that would want him dead.


    But even with all of this being the case, he felt that it was his responsibility to not be weak, his responsibility to be here, his responsibility to climb through hell or high water to be by her side.


    The fact he couldn''t was a notch against him, a blemish on his soul, and one he had no one to blame but himself for.


    He could think of any number of acceptable reasons for why he couldn''t be here, but none of it should have mattered... Especially when he thought about why Elena left in the first place.


    For a long time, Elena was just content with what she had. She was content to live out the rest of her days in Sacrum, she was content to have a cripple for a husband even if it meant that he would only be in her life for a short time, she was content with what she had.


    While her views were naive, they were pure.


    The only reason she came back to this Clan she never really wanted to be a part of was because of Ryu. She didn''t want to just sit back and watch him fight on his own, she wanted to be able to help him if she could.


    And that was because he was too weak. Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    He was too weak to let her truly be as willful as she wanted to be, so she took up this burden for the sake of them both.


    She would have much rather reclined and waited for him to wake up. But instead she came here and toiled away for the sake of giving their happiness a chance.


    And he had all but ignored it until now.


    He stroked her hair gently, holding her tightly to his chest. This was the first woman he had ever loved, she shouldn''t have to shed a single drop of sweat in her lifetime, let alone blood... and least of all should she suffer.


    Ryu cupped Elena''s face in his hands, looking down at her tear-stricken eyes and cheeks. Although there was a hint of grievance hidden deep within, they were overwhelmed by happiness.


    "Open your mouth."


    Elena scoffed and laughed between her sobs. "You could at least take me out to dinner first."


    Even though she said this, she did as she was told, opening wide as though she was expecting large.


    Ryu smiled and shook his head. Then, a drop of Embryonic Qi fell on her pink tongue.


    Elena''s eyes shot open as she suddenly felt all of her injuries mending. Deep, hidden injuries she hadn''t been able to deal with over the years, injuries that had slowed her down quite significantly, in fact, just vanished as though they were never there.


    "Ryu..." she said softly, biting her lip. "... This person is already a Perfect Sky God, and they''re almost close to becoming a Transcendent Sky God. On top of that, they are part of the High Tier..."


    "Who." Ryu asked again lightly.


    Elena seemed to melt. Ryu''s gaze was the same indifference she remembered, the same unbothered, unadulterated confidence.


    She had known this would happen. His only doubts in his first life were toward his cultivation, but he never felt inferior to anyone. His only challenge was himself.


    When she said she believed that he could destroy the Holy Wing Clan if he wanted, she had meant every word of it. When she tried to stop him from fighting against the Martial Gods, it was never about not believing in him... it was because she knew that the moment he did, any chance she naively thought they had at peace would cease to be.


    "Okay..." Elena said softly. She didn''t mention the name, but her words are effectively the same. It wasn''t like Ryu would recognize the name anyway. All that mattered was the sentiment.


    "Little Silk." Ryu called out.


    A flash of sky blue cut through the skies. Beneath her, wrapped in bundles of silvery-blue silk, there was a familiar old woman whose eyes were opened wide with shock and rage.


    "Leave her here. Don''t kill her. Let''s go."


    Ryu took Elena''s waist and took a step, appearing on Little Silk''s back. His gaze flashed with a cold intent as the gorgeous butterfly shot into the distance.


    Elena couldn''t seem to see the scenery at all, her gaze focused on Ryu''s chiseled side profile.


    ...


    The High Tier of the Martial Gods was mostly made up of derivatives of the three Divines. The Holy Wings were part of this group as derivatives of the Divine Wings, there were the Holy Chains that were obviously derivatives of the Divine Chains, and there was also the Holy Kings, derivative of the Divine Hegemony.


    They weren''t the sum total, but they were probably the most important. As for where the person in question was, he was among the Holy Kings.


    He was known as Young Master Janus. He was 28 years old this year and still had time to make it to the Transcendent Sky God Realm before his 30th birthday to remain on the genius track and maintain his current pool of resources.


    He was just a step away, but even he knew that this was a difficult task. He was just a step away, but anyone who would say they were 100% confident could only be a conceited fool.


    As for being a generational talent, that was impossible. Such a talent wouldn''t ever be two years away from falling off the genius path anyway. Those freaks would have probably broken through to the Omniscient Sky God Realm 20 years in advance.


    ''I''ll succeed in the task mother asked of me soon and that bitch will be dealt with. That should get me a few more resources. But I don''t need more qi, I need inspiration to break through with my Dao... I''ll have to trade them for a change using the-"


    BOOM!


    Janus'' entire courtyard trembled as though the world was coming to an end.


    "Who dares?!" He stood up in a rage.


    Although he sounded enraged, his mind was calculating many things. Who the hell could make it through his protective formation so easily?!

 Chapter 1652 Herd of Gorillas

    Chapter 1652 Herd of Gorillas


    The area wasn''t exactly densely populated. It was a region not too deep into the High Tier either. However, densely to mortals versus what a cultivator might expect it to be were on entirely different levels. In a world like this one, even if the homes were dozens of miles apart, it was a matter of a glance for the various home owners to check on what was going on, let alone the fact these homes weren''t nearly so spaced out.


    Janus'' home was a mansion that squared off what was at least 50 meters longitudinally and latitudinally for itself. But for experts like them, this matter was hardly the effort of a single step.


    Usually, privacy in these regions was protected with the use of formations, but as Janus had said... his own had just shattered, causing the senses of the entire neighborhood to fall on him...


    However, even before that, Ryu''s entrance was far too prominent. He descended from the skies riding upon a beast whose aura was infinitesimally close to the Lord Beast Realm, and shattered a formation that should have taken some time to deal with in an instant.


    But even more eye-catching than that... It was Elena.


    Elena was someone that most knew. They knew of her standing, and it made many wary of her... but it also made others much more antagonistic toward her as well. Status was always a double-edged sword, especially when you were weak.


    While most would avoid her entirely, there were some that would go out of their way to harass her and make her life a living nightmare.


    Even so, she was undeniably beautiful, and her rise in recent years, after almost a millennia of dormancy, could be said to be meteoric, bringing more attention to her when even those who might have some animosity toward her would have ignored her before simply due to how weak she was.


    However, at this moment, she was hanging from the arm of a young man. His momentum might have felt frightening at first, especially considering the beast he rode upon. But when he took a step forward and landed in the courtyard on his own, his true aura was on clear display for them all to see... False Sky God?


    Was this a joke?


    Ryu stood there in silence, his hands clasped behind his back. The air gently swayed with frigid air, causing his hair to sparkle with icy shards and his eyes to glow a slightly more blue than silver color.


    Janus ran out and was stunned by what he found.


    BOOM!


    The instant he stepped out, his home was flattened to the ground by a single gust of Little Silk''s wings, the air slicing across his hair and clothing, carving them into shreds but leaving him unscathed.


    Janus'' gaze sharpened, his fury almost spilling out. He grabbed onto his outer robes and pulled them away from himself, revealing a chiseled and perfectly sculpted physique.


    He gave Ryu a look, then looked up to the beast and then finally to Elena who stood on its back. Finally, he looked back at Ryu and sneered.


    "Dear sister, is this your ''husband''?"


    Hearing these words, Ryu finally understood. So Janus was Elena''s half-brother. It was no wonder Elena had tried to make things seem more complicated than they were.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t give a damn about much else but two things.


    Ryu looked back toward Elena.


    "Do you care about his mother?" Ryu asked, meeting Elena''s gaze. He turned his eyes away from Janus as though he didn''t matter in the slightest.


    BANG!


    Janus'' head whipped to the side, the astonishment still clear on his face. He was still trying to process everything that was happening here when Ryu hit him.


    A stinging pain erupted on his cheekbone and he couldn''t help but raise a hand to it, still slightly slow to react.


    When he realized the situation he was in, he struck out with a haphazard palm, blocking Ryu''s next blow and making him take a step back.


    Even so, the astonishment in his eyes deepened even further. Just what the hell was going on here?


    According to his information, Elena''s husband was from a mere small world, so he wasn''t surprised by his low cultivation. He was more surprised that he could even step onto the Ninth Heaven in the first place.


    However, how could a False Sky God make him feel pain, let alone take a single step back after his counterattack?


    He was a Perfect Sky God, and a genius at that. There were two whole Realms... no, it was practically three because Ryu was clearly still a Lower False Sky God.


    He... had been hit by a False Sky God?


    The crown flickering above his head suddenly solidified and the world came to an eerie stillness.


    Ryu looked down at his fist. He had actually broken his hand on that attack. It was the first time since he had gotten it that his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure had collapsed under pressure.


    It wasn''t just the hardness of Janus'' body, that was secondary. Rather, it felt like anything that came in contact with Janus was under his own laws and regulations, even to the point that just contact with him at all was blasphemous and had to be punished.


    "So that''s the Holy King bloodline, huh? Interesting."


    Ryu shook out his wrist as though he couldn''t feel the pain, snapping his bones back into place before circulating Embryonic Qi and healing it completely.


    Then, he looked at Janus.


    Everything in the world truly had stilled. His Birthed Phenomena and Dao Vessel were struggling to maintain control over the qi in the region, and he could even feel that his Bloodlines were more than just rolling in reverse now, they were practically rebelling as though they wanted to rush out of his body and pay homage to Janus rather than him.


    "Since you''ve come here today, don''t think of leaving. I will crush you until your worthless pride is nothing more than a shattered pile of bone."


    Ryu met his gaze, looking at the shimmering gold that took shape within them.


    His Dao Heart suddenly glistened. Like a reflective blade catching the sun''s rays, it sparkled and the hold Janus had on his body seemed to have disappeared.


    "I''ve never had much respect at all for the Martial Gods," Ryu said lightly. "You speak of pride a lot, but I don''t think any of you actually knows what that means. You lower yourselves to the most grotesque of standards, then puff out your chests like a herd of gorillas.


    "Let me show you what true pride is. In the face of even the greatest odds, it does not break nor fold."


    Ryu''s eyes shone with a resplendent light.


    "[Heaven''s Gate]... Open."

 Chapter 1653 Congratulations

    Chapter 1653 Congratulations


    The legend of the Heaven''s Gate hadn''t appeared in generations, and the legends built around it were akin to the stuff of mythos.


    It was said that the Earth''s Gate held the secrets to Life and the Heaven''s Gate held the secrets to Existence. They sat on two opposing ends of reality, creating the parameters by which creation itself could flourish.


    And today... The Heaven''s Gate had appeared again.


    They were tall and looming, so much so that no matter where you stood on the Ninth Heaven, they could be seen as clear as day.


    Golds, silvers and bronzes, wound together in a fanciful embroidery that encompassed all that ever had been and ever would be stood in an impossible tall arch.


    And with a step, Ryu took a step through it.


    It was a simple action, one unadorned and lacking any sort of flair. His hair danced gently, a delicate glow gliding across his blemishless skin.


    His Qi Realm cultivation rose to the Peak of the True God Realm. His Body Realm cultivation rose to the Pinnacle of the False Realm. His Mental Realm cultivation rose to an unmatched level within the True Realm.


    His Dao rose from the False Grade to the True Grade. His Internal Matrix thrummed and advanced as well, raising his Dao to an equivalent Realm of the Perfect Grade.


    His Inheritances and Comprehensions all advanced, his fluttering hair dancing with more and more fervor as his Childe of Chaos and Childe of Order constitutions blended together into a tempestuous rain.


    Ryu had thought about what he should do here. Should he fight a long, drawn out battle? Should he try and hide his cards to the best of his ability? Should he restrain himself and find a more clever or unique method to seek justice for his wife?


    But then he understood something.


    But just as it was about to take form, Ryu''s other hand flickered, piercing a finger right through the heart of the formation.


    "It has been a very long time since my Heavenly Pupils have appeared... so long, in fact... that it seems that you all have forgotten its majesty... Let me remind you."


    Ryu''s claws squeezed down and Janus'' heart was torn to shreds.


    Janus'' eyes hung wide open, his mouth just as wide as blood leaked from it in a waterfall. He coughed, then chuckled a bitter laugh.


    "I hope you''ve enjoyed this small victory," Janus coughed again, the crown of qi above his head flickering into and out of existence.


    Ryu didn''t say anything, but he could truly feel the strong vitality of Martial Gods at the moment. Granted, Janus was a Perfect Sky God. But he looked like he could still live for several days even with his heart in such a state.


    BOOM!


    "But I already knew that it would be useless. That formation had another purpose entirely, one I''m sure you saw through as well and didn''t give a damn about. That''s the thing about you monsters... always so arrogant... always believing that you''re above it all... Never being able to see the bigger picture...


    "... For you to appear now, though... it means you saved my big sister from the Dreg Hunt... and if you saved her, that almost certainly means that you clashed with Enrika... and considering your arrogance... she''s almost certainly dead...


    "Do you think that a Beast Mimicry disciple would just appear in Martial God territory without ... rhyme... or reason...?"


    Janus suddenly heard a chuckle that caught him off guard. Soon, he found himself lifted up by the wounds in his chest until he looked at Ryu face to face.


    "Congratulations," Ryu said with a smile. "You''ve earned yourself an extension on your life."


    Confusion painted Janus'' expression.


    "Confused? Don''t be. Wouldn''t it be a shame if you didn''t see your little scheme fall flat on its face?"

 Chapter 1654 Skip This Farce

    Chapter 1654 Skip This Farce


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Almost the instant Ryu finished talking, the skies were filled with flying treasures. The first to appear were, of course, those in courtyards adjacent or nearby to Janus'' own. But very quickly, there were others.


    None of these people were part of Janus'' scheme, however. Rather, it was because of the appearance of Heaven''s Gate that they had come. It was not a phenomena that could be ignored in the slightest, and Ryu had already known the kind of commotion it would cause. In fact, that was part of the reason he had used it in the first place.


    Soon, however, those that Janus had called forward personally would arrive.


    Ryu had, indeed, seen it. The hidden formation was multifaceted. Any activation of it would mean that Janus was in great danger to begin with, and if it was destroyed it was even more of a sign. The moment it had been activated, the individuals with the most investment in Janus had likewise already appeared.


    Countless gazes landed on Ryu, and just as many seemed to widen.


    How could they not recognize Janus? He was a Holy King. He might not be among the Hegemons, and he was nowhere near the best of the Holy Kings either considering how close he was to falling off the genius path, but Ryu was clearly radiating the aura of a True Sky God and he didn''t even have a single scratch on him.


    And then there was Elena''s existence. They had all taken note of this woman long ago, and she clearly seemed to be with Ryu. But where did this man come from? Or maybe even more importantly than that, where did the beast she was riding on come from? They didn''t just make obedient Omniscient God Beasts on the verge of becoming Lord Beasts, it just didn''t happen.


    Their gazes landed back on Ryu who had a hand through Janus'' chest. The latter coughed up blood from time to time, but he didn''t dare to move as Ryu tossed his body around as though he was a sock puppet.


    The rage in his eyes was extremely subdued at the moment, not spilling forth even after he spotted exactly those he wanted to see.


    At that moment, the crowd of flying treasures was forced to part beneath the majesty of two people, both of whom were exuding the aura of the Omniscient Sky God Realm. Behind them, there was a single young man wearing robes of pristine white aside from the golden branches and the singular pauldron formed of black scales on his right shoulder.


    "En... rika..." Janus wheezed out.


    The young man frowned when he heard this. He had been only really curious about the Heaven''s Gate, which was why he had bothered to come at all. But he didn''t expect to hear these words. Why was Janus mentioning his sister?


    "... She''s... dead..." Janus pushed out again.


    Ryu didn''t make any attempt to stop him, and Janus likely knew this as well.


    The young man felt like he had been hit by a bolt of lightning.


    "What?"


    He only spoke a single word, and it didn''t even seem to have much strength behind it, but all the qi in the skies flowed in reverse...


    Except for the qi in one area.


    The air around Ryu was so stable and unmoved that it painted the picture of a calm lake.


    Janus struggled and pointed a bloody finger right at Ryu. But because they were so close, he ended up weakly hitting him first.


    Ryu shook his wrist and tossed Janus away. The latter landed in a pile of rubble and in an instant, all the blood on Ryu''s body vanished.


    The second Omniscient Sky God was wearing robes eerily similar to Enrika frowned. How had one of their own died? This was just a casual visit.


    "Let''s cut to the end of this farce, shall we? Are you going to attack one by one or all together?"

 Chapter 1655 Idiot

    Chapter 1655 Idiot


    Ryu flicked his wrist and the blood that had coated him was flung into the surroundings, suddenly leaving him spotless and without the slightest hint of a blemish.


    He took a step forward and his Founding Dao flourished. Suddenly, under the astonished gazes of all those present, he rose into the skies as though he was stepping upon Heaven''s staircase. His white and sky blue robes fluttered in the wind, moving with his whipping hair.


    This scene had far more impact on those watching than even Ryu could have guessed.


    This was the Ninth Heaven. The skies were the Domain of the Dao Gods. There was simply no other individual who could complete this feat, and those with the right to witness such a thing could likely be counted on both one''s hands.


    And yet, this youth they had never heard of, acted with a casualness that belayed the arrogance in his gaze. He seemed to look down upon the world, his haughty gaze and resplendent Dao Heart akin to what only the greatest geniuses of the Ninth Heaven could possibly match up to.


    He was the King here.


    Janus'' mother was shaken for a moment before her fury returned.


    "Who are you? You are not Elena''s husband."


    She wanted to say many more words about Elena, but she didn''t dare to. Calling Elena a bitch or a whore would disparage her husband''s name, and that wasn''t something she could afford to do, nor was she willing to do so.


    Ryu''s laughter suddenly caused the clouds to rumble. He laughed so heartily one would have thought that he had heard the greatest joke in the world.


    How could he not understand what this woman wanted to do? She thought that he definitely wasn''t Elena''s husband, so by mentioning the fact that one existed, she thought that he could make him turn on his own wife. But...


    Wasn''t she a little too stupid?


    "My wife''s name is Elena Tatsuya. Do you have any more questions?"


    The skies shook as the twin trigram diagrams in Ryu''s eyes sparkled with a shimmer and gleam. His momentum continued to climb as the words slowly sunk in, the Tatsuya name striking them like thunder.


    Founding Dao? What worth did it have at the True God Realm? Was it better than his own Ancient Dao of a far superior level?


    His Dao Heart shone in his chest like a furious ember. No one could make him lower his head.


    "You''ll pay for this."


    He moved without another word, not introducing himself, not even asking for Ryu''s name. None of it mattered to him.


    He struck out with a fist that made the world lose color.


    Ryu shifted a gaze over. The world seemed slow to him, moving in frames per second instead of a smooth cadence. He saw so many flaws in the fist in an instant that he almost felt lazy.


    A beast tamer attacking a close combat expert like him with a fist? Was he really so arrogant?


    Ryu stretched out a palm, his Cosmos Fog stirring as his body weight increased hundreds of fold in an instant.


    BANG!


    A clap of echoing thunder rang. It sounded like they had nestled within one another, layering and booming out with a sudden violent cadence.


    Ryu towered over the young man, unmoving in the skies as the latter was sent flying backward. Compared to Ryu who was controlling his own flight, the young man was only relying on a flying treasure.


    He stood no chance in such a confrontation even if one disregarded that beast tamers had no such close combat skills.


    He thought himself a genius who could overwhelm Ryu regardless of the field...


    Unfortunately, he was mistaken.


    The young man barely caught his balance, his flying treasure teetering in the air.


    His face twisted with embarrassment and rage.


    "Idiot." Ryu spoke without the slightest hint of respect. "How about you try and take out your beasts instead."

 Chapter 1656 Two Paths

    Chapter 1656 Two Paths


    Valerius thought he was truly seeing in red.


    "Do you think you''re worthy of such a thing?!"


    SLAP!


    Valerius had no idea where it came from. Ryu hadn''t even taken a single step. His hand just swung and a handprint deformed his cheek and left a tooth flying into the distance.


    "Every moment you don''t, I''ll increase the strength of that slap by 10%."


    "You-"


    The sound echoed even louder than before.


    The beast tamer woman seemed to finally regain her bearings. "Stop right-"


    Ice needles appeared once again, these ones even more robust than before, and yet somehow even less detectable than the first time.


    Another slap.


    This one shattered Valerius'' cheekbone and part of his jaw. The side of his face swelled into a balloon.


    By the time the fifth descended, Ryu was greatly disappointed. The combination of genius and youth on the Ninth Heaven left him feeling no sort of exhilaration.


    Those that were both great enough geniuses and of adequate strength to fight him were still teenagers. Their minds lacked any sort of refinement, their techniques were what were passed down to them from others, and they had yet to form a single individual thought yet.


    Valerius was a beast tamer. His senses were at least one par with Ryu''s own if his eyes were taken out of the equation. But he couldn''t even see Ryu''s slaps coming because he had never faced such a thing in his life before. His mind lacked any flexibility and his battle tactics weren''t nearly refined enough.


    Compared to Ryu who had forgotten just how many battles he had fought just to reach this point...


    If Ryu suppressed his usual battle instincts, he could begrudgingly make it an interesting battle... but what was the point? To boost this brat''s ego?


    But just now, Ryu sensed something interesting.


    Valerius fell into silence, his roars disappeared as he looked down. His head covered his eyes and Ryu could see a beating heart in his chest, glowing with a bright red glow.


    There were two ways people could take failure.


    The first was to crumble like Ryu had seen many times before.


    And the other way was this.


    Valerius looked up, his eyes sparking with golden trails of lightning as his Spiritual Quintessence rippled.


    Ryu suddenly felt the world solidify to the point that using his Spacetime Soul Nature felt like pulling teeth, and then he saw several ripples form in the skies, as though the vast expanse had become a lake of cold and several pebbles had been tossed into their depths.


    Out from these ripples, the maws from vengeful beasts began to open wide. They didn''t have corporeal bodies, and this was clear some sort of high-class Visualization, but their auras were palpable.


    "Oh... you finally started using your brain."


    Ryu could feel hints of danger blooming in his heart, his senses caused his hair to stand on end. He realized that this wasn''t himself, but rather his Bloodlines. He understood now why his mother-in-law had said it might be a problem to go to this Sect.


    His lip curled and a fiendish grin spread across his face.


    Seeing this scene, Elena''s heart skipped a beat. She had seen that smile once before, that smile Ryu had worn before he fought an army of Martial Gods all on his own. It was also a smile she had never seen during their first life together...


    She knew that this was as much a part of Ryu as anything else.


    That lust for battle, that love of competition, that endless trek to the top of all there was or ever would be.


    Ryu activated his Bloodmancy and the invisible chains on his body shattered, his body erupting with white scales as a howl shot through the skies.


    He and Valerius exploded forth at the same time.

 Chapter 1657 Chilling

    Chapter 1657 Chilling


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist met the beast constructs forming in the air. For a moment, it looked as though they were evenly matched, but in that instant, Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul thrummed.


    BANG!


    The beast constructs seemed to implode, becoming large streams of Spiritual Quintessence that erupted from their innards and spilled out into the surroundings.


    Valerius'' eyes narrowed, but his hands quickly began to form hand seals. He took note of Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul, deducing what had just happened in an instant and changing his tactics.


    His arms spread out and his Dao erupted. The billowing aura of a Higher Ancient Dao spilling into the surroundings.


    The constructs that Ryu had just blown apart seemed to reform on their own, a cascading swell of life and creation pooling. For a moment, the constructs didn''t seem to just be constructs anymore, but rather real, living, breathing beasts.


    Valerius pressed two fingers, holding one palm out toward Ryu and raising those fingers into the sky. Blood was pulled out from his pores, qi spilled out from his mouth and nose, and Spiritual Quintessence swirled among them, forming an amalgamation of something entirely new.


    The danger Ryu sensed multiplied several times over, the creatures that had been somewhat more real now suddenly truly becoming corporeal.


    The wyrms filled the skies by the dozens, roaring like flood dragons completely unimpeded by their own flight at all. They soared just as easily as Ryu did, bearing down menacingly and unleashing a torrent of their creator''s fury.


    The air rocked like the sea on a stormy night, the qi in the surroundings becoming so volatile that even the pair of Omniscient Sky God women found it hard to even stabilize themselves properly.


    In that moment, it felt like all eyes within a thousand kilometers were stuck on this very battle...


    And then there was Ryu who looked like a small fish in the midst of swarming sharks, so tiny and insignificant compared to these large, looming constructs that it seemed he would truly be swallowed whole.


    Death Acupoint.Nne?w n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    Fist and fist met and Ryu felt his arm snap backward under the force. Though his arm wasn''t broken, his guard certainly was.


    However, he used the sudden loss of momentum to step back and out of the range of the Incarnation''s second blow, sweeping another finger technique out in an arc to shatter an approaching construct.


    A battle that shattered the very air it took place on erupted, every clash ending in a cacophony of exploding energy and shattering reality.


    Ryu realized very quickly why Valerius was able to keep up in close combat with this Incarnation. It wasn''t just that he was distracted but the constructs constantly trying to rip his head off, nor was it just the fact that the Incarnation itself was outputting far more power than himself, but it was that Valerius was a third-party observer to everything as well.


    He wasn''t the Incarnation, he was controlling the Incarnation. As such, his vantage point was akin to a use of [Third Perspective].


    ''No...''


    Ryu''s eyes flashed like lightning. It wasn''t just his main body, but all the constructs... every single one of his creations was an extra set of eyes and it negated one of his greatest advantages.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu exchanged a quick flurry of elbows and knees with the Incarnation, garnering himself a small bit of breathing room to use Death Acupoint again and destroy another Incarnation.


    The white scales across Ryu''s body suddenly thrummed as everything clicked into place.


    It was time for him to stop reacting and start taking the initiation.


    ''[Immortal Sakura].''


    Ryu''s wings opened wide as a construct of his own appeared high in the skies. The Visualization loomed so tall and mighty that it could be seen for tens of thousands of kilometers.


    When its delicate pink-diamond cherry blossoms began to fall from the skies, it painted an image of awe and fascination, forming a gorgeous tapestry that was quickly assaulted by a rain of bone-chilling cold.

 Chapter 1658 A Genius

    Chapter 1658 A Genius


    The cherry blossoms froze over one after another, gaining shields of a transparent, pale blue. Then, upon each one, Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns took shape.


    They were sharp lines at perfect 90-degree angles, looking as though an artist had meticulously met a downstroke with several cross strokes. They shone with a bright sky blue color and the world seemed to slow.


    In that moment, the lock that Valerius had managed to place on Ryu''s Spacetime control loosened considerably. All this time, Ryu had focused his attention on Valerius'' beast skin spatial pouch, the only thing he could do under such restriction. But now...


    [Absolute Domain] took shape once again, Star Qi falling from the skies in a beautiful wash of silver.


    The scene could only be described as gorgeous. A man adorned by white scales, standing beneath an Immortal Sakura with blossoms of pink and blue, allowing the rain of the stars to fall down upon him.


    ROAR!


    Ryu''s mouth parted and a mighty Dragon Roar tore a vortex through the clouds above.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The wyrm constructs ran into the seemingly delicate and fluttering cherry blossoms, only to be iced over in shards of blue and shattered into countless sparkling pieces that only added to the ambiance.


    The Incarnation tried to close in on Ryu again, throwing out a fist, but Ryu didn''t even pay attention to it as it collided with another blossoming petal. Its arm was suddenly encased by ice, and though it quickly shrugged it off, Ryu''s fist had already found its way to its chest.


    Ryu unleashed a relentless barrage, his fists smoothly flowing into his kicks, which just as smoothly paved a wide path for his palms and claws.


    He changed his battle stance so frequently that it was entirely impossible to track, and even when one thought they found an opening, a fluttering blossom would find its way to block it.


    The SHIING of blades and the swinging tempest of staffs and weapons of bludgeoning horrors echoed. When one''s eyes lost focus, it looked more like Ryu had become an arsenal of weapons rather than a man fighting with his own body.


    A holy blessing that Ryu swiped away with a hand, shattering it into pieces.


    His horns glistened even beneath his dark flames, his white hair fluttering as the only contrast of brightness upon him. Even his scales were buried beneath the inferno.


    Valerius stood in the distance, beads of sweat falling down from his brow not out of fear, but rather hints of fatigue and the billowing heat suddenly coming from Ryu.


    He looked at Ryu deeply, his breathing even and the depths of his eyes quickly birthing a maturity he hadn''t had just moments ago.


    This was the gap between a true genius and the dregs.


    There were, indeed, two paths that one could take after being humiliated, and he had taken the one that was only available to those with Dao Hearts as resplendent as his own.


    It was a Dao Heart that the people of the Ninth Heaven called the Heart of a Hero. And looking down at Ryu''s chest, Valerius could see that he, too, had one.


    Slowly, Valerius began to take out a bone whip. It came from his spatial ring, so Ryu was unable to stop it. But he could also tell that it was too inferior a weapon for a genius of Valerius'' caliber. It was likely that his favorite weapon was stored in the beast skin, but Ryu had stopped him from taking it out.


    Even after several seconds, the bone whip had yet to fully manifest itself and it quickly became obvious why Valerius hadn''t taken it out until now, and also why he chose to store his main weapon in the much more complex spatial device...


    It simply took too long to pull out!


    BANG!


    Despite the fact they were standing over a hundred meters in the sky, the bone whip slapped against the ground, forming a crater that rippled with cracks into the surroundings.


    However, just before the two could begin another round, a voice called out.


    "I believe that''s enough."

 Chapter 1659 Plenty

    Chapter 1659 Plenty


    Ryu didn''t have to cast in the direction of the one who spoke to see who it was. There were probably only very few people who could hide from his [Third Perspective], and there was also the fact that this man wasn''t trying to hide himself in the slightest.


    In Sacrum, he dared to say that nothing could escape his [Third Perspective], but he had learned enough about the True Martial World to conclude that there was nothing truly infallible in this world... At least not while his eyes were yet to return to their former number one ranking.


    The man who flew upon a flying disk had a mature sort of charm about him. His hair was greying, but perfectly slicked back, his face was clean-shaven and his robes were both simple, but noble, fluttering in the wind with colors of azure and gold.


    Sashi''s heart skipped a beat when she saw this man. She put a hand on her chest and gave a small bow. She didn''t bend her waist very much because her status was high enough to not need to do so, but the same wasn''t the case for most everyone else. In fact, even the woman of the Beast Mimicry Sect gave him a bow.


    The only two that didn''t were Ryu and Valerius. Not wanting to stir more trouble than she had to, even Elena bowed. She felt that she had gotten Ryu into more than enough trouble, and now she was worried.


    "Warden," Sashi greeted politely.


    The Warden title of the Martial Gods held a great amount of weight. Though the man was "only" of the Omniscient Sky God Realm, it could be said that he had enough strength in a single palm to suppress both Sashi and her friend both with a great deal of ease.


    The minimum requirement of a Warden was to reach the Omniscient Sky God Realm while staying on the genius path. Many of them had a great chance of reaching the Dao Lord Realm, but even without doing so, their ability to suppress those of the same Realm stood near the top of the Martial God Clan as a whole.


    The Warden position wasn''t just bluster and talk. It was one that could only be claimed by walking through a mountain of corpses. Challenges were constantly open and anyone who met the minimum requirement could challenge this man at any time...


    Warden Mordecai wasn''t even from a High Tier Bloodline. He had a Middle Tier Bloodline of the Martial Gods, one that placed him below the status of Sashi and certainly the Beast Mimicry Sect woman. And yet, when he came forward, they felt a trembling fear in their hearts.


    [Intuition] was something he was only supposed to be able to use three times in a lifetime, and he had already used them all... or so he thought.


    Maybe, his eyes had swapped out three large, life-changing uses of [Intuition], for smaller, more manageable spurts.


    Ryu turned back and frowned when he confirmed that Elena was bowing.


    He didn''t say a word, but a strong wind straightened her back. She was a bit taken aback, but when she saw Ryu''s gaze, her lips curled into a sheepish smile, a hint of worry twinkling in her eyes.


    Warden Mordecai''s gaze didn''t waver when he saw this. In fact, his smile remained the same.


    "The road of cultivation is a lonely path, young one. You cannot give your talent nor your backbone to everyone around you, they will have to raise themselves up or you will one day have to watch them die regardless of the heights you reach. And by then, their death will be the anchor that drags you down."


    Mordecai spoke lightly as though he was advising a junior.


    Ryu gazed at him for a long while, not sensing any mal-intent in his words, but he still didn''t like it in the slightest.


    "There''ve been plenty of people who''ve reached the Dao God Realm, plenty who''ve formed Founding Daos, plenty who''ve had great talents or formed powerful backbones, as you say...


    "But where is the challenge in doing what everyone else has already done? I will not only reach the pinnacle of the world, I will take those I love with me. If they need a backbone, I will be their backbone. If they lack talent, I will give them talent. If anyone stands in their way, I''ll cut them down."

 Chapter 1660 Poor Living Situation

    Chapter 1660 Poor Living Situation


    Ryu''s hair rustled in the wind, his gaze meeting Mordecai''s without the slightest hint of wavering. He looked as though he could truly palm the entire skies in a hand at the moment, and looking at his back, Elena felt tears threatening to fall.


    The Ryu she knew was obsessed with reaching the top of the world, but his thoughts were never about doing the same for everyone around him. It was a pursuit that could almost be called selfish under most lenses, and it was there only to satisfy his own vanity.


    Those were thoughts she kept to herself because they never seemed to matter. For one, the Ryu she fell for couldn''t cultivate to begin with. And second, well... it was easy for you to ignore the flaws of someone you deeply loved.


    Another part of Elena, at least in recent years, felt that her evaluation of Ryu was unfair. Just because she didn''t feel any ambition to do much, didn''t mean that others had to be the same as her?


    Originally, she had felt that Ryu was being silly. He was already born to the greatest Clan of Sacrum, what was there for him to pursue?


    Even after she learned about the wider world and the existence of the True Martial World, she felt that it was unnecessary to go so far. Why not stay put where they were the kings and queens of their own little world? How much easier would their lives be? How much longer could they live? How many little princes and princesses could they have?


    Wasn''t that the life everyone should aspire to?


    When Ryu actually came after her so soon after his rebirth, Elena realized that he had changed. He wasn''t the same person, he smiled more, he was more caring... no, Ryu had always been caring, but it was in ways that most wouldn''t see unless you truly looked into his eyes. But now... it just felt so free, so out in the open.


    She had hardly been around him for more than a few moments, but she had known him so well, and for so long, that she spotted the changes instantly.


    And these words he had just spoken... seemed to solidify that.


    She wiped at her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. She didn''t want to embarrass Ryu any more than she already had.


    Embarrassment wasn''t really a feeling that Ryu felt often, but she was his first wife, his first love. This thought was something that had driven her for a long while, and it was the reason she had been able to withstand so much pressure from her surroundings for so long.


    If she was going to stay in such a role, she couldn''t have Ryu carry the brunt of their Faith alone. She had to be better.


    Even if someone was strong enough to make her fold, they would have to break her to do so.


    Something changed in Elena''s eyes and Mordecai, who was still mulling over Ryu''s words, looked over, his gaze akin to an abrupt flash of lightning.


    Elena took a breath, her gaze shimmering with confidence before she pointed out a direction.


    With a flash, they appeared on Little Silk''s back and shot into the distance, leaving a stream of blue frost in their wake.


    "I will kill you personally, Ryu Tatsuya." Valerius'' calm voice echoed.


    Ryu''s lip curled and he didn''t bother to look back. It seemed that he didn''t even need to give out his full name these days for people to know him.


    ...


    Ryu and Elena touched down in an untouched compound. Despite Elena''s living conditions, the courtyard wasn''t bad and only a little shy of Janus'' own.


    Elena took Ryu''s wrist and pulled him along.


    Ryu chuckled. "You don''t need to be so eager. Shouldn''t I at least take a shower first?"


    Elena glanced at him and looked her husband up and down as though she might really eat him.


    "I''ll eat you up later, there''s something else."


    She pulled Ryu into the basement. They passed through several seals before they stood before an altar with a single jade sitting on it.


    "What''s that?" Ryu asked.


    "For your Meridians and Spiritual Foundation," Elena said with a bright smile.


    Ryu felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.


    Could it be that the reason Elena''s living situation was so poor was because she had traded everything for this?

 Chapter 1661 Pleasure

    Chapter 1661 Pleasure


    Ryu stood in silence for a long while, the thoughts swirling about in his mind seemingly infinite and intangible. As for the swirl of emotions, they were even more fervent.


    It seemed so very obvious when he thought about it.


    No matter how "cruel" the Martial Gods were, it was impossible that it would be to the point of having Elena ingest pills that were so inferior. That was crossing a line that simply didn''t make sense, and from everything he understood, while Elena might not be fond of her father, the opposite wasn''t true. In fact, Elena''s father doted on her quite a bit.


    Then how had all of this happened?


    The answer was right before him now. Rather than taking advantage of the opportunity she would likely be given, Elena chose to trade it all away for a chance for him.


    "I''m sorry," Elena said with a bitter smile. "When I traded for it, I honestly thought all of this cultivation nonsense was easy. I never really tried before, so I thought if I just finally started putting in some effort, I would be able to grow strong enough to leave the Ninth Heaven and find you before you finished your Rebirth.


    "But I was too naive. Cultivation itself wasn''t a problem, but having to reform my foundation without a large amount of cultivation resources was impossible. It ended up slowing me considerably... so it''s just been sitting here."


    Elena pouted a bit, the guilt clear in her eyes.


    She was right. When Ryu was reforming his foundation, the only reason it was so easy aside from his Rebirth helping him, was because he could concoct his own pills. Not only did he concoct his own pills, but they weren''t normal pills either by any stretch of the imagination. Even the worst of them were Runed Pills that would be extremely valuable even on the Ninth Heaven.


    Elena had likely tried to speed run the rebuilding of her foundation, and the result of that was all the pill impurities piling up in her body. And by a certain point, all those impurities actually just ended up slowing her progress down any further.


    Elena had always been too lazy to even cultivate, let alone learn a secondary profession. If there was anything she liked to do, it was having sex and dancing. Those were, really, her only two passions in life.


    "I..."


    Ryu embraced Elena, holding her small frame both firmly and gently.


    "No," he said softly. "This is my fault. Don''t apologize."


    Elena opened her mouth to refute, but feeling the firmness in Ryu''s touch, she melted instead. She could understand the mood that Ryu was trying to convey. Like he had said in the past, he would give her the leeway to be as willful as she wanted. That was her right as his wife...


    What she hadn''t understood until now was that Ryu''s meaning didn''t just extend to the bounds of Sacrum. When he said those words, he meant them down to the greatest fiber of his very being. Even if it was the True Martial World that stood in their path, if she said she wanted them split into, he would split them for her.


    Elena suddenly felt a warmness accumulating between her legs, one that she tried to squeeze down. She wanted to experience this embrace for just a moment longer, an innocent sort of grace bestowed from a husband to a wife.


    Ryu cupped her cheek in a palm, looking down at her.


    "Let''s go see the-" Elena started before she was cut off by a shake of Ryu''s head.


    "Forget that. First, this husband of yours has about a billion years of pleasure to bestow."


    Elena''s eyes opened wide. Though there was a little excitement, there was another greater hint of fear.


    That she could turn her inhibitions off and lay everything in his palms.


    As Ryu had said, her wish was his command. Since this was what she wanted, he would break her in every way possible.


    ...


    It was hard to tell just how long they had gone for. It reached a point where Ryu bent and twisted time around them.


    Ryu had said he would give her billions of years worth, and though it wasn''t so exaggerated in time, it was without a doubt at least a month or two.


    At least half that time Elena spent entirely passed out, and by the end of the first half month, the time she spent awake, time she would usually spend goading him on, became a time of constant pleas instead.


    It was hard to tell just how long they had gone for. It reached a point where Ryu bent and twisted time around them.


    Ryu had said he would give her billions of years worth, and though it wasn''t so exaggerated in time, it was without a doubt at least a month or two.


    At least half that time Elena spent entirely passed out, and by the end of the first half month, the time she spent awake, time she would usually spend goading him on, became a time of constant pleas instead.


    However, Ryu could sense one thing coming from her mouth, and something entirely different coming from her thoughts.


    Regardless, he never listened. Elena ended up being a crying, sobbing mess. The gap between her orgasms became further and further apart, but when they hit, they came in waves so intense that she wanted to curl away into a ball.


    It was more than just a drunken stupor, to her it felt more like her brain''s circuits were frying.


    Eventually, she truly did reach her limits and Ryu left her be, but that was when something that left him speechless occurred.


    He was barely paying attention, but during their session she broke into the Peak True Sky God Realm.


    Then, when he finally laid her down and she fell into a deep sleep, she broke into the Lower Perfect Sky God Realm.


    Ryu didn''t even quite know what to say.


    If they were dual cultivating, it would be one thing. It might even make some sense. But even then, it was only some. That was because you couldn''t break through a major cultivation Realm in the Sky God Realms without first improving your Dao.


    When had she even had time to do that?


    Plus, Ryu was trying to make this a matter between himself and his wife, excluding Heaven entirely. So he wasn''t worried about cultivation in the slightest, he hadn''t given her more than that first drop of Embryonic Qi.


    So where had this energy even come from?


    Ryu laughed to himself and shook his head. Maybe only his Elena could improve like this purely off the back of pleasure and nothing more.

 Chapter 1662 Shocking Synergy

    Chapter 1662 Shocking Synergy


    Ryu stood before a familiar altar, his arms crossed.


    In truth, he was a bit confused.


    On the one hand, the sacrifice that Elena made was noble, and considering her father''s status, getting her hands on these cultivation methods was probably not beyond what he could accomplish.


    But on the other...


    It made little sense whatsoever.


    He didn''t mention it because he felt that it would be too cruel to Elena to have suffered so much, and yet for it to bear no fruit whatsoever. But logically speaking, the Martial Gods knew of him, they knew of his relationship with Elena. If they went so far as to seal him away when he was a mere baby in his mother''s womb, why would they so gleefully place something like this on a silver platter?The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    There were a few reasons that Ryu could think of...


    The first was that maybe they really didn''t know about his and Elena''s relationship. After all, from his understanding, it was Elena''s mother who had acted on her own in an attempt to maneuver her way into a far higher position in the family.


    Ryu found this explanation unacceptable because it required a level of incompetence that bored on the mentally ill. A family willing to go as far as to seal a child from a small world would never make such a stupid and obvious mistake.


    The other reasons were much more reasonable.


    Maybe he was wrong in assuming that they feared his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation''s combination with his Chaotic Silk Meridians. Maybe there was no special synergy between the two at all and he had been thinking too much. Maybe the real reason they sealed him was purely because of his overwhelming Fate Star, and now that his Fate Star was less than middling, they felt that he was nothing to fear any longer.


    Ryu could find this explanation reasonable, especially with what he had learned about Great Circle Talents and how Clans and Sects at this upper echelon.


    Even if there was some special synergy between his Meridians and original Spiritual Foundation, would it be able to supersede a synergy between all Six Pillars of Cultivation?


    Maybe he had truly been looking in the wrong direction all this time and he had already lost what made him the most special.


    And then there was the second possibility... And that was the fact that these cultivation methods had been modified. Now, they were likely riddled with pitfalls and traps just waiting for him to fall into.


    Honestly speaking... Ryu was almost 100% certain that this second possibility was the reality.


    There was a simple reason for that. Why seal his Spiritual Foundation and his Fate Star?


    If his Fate Star was sealed, why worry about whether he could cultivate or not? Wouldn''t he not make it far anyway?


    And if his Spiritual Foundation was sealed, he wouldn''t be able to cultivate anyway, so why bother sealing his Fate Star?


    There were a myriad of reasons one could think of toward this end... but there was one nail in the coffin for Ryu.


    If they were going as far as to seal two of his talents... why did they leave his eyes alone? As a mortal, could he even have made so much progress without his eyes? Why seal off two paths, and yet leave a third open?


    If Ryu had followed the path he was meant to, with his Heavenly Pupils and his natural comprehension talent, wouldn''t he have been able to form not just one, but three separate Founding Daos? Forming three separate Godhoods in a single body? Just what kind of strength would he be able to wield at that point?


    Maybe... there was a potential third reason the Martial Gods had allowed him to have this technique... maybe they already knew it was no longer possible for the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to be Ryu''s main Spiritual Foundation.


    That was when something else struck Ryu.


    That was right... at the moment, his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation didn''t have a Godhood, it was instead an amalgamation of Natural Treasures instead...


    What if someone was born with it alone, but didn''t have the Chaotic Silk Meridians that allowed one to assimilate a second Spiritual Foundation?


    In that situation... wouldn''t such a person be entirely reliant on outside sources they couldn''t even manage or control? How could you even progress through the Sky God Realms in that situation? Would you be stuck at the Fragmented Sky God Realm for eternity?


    Could it be that the Chaotic Silk and Essence Silk Meridians were the only ones in existence that could even begin to allow the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to reach its full potential?


    Ryu could only sigh. In the past, he would have likely felt a raging tempest of fury. He might have formed a new set of Meridians the Martial Gods could have never fathomed, but look at what it had cost him.


    Though... it was hard to say. If he could pick, would he give up three Daos and four Spiritual Foundations for an endless well of Embryonic Qi?


    If he was honest... it was a closer call than he''d like to admit. So why fret so much about what he had lost?


    There was another silver lining too. Now he didn''t have to be tempted into using these methods completely. He could take what he needed from them and ignore the rest. From the very beginning, he only needed a reference. A book of insights would have been just as useful to him.


    But there was something else that made Ryu stand there for a long while.


    It was easy to forget, but his Fate Star and his Spiritual Foundation weren''t the only things stolen from him...


    He hadn''t forgotten.


    Originally, his soul was incredibly weak, stripped away and locked in the Death Shrine for reasons he still didn''t understand.


    However, he now had an inkling.


    The truth was that this method in the palm of his hand now was sheer speculation, conclusions drawn by some of the best minds across the cultivation world. No talent with Ryu''s particular synergy had ever appeared before, or else they would probably be ruling the world right now.


    And due to that, there were certain extrapolations taken in these methods that wouldn''t normally be there otherwise.


    One such extrapolation was what it would take to be able to use both Essence and Chaotic Qi at once...


    It detailed a Soul Quintessence with a Devouring character that would be capable of taking both in and creating the first qi to ever surpass them both, a qi to end all qis, one unmatched now and into forever...


    And wasn''t that precisely a description of his Perfect Blackbody Soul?

 Chapter 1663 Inseparable

    Chapter 1663 Inseparable


    ''Interesting...''


    Ryu spun the jade on his finger, his mind churning. His thoughts shifted from the overview of the technique, down to where the pitfalls might be.


    The first and most obvious was in the method to fuse Spiritual Quintessence and qi. Unfortunately for the Martial Gods, the secrets of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits was already revealed to Ryu, so he knew what was written down here was a large pile of nonsense.


    It spoke about taking Spiritual Quintessence, pouring it into your surroundings in a sphere, forming it and molding it, before trying to "cultivate" it through the nose and mouth as though it was normal qi.


    Trying to do such a thing would be asking for minor fractures to accumulate along your soul over long periods of time.


    ''Usual injuries to the soul were meaningless for one with the Perfect Blackbody,'' Ryu mused, ''I had even split my soul completely in two before in the past and had ended up just fine. However, that didn''t mean that there weren''t any injuries that could permanently harm my soul.''


    ''In this case, forming a link between my Soul Quintessence and my Meridians sounded nice... until one remembered that the Chaotic Silk Meridians were literally connected to Chaos.''


    ''The soul was one of the ultimate forms of Order,'' he continued in his thoughts. ''It represented the core of life itself and without it, there wouldn''t be life or reincarnation at all. To provide a perfect feed between it and the Chaos Plane would be like committing suicide through a thousand cuts.''


    Though Ryu spoke of it as though it was the most obvious pitfall of this technique, in reality, it was probably the most sinister of the lot. You wouldn''t even realize what the problem was initially, and even if you did, you might assume that it was like any other injury that you could weather, maybe even thinking that this sort of special technique that put so much pressure on the soul was something only someone with a Perfect Blackbody could withstand.


    ''By the time you realized that you were too naive,'' he thought grimly, ''your Perfect Blackbody would lose all its elasticity and talent, and your path of cultivation would be finished.''


    This was just the first flaw that Ryu found on his own, there were bound to be others. And unfortunately for the Martial Gods, Ryu had the guidance of the Heavens to lean back upon.


    ''So, because my Spiritual Foundation is separated from my body by so many layers, it makes it difficult for it to affect the same change as well...''


    There was another problem, too. A dantian was a hidden world of a cultivator, much like one''s Spiritual Sea. It was an intimate connection between yourself and it was the only place your Spiritual Foundation could connect to you.


    ''But my Realm Heart isn''t exactly the same. Sure, it has a connection with me, but it isn''t nearly as intimate. In fact, my body sees it as a foreign entity and my Spiritual Foundation doesn''t have perfect and unmitigated control over it. There''s even a potential future path out there, albeit slim and unlikely, where this Realm Heart would awaken to itself and suddenly turn against me.''


    This was the barrier Ryu was facing right now.


    ''While my dantian was occupied by the Spiritual Foundation of another, my original Spiritual Foundation was practically a world away and unable to help me to the extremes it was meant to be able to.''


    ''So in that case... how could I fix that? Or, maybe the idea of fixing it was inappropriate...''


    ''How could I take advantage of this new situation the same way the Martial Gods had taken advantage of the potential first situation?''


    ''Innovation...'' Ryu thought softly, his mind mulling things over. ''Let''s try something first, then?''


    Ryu pulled at his Cosmos Fog, pouring it toward his Realm Heart.


    He wondered... if the Realm Heart was just too separate from him...


    Why not make it an inseparable part instead?

 Chapter 1664 Not Everything

    Chapter 1664 Not Everything


    The idea was forming in Ryu''s head even as he acted. The flaws and pitfalls of the original techniques and research notes made him realize a few things. Rather than shunning those flaws, he focused on them. While others might just see flaws, he saw areas the Martial Gods thought were important enough to try to obfuscate in the first place. And those were precisely the weaknesses he targeted.


    Ryu didn''t just try to envelope his Realm Heart in Cosmos Fog, that was a waste of his time and it would drain him to an impossible extent. Instead, he chose to do something different.


    "The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had a profound copying and creation ability," Ryu murmured to himself, his eyes glinting with determination. "Just to be able to take something and push it to its beyond perfect extreme necessitated such abilities."


    "It was thanks to this ability that I gained the Divine Chains of the Martial Gods, and it was by extension because of this that I comprehended the form of my Dao Vessel so early on."


    "But why did I have to use this on an external item? Why not use it on myself?"


    This inspiration had once again come from the Martial Gods.


    "Gathering three Spiritual Foundations was difficult. Just getting one required a great coincidence for me. But according to this technique, it was possible to use the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to create Spiritual Foundations if the situation was right."


    "Of course, the process was convoluted and riddled with pitfalls, but the tidbits were enough for me to grasp at."


    As expected, when Ryu''s Cosmos Fog entered the range of influence of his original Spiritual Foundation, the natural treasures swaying within released a dull glow before it suddenly exploded forth with strength, multiplying his Cosmos Fog several times over.


    Ryu''s gaze glowed as he observed.


    "I expected this Cosmos Fog to be intangible and transparent like the Divine Chains were, but it seems that collecting the treasures changed something significantly..."


    It seemed that by using the power of the Natural Treasures, his Spiritual Foundation couldn''t just make illusory copies anymore, but rather solid and real copies that were indistinguishable from the original. This was huge.


    "It''s no wonder they claimed that I could recreate a Spiritual Foundation given the right circumstances."


    "Of course, my Cosmos Fog was under the perfect conditions right now because it was my own ability. I already understood it implicitly and it was my own natural talent."


    "Pipe down!" Ryu commanded with firmness, his will pressing down, his mood turning foul. He was tired of things taking up corners of his body trying to dictate how things would or wouldn''t happen.


    "Last time this had happened, I used the Divine Chains to forcefully restrict and seal away my own Bloodline Talents," Ryu thought grimly. "I would rather that than whatever nonsense is happening here."


    But there was a difference between those situations and this one... That was because unlike Bloodlines, Spiritual Foundations were unblemished by Karma and the Lines of Fate.


    "Every time a Spiritual Foundation was granted, all previous users became irrelevant... and that was precisely why Inherited Spiritual Foundation were so looked down upon," Ryu reasoned. "Taking one on was like introducing weakness into your foundation and cultivation, you were bound to not make it far."


    "But the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation surpassed this worry as well because it was a Living Spiritual Foundation, its weaknesses weren''t the same as other Inherited Foundations."


    "Even so, this was only the tip of the iceberg."


    "The Spiritual Foundation represented the very Dao Heart."


    "When I spoke, it listened... because it was the embodiment of my will."


    "And as such, I was granted a choice."


    "Allowing my Spiritual Foundations to fight it out? Absolutely not. The choice was obvious."


    "In this relationship, my Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation would take precedent."


    The moment he made his intentions clear, the world within him thrummed.


    To Ryu''s surprise, nothing happened to his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation. Logically speaking, his original Spiritual Foundation should have now been able to bring it to its Extreme, but it seemed just the same.


    "However, that didn''t mean that everything was like that..."

 Chapter 1665 Second?

    Chapter 1665 Second?


    It was an odd feeling, almost like a new network of connections was forming through his body. And because he was aware of his Three Souls and Seven Spirits, he could feel them vaguely... awakening. They were still in a state of dormancy, but if he just pushed a little...


    Suddenly, Ryu felt the feeling grip onto his Perfect Blackbody.


    He had already reached the peak that was possible, that much he was certain of. For a long while, he had kept his Mental Realm Cultivation in a "weaker" Realm, just to make sure he could squeeze out all of his potential.


    But in that moment, he felt a resonance between his Dao Heart and his Perfect Blackbody that showed signs of allowing it to break past those limits.


    What made the feeling very novel was the fact Ryu was fairly certain that if he had a normal soul, this wouldn''t be happening. It was like his Spiritual Foundation could sense the Perfect Blackbody''s propensity to absorb and evolve, and it had grasped onto that.


    Then he understood. It was just doing what it always did, maximizing the strengths of a talent that already existed.


    "No... this feels..."


    Ryu felt a deep sense of crisis within him. Everything in his mind and heart was telling him that this was good, that allowing his Spiritual Foundation to just boost his soul, and then hopefully everything else, was exactly what he wanted.


    So why did it feel so wrong? What could he possibly be missing?


    "It''s the same pitfall as before, just in reverse order..."


    Ryu''s mind flashed like lightning and he realized the issue immediately.


    In the first pitfall, he was bringing his soul to his Spiritual Foundation, but in this one, he was bringing his Spiritual Foundation to his soul. Even so, the result was ultimately the same.


    He would suffer for it.


    "No... it''s deeper than that... This first pitfall was because of Chaos and its interactions with the soul, but this feels like something deeper than that."


    Ryu cross-referenced some of the things he had learned from the jade with his Karmic Strings the Heavens had left behind in him.


    The more Ryu thought, the more confused he became.


    "No... there are too many convoluted threads being formed here. The only explanation is that there hasn''t just been one person messing around with me before I was even born, but at least two people, each one with different goals."


    "The reason I can''t find a clear line of logic to any of it is because I keep thinking of them as the same person, as though all of this was done by the Martial Gods and Martial Gods alone."


    "But, if I take a step back..." Ryu''s eyes flashed. "... the eyes are the window to the soul..."


    His heart was beating surprisingly fast at the moment.


    "How had they targeted his Fate Star and Spiritual Foundation?"


    "That was easy. They were all located in the Abyssal Plane, and though they were connected to Ryu, they had real, physical forms that could be visited by anyone who was powerful enough."


    "When a child was being born, a Fate Star and a Spiritual Foundation would enter a state of weakness in order to accommodate the frailty of a baby, and thus would be easier to target in those times."


    "But how would they target his eyes?"


    "His eyes had a physical form as well.. but they were on him and in his mother''s womb. Unless they sent someone to physically pluck them away, the only other method to target his eyes from worlds away would be..."


    "... Through my soul..."


    Suddenly, Ryu was faced with two realities.


    "It seemed that on the one hand, the Martial Gods were trying to ruin him completely, and someone else, midway through that attempt, had taken action to thwart their complete success, thus giving him a small path to rise again..."


    "And that person had to be the Phoenix Sky God."


    "In that case, why did they stop him from fusing with his Spiritual Foundation the first time, but allow it the second...?"

 Chapter 1666 Only He

    Chapter 1666 Only He


    Ryu''s mind was churning wildly, quickly making deductions and then tossing them away.


    He, of course, didn''t think that the Phoenix Sky God did this out of kindness, that was asinine. If he died or was ruined prematurely, how could he be of use to this God among Dao Gods?


    Ryu didn''t know why the Phoenix Sky God wanted him to have this Spiritual Foundation, but what was a fact was that he wouldn''t have been able to form it in the first place if he didn''t piece together the Phoenix Sky God''s story, and he wouldn''t have been able to piece the Phoenix Sky God''s story without great comprehension skills, great comprehension skills he had in large part due to his Heavenly Pupils.


    Ryu''s baseline of comprehension ability was high, that was how he had managed to form a Founding Dao even with his eyes sealed. However, with his eyes, he was on another level entirely, one that put shame to the greatest minds to maybe ever exist.


    And even he felt like he was pushed to his very brink just piecing together the Phoenix Sky God''s story.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu was fiendishly looking for anything that could allow him to cultivate during his first life. He left no stone unturned.


    Obviously, then, the idea of inheriting a Spiritual Foundation had been the first thing he thought of and he spent an entire almost 1000 years researching these matters.


    That amount of time to most high-level cultivators was a blink of an eye. But for it to take Ryu of all people that long, when he was specifically looking for it in the first place, went to show just the sheer level of difficulty.


    But that was another layer of the mystery he didn''t quite understand.


    If the Phoenix Sky God wanted to use him, why make the hurdle so difficult...?


    Unless that was part of the Phoenix Sky God''s test to begin with?


    Ryu rubbed his temples. It had been a very long time since he had run into such a difficult problem.


    Not understanding something because lack of information was one thing, he could accept that. After all, he had easily decided that he needed a reference cultivation method for his Meridians.


    But right now... he felt like he had all the information before him and was still somehow missing the forest for the trees.


    "My Spiritual Foundation is my Dao Heart... but..."


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat.


    That was right, he had almost forgotten. He had spent so long with a Dao Heart at all, so much so that his body had adapted to a life with two Incorporeal Souls instead of three.


    That was a huge discovery he had made in the True Nether World.


    The Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was an insatiable existence. It was powerful, but it completely removed a cultivator''s sense of self.


    If he just thought about it... it was a Spiritual Foundation that didn''t even allow you to form your own Dao, you had to rely on external treasures to forge your path, and while normal cultivation was usually about going against the Heavens, the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was the exact opposite.


    It seemed exceptionally powerful, but ultimately once you reached the end of the path... you would be capped by whatever grace the Heavenly Treasures you used to unlock it allowed you.


    This was the fate of someone who had been born with the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    It was likely that you''d become more powerful than any Dao God of the True Martial World... but would you ever be able to break those limits and reach lofty existences like the Phoenix Sky God who stood beyond the Realms of reason? Beyond maybe even the Heavens themselves?


    And would you even be able to reach that stage anyway? How much energy would you need? How difficult would it be to comprehend those Natural Treasures? Would you even be able to gather them up before your lifespan ran out unless you got as lucky as he had?


    If you had a set of Chaotic Silk Meridians, you could break past one barrier... if you had his Heavenly Pupils you could break past another... if you happened to store it in a Realm Heart, you could break past another...


    But eventually you would run headfirst into a bottleneck. Ultimately, the Spiritual Foundation would never be yours truly because any action it took on your behalf would be akin to stripping your cultivation path of its autonomy and placing you firmly on a track set by the Heavens...


    A powerful path for certain, but in the eyes of the Phoenix Sky God, was it even worthwhile to experiment with such a thing?


    They were looking for a way past their current limits, seeking a new peak beyond even the one they had laid their eyes on, wanting and striving for more.


    But what if those limits didn''t exist?


    What if Ryu was capable of using his Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody Soul as bridges to one another, without worry of corrupting or crippling because he had already long since learned to live without them?


    "No... he hadn''t just learned to live without them, that was inaccurate. His body had adapted, learning to fill in what weaknesses might be created should they falter on his own."


    In that case, in the history of this enigmatic Spiritual Foundation...


    Only he, Ryu Tatsuya, could bring out its full potential.


    BOOM!


    The burning shadow of a vast Spiritual Foundation formed in Ryu''s chest.


    What if his entire body was taken Beyond its Perfect Extreme?

 Chapter 1667 Seep

    Chapter 1667 Seep


    The surging feeling moved throughout Ryu''s body like a tempest. Almost immediately, he felt the backlash against his soul, the lashes cracking and shattering it in several places. However, unlike the past, it was far worse. Rather than being something he felt that he could heal with ease, it was instead the bone deep equivalent of a soul injury, rushing into his body and crushing him with...


    Or rather, it should have.


    Instead, what happened was that Ryu felt... nothing at all. It was like his body had easily stricken a new balance.


    Suddenly, a new feeling was triggered.


    His Yin, Yang and Original Spirits formed a new balance with one another and the lines between them began to blur.


    The feeling was unlike Ryu had ever experienced before. His mind seemed to flutter in and out of focus, his thoughts coming in an endless stream in one moment, and then in a trickle the next.


    It felt like he was bound by endless streams of time, unable to comprehend or understand everything that was going on around him.


    And that was when he noticed something else.


    His Spacetime Soul Nature.


    If such large changes were occurring to his soul, then what about everything else related to it?


    It felt like his three Incorporeal Souls were becoming a mesh, splicing into one another. And as a result of that, the Spacetime Soul Nature that had started off as attached to his Perfect Blackbody Soul alone was bleeding into everything else.


    This, of course, didn''t literally mean that his original Spiritual Foundation was becoming a part of him. Rather, it was instead gaining a lane to influence the other parts of his body in ways it had never been able to do before... at least not without harming his soul and severing his own unique path to cultivation.


    And that was when it began to happen.


    Fueled by the natural treasures of the world, Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul broke through its previous shackles and its cultivation plummeted back to the Fragmented Realm.


    Despite this being the case, it didn''t grow weaker. In fact, it maintained the exact same strength. The difference was that his room for growth in each Realm had skyrocketed.


    At the same time, his Internal Matrix shimmered with golden runes that danced within the dense black liquid that was his Spiritual Sea.


    It grew more perfect, more refined. If before his Internal Matrix was capable of making his Dao as strong as one a Realm above, it had now improved to three Realms, what seemed to be a small extreme of its own, a perfect multiple of 9, the Immature Extreme.


    No, Ryu felt that this explanation for what had happened to his Internal Matrix was too simple. He even felt that it was inappropriate to use the original grades at all...


    It wasn''t that his Internal Matrix increased the level of his False Dao to a Transcended Dao, but it was rather that it projected the illusion of doing so... because it actually felt that while filtered through his, his Dao had broken through the normal bounds of a Peak Founding Dao, reaching a new Realm entirely.


    It was an odd and whisper-like feeling, one that was fleeting and difficult to grasp, almost as though the power was more hollow than real.


    But as hollow as it was, there was no doubt in Ryu''s mind that his Dao had become stronger without his comprehension deepening in the slightest.


    And then the strands of his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation began to seep into the rest of his body.

 Chapter 1668 The True Peak

    Chapter 1668 The True Peak


    Ryu had long forgotten how long he had been grappling with Bloodlines.Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    When everything began, he thought he was a talent to rule all talents, untouchable and unblemished. And in the beginning, this was very much true.


    The unfortunate truth, though, was that this was only the case if he used Sacrum as his one and only metric of success.


    The more he learned about the world, the more he realized that the fact he had been born with four such Bloodlines in his body was akin to a curse rather than a gift, and finding a method of pulling out their best potential was nigh impossible.


    And once again, that curse was rearing its ugly head.


    The first moment Ryu felt that his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was about to work its magic on his Bloodlines, he didn''t actually feel elation... In fact, he felt dread.


    Part of the reason his Bloodlines were so weak in the first place was because they had purposely muted aspects of themselves so that they could co-exist. If his Spiritual Foundation suddenly brought them to their Realm of perfection, he would actually just explode from the inside out and his journey would end right here and now.


    However, Ryu hadn''t just thought of this. He knew that this would happen. So why had he allowed it...?


    It was because he felt there was a chance here, one that if he grasped properly, he might be able to rid himself of his Bloodline woes once and for all.


    The trouble was that... if he did this, his path to Reincarnation would be severed forever.


    There was a reason the Three Incorporeal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits were severed. The former was what disappeared after your death, allowing you to enter the path of rebirth and start life anew in a new world with fresh memories and a different purpose in life...


    The latter, however... those were the core of this life, and they would stay behind and rot, never to come to exist again.


    Ryu actually didn''t know if he had lived other lives or not. Like most people, he had no memory of them. But just the idea that he might have didn''t actually fill him with comfort... if anything, it made him greatly uncomfortable.


    If he really had lived other lives, it meant that he had eventually fallen much like everyone else did. Maybe he reached the peak, maybe he didn''t, but in the ultimate sense, he had crumbled to ash just like any other being.


    Ryu had never really thought about living forever. His goal was never immortality, it was just to stand so high up that everyone else could only be below him.


    What was holding him back all this time was the strands of Karma that represented the original paths of these beasts, but he couldn''t allow himself to get caught up in them again.


    If he wanted to use them, he could only take what was useful to him and discard the rest...


    Take Form and Conquer the Heavens.


    Take Form and Burn the Heavens.


    Take Form and Command the Heavens.


    Take Form and Forge the Heavens.


    Ryu sat down and entered a deep state of meditation, weaving together his thoughts and will into one, and forging something new.


    He had had a painting brewing in his mind for a long time, a thought that he had mostly ignored.


    Others thought that his Bloodlines had no connection between them, but honestly... he didn''t think so.


    A cycle began to form in his mind, one that represented perfect harmony... The Lightning Qilin was his Heavens... The Fire Dragon was his Earth... and the Phoenixes were the cycle and balance of karma in between, wielding the levers of Life, Death and Reincarnation...


    However, it was one thing to have such an idea or balance in mind, but it was another matter entirely to actually parse apart what it truly meant.


    Within Ryu''s body... Space and Time became his brush, and his Inner World became his canvas.


    With slow, deliberate strokes, he began to draw across the air. Every time he did so, worlds collapsed, trees and vegetation crumbled, and reality was spliced apart, unable to form back up.


    The world was entirely under his control, and the more strokes of his brush he used, the worse the situation seemed to become.


    It didn''t look like he was creating much of anything. If anything, he was destroying it all one step at a time.


    And yet, he sat there in complete stilling, the world quaking around him.

 Chapter 1669 [Bonus] Painting

    Chapter 1669 [Bonus] Painting


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Jackson :) (1/3)]


    They said that the eyes were the window to the soul. But now, Ryu''s soul was unlike any other to ever exist. It had become an amalgamation of all he was, both a kernel of life, a kernel of flesh and a kernel of his will all in one.


    In that case, what did it mean for his eyes now? What were they window into? Were they a window at all? Did they even still have the same connection to his soul?


    Ryu thought about this as his paintbrush continued to rush forward with a tempest of strokes, destroying the world before him bit by bit.


    There was something else to consider.


    After his Rebirth, Ryu had lost 999 years of time, a true Perfect Extreme. However, while it had made his path to reforging his foundation easier, was that truly all that had happened?


    The truth of the matter was that the real reason Ryu saw so little change and progress after his Rebirth, despite having the qi of the Shrines to support him at the time, was primarily because all of the Rebirth potential had been focused on his eyes.


    After swallowing so many Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies, Ryu''s eyes entered a crossroads. On the one hand, there was a forever dormancy, and on the other, there was an evolution into something it had never been before.


    It took reaching the Sky God Realm in near heroic fashion for it to rekindle itself and finally allow him to see through the eyes of the once number ranked Heavenly Pupils.


    Many things had changed as a result.


    His eyes went from using a function of time with Heaven and Earth Gate, to strict Realm changes instead. He had also gone from being stuck in long dormancy stages afterward, to being able to use either one again so long as his Karmic Qi replenished.


    This was the largest change to his eyes, and the others were more subtle. But to have such large changes to what were arguably the two most powerful abilities of his eyes...


    How could such a result be argued again?


    Now, Ryu was slowly beginning to realize that this could only be as a result of his Rebirth, but at the same time...


    It felt lackluster.


    Soon, the lands became seas of fire and the skies became lakes of blue lightning.


    Under the strokes of Ryu''s will, those flames and bolts converged.


    On the ground, sparks of embers became the delicate petals of flowers and the boundless blades of grass.


    In the skies the slithering snakes and dragons of lightning became as delicate as clouds and as willowy as the wind.


    In the center of it all, flames of red-gold, black and ice blue danced. They formed spirals in the air that quickly became familiar patterns.


    The jagged, straight lines of the Ice Phoenix.


    The swirling pinwheels of the Dark Phoenix.


    The delicate feather patterns of the Emperor Phoenix and Fire Phoenix.


    They layered atop of one another, forming a tapestry of colors, an enigma of the mind and a construct so unfathomably beautiful that it didn''t feel real...


    As though it was something that could only be brought to life in a painting.


    Ryu lost himself in his strokes, the unfathomable changes of his body becoming rooted in this world as Cosmos Fog began to billow forth.


    One would never know of the earth shattering and heaven sundering events that were ongoing...


    Because it was all in the palm of his hands.


    The laws of the world no longer mattered to him anymore.


    Because only his will was important.

 Chapter 1670 [Bonus] Law

    Chapter 1670 [Bonus] Law


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Jackson :) (2/3)]


    White scales danced across Ryu''s body, flashing into and out of existence in an illusory sense. They didn''t seem to be real, and yet they exuded an air of majesty and nobility that was unheard of.


    But at the same time... their grade continuously plummeted.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice this at all, though, sitting in a stoic silence as he weaved together the masterpiece of a lifetime.


    The Qilin was his Heaven, the Fire Dragon his Earth, his Phoenixes the cycle in between...


    Together, they formed a perfect balance, feeding off of one another, learning from one another, enhancing one another.


    In a way, this was the path that he had always been angling for, a path that had opened up to him after he stopped blaming the Heavens for everything that went wrong in his life and taking true control... finally understanding that it was nothing more than an amalgamation of laws and rolls of the dice.


    It wasn''t that he had never understood this, but as he had learned many times before, there was a difference between knowing something and truly comprehending it.


    ''A harmony between Heaven and Earth, a perfect cycle between... The Judgment of Heaven gives way to Death... the Defiance of Earth gives way to life... Reincarnation is the bridge that connects them all...''


    His thoughts floated back to his grandmother. His Grandma Tatsuya was a woman whose arrogance knew no bounds. He could still remember the lofty air she had exuded when she spoke those last words to him.


    ...When it comes to control and understanding of Heavenly Patterns, There is no one in the past or future that has or will surpass me...


    ...Dark phoenix Heavenly Patterns aren''t an ultimate offense. They embody exactly what their originators did. Death, decay, destruction. At the highest order, they represent the end of all things, the final stop, the finality of Chaos...


    ... Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns aren''t an ultimate defense. They embody everything opposing to that of death, decay and destruction. They fuel life and preserve Order...


    ...The Emperor Phoenix''s Heavenly Patterns are beyond this. The Ice Phoenixes are often mistaken to be much more than they are because they are said to give Life, but this is incorrect. As I''ve said, Ice Phoenixes preserve life, they allow what already is to continue to be, they further what has already come into being...


    It was a fantastical world, one where the stars above sparked with blue bolts and the grass below danced with embers of red and gold.


    There wasn''t a single beast that could be seen, and yet it exuded the air of them all at the same time, a majestic bearing exuding from the most insignificant of flower petals to the heights of the celestial bodies above.


    Ryu took another breath and the flames sparked and lightning danced. It looked as though a rush of wind had superheated everything before he exhaled and it all went back to normal once more.


    Ryu''s body felt like one in a way it never had before. Every aspect of it seemed to be perfectly under his control, and the largest change seemed to be the fact that his Focus Qi felt practically endless, that there was an unfathomable depth to pull from the past and the future that would always leave him at the peak of his mental faculties.


    And why wouldn''t it? His Focus Qi was a function of his brain''s capacity, and his Corporeal Spirits had just fused with his Incorporeal Souls, which then became a window for a world of his own...


    All of which was fueled by his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    In this sort of situation, how could his mental capacity not be endless? In fact, he even felt that his body''s stamina overall was endless.


    As for whether that was true or not, he knew the answer was the latter. Even his Focus Qi''s endlessness was a mirage.


    There was a limit, that was for sure.


    The question was whether he would ever run into it at this stage of his strength...


    And the answer to that was no.


    But that was hardly the most shocking thing.


    The reason why speaking earlier had felt like a Dao God had spoken it into existence... was because that was exactly what he was now.


    A Dao God.

 Chapter 1671 [Bonus] Challenge

    Chapter 1671 [Bonus] Challenge


    [Bonus chapters thanks to Jackson :) (3/3)]


    Ryu shook his head.


    Was he technically a Dao God? Yes. He had a world entirely under his control, and by all metrics, within its bounds, he could exhibit all the skill of a Dao God.


    The trouble was that the world was too weak, and that was part of the reason his Bloodlines had plummeted to the Common Grade.


    In reality, his Bloodlines hadn''t weakened to the Common Grade, that would be ridiculous. In fact, his Bloodlines, as of now, at least the combination of them working together, like to be the strongest Bloodline in the whole of the True Martial World.


    Ryu didn''t believe this was exaggerated at all. For all intents and purposes, he had unlocked the full potential of his Bloodlines and they were in complete harmony with one another.


    So what was the issue?


    The problem lay in the fact that his world could not possibly compare to the True Martial World. As a result, the True Martial World didn''t even recognize his Bloodlines nor Grade them.


    As a result of this, his Bloodlines when exhibited in this world were actually weaker than they should be...


    But not by as much as one would think.


    In fact, even with the weakening Ryu experienced, in practice, his Bloodline was still at the level of a God Grade Bloodline, and this was truly something to celebrate.


    Who cared what this world graded his Bloodline as if he stood beyond them anyway? If there came a day where he could form a world worthy of being a Tenth Heaven, let alone being ranked as a God Grade Bloodline, it would be off the scale not due to this world not being bothered to grade it, but because it would be too great for this world to grade at all.


    This was the benefit of having a world where the Faith and Karma were controlled by you, yourself.


    It seemed that although his Embryonic Qi Meridians hadn''t changed on the surface, they had done so subtly.


    Whereas before they could only excavate potential he already had, no, over long periods of time, it seemed that they would be able to tap into potential he didn''t, increasing his foundation beyond the realms of reason.


    It could be said that the only part of his body that didn''t undergo significant changes was his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, but he wasn''t surprised by this in the slightest... nor did he care very much.


    He had just stepped into a door that even the Phoenix Sky God didn''t see coming. Like he had said before, he would make sure whoever they were paid, but before that, he would slowly, but surely, wipe the Martial Gods off the face of the map.


    Ryu''s eyes opened. He didn''t do so with flash or flare, and yet reality before him collapsed the instant he did. It wasn''t until he forcefully constricted his pupils that the world chilled and went back to normal.


    Ryu looked up and back, finding a wobbly legged Elena standing there, leaning on the wall with a forearm.


    Ryu chuckled. "How long did it take you to walk here?"


    "Not long at all... I have no idea what you''re talking about, Hubby," Elena said with a hoarse voice.


    "Is that so?" Ryu smiled. "That sounds like a challenge."


    Elena shivered. For the first time, she wondered if she actually wanted sex or not. But before she could react, she had already been hauled over Ryu''s shoulder.


    She hissed out a breath when he grabbed a handful of her ass, wondering how the hell she had gotten so sensitive.


    Carrying her up the stairs like a sack of potatoes, Ryu''s grin grew wider and wider, a finger slipping into her nether regions and allowing a drop of Embryonic Qi to soak into her fragrant juices.


    Elena''s mind went blank.

 Chapter 1672 Larger Goals

    Chapter 1672 Larger Goals


    Elena had never experienced anything like this before. She found herself in a world of fire and lightning, and every time she was holding on by nothing more than a string, she found herself before replenishing only for it to happen all over again. Her mind danced in and out of consciousness. At some point, she really did begin begging for mercy, but as though Ryu couldn''t hear her at all, his assault was relentless.


    Her body went limp, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Every single time another drop of Embryonic Qi entered her, it would refresh her physical state, but it did nothing to lessen the accumulating waves of pleasure. Instead, they seemed to multiply several times over. Her brain turned to mush, all of her inhibitions lowering to the point where she couldn''t even make heads or tails of what even she was doing, let alone what was being done to her.


    Her words slurred into an unintelligible language and she even reached a point where her jaw went slack and her tongue hung from her mouth. She couldn''t seem to control any part of her any longer, even if it was something as small and benign as that.


    She didn''t even know where Ryu let her go, but at some point she lay face down ass up in a field of fire-forged Spiritual Herbs. She couldn''t sense anything but pleasure and her body twitched from time to time, thick globules of a precious liquid falling out from in between her legs.


    Ryu wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, nodding to himself as though admiring his handiwork.


    "In truth, he had only done all of this in one part to pleasure his wife. She had given up long ago, if anything, he probably should have stopped. The reward centers in her brain were fried and she could barely walk straight before, let alone now."


    "The real reason he did so was to check on Elena''s limits, not sexually, but in terms of combat."


    "The only reason Elena would have broken into the Perfect Sky God Realm during their first round was because she had that latent potential within her."


    "Much like Eska, Elena had cultivated as much as only Dao Gods of the True Martial World could. Of course, she had spent much of that time lazing around, but just through being around cultivation for so long she had insights on certain things that others could not fathom."


    "It wasn''t just this either. But in the last thousand years, Elena had put a great deal of effort into her cultivation, consolidating much of that knowledge she had spent over a billion years accumulating."


    "Not that it mattered. Not only could he enter his own world now in exchange for leaving a small marker on the outside world, but time here was entirely under his control. Barely a second had passed outside, and it would have been even less than that had he not been wary of pushing the time dilation too far for various reasons."


    "It was just a shame that his world had worse laws than even Sacrum, or else he could have cultivated here and advanced by leaps and bounds."


    "Instead, it seemed that he would have to settle for using it as a Dual Cultivation ground."


    "And that he did. This time, he was just painting a different sort of masterpiece."


    "''Lord Husband... Let me rest...'' Eska wheezed out weakly, her large breasts rippling with lines of sweat and a slightly rouge hue."


    "Ryu had no choice but to gently place her down. Unfortunately, he didn''t have a valid reason for pushing Eska beyond her breaking point. Unlike Elena, her journey had been far more steady and expedient. That was also, in part, due to her experience and her fortuitous encounter. But the reason hardly mattered anymore."


    "Ryu took a breath and exhaled. Leaning back, he gazed into the skies, forcing a certain pulsing mass down."


    "It was almost enough to make a man want more wives."


    "Almost."


    "But he had much larger goals than that."

 Chapter 1673 And You?

    Chapter 1673 And You?


    A long while later, Elena managed to wake up, feeling groggy. The moment she moved, though, she accidentally blew a hole through the ground.


    Ryu chuckled. "Hey, I put a lot of effort into making this world. Don''t destroy it."


    Elena blinked in confusion, still not quite understanding what was happening. When she realized what happened to her cultivation, she was stunned again.


    "... What is that liquid?" She asked.


    Ryu smirked. "You want a sex-ed lesson?"


    Elena was speechless. How was she going to beat this version of Ryu? In the past, she was the one who''d be making the jokes, but now he was more quippy than her.


    Well, he had always been good at that sort of stuff. It was just that he had always turned it on his enemies since his tongue was the only thing he could use to attack.


    But now?


    "It''s Embryonic Qi," Ryu finally answered, deciding to not tease her anymore.


    "... What?"


    Elena didn''t even know how to take what she was hearing. Of course, she knew what Embryonic Qi was, but how could Ryu possibly produce so much of it? Even a single drop was life changing, but he had practically pumped her with another drop every few hours.


    In fact, she had a feeling that he could have done it more times than that, but it just hadn''t been necessary. After a certain point, using Embryonic Qi just to replenish her from sexual exhaustion was just a huge waste.


    But Ryu didn''t seem to care at all.


    "Don''t use it like that anymore," Elena continued, her voice still hoarse. "Save it for yourself, it can be used at invaluable times."


    "Is that so?" Ryu laughed. "I thought this was an invaluable time."


    "No, really!" Elena tried to put it more seriously.


    "Mm..." Elena nodded.


    "Your Bloodline is a mixture of Divine Wing and Holy Wing?"


    "Well... they call it a Bloodline, but in reality what''s special about the Martial Gods is that our Bloodline decides four of our Pillars. Once a Bloodline is formed, whatever Soul, Meridian or Bone Structure talent we had before is replaced. At least that''s how it works here..."


    "But your Spiritual Foundation and Dao are not?"


    "Somewhat... the Spiritual Foundation is truly random, but the Dao usually falls in line mostly by necessity."


    "What''s the difference between Divine Wing and Holy Wing?"


    "... All three of the Hegemonic Bloodlines are related to suppression. The Divine Hegemony Branch suppresses the mind, the Divine Chain Branch suppresses the body, and the Divine Wing Branch suppresses the qi.


    "As for the difference between Holy and Divine Wing, it''s one part scope and another part methodology.


    "The Holy Wing Bloodline relies on internal qi and methods to fuel and apply suppression while the Divine Wing Bloodline relies on laws and runes to do so.


    "The latter is not only far more powerful, but it takes less effort and stamina to execute. The difference between Divine Hegemony and Holy King, or Divine Chain and Holy Chain is pretty much the same... they''re all just a step down."


    "And you?" Ryu asked.


    "... I really don''t know. I''ve been trying to understand, but it''s so muddled. It doesn''t seem to work like any one of them, and yet it works like both of them. But my ability to suppress others is limited. The best I''ve been able to get is that my qi control is better than most others."


    Ryu fell into silence.


    Of the three, he only knew of one... They said that the Divine Chain Bloodline could be described in one phrase...


    To Chain the Heavens and Restrict it to the Earth...


    "Mm, I think I understand now," Ryu said softly.

 Chapter 1674 Amplification

    Chapter 1674 Amplification


    Elena''s Bloodline had, indeed, become an interesting fusion of the two, and it even seemed to have changed the original intended goal of both at the same time.


    What was especially interesting was the mechanism by which it happened.


    It had to be understood that the Martial God Bloodline almost always chose one or the other. Logically, Elena should have either had a weaker than usual Divine Wing Bloodline that was suppressed by her Holy Wing Bloodline, or an average to excellent Divine Wing Bloodline that suppressed her Holy Wing Bloodline. But instead what happened was that she was born with two mutated variants of both that clashed against one another and became something new, unable to decide which among them should be the superior bloodline.


    The starting point where two bloodlines that were different from what they should have been, and the end point was one bloodline far different from what the sum of its parts would suggest.


    Elena''s Bloodline had little to do with suppression any longer at all. Instead, it was all based on amplification.


    What was unfortunate was that much of this amplification was of limited use to herself... at least in this situation.


    But Ryu could see a path where when she entered the Dao Lord Realm and could finally begin to form Incarnations... where her Incarnations would actually be far more powerful than her original body.


    Essentially, Elena was excellent at amplifying the qi and things external to herself. If it was cleverly applied, there were any number of things she could do.


    Even without forming an Incarnation, beast taming would be a monstrous path for her. When it came to secondary professions like alchemy or formation crafting, she would be on another level. If she had a team of people to support or she became a Necromancer...


    The list of possibilities was endless, but many of those things were matters that Elena had no experience with.


    She was born a Holy Wing, so she had been trained like a Holy Wing. She spent a lot of time in close combat, her current combat style was basically just and amplification of that style from the very beginning.


    Even when she fought, she seemed to subconsciously understand that atmospheric qi was her best ability, which was why she formed all those large palms of qi even when it seemed to be a waste of qi.


    Honestly, after the Immortal Ring Realm, the fascination with atmospheric qi lessened tremendously. This wasn''t because it became useless. Unless you were Ryu and had an entire plane''s worth of qi within you, you had to use atmospheric qi or else you would be quickly overpowered by your enemies.


    The difference was that others used atmospheric qi to amplify qi coming from within themselves, but Elena did the opposite. When he had watched her fight, it was as though Elena forgot she had her own meridians at all.


    The husband and wife pair enjoyed one another''s company in silence for a long while. The grin on Elena''s face threatened to split her jaw apart. This sort of peace was exactly what she had wanted for so long.


    Suddenly, she blinked, remembering something. She pointed toward the passed out Isemeine.


    "Who''s that?"


    Ryu chuckled. "That''s Isemeine."


    "Wasn''t there another woman? I can''t remember clearly."


    "They share the same body. That was Eska."


    "Oh! She has the aura of a Martial God."


    "Yes, she''s a member of your mom''s faction. The Heavenly Dew Branch."


    "I see..." Elena muttered.


    "Speaking of which, what level are the Heavenly Dew at?"


    "It depends."


    "Really? I thought the tier was guaranteed."


    "Nono... the Dregs are given opportunities because it''s not necessarily that their potential is worse than the other Tiers, but that they have yet to figure out methods of unearthing said potential.


    "The Martial Gods have a unique profession of their own, they call it Talent Oracles, where people pretty much spend all their time researching and positing synergy between different Talent Pillars.


    "The Heavenly Dew is a relatively newly established Branch. They''ve had a few successful experts, and they''ve been graded as having High Tier potential, but their legacies and technique methods are only at the Low Tier."

 Chapter 1675 Where?

    Chapter 1675 Where?


    Ryu realized that he had vaguely understood this before, but it was only after Elena laid it out that it snapped into place.


    So it seemed the talent tier structure of the Martial Gods was far more complicated than he realized. You had to not just consider the raw potential of the Bloodline, but also what the structures around them were.


    It reminded him just how important techniques were to the strength of a cultivator. It wasn''t just cultivation methods that were important, but battle methods as well.


    ''I need to put more effort into creating my own Dao Charm techniques. I have my Dao Vessel now, I just need applications for it. That should be far easier.''


    "And what about the other woman you brought in? The unconscious one?" Elena asked.


    Ryu briefly explained his history with Hope.


    Elena frowned, a look of sympathy lighting in her eyes. She never cared about how many women Ryu had, there was a point where she encouraged him to take on more. In fact, after their recent bout of bed-sharing, she wanted it even more. How was she going to handle this rampaging bull?


    When she heard that Hope would likely be rearing Ryu''s child in the future, she was even more protective of her. But more importantly than that, the palm attack that Ryu mentioned...


    Wasn''t that the same one that had targeted her?


    "You''re right," Ryu nodded. "There''s some odd undercurrents going on here that we should be cognoscente of. I don''t think it''s a coincidence that Janus knew of such a palm technique, especially not when I didn''t find anything of the sort hidden on his person or in his home."


    "You checked?"


    "Mm," Ryu nodded. "It''s either he was even more cautious and hid it elsewhere, or someone gave him such a method to practice."


    ...


    The couple chatted for a long while before Elena was finally ready to go. Then, she went off to prepare herself.


    She giggled like a little girl, talking about how she didn''t get to dress up at all these days. It was something she loved to do, but who was she trying to impress in this Clan?


    Elena blinked, scurrying to a stop. Indeed, she hadn''t asked Ryu, she was just excited to go out with him.


    "Let''s go to your technique pavilion. I forgot to ask, how do you trade for things in this place?"


    "Ah, right, I almost forgot," Elena''s eyes brightened. "I was participating in the Dreg tournament, I think I technically won. I should have enough to trade for any technique at the True Grade. Well, three. One Body, one Mental, one Qi."


    "Okay, that works. It should be enough. I just need a reference for you, I''ll make the technique for you afterward."


    "Okay!"


    Elena did an about-face and pulled Ryu in the complete other direction, causing him to laugh again. She had been going the wrong way after all.


    It took them quite a while to make it to the technique pavilion. Rather than being a tower, it was a hole built deep into the ground, and what was shocking about this hollowed out hole was that it was a hundred kilometers wide and thousands of kilometers deep.


    There were countless levels within them, the outer ring of the massive hole lines with curved bookshelves and pillars.


    There seemed to be an odd force of qi in the air around it, one that allowed those entering to fly within. However, Ryu didn''t think it was that simple.


    As expected, just in the few seconds he was here, he saw one person fall to their deaths after trying to descend too far.


    ''Huh... interesting...''


    Falling from a height of even thousands of kilometers shouldn''t harm even a Fragmented Sky God, so how''d that man die?


    "I''ve finally found you!" A roar came from Ryu''s back that made him frown. He turned to find a man with raging red hair looking at him like some sort of enraged lion.


    ''Who the hell are you?'' Ryu thought to himself, looking at the man as though he was an idiot.


    Seeing that look in Ryu''s eyes, Elena covered her lips to obscure her giggle.

 Chapter 1676 A Martial God鈥檚 Greatest Humiliation

    Chapter 1676 A Martial God''s Greatest Humiliation


    Ryu looked at the man, seemingly trying to recall him, when he realized that with his memory, if he didn''t recognize someone, it simply meant that he had never seen them before.


    "What an idiot," Ryu looked at the man who seemingly had a head of flaming hair, unable to understand him. For a moment, Ryu even thought that he was mistaking him for someone else, until he realized that that was ridiculous too.


    Lirion was even more infuriated when he saw Ryu''s weird expression, but instead of snapping again and allowing Ryu a chance to humiliate him, he looked toward the side.


    "Elder Vermo, this man is an outsider. May I have the right to deal with him?"


    The so-called Elder Vermo was an older man that Ryu had noticed a long while ago. This open ground, inverted technique pavilion of sorts was quite forgiving. Disciples seemed to travel in and out of it with great ease, and that was because everything was automated. The only reason the old Omniscient Sky God was there at all was as a failsafe and a reminder to keep in line with certain rules.


    At the moment, the old man was reclining lazily beneath the shade of a leaf that was at least two meters from tip to tip. He couldn''t even be bothered to keep his eyes open, and if not for Lirion calling out to him, he wouldn''t have even noticed what was going on.


    He opened a single eye and frowned before waving a hand.


    "Stay away from the pavilion. Fights within the perimeter are not acceptable."


    Although the formations that protected everything would likewise keep the books safe, it was still best to not allow such a precedent. If the pavilion was burned down due to a battle, who would take up the responsibility for such a thing?


    The Martial Gods, compared to other powers, were extremely lax. They allowed outsiders like Ryu or the Beast Mimicry Sect Inheritance Disciple to walk in and out of their territory freely, they didn''t force marriages on their youth and allowed them to freely form relationships whether that was inside or outside the Clan, and obviously, they allowed fighting and even promoted it pretty much anywhere. No one had even come to bother Ryu about Janus'' death.


    However, lax rules didn''t mean that they had no rules. They were in the constant pursuit of knowledge, and one of the few places where the rules were quite strict about fighting were around the technique pavilions like this one.


    "I understand, Elder. However, this man is not a Martial God and seems to have the intention of partaking in our techniques. He is taking advantage of our hospitality. It is beneath your status to deal with a man like this, however, if you could use your power to expel him, I will personally deal with him once we are outside the range of non-combat."


    Elder Vermo turned his one open eye to Ryu. "Is this true?"


    Ryu stood there, not saying anything. What sort of clown show was this?


    With the protections on this place, even if he did go down, was it relevant? Why was this old man asking such a stupid question?


    He had always hated explaining himself to others, and that was only doubly so in situations like this one where-


    Elena''s aura suddenly flared up and the full weight of a Peak Transcendent Sky God fell on Lirion. Before the man could even react, he was smashed down to his knees, the bones within shattering to pieces.


    Lirion screamed out in horror and pain, his eyes turning bloodshot and his inner organs practically collapsing.


    Not everyone was like Ryu. It still stood true that the gap between Sky God Realms were entirely insurmountable, let alone a gap between a Lower Perfect Sky God and a Peak Transcendent Sky God.


    Lirion had been so focused on Ryu that he hadn''t considered anything else. Plus, even for Martial God women who tended to be a bit... looser with their preferences and sexual urges, pairing up with a Sky God many Realms below you was something that basically never happened.


    All his thoughts of testing Ryu and making him answer for his master''s arrogance flew out the window.


    Elder Vermo''s eyes narrowed, but in the end, he sat back into his recliner, closing his eyes and allowing his irritation to drift into the wind.


    ...


    Ryu gave Elena a glance. Even now, she seemed to still be a bit irritated, but Ryu could tell that it wasn''t just because of Lirion.


    Those words, it was likely that someone else had spoken them to her. Maybe multiple people. In fact, it was almost certainly multiple people. Maybe the only reason she was alive was because her father was one of these "unique" situations.


    For Elena, who just wanted to live a carefree life, there was nothing worse to her than realizing she was entirely unable to do so without actual strength. And today, these matters just seemed to confirm that all the more.


    She just wanted a nice day out with her husband, and she couldn''t even have that without having to flex her muscles.


    On the other hand, she was irritated because she felt that she had to step in the way she did to make sure the situation didn''t get worse. She knew her husband like the back of her hand, she already knew that the moment Elder Vermo started questioning him, he could very well snap at any moment.


    And that thought only made things worse, because even when she got to press Lirion into the ground, it was in exchange for hopefully avoiding Elder Vermo doing the same to them.


    She still wasn''t strong enough. She had improved so much and it still somehow wasn''t enough.


    Would it ever be enough?


    Just as she was about to jump into the enormous hole in the ground, stepping onto the marble, rune etched ring around it, Ryu pulled back on her grip.


    Elena looked back a bit confused, but she saw that Ryu''s eyes were actually red as though he might either snap or shed real tears.


    "Hubby!" She spoke in a panic, wanting to understand what was wrong.


    It was his fault. He had left her for too long, and now his cheery, carefree wife had turned into a woman constantly looking over her shoulder, constantly trying to weigh the pros and cons of a situation, constantly trying to make sure she stayed out of trouble so that she didn''t offend the wrong people.


    Ryu looked back toward Lirion who was stuck in a pit.


    "Just die."


    The skies rumbled and an arc of lightning descended like the roar of a dragon.


    Before anyone could react, Lirion was burnt to ash, unable to even utter a final cry.


    A hushed silence fell as Elder Vermo''s eyes opened once more.

 Chapter 1677 Fury

    Chapter 1677 Fury


    Ryu turned to Elena, his gaze practically tearing a pair of holes through her own. He didn''t even seem to notice Elder Vermo''s change at all. Instead, his entire focus was on his wife.


    Elena felt like she wanted to look away. The intensity of his gaze was too much and it weighed on her heart so heavily that she found it difficult to breathe. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn''t pry her eyes away, almost as though there was some invisible hold on her very psyche.


    Ryu was absolutely furious right now. He wanted to say something, but even with his speed of thought, even with his usual intelligence, he couldn''t find the right combination of words.


    The longer he spent silent, the more furious he seemed to become until a towering aura tore into the skies.


    Elder Vermo slowly rose from his seat, a gloominess in his eyes.


    It had been a very long time since anyone dared to disrespect him in this way, he couldn''t even remember the last. He had been able to sit on his recliner, in perfect peace for thousands of years at the very least. Just his presence alone was enough for others to stay in line.


    But to think that this would happen even after he had spoken.


    There were, on the surface, two categories of Sky Gods, the first being those that could keep up with the pace of the genius stream, and the latter of which could not.


    However, in practice, there were many more layers than this. There were those that sped by the genius stream with such pace that they could only be in a category of their own, and there were those that just barely missed out on keeping up with the genius stream.


    Even deeper than this, though... there were those that made it all the way through the genius stream but failed to ever become Dao Lords, and then there were those that might have missed out the genius stream, but with their diligence managed to become Dao Lords anyway.


    And then there were those like Elder Vermo... a middling cultivator by every metric, but a man who had managed to take slow and diligent steps to his current realm.


    Every one of his steps was firm, his foundation was wide and vast, and compared to even geniuses of the genius stream who made it all the way to the Omniscient Sky God Realm within the allotted time frame, he stacked up favorably simply by virtue of the sheer length of time he had spent in his current Realm.


    There were plenty of geniuses of the genius stream that came to this pavilion, but did any of them disrespect him?


    No. None of them did.


    And yet, this outsider without even Martial God aura dared to do so?


    He took a step and the air rumbled. He could see Ryu''s back, and even now, the young man wasn''t paying him any mind, looking at his wife as though she was the only one in the world...


    And that only infuriated him more.


    It had been a while since he soaked his hands in blood. It seemed that others had forgotten how the Blood Soaked Palm Sky God had gotten his name.


    BANG!


    Just as Elder Vermo was about to move, Ryu did so first.


    Blood Spiritual Body.


    He snaked through the cracks in reality, closing the distance on Ryu with a fury building up in his gut, however Ryu was even faster.


    His body suddenly became a streak of violet, a bolt that was somehow both a piercing lightning and flickering flame at the same time.


    He clashed with Elder Vermo, their amorphous bodies rebounding against one another once, then twice, then hundreds of times in what seemed like the blink of an eye.


    The stormy skies above continued to shake and quake until a silvery star appeared high within it.


    In that moment, the world seemed to be forcefully stabilized, the rumbling might of a Founding Dao filling up the space, reaching into the bounds of time and the fabric of reality, before chaining them down.


    The projection of a world seemed to overlay with their own, and in that moment, Elder Vermo who thought he was finally getting a foothold in the battle once more, found himself meeting a fist with the weight of a Heaven from up above.


    The moment he saw it, he felt that he had lost all right to resist, even his bloody form seemingly being drained of all color in an instant.


    BOOM!


    The world collapsed as the elder was driven into the ground. It didn''t even seem like he flew at all. His descent was so fast that in one moment, he was clashing with Ryu''s half lightning-fire form, and in the next he was in a crater down below, every bone in his body broken.


    Ryu stood high in the skies, one eight trigram diagram spinning above him and another spinning in the opposite direction below him.


    The once rumbling, now stabilized skies split beneath a raise of his hand, and in that moment, it felt like all the lightning in the Ninth Heaven suddenly converged onto his palm, a solid bolt of blue forming a javelin in his hand beneath his Lightning God Talent. It condensed so densely that it no longer even looked as though lightning had formed it at all. Instead, it looked like an enormous blue steel needle, one that even his large hands could only just barely wrap all the way around.


    Ryu raised the javelin up high, his eyes blazing with a slit fury as his torso flexed. Wisps of flames and lightning danced across his white scales, and as though it wasn''t enough, the blue steel suddenly shuddered, an array of sharp angled, icy blue Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns appearing around it.


    BANG!


    The javelin was finally pulled back far enough and Ryu''s torso uncorked like a thick, steel spring. It shot out of his hand like a canon, the world exploding and collapsing around its descent.


    An icy aura froze over the cracks in space, and at that moment, it looked as though the world had become a thin film of shattered blue ice.


    BOOM!


    The javelin pierced through Elder Vermo''s chest, exploding in what must have been a rain of blood, but was unfortunately not witnessed due to the fact everything seemed to become nothing more than ash in an instant of time.


    A pillar of lightning and ice shot into the skies, piercing the veil of Heaven.


    It was a sight that could be seen for tens of thousands of miles, and it would be accompanied by an unimaginable tale... One that told of a False Sky God slaughtering an Omniscient one.

 Chapter 1678 Easy

    Chapter 1678 Easy


    Ryu stood in the skies, his fury still not abating, and yet coming out in a controlled stream. The silence was palpable and the trembling waves of qi in the surroundings seemed to suppress everything. It felt like with a thought, Ryu could kill everyone in the surroundings should he have wanted to.


    Ryu landed in front of Elena, his gaze still intense.


    "Do you know why I killed him?" Ryu finally asked.


    Elena''s eyes watered, her lips rolling over them. How could she not know? But just how much trouble would doing so bring?


    Elder Vermo wasn''t guilty of much more than a minor slight, if it could be called that at all. He let Elena''s impudence slide even though it skirted the rules, and the "worst" thing he did was question Ryu based on the young man''s accusations... at least from an outsider''s perspective.


    From Ryu''s perspective, the worst thing he did was make his wife tiptoe around him. In this world, no one was worth that, not a single soul.


    "Anyone who makes you feel that way, no matter who it is, I will kill. No matter their strength, no matter their status, no matter what the outcome of doing so might be."


    Elder Vermo was a stand-in, a representation of the heartache and trouble that Elena had faced in the Martial God Clan on her own.


    And now... she was no longer alone.


    Ryu took Elena''s hand and leapt into the enormous technique pit, descending with a great amount of speed as though he wasn''t worried about suddenly falling to his death like the others had before him.


    Elena wanted to say that they should run, that they escape, going down to the Eighth Heaven, or maybe even returning to Sacrum entirely, but when she looked at Ryu''s side profile... she knew that he wouldn''t do it.


    Elena blinked in surprise and then smiled.


    The Martial Gods worked on the merit of strength and potential, and this technique pavilion reflected that.


    One would think that the more valuable the technique, the more expensive it would be, but this wasn''t strictly true in the Martial God Clan.


    Here, the price of a technique was calculated based on several factors, the most important of which was your Realm to Technique Grade Ratio.


    A peak Omniscient Grade technique would be at full price if you were also a Peak Omniscient Sky God, but it would fall to half price if you were only in the Higher Realm, and it could fall by another half if you were in the Middle Realm.


    The gaps between the Realms in the Sky Gods was so enormous that such leaps were well worth it.


    If you were an entire major Realm below, though, the technique would cost exactly 1 contribution point. So, because Ryu had brought Elena to these Peak Omniscient Grade techniques, she could practically trade for as many as she wanted because she was only in the Peak Transcendent Realm.


    Of course, it wasn''t just as easy as it seemed to just come here, and that was made clear by the scent of blood and corpses before.


    Looking down, one could see wailing souls and a built up resentment that had accumulated over the ages.


    In this large technique pavilion, there was a special formation that allowed those beneath the Dao God Realm to fly. The problem was that the deeper you went, the harder it was to stay in the air. If you got greedy and went beyond your limits, you would suddenly find yourself accelerating toward the bottom with a gravity millions, even billions of times past what you were capable of handling acting on you.


    As such, the least valuable techniques were all the way at the top, while the most valuable were all the way at the bottom.


    But Ryu had not only come here... he had taken her with him and he had made it look easy.

 Chapter 1679 The Fourth

    Chapter 1679 The Fourth


    Of course it was easy. Ryu could fly in the real skies, let alone in this formation. Taking his wife along with him was only a matter of course.


    What he was more surprised about was the sheer number of techniques. Elena had enough to exchange for more than 10,000 of them with the current discounts, and yet that still wouldn''t put a dent worth a tenth of this collection.


    Ryu couldn''t even fathom what it meant to have more than a hundred thousand Omniscient Grade techniques at your fingertips, just what kind of concept was that?


    To this point, Ryu hadn''t cultivated very many techniques. His greatest reliances were self-created techniques.


    He had once been practicing a Sovereign Grade Mental Realm cultivation method, but he swapped it out for his own so that he could create his Internal Matrix. His Qi Realm was also based on his own cultivation method.


    Though he used the [Refinement Sutra] for both, that was more of a skeleton as the Sutra was reliant on his own comprehension and methods.


    Of course, that wasn''t to say that he had no techniques of this caliber. The Taboo Techniques were God Grade, it was just that their Faith restricted him to a level that was probably weaker than Omniscient.


    Though, that was no longer a problem for Ryu now. He could finally unleash the full strength of those methods now, it was just a question of if he wanted to or not.


    He quite liked the idea of creating and using his own techniques, and it had suited him well all this time. But that didn''t mean that he couldn''t use references and such to help himself out.


    "This should be because of the Talent Oracle Profession Elena mentioned..." Ryu thought to himself.


    He hated the Martial Gods, but he had to admit that their culture was the most conducive to producing powerful warriors and cultivators.


    Elena had a problem where her Bloodline could only seem to amplify external targets.


    This was obviously a failsafe of the two Bloodlines that it mutated from. Obviously, the Divine Wing and Holy Wing Bloodlines suppressed the qi around them. If there was no failsafe to stop it from acting on oneself, then every time one used it, it would be like dropping a boulder on your toes.


    Bloodmancy alone wouldn''t fix this for several reasons.


    For one, Bloodmancy didn''t change your Bloodline or how it worked, it had just allowed Ryu to pull them more under his control and allow them to exhibit more of their strength. Obviously, then, this wouldn''t change Elena''s situation.


    But that was only if he was thinking inside the box.


    The gist of what he wanted was a method of tricking Elena''s body into thinking part of or the whole of her was a separate entity. He could then help her use Bloodmancy as a link to control this new "external" part of her.


    The trick was what route to take for this.


    The first option he thought of was splitting her soul, but he dismissed that for two reasons. First, without a Perfect Blackbody Soul like his own, doing such a thing was extremely dangerous, not to mention painful. And the second issue was that it would be a convoluted path though he felt that it had some potential.


    The second and more intriguing option was actually using Isemeine and Eska as a reference. The two shared one body, but they were clearly separate existences. Using their taboo technique as a foundation would be interesting.


    But, Ryu didn''t want to force that onto his wife, especially if he had a different option. Being tied to the Taboo Powers was its own world of trouble, not to mention the fact that without Ryu''s abilities, the techniques were greatly weakened.


    Of course, Isemeine and Eska mitigated that because of their unique approach to the technique, but Elena wouldn''t be able to do the same.


    But then Ryu thought of another option, one that had the potential to form the foundation of an unprecedented branch of the Martial Gods... Likely becoming the fourth branch of the Hegemonic Tier.Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1680 True Dao Pedestal Realm

    Chapter 1680 True Dao Pedestal Realm


    Ryu''s thought problem was actually quite complex, and it was related to what he knew about the Martial God Bloodlines. As Elena had told him, unlike others where the Bloodline would just be one of the Six Pillars, for the Martial Gods, the Bloodline decided almost everything about their talents, save their Dao. Although their Spiritual Foundation was also said to not quite fall into this category, from what Ryu could gather from Elena''s explanation, it wasn''t so cut and dry.


    It could be said, then, that four and a half of Elena''s talents were decided by her Bloodline. In this way, the Martial Gods were a lot closer to beasts than they were to humans. It almost made sense that they wanted to carve out a new Race for themselves rather than sticking it out with their heritage.


    However, what Ryu found more interesting than all of this was how one Bloodline accomplished this. It didn''t seem to make sense.


    Unless you were aware of the existence of the Corporeal Souls.


    Obviously, the mechanism through which the coopting of talent worked was through this system, and it was because of this connection that during the process of gestation, a Martial God newborn was practically able to reformulate their own bodies based on their Bloodlines.


    As for their Spiritual Foundations, it was likely that because they were located in the Abyssal Plane, during the gestation period, they were only able to influence it to a limited extent.


    But what did all of this have in common?


    Once again, this was something that most wouldn''t be able to grasp, but to Ryu... the answer was all too obvious.


    All of this happened in the stage of development... no, the only stage of development where Embryonic Qi was available. Only during the birth of a cultivation would the Heavens bestow Embryonic Qi, and it was only during this stage that Elena''s Bloodline could accomplish what it had.


    Was it a coincidence? Ryu didn''t think so.


    However, that didn''t mean that Ryu''s plan was to start messing around with Elena''s body and try to mutate her body again.


    And that made him recall something related to the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    For normal cultivators, the Dao Pedestal Realm was just about expanding the size of your Spiritual Foundation and preparing it to be able to take your Cosmic Seeds in the next Realms.


    However, in one technique, there was a man who Ryu read about who created a method that took the word Pedestal more literally, or ridiculously depending on your perspective.


    In translation, the word Pedestal in Dao Pedestal Realm meant to refer to the word foundation. It was something that other things were built upon, and thus it was the perfect word for this Realm considering the purpose of its existence.


    But in this man''s interpretation, he instead wanted to build a separate foundation to help prop up the Spiritual Foundation, rather than the other way around.


    It was a foolish thing to do in not only Ryu''s opinion, but objectively as well. That was because the Realm was called the Dao Pedestal Realm, not the Spiritual Pedestal Realm. By definition, you were supposed to be creating a Pedestal for your Daos, not your Spiritual Foundation.


    Unsurprisingly, because of his foolish interpretation of language, the man never managed to break into the World Sea Realm. But what was interesting was that he did break into the Cosmic Seed Realm. The fact he managed to complete the Dao Pedestal Realm at all was shocking, it was just that he could never find a way to translate that success for the World Sea Realm because he had already ruined his foundation, ironically.


    So what had this man done?


    Well, in his words, he built a Pedestal to the Heavens... In Ryu''s, he built a staircase to nothing.


    Essentially, he created Visualizations of his Spiritual Foundation, projecting them in his dantian and forming nine in total that rose into the skies.


    He called this the True Dao Pedestal Realm.

 Chapter 1681 Just in Time

    Chapter 1681 Just in Time


    All things considered, the man was not only innovative, but he was quite powerful, albeit a fool. Though he had never broken into the World Sea Realm, it was said that he had been capable of fighting experts of that caliber before the day of his death.


    These Visualized Spiritual Foundations were exactly what Ryu wanted to home in on, because if he was correct, he believed that Elena''s method of doing so would far supersede what the man of the past was capable of.


    In order to form a Visualization of his Spiritual Foundation, the man essentially corrupted his Qi Realm path. Because, at the time, Mental Realm cultivation was banned, he didn''t see a problem with what he did, flooding his dantian with large amounts of Spiritual Qi and diluting his normal qi.


    Using a unique method, he fused the two qi and corrupted his path from then forth. The reason he couldn''t break into the World Sea Realm was because all of his Cosmic Seeds were amalgamations of qi and Spiritual Qi. As such, they were in large part illusory.


    How could you shatter a very real Spiritual Foundation with illusory Cosmic Seeds? You would need Soul Quintessence to do that, but without Mental Realm cultivation, what chance did he have of forming that?


    However, Ryu''s plans for Elena were different because they would rely on her Bloodline.


    If Ryu was correct, Elena''s Bloodline should work on her Spiritual Foundation in part, but not entirely. About half of the process had been completed while she was in her mother''s womb.


    Now, thanks to his Embryonic Qi, the process had been completed, but her Spiritual Foundation was still only partly protected from the effects of her Bloodline.


    This was where everything came together.


    The first step was to use the natural ability of Martial God Bloodlines to communicate and co-opt the Corporeal Souls to establish a more solid connection with her Spiritual Foundation, or in other words, her Dao Heart.


    Then, by using her amplification abilities, he would create a special circulation method that would use her amplification talent to form projections of her Spiritual Foundation.


    Once these projections were formed, Elena would be able to use Transcendent Control to manifest them into the real world.


    Like this, Elena would be, in a sense, making a puppet of her own Spiritual Foundation and using them almost like one would use Immortal Rings... but on an entirely different level.


    Because of the fact Elena''s Spiritual Foundation would also have her amplification abilities, the moment they appeared outside her body she would hardly have to do a thing to sustain them. A nigh infinite feedback loop would be formed between Elena and her Spiritual Foundations, one that she could keep up for as long as her Focus Qi was still in good condition.


    Ryu nodded to himself and was about to scrap the idea and just make it a Qi Realm method when he felt another flash of inspiration.


    Wasn''t Blood Essence hidden in the Seven Corporeal Souls as well? Not only was it hidden within it, but weren''t the Martial God Bloodlines capable of co-opting the Seven Corporeal Spirits to force change as well?


    What if he added to the circulation pattern, roping in Elena''s Bloodline?


    ''Using a Bloodline capable of amplifying to amplify itself? That sounds like circular logic, it would never work unless there was an external source of power...''


    Ryu wracked his brain, thinking of special pills and treasures he could forge for his wife before he practically slapped his forehead.


    He had almost forgotten because she never displayed them, but in all of this he had forgotten something so important.


    Elena''s wings! That''s what they were there for to begin with, they were ingrained with runes that could take from the environment to boost the owner.


    He didn''t need to think of a solution, Elena''s body already had one.


    ''Perfect...''


    It seemed that Ryu had been thinking about this matter for a long while, but after using four techniques as a reference, Ryu had already created the path for Elena to follow, he just needed to fuse them.


    He pulled out an empty jade he had prepared previously and began to furiously inscribe his thoughts.


    An Origin Flame flickered upon his forehead, dancing with golden hues before he pulled back, exhaling a breath.


    ''Just in time...'' Ryu exhaled.


    He took Elena''s hand and placed the jade within, wrapping it with her fingers as the skies suddenly shook.


    It seemed trouble was finally here.

 Chapter 1682 Instead

    Chapter 1682 Instead


    Ryu looked into the skies calmly, his expression tranquil.


    When he looked back toward Elena, he surprisingly found that her expression wasn''t the same as what he expected.


    He thought he would see panic, trepidation, maybe even hints of fear, but there was none of that. Instead, she looked back at him with a fiery gaze as though she was ready to fight to the death.


    Ryu smiled and caressed her cheek.


    She had taken his words the wrong way, but it was his fault. If he truly had the strength to flip the skies upside down with a palm, she wouldn''t have to show such a fierce expression. She would be completely relaxed, entirely at ease, unmoved by any shaking or quaking in the environment.


    In the end, it was all his fault.


    The reason he had gone through so much trouble to create a new path for Elena wasn''t because he needed her to be strong for the sake of being strong. It was in one part because he knew that he wasn''t invincible just yet, and another more important part because he wanted her to live a long life.


    What was the point of reaching the pinnacle if his wives died from nothing more than old age? What kind of man of strength and conviction would he be if he allowed this to happen?


    It was inevitable, though, that Elena would take it the wrong way. But in that case, he would just have to show her. Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    He didn''t need her to fight. All she had to do was stand by his side.


    The enforcement arm of the Martial Gods was rarely activated, and even when it was, it was rarely this arm in specific that took action.


    There were any number of enforcements guards, accumulating the talent of several branches. But it was without much surprise that the absolute strongest of them was the Divine Chain Branch.


    It was a branch known for their restrictive abilities and their Bloodline manifestation was quite literally a chain, this was probably the least surprising fact of the entire Martial God''s existence.


    Mordecai watched the auras of the two fluctuate and he shook his head inwardly. He had met Ryu once before and he knew how his Dao worked... somewhat. The more agitated these two were, the worse the situation would be.


    Unfortunately, as talented as he was, he couldn''t compare to these two, and their arrogance was so great that explaining this would only make them turn against him. If there was internal strife, the situation would only be made worse.


    Of course, Mordecai chose to remain silent not just out of fear of this, but also in consideration of the fact he didn''t believe that Ryu would be able to deal with this situation.


    Not all Omniscient Sky Gods were created equal... not by a long shot.


    In that case, why offend them for what was an unnecessary advantage?


    "Get the hell out here!" Kirvag roared, his impatience reaching a tipping point.


    Beneath his fury, seemingly even without his consent, the skies became filled with golden chains, crisscrossing and aligning as though the fine cracks in an expensive glass.


    The voice reached down below and Ryu directly ignored it. As though he hadn''t heard it at all, he continued to smile at his wife.


    "Do you know what the smartest thing to do would be?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    Elena blinked, not understanding his meaning.


    "If I stayed down here, they would be forced to come. Then, not only would they be foolishly careful despite the fact they have no hope in forcefully breaking these restrictions, but while they''re fighting against the formation pulling them down, their strength would plummet.


    "In this environment, I would win in a handful of seconds..."


    Ryu''s smile brightened. "But do you know what I''m going to do instead?"

 Chapter 1683 Rob

    Chapter 1683 Rob


    Elena was still processing what Ryu had just said when he had already taken her hand and appeared high in the skies with her by his side. He teleported out of the restrictive, twisting gravity as though it hadn''t existed at all, a bright smile on his face.


    The angrier he was, the more irrational his wife would think he was being. And if she thought he was being irrational, then how could she trust in his judgment? If there was no trust in his judgment, when would she ever be able to be at ease?


    The Ryu Elena knew was a loose cannon. It could be said that the only reason he had lived for so long in the first place was because his family was the most powerful in Sacrum. Who would dare to touch him? Least of all Primus'' great grandson?


    The Ryu of now... was still a loose canon.


    The difference was that his power was his own. Well... his own and that of his master''s. What could he say? It was nice to have a backer.


    He had known long ago that the Martial Gods would definitely follow his master''s warning. It wasn''t just about how powerful she was, or how powerful her husband was. Though, they were both surely the best of the best. He knew well that there were tiers amongst Martial Gods with certainty.


    But no. The real reason he trusted in this warning so much, and the reason his master trusted in the fact this warning would work so well were two reasons.


    The first was the pride the Martial God society was built upon.


    But more importantly that something so flimsy was the fact that, for a long while now, Ryu had felt that the Martial Gods were hiding their strength for some purpose.


    These were things that he had started to piece together after he met Hope and more so after he learned about the Taboo Powers. They were restricting themselves for some reason, and that was the real truth behind Ryu''s confidence.


    They wouldn''t offend his master right now because they couldn''t afford to.


    Fading and Radiant Star were both the last hopes of their world along with Hope. Their strength was akin to the pinnacle of what a world that stood toe to toe with the True Martial World would be, and there were two of them.


    No matter how powerful the Martial Gods were, they didn''t have an endless swarm of Dao Gods, and even if by some shocking truth they did, they wouldn''t dare to reveal now of all times.


    So when Fading Star had warned them not to send anyone above the Omniscient Sky God Realm...


    Restricting qi? He could do that too.


    At that moment, the entire world became a painting of black, white and grey. Those stuck within its grasp couldn''t even sense their own qi, let alone those in their surroundings. Their strength plummeted and when they looked high in the skies, they could see the only man and woman, seemingly in the world, who had any color to them at all.


    Ryu retracted a fist and suddenly punched out.


    The expression of the three changed as they realized that it wasn''t just that Ryu had stolen all the qi in the surroundings, but he had also somehow concentrated it all onto himself.


    They had miscalculated.


    According to their understanding of Heaven and Earth Gate, it could be, at the very least, months before Ryu could use it again. They had already believed that they were sending more than enough at him.


    The last time Ryu had fought was months ago, so they thought it made sense that he had been able to use [Earth Gate] once more, but they had forgotten something...


    Who said that Heaven and Earth Gate were the only powerful abilities of his eyes?


    Was it because his eyes supposedly had such a long cool down that they thought it could be ranked seventh?


    Naive fools.


    "[Lines of Fate]."


    Ryu''s aura flourished and white scales appeared across his body. High in the skies, his Birthed Phenomena took shape, a silvery white star hovering to its back.


    With his wife''s hand in his own, he took a step and then punched out again just as the three managed to resolve his first.


    Every time he unleashed an attack, a streak of color would return to the world, and every time he took a step, the three would take another back.

 Chapter 1684 Proving a Point

    Chapter 1684 Proving a Point


    Ryu''s steps were so firm it looked as though he was walking on the ground, his punches so casual it looked more like he was loosening his rotator cuff than walking down a trio of Omniscient Sky Gods. Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    Without qi, it was impossible to use Omniscient Control. And without Omniscient Control, it was impossible to exhibit the full array of strength an Omniscient Sky God should have.


    It was practically like they had been neutered, restricted to less than half their former strength in an instant.


    They couldn''t understand it at all. If Ryu had such a powerful ability, why did he wait to use it now? Why use the more famous Earth and Heaven Gate first, and only spring this on them last?


    What they had no idea was that Ryu''s goal in this battle and his goal in the last were entirely different.


    When he first used Heaven Gate in his battle with Janus and the Beast Mimicry Sect Inheritor Discipline, he had yet to have such large changes to his cultivation. [Rob the World of its Color] wasn''t nearly as powerful as it was now, and though it could work, it could also be countered by a powerful enough Dao or technique.


    When he fought Elder Vermo, he only had one goal: crush him as quickly and with as much prejudice as possible. He didn''t care about anything else, and quite frankly, he wasn''t as familiar with his current abilities as he was now. He had been spending time with his wife, so he hadn''t wasted any of it consolidating his foundation or truly understanding his gains.


    But after a brief battle with Vermo, he began to understand some of the synergies of his abilities, one of which made [Rob the World of its Color] from one of the more normal abilities of his eyes to one of the absolute most powerful in an instant.


    But the shocking part was that it wasn''t just [Rob the World of its Color]. In fact, just by virtue of most of their capabilities, most of his Heavenly Pupils Talents got a huge boost.


    When he projected his inner world into the outside world, it was as though he had become a Quasi Dao God in the flesh. Although his strength wasn''t anywhere near that of a real Dao God, for middling talents of the Omniscient Sky God Realm like these, they were nothing more than ants before him.


    Until now, Mordecai, Kirvag and Jurkaa hadn''t been hurt. Their qi might have been stripped from them, and much of their abilities might have been restricted, but they were still experts of an exceptional quality. Whether it was their bodily strength, or their other means and techniques, they were all excellent.


    At most, Ryu was embarrassing them a bit. Once he ran out of Karmic Qi, it would be their turn to counterattack.


    But then Ryu''s strength began to increase.


    For every step of increase in Ryu''s radius, his strength increased exponentially. By then, his fists became as heavy as mountains and as final as meteors falling from the skies.


    Jurkaa was the first to cough up a mouthful of blood, the bones in his arms creaking and threatening to crack as his inner organs shook.


    Kirvag was the next. The world spun around him and his thoughts seemed to blur and pour into one another, a disparaging amount of self-doubt and fear filling him. Even if he knew this had to be part of Ryu''s Dao, it was impossible to ignore because it was the reality before him.


    He was truly nothing more than a plaything before this man.


    Then came Mordecai. He was the sturdiest of the bunch, his road to his current position being paved by endless hardship. And yet, even he felt his mental defenses crack.


    There was something truly despairing about a man stripping the world of its color, of its ambience... and then forming a new Order of his own, one that was completely under his control and not beholden to a single person.


    He was a God and they were the ants of his land.

 Chapter 1685 A God鈥檚 Brush

    Chapter 1685 A God''s Brush


    Elena watched this scene, her heart trembling. She had no idea when Ryu had become this powerful. None of this made any sense.


    From everything she knew, it was impossible even to cross a single barrier of cultivation for most. Geniuses might be able to do so within a Realm, but crossing a Realm...? That was a pipe dream for even them.


    A Lower Transcendent could fight a Middle, maybe even a Higher or Peak if they were truly the cream of the crop. But a Peak Transcendent should never in a million years hope to battle a Lower Omniscient...


    But she had heard tales, tales of geniuses that defied common sense and logic, of little babies born into the Sky God Realm from their first breath, of reality-breaking monsters who didn''t take Realms seriously at all.


    However, she had never seen such things with her own eyes, nor had she thought them to be real.


    But wasn''t this what was right before her eyes right now? How could she not believe it... no, even further than that, wasn''t it only natural that her husband was among them?


    This was the stage he had always deserved to be on, the stage he had constantly yearned for.


    And yet, it was also this very stage that he had stepped onto for her sake. Maybe he had wanted to hide it for longer, maybe he had wanted to keep his truest trump cards under wraps so that his many enemies couldn''t find a weakness to grab onto.


    But he had thrown it all to the side for her.


    For her, he revealed his Heavenly Pupils. For her, he revealed his Chaotic Silk Meridians. For her, he revealed his Founding Dao, his Ungradable Bloodlines, his world-shaking dominance.


    All to show her this scene before her very eyes.


    The Omniscient Sky Gods she had feared so much? What were they worth before her? Before them?


    Ryu clenched his fists and the skies rumbled. The thunderous clouds formed a new baseline for the melody, thrumming to a steady cadence and shook the world.


    And then a gorgeous sight was painted before their eyes.


    The world was entirely formed of black and white aside from a celestial couple in the skies, the blue lightning that flashed within the black clouds, and the silver star high above them all.


    It was a picturesque scene, one that should have only been possible to see in one''s dreams.


    "Come."


    Then it descended.


    The world shook beneath the might of the technique, quivering and quaking that even the Sky Gods couldn''t maintain their footing after their flying treasures had become useless.


    The first had already been enough to crush them to pieces, and yet Ryu still drew the second as though he wasn''t here for battle, he wasn''t even here for dominance...


    He was here to prove a point.


    BOOM!


    The skies exploded with color and the three Omniscient Sky Gods, just the same, exploded with a crimson rain of blood. Their bodies barely remained intact, the only thing remaining being their eyes filled with fear as though this was precisely what Ryu wanted Elena to see.


    Ryu held out his paintbrush, the skies brimming with color and the earth overflowing with it. However, everything in between felt lifeless.


    The chorus of music had reached its fever pitch, every stroke of color adding several more layers.


    At that moment, Ryu''s paintbrush suddenly exploded with golden-red flames. Rebirth Flames danced across the skies and those that saw it forgot to breathe.


    Emperor Phoenix Patterns took shape and the call of a Phoenix rang out.


    "In this world, no one has the right to make my wife feel fear. One day, whether Heaven, Earth, or what lies in between... I will control it all.


    "[A God''s Brush: Rebirth]."


    The world seemed to resist the stroke of Ryu''s brush. Whereas every previous line had been a seemingly simple movement, this time, his forearms bulged with veins that popped in their own rain of blood.


    However, he didn''t seem to notice, the character for Rebirth taking shape and forming in the skies.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    A Heavenly Tribulation began to form in the skies, but Ryu''s mouth opened in laughter, swallowing its bolts with a puff of his chest.


    Then, Rebirth descended and the world seemed to implode.

 Chapter 1686 Complacent

    Chapter 1686 Complacent


    The world fell into silence.


    Mordecai, Kirvag, and Jurkaa felt as though they were First Heaven natives stepping onto the Ninth Heaven for the first time, their inner organs were devastated, and their bones were crushed.


    The world watched in horror as they first lost a layer of skin, then another, until they were left with nothing more than muscle fibers, and then even they began to lose their own layers.


    They were stripped down to their very souls, losing their eyes, their flesh, and soon even layers of their bones began to be peeled away piece by piece, step by step.


    It was the worst and most horrible pain they could have imagined.


    And yet, with a flick of Ryu''s wrist, it vanished.


    When their senses came back, they lay in a crater, soaked in their own piss and sweat. They shook, the fear being seared into their very minds.


    "Do you know why I didn''t kill them?" Ryu smiled, looking at Elena.


    Elena''s mouth opened and closed, not sure what to say.


    Anyone else would feel that the reason Ryu didn''t kill them was because he didn''t want to shed all cordiality with the Martial Gods, but if that was what he was worried about, why didn''t he spare Elder Vermo?


    Ryu chuckled. "If I wanted, whether it be in body or soul, they would have been wiped out to the last degree possible. The reason I didn''t go so far was because only they experienced that feeling just now, only they would be able to describe it, and while I can patiently explain something to my wife, I have no desire to do so for those unrelated to me."


    Elena blushed and rolled her eyes. This wasn''t the situation for him to be flirting with her. When had her hubby become so bad in this regard?


    Even so, she found it both cute and amusing. Remembering how much effort Ryu put into trying to make her happy again when she had been upset with him... her heart softened considerably.


    "The Martial God Clan is boring," Ryu said with a chuckle.


    The couple had spent the last several days strolling through the wilderness. It was a place that should have been filled with danger, but because of Ryu''s eyes and his abilities, even if they met a Lord Beast, avoiding them ahead of time and steering clear wasn''t difficult at all.


    Elena laughed. "Hubby, what are you talking about?"


    "I got the feeling that they wouldn''t send anyone of interest, and staying there would only stifle my growth. So I thought that we should go to the Nether Plane, but first I wanted to take a look at something. Unless you wanted to stay with the Martial Gods? I can send you back."


    Elena blinked and then was lost in her thoughts for a moment.


    "... I think I should go back," she eventually said. "But first, tell me why you feel that way? And also, why the Nether Plane?"


    "The Martial Gods are hiding themselves. For what purpose, I do not know. At first, I thought it was just the upper management that felt that way, but after today, I''m fairly certain that they''re hiding the best of their younger generation as well and I have no idea why.


    "If this wasn''t the case, they wouldn''t have sent that trash after me."


    Elena laughed. "Hubby, Kirvag and Jurkaa aren''t trash. They''re better than most of the Hegemony Tier of this generation. Although they only have High Tier Bloodlines."


    Ryu shook his head. "That might be so, but they aren''t true geniuses. For one, their Dao Hearts are weak. Second, their Daos are only at the Lower Ancient level."


    Elena scoffed, feeling offended. "Are you insulting me?"


    Her Dao was also at the Lower Ancient level.


    Ryu smiled and gave his wife a peck on the cheek before running away.


    "Hey! You get back here!"

 Chapter 1687 Dammit

    Chapter 1687 Dammit


    The two laughed, strolling through the wilderness as though it was their backyard. They partook in the scenery of nature, seeing the Ninth Heaven in a way most didn''t get the chance to.


    In truth, having a Lower Ancient level Dao while in the Omniscient Realm was actually very good. It had to be remembered that the higher one went in Realm, the more susceptible one''s Dao was to falling. Maybe a large part of the reason Ryu''s Founding Dao hadn''t caused as many waves as it should have was precisely because he was still at the False Sky God Realm.


    However, in Ryu''s eyes... it was too poor.


    With the changes to his Internal Matrix, what everyone saw as a False Grade Dao was actually upwards of a Perfect to Transcendent Grade Dao depending on the situation. If he used his Dao Vessel, he could pretty firmly root it at a quasi-Transcendent Grade level.


    That meant that he had the equivalent of a Founding Dao at the Transcendent Realm. And this wasn''t something that could be ignored by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, it was enough to crush most without him having to even lift a finger.


    As for the fact Elena "only" had a Lower Ancient Dao, he didn''t think too much about it. He felt that he could help her raise it with ease, but there was no need to for now because he was confident that she could do so herself.


    Elena''s path had been obscured because of the odd mutation in her bloodline. But now that he had given her a clear path, he was confident that she could do it herself.


    Ryu didn''t actually think that there was a difference between her doing it herself and him helping her. Because of the methods he used, the comprehension was the same and there would be no drawbacks.


    The reason he didn''t was because he was guarding Elena''s feelings as well. He could feel the changes in her and he could feel that she really wanted to carve out a lane for herself so that she could stand by his side.


    He didn''t want her to feel this way, he wanted her to put her complete trust in him. Even if she did nothing for the rest of her life, he would protect her. He was her husband, that was his duty.


    But he also acknowledged that it was because he wasn''t yet strong enough to block the skies with a palm that she was feeling this way. There was no way to force someone to feel a way they didn''t grasp naturally, and he had no intention of using his Dao to force her.


    In that case, he could only use time and his actions.


    Plus, he was confident in Elena''s talent. She was only so slow purely because she was lazy. Now that she had a reason not to be, he would allow her to rush forward at her own pace until he gave her the capital to be lazy again.


    ...


    "[Rob the World of its Color]... [A God''s Brush]... [Earth]..."


    BOOOM!


    The marble slab faltered along the earlier cracks.


    Ryu didn''t even wait to see the result as he vanished into thin air.


    ''Before I go to the Nether Plane, let''s see what other tidbits I can unearth from the Ninth Heaven first... Selheira''s mother mentioned the nine powers, but it''s curious. She didn''t mention the Ruin Master Guild... I wonder if there''s a reason for that...''


    ...


    Janus'' mother appeared in her courtyard, her expression turning frighteningly ugly.


    It was already too late. The aura hidden beneath her foundation was already leaking up, and it was impossible that others hadn''t sensed it.


    No, the main problem wasn''t that many had sensed it, but rather that those she wanted to hide it from in specific had long since been alerted to what was happening here.


    The weak that she didn''t care about wouldn''t even know what they were sensing, but those Dao Gods...


    ''Dammit...''


    Where had Janus gotten the Yin Reaper Palm from? Well, that was all too obvious at this point.


    She rubbed her temples, feeling some exasperation.


    But what was interesting was that other than some stress... she didn''t really look like a woman who had just been exposed for hiding the inheritance of a Taboo Power.

 Chapter 1688 Enforcement Arm

    Chapter 1688 Enforcement Arm


    Sashi stood there, her expression ugly. She wasn''t sure who had done this. She had swept her Spiritual Sense over, but she hadn''t been able to find or sense anything. Whoever it was certainly had the ability to hide it from her.


    She forced herself to calm down. Then, without any other choice, she contacted her husband.


    "Xalvador, there''s been a problem."


    There was no response from the communication device, at least not immediately. Sashi had no choice but to wait patiently, something that she had gotten used to. She suppressed the annoyance in her heart, clenching her jaw.


    Xalvador had reacted the same way to his own son''s death.


    Well, this wasn''t exactly true. He planned to do something perfunctory, but when he learned that it was Elena''s husband that had done, he chose to let it go, saying that he had no plans on interfering in the matters of the younger generation.


    Sashi knew that this was, in part, Xalvador''s way of balancing out the situation.


    He had 15 wives and dozens of children. If they started fighting amongst one another, there was little he could do about it. If it was a random individual who had targeted his son, he could justify doing something. But since this was almost certainly in retaliation for something that Janus had done to Elena, he let it slide.


    Plus, Martial God culture was different. Janus didn''t even share Xalvador''s Divine Wing Bloodline. Instead, he had the Holy King Bloodline. This made their relationship much weaker. Maybe if Janus had the same lineage like some of his fellow brothers and sisters, Xalvador might have cared enough to at least reprimand Elena a bit. But as things went, he didn''t even bother to contact Elena at all as though he just didn''t give a damn.


    Many of Xalvador''s wives hadn''t even been virgins when he married them. Sometimes, he had even chosen them on a whim because he was feeling particularly kinky that day. Sashi, in specific, had just been randomly taken by him on a day he happened to be enamored with women with particularly large breasts.


    Honestly, there was almost no difference between his wives and his concubines. If there was a difference he would draw, it would be his mood on the first day he bedded them and also whether they still had their Primordial Yins or not. Anything other than that was meaningless...


    Aside from three of them.


    "What is it?" A lazy voice came from the other side.


    Sashi controlled the urge to roll her eyes when she heard the moans of a woman on the other side. The most annoying part about being Xalvador''s wife was though he didn''t care about their virgin-status, none of them were allowed to seek out other men. She might be lucky to get a single visit every few decades, and every other time she was just in limbo with her fingers.


    "The foundation''s been compromised," Sashi said.


    There was another pause on the line, but Sashi could hear the shuffling. It was clear that Xalvador didn''t like what he had heard, and it was actually enough for him to stop.


    "You''ll have to take the brunt," he finally said.


    "I''m aware."


    The first thing she heard were the rattling chains. The cold shiver that went up her spine was so visceral that her legs almost went weak.


    She clenched her fists and forced herself to look up.


    At that moment, a trio of Dao Lords appeared, a long line of rattling chains behind them... silvery blue chains.


    Sashi didn''t resist, putting out her wrists.


    One of the Dao Lord indifferently flicked a finger and a pair of shackles clamped down onto her. She felt that she had fallen into an abyss, her Dao Heart trembling violently.


    She took deep breaths, closing her eyes to calm herself.


    Without another word, she was dragged away.


    One of the Dao Lords remained, waving a hand and forming a dome of chains that sealed off the aura of the home.


    Ryu watched this scene from a long distance away before turning and vanishing into the distance.


    He didn''t think that this would end Sashi''s life. He had a deep understanding of the Martial Gods after a few months in their territory, and it had allowed him to grasp the fact that what they cared most about were results.


    Them capturing Sashi like that was definitely for nothing more than show. Maybe if she had no background, they would indeed take action to kill her, but because of who her husband was, she would be fine. Even if she didn''t take action, it was because they didn''t want to.


    Obviously, there were almost certainly people who knew that Ryu had been the one to expose Sashi, but what difference did it make? It wasn''t as though he had planted it himself.


    No. The real reason Ryu had done this was to deal with a garden snake for Elena. Now, she would be free to grow until he returned.


    As for him, his destination was elsewhere. He wanted to return to the Dragon Clan and potentially find out about any hidden Guilds there might be, but first... he thought that it was maybe about time Little Silk became a Lord Beast.


    The once little butterfly didn''t need much more of a push anymore. She just needed a little push and then she would enter her little cocoon again.


    Ryu smiled and shook his head. Having a butterfly for a beast companion was truly inconvenient. But now, he could speed up the process on his own by warping time around her in his Inner World.


    But the catch was that he needed to surround her with all the energy she would need.


    ''Hm... I''ve never used Primordial Chaotic Ice Qi before... could be interesting.''


    Ryu grinned.

 Chapter 1689 If You Desire

    Chapter 1689 If You Desire


    Elena stood in her courtyard, her gaze firm. Her pink-diamond hair danced in the wind, sparkling like gems, and yet only seemed to be on par with the glow on her skin. The afterglow Ryu had left her with threatened to put a smile on her face, but the level of seriousness she felt to the depths of her soul was on another level.


    She was visualizing a path to the future, one that would allow her to shine as a woman capable of standing by his side.


    He had only appeared for a few months, and yet in that time she had soared from the True Sky God Realm to the Transcendent Realm. And somehow, as a False Sky God, he had slaughtered not just one Omniscient Sky God, but had also had the chance to slaughter three others and just, seemingly on a whim, decided to spare them.


    She knew why he had despite his words. Sure, his new inner world required him to accumulate a large amount of Faith so that he could begin displaying some of its truest strength, but the real reason was a deterrence.


    There was a reason he had targeted Sashi but not those three. Logically speaking, they were more dangerous than Sashi and should also have just as deep a grudge.


    So why hadn''t he?


    The reason was clear. He had broken their spirits, and he was 100% certain of it. Let alone targeting his wife, they wouldn''t even be able to raise their heads in front of her.


    Elena looked up.


    At some unknown time, a woman had appeared. She was truly as gorgeous as a painting, her pink-diamond hair the only other of Elena''s kind that she had ever seen. Although there were other Holy Wings with their hair color, the diamond-like glint, one that made their hair look three-dimensional rather than a single flat color, was something only this pair of mother and daughter had.


    Aurelia slowly descended from the skies, landing before her daughter without the slightest change in expression. If before she looked like a painting because of her beauty, now she looked like one because she was the picture of stillness, unmoved by the changes in the world and exuding an aura that could cause the skies to tremble.


    Elena had no idea what level her mother had reached. Her information network in the Martial Gods was so limited that she hadn''t even heard about the appearance of Ryu''s master. That was why she had been so surprised when he suddenly appeared before her. If she had heard about it earlier, maybe she would have been anticipating his return to her side.


    However, this was less a product of her being in the dark, though. Sometimes Elena wondered if anyone knew much about her mother. Even though her father, Xalvador, seemed to have the "upper hand" in their relationship, at least in terms of status... Elena had always gotten the feeling that her mother was the one truly controlling things.


    It was a feeling based on more intuition than fact, and it was also objectively true that Aurelia didn''t have any backers in the Martial Gods, so how could she possibly have a deeper foundation than a once in a generation genius like Xalvador?


    But it was a feeling she had nonetheless.


    And the public was still withholding their opinion on that front.


    "The Peak of the Transcendent Realm..." Aurelia spoke softly, her voice as gentle as a passing breeze.


    She looked her daughter up and down and nodded.


    "In the past, you haven''t been worthy of my help. As I''ve told you many times, you''re lazy and don''t have the heart of a cultivator. I''m not sure what''s changed, but I do find it unfortunate that it took the murderer of your grandmother to make such a difference in you."


    Elena didn''t reply. It wasn''t the first time her mother had called Ryu that, but so long as she didn''t make a personal move against him, she couldn''t be bothered to care.


    So what if he killed her grandmother? She was already prepared for the future where he would kill her father as well, and maybe even Aurelia herself.


    She had no love lost for her family. She had grown tired of their methods long ago and it could be said that she was probably the furthest from being a Martial God that you could be.


    "You may use my wealth now. Use it, or don''t, the choice is yours. That, of course, includes the training facilities, and you can also enter the Holy Wing Clan. The techniques might not be of use to you, but you can use them as reference.


    "If anyone dares to stop you from accumulating the usual quota for an official Holy Wing disciple, feel free to let me know. If you can break into the Omniscient Sky God Realm within three years, I will give you a Divine Wing quota instead and you can enter the Hegemonic Clan."


    "Is that all?" Elena spoke for the first time, mostly speaking to shoo her mother away.


    Aurelia looked at Elena, but she didn''t seem to mind the tone. It was hard to tell if she''d ever really care. Even if Elena was screaming at her, it might not even make the slightest difference. She hadn''t even shown any emotion after Mistress Holy Wing''s death.


    "No. I came here to tell you that I am pregnant. Soon, I will be going into a time warped zone so that I might give birth as quickly as possible.


    "It will be difficult for your younger brother to make an impact when the Title Stele appears with just about 100 years of cultivation alone, but I believe that all of my children have tremendous potential."


    Aurelia turned to leave. "You may come to the birth if you desire. I will send you a message when it is time. It will likely be a day or two from now."


    Elena watched as her mother left, saying nothing even after she disappeared over the horizon.

 Chapter 1690 Natural Enlightenment

    Chapter 1690 Natural Enlightenment


    Ryu made a leisurely path through the forest.


    From what he understood about Ninth Heaven''s layout, there wasn''t necessarily a single region to go in order to run into beasts of ice. All nine regions, each controlled by their own Powers, had both regions of extreme hot and extreme cold.


    Separating the regions, there were what they called the Nine Flood Dragons, a winding path of nine rivers that split the regions and connected around the outside of the Ninth Heaven in the very same vast ocean that Ryu had once been stuck beneath.


    Some of the most powerful Ice God Beasts were located near the bottom of that ocean.


    One had to remember the layers of the ocean were separated into tiers. The first few tiers were simply dividing tiers of pressure. However, when the pressure increased to an extreme, the ocean became a slab of ice. It was above this slab of thick ice, and honestly also the few tiers above that the strongest creatures of ice were located.


    While this would be the best place to get Ice type beasts, for one, Ryu couldn''t survive that kind of pressure right now, and second, beasts that could live in such an environment were on an entirely different level. Even their newborns had bodies so tough that even Dao Lords would have a hard time cutting them.


    This was just the innate superiority of a creature born in a terrible environment.


    Of course, if there were any creatures born in the Infinity Mist, they would be beyond imagining. Ryu wouldn''t be surprised even if a Dao God would have a difficult time killing a newborn born in such an environment. Though, that was just in raw strength. A Dao God would have a million other methods to deal with such an existence, as would a Dao Lord against a creature born above the slab of ice.


    This was all to say that Ryu couldn''t go there. It would be even more impossible considering Little Silk wasn''t a creature adept at swimming.


    After two battles, Ryu had a deeper understanding of his current strength, but he still felt that he had more to learn. His strongest state was when he activated his Dao Vessel and projected his Inner World. His Inner World was akin to a Phenomena, but what it was exactly was more complex than that.


    This was the unfortunate truth, because Ryu wasn''t just competing with one or two people, he was competing with trillions upon trillions of years of rising and falling geniuses.


    Plus, it had to be considered that the True Martial World wasn''t just the Real Plane, it was an amalgamation of all them. Meaning, the Faith of the Nether Plane and the Ethereal Plane also played a huge role, not to mention what might or might not occur in the Abyssal and Chaos Planes as well.


    But... if he was relying on his comprehension instead, would that change?


    It was one thing to try and accumulate as much Faith as a huge, impossible to fathom number of people. But if he was relying on comprehension instead, would that change?


    ''Hm, I''ll have to see... I''ll return to Sacrum after I''m done with everything here and see if I can''t improve my Shrine Mountain Natural Enlightenment. Then we''ll see if it''s worth it or not.''


    Although he said this, Ryu had a feeling that there was a good chance that he was correct. In fact, there might be other things in that vein that he could work on.


    For example, if he found more natural treasures, would that work? Or maybe he could slowly begin to use the ones he already had to raise his strength to another level entirely.


    He would definitely have to shelve that latter idea though, and even the first was dangerous.


    The only reason he had been able to take in those powerful natural treasures to begin with was because his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation could suppress them. His Inner World wasn''t on that level yet. And even now, he could only make extremely limited use of his Infinity Mist and the rest, and that was only if he went all out with his world''s projection, barely using God Control to wield them.


    ''But that doesn''t mean I can''t use them... can''t I try observing them and creating new Natural Enlightenments from them? Not only would that help me control them better, but in the case that Natural Enlightenments could directly improve my Inner World Phenomena, the results would be... something to look forward to.''

 Chapter 1691 All Out

    Chapter 1691 All Out


    "Ah, we''re here," Ryu looked up, a frigid landscape around him. "Go, Little Silk. Your breakthrough will be dependent on yourself."


    QIII!


    Little Silk shot off into the distance, leaving Ryu behind.


    Ryu watched her go, crossing his arms and waiting.


    His relationship with Little Silk was different from his relationship with his other beast companions. That''s because he found Little Silk while she was already millions of years old, while he found the others as infants.


    Due to this, there had always been a bit of a barrier between himself and Little Silk, especially since the latter had tried to kill him the first time they came across one another.


    However, Ryu''s father''s words about his wives got him thinking about relationships in general. It was amusing that he was hesitant to contract other beasts because they might betray him, but still kept Little Silk mostly at arm''s length.


    Of course, there were other reasons that he did trust Little Silk. It was mostly because he extended the trust he had for his mother toward her.


    It had to be remembered that Little Silk was given to him by his mother after undergoing an evolution that likely relied on the Ice Shrine. Because of that, Ryu had never really been wary of the beast.


    And, none of this was helped by the fact that Little Silk was likely somewhat wary of him as well.


    By now, Little Silk should have gained some language ability, but she had never tried to actively communicate with Ryu, at least not with anything more than vague emotions.


    Ryu didn''t believe that this was entirely out of a lack of trust. Little Silk had spent millions of years as an Eleventh Order Beast. Talking wasn''t her natural baseline.


    ''I''ll have to help her out a bit,'' Ryu thought.


    He looked up and then took a seat in the thick snow, allowing it to wash over him. Soon, it was as though Ryu had never been there in the first place, the snow falling so heavily that he was entirely covered up in just a few hours. It was hard to tell just how thick the snow had grown over the years.


    In cultivation, how you came to understand something or how you came to feel about something was far more important than what you understood or what you felt.


    The first layer of reaction Ryu should have had was a domineering indifference. Wasn''t it natural? He deserved to feel pride because he had crushed so many Martial Gods beneath his feet.


    The second layer was despair. This came after he shed the first layer and realized just how insignificant he was in the grand scheme.


    But what was Ryu''s real reaction?


    It was the third layer. Once again, he felt a domineering indifference.


    But what separated the two? The first layer was the same as the third? So why did they feel different?


    It was because he was aware of the existence of the second layer...


    He just didn''t give a damn.


    Trillions of Sky Gods? He didn''t care.


    Countless Dao Lords and above? He didn''t care.


    Millions of God techniques, with more seemingly created every day? He didn''t care.


    One way or another, he would grind the Martial Gods beneath the soles of his feet.


    Ryu''s heart reached a deep state of peace, his Dao Heart shimmering as though a polished gem.


    Then, he began to cultivate, pulling large amounts of Chaos Qi from the Chaos Plane.


    He no longer had to hide his talent. In that case, he would go all out.

 Chapter 1692 Broad

    Chapter 1692 Broad


    Ryu''s breathing became slow. From once every few seconds, his breathing slowed to the point where he only took a breath every few hours, and even then he seemed to be slowing down even further.


    He had begun this state without a clear goal. He allowed his mind to wander, his thoughts unfocused.


    In those moments, he didn''t feel like it was necessary to focus on any one thing. Cultivation itself felt so amorphous, wiggling about and slipping through his fingers like smoke.


    It was hard to look at it as anything different. For a long while, he had thought that everything had their set of rules, that everything followed a natural progression, that everything should naturally flow from one state to the next.


    But his recent breakthroughs had proven that this was incorrect. In a certain sense, he was already a Dao God, and in another, he was still leagues away.


    How could both things be true?


    Even his soul no longer followed the normal path of progression, having been harmed and crippled in ways that would leave anyone else useless, and yet he sat here, just as fine and unhurried as he had always been.


    It was something that didn''t make sense... and it also made him worry just how valuable the Realms of cultivation were. Did they matter at all? Or were they arbitrarily set restrictions?


    He had seen many worlds on his journey to see Ailsa, so many, and so quickly at that, that it was impossible for him to have a full range of details about them all.


    But could all of them use the same cultivation method?


    He wasn''t sure.


    Detecting a person''s cultivation wasn''t an exact science, it always took a bit of skill and experience. There was even a long while when Ryu was in the True Martial World that even he found it difficult to read the cultivation of those far above his own.


    He had realized a long time ago that while his cultivation might be able to keep up with those around him, his patience was lacking. Could he sit in secluded cultivation for thousands of years? Millions?


    He felt antsy just sitting around for one.


    The problem wasn''t focus. If it was a matter of secluded thought, how many years had Ryu spent in the Tatsuya Clan Library doing nothing but scanning over countless old records?


    He could do it. The problem was whether he wanted to, if it was worthwhile or not, if it was an actually good use of his time.


    All of his greatest progress was made out in the world, running into situations and adapting to them, or using them as a reference to shine light on something he otherwise didn''t understand.


    If he was purely stuck in secluded cultivation all the time, his progress would have been much slower.


    But now the situation was different.


    He felt that so much had changed in such a short time that he had yet to truly grasp all the changes in him.


    So today, he just stayed here, letting his mind wander as his cultivation soared step by step.


    The aura of chaos around him thickened, permeating into the atmosphere. It was an aura that beasts feared maybe even more than the dragon claw around his neck.


    ''Cultivation... is so broad...'' he thought, his mind in a deep state of peace. ''Even a painter could become a Dao God ...''


    Ryu''s aura suddenly began to wildly fluctuate.


    From False Sky God he reached True, the Perfect... Then he suddenly leapt to Sovereign and then back down to Fragmented...

 Chapter 1693 Just One.

    Chapter 1693 Just One.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice this at all, his heart in a state of perpetual calm.


    The Chaotic Silk Meridians were well-known for their shocking abilities. Though most didn''t know exactly how to unleash their full potential, many were aware of what that highest potential was.


    Ryu, though, had never had the luxury of using it. This was because he had been forced to hide it all this time. Unable to circulate or project the qi, he was forced into a passive state where he could only cultivate like a normal person.


    But why was it that his cultivation was so fast in Sacrum? Why was it that while it took others millions of years to progress as far as he had, it took him a handful of years?


    The reason for this was his access to the Chaos Plane. He didn''t have to pull in qi from the surroundings because he had access to a Plane of qi within himself.


    Even so, back on Sacrum, his Chaotic Silk Meridians had only been partly awakened. As such, he still relied heavily on outside qi.


    There were two reasons for this.


    Firstly, the Mortal Realms, the Immortal Realms and the Cosmic Realms almost all relied on changes to the internal structure of the Meridians.


    The Pulse Opening Realm, the Qi Refinement Realm, the Spiritual Severing the Divine Vessel Realm, the Immortal Ring Realm... all of these Realms necessitated large changes to the Meridians themselves, and many of them took place before Ryu could even gain access to the Chaos Plane in the first place.


    Because of this, it was impossible to use both his access to the Chaos Plane at the same time as cultivating these Realms.


    How could he open a Pulse or a Vessel if he had opened up the gates to the Chaos Plane? He would just end up wasting all the energy and his Pulses and Vessels would become endless abysses.


    That was just one example, but the others had similar, though more complex explanations.


    The second reason was the most obvious, and that was that his Chaotic Silk Meridians had yet to fully awaken. He had to fail the Spiritual Severing Realm first before he could even realize there was something magical about his Meridians, and even afterward, he had to tiptoe around cultivation for fear that his next step could knock him off the path to keeping its true abilities.


    His cultivation seemed willing to spill into the ranks of True Sky God, but without the progression of his Dao, he couldn''t take that step...


    Or so it seemed.


    As Ryu''s thoughts wandered, he realized that he could ignore the cultivation system of this world entirely and step into his own, anchoring himself completely in his Inner World''s Laws... if he did that, he could break past these limits and the need for his Dao to act as the impetus for a breakthrough.


    But the drawbacks would also be immediate. If his cultivation was no longer anchored in this world, then his potential would also be limited as well. So what if his qi said he should be a Dao God if his strength didn''t?


    Until his world was comparable to a Tenth Heaven, he couldn''t abandon this world just yet.


    Nor did he need to.


    His Origin Flame allowed him to perfectly recall the feeling of a Dao of a higher level. Technically speaking, with a few months of meditation, he should be able to grasp it and shoot through.


    Of course, what was limiting him here was the very same concept that had limited Yaana. He had already comprehended it once, so because of the Origin Flame, doing it again was a taller mountain to climb. In fact, every time he used Heaven or Earth Gate on his Dao, this would happen.


    However, this was actually exactly what Ryu wanted to happen.


    He had thought of two methods to improve his Inner World, but there was an even more obvious method.


    The True Martial World had a limit on how many Daos it could sustain. Why was that?


    It was the answer to this question that made Ryu realize something even more profound.


    Was there an artificial cap on the strength of a Dao? In that case, what if he created a world and used up its limit himself? Not with many Daos... but with just one?

 Chapter 1694 Command

    Chapter 1694 Command


    Ryu opened his eyes with an exhale, his mind at peace. He felt like he understood a lot more about himself. It was about time he returned.


    With a movement from his Spatial Soul Nature, he appeared atop deep layers of snow, unobstructed by their dense qi.


    ''Interesting...''


    Although he was unaffected by it, he was surprised. This was because he sensed that this falling snow had dense qi. Obviously, at some point between the clouds and the ground, or even in the clouds themselves, a strong amount of qi was imbued. It seemed that on the Ninth Heaven, even the casual fall of snow wasn''t normal.


    He reached down and scooped some of the snow up, his gaze flickering.


    His eyes were sharp enough to see the individual snowflakes even when it was in a clump like this. Because of that, he could see that his aura of Chaos had influenced them greatly, changing them from perfectly symmetrical crystals to an irregular shaped, almost jumbled mess.


    ''Hm... Is this where the Unbalance Art Sect learned their methods from?''


    It was fascinating that such a thing would happen, but it also didn''t make much sense.


    ''Chaos... chaos doesn''t mean that something is unbalanced. In fact, Chaos itself is a maintainer of balance, if anything, it is Order that causes an Imbalance.


    ''The natural state of the world is to tend toward Chaos, and Order is an opposing tide, fighting against it. It doesn''t make sense for my Childe of Chaos Constitution to cause such a thing, there''s something else at play.''


    Ryu suddenly looked up and he sensed Little Silk making her way toward him. The little girl had several holes in her wings and she seemed to be leaking a crystalline greenish-blue blood every time she flapped her wings.


    However, Ryu could see that her aura was on the verge of entering the Lord Realm. With just a few more pushes, and another bout of seclusion, she would certainly enter that Realm. Only then would her rapid improvement likely slow.


    The step between Omniscient and Lord seemed only to be a single Realm, but the truth of the matter was that it might as well have been ten. The gap was enormous. The fact Little Silk was entering it so fast was a testament to not only her accumulation on Sacrum, but also the might of Embryonic Qi in helping her to rebuild her foundations.


    Ryu''s palms slammed together and a dark chill began to come out of his. Ice Aura with a dark blue hue began to manifest and even Eska couldn''t help but shiver.


    Primordial Chaotic Ice Qi.


    Her heartbeat quickened. She had forgotten that Ryu had the Chaotic Silk Meridians, but she couldn''t be blamed for this. Ryu had been forced to hide it for so long, it was too easy to forget just what kind of monster was hidden within him.


    Chaos Qi was only the tip of the iceberg. Having the Chaotic Silk Meridians also meant that Ryu would be able to use any Qi Realm technique with the highest order of Primordial Chaos Qi.


    If he ran into an ice technique, a fire technique, a lightning technique... it simply didn''t matter. Simply by virtue of having Primordial Chaos Qi, he could exhibit its fullest strength and then some with a thought.


    And right this moment, he was using it to raise Little Silk to another level.


    A stream of Embryonic Qi began to weave around Little Silk as the Primordial Chaotic Ice Qi did the same.


    A chill bore into Little Silk''s body, infusing into her bloodline and drawing new runes on her Dao Bones.


    Ryu had already decided that once Little Silk was entering the God Beast Realm, he would help her integrate with Infinity Mist as well. By then, her silk would be light and inconsequential in the eyes of others... until they landed with the weight of the world.


    But before then, he would actually have to gain control of it himself. By then, he would be able to raise all of his beasts to an inconceivable Realm.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s hair fluttered wildly, his aura sharpening.


    At the moment, he truly felt like a God, like he could shape life with a raise and flip of his palm.


    The skies were his to command.

 Chapter 1695 Dangerous

    Chapter 1695 Dangerous


    Selheira sat in meditation, but she found it difficult to focus her mind properly. Although she was thankful to her husband, it also felt like everything she had been working toward had been taken over by another person and she didn''t quite feel the same sort of achievement and thankfulness toward success that she would have otherwise.


    It felt like it one moment, she was spinning her wheels, hardly able to progress at all, and yet in the next, Ryu had swooped down on a white steed and elevated her out of the darkness. With just a few droplets of his milk, in more ways than one, she had achieved an enlightenment that she had been chasing after for decades.


    It was hard to reconcile exactly how she was feeling, honestly. On the one hand, this was what she always wanted, but on the other... was it truly meant to be so easy?


    In just the few months Ryu had been gone, she managed to break through from the Fragmented Sky God Realm to the False Sky God Realm, and now she was already on the verge of entering the True Sky God Realm.


    If she had been a pure Dragon, or more accurately, following the true Dragon path, she would have already broken through. But because she was following a mixture of both paths, she had to comprehend a Dao first and infuse it into her Dao Bones.


    Real Dragons only needed combat and sleep to progress. In fact, that was true for all talented beasts, but it was just especially so for Fire Dragons because they rooted their strength in their Rage.


    Of course, this was only true if you were born with exceptional talent like Selheira. If you were a middling beast, it would be almost impossible to ever break free of those shackles.


    Selheira''s heart suddenly trembled as she sensed a familiar aura. She rushed outside and found Ryu descending from the skies with a happy smile on her face.


    Her drooping wings regained their spring and she flapped once. She moved so fast that Ryu''s eyes were the only part of him that could keep up before she crashed into him like a speeding bolder.


    "Oof..." Ryu coughed, the air being knocked out of him.


    Selheira''s body was really on an entirely different level.


    After he had helped the Nine Pillar Flame Sect and Unbalance Art Sect''s inheritances to break free of their Faith shackles-at least within his own body-he had yet to find the resources he would need to reform his foundation. So, his body was only marginally stronger than it had been before his inner world''s breakthrough.


    Veridia was a high ranking member of the Dragon Race. Although the beasts had a looser structure than most human-led coalitions, they still had their own duties and responsibilities. She was a very busy Dragon, much like her father. But now, she got the excuse to sit around and speak with her mother all the time. How could she not be happy?


    Soon, the couple had landed near a region. It looked almost like a mountain, covered in soot cooled magma. But in reality, it was Veridia.


    It seemed that the Dragon couldn''t be bothered to move when the geysers around her erupted, so the ash and molten rock had fallen right onto her. She even seemed to be in a deep sleep.


    "If she''s sleeping, we shouldn''t disturb her," Ryu said.


    "It''s fine. Mother''s body might go into hibernation, but her mind still talks to me from time to time."


    "Oh?"


    "I think husband''s qi is partly responsible. Mother feels like she might be able to break through soon, her body just needs time."


    Ryu nodded, but inwardly he was wondering how it worked. Beasts shouldn''t have souls, at least not in the normal sense. It should be much more difficult to draw a line that separated their body and minds.


    "You''re here," Veridia''s voice echoed. It was just as gentle and soothing as her daughter''s, and it was hard to imagine that such a woman could have such a fiery temper.


    "Mother-in-law, I had a question to ask you. You mentioned the Nine Powers the first time we spoke, but are there no guilds on the Ninth Heaven?"


    A rumble echoed and Veridia didn''t answer immediately.


    "That''s a dangerous question," she finally said softly.

 Chapter 1696 You Win

    Chapter 1696 You Win


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. What did she mean by that?


    He had been purposely vague and didn''t mention the Ruin Master Guild, only asking about Guilds in general.


    But if he took a step back, what he was talking about was obvious. Just because Veridia was a beast, didn''t mean that she was foolish. The intelligence of beasts with potential on the same level as Dragons rivaled and even surpassed that of many humans from birth. Even in the case of beasts that started off less intelligent, so long as they continued to raise their cultivation, they would catch up in intelligence sooner or later.


    As a beast that was certainly beyond the Lord Realm, to many Veridia would be smarter than Ryu by default just due to her cultivation. Whether that was true or not still had to be geared out, but this was the reality of the world nonetheless.


    Veridia knew that Ryu wasn''t a fool. He had just been to the Martial Gods, so he should see that they had their own secondary profession structures. Aside from their Talent Oracles, they certainly had their own Formation Masters and Alchemists. The powerful Clans wouldn''t want to share their secrets between themselves, so would there be a use for secondary profession Guilds like Alchemy Guilds and things of the like?


    So unless Ryu was much slower than she thought, there was no way he was asking about normal Alchemy Guilds. Such powers would have gotten swallowed up long ago.


    Of course, there were some middling powers that couldn''t be placed on the same height as the Nine Powers, but Ryu had specifically mentioned the Nine Powers themselves, so obviously he was asking about organizations that would be on the same level.


    If it was just this alone, it would be hard to draw any conclusions about who Ryu was actually talking about... but how could she not know that Ryu was from a small world?


    Selheira hadn''t told her mother much about Ryu so as not to affect his privacy, but when their conversation reached Selheira''s spherical Matrix, Selheira mentioned that she gifted it to Ryu because he was a far better Ruin Master than herself.


    Originally, Ruin Mastering was something that Selheira had picked up to help her find inheritances that might aid her in breaking through. Of course, the Crystal Dragons also had a decent affinity for Ruin Mastering as well, so she was better than most in those aspects. But she realized after watching Ryu that she couldn''t stack up at all, so she abandoned the path.


    Of course, what she didn''t know was that Ryu''s standard of Ruin Mastering and the common average were two entirely different things. The common Ruin Master would be crushed by Ryu several times over, and that was before his eyes had unsealed themselves. Right now, the current Ryu was on an entirely different level.


    Selheira covered her lips with a hand. Indeed, her mother wasn''t one to control her temper very well, even if it wasn''t smart.


    Veridia snorted. "You want to join them?"


    "I would rather destroy them."


    Selheira jumped and an eerie silence fell.


    This time, it took quite a while for Veridia to speak again. It seemed that she was truly taking her time, realizing that her son-in-law was more of a maniac than she was. No, maybe that was only natural since Fire Dragon Blood did run through his veins.


    She didn''t know what happened, but somehow Ryu had come back with a Bloodline that felt both far stronger and far weaker than the last time she had seen it. In some ways it made her feel suppressed, and in other ways it made her want to snort in disdain.


    Even after observing for a long while, she didn''t understand what it was.


    Ryu couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at the reaction. In fact, Veridia''s caution, in general, was odd. She had spoken about the Nine Powers without much hesitation, but why had she purposely left out the Ruin Master Guild?


    He had a feeling that if he had said the same words about destroying the Martial Gods, she wouldn''t have reacted so fiercely.


    "Just now, I had to take personal action to make sure your words didn''t leak, do you understand why?"


    Ryu''s gaze flickered.


    There was only one real explanation for such a thing. The Ruin Master Guild had to be larger than the Nine Powers, larger than the True Martial World and all its Planes.

 Chapter 1697 Respect

    Chapter 1697 Respect


    "The Ruin Master Guild of this world is just a single branch. Of course, it is a branch of great power, so do not assume I am saying that it is weak in relation to its true power. But what I am saying is the sheer depth of their existence is beyond your current understanding.


    "As you probably know by now, the Title Stele vanishes after every appearance and no one knows where it goes. This is technically true, but in the strictest of senses, not so much.


    "While it is true that I could not tell you exactly where the Title Stele goes, this does not mean that I do not have the faintest inkling."


    The implied meanings were as clear as day to Ryu. Obviously, the Title Stele traveled through all those vast worlds he had seen, maybe even taking a stop in them all one by one.


    But was Veridia mentioning this only to imply that the Ruin Master Guild had branches across all these worlds, or...


    "Although I have no way of knowing for certain, many speculate that not only does the Title Stele have strong ties with the Ruin Master Guild, but it is also they who set the course it follows. It might even be the case that the Title Stele is not only guided by them and controlled by them, but was also created by them."


    The implications of each one of these things was far more harrowing than the last.


    To set the course for such an important treasure was shocking enough, to say that it was controlled implied an almost omnipotence over the treasure that was even more gripping, but to say that it was created by them...


    Ryu had never seen the Title Stele before, as was the case with most people. Due to this, it was impossible to say for certain, but such a treasure had to be beyond the normal God Grade. It was capable of doing something even normal Dao Gods could not do, and it was entering Realms of existence that reminded him of the Phoenix Sky Gods gaze.


    Dao God might be the highest Realm there was, but the striations between those who shared this title made it clear that this was only optically speaking.


    The gap between some Dao Gods might even be as large as the gap between a Mortal and a Dao God...


    These were all Ryu''s speculations, but he had seen the Dragon Emperor with his own two eyes, he had felt his majesty...


    And yet this mighty Dragon Emperor, in his opinion, was nothing more than an ant compared to the Phoenix Sky God.


    The Phoenix Sky God, however...


    That was a peak even he couldn''t say with any certainty that he could reach. For the first time, he had respect for someone as deep as his father, but rather than being built on love and childish adoration, it was built on their strength and the unfathomable gap between them.


    In the past, he had just hated the Phoenix Sky God, feeling that they were just another unworthy existence who only suppressed him based on their age advantage.


    But now, he didn''t feel hatred, he didn''t even feel unwillingness...


    He just felt excitement...


    His blood boiled and his gaze flickered back and forth between slits and not.


    Selheira squeezed her legs shut, pulling at Ryu''s sleeve in an attempt to get him to calm down. She really couldn''t take it, or else she might pounce on him right in front of her mother.


    His aura right now was too domineering. His Dao Heart shone with such a bright light that even looking at it might shatter one''s own.


    Learning about the Ruin Master Guild seemed to outline more of the mountain he had to climb, and that made the image of the Phoenix Sky God in his mind brighter.


    If he couldn''t crush them beneath his feet, what right did he have to face off against that existence for the truest peak of the world?


    Ryu didn''t seem to register Selheira''s pleas, his fists clenching. He wanted battle, and who better to stoke his flames than Demons?


    "We''re going to the Nether Plane," Ryu suddenly said, more like a roar than a statement.


    He wanted battle, and who better to stoke his flames than Demons?

 Chapter 1698 Money

    Chapter 1698 Money


    Veridia watched her daughter and Ryu disappear, not quite understanding what she had just sensed. That young man was more arrogant than any Dragon she had ever seen, and even for them they had their limits. But what was he doing casually talking about taking her daughter to the Nether Plane? Veridia wanted to say no, but in the end, she didn''t interfere. She could feel the changes in her daughter in the last few days, and just the sight of it alone was enough to make her unhappy.


    Since the boy had put her daughter into such a state, it was his job as a husband to get her out of it. She still hadn''t collected the debt on the fact Ryu actually dared to have more than one wife, but that would just have to be something for the future. The mountainous dragon snorted. She thought about helping them enter the Nether Plane directly, but she decided to let Ryu struggle a bit.


    Not long after Ryu had taken Selheira away again, he realized that he was indeed in a bit of a dilemma.


    The first time he went to the Nether Plane he relied on the Dream Asura''s formation which was no longer there. When he returned he relied on the energy that came from the trial to open a path. When he thought about going to the Ethereal Plane it was a simple matter because he had triggered the changes that allowed the Real and Ethereal Planes to overlap in the first place.


    Well, it was still a bit difficult to enter the Ethereal Plane now because all the nexus points were almost certainly controlled and protected by experts. But even so, sneaking in with his current abilities wouldn''t be impossible. He was certainly no match for a Dao Lord, let alone an existence above that, but he could fool their eyes a bit now, which was a far cry from his abilities before.


    The only option, then, was to create a formation not much unlike the Dream Asura''s, but it would have to be on a much higher level. There was no point in him going to the lower Planes, he was going to see Mae, after all. That meant he had to go to the Ninth without a doubt.


    It had to be remembered that the Dream Asura''s Nether Plane was connected to the Fifth Plane of the True Nether Plane, so the requirements for rising up were much lower. If he wanted to replicate their feat on the Ninth Heaven, it would be much more difficult.


    "You know, we could just ask mom," Selheira said with a smile as Ryu pulled her along.


    Ryu grinned. "She''ll say no. How about we return to the Eighth Heaven and have the old man help out?"


    However, if he did so, his already pitiful wealth would plummet to about 10% of what it was currently.


    However, Ryu wasn''t in a rush to deal with this. He was going to the Nether Plane, after all, and their God Crystals were different, fueled with Nether God Qi rather than God Qi. Any effort he put into building wealth here would quickly become useless.


    ''Ailsa... Ailsa...''


    Ryu thought for a moment, the name of his wife replaying in his mind again and again until it clicked.


    He recalled Ailsa''s karmic formation, it was actually the inspiration for his eight trigram diagrams, something that had become a huge part of his combat prowess now. If he wanted to use it, it wouldn''t be impossible. There would certainly be the materials he needed lying around somewhere...


    "Do Dragons have their own unique territories? Where do the Spatial Dragons reside, for example?" Ryu asked.


    Selheira blinked. "I can take you there."


    Spatial Dragons were quite a rare breed, they were small in number but great in strength. This was mostly true for the Dragons that were not part of the main four elements, that being water, fire, earth and wind. It could even be said that part of the Crystal Dragon''s weakness was the fact their birth rates were so low even in comparison to other God Beasts.


    It actually didn''t take very long at all to step into their territory.

 Chapter 1699 Dragon

    Chapter 1699 Dragon


    "This territory is mine."


    The rough roar of Dragon''s Tongue echoed through the skies as a pair faced off. They were both gorgeous creatures, their scales reflecting a silvery color akin to polished metal. But one of them was far more resplendent than the other. While one looked dusted in coal, the other looked as though they hadn''t fought a day in their lives.


    Even female Dragons were fond of their aesthetic. Veridia herself looked like a polished ruby gliding through the skies in the shape of a dragon. She was a truly magnificent beast to lay one''s eyes on, and usually this was how humans or other Races could distinguish between a female or male dragon with a glance.


    Most males would be as beaten and ragged as the Dragon Emperor, while most females would be as well polished and groomed as Veridia.


    However, in this situation, both dragons were very clearly men. Their figures weren''t nearly so slender as Veridia''s. Their four limbs entrenched themselves into the ground like ancient trees, exuding a majesty that warped reality itself.


    Dragons in the vicinity looked on with interested expressions. Fights happened everyday, but one of this caliber was still quite rare.


    The shimmering Dragon, Lu''card, was a newbie, relatively speaking. He had only been around a few hundred years, but in that time he had shot up like a comet, beginning to rival the strongest geniuses of their Dragon Clan.


    If the Martial God Clan was fond of the rising up of unknown geniuses, it could be said that the Dragon Clan was even more fond. Elders never stepped into the matters of juniors, and even those who were juniors rarely deigned to take out any rage on those weaker than them so long as they didn''t try to impugn on their interests.


    This was the reality of the Dragon Clan and it allowed one to slowly temper themselves through combat again and again.


    Today, the both of them were Omniscient God Beasts who were facing off against one another, one was Lu''card and the other was Rumill, the latter obviously being the one that looked as though his scales had been dusted with coal.


    "Your territory?" Lu''card sneered, his proud neck standing and his scales shimmering so brightly that he looked like a second sun. "It''s mine now."


    Rumill was so enraged he roared, a spatial storm spiraling out in all directions in a vortex of concentrated might. It looked as though he would only be content if this breath ripped Lu''card to shreds.


    And yet, the spatial storm bounced off of Lu''card''s scales as though the pitiful arrows loosed by mortals. They rebounded and shattered like glass.


    "You..." Rumill''s pupils constricted. "You awakened the Spatial Coat Talent..."


    "Scram!" Ryu''s roar sounded no different from a Dragon''s, white scales forming across his body as a torrential Bloodline Suppression rushed through the air.


    Rumill felt as though his body had been hit by a truck. His Bloodline rolled in reverse, a mouthful of blood flying from his mouth as he stumbled back.


    Every step he took left a heavy quake, the land shaking and rocking with his movement.


    The expressions of the Dragons changed before their gazes quickly became malevolent. All they felt was a Dragon Bloodline coming from this human. Who dared to blaspheme the blood of a Dragon?!


    Ryu ignored their gazes and looked toward Lu''card as he slowly landed on the smooth cut that ran through the mountain.


    "How about it, Lu''card? You threw a tantrum last time, but is it going to be the same again? How about you become my mount?"


    Lu''card blinked, mostly out of surprise before a sneer spread across his maw.


    "Still as arrogant as ever. It seems our last battle didn''t teach you a good enough lesson. This time I''ll definitely crush you."


    ROAR! The surrounding Dragons roared as though they were about to devour Ryu and Selheira.


    "Stop," Lu''card said indifferently.


    "Lu''card, what is the meaning of this? You want to protect this human?"


    "Human? He is a Dragon," Lu''card sneered.


    "Are you muddle headed?" Rumill''s temper was slowly rolling out of control.


    "His great grandfather is Primus. Why don''t you go tell him that his descendant isn''t a Dragon and go see how that works out for you."


    Silence fell.

 Chapter 1700 Everything

    Chapter 1700 Everything


    The slit eyes of the dragons constricted, their gazes landing on Ryu one after another. There wasn''t a single one of them who hadn''t heard of Primus before. But what they didn''t expect was that his descendants would appear here.


    However, their gazes weren''t that of respect or admiration. Lineages in Dragonkind meant almost nothing. If you tried to use your father or mother to get a leg up, you''d quickly find yourself being ridiculed.


    Instead, their gazes were filled with battle intent as though they wanted to swallow Ryu whole.


    They wanted to battle.


    Ryu chuckled. "First of all, I''m human. Second of all, I don''t have such a great grandfather. Third, I''m only in the False Sky God Realm, it can''t be that you mighty Dragons all want to take advantage of your cultivation levels, right?"


    Ryu blinked almost innocently, leaving Lu''card speechless. Was this really the same Ryu he knew? He had always had a sharp tongue, but shamelessness wasn''t part of his repertoire.


    "Oh no..." Lu''card mumbled to himself. If this man learned shamelessness, none of them were safe.


    In the silence, Lu''card''s mumble was clearly heard by everyone. Plus, it wasn''t like Dragon''s Tongue was good for whispering in the first place. It was hard to whisper when every tone resonated like an ancient bell.


    Ryu smiled. "Don''t be like, Lu''card. Tell you what. If you lower your cultivation level to the False God Beast Realm, I''ll happily give you a spar. What? Are you scared?"The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    Lu''card''s silvery eyes suddenly turned scarlet.


    "Watch your mouth."


    "Hoho," Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    BANG!


    The two suddenly disappeared at the same time, one Dragon towering at over 50 meters, and a human that was barely a fraction of his size. And yet, Ryu''s fist met Lu''card''s claw without the slightest hesitation.


    A wild fluctuation of space rippled out in all directions.


    Lu''card''s expression changed. He thought that Ryu was a fool for trying to touch him when he had just heard that he had awakened his Universe''s Guard.


    If the Tribulation Seed was the strongest talent of the Lightning Qilin, the Universe''s Guard was most definitely the strongest talent of the Spatial Dragons, and it was one that hadn''t been awakened in countless generations. It could be said that this was part of the reason the Spatial Dragons had fallen so far.


    Universe''s Guard, or, rather Spatial Coat was a talent that granted a Spatial Dragon the ability to truly be one with space. This wasn''t as simple as entering the void, it truly made one no different from the spatial laws themselves.


    It was a concept most had a difficult time wrapping their heads around, let alone awakening. It was a talent that could both be the greatest offense and the greatest defense, a reality that was decided by no one other than the talent wielder themselves.


    At the highest levels, each one of Lu''card''s scales would carry within it a world. If he wanted to, he could weigh as much as thousands of stars or become as immovable as thousands of blackholes.


    And, unlike Ryu who needed to use his soul stamina to tap into his Spacetime Soul Nature, Lu''card didn''t need to do such a thing at all. In fact, it all happened so naturally that it was as easy as breathing.


    Ryu spoke these words without hesitation, causing all of their hearts to stop beating.


    In the Dragon Clan, there was no abdication. A Dragon Emperor position only passed down from one to another through combat, and without a doubt, one would always die. Even if the losing party was spared, they would never have the face to continue living.


    Ryu saying these words was as good as telling everyone he planned to help Lu''card kill the current Dragon Emperor...


    Pyrothos the Undefeated.


    Lu''card''s expression flickered before his laughter boomed as well. It was far louder, his voice even more grating and unlike Ryu who had to rely on the thunder high above, it seemed that Lu''card had become the thunder himself.


    "I will become the next Dragon Emperor myself. Since when did I need the help of others to achieve my goals? Congratulations, you''ve sufficiently enraged me."


    Lu''card no longer held back. While his cultivation remained at the Omniscient God Beast Realm, his Heavenly Pupils flourished.


    Two enormous blackholes appeared behind his wings, an even larger one taking shape behind his head.


    His scales shimmered so brightly that the Dao Bones beneath became to echo with the hymns of the Heavens.


    Ryu raised a fist to the skies, a streaking bolt of lightning descending in a flash.


    He was enveloped in the light, and when he appeared once again, he was enveloped in a silvery blue armor, from his horns to his feet and wings.


    The skies rolled and rumbled with rage. The Heavens had immediately detected Ryu''s blasphemy and struck down with an even more violent momentum.


    If there were any Dao Gods observing, they would have seen that what Ryu was wearing was no normal armor... it was armor that was a perfect replica of the Heavenly Knights that descended on Sacrum. The aura they exuded was on an entirely different level.


    Ryu smashed his twin pair of gauntlets together, the rain of lightning above only adding to his valiance as a twin pair of eight trigram diagrams appeared, one above and the other below him.


    His Birthed Phenomena rose into the skies and his Silver Star manifested itself.


    At that moment, his momentum thoroughly suppressed Lu''card''s.


    "Bring everything you have. It''s been a very long time since I''ve had a good battle, and my fists are itching."


    Every word Ryu spoke seemed to either enrage the Heavens or were perfectly in line with their Heavenly Dao.


    His Childe of Order and Childe of Chaos Constitutions struck an eerie balance and solidified the space. In that moment, he looked entirely untouchable.


    BANG!


    The two vanished at once.

 Chapter 1701 Read It. Mold It.

    Chapter 1701 Read It. Mold It.


    1701 Read It. Mold It.


    Almost instantly, Ryu could feel the strength of a Rank Four Heavenly Pupils. No... right now, they should be the Rank Three.


    Space bent and twisted so fiercely that the battlefield was immediately split into two. It no longer felt like a battle between two existences, but rather two worlds.


    One was dark and brooding, forming swirls of reality that one couldn''t look at straight without harming their eyes.


    The other was dark as well, but in a different sort of way. The clouds rumbled and lightning sparked. There were only two points of light at all, one being a young man wreathed in shimmering white scales, and the other being a bright silver star that shone down as the only luminescence in the world.


    At this point, even Lu''card''s beautiful silver scales had become dark. His wings spread wide, blackholes forming in each and every one of his scales.


    By their third clash, Ryu was sent flying.


    He crashed into a mountain range that quickly crumbled beneath the sudden impact.


    Selheira covered her mouth, her temper almost getting the best of her for a moment, but she held back. She could feel her husband''s thoughts... his excitement.


    BOOM!


    Ryu shot into the skies once more, looking toward Lu''card with a blazing fire in his eyes. His clothing looked ragged, but his body seemed to be perfectly fine.


    He ripped his robes to the side, revealing a dense pack of scales that followed the outline of his chiseled silhouette dancing beneath a shimmering armor blue steel.


    He wasn''t the only one that could synergize his abilities. It could be said that a Spatial Dragon born with Blackhole Pupils was broken, truly broken in the worst of ways.


    Now, not only were each one of Lu''card''s scales practically a spatial world of their own, but they also contained the violent devouring aspects of his Heavenly Pupils.


    Right now, he looked like a legendary black Dragon, blotting out the skies with his wings.


    His maw opened wide, a roar that could collapse worlds echoing from him as a vortex of black shards of broken space rushed out from him and toward Ryu.


    Ryu took a step forward, his Founding Dao rising high into the skies.


    [Heaven''s Gate].


    He stepped through Heaven''s Gate and his cultivation soared to the True Sky God Realm.


    He punched out, sparks of lightning ripping the torrent of space apart.


    He retracted his fist and raised his other hand. A claw glistened within his gauntlet, the furious barrage of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning falling with greater and greater fervor.


    Dragon''s Claw.


    Ice Flames erupted across his body as his hand clamped down on Lu''card''s tail. The cold was so fierce that the shattered space was forced to solidify once again, almost healing.


    Ryu had realized that his close combat abilities were lacking. He was surprised to find that while he was exceptionally good at using them to target and counter humanoids, against a beast as large as Lu''card, he almost preferred to have a weapon in his hand.


    However, he had already taken a step onto this path and he didn''t believe that it was the wrong one. Using his body as a weapon was maybe the greatest breakthrough he had had in his entire life.


    In that case, what he was missing wasn''t yet another method he had to learn, but rather he needed something that either supplemented or bolstered what he already had.


    The rain of weapons from earlier, a storm of attacks he had created on a whim, filled him with a bout of inspiration. He had never lost his God Aura, he had just incorporated it all into his body.


    But who said weapons had to be in his hands to be used?


    Ryu roared and lifted himself out of the hole Lu''card had pressed him into. With a wave of his hand, the Dragon''s tail was sent flying and he shot out of the earth.


    In that moment, he looked like a blue Phoenix soaring into the skies.


    Blue lightning crackled within his blue flames, the world fragmenting like glass as the cold continued to spread.


    Chichichichichi


    "Since you insist on being so stubborn, it seems I''ll have to show you what the true number one Heavenly Pupils can do."


    Lu''card caught himself in the air, rising up higher. He bared his teeth, a row of perfect, white and sharp, glistening pearls contrasting his deep black hue.


    "Number one? You''re stuck in the past."


    Ryu''s grin widened. "No. I''m just secure in the future."


    Suddenly, Ryu''s eyes widened and his pupils constricted. A sharp light radiated from his gaze as his towering horns sparked with lightning and ice.


    [Lines of Fate].


    The world turned to bundles of black, white and grey threads in his eyes.


    Everyone spoke about how powerful Heaven''s Gate was, some even felt that [Rob the World of its Color] might be the most underrated of his eye''s ability, some chose [Intuition, others felt that [Death Acupoint] had to be the strongest of them all... what was it like to be able to decide a person''s life and death with a single poke?


    But in Ryu''s opinion, the strongest abilities of his eyes were the most fundamental and also the one that was the first to awaken.


    When [Lines of Fate] descended onto the world, everything was in his grasp.


    Why was he so secure in his future?


    Because he could read it. Because he could mold it in his very own hands.

 Chapter 1702 [Rebirth]

    Chapter 1702 [Rebirth]


    Ryu raised his hands to the skies, his aura growing greater and greater. The stronger he grew, the more violently space cracked and shook.


    This was the first time Ryu was facing someone with a control over space that was comparable to his own. When his Heavenly Pupils were taken into account, Lu''card was on a level all his own. In the younger generation, it was likely that there was no one that was his match, and he would only get stronger as time went on, especially since until Ryu, it was unlikely that Lu''card had undone all 999 seals in his Blackhole Pupils.


    However, Ryu didn''t just have a Space affinity, he had a Spacetime affinity. And not only was his Spacetime affinity exceptional, but when it came to his other elements...


    He was likewise on a level all to himself. The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))


    The scenery could only be described as a work of God. Ryu stood, arms open wide beneath his Immortal Sakura. High above that was his Silver Star, and above that was his Birthed Phenomena that seemed to have encompassed the world in its palms.


    Ryu''s body was wrapped in blue steel armor and gorgeous blue flames. With every dancing flicker, the world froze over more and more as blossom petals fell from the skies.


    Then...


    BANG!


    The world erupted.


    Reality exploded like a ball of glass, endless darkness spreading out in all directions and erasing their laws.


    Then, a world layered on top of it, one with a stream of milky whiteness and Spiritual Herbs that painted an array of colors.


    And then all those gorgeous colors vanished.


    "[Rob the World of its Color]."


    Ryu realized that just defeating Lu''card wasn''t enough. He had to crush him.


    In that case, he would truly go all out.


    The Dragons continuously retreated, their hearts beating out of their chests.


    Just how sturdy was the space in the Ninth Heaven? Just what was happening here? Without Lord Control, one shouldn''t be able to shake it so severely, and without God Control it was impossible to project a world like Ryu was doing.


    Hand seals weren''t uncommon in the cultivation world, but they weren''t ubiquitous either. Usually, they were used in techniques that required a great amount of mental focus. The changes to the hands would direct the qi while the mind could focus on other things. It was essentially akin to a Visualization technique, in a quasi sort of way.


    But Ryu was indeed just testing out various things. A self-created technique should be refined again and again...


    What he didn''t expect was that the moment his Birthed Phenomena began to form hand seals, the world would fall into silence.


    Every time the Birthed Phenomena moved, the qi in the surrounding hundreds of kilometers would all respond.


    Ryu suddenly began to feel a great amount of pressure. The Heavens seemed to be trying to force his hands apart, trying to stop him from forming the next seals.


    His arms exploded and his gauntlets shattered. Blood rained down from the skies but Ryu''s gaze remained indifferent as he forced his fingers together again.


    "[Heaven]."


    BOOM!


    Lu''card''s blackholes shattered and scattered, his scales erupting and fissuring as the skin beneath whined and groaned.


    Even after the first attack, Lu''card hadn''t been harmed. The only reason he was suppressed was because he was restricting his cultivation Realm, but this time, he was truly injured. Inwardly, he was absolutely shocked. How was this possible?


    "Do you give in?"


    Ryu''s voice echoed and seemed to fuse with the corners of the world. Blood flowed from his arms and the cracks in his armor. Despite the cold, his blood seemed to run so hot that even the Ice Flames couldn''t freeze them over.


    The crimson droplets fell from the skies. Every time they clapped against the ground, deep craters would be left behind, only for them to quickly freeze over into ponds of ice.


    Lu''card looked up when he heard Ryu''s question, a fiendish grin spreading across his lips.


    Ryu nodded, not needing to say anything else.


    Without a word, he forced his hands to separate.


    "[Rebirth]."

 Chapter 1703 Fire Dogs

    Chapter 1703 Fire Dogs


    The moment Ryu''s palms touched, his hands exploded apart and the flesh of his arms practically burnt to ash, leaving nothing but a few strands of skin and muscles. His bones shone through with an ancient hue. They looked so bright, almost like crystals etched with silver and royal blue hues. Just staring at them for too long could entrap a person, shattering their Dao heart before they even understood exactly what would happen.


    And then Lu''card''s body seemed to explode. He stubbornly lay there, glaring up at Ryu as the black of his scales seemed to be peeled off. His scales fell like the rain from his body, and his blood flowed like rivers.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, his demeanor indifferent. At that moment, it looked as though nothing in the world could stop him, not even the Heavens themselves.


    He didn''t expect that hand seals would have such good synergy with his Birth Phenomena, but when he thought about it, it made perfect sense.


    The basic ability of Birthed Phenomena was to essentially be akin to an Immortal Ring. It was just that this Immortal Ring was truly on a completely different level. This was because his Birthed Phenomena wasn''t just an additional boost to his qi, but a qualitative boost to all aspects, even comprehension, though not in the normal sense.


    Rather than improving comprehension, Ryu''s Birth Phenomena made everything he did comprehend feel to be worth more.


    However, much like with all other Phenomena, it took Focus Qi to manifest Ryu Birthed Phenomena. Sustaining one was a constant mental drain.


    He didn''t know why he hadn''t thought of it before, but hand seals couldn''t have been a more perfect combination. It took all the load off his mind and he could focus on channeling all the abilities of his Birthed Phenomena into his strength.


    The question was, why couldn''t he replicate that with his fist techniques and such?


    It was difficult.


    Hand seals were akin to a language themselves, they could only mean one thing. But a fist or a kick, or a finger or a claw, could have an infinite number of variations, all dependent on the skill of the user and even the skill of the opponent as well. After all, when Ryu was fighting, he wasn''t battling in a vacuum, he would have to react to whatever his opponent would do.


    ''Under normal circumstances, it''s impossible. But what if I anchor down my moves to my Inner World? It''s my world, so who''s to say that a punch isn''t a hand seal?''


    Ryu''s eyes began to glow. With this sort of change, his combat strength would increase a hundred times over easily.


    "Do you give in now?" Ryu looked down with a smile.


    Lu''card laid in a pile of his own mangled flesh. It could only be said that he was truly arrogant to the bones. Even in this situation, he hadn''t unleashed an aura that was beyond his False Sky God Realm.


    Lu''card coughed. It could also be said that if he was truly in the False Sky God Realm, he would have already died.


    Although he had suppressed his Realm, his body''s strength was still there, at least defensively. Of course, he could mobilize his Vital Qi to improve them by thousands of times over, but that would have been cheating.


    "Fuck you..." Lu''card groaned.


    "Where''s your wife, by the way?" Ryu asked as though they were having a casual conversation. "I remember the last time we met you had a father-in-law."


    "... My wife is a Crystal Dragon." Lu''card said after a snort of annoyance, the pain wracking his body.


    "Ah, sounds like more reason to follow me. The faster you become the Dragon Emperor, the faster these stupid rules can be overturned. I really don''t get it. Fire Dragons are supposed to be mighty and arrogant, but because they were scared they chose to banish their best aids.


    "As far as I''m concerned, the so-called ruling class of Dragons isn''t a ruling class at all. They might as well call themselves the Fire Dogs."


    Ryu spoke entirely without restraint, his every word making them wince again and again. Everything that rolled off this man''s tongue could cause a clap of thunder to echo in the skies, and yet here he was-


    ROAR!


    Cracks suddenly appeared in Ryu''s projected world as a furious bellow echoed from the distance.


    "Oh. Looks like I enraged one of the dogs."

 Chapter 1704 Fireball

    Chapter 1704 Fireball


    Ryu laughed and waved a hand. Selheira suddenly teleported over, her waist appearing in his arms. She was a bit disoriented, but she didn''t resist. In a flash, they appeared on Lu''card''s back, which actually looked a lot more like a mountain of flesh and blood.


    "Get off of me," Lu''card grumbled.


    At the moment, Lu''card was a bit annoyed, but he didn''t feel hatred either. Restricting cultivation for beasts was much more difficult than it was for humans. That was because while humans had three different streams of cultivation, beasts only had a single one. Having them restrict their cultivation was akin to forcing them to tie their limbs to their wings.


    However, he didn''t make excuses. A loss was a loss, but he had also never agreed to become Ryu''s mount if he did lose. At the same time, he didn''t hate Ryu either and he considered them to be friends. So on the one hand, he was annoyed that Ryu had suddenly stepped onto his back. But on the other, he didn''t feel the visceral hatred he would have had it been anyone else.


    At the same time, his Dao Heart was still quite firm. He felt that if he found a more systematic way of sealing his cultivation and had a real battle with Ryu at the False Sky God Realm, he would be able to have a good battle and he was about 55% confident that he could win.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The air continued to explode in the distance as the roaring Fire Dragon got closer and closer. With every flap of its wings, it crossed thousands of kilometers. Even though it was still hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, the temperature was already beginning to tick upward, and it was only getting worse by the second.


    "Come on now, Lu''card. Get it in gear. We have places to go. Namely, the True Nether Plane."


    "Leave me alone," Lu''card spoke lazily as he lifted his mangled mess of a head to start licking his wounds. The spike of pain annoyed him more and his back shook, trying to throw Ryu off.


    Ryu smiled and didn''t budge. He looked off into the distance and his smile widened. The infuriated Fire Dragon was getting closer and closer.


    Despite the distance, Ryu could see it clearly. And, it was no doubt a Lord Beast.


    At that moment, it suddenly opened its maw, a fireball that seemed to blot out the sun appearing.


    If the temperature was skyrocketing before, it was on an entirely different level now.


    From a ball of rolling flames, the fireball practically became a perfectly smooth molten ball of magma. Runes danced across its surface. It was, without a doubt, the most intricate and powerful flame attack that Ryu had ever seen.


    Lu''card snorted. Just as arrogant as ever.


    The Spatial Dragon''s body shuddered as he forced his Vital Qi to circulate. Because he had suppressed his cultivation, he was in a far worse off position than a human who would have done the same thing.


    If Ryu fought a human genius of the Omniscient Sky God Realm who suppressed their cultivation, they wouldn''t have been nearly so injured because all their Realms weren''t linked. Their bodies would have still been at the level of the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    But Lu''card was far worse off.


    "You got it, I believe in you," Ryu chuckled as the molten fireball continued to approach.


    "Shut up, stop talking."


    The attack kept getting closer and closer, and by now Lu''card had turned into a black dragon once more, but this time purely because his blood was burning to ash.


    ROAR!


    Lu''card released a bellow and large amounts of spatial qi flourished.


    Only fractions of a second remained, the ball of fire prepared to take all their lives. By this point, the other dragons had long since scattered, but the ones that were worse off had turned into balls of fire on their own, falling into piles of bone ash.


    Lu''card''s expression changed as his qi faltered. Was he really going to die like this?


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened as he flicked a droplet of Embryonic Qi down. Lu''card''s faltering qi skyrocketed and they all suddenly vanished.


    BOOM!


    The fireball landed and devastation expanded across thousands of kilometers, burning it all to ash.

 Chapter 1705 Suffer

    Chapter 1705 Suffer


    BOOM!


    The Lord Beast Fire Dragon landed, its expression furious. Scars littered its body, and it looked quite a lot like a smaller version of Pyrothos.


    Originally, he hadn''t planned on acting at all. Attacking a puny Omniscient Dragon was beneath him, and the human was even less interesting.


    His attention had first been caught after the first time the Dragon Emperor was mentioned for no other reason than the fact he was part of Pyrothos'' lineage.


    While Pyrothos would sense the name the most, his descendants could do so as well. This was an ability all beasts of a certain strength level had, and it was allowed due to their great attunement with the Heavens.


    Pyrothos, obviously, wouldn''t pay attention to such a thing. If he had to come out every time someone mentioned the Dragon Emperor, or even killing him, even he would have to waste all his days away.


    But that didn''t mean that his descendants would let it go.


    After Ryu called this Fire Dogs, he had crossed a bottom line that overrode the Fire Dragon''s pride. While pride was a huge marker for Dragons, rage was an even greater marker for Fire Dragons. The latter could easily override the former in the right situation.


    And this was most definitely the right situation.


    He was just more pissed off that they had actually managed to escape.


    Even a God Beast wouldn''t be able to cross the line between Planes so easily, at least not without time and preparation. This purely went to show how powerful Lu''card Universe''s Guard was. If it wasn''t for the fact Ryu''s Spatial affinity was also top notch, even hurting Lu''card would have been a pipe dream.


    The Lord Beast snarled and then turned to leave. But just as he was going to, an aura of desolation crashed down on him from above, nearly flattening him into a meat paste.


    "It seems the Fire Dragons think they can treat my words as air, hm?"


    The voice echoed through Dragon Clan territory.


    "Take this as a lesson. The next time someone above the Omniscient Realm targets my disciple, it won''t be just one who dies."


    BANG!


    The Lord Beast exploded, shards of precious flesh and blood flying in all directions.


    He snarled.


    "Alright big guy, that way!" Ryu pointed toward his vague sense of Mae''s direction.


    In the True Martial World, he had to enter the Martial God territory first, but for some reason, he could sense Mae immediately here.


    "We can go our own separate ways now, I can take care of myself. As for you, well that''s on you," Lu''card snorted, rolling in the air to shake Ryu off.


    But to his chagrin, Ryu and Selheira stayed perfectly still.


    "Don''t you want a way to get out of here? Come on now," Ryu pointed again.


    Lu''card grumbled again and eventually decided that Ryu was right. He did want a way out of here.


    Even if he was going to train on the Ninth Plane, it couldn''t be here. None of this place had anything he needed. In fact, he would be better off going to the Ethereal Plane, but because he had entered the True Nether Plane, he would need to return to the Real Plane first before he could do that.


    The Real Plane was the lynchpin that held all the Planes together. It was only through it that Lu''card could access all the planes. Obviously, Ryu had thought of this as well, the bastard.


    Grumbling, Lu''card shot into the distance.


    This time, though, the deterrence of Selheira''s necklace was worthless and the journey was far more perilous than it had been in the past.


    Due to this, it would be a long while before the trio got even close to Mae''s location.


    ...


    A man with fiery red hair and scars across his eyes looked up.


    "What is it?" One of his companions asked.


    "I dunno, I just smelled the shamelessness in the region increasing."


    "Huh?"


    "Let''s go find the nearest betting house. Someone''s going to flip the True Nether Plane upside down again. I need to at least make some money if I''m going to suffer."

 Chapter 1706 Fascinating

    Chapter 1706 Fascinating


    Ryu sat on Lu''card''s back and seemed to forget the world. The Spatial Dragon''s grumbling went in through one ear and out through the other. As far as Ryu was concerned, he was already hitched to this wagon and there was no getting out now.


    Inwardly, Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. That was because he knew that Lu''card was exceptionally curious about how he had healed him instantly like that, but he was also far too prideful to ask.


    As much as he was grumbling about Ryu''s tricks and schemes, if he was really so pissed off, he would have left on his own a long time ago. Ryu was just giving him convenient excuses to stay so that he would be able to save some face.


    Ryu did want Lu''card as a mount, but he also realized that it was nigh impossible to get the latter to agree to something like that. And honestly, he had only used such a term to goad Lu''card into action. He was much more curious about other things.


    Lu''card was a fascinating case.


    Heavenly Pupils were distinctly human things. From Ryu''s understanding, they were essentially techniques created by long-forgotten experts that carried forward due to the sheer amount of Faith they had formed.


    How had Primus given Ianjor the Flame Heavenly Pupils? Wasn''t it by creating it? It could be said that Primus was truly an impressive man. It was hard to say exactly where his bottom line lay.


    But that aside, it seemed that Lu''card was a natural example of something Primus had to form artificially... Or was he?


    Ryu couldn''t help but remember that Ru''cil, the Wind Dragon and Lu''card father-in-law, originally only let him go because of his lineage. Then there was Lu''card who knew of his relation to Primus even without them exchanging a word about it.


    This should mean that Primus had quite some interaction with the Dragons of Sacrum. So, who was to say that Ianjor was his only experiment?


    Of course, these were all just speculations on Ryu''s part. He actually wasn''t sure.


    But even so, while he hated Primus, he couldn''t help but think the man was intriguing.


    Ryu wouldn''t allow any child he brought into this world to be motherless, and just by virtue of carrying his child, he considered Hope to be his woman.


    And anyone who touched that bottom line deserved something far worse than just death.


    Ryu settled down his heart and began to focus on cultivation. He let Lu''card handle all the trouble regardless of how much he grumbled, and every time the Spatial Dragon ended up too injured, Ryu would give him another Embryonic Qi drop.


    Like this, the two formed a tacit understanding, while Lu''card was continuously in shock and awe.


    Logically, no healing should be so effective time and time again. Much like pills, without a significant buffer, most healing agents lost effectiveness the more times you used it.


    But this didn''t seem to be the case for the mysterious milky liquid.


    What was more shocking was that every time he was heavily injured and Ryu helped him out, he would actually end up growing more powerful.


    Embryonic Qi was even more effective on beasts than it was on humans. Ryu had only given Veridia a single drop, but she was on the verge of a huge breakthrough now.


    By this point, he had already given Lu''card more than ten drops, and his improvements seemed to be coming in leaps and bounds.


    It took Lu''card almost a thousand years to re-lay his foundation. Then, in not even ten years, he went from the Dao Pedestal Realm to the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    It was said that after entering this Realm, your cultivation should slow to a crawl...


    So why was he still speeding forward?!The? source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

 Chapter 1707 Dismember. Horizon.

    Chapter 1707 Dismember. Horizon.


    At some point, Lu''card stopped grumbling entirely. He didn''t know where Ryu had gotten his hands on such good stuff, but at least he was showing some real sincerity. At the very least, Ryu didn''t seem to be stingy with its use. Whenever he really was at his limit, he would use another.


    What was the most shocking to Lu''card was that he could feel his Bloodline returning to its origin. Every drop came with it a deepening of his talent that was astonishing.


    He already felt that he was on another level talent-wise, but now he was truly becoming a monster.


    Deep into the journey, Lu''card began to wonder about his eyes. Much like Ryu had speculated, he had yet to unseal all 999 seals. In fact, he was still shy of 99, the second watershed.


    He had spent most of his time rebuilding his foundation, and for many Heavenly Pupil wielders, reaching 99 unlocked seals was already their limit. He thought he was doing well already.


    In truth, many were only slowly coming to the shocking realization that Ryu might have unlocked all 999 of his seals. Although there was some variability, the abilities of the Heavenly Pupils could only be unlocked step by step. It was very rare to unlock [Heaven''s Gate] before the 999th seal was undone as it could be considered to be among the most broken abilities of Heavenly Pupils in general.


    For Lu''card, his current strongest Heavenly Pupil ability allowed him the manifestation of blackholes. These blackholes could truly unleash carnage onto the world, shredding qi and refining it into one''s own strength. It could be considered to be a much higher class of ability compared to the Visualization [Divine Chaotic Annihilation].


    However, this blackhole ability was akin to [Lines of Fate] for Ryu. It was the most basic ability of Lu''card Blackhole Pupils, and they didn''t even synergize with him very well. That was because he was a Dragon, not a human. He couldn''t use qi in the normal sense, so the ability lost all of its offensive characteristics.


    So, while this was a huge ability in the hands of a human, for Lu''card, it wasn''t.


    This wasn''t the worst part either, unfortunately.


    Rather than just manifesting Blackhole as a form of shield or protection, Lu''card could manifest them within an enemy, shredding them apart. It was almost like planting a bomb in the void, and if one''s senses weren''t sharp enough, they would die even before they knew what happened to them.


    [Horizon].


    The event horizon of a blackhole was the region where nothing could escape. When this ability was activated, Lu''card could form a force of suction that even those several levels above his own could not withstand. Right now, this ability would work even on a Dao Lord.


    If one ignored the fact it would work on a Dao Lord, this would seem like a lackluster ability... until one understood a few things.


    First, the target was entirely up to Lu''card choosing. He could even rip the soul out of a target''s body if that was what he wanted to do. He could separate out one''s Blood Essence by force, or rip their Bone Structures out of their bodies. Even intangible existences without substance could suffer this fate, such as Daos or comprehensions.


    Second, while it was much more difficult to use this ability in these ways, what wasn''t more difficult was to use clever applications.


    Lu''card didn''t have to set the target to be forcefully attracted to himself. He could send them flying into a store, or he could cast [Horizon] twice on the body and head off a victim and pull them apart in opposite directions.


    The limit was only decided by how sinister the user was, and how powerful the target was.


    When Lu''card realized this, he understood that [Horizon] couldn''t be limited by just its description alone, by its logic, he could practically use it as an all-encompassing almost telekinesis-like ability!


    Lu''card roared into the skies, tens of blackholes forming around him in a shuddering excitement that shredded the Nether Qi in the surroundings apart.


    Ryu chuckled beneath his breath, not opening his eyes. He''d like to see if Lu''card would still not be obedient in the future.

 Chapter 1708 Loose Collection

    Chapter 1708 Loose Collection


    Ryu''s eyes slowly opened. He could sense that they were getting closer. Though Mae was still quite a distance away, at the very least, he felt that there was civilization closing in.


    It was odd. These days, he felt more sensitive about certain things. There was no reason he should be so certain. After all, he knew far too little about the True Nether Plane to begin with. The dreary atmosphere, the thick Nether Qi, and the demons were pretty much all he was aware of. And yet, just from the shift in Fate in the air, he could tell that they were closing in on a more civilized society.


    The wilderness had bundles of Fate that were more irregular and chaotic, while humanoid civilizations were more organized and almost... airtight, as though there was less room for change.


    There was no doubt that the change in sensitivity came with Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils as well, the two were inextricably linked. However, it was also related to his Inner World. In fact, the latter was likely the bigger piece of the pie.


    During Ryu''s battle with Lu''card, he activated [Lines of Fate] while his inner world was projected, and the synergistic effects were entirely beyond his expectations.


    But he realized after taking a step back that he should have known.


    His Inner World allowed him complete control over Fate, Faith and Karma over a designated area. Of course, there were restrictions and such, but none that were worth considering when it was layered with [Lines of Fate].


    It had to be remembered that [Lines of Fate] wasn''t an immediate cheat. There was a reason it was one of the first abilities awakened by Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils.


    It allowed Ryu to "read" the future, and even copy techniques and see through their weaknesses, but the problem was that it relied on Lines of Fate to do so.


    Lu''card suddenly felt an even greater headache coming on. This was probably even worse than Ryu doing something.


    While he had never met Primus personally, Lu''card knew the man most certainly had the arrogance of a Dragon. If he took action, it should have been a great expert of the Dao Sovereign Realm at the very worst.


    Not everyone was like the Martial Gods or the Dragons. In fact, the majority of Clans would never take such a thing lying down. They would hunt such a person down to the ends of the earth to protect their prestige.


    Still, since this was only tangentially related to Ryu, at the very least there wouldn''t be Dao Gods descending from the skies. If they had to worry about that, they''d already be dead. Ryu''s karma alone would have handicapped them just by virtue of stepping foot onto the Ninth Plane.


    "Selheira, do you know anything about how they treat Dragons on the True Nether Plane?" Ryu asked, changing the subject.


    ''This bastard,'' Lu''card thought to himself. Shouldn''t he have asked that before they came all this way?


    Lu''card was from Sacrum much like Ryu and spent most of his time training the Dragon Clan. There was more than enough to spend a lifetime on in the territory of one of the Nine Powers. While Ryu himself was also from Sacrum.


    Between the three of them, Selheira certainly had the most knowledge on this topic.


    "The True Nether Plane is more of a loose collection of sand. It''s more like the Dragon Clan, but everywhere. Although it has its powers, the rest is mostly a chaotic mess. It will raise eyebrows, but only from curiosity. In fact, most of the cities are built to accommodate large demons, so it won''t be a problem."


    Ryu nodded as they approached a city in the distance. They had been traveling for a long while and they should at least get some rest. If there was a chance for teleportation as well, that would be great.

 Chapter 1709 Dream Asura

    Chapter 1709 Dream Asura


    The closer they got to the city, the less talkative Ryu was. His eyes kept flashing like lightning as he turned his head from side to side, seemingly observing his surroundings. But in reality, Selheira could sense a deep battle intent coming from him. It was as though he was hoping someone would pick a fight, and if they didn''t, he would just pick one himself for next to no reason.


    She smiled and didn''t say much. In truth, this might have been a problem on the Real Plane, but here it was fine... so long as they didn''t poke the wrong hornets nest.


    The True Nether Plane was practically a free for all. One would think that there would be more structure on the Ninth Plane, but there was actually less of it. In fact, the most organized of the Planes was probably somewhere between the Fifth and Eighth Planes. Every form of structure collapsed up here.


    While they were walking toward a "city" now, it was more like an unorganized mess of buildings surrounded by a wall. There was no city planning involved whatsoever. Some buildings were built from skeletons, some from obsidian-like rocks, others from what looked like quick-dried magma.


    Demons of all sorts walked around. There were some necromantic beasts, some amorphous blobs of darkness, there was even what looked like a large, dark green skinned troll. The last was particularly eye-catching for no other reason than the fact he only wore a simple skirt that couldn''t quite hide his dangling green penis. Every time he took a step, it would sway and a foul stench would waft into the region.


    The scenery was more than chaotic. It was practically a circus bazaar.


    There was no toll to enter the city, and there weren''t even any guards. They walked right into the open gates, and as Selheira had said, other than a few glances, there was nothing else. If anything, to those that weren''t from the Nine Demon King Clans, a Dragon was an existence that they shouldn''t offend, especially since the stench of blood coming from Lu''card was particularly dense at the moment.


    Ryu settled down his beating heart. Before they found a place to settle down, he had to first find a method of making money to earn a spot to live first.


    "Let''s go here," Ryu pointed out a particularly rowdy location. Every time his senses swept over it, he would be hit with a wave of blood and sweat.


    Soon, they entered an underground betting arena and Ryu felt the blood he had just managed to settle down churning again.


    "You guys wait here," Ryu said, shooting off before they could say anything. The two Dragons could only shake their heads.


    They were beasts and still weren''t this eager for battle. It almost felt like Ryu was looking for an excuse to do exactly this.


    A lot of cities ended up swallowed by the Dream Asuras, their structures and customers commandeered. Because the Dream Asuras had brought over the structure of the Sixth Heaven, many preferred to travel the extra distance and pay the extra bit for their services due to the added safety.


    For cities like this young woman''s family''s which still did things the normal demon way, sticking to their traditions, it was hard to keep up.


    This festered quite a bit of dissatisfaction, as one might expect.


    If the Dream Asuras were powerful, that would be one thing. But they were relying on a proxy relationship to prop themselves up. The young woman would like to see nothing more than for them to collapse beneath their own weight.


    ...


    Ryu didn''t know of the orders that the woman had given, or else he wouldn''t have been so completely disappointed.


    When he stepped into the arena for the first time, feeling the sand moistened with blood beneath his feet, he felt excitement...


    Only for his first opponent to collapse like clay. He was so disappointed that he would have directly walked out if it wasn''t for the fact he reminded himself that he was actually doing this for the money and not the thrill.


    A second opponent came in, and they fell just the same.


    Ryu looked to the side and saw that his total ticked up and shook his head. His battle lust faded and he just wanted to get this over with already.


    The third came and fell just the same.


    Finally came the fourth.

 Chapter 1710 Lower Nether God Crystals

    Chapter 1710 Lower Nether God Crystals


    A man strolled into the bloodied sand of an arena, if you could even call him a man. He didn''t have a head. Or, rather, he didn''t have a head on his neck. Instead, he held it beneath the crook of his arm, his other hand holding onto a long black blade that dragged along the ground and exuded a corrosive aura. The man''s face was actually quite handsome, although his overall appearance was weakened by his obviously glaring fault.


    "Jijiji," he laughed oddly, and when his red lips parted, a row of sharp teeth that shattered what remaining illusions a woman might have had appeared.


    This man was a ghoul, and from Ryu''s estimates, he was actually quite powerful... for a False Sky God.


    Ryu didn''t want to be too eye-catching just yet. The matters of the Fifth Plane had certainly not blown over just yet, and his face had been projected across the True Nether Plane. Right now, he was even wearing a mask.


    Of course, it was a simple mask that only hid his face, not his aura or even his cultivation. Using one that was too invasive would actually have the opposite effect.


    Even so, it would be hard for people to connect him to that image. There were probably many that assumed him to be some sort of Dao God. Only the upper echelon who had been there back then would know, along with those they had no choice but to report to.


    In truth, Ryu had been under a pseudo umbrella of protection as well due to the fact he was Mae''s wife. It could be said that the Dream Wraith''s name had protected him from being hunted down even back to the True Martial World. Well, that and the fact encroaching on the territory of another was a huge taboo too.


    Crossing from one Plane to the other was fine, but a systematic mission to target a genius of another Plane was a huge no-go.


    The combination of the two had been a thin shield for Ryu.


    Now that he was here, though, the situation might be different. Which was why he had to be cautious. Even so, that was only in some facets. In fact, their assumptions that he was a genius of the Human Race was only beneficial to him.


    As such, he used his eyes without hesitation.


    Ryu thought of many possibilities, but he wasn''t actually sure which one it was.


    His lip curled into a smile. If he hated to be tested so much, one could imagine how he felt about being toyed with.


    In that case, he would make them bleed. But slowly.


    The headless ghoul shot forward, swinging his long black blade in a wide arc.


    "He''s restricting his strength to the False Sky God Realm. Interesting... do they want to make the fight seem close first and then kill me? I don''t believe that they''d send a True Sky God to die just like that..."


    The strongest existences of this city should be in the Lord Realm, and they didn''t seem to be connected to some higher power. This establishment would be far weaker than the best power in this city as well. It was unlikely that they would treat the life of a True Sky God so casually, especially since they were a loyal warrior of the betting house.


    Ryu stepped out of the way of the blade, allowing it to just barely pass by his throat. The corrosive aura latched onto his protective qi, trying to eat at it.


    ''Interesting...'' Ryu thought.


    He didn''t dismiss the qi just yet.


    In the world of cultivation, it wasn''t just your cultivation that mattered, but the grade of qi you cultivated as well. The qi this man used was decent, but he wouldn''t be able to use it to break into the Perfect Sky God realm as it was only a True level Qi, also known as a True Qi. Ryu could use his Chaos Qi to shatter it a million times over.


    Their exchange quickly grew chaotic.

 Chapter 1711 A Pleasure

    Chapter 1711 A Pleasure


    Ryu danced and weaved, countering from time to time and quickly finding that his stances were becoming more refined. Because he was suppressing his strength as well, he had to use more skill to counter than not. Compared to the True Sky God ghoul, he was suppressing his power with far more ferocity.


    The cheers of the crowd grew raucous as they had finally gotten a good bout.


    To the side, Lu''card snorted. "What is he playing at?"


    Selheira''s gaze flickered. Lu''card was a Dragon so he was naturally disdainful of such things, but she, who had seen both sides of the coin now, felt a bit differently. Ryu was holding back now in order to make more later.


    "A pleasure," a voice came from their side.


    A familiar young miss greeted them, bowing politely.


    Lu''card looked at her with indifference, but the young woman with pale skin and ruby red lips didn''t seem to mind in the slightest. She didn''t expect to be able to charm a Dragon with her looks.


    In truth, the feminine form of humans was universally attractive to all Races. However, while Lu''card was a Dragon, she was just the manager of a small city and her father was barely an Omniscient Sky God. Her bloodline and lineage wasn''t nearly strong enough to be a top class beauty and she paled in comparison to Selheira by several strokes of Heaven''s brush.


    Seeing that they didn''t respond, Elise straightened herself out and maintained her smile. She looked toward the arena and the fight below, looking as though she had the intention to spectate along with them.


    Lu''card and Selheira frowned, but before they could say anything, Elise spoke.


    "I won''t bother the two of you for too long, it was just that I''ve always wanted to see a majestic Dragon for too long and couldn''t help myself though I know it''s unprofessional. I''ll apologize with another bow."


    Elise bowed once more.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The ghoul was beginning to get frustrated as he suddenly threw his head at Ryu''s face, his teeth baring and chomping down.


    The mask of a False Sky God slipped just the tiniest bit, but not enough for anyone other than Ryu and Lu''card to notice.


    The ghoul followed up with a piercing blade that seemed aimed right for the back of his own head, obscuring Ryu''s vision.


    At the same time, his corrosive qi erupted with such fervor that if Ryu used his Spiritual Sense at this time, the ghoul felt that it should erode away.


    ''Finally showing your true colors?''


    The ghoul must have been very confident in his head if it put it in the line of fire like this. There was no doubt some secret related to this... Ryu just didn''t care.


    BANG!


    Everything came to a stop as the ghoul''s head suddenly exploded into countless pieces


    His sword attack came to a stop midday, the life of the ghoul blinking into nonexistence in a breath of time.


    The splash of blood rained down from the arena. It was hard to see, but those that were sharp realized that it wrote out the word death.


    Just what level of skill and control did it take to explode someone''s head in such a way?

 Chapter 1712 [DO NOT UNLOCK]

    Chapter 1712 [DO NOT UNLOCK]


    DO NOT UNLOCK


    Leonel grinned as the Go board disappeared. It seemed that Old Bastian had a bit of a temper, though that much should have been obvious after their first interaction. Truthfully, he was a little embarrassed. The reality was that he planned on giving Leonel a chance even if he lost. That was because he couldn''t even remember the last time he lost in a game of Portal. Winning or losing didn''t necessarily mean that Leonel was inferior to him, he was just making things a bit difficult on Leonel on purpose. The reason for this was because the most important aspect of the game, the portals themselves, were meant to be created at random. The issue was that there was no one skilled enough to make them. The game was extraordinarily complex.


    Leonel''s smile didn''t fade, but he had to admit that this man was sharp. Instead of answering directly, he swiped a hand over his face and suddenly, he looked exactly like Aerin. There wasn''t even a single strand of hair that was out of place. "Does this answer your question?"


    Old Bastian''s heart trembled. If Leonel really did something wild while using Aerin''s face, just what kind of storm would that cause?


    "Alright, into the Segmented Cube you go, Aerin."


    Aerin could only watch as Leonel clasped a hand over his shoulder. Looking into his own face was surreal, but frightening at the same time. He already understood exactly what Leonel wanted to do. Once Aerin was gone, Leonel looked right into Old Bastian''s eyes, trying to read him. "When you do things, you have to do them thoroughly. There are enemies knocking on your Dwarven Race''s door as we speak, they''re pressuring you to hand over treasures your prince fought for, they already tried to kill that very prince once before and they''ll do it again. "Pacifism won''t help you, it will only hinder you. Now isn''t the time to cower."

 Chapter 1713 First

    Chapter 1713 First


    Ryu stood tall and straight, a smirk on his lips. Though, this was lost to the crowd.


    To them, all they could see was a pair of cold, silver eyes. Sometimes, when the light reflected across them, they would appear to be blue, only adding to the frigid air.


    Everyone was stunned for a moment before the crowd erupted.


    How long had it been since someone managed to clear the fourth battle? Even those that some thought had the strength almost never took the risk to do so, while those with the strength usually came under the power of the betting house arena. In the end, it could be said that every time someone crossed the fourth battle, it became harder to pass in the future, not easier.


    The ghoul that Ryu just defeated was most definitely one of these experts that had once passed the fourth battle, and yet he was crushed... seemingly with ease.


    Even if they weren''t experts, how could they not see the fact that Ryu had had an easy time? Then, he suddenly exploded with power that crushed his opponent like he never took him seriously to begin with.


    "Continue," Ryu spoke.


    The crowd fell into silence once more before they erupted with even greater fervor. This was exactly what they wanted. What was the point of passing the fourth if you didn''t continue?


    Elise was watching from an inner room. When Ryu suddenly defeated the ghoul, she sat up in her seat, her gaze flickering with surprise.


    Soon, her brows furrowed. This situation was a bit tricky.


    On the one hand, even if the Dragon didn''t go, just the fact someone had reached this stage was exciting nonetheless.


    The trouble was that those experts she had called over to watch the spectacle, people that had paid exorbitant prices, wouldn''t care to see a human fight no matter how spectacular they were. In their opinions, they could do the same so who gave a damn?


    Now, seeing a Dragon fight... that was a novelty they couldn''t look away from.


    On the other hand, though, if Ryu was able to suddenly explode with such power, it was more likely than not that he had also noticed the trick she had just played. A genius that could cross a major Realm to do battle was rare even on the Ninth Plane, there was no way he would miss something like that.


    She should have known. With a Dragon''s pride, how could they travel with someone normal? Even if they were going to bring a servant along, wouldn''t it be a beauty like Selheira and not a man?


    It wasn''t that she hadn''t thought of this, it was more so that she didn''t think it would matter. Even those geniuses wouldn''t have an easy time dealing with someone above them. It couldn''t be said that Ryu was a genius, but rather, a monster.


    Unfortunately, it was too late to back away now.


    "Send out a True Sky God. Don''t let them mask themselves."


    "Miss?" Her butler sounded unsure.


    "Take advantage of their arrogance. This also gives us plausible deniability. If we tried to hide it again, it would easily backfire. But if we openly send out a stronger enemy, then it will seem like instead of trying to kill him, we were really just giving him an opponent that was on his level."


    The butler nodded in understanding. Everyone knew that an expert who suppressed their cultivation was almost always stronger than another expert who was naturally at that cultivation level.


    He couldn''t help but be impressed by his young miss'' flexibility. It was no wonder her father trusted her to manage so many of their important resources.


    ...


    It wasn''t long before another enemy came before Ryu, but to everyone''s shock, it was a Lower True Sky God. When they looked at Ryu, they could clearly see that he was in the Peak False Sky God Realm. Was it really alright to do this?


    This shock was quickly overwhelmed by excitement. How rare was it to see such a thing?


    It could be said that this killed two birds with one stone. Even the uppity young masters and mistresses in the crowd certainly couldn''t snub their noses at such at thing.


    In fact, much to Elise''s expectations, they all sat up. It wasn''t to the point that they were chomping at the bit, but it was enough to show that they were truly interested.


    Ryu himself grinned beneath his plain white mask. He had to admit that the person behind the scenes was decent at scheming.


    He looked toward his opponent, a scaled man with a split, slithering tongue. There was a heavy ball and chain around both of his legs and his slit eyes carried sinister intentions.


    "Come die, little boy."


    The scaled man spoke and suddenly burst into action. The heavy iron balls behind him dragged a line through the sand before he suddenly kicked out.


    "Oh?" Ryu blinked. He had never seen a person use such... weapons? before. At the same time, it was deceptively difficult to deal with.


    If he tried to block the much lighter chains, the iron ball would quickly wrap around him, sealing off his movements.


    But if he tried to block the iron balls themselves... well, at least a normal person would likely break every bone in their body.


    Ryu could obviously destroy all of this with absolute strength, but where would be the fun in that?


    He ducked beneath the first lashing chain, wanting to see how the scaled man would follow up. Soon, his question was answered.


    The man''s legs began akin to a whirlwind, a wild barrage of furiously spinning kicks.


    The battlefield became obscured by the shadows of balls and chains. But what was most fascinating to Ryu was that they began to pulse with qi, forming a sort of entrapment array.


    Ryu himself grinned beneath his plain white mask. He had to admit that the person behind the scenes was decent at scheming.


    He looked toward his opponent, a scaled man with a split, slithering tongue. There was a heavy ball and chain around both of his legs and his slit eyes carried sinister intentions.


    "Come die, little boy."


    The scaled man spoke and suddenly burst into action. The heavy iron balls behind him dragged a line through the sand before he suddenly kicked out.


    "Oh?" Ryu blinked. He had never seen a person use such... weapons? before. At the same time, it was deceptively difficult to deal with.


    If he tried to block the much lighter chains, the iron ball would quickly wrap around him, sealing off his movements.


    But if he tried to block the iron balls themselves... well, at least a normal person would likely break every bone in their body.


    Ryu could obviously destroy all of this with absolute strength, but where would be the fun in that?


    He ducked beneath the first lashing chain, wanting to see how the scaled man would follow up. Soon, his question was answered.


    The man''s legs began akin to a whirlwind, a wild barrage of furiously spinning kicks.


    The battlefield became obscured by the shadows of balls and chains. But what was most fascinating to Ryu was that they began to pulse with qi, forming a sort of entrapment array.


    ''Fascinating.''


    Ryu jumped up and then quickly ducked. However, the chains were spinning far too fast for him to rely on gravity to descend to the ground and dodge again. By the time he did so, at least in the eyes of the crowd, he would be minced to pieces.


    This was when Ryu suddenly spun parallel to the ground, his palms striking out at the same time.


    The scaled man so this and sneered. The moment Ryu touched the chains, he was finished. They would wrap around him so tightly that he''d be ripped apart. The first iron ball would spiral around his legs and shatter his femur, the second would spiral up his torso and shatter his head into a rain of blood and gore.


    He had seen it happen so many times that he almost would have relaxed had his battle instincts not been so excellent.


    That was when something shocking occurred.


    Ryu lightly patted at the air with his palms as though he was fluffing two pillows at once. A small shockwave his the chains, and instead of wrapping around him like they should, it looked as though they had snapped like whips.


    A sinusoidal wave trembled its way through the chains, sending one high into the air and the other low, while leaving Ryu unscathed.


    The expression of the scaled man changed, but it was already too late.


    The momentum of the iron ball going upward was too much. His legs were split apart into a vertical split, his groin crying out in pain.


    He flexed in an attempt to bring them back together while lifting the leg anchored to the ground back up.


    However, that was when Ryu''s palms struck out again, hitting the chains with a light strike.


    BANG!


    The sight was so horrific that many looked away.


    The scaled man''s legs were ripped apart, the momentum of the iron balls so great that his body was torn in two from the groin up.


    Blood and guts fell as Ryu landed lightly on the ground.


    He nodded to himself. He had never thought that he could make so much progress battling weaklings. He actually had so much room to improve his control.


    The last battle made it clear, but this was like a stamp of approval. In fact, he suddenly wanted them to send out more quirky abilities. He didn''t even care about the Nether Crystals anymore. He just wanted to see how many he could defeat while using the least amount of power.


    Just then, the crowd erupted, their raucous cheers threatening to bring the house down. Many rushed down and grabbed hold of the chain net keeping them out of the battlefield, shaking it with all their might as though they had all been bloodlusted.


    "Continue," Ryu called out.


    As the cheers became even louder, a young man and woman in the crowd slowly opened their eyes, their gazes landing on Ryu in unison.


    One was obscenely large. Despite being humanoid in structure, his skin was a fiery red, horns rose from his head, and he stood at over 10 meters tall.


    He was a Fire Giant.


    The other had skin that was quite literally white, it would have looked ghastly and inhumane had her face not been the picture of absolute perfection. Above her head, a crown of ice hovered like a halo, reflecting sky blues and delicate lavender colors.


    She was an Ice Queen.


    These two Demon King Races wouldn''t normally be caught dead in such a small city. However, they had been making their way toward an event and ended up hearing word that there was a real Dragon here. How could they not come to see how they stacked up to this divine creature?


    What they didn''t expect was that a human would surprise them first.

 Chapter 1714 Wager

    Chapter 1714 Wager


    The Ice Queen, Luna


    She wasn''t just an astounding beauty, but she was known as a great talent as well. Although she wasn''t as good as those Heart of a Hero characters, she wasn''t far behind them either. If there were three tiers of geniuses, that being geniuses, heroes, and then monsters, she would be firmly within the genius tier.


    It could be said that the 16-year-old of the Beast Mimicry Sect that Ryu fought in the Martial God Clan was firmly in the Hero category. However... he had undergone a great change after his exchange with Ryu. It was hard to say if the next time they met, he would still be a Hero or... if he would graduate to the ranks of Monsters.


    The Fire Giant, Ferouge. He was much like Luna, a great talent shy of the Hero Tier of geniuses.


    It was hard to say that these were rankings that everyone used, and it was simply a casual tier system that Ryu himself had created after some exchanges.


    He had deduced that the Martial Gods and the True Martial World most definitely had far more to offer, and as such he added a Monster tier above the Hero tier. But whether he was correct or not... only time would tell.


    What was certain was that no matter what tier these geniuses fell into, in their opinions, they were always far better. The fact that the 16-year-old youth could potentially raise himself to the Monster tier after a single battle went to show that there was a thin piece of paper between every level. If you were determined enough... it wasn''t all that difficult to poke a hole through it and transcend your limits.


    This was all to say that at this level, what separated geniuses wasn''t their baseline of talent. Rather, it was their luck, their comprehension, and their hearts.


    In terms of the gifts they were all given at birth, it could be said that other than a few at the very top echelon of the Monster tier, it was hard to differentiate them at all.


    This painted the picture well of the kind of character that Ferouge and Luna were.


    And now, their attentions were all pulled toward Ryu who stood there confidently and without a care in the world.


    The arena ground rumbled, loose sand jumping up for a moment before plopping down. The quake was quite substantial, or else even this wouldn''t be possible. With how much blood had been poured into the arena, the sand was no longer so easy to move. There was a dense moistness that reminded you of its presence with every step. The stench was enough to make even the bravest of warriors vomit, and the clumps of once brown said had long turned a grotesque rusted color.


    Her skin was purple and her hair was a mask of flickering blue flames. Standing at over five meters tall, she leaned a heavy ax over her shoulder, one with a pole arm that surpassed even herself in height.


    Her lower body was covered by nothing more than a beast skin cloth, but every time she walked and the wind blew a bit too fiercely, it became obvious that there was nothing underneath. In fact, in place of her pubes was another fiery bed of blue flames.


    This flaming giant of a woman obviously didn''t care about this, because along with her lack of underwear, her chest was covered by nothing at all, bluish nipples standing out in contrast to her violet skin.


    The raucous cheers of the crowd reached another level. It was clear that she was a crowd favorite, and it wasn''t too surprising at all. Despite her size, and her chiseled set of abs and arms, she was quite a beauty. Although she wasn''t to the level of a world ending type of woman, her facial features were delicate and pleasing to the eye.


    There was no doubt that even if she was five meters tall, there were quite a few in the crowd willing to climb that tree.


    Ryu himself chuckled at the sight. He was never shy about admiring beautiful women, but he preferred his women to be his own.


    His brain roared into action, but to his surprise, he couldn''t find a quick solution. For the first time, rather than using skill, he was forced into a situation where he could only use brute force.


    He punched out with a great amount of speed, meeting the momentum of the ax head-on as though he wasn''t worried about his arm being sliced off at all.


    There was a shocked gasp that went through the crowd before the clash resounded.


    BANG!


    To the surprise of the spectators, the sand around them formed a wild vortex as they were both forced a single step back.


    But everyone knew that that meant that in this exchange, Ryu had actually one. The giant woman had the leverage of attacking from above, and yet they were evenly matched. This could only mean that Ryu was actually stronger than her.


    At that moment, the void shattered with dancing, illusory flames that flickered like candles.


    The giant flaming woman looked surprised, the first flicker of emotion appearing in her eyes. She thought that she would crush Ryu in a single blow and call it a day, she didn''t think that this would happen.


    What was even more shocking to her, though, was the fact that Ryu looked even more surprised than she was. He looked down at his fist as though he couldn''t understand how it was so weak.


    When he looked up, he chuckled.


    "Hey, lady, I don''t know your story, but how about a wager?"


    The giant flaming woman''s eyes narrowed. She had heard many such things before, men challenging her for the chance to spend a night with her. She was entirely uninterested in such things, and even if she was, it wouldn''t be with a man less than half as tall as her. How would she feel like a woman, exactly?


    "It''s not what you''re thinking, I''m not interested in women who expose themselves like this. It''s something else."


    As for the matter of size, he had Idol Control, if he really wanted this woman he could easily make himself her size. But like he said, he wasn''t interested.


    The giant woman didn''t seem offended by Ryu''s words. Once again, she simply didn''t care.


    "What kind of wager?"


    Her voice was impossibly delicate for her size. Although it was definitely on the deeper side for a woman, it had a mellow sweetness to it nonetheless.


    "It''s simple," Ryu grinned. "I lose, I''ll become your slave. You lose, you become mine. How about it?"


    The dangerous glint in Ryu''s eyes seemed to tremble the void, the world roaring in response. It looked as though he was ready to face off against the world.

 Chapter 1715 Lose

    Chapter 1715 Lose


    Ryu looked into the flaming giant woman''s eyes, the glint within his own applying a pressure to her that she had never faced before. For a moment, it felt like Ryu was the giant and she was the normal human.


    Every fiber of her being screamed out: "No!". There was no way she could defeat this man. And yet, this was ironically the very reason she took a step forward and attacked without a word.


    If she took a step back now, then her Dao Heart would be cracked at the very least. In the worst-case scenario, her path of cultivation would cease to be right here and now.


    Ryu knew this intimately. He had already begun to feel out this woman''s character the moment she appeared. He knew what kind of heart of a warrior that she had, and he knew that she had no ability to resist these sorts of stakes.


    If she refused, then her Dao Heart would collapse and he would win anyway. And if she accepted like he thought she would...


    Well, the result was obvious.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Fist and ax danced, the clashes causing concentric circles of blown apart sand, flesh and blood to shoot toward the outer regions of the cage.


    Ryu''s fists seemed to have a forcefield protecting them. The giant woman acted to split everything apart with every move she took, and yet she couldn''t make it past those barriers at all.


    When she approached Ryu, it was like he was surrounded not only by another space, but another time as well, as though he was a world and a decade away, standing before her and yet not at the same time.


    She tried to use her void flames once again, but they couldn''t be lit within Ryu''s vicinity, and it was at that moment that an illusory flame of Ryu''s own suddenly danced into being across his body and robes.


    Despite its appearance, the temperature didn''t seem to rise. Instead, it calmed as though stabilizing beneath its might.


    When this flame appeared, the giant flaming woman felt that even her own flames were spiraling out of control. Let alone allowing the void to catch on fire, she couldn''t even manifest them anymore.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu blocked with the fluid motion of a flowing river. The first was taken by his palm, the next by his elbow, the last by the pinch of his fingers.


    He held the ax in his palm and pressed down, tilting the giant woman off balance just as she attempted to swing once more with her second ax.


    He found that predicting the movements of those that used conventional weapons was easier than anything else. The more he fought the giant woman, the more he realized that this must be due to his God Aura fusing with his Close Combat Mastery. Of the nine core weapons, there wasn''t a single one he didn''t understand as intimately as the back of his hand...


    And that was this woman''s downfall.


    Thrown off balance, the second ax descended too quickly, landing an inch by Ryu''s foot. He didn''t even flinch as he reached down and grabbed this blade as well.


    Suddenly, both battle axes were under his control, and no matter how hard the giant woman tried, she couldn''t pull them back up.


    Her head was as large as a third of Ryu''s body. Because her axes were under Ryu''s control and she was forced to bend forward, their faces weren''t even a meter apart.


    Looking into those silver eyes, the fury of the giant woman felt like it was truly about to boil over. How dare he look at her like this? As though she wasn''t worth much of anything at all?!


    She roared right into Ryu''s face, blowing his white hair back to the point it looked as though it was dancing in hurricane-force winds. And yet, Ryu didn''t even flinch.


    "You lose," he said calmly.


    The giant woman continued to struggle to pull her axes back, but it was entirely useless.


    The arena was in a state of complete silence. Everyone thought that they would see a great battle, especially after what happened during the first go-around. They never expected that Ryu was hiding this much of his strength. In fact, if he wasn''t so adamant on leaving the giant woman with no room to maneuver, they would have never known.

 Chapter 1716 Different Forms

    Chapter 1716 Different Forms


    The giant flaming woman''s body shook and trembled. This time, it wasn''t because she was trying to take her axes back. She realized at that moment that there was no point. The strength gap between the two of them was so enormous that there simply was no chance at all.


    If Ryu was simply cultivation realms above her own, then she would be able to accept it. In that case, this was just the way of the Nether Plane. She had been different forms of a slave before, this arena was just one form of it. Selling her life and death to make others money and allow her to improve, that was the kind of line she had been walking for a long time.


    However... she had always thought herself to be no weaker than those top geniuses, she just lacked a chance and an opportunity.


    But Ryu crushed all of that. She fell to her knees, her head lowering and her raging blue flames died down, almost looking like hair right after it was soaked through.


    "Good," Ryu said plainly. Then, without much fanfare, his eyes flashed and a portal appeared around the flaming giant woman, taking her into the world of his Heavenly Pupils.


    The moment this happened, everyone in the arena stood to their feet, their hearts beating out of their chests.


    Heavenly Pupils!


    They were both shocked and accepting of the reality at the same time. It was no wonder. There wasn''t a single existence that wielded Heavenly Pupils that wasn''t an absolute monster. Even those ranked outside the top ten were no exception. There were only a few dozen Heavenly Pupils passed down through the generations, and each one was a monstrous existence of its own.


    For those people, climbing cultivation Realms to do battle wasn''t a surprise, it was a requirement.


    When Elise got the news, she frowned. She should have known, she knew that she should have known. Like she had said before, how the hell could a Dragon travel with a normal male companion? They had to be a monster worthy of their companionship.


    She took a breath. ''This is fine as well, though. Even if the Dragon doesn''t fight, wouldn''t this be a huge opportunity nonetheless? Who wouldn''t want to see the might of Heavenly Pupils.''


    The trouble was that Ryu had already killed 10 Perfect Sky Gods and he showed no sign of stopping. This was enough to cost the betting arena upward of 10 to 20 million Nether Crystals. In fact, for experts at that level, they would already begin counting their spending habits with Middle Nether Crystals, making it worse.


    In the end, she had no choice but to stop it here.


    There was a reason she had let it get as bad as 10 deaths of that caliber. If she didn''t let Ryu vent some of his frustration and allowed it to fester, they could suffer an even more severe blow.


    Essentially, she let Ryu kill those 10 Perfect Sky Gods so that he wouldn''t continue to seek trouble with them when she cut off the well of funds. She didn''t even say anything about Ryu taking the giant woman even though she was one of their prized fighters. She could only hope that this advertisement would help them recoup the loss in the future.


    She walked out with an embarrassed smile on her face.


    "Young master is truly a king amongst men," Elise spoke, and her beauty caught the attention of many as she stood high above on a platform. "I''m sorry to say that Perfect Sky Gods are no match for the young hero, and our Transcendent Sky Gods are usually booked well in advance. As compensation, I can directly give the young master 10,000,000 Lower Nether Crystals. I hope this is enough."


    Ryu looked up at her and smiled. This girl was smart. Since she had said as much, there really was no need.


    "Alright, I accept," he nodded.


    BOOM!


    At that moment, a Fire Giant landed in the arena. When others looked up, they found an enormous hole in the chain protecting everyone.


    Ferouge grinned wildly. "Your eyes. I want them."

 Chapter 1717 Death Guard

    Chapter 1717 Death Guard


    Ryu looked toward the Fire Giant indifferently. The rush of heat blew his hair back, but whereas another False Sky God would find their protective qi shattered and their skin scorched to ash, Ryu didn''t even need to use his qi to stand unbothered.


    The protections of his Rebirth Flames extended to the heat of flames as well. This Peak Perfect Realm Demon King was entirely unable to move him with flames alone.


    Suddenly, Ryu smiled.


    "You have three seconds to piss off, or else I''ll bury your severed hand in this sand."


    Ryu pointed downward.


    The old Ryu would never even give him such an option. The problem he was facing now was that he was already an enemy of the Fire Giants. Right now, he managed to avoid that level of scrutiny, but if he became their enemy again, it was likely that his original identity would be exposed before he could even make it to Mae''s side.


    Of course, he had long since marked this Fire Giant for death. Whether he left right now or not, in the future, he''d have his head on a pike.


    The difference was that it wasn''t ideal to kill him now.


    He had gotten away with killing freely in the Martial God Realm, but there were several variables to consider in a place like this one.


    First off, the only reason why he didn''t have to deal with the nonsense of life-saving treasures in the Martial God Clan was that they all felt like they were at home. Why would they have life-saving measures prepared when they were walking around their own Clan? And for those that had some in stock just in case, by the time they realized they needed to use them, it would have already been far too late.


    ''Oh?'' Ryu quirked an eyebrow and then smiled. He knew that not only had Lu''card intervened, but he had used an exceptionally high-level application of [Horizon].


    Lu''card was exhibiting [Horizon] thousands of times over on small sections of Ferouge''s skin. All those forces were perfectly balanced such that the Fire Giant was completely frozen in place.


    Ryu knew that Lu''card didn''t have to go so far to stop the likes of Ferouge. Just one use of [Horizon] was a huge drain considering he had only unlocked just over 99 seals, let alone thousands-even though it required much less power to work on someone two cultivation Realms beneath him.


    Clearly, Lu''card was just messing around, trying to understand the limits of his talents, and he felt that this was a convenient target.


    Ferouge''s body was instantly matted in cold sweat. He didn''t know who had done this to him, but he had a pretty good idea.


    BOOM!


    Suddenly, the roof of the battle arena was blown off, and the entire city was plunged into a hellscape. The temperature skyrocketed.


    But at the same instant, an otherworldly beauty appeared as well, plunging the other half of the city into a field of ice.


    Ryu chuckled, realizing what was happening. Ferouge had a Death Guard following him much like Yaana had followed him in the past. But so did the Ice Queen young miss, Luna.


    When Ferouge''s Death Guard appeared, Luna''s Death Guard felt that something was amiss and took action to protect her charge just in case. If she was a step late, a Death Guard''s rampage could kill her young genius before they even got a chance to regret it.

 Chapter 1718 Talent

    Chapter 1718 Talent


    Ryu smiled and didn''t seem to feel the fact that both Death Guards were Lord Demons. It seemed that his hesitance earlier was worth it.


    He hadn''t sensed the Death Guards earlier, but that was because he wasn''t looking for them. It had been a long while since he thought of Death Guards.


    Now that he thought even further, Valerius, the 16-year-old youth he had battled in Martial God territory, almost certainly had a Death Guard as well. It was just that Ryu hadn''t threatened the young man''s life during the course of the battle, so he hadn''t appeared. And, on top of that, it was likely that Valerius'' Death Guard was even more powerful than these two Lord Demons because Valerius himself was an existence with far more potential than these two...


    At least on the surface.


    It was much harder for Ryu to gauge the age of a non-human creature. For all he knew, Ferouge and Luna were both 16 years old as well, or maybe even younger.


    Even if they were that young, though, their auras were less substantial to him than the Beast Mimicry Sect''s young genius, so he placed them on a lower tier.


    But it was precisely because they were all so young that they were worth nurturing in the first place.


    Ryu had already realized that except for the very top echelon, the gap of talent between geniuses didn''t exist in anything but temperament. If they were so young, they still had a great deal of time to mature and build that temperament.


    That meant that any genius born with a bare minimum level of talent had the right to be nurtured until they proved themselves to be carps stuck in a tide or carps capable of leaping the Dragon''s Gate.


    ''Temperament...'' Ryu''s eyes fell into a bit of a daze for a moment.


    There were Six Pillars of cultivation. The Meridians, the Bone Structure, the Bloodline, the Soul, the Spiritual Foundation, and the Dao... None of these included temperament. The Spiritual Foundation was somewhat related, being the Dao Heart... But why did those with strong Dao Heart glow from their chests?


    In that moment, it was as though his Dao had become a Quasi-Omniscient Dao, exuded an aura that was somehow both at and not at that level at the same time. This was the beauty of having his Internal Matrix, and at this point, it was likely his greatest breakthrough to date.


    At that moment, droplets of Embryonic Qi began to fuse with his body, taking advantage of the metamorphic state to perfect himself even further.


    Of all the people he had used Embryonic Qi on, his own self was likely the most resistant to it all. Since the formation of his Inner World, things had changed... but hadn''t changed at the same time.


    At the very least, he could instantly heal himself on a whim now, but he instead faced a different problem.


    If before Embryonic Qi didn''t work on him because he didn''t follow the path of the Heavens, now it didn''t work well on him because he didn''t follow a path at all.


    When he gave Embryonic Qi to a beast, the Heavens knew exactly how to perfect their path and bring them toward perfection. When he used Embryonic Qi in the past, the Heavens could see the path, but it wasn''t compatible with it, so there wasn''t much it could do.


    Now, however, when he used Embryonic Qi, it floundered, not quite understanding what to do. The reason it could heal him instantly was that it understood his current state perfectly, so it could bring him back to his pinnacle condition. However, because he was now creating a path of his own, it didn''t know what the future looked like, so helping him to improve was difficult.


    The exception was when he had a breakthrough.


    When he broke through, he paved new ground and took a large leap forward. His Dao and his eyes both became stronger, so his ability to deduce and comprehend where to go from here also increased.


    Like this, when Ryu broke through now, it wasn''t just a change in Realm...


    It was also a change in talent.

 Chapter 1719 Rush

    Chapter 1719 Rush


    Ryu''s aura seemed to be all-encompassing. It almost felt... violent. Like he was ripping something out of the control of the Heavens rather than trying to resonate with it like everyone else did. And yet, the Heavens didn''t seem to be enraged. In fact, they almost seemed to be helping Ryu, forming an odd balance that teetered from side to side-not in an unstable fashion, but rather a gentle swaying instead more akin to a breeze than an erratic gust.


    The aura of Chaos shocked most, but what they felt underlying it was on an entirely different level entirely.


    Founding Dao.


    The moment Ryu''s Dao broke through, the world roared. An eight trigram diagram appeared high in the skies and beneath his seated form. They encompassed the two Death Guards without a care in the world, and for a moment it seemed like the entire world was focused on Ryu alone.


    If anyone had any questions about what Realm Ryu might be in after his performance, all of those questions went up entirely in smoke now.


    It was only to fake a cultivation Realm, but faking a breakthrough was impossible. During the process, your real aura would leak out.


    While it wasn''t an exact science to see through a person''s cultivation Realm, a breakthrough couldn''t be denied. The resonance with the Heavens all had very specific cues, especially in the God Realms where Control was such a large aspect of strength.


    Slowly, Ryu''s breakthrough began to calm down.


    There was a reason he hadn''t hesitated to breakthrough right here. He knew if it came to it, Lu''card would most certainly take action. Plus, Lu''card had Ferouge''s life and death in the palm of his claws. The Death Guards wouldn''t act rashly as a result.


    The Fire Giant Lord wouldn''t act for the sake of his young master, and he would also act to stop the Ice Queen Lord as well in case her actions led to his death. It was the perfect killing of two birds with a single Fire Giant idiot.


    Ryu''s eyes slowly opened and a sharp light echoed out from it. A roar seemed to echo from his heart, one that made the blood of those around him freeze over, before it slowly faded as well.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, looking toward Ferouge who was still locked into place a distance from him.


    We waved a hand and a ball of flames wrapped around Ferouge and carried him up and away. Soon, both had simply disappeared.


    Ryu was a bit surprised about this. Why did the Death Guard give up so easily?


    He thought for a moment that maybe it was related to Ferouge''s Dao Heart. After all, a Death Guard''s job in this context wasn''t just to protect their charge''s life, but also their path of cultivation. If the Fire Giant Lord just went around killing everyone that offended Ferouge, then it would defeat the purpose. Before Ferouge could even grow into his full potential, he would become useless.


    As Ryu had just comprehended, temperament was of huge importance to a cultivator. If it wasn''t tempered, they would always be an ordinary genius and might never cross into Lordship.


    Ryu honestly couldn''t help but wonder if that was why the final three Realms of cultivation were named as such. Who needed more temperament than a Lord... a Sovereign... a God?


    However, Ryu felt that this was probably only part of the explanation. Even if he didn''t kill them, there should at least be some biting words, maybe even a small lesson.


    But the Fire Giant looked like was... in a rush?


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as it landed on Luna, the Ice Queen. She was still unmoved and wasn''t in a rush at all. That made him confused, unless...


    ''Oh...''


    Ryu nodded. The rush shouldn''t be about the fact the Fire Giant had to get to a place right this moment. Instead, it should be the case that the injuries were the main problem.


    The Fire Giant only had a short time to heal Ferouge''s injuries before they met some sort of deadline.


    ''I wonder what it is. It isn''t normal for a Fire Giant and Ice Queen to appear in this location so casually. There wasn''t nearly enough time for this betting arena to call them over. They had to have already been close by...''


    Luna suddenly smiled sweetly at Ryu.

 Chapter 1720 Visit

    Chapter 1720 Visit


    It was very rare for an Ice Queen to smile... if you could even call it that. Ryu could tell at a glance that this Luna wasn''t used to doing such a thing. Her smile felt sweet to herself, but was greatly forced and it even looked like she was trying to push something out of the wrong hole.


    However, Ryu found it a bit adorable only because of how funny it was.


    She blushed with a hint of shame, seemingly realizing that there was a problem with her smile. She cleared her throat and went back to her usual demeanor, the frost around her intensifying as those that were nearby were forced to scurry away.


    The hint of rouge on her cheeks on a canvas of otherwise stark white was almost too obvious. One would have thought that they had cut her open and let blood drip.


    Luna''s Death Guard had been paying attention to her charge this entire time, and she was quite speechless.


    Ice Queens were gender-specific for a reason, they couldn''t even have children like other species and races could. They were all women and each one of them was born from a kernel of extreme yin. There was no other way. She didn''t even have the lady bit to copulate even if she wanted to.


    Well, there was something down there, it was just that she didn''t have a uterus or ovaries.


    To make matters worse, the touch of a man for an Ice Queen was a huge taboo. They were strong centers of Yin, the introduction of Yang could truly ruin their cultivation. It could be said that they were the women who suffered the absolute most from lying with a man. In some instances in history, they would even lose their lives after doing so.


    A flash of killing intent rippled in the Death Guard''s blue irises for just a moment before vanishing. However, with Ryu''s sensitivity, he could still pick it up.


    In the end, he sneered.


    With a step, Ryu vanished through the void and appeared by Luna''s side, seemingly not caring about the frigid cold.


    Luna was shocked by the sudden change and slid away.


    "Hello," Ryu said with a smile, "I had a question, if you don''t mind answering."


    Flirting with women wasn''t Ryu''s strong suit, so he just got straight to the point. He was really curious about something.


    "Oh?"


    Of course, this was all just speculation on Ryu''s part. There could, very well, be other reasons. But he would have to find out for himself.


    "Will the Dream Wraiths be there?" Ryu asked his final question.


    Luna nodded slowly. "Yes."


    Ryu smiled at her after asking a few more questions. "Thank you for your help."


    Luna''s lips parted and then trembled, but she wasn''t sure how to respond. By the time she had the courage to look up again, Ryu was already gone.


    ...


    Ryu stood with Lu''card and Selheira.


    "It seems there''s going to be some fun to be had," Ryu said with a grin.


    Selheira smiled and shook her head. Ryu''s idea of fun was destroying everything in sight, wasn''t it?


    The air was decidedly more frigid now, and it almost certainly had to do with the unhappiness of the Death Guard that was still standing on a flying treasure high in the skies.


    Lu''card snorted.


    "Miss, I''ll take my Nether Crystals now," Ryu called out.


    A servant quickly ran up to Ryu and suddenly he was a nouveau riche again. Well, at least by True Sky God standards. The fact that such a small city could take out this much money pretty much guaranteed the opposite.


    But that was fine. It should be enough to teleport where they needed to go.


    "Let''s visit a certain little business owner," Ryu said, taking Selheira''s hand and vanishing.

 Chapter 1721 Choice

    Chapter 1721 Choice


    Elise didn''t expect Ryu to suddenly appear before her like this. It could even be said that she hoped that this would end with the money she handed out. She had been more than generous enough, and even went a step beyond what she thought was necessary just to make sure that she could make up for her mistake.


    Unfortunately, in the cultivation Realm, such things weren''t often taken as a sign to sow for peace. Most often, they were taken as a sign of weakness instead, and she seemed to think that this very same thing was happening here.


    Ryu took a step and Selheira sat by his side. The furniture creaked beneath her weight, causing Elise''s brows to tremble.


    Selheira seemed to be the most inconspicuous of them all after Ryu''s display. Other than her beauty, which was veiled to begin with, it was hard to see anything odd about her other than her height. But even then, her 6''3" to 6''4" height wasn''t all that shocking in the grand scheme of things, especially when there were female Fire Giants walking around.


    But her weight...


    The furniture here was not forged from normal materials. It was not normal for it to creak the way it just had.


    Selheira looked a bit embarrassed by the change. Since she was in human form, she didn''t really take into consideration her weight at all. And Ryu, especially when they were in each other''s arms, never really made her feel like she was heavy at all.


    Of course, she knew that most of that was his pride as a man. He had no intention of struggling beneath his own wife''s weight. But in this setting, it made her feel a bit self-conscious.


    Ryu chuckled and pulled her into his arms. He didn''t seem bothered by her large wings, and her weight on his lap didn''t seem to move him at all. She might as well have been as light as a feather.


    This sight only made Elise tremble more.


    One would think that the furniture would creak even more now, but it was so stable and unmoved that Elise actually felt fear. What level of control over one''s body and strength did this take?


    It could be said that the applications of Ryu''s close combat body weren''t just in being capable of incorporating the strengths of many weapons into a single lethal weapon.


    Elise composed herself and tried to remain calm.


    This was probably a similar situation to what was going on on the Ninth Heaven. There were many other smaller and less significant powers on the Ninth Heaven. If they all ganged up together, it wasn''t impossible that a region could take down one of the Nine Powers just by virtue of their numbers.


    But would they ever do that?


    Of course not.


    Gathering up morale and support for such a thing would be as difficult as climbing to the Heavens themselves. This was the weight of deterrence.


    ''Deterrence... temperament...''


    Ryu felt like he had comprehended something again, but he shook his head and forced himself to focus.


    Honestly, this was a similar state to what Ryu had been in the first time he awakened his Dao. He seemed to progress it by leaps and bounds every day and he made huge changes to himself as a result.


    However, Ryu had begun to wonder...


    Were all breakthroughs in comprehension created equal? Could his obscene comprehension abilities actually be a net negative instead of a positive?


    He wasn''t actually sure.


    It seemed foolish, but when you took a step back his thoughts made sense.


    Was it really the case that he just happened to stumble into the perfect scenario and words time and time again? Or was he like a child picking berries in a forest while straying further and further from the paved path?


    Should he be more cautious with what he chose to use to break through?

 Chapter 1722 Heard

    Chapter 1722 Heard


    Ryu thought of Deterrence, and it seemed to perfectly coincide with Temperament. The latter was the overarching umbrella, while the former was one of the many tidbits stored within.


    Ryu actually felt that for a moment, it was quite a valuable comprehension. In fact, he could probably make a Dao Technique similar to [A God''s Brush] if he pursued that path further.


    But was it the right path to take?


    Dividing Order and Dividing Chaos... It was meant to look at the world from a macro level.


    Using Temperament as a means to breakthrough made sense because it was a piece of the puzzle that he hadn''t yet considered. But Deterrence was beneath that same umbrella. If he honed in on the details too much, he might miss the forest for the trees and steer his Dao down the wrong path.


    Others might end up bottlenecking their Daos and being forced to weaken them to progress because their comprehension was too low.


    But for Ryu, it seemed that his problem was that his comprehension was too high. He was too good at connecting dots and making seemingly innocuous statements and making broad-reaching sentiments about it all.


    If he followed his whims too much, he could end up running into a brick wall eventually.


    "Interesting..." Ryu thought.


    Elise didn''t want to interrupt. Ryu seemed lost in his thoughts and from time to time, the air around him would shift oddly.


    "Maybe I could put up guardrails in my Inner Matrix, but to what end? Do I even know or understand what I want my Dao to be at the end of the day?"


    Did he know?


    He felt that he had a vague idea.


    If he was recreating an inner world, didn''t this world need its laws? In that case, should his Dao become the law that encompassed this land, forging it into what commanded the seas and sealed the skies?


    That was the obvious path.


    But what did it mean to be the law of a world?


    His thoughts drifted toward the Shrines and that of Shrine Mountain...


    After a long while, Ryu shook his head and looked up, meeting Elise''s eyes.


    "I... I really do not know," Elise said.


    Mae was too outstanding. There was a good chance that just by virtue of this, she didn''t need to participate at all and could just directly get the benefits. If it could be said that Elise had no backing whatsoever, then Mae had all the backing in the world just by virtue of who her master was.


    There was a fifty-fifty chance of whether she would participate or not.


    "Mm," Ryu nodded. With his Dao, it was easy to see that she was telling the truth. "In that case, you should have an easy method of going to the gathering, correct?"


    Elise took a breath and finally relaxed. It seemed that Ryu truly did not want to start up issues with her.


    "Yes, I do."


    "Good. Let me use it. Just speak out when it is prepared."


    A swirling portal appeared around Ryu and Selheira, who was still in his lap.


    Just as he was about to disappear, he heard Elise''s voice.


    "Young master... if it''s not too much to ask, who is Young Mistress Mae Tatsuya to you?"


    Ryu laughed. "She''s my wife."


    Elise''s eyes opened wide, her heart practically beating out of her chest.


    She stood in silence for a long while after Ryu disappeared... at least in part. There still seemed to be a kernel of Ryu here, as though he was both present and not at the same time.


    She realized that this was an opportunity she had to grasp.


    Ryu gently placed Selheira down, and they both looked at a familiar giant flaming woman. The violet-skinned woman was standing by the rivers of Embryonic Qi, hesitating time and time again as though she both wanted to jump in and not at the same time.


    She was startled by their sudden appearance and looked toward them both at the same time.


    She bowed her head. "What do you... command...?"


    She spoke slowly, not used to these sorts of things. At the same time, Ryu could tell she clearly wanted to ask him why she wanted her but felt it was too rude given her status.


    Ryu smiled. "Have you heard of Summoning Necromancers?"

 Chapter 1723 Hrakka

    Chapter 1723 Hrakka


    The flaming giant woman viscerally shook to these words. Fear flickered in her eyes and she looked at Ryu like she was looking at a monster.


    There were hardly any Summoning Necromancers left. Even the Arcane Mancer Sect didn''t dare to house them. In fact, the only openly Summoning Necromancers in the whole of the True Martial World was in the Devouring Heaven Sect. But that was an anomaly, and no one was even sure if this was true anymore considering how long it had been since this occurred.


    The only people with the skill to be Summoning Necromancers were on the Eighth and Ninth Heavens, but that likewise meant that the Demons they would rely upon would have to come from the Eighth and Ninth Planes...


    How could the Demon Kings allow that? It would trigger an all-out war. Or at the very least, the perpetrator would be cut down without prejudice.


    However, there was no one here to defend her. If Ryu was bringing it up, it meant that he didn''t even care to think of releasing her. He was blatantly threatening her, and he didn''t care how she felt about it.


    This was a huge blow to her gut and she realized that in service of keeping her Dao Heart intact by battling it out with Ryu, she had lost many other ways.


    Ryu chuckled. "You don''t need to be so reserved. In fact, this could help you out as well. Right now, you''re far too weak to be a Summon of mine. You would only hinder me, not help me. So what do you think that means?"


    The giant woman trembled, but she didn''t say anything. This sounded nice... but didn''t that just mean that she would be relentlessly experimented on? What would happen to if Ryu went too far and she ended up dead? Who would seek justice for her?


    The answer was obviously no one.


    "Go have a sip," Ryu pointed toward the river.


    The woman hesitated. She had wanted to do exactly that ever since she was brought in here, but now that Ryu had asked her to, she suddenly didn''t want to anymore...


    But did her thoughts and opinions even matter in this situation?


    However, as these impurities leaked to the ground, they seemed to vanish, almost like no one could blaspheme Ryu''s inner world.


    The woman''s cultivation trembled and she suddenly entered the Middle True Sky God Realm without a hint of cultivation herself.


    Ryu clicked his tongue in slight annoyance and had no choice but to open his Inner World up to the Nether Plane, allowing Nether Qi to roll in. If he didn''t do so, she would fail her breakthrough and ruin her future.


    The woman''s cultivation quickly stabilized. Not everyone was like Ryu had needed weeks on end to complete a breakthrough, or else there would never be peace in the cultivation world.


    When her eyes opened, she looked toward Ryu in shock. Just what had she just drunk...


    If Ryu had a small droplet of it, that would be fine. But rivers?! Why was it all so exaggerated, it didn''t make any sense whatsoever.


    "What''s your name?" Ryu asked.


    "... Hrakka."


    Ryu smiled. "Nice to meet you Hrakka. I''m not going to experiment on you, that would be a waste of my time. Your only job is to have a droplet a day or every couple days, whenever you feel that you''ll make the strongest breakthrough.


    "As for the rest, I still haven''t figured it out because I haven''t studied how to make a summoning contract in this world yet. But I will soon."


    Ryu smiled, and Hrakka was even more confused...


    What was the catch?

 Chapter 1724 Hell on Earth

    Chapter 1724 Hell on Earth


    Ryu didn''t explain; he just looked at Elowen with the same gaze. But, there was indeed a catch, it was just that it wasn''t nearly as bad as anything Elowen was thinking of.


    While Ryu was riding on Lu''card''s back to make it to this place, he realized something: there was actually great value in watching the evolution process of others.


    The problem with this was that Lu''card was already near the pinnacle of the food chain. Even without Ryu''s interference, there was truly a good chance that he could one day become the Dragon Emperor. It certainly wasn''t a pipe dream by any stretch of the imagination, though it was somewhat unlikely.


    There was a reason that the Fire Dragon Clan had ruled for so long and there were plenty of Dragons that were at least on par with Lu''card.


    So while not impossible, it was still unlikely.


    Due to this, watching the Embryonic Qi slowly work on Lu''card wasn''t nearly the comprehension boost that Ryu thought it would be...


    But what if he observed a far lesser talent over a much longer period of time?


    Of course, observing trash would be equally a waste of time. No matter how much Embryonic Qi you had, if your base talent were all not even Perfect Grade, you could never reach the pinnacle.


    However, Hrakka was perfect for several reasons.


    First, she was a variant of the Fire Giants. She had unique mutations that would be extremely interesting to observe.


    Second, she was already talented. Although she wasn''t quite at the level of the genius tier, and certainly no match for the hero or monster tiers, she wasn''t far off. And this meant she had a lot of potential for growth.


    Then what did Ryu really gain out of observing?


    It helped him to solidify his own path. Observing how the Heavens tended to move others through and toward perfection would give him a window into Heaven''s secrets themselves.


    How could he turn such an opportunity down?


    Ethereal Qi was like the mirror image of Real Qi, but Nether Qi wasn''t the mirror image, it was the opposite. Studying it wouldn''t help you along, it would instead hinder you.


    The former helped you see your path from a new perspective, but the latter completely erased your path.


    What was especially curious to Ryu was that Nether Qi was somehow still different from Chaos Qi at the same time.


    If he were to pinpoint what the difference was, it was the fact Chaos Qi had no structure, it sought to destroy. Nether Qi was seemingly like that on the surface, but there was a kernel hidden deep within it that allowed a chance at...


    Rebirth.


    Chaos Qi was the antithesis of Order which encompassed all of Ethereal, Real and Nether Qi. Nether Qi was the antithesis of Real Qi only because it took an entirely different path.


    Real Qi tended to build up, to create.


    Nether Qi destroyed and razed so that sprouts might grow in its place.


    This was a very philosophical description of the two Qis, and didn''t really touch on anything tangible. But this was the vague feeling that Ryu got from it.


    As Ryu was lost in thought, the teleportation array had already activated, enveloping himself, Elise, her butler, Selheira and Lu''card.


    When their vision cleared, the environment could only be described as hell on earth. Though... wasn''t that exactly what the Nether Plane was?


    The ground was barren and greyed. Rocky land stretched out for as far as the eyes could see. Dark purple clouds rumbled and arcs of black lightning struck mountain tops.


    Lining the sides of the road, there were various shrubberies and vegetation... if you could even call them that. Most lacked budding flowers and greeneries, and even worse than that, they were blackening with pitch-black flames as though this world didn''t allow life to exist at all.


    And if it did... it certainly wouldn''t be comfortable.


    The Nether Qi in the air was so dense that it was suffocating. It felt like one was choking on smog every time they inhaled, and it quickly began to corrode Ryu''s qi, causing his eyes to narrow.

 Chapter 1725 Scram

    Chapter 1725 Scram


    Ryu looked up. The feeling of the world around him was truly suffocating, but he felt that his body was slowly adjusting.


    He remembered that the first time he stepped into the Nether Plane back in Sacrum, the Nether Qi acted much like this. Back then he had been much weaker, so the effects were far more exaggerated. There was a great suppression that most faced in this world, especially when they didn''t use Nether Qi themselves.


    Their arrival caught some attention immediately. It was impossible for this not to be the case. Lu''card wasn''t the type of existence that could be hidden, especially when he didn''t want to be hidden in the first place.


    He stood tall and proud, his shimmering silver scales being practically the only light in the dreary atmosphere.


    There wasn''t a single Demon present that didn''t look over with lightning-like gazes, their shock plainly measurable on their faces.


    Even if it wasn''t for Lu''card, the group was too conspicuous. Other than Elise and her butler, none of the others exuded any Demonic Aura. One seemed to be human, another seemed to be both human and not, and the last was a Dragon.


    This sort of group composition didn''t even make much logical sense.


    "The Demon Kings aren''t present yet," Ryu thought to himself.


    The teleportation platform that Elise used was actually quite a distance away from the actual gathering. It was just that such a distance didn''t mean much to existences of this level, and even if it was an ant, they would at least give it a cursory glance in this sort of situation. The stakes were much too high.


    What they didn''t expect was what they saw instead.


    "Let''s go," Ryu said calmly.


    He held Selheira''s hand and walked forward, his strides long.


    He pierced through the veil of Nether Qi with a calm cadence. An aura of chaos flickered around him. Arcs of dark gold lightning flashed, and the Nether Qi was fried to ash.


    He exuded a powerful aura from the very beginning.


    Elise was a very smart individual, and the words she spoke earlier were actually quite correct. Being too low-key would have the opposite effect.


    Plus, he was here to see his wife. Considering how popular she had gotten, he had no doubt that he would be forced to kill some ignorant fools very soon.


    It was best he draw a line right here and now.


    Although there were no actual Demon Kings present, at a single glance Ryu could tell that most present were at least descendents of them. This seemed to be the minimum requirement for even daring to show up.


    The group picked a mountain peak and staked out their land. Ryu''s initial impulse was to pick one of the nine main mountain peaks, but he was no longer the Ryu of the past. At the very least, he knew when to show some propriety when he should.


    Even so, many were shocked by the mountain peak he chose regardless.


    His black lightning became like a cloak of energy, fluttering like a robe around him, while every other part of him seemed to become distinctly human. If not for the fact his face was far too pale to be natural, they could truthfully pass off a young man of exceptionally handsome stature.


    It was rare that Ryu met a man who could match him in the looks department. His Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure might not have been strong, but it had done wonders for his proportions and looks. Funny enough, it might not be an exaggeration at this point to say that this was the strongest ability of that Bone Structure.


    Even after his Bone Structure had changed, his body composition remained the same.


    But this young man was truly a looker, and his pale skin, rather than making him look unhealthy and sickly, gave him a demonic touch almost like a black and white painting with just the slightest hints of color.


    The young man''s golden eyes shifted slowly, scanning through the second-tier mountains one by one and quickly realizing that there were none left.


    Everyone thought that the next result was obvious. Didn''t it only make sense for Ryu and the others to be targeted? They were clearly the group that was not like the rest.


    But the young man''s thoughts weren''t like this at all. It could be the reason Ryu said this was interesting was not because of their Race, but because he had sensed something from this young man in particular.


    "Scram."


    The young man spoke softly. His voice wasn''t too deep and even could be considered a bit higher than average. But the strength behind it was undeniable.


    A Race of skeletons with blackened bones and fluttering blue flames in their eye sockets were shocked.


    The older generation frowned and looked toward the young Black Thunder Wraith''s elders. Were they really going to allow this?


    They were the descendants of the Skeleton Kings. In many ways, they were the second most powerful here after the appearance of the Black Thunder Wraiths.


    The young man hadn''t picked the weakest; he had immediately picked on the strongest. His goal was obvious.


    Did these people think that his Black Thunder Wraith Race could only pick on the weak? The moment these people saw them coming, they should have cleared a lane themselves.


    "Not going?" The young man spoke unhurriedly.


    When there was no response and a young man of the skeleton Race was about to step forward, the Black Thunder Wraith youth suddenly vanished in a spark of black lightning.


    BANG!


    When he appeared again, a fair palm was being held out and the young skeleton that had stepped out was directly sent soaring off the mountain.


    The young Black Thunder Wraith stood amidst the skeletons without a care. He wasn''t a match for the older generation, but did he need to be?


    The skies rumbled as sparks flew, the conflict coming to a head.

 Chapter 1726 Devour

    Chapter 1726 Devour


    Ryu smiled from start to finish. It was a bit of a surprising change, and he found this young man to be interesting. It was unfortunate that turning him into a Summoning would cause more trouble than he was ready to deal with right now. Although the Black Thunder Wraiths weren''t Demon Kings, they were still too powerful to ignore. And obviously, this young man was probably the best of their younger generation.


    The descendants of Skeleton Kings couldn''t be underestimated. The Skeleton Races in general were quite difficult to do with because they didn''t have any obvious weak points and they could cultivate their bodies a lot like how blacksmiths tempered treasures.


    Without having to worry about the frailty of flesh, one could imagine their strength.


    Yet, this young man had sent one of their best flying with a single palm and stood amongst their elders without a single care in the world.


    His temperament was honestly a lot like how Ryu had once been. Observing his temperament might help Ryu find out just how to take the next step in his cultivation.


    The Black Thunder Wraiths and Skeleton King descendants clashed heads, the atmosphere growing thicker and thicker with tension.


    It was simply impossible for the descendants to just casually leave because a junior said so. Where would they put their faces at that point?


    On top of that, they couldn''t face off against Ryu or else the dichotomy between their reaction and that of the Black Thunder Wraiths would be put on full display.


    Everyone knew that the Black Thunder Wraith genius hadn''t taken action against Ryu because he disdained to bully the weak. If the Skeleton King descendants suddenly did exactly that, then they would lose their face once again.


    It was like they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only method forward seemed to be to fight it out with the Black Thunder Wraiths. Even if they lost, it would still be the far better outcome.


    For a moment, it looked like this was truly what was about to happen until there was a sudden charming voice that floated through the hair.


    A woman with delicate pinkish violet skin stepped forward. She had a pair of white horns that curled above her head. Rather than piercing toward the skies arrogantly, these horns curled back, looking almost like a pair of gorgeous braids at first. If usual horns were demonic, these were instead like precious ivory, smoothed and blemishless.


    "There is no need for such a battle," she said in a gentle voice. "The solution is simple." Her gaze turned toward Ryu and the others with a gentle smile. "Please take a step down. I didn''t want to say anything earlier, but you''ve made a bit of a mistake. This mountain was actually reserved for another."


    Her smile was sweet and there was nothing wrong with her words. It seemed that she was trying to advise Ryu and the others out of kindness. Although they had Lu''card with them, there were too many experts here. There were Dao Sovereigns amongst their elders and there were almost certainly Dao Gods paying attention to the situation.


    Dragon or not, it was impossible in her opinion for Lu''card to match up against even a Dao Lord, let alone a Sovereign or God.


    "Young Miss Wunikai is speaking to you!"


    The sudden roar was so close to a real clap of thunder that many looked up before their eyes actually landed on the young man who had spoken.


    He was enormous, his skin rippling with a black steel color. He stood at 30 meters tall and the pair of horns on his forehead made him reach as much as 35 meters into the air.


    This was no doubt a descendant of the Fire Giants, but they had lost the ability to control the fire element. Instead, they had progressed down a completely new path, reaching the pinnacle of Body Realm cultivation and having skin and bone tougher than even precious metals.


    He was, of course, one of Wunikai''s pursuers, and unlike those Demon King young masters, he was willing to give her the position of first wife even to the dissatisfaction of his elders. He simply didn''t care.


    This time, though, he didn''t give Ryu a chance to ignore him. It was clear at a glance that while Ryu had looked at Wunikai, he wasn''t going to give this youth even the chance.


    But just as he was about to charge, the main teleportation platforms suddenly began to light up one after another.


    The Wraith Knights. The Skeleton Kings. The Fire Giants. The Ice Queens. The Horned Devils. The Bone Serpents. The Shadows. The Ash Treants. The Dream Wraiths.


    One after another, they appeared.


    Unlike the other Races, though... only their younger generation appeared. The weakest were at the Perfect Sky God Realm while the strongest were at the Transcendent Sky God Realm.


    The auras they exuded clamped down on everything around them.


    The young Black Thunder Wraith looked over with black lightning flickering in his golden eyes. His battle intent soared into the skies and the black lightning high above seemed to be triggered by something, falling down onto the mountain peaks with even greater fervor.


    Killing intent flooded the region.


    At that moment, the Bone Serpents looked toward Lu''card, a black of golden flames lighting up in their usually blank sockets.


    It looked as though they had just found a meal they wanted to devour at all costs.

 Chapter 1727 I Trust

    Chapter 1727 I Trust


    Ryu noticed the change immediately and stifled a laugh. He had a guess as to why this was. The Bone Serpents had a history that was hard to parse based on historical record alone. But for them to form a Skeleton Empire that was outside the jurisdiction of the Skeleton Kings, one could imagine that their origins certainly were not simple.


    There were many potential legends that Sacrum had written down, and it was hard to tell which ones were true. But judging by their reaction to Lu''card, Ryu had a pretty good idea now of which one held more weight.


    It had to be understood that beasts weren''t just handed their talent. At least in the beginning, they had to fight for their place much the same. This was how the war between the Ancient Beasts and the Fey started and ended in Sacrum as well.


    Back then, at least in Sacrum, and seemingly here as well, there were two main Races vying for the position that Dragons currently held.


    On the one side, there were the Dragons and on the other, there were the World Serpents.


    World Serpents were said to be impossibly massive creatures, monstrous existences with bodies where, upon maturity, they could wrap around entire worlds and constrict them to dust.


    These Bone Serpents weren''t nearly so large, but even so, they dwarfed every other existence here, even the so-called Fire Giants.


    Obviously, in the war back then, the Bone Serpents lost and that caused a deeply ingrained grudge to be passed down through the generations.


    However, it could be said that the Bone Serpents were existences that were also incredibly impressive.


    Even after their Race was wiped out and sent to the Nether Planes to reincarnate into maybe another Race entirely, their Ancestors were so great and mighty that they were able to avoid the memory wipe of the Dream Wraiths, taking it upon themselves to form an entirely new Race with hopes of one day wiping out the Dragon Race in the future.


    Of course, by the time Ryu reached this point in the story, the details were almost certainly fuzzy.


    For example, if all they did was avoid the memory wipe, how''d they become skeletons? It wasn''t as though there weren''t other Demon Kings with flesh and blood bodies.


    And also, how was it even possible to escape the memory wipe of the Dream Wraiths in the first place? And wasn''t the implication that more than one of them had survived, or else how did they copulate?


    For one, this matter still seemed worth taking part in if for no other reason than he could probably hitch a ride with the other Dream Wraiths.


    He ignored the confrontation between Lu''card and Bone Serpents, his eyes landing on the Dream Wraith.


    They were a group of absolutely gorgeous men and women, it was hard to describe them as anything different.


    The most beautiful woman Ryu had ever seen was Mae''s master, and it seemed that the others, although nowhere near as perfect, lived up to at least small portions of that majesty.


    None of them looked at Ryu. Their attentions were entirely focused on Lu''card, and that only made sense. At the moment, he seemed like the main character of the event.


    But they were also confused.


    This event didn''t have any barriers and anyone who could make it here could participate. But Lu''card was too old to do so, they could sense that at a single glance. Their senses were, obviously, quite exceptional.


    So why had Lu''card done so? Did he not understand the rules? Or was there another reason?


    Ryu clasped his hands behind his back and his smile suddenly became bright. He felt like he was close to seeing his wife once again. Since the Dream Wraiths had teleported here using the formation, didn''t it also mean that it was this formation they would use to return as well?


    "Alright, you''re being too loud," Ryu said softly, giving Lu''card a glance.


    He spoke lightly, but the space in the region constricted and Lu''card''s echoing roar was stifled.


    Lu''card sent a glare over toward Ryu, but he ignored him.


    "My name is Ryu Tatsuya," Ryu greeted, "I trust that my wife is doing well?"

 Chapter 1728 JIJIJI

    Chapter 1728 JIJIJI


    It was hard to tell how the world responded. The echoing of claps of the thunder was practically continuous.


    However, it was very easy to tell how everyone else reacted.


    First, they couldn''t believe the audacity of a human to speak in this situation. But when they heard the name and saw that he was looking toward the Dream Wraiths, their eyes opened wide. In fact, even the Dream Wraiths, well known for their calm demeanors and unhurried spirits were in a state of shellshock.


    It could be said that there wasn''t a single soul that wasn''t observing Ryu at this point. Even Wunikai was taking several glances, but she was focused on both Ryu and Selheira.


    "This man... dared to have more than one woman? And his cultivation? Just a True Sky God? It felt like their worlds were flipping upside down."


    After their shock, the Dream Wraiths all frowned.


    "Which of them didn''t know how obsessed Mae was with this man? Most Demons didn''t even have last names, but Mae insisted on being called Young Mistress Tatsuya, it was inescapable. Every time they called her name they were reminded of the fact she had a husband."


    "They had thought that this man might have six arms and three heads, but other than being handsome... he seemed completely ordinary in practically all other aspects."


    "Because they were the Dream Wraiths, this was an especially poignant slap to the face. The Dream Wraith Clan could be considered one of the only places in existence where Ryu''s looks would actually be considered to be ordinary."


    "Who cared if he was handsome? How many handsome men did they have? They could drown even the legendary World Spirit in their spit with just one upchuck if they so wanted. Since when was handsomeness something they lacked in?"


    Ryu observed their reactions with the same smile on his face. In fact, the angrier they felt, the happier he felt.


    "Even so, he hadn''t exposed himself like this for a petty reason."


    "First, he needed to understand their thoughts. One way or another he needed to use their teleportation platform back and he wouldn''t allow anything to stop him. So he needed to be prepared for whether they''d be hostile or not."


    "Second, he didn''t mind the pressure. Right now one of his top priorities was gathering as much Faith as possible for his Inner World. Having his name resound throughout the Three Planes wasn''t a bad idea. The angrier they were, the more chances he would have at crushing them in the future."


    "Don''t expect any of them to return. I will personally kill them all."


    Ryu''s smile faded and he looked down on the world indifferently. His sky blue robes danced in the wind along with his sparkling white hair.


    "There was a suffocating pressure in the air at the moment, one that made them feel as though the real Dragon wasn''t Lu''card at all, but rather the human standing before them right this moment."


    "The mountains began to rumble before anyone could respond. It seemed that the event was perfectly primed."


    "Ryu took a step forward, but Selheira moved with him."


    "Ryu frowned. Selheira was a bit weak for this matter, but quite frankly, the same could be said for him. He didn''t really want to reject her, so in the end he thought it might be fine."


    "With a swirl of his eyes, Elise and the others vanished."


    "Countless hostile gazes landed on Ryu''s body, but he was completely unbothered. The calm in his eyes was almost frightening. In that moment, the world that had seemed to revolve around the Dragon had come to revolve around him instead..."


    "And it felt natural."


    "The geniuses in the surroundings seemed to realize that it wasn''t so easy to dismiss Ryu after all. If for no other reason, the arrogance of pointing out those on his kill list ahead of time was something even they had a hard time fathoming."


    "It was clear in that instant that, at the very least, Ryu had the heart of a hero."


    "And when he stepped into the air, walking on it as though it was flat land, their pupils constricted one after another."


    "Standing there, high above even the Dao Sovereigns present, he had done something that only the Dao Gods of their Clans were capable of."


    "He didn''t give them a single other glance as he vanished, entering the portal before anyone else."

 Chapter 1729 First...

    Chapter 1729 First...


    Lu''card was left behind, standing proudly on the mountain peak without a single utterance. He stared down the Bone Serpents as though he was giddy for them to attack.


    Unlike Ryu, he knew the full story. Well... at least the full story with respect to Sacrum. But he had a feeling that overall, the situation wasn''t much different elsewhere.


    "What was more interesting to him was how the same thing could happen again and again, across different worlds. It spoke to something more... sinister almost, even if that underlying current was actually helping out his Dragon Race instead of the scale-less lizards."


    Lu''card grinned, a toothy spread of sharp canines glistened in the darkness.


    "Then, with a step, he launched himself into the air, vanishing into the clouds above."


    "The Dao Lord and Sovereigns that remained suddenly felt itchy, wanting to go after Lu''card, but not being able to justify it just yet. They were supposed to stay behind and wait for this to play out, but..."


    "The youths of the various Demon Races rushed into the portal after Ryu, many of them trembling with murderous intent. It felt like Ryu had humiliated most of them, and even those he hadn''t pointed out wanted his head on a platter."


    "The elders could only wait patiently."


    "What no one noticed was that deep within the crowd, a familiar pair was standing."


    "One was Ianjor and the other was Empana. It seemed as though the latter was going to participate."


    "He really does nothing by half measures, huh? It''s a good thing he didn''t notice us, or else I''m not sure how he''d react. Would he pull you into this mess?"


    Ianjor sneered. "He definitely noticed us, that bastard is just acting like a saint for once. I think between now and when I saw him last, he got dropped on his head. He might have a few things loose up there."


    "The main issue was that Elise knew too little, and even she didn''t dare to use her information network to find out information about such an important thing. Even the geniuses that were participating only found out the official rules just a day ago."


    "Ryu didn''t really mind it, though. As far as he was concerned, so long as it was something reliant on fighting, killing and comprehending, even if he didn''t know what was going on he''d come out on top eventually."


    "If he didn''t give those fools at least this much handicap, where would the fun come from?"


    "That said, while Elise didn''t know much, that didn''t mean that she knew nothing. There were, at the very least, historical records about this place."


    "This world was aptly known as the Rotten Sea. It was just as Ryu had speculated, and it was formed from the liquified remains of all those that had entered. It could be said that this Black Sea was an amalgamation of all the bloodlines to ever exist on the Ninth Plane, and some felt even beyond as well."


    "It was just that they were in a completely unrecognizable and indigestible form."


    "Not only were they mixed with dozens of other bloodlines, within those dozens there were millions of variations within, some amplifying one another and some entirely canceling one another out."


    "On top of that, there was an odd Dao in this region that seemed to force this Bloodlines to enter a rotten state. Just breathing in the fumes for too long could make you sick and disrupt your qi, let alone trying to ingest it."


    "If anyone had such a stupid idea, they would be poisoning their bodies in the worst of ways."


    "According to Elise, although the details seemed to change over the years, the main point of all of this was the same: Supremacy."


    "The Rotten Sea could be suppressed and the goal was to reach the end of it."


    "Simple enough."


    "Ryu looked over toward a certain direction. First, his wife."

 Chapter 1730 Willful

    Chapter 1730 Willful


    Ryu bolted across the city, feeling the changes as he moved. They had all been randomly teleported, and Selheira had resisted entering his inner world at the last moment, so this was the current situation.


    Inwardly, Ryu had known that Selheira had been struggling with something for a while. He had a small bit of an idea of what it was after observing for so long, and retrospectively, he should have been able to guess that this would be the outcome.


    "It could be said that she was playing a very dangerous game, and maybe purposely so."


    "This wasn''t a shit-test for Ryu like it had been in the past, trying to see if he would definitely come to save her. Though, unlike in the past, Ryu had already claimed her as his woman. In his current opinion, even if it was, he wouldn''t blame her in the slightest. That was the difference between being his family and not."


    "But no. Ryu believed that Selheira had forcefully placed herself in this position because she wanted to."


    "She was a Crystal Dragon, but she erred on the side of arrogance nonetheless. She had always been dissatisfied with how her father and her ancestors had done things, even to the point of setting out on her own."


    "However, when Ryu suddenly swooped in and fixed all her problems, it felt like her purpose in the world had vanished... And she found that she didn''t like that at all."


    "She had never resisted falling in love with Ryu, that was because she had never thought that he would have such capability. It wasn''t that she didn''t think him to be talented, it was more so that no one should have been able to do what he did for her."


    "What she couldn''t have expected was that that love would have come into conflict with her own Dao Heart. She felt like if she didn''t do anything, and she continued to allow things to progress like this, her Dao Heart would shatter and let alone keeping up with Ryu''s steps, she would become his burden."


    "In another few dozen years, she would grow old and decrepit and eventually die. There was no amount of Embryonic Qi that could do anything to change that if she didn''t have the heart to continue."


    "Ryu could only sigh. He had never dealt with such a situation before."


    "Just as he was about to pause and re-evaluate, a pill of black light suddenly came out from the ocean."


    "One of the most disgusting creatures Ryu had ever seen in his lifetime appeared. It was an anglerfish, but the problem was that it was so mutated and warped beyond compare that it somehow managed to look even worse."


    "Ryu was truly speechless at the moment."


    "An Omniscient God Beast?"


    "He was absolutely certain that the strongest genius to enter this place was only in the Perfect Sky God Realm. There was no way that the first beast he came across should have this level of strength. Was he missing something?"


    "The mutated anglerfish''s antenna suddenly whipped out at Ryu, and at that moment it became clear that it not only had a tongue, but also teeth."


    "''Shit.'' Ryu cursed again."


    "He wasn''t a fool, he knew he was missing out on something."


    "And even though he had defeated an Omniscient Sky God before, that also required bringing out practically all of his talent at once. It wasn''t something he could do with a snap of his fingers."


    "If he had to do that so early, how many more times would he have to do it? And would he even have any steam left to deal with everything else?"


    "... Outside, watching the scenes flash by, Ianjor fell to the ground laughing. He really thought he might pop a lung from wheezing too much."

 Chapter 1731 Missing

    Chapter 1731 Missing


    "Piss off!" Ryu cursed, slapping out a palm.


    It was almost immediately absorbed by the anglerfish as though he wasn''t even there. Getting a gauge on the beast''s actual strength was difficult as it didn''t seem to conform with any sort of norms.


    The antenna enlarged before his eyes, its teeth baring as it bit down toward his body.


    This sort of attack, even if you managed to survive it, could only lead to bad things. Who knew what kind of terrible toxins and troublesome infections you''d have to deal with because of a small nick, let alone an all out bite.


    Ryu clenched his teeth.


    "The attack was fast, too fast. He was letting his frustration influence his judgment when that was the last thing he should be doing. He was better than that, far better."


    Space warped around him and his expression changed again.


    "His Spacetime Soul Nature was suppressed to this extent in this world? Why?"


    BANG!


    Ryu was sent flying, the faintest flickering images of an Immortal Sakura forming in the air for just a moment before the blow connected. Rather than biting down Ryu, the anglerfish found its antenna spiraling back and out of control.


    Ryu coughed, feeling a spike of pain in his Spiritual Sea. The Immortal Sakura was ultimately still a Visualization and the harm done to it could reflect back on his soul if he wasn''t careful.


    "But at the same time, he realized something else. This mutated anglerfish was also far weaker than it should have been. Even an Omniscient Sky God from the Sixth Heaven should be stronger than this. Was it because of the state of its body?"


    "The confusion just continued to pile up."


    "He had suddenly run into an Omniscient God Beast when this trial should have been designed for juniors far weaker than this. His Spacetime Soul Nature was at a point where even the Ninth Heaven had no ability to suppress him, so how the hell could this world do so? And now the anglerfish''s strength was fluctuating wildly in his senses."


    Ryu frowned and a flickering Qi skin appeared around him. He would have preferred to use space for something like this as his qi still felt like an extension of himself, but his Spacetime Soul Nature didn''t want to cooperate with him.


    "He stopped bobbing on the surface and allowed his body to sink into the water."


    "The first thing he noticed was how restricted his Spiritual Sense was. He had long since stopped counting just how far it could go because there was never a point in actually looking so far. At this stage, most almost never used their Spiritual Sense to their maximum degree, not only would it be highly likely to offend the wrong person, but no one needed to actually see so far."


    "However, when it was restricted to this extent, you couldn''t help but notice."


    "Ryu''s own was a mere single kilometer now, and he had a feeling that for most of the others it was probably even worse."


    "Luckily, he had [Third Perspective], but when he shifted to using it, it was once again a perfect single kilometer."


    Ryu came to a full stop.


    "Instead of descending further, he went back up to the surface."


    "His expression was serious."


    "If before he only had the vague feeling that someone was messing with him, right now he was absolutely certain that this was the case."


    "Restricting even his Heavenly Pupils? It was absolute nonsense. There was something else going on here."


    "Ryu looked around again and then unleashed his Dao."


    "The full brunt of a Founding Dao rushed out in all directions and his eight trigram diagrams appeared in his irises. The water churned and rippled, the dark clouds above rolling in waves."


    "Then it all came to a stop."


    ''Something is missing in my Dao.''

 Chapter 1732 Show Them.

    Chapter 1732 Show Them.


    Ryu stood there not moving at all for a long while. He checked his talents one by one and they all seemed to have a limitation of some sort. Even when he tried to pull out his Inner World to suppress whatever suppression he was currently under, he couldn''t even seem to communicate with it.


    Whether it was Elise, her butler, Eska and Isemeine, or even his new Summoning trainee, he couldn''t sense them at all.


    Ryu closed his eyes.


    There was one thing that didn''t seem to be affected at all: his Bloodlines.


    Everything else, even his qi to a greater extent than he had noticed until now, was suppressed in some form or fashion.


    Obviously, this was a clue.


    What was the description of the Rotten Sea again? Wasn''t it a place that houses the mutated and decomposed bloodlines of all those that had fallen here in the past?


    In that case, did this have to do with Bloodlines? But was understanding that even a good thing?


    If he took a step back and accepted that this was all about Bloodlines, didn''t that mean he was screwed? All of the Bloodlines here were obviously related to the Ninth Plane and the True Nether Plane. What place did he have here as a human with the Bloodlines of several Ancient Beasts?


    "Hm..."


    Ryu''s eyes slowly opened, his hair fluttering. He felt focused and at ease.


    Slowly, he began to descend through the Rotten Sea once again.


    After he rushed in Selheira''s direction, he had suddenly been intercepted by that anglerfish, but this had also made him forget one key and obvious detail.


    He had been able to sense her.


    If they were really in different worlds, how was that possible?


    But the problem was that on a large enough scale, these things never happened, they had never been observed and they would likely never be observed.


    Such things could only be seen on the most quantum of levels, and that was what Aika''s Dao was based upon.


    But what was the Nether Plane all about if not reversing the irreversible? Returning a life to its most infantile state and allowing the universe to bless them once more?


    Wasn''t this precisely the spontaneous impossibility that the laws of the world never claimed to be so, but never allowed to be possible regardless?


    A disordered order, the perfect sort of chaos that could allow all things to be true at once.


    It was a different kind of order, but it was an order nonetheless, entirely distinguishable from chaos.


    Everything fell into place for Ryu and he seemed to vaguely understand what was going on in this trial.


    His thoughts and feelings about how close or not Selheira was couldn''t be trusted because it was likely that they weren''t in the same world at all...


    At least not in the normal sense.


    If Ryu was correct, this world had, indeed, projected them all to the same place, but the way they interacted with this place was different on an individual basis. And what decided that uniqueness should be their bloodline itself.


    This was a chance for the others to improve their Bloodlines and become stronger. But obviously, Ryu had no ability to take advantage of this.


    He wasn''t a Demon King, nor did he have any Demon King Bloodlines. The closest thing he had to being a Demon was Mae''s Primordial Yin, and that wasn''t going to cut it unless he wanted to redesign his entire body around it.


    It could be said that Ryu was quite screwed. This was a trial designed for literally anyone but him, it was no wonder they didn''t care to limit who participated or not, what good would it do?


    Ryu grinned.


    He''d just have to show them.

 Chapter 1733 Not Enough

    Chapter 1733 Not Enough


    BANG! Ryu''s feet hit a barrier, and he understood he had found what he was looking for. Although he didn''t know exactly what form it would take before he found it, after running into the barrier, it all made sense.


    The Rotten Sea had to be stratified. Since running from side to side was impossible, then it had to be the case that it was downward.


    Now, it was a matter of how to make it past, and he had some thoughts about this as well.


    This matter was concentrated on the Bloodline, which meant that the key to moving past these barriers was also inward.


    There were probably a few methods.


    The first was to take this Rotten water into your body and use the power of your Bloodline to purify it.


    The second was to do the reverse of that, in a way. Imposing the will of your Bloodline onto the surroundings and purifying it that way. Since the barrier was almost certainly formed from the power of the Rotten Waters, then it was likely that doing so would shatter it as well.


    And the third method was to meditate and comprehend something before being able to move past.


    Others might not feel it, but that was because they weren''t used to having multiple Bloodlines within them like Ryu was.


    This Rotten Sea, an amalgamation of countless Bloodlines, distilled down and eventually left to rot... wasn''t it just what would have happened to his own body had he not taken drastic measures?


    In his first life, his body had atrophied and weakened because of his clashing Bloodlines. Before his Awaken Ceremony, he had a perfect bill of health and had a body that could crush children that had already Awakened. But after his Awakening Ceremony, there was a slow downward slope toward the point where his emotions couldn''t become too agitated. The fear of what his Fire Dragon Bloodline might do, and how the others would respond to it, was too much to bear.


    It could be said that this sort of Rotten Sea was the form of Bloodlines that Ryu was the absolute most familiar with.


    The timing of Ryu''s threats had perfectly coincided with the opening of the Rotten Sea Realm, and soon afterward he had been the first to enter. Because of that, no one had gotten the chance to tell him just how stupid he was for making such assumptions.


    "At the very least, that Dragon girl had a Bloodline quite close in proximity to a Demon. Both because of the Bone Serpents, and because she was an anomaly herself, a beast who had embarked upon the path of a human.


    "But Ryu was different. He had no ability to-"


    CRACK.


    The barrier shattered beneath Ryu''s feet, but he still didn''t move, standing there in silence as though he were trying to sense something deeper.


    His breakthrough in understanding Nether Qi set him on a different sort of path. It made him realize just how many holes there were in his Dao and how many he had yet to fill.


    His Dao had once had two halves, each one separated into four aspects. He had eventually fused them, forming them into a single entity, with two halves, each also with two halves.


    He realized just how right he was about only breaking through in his Dao when he had found a meaningful path forward. But this breakthrough didn''t seem like one that would increase the level of his Dao, but its grade.


    And without his Inner World, it was impossible for him to break through the limit of Peak Founding Dao.


    Ryu opened his eyes. "Not enough."


    The first barrier wasn''t enough to break the seal on his Inner World, but that didn''t mean the next wouldn''t be. And if the second wasn''t enough, he would go to the third.


    He didn''t like people controlling him.


    A sudden whipping tentacle lashed out at Ryu.

 Chapter 1734 Scram

    Chapter 1734 Scram


    Ryu had already expected this. This first barrier was nothing more than a checkpoint, one probably 100% of the geniuses who dared to enter would pass.


    The only reason he had triggered the appearance of the anglerfish was because he had almost "stepped out of bounds". And the reason he had felt that the anglerfish''s attack was weaker than it should have been was precisely because it was. It wasn''t trying to kill him, it was trying to knock him back in bounds.


    However, that didn''t mean that things would continue to stay the same. There would almost certainly be problems soon. It was just that for Ryu the trouble came instantly.


    ''False Sky God, much more manageable.''


    Ryu was already quickly deducing how this place would work, and he also realized that the density of the Rotten Sea was probably another test.


    False Sky God was weak to most of the geniuses here, but what if you were in water that not only restricted your movements but also your senses, and seemingly your talent as well?


    Now that was a different beast entirely.


    Ryu calmly blocked the rotten, mutated tentacle with his forearm, but without the footing of the ground to stabilize him, he found himself shooting through the water, having been blown back.


    He had never battled in water before, so he noticed quickly that many of his Close Combat methods didn''t quite work the same.


    He couldn''t passively take attacks just to counter in this situation. He would end up soaring away just like this, even though his body was still entirely unharmed.


    He had to meet forward momentum with forward momentum. Attack was the only defense in this place. Everything else was too useless.


    The attack of the tentacle sent him flying out of the range of the tentacle beast and even further out of range of his senses.


    However, Ryu''s limits didn''t seem to apply to the creature that lived in this Rotten Sea year-round.


    It quickly caught up, swiping down at Ryu from all sides. It realized that Ryu''s body was much too strong for a single strike to work, so it could only use quantity to make up for quality.


    Ryu shook his head. ''This is an annoyance. Not because able to use my Spacetime Soul Nature feels like a hand is being tied behind my back. He would almost think that someone was targeting him purposely, but everything he sensed clarified that the Demon Kings were actually being quite fair.


    ''Overwhelming power it is.''


    Ryu put the shard away and suddenly punched out.


    BANG!


    Two fists met in the blackened sea. Ryu didn''t move back even a single inch, but the Demon took three steps before forcefully stabilizing himself.


    Ryu looked at him with his [Third Perspective] and shook his head.


    "You''re not on my kill list, you can scram."


    "You-"


    "Scram."


    BOOM!


    A sound wave echoed through the water, and the Demon felt his eardrums shatter. He became disoriented and dizzy in an instant, but Ryu had already shot by him.


    It wasn''t that Ryu had suddenly become such a merciful person. Quite frankly, he would have much rather killed this person.


    But right now, he was not only trying to prove a point, he would also like to do without becoming the enemy of the entire Ninth Plane if he could help it.


    Ryu killed three more beasts on the way, but as expected, not a single one of them had a Bloodline Shard.


    His feet rebounded against the second barrier not even an hour later, entering a calm state of meditation once more.


    The elders on the outside watched this scene with a frown, still not having recovered from what happened the first time around. None of this really made any sense to them. How was Ryu doing it? Was he actually a Demon?


    CRACK.


    Ryu made it through the second barrier and he suddenly sensed Selheira more clearly.

 Chapter 1735 Weak

    Chapter 1735 Weak


    Ryu''s head snapped in a particular direction, and he shot toward it without hesitation. He was, in one part, relieved that Selheira had made it to the third layer. This meant that she wasn''t completely helpless, and she had managed to figure out what was happening as well. Though, she had a bit of an advantage because it was easy for this world to mistake her as a Demon.


    But he was worried. Not only did this layer have even more danger, but if Ryu was correct, it probably had the current largest concentration of other participants.


    The odds that she would run into a hostile party were too high. The concentration of enemies in the third layer was far too high.


    This was also a good thing, though. If he had broken through this barrier and still couldn''t sense her clearly, it would mean that his chances of doing so at all in this world would plummet to zero.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu kicked at the water again and again, surging forward with his greatest speed. From time to time, he would tweak his form as though he were back in that vast room of white once again. He was trying to attune himself to the best movement patterns for this world.


    He truly had no experience fighting in the water. It differed completely from doing so in the air and required just as much adjustment as battling and flying at once.


    In this place, it wasn''t just an environment, but the water itself could become a weapon.


    ''Dammit,'' Ryu cursed.


    He had alerted an enemy. Soon, yet another tentacle was sweeping toward him.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu frowned. There was something off about this.


    ''Demon.''


    He came to a sudden and forceful stop, a shockwave of water booming out in all directions. A vacuum formed in an instant, one the tentacle was rapidly repelled from.


    Ryu didn''t even look in its direction as he turned back around, thrusting out a fist.


    It had all been nothing more than a distraction. The tentacle was so long that his senses couldn''t grasp its full length, but that didn''t stop his other senses from picking up that there was no body attached to the end of it.


    Unfortunately for it, Ryu had already vanished, leaving nothing but a booming echo of water behind.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist slammed into the giant''s back, the same echo of metal resounding.


    The giant was getting annoyed. He was very used to fighting those of a smaller stature than himself, and Ryu wouldn''t be able to do this normally if it was flat ground.


    But he had yet to fully adapt to battle in these thick, heavy waters, while Ryu seemed to have done so with great ease.


    That filled him with a hint of fear. How was that even possible?


    The truth was that the giant hadn''t known that it was Ryu at first. He just sensed someone ahead. He had an advantage compared to everyone else because the surface area of his body was so much larger, so he could sense more fluctuations in the water at a given time. So he had sensed Ryu before the latter sensed him and before he knew who Ryu was.


    If he had known it was Ryu, he wouldn''t have used a sneak attack at all. But now he was wondering if he should have used an even more sinister method.


    Ryu''s attacks couldn''t even penetrate its tough skin, but as time went on, the giant sensed something frightening.


    Every time Ryu attacked him, the next reverberating echo through its body seemed heavier and heavier.


    At some point, even the waters resonated with that very same particular frequency and suddenly...


    The giant coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu unleashed a fury of three fists in quick succession, his expression the picture of absolute indifference.


    BOOM!


    The giant froze as Ryu''s last fist descended. In that moment, its inner organs were completely crushed, its tough skin having become the impetus for its death.


    "Weak." Ryu said coolly before turning and continuing on his way.

 Chapter 1736 Are You Okay?

    Chapter 1736 Are You Okay?


    Ryu hadn''t even used any strength against that giant. He had found the battle to be nothing more than a joke. But it also awakened another thought in him.


    Sometimes, the environment was just as important to a battle as the power and skills of the individuals. In the battle just now, it was more important than any other single factor.


    This was something that he had always vaguely known, but it hadn''t truly set in until just now.


    He had used no abilities but his close combat against the giant. He had somewhat refined it to be in tune with this environment, but he wasn''t satisfied yet. The fact that the giant was overwhelmed could only mean that he was too pathetic.


    However, it was because the giant couldn''t move with as much fluidity as it was used to that Ryu had been able to flicker around it like that even without his Spacetime Soul Nature.


    Then Ryu used the fact waves traveled further in the water to amplify the resonance of his attacks.


    The first few punches he had thrown were just probes, trying to understand the density of the giant''s skin and how far the protections went inside of his body. After grasping that, he locked onto the frequency, controlling the strength and cadence of his fists to resonate with it.


    Soon, not only did the giant''s body become a cage, but so too did the surrounding water, echoing and amplifying the resonance.


    In the outside world, it wouldn''t have worked nearly so well because the waves would dissipate too well through the air. He would have to make an extra effort to attack even faster or else it would have fallen flat.


    ''Environment, environment...'' It felt like another piece of his Dao was missing, but he was well aware of that as well.


    His Dao was very good at targeting people and individuals, but for external matters, it was more difficult and more hit or miss.


    He slotted this thought into the back of his mind and moved forward with an even greater speed as he began to understand more and more of the surrounding environment.


    With a step, he appeared by Selheira''s side and suddenly punched out, a cyclone of force drilling a vacuum of air through the dense waters.


    Ryu didn''t like the result. It still wasn''t as perfect as what he wanted, but that didn''t mean that it wasn''t effective.


    The tentacle flying toward Selheira shattered into pieces as Ryu suddenly grabbed downward.


    A large amount of Primordial Water Chaotic Qi took shape and formed a palm that squeezed.


    ''Not that either,'' Ryu frowned. This Rotten Sea didn''t seem to have any Water Qi in it and his Primordial Water Chaos Qi was useless against it.


    Even so, once again, that didn''t mean it wasn''t effective.


    BANG!


    The head of the beast shattered and the shimmering image of a blood-red crystal shard radiated out in the waters, illuminating the surroundings and allowing them a rare chance to see the environment clearly.


    Selheira had already known that it was Ryu. She could sense him just the same as he could. Though, her senses weren''t nearly as sharp whether by virtue of Ryu''s talents or the fact it was her Primordial Yin that had been taken away and not the other way around.


    There seemed to be a hint of guilt on her when she saw Ryu. He must have been rushing after her this entire time.


    However, when the light illuminated the surroundings, all she saw was a caring expression without a hint of dissatisfaction.


    "Are you okay?" Ryu asked, checking her body.


    Selheira looked as though she was going to cry. Why was her mind like this? Why did she have to go even when she knew it was stupid? It was like she would rather die than lie down and take this loss.... Even though this "loss" was just a victory her husband had handed her.

 Chapter 1737 Blood Resonance

    Chapter 1737 Blood Resonance


    Ryu looked over Selheira''s body twice and then thrice over as though he didn''t trust his senses. In this sort of environment, he didn''t want to miss anything, and he didn''t trust Selheira to be honest with him about her situation right now. There was no other choice but to check himself.


    "What are you crying for?" Ryu smiled. "A mighty Dragon can''t shed tears so easily."


    These words had the opposite effect to what they intended. Selheira''s tears came forth in a stream, and she buried her head into Ryu''s chest. Feeling that her arms alone weren''t enough, she wrapped her wings around him as well, practically swallowing him up whole.


    Ryu''s expression softened, his hand rubbing her back. He could feel that there was a great amount of weight on her chest, but...


    "Isn''t this what you wanted?" Ryu said softly. "If your Bloodlines are still dictating your actions to this extent, doesn''t that mean there''s still a long path ahead for you to follow on your own?"


    Selheira froze when she heard these words.


    She had never looked at things like this, but Ryu''s words had repositioned everything in her mind.


    This sort of impulsiveness wasn''t normal. The moment they entered the Rotten Sea, it was like a strong compulsion had overwhelmed her, forcing her hand.


    What was odd was that she wasn''t a Fire Dragon, she was a Crystal Dragon. She had never drawn the connection because she had been forcing herself to act and be unruly all her life, trying to separate herself from the moniker that had tagged her Crystal Dragon Race all its life.


    She believed that the Crystal Dragons had been pushovers, so she became the opposite, even putting the man she loved through a countless series of tests to the point of almost pushing him away.


    All this time, she had thought that those actions were her own will, but was it?


    "You''re human now," Ryu started, "at least in part. Human Bloodlines do not work like Dragon Bloodlines do. Even if there is one superior Bloodline, the second will be dormant somewhere else within. Humans always carry the Bloodlines of both parents.


    "You do not have to force yourself to be something that you are not, and part of controlling your impulsiveness is likewise part of controlling your Bloodline... or Bloodlines."


    Selheira lay on Ryu''s chest as though there was no battle going on around them. She felt safe, and she wondered why she had ever wanted to be separated from him in the first place.


    Even now, it seemed that her Bloodlines were, indeed, still influencing her to a great extent. How silly of her to think her journey was finished. In the path of Cultivation, was there any end destination? Didn''t even Dao Gods spend endless days and nights in seclusion?


    "Thank you, husband," she whispered.


    "What are you thanking me for?" Ryu smiled, picking up her chin and looking down into her eyes. "Didn''t I tell you before? My wives are allowed to be as willful as they desire. If you want to poke a hole in the skies, just tell me."


    Selheira''s heart fluttered. She was fairly certain that this was the first time Ryu had called her his wife, or at the very least, this was the first time he had done so right to her.


    She had never assumed herself to be a main wife. But now...


    Selheira wanted to kiss Ryu, but the qi barriers that separated them made it particularly annoying. It was hard to be romantic when you were surrounded by rotting currents of blood.


    That was when she felt Ryu''s lips on hers. She didn''t know how it happened, but the rotting smell vanished and so too did the rest of the world.


    Bloodline Resonance.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s punch accelerated, a clap of thunder resounding through the water.


    Rather than a vortex vacuum forming, the waters seemed to become an extension of Ryu''s body, forming a spiralling whirlwind of water as it appeared before his enemies in an instant.


    ''Good.''


    BANG!


    A head exploded into a rain of blood and gore.


    Ryu was already preparing another strike, calmly taking another step forward. This time his fist was just a hint faster.


    BANG!


    The result replayed itself, their blood and bone being incorporated into the Rotten Sea as though they had never existed in the first place.


    With every step, Ryu killed another, but by the time he was done, he felt a drain on his body like nothing else he had ever felt before.


    He circulated a drop of Embryonic Qi, but it was slow. It took five before he finally calm himself, but he found that the stacking effect was poor. The only way to make it a bit better was to allow them to work on separate sections of his body.


    ''This is...''


    Ryu took inspiration from his battle with the giant.


    There was a good reason his Water Qi didn''t work. This wasn''t water, it was blood. If it was blood, didn''t that mean that it didn''t work with qi, but Vital Qi instead?


    When he punched out before, he wasn''t satisfied with the result. Too much of his strength was wasted pushing the water away, so by the time it got to any enemy, it didn''t even have a fraction of its true strength.


    He had been trying to tune his fists so that it could be in line with the waters, but the problem with that was the fact the waters didn''t seem to want to bow to his will.


    The Rotten Sea was a mixture of countless Bloodlines with countless more variations within. Although it looked uniform, the changes were drastic from one place to another.


    Resonating perfectly with them all at the same time, and even at a considerable distance, was too difficult. It required a fist with just as many variations, and complexity was practically the bane of close combat.


    But what if he took a different approach? What if he used Vital Qi as the conduit instead?


    Ryu had unwittingly, and to the shock of the spectators, stepped into a Realm of control so rare that it was the minimum requirement for reaching the bottom of the Rotten Sea...


    A place no one had been in countless generations.

 Chapter 1738 I See...

    Chapter 1738 I See...


    "Tsk," Ianjor clicked his tongue. "This is no fun."


    He might have bet on Ryu, but his actual intention was to watch him struggle for a bit longer. But what happened? He got slapped away by one beast, and then it was practically smooth sailing the rest of the way.


    After some thought, though, Ianjor comforted himself. It was definitely going to be a shit show when Ryu finally took a step out. That would be nice to see.


    "You know him."


    The words came from nowhere and descended onto Ianjor from all sides. It looked as though they were trying to suffocate him.


    Ianjor looked up and snorted. The surrounding pressure was incinerated to ash and the person who spoke yelped, reeling back.


    High in the skies, the body of a Demon manifested. It was a member of the Blacksteel Giant Race, and the confusion and fear on their face was clear for all to see.


    Logically, you shouldn''t be able to set someone''s aura on fire, but why did it seem like Ianjor could break the physical laws of reality to force it to be so?


    What profound control over the fire element did this take?


    The Blacksteel Giant had already noticed that Ianjor was a Dao Lord, but he could also sense that he was a human. Demons never took humans in the Nether Plane seriously. The strong among them were all on the Ninth Heaven and had no reason to come here, because it would only hinder their progress.


    The only humans here were fugitives or meager in talent.


    How could this Blacksteel Giant expect to run into not just one human monster, but two?


    This action by Ianjor, though, made most conclude that he had to be with Ryu. By this point, Empana had long gone inside the Rotten Sea to participate. So he had no plausible deniability whatsoever.


    No one was paying attention to this corner of the mountain ranges to begin with, so they had no idea who Ianjor had come with or who he was representing.


    Ianjor was left speechless when several unfriendly gazes landed on him.


    "Son of a bitch," he cursed under his breath. His gaze shifted, looking toward where Lu''card had vanished, probably still being pursued by the Bone Serpents.


    Ryu had really screwed them both over.


    A dangerous light danced in Ianjor''s crimson gaze.


    "I''d advise you all to piss off. I''m in a good mood, and I''d prefer not to ruin it by dealing with ants."


    Ianjor''s words might as well have been throwing oil onto a fire.


    ''Dammit, I still can''t control my mouth.''


    Ianjor cursed again, making sure to levy another large segment at Ryu.


    Back then, the reason he got into conflict with Ryu all the time was because he couldn''t control his mouth when his temper flared up. All things considered, he had no right to be so rude to the ruling Clan of his father''s Sect, but that hadn''t helped.


    It seemed that he was still the same person.


    The trouble was that this way was far too draining.


    It would be far more efficient if he did the reverse, but to succeed in doing that, he would need more time to decipher exactly what was happening.


    The fourth layer took Selheira a few hours to break through. Ryu wasn''t impatient. As far as he was concerned, so long as all his targets were in this sea, they would die one way or another.


    Once she had broken through, he took action as well. Having had the benefit of observing the barrier for so long, it didn''t take him more than a few seconds to burst through.


    "How''s it feel?" Ryu asked.


    Selheira didn''t answer immediately.


    There were definitely changes occurring inside of her. She just didn''t know if it was a good thing or not.


    Her Fire Dragon Bloodline, after having been suppressed all her life, was showing signs of returning. But the odd part was that it wasn''t in the same way.


    For example, she felt no affinity toward flames at all. Instead, she was beginning to feel the temperament of a Fire Dragon more and more clearly, and it was somewhat overriding her usual temperament as a Crystal Dragon.


    More complex than that, she even somewhat felt that she could still guide it, molding it into something new. But she wasn''t sure what path to take.


    She hesitated before shaking her head. If she couldn''t lean on her husband, then who could she lean on?


    "What do you think I should do?" Selheira asked, after explaining her situation.


    "What do you think the main path of the Crystal Dragon is?" Ryu asked.


    Selheira blinked. "... Control?"


    Ryu thought for a moment, but didn''t agree. Words were especially important, especially when deciding a path like this one.


    "Control, somewhat. From what I can feel from your Primordial Yin, it''s more accurate to say guidance. You are never really controlling anything. Instead, you''re giving it the room to bring out the best of itself.


    "Although this could be seen as a form of control, in practice there''s a subtle different to it, an important one that can make or break a lot of things."


    Selheira''s eyes lit up. "Then?"


    "You can give your awakening Fire Dragon Bloodline some intentionality that other Fire Dragons do not have. Rather than viewing your Crystal Dragon Bloodline as a weakness, view it as a strength."


    Ryu didn''t say anything more. In truth, if it wasn''t for his Dao, he likely would have said too much already. Comprehension was the one thing he couldn''t put his fingerprints over. He had to give much more subtle guidance. If not, it would lead to trouble down the line.


    "I see..."


    Selheira''s eyes glowed, and her thoughts churned.


    Seeing her lost in her own world, Ryu chuckled and just lifted her up, placing her onto his back before walking forward.


    The pressure in the fourth layer increased substantially. Even with Selheira''s weight, it felt like he was walking on solid earth. It could hardly be called water any longer. It was more like a cured, toxic sludge.

 Chapter 1739 Attacked

    Chapter 1739 Attacked


    Ryu glided forward. This thickened water was actually a good opportunity. While his movements had slowed significantly, it gave him a chance to focus on his Blood Resonance on a much smaller scale.


    The last time he used Blood Resonance, it had left him drained. If not for his Embryonic Qi replenishing his Vital Qi, he would have been down and out for a long while. At least an hour or two.


    He couldn''t accept that sort of result. If he was in battle and he could only attack three or four times, what would be the use?


    Plus, these shackles on his body were getting annoying. Not being able to use his Spacetime Soul Nature, his eyes being suppressed, his Spiritual Sense, all of it. It felt like he was hopping around on one leg with both hands tied behind his body.


    This was unacceptable to him, though to the outside world, he already had a ridiculous advantage, and that was only getting larger.


    The Rotten Sea was a unique realm and entering it was very expensive, even for the nine Demon King Clans. The only reason they didn''t care about who entered this time around was because the price wasn''t dependent on how many entered, but rather set at a flat rate depending on a few factors.


    As such, there were only two reasons they would choose to bear this cost.


    The first was an event like this one where everyone bore the cost evenly, and the second was to allow a top of the line genius in.


    The problem with the second approach was that you could either only let one or an infinite number in. If you were only sending in one supreme genius, then the cost was lower as well.


    As a result, none of these secondary or tertiary geniuses had ever stepped foot into the Rotten Sea before.


    That was all to say that if they wanted to learn Blood Resonance, it would usually have to take place near the bottom layers.


    Any time before that, it would not only be far too difficult, but they would be suppressed, much like Ryu was.


    The Rotten Sea didn''t seem to be owned by any one Clan, so the question was... who created it?


    When you were on the lower planes, it was easy to hand wave away amazing phenomenon because there were always more powerful existences to pass the buck to.


    But when you were on the Ninth Plane or the Ninth Heaven... these were the Gods, they were the deities that everyone worshipped, the Dream Wraiths were quite literally in charge of cleansing souls and sending them into reincarnation.


    In this sort of situation, who did you pass the buck to?


    Ryu looked up, realizing he had come across his first enemy in the fourth layer. They were 300 or so meters away. If not for his newly minted sense, courtesy of Bloodline Resonance, he wouldn''t be able to sense them from so far away.


    Now, though, he was in a situation where both his Spiritual Sense and [Third Perspective] abilities were next to useless.


    ''Not on the kill list.''


    Ryu turned away and ignored the person, continuing downward.


    ''Wait... why have no beasts attacked me?''


    Ryu''s eyes lit up as he came to understand something. It seemed that using this resonance method made him almost impossible to detect. The Demon he spotted didn''t even react to his presence because he didn''t sense Ryu at all.


    Ryu grinned. ''Now, this could be interesting.''


    He wasn''t interested in sneaking up on people. That wasn''t his style. But if he could avoid beasts...

 Chapter 1740 Commotion

    Chapter 1740 Commotion


    Ryu looked down at the blood crystal in his palms. He had taken it out rather than hiding it, illuminating the surroundings once more.


    Selheira was still on his back in a deep meditative state, but she might as well have been in a deep sleep.


    His focus was primed, and he tried to sense the unique characteristics of the crystal. His thoughts were more malleable than others, so how he looked at things was also different. The moment he realized that he could keep beasts away, he wondered if he could attract them. And then, he took it even a step further than that... was it possible to attract a certain kind of beast?


    It couldn''t have been a coincidence. He was attacked the moment he tried to leave the boundary of the trial by that Omniscient God Beast. Then, when he entered the first layer, all the way to the third, he was continuously attacked by beasts.


    Did the fourth layer suddenly become so mellow, or was there another explanation for it?


    The beasts should have a unique method of sensing the surrounding creatures, and if Ryu was correct, it should be related to their mutations.


    The humans and Demons that entered this place obviously didn''t have the same ghastly mutations as the beasts that lived in this place. This should be a strong distinguishing factor.


    In fact, those mutations that the beasts experienced should be their own weaker form of Bloodline Resonance. It was just that they had to suffer a lot more for it.


    Didn''t that mean that if he reversed it...


    The waters churned, and Ryu quickly put the blood crystal away. He spread out his senses and felt for what was happening.


    ''... I might have gone a bit overboard.''


    Large beasts, each one at the pinnacle of the True Sky God Realm, and some at the Half-Step Perfect Sky God Realm, all surged toward Ryu.


    Luckily, they lost their connection with him soon afterward, but that was when Ryu realized something interesting.


    ''They teleported here. There''s no other way for them to get here so fast. Are they being spawned? Or...''


    With Selheira on his back, he had to be a bit more cautious.


    He suddenly spun around as a tentacle was about to slap out against him, throwing a punch.


    This punch contained nothing more than the bare minimum resonance he needed to glide it through the thick waters smoothly. But it was also a test.


    The beast that had caught up was the second one, and Ryu wanted to see if it could weaken his resonance as well.


    He quickly got his answer. It couldn''t.


    Ryu reeled back, the strength of the beast too much for him to take with a simple punch, but he still managed to punch out again, ready for the result.


    This time, he put the full brunt of his Bloodline Resonance behind it.


    BANG!


    The thick, rotting waters were forced into a tight spiral that tore a line toward the beast. As expected, this time, it could do nothing, and its head was ripped apart in a splatter of blood.


    ''Good to know. Only those with blood crystals can cancel out my Bloodline Resonance. Doesn''t that also mean that I could use the crystals as a method to cut the time I need to comprehend down?''


    Ryu was already retreating again. The remaining five beasts were still after him, the one with the blood crystal being the closest.


    But now he was wondering if any of the others had a blood crystal as well.


    With such a good opportunity before him, he couldn''t possibly let it fall into the hands of someone else, right?


    As he was thinking about his next step, the commotion he caused started drawing other participants of the fourth layer over.

 Chapter 1741 Just Attack

    Chapter 1741 Just Attack


    Ryu''s eyes lit up with his realization, but he also understood that the longer he spent embroiled in this battle, the more trouble he would bring to himself.


    The trouble was that with all the suppression, he really didn''t have an easy way of ending this battle quickly.


    He slid through the waters, sending out a pulse of Bloodline Resonance that acted like a benign force field, sensing things in a large region.


    It swept over the beasts and into the distance. Once it was dozens of kilometers away, Ryu got the feedback he was looking for, realizing that there were indeed Demons headed this way.


    ''Oh?''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he realized something else. When he sent out that pulse just now, the beasts reacted as though they had lost track of him. In fact, the ones without the blood crystal looked lost, and even the beast that did hold the blood crystal took a while to orient himself back toward Ryu and Selheira''s direction.


    ''That confirms that just one of the original six has a blood crystal. It also seems that I can use Bloodline Resonance to hide my presence, but I already knew that. I just didn''t expect that it could be used even when they were right before me.''


    The only reason Ryu had acted like this in the first place was because he realized an oddity, that oddity being that no beasts had attacked him.


    But it seemed he could use this ability far more actively than he assumed.


    ''Good.''


    Ryu sent out another gentle pulse. It didn''t take up much of his stamina at all, and the blood crystal beast was confused once more.


    By then, Ryu''s Embryonic Qi had already circulated as he sent out a series of punches.


    The beasts exploded one after another. Each drain on Ryu''s Vital Qi pulled him down toward an abyss, but his strong Dao Heart kept him upright.


    ''Annoying.''


    Ryu made a move to leave when he suddenly paused. In the fourth layer, there was actually a surprising character, and she was actually being followed around by an entourage.


    It was Wunikai, the Dream Devil. To think he would run into the Blacksteel Giant who protected her not long ago and then meet her so soon afterward.


    The real reason Ryu was surprised wasn''t because of who she was, but rather by the fact that she was still here at all.


    The true geniuses should be in the fifth layer at worst by now. Although he wasn''t a fan of the woman, he knew that she was among the strong. She wasn''t at the same level as the Demon King disciples or the Thunder Wraith young man, but she was firmly atop the second tier of geniuses that had appeared here. That, Ryu could tell with a glance.


    What was just as interesting was the fact she had such a large horde of sycophants following after her. They were all men, and each one, though not absolutely strong, was at least decent if they could make it this far.


    If it had just been a loose collection of people, Ryu wouldn''t have thought much about it. But these people were clearly together, and clearly more than willing to target him.


    That wasn''t to say that they had come here with the intention of looking for Ryu in specific, but rather that they were attracted by what was happening here. And now that they had arrived, they wouldn''t mind acting together to do just that.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, and Wunikai showed a hint of surprise when she saw him.


    "... So you aren''t entirely human, after all. You have Demon blood."


    Ryu couldn''t be bothered to explain himself to most people. He didn''t have a mind to care what this woman was talking about or the will to correct her.


    "I must say that I''m surprised, I didn''t expect for-"


    "Just attack. I don''t have the patience for this."

 Chapter 1742 Simple

    Chapter 1742 Simple


    After Ryu''s voice fell, he suddenly took a step forward and punched out.


    The light in the waters vanished as he stored the blood crystal away. At the same time, he sent out a pulse of Bloodline Resonance.


    It all happened in an instant.


    The waters were agitated beyond recognition. Their senses seemed to tell them that Ryu was everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time, all while they had lost the light source that they had been relying upon before.


    The blood crystals seemed to be the only things that could light up these rotten waters. Even those with light or fire abilities found themselves out of luck in this regard. So the moment Ryu put the blood crystal away, it was like they had once more been thrust into the jaws of hell.


    Ryu''s pulse of Bloodline Resonance covered two bases for him at once. First, it obscured him from their senses, and second, it allowed him a perfect lay of how they were reacting.


    Wunikai had retreated into the encirclement of sycophants, while the others looked around warily, trying to find exactly where Ryu was. Wunikai herself seemed to be particularly calm. She stood there without a word, her gaze shifting from side to side at times until it suddenly landed in Ryu''s exact position.


    Ryu was likewise calm when this happened. ''She''s pretending. She never lost track of me in the first place.''


    He was too good at reading people for these little tricks to work. Wunikai had methods of seeing through these waters that others did not, and more shocking than that was retrospectively, it seemed that even her "shock" at seeing him should have been an act as well.


    She had likely spotted him from an exceptionally long distance away.


    All things considered, Wunikai wasn''t actually on his kill list. The "her" he had referred to back then was an Ice Queen who seemed a little too fond of his wife.


    Wunikai and he didn''t even really have a grudge between them, and after this slight against her, she hadn''t said another word. Her worst sin was just trying to mediate a situation she shouldn''t have stepped into.


    In the past, Ryu might have marked her for death just because of this. But he had mellowed out a lot over the years. He couldn''t be bothered to expend the energy just for this.


    It was difficult to use the Qi Line technique in these waters due to its very nature. It was only worse that they had to protect themselves with qi skins, so penetrating that needed another layer of control as well.


    That meant the best communication method was actually just talking normally, but how much time would that waste?


    Wunikai sent out orders immediately about where Ryu was coming from, but by the time they realized, he had already shifted.


    Ryu pierced down with a finger, the aura of a spear radiating out from him as he thrust right through the forehead of another Blacksteel Giant. Before his Bloodline Resonance and close combat abilities, they might as well have not been there at all.


    By the time they reacted, Ryu had already killed three of their group of nearly 40.


    He sent out another Bloodline Resonance pulse and then vanished again.


    It had been a while since he slaughtered to his heart''s content. He remembered his battle in Sacrum, facing off against a sky full of Gods with the arrogance of an Immortal Ring Realm expert.


    His blood boiled, and he grinned wildly.


    He had almost forgotten just how much he loved to fight.


    In his first life, he was suppressed so greatly, only being able to use his tongue to lash out in the most vicious ways he could muster.


    But now he preferred not to talk at all.


    They stood in his way so they would die.


    Simple as that.

 Chapter 1743 Most

    Chapter 1743 Most


    Ryu was like a specter of death, and Wunikai quickly realized that her method of command wasn''t working. If she didn''t take action, Ryu would truly...


    "Retreat."


    To Ryu''s surprise, Wunikai actually made such a choice. It seemed that even if she did have a great hatred it wasn''t yet to the point of forgetting about everything else. But... what did that have to do with him?


    Ryu sneered.


    Coming as she pleased and also going as she pleased? How could he ever allow such a thing?


    At that moment, Ryu reversed his pulse of Bloodline Resonance. This time, instead of hiding from beasts, he called them forth once again.


    Wunikai''s expression changed, but it was already too late.


    "I''ll remember this." She said coldly.


    In the carnage, Ryu was easily able to slip away. He had no intention of getting tangled up in so many beasts.


    Before, he had held back a bit, so only six appeared. But this time, he had summoned over 20 of them.


    With a quick pulse, he checked out which of the beasts had blood crystals in them. Since there were so many Demons around covering for him, it was easy to sneak up on these beasts and kill them in a single strike.


    Ryu slipped away with another two blood crystals, narrowly avoiding the rampage that happened when the black waters illuminated. He was practically like a fish in water.


    Then, he vanished toward the fifth layer''s barrier, chuckling all the while.


    As he waited, he observed the barrier, feeling it though not quite resonating with it just yet.


    By now, he was starting to understand more about this world.


    This Rotten Sea was an amalgamation of bloodlines and it seemed to have the unique ability to allow Demons a deeper connection with their own.


    What was interesting was that it was using principles of both human and beast cultivation to allow this to happen.


    Beasts couldn''t easily change their bloodlines, whereas humans could easily-relatively speaking-swap out their own. Then there were Demons who sat right in the middle of this, not being fully constrained by their bloodlines, but also not quite having full freedom with them, either.


    Normally, this was a huge detriment. This was why Demons could become the summons of Necromancers to begin with. Their bodies were easily exploitable in this fashion, both having a strong connection to the Heavens and the Earth.


    What the Rotten Sea did was exploit this connection as well. When you entered, there was a seal placed within your body that wasn''t much unlike a Summoning Seal. However, rather than being used to control you, it was an opportunity.


    This was why Ryu was so well suppressed. It was because it wasn''t an external item suppressing him, but rather a cognitive control that was influencing his body. His mind had been suggested that he was suppressed, and his body was restrained in this exact fashion. The result was him actually being suppressed. It was the exact same as how a Summon could have all aspects of its life controlled by suggestion as well.


    The reason why Ryu shouldn''t be able to break the barrier was that as a Human, he lacked the natural affinity for the Heavens that a Demon should otherwise have.


    To make a complicated matter simple, in this world, the Rotten Sea became the new "Heavens", and by descending into its depths and breaking through its barriers, one could resonate with it deeper and fundamentally change or amplify their talent.


    Every time one broke through a barrier, they would undergo a baptism.


    Unfortunately, this wasn''t a baptism that Ryu could undergo. He lacked the final connection point that Demons and Beasts would have.


    However, he was progressing on a different path entirely. Not only was he refining his Bloodmancy to a new level with every step he took, he was learning new applications of Vital Qi and most importantly...

 Chapter 1744 Force

    Chapter 1744 Force


    He was finding methods of breaking his Dao past the artificial cap it was placed under. If he could reach the end and regain the abilities of his Inner World. And, of course, accumulate enough Faith to withstand it... he was confident that his Dao would break past the pinnacle of the Found Dao Realm. He couldn''t help but wonder what would happen then. Would there be a qualitative change?


    Ryu actually wasn''t certain of this. That was because he wasn''t sure if Peak Founding Dao was an official metric, standard across all worlds... or if it was something else. Take the Dao God Realm, for example. He had only just learned that not all of them were created equal and that there were large gaps that broke laws of reason.


    Could it be, then, that breaking through his artificial cap would just be like inching forward? Maybe the change wouldn''t be huge, but rather incremental, just like those Dao Gods took millions to billions of years to slowly push past the limits their world had placed on them.


    That wasn''t all Ryu thought about, either. If there were other worlds out there on the same level as the True Martial World, maybe worlds like the one Ailsa was stuck on, or the world the Ruin Master Guild called home... who was to say that the True Martial World was the pinnacle?


    What if two equally graded Daos from different worlds actually had vastly different strengths because one world was more powerful than the other?


    Ryu hoped that he was thinking too much. But it felt... suspicious that the True Martial World could only withstand the birth of three Peak Founding Daos.


    Selheira suddenly shifted on Ryu''s back and slowly awoke from her state of enlightenment.


    "How is it?" Ryu asked.


    "Comfortable." She said, a bit muddle-headed.


    Ryu laughed. "I meant the enlightenment."


    Selheira blushed a bit. Her might was still a bit foggy, so she hadn''t understood Ryu immediately. It wasn''t really her fault, though. This entire time, regardless of how violently Ryu moved, she hadn''t felt a thing. She hadn''t even heard the commotion outside.


    However, he was locked in battle with two Demon Princes. Ryu didn''t understand much about the situation, but from context clues it seemed they had a grudge with Empana.


    Ryu didn''t have any hatred for Empana. Instead, it should probably be the other way around, if anything at all.


    He had ruined Empana''s chance of becoming the Fifth Plane''s Chosen, instead helping his wife to claim that title instead. In fact, Ryu had flipped the whole board, causing the benefits Mae received to be likely more than even what the Ninth Plane''s Chosen had received simply by virtue of performing so much better than everyone else.


    However, what was interesting was that Empana never really showed any hatred for this.


    The young lizard demon was solid in his conviction and took losses in stride. He never strayed from his baseline of confidence and even though he seemed to be hiding it for some reason, he certainly had the Heart of a Hero.


    It was just unfortunate that as someone born and raised on the Fifth Plane, Empana''s talent was lacking compared to the others. He had the Heart of a Hero, but rather than being at the second tier of genius, it just barely allowed him to be at the first tier.


    His temperament was equal to someone just below the monster tier, but his actual genius level was at the same level as the Fire Giant Ryu had crushed in the arena.


    It was something that couldn''t be easily changed.


    ''Hm, maybe I should... but would he be willing?''


    Empana didn''t show his hatred, but that didn''t mean he didn''t have any resentment. In fact, he had probably buried it deep within, using it as fuel for his cultivation.


    Even if he accepted such a suggestion, wouldn''t that just put out his flame? At that point, he''d become useless.


    ''Seems I''ll have to force him to submit by force then. That way, he can keep that fire and make it burn brighter.''

 Chapter 1745 Light

    Chapter 1745 Light


    Ryu observed the situation for a while longer, his expression calm.


    Empana was fighting valiantly. His opponents were two creatures that had crowns of flame above their head. It reminded Ryu a lot of Lord Crown Fire from the Seventh Heaven, but the difference was that these Demons relied not on a Dao, but rather their natural strengths.


    ''Interesting. Is it just a coincidence? The abilities seem too similar, though... it''s not impossible that the Lord of Jojo''s Sect would have found inspiration from another Race.''


    "Selheira, how much do you know about Jojo and her Sect?" Ryu spoke to his wife, who was still lazing around on his back, clearly enjoying the treatment.


    Selheira blinked. "Are you interested in Jojo, husband?"


    Ryu laughed. "Am I so lecherous?"


    Selheira didn''t reply immediately, clearly weighing her options. This only made Ryu laugh harder.


    "No, that''s not why I asked. It''s just that those Demons have a presence that''s very familiar to their Patriarch. It makes me wonder. I feel like there''s too much overlap for it to be a coincidence."


    "Lord Crown Fire?" Selheira asked.


    "Yes."


    "Hm... Maybe, but would the Heavens allow him to take such a Title if it was really based on a Demon Prince Clan?"


    Ryu nodded. This was a good point as well.


    By all rights, whether in talent or standing, Lord Crown Fire was far too weak to take precedent over a Demon Prince Clan.


    Although they weren''t Demon Kings, a Demon Prince Clan could easily carve out a place for themselves on the Ninth Plane, or in this case, they could easily become overlords of the Eighth Plane.


    Compared to the leader of the Raging Inferno Sect, that could only be the lacky of the Fading Star Sect... well, the gap was far too large.


    "Does husband know him?" Selheira asked, referring to Empana.


    "In passing. He can have some use. I just want to see where his limits lie first."


    His figure flickered and vanished.


    ...


    Empana grit his teeth, his fury mounting.


    "We are disciples of the same Sect. Do you know how many people can see this? Do you think that you''ll be able to escape?"


    The gaze of the two Demons flickered. How could they not know this?


    Their determination increased several fold as they launched a fiendish assault, but it was right then that a figure suddenly appeared between them. They didn''t even notice his presence until they launched their attacks.


    The two Demons and even Empana frowned. He couldn''t see Ryu''s silhouette because Selheira was on his back, but then he put two and two together. He wasn''t familiar with Selheira, but how could he not recognize those wings? That tail? It was hard to miss.


    Ryu looked down as the flames rebounded across his body.


    It had been a long time since he could rely on the immunity of his Rebirth Flame. It was nice to see it in action once again.


    Unfortunately for these two, their flames were far too weak.


    In fact, whether it was him or Selheira, such flames were entirely useless now.


    He took a step forward and punched out.


    BANG! BANG!


    The waters churned and the two Demons were forced back again, and then again.


    The world churned. The Bloodline Resonance coming from Ryu was clearly on another level after crossing the Fifth Layer, and he was making great use of that.


    His body sang, and he systematically walked the two Demons down. Every step came with another fist and another lance of spiralling waters.


    The world hummed and Ryu''s silvery eyes sharpened in the darkness with their own light.

 Chapter 1746 Observe

    Chapter 1746 Observe


    Ryu smiled, feeling as though the surrounding waters were quickly becoming an extension of himself.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The scepters in their palms shattered before his barrage, their chests exploding next, and then came their heads.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice his fists continuing in a flurry. It wasn''t until the barrage of craters in the water subsided that he could see what was on the other side.


    "Seems I went a bit too far." Ryu said.


    He had originally entered this ocean with the intention of only killing those on his kill list, but circumstances didn''t seem to want him to stick to this plan. These two hadn''t offended him at all, but in the cultivation world, this didn''t seem to matter even in the slightest.


    Ryu''s moral compass had always been the same. He cared little for those unrelated to him and very much for those that were. He drew the world into two teams and had a completely different set of rules depending on which side you stood on.


    And he felt not the slightest hint of guilt for that.


    Ryu looked back toward Empana, who was looking at him with a complicated expression. The first time he met Ryu, he wasn''t even a World Sea Realm expert yet, let alone a Sky God. That Empana could have killed Ryu with a flick of a finger.


    Yet, it was also that Ryu that had led them all by the nose, even destroying his stepmother as though he hadn''t been an ant to them all. In the end, he helped his wife to benefit the most, and the crown that should have been his own was taken by another.


    Empana took a breath and cupped his fist. There didn''t seem to be any hatred in his eyes at all. He calmly bowed and expressed his gratitude.


    "Thank you for you help, Ryu. I cannot thank you enough. If there is any way-."


    "There is." Ryu smiled. "Become my Summon."


    Empana froze. With his head lowered, he didn''t say anything for a long while. Well, in reality, it was just a few seconds. But with the thinking speed of Sky Gods like them, if such a time were translated to what a mortal might experience, it would be as much as hours.


    Seeing that fire in Empana''s eyes that had yet to fade, he could see that there was no dejectedness in this young man''s eyes. His heart was a blazing lamp in the darkness.


    At that moment, Ryu couldn''t help but think of Starlight as well. He was another that could look dead into Ryu''s brightness and still come out the other side with a resplendently shining Dao Heart.


    Ryu was far from the only person in the world of cultivation who had firm resolve.


    And the further along in cultivation you went, the more what was in your heart mattered.


    Whether it was Starlight, or Hrakka who followed through on her bet without hesitation, or Empana, who was willing to hand over his life...


    Their talent might be lacking, but their talent wouldn''t be their limiter in this life.


    "Good." Ryu''s voice boomed. "Follow me. I will bring you to the ninth layer."


    Ryu took a step and began to move toward the sixth layer.


    Empana''s gaze flickered, but he followed after. He didn''t ask any questions about when Ryu would complete the ceremony or anything of the like. Quite frankly, he wasn''t even sure how it would work.


    They swiftly made it to the next barrier. This time, Ryu just directly avoided all conflict along the way. That was because he knew that it would take time to get Empana to this level.


    It was unfortunate that his Inner World was suppressed, or else he would have brought out Hrakka as well.


    "First, try to comprehend it yourself. I will observe first."


    Empana nodded, still somewhat in shock that they had made it here so easily. If avoiding all the beasts and other participants was so easy, everyone would do it.


    He took a breath and focused on the opportunity before him.

 Chapter 1747 Amusing

    Chapter 1747 Amusing


    Ryu watched Empana slowly sink into a state of meditation. Quite quickly, the latter began to struggle, unable to make much progress forward. But Ryu could also tell that he was calm and unbothered. Rather than bucking up against the wall he faced, he pressed his palms against it and began to slowly push. His effort was consistent and though his progress was slow, he was making some.


    Though he obviously hadn''t seen Empana go at it with any of the other barriers, Ryu was pretty confident that whether it was the earlier ones, or the coming later ones, they would all go pretty much the same way. Empana wouldn''t give up. Rather, he would run out of time. Eventually he would have run into a bottleneck he simply couldn''t press past at all, but Ryu didn''t believe he would have the time to even reach that stage in the first place.


    ''Lizard Demon Race...'' Ryu''s thoughts spun as he began to piece together some of the information he had.


    Back when he was captured by the Lizard Demon Race to be their Ruin Master, he had gained access to their libraries and it could be said that aside from their most important core techniques, he had read pretty much everything else, including their history and other matters. Thanks to this, Ryu was well aware of some secrets that he otherwise shouldn''t have known.


    The Lizard Demon Race descended from a pairing of what were known as Demon Serpents. There was speculation that they had some Dragon blood within them too, but Ryu felt that this was nonsense. From his reading of their history, he was fairly certain that they had descended from a Demon Serpent and a weak offshoot of the Dragon Race at best, like a wyvern.


    Their writings also seemed to allude to the fact that this so-called "Demon Serpent" they descended to was precisely the Bone Serpents, or rather World Serpents, that were the arch nemesis of the Dragon Race. It could only be said that this Fifth Plane Clan certainly had an over-inflated sense of self-worth.


    Even if it was the case that they had descended from these creatures, so what? With how many wives, lovers and children powerhouses tended to have, even if it was rare for them to conceive, over enough Cycles of a 100 000 years, how could many children not be born?


    When the age of these Clans was taken into account, how could they possibly house all of these descendants? Ryu wouldn''t be surprised if there were a few First Heaven Clans that were distantly related to former or even current Ninth Heaven Clans.


    The Dream Asuras were descendants of the Dream Wraiths, but that didn''t even mean anything until Mae managed to become the Chosen of the Fifth Plane. This situation was much the same. If the Lizard Demons spent less time pining after their ancestors and more time improving, if they really had such talent hidden deep in their veins, maybe they could have brought out some of that potential by now.


    This aside, there was a fairly simple way of telling how talented a Lizard Demon was. The closer they resembled a snake, the purer their bloodline.


    That was what made Empana so odd. Unlike his stepmother, he walked on two legs, and his serpent features were minimal at best. It was clear that not only was Empana a poor talent compared to those of the Ninth Plane, and even Eighth, he was a poor talent even when the comparison was the Fifth Plane alone.


    This should be why his stepmother had been able to gather up so much power in the first place. Those old fogies of their Clan must have been obsessed with how pure her Bloodline was, while Empana, though the pride of their Clan, had a Bloodline that was far too weak.


    It was the pinnacle of ignorance in Ryu''s opinion, but that Clan and their mistakes had nothing to do with him. He was sure that, by now, Empana had already set those people straight.


    "Mm, alright, I understand now." Ryu called out for Empana to pause. "Your Bloodline is quite weak even by the standards of your Lizard Demon Race, right?"


    Empana looked over at Ryu and nodded. "My mother and father both were quite talented. I''m not sure what happened to me."


    Ryu and Selheira crossed over with Empana and felt the fluctuations as well.


    Ryu''s lip couldn''t help but curl. This was about what he expected.


    The geniuses in this layer were in fiendish pursuit of crossing the next one. There was a qualitative change every three barriers, and it could be said that for most that made it this far, the seventh layer was the absolute best most could hope for.


    The pressure down here was enormous. The fifth layer had already felt like wading through a sludge, but this felt more like mud that was only a few hours away from drying out completely.


    Ryu stretched his body a bit, getting a feel for this new layer and feeling that there truly was an exponential increase in difficulty. If the seventh layer progressed even worse than this, it could be imagined how difficult taking that step would be.


    After some thought, Ryu chose to head right for the seventh layer once again. If they were going to do this, they had to do it right.


    After breaking through the sixth layer, he felt that his Bloodline Resonance had increased, but not as much as it had while he was guiding Empana.


    It seemed that he had found a bit of a shortcut.


    He weaved his way down, avoiding all the battles happening around them.


    ''They are probably searching-.'' Ryu was about to say blood crystals when a bright light illuminated the barrier ahead.


    Someone was using a Blood Crystal in an attempt to break into the seventh layer.


    ''So bright...'' Ryu''s eyes sharpened.


    The moment the blood crystal appeared, it was like the entirety of the sixth layer fell into silence.


    And then the chaos came.


    The Demon at the barrier was doing their best to remain calm as the blood crystal''s aura seeped into them.


    Ryu grinned. ''A Bone Serpent, huh? These guys are all so arrogant. This should be amusing.''

 Chapter 1748 Opportunity

    Chapter 1748 Opportunity


    The Bone Serpent had clearly been preparing for this for a while. With how many battles there were going on at once, it wasn''t too surprising that one might manage to sneak through with a blood crystal before anyone else could react. However, there was no hiding the situation now.


    The Bone Serpent was trying its best to remain calm, but Ryu could sense that the pressure it was under was enormous. Its Dao Heart was strong, but not nearly strong enough. That said, maybe only Ryu would dare to say this. This fact that it had dared to do this when it knew what would happen as a result meant that it at least wasn''t a coward.


    But in Ryu''s views, if you dared to do something, what was the point of feeling fear at that point? You would just be hindering yourself.


    ''Hm...'' Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    Was it still bravery if there was no cowardice? Were you brave if you jumped into every situation without blinking? Or were you a baby tiger that didn''t understand the cruelty of the world?


    ''Temperament...'' Ryu mulled this over again. He had begun to think about and integrate new methods into his Dao. Ever since he stepped into this world, he had been touching upon new thoughts and perspectives.


    What was unfortunate was the fact he couldn''t add to his Dao just yet. Whether that was due to suppression or due to the smaller insights being unworthy, both were problems.


    His thought on Temperament just now was interesting, though. Could he say that he was brave if nothing ever really fazed him? Could he use confidence in his abilities as an excuse? Or was he that baby tiger he had just thought of?


    As Ryu thought about it, he realized the answer wasn''t so simple.


    In his first life, his confidence came from his family and some of his own abilities. As the scion of the Tatsuya Clan, no one could touch him. He relied on that to do a great deal.


    In his second life, at least in the start, he relied entirely on his own abilities and talents. But it was hard to say if his confidence was warranted.


    However, when Ryu got to the core of the issue, he didn''t believe that this was a problem. That was, just as always, how you came to be something, or why you believed something, was more important than what you believed or what you became.


    Was Ryu''s confidence rooted in his belief that he was not capable of losing?


    Of course not.


    His conversation with Patriarch Ember spoke volumes.


    Just like he had said back then, if he was really so weak of talent, his corpse would have long been humiliated at the hands of the summer birds, picked dry of everything that had once been Ryu.


    The point of those words back was to tell Patriarch Ember, the man that had once held the rights to Ryu''s life and death in his palms, that Ryu would never become him...


    Not because he wasn''t capable of losing...


    But because he would rather die than not do things on his own terms.


    Was that bravery? Maybe... maybe not. It could be seen as foolish in the eyes of others, and Sarriel would certainly be among the few that fell into that crowd.


    When Ryu remembered back to his falling out with Sarriel, he no longer had the same visceral reaction. And honestly, she had not only his maturing to thank, but Empana as well.


    Empana''s Dao Heart was the strongest Ryu had ever seen, but he had done something that Ryu himself would have never done.


    Who was he to say that Sarriel''s Dao Heart was weak?


    "Let''s go," Ryu said, taking a step and rounding around the chaos that was ensuing.


    One creature ended up blocking his path, but he didn''t react to it at all, sending out a fist that shattered its head.


    His Bloodline Resonance was even stronger now than it had been in the sixth layer. Even though these creatures were in the Perfect Sky God Realm, Ryu had probably reached the point by now where his combat strength in the Rotten Sea was more explosive than his combat strength on the outside.


    Of course, this was only in terms of raw power. He was still missing many of his usual methods, so it was hard to say if his combat prowess had caught up yet or not.


    Regardless, he wasn''t thinking of these matters as he approached the barrier from a vacant location.


    The chaos seemed to have nothing at all to do with him.


    "Break through."


    "We don''t have enough time." Empana replied with a frown.


    If it wasn''t for the chaos, they could have had a chance. But he didn''t understand why Ryu felt that it was necessary to go so far.


    What he expected even less was for Ryu to suddenly toss a blood crystal at him before handing one to Selheira.


    Speed was the name of the game this time. The sixth layer was far too congested.


    Even if they had snuck over and tried to breakthrough with normal means, it would definitely attract attention.


    The sixth layer seemed narrower than the others, as though they were all being funneled into a cone as they went down.


    Up above, especially on the first layer, it should have been at least several tens of thousands of kilometers across, but even then, it only took a few moments for Ryu to run into a "barrier". Or, in other words, the Omniscient God Beast that knocked him back and nearly killed him.


    In this sixth layer, the distance from edge to edge was only a few thousand kilometers. For Sky Gods like this, they could cross this distance in a few jumps.


    Luckily, the layer was also thousands of kilometers thick, so there was still some breathing room. But it truly wasn''t much.


    If they were going to break through, it had to be like this.


    Selheira and Empana didn''t hesitate, realizing that the timer had started the moment the blood crystals appeared.


    Ryu stood calmly. While bearing much the same situation as the Bone Serpent, their Temperaments were like night and day.


    He closed his eyes slowly, his breathing even and unhurried.


    In just a few seconds, Selheira was already halfway there, but Empana lagged behind. He stood at around 20% of the way through.


    Ryu''s eyes opened, a sharpness dancing within them.


    Here they came.

 Chapter 1749 Vense

    Chapter 1749 Vense


    It was impossible that no one would notice. Although the region was already lit up by blood crystals and chaos, hiding the existence of another two was too difficult.


    But that was precisely why Ryu had summoned so many beasts. Even if they noticed, would the beasts allow them to get through so easily?


    Ryu watched as the first pair of eyes landed on him, then another, then another.


    He didn''t flinch, watching them realize what was happening one after another.


    In his opinion, it didn''t matter how many noticed. What was important was how many that could actually do anything about it had noticed.


    The sixth layer had the highest concentration of people, but just to make it to this level, they had to have a certain degree of talent.


    Even so, that didn''t mean that there weren''t large divisions between them, regardless.


    It suddenly made sense why Wunikai was gathering up so many geniuses to support her. She definitely knew far more about this Rotten Sea than Ryu did, so she already expected such a thing to happen. Unless you had a great deal of supporters, making it through the sixth layer was nigh impossible.


    Ryu, obviously, hadn''t known this. But he managed to find a path, nonetheless. And since he was here, he might as well take some time to deal with those on his kill list.


    His gaze shifted and his eyes landed on a Dream Wraith. He was among the first to notice, and it wasn''t surprising. Among the Demon Kings, the sensory sensitivity of Dream Wraiths was certainly near the pinnacle.


    Ryu''s lip curled, his indifference shining through as he met the gaze of the Dream Wraith.


    This Dream Wraith was the one that had spoken to him earlier, but he had placed him on the kill list, nonetheless.


    Of those who jeered... The Dream Wraiths were the ones he needed to put in their place the most.


    Ryu raised a hand and beckoned him forth.


    ...


    Vense was surprised to see Ryu in the sixth layer at all. They hadn''t had the time to jeer at Ryu for overestimating himself because he entered the Rotten Sea immediately, but most had been looking forward to dealing with him once they stepped out.


    Seeing Ryu here, and seemingly supporting two others to break into the seventh layer, how could he not be shocked?


    He looked at the chaos in his surroundings. Was this a coincidence?


    No, it had to be. How could a human cause all of this?


    Even so, seeing Ryu taking advantage of the situation, he was livid. The smile on Ryu''s face just took him over to another level.


    "Support me!" He roared. "I''m breaking through!"


    The three Dream Wraiths around Vense were confused until they saw the same scene he had.


    Their expressions changed, and they immediately understood. In fact, they felt the same rage.


    A formation took shape around them, protecting Vense in the center, and they rushed toward the avalanche of beasts.


    ...


    From the distance, Ryu observed the battle style of the Dream Wraiths.


    Ryu sent out a fist.


    He had realized that controlling a resonance didn''t have to be all in one go. He could take his time, allowing one set of rotten blood to harmonize with what was around them, using them as a catalyst instead.


    Against an enemy who used close combat methods, he wouldn''t have the time to do this. But since Vense insisted on keeping his distance...


    He would have to pay for it.


    A lance of spiralling rotten water shot through the water.


    Vense panicked, feeling that the strength was beyond anything he could have imagined.


    Quickly, he began to put up barriers in the water. Vense panicked, feeling that the strength was beyond anything he could have imagined.


    Quickly, he began to put up barriers in the water.


    Worried that he would have a repeat of what happened last time, this time he didn''t take control of the waters, using a brute force method instead.


    The waters were forced apart beneath his shields. In contrast, more and more water spiralled into Ryu''s attack, forcing the battlefield into two halves.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The shields exploded one after another and Vense quickly formed hand seals. He moved like lightning, his gaze suddenly glowing a violet light as his Soul Quintessence surged.


    BOOM!


    Another sound echoed in Vense''s ears, this one even fiercer than the first. Before his attack could even land, his heart lurched into his throat.


    The cyclone of rotten waters, spiralling toward him and radiating a red, suddenly doubled in size. It was instantaneous and immediate, the shockwave of its growth nearly shattering the remainder of Vense''s barriers all on its own.


    Violet flames erupted across Vense''s body, an armor of radiant amethyst coating him from head to toe. He hadn''t expected to have to use his accumulated Soul Quintessence for this, but he had no choice.


    The cyclone of water was already over 20 meters wide. It was an insignificant distance, but Vense truly felt like he could escape no matter where he went.


    Then it came.


    BOOM!


    The spiralling lance doubled in size once again and suddenly accelerated. Its sharp point slammed against Vense''s chest before he could react.


    CRACK.


    A crack instantly appeared and an instant later, the entire armor shattered.


    A reverberating impact echoed out in all directions, causing Ryu''s eyes to narrow.


    That wasn''t the sound of death. The armor had exploded outward in that last moment, pushing away what remained of the attack.


    Vense appeared out from the turbid waters after several long seconds. When he was clear in Ryu''s vision once again, he was nothing more than a husk. He looked like he might collapse any moment now, his body beaten and bloodied, while his bone stuck out in several locations.


    At that moment, behind Ryu, Selheira flashed and vanished. The barrier cracked and the blood crystal was left behind.

 Chapter 1750 Tremble

    Chapter 1750 Tremble


    Ryu stood silently, watching Vense. He didn''t need to turn back to know that Selheira had made it through. Though he was a bit worried about her, he was also confident that she wasn''t a glass vase. She would be able to survive the length of time he needed to get to the other side.


    Empana was quickly approaching his breakthrough as well, and he had the upper hand in the battle.


    Unfortunately, he still didn''t attack to deal a death blow to Vense just yet because another powerhouse had made it through and was rushing ahead at their greatest speed.


    Ryu didn''t know much about Horned Devils. The first time he had fought one, they had been summoned by the Martial Gods back on Sacrum.


    Back then, everything was a blur, and he just crushed everything in his path. Aside from their enormous size and sturdy bodies, the rest of his knowledge was limited.


    It could be said, though, that Horned Devils were the more stereotypical of the demons mentioned in Mortal Realms. If they had red skin and a spade tail, it would be perfect. This Horned Devil in particular even wielded a weapon that seemed a cross between a pitchfork and a trident.


    The weapon was an ink black and if not for the illumination of the blood crystals, even spotting it in these churning waters would have been difficult.


    The waters around the Horned Devil trembled with every step it took. It seemed to be moving slowly, but its enormous body allowed it to cross a ridiculous distance with every step.


    "I''ll give you just one chance," Ryu said lightly. "You aren''t on my kill list. Try not to be."


    The Horned Devil was stunned when he heard Ryu. He had been striding over so confidently, but Ryu wasn''t even looking at him. His gaze was still focused on Vense, as though his most important task was to tick another name off his kill list.


    "JAJAJA!"


    The Horned Devil laughed and suddenly struck out with its trident.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    It seemed that these Demon Kings were obsessed with death.


    Vense was a Lower Perfect Sky God, as was this Horned Devil. However, they were suppressed much like Ryu was, whether in moving through these waters or in their talent.


    The difference was that Ryu had found a method of increasing his strength while they had not. He was so far ahead of the others in terms of Bloodline Resonance that they could only lag behind.


    In this sort of situation, so long as he wasn''t surrounded by hundreds-a problem already dealt with thanks to his schemes-what chance did they stand?


    Even so, the strike of the Horned Devil caught Ryu''s attention. Even in the now bright red waters, it looked as though the trident had vanished.


    ''This shouldn''t be a normal strike. It''s much closer to Bloodline Resonance than this Dream Wraith is.''


    Part of the trident''s disappearance was because of the technique the Horned Devil was using, but another part was it perfectly fusing into the waters. It was no longer pushing back against the heavy waves or thick pressure. Instead, it was moving as freely as it would in a vacuum.


    This was still short of gathering strength from the waters to power up. But it was definitely much better than what Vense had accomplished.


    Danger.


    He had already realized that his Dao was missing many things. Temperament had been one, but the environment had been another. He was very good at reading people, but not as good at reacting to the environment and what changes it might cause.


    In fact, Ryu believed that the inaccuracies of his [Lines of Fate] and his Dao could be greatly attributed to not taking into account the environment enough.


    This was highly ironic in his opinion, especially since he was a Ruin Master. What he should be best at was observing the environment, taking in context clues, and acting upon them.


    That said, being a Ruin Master wasn''t so simple. It was a lot of reading about and understanding history. A lot of the work of a Ruin Master was done before stepping foot into any Ruin.


    However, what if he changed his perspective?


    Did he need such in-depth knowledge about everything in order to grasp something in the middle of battle?


    No. The foundational knowledge he had as a Ruin Master was enough.


    In this case, he wasn''t using his Ruin Master knowledge at all, though. He was relying on Bloodline Resonance and the faint understanding he had of the Horned Devil''s technique from canceling it out.


    The results spoke for themselves.


    Ryu turned toward Vense, who was struggling with the fist he had sent out earlier. He was clearly on his last legs.


    In the distance, another figure had broken through, but seeing the death of the Horned Devil, they froze in place, not knowing what to do.


    Ryu sneered, ignoring them entirely.


    "Die."


    BANG!


    Vense''s head exploded.


    Ryu looked up, seemingly at nothing. But at that moment, to those of the outside world, it felt like he was staring into each and every one of their souls.


    It had been a while since people tried to convince him that he wasn''t worthy of his wife. Selheira''s parents were dragons and even they hadn''t gone so far.


    Who did these people think they were?


    He would kill and kill to his heart''s content. Let them be enraged, let them be infuriated.


    The name Ryu Tatsuya would echo far and wide.


    When the Title Stele Battle began, they would know exactly what kind of monster they were facing.


    And he would make them all tremble in fear.

 Chapter 1751 Cancerous Growth

    Chapter 1751 Cancerous Growth


    1751 Cancerous Growth


    Ryu gave them all a glance, and then directly turned his back to them. He approached the barrier and closed his eyes.


    His tranquil appearance painted an image most who saw it would never forget. Then, mere seconds later, he fazed through the barrier.


    There was no commotion, no fanfare. He didn''t even use a blood crystal. He seemed completely at peace.


    Looking at this scene now, one would have thought that he was among the Demon Kings with the purest and most tyrannical bloodlines...


    When in reality he was just a human.


    ...


    Ryu appeared on the other side and the first thing he did was sense for Selheira. But the surrounding changes caught his attention first and caused him to frown.


    The pressure here was multiplied several times over. It was to the point that he felt like his body might collapse.


    He had yet to raise his body to a True Sky God standard, and that was suddenly showing.


    In a gang of contestants that were at the Lower Perfect Sky God Realm at worst, he stuck out like a sore thumb.


    That wasn''t the only problem, but as a human that didn''t have a Bone Structure like his father''s, for example, his body was naturally weaker. Comparatively speaking, Selheira or the Demons would all have powerful flesh and bone from birth.


    It could be said that he was at a disadvantage two fold.


    Ryu felt that his bones were about to fracture. If it wasn''t for the fact the methods of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect were taboo and allowed his False God Body to be equivalent to a True God Body, he would have already been crushed.


    This wasn''t the only problem Ryu was facing.


    The reason his Nine Pillar Flame Sect method had begun to exhibit its real power was because he managed to disassociate it from the Fate of the True Martial World and anchor it to his Inner World instead.


    In the past, this Taboo Method had only allowed his False God Body to match up to the True God Body of a Seventh Heaven Sky God.


    After the change, his False God Body could match up to the True God Body of a normal Ninth Heaven Sky God.


    The difference was enormous, and it was a large part of Ryu''s current battle prowess.


    But without his Inner World, how could this still be true? Without its support, the Taboo method was once again restricted by these Heavens and his bodily strength had plummeted from a Ninth Heaven Sky God to a Seventh Heaven''s Sky God.


    Ryu reacted quickly enough and used some Bloodline Resonance to alleviate the pressure. But this was quickly draining his Vital Qi. If he didn''t do anything to change the current status quo, he would eventually run out of both Vital Qi and Embryonic Qi.


    The worst part about all of this to him, though, was the fact that Selheira felt impossibly far away.


    It was a feeling almost identical to what he had faced on the surface. She felt here and yet not here at the same time.


    That made Ryu feel like the person or persons who created this world were practically all-powerful. If he used a Taboo method in a place like this, what would happen? Did the Demon Kings even have the same visceral reaction to the Taboo Powers? It wasn''t like it was their battle, right?


    But what if information spread from here? At that point, would it even matter?


    Ryu stood up.


    His thoughts were in disarray and he was almost certain that it wasn''t because of himself.


    He hurriedly checked his body, trying to spot something, but even after a long while, there was absolutely nothing.


    ''What...?''


    It wasn''t that Ryu hadn''t thought that it could be the world around him, but it was completely antithetical to everything it had been testing until this point.


    Why attack the mind when it was trying to get him to refine his Bloodlines? How was Vital Qi related to the soul at all?


    Ryu was strong in his conviction and he kept check his body again and again, but it was difficult to do so when his senses were all so widely suppressed.


    However, he didn''t move.


    When he sensed the odd doubt in his heart, questioning his every move, it was only further assurance to press forward.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. He didn''t doubt himself, he never doubted himself.


    Although Ryu was worried about Selheira, he forced everything down. He had to find the problem as quickly as possible. If he left in this state and began to battle, who knew when his judgment would be affected next? If he slipped up in battle, wouldn''t he die? What if he put her in even more danger?


    It took Ryu three hours, three entire hours, before he found the cancerous growth in his Magus Lock.


    He had skipped over it so many times before that it didn''t even quite register. However, his persistence proved fruitful.


    ''Dream Wraith...''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a deadly killing intent.


    It seemed that he hadn''t managed to stop Vense from sending out a mental attack after all. It was so clever and expertly controlled that he hadn''t even noticed. In fact, if not for the change in his temperament, he would have never noticed.


    If it wasn''t for the fact his Dao Heart and self-assurance were so strong, on top of the fact he had been meditating on Temperament and the differences between people recently, he would have never stumbled onto it so fast.


    And yet, even knowing something was wrong, it had still taken him so long.


    His heart trembled. Vense wasn''t even the strongest of the Dream Wraiths. What were the others capable of? He hadn''t even detected this attack land.


    And worse than that...


    How was he going to get rid of it?

 Chapter 1752 Sudden Break

    Chapter 1752 Sudden Break


    1752 Sudden Break


    Knowing that he wasn''t crazy, Ryu calmed down immediately. The effect of the hidden cancer in his mind wasn''t nearly strong enough yet to suppress his true temperament just yet. Now that he had confirmed that it was there, it was even easier to suppress the restless feelings in his heart.


    ''This is a bit tricky...''


    The cancer was subtle, so it didn''t affect him too obviously. But the tradeoff for that was that it was buried deep. It was hard to tell where it started and where it ended, and because of that, it was difficult to grasp just where his own soul started and finished.


    However, Ryu''s lip curled a moment later.


    In that case, he just wouldn''t guess at all.


    A sharp aura flashed in Ryu''s soul and a tearing pain erupted.


    The sound of something ripping apart echoed in his ears and even the surroundings.


    Ryu paled instantly. No matter how flexible his soul was, ripping away a part of it was still a blow he couldn''t easily shrug off.


    Because he was worried about how deep the cancer might go, he took the extra cautious route of ripping away more than he thought he needed.


    In that single motion, he had stripped away over 20% of his soul.


    Ryu pressed a palm against his forehead and pulled.


    Under the shocked gazes of everyone, a large piece of soul was stripped away. What was more shocking than anything was that it was a dense black.


    Right then, there wasn''t a single soul who didn''t recognize the Perfect Blackbody Soul. Each one of them shuddered, realizing what must have happened.


    All the while, the Dream Wraiths had been sneering.


    At first, they were surprised that Ryu was standing there at all. His movements were odd, and the fact he wasn''t rushing away at the first opportunity wasn''t in line with what they had seen from his character.


    But then he noticed that his body seemed to be giving up on him and the subterfuge in their gazes condensed. They had almost forgotten how weak Ryu''s cultivation was. Of course, this would be the outcome of stepping into the seventh layer.


    But as he sat there, long swaths of time passing by, the situation became odder and odder. Ryu didn''t seem to make any progress at all.


    They laughed, feeling that he had finally reached his limits. There had to be a limit to someone''s comprehension. If continuous breakthroughs could be made so easily, then everyone would be able to become a Dao God, regardless of anything else.


    However, when Ryu suddenly ripped his own soul out, their hearts leapt into their throats.


    Who didn''t know the pain of a soul injury, let alone what Ryu had just done? Ryu had just done the equivalent of ripping his own heart out of his chest. It was the kind of thing that could make even Dao Lords fear a person.


    The Dream Wraiths, of course, had the fiercest reaction.


    Was that really the case? Was he looking at it wrong to begin with?


    Ryu hesitated.


    Should he try it? Had he been too cautious until now?


    His gaze sharpened.


    He was no longer being influenced by this cancer, so why should he hesitate now that he had the thought?


    Ryu changed his tactics and rather than absorbing qi from the Chaos Plane and then using it to condense Spiritual Quintessence, he tried to pull it in from the surroundings instead.


    The Rotten Sea was a bit murky, not only in its looks but also its energy composition. It was mostly made of Vital Qi, which was why Bloodline Resonance worked so well.


    That said, the Demons were a special race. As he had thought many times before, they were somewhere in the middle of Beasts and Humans. Beasts could only use their blood and their entire cultivation system was built on their Spiritual Roots. Humans could use all three systems freely.


    Being somewhere in the middle, Demons could do a combination. And that meant that usually, no single realm, whether Body, Mental or Qi, was completely separate from the other.


    So there was qi here. It was just that it was scarce, muddled, and hard to control.


    But when it came to qi control, Ryu had always felt that he was second to none.


    Even while being unfamiliar with Nether Qi, he still managed to pull it out and slowly began to observe it.


    First, he paid attention to the changes this might cause to his body, but as expected, there was little to nothing. His main pair of Meridians were constructed from the third most durable material in all of Existence, even if there was trouble to be found, the Nether Qi certainly wouldn''t cause it there.


    However, when he pulled the Nether Qi into his mind, his thoughts seemed to go blank for a moment.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s soul broke into the True Quintessence Realm, completely out of his control.


    He was shocked by what happened, but he understood a moment later.


    Logically, this seemed to make sense. After all, didn''t those Dao Lords and Sovereigns who had been stuck at the pinnacle of their worlds managed to see a path to breakthrough after coming into contact with Ethereal Qi?


    But this didn''t feel like the same situation.


    For one, Ryu''s soul was special. His cultivation Realm didn''t denote his strength because he could expand it beyond those limits. His soul might have been in the False Quintessence Realm, but it was easily stronger than most True Sky Gods, whether of the Ninth Heaven and Plane or not.


    He was constantly pressing to push it past its limits so that he could have more room for growth, and it should still have some space. It didn''t make sense to break through like that.


    Second, Nether Qi wasn''t Ethereal Qi. It wasn''t the mirror of Real Qi; it was more like a very specific antithesis that strode toward the same goal with entirely different means.


    So why had his soul just broken through when he didn''t want it to?

 Chapter 1753 Not Just Yet

    Chapter 1753 Not Just Yet


    1753 Not Just Yet


    Ryu was baffled. Even after several moments, he hadn''t managed to come up with a solid answer, and it was beginning to annoy him.


    He absolutely hated being suppressed like this. Part of the reason his personality had become so cold in his first life was because his constant inability to cultivate despite having the will and desire to was an attack on his mind every day.


    This situation didn''t feel much different.


    The fact the other participants should be experiencing the same things should have comforted him, but it didn''t.


    He was definitely, by far, the one being suppressed the most because he had lost all of his most powerful abilities.


    If he still had access to his full range, he would have comprehended this already.


    ''Nether Qi...''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    First, he chose to take a step back. He was used to leaping over several bridges of logic and coming to an immediate conclusion. So this time, he would just have to cross each one of those bridges slowly.


    So, instead of trying to absorb more Nether Qi, he focused on the changes to his actual soul.


    What happened to his strength? Was there was a substantial leap? Did it regress? What about the limits of his Spiritual Sea? Did they increase? Regress? Stay the same?


    Ryu began to build a list of checkpoints, going through them one by one until he built a solid picture of what happened.


    That was when he realized something incredibly important.


    This wasn''t normal cultivation. He had been trying to repair his soul. That meant that he hadn''t been adding Nether Qi Spiritual Quintessence on top of his foundation. But rather, he was adding it to his foundation instead.


    His recovery was fast, and his cultivation continued to skyrocket.


    He just felt so...


    Full.


    His Spiritual Sea was almost bloated in a way he had never experienced before. He was used to it expanding nigh infinitely, but now it seemed to be showing some slight discomfort.


    Ryu realized that his Spiritual Sea had, indeed, shrunk. But by contrast, it was still far more powerful than it had been in the past. One strand of his Spiritual Quintessence was now worth triple of what it had been in the past, and that shocked Ryu...


    Because he had only changed 20% of his Spiritual Sea.


    After some hesitation, Ryu pressed a hand to forehead and tore away another 30% of his soul.


    The excruciating pain hardly made his pupils constrict, as though he were forged by fire.


    Soon, his Spiritual Sea was half-formed of Nether Qi Spiritual Quintessence and another half-formed by Real Qi Spiritual Quintessence.


    The bloated feeling actually disappeared, as though this was the balance his Spiritual Sea had been chasing after all the while.


    Now, if before a strand of his Spiritual Quintessence had been worth three, it was now worth ten.


    The shocking part about this was that this had nothing to do with his breakthrough into the True Realm. These calculations were based on his deductions for how strong he would have been had his soul broken through the normal way.


    This change was shocking. To be worth ten times as powerful, his soul, which could easily crush those a Realm above now could seem to easily do the same for two Realms above now.


    Under these circumstances, even if he ran into another Dream Wraith now, even if he lacked in skill compared to them, he could easily brute force his way to stopping them.


    His mind felt clearer than it ever had before, and he realized that he wasn''t finished just yet...

 Chapter 1754 Second-Rate

    Chapter 1754 Second-Rate


    1754 Second-Rate


    Ryu''s attention turned to his Internal Matrix. His self-created method was built off the back of Real Qi alone. Even after all the changes to his soul, he hadn''t touched it.


    But now, he felt a state of enlightenment coming that he couldn''t suppress.


    The moment his gaze turned to the Internal Matrix, it was as though something had exploded in his mind.


    Waves of Essence descended, forming a golden pillar as he lost himself in thought. He didn''t even have time to register what level of Enlightenment he had just triggered. He had already begun to tear apart his Internal Matrix and reform it.


    If he had gotten these many benefits from just the fusion of Real Qi and Nether Qi, didn''t that mean if he split his Spiritual Sea into perfect thirds, incorporated Ethereal Qi as well, it would rise to another level?


    But this was just speculation, he didn''t know for certain.


    What he did know, though, was that his Internal Matrix now had a lane for improvement he had simply never considered before.


    Vense would never expect that his last sinister action would actually be the impetus for Ryu to improve by leaps and bounds. Not only was his soul far stronger than it had been in the past, but he had touched upon something incredibly profound.


    The fact that Ryu didn''t understand what Vense did or how he did it was a blow to his ego, but it was also a reminder of something clear.


    He wasn''t perfect, yes. But this wasn''t his main take away.


    What caught his attention even more was the fact that there were certain systems of cultivation and methods that he had never even seen.


    It could even be said that if any one of the methods of the Demon Kings appeared in the True Martial World, they would be no different from Taboo methods in that case.


    They were built upon fundamentally different realities...


    But there was a stark difference between Taboo methods and Demon methods.


    The former was suppressed by the Heavens, not having enough Faith to display their real power.


    The latter, however, was perfectly in tune with the Heavens.


    He couldn''t control what had happened. He had truly not wanted to miss that state of enlightenment.


    Truthfully, he knew this would happen.


    He just didn''t give a damn.


    Ahead, a looming Fire Giant stood.


    Off to the side, there was an Ash Treant, its black bark and branches spreading out to encompass over a kilometer.


    To another side, there was an Ice Queen, one with a radiant blue crown above her head.


    All three were on Ryu''s kill list.


    "How convenient of you all to come to me."


    Ryu stood to his feet, stretching his neck.


    At that moment, the surrounding waters became incredibly still. His Bloodline Resonance stabilized, breaking through several tiers of control and forcing the heavy waters into submission.


    His huge breakthrough had brought his comprehension back to a level where it had been in the outside world.


    As far as he was concerned, this battle was already over. The second-rate geniuses weren''t worthy of standing before him. They were lucky he had even graced them with his presence.


    That said, for their thoughts about his wife, they would have to die.


    The Ice Queen seemed to be instantly irritated by Ryu''s words. A twin pair of small daggers appeared in her hands.


    "I''m going to castrate you and flush that disgusting thing down your throat."


    Ryu sent her an indifferent glance. "I hate to break it to you, but my wife quite likes that "disgusting thing"."


    "I''LL KILL YOU!" She roared.


    [Important Announcement Below. Also, WE''RE BACK BABY!!!]

 Chapter 1755 Wealth

    Chapter 1755 Wealth


    ??1755 Wealth


    Ryu was speechless for a moment. This woman was actually so infuriated? What did she think husband and wife did, exactly?


    After a moment, despite the attack coming toward him, he began to laugh.


    Each wave of laughter caused another boom to echo across the black waters. Even without moving an inch, the Ice Queen was rebuffed and sent flying backward. The dichotomy between her fierceness and the result was so striking that the others didn''t know how to react.


    "Let''s end this as quickly as possible, shall we? My patience for those with thoughts about my wife is lower than the Ninth Plane itself... and the price to pay is death."


    Ryu took a step forward and punched out three consecutive times. He aimed for each one of them just once, as though he couldn''t be bothered to use more than a single attempt for them.


    The Ice Queen was in the worst position, her body having been sent flailing backward. Facing Ryu''s sudden fist, she found it difficult to even stabilize herself first. Her thoughts were consumed by how fast she was moving backward despite the density of the waters...


    Were they truly still in the seventh layer?


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The Ice Queen crossed her arms, cracks of ice akin to fissures in space appearing before her in a vain attempt to block.


    The shield shattered instantly. Her daggers trembled for just a moment, managing to hold their form. But the rest of the energy travelled up her arms, shattering the lovely pair like broken glass and cracking ice.


    The Fire Giant had brought out a hammer of ages, one with a head as large as his own. When it swung down, the waters in its way didn''t have the time to move. In the end, it looked as though the Rotten Sea had become a part of its strength.


    But in Ryu''s eyes, this was just the very same trick Vense had used. It looked good, but it lacked substance, lacked strength.


    The moment the hammer and Ryu''s fist aura collided, the former was blow out of the way, the Rotten Seas that had become part of its strength incorporating into Ryu''s strength instead and gathering into an all out assault on the Fire Giant''s chest.


    Blood and bone exploded. The Rotten Sea absorbed them instantly, sapping it up and even latching onto the Fire Giant. The viciousness was akin to a parasite sinking into its prey.


    The Ash Treant seemed to be in the best condition, but this was only because it didn''t seem to be a being of flesh and blood. Its branches and bark littered the waters. Despite how much of its body it used to block, it was like the energy of Ryu''s fist was endless, breaking through them one after another.


    Ryu took a step forward, appearing amidst the constantly snaking branches of the treant. He moved with a fluidity that touched upon a realm these few Demon Kings had simply never seen.


    He appeared in front of its main trunk, stretching out a hand slowly and almost gently placing his palm on it.


    The Ash Treant froze.


    "Afraid?" Ryu asked softly. "I really want to know, though... did an inconsequential plant like you really think it had a chance in this game? I''ve out-competed even Life Partners before. Who do you think you are?"


    ''Worth exploring. Might be yet another path to improve my Inner Matrix...''


    The Ice Queen was shivering with fury, trying to reform her arms and having decent success.


    The Ice Queen Demon King Race looked quite a lot like humans did aside from the ice crown perpetually hovering above their heads and their unnaturally pale skin.


    However, their bodies were almost entirely constructed of the ice element. Due to this, so long as they had qi, healing from even the most grievous of injuries wasn''t difficult at all.


    It was just unfortunate that it didn''t matter.


    Ryu appeared before her.


    Finally, her eyes showed signs of panic.


    "You-you can''t kill me! I''m a woman! What kind of man are you?!"


    "Yes, I can," Ryu replied simply.


    He flicked a finger, and her head and crown shattered.


    While it was true that she could replenish her body, that didn''t mean it didn''t come at a cost. She had put everything into trying to heal her arms because that was the only way she could have any hope of fighting back. But that also meant that her qi was completely diverted to the task as well.


    She was the easiest to kill of them all.


    Ryu took her spatial ring as well.


    He didn''t waste any time. He picked the direction he sensed Selheira in and shot toward it, his speed blazing. It wouldn''t take him more than a few dozen seconds to reach her. His speed was too fast.


    As he moved, he took a look at the rings and didn''t find much interesting other than precisely what he was looking for: wealth.


    The three of them were quite rich. Their wealth piled into the tens of millions of Mid level True Nether Crystals. It was orders of magnitude beyond what Ryu had on him now since all his wealth was in the lower level of the kind.


    Other than that, there were just some secondary treasures and some life-saving measures. Even of the latter, there weren''t many. Presumably because these three usually walked around with Dao Guards.


    There were also some techniques, but Ryu had gotten used to using his own self-created methods. That said, they would be interesting reference.


    ''Hm?''


    He spotted something interesting in the Ash Treant''s ring that made his lip curl. It was a technique, and it happened to be related to something he was just wondering about.

 Chapter 1756 Invincible

    Chapter 1756 Invincible


    ??1756 Invincible


    Ryu didn''t have a chance to take a deep look at the technique. He had already arrived.


    This time, he found Selheira in a state of deep meditation, a frown pinching her delicate brows. She wasn''t in any imminent danger, or so it seemed on the surface. But Ryu quickly found what the issue was.


    Her body was, indeed, stronger than his in this state. The problem was that she hadn''t grasped Bloodline Resonance and her cultivation was much lower than those that would be able to reach this stage.


    Although she was advancing by leaps and bounds, she wasn''t going to be able to make up for years of delayed cultivation in just a few days or even months.


    She had already missed the ideal window for fast progression, and now she was heavily relying on her talent and resources instead.


    Ryu wasn''t worried about this because he was certain that he could help her to overcome that hurdle. But that wouldn''t change the fact that this seventh layer was too much for her.


    He quickly rushed up and put a hand on her shoulder. It was only then that the pressure around Selheira finally alleviated and she let out a haggard breath.


    She collapsed into Ryu''s arms, fainting. Her breathing became shallow and quick, her skin paling.


    Ryu felt a pang of guilt. He had brought her here before she was ready, and she had likely been here waiting for him. She had likely expected that he would quickly catch up. Instead, he had forced her to endure alone for over a half day.


    He picked her up into a cradle and dispelled all the black water around her. Her body finally fully relaxed, and her frown smoothed out, but judging by the erratic beating of her heart, she wasn''t out of the woods just yet.


    Ryu only sighed a breath of relief after he realized that there was no immediate danger to her life. In fact, he realized that although this situation was dangerous; she had benefitted quite a bit.


    Her skin was covered in droplets of impurities, likely forced out thanks to the tremendous pressure she had been under.


    Ryu carefully cleansed her body, controlling a pulse of ice qi to freeze them over and shatter them.


    From what Ryu could see, after Selheira left this place and gained access to Real Qi once more, she would be able to take a straight shot right into the Perfect Sky God Realm at the very worst.


    It wasn''t just this, but the pressure also forced her Fire Dragon side into a more active role, and more shocking than that, Ryu actually began to sense other Dragon Bloodlines in her body.


    That was when it hit Ryu.


    If Selheira had a Fire Dragon Bloodline hidden inside of her, why wouldn''t the other Bloodlines, suppressed through her lineage, not be there as well?


    He sensed aspects of Wind, Water, Earth. There were even traces of rarer Dragons, like Spatial Dragons, in her blood.


    They were, obviously, much weaker than her Crystal Dragon Bloodline, but this was an analysis Ryu made based on their quantity, not their quality.


    Ryu grinned.


    This had nothing to do with him. Selheira had realized that if she used her Crystal Dragon Bloodline as the main pillar, forcing these other Bloodlines into subservience was possible.


    Ryu finally sensed a person. He wasn''t sure if it was Empana because the distance was too far, but he could only go one by one in this situation. So, he set off.


    As he did so, he turned his attention back to the Ash Treant''s method. It was such a fundamental technique of the race that it didn''t even have a name. It was a lot like the Martial Arts that Ryu practiced as a youth.


    But as Ryu read, he was completely blown away.


    Ryu was almost never impressed. It took his master finding his wife across countless world barriers before he even acknowledged her.


    It wasn''t that there weren''t people that could do what he couldn''t. It was more, so that it was rare for him to come across someone he didn''t think could only do so because they had more years of cultivation than himself.


    Ryu always felt that he could accomplish more than others should the circumstances be the exact sum. Though, he acknowledged that the world was fair.


    But this... this was truly impressive.


    ...


    In the outside world, the Ash Treants were bristling with rage at the fall of their genius. There were only three Ash Treants that had made it so far, and Ryu actually killed one of them so easily. It was nothing short of a humiliation.


    But when they saw him reading their technique, their reaction wasn''t furious at all.


    That was because this technique fell into a rare category.


    It was a technique that was both a core method of the Ash Treants, and yet one that they never bothered to try to put restrictions over. Not only could any Ash Treant practice it and even carry a copy regardless of status, the technique had been passed on so far and wide that every Demon Clan had a copy in the Ninth Plane. Even the weaker ones.


    It was simply a technique which, even if one came to comprehend it, it wouldn''t make a difference because it was entirely reliant on the unique body of the Ash Treants.


    On top of that, even other lesser Treants couldn''t make use of this technique because the requirements were too high.


    As such, this was a unique technique. They could only sneer at Ryu''s actions. He''d have better odds looking at what the other two might have been carrying.


    ...


    Ryu had no idea what the Ash Treants were thinking, nor did he give a damn.


    Because the moment he saw this technique, his heart was practically beating out of his chest.


    This was the method...


    "I will use this to bring my close combat to an all new level. If I accomplish this and succeed in improving my Dao the way I want, it should be almost impossible for anyone beneath Dao Lord to even scratch me."


    The fierce glow in Ryu''s eyes could burn a world down. He could finally take strides toward that ideal he had dreamed of since he was a child.


    One day, he would be invincible.

 Chapter 1757 How?

    Chapter 1757 How?


    ??1757 How?


    The technique was shocking, and though Ryu didn''t know what the Ash Treants were thinking, if he did know, he would feel that their assessment wasn''t entirely wrong.


    Just on its surface, this technique was nigh impossible to use for anyone without both exception Soul Talent and the body of an Ash Treant.


    Due to the former reason, Treants of weaker stock were unable to use this technique. While due to the latter, even geniuses of other Races were out of luck.


    The reason this technique was so difficult was because of one reason: it was created based on chaos.


    Of course, this was Chaos as related to the Chaos Plane, but rather chaos in reference to the scientific principle.


    Ryu was shocked by the scientific advancements of the humans he had seen in those other worlds. Whether Sacrum or the True Martial World, neither progressed down this path.


    However, that didn''t mean that Ryu wasn''t aware of some scientific principles even if he didn''t necessarily look at them like "science".


    For example, Aika''s Dao. It was based on quantum mechanics, and Ryu understood what he was seeing the moment she used it the first time.


    In this case, it was yet another principle that he understood perfectly, that being the so-called "three body problem". Though Ryu also didn''t refer to it this way. He simply knew it was lowercase chaos.


    The three body problem, described simply, was essentially the scientific principle that when there were two large bodies in space, both with gravity acting upon each other, it was simple to create a predictive model of where they would end up a long way into the future.


    However, once a third body was added, everything changed.


    Then there was a third and final problem, and this one was likely the most obvious...


    Humanoids like Ryu had joints to worry about. How could they use such a chaotic technique?


    What made the three body problem so potent was that the bodies involved could end up anywhere at any time. But Ryu and other humanoids were limited by their own bodies. Due to joints, there was a limited range of movement that Ryu could exhibit, and if he went too far beyond them, he would end up snapping his own arms and legs in half. He could even kill himself if he wasn''t careful.


    The Treants, by extension, had no such worries. The flexibility of their branches was endless and even if they snapped, they didn''t care, they could just grow more.


    This was why the Ash Treants were the only race in existence that could use this technique.


    It wasn''t like others hadn''t tried to think of workarounds. For example, using flying weapons or formations instead. But the issue with that approach was that using this chaos method put such a great weight on the mind to being with. If you were also diverting your attention to control things that weren''t direct attachments to your body, how much greater would the pressure on your mind be?


    Ultimately, it wasn''t even worth the exchange. You would end up with a far weaker product than what you started with.


    However... Ryu had something that the True Marital World didn''t have...


    Visualizations.


    Not only did he have Visualizations, but he also happened to have the perfect tree for exactly this process. Of all the trees in existence, the Immortal Sakura probably had the largest branch to trunk ratio, with its trunk being short and stumpy compared to the rest.


    The obvious issue, though, was just as was stated above. Even if Ryu had a powerful soul, which of the Demon King geniuses didn''t?


    If he had to use this technique and a Visualization at the same time... even he would run into a wall.


    So how?

 Chapter 1758 Bastardized

    Chapter 1758 Bastardized


    ??1758 Bastardized


    Ryu wasn''t a fool, nor did he overestimate himself due to his own bravado.


    The Ash Treants weren''t just some throwaway Race of beings. They were Demon Kings, existences on the same level as the Martial Gods in terms of power and influence.


    If their techniques could be circumvented just through some lower world methods and a powerful soul talent, they would have never been so lax in letting it spread to begin with.


    The Perfect Blackbody Soul wasn''t the only top tier soul talent with large reserves of stamina. In fact, it wasn''t even that was the easiest to cultivate in this regard.


    Sure, Ryu had great soul stamina, but it was at the cost of heavy efforts and long cultivation. Given the amount of energy he had absorbed through self-created pills and his new soul cultivation method, he should have long since had a Perfect Soul at the very worst.


    This was because the Perfect Blackbody Soul''s main ability wasn''t the stamina it granted, but rather its flexibility and durability. Thus its namesake.


    By contrast, there were other souls out there that specialized in stamina and large Spiritual Seas specifically.


    And though Visualizations weren''t common throughout the True Martial World, how often did the best geniuses travel to lower worlds to temper themselves? Could it be that Sacrum was the only one that had grasped this form of soul control? Did no one at least have anything analogous or close?


    With these measures alone, Ryu could certainly become one of the very best non-Ash Treants in the usage of this technique. But the effort to output ratio would always be terrible for him, no matter what. Even if he grew to surpass the best Ash Treant there was, because he finally climbed beyond the limits of this world, it still wouldn''t matter.


    He would still be losing out and there would always be better techniques to use. Not to mention the fact he was a long way from accomplishing that to begin with.


    But Ryu truly did have something that no other existence had.


    An Internal Matrix that would do all the calculations for him.


    Ryu didn''t need to burden his soul with the calculations. He could entirely focus on sustaining the [Immortal Sakura] Visualization. After some modification, its enhancement to his close combat abilities would be monumental.


    Not only would he be able to have one of the best defensive abilities in existence, but he would likewise fuse it with one of the strongest.


    At the very least, they got some sick comfort thinking of what had happened to Empana. Looking at Ryu searching around like this, they all couldn''t help but release dark sneers.


    ...


    Ryu continued to search, and another hour ticked by without any progress.


    That was when he spotted it.


    He almost ignored it because it didn''t register as a living being, but the shape of it caught him off guard.


    Ryu appeared the object and with he illuminated the surroundings, he found Empana''s corpse.


    It was missing a leg and both arms. His eyes were still open wide, and the Rotten Seas were compressing down around his remains.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    He didn''t know Empana very well, and he didn''t very much care about his death itself. But this was a man he had designs on, even having plans for the future.


    Who dared to kill his property?


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a dangerous light, and he was about to leave when he noticed something else.


    ''He''s not dead. Is this a special ability of the Lizard Demons?''


    It seemed similar to shedding skin, except Empana was doing it with his whole body and his soul.


    If he had to describe it in a single line, it was like a bastardized version of the Phoenix''s Rebirth, but not nearly as glorious nor as effective.


    And Empana had used it at the worst time because it was for the sake of survival and nothing else.

 Chapter 1759 Brighter

    Chapter 1759 Brighter


    1759 Brighter


    Empana clearly hadn''t been as lucky as Selheira was, but that ironically might have been because, unlike Selheira, he could actually walk around.


    The result of that was him running into enemies he could defeat and suffering for it. Though, honestly speaking, that could be just about anyone in this place.


    Making it to the seventh layer definitely meant that you were exceptionally powerful amongst that group of geniuses, so there were simply no safe zones around here. The moment you ran into someone, if you didn''t have the strength to protect yourself, you would be finished.


    This was probably also the reason why Ryu had only been surrounded by three geniuses instead of a dozen or more.


    After sensing the golden pillar, many probably realized that they were too far away to be among the first to get there, and there was too much to risk by trying, anyway. It was better if they searched for opportunities elsewhere.


    That was especially the case since, unlike Ryu, moving around would definitely get them targeted by beasts as well. It could be said that Selheira was also very lucky in this regard. Or at the very least, she had grasped just enough Bloodline Resonance to keep her body protected and mask her aura.


    Ryu reached down and placed a hand on Empana''s forehead, confirming what he had already known. His soul was definitely still buried deep in there, and his body was in a quasi state of rebirth.


    All of his organs had shut down or ruptured. Even his heart had been completely shattered.


    There was only a small kernel of life deep within. It would have been easily missed if it wasn''t for the fact that this was exactly what Ryu was looking for.


    Once again, some droplets of Embryonic Qi would have probably done the trick, but much like Selheira, Ryu sensed something curious.


    The methods of the Lizard Demons were clearly much weaker than the Phoenixes. This Bloodline talent should be based on skin shedding, or something similar.


    Ryu wasn''t in a rush to go anywhere. If he descended to the eight layer right now, he would be letting those on his kill list off.


    He highly doubted that much more than a handful, if any at all, would be able to enter the eight layer. That meant that the seventh layer was his last opportunity to catch them all in one place.


    In that case, why not take his time to help out his wife and his new Summon?


    This wasn''t entirely a waste of his time, either. Setting aside the fact that Empana would become a part of his fighting strength in the future, this was the first time Ryu would get to witness a rebirth up close.


    Of course, once again, it was nowhere near as close to a real rebirth as the Phoenix''s talent was, but that didn''t mean that it didn''t have its own merits.


    Not only would this help him to understand much more about Empana''s body, which would help him increase this Lizard Demon''s strength into the future. It would also be an opportunity for him to deepen his Dao and comprehension of the world.


    Ryu continued to lower the pressure. He could feel that the will in Empana''s heart was still incredibly strong. Even until the last moment, he refused to give in.


    The Lizard Demon had no idea what was happening around him at all, but that didn''t mean he wouldn''t take advantage.


    Even so, it wasn''t until Ryu had lessened the pressure to what was on the second layer that an equilibrium was finally reached.


    Finally, Empana began to make some progress forward in his rebirth, latching onto the chance like a thirsting man in the desert to water.


    The process was slow, and though Ryu could have weakened the pressure even further to help speed it up, he didn''t do so. In fact, at a certain point, he began to weaken his Bloodline Resonance, increasing the pressure around Empana once more.


    As Ryu observed, his eyes glowed brighter and brighter.

 Chapter 1760 Boon

    Chapter 1760 Boon


    1760 Boon


    ''Truly fascinating...''


    It wasn''t just flesh and bone being regenerated. It felt like Ryu was watching the recreation of a Race. But what was even more shocking than this was the fact that this Race was also mutating at the same time.


    It was practically like watching the constellations change in the skies; it was truly that fantastical.


    Aside from this, he had already been impressed by Empana''s Dao heart before, but now it was as bright as day.


    Enduring this kind of near death experience and crawling back, albeit slowly, wasn''t something most could do. In fact, almost no one could do it.


    It was like the first time Ryu came in contact with the Divine Chains of the Martial Gods. Except even then, his subconscious knew that it was an effect of the chains and not reality. Yet it had still taken a moment for him to pull himself out of that state.


    What Empana was going through was very much real, and yet he was still clawing and biting. Ryu could almost sense a savage, demonic nature coming from him. One that was one part unbridled rage, and another part almost... psychotic and primal, in a way.


    Ironically, Ryu was learning a lot more about temperament while observing this than anything else. He could almost watch as Empana''s tendencies and personality were being baked into himself, how his Bloodlines were trying to force him to act in a certain way.


    More interesting than that, he could see exactly what aspects of his Bloodline were forcing it, and exactly how the mutations were either enhancing or weakening them.


    As the hours ticked by, Ryu had slowly raised the pressure back up the sixth layer.


    Empana''s progress was still moving forward at the pace of a snail, but the fact he could withstand the sixth layer on his own now spoke volumes about the kind of progress he was making.


    His body still looked like it was in pieces. His limbs were still missing, his skin was still cracked and riddled with wounds, even his soul was still trapped in a layer of hidden runes that he had yet to manage to shed.


    The rivalry between the Dragons and World Serpents was well known. It was so deeply ingrained that even after the World Serpents became the Bone Serpents; it was still a grudge that remained.


    It was said that the World Serpents were the largest beasts in all of existence, known for having bodies that would wrap all the way around entire worlds at their peak.


    It was also said that even as children, they had worlds inside their bellies, allowing them to devour any and all things. They were insatiable creatures, and rather than wrapping around a world, it was more accurate to say that they swallowed them whenever they got the chance.


    Just now, Ryu had sensed a hint of that devouring character coming from Empana. How could he not react to it?


    However, it was clear that this devouring character was mutated and seemed to also be tailored toward flames.


    Ryu didn''t care. This was a huge change, and an unexpected boon at that.


    He had never told anyone, but he had a theory for why it was that Dragons won their battle, and it wasn''t that the World Serpents were weaker.


    The World Serpents were a creature very much hated. They threw off the balance of worlds and their Karma was absolutely terrible. Even before they became Demons, they were well known as such.


    In their prime, the World Serpents might have been even stronger than the Dragons. Their abilities were more shared across their species, so they had larger numbers of experts working on refining the same path. By contrast, the Dragons had countless variations within themselves.


    If Ryu could awaken a World Serpent, at least in part...


    This would be a huge boon.


    BOOM!


    There was a sudden BANG! that came from Empana''s stomach and Ryu''s eyes began to shine as bright as stars.


    He had actually done it. He had formed the World Devouring stomach.

 Chapter 1761 Me?

    Chapter 1761 Me?


    ??1761 Me?


    The World Devouring stomach was obviously one of the greatest talents of the World Serpents. In fact, it was to the World Serpents what the Lightning Seed was to the Qilins, or Rebirth was to the Phoenixes.


    This World Devouring talent was clearly incomplete, and was only capable of dealing with flames, but that didn''t change just how shocking it was. Just by virtue of its existence, Empana had actually gained far more immunity against flames than even Ryu''s Rebirth Flame allowed. It was truly shocking.


    Just with this alone, it was clear that Empana''s gains were excellent. In this regard, Ryu could only sigh.


    If they didn''t suppress his inner world, he could have allowed his other Summon to appear as well. Her gains would likely be just as great, if not more so, because her foundation was deeper than Empana''s.


    While her Dao Heart was definitely weaker than the Lizard Demon''s, it wasn''t by a large amount. He could tell that she was certainly strong of will as well.


    But there was no use crying over spilt milk. There was still some time. Maybe if he made it to the ninth layer, he could make a breakthrough that would shake him free of this suppression entirely.


    Once that happened, he would truly be able to take his summons to another level.


    Or, maybe...


    ''If I understand this Rotten Sea deeply enough, it''s possible that I could replicate it in my inner world. But such a thing is certainly easier said than done. This is a world capable of suppressing even my eyes. Even if I can replicate it, at least in the interim, it won''t be as powerful as I would like it to be.''


    As Ryu thought about this, Empana was undergoing another world of changes.


    In order to withstand the existence of the World Devouring stomach, it was impossible for his body to remain the same. Just by virtue of gaining a world within himself, he was being forced to grow stronger just to fight back against the drain it had on him.


    It also had to be remembered that the World Serpents were beasts. This meant that their cultivation system was entirely built from the body. So, when Ryu said "stomach", he meant so literally. It wasn''t just hovering around in a similar location, but it was truly in his stomach, right above the location of his dantian.


    It seemed that Empana was undergoing a similar evolution to Selheira, though not completely analogous. The difference was that while Selheira was a beast becoming more human, Empana was a Demon becoming more beast.


    Since those below Dao God couldn''t fly on the Ninth Plane, that would make his life even more troublesome. But he had fought through far worse with far less power at his disposal.


    He felt like he could accomplish anything.


    That was when it hit Empana...


    Why didn''t he feel any pain?


    His mind had been consumed by this pain for the last several days. It felt like he was constantly clawing back from the jaws of hell, but the devils wouldn''t let him free.


    But now he felt... good?


    Ryu''s lip curled as Empana finally realized his situation.


    At this moment, Empana stood even taller than a Fire Giant of his cultivation level. He loomed at 20 meters tall and his body''s strength was so powerful that his heartbeat resonated like a clap of thunder in Ryu''s ears.


    His face and upper body were still humanoid and attractive by the same standards, but his tail had become a looming monstrosity that would shake even the oldest ancestors of the Lizard Demons to their very core.


    If he stood on the tip of his tail instead of the flat of it, he would have been at least 30 meters tall.


    Empana looked down at himself and then noticed Ryu. Realizing the size disparity between the two, he felt his heart lurch into his throat.


    When he finally felt his own current power, his eyes glazed over in shock, his body and heart trembling despite his Dao Heart.


    "... This is me?"


    His words lingered in the dark sea.

 Chapter 1762 Tired of Calm

    Chapter 1762 Tired of Calm


    ??1762 Tired of Calm


    Ryu smiled, looking at this scene with satisfaction. This was about barely enough to be worthy of being his Summon. Empana with this strength and his Dao Heart was bound to be a true monster. It was likely that even now, there were very few left in the Rotten Sea that could match up to him.


    If Ryu was correct, it was likely only that Black Thunder Wraith, Wunikai and one other he had a memory of that could do so.


    This still wasn''t enough, in Ryu''s opinion. These three were excellent talents, but they still weren''t considered to be the true monsters of the Demon Kings. Those would be existences like his wife and others who didn''t even show up today.


    But it was a decent start.


    As for what would make Ryu satisfied?


    Well, he had not a single care in the world for the standards of the True Martial World.


    If he wanted to reach the pinnacle of the world, to soar across Existence and find his wife, to protect his loved ones from any and all things, his goals had to be beyond this.


    And by extension, those that he wanted to make a part of his power likewise had to be beyond.


    Until Empana could crush Dao Gods and look down on them with impunity, he wouldn''t be satisfied. And it was likely that even then, he would be looking toward an even taller peak.


    "Let''s go," Ryu said. "I''m sure that now you can move around on your own."


    Empana blinked, still in a stunned state of shock. But eventually, he nodded as well, following Ryu, who had already shot off into the distance.


    Empana was slowly beginning to recall his memories of what had happened. As he did so, he realized that if not for Ryu''s timely appearance, this would have been the place he died.


    He hadn''t expected that his family core talent would awaken in his to begin with. His talent was far too low. But for it to have such a shocking resonance with the Rotten Sea was even more shocking to him.


    And just like clockwork, several powerful existences zoomed over, striding over large distances.


    This time, no one cared about the danger. They had been stuck in the seventh layer for too long, their bodies were tired and many were giving up hope on ever entering the eighth.


    Back when Ryu''s golden pillar descended, there were far fewer existences in this layer, and the risk also wasn''t worth it, especially not for something they weren''t sure of the origin of. For all they knew, a powerful creature had just spawned.


    But this time, there was no mistaking what it was. It was clearly a blood crystal. Not only did they know exactly what it was, they were also aware that this was their only chance to make it to the eighth layer.


    Succeeding in such a thing could change their entire lives. Maybe they, too, would be named among the truly monstrous geniuses.


    "There you have it, Empana. How about you show the world the new you?"


    Empana trembled and clenched his fists. In the crowd of surging geniuses, he spotted a Shadow moving through the waters. He practically didn''t hear Ryu''s words at all.


    All he remembered was this supposed genius sneaking up on him and then slowly torturing him to death for hours on end.


    He remembered every cut, every fracture, every sadistic chuckle and laugh.


    As his fury rose, so too did the water''s temperature.


    Empana suddenly unleashed a furious roar that echoed across the blackened water. His rage froze several individuals, but that didn''t mean that he came to a stop at all.


    His tail suddenly lashed out more by instinct than anything else, and three of the Demon King geniuses shattered into a rain of blood and gore that was quickly soaked up by the Rotten Seas.


    Empana grabbed at the air and flamed, seemed to head his call.


    He didn''t need Ryu''s urging.


    He was tired of being calm. He truly wanted to kill.

 Chapter 1763 Young Miss

    Chapter 1763 Young Miss


    ??1763 Young Miss


    The location was the Dream Wraith Domain.


    As fantastical as their name was, their territory was much less of the sort. In fact, it looked quite plain and ordinary, at least on the surface.


    There were no obvious displays of wealth, no regions of awe-inspiring and shocking feats of architecture, no powerful auras blanketing any and everything.


    But this was the view of a layman.


    When one opened their mind''s eye, it was like a completely different world would open up to them, the kind of world that both literally and figuratively could only appear in one''s dreams.


    While the Dream Wraiths sat in meditation, taking up simple cabins that made the world think them to be frugal monks seeking enlightenment... in their minds they had left to enter an entirely different world.


    It could be said that it was because of the existence of this world that the Dream Wraiths were so secure. Unless one could enter this world, shaking the foundation of the Dream Wraiths was essentially impossible.


    It was inside this world that all the fantastical sights could be found.


    The clouds were an array of various shades of violet, from the darkest hues of near black to the brightest of near pink.


    These clouds wrapped tightly around mountains that hovered seemingly in the air. But if one looked down, it could be seen that there was truly nothing at all left in the bottom of these mountains. It was like they were the entire world to begin with.


    Rivers flowed through the air. Snow fell on one mountain range while cherry blossoms rained down on another. Delicate showers of rain fell on another while a fragrant, pink wind surrounded another.


    But if he spent months trying to find the people he was looking for, what good would reporting do him?


    In the end, he sighed and flashed and vanished.


    When he appeared again, he was standing outside a gated courtyard beautiful beyond compare. The gates were golden and perfectly polished to the point they were almost blinding to look at.


    However, he forced himself to ignore the beauty as he reached for a golden bell and rang it.


    At that moment, a beauty dressed in white appeared. Her eyes were a deep red and her fair flowed like a black river, its luster shocking to an extreme.


    "Young Miss Mae," the Dao Lord spoke.


    Mae stared back, looking into his eyes, but seemingly not hearing his words at all.


    No matter who it was, so long as you were beneath the monarch ranks of the Sky God Realms, Dao Lords deserved respect.


    But there was only so much that one could do when the Sky God in question was the treasured disciple of a Dao God.


    Just by virtue of this alone, Mae was bound to stand well above him.


    He took a breath.


    "Young Miss Tatsuya."


    Mae nodded. "What have you come for today?"

 Chapter 1764 Stupid

    Chapter 1764 Stupid


    ??1764 Stupid


    The Dao Lord pressed down his distaste. Mae had obviously ignored his earlier form of address because she saw it as a sign of disrespect, not because they had to refer to her by her last name, but because she had already told them all how to refer to her.


    The fact these Dao Lords insisted on not doing wasn''t a slight against her, but against her husband.


    And that was intolerable.


    She didn''t yet have the strength to do so. But if it wasn''t for this, she would have killed this Dao Lord in a single slap. This time, she could only let it slide because there was only so far her master''s prestige could take her.


    She didn''t believe that it was a casual mistake. Dao Lords had practically infallible memory when it came to these things. There was no such thing as "slips" of the tongue at this layer. Unless his soul had suffered an injury or an attack, anything he said he had said on purpose.


    So although Mae finally replied to him, she still didn''t open the gates.


    "I have something to report to your esteemed master," the Dao Lord spoke as calmly as he could muster.


    "Okay. Please give me the report."


    The Dao Lord froze.


    There was absolutely nothing wrong with Mae''s words. In this situation, it was more appropriate for her to pass on the information. Not just anyone could meet a Dao God because they felt like it. There was a reason Mae was the one to answer the call of the bell, despite the fact this was technically her master''s Domain.


    "This..."


    The Dao Lord couldn''t say, he truly couldn''t. What was he supposed to say? That her husband was here? What would the result of that be?


    He began to curse in his heart. Maybe had he lowered his pride a bit, Mae wouldn''t have been so difficult. How could she assume that her husband, a human, would come all the way here? Judging by who had been in his entourage, he was clearly struggling to even get here.


    At the same time, he began to curse the Dao Sovereign that sent him here.


    Why was this necessary?


    "This is a very important matter that must be reported to the Dao God directly."


    The Dao Lord''s eyes widened. Suddenly, his shock became rage.


    "Little girl¡ª!"


    "Lower your voice. My master likes her quiet, and if you disturb it, I cannot guarantee what might happen."


    "You¡ª!"


    Despite his rage, it was obvious that the Dao Lord''s tone was several shades lower.


    "When I called you stupid, I mean it sincerely." Mae continued, unbothered. "If you successfully targeted my husband, even killed him, do you really think a woman would forget the man she gave her Primordial Yin to? Do you think that you can throw enough Young Masters and nobles at me? That time would atrophy my love?


    "Do you have any idea what it takes to become the disciple of a Dao God? Do you understand what level my Dao Heart must be at? Do you think the likes of you can cause it to waver?


    "So you succeed. You kill my husband. You forcefully separate me from him. Either one, it doesn''t particularly matter.


    "What do you think happens to you when I become a Dao Lord? Will you head stay attached to your neck?"


    The Dao Lord froze once more, a cold shiver radiating up his spine. Staring into Mae''s eyes, he couldn''t seem to look away at all.


    "What about the one who sent you? Will she keep her head? What about your family? Your friends? Your wives, your children, your mothers and fathers?


    "We''re all Demons, after all. Do you think I would have a bottom line in my revenge? Do you think I would spare anyone related to my heartache?


    "Even if my master suppresses me for the sake of the Clan''s harmony, how will you survive beneath my suppression?


    "If you see me as so valuable that you need to micromanage every aspect of my love life, wouldn''t that also stand to reason that you expect me to also become a Dao God?


    "So where will you hide when there''s no one left to suppress me?"


    Mae''s pink lips slowly closed, looking at him with an indifferent gave that carried the piercing cold of an abyssal hell. It seemed to have unfathomable depths, regal and boundless in its might.


    "So you tell me. Are you not stupid? Rushing to your death like this?"

 Chapter 1765 Fragmented

    Chapter 1765 Fragmented


    ??1765 Fragmented


    It could be said that the Dao Lord was truly too foolish. The moment Mae saw through his lie and he attempted to run away, who he was speaking of couldn''t have been more obvious.


    As long as Mae had been here, how could she not sense the hostility of these people toward her husband? It was precisely because of this that she had drawn a firm line right from the very beginning.


    All those that didn''t call her a Tatsuya when she met them were taught a lesson by her. Those that were stronger would either be directly ignored or she would use her status to suppress them, if it was possible.


    She refused to allow anyone to disrespect her husband, or even further than that, her relationship with her husband.


    If anyone trampled on that, she would lash out.


    After saying her piece, Mae directly ignored the Dao Lord and left to go see her master. But this time, she wasn''t going to report anything. Instead, she was going to ask for leave.


    The Dao Lord clenched his fists, furious as he watched Mae walk away, and yet completely unable to do anything.


    As much as he wanted to say that Mae''s words were nonsense, he wasn''t so shameless.


    If the disciple of a Dao God didn''t become at least a Dao Lord, it would be the first time in history.


    It had to be remembered that most disciples of Dao Gods had been chosen before they became Dao Gods. But even then, the vast majority had become Dao Sovereigns at worst. Extremely powerful Dao Sovereign at that.


    However, the difference between a disciple chosen before one was a Dao God and after was akin to night and day. If the former were monsters, then the latter were practically deities.


    In Mae''s case, not only had her master chosen her after she had already become a Dao God, Mae was also her very first disciple, and on top of this, she had gone to seek Mae out.


    "I apologize, esteemed one. But I had no choice. Your descendant is far more powerful than I, so I could only comply. Also, there are many odd points about this human being. He should have been stuck in the first layer, but he''s already made it to the seventh when last I received a report and he has killed many geniuses, including our own."


    The Dao God fell into silence for a long while, but the Dao Lord didn''t dare to look up.


    "... I care very little about this," the voice finally echoed once more.


    What was the purpose of targeting this human? Because of Mae? She wasn''t even a pure-blooded Dream Wraith to begin with. The Dao God didn''t even know why their descendants were so bored.


    Since when were the Dream Wraiths so pathetic?


    "It seems that we''ve been in seclusion for so long that you''ve all lost any sense of backbone you''ve ever had.


    "The Dream Wraiths had ruled unbothered and unfettered for countless generations. We are the one Clan that cannot be touched by any others, and this had caused you all to become soft."


    The Dao Lord trembled fiercely. The tone of the Dao God didn''t change, but he still felt as though a great danger was beginning to lurk all around him.


    "If this continues, maybe the only Dao God to appear in the next generation truly would be that little girl with impure blood.


    "You have all greatly disappointed me."


    At that moment, the entire dream world of the Dream Wraiths began to tremble.


    Many looked up, not understanding what was happening.


    But then their eyes opened wide as the entire world shattered like fragmented glass.

 Chapter 1766 Demon Kings

    Chapter 1766 Demon Kings


    ??1766 Demon Kings


    The Dao Lord was flung back, and though he wasn''t harmed, his vision was filled with a violent swirl of reality, space, and time.


    He wasn''t the only one. In fact, when the world shattered, it was truly broken apart completely. Every Dream Wraith present was expelled and thrust back into the outside world. The only ones to survive this expulsion were the Dao Gods themselves... and Mae.


    ...


    Mae had been patiently waiting outside her master''s living quarters when the expulsion happened. She was just as shocked as everyone else, but just when she had been about to be expelled as well, a gentle energy wrapped around her.


    Her vision blurred, and she appeared before her beautiful master a moment later.


    She quickly wiped the shock from her face and bowed.


    "Rise, child."


    "Master, this..."


    Mae''s master nodded and then shook her head.


    "It''s perhaps not a bad thing. I understand why Urval has made such a decision. The Dream Wraiths have grown dull. He has the rest of our support. But this next period will probably be hard on you."


    Mae blinked in confusion. Urval?


    It took a moment for it to sink in, but the only people who her master cared to call by their first name would have to be another Dao God.


    To this day, Mae still didn''t know how many Dao Gods the Dream Wraiths had. But in the time she had spent under her master, she had already mentioned two others aside from Urval. That should mean at least four, right?


    Could one race really have so many Dao Gods?


    "If I might ask, master," Mae bowed again, "what is happening?"


    "Urval had destroyed the haven, expelling everyone. The only ones who had survived this expulsion our us Dao Gods and our disciples, which would include you.


    "With its destruction and Urval''s push, this generation has been rushed into the gateway. As for where they will appear, it is hard to tell. If they will be able to return is even harder to tell.


    "This is where you will be sent."


    Mae slowly calmed the more her master described. She came to understand what she was facing, and she didn''t fear the danger at all. In fact, of all of Ryu''s wives, Isemeine and Mae were by far the most battle hungry.


    "What sorts of worlds are on the other side, master?"


    "It will depend, but I would urge caution. As Dream Wraiths, you will have some advantage. But your bloodline is impure, and a good deal of might not recognize what you are. You will likely have to prove your strength on many occasions.


    "In addition... there is a small chance that you might run into a true behemoth.


    "What many do not know is that above Demon Kings, there are Demon Emperors, and above Demon Emperors there are Demon Gods.


    "The talent of these creatures is beyond your imagining."


    Mae''s pupils constricted.


    "If there are existences that talented, why are Dream Wraiths..."


    "We Dream Wraiths are not Demon Kings. We are Demon Gods. It is just that this is suppressed based on the Nether Plane we are granted jurisdiction in. Unfortunately, even if you appear in a plane with Demon Gods, you will not receive a retroactive boost.


    "This is why I say you could very well end up in grave danger."


    Mae took a deep breath.


    "A final question, master... My husband..."


    Her master smiled. "Fine, I can do you think favor. If you husband manages to make it here, I do not mind sending him to the plane you go to."


    At that point, Mae''s master waved a hand, not allowing her to say more.


    She was then swallowed up into the same whirlwind as all the others.

 Chapter 1767 Perfect Place

    Chapter 1767 Perfect Place


    1767 Perfect Place


    Ryu stood in silence, watching as Empana unleashed a raging chaos. It was clear to him that Empana wasn''t used to his new body just yet, and yet he also had such overwhelming strength that it didn''t seem to matter.


    He had never seen Empana use a weapon before, but this only seemed to be an advantage right now. What was interesting about his current body was that its mass was so dense that it felt like he was swinging around a world every time he took action.


    Ryu realized why this was quickly. It seemed that the benefit of the World Devouring wasn''t just swallowing all things, but carrying it around in one''s stomach made it so that this world''s weight likewise became your own.


    Looking at these principles, Ryu couldn''t help but think of incorporating some of these concepts into himself. But he wasn''t exactly eager to do so.


    The reason the World Serpents were so large should precisely be because they were carrying around so much weight. If they weren''t so large, they''d probably collapse beneath their own mass.


    Their size also helped to disperse the density they were forced to deal with somewhat.


    Plus, Ryu had a much easier method of increasing his own weight in a much more manageable way. That way was, of course, his Bone Structure.


    He was making quite large strides with all his other talents. He had had enormous breakthroughs with his Spiritual Foundation, his Bloodline and even his soul, but his Bone Structure was still lagging behind.


    Just anatomy wise, Bloodlines and bones should be very well connected. But in the cultivation world, things weren''t always so simple.


    What made things worse was that what he often relied on his Bone Structure for¡ªseparating from the Heavens and creating his own space¡ªwas now done even more perfectly by his Inner World.


    As things stood now, Ryu''s Bone Structure even felt somewhat... useless.


    Was this actually true? Of course not. At least Ryu didn''t believe so.


    Even though this ability had become useless, there were still many other ways for him to use him Bone Structure. It was just that none of them were as impressive as this ability.


    However, this wasn''t the fault of his Bone Structure, but rather Ryu himself.


    Ryu actually considered for a moment I he should trigger the close combat breakthrough he had had back in the Radiant Star Sect and replace his Bone Structure once more.


    That Bone Structure was no less potent than his current Bone Structure, and it would definitely synergize with his current style of combat.


    Though Ryu was thinking about it, he didn''t act on it.


    If he was being objective, his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure might be just as potent as the mysterious close combat Bone Structure, but it also had far more flexibility and paths for growth.


    Once again, if its potential couldn''t be pulled out, it was no one''s fault but his own.


    The first''s problem was obvious, and he had already mentioned it.


    But the second''s problem was that it would be a similar issue to what he faced with his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure. What was the point of stratifying his Inner World to have so many different aspects when his Spiritual Foundation could already perform that function? With his Realm Heart added on top of that, it would be like he was nurturing two completely identical worlds.


    As for the Nether and Ethereal Plane additions, it was the most viable idea, but it was still one that Ryu wasn''t sure if he should take. He had yet to thoroughly test the aspects of this path.


    If Ryu was honest, he felt that he should lean far more into the time aspects of his Bone Structure.


    Even in comparison to his Bone Structure, the Time aspects of his Spacetime Soul Nature had received the least pampering.


    It was because time was too difficult to use. Yet, he had a Bone Structure closely tied with time, but could only seem to use it to slow down his own internal clock and speed up his cultivation pace.


    Sure, this was potent, but it was still lacking as well.


    Ryu looked up as Selheira and Empana suddenly broke through the layer. He acted quickly, moving through and into the eighth layer along with them.


    It seemed that he would have to shelve this matter for now. At least in the Rotten Sea, the greatest benefit that he would receive would come to his Bloodlines.


    Everything had to be perfected step by step. It took him a great deal of effort just to reach this step. Being impatient would only harm him.


    After he gained the understanding that not all Dao breakthroughs were created equal, he also understood that rushing as he usually did would only harm his foundation.


    When Ryu entered the eighth layer, he was prepared. The astonishing pressure didn''t faze him and he instead began to comprehend it immediately.


    Selheira struggled more, having a weak cultivation and far less understanding of Bloodline Resonance than Ryu did. Even so, as she sat down in meditation, the progress she made earlier, that had likewise begun to slow down, picked back up once more.


    Empana also seemed to be sensing something, but he had far less room to improve as Selheira. His body was easily able to withstand the pressure.


    Ryu nodded toward Empana. This would probably be his limit of improvement. Even if he made it to the ninth layer, there wouldn''t be much else to gain.


    Well... if his master wasn''t Ryu, that is.


    But Ryu didn''t do much for now, waiting for Selheira to adjust herself. He could sense her other Bloodlines even more clearly now and the faint crystal scales on her cheeks began to radiate various coloured lights.


    As they waited, Ryu''s lip curled.


    This eight layer was indeed quite small.


    It was the perfect place to kill.


    In just a few moments, he had already sensed Wunikai. He wouldn''t let her escape this time.

 Chapter 1768 Take That

    Chapter 1768 Take That


    ??1768 Take That


    The eighth layer was very peaceful compared to the others. The space might have been much smaller, but those that made it here were all exceptional talents. Each one was wary of battling the others and there was no need to provoke one another if they had a choice not to.


    The ultimate result was that the layer with the most danger had somehow also become the most peaceful.


    Unfortunately for them, Ryu simply didn''t care.


    ...


    Ryu didn''t move very fast. With his wife on his back and standing on his summons shoulder, he had already killed three people.


    He was sure that the Demon Kings outside were furious. These were their best geniuses, but he didn''t spare them either.


    Unfortunately for them, the best among their geniuses also happened to be the absolute most likely to have designs on his wife. As such, it could be said that almost everyone in the eighth layer now was on his kill list.


    Killing everywhere he went, Ryu slowly approached Wunikai''s location. And soon enough, he had made it to her.


    The beauty sat meditation before the ninth layer, trying to use every moment to break through.


    They wouldn''t be able to stay here forever. If time ran out, there would be no chance of reaching the legendary ninth layer.


    Despite knowing that her odds were small, much like everyone else, she was pushing as hard as she could.


    Ryu had already realized that the reason she gathered such a large entourage was to deal with the chaos of the sixth layer. After using them, she dropped them without hesitation, continuing on her own.


    Ryu didn''t interrupt her. He simply stood there, his aura slowly growing.


    Wunikai was startled awake, and she looked back with sharp eyes. When she saw Ryu, her heart skipped a beat, then there was fury, and then there was wariness.


    Seeing Ryu standing there, so silent and unmoved, when he could have easily sneak attacked her, there was a heavy lump in her throat.


    Was he stupid? Or was he truly that confident?


    "You know, I originally just wanted to kill you." Ryu smiled lightly, looking at Wunikai.


    Wunikai almost immediately took these words the wrong way. A fury bubbled up in her chest, but they were immediately doused by Ryu''s next words.


    "Don''t flatter yourself. Do you think I would lie with any woman? Don''t you think too highly of yourself?"


    Wunikai froze. She couldn''t even be angry. The words were so foreign that they didn''t even compute.


    A man didn''t want to share a night with her? What sense did that make? It didn''t even sound like a coherent sentence.


    "But, after seeing you here," Ryu continued, "I''ve realized that killing you might actually be too easy. Plus, how enraged would your people be if you became my summon?"


    Wunikai''s eyes opened wide.


    "You¡ª."


    First, affinity did not equal application. Ryu had to spend a lot of time learning exactly how to use this Soul Nature, and even to this day he hadn''t perfectly grasped how to use its time aspect well. Plus, there was still a long way to go before his application of space could even begin to reach the limits of the affinity I had.


    The second issue was that the Spacetime Soul Nature was always limited by his Perfect Blackbody Soul, which, while having a great deal of potential, needed time to grow as well.


    When this was set aside, the picture became clearer.


    His Ice Jade Crystal Body wasn''t even a God grade talent. His Bloodlines were always in fierce, clashing competition. His Spiritual Foundation didn''t even listen to him properly.


    When all of these things were stacked one after another, it didn''t even make sense for Ryu to be able to battle the geniuses of the First to Sixth Heavens in the first place.


    So how had he done so?


    Ryu was still hesitant to say that it was entirely his temperament. After all, though his talents weren''t perfect, they still weren''t bad. He also made great strides to improving them as time went on as well.


    But how much of it was his talent and how much was his temperament?


    This was what Ryu wanted to study, and Wunikai would be the best experiment.


    He knocked her down, and now he wanted to see what changes she would undergo as he built her up again.


    With this thought, Ryu reached out a hand, and Wunikai was sucked into his palm. He grasped her throat and then tossed her down on Empana''s enormous shoulder.


    "Let''s go. It''s time to enter the ninth layer."


    The last genius in the eighth layer was the Black Thunder Wraith, but Ryu had no issues with him. He didn''t feel a need to kill for no reason.


    "Is it... possible?" Empana asked.


    He could feel that it took a level he didn''t have to enter the ninth layer. Although his talent had increased substantially, it still wasn''t complete.


    He had some aspects of the World Serpent''s strength, but not all of it. The best example was his stomach. He felt that he could devour all flames, but he had no luck with anything else. A true World Serpent could devour an entire world if it wanted to. How could such a creature be limited by the elements?


    Of course, with his Dao Heart, Emapana still felt that there was no longer a genius in this world that he had to fear.


    But that and his raw talent, which this Rotten Sea relied upon, was a different matter entirely.


    Ryu nodded. "It''s fine. Meditate on it first. There should still be about two weeks left in this Rotten Sea trial. See how far you can get on your own.


    "I will guide from the side."


    He gestured toward Empana, and Selheira slipped down from his back.


    Ryu took a deep breath and actually began to meditate as well.


    Until now, he had somewhat been cheating, relying on Bloodmancy to breakthrough. This was a similar, but more potent, version of what the blood crystals could do.


    Of course, the reason Ryu did this was because he never took these layer barriers seriously. There was nothing in this world that he couldn''t comprehend.


    Before, he had just wanted to save some time. But he felt that this ninth layer would be the key to raising his Dao to an entirely different level.


    So he would take that opportunity.

 Chapter 1769 Two Things

    Chapter 1769 Two Things


    ??1769 Two Things


    Ryu took slow, even breaths. As he sunk his mind into the layer, his breathing remained so.


    A light smile spread across his face.


    When Ryu stepped into this world, he actually hadn''t expected much. He had only come here for his wife, and after a few dared to have designs on her, he conveniently decided to also kill them.


    However, after entering this sea, he realized just how special it was and he also saw an opportunity to allow his Dao to break free of the constraints of these Heavens.


    As Ryu had deduced in the past, the Rotten Sea was akin to a proxy for the Heavens. It was using the main weakness of Demons¡ªthat being that they could be used as Summons¡ªand turning it into a strength.


    Everyone that entered was forced into suppression with this Seal, and by breaking through the layers of the Rotten Sea one after another, one could use that Seal as a proxy to strengthen themselves, or more accurately, their Bloodlines.


    Ryu, obviously, couldn''t take advantage of this. He was a human, so he didn''t have the necessary connection or reliance on the Heavens to improve his Bloodline in this way.


    But what he had noticed were two interesting things that he could take advantage of.


    The first was the seal itself. As a proxy for the Heavens, it was even able to suppress his Heavenly Pupils. What Ryu had realized was that this seal was more mental than anything else. It was like a form of suggestion.


    If he wanted to simplify it, it would be more accurate to say that he was suppressing himself than that this world was suppressing him.


    Ryu realized that if he could break this suggestion on his own, he would actually be able to break free of other things...


    Like the artificial cap on his Dao.


    From the beginning, this was the main goal of his progress, and also the thing that he was striving for.


    He was human, would always be human, and had no interest in trying out the path of a beast.


    In fact, every time his parents-in-law called him a Fire Dragon, he all but told them to piss off.


    However... if he was going to try to break free of the Heaven''s restraints in one part by surpassing its cap on the Dao, then why not do the same in this regard?


    Who said he had to truly follow the path of a beast? Why couldn''t he just simulate doing so? Why couldn''t his Bloodmancy play such a role? Even further than that, why not use his Inner World to help?


    All of this relied on the premise that he could completely undo the seal, and that, of course, required breaking through the ninth layer on his own without relying on Bloodmancy.


    But the question went right back to the first problem he had faced in this world.


    He was a human. If he didn''t cheat, how could he resonate with this barrier and shatter his way through?


    But Ryu was ultimately still Ryu.


    He had broken through eight layers by now. How could it not be the case that he had already made great progress in this feat?


    By now, he could already feel the seal inside of him so clearly that he could practically touch it.


    A formation was looping through his Seven Corporeal Spirits, latching onto his inner organs, and forcing a suggestion on them that forced them to act in certain ways.


    Not only was Ryu studying this formation to learn how to break it, but the Demons were practically giving him an open lesson on how to create the strongest Seals ever formed.


    He might have brought three Summons under his wing, but Ryu had yet to actually seal any one of them. That was because he lacked a Summoner Necromancer Inheritance that could work against this level of existences. Everything he knew came from Sacrum and he had yet to have time to research.


    But now the situation was entirely different.


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed open and his aura sky rocketed, his white hair fluttering wildly in the waters.

 Chapter 1770 Nine Layers

    Chapter 1770 Nine Layers


    ??1770 Nine Layers


    A constellation of lights began to glow across Ryu''s body. It looked like he had truly become a star chart.


    These points of light suddenly solidified, and a seal took shape in the form of a magic circle.


    Ryu suddenly urged his blood and right then...


    BANG!


    The seal shattered into countless pieces.


    Ryu''s aura suddenly began to soar. Not only was it oppressive, but it was only growing more so as time passed.


    CRACK. CHIIII!


    The ninth layer shattered, and Ryu was pulled through before he could react.


    ...


    Ryu found himself standing in a sea of black. But this time, it was more metaphorical than it was literal.


    There were no thick waters around him at all. Instead, the blackness simply came from a lack of light.


    His aura had yet to settle down, and it was a bit peeved, honestly. He had been about to make great strides in his Dao and Bloodline. The time he took would have probably been as much as it took for Selheira and Empana to go as far as they could, then he would help them out.


    But instead, this world had thrown him a curve ball again.


    Ryu sighed and shook his head.


    It would be fine. He had already killed all the threats that had a grudge against him. Even if the Black Thunder Wraith took action, Empana was already strong enough to deal with him. His talent might be weaker, but his current strength couldn''t be looked down upon.


    Plus, at the very least, the suppression on him had completely vanished. And though he couldn''t resonate with the Rotten Sea in this place to take the final steps he had been planning on, since this was a part of the trial, he assumed that whatever was at the end would be even better.


    Well, he hoped, anyway.


    For all he knew, this place was truly something only Demons could take advantage of and no amount of trickery would help him out.


    ''I''ll find a way.''Yo?ur favorite stories at novelhall.com


    Ryu''s aura slowly calmed, and he took a step forward.


    Ryu was speechless. He hadn''t expected to come here and be attacked.


    "Can a man not have more than one wife?"


    "Why are you defending a human so much? This isn''t the place for them."


    "You''ve clearly forgotten what the purpose of this place is. Every soul, regardless of Race, passed through the Nether Plane for reincarnation."


    "Yes, and it is the Demons that must guide it. A human would be of no help."


    "You''re overestimating your use. It is no one else but the Dream Wraiths who carry the brunt of the burden. When is the last time you''ve done anything at all?"


    Listening to the same voice argue back and forth made Ryu feel weird, but after a moment, he began to understand something.


    There were nine voices layered atop of one another, speaking at once. But while at first all the voices were even, when they began to argue, certain voices were more prominent than others.


    That made him wonder. Why did they have to all speak at once? Why were their voices layered like this?


    Ryu ignored them and began to walk around, looking for something, anything.


    But he didn''t find the answer he was looking for. At least not immediately.


    ''Fascinating... it must be a case of their souls or whatever remains of them being forced to rely on one another. But what kind of ability is that? Unless...''


    "Reincarnation? You''re all the same person?"


    The addition of Ryu''s voice stunned the nine into silence.


    Ryu took a step back and began to observe the statues again, but he truly couldn''t see anything linking them.


    But didn''t that make sense?


    Ryu had never thought about his previous life before. Well, more accurately, he never thought about the one that came before his last. He also didn''t know if he even had one.


    But technically speaking, even if it existed... would he remember it?


    Of course not. If not for the Phoenix Sky God, he wouldn''t even remember his last. In fact, if he didn''t pass the Sky God''s trial, he still wouldn''t remember it.


    He wondered...


    What did this place have to do with Reincarnation?

 Chapter 1771 Mutation

    Chapter 1771 Mutation


    ??1771 Mutation


    The voices came to an abrupt stop. They remained silent for a long while, their shock almost palpable.


    They couldn''t understand how Ryu''s mind worked. It was simply impossible for anyone normal to leap to such a conclusion...


    And even more shocking that it was the correct one.


    "... I see. What a fascinating mutation."


    "You see it too?"


    "Yes. To think such a trash Bone Structure could have such powerful, synergistic effects."


    "It''s not just the Bone Structure. This brat is a freak. Anyone else would have died."


    "He benefitted from being targeted. Those Martial Gods sure are shameless. Who attacks a child like this? Not just a child, but a baby who hadn''t even been born at that."


    "You say that like you''re some upright white knight. How many Clans and Sects have you wiped out, exactly? How many of those women you killed happened to be pregnant?"


    "That''s different. They offended me." A snort rang out.


    Ryu frowned. The moment they said such a thing, his mind began churning. When they mentioned his "trash" Bone Structure, he immediately understood and his eyes opened wide.


    The trash Bone Structure they were referring to was obviously his Ice Jade Crystal Body. No one would say such a thing about his current Bone Structure.


    And if that was the case...


    ''Maybe I was missing a part of the picture. Could it be that there was more my body did to compensate for my harmed soul than just changing the weight?''


    The strongest ability of the Ice Jade Crystal Body, if he were to choose, wasn''t how it sped up cultivation speed, but rather its ability to balance.


    "... Truly a freak."


    "This is interesting, though. We can likely create a cultivation method around this."


    "Potentially. But it would be hard to replicate the full effects unless we crack this boy open."


    "He''s just a human, anyway. Why bother protecting his life. Imagine how valuable such a method would be? Wouldn''t we be able to pump out Dao Gods with great ease?"


    "I''ve already said it. We control the path to new life for all Races."


    Ryu slowly came back to himself to find the layered voices arguing once more. He couldn''t help but be shocked by their vastly different personalities.


    It made him wonder what the point of reincarnation was at all. If you were so different every time, could you even be considered the same person? Was there any comfort in reincarnation, then? Who cared if you''d get another shot at life if you couldn''t be yourself?


    Could it be that he was a coward in a past life?


    This was the idea Ryu hadn''t the most, and the thought made him even more confident in his decision.


    Back in the Martial God Clan, he had cut off his path to Reincarnation by taking the steps he had. The path he had taken didn''t come without a great sacrifice.


    He already didn''t care back then, but now rather than being indifferent, he even felt that it without a doubt the correct choice.


    "Enough."


    A voice suddenly suppressed the others. It was the one of the nine that Ryu hadn''t heard before, and it made him subconsciously look at the Dream Wraith statue.


    "Boy. You have already cut off your path to Reincarnation?"


    Gasps rang out from the other voices as they too probed. When they realized that the voice was correct, they felt their world views flip upside down.


    Such a young man had made this choice?

 Chapter 1772 Free Will

    Chapter 1772 Free Will


    ??1772 Free Will


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. "Yes."


    The voices fell into silence once again.


    "It seems we don''t have a choice now."


    This time, the voice was the very same one that had been scrambling for Ryu''s death. But what was interesting was that he almost seemed resigned.


    "Well, it shouldn''t be a surprise. It was unlikely that someone normal would come here."


    The statues began to glow and nine beams of light came from the foreheads of the statues. Before Ryu could dodge, they slammed into him, burrowing into his mind.


    Ryu''s mind was instantly overwhelmed and the entire world seemed to go white.


    Memories flashed by in Ryu''s mind one after another, but they were all memories that he couldn''t recognize at all. It felt like he was watching the life of someone else... or several someones.


    Often he was a mighty figure, just as frequently he was a beggar, and more often than both he was a normal man, unimportant and unadorned in every aspect.


    His personality changed like the pages of a book, and watching the different iterations, Ryu couldn''t help but be angry.


    How could he be so pathetic?


    Wait... when did he accept that these men were himself?


    Soon, that feeling of anger became helplessness.


    It was a feeling that was completely foreign to Ryu. The last time he had felt such a thing was the day he killed himself, but this time... it felt even more profound than that day.


    Watching these men that were supposedly himself, he realized that there was simply no point in being angry.


    Who was to say that if any one of them saw his current life that they too wouldn''t be angry?


    What about the version of him who had become a monk, a man without the slightest killing intent that died as a result of his pacifism? Wouldn''t he be greatly disappointed by the current Ryu''s complete disregard for life?


    It was demoralizing in a way that even attempting suicide without knowing what was on the other side.


    It was without a doubt the worst thing that Ryu had ever experienced... and even that alone was a humbling thought and put a spotlight on just how selfish he was.


    He hated this feeling even more than the death of his grandparents, and just the thought alone filled him with disgust.


    Was this the kind of person he was?


    He would rather lose those he loved than lose himself.


    Maybe that was a natural human reaction, maybe it wasn''t.


    But regardless, it was his reality right now, and those thoughts were consuming him.


    Seeing Ryu''s dazed appearance and paled face, the nine statues watched on silently.


    "It seems that his road of cultivation might die right here."


    "This method had always been paradoxical. It''s ironically those that have the highest opinion of themselves that will fall the hardest. But without the strongest of Dao Heart, you wouldn''t even be worthy of stepping into this place."


    "It''s a cursed method, one that maybe shouldn''t even exist."


    A collective sigh rang out.


    Why did they even do this? They had already lost count of the number of geniuses that had come here just to die. Of course, it wasn''t they who killed them, but rather the geniuses themselves who often committed suicide after their Dao Hearts were shattered.


    After feeling that they had no purpose left in life, they would prefer to restart and wipe their memories. At least then, hopefully, the next time they had such talent, they wouldn''t have to run into such a situation again.


    It was the coward''s way out, but the irony was that they fully accepted themselves as such when they breathed their last.


    After learning of these truths, most would feel that their lives were meaningless, and even for these nine... it was hard to refute.


    It made the Heavens and everything under it feel like one large game...


    If there was no connecting line between one''s lives, what was even the point? It felt like the Heavens had a certain number of blank-slate souls to play with and just tossed them around as it pleased.


    What was the point of life if there was never truly any free will?

 Chapter 1773 Burn (1)

    Chapter 1773 Burn (1)


    ??1773 Burn (1)


    Ryu stood in a daze. Every memory and illusion was like another stab and twist to his chest.


    He couldn''t even feel rage anymore, just helplessness. It was like standing in a vast nothing, finally realizing just how insignificant you were.


    Maybe in another life, he would have been no different from Patriarch Ember, a cowardly man who could only slink around in the darkness and target those far weaker than himself while bowing and scraping for those far more powerful.


    There was nothing worse for a man than losing their sense of self, their sense of purpose. It was the worst sort of life. It made everything feel... meaningless.


    If he wasn''t born into the Tatsuya Clan, if his parents hadn''t diligently shaped his character, if his father hadn''t trained him and his mother hadn''t guided him, if his grandparents hadn''t kept him on the right path...


    Would he even have the right to be Ryu Tatsuya?


    If they had done all of that, but he didn''t have the talent to live up to their expectations, would he have cared to listen to their teachings at all?


    If he didn''t have the Tatsuya Clan Library, what would he have done when he realized he couldn''t become a cultivator? Would he have still learned so much through other means? Or would he have wasted his life away, becoming a homeless, aimless youth until he died of old age?


    How much of himself was even truly himself? How much was decided by his circumstances? How much of his arrogance was warranted, versus how much of it was simply due to luck? Was any of his arrogance deserved at all in such a case?


    Ryu had realized that he was lucky long ago. It was something that his wife''s cold glare and reprimanding had beat into him.


    When he first met Ailsa, they got off to a very rocky start because of his arrogance in one part and another part due to the fact that Ryu didn''t want to betray Elena.


    The truth was that there was a third reason as well, and it was because Ryu didn''t believe that anyone should have the right to tell him who his "perfect" partner was. He didn''t like the level of control the Heavens had over his life. He didn''t believe that the Heavens had the right to decide such things.


    For much of his life, he had resented the Heavens, but as he matured, he realized that there was simply no point. The Heavens never chose anything. Everyone was under the same umbrella of chaos, hoping to come out just a little bit better on the other side.


    All of it was worthless. Every last little thing was completely worthless.


    Ryu stared forward, his gaze dull.


    ''What is the point... What is the point...''


    He had given up his next life because of his confident in himself, in his character. He believed that he didn''t need a next life because he would accomplish everything he needed in this one.


    But what he never thought about was the fact that if he always had this very same character... then why had he never stumbled onto this path in a previous life?


    He had waved it away, thinking that maybe he didn''t have the right combination of talents to accomplish this in a former life.


    But now he knew the truth.


    This was just probably the only life he had the courage to do such a thing...


    Ryu clenched his fists, and his pupils trembled.


    It was a joke, honestly. He had said so much about his Bloodlines, roaring at them and trying to get them to fall in line, believing that only he deserved to be in control of his own faith...


    When in reality, he wasn''t in control of anything at all.


    Ryu clenched his fists even harder, his veins popping and crackling along with his bone.


    He wanted control. He hated this feeling so much that he wanted to die.


    His Dao Heart began to burn, truly burn. It continued to grow weaker and weaker, his sorrow echoing through time and space.

 Chapter 1774 Burn (2)

    Chapter 1774 Burn (2)


    ??1774 Burn (2)


    Control.


    Control.


    Control.


    It was a word he repeated again and again in his mind. He was so unwilling about everything. Unwilling that so much was up to luck. Unwilling that his temperament was meaning. Unwilling that... even his unwillingness was probably a sham.


    If he had another personality, would he care so much? Didn''t that mean that even his unwillingness was worthless?


    There had to be something to grasp onto.


    The only path left seemed to be death. Why bother to hold on to such a worthless life?


    But Ryu had experienced death once before.


    He hated it.


    It was the one thing that connected all of his lives, the one thread that formed a line between them all.


    Whether he was a homeless man in the streets, a worthless talent of a rich family, a monk who desired and wanted for nothing...


    It didn''t matter.


    The one thing he hated no matter what was death.


    Despite his personality in this life, and despite his strong Dao Heart, he had shed real tears that last night with Elena.


    Sitting beneath the moon, knowing that he was about to end his own life, he had felt those palpable feelings.


    How pathetic was that?


    The one connecting line between his lives was a fear of death?


    Even when he faced "death" so boldly in this life, was it because he felt that he truly wouldn''t die? Or was it because he was arrogant enough to believe that nothing could possibly kill him? Did he ever truly believe that he would lose his life?


    No...


    And for the first time... he couldn''t help but wonder what had led Primus to make the choices he had.


    Sometimes in life, making the right decision was easier the more momentum you had. It was easier to eat healthy if you were already fit, it was easier to study if you were already a straight-A student, it was easier to be kind if the world had never been cruel to you.


    These things sounded contradictory, and yet they were also true.


    Humans... no, living existences were all imperfect.


    A world without immediate results felt like one that went against you at every turn.


    Ryu could diligently cultivate before he failed his Awakening because he improved much faster than everyone around him. He could diligently study because his mind had so much plasticity that he could absorb information much easier than others. He could face off and battle against Clans and Sects far stronger than himself because he was used to having the undying self belief.


    If any one of these things were taken from him, would they be nearly so easy?


    This was the most important kernel of truth.


    It was an understanding that just because he had the chance to take advantage of this momentum didn''t make him better than everyone else.


    Doing what came easily to him shouldn''t fill him with pride. It was only natural. What was there to be proud of?


    Only if he was able to go against a tide, to build momentum where there was none, could he be worthy of such a thing?


    He had already chosen to take give away his chance his next life. This was the last he had.


    Grasping onto this kernel felt like a man gasping for air after minutes of none.


    If everyone started with the same blank slate, and it was life and luck that painted your canvas, then the value of life was in deciding what you wanted for yourself, what was worth it and what wasn''t.


    The trouble was that how you viewed the world would always be tinted by those experiences. In some lives Ryu refused to kill at all, but was he the same now?


    How could you decide what was good, and what wasn''t? How would you decide how to refine your own temperament free of bias?


    ''If you could experience millions... billions of lives...''


    Ryu comprehended the purpose of this inheritance, and the flickering light in his eyes solidified.


    Right then, his burning Dao Heart began to burn even fiercer.


    But this time, the flames were white.

 Chapter 1775 Faith

    Chapter 1775 Faith


    ??1775 Faith


    Ryu didn''t quite feel it clearly.


    When his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was suddenly enveloped by white flames, he only felt endlessly comfortable.


    The confusion in his heart was dispelled, and he finally felt like he could see a path forward, but somewhere deep inside...


    It just felt too simple.


    The reason those with the strongest Dao Hearts were the most susceptible to failure was because those with weaker Dao Hearts could benefit from the plasticity of man.


    Living beings had a great amount of flexibility in their thoughts and emotion.


    If today a perfectly healthy man thought of what their life would be like when they lost a leg, they might even boldly say that they would rather commit suicide than continue to live such a life.


    But upon the day this very same man suffered such a fate, would they follow through?


    It could only be said that those that would were incredibly rare.


    This wasn''t to say that those who had lost limbs should or shouldn''t, but rather that the mind of living beings were incredibly flexible. Things that seemed like the worst possible fate could be adjusted to and accepted with time.


    The difference between those with strong and weak Dao Hearts was a rigidity in their values. If they made a decision in one state, no matter what changes came in the future, they would still choose to make the same decision in a later state.


    This was why it was so difficult for those with strong Dao Hearts to pass this test.


    But that wasn''t to say that there was no flexibility in strong Dao Hearts at all.


    When anyone was pushed past a breaking point, it was still possible for them to collapse beneath their own weight.


    When Ryu finally became aware of what was happening around him, he couldn''t help but think of this.


    Had he really shaken himself free? Or had he just bent to the wind like everyone else?


    He could sense the shock and awe of the nine figures. It was clear that to them, he seemed to have passed their test.


    But as Ryu''s mind stopped being assaulted and his calm returned to him, he couldn''t help but wonder.


    Had he really found the right answer? Should he really make his new moral an amalgamation of all the lives he had lived?


    Ryu knew the real reason he was having such thoughts...


    These white flames, weren''t the very same mysterious white flame he still couldn''t pronounce the name of to this day? A flame that was the core of the Phoenix Sky God''s strength?


    He felt that his previous thought process was correct... but it made him feel uncomfortable that, once again, at a critical breakthrough point, the Phoenix Sky God seemed to have their fingerprints all over him.


    With his pride, how could he not feel uncomfortable?


    If the Phoenix Sky God invaded his second Spiritual Foundation as well, what capital would he have in the future to break free of their control?


    The flickering flames came to a stop, and Ryu stood in silence.


    He was still at peace, but the world froze around him. His breathing was even, and time slowed.


    He played close attention to the changes and, with a sudden forcefulness, he squeezed down on the flames, snuffing them out.


    The nine figures were stunned, but Ryu was still perfectly calm.


    For a long while, he had been wondering how to make maximal use of his Bone Structure. Everything else was being left behind by it, and he couldn''t figure out exactly what to do to strengthen it.


    But now he knew.


    Second, Ryu''s Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation shuddered, and he felt that he could exert more control over its Natural Treasures.


    Third, his Dao Heart became so resplendent and gorgeous that even as his mind sped through his most pathetic lives, he was able to gaze upon them calmly, accepting each one as they came.


    He no longer saw these at points of weakness.


    Instead, he saw them as pillars that would strengthen him in this life. His final life.


    And fourth...


    His Dao shattered the glass ceiling that had suppressed it, surpassing the level of Peak Foundation Dao.


    At that moment, on the outside, the skies of the Nether Plane changed.


    It was usually an endless dark violet and red, but now...


    It shimmered with gold.


    The clouds split, and white mist took its place. Even the skies turned blue. It was it like Ryu was forcefully cleansing the Nether Plane and returning it to a state of a Real Plane.


    ...


    In Dream Wraith territory, Mae''s master looked up with a flickering gaze. Her beautiful eyes reflected her shock, and she seemed to deduce what was happening immediately.


    "... It seems your husband is not normal, my disciple..."


    Remembering Ryu''s gaze when they first met, she couldn''t help but shake her head.


    A young man who could look at a Dao God like that was either incredibly foolish or incredibly self confident.


    And it seemed like the latter was the case.


    Now, he had monopolized two of the True Nether Plane''s most important inheritances for himself. One he gave to his wife and the second he kept for himself. Not only did he keep the latter for himself, but he seemed to have changed and warped it in an unexpected way.


    Truly unexpected...


    ...


    Ryu continued to pull on his former lives, using them to cultivate his Inner World and strengthen his independence from the Heavens.


    At the same time, his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure was quickly gaining a robustness that came from this independence.


    From what Ryu could tell from his lives, there were only two existences that could cultivate using Faith.


    The first was the Heavens, as he had already said.


    And the second was a type of cultivators known as Buddhists. Monks could be considered to be the weakest version of these existences and couldn''t quite be considered Buddhists.


    In all his lives, he had never been a Buddhist, and it was because, as he had realized, he couldn''t truly let go.


    But, he had become a Monk several times.


    In this life, he still had no intention of becoming one.


    Normal people could only take the route of selflessness to become a Buddhist and harness the power of Faith.


    As for him?


    He would become his own Heavens.


    And he would rely on this pile of trash past lives to do exactly that.


    [Just one chapter today. Should be the last day I spend in the hospital and it should be clear sailing for at least the next while, fingers crossed]

 Chapter 1776 Why?

    Chapter 1776 Why?


    ??1776 Why?


    Ryu''s aura suddenly settled down. It seemed as though it was finished, but it was only because of this that the reaction of the nine figures was the most shocked.


    If the breakthrough came with a great commotion, it would be one thing... it would be acceptable. But a breakthrough that was so silent, especially when they knew the kind of storm that must be raging through Ryu''s body...


    It was like Ryu was relying on himself rather than the Heavens to evolve, and this was a level of breakthrough that could hardly be compared with others.


    The more it was like this, the more they felt that things here were far outside of their expectations.


    Ryu''s hair settled down and his breathing became calm and even. There didn''t seem to be anything that could faze him any longer.


    It was several days before he slowly opened his eyes, but it could have easily felt like billions of years or even just a few seconds. Time didn''t seem to mean much to Ryu anymore, and maybe that was precisely the most awe-inspiring of the breakthroughs he had had.


    If he didn''t have a Dao already, he could have likely created a Time Dao that reached the Founding Dao Grade right at this moment with just as much ease.


    It felt like now he had views of the world he simply hadn''t before, and it made him feel invigorated.


    Ryu slowly opened his eyes and found himself standing in the very same place. A slight wind lifted his hair up once more, but it settled on his shoulders once again.


    Feeling calm and unhurried, he seemed to stand even taller than before. It wasn''t a literal height, but a figurative one, as though he was truly larger than life, as though he was taking up far more space than he seemed to be.


    "... Truly abnormal..."


    The nine said.


    None of them could have expected that before Ryu could even receive their Inheritance, he would create a branch of it on his own, and it even seemed to be the case that it was far more suited to him than their own.


    Every aspect of this matter from start to finish just felt absolutely ridiculous.


    It was said that the strongest talents were those that were born with synergizing talents. But these experts knew that this wasn''t the case at all...


    The Heavens didn''t just create talents like this, and they certainly wouldn''t be passed on so easily. There was a reason that these talents were hereditary.


    At some point in the past, an expert had to come forward that took seemingly unrelated talents and fused them down a single path.


    This was the path of the truest experts.


    One that not only forged their own path, but had a Dao Heart as resplendent as stars.


    Right now, seeing Ryu''s unrelated talents begin to slowly fuse together as they were... his inner world, his Dao Heart, his Spiritual Foundation, Realm Heart, his soul...


    They had all seemed so unrelated at first, but the more things Ryu learned, the more progress he made, the more he seemed capable of having them help one another.


    When the day came that they truly became one...


    He might very well be the Hero of this generation.


    Ryu ignored the nine statues, looking around to see if he could find anything special, but he still saw nothing at all. Once again, it was still just these nine.


    When he realized he wouldn''t be able to get anything more just by standing around here, he looked toward the middle Dream Wraith statue.


    "Since things have reached this point, do you all mind telling me exactly why it is you''ve set this place up?"


    There was definitely something he was missing. If it was just about passing on an inheritance, then they certainly wouldn''t have considered him.


    But what made it so that they had to consider even a human seriously?

 Chapter 1777 No Scruples Left

    Chapter 1777 No Scruples Left


    ??1777 No Scruples Left


    Ryu was quite warranted in his thoughts. Just how picky were Sky Gods with passing on their Inheritances? It wasn''t easy to get one, let alone one this profound.


    Restricting it to their own Clan members was the most frequent kind. Only the one truly had no worthy descendants or recourse would they take a path like the Heavenly Path and hope to bolster their odds of a successful breakthrough in this life, or a smoother path in a next one.


    Even then, these inheritances were most often restricted by Race. Who would want to help out another Race potentially suppress your own in the future? This was unacceptable.


    There was clearly something else going on here, because even these nine had been arguing about whether they should give it to him or not.


    In the end, they didn''t get the choice at all because Ryu took it for himself.


    The reality was that what happened to him just now had only been a test and nothing else. They still hadn''t quite decided to do so, but the fact they had given him a test at all meant that they were already leaning toward yes.


    In such a case... they had to be fighting for something.


    That was when Ryu heard a name he had heard too often already.


    "Phoenix Sky God."


    Ryu shook his head when he heard these words. It seemed that this Phoenix Sky God wasn''t just a problem to his master, but even these existences.


    It was hard for Ryu to guess exactly how strong his master was, but he knew she couldn''t be bad even amongst Dao Gods. Now, it seemed that even these mysterious entities had the same issue with them.


    It was clear that the Phoenix Sky God was a scourge of Existence, carrying enough strength to affect the overall situation.


    "We do not know if the Phoenix Sky God was ever truly a Phoenix. There are two possibilities, one of which is far more troubling than the other.


    "The first and more acceptable path is that the Phoenix Sky God was born a Phoenix and carved out a new path by fusing Life and Death to form the Cycle of Reincarnation..."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. This was already shocking enough. If the second option was far more fearsome and scary to imagine, then he already knew was it was.


    "The second is that the Phoenix Sky God was never Phoenix. They reached the pinnacle in one path and realized they couldn''t accomplish what they wanted and decided to switch to another... or worse, they were capable of doing all of this while maintaining their path."


    This was indeed the more shocking option. If the Phoenix Sky God was wreaking so much havoc after choosing this path on a whim...


    Just how much strength were they hiding?


    As for why they would be messing around with Reincarnation so much... it was the one thing the nine figures didn''t bother to speak of because it felt obvious and would likely only be one of two explanations.


    Either the Phoenix Sky God had lost someone important to them, or they were coming up to the end of their life.


    Of the two, it was far more likely to be the latter. With how much control the Phoenix Sky God had over Reincarnation already, the odds that they wouldn''t be able to bring back someone they loved were too low.


    That left the second option... and that was scarier for reasons they didn''t even was to speak about...


    If the mighty Phoenix Sky God was truly running to the end of their life, that meant that their scruples would be far fewer...


    And if such a powerful figure obsessed with life truly ran to the end of that rope...


    Would they take the world with them?

 Chapter 1778 Fiends

    Chapter 1778 Fiends


    ??1778 Fiends


    "I understand." Ryu said after listening to the story of the nine figures.


    "You were already aware of this, little boy?"


    "My master has told me about the Phoenix Sky God before."


    "Your master?"


    "Fading Star."


    There was a tremble in the air, and the nine figures seemed to understand.


    "I see... Your master is quite pitiful."


    Ryu nodded. He understood what they meant. From what he knew, his master''s world had been destroyed, cutting off the cycle of reincarnation for anyone who survived the catastrophe. It could be said that Fading Star, her husband, and even Hope weren''t welcome on this plane at all, as they weren''t born beneath its cycle of reincarnation.


    "Since Fading Star is your master, that explains quite a lot. There''s even less to worry about you, then."


    Ryu wasn''t worried about any of this at all. As expected, if everyone feared the Phoenix Sky God so much, and he really was some sort of plot concocted by this existence, then it was impossible that these people who could easily see through his other talents could see through his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation.


    Not one of them had even mentioned it.


    It could be said that his greatest protection on this front was the Phoenix Sky God themselves. And that was surely amusing to think of.


    "Thank you for the opportunity," Ryu said evenly. "If that is all, I will take my leave now."


    "Look at him, so eager to leave."


    "Maybe that''s because you spent all your time plotting for a path to kill him."


    "Wait for a moment."


    Once again, it was the only voice that could suppress all the others.


    "Yes?" Ryu asked.


    He seemed much calmer than he usually was, and his tone wasn''t nearly as chilly as it often was while speaking to strangers.


    He seemed to have undergone a myriad of changes, and his mind still hadn''t quite settled down yet. He still needed time to digest what he had gone through, and as he did so, his temperament would slowly become more refined.


    Was it true that he had already reached the peak possibility of this technique? It was only partially true...


    Ryu had many thoughts on how to improve even further, but they weren''t things that could be executed right now.


    "Do you have the desire to go to another world?" The voice asked.


    "I have the desire to go wherever the highest peak is. If it is not here, then elsewhere is fine."


    "Would you like me to help you go to these highest peaks?"


    "What would you like me to do?"


    "The world your wife has gone to is known as the Eternal Balance World. Your wife''s master has certainly made this decision on purpose as it is one of the most troublesome worlds in Existence, not because of the strength of those on the plane, but rather because of its odd state.


    "The worlds across Existence are all different in their own quirky ways, but what remains is that the Chaos Plane is almost always devoid of life... except in rare exceptions like this one.


    "In the Eternal Balance World, there is a Race known as Fiends. It can be said that before the Phoenix Sky God''s rise, the Fiends were the enemy of the world, but they have been greatly suppressed in recent times.


    "The Eternal Balance World is one of the few where they still have great influence.


    "Do you know what the Fiend Race has in common?"


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. "No."


    "They all have an inferior version of your Chaotic Silk Meridians. In fact, it can be said that your Chaotic Silk Meridians descended from their Ancestors and were integrated into our cultivation systems over time."


    "And you feel no hostility because of that?"


    "Why would I? Your Chaotic Silk Meridians played a key role in the current suppression of the Fiends. It can be said that our Real Plane Ancestors reversed the situation precisely because your talent existed."


    Ryu understood... and thanks to that, he also knew that he was about to get screwed over.


    "As you might imagine, if those of that plane find out that one not of their kind has these Meridians, you will be hunted down even more fiercely than the Dream Wraiths. But because of this, you''re also the only one that can do this."


    Ryu chuckled.


    He had heard the saying that elders were spicier, but this was the first time he had been on the receiving end. But could he complain? He could only blame himself for caring for his wife so much.


    Clearly, these nine figures needed a favor from him, but he had ended up being the one doing it to repay a favor instead.


    How could he not find it amusing?


    Even so, he didn''t say a word, taking it all in stride.


    "The Eternal Balance World can be said to be teetering, on the verge of becoming the first world in generations to become fully controlled by the Fiend Race. I will need your help to reverse this situation."


    "I will do as I''ve said, but such a thing will take time. A Plane like this will certainly have Dao Gods."


    Ryu spoke matter-of-factly, as though it wouldn''t be trouble to one day slaughter Dao Gods.


    "You do not need to worry about this. I will give you some information, and you will need to succeed within 100 years or else it will be too late."


    Ryu had many questions. There were too many things that didn''t line up, but a stream of information hit him the next moment and he felt spatial fluctuations around him.


    He grit his teeth and forced his mind to focus beneath the stream.


    "I agree, but you must send me near where my wife is and allow me to bring along my companions."


    "Okay."


    These were the last words Ryu heard before he vanished.

 Chapter 1779 Fiends

    Chapter 1779 Fiends


    ??1779 Fiends


    Ryu stumbled backward, almost collapsing. A part of him even thought the Dream Wraith did it on purpose, but when he thought about the difficulty of using Spatial Qi on such a large scale, he chose to forgive it.


    Plus, he didn''t particularly have much of a choice. That was because the moment he appeared, he was assaulted by a suppression from above.


    It felt like even the air was rejecting him, and it was the first time that he had experienced such a thing.


    But this was also the first time Ryu was stepping into a world in this fashion.


    Back when he first came from Sacrum to the True Martial World, his foundation had been took weak and inferior of the latter to take seriously, so he didn''t face any suppression. And, as he rebuilt his foundation, he was doing so with the laws of the True Martial World, so, of course, he wouldn''t be rejected.


    When he returned to Sacrum, he had been returning to his own home, so how could he be rejected then, either?


    But this time, it was different.


    He was standing in a world with laws no weaker than the True Martial World, but his foundation wasn''t built on its laws. Such a world would always fiercely reject him.


    His vision could even clear for long enough to see what was going on around him. He could only feel his qi rumbling and his bones crackling.


    Ryu knew that panicking wouldn''t do anything for him right now.


    He took a breath, and his Cosmos Fog rippled. Instantly, the suppression vanished into thin air. But he could also feel that this wouldn''t be able to last for long. This was because his Cosmos Fog was being eaten up quickly.


    ''About two minutes? That''s enough time.'' Ryu thought calmly.


    The first thing he did was scan his surroundings. What he saw left him with a frown.


    He sensed that several figures were already rushing toward him, but that wasn''t the main problem. The issue was that he didn''t seem to be in the Real Plane.


    It can''t be that Mae was sent here, right? And what about Selheira and the others?


    Ryu reached out with his senses and felt that there was a barrier between him and his wives. This left him cursing beneath his breath.


    That Dream Wraith had either messed up, or the two of them had very different definitions of what the word "close" meant.


    What Ryu didn''t know was that he had truly wronged the Dream Wraith Ancestor this time. They were, indeed, close. The issue was that Ryu was currently on the border of Fiend territory.


    In this location, the Chaos Plane was encroaching on the Real Plane. The reason he felt that there was a barrier was because his wives and companions had been sent to the Real Plane while he had ended up on the Chaos Plane.


    Usually, the Real Plane and Chaos Plane were off-kilter, located in different dimensions. But in this world, they were battling for the same spot.


    Ryu suddenly cursed.


    This time, it wasn''t just auras he sensed rushing toward him, but Heaven''s Knights as well.


    The youths looked like true monsters, not in a grotesque, Lovecratian sense, and not quite in the sense of the power of their bodies either, but rather in the sense that they didn''t seem like mortals at all.


    One of them was a young woman who seemed to be half human, half fire. One of her legs and one of her arms looked coated in magma. Her hair was such a concentrating river of flames that it almost shone gold. At the same time, every time her heart beast, the echo of a magma barrier would thrum around her, incinerating everything to ash.


    From time to time, the illusion of a fiery red-gold pair of gauntlets and boots, along with a thick draconic tail, would appear on her like the wisps of a ghost''s whisper, but then vanish the next instant, leaving her instead wearing a simple set of roughed up linen clothing that outlined her figure... and the fact she was clearly wearing nothing underneath.


    The second was the exact same as the girl, having odd body parts replaced entirely by elements or quasi elements. Except instead of the ghosts of gauntlets, boots and a tail, he had a single horn on his forehead that flashed in and out of existence.


    The last of them was the exact opposite.


    He was another man, but his hair instead was a river of water. Much like the other two, his eyes were also encompassed by his element, and the rest of him was even more exaggeratedly warped.


    He only wore a beast skin to cover his lower body, so one could clearly see a fissure running up and through his chest, pulsing with water. This fissure continued up, through his neck, and even spiralled around his head, seemingly splitting him all the way in two.


    Only one of his legs was entirely turned into the water element, and it was just one of his hands as well. But this one hand pulsed with light, a trident appearing from time to time before vanishing.


    Whenever this trio dove into the water, he would shoot out the furthest, leaving the duo further and further behind as he continued to accelerate forward.


    The closer he got, the fiercer the blue lights around him grew.


    Despite their odd appearance, each one of these three was strikingly handsome or beautiful. It looked like the Heavens had carefully carved their appearances, allowing the elements to bless them.


    And they were headed right for Ryu.


    ...


    Ryu''s eyes flashed open.


    The Cosmos Fog around him finally settled down. He sensed that the Heaven''s Knights in the distance had lost track of him. Compared to the other youths, they were much further away, and that was a relief.


    But...


    BANG!


    Ryu''s gaze locked onto a young man with a river of water for hair. It didn''t feel like he was standing before a young man, but rather that he was looking at a God. Shockingly enough, he even felt that the Ice element wasn''t listening to him as well as it usually should.


    The young man frowned and looked around as though he was trying to spot something. But when he didn''t find it, his gaze eventually landed on Ryu.


    "A human is so bold to come to our territory?"


    Ryu didn''t understand a word he said, but the language of battle was universal.


    "I haven''t had a good battle in a long while. I''ve been surrounded by too much trash. I hope you make this worth my while."


    Ryu took a step out, and he was the first to throw out a punch.

 Chapter 1780 Open

    Chapter 1780 Open


    ??1780 Open


    Niuran wasn''t a man of many words. Fiends tended to have their personalities shaped and warped by their favored element. So even after Ryu said these words, and even when he attacked, he didn''t react much at all.


    With a casual strike, the spear flickering in and out of existence in his palm came to meet Ryu''s blow.


    A curious light lit in the depths of Ryu''s pupils. He didn''t think much of the odd appearance of the Fiend to begin with, but even he was having trouble understanding exactly what it was he was seeing.


    BANG!


    Air rippled around them and a layer of force stopped blade and fist from meeting.


    However, with an indifferent gaze that looked like a literal pool of water, Niuran''s spear lost its form, flickering out of existence and suddenly wrapping around Ryu''s arm.


    It surged forward, appearing before Ryu''s throat in the blink of an eye.


    Ryu felt a sense of danger pervade his mind. He couldn''t seem to see exactly where the blow would land, as though it still had the possibility of undergoing a myriad of changes. If he acted too confidently, he could end up harming himself.


    ''Fascinating...''


    Ryu''s aura flared, and he summoned the Immortal Sakura. In an instant, gorgeous spinning and fluttering blossoms descended from the skies, blocking every calculated point.


    Niuran''s expression finally showed some change, albeit slightly.


    Still, what happened next put Ryu on the edge of his seat once more?


    The Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns used to protect his blossom cracked and shattered like wet tissue paper.


    The spear ripped a path through and pierced into Ryu''s skin.


    A blast of chill entered Ryu''s body, and the spear was about to burst all the way in when he suddenly flickered backward, warping space around him.


    Ryu blinked. He had already felt that his Ice Element wasn''t properly listening to him when he first came across this young man, but he didn''t expect that the same would be true even when it was reinforced with Heavenly Patterns.


    Less shocking than that, though, was the fact that he still needed some more time to adjust with his Spacetime Soul Nature, as the folds of reality in this place weren''t exactly the same.


    The land shattered, and the raging rivers in the distance trembled.


    Ryu realized what was happening before it did.


    A deep trench was suddenly cut between this location and the nearest river.


    ...


    In the distance, Venaru and Furmalda were swiftly catching up. When they saw the changes, their eyes widened, and they looked at one another.


    They knew that Niuran would only do this if he was in trouble.


    They both landed on the ground at once, each on the opposing side of the trench. With a stomp of their feet, magma erupted out of the earth and the trench was split further and further apart.


    In that instant, the trench connected with the raging sea and with a BOOM! a connection was formed.


    The waters surged forward.


    The pair of brother and sister didn''t stop as they ran along the trench, making it wider and wider as they accelerated to their fastest speed. They couldn''t let anything happen to Niuran.


    ...


    Ryu''s pupils constricted. They had such strong control over the elements, stronger than anything Ryu had ever seen.


    Now that he thought about it, even for Ancient Beasts, elemental control was secondary to the Paths they followed. Phoenixes were about Life, Death and Reincarnation first, long before they were about flames or ice.


    But these Fiends...


    They seemed to breathe and eat these elements. They were the elements, and the elements were them.


    A fiendish grin spread along Ryu''s face as his aura skyrocketed, billowing in waves.


    "[Earth''s Gate], open."


    BOOM!

 Chapter 1781 Presumptuousness

    Chapter 1781 Presumptuousness


    ??1781 Presumptuousness


    This was the first time Ryu had to use such a skill on someone in the same cultivation Realm as him, but he didn''t hesitate.


    The instant the first wave of water wrapped around Niuran''s ankles, he knew that he had made the right decision as his Qi realm cultivation soared to the Perfect Sky God Realm.


    The waters wrapped around Niuran like mother swaddling their baby. A vortex appeared beneath his feet that quickly became a cyclone that lifted him into the air.


    He absorbed the waters and his already tall eight foot stature became over a dozen meters. The flickering spear in his palms expanded, and he suddenly pierced out.


    In reaction, Ryu pulled at the lightning flickering on the surface of the quickly pooling water. But realizing that it wasn''t listening to him, he abandoned the approach and accelerated backward.


    BOOM!


    The ground split like tofu and the earth surged into the skies as though a mountainous tsunami.


    A wave of power still hit Ryu and sent him flying, and soon after came a wave of water.


    The water took the shape of countless blades, each one formed by a clone that seemed identical in all stature but size to Niuran.


    Ryu stomped his foot onto the ground, realizing that retreat wasn''t an option.


    He sent out a series of punches that catapulted the world into chaos and at the same time, his Inner World flourished. He pulled his Bloodlines together and his radiant blue scales became an array of pearly white. It exuded a milky purity that seemed prepared to cleanse the world of all its impurities.


    He was about to pull on his Rage Flames, but when he noticed Venaru and Furmalda in the distance, he cast the idea away immediately.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    His fists collided with the water, and he used overwhelming strength to shatter them apart.


    In the distance, the brother-sister pair rode a wave of magma, and seeing how serious Niuran had become, they too began to absorb the fire element, growing into giants that stood no shorter than Niuran.


    Ryu never expected that his first encounter with Fiends would come like this.


    At the same time, with his free hand, he clenched a fist and punched out.


    Rage Flames surged, and he seemed to be able concoct his own fury. He pulled on his Dao Heart more and more and he seemed to shine with a resplendent light.


    In this life, no matter the world, no matter the suppression, he would remain invincible.


    BANG!


    Venaru took a solid blow to the chest and was sent flying as well.


    The three friends landed in the same location, whether by design or coincidence. They coughed up mouthfuls of blood, one after another.


    When they saw Ryu approaching, fear colored their gazes, and they quickly scrambled to their feet.


    To Ryu''s surprise, just when he thought that they would begin another attack, they fell to their knees and bowed deeply.


    Ryu couldn''t help but frown inwardly. These three definitely weren''t cowards. He was confident in his ability to read the character of people by now, especially as his Dao Heart grew stronger and stronger.


    While their Dao Hearts weren''t comparable to his own, there were likely very few across time and space that could bolster such a thing.


    Regardless, their Dao Hearts were only shy of reaching the three tiers of genius, and they were very clearly still young. At least two or three years younger than Ryu. That meant they still had time to sharpen themselves.


    That meant only one thing.


    They were kneeling for a completely different reason.


    "Esteemed one. We are sorry that we didn''t recognize your identity. Please excuse our presumptuousness."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, something the trio couldn''t see because they still feared lifting their heads.


    Soon, he understood.


    ''They must have mistaken my use of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation...''

 Chapter 1782 Mission

    Chapter 1782 Mission


    ??1782 Mission


    The Dream Wraith had given Ryu a great deal of information about what he was dealing with, so he had a fairly good idea about quite a number of things.


    Fiends were precisely like these three youths before him. Their cultivation methods were heavily focused on the elements and it could be said that their strength could directly scale depending on the environment. And, even when the environment wasn''t in their favor, the best of them were capable of terraforming the world to mold to their desired reality.


    However, there were still levels to which this could be. For example, Niuran''s method of terraforming was the absolute crudest. He had drawn a trench from this location to the nearest river, and that was not only something that couldn''t always be done, it used up a lot of energy.


    It could be said that if Niuran hadn''t spent so much energy to draw the river over here, then he would have likely been at least 50% stronger, which would have obviously made a huge difference in the battle.


    In truth, Niuran only dared to do this in the first place because he knew that Venaru and Furmalda were trailing after him. If not for this, he would have rather retreated at the risk of being killed or stabbed in the back to rush back to the rivers and sea.


    As for why they were suddenly being so respectful to Ryu, it was because they had likely mistaken him for what the Fiend Race called Fiend Gods.


    This didn''t refer to a cultivation Realm, and the translation wasn''t exactly God. In fact, Ryu chose to adjust it from Fiend God to Fiend Childes.


    Fiend Childes were extremely rare existences that had dominion over several elements, not just a single one.


    As one might expect, this was something that almost never happened because the method of cultivation the Fiends used would result in the elements clashing far fiercer than Ryu''s Bloodlines ever had.


    Most Fiend Childes would die the moment they were born. It was far crueler than what would happen to most humans with clashing Bloodlines.


    Usually, if the Heavens decided that a Human Bloodline would clash, the embryo wouldn''t even be fertilized.


    This was why it took Ryu''s parents so many attempts to have Ryu, why they cherished him so much, and also why, even after all these years, they were probably the only lineage in Sacrum that only had a single successor like himself.


    He still hadn''t even gotten to the worst part of it all.


    These Heavenly Laws favored the Fiends. These Shrines, while not being the same as Sacrum''s Shrines, were still created by the power of Heavenly Might. It was just that the Fiends had clearly learned to repurpose and use them effectively in combat.


    So he wasn''t just supposed to destroy some manmade object. He was supposed to destroy a creation of these Heavens.


    The worst part was that even if it wasn''t created by the Fiends, wouldn''t it surely be something forged by one or multiple of their Dao Gods? Would he have the right to destroy such a thing?


    Everything about this mission felt stupidly impossible.


    If there was no time limit, Ryu wouldn''t care very much. But since there was one, the pressure was immense.


    So when he saw the trio kneeling before him, he thought about taking advantage.


    Obviously, he wouldn''t be able to do this through conventional means. In that case, he''d have to just use different methods.


    Before the trio could react, Ryu sucked them into his Inner World and entered with his consciousness as well.


    When he entered, he found them looking around in shock. But he didn''t find it very surprising.


    Instead, he directly ignored them and sat in meditation.


    At that moment, the three felt an overwhelming power descend onto them and begin to scour their bodies.


    They froze, not daring to look around anymore.

 Chapter 1783 Fiend Path

    Chapter 1783 Fiend Path


    ??1783 Fiend Path


    Ryu''s purpose was simple. He needed to truly understand the Fiend Race. Not just memories, and not just a casual facade either.


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation might be able to fool them, but who was to say that it would fool someone much higher up on the food chain?


    He didn''t care if he was exposed by weak Sky Gods. But if it was a Dao Lord that caught onto his scent, he would be screwed and die before he was even aware of what happened to him.


    ''Fascinating...''


    He felt that he had a strong understanding of the paths of beasts, humans and demons, but he didn''t expect that there would be yet another specialty in the world.


    This time, it seemed that if human and beasts were direct opposites, then in this case Fiends and the Faeries of the Ethereal Plan were opposites.


    The Faeries were also heavily reliant on the elements, but they relied on their souls and were practically identical to Wraiths in this respect. Their bodies, if they even had them, were secondary. When they left the Ethereal Plane, many of them had difficulty affecting change.


    The Fiends, however, were entirely reliant on their bodies. They didn''t even seem to have souls in the normal sense as the elements themselves became their Incorporeal Souls, as though they were replacing a vital function of their bodies with communication with the outside world.


    If Ryu was correct, then a powerful Fiend of the same element could kill another just by cutting off their communication with the element of their choosing. They wouldn''t even have to lift a finger.


    Realizing this, Ryu didn''t even need to go into Fiend society to know that they had a very strict hierarchal structure. There was no way that someone of lower standing would ever risk offending someone of a higher standing.


    Even in the case someone stronger than you didn''t decide to strangle you to death like that, just being in their presence would weaken your element.


    This was actually quite good news for Ryu. It meant that even without taking his Chaotic Silk Meridians into account, just with his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, he could challenge those of a much higher level than himself. Well, so long as the environment was also in his favor.


    He ultimately didn''t have the same skills and techniques of the Fiend Race. So trying to truly cut them off from their elements when the environment didn''t allow it would be very difficult.


    Still, this was just the tip of the iceberg. There was something else that Ryu was curious about.


    However, he realized quickly that he didn''t have time to waste on this.


    Now that he understood the Fiend Race perfectly, his aura began to change.


    He slipped on a black bodysuit that covered his entire body and he clenched his fists. Quickly, his hair was replaced by a dancing stream of radiant blue lightning.


    He pulled some Sovereign Chaos Lightning Qi from his Meridians and pooled it into the lightning as well, tinging it with hints of black gold.


    This wasn''t the first time he had pulled such a weak qi from his Meridians, so he was used to it.


    As a final step, his eyes turned into a sea of lightning as well.


    The eyes of the three Fiends widened when they saw this. It wasn''t because Lightning Fiends were rare, though this was the case, but rather because Ryu''s change only meant one thing...


    Either he was hiding the fact he was a Fiend Childe for some reason, or he was never a Fiend to begin with!


    Ryu vanished from the inner world after this.


    His body began to flicker with an armor formed by his Lightning God Talent. Much like the Fiends, it flickered in an out of existence.


    At the same time, a pair of qilins horns flickered in an out of existence on his forehead as well.


    This flickering was probably the most fascinating part of the Fiend Race''s existence, but Ryu didn''t have the time to care about this right now.


    He needed to find a path to cross the barrier and return to the Real Plane.


    ...


    In a distant castle, a beauty with sparkling red eyes and a river of gold for hair looked up, her heart skipping a beat inexplicably.

 Chapter 1784 Infuriated

    Chapter 1784 Infuriated


    ??1784 Infuriated


    BANG!


    Ryu kicked out once, sending a guard flying.


    He didn''t know what it was about his bad luck, but he seemed to always get into trouble the moment he stepped into a city. The irony was that the city he had spent the longest time in, even if he considered the last ten plus years, was the Martial God''s city. If that wasn''t a joke of fate, he had no idea what was.


    Ryu understood this time, though. It wasn''t just normal bad luck, it just seemed that he had picked the wrong city to go to.


    This was a city where Fire Elemental Fiends were the vast majority of the population. They didn''t seem to like it when other Fiends came by, so they tried to give him a hard time.


    It also didn''t help that Ryu didn''t have the money to pay for entry.


    But it was easy enough to deal with. Just a single kick was enough, despite the fact the guards were both in the Perfect Sky God Realm. Ryu had already gained the ability to subtly control the elements in the air, hiding it from detection and suppressing those around him.


    Of course, even if these few were Perfect Sky Gods, they were absolutely pathetic.


    They only had Transcendent Grade Chaos Qi, and they weren''t far from the bottom of the barrel. The fact they even made it to the Perfect Sky God Realm at all was a surprise, as those with this level of qi could only make it to the Transcended Sky God Realm at best.


    "Annoying."


    Ryu directly walked into the city after tossing them to the side.


    With a step, lightning flickered and danced in Ryu''s hair.


    The more time he spent in this state, the more interesting he felt it was. He felt the lightning element more clearly than he ever had before, but there was still something a bit off about it.


    "I would like to join the army."


    There were two that caught Ryu''s attention immediately, precisely because they seemed more fire than human.


    One had a bald head, but a fiery beard that danced with gold and red. There were a twin pair of axes on his back that flickered in and out of existence.


    The second was bald as well, but he was also clean-shaven. Instead, his eyes were such a concentrated pair of fireballs that they looked far more solid than anyone else.


    What was interesting was that he was the only one that didn''t seem to have limbs replaced by the elements. Still, there was an extremely long rod on his back.


    "What the hell is this?"


    The first bald man opened his eyes, meeting Ryu''s gaze.


    "Do you think you can just come wherever you want, sparky?"


    He reached for one of his axes with an arm of solid red-gold. He looked like he was already prepared to hack Ryu down right here and now.


    Ryu gave him a glance, and before he even pulled out his ax, he punched.


    The bald man''s pupils constricted. It made sense for him to be arrogant here, but he didn''t expect that Ryu would be.


    However, Lightning Elemental Fiends were too fast for him to react, especially since he didn''t actually expect to have to fight so quickly.


    BANG!


    A fist of rippling bolts of blue collided with the man''s chest and he was driven into the pillar he had just been leaning upon.


    All at once, the Fire Elemental Fiends perked up, glaring toward Ryu.


    A Lightning Elemental Fiend had just come into their territory to stir trouble. How could they not be infuriated?

 Chapter 1785 Form Up

    Chapter 1785 Form Up


    ??1785 Form Up


    The bald man coughed, and his chest suddenly bulged. He hopped to his feet and his beard glowed an even more fiery light.


    However, just as he was about to attack, a pair of heavy double doors opened.


    A woman with long legs and a river of flames for hair strolled in. She was dressed in a black military uniform and her lapel was adorned with countless achievements, so many that they seemed to overlap and form a complex array all on their own.


    She swept a glance over the room and the bald man froze, no longer daring to reach for his ax. The aura of an Omniscient Sky God wasn''t something they could ignore.


    The gaze of the woman paused when she saw Ryu, and she frowned when she sensed the sparks of Lightning Chaos Qi in the surroundings.


    Also... blue lightning? This was the first she had seen of such a thing. It was only Sovereign Lightning Chaos Qi, but it felt so much more powerful than that.


    She had seen varying shades of lightning from black to dark gold, but this dark hue of blue was something different.


    It was a clear mutation.


    Did the Lightning Elementals send this guy here to cause trouble? Just from a glance, she immediately didn''t like Ryu at all.


    Ryu slowly retracted his fist. Unlike the others, he didn''t seem nearly as eager to pretend as though he had done nothing.


    "You fought here?"


    "I defended myself." Ryu replied indifferently.


    "Bullshit!" The bald man roared. He hadn''t even been able to grab his ax yet. How was Ryu defending himself?


    "He grabbed for his ax, so I finished the battle first." Ryu replied just as evenly.


    "Is that true?" The young woman looked toward the bald man.


    "Absolutely not!" The man directly denied it.


    The woman spread her gaze over the rest of the room, but everyone only seemed to confirm the bald man''s words. Only the second bald man didn''t say anything.


    "What do you have to say for yourself?" The woman asked.


    Despite being cripples, many who saw Ryu felt their face twisting in disgust.


    It was only over the last few days that their hatred of his Lightning Elemental status was more than about just a dislike of other Races. No, it was that the two elements seemed to have a particularly contentious history.


    One would have thought that it would be Fire and Water, but no. It was this instead.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. Even if he had known this, he would have taken this path anyway, because it was the only way to guarantee that they would hate him enough to take things this far.


    Only by being on the front lines could he find an opportunity to escape across the border.


    That said...


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with coldness.


    He had already marked that Commander for death. Even if she had done exactly what he wanted, sending him here for the purpose of killing him, it still wasn''t something that he would accept.


    He was sure that such a woman definitely wouldn''t let things end here.


    And that bald Fiend...


    Ryu''s gaze turned more malevolent as a horn filled the skies.


    ''About time.''


    An enormous man stomped out from a heavily patched tent. The surrounding flames shined with a golden light and he clearly stood above the rest.


    At four meters tall, his heavy great sword was five all on its own.


    He swept an indifferent gaze over Ryu and opened his mouth.


    "FORM UP!"


    His roar caused Ryu''s hair to blow back.


    ''... Dao Sovereign.''


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but he didn''t say much as he complied. Making it across the border now would certainly be far more troublesome. It seemed that even though these were the Garbage Barracks, not everyone here could be labeled the same way.

 Chapter 1786 Charge

    Chapter 1786 Charge


    ??1786 Charge


    The bear of a man was known simply as Commander Tiger. Ryu had heard some rumors about him, and he seemed to be among the very few who could live in the Tiger Barracks for an extended period of time.


    It was said that the average life span of those in the Tiger Barracks was half a battle. It was so exaggerated that none dared to give it a full battle length.


    However, Commander Tiger had already been at the head of this camp for the last 2000 years and had never had his position shaken.


    That said, it was also said that he was sent here as a punishment. Ryu had no idea what kind of punishment would last for 2000 years, but whatever it was, he was still suffering from it.


    What was more interesting was that no one seemed to know what he was being punished for. There were plenty of rumours, but it was hard to tell which was on was correct.


    There were things circulating around as simple as him just offending the wrong person, all the way up to ridiculous things like him stealing one of his father''s concubines.


    Whatever it was, Ryu didn''t care very much. But he was instantly on his guard. Being overseen by this man is likely why none had managed to survive. Either you would die on the battlefield or die trying to escape and failing to slip away from this man''s thick fingers.


    Ryu''s mind had no choice but to churn to find an opportunity.


    Commander Tiger''s roar echoed across the encampment, and the cripples forced themselves up.


    Ultimately, they were all Sky Gods. Even if they looked pitiful, the loss of an arm or a leg wouldn''t be enough to harm them.


    What was interesting to Ryu, though, was that he felt that the suppression of flight in this world was a bit odd. Rather than being reliant on cultivation, or becoming a Sword God, it seemed to fluctuate based on control and comprehension of Chaotic Qi.


    As such, some of these soldiers, despite just being True Sky Gods, were actually able to fly.


    Ryu looked ahead as though he was ready to charge, only to be "disappointed" that it wasn''t a command to go.


    ''This battlefield is a mess,'' Ryu thought to himself. ''Dao Lords, Dao Sovereigns, and True Sky Gods, all mixed in the same regions. It''s no wonder they''re all so afraid. If you get caught up in the wrong battle, you wouldn''t even have to be part of the fight to die. The shockwaves alone could take your life.''


    "VANGUARD! CHARGE!"


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed. It was another Dao Sovereign, but this time, he didn''t turn back to see who it was.


    Still, they obviously wanted them to go first.


    Ryu couldn''t even see the enemy yet. There was a rocky land up ahead that broke into tall mountains and rivers. According to the objective, they had to fight with the Real Plane to secure a defensive line as far ahead as possible. Preferably beyond the mountains so that they could control the high ground.


    With a BANG! Commander Tiger suddenly accelerated. Several of the Tiger camp were sent flying away from him.


    Ryu shook his head. This really was a shit show, but it seemed he was part of it now.


    He didn''t move immediately, looking around for a moment.


    Then he began a jog forward. It looked like he was on a leisurely stroll instead of heading into war. And yet, he was still faster than most because the cowards could hardly move.


    It was at that point that a vicious whip suddenly lashed out.


    Ryu caught it in his Spiritual Sense. The thorny Commander had lashed out at a member of the Tiger Barracks that was cowering.


    A rain of blood fell, dyeing the already crimson soil redder.

 Chapter 1787 End

    Chapter 1787 End


    ??1787 End


    Ryu threw a casual glance over. He knew that that whip was meant to scare him. She had sent it out from over 500 meters away and its precision was deadly.


    But not only did he not flinch, he didn''t speed up either.


    Ryu knew that at this point, being arrogant would only make her focus all the more on him. This was much the same for Commander Tiger, who had turned his gaze on him more than once by now.


    He just didn''t care.


    If he had to break his cover and make a run for it, that was preferable to whatever nonsense this woman wanted out of him.


    As expected, the woman was even more furious that Ryu hadn''t even reacted, but she couldn''t justify attacking him either because his speed was at least on par with the other True Sky Gods. In fact, he was faster.


    There was nothing wrong with his actions at all. It just seemed that he was too nonchalant for her liking.


    Soon, Ryu had exited the range of her whip and she forced herself to swallow the insult.


    "Give me the orb." She commanded.


    Her lieutenant quickly rushed over and handed it over.


    High in the skies, several raven-like creatures were set loose and the images on the orb began to flicker.


    She found Ryu quickly, but he was still not doing anything out of the norm.


    A sneer spread across her face. She was going to enjoy this.


    ...


    Ryu continued to job along, but for someone with a body as powerful and as light as his own, he crossed hundreds of meters with just a single casual stride.


    His head tilted up to the skies. He noticed the ravens the moment they released and couldn''t help but inwardly shake his head. It seemed that this situation would get even more troublesome now.


    Another issue was that Ryu was about to reach the end of the battlefield. He had made it almost all the way through unhindered. But if he kept charging forward now, he would definitely be intercepted or even directly killed.


    Other True Sky Gods might not be able to tell, but Commander Tiger was definitely fiercely suppressing the Fey Dao Sovereign. He still had more than enough strength to pay attention to the battlefield.


    ''Do I just make a break for it?''


    Ryu wondered what he should as the thorny Commander was practically ripping her hair out, trying to understand how Ryu was so lucky.


    ''I still don''t know what''s on the other side, but I''ll never know until I cross it at this point. That''s a risk I''ll have to take no matter what. But...''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. ''Let''s take a different approach. Since the battle line is too close, let''s push it further.''


    Suddenly, Ryu''s aura boomed. The thorny Commander''s excitement finally returned as Ryu ran into a Perfect Sky God. It was a treant Demon with a humanoid appearance. It looked no different from a man of wood.


    The moment Ryu appeared before it, its aura surged.


    Ryu looked like he had accidentally run into this opponent, but only he knew that he had done it on purpose.


    He dodged out of the way of a tree root shooting through the earth.


    This treant might seem to have Perfect Sky God strength, but in his environment of oppressive heat and concentrated Chaotic Fire Qi, its wood element was highly suppressed. It couldn''t even bring out half of its strength.


    Clearly, the human cannon fodder had the same corruption issues, or else such a combatant would never be sent here. Someone obviously wanted it to die.


    So Ryu would just oblige.


    He flickered with lightning, his fists rumbling.


    The battle between Ryu and the treant roared and suddenly began to roll into several others.


    The battlefield which had begun as a flurry of one on one and sometimes two on one battles was quickly warping and becoming a cluster of carnage.


    ''Good. Let''s continue this.''

 Chapter 1788 Ready

    Chapter 1788 Ready


    ??1788 Ready


    Ryu''s fists left blurs in the air. He slowly guided the treant in battle as though it wasn''t a Perfect Sky God. Even the thorny Commander couldn''t tell what he was doing. From her perspective, it looked as though he was giving his all.


    However, as Ryu moved across the battlefield, sometimes pressing the treant down and at other times, being pressed back himself, the situation grew more and more chaotic.


    At some unknown point, the melee became so violent so that the skies exploded and the earth crumbled. The more chaotic it became, the worse the situation for those of lower cultivation became as well. They were quickly getting caught up in battle that was far beyond their station.


    ...


    The thorny Commander frowned. This was bad.


    This situation was well known to Commanders. It was rare, but it happened from time to time, maybe once every twenty or thirty battles.


    The trouble with their army composition was that there were too many experts of varying degrees of power. As such, the vanguard was purposely scattered and unorganized so that the weak and weak could fight one another, and strong and strong could fight against one another.


    As for armies like hers, that were perfectly organized, they used formation tactics. So, their power was linked as one and ultimately they were one whole.


    The trouble was that armies like this one were stiff. It was hard to maneuver, and unless the technique was constantly circulated, there would be issues in efficiency and power output.


    As such, using them to do something like forming a line of defense was too troublesome. It was much easier to use them to protect or push an already formed a line of defense.


    This was all to say that the vanguard was never designed to fight together. This sort of chaotic melee, though it happened from time to time, was something that they usually wanted to avoid.


    When such a thing happened, it was Commander Tiger''s job to either rein it in, and if not, she should take action herself to tell them to retreat and then retry to form the line.


    However, Commander Tiger wasn''t paying enough attention to the battle. Although the field was clearly headed toward chaos, it wasn''t quite there yet. But clearly, the Commander didn''t care enough to predict what would happen.


    Usually, it would be this thorny beauty that took action ahead of time in his place, and he had likely gotten used to it.


    BANG! BANG!


    Both opponents died in quick succession, dying beneath the barrage of the cripples.


    "Form up!" Ryu roared. "Push!"


    All the while, Ryu was fighting against the same opponent. He didn''t seem to care that he was probably the only one remaining that had yet to kill a single opponent.


    Ryu just felt that this treant was the most useful.


    After the battle began, it grew much larger until it towered at over ten meters. Because of this, it was able to impact a large range of the battlefield, and that was exactly what Ryu needed.


    Seeing that the situation was changing, the Tiger Barrack soldiers became much more obedient, and they followed Ryu''s orders with less reluctance. As a result, Ryu''s push forward only became more and more efficient.


    Suddenly, not even two hours later, the cobbled together vanguard had become an organized army. They moved with such well-coordinated precision that even Commanders who weren''t supposed to be paying attention to them, had begun to.


    Ryu no longer barked out orders. Instead, he continuously sent out thousands of secret messages, controlling tens of thousands of variables all at once.


    As such, other than Commander Tiger and the thorny Commander, no one had any idea that this was all Ryu''s doing. In fact, many others thought that it was precisely one of those two responsible for the current situation.


    The defensive line continued to be pushed and pushed. Soon, they were a mere 20 kilometers from the wall of rainbow when they had been 100 kilometers away before.


    ''It''s close enough now for me to make a break for it...'' Ryu''s gaze narrowed.


    Still, the more time he spent on this battlefield, the more he felt that something was off.


    ''I''ll be ready.''


    Suddenly, Ryu turned into a streak of lightning.

 Chapter 1789 Old Dog

    Chapter 1789 Old Dog


    ??1789 Old Dog


    Ryu cut through space and appeared before the barrier of light in an instant. The change was so quick that even the thorny Commander couldn''t react in time.


    Commander Tiger had also stopped paying attention to the battle as well. Ryu had noticed from the beginning that after the first half hour or so, he had disregarded everything to kill the Sovereign he was facing.


    From observing his actions over an extended period of time, Ryu was certain that whatever punishment the Sovereign was facing could be weakened the more Sovereigns he killed. He had been lucky to run into such a weak Sovereign today, so he wanted to take advantage.


    Even though he was suppressing the Sovereign though, such existences were not easy to kill. It wasn''t uncommon for battles to go on for months or years between such powerhouses. But Commander Tiger knew that he had three days at most before a ceasefire was called, so he was being far more forceful.


    Thanks to Ryu handling the situation on the ground, he paid even less attention than he usually did. As for the thorny Commander, she had been so pissed off by what she was seeing she focused less attention only to stop herself from raging.


    Neither of them expected that Ryu would suddenly take such action.


    He pierced through the veil and triggered his Spacetime Soul Nature to the greatest degree and crashed into the barrier.


    Ryu felt some resistance and his eyes narrowed. If he was delayed for too long, he would be screwed. However, he had also been studying this barrier for the last several hours.


    His aura changed, and his Cosmos Fog flickered. In an instant, he phased through, vanishing.


    The eyes of several individuals widened. Even a few Dao Lords on the side of the Real Plane were astonished by what had just happened.


    "STOP HIM!"


    ...


    Ryu landed on the other side, and for the first time, he could see what was happening. When he saw the sight, though, he couldn''t help but chuckle bitterly.


    He knew that this would happen, but it was still a bit surreal to see it.


    Before him, a line of battalions stretched as far as the eye could see. Even the weakest were Commanded by Omniscient Sky Gods, while the strongest were commanded by Dao Lords.


    ''Crossing this border is really not going to be easy.''


    There was nowhere to hide.


    The good news was that Ryu had already dispelled his Fiend transformation. In order to cross alone, he had to prove him to be of the Real Plane.


    Commander Tiger began to show a devastating prowess as he went all out. But that didn''t stop him from shooting several plumes of fire at Ryu.


    Ryu chuckled.


    The distance between them was quite far. The duo Sovereigns were battling thousands of kilometers in the air so as not to affect the landscape below.


    Having gone so high precisely for the purpose of not killing off "weaklings" like Ryu, Commander Tiger would be hard pressed to do anything.


    Of course, if a Sovereign wanted to kill a mere True Sky God across thousands of kilometers, it was as easy as flipping over a palm.


    The trouble was that Ryu wasn''t just any old True Sky God.


    ''Time to put on an act.''


    Ryu was engulfed by the flames.


    ''What weak flames,'' he chuckled to himself.


    The ground exploded, and earth flew wildly.


    In order to continue his battle, Commander Tiger had no choice but to only send out a casual plume of fire. This alone should have been more than enough to deal with Ryu.


    Unfortunately for him, Ryu had a Fire Spirit Body and the Rebirth Flame. If Commander Tiger had been able to add even the slightest sliver of Sovereign Qi, Ryu would have truly been screwed. But because he was in the middle of a battle, diverting his qi for the likes of Ryu simply wasn''t worth it.


    Ryu vanished into a flame and joined in with the spurts of fire.


    He soared through the air and over the army as though he were just another aftershock of Commander Tiger''s attack.


    At the same time, Ryu touched on the Unbalance Art Sect''s formation, pulling on his Cosmos Fog and shrouding his presence completely.


    ''This will be dangerous.''


    As Ryu soared over the army, he felt several armies lock onto him.


    It wasn''t because they had noticed him, but rather if they allowed the attack of a Dao Sovereign to land in the army, what kind of destruction would it cause?


    Ironically, this was probably the most dangerous part of his plan.

 Chapter 1790 To Death

    Chapter 1790 To Death


    ??1790 To Death


    Ryu''s senses sharpened as he soared through the air. He sensed a Dao Lord lock onto his presence and a slashing sword cut through the air.


    Ryu calculated everything, ending it from start to finish.


    The Dao Lord didn''t use even a fraction of their power. Their only goal was to stop the flames from hitting the armor.


    Even so, Ryu felt an unprecedented level of danger.


    The sword qi sword through the air. It was flat and didn''t carry hardly any sharpness. It felt more like the Dao Lord was wielding a club rather than a spear. It seemed to be some sort of unique defensive sword method.


    In truth, Ryu felt that it was full of flaws and impossibly inferior. This Dao Lord actually didn''t even have a Hegemonic Dao.


    It had to be remembered that the minimum requirement to enter the Lord Realm was a Hegemonic Dao. It was incredibly rare for a lower Dao to birth a higher Realm, though it did happen.


    All the Dao Gods of the True Martial World were like this as far as Ryu knew. They all had Ancient Daos but had managed to take that final step to Dao Godhood, anyway.


    ''I''ve actually improved to the point of being able to see through a Dao Lord''s Dao... it''s a weak Dao Lord, but it''s true, nonetheless.''


    Ryu''s gaze glowed hidden within the flames, and he used that fuel to dodge.


    Ryu timed it perfectly. In the instant before the odd sword light touched him, the flames exploded and scattered across the air.


    The powerhouse frowned for a moment, but sensing that the flames were no longer a problem and were quickly whittling away in the air, he didn''t mind it anymore.


    Ryu landed a long distance behind the army in a bundle of flickering flames. He looked like he was waning and about to blink out at any moment.


    He didn''t move immediately. If he had just gotten past the most dangerous part, this was likely the be the second most dangerous. But first he wanted to know exactly where he was going.


    He reached out with his senses, but Ryu was speechless by what he found.


    ''They''re in the army?''


    Ryu sensed that Selheira and Empana were actually in the army.


    He could only clearly sense Selheira as he had yet to finish his Summoning ritual on Empana. But the thing was that they were both near one another, staying in the same battalion.


    Ryu sighed when he saw this. It seemed that escaping wasn''t going to be an option.


    He could sense Mae as well, but she had clearly gone into hiding. That made sense. If these people found out she was a Dream Wraith, they would immediately try to collect her for spare parts.


    ''Alright.''


    Ryu suddenly hopped up.


    The bundle of flames he had been quickly spun into a humanoid shape.


    The Dao Lord that had hit Ryu away earlier spun back with a shocked expression.


    Ryu shook his head and ignored him. To others, though, he probably looked like he was a bit shaken from surviving disaster. Only Ryu knew that he was scanning his spatial rings to find something that he could wear.


    If Ryu was part of the vanguard, that could only mean a few things. He was obviously a talent, so that must mean that he had offended the wrong person.


    The only explanation for him being able to survive the attacks of both himself and Commander Tiger should be by having some great treasure of some sort.


    The final scion of a fallen Clan, then?


    This sort of thing was all too common, and these lost geniuses, suffering from an eradicated backing, often had hidden treasures that managed to survive the carnage.


    This would explain everything, especially since if Ryu had such an amazing treasure, it would also account for how he could wreak enough havoc on the other side that even a Dao Sovereign would target him.


    A flicker of greed danced in Commander Monk''s gaze, but it was expertly concealed.


    It didn''t matter to him whose command Ryu was under before. Now, he would be under him.


    With an almost careless toss, he threw a silver spatial ring at Ryu.


    "The vanguard is never properly registered. There''s no point in finding out which barrack you were under. You''ve shown enough promise to join the main army. This will be your identification."


    Ryu sneered inwardly as he caught the ring. He didn''t bother to thank Commander Monk. The idiot thought that he was intelligent, but Ryu could read his thoughts as though he were an open book.


    ''Still, if he deduced that my "Clan" offended someone great, and he still dared to this, it likely means that his own backing isn''t too bad either. It''s likely that he''s from a decently powerful Clan as well.''


    This had to be some sort of record for him. He had just gotten here, but he had already offended an Omniscient Sky God, a Dao Lord and a Dao Sovereign.


    Surely he was on a roll.


    However, he wasn''t quite done. After some thought, he decided thought it was best he say something in the midst of the battle raging high above.


    "Thank you for your kindness, Commander. There are some shameless people in this army that don''t understand that we are fighting for the sake of the Real Plane, and not for the sake of our goals and greed."


    Commander Monk''s pupils constricted as he watched Ryu flip the ring in his palms. At this point, Ryu was practically pushing him into a fire pit.


    Before, there was still some plausible deniability he could use to his advantage. But now Ryu was drawing a clear line between himself and whoever he had offended.


    This was a completely different matter.


    And yet, Commander Monk still couldn''t kill him.


    Ryu looked up with a smile and slipped the ring on. At that moment, a gorgeous silver armor clicked into place on him and his power soared as he studied its mechanisms.


    "I''ll be the best warrior you have."


    As he spoke those last valiant words, the aura of a Founding Dao pierced the skies.


    Ryu had spent much of his second life ignoring logic and smarts, preferring to use his fists and biting words.


    But his temperament had been refined again and again.


    Truthfully, he didn''t have to use his fists and a sharp tongue all the time.


    He could play a Dao Lord to death with his mind alone if he really wanted to.

 Chapter 1791 Flip

    Chapter 1791 Flip


    ??1791 Flip


    Commander Monk''s expression changed wildly. It wasn''t just him, but everyone who was paying attention to the situation. The trouble was that he was the one that took the worst blow of them all.


    Ryu had obviously done it on purpose. He was using the moment everyone was focused on him to display his value. At this point, even if Commander Monk wanted to do something to him, he would have to get into a long line.


    Ryu had never feared the spotlight. Since he was going to join this army for the sake of his wife, he''d do it the right way.


    The gazes of several flashed, and in the far off distance, Commander Tiger was alerted as well.


    The existence of a Founding Dao couldn''t be underestimated. In their entire world, even if all Sky Gods were then into account, there were fewer than 30 individuals with a Dao of this Level.


    And as for those with a Peak Founding Dao, like the one they were sensing right now...


    There was only Ryu.


    In fact, aside from Ryu, there wasn''t a single other person with at least a Higher Founding Dao either.


    Of course, they likewise took into account that Ryu was only a True Sky God. The odds that his Founding Dao would plummet as he continued to cultivate was highly likely.


    However, even if you took into account the geniuses that started at Peak Founding Daos before falling, there were only three not including Ryu.


    One of them Aria Moon, a Fiend Childe of Earth and Water. She was currently an Omniscient Sky God with one foot into the Dao Lord Realm. It was said that she could break through at any time.


    The second was Yeger Sun, a Fiend Childe of Wind, Fire and Lightning. He was an impossibly rare Fiend Childe above Fiend Childes, having not just two Elements, but three. He was currently a Transcendent Sky God, and it was said that his life was still teetering on an uneven balance. If he could not make it to Lordship within the next ten years, many experts had said that he would lose his life to his own talent.


    The last was a Fey and the only such genius on the side of the Real Plane. Ironically enough, his name was family name was also Moon.


    According to what Ryu knew, Moon and Sun were the two last halves of the Fey Race. But he wasn''t aware of this Fey''s existence, so he likewise didn''t know just yet that things seemed to be the same here.


    In fact, this young man shared the same last name as Sarriel, but being Moon Fey and basking in Yin.


    This young man was known simply as Young Master Moon, as though he was too arrogant to tell the world his name.


    Truthfully, Young Master Moon and Aria Moon were said to be the only two true geniuses, though both had Middle Founding Daos now. This was because Yeger''s situation was far too precarious, and both of them were racing to see who would become a Dao Lord first.


    When the two had been in the True Sky God Realm, they likewise both had Peak Founding Daos, just like Ryu.


    Seeing this scene, the entire battlefield couldn''t help but light up.


    Didn''t this mean that the Real Plane had suddenly gained another world shaking genius?


    What kind of debut was this?


    Suddenly, the thoughts of many began to subtly change.


    Was all of this meant to deal a blow to the Fiends?


    A Founding Dao genius who managed to escape from the hands of a Dao Sovereign, only to suddenly reveal his brilliance...


    Ryu smirked inwardly when he sensed the gaze on him, but he pretended as though he didn''t realize Commander Monk was looking at him at all. In fact, he was a bit annoyed right now.


    ''Letting this trashy Dao lead everything is annoying, but this formation is truly fascinating. It looks like every Battalion has a formation tailored to the Dao of the Commander, allowing them to display the most power. It''s too bad this Dao Lord is as dumb as a rock.''


    The situation was still a bit odd.


    The battlefield stretched for miles, and Ryu had only ruined one of the vanguards. If they pressed too far, they would end up suffering backlash.


    Ryu already noticed that Commander Monk was pushing up far too eagerly. This man was clearly obsessed with garnering greed and merit.


    ''Seems that following such a fool will only be beneficial to me.''


    The vanguard that Ryu had forced to collapse was directly under the thorny Commander''s charge. That meant that if Commander Monk kept pressing forward like this, she would be forced to take action.


    When the time came, he would get his revenge.


    Ryu indifferently continued to march along with the army.


    Trashy Dao or not, Commander Monk was certainly on a tear. It wasn''t even more than a few seconds before the thorny Commander had no choice but to take action.


    Their Battalion rumbled and a large, smouldering cauldron appeared high in the air. Unlike Commander Monk, the thorny woman didn''t wield it personally. It would only leave her at a disadvantage, anyway. After all, she was only an Omniscient Sky God.


    But that didn''t mean its power was lacking.


    BOOM!


    The skies rumbled and quaked as sword met cauldron.


    At that moment, three Dao Lords soared up from the thorny woman''s Battalion, and two more Dao Lords reacted from Commander Monk''s.


    The latter group became shrouded in silver, while the former were wreathed in flames.


    Swords and fire blanketed the skies.


    Ryu looked to the side, and his eyes narrowed. ''Why aren''t the other Battalions taking advantage of the situation?''


    After some thought, he found the answer. Their formations were much less flexible than the Real Plane''s. If they attacked to pincer now, it would be difficult to retreat later on.


    ''Hm...''


    Ryu looked up into the skies. The pull on his qi was becoming greater and greater, and this guy really seemed to want to suck them all dry.


    He wondered if Commander Monk was smarter than he thought, or if he just coincidentally benefited.


    ''Either way, let''s flip this table.''


    The question was how to do it without thrusting himself into a live or die situation.


    Ryu''s eyes glowed. He already had the answer.


    A Qi Line extended from his mouth and whispered into the thorny Commander''s ears.

 Chapter 1792 Insidious Words

    Chapter 1792 Insidious Words


    ??1792 Insidious Words


    The thorny Commander was known as Kaisa. She was born to the Fire Elemental Fiends and had an elevated status, much like the other Omniscient Sky Gods that could still command a battalion.


    Not only was she at the Lower Omniscient Sky God Realm, despite her young age, she also had a set of Incomplete Chaotic Silk Meridians that allowed her to wield Sovereign Grade Qi.


    It could be said that even if she couldn''t compare to those absolute apex monsters, she still wasn''t so low that just anyone would dare to casually speak to her, let alone be so vulgar and arrogant.


    That was why when she heard Ryu''s voice enter her ears, especially when she recalled who the voice was from, her fury rose to the top of her head almost instantly.


    ''Trash like you can lead an army? Your vanguard got wiped out before you could do anything, and now you''re standing there passively as your Dao Lords do all the work for you. What a pampered princess.''


    Kaisa''s pupils trembled, and then her eyes widened.


    "WHO?!"


    Commander Kaisa''s Battalion was taken aback, and the cauldron in the skies trembled.


    Even though she wasn''t in the skies fighting right now, she was still at the core of the array. The wild fluctuations in her emotions could affect it, and in that moment, the cauldron suffered a blow from Commander Monk''s rod-sword.


    The expressions of the three Fiend Lords changed as they suffered great backlash as well. They looked down in shock, as though not believing that Kaisa would make such a mistake at this time.


    They had been by her side for a long time, and they knew that she wasn''t so careless.


    Although nepotism was rampant in the Fiend army, and the Real Plane army for that matter, they weren''t so incompetent that they''d allow just anyone to lead. Kaisa''s record spoke for itself, and she had never made such a mistake.


    But this one slip up had come at the absolute worst time.


    Ryu grinned.


    There was no other way to fight now but chaos.


    And as expected, both armies clashed, mostly because there was no choice rather than because this was exactly what they wanted to do.


    Ryu swarmed into the chaos, moving like a fish in water and gliding through the currents.


    He could feel changes to the battlefield even before they happened, taking into account countless variables at once with the ease of a man who had experienced thousands of these exact situations.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he noticed a familiar bald man in the chaos. In a flash, he appeared before him.


    He slipped out of the way of one of his double axes and parried the second with a forearm to his.


    With unstoppable momentum, he blasted open the defenses of the bald man and sent his arms flying to the side as he erupted with a palm strike right into the latter''s chest.


    The world rumbled and then became quiet in their small region as Ryu left a solid dent in the crimson armor.


    ''Sturdy armor. Not bad.''


    Realizing that the bald man hadn''t died, Ryu felt entirely indifferent.


    He slipped another ax strike and levied a blow at the same region. Slipped yet another and repeated.


    His movements were as fluid as water and flames suddenly crackled around him.


    With a final BANG! the bald man''s armor crumbled around him and his body suddenly exploded.

 Chapter 1793 Bubbling Magma

    Chapter 1793 Bubbling Magma


    ??1793 Bubbling Magma


    Ryu didn''t even bother leaving words for this sort of insignificant character. He might not have even gone out of his way to do anything if not for the fact he was unlucky enough to appear right before him. His target was someone else entirely.


    It would be a bit troublesome for him to suddenly target an Omniscient Sky God like this, especially since he couldn''t use his Spacetime Soul Nature to the full degree he wanted, or his Chaos Qi.


    But he had two trump cards now.


    The first was the seed of doubt he had planted in Kaisa''s mind. Whether her lover had truly betrayed her or not, he didn''t care. However, because she held so much hatred for him, it had allowed him to pry into her mind and read some of her secrets. If she hadn''t been so enraged by him, this would have never been possible, at least not so easily, even with his improvements.


    However, at the moment, Ryu''s comprehension of Temperament and personality had elevated his Dao to an unprecedented level.


    Just because all these people saw was a Peak Founding Dao, didn''t mean that that was all he had to give, especially since Ryu could tell that, as he had speculated in the past, different worlds had different definitions of Daos.


    If he was correct, this world was an entire sub-level above the True Martial World. Meaning, a Lower Founding Dao in this world would be registered as a Middle Founding Dao in the True Martial World.


    But this was just meant that the ceiling of this world was higher. What was truly daunting was the fact that in the True Martial World, Ryu was the only one with a Founding Dao, while this world had several Founding Daos present.


    Ryu hadn''t known this before, but when he unleashed his Dao to its full extent, he had been able to read some of this world''s tea leaves.


    But that was a matter for another time... because Ryu still had a second trump card up his sleeve, and it wasn''t just his immunity to her weak flames.


    Ryu rushed through the battlefield and shed the useless, bulky armor.


    As he did so, his steps became lighter and his power seemed to flourish.


    Kaisa was truly enraged. Every time she saw someone in silver armor, she would kill them with a single strike regardless of their Cultivation Realm.


    Quickly, three Omniscient Sky Gods surrounded her to pincer her, and it finally slowed her down a bit, but it seemed that in her fury, she was still pushing them back slowly and steadily.


    Ryu''s mind began to churn, wondering how he could get the three Omniscient Sky Gods to piss off, especially without others interfering.


    BANG! BANG!


    Kaisa blocked one of his fists with her forearm and he did the same with one of hers.


    The air shattered and collapsed.


    Ryu''s gaze lit up with wild joy. "[Lines of Fate]."


    The world became a bundle of black and white, and his pupils dilated.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Their exchange was furious. The other three Omniscient Sky Gods couldn''t even hold their ground, being sent stumbling back again and again.


    It was only now they understood that Kaisa might have been infuriated, but she hadn''t brought out everything she had.


    Her hair flowed like a sea of flames, growing longer and longer.


    In that moment, the battlefield seemed to have cleared out in two regions. One for the Dao Lords in the sky and the second for these two.


    Kaisa roared as she seemed to realize who Ryu was without him saying a single word. She reached for her back and a great sword was pulled out from the sea of flames.


    She took a step and pillars of magma exploded from Ryu''s location.


    He flickered and vanished, but she seemed to be ready, swinging down her great sword with the might of a world.


    The ground split and a wave of flames and qi surged toward Ryu.


    Even the flames that missed Ryu curled back, falling into Kaisa''s body and expanding her figure. She grew taller and taller until she soared to over 50 meters tall.


    She unleashed a roar filled with fury and heartbreak, the violent beating of her heart looking like bubbling magma.

 Chapter 1794 COME!

    Chapter 1794 COME!


    ??1794 COME!


    Ryu boisterously laughed into the skies, roaring into the air as he suddenly activated Idol Control.


    His body expanded and his clothing was shredded to pieces, replaced by scales of resplendent white.


    His horns pierced the clouds and his muscles rippled, every shudder causing the world to shatter and quake.


    He punched out, meeting a swing of Kaisa''s great sword. A force field seemed to protect his fists and nearly shatter her weapon, or rather, the flames around it.


    If the two weren''t already the center of the battlefield, they truly became that now. It felt like two monsters were battling it out in the skies.


    And it was right then that Ryu''s Dao descended.


    A dark gold and white gold pair of eight trigram diagrams appeared in his eyes, as well as one being above and below him. He seemed to have become the center of a formation as his close combat skills reached a new level.


    He seemed to always find the gap in Kaisa''s defenses, forcing her to go into a retreat again and again.


    With a flicker, his fists filled the skies with shadows, but more than 90% of them were fake. Unfortunately, Kaisa''s mind was in a mess, the oppression of Ryu''s Dao bearing down on her. She couldn''t see through it clearly and she suddenly felt like she was trying to move too fast for what her mind could withstand.


    A fist landed on her cheek, a second landed on her chest. A third landed on her chest once more and then a sudden and unexpected kick clawed against the side of her neck with such force that it seemed Ryu might kick her head off into the distance like a ball.


    Ryu''s laughter was furious, and he seemed to have become a complete madman.


    He was robbed of his manhood, robbed of his right to be a father, and then following this, it haunted his cultivation for years, so much so that even until the end, he could never take that final step to become a Sky God even though he was so very close.


    What kind of frustration was that? And how much heart did it take to continue putting one foot after the other?


    At that moment, Ryu''s body and his Dao Heart seemed to be connected as one. He no longer thought or had to analyze. Or rather, it felt like his Internal Matrix was now working on a different sort of fuel.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The fist shadows in the air vanished and only three were left. In that instant, he tore a hole through Kaisa''s shoulder, then through her chest, and then took off a fourth of her head despite her desperate attempts.


    He didn''t even take a step forward. His fist shadows were guided like arrows through the skies, slipping through her defenses and erupting onto her body.


    Guided by his heart, nothing could stop them.


    At that moment, there was a rush from the side of the Fiends and several of them rose into the air, bearing down on Ryu.


    "COME!" Ryu roared, his white hair dancing in the wind as though it had become its own river.


    His battle stance changed as he was surrounded. Rather than just fists, his entire body became a weapon.


    He parried a rod with his forearm and then slid it down its shaft, shattering the head of a Fiend with an elbow.


    He blocked a second attack with a knee, rotating his hip out with such force that it was blasted to the side. He followed up with a finger that seemed to sparkle with the silvery light of a descending star, the aura of a Sword God rupturing the attack''s cheat and shattering them into pieces.


    He walked across the battlefield like a God of War, his thumping heart sounding like thundering War Drums.

 Chapter 1795 Beyond Perfect Control

    Chapter 1795 Beyond Perfect Control


    ??1795 Beyond Perfect Control


    Kaisa was hurriedly retreating, her rage being replaced by fear. Her battle strength was quickly plummeting, but she also realized that her qi wasn''t circulating like she wanted to. Unfortunately for her, her mind was in too much turmoil to realize that the issue wasn''t just Ryu''s Dao, but the armor on her.


    This was precisely Ryu''s second trump card.


    There were two ways to create an army formation. The first was a circulation method. They would all circulate the same technique and thus activate it when it resonated over a large enough region.


    This was how things worked in the True Martial World, and this was the very same method that Ryu had used back when he was helping out Mae''s Dream Asura Clan.


    But in this world, they clearly used armors.


    Ryu was fascinated by this, but after he put one on, he already understood how it worked.


    The armor was like an extension of your Meridians, connecting to the body in a symbiotic relationship.


    The benefit of this was that you could both activate the formation and battle with your own Meridians at the same time. Of course, there were some limits to this, or else they wouldn''t be forced to remain in the same formation, but it was still more flexible in this specific regard than True Martial World standards.


    However, there was a fatal weakness to this.


    Because the armor became an extension of the Meridian system, if it was impacted, it could cause clashes. This was why the armors could be easily detached in battle as well. Ryu didn''t even have to put in much effort to take his own off.


    But for a genius of formations like Ryu, by analyzing the armors of the opposing armor, so long as he landed a few good hits, he could hinder their combat prowess without them even realizing.


    Just now, after their first few blows, Kaisa was already unable to bring out even 50% of their strength.


    After Ryu''s sudden comprehension breakthrough, she stood even less of a chance, and those that came to support her ended up losing their combat strength before many exchanges were even made.


    Ryu realized now why it was that Temperament was so important. It wasn''t just some amorphous, inexplicable energy. It was a form of comprehension in and of itself.


    If he had to describe it, it was like a Natural Enlightenment...


    Ryu was suddenly swarmed before he could stand to his feet. The others hadn''t dared to get close to a Dao Lord''s attack, but the moment it dissipated, they rushed ahead.


    Ryu took a breath and didn''t circulate Embryonic Qi, nor did he use his Birthed Phenomena. In a world like this one, he had to keep some cards to himself.


    With how dazzling he had been, no one would think that he was still holding more cards in his hands, but his eyes couldn''t help but light up.


    Although Kaisa''s cousin was another trash Dao Lord who could only be on par with Commander Monk, he had survived a strike.


    This first realm of Temperament, Guiding with the Heart...


    Was truly miraculous.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood as he blocked two strikes, but somehow he seemed to be even more valiant than before.


    Now that he knew the kind of power Temperament could give you, how could he allow this opportunity to fade?


    He would go all out.


    He wanted to see just how far Temperament alone would take him, and the first sacrifice down this path would be Kaisa herself.


    He stood to his feet and took a heavy stomp forward. The world trembled, and he roared. His Beyond Perfect Transcendent Control rolled off of him in waves and his strength multiplied by three times at worst.


    He bore down on Kaisa, closing in the distance.


    He could sense that the Dao Lords wanted to take another shot at him, but he had no hesitation in his actions.


    Since he couldn''t take revenge on that Dao Lord for now, he would just have to make his heart bleed.


    Ryu''s aura soared, and the skies rumbled.


    "[A God''s Brush]!"

 Chapter 1796 EARTH

    Chapter 1796 EARTH


    ??1796 EARTH


    Claps of thunder rang through the skies. Under Idol Control, Ryu doubled in size once more and grasped the clouds. He formed the tribulations into the palms and made them into his brush.


    A smooth, beautiful blue steel became its body and the wispy, willowy bodies of the dense black clouds became the bristles. These bristles danced in the air, both corporeal and incorporeal. From time to time, they would spark with gorgeous blue lightning.


    Ryu spun the brush in his hands, and he painted across the stars.


    His wrist flickered, and a character boomed. Space shattered like glass and the flames of eternity scattered.


    "[EARTH]!"


    BOOM!


    The entire battlefield shuddered. Ryu felt a strong pull on his Dao Heart and his self-created technique seemed to have reached another level entirely.


    In that instant, every enemy for over a hundred kilometers was wiped out. The only ones barely able to manage were a handful of Transcendents and the Omniscient Sky Gods. But even then, the former were shaken, many permanently crippled, while the latter coughed up blood.


    And unfortunately for those too close to him, their life and death had already been decided.


    Kaisa was crushed into minced meat.


    The brush trembled in Ryu''s hand.


    This time, he didn''t use hand seals, but had instead used his heart to lead the attack, and the results were shocking.


    He had only used this attack a total of three times now, and he hadn''t even brought out its full power this time, and yet its strength seemed to grow by leaps and bounds every time.


    This was the power of using your own techniques over others. Ryu hadn''t attempt to learn the technique of another in years, and seeing the power of his own Dao Methods, he didn''t care about learning the techniques of others... At least not unless he could use them as reference to create something better for himself.


    Commander Monk might be stupid in Ryu''s eyes, but he still had the mental faculties of a Dao Lord. He, too, realized the issue. However, if they could kill these Dao Lords quickly, then whatever came next would be far easier to withstand.


    The Fiend Dao Lords turned and fled, knowing the situation was back. And, as expected, they rushed toward the closest battalion to them.


    One of them ruptured into a rain of blood as the rod-sword descended.


    The other two didn''t even look back, including Kaisa''s cousin.


    A second Dao Lord ruptured into a rain of blood as Kaisa''s cousin continued to rush ahead.


    Commander Monk raised the blunt silver sword to attack again, but his expression became ugly as he sensed it dim.


    ''Dammit, I''ve left range of the army.''


    Commander Monk and the others accelerated backward. If they continued any further, they would be the ones to suffer.


    By this point, the two armies that pincered them from both sides reacted as well.


    The good news was that both of them were led by Dao Lords and there were no Dao Sovereigns in side.


    The bad news was that they both had three Dao Lords, which would outnumber their own by three. And this time, the core of the army were likewise Dao Lords, so the same trick wouldn''t be able to be used twice.


    Ryu took deep breaths as Commander Monk retreated back to the core of the formation. He released Idol Control and descended to his normal height.


    Standing there, even completely naked, he didn''t look ridiculous at all. In fact, he seemed like a God that had descended from the skies above, and no one could seem to take their eyes off of the brush in his palm despite the fact it was no longer as tall as a mountain.


    White scales reflected across his body and sparks danced in his white hair.


    He took another breath, and the earth seemed to still, the final tremors of his previous attack vanished.


    A cold light reflected in his eyes.

 Chapter 1797 Bold

    Chapter 1797 Bold


    ??1797 Bold


    "Retreat." Commander Monk commanded.


    They formed up into an army and began to move back toward the original line of defense. They had blown right by it and would have no support unless they returned to it.


    The good news was that if they rushed, they should be faster so long as they deactivated their formation.


    The bad news was that it was hard to pass on information on this land. If they didn''t get information to their adjacent armies, then the two armies rushing after them now just might use it as an attempt to push the defensive line before they could be swallowed up.


    However, none of them expected that before they could make it much further, a voice would echo.


    "That''s enough."


    The shadow of a Dao God filled the skies and the rumbling armies came to a stop.


    Ryu''s gaze narrowed, but what he worried about didn''t occur. Instead, both armies retreated like a tide.


    ''Is that all?''


    After a while, Ryu accepted it. It made sense.


    This war had likely been ongoing for generations. This battle was probably just one of the many to take place in the last week, let alone the last year.


    This was most definitely a victory for the Real Plane as the Chaos Plane didn''t have the chance to advance their front line and encroach onto the Real Plane any further.


    First there was Commander Monk and that insufferably stupid Dao of his. What the hell was the point of a sword turned rod, or vice verse, or whatever it was?


    It would have been interesting if he could tap into the aspects of both, fusing them into a single God Path, but he didn''t do that. He just turned a sword into a blunt force weapon.


    It was the most ridiculous thing Ryu had ever seen, and he was the man who had once dual wielded polearm weapons.


    Then there was the fact Commander Monk had actually let a Dao Lord escape after Ryu had given him the chance on a silver platter. Had he not reacted so shocked by Ryu''s feat, giving them time to escape, how could Kaisa''s cousin get a chance?


    Then there were was this useless Dao Sovereign. He sat there so smug and imposing, but when he was battling it out with Commander Tiger in the Chaos Plane, he was practically a fish on a chopping board. But when Ryu gave him the chance to battle it out on the Real Plane, he had only been able to gain a slight upper hand.


    What was there to be smug about? This should have been the best chance to kill Commander Tiger, but he didn''t do it.


    Now, there was a man out there running around knowing Ryu''s true secrets, and the man who should have been able to kill him was carelessly ordering Ryu around as though he was doing the latter a favor or something.


    In the past, by this point, Ryu would have already snapped and said something ridiculous. But this time, he just stood there calmly, meeting the gaze of the Dao Sovereign with a tranquil expression.


    "Who are you?" The Fey Sovereign asked.


    "Is that the question you really want to ask?" Ryu asked back.


    "You''re quite bold for a child."


    "I''m the exact opposite. There are many things that I cannot speak about because I must toe a line. Being out in the open will protect me to some extent, but if I am too open, then those in the dark will no longer care about their reputation to act. After all, if their deeds have already been exposed, then what need is there to hide any longer?"


    Ryu''s response was watertight and there was simply nothing the Sovereign could say back.

 Chapter 1798 Peak

    Chapter 1798 Peak


    ??1798 Peak


    Ryu and the Dao Sovereign looked at one another in silence. The latter could tell that Ryu had no fear of him, but that also made sense.


    Any genius who could form a Founding Dao was a monster amongst men and a Goddess amongst women. They would naturally be haughty.


    This time, it was Ryu''s turn to be surprised, because the Fey man didn''t react with anger or haughtiness of his own.


    He simply nodded. "I look forward to watching your performance. Once you become a Transcended, with your strength, I can make an exception and allow you to command a battalion. Your military merits have already been calculated. You may go."


    Ryu looked at the man curiously for a moment, and in the end he did something he never did.


    He cupped his fists and then turned to leave.


    In Ryu''s life, he had only bowed twice, each one for his masters. In terms of cupping his fists... he couldn''t remember having ever done it. Considering he had the Origin Flame, that could only mean that he had truly never done it before.


    The moment Ryu did so, the Dao Sovereign felt lines of Fate wrapping around him. It was so powerful that he was completely taken aback. But by the time he recovered, Ryu had already disappeared.


    Droplets of sweat beaded down his forehead. What kind of young man could cause such a thing just by showing a slight hint of respect? In fact, he suddenly felt that his bottleneck had loosened.


    He had already given up on reaching the Dao God Realm in this lifetime.


    But a True Sky God had given him a minuscule chance just by cupping his fists?


    Nothing the man did could stop his heart from thrumming wildly.


    In that moment, the Fey Dao Sovereign, Kiran Omegan, had made the decision to protect this boy.


    The last person who had erupted into a bursting flame, having their very soul burnt to the roots, and destroying their chances at Reincarnation.


    It was also this Dao God Cloudfire that had called for the end of the battle. And likewise, it was all too obvious why Commander Tiger was called here. It was the collapse of his vanguard that led to their losses today.


    The Dao Gods didn''t usually pay attention to such battles, but after sensing the fall of the two Dao Lords, they had no choice to.


    It could be said that on a battle of this scale, the Dao Lords were the true backbones. Dao Gods wouldn''t easily take action, and only when Dao Sovereigns like Commander Tiger were being punished would Dao Sovereigns appear to obstruct them.


    Most Commanders were Dao Lords, and as such, their deaths usually weighed the most heavily as they were the perfect balance of powerful, yet also weak enough to be killed.


    On top of this, Commander Tiger had crossed the rainbow barrier without permission, which was its own slap to the face of military law and order.


    In the end, Commander Tiger could only tell the truth of what happened.


    At first, Dao God Cloudfire was furious that Commander Tiger had allowed the vanguard to crumble because he was chasing after a mere True Sky God, but after hearing the rest of the information, his gaze couldn''t help but narrow.


    "... A Human that can disguise themselves as a Lightning Elemental Fiend?"


    This information... was quite... something.


    It wasn''t like there weren''t others that could do it, but the problem was that Ryu''s actions made no sense... unless he had already accomplished something big?


    Why would a spy expose themselves when it was entirely unnecessary? From what it seemed, Ryu''s actions were the pinnacle of foolishness.


    The only explanation to the Dao God seemed to be that there was something going on that they weren''t aware of.


    It was then that his eyes narrowed. "Peak Founding Dao?"

 Chapter 1799 Let Them Come

    Chapter 1799 Let Them Come


    ??1799 Let Them Come


    Dao God Cloudfire fell into silence. This matter was... interesting.


    "Okay. We shall see what kind of Heaven Defying genius he is. The other three aren''t even allowed on the battlefield in normal times because they will immediately be targeted, but it seems that the Real Plane is treating this boy like a playful pawn.


    "How can it be helped? The Humans only have one Dao God. They''re so limited, and they have very few allies. And yet, instead of protecting this boy, they''ve sent him to the front lines. Humans truly are stupid.


    "If you cannot kill him when the next battle descends, forget about every clearing your punishment. Your incompetence today cost us not just much of the Tiger Battalion, but also two Dao Lords, and a soon-to-be Dao Lord genius in Kaisa. Her family is absolutely furious.


    "If not for the fact I wanted to play around with you a bit longer, I would have already thrown you to them to be punished."


    Dao God Cloudfire looked down. "You''re dismissed."


    Commander Tiger could only bow and leave. From start to finish, there wasn''t a hint of emotion in his eyes. He looked as though he had long since lost his soul.


    However, when he was a long distance away, a violent killing intent rippled through his eyes for but a moment before it vanished in a wisp and a twinkle.


    **


    Ryu sat in a simple tent.


    For the first time in a while, he had set up a formation, using the Formation Core Visualization.


    He felt that Visualizations also felt a bit different in this world, but he chose not to pursue that for now. Or more accurately, if he was going to do so, he would do it with [Immortal Sakura].


    "Eska, you can watch as well," Ryu suddenly spoke. "Your comprehension of [Immortal Sakura] is far deeper than mine is, but it''s likely also because of this that your progress has become rigid. I''ll be changing your Visualization to suit me more."


    Ryu had forgotten about everything else. In his mind, the Immortal Sakura had once again become its Fundamental Runes. He could see through it all in a single glance.


    In the beginning, he knew exactly how he wanted to change the Visualization. But after interacting with this world, he realized that he was still missing half of the picture.


    The lower-case ''c'' chaos that the Ash Treant technique relied on was amazing, but after witnessing the Chaos of the Fiends, Ryu felt endlessly fascinated.


    One was chaotic in terms of difficulty to predict, but the other was Chaotic in terms of breaking the laws of reality.


    If Ryu could harness them both, the technique would become manifold more complex and powerful, but the pressure it would put on his mind would also be several times more as well.


    ''I can separate it into three lanes, one that relied on chaos, one that relies on Chaos, and the last that uses both. This will also help hiding my intentions as well...''


    If he used Chaos too freely, he could be exposed. If the fact he had Chaotic Silk Meridians was revealed, it would bring an endless whirlwind of trouble.


    He wasn''t worried about Commander Tiger and what he might say. The reality was that there were plenty of ways to disguise yourself as a Fiend, many ways that Ryu had figured out in just a few minutes. He was certain the Real Plane had many methods.


    What he was certain of was that he would likely be targeted when the time came and the battle drums rattled again. This was part of the reason he told Selheira not to come to him. It would only distract him if the enemy tried to target her as well, just to get to him.


    Plus, she was a mighty Dragon. He could already sense that she was dissatisfied earlier when he helped her along her path. Sometimes, it was best if he allowed his wives to grow on their own.


    Ryu began to quickly reconstruct the Immortal Sakura, Fundamental Runes, and Heavenly Phoenix Patterns swirling about. By the end, it looked less like an Immortal Sakura and more like a legendary tree of the Phoenixes, one that burned into eternity and had triggered the very first rebirth.


    As for how the Fiends would choose to target him in the next battle...


    Ryu couldn''t help but grin fiendishly.


    Let them come.

 Chapter 1800 Heavenly

    Chapter 1800 Heavenly


    ??1800 Heavenly


    Ryu''s breathing was even and calm. He layered complexity atop of complexity, and then he compressed them, forcing them into a state of complexity.


    He seemed to be able to draw and erase at will. And yet, he was never erasing at all. Instead, he was rearranging, fitting the Fundamental Runes in like puzzle pieces and sliding them in together.


    This left only a single logical conclusion.


    Ryu had never made a mistake, he had never second guessed himself, and he was continuously charging forward like a fearless sword.


    The more he worked, the more complex the Immortal Sakura seemed to become.


    Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns radiated up its crystalline trunk, its branches became akin to grey clouds, ethereal and untraceable.


    It was a sight that had stripped the Immortal Sakura of its beauty, and yet had given it a devastating and powerful aura instead. It looked like a true force of nature, enough to shudder the heart with a single glance.


    Ryu got up from his meditating position with his eyes still closed and punched out.


    The tree lashed out with him, its branch undergoing a myriad of changes, before it suddenly stopped.


    Ryu shook his head and the tree burst apart, only to come back together. It seemed to be the exact same, and yet its aura had changed once again.


    It seemed even more ethereal than before.


    This time, Ryu sent out two strikes.


    His fists seemed cast in illusions and the tree above him lashed out with a vicious might. Space was cut and split, a heart shuddering aura pervading from it. It seemed that standing before it, there was no escape.


    The first thing he tried was a strong gravity, forcing his Silver Star to rotate and enact the power of a black hole. However, this was just distortion, it was technique Order as well.


    The reason that Ryu had tried it was because the foundation of chaos was unpredictability, not breaking laws. However, the distortion wasn''t as helpful as he wanted, so he dispelled it.


    Then, he tried fragmenting the space, turning it into a mirror world and relying on what he had seen from Lu''Card''s spatial world.


    However, this was just distortion by a different method. Though it didn''t weaken the attacks of the tree as much, he still wasn''t satisfied.


    What made Eska''s heart shake the most was that all of these methods were good solutions. Some of them even moved her and she thought that Ryu would finally settle on them, but one after another, Ryu dismissed them.


    It was on the seventh attempt that Ryu made a complete overhaul. Instead, he pumped even more Cosmos Fog into the tree and rewrote the laws in the region.


    Since he would have to rely on some form of Order no matter what, why not twist those laws?


    Since this technique wanted Order so much, he would form a new foundation for Order, creating a new Order.


    His Cosmos Fog solidified and then his Inner World trembled.


    Ryu knew now that if he summoned his Inner World in battle like he did with [A God''s Brush], the strength of this method would reach an all new level.


    However, he uncaringly stripped his Inner World away, and then he made his Silver Star vanish.


    Once again, he had created three levels of his technique. There was really no need to take out his full strength every time.


    Under normal circumstances, he would only summon the Immortal Sakura. If the situation warranted it, he would summon his Silver Star that held the essence of his Dao. Only if the situation was particularly bad, would he care to bring out his Inner World.


    "I will call you... [Heavenly Dao Tree]."

 Chapter 1801 Beasts of this Plane

    Chapter 1801 Beasts of this Plane


    ??1801 Beasts of this Plane


    The moment Ryu finished speaking, a crack appeared high in the sky of his Inner World. It seemed that the Heavens had sensed his words and weren''t very happy about it.


    Honestly, Ryu was a bit surprised, but then he chuckled.


    "Come, then."


    A bolt of lightning descended with a fierce ferocity, colliding into his Immortal Sakura. However, it looked as though it had sunk to the bottom of a vast ocean, the sparkling lights reflecting for but a moment before vanishing into an abyss.


    The branches of the Immortal Sakura were warped by grey clouds that were impossible to see through, and soon the bolts of gold were much the same.


    Ryu watched indifferently as all of this happened, but his gaze was flickering with a majestic light. He was trying to see if there was anything he could take advantage of, but in the end, he was greatly disappointed.


    Having to tear through the void to make it to his world, the tribulation was several fold weaker than normal.


    But that wasn''t really the main issue. He was trying to gaze into some mysteries, but nothing of interest caught his attention. He almost found them...


    Boring.


    Soon, he understood why.


    This might have been a Heavenly Tribulation, but it was still only at the level of his cultivation. He had created an amazing technique, but it was still only a True God Dao Method.


    Of course, a True God Dao Method to Ryu, versus a True God Dao Method to someone else, were vastly different things. Ryu was using his own metric to judge himself by as he was already mostly separated from the Heavens, though he still had some tethers remaining.


    The main issue, of course, was the fact that the Heavens were limiting it to what Ryu could handle as well. Knowing that, it was no wonder he couldn''t find anything of interest.


    His sights were so far beyond this level that they couldn''t even be compared. He was just distilling down his comprehension until it was at a level that he could use freely with his current strength. There was nothing this Tribulation could show him that he wasn''t already aware of or capable of deducing on his own.


    That said...


    Under a Heaven where Chaos had the advantage, it was only natural that Beasts would have a smaller role to play in a place like this one.


    To make a complicated matter simple, it was likely that for these Heavens, the Fiends had taken the place of Beasts and become the leading Race. If one was chosen, then obviously, the other would fall into obscurity.


    If Ryu was correct, the Ancient Beasts of this world had likely either gone extinct, or were close to extinct, since long ago.


    As such, he was caught in a weird in between state where he could still make use of their Talents, but the Heavens didn''t quite respond properly to them either.


    In fact, had he not long since made his Bloodlines rely on his own Inner World, it was likely that his strength would have taken a huge plummet downward.


    ''Interesting...''


    As Ryu concluded his thoughts, so too did the tribulation finished. However, there was a peculiar light in his eyes.


    Wasn''t this an unprecedented opportunity?


    There was such a vacant hole in this world, one that beasts had yet to fill.


    Naturally, they hadn''t filled it because they couldn''t. The laws of this world were against them, and for Beasts who garnered most of their talent from the Heavens, this was akin to a death sentence for them.


    But Ryu wasn''t a beast, he was a human.


    If he could carve out his own path in this war, there was a huge amount of Faith that could be snatched just from this alone.


    Right now, Ryu Dao could display the strength of a Peak Founding Dao in this world because he had broken free of the shackles of the True Martial World.


    But he wasn''t satisfied. He wouldn''t be satisfied until he broke through all the shackles there were.


    ''In that case, I''ll do what the beasts of this plane couldn''t.''


    The sound of blaring horns suddenly reached his ears.

 Chapter 1802 Affairs

    Chapter 1802 Affairs


    ??1802 Affairs


    Ryu stepped out of his tent with a calm expression, his bearing otherworldly. His cultivation hadn''t increased, and yet he seemed to have become an entirely different person.


    He was unfortunately still wearing a ripped linen as a skirt tied around his waist, but it didn''t seem to faze him in the slightest.


    Soon, he was on the front lines once again, but his eyes couldn''t help but narrow.


    He had been in seclusion for three days at most. The issue was that everyone looked confused and wary.


    ''Is it not normal for another battle to be called in three days?''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he entered Commander Tiger''s Battalion. By this point, he had already put on the silver armor, though he didn''t really want to do so. At the end of the day, he didn''t have much of a choice.


    Not long afterward, the vanguard charged through the barrier and Ryu couldn''t help but shake his head.


    It was obvious to him why they did this.


    The Real Plane was on the back foot. If they allowed the Demons to cross the Real Plane first, it was almost certain that they''d be able to continuously push the rainbow barrier forward. Eventually, it wouldn''t be long before the Chaos Plane swallowed up the entire Real Plane.


    As such, they rushed through the rainbow curtain first to try to stop the Fiends on the other side, even though fighting in Chaos put them at an even greater disadvantage.


    This was the reality of being weak. The situation of the Real Plane in this world was certainly bad.


    Truthfully, Ryu didn''t care very much at all.


    He had been here for long enough to know that Humans didn''t have much of a presence in this place either, and he had a few guesses about that as well.


    It made sense that Beasts were suppressed, because the laws were against them in this place. But why would there would be a suppression of Humans in this place?


    The answer was that there was no answer.


    Humans were the most adaptable Race in all of existence. If even Demons could thrive here without a thick fluctuation of Nether Qi, and Fey could thrive here without thick plumes of Ethereal Qi, then why would Humans be unable to when the Real Plane was designed just for them?


    The answer couldn''t come from the Heavens, which means that the answer was located in the heart of man.


    At some point, some time other another, the Human Race had been suppressed thoroughly by either the Fiends, or the Races of the Real Plane.


    And the fact that no one seemed to question that he came from a destroyed Clan, that could only mean that they were all too used to seeing humans floating around like aimless duckweeds.


    What did that all mean?


    It meant that in all likelihood, if not the Real Plane Races alone, then it was likely a joint effort between the Fiends and the Real Plane Races to suppress the Humans of this plane.


    When Ryu thought to this point, his smile became frighteningly cold.


    He had only been here for less than a week, but it seemed that he was surrounded by enemies from all sides.


    A bloody grin came from his mouth as he looked up and met the eyes of Kaisa''s cousin. Then, he ignored him and looked all the way up until he could see Commander Tiger.


    At that moment, the army was ruptured, and the formation became looser. The rod-sword above flickered weakly and seemed that it might collapse at any moment, though it managed to hold on.


    It was then that Ryu suddenly took a step forward.


    His imposing might roared, and he punched out three times in quick succession.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Three heads exploded in quick succession. His fists prints seemed to cross space and time, shuttling through the void and rupturing the heads of unsuspecting victims in an instant.


    All three were just True Sky Gods, and yet, the moment they died, the cauldron in the skies faltered as well, as though Ryu had precisely targeted the weak points of the formation.


    The battle high in the skies was forced into a balanced state once again, but no one could seem to tell who was responsible for it all in the carnage.


    Ryu took another step forward, and he took advantage to shed his armor once again. White scales erupted across his body and horns grew from his forehead. He looked like a Demon Lord that had descended onto mankind, his imposing demeanor only skyrocketing with every passing second.


    With every step he took, he sent out another fist, and every time, another person would die a tragic death.


    In just a few seconds, he had already killed dozens, and finally others seemed to realize the kind of carnage he was unleashing.


    A True Sky God couldn''t last even a single exchange against him. They simply weren''t worthy. And, as the largest number of existences in the army, as they died one after another in quick succession, the power of their formation was quickly dwindling.


    "KILL HIM!" An Omniscient Sky God roared, but Ryu sneered, his momentum increasing.


    He could tell immediately that this Omniscient Sky God was roaring to cover the movement of a Dao Lord in the armor.


    Trying to hide from Ryu''s senses was simply asking to be humiliated.


    Ryu suddenly vanished, flickering around the army as though he didn''t have a care in the world, but every time he did so, he forced the Dao Lord to change direction, growing more and more frustrated with every passing second.


    Ryu cocked his fist back and suddenly a Perfect Sky God clashed with him, rushing froward with menace.


    Ryu took a step to the side, grabbing the man''s elbow and throwing him over his shoulder and right at the Dao Lord with such speed that the man caught fire.


    The Dao Lord was caught off guard and attacked sub-consciously, letting his Lord Qi leak out.


    Everyone noticed it at once.


    "Dao Lord!"


    "You little shit, come die!"


    The Fiend Lord no longer tried to hide and ran at Ryu at his fastest speed. In an instant, he was already upon him.


    Danger flooded Ryu''s senses.

 Chapter 1803 I WANT YOU DEAD!

    Chapter 1803 I WANT YOU DEAD!


    ??1803 I WANT YOU DEAD!


    Despite the danger, Ryu all but burst out laughing. A dignified Dao Lord spewing out such vulgar language had about as much weight to him as a three-year-old little girl saying the same thing, not because they were of equivalent strength, but because it was the same level of out-of-place regardless of which of them said it.


    But it seemed that this Dao Lord was already infuriated to the limit.


    The issue was that while the Monk Battalion didn''t know he was on this mission, the higher ups of the Cauldron Battalion certainly did. Not only was Kaisa''s cousin paying strict attention to this matter, but so was Commander Tiger, and even worse, Dao God Cloudfire was waiting for his good news.


    Every time Ryu outmaneuvered him, even if it seemed to be by accident, it was another slap to his face that left him infuriated.


    Under normal circumstances, the speed of someone at Ryu''s caliber would be nothing more than a joke to him, even considering his control over space.


    However, because he was trying to hide him and move through the army without seeming too conspicuous, he had ended up falling behind again and again.


    When Ryu suddenly sent a Perfect Sky God flying right at him, he had been so focused on Ryu that he almost didn''t react in time, causing the present situation.


    By now, he was almost certain that Ryu had somehow seen through him ahead of time, and that only infuriated him further.


    He had actually been played by a mere True Sky God? How could he not be absolutely infuriated?!


    Still, the moment Ryu sent out the Perfect Sky God, he had already fled. He flickered across the battlefield again, appearing in a new location.


    Warping space and relying on it to escape when there was so much volatile qi in the air was extremely difficult. It could be said that without a high a high level Spatial Soul Nature, this would be impossible.


    However, in these last few days, Ryu had already gotten used to the spatial laws of this place and he was once again a fish swimming in water.


    The Dao Lord didn''t care about his status and went all out, plowing through the army and leaving a rain of blood in his wake.


    He stretched out a hand and was already prepared to snatch Ryu in the blink of an eye. The latter had hardly settled down into his new hiding place when he was already about to be captured.


    That was when the Dao Lord suddenly sneered and turned, already appearing in a new location. In just an instant, he had already crossed dozens of kilometers as though it was nothing more than a single step.


    "Idiot."


    "Die!"


    "BOY!"


    The Dao Lord''s fury erupted, the land around him erupting with a geyser of flames.


    Sensing something wrong, Ryu immediately flickered and vanished, but the Dao Lord was far more infuriated than anyone could have expected.


    All at once, every single one of Ryu''s branching paths exploded, pillars of controlled flames rising up in a torrent. They were each as refined as needles and were no more than a foot in size.


    However, the flames of a Dao Lord were still the flames of a Dao Lord. Just the heat alone incinerated the surroundings and very few managed to survive the onslaught within dozens of meters.


    Even so, the Dao Lord raised his head to the skies and laughed almost like a crazed maniac. He had only been chasing Ryu for a few minutes at most, and yet he felt like he had truly been losing his mind.


    It was only now he felt like his heart was finally light.


    "Say... what do you think he''s laughing so hard about?"


    High in the skies, Ryu stood behind Commander Monk, who was locked in a furious battle, and pointed as though he was watching a circus clown. At this point, even Commander Monk was in shock about Ryu''s appearance.


    Using spatial laws on the volatile battlefield down below was shocking enough, but up here, the battle was on a whole other level. Now that he thought about it, how was Ryu even surviving with all this violence?


    It had to be remembered that even the attack of a Transcendent could break the void, so hiding in the void in the midst of a battle of Dao Lords was absolutely useless.


    The Dao Lord seemed to have heard Ryu''s words and his neck nearly snapped, turning toward his direction so quickly.


    His eyes practically bulged out of his sockets and he almost rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn''t seeing this.


    He had been fooled....? Again?


    His heart thumped wildly, fury pumping through his veins like the venom.


    "I WANT YOU DEAD!"


    "Yikes," Ryu muttered. "Not the slightest hint of a Lord''s demeanor."


    An infuriated roar filled the skies.

 Chapter 1804 Ryu Tatsuya

    Chapter 1804 Ryu Tatsuya


    ??1804 Ryu Tatsuya


    Behind his playful demeanor, there was a frightening coldness hidden in the depths of his gaze.


    It could be said that he hated a lot of things honestly. Depending on the day, it might be that he hated being tested the most. On another day, it might be being provoked. Today, he particularly hated those that tried to kill him, and maybe that was the most normal of his hatreds.


    He was humiliating the Dao Lord on purpose because this was the best that he could do. He wanted to stamp this humiliation into his mind, ensuring that he would never forget it...


    Until the day he came to take his life.


    Because unfortunately, that day would certainly not be today.


    And when he got his revenge, it wasn''t just going to be against this bumbling fool of a Dao Lord. It would also be against Kaisa''s supposed cousin, and also...


    Ryu looked into the skies and locked gazes with Commander Tiger again.


    He knew that the man was likely here, not under his own will, but that was what made it even more pathetic.


    To have the power of a Dao Sovereign, and yet to still lower your head...


    Honestly speaking, this world might have a higher ceiling than the True Martial World, but Ryu had yet to see even a single true warrior, and not a single expert with a Dao Heart worth appreciating.


    All he had seen were jokes of a Dao, spineless cowards, and even Commander Tiger, who seemed to live and breathe battle, was only using it as an escape.


    After seeing his past lives, he could see reflections of himself in all of these people, and that was part of why they had all frustrated him so much. He had yet to stop slandering them in his thoughts, and he didn''t feel that he would be able to stop doing so at any moment.


    And that was when exactly what Ryu was waiting for happened.


    A fourth Dao Lord rushed in from the distance just as the bumbling fool below wanted to rush at him again.


    How could he not be infuriated?


    ''Die. All of you.''


    Ryu moved through the battlefield like a phantom. Every time he appeared, three or four would die at a time. After the devastating blow that Lord Silver Shield had caused to his own armies, the cauldron in the skies was already wavering to begin with, but now the situation was far worse.


    Ryu seemed to see through every weakness and every flaw.


    Those far above him in cultivation had their armors crippled with one blow, and their bodies shattered in the other. They each died with confusion, wondering why the circulation patterns they were so used to had suddenly become so slow and sluggish.


    At first, he only targeted True Sky Gods, and not a single one of them could last more than a single exchange. His fists were akin to the reaper''s death scythe.


    However, after he ran out of them to kill, he moved on to Perfect Sky Gods. He didn''t even use [Earth Gate], let alone [Heaven Gate].


    Everyone else probably thought that this was because such a shocking method couldn''t be used in quick succession. After all, it had only been three days since he last did so.


    But only Ryu knew that the real reason was because he was proving a point.


    So what if he was a True Sky God?


    So what if this world was a tier above the True Martial World and countless times better than his own?


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, no matter the time or space, and those that stood in his way only had a single path before them.


    Death.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    He exchanged a furious set of blows with a Perfect Sky God. In the first dozen, they seemed to have been evenly matched, but in the next dozen, Ryu seemed to have seen through her flaws, reaching forward and slicing a hole through her neck with a finger.


    He met up against another, weathering a storm of descending flames as though they weren''t even there and bursting their head with a fist.

 Chapter 1805 Kill. Kill. Kill

    Chapter 1805 Kill. Kill. Kill


    ??1805 Kill. Kill. Kill


    He moved through the battlefield completely unhindered. He could sense Commander Tiger''s gaze on him, and yet he didn''t seem to care in the slightest.


    Kill. Kill. Kill.


    Ryu''s heart thrummed wildly and a vicious red aura began to permeate from him. With his every action being led by his heart, and his Dao shining like a resplendent beam in the skies, it felt as though a vicious Asura had descended upon the world.


    Gorgeous white scales reflected off his body, but his silvery eyes were quickly becoming a demonic shade of red.


    He roared and ten cultivators that had surrounded him erupted into a fountain of blood.


    Dragon''s Roar fed on his fury as though powered by Rage Flames.


    More and more cultivators became to surrounding him in swarms, trying to pin him down or overwhelm his stamina.


    But how could they know that the one thing Ryu could never run out of was stamina?


    He had access to an entire plane worth of qi. He had the complete Heavenly Winds and his Breath was truly endless. He had the Life of Phoenixes running through his veins, and he had the Embryonic QI of the Heavens pouring through his Meridians.


    If he wanted to kill, he would kill until he was satisfied. His body was nothing more than his tool, a vessel to erupt with a majesty that could shock and tremble the skies.


    With a booming might, Ryu stomped onto the ground and his hair fluttered wildly in the wind. Three Transcendended Sky Gods appeared before him, each fuelled by a majesty of flames and rising up to be over ten meters tall. Their strength multiplied several times.


    Ryu activated Idol Control, and his gaze flickered with a cold light as he erupted to the same height.


    "Take Shape and Espouse the True Dao."


    Ryu''s voice rumbled, peeling through the skies like a bolt of lightning. It felt like time stilled and space froze.


    Just the summoning cadence of the technique alone made their blood run cold.


    The rain of fists seemed to be something the Transcended couldn''t react to at all. He was flooded with wounds, and his body looked like a cratered moon.


    The third Transcended tried to save him, but the branches of the Heavenly Dao Tree fluttered. For a moment, it looked as though blossoms were dancing through the skies, falling in a delicate ambience of pink and rouge, but before he could even snap himself out of the trance, his body was separated into seven pieces.


    The joints of his armor were perfectly targeted. First came his arms that flew into the air, then his legs. He was swiftly cut at the waist and his head soared into the skies.


    It all happened in a flash, a single blink.


    In one moment, he was an intact, valiant warrior.


    In the next, limbs larger than normal men were falling from the skies in rains of blood and fire.


    Ryu''s roars seemed to be fueling the Monk Battalion to greater heights. He seemed to have become their supporting pillar, their core, and bright torch.


    He stood undefeated, crushing every opponent he faced with undeniable momentum.


    And yet, when he brought out his newly created technique, he seemed to have become an entirely new person, nonetheless.


    The carnage was hair-raising and soon, even the cauldron above could no longer withstand it.


    Too many had died, and Ryu''s relentless carnage only seemed to be increasing. The red aura around him was only growing denser and, at this point, those below the Perfect Sky God Realm who met his gaze directly died, their hearts stopping being his valiant moment. His presence alone seemed capable of reaping lives now.


    At that moment, an unprecedented wave of danger hit Ryu, but he seemed to react as though he already knew that it was coming.


    His blood roared through his body, and he accelerated in a swift retreat.


    His teleportation pathways branched not just hundreds of ways this time, but millions in a single instant.


    He had held back before on purpose, not just to bait Silver Shield, but also because he knew that a certain shameless Sovereign would be watching.


    And now it seemed Commander Tiger could no longer wait.


    Taking a chance, Commander Tiger shredded a path away from his battle with the Fey Sovereign, rushing toward Ryu and striking out with a heavy palm that blotted out the skies.

 Chapter 1806 Never Forget

    Chapter 1806 Never Forget


    ??1806 Never Forget


    Ryu''s fist didn''t rocket through the air again. He felt all the hairs on his body standing at attention, his senses roaring with life.


    The first feeling he had was fury, but it didn''t slow his actions in the slightest. In fact, he only seemed to become sharper.


    There wasn''t the slightest hint of fear in his heart, and deep inside, he felt like a man facing off against the world.


    What did he have to fear?


    At that moment, his heart thrummed like thunder and his organs shimmered with a bright light. A drop of Embryonic Qi shuttled through him and his fighting intent soared to the skies.


    The red aura around him formed a pillar, piercing into the skies and causing the enemies around him to fall one after another, their hearts erupting into a rain of blood.


    At that moment, Ryu faced off against a Dao Sovereign, looking like a moth flying into a flame. And yet, his gaze only grew sharper and colder with every passing moment.


    "It seemed that losing so many Dao Lords wasn''t enough for you all. In that case, lose a Sovereign as well."


    His senses were filled with the thoughts of flames.


    One after another, they erupted across his body, each one of shocking origin.


    The Dark Flame, exuding an aura of death and darkness. It seemed to blanket the world with its bleakness, suffocating it all with its presence.


    The Ice Flame. It was mysterious and bitingly cold. It was hard to grasp, carrying the characteristics of a flame and yet not seeming like a flame at all.


    The Rebirth Flame. Shimmering with echoes of red and gold, it danced with a majestic like that exuded the faintest hints of the Emperor Phoenix''s nobility.


    The Origin Flame. The King of all flames, undisputed and unmatched, and yet the most docile of them all.


    However, Ryu wasn''t just pulling on a normal Origin Flame, he was pulling on an Origin Flame rooted in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    Ryu''s hoarse voice carried a biting cold.


    Despite the time it seemed to take, everything happened in an instant. The distance between Ryu and Commander Tiger was over a hundred kilometers. But to a Dao Sovereign, that was a distance they could cross before Ryu could even react.


    However, that was when Ryu''s proactivity proved to be sufficient. He had spent every interaction with Commander Tiger pretending as though he couldn''t sense his gaze or intentions.


    And this time, he acted before Commander Tiger even took action.


    The Tiger Battalion Commander felt a cold chill as he felt as though he had lost something, but he was entirely unharmed.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood below, but only he could see the scene reflected in his eyes right now.


    One of the bundles of strings that made up the Commander Sovereign''s body had been cut by him as though he had forcefully restrained Fate and twisted it to his will.


    It was then Commander Tiger suddenly faltered in the skies. He lost control of his qi in one instant, but then, even worse, the fire element, which had always heeded his call, blinked out of existence.


    He lost an arm and a leg, even becoming entirely bald and blind.


    At that moment, the Fey Commander was desperately attacking from behind, trying to stop the situation. But he knew inwardly that it should be over. It was definitely over. A single brief instance, a single lapse, was enough for a Dao Sovereign to cross thousands of kilometers, let alone a mere hundred.


    But that was when a sight no one would ever forget happened.


    The desperate attack of the Fey Commander, one that Commander Tiger should have been able to shrug off even without turning back...


    Lopped his head off.


    The Fey Commander''s eyes widened, but Commander Tiger was even more shocked.


    As his head fell from the skies, and the Heavens seemed to release a mournful cry, he didn''t understand what had happened to him even until the last moment.


    It was just that before his gaze faded... he sensed Ryu''s cold gaze.

 Chapter 1807 Mourn

    Chapter 1807 Mourn


    1807 Mourn


    Ryu stood shakily, blood leaking from every orifice. At some point, the blood coming from his eyes had become a deep black, but soon, he forcefully stabilized his position, standing tall and straight.


    The breath coming from him roared like cyclones, his momentum piercing into the skies.


    He had had this thought for a very long time. It was just that he had never acted on it.


    [Lines of Fate] didn''t create things from thin air. Rather, it showed him an amalgamation of all the Fate in the world in the form of lines, predictions, and percentages.


    Those lines of Fate could just as easily be called Karmic Strings, because that was what they were.


    So...


    What if he cut them?


    Levying such a strike was almost impossible. It would require a technique that was impossibly profound.


    To be clear, like Ryu had said, he wasn''t creating anything when he used Lines of Fate. That meant that they were fused into the laws of the world, or even more simply, they were perpetually there.


    When things were put into this perspective, it all made sense.


    How many powerful cultivators fought every day? How many Lords? Sovereigns? Even Gods and those that stood near the pinnacle of all?


    If those lines were so easy to harm, and it was clear that they were always around, then why didn''t these battles shatter and destroy everything? How was it that they managed to remain intact?


    And on the flip side, what would it take to influence them?


    Ryu answered his own question.


    [Rob the World of its Color] had seemed like one of his blander techniques. It just stole the qi in an area and locked it away, stopping others from using it. There were plenty of techniques that could mimic this.


    But that was a layman''s description of the method.


    These weren''t normal injuries.


    This was a Karmic backlash.


    It was essentially what had happened when his Dao Heart shattered back then, but in a countless micro cracks form instead. The Heavens themselves were infuriated with his actions and had lashed out. So, Embryonic Qi was struggling to heal it.


    Ryu had no choice but to flood even more Embryonic Qi into himself, willing to run his river dry if he had to.


    But this time, he had truly thought too much.


    Because not a single soul seemed willing to get near him. They looked at him as though they were staring at a Demon, their hearts trembling so fiercely that some fell on their asses, collapsing.


    At that moment, Ryu had cracks of karma fluctuating around him wildly, fissuring reality and eating away at the world.


    Even if their cultivation wasn''t high enough to sense what had just happened, everyone here would be too foolish to think that it had nothing to do with Ryu.


    And the Fey Commander, who had been a third party to it all, was even more shaken than them all.


    That was because he was certain of one thing.


    Although it was his strike that kill Commander Tiger, and it was likely that even if that very same frail Commander Tiger was placed in front of Ryu, all of his strength wouldn''t have been enough to even break his skin, let alone kill him...


    This kill was 90% Ryu and at most 10% him.


    It had been centuries since the last time a Dao Sovereign had fallen in their war.


    But today, one had.


    The skies continued to mourn, a rain of blood falling in the form of motes of crimson light.


    The clouds opened up.


    When a Sovereign died, even the Heavens mourned.

 Chapter 1808 Tremble

    Chapter 1808 Tremble


    ??1808 Tremble


    It looked as though the skies were crying tears of blood. The entire region for thousands of miles changed color, and many fell to their knees, unable to withstand the pressure.


    But Ryu looked right into the skies as the rain of blood fell onto his face. It pooled on his body, fusing with his own blood and running down his body in heavy droplets.


    He could feel it, the intangible Fate that was always to illusory and vague. Now, it felt not quite like just any other energy to him, but still far more accessible than it ever had been in the past.


    He could feel the gazes on him. Those gazes of shock, awe... fear.


    He could hear their heartbeats, their erratic beating and their quaking cadencies.


    He could sense the clenching of their fists, their apprehension.


    It felt like the world was roaring out to him, and his [Ephemeral Tapestry] seemed to have broken through a new level, one that he couldn''t touch no matter how hard he tried right now...


    His eyes were far too spent.


    It was likely that for the next few days, he wouldn''t be able to use them at all. And the only reason he could use a metric of days rather than years, or decades as a measurement, was only because he had Embryonic Qi.


    Even then, he knew it would take time.


    What he had done just now had gained a great deal of respect and fear, but it wasn''t something that had come without a price.


    Even if it had been a normal mortal, he attempted to do such a thing with, he would have suffered greatly.


    The only reason he managed to do this now was because he had natural treasures the likes of which rarely appearing in his body. Only because he had the King of all Flames in his body, not just once, but twice over, did he dare to do this?


    That was the reality.


    Without his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, and without being able to target the elements in specific, he would have never succeeded... At least not until he truly grasped the power of a Dao God.


    His [Heavenly Dao Tree] Visualization appeared once again.


    Ryu continued to stand there, but the tree lashed out for him.


    Everything that came close was ripped to shreds, sometimes being torn into several organized pieces as though Ryu was sculpting or butchering rather than fighting a battle.


    The Perfect Blackbody Soul was an interesting thing.


    These last few months, Ryu couldn''t help but think of the "Perfect" in its name.


    It elicited the same meanings and hidden understandings that the Perfect in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    He had been wondering for a long time why that was. But after learning about his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, he just assumed that it was related to its ability to break limits and reach true perfection.


    It and his Spiritual Foundation were like two sides of the same coin. Both were aspect of his Incorporeal Souls, and they happened to share a similar nature.


    But just now, Ryu had had a true breakthrough, the kind that one could only have once in a lifetime... if you weren''t a true monster, that is.


    Guiding his martial arts with his heart... with how close his Dao Heart and his Perfect Blackbody Soul were to one another, why couldn''t they guide one another as well?


    In that, the aspect of his body that his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation should have the most ability to exert control over should be his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    In that case...


    Ryu told it to push him Beyond Perfect.


    In an instant, he had broken through and his black soul shimmered with a resplendent light that seemed to swallow all things.


    Ryu was slowly beginning to find more and more connections between his talents.


    And the day he truly fused them all...


    Existence would tremble.

 Chapter 1809 Tiger

    Chapter 1809 Tiger


    ??1809 Tiger


    The battle came to an end. There was no suspense.


    Even with such a small amount of Focus Qi left, Ryu was a true monster.


    How could the rabble know that what Leonel was best at was maximizing his Focus Qi?


    His Internal Matrix was like a program in his own mind, streamlining his thought processes and making his execution of his thoughts far more efficient.


    These ants weren''t worthy of making him use more than the Focus Qi he had. In fact, as he battled, he became more valiant because his Focus Qi was actually slowly replenishing.


    As his mind became sharper, so too did his body as his Embryonic Qi continued to work.


    Also, it wasn''t as though the Fey Sovereign was useless.


    Because of treaties, he couldn''t take personal action. It was clear that the Fiends had been willing to break these rules because of Ryu''s existence.


    However, that was the privilege of the strong, while the weak could only bow their heads.


    That said, while the Fey Sovereign might have been spineless in this regard, he wasn''t silent.


    He stood in the skies, exerting pressure on the Dao Lords. They could only despair as they were killed one after another, even swifter.


    In the end, they were forced to retreat in abject failure.


    The Fey Sovereign thought about giving chase. Right now, there was a huge hole in the Fiend army. Not only had they lost a Sovereign to protect this part of the battlefield, but their vanguard and Battalion had been wiped out.


    However, in the end, after looking toward Ryu, he decided against it.


    In his heart, the Fey Sovereign made a decision.


    ...


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    He didn''t feel much of a sense of accomplishment in killing a Dao Sovereign.


    Commander Tiger seemed like someone with an inferior background, but this was exactly the opposite. He was actually just an extremely stubborn member of a high level Clan.


    This Clan wasn''t among the supremes of their Race, but it was just a level below.


    All things considered, Commander Tiger''s skill and talent were inferior to his peers, but he had good parents.


    The reason he had been punished was because he was in line for the Patriarch position of their Clan, but he was far too weak. In the end, his position had been handed to another.


    Back then, he had been very immature and couldn''t hold his words in or rein in his actions. As such, he lashed out, calling the Elder Council fools, cursing their current Patriarch, and refusing to appear at the acknowledgement ceremony.


    In the end, he had been sent to the front lines to repent.


    The reality was that so long as he returned to the Clan, apologized, and acknowledged the Patriarch, he would be reinstated and continue to live the life of a nobleman.


    But he had been unwilling to do so.


    In the end, Cloudfire was put in charge of him, and he had been steadily applying pressure over the years.


    To the surprise of the family, Commander Tiger continued to improve afterward, and he was showing faint signs of awakening their Clan''s Bloodline.


    This Bloodline was exceptionally odd, and it was said that the later on in cultivation it awakened, the stronger it was.


    The trouble was that no one had ever heard of it awakening after the Omniscient Sky God Realm. But the fact that Commander Tiger was continuing to unearth his potential day after day made many old fogies begin to take an interest in him again.


    But now he was dead, and because of orders from Cloudfire, no less.


    Cloudfire wasn''t afraid. Quite frankly, he feared no one.


    He just felt that the trouble would be particularly infuriating.


    And if this news was true... the morale of the humans would be particularly difficult to handle.


    **


    Ryu was suddenly called to the Fey Sovereign once again.


    "You want me to leave?" Ryu asked with a raised brow.

 Chapter 1810 Reversal

    Chapter 1810 Reversal


    ??1810 Reversal


    Ryu was a bit surprised when he heard the Fey Sovereign''s words. He knew that he couldn''t spend forever on this battlefield, and that the situation would only grow more and more dangerous the longer he stayed, and maybe even a Dao God would move out against him at some point if he caused too much devastation. But he still didn''t expect for the orders to come down so soon.


    Well, a Dao God making a move was probably unrealistic because of the escalation. But what would he do if they sent out two Dao Sovereigns?


    Honestly, they just needed to send out a single Dao Lord that wasn''t completely incompetent and he would be finished. He didn''t take anything that happened today for granted, despite the fact he hadn''t taken any pride in it.


    "To go where?" Ryu finally asked.


    He had a few ideas about what the Fey Sovereign might say, and to his expectations, he got the expected answer.


    "Up."


    The Fey Sovereign pointed a finger upward.


    He didn''t explain more because anyone who was born in this world would know what he meant.


    This world was quite special in that it wasn''t like the True Martial World, having nine Planes with varying tiers of strength. Instead, it was just one large plane with the Chaos and Real Planes divided by the rainbow screen.


    However, what was interesting was that while there was just one plane, there were still multiple small worlds within these worlds.


    It had been a long while since Ryu entered a Small World, but what was even more interesting about these ones was that they weren''t created by the hands of experts or powers like Clans or Sects, but were rather natural phenomena.


    And, by the time they did have powerful heritages, built on the backs of generations of work, the world was no longer in its strongest state. And as such, they were slightly weaker overall.


    This world, though, had constant pockets of Primordial Grade Holy Worlds popping up.


    These worlds were exceptionally small, and they had strict rules, but they existed nonetheless.


    On top of this, the most important part was that when a battle was "won" in these worlds, it could shift the balance.


    Because these Holy World were in a Primordial State, the Faith that one gathered on it could trick the world into thinking the battle for supremacy of Race was still ongoing. As such, it could change the situation and the laws in the real world.


    As such, one could imagine just how important these Holy Worlds were, and it also explained why Ryu didn''t expect to get such a privilege so early on, either.


    Entering these places wasn''t a joke, and it could be said that the fate of the entire world was riding on it. Normal people couldn''t enter, and this was why there were no true geniuses, or even half geniuses, on this battlefield.


    They were all battling it out in the Holy Worlds, hoping to change the situation down here.


    Of course, the changes that they could make were limited the lower their cultivation was. After all, the most amount of Fate could only be moved by the truly powerful.


    However, even enough ants could take down an elephant should the situation warrant it. As such, even Fragmented Sky Gods had their place in the struggle, let alone True Sky Gods like Ryu.


    Ryu, of course, had different thoughts than everyone else about these matters. When he heard of the existence of these worlds, he was fascinated.


    Was it really that they allowed Chaos to Reign after a reversal? Or was it Chaos that allowed them to exist?

 Chapter 1811 Brat

    Chapter 1811 Brat


    ??1811 Brat


    According to the memories the Dream Wraith passed onto him, in the past, the Real Plane had been superior in this world, but the Fiends reversed the situation by dominating the Holy Worlds. Eventually, the script flipped.


    But Ryu had a far deeper understanding of Chaos than most people. And no matter how he looked at it, the only thing that could revert a world back to a Primordial State was Chaos.


    According to the Laws of Physics, there was nothing that said spilled water couldn''t reverse its situation and return to its cup. It was also mathematically possible for a person to suddenly teleport across the universe.


    But these things never happened. Not in a State of Order.


    Ryu looked at these Holy Worlds in the same fashion.


    A World reverting to its infancy state and regaining strength and power made absolutely no sense...


    Unless Chaos was involved.


    If he was right, then the Real Plane was almost certainly fighting a losing battle. From the very beginning, the Fiends should have had an advantage.


    The question was... why was this narrative being spread? Or how exactly was the wool being pulled over the eyes of these existences?


    Ryu could hand wave it away because he understood Chaos intimately, but what incentive did the Fiends Gods, who also should have such a deep level of comprehension, have for not disseminating this matter?


    Of course, all of this was just speculation. Ryu didn''t know enough about this world to say anything for certain, and he was just shooting in the dark.


    But the theory intrigued him enough that he wanted to see if he could find anything of interest once he went.


    "Which battlefield?" Ryu eventually asked.


    "You have merits in the death of a Dao Sovereign. You should be able to enter a high grade battlefield, but..."


    Ryu didn''t say anything, just clasping his hands behind his back.


    The Fey Sovereign still thought that he was some poor kid who had had his family destroyed.


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    He wouldn''t have asked this question had he not already seen through the Fey Sovereign''s kind intention for him.


    Knowing it was a Dao God wouldn''t really change his opinion much at all, he still wanted to know who it was.


    But since the Fiend Sovereign had mentioned the matter of speaking names being taboo, Ryu chose to let it slide for now.


    Of course, he had enough control over Karmic Strings and his own Fate to speak whatever name he wanted without fear of consequences.


    But that clearly wasn''t the same for everyone.


    And his eyes hadn''t recovered yet enough to allow him to help the Fey Sovereign.


    But that much was still fine. He would slowly find out about all of these things.


    Even Dao Sovereigns had to die before him when they threatened his life.


    Soon enough, he''d be able to scheme Dao Gods to their deaths as well.


    In the end, Ryu was sent to a True Grade Holy World. Such worlds could only hold up to True Sky Gods.


    When he learned about this, he couldn''t help but laugh.


    Was this supposed to be a punishment of some sort? He would be able to clear this world on his own in a matter of weeks.


    However, the Fey Sovereign seemed to still be worried, and that was despite him having seen Ryu''s abilities.


    Obviously, there was more to this matter than Ryu knew, but when he got there, he was shocked to find out the reason.


    He stood in the lobby of a building, an old man with a row of crooked yellow teeth looking at him while holding out a mop.


    "Get to it, brat."


    Ryu looked the mop up and down as though it was the first time he had seen such a thing.

 Chapter 1812 Dissatisfaction

    Chapter 1812 Dissatisfaction


    ??1812 Dissatisfaction


    Ryu continued to look at the mop, feeling somewhat incredulous. Even when his enemies tried to humiliate him, none had ever stooped so low.


    Finally, he looked up from the mop to see that the old man was looking at him with earnestness. Though his words were a bit crude, it didn''t seem like he had done it out of maliciousness, but rather that he felt that he was talking to an equal.


    Ryu reached forward, and when the man thought he was going to take the mop, he patted him on the shoulder instead.


    "Enjoy yourself, old man."


    Then, without another word, Ryu walked into the building, having no intention of helping at all.


    His Temperament might have been refined again and again, but there were still certain things that Ryu would never do.


    However, maybe this time, the reason for them had changed.


    The real reason he had no intention of picking up the mop this time was because he knew that it would be a waste of his time. He had no intention of wasting away here doing menial labor. It was hilarious that they thought that they could suppress him like this.


    He could read their thoughts even without having ever seen their faces. They thought that even if the ceiling here was only True Sky God, Ryu would never dare to do anything that could be reported to the outside world.


    All of the matters of these Holy Worlds were decided by the Dao Gods, so as long as one ordered Ryu to exit, wouldn''t he have to listen?


    Of course, Ryu would try to hide away in here forever, but what genius would be willing to watch their talent waste away for years on end only because they couldn''t control their temper?


    And honestly, at least in the latter case, they were right. Ryu really would never waste away his time in here, hiding away from the fury of a Dao God.


    But where they strayed was in thinking that this would be enough to get him to change his thoughts and actions.


    By the time Ryu stepped out of this place, he was confident that even a Dao God wouldn''t dare to target him so easily.


    And they also happened to be a Race that Ryu had simply never seen before.


    Despite the fact they all seemed to be of differing Races, they were all actually part of just a single, large branching family.


    The Luminara Clan.


    In this world, the most powerful Clans were just six.


    The Sun Clan. The Moon Clan. The Golden Lion Clan. The Dragon Whale Clan. The Three-Legged Golden Crow Clan. And, begrudgingly, the Shah Clan, the only central Human power.


    In practice, though, this was only because the humans had a Dao God, and had no choice but to be added on that list. Otherwise, it would only be just five.


    While it might seem like beasts had an upper hand, this wasn''t the case at all. After all, Ryu had already seen through the fact it was very difficult for beasts to rise in this world, so how could they?


    The truth of the matter was that the so-called Sun and Moon Clans were separated into ten branches and one main Clan.


    These branches were colloquially separate, but all eleven centers of power practically advanced and retreated as one. They might as well have been a single enormous Clan.


    In addition, every time a Dao God was born from one of the branches, they would change their name to Sun or Moon, resulting in their branches not having the ability to rise beyond their station as branches.


    And yet, these branch Clans seemed to have no issue with this at all.


    The Luminara Clan was precisely one of these branch Clans, and they were under the purview of the Moon Clan.


    Within the ten branches, they were ranked seventh, and they currently had one Dao God still serving in the Moon Clan.


    When they heard that a Human was coming to their Holy World, one that they had already cornered off for their personal use...


    How could they not be dissatisfied?

 Chapter 1813 Bold

    Chapter 1813 Bold


    ??1813 Bold


    "What do you think? He''s probably mopping up the lobby right about now, don''t you think?"


    "What a boring thing to say."


    "Haha, what would be more interesting to brother Thalyn?"


    "A bet, of course."


    "What sort?"


    "How many days will it take him to make the lobby spotless?"


    A burst of laughter came in an endless rain. They seemed to find their own jokes to be the most hilarious in the world, with a disgusting sort of vulgarity and self-complacency.


    These sorts of rich young masters were considered to be among the most worthless of the world.


    Many of them were only Fragmented Sky Gods, with a slight plurality of False Sky Gods. They would never go to the most important battlefields of the world, and honestly speaking, despite all the importance of these Holy Worlds, most of them had situations that had long since stabilized into a stalemate and could actually just be considered protected regions.


    In reality, these youths came here for no other reason than to protect their lives. They spent days on end lazing around while those less talented than them fought tooth and nail on the front lines.


    Of course, there were some exceptions. No matter how willful these powerful Clans were, they wouldn''t dare to be too casual with a Holy World. Fiind updated novels at novelhall.com


    There were definitely true geniuses here.


    It was just that they weren''t in this room, and quite frankly, that was by design.


    To those existences, even if they were dissatisfied with Ryu''s appearance as well, they would only pass the buck to these useless few. After all, what was more humiliating than being suppressed by the useless?


    He leaned over and whispered into Thalyn''s ear.


    Thalyn frowned and his brows became gloomy. He was already feeling dissatisfied with the appearance of the servant, but he couldn''t do anything. He was a Lower True Sky God, but this servant was already a Peak True Sky God.


    Even the servants in this place had to be powerful, or else what was the point?


    However, the information he received made him even more gloomy.


    "He''s not mopping like he was told?" Thalyn slowly stood, a murderous glint flickering in his eyes. "Does he not know that these orders came down from Sister Vespera and Brother Vespa? He''s quite bold."


    These two could be considered the real backbone of the Holy World, a pair of twins with exceptional power. It was said they shared a special Bone Structure that likewise allowed them to exude a unique and magnificent aura.


    Before stepping into this Holy World, they already had battle records that shocked the world. Together, they had managed to kill several Perfect Sky Gods, and it was said that they had even once injured a Transcended into fleeing by working together.


    Of course, the Transcended was only on the same level as the useless trash that Ryu had killed on the front lines. But it was a feat that had shocked the world, nonetheless.


    Because this world only had a single plane, the varying levels of talent could have drastic gaps between them. This was why crossing levels to do battle was far more common in this world.


    And yet... wasn''t that the difference?


    Working together, they had made a Transcended flee.


    But on his own, how many had Ryu slaughtered?


    He had long since lost count.


    It seemed that the news of him helping to kill a Sovereign had shrouded the news of his other feats.


    "Where is he now?" Thalyn growled. "I want to see how bold this man really is."

 Chapter 1814 Useless Trash

    Chapter 1814 Useless Trash


    ??1814 Useless Trash


    What Thalyn couldn''t have imagined was that after a casual glance around, Ryu would no longer be at their headquarters.


    At that moment, Ryu sat on the edge of a city wall, looking out into the distance.


    ''They really thought through everything, huh?''


    The world around him was shrouded in snow, but not quite snow. As it fell from the skies, it looked more like ash was raining down, as if a volcano had erupted in the distance and shrouded the clouds.


    But the biting cold was clear all on its own. This was most definitely not as simple as ash, but it likely wasn''t as simple as snow, either.


    The reason Ryu felt that they had "thought" of everything was because, according to his understanding, all Holy Worlds had their own unique quirks. In addition, it had to be remembered that they were Holy Worlds, and part Holy Battlefield. That meant there were insights to be gained in the world based on its attributes.


    With the skills Ryu had shown off, he should have certainly been sent to a world of fire or lightning, even if he was sent to such a weak one.


    But not only did they send him to such a pitifully weak world, but they sent him to one that clashed with his strengths and attributes. Or, at the very least, the strengths and attributes that he had shown.


    Ryu truly didn''t know what to say about this level of pettiness. Were they truly so much more interested in fighting for benefits than actually winning this war? With the head start that the Fey had, were they really so scared of the rise of others?


    If the Real Plane was on equal footing with the Chaos Plane, it would still be foolish, but it would at least be more understandable.


    But they were so ridiculous, even with their backs against the wall. It made one wonder if this was truly just incompetence, or if there was something more sinister going on.


    They were very lucky that he only had 100 years to work with. Less, even, as he had the intention to leave in time to participate in the Title Stele battle that was just over 90 years from now...


    Or else he would definitely dedicate himself to wiping them from existence.


    ''Why am I so surprised?''


    Ryu looked out into the world and chuckled. In the past, this would have enraged him beyond the point of reason. But now, he just found it...


    Pathetic.


    Hadn''t he seen these things before? What were the limitations on the True Martial World''s Daos if not a different flavor of the same thing?


    Would the True Martial World still be so weak if not for these artificial limitations?


    Well, calling the True Martial World weak was a bridge too far, but he still felt that it was too unfortunate.


    ''It''s too bad that they''re still fools.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a blue light.


    His affinity for Yin was no less than the fierce Yang of his flames and lightning.


    This world had no ability to restrict him and would only help him.


    He had heard that there was a great reward for clearing Holy Worlds. If he did it alone, the reward was substantial enough to move even himself.


    He couldn''t use his Chaotic Silk Meridians to cultivate in this world any longer, so his speed of cultivation had plummeted. In addition, because of the Qi Realm cap of this world, he couldn''t use his eyes to increase his Realm, either. As such, both Earth and Heaven Gate were useless here as well.


    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the snow wrapping around him.


    "THERE!"


    The sudden voice broke Ryu''s tranquility, and his eyes opened up with a cold light.


    A group of youths led by Thalyn marched over.


    Ryu had never hidden his tracks, so it was all too easy for them to find him. In reality, he had run into some trouble climbing up to this place as well. After all, not just anyone could casually stand on the city wall. But he had already tossed that matter away long ago.


    Soon enough, Thalyn and the others were right behind him, but Ryu couldn''t even be bothered to turn around.


    He was interested in the geniuses of this world, but these few were only slightly better than the trash on the front lines. Ryu couldn''t be bothered to take them very seriously.


    Their barks and jabs fell on deaf ears. Ryu was still trying to figure out his next step.


    Should he just bulldoze his way through?


    No. It would be difficult even for him. There would certainly be real geniuses on the other side, and suppressing them would be difficult if they came in droves since he didn''t have Earth and Heaven Gates.


    Well, the main problem wasn''t that he was afraid of being unable to suppress them. He could certainly do that.


    But if the Fiends started sending in endless reinforcements, wouldn''t he end up stuck in a forever war? It wasn''t like he could rely on these fools.


    This was one of the reasons that decisive victory was so difficult in Holy Worlds. The moment one side showed signs of weakness, they would send help. It kept most of these Holy Worlds in a perpetual state of stalemate.


    ''It seems I probably still need more information, then. Hm...''


    Suddenly, Ryu''s gaze turned frighteningly cold as a fist shot toward his back.


    Ryu didn''t even turn around as his aura almost carelessly flared up.


    BANG!


    Thalyn let out a scream, his arm shattering.


    He fell to the ground, grabbing onto his shoulder stump as he shrieked.


    Ryu was left speechless once again. Was this really a True Sky God? Screaming at this volume... probably as much as half the Holy World could hear him.


    With this sort of commotion, there would certainly be a large number alerted.


    Ryu was annoyed.


    He kicked out, his foot smashing against Thalyn''s mouth and shattering all his teeth. The shards shredded his tongue to minced meat and sent him flying off the wall.


    Since he was going to get in trouble anyway, he might as well vent.


    "Useless trash."


    Leaving these cold words behind, he fluttered down the city wall, slowly walking into the distance and toward Fiend Race territory.

 Chapter 1815 New Mountain

    Chapter 1815 New Mountain


    ??1815 New Mountain


    Ryu moved leisurely as though he wasn''t afraid of being caught up with at all. However, he had already seen through a great many things as he moved.


    The Holy World was one with a cap at the True Sky God Realm, and because of that, there was a curious suppression on much of its laws as well, making them easier to read as though a highly complex subject was being dumbed down for a child.


    The more of this Ryu saw, the more he felt that maybe being sent to this world wasn''t so bad after all. Once his eyes recovered, he would probably be able to see through it all in a glance and maybe even control some of this world and its secrets.


    Ryu had never been able to think of such a thing before because all the worlds he had ever been in were far too powerful. Even for him, he could only see through bits and pieces of their mysteries at any given time.


    But now, it was like he was taking a peek into the building blocks of a world.


    ''With this sort of foundation, I can reform the foundation of my Inner World. If before I was acting blindly and mostly relying on the treasure forged by the Martial Gods to sustain and power it... now I could truly make it my own.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and he felt that this was truly viable.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s Inner World was formed by a combination of exactly two things.


    The first was the innate ability of all those with Heavenly Pupils, and the second was a treasure he had won from the hands of Mistress Holy Wing, Elena''s grandmother.


    The foundation of the world was built on a combination of the two, but there were a great many weaknesses. The main problems, of course, came from the treasure of Mistress Holy Wing.


    The Incubator.


    Considering how low Mistress Holy Wing''s status in the Martial Gods was, any treasure that she had couldn''t possibly be all that great. And even if it had been a God Grade treasure, which it certainly was not, what Ryu wanted to do was surpass the God Grade and build a world in himself even stronger than the True Martial World or even this world.


    In that case, no matter what, he would have to reform and fix the weaknesses of that treasure.


    If not for the mutation in his eyes carrying much of the load, there was simply no way that his Inner World would be as strong as it was even now, let alone allowing it to have the chance to compete with the True Martial World in the future.


    He didn''t expect that he would get such an unexpected opportunity here of all places.


    He couldn''t help but wonder how those figures in the shadows would react to know that they were essentially just helping him out.


    Ryu''s lip curled as he crossed into Fiend territory.


    This time, there was no rainbow screen. This world was built on the template of the Real Plane. The fact that the Luminara hadn''t confirmed victory despite having such an advantage was more pathetic than anything else.


    Ryu soon found the first city.


    It was just a casually built encampment, here for no other reason than to detect enemies in advance and send information back. The Fiends camped here weren''t much different from the vanguard on the front lines.


    There were scouts spread out everywhere.


    The palm suddenly solidified in a blaze of black flames. Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns forced it into being and it smashed down.


    In an instant, the entire encampment was wiped out. The cultivators below could only look up in horror in their last moments. But in the end, the few hundred of them could do absolutely nothing.


    Ryu looked down, but he seemed unsatisfied.


    ''Does Temperament also reflect in this way as well? I am far more like fire and lightning than I am like ice or death, or darkness for that matter. I can''t seem to see through the secrets of these elements nearly as easily.''


    Ryu''s most powerful self-created technique was built on the back of lightning. Maybe that wasn''t as much of a coincidence as he thought.


    As for Spacetime... it was his Soul Nature. It came more naturally to him than anything else by virtue of that.


    Ryu didn''t like this.


    After learning how much of his Temperament was decided by the circumstances of his life, how could he be satisfied? It was like yet another thing was being stripped from his control.


    ''You are my talents. You will be under my control.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed with a cold light and he took a step forward.


    Like this, Ryu began to unleash a massacre.


    Every time, he would wipe out the entire encampment, acting before they could even react.


    But soon, he came to a region that was no longer just a mere encampment, but rather a city.


    Standing high above it, he realized that it would be tougher to wipe them all out before they could send news elsewhere.


    ''It seems... I won''t be able to continue like this anymore. But regardless, if I don''t enter a real battle, I''ll never be able to truly hone it. It seems that I can''t just sit back and expect enlightenment to come to me this time around. I''ll have to grasp it in my own hands...''


    Ryu took a step forward and then slowly pressed down a foot.


    At that moment, the formation that protected the city shattered as though fragile glass.


    In one hand, an Ice Flame, shimmering with a gorgeous blue, took shape. In the other, a Dark Flame, absorbing all light in its dense blackness, rippled wildly.


    It felt foreign and yet familiar to him. However, soon, those feelings were replaced by excitement.


    He had a lot of things he hated, but if there was something he loved the most aside from his family and wives...


    It was improving.


    Seeing this new mountain to climb, his heart roared and he unleashed a torrential rain on the city below.

 Chapter 1816 Far More

    Chapter 1816 Far More


    1816 Far More


    Ryu shifted from combat style to combat style as though he couldn''t decide what he wanted to be. He coated his body with ice first, causing his defenses to skyrocket. Nothing could seem to penetrate through his defenses, and his ferocity felt unmatched. Every time he collided with a figure, he shattered their bodies.


    But he found that as he came across stronger opponents, they would freeze first by the time he came close to them, ironically making it harder to kill them. Of course, they died just the same, but the efficiency was frustrating, and he could clearly feel the regression.


    He swapped and started using his Dark Flames instead, but he found that this was ironically worse. It wasn''t that it lacked combat power, because it certainly didn''t. It killed with far greater ease than his ice did. The issue was that it was precisely because of this that Ryu was so unsatisfied. He couldn''t seem to bring out the true strength of the Dark Flames, and at some point, he ended up abandoning them and coating his claws in Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns instead.


    Every time his claws touched another individual, they would find a violent aura of destruction envelop them. Many would be shredded apart at the slightest touch.


    But this made it all the more annoying. That was because Ryu could only seem to safely apply his Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns to his claws, but not directly to his skin like he would be able to with his Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns. The dense aura seemed to clash with his skin, and as such, he couldn''t use it with his fists at all.


    In the end, he had to deploy his scales, and only then did the versatility of his close combat style come back. Applying the Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns to his scales directly seemed to work perfectly.


    Ryu had never taken the initiative to observe the weak for tips, which was why this wasn''t at the forefront of his mind. But when he had the thought, he abandoned everything else. He focused on the city, taking in the movements of countless Fiends at the same time as though just one wasn''t nearly enough for him. He analyzed their movements, the methods they used to employ their tactics, and slowly began to form an understanding.


    His Dark Phoenix Bloodline was still out of luck because it had Darkness, Death, and Fire aspects that were far harder to harness and understand in this place. But his Ice Phoenix...


    ''I see. It''s possible to control the state of frozen a target entered. Ice, on the one hand, can be incredibly hard and difficult to penetrate, which is why it''s known as one of the best if not the best defensive elements in existence. But if the process is different, ice can also be incredibly brittle. I''ve grown used to using ice as a defense, so I haven''t considered how to use it offensively, and only barely transferred over what I learned from one to the other despite the fact that they required completely different approaches.''


    When Ryu had this thought, he pushed out. A wave of cool air spread and suddenly, over three dozen Fiends froze in place before splintering and shattering like fragile glass.


    ''Decent.''


    He still felt that this was far inferior to what he could do with his flames and lightning, but that much was fine. Because as he began to think about these matters, he grasped a hint of ingenuity that he could make use of.


    ''I will need far more control to pull that off... and...''

 Chapter 1817 Clever

    Chapter 1817 Clever


    1817 Clever


    ''... I''ll need my eyes to recover quickly.''


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu shot forward. A domain of ice formed around him that most couldn''t even approach. Those that were far too weak shuddered and froze in place before crumbling to pieces. Those that were stronger made it closer, only to be shredded to pieces by his fists.


    It was a scene that left nothing but shock and awe in their hearts. That was because most of them were Ice Fiends, with Dark Fiends being on the rarer side of things. The ratio in this particular city was about 30 to 70 in favor of Ice Fiends.


    Yet... they were the ones being frozen.


    It didn''t even make sense, and many of them died in outright despair, not having expected that they would die this way of all things.


    Ryu was quickly making progress with his control over the Ice Element, but he still felt that it wasn''t nearly enough.


    Unfortunately, he ran down to the last living Fiend in the city.


    He looked down on him, the individual that was probably the strongest existence in this small city. However, his indifference remained the same as he punched out.


    BANG!


    The Fiend''s head exploded.


    ''Not enough,'' Ryu thought and soared into the skies, looking for his next target.


    ...


    Rising Ash City.


    If Ashen Ice City was the main frontier of the Real Plane, then this was the equivalent for the Fiends. They stood on opposing ends of the Holy World, and both were just as grand and imposing.


    There was a good reason they couldn''t lose this Holy World. Much like the Luminara, they took this world as their backyard. They were part of the weaker branches of the Ice and Dark Fiend Race, only having Sovereign Qi. Unless it was a world like this one, how could they hold it?


    But calling for help would also lead to its own variables. The price would be heavy.


    It was clear that even though this seemed to be a war for survival, both sides were far more interested in gathering benefits... and maybe that was because both also knew that it would be impossible to stop this carnage any time soon, maybe not in any one of their lifetimes. The odds that the genius that would be strong enough to end all of this hadn''t been born yet, and wouldn''t be born for several generations more, were far too high.


    In that case, why would they all sacrifice themselves and be selfless in the face of something they wouldn''t have to suffer personally? Might as well line their pockets.


    "That''s enough," Dracon said lightly. His voice was gentle, but it carried an icy chill. His eyeballs were like two clear, polished balls of transparent ice, his hair looking like free-flowing frost rather than actual ice. "You''ve all missed something very important. This man is alone."


    Everyone frowned. What did that mean? Wasn''t that precisely why they were all worried? If not for this, how could they care? They were Fiends, when had they ever feared battle?


    Dracon shook his head, and at that moment, Morven seemed to understand something as well, though a step late.


    It could be said that part of the reason the two had managed to resist the twins for so long was precisely because their intelligence was so high. They grasped the crux of something that the others let fly over their heads.


    The more they thought about it, the more the two relaxed.


    "Think about it," Dracon said lightly. "Why would the Real Plane send a genius of this caliber here? Why would such a genius be acting alone? And what did the reports say again...


    "That he was human, no?"


    A realization hit them all at once.


    "It''s as clear as day. This man has likely been sent here as a method of suppression. He''s acting alone because he has no choice to, and in all likelihood, he''s already in defiance of the orders of those annoying twins.


    "This is something that we can use to our advantage.


    "I wonder how those twins would react to this? Or more importantly than that, how would their overseeing Dao Gods react to this information? I''m sure whoever sent him here to be suppressed would have quite a few words to say..."


    A sinister glint flashed in their eyes.

 Chapter 1818 Politics

    Chapter 1818 Politics


    ??1818 Politics


    Vespera and Vespa. The two were a pair of Moon Fey, carrying a head of white-silver and delicate blue eyes.


    Vespera, the woman between them, had a delicate and almost graceful beauty that inched closer toward cute and adorable than it did gorgeous and sexy. She had an innocence about her that belied the cool air she gave off. Her cheeks were slightly puffy and rosy, and she wasn''t very tall at all, standing at maybe 5''5" or so. Her figure was slender and petite, and her hands were small and well-manicured. No matter how you looked at her, it felt much more like one was looking at a young and spry teenage girl still years from maturity rather than a grown woman.


    Vespa, the brother between them, looked far older and more stern than his twin sister, despite the fact he was technically the younger of the two by several minutes. His hair was just as long, and his features were chiseled and forceful. Every movement embodied the frostiness of his aura, and it felt as though he wouldn''t be satisfied until he turned the whole world into a tundra.


    At that moment, both siblings were meditating in silence as they tended to do, their backs facing one another.


    This wasn''t just because they were very close with one another¡ªthough, this was certainly true. It was also because their cultivation and comprehension were more than doubled when in the presence of one another. As such, their closeness was only an added benefit to the two of them.


    Ryu had met a pair of siblings with similar Bone Structures in the past. The trouble was that Granny Miriam had to die in order for her sister to finally access the strength of their combined Bone Structure...


    At least he had thought so.


    But it seemed that these pair of twins had the same Bone Structure... or at least an evolved and mutated version of it.


    In reality, it truly was the exact same Bone Structure, the Causality Bone Structure. The difference was that, unlike Granny Miriam and her sister, these two were true twins, while Granny Miriam had been born years separated from her sister.


    It could be said that much like how Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians needed special circumstances to awaken their true strength, it was the same for these causally bound Bone Structures.


    As such, it was rare for these pair of twins to do anything without the other. Although individually, they weren''t known to be among the true geniuses, when they were together, they felt that they had a right to at least fight for a spot.


    Vespera sighed a breath of relief, maybe being a bit too gullible. But she also had the right. After all, they had a firm hold on this world and had been moving according to the unspoken commands of their Clan. They had always gone above and beyond, so what could they have possibly done that would warrant them getting into trouble?


    "Ancestor said that we need to go and deal with the Ryu character."


    "Ryu?" Vespera blinked, not recalling immediately. It was clear that these two had completely disregarded this matter, tossing the issue down to the weaklings to deal with. They hadn''t believed that Ryu would dare to stir up much nonsense.


    What they didn''t expect was to receive such a report.


    Vespa slowly explained everything that was going on.


    "Oh..." Vespera said after a while, her large blue eyes blinking. "Then we should just go kill him, right?"


    Vespa sighed. He wasn''t really sure if it would be that easy. It was clear that they had underestimated this man. If the truth about the carnage he had unleashed alone was real, then it was unlikely that they''d be able to casually do anything, and their Ancestor certainly knew this.


    In fact, if Vespa was correct, then even before sending Ryu in here, these Dao Gods had known he had this kind of power. They just didn''t expect that he would be so rebellious even in the face of their orders.


    The problem was that Ryu technically wasn''t breaking any of their rules. They expected him to read between the lines and understand their intentions to force him to lower his head.


    Ironically, it was precisely because no one had commanded Ryu so clearly that he actually had plausible deniability in this matter.


    If Ryu actually went as far as to succeed in clearing his Holy World alone, and then he complained about the suppression of the Luminara Clan, in the end, it might actually be them who got in trouble.


    This was politics.

 Chapter 1819 Meditation

    Chapter 1819 Meditation


    ??1819 Meditation


    That said, for Ryu to dare to do something like this could only mean that he was supremely confident in himself. Vespa didn''t believe that Ryu was stupid enough to not understand their hidden meaning. That could only mean that he was certain that he would come out successful in the end.


    At the same time, now that the Luminara Clan was caught as the potential scapegoat of this mess, they would have to deal with it themselves.


    In addition... just because Ryu hadn''t broken any commands given to him by a Dao God... that didn''t mean that he hadn''t broken any rules at all.


    After all, the Holy Battlefields were essentially military encampments, ruled by military law. The fall of one could change the entire situation, so it had its own rules. Something like going out and attacking on your own, while not exactly written in the rule books as something that was against the law, still touched on several taboos.


    There were countless trumped up charges that they could hit Ryu with for this alone...


    So long as they stopped him first.


    If they couldn''t do that, then all of this talk was worthless.


    Of course, there was another reason why Vespa was so wary of all of this.


    If the twins failed, would things end like this? Certainly not. The Moon Fey would likely send in someone else from a higher-ranked Clan, someone who wielded even more power.


    If one of those Clans took action, the matter would certainly be handled. But the problem then was obvious...


    Would this world still be their Luminara Clan''s at that point?


    This was the main issue they had to grapple with now, and if they couldn''t do it, they would lose everything.


    Their Ancestor hadn''t written it out in so many words, but how could Vespa not realize?


    As though that wasn''t bad enough, there was a secondary matter that would be easy to forget in all the shuffle...


    Who leaked this news?


    It certainly wasn''t anyone from their side because all messages to the outside could only go through the two of them. Plus, they weren''t even aware of Ryu''s exploits until just this very moment, so how could they react to it, let alone send information out.


    Eventually, he would hit a brick wall and have to change tactics, likely going back to just pure close combat. But he didn''t really want to do that, he was chasing after something greater.


    Ryu took a shaky breath and expelled his fatigue.


    Looking down at the ruined city beneath him, he shook his head, turned and left. If he kept pushing it, he would end up harming himself.


    Soon, his eyes would be healed, and it was probably about time that he try and consolidate his gains this time around.


    Then, he would try again.


    Ryu found a random mountain near the border of both territories and carved out a path inside for him.


    Then, taking a deep breath, he began to meditate.


    He somewhat understood why using these elements was so difficult for him. It wasn''t just that his Temperament wasn''t quite in line with them, but also because they were tied down with other, far more complex and intricate matters.


    His Ice Flame was inextricably linked to Life.


    His Dark Flame was inextricably linked to Death.


    No matter what he did, they would always be there, obscuring his vision.


    So what path was there to take?


    The obvious path seemed to be to use his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline to rule over them all...


    But this was a world of Yin and it wouldn''t do well here.


    So what should he do?


    As Ryu was sitting in meditation, a storm was quickly brewing around him.


    Little did everyone know that an insignificant Holy World would eventually kick off a series of cascading events that would change the landscape of the Plane entirely.

 Chapter 1820 Flaws

    Chapter 1820 Flaws


    ??1820 Flaws


    Life and Death.


    Now that Ryu thought about it, he rarely tried to comprehend things that were too complex. It could be said that his Dao and Spacetime were his two most complicated paths, but one existed as a focused attempt to make comprehending other things much easier, and the latter came to him naturally courtesy of the mysterious Zu Ancestor Visualization.


    When Ryu took a step back and realized this, he found it all to be a bit amusing. He had all this talent in comprehension, yet he usually spent it on the easiest concepts to understand.


    All things considered, Fire and Lightning were just elements, and they were among the easiest paths to comprehend. His Weapon God Auras were also relatively straightforward. The paths were already carved out by others, and there were also so many to observe, so how could it not be easier? In fact, the only times he had tried to deviate from those paths, he had ended up having to abandon it not just once, but twice over.


    The first time he abandoned it was when he chose to give up dual wielding spears, glaives, and halberds in exchange for a pair of great swordstaffs instead.


    Then the second time he chose to abandon them was when he gave up weapons entirely for a path of close combat.


    It was rare for Ryu''s self-reflection to be so self-deprecating. But after seeing how pathetic he was in his other lives, it was difficult to continue taking himself very seriously.


    Once again, even until now, Ryu had still yet to completely shrug off those thoughts of doubt. Even now, he was still trying to refine his Temperament and leap over that hurdle.


    That said, all of this wasn''t entirely Ryu''s fault. He did have exceptional comprehension, and everything came to him naturally... or more accurately, he had no choice but to take the paths that came the quickest to him because he had spent far too little time cultivating.


    The first thousand years of his life were a testament to what he could do when he really had time to focus on something and find drive.


    What if he accidentally comprehended an inferior path and just casually took it because he was too arrogant to double-check? By the time his Dao soared past a level where it could still be molded and changed, would he still have the time to regret?


    By then, it would already be far too late.


    Ryu exhaled a slow breath and soon his heart was as calm as a lake.


    He realized now that it wasn''t just that he liked climbing tall mountains, but he liked doing it quickly.


    Reflecting on his past lives, when he felt like he couldn''t progress, he often gave up. It was easy to say that you should just work hard when you had momentum. But if you were grinding your wheels in the mud, what truly separated great people from those that were inferior was just how much lack of progress you could take.


    Could he stare at an immovable wall and still press on?


    Or would he give up the moment he realized that there was truly no pressing beyond that Realm?


    ''Have I ever truly pulled out all of the potential of my cultivation Realms? Or was I far too obsessed with taking the next step, and the next step?''


    Ryu exhaled another breath.


    He entered a state of meditation and his mind became still.


    He had never been perfect. He had always had flaws.


    It was about time he started fixing them.

 Chapter 1821 Cold

    Chapter 1821 Cold


    ??1821 Cold


    Ryu had an idea on how to proceed from here, but it would take some doing.


    Time, space, Fate, and his Cosmos Fog should be enough to succeed... so long as he had the foundation of [Fate Reversal] to rely upon as well.


    Using the Origin Flame, he was able to retrace the steps of his cultivation, and it was precisely because of this that he could see through all the flaws so clearly.


    His Rebirth had given him a chance to mend it, but the trouble was that too much of its Essence had been taken by his eyes. Though, he couldn''t complain. If not for the mutation in his Rebirth talent, he might very well still be blind to this day.


    ''It''s possible... However...''


    Ryu chose to abandon the idea for now. Trying to leap on a new wave was precisely his problem in the first place. The moment he had a new idea, he wanted to fiendishly pursue it. But though it was enticing, what was the difference between doing this now and not changing at all?


    His idea was quite simple. He felt that using the foundation of his Inner World, the Origin Flame, Time and [Fate Reversal], he could force his cultivation to return to a state in the past and recultivate it.


    Just the idea alone was maddening because it didn''t seem to have any limits as far as Ryu was aware. There was nothing stopping him from doing it again every time he took a step forward in cultivation or had a breakthrough in comprehension.


    Eventually, he would reach a day where his foundation was so perfect that no one would be his match across Time and Space.


    Of course, the problem was that this idea was only a theory, and theory and application were two very separate things.


    In addition, Ryu felt that he would be running once again.


    So, he decisively left these thoughts behind for now, knowing that he could pursue them in the future once his Temperament was far more refined.


    Right now, he would force himself to do precisely what he didn''t want to do... meditate on these elements that were causing him so much trouble. At the same time... he knew somewhere deep inside, he also knew that he didn''t have nearly enough skill to pull off something like that just yet. At least not without years of meditation and contemplation.


    Ryu lost himself in thought, trying to eek out the mysteries within him. It could be said that this was the first time he had ever put so much effort into comprehending anything.


    The moment he realized that he had been far too complacent, he also came to understand that as hard as he thought he had worked...


    Alone, they were nothing special and Ryu felt that he could crush them with ease.


    But together... an odd resonance was formed between them and their strength shone forth. They were most definitely on the level of true geniuses when paired like this.


    Even so, from start to end, Ryu''s expression remained the picture of indifference. There probably should have been a smoldering fury within him, anyone would be after having been interrupted like he was. But he didn''t feel it.


    He seemed to have mellowed out considerably... or so it seemed.


    His eyes were slowly regaining their focus. For every shade brighter they became, it was as though a slumbering beast was slowly awakening once again.


    By the time they opened fully once more, the clouded skies above their head suddenly rumbled.


    The expressions of Vespa and Vespera became unprecedentedly serious. They looked toward Ryu as though they were looking at their world''s greatest enemy.


    But then the atmosphere changed once again.


    Ryu flipped his palms and a pair of great swordstaffs appeared within them.


    They were a familiar pair, having a cut out where their spines should have been, and having a blade edge that shone with a resplendent silver.


    In his hands, they both somehow seemed to be familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.


    Ryu seemed to forget there was an army before him, looking down at the great swordstaffs.


    He casually flicked a wrist, sweeping out one to the side.


    A mountain in the not-too-far-off distance was sliced in two. But before it could crumble, it froze, the fissure healing in a connection of ice as though it had never been cut at all.


    Then, it fractured and fell apart like shattered glass.


    An eerie coldness exuded from Ryu''s body.

 Chapter 1822 Spirit

    Chapter 1822 Spirit


    1822 Spirit


    Ryu seemed to be paying more attention to the weapons in his hands than the army before him. Staring at them, a thought kept swirling around in his mind. Was it better to use a weapon? Or not?


    He took a step forward, and his wrist flickered. A whirlwind of Heavenly Phoenix Patterns and fluttering ashen snow fell around him. He didn''t speak a word, he didn''t ask who they were, nor did he wait for their explanation. He simply slashed.


    It was a simple strike, and yet it seemed to carry a myriad of changes. As though they were staring into the abyss of reflective black ice, it pulled them in and trapped their souls.


    Vespera and Vespa''s expressions hardened. They tossed away their other thoughts, and their auras flared. Together, they rose into the skies above the army, and the silvery blue moon behind them shimmered as a gorgeous backdrop.


    Suddenly, the skies were filled with reflective swords and sharpened spears. Each one looked like delicately carved ice sculptures that exuded the air of crystalline majesty. Then they rocketed down from the skies above.


    Ryu''s aura bloomed, a pair of eight trigram diagrams appearing above and below him. The presence of a Founding Dao suffocated the Earth and suppressed the skies. His arms suddenly moved, and the rain of weapons was parried one after another, gliding off the sides of his weapons and slamming into the ground below.


    They erupted in a rain of ice shards that splintered the world in all directions. But just as quickly, the air frosted over, and the craters formed became enormous ice ponds that blanketed the world in a chilling cool.


    Ryu was still paying closer attention to his weapons than the armies around him, so he noticed immediately that this rain of weapons was trying to coat them in ice. And yet, just a single swirl of Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns put them in their place, crushing them.


    The expression of the twins flickered, but by this point, Ryu had already come to the vanguard of the army.


    However, this time, it was Ryu''s turn to be surprised by a change. The front line raised their shields, and the moon in the skies danced with a beautiful light. The moment it did, their shields became coated in an ice wall that quickly grew into a solid front.


    The twins panicked, thinking that the formation was about to collapse, only for what looked like dozens of great sword staffs to appear one after another, cutting into the vanguard and ripping them to pieces.


    The change was shocking, and blood rained down from the skies.


    When Ryu appeared again, he was already in the midst of the army, his gaze tranquil, and his great swordstaff dancing like the fluttering snowflakes in the skies.


    There were too many ways to use ice. It could be used as an ultimate defense, or it could be used to attack others with a frigid cold. It had a rigid structure that could be used as blades, but it could also be light and flexible if one used it as a snowflake. If you took the much more abstract route, the paths you could take were even more endless.


    It was like a mirror, reflecting all things. It was also an energy container, capable of absorbing a great deal, dispersing it, or even using it for itself.


    When Ryu entered a focused state of meditation just for the sake of improving this one ability, it was no surprise that he had made great progress even if he wasn''t satisfied with it.


    In the end, he had ended up awakening the Ice Spirit Body for the first time, and equally for the first time, he was beginning to notice that not all Spirit Bodies were created equal, and just awakening them wasn''t the end of the road either.


    There was a reason it was among the most sought after talents to awaken, and at that moment, Ryu felt like he could tune himself to the world itself.


    What did it mean to have a Spirit Body?


    It sounded like just the ability to turn yourself into the elements and back again, but Ryu had never truly thought about the actual process.


    What did it mean to be a spirit?

 Chapter 1823 Soared

    Chapter 1823 Soared


    1823 Soared


    In that moment, Ryu''s Ice Spirit Body had elevated beyond his Fire and Lightning Spirit Bodies, raising to a level of being one with nature, where his body was larger than just his body alone and instead embodied the elements.


    Not only could he casually fuse into like elements, but he could clone himself nigh endlessly so long as he had the mental capacity and enough of his element to do so.


    It was then that people realized that there wasn''t just one Ryu anymore, but dozens of them. And each and every one looked perfectly identical to the other.


    When he began to unleash his truest carnage, the army couldn''t seem to fight back at all, nor did he hold back. He seemed to have completely disregarded consequences, reaping the lives of Spirituals, Fey, and Naturals as though they weren''t backed by Dao Gods.


    No one lasted more than a single strike, every one of his blade whirlwinds unleashing hellish carnage. And as he fought, rather than growing tired, he only seemed to become fiercer and fiercer.


    At some unknown point, blue flames began to dance across his body, and his clones became more lifelike, more real.


    At that moment, his Ice Spirit Body awakened to the Ice Flame... or, as it was truly known... The Life Flame.


    His Spirit Bodies could always absorb the elements to heal themselves, but it was an ability that Ryu had mostly ignored. That was because the healing factor was too inferior, and did he really need such healing anymore now that he had Embryonic Qi?


    But at this moment, he felt a different sort of healing altogether. It was like even his mind itself was being resurrected, pulling the ice element in from the surroundings and bolstering his Focus Qi.


    This matter was shocking because it was something that even Embryonic Qi couldn''t do!


    What did it mean to be a spirit...


    Ryu battled with a cool ease, his eyes almost unfocused as he reaped lives as though he was mowing grass.


    High in the skies, the twins were panicking somewhat because they couldn''t tell which one was the real Ryu. If they could, they would have long since attacked.


    They had never heard of a Human awakening a Spirit Body, that alone was already ridiculous.


    Vespera was forced back three steps as she held onto her sword with both hands, frantically blocking.


    But by that time, Ryu''s second great swordstaff had already cut downward, slashing at Vespa again.


    He fluidly moved as though he had countless minds, every one of his strokes putting the twins on their backfoot. If not for the support of the formation and their unique Bone Structure, it seemed that they would have already fallen.


    They grit their teeth and unleashed a roar. The red pouches on the end of their swords gained a golden rune, and suddenly, their swords, and then their bodies fused into one.


    They grew a head taller than Ryu, their faces covered by a white-silver mask and their power skyrocketing.


    The aura of the Dao reached the Lower Ancient Grade, their strength seemed about to spill over into the Perfect Sky God Realm, and at the same time, their blade seemed to have doubled in length, being a two-meter-long, smoothly curving, white-silver katana.


    Without a second thought, they swung out with all their might.


    Ryu crossed his great swordstaffs before himself, his silver gaze flashing as he felt their strength. His wrists trembled, and his eyes narrowed.


    He had already seen through the grades of their strength, but it seemed that there was something more to it than just that. It couldn''t just be the formation alone; he had killed too many of the people supporting it.


    The trio exchanged a flurry of blows, each clash causing sparks to fly and cracks to appear in the air as space was frozen over.


    The limit of this world was the True Sky God Realm, so even the likes of them could break much of those limits.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed, and for the first time, he showed a hint of emotion on his face.


    A wild grin spread across his lips.


    "Come die."


    BANG!


    His aura soared.

 Chapter 1824 More

    Chapter 1824 More


    1824 More


    Ryu''s aura suddenly changed. At that moment, his Weapon God Aura began to fluctuate wildly, and it looked as though he was shifting between the sword, the saber, even the rod, again and again.


    The form of his great swordstaffs became difficult to follow, and when he took a step forward, the entirety of the world seemed to both tremble and be reflected in his eyes.


    Ryu could still feel it clearly, the weakness of his great swordstaffs. They were great in battles where he had a clear upper hand, but against enemies that were just as strong and sometimes more skilled than himself, there was little to nothing that he could do.


    The battle with Starlight was the best example of this. In the end, he had no choice but to abandon his weapons and use close combat skills because his great swordstaff became a limiting factor full of flaws that could be exploited.


    He had always known the solution to this. The problem was that he didn''t have the time to invest in making it better, and he was too obsessed with fast improvement to find the time to put into it.


    However, now, his mentality had changed entirely.


    There was no need to give up on close combat because it would always be something that he could use. And because it was his body, he could more easily use it as a medium for his Weapon God Auras.


    However, if he wanted to bring out the full potential of his great swordstaffs and make his wife proud, it would take ironing out all those flaws.


    As for what the solution was... it was both simple and maybe the most difficult thing he would ever have to do.


    If he wanted his great swordstaffs to be rid of their flaws... he would have to create the Tenth Weapon God Aura.


    Ryu took another step forward, and the myriad of changes his great swordstaff was undergoing seemed to reach a peak.


    The fused humanoid the twins had become let out a mournful shriek that sounded like the layering of two voices.


    Ryu didn''t seem to notice at all, the amusement having long faded from his eyes.


    It wasn''t enough. He was still so far from forming a God Aura. His current self could pick out so many flaws.


    ''Give me more. Last longer.''


    CHI! CHI! CHI! CHI! CHI!


    Ryu''s assault was relentless, flowing like water and yet thundering like a heavy waterfall. When one blade finished its swift stroke, a second would fall, and then another.


    Ryu knew that he could just use his Cosmos Fog to break free of these constraints, but he knew that any God Aura formed under such circumstances would be bound to be weaker because, unlike his Bloodlines, there was no template for the great swordstaff just yet.


    If he wanted to make one, it had to be one that could stand on its own even without his Cosmos Fog. Only then could he bring it into his world and bring it to a whole other level.


    A leg was severed and spiraled into the air.


    Blood flew and arched with menace, while Ryu was like a butcher rising through the skies like a deity. The dichotomy was enough to make one sick to their stomachs.


    Ryu parried their sword with one strike and pierced right through their chest with another. He released the handle as though he was using their body to keep his great swordstaff upright and grabbed their neck.


    He stood there in silence, his indifference coloring the skies.

 Chapter 1825 Self or Legacy

    Chapter 1825 Self or Legacy


    1825 Self or Legacy


    Ryu''s instinct was to kill these two. He might have grown quite a bit in recent years, but it hadn''t made him any less murderous.


    The reason he didn''t was because he knew that short-term satisfaction would only ruin everything else.


    Right now, he still hadn''t managed to find Mae. Of course, that wasn''t because he couldn''t sense her, but because he had yet to find the time to do much of anything. He was being watched like a hawk from all sides, and the last thing he needed was to offend a faction with a Dao God to the point they felt justified in hunting him down.


    In addition to this, he had left Selheira behind at her insistence in the army as well. She wanted to grow on her own, and her pride as a Dragon wouldn''t allow anything less, so he had been forced to oblige. Though, he had also left Empana as a form of protection for her.


    This was to say that no matter what, whether it was for Mae or Selheira, he had to keep at least a basic level of decorum with these bastards.


    Killing the others was fine and could be explained away with enough merit, but killing the twins would definitely cause a storm that he was unwilling to deal with right now.


    Instead, he would just capture them in the name of military law, then store this debt away to be repaid at a later date.


    In his current situation, he had to toe the line of not being easy to bully, but also having a bottom line. Only that way would he be tolerated.


    He knew that he wouldn''t be able to keep that up forever. At some point, his strength would grow to the point that he couldn''t be ignored, and they would be forced to make a decision... either to get rid of him or continue to use him.


    This would likely not come for a while as Ryu had already made the decision to slow his cultivation speed, both out of necessity and because he had no real other choice. After all, he couldn''t use his Chaotic Silk Meridians to rocket through the Realms any longer.


    That said... slowing his cultivation speed was one thing, but his actual progress was another.


    He planned to refine his foundation and increase his strength to the point that it would make no difference at all.


    Ryu walked slowly and found a new place to seclude himself, his thoughts churning. In reality, though, he was only thinking of one matter...


    Clones.


    That feeling of separating into so many people was quite magical, albeit lacking completely.


    Though he had, indeed, separated into several clones, they were all of one body and one mind, so it might as well have just been him alone. Without his Internal Matrix, it would have been impossible to keep up with so many battles at once.


    However, this still felt like the perfect solution for his problem. He had too many things to handle and deal with, which was why he had abandoned so many paths in the past to begin with.


    But what if he could clone himself perfectly?


    In truth, this was harder than it sounded, much like his idea to recultivate his foundation completely.


    But at the same time, it also felt like it was something he was uniquely suited to doing. After all, hadn''t he done something similar in the past by breaking a piece of soul away from his Perfect Blackbody back when he successfully escaped from Primus'' clutches?


    It could be said that with his Perfect Blackbody alone, he was the absolute most suited person to creating several clones of himself that were truly independent of thought.


    But he also had to be cautious with this matter. After all, independent of thought when he was as stubborn as he was... could be a problem.


    What if his clones became so independent that they no longer wanted to fuse with him any longer?


    Finding a balance of these things would be highly important...


    Should he truly create his own method this time again? Or should he try to find a legacy that was already solidified?

 Chapter 1826 Report

    Chapter 1826 Report


    1826 Report


    Ryu''s thoughts drifted as he tried to find the right path forward. There were too many things to do, and he quickly began to realize why he had always chosen to do things a different way in the past. Taking the path of least resistance and progressing as fast as possible was far easier than what he was trying to do now, and it showed.


    However, since he had already made a decision, he would stick to it. In fact, it was almost a shame that he had only noticed this matter so late. This was clearly a product of Ryu never truly having any guidance on the path of cultivation and likewise always being obsessed with revenge and fast improvement.


    He had had two masters in his life until now, but all they had ever done was give him their legacies. As for guiding him and mentoring him, they had never done such a thing. But Ryu also didn''t blame them for this matter either. Both were wise enough to understand his personality and understand that it would have likewise been useless.


    Trying to strong-arm him into following a path he didn''t want to would have ended about as well as one could imagine. He was too arrogant and far too set in his ways. How many other True Sky Gods had already built their entire cultivation path on their own? Whether it was his Qi Realm or his Mental Realm, in fact, he had even also recently changed his Body Realm to follow a path unique to himself.


    He simply wasn''t used to following the teachings of others, and he seemed to disdain to use even their techniques, preferring to rely on them as references to build his own path forward.


    ''I don''t need to change this... however, there does need to be a shift in my mentality.''


    Ryu felt that following his own path for cultivation was actually the correct path to take. However, that didn''t mean that there was no change he could make at all to give himself a better outlook for the future.


    ''Maybe...?''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed, and he turned his attention back to the guidance the Heavens had given him in the form of Karmic Strings. In reality, he had stopped relying on these long ago as well, in one part because, as time passed, they faded more and more, and in the second part due to his own pride.


    If he couldn''t even listen to his masters, listening to the Heavens felt like it fell in the same category as well. Plus, he was so enamored with his own path of cultivation that he couldn''t be bothered to consider anything else.


    This time, when he turned his attention toward it, he had changed his mentality entirely. Maybe some of the ideas he had come up with could be expounded in these Karmic Strings.


    Ryu recalled stories of mortals being so engrossed in their crafts that they were able to become Dao Gods in a single step after immersing themselves in their practice for mere decades.


    Of course, to a Sky God, decades was a fleeting amount of time. But to a Mortal, decades could practically be their entire lives. But that was precisely why it was so shocking. Most that ever reached the Dao God Realm would have to use tens of millions of years at the very least. For a mortal to do it in a single bound...


    It felt like in this case, however, this was already a cultivator. They had already reached the threshold of reaching that step, becoming shrouded in the mysteries of the Heavens that would have allowed them to become Dao Gods in a single bound.


    But it was precisely because they were already cultivators that it didn''t work out for them... and judging by the aura of this book, Ryu was doubtful that this person ever cared every.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he ran a hand over the front cover. Then, after some thought, he opened up the tome for the first time in a long while.


    **


    As Ryu was immersed in his own world, the news had already rocked the outside world. Not just in the Holy World itself, but also even outside of it. The Luminara Clan was, unsurprisingly, furious. Who would have thought that Ryu would actually dare to do this?


    When Dao God Luminara heard of this news, her brows couldn''t help but pinch with an undisguised frostiness. She had never personally met Ryu, nor made any outright threats to him, believing that it was beneath her station.


    She was a Dao God. Just the subtleties of her state of mind could shock others into paying attention. She couldn''t even remember the last time she had to clearly state her intentions about anything. People would always scramble to read her mind and act before she had to speak.


    But to think that a mere human child would dare to spit in her face like this.


    Despite this, her expression remained mostly indifferent. She looked down at the Sovereign that came to report this matter to her and spoke simple words.


    "Report this to the other Dao Gods of the alliance. I want to hear their thoughts on this matter."

 Chapter 1827 All

    Chapter 1827 All


    1827 All


    News of Ryu''s actions were suppressed at first and only passed among the most affluent and important. The details of this matter didn''t make one of the most powerful families of the world look very good at all, and on the other hand... was it necessary?


    The only reason that they would even need to spread such news in the first place was if they wanted to ruin Ryu''s reputation... but what good would that be for them?


    Such petty tricks and inconveniences were only necessary for the weak. In truth, they were the Dao Gods of the world. They could do whatever they wanted without having to give the slightest explanation. In that case, why should they waste their time?


    However, what they didn''t expect was that the Chaos Plane would let go of this chance. The moment news made it back to the Ice and Darkness Fiends, it was sent back to the Dao Gods of the Fiends and they made a completely different decision.


    Soon, news of turmoil, inner conflict and the scandal of Fey Dao Gods suppressing a great talent of the Human Race began to spread like wildfire.


    By the time the Dao Gods of the Real Plane saw through the issue, it was already too late to hide. Not only did the entire world now know of Ryu''s feats, they were likewise aware of the Luminara Clan''s attempted suppression of Ryu, and how it ended in abject defeat.


    ...


    While all of this was happening, Ryu was still stuck in a trance of meditation and focus. He had already guessed that things would happen like this.


    During his battle with Vespa and Vespera, he had sensed that there were others observing. But while they thought they were using him, he was, in fact, using them.


    Ryu had ignored politics ever since he awakened in his second life. He had spent so much of his first life fighting for a chance to actually cultivate, so when he finally had some real strength to rely on, he simply didn''t care to go back to his old ways.


    But now the novelty of that had worn off and he had matured. In a game of politics... there were probably very few who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.


    He could grasp the hearts of the people and few general trends with far greater ease than most could ever imagine.


    Something like this was far too easy for him.


    This was also the reason why he attacked without giving Vespa and Vespera the chance to introduce themselves. When one was threading a needle of life and death, sometimes it was these small tidbits that would be the dividing line.


    Of course, the Dao Gods could still afford to ignore him now and do as they please regardless. They were Dao Gods, why should they worry about public sentiment and where the winds were blowing?


    However... all of that would change the moment Ryu cleared the first Holy World in decades.


    He knew that he only had a week or so at most, so he gave himself just three days. In three days, he would clear this Holy World.


    By now, the more powerful Fiends were certainly on their way or maybe already here.


    But if he was correct, even if they were already here, they would be waiting. As for what they were waiting for, that was obvious to Ryu.


    They would want to blow up this matter as much as possible. As such, just heading out now and wiping everything out wouldn''t be in their favor. They would likely want to wait until the Luminara sent their own people, only that way could they truly set this place ablaze.


    The only question one might have at this point was why the Fiends were willing to share this pie with others, while the Luminara were so selfish. Why was Ryu so sure that things would play out this way?


    Well, it certainly wasn''t because the Fiends were that much better in terms of corruption. Ryu had been in their ranks personally, so he knew that they were no less corrupt than the Real Plane.


    But there were two factors at play here.


    First, this Holy World was in the Real Plane, and its laws were in line with that. So, the Fiends were already at a disadvantage in this place.


    Second, rather than being controlled by one family, the Fiend Race side was under the control of scattered talents from two main factions, most of whom shared different family names. That being the Ice and Darkness Element Fiends.


    Because of this, the Fiend Race''s attachments to this Holy World and the benefits that they could receive from it were much less. As such, they were far more willing to use it as a pawn to deal a blow to the Fey and Ryu than the Real Plane were willing to do the vice versa.


    In the end, this was all playing out exactly as Ryu thought it would. But before he put an end to this farce, there was still one more thing he needed to do.


    It was said that this world was filled with resources, and when Holy Worlds were conquered, there were a great amount of benefits to gain based on contribution and things of the like.


    However, Ryu had yet to lay his eyes on any of these benefits just yet because he was so occupied with fighting and battle.


    What he wanted to know was what exactly these rewards and resources were, and if they could help him make any breakthroughs or maybe make the next steps he had to take easier.


    Ultimately, Ryu wasn''t a fool. He was just one person and some of his strongest abilities were useless in this world.


    But he wasn''t just a cultivator.


    He was Ryu the Ruin Master. Ryu the Formation Master. Ryu the Alchemist. Ryu the Blacksmith.


    It was about time he embraced all of these strengths.

 Chapter 1828 Ice Lily (1)

    Chapter 1828 Ice Lily (1)


    1828 Ice Lily (1)


    Ryu traveled the world with much greater speed now than what he had done in the past. He was no longer worried about finding exact locations of enemies and planning out his attack. Instead, he was trying to find something very particular.


    He was focused on large gatherings of Faith and pieces of land that called to his affinities.


    After his breakthrough, he was quite shocked to find that Spirit Bodies actually had multiple levels that they could reach.


    In Sacrum, the Spirit Body was only known as either existing or not. He had never considered improving his Spirit Body, let alone what that would mean.


    But he found that now that he had after his hyper-focused state on the Ice Element, his sensitivity to this element was likewise on another level.


    In the past, his Spirit Body could really only do two things. The first was transform his body into the element. This was decent for movement speed and evasion. The second ability was the weakened healing factor that allowed him to heal himself through the absorption of enemies.


    But now, things were different.


    It was actually quite similar to what the Fiends were capable of. Now, the elements couldn''t just come from his body, but the best way to describe it was that if he wanted, there would be no difference between elements outside of his body and inside. He could even expand his body with ease.


    It had to be remembered that Little Nemesis'' ancient Talent allowed him to maintain a small size. This Taboo Talent seemed to be foolish, until one understood that his power continued to scale regardless. Meaning, the stronger Nemesis became, the more exaggerated the value of this Talent became.


    The reason this talent was so powerful was because there was an inevitable dilution of strength when a body increased in size. The only way to counter this was by applying far more energy in return.


    That was what the Fiends could do by absorbing the elements in the surroundings, and it was likewise what Ryu could do. Not only could he do this with Idol Control, but he could do it now with his Spirit Body as well... but with even more flexibility.


    Second... Ryu was still certain that the aura was slightly different.


    ''I see... What a coincidence...''


    This state of perfection Ryu was sensing... it represented a theoretical limit, a level of attainment that embodied the absolute pinnacle of the True Sky God Realm.


    Were the Dao Gods of the Real Plane fools? Was this really supposed to be a punishment for him?


    He had just been thinking about perfecting his Realm and taking his time to solidify his foundation, and now he had found the perfect opportunity to do so.


    ''I get it. It''s doubtful that they can see what I can see. This feeling of perfection I''m getting is from what I can observe from its Karmic Strings. However, this world might be on a higher tier than the True Martial World, but it''s lacking in understanding of Karma and Faith...''


    Ryu had realized this the moment he saw just how lowly ranked his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were.


    No matter how long it had been since his Pupils appeared in this world, there was no way it should be ranked as lowly as not even top 30.


    This was proven with how quickly he had managed to enter the 20s in rank after just a single feat.


    Granted, that feat was absolutely ridiculous and was related to helping to slaughter a Dao Sovereign as a True Sky God, but it was the truth nonetheless.


    If Ryu was correct, the people of this world saw these Spiritual Herbs as incredibly valuable and consumed them to increase their affinities and comprehension of an element...


    But they missed the forest for the trees.

 Chapter 1829 Ice Lily (2)

    Chapter 1829 Ice Lily (2)


    1829 Ice Lily (2)


    Consuming these Spiritual Herbs would certainly come with a great deal of benefit. If Ryu was correct, even he would benefit from it, and that was despite having the Ice Phoenix Bloodline running through his veins.


    This herb could deepen his connection with the Ice Element, and also help to increase the Grade of his Inheritance, but this was only a small part.


    There was also a small chance of forming a unique Ice Elemental Natural Enlightenment, or forming a unique Ice Elemental Manifestation.


    The number of branching and winding paths was nigh endless. It was like a cheat code and was invaluable.


    With all of these benefits to be had, who would be worried about finding more? Even Ryu was tempted by this.


    Of course, his Inheritances had now been tied to his eight trigram diagrams, and thus increased smoothly so long as his Dao improved. As such, he hadn''t needed to meditate on an individual element or anything of the sort for a while. Though, it was likely also because of this that his Ice Element had become so sloppy.


    But a Natural Enlightenment or a Manifestation... those were things that were incredibly enticing to even Dao Gods, let alone Ryu.


    However, looking beyond all of that, Ryu could see a benefit that was greater than all of this.


    That subtle perfection the flower was exuding...


    It represented the pinnacle of what was possible in the True Sky God Realm. If there was a so-called "perfect foundation", this ice lily embodied it.


    ''Well, perfect at least in regard to this world. If there are stronger worlds out there, it would still be incomplete. Even so, this is still a sub-level higher than what would be possible in the True Sky God Realm in the Martial World. Its value for this alone is invaluable...''


    Ryu continued to stare at the flower, not making a move immediately.


    At the moment, he was still considering exactly what to do.


    Taking the flower was already a foregone conclusion. But there were still two things to decipher.


    He reached a hand forward, pinching each of these veins one by one as though looking for something. When he was satisfied, he pinched down harder and suddenly pulled.


    At that moment, the complex root system that had embedded itself into the icy lake was pulled out branch by branch.


    In a beautiful, swift motion, the entire Spiritual Herb, spreading dozens of meters, was uprooted, spreading out like a sparkling constellation of blue.


    ''Fascinating. It''s like a formation... in fact, if you deployed it like one, you could probably find a powerful technique hidden within. It seems that I even missed a shocking matter...''


    It looked like other than Natural Enlightenments and Manifestations, these herbs also held the secrets of incredibly powerful Dao Charm techniques.


    Just looking at the profundity, Ryu couldn''t help but feel inferior.


    He had already succeeded in creating two Dao Manipulation Methods of his own, both of which used incredibly complex and profound abilities to rewrite reality.


    And yet, this Dao Method that seemed to only be the ice element alone and nothing else actually felt far more profound to him.


    ''More complicated isn''t necessarily better...''


    He could rewrite Heaven and Earth, and even warp time and space, but that was still inferior to this root system that outlined a spine-tingling method of Ice Qi usage.


    Ryu nodded to himself. It was truly more than worth it to come and find these.


    Without studying the herb for much longer, Ryu began going around to find more.


    Not all of these special herbs were as profound, but each one still carried its own hint of uniqueness that he could learn from.


    Ryu felt that if he digested all of this, one would be hard-pressed to find another True Sky God in existence with attainments in Ice comparable to himself.


    It was as he was lost in this world that the situation began to change once more.

 Chapter 1830 Intuition

    Chapter 1830 Intuition


    ??1830 Intuition


    Ryu looked up, his eyes narrowing. He could feel a shift.


    Another thing he had realized was that in this world, maybe because it was restricted to the True Sky God level, it was also far easier to see through. As though all the more complex entanglements had been stripped away, Ryu could see things with his eyes more clearly.


    The first few days he had been here, the feeling wasn''t nearly as sharp to him. But that was also because his eyes had still been healing at the time.


    Now, however, it was clear as day. He could feel the shifts to his Faith without even much effort, as though Karmic Strings were vibrating in their language right into his ears.


    This made Ryu realize that although he had unlocked all the seals of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he wasn''t even remotely close to unearthing all of its potential. These feelings made him feel as though he could see through even the future with just a single thought.


    It seemed that his cultivation Realm was very much limiting his eyes. But now that he didn''t have such worries because of this world''s limitations, he could see a glimpse into the kind of power he would wield in the future.


    ''Danger... for me?''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered, feeling that it was a bit ridiculous. Was he really feeling danger in this world of all things? It seemed that their plan this time wasn''t bad at all.


    It was just too bad that he could already see through it all.


    He wasn''t to the point where he could truly see the future in detail. But he could feel vague details. He could feel more and more individuals forming Karma with him, and if he wanted, he could even follow those Lines of Karma right to them. He could likewise guess when the calamity would descend and be prepared for it in advance.


    ''Fascinating...''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    But right now, Ryu stood near the pinnacle of this world, and his eyes didn''t seem to feel much of a barrier anymore. As such, it was like he could activate [Intuition] as though it was any one of his other abilities.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he came to this realization.


    Maybe he shouldn''t be in a hurry to enter a higher-level world at all. If he could reach the pinnacle of the True Sky God Realm in earnest, digging out all of his potential...


    Wouldn''t he truly be undefeatable?


    However, this was yet another reminder that he wasn''t there.


    The fact it was still so difficult for his eyes to use [Intuition] in this situation spoke volumes about how much of his potential he was leaving behind for the sake of rushing through cultivation Realms.


    ''Never again.''


    Ryu grabbed at the air and a bundle of Karmic Strings took shape. He tugged on them as though they were real ropes with tangible forms, and then a portal appeared in their midst, woven from the intricate fibers of Karma.


    When he took a step inside, he had already appeared before a beautiful little black flower and his heart couldn''t help but thrum.


    He wasn''t in shock at his own abilities, but had rather felt like a sea of memories came flooding back.


    That flower looked much too much like the Black Rose, his wife''s Life Partner. After a closer inspection, he realized that it wasn''t quite a black rose, though it looked like one.


    Ryu sighed. ''Yaana... Ailsa... where are you...''


    His gaze flickered as he stepped forward. Compared to the ice lily, this rose of darkness was even more invaluable to him. He had to take advantage.

 Chapter 1831 Ranking

    Chapter 1831 Ranking


    ??1831 Ranking


    The Fiend headquarters were shrouded in darkness and, even more so, silence.


    By this point, Morven and Draken had long since vacated their seating arrangements, looking solemnly toward a figurehead who stood high above. But soon, they lowered their heads.


    They didn''t even dare to look at the few followers this person had brought along with them, let alone the person themselves.


    There were four of them in total, and all of them exuded a solemn air of Darkness.


    They were rare Dark Fiends, but they were on an entirely different level from Morven alone. In fact, they were on the Earth Rankings of the Dark Fiend Race.


    The competition in the Fiend Races was violent, and not just anyone could rise to the cream of the crop. In this sort of situation, there were thus Black Rankings, Earth Rankings, and Heaven Rankings.


    The Black Rankings were for World Sea Realm experts alone. The Earth Rankings were for those up to the True Sky God Ranks. And finally, the Heaven Rankings were for those up to the Omniscient Sky God Ranks.


    As such, the Earth and Heaven Rankings were further divided into three sub-sections, corresponding to Fragmented, False, and True, or Perfect, Transcended, and Omniscient depending on the list.


    The reason these six lists were combined into just two, though, was because of the Cumulative Rankings.


    The dividing gap between the Omniscient Sky God Realm and the Lord Realm was well discussed and talked about. But what no one considered was that the gap between the True and Perfect Realms, while not as exaggerated, was very large as well.


    This was to say that it was far more common for a False Sky God to challenge a True Sky God in this Realm than it was for a True Sky God to challenge a Perfect one.


    Ryu had never cared about these things because, in the True Martial World, leaping even a single sub Realm to do battle was seen as impossible, let alone climbing so many.


    However, in this world, where there was just a single Plane, all talents regardless of background were accumulated in a single place. As such, such legends didn''t get passed on and there were plenty who could leap Realms to do battle.


    It made them shiver in realization. Could this Ryu Tatsuya be far more dangerous than they knew? Suddenly, they felt lucky that they had taken these steps.


    At the same time, they felt more confident seeing that Lichen was taking things so seriously. After going so far, what they felt was a surefire win should be even more secured than they realized. This would be a huge boon for them if they could do it right.


    Even if they took a step back with the Faith they used up this time, in the future, it would all the more be worth it.


    "Right away!" they said humbly, then went to get to work.


    Lichen didn''t say anything else. He just slowly stood, his eyes narrow.


    The feeling that Ryu got from his eyes was the very same feeling that Lichen got. But he didn''t have the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, or any Pupils for that matter.


    Much like powerful cultivators tended to get a grasp over Time and Space the stronger they grew, they began to gain an understanding of Karma as well just the same.


    While Ryu had to rely on his eyes to sense these things, Lichen could rely on his cultivation alone to know that this situation wasn''t nearly as simple as it seemed.


    But that also went to prove something else.


    At least in terms of unearthing their pure potential in the True Sky God Realm, Lichen was much further along.


    Without his Chaotic Silk Meridians, Ryu''s cultivation was far more hollow than he had realized just yet.


    And if it wasn''t fixed soon, it could be said that it would ruin his future potential entirely.


    Lichen grabbed out and his flickering scythe slapped into a palm that looked more like a demon''s claw than anything else.


    Deep in the abyss of his eyes, he felt a hint of excitement... a feeling only a true genius would experience.

 Chapter 1832 Darkness

    Chapter 1832 Darkness


    ??1832 Darkness


    Ryu stood slowly, his white robes billowing in the wind.


    He sensed the change before it came, the atmosphere of the world shifting and tending toward chaos.


    He understood what was happening even without having to be there. It was clear to him that this was a case of morphing the world toward a state of Chaos.


    This particular Holy World was in the Real Plane and was, as such, an advantageous battlefield for the Fey and other races of this side.


    However, this didn''t have to be permanent. The moment Ryu saw this situation, he came to understand how it might be possible.


    ''Interesting. It seems that my opponents aren''t arrogant and are taking the necessary steps. The question is... should I see how far I can push this commotion? Or should I try to end it all right here and now?''


    Ryu was obviously not afraid of the Chaos Plane. It might affect others, but it would make no tangible difference to his combat style one way or another.


    Even if he didn''t use his Chaotic Silk Meridians, his Inner World could isolate him from the effects of the outside world with great ease. He could separate himself from the impact of the world around him with great ease.


    The issue wasn''t him. It was how much of a boost this individual was going to get.


    ''They''re using Faith. It''s also possible that if they''re willing to go all out, they can even use it to directly strengthen themselves. But this also might not be a bad thing. Using Faith like this is funneling it back into the world. That way, when I conquer it, there won''t be nearly as much of a loss...''


    According to his understanding, the Faith in this world was finite.


    If your side won, then you''d get to benefit from what remained in the world plus what you had personally accumulated. But the opposing side could cut their losses by taking what they had received and cutting bait.


    Overall, this was a relatively small loss. But since he was going big, there was no need to stall in this way.


    After some thought, Ryu decided to take the slower approach. The more he thought about his path, the more impatient he realized he was. Sometimes it was fine, like when he didn''t bother to listen to the words of annoying characters and just directly killed them.


    But this time, he took much more effort in hiding himself.


    He activated Rob the World of its color and disconnected himself from the surrounding world.


    Now, even if there were others that could sense the pull of Karma and Fate, they still wouldn''t be able to find him.


    Then, he began to meditate on the darkness.


    Unlike ice, there was no place for darkness in Ryu''s eight trigram diagram. Well... at least not on the surface, that is.


    Wind. Water. Mountain. Earth. Thunder. Fire. Life. Heaven.


    These were the eight pieces, and they encompassed far more than it seemed.


    When it was formed into a cycle, Darkness was most definitely a hidden part of it. Or more accurately, it was a part of his second eight trigram diagram.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu''s Dao had two halves, each one of which had two more dividing portions.


    As such, he had one golden eight trigram diagram and another dark gold one that embodied its mirror.


    He never truly thought much about this second eight trigram diagram because when he comprehended it, it flowed smoothly from the first.


    But feeling it now, he could sense the changes it was undergoing.


    As he continued to meditate, the Darkness became clearer to him and Ryu subtly began to understand why it was Death and Darkness never truly called out to him the same way his other abilities did.


    First, he received his Dark Phoenix Bloodline late. He gained it only after going to the Death Shrine and retrieving his soul. It didn''t come from his parents like his other Bloodlines did.


    That much was obvious enough... but what he had never found the answer to is why that Bloodline had been there... and why his soul had been as well.

 Chapter 1833 Appearance

    Chapter 1833 Appearance


    ??1833 Appearance


    Time continued to tick by.


    ...


    Lichen''s eyes narrowed. Suddenly, all his thoughts and feelings of danger had vanished. It felt like there was only one reason for this...


    Ryu had left the world. But was that possible? Had he really come here for no reason? Or was this a ploy by the Real Plane to make them waste their Faith? Had they been outplayed?


    Lichen looked off into the distance. The cloudy skies had gained some purplish-black hues.


    If they really thought that this was enough to end things, then they were sorely mistaken. If Ryu had escaped, then not only did Lichen look down on him, but that also meant that there was no one left to protect this world.


    In that case, he would just have to destroy it.


    What chance did they stand now?


    Lichen took a step and a campaign that rampaged across the Ashen Snow Holy World began.


    Cities fell one after another, and often, Lichen hardly had to lift a finger. His three subordinates were more than enough.


    With the Real Plane''s advantage having been stripped away, while their most powerful players were gone and nowhere to be seen, there was simply no one that could stop them.


    In just a few days, the situation that Ryu had fought for had been completely overturned and the outside world had received so many signals for help that their heads were spinning.


    The Luminara Clan was pushed back into a corner. They realized that they had no choice any longer and could only call forward someone far stronger. Even if it meant losing control of the Holy World, it was a price they would have to pay. The sin of losing a Holy World wasn''t something that they could bear.


    After just a few exchanges, the formation had already begun to shift and change, cracks appearing and other runes dimming.


    Soon, it looked like a fragmented landscape of ice, almost like the surface of an egg after it had fallen to the ground.


    Just one more poke and they might collapse entirely.


    It was then, that in the case, an unnoticeable figure strolled through the chaos. He moved with unhurried steps, walking above the Fiend Race army as though he wasn''t even worried about being targeted. It was clear at a glance that he wasn''t a Fiend, so he was strolling right through the regions where the enemies were the strongest. And yet... no one seemed to notice his presence at all. Not even Lichen.


    However, he never actually tried to hide himself from sight. So just the same, slowly but surely, more and more people began to notice him.


    At that moment, Lichen felt his heart skip a beat and his gaze shot into the skies. His pupils constricted into pinholes.


    The man came to a stop, a mere 20 meters from the three God Qi elites bombarding the formation.


    He looked forward calmly, seemingly waiting for something.


    It was only after several seconds that the three seemed to notice something off about the atmosphere and suddenly snapped their heads back.


    When they saw the man, their hearts leapt into their throats. How could someone possibly sneak up on them to this extent?


    A long head of white hair, piercing silver eyes, a face as handsome as a God''s, and a bearing no less than that.


    "It seems you all have had fun in my absence."


    He looked around calmly, seemingly not caring about the deaths of the Fey or Naturals that had been wiped out in his absence.


    The man raised a palm and the snow around him seemed to thrum with life, forming the vague outline of a long blade with fluttering snowflakes.


    "The name is Ryu Tatsuya. Who would like to die first?"

 Chapter 1834 Decent

    Chapter 1834 Decent


    1834 Decent


    Ryu spoke lightly as though everything was beneath his notice. In fact, he cared so little about the answer and those before him that the moment he spoke, he had already attacked.


    The great swordstaff of fluttering snow in his hands reached out.


    Darkness... it was an odd element, indeed. It had no form and could strictly be called the absence of light. It made it amorphous, difficult to grasp, and without substance.


    What Ryu had come to realize was that Ice and Darkness were quite similar in that respect.


    The pursuit of Absolute Zero was like a chase to non-heat. The defense of Ice was so powerful because it was likewise a state of absence, stripping away everything of its energy and forcing it to fall into a state of dormancy.


    Something from nothing... these three words could represent the culmination of Ryu''s understanding in these two elements.


    Right now, it truly seemed as though he wasn''t holding anything in his hand. In fact, even the fluttering snowflakes around the great swordstaff in his hand were only products of the snow moving around to avoid what looked like nothingness.


    And yet, when he swung it down, the world seemed to be divided in two.


    He had always said that space was the sharpest element. However, he realized now that what made it so sharp was that it split things apart, precisely doing exactly what those three words described.


    Nothingness.


    In his hand, Ice and Darkness could be no less sharp. In fact, they embodied that meaning so much that when a scythe of black ice formed, slicing through the air, nothing at all could stop it.


    The army of Fiends below was reaped like weeds, sliced apart without the slightest chance to fight back.


    Lichen stood, his three subordinates having hurriedly stepped out of the way after they sensed danger, only for their expressions to turn ugly when they saw the result.


    It was the same exact principle... Nothingness. And yet, Ryu had casually shifted it from a sharp form of attack into a form of restraint. It moved so naturally from one to the other that it made one''s head spin.


    If Lichen knew that Ryu had made so much progress with just a focused effort of a few days, it would be hard to fathom just how he would react.


    Ryu was standing just in one place, and he only seemed to be holding the neck of just a single God Qi youth, and yet, all three of them were frozen in place, their heads stretched to the skies and their feet dangling and swinging helplessly.


    "It seems that the Fiend Race isn''t actually all that strong. The Luminara Clan is just too useless," Ryu spoke lightly and clenched his fist.


    "STOP¡ª!"


    CRACK.


    Their deaths were instant. Whatever methods of escape and life-saving they had seemed to not have activated... or maybe, from the very beginning, they were entirely useless.


    Before Ryu, they didn''t have the right to decide even their deaths, let alone their lives.


    With a flick of Ryu''s wrist, they fell from the skies, their bodies plummeting like meteors.


    Ryu took a breath and the world seemed to resonate with him. He felt ten times more powerful than when he stepped into this world, not because his raw strength had increased so much, but because his comprehension of Ice and Darkness had increased to the point that he could finally truly take advantage of it.


    Standing in the skies, though, he didn''t feel satisfied.


    He looked down, his white hair fluttering and his silver gaze glowing with a faint light.


    He grabbed at the air again, this time with two hands at once. Two great swordstaffs of fluttering black ice snowflakes took shape once more.


    "You seem decent," Ryu said blandly, looking at Lichen. "Are you going to fight? Or are you just going to keep standing there?"

 Chapter 1835 Whetstone

    Chapter 1835 Whetstone


    1835 Whetstone


    Ryu exuded an air that made Lichen feel suffocated. It wasn''t a matter of power. Even now, Lichen felt that he was more than a match for Ryu, despite having been outplayed until now.


    The difference lay in Dao Heart and Temperament.


    Facing off against Ryu, even though his momentum wasn''t as great, it felt like Lichen was staring right into the jaws of the top 10 geniuses on the Earth Rankings. That truly left him shaken and, at the same time, confused.


    Which of those monsters hadn''t built their confidence from crumbling piles upon piles of geniuses?


    He had heard about some of Ryu''s feats, but seeing him in person now... Lichen actually felt that he was lacking something.


    When he sensed Ryu''s Dao Heart, it felt like he was sinking into an abyss of no return. The more he looked, the more unfathomable it felt. Soon, the feeling of facing off against the geniuses of the Earth Rankings faded and was replaced by something else entirely¡ªthe momentum of the Heaven Ranking.


    How could Lichen know just how much Ryu was holding back? His momentum wasn''t the same as those geniuses because he wasn''t using his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    However, Ryu didn''t mind it. In fact, he had begun to think that it was precisely because he had his Chaotic Silk Meridians that he had such a poor foundation. When you controlled one of the three strongest QIs in all of existence, was there a point in solidifying your foundation?


    Even before, the last time he had to hide it, he had rushed to grow powerful enough that he would no longer need to.


    Now, though, he realized just how weak he was when he couldn''t rely on this talent of his. It opened him up to understanding his own weaknesses.


    He didn''t feel pride in killing the higher-level Sky Gods he had on the battlefield because he realized that those weaklings represented the dregs of this world. If it was on the True Martial World, they would be lucky to be Fourth Heaven Talents.


    What he needed to do was carve out a new path for himself. One where he could crush these geniuses even without the support of such broken energy.


    And when the day came that he could use it once more...


    Ryu''s silver eyes glowed with a light of indifference. He was actually being used as a whetstone.


    He basked in the moment for a second. No, the humiliation. Maybe someone else wouldn''t see it this way, but he had a hard time thinking of it as anything else.


    His great swordstaffs danced, and the curve of Lichen''s scythe was parried away in one swift motion.


    Ryu''s blades crossed, and he slashed, digging into Lichen''s chest and almost splitting him into four parts. But in the last moment, the latter managed to use his Dark Qi to dispel some of the impact and make his body formless.


    Ryu took a step forward, his intent blazing.


    It was his fault. He was always in a rush, always looking for the next breakthrough, and quite frankly, even when he was still on the First Heaven, looking toward the Ninth Heaven above, he had never taken anyone in the same cultivation Realm seriously.


    With all that arrogance, why would he ever truly try to dig out his greatest potential?


    He seemed to be winning this battle, and in overwhelming fashion at that...


    And, he felt like he was back in Loom City where a mighty expert had almost forced him to kneel.


    Until this point, that moment was the greatest humiliation of his life.


    And now there was another.


    And it pissed him off.


    BANG!


    A smoldering black fog billowed out from Ryu in waves and formed fissures of black ice in the surroundings.

 Chapter 1836 Dao Heart

    Chapter 1836 Dao Heart


    ??1836 Dao Heart


    Ryu was truly pissed off.


    These days, he had been quite calm. His Temperament had mellowed out, and he had managed to control his temper to a much greater degree.


    But right now, he was truly infuriated.


    He felt his mind being pulled in all sorts of directions. He wanted to be calm, but he found it difficult to do so. He wanted to be steady in his steps and lay a sturdy foundation, but he was finding that he lacked the patience. He wanted to slaughter the man before him in an instant, and yet he was finding himself running into a brick wall.


    He was stronger, faster. His insights were deeper, and he was holding back much more than this man was. And yet, it wasn''t enough.


    Frustration he had buried from the sights of his other pathetic lives, from him being helpless in the face of his missing wives, from him still not being able to get revenge after all this time, boiled over all at once.


    "Die."


    His mind fell into an abyss of nothingness and his power exploded.


    Lord Grade Dark Spirit Body.


    A black hole seemed to fall into the surroundings and the qi in the region fell into the abyss. At that moment, Ryu seemed to have slipped into a state that wanted to destroy everything.


    His Dao Heart shifted and a bloody light came from him, and at some unknown point, he felt as though he was staring blankly at the world.


    It was only after he hit a brick wall and ran to the ends of his limits that he fell over the cliff''s edge.


    His fury seemed to have entirely consumed him. Watching from high above like this, it was like his body had been ripped out of his control.


    It was like his Dao Heart had taken control of his body, and he no longer had the Temperament to control it. It had grown more powerful than he deserved, and it was tired of his weakness. So it had expelled his soul.


    Ironically, this was like a second slap to Ryu''s face.


    First, he had been used as a whetstone, and now his own talent had spit in his face. It could be said that since he began his cultivation journey, this was truly the worst sort of humiliation that Ryu had ever faced.


    And the worst part of it all was that it was all forged by his own hand, by his own mistakes, by his own incorrect path.


    And maybe even worse than that was the fact he had no idea how to correct it.


    Ryu watched his body ravage Lichen. He looked so powerful and imposing, and Lichen, who had just been barely able to hold on against him, was quickly being cut to ribbons.


    The Dark Fiend''s blood fell in a rain and his flesh fell even faster.


    It was then that Ryu took the third blow to the gut. It seemed that this time, the slap came from himself.


    It was as though his Dao Heart was trying to show him how much potential he already had but was completely unable to capitalize on.


    It was reminding him that he was actually holding himself back.


    Lichen''s head flew into the skies.

 Chapter 1837 Ego

    Chapter 1837 Ego


    ??1837 Ego


    Ryu''s body, under the control of his Dao Heart, thrummed with undying momentum. Its gaze flashed and its body split into countless clones.


    It began to roll through the rest of the Fiend army as though they were nothing more than weeds on the ground.


    The more Ryu watched this, the calmer he seemed to become. But this calmness felt like the greatest danger.


    It was numbness.


    Numbness to his situation. Numbness to the understanding that even now, he wasn''t all that special. Numbness to the realization that in the end, he was a slave to his emotions.


    Why was his Dao Heart reacting like this? It boiled down to two reasons.


    First, his Incorporeal Souls had matured independently of each other. It could be said that there was more than one Ryu in this life. The problem was that only one of them carried his "Ego".


    This Ego was not his pride, but rather his consciousness.


    On the other hand, his Dao Heart didn''t have an Ego; it was instead an amalgamation of his Temperament. It had tendencies and instincts, but it did not have consciousness in the usual sense. This was why Ryu hadn''t sensed it in the past.


    Second... it was because he had crafted a sense of self that was beyond who he actually was. His opinion of himself was too high. In the end, the moment he began to doubt that version of himself, it all came crumbling down like a house of cards.


    His own soul had betrayed him because, in the end, it no longer recognized him. It felt that he was too weak... it felt that he was no longer Ryu Tatsuya.


    Only Ryu knew what was in his heart. Only he knew how important it was that he didn''t lose his sense of self. But it was too late.


    In all likelihood, he would be far stronger. Without these petty feelings, and the tethers of who the Heavens thought he was meant to be, he would become a true monster of cultivation. Maybe he would even instantly gain the strength to slaughter Dao Lords.


    He could still remember his first life, how cheery he had been before his Awakening Ceremony.


    The Tatsuya Clan had such a powerful Bloodline that children were too rare. It could be said that the day he was born, he had gained thousands of mothers and fathers, all of whom doted on him as though he was their own child.


    And by extension, he had become the light of the Clan as well, the only brightness in a family otherwise ruled by their fury and rage.


    In this True Grade Realm, he could see far into the future. Projecting the man he would have become with that kind of start, he could see a smile that shone on the world, a charisma that made the masses feel at ease, a heart big enough to encompass the Heavens themselves.


    Maybe he would have led Sacrum into a new era, charging forth with a spear and taking them to become the new True Martial World, or maybe the Tenth Heaven.


    He would have grown quickly, under the wings of his parents and grandparents. The Martial Gods simply wouldn''t have had enough time to suppress him.


    Was that the real Ryu Tatsuya? Or was it the one rampaging down below?


    Or were they both him?


    And if they were both him... was there really a him at all? Or did he blow in the wind, changing with the shift in the tides just like all his reincarnations before him...?


    "Ryu" shattered the city''s formation in a single blow and kicked down the gates. He roared into the skies, and all the existences in the Holy World prostrated to the ground.


    What Ryu couldn''t shake off as he grew calmer... was the distaste in his mouth.


    He really... really hated this feeling.

 Chapter 1838 The Point

    Chapter 1838 The Point


    1838 The Point


    Ryu continued to watch this from a third perspective. By this point, he had realized that he hadn''t actually been expelled from his own body; rather, his soul had been forcefully sealed away. Right now, the reason why it felt that he was watching everything from a bird''s-eye view was because he was experiencing it through his eyes. Or, rather, an ability of his eyes, [Third Perspective].


    This comprehension came slowly, almost like a reminder that he wasn''t fully in control of his faculties anymore. He couldn''t rely on the mutations to his mind to gain an advantage, but instead had to rely on something much vaguer and far less tangible.


    By the time he finished having these thoughts, he was disgusted with the fact that he had wasted time on them at all.


    Was the solution really to let his Dao Heart do as it pleased? Or was the solution to suppress his Dao Heart and take control of himself again?


    What did it even mean to take control of him? Wasn''t his Dao Heart also a part of him? Wasn''t it acting like this because of his experiences in life? In that case, wasn''t it far more him than whatever tendencies he had had before?


    When he was a child, could that even be counted as Ryu Tatsuya? He had seen so little of the world, understood even less than that. His personality at that point seemed more built of chance than anything else, as though the Heavens had just casually given him a special blank slate to start with. It was only after that that he could begin to make changes of his own.


    It was all so frustrating because there didn''t seem to be an answer. And with his mind snatched away by his Dao Heart, he didn''t even have his usual comprehension abilities either.


    For the first time, he was stripped of all his talent, all his accolades, and he was forced to look at the world from the perspective of anyone else. To face hardship without extraordinary talent to fall back on.


    And suddenly, he seemed to understand the choices those of his past lives had made.


    He had seen them and their actions in this life, but he couldn''t muster up anything but disdain for them. The realization that they were, indeed, him, didn''t fill him with anything other than humiliation and unwillingness.


    But now... he seemed to really understand it.


    He could feel the fragility of the mind without the support of the Dao Heart. He could understand how someone could blow with the wind and feel endless despair even when they didn''t necessarily want to. He could see how someone could feel both disgusted and unwilling, and yet still do what they felt was necessary to survive.


    In fact, he faintly realized that if not for his memories of two lives, he would not just understand these matters, but he would even be accepting of them.


    However, just because he did... didn''t mean his problems were resolved. Because as far as he could see, this only made everything all the more meaningless.


    It was like everyone was the same person. There might be little quirks and tendencies to differentiate them, but there was nothing fundamentally separating them, no large chasm keeping them apart.


    To someone else, this might sound great. It would be a feel-good, cheery lesson about how everything was equal and how you should treat your fellow man as such because you never truly knew what they were going through.


    Ryu could see that road. The road the Buddhas likely went down, True Monks...


    But he just couldn''t step down it.


    The memories of those lives he spent as a Monk came to mind one after another, and he seemed to see through them all at the same time.


    He sat there blankly. At the very least, he was no longer numb. But despite this, there didn''t seem to be much of a difference anyway.


    Life felt completely and totally worthless.


    In that moment, he thought of his Life Partner and how resistant he had been in the beginning.


    Who were the Heavens to tell him who he should love and who he shouldn''t?


    The irony of it was that he ended up falling for her anyway. Who knew? Maybe if Yaana''s Life Partner was a man as opposed to a plant, she would have left him for them too.


    Too much felt entirely out of his control, so much so that it all felt entirely meaningless. He couldn''t even control his own body anymore.


    They said that what you comprehended wasn''t nearly as important as how you came to comprehend it. And sitting here now, Ryu had never felt this to be true as profoundly as he did now.


    How many years ago now had it been since Ailsa told him that he was too arrogant? That he was far luckier than most and that he should stop moping about?


    It was on the very first day of their very first meeting, in fact. But he had never truly taken it seriously. He seemed to have changed... but had he really?


    Was changing just a matter of smiling a bit more and feeling a bit cheerier from time to time? Was changing just not killing everyone for looking at you for a split second too long?


    Were any of these things truly changing?


    But the irony of it was that now that he truly did understand... he had no motivation to take those steps.


    What was the point? When he truly tried to change, his Dao Heart took over. Even if he could get control of his body back, would it even make a difference? If they were all the same, was there a point in changing at all?


    At this point, he didn''t even care that this was his last life.


    He just wanted to be done with it all.


    His momentum slowly faded and his strength began to slip away, not because he was growing weaker... but because he couldn''t be bothered to sustain it any longer.


    Even if this was his last, he was finished with this life.


    "RYU!"


    An exasperated roar echoed in his ear as though it had just pierced through a veil after countless attempts.


    The voice struck him like a bolt of lightning.

 Chapter 1839 Arrogance

    Chapter 1839 Arrogance


    1839 Arrogance


    Ryu could never mistake the voice. And even if he did, he would never forget the feeling it could give him. There was just one person who was capable of this. It was the second woman he had ever loved in this life and the woman the Heavens had decided was his perfect match. His Life Partner, the love of his life.


    Ailsa Tatsuya.


    The shudder that went through Ryu''s soul made him snap awake. In fact, even his Dao Heart stopped its complete rampage and looked into the skies, clearly pulled by the same matters.


    His Dao Heart was more pulled by the influence of the Heavens than even he was. There was simply no escaping this... its feelings for Ailsa were even more primal and real than Ryu''s own. In fact, had it been in control of his body back when he first met Ailsa, they would have never gotten off to that slow start at all.


    However, after hearing the voice once, Ryu felt that it had to be a trick of the mind. There were too many things that didn''t make any sense.


    If Ailsa could sense him enough to find him here, how could he not sense her? This matter didn''t have anything to do with cultivation. She was his wife, how could he not find her location based on their souls alone?


    "Ryu!"


    The voice echoed again, and this time, it clapped like thunder. He could sense that his wife was actually very angry right now, even exasperated. If she could really sense him, she could likely see through all his thoughts right now.


    How could she be happy?


    His current pathetic state wasn''t the man she had fallen in love with. He had always had his flaws, but it seemed that maybe part of his charm was ignoring them.


    Unfortunately, he simply couldn''t ignore them now. It felt like the weight of the world was suffocating him, and there was nothing that he could do about it.


    At that moment, he felt like an image was seared into his very soul. It was the glaring crimson eyes of a very pissed-off Faerie.


    Even without her saying anything more than his name and showing him this pair of eyes, he could imagine what she was thinking. She was basically his other half, and maybe had he been a woman, he would have precisely been a copy and paste of her.


    She didn''t seem arrogant, but that was only because her sharpness was blunted by being by Ryu''s side. However, until now, she had been away from him for trillions of years. That sharpness had long since returned.


    If not for her arrogance, how could she leave her family and choose to slumber for nine cycles of a hundred million years just to wait for him? No normal living being could possibly do this. It was something that most couldn''t fathom having the Dao Heart to do.


    In fact, when he first rejected her, any normal woman would have been heartbroken and shattered into a million pieces.


    She had waited for him for almost a billion years, yet his first instinct was to be cold toward her and reject her. How could any fragile mind take such a thing?


    And yet, instead of reacting with tears or heartbreak, the first thing Ailsa had done back then was scold him. In fact, had he not been so arrogant back then, her words would have been a true dressing down. Her tongue was no less sharp than his own as well.


    She had been loyally by his side for so long, she had sacrificed more than he even knew. If he couldn''t hold up a small bargain on his end, she was right... what right did he have to call her his wife?


    If the world knew that a little True Sky God was calling a Dao God wife, wouldn''t he be making his Ailsa a laughing stock? If this same world knew that this True Sky God couldn''t even control his own body, and maintain the state of his own mind, wouldn''t it be all the worse?


    Neither Ryu nor Ailsa had ever cared about the opinions of others, though... and that was precisely what made Ryu freeze.


    Because this was Ailsa''s method of telling him that it wasn''t because of the world that she wouldn''t want him, but because of her own pride.


    If her husband was a True Sky God... fine. That wasn''t his fault, and their circumstances were to blame. She was more than willing to give him all the time he needed to catch up.


    But if her husband was pathetic and weak, that was something that was unacceptable to her.


    In fact, even before she became a Dao God, she would have felt the same way.


    Much the same way Ryu loved arrogant women the most... she too loved arrogant men the most.


    Ryu''s first impression had been "bad" by a normal woman''s standards, but what Ryu didn''t know was that Ailsa very much liked how he had acted back then. If he could so easily give up on his first wife, she would have looked down on him. In the end, his feats had subdued her completely.


    But this version of Ryu was entirely unacceptable to her, and she made that clear.


    All of these thoughts streamed into Ryu''s mind in a single bound. He saw through them clearly, feeling each one as though they were individual strands being woven together.


    This feeling...


    Ryu closed his eyes. He felt hollow inside, and he felt that a decision had to be made.


    Ailsa''s fury was like a searing brand on his soul. But it felt like the road ahead was still the same difficulty.


    Should he care about his wife''s fury? Wasn''t she just one of many reincarnations as well? Wasn''t she even real?


    The thought made a spike of pain rip through his chest. He found it difficult to breathe, and he felt like even his Dao was about to collapse.


    Even with his eyes closed, he still saw those eyes. Their fury haunted him, and no matter where he looked, it wouldn''t vanish. Its emotion was practically tangible, carrying the suffocating presence of a Dao God. Compared to the Temperament he had seen from others, Ailsa was on a level all her own...


    Ryu''s heart shuddered, a realization hitting him.


    The tears he had been holding back subconsciously fell like the rain. The skies above began a downpour that seemed like it would flood the world.

 Chapter 1840 Or Not

    Chapter 1840 Or Not


    ??1840 Or Not


    Temperament was forged through cultivation. Cultivating was a process of going against the Heavens.


    These words came to Ryu''s mind at that moment. They were like a breeze that rolled in from the gentlest of springs. It smelled of nature and spring, but at the same time, it struck like a bolt of lightning.


    It was as though it was the first breath he had had after minutes of suffocation, a true gust that filled his lungs and helped him to gasp.


    Ryu looked forward with dim eyes, his thoughts circulating and his mind grasping onto something like a drowning man.


    It was a simple thought, and yet right now, it meant more to Ryu than anything else in the world.


    His thoughts hadn''t changed, not at all. It felt like life was truly meaningless, as though they were just a set of souls on a conveyor belt, waiting to be recycled and reused by the universe.


    But, right when he was about to collapse, he had an even more depressing thought, one that ironically came from the mortal worlds that he had seen.


    Ryu had heard of extremes birthing their opposites. But he had never thought that an extreme of depression would crack open a door for him... or maybe it was because he had forced himself to make a choice, maybe he just didn''t want to take that final step and destroy himself, so he had veered off the path before he could take that final step...


    The thought was quite simple.


    The energy in the universe was finite. The Heavens couldn''t make more of what it already had. There was a reason that everything tended toward Chaos, and no matter how great a world started off as, it was inevitable that it would fall to the wayside.


    But what exactly did that mean?


    In Ryu''s eyes, that meant that souls weren''t the only things that were recycled. Everyone breathed the same exact air that had already circulated in the body of another. Everyone saw the same exact rays of sunlight.


    Going against the Heavens...


    It felt like a full circle moment for Ryu.


    In the start of his cultivation, that was all he was obsessed with, trying to prove the Heavens wrong even though it had already Blessed him so much. This wasn''t just a figurative Blessing, but even Heaven''s Knights themselves had descended to tell him exactly as much.


    But he was immature, obsessed with hating any and everything about the world, and wanting to make an enemy out of everything.


    But then he began to change. He began to see the benefits of being on the side of the Heavens, and not just the benefits, but also understanding that the Heavens weren''t some demon to be crushed beneath his feet. It treated all things beneath it equally, and while some might be luckier than others, everyone would be granted opportunities to change their Fate.


    Back then, Ryu realized that he had to strike a balance between fighting against the Heavens and accepting its Blessings...


    But this was the difference in understanding something and how you came to understand it.


    It wasn''t until this moment that Ryu truly understood what it meant to strike that balance; it wasn''t until now that he was truly enlightened.


    His mind quivered and his dimming gaze regained some of its glow.


    The process of cultivation was to go against the Heavens... and such an important part of cultivation was forging one''s Temperament...


    It didn''t matter even if he was right, even if it was true that there was no uniqueness in the world.


    He just had to make a choice.


    Did he want to reach that mountaintop he had dreamed of as a child...


    Or not.

 Chapter 1841 Three Begets All.

    Chapter 1841 Three Begets All.


    1841 Three Begets All.


    Ryu stared off into the distance, and he felt something stirring up inside of him. Across all his lives, his Temperaments were different, his thoughts, his dreams, his aspirations, they were all different. He had attempted to go against the Heavens many times before, and to varying degrees of success.


    Sometimes he never left the Mortal Realms at all. Sometimes he would manage to become a Dao God and die many billions of years later.


    Sometimes he would be a force for good, bringing brightness to the world. Sometimes he would be the greatest evil, doing things that even the current him would never dream of doing.


    However, in all of these lives, there seemed to be certain things he could never do, no matter how many times he reincarnated.


    Before, he had wanted to latch onto these things, trying to find a common line between them all that made Ryu, Ryu.


    For example, he had never managed to rise above a monk and follow the Buddha Path. He was simply unable to lay down his selfishness, no matter how many millions of lives he waded through.


    But then he understood that there was nothing to find. There was nothing to find because these people weren''t him.


    Even mortals struggled to fight against the Heavens in some sense, so even mortals were fighting to forge their Temperament.


    Maybe there was something to find, and he was giving up too early. But there was a reason he had chosen to do so, regardless...


    It didn''t matter.


    Even if he managed to narrow it down until he found one character trait, one through line between all his lives... if the scope was so narrow, who was to say that someone else didn''t have the exact same inclination?


    If he managed to find it, would it then be countless trillion souls that were the same as him, as opposed to countless trillions upon trillions?


    But then there was the other path, the path of cultivation, the path of accepting the process, the path of understanding that even if it was the Heaven''s intention to make all beings the same... it was then the duty of these very beings to forge something different for themselves.


    He gazed down toward his body below through the eyes of his [Third Perspective]. He calmly faced it, his thoughts unreadable.


    And then, his hands began to move. A complex array of hand seals moved with the fluidity of a master.


    Ryu rarely used hand seals, but that didn''t mean that he was incapable. And hand seals with his soul seemed to resonate with his body itself.


    He had yet to complete the technique he had learned from those nine statues. Or, it was more accurate to say that he never truly accepted their legacy. He had grasped it all on his own, and now it was his turn to veer it toward the path he needed.


    To separate himself from the influence of the Heavens... to rise to a point where his Temperament lay beyond his experiences and became the product of the man he wanted to be rather than the man he was designed to be...


    His hands moved faster and faster as the world trembled.


    One begets Two. Two begets Three. Three begets All Things.


    ''I will call this technique... [One Above All].''


    The skies quaked, and the Holy World suddenly split in two at the seams. A power the likes of which Ryu hadn''t felt since he gazed into the maw of the Phoenix Sky God appeared above him, but his gaze remained firm. In his focus, he didn''t seem to notice at all.


    His souls were odd, pulling him in all sorts of different ways and trying to control his body.


    In that case, he would take his Three Incorporeal Souls and separate them, forming the Clones that he needed. However, they would remain one in the end... and together, they would be above All.


    By keeping them separate, he would be able to feel the influence his Ego and his Dao Heart had on him simultaneously and steer them both.


    He would create the first known technique to forge his Temperament.


    And with it, he would rise to the top of the world.

 Chapter 1842 Never Again

    Chapter 1842 Never Again


    1842 Never Again


    Ryu''s hands moved. He knew quite well that there was no other way for him to maintain his focus in this situation without using hand seals.


    Each sign came in an avalanche, and it made the pressure coming from above feel heavier and far more majestic.


    Ryu could tell with a glance that he was certainly not the first person to name a technique in this way, but he couldn''t help but be curious about who, other than himself, would dare to take such a name.


    He had chosen this name very carefully, even down to the language that the words were from.


    The mention of One in this context didn''t just evoke the number, but the entire concept of Three Begetting All Things. It held the meaning of the cycle of life within it, and it was also arrogant beyond measure... especially when you were using the One to describe yourself.


    Above was the simplest word of the three, and it was one that even a child would be able to understand fully. Ryu could have chosen a far more complex word, but in the end, he had decided against such a thing.


    Sometimes, there was beauty in simplicity, especially when you were using simplicity to link two layers of complexity.


    The first layer of complexity was the word One... and the second was the word All.


    All in this context referred to a cycle just like One did, however, it referred to the inverse of that Cycle.


    From One to All... and then from All to One.


    Two layers of complexity linked together by a single bridge of simplicity.


    This not only encompassed the meaning of Three Begetting All Things, but it also encompassed the path of cultivation, the slow, winding road one took, from the complexity of understanding to the simplifying of it, and then once again to complicating it.


    This was a cycle that every cultivator went through, and several times in their lives at that. Much like the chicken and the egg, it was hard to tell just which came first, or in this case, which was more important.


    When you started your path of cultivation, you would start with the simplest concepts. From the [Basic Stances] to the [Martial Forms].


    As you grew, you would begin to add your own style to these things, or begin to incorporate more complicated techniques.


    By the time you reached the World Sea Realm, you would likely have reached the peak of your complexity, but then you would have to begin to prepare to create your own Dao Methods. And then, once again, you would be sent back into a land of simplicity...


    There was no one capable of stopping him.


    His mind became more and more focused every time he completed a hand seal. The movement of his hands and arms left a blur in the wake of his soul. Black arcs cut through space as he shattered the realm''s capabilities.


    Soon, he was sharp-minded enough to not need to form hand seals anymore, but he didn''t stop. He entered a flow, a rhythm. Everything was under his control and soon, even his true body began to form hand seals along with him.


    BOOM!


    The world shuddered and cracked along its edges.


    Ryu knew that this meant that he had reached the very limits of what the True Sky Gods of this Realm could theoretically handle, but he didn''t stop.


    Faster.


    Faster.


    Faster.


    He didn''t want to admit it to himself, but he felt that if he slowed down here, if he took his foot off of his own neck, he just might slip back once more.


    He could never allow that to happen again. From today onward, he, Ryu Tatsuya, would only walk forward.


    Nothing else mattered, nothing else was of importance.


    He would climb to the top of that hill until he could say with the greatest assurance that nothing was capable of stopping him... not even the Heavens themselves, and most importantly...


    Not even himself.


    In this world, he would be King.


    Never again.


    Never again.


    The world shuddered.

 Chapter 1843 Seperate and One

    Chapter 1843 Seperate and One


    1843 Seperate and One


    The three Incorporeal Souls...


    The Original Spirit, the root of Intelligence, was where Mental Realm Talent lay, what gave cultivators their sharpness and insight, their senses...


    The Yin Spirit. It was the source of life, what fueled you, what kept you alive and powered the other Incorporeal Souls and your entire body for that matter.


    The Yang Spirit... it was one''s self-awareness and identity; it should have been the Ego.


    When Ryu was born, he lost two of these souls. Or more accurately, he lost one, and the second was heavily damaged after being taken and scavenged.


    His Original Spirit was his Perfect Blackbody, a soul that he didn''t have by his side for the longest time. Only a small part of it was left remaining, which was why he usually thought that he had two of his Incorporeal Souls, when it was really more like 1.5.


    His Yang Spirit... this was his Dao Heart, his Spiritual Foundation, the very existence that had just taken over his body.


    As for his Yin Spirit, it was the part of him observing things from the skies, and it was precisely because of this Yin Spirit that he had remained alive at all. If it had ever been touched, he would have ended up as a cripple.


    This might seem confusing. That''s because if Ryu''s Ego was in his Yin Spirit, then how was the Ego supposed to be in the Dao Heart?


    The reason for this was Ryu''s adaptation.


    The Yin Spirit was the source of life, and its sole responsibility was keeping one alive. At the same time, a Dao Heart was meant to mutate, change, and adapt over the course of one''s life, and all of that change was fueled by the Yin Spirit and what it experienced.


    The last additional layer of context one needed here was the fact that Awakening only took place after one was seven years old. Why so late? And if it took that long for one to connect to their Spiritual Foundation, then what of their Ego? Did they just not have one until they were that old?


    Ryu''s Yin Spirit became his core. It was the source of his life, and since this would be the last life he lived, it would become the center of his entire world. He would become the hand that held up this sky.


    His Yang Spirit became his clone, separating from him in thought and experience, obsessed with cultivation, and finally, he could sense the Path of this Realm Heart more clearly than he had ever sensed it before.


    His Original Spirit became his second clone. Adaptable, flexible, and wielding the powers of space and time while also being insatiable for more.


    And yet, as separate as they were... they were truly one.


    Both his Yang Spirit and Original Spirit had learned to survive on their own. And having come back to him, they had felt comfortable in their roles. They lacked thought and emotion, and as such, they were the most perfect clones they could be.


    One forming Two. Two forming Three. And Three forming All Things.


    When they resonated with one another, Ryu felt as though his thinking speed and his comprehension skyrocketed to another level.


    But when they were separate, he felt that he could well and truly look in three directions at the same time.


    He didn''t need to form separate bodies, he didn''t need to waste resources on compiling new methods.


    His body already had the foundation it needed to take this step.


    They were separate, and yet they were one. They were one, and yet they were separate.


    It was a feeling that made Ryu feel entirely unstoppable. It was the sort of seamless cooperation that even the most veteran of teams or even the closest of siblings could never replicate.


    When he opened his eyes, the world shuddered and collapsed.

 Chapter 1844 Already Given Up

    Chapter 1844 Already Given Up


    1844 Already Given Up


    Ryu''s aura quickly became as calm as a lake. Standing there, he could finally look out of the eyes of his own body and it was a feeling that he never thought that he would have taken for granted before. But experiencing it now, had it not been the life-death situation he had just been in, he might very well have laughed.


    However, the current Ryu was unable to laugh. Looking into the cracked skies above him, seeming as though the world might fall apart at any time, he realized just how small and insignificant he was. The mountain before him was actually so tall and imposing, so grand and all-consuming that he couldn''t even see the peak.


    In the past, he had thought that the only difference between him and the experts he chased was time. For most of them, that was true. But he should have realized after seeing his master and the Phoenix Sky God that not all things were just a matter of time for him.


    For the first time in his life, he felt that he had well and truly failed. If not for his wife''s interference, if he even still had a right to call her that, he would have fallen into a pit of absolute, no return.


    He couldn''t remember having ever felt this way before. Or maybe he had and had just been too arrogant in the past to admit it.


    No... he truly had.


    What was his first life if not that very same pit of despair? The only reason he stabbed that dagger through his heart was because he had given up. He had given up on relying on himself, given up on ever becoming the expert he dreamed of becoming, given up on his very own life...


    There was no other way to describe it.


    He had killed himself in hopes that someone else would save him, that the Phoenix Sky God would take pity on him and give him that path forward that he couldn''t find or take himself.


    He had shed tears back then not because he was so scared, or at the very least, it was not entirely because of this.


    Instead, it was because somewhere deep inside, he knew that he had already lost... that he had become someone he disdained the most, someone who relied on others to take their next step, to give them the courage to fight.


    There was only one reason.


    He, Ryu Tatsuya, the man who claimed to have an iron will, who claimed to be above all things and superior to all life form, had given up long ago and he was so pathetic then that he hadn''t even realized it.


    With the path he was on, he never would have had the right to catch up to the Phoenix Sky God. He could have run as hard as he wanted, pretended to be as arrogant as he desired, and it still wouldn''t have changed a single, solitary thing.


    He was destined to be beneath their shadow for as many lifetimes as there were.


    Ryu pressed a hand to his lower belly, still seemingly not noticing the world collapsing around him. He sensed the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, feeling every breath and essence of it.


    "One day..." he said softly.


    He removed his hand and then shot into the skies. His momentum was valiant, but his actions were even more so.


    He grabbed out at the skies, and just when it seemed as though he would hit nothing but empty air, his fist clutched and the skies warped. As though he was pulling at the tarp of the skies, it folded and bent.


    At that moment, his Inner World thrummed to life and everything seemed to be pulled into his embrace.


    All the Faith of the World bent to his will and the Holy World was forced into submission.


    There was no other path but obedience.


    And then the bubble burst.

 Chapter 1845 Holy Blessing

    Chapter 1845 Holy Blessing


    1845 Holy Blessing


    Ryu soared into the skies, breaking out of the world and swallowing it whole. It quickly became a part of his Inner World and vanished into perpetuity... at least to those of the outside world.


    At the same time, those that remained alive were spit out one after another, while all except one of the corpses were given the same exact treatment.


    In that moment, countless shocked senses swept over the area, but before anyone could do anything, the skies trembled and the Heavens sang.


    A pillar of golden light descended, and an apathetic Ryu was blessed by its light. He felt his bones and blood being purified and refined. The impurities that were hidden in his body were expelled and then quickly erased by the precious golden light.


    This light was something all the surrounding experts had known about, but it had been too long since they saw anyone bask in it, let alone just a single person. This light was known simply as the Holy Blessing, named after the Holy World. It was known as one of the most precious blessings in the world because it was formed of pure Essence... or pure Chaos Qi depending on the target. What was especially shocking about this light was that it seemed to contain both.


    Looking up into the skies, Ryu realized that he was going to be exposed for having Chaotic Silk Meridians if he didn''t do something, but he seemed to be just as calm as he had been before. Nothing could seem to move him from his baseline any longer.


    As though a beast slowly awakening from slumber, his eyes began to brighten and their sharp silver returned.


    Understanding was one matter. But allowing it to drag him down was a separate matter entirely. Were you still brave if you feared nothing? Could you be happy if you could never be sad? Could you struggle if everything was easy? What was the point of arrogance if everything came smoothly? What was the point of a journey if you were certain you''d always make it?


    There was a fork in the road before him, and he could choose to either make the Ryu Tatsuya name mean something, or he could let it be washed into the annals of history just like all his lives before him.


    However, that didn''t mean that he was out of luck.


    In fact, Ryu swallowed all of this energy, taking what he could to temper his body, and sending all of the rest to his Inner World. He didn''t drop even a single ounce of it.


    When he was ready, he would swallow it whole. And as for what he could control now, he would.


    Not only would this become the perfect center for him to perfect his comprehension of Ice and Darkness, but it would also still be there in the future for when he could absorb it.


    It was the perfect ending and Ryu was the only winner.


    He stood high in the skies and looked before him. Experts of the Fiends and Real Plane stood in separate camps, an eerie sort of truce between them. Similar scenes could be seen all throughout this world at every Holy World there was.


    Both camps had a Dao Sovereign in command, and each had the ability to instantly transport a Dao God over should the situation call for it.


    And just the same, both camps were staring at Ryu in shock before hostility flashed in both of their eyes.


    The members of the Luminara Clan that managed to survive tumbled out of the skies, landing in a pitiful state.


    Then, chaos broke out.

 Chapter 1846 Where?

    Chapter 1846 Where?


    1846 Where?


    Ryu stood high in the skies, and in the instant the Holy Blessing pillar vanished, it was as though the entire world had turned its attention to him. The change was immediate, and the number of suffocating auras was frightening.


    All at once, qi exploded in the air and space warped and twisted. It was like both sides wanted to crush Ryu in their midst.


    On the one hand, the Fiend Race was already wary of Ryu and didn''t want to see his rise, while on the other, the Luminara felt that their faces had been slapped. Seeing the state of the Luminara Clan people on the ground, how could they not be infuriated?


    And yet, Ryu didn''t seem to react to this matter at all. He continued standing high in the skies, the qi around him unable to touch him as though a barrier had been formed.


    There was a certain brightness in his gaze now that hadn''t been there before. Or, at the very least, hadn''t been there minutes before. He seemed to have become a different man, and yet the same man.


    He stood there and carried a depth and profoundness that was hard to fathom, one that couldn''t be touched, and many couldn''t even sense. Maybe only those with the sharpest of senses and minds could ever see through his depths.


    ''Where are you, Ailsa?''


    He wondered, his eyes looking up into the skies, but it was as though Ailsa had vanished. In fact, he had a feeling that she had paid a great price just to have her voice echo in his mind. There was a reason that she had only ever managed to repeat his name twice, and even with her appearance, it was nothing more than a pair of eyes.


    The eyes were the window to the soul, so it was probably the only part of her that she could show him even with the attempt.


    Compared to a True Grade Holy World, a Holy World that Dao Gods could enter was so valuable that it was hard to fathom the kind of effect victory would have. It could be said that the clearance of just one of these worlds would result in a complete flip of the situation.


    Either the Fiends would become the definite and inevitable winners, or the Real Plane would flip the situation on its head.


    Now, it seemed that this world that he had been sent to contained not just one wife he had to rescue, but two.


    A snort echoed in Ryu''s ear and he couldn''t help but laugh into the skies.


    Despite the price she had to pay, it seemed that his wife was still infuriated enough to take enough time to snort like that. It seemed that she was dissatisfied with his thoughts. He was just a puny little True Sky God, how could he possibly save her? In fact, wasn''t she the one who had just saved him?


    Even so, Ryu''s laughter was like a clap of thunder. The skies roared and raged, and the qi that seemed like it would swallow him up at any time twisted and shattered.


    It looked as though he was the true master of a world, and that was maybe because he was. The improvement to his Inner World was not small.


    His Inner World was technically stronger than the Holy World he had just conquered. But the problem was that it lacked the weight and foundation of a real world.


    After absorbing such a foundation, even if it was just at the True Grade, it had skyrocketed in quality and presence.


    In addition to this, the separation and contradictory oneness of Ryu''s souls made him feel like he was on top of the world.

 Chapter 1847 Helplessness

    Chapter 1847 Helplessness


    1847 Helplessness


    Ryu looked down and found that there was an invisible clash going on below. He stood high above a no man''s land, and it seemed that no one would easily come to attack him. But at the same time, he wasn''t the only one in this no man''s land either.


    The Luminara Clan members that had fallen out were in the same region as him. The only difference was that one was above while the other was below. Ryu was high in the skies, and they were prostrated on the ground, unable to withstand the pressure, and clearly not having gained much of anything from the Holy World.


    Dao Sovereign Aerendil of the Luminara Clan was the first person that Ryu made eye contact with. The man didn''t seem to have any expression on his face at all, but the momentum he was giving off was something akin to a keg that was about to burst.


    He looked like he wanted to kill Ryu more than anyone else, but when Ryu met his gaze, he grinned.


    "Sovereign, you don''t have to worry, the twins are still alive, and I have them here. I will protect them with my life."


    There was nothing wrong with Ryu''s words, but the moment Aerendil heard them, it was like he had been plunged into a bucket of ice water. He was suffocated as he realized that he had neglected a very important point.


    Ryu had hostages.


    Trying to use the situation to kill him was the pinnacle of stupidity, and it felt more ridiculous than anything else. One couldn''t help but be left speechless by the actions of the Sovereigns and Lords of this world.


    Ryu felt that they were truly too... stupid.


    Maybe it couldn''t be said that Ryu had a lot of experience with fighting against intelligent people. But at the very least, there were some that weren''t outright morons.


    However, before he could say anything, Ryu looked toward him as well before he took out Lichen''s corpse and waved it around.


    "Unfortunately for the Fiends, I don''t have a habit of saving their kind. I can take this corpse as a trophy, though.


    "I''ve seen through his Fate. It seems like he''s ranked 96th, something or another, on some trashy list. Honestly, I can''t say that I remember killing him, he was just another one in the army and I also didn''t realize until afterward who he was.


    "It''s a shame. I thought that when I finally became a Sky God and could battle it out with you Fiends that you''d have some good competition waiting for me. I didn''t expect that this so-called competition would actually be so pathetic."


    The Fiend Race froze.


    They didn''t even react to Ryu''s words at first, all they saw was the corpse. It wasn''t until afterward that they came to hear exactly what it was that Ryu was saying.


    And the shame of it was that Ryu really wasn''t lying. He couldn''t remember killing Lichen because it wasn''t him. With the sensitivity of these experts, they could easily tell when someone was being genuine or not, and the helplessness in Ryu''s eyes only made them all the more infuriated.


    "DIE!"


    "STOP!"


    Galadriel swung down his hammer, and Aerendil immediately moved to stop him. How could he allow Ryu to die like this when his geniuses were in his hands?


    Ryu grinned as though it was all going according to plan, a light twinkling in his eyes.

 Chapter 1848 Control

    Chapter 1848 Control


    ??1848 ControlFollow the latest novels at novelhall.com


    A change that shook the world colored the skies. Ryu stood laughing in the skies as two Sovereigns clashed beneath him.


    He didn''t seem to care about their actions at all. They might as well have just been pieces on his chessboard.


    His vision was much further, much grander than it had been in the past. It was as though he could feel the path beneath his feet, well and truly, for the first time.


    Who cared how difficult the road ahead would be? Who cared how far he still had to go?


    All he had to do was put one foot in front of the other, and when the time came... he would soar to the highest limits and even beyond.


    BOOM!


    Qi soared and fissures lanced their way through the air. Reality seemed as though it was bending and warping, and Ryu could tell with a glance that the Fiend Sovereign had done it on purpose.


    A Sovereign was more than capable of controlling their power to a greater extent. In fact, part of becoming a Titled Sky God in the sense of Lord, Sovereign, and God was precisely that they could force the world to stay intact even as they unleashed their full power.


    Even Transcendeds were capable of launching attacks that shattered the void, so it wasn''t a surprise, per se, that space was bending and twisting like this... at least not for the usual reasons.


    It wasn''t worth it. It wasn''t worth it at all. It was too frustrating.


    Ryu looked around and shook his head solemnly.


    "Do you think they''ll be alright? I''m worried for them."


    Ryu''s words almost made the Luminara Clan members cough up blood. When they realized that he was actually talking about their own Clan members that had been dropped off in the middle of no man''s land without having anything to speak for it, how could they not want to erupt with fury?


    Unfortunately for them, they didn''t dare to touch Ryu, not now.


    They seemed to be far less muddle-headed than their own Sovereign. At this point, a great deal of Fate was concentrated on Ryu alone. If they killed him, not only would they have lost a Holy World, but they would also lose all the associated Fate.


    In truth, what they were thinking was far too simple.


    If they killed Ryu, it wouldn''t just be a matter of losing this Fate, but they would also be reversing it. The bad Karma they would receive for doing such a thing wouldn''t be able to be explained in just a few words. Right now, Ryu was about as favored by these Heavens as he could possibly be. Killing him would take an already bad situation for the Fey and the rest of the Real Plane, and make it a nightmare.


    In the end, they would have no choice but to let cooler heads prevail.


    As they were having an internal breakdown, though, Ryu was more interested in contacting his wife again.

 Chapter 1849 Rebellion

    Chapter 1849 Rebellion


    ??1849 Rebellion


    ''Wife, why don''t you tell me where you are, exactly?'' Ryu started by just talking. Since Ailsa could snort at him, clearly her trouble wasn''t that great. But unfortunately, he didn''t receive a reply.


    ''Hm...''


    Ryu didn''t think that Ailsa was ignoring him, though there was a small chance of that. His previous display had really been too pathetic. He had done too much wrong in his life. To be put in the situation where he would have to woo his own wife again not just once, but twice, was something that he should probably take to the grave. Last time, it was Elena he had to coax, and now it seemed that it would be Ailsa.


    Of course, he didn''t blame either one of them. Not only did they both have their own legitimate reasons, even if they didn''t and were just being willful, he still wouldn''t blame them. In this life, he would go strong enough to allow his women to do and act as they pleased. If he was too weak to allow them to do such a thing, then it wasn''t their fault, but his own.


    ''I think I can come up with another method.''


    "Put them on yourself." As Ryu was lost in thought about how he might contact his wife, a Dao Lord appeared by his side. Though it seemed that Ryu wasn''t paying attention, he had enough wherewithal to know that this man''s name was Tiberius, and he wasn''t a Natural. He had a chilly aura, and his body seemed more incorporeal than real.


    CLANG! A set of chains fell to the ground. They were both chained properly, two of them having cuffs for his ankles, and another two were cuffs for his wrists. Tiberius looked at Ryu coldly, but to his surprise, Ryu suddenly kicked the chains. Re?a?d new chapters at novelhall.com


    "''¡ªYou dare to speak of rebellion?!"


    Embarrassed and enraged, Tiberius wanted to find a weak point to latch on to and take advantage. Unfortunately for him, Ryu didn''t relent when he had a hold of his enemy''s weakness.


    "Yes. I do. And what of it? I''m sure that you''re used to suppressing those without backing with your grand, imposing might. But I''m here to tell you that I do not care. I''ve already killed a Sovereign and two Dao Lords since I joined your little armies. Would you like to be added to the list?"


    Ryu''s hair whipped around, his gaze sharp and imposing. At that moment, the Dao Lord felt as though his Dao Heart was being squeezed down from all sides. It was a suffocating experience, and it made him shocked at the same time. Ryu''s Dao Heart was actually so much more powerful than his own? How was that even possible?


    "Keep your little chains, and don''t piss me off."


    After Ryu said this, he turned and left. Tiberius was too stunned to even know what to do. He had so much confidence going in, but he hadn''t expected that Ryu would be even more overbearing than him. The moment Ryu turned away, though, his smile returned. It seemed as though he hadn''t been infuriated at all just now. In fact, he was having the time of his life.


    He had to be a little bit more cautious before, but that was only because in this world, he really had no backing. Well, other than a certain Fey Sovereign, but in the grand scheme, he was still too small and insignificant.


    But now, things were different. He would strut around and do as he pleased because now he had a trump card that few could match. At the end of the day, how many could boast having a Dao Goddess for a wife? If he didn''t take advantage of this, he would be letting down his ancestors.

 Chapter 1850 Holding

    Chapter 1850 Holding


    1850 Holding


    Chaos continued to rain, but it didn''t seem to have anything to do with Ryu. He sat in silent meditation, and no one bothered him. Quiet, unassuming, unmoved.


    Soon, the Fiends seemed to realize that they weren''t going to get anything out of this. In fact, because the Holy World had been located on the Real Plane, if they were too careless, they might end up being completely wiped out.


    Of course, Ryu knew this. That was why he was confident that after a few clashes of getting nothing out of it, the Fiends would eventually choose to retreat.


    This was also why Galadriel had chosen to take such a suicidal approach to begin with. Fiends would be at a disadvantage in the Real Plane, and the only way to get a leg up was through tricks like this. Visitt  for the latest updates


    They had already sent such a great genius, only to end up losing him. The loss of a top 100 character in a cultivation Realm wasn''t small at all.


    Even in a world with just a single plane like this one, there were still hundreds of billions of people. One could imagine, then, just how many there were to a single cultivation group, and even further than that, just how valiant someone standing in the top 100 of that group could be.


    After Lichen died, Galadriel knew that he wouldn''t be able to escape punishment even though it wasn''t his idea. Taking out someone like Ryu would have been a huge merit that could offset this.


    Unfortunately... he had ended up with pretty much nothing at all.


    Like this, one situation came to an end... but another had just started.


    ...


    Ryu was surrounded by cultivators as though he was a prisoner, and in fact, that was pretty much what he was.


    When Aerendil returned and learned what happened with the chains, he was enraged for a moment, but then he sneered. He would let Ryu put on his little performance for now.


    It was indeed a bit troublesome that Ryu understood how valuable he was right now, but that didn''t mean that there was nothing that they could do to him. In fact, they could still play him to death in a million different ways.


    He could feel free to play some games to save himself a little bit of face, but in the end, there would only be one ending.


    Ryu was escorted by three Dao Lords and Dao Sovereign Aerendil toward Luminara Clan territory.


    The Clan actually wasn''t all that nearby. They had taken over this Holy World because it was a land of Ice and Darkness, not because it was nearby. The location of their actual Clan was quite a distance away.


    It also seemed that travel in this world was made more difficult precisely because of Holy Worlds. Because the space was divided into so many pockets, it made it all very difficult to coordinate.


    That was when Ryu realized that the reason he had had such a hard time controlling space when he first got to this world wasn''t because he was adjusting to the new laws, but rather because anyone would.


    He would find Mae, but if she didn''t need his help immediately, he wouldn''t interfere.


    Plus... that also gave him an excuse to solidify his presence in this world first, and then consider other matters at a much later date.


    ...


    The Luminara Clan.


    Travel had been a great hassle and had mostly been done through the most forceful means: that being riding on the back of beasts.


    There were some teleportation channels here and there, but there was no robust system like Ryu was used to.


    He quietly took a note of these things... especially since he was aware that the encampment that the Luminara had set up had the capability to immediately shuttle a Dao God over. He wondered what kind of formation that could be. Or, maybe...


    ''It could be the case that only a Dao God had a body powerful enough to withstand that sort of forceful teleportation... that''s possible.''


    Ryu was soon put in a room, but it only took him a glance to see that it was a glorified cell. It looked beautiful, but it was icy to the point of being uncomfortable for anyone who didn''t have an ice affinity, and it was also the kind of room that was layered with formations everywhere.


    Even those wide open windows would lash out the moment they sensed him.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. The Gods of this world truly were too stupid.


    First, they tried to target him with an element that he was already now intimately familiar with, and second, their formations were so shoddy that he felt embarrassed for them.


    In the end, though, he didn''t make much of a fuss at all.


    He sat in silence, and then three days later, he was brought somewhere else.


    They descended down several kilometers below the earth, and Ryu''s own gaze couldn''t help but flicker.


    ''Space is becoming more predictable and sturdy the further down below we go... interesting.''


    Would also be an interesting place to kill someone.


    This second thought came as swiftly as the first, but Ryu didn''t seem to have the expression of a person who thought he might be dead soon.


    In fact, he seemed to already know what was coming.

 Chapter 1851 Dare?

    Chapter 1851 Dare?


    1851 Dare?


    Ryu was brought to a formation and he quickly found himself locked down. There were no visible chains, but they might as well have been. It was a suffocating aura.


    The Luminara Clan Sovereign, Aerendil, had been waiting to see Ryu''s panicked expression, and yet nothing at all came. It was like Ryu didn''t notice that he was unable to move at all. He stood there in silence, his eyes half-closed.


    This underground region was truly enormous, as though it was designed to make a person feel small. The ceilings were several kilometers high, covered in stalactites with bodies as sharp as swords. It was like they were reminding you that even if you could by some miracle reach their height, they could still strike you down with a thought.


    There didn''t seem to be any walls at all. Instead, there were mountains that were difficult to spot the peaks of. If it wasn''t for the fact there were clearly no skies nor a sun, one would have thought that they had entered a vast world instead of some underground prison.


    However, even with the situation, once again, Ryu didn''t seem to notice... even as one powerful aura began to appear after another.


    On the mountain peaks, thrones began to appear. It started with one, but then came a second, and then they began to appear in pairs and then trios.


    Each one carried the aura of a Dao God, a suffocating, profound sort of inferiority forced many of the Luminara Clan members that had escorted him here to bow, and the weaker ones fell directly to their knees.


    Ryu, who should have been pissing his pants, couldn''t help but smile. Was he the one being punished here? Or was it them?


    The funniest part about all of this was that while it did seem like he would be the one to suffer for this on the surface, he was the most confident of them all.


    He had already seen through some of the struggles that were going on here. While the Real Plane was corrupt, to explain it so simply was missing the forest for the trees.


    There was supposedly only one human Dao God despite the fact that the Human Race should have been the most adaptable. There were no beasts of powerful Races, which was its own sort of curiosity. The Fey, Naturals, and Faeries seemed to be the dominant presence here, and yet so many of them felt so weak and insignificant...


    Sometimes, corruption wasn''t just the product of ignorance and incompetence. There were other factors at play as well, and Ryu had a feeling that it was related to some scars that many of them weren''t willing to unearth just yet.


    Still, what he did manage to find impressive was the sheer number of Dao Gods. Until now, he had already counted 37 of them, and there were still more coming.


    However, what was clear was that there were tiers among them all.


    Lower Dao Gods, Middle, Higher and... well, none of the Peak ones seemed to have appeared just yet.


    If there was meant to be one mountain for every Dao God, then that would mean that there were exactly 221 Dao Gods amongst the Real Plane and that was a shocking number to be sure.


    "Don''t try and intimidate me with your bullshit. You can''t kill me. The best you can do is try to make my life a living hell, but I promise if that''s the route you take...


    "You''ll be the one to regret it first, not me. But if you''d like to play this game, I can play all day with your Luminara Clan."


    A hushed silence fell.


    The region was completely silent to begin with, so the words that had been spoken silently felt loud... almost too loud, as though a blaring horn was playing in their very hearts.


    The members of the Luminara Clan that were kneeling didn''t even dare to raise their heads up and reprimand Ryu. In this situation, they didn''t even feel like they had the right to breathe, let alone say something.


    The Luminara Clan Dao God didn''t expect such a response either, but they also didn''t flare out into a rage. The mind of a Dao God had been tempered through countless trials, enraging them, even when they were so caught off guard, was as difficult as ascending the Heavens.


    Even if a Dao God showed you rage, it was more likely because they either found you so insignificant that they didn''t care to restrain themselves, or they felt that showing emotion at the moment was a positive for them and could be used to their advantage.


    In this situation, however, Ryu peeled their arrogant and fake expressions off from the very beginning.


    He laid the cards out on the table. They couldn''t kill him, the best they could do was try to ruin his life. But in the case that they went too far, there were many things that Ryu could do in retaliation...


    The news of Ryu killing a Dao Sovereign had already spread. They already knew that he was a master of Karma and things of the like thanks to his eyes, and it was also clear that he was enough of a genius to know exactly how to make use of it.


    If he really wanted to overturn their world... he could do it. And as Dao Gods, they knew better than anyone else just how important Karma and the Faith that was concentrated on Ryu now was.


    In front of all of this, the fact that Ryu had Vespa and Vespera in his possession didn''t even touch their radars. In fact, even Dao God Luminara had barely spared a thought toward it. In the end, a pair of True Sky Gods was really too insignificant for them to care about.


    "Is that so?" Dao God Luminara said after a long while. Their expression was calm and their words were even calmer. A subtle breeze swept by and the world became just as calm moments later as well.


    When a Dao God spoke, the world responded, the skies dimmed and the earth softened.


    There was an impossible chasm left between them and everyone else.


    "And would you still dare to say this after your eyes had been dug out?"


    As if receiving a signal, the Luminara Clan members moved.

 Chapter 1852 Eyes

    Chapter 1852 Eyes


    1852 Eyes


    Ryu didn''t react to these words. Though, in action, it looked like he was much too slow to react. The words of the Luminara Clan Dao God were acted upon so swiftly that it seemed almost too obvious that all of this was planned in advance.


    However, what they had underestimated was Ryu''s thinking speed. He might have been weak, but between his innate strengths thanks to the unique combination of talents he was born with, not to mention his Internal Matrix, the movements of these Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns were well within his purview. If not, he would have never been able to act with enough precision and ferocity to deal a dead blow to a Dao Sovereign.


    So, just when it seemed that the Dao Lords were about to reach him, he spoke calmly.


    "Sure, you can have a go. We''ll see who''s faster, the pitiful Dao Lords and Sovereigns of your Clan, or me. And if you think taking my eyes is so easy... I have quite the rude awakening for you."


    Ryu closed his eyes again as though what was happening around him had nothing to do with him. However, even with them closed, he could feel hands grabbing for his body and fingers prying toward his eyes.


    Even then, he did absolutely nothing at all.


    BANG!


    A trio of two fingers and a thumb pressed into his head, pinching into his skin and shattering the bone that surrounded his eyes.


    They reached over and grabbed down, pulling.


    It was a pain that could shake the soul. This bone was probably one of the most sensitive, if not the most sensitive, of the entire body, and it fragmenting like this sent pieces flying into equally as fragile and sensitive skin.


    However, when the fingers pinched down and tried to pull, Ryu''s entire body came with them.


    And yet, despite being so close to death, Ryu was impossibly calm.


    For one, even if his brains were pulled out, with his control over his soul, he wouldn''t die immediately and he could still use Embryonic Qi to repair himself.


    And two, this was all within his calculations.


    Ryu took his eye back from Aerendil''s stunned open palm. The Dao Sovereign was so shocked about what was happening that he didn''t even react to the change. He could only watch as Ryu put his eye back in.


    Blood drizzled down half of Ryu''s face and cheek, but when he looked forward, he didn''t seem to have noticed at all.


    "Trash."


    It was a single word, and yet it sent a spike of fury spiraling through Aerendil''s body. And yet, when he raised a hand to strike, he couldn''t follow through.


    He knew that he couldn''t.


    If it was so hard to take Ryu''s eyes, that meant that without killing him, it was simply impossible. And if they killed him, it wouldn''t matter whether they took his eyes or not. That sort of bad Karma would wash over them all, and then their Real Plane would truly be finished.


    "It''s no wonder the Real Plane is in such a losing position. You Sovereigns are trash, your Dao Gods are fools, and you think that dealing with a genius like myself is actually so easy.


    "Why don''t you stop and think for a moment about why I dare to do all of this?"


    At that moment, the world shuddered and an aura descended.


    But they were shocked to find that it was a Dao Lord.

 Chapter 1853 Rinushka

    Chapter 1853 Rinushka


    1853 Rinushka


    The Dao Lord was a woman with a delicate touch of beauty on her face. She didn''t seem to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and yet her aura alone seemed to make up for that in spades.


    She was confident, calm, and when she walked forward, it seemed as though the world heeded her call and listened to the rhythm of her heart.


    She couldn''t have been more normal.


    Delicate tanned skin, flowing blackish-brown hair, a pair of brown eyes that shone like amber beneath the right light but were entirely unassuming otherwise...


    She looked more like a beautiful young lady plucked out from the mortal realms than a Dao Lord with the power to blow such a world apart with a kiss at the air.


    Her robes were loose and fluttering, and somehow gave her the air of a judge rather than a cultivator. But all of this entirely paled in comparison to her demeanor and aura.


    It could only be described as... perfect.


    Ryu remembered this feeling. It was the feeling that he had chased after in that vast white room back in the Heavenly Path. It was a oneness with the Heavens that gave one uncaring, unhurried, and effortless power.


    She was more in tune with the Heavens than anything that Ryu had ever seen, and yet he had the Childe of Order Constitution. It could be said that this was a large part of his strength. Though, in this world, he was only able to use 10% of it at most. The laws were too different here.


    What was just as interesting as all of this was that the moment this Dao Lord appeared, even the Dao Gods who had begun to get infuriated by Ryu''s words shut their mouths.


    ''Interesting.''


    Ryu already had a guess. This woman would have to be a personal disciple of one of those seven highest peak Dao Gods. And in that case, it could only be that his lovely wife had taken a disciple.


    It was a bit disappointing because he wanted to see her personally. But if she didn''t come, then that could only mean that she truly couldn''t.


    "That is enough. Let him go."


    The Dao Lord landed in a middle position on Ailsa''s mountain. It was clear that even though she had come alone, she had great respect for her master and as such, although no one would blame her for standing at the peak, or at least near it, she still chose this position instead.


    It was clear and obvious to Ryu that the Dao God''s expression was incredibly ugly. It couldn''t be hidden from him at all.


    "Return my Clan''s geniuses, then we can talk about releasing you."


    This was the only way for the man to save face. He, too, turned his attention away from Rinushka and looked toward Ryu instead.


    In fact, when these words were said, Rinushka also turned toward Ryu as though expecting him to do so.


    The Luminara Clan had had forever to check every crevice of Ryu''s body, but they had ended up finding nothing at all on him. This was an obvious sign to them that Ryu had stored everything in his Inner World, an ability all Heavenly Pupils had at their fingertips. It also made them realize that there was no getting their geniuses back unless they took Ryu''s eyes or accepted the change.


    "Your master didn''t tell you very much about me, did she?"


    This time, Ryu ignored the Dao God and looked at Rinushka. His words, though, caused her to frown.


    She had asked Ailsa if she planned on taking Ryu as a disciple, but that was when her master did something she almost never did and laughed as though it was the world''s funniest joke.


    To Rinushka, this meant that Ryu wasn''t worthy of being taken as a disciple, and it also made her feel closer to her master.


    So when Ryu spoke like this, it made her feel endlessly uncomfortable all over.


    What did that mean?


    "... Because if she had, you wouldn''t be looking at me as though returning those fools was an option. Well, I wouldn''t say not an option at all.


    "I do have two heads for you."


    *Plop* *Plop*


    A pair of heads fell to the ground in a bloody mess.


    At the same time, two soul tablets shattered.

 Chapter 1854 One Chance

    Chapter 1854 One Chance


    1854 One Chance


    There was a shocking silence that echoed at that moment. Silence shouldn''t have been able to do such a thing, but at that moment, it was akin to a blaring siren in their heads.


    This was more than just a naked provocation; it was something far worse. It was akin to a direct slap to the face, and the dignity of a Dao God was impugned enough.


    At that moment, Dao God Luminara rose from his seat, a violent pressure spreading out. However, he had barely stood when Ryu''s voice broke the silence.


    "What are you peacocking for? Do you think I''m not aware that you can''t do anything but piss in place right now?"


    Ryu''s words seemed to have become more roguish. He didn''t care about anything else, and many of the shackles that had been invisibly holding him back shattered one after another. His Temperament was finally reflecting the deepest depths of his heart.


    At that moment, Ryu, who shouldn''t have been able to move at all, raised a foot, but as he was about to act, he sensed an unexpected act of fury.


    He slowly lowered his foot and turned to Rinushka. The playfulness in his eyes vanished and he looked at this woman indifferently.


    She was infuriated, but the fury was actually aimed toward him.


    He could see through her thoughts in a single instant. It was just a single glance, and she was far stronger than he was, and yet she might as well have been an open book.


    Obviously, she thought that Ryu was taking advantage of her. She believed that he was only acting so brazenly because she was here, and now he was blowing up a simple problem into something that was almost impossible to deal with.


    Until now, Ryu was 100% in the right. He had only captured their two geniuses, not killed them. And on top of that, he had great contributions to the Real Plane. No matter how you sliced it, he should be being rewarded, not harmed.


    She was under the impression that her master was trying to save this human because he was a talent and she didn''t want to see him ruined by petty scheming. But Ryu didn''t know how to appreciate favors and actually wanted to take advantage of it.


    Now, he was looking at her as though he was waiting for her to step in and save him. It was infuriating, too infuriating.


    Her temper had never been very good in the past, but right now she truly felt stifled. That was because normally she would just act on her impulses... unfortunately, she couldn''t now.


    She knew how prideful her master was. After she decided to do something, it didn''t matter what changes there were, she would still continue forward with it. If Rinushka tried to act on her own, and because she was scared of what other Dao Gods might do to her master for that matter, she might even be expelled as a disciple.


    Now, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, not knowing whether to advance or retreat. She was too infuriated to step forward and help Ryu, but she also couldn''t return without completing her master''s order.


    She couldn''t help but grind her teeth, having completely lost her otherworldly demeanor.


    And it was then that Ryu spoke.


    "I can only give you one chance, and that''s not because I''m patient, but because of who your master is..."


    Rinushka was shocked because she didn''t understand what Ryu was trying to say.


    "... Don''t piss me off."


    Rinushka saw red, but Ryu had already directly ignored her.


    His foot rose again and he pressed down. At that moment, the formation keeping him sealed reversed and locked down the Dao Lords and Dao Sovereign around him.


    Then, he smoothed out his robes and walked away.

 Chapter 1855 Ridiculous Task

    Chapter 1855 Ridiculous Task


    1855 Ridiculous Task


    Although the process looked smooth, this was the only way that Ryu could easily leave. He had been escorted by the Dao Lords and Sovereigns the entire way, so there had been no opportunity to escape.


    Now, however, they were all connected in one place, and their shoddy formations were in one part easy to manipulate, and in another part strong enough to actually impact them.


    The Sovereign, Aerendil, would be able to escape in just a few hours, but by that point, Ryu would be long gone.


    Of course, that was only one part of the problem.


    Ryu knew that without his wife, truly getting out of this situation wasn''t an option. However, he had his own pride, and he had already put up a pathetic display before his wife once already, he couldn''t possibly allow himself to do it again.


    So, he decided that he would use her prestige in one part, but the actual escaping portion would be handled by him. At least this way, his Dao Heart remained intact, as did his pride.


    Ryu wasn''t disappointed that Ailsa didn''t tell her disciple who he was.


    For one, he didn''t really want her to. Such a thing would directly harm her power. Such a powerful woman having such a weak husband was bound to crack her Faith.


    Second, he didn''t really want to rely on her so much. He was already a bit annoyed that he had to do this much.


    At the same time... this would allow him more flexibility to do certain things. In fact, it could even be said that Rinushka''s foolishness was a helping hand to him rather than a detriment.


    It was unlikely that he would be pursued because Ailsa''s will had already been made known. But at the same time, he wouldn''t be seen as one of Ailsa''s people either, which would minimize the problems she would have to face while increasing the pressure on his shoulders.


    With a step, he appeared in the Luminara Clan estate once again. Things continued to move as though nothing at all had happened, and why wouldn''t they? Most of the Clan had no right to know what was happening here.


    When Ryu stepped outside, he took a breath of the cold air. He felt the chill filling his body.


    BANG!


    For one, he knew for certain that whatever Rinushka was doing here was involved with what Ailsa would have ordered her to do.


    His wife should know how much he benefited from the first Holy World, so he was somewhat hoping that she would pull some strings and allow him to enter some others that were suited to him.


    But instead, he was brought here.


    It had to be remembered that Ailsa wasn''t just his Life Partner, but she was also his Cultus Faerie. And, he also didn''t believe that Rinushka would dare to do anything outside of Ailsa''s expectations.


    That could only mean that there was something else that Ailsa wanted Ryu to do instead.


    Rinushka found herself getting pissed off when Ryu just stood there, waiting for her to say something. Didn''t he know that she could kill him with a single finger?


    She had gotten used to being aloof in these last several thousand years. It could be said that she had experienced more anger today than she had in the last hundred.


    This Ryu Tatsuya was really too¡ª


    Rinushka''s heart shook. ''Tatsuya? Isn''t that master''s last name? Is it a coincidence? Or is this master''s descendent...?''


    If the latter was true, that explained a lot of things, but that only made her more annoyed. However, she soon calmed.


    If it was just because Ryu was her descendent, then there was definitely a limit to how much advantage she could take of them.


    "... This region is known as the Beast Domain," Rinushka said coldly after calming her rage. "It''s a wildland location in the far right wing of the Real Plane, and it is also quite close to the rainbow barrier.


    "Master said you have ten years to organize this region and turn it from a wildland to a¡ª"


    Rinushka paused, suddenly only now realizing how ridiculous this task was. Even a Dao God couldn''t accomplish something like this.


    What was going on?

 Chapter 1856 Deductions

    Chapter 1856 Deductions


    1856 Deductions


    Ryu could see the confusion on the woman''s face, but he only smiled. This could be considered to be the result of two things. for new novels


    The first was that his wife was still a bit unhappy with him and wanted to teach him a little lesson. Giving him a difficult task was definitely in line with that.


    The second was that this was how he and Ailsa always did things. Which one of the things that they had accomplished together couldn''t be considered to be normal? She had high expectations of him, and he wouldn''t have it any other way. This was only natural.


    After he had these thoughts, Ryu pretty much tuned out the rest of Rinushka''s explanation because he already had his own guesses.


    There were a lot of odd things about this world. The suppression of the Human Race and the weakness of the Beast Race were the two things at the forefront of his mind.


    Of course, he already had an explanation for both... and they couldn''t be considered to be satisfactory.


    The Human Race was the biggest threat in a place like this one because they were the most flexible of the races. If there was one Race that could evolve to be powerful on both the Real and Chaos Planes, it was the Human Race. Of course, if there was a chance to deal with them, that would be done long ago.


    As for the Beast Race, they were the Race most aligned with the Heavens. In a world that preferred Chaos, it would be very difficult for powerful beasts to rise up. It was, thus, natural, that they were so weak here.


    However, there were several fishy things about these conclusions although they seemed good enough.


    The first issue was actually Ailsa herself. She had been gone for years, and she had also lost herself in a black hole from Ryu''s understanding afterward. In all likelihood, for her to have such prestige in this world, she couldn''t have possibly only just appeared. That meant that she had been here for a very, very long while. At least millions of years, and that was probably an underestimate.


    Even if the Ancient Beasts were weak in this world, that didn''t mean that they wouldn''t appear at all. But no one had even reacted to his Dragon and Qilin Blood, it was as though even the experts of this world had no idea what those creatures were. The strongest Beasts he had seen was that stupid lion with a mane of lightning.


    Everything about this was fishy, and it seemed that there was a reason that Ailsa wanted him to deal with this.


    So, rather than feeling bad about it, Ryu couldn''t help but smile. He had a lot of things that he disliked, but when it came to things that he liked, there were very few that ranked favorably against him helping his wife out.


    This was what a husband should do. Lessen the burden of his woman.


    "... Are you even listening?!"


    Rinushka couldn''t help but snap again. Ryu was looking at her, but it seemed as though he might be looking right through her.


    At first, she thought that he was ogling her, but the more she looked, the more she realized that he couldn''t even be bothered to check her out. What the hell kind of man was this?! How could he be so infuriating!?


    "I am," Ryu nodded absentmindedly. He had already deduced most of the things that Rinushka wanted to say on his own. Her explanations were unnecessary for him.


    That said, she was right. He should probably at least pay attention to some of the minor details. So, he asked a question.


    "You said that this was the Beast Domain, but aren''t there Dao Gods amongst the beasts? Why is it that this land isn''t controlled?"


    "The Dao Gods amongst the beasts are all lone men and women. There are no heritages that are passed down in the Beast Races, so any success is built all on their own. But by the same token, they feel no closeness with any particular Race of beast either. They usually end up far too mutated and cannot even reproduce."

 Chapter 1857 Favorite

    Chapter 1857 Favorite


    1857 Favorite


    Ryu finally showed a trace of emotion when he heard this. He could hear the exasperation in Rinushka''s voice because this was definitely information that would be common knowledge in this world, but to Ryu, it was all new.


    He was shocked to hear this because that would mean... the Beast Dao Gods of this world were true monsters.


    Ryu rarely respected anyone, but he suddenly really wanted to meet these Beast Dao Gods.


    No Ancient Beasts? How ridiculous. It could be said that every one of the Beast Dao Gods of this world were Ancient Beasts who managed to become Ancestors of their own Bloodline Lineages.


    But the irony was that it was because of this that they couldn''t pass down their teachings. They had undergone too many mutations over the course of their cultivation, scrounging together all the resources, paths, and breakthroughs they could to cobble together their own unique bloodline.


    If they wanted, they could copulate with another beast, but it would be extremely difficult to succeed. It would be far easier to reproduce with a Human, but that would require abandoning everything that they had built.


    In the end, these beasts ended up becoming lone wolves of their own creation. They had no family, no kin... It was the loneliest path of cultivation to walk, and Ryu couldn''t help but feel somber.


    The moment he did, he was a bit surprised by his own reaction before he sighed.


    It was no wonder this information hit him so hard. He had just walked out of his own path of blades and blood. If he ended up walking to the end of that path one day, only to find that he couldn''t share it with anyone, would he be able to keep the same firmness of heart?


    He still wanted to have his wives, he still loved his parents, he still thought of his grandparents every day, he thought of the child that might very well be in Hope''s belly already, and he thought of the children he might have in the future.


    These were all things that he hoped and pined for in the future...


    "A Holy World, huh?" Ryu continued walking off into the distance without looking back.


    Rinushka''s expression flickered. She hadn''t said anything of the sort, why would Ryu guess that?


    She didn''t say anything, but he didn''t need her confirmation. Ryu had already guessed that Ailsa had to be in a separate world because he couldn''t sense her soul clearly, but she also had to be on this world. The only way that was possible was if she was in a Holy World.


    If Ailsa, a Dao God, was in a Holy World, it could only be the highest class of Holy World, one so important that basically the entire Fate of the Real Plane hinged on it.


    It was no wonder she couldn''t just casually leave. That wasn''t just any battlefield. It was one where Dao Lords could only be cannon fodder and Dao Sovereigns could die in droves.


    If he wanted to see her, it wouldn''t be easy.


    Now, the real question was how to organize this Beast Domain... and maybe more importantly than that, it was why Ailsa wanted him to do this in the first place.


    Was it just a method of training and she felt that he could improve here rapidly? Or did she have another reason?


    Ryu couldn''t help but think of Nemesis, Little Rock, and Little Gem. He wondered if they were by Ailsa''s side right now... or if they had all been separated.


    He shook his head. Worrying about them would make him worry about Yaana as well. The fact Ailsa had never mentioned her made him feel like she didn''t know where she was either, and that would leave him feeling particularly bitter.


    He disappeared from Rinushka''s sight, leaving her steaming. As for his thoughts, he already had a bit of a cheat code to deal with this Beast Domain.


    Wasn''t that what his favorite Spatial Dragon was for?

 Chapter 1858 Three

    Chapter??1858 Three


    1858 Three


    Ryu walked through the forest. By this point, he realized that Rinushka was already gone, but he didn''t mind it. If she stayed, she would probably die of anger.


    Walking through nature like this, Ryu felt at peace. He began to look through life with the lens of his other souls as the main focus, and he slowly began to see how different these souls of his were.


    When his Dao Heart took over, he could sense that it was impatient. It didn''t want to just calmly walk like this; it wanted to speed ahead with its greatest possible speed, hurrying past anything that he could do on his own regardless of what it did to his foundation.


    In its opinion, his foundation didn''t matter. It even saw it as a cowardly act to try and take things so slowly.


    Ryu could understand where his Dao Heart was coming from. It believed that one way or another, the destination was the same: the peak. If it gave up some foundation now, it could just make it up by walking further later.


    It was a sense of absolute confidence that its potential wouldn''t be limited by mere cultivation realms or anything of the like.


    If someone were in Ryu''s shoes, they would see that there were only six cultivation realms left for improvements, from the Perfect Sky God Realm to the Dao God Realm. Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    However, his Dao Heart didn''t see things that way.


    Looking at things that way, Ryu felt that his Dao Heart wasn''t necessarily wrong. Considering that the Phoenix Sky God was also technically a Dao God, and yet so much more powerful than all the others, it was clear that the Dao God Realm alone wasn''t the end of the road. There was still so much further to travel.


    In this way, his Dao Heart wasn''t actually wrong. It was just a different perspective.


    Ryu switched over to gaze at things through his Perfect Blackbody.


    It too seemed greedy, but in an opposite direction. It was dissatisfied that until now, Ryu had only managed to gain one Soul Nature.


    It was obsessed with increasing its foundation, of gaining more and more per cultivation realm before only then progressing. In fact, this only made sense. That was what its talent was designed to do in the first place.


    The beasts that were so powerful were exceptionally rare, but they were still of value. Whether it was for their meat, their blood, their inner organs¡ªthey were all valuable.


    Back in Sacrum, Ryu himself had used plenty of Beast Blood to temper his body and improve himself. In a situation like this one, it should be similar.


    Ryu began to set up a formation, and after he was done, he flicked a bit of blood and there was suddenly a resounding roar.


    ROAR!


    It exuded the air of a dragon, mighty and domineering.


    "One..."


    Ryu looked toward the distance with a slight smile on his face.


    "Two..."


    He adjusted his robes and allowed his hair to blow in the wind.


    "Three..."


    SHIIIIIII


    Space was torn in two, and a majestic silver dragon appeared. It looked a bit beaten and haggard, but its expression was haughty beyond belief as it looked down.


    It seemed about to spew some profound words when it realized that it was actually Ryu.


    "You son of a bitch, I can''t believe¡ª."

 Chapter 1859 Insidious

    Chapter 1859 Insidious


    1859 Insidious


    A tirade of curses came from the enormous dragon, but Ryu just stood there as though he hadn''t sensed anything at all. At first, Lu''card was confused as to why that was, and even thought that Ryu was looking down on him for a moment. But then he sensed it.


    "AH! RYU TATSUYA! IF I DON''T¡ª!"


    Ryu chuckled. "Your enemies are here. You''d probably be better off turning some of that hatred toward them. That anger doesn''t look good on you. How about you try being more aloof and arrogant like a real dragon. You''re starting to look a lot like that clown that calls himself undefeated."


    "YOU¡ª!"


    BOOM!


    A claw descended from the side, appearing out of the void as though it had always been there. At that moment, a majestic creature that Ryu had simply never seen before walked out. It was like a jaguar with fur as dark as night and spots that had a hue of deep, dark blue.


    Flames danced in its eyes as though it was a skeleton demon, and that picture was only further completed when one noticed the long spine stretching down its back and forming a blade at the end of its tail. It looked like its neural network had been pulled out of its body, and it gave it a particularly powerful look.


    It didn''t even seem to notice Ryu at all; all it saw was Lu''card. It could smell the path to evolution on him. The blood of a dragon was so exceptionally powerful that it could only be an allure and nothing else.


    The jaguar beast didn''t even follow any paths of space or the like, but this was just what the beasts of this world were like. They would take any path of evolution available to them, even if it went against the entire path that they had built until now.


    Lu''card spat up a mouthful of blood, but instantly, his fury turned from Ryu to the jaguar Sovereign. Unfortunately, that only lasted for so long when the void suddenly rumbled.


    At that moment, countless eyes appeared in the skies, fanning out like a delicately embroidered ornament. Soon, however, it became clear that these eyes were actually just the patterns on a peacock''s flaring tail.


    Each one was as red as blood and outlined by a black border so sharp that even before the peacock appeared, its tail had first.


    Lu''card''s scales practically peeled off his body, but it was already too late as a crimson beam descended from the tail, forming toward from the fusion of its multiple facets and tearing through space as though it was nothing but a thin plane of paper.


    "Alright, let''s kill these vermin, partner."


    Lu''card was so infuriated that he still didn''t realize. However, when suddenly attacked, his vision seemed to grow clearer and he sensed space more profoundly than he ever had before.


    He vaguely realized that Ryu had taken on the burden of computation for him. Not only this, but he had allowed him to see variables in space that could only be glanced at through time.


    That sudden enlightenment also made him realize that Ryu was actually riding on his head, but before he could get infuriated, another beam of red came from a certain peacock.


    BANG!


    Lu''card tore out a claw toward it but was still sent flying backward.


    "Be obedient and then we''ll be able to beat them."


    Ryu spoke and then took the initiative to try and form a soul bond with Lu''card.


    "Fuck you!"


    "Well, if you remain so stubborn, we''re both going to die!"


    "You insidious bastard! I can get out of this on my own!"


    "Can you? You do realize that the moment the experts of this world know you''ve appeared, you''ll be screwed, right?"


    "Do you think you can make a dragon lower his head by threatening him?!"


    Ryu shook his head and almost rolled his eyes. He wasn''t a person who would harm Lu''card for no reason. But before he could explain, another attack came.


    A horn tore into Lu''card''s wings and a mighty stomp came from above, crushing his ribs.

 Chapter 1860 One

    Chapter 1860 One


    1860 One


    Ryu felt the turbulence and was almost thrown off entirely. The pressure of being in such a battle as a mere True Sky God wasn''t lost on him. The only reason he had even managed to last so long in the midst of such destruction was because these beasts were all focused on using their greatest strength. As such, they were actively trying not to have their attacks pass through the void.


    Although they still tore through space, at the point of actual attack, all of their strength was concentrated and condensed, making Lu''card''s powerful body and even his spatial guarding skill look like child''s play. However, there was very little Ryu could do about a physical attack like this one. Lu''card took up most of the impact, but he still ended up coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, his body rattling and his bones shattering.


    Even so, he circulated a drop of Embryonic Qi while he assimilated Qi to the bottom of his feet, helping him stay on Lu''card''s back. In fact, most of this Qi was diverted toward that very task.


    Ryu didn''t consider himself to be a good person, but he wasn''t to the point of strong-arming a prideful character like Lu''card into following his lead through the threat of death.


    He had ended up calling these creatures over not on purpose, but as a consequence of calling for Lu''card. He knew that if he released some Dragon''s Might, no matter how far away Lu''card was, he would sense it. Spatial Dragons weren''t just powerful and rare, but maybe other than the Crystal Dragons, due to their oneness with space, they were the most sensitive and had the strongest senses.


    As such, he knew that Lu''card would sense the fluctuation in space no matter where he was.


    But by comparison, the creatures that had come to attack them were close enough to Ryu to sense it as well.


    Ryu kept the range as limited as possible, but it had still ended up being sensed by six creatures in the end.


    He had known that this would happen, but he was also confident in the fact that together, he and Lu''card would be able to deal with it.


    Unfortunately, Lu''card was still being stubborn even at this moment, but that was probably because he had misunderstood Ryu.


    In his fury, Lu''card thought that Ryu had lured him into a trap. No one ever accused Dragons of being the most intelligent race, but then again, Ryu couldn''t exactly blame him for thinking this either.


    No matter what Ryu''s intentions were, the ultimate result was as shown. Plus, Ryu had been aware that this would happen and still did it anyway. It was only natural for Lu''card to be infuriated.


    In the past, Ryu would have probably been infuriated as well that Lu''card was actually being so stupid. Now, because of his stupidity, he was putting them both in danger.


    However, the current Ryu only shook his head and continued to convince him.


    "Get it together, Lu''card. Or else we''re both going to die."


    "Fuck yo¡ª!"


    The words barely got out before the rhino pressed down on Lu''card''s chest even harder. Blood flew and the sickening sound of bones cracking echoed... if you could call it that.


    The bones of a Dao Lord were impossibly sturdy, even calling them steel beams was an understatement. One could imagine that the body of a Dragon was even more exaggerated than that.


    Lu''card flapped his wings hard, an action that looked absolutely ridiculous. He was lying on his back with a beast right above him. Why would he even choose to do that now?


    However, Lu''card found himself following Ryu''s train of thought almost subconsciously. He had never seen anyone fight like Ryu. As a Dragon, he only fought with instinct, but Ryu fought as though he was playing a game of Domain. Every step fed into another one, and it could be said that even above everything else, the largest reason for Ryu''s obscene combat strength was exactly this.


    A spatial storm formed in the crux of Lu''card''s wings that had already been healed by the Embryonic Qi. And at that moment, the rhino that was above him was blown away.


    It had tried to dodge, but in that same instant, the [Horizon] that Lu''card had cast earlier suddenly shrank and reversed. Instead of becoming an impossibly long distance, it became an impossibly shortened distance, causing the attack to appear before the rhino in an instant.


    At the same time, Lu''card used the rebound force of his powerful wings to push his back against the ground and use it as a springboard to leap high into the air.


    The ground shattered as though it was made of Legos, blocks and large chunks of earth splintering and falling in all directions.


    Even though Lu''card only managed to rise up a few dozen meters off his original location, the shattering of the earth beneath him gave him more than enough clearance to rise with just a single flap more.


    In a blink, he had already appeared before the rhino that had been sent flying high into the air.


    It could only be said that the rhino was truly a creature that was used to gliding between the lines of life and death. Facing off against the spatial storm of Lu''card''s wings, it had already activated its defenses. Blades of space dinged off of it like a pelting of rain.


    When Lu''card appeared in front of it, it had already pierced its horn downward, ready to skewer him through once more.


    All the while, no one paid attention to the little human on Lu''card''s back, and even less so when it seemed that he was just a servant of Lu''card.


    However, deep within Ryu''s eyes, there was the reflective light of [Lines of Fate].


    He saw everything and the world seemed to fall into the palms of his hand.


    "[Fate Reversal]."


    Ryu grabbed onto the injuries that Lu''card had long healed from already, grasping them through the Lines of Fate before they could be erased entirely. Then, he corrupted the Karma of the rhino.


    The creature didn''t even know what happened.


    In one moment, it was just fine.


    In the next instant, its entire ribcage had shattered, blood flowing out of its mouth.


    It was just a single lapse in judgment, but Lu''card had already flown by it, his wings slicing its head off.


    "One down. Five more to go."

 Chapter 1861 Didn鈥檛 Know

    Chapter 1861 Didn''t Know


    1861 Didn''t Know


    Lu''card was stunned by the sudden change, but his fury immediately overrode any surprise he might have felt. Well... that and the pressure that came soon afterward.


    All he saw was an array of red eyes, spreading apart along blackened feathers. Flashes of fear, horror, and inescapable destruction assaulted his mind as a black falcon with eight eyes appeared before him.


    But Ryu''s command had already come.


    Lu''card spun in the air as though he had eyes in the back of his head... because he truly did.


    In a battle amongst Sovereigns, Ryu had already noticed that they were able to hide themselves from Spiritual Sense and even distort what you could see. Because the laws could be so easily broken and controlled by Sovereigns, the only way to counter them hiding from your senses was to likewise break and control the laws in the region...


    Unless you had [Third Perspective].


    Lu''card''s wings flapped like folds of space, and his body was wrapped in a gorgeous silver light before he blinked and vanished, appearing high in the skies with a paw pulsing with black energy.


    [Blackhole].


    The falcon barely had time to dodge out of the way of the Dragon Claw. But when it thought it had survived, a spike of pain hit it, and it spiraled out of the air. Only now did it realize that one of its wings had been torn to pieces.


    With a rush and a boom, Lu''card was suddenly pincered from all sides. A jaguar Sovereign, a peacock Sovereign, and a tortoise Sovereign appeared at once.


    The tortoise Sovereign''s body thrummed with might, and a powerful gravitational force descended from above, looking to crush Lu''card.


    But Ryu seemed to have seen through it ahead of time. None of the abilities of these Sovereigns could escape his eyes.


    Lu''card countered with [Horizon] once again, and then Ryu''s gaze pulsed.


    [Death Acupoint].


    PCHU!


    Lu''card casually swiped out a claw in a particular direction, and the forehead of the peacock was pierced through.


    All this time, only the tail of the peacock could be seen, making it difficult to tell where its true body was. Even Ryu''s [Third Perspective] couldn''t see through it because it seemed like the peacock was in a different space entirely.


    However, the moment Ryu cast [Death Acupoint] on the peacock, he saw through its death knell with a single thought. It could hide from his senses... but could it hide from Karma?


    Lu''card cast [Blackhole] once more, but this time, dozens of spinning cyclones of spatial storms appeared in the skies, forming a complex array. Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    To Lu''card''s shock, the blackholes seemed to have formed an even more powerful effect than his mirror world, resulting in a maze of space that even the Sovereigns had a hard time seeing through.


    The jaguar beast struck, but its attack flashed and vanished, twisting through space and suddenly appearing before the tortoise. The tortoise had been so focused on Lu''card and Ryu that it didn''t even sense this coming until it was too late...


    ...


    The entire battle felt like a fever dream for Lu''card. He had a hard time believing that what he was experiencing was real.


    But the fact that there were so many correct paths was its own problem. How could he possibly ever choose the right path, then?


    "Are you not going to say anything?" Lu''card''s voice interrupted Ryu''s thought.


    Ryu smiled. "What is there to say?"


    "What happened to you? Did someone snip your balls?"


    Ryu''s expression became weird. "I thought Dragons were supposed to be dignified. But the more I interact with you all, the more I feel you''re just each more roguish than the last."


    "What is your second affinity?"


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed when Lu''card suddenly changed the subject.


    "Why are you asking?"


    "Because there''s something weird about your spatial qi. It feels inexplicably more flexible, and without your calculations, I wouldn''t be able to control space like I did just now."


    "Is that so..."


    A flash of enlightenment hit Ryu.


    Space and time... they were like two sides of the same coin. He had even read some posit that time was just another dimension, the fourth that gave the first three of space meaning.


    The fact that time could give space a flexibility that it wouldn''t otherwise have would make sense, but he hadn''t thought about it before because the spatial affinity he had now had always been tied to time. So he wasn''t like Lu''card who had experience with manipulating space alone.


    "It''s time," Ryu replied without much care.


    However, he didn''t expect to feel Lu''card''s soul tremble fiercely when he heard this. Although his reaction on the surface seemed calm, Ryu was still too attached to him for this to be hidden.


    "Are you... sure?" Lu''card asked.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Of course I am. What kind of stupid question is that?"


    "Don''t patronize me, dammit. It doesn''t seem like you even understand what that means."


    "What is there to understand? It''s just a Soul Nature."


    "It''s a Soul Nature?!"


    Affinity was one thing; a Soul Nature was a completely different beast entirely.


    Beasts didn''t have souls in the normal sense, but they still had their Spirit Roots. Spirit Roots had their own Natures as well, colloquially known as affinities, and formally known as Spirit Natures or Spirit Essences.


    "Not even the ounce of dignity of a Dragon," Ryu shook his head and sighed as though he was lamenting the state of Lu''card.


    Lu''card didn''t respond. It seemed that Ryu truly didn''t know.

 Chapter 1862 Try It

    Chapter 1862 Try It


    1862 Try It


    "Do you not understand how rare Time affinity is?" Lu''card finally asked.


    He couldn''t seem to deal with Ryu just strutting around like this. As far as he was concerned, kicking Ryu down a peg would not only make him feel good, but it would also alleviate the frustration that he was feeling right now.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea how many rare abilities I have?"


    Lu''card suddenly felt like bashing Ryu''s skull in. He could tell the latter''s meaning. Ryu never bothered to care or consider how rare or common his abilities were because he had too many of them. Even if individually his talent had been average or common, which they certainly were not, it wouldn''t have mattered in the slightest because the sum of their parts would be greatly exaggerated one way or another.


    ''How did I end up getting pissed off again?''


    "You''re still not getting it." Lu''card shook his head. "There are a lot of abilities that one can tap into just by being powerful enough. Like, Transcendents already have a small bit of control over space. As you grow stronger, that affinity becomes stronger as well. It''s not rare to see high-level beings controlling space even if they were never born with the affinity for it. They can easily make up that gap with strength and other factors.


    "Karma is much the same way as well. Over time, a powerful existence''s sensitivity to Karma and the Lines of Fate increases as well, especially when it''s in regard to themselves and those that are close to them.


    "However, Time is just... different. It''s just different. Even if one gains an inkling of control over it, it will never be something substantial. It''s so much so that even if you use your time affinity now, the likelihood that someone would see through it is nearly nil. They would just assume that it''s an advanced application of Spatial Qi granted to you by your Soul Nature."


    Ryu was still staring at Lu''card like he didn''t care. What was this supposed to mean to him? Was he supposed to just chuckle it up and throw a grand celebration because he happened to have a great talent?


    Lu''card was growing frustrated, so he just snorted out a mouthful of sulfur and looked as though he was about to leave.


    "Do you know that you''re annoying?" Lu''card suddenly said.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "What did I do this time?"


    "When you stare off into space like there''s no one around you, and then you come back like you just had a great enlightenment, it''s infuriating."


    Ryu''s lip twitched. He was being reprimanded for being introspective?


    "Sounds like jealousy."


    "Do you think that I won''t bite your head off?"


    "We''re in an equal partnership now, why would you do that?"


    "Equal?" Lu''card snorted in laughter, a whirlwind of space shooting a hole through a mountain. "If I wanted you to get down and bark like a dog right now, you''d have to do it. Don''t you know who''s subservient in a contract when you see it?"


    "Is that so?" Ryu smiled. "Try it."


    Lu''card froze, suddenly feeling that something was wrong. He immediately tried to give Ryu a command and his expression changed.


    "RYU TATSUYA, YOU SON OF A¡ª"

 Chapter 1863 Impossible

    Chapter 1863 Impossible


    1863 Impossible


    Ryu''s laughter continued to echo through the skies as Lu''card grumbled. The two had already set off toward their next destination.


    At this point, Lu''card had already realized that this world was... difficult to deal with, to say the least.


    The main issue was that he stood out like a sore thumb. Any humanoids that saw him would want to kill him because they didn''t want powerful beasts to rise up in this world. Any beasts that saw him would want to kill him because they wanted to rise up.


    No matter where he went, he was a target. And his body was so large that there wasn''t exactly a place for him to hide.


    Although he could hide in space quite effectively, even with how high his affinity was, even his own stamina would eventually run out.


    The only way out of this was to work together with Ryu. He was already stuck with this anyway, so there was no changing.


    As for why he was so infuriated before, that was because Ryu had tricked him.


    The contract that Ryu had signed was truly a master-servant one, where Lu''card was the top dog. As a result, Lu''card should have been able to order Ryu around like a dog if he wanted to.


    He had already thought that Ryu had changed far too much to have allowed that to happen, but he also hadn''t had much room for thought in the middle of that heated battle either.


    So, he had had no choice but to ignore it at the time.


    What he didn''t realize was that Ryu had only signed their contract with a very small piece of his soul. In fact, he only attached a piece of the relative whole formation to that small piece of his soul.


    Then, after the battle was completed, Ryu fused that small piece of his soul back into his body, completing the formation and thus changing the contract.


    Ryu smiled. "Don''t be so sad. Soon, we''ll be finding a third brother to wallow in misery with you."


    "Who''s brothers with you? What you mean is I''ll be going to find a brother, this has nothing to do with a shameless bastard like you."


    Ryu laughed into the skies.


    It wasn''t just Lu''card that had been sent here, but a certain heir of an erupting Sect. Of course, it would normally be more difficult to find Ianjor because he was a human, and as such, he didn''t have to hide away out here like Lu''card did.


    But Ryu had a pretty good grasp of Ianjor''s personality although they hadn''t really interacted with one another in so long.


    There were only two places that Ianjor could be.


    The first place was deep in Chaos Plane territory, and the second place was right here in the Beast Domain.


    Ianjor was a battle maniac that was obsessed with lopping the head of a certain great grandfather of his. He would be unlikely to be able to join the members of the Real Plane in an upfront manner because he was already too powerful.


    Ryu could get away with it because he was a little True Sky God. But Ianjor had already crossed the Lordship threshold. It wasn''t possible for him to just slip into their ranks and pretend to be one of them.


    But at the same time, he wouldn''t be resigned to just hanging around either. He had probably guessed that this change was related to Ryu as well.


    So he would definitely be around here...


    They just had to find him.


    And if they were lucky, they might be able to find out the real reason Ailsa had sent them here as well.

 Chapter 1864 Odd

    Chapter 1864 Odd


    1864 Odd


    The duo stopped in a mountain range and began to recover. Ryu had used up quite a lot of his stamina using his eyes like that, while the pressure that Lu''card had been under could be imagined. As such, after they left the region, the first order of business was finding somewhere to recuperate.


    It didn''t take Ryu much time to succeed, but he noticed that his Embryonic Qi had a much weaker effect on Lu''card in this world.


    ''It makes sense...''


    Ryu ignored this matter and just fell into a silent meditation.


    He had already noticed several peculiar things about this Beast Domain.


    For one, because there were no Beast Clans, there was a hodgepodge of beasts sprinkled around everywhere.


    Normally, this wouldn''t be that shocking. After all, this was what most wilderness zones were like. There wasn''t usually a rhyme or reason for why a beast would be located somewhere...


    Except for one thing.


    Affinity.


    That was what was so confusing. Beasts with ice affinities would be located in regions of extreme cold. Beasts with fire affinities would be located in regions of extreme heat. Beasts with water affinities would take up regions with large bodies of water, and beasts with earth affinities would prefer rocky lands and underground caverns.


    However, in this place...


    Just now, he had called out to Lu''card. Because of the method he used, six of the nearest Sovereigns appeared. And yet, there was nothing that linked them together.


    There was one ghost-like beast, another metal beast, another that seemed to use blood...


    The differing kinds were endless.


    The obvious explanation was that this was just the natural progression of things in this world where Beasts followed their own paths.


    But even in the case they did, shouldn''t they migrate to regions that matched the path that they had chosen?


    Ryu felt his [Third Perspective] snap back.


    ''Odd... I can understand if there was a little bit of strain, but this much seems... exaggerated.''


    It felt like there was a rubbery string in Ryu''s eyes and he had just pulled it taut. But when he tried to pull it past that point, it snapped back.


    Although this was somewhat useful to have, a few hundred kilometers wasn''t enough as a True Sky God. He could cross that distance in a few blinks, and if he was ever truly in a situation where he needed to observe something, it would definitely have to be from much further away. That was because even with his normal eyes, he could easily scan through everything at that distance.


    His vision was mind-numbingly sharp and couldn''t be explained through normal means.


    ''Odd...''


    It seemed that his [Third Perspective] was just not meant to be used like this. That seemed to be the only reason it was struggling so badly.


    In fact, if not for its mutation, maybe this wouldn''t be possible at all.


    ''Unless...''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as he seemed to realize something.


    "[Lines of Fate]."


    He scanned a region thousands of kilometers away, and when he gained a grasp of the karma in the region, he cast his [Third Perspective] out again.


    Ryu grinned the moment he saw this.


    His [Third Perspective] zipped over with so much ease that it felt like his previous efforts were just a joke. In fact, it stayed and hovered in the region without the slightest effort.


    ''Doesn''t that mean that...?''


    Ryu almost rubbed his hands together. Feeling out for a familiar karmic string within himself, he pulled on it.


    The sight he saw made his nose feel a little hot.

 Chapter 1865 10

    Chapter 1865 10


    1865 10


    It was a woman with beauty that was difficult to describe in words... and even if you tried, it likely wouldn''t be just a few.


    Her skin was healthy beyond compare. Elastic, smooth, glossy... reclining in the tub like she was, with soapy bubbles running down her body and a glistening light reflecting across her contours, it felt like one was watching a goddess in the flesh.


    The soap was too thick to see anything extremely enticing, but the deep crevice of her chest and the way her long legs would extend out from the water from time to time was enough to make any man feel as though their heart was beating at a thousand miles a minute.


    Almost the moment Ryu saw this scene, though, he felt a sharp aura flourish. The beauty looked up, and her crimson eyes seemed to pierce through the veil.


    She didn''t make any sudden movements, keeping her body beneath the soapy currents as though afraid that whoever was peeping on her would see something that they shouldn''t.


    However, when she felt the familiar presence on the other end, she felt both speechless and amused.


    This man''s timing... wasn''t it a little too good?


    "Have you enjoyed yourself enough?" she said lightly.


    Ryu was still in a bit of a daze, but he shook his head vigorously. He didn''t even know if Ailsa could see him right now, but he wasn''t exactly thinking with the head above his shoulders.


    Ryu couldn''t remember ever being put into such a daze by a woman before. But he had to admit that the charm of a Dao God was simply beyond his imagination.


    It didn''t even feel like Ailsa was a living being anymore, and even describing her as a deity felt like it didn''t quite do it justice.


    It was like, just while existing, the world thrummed with music for her, nature sang, and the stars shone down.


    Well, not quite. He could remember being far crueler than Ailsa was being now. He couldn''t even in good conscience say that she was being cruel at all. This was just her temperament.


    She had spent trillions of years alone, she had grown a long way without a husband.


    The emotions she showed when Ryu first appeared before her thanks to his master were the result of years of build up, but after getting them out, those same emotions wouldn''t be likely to appear again. After all, after experiencing so much life, her perspective on things was vastly different than it had once been.


    If Ryu took a step back and thought about what he would be like if he had already experienced trillions of years... he felt that it actually wouldn''t be too different.


    After just a thousand years, he had grown so stubborn that it had taken nearly dying and facing the own nihilism of his life to become a different person.


    Who knew what kind of shenanigans it would take to change him had he had so long to become hard-headed.


    Watching Ryu just stand there and smile like that, Ailsa felt a bit taken aback. The Ryu she knew would already be enraged, he would probably even directly divorce her.


    Wait... that wasn''t true at all. Ryu always had a short rope for those he didn''t care about, but when it came to his wives, he allowed them to be as willful as they pleased...


    Why had she thought that that would be his reaction?


    Just as she was lost in her own introspection, Ryu suddenly spoke.


    "It seems that you look down on me. 10 years? For this little Beast Domain?"


    Ryu''s presence vanished from Ailsa''s region, the only thing that could be seen was an indifferent smile and the last echo of a few words.


    "10 days is enough."

 Chapter 1866 Mess

    Chapter 1866 Mess


    Ryu didn''t mind the interaction. It had only been a few years for him, but it had been countless times longer for Ailsa. It was difficult for things to remain the same, especially when he had had such an embarrassing display previously.


    Of course, whether that matter was truly embarrassing or not... well, he hadn''t made a decision on that yet.


    Even though he was feeling a lot more like himself and had partially walked out of that shadow, he wasn''t to the point of feeling indifferent when looking back on those memories.


    He also didn''t think that Ailsa was particularly looking down on him for that moment either. Maybe in these years that she had been gone, she had suffered through things that were just as heartrending.


    She didn''t have the bandwidth to also deal with Ryu''s issues now. With her talent, after trillions of years of cultivation, how could she possibly just be a simple Dao God?


    When he looked at things that way, whatever she was facing now was certainly not a normal matter. In fact, it was likely something that might be even beyond the expectations of the Dream Wraith that sent him here.


    "Have you gone crazy?" Lu''card''s voice came from the distance. "Talking to yourself like that is a little unseemly, don''t you think?"


    The snort of a Dragon came from the distance, but Ryu directly ignored him.


    Taking a breath, he closed his eyes and began to feel out his Karmic Strings again. This time, his focus was on someone else, but it was also much harder.


    Ailsa was his Life Partner. No matter how many years had passed, nothing would change that. As such, using [Third Perspective] on her was just barely more difficult than using it on himself. Because of that, he was able to do what she struggled to do and form a connection between the two of them.


    By comparison, Ianjor, while being a good friend of his, wasn''t nearly as close to Ryu as his wife was. As such, trying to use Karma to find him through [Third Perspective] was far more difficult.


    Ryu had to stand in silence for several hours before he finally caught a faint strand. He grabbed onto it and took deep breaths.


    Sweat coated his brows, but he continuously circulated his Embryonic Qi. Even so, it didn''t seem to be helping very much.


    The fire-haired man landed with an equally fiery passion. He looked as though he wanted to blow a hole right through Ryu.


    The amusing part was that the wound on his chest had already long since healed, but there was nothing that he could do about his clothing. It seemed that, much like Ryu, he only had a single pair.


    They never really thought about such things, and it showed when it was needed most.


    "You''re here," Ryu said with a smile.


    Ianjor was about to snap when he looked over to see Lu''card.


    "The dragon too? You got all of us dragged into this mess?"


    "Me?" Ryu said innocently. "I don''t have the ability to send us all so far."


    "Don''t give me that. I already know this is your fault, it definitely is, or else you wouldn''t have that smug, bastard smile on your face."


    Ryu smiled and didn''t say much else about the topic. It was definitely his fault, but that didn''t mean that he had to admit it. They didn''t need to know that.


    "It''s good that we''re here together now." Ryu pivoted to the next topic. "That means that we can really begin to do some damage."


    No matter how powerful Lu''card was, he wasn''t yet a Dao Sovereign. Although he and Ryu could work together to deal with them, it was ultimately something that would, one, not be able to convince the masses, and two, be something that could potentially get them killed if they were just a little bit careless.


    But Ianjor... he was a true Lord. Not only that, but he had Heavenly Pupils just like they did.


    Right now, Ryu''s eyes were ranked in the twenties, a far cry from their usual rankings. But Lu''card''s Blackhole Pupils were ranked fourth still. As for Ianjor''s Fire Pupils, they, too, got a boost in this world, ranking sixth.

 Chapter 1867 Crest

    Chapter 1867 Crest


    Ianjor looked at Ryu in confusion. He was clearly not the only one confused either, because Lu''card had no idea what was going on too.


    They had both been called here by Ryu, and honestly, they just thought he wanted to use them as bodyguards. As for what his actual purpose was, they were in the dark.


    However, Ryu didn''t know much about what his purpose was either. All he knew was that his wife asked him to do something, so he was going to do it. As for what underlying reasons she might have, it was going to have to take some time before he uncovered it.


    That said... he was a man of his word.


    Ten days.


    Since he had given such a time limit, he would do it swiftly and beautifully.


    "Nothing major," Ryu explained without them having to ask much of anything. "Just have to unify this Beast Domain. Let''s get to work."


    ... The trio began to move. With Ryu at their core, their battles were... mind-numbingly easy.


    The combination of Ryu and Lu''card was extremely potent, especially since spatial qi was an energy that, at a high enough level, even Sovereigns would have difficulty reading.


    However, with the addition of Ianjor, it was like everything had changed all at once.


    The abilities of the Fire Pupils obviously all revolved around fire. Its basic ability was simply known as [Fire]. However, it was precisely because the name was so simple that it was so shocking.


    A person with the Fire Pupils was capable of absorbing the flames that they came into contact with to create their own flames. Technically speaking, they could do this essentially without limits so long as their bodies could handle it, and their eyes had unlocked enough seals to withstand it.


    Ryu could definitely concentrate his flames into a laser... but it wouldn''t be so thin or so dense.


    [Piercing Origin] could practically blow through all defenses. Ryu wasn''t convinced just yet that it couldn''t break through even a Lower Dao God''s protective qi. That was how powerful it was.


    Even so, Ianjor had only unlocked less than 300 of his 999 Seals. So, Ryu was happy to oblige while using him as a workhorse.


    Like this, it wasn''t just Lu''card unlocking new abilities with every battle, but Ianjor as well. Suddenly, the two forgot that they were supposed to be angry with Ryu at all and they began to take it as a fun ride.


    In just three days, they had already swept through half of the Beast Domain. They were already more than on pace for a successful venture.


    It was then that the situation began to change along the edges.


    ... A group approached the Beast Domain from its edges. They walked slowly, but they crossed dozens of kilometers with every step.


    Each one of them had an incomparable aura and majesty.


    From time to time, chains would rattle around them and the vague forms of beast souls would take shape only to vanish afterward.


    If Ryu had been there, he would have recognized one of their faces immediately.


    It was none other than Adlael... the senior brother of Ramon who Ryu had killed by shattering his Dao Heart.


    As for how he appeared here, the crest that was on their chests seemed to reveal everything, and yet nothing at all... only those with high enough standing would recognize the crest...


    The crest of the Ruin Master Guild.

 Chapter 1868 Slow Deductions

    Chapter 1868 Slow Deductions


    Ryu came to a stop. He stood tall on Lu''card''s head, but he couldn''t help but stare out into the distance. He was getting an uneasy feeling, but he wasn''t exactly sure what it was. Something about it felt off. After some thought, he shook his head. He wasn''t used to this sort of feeling. Usually, if he had such thoughts, he would immediately understand what was going on. But this time, there didn''t seem to be such a eureka moment waiting for him. Instead, there was just an endless vastness waiting on the other end.


    Although Ryu didn''t understand what was going on fully, he had a feeling that it was related to someone or something extremely powerful. He could sense that something was pressing down on him. But what he couldn''t sense was what was pressing down. It was like he was staring into the vastness of a storm as a mortal, trying to find the origin of the hurricane that could wipe out his city. That was simply impossible. The problem, then, wasn''t with him, but rather with the strength of the individuals that he was facing off against. Ryu realized that this had to be his eyes talking. He had never had such an ability before, or else what happened to Hope would have never occurred in the first place. But with every step forward he took with his eyes, the more flexible and powerful they seemed to become. It was only then that Ryu understood. There were two problems his eyes faced. The first was that he had unlocked all 999 Seals too quickly. The second was that this unlocking was completed in Sacrum where the laws weren''t necessarily the best. The good news was that he had had the Shrines to support him at the time. The bad news was that there was too much to assimilate even with Rebirth activated. If Ryu was correct, then his eyes right now were akin to a cultivator that had sprinted to their current cultivation without laying a solid foundation first. That was only natural since he hadn''t even unlocked any new abilities since reaching this level. Of course, he felt that he already had all of the most powerful abilities of his Heavenly Pupils to begin with. But his recent breakthroughs taught him that that wasn''t the end-all, be-all. But all of this was also the reason why he believed in this feeling all the more. He had experienced what it felt like to be so in tune with nature and Karma while in the Holy World. So this time, even though the feeling was far vaguer, he was still able to recognize it at a glance and understand what was happening. "Hold on," Ryu called out, stopping Lu''card and Ianjor from continuing on. "Something is fishy. How many bosses have we dealt with already?"


    "We''ve killed three, subdued about fifty..." Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    ''Interesting...''


    Rather than being annoyed, Ryu was actually pleased. He had known from the beginning that his wife''s troubles wouldn''t be so easy. Let alone their group of three, this Beast Domain would probably be able to be handled by Ailsa''s disciples.


    Ailsa was a Cultus Faerie, and if she was in a bind she couldn''t get through herself, taking on disciples was the smartest thing to do. With her skills, nurturing even armies of elites wouldn''t be a problem. It also couldn''t be forgotten that along with being a Cultus Faerie, Ailsa was also a Quibus Faerie hybrid. She had two complete paths within her body just like Ryu did. As a Quibus Faerie, Ailsa''s ability to gather Summons and force Demons to be under her charge should be impossibly far beyond Ryu''s ability to do so. Whether it was by raising an army of disciples or followers, or by raising an army of Demons, or even by way of both, there was definitely no situation that Ailsa should be unable to get herself out of. And as a selfish measure, Ryu didn''t believe for a moment that his wife was so inferior. Ryu could defeat existences several Realms above him even in planes like the Ninth Heaven. How could Ailsa possibly be stuck in a battle of wits with regular Dao Gods?


    Ryu stood in silence for a long time, thinking harder than he could remember ever having to. It was like the world was a series of firing synapses to him as he tried to take in everything. And then, it hit him.

 Chapter 1869 Pain

    Chapter 1869 Pain


    If Ryu was correct, this was the most shocking plan that he had ever seen. Whoever was controlling this Beast Domain in the shadows wanted one thing: to take advantage of the strong Dao Hearts of these beasts, taking it for themselves and finding a shortcut to strengthening their Temperament and thus their talent. BANG!


    The moment Ryu had this thought, he felt as though a crimson bolt of lightning had struck him in the head. A heart-rending pain tore his heart apart.

 Chapter 1870 Method

    Chapter 1870 Method


    Ryu grabbed his head and felt spikes of pain run through him. He had never experienced such a thing before, but before even understanding what was going on, he could faintly feel what it was.


    It wasn''t that someone had attacked him, but rather that this was some sort of protection... a protection on Karma itself.


    Ryu had never seen such an advanced form of Karma manipulation in his entire life. It activated purely because he had stumbled onto their plan.


    Even after several seconds of thought, Ryu couldn''t fathom how this could be possible.


    No, it had to be region locked. There was no way that they could cover the whole of Existence; Ryu didn''t believe it.


    It should be that there was a Karmic Lock on the region. This lock allowed them to keep a perfect seal on information. Not only could this information not be passed along, but it also couldn''t be comprehended and deduced.


    This was the most shocking display of power that Ryu had ever seen. If such a person had wanted to take him as a disciple, at least before he met Fading Star, Ryu would have likely accepted.


    But by the same token, that meant that whoever had done this was also, likewise, far beyond Ryu.


    The pain continued to grow greater because Ryu couldn''t stop his brain from thinking. Even through the pain, he continued to deduce and flesh out the plot. In fact, because Karma was attacking him now, he could deduce the plot with more clarity because all it required for him to do was reverse-engineer the Karmic Strings that were attacking him.


    If things continued like this, Ryu would certainly die. The only reason that he hadn''t already was because he was probably the worst person that this curse could have possibly attacked.


    Ryu was more in tune with Karma than most would be. Just by virtue of this, his strength in dealing with such things was on another level. But it was clear that whoever had set up this barrier was also a monster in their own right.


    It was obvious to Ryu that whoever had done this, at the very least, had an affinity for such things comparable to his own. And even if they didn''t, they had the experience and strength to make up for it.


    Ryu didn''t expect things to escalate so fast, but this also made this clearer to him.


    Ailsa hadn''t explained any of this to him maybe not because she was throwing a tantrum, but maybe because she quite literally couldn''t. As for why, that much was obvious at this point.


    "¡ªHey! Stop ignoring me!"


    Ryu looked up with a face full of sweat to see an Isemeine that was half infuriated, half shaken. It seemed that she couldn''t tell if Ryu was ignoring her or if he was truly crippled now.


    Standing up weakly, Ryu gave her a smile.


    "When''d you start worrying about me so much?"


    "Worried about you?" Isemeine raised an eyebrow. "That Eska lady who calls herself an Ancestor is practically head over heels for you. You''re her first love, you know. Trillions of years and she''s never had eyes for anyone else, it''s pathetic.


    "If you actually died after she finally found love, I could forget about advancing even a single Realm more in cultivation for the rest of my life. You CANNOT die."


    Ryu chuckled when he heard her words.


    Isemeine wasn''t just saying these things to save face. She meant them by at least half. Even if he didn''t have his sharp insight, he would still be able to tell.


    But that much was fine.


    "How is your progress? Does it feel better in here?"


    Isemeine''s gaze flickered. In Ryu''s Inner World, the suppression of their Taboo Inheritance was nill, so they were several times more powerful. But it was tricky to balance in the outside world. After all, it was Ryu''s Inner World, not their own.


    But... they seemed to have figured out a method.

 Chapter 1871 Ruin

    Chapter 1871 Ruin


    Isemeine and Eska were a unique case because the Taboo Inheritance they followed was actually stronger in their hands than it was in the past. That was because the Taboo Inheritance was designed to be used by siblings at worst, and twins at best... but these two were quite literally of one body.


    Thanks to this, even if the True Martial World suppressed them, because the Inheritance was actually better in their hands, the effect of the suppression had been far less.


    But now that they were working to get rid of the suppression entirely, it was obvious that their strength was going to likewise hit a new tier.


    Unfortunately, Ryu didn''t have the time to do a deep dive with them on this. He needed to move.


    He gave a glance to the mutated Fire Giant lady, and seeing that she was doing just fine, he left... only to find that his main body was being surrounded by Lu''card and Ianjor, who were poking and prodding at it.


    Ianjor had his foot in Ryu''s ribcage, pushing him around as though he wasn''t in a half-dead state.


    "Say, when do you think this guy is gonna get over it?" Ianjor asked.


    "Better if he never does. I like the silence and lack of being schemed against," Lu''card replied.


    Ryu shook his head. These guys were really too much, not even the slightest hint of concern. It seemed that his wives were truly better for this sort of thing.


    He coughed, groaning and getting up. He pushed Ianjor''s foot away with a hand.


    "Oh look, the princess is up."


    Ryu blinked as he looked up into the skies, squinting. The sun felt too bright.


    "Let''s move," Ryu said.


    "What''s going on?" Ianjor asked.


    The reason these creatures were likely not allowed to roam so freely was that the moment they did, the Feng Shui of the Beast Domain would be thrown off.


    ''Amazing...''


    Ryu was infuriated with these people, but he couldn''t help but admit it.


    The Beast Domain was enormous, and yet someone had meticulously calculated the location of rivers and mountains and trees, all to set up a perfect net to trap these beasts within.


    What Ryu wanted to know was what role the Dao God Beasts played... Were they existences that had broken free of this game? Or were they a part of it?


    ''Is that the real reason why none of them have tried to build up a kingdom here? Even if there was no path before, that didn''t mean that there couldn''t be one after. If they started Sects or schools, they could easily pass down their knowledge and teach others how to reach the Dao God Realms... Even if they weren''t perfect descendants, who was to say that they couldn''t find a few that could follow their Path?


    ''But to not try at all? Could it be that they know what''s going on here already...? And they''re just the lucky few to survive?''


    Ryu had never really distinguished between the lives of beasts and humans. Anyone could be cut down so long as they suited his purposes. That was why the human skin tome never fazed him.


    After seeing his wife''s struggles, he gained a better appreciation for the plights of beasts as well.


    He still wasn''t someone with a bleeding heart, but he knew that the first step to teaching these people a lesson was ruining their plans.


    Ryu''s mind began to scan the entire region. Now that he knew that it was a Feng Shui diagram, his approach was completely different, and the plan in his mind was likewise shaping up faster and faster.


    He could feel as though someone was breathing down his neck, and yet, his calm was almost eerie... as though he couldn''t feel the blade being held up to him at all.


    He forgot everything about his worries, about his trepidations, even about himself.


    They had bullied his wife for so long... it seemed that they didn''t know that she had a husband.


    And this husband of hers held grudges.


    He wasn''t just going to ruin their plans. He was going to ruin them.

 Chapter 1872 Chain

    Chapter 1872 Chain


    Ryu moved around the world on Lu''card''s back, his mind elsewhere. It didn''t seem as though he was doing much more than sightseeing. But at every location they visited, his gaze would become brighter and brighter. Suddenly, half a day later, he had Lu''card come to a stop.


    ''This is it... what an interesting feeling...''


    The eight trigram diagram in Ryu''s eye could be considered a sort of Feng Shui. In fact, it was the simplest Feng Shui, and it was also something that everything else, including Formation Mastery, was built on.


    In his time in the Tatsuya Library, Ryu had come to realize that there was quite a battle between Formation Masters and Feng Shui Masters. Those of the former profession believed that their Arts were modernizing Feng Shui, making it better than what it would have otherwise been and improving it. Feng Shui Masters, though, believed that their path was the foundational path for all paths. Not just Formation Mastery, but also alchemy and blacksmithing which both relied on aspects of Formation Mastery as well. As the original, they obviously thought themselves to be better.


    As for Ryu''s opinion... well, he rarely, if ever, used Feng Shui, and that seemed to be the nail in the coffin.


    However, Ryu didn''t ignore Feng Shui; it was just that Formation Mastery was far more convenient, especially since he had the Formation Flag Visualization to rely upon that let him deploy them wherever and whenever.


    Feng Shui, by comparison, took a great deal more effort. That was because it required causing changes to the land.


    This was the same reason that Ryu didn''t use his Herbology very often either.


    The rivalry between Herbology and Alchemy was a perfect mirror of Feng Shui and Formation Mastery. But Ryu''s ultimate opinion was that everything had its place...


    Still, seeing the scope of what was being accomplished here, and the fact that the person in question didn''t even have to use any other resource outside of time and patience...


    It was hard not to feel like Feng Shui was the superior practice.


    Unfortunately... they had run into Ryu.


    ''An interesting scheme indeed. The layout is both simple and complex. Simple enough to be hidden, complex enough to not be deciphered. This is a true master.


    ''They''re relying on the natural veins of this world... but also, manipulating them at the same time.''


    The Beast Domain was a chaotic hodgepodge of qis and domains. Everything felt like an amalgamation of others, as though every element in the world had been summed up and then left behind an average.


    It didn''t take Ryu long to realize that this was the crux of the formation.


    The first thing this expansive Feng Shui diagram did was make use of one thing that seemed to be the center of everything in this world...


    Chaos.


    This time, it was real Chaos. And if Ryu was correct, it would be almost impossible to set up a formation like this one in any other world because Order would never allow it.


    The variations to this world might begin to affect him later if he stayed here for an extended period of time, which was also probably why Ailsa had given him such a long time to deal with this. However... not for now.


    But that still wasn''t the crux of it.


    Why, then, was Lu''card fine?


    And that was the final lynchpin to this whole thing.


    Birth.


    The creatures that were affected by this place were born here. Their incubation periods were all forced to happen within these cells of Chaos, and that was the process that hooked them.


    It was akin to a mother who got her baby addicted to substances because of what she took while she was pregnant.


    Because Beasts were the most susceptible to their environment, they were also the most easily manipulated by their environment at birth.


    Ryu exhaled a breath. He finally had the whole picture, but that also made things tricky.


    He couldn''t just undo all of this... Well, he could, but that wouldn''t be satisfactory.


    Not only would that not deal the blow he wanted, but it would also likewise kill all the beasts in this Beast Domain.


    Ryu was the furthest thing from a bleeding heart, but Ailsa''s message gave him all the clues he needed. She wanted them to survive and be brought under a single banner. And since that was what his wife wanted, he didn''t need to hear anything else.


    Ryu thought about this for a while... and by a while, it was all of 13 seconds at most.


    "I''ve got it," he said lightly.


    Then, he directly sat in meditation on Lu''card. He began to rapidly form hand signs as his body entered an unprecedented state of focus.


    Slowly, his Inner World began to morph and change. And soon, it exuded an aura identical to the cell of Chaos they were currently in.


    Ryu''s eyes opened and a projection of his Inner World perfectly covered the cell.


    CRACK.


    The walls to the shell suddenly shattered.


    Then, a chaotic chain reaction boomed across the world.

 Chapter 1873 Meet

    1873 Meet


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. He could feel the world overturning all at once, and he couldn''t help but feel that this sort of success was quite comfortable too. Outplaying someone who was so much more powerful than him was its own form of catharsis.


    Ryu''s method was probably something even the Feng Shui Master wouldn''t have thought was possible. He had several other methods that he could use, but it was precisely because it relied on a method the Feng Shui Master could never detect... his Inner World.


    Feng Shui gained its power from the balance of the world, taking on nature''s energy and directing it toward your own ends. So what would happen when the world was forcefully changed by the existence of another world that you didn''t account for?


    The Beast Domain was in a fragile state where the countless cells it was separated into leaned on and relied on one another. When just one of them came crashing down, it was easy for all the rest to be destroyed at the same time.


    If all Ryu wanted to do was destroy, that would be easy enough. After all, the moment there were clashing Orders and Chaoses, it was only a matter of time before the whole thing came crashing down. But what was the difference between this and just using any other method? It would still lead to the death of all of the creatures.


    What Ryu needed to do was to give the beasts a way out. He needed to, in one part, remove the chains on their Dao Hearts, and by extension of that, allow them to live and exist in the real world.


    Although they were born with an affinity for certain breeds of Chaos, they were ultimately still creatures of this world. The forms of Chaos and Order here were just snippets of the larger world. No matter how powerful the Feng Shui Master, it was impossible for them to create their own laws... This was the limitation of Feng Shui Masters; they had no choice but to rely on the laws of the world around them. In this particular case, they were inferior to Formation Masters.


    All Ryu had to do was to break their connection, allow them to convene with the wider world, and then sever the rest.


    Of course... he had also left a little something special behind at the same time. Since they had given him such an opportunity and set up such a large-scale Feng Shui Diagram that even he couldn''t form with his current cultivation... wouldn''t it be too inappropriate of him not to?


    Ryu clasped his hands behind his back as his gaze flashed.


    "Let''s go."


    "Where are we going this time?" Lu''card looked up, feeling that something odd had happened just now but still wasn''t quite able to put his finger on it.


    Ryu''s lip curled into a sneer. "To meet some people."


    ---


    Adlael and the Ruin Master group moved toward their destination and soon came to a stop. They stood before an open pit of sorts that had a hole so bottomless that it was impossible to see through its depths.


    From time to time, Adlael would send glances toward the leader of this operation, sighing inwardly. He had managed to escape one master that was too powerful to defy, only to end up in the hands of another.


    It was an invaluable treasure!


    Of course, if Ryu heard about such a thing, his expression would become particularly weird.


    Regardless, Adlael had been ushered into this new organization and even rewarded for killing his own master. None of his belongings had been searched, and he had access to resources and Dao insights at the tips of his fingers that he couldn''t even begin to fathom.


    He had been able to completely affirm and establish his foundation before breaking through to the Sky God Realm, and in just a few years since then, he was already at the Perfect Sky God Realm.


    In the end, the boon had been beyond his expectations, but it left him feeling wary... especially now that after all these years, this man finally came to him again, and this time, he was asked to be an accompaniment on this mission.


    Adlael had his guard up completely, wondering what this man could possibly want.


    After so much time with the Guild, he had found out not much other than the name of this man. He was simply known as Iam. An impossibly simple name.


    Other than that, no one in his particular branch knew anything other than the fact that he was unfathomable and mysterious in every other way. He had the respect of everyone, yet he didn''t seem to do much.


    The only thing that made Adlael feel a little calmer was the fact that several other youths were brought along with him, and they were all looking around with curious gazes and exuding auras extremely powerful for those of their rank.


    However, even now, that curiosity in their eyes was dimming. That was because Iam had been standing at the edge of this pit for a long while, but he didn''t seem prepared to do anything, almost as though he was waiting for something... But because he didn''t explain, it was a bit annoying to have to wait for him like this as well.


    Even so, none of them dared to say anything.


    That was when Iam suddenly looked up, and they reacted in kind.


    In the distance, a large silver dragon flapped its wings once and suddenly appeared before them.


    On its back were two men, one of which Adlael would recognize even if he was burnt to ash...


    Ryu Tatsuysa!


    Rage burned in Adlael''s heart.

 Chapter 1874 Iam

    Chapter 1874 Iam


    Ryu stood high in the skies with his hands clasped behind his back. He didn''t seem to notice Adlael at all, as though he didn''t care about his existence in the slightest.


    With Ryu''s abilities, it was impossible for him to have forgotten someone. Adlael didn''t know this, but the result was just the same. If Ryu had forgotten him, then that just meant that he couldn''t be bothered to keep space in his mind for someone so completely and wholly insignificant.


    If anything, the fact that he did remember him only made the entire experience worse.


    All the while, Ryu didn''t have the time to mind Adlael''s emotions. He was looking at the cloaked man that stood before the abyss.


    By this point, Iam had also looked up. It was impossible that he hadn''t noticed that the situation had fundamentally changed. But Ryu couldn''t help but be impressed by this man''s calmness. Even Ryu wasn''t sure if he could be calm about such a thing.


    There was no doubt that he had spent at least centuries working on this matter, and that was certainly a vast underestimate. For him to suddenly lose all of that progress at once should have been heart-wrenching, and yet here he stood, silent and unassuming.


    Impossible to read.


    Ryu had come to understand through this man''s Feng Shui that he had a mind that worked on a different plane entirely. In Ryu''s life, this was probably one of the first times that he was truly meeting someone with a strength of mind comparable to his own.


    Of course, this didn''t refer to soul talent or Dao Heart, but rather pure, raw, unfettered intelligence. It was hard to put it into words, but there was a hint of recognition in one another''s eyes despite the fact the gap in their cultivation was enormous.


    Ryu looked at Iam with a calm expression.


    This man should be the one that had been causing his wife problems for so long. If he could, he would kill him right here and now. But it was obvious that that wasn''t possible... At least not quite.


    He wasn''t at a level where he could play Dao Gods to death, even the weakest of them. In fact, if not for the Lords and Sovereigns he had come across until now being so inferior, he would have never been able to deal with them either.


    "No need for flattery," Ryu said lightly. "We''re standing on two opposing sides right now. You have a choice to make. We can either fight it out right here and now, or you can cut your losses and leave. Which will it be?"


    The youths that followed along with Iam were taken aback. Their eyes widened and they couldn''t believe that it was the True Sky God among them that actually spoke.


    "Who do you think you''re talking to?!"


    It wasn''t Iam or Adlael who responded, but rather a particularly lanky, but tall young man. He must have been about 2.5 meters in height, and he was hunched over as though the weight of his torso was too heavy to hold up straight.


    His eyes flashed with vertical slits and a forked tongue slithered out of his mouth, the momentum of a Perfect Sky God raging through him as well.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted over almost lazily. He scanned the man over, and though it didn''t show on his face, he had already realized that this young man was probably the strongest Perfect Sky God that he had ever met. He would make the Omniscient Sky Gods of this world kneel with a single glance. If not for the fact he didn''t dare to outright attack in the presence of Lu''card, in all likelihood, he would have already given Ryu a great deal of pressure.


    However, aside from a glance, Ryu paid him no further heed. He was only taking advantage of the young man''s outburst to see through his disguised cultivation. Now that he had, he likewise had a splash of understanding ripple through his mind.


    Why was it that Iam, someone so powerful, had brought so many weaklings along with him?

 Chapter 1875 Birth

    Chapter 1875 Birth


    Ryu''s first thought was that this entire plan was set up for these youths. After all, an expert on the level of Iam wouldn''t need to scheme against these pitiful beasts just for the sake of strengthening his Dao Heart. By now, Iam''s Dao Heart was likely already far stronger than Ryu''s, and Ryu certainly didn''t need to rely on these creatures for such help.


    However, something about that still seemed to be off. He was missing something.


    He looked down at the pit before them all. It was unfathomably deep, and even with his eyes, he was hard-pressed to see through to the bottom. He likely could if he focused, but in a situation where they were facing off against Dao Gods, it was inadvisable for him to lose focus for even a single moment.


    That was when Ryu suddenly remembered the mission he was sent here to do.


    The Shrines of the Chaos Plane were put in place to help take over the Real Plane. Every time the Fiends conquered new pieces of land, they would move the Shrines forward and create a new Rainbow wall. Essentially, the Shrines were like forward forts, defensive lines that helped the Fiends control the situation.


    However, now that he thought back... he hadn''t seen a single Shrine even while he was on the Chaos Plane, and that was troublesome. After all, according to the Dream Wraith, in order for this favor to count as being repaid, he needed to destroy at least three Shrines.


    That task alone was difficult enough. Even now, Ryu couldn''t fathom destroying the Shrines of Sacrum despite them being merely treasures of Sacrum. It was clear that the Shrines were far more special than he knew.


    However, the fact that he couldn''t even see them was another problem.


    The Dream Wraith had described the problem so simply, and yet he couldn''t even find his target.


    But what did all of that have to do with this current situation? It seemed like there was no connection at all, and yet there was a thought that followed up just as swiftly in Ryu''s thoughts.


    How were Shrines created?


    DOOM.


    The world suddenly shook and the abyss below rippled.


    Iam looked down calmly as though he had expected this all along. He looked toward the youths behind him and said a few words. His lips moved, but even with his senses, Ryu couldn''t hear them no matter how hard he tried.


    He looked toward Lu''card and Ianjor, but the two seemed equally as clueless.


    Ryu''s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and that was when he did something that no one expected. ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels


    Ianjor''s eyes narrowed, not quite understanding at first until it all seemed to dawn on him slowly.


    Was that what everything was a setup for?


    The Dao Hearts, the restrictions on strength...


    Was this the birth of a Holy World?!


    ...


    The entire world was in an uproar. A new Holy World was being formed, and now it was a scramble for who could get there first. Too little was known about it.


    When a Holy World was newly formed, there would be a strong barrier formed around it as it stabilized. Depending on the strength, it could take anywhere from months to years to even centuries for this stabilization period to wear out.


    It was only after this that others would be able to enter.


    What many didn''t know was that if you timed it right, there was a way to enter before this stabilization period concluded...


    No one had ever seen what the inside of a Holy World looked like when it was in this state, but it was surely vastly more dangerous.


    ...


    Ryu had managed to react quickly this time. There were too few reasons why a man as powerful as Iam would need to bring so many youths with him, especially since none of them seemed to be his disciple.


    Dao Gods, no matter what the organization, didn''t have time to play babysitter to a bunch of children just because. There was definitely a purpose to all of this.


    And now, he knew what that purpose was.


    Still, as he fell through the darkness, he couldn''t help but curse beneath his breath.


    That wasn''t because of the dangerous situation he was diving headfirst into, but because...


    ''Dammit. How am I going to wrap this up in 10 days...''

 Chapter 1876 Light

    1876 Light


    If others knew what Ryu was worried about, they would surely be infuriated to an extreme. But Ryu was only doing this for his wife, and he didn''t give a damn about anything else. In fact, the only reason he was on this world in the first place was because of another one of his wives. If not for this leverage, the Dream Wraith wouldn''t have been able to force him to do anything. After all, technically speaking, it was the Dream Wraith that owed Ryu, and not the other way around. Ryu had even managed to decipher the Inheritance of the Dream Wraith on his own without accepting it.


    Regardless, he was still dead set on keeping his promise and finishing within 10 days.


    Technically, he had already accomplished what Ailsa wanted in just three, but he didn''t want a technical victory. He wanted a true victory.


    He was perfectly fine with his wives being willful... but there was something quite profound hidden within that.


    The reason he didn''t mind how willful his wives were was because the process of becoming the wife of Ryu Tatsuya wasn''t a simple one. He didn''t just fall head over heels for any beautiful woman he saw, and he had killed more than his fair share during his cultivation journey.


    They had earned the right only because they had earned his affection, and with that underlying affection they had earned came a baseline of respect that they had for him.


    But in this situation... Ailsa had been away from him for too long, and the reality of that was settling in for her.


    If he wanted his wife to remain his wife, he couldn''t show weakness.


    He had already failed at that once before, he wouldn''t allow it to happen again.


    Ryu''s gaze became cold.


    Seven days were left. He wouldn''t accept anything other than a flawless victory.


    BANG.


    It was only now that Ryu realized that he was in the middle of a sea of golden light. No, it wasn''t a sea, but rather a large plain of golden grass. Rather, it was that the golden light reflected so much that the endless gold seemed to be the surface of rippling water rather than solid land.


    ''Light qi?''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    It wasn''t that he assumed every Holy World he entered would have a perfect affinity for him, but given how many affinities he had, the likelihood that he would land in a world that he wouldn''t at least have some advantage in was practically nil.


    Unfortunately, practically nil didn''t mean entirely nil. And in this case, it seemed that he was screwed in more ways than one.


    ''Well...''


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. It wasn''t exactly true that he had no light affinity. It just happened to be among the affinities that he ignored.


    Plus, he had Seed of Light, so even if he had had no affinity at all, he would still have it.


    It seemed that maybe he would need to lean on his Spiritual Foundation entirely for this battle.


    But that left him with another question.


    How could he conquer this world?


    The last Holy World was straightforward: just defeat all the Fiends. But this time, this world was in its infantile state and there was no established Fate. And it was also extremely difficult to gather Faith if there was a pitifully small number of people to deal with.


    Ryu didn''t move. One part of his intention was focused on the world around him so that he wasn''t suddenly run through with a blade, while the other tried to think of a plan.

 Chapter 1877 Ancient Sinew

    1877 Ancient Sinew


    Even after a long while, Ryu hadn''t thought of anything solid. There was simply too little information.


    ''What do I know, then? For one, we should have entered through random teleportation. That means what opponents I have are likely to be separated right now. It''s probably in my best interest to deal with them before they can team up...''


    Ryu realized that since he couldn''t do anything about his lack of information other than slowly take his time to gather more. That said, what he did know was that he definitely had enemies. Although he wasn''t there, he was sure that Iam had sent those disciples following after him in.


    In that case, there was just one thing to do. The only problem was that those disciples were supremely powerful. Ryu had never felt such pressure from people with cultivations so close to his own. However, there was no other choice.


    It was just going to have to be a gamble. Did they have methods of dealing with this chaos that were comparable to his own? Or not?


    Ryu took a step and vanished.


    ...


    Kira tried his best not to move. Or more accurately, he tried his best not to walk or run around. At the moment, he was focused on putting a few droplets into his eyes, but he kept missing and having to wait for the droplets to roll into the whites of his eyes.


    It was too hard to do anything in this place, but Iam was prepared. These droplets would allow him to see through what Iam called the Fog of Chaos, but it would take several hours for his body to adjust to what his eyes could see.


    Kira was none other than the tall, lanky man with slit pupils. He had a much longer history with the Ruin Master Guild, but what was interesting was... other than Adlael, none of the youths that came today were aware of what organization they were a part of.


    All they knew was that they had to listen to Iam''s words. As for everything else? They knew nothing. They didn''t even know the meaning of the emblem that rested on their chests.


    Kira''s expression suddenly sharpened.


    Danger.


    He felt danger.


    A true expert would be capable of making a guess based on several factors. If the danger was high, it should be targeted at a vital region, but not a location that would result in an instant kill. There were only so many regions of the body that that could be.


    Just using a process of elimination and their quick thinking speed, Kira would certainly be able to make a decision.


    Not only was Kira intelligent enough to do this, but when he separated from Ryu, he realized that the reason his eyes couldn''t see through everything right now wasn''t because of the world, but because of a skill that Ryu had used.


    Understanding this, Kira''s mind and qi thrummed. In a rush, there was a Domain formed around him and a pair of reptilian eyes appeared in the skies.


    As expected, it began to clash with Ryu''s Inner World, and he could actually see somewhat again. And finally, he could lay eyes on Ryu himself.


    "It''s you." Kira''s eyes became frighteningly cold. His slit pupils began to pulse, and the air of a beast began to emit from him in waves.


    Ryu saw through what this talent was in an instant, but he was shocked because he had never heard of his Bone Structure before. Could such a thing really exist?


    Ryu looked through the Lines of Fate and found its name. His eyes couldn''t help but narrow.


    ''Ancient Sinew Bone Structure...''


    It actually allowed Kira to incorporate the blood of beasts directly into his strength. He didn''t need their essence because his Ancient Sinew Bone Structure was able to distill and purify normal blood into his own Blood Essence. This directly gave him the power of beasts without much restriction.


    He could refine the foundation of his Body Realm cultivation whenever he wanted, as though he had infinite access to his previous cultivation realms. It was like the Perfect Blackbody of the Bones.


    ''A Bone Structure I''ve never heard of before...''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed. The rivers of this Ruin Master Guild ran deep.

 Chapter 1878 Chaos

    1878 Chaos


    Ryu didn''t waste any time. He brandished his great swordstaffs and took a step forward. He didn''t use any techniques, no flowery skills. He was simple and to the point, erupting with his greatest strength.


    That said, that didn''t mean that he did nothing at all. In fact, just the moment he attacked, he suddenly retrieved his Inner World.


    Kira, who had gotten used to the suppression of Ryu''s Domain, or what he thought was a Domain, was taken aback when it suddenly vanished. Suddenly, his own Domain was lost in a whirlwind of chaos and he was bombarded with an array of senses that he couldn''t comprehend in a short time.


    All he knew was that he had to move, he couldn''t stay in the same spot.


    He dodged backward, but Ryu''s blade was too fast. It cut down at a diagonal, ripping into his traps and looking to cleave his body in two.


    But then...


    Ryu''s blade froze.


    A feeling of danger welled up in Ryu''s heart, but his blade even seemed to be stuck for a moment as Kira''s muscles flexed so hard that it trapped it in place for a split second.


    BANG!


    A heart-shuddering pressure rammed into Ryu''s chest and practically shattered all of his ribs at once. Ryu was blown back faster than he came.


    Despite the pain, he was already prepared for a follow-up, only to realize that Kira wasn''t coming after him at all. Not because he didn''t want to, but because he couldn''t.


    Kira had no idea where Ryu was, he had only struck out based on the placement of the blade. But right now, he didn''t dare to move casually.


    Ryu landed on his feet heavily, his body swaying. He looked down at his bloody chest and slowly shook his head.


    Was the gap really that big? Ryu was very disappointed.


    In reality, he shouldn''t have been. Kira was an entire cultivation Realm above him. Let alone a few broken bones, Ryu should be dead right now. Between two talents of equal level, even a sub-realm of cultivation was a huge disparity, let alone an entire Realm.


    Ryu took a step and vanished from Kira''s sight, leaving him frustrated and grinding his teeth.


    Now, Kira was on edge, not knowing when Ryu might appear again.


    ...


    Ryu moved through the world, summoning his Inner World. His mind churned as he tried to think of a different solution.


    It was almost amusing. He had just concluded that schemes couldn''t work against absolute strength, and yet here he was, trying to scheme again.


    ''Well... they''re too far from absolute strength.''


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as he came to a stop. He looked up as an idea came to mind.


    He stomped a foot and soared high into the skies, basking in the chaos that washed over him.


    ''Really?'' Ryu was taken aback.


    At first, he thought that the chaos in this place was lower-case chaos. This sort of chaos was birthed from Order and it wasn''t true Chaos, but rather referred to randomness. However, with enough computation, it was possible to see through it.


    Since this Holy World was in the Real Plane, it wasn''t a bad conclusion to come to. It would also explain why Ryu wasn''t able to see through it immediately.


    But then again... weren''t there other reasons to explain why he couldn''t see through it?


    ''No, this isn''t chaos... this is Chaos.''


    That was when the realization hit Ryu. The Holy World was in this state because it was in a state of being born. There was no form of truer Chaos. It was replicating the start of the universe on a much smaller scale.


    In that case...


    Ryu''s gaze flashed and the atmosphere around him changed. Fluttering Runes of Dark Gold took shape as he loosened the restrictions on his Chaotic Silk Meridians and allowed his Childe of Chaos Constitution to flourish.

 Chapter 1879 Breathe

1879 Breathe Visitt (.)co/m for the latest updates

 Chapter 1880 Know Your Place

    Chapter 1880 Know Your Place


    The earth trembled, and the skies roiled. However, Ryu continued to sit in place as though he hadn''t sensed any of it at all. Everything in the world reflected in his mind, and when it seemed like things would veer in the wrong direction, the Seed of Light pulsed just a single time, and everything seemed to return to a perfect state of calm.


    The feeling of having everything under his control was an intoxicating one, and one that Ryu would never get enough of.


    Whether it was Adlael, Kira, or the three-pupiled woman, they all felt that something was wrong at the same time. They thought that maybe what they were looking for had been revealed, but in the end, they realized that the commotion was far too large for this.


    They sensed what was happening and immediately made a move, heading toward Ryu''s location. But as they did so, it felt to them that if the world was in the palm of Ryu''s hands, then it was entirely against them.


    They found themselves running in place as though the earth was moving in the opposite direction. No matter how hard they pushed, it wasn''t enough.


    Despair flickered in their eyes, and all three thought of the same person at the same time.


    The woman was almost certain that the person she had sensed earlier was Ryu. As a member of the Three-Pupil Race, she was incredibly sensitive to the existence of Heavenly Pupils. The moment they appeared, she had sensed the Heavenly Pupils of all three of them, that being Ryu, Ianjor, and Lu''card.


    Lu''card was weird enough, as she had never heard of a beast having Heavenly Pupils before. But Ryu still caught her attention the most because his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were ranked in the top three not in a particular world... but across all of existence itself. On top of that, Ryu''s had mutated in a way that she had never seen before.


    The only person who could possibly be capable of gazing at her without her being able to find them in this world was Ryu.


    Kira thought of Ryu immediately as well because after his interaction with him and his own rage cooled, he realized that it was too ridiculous for Ryu to be able to move so freely in this world, especially when they had come prepared and Ryu had entered in the spur of a moment.


    He couldn''t see it himself, but he was sure that this was related to Ryu.


    The Dao God of the Lightning Fiends, Thaldorin.


    BOOM!


    He came to a sudden stop, and cobwebs of flashing lightning spread into the distance. He seemed to instantly form a Domain that covered all things.


    Lu''card and Ianjor could only narrow their eyes. If they were near that sort of devastation, they would die ten times over without knowing what happened.


    Whether by coincidence or not, they both thought of Ryu at the same time. That man was really too reckless. Even if he succeeded, what would be waiting for him on the outside was far too ridiculous. There was no way they could step into these murky waters. In fact, just watching was dangerous.


    If they were in a position to watch a Dao God, that Dao God was certainly in a position to sense them. Who were they to say that their vision was better than a Dao God''s? Even Ryu couldn''t boast such a thing.


    Just as Thaldorin''s Domain was spreading, there was a sudden echoing boom through space once again.


    A valiant woman wearing armor of plated white diamond appeared. She slashed down her sword just a single time, not even bothering to converse with Thaldorin.


    She split Thaldorin''s Domain in two, and fluttering gems appeared in the skies, forming her own Domain.


    Suddenly, the skies were split in two. One beauty and another handsome man. If one didn''t know better, one would think that they were having a lover''s spat.


    Their clash caused the world to rock and shake. Neither one of them were worried about ruining the Holy World because it simply wasn''t something even the strength of a God could shift or change.


    "Sweeping Lightning. Know your place," the woman said coldly. "This is the Real Plane, not your backyard."

 Chapter 1881 Change

    Chapter 1881 Change


    Thaldorin chuckled. "It''s easy to get me to leave, White Gem. Just warm my bed for a day and night, and I''ll bow out gracefully." Fi?ndd new updates at novelhall.com


    "Just a day and night?" White Gem sneered. "I''m afraid that you''ll be begging me to stop if I ask for any longer."


    White Gem didn''t respond immediately, looking at the swords that fanned out behind Thaldorin''s back. "A man fond of peacocking everywhere he goes can''t possibly have much to show below his belt. Especially not when what you''re peacocking are such frail, feminine blades."


    The blades were, indeed, quite delicate-looking. They appeared more suited for fencing or a sword dance rather than a real battle.


    "What a sharp-tongued woman," Thaldorin chuckled. "Being so old and yet so single seems to suit you."


    "When there''s nothing but the likes of you lying around, being single isn''t so bad," she replied just as coldly.


    The two faced off in a stalemate. They were too used to this song and dance. It wasn''t that the two were very familiar with one another, but rather that every Dao God of opposing sides would understand one another at least superficially, and likely have interacted at least once or twice.


    No matter what happened beneath the rank of Dao God, ultimately, if a victory wasn''t won on this level, the war would simply never end. As such, the bare minimum was to understand the other side.


    Instead, the real reason they were so familiar with this was because this was what always happened when a Holy World appeared. One side would appear first, make a feint at taking it all over, all to test the bottom line of the other party.


    Of course, there was some variation to this. Especially when the Holy World appeared deep in the territory of one or another. As one might expect, it was far more dangerous for the other party to appear in such a case.


    But this wasn''t one of those cases considering the rainbow barrier wasn''t too far away.


    Now, they had to move on to the next phase... waiting for reinforcements.


    The Sun Clan would definitely fight tooth and nail for this... But the Light Fiends would do the same.


    The Light Fiends were a small population, but each one was exceptionally powerful. Their element was simply too difficult to deal with.


    Comparatively speaking, the Sun Fey had quite a few light elemental powerhouses among them as well.


    As one might expect, the third exception was in the case that an affinity that rarely appeared did so. But, the good news was that this exception wasn''t nearly as bad as the first two, and there was still some room to maneuver.


    However, this still needed to be handled delicately.


    "I will report this," White Gem said.


    She was a Dao God of the Gemma family, the first ranked beneath the Sun Clan. In comparison, they were far superior to the Luminara Clan under the Moon Fey. However, this still had little to do with her since her family wasn''t of the light affinity... at least not entirely.


    As White Gem went off to report this matter, so too did Thaldorin. A race had already been set off, and both were agitated for their own reasons.


    However, as Thaldorin was about to leave, he frowned and looked in a certain direction.


    BOOM!


    A fiery-haired elder suddenly appeared out of nowhere. While Thaldorin had a fan of lightning swords behind him, Tyroth had a flaming wheel that seemed to peer into the depths of Samara.


    The moment the two came across one another, sparks flew and the world seemed to explode.


    Everyone knew of the friction between the Lightning and Fire Fiends. Usually, they wouldn''t easily cross paths like this. But to think this would happen by coincidence.


    The Fey, Faeries, and Naturals alike all watched with rapt attention. This might cause a change to the situation.

 Chapter 1882 Fallen

    Chapter 1882 Fallen


    Sparks flew through the air, and it seemed as though the two Fiends were about to erupt. Time ticked by, and seconds felt like hours. Many of the weaker parties that had become involved hurried to rush away from the encirclement, knowing that if such a battle erupted, they wouldn''t even have the right to protect themselves.


    The seconds continued to fly by, and the tension continued to mount until it popped. After over a minute had passed, it seemed as though neither was going to make a move, and many began to relax slightly.


    It was exactly then that they suddenly moved.


    BOOM!


    The battle of Dao Gods wasn''t something that could be explained in just a few words. Most didn''t even have the right to witness it. When they were serious, the laws around them distorted and changed so much that using a normal pair of eyes would allow you to see nothing at all, and using your Spiritual Sense would get your soul ripped to shreds.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    However, the reverberating impact was something that everyone could see no matter their strength.


    Trees bent and swayed so far that their trunks threatened to shatter despite the fact they were tens of thousands of kilometers away. Just the reverberating wind pressure from the strikes at such a far-off distance made these mighty trees that had stood for generations react more like loose noodles than the foundation of this forest.


    The trees that were even closer didn''t even stand a chance. They were entirely uprooted and sent flying in the best cases, and in the worst, they were burnt to ash by stray bolts of lightning or embers of flames.


    Mountains collapsed, and the skies began to form an enormous vortex that seemed like it wanted to swallow up everything.


    ...


    However, lightning and fire were well known as a cut above the others.


    If it was just a matter of simple lightning and fire, then it could be ignored. However, when lightning and fire affinity hit a certain threshold, it left other elemental affinities behind, becoming some of the strongest attack powers in the entirety of Existence...


    And when these two came together...


    White Gem didn''t even expect it. She had been about to go and report the specialness of this Holy World when the two suddenly attacked one another. She had chosen to stay because the outcome of this battle would be crucial to how they would proceed.


    What she didn''t expect was that there would be an attack that suddenly came for her.


    It was too late to react.


    A beam of lightning and fire tore through the air, wrapping around one another and suddenly piercing right through her chest.


    White Gem''s eyes opened wide, and the skies seemed to dim along with her eyes.


    Killing a Dao God was especially difficult, so difficult that it had been tens of thousands of years since the last had fallen despite the fierceness of their war. Dao Gods had too many trump cards, and their vitality was simply off the charts. It could be said that the existences closest to true Immortality were the Dao Gods, and many had lifespans so long that even counting them in the trillions of years simply wasn''t enough.


    And yet, when this strike landed, everyone, even the weakest, seemed to know that it was truly over. There was no coming back from it.


    White Gem collapsed to the ground, and the skies began to rain down. The Heavens opened up and mourned, droplets of black, red, and gold falling from above.


    A Dao God had fallen for the first time in generations...

 Chapter 1883 Terrible Odds

    Chapter 1883 Terrible Odds


    "You can stop touching me now, you sick bastard. Do I look like I swing that way?" Tyroth said with a fierce grin as though he might start fighting Thaldorin any moment now.


    Thaldorin pulled his hand back with an indifferent expression.


    Looking at the interaction between these two, it was clear to anyone that they did truly hate one another. And yet, they had easily worked together for the sake of dealing a death blow to the Real Plane.


    "Secure the perimeter," Tyroth''s voice thundered.


    There were more Dao Gods on the side of the Real Plane, but the issue was that both Thaldorin and Tyroth were Middle Dao Gods, while the only Middle Dao God of the Real Plane had just died a tragic death.


    Well... the sad part about the death of a Dao God was that even after their death had already been confirmed, they could still linger on. Their vitality was so strong that even after the Heavens themselves mourned, they were still capable of carrying on.


    So down below, laying on the ground as her precious God Blood leaked, White Gem could only stare into the skies in wonder. Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    Never did she think that this would happen. The Fiends had never gone so far for such a meaningless Holy World. If it had been as important as a Lord Holy World, she might understand. But to lose her life over a Perfect Holy World...


    She was unwilling.


    Resentment filled the air and it seemed to boil over. In her fury, several of the existences that she had just been protecting directly died.


    She didn''t seem to care about anything else any longer, and she ended up massacring dozens in her final fury.


    Since she couldn''t live, why did she have to care about anything else?


    She vented and vented again, her last remaining stores of God power practically obliterating what remained of the Real Plane''s party. Even the Lower Dao Gods were heavily injured by her tirade. The gap between the Dao God grades was so vast that even the death throes of a sub-realm above were enough to leave them in such a state.


    But now... even the two of them, who had seen Ryu accomplish all sorts of shocking tasks, didn''t believe that it would be possible this time around. Was there really any other path outside of death?


    There was no way out, Ailsa was still trapped in her own Holy World war, and Ryu''s strongest trump card was a butterfly that was about to hatch from its cocoon and a pair of friends and a dragon that had just run away with their tails tucked between their legs.


    The potential outcomes seemed bleak.


    ...


    Ryu didn''t know anything about what was going on in the outside world, but even if he did, there really wasn''t much that he could do about it... Plus, he had already guessed much of this the moment he had the thought about Shrines.


    He knew that his wife couldn''t possibly be tied down by the likes of the people in this world. She was his Life Partner, and if she managed to make it to Dao Godhood, that meant that she had also reached a level of strength that could put others to shame.


    The only way for her to be tied down was by an organization that couldn''t be explained simply, and this Ruin Master Guild fit the bill. It was no coincidence that the mission she gave him was related to them. This explained everything.


    In that case, it was his duty as a husband to fix everything. Since his little wife had gotten into trouble, there was only one thing left to do...


    Mow down everyone that stood in her way.


    Even he didn''t dare to scold his wife, how dare anyone else do so? Let alone keep her trapped where she couldn''t move freely?


    They deserved death.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed open and a world-ending aura shuddered from him.


    He had found it.


    "This Shrine... I''ll be taking it."

 Chapter 1884 Fakes

    Chapter 1884 Fakes


    Ryu suddenly realized that there was something wrong. The longer he looked at the Shrine, the more that he felt that there was something... off about it. The aura had seemed identical at the start, but as he looked deeper, the changes became more obvious to him. It was like looking at the same word written in a different font. At first, Ryu thought that this was because of the chaotic leaning of this world; it would make sense for the Shrines to be a little different. But the more he looked into it, the more he felt that this wasn''t exactly the case. That was when it hit him. ''They''re fakes!''


    Ryu was taken aback. Who could make replicas of the Shrines he was so familiar with, that were so lifelike and real? He couldn''t fathom the level of craftsmanship that was necessary, so much so that it made the Feng Shui that he had been so impressed with before seem like nothing more than child''s play. But more importantly than that... why? How? Ryu''s heart shook as he recalled that the Ruin Master Guild was involved in the matters related to his home as well. They had even appeared during that final war as though they were in collusion with the Martial Gods. Ryu had only faint inklings as to why that might be, and now he seemed to understand that it was certainly related to the Ruin Master Guild. But the question was... how deep did this conspiracy go, and with how strong they were, why was it that they didn''t just come and take it by force? The Heavenly Knights were powerful, but the fact the Martial Gods had managed to sneak by them meant that they weren''t infallible. Ryu didn''t believe that the Ruin Master Guild wouldn''t have a method of dealing with them if push came to shove. So what was going on? It can''t be that they didn''t know... At the very least, Adlael was a member of the True Martial World, and for him to appear here when travel between worlds should be basically impossible, it meant that someone had to have brought him...

 Chapter 1885 Change

    Chapter 1885 Change


    Ryu''s brows were furrowed in thought, but no matter how much effort he put into thinking, there was no easy, one-line answer waiting for him. He simply didn''t have nearly enough information.


    He could only set this matter aside for now.


    He had no ability to uproot or take the Shrines of Sacrum, they were far too unfathomable even to his current self.


    However, this replica... with the support of this world...


    He certainly could.


    In fact, Ryu had a bolder idea than even that.


    With a thought, he began to use the power of the world to draw the Shrine into himself. Because of the Feng Shui diagram he had set up, the Shrine mistook him as part of the world and didn''t even resist at all.


    At that moment, it suddenly vanished and appeared within Ryu''s world, but he wasn''t satisfied with this alone.


    The natural treasures in Ryu''s Realm Heart, swimming in his Spiritual Foundation, were far too difficult for him to use. The pressure on his body was too exaggerated, and as such, he could basically only watch them without being able to do much at all.


    However, what if he had a treasure that could take the pressure off of him?


    There was a reason this world was a world of light. Or more accurately, there was a reason the world set aside to help replenish and cure this Shrine of its ailments was a world of light. Obviously, this Shrine had a Light affinity. If it was in Sacrum, it would be called the Light Shrine.


    But this was just the beginning.


    As the light poured into the Shrine, it actually began to stabilize.


    Even if he couldn''t use them freely, the natural treasures were ultimately teeming with Ryu''s aura. He was able to use a strand of the Seed of Light''s energy to impose his will onto the Shrine, and in that moment, the last bits of resistance it had were wiped away.


    Ryu didn''t erase the imprint of the Dao God he found on it just yet, but he could tell that he could do so whenever he wanted. Or rather, he could control the Shrine to erase it of its own accord. The imprint of a Dao God wasn''t something that he could deal with at all.


    This was the first time Ryu had come across a treasure that needed such an imprint at all, but it went to show just how valuable the Shrines were... even if they were just imitations.


    Ryu lifted his head to the skies and laughed. With the help of this Shrine, he was certain. So long as he could keep his life for a handful of exchanges, he could slay a Dao Lord with this strength.


    The power of the natural treasures his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation needed to thrive were simply beyond the wildest imaginations of most... even Ryu himself.


    Ryu calmed himself. He knew that he was being overly emotional about it, he would have never even put a Dao Lord in his eyes in the past. He would have felt that it was only a matter of nature that he could now kill one given the right circumstances. But now...


    ''One day...'' Ryu said with a resolute glint in his eyes, ''... I will completely walk out of this shadow.''


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened and he turned his attention to the remaining world around him. It was time to take this world for himself as well, but he would have to do so beautifully. After all, he didn''t want to disappoint those waiting for him outside.


    Ryu began what was a normal process, but that was when the situation changed on him.


    His Realm Heart began to pulse oddly and Ryu''s expression changed.

 Chapter 1886 No Way

    Chapter 1886 No Way


    Ryu''s Realm Heart had gone through a lot of changes in its life, and everything seemed to deviate it further and further from what it was meant and designed to be.


    When he first got it, it was used as a replacement for his dantian, and that much was fine enough. However, after he reaffirmed his connection with his Chaotic Silk Meridians, it was forced to undergo a different sort of change, being influenced now by both its own path and that of Ryu''s.


    As though that wasn''t enough, Ryu then began to use it to store his true Spiritual Foundation, and that inevitably caused another series of changes.


    After all, it had to be remembered that the Spiritual Foundation was the manifestation of one''s Dao Heart. The form itself was less important than the soul it represented. That meant, in essence, Ryu''s soul and the soul of the Realm Heart were suddenly occupying the same space, causing it to undergo even more changes.


    But even that wasn''t the end of it. That was because Ryu then used his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation to copy and multiply his Cosmos Fog, enveloping his Realm Heart and effectively cutting it off from the Heavens.


    This forced the Realm Heart to undergo yet another mutation.


    It could be said that until this point, although Ryu had some inklings about what the path of the Realm Heart might be, it had changed so many times, and been forced to undergo so many mutations, that it was simply impossible to tell after a certain point.


    That left Ryu a bit helpless, but what was the most frustrating was that he had missed out on what should have been one of the strongest abilities of the Realm Heart...


    His own personal Natural Enlightenment.


    Realm Hearts were the embryos meant to one day become worlds, and every world had its own unique quirks and tendencies. These tendencies would then take the form of Natural Enlightenments, but these Natural Enlightenments were far from the normal kind.


    For example, Ryu''s Shrine Mountain Natural Enlightenment could be considered to be the Natural Enlightenment of Sacrum. It was the very foundation of the world and there was no Natural Enlightenment stronger than it on that particular world.


    But now, he might as well do something for the Realm Heart that had followed him for so long.


    "Go on. Take it."


    Ryu''s Realm Heart thrummed, and the energy that was about to be diverted to his Inner World was taken by the Realm Heart instead.


    Ryu watched with rapt attention, but to his surprise, the Realm Heart just seemed to be a bottomless hole. There were no changes, and as the Holy World''s potential was swallowed up, there was absolutely nothing to show for it.


    A chuckle left Ryu again and he shook his head. Even if that was the case, it was fine. He didn''t believe that something that would benefit the Realm Heart wouldn''t benefit him even if he couldn''t see what it was immediately.


    But then his heart shook.


    ''No way.''


    Ryu''s eyes opened wide.


    The moment the last bits of the world were sucked away, an even greater surge of energy began to be pumped out. However, this one was so far and away superior to the energy that had come before that Ryu was left floored and speechless.


    The energy rammed into his body, and yet despite the description, it was as gentle as a drizzle of rain.


    Ryu realized what happened right then.


    Did his Realm Heart just take a Perfect Grade world and turn it into a God Grade one?

 Chapter 1887 Shattered

    Chapter 1887 Shattered


    Ryu didn''t have the words to speak as insights he had never grasped before flooded his mind. He hadn''t expected that even at this point, his Realm Heart was still trying to help him.


    For a moment, he even felt a little bit of guilt before that was overwhelmed by a flood of thoughts.


    He understood.


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation had a great strength, and that was taking things to the brink of perfection and then giving them a little nudge over.


    Even now, Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation was mostly a mystery to him, and he found it difficult to even begin to control. It could do things he couldn''t fathom, but it had no guidance to do so or to act.


    Just the difficulty in allowing it to reach the Sky God Realm should be a wake-up call. If not for the rewards of the Heavenly Path, Ryu would still be hunting for natural treasures in hopes that his Spiritual Foundation would one day awaken properly.


    But, it was also precisely because Ryu had taken this shortcut that his Spiritual Foundation was such an enigma to him even now.


    He had taken the easy way out, and as such, his Spiritual Foundation neither acknowledged him nor allowed itself to be controlled. But this wasn''t just a matter of the arrogance of his Spiritual Foundation. Ultimately, no matter how much of a tantrum it was throwing, it was still one of his souls. If Ryu really wanted to control it, he could.


    The issue was that he couldn''t. He physically could not.


    The Heavens were fair in all things. The fact the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation was so difficult to wield was purposeful. The amount of energy you put in was the amount you got back.


    As for how a World Sea Realm expert could possibly gather up all those treasures.... Well, hadn''t Ryu done it? The Heavenly Path had given him a shortcut, and details on location, but the actual gathering of the Natural Treasures was done by his own ingenuity. Still, this was likely not the path the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation expected of its owner.


    This was all to say that Ryu''s Spiritual Foundation wasn''t meant to be controlled by the current Ryu. It was meant to be controlled by a Ryu with the power to snatch those Natural Treasures away as though they were candies from a baby....


    The energy came back in a torrent so fast that Ryu''s body felt like it was going to split apart.


    His skin broke and his bones creaked, and yet...


    He raised his head to the skies and echoed out with booming laughter.


    They had always said that a Realm Heart was one of the most valuable treasures in the world. Stumbling upon one took an unfathomable amount of luck, and it seemed that benefiting from one also took a great deal of time and effort.


    This boon made everything else that Ryu had ever experienced in his life feel pale in comparison.


    He had settled for what he could when it came to Holy Worlds, and though he had thought about filling himself up with God Grade worlds, he also knew that it was unrealistic. He was far too weak to even consider such a thing.


    But this changed it all. Right now, it was like a perfect path to Godhood was laid out before Ryu. If he wanted, he could even quickly cultivate to Godhood. He bet that if he followed the path of even just these two worlds, he would become powerful enough to sweep through all the Dao Gods of this world.


    Of course... Ryu would never do such a thing. There were several reasons for this, but the most important was that it would be a waste of his potential.


    He would have to rebuild his Dao based on Ice, Darkness, and Light alone. In addition, his peak would be capped at this world. After all, the Holy Worlds only represented the pinnacle of this Chaos-filled world, it had nothing to do with the peaks that existed elsewhere.


    However, none of that mattered to Ryu right now. He didn''t feel the need to benefit from this and ruin his future.


    Instead, he was thinking about all the strength he could gain in his current Realm alone.


    Simply put, he would become a true monster very soon.


    BOOM!


    The world shattered apart.

 Chapter 1888 I Hate This Guy

    Chapter 1888 I Hate This Guy


    The Fiends had already locked down the region, with both Thaldorin and Tyroth present and prepared in case anything went wrong. According to their initial estimates, it would take a while for the Real Plane experts to realize that something was amiss.


    The death of a Dao God was incredibly rare. On one hand, it made it especially difficult to kill them¡ªor rather, it proved how difficult it was. But on the other, the other side wouldn''t be prepared for such an event at all.


    Usually, powerful cultivators would have some sort of memento in their Clan to mark whether they were alive or dead. However, not only was it very difficult for a Dao God to create one themselves due to their power, but it was also a bit of a taboo, at least in this world.


    Dao Gods were exactly that, Gods. Why would they allow themselves to be blasphemed as though mere mortals had the right to check up on their life and death? For all intents and purposes, they were true immortals and wanted to be treated as such.


    Ironically, that was precisely what would put the Real Plane in a bind. Not only had they lost a Middle Dao God, but they had also lost two Lower Dao Gods on top of that. This was a devastating blow for the Real Plane, even if the Fiends didn''t end up with the Holy World, let alone the fact that they knew they were very soon going to be able to benefit from it.


    Still, the Fiends didn''t show any sign of complacency. They left layers of formations, formed a net for scouting and ensuring that anyone who came close would be noticed ahead of time, and they even had two Middle Dao Gods on the scene. If they could have gotten away with it, they would have sent Higher or even Peak Dao Gods. But the problem was that most were on important missions or taking up posts in the few God Grade Holy Worlds. Those were the worlds that neither side could ever accept losing, and it was also the reason why Higher and Peak Dao Gods rarely appeared.


    That, however, was another point in favor of Tyroth and Thaldorin because what was true for the Fiends was also true of them. For all intents and purposes, they were the most powerful force that could appear here. They were ready for anything.


    And that was when the world suddenly shuddered. The first thing they felt was a change to the rainbow wall. It actually dimmed and then receded by several paces. Given how large the rainbow wall was, in order for it to noticeably move back, it had to be a distance of at least hundreds of kilometers.


    As expected, the landscape that should have been on the Chaos Plane''s side was revealed to them, and the expressions of the two Dao Gods couldn''t help but change. Hidden in the shadows, Iam''s eyes narrowed. He realized immediately that something had gone wrong, but he didn''t know exactly what it was just yet. There was no doubt that this issue was related to the Shrine, but he also didn''t believe that it was possible for Ryu to destroy it with his strength. Realizing this, he still kept a great deal of his calm.


    The eyes of the Middle Dao Gods widened and Iam''s own constricted. The latter felt that he had experienced more emotions today than he had in the last several tens of thousands of years. Could so many years of planning really be ruined by one Ryu?


    It had to be remembered that the Beast Domain had been this way for an impossibly long time, so much so that it was just the normal status quo for those of this world. There were even several Dao God Beasts that had been born in this time. For a single Ryu to undo all of that in the matter of days... Well, it was shocking. Even Ailsa didn''t expect this, or else she wouldn''t have given him a ten-year deadline.


    "Seems I have your attention," Ryu nodded, but the Dao Gods didn''t speak. They were in part wary of exposing anything else, and another part disdainful to speak to someone who was so pitifully weak. Even Dao Sovereigns weren''t worth their attention, let alone Ryu.


    That said, Ryu didn''t need them to speak. This was his stage. "Good. Now that I have your attention, we can make something clear. You might think that I have no ability to destroy this Shrine, but..."


    The imposter Shrine shook in Ryu''s Inner World and suddenly appeared behind his head. It moved around with his will, shrank down to the size of his palm, and then vanished. "Do you really want to test that?"


    This time, Iam truly couldn''t remain calm. He had been among those that felt that it was impossible for Ryu to be capable of this. However, controlling the Shrine was even more shocking than destroying it. How was that even possible?


    "All I''ve done this time is remove the Shrine from your little array. But... I could erase it entirely. Or, I could add it back and then use it to start a chain reaction. I wonder what would happen if a Shrine in your array suddenly suffered a bit of backlash? Would you end up with dozens of damaged Shrines instead of just one? Want to find out?"


    Ryu smiled a handsome smile. He didn''t seem bothered by anything at all. It was almost as though he would be fine even if he was the center of the world''s attention. No... it was almost like he preferred it to be exactly that way. ...


    In the distance, Ianjor and Lu''card looked toward one another.


    "I hate this guy." They said at the same time.

 Chapter 1889 Star River

    Chapter 1889 Star River


    Ryu''s words caused the atmosphere to freeze. It wasn''t just a matter of the threat but rather what the threat implied... How did he know so much? Ryu stood calmly in the air as the Blessings continued to fall toward him. He faced off against the various Dao Gods, and in that moment of fluctuation, his eyes flashed like lightning. Ryu''s head suddenly turned in a certain direction, landing right in the location Iam was hidden in. "There you are."


    He closed his eyes and then focused on the Blessings. The changes to his Inner World were enormous, but he had to find a method of balancing them properly. Luckily, he had a good method. After all, weren''t light and darkness opposites of the same coin? If he had to balance Ice on top of that, it was easier because Ice didn''t necessarily clash with either one. All he needed to do was find a way for Ice to meld with Light just the same as it had done for Darkness, and that wasn''t too difficult at all. When Ice came in contact with Darkness, it gained depth and variety to it; it was unfathomable and difficult to trace. When Ice came in contact with Light, it also gained variety that was especially difficult to trace, but for another reason entirely. It was like a house of mirrors with a myriad of changes within. Ice formed the mirrors, and light refracted across them and rebounded off, forming a confusing array that was probably only a minor step inferior to Lu''card''s similar skill. Ryu played around with these things for a bit until he shook his head. In the end, he decided to keep them separate. He separated Ice from Darkness with ease and forced it into a more dormant state. Everything flowed impossibly smoothly from one thought to the next. Ryu''s grasp over the elements was exceptionally high; he could see a clear path to the Dao God Realm with them, so how could they not be? But he was more interested in what they could do for his Inner World. These comprehensions would only be a foundation for him. His goals were much taller than just this alone. ...


    "Star River!" Thaldorin spoke out before he could control himself, his heart trembling. They were aware of the existence of every Dao God in both factions, so how could they not recognize this powerhouse? The issue that they faced was that it shouldn''t be possible for Star River to appear here. She was a Higher Dao God, and her station was incredibly important. More pressing than that was... how did she even know what was happening here? Star River ignored them. A pair of Middle Dao Gods was entirely beneath her notice. She glanced at Ryu, expecting to find something special about the boy considering Ailsa had made her come here personally... only to be taken aback by the fact he had only given her a glance before directly ignoring her as though she was just here to serve him, or something. Star River almost laughed in anger. Whether it was her beauty or her strength, when had any man ever ignored her like this? Let alone a True Sky God. However, in the end, there were more important things to care about right now. She raised a palm. The blue skies vanished, the air in the region seemed to be sucked away in a single instant, and then the darkened skies began to twinkle with stars. Without a word, she struck down at the location Ryu''s gaze had pointed out. Iam''s eyes narrowed. He felt a hint of anger well up in his heart, but in the end, it extinguished as fast as it appeared, his indifference returning. A sigh left his lips, he gave Ryu a final glance, and then he vanished, taking the trio with him. BOOM! The Beast Domain was overturned and large numbers of Fiends were wiped out. ''Run.''


    Thaldorin and Tyroth had the same thought and didn''t hesitate in the slightest. They split and rushed away. There was a heaviness in the air that they couldn''t match and they knew that even if they worked together, they might be lucky to push Star River to a standstill at the cost of heavy injuries to themselves. The situation had changed; it was no longer possible to stick around. Star River glanced at them and didn''t bother to pursue. She could easily suppress the two, but actually killing them was another matter. Dao Gods were extremely difficult to kill, to a truly insane degree. If not for Thaldorin and Tyroth having prepared extensively for White Gem, her death wouldn''t have gone nearly so smoothly. The world fell into silence and Star River opened her soft lips to speak when she suddenly stopped. She awkwardly paused for a moment, realizing that she would actually have to stand and wait here until Ryu was finished with his meditation session. She was truly speechless... When had she fallen so far as to be a Dao Protector to this hairless brat?

 Chapter 1890 Qi Control

    Chapter 1890 Qi Control


    Ryu calmly felt the changes.


    This time, he was prepared for everything. So the Chaotic portions of the pillar were already directly suppressed by him. However, that didn''t mean that they had vanished. Instead, he slowly incorporated them. Visitt (.)co/m for the latest updates


    These insights were truly invaluable to Ryu. Other than Chaos Qi, one of Ryu''s strongest trump cards was Primordial Chaos Qi. With this sort of insight, it would be far easier to control them.


    Every time he used Primordial Chaos Qi, he often ended up harming his own body more than he did the enemy. Well, that was a bit exaggerated. But it certainly wasn''t a fun time.


    Now, at least for Primordial Chaos Ice, Light and Darkness Qi, he wouldn''t have to worry about this.


    Of course, this was just surface level. In reality, Ryu could use no form of Chaos Qi right now, and even if he could, he would never use its lesser forms. Why would he use Primordial Chaos Qi when he had real Chaos Qi which was the amalgamation of them all?


    What really made Ryu excited were the insights he got for his Chaos Qi.


    Qi Control had once been one of Ryu''s strongest aspects. That was in large part due to his Bone Structure, but now that was gone.


    Even if he hadn''t given up his Ice Jade Crystal Body in favor of a much stronger Bone Structure, it still wouldn''t have made much of a difference. That was because his Ice Jade Crystal Body was only an Ancestral Grade Talent. It couldn''t possibly keep up with his current strength.


    Of course, his Ice Jade Crystal Bone Structure was only one piece of the puzzle. The fact that he had the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth pupils was another large piece. He could see through the mysteries of his own qi and use them well.


    That said... there was a method of fixing this. Maybe then, instead of just having two techniques that he had created, he could maybe even have dozens.


    These two techniques that he had self-created, [Heavenly Dao Tree] and [A God''s Brush] were the products of enlightenment and also references.


    [A God''s Brush] was created thanks to reading the path the Martial Gods had deduced for the Chaotic Silk Meridians, while the [Heavenly Dao Tree] was created thanks to the Ash Treants.


    Ryu had never truly created a technique from scratch, and this was why.


    It took a special eye and years of refinement, on top of likely generations of effort, in order to take an extremely complicated technique and distill it down so that it could be just as powerful in the hands of others.


    But what if Ryu could make powerful techniques without the need to consider how complicated it was? What if his qi control was so immaculate that even having dozens of qi loops running into one another at the same time wouldn''t be a problem for him at all? What then?


    At that point, he would truly be a monster. And since he had the perfect insights of three elements up to the perfected God Realm of this world at his fingertips, what he would be able to create on a whim would be truly out of this world.


    By studying the chaos aspects of these qis, he would be able to comprehend at least portions of his true Chaos Qi more, and thus rein in stronger control over it.


    Usually, this was what cultivators did. It was just that Ryu had never had to waste time comprehending his own qi before because he had too many cheats. His Meridians made the Chaos Qi that harmed everyone else docile before him, and his eyes saw through everything.


    So... what would happen now that he was no longer being complacent about it? How much strength could he excavate out of himself?


    Ryu''s gaze suddenly flashed open, countless runes spreading out within them before vanishing.

 Chapter 1891 Good Title

    Chapter 1891 Good Title


    Ryu looked up toward Star River with a smile and nodded.


    "Thank you for saving me." ?iscover new chapters at novelhall.com


    Star River had been infuriated before, though it didn''t appear on her face. However, after hearing this, the irritation in her heart softened a little.


    Indeed, if Ryu was in a moment of enlightenment, it wasn''t good for her to interrupt it. The fact that he could stay calm with her appearance and not scramble in an attempt to please her, even if it meant losing out on his own Blessings, went to show just how firm his Dao Heart was.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t know that Ryu wasn''t in a moment of enlightenment. And even if he had been, with his eyes, he was able to sink into such a state whenever he wanted. Plus, thanks to the Origin Flame, he could return to the exact state he had been in before any enlightenment, recreate it, and then accept the very same blessings.


    He wasn''t a person who could be measured by common sense.


    Ryu stood after he greeted Star River, looking around. There were the corpses of several Fiends around. Unfortunately, it seemed that in the end, the Real Plane was the only one that lost Dao Gods.


    "If you don''t mind..."


    Before Star River could understand what Ryu meant, many of the corpses in the surroundings were sucked toward the latter.


    Ryu didn''t just want to dissect some of them, but if he could use them to understand Chaos Qi more, that would definitely come with its own positives.


    Star River was speechless.


    She had seen other cultivators with a penchant for corpses before. After all, there were a few necromancers among the Moon Clan, so that much wasn''t a surprise.


    But this cheeky brat taking advantage of her efforts to casually claim several Dao Lord and Sovereign corpses... that was too much.


    These deaths were still merits for her. Even as a Dao God, killing other Dao Gods was next to impossible. So these merits could be considered some of the best she would likely have this year.


    Usually, on a battlefield, if she appeared, there would certainly be another equivalent Dao God present, so she couldn''t just go around killing these weaklings wantonly.


    Ryu felt like he was constantly fighting with a hand tied behind his back without his Meridians. If he could use them openly, a lot of things would be far easier.


    Of course, controlling a Dao Lord corpse puppet was impossible for the current him, let alone a Sovereign corpse. But wouldn''t he have plenty of chances to catch weaker ones?


    Star River shook her head. It seemed that she would just have to take this loss and then make Ailsa cough up what this brat had taken from her.


    Her big sister definitely wouldn''t let her suffer such a loss without repayment.


    Thinking to this point, Star River was happy again.


    "Okay, come with me. Big sis¡ªthe Goddess has asked me to take you somewhere."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. It couldn''t be that his wife wanted him to handle another impossible situation, could it?


    Suddenly, a hint of curiosity hit him.


    "Miss, I''m curious."


    "Hm?" Star River looked back.


    "This Goddess, what''s her Title?"


    "Her Title?" Star River blinked. After a bit of hesitation, she opened her mouth and spoke.


    When Ryu heard it, his voice boomed with laughter. It was so loud that the clouds shook and the earth quaked. Even Star River was taken aback by the boldness of the laugh, it underlied a Dao Heart so fierce that her own seemed dim by comparison. It was no wonder Ryu never really took her seriously.


    No... it even seemed that the phenomena that spread after she spoke Ailsa''s Title was melding and fusing with Ryu.


    Star River''s eyes suddenly widened.


    "A good Title. A good Title indeed."

 Chapter 1892 Rebirthing Cultus

    Chapter 1892 Rebirthing Cultus


    On the way, Ryu thought a lot about where he might be going or what he might be doing. But what he didn''t expect was that he would be brought to a Sect. What he expected even less was that this Sect would be founded by his wife. And what he expected even less than that was that he would be standing before a statue of hers as everyone looked to him to bow.


    Ryu''s lip twitched. Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com


    For one, unless it was his master or his parents, he never had the intention of bowing to anyone.


    Second, even if it was his wife, if he bowed now, how would he even raise his head to her in the future?


    ''Just wait...'' Ryu looked up at those crimson eyes and shook his head. He would definitely have to give this woman a piece of his mind when they finally met again.


    Ryu seemed to have forgotten that he could contact Ailsa whenever he wanted now, but he conveniently forgot this little fact. After all, Ryu would never actually reprimand his wives. The most he would do was assert a little dominance in bed. But with Ailsa''s current strength... he had exactly zero confidence in doing that right now.


    So it was best to delay¡ªno, definitely not delaying. Just waiting for when his wife wasn''t so busy anymore. Yes, yes. It was just a matter of patience.


    Star River, despite her status, also gave the statue a light bow. So she didn''t notice that Ryu hadn''t until she felt the several odd gazes aimed toward their general vicinity.


    When she saw that Ryu was still standing ramrod straight while everyone else was on their knees, she couldn''t help but frown.


    "Don''t look at me like that," Ryu said, giving her a glance. "I''m not bowing. Now, you really have two ways to handle this situation. Either you kick me out, or you just bring me to where you were meant to in the future."


    "This is our Rebirthing Cultus Sect. The Goddess has told me to assign you the title of Core Disciple. Starting from today, you will receive all of the same resources and¡ª"


    Ryu held up a hand, shaking his head a bit wearily.


    "That''s fine, don''t worry about it. Please just find me a place to sleep. When I wake up, I will challenge your Sect''s Throne."


    Star River froze, as did everyone in the surroundings.


    What had he just said?


    What these people didn''t know was that the only reason Ailsa hadn''t asked him to challenge the Throne this time was because he had already done it once before to her knowledge. On top of that, with her sharpness, the moment she sensed Ryu again, she knew that he had challenged a second Throne in that time.


    It had to be remembered that a Throne challenge wasn''t just based on the strength of the Sect itself, but also the number of Thrones that the Throne in question was already supporting.


    But just the fact that he was challenging the Throne at all was shocking to these people.


    Ryu held a hand to his forehead, frowning somewhat. His balance was a bit off right now. However, just as he thought he stabilized himself, his vision went black.


    Ryu''s figure swayed and he fell.


    Star River''s expression changed and she hurried to catch him, only to realize that he was already unconscious.

 Chapter 1893 Fun

    Chapter 1893 Fun


    Star River''s expression flickered. Her stance couldn''t help but soften a bit when she realized that Ryu was truly tired. It was like he had already given everything he had, and he simply had nothing more to give.


    It was easy to be infuriated by his arrogance, especially when none of them knew the backstory between Ryu and Ailsa. However, it was hard to be enraged with a person who clearly pushed themselves so hard.


    It had been a long while since Ryu was fatigued to the point of needing sleep. Usually, it was just injuries that took him out. But this time, it was pure, unadulterated mental fatigue.


    "Alright. I will take him away," Star River said to no one in particular.


    Many hesitated to speak, but in the end, Star River was too far beyond them. They didn''t have the right to question her decisions just as much as they didn''t have the right to question Ailsa.


    Their Sect was rarely mentioned amongst the powers of this world, and that was because they were relatively small, only having a thousand or so members. However, each existence was a talent among talents, and it was said that the facilities of the Sect were on another level compared to any other.


    This only made sense. Ailsa was a Cultus Faerie. What she did best was guide and help others to grow. If she chose to focus on just a small segment of the population like she did here, every single one of them was bound to soar.


    But that was also the reason why Ryu''s sudden uprising was so shocking.


    Most of their Sect was made up of Faeries that were often suppressed beneath the rule of the Fey. It was only Ailsa''s existence that allowed them to hold their heads up high.


    As for why there were no humans, there was a very clear reason for this because it obviously wasn''t the case that Ailsa of all people would be discriminatory. Her children in the future would be half-human, after all.


    But it was precisely because of these reasons that Ryu received added hostility and would have even if his arrogance was set aside.


    Now, he had somehow been promoted to Core Disciple in a single bound. Yet, rather than taking this boon, he actually wanted to challenge their Throne. It was too unacceptable.


    Unfortunately, their Sect only had four Dao Gods, and none of them were present. Since Star River hadn''t said anything, it wasn''t their place to do so.


    Star River knew what this smile meant. It meant that she had already made up her mind and wouldn''t be changing it on the topic.


    It could mean either one of two things...


    Either she was confident that Ryu would be able to do what he said...


    Or, she didn''t care whether he lived or died anymore.


    In Star River''s opinion, since she had only assigned Ryu to be a Core Disciple and not an Inheritor Disciple, her confidence in Ryu couldn''t possibly be that high. So, it seemed like the latter was the only logical conclusion.


    Star River couldn''t help but sigh.


    It seemed that a human had pissed her big sister off again. To think that the first time in so many years she would choose to trust one, it would backfire once again.


    Well... at least this time things weren''t nearly so bad. It was just that her big sister''s tolerance seemed to be particularly low this time around. But maybe that was only natural considering the things that had happened in the past.


    "Alright." Star River nodded. "He''s currently resting, so we will just have to wait and see. I hope he doesn''t die. At the end of the day, he''s done a great service to us this time..."


    After saying this, Star River left. It was only after she had that Ailsa chuckled and shook her head. How could she want her own husband to die?


    The fact that even she was dealing with so many misunderstandings could only mean that Ryu had it a thousand times worse. His life might very well be made a living hell because of them.


    Of course, normally, she wouldn''t be worried. After all, Ryu was more likely to respond in kind than anyone she knew.


    But the issue was that he had one hand tied behind his back because he actually cared about her opinion.


    This left the Goddess feeling particularly amused. It had been a long while since she had such... fun.

 Chapter 1894 Talent vs Effort

    Chapter 1894 Talent vs Effort


    Ryu didn''t know how long he slept, but when he awoke, he felt refreshed. This was no doubt related to the world that he had fallen asleep in. It could be said that the accommodations for Core Disciples were more excellent than any Sect that Ryu had ever seen before. Even the Martial Gods and their courtyards couldn''t hold a candle.


    Granted, he hadn''t been to the true core of the Martial God''s territory. But he felt that it was pretty safe to assume that it was still inferior to this.


    It had to be remembered that Ailsa was a Feng Shui master and a Herbologist herself. The only reason that she couldn''t deal with the situation herself was because she was stuck defending her Holy World. Also, even if she had, with her strength, she couldn''t enter the Perfect Grade Holy World to begin with.


    It could be said that Ryu was the only one that could do what he did.


    Ryu slowly stood and walked to a nearby spring. He had had intentions of taking a bath, but he was shocked to find that his body was cleaner now than when he went to sleep.


    He ended up scooping up a handful of water and taking a sip instead.


    ''Interesting...''


    The water was pumping with qi. Just a single sip made him feel like he was walking on a cloud, and the small drop made him feel exceptionally hydrated.


    Ryu ended up walking around the world almost aimlessly for a long while, and he concluded that Ailsa''s understanding of Feng Shui was beyond his own by a good margin.


    Of course, that wasn''t just a function of time, but also the fact that Ryu basically never trained in his secondary professions, it was because everything came too naturally to him.


    ''No... I wouldn''t describe it like that...''


    ''I truly don''t put enough effort into my secondary professions. Maybe instead of obsessing about which of my three souls should take on which aspects of cultivation, I should just give them tasks that they are best at.


    ''My Perfect Blackbody, with its patience, would be perfect for studying Secondary Professions... My Dao Heart, on the other hand, is obsessed with improving my cultivation.


    ''As for me...'' Ryu chuckled.


    That truly was the question... what about him? What did he want?


    He wanted his wife to be free of worries. As for cultivation, how to approach it, what steps to take, he had never cared. All he cared about was reaching the pinnacle of all things. He had never fretted over exactly how he would do that... other than working hard, he made no other promises to himself.


    But this version of himself also gave up too easily, expected too much from the world, and was far less mature than he wanted it to be.


    ''No... cultivation must come from me, or else there is no point at all. Instead...''


    Ryu made a decision. His Perfect Blackbody would be assigned the task of solidifying his Secondary Professions, as for his Dao Heart...


    Since it wanted to improve so much and so quickly, why not let it be focused on creating techniques? He suddenly had a bunch of insights, and it had also suddenly become far easier for him to create techniques, so why not benefit?


    This way, both would be happy and he could find his own true way of cultivation.


    Ryu''s eyes cleared as he looked up into the skies of his Inner World.


    With a tremble, his body split into three. They all looked toward one another with the same indifference and went to their own spaces without a word.


    As for the true Ryu, since he couldn''t see one wife, he might as well go to see another.

 Chapter 1895 Naive

    Chapter 1895 Naive


    Ryu found that Eve and Isemeine were still locked in deep meditation, so he chose not to bother them. Instead, he began to look through the corpses that he had brought in. Like he had said before, he could see that Star River wasn''t very satisfied with him taking them all, but if Ryu wanted to become the Throne of this Sect, taking on his third Throne, then the only way was going to be if he could use his Chaos Qi. Or, at the very least, he had to be able to use his Primordial Chaos Qi. No matter what, his current state wouldn''t cut it. Maybe if he was claiming his first Throne, he would still dare to do this. But not now. He had thought about just doing it anyway. After all, this was his wife''s Sect; if there was any place that would protect him, it would be this one. But he wasn''t here to make things more difficult on his wife. So, he would need another path.


    "Hrakka." Ryu called out. Very quickly, a familiar violet-skinned fire giant appeared. Her aura was several times more vigorous, so much so that Ryu couldn''t help but nod to himself. She had indeed improved greatly. She was in the True Sky God Realm as well, but it was clear that her foundation had been refined again and again. She was certainly taking advantage of the Embryonic Qi in this place. Hrakka felt herself standing on tenterhooks as she faced Ryu''s gaze. She knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. She had benefited more from Ryu than she could fathom. It was only a matter of time before he came to collect. Ryu stared at her for a long while to the point that Hrakka began to shift uncomfortably. After a long while, she shrugged off what small bits of clothes she had covering herself and closed her eyes tightly, not covering anything. Ryu was taken aback for a moment, then blinked in confusion. He looked up at her face, and when he saw her expression, he almost laughed. This woman went around so scantily clad all the time. She dressed like a man, not even covering her chest, while her beast skin cloth, the very one that covered her lower body, hardly covered anything. A slightly fierce wind could easily reveal everything below. For a giant woman, she was truly beautiful, though. No... truthfully, she had just taken the proportions of a gorgeous woman and expanded them into a five-meter-tall frame. The fact that she was acting with such shyness now actually made Ryu''s opinion of her several times more favorable. Maybe it was because he had changed so much in these last few months, but he didn''t care so much about the little things anymore. It was clear to him that Hrakka''s situation fit into one of two boxes. Either the culture she grew up in was just different from his own, and that much was fine. Or, she was truly naive to the ways of the world and hadn''t realized how inappropriately she was dressing. Either way, judging her for it was unfair. Well, he had never really judged her in the normal sense... but he had definitely thrown her into a box of women he didn''t want to be associated with romantically. Of course, he still didn''t have the intention of doing such a thing with Hrakka. He preferred his women to be willing, not shivering like a little timid rabbit. And second, his talk with his father still rang in the back of his mind. Ryu eventually couldn''t hold back his chuckle. Hrakka''s face became red... or so Ryu thought, it was a bit hard to tell. The heat of her body rose and the blue flames of her pubes and hair flared up. She couldn''t help but squint open one eye to see what was happening. Why didn''t she feel anything? Was it because Ryu was too small? If Ryu knew what she was thinking, he would truly be left speechless; he might even have to teach this woman a lesson. But luckily, he wasn''t a mind reader. "You don''t need to be so worried, Hrakka," Ryu laughed. "I don''t plan on forcing myself on you. Like I said, you are my Summon. I will train you, and in return, you will fight for me. I was just lost in thought just now, that''s all."


    "Ah..."


    Hrakka shuddered in embarrassment and hurriedly picked up her beast skin skirt. She only relaxed somewhat when she put it back on, but then a fierce wind blew it up and showed Ryu the view that he was already somewhat missing. However, Hrakka didn''t seem embarrassed by this at all. It was as though she didn''t notice.


    "Hrakka, I''m curious."


    "Do you want to continue dressing like this?" Ryu asked.


    "If master wants me to dress differently, I will!" Hrakka replied.


    "No. I want to know what you think."


    "This..." Hrakka shifted uncomfortably. "... I don''t like how people look at me. It''s never with fear, it''s always with... heat? Forgive me master, I don''t know the word for it."


    Lust.


    Ryu didn''t need to think to know what she meant. But this young woman was truly naive.

 Chapter 1896 Clear Mirror Dao Heart

    Chapter 1896 Clear Mirror Dao Heart


    She wasn''t just naive, but she was also a bit simple-minded. Her thoughts weren''t very nimble... at least that was Ryu''s first impression.


    It was impossible for a cultivator to be truly foolish. Even if one was born with below-average intelligence, much like beauty, it would only increase with time and qi absorbed.


    Of course, it was possible that things were different with Nether Qi. Ryu had gained a large amount of it, and his understanding had deepened, but it wasn''t to the point of saying that he understood it just as much as he did his Real Qi... which was funny considering he didn''t think himself to be a great scholar of Real Qi either.


    That said, there were methods of cultivation that Ryu knew that while they might increase the perfection of the body, did little to nothing for the brain. Those were rare forms of Body Cultivation, and they tended to also be extraordinarily powerful as well.


    Of course, the trade-off was that one''s mind wouldn''t be nearly as nimble as other cultivators. But did that matter if your body was harder than most treasures you would come across?


    ''Hm, interesting thought...''


    Ryu thought about these Body Realm cultivation methods not because they seemed to be perfect for him. He had modified the Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s methods, but he still wasn''t completely happy. It was like he would continue to feel antsy so long as he was using the techniques of someone else.


    The reason why he felt that these methods might be perfect for him was because his mind was already more than nimble enough. The benefits he got from normally cultivating were... well, Ryu couldn''t remember the last time a change in cultivation had helped his mind become stronger.


    In that case, why was he wasting so much potential by refining a mind that couldn''t be refined any further?


    Or at the very least, he had yet to find the method of refining his mind further. So long as he had his Mental Realm cultivation method, it was enough.


    ''I''ll consider this another time...''


    Though Ryu said this, he already had thoughts churning in his mind. That was because he recalled the Light and Dark cultivation method that he had received in the Incomplete Heavenly Path.


    Back then, cultivating that method filled his body up with tattoos. But, honestly, he didn''t really care what he looked like so long as he was more powerful. The real problem was that that method was too weak and eventually had to be left behind by him. Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com


    However, now that he had a perfect comprehension of Light and Dark, couldn''t he reform this cultivation method into something perfectly suited to him?


    His thoughts were churning all on their own, but he forcefully pressed them down.


    ''I''ll send these thoughts to my Dao Heart and see what it can do about it. It may or may not align with what it wants to do. I''ll let it decide if it wants to progress on that path or not.''


    His Dao Heart was obsessed with fast improvement, and there was technically not much faster than Body Realm cultivation.


    There was a misnomer that it took time, but that was mostly because of two things: a lack of mental fortitude and a lack of resources.


    So long as you had enough resources and were willing to suffer through untold pain, then there was nothing stopping you from advancing by leaps and bounds in the field of Body Realm cultivation.


    Ryu shook his head. His thoughts were getting more and more off track these days. He had to focus on one task at a time.


    "Master, will you marry me?"


    Hrakka''s words snapped Ryu out of his daze.


    He suddenly coughed, looking up at this enormous woman only to find her blushing like a little girl.


    "... Come again?"


    Hrakka covered her face, wondering why she had just said such words.


    "Nothing! Nothing!"


    Ryu was stunned for a moment before he started laughing.


    The Heavens had all the right to strike him down from above.


    Objectively, he was terrible at picking up girls. Every time he actively tried to do so, he would end up making a fool of himself. The more he cared, the worse at it he seemed to be.


    Yet, when he wasn''t trying at all, such a thing would happen. If he didn''t laugh about that, then what would he do?


    "Come with me, Hrakka," Ryu said with a smile.


    Using Idol Control, Ryu grew to a proportional height and ended up towering a head over her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and they disappeared.


    When they had reappeared, Hrakka nearly fell due to the pressure.


    A great number of powerful Lord and Sovereign corpses lay out before them.


    "I have an idea to make you more powerful, and it''ll likely be painful. Are you alright with that?"


    "Yes!" Hrakka nodded seriously, her previous shyness having vanished.


    Ryu nodded, his gaze becoming serious.


    Nether Qi was known as the lower case chaos, and right here, Ryu had a large number of true Chaos-laden experts.


    Normally, he wouldn''t be able to even cut into these corpses... but this was his world, and now, it had the support of not just one, but the equivalent of three perfect God Realms.


    Thanks to this, at least in some aspects, Ryu''s Inner World was already no weaker than a truly powerful world.


    So, Ryu was going to use this chance to mutate Hrakka''s Meridians.

 Chapter 1897 Not the Slightest Bit

    Chapter 1897 Not the Slightest Bit


    Ryu had Hrakka lay down, his mind still churning with several thoughts.


    Theoretically, transferring Meridians was something that many were capable of. In addition, of all the Races in Existence, Demons were most definitely the most capable of this. This wasn''t just because of some arbitrary connection between Demons, Summons, and Corpse Puppets, though that certainly played part of a role. It could be said that the Origin of Necromancy came from Summoning Necromancers. It was only after this that other paths of Necromancy disseminated into simpler, easier to manage forms.


    This was all to say that all of the mutations and modifications that normal Necromancers were used to making, Summoning Necromancers had pioneered. Of course, this was easy to overlook because often, Summoning Necromancers would just choose to summon more powerful Summons when one of theirs became too weak. However, it could be said that this was a dividing tier between even this rarest breed of Necromancer.


    That said, this wasn''t the main reason why this was possible. Ultimately, the ones that were responsible were the Demons themselves.


    Ryu had already learned that the nature of Nether Qi was chaotic. It opened up many possibilities for paths that could be taken. Rather than Chaos that broke Order, Nether Qi was able to allow chaos within Order, allowing for change and growth.


    It wasn''t a surprise that this Nether Qi was found in the Nether Plane, the place of rebirth. That was where it was most effective, where it could allow for souls to be taken in, reborn, and evolve to a new tier in their next lives, or even regress depending on the situation.


    This was how evolution took place, and how one generation could be better than the former, and so on. However, it was also because of this that regression was possible. Lowercase chaos didn''t guarantee progress, it could easily hamper a person as well.


    This aside, the main point was that the bodies of Demons were the most capable of evolution. However, there was a problem to consider.


    It had to be remembered that Demons could be summoned because of a weakness in their path. They ended up with the worst of both worlds as a result of this, having gained both the weaknesses of the Beast Races and the Human Races.


    Ultimately, it was their connection to the Heavens that might restrict them. They had bodies that were prepped and ready for evolution, but unfortunately if Ryu wanted to allow Hrakka to touch upon true Chaos, it would be difficult.


    It had to be remembered that chaos was still a form of Order, it wasn''t true Chaos. As such, there would be restrictions in doing this. Unless... Well, unless Hrakka was in a world that was completely under Ryu''s control. He was the one that decided what was Order and what was Chaos here.


    Before, he didn''t have the right to do such a thing. But now... he certainly could.


    Ryu made sure that Hrakka was comfortable and in a peaceful state. From time to time, a drop of Embryonic Qi would appear seemingly out of nowhere and fall into her mouth.


    Her body was forced into a perfect state of evolution, constantly becoming small bits better with every drop.


    As this happened, Ryu''s focus was on the Fiends.


    Not all of them were created equal. Fiends were born with a set of Meridians at the start of their life that would decide all of their talent. It seemed that all of these Meridians were just weakened versions of Ryu''s own Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    ''There...''


    Ryu found it. The best pair of Meridians here were a pair of God Grade ones.


    Ryu reached out a hand and several Fire Fiends convulsed. Runes were ripped out of them as well.


    With swift steps, he appeared by Hrakka''s side. But as he was about to press down, he suddenly hesitated.


    What was he doing? Why hadn''t he thought of this before?


    Ryu''s gaze flickered and he sent the Meridians back, using their former bodies to chain them in place. All that was left was a single Sovereign Grade Fire Chaos Meridian.


    With a flash of light, Ryu''s Primordial Fire Chaotic Qi took shape and began to temper it.


    Ryu observed it for a long while, watching the changes.


    Soon, he grinned.


    After just a few seconds, the Sovereign Grade Runes had actually begun to evolve.


    Ryu grabbed out with a hand and flicked a drop of Embryonic Qi on them.


    ''Perfect.''


    The Meridians broke past a barrier and became God Grade.


    Ryu didn''t stop.


    As the Meridians evolved, their aura plummeted. It was like killing two birds with a single stone. Even the Sovereign Aura dropped to Lord, and then by the time it was inching toward Ancient status, it was already beginning to fall back down toward Omniscient.


    Many hours later, Ryu actually had a Primordial Grade set of Meridians for Hrakka that only carried the aura of the Transcended Realm of Cultivation.


    It was only then Ryu pressed it down into Hrakka''s body.


    Would it cause a commotion if people thought he was using a Primordial Grade Talent as a Summon?


    Of course.


    Did he care?


    Not the slightest bit.

 Chapter 1898 Two Thrones

    Chapter 1898 Two Thrones


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    Ryu didn''t bother to count how much time had passed since he had been in the Rebirthing Cultus Sect. He left when he was good and ready. His mind was relaxed, his heart was settled, and he felt like there was a lightness to his heart as he stepped out of his Immortal Abode. What he didn''t know, but probably expected, was that the moment he made any sort of movement, countless figures, senses, and minds focused on him all at once. All the Core Disciples of the Sect were exceptional not only in talent but also in cultivation. It was unheard of for a True Sky God to be among their ranks. In a way, it would have even somewhat made more sense if Ryu had become an Inheritor Disciple instead. Inheritor Disciples were a designated rank that did exactly as its Title described. They were existences nurtured to become the next Sect leaders, and as such, their raw talent was far more important than their current cultivation. Funny enough, people only tended to complain as though the grass was always greener on the other side. All things considered, if Ryu had actually been directly promoted to Inheritor Disciple, the reactions would have been even fiercer than they were now. There was simply no escaping the angst of people. Ryu didn''t mind the senses that were sweeping over him. To them, it probably felt like they were falling into an endless abyss. If Ryu was so easy to scan, then he would have been dug out for his secrets long ago. With his improved Inner World, these fools weren''t even capable of seeing through his eyes if he didn''t want them to. Even if he hadn''t had his Inner World, a simple use of his Cosmos Fog, while it might not be as effective, would still be enough for these characters. "He finally came out."


    "I would like to challenge the Rebirth Cultus Sect''s Throne."


    Ailsa''s statue trembled as though it had sensed someone challenging her. Saagar''s expression changed, not having expected Ryu to do this. He didn''t even wait until everyone had gathered. Many thought that he might try to milk this situation, but other than being stuck in his own Immortal Abode for months, he hadn''t even checked out any of their other resources. Then, just when everyone had gone about to do their own things, he suddenly came here and challenged. What they didn''t understand was that Ryu wasn''t here for them at all...


    And when Ryu''s body trembled as two Thrones appeared to his back, the entire Sect fell into silence before exploding into an uproar.

 Chapter 1899 A Bit

    Chapter 1899 A Bit


    The shocking appearance of Ryu''s two Thrones was like a curveball not a single one of them could have ever expected. Facing off against it, not only did Saagar suddenly feel like he had underestimated just how crazy this young man was, for some reason, he got the impression that he was truly small and insignificant in Ryu''s eyes despite being far more powerful by any normal standards of measurement.


    Saagar was blown away by the aura and sent tumbling away.


    Several powerhouses began to appear in the surroundings, Star River being the fastest of them all. When she saw the two Thrones, she went completely pale.


    Never in her wildest imaginations did she think that Ryu would do this. Challenging another Throne with just one was insane enough. But challenging one with two...


    Just how could a person do this? What the hell was he thinking?!


    Ryu didn''t bother to check in with anyone. With a casual step, he entered the Throne challenge.


    ...


    A beautiful world appeared before Ryu. Every Throne Challenge was different, but they all hinged on one thing: combat power. No matter what kind of Sect you were talking about, unless you had the strength to take up the mantle of Throne, it was worthless.


    However, what kind of combat power, the medium through which you exhibited this combat power, and what tools you were allowed to use to display those skills, would all be different.


    The two Throne challenges that Ryu had faced until now had both been the simplest and most straightforward: here''s an arena, just fight.


    But Ryu could already feel that this was somewhat different. At the very least, rather than a world of foggy white, or a simple arena like it had been the last two times, there was something more special about this world. Alll latest novels at novelhall.com


    However, from the outside, it didn''t look much different at all. The only change seemed to be that rather than standing on a slab of rock, he was instead standing on soft grass.


    They still wouldn''t believe that Ryu had a chance if they were at the same cultivation Realm, let alone now.


    Although crossing Realms was more common in this world, that was a matter of relativity. Sovereign Emerald Vine was no normal Sovereign and could be considered to be an existence that stood near the pinnacle of what was possible for talents of this world. As such, crossing these levels to do battle would be impossible.


    In Ryu''s opinion though... he couldn''t help but smile.


    Was his wife helping him out? First the arena, and now this Realm?


    He remembered that when he fought against the Dual Radiance Star Sect remnants, the Realm of his opponents was also around this much higher than him. He had fully expected his first opponent to be an Omniscient at worst considering this was his third Throne. In fact, he wouldn''t have been surprised even if it had been a Lord.


    ''Maybe not...'' Ryu thought.


    Now that he thought about it, his second Throne Challenge had been tampered with. So it was actually much harder than it should have been.


    That seemed to open the door for Ailsa tampering in reverse this time, but she wouldn''t do that for two reasons. First was his own pride and her expectations of him on top of that. But the second reason was that it was unlikely to be possible.


    The Dual Radiance Star Sect''s Throne Challenge was rife for subterfuge because its Faith was in a mess. They had split into two halves, each of which were fighting amongst one another, making them very susceptible to outside interference.


    Ailsa''s Sect, however, had no such weaknesses to take advantage of. Adding on top the fact his wife was being suppressed in a Holy World, it was highly unlikely that she would be able to even if she wanted to.


    But that was fine by Ryu.


    With a light smile, he flipped his palms and a pair of new Great Swordstaffs manifested.


    It was about time he showed off for his wife a bit.

 Chapter 1900 Injured

    Chapter 1900 Injured


    Ryu took a breath and the entire world seemed to revolve around him. [Third Perspective] activated, and it felt like he was watching the world from the skies above, with his own body becoming a faint extension of those senses.


    His gaze flashed and his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils activated.


    "Spread your wings and soar..." Ryu spoke softly.


    QIIIIII!


    The cry of a phoenix echoed, and before its shadow could be clearly seen, Ryu had suddenly moved, his great swordstaffs swinging down with a mighty momentum.


    A white phoenix spread its wings and soared into the skies, all the qi in the region seemingly being ripped into Ryu''s control. ...


    "What are those weapons? I''ve never seen them before."


    "A sword and a polearm? It looks like a blacksmith used too much material on a glaive. What kind of weapon is that? How can they even be wielded properly?"


    This world had simply never seen great swordstaffs. Even in Sacrum, they had been fringe weapons that almost no one used. Most there wouldn''t even be familiar with them, let alone those in this world.


    In truth, they were even more shocked by the audacity of Ryu to attack first against the master of control. But then they understood that he likely had no idea who this woman was. Of course, he would make such a mistake. He wouldn''t be as clear about the strengths and weaknesses of their best.


    Even so, many felt that it was ridiculous that he had actually chosen to attack someone two cultivation realms above him. Did he believe that Emerald Vine was a simple target or something?


    There were those, though, who couldn''t help but react differently... especially Star River, who had just appeared high in the skies above.


    Nature exploded along with her battle intent and the grass on the ground twisted and rose up, shooting toward Ryu with blinding speed.


    They restricted his movements perfectly, several flying toward his arm and several more moving to carry her away.


    A small little green soul appeared on Emerald Vine''s forehead. Its little arms moved like lightning, completing hand seal after hand seal.


    With a glance, Ryu could see through it. These hand seals were each commanding small, minor changes to the world around them. It was a magnificent technique and it was interlaced with her Dao so perfectly that they practically seemed synonymous.


    "That makes things even easier," Ryu said lightly.


    Emerald Vine''s expression suddenly changed as she realized her vines actually weren''t going to make it there in time. She looked toward where Ryu''s foot was, realizing that he had imbalanced the Feng Shui in the region with a single violent stomp... or so it seemed.


    In reality, he had sent a strong pulse of Ice Qi downward, controlling a spiraling swirl that froze the root systems in the region. Yet, his power was so perfectly controlled that it didn''t even feel cold.


    The hand seals came to a stop and the small green figure slammed its hands together. At that moment, Emerald Vine activated a movement technique, vanishing into a swirl of green leaves.


    Ryu''s blade passed right through and the world was left in silence.


    ...


    On the outside, the group didn''t believe what they were watching. At first, they sneered at Ryu''s attempt, but then they saw something they never thought they would see.


    Emerald Vine slowly raised a finger to her neck, touching the blood that appeared.


    The queen of control had actually been injured.

 Chapter 1901 Disgrace

    Chapter 1901 Disgrace


    Ryu''s expression was entirely indifferent. In fact, he had already retracted his blade as he took another step.


    He didn''t use his Spacetime Soul Nature for reasons only he was aware of. He was sharp and unbothered as a small soul appeared on his forehead. His, however, seemed to be completely counter to the delicate tea green of Emerald Vine''s. His own was pitch black and exuded an aura as such.


    Ryu vanished again and attacked once more. Emerald Vine was far more serious this time and was ready to counter as well. Her soul began to form hand seals again, but at this moment, Ryu mumbled something.


    "[Lines of Fate]."


    The world turned into black and white lines in his eyes, even the beautiful Emerald Vine becoming nothing more than a series of probabilities.


    He focused on his soul, and in the eyes of everyone else, the moment Emerald Vine''s soul began to form hand seals, his moved at the same time.


    At first, it seemed like Ryu was directly copying, but only Emerald Vine could see through the secrets. He wasn''t copying, he was countering.


    Her heart leapt into her throat.


    ...


    Those on the outside were shocked once again. Manifesting the soul like that was extremely difficult. The lower the cultivation, the more difficult it was.


    This all but guaranteed that Ryu''s soul talent was exceptional.


    When they recognized the talent, their hearts skipped a beat.


    "The Perfect Blackbody..."


    Those words hadn''t meant much to Ryu in the past, especially not when he first got it. But to the world, it was known as the soul with endless potential, endless room for growth, endless paths to take...


    Now, it seemed simple and unadorned as though Ryu had never bothered to pull out its full potential. But it was hard for any of them to say this when the next scenes unfolded. Re?a?d new chapters at novelhall.com


    Their expressions couldn''t help but change. The woman was actually here, how did she feel about this?


    "There''s no need for all of you to look at me like that," she said with a smile. "I''ve never been good at direct combat and this boy is... an excellent counter to me. I rely on Feng Shui a lot in my combat, and the Goddess has told me once before that it was a mistake to rely on it too much unless I could guarantee that I wouldn''t run into an opponent that''s better than I am in understanding it.


    "I''ve since changed my reliance on it thanks to the guidance of the Goddess, and looking at this battle now, it seems quite clear that she was correct."


    The words were light and airy, but it sent another wave of shock through them all. That was because this was essentially admitting that in the field of Feng Shui, Ryu was actually better than a Transcended two steps above him who had dedicated her life to that very method.


    It was truly shocking and difficult for them to expect. But Emerald Vine wouldn''t lie to put herself down in favor of a young man they didn''t even know.


    In fact, of them all, Emerald Vine was probably among the most angry that Ryu hadn''t bowed to the Goddess. How could she come to protect him?


    All of their gazes moved back to Ryu, their expressions flickering.


    ...


    Ryu didn''t seem proud of his accomplishment at all. He felt that it was only natural. This woman did have a particularly large weakness. In fact, he didn''t even need to use his Chaos Qi to defeat her. Before him, she was as weak as wet tissue paper.


    But that wasn''t bad either. At least he got to save on stamina.


    The world rippled and soon a second figure began to form.


    It was a lanky man with flowing black hair and deep abysses for eyes. His eyes didn''t have any sclera at all; they might as well have been a pair of black marble balls.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Quibus Faerie?''


    He didn''t expect this at all.


    What he also couldn''t see was the horror of those on the outside.


    How could this disgrace appear in their trial?

 Chapter 1902 Last Thing

    Chapter 1902 Last Thing


    Ryu didn''t know who this man was, but he could feel the aura of a Quibus Faerie quite clearly. How could he not? After all, his wife had become one. Or, rather, his wife had always been one, but had been sealed at birth for various reasons.


    However, by now, Ailsa had surely come to control her Quibus Faerie heritage with much greater strength than Leonel could fathom.


    Usually, a Faerie should only be able to gain a single alignment, but Ailsa was an extremely special case where she was not just born with two, but they were also two of the top three Faeries in all of existence.


    The Cultus Faerie was designed to nurture, could see through a great number of mysteries, and make the cultivation path of themselves and those they chose to teach much clearer.


    The Quibus Faerie, by comparison, was one with death. They were an anomaly to the Faeries and were almost begrudgingly placed amongst the top echelon because there was nowhere else that they deserved to be.


    They were the Necromancers of the Faerie Race.


    Now, one was standing before him, exuding an almost dull aura that was hard to detect. And yet, it contradictorily made him extremely difficult to approach at the same time.


    ...


    The outside of the Throne Challenge was in an uproar. The silence that they had grown used to had long since been awash with discussion.


    Their Sect was too young. As such, the number of times that their Throne had been challenged before was exactly zero. No one had ever come to do so...


    They had no idea who would appear, and they had already been shocked enough by the appearance of Emerald Vine already. But this was even more out of their expectation.


    "Interesting. You''re a traitor of some kind."


    Ryu spoke this conclusion casually after looking around. His casual demeanor became a bit colder. That was because any traitor to the Sect was a traitor to his wife, and that was simply unacceptable.


    This was already enough for Ryu to be more decisive in his killing this time.


    His silver eyes sparkled and [Lines of Fate] activated along with [Third Perspective]. The world revolved in his mind and he suddenly felt something.


    Ailsa was watching.


    Ryu looked up. He was already sure that Ailsa was watching before, but it was so subtle that he would have to really focus on it, or connect his [Third Perspective] to her to find it. However, doing that in the middle of battle would be a detriment, so he had held off.


    But this time, it was as though Ailsa was making herself known on purpose. Though, the only one that could sense it was Ryu himself. The moment he felt it, he understood something.


    It seemed that this person wasn''t just a normal traitor. He was the sort of traitor that even Ailsa was dissatisfied with, the kind a woman would want a husband to erase for her.


    When Ryu understood this, the hints of coldness in his eyes spilled over, becoming a frigidness that caused space to crack and fragment like a thin pane of ice.


    All the while, Silent Quibus hadn''t moved a single inch. He just stood there as though he was observing something. His aura of a Middle Transcended was so reserved that he didn''t seem to have any cultivation at all. If not for his eyes, Ryu wouldn''t even be able to see through how strong he was.


    "Crossing the Tatsuya Clan will be the last thing you do in this life." Ryu''s words sounded calm and even despite the changes to the world around him.


    Suddenly, Silent Quibus spoke. "Do I need advice on how to treat my woman from a mere descendant?"

 Chapter 1903 Fury

    Chapter 1903 Fury


    Silence. The words were clearly heard on the outside and several had complicated expressions. The feeling that they received was the kind that could only be described by helplessness, as though none of them knew how to refute. Ryu felt the shifts and turns in Karma and Fate, the twisting lines dancing before him in a way that made one thing clear... It didn''t feel like Silent Quibus thought that he was lying. Ryu didn''t reply immediately, nor did his facial expression change. It was as though he was checking once, then twice, then thrice, and then starting over again to ensure that he hadn''t heard wrongly or perceived anything incorrectly. All the while, Silent Quibus had no intention of attacking as though he was too lazy to. He wanted this junior to attack so that he could get this over with. He hadn''t expected that a portion of his intent would be summoned here for a Throne Challenge, but that made enough sense that it was still acceptable. Suddenly, he felt a dangerous aura. It was so dangerous that his heart seized and the casual expression on his face vanished into the ether. He felt his hair stand on end, his blood run cold, and his skin prickle with goosebumps that raced across his body and jostled for position at the same time. Ryu still hadn''t moved, one of his great swordstaffs being held out before him. The only change was that a light wind jostled his hair. He continued to stare forward, the depths of his eyes seemingly blank. Then, his aura began to climb so quickly that it seemed as though he was shattering the bounds of the world in a single bound. His Birthed Phenomena took shape. His Chaos Qi erupted. His Founding Dao surged. Even the White Phoenix to his back multiplied in size several times over. Silent Quibus reacted quickly and formed several hand seals in quick succession. A half dozen magic circles appeared in the skies and another half dozen appeared on the ground. Skeletons began to rip their way up from the ground below and giant, rotting palms descended from above. The stench of corpse poison filled the air and it became clear in an instant that Silent Quibus was the worst kind of Necromancer. Those that dabbled in Corpse Poison were shunned even by their own contingency. Even more shocking than that, realizing that he had underestimated Ryu''s momentum too much, Silent Quibus formed another pair of hand seals and spoke lightly. "[Corpse Explosion]." BOOM! BOOM! Two pits that were being dug out by skeletal hands exploded before Ryu just as he was crossing through that distance. He was completely enveloped. At the same time, a pair of rotting hands descended from the skies and slammed down where he had been. And as though that wasn''t enough, a pair of eyes appeared from two more of the sky-bound magic circles. Beams of concentrated darkness cut through the world and pierced through the location Ryu had been in as well. Everything was freely flowing, fast and sharp. It was clear that Silent Quibus was, indeed, the better combatant between himself and Emerald Vine. And what Ryu didn''t know was that if not for his betrayal, Silent Quibus would likely be placed as the last line of defense for the Throne, not the second. This was because the Challengers of the Throne wouldn''t face the Founders of the Sect, only the disciples they raised. Which was another reason why it was so ridiculous that Fading and Radiant Star had appeared during Ryu''s second trial. Though, this was also in part their fault. This was because Fading and Radiant Star had obscured their strength to protect against being detected by the Heavens of the True Martial World. This made them even easier to manipulate. But now, there was no such thing. Just pure strength was on display. Silent Quibus had only used a fraction of the strength in his hands and Ryu was already likely to be dead. Or so it seemed. Ryu shot out from the plumes of Corpse Poison. What good was Corpse Poison against him when he had Embryonic Qi? Was there anything in this world that it was incapable of healing in a large enough quantity? The tip of Ryu''s blade appeared before Silent Quibus'' forehead, catching him off guard. Ryu was fast, his control over space was exceptional, and there even seemed to be hints of the underlying mystery of time layered within it. Just as Silent Quibus was about to form a hand seal, his expression changed and he quickly converted to another, reacting even faster than Ryu expected. At the same instant, Ryu''s gaze flashed. "[Earth''s Gate], open. [Heaven''s Gate], open." Ryu''s strength exploded as he used his speed to cross the gates. The power of his piercing great swordstaff increased by leaps and bounds, hundreds of fold in a single blinking instant. A pattern appeared like a spreading cancer across Silent Quibus'' forehead. CLANG! Ryu''s blade pierced half an inch into his skull, causing the Quibus Faerie''s heart to leap into his throat. But in the end, the cancerous mark on his forehead took shape and solidified. BANG! Silent Quibus was sent flying, crashing through an array of trees and falling into the far-off distance. Ryu was about to chase, but by this point, the six figures in the skies, and the skeletons climbing out of the earth had already fully manifested. They all attacked Ryu at once, delaying his forward progress. Even when Ryu wanted to use space to directly warp toward that location, the Skeletons slammed their hands together, forming a unified formation that locked down the space in the region. In the distance, Silent Quibus slowly got up, wiping a hint of blood off the corner of his mouth and snapping his broken neck back into place. He looked forward with an indifferent expression, but there was clearly something smoldering in the depths of his eyes. He began to form several hand seals, and then something manifested that made Ryu''s rage explode to the high heavens. Nemesis.

 Chapter 1904 Reversal

    Chapter 1904 Reversal


    A crimson steed stepped out from the magic circle. It stomped the ground and neighed, chains rattling across its body.


    It could only be said that Nemesis was truly a beautiful beast, and even as a mere projection, the arrogance in his eyes was palpable.


    The rattling of the chains echoed so loudly that space formed clouds of cracks around the steed.


    His crimson mane flowed wildly in the wind, and the moment Silent Quibus landed on his back, he raised his hooves into the air, and the sound of galloping war horses filled the skies.


    BOOM!


    Nemesis'' front hooves slammed onto the ground, shattering the earth for miles before he erupted forward.


    Silent Quibus'' expression was a bit ugly because he didn''t command Nemesis to do this, but it didn''t matter so long as he ran Ryu down.


    Ryu couldn''t remember the last time he was so infuriated. He had experienced many things in these last few months and had been forced to undergo a lot of self-reflection as a result. He simply hadn''t had the time to care or consider the opinions of others. Even when he was helping out his wife and stopping the Ruin Master Guild, he was almost going through the motions.


    His mind was always focused on other things, and it was hard for him to feel emotions with the same fervor that he usually did.


    But right now... right now he was truly infuriated.


    Nemesis was his brother and probably the beast companion that Ryu had the deepest feeling for.


    When he first met Nemesis, he was being tortured out of the Loom Clan for being disobedient. He was difficult and unruly to deal with, and despite the trouble it put him in, he was unwilling to bow his head.


    His personality and that of Ryu''s were practically identical.


    In truth, Little Rock was very similar. However, what Little Rock lacked was facing the same sort of hardship that Nemesis had.


    He dropped one of his great swordstaffs. They were so sharp that even though he didn''t put the slightest bit of strength into it, it was buried into the cracked land down to the very hilt.


    With his free hand, he grabbed Silent Quibus'' whip. It had lost its trajectory after a rain of sudden injuries buffeted the man. Now, he had left himself wide open to being exploited.


    Barbs cut into Ryu''s palms, but he pulled hard nonetheless, using the barbs for extra grip as though he had entirely lost his mind.


    Silent Quibus was pulled down from Nemesis'' back, his face being pulled right into Ryu''s knee.


    PENG!


    Silent Quibus was hit away with such force that he lost his grip on his own whip.


    Ryu swiped a hand to the side, throwing the whip away along with layers of his own skin and flesh. With a wave of the same bloodied hand, his great swordstaff soared back into his palm.


    He took a step and vanished, appearing above the Quibus and slashing out in a cyclone. His body rotated and a violent torrent followed.


    Slash after slash was entirely relentless, and every action the Quibus took to try and recover was undone beneath the sharpness of Ryu''s gaze.


    On the outside, many couldn''t help but stand completely stunned... Were the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils always this strong?


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The toughness of the Quibus'' body didn''t mean the slightest thing to Ryu. He cut into it again and again, his control over his own blade so perfect that he continuously cut the same patches of skin into ribbons down to the very bone.


    BANG!


    Ryu landed on the ground hard and heavy, the Quibus'' body landing soon after.


    He huffed for breath, but every one sounded like the breath of a Dragon.

 Chapter 1905 Corpse Poison

    Chapter 1905 Corpse Poison


    The Silent Quibus didn''t even look alive anymore. He looked like an amalgamation of flesh and blood, but the fury in Ryu''s eyes didn''t dissipate in the slightest. That wasn''t because he felt that this wasn''t enough, but because in all his fury, he still couldn''t manage to shatter the man''s bones.


    The only attack that had managed to was when he reversed the connection he had with his corpse puppets. But even those shattered ribs had already healed. Even when he reversed the injuries Nemesis had given him, that hadn''t managed to cause any damage.


    Ryu didn''t believe that this was because of some difference between the Fate Reversal coming from him versus several corpse puppets. It was instead because Silent Quibus had learned from the first and found methods to counter him somewhat.


    And even now... he wasn''t dead.


    ...


    The world on the outside couldn''t see through this. Well, at the very least the disciples couldn''t. They were in abject shock, and even those that could see through some of the issues felt like they were observing something that didn''t make much sense at all.


    They all knew how powerful Silent Quibus was, so how was it possible for Ryu to be so completely and utterly dominant? Even if it was only for a short time, even if he capitalized on a mistake, there didn''t seem to be any explanation for... this.


    At that moment, an eerie laughter sounded.


    ...


    Ryu didn''t react to the laughter at all. He stood there in silence, his breath causing hot steam to spread into the surroundings.


    "Tired already?"


    She wanted to follow after them, but how could Silent Quibus allow such a thing? He was only just starting. She would certainly become a wrathful spirit if she died now, but that wasn''t enough.


    He made her give birth to the child she conceived after those matters, made her raise it, and then one day, he fed it to her.


    Ryu felt his stomach churn. He was a person who killed without blinking; he was a person who treated the lives of his enemies as though they were absolutely worthless. But even before the changes to his life, he wouldn''t be able to stomach such things... let alone now that he had much more sympathy for life itself.


    How could he easily assign value to people if he was one reincarnation away from becoming any one of them?


    But he still watched the rest of it silently.


    Only when the woman had reached this level of absolute despair did Silent Quibus feel that it was just barely good enough, and he began the refinement process. He finally allowed the woman to kill herself, only to begin to refine her soul right then.


    The interruption of the reincarnation process was precisely what he needed to form Corpse Poison. The woman''s soul was being pulled in three ways: one to become the Quibus'' corpse puppet, the second to reincarnate, and the last to become a Wrathful Spirit.


    Together, they formed a trinity formation that created a Chaotic Reincarnation... one that had the byproduct of Corpse Poison.


    If there was a perfect Corpse Poison out there, it might very well be the counter to Embryonic Qi... one on the side of life... and the other on the side of death...


    Silent Quibus finally stood all the way to his feet and waved a hand. Nemesis suddenly appeared to his side.


    The Quibus opened his mouth wide and took a bite out of Nemesis'' neck.


    Hot blood splashed all around.

 Chapter 1906 Chichichichichichichi

    Chapter 1906  Chichichichichichichi


    Ryu didn''t believe it was possible for him to be any angrier at the moment. The only reason he hadn''t truly exploded was that he knew this was a projection and not the real Nemesis. It was why he had attacked it without hesitation, and it was also the only reason he hadn''t completely lost his mind.


    Still, the raging inferno in his heart burned with a ferocity that flickered in the depths of his eyes with a smoldering red-black flame. Dragon and Qilin scales flickered into and out of existence on his body, his veins bulging and pulsing with a torrent of booming might. V/\Issi?T  for the b/est novel reading experi/en/ce


    As Silent Quibus ate Nemesis, a churning darkness and light began to rumble through Ryu''s body. The eight trigram diagrams rotating in his eyes only began to move faster and faster.


    The sound of crunching came to a stop, and Silent Quibus looked up, blood drizzling down his chin. A fiendish grin filled with flesh and bone appeared, a ghastly tongue covered in rough bumps that almost looked like mutated dragon scales slithered out, picking at what was caught between his teeth.


    By this point, he had completely lost any sort of humanity he had in him. Or maybe he never had any humanity to speak of and was simply good at faking what he could remember.


    However, whatever the case was, it was only now that even Ryu''s own Dao could truly see through him, and what it saw would have horrified almost anyone else.


    Silent Quibus stood there, blood still dribbling down his chin as though he was a baby in need of a bib. And yet, the shadow that grew behind him was shocking enough to pull on anyone''s soul.


    It was an amorphous creature of the shadows with countless faces coming out of it. Each one screamed like a caged animal, wanting to pry itself free, but Silent Quibus'' strength was too great.


    At that moment, there was a sudden enlightenment that came over Ryu, and he heard Silent Quibus'' Dao Title for the first time.


    ''Silent Quibus...'' Quibus, taken in the sense of most immediate control over death, and Silent not just referring to a lack of sound, but the restraint of it.


    What remained of Nemesis finally collapsed to the ground. Even in a half-eaten state, with three-fourths of his neck gone and his intestines spilling out of his belly, he had wanted to stand defiantly until his last breath.


    Unfortunately, he hadn''t been able to.


    The Wrath Knight steed looked up with red marble eyes that pierced Ryu''s soul. It was like he wanted to stare down his enemy in those last moments, and he had not the slightest hint of ire toward Silent Quibus himself, as though he was a master worth following.


    It was when their gazes met in that moment that a hint of confusion flickered in the horse''s eyes. It looked at Ryu as though it was trying to recall something, but that loss of his edge caused what remained of his life to blink out.


    Nemesis collapsed entirely, dead.


    Ryu watched this silently, still not saying a single word to Silent Quibus.


    "Chichichichichichichi. I will shred you apart piece by piece. An arrogant brat like yourself... I really want to know what kind of expression you''ll have when it finally falls apart. You all tend to make the strongest Corpse Poison."


    There was still no response.


    "Chichichi, nothing to say? That''s not too bad. How about I let you pick? No, actually, there''s something I''ve always been meaning to try. I''ve been quite sexist in my life, don''t you think? I wonder if it would break a man even more than it would a woman if they were pinned down and violated. What do you think?"


    One of the screaming shadows behind Silent Quibus manifested and grew into a man that was a meter taller than even the Quibus.


    An unsightly but strangely large bit of rotting flesh swung between this zombie''s legs, and under Silent Quibus'' control, it began to engorge until it stood tall.


    "How many people do you think are watching right now? Would you still have any pride left after this? Chichichichichichichi."

 Chapter 1907 --- Judgement

    Chapter 1907  --- Judgement


    Those on the outside felt a cold shiver run through them. They had heard of this man''s evil, but this was the first time that they were truly seeing it for themselves.


    Even for those that had been personal witnesses to things from back then, Silent Quibus had never gone so "mask off" before any one of them.


    The main issue, and the crux of the matter that they had only just grasped, was the fact that Ryu had truly already brought Silent Quibus to the brink. He was entirely unable to defeat Ryu unless he brought out his most disgusting means, and if he was going to do so, then he might as well go to the greatest extreme.


    The aura of a Lower Founding Dao radiated out and it made many of them begin to choke, and many more were made to vomit.


    The aura of this Founding Dao was too disgusting and it revealed even to the most insensitive people just what kind of grotesque being Silent Quibus was. A person like him shouldn''t be allowed a good ending.


    ...


    Ryu still didn''t respond, but this only made Silent Quibus'' laughter more eerie and grating to the ears. It was as though he preferred if Ryu remained exactly like this. The more arrogant he was, the better.


    Slowly, Ryu''s [Heavenly Dao Tree] began to vanish. The result was that more and more of Silent Quibus'' corpse puppets rushed forward, closing the gap on Ryu.


    All the while, they had been stopped by Ryu''s Visualization only for this sudden change to catch even Silent Quibus off guard. Men like Ryu certainly wouldn''t give up so easily, but when he looked into Ryu''s eyes...


    Silent Quibus felt a shudder.


    There was no more rage, no flickering flame, there was just a deadpan gaze.


    Ryu had a method of killing Silent Quibus in a single strike. This projection of a Transcended wouldn''t be able to withstand even a single pulse of his Shrine copy.


    However, that wasn''t nearly enough. Not only was it not satisfying in the least, but it also wouldn''t leave the mark he wanted to be left.


    Just as slowly as his [Heavenly Dao Tree] was fading, a new phenomenon was beginning to manifest.


    Ryu''s Birthed Phenomena took the shape of his body, towering into the skies even taller than the looming shadow behind Silent Quibus.


    The wheezing needles of gold were quickly coalescing into a formation of great swordstaffs in the skies, but as they gathered from the Light Qi in the surroundings, every enemy of Ryu suffered. Even the likes of Silent Quibus and the zombie he had just manifested from his eerie shadow were suddenly riddled with injuries.


    "[Lines of Fate]..."


    The surge of Light Qi accelerated and suddenly shaped nine beautiful great swordstaffs in the air. They still seemed illusory for the most part, but space cracked like black lightning around them, shattering the laws of the world.


    Countless bundles of black, white, and grey lines manifested in Ryu''s vision.


    Silent Quibus began to shudder, feeling a great danger.


    ...


    At that same moment, his real body, in an unknown location, startled awake, crawling out of a vat of blood and looking around.


    His real body''s vision sharpened as he pierced through the veil of reality, rushing toward the location of the danger, but he still couldn''t understand.


    "Dammit! Dammit! Where is it?!"


    ...


    Ryu exhaled a breath, but it came out as a fog of evaporated blood. One could only imagine the situation inside his body if his coughed-up blood was in such a state.


    "[Rob the World of its Color]."


    The nine beautiful golden swordstaffs trembled and suddenly became blades of black and white.


    "[¡ª Judgement]."


    The first word of Ryu''s technique seemed obscured by the Heavenly Laws, but the second sounded loud and clear.


    All nine blades descended at once, and before Silent Quibus could even understand what was happening, he began screaming.

 Chapter 1908 Worse

    Chapter 1908  Worse


    Ryu looked down upon the world as though a mighty overlord casting judgment from above.


    The first great swordstaff connected and severed the first of the Lines of Fate. Silent Quibus felt his mind convulse. It was as though he had just lost the right to control his shadows, and they all began attacking him at once. But it only grew worse when the second descended, and then the third.


    Each time, Ryu targeted a pillar of Silent Quibus'' Dao. Such a man would never feel the effects of Karma. In fact, the fact he had gone so far could only mean that he had likely even found a method of using Bad Karma to make himself stronger. Ryu had never heard of such a method before, but the possibilities in the world were far too numerous. He had no way of confirming whether this was possible or not... But what he could do was see through what Silent Quibus relied upon... And tear them apart.


    "BASTARD!"


    Silent Quibus held his head, screaming in pain. He was no longer just fighting Ryu alone, but all the people he had ever killed. They bit and nibbled at his soul, scratching and clawing with everything they had just to cause him a modicum of pain.


    Ryu had no ability to cause this much damage to Silent Quibus'' main body. He was certain that his main body was a Dao Sovereign at worst, and if he wasn''t already a Dao God, then he was very close to it... In that case, Ryu would destroy his road forward forever.


    The fourth and fifth great swordstaffs descended. Then came the sixth and seventh. Each time, Ryu felt a backlash nearly shatter him to pieces, but the cold indifference in his eyes didn''t fade. To touch his brother. To have such thoughts about his wife...


    ...


    In a distant and unknown location, the screams of Silent Quibus continued to echo. Birds flew away at their greatest speed in the night skies, the flapping of their wings drowned out by the horrified screaming. Compared to what his projection had experienced, his main body was actually in a far better state. And yet, it didn''t matter.


    That was because the issue wasn''t the backlash... the issue was the harm to his Dao and his future path.


    Just like Ryu had thought, Silent Quibus was just a step away from Godhood, but now...


    An infuriated roar shook the mountain.


    BOOM! BOOM! His fists drove into the ground and shattered everything in their wake.


    He had had such a bright future, but this... just what had happened? How could this happen? In the end, he still hadn''t been able to find where that feeling was coming from. He had run so far away from that world precisely to avoid Ailsa until he was strong enough. If even Ailsa''s gaze wasn''t sharp enough to find him, then how could his own be enough to find Ryu? All he knew was that someone had somehow targeted his Fate, and there were only a very small number of things that could do that. As such, it wasn''t long before he thought of the possibility of a Throne Challenge.


    But how could that be possible? Who had the skill to target him through a Throne Challenge? No, more importantly, who could trigger his appearance in such a Throne Challenge? After his betrayal, he would have certainly been buried. Unless someone manipulated the Throne Challenge, or someone triggered a particularly powerful Throne Challenge, there should be no reason for his projection to be evoked.


    Silent Quibus was practically shaking in fury. How could this happen? What he didn''t know was that his bad day was about to get worse. Deep within him, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly opened.

 Chapter 1909 Wobbly

    Chapter 1909  Wobbly


    Ryu huffed for breath. His Birthed Phenomena slowly faded along with Shrine Mountain''s projection. His body seemed to have lost half its weight, and his skin stuck to his bones. Every time he coughed, more evaporated blood came from his mouth, and his throat felt as though it had just been scorched.


    To make matters worse, he couldn''t see through his eyes again. He knew that every time he used such techniques to snip and cut Karma, the backlash would be tremendous, but this was even more exaggerated than usual. If he didn''t have Embryonic Qi, it might very well lead to the permanent loss of his eyes. Re?a? latest cha/p/ters on


    The good news was that, once again, so long as he used a few dedicated days to circulate his Embryonic Qi, he would have access to his eyes again within the week. The bad news was that he didn''t have a week to spare, and the Throne Challenge was still ongoing.


    As though that wasn''t bad enough, while he was casting the technique against Silent Quibus, he realized that he still didn''t have the power to cast it. The technique was far too powerful, as though his Dao Heart was trying to urge him to hurry up and improve: just look at all the overpowered techniques we could create and use if we just hurried up.


    So, in the end, Ryu had no choice but to use the Feng Shui of this arena to bolster and support his technique. But that had, unfortunately, led to him using up all the energy of this world. He would likely not be able to use Feng Shui in battle again, so all he had to rely on was his own qi.


    And on that front... there was once again good news and bad news. The good news was that running out of qi would never be a problem for him. In fact, the fact that this world had been mostly stripped of its energy would make it more difficult for his enemies to act while he, himself, had access to the entire Chaos Plane. The bad news was that it was difficult for his body to even make use of that. He had a hard time moving without falling apart, his soul was completely drained, and even just standing here felt like the wind might blow him over.


    ...


    Those on the outside were stunned into silence. Even Emerald Vine''s smile was nowhere to be seen as she, too, was stunned. She couldn''t fathom how a child two Realms beneath her projection could hold back that much and still win.


    What she didn''t understand was that Ryu''s greatest strength had always been his comprehension. If he was willing to forego everything else, there were very few that could outmaneuver him. He had even managed to slip out of the control of his own great-grandfather back when Primus tried to stop him from entering the Heavenly Path.


    Ryu''s breathing was the only thing that could be heard. It moved like a torrential storm, swaying what was left of the trees from side to side. He was still circulating his Embryonic Qi, ignoring his eyes for the moment to try and address the situation in the rest of his body, but he knew that it would still take some time. Time he didn''t likely have.


    He didn''t look down on the dainty woman. In fact, there was something so carefree about her that it made his own Dao Heart tremble. This was just a projection of a Higher Transcended Realm version of her, yet her Dao Heart was actually so powerful. How powerful was it now?


    The dainty Wobbling Fairy''s little nose suddenly scrunched up. "I don''t like you." Her words slurred, but they were still very blunt.


    Ryu didn''t respond. He didn''t really care if this woman liked him or not. He didn''t care if most people, in general, liked him or not. It was irrelevant to him.


    "You''re too arrogant."


    "Are you going to fight? Or are you going to just keep talking?"


    They were simple words. Words Ryu would have spoken to anyone. His pride was too great to take advantage of her stupidity to recover more.


    But they were also words that suddenly turned the awe of the Rebirthing Cultus Sect into ire. How dare he say such things about the Sect''s little sister? Even Star River felt inexplicably angry.


    Wobbling Fairy''s true body released a little burp. "Excuse me."


    Her soft voice only made the contrast between Ryu''s words worse.

 Chapter 1910 Little Woman

    ?Chapter 1910 Little Woman


    Wobbly Fairy blinked as though not expecting Ryu to say such a thing, but she also didn''t seem to be particularly angry either. It was hard to tell if this little woman was even capable of feeling anger.


    ''Little woman..."


    Some of Ryu''s edge was suddenly taken off when he had this thought. He couldn''t help but remember Hope and how she was still in a coma.


    That was a woman who was more than likely carrying his child right now. Although part of her soul was snatched away, the others, and her body, were still very much alive. In fact, deep within her mind, there might even still be a strand of consciousness remaining.


    Even if it was the Ryu of before, he would have cared for her. It wasn''t just because she was carrying his seed, but because she had risked herself for the sake of saving him.Fo?ll0w current novE?ls o/n n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(c/o/m)


    There were only a very few number of women who would be willing to do that for him, and all of them had the title of wife.


    For this reason alone, Hope was worth his worry, his pain, his anguish.


    There was a sigh that left Ryu''s lips. He could already sense that this was partly because Wobbly Fairy was already attacking him with what seemed to be a Domain... but he also didn''t care.


    Maybe that was also part of the problem with being drunk. It was hard for your better logic to get the better of you.


    Ryu had never been a drinker. The wine of Sacrum, or more accurately, the Shrine Plane, was too potent for him to partake in as a mortal. By the time he could cultivate and withstand stronger wine, he already had over a thousand years of lived experience and had simply never gotten into the habit. He didn''t feel any sort of fascination with drinking and losing his mind in such vices at all. His mind was his sharpest weapon. Why would he make it foggy on purpose?


    In the outside world, many seemed to already notice that there was a fog surrounding Ryu. The dense cloud of alcohol was practically visible to the eye.


    The Wine Dao was an expansive one. It was technically a branch of alchemy along with the Tea Dao. Both had their merits.


    For once, Ryu wasn''t very familiar with these disciplines. But if he thought about it, the Wind Dao and the Tea Dao were probably to Alchemy what Feng Shui was to Formation Mastery.


    ''Maybe.''


    By the time Ryu regained complete clarity, Wobbly Fairy suddenly tumbled over and collapsed. The crowd outside was astonished and couldn''t help but wonder if Ryu had suddenly killed her. But none of them had seen how he had done it. It was only Star River who seemed to understand a little about what she was seeing now.


    Ryu''s Dao Heart had actually overwhelmed Wobbly Fairy''s.


    ''Impossible...'' Star River was lost in a daze of her own.


    The problem wasn''t the fact. Ryu''s Dao Heart was so strong, though that was shocking in itself. After all, Wobbly Fairy had the strongest Dao Heart by cultivation realm in their entire Sect, and that was saying something. By comparison, Ryu was two cultivation realms beneath her projection and still overwhelmed her.


    Still, what she truly found shocking was the fact that Ryu''s Dao Heart seemed to be shrouded by something. He was carrying an extraordinary weight that was making the sharpness of his Dao Heart turn murky and unfocused.


    Just now, the reason Wobbly Fairy collapsed was because a great deal of her Wine Dao had been sucked out just to polish Ryu''s Dao Heart the smallest bit. And that had actually resulted in all her energy being stripped away.


    She had lost to what was only a small sliver of Ryu''s Dao Heart.


    Star River''s gaze couldn''t help but turn to their little mascot, only to find her staring unblinkingly at Ryu''s image in the skies. This was the first time Star River had ever seen the little woman focus so intently on anything.


    Then, to her speechlessness, Wobbly Fairy collapsed and began to cutely snore.

 Chapter 1911 Another Bow

    ?Chapter 1911 Another Bow


    Ryu took a breath and gave Wobbly Fairy a small bow in thanks.


    He seemed to be giving out more and more of these recently, and the result only shocked Star River all the more.Th.e? most uptod/ate novels a/re published on n(0)velbj)n(.)c/o/m


    Star River was the first to react. Ryu didn''t even finish his bow before she flashed, appearing by Wobbly Fairy''s side and soaring into the skies with unbridled speed.


    Then, under everyone''s speechless eyes, she actually launched Wobbly Fairy into the clouds above as though she was tossing away a ticking time bomb.


    Before anyone could understand why the hell the woman they respected so much treated their little mascot like this, the clouds of thunder began to boom.


    ''Tribulation?!"


    They all had the same thought. The ground quaked and many of them tumbled over, falling to their asses. The shaking boom of the skies above was enough to make these seasoned cultivators into insecure toddlers being tossed about.


    Wobbly Fairy was actually breaking into Dao Sovereignty!


    It was no wonder Star River reacted the way she had. If that tribulation had triggered where Wobbly Fairy was, they would have all been screwed over. If you got caught up in someone''s tribulation, not only would it become far more difficult for them, but it would also begin to target those around them as well.


    The Heavens wouldn''t allow anyone to help in a tribulation. Star River even had to be careful with how hard she threw Wobbly Fairy out, or else if she gave the little woman too much momentum, it might be deemed by the Heavens that she was helping out.


    It was a huge headache.


    Luckily, Star River had managed to react quickly enough and couldn''t help but look toward Ryu with a complicated gaze.


    ''It''s possible... I know too little about the Lord, Sovereign, and God Realms. Honestly, I know too little about the Sky God Realms in general. I''ll have to rely on my wife to see what sorts of documents she''s gathered in her journey after I get out of here. In the meantime...''


    Ryu''s next opponent began to shimmer into existence.


    ... Let''s end this quickly.


    Wobbly Fairy''s help had aided him to resolve one of his biggest issues: Focus Qi. He would have to study the link between his Dao Heart and Focus Qi more later, but for now, he wanted to blaze through the rest of this challenge.


    And that he did.


    The battles seemed difficult on the outside, a battle of wits where Ryu would only eke out a victory in the end, but what no one noticed was that these were precisely the kind of battles that Ryu favored. He was outsmarting his opponents, finding their weaknesses and then targeting them. While the battles seemed arduous, with every one, Ryu was actually regaining more and more of his stamina, and his body was getting to be in better and better condition.


    By the time he was on the last two battles, he had already recovered to over 70%, and though he still didn''t have access to his eyes, it didn''t seem to matter in the slightest.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    As this figure shimmered into existence, he could feel that there was something special about her. This woman... was already a Dao God.


    These were the very same bouts that Star River was so afraid of. But right now, between Ryu and Wobbly Fairy, Star River could only give more concentration to the latter. Although it was almost impossible to help someone in a tribulation, that didn''t mean that she couldn''t save Wobbly Fairy if it seemed like she was going to die.


    She truly hoped that Wobbly Fairy wouldn''t fail, but sometimes there were things that you just couldn''t control.


    ''Seems it''s about time, Ryu thought, watching this woman take shape.


    There were two Dao Gods that the Rebirthing Cultus Sect had raised up on their own from the time they were youths until now, and these two Dao Gods were, as such, a part of their Throne Challenge. Silent Quibus was the most talented of them all, but because of his sinister path, he had to prepare far more for every breakthrough, and as such had fallen a step behind, but these two...

 Chapter 1912 Distortion

    1912  Distortion


    Ryu smiled lightly. ''Is that so?''


    Gemini and Savannah appeared at once, their eyes still somewhat murky and glazed over. It took them a moment to understand what was happening, and then they both looked at Ryu at the same time.


    The two were simply too beautiful. One had flowing pink hair and the other had flowing blue... or so it seemed. The latter''s, that being Gemini, had hair that was almost ocean-like in its texture and look. It was more of a greenish blue than just a normal blue, and it even changed slightly in tone and shade as it danced in the wind.


    Ryu took a breath and summoned Hrakka.


    DOOM.


    The Fire Giant lady landed with a heavy thud. Ryu had placed her on the ground, but almost the instant she appeared, whatever ground there had been sank down considerably.


    At the moment, she was dressed in an armor of pearly white. She had been caught looking down at herself when she appeared, and it took her a moment to realize that her master had summoned her. U//ppTodated fr/o/m


    After hearing about Hrakka''s wishes, Ryu found something else for her to wear.


    Technically speaking, this armor was actually Isemeine''s, but he took it for Hrakka. This would certainly get him a rant later on, but he only chuckled about it.


    Isemeine was certainly the most disobedient of his women. It would be a good chance to set some things straight about their relationship.


    Technically, without the word of his father, she would still only be considered a concubine to him and not a wife. But one way or another, she was his woman now, so he would treat her well... after she understood who her man was.


    ...


    Everyone was quite stunned, though Ryu didn''t expect them to be. He had been using Chaos Qi this entire time, so he would have thought that they would have long since noticed.


    What he didn''t know was that no one had commented on his Chaos Qi because no one had sensed it. In fact, they were having a hard time sensing the exact details of the battle overall. Or, at least, they were having trouble with Ryu.


    This was definitely thanks to Ailsa. Much like Aika had protected him during his second Throne challenge, Ailsa was doing the same now, although in a far more subtle fashion.


    Ryu knew this, which was why he hadn''t been using his Inner World. But since this was the final battle, he might as well go all out regardless of the cost.


    Realizing that this still wasn''t enough, though, Ryu''s Bone Structure thrummed with life and his Cosmos Fog began to manifest.


    It was only then that the two women seemed to realize that something was wrong. But Hrakka was too large, and her flames too overbearing, for them to take her lightly.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu took a breath once again and Darkness began to pervade the region.


    With a flash, space and time began to distort.


    During his Dao Heart''s exploration of Dark, Light, and Ice, it realized something. In his body, he didn''t just have these three perfect paths. In fact, compared to his Spacetime comprehension, his comprehension of Darkness, Light, and Ice was all pitifully weak.


    It could be said that he had absorbed the equivalent of a far stronger Holy World of Space and Time affinity long ago.


    So why did he not have any techniques of Spacetime?


    The actual reason was that this knowledge wasn''t as easily accessible. He had given up raw knowledge for potential instead, so it was harder to read into.


    However, with his talent, if he really, truly focused... why couldn''t he?


    His Dao Heart hadn''t succeeded in creating a powerful technique just yet, likely because what it would create would be beyond anything he ever had before... beyond [A God''s Brush], beyond [Heavenly Dao Tree], beyond [¡ª Judgment]...


    However, that didn''t mean that there were no gains. His thoughts had become more flexible and the ways he implemented Spacetime had changed something.


    "[Distortion]." Ryu said lightly.


    At that moment, the two women were completely frozen in time. Their eyes could only widen agonizingly slowly as Hrakka''s ax cut them both in two.

 Chapter 1913 Im Sorry

    Chapter 1913  I''m Sorry


    Hrakka''s eyes went wide with everyone else. They had never seen such a shocking thing in their lives.


    Did time just... stop?


    Ryu''s coughing was the only thing that brought them back to reality. He had just suffered an injury not of the body, but of the soul.


    Manipulating time was one thing; manipulating the time of another person was another matter entirely. If Ryu had tried this against Silent Quibus, let alone an injury, his soul would have shattered and he would have directly died.


    To put this matter into perspective, just cutting one of Silent Quibus'' Lines of Fate took practically everything out of him. He ended up half dead cutting nine of them.


    Freezing someone in time was like cutting them off from all of their Fate. It was only for an instant, a brief flash in the pan, but one could still imagine the level of pressure that had to be endured when this was done.


    Ryu wouldn''t dare to do this at all unless he had absolute power if it wasn''t for the fact he had a Perfect Blackbody Soul. He was also lucky that his Spacetime Soul Nature was, in fact, a Soul Nature. As such, it was relatively easy to direct the backlash. Otherwise, if his Spiritual Foundation was harmed instead, he would ruin his path of cultivation forever.


    "Master!" Hrakka snapped out of her stunned state and caught Ryu as he almost fell over.


    The world disappeared around them as Hrakka caught a wobbling Ryu with a palm, something she was more than large enough to be capable of.


    Ryu blinked and frowned. He began to see double and the world was no longer clear to him.


    It seemed that there were compounding effects for having his eyes and soul injured at the same time. Though, this made sense considering how connected they were.


    That [Distortion] technique just now wasn''t so much of a technique as it was an application of qi. It was similar to how one wouldn''t call a casual sword finger a technique. It was just raw use of Spacetime Qi.


    But that was what made it so fearsome. Just the capability of doing so was shocking enough.


    Had Ryu had his eyes, it would have been far easier to execute. But luckily, his Inner World projection and his Cosmos Fog had lessened the burden considerably.


    ''Maybe next time, instead of a full stop, we can go for a harsh slowing instead...''


    As he thought to himself, he coughed, and then the atmosphere began to change.


    Hrakka was looking toward the disciples of the Rebirthing Cultus Sect with a wary glare. She wasn''t sure who these people were or who might try to take advantage of Ryu while he was injured, so she was on full alert.


    However, at the moment, all anyone had eyes for was the Throne descending from above.


    It was a beautiful Throne of jade green. It had complex golden runes inscribed onto its body and it made it look particularly majestic.


    At its head, there was a familiar formation. The simplest formation in existence... the eight trigram diagram. It was a slightly darker jade green than the Throne which carried the same tea green tinge as Emerald Vine.


    Everything about the Throne was trimmed and perfect, but Ryu didn''t even have the eyes to see it.


    Hrakka, however, felt that through her connection with Ryu, she could actually feel her power growing stronger beneath its effects. She even saw a gentle energy helping Ryu to heal before he completely passed out.


    **


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly opened. He smelled a familiar scent in the air and shot up, only to find an equally familiar figure.


    His gaze flashed, but he realized quite quickly that it wasn''t Ailsa''s real body; it should just be a clone. She had likely left something behind to protect her Sect while she was away, and this was that contingency plan.


    He smiled lightly. "You''re here, at least in part."


    Ailsa nodded. "And you are still falling unconscious for days at a time. Haven''t you grown bored of it?"


    Ryu chuckled. "This is what you get when you slave for a wife who doesn''t warm your bed at night. I''m sure I would feel more comfortable with you by my side."


    Ailsa gave Ryu a look. "It seems you still haven''t learned how to speak to women."


    "It still works, doesn''t it?" Ryu grinned.


    "Only because your face is handsome."


    "Is that the only reason why?" Ryu blinked. He didn''t seem to be implying anything, but Ailsa still took a casual glance at his crotch. Still, she was so calm and casual about it that Ryu didn''t even notice until several seconds later.


    "Maybe."


    A silence fell between the two, but neither seemed uncomfortable with it. They were husband and wife already, and neither had a reserved sort of personality. In fact, in most cases, it would end up being a match between the two to see who folded first.


    Surprisingly, though, at least this time, it was Ailsa.


    "I should apologize."


    Ryu frowned but didn''t reply immediately.


    "It''s disrespectful to you that such rumors were allowed to spread. All those years ago, I was careless. Nemesis and Little Gem are the only two that made it here with me. Little Gem was taken away the moment she was sensed by a nearby Griffin Clan. We had finally managed to break her curse, but that turned her from a castaway to a talent greater than even me. I was not strong enough to stop it.


    "I kept Nemesis by my side at all times back then. But when I started the Sect, I thought it would make things easier. By then, Nemesis had also grown extremely powerful.


    "He was slower because, as you know, Nemesis is also cursed because of his Taboo Talent. Unfortunately, there came a day where the backlash was extremely severe. He was attempting to break into the God Realm, likely because he wanted to help me more, and Silent Quibus took advantage.


    "I hadn''t been there at that time, and by then..."


    The rest of the story was obvious. Ailsa only let Silent Quibus go without chasing him down because he had Nemesis'' life under his control, but everyone else seemed to think she was taking particular care of Silent Quibus.


    It was a matter where the more you explained, the more suspicious it seemed. And because Ailsa was scared of what happened to Little Gem repeating, Nemesis'' existence itself was a great secret.


    Ailsa took a slow breath. "Again, I am sorry."


    By this point, Ryu''s gaze had become entirely furious.


    "Ailsa Tatsuya, I swear if you say another word I will strip you of that last name and divorce you here and now. Do you think I fear your Godhood?"


    Ryu''s voice rumbled like thunder, a tempest of fury rising into the skies. U//ppTodated fr/o/m

 Chapter 1914 Unacceptable

    1914  Unacceptable


    Ryu was absolutely furious.


    He had been fine with a lot of the things until now. Th.e? most uptod/ate novels a/re published on n(0)velbj)n(.)c/o/m


    He had been fine with Ailsa feeling superior. She was his wife; even if she wasn''t stronger than him, he would put her on a pedestal. She wasn''t just some normal woman walking down the streets or passing by him, not a woman he wouldn''t even give a second glance to.


    She was a woman he had shared his heart with, his bed with, a woman he planned to share his future with.


    She was his wife.


    He would elevate her as far beyond him as his shoulders and back would allow. He would never show even a tinge of distaste for how she viewed herself. He simply didn''t care.


    He had been fine when she started ordering him around, having him pick up the slack where she had failed and cover her back. Anyone else who had ordered him to do such things would have gotten more than just a little bit of his fury; they would have paid deeply for their arrogance.


    The only reason he had accepted the orders of the Dream Asura was, again, because a wife of his was in danger. Who else in the world was capable of commanding him to do anything at all?


    Yet, he had already put his life on the line several times for Ailsa and he didn''t even show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.


    He had been fine even when she gave him the Core Disciple position.


    For Ryu to say this, one could imagine just how furious he was. In the cultivation world, words held too much power, and the moment Ryu spoke of such a thing, Ailsa had already felt her Primordial Yin tremble as though it might be expelled from Ryu''s body at any time.


    Her face became pale and her entire body trembled. It was as though she had lost her soul for a moment and the body that she had controlled to the point of becoming a Dao God was practically worthless at the moment.


    Right now, Ryu wasn''t the frail boy who felt lost to his path; he wasn''t the ice-cold young master who had hated the world, nor was he some cheap cultivator overestimating his abilities.


    He was a towering mountain, a furious head of a household that seemed to want to burn the entire thing.


    It should have pained him to see Ailsa''s face in such a state, but he didn''t have the mind to care or pay attention to it.


    What Ailsa had done just now was unforgivable.


    Apologizing to him was bad enough. Had their relationship truly regressed to the point that she had to treat him like such an outsider?


    But not only was she apologizing, there wasn''t even the slightest bit of remorse on her face as well. Ryu was sure that she felt for the loss of Nemesis and Little Gem, but the way she was speaking, it was as though she was only apologizing as a perfunctory measure, as though she had every intention of dealing with the situation all on her own and was just casually informing Ryu.


    It felt like rather than speaking to her husband, she was speaking to one of her subordinates, one of her lackeys, one of her little soldiers that had lost their lives in her war.


    That was absolutely unacceptable to Ryu.

 Chapter 1915 Pale

    1915  Pale


    "Go." Ryu growled.


    If he stayed here any longer, his fury would cause him to take that next step.


    Against anyone else, he would have done so already. When did he ever give warnings? He didn''t even usually have the patience to listen to the drivel of his enemies and he almost always attacked to kill the instant he felt their hostility.


    The fact that he would hold back and not follow through on his threat immediately just went to show what kind of furious state he was in.


    He didn''t even want to have this conversation anymore; he didn''t want to hear Ailsa''s excuses; he didn''t even want to see her.


    Since she was much further gone than he had expected, she could draw her own lines.


    Right now, he was the Throne of her Sect. There was nothing at all that she could do to him, not with a clone, anyway.


    When he had the strength, he would confront her again. On that day, he would decide whether he would follow through on his words or not.


    But for now...


    Ryu''s gaze became icy cold and he didn''t wait for Ailsa''s response. He waved a hand, donning a casual pair of robes before he directly left his Immortal Abode.


    ...


    Ailsa''s clone sat there as though she had completely lost her soul. Her blood seemed to have fled her body and didn''t show any signs of returning anytime soon.


    She didn''t even seem to realize that Ryu had long left.


    Ailsa''s clone might not be under her main body''s control, but she was still Ailsa. Under the right circumstances, the things it had said were things that Ailsa herself could have easily said, and that was what pissed Ryu off the most.


    He had been extremely lenient. He didn''t complain when she ordered him around, he didn''t complain when he assigned her a low position in her Sect, he didn''t even complain that her clone had waited so long to come and see him in the first place.


    But it wasn''t until she pushed him over the cliff that she realized how much she had been pushing him in the first place.


    When she first saw Ryu for that time his master sent his projection across Existence, she had been elated. It was her initial reaction that was her realest.


    However, after he was ripped away from her again, everything truly began to settle in.


    Now she knew Ryu was safe; she knew that he was thriving, so new feelings began to replace the pining she had had for him.


    The unfairness of it all hit her in waves. She had lost so much time, and meanwhile her husband couldn''t even properly help her with her struggles. He was still too weak.


    Every day she had to deal with the harassment of the Fiends and the disgusting words of their commander, she felt more and more aggrieved because she knew that in the past, the Ryu she knew would have already stormed over.


    And at the same time, she felt guilty...


    Wasn''t what she was feeling now how Elena had felt? That span of lost time, only to find that the husband you were pining after day after day was actually spending his time with other women while you were bleeding?


    The difference was that if Ailsa had met Ryu first, she would have never allowed him to have other women. It was something that she forced herself to allow because she knew that she was already the second.


    In comparison, Elena had always been for Ryu having more than one wife, and as such, the betrayal she felt was different.


    But...

 Chapter 1916 Would He Care?

    1916  Would He Care?


    No matter how she looked at it, it was hard to blame Ryu for it. She was the one who had said she was just fine with it, but now that her standing had changed and she overlooked the world, it was a lot harder to accept.


    And she knew that this wasn''t just a matter of Ryu''s love life. If that was all it was, her reaction would be far more petty and less... hurtful.


    In the world of cultivation, it was only natural for powerful men to have multiple wives due to the difference between Primordial Yins and Yangs.


    Men benefitted from having multiple women, and promiscuous women, except in rare cases, were hurt instead.


    The Martial Gods were a clear example of this exception. Their women were often extremely promiscuous, and they were equally as powerful.


    But obviously, Ailsa didn''t fall into such a category.


    That said... there was a case in which men could be hurt by their promiscuity as well, and that was in the case that their woman was too powerful. Taking in a Primordial Yin that was too strong would result in a man dying a very early death.


    All of these underlying laws are what eventually formed the overall culture of the cultivation world. If one added Ailsa''s personality on top of that, it was even harder on Ryu. V/\Issi?T  for the b/est novel reading experi/en/ce


    This was all because, culturally speaking, it was already difficult for Ailsa to accept that her husband was so much weaker than her. It was easier to accept back in Sacrum because she was acting for more than herself. It was the death of her brother that pushed her to Ryu in the first place because she didn''t like the way her family did things.


    But now, not only was the gap between them even wider, there was no such reason weighing her decision.


    Then there was her own personal arrogance, an arrogance that was usually tempered by Ryu''s existence, but had now had countless years to blossom and bloom on its own.


    She was just like Ryu; she was his Life Partner for a reason. When she officially married Ryu, she was just as willing to let him be as willful as he desired as well.


    Of course, this wasn''t to say that Ailsa wasn''t a powerhouse. But that was what frustrated her all the more.


    She had such a handicap and was still someone that the Ruin Master Guild could only pull these petty tricks against. If she had access to her fullest array of talent, how could any of this have happened?


    Again, none of this was Ryu''s fault, at least not directly.


    But after being suppressed again and again, crushed in spirit, forced to experience loss after loss, and not even having a friend like Yaana by her side to at least help with her struggles...


    It had become too much to bear even for a Dao Goddess like herself.


    She had ended up taking it out on the one person who was willing to take it, the one person who she could be willful with, the one person who wouldn''t react like she was a brat or a woman who had lost her mind.


    And yet, she had still ended up pushing it much too far.


    The worst part was that she couldn''t even take the initiative to contact Ryu. It was he who had [Third Perspective].


    And, after the blow Ryu dealt her Clone, she already knew that it was a lost cause. She could no longer control it. It was still sitting in the same spot, having completely lost its soul. Even if she wanted to establish a connection, she would have to sacrifice even more than she had when she created it in the first place.


    As though all of that wasn''t bad enough... even if she could establish that connection, even if she could communicate with Ryu, even if she could sit before him again and have a redo...


    Would he care?


    This time, she had truly gone too far.

 Chapter 1917 My

    Chapter 1917  My


    A cold storm seemed to brew around Ryu. Every step he took, the world quaked... well, not physically, but its laws seemed to bend and twist.


    His Childe of Order and Chaos Constitutions were forming a net around him, and though this was usually suppressed, he wasn''t in the mood to be bothered.


    Strength.


    He needed strength.


    Ryu had always been surging after the pinnacle. It was something that he did for himself, though sometimes that pure purpose might be derailed by a want for revenge. T/his chapter is updat/ed by


    He had never expected to be stricken so hard from an internal source at all.


    Although he could guess all the troubles and worries that Ailsa was facing, and he even felt guilt because it was his fault for being such a weak husband, there were still things that he was simply incapable of accepting. There were lines he would never accept crossing.


    The bottom line of it all should be that a husband and wife should be forming a united front against the world. Ailsa pretending like she would have to solve everything on her own infuriated him far more than any villain or enemy ever had.


    Ryu walked into the Rebirthing Cultus Sect''s library. Those that saw him felt a shudder deep in their souls, and any intentions they had of trying to get close to him or speaking with him went out the window.


    Ryu had displayed a ridiculous amount of strength. It was likely that no one believed there was anyone beneath the Lord Realm that could defeat him... at least none that were present now.


    Although he had only been fighting against Transcendeds, to fight against so many in a row and to even come out with such victories wasn''t something that they could just gloss over with ease.


    The knowledge that Ailsa had gathered here was extraordinary. It wasn''t something the likes of a True Sky God should even be capable of grasping, but Ryu had still read until the very last book.


    He reaffirmed many things, changed his perspective on many more, and also finally comprehended the path of cultivation to its limits.


    He finally truly understood what it meant to be a Sky God.


    Until now, his comprehension of it had only been limited to Control and what aspects of Control he could exhibit, but he realized that it was deeper than this.


    He could summarize his studies in a single sentence.


    ''They say that the strongest of cultivators could make the Heavens their source and the Earth their cauldron... I don''t believe that this is the case anymore...''


    Ryu took a breath and sparkles of enlightenment spread out from him and covered the surroundings. Those that were enveloped by it felt that their bodies were undergoing a metamorphosis. They suddenly understood things they never had before, and to their greater shock, all of the Sovereigns and Dao Gods of the Sect rushed over.


    At first, they were just there to see what the commotion was, but the moment they saw it... they too stepped into the range of influence of Ryu''s Domain, basking in it with a shocked pulse in their heart.


    How could a True Sky God possibly display such might? No, this wasn''t might; it was something different than that.


    It was one of the most envious abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils... [Focus]. But somehow, it seemed to have fused with [Insight] and [Third Perspective] into something entirely new, creating a power that didn''t just seem to enlighten Ryu alone, but burrowed into the laws of Heaven and created an atmosphere that felt like reading these laws akin to an open book.


    ''My body is my Sky, my Dao, my Heavens, my... Mountain.''


    Ryu''s Dao broke through the Dome of the Heavens, and golden clouds spun wildly about in the skies.


    His Dao had broken past the shackles of this world and transcended to something beyond.

 Chapter 1918 Moonlight

    Chapter 1918  Moonlight


    Ryu slowly opened his eyes.


    Not having his Life Partner by his side for so many years was definitely a hamper on his progress. He was so aimless sometimes, and it made him miss the days when Ailsa would tell him exactly what to do.


    It was an odd thought for him to have, especially when he was both so arrogant and likewise so angry with her right now. But she was also his wife and one of the only women that could make him change his approach to life.


    After reading the documents that she had left behind, he realized even more how powerful her presence in his life had been.


    But he had already known this... and these thoughts didn''t change much at all.


    Right now, he wasn''t here by the grace of Ailsa''s kindness. He was here because he was a Throne and no one could stop him from reading what he wanted to read regardless of the circumstances.


    Ryu slowly stood to his feet to find that many were looking right at him.


    At that moment, a young woman appeared before him. She was teetering as though she might collapse at any time, and it only took Ryu a glance to realize that she was the Wobbling Fairy from earlier.


    It had already been six months since Ryu had been here, and he had been asleep maybe even a week or two after his Throne Challenge, so it had almost been seven months since he had seen her despite how short the time seemed to them as cultivators.


    "Is something the matter?" Ryu asked.


    He only asked so much because he was giving this little woman face. She reminded him of Hope...


    The irony was that of all his women, he had spent the third most time with Hope. Only Elena and Yaana had been by his side for more time.


    Those days, stuck in the black hole time warp, the only person he had to talk to was Hope. And then there was the fact that she had put her life on the line to save him from a shameless blow from a shameless man.


    Wobbling Fairy disappeared for a moment, then came back with a jug of wine larger than Ryu''s head before handing it over.


    She was a bit forceful with it, causing Ryu to take a step back. But it didn''t seem like she had done it on purpose. She was just one, seemingly incapable of controlling her body, and two, she was letting Ryu know that he couldn''t refuse and had accidentally gone a bit overboard.


    Ryu looked down at the jug of wine in his hand.


    He had never been a drinker, mostly because his first life was too weak. It was hard enough finding Spiritual Herbs that wouldn''t shatter him into a million pieces, let alone finding a wine that could do the same.


    Wines were almost always extremely strong, contrary to the world of mortals.


    Ryu shook his head and chose to unseal the jar. The smell alone almost knocked him out.


    It was like honey that was far too concentrated. It wasn''t pleasant at all. If anything, it could make a man sick if he breathed it in for too long.


    But this scent was like a claw ripping up his nostrils and into his brain. Instantly, he felt the world spinning around him as well.


    ''Such strong... wine...''


    Ryu shook his head, trying to maintain his focus. But more and more of it was just slipping away.


    He was about to take drastic measures to dispel it when Wobbling Fairy moved again. The jar in his hands was forced to his lips and his head was forcefully tilted back.


    Everything after that went completely black. It took nothing more than a single drop of that red liquid.


    Ryu found that his mind was completely lost, and when he woke up, there was a woman in his arms.


    Ryu couldn''t help but frown. Had he just been drugged and taken advantage of?

 Chapter 1919 Drugged

    Chapter 1919 Drugged


    Ryu was completely speechless. He even felt somewhat uncomfortable.


    It wasn''t long before he noticed that that feeling of discomfort was more than just about the fact he had just been treated like a damsel in distress. There was also a great amount of impurities coming out of his pores.


    Ryu was rendered speechless again. How could he still have this many impurities within him? That didn''t make any sense at all.


    And why was this woman sticking so close to him when the smell he was giving off was so foul?


    He looked down and shook his head. As expected, this woman really was Wobbling Fairy and she was completely naked.


    ''Hm? It doesn''t feel like we had sex, though. And something is missing...'' Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    Wobbling Fairy''s Primordial Yin wasn''t in his body right now. Of course, with her strength, technically speaking she should have been able to stop him from taking it... but Ryu''s pride didn''t allow him to believe that such a thing was even possible.


    A Primordial Yin didn''t have to be taken away by just force alone. It could be coaxed away while a woman was in the throes of passion.


    Then again... Wobbling Fairy spent so much of her time completely drunk. Maybe she was far more used to having her state of mind rendered that Ryu''s skill in bed was completely useless on her.


    When Ryu thought about it, that was definitely possible as well though it hurt his pride a bit. Still, he felt that something was off.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu noticed something else shocking at that moment.


    Ryu frowned looking down at her. He had stirred several times now, but she didn''t show any signs of getting up. And her defenses seemed far too strong for him to sense if she was still a virgin or not. In fact, even if he sensed it, he would have no way of knowing if she had had former partners. She had just been far too casual about this matter.


    Ryu wasn''t arrogant enough to believe that every woman would just fall into his lap because he looked her way. There was something else going on here.


    ''It seems I have to use a more crude method.''


    Ryu shifted and his hand slipped down her body. He shivered with a bit of guilt when his disgusting hands left a trail of black down her body. But even that was quickly absorbed by her.


    He had no choice but to do this. He didn''t want to stick a dirty finger in there despite the situation having already gone so far.


    Ryu eventually felt his finger slide down a slit he was all too familiar with. Well, he wasn''t familiar with this slit in particular, but it was still close enough to every other he had experienced. Though, because of her lower-body musculature, Wobbling Fairy''s lips were quite tight and pulled back, making them more prominent and almost fleshy.


    He slid in an inch or two before he actually came across a barrier.


    When he felt it, Ryu pulled back, his mind swirling in confusion.


    The bodies of cultivators were different from mortal women. A mortal woman might accidentally break her hymen doing any sort of physical activity, but a cultivator''s body was too powerful. Unless the hymen was completely broken by a physical object, it would remain there.


    Ryu hadn''t actually expected this approach to bear any results, though, because it was too crude and it would still leave too many questions even if the hymen wasn''t there. After all, how would he know if she had had another partner or if she was like his favorite pink-haired lewd wife and had done it herself?


    But now...


    Ryu suddenly winced. He had been pulling his hand back and had just made it out when Wobbling Fairy''s thighs suddenly squeezed down.


    His entire hand and wrist shattered.

 Chapter 1920 Man?

    Chapter 1920 Man?


    Ryu didn''t know what to say or do for a long while, especially since even if he healed his hand now, it was still in a vice grip.


    He couldn''t help but feel a little annoyed. Maybe it was a risk to take such a step, but he had wanted to know. Now he was stuck in such a ridiculous situation.


    This woman wasn''t even awake. What if she accidentally destroyed the rest of his body while she was casually rolling around?


    ''I need her to wake up. If I die like this, it would be too ridiculous.''


    He shook his head, then used his free hand to raise a finger to Wobbling Fairy''s mouth. He pressed a drop of Embryonic Qi to her lips.


    She gobbled it up greedily.


    ''Dammit...''


    Wobbling Fairy started sucking on his finger greedily as though she was still looking for more. Clearly, she had no idea how erotic such a thing was.


    ''What is wrong with this woman? She certainly had to be the one to take her clothes off of her own volition, and I doubt she wouldn''t know that she would end up in such a state. So why? Is she actually trying to take advantage of me?''


    No other explanation even seemed plausible.


    Ryu had considered the fact that she needed to be naked to absorb the impurities on his body, but not only did he not know where these impurities had even come from in the first place, it was clear that she could absorb them from any exposed location on her body. So it was only necessary for him to be naked; why would they both need to be naked?


    "Mmm."


    Wobbling Fairy continued to suck on his finger and her thighs began to rub together as though she was feeling the heat.


    Ryu blew some wind from his mouth, trying to use it to tickle her. But Wobbling Fairy reacted as though she hadn''t sensed anything.


    ''Fine, fine.''


    Ryu lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth. At the same time, he poured another drop of Embryonic Qi into her mouth.


    Wobbling Fairy shivered and Ryu could feel her body begin to loosen up. But then she started grinding her thighs even harder.


    The pain shot through Ryu''s body, but he stayed firm. In fact, he started trying to move his hands deeper instead. He just wanted her to instinctually accept him¡ª


    "Ah..." Wobbling Fairy moaned.


    ''There.''


    Ryu finally pulled his hands away and rolled backward, putting some distance between himself and the woman as he used a drop of Embryonic Qi to heal his hand. Luckily, Wobbling Fairy hadn''t been using any qi, so he didn''t have to expel any Sovereign Qi, making the healing process much easier.


    Taking a breath, Ryu expelled all the impurities from the surface of his skin. He thought about throwing it away completely, but then he noticed that Wobbling Fairy''s circumstances seemed... odd.


    After some thought, he tossed the impurities at her.


    As expected, the moment it touched her body, she began to convulse and then greedily absorbed every single last drop.


    Ryu exhaled, ready to pat his ass and leave. Wobbling Fairy was definitely a little beauty, and he had taken some advantage of her, but her chastity was still... mostly intact and being beautiful alone had never been enough to persuade him either.


    But before he could leave, Wobbling Fairy actually stirred... then her eyes snapped open.


    "... Are you even a man? Why am I still a virgin?"

 Chapter 1921 Choose

    Chapter 1921 Choose


    Ryu was rendered speechless for the third time. Was this the same little woman who¡ª?


    ''Wait... she''s sober right now.'' Chee?ck out latest novels at novelhall.com


    Ryu realized immediately. She wasn''t teetering as usual, her words weren''t babbling nonsense, and she was very clearly looking at him with a level gaze.


    Her eyes were sharp, her aura suffocating, and for a moment Ryu felt like he was standing before a Dao God and not a Dao Sovereign. No... it was more than that.


    It was a truly powerful Dao God, one who might not be as strong as his master, and certainly not the Phoenix Sky God... but she was closing in.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. "Do I look like someone you can bed when you please?"


    Wobbling Fairy blinked and her head cocked to the side. Her eyes were almost saying: are you serious?


    She looked down at what was between Ryu''s legs as though to confirm that there was truly a pair of dick and balls down there. But this confirmation only seemed to make her more confused.


    "Are you perhaps..."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He really wasn''t in the mood to play such games, but it was also clear to him that she wasn''t playing around either.


    Ryu got up with the intention to leave, but a binding power strapped him in place.


    Indeed, she was extremely powerful.


    Ryu looked back, his gaze even. It seemed as though he didn''t realize that his life was in the hands of another. But Wobbling Fairy didn''t seem to mind his gaze either.


    She propped herself up on the grass, laying down on her side and resting her head on an elbow-propped hand.


    Her body was in full and complete view, but to Ryu''s gaze, she might as well have just been a floating pair of eyes.


    "Interesting. You''re the persona she hides behind when getting drunk, is that so? Either you don''t like your current state, or you use your drunkenness to hide your aura... maybe from enemies?


    "Just now, you weren''t faking your sleep though. You were well and truly asleep. That leads me to believe that it''s more probably the former, though a bit of the latter is still in play."


    That deep sleep Wobbling Fairy was in had to be self-induced. The moment she woke up sober, Ryu understood. She would rather be in a deep coma where she would induce her drunkenness once more by absorbing her wine aura than be awake in this state.


    Unfortunately, she hadn''t been able to produce her wine aura because her body was busy chugging away at Ryu''s impurities and becoming stronger.


    When Ryu tossed all his impurities at her at once, she had ended up breaking free of the threshold of her deep sleep.


    She likely didn''t want to be awake right now at all, maybe to hide from memories she didn''t want to recall.


    And that deduction was sealed by the fact Ryu felt her Dao Heart was far weaker in this state than it was when she was drunk.


    In this state, Ryu even felt that with a little push of his Dao, he could shatter it and ruin her path of cultivation.


    She felt far stronger now, but she was also the most vulnerable she had ever been.


    That realization shifted the dynamics of power that were at play right now.


    As expected, the moment Ryu said such things, her expression changed wildly. But by the time she recovered, Ryu was squatting before her, pulling her chin up with a finger. It didn''t seem like he was the Perfect Sky God in this situation at all.


    He looked down at her beautiful face.


    "I can give you what you want, but are you willing to sacrifice what you would need to? The women of I, Ryu Tatsuya, can only be with one man in their life. There is no room for regret, because the moment you do, I will make your life a living hell."


    Wobbling Fairy''s heart shook in her chest. Though her breasts were small, their ripples were very real and carried their own sort of soft enticement.


    If Ryu had said these words before he almost shattered her Dao Heart just now, Wobbling Fairy would have taken it as a joke. But right now...


    "What do you choose?" Ryu asked.


    Wobbling Fairy''s breathing quickened.

 Chapter 1922 Lie Down

    Chapter 1922 Lie Down


    Ryu stared right into Wobbling Fairy''s eyes, seemingly not noticing her naked body at all. Wobbling Fairy could see every bit of his intention within them. He didn''t look at her like the beauty she was, or even like a woman at all; all he saw was a tool to get stronger.


    Wobbling Fairy was quite experienced herself¡ªin terms of life experience, that is. She had seen all sorts of people, and her Dao also made her quite capable of seeing the true side of people. So, it wasn''t as though she had never seen men like Ryu before... men who cared more about their cultivation realms than anything else, men with ambition enough that no woman could sway them from their goals.


    But still, something felt different right now.


    She could also tell that it wasn''t that Ryu was incapable of feeling love, it was just that he was incapable of caring enough about her to aim any of the affection he might have toward her.


    In fact, she could even tell that had Ryu been in a different mental state, he might not have cared to take her up on her offer at all. And yet, despite this, he was still drawing such a clear line.


    Selfish. Passionate. Arrogant. And more than a few sprinkles of chauvinism.


    That was how she summarized the man before her, and she doubted that even Ryu himself would reject it.


    Wobbling Fairy remained silent for a long while before replying honestly.


    "I will do whatever it takes to grow strong."


    Her answer was quite clear. It had taken this long in her life to run into just a single Ryu, so the odds were clearly not in her favor. However, if she did run into such a man, Ryu''s words certainly wouldn''t be what held her back from using him.


    What was unexpected, though, was that Ryu didn''t have a fierce reaction to this at all. He reacted as though he either hadn''t heard her, didn''t understand the underlying intention in her words, or simply didn''t give a damn. Re?a? latest cha/p/ters at novelhall.com


    And that was when she remembered.


    Ryu wasn''t forcing her to choose between either him or a future with another man. He was making her choose between either following his rules or facing his wrath in the future.


    ~''There is no room for regret, because the moment you do, I will make your life a living hell...''~


    Those words he had spoken echoed in her mind, and she almost didn''t register the questions Ryu asked after the fact at all.


    Ryu had long released her chin and sat across from her, his eyes deadpan. He didn''t speak again, and she was forced to go back into her memories to replay what had just happened.


    How could she end up so distracted as a Dao Sovereign? What was she thinking? Someone could have easily killed her in that moment had they had the strength, and she was pretty sure that Ryu''s gaze was sharp enough to see through that.


    "What is so special about your Constitution that it would allow me such a breakthrough?"


    It had to be remembered that Ryu found his Perfect Blackbody Soul in the Death Shrine. Before that, he had thought that his soul talent was piss poor, and he even had to reforge his own soul into the Indestructible Soul.


    However, somehow, the foundation he laid for his Indestructible Soul became precisely what he needed to fuse back with his real soul as though it had all been planned out...


    He didn''t understand that at all, and it was more than just a little bit fishy to him.


    Unexpectedly, whatever happened to his Perfect Blackbody Soul while it was away had left it littered with impurities. At least... that was Wobbling Fairy''s description of it, because Ryu himself couldn''t even sense anything at all.


    Ryu was truly shocked to find out his body had impurities at all.


    When he first started his cultivation journey, he refused to use anything but Spiritual Herbs. Then, when he finally started using Pills, he refined them personally and never took anything with less than 100% purity.


    As such, in his view, his body was a mask of perfection.


    It was more acceptable to him that his Spiritual Foundation and Meridians would have such issues. After all, they were both connected to lands far from himself, plus had been influenced by many foreign objects.


    But his soul? He had never considered it.


    What he didn''t expect was the fact that the world of Impurities was far more unfathomable than he knew... and he couldn''t help but wonder what it would mean for all of these to be taken away.


    Now, though... the question was how best to take advantage of this.


    Using Wobbling Fairy to reach the Peak of the Perfect Sky God Realm was obvious enough, but then what would he do with the rest of that latent energy?


    "Lie down. We can begin now."


    Wobbling Fairy nodded slowly. She lay on the grass and opened her legs. Her gaze was calm, and it was clear that while her Dao Heart in this state was incredibly fragile, that was only because it was far too hard and rigid.


    When she made a decision, she wouldn''t change it.


    Ryu looked at her for a long while, seemingly trying to get into the mood. But then he shook his head.


    Wobbling Fairy frowned. It was hard for her not to take it as a bit of an insult, but what came next was an even worse insult.


    Ryu actually summoned another woman from thin air and then smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist.


    "Lord Husband," Eska blinked with surprise.


    "Eska..." Ryu said softly.

 Chapter 1923 Worth It?

    Chapter 1923 Worth It?


    "I''m sorry, this situation is a bit of an odd one," Ryu began to explain.


    Eska blinked again, looking at Ryu before noticing the naked woman lying down before him. A truly odd situation, indeed.


    Her gaze looked down at Ryu''s crotch and seemed to understand something. Even so, she still waited.


    Ryu was quite patient with his wife, telling her everything. Fo?ll0w current novE?ls o/n n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(c/o/m)


    "I see." Eska nodded calmly, her cool silver eyes meeting Ryu''s. "Do you need my help?"


    The two were close. Ryu had pressed Eska''s body into the side of his hip and he could feel the warmth and softness of her breasts against the side of his chest. Even though she was still fully clothed, every curve could be felt by him.


    Ryu smiled. "Are you not happy?"


    "How can that be?" Eska shook her head, just as elegant as ever.


    "I understand that you''re not happy, I shouldn''t call you for such a thing. It''s quite unfair of me."


    Eska was taken aback by Ryu''s words. She leaned back a bit to see his smile and couldn''t help but look away after a split moment. Ryu''s smile was truly her weakness.


    She wasn''t like Isemeine or Ailsa at all. She hadn''t fallen for Ryu until she saw something other than his cold gaze.


    Ironically, her relationship with Ryu had started in much the same way it was about to for Wobbling Fairy. But the difference was that she had ended up quite lucky in the end. Ryu changed to the point that he became the very man she had the greatest weakness for.


    That gentle smile, the care in his eyes, the tone of apology... it all made her feel quite weak. She could only look away, feeling her heart quicken. How could she say no to this man?


    Still, Ryu didn''t take advantage of her weakness at the moment. He just lightly held her waist, breathing in her delicate orchard scent.


    Ryu had a great fondness for mature, arrogant women like Eska. They had a uniqueness to them that he couldn''t get over. Even Eska''s scent was more complex than most of his women. It seemed to change with the wind, swaying with the movement of her hair.


    "Lord Husband, you don''t need to apologize for such a thing..." Eska said softly.


    "No, I do." Ryu smiled a bit bitterly. "You haven''t been a tool to me in a very long while, and I don''t want you to see this as that. In fact, I hope you will see it the opposite way. I want you by my side for this because it places my heart at ease."


    Eska''s heart fluttered and her face became redder. It was impossible to hide. Her skin was just as porcelain white as Ryu''s own. If it was any more transparent, one would even be able to see the veins running beneath.


    Even when it was with Eska and Isemeine, back then Isemeine had been in a practically rabid state of lust.


    Wobbling Fairy, unfortunately, didn''t gain such a luxury and it could be said that this would be a memory she would hope to soon forget.


    She closed her eyes, prepared to focus on her cultivation. The exchange of energy between herself and Ryu had begun.


    Ryu, though, didn''t seem to notice this. He had pulled Eska into his arms, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.


    Their breaths were in sync, as were their heartbeats. They had forgotten the rest of the world, basking in one another''s warmth.


    The heat in Eska''s loins was only growing more feverish, and she lamented that Ryu only had a single rod to use... that was until Ryu''s hands suddenly grabbed her ass, lifting her even further until her thighs rested on his shoulders.


    Eska was completely taken aback until her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head.


    Ryu had pulled her panties to the side from the back and plunged his tongue into her delicate folds. He alternated between a combination of licking and light sucking, making Eska quiver with every gesture.


    Eventually, she couldn''t hold back her moans at all. Spine-tingling orgasms ran up her spine, but Ryu was relentless. It was as though he was trying to make her experience every ounce of pleasure for every ounce of displeasure he had experienced in the last several months.


    She called out his name again and again, gripping his hair so hard that it seemed she might rip up a piece of his skull at any moment.


    Wobbling Fairy twisted in slight discomfort. Ryu''s own personal excitement had made him pump faster, and she still hadn''t quite adjusted. Now, she was suddenly in an even more uncomfortable position.


    She still couldn''t understand why it hurt so much. Compared to the heat that was before her, her body felt stone cold. For a moment, she even thought that Eska was faking her pleasure.


    But then she saw Eska''s face. She had lost control of herself, falling back to the point she had to be caught before she crashed into Wobbling Fairy. And it was at that moment that Wobbling Fairy saw her face.


    She could only see the whites of Eska''s eyes. Then there was the flushed skin, her quivering lips, the sheen of sweat that coated every inch of her.


    Then she remembered how elegant this woman had been when she first appeared...


    That was when she understood that this woman probably didn''t have it in her to fake such a thing. Her embarrassment would shine through immediately. The only way for her to release like this was if she really couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    ''Does it really feel so good?'' Wobbling Fairy couldn''t help but wonder. Looking down at her own crotch, with a slit trail of blood running down her inner thigh, and the wincing pain she was experiencing...


    She felt that this might very well be the worst experience of her life. Was it worth it?


    She clenched her fists. ''Definitely. Definitely worth it.''

 Chapter 1924 Anger

    Chapter 1924 Anger


    Ryu was absolutely relentless. Eska couldn''t think straight, and her body didn''t seem to be in her control at all. It was like her soul was being pulled out from her body, and only through the most embarrassing places at that.


    However, she could also feel Ryu''s emotion. He was handling it differently than he usually would, but she could tell that something was off.


    Truth be told, this wasn''t because of Wobbling Fairy. She, much like Ryu, didn''t care very much about this woman at all. Although she only really knew a part of the story, she could tell what was happening.


    Wobbling Fairy wanted to use Ryu much like Ryu wanted to use her. There wasn''t any obligation between either party to make the other feel comfortable.


    Ryu had given Wobbling Fairy a chance to say what needed to be said, but in the end, she made her stance quite clear on the matter. If there was another Ryu that arose in the future, she would likely give him the very same deal. After all, none of what was happening currently was related to her virginity. It was just a special kind of Dual Cultivation.


    Dual Cultivation was special because there was truly no closer state a pair of cultivators could be in. Well, no closer state that a pair of male and female cultivators could be in. After all, there were still cheat-like existences like Isemeine and Eska who experienced an even closer existence with one another, but this was only possible because they were both women.


    Ryu hadn''t reacted much to this, mostly because he didn''t particularly care about Wobbling Fairy at all. The reason he didn''t want women he had been with to be with other men wasn''t because he was afraid that they would fall in love with them, nor was it because he felt that he might be outclassed by them. It was purely because of his pride.


    Ryu was a man who wouldn''t casually lay down with women in the first place. The places he had been shouldn''t be places that other people could touch. It was that simple. That was how he viewed the world, and he never particularly cared about hypocrisy.


    Eska was completely fine with Ryu having all of these thoughts; she didn''t mind them one bit, and she cared more about the fact that Ryu felt bad than the fact he was the reason for all of this. Ryu''s sincerity was able to make her melt, and it was what she loved the most about him right now.


    But that didn''t mean that she didn''t still feel like there was something off about the current Ryu... and she could somewhat feel why.


    Ironically, this wasn''t because Ryu was being too forceful with Wobbling Fairy... it was instead because he wasn''t being forceful enough.


    Of course, this forcefulness didn''t mean putting Wobbling Fairy under a state of even more torture and pain. It was instead because his willingness to conquer didn''t seem to be here as though he wanted a reason to have to kill Wobbling Fairy in the future, as though he wanted to feel her blood run through his fingers one day.


    The most obvious point in favor of this wasn''t the fact that Wobbling Fairy was in pain rather than screaming to the rooftops like she was. Rather, it was because Ryu hadn''t attempted, not even a single time, to take away Wobbling Fairy''s Primordial Yin.


    At first, this confused Eska. Usually, he would be all over such a thing; he would blur Wobbling Fairy''s mind until she couldn''t even recall when she lost her Primordial Yin in the first place.


    But it was as though he knew that if he took her Primordial Yin, it would force her into submission in ways that he didn''t like.


    Why was Ryu so... angry?


    He didn''t react to Wobbling Fairy''s conviction to betray him in the future, so why was he so violent now?


    Slowly, a sense of understanding began to come over Eska...

 Chapter 1925 Brim

    Chapter 1925 Brim


    Ryu was almost certainly upset about a woman, and Wobbling Fairy mapped on perfectly. He didn''t have it in him to have such murderous intent toward this woman, but having such intent toward a woman he cared little about¡ªand a woman who equally cared so little about him¡ªwas far easier.


    Eska was barely able to cobble these thoughts together after several hours. Another woman would have felt their loins aching by this point; Ryu''s tongue had simply never left her sweet, moist folds. But eventually, she was able to complete them.


    "Ryu..." she said softly, gasping for breath. "... I... I can''t... go..."


    Eska was lying through her teeth. With her body''s composition and strength, not to mention access to Isemeine''s Heavenly Dew Branch recovery abilities, she would have loved to ride Ryu''s face for months on end if he was willing.


    Ryu obviously knew this, or else he would have never taken such an approach to begin with. After all, he wanted to pleasure Eska, not abuse her. If it was really too much for her, he wouldn''t have taken such an approach. Because once again, he cared for her... and now Wobbling Fairy.


    Still, after Eska said these words, even though Ryu knew they were an outright lie, he still stopped. That was because he could also tell that while Eska''s body was raving and roaring to go, her mind was slowly slipping out of his grasp.


    If he had continued even though she said such things, she might have completely shut down.


    A woman who had lived as long as Eska, and experienced as much, had a mental state that was impossible to rattle unless she allowed it to be so. If she chose to grow cold and distant, no matter how good Ryu made her body feel, her heart wouldn''t be moved.


    Breaking the mind of such a woman was basically next to impossible, and it wasn''t something most should even consider attempting.


    It had taken a lot of change and effort to get Eska to warm up to him like this. If he ruined it over a woman he cared little for, no less, would that even be worth it?


    However, Ryu wasn''t so calculating with his thoughts this time. All he knew was that his wife wanted to stop, so he obliged.


    Eska, somewhat embarrassingly, climbed down from her position, unwrapping her legs from around Ryu''s neck.


    Look at her. She had lived for trillions of years and avoided doing such embarrassing things for at least that long, but now she was so comfortable with it. What happened to her shame?


    "... Are you okay, Lord Husband?" Eska asked after some hesitation.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. *''Am I okay?''*


    He looked at Eska deeply, not knowing how to answer the question.


    Eska pressed a gentle palm against his chest, leaning against him.


    "I can feel that there is something wrong. You can speak to me, I am willing to listen. This... wife of yours doesn''t have many good traits outside of having lived for such a long time..."


    Her hesitation in saying *wife* was only made all the clearer when she smiled soon after, almost as though the word tasted sweet on her tongue and rosy lips.


    Looking at her, Ryu felt a certain part of his body shutting down. Wobbling Fairy, who had already closed her eyes and entered a deep state of meditation, clearly felt this as well, but she didn''t say much, focusing on gathering the impurities she had just taken from Ryu. They had already been going at it for hours, and it was probably best they take a few breaks from time to time to allow one another to consolidate. Then they could continue after.


    "... If you don''t want to, that''s okay as well..." Eska said softly.


    Ryu took a breath, casting a gaze toward Wobbling Fairy who seemed to have cut herself off from the rest of the world.


    Ryu sighed, shaking his head.


    Eska felt a bit disappointed, but to her surprise, Ryu actually began to speak. And an even greater surprise than that was that he didn''t start with Ailsa at all.


    Eska was truly taken aback when she realized what Ryu had been through in the last several years. She had had no idea.


    In fact, now that she thought about it, ever since she and Isemeine had met up with Ryu again... he had taken all the pressure off of them. He had made their lives so easy they weren''t even aware of what was happening in the outside world.


    Tears brimmed in Eska''s eyes as guilt swelled in her heart.Re?a? latest cha/p/ters at novelhall.com

 Chapter 1926 Embarrassing

    Chapter 1926 Embarrassing


    Eska cupped Ryu''s face in her hands. The care and concern in her eyes was clear, almost to the point it nearly made Ryu a bit uncomfortable. He had never seen those eyes from anyone but his mother and grandmothers, and that was about enough of an explanation for why he wouldn''t want to see them from his wife.


    But he quickly realized that it was even deeper than that. He didn''t want to see such pity and guilt in the eyes of his women. Originally, he didn''t even want to speak about these things at all. If it wasn''t for the fact he could see that it would make Eska sad if he didn''t, he wouldn''t have said anything at all.


    But now that he had, whether he wanted to originally or not, there was some of his burden being placed onto her shoulders.


    Eska was simply a different woman from Ailsa, and they both had their own places in his life. Honestly, if Eska was the one to see him back then and she tried to comfort him the same way, maybe he would have never snapped out of it. It had taken Ailsa''s brand of "encouragement" to make him see any sort of light.


    Still, those hints of discomfort in his eyes when he looked into Eska''s eyes didn''t just vanish. It wasn''t the type of person he was, and it was hard for him to accept such a thing.


    Eska looked into his eyes deeply, her tears still streaming. Her gaze bounced between his irises as though trying to see something, and in the end, she smiled a bit bitterly.


    She could see through some of Ryu''s thoughts. Some people just didn''t like to be coddled and told that everything would be alright. And some people didn''t want to be constantly yelled at and told to get it together.


    When Eska thought about it, she wasn''t sure she wanted a man that wanted to be coddled either... which was ironic considering she felt that she wanted to do the coddling. But when she thought about how she would feel if Ryu constantly came to her for such things... she found that she would return to her state as an Ancestor, where the entire burden was on her... and maybe that was the real reason she cried. Not because she was afraid of holding some of the burden for Ryu, but rather because she knew exactly the kind of pressure Ryu was holding up and it broke her heart.


    Seeing the hints of discomfort in her eyes, she felt even more guilt because she actually... sighed a breath of relief. At the same time, her attraction toward Ryu seemed to grow to another level. Not only had he been vulnerable with her, but he didn''t want her pity. He had only spoken because she wanted him to, and nothing else mattered to him. Not even his own pain and anguish.


    "I''m sorry..." Eska embraced Ryu, taking him off guard a bit. He could tell that she wasn''t apologizing for leaving him to carry all their burdens, she was apologizing because she wanted him to continue to do so.


    However, that only made Ryu smile. He stroked her hair gently. Why had Ailsa''s words infuriated him so much? It wasn''t just because she was looking down on him with her apology, or that she didn''t really mean it, it was because she treated him like a person she would have to fake such an apology to in the first place, like he was some child she had to care and caress lest he break apart.


    It had been a long time since he was so thoroughly enraged. If not for the slivers of emotion that remained in his heart, let alone threatening divorce, he would have done it right then and there. Maybe only one of his wives could get away with such a thing without facing his immediate wrath.


    Eska''s thoughts and emotions, rather than making him feel that life was too unfair, instead put him at ease. If his women couldn''t rely on him, then who could they rely on? Anything they wanted, anything they needed, they should have the confidence to rely on him to get it for them. That was all he wanted, and that was all he could ever want.


    Maybe the reason he loved arrogant, prideful women so much was because this was precisely the kind of woman that could give him the most satisfaction upon reaching this point. It was probably selfish of him, probably a bit childish, most definitely a great deal chauvinistic and all the best sort of buzz words, but he simply didn''t care. He was Ryu Tatsuya and this was how he preferred to live his life.


    Eska could practically feel Ryu''s heart ease. She pressed her ear to his chest until the rapid, erratic heartbeat became a calm, soothing baritone that echoed only once every several seconds.


    "Can you do something for me?" Eska suddenly asked.


    "Anything." Ryu said with a calm smile, gently stroking her hair.


    Eska pointed toward Wobbling Fairy and blushed a bit. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn''t quite get her words out. After a while, her blush overwhelmed her and she made a decision. She suddenly vanished... or, rather, she morphed into Isemeine. Her breasts shrunk and her ass became far tighter. At the same time, her skin bronzed.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, but he didn''t retreat. After all, Isemeine was his wife as well.


    "What? Is she tagging you in?"


    Isemeine rolled her eyes. "She wants you to fuck her brains out, but she''s too much of a prissy princess to say that out loud."


    "Hm? Why''s that?" Ryu asked, a bit confused. He knew that Eska wasn''t just going soft on him. She wasn''t a kind-hearted person by the normal metrics.


    Eska would certainly not bat an eye even if he were to kill Wobbling Fairy right now... so why?


    Isemeine scoffed. "It''s fucking embarrassing, that''s why."

 Chapter 1927 Thank my Wife

    Chapter 1927 Thank my Wife


    Ryu was speechless. "... What?"


    "What are you acting all confused about?? It''s FUCKING embarrassing! What do you think will happen when this woman gets out of here? What do you think she''ll tell her friends?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. Did these people not know who he was? When had he ever bothered to explain himself? Did he need to care about such things?


    "I doubt she has friends."


    "That''s not the point!"


    Ryu blinked. He was pretty sure that was her entire point. If she didn''t have friends to speak about this with, then no one would know what happened here, and then it wouldn''t be a problem in the first place.


    Plus, even if Wobbling Fairy had had friends, what difference would it make? It would take a very close friend for her to divulge this information. After all, a woman having sex for the sake of power was something that would be a huge hit to Wobbling Fairy''s Faith. It would be like ruining her own reputation.


    Even if she lied about the story and said that Ryu coerced her, it would still be a hit to her Faith. The world wasn''t such a magnanimous place.


    No matter how you looked at it, it was worthless for Ryu to spend his time on such a thing.


    Of course, since he had promised Eska, he would still do it. But he didn''t think that her reasoning was so childish... or maybe it was?


    At the very least, Isemeine wasn''t explaining it properly.


    "Ugh, fine. Since you want me to state it so clearly, I will. Even if it''s only one person, it''s too many! Our little princess can''t let the world think she has an inferior man, do you understand?"


    Ryu''s lip twitched. No wonder Eska didn''t want to say it out loud, blood would have shot out of her nose from all the embarrassment. He still half believed that Isemeine was making this up, but then he recalled something.


    His first time with Eska was not much different from this, but if he thought back now... she must have really enjoyed it.


    He understood more about Eska than he did before, all her little quirks and subtle tendencies. Plus, with his perfect recall, he was able to put himself right back in that moment.


    "Never."


    Isemeine gave a half-satisfied snort before giving his tip a kiss for good luck and then vanishing.


    The smile faded from Ryu''s face as he looked toward Wobbling Fairy. She was still in a deep meditation, but she was reaching the end, already prepared for Ryu to enter her again.


    Quite frankly, he still wasn''t quite in the mood. Much of the energy he had gotten from her was stored away in his Inner World and hadn''t circulated through his body. But...


    He looked at her face and shook his head.


    Slowly, he crawled on top of her.


    Wobbling Fairy could seemingly feel his presence, and she frowned a bit even in her meditation, but her eyes remained closed as she prepared herself for another round.


    She felt a hand press against her lower half, and then there was a drop of silky liquid that she experienced for the briefest of instants before it vanished.


    Her body shuddered, and her eyes snapped open. All the pain from her lower half vanished, and she couldn''t help but look toward Ryu with an incredulous expression.


    "Ready?"


    "What?" she mumbled, confused.


    "You should know that this changes next to nothing. Thank my wife for this."


    Wobbling Fairy was only more confused. She had completely cut out her senses, so she didn''t know what happened while she was meditating.


    She felt a sudden jolt of electricity when Ryu''s hands began to run across her body. She squirmed a bit, feeling hints of discomfort. But this time, it was coming from her heart and not her body.


    Ryu didn''t seem bothered by her apprehension. He stared down into her eyes until she was almost forced to meet his gaze.


    Her heart jolted again. Somehow, she forgot that she was staring at a man several cultivation realms beneath her own. What she didn''t know was that the moment she stopped looking at Ryu as someone beneath her, she had already lost the war.

 Chapter 1928 Opportunity

    Chapter 1928 Opportunity


    Wobbling Fairy lay limply on the ground, gasping for breath. Her eyes were an odd combination of misted over and in a daze, or maybe both were the same thing, she really couldn''t tell anymore. It had been an entire month, and the process could have only been described as relentless. In just the first few minutes, it felt like everything from before had been overridden. She had tried to block off her mind again, tried to focus on just cultivating, but no matter what she did, it didn''t matter in the slightest.


    Her Dao Heart in this state was a bit frail to begin with, when met with this sort of temptation, it was like she had become an addict, chasing after a high only Ryu could give her.


    At the same time, the differences between the way her treatment started and how it ended made it all the more striking. It was clear that Ryu had been capable of making her feel good but hadn''t bothered because he didn''t give a damn about her.


    In fact...


    Wobbling Fairy looked over toward Ryu who was in a silent state of cultivation. At the moment, his wife, the elegant beauty she had seen before, was resting her cheek on his thigh, seemingly in peaceful rest.


    However, Wobbling Fairy knew that this was actually a sign of distrust. She had already gained everything she needed, if she wanted to kill Ryu now, it would be understandable.


    Of course, the odds of this were incredibly low. After all, Ryu wasn''t just a now Perfect Sky God, he was a Throne of their Sect.


    In Sacrum, it was impossible to kill a Throne without suffering severely. In higher-order worlds, it was possible to do so, but that didn''t mean that there wouldn''t be a price to pay as well. The targeting of a Throne required a lot of forethought and planning, and the likes of Wobbling Fairy still wasn''t high enough in the upper echelon of the Sect to make such a decision herself.


    If she killed Ryu and harmed the Sect, she would then be the enemy of not just one Dao God but four of them.


    No matter how powerful she was in this state, it was impossible for her to be able to take such a risk.


    Ryu obviously knew this, or else his only guard wouldn''t be Eska who was still a long way away from the Dao Sovereign Realm.


    However, by the same token, it made his stance clear. But... no less clear than Wobbling Fairy had made her own stance.


    Ryu found that Wobbling Fairy''s Primordial Yin was incredibly odd.


    ''It''s almost like the Nether Qi of Primordial Yin... somewhat... it''s not exactly that either. But why would she, a Faerie, have such a thing, when Mae didn''t?''


    There was nothing normal about her Primordial Yin, it felt like it was founded on a completely different concept of¡ª


    Ryu''s heart trembled.


    Curse.


    The eyes of an adorable, fluffy little Griffin reflected in his mind.


    Cursed individuals were the bane of the Heavens and they were punished as such. They brought calamity, and they were often thrown out by even their own Clans.


    If they couldn''t break their Curse, they would spend the rest of their lives as cripples, suffering calamity after calamity.


    But if they could break their curses, they would soar to the skies and display abilities that had simply never been seen before.


    Somehow, Wobbling Fairy was able to shed her Curse and unlock this ability...


    It was no wonder her mind was so disordered and her Dao was so odd. She was actually a survivor of the Heaven''s Curse. What kind of treatment would she have had to have suffered just to make it to this stage?


    Of course, this didn''t make Ryu feel sympathy. It was rather that he realized just how shocking what the item in his body was now.


    ''This is... an opportunity...''

 Chapter 1929 Solutions

    Chapter 1929 Solutions


    Just with this Primordial Yin swimming in his body, Ryu felt that he was able to strip himself of all impurities. No part of his body was capable of escaping this, not his soul, not his Meridians, not even his Spiritual Foundation.


    Just by virtue of cultivating, Ryu would be able to constantly allow this Primordial Yin to swallow up any impurities that he gathered into the future.


    This shouldn''t be underestimated. That was because also by virtue of cultivating, he would be gathering impurities onto his body.


    He had thought that just by using Spiritual Herbs and 100% Pure Pills he could avoid this, but he realized after his interaction with Wobbling Fairy that his concept of Impurities was far too lax and incomplete.


    The reality was that there were impurities even in the air he breathed. Every time he gathered qi from his Meridians, there would be more that swarmed in from the Chaos Plane. Every time he improved his soul, there would be more.


    No matter where you looked in the world, there were impurities. And because of that, Ryu had been unwittingly carrying around shackles that he didn''t even feel.


    The moment it was gone, even without cultivating, he felt a qualitative change in his Constitution. That being his Child of Order and Chaos Constitutions.


    They both flowed with impossible smoothness and his combat prowess had taken another massive leap forward.


    Before, it was necessary for Ryu to use Heaven and Earth''s Gate if he wanted to fight an Omniscient Sky God. He also wasn''t sure if that would even work if he was facing off against the truest geniuses¡ªat least the true geniuses of this world, that is.


    But now he didn''t think it was necessary. With his Perfect Sky God foundation and his newly minted Constitution, he should be able to fight with them head to head while relying on his other abilities.


    However, if he took this step, he might not even need to rely on higher combat awareness and skill at all. It was potentially possible that he would finally be able to match them in terms of raw power alone.


    As for how he would do that... it was hinged on this new Body Realm Cultivation Method that he was forming.


    With the insights from them, Ryu would be able to temper his body with Darkness, Light, and Ice.


    However, this was the less important of the two factors. That was because the most important factor was the fact that the properties of the Natural Treasures had changed after their Impurities were expelled.


    They were far more powerful, and as such should be far more difficult to control. But on the other hand, their erratic tendencies were cut down and they were far easier to predict.


    Essentially, much of the lower-case chaos of the Natural Treasures had been stripped away after Wobbling Fairy got a hold of them, only leaving what could be easily predicted by Ryu behind.


    If Ryu could create a landscape where he could easily predict what they would do and when, he would be able to use them to essentially carve out a model of Body Realm Cultivation in his body...


    Quite literally at that.


    It would be an extremely painful process, but the last thing Ryu feared was pain.


    The trouble with this approach, though, was that Ryu wasn''t satisfied with just three attributes. He wanted to reform his body using them all.


    That meant that he not only needed to prepare a method for Light, Darkness, and Ice, but he also needed one for the others as well. He would need to form a foundation for the first three that wouldn''t interfere with the ones that came later.


    And that was almost impossible considering he didn''t have as much of an understanding of them.


    It seemed, then, that he only had two choices. Either give up on the perfect Body Realm Cultivation Method he was chasing after, or wait until he could gather a Holy World of them all.


    Usually, Ryu would choose the latter...


    If it wasn''t for the fact he felt he had a solution to this as well.

 Chapter 1930 Thirteen

    Chapter 1930 Thirteen


    The Impurities of a substance weren''t as simple as they seemed. It could be said that the way Impurities were different depending on what the origin of them was.


    Impurities, as Ryu had said, were far more complex than he had ever given them credit for. They were often the byproduct of the world creating, and could be said to be an act of balancing by the Heavens.


    After the Natural Treasures were cleansed, Ryu was even able to notice that the gap they had closed down was actually related to the level of the world itself!


    This sounded confusing, but simply put, the weaker the world, the more impurities there would be in creating the same treasures. That was why without these Impurities, the Natural Treasures that Ryu made use of were made to be even more powerful!


    So why was this important now?


    It was because Ryu had familiarity with precisely this change. When he went from Sacrum to the True Martial World, although he didn''t notice it, what he was actually doing was expelling the impurities from his body and growing toward a stronger version of himself.


    This meant that whatever comprehension that Ryu had wasn''t insufficient... instead, it was impure. And by understanding what was impure about it, Ryu could get a rough estimate for where he would have to go in the future with his Body Realm Cultivation Method, and thus make preparations in advance.


    To make a complicated matter simple, Ryu was about to reverse engineer the Impurities of his other Natural Treasure to understand their tendencies and how they worked. Then, he would have a rough estimate of what they needed in the future, and once he had this rough estimate, he would be able to lay the foundation for his Body Realm Cultivation Method while being at least 70 to 80% confident that he wouldn''t have to completely overhaul it in the future.


    Of course, there was still a chance that this method could go wrong, but Ryu was willing to take that risk for two reasons.


    Not only was he extremely confident in himself and his deductions to begin with, the second reason was that even if it failed...


    So what?


    Right now, however, he had all the motivation in the world.


    It had taken him six months to evolve his Dao to a new level, and now he was willing to pour as many years into this Cultivation Method as he needed.


    And just like that, another three years passed.


    It could be said that in this time, the Rebirthing Cultus Sect was having its own mini storm.


    It had been three and a half years since Ryu and Wobbling Fairy had entered her courtyard, and yet they showed no signs of coming out.


    At first, no one found it odd. Wobbling Fairy was such an innocent character in their eyes that the idea that anything untoward was occurring didn''t even cross most of their minds.


    But by this point, even Star River was having a hard time not imagining what might or might not be happening in there.


    Three years wasn''t a long time, especially not to a Dao God like herself. But this was very clearly an odd situation. It was odd for a single woman to invite any man into her courtyard in the first place.


    It was on this day, three and a half years later, though, that a great commotion was unearthed in the courtyard.


    What they didn''t know was that this very same commotion would continue for another decade. And in this decade, neither Ryu nor Wobbling Fairy would appear.


    BOOM!


    A pillar of swirling elements rose high in the air and the entire Sect was bathed in its light.

 Chapter 1931 Twenty-Six

    Chapter 1931 Twenty-Six


    Ryu sat in silent meditation, swirling lights dancing around him. He had never spent so long on a cultivation method before. Even his current self-created Mental Realm cultivation method had come to him through natural enlightenment. It could only be said that deducing the remaining path of his Body Realm Cultivation Method was far too difficult, but how could it not be? He was trying to find a method of maximizing treasures that stood near the pinnacle of Existence itself. Maybe it would have been more efficient to just go out and conquer the Holy Worlds he needed, but Ryu didn''t do that for two reasons. The first was because he wanted to settle his mind down. He was constantly being pulled in too many directions, and the matters with Ailsa didn''t make things any better for him. He wasn''t used to extended periods of closed door cultivation, and unless he did get used to it quickly, he would find himself stuck one day. He wasn''t arrogant to the point that he thought he didn''t need secluded cultivation. Maybe there would come a day where he would need to retreat for many centuries, or even longer. The road of cultivation was long, and unless he was willing to walk it, he didn''t have the right to have such thoughts. The second reason he chose to do things this way was because there was no shortcut that existed that didn''t come without a price. Sure, getting those Holy Worlds would save him a lot of time and effort. But it had to be remembered that those Holy Worlds only allowed him to see through to the pinnacle of what was allowed in *this* world. Who knew how many worlds that were several times more powerful were out there? If he pigeonholed himself here, he would end up regretting it in the future. By taking the long way, he would be able to have the best of both worlds. On the one hand, he would be able to excavate the full potential of this cultivation method, and on the other, he would be able to use the Holy Worlds he would conquer in the future to speed it up and strengthen himself with immediacy without also being stuck at a bottleneck in the future. It was truly killing two birds with one stone... And that was when his cultivation began. Light began to converge into his body along with Darkness. Ice penetrated into his very cells, boring holes into his body and making it seem as though he would become a sculpture of frigid energy any time now. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but no one could see the level of pain that Ryu was undergoing... and no one could possibly expect anyone to withstand that sort of pain for an entire ten years. The Nine Pillars in Ryu''s body began to crumble apart, only to be replaced by new kernels. A Seed of Darkness... A Seed of Light... Gaia Essence... Lightning Elemental Spirit... A Blackhole... Infinity Mist... Origin Flame... A Rainbow Wind... The pillars condensed and Ryu himself became the core. His body shattered and then reformed... before shattering and then reforming again. Several Spirit Bodies clashed, trying to fuse into one, and yet not quite being able to do so. Wobbling Fairy watched all of this from the sidelines. By now, Eska had returned to Ryu''s Inner World. Of course, in these years, she had had some interaction with the woman and they couldn''t be said to be strangers any longer. However, it was still hard for Wobbling Fairy to accept what she was seeing. Her gaze was sharp. She knew that despite Ryu''s calm expression, it couldn''t possibly be the case that it was as painless as it seemed. This cultivation method was even more sinister than the Life Destructions of the Body Realm. She had never seen someone willingly put themselves through this after having already surpassed the threshold of Godhood. It was one thing to have the mental fortitude to make it through something that you would have to no matter what... but to do it when you didn''t have to... That was the most shocking. Ryu didn''t show any signs of stopping, he continued for years on end, never once using Wobbling Fairy''s energy... And then, some time during the sixth year, he finally began doing so. The power flooded into him and his Body Realm cultivation began to skyrocket by leaps and bounds. Every step it took was only more exaggerated. On the seventh year since Ryu began cultivating... BOOM! He broke into the Transcended Realm despite not having actively cultivated his Qi Realm at all. His Dao seemed to just naturally spill over, maintaining its peak and even seeming a bit stronger than what Wobbling Fairy remembered. She had simply never seen a Dao this powerful before. However, by this point, Ryu''s Body Realm had long since reached this level, and had already surpassed it. Strength swirled through his body and his power only became more and more exaggerated. There were only three of his elements at play right now, but these three were already enough for Ryu to sweep through the geniuses of this world with just his body alone. BOOM! On the eighth year, Ryu''s body stepped into the Omniscient Realm and a blazing intent rolled and rumbled through him. His Qi Realm cultivation had entered the Higher Transcended Realm despite him not actively cultivating it at all. What no one realized was that the very act of deducing the paths of his Natural Treasures was a path to Ryu improving his Dao. As for the energy of his cultivation, he had an entire Chaos Plane to access. At this point, so long as his Dao progressed, the natural spill over of energy between himself and the realm would cause his cultivation to increase. BOOM! On the tenth year, Ryu finally reached the very peak of the Omniscient Realm with his Body, while his Qi Realm naturally reached the Peak of the Transcended Realm. Almost a quarter century had passed. 13 years just to finish the final form of his Body Realm Cultivation Method, and another ten just to finish his recultivating of it... Ryu slowly opened his eyes and the world went still.

 Chapter 1932 Rumble

    Chapter 1932 Rumble


    There was a certain calmness to the current Ryu that had never been there before. His expression was the same, but his eyes had gained depth in a way that was impossible to describe.


    The air around him was also particularly calm, as though wind itself wasn''t allowed to flow freely in his presence or like a vacuum of space had been formed beneath his will.


    If one looked closely, it was possible to see a rainbow-colored light swimming through his veins. From time to time, that light would flicker and exit through his pores, forming a gorgeous array of scales that carried a crystalline texture not too dissimilar from Selheira''s own.


    However, these scales almost looked like illusions of the eye, disappearing mere seconds later as though they had never been there before.


    Ryu had put a lot of thought into his Body Realm Cultivation Method, more thought than he had put into anything else in his life, in all likelihood. Yet, he seemed to have forgotten one very important thing: his Bloodlines.


    The strength of one''s blood was often directly correlated to one''s bodily strength. After all, even if two people were cultivating the same exact method, a gap in Bloodline talent could easily cause one of them to fall well behind even if they kept up with Cultivation Realm.


    This was to say that neglecting his Bloodlines wasn''t the way forward, at least not for long.


    However, for some reason or another, Ryu seemed to be entirely unconcerned with this.


    He slowly rose to his feet and his body began to crackle and pop. A dense web of muscles pulsed beneath his skin and the world whined beneath his power.


    He had reached the very pinnacle of the Omniscient Body Realm, while his Qi Realm was at the pinnacle of the Transcended Realm. The only thing that should have lagged behind was his Mental Realm, and yet...


    Ryu drew a finger across the air.


    When that was matched with the knowledge he had gathered from Ailsa''s library, he might not have practiced alchemy in many years, but his skill was practically second to none... or rather, second to a very select few.


    Formations began to appear around the cauldron with every breath Ryu took and Tribulation Clouds had already begun to appear high in the skies.


    At this point, the commotion that Ryu had caused for the last more than decade had settled down. In fact, this place had become a practical holy land for cultivation, even more so than in the past.


    Much like Ryu''s Dao breakthrough had allowed many of them gain insights into their own Daos and progress, his Body Realm Cultivation had brought down so many laws that they found their comprehension of the elements breaking through one after another.


    As a Sect of mostly Spirituals, this was absolutely invaluable as most of them were likewise cultivators that focused on an element or two.


    Due to this, the area around Wobbling Fairy''s courtyard had become a holy land, and the highest echelon members of the Sect took turns cultivating near it.


    Wobbling Fairy''s Courtyard was already deep within the Sect, so only a very select few could even be near it to begin with.


    And it was also these select few that noticed these changes first.


    At first, they thought that Wobbling Fairy was somehow already breaking into the God Realm, but this wasn''t the case at all. However, even though they knew that this was impossible, it was hard for them to fathom how a larger Tribulation could appear.


    Ryu ignored it all, his hands moving faster and faster and the last bits of rust practically fell from his fingers.


    BANG!


    The cauldron began to rumble and the skies shook.

 Chapter 1933 Rhythm

    Chapter 1933 Rhythm


    The skies overturned and streaks of lightning began to fall down. However, Ryu grabbed upward. Comprehensions of his Lightning Elemental Spirit flashed through his mind and his own Tribulation Seed churned.


    Rainbow light flashed through his veins and his arm pulsed with power.


    He grabbed the bolt out of the skies, his gaze blazed.


    ''Shatter.''


    BANG!


    The bolt scattered into smaller sparks of golden rain, falling onto the cauldron in a controlled manner.


    The cauldron began to shake and quake, but it was in a much more controlled and almost rhythmic sense.


    This seemed to be just an illusion at first until even the thunder in the skies began to move to this rhythm.


    For a moment, everyone who was within earshot of these thunderous boom of synchronized bass drums felt as though their hearts were being forced into a familiar cadence as well, almost like the skies were controlling even them.


    Wobbling Fairy''s eyes opened wide. This couldn''t be a coincidence at all. What kind of refinement method was this?!


    BUDOOM. BUDOOM.


    The cadence of the drums became faster and soon it wasn''t just their hearts racing, but their blood boiling as well. It felt like they were marching off into war, the drum line moving in sync. Their hands moved so quickly and with such passion that droplets of their sweat fell to the drum heads like the pitter-patter of rain.


    And then a real rain descended.


    The cauldron rumbled and shook and Ryu''s focus only became greater, sharper, stronger.


    For a long while now, he had been thinking about how to save Hope. Even if he had the strength to kill Old Wan, that in no way guaranteed her safety, let alone the fact he had no idea how much strength Old Wan was hiding.


    Old Wan, after all, had a Taboo Sect Legacy and he had hidden it for so long, who knew what else he might be hiding. And, such a cunning opponent would definitely be troublesome even if their overall strength was actually quite weak.


    If Ryu wanted his revenge, he knew that he had to find a method of taking Hope''s soul back first, but that had seemed like an impossible task.


    With Old Wan''s intelligence, he might have even already figured out that Ryu and his father were actually related to one another, and that would make him even more sure to protect the one trump card in his hand: Hope.


    Plus, that was only part of the problem. Even if he did manage to succeed in doing all of this, there was no guarantee that Hope would ever be the same again. She had had her soul extracted by an unconventional method, suffering a Yang Palm when she was a woman. It had thrown her body into all sorts of disorder.


    Unless Ryu could figure all of these things out, not only Hope, but the child she might already be carrying would likewise be in a great deal of trouble.


    A woman who would risk her life for him was already worth him giving his everything to. A woman who held his first child was elevated to a pedestal even beyond that.


    It could be said that Ryu was already willing to wade through fire and the waters of hell for Hope... But all of that determination was meaningless if he didn''t have a solution...


    But now he felt that he did.


    ''Third Perspective.''


    Before, Hope had been able to rely on taking the pill filled with Ryu''s essence to bring the two of them closer. Now, Ryu would rely on the same thing.


    Ryu had learned to live without portions of his soul, and there was no reason that others wouldn''t be capable of this. They just needed a catalyst and a helping hand.


    The trouble was that Hope had lost an extremely important piece of her soul. The warped nature of the palm had even impacted several souls at once.


    But Ryu now finally had the connecting piece he needed to fix it.


    Impurities.

 Chapter 1934 Plan

    Chapter 1934 Plan


    Hope''s soul situation right now could be said to be a complete mess. Because the inappropriate palm technique had been used, all of her souls had bits and pieces of it taken away.


    It had to be remembered that Old Wan''s initial target was Ryu, so he had used the Yang version of his palm. But because his target ended up being Hope instead, an unexpected variable, things went wrong.


    Back then, Old Wan hadn''t even known about Hope''s existence because she was always hiding within Leonel''s world. Otherwise, he would have certainly planned for such a potential outcome.


    Regardless, this ended up being both a good and a bad thing.


    The good was that since Old Wan had used the wrong palm, it was impossible for him to use Hope''s soul like someone of this Taboo Path might have otherwise. As such, Hope wouldn''t have to suffer the usual rounds of humiliation and Dual Cultivation she might have had to otherwise.


    And the bad was already well described. Her souls were a scattered mess and she couldn''t even gather her consciousness anymore. Had it not been for Ryu stabilizing her situation by feeding her the Yang Essence Pill she had prepared, she would have already died by now.


    However, this "bad" was exactly what Ryu planned to use to overturn the situation.


    Because her souls were a scattered mess, there were bits and pieces of every aspect within. Originally, Ryu had thought that she had completely lost her Primordial Yin, but this wasn''t accurate because of one thing...


    Impurities.


    What he was looking for had been obscured by a concept he didn''t understand in the past. But now he did.


    If he used this properly, then he would be able to help Hope heal her soul right here and now without having to risk saving the other pieces.


    That left an obvious question, then... what would happen to the other pieces of Hope''s soul?


    There were too many things that could be done with a piece of a soul, things that Old Wan was likely waiting for the right opportunity to use.


    If Ryu wanted to ensure that this couldn''t be done, then he had to get Hope''s soul back no matter what, and that seemed to put him right back at square one...


    Or so it seemed.


    And that was precisely why he had just used [Third Perspective].


    Years ago now, he had already figured out exactly how to maximize [Third Perspective]. He could use his control over Karma to see those he had the closest Karmic ties to, even speaking to them and understanding their situation.


    Even Ailsa hadn''t been able to contact him with any sort of ease because she had been stuck in a Holy World, but Ryu was able to cross that barrier without breaking a sweat.


    Now, though, he was about to use the same concept across worlds.


    Every time he broke through as his soul stretched across the cosmos, he was being acknowledged by another Heaven. These row of Heavens acted like an additional spark to his fire, boosting his forward progress and even accelerating him forward.


    Every time he broke through a barrier with his Perfect Blackbody Soul, there was a rush of even more energy that poured through him.


    His body was so powerful now that his soul didn''t run into any bottlenecks at all. It just kept growing and growing, filling into the space that had long been excavated for it.


    At the same time, deep within Hope''s body, something began to stir. The Impurities within her were dispersed and the small kernels of what remained of her soul were slowly manifested and quickly continued to grow.


    BADUM.


    Her heart thrummed with life and her blood began to circulate normally. At the same time, a root of life, suppressed within her womb, was likewise beginning to stir.


    Ryu sensed all of this, but he was completely focused. He had to establish the connection, that was the only way for all of this to succeed and not be in vain.


    A roar came from his heart as he burst through the final barrier. His soul rocketed up to the Omniscient Realm as he tore into the world of his home... where his parents were located, his family, Sacrum...


    BANG!


    A rainbow road seemed to connect the two worlds and Hope''s subconsciousness stirred. She could already feel her Primordial Yin and the other bits and pieces of her soul before Ryu did. This was an excellent sign.


    Ryu pressed on, and in a flash.


    SHOOOM!


    He could see it.


    ...


    Old Wan sat in silent meditation, alone. The atmosphere of the Sect seemed to be a bit off, and it was quite easy to explain.


    Aika was devastated after Ryu''s death, and the scene of his father''s appearance after that only made things worse. The prestige of the Sect was being upheld by Jojo alone, but the spirit behind it seemed to have faded.


    At the same time, Samson and Old Wan had had a rift open up between them after those matters. Clearly, Samson was holding onto the weight of a guilty conscience and couldn''t even face Old Wan after what he had done... but he also still hadn''t told Aika the truth.


    It was in this situation that a pressure descended from the skies and a box within Old Wan''s spatial ring rattled.


    BANG!


    Old Wan''s spatial ring shattered apart, taking his whole hand with it.

 Chapter 1935 Reaper Spirit Iron

    Chapter 1935 Reaper Spirit Iron


    Old Wan hardly had the time to react before he was completely taken off guard. He didn''t even have the time to register the pain either before a black box within his spatial ring began to tremble wildly.


    His expression changed.


    This black box wasn''t just a normal item; it was one of the treasures that he received from the Taboo Sect he happened upon the legacy of. It was known simply as the Soul Box.


    The Soul Box was made of a special material that had long gone extinct, mostly because it had been wiped out along with the Soul Reaper Sect.


    The material was known as Reaper Spirit Iron and it had two main functions.


    The first was that the first soul it came into contact with, it was capable of replicating the fluctuations of and becoming an eighth Corporeal Soul and the fourth Incorporeal Spirits at the same time.


    Essentially, it was like giving one''s souls one extra life-saving grace, though it wasn''t exactly like that. After all, each one of the seven Corporeal Souls and three Incorporeal Spirits had their own function. Losing one didn''t necessarily mean that the others would step into their place like what had happened with Ryu.


    However, with the special techniques of the Soul Reaper Sect, this was made possible.


    The second function of this Reaper Spirit Iron was to form the Land of the Reaper, a plane all to a Soul Reaper''s own where they could gather their strength through a secondary land. It was like having a second dantian and a second Spiritual Sea put into one.


    It could be said that 90% of the techniques of the Soul Reaper Sect relied on the Reaper Spirit Iron, which was also why it was part of the inheritance in the first place.


    This was the same with a lot of Taboo Sects; they usually had special requirements that their disciples had to meet, otherwise even taking the first step of cultivation would be impossible. The Inheritance that Isemeine and Eska received was the perfect example of this.


    This time, this wasn''t a matter planned by Ryu but was instead a lucky spin. But the truth was that even if Old Wan had both hands, the likelihood of success on his end was pitifully small compared to the prepared Ryu.


    CRACK. SHUUU!


    At that moment, a beam of light left the Reaper Spirit Iron. Along with it, several more souls began to jet out in all directions, quickly escaping in an attempt to return to reincarnation. Some, however, were so savage that they pounced right for Old Wan.


    Old Wan''s expression changed once again. This was bad.


    There was no time to consider anything else.


    His aura pulsed and cast a wide net of suppression, stopping most of the souls from leaking out. Beads of sweat fell from his brows as he realized that this wasn''t sustainable.


    His jaw set and a cold light flickered in his eyes. He had made many enemies along the way, and with the method that this person had used to target him, they didn''t necessarily need to know his identity in order to succeed. That made it harder to tell exactly who it was.


    But...


    If he had to guess it could only be one.


    A boy with a cold set of silver eyes that seemed to stare at him loftily from above regardless of how much higher his cultivation was.


    ''Forcing me to make this decision... I guess it was about time, anyway.''


    Old Wan''s eyes flickered and the cracked Reaper Spirit Iron began to move toward his dantian.

 Chapter 1936 Little Woman

    Chapter 1936 Little Woman


    Ryu nearly collapsed. The drain on his mind had reached the point of excessiveness and he hadn''t even been able to speak or taunt as he would have otherwise.


    Usually, with how much anger he had bottled in, let alone leaving Old Wan to guess what had happened, he would have found one way or another to force him to confirm it.


    However, he simply didn''t have such a luxury this time, and maybe that was for the best. His arrogance often got the best of his logic, and truthfully speaking, the less Old Wan knew for certain, the more time he would have to spend on potential contingency plans in the future for the largest number of enemies possible, and the less singular pursuit and focus he would have on Ryu.


    That would only help him.


    In addition, since more than just Hope''s soul had escaped, there wasn''t any of that sort of certainty to help him either.


    Luckily, the tail end of Ryu''s pill managed to pump more life and vitality into him, the final breakthrough into the Omniscient Mental Realm expanded his Spiritual Sea to realms never before seen.


    Part of the reason his Mental Realm cultivation was so slow and lagging in the past was because he wanted to constantly push it to its full potential, but that was difficult if his body wasn''t strong enough.


    This time, he had made a bit of a compromise.


    His body still wasn''t strong enough to push his soul to its fullest potential, at least not within the Omniscient Realm. In fact, it was too weak to do so even in the Transcended Realm.


    However, he had still progressed it to the Omniscient Realm.


    This sounded like a bad thing, but it actually went to show just how much potential his soul had. Even with his new Body Realm cultivation method, he could only bring out a small sliver of its perfection. Unless he managed to finish his Body Realm cultivation method, it would be impossible to bring out its truest potential.


    But that wasn''t far off either. All he needed to do was to find the perfect Holy Worlds to conquer.


    What was unfortunate, though, was that because his cultivation had increased, the number of Holy Worlds he had to pick from had also decreased significantly...


    She hurried to wipe it, wanting to find a place to hide. How old was she? How could she still be drooling in her sleep?


    Ryu laughed with a booming cadence, finding it all hilarious.


    This was the little woman he remembered, indeed. When she wasn''t being all mopey and depressed, she acted more like a little girl than the grown woman she was.


    "What are you laughing about! It''s a natural phenomenon, okay! Natural!"


    Ryu''s laughter only stopped a while later, only to be replaced by a gentle warmth hidden in his very gaze.


    "Thank you for saving me, Hope."


    Hope''s eyes widened, then she suddenly didn''t know where to look. Like a little deer caught in the headlights, her mind spun and steam almost came out of her ears. Her little head was overheating.


    "Ah... this... you don''t... ah..." She forgot how to speak, her words not coming out with any sort of logic at all.


    "There is something I have to tell you, though."


    Hope was taken aback, but then she nodded seriously, anything to move on from this embarrassing moment. Still, did he have to cradle her like this? She could move on her own, you know.


    However, what she didn''t expect was for what came next to be even more embarrassing.


    Ryu explained how she had to feed her his Yang Essence while she was asleep in order to delay until he could save her.


    Hope''s organs practically ran out of blood as it all rushed to the surface of her skin.


    She was... pregnant... maybe?

 Chapter 1937 Hard Time

    Chapter 1937 Hard Time


    Hope''s mind was a mess, though she didn''t know why. She had long been prepared for this inevitability. In fact, she needed it. It was only by having Ryu''s child that she would be able to accomplish the things she needed to, but for some reason, when it was actually happening, she found herself unable to control her thoughts and emotions.


    She began to cry inexplicably, but before Ryu could even comfort her, she began to laugh... then she began to cry again.


    Ryu''s lip twitched. If he didn''t know better, he would have thought that this woman had been possessed.


    Suddenly, she hugged Ryu tightly as though she was trying to fuse them into one. If not for Ryu''s breakthrough, she would have crushed him. After all, Hope was an Omniscient Sky God as well, having finally broken through all those years ago thanks to tying her Fate to Ryu''s.


    Clearly, she had either completely forgotten this or hopefully realized he was strong enough now, or Ryu at least hoped the latter was the case. If not, she could have crushed his entire body. He had had enough of women shattering parts of him because they were too strong. One time was already one time too many.


    Ryu smiled, patting her back. "Silly little woman, shouldn''t you at least check if you''re pregnant or not before crying and laughing like this?"


    "Ah!" Hope realized that she hadn''t even checked first, so she looked inside her body. Then, she all of a sudden deflated.


    She wasn''t pregnant yet. It seemed that the previous injuries to her body were worse than she thought.


    The way her Yang Essence Pill worked was by releasing a male''s Yang Essence into her womb over a long period of time. That way, high-level cultivators didn''t need to have sex at the perfect time, or have sex for months or years on end, just to conceive a child. Instead, the pill would do all the work.


    This was probably why the pill she thought would be a big hit was such a big flop. It turned out that cultivators actually quite liked to have sex. But that was only part of it.


    The real reason was that low-level cultivators didn''t have poor enough birth rates to need to rely on such a pill. Having a kid or two every few decades was already more than enough.


    The existences that really needed this pill were the highest echelons of the world and there was certainly a market for it. The main issue was just that Hope had been hiding away from exactly those people for much of her life, not wanting to die an early death for the crime of not being of their world.


    This aside, the main point was that this pill was meant to be used when the woman''s body was in an optimal state, but Hope''s body had simply not been for a long while. It could be said that while she was unconscious, her body had never been in an optimal state for conception, so barely any of the Yang Essence had been used up at all.


    Suddenly, Hope began to blush again when she felt the pill rotate in her womb for the first time, releasing some of Ryu''s Essence into her. It seemed that it had finally decided that she was in a good state so the race toward conceiving started now.


    A shudder went through Hope as she finally relaxed. This was good, an excellent step. The final barrier holding her down in this world was finally alleviated.


    "Ryu, I think I''m going to breakthrough to Godhood."


    "... What?" Ryu''s eyes widened, but he couldn''t say much before Hope suddenly kissed him.


    Her breath smelled like orchards and her lips were impossibly soft. This wasn''t the first time Ryu had felt them, but now that she was awake, it was like a completely different experience.


    The booming cadence of the Tribulation Lightning layered on top of one another and in that moment, Hope finally broke through the final barrier, shooting into the Dao God Realm.


    Three stacks of Tribulations appeared high above her head and the first strikes began to rain down. However, from just a glance, Ryu knew what Hope was doing.


    No matter how much accumulation you had, breaking through three such powerful Realms when you had been a Transcended for so long before, and hardly had any experience in the Omniscient Realm, was a no-go. This didn''t mean that Hope would die, but her foundation would certainly be shaky.


    If she moved into the Sovereign Realm, it would still be salvageable, but by jumping to Godhood, it was like she was cutting off her future path...


    Unless she refined her path.


    She was going to become the Favor Alchemy God... wouldn''t it be inappropriate if she didn''t display to the world what exactly that meant?


    Hope opened her arms wide and a twinkling aura of stars began to form around her. These stars connected into a Constellation that formed an enormous Cauldron in the skies. This cauldron was simply gorgeous, looking as though it had been carved out of crystal and diamonds of starlight.


    And Hope was right in the middle of it.


    When the first Tribulations began to descend, horrors of all elements and kinds, they began to pour into the Runes of the cauldron, and just like that...


    Hope began to refine herself into a pill.


    Ryu watched this in a bit of a daze and with hints of pride flickering in his eyes. He had never before felt his pride hinge on the actions of someone else. His pride in the Tatsuya Clan only went insofar as he loved his family members and would uphold their honor, but he never really felt pride for coming from the Tatsuya Clan, per se...


    He always hinged his arrogance and pride on his own abilities, never that of someone else''s.


    But right now, watching Hope, that was exactly what he felt.


    That feeling only grew when she descended from the skies on a river of stars, her beauty unmatched and untouchable... and it grew feverish when she fell back into his arms.


    A hint of shy expression was on her face and she seemed to have completely forgotten that Wobbling Fairy was still there.


    Her eyes said things that the rest of her body didn''t need to.


    An unknown sensation burst from Ryu''s chest and he closed his eyes, wanting to laugh at himself.


    She wanted to become a Dao God first before truly becoming his wife... she wanted him to take her right here and now...


    And for some reason, he had a hard time doing so.

 Chapter 1938 Charm

    Chapter 1938 Charm


    Ryu reached forward, holding Hope in his arms and gently cupping her cheek. He stared into her eyes with a depth of emotion Hope had simply never seen from him before. She couldn''t help but shiver to her core, not understanding where all of this was coming from.


    However, soon, that depth of emotion became firm and unwavering.


    Before Ryu could say anything, he looked up, then smiled a bit.


    "Little wife, I probably won''t be able to give you what you want."


    Hope was in an even deeper daze when she heard these words, completely stuck on the words "little wife". But then she couldn''t help but blush down to her collarbone.


    That was right, she had forgotten something incredibly important...


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The protective formations around Wobbling Fairy''s courtyard shattered apart.


    It was obvious what was happening. A Dao God had just broken through in the middle of their Sect, and she didn''t seem to have an aura they recognized at all, how could it not cause a complete uproar?


    Before, they couldn''t interfere because there were too many dangers involved in getting involved in the Tribulation of another, whether that was to help or to harm.


    However, now that the Tribulation was over, how could they continue to be so indifferent?


    Wobbling Fairy was still in a bit of a daze, so she didn''t react before there were several powerful auras in the skies, two of which was Dao Gods.


    One of them was, unsurprisingly, Star River. But the second was a Dao God that Ryu had never seen before. She was likewise a beautiful woman, but it was hard to care very much when Hope was in his arms. He hardly gave her a glance.


    Ryu chuckled. He had only spoken like that to put Star River on edge a bit. This Dao Goddess was a bit too arrogant, but also a bit naive. It was an interesting combination that made her fun to tease.


    "There''s nothing to be so concerned about. My wife had a breakthrough into the Dao God Realm, is there a need for so much commotion?"


    Star River froze. The beautiful Dao God by her side also froze. The various other Sovereigns didn''t even know how to react. They felt that they should react the same way, but at the same time they didn''t have the right to react at all about the decisions of a Dao God.


    Wobbling Fairy was the only one among them that did, and her smile was just bitter. She had been here the whole time and she still hadn''t quite adjusted.


    Funny enough, it was still easier for her to accept since she had seen that Hope was only at the Omniscent Realm before. However...


    Anyone who was able to cross so many Realms at once had to have already accumulated the insight and foresight of a Dao God already. It was still hard to believe that a cultivator at Ryu''s level could gain the favor of such a woman.


    "You..." Star River still didn''t know what to say.


    Ryu had been here for a quarter century already and he seemed incapable of not causing a commotion everywhere


    he went. But this still felt like too much.


    Watching this scene, Ryu realized just the kind of pressure it was on a Dao Goddess to take on a man the world saw as weaker than herself. If it had been Ailsa, the reaction would be even fiercer than this. After all, Hope was still a Lower God, and the vast majority of Dao Gods would never take even a half step out of this level.


    Obviously, Hope wasn''t of this kind or else such a triple-stacked Tribulation wouldn''t have been possible.


    But...


    "Do you see that, Hope? They don''t believe I have enough charm. Isn''t that a bit sad?"


    Hope sputtered with laughter. This was only because they didn''t know what Ryu''s current capabilities were.

 Chapter 1939 Not Until

    1939 Not Until


    Hope''s laughter filled the air with a bell-like chime. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It really wasn''t fair at all. Hope''s views on Ryu were completely different from everyone else''s, not just because she had spent so long with him, or because he had saved her, but because from the very beginning, her ruler and gauge were different from everyone else''s.


    When they first met, she asked Ryu to be her husband because she could see through his potential. She needed someone with a strong path of Faith to follow because that was the only way to elevate her own from her otherwise grim fate.


    As such, from the very beginning, it could be said that she already looked at Ryu like he was already a Dao God. Otherwise, she would have never asked him such a thing because it was completely unacceptable to her to be anything less than a Dao God in the future. Without at least that much power, she couldn''t even begin to think about revenge for her home.


    Obviously, then, her views were simply different from everyone else''s and it wasn''t something that could be helped.


    An awkward sort of silence hung in the air. Well, it was awkward for others, Ryu didn''t actually care very much.


    It took a while for things to get sorted and for everyone to accept the reality that was before them. It was also tricky for other reasons.


    The Throne of their Sect was Ryu, not Hope. And though, technically speaking, Ryu could use his liberties to take resources for "himself" that he would inevitably hand over to Hope, that was also technically against the rules and the bounds of Karma would stop him from doing so.


    This was a weird grey zone no one knew how to handle, especially since just allowing a random Dao God to be out and about in the middle of your Sect wasn''t exactly something that anyone would just allow.


    They were in fierce discussions on how to deal with this as Ryu directly returned to his own courtyard for the first time in decades, having already allowed Hope to enter his Inner World to become acquainted with Eska, Isemeina, and Hrakka.


    However, what he didn''t expect was that after he finally returned, Ailsa would still be sitting in the same place he left her. Or, rather... her clone was.


    His goal was pretty simple. He would help her establish the connection she needed with her clone again. That would make it clear enough if she had done this on purpose or not.


    Ryu was far more powerful than he had been in the past, and his eyes had likewise followed suit. Although he had long since unlocked all 999 seals in his eyes, they were still limited a great deal by his cultivation. Now that he had strengthened so much, the cost of doing certain things had likewise plummeted.


    It had already been easy for him to establish a connection through [Third Perspective], though. So now, it just felt like breathing.


    As expected, it was only a moment before the connection was formed. When he confirmed that Ailsa had also felt it, he removed his finger.


    The dullness in her clone''s eyes flickered and soon faded away.


    "Okay. You can go now." Ryu said lightly.


    Then he turned and walked deeper into his courtyard.


    Over this over quarter-century, his soul clones had all been working on separate matters. There were a great deal of techniques, ideas, and thoughts that he had to consolidate before he went out on a rampage.


    That shouldn''t take him more than a few hours, honestly. After that, he would figure out his next steps.


    Ailsa''s clone watched Ryu''s back recede, a bit of a tremble in its pupils.


    She was Ryu''s Life Partner, she knew him too well. He didn''t even want to look at her if he didn''t have to... not until he was stronger than she was.

 Chapter 1940 Within

    1940 Within


    Ailsa opened her mouth to say something several times, but before she could even decide what she would say, she sensed the familiar aura of Ryu sinking into a state of meditation.


    His face was peaceful and focused, unmoved by all things. It seemed that his Dao Heart had reached a state of peace... or maybe it was that he had managed to temper any waves that were hidden within.


    Calm, unaffected, unmoved. It was like he had an inability to sense that she was still there at all.


    There were some things in life that simply couldn''t be taken back easily. It was likely that even if she went to an extreme, it would be hard to change Ryu''s mind.


    She had thought about it, considered what she might do to change things. But she also realized after having decades to calm down that it was all meaningless.


    The reason words couldn''t be taken back so easily was because having said them already, it meant you had the capacity, the thought, and the feeling to back them.


    Saying things out of rage, helplessness, or any other excuse of an emotion could only go so far. Saying that you didn''t mean them afterward, or that you were muddle headed, wouldn''t erase what had happened.


    This was doubly so for cultivators who had a speed of thought that completely overshadowed their usual talking speed. In the time a cultivator could speak out a single sentence, they could analyze it from thousands of angles all at the same time.


    The only way to take something like that back was to go to an extreme... Ailsa had thought of many ways, most of which boiled down to announcing that Ryu was her husband.


    Unfortunately, she knew Ryu too well. If she actually did such a thing, he might truly never speak with her again.


    Setting aside the fact that it would seem like she was pitying him, there was a deeper reason.


    It would be like she was doing what she had done before.


    There was no doubt that revealing Ryu to be her husband would harm her. Hope''s Fate was tied to Ryu''s own, but Ailsa, though his Life Partner, had her own Fate to manage.


    It was that he would prefer to let his actions speak louder than his words.


    He had already said everything he needed to, and he didn''t have any intention of saying anything more.


    No matter how sure she was, Ailsa''s pupils still couldn''t help but tremble when she saw Ryu''s reaction. His state of mind didn''t waver, as though she was a mountain to climb rather than his wife.


    And maybe that was her fault from the very beginning. But what was


    done was done.


    Her clone stood slowly and then vanished.


    Ryu didn''t lose his focus a single time, the cadence of his breathing remaining even. He had already been focused on consolidating his understanding.


    The hours ticked by and everything was perfectly arranged in his mind. Now, he had already turned his attention toward how to raise his Qi Realm to the Omniscient Realm as quickly as possible.


    He needed to breakthrough his Dao comprehension first, and for that he needed more experience and understanding.


    The reason he had managed to raise his Dao so fast was because of all the accumulated knowledge in Ailsa''s library. But making it further, especially while maintaining this current level of his Dao, would be extremely difficult.


    The best way was to gather Holy World, use his Realm Heart to perfect them, and then incorporate those insights into himself.


    The same day he succeeded in completing his Body Realm Cultivation method was the same day he would enter the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    ''Within ten years...'' Ryu thought to himself.

 Chapter 1941 127

    Chapter 1941 127


    Ryu awoke, his eyes flashing like lightning. His clones had certainly made a ridiculous amount of progress in these 26 years.


    The depth of the techniques from his Dao Heart were astonishing. It sounded a bit ridiculous to be so shocked by something he had accomplished. But Ryu had completely cut himself off from that side while he focused on cultivating his Body Realm.


    It wasn''t just a matter of the power of the techniques, but their streamlining.


    Ryu had always been able to create powerful techniques in the past, but the issue was that they impacted himself too strongly. He seemed to almost kill himself every time he used one of these Skills.


    This time, his Dao Heart, while in a restrained relationship with his Perfect Blackbody, didn''t just create more and more techniques, there was some true depth to them.


    His Dao Heart created the technique ideas while his Perfect Blackbody added some true depth to them.


    In this time, his Dao Heart had created 127 techniques. Of them, over a hundred were stronger than [Heavenly Dao Tree] and [A God''s Brush]... and over a hundred of them would directly kill him if he used them in any capacity right now. It was almost amusing how much his Dao Heart wanted him to fly head first into death.


    However, his Perfect Blackbody Soul was able to perfectly find a balance in six of them. Not only did those techniques have the same strength, but he could now use them without actually dying.


    His personal favorite was an improvement on [Domain] the technique of Hope''s Race. It took the techniques of the Radiant and Fading Star Sects and molded them into a completely new form.


    Ryu looked down at his hand, sparkling starlight dancing on his palm.


    ''It seems I need to go into seclusion more often...'' Ryu thought to himself.


    With Lord Control, to an extent, it was possible to force reality to bear your strength, thus increasing your strength exponentially.


    However, truthfully speaking, this was only the simplest explanation of [Tatsuya Constellation]. Its other abilities were things that Ryu was already quite excited to use in battle.


    ''It seems I''ll have to reforge my great swordstaffs... again.''


    The reason Ryu had this thought was because the next three techniques were all related to his weapons'' techniques. The trouble was that they were so powerful that the only way his Perfect Blackbody could find to allow him to use it now was by offsetting some of that burden.


    Ryu didn''t really like the idea of relying on external items, but in the end, he didn''t mind it too much.


    ''I guess I know the next False Shrine I''m targeting,'' Ryu thought to himself.


    He could already forge the one False Shrine into one of his great swordstaffs, but he would need a Darkness False Shrine in order to forge the other.


    He still needed to destroy two more of these False Shrines within the next 70 years or so, so it would be killing two birds with one stone.


    The final two techniques didn''t require such external items. One layered on top of [Tatsuya Constellation] and [Lines of Fate], forming a complete Domain of Spacetime. The second was the reason he had ignored his Bloodlines during his Body Realm cultivation... or rather, it could be said that he had been thinking about his Bloodlines the entire time.


    His Spirit Bodies, his Bloodlines, his Body Realm Cultivation Skills, his scaled and winged forms, his Bloodline Birthed Phenomena...


    There was too much, honestly. Trying to get his full potential out of all of them was next to impossible.


    This time, his Dao Heart had come up with an ingenious method, one that relied on a skill of his Heavenly Pupils he had always kept perpetually active ever since it mutated into existence.


    [Ephemeral Tapestry].

 Chapter 1942 [Ephemeral Tapestry]

    Chapter 1942 [Ephemeral Tapestry]


    [Ephemeral Tapestry] wasn''t a technique, it was a mutation of Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils that he had unlocked while cultivating a Heaven Grade technique. Of course, the Heaven Grade technique was utterly useless now. It was impressive back then, but it couldn''t hold any weight. In addition, it was just the trigger of the mutation, not the foundation of it.


    If Ryu was correct, he was fairly certain that this mutation wasn''t really a result of the Heaven Grade technique itself, but rather his Bone Structure. Or, rather, his former Bone Structure.


    [Ephemeral Tapestry] painted the world in vivid color before Ryu''s eyes. With it, qi was no longer some invisible entity he had to rely on his soul to sense, but was rather real and tangible.


    This mutation allowed him to do two things. The first was that it allowed him to wield Atmospheric Qi even before stepping into the Immortal Ring Realm and forming his Immortal Rings, and second, it sharpened his control of qi.


    This was only natural. While others could only rely on the vague sense of the qi around them, Ryu could quite literally see the movement of the qi in the air. The best comparison was like a mortal being able to see the air they breathed. But unlike a mortal who wouldn''t be able to do a thing even if they could see the air, Ryu had an additional layer of control as a precise result of this. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    Ryu''s qi control had always been excellent, but after unlocking [Ephemeral Tapestry], he had stepped into another level entirely. He often didn''t need much effort at all to master techniques and exhibit high levels of control.


    If Ryu had to make a guess, he believed that the mutation truly rooted itself from his former Ice Jade Crystal Body.


    Friend of Nature and Cultivation Speed were two of the four main pillars of the Ice Jade Crystal Body, one made him more in tune with the world and made beasts more likely to follow him, while the latter allowed him to absorb qi even through his very skin itself.


    When these two came together with his other talents, it wasn''t too hard to imagine how [Ephemeral Tapestry] might have been able to come about.


    The question, then, was how this was related to his current techniques and what he meant to do with it.


    On the one hand, rooting his Bloodlines in his own Inner World gave him a great deal of flexibility, but on the other, it restricted his Bloodlines in other ways, making it difficult for him to rely on the foundation that his Ancestors had laid out for him.


    There were too many worries... until Ryu realized something.


    A balance.


    He had been so eager to run away from the restrictions of the Heavens that he had forgotten one of the most valuable lessons he had learned on his cultivation journey.


    The Heavens weren''t his enemy. In some cases, they were actually the best of friends.


    When the shroud of his first life''s hatred was shed, and he realized just how lucky he was in this life to have so much of what he did, he also realized that there were times when the Heavens could be relied upon.


    Without the Heavens, his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation would still be in the Cosmic Seed Realm. Without the Heavens, his greatest strength, his Heavenly Pupils, would be nothing more than a burden. Without the Heavens, he wouldn''t even have any of the talents that he did right now.


    Maybe in the future there would come a


    time where he could truly separate entirely, but now wasn''t that time, nor was there necessarily a need.


    For the Phoenix Sky God to be trying so hard, to have offended so many people and worlds, it could only be said that even they were still restricted in some way by the Heavens.


    If even someone so powerful was still under the umbrella of the Heavens, who was he to ignore it completely just yet?


    And that was when he realized exactly what his body needed.

 Chapter 1943 Doubt

    Chapter 1943 Doubt


    [Ephemeral Tapestry].


    [Beyond Perfect Body].


    Ryu''s body shook slightly and blinding light began to swarm beneath his skin. His veins gave off a bright rainbow-like color that was quickly overwhelmed by gold, black, and an icy blue. These colors came together in a beautiful array, forming a map of complex runes and tattoos across Ryu''s body before it suddenly solidified.


    At that moment, there was a resonance between Ryu and the world around him. When he suddenly opened his eyes, there was a bright flash and deep within them, it was possible to see the roaring forms of his Bloodline Birthed Phenomena, as though they were souls trapped within his Inner World.


    Though trapped as they were, they didn''t seem to be fighting it. Instead, they were displaying their majesty, their shadows growing in size and then fusing into Ryu''s body.


    Scales danced into being across Ryu''s body, his claws growing from his hands and a trembling power exuding from his frame.


    Ryu had simply never felt such strength in his life. He felt so powerful that collapsing mountains would be a matter of a single finger, so powerful that a single stomp to the earth would make even the skies above quake.


    His hair danced with an icy blue color, pervaded by strands of gold and dense blackness.


    Flames of various colors danced around his wrists and ankles, flashes of lightning pulsing in his eyes. With every beat of his heart, his veins bulged and his muscles squirmed as though they were going to burst out from his skin.


    Right now, he didn''t quite look like a humanoid dragon. In fact, he looked far more human than anything else. Even the scales on his body were both sparse and illusory, almost as though he was wearing qi armor rather than his own skin.


    ''Strong...'' Ryu thought to himself.


    Star River''s lip twitched as she looked at Ryu.


    First, she was a Dao God. Not just anyone could come and see her when they pleased. But not only had Ryu come, he strolled into her territory and right into her courtyard. No one could even stop him because technically speaking, a Throne did have access to the entirety of a Sect or Clan.


    These were privileges that Ryu had earned through his own combat strength.


    Second... was he asking her to break rules to give him what he wanted?


    Ryu had come here and essentially asked her to give him access to a Holy World she had no jurisdiction over whatsoever.


    Technically speaking, since this was a Sect headed by a Peak Dao God, there was nothing anyone could do to stop her. They might even assume that it was Ailsa''s direct order. But...


    Star River looked toward a beauty that had been sitting across from her. This was none other than the second Dao Goddess Ryu had seen on the day of Hope''s breakthrough.


    She seemed to be much more serious than Star River, and from what Ryu had heard, she was known as Plucking Stars. That was quite a domineering Sky God name, probably one of the most domineering Ryu had ever heard. Just from the Title alone, he could tell that she was actually much more powerful than Star River.


    However, despite Ryu''s demands, she actually didn''t say anything at all, just staring into space silently as though this matter had nothing to do with her at all.


    "The situation is not good right now. Stirring trouble like this will just make things go from bad to worse."


    "I highly doubt that." Ryu said casually. He was just one person.


    "Sending you in isn''t the problem." Star River almost hissed in exasperation. "But if you actually clear the Holy World again, everything will erupt."

 Chapter 1944 Kicked Out

    Chapter 1944 Kicked Out


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. "I can only let you in if you promise not to conquer the Holy World."


    Ryu would have yawned if he had it in him. Unfortunately, he was feeling particularly good right now, and he was neither a person who would fake his reactions nor mince his words. "That''s exactly what I plan to do."


    Plucking Star''s expression flickered for the first time, and Star River looked like she was going to lose her mind. But before she could speak, Ryu spoke first. "Are you a Dao God or not?" The playfulness in Ryu''s expression changed, replaced by an almost cold indifference. Right now, he didn''t have the patience to waste here while these people were dragging their feet.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?!" Star River almost snapped, but seemingly feeling the implication of Ryu''s words, she still managed to control herself. "I''ve read the records on your war in the library. The death of our own Dao Gods is the first in millennia, and you''ve yet to get any sort of revenge. If not for me, the plan of the Fiends would have succeeded, and you all would have lost on two fronts."


    "Yet, instead of focusing on getting those losses back, you''re sitting here and speaking to me about not rocking the boat. Do you not find it pathetic?" Ryu was about to speak again, but he stopped himself. He was about to say something about what he would do if he was a Dao God, but the words would have sounded weak.


    He realized that he had lost control of his emotions again, but he meant every single word nonetheless. "Who do you think you''re speaking to like that?!" Star River''s temper flared, and she finally showed some of the edge of a Dao God. "You''re asking me for help and yet instead of showing the posture of someone who needs something, you''re actually being so arrogant?!"


    To Star River''s surprise, Ryu didn''t react to this at all. She would have thought that he was ignoring her or didn''t hear her at all if it wasn''t for the fact she was staring her dead in the eye.


    For some reason, Star River found herself getting very uncomfortable with the silence, the gentle sway of her and Plucking Star''s tea being the only sound in the room.


    "Is that what you think?" Ryu finally spoke. He nodded once and then turned around to leave. Star River''s eyes opened wide. This was the last sort of response she expected. She thought about going after Ryu, but then she snorted.


    She was a Dao God. Why would she go after a little Transcended throwing a tantrum?


    However, minutes later, she furiously rose to her seat, the tea table almost flying into the distance. If not for Plucking Star calmly using her qi to stabilize it, it would have already shattered to pieces.


    Star River vanished in the next instant and Plucking Star slowly put her tea cup down, looking up with a curious light in her eye.


    Light gathered on Ryu''s fingertips and rainbow light surged within his veins.


    He squeezed down.


    CRACK.


    The blade fragmented and then shattered completely, the pieces that fell into Ryu''s palm being ground to dust.


    Ryu''s eyes flashed and the world turned a blinding white. He took a single step forward and pressed down a palm to Saagar''s chest.


    BOOM!


    Saagar was known for his metal control. His body was far stronger than most


    other Faeries. In fact, it was stronger than even most beasts and Fiends.


    Every disciple of the Rebirthing Cultus Sect, while they might not be the highest echelon of genius, was still a genius among geniuses. They were just slightly lacking in comparison to the absolute best of the Fey because they were technically an inferior Race by comparison.


    However, Ryu, despite being a cultivation Realm beneath him, gave him the most casual loss of his lifetime... treating his absolute defenses as though they were nothing more than paper.


    Saagar''s chest exploded in a rain of sharp skin, golden blood, and dense globules of blood.


    He plummeted from the skies in a meteoric heap and then he sensed the same thing all the others had... an emptiness.


    He had been kicked out of the Sect? How?

 Chapter 1945 Disrespect

    Chapter 1945 Disrespect


    "Next."


    "STOP!"


    Star River''s roar came from the distance. She was so fast that the moment she appeared in everyone''s vision, she seemed to have already arrived, her silver long gown fluttering into the wind.


    Ryu gave her a glance and then continued to speak indifferently.


    "Next."


    "I SAID STOP! What are you doing?!"


    "Challenging your disciples," Ryu replied plainly. "That''s well within my right. So long as any one of them defeats me, they become the new Throne, isn''t that it? I want to avoid the hassle so I came here to defeat all of them first."


    This was, indeed, the case, though it was a very rare application of the Throne rules... and that was mostly because Ryu had explained it all too simply.


    Technically speaking, because it was his third Throne, it was much easier to take the Throne away from Ryu. After all, he had to face Transcendeds during his challenge despite having only been a True Sky God at the time.


    That meant that now that he was a Transcended, although Lords still wouldn''t be able to challenge him, Omniscients certainly could.


    The problem with all of this was that while it was technically true, there were restrictions. After all, the Heavens wouldn''t allow a Sect to force a Throne into a battle of fatigue. That meant that after a certain point, Thrones had the right to reject.


    When would a Throne ever be the one to take the initiative?


    Clearly, Ryu was just stirring up trouble on purpose, and if that was all, that would be fine. After all, he hadn''t actually killed anyone yet. But he was doing something far worse than that.


    "Just stop," Star River finally said, her eyes darting around. "This isn''t appropriate. If you continue, I''ll have to¡ª."


    "You''ll have to what?" Ryu finally looked at her once again.


    Star River froze. If she said stop him, it would impact her. If the backlash was bold enough, she might never progress in her cultivation again.


    It was only now she seemed to remember what it was Ryu had said before he left her courtyard...


    ~"Is that what you think...?"~


    "Do you finally get it?" Ryu asked. "As a Throne, the amount of resources I can ask from your Sect is nigh endless. Those resources include and extend to what you may have deemed to be functionally out of your jurisdiction or control.


    "I asked you not because I needed to beg you for anything. The same way I can peruse your libraries at my leisure, take your techniques as I please, plunder your resources with a thought or a breath, I can force your hand to do almost anything for me.


    "If you ever say that I, Ryu Tatsuya, have to beg for anything again, I promise you it won''t end like this the next time. I will raze this Sect to the ground before I allow you or anyone else to disrespect me again.


    "Dao God or not."


    By the end of his words, Ryu was exuding such a biting, chilling cold that the temperature over the entire Sect plummeted, penetrating through the protective formations and pervading the very laws themselves.


    After saying this, Ryu vanished.


    "I will give you three days. Otherwise, my challenges will continue."


    Star River stood in the skies in a daze. Her pupils trembled fiercely, and if not for being aware of her status, she would feel tears brimming in her eyes.


    She had lived such a long life, but she had always been sheltered and cared for. Never had she suffered such a grievance in her life.


    How could a man be so callous and cold? Didn''t he realize that she was trying to protect him?

 Chapter 1946 Cleared

    ?Chapter 1946 Cleared


    Little Silk cut across the skies, leaving trails of fluttering crystals in her wake.


    In these years, the always-sleeping butterfly had obviously finished her evolution into Sovereign Beastdom.


    It was quite funny in Ryu''s opinion. This little guy got a boon from his mother and had been on a rapid pace of evolution for as long as Ryu had known her. But she spent most of that time asleep in her little cocoon, not helping much at all.


    Ryu had a feeling that that would change after she truly became a God Beast. Only then would things truly change.


    Little Silk was just a small creature without a significant bloodline. In a lot of ways, she was quite like the beasts of this world, forging her own path forward. She had managed to reach the Eleventh Order on the Shrine Plane all on her own despite not having a significant background.


    After a boost from his mother, something that Ryu still hadn''t quite studied all that closely, she managed to take her billions of years of experience and condense it, using it to breakthrough barrier after barrier.


    While it seemed like this little guy was just freeloading most of the time, at the very least, while she was awake, she was quite useful.


    By now, it had already been a couple decades since she last woke up and Ryu couldn''t help but wonder when she would enter her last stage of evolution. And at the same time, he couldn''t help but think about Nemesis, Little Gem, and Little Rock.


    It had been so long since he had seen any of them. He wondered if they met again today if their relationship would still be so close.


    He hadn''t ever been worried about such a thing before, but if that could happen even with his own wife, what of a few beast companions had known for a fraction of the time they''ve been alive?


    Nemesis was stuck with that disgusting example of a man. Little Gem was apparently taken away by a Griffin Clan in this region of Existence, and as for Little Rock... he honestly didn''t know.


    Ailsa had never mentioned Little Rock. For all he knew Little Rock was either dead, or maybe had ended up wherever Yaana was.


    Ryu hoped that Yaana had such a companion by her side. The fact that Ailsa had never mentioned Yaana once made him realize that they were certainly not together... and if there was one person he wasn''t worried about turning their backs on him, it was Yaana.


    Yaana and Ailsa were simply different people. At the same time... he had spent far more time with Yaana.


    She had watched him grow up, and those memories from her first life should have long since come back.


    In fact, they had grown up together across not one lifetime, but two... first as Nuri, and then as Yaana.


    For the first time in a long while, Ryu smiled... genuinely. He didn''t find himself having to fake it as he thought of that adorable little half-Facric who would get embarrassed about the slightest thing.


    He should have been able to use his [Third Perspective] to find her. At the very least, he had tried.... and tried... and tried...


    But he couldn''t even form the connection.


    All he had managed to do was confirm that she was alive. As for where she was, he couldn''t even pinpoint a direction.


    He was still too weak.


    She had reached the depth Ryu needed her to.


    As for her next breakthroughs, that would be up to her. Once Ryu was finished here, it would concoct some pills precisely for her.


    But for now...


    A young Fiend blazing in flames and another wreathed in a volatile hurricane suddenly appeared in


    the skies.


    Ryu had almost carelessly learned about them on his way here. They were geniuses that were known as Sub-Heavens, existences that had a chance to enter the Heaven Rankings once they reached the pinnacle of the Omniscient Realm, but hadn''t just yet.


    That said... the Heaven Ranking was a ranking that incorporated the Perfect, Transcended and Omniscient Realms. So in Ryu''s opinion, any genius not worthy of making it on while they were still in the Perfect Realm was an ant in his eyes.


    A Sub-Heaven after already entering the Omniscient. Realm?


    That was all the more pathetic.


    Ryu took a step forward and his palm almost pattered the air. It was a light tap, but the fact there was


    a sound at all made the expressions of the two Fiends change.


    How could he make such a light gesture cause any sound to echo at all?


    BANG!


    It was already too late to react by the time they had these thoughts.


    A palm suddenly grew and a violent Vital Qi filled the skies as it was suddenly transported across


    space and seemingly even time.


    The winds and the bounds of reality fought back against this palm fiercely, outlining its once invisible edges in a stormy force...


    And then both Fiends were pressed into the city beneath them.


    A pillar of light broke through the skies beneath disbelieving eyes.


    Holy World of Wind and Fire...


    Cleared.

 Chapter 1947 This Time....

    ?Chapter 1947 This Time....


    Ryu was immersed in a blazing aura that spiraled into the skies. His Realm Heart had already acted, taking this world and pushing it toward absolute perfection. Let alone being of the Omniscient Grade, only a rare few God Grade Holy Worlds could match up to it.


    However, even as he was immersed in this aura, Ryu didn''t seem to care about it much at all. In fact, he was still focused on the Holy Worlds he needed.


    ''Lightning... Earth... Space... Time..."


    These were what he needed, but Ryu wasn''t sure if he could even find a Holy World of Space and


    Time.


    After strong-arming Star River into not wasting his time anymore, he managed to find out the location of everything he needed, and he also got the order from above to enter them all.


    Unfortunately, there were none of Space and Time.


    Ryu had been hoping to knock everything out in one go, but it seemed that he wasn''t so lucky. Still, he wasn''t quite convinced.


    It had to be remembered that technically speaking, Space and Time weren''t the rarest elements, but rather the most common. They were the only elements that one could learn to control so long as their cultivation was high enough. There was no other element quite like that.


    The reason Ryu''s Spacetime Soul Nature was so amazing, though, was that even if you learned to control the two, you could easily be overwhelmed by someone with higher affinity.


    When Ryu had this moment of enlightenment, he realized that he was using his Spacetime Soul Nature incorrectly. Rather than trying to use Space and Time like everyone else, he needed to take advantage of his Soul Nature to add complexities that the superficial control of others couldn''t match.


    When he had this breakthrough, the effectiveness of his Spacetime Soul Nature in battle


    skyrocketed, and he had even been able to fool the eyes of Lords who, presumably, already had great. control of space.


    This was all to say that there should be no reason for this world to not have Spacetime Worlds. If anything, they should be the most common.


    So why did they believe that there weren''t any?


    If Ryu was correct, this was a matter not of them not existing, but rather them not being able to find


    it


    If he treated the Spacetime Holy Worlds of this world the same way his own Soul Nature could be compared to the natural progression of Spacetime control amongst cultivators, then it made some


    sense.


    It should be a combination of the worlds appearing easily, and yet not being able to be found by those with weaker Spacetime affinity.


    If Ryu was correct... he would have to rely on himself to find these worlds and clear them.


    Depending on how things went, that could either make things far easier, or far more difficult.


    Regardless, he would clear the Lightning and Earth Holy Worlds first. Only then would he go and find this potentially hidden Spacetime world.


    But first....


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    And then Ryu actually got stronger.


    He incorporated the Lightning Holy World into his Body Realm cultivation technique and his aura skyrocketed once again.


    For every element he added, his strength didn''t increase linearly, but rather exponentially. And the closer he got to completion, the more exaggerated the leap was.


    His aura was so powerful at this point that in terms of sheer Body Realm cultivation alone, he was already nearing the best of the absolute best.


    This didn''t refer to just a single world, or a single corner of Existence... it was a measurement of all


    of Existence.


    No matter how strong the world, no matter how powerful the background, the talent, Ryu''s body was


    as strong as any other Omniscent Realm Body to exist currently, to have ever existed in the past, or


    would ever exist in the future.


    And yet... he still wasn''t done.


    Ryu entered an Earth Holy World soon afterward.


    No one knew where his next targets would be, and every time he appeared, he seemed to vanish without a trace in the next instant. Also, news that he had a Dao God as a Dao Protector following him around made many extremely cautious with how they would approach this matter.


    That was when Ryu entered the world.


    Just half a day passed.


    32 Sub-Heaven geniuses fell. Then came the 83rd, the 72nd, and the 69th ranked geniuses.


    They fell like weeds at his hands.


    No one ever personally saw Ryu take action, at least not closely. Most of this news came from the unlucky Fey, Faeries, and Naturals that had their worlds basically taken away from them by Ryu. All the glory, all the benefits, all the strength was concentrated onto his body alone. When Ryu incorporated the Earth element into his Body Realm cultivation method, the skies


    overturned.


    Tribulation Clouds so massive they put most Lord Realm Tribulations to shame appeared.


    Thunder cracked and rumbled, and yet Ryu continued to sit in silence high in the skies, breathing in


    the delicate scent of rain.


    The first bolt of lightning fell from on high, but soon after, there came a scythe of wind, then a pillar


    of earth, a blade of light, and a suffocating fog of darkness.


    A multi-colored light painted the skies, crushing Ryu from above.


    This time, he couldn''t just casually dismiss it all with his Lightning God Talent...

 Chapter 1948 No Different

    ?Chapter 1948 No Different


    Ryu slowly opened his eyes, looking high into the skies. He couldn''t remember having ever gone through a true Tribulation in his lifetime and honestly... This would really be no different. Streaks of flames descended from the skies. Ryu''s body only flickered once and the flames swam over him, being absorbed in one part, and dismissed in another.


    He reached out with a hand, causing the dismissed flames to form a long whip that lashed out at the air, shattering the falling meteors of earth apart.


    With a squeeze, the whip cracked into pieces of falling rain, drizzling down from the skies in a fluttering descent.


    The pieces of the meteors collapsed, crashing down.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The land beneath was devastated, crater after crater ripping it up. It was a harrowing sight, one that told the tale of the power of the Heavens... and yet it highlighted the strength of the young man that stood in the middle of it all, all the more.


    Ryu stood from his seated position, taking a step forward.


    Whipping winds and howling thunder boomed in a cascade of air and sound attacks. However, the air around him rippled with an odd cadence. The soundwaves dispersed and the wind flew right through his body as though he wasn''t standing there again.


    He clenched a fist and the wind that should have vanished suddenly gathered at his hand. He pulled back and his aura soared.


    BANG!


    He punched out, his power ripping a hole through the Tribulation clouds above. However, the rumbling thunder didn''t stop, a violent upsurge rolling through the skies as countless runes and patterns began to reform the Tribulation Clouds with an even more powerful vengeance.


    A rainbow of colors flickered. On the one hand, such clouds were absolutely gorgeous. But on the other... it was like watching the Heavens celebrate the end of the world.


    The elements began to gather once again, even more powerful than before.


    The cycle was relentless. Raging flames, howling winds, streaking bolts, falling meteors.


    And Ryu''s response was the same every time. He directly ignored the fire, wind, and lightning as though they were made for him. Then he turned the power of the Tribulation against itself, gathering up its power as though it was normal atmospheric qi.


    All the while, a swirl of colors pulsed through his veins. The vascularity of his body pumped the gorgeous blood through every ounce of him and he seemed to embody all of his Spirit. Bodies in a moment.


    The rain was stopped by a barrier around him, dancing with just the faintest wisps of Infinity Mist. CRACK, CRACK. CRACK.


    In one moment, there was a strong rainfall, and in the next, the entire world became one of ice. Trees were encased in a crystalline armor, craters filling up with water iced over, and all the droplets in the sky seemed to freeze in both time and space, their bodies forming into snowflakes that reflected the light of the rainbow clouds above.


    It was a gorgeous sight without equal.


    Ryu raised up a hand, a line of blood flowing down the corner of his lips, but his indifferent eyes piercing through the secrets of all things.


    SHHUUUUUUU!


    FAFA! FAFAFAFA!


    The water droplets turned sharpened snowflakes suddenly began to accelerate through the skies once more, reversing course and ripping hole after hole through the clouds.


    The Tribulation Clouds were destroyed once again and Ryu continued to stand high in the air, his white and sky-blue embroidered robes


    fluttering wildly.


    Ice coated some of his hair strands, and yet it didn''t seem to impact their dancing in the wind at all. He looked high into the skies, clasping his hands behind his back as though he was still waiting for something... and he didn''t have to wait very much at all.


    The rainbow clouds suddenly split down the middle, one becoming dark cumulonimbus clouds, so dense it felt like blackness itself was invading the land.


    On the other sides, it looked as though silky gold strands were being woven through the hands of the Heavens forming golden elends for as far as the world could see


    And then both sets of clouds rumbled, turning their rage toward Ryu.


    The strands of darkness gathered up and formed black armored knights.


    The strands of light did the same, creating an army of gold armored knights. The clanging of armor echoed through the skies as they raised their weapons.


    Heaven''s Knights.

 Chapter 1949 Sever

    Chapter 1949 Sever


    For the first time, a savage grin spread across Ryu''s face. What a truly full circle moment. This time, he wasn''t a favorite. He wasn''t a person of this world, but he had taken so much from it. It was only natural that their Heavens try to wipe him out. Sending down Heaven''s Knights was only the obvious course of action.


    But rather than feeling like he was being targeted, his blood boiled.


    26 years... it had been too long since he had had a real battle. Not against those pitiful so-called geniuses who couldn''t even withstand a single strike from him.


    His body shook, and suddenly the translucent scale armor that coated him became more obvious. The torso of his robes shattered into a rain of fabric, and a robust, vascular figure appeared.


    His skin was so clear that it seemed possible to reflect the lights of the Tribulations itself, his muscles so condensed they looked like filaments of steel had been run beneath his skin to form them.


    Ryu took a step forward, and he... actually attacked first.


    He appeared before the first Heaven''s Knight and punched out with a brutal fist. Space seemed to want to crack beneath his power, but it was forcefully restrained. At that moment, there was the faint outline of a star to his back.


    He had already activated [Tatsuya Constellation].


    BANG!


    The head of the half-formed Heaven''s Knight shattered to pieces.


    Ryu moved like a phantom, killing three more before the Heaven''s Knights could even react. It was like he didn''t take them seriously in the slightest, but the time he would have to do this was short and that was proven moments later.


    Suddenly, the Heaven''s Knights seemed to awaken all at once, a pair of red eyes from each one of them training onto Ryu.


    BOOM!


    A heart-shuddering pressure rained down and they seemed to form a formation with one another. Swords, spears, halberds, and weapons of all sorts were raised into the skies.


    Ryu sidestepped a blade, only to find two more piercing toward his back.


    His body flickered and he pivoted his hips, sliding through the oncoming weapons and turning back at the same time.


    His palms crashed into the chests of the Heaven''s Knights and a violent, chaotic force ripped them to pieces.


    He had already noticed that in this Tribulation, his Soul and Qi were restrained. They seemed to only want him to use his body...


    Ryu''s voice seemed layered by three, an abyssal rage ripping into the resonance of the clouds above. There was a change, and suddenly the world fell into silence.


    A finger.


    That was what it looked like, and it was hard to tell when it had appeared at all. It was so large that from another angle, it might have looked like a pillar of solid elements falling from the skies above.


    Ryu found himself locked down by an aura so powerful that he couldn''t move a single inch. It was so oppressive that his bones began to creak even before it got close.


    But the excitement in his eyes only grew more fierce. With a violent momentum, he shredded through the lock of that aura.


    "Take Form... And Let Your Name Roar."


    Ryu mouthed these words, but for some reason, most couldn''t hear exactly what he said at all.


    However, while they couldn''t hear him, they could see the result.


    A Birthed Phenomena appeared high in the skies, 13 Immortal Rings the size of planets pulsing to its back and a silver star even larger than hundreds of them combined appearing even higher above them.


    All the energy in the world seemed to coalesce, and Ryu reached out an arm, the intent in his eyes blazing as the Seed of Light pulsed in his body.


    His Vital Qi responded, and a line of blood came from his finger, forming a golden-red great sword staff.


    PENG!


    Ryu spun the one great sword staff in his hand once and let it slap into place in his palm.


    He took a step forward, his hair fluttering before he slashed out, his eyes glowing so brightly they looked like a second and third silver star in the skies.


    "[Sever]."


    He said coldly.


    First, there was silence.


    Then there was a sudden rush of wind.


    Finally there was a collapse as the finger that held up the Heavens was split in two.

 Chapter 1950 Another Target

    Chapter 1950 Another Target


    Ryu''s arm trembled, but his aura pierced the skies. The finger collapsed into a rain and he basked in its light, his heart thrumming with a valiant air.


    He took a breath and closed his eyes, the great swordstaff in his hand cracking to pieces and then shattering soon after.


    Silence fell onto the world, a delicate cadence of wind and rush of energy filling what was once violence and oppression.


    Ryu continued to stand high in the skies, his mind at peace and his body being filled with energy.


    He slowly opened his eyes after a long while. Everything settled down and his aura became restrained, so in tune with the world that it was difficult even to see him though he made no effort to hide himself.


    ''It''s about time to go.''


    Ryu''s next target was going to have to be the Dark False Shrine he needed... which meant he was going to have to take a much less safe trip into Fiend territory.


    He had been lucky with the Light False Shrine. All of the other Shrines were hidden in locations on the other side of the rainbow wall. If he was going to want a chance at crushing them, he would have to take some matters into his own hands and risk it.


    As Ryu was about to descend from the skies, he looked into the distance to find several figures rushing toward his location.


    They were truly powerful... one of whom was even a Dao God.


    This was a bit surprising to him. It was either a coincidence that such a powerful individual was relatively close, he had spent too much time on his Tribulation, or they had truly gone all out to catch up to him.


    Well, technically, they hadn''t tried, they had done it. Luckily, he had his own protections.


    Stealing his eyes back then was already very difficult, and now would only be more so... whether Hope was factored in or not.


    "Who are you?" the Moon Fey asked coldly, looking at Hope. But she didn''t respond, instead looking at Ryu as though waiting for him to answer.


    "There''s no need for you to be so concerned with my wife. If you want to speak to someone, speak to me," Ryu said plainly.


    The Dao God was taken aback, and his first instinct was to look toward Hope to see how she would react to this sort of slander. But the last thing he expected to see was a shy blush.


    What was happening in this world?


    "This world is truly idiotic," Ryu spoke lightly. "I''ve done more for this world in a handful of years than you have in your entire lifetime, yet you think you have the right to decide who I''m worthy of marrying and who I''m not... don''t you think that''s ridiculous?"


    The Dao God was a bit too shocked to react with the expected rage. He had never expected a mere Transcended would dare to speak to him in this way.


    It took a long while for the Dao God to recover. His expression became stern and cold, his gaze piercing into Ryu. And yet, the latter only looked back at him calmly.


    "This cannot be allowed to continue. You will come to me, and you," he looked toward Hope, "will allow it. Your identity is unknown and that is unacceptable in these times of war. I don''t know what your Human Race thinks you''re doing, but such unilateral decision making can earn you a one-way ride to death."


    Ryu gave the man a single glance then didn''t bother with him anymore.


    "Let''s go, Hope. We have another target."


    "Mm," Hope said lightly, starlight descending around them. In that moment, the Dao God felt as though all the surroundings had gained a strange pressure to them. By the time his vision cleared, the two were gone.

 Chapter 1951 Human Emperor

    Chapter 1951 Human Emperor


    The Dao God was taken aback. How could two people just disappear in front of him like this? He was a Dao God as well!


    No, he needed to report this. Now that they had confirmed that Ryu did have a Dao God by his side, they couldn''t rest idly.


    He was convinced that this was some plot of the Human Race, maybe as revenge for all the things that had happened back then. But did they really want to bring the entire world down with them? This was simply unacceptable.


    ''This is the best time for something like this to happen. If not for Goddess Tatsuya, the Humans of this world would have already long been wiped out. Now that she''s occupied, she won''t be able to interfere.


    ''The main problem, though, is how many Dao Gods could the Humans possibly be hiding? It should be impossible for even one Dao God to appear without our knowledge, but this one clearly has, so how can we guarantee that there won''t be another?''


    The Dao God''s thoughts raced, but even he didn''t notice the shift in his thoughts.


    When he thought about stirring trouble with the Fiends, he was hesitant and second guessed every step. But now that he thought that his targets were the Human Race, he was suddenly eager to take the initiative.


    Rather than worrying about potential internal strife or anything of the sort, he was actually looking forward to finishing off the job they had failed to finish all those years ago.


    ...


    The Human Domain.


    The Human Race only had a single Dao God, a wizened old man who stood at the Higher Dao God Realm. It could be said that this old man who seemed to already have a foot in the grave was the only existence left holding up the skies for the Race.


    He looked up at the dark skies of the Chaos Plane, sighing lightly. Then, he continued his trudge forward, his loose, torn robes dragging against the dusted ground.


    **


    Ryu appeared by the rainbow wall.


    "I''ll do the rest on my own," Ryu said to Hope. "Don''t appear unless you feel like you absolutely have to."


    Hope hesitated, but in the end she sighed and nodded. She had a deep understanding of Ryu by now and nothing she said was going to stop him from doing something so dangerous anyway.


    One would think that much like on the Real Plane side, the Chaos Plane side had their Holy Worlds divided evenly among the two parties. But as one might expect from the cowards, this wasn''t exactly the case. It was more like 80/20.


    If he suddenly appeared on the Chaos Plane, the Fey would be even less likely to tolerate his actions because they were facing the odds. Their own lives were already at risk, so they were already balancing on a wire.


    Ryu gave Hope a casual smile. "Don''t worry so much. This isn''t the place my steps slow."


    After saying this, he took Hope into his Inner world and vanished onto the other side.


    As he moved, his aura morphed and changed. Soon, he was wreathed in a dark aura.


    His body grew an entire meter, his hair and eyes became dense mats of black fog, and one of his arms and a leg followed suit.


    Chaos Qi thrummed around him and he became a Dark Fiend in a blink of the eye.

 Chapter 1952 The Result

    Chapter 1952 The Result


    Ryu''s movements were unhurried as though he wasn''t moving through enemy territory. There was a confident air about him that was intractable in the face of danger. If anything... he was quite looking forward to it. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    As he moved, he was also gazing at the world with his eyes, seeing through its mysteries and taking everything in.


    Cultivation wasn''t just about holing yourself up in a room and pressing forward, hoping to see the best. It was also about experiencing life.


    Part of the reason Ryu was so at ease without having ever entered such a long-term closed door seclusion before was precisely because his eyes gave him a huge advantage in this aspect compared to other people.


    He tended to improve by leaps and bounds because much like the moniker of his eyes made clear... he could see through the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth.


    However, he had seen too much, done too much, accumulated too much in the years of life. But he had never been able to settle down and just put that knowledge to good use.


    When he finally entered his first bout of closed door cultivation, all of that experience burst through at once.


    Now that he had reached the end of that sprint, though, he had a lot more accumulation to do before he could benefit from such a closed door cultivation again. But what Ryu had realized after these handful of weeks he had been free was...


    Maybe it wouldn''t take that long after all.


    Ryu didn''t realize just how much his Cultivation Realm was holding back his eyes until now. He had unlocked all 999 seals and he had thought that that would be the end of it. But he had underestimated just how much his eyes had to suppress themselves just to continue to coexist with his body.


    Right now, his eyes were so powerful that even if that Dao Sovereign of the Lumina Clan tried to pluck them out again, he might not even be able to pierce his fingers into his eye socket and end up rebuffed.


    If not for his eyes, Ryu would have likely become a true monster right then and there, accessing the largest potential the Shrines had to offer and becoming a talent rarely seen across Existence.


    However, his eyes had ended up swallowing up all that potential for itself.


    These were all things that Ryu had only been able to make vague guesses about in the past, but now he was absolutely certain of the truth, ironically thanks to the current strength of his eyes.


    Still, although he had missed out on becoming a shocking genius in a single bound, Ryu didn''t regret that for even a single moment. That was because he was starting to understand the kind of monstrosities his eyes were becoming.


    The Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies were products of Sacrum. Alone, they shouldn''t have had a huge effect on Ryu''s current self. However, because of the coincidence of the mutation of his Rebirth Talent, everything changed.


    As a result, the Black Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies and their medicinal effects received a sort of boost and Rebirth of their own.


    These were exceptionally rare Spiritual Herbs designed to help talents break their limits. You were only meant to take one in the first place, not absorb hundreds of lilies like Ryu had.


    All at once, then, his eyes were given a concentrated Rebirth unlike any other, taking more than 99% of Ryu''s special Rebirth mutant Talent for itself.


    And the result...


    Ryu waved a hand through seeming empty air, but he could practically feel every particle. And soon after, it felt like he was running his hands through the Karmic Strings of the world.


    When all of this settled down, a light smile tugged on the corner of his lip.


    While it couldn''t be said that he could see through the future... he was probably as close to it as a person of his cultivation could get.

 Chapter 1953 Crotch

    Chapter 1953 Crotch


    Ryu spent months leisurely traveling through the Chaos Plane as though he was waiting on something.


    Sometimes he entered cities he came across, enjoying the scenery and continuing to move unhindered.


    Maybe in the past he would have been worried about some super expert seeing through his disguise, but right now he didn''t even believe that a normal Dao God would be able to, and a much stronger one would only be able to do so if they knew what they were looking for. And the odds of that, especially now that Ryu was fairly confident in hiding from the Fate and Karma searches of others, was next to nil.


    Soon, though, Ryu''s journey came to an end.


    He walked through a forest of black flames that gave off a chilling cold. The smell of death hung in the air and goosebumps flared across his skin.


    This wasn''t a fear response, but rather a direct response to the cold, something Ryu found interesting. However, he wasn''t surprised.


    With his current body composition, there hardly existed any weather elements that could harm him. The only explanation, then, was that this was beyond the elements.


    The smell of death wasn''t just a simile or analogy, it was truly death.


    This was beyond cold, it was so chilling because it reminded the body of the feeling of death, and Ryu''s own had an instinctive reaction to avoid it.


    Ryu could shut off this bodily response of his, especially with his current control over his own. But he didn''t do so. There was no need to stand out to such an extent.


    Soon enough it became obvious why he was having such thoughts.


    He walked to a cliff''s edge that looked down on a valley below. In the center of it all, the portal to a Holy World lay. However, as one might imagine, there were Fiends present... as well as Fey, and surprisingly to all but Ryu, humans.


    This location was actually quite close to the borders of the rainbow wall, and what the Fiends probably didn''t want others to know was that their False Shrine was also located here.


    If the people of this world were fooled by such a thing, Ryu would feel like he had been far too kind with his earlier words to Star River.


    All of that said... this was still just surface level analysis.


    Ryu suddenly leapt down from the cliff''s edge, falling down in a rapid howl of wind.


    His presence had already been noticed by many, but his actions made it so that those that didn''t notice him before couldn''t help but look over.


    This was a Lord Grade Holy World, so the security was exceptionally tight. It could be said that they knew Ryu had arrived the moment he stepped foot into this forest of death, let alone now.


    However, Ryu seemed to be perfectly fine with this.


    BOOM!


    He landed with a heavy thud and the ground quaked. Flames of death and darkness danced around him and he took almost careless steps forward.


    Soon, his path was blocked by a Lord Dark Fiend.


    "Who are you?"


    "You don''t need to know who I am," Ryu said almost indifferently. "Just know that I''m here to force Aria beneath my crotch. Is that enough of an introduction for you?"


    A flare of rage spiked in the Lord Dark Fiend''s eyes before he burst into a howling laughter that shook the valley.


    A Transcended Fiend wanted to bed their young miss?


    Almost 30 years ago now, Aria Moon was already half a step into the Lord Realm, just teetering outside of it.


    By now... she had obviously taken that step.

 Chapter 1954 Easy?

    Chapter 1954 Easy?


    Many years ago, when Ryu''s Founding Dao was first revealed, most thought of three people: Aria Moon, Young Master Moon, and the only three elemental Fiend Childe in current existence, Yeger Sun.


    However, it had been a long time since then. And, considering the cultivation speed of true geniuses, there was already another slate of excellent talents who had likewise entered the Omniscient Realm with Founding Daos.


    However... compared to these three, the current geniuses were a lot less likely to manage to maintain their Daos into the Lord Realm...


    Unlike Aria Moon who had done exactly that.


    The gap between the Lord Realm and Omniscient Sky God Realm was such that upon managing to maintain a Founding Dao, you were simply on another entirely new level.


    Although it was still unknown if she would be able to maintain it all the way through, what shocked people was that her Dao didn''t fall to the Lower Founding Dao. Instead, she managed to maintain a Middle Foundation Dao.


    So although they had been "replaced" with a new slate of geniuses, it could be said that Aria had already transcended beyond the normal bound of genius by this point... at this pace, she had a good chance of becoming the first Founding Dao God of the Fiends in a very... very long while.


    Ryu''s words, however, had little care for all of this. He was simply taking advantage of the savagery of the Fiends.


    It had probably been many, many years since anyone dared to say such a thing about Aria, so much so that the Lord Dark Fiend was taken off guard.


    According to the customs of the Fiends, this was only natural. But the problem was that those of higher cultivation realms wouldn''t have the face to say such a thing, nor would most allow it to happen.


    But now only was Ryu of a lower cultivation realm, he was two entire realms lower, including the large moat that was the Lord Realm.


    Instead...


    WHOOSH! BANG!


    A strong force of wind caused Ryu to take a step back, but when he tried to stabilize himself, he was forced to take another, and then another.


    Ryu finally came to a stop and shook his head. ''Still three steps after that. Still not strong enough...''


    However, while he was disappointed, the most shocked individual was the Lord Dark Fiend. He looked at his palm as though he couldn''t believe what had just happened.


    Right when he was going to strike Ryu, it felt like his palm was suddenly traveling across dozens of meters rather than the few inches that separated them. His momentum all came to a stop after traveling through the space and the only thing that hit Ryu was the residual wind.


    But even then, the aftershocks of a Lord''s strength should be able to at least make Ryu cough up a mouthful of blood even if the Lord was holding back.


    But to only take three steps back... He didn''t even put up any defenses or circulate any qi. That meant that Ryu was forced to take those three steps back only as a result of how much effort and strength he put into his normal standing posture.


    This was such a shocking matter that the Lord Dark Fiend continued to look at his palm as though he was certain that something else must have gone wrong.


    Ryu suddenly sneered. "Don''t worry. When I become a Lord, I''ll remember that strike."


    The Lord Dark Fiend''s expression changed as Ryu walked past him, making a move to enter the portal.


    Though he said this, Ryu had already ignored the matter. However, entering didn''t seem like it was going to be so easy.

 Chapter 1955 Random Assortment of Words

    Chapter 1955 Random Assortment of Words


    The aura of a God descended from above, sweeping through Ryu as though interested in seeing through his entire being.


    Ryu looked up, his eyes narrowing. This was probably the most dangerous part of his journey.


    The situation here was practically entirely under the control of the Fiends, so they were more lax with how things worked usually... but there was no escaping the fact that their False Shrine was here. No matter how lax they were, there would be a limit.


    This was why Ryu had acted the way he had just now. Not to mention the fact that the Lord Dark Fiend didn''t have any killing intent, it wasn''t a matter worth considering too much. He was only using the Lord Dark Fiend to make himself seem like a genius, but not strong enough to actually cause any real trouble.


    Someone arrogant enough to say that he would force Aria beneath his crotch, yet would also let go of such a slight, was obviously more bark than bite.


    If he couldn''t deal with this one Lord, there was no chance of dealing with Aria. So technically speaking, whether they let Ryu in or not wouldn''t change the overall situation.


    However, even under those circumstances, a False Shrine couldn''t be messed around with, especially after they had already lost one. If they lost any more, it could mess with their plans.


    "Which Line do you hail from?"


    A voice that pervaded all things echoed.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. However, if he wasn''t prepared for at least this much, he would have wasted his time.


    There was a reason he knew that Aria would be here despite it being undisclosed information. He had deduced it by reading the Lines of Fate.


    That said, information about the Lines of the Fiends was a different matter entirely. That information he had gathered through more... normal means.


    A Fiend Childe.


    That was the only explanation they could come up with... but it wasn''t just any Fiend Childe, but rather a spontaneous Fiend Childe.


    Ryu''s parents should be Dark Fiends, but the Dreadlord should have awakened some time during his conception and chosen to bestow upon him a blessing.


    If this was true, then Ryu could have been born of a very normal Dark Fiend Line, only to awaken to his powers recently. This would explain why none of them had ever heard of him.


    Ryu didn''t even need to say much. They had filled in all the details for him. But he also knew that taking this approach came at a great risk. That was because his identity now went from a nobody to a shocking chess piece.


    The appearance of the first Void Line was a truly shocking matter.


    It wasn''t just this, but Ryu had very clearly displayed the characteristics of the Void just now. That would explain why much of the Lord Dark Fiend''s attack had just been swallowed up.


    "I mean your Dark Fiend Line." The Dao God finally replied coldly.


    "The Shade."


    The answer was expected. The weakest Line of the Dark Fiends. They hardly produced any Dao Sovereigns, let alone Dao Gods.


    Of course, this was all relative. The Shade Line still had their Dao Gods. It was just that the number wasn''t substantial by any stretch of the imagination.


    A silence fell once again, and it became shockingly oppressive. Ryu didn''t move, but he was frowning inwardly. This person still wasn''t letting him go.


    There was one hole in his story, and he knew it well. But in most cases, others wouldn''t think of it. Had he underestimated how cautious these people were?

 Chapter 1956 Powerful

    Chapter 1956 Powerful


    These were, quite frankly, the last words that Ryu expected to hear. No matter how stoic he usually was, his eyes couldn''t help but narrow. However, there still wasn''t any part of his reaction that wasn''t perfectly curated.


    Being entirely expressionless in a situation like this one would be just as bad as having a fierce reaction.


    The Chaotic Silk Meridians held great significance to the Fiends. It was the bane of their existence, and in other ways, the greatest treasure of their race. It was impossible for anyone to react indifferently to such words, especially if they were Fiends.


    If Ryu were to react indifferently, then it would appear to be forced, and that would only make him even more suspicious than not.


    Ryu''s thinking speed at this point was no inferior to any usual Dao God. In fact, even that wasn''t quite doing him the proper justice. He was faster than most individuals in the entirety of Existence. He could already somewhat keep up as a True Sky God, let alone now.


    The mutation of his mind was inextricably linked to both his former Bone Structure and his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Now that his cultivation was quickly catching up to his Pupils and allowing them to display more of their power, his ability to process, observe, and absorb information from his surroundings was simply beyond most people.


    Even if in terms of raw power he was lacking in comparison to true powerhouses, he might not necessarily lose in combat because his mind existed on a level of its own.


    It was a simple logic. For his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to be able to see through so much, something had to be processing all of that information. And that something would obviously be Ryu''s soul and brain.


    Ryu didn''t reply, but his frown said all that needed to be said. From his expression, all one could feel was that he was surprised by the Dao God''s sudden turn. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It could be said that his reply was perfect. However, he didn''t expect the response.


    "Kill him."


    Ryu wasn''t even meant to hear these words. The Dao God disseminated the order to everyone else, cutting him off from the information. However, Ryu was still able to see through it.


    There was one loophole in Ryu''s plans that he had always known was there. The Ruin Master Guild and their involvement in this world could easily put a kink in many things.


    If Ailsa was truly worthy to be his Life Partner, even in the case that she was being held back by his own weak Primordial Yang, this world should be no match for her by this point. The only reason she was stuck between a rock and a hard place should be because of the Ruin Master Guild.


    And it seemed that now the Ruin Master Guild was trying to put him in the very same situation.


    Amusing.


    However, he was the Head of the Tatsuya household and would always be. If they thought they could paint him into the same corner...


    They would be sorely mistaken.


    He had a feeling that back then Ailsa was unprepared for the appearance of such a power. He, however, knew of their existence quite well.


    So how could he not be prepared.


    Several auras locked onto Ryu at once, but he just shook his head.


    [Death Acupoint], [Lines of Fate], and [Tatsuya Constellation] layered atop one another. At that moment, the first saw through all the weaknesses in the folds of space for him, the latter read the probabilities of it being interfered with, and the last twisted the laws of the world in his favor.


    He took a step, and suddenly strolled out of an encirclement of dozens of Dao Lords and Sovereigns, his expression almost leisurely.


    "I''ll remember this." Ryu said with a smile. "Given how important this Holy World is to you, I''m sure you''ve got quite a lot of geniuses inside, no?"


    The might of a Dao God descended from above and a line of blood oozed from the corner of Ryu''s lips, but he was already fading into the Holy World as his words echoed.

 Chapter 1957 Fun

    Chapter 1957 Fun


    The world spun around Ryu and he took a deep breath of what could only be described as death. Though it at least didn''t smell like it, it definitely had a certain chilling cold to it that was more piercing than normal ice would be.


    Ryu had realized that a lot on the way here. The cold was soul-deep, making it feel different.


    But there really was no reason why his normal ice couldn''t be that way. It was just that the type of Ice Affinity he had tended much more toward Defense.


    It was said that the Ice Phoenix had among the strongest defenses of all the Ancestral Beasts, while the Dark Phoenix had the strongest offense.


    When you put things into perspective like that, it only made sense that the Dark Phoenix''s death would be able to attack the soul.


    ''It''s no wonder their fusion together works so well. Hm... I guess I should have my Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody Soul start working on some soul techniques.''


    He had gotten into the habit of thinking of his clones like a pair of rascals. They did what they wanted and they were incredibly arrogant, believing that their way was the only way.


    But at the same time, they seemed to be aware of one another''s existence. Due to that, of the over hundred techniques his Dao Heart had created, not a single one of them was a Soul attacking technique, which was a shame considering the flexibility of his Perfect Blackbody.


    By the same token, when his Perfect Blackbody Soul streamlined these techniques, it tended to go out of its way to knock his Dao Heart down a peg, taking pride in being able to keep the same power through a much simpler process as though it was a slap to his Dao Heart''s face.


    However, there was only one true master here, and now that Ryu had a rare moment of enlightenment, the creation of the technique should be even faster.


    He gave them solid parameters to follow, so he bet that within a few hours, to a few days at most, he would have a perfected technique.


    ''A death ice soul technique... I wonder what I should name you...''


    Ryu looked up to the skies with a slight smile. He was feeling a little bit better these days, and it was ironically because of his battle against the Heavens. He had been able to unleash in a way he hadn''t been able to in a long while.


    The Fiends inside must have already gotten information about what happened in the outside world and were on an all-out manhunt.


    Ryu laughed into the skies. It had truly been too long since he had had so much fun.


    ...


    Deep within Fiend territory, a young woman sat on a Throne. Well, if you could call it that.


    She had one foot on the seat as her other dangled, unable to reach the floor due to her shortness. She must have been barely five feet tall and she didn''t seem to be wearing any clothing at all. Instead, her breasts and lower half were covered by a dense array of solid carbon-like earth, exuding an eerie blackness.


    Her hair, however, was a flowing river of water that seemed incapable of spilling even a single drop.


    What was odd about this little genius woman, though... was that her eyes seemed to contain a completely different pairing of elements. One was bronzed and shimmered like polished brass, and her other eye was an icy blue, emitting a frigid air.


    In the Fiend Race, this was known as Metamorphosis.


    She was born as a Childe of Earth and Water. But through her cultivation, she gained Metal and Ice. It was an evolution, a step up, and unlike her counterparts, it didn''t clash with her current body at all...


    It only made her several times stronger.


    She took another chunk out of the enormous beast leg she was eating.


    "Press me down?" Her voice almost came out in a growl.


    Of course, this woman could only be Aria Moon.

 Chapter 1958 Reverend Dark Claw

    Chapter 1958 Reverend Dark Claw


    BOOM!


    A world-shaking aura descended in a furious tempest.


    Right then, a Dark Fiend suddenly appeared high in the skies, not far from where Ryu had just been standing. But it was obvious that he was a step too late, having missed out on Ryu by a hair''s breadth.


    Obviously, all of this had been perfectly calculated by Ryu.


    The Dao God was too used to those far beneath his cultivation Realm being unable to read and react to his presence. He had no idea that Ryu had long since locked onto him with [Third Perspective].


    By now, his [Third Perspective] was so powerful that even Lower Dao Gods couldn''t easily sense it. The Fiend had no idea that he had been observed from the very beginning.


    Of course, [Third Perspective] was originally a technique of Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils that most couldn''t sense at all. In the beginning of his journey, he used it like a cheat to read the cultivations of his opponents even when most wouldn''t be able to do so.


    Because it worked using the Lines of Fate and Karmic Strings, those of too low cultivation didn''t even have the right to sense their probing at all. And the more powerful Ryu became, the less able even those that could would become.


    Much like Space and Time, those of high enough cultivation would be able to feel their Fate and Karma. However, also much like Space and Time, there would be a vast gap between those that had the requisite affinity for it and those that didn''t.


    And now, this Fiend was learning of this personally.


    "Reverend Dark Claw."


    Several Lords and Sovereigns bowed. Even the humans did the same in a truly pathetic display.


    On top of that, he was also the one who had a heavy hand in the destruction of their Light False Shrine. In that case, he had out-maneuvered even those mysterious figures back then.


    Even in this situation, he managed to slip out of both the lock-on of a Dao God''s Spiritual Quintessence and make it through all of their defenses as a mere Transcended.


    Such a person wouldn''t be foolish enough to send himself to death.


    It only took Reverend Dark Claw a few split seconds to grasp exactly what sort of situation he was in right now.


    He would have to strike a balance.


    First, he ordered for this news to be sent to the Fiends inside of the Holy World. Second, he sent all the Dao Lords deployed to defend the outside, sending them into the Holy World as well for an extra helping of manpower. Then, using the Sovereigns, he set up a perimeter of defense and had his formation masters begin to set up several nets.


    It was clear that Ryu had a Spatial Soul Nature. Although setting up a protective net to stop spatial teleportation was impossible around the Holy World portal itself because of the volatility of space here, that didn''t mean that they couldn''t do anything.


    All they had to do was solidify the non-volatile space around the perimeter.


    Of course, this would take a ridiculous amount of resources, but it was a necessary evil. It would also be able to stop outside interferences.


    Once this was finished, the man contacted the other powerhouses of his Lineage. They knew that his screw-up would end up falling onto all of them if things went south, and though his Lineage wasn''t among the strongest, they certainly had more than just one Lower Dao God. In fact, they had several Middle Dao Gods and a single Higher Dao God.


    By secretly contacting them, those that were able to slip away from their duties or were free to begin with would be able to make their way here.


    The man planned out everything meticulously, even to the point he didn''t return to his secluded cultivation.


    He stood like a statue in the skies, ready for the worst-case scenario.


    Even if Ryu managed to clear the Holy World, he''d have death waiting for him.

 Chapter 1959 A Proxy

    Chapter 1959 A Proxy


    Ryu didn''t know what was going on in the outside world, but he certainly had a few guesses about how that might go.


    Now that the Ruin Master Guild wasn''t directly involved, he could see the Fate Lines of the future with added clarity, so the movements of the Dao God could be fairly well predicted by him.


    Of course, these were all probabilities and not certainties. Thanks to the unruly laws of math, even if he had 90% assurance on every prediction he made, if enough stacked up, he would have less than a 1% assurance in guessing anything.


    It didn''t even particularly take that many variables. A 90% assurance in guessing 44 things in a row would mean that the odds that he would be correct about all of those things would be less than 1%.


    That said, the odds that he would be incorrect about all of them would be even less than that by a large margin. However, that hardly mattered when he was trying to guess at things so far into the future.


    The problem with parsing apart future events was that every event built on what happened next. That meant that in order for Ryu to have an accurate reading of the future, he *had* to get all 44 of those events correct. If even one thing in the chain was wrong, then it would throw the entire timeline off.


    This was all to say that predicting futures related to Dao Gods and probably even Dao Sovereigns was beyond him. He had more assurance against Dao Lords, but the potential added variables could still make it a toss-up...


    Unless he was in a world where the Lord Realm was the top Realm that could exist.


    Before, Ryu was already able to read Fate in these Holy Worlds in ways that others couldn''t imagine. It allowed him to find the hidden treasures that others couldn''t fathom with the greatest of ease.


    And now, his eyes were even more powerful than they had been in the past. It only took him a single glance to see through a great many things.


    Without the canopy of a Dao God mucking up the waters, Ryu could see everything clearly.


    While he didn''t know exactly what Reverend Dark Claw was doing in the outside world, he knew that he had sent in a great deal of Dao Lords, and now they were all hunting him down.


    Ryu thought of idea after idea before tossing them out one by one.


    ''What if...''


    Ryu''s eyes began to brighten.


    All of the problems with these ideas were that he would have to refine the world and the Shrine personally. If he had to be occupied doing that, he would be too vulnerable to attack.


    At the same time, while he was quite confident in protecting his life against one Dao Lord, if there were two, three, or several thousand in this world, he would be finished.


    It had to be remembered that it was usually incredibly difficult for a Sky God to fight against more than one opponent of their Realm even if they were significantly more powerful.


    In the past, this was an amorphous concept to Ryu, but now that he had experienced Lord Control himself, he was beginning to understand it more.


    Having more raw power didn''t directly translate to more Control over the laws of the world. That required more finesse and an intangible will and Focus Qi of sorts.


    Even if one Dao Lord was twice as powerful as another, his or her Lord Control wouldn''t necessarily be. If they were facing off against two opponents who combined their Lord Control to suppress theirs, they would quickly end up on the losing end.


    Ryu found all of this to be quite amusing, mostly because he felt that this gave him the opportunity to do quite a few shocking things.


    However, that would be for the future. What mattered now was that he certainly couldn''t allow himself to be surrounded by so many enemies.


    So...


    ''What if I automate the refinement process through a proxy...?''

 Chapter 1960 Confidence

    Chapter 1960 Confidence


    What Ryu was talking about doing was ridiculous, even by his standards.


    Using a proxy to refine a world was like creating something that could mimic the complexity of his mind and automate it. It was practically like creating an artificial intelligence through the use of formations.


    Not only had Ryu never seen an example of such a thing before, this was the first time he had ever considered doing such a thing...


    Or was it?


    Technically speaking, his Internal Matrix was a high-level application of this same exact concept. It off-loaded much of the thoughts and processes his mind had to go through to figure things out, even to the point that it helped his Dao display strength far beyond itself.


    But the trouble was that his Internal Matrix was directly connected to his soul. With his soul being the core, the more "human" aspects could be off-loaded onto it, and he could benefit from the plasticity of his own mind, while also harnessing the rigid computational prowess of a Matrix at the same time. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    Obviously, if he just recreated his Internal Matrix in the outside world, there would be no soul to guide it, making it useless as a result.


    ''Unless I make the core of the Internal Matrix the soul of this world itself.''


    If he could manage that, not only would it not be difficult, but it would be incredibly easy. But the problem was... how could he do that?


    The "soul" of this world was its Heavens. But the problem was that these Heavens were just an extension of the Heavens of the world outside. That was why it had the strength to keep those above its Grade out. Otherwise, a Dao God would just be able to rip this world apart.


    Due to this, connecting to it was significantly harder. There was no easy soul to just pluck out from the depths of this world.


    Ryu stood in confused silence, his brow furrowing. As he stood there, he had his two cloned souls give up their deduction of his soul attack for a moment to focus on this problem along with him.


    Their minds churned together and they came up with several ideas that they tossed away just as quickly.


    Nothing seemed viable.


    ''Should I just make a more permanent clone of myself, then? Or, maybe I can split my attention... Or maybe I can create a remote communication array that can allow me to refine it from afar and hide at the same time...''


    Every thought he had was stricken down for one reason or another.


    Suddenly, Ryu froze.


    ''Am I just overthinking this?''


    He was still measuring himself by his former yardstick. But with his current eyes and Dao, would it truly take him all that long to refine this world?


    His eyes could see through the mysteries of this world with great ease to the point that he could predict things with near 100% accuracy. At the same time, his Founding Dao was a level beyond this world and had broken free of its constraints. Although his Internal Matrix didn''t allow him to form the equivalent of a Lord Grade Dao with it, if he used Heaven''s Gate, he just might get there.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered.


    Why was he wasting his time with roundabout methods?


    Sure, he couldn''t face off against so many Dao Lords alone...


    But if he could lure them away, he might only need a few minutes to succeed.


    On top of that, this was exactly what he needed. The less time he gave those bastards outside to prepare, the higher chance he would have of getting out of here alive.


    However, mere minutes after she left, a hidden formation pulsed and Ryu stepped out of it. He looked around with a leisurely smile on his face, his actions casual.


    No matter how powerful Aria was, her movements couldn''t escape his notice. He had known exactly when she would leave this place and he could track her from anywhere in this world.


    No one could escape his eyes.


    He moved around the region like a ghost, assessing the situation.


    ''They left behind quite a few Dao Lords. But I knew this already... it would certainly be impossible for all of them to flee such an important region. But this still gives me some leeway.''


    Ryu finished walking around the entire region until he fully understood it like the back of his hand.


    ''Time to start.''


    Ryu shifted and vanished. When he appeared again, he was deep underground in a place so protected that even a breeze couldn''t pass through without someone noticing.


    And yet, here he was, strolling forward unhindered and unnoticed. Around him, a familiar irregular formation was pulsing, a treasure of the Unbalance Art Sect.


    However, he knew the moment he started refining, everything would go south. This formation wouldn''t be able to protect him for long.


    And yet, the light in his eyes only grew brighter as he approached the center of the node, and what was effectively the center of this world.


    Indeed... why had he been so worried?


    Refining a world? Why did it have to take so much time? So much effort?


    His Dao stood above this world.


    His eyes stood above this world.


    He, Ryu Tatsuya, stood above this world.


    Suddenly, a pair of eight trigram diagrams appeared in each one of his eyes. Then, they reflected once more, one appearing beneath his feet and the other above.


    The full brunt of his Founding Dao pressed its might onto the world.


    "[Earth Gate].... Open."


    Ryu''s hair fluttered wildly, his aura skyrocketing.


    He didn''t even wait until Aria was hours away, appearing barely a few minutes later.


    That was the confidence he should have as the man who would reach the peak of all things one day.


    One Above All.


    ...


    In a distance not too far off, Aria had been flying as fast as she could toward where she thought Ryu would be only to come to a freezing halt.


    Her eyes widened and she reversed directions immediately, tearing through the laws of the world as fast as she could.

 Chapter 1961 But...

    Chapter 1961 But...


    Ryu smiled. At the moment, his heart felt light as confidence pulsed from him.


    He could feel the effects of [Earth''s Gate] more clearly now than ever before. He had always known that it was borrowing from his future self, but things had somewhat changed after the mutation of his eyes.


    Originally, [Earth''s Gate] and [Heaven''s Gate] were based on years of exchange. His eyes would extrapolate Fate to see how much he could improve in a certain number of years and grant him the power in return.


    This was why he had become so powerful after soaking in so many Black Vein Lilies. He had been able to tap into a potential future that was trillions of years ahead of his current time.


    However, these two techniques, [Earth''s Gate] and [Heaven''s Gate], had their own limitations. And it wasn''t just that in the past he would have them go into years of dormancy.


    Though that was a shocking matter that he didn''t think nearly enough about these days. Although the max potential of [Earth''s Gate] and [Heaven''s Gate] had decreased, the fact that he could practically use them every day without consequence now was huge.


    But this aside, the limitations of the two weren''t just what was on the surface.


    Technically speaking, a Ryu who had experienced trillions of years of growth should have been far more powerful.


    Why didn''t his eyes project him a future where he entered the True Martial World and reshaped his entire foundation?


    Instead, it extrapolated as though he would spend his entire life in Sacrum. Not only that, but he wouldn''t find the secrets of the Shrines or any other treasures for that matter.


    Had his eyes factored those things in, just how much more powerful would a trillion-year-old Ryu be? Would he have even needed to struggle against the Martial Gods at all? In fact, even if Elena''s father descended, he should have been able to kill him with a flick of a finger.


    ''I understand. In order to improve my current Dao beyond its current Transcended Grade, my eyes have to complete the far more difficult path of reaching ahead of what''s possible for this world...''


    Ryu''s Dao had transcended the upper bounds of this world. But his eyes needed an anchor for the Lines of Fate that it was analyzing.


    One''s Fate was always inextricably tied to the Heavens. If there were no Heavens, there would be no Fate, and thus no Lines of Fate to analyze to decide how to progress his Dao.


    Essentially, much like how back in Sacrum his trillions of years of cultivation was capped by it, his Dao was currently being capped by this world as well.


    At the same time, Ryu could also feel the shocking aspects of Time that his eyes were using as well. Or, rather... he could feel how Space rolled into Time, and how Time rolled into Fate... and how Fate rolled into Karma.


    One after another, they stacked upon one another in a cascade of increasing complexity... and it made Ryu realize something.


    This was a process that usually happened naturally. But much like he had changed the form of [Rob the World of its Color], turning it into a scythe that could slash apart the Lines of Fate...


    There was no reason he couldn''t take control of [Earth''s Gate] and [Heaven''s Gate] as well.


    However, he also wasn''t a fool. He realized that the only reason he could use them so frequently now was precisely because his eyes were constantly picking out the easiest path, the path of least resistance.


    If he started to control it to pick harder paths, he would begin entering territories like the past where his eyes would be dormant for a long while. For a situation like this one, it wasn''t quite worth it.


    At least in the past, before the mutation, only the technique itself would be dormant. But now everything had changed. His eyes would become dormant instead if he was too eager.


    But that didn''t mean that there wasn''t a balance to be struck.


    If he went too far, he would lose his eyes for years. But...

 Chapter 1962 Change

    Chapter 1962 Change


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s aura surged.


    In a moment, he had already thought of several methods to weaken the pressure on his eyes. But all of them were things he would have to study much more, and it would take far more time than he had right here and now.


    In fact, he had also thought of a method of using [Heaven''s Gate] and [Earth''s Gate] to improve his Internal Matrix. If it worked, then he would no longer just have quasi improvements to his Dao, but his Dao would truly be able to reflect those higher Grades. At that point, he would truly be invincible beneath the Lord Realm across all of Existence, not just here.


    But that would also take time.


    However...


    He happened to be a master of both Space and Time. And unlike others, his affinity was so high that he could comprehend laws even within a time warp. Ryu seemed to freeze in place, his body unmoving. The world around him was unmoved, but in his Inner World, time had practically slowed to a crawl.


    His three clones moved at once, seemingly forgetting what their original task was.


    The idea for fixing the first was simple.


    In an ideal future, Ryu wouldn''t need to rely on other Heavens; he could just rely on his own Inner World. At that point, the pressure that using either skill would give him would be next to negligible. When that day came, he would be able to strengthen himself to another Tier with hardly any effort at all.


    But his Inner World wasn''t at that point yet.


    Right now, it had pretty much all the elements there were, and his Realm Heart had already pushed them to Beyond Extreme. As such, right now, Ryu''s Inner World was already far more powerful than the world he stood in right this moment. But...


    If he could find a method to use both in conjunction with one another, he might be able to connect with a stronger world that was nearby and lessen the burden of improving his Daos even further.


    However, this was easier said than done...


    Setting aside the how for a moment... what about these worlds themselves? How would he find them and pinpoint them?


    That was where [Tatsuya Constellation] came into play.


    This technique was built from the foundation of [Domain], the movement technique of Hope''s Race. It was created using star maps of Existence. The stars would then be a proxy and foundation for your movements in battle, not only amplifying your evasion ability but even your overall combat ability.


    This required a ton of leg work because it meant memorizing all the star maps of Existence. If you didn''t know the star map of a particular region, you were out of luck and the technique wouldn''t be usable for you.


    Ryu, however, had managed to find a workaround for this. Rather than wasting his time memorizing so much stuff, he was able to directly map out the stars in real time. So instead of memorizing everything, he was able to recreate the star map of a particular region in real time.


    That was where the change in [Tatsuya Constellation] came in.


    Ryu had changed the technique once more, not just to incorporate Spacetime like he had in the past, but to also incorporate Fate itself.


    By using his own Fate Star as the center of the Constellation, he wasn''t just able to use the star map of a particular region, but he was able to warp and change it to small extents, allowing him to exert far more control over the region in combat, even to the point of twisting the laws of the world in his favor.


    That was what Ryu planned to do this time.


    If he could use his Fate Star to probe around and sense a stronger world, he could then use [Third Perspective] to lock onto it, and then his Chaotic Silk Meridians to tether himself to their Chaos Plane.


    Once he succeeded, he would not only be able to use their far stronger Chaos Qi for a moment, but he would be able to use [Heaven''s Gate] and [Earth''s Gate] to their standards!

 Chapter 1963 Third and Fourth

    Chapter 1963 Third and Fourth


    All of this sounded great on paper, but whether he could even find a world in close enough proximity to allow him to do this in a cost-effective way was still up in the air. He had no guarantee that there was a world nearby that was stronger than this one. It was likely that in this entire quadrant of Existence, this was the strongest world for thousands of light years, or worse than even that.


    Until Ryu grew stronger, finding and locating these stronger worlds to connect to would be a great strain and one that wouldn''t necessarily be worth it...


    However, his conversation with Ailsa had told him something else.


    In order for Little Gem to have been taken away, there was very likely a strong world ruled by Griffins not too far from this one.


    In fact, the fact that such a world existed made it incredibly convenient to find... Because he could use [Third Perspective] to lock onto Little Gem. After all, at one point in time, this beast was contracted to him and he had saved the little girl from a fate of being left to die by her Clan.


    Thanks to this, Ryu found the world almost instantly. However, he didn''t finish the process to contact Little Gem. He didn''t know what the little one''s exact situation was right now, but he did know that if this was a Griffin Clan in the truest sense, then they were powerful beyond measure.


    His [Third Perspective] couldn''t be sensed under normal circumstances, but contacting Little Gem might cause her to become the flaw in the loop, resulting in him being sensed.


    However, now he knew exactly where Little Gem was and he would make sure to deal with that situation properly.


    If she was happy, he would leave her be.


    If she wasn''t...


    Well, he still had a belly full of anger he had yet to vent anywhere just yet. BOOM!


    Ryu''s aura skyrocketed to another level. He pulled on the Griffin World, connecting his Chaotic Silk Meridians to them. At the same time, his [Earth''s Gate] usage soared.


    The Griffin World wasn''t just one level above this world, it was an entire three.


    His Spacetime Soul Nature finally gained a companion.


    The Spacetime Star he had absorbed from the Zu Clan Ancestor was so powerful that he hadn''t even been able to think about getting another. Although his Perfect Blackbody could help him gain Soul Natures, if one was more powerful than the other, any he consumed would be suppressed.


    In all this time, he had yet to run into a second affinity that he could absorb into his soul that would match the Zu Clan Ancestor''s might.


    However, what Ryu hadn''t known was that his third and fourth Soul Natures would be sitting right in his head.


    The moment the linkage was forged, there was a feedback loop that formed between his Perfect Blackbody Soul and his eyes.


    In that moment, he seemed to see through Fate and Karma far more clearly than he ever had before. And in that same instant, his Heavenly Pupils'' abilities took yet another step forward as though he had finally gained more of a right to control them.


    Ryu was shaken.


    He could see something now that he had never been able to see through before, and what it was shocked him to his very core.


    ''It can''t be?''


    Ryu''s eyes widened, however in that temporary lapse, his control over Time slipped and


    the world accelerated around him.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    The skies overturned as Aria appeared in the skies.

 Chapter 1964 Distracted

    ?


    1964 Distracted


    Ryu stood in the middle of a large protective formation as the building above his head was ripped to shreds.


    Soon, a petite young woman appeared, one of her eyes glistening with a brass radiance, and the other releasing a frigid chill.


    Fiend Childe Aria Moon.


    Ryu looked up almost indifferently. It was as though he didn''t realize that he was in danger at all. In fact, his gaze still seemed to be somewhat distracted as though he was still trying to wrap his head around what he had just seen.


    It was hard for him to believe, but he had to.


    BOOM!


    Suddenly, Aria attacked. She didn''t seem to realize that Ryu was distracted, or maybe she simply didn''t care.


    Her gaze was vicious and she clearly wanted him dead as quickly as possible. And yet... The attack vanished the moment it appeared above Ryu''s head as though it had been blown away by the wind.


    "... I''m busy, if you don''t mind..." Ryu said lightly, still absentminded.


    Aria''s eyes widened.


    What was that? How had he just done that?


    It felt like he had just stretched out the space...


    ''No, it was time!"


    Aria''s heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Ryu actually aged her attack until it ran out of energy and just puffed out of existence. But how was that possible?


    No, even more importantly, how could a Transcended do such a thing?


    What Aria didn''t realize was that she was still wrong.


    Ryu hadn''t just aged her attack. He extended the space between them until her attack might as well have been a lifetime of travel away, and at the same time, he severed the Fate between Aria and her attack until she couldn''t even truly see what happened. With Fate, the attack lost its very foundation.


    If anything, Ryu had gone a bit overboard. But right now, Aria just felt...


    Weak.


    Ryu shook his head, realizing that this certainly wasn''t the place for him to think. At the very least, he didn''t want to waste his time with annoying flies right now.


    He looked down at the formation beneath his feet and it trembled once.


    Aria froze. "STOP!"


    The worst part was that Ryu still seemed to be somewhat distracted. He wasn''t even looking at them, nor could they feel his Spiritual Quintessence. It was as though his entire mind was elsewhere.


    Suddenly, the Heavenly Dao Tree began to move more sharply, more fluidly.


    Ryu seemed to have resigned himself to a fact and he focused more on what was happening. And as a result, the Lords began to fall in droves.


    They were like children in the middle of an adult''s game.


    Ryu just stood there, his hands clasped behind his back as he gave them a level gaze.


    At that moment, his Dao Heart seemed to become sharper and more refined. He was going through a sublimation right before them all, and most couldn''t even sense it, let alone understand why it was happening.


    Only Aria found herself trembling.


    She had been a genius all her life, only to realize that she was nothing before this man.


    Ryu leveled an even gaze at her. If her Dao Heart shattered because of this, he wouldn''t even be interested in taking her as a maid anymore, let alone a Summon,


    However, surprisingly, she didn''t disappoint him.


    Aria unleashed a roar that seemed to pump her full of courage. Her aura pierced toward


    the skies, but compared to Ryu''s own, it was like a moth to a flame.


    She shot forward, grasping at the air and forming a brass halberd she swung down with


    all her might.


    Ryu reached out with a finger.


    Aria struggled, but she found herself slowing down more and more until her blade came


    to a stunning halt on Ryu''s extended finger.


    Ryu seemed to look right through her, his attention seemingly already elsewhere.


    It was no wonder he was so distracted, though...


    In the moment his Soul and Eyes connected, he saw through Fate and he realized


    something profound.


    The Spacetime Star of the Zu Ancestor was practically identical to the Fate of his eyes...


    and that wouldn''t make any sense unless he was either born with it...


    Or he had been the one to create it in the first place.

 Chapter 1965 Why?

    Chapter 1965 Why?


    Ryu looked at the brass halberd Aria had swung at him. Trapped on his finger, there wasn''t much that she could do at all.


    The power to control Fate in a world that was capped at the mere Lord Grade was too powerful. There were no powerful individuals here that could even begin to contend against this new Soul Nature to him. And worse than that, Ryu had a far higher natural affinity for Fate and Karma than he ever did for Space and Time.


    Since his birth, he had been steeped in this comprehension thanks to his eyes. Every ability of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils manipulated Fate on some scale or another.


    The simplest ability of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, [Third Perspective], allowed him to view the world from a bird''s eye view. But the reason most couldn''t even begin to detect it was because it used Fate to observe things. Even Dao Gods had difficulty grasping such a thing, let alone normal cultivators.


    For the most powerful abilities, even less needed to be explained as they were all obviously tied with space.


    Back when Ryu got his Spacetime Soul Nature, it took a lot of time and adjusting. And though this would certainly require at least some of that... it wasn''t nearly to the same extent.


    With the foundation of his eyes, it was as though the world had just opened up to him.


    While it was the case that it would be much harder to manipulate in the outside world, in a Holy World like this one, and maybe even a Sovereign Grade one... he was practically invincible.


    However, as amazing as all of this was, both what he had already thought through and things that he realized he had yet to think through... it didn''t change how shocked he was internally.


    The good news?


    At least in one timeline or iteration, he had managed to become as strong as he had always dreamed, somehow breaking the fundamental laws of Time itself and going backward.


    Ryu remembered how he felt when he first learned about the Zu Ancestor. He had been floored about the fact someone could go back in time in the first place; it just didn''t make any sense whatsoever.


    ''Clearly, my future self wanted me to have this Spacetime affinity earlier. By extension, it''s also possible that the person who left my Perfect Blackbody in the Death Shrine was also myself, maybe to escape from the Fate of having it stolen by the Martial Gods... or potentially controlled by the Phoenix Sky God...''


    Ryu thought of the possibility that he was the Phoenix Sky God as well. Someone who could return back in time to muddy the waters of history would be the perfect person to leave behind the messy tales that were the Phoenix Sky God''s life.


    It had to be remembered that even Ryu didn''t know the true backstory of the Phoenix Sky God. He had just managed to cobble together countless folklores and tales to maybe piece together who to awaken their Spiritual Foundation.


    However, now that he thought about it, it would have made perfect sense if the Phoenix Sky God could return back in time to obscure the truths of their life so that others couldn''t scribe their Fate.


    But he dismissed the idea although he could potentially become a Phoenix Sky God in another timeline... after all, he did have the Bloodlines necessary.


    The real issue with him being the Phoenix Sky God was that he had seen the Phoenix Sky God in this timeline. No matter what kind of voodoo and tricks he could pull, there was simply no way that two of him could exist at the same time.


    And on a deeper level than that... his new Fate Soul Nature made him even more sensitive...


    The Phoenix Sky God was someone with strong ties to him¡ªobviously, since he had their Spiritual Foundation in his body.


    But he was 100% certain that they weren''t him.


    So the question was... why? What did he deem was so important that he had to return like this?


    Was he just trying to reach a higher realm of cultivation?


    Or was it something else?


    And what did the Zu Clan have to do with it?

 Chapter 1966 Awry

    Chapter 1966 Awry


    That was the other oddity to this puzzle... why the Zu Clan?


    Ryu thought of the possibility that the Zu Clan was actually his own Clan, but he knew himself.


    First off, if it really was his own Clan, he was certain that his future self would have found a way to stop Eska from becoming his wife. He didn''t care how many generations separated them, he had no intention of bedding one of his descendants.


    And second... he would never change his name from Tatsuya, even for a plot. He had too much pride for that.


    Unless it was the case that he had changed more than he thought, which he guessed might be possible, there was simply no chance of any of this happening.


    But the Zu Clan felt useless to him. They were weak, and the only thing they had ever really brought him was trouble.


    Being mistaken for a Zu Clan descendant was why he had been bullied so fiercely at the start of his second life, the reason he had been labeled a so-called "White Devil."


    There were so many moving pieces that it was hard even for Ryu to wrap his head around them all, and ironically enough, everyone was just either frozen in time or being ruthlessly slaughtered one after another as he stood in silence.


    Aria tried to take her halberd back and attack him several times already, but it was a completely useless endeavor. She couldn''t even break through his defenses. And when she tried to retreat, she found the passage backward inexplicably long. It took her several seconds just to succeed in taking the equivalent of a single step back, when before, she could easily cross tens of thousands of miles in that kind of time.


    Instead, it looked as though she was flying backward in place, something that made her face flush with embarrassment and rage, especially when she remembered the words that had been sent in earlier.


    Had he really come here to press her down?


    Unwillingness brimmed in Aria''s eyes and her dissatisfaction was quickly boiling over.


    However, at that moment, Ryu finally looked up.


    "Okay. Let''s end this."


    He wasn''t getting anywhere with his thoughts, so he just didn''t want to waste his time anymore. He had to be fast with dealing with these matters, or else the trouble in the outside world would really come back to bite him.


    As easy as it was to control Fate in this world, he knew that he would have already become a mummified husk if he tried to repeat the same in the outside world, especially if it was against enemies stronger than Lords.


    [Focus] was the technique of his eyes that allowed him to sink into States of Meditation whenever he wanted. This technique of his eyes had an inextricably linked status to his Focus Qi as a result.


    So, using it as a conduit...


    Ryu reversed the Time and Fate on his own Focus Qi. And in an instant, he was back to 100%.


    Ryu chuckled, looking up into the skies. ''I''m really going to miss this world.''


    He was truly a God here, a God that broke Laws without the slightest scruples.


    However...


    ''Soon, I''ll be just as much of a God in the outside world. When that day comes, I''ll bend a certain disobedient wife over my knee and see if she still dares to be so arrogant.''


    A flash of malevolence sparked in Ryu''s gaze.


    Surpassing me isn''t so easy.


    He remembered the words clearly. But she had obviously forgotten who her husband was.


    Ryu''s aura flared and the Lord Grade world seemed to crack.


    He didn''t need to waste his time refining it or gathering Fate anymore. He was the master of Fate in this world. If he said he wanted it to come to him...


    It would come.


    And when he did that, the world would obviously acknowledge him as its victor.


    ...


    In the outside world, Reverend Dark Claw was continuing his preparations, feeling that he had time. The formations in the surroundings were quickly coming together, the Dao Gods of his family were on their way, and he was personally standing guard even if something went awry...


    And awry they went.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 1967 Mindless

    Chapter 1967 Mindless


    The portal shuddered and the world overturned.


    At that moment, Reverend Dark Claw''s head snapped in a certain direction, his pupils constricting when he noticed that the rainbow wall was crashing backward. It approached by several thousand more miles before it came to a wobbling stop...


    Or so it seemed.


    With his sharp gaze, Reverend Dark Claw could see that it was still collapsing, albeit slowly. Unless they changed the formation of the Shrines, it would continue to recede. In a few hundred years, it would return to the original borders.


    ''Dammit!''


    He didn''t understand how this could be possible. There were so many Lords in there; how could Ryu possibly have succeeded?


    He had had a bad feeling when he saw Ryu''s confidence, but he had thought that after exposing Ryu, things would be fine.


    What he didn''t expect was that it wouldn''t matter in the slightest.


    Not only had Ryu managed to succeed, but he had also slaughtered every single one of their Lords as well.


    And now...


    He had refined their Lord Grade World.


    A pillar of blackness pierced toward the skies.


    This time, Ryu didn''t suppress the Chaos Qi aspects in the slightest. Since they knew what he was, he would show them the might they had feared so much.


    The world overturned and large amounts of insights poured into Ryu''s mind.


    But this time, he didn''t turn it into potential. He already had a Dark World; he didn''t need another.


    Instead, he would use it for something else.


    The False Shrine appeared high above Ryu''s head and his gaze blazed with light.


    At that moment, the Seed of Darkness pulsed through his body and the world turned even darker and more dreary than before.


    Reverend Dark Claw didn''t know what Ryu was doing, but he still acted first. So long as Ryu died, everything would be fine. He would be able to fix all of this.


    A Dao God was too fast. Ryu had barely begun when he felt a pressure that almost shredded his chest apart.


    However...


    The Seed of Darkness pulsed and the world turned black.


    [Death Acupoint].


    PUCHI! PUCHI! PUCHI!


    Beams of darkness lashed out toward the surroundings.


    One shot, one kill.


    It didn''t matter if they were Lords or Sovereigns; it made no difference whatsoever. One after another, they collapsed, freezing in the skies and then slowly falling.


    Ryu raised up a hand, his silvery eyes flashing as he analyzed the formations in the region.


    It took him no more than a handful of seconds.


    The formations they had put so much effort into shattered beneath the weight of a single word.


    "Break."


    BANG! CRACK! CHIIIIII!


    "Let''s go," Ryu said casually.


    He took a step and darkness warped around him.


    "Okay," Hope said lightly.


    She smashed out with a palm that collided with Reverend Dark Claw''s chest as though all the defensive measures he had put up were worthless.


    Then, she vanished along with Ryu.


    Reverend Dark Claw fell from the skies, coughing up countless mouthfuls of blood as he cursed continuously.


    They were too smart, too smart. They didn''t delay in the slightest, and he even suffered that palm for no reason at all.


    "DAMMIT!"


    He realized that he couldn''t hide this matter anymore. Without a choice, he began to send out messages to mobilize the entire Chaos Plane. Then, he gave a vicious glare to the humans that managed to survive.


    They all deserved to die.


    "DIE!"


    A mindless slaughter ensued.

 Chapter 1968 I Would Do It

    Chapter 1968 I Would Do It


    News of a human boy with two Shrines in his possession and the legendary Chaotic Silk Meridians in his body spread like wildfire.


    Most of the Fiends had already noticed the shuddering of the rainbow wall, but when they learned of this, the entire Race was shaken...


    Even more so when they learned that Aria Moon was dead.


    It wasn''t long before the Moon Fiends came out to confirm that this wasn''t the case. Aria Moon''s soul flame was very much still active.


    But that only made things worse.


    That meant that the pride of their Race, and the genius that was most likely to be their next Dao God, had actually been captured alive...


    By a Transcended Sky God.


    News spread like wildfire and suddenly there was a Plane-wide manhunt for Ryu.


    And yet, the man they were looking for was lying on the lap of a beauty. Well... maybe his situation was a little worse than that.


    ...


    Ryu was, indeed, resting his head on Hope''s lap as they soared across the skies on Little Silk''s back.


    The problem was that his body was filled with cracks that were exuding black fog. It looked like he would shatter like porcelain at any moment.


    He was fiendishly circulating Embryonic Qi, but it was slow going.


    If not for the fact his body had become so powerful, and the fact he had used the Blessings of the Holy World and the Shrine as a proxy, he would have already collapsed.


    His Seed of Darkness was no longer at the pinnacle standard of the True Martial World. It was at the pinnacle of all Darkness across Existence itself. There wasn''t a purer concentration of Darkness anywhere else.


    And yet, Ryu had just used it with impunity.


    On the one hand, it allowed him to kill a large number of Lords and Sovereigns.


    He didn''t believe there was anyone in Existence that could do that any longer.


    He hadn''t believed that before he entered the Lord Realm, and least of all now.


    If he wasn''t being chased by Dao Gods... how could he have any fun at all?


    It made Hope feel both warm and contradictorily cold at the same time. On the one hand, she was happy he was willing to deal with her "nonsense." But on the other hand... she didn''t think she was speaking nonsense at all.


    Ryu might think that letting his women be so willful was a great thing. But sometimes... it was patronizing.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. He always called Hope "little woman" for a reason. She was too easy to read and wore everything she felt on her sleeve. Now, he was even more sensitive to such things, so he could guess what she was thinking.


    Taking a breath, Ryu sighed.


    Indeed, his father was right. Having so many women was truly a headache... not because women in general were, but rather dealing with so many different personalities, thoughts, and feelings was like its own path of cultivation hardship.


    Ironically, outside of Yaana and Elena, he had spent the most time with Hope, so he understood her quite well... and also well enough to know that she wasn''t really upset by his casual listening to her words.


    She was upset because he had found a casual reason to blow off her advances, and he hadn''t made any moves on her since.


    He called her his little wife without having actually consummated anything. It made her feel like she didn''t have the same place in his heart even if he acted like she did.


    She could tell that he was upset about Ailsa and didn''t care to focus on anything but cultivation, so she wouldn''t complain about such a thing even if she knew Ryu wouldn''t blame her in the slightest for doing so.


    But logic and emotions often existed on two different spectrums.


    Even if she understood, it didn''t stop her from feeling like Ailsa would always be more important to him.


    And if Ryu was honest... was it even possible to love so many women equally?


    Ryu looked at Hope for a long while, his gaze soft but his heart confused.


    After a moment, he reached toward a hand Hope was using to stroke his hair absentmindedly. He held it tightly, pulling it to his chest.


    "If you wanted me to make my divorce with Ailsa official right now, I would do it."


    Hope froze when she heard such words, suddenly feeling flustered.

 Chapter 1969 One Chance

    Chapter 1969 One Chance


    Hope had never expected to hear such words, and the moment she did, she began to tear up.


    Suddenly, it didn''t matter if Ryu''s action felt patronizing to her or not. The reason being treated like a child would hurt in the first place if there was some sinister intention or underlying disdain. But for Ryu to say such words, how could she not be moved?


    Ailsa was his Life Partner, the only woman that had broken his stubborn streak, the woman he was designed to love the most whether it be by nature or the Heavens themselves.


    And yet, he had said such a thing.


    When Ryu first met Ailsa, he was completely opposed to her entire existence. It could be said that in his whole life, Ailsa was the one person that had ever applied external pressure to change any of Ryu''s internal thoughts.


    In his life, or lives, Ryu had changed, altered, and grown as a person in various ways... but not a single one of those instances was because of something someone else told him. At least not when it came to large things, and certainly not in regard to things that he had decided to be stubborn about.


    Ryu had never put it in so many words... but maybe the catalyst for his largest change in self was Ailsa.


    If not for Ailsa, he would have never even thought to look at a woman other than Elena. If not for Ailsa, he wouldn''t have come to accept the Heavens for what they were instead of always thinking of them as his number one enemy. If not for Ailsa, the foundation of cultivation he relied upon to this day wouldn''t even exist.


    It had been trillions of years for Ailsa, but to Ryu, it had barely been a blink of an eye, and the things he had learned with his wife by his side were very much there. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It could even be said that if any other wife had done what Ailsa had done, maybe instead of threatening divorce, Ryu would have directly done it.


    If Ailsa was his idealized reflection, the cultivator he could have become had his life never been tampered with... Elena was the one who picked up the pieces... Yaana was the silent support by his side... and Hope was the one lying in pieces on the ground with him.


    She too had had her life ruined at the hands of others, her Fate toyed with, and her destiny ripped from her hands.


    Her Fate was now tied to his own and he remembered distinctly the sort of despair she had felt when she thought that she had calculated wrongly and hitched herself to the wrong person.


    The last time such a woman had broken down before him like that Ryu had directly abandoned any thought of ever being with her. Of course, Sarriel hadn''t truly broken down into tears, but in Ryu''s eyes, it might as well have been no different at all.


    That sort of resignation to Fate was something he hated to see, and even more so in women since his most liked women were the exact opposite.


    Even so, he remembered almost... ignoring Hope back then.


    At first glance, it seemed that he was just as disdainful of her as all the others. But the more he thought back to that moment, the more he self-reflected, the more he understood his real emotions back then.


    He had seen a potential reflection of himself... a reflection of what he might become if he never broke free of the Martial Gods... of how he might fail if he took a single wrong step... of how he might crumble if the walls crashed unexpectedly.


    And even that was being too charitable.


    Because the reality was that she wasn''t what he could become... she was what he had been.


    A failure who gave up... a failure who just needed one chance to reverse their Fate.

 Chapter 1970 Impossible

    Chapter 1970 Impossible


    Ryu raised a weak hand and caressed Hope''s cheek.


    These sorts of feelings had truly settled in for him after he saw his past lives.


    He knew he wasn''t special. Given a different set of circumstances in life, he might be at the bottom of a barrel somewhere, despairing just as much as Hope or cowering just as much as Sarriel.


    What he did know was that this version of himself... the version that could look down on the world and dauntlessly stare into the face of death was the version of himself he wanted to be.


    But that didn''t change the fact that he could have easily been different. No?v(el)B\\jnn


    And yet, even that was more complicated than it seemed.


    He had had almost three decades of secluded meditation. Most of that time seemed to have been spent calculating out his Body Realm Cultivation Method, but only he knew how much of that time had been idle, running experiments, testing how the flow of different elemental qis worked and how they vibed with his Vital qi... so on and so forth...


    It had also allowed him a lot of time to calm down and a lot of time to think. During that time, Ryu thought back to the trial of the Phoenix Sky God.


    It was the one reincarnation that he experienced that he could fully remember even without the aid of the Dream Wraiths.


    It was funny... the reason he thought of it to begin with was as a vain attempt at debunking the idea that he wasn''t unique and special. After all, in that life, born to the Tor Clan, he was in a completely different environment than he was in the Tatsuya Clan. Logically, he should have become a different man.


    But why was the little Ryu of then of the same make and build as he had been as a Scion of the Tatsuya Clan? That should prove that he was special, no?


    Even while being suppressed by his own elders, his own father and mother, he had managed to display his intelligence, and he was staunch in his arrogance. That seemed to contradict everything that he had come to learn from his reincarnations...


    But was that the case?


    "No, no, no, no..."


    She kept saying the word over and over again, faster and faster as though she was afraid Ryu would do something stupid.


    Ryu couldn''t help but burst into a fit of laughter. Little woman antics, indeed.


    "Don''t laugh at me! And don''t say something so bad again!"


    "Bad?" Ryu said with a weak smile. "I meant every word."


    "Don''t say that!" Hope hurriedly covered his mouth. "I do not want my sister wives to hate me. I still have to ingratiate myself with Sister Isemeine and Big Sister Eska properly. Don''t ruin this for me!"


    Ryu was suddenly speechless. Why did it sound like he was getting pushed to the side?


    Still, his thoughts couldn''t help but drift off as Hope continued to sputter words somewhat quickly and part incoherently.


    He had just put something together that he couldn''t put together before because he hadn''t known it at the same...


    But wasn''t the reason he was ostracized by the Tor Kingdom because he looked like a "White Devil"? And wasn''t he now suddenly an Ancestor of these "White Devils," aka the Zu Clan? And...


    Wasn''t the hatred of the Tor Kingdom the difference he needed to break through his mental constraints and earn the White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation?


    In that case... could it be his future self set all of this up?


    ''It''s impossible. I can''t be the Phoenix Sky God... can I?''


    Ryu was confused once more... because his Title was certainly not Phoenix.

 Chapter 1971 Shortly

    ?Chapter 1971 Shortly


    Something about it still seemed off. Plus, he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around how time could possibly work like that despite his Time affinity.


    How could he become the man that was capable of reversing the flow of time in the first place if he needed the help of his future self to even pass the trial in the first place?


    It was like a chicken and the egg situation, but even worse than usual because it was just an outright paradox no matter how you answered...


    The only way this would make any sense was if the purpose of his future self wasn''t just to help him pass, but rather to speed up the process.


    In fact, now that Ryu thought about it...


    Before, he had thought about creating a technique that would allow him to reforge his foundation. What if this was similar?


    But if that was the case... he was doing a very bad job. There were still many holes in his foundation now, and it felt like too little had been done in that regard.


    Was it that his future self couldn''t be too hands-on?


    Maybe. It hadn''t been too obvious to him that someone was helping until now.


    But Ryu still felt that it was likely more complicated than that.


    Ryu realized that he should probably focus on recovery. Although he had brushed off a lot of what Hope had said, she wasn''t exactly wrong. He couldn''t underestimate the Fiends or else he would end up suffering for it.


    However, there wasn''t much he could do right now other than shielding them from detection and focusing on undoing his wounds.


    He was in one part trying to control the False Dark Shrine to pull the damaging qi away from his body, and another part using the Embryonic Qi to quickly heal himself.


    He didn''t dare to ask Hope to help because the qi that was rampaging around right now was the strongest Dark Qi in Existence. The only reason he was still alive was because he had the False Shrine and limited control of the Seed of Darkness.


    In fact, had it not been for the fact he was limiting himself to using as little of it as possible, he might have even been able to wield it to kill the likes of Reverend Dark Claw.


    Though, that was more of a pipe dream than anything else. If he had gathered up so much of his Dark Seed Qi, he wouldn''t even be alive to flirt with this little wife of his.


    Hope continued to ramble, mostly trying to distract herself from her own worry. However, it was hard to when Little Silk wasn''t even flying toward the rainbow. Instead, they were flying diagonally away from it, slowly going deeper and deeper into Fiend territory.


    She knew that this was the smartest thing to do, but that still didn''t make it any better.


    Therein lied the elephant in the room, though... If Ryu was wrong about all of this and he really was the Phoenix Sky God, how would he face Hope?


    After all, that would mean that he was the one who destroyed her world and put her in the situation to suffer like this in the first place.


    ''When will this end?


    Ile waved a hand and his Dao thrummed. The souls of the Humans here, shackled and suppressed, were relieved of their burden.


    In one breath, they were both sent into the Cycle of Reincarnation, and all their thoughts, hopes, and memories were taken by the Human Emperor.


    This was part of his Human Emperor Dao. Usually, such things would be cleansed away by the Dream Wraiths. But he had the ability to step in and act as the middleman.


    Ile was then able to incorporate the understanding of cultivation that these IIumans had and use them to strengthen himself, as well as add positive Karma to himself by relieving them of the curse and burden the Fiends had placed on them.


    When Fiends wanted to be especially cruel, they could do so.


    It had to be remembered that the Fiends were antithetical to life and Order. As such, they were neither born through normal means, nor did they reincarnate through normal means.


    The powerful among them even had the ability to taint souls that relied on Order with Chaos, making


    it difficult to almost impossible for them to reincarnate as well.


    It wasn''t a surprise that the Race that suffered this the most in this world were the Humans. There


    was a time that the Human Emperor even wanted to find out why it was they were so viciously targeted like this all the time, only to give up years ago.


    Soon, the Human Emperor learned of what happened here and he couldn''t help but frown.


    "... A truly reckless child..."


    The Human Emperor sighed before he realized something. Was this Ryu the same one he had been stopped from helping almost 27 years ago now? He had survived?


    The Human Emperor frowned. This was troublesome. Why would such a hope for the Human Race come here?


    He didn''t blame Ryu for not saving the humans. He had simply seen too many die. Although he thought Ryu was a bit selfish, in this regard, he felt that it was only right that he be exactly that. Such a talent, with a Founding Dao so high at the Transcended Realm, had an excellent chance of becoming a Dao God so long as he could break into the Lord Realm. Ile was too valuable. But by the same token, if he didn''t take such risks, he would end up heavily suppressed by the Fey, Before, they didn''t take him seriously because he was a mere True Sky God. But now that he had stirred such a commotion and given them such a good reason to target him....


    Well, the result could be guessed.


    The Fiends might not be Ryu''s only enemies very soon.


    What the Human Emperor didn''t know just yet was that Ryu''s current actions would unravel a mystery that had caught them in a web for generations to come... and the other foot would fall very


    shortly.

 Chapter 1972 "Simple"

    ?Chapter 1972 "Simple"


    Ryu pushed all other thoughts out of his mind, rushing to heal himself. At the same time, he set part of his clones to focus on finding quicker solutions to all of this.


    Luckily, he ended up finding one.


    The best sort of method he could use to heal himself was, obviously, his Body Realm Cultivation Method. After all, it was built on the foundation of his Natural Treasures to begin with.


    "There''s no need for a new technique. I can use the excess Dark Seed qi to temper my body and turn the qi itself into more normal injuries. By then, it''ll be easier for my Embryonic Qi to heal it, albeit only by a small bit!


    This process would speed things up by about 50% or so, but considering the damage he was already suffering, he would be hard-pressed to finish up in a short time regardless.


    Luckily, his eyes had already recovered quite swiftly in just a few hours.


    "There should also be a method of changing the Fate around me to make my Embryonic Qi more effective...''


    His Embryonic Qi had been shown to be less effective on those that didn''t have the proper Fate. He, himself, got screwed over when he started relying on the Nine Pillar Flame Sect''s Taboo Methods. Hope had also suffered because of this as well, and his Embryonic Qi was far less effective on her. But now, after coming to a new world, Ryu realized that the other half of his Chaotic Silk Meridians was perfectly mirrored by his Embryonic Qi Meridians. Meaning, his Embryonic Qi connected with the laws of a new Plane when it moved as well.


    In this world, his Embryonic Qi was actually even less effective on him than usual.


    However, if he changed the world he was connected to...


    Ryu tried another world as soon as his eyes recovered and flickered when he realized that there was a change.


    Then he shifted again to the world that he could most easily connect to...


    Sacrum.


    He gasped for breath, severing the connection as he now focused on pushing the rest of the Dark Seed qi back to where it belonged without doing more damage to his body.


    Unfortunately, some damage was inevitable, reversing some of the good progress he had made.


    But fortunately, it wasn''t nearly as bad as before.


    At first, Ryu had been trying to return the qi to his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, but he eventually realized that this wasn''t worth it.


    The process was too long and he would end up doing more bad than good.


    However, that was when he remembered that his Meridians were damn near indestructible, being the third most durable material in all of existence.


    The more he learned about the world, the more he truly understood how shocking such a rating was. That was to say that even the material that was used to make these False Shrines was inferior to his own Meridians.


    He had begun neglecting the fundamental talents of his Meridians because who wouldn''t? Would he care about such "simple" abilities when he could control the Chaos Qi of the various worlds?


    But now, this "simple" ability was going to be what saved him.


    Every time he improved the foundation of his Chaotic Silk Meridians, it transcended to the Chaotic Silk of a world that was on par with its new stature, thus making its durability even more profound.


    Right now, his Dark Seed qi was much more powerful than the current foundation of his Chaotic Silk Meridians after his Spiritual Foundation got a hold of it. But the fact his Chaotic Silk Meridians were so durable in the first place should be able to offset this gap.


    Ryu then began to direct all of the Dark Seed Qi back into his Meridians.


    His body began to swell as though it would blow up at any moment.

 Chapter 1973 A Little Bit

    ?Chapter 1973 A Little Bit


    All the while Ryu was being put through the wringer, Hope could only sit there in a nervous mess. He had gone through many cycles of injury and recovery, and he looked as though he had almost died several times now.


    How could she not be nervous?No?v(el)B\\jnn


    The only thing stopping her from crying out was the fact that Ryu did seem to get a little better every time he went through one of these cycles.


    But no matter how much she tried to keep herself calm, it was nearly impossible to do so when her husband started blowing up like a balloon.


    It sounded like bombs were going off in Ryu''s body, or like a Heavenly Tribulation had been triggered right in her presence.


    However, all the while, Ryu''s eyes remained almost lightly closed and his face was entirely


    expressionless. One could have thought that it was someone else''s body undergoing such horrors and not his own.


    That calm sort of sharpness seemed to stir something within Hope.


    She remembered the first time she met Ryu. Then she remembered the first time she learned that Ryu''s Fate wasn''t anything special at all. In fact, it was shackled and might have been even worse than her own.


    Even now, she had no idea how Ryu had made it through with such poor Fate, and it hadn''t made any sense to her until he exited the Dark Holy World they had just left the vicinity of.


    With high affinity for Space... one was no longer bound by it.


    With high affinity for Time... training in a time warp was possible for you when it wasn''t for anyone else. It was an ability that most would absolutely kill for.


    And with a high Fate affinity... could it be that you stood outside of its influence?


    Was this the reason her scribe had fallen onto Ryu? Did it calculate this?


    No...


    She looked up for a moment, realizing that they had been found, but the calmness in her gaze didn''t fade in the slightest.


    She had only allowed Ryu to try so hard on his own because he knew that whenever he was pushed into a corner, he would force his way out. And this time, he had managed to make it 90% of the way through.


    In that case, she would cover the remaining 10%... and pretend as though she couldn''t cover the full bill.


    The funny part about all of this was that she had had a solution within a few minutes. However, she allowed Ryu to take the reins nonetheless.


    Now that there were enemies here... she could give her husband''s ego a light massage.


    Hope waved a hand and the laws of the world solidified into runes. Magical energies swirled and her slender fingers looked as though they were plucking at the stars and gliding through the silvery rivers of Fate.


    Then, she made a plucking motion.


    In that moment, a pill condensed from the Runes and the skies above suddenly shook.


    Hope smiled and then giggled to herself. Maybe she liked being patronized by her husband a little bit... but only just a little bit.


    Now was time for her reward.


    She pressed the pill to her lips and then kissed Ryu.


    Ryu was taken aback for a moment because he felt the medicinal effects pour into his body.


    His eyes snapped open with hints of surprise in them, but he still couldn''t move for a moment as his Meridians rumbled.


    All at once, his body shuddered and the Dark Seed qi vanished into the air.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Hope looked off into the distance, a sinister light in her eyes.

 Chapter 1974 Womanizing

    ?Chapter 1974 Womanizing


    Ryu suddenly felt that his body was incredibly light and he couldn''t help but chuckle. He could read Hope''s thoughts without much effort and he knew what she must be feeling.


    Indeed, he had boxed her in a bit too much. She was an alchemist. first and foremost; everything else came secondary to her.


    All things considered, it might actually be somewhat impressive that she could harm Reverend Dark Claw because his Godhood wasn''t founded on combat at all.


    He had been worried about her trying to help him because the qi would definitely harm her. But he hadn''t considered the fact that she could use a pill to reverse his situation.


    It didn''t even seem like it had taken much effort from her... and that was when he realized something else.


    He was likely not the only one with Fate affinity.


    Why was it that Hope had been able to sense his existence? Why could she create pills that could reverse and change Fate?


    Wasn''t the answer to that obvious?


    In fact, if he wanted someone who could teach him how to use his Fate affinity to the greatest extent, the answer was probably this little wife of his.


    Just now, that pill had bolstered his control over Fate. The moment he grasped it, the effort it took to manipulate it had plummeted and he had been able to reverse his situation in an instant.


    The combination of Hope and himself was truly powerful.


    Suddenly, he looked down at her belly and couldn''t help but smile. His first child would truly be a little monster, now wouldn''t they?


    Hope blushed and pinched his cheek.


    "Where are you looking? Pervert!"


    "I seem to remember that it was someone else who begged me to be their Dao Companion. Who was that again?"


    Hope blushed profusely. "You''re not allowed to bring that up!"


    Ryu laughed heartily, standing to his feet and sweeping Hope into his arms as though he couldn''t sense those on their way at all.


    He planted a kiss on her lips, greedily almost inhaling her pleasant scent.


    She squirmed a little bit before she seemed to melt.


    She had kissed Ryu before... but for some reason, this felt like their first. She could practically feel his heart opening up to her and it made her feel like she was riding on a cloud. There was even a slight moan that left her lips.


    But then she felt like she was electrocuted when Ryu''s hand pinched her bottom. She jumped, almost taking Ryu''s nose out.


    Ryu''s laughter made her feel more embarrassed, but also confused.


    She could never understand men. In her time, she had been ogled more than once. She could never understand the fascination with such a weird place.


    Ryu smiled, finding this little woman quite adorable. He didn''t understand why she was so bold


    sometimes and so shy at others. He was going to take his time to truly understand her. Sometimes he thought about why it was that he was so attached to Elena. Of course, she was his first. love and that was obvious enough. But it was deeper than that.


    When he first met. Ailsa, there was a strong attraction to her as well, and he was ultimately a man, but he had no intention of crossing that line with her. And it went beyond just him hating the Heavens being involved in his affairs...


    He just didn''t want to betray Elena''s trust, which was ironic considering she was always the one trying to convince him to have more women.


    But the reality of it all was that he had felt such strong emotions for her because he knew her like the back of his hand. She had been his fiance?e for centuries, and though he never touched her during those times, at least not so intimately, their hearts had been as close as they could be.


    Didn''t he owe all of his women such loyalty from him? Was it fair if he didn''t give them such a thing? How well did he know them? How many of them did he know as well as Elena?


    He had known Yaana so well once, but not only was she gone now, she had been reborn and even changed her name. Was she still the Nuri he had once known?


    Suddenly, Hope felt a tug on her. Her blush deepened when she realized it was her Primordial Yin.


    What was this guy doing?!


    "Let me borrow it for a bit.''


    "You can''t just...!" Hope didn''t even know what to say. This guy...


    Ryu''s smile didn''t fade and it made it hard for her to even look directly at him.


    "Just for a little bit, I''ll give it back."


    "You..!"


    Pat. Pat.


    Another jolt went through Hope as she felt two light taps. Her Primordial Yin hadn''t had much resistance the first place, but now it practically flew out of her body. She still didn''t even know how that was even possible.


    Suddenly, the connection between her and Ryu became even firmer and she could practically see


    through his eyes.


    Ryu''s plan was simple, really. He was going to lean on his wife to act a little badass for a moment. Since he had a Dao God for a wife, why not take advantage?


    Suddenly, the two completely vanished.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Hundreds of Fiends at the Sovereign Realm and above appeared high in the skies. They thought that


    they had already surrounded the duo, and yet...


    Nothing.


    How was that even possible?


    PUCHI!


    One of them suddenly fell from the skies. It was a completely inexplicable death, one that struck


    down like a bolt from the blue.


    The group froze, looking around with wary gazes.


    PUCHI!


    Another fell, just as silently, just as inexplicably. There was nothing to sense, nothing to grasp.


    PUCHI!


    Yet another.


    Then another.


    Fear gripped their hearts and their stomachs rolled in their guts.


    Run.


    They had to run.

 Chapter 1975 Solution

    ?Chapter 1975 Solution


    Ryu and Hope stepped out from thin air. The latter''s expression was filled with surprise, and Ryu''s was covered in a slight sheen of sweat.


    Even so, the bright smile on Ryu''s face couldn''t be restrained in the slightest. It was this sort of power that he had been seeking all his life, killing Lords and Sovereigns like dogs...


    It was hard not to be intoxicated with what he was experiencing. It was like he was flying on cloud nine.


    However, it didn''t take long before he reined in his enthusiasm.


    This wasn''t his power; it was Hope''s.


    Just now, he had been using Hope a lot like his Internal Matrix. By letting her take on the burden of Fate quantity, he could direct its action with his eyes.


    It made it far easier to use the abilities of his eyes as a result, because in a lot of ways, his body was reacting as though he was a Dao God now rather than the Transcended he was.


    Thanks to that, he was able to access a depth of ease of use that he shouldn''t be at yet.


    All it cost him was some Focus, but he was able to replenish that easily enough.


    ''An affinity of Fate... is truly powerful...''


    It felt like Ryu was toying around with the fundamental laws of the world. Things that should be locked in position, unchangeable, or at least restrained, felt like putty in his hands.


    With Hope''s Primordial Yin in his body, he could offload the burden of playing Fate to her... and that sounded easy enough, but the only reason he could take her Primordial Yin so easily at all was because of Fate in the first place.


    Ironically enough, the sheen of sweat on his body wasn''t because of the effort of killing these few ants. It was instead because of the effort he put into taking her Primordial Yin... and that was despite the fact she didn''t resist.


    Still, Hope couldn''t help but look around in shock.


    She had a Fate affinity herself, obviously... but she had never been able to do such things.


    Was this the power of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils?


    "Let''s go."


    Ryu and Hope vanished once again. However, Ryu couldn''t help but think...


    Meaning, they were likely sending out a net, trying to find his location by sending several groups to places that he was likely to be.


    That meant...


    ''Because we wiped out the group, they''ve narrowed down the region. There''ll be a next and then a next one after that even if we manage to survive... they''ll also only grow stronger!


    Realizing this, Ryu changed Little Silk''s direction.


    Since they had been exposed, continuing to head deeper into Fiend territory, albeit at an angle, would be suicidal.


    His expression became a hint serious.


    How should they get out of this one?


    His mind churned.


    Suddenly, he looked over toward Hope and raised an eyebrow. Her shock from earlier seemed to have faded somewhat and her breathing was even.


    She seemed much less nervous now than she did before.


    "You have a solution?" Ryu asked.


    He had learned his lesson, so he might as well ask this little wife of his.


    "There is a long-distance teleportation method in [Domain]. You just stopped bothering to ask about it because you want to walk your own little path!"


    Ryu chuckled. "Little path?"


    "You''re too stubborn!" Hope huffed. "You would be the only Dao God in existence to never rely on


    someone else''s technique. It''s not normal.''


    Ryu smiled, and Hope rolled her eyes. It was the same as always. Whenever he was smiling like that, he might as well have stopped listening and was just letting her ramble.


    "We can do it. It''s a bit involved, which is why I didn''t mention it before. But..."

 Chapter 1976 Fluctuation

    ?Chapter 1976 Fluctuation


    Ryu only really knew one way to teleport long distance, and that was formations.


    No matter how high his Spatial affinity, there would be a diminishing return on time and energy the longer distance you wanted to teleport.


    It was far easier to shrink the ground than it was to pierce through space. But when you shrunk the ground, you were forcefully bringing together two folded pieces of reality. The further apart those pieces, the more energy it took, and even if you had infinite energy, it would still take time.


    Piercing through space was actually something that happened more on a quantum level than not. But the complexities were irrelevant to Ryu right now, because the main point was that even they would have diminishing returns.


    After all, if you were piercing through space, even if it was faster than folding space, you would still run into the problem of energy and time eventually. It was a problem you would have to face no matter what.


    That was where formations came in.


    It was possible to use a formation to make shrinking the ground or piercing space casier, but those were lesser spatial formations.


    The strongest spatial formations formed two gates, one on each side, before connecting them. That way, the issue of time was handled in advance. Then, it was only a matter of energy.


    But because the connection was already formed, even the energy needed was much less substantial. However... doing this was difficult for obvious reasons. If he could draw a spatial formation for where he wanted to go, he would already be there, so why would he need the formation?


    There''s an argument to be made that maybe he should have tried to set up such a formation ahead of time as an escape route, but there were too many variables involved with such a thing...


    The largest problem was that it would be a huge investment of resources, and it would also give the Fiends an easy path to enter the Real Plane. That wouldn''t be worth it in the long run.


    But now Hope was saying she actually had another method. And the more he listened, the brighter his eyes became.


    ''Fate can actually be used like this...?"


    The explanation was simple: using Fate manipulation to strengthen the connection between two points in space.


    The more complicated explanation was, of course, much longer.


    With Ryu''s [Third Perspective], he should be able to project himself far enough away for them to get an understanding. Then with his control of Fate, Hope could focus on the stars, and he could establish the connection they needed.


    Together, they would be able to execute the technique.


    Ryu basked in the feeling for a moment, trying to find the perfect location.


    It should be easy. Ilis sensitivity to Fate was high enough that he was able to feel the places that he had been before.


    To anyone else, even to many Dao Gods, the Fate would be too faint by now. But between him and Hope, the more they focused, the clearer that image became.


    Suddenly, the technique solidified.


    The stars around them flashed.


    But at that last moment, Ryu''s gaze flickered as though he had just realized something.


    Unfortunately, it was too late....


    The Human Emperor stood, gasping for breath. His breathing was labored and blood covered his body.


    He chuckled beneath his breath, looking up with a dauntless expression.


    He had been going all out to find Ryu, but he didn''t expect that he would be ambushed like this. Though... maybe he should have.


    He had been such a pitiful ant in the eyes of these people that he had been completely ignored for years. He had hoped that he could fly under the radar once again, but it seemed like he wouldn''t get such a chance.


    They had actually sent two Higher Gods and a Middle God after him. It seemed that he would finally be laid to rest today.


    That was when there was a sudden strong spatial fluctuation that caught all three of them off guard.

 Chapter 1977 Mistake

    ?Chapter 1977 Mistake


    Ryu and Hope appeared. And both couldn''t help but sigh. It seemed that something had ended up going wrong anyway.


    No. It was the right direction. The main problem was that the Human Emperor''s Dao had bent their landing location.


    It only took a glance for Ryu to understand.


    The Human Emperor must have a strong control over the Human Race, and most importantly, the


    Fate of the Human Race.


    If he knew the Title of the man, he would be even more certain of his conclusion.


    The Human Emperor had been making use of his Dao, doing his best to try and find Ryu using it as an extension. That ended up twisting the Fate around Ryu and caused him to appear here.


    Obviously, the Human Emperor hadn''t been trying to get him to teleport here, especially not when he was on his last legs and about to die. He had just wanted to increase his luck a bit in an attempt to find Ryu.


    When he realized that he wasn''t going to make it, he changed his tactics, trying to pour some of that Juck toward Ryu in hopes it would give him a better chance of escaping.


    Unfortunately, that luck ended up getting twisted as Ryu and Hope tried to manipulate that same


    Fate.


    In the end, their destination became muddied and they ended up in the same dead end as the Human Emperor, facing off against a Higher God and Middle God.


    ''Seems my luck isn''t all that great...''


    The two Fiend Gods were taken aback. They had sealed off the region and didn''t understand how anyone could make it in.


    When they saw that it was likely to be Ryu, their target, they were even more stunned.


    Was their luck so good?


    Ryu sighed. ''I''m sorry, Hope. I made a misstep!"


    Hope wasn''t a combatant to begin with. Although he didn''t know her exact combat strength, he wouldn''t let her face off against a Middle God, let alone a Higher God.


    Their best bet was the Human Emperor. But not only was he weaker by comparison to the Coldfang Warden, he was now heavily injured as well.


    ''But, his strength comes from the Human Race... He''ll be stronger now that he has to protect me, but it still isn''t enough...''


    The Human Emperor was starting to feel anxious. What was wrong with this child, why wasn''t he answering? Even if the thinking speed of a Transcended should be much slower than his, it wasn''t this exaggerated.


    ''No, old man. I''m completely spent right now, I can''t do it again. Especially since this region is cut off! Ryu had a feeling that part of the reason he was so spent was because he had to break through this barrier before. He had thought that it was just the natural difficulty of the process, only to realize the problem too late.


    Now, his stamina was practically at rock bottom and he simply didn''t have much more to give.


    "There''s only one way...!


    Ryu''s gaze sharpened as he realized what he was going to have to do.


    ''Listen to everything I say. Don''t miss a beat. Don''t be slow!


    ''What about-


    ''Stop. Listen to me. And also, don''t try to get my wife involved.


    Ryu preemptively stopped the line of inquiry. In fact, he took Hope''s hand and protected her at his back, his silver eyes blazing with light.


    He was just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.


    The Human Emperor and the Fiend Gods were taken aback once more. Why was a Transcended protecting a Dao God? No, why was a Transcended even so intimate with a Dao God in the first.


    place?


    Having finally reached the end of their patience, the two Fiend Gods suddenly attacked.


    At that same instant, Ryu''s lips began to move.

 Chapter 1978 Listen

    ?Chapter 1978 Listen


    The Human Emperor felt his heart constrict before Ryu''s words made his eyes widen.


    Not only did a huge stream of information enter his mind, there were three streams. Not only that, but there was something that hit his back. It felt like a droplet of water, though thicker and more viscous. And suddenly he felt like a great deal of energy had flooded into his body.


    He couldn''t fathom what was happening.


    One stream of information told him exactly how to move his body. The second told him exactly how to circulate his qi. The third told him the weakness of the attack he was facing.


    His horsetail whisk lashed out and he felt that it was a bit awkward. He would definitely never use it like this. He had moved subconsciously, trusting a child for reasons even he didn''t understand. But the moment he did, he regretted it.


    Ryu had never used a horsetail whisk before. He knew nothing about it. It was only natural that he


    had no idea how to make effective use of one.


    The Fiend Gods seemed to realize the problem immediately as well. The Human Emperor had never been this unskilled. Was he just too heavily injured?


    Regardless, they planned on capitalizing. It only took less than an instant for Dao Gods to analyze everything before them and realize the issue.


    But the result...


    The whisks lengthened, shooting through gaps in their defense that even they didn''t notice.


    The Coldfang Warden reacted first but was still lagging a bit. However, just as he was bracing for a hit, the whisk suddenly gained a flare of energy.


    The hairs pulsed and suddenly changed directions, slapping down at Glaciel Ring''s side just as he was about to take advantage.


    Glaciel Ring''s style in battle was very defensive. Even if he helped outnumber the Human Emperor, he was still a Middle God. The only reason he could participate in this battle at all was because of the Coldfang Warden, and the fact his Dao was focused on control and defense.


    The Human Emperor felt like he had lost his eyes when Ryu''s support collapsed. However, he reacted quickly, pulling back his whisk and attacking the Coldfang Warden who had already been heavily injured by this point.


    Ryu gasped for breath, feeling his vision blurring. The sounds of battle echoed in his ears, but he was inwardly cursing.


    He had wanted to hold out until they both died. Now that he was losing his consciousness, there was no guarantee that the Human Emperor would be able to finish off the battle even with how injured the Coldfang Warden was.


    This would also end up putting Hope in danger.


    All this time, Hope had been protecting him from the shockwaves of the battle and the backlash she had suffered as a result was enough to piss him off. Unfortunately, he didn''t have the strength to do much more than what he had already done.


    It was then the situation changed once more. Ryu barely had the time to see a woman bathed in starlight descending from above, shattering apart the barriers that Coldfang Warden and Glaciel Ring had put up, before he collapsed.


    Star River.


    The Human Emperor, Star River, and Hope stood over the corpses of Dao Gods, gasping for breath. They were all at a huge disadvantage battling it out on the Chaos Plane, and it wasn''t easy to kill a Dao God even under easy circumstances... which was both why it was so shocking what Ryu had managed to do against Glaciel Ring... and also why Coldfang Warden had managed to escape. Hope carried Ryu, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.


    "We need to go."


    The two nodded and they all shot off into the distance.


    The fact that Coldfang Warden had managed to escape was a huge problem. It likely wouldn''t be very long before they were pursued. News was likely already being sent.


    The good news was that they were much closer to the rainbow wall than before, both because the Human Emperor had been closer to begin with, and because the integrity of the wall was collapsing thanks to Ryu.


    The bad news was that close was only relative...


    Star River couldn''t help but grumble inwardly. This boy was going to get her killed.

 Chapter 1979 Again

    ?Chapter 1979 Again


    Ryu felt odd.


    This was the first time he had been truly unconscious since he began using his Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody Soul as clones of his thoughts. But that ironically made being unconscious odd.


    His real ego took a back seat, and his Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody Soul seemed to take over. There was a shift in the way he thought about things as a result.


    A push and pull, a tug of war of sorts, was erupting between the two powerful aspects of his body, and it felt like they were fighting for supremacy over his body.


    By comparison, his ego was lost in a weird dream-like state where he could observe, but he couldn''t do much at all.


    It was a feeling that should have left him feeling a bit helpless, but honestly, he didn''t really feel that way at all.


    He saw his Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody as extensions of himself. Even if his Ego one day died by mysterious means, they would still be him regardless.


    However, it also made him realize just how odd the situation he was in was.


    No one''s Dao Heart or talent Soul should be like this. They were almost too independent.


    Now that he knew it was likely a future version of himself that had allowed this to happen, he couldn''t help but wonder why that was.


    Ryu had already successfully created [One Above All], but that was ultimately just a cloning technique with extra steps. In some ways, it lived up to its name. But was that really all a technique with such a grandiose name should have?


    Ryu suddenly saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and his eyes snapped open.


    The first thing he saw was the dreary sky of the Chaos Plane above him. Then he saw Hope''s blood-drained and soaked face.


    Ile frowned. Not liking the sight at all. When had Hope gotten so injured?


    His mind raced back to action and soon he had pieced together many things. When he understood his situation, he realized that after he fell unconscious, the battle against the Coldfang Warden must have gotten several times more difficult.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have the time to mind the phenomenon. He knew that emotions weren''t so intangible. For example, his Rage Flame literally fed off of a type of negative emotion. They could be used, manipulated, and changed. Even the Seven Corporeal Souls were built on types of emotions as well.


    His [One Above All] should have undergone a mutation while he was unconscious, or more accurately, it seemed to have completed its foundation in ways that he had to be unconscious to accomplish.


    He didn''t quite understand it yet despite the fact he was the one to have created it. But... He realized that after his Dao Heart swallowed his negative emotions, his mind became clearer.


    His sleep had already made him feel a great deal refreshed and his mental stamina had already returned to around 60% or so. But now, it was back to over 80%.


    It was like he had never failed the teleportation at all. If he and Hope had some time now, they could even do it again.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he began to calculate something.


    Ilope realized that Ryu was awake, but she was so focused on running and protecting him from the speed of a Dao God that she didn''t have the mind to say anything.


    She also realized that. Ryu didn''t say anything either, and that could only mean one thing...


    He was thinking of a solution.


    For some reason, she relaxed when she saw this. Maybe it was a bit unseemly of her as a Dao God to place things in the hands of a Transcended. But...


    Ryu had a way of leaving her feeling comforted.


    "Let''s do it again, Hope.''


    Hope''s expression changed. He couldn''t want to leave Star River and the Human Emperor behind, could he?


    She knew that Ryu was stone-hearted enough to do it. But she was not.


    But at the same time, she didn''t want to place her husband''s life at risk for their sake either.

 Chapter 1980 Both Sides

    ?Chapter 1980 Both Sides


    "No. I can do all of us at the same time. Just be sure to carry me some more. This might be more comfortable than I thought."


    Hope had to refrain from rolling her eyes, but she also sighed a breath of relief.


    That was right. Ryu might be stone-hearted at times, but he was also a person who repaid his debts.


    IIe bowed to those who showed him respect, guided those that helped him, and if his pride was the matter on the line, he wouldn''t mind going particularly far.


    The benefits the Rebirthing Cultus Sect had gained in the last quarter-century were too mind-numbing to describe. And it could be said that other than the value of Ryu himself, this was another reason why Star River had appeared.


    Because of Ryu''s breakthrough and his enlightenment on the Dao, there were countless geniuses of the Sect that had benefited greatly.


    Someone who didn''t know Ryu might think that this was just a coincidence. But this was another aspect of Ryu proving a point.


    Not only could he take the resources of the Sect he wanted just by becoming their Throne, he could even give them far more benefits than he took in return.


    He was the head of the Tatsuya household and he wouldn''t allow anyone who wasn''t his very own father to try to usurp that position.


    And now, he would do it again.


    Starlight suddenly began to descend from the skies and Ryu''s gaze flashed as he began to calculate. Synapses fired in his mind faster and faster and he found that his mental capacity had broken into a completely new tier.


    He was really fascinated by what was happening, but he forcefully suppressed his curiosity.


    "Time"


    Hope''s heart skipped a beat. It had taken Ryu several minutes before, and that was just the two of them in small quarters. This calculation was orders of magnitude more difficult.


    Could he just be trying to buy them some time by teleporting just anyway?


    However, when they saw the state of Ryu in her arms, they realized that it must have been him again...


    Ryu looked as though he had been practically mummified. They were certain that his state had been somewhat stabilizing before. For it to get so much worse could only mean that he had taken action. They really couldn''t understand it. Just how could a Transcended be able to affect the battle of Gods so profoundly?


    However, what shocked them even more was that Ryu seemed to react even faster this time. His mummified body pulsed with life and energy as it slowly regained its vitality.


    Primordial Chaos Qi thrummed through his body. Black lightning, raging dark flames, blackened green winds...


    It didn''t matter what type it was, his body greedily swallowed it all and quickly replenished itself. His eyes flashed open and there was a sharpness to them already that surpassed what should have been possible for a man drained of his energy.


    Of course, Ryu wasn''t already back to 100%, he had never been back to 100% in the first place. But he was back to 20% after falling to nearly zero.


    He didn''t know just yet why his Dao Heart could feed off of his negative emotions. But... he had plenty to give it, that was for sure.


    ''I think I can find a way to help master now!


    Of course, the master Ryu was referring to was his first master and the man with a special place in


    his heart.


    The Zu Clan Ancestors had ended up in the same state as Ailsa, caught in a trap of time. Although their souls were able to survive quite a long time, there would be a limit even to this, and they had


    nearly reached it.


    All of them were dormant...


    He was hoping that he would be able to change all of that. And-


    Ryu''s thoughts were cut off as he looked up into the skies. He subtly flicked a droplet of Embryonic Qi to Star River and the Human Emperor as he stood from Hope''s arms.


    Unfortunately, they had enemies on both sides of the wall.

 Chapter 1981 Human

    ?Chapter 1981 Human


    Unsurprisingly, if the news could get to Star River, there were others that were aware of the commotion that Ryu had kicked up. So, it was even less surprising that they would be here. The moment the group crossed the rainbow wall, they had been sensed by several existences. The good news was that these existences were extremely spread out. After all, their first role was to defend the border. This had been a pre-emptive measure taken just in case the Fiends truly went crazy.


    The bad news was that they were undoubtedly hostile.


    Just to make it through the wall the first time, Star River had certainly broken a great deal of rules. On top of that, the Human Emperor was on a mission and shouldn''t be allowed to return right now. Then there was Hope, who was an unregistered, unknown Dao God.


    And finally, there was the greatest sinner of them all, Ryu, who they would have surely preferred to have died on the other side.


    It could be said, then, that all four of them were rebels, traitors, or whatever word you would like to use to describe criminals that should be hunted down to the last man.


    It was as though at that moment a man riding on the back of a lion with a flaming mane crashed to the ground. Mountains collapsed and overturned.


    A Middle God.


    There was clearly very little respect. With a Higher God like the Human Emperor present, a Middle God should be obedient to the point of tucking their tail.


    Then there was the fact that Star River was also a Higher God. But she was in disguise currently, not wanting to implicate the Rebirthing Cultus Sect in all likelihood.


    Unfortunately, this flaming Fey didn''t care in the slightest.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "Kill him."


    The Human Emperor''s eyes widened as his head snapped toward Ryu.


    "Do you want to waste time here? I promise you that they will take this opportunity to knock you down several pegs. Whatever pathetic holdings the humans have left in this world will be crushed."


    "But-"


    Ryu continued to speak as though he couldn''t sense the Human Emperor''s anxiety.


    "I also can''t believe my Human Race has fallen to such a level. You know, I''ve never been to a world where Humans aren''t King. You''re really dropping the ball here!"


    The Human Emperor''s gaze flickered.


    The Human Emperor''s body shook and a bottleneck he shouldn''t have even been close to suddenly loosened. Then, all at once, his aura underwent a shocking breakthrough.


    It was so powerful that Star River was sent stumbling several steps back. But her shock was so great that she didn''t seem to notice at all.


    The commotion was fierce. So fierce that there wasn''t a single Dao God of the Real Plane that didn''t sense it. And, every Peak Dao of the Chaos Plane did.


    The only ones who might have been left in the dark were those stuck in Ioly Worlds, holding down the fort. And yet, the most powerful of them also sensed it.


    A Peak Dao God had been born.


    All of the Dao Gods tried to think of who it might be. But the only one with enough experience and who was close enough was the Human Emperor...


    And that was simply unacceptable to them. There was no way they could accept such a thing.


    It took many hours before the Human Emperor''s aura settled down, his eyes flickering with one part confusion and another part gratitude.


    "There''s no need to be confused. Your Dao is about protection, but offense is a sort of defense as well."


    Enlightenment washed over the Human Emperor when he heard these words, and having only just broken free of one breakthrough, he seemed to be having another.


    However, this time, he couldn''t help but look toward this young man with awe.


    Even Dao Gods wouldn''t dare to casually comment on the Dao of their juniors, regardless of how low-level the Dao was. If they were going to, they would have to be incredibly subtle. Yet, Ryu did it as though he was just waving a hand. He even mentioned the word Dao on purpose.


    Just what kind of monster was he?


    Under the shocked gaze of Star River, the Human Emperor''s Dao actually progressed from the


    Middle Founding Grade to the Higher Founding Grade.


    That was actually a level beyond hers. And now that he was a Peak Dao God...


    She didn''t even have the right to question him any longer.


    And yet, this still felt like the beginning.

 Chapter 1982 Oh...

    Chapter 1982 ''Oh...''


    Ryu seemed entirely uninterested in the Human Emperor''s breakthrough. He never got excited about the strength of others. The only strength he cared about was his own.


    That said, he had helped the Human Emperor out for two reasons. One was because he had falsely accused the man before. He had thought him to be a coward, but the situation was much more complicated than he knew.


    He tended to do that a lot. He didn''t give people much leeway for their mistakes. His only exception was his wives, but even that seemed to have its own tipping point... one he hoped he would never come across again.


    That aside, the man had proven that not only would he help him if given the opportunity, but had even gone a step further and actually done it.


    Although it was his fault that they were in so much danger to begin with, he also put his life on the line for Ryu''s sake. And Ryu could respect that. He would always respect that.


    As for the second reason, it was because having a Peak Dao God by his side would make many things easier. It would also shift the balance of power.


    The gap between Dao God tiers was such that the Human Emperor might as well have entered an entirely new Realm.


    Also...


    Ryu didn''t believe that the Human Emperor even understood just what kind of potential his Dao held.


    Of course, there would definitely be a large number of Human experts who wanted him dead. After all, a title like Human Emperor was absolutely shocking. It was a huge deal that he had even managed to survive the Dao God Tribulation with such a title.


    But Ryu didn''t care about any of this. Like he had said, the only power he cared about was his own. After he left this world, he would likely never think of the Human Emperor again.


    When he sat on that mountaintop...


    The race he started as would hardly matter.


    Ryu bent down and pressed a palm against the mutilated corpse of the Middle Dao God. He wanted to test something.


    ''Hm...''


    Long ago, he had realized that the best way to upgrade his Realm Heart was to absorb Godhoods. He had killed quite a number of Sky Gods by now and he just did it subconsciously at this point. But. he never really felt much of a change.


    But now, he was starting to feel like there was something off.


    Ryu began to communicate with his Dao Heart. He realized that there was a deeper connection between him and his souls now, a mutation triggered by him becoming unconscious.


    He wasn''t sure if that would make much of a difference now. After all, he had always had a strong connection with this Spiritual Foundation... it was his Spiritual Foundation.


    As expected, nothing much happened. His Dao Heart just told him the same thing he had sensed himself.


    Nothing was wrong.


    ... No... something is off...


    Ryu frowned, his mind churning. He wasn''t used to not figuring things out immediately.


    Various ideas came to mind, but he dismissed them one by one, not one of them seeming like the truth.


    Then there was the most boring conclusion of them all... that nothing was wrong and that he would just have to be patient.


    His Spiritual Foundation and Dao Heart had set up shock in his Realm Heart. It was under his complete control and its former soul had basically become one with him.


    If there really was a problem, he would have sensed it long ago.


    It was less so that there was a problem, and more so that...


    ''Oh...''


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he realized something.


    "This might be a problem, but it could also not be... it could be a boon, but it could also not be... no


    wonder I couldn''t sense it...''

 Chapter 1983 Or..

    ?Chapter 1983 Or..


    Ryu''s Realm Heart had long since left the path of normalcy long along.


    Well, it was hard to say that there was a "normal" path for Realm Hearts in the first place. Technically speaking, they all followed their own unique paths, each one having different Laws to establish


    themselves upon.


    As they matured, they would naturally begin to deviate along their unique paths, and thus begin to shift and change along with those laws.


    That said, they all had a natural sort of progression, although said progression was incredibly slow. And that was part of the oddity here.


    Usually, those lucky enough to stumble onto Realm Hearts would all die long before said Realm Heart could even begin to blossom into maturity. And that was even if said person managed to become a Dao God.


    The length of life of worlds was so far beyond that of living beings that they couldn''t be compared at all.


    And therein lay the problem.


    Due to the influence of his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, Ryu''s Realm IIeart had experienced accelerated growth and was actually on the verge of becoming a real world.


    The reason he hadn''t noticed was because the process was completely different from what it should be. For example, his Realm Heart wasn''t expanding like it should, nor were its laws maturing in the normal sense. Or more accurately, the laws were being obscured, twisted, and changed by, once again, the influence of his Spiritual Foundation.


    This sounded like a good thing. After all, how could he turn down a world that was in his control? But there were several problems with this.


    The most obvious of which was that this world might not be in his possession at all. A Realm Heart was valuable because they were immature and could be easily controlled. A True World wasn''t so simple at all.


    Even if Ryu had influenced it all throughout its youth, if it actually matured, it would have a Heaven of its own and it would begin to be more in line with the rules of Order. As such, it would begin to restrict Ryu just as much as it helped him.


    Depending on the situation, this could be a great help or it could be a great detriment. And given all the variables in his body, Ryu was actually more inclined to believe that it would be more detrimental than not.


    His Realm Heart had to be the vessel for his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. If it wasn''t there, then he would lose one of his greatest reliances.


    By the same token, his Inner World was currently inextricably linked to his soul and his eyes. He had many plans for it in the future, and it was also the foundation of one of his strongest techniques. He couldn''t give it up either.


    Fusing them together into one simply wasn''t an option. They were located in and performed completely different aspects of his cultivation.


    There was something else as well.


    If his Realm Heart succeeded... or rather, when it succeeded, judging by the pace it was moving at now, it would be far beyond his Inner World. As such, the winner between their struggle would be clear and obvious.


    There was an obvious problem to this.


    Even if he managed to avoid all the pitfalls of his Realm Heart''s evolution, in the end, it would be his Dao Heart ruling it.


    But by comparison, his Inner World, headed by his Perfect Blackbody Soul, would be far behind. This would cause an imbalance to his souls and his Dao Heart could end up trying to take over again. That would throw a wrench in his [One Above All] technique and end up screwed over.


    Suddenly, he understood at least in part how his Dao Heart had begun to absorb his negative emotions. That just might be an evolution related to his Realm Heart, one that had been allowed to happen after he was unconscious.


    That couldn''t be a coincidence. His Dao Heart chose to act while he was out of it. It couldn''t be any more obvious than that.


    It seemed like his own body was trying to kill him again.


    However, rather than being perturbed, Ryu chuckled. It was quite a frightening chuckle, too...


    Because it was hard to tell if he was so confident because he truly had a solution...


    Or if he was only so confident because his Dao Heart sucked away his worry.

 Chapter 1984 Clear Path

    ?Chapter 1984 Clear Path


    Ryu was smart enough to catch this. Ilis Dao Heart was, of course, a part of himself. It was impossible for these thoughts to escape him.


    IIe had to admit that he was clever.


    His negative emotions were probably something that were holding him back the most. If his Dao Ileart could suck them away for him, he would feel grateful and even let his guard down.


    In the end, his Dao Heart would be able to continue its plans in silence. By the time he noticed what was happening, it would already be too late and there would be no chance for him to reverse the situation.


    He had to admit that he was quite the genius.


    However...No?v(el)B\\jnn


    His Dao Heart, or his Perfect Blackbody, could never out-think him. As clever as they were, he was even sharper, and the steps he could see to were on another level.


    Whether it was his Dao Heart or his Perfect Blackbody, they were both rigid in their thoughts and set in their personality.


    Ilis Dao Heart was obsessed with improvement, and his Perfect Blackbody was obsessed with laying the perfect foundation. This was both their greatest strengths and their greatest weaknesses.


    Ilis Dao Heart was willing to risk losing everything to his Realm Heart for the chance to gain a huge leap in strength in a single instant. And because of that, it was predictable.


    And by the same token... his Dao Heart might be a piece of his soul, but it was missing the one thing that made his intelligence so shocking in the first place!


    His brain.


    Just like those Dream Wraith ancestors had said, it was the mutation to his brain and its folds that truly made his intelligence so shocking.


    And unfortunately for his Dao Heart, it didn''t have the support of it.


    ''You might be my Dao Heart, lighting the beacon of my cultivation path... but before me, even you must bow... because I am the Ego!


    Ryu felt his Dao Heart quake. And contradictorily, it actually shone more brightly, polishing itself and becoming several fold firmer.


    The Sky Gods to his back sensed this and their eyes couldn''t help but narrow. Yet, neither one of them dared to interrupt Ryu in the slightest, feeling that he was on the verge of something shocking. Ryu never feared his "clones" even after they separated. That was because he knew that they were more like siblings in rivalry than enemies.


    "Let''s go see your sister wives. After this, we''re going to return to the Human Empire. We have some changes to make before this boils over"


    Hope''s gaze flickered, not understanding,


    What Hope didn''t know was that she was experiencing something Ailsa had in the past.


    Back when Ryu first awakened his Dao, he seemed to make a breakthrough every time he breathed.


    It was exaggerated to the point he could be in a meaningless battle and still progress it.


    It was something that had left even Ailsa speechless. She didn''t know how to deal with the situation


    at all.


    It had been a long time since Ryu had such rapid-fire breakthroughs, but right now, his mental state seemed to be undergoing such evolutions in real time.


    He seemed several times calmer than he did even moments ago.


    And how couldn''t he? All of the negative clouds that had hung above his head had been swallowed up by his Dao Heart and devoured.


    It seemed like cheating. Even Ryu felt so in part.


    It felt like this was something that he should have worked through on a personal level... however,


    wasn''t this exactly what he had been refining his Dao Heart for all this time?


    Every step he took along his cultivation journey was like another building block to this stage.


    However, Ryu knew that this wasn''t the perfect, endless solution.


    Even so, he also knew that it was the light at the end of the tunnel.


    So long as he could make this final breakthrough in mental state.... There would be a clear path to Dao Godhood.

 Chapter 1985 A Human

    Chapter 1985 A Human


    Ryu sat on Little Silk''s back with his eyes half-closed. Hope''s body shrank into his lap and he breathed in her delicate scent.


    Until now, he had been meticulously taking care of her injuries, though she insisted she was fine.


    Truthfully speaking, she was closer to alright than not. She had a great ability to protect herself, and her healing factor wasn''t bad. Plus, even if it wasn''t, she was the Favor Alchemy God. She could just concoct a pill if she couldn''t naturally heal something. But Ryu would be upset even if a hair on her head was harmed, let alone the fact she was actually bleeding.


    Luckily, he had Embryonic Qi and was able to help her even if she was a Dao God.


    And then, in a rare moment of peace, he was able to hold her in his arms in silence.


    There was something about a woman''s body, though so small and seemingly fragile, that made him feel a great deal of comfort. Though, he didn''t find the dichotomy of it all amusing. Hope''s body felt as though he could break it by accident, and yet it was very much the opposite. In all likelihood, if she wasn''t careful, he was the one that would be in pain.


    The Human Emperor followed after the two of them from the distance, giving them their space. As time passed, he got more used to the scene. If he, as a Peak Dao God, had still chosen to follow this young man, then was the fact a Lower Dao God fell in love with him really so shocking? If anything, the former was more shocking.


    It was just that the Human Emperor wasn''t used to seeing himself as a powerhouse. He spent so much of his life lowering himself for the sake of survival.


    But now...


    He had chosen another path.


    Humans would certainly die as a result. But if things worked out the way he hoped in the end, then there would be light at the end of the tunnel.


    At this moment, there was no battle ongoing, so the encampment was filled with just the usual hustle and bustle. As a result, the appearance of such a powerful beast definitely warranted some attention, and it only became worse when Hope and the Human Emperor were sensed.


    Ryu didn''t seem to care, though, as he descended from the skies.


    At the moment, his clothing was still in tatters and covered in blood. And yet, there was a certain sharpness and aura to him that couldn''t be ignored in the slightest.


    He walked forward calmly.


    By the time he touched the ground, the main tents of the encampment had already opened up and several Dao Sovereigns had appeared, frowning.


    A human?


    It wasn''t like they had never seen a human before, but one coming with such fanfare and arrogance was simply something they didn''t have a box of memories for. It was so shocking they didn''t even know what to say or do.


    At that moment, however, two women with beauty beyond words appeared.


    One had a head of snow-white hair and blue eyes that looked like an exploding nebula had been set off within them.


    The other had a head of jet-black cascading hair and eyes of delicate crimson that suddenly carried a rare gentleness to them.


    The two women felt Ryu''s presence almost immediately, but they weren''t sure what to do. Before, Ryu had hidden his relation to them for their safety. Should they run to his side? Or should they stay put?


    The answer was quickly given to them as Ryu smiled and opened his arms.

 Chapter 1986 Dorin

    Chapter 1986 Dorin


    Selheira and Mae didn''t hesitate, flashing forward and leaping into Ryu''s arms with happy smiles.


    Ryu wrapped an arm around each of their waists, lifting them up with a blooming happiness in his heart.


    Mae was truly as light as a feather, but Selheira might as well have been a mountain. She was so heavy that it wouldn''t have been a surprise even if he blew out his back.


    Selheira was even a bit regretful of her actions, feeling that she had been a bit too impulsive... only to be shocked that her husband picked her up and spun her around as though she weighed no more than Mae did.


    Her eyes lit up and a fire of lust flared in her eyes before she quickly suppressed it. As much as her bestial side wanted Ryu to ravage her right here and now, she knew that she had to have at least some propriety.


    The encampment of Fey and beasts was completely shocked.


    These two fairies had become commonly spoken about amongst them for a long while, and there were no small number that had tried to approach them.


    However, all of that had stopped after a certain person made their intentions known.


    The reality was that it was supremely rare to find such good stock amongst the common people. Usually, beauties that were both so talented and gorgeous were all from the most elite of families, or were swept up from their youth to become part of such families, usually through marriage alliances.


    The fact that Mae and Selheira had made it so far, seemingly without being used as a bargaining chip in this way, made them a hot "commodity" amongst the dreamers of their encampment.


    It could even be said that the various men that were drooling and/or seething right now just didn''t know how many of their own had already suffered for having such thoughts.


    Most of those that were left had some sort of propriety. Those that were foolish enough to take action on the thoughts of their lust had already died through...


    Mysterious means.


    Ryu eventually put his wives down, but he held them close.


    He truly felt at peace at the moment, so much so that he almost forgot that his actions were about to bring a war the likes of which the Real Plane hadn''t seen in generations down on all their heads.


    "Alright, are you guys ready to go?"


    As arrogant as he was, he was certainly powerful as well. This battlefront had seen unprecedented victories... at least at first.


    Unfortunately, after the fact, the Fiends reacted by sending their own geniuses while also calling the Real Plane shamelessly for trying to take advantage of it.


    Since then, the situation on this battlefield had completely flipped and they suffered more casualties in the last year than they had the last hundred.


    Although things looked peaceful now, it was only because the commotion that Ryu had caused on the other side had not only caused the Rainbow Wall to retreat, but it had occupied the Fiends. So they were taking a rare respite.


    Even though they felt that Dorin was to blame for all of this, which of them dared to say anything about it?


    Although many of them were jealous, they somewhat hoped that Ryu might teach this scumbag a lesson. They had lost too many friends because of his attempt to woo women that apparently weren''t his to begin with.


    BANG!


    Dorin landed on the ground with a heavy thud, his eyes blazing.


    "Unhand them! NOW!"


    The thunderous might of his Lord Aura blazed. Both Mae and Selheira''s bodies shrank, their cultivation not nearly strong enough to go up against a Lord. The gap was simply far too large.


    Both had reached the Omniscient Realm, but they were still pressing for a chance to take that final step.


    Just this alone was enough to infuriate Ryu, but he was in a decent mood and the fact his wives didn''t think twice to lean on him for support despite sensing his cultivation being weaker than their own settled him down.


    This was enough to put him at ease. However...


    When Dorin saw their subconscious action to lean on Ryu, his white hair nearly stood up and a frosty aura came out from him in waves as a moon reflected in his pupils.


    "You two slu¡ª."


    "Die."


    A flash of gold seemed to envelop the word, a murderous word laced with venom and fury making their hearts sink to the bottom of an abyss.


    By the time their vision cleared, Dorin''s head was spiraling through the air without so much as a single spurt of blood.

 Chapter 1987 Difference

    ?Chapter 1987 Difference


    Ryu watched the head spin through the air indifferently. He thought that his temper was better these days, but apparently not. Basically, the moment he felt the intention of what Dorian wanted to say, a flip inside of him switched, and whatever attempts his Dao Heart made at swallowing his negative emotions failed on its face.


    This was the problem with just suppressing everything. There was a reason he had been warned many times in his life that a Dao Heart that was too stubborn could often be brittle instead of strong.


    However, Ryu didn''t believe it was a problem in this case, nor was it. If he hadn''t already figured out. what his Dao Heart was up to, it might have been a red flag. But other than that, he was in an unprecedented state of calm...


    Well, other than the fact his internal organs were lacerated again.


    This time, he had used the False Light Shrine, and the result was to be expected. But he had overestimated this "Lord'' a bit too much.


    However, no one could see his injuries. All they could see was the almost careless disregard for life Ryu had... that and a sheer contempt for the background of those he targeted.


    "Let''s go," Ryu said indifferently.


    There were several Sovereigns in this encampment that wanted to say something. They couldn''t just let things stand like this. Even if it wasn''t their fault, there was no doubt that they might get caught. in the crossfire when things were done.


    Dorian had been a core member of the Moon Clan. He wasn''t someone that could just die without repercussions.


    Of course, if they knew that they had just come from killing a Dao God of the Sun Clan, they wouldn''t even bother hesitating. This matter was clearly above their paygrade.


    Unfortunately for them, just as it seemed like they were going to make a move, the aura of a Dao God descended from above, and they all froze in place.


    The worst of them pissed themselves directly, and even those that were slightly better off collapsed to the ground.


    Ryu didn''t look back at them, stepping into the air with his wives in his arms and landing on Little Silk''s back.


    The wings of the beautiful butterfly beast flared out as a strong downward pressure almost shattered the encampment below.


    However, this soon vanished as Little Silk adjusted Selheira''s weight. Then, in a twinkle, they vanished over the horizon.


    Those that remained in the encampment looked at the corpse of Dorian.


    BANG!


    Before they could do anything, it seemed to explode in a rain of gold. The body was completely desiccated. In one moment, it had been the remains of a genius. In the next, it might as well have been the remains of any other dying soldier on the battlefield.


    They all trembled, realizing that this had easily made an already bad situation ten times worse. But who was that young man who was being followed by a Dao God? They couldn''t remember anyone with the cachet worthy of such a thing... not even Young Master Moon.


    At that moment, Empana silently left the encampment. His speed accelerated after leaving the region.


    right now.


    But that was now, and then was then. The fact she had acted like that so soon after they met made it curious.


    She wasn''t reserved; she was disciplined. She kept her cards close at hand and laid them out when it


    was necessary.


    Her relationship with Selheira was very good, showing that they hadn''t just perfunctorily gotten to know each other, but had instead taken extra steps beyond that.


    For Selheira, it wasn''t surprising. The Selheira that Ryu first met was incredibly gentle and kind, in addition to sociable. He remembered her treating him to food, only for practically everyone they met to greet her as though they were worshipping her like a goddess. The only difference between then and now was that she had a bit more forcefulness between her brows as though she could flip a switch in an instant.


    Her arrogance before was almost passive-aggressive. But now it was more aggressive than passive.


    This was all to say that if there was going to be any hold-up in the relationship between the two, Selheira wouldn''t be the problem. She knew how to ingratiate herself with people and earn their


    favor.


    Any other man whom Selheira had pursued like she had Ryu would have been wrapped around her finger. It was only because Ryu was a particular brand of stubborn that she had ended up being forced to suffer a loss.


    Though, ironically, it was because of that that she loved him even more implicitly.


    All of this made Ryu realize that. Mae was quite socially adept as well. She preferred not to have to interact with people, but she was more than capable when it came down to it.


    Her temperament was far more refined and graceful now. She wasn''t quite the same level of gentle that Selheira was. Instead, she was more like...


    ''Eska...''


    Ryu''s eyes glowed.


    What an unexpected surprise.


    Eska was the type of woman he liked the most, and he didn''t expect. Mae to begin to grow such a


    direction.


    But he should have known. Originally, she followed him so dutifully out of a sense of duty. She felt that that was what she should do as a woman who had lost her Primordial Yin.


    That sort of duty, wasn''t it just like Eska?


    But there was a large difference between them as well...

 Chapter 1988 Ice Empress and Mother of a Nation

    ?Chapter 1988 Ice Empress and Mother of a Nation


    Eska was a woman who was regal and arrogant in an Empress-like sort of way. By comparison, Mae was far more motherly in nature. If one could be considered an Icy Empress, the other was more like the Mother of a Nation.


    It was quite interesting to view this from afar because Ryu didn''t expect to see such a thing from Mac.


    Inwardly, he was actually quite thankful that he made the decision to let her grow on her own. If he hadn''t, who knew if he would have accidentally suppressed this side of her?


    Although this had certainly always been a part of her personality, it had never been so pronounced. Despite the fact both Hope and Selheira were years her elder, she seemed to be the most mature of them all.


    He couldn''t help but chuckle. Selheira was at most a few decades older than Mac, but Hope was tens of thousands of years older. This was definitely a bit embarrassing on her part.


    Hope sensed Ryu''s gaze and looked over with a questioning one of her own. But when she saw his teasing smile, she seemed to have pieced it together on her own and couldn''t help but blush.


    "What are you laughing about?" she pouted.


    "My luck, of course. Look at my three beautiful wives. What else would a man need?"


    Mae blinked in surprise for a moment before blushing shyly. She sensed that something had certainly changed in Ryu since she saw him last. But to her, the difference wasn''t all that important. From the day he took her Primordial Yin, she had accepted that she would be his in all ways.


    That decision had only gotten easier after he moved Heaven and Earth to help her family. What could she possibly have to complain about with such a husband?


    When she noticed that Ryu was looking at her, she subconsciously looked away, trying to regain her bearings.


    Ryu sighed inwardly. It was nice to have women who were so devoted to you. What man wouldn''t like to have his ego stroked in such a way?


    But there was also a problem with the sort of women Ryu liked the most. They might be with him out of a sense of duty, and their actions would never show the slightest hint of disobedience or unruliness in most cases. But... would it truly be love?


    Ryu could tell that Mac had a fondness for him, and she was quite happy to have him as a husband, but it wasn''t the same sort of deep infatuation that Elena, Selheira, and Yaana had, or even the Ailsa of the past. In fact, even though Hope''s reliance on him had already crossed into the realms of infatuation, he felt like it was cheating a bit... after all, what choice did she have when her Fate was tied to his own?


    This was inevitable.


    He had never been a naive man. He didn''t think that claiming a woman''s body meant having her heart. It was just that in the past, he didn''t really care about the distinction.


    But now... he was finding that he did.


    Even so, these weren''t things that he could change with a single swipe of his hand. If he could, then it would be meaningless on its face. Why would he even waste his time then?


    Ryu settled down, and his Dao Heart swallowed up the feelings of dissatisfaction he had. This time, however, he was sure that it was a feeling he would be able to press down on his own.


    This matter was clearly his fault. He wasn''t a good enough husband. Since there was no one to blame but himself, why be angry about it? He would just fix it.


    So, he stopped observing and began to participate in the conversation between his wives. In fact, he even brought Eska and Isemeine out as well.


    Since they were a family, it was about time everyone got to know one another.


    ''We''re here...


    Ryu looked up to the distance as he was about to speak again.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It was the Beast Domain.


    help to speed things up"


    Hope nodded.


    Ryu took a breath and then closed his eyes.


    A breeze flew by, and Lu''card wasn''t sure what he was sensing. However, for some reason, he still felt as though he had been stripped completely naked, his flaws exposed for all to see.


    Hope was the one who felt it the fiercest. Ryu was no longer using normal means to scan the region; he was using Faith directly.


    Because of [Third Perspective], using Fate like this was even easier for Ryu than using Spiritual Sense would be. With his new Soul Natures layered on top of it, it was like the world was whispering into


    his car.


    "Alright," Ryu opened his eyes barely three hours later. "First, we''ll need to extend this river from here to about here"


    Hope felt a probe on her mind, and a string of Fate directed her actions.


    She was surprised once again. She had never seen such an interesting method of Fate control. It was like Ryu was directing her almost like he would a corpse puppet, but since she was living, she could


    obviously easily resist. However... there was no need to.


    Her figure flashed.


    She appeared high above a rushing river and struck down.


    "Flatten this mountain... press into this fissure... suppress the cold energy here..."


    Ryu''s commands came out in a rapid-fire series. In fact, at one point, he even forced Lu''card to start


    using his spatial control to help Hope move around even faster.


    The landscape of the Beast Domain didn''t seem to be changing much, and yet, after three days or so,


    a subtle dividing line began to form...


    On one side, everything was just a little bit brighter as though filled with life and vitality.


    On the other side, there was a hint of a shadow that filtered all the colors you saw, suppressing and muting the vibrancy. Though, not to the point of making it feel like death.


    And then, Lu''card cursed.


    ''Son of a bitch...''


    It wasn''t just because what Ryu had done was shocking, but because this bastard had actually taken


    out the two Shrines that Fiends were losing their heads in an attempt to find.


    !... Always dragging me into your bullshit...''

 Chapter 1989 Heaven and Earth

    ?Chapter 1989 Heaven and Earth


    Ryu seemed to forget about the world, entering an unprecedented state of focus.


    Usually, he wouldn''t want to rely on external items to supplement his battle strength. He felt that if he did so, the moment he lost them, he would end up in an untenable situation where his strength would plummet and his life would be in danger.


    But the truth of it was that this thought process was too inflexible. What good was not relying on external items if your strength wasn''t going to get to the point naturally any time soon?


    If he ran into an enemy that could take these "external" items from him, or even destroy them, then without them he would be even more screwed...


    Not to mention the fact that these were not normal external items.


    It had taken him too long to realize this, but his alchemy, his formation mastery, his blacksmithing... all of these things were part of his strength.


    They were as much a part of him as his cultivation was. In fact, not using them was like snubbing his nose at a large part of what made his eyes so special.


    Unlike others who would have to rely on external items created by others... he was Ryu Tatsuya. Even his so-called external items would be forged by his own hand!


    Ryu''s eyes flashed and he suddenly slapped his palms.


    At that moment, the two False Shrines vanished, appearing in two different nodes across millions of miles. If one looked at the scene from above, it would look as though they had become the centerpieces of a large, swirling array of yin and yang.


    While Lu''card was panicking about the Fiends sensing them, the reality was that Ryu was messing with him. He had prepared more than well enough. If the Fiends could sense this, he would cut his own head off and hand it right to them.


    He wasn''t even in the Omniscient Sky God Realm, and simply put... Ryu didn''t believe that he was very far from the pinnacle of crafting.


    When he had this sort of preparation time, and the help of a Dao God no less, there was simply no one, in this world at least, that could possibly see through his plans.


    The explosion was so profound that it echoed across the entire Beast Domain. It could be heard for many miles even beyond that, shaking the very foundation of the Real Plane as though the Gods were punishing them from below.


    The skies overturned as two pillars pierced upward.


    Within the center of these pillars, the False Shrines seemed to begin to shake into pieces, being refined again and again until they were nothing but dust particles, and then refined again until they were nothing more than the essence of energy.


    At the same time, the landscape of the Beast Domain began to crack as though along the lines of folded paper.


    The destruction should have been widespread and uncontrolled, and yet the cracks and fissures almost looked as though a God had carved them with the delicate stroke of a knife.


    These fissures raced across the landscape and met at controlled points before pools of energy began to gather along with them.


    From the side, Hope was watching with flickering eyes. She had helped with most of this, so she understood it more intimately than most other than Ryu himself. However, seeing the actual result, she couldn''t help but still feel shock.


    There were details popping up time and time again that she felt that she had missed earlier.


    Her gaze locked onto Ryu, her heart palpitating. She was a woman who had wanted to make Ryu her Dao Companion purely because of his skill in alchemy the very first time they met. It was safe to say that she really liked men with this sort of talent.


    But this...


    Hope bit her lip and forced herself to look away. If she didn''t, she couldn''t promise that she wouldn''t pounce on Ryu at such a crucial time.


    And a crucial time it was, because it was then that the motes of energy the False Shrines became poured into the cracks and fissures they had created.


    The earth rumbled and mountains collapsed.


    The pillars of light reversed, and dark and light sides swapped.

 Chapter 1990 CRACK.

    ?Chapter 1990 CRACK.


    The energy of Ileaven and Earth moved with Ryu''s will. All he did was stand there, not even using any energy at all, and yet it felt as though the world was listening to his beck and call.


    Ryu couldn''t help but bask in the feeling, almost like this was what he was always meant to do.


    They called his eyes the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, and for the first time, he seemed to truly understand just what that meant.


    It was only a casual thought, and yet he felt like he heard the sound of shattering glass reverberating through his mind.


    He subconsciously opened his eyes, only to find that there was an explosion of color before him. However, this color certainly wasn''t [Ephemeral Tapestry]; it was something else.


    It wasn''t that the world gained color, but rather the color that was there seemed bolder and brighter.


    Ryu had no idea what was happening. It felt like his eyes had just had a breakthrough, but he didn''t understand it at all. It felt as though everything had changed, and yet like nothing at all had changed.


    He also didn''t really understand how his eyes could break through at all. He had already unsealed all 999-


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat as he looked internally.


    IIe had realized it a step too late.


    There was a perfect loop formed between his body, his soul, and his Spiritual Foundation. It was the loop that he had been pushing toward all this time. Ile wanted to consolidate his paths down a single lane.


    And he had actually succeeded. His self-created Body Realm Cultivation Method was the last piece to the puzzle.


    Or more accurately, his new weapons were.


    These great swordstaffs would form the foundation that his weak body currently couldn''t on its own. And because of that, even in just a half-completed state, they were already enough to complete the loop between his body and his Inner World.


    This was certainly not a bad thing, he thought. At least not on the surface.


    The real devil was in the details... and the completion of this loop meant that his souls had more of a direct impact on his body.


    Including his Dao Heart.


    He was even more ruthless to his own body than he was against the land itself.


    At that moment, the motes of light and Ryu''s blood met.


    The world froze for a moment before everything reversed.


    The blood began to rush back into Ryu''s body with a new energy piggybacking it all.


    However, the problem was clear in an instant. There was far more blood than Ryu''s body could handle, let alone the fact there was an additional energy not designed to be Vital Qi in the first place.


    And yet, Ryu remained calm, his eyes closed as his body continued to grow in size.


    He looked ridiculous. Even worse than that, he truly looked like he might die at any time. His skin began to grow in blotches that quickly began to look like cancerous growths.


    His stomach, arms, and legs bulged in odd ways; even one of his eye sockets almost popped as his eyes didn''t miss out on the swelling either.


    Even a Sovereign couldn''t pull Ryu''s eyes out of his skull, so one could imagine the kind of pressure his body was under for even his eyes to begin to swell like this.


    However, Ryu himself didn''t make a single peep.


    The more the aura of death surrounded him, the sharper he seemed to become, the more


    determined.


    There was a stoic sort of silence that filled the region as though the world was ready to mourn the loss of a true hero.


    However...


    CRACK.


    Ryu''s body fissured and an aura rushed out all at once.


    Lord Body.

 Chapter 1991 Stuck

    Chapter 1991 Stuck


    Ryu''s body soared in strength.


    After his Tribulation, he had already been knocking on the door of Lordship with his body, but he hadn''t been able to take that final step.


    The first reason was a lack of foundation. And the second reason was a lack of comprehension.


    The Body Realm wasn''t as simple in the God Realms as it was in the previous realms.


    In the Mortal, Immortal, and Cosmic Realms, the Body Realm was just a matter of how much pain you could withstand and how much talent was stored in your Bloodlines.


    However, in the God Realms, there was a certain essence of spirit involved.


    It wasn''t quite the same as comprehending a Dao, but one needed to have a comprehension of the body to an intimate level, and part of that secret lay with the Seven Corporeal Spirits.


    The real difference between the Qi Realm and the Body Realm, though, was that talent could easily make up for a gap in comprehension with the latter.


    Even if one stumbled onto the right solution for the Body Realm, it was good enough. It was like how an athlete could perform an action but not precisely break down exactly how it was done. That was good enough.


    There was no difference between a Body Realm cultivator who could naturally feel and understand versus one that could break down exactly how they were feeling.


    And Ryu... was obviously someone who was the latter.


    He could fully understand it all, and the way his body moved and pulsed was completely under his control. In fact, he was on a deeper level than even just understanding.


    He had configured his own Body Realm Cultivation Method to be in tune with the movements of his own Spirits... and as the final connection was made between them all, his blood rolled and rumbled like thunder.


    At that moment, a pair of tattoos began to etch themselves onto Ryu''s forearms.


    Both of them were identical in every way other than their color.


    One was a sleek gold with a blade edge of red, and the other was a sleek black with a blade of the same crimson color.


    Each tattoo pulsed with power, and then Ryu''s blood began to respond in kind as though a feedback loop was being formed between themselves and the weapon.


    The fire raced across the ground and pierced through layer after layer of trees, cutting down mountains, and drying up rivers.


    Ryu pulled his great swordstaff back, allowing it to rest on his shoulder as he looked off.


    He felt powerful, practically invincible. And yet, deep inside, he felt that it wasn''t enough.


    It wasn''t because of his Dao Heart, though he knew that it was probably it at least in part.


    Still, the largest part of it was definitely a shadow he was chasing.


    He looked off into the distance and seemingly not in any particular direction. And yet, his eyes pierced through it all until he landed on a world.


    ''Convenient!


    He didn''t explain his thoughts even to himself as he simply turned away.


    Standing there, he closed his eyes and took a breath.


    With the evolution to his eyes, he felt like his control over Fate had reached an even more


    exaggerated height.


    Although it wasn''t to the point of [Intuition], Ryu felt that he could almost "ask" his eyes a question and achieve the answer he wanted.


    Of course, he wasn''t really asking a question. Instead, he was testing the Strings of Karma until he found something that was in line with what he wanted.


    And what he was looking for this time was the World of Space and Time that he needed to complete the last and final step of his body.


    19-06


    He found several. However, there was only one that stuck out to him.


    The Holy World Ailsa was stuck in.


    213

 Chapter 1992 Maybe

    ?Chapter 1992 Maybe


    After confirming that his earlier realizations were correct, Ryu had a decision to make.


    Would he go to the other worlds and take the casy path?


    Or would he end it where it should be ended?


    Truthfully, he already knew the answer. He didn''t even need to ask himself because he knew the reality he was facing.


    His pride would never allow him to take the easy way out even if he knew it was foolish.


    But at least this time... he wasn''t being completely willful.


    Ryu had never really had to deal with a Heart Demon in his lifetime. Or rather, the times he would have were either triggered by someone or something else, or he wasn''t able to feel the full effects of


    it.


    For example, his first life could be certainly said to have birthed a Heart Demon in him. But he hadn''t even been able to cultivate, so it was minimal. And at the same time, his Dao Heart wasn''t even with him, so there was nothing for it to latch onto.


    Then there was the time Mae''s Dream Asura Clan caused his Dao Heart to shatter. That could be considered another form of a Heart Demon, but it was more artificial than not. It wasn''t even his fault back then; it was the shoddy workmanship of the Crafter who forged it.


    Had it not been for the fact that the person who forged those stairs was far beyond him in strength, he would have been able to easily shatter those illusions.


    This time, however... although his Dao Heart was doing a good job suppressing it, this could very easily become something more troublesome.


    It would have been one thing if he hadn''t been able to tell. But now that he could, he couldn''t let it


    go.


    No. He wouldn''t let it go.


    Ryu flipped his great swordstaffs in his hands and, in a flash of light, they disappeared into his flesh once more.


    With every step he took, his Spiritual Quintessence soared until it finally began to reach the limits of his body.


    Watching Ryu take in so much Spiritual Quintessence, Lu''card''s lip couldn''t help but twitch.


    normal person''s soul would have already burst apart. The amount of Spiritual Quintessence it would take for Ryu to reach a state appropriate for the current power of his body was absolutely ridiculous. It was hard to even put into words just how ridiculous it all was.


    However, Ryu took it all in stride.


    With the connection between his eyes and soul now, it was even easier. He was able to take the Quintessence that was coming in and manipulate its Fate such that it believed it had always been a part of him.


    Let alone absorbing the Quintessence, it didn''t believe that this was what was happening. Instead, it felt like it was just returning home, and that made something that might have been a complicated and difficult process as easy as breathing.


    By the time Ryu got to Little Silk, his aura was already settling down.


    He looked back to the Human Emperor and nodded.


    "Let''s return to your Human Domain. They should be learning the truth right about now; the timing is good"


    The Human Emperor was in such shock that he wasn''t even quite sure how to respond. He could only dully nod, looking at Ryu as though he was staring at a deity.


    "Lu''card, where is lanjor? It''s time!"


    "How would I know?'' Lu''card snorted.


    The two had gone their separate ways a long time ago.


    "Found him." Ryu said. "Let''s go."


    "Then why the hell did you bother to ask me? Do you just like ordering me around?"


    "Maybe!"


    Ryu''s laughter peeled across the skies like streaking lightning.

 Chapter 1993 Debatable

    ?Chapter 1993 Debatable


    It truly didn''t take Ryu much effort to find lanjor at all. But what he was involved in was enough to leave a person without words.


    lanjor had ended up in the Human Domain as well, funny enough. Though, maybe it made sense considering he was, obviously, also human.


    What was surprising was that he was actually spending his time as an academy instructor.


    The Human Domain of this world wasn''t as poorly managed as one might have thought. In fact, the Human Emperor had put quite a lot of effort into managing it properly despite the circumstances. He had put in place a top-down education system with several levels, and in order to avoid the prying eyes of others, he didn''t seem to be placing much emphasis on cultivation at all.


    The humans of this world learned a lot about periphery matters such as history, culture, agriculture, and anthropology.


    However, even after observing this for just a small while from a distance, Ryu found himself feeling a rare bit of praise once again.


    It was extremely rare that he was impressed by something, so much so that that was the bar one had to cross in order to be his master.


    But it seemed that the more he learned about the cultivation Realm, the higher up he went, the more frequently this was happening.


    On the surface, it really did seem like the Human Emperor was punting cultivation in favor of a more docile lifestyle for the Human Race. However, in Ryu''s eyes, he saw something else.


    This system wouldn''t generate a large number of warriors. However, given the circumstances, this system would surely have the best chance of raising up the next Human Emperor.


    Tanjor, though... well, that was debatable.


    Part of the reason the Human Emperor was sighing was that lanjor was practically raising up an army himself.


    The Human Race was greatly dissatisfied with the current state of things. And though this was considered to be the "Iluman" Domain, how could there not be Fey here to monitor things?


    Of course, these Fey were supposedly here under the guise of diplomacy, but they mostly spent their days suppressing the Humans and doing as they pleased in a society that wasn''t their own.


    This bred discontent, and some even harbored hatred for the Human Emperor for not doing enough to protect them. Ironically enough, Ryu had once put the Human Emperor in the very same camp. Though he never expected the Human Emperor to save him like these people did, he had once looked down on the Human Emperor for not even showing up.


    Ianjor, though, was doing a bang-up job at reversing all of the Human Emperor''s hard work. He had gathered up large segments of this dissatisfied populace and was training them in "secret."


    As for why that was in quotations, it was because he was practically an open secret. Ryu could see that not only were most of the Human population aware of it, but so too were the Fey.


    The Fey ignored it because this was probably exactly what they wanted. When the population lost trust in the Human Emperor, the only person who was actually wholeheartedly helping them, it would begin the true downfall of the Race. There would simply be no coming back from such idiocy. The Human Emperor didn''t seem to mind it. He even blamed himself, thinking that his guardrails simply weren''t good enough.


    Of course, it was also much easier to be relaxed about it now that he was following Ryu.


    Soon, the Human Race would either die out entirely or rise like a phoenix... and the Human Emperor had a feeling that it would likely be the latter that won out.

 Chapter 1994 Same Time

    ?Chapter 1994 Same Time


    Ryu gave Ianjor a look while he rubbed his nose.


    "Human Emperor, is it? Nice to meet you! lanjor said while clearing his throat.


    "Human Emperor? Ryu asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Don''t you mean Fey Emperor? Isn''t that what you''ve been calling him?"


    Ianjor sent Ryu a glare. ''Of course not, don''t listen to his nonsense, Human Emperor. I''ve heard great things about you."


    The Human Emperor smiled. As easily as Ryu could tell, so too could he. When it came to anything related to the Human Race, he was highly tapped in. Even if Ryu didn''t mention it, he would have a subconscious understanding of everything that had happened here.


    Tanjor was quite sensitive to this as well, so when he first met the Human Emperor, his instinctual reaction was actually one of respect.


    He could feel instantly that the caricature he had created in his mind wasn''t accurate. There was something about the gentle purity of the Human Emperor''s aura that couldn''t be denied. Maybe any human but this cold-hearted bastard here would feel an instinctual closeness to him when they met Usually, lanjor would be put off by this feeling. But there was something so natural about it that he had a hard time feeling that way at all.


    And this was definitely a surprise.


    It didn''t take a genius to understand why lanjor had been raising up an army to begin with. He had spent much of his life under the thumb of a man far more powerful than himself. There was nothing he hated more than a situation like the one the Human Race of this world was in.


    He trained every day for just the smallest chance to skin Primus alive, so when he saw that his Human Race was actually being de-clawed in this place, when he wasn''t playing babysitter for Ryu''s wives, he was usually here, training them up.


    They had been at it for almost two decades now, and it could be said that he had built up a few with a substantive edge.


    But unfortunately... those with the strongest Dao Hearts, those with precisely the chance to become the seedlings that the Human Emperor was looking for, were also those most likely to join lanjor''s little army.


    It could be said that any chance the Human Race had of raising up a replacement for the Human Emperor was destroyed thanks to lanjor.


    Ryu couldn''t help but give him a thumbs up for his rare brand of foolishness.


    Luckily for Ianjor, none of this mattered very much because with how things were, whether he had been raising this army for 20 years or 200 years, the difference wouldn''t be all that great. They were still too weak.


    Especially since Janjor''s... "training" wasn''t all that effective at all.


    Ianjor didn''t have Ryu''s eyes or the Human Emperor''s insight. He had no method of training people other than working them hard. And in the world of cultivation, unfortunately, hard work didn''t always equal results. Otherwise, there would be far more Dao Gods than there were.


    Ryu couldn''t help but clap for Ianjor again.


    "Well, at least you have spirit!


    "Fuck you, Ryu. Some of us have hearts."


    "I think I''ve done more for this world''s Human Race in a couple of days than you have in 20 years. I would show some more respect if I were you!"


    "What the fuck could have possibly-!?"


    Tanjor was about to fall right into Ryu''s trap, but he caught himself in the end. Since Ryu dared to say it, he probably had. So, he turned to the Human Emperor instead.


    "Don''t trust this bastard no matter what he''s done for you. He''s shameless to an extreme, has no bottom line, and has a particular fondness for manipulating people into doing what he wants them to do.''


    "Don''t trust this bastard no matter what he''s done for you. He''s shameless to an extreme, has no bottom line, and has a particular fondness for manipulating people into doing what he wants them to


    do."''


    The Human Emperor chuckled lightly but didn''t respond.


    "Either way," Ryu moved on, seeing that. Ianjor wasn''t biting. "Let''s get rid of the rabble first. Kill all of


    the Fey here!"


    The Human Emperor just nodded and then vanished.


    lanjor''s lip twitched. Why was this Peak Dao God listening to Ryu''s orders? Sometimes he hoped that for just once this smug son of a bitch wouldn''t have a reason to be smug.


    The Human Emperor returned in no more than a few seconds. In truth, he didn''t have to disappear at all, but he felt that it would be more respectful to do so.


    "Finished."


    "Good. lanjor, bring the seedlings you ruined here!"


    "I did not ruin them."


    "All but."


    Janjor shook his head and eventually came back with three people, two women and a man. He knew Ryu well and knew that he wouldn''t waste time on useless people. The ruined seedlings should be the


    absolute best of the bunch.


    Ryu observed for a small while.


    They were all in the Omniscient Sky God Realm and all under 100 years of age. All things considered, this wasn''t too bad.


    Truthfully, he didn''t care about raising these people up. He was only acting for two reasons.


    First, he wanted the Human Emperor''s heart to be at ease. This wasn''t just for the sake of his peace, but also for his cultivation. The Human Emperor needed confidence just like every other cultivator. The more at ease he was, the smoother his cultivation would be.


    Although he seemed to have reached the pinnacle of cultivation, there was always room for improvement. Deepening his foundation, strengthening his Dao, mastering new techniques and methods... it could be said that the road of cultivation never truly ended, otherwise there wouldn''t be individuals as powerful as the Phoenix Sky God.


    The second reason he wanted to do this was to see just how strong his eyes had become.


    Three individuals on relatively mediocre paths, at least in comparison to himself, should be easy


    enough.


    He scanned them for a moment and then his eyes flashed. His finger rushed forward, and he touched them all on the forehead one after another.


    In that instant, they all seemed to have reached enlightenment at the same time.

 Chapter 1995 Obvious

    Chapter 1995 Obvious


    ''Easy enough...''


    Though Ryu thought this, he was surprised by himself, especially as three Lord Tribulation triggered all at once. He was even forced to put a Faith Barrier up between them, lest they fuse into one and cause more trouble than he was expecting.


    He had always been able to help others break through, even long before he got Embryonic Qi. In fact, this time, he hadn''t used Embryonic Qi at all, but that was beside the point.


    The only reason Ryu didn''t use this ability of his more was that he had no interest in it. It was the same reason why he felt that his Dao would be capable of making him maybe the greatest Emperor to ever exist, and yet he never used it either.


    Only rarely did he use the manipulation aspects of his Dao, and even then, it was in niche circumstances.


    The earliest instance he could remember of this was when he helped out a senior of the Armament Guild back in Sacrum. He had helped him become a True God in one go, though those titles had different meanings in Sacrum versus this world.


    Ryu froze.


    The moment he had this thought, it felt like a flashbang had gone off in his mind.


    In Sacrum, there were two states of Sky God. It was to the point that Ryu had once thought that the Sky God Realm itself was the end all, be all.


    There was the False Sky God Realm and the True Sky God Realm. Sacrum had nothing else beyond that.


    False Sky Gods and True Sky Gods weren''t things that you could just hop between or cultivate to. It was decided from the moment you broke free of the World Sea Realm whether you would be a Dragon amongst Sky Gods, or a Flood Dragon.


    Ryu had never thought about this much. Things like this could be seen all over the cultivation Realm. It simply represented a broken system, one that represented a false step somewhere in the understanding.


    For some reason, when he had this thought, he had another...


    Wasn''t the difficulty in breaking through from the World Sea Realm to the Sky God Realm in Sacrum a lot like the difficulty in breaking through from the Omniscient Realm to the Lord Realm?


    It was a random thought, hardly without any foundation at all, and yet the moment Ryu grasped onto the faintest string, he kept tugging and tugging only to run into a dead end.


    Was he trying to say that even his current cultivation method was incomplete? Just like Sacrum''s was?


    Even he wasn''t sure.


    It was like he was looking for something that evaded his grasp again and again.


    He circled around the thought once, then twice, then thrice. He eventually lost count of just how many times he had the same thoughts again and again, but it continued to slip out of his grasp until his heart skipped a beat.


    His gaze sharpened and there was a certain menace that was uncovered deep within them.


    He didn''t like when others manipulated him. Not in the slightest bit...


    "Piss off."


    Invisible bindings of Fate and Karmic Strings were shredded apart with a flash of Ryu''s eyes, and he could finally see it.


    The answer was so obvious.


    Control.

 Chapter 1996 On Purpose

    ?Chapter 1996 On Purpose


    It was such an obvious answer that Ryu couldn''t believe he hadn''t thought of it earlier. Of course the answer would be something hiding in plain sight; it wouldn''t even make sense if it was something that was completely out of the blue.


    In a way, the reason Sacrum had yet to properly stumble onto the Dao was because there were too many things that could be mistaken for it.


    In fact, now that Ryu thought about it, he had had that exact same thought in the past. Inheritances, Natural Enlightenments, Mortal Endowments... each one of these things was a form of comprehension, and they could casily be mistaken for a Dao under the wrong circumstances. In fact, each one could easily become a Dao should one make it the center of their cultivation.


    It was easier to avoid someone when you were hiding where they least expected it, and often where a person would least expect it would be at the very scene of the crime.


    It was the reason Sacrum had been lost in a fog for so long, and now it seemed to be the reason the Lord Realm was obscured by such difficulty.


    There were such detailed analyses for the Control at each Realm every step of the way. But then you reached Lord Realm...


    And then what?


    What was even the difference between Lord Control and Sovereign Control? Just that the latter was a little stronger?


    What about God Control? It was just a little stronger than that?


    When Ryu thought about it, that seemed to be the answer. He couldn''t find another answer even after several more moments of thought. It was like a shroud over the whole thing.


    Even when he first committed himself to studying the Realms of the Sky God, he subconsciously stopped after finding a detailed explanation of the first six, thinking that he was stopping before he could bite off more than he could chew.


    But was this really the case? Or was he just convincing himself to follow through on something someone else wanted for him?


    ''What is it... Atmospheric Qi? Immortal Ring? Something else...?''


    Maybe there wasn''t some hidden cultivation method obscured by the elites of the world after all. For once, it didn''t seem like he was being targeted by someone above. Instead, it might just be that he had created this method.


    He had been thinking about recultivating for a while now. It was just that he needed a method to do so, and he hadn''t thought of the perfect one just yet.


    It seemed that he had now not only stumbled onto it by accident, but he had also comprehended another secret.


    What was so special about the Zu Clan? He really didn''t understand. Other than being good with Visualizations, there was nothing else that was particularly important about them.


    Something made Ryu feel like he was once again facing an obvious answer, one that was right in front of him... and yet, there was nothing there for him to peel away this time.


    Ryu suddenly awoke from his daze to find that the three youths had already completed their ascent into the Lord Realm.


    However, Ryu still felt like he was in a bit of a daze. It was hard to snap out of such realizations... and he had a feeling that this might very well not be the last realization he had about this version of


    himself... and that was because he already had another thought.


    The White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation... it was a type of Control as well, wasn''t it? It was a Control type built right into a Spiritual Foundation, a gift from the Heavens at the birth of a young genius.


    In that case... if there really was a secret to be found about Lord Control, Sovereign Control, and God Control...


    Then wouldn''t it be found in it?


    And if he was really pushing things to the logical extreme of it all, if this version of himself really had managed to find a way to avoid paradoxes and return, and it grasped this new method of


    cultivation...


    Could it be that his future self had allowed himself to be taken over by the Phoenix Sky God on purpose just for a look at this secret?

 Chapter 1997 Young Master Moon

    ?Chapter 1997 Young Master Moon


    Deep within a Iloly World of fire and ice, a young man sat. At the very least, it seemed to be a world of fire and ice. But for some odd reason, the flames seemed to be continuously and ruthlessly suppressed.


    If one took a step back and observed the rest of the world, it would be possible to see a great number of Fire Fiends shivering. It was as though the cold was growing to be too much for them. This rare Lord Grade Realm was one of the defects of this world. From time to time, an untenable Holy World would appear where powers of opposite structures appeared, making the Holy World itself highly unstable.


    Holy Worlds of Earth and Wind, or Light and Darkness, or in this case... Ice and Fire.


    But what was even more shocking about this world was that it hadn''t started as a world of Ice and Fire. No... it had instead started as a world of Water and Fire.


    However, over the last two decades, a great change had been occurring, and for no other reason than the existence of a young man...


    Young Master Moon.


    He hadn''t moved a single inch in these last two decades. Even when he broke through into the Lord Realm under everyone''s gazes, and the Fiends tried to assassinate him several times over, he hadn''t moved.


    It was as though the lightning strikes of his Tribulation were meaningless to him.


    People couldn''t even get close even when they wanted to, and all around him, there were the frozen statues of failed, would-be assassins who could do nothing but watch themselves slowly lose their lives.


    What Young Master Moon was doing here was absolutely unprecedented. It was something that even Ryu had never done, though this was because Ryu had no interest in doing so, and likewise no reason to even attempt it.


    He had entered this world of clashing elements on purpose... so that he could suppress the flames and affirm his Dao.


    BANG!


    Young Master Moon''s eyes flashed open, revealing a deep, eerie blue. His sclera and pupils were nowhere to be seen as though his eyeballs had been replaced with a pair of shining, polished ice balls.


    With a single thought, the aura he had been suppressing for years burst out from him.


    From the Lower Founding Dao, his Dao burst into the Middle Founding Dao... from the Middle Founding Dao, it burst into the Higher... and from the Higher, it burst into the very Peak.


    Waves rolled and rumbled around him as he inhaled once.


    From the Lower Lord Realm to the Middle, and from the Middle Lord Realm to the Higher...


    His power baffled those in the surroundings, but there was a particular Lower Dao God on the scene that had eyes that were shining as bright as torches.


    This Dao God was of the Moon Clan and had an odd Title... he was known as Dao God Shy. But as things went in the world of cultivation...


    The simpler the Title...


    The more shocking it was.


    If the Moon Clan had such an individual, why was this war even still ongoing?


    But what was even more pertinent to the current situation was that Dao God Shy seemed to still be anticipating something.


    Even when Young Master Moon''s aura broke into the Peak Lord Realm, he was still biding his time, still waiting, as though all of these benefits weren''t nearly enough.


    And then it happened.


    The moment Young Master Moon sucked away all of the Real Plane Blessings from the Holy World, he unleashed a roar that traveled for countless miles.


    With just the Chaos Blessings remaining, his body was rebuffed and suffered countless backlash. However, he forcefully pushed himself to absorb one small strand after another.


    And then...


    BOOM!


    14-02


    Young Master Moon''s Founding Dao trembled and an enormous Manifestation of a reflective blue moon appeared high in the skies.


    At that moment, his Natural Enlightenment, Mortal Endowment, and Dao seemed to all layer... And his Dao broke past the ceiling of this world.

 Chapter 1998 Final Phase

    ?Chapter 1998 Final Phase


    "... From this day forth, my Title will be..."


    Young Master Moon''s words seemed obscured by the laws of the world as though he was waiting for the right moment to reveal it.


    However, he seemed happy and content. Or rather, he seemed more happy and content than usual.


    Those who knew him felt that he was an existence who was always stone-faced. Having just the slightest curl of his lip now spoke volumes about his mood.


    He descended slowly from the skies, his aura billowing about and his hair still dancing with blue flames.


    When he touched the ground, it iced over beneath his restrained aura alone, and several Fire Fiends that were far too close found themselves becoming streams of energy that entered Young Master Moon''s body.


    Dead without even a single glance.


    And among them... there were Sovereigns.


    For a Sovereign to die so easily, it could be imagined the kind of power Young Master Moon wielded


    now.


    "Congratulations" Dao God Shy said with a smile. For some reason, he seemed to be speaking to Young Master Moon as more of an equal than not... which was odd considering he was no less talented, and yet far more powerful by several measures.


    Young Master Moon might have accelerated through the Lord Realms, but if he wanted to keep that nice Dao of his, he was going to need to work and put in a great deal of effort.


    Though he was at the Peak of the Lord Realm, it might not be until thousands of years later that he broke into the Sovereign Realm.


    Though, of course, if it really took him so long, this Dao God Shy wouldn''t be interested in him in the slightest.


    "Am I worthy now?" Young Master Moon spoke indifferently.


    His words seemed to be from someone seeking approval, but his tone seemed to say that he already knew the answer.


    Dao God Shy smiled almost bashfully, something that was even more odd for a man of his stature. "You have met the standards. You can now participate in the deeper matters of the family. But, you should know that a lot has happened while you''ve been away!


    "Like?"


    "Well, you aren''t the only one of this world to break the ceiling."


    How was that possible?


    Could this be a hidden genius the Human Emperor was raising? They would certainly not like that at


    all.


    "I also hear this human has killed your elder brother."


    BOOM!


    A light of fury sparked in Young Master Moon''s eyes for the first time. However, what made him furious wasn''t brotherly love. It was that this human had almost certainly known who his brother was and chosen to kill him regardless.


    "Where is he?" Young Master Moon asked with a sharp gaze.


    Dao God Shy chuckled. ''I wouldn''t advise you go now. He is under the protection of the Human


    Emperor"


    Young Master Moon''s pupils constricted. Just how many things had changed while he was in secluded meditation? Since when did humans dare to be so... well, daring?


    "Why have we not mobilized the family already?"


    "The Human Emperor seems to have broken through to Peak Dao God. His vitality is no longer waning, and his Dao has progressed substantially. Those that could kill him are all occupied, and there''s no one around who can order them around!"


    The Peak Dao Gods of their Realm plane were all taking care of important tasks. They couldn''t just leave because they felt like it, and the Human Race wasn''t so easy to deal with now that they had a Peak Dao God.


    In time, if this ceiling breaker was also able to rise up and the Human Race gained a second Peak Dao God, it would truly be troublesome.


    Young Master Moon wasn''t a fool. No matter how arrogant he was, he knew that he wasn''t a match even for a slightly stronger Sovereign, let alone a Peak Dao God.


    However, the gloominess to his face had returned as a result.


    "There''s no need to harp on this too much. Although this move by the Human Emperor is shocking. he has overextended himself, even killing one of the Sun Clan''s Middle Dao Gods likely as a show of dominance.


    "He would need tens of thousands of years to flip the situation.


    "However... we can enter the final phase of our plan right now!"

 Chapter 1999 Descent

    ?Chapter 1999 Descent


    Young Master Moon''s gaze flickered.


    A plan...


    He hadn''t been privy to this information at all. In fact, there were only a select few in the family that were. It was such a well-guarded secret that he wasn''t even made aware that there was a deeper level in his family until he broke through the Lord Realm while maintaining his Founding Dao.


    And even then, he had only had the right to know that his family had more secrets, but not exactly what they were.


    "Come with me, please!"


    Dao God Shy spoke lightly. He motioned to place a hand on Young Master Moon''s shoulder, and the latter accepted, still somewhat at a loss for how a Dao God could be so timid.


    He couldn''t fathom what kind of Dao could possibly be related to the title of "Shy! But whatever it was, Young Master Moon didn''t feel like he had the right to know just yet.


    Soon, the two had vanished.


    It was a long while later that Young Master Moon could finally see his surroundings again. Dao God Shy was simply far too fast, and this experience had solidified just the kind of gap there was between him and a true powerhouse.


    In the future, he would certainly reach this peak.


    His gaze flashed with determination before he settled down and actually looked around him.


    If Ryu had been here, he would have found this place to be eerily familiar... It was a practically empty world with nothing more than the statues of nine figures standing in silence.


    However, these were not the same nine statues that Ryu had seen before.


    That said... when a voice echoed, it was eerily similar in that there were nine voices speaking atop of one another.


    It made sense that the Beasts were so suppressed considering their history, but what about the Human Race? Why did they put so much effort into suppressing them as well?


    "What is the plan?" Young Master Moon finally asked.


    "We will call some help over to finish off this war... or, rather, it can be said that we''ll be mutually aiding one another. Once they''ve finished tying up the loose ends with us over here, we will be helping them to take control of their world as well"


    "Are they facing off against beasts? A fighting intent flared in Young Master Moon''s eyes. He had always thought that dragons were just the stuff of fantasies, and phoenixes were just fairy tales... but now, he really wanted to feel what it would be like to slaughter these powerful beasts.


    "The ruler of that world is actually..."


    "Humans."


    Young Master Moon''s gaze flickered as he came to a realization. It seemed that they had fallen so far in some places that even Humans could suppress them.


    "Do not take Humans lightly. They are our enemy for a reason even deeper than the Ancient Beasts. "The Ancient Beasts are the antithesis of what we once were. However, the Humans have the capability to adapt and change to all circumstances. They can fit into our roles even better than we can sometimes.


    "Although their floor is much lower than ours, their ceiling has just as much potential."


    Young Master Moon fell into silence again, remembering that the Human Emperor had somehow managed to become a Peak Dao God when everyone thought his lifespan was reaching its end. There was no doubt that this matter was a shocking surprise... and it should be more than enough reason to not take Humans lightly any longer.


    But in those words, Dao God Shy had said something that would cause many to raise eyebrows... The Ancient Beasts are the antithesis of what we once were....


    The words didn''t make much sense. Ancient Beasts were in tune with the Heavens, as were the Fey. They literally represented the Moon and the Sun at their highest levels. How could they be the antithesis?


    And that was none other than because of the shocking revelation the statues had just revealed to him...


    The Fey descended from Fiends.

 Chapter 2000 Conquer

    ?Chapter 2000 Conquer


    "We will begin the final phase of the plan now!


    "But how?" Young Master Moon couldn''t help but ask in confusion.


    He had grown exceptionally powerful now, but even he still couldn''t fathom a method of leaving this world. It just felt too vast; the dome of the skies was too tall... how could they even make it to


    another world, let alone contact and connect with enough helpers from this world to bring them back?


    "You''re already standing in the answer. This place is a reflection of a technique of the Dream Wraiths.


    "Dream Wraiths?"


    "They are the overlords of the Nether Plane. This world does not have a Nether Plane in the normal sense because of the Chaos Plane''s fusion with the Real Plane. As such, you have never heard of them."


    Young Master Moon frowned, not quite understanding, but allowing Dao God Shy to continue


    anyway.


    "All you need to know is that we''ve captured enough Dream Wraiths in our days to forge this method. This is why this world is so important to us. Only in a place without Dream Wraiths could it be possible to do this, as Dream Wraiths are the only Existences that can move between worlds with


    ease.


    "This is because all Reincarnation Paths are connected. So long as your world has a Nether Plane and the Dream Wraiths are present, you can be Reincarnated into any other world upon death." "Then what happens to us in this world?


    Young Master Moon did not like asking questions. It made him feel ignorant and uninformed. But his curiosity was simply too great at this point.


    "We have a self-enclosed system. Those that die here are reincarnated here in a cycle. Well... it''s actually more complicated than that, but this isn''t important for now.


    "Either way, this unique ability of the Dream Wraiths is what allows us to connect to other worlds. If not for this, even a Peak Dao God wouldn''t be able to easily cross.


    "The only other organization I know that has this ability is, well... that''s also something you don''t need to know for now."


    "You need my help for this?"


    The obvious answer was the Ruin Master Guild, and that had been satisfying enough to him.


    But now he felt that his answer was a bit...


    Incomplete.


    The world rumbled and quaked, but it was so far beneath ground that no one other than the two Fey could feel it.


    It was then that a portal appeared in the midst of the nine statues. It stood tall and proud, and soon, there was the light sound of footsteps as several powerful existences began to make their way out.


    The first was a Dao God, regal and proud. The second was also a Dao God.


    But soon, other existences began to make their presence known, and these were the few Young Master Moon focused the most of his attention on. This was his competition, and his momentum couldn''t lose out to them.


    But then he saw her and he found himself struck.


    She had the delicate, pointed cars of an elf, skin that reminded one of silvery moonlight, and a pair of violet eyes so beautiful one could lose themselves for an eternity within them.


    She wore a flowing white dress that contrasted perfectly with her cherry red lips and fluttering black hair.


    She was dainty in all the right ways, yet had a hidden sort of flare and arrogance to her that was hard to conceal. But then there came those hints of bashfulness as though she was a fair maiden on her


    wedding night.


    Her temperament seemed to change with the winds, but each one was astoundingly beautiful in


    their own way. The temptation to a man was shocking, almost as though having her would be like having dozens of wives in one.


    The moment he saw her, Young Master Moon made a decision.


    This woman... he would conquer her.


    This woman... Sarriel Moon.

 Chapter 2001 Lower Your Gaze

    ?Chapter 2001 Lower Your Gaze


    Sarriel walked forward with light steps, her beauty lighting up the otherwise dark atmosphere. Basically, all Fey women were beauties amongst beauties, and yet she managed to stand out anyway, as though the Heaven''s themselves had reached down their hands to mold her to perfection. Although her expression seemed unchanging, the constant sway of the air and aura around her made it feel as though she was constantly switching between differing temperaments, and somehow that only made her feel all the more enticing.


    She was only in the Lord Realm, and yet her momentum made those around her feel as though she had already completed her journey of cultivation, stepping into the highest Realm there was and basking in the glory of True Godhood.


    Young Master Moon didn''t seem to have eyes for anyone other than her. Although he was calm, his eyes seemed to have stars exploding within them.


    On the one hand, he had the dignified air of an expert, his aura and the strength of his Dao Heart leaking and pervading the region. It was enough that those around could sense his level of talent without the slightest doubt, and it made many of the geniuses turn serious.


    But on the other...


    A young man took a step before Sarriel, blocking Young Master Moon''s gaze.


    "Lower your gaze unless you want me to dig your eyes out for you"


    His voice was calm, and his expression was just as unreadable as Young Master Moon''s. And yet, also much like Young Master Moon, his eyes seemed to tell a completely different tale.


    The auras of the two young men clashed in the air, a reverberating echo causing the basement to shake and quake.


    The young man across from Young Master Moon was simply known as Falling Snow. His black hair had changed over the course of his life, becoming a trail of white that followed behind him like a flowing stream of pale, silvery light.


    However, what was more interesting than even that was that his excessively long white hair hid a gorgeous white tail behind it, one that swayed ever so gently and seemed to radiate an energy that was both cold and dark.


    As for how that was possible, maybe only these hidden experts of the True Martial World would know.


    That said, the reason they didn''t have this sort of master-disciple aura between them was that Darkness Rising was obviously much older than Falling Snow. He had been guiding him since he was in diapers, and now his little brother was finally growing into the young man he expected him to be. All the while this sort of clash was occurring, Sarriel didn''t seem to react much to it at all. In fact, it was the girl by her side that smiled and chuckled bitterly, shaking her head.


    "It seems that Little Sister Sarriel''s charm is truly great. One of these days, you''re going to have to get a husband so the world doesn''t just burn down around you wherever you go. It''s best to let people know you''re taken!


    The girl blinked and seemed to only be about thirteen or fourteen years old. And yet, she too radiated the aura of a Lord.


    As for why she would be calling Sarriel little sister despite being so young... well, that was a tale maybe for another time.


    Sarriel looked at the little girl and didn''t respond with anything more than a smile and a nod.


    She had always said that she would marry the man who showed himself to be capable of helping her revive her family.


    Originally, she had settled on that man being Falling Snow quite comfortably and had planned to accept. But... something she ended up inadvertently learning changed the situation.


    Now, she wasn''t sure any longer.


    Her gaze shifted and landed on Young Master Moon for a brief instant before she looked away. This was the first time she was seeing a man who could stand on the same level as Falling Snow. Rare, indeed.


    Regardless, time would tell. There was a certain calmness to her... one that suddenly changed when she felt a familiar aura.

 Chapter 2002 Sweet

    ?Chapter 2002 Sweet


    Sarriel''s pupils constricted. She thought that she had made it up when it appeared, but all of a sudden a voice echoed out that made her speechless.


    "This idiot!


    She couldn''t believe that he was actually still so reckless. How had he even managed to survive so long? Didn''t he know how to keep his head down?!


    But when Ryu was provoked, it was like he didn''t care about anything else. So the moment he confirmed that it was actually Sarriel, and then shifted his Third Perspective to see the clash between Young Master Moon and Falling Snow, his chuckle echoed out.


    "I see, so that''s what''s going on. You know, I had speculations about you Fey. What an annoying Race of people. I assume your existence is why the Martial Gods are always hiding their true power? I was wondering why that was..."


    Selheira''s mother had told him not to underestimate the Martial Gods, though that wasn''t really necessary. She mistook his arrogance for underestimating an opponent. That was never something he did; he just felt that no matter who the opponent was, it didn''t matter.


    There would only be one winner in the end.


    He.


    Ryu Tatsuya.


    All of the Fey looked up into the air trying to see something, but there was nothing there. The aura was so fleeting, and it was completely untraceable.


    With the evolution of his eyes, it was even easier for Ryu to use his Third Perspective like this. His relationship with Sarriel could be considered decent. In fact, because they were both from Sacrum and had followed a somewhat similar path, their Fate bond was actually strong enough for Ryu to sense her.


    But...


    He just had to prove to her that she was a fool for looking toward any man for that but himself.


    As for what happened after she made that realization, he didn''t give a damn. Just because she chose him didn''t mean that he had the obligation to choose her.


    He was just doing this to keep his wife happy.


    Darkness Rising and Shy''s aura both flared as they tried to entrap Ryu''s consciousness, but he didn''t seem to notice.


    Watching these Dao Gods try to match him in Fate and Karma control was like watching a toddler trying to grab a slippery fish out of a bowl.


    He completely ignored them.


    "Sarriel, it seems that your husband candidates aren''t quite so good after all, huh?


    "I killed the brother of one of them, but here he is with his tail tucked between his legs. I''m sure he''s learned of it by now, and yet he came here instead of seeking me out. Isn''t he a bit too cowardly? He doesn''t even want to face off against a mere little Transcended?


    "And what''s with this other one? I thought your people hated the Ancient Beasts? But this oversized, pathetic excuse of a genius actually spliced his own Bloodline with that of a fox. Do you think he shits in the forest and smells it afterward too?"


    Ryu''s words were sharp and incisive, and for a moment, the two geniuses completely forgot that they were supposed to be clashing with one another.


    Their expressions remained calm, as expected of geniuses. However, much like before, their gazes told a different story as their auras flared.


    "I''m sure you all will be going to the God Grade Holy World. After all, you''ve spent so long planning all of this; it would be a shame if it fell through now.


    "I''ll be there to put an end to all of this. As for the matters of this woman, though... I''m sorry to inform you that they ended long ago. Her lips tasted quite sweet, in case you were wondering!" After saying these words, Ryu''s aura vanished.

 Chapter 2003 Interesting

    ?Chapter 2003 Interesting


    A silence fell over the underground region.


    Sarriel''s temper had been well restrained in these years. She had learned to always keep her calm, a necessity when she was facing off against the odds. Hiding her emotions, controlling them, and keeping them under wraps was what she did best.


    As she grew stronger, and her Dao Heart only followed along, the end result was that her control only became better.


    But right now, her gaze couldn''t help but flash with fury. The worst part was that Ryu was far too prideful to lie about anything, but he was also far too prideful to feel the need to spread his conquests to the world either.


    This meant two things.


    First, she had indeed given her first kiss to Ryu. Although it wasn''t technically her, and was instead an alternate persona resulting from her special cultivation method, the ultimate truth was that she had. She also liked to pretend that that person wasn''t her... but the reality was that it was.


    That version of her was a shy, naive girl who very easily acted on the whims of her feelings. The fact she had kissed Ryu meant that that was what she had wanted to do. Or more accurately, at least a part of her, a sliver of her personality, wanted to.


    And secondly... that meant that Ryu had a purpose for saying those words.


    He was using her. Using her first kiss as a method of attacking the men around her, their psyches, and ultimately their Dao Hearts.


    That made one thing very clear...


    He didn''t give a damn about her at all.


    She had been around Ryu for long enough to know how he treated his women. She had observed what he had done for Elena. Despite the trouble she brought him, and how her naivete only made things more difficult on him, she didn''t blame her in the slightest during that final battle with the Martial Gods in Sacrum.


    It would all be dependent on how valuable he was to her.


    Once he killed her little lovers and defeated her again, what choice would she have?


    Leonel stood to his feet, looking toward where the God Grade World was.


    Now, all he had to do was find a method of entering that world...


    That world was far too important. There were several High Gods in that region, and there was no doubt that the Peak Dao Gods invested a lot into making sure that it was well protected.


    It was safe to say that it would be much more difficult now. And unfortunately, his first plan had fallen through.


    He originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos of killing the Middle Dao God of the Fey, distract them with a Peak Dao God Human Emperor, and then find the opportunity he needed to slip in. But now, that was obviously impossible. The Fey had reacted much more calmly than he expected, and now they had apparently brought backup to make this matter even more difficult. Honestly speaking, the more he learned about this situation, the more suicidal it seemed.


    But this Holy World was too important. Not only was it the location of the third and final False Shrine he would need to destroy, but it also held the Spacetime fusion that he would need to absorb in order to finally complete his Body Realm Cultivation method.


    Ryu sat in silence, his gaze flickering as he thought through several possibilities.


    But then his eyes suddenly flashed with a bright light.


    ''Those statues... interesting... interesting...


    Ryu called out Mae, and she sat in his lap as he finished the last of his thoughts. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

 Chapter 2004 Hypothetically

    ?Chapter 2004 Hypothetically


    "Are you the only one that was sent to this world?" Ryu asked.


    "I''m not sure..."


    Ryu nodded. He already knew that the answer was no. He had a feeling that the portal that the Fey finally finished building was only completed recently, and that meant that they had relied on a Dream Wraith to do it.


    Obviously, it wasn''t his wife; otherwise, she wouldn''t still be alive and kicking. So that meant it had to be another poor soul.


    And that was going to be the key.


    They were using the abilities of the Dream Wraiths, but the odds that they had full control over it were next to nil. In fact, he was willing to bet that it was zero.


    Ryu''s hands subconsciously squeezed Mae''s waist a bit, causing her to blush.


    Noticing, he looked over with a chuckle.


    "What is it? You''re still so shy?"


    Mae looked away, unable to meet the intensity of his eyes.


    Honestly, she was a bit disappointed. Ryu hadn''t even tried to take her to bed in this last while. It almost felt like he was either too occupied with other things or, worse, had already expelled all his desires on others.


    "Oh?" Ryu''s smile deepened. His hand shifted down from Mae''s waist to her ass. Suddenly, he felt that the dress she wore was far too in-the-way.


    Ryu looked at Mac intently, who seemed to now want to find a place to bury her head. He reached for her chin, pulling her face to his and kissing her lips.


    He savored the taste. The sweetness practically flowed like honey, a feeling of intoxication overwhelming him.


    The feeling of having a woman like her in his arms was undoubtedly the best.


    He pulled away slowly, looking into her crimson eyes. The various lines of different shades of red seemed to pop.


    Mae hesitated again, still not quite knowing what to say.


    The answer was yes... somewhat. But again, she wasn''t powerful enough.


    But this time, the possibility was at least less remote. The problem was that this world didn''t have a normal Path of Reincarnation to begin with.


    On the one hand, this was good because there were no other Dream Wraiths here that could stop her.


    But on the other hand, the mess that it was would make it impossible for her to do much of anything. It might even be easier to create a new Path of Reincarnation from scratch, but that was expectedly


    nigh impossible.


    Ryu''s smile deepened.


    "Now, let''s say, hypothetically, someone here already opened up a partial Path of Reincarnation just so that they could communicate across worlds and transport people to and from them. These people have no idea what they''re doing, and now there''s this gorgeous, red-eyed, slim-waisted, and proud-busted wife of Ryu Tatsuya who''s just waiting here to take it over.


    "What do you think would happen then?"


    Mac''s pupils constricted as she suddenly understood something, but then she blushed due to Ryu''s praise. Why didn''t she remember this man being so unserious sometimes?


    Ryu''s grin widened.


    His plan was simple.


    16:59


    The foundation had already been laid out by the efforts of the Fey. He just had to work with Mae to


    take it over, tweak some things, and throw them into chaos.


    At that point... they would have no choice but to dance to his tune.


    2/3

 Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

    ?Chapter 2005 Plan


    Ryu sat in silent meditation with Mae on his lap. He communed with her Primordial Yin as he held her tight, trying to work out the kinks in his plan.


    Ile seemed confident enough in his explanation, but many of the things he mentioned were simply far easier said than done. This would probably be more difficult than forging his great swordstaffs had been, except back then he could rely on a Dao God''s help, but this time, it would be difficult for anyone other than Ryu and Mae to participate.


    An added person would throw in yet another chaotic variable that was hard to manage. If it came down to it, Ryu could try to commune with Hope''s Primordial Yin at the same time in hopes of a better outcome, but whether that would be successful or not was another matter entirely.


    In the end, he felt that it was best he stay the course like this.


    But that was just one aspect of the problem. What if he actually succeeded? How exactly would he use this to throw a wrench in the plans of the Fey? That was another variable that needed to be worked out.


    There were many ways that he could answer this question, but the real goal wasn''t just to disrupt them, but also to disrupt them in a way that maximized the benefits he received.


    Bonus points if he could somehow manage to find a way to lower his odds of dying in the Holy World.


    It wasn''t lost on Ryu just how ridiculous what he wanted to do was. Ile was planning on entering a world that Peak Dao Gods all had their eyes on, and somehow he wanted to effect change in it. enough that he could conquer it.


    Even with his arrogance, he knew how completely and utterly ridiculous it all was.


    Even the Fey Dao Gods would want his head on a platter, never mind the fact that the location of this God Grade Holy World was actually in the Chaos Plane, a Plane where an entire Race of people wanted his head on a pike.


    And yet, Ryu was the picture of calm. With his beautiful wife in his arms, the delicate fragrance of her hair wafting to his nose from time to time, he felt at peace... and for more reasons than just the machinations of his Dao Heart this time.


    ''I know what to do...''


    Ryu had comprehended Nether Qi, but since then, he had practically ignored it.


    They were forced to return to the Nether Plane due to Mae''s Dao being too strong. They wanted to avoid being hunted down by the higher Planes of the True Martial World.


    What Ryu never considered was what differentiated the Dream Wraiths from the Dream Asuras.


    Of course, he had a rudimentary understanding. For example, Dream Wraiths were mostly Mental Realm experts. By comparison, Dream Asuras, though they had Mental Realm aspects as well, also had extremely strong bodies. Well, "relatively" strong, that is.


    1/3


    On a macro scale, the Dream Asuras were so much weaker than the Dream Wraiths that the fact they had relatively strong bodies compared to the others of the Fifth Heaven they once resided on was a worthless tidbit. Ultimately, a Dream Asura would lose to a Dream Wraith ten out of ten times without any sort of suspense.


    This was precisely why Ryu never really cared about the intricate differences. Ultimately, after Mac''s Fate had been changed thanks to him helping her become a Chosen, everything else didn''t matter anymore. He thought that she would become among the best of the Dream Wraiths, and that would be that.


    But...


    What he hadn''t bothered to consider was the fact that the Chosen Blessings wouldn''t just make her a Dream Wraith outright. Of course, it would enhance her suppressed Dream Wraith characteristics to a maximum, but would it do anything else?


    Regardless of the situation, now didn''t seem to be the time to think about it, but Ryu was entranced for a very specific reason.


    Mae''s body held the key to what he needed.


    He only knew how to make use of Nether Qi in respect to his Mental Realm, and his Body Realm cultivation method didn''t touch upon its aspects at all, nor had he ever had the desire to look into it. His Body Realm method was already far too complex as it was.


    Even now, he didn''t have the intention to do it.


    But what he saw in Mae''s body was a bridge that just might connect the two, not for himself, but rather... his plan.

 Chapter 2006 Obvious Answer

    ?Chapter 2006 Obvious Answer


    Deep within Mae''s body was a Body Realm potential that was still waiting to burst through.


    It had to be remembered that the Dream Asuras weren''t just descendants of the Dream Wraiths. Mac


    in particular had the blood of Fire Giants and I lorned Devils within her.


    Together, this gave her both astonishing flame control abilities and a powerful body.


    That had mostly been suppressed by her Dream Wraith characteristics because it was the most prominent of her Bloodlines. However, they were still there.


    It was this Horned Devil Bloodline that was the most intriguing.


    Horned Devils were pure monsters of power. Their bodies held a shocking amount of strength, and their Bloodlines held the secret to turning Nether Qi from a useful Mental Realm booster to a Body Realm one.


    Once again, this wasn''t for the sake of Ryu himself, but why this was so important was because a Cycle of Reincarnation would be incomplete without all three pillars of cultivation...


    And that was where the Fire Giants came into play.


    If the Dream Wraiths were the Pillar of the Mental Realm... and the Horned Devils were the Pillar of the Body Realm... then what were the Fire Giants if not the Pillar of the Qi Realm?


    Ryu felt that Mac had a truly profound path within herself that she was neglecting, but right now he didn''t have the time to guide her. He could only allow her to sense it all passively through what he was going to do next.


    The two slipped into an odd state.


    Much like Ryu could communicate with and enter the Chaos Plane as he pleased thanks to his Chaotic Silk Meridians, and the Faeries and Tey could do the same with the Ethereal Plane, the Dream Wraiths could do the same with the Nether Plane...


    Or in this regard, the incomplete Path of Reincarnation.


    According to the quantum laws of the world, there was nothing scientifically impossible about an atom that made up your body suddenly vanishing and appearing countless light-years away. The reason why entire humans weren''t disappearing every day was that the odds of all the atoms in your body doing that at the same time were so infinitesimally small that it might as well be a zero chance to begin with.


    However, this road was able to direct this chaotic probability, which was precisely how it allowed such instantaneous teleportation without a care for time and space.


    And it was precisely this directing of chaos that was so powerful.


    If it could allow a Dao God to suddenly cross from their world to this one...? What other spontaneous changes could it force with the right sort of delicate hand?


    Ryu had a few ideas...


    What about randomly teleporting a few Ancient Beasts here for some chaos?


    Maybe a sprinkle of changes to the Holy World to trap some people instead, and keep others out...


    And maybe a dash of subterfuge for a cherry on top...


    Ryu had a ton of ideas, but how many of them could he actually execute?


    His stamina was limited, but he was the only one with the mental capacity and comprehension necessary to act.


    He needed to find just one action that would completely flip the tables. The problem was that he already had the exact answer he needed; it was just that he didn''t know if this was really the path he wanted to take just yet.


    Was this how he wanted to end it?


    The answer was obvious...


    Set Ailsa free.

 Chapter 2007 Just Die...

    ?Chapter 2007 Just Die...


    Ryu sat in silence.


    It was a tale as old as time. A man''s fight with his own ego.


    The truth was that if Ryu was the one to set Ailsa free, he won no matter what. She would be relying on him as always, the way he felt like things should be.


    However, it wasn''t the perfect win he wanted.


    He could already manage what would happen. The moment Ailsa was set free, everything would be


    over.


    There was no one here that was a match for her, he knew that. It didn''t even matter that she was outnumbered by so many. Ryu knew that not only would she win, she would make it look easy.


    At that point, his efforts would seem pale by comparison. It definitely wasn''t the perfect victory he thought it would be, and definitely far from the perfect ending he was looking for.


    On the other hand, he could choose another option. He could take the much tougher road and only release her at the end. When that time came, there would be no room for doubt who was superior. Ryu chuckled. ''Since when did I care so much about what others thought?"


    He never did, never had. He hated to explain himself. But here he was wringing his hands and brain trying to squeeze out a perfect idea so that he could one-up his own wife.


    He could consider himself to be a petty, hypocritical man, but that was only when things were in line with his heart and his mind.


    But this... this wasn''t in line with his mind and his heart.


    The difference was clear to him.


    He had been willing to target the God Grade Holy World instead of an easier Spacetime World because the burden would be on his shoulders. No one would suffer other than himself.


    However, trying to extend this problem just because wouldn''t just be making himself suffer anymore, it would be causing extra suffering to Ailsa.


    Somehow, this one decision, one that should have brought them closer, actually made them feel much further apart instead.


    Beads of sweat fell from Ryu''s brows, but his expression was peaceful. He held his wife in his arms, not tiring of her presence even as the years ticked away.


    The chaos in the world didn''t seem to have anything to do with him at all. All the probes of the Fey and Fiends against the Human Emperor all ended in failure as the man only seemed to grow stronger.


    None were willing to invest their Peak Dao Gods, and because of that, failure was the only option forward.


    The gears of war churned, and soon the years became decades.


    Ryu continued to sit in silence, and by now, Hope, Selheira, and Eska were by his side as well. It was almost like they had felt how good his mood was and felt that it was only natural that they should be by his side.


    Soon, it had been almost 70 years since Ryu had entered this world, and the war of Fey and Fiends seemed to be about to boil over.


    It was then that a crack echoed across the world.


    Ailsa sat in silence, tears streaking down her face. Her golden hair spread across the ground around her, fanning out like a gorgeous fan. Beneath her tears, her irises seemed more crimson than ever before.


    As the last of her shackles were shredded apart, her fury seemed to pierce toward the skies. Her aura made that of a Peak Dao God seem like nothing more than a joke. One side of her seemed wreathed in a bright gold so shocking it almost looked white. On the other, there was a dark gold so deep it almost looked black.


    Her tears fell faster, but her fury rose with even greater speed.


    She had lost count of the number of years she had spent suppressed here. And now... her mood was particularly bad. So bad she couldn''t even quite put it into words.


    ''You all... should just die..."


    She didn''t even bother to det in. Her hady inet vanished and von che anneared high in the chine


    She didn''t even bother to get up. Her body just vanished, and soon, she appeared high in the skies. Her hair still spread around her, forming a sun in the skies as portals of darkness and light appeared one after another.

 Chapter 2008 MY BEAUTIFUL AILSA

    2008  MY BEAUTIFUL AILSA


    Everyone in the God Grade Realm looked up. One would have thought that they would see something special in this world, but there was nothing special at all. Instead, it looked like a completely normal world. It had trees, it had a sky, running water... If one stepped in from the outside, it would be hard to tell that there was anything special about it at all. At that moment, a laughter came from the distance. "MY BEAUTIFUL AILSA! YOU''VE FINALLY MADE ANOTHER APPEARANCE AFTER ALL THIS TIME! COME TO SPAR WITH ME AGAIN!?" A family voice echoed through the land. A Fiendish man stood in the far-off distance, facing off against the palace that Ailsa hung above. This was the very same man who Ryu had tuned out the first time he saw Ailsa, thanks to his master. He had the tongue of a venomous snake, and every other word he spewed was a disgusting, grotesque hodgepodge of the foulest things one could think of. And now, he seemed to be provoking Ailsa again. In all these years, Ailsa had never stepped outside the bounds of her palace. Others thought that this was because she had to rely on the Palace''s formations to act, not realizing that the activation of the formations did nothing more than suppress her time and time again. She couldn''t even access her real abilities and was mostly limited to directing her people. Of course, she was very good at the latter as a Cultus Faerie with a deep understanding of the formations of the world and Feng Shui especially. However... it had never been enough to harm the Fiend. The Fiend man stood like a brutish orc. Rather than an element, it looked as though his limbs were made of blood. Deep scars ran across his body, but each one bubbled with blood that seemed to dive into a world hidden in an abyss within. However, as the man''s laughter echoed, his expression suddenly changed. From one of the black holes that manifested, a hand that encompassed the skies began to squeeze its way out. "What is that? How can you have that? What is that?!" The Fiend''s incoherent garbled mess of words didn''t seem to make any sense, almost like he was going back and forth between knowing and understanding what he was seeing, and not. Chains rattled, and a blue-skinned arm BOOMED against the ground, leaving a handprint that would look far more like a valley from a normal-sized person''s point of view. Out from one of the white portals, a single feather bloomed. Gorgeous and delicate, it began to form out a path that a swan soon flew out onto. One after another, creatures of the dark and beautiful goddesses of the light began to manifest. The number only seemed to be increasing. At first, it was just a few, a handful, a number that could be counted with just one''s eyes. But as Ailsa seemed to only grow more infuriated, the number continued to increase. From a handful to dozens, from dozens to thousands, from thousands to tens of thousands... And the problem was... each and every single one of them had an aura that made the Peak Dao God Fiend want to fall to his knees. In fact, he might have already if it wasn''t for the last shred of strength in his Dao Heart keeping him upright. At that moment, he realized that he had never known the true limits of strength of this woman. If she wanted to raze this world to the ground, she didn''t even have to lift her finger personally? Why could she with an army of thousands of beyond Peak Dao Gods at her beck and call? Destruction rained down; however, Ailsa had already disappeared. She stepped out of the Holy World of her own volition as though it was a single glance away. She looked down at the world that had bound her for so long, and the skies shook. Large numbers of powerhouses all turned toward her. And yet, she just forced open more portals. Thousands of beyond Peak Dao Gods? That was a joke. The scale she worked on wasn''t something these people could fathom. Tens of thousands? Hundreds? More like millions. If she was pissed off enough, she just might release them all. Her jaw set, her gloomy gaze looking off toward a certain direction. ... Ryu gently laid Hope beneath him, his lips pressed against hers. His hips pushed forward, and he felt her grip around him tighten. In those moments, he didn''t seem to have a care for what was going on in the world around him. His wives lay around, and since he had promised them a good time, he would give them exactly that. However, first, he was going to have to get Hope used to his flow of things. She pulled back from his kiss, covering her face with two hands as though she couldn''t handle the embarrassment at all. However, there was simply nowhere to hide. Suddenly, she felt a grip on her wrists before they were pulled apart. She thought that it was Ryu, only to find a pair of large breasts swaying above her face. She was speechless to find that it was actually the gentle Selheira who had taken such charge. However, before she could see anything, she could see the light of lust practically spilling over in Selheira''s eyes. Hope was speechless for a moment, but for some reason, that gaze made her feel a heat swelling up inside of her. And then Ryu thrust again. Her body shook as the pleasure hit her in waves. It wasn''t long before she was practically screaming at the top of her lungs. Ryu''s mind worked at full capacity, taking all of his women into his arms, sometimes one by one, sometimes at the same time. He swapped between his member, his tongue, and his fingers with shocking fluidity. One might have even thought he was executing some sort of technique. All the while... the world outside fell into chaos.

 Chapter 2009 Is That So?

    2009  Is That So?


    The chaos of the world didn''t seem to have anything to do with Ryu. He enjoyed the body of his wives with a certain peace of mind that couldn''t be described in just a few words.


    Their delicate waists, their soft lips, the moistness of their folds. He indulged in a way that he hadn''t in decades, as though he had forgotten just how much he enjoyed their touch and feel.


    The outpouring of their souls caused them to connect one after another, and they gained a sense of comprehension for Fate and the mysteries it worked with.


    Ryu had just spent decades comprehending the Path of Reincarnation and how it allowed such instantaneous travel, ignoring restrictions and making time seem like nothing more than a figment of one''s imagination.


    It was a profound application of Fate that relied on chaos. The game of choice that was life, the manipulation of the fundamental variables of the world.


    The series of complex changes was enough to make one''s head spin, and yet they felt like clay putty in Ryu''s palms.


    It was hard to pin down exactly what the Path of Reincarnation did, and how it was able to fix everything. It felt like a blanket solution, but the truth was that it wasn''t exactly like that.


    What was the purpose of the Path of Reincarnation? The key to everything was this.


    The Fey only wanted to use the simplest function, that being the capability of instantaneous travel across Existence.


    Although there were much deeper levels to it, Ryu didn''t need to touch upon them either. Just this level alone, should he remain a Transcended for the rest of his time, would take a lifetime for him to tease apart and comprehend.


    To make a complicated matter simple, all Ryu had really done was use the Path of Reincarnation to allow Ailsa to shift out of her bindings. The moment her restrictions lost hold of their target, they shattered, and she was able to slip away.


    And now that she was free, she was able to unleash a carnage and pent-up fury that had been stifling her chest for a very long time.


    ...


    Dao God Shy felt like there was a hand pierced through his chest, squeezing down on his heart. It didn''t matter what level Dao God you were, or where you were located in this world. So long as you were in this Real or Chaos Plane, you could feel it...


    The sheer gap between her and everyone else.


    It felt hard to fathom that a Dao God could even have this power. In fact, it was hard to imagine that even one of her Summons could have this strength.


    Ailsa stood high in the air, her golden hair fluttering and her crimson eyes piercing through everything. It was as though there wasn''t a single location in the world that was anything more than a single step away from her.


    Whether it was Fiends or Fey, they all died in droves. It was a genocide on a scale that even these cultivators, who had grown up bathing in blood, simply couldn''t wrap their heads around.


    And the worst part was that it was completely unnecessary.


    Dao God Light Ray. Dao God Sparkling Dawn. Dao God Erupting Pulse.


    Dao God Frosted Edge. Dao God Blue Moon''s Radiance. Dao God Silent Chill.


    No matter which of them it was, their names could cause the world to shudder in terror. These were Peak Dao Gods, the overlord existences of the Real Plane.


    There were only seven such existences in total on the Real Plane, at least in the eyes of the public. And an entire six of them were concentrated in the hands of the Fey.


    However, not a single one of them could do anything but show a solemn expression in the face of Ailsa. They couldn''t even muster up any hard words to speak, even if for no other reason than to save face.


    It was like they were cats with their tails firmly clamped down. They didn''t dare to move or even speak for fear that the pain constricting their limbs would only increase.


    For some, their fists were even trembling within their robes, the solemnity between their brows deep.


    However, this sort of stalemate could only last for so long. Especially when Ailsa raised her hand and seemed to be about to attack without a single word.


    In the end, it was Dao God Silent Chill who forced himself to speak first.


    He was the most slender and unassuming of the Peak Dao Gods present, and his voice had a gentleness to it that could have almost made one mistake him for a woman in the right context.


    "Dao God Tatsuya, I can understand if you''re angry, but do keep in mind how all of this began in the first place. Killing us will do you no good. We''ve been aware for a long time that we are no match for you."


    Ailsa''s hand didn''t lower, but to their surprise, she actually spoke.


    "Is that so? You''ve been aware? Are you sure about that?"


    Dao God Silent Chill wanted to speak again, only for his eyes to widen in terror when he noticed that his lower half had suddenly vanished.


    He had no idea how it had happened; he hadn''t even felt any pain at all. Somehow, the fact that there was no pain made it all the more horrifying, especially as slow droplets of blood began to tick and drip down, falling toward the ground in heavy thuds.


    The blood of a Dao God couldn''t be shed so easily, and yet here it was, falling down to the ground, causing rivers to flow with a single drop and forming valleys with a single collision.


    Dao God Silent Chill trembled from head to toe.


    "I don''t remember the posture of people who knew they were beneath me at all. Why is that?" Ailsa asked lightly.


    Her tone was filled with an edge of darkness, one so cold they almost felt like they had lost control of their bodies to shivering. The constant feeling of a knife twisting into her chest and gut made her more and more infuriated with every second that ticked by.

 Chapter 2010 Cultus and Quibus

    Chapter 2010 Cultus and Quibus


    She would never speak so many words to enemies, and she would never bother to say so much to people that she didn''t give a damn about. She was Ryu''s Life Partner, his mirror image. She might have been patient with him in the past, but she hadn''t even gone to see her own parents in all these years despite having had the power to do so, all because they had slighted her...


    How could she ever spare the time for these people?


    But right now...


    She was agitated in ways that she couldn''t quite describe properly.


    "The Ruin Master Guild is filled with nothing but scheming cowards. If not for the actions of the Griffins that day, do you believe that even they would be able to trap me? And yet, you yourselves, knowing what happened, still dared to test my patience time and time again?


    "What were you banking on, exactly? Your little hidden trump cards? Where are they now? Why do you think they haven''t appeared yet?"


    The six Dao Gods froze, their bodies trembling from head to toe. Indeed, this was what they were hoping for. But not a single one of them had appeared just yet, and they could guess why.


    It seemed that even those hidden experts of their Clans felt wholly inferior to this woman before them.


    At that moment, their gazes slowly shifted as they heard rattling chains. They looked over to find a Peak Dao God Fiend they had always been wary of in a half-dead state. His eyes had been dug out, his lower half had been castrated, his tongue had been ripped out...


    Violet centipedes crawled in and out of the crevices of his body, and if it wasn''t for the slight moans of pain that came from him from time to time, one would have thought that he was already long dead.


    Looking at him, it was like they could see their futures reflected before them now. They were mighty Peak Dao Gods; they had already long refined their Dao Hearts to the point that even if Existence collapsed, they wouldn''t even blink.


    But right now, they were shivering like children.


    The problem wasn''t that Ailsa was scarier than the end of the world; it was instead that her Dao Heart was so much more powerful than theirs that their own had been suppressed into the ground. At this moment, they might as well have only just stepped onto the path of cultivation. Their bodies were completely out of their control.


    "I''m sure that while you''re waiting for your hidden experts to act, they''re waiting for the Ruin Master Guild to act. But they don''t know that the Ruin Master Guild also fears me, so they will likely wait for one of their higher branches to act, or maybe they''ll call the Holy Griffin Clan here once again in hopes of seeing a repeat of the past.


    "One after another, you who claim to stand above me, are hoping for someone else to do what you cannot yourselves...


    "So I''ll ask you again. I don''t remember the posture of people who knew they were beneath me at all. Why is that? Who gave you the guts?!"


    Her voice suddenly roared out like a clap of thunder, shredding Dao God Silent Chill to minced meat.


    The other five Dao Gods felt their hearts leap into their throats. A Peak Dao God had died just like that?


    "Stay your hand!"


    A rumbling voice came from the depths of the Sun Clan, and soon, it looked as though a real sun was rising into the skies.


    A man hidden in a gaseous ball of sputtering qi appeared.


    The Peak Dao Gods of the Sun Clan felt themselves relax a bit when this man


    appeared.


    Dao God Smoldering Star. His aura seemed to melt qi itself, smoldering it and refining


    it into a mesh of energy that forged the gaseous aura surging around him now.


    "Who are you to speak to me? Silence."


    This wasn''t her going all out even nearly.


    Ailsa wasn''t just a Cultus Faerie; she was also a Quibus Facric. Both of her lineages ran


    through her veins, and very few people understood just how powerful this sort of


    synergy was.


    On the one hand, she was the ultimate nurturer, an existence the likes of which could


    help even the weakest talent reach the Realms of Dao God.


    And on the other... she had command over life and death.


    At the same time, she had forged her own Path of Necromancy. Her Summons weren''t just some of the rarest Demons across time and space-Demon Kings... Demon


    Emperors...


    But she also had Summons from the Heavenly Plane.


    There was no doubt that that had pissed off quite a few people, and maybe that was


    why she was targeted to such a great degree. However...


    There was a flap that came behind her. A dove with beauty beyond words shrank


    down and landed on her shoulder.


    "I''ll kill my way back there eventually," Ailsa said lightly, stroking the dove''s head


    gently, "but for now..."


    The skies suddenly shattered apart.


    Thousands of vessels and millions of powerhouses bore down from above.


    In a far-off corner, there was a familiar cloaked man who stood in complete silence.


    The portals around Ailsa trembled once before they doubled, and then tripled.


    A blue-skinned demon raised a bow and fired.


    SHUUUUUUUUU!


    It cut through the skies so fast sound couldn''t hope to keep up. Ailsa watched silently


    as a ship was split in two, erupting into a rain of fire all before the destructive wave


    and cacophonic BOOM! echoed through the world.


    Her cherry lips parted slightly. "Kill."


    All at once, her Summons shot into the air, a murderous intent piercing the skies.

 Chapter 2011 Impossible

    ?Chapter 2011 Impossible


    Several cloaked figures filled the skies. Many of their faces were hidden, as though they were trying to hide their identities from the Heavens themselves. All one could tell was that some were vaguely men, others were vaguely women, and others weren''t the normal form of humanoids at all, making it difficult to tell anything much other than the fact they were living, breathing creatures...


    Creatures that held a power that made the world weep.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    And weep it did.


    The skies opened up, and raindrops of golden red fell from the heavens. One would have thought that a Dao Lord of great rapport had just died. But this was nothing more than a precursor.


    Even when Ailsa went on her earlier killing spree, it was like the world had been too fearful to show its dissatisfaction. But now it had truly reached its breaking point. It didn''t dare to show its fury, but instead, it displayed its sadness.


    The potential of the world poured out in waves.


    "Dao Goddess Tatsuya... It seems that you still haven''t learned your lesson. This tale will end the same way it had all those years ago."


    Ailsa stared off into the distance, her gaze still somewhat unfocused. She didn''t seem to hear the voice, and she cared even less to figure out exactly who it was that had spoken.


    These people were still not the ones she wanted to kill. Maybe to the other experts of the world, they were shocking existences that could overturn worlds and even make them weep like this one.


    But to Ailsa... it didn''t matter how many of them there were.


    None of the people she would actually have to take seriously had come this time around... at least none of them were here yet.


    Attacks suddenly rained down from the skies above, and the world seemed like it was going to break apart at the seams.


    Ailsa didn''t move in the slightest, her white robes fluttering in the air. Her hair was like a golden waterfall, her crimson gaze so red that it seemed to reflect a blood


    Ailsa wasn''t even really paying attention, but it seemed that he ended up dying in the rain of attacks. She couldn''t be bothered to figure out who exactly was speaking.


    By now, her tears had dried into sparkling trails along her delicate cheeks. From a distance, it looked as though they were a line of crystal droplets, shining and shimmering along with her beauty.


    The redness of her eyes seemed to have settled down to the greatest extent. They were so red now that even a blood moon could not compare, feeling like the slightest poke could trigger a rain of crimson to bestow the world with the very same frustration and fury that she was feeling.


    The split in the skies didn''t vanish even as the ships came crashing down.


    Ailsa stood in the midst of the carnage, her robes fluttering along with her hair. The meteor showers fell around her in droves, and yet no matter how loud the explosions or how great the destruction, her expression didn''t so much as change. Finally, she seemed to have sensed what she wanted.


    Looking up into the skies, another ship appeared, this one so large that it rivaled the size of the world itself.


    On its helm were more black figures, and if Ryu was here, he would certainly recognize one of them. That was because offset to the side was the very same member of the Ruin Master Guild that he had faced off against all those decades ago now...


    lam.


    His Dao Title was unknown, and he went by this simple name.


    However, it wasn''t Iam who spoke first. It was the vague form of a man with a tall stature and a momentum that could seem to rival even Ailsa''s.


    Yet, with his appearance, Ailsa''s reaction was just as indifferent.


    "Dao Goddess Tatsuya... it seems that you have grown a great deal stronger. I am somewhat curious how you managed to accomplish that?"


    "Curious...?" Ailsa said softly, almost as though speaking to herself. "... It''s simple... my husband grew stronger, so I did as well..."

 Chapter 2012 Send

    ?Chapter 2012 Send


    The man fell into silence. He had no idea what Ailsa was talking about. Maybe for even him, the circumstances surrounding Ailsa and Ryu were things that he couldn''t accept. Doing so would require accepting that one of the fundamental laws of reality could be bent and twisted.


    However, the outcome was to be expected. If Ryu''s cultivation could hold her back, its improvement could likewise loosen the restrictions on her as well.


    After being forcefully sent back in time, she had had more than 99% of her strength sealed away because a piece of her was with a man who had yet to even be born. By the time it was undone, she had to wait as Ryu''s strength began to grow.


    But when the timelines converged and her younger self met Ryu, her power was restricted even further as though the two could not control the same Fate. She lost access to her Spiritual Foundation and practically all of her strength aside from preparations she made in advance.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It was only after her younger self got sent back in time once more that the restrictions on her were lifted and she could finally cultivate normally again, but that still left the problem of her Primordial Yin.


    Ryu''s will was shockingly powerful, so much so that it was difficult to put into words. Or more accurately, his Dao Heart was.


    It had to be remembered that Mae''s Primordial Yin was once a danger to Ryu because the Primordial Yins of Dream Asuras were known to swallow up the minds of greedy husbands.


    Due to this, Dream Asura men only dared to marry more than one woman when they had absolute strength. Without this absolute strength, they would just be sending themselves to die in gruesome fashion.


    However, around the same time Ryu gained Mae''s Primordial Yin, before it could take action against him, he also unsealed his original Dao Heart.


    As such, the coming pressure that would have formed didn''t get a chance to before it was ruthlessly suppressed.


    By the same token, the sudden spike in power of Ailsa''s Primordial Yin should have put Ryu in an even worse situation than that.


    However, it didn''t even get a chance to spike in power at all. She had been ruthlessly suppressed time and time again.


    One might not understand just how this was possible. After all, a Primordial Yin should have no direct impact on cultivation. Well, other than the most important...


    Faith.


    She slowly raised a hand, delicate white gold and dark gold lights swirling around her.


    Dao God Radiant Compass stood in silence, but he could feel all the hairs on his body slowly rising to a point.


    It seemed that even now, he had still underestimated Ailsa. This battle... wouldn''t be so


    easy to complete.


    As Ailsa''s aura accumulated, he made several calculations in his mind. This world couldn''t be given up on; it was too important to their plans. And Ailsa being free was also a problem. She was unruly, didn''t listen to anyone, and she didn''t seem to have anyone that could be used against her.


    Her mention of a husband was the first he had ever heard of it. He did not expect such


    a prideful woman to have a husband, but by the same token, any man it was would also be very difficult to deal with.


    However, why hadn''t he done anything while Ailsa was locked-


    Dao God Radiant Compass'' eyes suddenly narrowed.


    Ailsa''s escape was a complete anomaly. It happened without warning, and they


    couldn''t even react to it.


    Could it be that her husband was the one to set her free? If that was the case, this man


    was far more dangerous than they knew.


    "Send in the others," Dao God Radiant Compass said. "We will stop her here. First priority is to kill the Chaotic Silk Meridian youth."

 Chapter 2013 Single Arm

    ?Chapter 2013 Single Arm


    Ryu sat in silent meditation, his aura fluctuating.


    The feeling of cultivating with his full strength would never not be intoxicating. The ability to access an entire Plane of energy whenever he wanted to was the kind of thing that others could only dream of.


    Ryu''s slow cultivation speed was only a product of two things.


    The first was that he was greedy. He always felt like his Dao could continue to break through, and he was never truly satisfied with it. And time proved him to be correct. He had already shattered the ceiling of his Dao several times, and he felt that there was still more room to improve before he entered the Lord Realm.


    As such, he was never too eager to progress. In fact, in these recent years, his Qi Realm cultivation had only progressed passively as his comprehension of his Dao deepened.


    And now...


    Ilis aura surged once again, and he crossed the final barrier of the Transcended Realm, entering the Omniscient Realm.


    A deep, dark energy of sparkling black-silvers, black-golds, and black-violets swirled around him.


    He felt at peace. With his wives laying around him, he felt like he had everything in the world that a man could possibly want...


    Except for one thing.


    He wasn''t at the top of Existence yet.


    That yearning, deep within his heart, to be the very best of the best, was still sitting in his depths. And no matter what else he gained, he wouldn''t be satisfied until he could claim it all for himself.


    Ryu opened his eyes, slowly standing as his aura continued to skyrocket around him. With a step, he appeared outside of his Inner World and outside of the Human Domain.


    He didn''t even look up into the skies despite all the destruction around him. It was almost as though he was only at his most peaceful state when the world was in chaos, much like this.


    He reached out a palm, and space churned beneath his might.


    Slowly, he was starting to get a deeper picture of what it really meant to have Royal Control.


    This time, they were a mix of individuals he recognized and ones that he didn''t. There was Kira, the Ancient Sinew Bone Structure wielder. Adlael, a descendant of the Martial Gods who had quite a few bones to pick with them and even more to pick with Ryu. Then there was the young woman with three pupils.


    Last time he had seen them, their auras hadn''t been nearly so powerful. But... the last time he saw them was also over 70 years ago.


    Each one was already in the Lord Realm and radiating the auras of their own Paths.


    "He''s mine," Kira growled.


    The last time they fought, he was humiliated because of the Holy World''s state of chaos. He wouldn''t allow that to happen again.


    Though... he had an odd definition of humiliation. After all, he had forced Ryu back, and then the latter left to escape instead of finding a path to kill him because it wasn''t worth the effort when he would win anyway.


    Surprisingly, though, Adlael, who should have the most grievances with Ryu, said nothing. It was as though he was willing to wait it out.


    Compared to the last time where he lost his temper the moment he saw Ryu, he was completely calm this time. He didn''t even try to stop Kira at all, as though he didn''t mind if he was the one to kill Ryu.


    But Kira, likewise, wasn''t standing around waiting for Adlael''s approval either. He let out a howl that sounded as though it had truly come from the maw of a beast.


    He took a step, and the space beneath his feet shattered.


    In an instant, a claw had appeared at Ryu''s throat.


    SHILING!


    Kira froze, his eyes slowly turning to his arm.


    A spurt of blood from a fine line came from it, and he watched as his arm suddenly fell


    from the skies.


    In a single exchange, he lost an arm.

 Chapter 2014 The Difference

    Chapter 2014 The Difference


    Kira suddenly accelerated into retreat, looking at his lost arm in shock. He knew how great his defenses were. On the same level, there was practically no one that could cut through his skin, let alone his bone and tendons in a single strike.


    He didn''t even quite see how Ryu had attacked. It was as though the world had done it for him.


    Adlael''s gaze couldn''t help but narrow.


    The real reason he had allowed Kira to attack was precisely because he thought that something like this might happen. He knew that Ryu was an anomaly, and he found the fact that Ryu''s cultivation was progressing so slowly odd...


    Most would think that Ryu simply wasn''t as talented as he purported to be, but Adlacl knew better.


    The geniuses confident enough in themselves to slow roll their path to Lordship were the truest geniuses there were, existences that would be shaken from their path even if they were scorned by the world.


    Ryu always did things his own way.


    Even if he discounted the time he wasted in Sacrum, Ryu had been cultivating for over a hundred years now.


    By the metric of the best geniuses in Existence, to only be at the Omniscient Realm after such a long time meant that he wasn''t worthy of being named amongst the best of the best.


    And yet, he stood here before them as though he had already proven himself to be far above them all.


    And it didn''t even seem out of place.


    Kira stared at his lost arm for a long while before a rage billowed in his eyes. His canines grew, and his body shook once before a new arm burst out from the wound. He took a breath that sounded more like roaring wind and booming thunder.


    His body grew in size, and spirits of beasts began to manifest out from his body. Roaring tigers and lions shook the space, and his strength skyrocketed.


    With a step, he charged at Ryu again, his fist descending from the skies with the menace of a falling meteor.


    Just as Ryu''s chest was about to be collided with, he reached out a palm.


    At that moment, his entire cultivation foundation was practically erased.


    Fate leaked into the air, and Ryu seemed to only naturally breathe it in.


    He waved a hand, and Kira''s throat appeared in his palm. The man seemed listless as though he was ready to die. He didn''t even try to fight back.


    Ryu looked down at him, seemingly not taking much joy in destroying a man. All he had done was confirm that his Dao really had reached quite a shocking level. The moment he found a weakness in a person, attacking their Dao Heart was quite casy... especially if they had a chink like Kira did.


    "Still the same mindless drivel. Do you think that if you don''t wave it around what''s between your legs fiercely enough, people will mistake you for a woman?"


    The voice was pleasant, but the words were sharp and incisive. With such a beautiful woman speaking to you in this way, it was easy for any man to feel as though they had lost any semblance of masculinity they had left.


    And yet, Ryu hardly reacted at all. He didn''t even try to find where the voice came from. Instead, he just put Kira away before speaking lightly.


    "Whether that''s true or not, I''m sure you know best."


    "I didn''t think you were the kind of man who would try to use ambiguous words to attack the chastity of a woman."


    "What kind of man I am doesn''t really matter to you, does it? You speak words that are quite ironic considering isn''t precisely what you''re looking for a man who swings ''what''s between his legs'' fiercely?"


    "Your chastity? I think you threw that away on your own along with whatever pride you supposedly had."


    A chuckle came from everywhere at once. But it was dark and sinister in a way that made it seem like they weren''t truly laughing at all.


    "I''m going to enjoy killing you," the voice echoed again.


    "That sounds like something I''d say," Ryu replied. "But unlike me, you''re going to let your little boyfriends attack first instead of doing it yourself."


    BOOM!


    A violent aura descended from above as Young Master Moon suddenly appeared.

 Chapter 2015 Lock

    Chapter 2015 Lock


    Ryu hardly looked at the descending man. His thoughts almost felt as though they were elsewhere entirely.


    Was this the feeling that he was chasing after all this time? He felt like the entire world was in the control of his palms, as though there wasn''t anything he could face that he would have no chance of dealing with.


    Maybe even if a Dao God had showed up just now, he would feel the same way. Though that would probably be foolhardy of him, it was a resonant sort of confidence in himself that shouldn''t be shaken or moved.


    His Clear Mirror Dao Heart shone with a resplendent light, and his skin, already practically clear and crystal-like, likewise reacted with the same sort of flare.


    Ryu took a breath, and the harsh winds around him seemed to freeze.


    This was an odd occurrence. Considering the destruction in the surroundings, the meteors falling from the skies, the fluctuations of a battle of Dao Gods in the distance, it didn''t make any sense whatsoever for there to be such a stillness here.


    But to Ryu...


    Any world around himself was his own.


    [Tatsuya Constellation].


    Shimmering starlight descended, streaking with a beautiful sort of cadence that an expert would recognize as the rhythm of a unique formation.


    Ryu took another breath, and the world seemed to pulse along with him once again. He looked as though he had completely forgotten that he was in the middle of a dangerous situation, or maybe he was simply incapable of taking it as a dangerous situation.


    A smile couldn''t help but curl his lips.


    This was certainly the action of his Dao Heart. If it could make him feel calm even with Ailsa so close to him, then something like this was almost certainly going to be pressed down by it with great ease.


    In reality, he knew that these opponents were not easy, and it could become troublesome if they laid down their pride enough to actually attack him together.


    But...


    Would they?


    And even if they did...


    Would he care?


    "If you''re not going to come... I will."


    Ryu took a step, and his body seemed to become a streaking starlight. He pierced through space, time, and Fate all at once, disorienting their senses.


    BANG!


    His [Heavenly Dao Tree].


    BANG!


    A tree branch came from nowhere, shrouded in darkness. Its unpredictability reached


    a new level, cutting into Adlael''s flesh almost down to the very bone before he was


    sent flying away.


    Ryu stood there, still unmoved. Starry light streaked around him, and a crystalline tree rose to his back, wreathed in ice and darkness.


    Gorgeous icy blue blossom petals fell from the skies, coated in Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns. But if one looked closely, from time to time, one would see one hidden in the masses that carried the Heavenly Pattern of a Dark Phoenix.


    At that moment, Ryu suddenly felt like he was frozen in place.


    His [Third Perspective] locked onto the three-pupil woman whose three pupils were rotating in her eyes like a rolodex. They locked onto one, and for a moment, Ryu felt as though all the space in the surroundings was constricting him.


    But he also knew that it couldn''t possibly be space. It was something else.


    Laws.


    He had never faced this woman before, so he didn''t know what her abilities were at all, seemed he knew what one of her Pupils could do now. And judging by the greed


    but


    in her eyes, she seemed to understand what his eyes could do for her.


    A shame, really.


    A roar came from Adlael as he closed in the distance once again, aiming a punch right.


    for Ryu''s head.


    However...


    PA!


    He was sent flying again.


    What good was locking him down if his [Heavenly Dao Tree] wasn''t?

 Chapter 2016 Smart Risks vs Impossible Odds

    ?2016 Smart Risks vs Impossible Odds


    Ryu''s body was being locked in place by a series of complex laws. To his eyes, they looked like the Runes of the world, something that he was very familiar with as a Formation Master.


    But it was more complicated than just that. It was almost like the woman''s pupils were instantly forming a Visualization of sorts, while also borrowing power from the world itself to strengthen it. With this sort of binding power, even a Sovereign would be locked down for a brief instant, and if she was willing to give up her eye, maybe even a Dao God.


    Having come to this conclusion, Ryu shook his head. That was unlikely.


    She didn''t have any true Heavenly Pupils. Instead, she seemed to have replaced her Pupils with shocking abilities that were just a step below Heavenly Pupils, something that Ryu had never seen before.


    Was she trying to create them like Primus had succeeded in? That was a possibility. It was just that... She still had a long way to go.


    Ryu''s Childe of Chaos and Order constitutions rippled only slightly for a flaw to appear.


    [Death Acupoint].


    A needle of qi came from a simple roll of his shoulder. It pierced right through before he even had the care to look toward his surroundings again.


    By this point, Adlael was a mess of blood, continuously charging, and continuously getting flung away as though he was no more than a fly being swatted.


    His state of mind was far too fragile, and the more cracked it was, the easier it was for Ryu to read him.


    By this point, Ryu''s [Lines of Fate] weren''t just working on a few percentage points when it came to Adlael. He had seen through his heart so implicitly that his ability to predict his next actions was near 100%. So close, in fact, that it might as well have been 100%.


    The synergy between his abilities had reached another level. Now, he could use the Chaos half of his Dao to read people, and then use what he understood to read their Fate and Karma with much greater ease.


    The woman was heaving deep breaths as well, but for very different reasons. Her shock was still practically palpable, but she knew that if she didn''t wake Adlacl up, they would all die.


    Ryu casually sent a glance into the air to find that Young Master Moon and Falling Snow were still standing there. They took up separate halves of the sky as though sentries watching over his death. Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. He really hated people standing above him, but these guys didn''t seem to know their place.


    He really wondered what made them think they had the right to do so. There was only one person here who had even a chance of defeating him in a one-on-one battle, and it was certainly not them. They were lucky that she was allowing them to gather information for her. It seemed that in the time he was away, Sarriel had only become more cautious.


    Despite her rage and his baiting words, her Dao Heart was exceptionally firm in its convictions. She wouldn''t act unless she was absolutely certain that she could protect her life.


    But the irony of it was that Ryu knew she would act anyway, even if she eventually realized that there really was a chance she could lose her life to him.


    He was starting to understand Sarriel''s Dao Heart a bit better. It wasn''t that she was unwilling to take risks. If she wasn''t, she would have never grown so strong.


    It was rather that she was only willing to take smart risks, ones that weren''t up against impossible odds.


    Maybe that was smart.


    However... Ryu simply couldn''t allow it.


    If he allowed his Dao Heart to feel aggrieved after all those years of suppression he faced for so very


    long, he would feel maybe even more agitated than Adlael had just now.


    No one was worthy of making him feel that way. Not even his own wife.


    Ryu reached out a hand, and the world flickered as a bow appeared in his palm.

 Chapter 2017 Undefeatable Spirit

    ?


    2017 Undefeatable Spirit


    Feeling his grandfather''s bow in his palms, Ryu couldn''t help but smile. There was a calmness to him as he watched the trinkets on the end of it rattle above. It reminded him of his memories with his grandfather.


    Long ago, he had fused a substance into his grandfather''s bow to give it a chance to slowly improve along with him. In that time, it had been in his Inner World, and it had undergone a great number of changes...


    At least on the inside.


    On the surface, it looked the exact same as it always had, untouched and unmoved by the world.


    It still had the same worn wood where his grandfather''s hands once wrapped around it, it still had the same trinkets of his and his mother''s childhoods hanging on the end, and it even still radiated the aura of a simple treasure.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    One would think that he had just taken out an antique. And yet, he looked at it with more fondness than any treasure he had.


    His Dao Heart resonated with it, and his peaceful state seemed to deepen.


    The world slowed around him as he slowly raised the bow.


    To one side, the three-pupiled woman''s lips were still opened in a scream; below, Adlael was still caught in a daze, and above, the arrogance of the two were still shining through.


    He pulled back on his bowstring, his back remaining loose and almost carefree.


    The light and darkness of his great swordstaff''s tattoos pulsed and suddenly formed an arrow. The moment it was created, the aura of the bow completely changed.


    BOOM!


    Time snapped back to attention as the bowstring was pulled back to a full moon position. With an exhale, Ryu released, the aura of a Bow God towering over Existence.


    Adlael snapped out of his daze, danger gripping his heart. By the time he realized the arrow wasn''t actually aimed at him, his body had already been covered in a cold sweat so thick it dripped down his body.


    They had an arrogance that was externally driven. They cared about what others would think of them. And he...


    Simply did not.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "The next step of my Dao... I will use you all as a whetstone until I can find what it is... This... is not good enough."


    Ryu''s aura changed once more, his hair fluttering in the wind.


    Adlacl and the three-pupiled woman seemed to realize that they couldn''t continue to play it safe and tried to engage in a more meaningful way. But the woman was scared to use another one of her eye''s abilities and didn''t dare to casually use them, while Adlael''s frontal combat capability was being completely overwhelmed by Ryu''s ease at battling from a distance.


    "Show me something: Ryu''s voice echoed again, his almost leisurely arrows piercing toward the weaknesses of his opponents time and time again. Even when they used more power than he did, it didn''t seem to matter. He would target an imbalance in their footwork, a shift in their weight, a gap in their qi control.


    Every time he struck, it was sharp and precise.


    Ryu was already used to battling like this. It was the largest reason he was able to bridge large gaps in strength. But now... he was already close to these people in raw power, and his eyes had only become sharper.


    With such a combination, if they insisted on holding back due to pride, he wouldn''t mind killing them right here and now.


    In his generation, and within his Cultivation Realm...


    Ryu feared no one, and it wasn''t going to change here.


    An indomitable spirit rushed out from Ryu like a tide, piercing the skies above.


    Undefeatable Spirit.


    As though agitated by something, Young Master Moon and Falling Snow both erupted at the same time.


    This time, Ryu had truly pushed them too far.

 Chapter 2018 One by One

    ?


    2018 One by One


    Falling Snow''s body flickered and vanished. At such a point, it was about which of them was the sharper and faster existence. And from what it seemed, Falling Snow''s explosive speed was much greater, so he made it to Ryu first.


    Young Master Moon, realizing what would happen, frowned and came to a stop. He refused to fight Ryu together with someone else; his pride wouldn''t allow it.


    His jaw set, and he watched on coldly. The moment. Falling Snow showed signs of losing, he would kill him first, then deal with Ryu.


    At that moment, there was a clash of fluttering blossoms and snow. The battlefield was divided into two halves, one formed by Ryu''s Heavenly Dao Tree and another by Falling Snow''s blizzard-like


    aura.


    Ryu''s peaceful expression didn''t change as he continued to fire his arrows.


    The snow formed blades around Falling Snow, shattering the arrows one after another in a violent. tempest of momentum.


    He continued to close the distance before his hands flashed, a pair of thin sabers formed of rosy gold and an edge of icy blue appeared in his hands.


    His aura skyrocketed when they appeared, and his rate of parrying Ryu''s bow only accelerated.


    The skies overturned, and a swirl of blue, black, and gold swirled around them. They took the shape of slashes, fluttering petals, and sharpened snow, creating a whirlwind that seemed to want to destroy the world itself.


    Ryu''s hands became faster, leaving blurring afterimages in the air as he suddenly began to move.


    Every time he did, he would cross what seemed to be impossible distance, his Heavenly Dao Tree flashing along with him.


    Slowly. [Heavenly Dao Tree] and [Tatsuya Constellation] seemed to become one, the unpredictability of the first stacked together with the Space and Time control of the latter. And soon, they came together under the umbrella of Fate, a power the likes of which the world had rarely seen, throwing Falling Snow for a loop.


    An arrow suddenly slipped through this defense and struck him on the shoulder.


    In that moment, a silver star began to shimmer into existence, nestling itself above the Heavenly Dao


    Tree.


    Ryu''s aura underwent a qualitative change as well; it was just that it was far more reserved and calm. Ile reached out a hand, and a single great swordstaff appeared.


    It was a gorgeous weapon. Its blade was gold, and its polearm carried the same color with embroidery of shining white layered atop. However, the edge of its blade was a heart-shuddering crimson, one that seemed to come from the depths of the Nether Plane itself.


    Ryu placed two hands on the long polearm and took a step forward.


    He and Falling Snow vanished at the same time.


    BANG!


    Twin sabers and great swordstaff met. The former crisscrossed as the polearm of the latter bent into a wide are, pressing down with greater and greater might.


    Falling Snow''s expression flickered when he realized that Ryu''s body was extremely powerful, no worse than his by any stretch.


    The two separated and unleashed into a flurry of strikes. The skies split, and meteors falling all around were shattered by their auras alone.


    Ryu''s great swordstaff spun in his hands, an illusory are taking shape.


    Falling Snow moved to block it, only for the silent Heavenly Dao Tree to suddenly act.


    Forced to change his tactics halfway, he separated his sabers, blocking from both directions at once.


    But the force was too great.


    He was sent three steps back, his wrists shaking and rattling.


    Ryu calmly took a step forward, his intent blazing.


    If they insisted on working alone, he would simply kill them one by one, then.

 Chapter 2019 Greenhouse Genius

    ?


    2019 Greenhouse Genius


    Ryu''s battle intent blazed through the skies, his great swordstaff swinging again and again.


    Every one of his strikes seemed to carry a myriad of changing forms, and yet each one was just as simple and direct.


    It was hard for Falling Snow to pick up on whether he was fighting a swordsman or a spearman, a saberman or a halberd smith. And unlike the past, it was like these constantly changing forms were all casually and smoothly flowing into one another, beautifully incorporated in an array of magical Fate and tides of qi that mesmerized the eyes.


    In the beginning, Falling Snow managed to regain some of his footing and even seemed capable of countering Ryu to some extent.


    But after just three exchanges, it was like Ryu had imprinted his battle style into his mind and knew what was coming before it came.


    Ryu''s great swordstaff suddenly became heavy.


    Falling Snow braced himself, facing off against the clashes with rattling wrists. But Ryu''s great swordstaff suddenly became light and fluid, sharp and incisive.


    The change was just as abrupt as all the others and didn''t seem to be lacking in case at all.


    Ryu chose his styles almost like a child casually choosing what meal they wanted to have that day. And what attacked Falling Snow''s psyche the most time and time again was Ryu''s casualness about it all.


    Ryu seemed to glance at the surroundings from time to time, taking in the scenery and preparing for the arrival of more enemies all at once...


    He wasn''t even fully focused on him at all!


    The more things were like this, the stronger the feeling of oppression on Falling Snow''s heart. became, and the more suffocating the battle was for him.


    The oppression made his strikes duller and his flare in battle take a dip.


    In another corner of the battlefield, Hope stood in silence, her robes fluttering around her.


    Before her, there were Dao God Shy and Dao God Darkness Rising.


    Much like Ryu, the attention of Darkness Rising was elsewhere.


    was the first time he had seen his


    little brother in such a situation, but despite the fact he was giving a great deal of attention to it all, he was relatively calm.


    The confidence he had in his little brother was not small at all.


    Falling Snow was a genius who had made it through life without facing much opposition and oppression at all. Because of the plans of their Fey Clans, he wasn''t allowed to go out and get any experience, so all he could do was fight against the same opponents.


    When this was put into perspective, it could even be said that the fact Falling Snow had grown so powerful was a miracle and real proof of his great talent.


    There was no genius in the world that could grow in a greenhouse, and though Falling Snow''s upbringing wasn''t that exaggeratedly easy, it was close enough that Darkness Rising knew that he hadn''t reached even a portion of his true skill just yet.


    Young Master Moon? Darkness Rising didn''t take him seriously at all.


    30-0


    The points of his cars sharpened and his hair became more jagged.


    The savageness of his aura powered through everything else as he tore to another level.


    The muscles on his shoulder squirmed and fussed about until they overlapped, forcefully closing the


    wound...


    And then he stomped on the air and shot for Ryu.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Fast, indeed..."


    For him to have such an evaluation of someone, it could be imagined just what level they had reached. His eyes were at the point where they could track the movements of even Dao Gods. He


    could do so before their mutation, let alone now.


    However, his body wasn''t at that level, not even close.


    Even so, for him to call someone fast, it was definitely more than just about their speed outstripping his own. For him to call someone fast, not just their speed had to be greater than his, but his ability to react to it and maneuver around it had to be compromised as well.


    Ile was someone with a Spacetime Soul Nature, and his ability to read and react to opponents was


    unmatched.


    And yet, Ryu stood there, his great swordstaff still on his shoulder as Falling Snow''s saber appeared at


    his throat.


    It seemed as though he was much too slow to react, that his head would go flying into the air.


    Yet the reality was much different from expectation.


    BANG!


    A fluttering line of blossoms appeared along the length of Falling Snow''s saber, blocking in place.


    The harsh winds echoed across Ryu''s face, threatening to send his head flying with just the pressure from it alone. But the real threat was the second saber.


    Ryu''s great swordstaff finally moved.


    He slashed downward, but he missed Falling Snow completely. Instead, his polearm was inverted, and Falling Snow''s second saber slashed right across it.


    BOOM!


    This second saber carried even more power than the first, and Ryu felt a power that almost ripped


    his arm from its socket.


    Tap.


    Ryu was forced a step back.

 Chapter 2020 Skill and Power

    ?


    2020 Skill and Power


    §´§Ñ§â.


    Ryu took a second step back.


    Tap.


    Then a third.


    Finally, he stabilized himself, but the rattling in his bones echoed like cracks of thunder.


    And yet, he grinned. It was a wild, fiendish grin, and it was the kind of maddened smile that made Darkness Rising''s pupils constrict in the far-off distance.


    "Are you angry you shed a little blood?" Ryu asked, his voice sounding like a deep abyssal hell and his own aura beginning to grow in towering waves. "What a worthless excuse of a cultivator."


    BOOM!


    Falling Snow''s body accelerated as he slashed out again.


    A battle erupted between the two as their howls cut through the skies.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Space rippled and then forcefully reformed around them; falling meteors nearby crumbled from the reverberating impact alone, and the Heavens seemed to whine beneath their might, not liking the fact they were forcefully making the world withstand their power.


    The truth was that the Heavens breaking apart and space shattering was part of a world protecting itself and letting pressure disperse. The use of Lord Control to keep a world forcefully contained was like making a vehicle too sturdy. There was no way to disperse the impact through the crumple, so the Heavens had to take on all the


    burden.


    Ironically enough, Lord Control was often more dangerous to a world than God Control because it had the power to keep a world intact to an extent, but not enough to truly take on all the pressure alone.


    Yet, these weren''t things that these two men cared to think about.


    With every clash, Falling Snow''s power seemed to increase as though he had touched upon a valve that was endlessly pouring power into his body.


    His dullness was nowhere to be seen, and in fact, it seemed like he was using Ryu as a whetstone to strengthen himself again and again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu slashed out with his great swordstaff to block one saber and took a half spin to slip out of the way of a second.


    Every time he calculated the next path Falling Snow would take, the man would improve again and make his previous calculations worthless.


    It was almost comical the speed at which the man was improving, and likewise, the pressure on Ryu was only increasing as well.


    And yet, Ryu''s fiendish grin hadn''t faded. If anything, the excitement in his eyes was growing.


    He went from only putting about 20% of his attention into this battle to 30%... and then from 30% to 50%... and then from 50% to 90%.


    All of a sudden, his full attention was on the battle at hand, and he seemed to have forgotten about everything else.


    His blade flowed with a mastery that Falling Snow still couldn''t match, but the combination of Falling Snow''s powerful body and Qi Realm cultivation was like a tempest that fused and collided with one another, raising his power to another tier. BOOM!


    Falling Snow''s aura broke through, shattering the ceiling of the Lower Lord Realm and entering the Middle.


    Ryu''s great swordstaff was almost blown out of his hands as he was sent flying backward.


    The reverberating, booming cacophony of their battle sent devastation all across the


    land.


    But this time...


    Ryu''s arm displayed a flexibility that was unmatched. The strength of his foundation wasn''t something that Falling Snow could compare to.


    The level of dexterity that Ryu had in dual-wielding weapons wasn''t something that Falling Snow could compare to.


    It was the very reason he had chosen this path in the first place. And while Falling Snow had a great deal of skill, he placed strength and power first and foremost. Comparatively speaking... Ryu had a great deal of both, and he didn''t have to choose. The only reason Falling Snow could even compare to his body was that he had yet to


    complete his Body Realm cultivation method.


    And as for skill...


    He couldn''t compare at all.


    Ryu''s strikes suddenly went from heavy to light again. As though he were wielding a thin sword, his wrist lightly flickered, undercutting Falling Snow''s blade and parrying


    it upward. SHIIIIIIIIINIG!


    The grating sound of two blades grinding against one another echoed, and the chips that Ryu''s blade had caused in Falling Snow''s were never more obvious than now. Falling Snow twisted to the side, thinking that Ryu would use this parry opportunity to


    pierce him right through the chest.


    But instead...


    Ryu''s wrist forcefully bowed downward. At that moment, the polearm of his dark great


    swordstaff displayed a flexibility it never had before, curving like the arc of a bow.


    The polearm bent downward, but the tip of the blade shot up, snagging a chip in Falling Snow''s saber.


    Falling Snow''s eyes widened, but it was already too late.


    CRACK.


    His saber shattered.


    Ryu had forged his great swordstaffs with the aid of a Dao God and two False


    Shrines...


    How could Falling Snow''s blades compare to his own?


    Falling Snow managed to block Ryu''s light great swordstaff with his second saber, but


    he had no answer for the follow-up of the dark great swordstaff other than to dodge.


    Unfortunately, what good was that?


    Ryu''s blade cut across Falling Snow''s body.


    Falling Snow barely managed to pull back, but his body was still half cut into.


    A slice extended from his shoulder to his opposite hip, his collarbone, his lungs, and


    his heart all being cut in two.

 Chapter 2021 No Time

    ?2021 No Time


    Ryu didn''t seem to react much to his slice across Falling Snow''s body, his gaze calm and unperturbed.


    Falling Snow fell to a knee, hacking up mouthfuls of blood, the howling winds of his breath strong enough to cause space to shudder.


    That was another large difference between the two. Even without the injury, Falling Snow''s skin was a bright red, his chest heaving and sweat matted on his body as his limbs trembled from the strain.


    Comparatively speaking, Ryu just stood there silently. His heartbeat was so slow that his chest couldn''t even be seen moving. It was only every few minutes that his heart might echo with a beat that caused space to shudder.


    It was like he hadn''t even been in a battle at all, the cadence of his breathing too even.


    His body looked spry. Though his robes were torn asunder, it didn''t do much to detract from his momentum in the slightest. There didn''t even seem to be the slightest wound on his body either.


    Ryu casually swung down his second great swordstaff, and Falling Snow hurried to block. However, he quickly found that the energy pouring into his body couldn''t easily be handled.


    The ravaging darkness suppressed him from all sides, tearing into his body and throwing the qi that he once had such great pride in into disarray.


    That was when he remembered that part of the reason they wanted to capture Ryu in the first place was because of his Chaotic Silk Meridians. He hadn''t taken it very seriously at first.


    The Chaotic Silk Meridians were just another God Grade talent. He had plenty of them, and unlike the Chaotic Silk Meridians, the usage of his own were quite straightforward and not difficult to manifest at all. Comparatively speaking, without jumping through many difficult hoops, the Chaotic Silk Meridians would never be able to display their greatest strength.


    However, this was both a curse and strength of the Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    They might be lackluster if you failed to bring them to their full potential.


    In the meantime, he was trying to attack Falling Snow''s Dao Heart, but there was also


    a very clear difference in skill between geniuses.


    The more he attacked Falling Snow''s Dao Heart, though cracks appeared, the foundation seemed to be tempered further.


    It was clear that Falling Snow wasn''t the sort of man that could easily collapse. In that respect, he was a lot like Starlight, who had had a breakthrough beneath Ryu''s


    pressure.


    This was part of the reason Ryu was dissatisfied with his Dao even now that it had grown so strong. What use was a powerful Dao if it was only useful against middling opponents and geniuses?


    Why waste the time using his Dao when he could just kill the likes of Kira directly?


    17:27


    Why even waste his time?


    But then, when he faced an opponent like Falling Snow, even after forcing him to his knees and defeating him in direct combat, his Dao still couldn''t seem to attack his psyche well enough to shatter the foundation of his cultivation.


    The truth was that Ryu was confident in succeeding if he could work on Falling Snow slowly and subtly for a few days. But Falling Snow was not only now on his guard after witnessing Kira''s ending, but how could Ryu be willing to spend days on a single opponent?


    This was why he had said that his Dao would make him the greatest Court Minister of all time, but he didn''t say anything about using it to become the greatest expert. There were many things about his Dao that he wanted to change, but very few things that would be easily resolved.


    And unfortunately, right now, he didn''t have the time to take Falling Snow''s life.No?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 2022 Limb from Limb

    ?


    2022 Limb from Limb


    Ryu looked up to find that Young Master Moon was already standing there, his arrogance just as great as Falling Snow''s had once been.


    Giving him a casual glance, Ryu suddenly kicked out. The force of his blow was so powerful that it could have leveled a mountain, and yet it was so controlled that when it collided against Falling Snow''s chest, he wasn''t blown back a single centimeter.


    Instead, the man was forced to withstand the entire blow, and his heart practically came to a stop.


    One of Ryu''s great swordstaffs vanished, and he grabbed Falling Snow by the hair, pulling him up from the ground as the man lost consciousness.


    "Why are people so eager to end up like this? I tried to warn you two already. It''s best if the little beauty comes out. Otherwise, none of you stand a chance against me


    one-on-one."


    Young Master Moon didn''t reply. He had already seen Ryu''s strength, but his eyes were still on something entirely different.


    His gaze shifted from Ryu''s eyes to the great swordstaffs in his hand.


    "A stupid weapon to be sure. But the material it was forged out of was excellent. If you present these weapons to me, I wouldn''t mind giving you a swift death even after what you''ve done to my-."


    Ryu''s sigh echoed through the world. Along with it, a slash covered the skies, appearing before Young Master Moon.


    He didn''t know why he had wasted his time talking. He should definitely go back to how things had once been. The days where he couldn''t be bothered to speak to these idiots.


    Young Master Moon held out a palm, forming a circular pattern in the air with a turn of his shoulder.


    A mysterious aura took shape, and Ryu''s slash seemed to slow in the skies.


    Ryu watched this indifferently, but before the two blows had even met, he slashed out a second time.


    Young Master Moon''s technique caused his first slash to slow to a crawl, so when the former saw a second slash coming, he simply sneered and held out a second palm, drawing a circle in the air once again.


    However, the young Fey''s gaze immediately changed when he realized that it didn''t work.


    BANG!


    The blade scythe, formed of sharp gold energy, punctured Young Master Moon''s palm and cut his arm in two lengthwise.


    But Blue Moon had.


    This Dao Title of his encompassed the reflective foundation of his Dao, encompassed the Heaven and Earth, and finally took the hearts of the people, becoming a Deity to be worshipped by all.


    This was the power of a Dao Title.


    However, when it was forced out of Blue Moon''s body, his expression was first one of shock, and then the rage began to set in.


    Veins popped across his forehead and jaw as his entire body seemed to tense. The power he was radiating had increased many times over, so much so that he shot right


    by the momentum of Falling Snow.


    And yet, he wasn''t happy in the slightest.


    The difference between a Dao Title being forced out now and one being forced out by the Title Stele was like night and day.


    Even though he could still participate in the latter, the baptism would be weakened by at least half, if not worse.


    What Ryu had done just now was about as good as cutting off a potential path for him


    in the future.


    He had never been so angry in his life.


    His elder brother was just a matter of his face.


    Sarriel was a woman he had only met once. He wanted to possess her, but he didn''t love her like Falling Snow did. He would be just fine even if he just added her to a


    trophy case.


    But this... this truly infuriated him.


    Suddenly, the illusory blue moon behind him solidified, and he unleashed a furious


    roar.


    "RYU TATSUYA! I''LL RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"


    BOOM!

 Chapter 2023 Blue Moon

    ?2023 Blue Moon


    Blue Moon shot forward, slamming down with a mighty momentum.


    "Don''t you understand your own Dao?" Ryu asked. "You''re defensive. Attack isn''t your strong suit."


    Ryu stood in place, not moving an inch as his Heavenly Dao Tree rippled. With a gush of wind, several icy blue petals formed a barrier in the sky.


    BOOM!


    A curved barrier formed around Ryu and the haggard Falling Snow in his hand. He gave the half-dead Fey a glance before shaking his head.


    This was more annoying than it was worth.


    Ignoring Blue Moon, he raised his great swordstaff and pierced it toward Falling Snow''s dantian,


    As expected, there was yet another barrier there.


    BANG!


    "You young masters are so annoying to deal with. No wonder you''ve never seen your own blood; it''s not because you''re so strong, it''s because you''re wrapped up like a newborn. How could you possibly expect to ever grow strong like this? Scram"


    Ryu ripped Falling Snow to the side and sent him flying off into the distance without a


    care.


    It would simply take too long to try and find a way to bypass Falling Snow''s defenses. It had to be remembered that Falling Snow''s life protection items, given how strong he was, were almost certainly designed to save him even if a Dao God should be the one to try and kill him.


    Although Ryu was confident that he could find a way to bypass it, he simply didn''t have the time. In any case, he didn''t have time for an enemy that he had already defeated. He had more important things to do here, like completing his Body Realm Cultivation Method.


    Ryu took a step forward, sending a glance over to the side that caused the three-pupiled woman to shudder. She seemed to know now that Ryu hadn''t forgotten about them in the slightest.


    Blue Moon''s roar filled the skies, but Ryu slashed out again.


    Against an opponent that used this sort of Dao... Ryu feared them the least.


    Falling Snow was a bit troublesome because he had matched overwhelming body strength with power Qi Realm strength.


    He stopped in the skies, looking down with an unconcealed shock in his eyes. After all that work, was this really all his Dao amounted to in front of a real genius?


    It didn''t even feel like Ryu had fully unleashed his own Dao yet. And yet, he could feel a steady sort of oppression coming from it.


    Blue Moon looked up toward the Silver Star resting above Ryu''s Heavenly Dao Tree. Could that be the reason?


    He was reflecting everything he saw... the Moon''s radiance could only be present as a


    result of a Star.


    He controlled the Moon.


    But Ryu was the Star.


    Blue Moon''s vacant gaze stared at the Star for a long while before a malevolent aura began to burn within him.


    He wasn''t prepared to use this Dao Method yet. His Dao wasn''t nearly refined


    enough.


    However...


    He would rather die than lose like this.


    That was his pride as a cultivator.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as Blue Moon''s aura began to radiate a large amount of Chaos Qi.


    ''Hm?''


    That was when Ryu remembered that Blue Moon had been reported to have cleared a Lord Grade Holy World not long ago, the first in a very long while.


    Could it be related to that? Could he have succeeded in doing what only Ryu could


    have in the past?


    Ryu''s casualness faded.

 Chapter 2024 Press

    ?Chapter 2024 Press


    The Blue Moon above Blue Moon''s head suddenly began to fluctuate like a wild flame. In one moment, it looked forged of solid rock, and in the next, it became a bundle of burning, gaseous flames...


    Like a star.


    In the far-off distance, Darkness Rising''s body flickered and vanished, catching his little brother''s body out of the air.


    There was a dense rage in his eyes, but he tempered it with a slow and steady breath. Ryu wasn''t a fool.


    This throw had proven two things. First, it meant he knew exactly where they were. Even though they were a seemingly impossible distance away for a Lord to manage with, Ryu didn''t seem to take the distance very seriously at all.


    And second... he knew that Darkness Rising would have no choice but to deal with Falling Snow''s injuries. Otherwise, he would be crippled for a lifetime.


    Ryu had used his Primordial Chaos Dark Qi, sending it ravaging through Falling Snow''s body. He was already in a half-dead state after that single slash.


    But as though to make things worse, it wasn''t normal Primordial Chaos Dark Qi; it was rather Primordial Chaos Dark Qi from the Griffin World that was three levels beyond this one and an entire four beyond the True Martial World.


    In this time, Falling Snow had already succeeded in swapping out his qi for that of this world. But his qi was still three steps below that of Ryu''s in Grade, only being that of the God Grade.


    Above the God Grade, there was still the Ancient Grade, Primordial, and the level of Chaos Qi, Embryonic Qi, and Essence beyond that, the strongest Qis in all of existence.


    And that Grade difference didn''t take into account the gap between the Laws of different worlds either.


    That meant, in effect, Ryu''s Qi Grade was as much as six entire levels beyond Falling Snow''s in that instant of time.


    This was a shocking reality that Darkness Rising sensed the moment he touched his little brother.


    He realized that Ryu had checkmated him. He would either have to decide between letting his little brother die or returning and allowing this to continue.


    But he didn''t understand how Ryu even knew that Falling Snow would be so valuable to him.


    Darkness Rising had no idea that with his eyes, Ryu could easily see the Fate connection between Falling Snow and Darkness Rising. He knew at a glance that they were not only family but that Darkness Rising had a great deal of affection for this little brother of his.


    He needed to strike a balance between conserving himself and speed, but unfortunately, he would need to press a little bit more.


    Although he had Embryonic Qi, it couldn''t do much about his Focus Qi, and if he ended up fatigued enough, even his Embryonic Qi would stop working properly. He had experienced that before. His body was just too powerful at this point.


    However, soon enough, he knew the Griffins would get involved in this.


    Why? He had no idea. All he knew was that when he reached out to use their world, he felt the shift.


    All things considered, the Griffins should want nothing to do with these people. After all, they had forcefully suppressed the Ancient Beasts in this region, stopping them


    from appearing.


    But all of this was still a confusing mess to him.


    After all, if the Fey descended from the Fiends, then why were they still fighting a war? Did they not know?


    And weren''t the Ancient Beasts and Fey arch enemies? Why would the Griffins coming here mean danger for him, then? Shouldn''t it be a good thing?


    But his sense of Fate didn''t lie, and his sensitivity toward the trouble his life was in couldn''t be faked.


    In that case, he would just need to press a bit.


    It had to be remembered that he hadn''t just created the great swordstaffs to have a powerful set of weapons. He had created them to take on the burden of a Dao Method he couldn''t withstand the backlash of on his own.


    It seemed that it was time to make its appearance in its truest form.


    Ryu held out both great swordstaffs, and the world was suddenly forcefully stabilized.


    "[- Judgement]"


    He didn''t even move, but space shattered around his blades like broken glass. Even Lord Control couldn''t keep reality together.

 Chapter 2025 Make Them

    ?Chapter 2025 Make Them


    The world fell into a silence. As though all the air had been sucked out and a vacuum had formed.


    Blue Moon felt as though he had been locked onto, his body frozen in place. He was entirely unable to move. It felt like the laws of the world had suddenly turned on him.


    Fluttering runes of light solidified around him.


    "You should be thankful," Ryu said with an indifferent tone. "Normally, I wouldn''t waste an attack like this on the likes of you. I normally wouldn''t waste any words on you either.


    "But you see, in the darkness there''s this woman who thinks too much of herself. If I stay too silent, she might think that the likes of you actually has a right to stand on the same stage as me...


    "When in reality...


    "You were never worthy."


    Ryu''s blade slashed down.


    The world was divided in two.


    It could only be said that it was the simplest of any one of the attacks that Ryu had ever created. There didn''t seem to be any profound truths; there was no overriding of the world or shocking overturn of reality.


    It was just a single slash. Simple, and seemingly unadorned.


    And yet it was this very same attack that made Blue Moon sense the scent of death.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t move a single inch. His entire body was locked down as though the Heavens had descended with the purpose of killing him.


    No... it was deeper than that. It wasn''t just death.


    It was Judgment.


    In some ways, this was an even higher form of Trial. He could feel as though it was his Karma itself that was being locked down.


    Fatigue.


    He shook his head.


    Blue Moon and Falling Snow were powerful opponents. There was clearly something extra special about those that had broken through the ceiling of their world that others didn''t have. Their Undefeatable Spirits had an extra tinge of power that wasn''t normal.


    The result was that their Daos seemed to stretch further than others did, and their power was more refined and sharper than it should have been.


    But Ryu couldn''t help but wonder why his Dao didn''t have the same character to it. Why was it that his Dao, which had broken through the ceiling of a world more than just once, didn''t carry the same benefits as the others did?


    Ironically, the only explanation that Ryu could think of was that it was because... it was too easy for him. Maybe it was precisely because it was so easy that he didn''t experience the same thing.


    Others gained Undefeatable Spirits from taking this step, while he just took it as a casual action.


    If there wasn''t effort involved for him, then how could it help to refine his Dao Heart?


    That said...


    Was his Dao Heart weak?


    Of course not.


    So why couldn''t he use his Dao Heart to allow this change to his Dao?


    ''I see... They gained a subconscious understanding of how to do it through the difficult process, but I never experienced the same struggle, so my Dao Heart and Dao are


    seen as two separate existences to me. When in reality...


    ''I can make them one...!


    BOOM!


    The moment this realization overcame Ryu, his aura shot through the skies.

 Chapter 2026 Impossible

    ?Chapter 2026 Impossible


    Ryu felt the changes.


    As expected, on the surface, there wasn''t much. But he also realized something else when he began.


    It wasn''t just that it had never really been difficult for him to break through the Dao Ceiling, but it was also the fact he had two "Dao Hearts" inside of him.


    His body wasn''t used to using his original Dao Heart the way it was meant to. In addition, his Spiritual Foundation wasn''t in the location it was supposed to be in.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    On top of that, there were two "Godhoods" pulling for his attention, one formed in his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation and the second formed in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    ''Is this what I was missing?"


    A reflective light shone in Ryu''s eyes. At that moment, his Clear Mirror Dao Heart seemed to have layered over his pupils, making his eyes seem far more reflective than they had in the past.


    Usually, his Silver Irises were forgettable. It wasn''t just because they were more like a dull and muted grey most of the time, but it was also that his Pupils themselves were attracting so much attention.


    Even when others didn''t notice it, his Heavenly Pupils were always there, and they would obviously detract from any beauty that his irises might have had.


    But at that moment, it looked like his eyes had gained two blazing silver stars to them. ''I see... It''s so obvious when I think about it now... how could I have missed this?''


    There was a reason the Dao Heart was called the Dao Heart. It was the center of your cultivation, the Spiritual Foundation that held up all things.


    In that case... how could it not incorporate your Dao...


    And your Control.


    The world shuddered around Ryu and solidified. His will manifested into a tangible form, and his Lord Control took such a large step forward that Adlael and the three-pupiled woman took a step back, almost mistaking Ryu''s momentum for someone who had just broken into the Sovereign Realm.


    However, the reality was that Ryu''s cultivation hadn''t changed in the slightest.


    He waved a hand and time froze.


    Adlael was trying to escape, but by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.


    He looked down in horror to find that Ryu had an arm through his chest.


    "Im... possible..."


    Who didn''t know how hard it was to control time? To completely grind time to a stop in a world this powerful, and against an opponent who was a Realm above you...


    That was completely unheard of.


    Even those races with great elemental affinity... simply couldn''t... do this...


    "Oh? You don''t have protections on you? A shame," Ryu said lightly as though he didn''t


    really care whether Adlael was going to live or die.


    In the end, he had died just as pitifully as his brother did.


    However, as he was dying, Ryu sensed something odd and waved a hand.


    Adlael''s spatial ring shot into Ryu''s palms.


    Normally, Ryu wouldn''t be bothered with the items of his enemies after their deaths.


    But he realized a while ago that he was missing out on quite a bit of wealth.


    Even compared to those moments, though, this felt different.

 Chapter 2027 Crystalline Edge

    ?Chapter 2027 Crystalline Edge


    Ryu only looked Adlael in the eye for a moment before he ripped all of his Fate out of his body, incorporating it into himself and then tossing the man''s corpse to the side without a care in the world.


    He looked down at the ring in his palm, his gaze flickering. Time slowed down around him and then ground to a halt. In that moment, his thinking accelerated and it was as though he had entered a completely isolated space where others couldn''t react to his speed, and yet he also couldn''t interact with them.


    Regardless, he had no intention of trying to interact with them in the first place. His only goal was to deal with the ring in his hands.


    Ryu scanned through the entire ring until he found it. With a thought, the sword appeared in his hands and he was taken aback by what he was seeing.


    It was a sword formed with a blue, crystalline edge... forged of a material he had most definitely seen before.


    Ryu thought for a moment before he brought out a familiar dagger. He hadn''t used this dagger in a very long time, so much so that even he had almost forgotten he had it.


    This dagger, or pair of daggers, rather, was none other than one of the gifts that he had received for his thousandth birthday in his first life. It allowed one to pour Spiritual Qi into it and attack the soul of an opponent directly.


    Honestly, Ryu didn''t care much for this weapon anymore, not because it wasn''t interesting, but because he had no need of it.


    Not only did he have some bias against it because it was a treasure of Sacrum, but with his Perfect Blackbody Soul, it was completely unnecessary.


    With his Soul, who cared if it ended up injured? He could just heal it.


    He had one of the most flexible souls in all of existence. He could recover from injuries that others couldn''t fathom. If he wanted to attack someone''s soul directly, he could just do it and not care for the consequences.


    But it was extremely interesting, though... why was it that he could feel this sword calling out to him?


    But the moment it slipped on, it trembled and a surge of aura came from it. An illusory gauntlet quickly covered Ryu''s hand, then up his arm and shoulder. Soon, his entire body was covered in a crystalline blue armor...


    It wasn''t the first time Ryu had seen this armor. He had already triggered it back in Sacrum. But once again, he hadn''t been very interested in carrying it forward. He was so obsessed with the outside world and what it had to offer that he had yet to unearth all the mysteries of Sacrum.


    For example, the Human Skin Tome that was still in his possession. Or, even more shockingly than that...


    What about the Prayer Mat?


    He had found the Prayer Mat covering a node that surged with energy from the core


    of Sacrum''s Heart. Sitting on it allowed him to sense every life and death in Sacrum all


    at once.


    Who had been able to create such a treasure? Why was it there in the first place? What was the relation between it and everything?


    Were the Martial Gods really only obsessed with Sacrum because Elena''s mother was looking for a method of supporting her ambition? Or was there something deeper?


    With the armor on, Ryu''s grip over the dagger and swords tightened. And soon, there was a connection formed between the two.


    At that moment, Iam''s head snapped toward Ryu''s location. The speed of a Dao God that was in a hurry was exceptional. Even under supposedly frozen time, the reaction was snappy and quicker than what could be described.


    Unfortunately, with their hands full with Ailsa... there was nothing they could do at all.

 Chapter 2028 Only One Reason

    ?Chapter 2028 Only One Reason


    Ryu saw the crystalline objects in a new light, but at the same time, he was baffled.


    This was definitely not the first time that he had held the dagger in this form. He was sure that he had done it before. But why was it that it was so different now?


    Looking at the glove on his hand, his eyes flickered as he began to deduce something.


    ''I see... before, I was hardly acknowledged by this thing. To think a treasure born from Sacrum would be so arrogant...''


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle.


    The Glove of Order reacted to one''s level of Comprehension. But back then, Ryu hadn''t even had a Dao, let alone a solid enough Comprehension for it to latch onto.


    Every time he had an improvement in his Inheritances, the Glove of Order would react in kind, but it was also like feeding little meat pebbles to a black bear. How could it ever be satisfied with that?


    For a long time, the Glove of Order had been starving. But now it finally had something to hang its


    hat on.


    Ryu chuckled and then shook his head. Raising up the sword, he casually slashed down.


    There was a resonance that formed and the laws of the world overturned.


    Ryu felt that even his own soul was about to be ripped out of his body, and to his shock, the power of this casual swing was already nearing about 90% the potential of his Judgment attack.


    It floored him.


    That Dao Method was one of his most powerful, and he had even improved it further by incorporating the use of a False Shrine and his Fate and Karma Soul Nature on top of that. He couldn''t fathom how this casual swing managed to cover so much of that strength.


    Ryu looked at it for a moment and then shook his head.


    But then something happened. In the True Martial World... it had moved up to sixth, tying with Ryu''s Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    Why was that? After all that nonsense Sarriel spoke about, could it be that she was just blowing her own horn after all?


    There were only two explanations.


    Either she had been lying from the very beginning, or...


    Ryu almost wanted to dismiss the thought. The second possibility was so shocking that it would have to mean that Sarriel was at a level now that was hard to imagine.


    In order for the second to be true, she would have had to override every Truth Pupil wielder who had ever existed before, making her already the strongest Truth Pupil wielder to ever exist. Of course, this wouldn''t be in cultivation, but rather in mastery of the Truth Pupils... That second possibility was that she had become the main decider of the Fate of the Truth Pupils, and she personally made the decision to lift the veil of deceit that shrouded the Truth Pupils.


    It was only just the slightest bit, moving them from seventh to sixth place. But... even a half a position was shocking. In fact, budging it at all was far beyond means that Ryu could even fathom right now.


    It could be said that this woman, if it really was the latter case... had all the reason in the world to be arrogant.


    But that was also precisely why her methods were baffling to Ryu.


    On the one hand, she was unwilling to lay her pride down in front of him, even to the point of holding back during their first fight.


    But then she wanted to lecture him about being cautious and careful, of knowing when to lower his head and protect himself, on top of going around trying to find a husband out of such pathetic candidates, all to do something that her talent should allow her to do all on her own.


    How could Ryu ever respect such a woman? He refused.


    The sharpness of the two''s gazes caused the world to warp and twist around them, shuddering with pain and horror as it seemed to realize that there would be no escaping the damage this time around.


    At the same time... it could be said that Ryu truly wasn''t very good at wooing women. There was only one reason Sarriel would act so contradictorily with him, and he had only himself to blame if he couldn''t figure it out.


    But at the moment, he only seemed interested in knocking her down a peg.

 Chapter 2029 Silence and Arrogance

    ?Chapter 2029 Silence and Arrogance


    The silence between the two was palpable. Their arrogance seemed to be ingrained into their very bones, drilled through the psyches and melded into the foundation of their Daos themselves.


    Maybe the two had their own various thoughts about these matters, but what was clear was that they both seemed to be pissed off.


    In the past, Ryu was disappointed that a woman he thought might be perfect actually had such a great character flaw.


    Trying to juxtapose the woman he once thought her to be and the one she was ended up being something he couldn''t square no matter how hard he tried.


    How could the arrogant woman he almost fell for be put in the same breath as this woman who was looking to spread her legs for revenge? It was enough to drive him mad.


    However, it was also a good thing that his pride was so deep. He hadn''t even thought of Sarriel much in these last few decades, and the reason for that was that he had already decided that she wasn''t worthy of him.


    She was so far from the woman that he thought she was that it was impossible for him to accept her in her current form.


    As for Sarriel, she was far too arrogant to explain herself, ironically not much unlike a certain other somebody. The glimpses that Ryu had into her life were the things that she had casually decided to disseminate. Maybe if he cared to listen, she wouldn''t have minded telling him more, but his reaction basically guaranteed that she would never do such a thing.


    Explaining things because she felt like it? Sure, she wouldn''t mind.


    Explaining things because she was chasing after someone else''s validation?


    She would rather die.


    Ryu flipped his palms over and his great swordstaffs disappeared. The scales on his body rippled, and in that moment, the horns on his head grew longer and more penetrating.


    His muscles rippled as his horns branched out, almost forming antlers. Runes began to ripple across their surface, and sparks of lightning danced along with the common spattering of flames.


    His body was slowly changing in subtle ways. The hidden worlds of his scales became deeper and more reflective, and there was something especially... demonic about him.


    The time for talking was finished.


    In his first life, wagging his tongue and sharpening it was all he could do. When his second life began, he grew a particular distaste for it, preferring to use his fists to the point where even conflicts that could have been avoided with a simple explanation were hopped into with both feet by him.


    He had grown better as he continued to age and mature, but there were still times like this when he preferred to not speak at all.


    Even he didn''t realize the irony of the fact that the last time he couldn''t be bothered to speak to explain himself like this... was in front of Ailsa.


    And maybe it was also precisely because of Ailsa that he couldn''t stand the fact these people were standing in his way right now.


    Sarriel, though, didn''t seem to mind it. She smiled.


    It was a smile so beautiful the world seemed to light up for a moment despite the oppressive atmosphere between the two. And yet it was also matched with a pair of eyes that were brooding with darkness.


    She stood there with that arrogant smile on her face, meeting Ryu''s eyes as though she was looking at a plaything.


    ''I wonder... How long can you maintain that form for?"


    She took a step forward, her dress fluttering in the wind along with her long, streaming black hair.


    "How many Birthed Phenomena is that at once? How''s your Focus Qi doing? You must be taking me very seriously to go all out like this. I''m almost a bit touched"


    She took another step forward, her momentum building again.


    Ryu still didn''t reply, his breathing even as his eyes shone brighter and brighter. The elements


    flickered all across his body, giving him more and more of the air of a God.


    "Wouldn''t it be a shame if all of this came crashing down with a little push?" Her sweet voice echoed. ''I think you need to learn how fragile you really are.

 Chapter 2030 90%

    ?Chapter 2030 90%


    Sarriel vanished and her palm appeared on Ryu''s chest in an instant. Ryu could see it clearly, or so he thought. The twisting deceptions that danced around Sarriel made it difficult to tell what was reality and what wasn''t. It was hard even to trust his own senses to twist space and warp time when the line between illusion and reality was being blurred so easily.


    If the passive ability of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils was [Third Perspective], then this casual twisting of reality could be considered the same for the Truth Pupils. Even when Sarriel turned it off, a thought of hers could shape and mold the laws of the world.


    This had only grown more powerful after she formed Lord Control.


    Sarriel was clearly much like Ryu, not caring for the speed of cultivation very much, and yet instead excavating every hint of her potential every step along the way. When he had met her, she had already been several times older than him. Since then, he had experienced Rebirth for almost a thousand years, on top of decades more. With Sarriel''s talent, Ryu wouldn''t have been surprised even if he came back to find her already a Dao God. But the fact that she was only a Dao Lord wasn''t a sigh of relief. If anything, it made him several times more serious.


    There was no way that she spent all these years grinding her wheels in the dirt hoping for a single breakthrough into the Lord Realm.


    So the question was...


    Just how deep was her foundation right now?


    PAT.


    The palm collided with Ryu''s chest but there was no sudden, shocking explosion of strength. It was just a last slap, almost as though she was patting Ryu and feeling his chest rather than attacking him.


    And yet, the rolling storm within Ryu''s body told a different story entirely.


    His inner organs shook, his heart would have burst had he not had his Realm Heart, and it felt like all of his bones would dislocate at once.


    And yet, he stood there, perfectly still, perfectly unmoved. His body was so powerful that despite the rolling changes happening within, they didn''t even echo out into the world.


    It was perfectly silent.


    However, he realized one thing immediately...


    **BOOM!**


    Ryu''s aura flared and Sarriel took a casual step back. However, she didn''t seem to do so because of his powerful momentum, but instead to prep a second palm.


    This time, though, Ryu saw through all the illusions and met her head on.


    The world shook around their Lord Control and a thin film of space separated their skin as though they hated one another''s guts so much they couldn''t even stand to touch one another.


    There was a small pause before the two erupted. They didn''t seem to care what part of their bodies they used as every clash overturned the world.


    Palms, fists, knees... Despite Ryu''s larger size, Sarriel was like a shark in blood-infested waters. She moved with the sharpness and fluidity of a battle veteran, switching between styles with just as much ease as Ryu did.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Their forearms clashed and they separated by three meters before erupting again.


    Concentric circles of exploding air destroyed the atmosphere around them, the laws of the world whining and groaning beneath the strain as their Lord Control forced it to remain intact.


    The world was growing like a ready-to-burst balloon, however, they didn''t seem to notice at all as they separated once again, their breathing even and their gazes


    indifferent.


    A sparkle lit in Sarriel''s eyes as her body doubled, and then doubled again.


    Soon, there were dozens of her, each one with 90% of her prowess.


    [Truth Clone].

 Chapter 2031 Summoning

    ?Chapter 2031 Summoning


    There was simply no getting away from it. This was the one and only ability of her Truth Pupils that she had used last time, and the horrors of it still echoed in Ryu''s mind.


    The Truth Pupils... its fundamental ability was to distort the line between illusion and reality, allowing it to create shocking abilities like this one.


    On the one hand, these clones were meant to be nothing more than illusions. And yet, on the other hand...


    Three of them flashed forward.


    Ryu blocked one with a knee and a second with an elbow, his mouth opening up in a roar toward the third. A beam of fire left his lips and tore space in two, appearing before the last in a flash.


    His body shook as the first two clones practically collapsed his body between their strength, but his Heavenly Dao Tree sparkled as it finally joined the battle as well. The casual use of Dragon Breath caused a slight smile to flicker in Sarriel''s eyes. It seemed that Ryu had improved after all. Before, he would only bring out such talents as a last resort when the battle was reaching an apex, but now he seemed much more like a true Dragon.


    Amusing, indeed.


    It was nothing more than a light smile. As for how much she actually cared...


    It was next to nothing.


    Her third clone was destroyed. The only weakness of these clones was that their health wasn''t nearly as great as that of their master. Well, only Sarriel knew that they could be. It was just that she didn''t care enough about this battle to waste the stamina that would be needed to make that necessary.


    Instead...


    She just replaced it with a fourth clone.


    Ryu was besieged from all sides, his body being forced to withstand an assault from what seemed to be an army of geniuses. They came from all sides, each one having the same sharpness and cleverness as Sarriel. It felt like she was trying to overload his mind, draining his Focus Qi even faster than his Birthed Phenomena were already doing.


    As Ryu had stated, the Truth Pupils blurred the line between reality and illusion. These Truth Clones were created on a fundamentally illusory basis before they were shifted into reality.


    Usually, Sarriel picked out a casual ability to be the basis of her illusion. Maybe it was an organ, maybe it was a strand of hair, maybe it was a technique she liked to use. The only requirement was that it be something unique to her, something to tether the illusion.


    Only then could she create a clone that was so powerful.


    However, in order for the Truth Clone to continue to exist, that part of it had to remain illusory. Only that balance between illusion and reality allowed the Clone to display their truest, greatest strength.


    But when facing against. Ryu, whose Pupils could see through such things...


    It didn''t matter how much stamina Sarriel gave them, he would rip through them all in a single touch of judgment.


    Ryu took a step forward, his muscles rippling. The bruises that dotted his body, thanks to Sarriel''s clones, vanished with the circulation of a single drop of Embryonic Qi before he shot forward with another step.


    He appeared before Sarriel, sending out a casual fist strike as he ignored what remained of her clones completely.


    **BOOM!**


    Sarriel didn''t move an inch, but a portal did appear before her. A palm as white as snow came out from the small portal. Even when what was on the other side couldn''t be seen clearly, Ryu could feel the heart-shuddering aura.


    However, he wasn''t surprised... he had already known that Sarriel was a Summoning Necromancer after the first time they fought. Back then, she had summoned a Demon Royal as well... but compared to the aura of the one back then, this one was on a completely different level. They couldn''t even be compared.


    But what Sarriel did next was even more shocking than that.


    Ryu watched as her irises rotated and the portal grew larger.

 Chapter 2032 So Too

    ?Chapter 2032 So Too


    Of the Truth Clones that remained, one suddenly flashed over to the side and fused into the Summoned Demon''s body.


    All of a sudden, its already oppressive aura reached a new stage, and Ryu was sent blasting backward with a single ripple of its wrists.


    Ryu barely stabilized himself in the air hundreds of kilometers away as he watched an Ice Queen step out from the portal.


    Her skin was an unhealthy sheen of whitish blue, or rather a sheen that would have been unhealthy on practically any other creature. However, her eyes... rather than being the usual blue, they carried sparkling shades of violet...


    Ones that looked eerily reminiscent of Sarriel''s eyes.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He knew that this wasn''t a normal matter by any stretch of the imagination, especially not when three more portals appeared and the three remaining clones fused into each of their bodies.


    Each one of the Ice Queens managed to gain Sarriel''s violet eyes.


    Each of them swiped at the air, causing a long katana of white-blue ice to appear in their fair and delicate palms. The crowns above their heads shimmered as Sarriel stood casually behind them, her own eyes glowing for a moment before they dimmed. Ryu knew that Sarriel had cast a skill with her eyes just now, but he didn''t know exactly what it was until the four Ice Queens moved.


    Each one of their auras was in the Lord Realm, and when they moved, vicious winds rippled around them.


    One suddenly appeared behind Ryu, almost catching him off guard. It was like it had phased through his senses entirely.


    That was when Ryu understood.


    The four Ice Queens formed a Domain of Ice, forcefully changing every qi in the surroundings to suit their element. As Ice Queens, they were formed entirely from the Ice Element as well, meaning if the four worked together to create a Domain like this, they could instantly shift anywhere within it.


    It was essentially an advanced application of Spirit Body.


    However...


    Ryu, who was prepared for a slash to his back, felt a sudden spike of pain.


    His gaze flashed, and he looked down to find a wound eerily similar to the one he had given Blue Moon. No, it wasn''t just eerily similar, it was completely identical in every way, shape, and form, even down to the Darkness Qi rampaging through his body right now despite the fact that the Ice Queens should have only been using Ice Qi. It seemed that on top of using this Domain of Ice, they were also able to use Sarriel''s illusion and reality abilities to add yet another layer of confusion.


    However, when Ryu saw the wound cutting into his shoulder, through his heart, and out of his hip, his grin became even more demonic.


    "Your chest didn''t feel too bad in my palm, handsome. I think I might touch it again..."


    She vanished, her body swaying through the air.


    She appeared before Ryu, her palm striking the exact same place it had before.


    Ryu''s body bent into a curve, being sent flying through the air.


    Sarriel appeared high above Ryu''s flying form, ready to strike out again.


    But at that moment, Ryu''s wings flapped, sending a whirlwind of air pressure toward her. The power of the upward thrust was so great that the vacuum that formed behind him sucked up the ground, sending shards of earth scattering upward.


    Sarriel''s eyes only blinked, watery and misted over with lust.


    Somehow, she phased through it all, pressing a palm to Ryu''s chest again.


    **BANG!**


    Ryu''s trajectory changed. From moving horizontally to the ground, he was blown downward and through it.


    Sarriel vanished once more, appearing on the edge of the crater Ryu was in.


    The lust in her eyes faded, replaced by a murderous light. She raised her hand to her


    lips, tasting Ryu''s blood and shuddering with pleasure.


    Every time her personality fluctuated, her soul''s strength seemed to take another


    enormous bound forward.


    And as her soul strengthened...


    So too did her eyes.

 Chapter 2033 Dreary

    ?Chapter 2033 Dreary


    A new personality, a new soul.


    new soul, a greater soul strength. A greater soul


    strength, stronger Heavenly Pupils.


    The cycle seemed to be endless as Sarriel pulled out one shift and change after another. From arrogant and haughty, to lustful and conniving, to bloodthirsty and possessive...


    Her emotions changed like the pages of a book, and the fluctuations in soul strength that came along with it were rising to the point that even Ryu''s own began to feel suppressed from all sides.


    The lines between deception and reality blurred, and soon what was just illusion was becoming more and more of what the truth could only hope to be.


    And it all happened in the blink of an eye.


    BANG!


    Ryu, who was already locked deep within the depths of a crater, found his body forming a second within it. A force so great came from above that the crater


    deepened, forming a concave abyss within what was already a several-kilometer-deep pit.


    All of his bones threatened to shatter, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood once


    more.


    Sensory input came at him from all sides, and it was hard for his mind to decipher all of them even if his eyes could see through them.


    He could tell that Sarriel was doing this on purpose. So what if his eyes were powerful if his cultivation was too low to decipher everything that he was seeing?


    It was the same concept he had grasped with his Spacetime Soul Nature. At a certain point, if he kept things too simple, then those with minor grasps on the two elements would be able to see what he was doing. However, he had learned many decades ago by now that if he wanted to maximize his Spacetime Soul Nature, it was in his best interest to layer the complexity to the point where even if an opponent had some familiarity with concepts he might use, they wouldn''t have the time in the middle of battle to deal with it all.


    Ryu just never expected that there would come a day where something like this was effective against him.


    He coughed up another mouthful of blood, his body practically laying flat beneath the pressure. His body was barely holding up, and it felt like if it was pushed just the tiniest bit more, all of his bones would collapse to ash,


    Sarriel continued to stand at the edge of the crater, striking out with palms that layered on top of one another again and again.


    Sometimes her laughter would echo through the skies, sometimes it would be a sharp screech, and at other times there would be a thunderous roar that seemed impossible for her delicate body to produce.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    And yet, despite the blood leaking from his lips and the pressure threatening to shatter his body, Ryu looked up to the sky with an eerie calmness in his gaze.


    His horns rippled and the silver marbles that now formed his eyes danced within the reflective light.


    It had been a very long time since he was truly forced into a corner. He couldn''t remember the last time.


    The moment he was no longer there absorbing the bulk of the attacks, the ground beneath him collapsed, forming an abyss tens of times deeper than it had just been. If a mortal stood at the edge, it would look as though the hole fell into the very depths of


    hell.


    But Ryu himself had already appeared in front of Sarriel. Not only had he appeared, but his second great swordstaff was also in his hand.


    Sarriel''s expression changed again. A shy and bashful look colored her gorgeous


    features, and she stumbled backward. She tripped on a rock, which caused her body to


    seemingly by coincidence fall out of the way of Ryu''s blade.


    As though an advanced application of a drunken stance, Sarriel stumbled, shied, and clumsily made her way out of the range of his most lethal strikes.


    Her personality changed again and she became as gentle as a lotus but as distant as a warm breeze in the depths of winter.


    Her movement technique changed once more into a slow and steady cadence, calm and collected, unhurried and unbothered.


    Their gazes met across the void. One would have thought that there would be some


    frustration in Ryu''s eyes. He had never missed so many strikes in a row in his life. His actions were usually too precise, and he was used to outsmarting his enemies into almost presenting themselves to his blades.


    And yet, there wasn''t even a hint of it in his eyes.


    At that moment, his eyes reflected the very same calmness that was in Sarriel''s. It pulsed with a will that didn''t seem to care about the disparity in strength. In his eyes, there would only ever be one outcome no matter what she hid. Ryu took a step forward again, his aura surging. An eight trigram diagram appeared at


    the base of his Heavenly Dao Tree, and high above it, encompassing both the tree and


    his Silver Star.


    The world overturned beneath his aura and his eyes flashed.


    [Rob the World of its Color].


    In that moment, the skies lost their specks of vibrancy. The meteors falling from above


    almost became dull and lifeless in one respect, and yet all the more deadly in another.


    A black and white paintbrush dotted the skies, and it felt like all the qi in the world had been forcefully sucked away.


    Sarriel suddenly found that her control over illusion and reality had been put in a stranglehold and she was slightly late to react.


    Though she still dodged, Ryu''s great swordstaff cut into her sleeve and drew blood


    down her slender arm.


    Blood trickled down as the only splash of color in the now dreary world.

 Chapter 2034 Two

    ?Chapter 2034 Two


    Sarriel''s body flickered and she suddenly appeared tens of kilometers from Ryu. Ryu didn''t follow up, at least not quickly. He only took a calm step forward, crossing an entire kilometer before taking another step that was just as calm.


    His body was beaten and bruised, his clothing barely covered his lower half, and his blood coated his body. And yet, his aura only seemed to be growing taller and more vibrant.


    Sarriel looked up at the world around her, seemingly analyzing something before looking down at the wound on her arm. There seemed to be a flicker of surprise within as well.


    She recognized the skill Ryu had just used. The most powerful abilities of the Mystery of Heaven and Earth Pupils were all well known enough to be recognized if you were looking for it. Considering she knew exactly what Ryu had, it wasn''t a surprise that she could.


    The problem was that shouldn''t be so powerful.


    [Rob the World of its Color] should be a skill capable of countering Immortal Rings, but it wasn''t supposed to be able to do this...


    Ryu had stripped the world down of its Fate itself. Or, more accurately, the Fate that supported her eyes.


    Ryu had been looking for a home run that forced her into a corner, something like what he had done to the three-pupil girl. Back then during their battle, he had used [Rob the World of its Color] to strip one of her pupils of its sight and the ability that came along with it.


    But no matter how he looked, he couldn''t find a method of doing the same to Sarriel even if he was willing to sacrifice his life.


    Her Heavenly Pupils were too strong and her Fate was even stronger.


    This, however... he could certainly do.


    With every calm step, his aura continued to rise.


    Since Sarriel didn''t want to use the abilities of her Heavenly Pupils, he would use his own. He would see how she would deal with this.


    [Lines of Fate].


    The world of black and white became layered in Ryu''s eyes. Every probability was firmly grasped, and without the twisting of Sarriel''s eyes...


    He took another step. But this time, when he appeared once more, his sword was already at Sarriel''s throat.


    Sarriel''s eyes narrowed.


    CLANG!


    Blade met blade as a katana came out from seemingly nowhere.


    Sarriel elegantly fluttered back, landing on the ground with short, delicate, and practiced steps.


    With a swing of her arm, she dispersed the pressure from Ryu''s strike and a large carve-out of land curled to her side.


    The wind pressure of her blade alone brushed by Ryu''s side, flashing by his indifferent expression as his hair kicked up beneath the pressurized, condensed air.


    Strands of his white hair were diced up as they fluttered, but his eyes never left Sarriel.


    The blade was just as long as he remembered, taller than even he himself, let alone Sarriel. Even without counting the handle, its thin frame was a slowly curved edge of over seven feet long, putting even some spears to shame.


    replica of herself to cheat death in her stead.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he looked up into the skies. With a swipe of his hand, his dark great swordstaff returned to his palm from the air. He knew that Sarriel had taken this route because she saw his attack coming.


    At the same time, he could already see how she might use [True Death] with her other abilities, especially her Summoning.


    There were several Necromancy techniques that could be used to cheat death. If they were layered with [True Death]...


    Sarriel suddenly smiled, her aura fluctuating. For some reason, when Ryu saw this smile, he felt his heart shudder.


    It didn''t take him long to realize why. This smile... it was the very same smile as the Sarriel he knew the most intimately. This was the Sarriel who kissed him, the shy and reserved girl who was pure of heart and open about her feelings nonetheless. It was a beautiful sort of dichotomy that could warm the heart of any man.


    "You killed me, Ryu..." she said in a soft, pitiful voice.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled before his gaze suddenly sharpened, looking down at


    the corpse by his feet.


    Blood surged and swirled into a portal. Out from the inside, a second Sarriel took


    shape.


    "... I don''t want to live anymore," she said sadly, looking down at the ground.


    The Sarriel he knew the best raised her katana to her throat and slashed down. Ryu found himself almost calling out to tell her to stop. But it was already too late. His body shuddered as the Sarriel that walked out from the blood portal seemed to gain new life. She looked toward Ryu with an arrogant smile, gazing between her dead


    self and him.


    "How pitiful," she said with an almost sickly sweetness.


    Ryu''s mind felt like it had been fried.


    The headless Sarriel''s corpse pulsed and yet another blood portal appeared. Out from


    within it, another arrogant Sarriel formed.


    He looked between the two, one near him and another a distance away. However, no matter how he looked at them, they were perfectly identical. There was


    no sign of a clone at all as though there had always been two Sarriels from the very


    start.


    100% clones... clones so perfect that they could very well be the real body.


    Wait... had he ever been fighting Sarriel''s real body? He simply couldn''t tell.


    And these clones, as far as he could see... had no weaknesses at all. He couldn''t even deal with one Sarriel; how would he deal with two?

 Chapter 2035 Entertaining

    ?Chapter 2035 Entertaining


    "This is pretty entertaining. Just look at him getting his ass kicked," Lu''Card gnawed on an enormous beast on the top of a mountain range, seemingly not caring about the meteors falling around him. "And because of that pride of his, he won''t make use of us either. We can finally relax and enjoy his pain. Maybe we''ll get extra lucky and he''ll die here."


    "Don''t jinx us, dragon." lanjor would have put a palm over Lu''Card''s mouth if his damned head wasn''t so big. "Just let me enjoy this in peace."


    "What could I possibly be jinxing us about?"


    "Don''t underestimate that man''s shamelessness. Before we know it, we''ll fall into a trap."


    "You sound like you''re more scared of him when he''s not here than when he is."


    "No one is scared of that bastard. The word you should be using is cautious. He has no bottom line-FUCK!"


    lanjor was just in the middle of speaking when he looked into the skies and began to curse. The first was just the beginning; soon enough, there was a string of curses following after him, and he wanted to strangle Lu''Card for not listening to him.


    At that moment, a beauty with flowing white hair appeared. Her breasts were tall and proud, but her style of dress was so elegant and conservative that even the most lascivious of men couldn''t feel it within themselves to blaspheme her with their gaze. There was a certain hint of coldness in her silvery eyes that looked down on the world with a loftiness from above. This was a woman used to wielding power... This was the wife of Ryu Tatsuya, Eska Tatsuya,


    "They are here," Eska said lightly.


    lanjor was still cursing. This Ryu bastard was more shameless than he even knew. He had actually sent his wife.


    What were they supposed to do now? Watch a woman fight while they stood on the sidelines?


    What lanjor didn''t know was that the plan ran deeper than even that alone.


    In one moment, Lu''Card was gnawing on meat and bone, and in the next, he stood. The mountain beneath him trembled, and the space around him warped. He tuned out lanjor''s words and looked off into the distance before his teeth suddenly bared.


    A rumbling growl filled the skies, and the sound of his draconic blood surging through his veins sounded akin to tsunamis wiping out entire swaths of land.


    The two women looked at one another calmly before turning back. There was no clash, no world-shuddering change; it was just a simple look.


    Yet Mac and Selheira felt like they couldn''t quite breathe.


    It seemed that they had forgotten... Ryu had more than just one wife that had experienced trillions of years of life.


    The only reason Eska wasn''t already at the Dao God cultivation realm was because she had fused with a youth that didn''t have nearly the foundation she did. In addition, without Ryu by their side, they had to put in a great deal of effort into undoing their Sacrum Foundation and recultivating to an appropriate standard.


    But ever since they returned to Ryu, in the decades since, they had begun to wonder why they ever struggled in the first place. With all the Embryonic Qi they could ever need at their fingertips, progress that used to take them years took a matter of


    seconds.


    In this time, Eska and Isemeine had been delving into their comprehensions to a deeper and deeper level while refining their foundations. And it was probably about time she took a leap forward.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The skies split open, and the first thing anyone saw were the feathers.


    A gorgeous brownish-tan, rich and almost creamy in its consistency. When they fell from the skies, they carried with them the size of small hills and a softness that graced


    the world.


    The air solidified as a paw descended from above.


    The growls coming from Lu''Card only grew more intense, and all of a sudden, he


    couldn''t seem to hold back anymore.


    With a stomp, the mountain beneath him shattered.

 Chapter 2036 Griffins

    ?Chapter 2036 Griffins


    Griffins.


    The moment they appeared, Lu''Card felt as though his Dragon''s Pride was provoked.


    The rivalry between Dragons and Qilins was well documented. There was simply no escaping that.


    However, it could be said that the Dragons had a rivalry with anyone who tried to suppress them in any way.


    The Qilins were existences who relied on the Judgment of the Heavens. For Dragons, who represented rebelling against the Heavens, this was a huge insult and


    unacceptable.


    By comparison, the Griffins represented Order, structure, Sovereignty... they were antithetical to everything that the Dragons were as well.


    Lu''Card was here for one reason and one reason only. He wanted to become the next Dragon Emperor.


    After realizing that the world was far larger than he thought, he changed his goal from wanting to become a Dragon Emperor of the True Martial World to a Dragon Emperor of all worlds.


    However, the reason he wanted to be a Dragon Emperor and not just a normal


    Emperor was that he believed Dragons were superior to all Races, not because he only had such limited ambition.


    Meaning...


    His Path wouldn''t allow him to be passive when there was some bastard looking above his head, trying to stamp on it.


    He was provoked immediately by the mere auras of the Griffin Race.


    And he wouldn''t stand for it.


    No amount of cursing from Ianjor was going to change anything.


    Eska looked toward Lu''Card''s rushing figure and shook her head. This was indeed what Ryu said would happen. And as expected, it would make things trickier. After all, there weren''t just Lords in there; there were Sovereigns and Dao Gods.


    Eska didn''t move, looking up and into the skies. Originally, Mae and Selheira weren''t supposed to come. Their experience was too low, and they weren''t quite ready.


    But since they insisted on doing so, Ryu had chosen to let them make their own decisions. As for whether that was a mistake or not, only time would tell. Regardless, if there was anyone he trusted to keep them safe... it was Eska.


    As for why...


    A subtle wind whipped up around Eska. It didn''t seem to be a part of any of the other destruction taking place in the surroundings and practically had a mind of its own.


    However, soon, it became far less subtle, growing stronger and stronger until suddenly, her long white hair was dancing in the air.


    It was about time she returned.


    BOOM!


    A hole was torn through the skies, and claps of thunder echoed. Streaking lightning flashed with a deep black hue, sending shivers up the spine of anyone that had seen


    them before.


    Returning to Lordship, Sovereignty, and Godhood beyond wasn''t as easy of a feat as it should have been for someone who had lived as long as Eska.


    For one, she had never made it so far in the first place. The system of Sacrum didn''t have such Realms.


    Second, she had to consider Isemeine''s foundation as well.


    And third was tied into the second reason, Eska''s existence itself was already a Taboo in and of itself. She was an existence that had extended her life through the use of an Immortal Jade and had quasi-stolen a body for her use after the fact.


    Regardless of what Heaven she was beneath, she was an intolerable existence, and this was another reason why her cultivation had been so slow and steady until now. Otherwise, with how long they had been back by Ryu''s side by now, reaching these stages of cultivation should have been easy.


    But now, after all this time, it was finally the right moment.


    The world shook, and Lu''Card found himself stopping his charge. If he continued, he would ram right into Eska''s Tribulation.


    It was clear that this had been done on purpose.

 Chapter 2037 Taboo Path

    ?Chapter 2037 Taboo Path


    Eska looked into the skies, her countenance gorgeous and unmoved. But then it began to flicker, suddenly becoming a woman with a darker tone of skin and a far more valiant air. This second woman looked like she wanted to take a bite out of the skies, her aura surging with battle intent that could overturn the clouds and split the earth.


    Isemeine Tatsuya.


    Her aura was so much different from the calm Eska that the world didn''t seem to know how to react, becoming volatile and almost losing control of its own self.


    The countenances of the two women flickered back and forth, and something about their auras seemed to be reaching a sort of resonance.


    Every time they completed a cycle, their auras would grow more powerful until, all of a sudden, it reached a tipping point and they suddenly solidified into a new form.


    BOOM!


    A white gold aura spread out in all directions, and their power shattered through a ceiling.


    Their Daos combined into one, soaring into the Founding Dao Levels and then beyond before continuing one tier, then two, then three, then a fourth.


    A new woman appeared, sharing the soul of Isemeine and Eska.


    This woman carried Eska''s arrogant, elegant temperament while also having Isemeine''s unruly wildness. She had Eska''s large chest but Isemeine''s rippling, toned musculature. She had Eska''s long, flowing white hair but the white-gold irises of Isemeine.


    Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and her body was wrapped in tight white leather armor that exuded a pulsing power.


    A black chest plate rounded her chest, and her white gold aura formed a pair of angelic wings at her back.


    In that moment, she broke through a veil and her Lord Aura took shape, rippling with a power that descended from the skies and blanketed the world.


    With a grasp at the air, a golden spear took shape. Its presence alone caused space to crack and shatter.


    When she said that she would defeat him one day, she had meant it with every fiber of her being. She strived for that same peak of cultivation.


    The difference was that she didn''t have pride attached to how she accomplished it.


    If she had to fuse with Eska to succeed, then she would do it.


    And... the kinkier part of hers loved being an intimate voyeur to a woman like Eska''s dual cultivation.


    This path would satisfy both of her greatest desires: to be the strongest woman to ever exist... and to satisfy her carnal desires at the same time.


    The combined Eska and Isemeine took a step forward.


    Their souls intertwined in their minds as they entered their absolute strongest state.


    Their auras continued to climb, breaching the Lord Realm and then soaring to Sovereignty. Then from Sovereignty, they pierced toward Godhood.


    The world shuddered and shook as one Tribulation after another stacked.


    Each time, they only became more Taboo, growing deeper and more violent.


    Behind the Tribulation Clouds, the Griffins were stuck, not daring to move forward. This was the most shocking scene they had laid eyes on. Their own Tribulations were quite powerful, but they were nothing like this.


    However, this was precisely what Isemeine and Eska wanted. This violent upsurge was exactly what they needed to complete and cross the final threshold of their cultivation


    technique.


    When this was finished... they would become one of the strongest cultivators in


    Existence.

 Chapter 2038 Fused Tribulation

    ?Chapter 2038 Fused Tribulation


    CHII! BANG!


    The first bolt of black lightning descended from the skies and a flickering blossom appeared in its path.


    Sparks flew, and arching black lightning descended onto the Immortal Sakura, threatening to shatter it to pieces...


    And it succeeded.


    The Immortal Sakura blasted apart in a shuddering rain, but with a flicker of their fused form''s eyes, the Immortal Sakura took shape once again, stronger and more complete.


    They took another step forward and thrust out a spear.


    Their Spear Qi shattered into pieces as well, their golden spear threatening to collapse under the pressure and their wrist shuddering so violently it seemed they might break all the bones in their arms in the next instant.


    But their eyes remained steady and unmoved.


    White gold energy flowed through their body, strengthening them and helping their body to


    recover.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Every time they met the destructive black lightning, they suffered. By the sixth strike, blood was leaking from their lips, and fragments that couldn''t be healed had begun to appear on the Immortal Sakura.


    And yet, every time, they took another step forward as though to challenge the Heavens further.


    Their Dao Hearts shone resplendently, their Spiritual Foundations churning, and their auras continuing to grow.


    This was the power of their Taboo Method.


    As much effort as Ryu had put into gaining two Spiritual Foundations, they had it now. As much trouble as he had gone through to establish his second set of Meridians, they had that now. They had two souls, each with their own talents. They had two Bone Structures, each with their own talents. They had two Daos, cach with their own talents... two Bloodlines...


    The Silver Touch Bloodline buried deep within Isemeine was triggered, and suddenly the two came together, mutating around the form of one another.


    Moments after they formed a Spear-Whip Godhood, they formed the Heavenly Zu Bloodline.


    BOOM!


    Their aura reached another stage as suddenly, all of the insights that Eska had on the Mental Realm were converted to the Body Realm, and all of the insights Isemeine had on the Body Realm were converted to the Mental Realm.


    A feedback loop was formed between the two, and they suddenly flickered their wrists.


    Their Vital Qi and Spiritual Quintessence fused into one, forming a shocking attack that split the Tribulation Clouds in two.


    A snaking, golden spear-whip tore through the air, clashing against the Heavens themselves. However, this seemed to infuriate them all the more. The skies shuddered and the Tribulation Clouds quickly reformed, growing stronger and more violent.


    And soon, more bolts fell from the skies, only for the next fusion to take place.


    Isemeine''s Talent Pillars were all one and the same: Heavenly Dew. But Eska''s were not.


    Isemeine''s Bone Structure was only present to support her Heavenly Dew Bloodline. Eska''s Bone Structure, however, was seemingly weak.


    It was originally a mere Sovereign Grade Bone Structure known as Blossoming Petals. This Bone Structure allowed its user to gain a Spirit Body-like ability to devolve into petals to evade and escape.


    This Bone Structure was actually the foundation upon which Eska built her visualization. Of course, a Sovereign Grade Bone Structure might be shocking in Sacrum, but it had to be remembered just how pitiful that was on the scale of the whole of Existence.


    From Common to Black, then Earth, Heaven, and finally Sovereign. Eska''s Bone Structure was a level weaker than an Ancestral Bone Structure, which was a level lower than a Fragmented Bone


    Structure.


    Of course, this was just Sacrum''s Grading System. To the True Martial World, her Bone Structure would simply be known as a Common Grade Bone Structure. They would never give this Bone


    Structure the title of Sovereign.


    However, when this Bone Structure fused with Isemeine''s under the pressure of the Tribulation... [Author''s Note: I think I should probably also say here since I won''t be able to for a while given the way the narrative is going... but this is not a permanent fusion. This is just their ideal battle state.]

 Chapter 2039 Blossoming Petals

    ?Chapter 2039 Blossoming Petals


    Blossoming Petals was a flowery Bone Structure seemingly without any real substance to it. Other than evading and escaping danger, it was hard to expect much of anything.


    But it was precisely that that caught Eska''s attention.


    She had spent her whole life with this simple Bone Structure, even going to the point of building an entire minor cultivation system on it-which by now, her Immortal Sakura could certainly be called.


    These two things, though, seemed unrelated.


    Her Bone Structure was designed for evasion, but her Immortal Sakura was once one of the greatest defensive techniques of Sacrum. It was so good, in fact, that even Ryu, who was almost always insistent on using his own techniques now, still used Eska''s Visualization.


    In fact, if Ryu wasn''t so arrogant, he would have realized that he used all of the Zu Clan Visualizations in some form, from his master''s to his wife''s.


    But that was beside the point at this moment, though it was an important one nonetheless.


    What was more poignant at this time was the fact that in Eska''s eyes... these two matters weren''t identical at all.


    The reason why Eska had such a weird expression on her face when she saw Ryu fuse his Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns into the blossoms of her Visualization was because, in doing so, he changed the entire fundamental foundation of the technique itself.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It had to be remembered that [Immortal Sakura] was originally best at parrying. The blossoms didn''t usually outright block strikes unless they were particularly weak. What the blossoms did instead was redirect power, misdirecting the strength of a blade or technique away from the user located in the very center.


    This parrying strength was built on the evasion characteristics of Eska''s Bone Structure.


    When one observed a blossom petal gliding in the wind, it was possible to see its myriad of changes and its shifting forms. Lighter than a feather, it allowed itself to be carried by the currents that surrounded it until it gently fell to the ground.


    What made Eska''s [Immortal Sakura] so powerful was precisely this method because it allowed two things.


    First, at the highest levels, the trajectory of attacks didn''t need to be calculated at all. The change to the atmosphere around said attack would cause the Immortal Sakura to react immediately, causing a fluttering blossom petal to appear in its path.


    They raised up a palm not holding their spear-whip, and the lightning collided with it.


    However, instead of burning them to ash, the lightning actually diverted its path, crashing into a mountain in the far-off distance.


    There were no shortage of individuals paying attention to this situation. For one, the Tribulation had grown powerful enough to block a large majority of the Griffins outside. This alone would have been enough for even the Dao Gods to pay attention, even if it had been a mere Dao Lord Tribulation. But to make matters more shocking than that, it was a Triple Tribulation that only seemed to be growing stronger and stronger.


    This person wasn''t breaking into Dao Lord; they were trying to break into Godhood in a single bound.


    And judging by the momentum, they didn''t even seem to be doing so just to reach the Lower Dao God Realm either.


    Hope had done this before in the past just a few decades ago, in fact. The shock of that event had still not yet settled down, but most still didn''t know which expert of the Rebirthing Cultus Sect had experienced such a thing.


    However, the experience between Hope and Eska was akin to night and day.


    Hope had lived a very long time... but that was only compared to Ryu. She had still only lived on an order of thousands of years.


    What was that compared to Eska''s trillions? Even Isemeine had lived for a much longer time than she had.


    Their experiences accumulated and suddenly burst forth in a single bound.


    KACHA! BANG!


    Another bolt of lightning fell from the skies, fast and shocking, so much so that it appeared before them in less than a blink.


    However, at that moment, the two swayed slightly. Their body almost seemed to just lightly shift with the wind but also seemed as though they remained in the same spot.


    And yet... the lightning bolt missed them entirely.

 Chapter 2040 Formation

    ?Chapter 2040 Formation


    Eska and Isemeine''s aura continued to climb, surging by leaps and bounds. In fact, their talents seemed to be evolving so fast that their cultivation couldn''t even keep up.


    The light sway of their bodies came so naturally, so lightly. It didn''t take them much effort at all, and yet they seemed to have just used one of the most profound movement techniques to ever exist.


    Part of this was thanks to Ryu. After he fused with the complete Winds, he had no need of his Northern Heavenly Wind any longer. He thus made use of his Inner World to separate it from himself and gave it to his wives.


    This comprehension of wind had allowed Eska''s [Immortal Sakura] Visualization to step beyond a threshold that had once held it back.


    She had spent so long refining the Runes that formed the Visualization that she had forgotten to consider what it might mean to infuse her Inheritances... her Dao into its very fabric.


    Once she had this realization, everything changed, and she progressed by leaps and bounds.


    And that was what triggered their third change.


    The Heavenly Dew Soul was relatively weak. Unlike the Silver Touch Bloodline, there was no connection between Heavenly Dew and the soul, and no feedback to be formed.


    However, after the Heavenly Zu Bloodline was forged between the two of them, this connection wasn''t just established; it became like a gushing dam, allowing an explosion of Spiritual Quintessence to form that still had yet to settle down.


    The Heavenly Dew Soul was thus hurriedly converted into a hybrid of the Heavenly Dew Soul and the Silver Touch Soul. Not only did they gain the ability to steal the Vital Qi of others and make it either their own or morph it into Spiritual Qi, or Quintessence, but...


    The Heavenly Dew''s ability to endlessly pump vitality into their user made their soul quite a lot like Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody Soul, capable of self-healing.


    But... this was only one aspect.


    Not only was it extremely difficult to rebuild the foundation of a talent that was graded so high, but because it had so many paths, it was impossible to deal with.


    It had to be remembered that in Sacrum, there was no "soul" pillar of talent. Most only thought of Bloodline, Meridians, Bone Structure, and Spiritual Foundation. They had no idea about Soul Talent and the Dao.


    As such, most of her life, Eska had ignored her soul. Of course, she was still a Mental Realm expert, but she had believed that the difference in her soul only came down to how much Spiritual Qi she could consume and how large her Spiritual Sea was.


    Even when she learned that her Soul Talent should exist, she had no idea what she was working with. That was because her Perfect Whitebody Soul was the perfect mirror image to any and everything. No matter what she threw it at, it would be able to replicate it perfectly.


    Because of this, there was no looking for its strengths or weaknesses... because its strengths were endless and its weaknesses mostly didn''t exist.


    After a while, Eska gave up, turning her attention to other things. But she never realized that this was the best decision that she could have ever made.


    As with all powerful talents, the Perfect Whitebody Soul was unruly and difficult to manage. Ryu was particularly unlucky with his batch of talents, but that didn''t mean others didn''t struggle as well.


    What she never realized was that every time she and Isemeine progressed in another facet of laying their foundation, her Perfect. Whitebody would silently record these matters, building up a storage of understanding.


    The Immortal Sakura pulsed in their eyes again.


    And now, it was truly prepared to bloom.


    They opened up their arms and the Immortal Sakura in their eyes shed its blossoms. Soon, the trunk of the tree vanished, replaced by fluttering petals that quickly formed into a complicated lotus pattern.


    When these petals fused together to complete the structure, the Tribulation Clouds above became more infuriated.


    The formation of Heavenly Pupils.

 Chapter 2041 Immortal Lotus Blossom

    ?Chapter 2041 Immortal Lotus Blossom


    Violet-gold lotuses took shape in their eyes, fitting into their white-gold irises perfectly, almost like a nebula exploding within their gazes.


    Across the universe, there was a sudden shift..


    There were only 99 total Heavenly Pupils, never more, never less. For one to appear, another had to disappear.


    And at that moment, ranked 99th across the world, a new pair of Heavenly Pupils took shape.


    The lotus shrunk into their Pupils and was swallowed up by the blackness in the end, BOOM!No?v(el)B\\jnn


    A pillar of light connecting the ground to the Heavens shot through everything and all that there was.


    Eska and Isemeine''s auras continued to skyrocket, leaping forward by bounds as Fate converged around them.


    At that moment, their greatest weakness suddenly began to recover.


    Eska should have died long ago. Her Fate Star had run dry, and all this time, she had been relying on Isemeine''s Fate Star alone. This made them weaker by a considerable amount. Compared to Ryu''s other wives, their talents had always been a step below, and they rarely fought by his side as a result.


    But now... deep within the Abyssal Plane, a dying Star that had grown swollen to the point of near explosion suddenly began to regain a flicker of life.


    At the same time, a star that blazed with a fierce bronze fire began to converge toward it, only to be swallowed up by the enormous supergiant star.


    BOOM!


    The Fate Star exploded, but just when the energies were going to disperse, they were forcefully pulled together by a kernel of energy.


    If their current fusion was only temporary, this was a true and permanent fusion.


    From now to the end of their time, Isemeine and Eska would be acknowledged by the universe as a single existence.


    The death of Eska''s Fate Star and the devouring of Isemeine''s paved a path for the birth of a new Fate Star.


    Taking advantage of the influx of Fate that descended from the formation of their Heavenly Pupils, their Fate Star only became more and more resplendent until a shimmering beauty of violet and bronze appeared high above them.


    They took a step forward, and a lotus bloomed at their delicate feet, then another, and then yet another.


    When they took a step with their right foot, the lotus rotated clockwise... with their left, it rotated counter...


    A bolt of black lightning fell from the skies, then a second, then a third. They moved with such furious momentum that soon the skies were filled with a curtain of them, suffocating and dominating all at once.


    Yet, when they ran into a clockwise rotating lotus, they were repelled, being parried to


    the side and sent flying.


    When they ran into a counter-clockwise rotating lotus, they were shredded apart, eaten up, and absorbed into their bodies to fuel them more.


    Eska and Isemeine steadily walked into the skies until they were so close to the Tribulation Clouds that they could reach out and touch them.


    All at once, the lotuses that had become their staircase to the Heavens rippled.


    "We will call you..." they spoke in a gorgeous, layered voice. "... [Stairway to Heaven]." The world shuddered, and the Tribulation clouds seemed to retreat.


    But it was too late.


    The lotuses clashed and surged, fusing into one and shooting into the skies, tearing


    the Tribulation Clouds apart.


    They inhaled once, and the thick clouds were pulled into their noses and mouths, pouring into their bodies with a great deal of strength.


    Then, they slowly closed their lips.


    The skies fell into silence, and there, high above, the Griffins that had been blocked


    outside appeared once again, only for their eyes to widen.


    Eska and Isemeine stood there in silence. With a flick of their wrists, their several-kilometer-long spear-whip snapped back together, its chains leaving rattling sounds that shattered space in its wake.

 Chapter 2042 Risk

    ?Chapter 2042 Risk


    The expressions of many of the Dao Gods changed.


    They had all been fighting to keep a single Ailsa in check, but now a second woman with the same amount of strength had suddenly appeared. How were they going to deal with two existences with this level of strength?


    Eska and Isemeine looked down from their high perch, completely ignoring the Griffins in the sky as they checked on Mae and Selheira.


    The two of them were looking into the skies with gazes of shock and awe, not expecting to witness something like this today.


    The pressure they had felt from Ailsa was completely wiped away, and a determination sparked in their eyes.


    If three of Ryu''s wives had managed this, then it was their place to do the same. Even if it took a lifetime to achieve it.


    ROAR!


    Lu''card was the only person who didn''t seem to give a damn about any of this. The instant he saw that his path to the Griffins was no longer being blocked, he lunged forward.


    He opened his maw, unleashing a Dragon''s breath that was wreathed in spatial storms and what almost looked like crackling black lightning.


    The Griffins were taken aback. Still suppressed by Eska and Isemeine''s aura, they couldn''t quite react, and many of them were enveloped all at once.


    Eska and Isemeine turned their attention back to the skies, their gaze calm as they slowly raised a hand. It seemed that it was time to end things here.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was beaten and broken, but he still held onto his great swordstaffs as his eyes blazed.


    He hadn''t been able to pay even the slightest modicum of attention to Eska and Isemeine. He could only believe in them to make it through on their own.


    Standing tall and straight, he held his blades out, breathing deeply.


    There were now three Sarriels before him, each one with 100% the strength of the main body. He had managed to kill her again, only for her to repeat the same exact trick.


    Honestly speaking, she had probably allowed him to kill her on purpose just so that she could pull this off.


    His grip around his great swordstaffs tightened to the point space crackled and


    groaned around his knuckles.


    The three Sarriels looked at him at the same time.


    "Why don''t you give up already?" they spoke at once.


    Ryu still didn''t reply. He took one more breath and exhaled, howling winds matching


    the cadence of his heaving chest.


    ''Something deeper than Fate and Karma... Fascinating, indeed...


    Deep within Ryu''s body, a change was taking place. He hadn''t dared to do this before. In order to complete his Body Realm cultivation method, he needed Space and Time. This wasn''t just to balance his other Elements, but a much deeper reason...


    His Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure.


    It was the final piece that remained. Without Space and Time, he couldn''t safely complete the cycle of his Body Realm and connect his Bloodlines to his Bones the way they were always meant to.


    However, he really didn''t like to lose... and the idea of losing in the presence of not just


    one, but two of his arrogant wives...


    That was even more unacceptable.


    His Bone Structure began to flicker and the first of his tattoos deepened to the point


    of etching into bone.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 2043 Risk

    ?Chapter 2043 Risk


    Ryu''s Bone Structure was one of his strongest trump cards, but it was also one of the talents that he had the most difficulty in learning to use. This wasn''t just because its appearance in himself was a first across Existence, but also because the paths in which it could take were too numerous.


    The Cosmos Fog within him''s main purpose was separating from the influence of the Heavens. This sounded great, but it gave him too many paths that he could take.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    The logical thing to do was to just focus on the Space and Time aspects of it, and he


    had.


    With his Cosmos Fog, he was able to use Time acceleration in ways that others couldn''t imagine, even to the point of ignoring the distortions in the laws to comprehend insights with time on his side nonetheless.


    This benefit alone was shocking because the one thing that Ryu didn''t have the benefit of was time.


    Ironically enough, despite the fact that he had only been forced to come on this mission, the time he spent cultivating here was already more than four or five times the amount of time he had spent cultivating anywhere else.


    In Sacrum, he didn''t cultivate at all in his first life, and even in his second, he wasted 14 years being oppressed from all sides. He hadn''t even been allowed to Awaken, let alone practice and cultivate.


    There weren''t even 10 years between the time he finally passed the trial of the Phoenix Sky God and the ultimate battle between the Martial Gods before he once again found himself unable to cultivate for 999 years.


    The good news with his Rebirth Talent activating was that it had made his process of re-establishing his foundation much easier. But the bad news was that he had once again wasted more time while others around him were busy growing more powerful... Including Sarriel.


    If he didn''t include the time he spent meditating by the Blackhole to gather up the last treasure he needed for his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, he probably hadn''t even spent five years in the True Martial World before he was forced to come here.


    It was an irony of ironies that the first time he was truly able to meditate in silence and focus on nothing other than improving himself was in this world that was stuck in a perpetual war, but it was also its own form of embarrassment.


    After all, the only reason he had been able to be so leisurely was because of his wife. If not for the Rebirthing Cultus Sect, would he have been so relaxed?


    Although Ryu had had a clash with Star River, making it clear that all the things he gained were only because he had become their Throne, he also wasn''t so naive as to believe that 100%.


    The Throne System outside of Sacrum was far more complicated, and it wasn''t impossible for a Sect he became the Throne of to choose to target him. The reason they didn''t was because one betrayal was already far more than enough. Ailsa would never allow such a thing to happen a second time, so the Sect she built was extraordinarily safe all things considered.


    So much hardship, and yet so little time...


    That was the summary of Ryu''s life.


    When he was facing off against opponents like Sarriel who had orders of magnitude more time in cultivation than he had, it was hard for him to find a chance to stand.


    Sarriel not only had the advantage of all the time he spent in Rebirth, but she had likewise spent many years in Sacrum as well, slowly cultivating and building her foundation on top of having the knowledge that she would progress to the True Martial World one day.


    The Beast Core was something that didn''t even appear in Sacrum. It only occurred in a shockingly small percentage of beasts.


    In the rarest of them, they might be born directly with a Beast Core. But that didn''t


    stop many talented beasts from forming it after birth.


    The Beast Core was an amalgamation of a beast''s insights, manifested into a more tangible form. Usually, it was more Inheritance than anything else. And that was because there was still one other evolution that beasts could take...


    The Dao Bone.


    This was where the Dao resided, and this was what separated the truest of the true elite beasts from the others. It was what allowed the most shocking of the monsters to


    rise up.


    Beasts didn''t have to comprehend much in order to progress. There were probably even God Beasts out there, even amongst the Griffins themselves, that didn''t need to comprehend a Dao.


    They were the beloved children of the Heavens, and they were treated as such, often only needing to rely on their Ancestral insights and natural talent to take one step


    after another.


    But the beasts that took a step beyond this could start to infuse their influence into


    their very Bone. By infusing these insights into their Bone, it could change and influence their Bloodlines to some extent, tinging their Bloodline with their own


    unique flare.


    As usual, there were some directly born with Dao Bones as well, making it even easier on them. These existences could gain direct comprehension insight from their Ancestors to improve and strengthen their Bloodlines.


    It was only after learning all of this that Ryu realized that he had been staring down


    one of the main ways to improve his Bloodlines all along.


    The problem? He wasn''t a beast. These weren''t things that he could do, and his Bloodlines didn''t even lay their roots in his bones like they should, but instead in his


    organs.


    If he wanted to change things, he would have to take an enormous risk.

 Chapter 2044 [True Blade]

    ?Chapter 2044 [True Blade]


    Ryu was attempting to do several things that were dangerous.


    He was trying to accomplish something with his bones that only Beasts could do. This didn''t sound like a problem until one realized that the Beasts were highly favored by the Heavens, and many of the things that they accomplished were as a direct result of the help they received from the Heavens.


    Ryu attempting to do this on his own without the support of the Heavens would not only be highly difficult, but it might very well infuriate the Heavens as well, causing the difficulty to spike considerably as he wouldn''t just be fighting against his own insights and comprehension, but the suppression of the Heavens themselves as well. But this was just the tip of the iceberg. Because the only way for Ryu to actually succeed, he would have to do what his Bone Structure did best and break free of the Heavens.


    What was his real plan?


    It was to steal the Insights of the Beasts, make them and their power his own, and then infuse it into his body.


    That meant that he would also be fighting against the wills of the Ancestors of the Ancient Beasts themselves. Without their acceptance, or the help of the Heavens, he might very well be fighting against two enemies at once that would both like him better off dead.


    And yet, that still wasn''t the most shocking danger that Ryu would have to face. Because in the end, the worst of the danger came from none other than his own self.


    As Ryu had said, his Spacetime Soul Nature that was usually untouchable and shocking... was actually highly limited here. Or more accurately, it just wasn''t enough. He didn''t have enough insights.


    Ryu had given up much of the immediate power and comprehension of the Silver Star of the Zu Ancestor-or rather his future self-in favor of potential instead, allowing his Perfect Blackbody Soul to swallow it up.


    As such, in order to offset that weakness, he needed a Spacetime World that he could swallow up for more immediate gratification.


    Instead of absorbing these insights into his Inner World like he usually did, he actually planned to circulate his Body Realm Cultivation method and direct it to his Bone Structure, allowing the Holy World''s Blessings to guide the final steps of his method. But the question was why?


    This was because Ryu was about to firmly remove one of the three pillars from the Heavens themselves.


    After he succeeded, an entire third of his Cultivation Realms would no longer be reliant on the Heavens and would be built on no one other than himself.


    And doing this was exceptionally dangerous. It meant allowing his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure to truly be boundless, and without any sort of regulation, he could easily lose himself.


    If things went wrong, he might be trapped in a time loop he thought lasted only one second, when in reality he had been trapped for trillions of years. Or, his soul might end up losing its sense of direction in the endless fog, and he might not be able to retrieve it. Or, his Dao Heart, which was already causing him problems, could appear in a nook of his Bone Structure, concocting plans he wouldn''t even be aware of until it was too late.


    The problem wouldn''t be his talent, but rather that the scope of his Bone Structure was far too large and it needed guidance.


    And yet, despite knowing these dangers, not only was Ryu taking this step...


    But he was doing so in the middle of battle.


    BOOM!


    A confidence that couldn''t be taught emitted from Ryu. It wasn''t something that could be given. It could only be built on a mountain of corpses.


    From the time his father first handed him a spear and he took his first lessons, he had been building this confidence into his bones. Even when he no longer believed in his ability to cultivate, that confidence had transferred to other things.


    He had always refused to be a useless man. Even when the Heavens abandoned him in one way, he insisted on improving in others.


    Now, he saw this situation as no different.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya. He would forge his own path to victory.


    A spurt of blood came from Ryu''s mouth, his pores practically pouring out with his valuable life''s blood. However, he brandished his great swordstaffs, his aura climbing. Space crackled like black lightning around him. Furious storms of time warped the air. Silvers and blacks swirled above, and the tug of Fate and Karma sharpened considerably as though they had all been pulled tight.


    Sarriel recovered, but the confusion in her eyes only deepened.


    10-17


    The injuries on Ryu that hadn''t even been able to close before were doing so rapidly.


    And yet, Ryu was more vulnerable now than he ever had been.


    SHIIIIING!


    Sarriel attacked again, this time piercing forward and putting in even more power


    than before.


    The tip of her sword finally cut into Ryu''s scales. And yet, it only drilled in a half inch


    before it came to a stop, and Ryu was sent flying as though he had been hit by a


    hammer.


    Even after landing on the ground, Ryu didn''t awaken immediately. He looked into dead


    space in a daze.


    Sarriel looked down at her blade, almost wondering if Ryu had done something to it.


    Her katana wasn''t as powerful as Ryu''s great swordsstaffs, but the difference was that


    it was actually one of her eye''s abilities as well.


    The [True Blade]. This Truth Pupil ability could manifest a blade dependent on its user''s Inheritance, allowing one to access a Godhood of sorts based on


    weapon-related illusions.


    At least... that was its ability with Sarriel.


    The reason Ryu didn''t recognize it was because [True Blade] was supposed to be a lot


    like Ryu''s mutated [Rob the World of its Color], capable of cutting reality.


    This original ability was why Ryu hadn''t been able to heal easily. However, it had mutated with Sarriel, allowing her to manifest a weapon much like the


    War God Pupils might.


    When both the mutated form and original form of this ability came together, they displayed real strength. But as with all Pupils abilities, they were limited by Sarriel''s cultivation, which was why they couldn''t possibly be as strong as Ryu''s weapons. But it also didn''t matter because Sarriel could just continuously repair her weapon as


    well.


    And yet, this blade that she trusted with her life... Couldn''t cut through Ryu''s undefended body with ease?

 Chapter 2045 Disbelief

    ?Chapter 2045 Disbelief


    Sarriel was in slight disbelief at her inability to deal with Ryu. These defenses weren''t normal, and there was definitely something off about them.


    Although she was suppressing her own cultivation to the Lord Realm, it had to be understood that there were very few Lords across Existence that could match up to her at all.


    The things that she had learned during her time in the True Martial World made her realize that just bringing her Clan back wouldn''t be so easy.


    As much as it looked like she was ambitious, she had thought her only enemy in this life were the Martial Gods, only to realize that the so-called Martial Gods weren''t nearly as simple as they seemed on the surface.


    This was a realization that Ryu himself had made on many occasions. It was simply too difficult to take the strength that the Martial Gods displayed on the surface at face value. Their true abilities ran much deeper than maybe anyone knew.


    In life, Sarriel only wanted two things. The first was revenge against the Martial Gods, and the second was the restoration of her Clan.


    It might have seemed like she wanted to rely on a man to do so, but the reality was that both wishes required one. How was she meant to restore her Clan if she didn''t have a man worthy of her to use their seed by her side?No?v(el)B\\jnn


    And since she didn''t want her children to experience the same heartache she had, the man also had to be strong. If he wasn''t, and all the trouble she got into ended up getting him killed, how would she face her children? How would she face herself?


    This was all to say that she had very focused intentions with her cultivation, and she took meticulous care to take one step at a time, excavating all of the potential she could. And in practice, that had worked out greatly for her.


    This meant that not only was she near the limits of what was possible for the Lord Realm, but her weapon likewise reflected that since it was an extension of her talent. The number of Body Realm experts that could face off against even a normal Lord Grade weapon with their bodies alone were an infinitely small percentage of a small percentage.


    Usually, Body Realm experts would still be forced to use treasures of their own. Even if they relied on close combat techniques, there were still hand wraps, gauntlets, and armors they could use to help amplify their powers and meet such Lord Grade weapons head-on.


    But Sarriel''s blade was not only not just a normal Lord Grade weapon, it was a weapon so powerful that it sliced apart reality itself.


    This was all she said as she surged forward again.


    Ryu found himself pincered from three sides at once. His mind spun, trying to figure out how to handle this situation.


    He had brought out all the stops, but...


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu unleashed a barrage of attacks, two that sent a pair of Sarriels flying and the last of which sent him into a deadlock with the third.


    The air vibrated around their crossed blades, and then, as expected, Ryu lost himself in time.


    Sarriel''s gaze sharpened, but it was too late to pull back her force.


    Ryu was sent flying back as his body went lax.


    ''He''s doing it on purpose, Sarriel realized.


    If they were in the middle of a clash like this when he lost consciousness, it would be much harder for her to follow up and deal a lethal blow to him.


    By the third time this happened, Sarriel found herself getting frustrated, caught between her pride and a willingness to end this battle as quickly as possible. However, Ryu''s lapses were also getting longer and longer rather than shorter. She realized that whatever he had done to himself, he was no closer to fixing. In fact, he was only getting worse as time progressed.


    But likewise, the effect his body had on the world was also increasing. Not only was Ryu frozen in time, but so too was the immediate space around him.

 Chapter 2046 Murkiness

    ?Chapter 2046 Murkiness


    The murkiness of Ryu''s mind was only growing greater. Every time he tried to force his way out, he found himself trapped even further into the quagmire as though the mesh of time and space around him had formed a quicksand that he was already right in the middle of


    His Cosmos Fog was too thick and it felt endless. The more he etched into his bones, the more it flooded into those etchings and even into his body. It coopted his Bloodlines, and it was even encroaching on the rest of the inner organs. It might have already taken over his Meridians if they didn''t have deep and profound abilities of their own.


    He was like an animal stuck in a cage of his own making. He knew that this would happen, but he had chosen to do it anyway.


    The problem wasn''t that he lacked the affinity, but rather that he lacked the depth of power. There was too much to analyze, too quickly. Having to do it personally would leave him not only unable to proceed but also entirely drained of Focus Qi.


    Every time he slipped into this experience, it only got worse as he fell deeper and deeper.


    Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle to himself, finding the situation funny.


    Fear of death? He didn''t feel it, at least not in this situation. And maybe that was the real difference between himself and Sarriel.


    Sarriel didn''t want to die because she knew that the moment she did, there would be no one left to get revenge for her Clan. She lowered her head when it was necessary not because it was what she wanted to do, but because it was the smart thing to do to survive another day, to live for another moment, to strive for another improvement. This was why she did what she did.


    Ryu had never seen things that way. It wasn''t that he felt his family would be just fine without him. He didn''t care how powerful Ailsa, Eska, or Isemeine grew. As far as he was concerned, if there was a bet to be made, he was the best choice to lay all their chips on.


    The real reason Ryu never went as far as Sarriel in protecting his life was because he felt that no true cultivator could be born in fear.


    If he wanted to rise to the top of the world, he couldn''t be sheltered and hidden; he couldn''t be a coward who lowered his head once, because then there would be a second time, and then a third.


    He had seen it happen in his other lives before; he had seen what happened to people who bent with a thought and swayed with the changing winds.


    He refused to be that person.


    It should have been clear to him then, but as with all things in the cultivation world... it wasn''t what you knew, but rather how you came to know it that was undoubtedly the most important.


    Did he know that he was arrogant? Of course he had always known.


    But it wasn''t until now, when he stared down a real possibility of death due to his own actions, that he truly felt the difference...


    There wasn''t even the slightest bit of regret in his heart. In fact, he could tell that even if he were to truly be lost in an endless cycle now, he would be disappointed... but he would also be content.


    It was an odd feeling, one that Ryu never thought he would have. He thought that he would be the last person to ever want to die before he achieved his goals, and though he didn''t truly want to die now, he was... just fine with it.


    At first, he thought that it was his Dao Heart messing with him again, but he quickly realized that he was so lost in the mire of his Cosmos Fog that his Dao Heart couldn''t even reach his mind to influence him, at least not well enough to manipulate a mind as sharp and intelligent as his own.


    This left Ryu in an odd balanced state where his Dao Heart was finally active in a normal capacity for once in its life, and this was precisely when he truly felt the real


    him.


    All his life, the various attacks on his talents had twisted him one way or another, changing who he fundamentally was and shading his outlook on life.


    And it was ironically in a quagmire of his own creation that he felt himself truly feel...


    free.


    He wished for nothing more than to reach the top of the world of cultivation, to stand above and lord over all others.


    But should he fail... he would be content so long as it meant he had been given every chance to succeed.

 Chapter 2047 Irony

    ?2047 Irony


    It was ironic that Ryu realized this about himself. He had always seen himself as a hypocrite. A man who wanted for everything and wouldn''t be satisfied unless he could have it all.


    He didn''t care about the hopes and dreams of Wobbling Fairy. Since she had chosen to lay with him, she would be forever bound to him or suffer his wrath.


    He didn''t care about who he killed, who their families were, who was waiting for them to come home... but should anyone think to do the same with his family, they would surely also face his wrath.


    He had so many contradictory views, all of which could be summarized in a single word.


    Hypocrisy.


    Never did he think that at the height of his life, when he faced off against the dream he had chased after the longest, that he had wanted for the most, that he would actually have such thoughts about it...


    That he was actually okay with losing... just this one...


    But only if he had been able to give it everything he had. Only if he was able to burn as brightly as he could...


    Even if it was just for a short period of time.


    Ryu couldn''t help but remember his Fate Star.


    That day, on his 1000th birthday, he had looked up at it for the first time in a very long while. He remembered how bright it was, how large... but it was too large, too bright.


    It would burn through its fuel quickly. He would be like a flashpan in the span of the wider universe. Although he would shine boldly and largely, he would eventually burn out just as quickly, forgotten and abandoned by the world, never to be remembered...


    The name Ryu Tatsuya would likely be lost to the stream of time. He would have existed for too short a period.


    He had made peace with that long ago. Or so he thought.


    At the very least, he had forced himself onto another path, trying to find other ways to be useful.


    Although he had allowed it to jade his life, he couldn''t help but wonder now if the only reason he had become so hateful of the world was precisely because his Dao Heart hadn''t been by his side at the time, because his soul had been stripped from him and hidden away in the Death Shrine.


    "Is that so? Maybe so."


    Ryu chuckled again, not minding it. Maybe someone so powerful really did have the


    right to say such things.


    He felt calm, relaxed. He stared off into the endless cosmos, his heart resting at ease.


    "Do you know why I picked you?" the voice spoke again.


    "Is there a need to ask? I, Ryu Tatsuya, am always the best bet."


    "And yet you are about to lose yourself because of your stubbornness."


    "I''ve lost myself before. It was quite embarrassing. This, though... isn''t that. If


    anything, I have finally found myself."


    "Indeed. And it''s quite annoying. You''re insufferable in the worst sort of ways. There


    are a few men like you across Existence. One I met before. For a long while, I thought he was you reincarnated. But he is not. You two are so similar that you''ve taken opposite paths."


    "A few? I doubt that."


    "I knew you would say that too."


    "I''m interested now. What is his name?"


    "He is Nameless."


    Ryu blinked for a while and then burst out into laughter. He laughed so hard that tears almost flooded from his eyes. He couldn''t remember the last time he had such cheerful laughter. He must have been only seven or so years old when his Grandpa Kunan had


    made a ridiculous joke.


    And yet, here he was, laughing so heartily.

 Chapter 2048 Hypocrite

    ?2048 Hypocrite


    "Nameless, huh?" Ryu said. "I was right. He and I are really too different. So similar that we took opposite paths, you said? I guess that is also correct. I wonder... between the two of us, which one is stronger?"


    "He could wipe you out with a single thought. In fact, he would if he cared to pay attention to an ant disrespecting him like this."


    Ryu didn''t seem offended. In fact, he only laughed harder.


    "I''m sure you know that isn''t what I meant," Ryu spoke through his laughter, the wild ambition in his eyes burning like a furious light.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    "And I''m sure you know that he wouldn''t care about your semantics."


    "True." Ryu''s smile became a fiendish grin, his heart beating wildly as anticipation grew within him.


    Would he be content if he were to die here? Yes.


    But the world had forgotten one thing.


    He was a hypocrite.


    Down to his very bones.


    Who cared if he would be content?


    Contradiction.


    DUDOOM. DUDOOM.


    Ryu''s heartbeat grew so furious that it began to ripple across the world of fog he was in.


    He already had a solution to the problem. He just didn''t want to use it.


    He could also guess who this voice was. He just didn''t want to acknowledge it.


    But in the end, between the choice of allowing his life to fade away here and grasping another chance...


    There was only one choice to make.


    Who cared if he was a hypocrite in the eyes of others? Who cared even if he was a hypocrite to even his own self?


    In what felt like a far-off, distant past now, Aika had once told him that his Dao Heart was so rigid that it was brittle. If he ever failed one day, it would cause him to collapse.


    However, she didn''t really understand the type of person Ryu was. She couldn''t be blamed, though, because even Ryu didn''t understand what kind of person he was until


    this very moment.


    How could the Dao Heart of a hypocrite be broken?


    If he ever met anything contradictory, he would just ignore it. If it came again, he would steamroll it. If it came again, he would grind it into such a fine dust that it would have no choice but to cower before him.


    "Not in the slightest bit."


    Ryu smiled, flicking out his wrists and causing his great swordstaffs to appear at the


    same time Sarriel waved a hand to manifest her steely blue katana.


    "That''s fine. I can make you a believer. We can start with lesson one."


    Ryu took a step forward and vanished.


    BOOM!


    The pressure of their two blades stopped them from meeting. Space bent, but was


    forcefully maintained by Ryu''s pressure.


    Sarriel''s gaze flashed, her blade passing through his. But Ryu didn''t react to the


    sudden warp in reality at all.


    Instead, both of them came to a sudden stop.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Air exploded as their weapons stopped at one another''s necks. Another millimeter and


    both of their heads would fly into the skies.


    Just as Sarriel was about to speak, a pressure slapped against her face, sending her


    flying into the distance.


    "Lesson one. I don''t hit or abuse my women. If you want to avoid the pain I''m about to


    inflict, there''s really only one choice to make."


    Sarriel''s eyes bulged in shock, and then came her fury.


    "RYU TATSUYA!"


    "Ah, my name has a nice ring to it, don''t you think? Learn it well. You''ll be saying it a


    "I''LL KILL YOU!"


    "You see, that was less nice. Doesn''t have the same charm.""


    BANG!


    Sarriel appeared before Ryu in a blaze.

 Chapter 2049 Eruption

    ?Chapter 2049 Eruption


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    A tempest of furious strikes erupted between the two. Every clash felt almost like the end of the world, the laws of reality bending and folding until they were forcefully kept in place by the Lord Control of both of them.


    An outsider looking in would feel as though they were watching the battle through a rippling mirror. Sometimes they would see Ryu and Sarriel fighting in place. But then suddenly, and inexplicably, their bodies would warp, stretching out across thousands of kilometers as though they had become the strings of Karma themselves, before snapping back into reality as whole humanoids once more.


    They seemed to have completely forgotten their techniques and skills. Or maybe the battle had reached such a high-level state that it simply wasn''t possible to rely on such things any longer.


    They weaved in and out of one another''s strikes, the streaks of cold and darkness coming from Sarriel, while Ryu''s aura changed far more frequently and remained far less consistent.


    Ryu ripped through an array of elements, swapping from beams of light to explosions of dense black fog, from crackling ice to heart-shuddering flames.


    He flowed seamlessly and fluidly from one to another, his momentum only increasing with every furious strike.


    Sarriel didn''t seem to be holding back in the slightest either. At least that was what it seemed. But every time Ryu became sharper, she became swifter. Every time Ryu became faster, her strikes became heavier.


    They matched blow for blow, crossing the skies and leaving exploding concentric circles of air in their wakes.


    The moment these furious momentums left the range of their Lord Control, space would fragment and shatter, mountains would collapse, and entire oceans would ice over or explode into heated mist.


    "Is this all a few extra thousand years can give you?" Ryu asked, his eyes blazing with battle intent.


    "Before, you didn''t speak because you were too embarrassed. Are you sure you want to start now?" Sarriel sneered.


    "Not embarrassment, I would say. Have you never seen a thinking man before? How would I find a way to beat you and talk at the same time?"


    "Shameless to an extreme."


    Sarriel seethed. What was the point in bringing up the failures of a man who didn''t seem to take them seriously in the slightest?


    Ryu''s laughter boomed toward the skies and his great swordstaffs flared out. He seemed to leave his chest completely open to Sarriel''s strikes, and yet Sarriel didn''t dare to take the opening in the slightest.


    Instead, she took a step back, lowering her katana in one hand and raising up two pressed fingers with the other.


    At that moment, another katana appeared above her head, then a second, then a third.


    The dichotomy was enough to make a person''s head spin, especially when Ryu slashed down.


    The piercing katana and combined great swordstaffs met in the air.


    An explosion of light-dark matched with cold-dark met, rippling golds, blacks, and icy blues painting the world in a swirl of colors that reflected in both of their eyes.


    BANG!


    The two were forced apart, but it was then that Sarriel''s array of katanas descended from high in the skies.


    Ryu''s Heavenly Dao Tree took shape once again, this time even larger than before. Its roots pierced into the ground for the first time, and its canopy felt so large and


    looming that it could be a sky in and of itself.


    His Dao Heart bloomed and Cosmos Fog erupted out from within him.


    His branches of the Heavenly Dao Tree shook and met the arcs of the blades in the


    skies.


    Sarriel''s array of blades suddenly doubled in size, and then doubled again.


    The two stomped on the ground and erupted forward. The ground itself was forced to bear the full brunt of their prowess, solidified beneath their Lord Control. But deep underground, their power traveled and turned the sturdiest earth of the world into


    piles of loose sand.


    The two clashed in the air once again, one backed by an enormous tree and the latter backed by a formation of swords just as large.


    Tree branches and shimmering blades clashed continuously in the air as the two


    fought amidst the chaos.


    Ryu took steps that caused blades to miss his neck by mere millimeters, and Sarriel sent out strikes that avoided lashing tree branches by a hair''s breadth.


    They almost danced in the skies with the world as their backdrop. Fate swirled around them in a tempest as though it was eager to crown its Heir between the two.

 Chapter 2050 Lesson Two

    ?Chapter 2050 Lesson Two


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The world finally collapsed between them, unable to withstand the pressure any longer.


    Space lashed out like a chain broken under high pressure, sending out scythes of black and silver lightning in all directions.


    The two coughed up mouthfuls of blood as they were sent flying beneath their own strength. It was almost as though the two had compressed the air so much between them that they had created a bomb that detonated with their combined strength.


    As strong as the two of them were, neither one could withstand a blow this powerful, and in an irony of ironies, the both of them ended up heavily injured after a long battle without significant strikes.


    The whipping scythes tore into Ryu''s Heavenly Dao Tree and Sarriel''s array of swords. Half of both of them were obliterated in an instant, and while Sarriel seemed to be fine, the destruction of his Heavenly Dao Tree caused severe backlash to Ryu''s soul.


    He stabilized himself in the air, taking a deep breath before looking down at his chest. A mangled mesh of scales, flesh, and bone was all that could be seen. If he washed out the mess, it would probably clear out straight to the bone.


    "This world is too weak for our battle... No, it isn''t that...''


    Ryu looked off into the distance.


    There were Dao Gods fighting here. No matter how strong he and Sarriel were, they weren''t a match for even the weakest Dao God in existence. So why could they fight. while they couldn''t?


    The truth was a little more complicated.


    The two were in a perfect sweet spot where their personal strength was more than enough to cause destruction to a world of this caliber, and yet their Control was too weak to contain that strength.


    These two factors together were what led to this result.


    Sarriel hacked up mouthfuls of blood. She and Ryu both had sensed what was about to happen, but they also knew that whoever backed off first would take the brunt of the damage.


    They had ended up in this state even with the two of them taking on the damage together. If one of them alone had been forced to take it on, they wouldn''t even be alive right now.


    "What? You''re not going to run now?" Ryu asked with a laugh. He didn''t seem to notice the ghastly injuries on his body at all. His breathing remained steady and


    unmoved.


    "You''re going to let me?" Sarriel sneered.


    "Why wouldn''t I?" Ryu replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    Sarriel''s gaze flashed. "You''re a fool."


    "I do things how I want. Don''t mistake my intentions, though. This isn''t because you''re beautiful. I''ve killed more beautiful women in my lifetime than I care to count."


    "You can''t count what doesn''t exist."


    Ryu laughed at her words, understanding her meaning even if she didn''t state it


    explicitly.


    Obviously, when Ryu called her beautiful but then went on to mention other beautiful women, she took offense. This wasn''t out of jealousy, but rather disgust in Ryu putting her on a level playing field with them.


    How could Ryu possibly use the same word to describe all of them? Her level of beauty wasn''t something that just popped up everywhere.


    Sarriel wasn''t the type to take great pride in her looks, but she wouldn''t allow anyone to claim she didn''t look good either.


    The irony was that Ryu had never said such a thing.


    Ryu''s laughter faded, and a sharpness returned to his eyes.


    "I''ll give you lesson two at the Title Stele."

 Chapter 2051 No Fear

    ?Chapter 2051 No Fear


    Sarriel stared at Ryu for a long while as though she was trying to decide what she wanted to say.


    She could tell that Ryu wasn''t letting her go out of love. He was letting her go because of his ego.


    Maybe he could already tell that she had feelings for him in some shape or form. But he wouldn''t be satisfied until she admitted that. And the only way that she would is if he defeated her.


    They both could seem to see through the thoughts of the other, but neither of them seemed to care to explain themselves either.


    "[Truth Veil]"


    Sarriel spoke lightly.


    In that moment, all of her injuries vanished in the blink of an eye as though she had never been injured in the first place. It started off as nothing more than an illusion, but then the lines between illusion and reality blurred until it forced itself to be the one and only truth.


    Her dress was now perfectly intact, as was her flesh and skin.


    "What did I tell you about showing off in front of me?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    Sarriel snorted, but then Ryu spoke again.


    "[Fate Reversal]."


    Sarriel, who had just returned to a perfect state, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood again, her chest exploding in a rain of pain.


    Ryu took a step and caught her waist before she fell to the ground.


    "I''m going to take this as half a victory. Be sure to remember this."


    Ryu could have easily taken advantage of her body, but he did no such thing. He felt no desire for such cheap victories. When she fell into his bed, she would be begging for it.


    Sarriel felt both enraged, embarrassed, and most importantly, in pain. He had


    definitely done this on purpose. He hadn''t even used [Fate Reversal] the entire battle, only to spring it on her now.


    Since when could [Fate Reversal] be used so precisely and even bypass her defenses like that?


    "Off you go."


    BANG!


    A pillar exploded through the world, rising to the top and ripping through its hidden


    canopy.


    The world shook from side before it shattered to pieces.


    Like the glass of a gorgeous array, Ryu appeared in the outside world once again. Beneath him, there was a magnificent shrine altar, the object that was none other than the third and final False Shrine.


    It was completely ordinary. Unlike the others that were adorned in all sorts of special jewels and the like, this one was a simple wooden piece. It could have taken center stage at a normal mortal''s church with how simple it was.


    But this was precisely the last piece.


    With this, everything would end.


    Ryu could sense several powerful auras locking onto him, but neither one could get


    close.


    The one with the best chance was Dao God Shy. His battle with Hope was still ongoing, and neither one had gained a decisive advantage just yet, but it was also because of this that he had the best shot at peeling away.


    However... Ryu didn''t fear him.


    The False Shrine shuddered, and it was sucked directly into Ryu''s body.


    BOOM!


    A pillar of light that connected the Earth to the Heavens above enveloped Ryu.


    At the same moment, his Realm Heart trembled, and the runes etched onto his bones


    began to solidify.


    That was when Ryu did something astonishing.


    The cry of a Phoenix echoed once more.

 Chapter 2052 Come.

    ?Chapter 2052 Come.


    "If you want to play... We will play."


    Ryu''s Dao Heart had thought of this idea for his Body Realm Cultivation Method long ago, but he had been unwilling to take this step. Unfortunately, he also wasn''t able to think of any other methods to do it either. That was because...


    It wasn''t something that could even be done without a Living Spiritual Foundation.


    As great as the idea of Dao Bones and a Beast Core sounded, they weren''t possible unless one was a beast. It required a connection to the Heavens that couldn''t be replicated under normal means.


    Ryu had circumvented this somewhat with his Cosmos Fog, but ultimately these weren''t real Dao Bones; they were fakes that had limited power as a result.


    Of course, this so-called "limited power" was still enough for Ryu to be ranked nearly all on his own in terms of Body Realm cultivation.


    He was this confident in his self-created method. In body alone, he didn''t believe that he had a match at the same level. And that so-called Nameless God could come and test that out himself.


    A flare of arrogance erupted from Ryu''s chest, and his blazing intent seemed to be fueled by the white flames of his long-forgotten Spiritual Foundation.


    The plan was obvious by now. He was going to use his Living Spiritual Foundation as a proxy for his beasthood.


    It was the perfect fit. A Spiritual Foundation was already the natural connection to the Heavens that all cultivators needed. This was something Ryu knew more intimately than almost anyone else.


    Without the Spiritual Foundation, communicating with the Heavens was an impossibility.


    A Living Spiritual Foundation was a step beyond that. Not only could it communicate with the Heavens, but it could do so on behalf of its owner.


    It was known as a Living Spiritual Foundation for a reason. It wasn''t just a misnomer. There was a true Phoenix living within his body.


    It was just that he had neglected it.


    But now, he wouldn''t.


    Ryu''s Meridians shook and his body almost burst at its scams.


    What was his plan?


    Well, it was quite shocking. So shocking, in fact, that Ailsa, who sensed what was


    happening, couldn''t help but look over.


    She didn''t seem to care when Ryu defeated so many genius Lords while only in the Omniscient Realm, nor did she react when he conquered a God Grade World all on his own while, once again, not being a Lord.


    His skin and muscle regained their support structure, but they were so powerful that fragmentations began to appear in his bones. Just a simple flex would have ripped his bones apart. His tendons were so powerful that just a slight tug might cause his bones to shatter to pieces.


    However, Ryu remained entirely indifferent. His mind seemed to be somewhere else.


    "Ice..."


    The name of his Ice Jade Crystal Body never referred to the element at all. In fact, everything about his Bone Structure''s name reflected balance, purity, and polished


    perfection.


    But today...


    "I will let you know true Ice. Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure. Come."


    DUDOOM.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s Ice Jade Crystal Body shattered beneath the pressure of the far more powerful Bone Structure.


    As Ryu had said... The Boundless Cosmos and unknown close combat Bone Structure were far from the only two that he had unlocked.


    The Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure was a Sovereign Grade Bone Structure that Ryu had unlocked but ultimately dismissed while he was practicing his Ice Spirit Body.


    And now...


    Ryu circulated an Embryonic Qi droplet, forcing his Ice Jade Crystal Body to reform again and again, and the Heavens etched the Dao Runes of the Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure into his body.


    If he was going to form Dao Bones... he needed a Dao. For too long now, his Dao had been hidden away in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, but his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation didn''t have one. He had unsealed it and entered the World Sea Realm with Inheritances instead.


    Today... that would change.


    He would form a Dao of the strongest Bone Structures the Heavens had ever blessed


    him with.


    "Ashen Flameheart Lotus Bone Structure. Come."


    BOOM!

 Chapter 2053 Flameheart and Frostbane

    ?Chapter 2053 Flameheart and Frostbane


    A red-gold lotus took shape on Ryu''s forehead, before it darkened considerably, becoming an ashen grey that carried the vicissitudes of life.


    As Sovereign Grade Bone Structures, there weren''t world-shaking legends about the Ashen Flameheart Lotus and the Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structures. Ultimately, such legends were usually left to those with God Grade Bone Structures, individuals who stood and rose above all else.


    However, there was a legend of a woman who had once been born with both the Ashen Flameheart Lotus and Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure.


    These two Bone Structures were opposing in a way that went beyond just their Fire and Ice abilities and delved deep into the very foundation of what they were meant to be.


    The Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure was a Talent steeped in restrictions and mystery. The so-called Frostbane was known as a banishment, a lock of sorts, one that was actually not too dissimilar from the Divine Chains of the Martial God.


    It represented a restraint on the world that suffocated and opposed.


    When one unlocked the first Frostbane, one would gain access to an ability that expelled all heat from a region, allowing ice to thrive and suffocate the world. Just the slightest touch could turn a land into one of ice, and even strong cultivators into


    statues.


    However, this sort of restraint wasn''t so simple.


    Heat could be defined by the movement speed of particles. The reason it felt like heat was expelled from a region was because this was precisely what the Frostbane was forcing. It was restraining the very fundamental laws of the world itself.


    As one progressed to the second Frostbane, and the third, and the fourth beyond... one would be delving deeper and deeper into such mysteries, exhibiting a level of Control that was rarely seen in the world until one reached the ninth and final. Upon reaching this stage, it would be where everything truly changed and the world overturned.


    At this realm, even techniques and Daos could be frozen, communication with the Heavens could be severed, it was even possible to become the bane of the laws of reality themselves, causing freezes in time and space.


    This was why Ryu had deduced long ago that most abilities, when taken to an extreme, could touch upon such laws. This was why he had to maximize his Spacetime affinity through complexity rather than simplicity. It was a rare instance where the former was far better than the latter.


    But then there was the Ashen Flameheart Lotus...


    When these two Bone Structures came together, they were very push and pull, very yin and yang. One suppressed the world while the other embraced it. One filled it with


    a chilling death while the other pumped it full of a warm life.


    When these two appeared together in the same body, it was akin to the end of the world. In many cases, a child would die long before they could be conceived in this


    way.


    Dual Bone Structures were extremely rare to begin with, easily as rare as Dual Meridians were, and only shy of as rare as Dual Spiritual Foundations were.


    To not only be born with Dual Bone Structures but to also have the body composition capable of letting them thrive was a rarity amongst rarities.


    But that was precisely what made it so powerful.


    Violet hues danced around Ryu as the world fell into an eerie balance beneath his presence. There were spikes of cold and then abrupt shots of heat that could burn even mountains to ash.


    They changed randomly and almost carelessly, entirely to the whims of a man who lorded over the world...


    And then they would suddenly fuse into one, forming a gentle, warm energy that was neither too hot nor too cold...


    And it was precisely this energy that destroyed everything in its path, grinding it to


    ash.


    Ryu could sense that this was going in precisely the direction he anticipated that it would. As such, he would only continue forward.


    "Azure Cloud Vein... Come. Jadebound Clearheart... Come."


    Ryu only spoke lightly, but every intention caused the world to shake and quake.

 Chapter 2054 Balance

    Chapter 2054 Balance


    The names Ryu spoke all carried mysteries of their own, each one painting the world with a variety of colors as their Fates were tugged upon and their forms were forced into existence.


    Ryu himself didn''t seem to feel the pain of his body being ripped apart again and again, nor did he seem to care that his Ice Jade Crystal Body was far too weak to hold all of these powerhouse Bone Structures together.


    His Ice Jade Crystal Body was a mere Ancestral Grade Bone Structure, while these Bone Structures were an entire eight tiers above it. It simply had no right to become their foundation.


    And yet, Ryu indifferently stared down at their discontent, carelessly withstanding their furious rampage through his body, and forcing their Runes to become the Dao Bones that he forged with his own hands.


    The Azure Cloud Vein Bone Structure was a Sovereign Grade Wind Elemental Bone Structure... and much like the others, its name carried with it mysteries that couldn''t be described simply.


    The word Azure almost seemed out of place. But when it was matched with the word Vein, at least for a Rune Master, it all became clear.


    The word Azure was very special to the cultivation world. That was because it was tied to a legendary creature, the Azure Dragon.


    It was a truly legendary beast, one that ruled the skies. It was said that it could control the clouds and the rain, climbing to the peak of the world, the Heavens as its stepping stool.


    In reality, Ryu didn''t think that the Azure Dragon actually existed. It was a mythology created by lesser cultures that eventually rose up to the cultivation world, one of the rare instances of such a thing happening.


    However, this didn''t mean that the legend was weak... just because of its origin. In fact, it was actually far stronger because of it.


    For such a legend to persist even after so long, the amount of Fate bound to it was astronomical...


    The Azure Cloud Vein was an homage to the Azure Dragon, an attempt to make the legend real.


    When it formed, vein patterns would appear across the body, and one would be born to the wind, capable of summoning the clouds and commanding the rain... embraced by the very skies themselves.


    And then there was the Jadebound Clearheart Bone Structure... a Bone Structure of the Earth Element.


    Jade... Ryu understood what it meant intimately. It was a word that embodies purity, balance, and harmony. It was why it was such an important piece of his Ice Jade Crystal Body.


    The weakness of Darkness, as Ryu had seen in these last few years, was that using its techniques often required pumping darkness of your own into the world. But this was


    fundamentally not what Darkness was about. Just by virtue of doing this, it was weakening your technique and your method.


    This Bone Structure was different. Much like the Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure, it imposed its darkness onto the world by veiling the light, embodying the truest. essence of darkness itself by not creating it, but imposing it with the expulsion of


    light.


    When the Darkmoon was formed and light was completely overshadowed by a reflection of darkness, the power of his Bone Structure could truly display its might.


    This sixth Bone Structure burrowed into Ryu''s body, and the lotus tattoo on his forehead gained a black moon hidden within its petals.


    Ryu felt himself shaking, but he forcefully stabilized it all with his will and grit.


    He wasn''t finished yet; never would he allow himself to be finished here.


    Ryu''s eyes blazed with an almost fanatical battle intent.


    This was where the challenge would truly become shocking and he just might lose his


    life here and now.


    These elements were relatively still fine for him. But now he was crossing over an


    entirely different territory entirely.


    "Nine Revolution Skybreaker... Come."


    A crack of thunder resonated through the skies.

 Chapter 2055 Revolutions

    ?Chapter 2055 Revolutions


    The Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure... It was one not just of Lightning, but of Thunder as well.


    Often, these two concepts were confused and combined into one, but this Bone Structure made certain that was impossible to forget the latter.


    Thunder was the product of superheating the air. Another neglected fact about Lightning was just how hot it was, and it was this overwhelming heat combined with its speed that caused small sections of air to rapidly heat and then cool down.


    It was this process of expansion and contraction that triggered the thunderous booms usual for storms.


    However, these were forms of lightning that were often neglected because it was too fast, too powerful. Who cared about heat when your lightning was fast enough and powerful enough to pierce right through the head of an enemy like a blade?


    By extension, though, lightning was also extremely difficult to control.


    Ryu had never really personally thought much about it because his Qi Control had always been excellent. However, he was also quite naive in his assessment.


    Just because he could get lightning to go where he needed it, didn''t mean that he had perfect control of it.


    Even when he could get it to go to the exact locations he needed it in, he couldn''t always control the path perfectly even if he could pick the landing zone.


    This would sometimes result in excess energy being used as he had to fuel whatever flight path the lightning chose...


    Maybe Ryu would have seen through these weaknesses if he placed more emphasis on lightning than he did. But maybe because he subconsciously understood that it wasn''t his best element, he didn''t find himself using lightning much at all these days.


    Even during his battle with Sarriel of all people, he used many more Dragon Talents than he ever did Qilin, and that was despite the fact his Storm Talent was probably amongst the greatest in his arsenal.


    Nine Revolution Skybreaker, however... was madman''s Bone Structure.


    It forcefully reeled lightning into the body, controlling it and using it to explosively increase one''s power by one Revolution...


    Ryu pushed out, and an echo of thundering air followed his strike.


    BOOM!


    Two Revolutions...


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu punched out again, lightning crackling in his eyes and flashing in the skies above.


    Three Revolutions...


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu''s forearm exploded with a rain of blood and gore, the impact of the thunder jetting through his body, tearing even his own tough flesh apart.


    However, his gaze was almost fiendish in its fanaticism, chasing after something greater.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu''s entire arm seemed to vanish in a sudden flashbang of blood. The crimson exploded outward so fast that it looked almost like sparks flying through the air before disappearing into the wind.


    All that was left behind were minor muscle fibers whistling in the wind and small strands of bone that almost looked like a splinter of wood.


    The light in Ryu''s eyes blazed as he pulled his other arm back and punched out again.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu''s arm vanished, and a large segment of his torso went with it.


    The crackling lightning above only became more fierce. It was as though it was daring Ryu to continue, daring him to continue testing its patience.


    And that he did.


    Ryu''s mind moved, and he clenched his fist. The problem was that he had no fists left to clench. Both of his arms had been ripped to shreds beneath his own power.


    Nine Revolutions Skybreaker was designed to be used with normal lightning. No one had ever seen it appear in the body of someone that could control Tribulation Lightning, and maybe that was because the Heavens purposely didn''t allow it.


    Well... that and the fact. Bone Structures were a distinctly Human Talent while Humans with Lightning Qilin blood were few and far between.


    But now, Ryu was trying to take an already supremely powerful Bone Structure and make even stronger.


    along with it.


    This exposed his soul to the air, only for it to be ruthlessly shattered by a rain of


    lightning above.


    Silence fell onto the world, and Ryu seemed to be nowhere to be seen. His wives looked toward where he had been in horror, not sure what to do.


    They had never seen a lightning strike so fierce. It was even more savage than anything they had seen in their God Tribulations. Just how could someone like Ryu be


    expected to survive that?


    Dead...?


    Was Ryu really dead?


    But there, floating in the skies... there were a pair of eyes.


    They floated there eerily, the fibers that connected them to the brain also remaining


    perfectly intact.


    Those eyes, silver in all their glory, were still blazing with a violent intent.


    Ryu had stored a sliver of his soul in the one part of his body that he felt could survive.


    Even his Chaotic Silk Meridians hadn''t been able to make it despite being formed of the third strongest material in existence.


    It could be said that the Heavens were truly pissed.


    But he didn''t care. Because with that blazing intent in his eyes, he didn''t seem to have


    any intention of stopping.


    ''Beyond Perfect Extreme... Tenth Revolution...''


    Lightning crackled, and the vague outline of a body took shape around him. He looked


    like a ghost of blue lightning, his body flaring up sporadically akin to sparks of


    silver-blue plasma.


    And then, that vague outline punched out again.


    The world fell into complete silence.


    Then came the roar from the skies.


    It no longer sounded like thunder. It was as though the Heavens had opened its maw


    and furiously bellowed from on high.


    Ryu was too concentrated to look up into the skies, but he could practically feel the


    fear trying to creep into his heart, something that he had never experienced before in


    his lifetime.


    But then a rage sparked in the depths of his soul.


    He really didn''t like it when people stood above him.


    BOOM!


    BOOM! BOOM!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    It started off as a single echo, and then it doubled, then tripled, before a cascade of


    them erupted like the flashes of a fire cracker.

 Chapter 2056 FORM

    ?Chapter 2056 FORM


    The laws of the world imploded around Ryu, shaking and quaking, overturning after overexposing themselves.


    It was like the vibrations of Ryu''s fist had exploded inside of them, shredding them to pieces.


    Thunder... it was usually just the aftereffect of lightning, the much slower, less


    important result. Often, it contained a lot of bluster, but what it actually did was alert someone to what might have happened after all the damage had long since been dealt. However, this was no longer normal Thunder. It reverberated through the laws of the world itself, exhibiting a form of destructive control that forced the world to remain intact for only as long as it took for another rumbling cadence to echo.


    This was the true Skybreaker Thunder. Tribulation Skybreaker.


    Reaching this point was one thing, though... actually surviving beyond it was a different matter entirely.


    A wrathful sort of vengeance began to concoct above Ryu''s head once again, if it could even be called that.


    His body didn''t have anything left, and even the vague outline he had once managed to form was shredded to pieces.


    However, the light in his hovering eyes didn''t fade in the slightest. If anything, it only became stronger...


    "Empyrean Warframe... Come."


    Ryu didn''t even wait for the wrath of the Heavens to finish gathering up. It was as though he would be satisfied until his Tribulation Clouds grew so far and wide that more than just a single world began to target him.


    But maybe this time, he had truly bit off far more than he could chew.


    Empyrean Warframe... The name alone caused this region of Existence to quake, nearby worlds shuddering without their experts quite understanding just exactly what was happening.


    In Sacrum, the Sixth Ranked Heavenly Pupils were known as the War God Pupils. They were a shocking set that hadn''t appeared in their world in a long while, and thus had slipped down. But they were so powerful that it wasn''t rare to find them in the top three across many worlds...


    But honestly speaking, when one was referring to the top ten Heavenly Pupils, any one of them had history beyond imagining and could be seen as a shocking existence. So this wasn''t what truly made them shocking. Rather, its description...


    The War God Pupils gave its wielder an innate understanding of all battle styles they came across. A single glance would be enough for them to grasp it all and incorporate it into their combat style.


    But this was still just the tip of the iceberg.


    That was because this was just the foundational ability of the War God Pupils.


    The second most well-known ability of the War God Pupils was the summoning of the War God Treasury, and most importantly, the War God Armor and War God Wings. These were known as some of the most powerful treasures across existence because it was said that the War God Pupil wielders all shared a unique linkage between themselves, allowing the insights of one another to be engraved onto these treasures to be passed on to the next generation.


    It could be said that because of this, unlike other Heavenly Pupils, every new wielder of the War God Pupils was stronger than the last.


    If Ryu had been born with the War God Pupils, he would have never had to worry about his foundation because he would have insights from a countless series of other worlds in his mind.


    However, this still wasn''t the most powerful ability of the War God Heavenly Pupils. That was because there was another...


    [War God Sense].


    This ability gave the wielder of the Pupils shocking abilities in close combat. Their instincts superseded even that of beasts, their bodies often moving on their own even before their brains could think through what was happening.


    If they could combine the insights from their [War God Armor] into their [War God Sense], the latter became sharper, quicker, more lethal, often allowing those that wielded the War God Pupils to kill enemies far above them in strength with what even looked like little effort, and often truly was...


    It was the Mysteries Ancestor, standing in white gold robes with a careless disregard for the world. However, in the eyes of the Ancestor War God, who had already seen everything in the world, it looked to him like a prideful man who was ready to die with


    his head held high.


    Feeling arrogant and confident, the Ancestor War God howled into the skies and his Warframe took shape.


    He charged, ready to finish this battle in a single, sweeping victory.


    However, to his astonishment, the Mysteries Ancestor who had never fought him


    head-on before suddenly took a step forward.


    The world beneath them rippled with a wave of gold, and the Mysteries Ancestor was suddenly wreathed in armor that seemed descended from the Heavens themselves.


    No one knew what happened in that battle until afterward... because the Mysteries. Ancestor killed them all.


    It wasn''t until the War God Ancestor''s head was sent back to his world that everyone learned of the explosive news, but even that paled in comparison to what the Scribes of Fate learned after retracing the history.


    The Mysteries Ancestor didn''t just rely on schemes to win. In fact, he didn''t rely on a


    single scheme at all.


    Not only did he defeat the War God in hand-to-hand combat, he defeated him with a


    Warframe...


    The Empyrean Warframe.


    It was a sweeping suppression of the War Gods, and it was just one of the many feats crafted by Mysteries Ancestors that resulted in their Pupils often being known as number one.


    But for whatever reason, the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils just hadn''t been appearing in normal cycles in recent years. Many remembered its power, but they also knew that it took existences that were truly special to allow it to shine through the


    way it was truly meant to.


    And now...


    CHII! CHII! CHII! CHII! SHUU! SHUU!


    Golden bones began to weave through the skies, muscle fibers that looked like


    streaming white-gold light taking shape at the same time.


    However...


    Ryu''s intent flared and it shattered.


    No... the foundation of his body would remain his Ice Jade Crystal Body.


    "FORM."

 Chapter 2057 Wasnt That?

    ?Chapter 2057 Wasn''t That?


    Ryu roared... or rather, his soul remnant did, its will imposing itself onto the world and the skies began to rumble with a more and more furious might.


    CHII! CHII! CHII!


    Bones continuously formed and collapsed, white gold interweaving with crystal and a gorgeous blue.


    However, even before they could fully form, Ryu''s intent flared and he spoke out again.


    "Boundless Cosmos... Come."


    For the first time, Ryu roared out in pain, the last wisps of his soul truly trembling as though it might be wiped out of existence at any time.


    His wives looked from the side, wanting to help but being unable to do anything. Quite frankly, it was difficult to even find a place to stand in the entirety of the world right. now. It felt like every location was being overwhelmed by Ryu''s Tribulation. In fact, if one took a step outside of the world, it would be possible to see that the Tribulation Clouds had grown so large that they swallowed up more than just the entire world but had encroached onto the entire quadrant, connecting with the Heavens of other Worlds and descending with a furious sort of might.


    However, every time that the Heavens wanted to strike, Ryu would do something else to piss it off, and it would feel the need to gather up even more power.


    This was a Tribulation the likes of which one simply wasn''t meant to survive. But Ryu kept pushing it as though he could sense this at all.


    He wanted to fuse ten Bone Structures into one, all while using the weakest of them all as a Foundation...


    It simply didn''t make any logical sense.


    And yet...


    BANG!


    The first bolt fell from the skies, crashing right into Ryu''s eyes.


    After their mutation, Ryu''s eyes had simply been indestructible. However, after this one strike, bits and pieces of them became charred.


    BANG!


    A second bolt descended, even more concentrated than the last.


    Compared to the first bolt that Ryu had suffered through, one thicker than even a mountain range, these weren''t even as thick as a finger...


    17:17 -


    But that made them even more shocking... because it meant all of their power was concentrated into a single point.


    CHII!


    Cracks began to appear across Ryu''s eyes. Sprinkling shards of lightning entered and lashed out against his soul, causing his howls to pierce the skies.


    The world quaked as another spark fell, and then another, and then another.


    Ryu was continuously bombarded, the structural integrity of his eyes failing so much that even his Inner World began to suffer.


    Tribulation Lightning appeared within as though the Heavens were telling him he didn''t have a right to have a world of his own... as though it was informing him that there was nothing beneath its skies that could escape its control.


    "Except for me."


    Ryu''s voice was exceptionally calm, an odd occurrence to be sure. After all, his screams were still echoing, so how could he also be speaking so calmly at the same time?


    The cry of a Phoenix echoed across the skies and the White Phoenix that seemed to have disappeared earlier returned.


    The Nine Revolution Skybreaker Runes being etched onto his bones melded with the Lightning Qilin Blood sinking deep into his marrow, and his Storm Talent, Lightning God Talent, and Lightning Seed Talents all took shape at a single time.


    It took a lot more than usual. Ryu remembered days where he would almost carelessly deal with Tribulations. But it seemed that nowadays, he was starting to piss the Heavens off more and more...


    Good.


    BOOM!


    Muscle fibers erupted out of Ryu''s body like tendrils of light. They wrapped around his bones and snapped into place with their tendons. The tendons themselves were akin to wound steel wires, connecting so strongly that the Ice Jade Crystal Body Ryu had initially had would have crumbled to ash beneath the pressure.


    Just before the muscle fibers took shape around Ryu''s chest, one could see his organs shining with a resplendent light. Their spirituality trembled with a heavenly cadence and erupted with bright beams that were instantly swallowed up by Ryu''s muscles. Nerves, blood vessels, and sinew all took shape before Ryu''s skin began to form.


    Ryu took a breath that seemed to suck all the air from the world. The power in his body sounded like crashing waves, the rushing of his blood echoing like the roars of Dragons and the fierce stomps of Qilin.


    Veins bulged across his body and seemed for a moment like the pressure might be too


    much, but then...


    It all just settled down, silently and softly...


    The third eye of swirling fog and flashing lightning in the middle of Ryu''s forehead slowly closed, leaving nothing but an incredibly fine line of flickering black-silver. His hair began to grow out once again, striding out so long from his scalp that it fell


    lower than even the small of his back.


    And then, two tattoos appeared on his forearms once again, one for his golden great swordstaff and the other for his black one.


    Ryu took another breath and the Tribulation clouds above shuddered and shook,


    nearly whining and twisting out of the way.


    Looking down at his hands, Ryu couldn''t help but wonder just how much power was


    concentrated into his body right now.


    QIIIIIIIIII! The White Phoenix did a loop around the skies before diving into Ryu.


    White-gold runes erupted across his skin before settling down into a comfortable


    silence and vanishing as though sinking into his flesh.


    Ryu felt at peace and the world settled down...


    If for nothing but for a moment.


    After all... were the Heavens not still infuriated?


    But this time, it seemed that he had triggered something far beyond a normal


    Tribulation.


    A gate appeared high in the skies, majestic and golden, ancient and primordial,


    carrying with it the etchings of battles long past and stories long forgotten...


    Ryu''s gaze couldn''t help but flicker when he saw it. Wasn''t that his Heaven''s Gate?

 Chapter 2058 Heavenly Court

    ?Chapter 2058 Heavenly Court


    Ailsa''s brows trembled when she saw the gate. "The Heavenly Court? Why now...


    Ryu looked straight up at the Gates that appeared above him. Maybe he should have been feeling a great deal of pressure, but honestly speaking, he didn''t.


    It was as though he was looking at the entrance to his own home. However, when the Gates cracked open...


    It felt like a different matter entirely.


    Ryu sensed a flood of Essence pour out, the likes of which that appeared at a quantity and a level that made his current access to Chaos Qi seem pitiful.


    However, he continued to stand there in silence, like a lone ant in the skies facing off against the descent of a planet. The Heaven''s Gate was so large that a crack in its door alone was dozens of times the width of Ryu''s body, let alone its overall size.


    Ryu thought that maybe he would have to wait for hours or days before the doors fully swung open even if they moved at the speed of light. And yet, it soon seemed that he had thought too much.


    Out from the minor crack, a single finger walked out.


    There was no cascading rain of Tribulations or a violent upswing of qi. There was just a single man, dressed in a golden robe with a leather pauldron delicately and carefully sculpted on just his left shoulder.


    He looked like a five-star general ready to descend and accept a reward. But Ryu found that he couldn''t quite see the man''s face. In fact, maybe this "man" was a woman. The robes were thick enough that the person''s figure was quite ambiguous. But judging by the pauldron''s position that seemed to be the only thing that wasn''t "fuzzy" about this person, Ryu judged that their shoulders were probably too broad to be a woman.


    The man took a step forward and ripples of gold extended from his feet, forming a path. He didn''t seem to realize that he was parallel with the ground at all, continuing to form a path beneath his feet perpendicular to the earth with a calm flare to him that made it clear he cared little for the laws of the world and how they might want to apply to him.


    Then, he paused before Ryu and his aura shifted.


    From an unfathomable aura, his cultivation plummeted to the Omniscient Sky God Realm. But Ryu could tell that there was more strength condensed in his body, making it clearly and firmly in the Lord Realm.


    The man raised a fist and suddenly attacked.


    Maybe sudden wasn''t the right word. The fist was slow as though it was being forced to move through rippling waves of thick water. But, contradictorily fast at the same time.


    It was like Ryu''s mind was stuck watching a frame by frame while the fist itself was already upon him.


    quiver.


    ''So... that''s possible too?"


    Ryu seemed to understand something.


    His Dao Heart was the core of his Control right now, and that was all fine and dandy, except for the fact this wasn''t perfectly in line with his earlier speculations.


    If Control was truly part of a perfected cultivation system that he had missed out on, how could it not be just as tightly wound with Qi itself?


    The Dao Heart was the Spiritual Foundation... what could it influence more than your


    Qi?


    This young man was so powerful because, although he wasn''t using it now, he had access to Essence and seemed to be naturally blessed with it.


    But didn''t Ryu also have an equivalent qi? What was Chaos Qi if not Essence''s exactly opposite and equal?


    The trouble was that Ryu always took his Chaos Qi from his Meridians and never really mixed it into his dantian or Spiritual Foundation.


    How then was he supposed to exhibit the most powerful forms of Control?


    It was only now that Ryu truly began to understand why it was having a powerful Dao didn''t just make him invincible everywhere he went...


    Not to mention the fact he wasn''t even satisfied with his current Dao, the Dao itself


    was just one aspect of cultivation.


    There was so much more.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 2059 Locking

    ?Chapter 2059 Locking


    A dancing dark gold energy poured into Ryu''s Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation and a path of equally dark gold formed beneath his feet.


    He took a step forward and for the first time, the world didn''t shudder around him in the slightest.


    He retracted his fist, torqued his torso, and then unleashed a blow.


    BANG!


    The young man''s shock had long since faded. Even as their fists met and he was sent flying backward this time, his expression no longer changed as though he was indifferent to victory or defeat.


    Compared to the young genius of the Fey who lacked any and all battle experience, not even having seen his own blood, this young man was someone Ryu could tell had likely fought more life and death battles than even himself.


    Even when he was fully outmatched, he didn''t panic in the slightest.


    Ryu crossed the distance between them, his fists unleashing a barrage.


    The young man blocked with his elbows and forearms, weaving through Ryu''s barrage with a calm, sharp light in his eyes. Suffering blow after blow, he looked like a snake wading through tall grass, waiting for a moment to strike.


    Ryu found that he couldn''t instantly kill this young man like he wanted to, but his countenance was just as calm.


    Two arrogant young men danced in the skies, their fists flashing.


    Ryu suddenly hitched his hip, his torso leaning back like a powerful spring as his leg whipped out.


    The young man calmly blocked with a raised knee before he was sent stumbling back. Ryu''s torso torqued in the other direction and his second leg came flying in even faster, forcing the young man to block with both forearms before his face.


    The rippling of Ryu''s torso like a wave of vascular power caused a second echo to rumble through the face of the young man and almost shatter his head completely. The golden road shattered and the young man stumbled through the air, his power fluctuating wildly before he ultimately fell to a knee in the skies.


    He coughed, blood coming from his mouth, or what looked like his mask.


    The young man looked up, and for the first time, it looked like he was actually looking


    at Ryu rather than through him. Maybe that was the most sign of respect that he cared to give.


    "That''s enough, Tamoran. Return."


    An ancient voice echoed from the Heaven''s Gate above.


    The young man stood and his aura began to rise once more. Soon, it had stabilized into that unfathomable realm and his injuries began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    By now, Ryu was already able to see through the young man''s cultivation. The reason it was so unfathomable was because he had cultivation with Essence. But in practice, the young man was a Lord just the same.


    However, with his full power... it felt like he could kill the Sovereigns that Ryu had met with a flick of his finger.


    The young man gave Ryu another look before the golden road appeared beneath his feet again and he returned to the Heaven''s Gate above.


    Ryu stood there in silence, not bothering to attempt to stop him.


    "You are a Chosen." The man spoke again. "In order to maintain the balance of the world, your kind cannot be allowed to roam freely in Greater Existence. I will give you 1000 years to ascend to the Heavenly Court. Should you fail to do so, you will be the enemy of the world and we will kill you with our full strength."


    The ancient voice seemed as though it was about to disappear before it suddenly hummed, its aura locking onto Ailsa.

 Chapter 2060 Then Good

    ?Chapter 2060 Then Good


    "You are not meant to be here."


    The sentence was plain and simple, and it was also quite clear that it had no intention


    of giving Ailsa a millennia like it had given Ryu.


    However, Ailsa seemed entirely indifferent to it.


    "Then see if you can do something about it," she said calmly.


    The ancient voice fell into silence before its aura locked onto Eska and Isemeine. But it still didn''t say anything as it once again turned its attention to Hope.


    Something about this place seemed odd.


    And then the ancient voice hummed again, seemingly understanding something. In the end...


    Its aura locked onto Ryu once more.


    "I will give you 100 years."


    Ryu frowned.


    For one, he didn''t like being commanded. Second, he disliked being jerked around just as much.


    He had just been given a thousand years, but then without reason or explanation, it had suddenly been shrunk to 900 years.


    However, to the ancient voice, it only made sense.


    Whether it was Ailsa, Eska, Isemeine, or Hope, not a single one of them was actually a Chosen. The only reason why their Fates were so jumbled up and difficult to read was because of their connection with Ryu.


    Hope was especially a mess because she had tied her Fate to Ryu completely. Meaning, their Fates were practically identical when that made no sense at all.


    Then there was Ryu''s Fate itself. He seemed to have been manipulated in one part, and then he had a second life, and all of that ended up extending the time it took for the Heavenly Court to find him.


    it now.


    As for what it meant, it was likely related to Sacrum and how it had chosen him to be a champion of some sort for it. That would certainly explain his talent, but oddly enough, the ancient voice seemed to also imply that whatever blessings Sacrum gave him carried over into other worlds as well. And that would be why he had experienced the luck he had in his life.


    Could Ryu be considered lucky? He would say so.


    In the past, he might have been unwilling to accept such a thing, or maybe even outright reject it, but he knew better now, and it honestly didn''t bother him.


    It would take quite a lot to make a hypocrite feel bothered.


    He smiled to himself, feeling that his own joke was quite amusing and true at the same time.


    Why bother about his other lives, and whether this Ryu was the real one, or if he was only a product of his upbringing and luck, when it didn''t matter to him one way or


    another.


    What he knew was this life, and since it was his last, he might as well reach the top of the world on this casual stroll of his.


    Ryu grunted slightly and a fragrant wind came barreling into his arms. He looked


    down to find that it was Hope.


    "... You''re hugging me too tightly," he eventually managed to squeeze out.


    "You deserve this," she replied.


    "Uh... what did I do?" Ryu asked with a laugh.


    "Too dangerous. And also, why are you waving that thing around everywhere? It''s


    private!"


    That was when Ryu remembered he was still naked.

 Chapter 2061 Deeper Meaning

    ?Chapter 2061 Deeper Meaning


    Ryu chuckled. It wasn''t long before he was surrounded by his women.


    Eska and Isemeine seemed to have undecided to unfuse, which was odd because although the situation was calm now, it wasn''t to the extent that all the troubles had been handled.


    The Griffins were still here, and so were the Ruin Master Guild members. Plus, there were still some powerful Fey lingering off in the distance.


    However, it didn''t take Ryu long to figure out why.


    Ailsa''s power had skyrocketed again.


    It seemed that Ryu''s lack of power was still holding her back tremendously. As his Life Partner, she was especially affected even more so in comparison to his other wives. In the end, a battle that she was already practically handily winning on her own became even easier in the next instant. The funny part was that Ryu continued to grow; she too would only continue to gain access to power she should have had all along.


    Ryu didn''t find it disheartening. If anything, he found it amusing. He didn''t find that this matter bothered him much anymore at all.


    Who cared?


    At the end of the day, she was still reliant on him. And soon enough, the power dynamic between the two of them would be flipped on its head.


    At that moment, the skies shuddered and one of the elder Griffins fighting Ailsa shook. His eyes shot up into the skies and Ryu even saw a small light of fear.


    The skies split and a gorgeous griffin descended from above. It was easy to tell that she was a woman at a single glance. She had elegant paws that walked across the air as though it was solid ground, and a body of reflective white fur that made one feel as though one was staring right into the maw of a star.


    On her head, a reflective gold gem lay, and a crown of feathers rose from her head.


    When her white wings spread, feathers fell from above. And when they landed on the ground, ripples of white danced in all directions, healing the land and calming the raging qi.


    Slowly, the world was healed by the presence of this griffin alone.


    There was no need for her to give up all of her cultivation like this.


    It didn''t make any sense.


    But Ailsa understood why, and so did Ryu.


    When Ryu learned of the curse that Little Gem had suffered and how her Clan had abandoned her because of it, he, a man who rarely felt any sort of righteous indignation, had felt furious about the unfairness of it all.


    Ryu felt that his story and that of Little Gem''s had been very similar at the time, and he hadn''t wanted to help her because of that.


    Ultimately, it ended up being Ailsa who helped Little Gem break the curse without much of Ryu''s input at all, but this seemed to have been enough for the little Griffin to be completely attached to Ryu.


    Ryu looked up.


    At some unknown time, Ailsa was standing across from him. It was three meters, a distance that seemed so close and yet so far at the same time.


    He was about to smile almost carelessly when he saw something behind her.


    Ryu stopped moving, his thoughts moving in slow motion, or so it felt.


    His mind worked such that he understood the deeper meaning behind what he was seeing instantly.


    It wasn''t that an enemy was creeping up behind Ailsa or that there was some treasure or memento behind her, Instead, it was the very same half-dead man she had been carrying around all this time, the same man that had hurled all those insults at her


    over the years.


    The question then was... what was the deeper meaning Ryu saw?

 Chapter 2062 Small Fry

    ?Chapter 2062 Small Fry


    Ryu stared at the man for a long time.


    It was truly odd. He was spending more time looking at this sorry excuse of a Fiend more than he was the beautiful woman in front of him, but he felt like his mind was churning.


    He couldn''t remember the last time he hesitated with a decision like this, and he was finding it hard to even look toward Ailsa in the first place because if he did so, then he felt like there was only one choice he could make.


    No matter what sort of hard stance he took, he would always have a soft spot for his women. He could be a hard ass in any other situation, but he didn''t have it in him when it came to situations like these.


    Maybe that was because of guilt. No... he felt that it almost certainly was.


    For a hypocrite like him, it was funny that he even had such worries to begin with. But that had always been a part of him.


    In his first life, he didn''t even want to touch Elena for fear of what her life might be like once he was no longer around. He held himself back for the sake of sparing her feelings, when in any other situation, he would never do such a thing.


    That guilt carried on into his second life, and he had treated Ailsa worse than he probably had anyone else as a result of it. He had been staunchly opposed to ever having a second wife so that he could repay Elena for everything that she had done for him. He wanted to help her to live a life that she deserved, one that her man should give her.


    That was the sort of responsibility he took for himself, and it was the kind of thing he felt was only natural.


    However, in the end, his feelings for Ailsa also grew to the point that he couldn''t ignore them.


    What maybe even Ailsa didn''t know was that her response to his initial rudeness hadn''t given him a bad impression of her. If anything, it was what had creaked the door between them open.


    He remembered back then when he said that the Heavens didn''t have a right to pick his partner in love. He could remember how angry, how closed off, how completely infuriated he was about every aspect of the world. He wanted nothing more than to scorn the Heavens at every turn, even if there was this gorgeous woman before him. And yet Ailsa had given him a check on his reality. For the first time, rather than receiving the coddling of his parents and the sympathy of his grandparents, someone told him to his face that despite everything he had been through...


    He was lucky.


    He had talent that others couldn''t imagine, and even if he felt aggrieved about things that he couldn''t control, didn''t he now have the opportunity to change everything? So what was he moping about?


    Maybe Ailsa had only said those words out of frustration, but it was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to Ryu. And even if he was still stubborn at the time, that didn''t mean that it didn''t cause a slight crack in his armor.


    By then, it was already too late.


    That sort of blunt, confident, arrogant sort of woman that could meet his coldness with her own... he had always had a weakness for it.


    No. That wasn''t true.


    A silence hung in the air and no one spoke. Even if there was danger lying in the surroundings, they probably didn''t even dare to approach at this point. All they cared about was getting as far away as they could. What a joke. Who would attack with both Ailsa and Eska present? It would be a suicide mission.


    Ryu felt a shift in his hair. Little Gem moved slightly before collapsing into what she probably thought was an even more comfortable position.


    The distraction seemed to make him wonder if it was worth it.


    However... he already knew why he was dragging his feet like this. In reality, he had already made his decision. But...


    Ryu looked off into the distance toward the remnants of the Ruin Master Guild, and then up into the skies where the residual boundaries of the Heaven''s Gate had been.


    He sighed.


    The sigh seemed to echo across the world, filling the folds of reality as though it was sighing along with him.


    Ailsa''s pupils trembled. And though she controlled it well enough that almost no one saw, Eska certainly did.


    Ryu took a step, and then another until he was no longer three meters from Ailsa, but rather so close that their noses almost touched.


    At this distance, he could feel a natural weighted pressure coming from Ailsa that almost crushed all of his bones... the very same bones that he had forged from the


    bodies of ten different Bone Structures.


    This woman''s power was truly beyond his imagination.


    "Don''t waste my time," Ryu said coldly, looking Ailsa in the eye. "Kill him yourself."


    Ailsa stared back at Ryu, her trembling pupils having already been reined under control by her. The two of them just stared at one another, and it felt as though something had ended.


    However, it was then that Ailsa suddenly jolted, and her body jumped involuntarily. At


    the same time, Ryu winced before quickly regaining his composure, burying the pain


    he was feeling deep as he turned away.


    "I don''t kill small fry, I''ll give you the head of the Ruin Master Guild instead."

 Chapter 2063 No Matter What

    ?Chapter 2063 No Matter What


    "Son of a bitch."


    Ryu looked at his arm a long while later in outright shock and horror. Maybe he shouldn''t be shocked, but was hard not to be when your entire arm was nothing but. a pile of mush right now.


    He didn''t have a single other bone left in it. And if he hadn''t been quick, he had a feeling that every bone in his body would have been shattered.


    "Serves you right," Hope muttered, feeling speechless.


    It could be said that the entire world came to a stop after Ryu and Ailsa''s conversation ended. That was because this idiot actually went and pinched the holy Goddess


    Tatsuya''s ass before everyone.


    "Worth it," Ryu said shamelessly.


    Ailsa hadn''t done it on purpose; she was just caught off guard, much the same as everyone else. That was the last thing she expected Ryu to do, and she had been so distracted by his words that she didn''t even realize that his hand had reached around her waist to her back like that.


    She might have been a Dao God, but Ryu still had a much larger frame than she did. Couple that with her small little waist and how close they were, and it was like snatching candy from a baby...


    If that baby''s casual protections could blast your arm to smithereens, that is.


    Ryu was also fairly certain that his wife had to cut off most of her instinctive reaction. If not, let alone his arm, his entire body would have been obliterated.


    Was it the smart thing to do?


    Absolutely not, for more reasons than just the fact he had almost died because of the prank.


    There were countless issues, from the matter of Ailsa''s Fate all the way up to what danger he might face the moment someone strong enough to be enamored with her beauty decided to come and take his head.


    However, for the former, he didn''t care anymore. His woman was his woman. Soon, he would be overflowing with so much Fate that it didn''t matter what they thought.


    As for the latter... he would like to see them try. After all, he had more than one overpowered woman now. What could he say? He was overflowing with riches. Plus, he needed that for his ego.


    Was it mature?


    No.


    Did he care?


    Didn''t he already say he was a hypocrite? He truly didn''t give a damn.


    He really had needed to teach that wife of his a little lesson; otherwise, how would he continue to be the head of their household?


    Of course, he would have to grow much stronger before he could say that out loud, lest he lose a few more bones in the process.


    But he had to say, the feeling was both familiar and novel at the same time. That sort of elasticity couldn''t be taught, but her cultivation made it all the more shockingly impressive.


    A Dao Goddess''s body was truly something else.


    For the first time in a long while, Ryu didn''t feel like his lust was being dictated by his Bloodlines any longer. But despite that, rather than weakening, it felt like it only grew stronger.


    This wasn''t because he had some innate lust that came from somewhere else... well, at least not one that came from anything other than just being a normal male.


    Instead, it was because he no longer had an external source to blame. The thoughts were much more his own, and as such, even though the lust was much less potent, it was far more effective at swaying his thoughts.


    As he vanished into the distance with Eska, Isemeine, Selheira, Mac, and Hope, evil thoughts swirled in his mind.


    promise he had made to get her to climb into his bed willingly.


    Even the Heavenly Court had yet to be able to deal with the Ruin Master Guild. And


    Ryu saying that he would bring her their heads was little different from an ant


    shouting at the moon.


    But she was certain that he already knew that in part... and even if he didn''t and only learned now, he wouldn''t care.


    He was a man who was uncompromising in his pride. He took things so far because he couldn''t stand the fact that she had brought him a man on his last breath just to prove


    his loyalty to her.


    Ailsa sighed. "If you were here, you could have probably saved me from this mess,


    no?... Where are you... Yaana...?"


    It was a long while later that Ailsa''s smile faded, and this was probably the only topic that could have triggered it.


    Ryu hadn''t asked, and Ailsa knew why it was. He had a feeling that she didn''t know, and he didn''t want to face the implications of what that might mean.


    Ailsa had risen to the point where even the Heavenly Court knew her. This was the


    largest scope that existed in the world... and yet, there was no word of Yaana or Little


    Rock, for that matter.


    What could that mean? Could she have ended up in a far more distant timeline than Ailsa had? Where was she now? Was she even alive...?


    The more days passed, the less likely it seemed that they would ever find her.


    But there was hope...


    Ailsa clenched her fists.


    That ancient voice had recognized that Ailsa shouldn''t be in Greater Existence, but it hadn''t known her by name despite the commotion she had caused.


    The world was large, an impossibly large place... and Ailsa had spent too much of her


    time trapped by the petty schemes of a coward of an organization that hardly dared to


    show their tail.


    Now, she was free again... and she would spend every waking moment trying to find


    Yaana.


    She wasn''t just a woman who shared her husband with her... after all the time they had


    spent together with no one but one another to keep themselves company, they were


    closer than even sisters.


    "I will find you. No matter what."

 Chapter 2064 Changes

    ?Chapter 2064 Changes


    Ryu ignored the entirety of the rest of the world, his thoughts consumed by two things. Well, he would have liked for there to be a third, but Little Gem''s existence didn''t even give him the chance to think about it.


    The little one refused to leave his side, and though he had the power to just lock her away in some corner, how could he do that? After she had given up so much to be with him, he could only oblige. He might be a hypocrite, but he had a place in his heart for those that stuck by his side, and Little Gem no doubt fit that bill.


    Plus... although Little Gem had given up all of her cultivation, there was something that told Ryu that she wasn''t as hopeless and fragile as she looked. So without a choice, Ryu could only slash women off of his list and turn his attention to the other two matters.


    The first was a method to return to the True Martial World.


    Luckily, this issue was fixed quite swiftly. He hardly had to think about it because the moment he succeeded in his mission, the Dream Wraith existences had sensed it as well. They didn''t speak to him, but he could feel the shifts of fate in the air. He could tell that soon, they would provide him a path to return to where he had come from.


    Since that situation was handled, he could just wait and focus on the second thing that had his attention.


    The changes to his body.


    In truth, like Ryu had thought earlier, he had had this idea in his mind for a while. It was among the methods his Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody had created while he was meditating, though only peripherally.


    They had been more focused on crafting Dao Methods and techniques of the like, whereas this was far beyond just that. However, his Dao Heart had created a technique that he couldn''t use at the time that was quite good and relied on similar principles. As such, by extension, they had thought of this method.


    But Ryu hadn''t wanted to follow through on it.


    The first thing Ryu could feel was that his Bloodlines were finally, well and truly, entirely under his control. He could not only access the full array of Talents within, but he could use them to the fullest extent of their powers without worrying about the issue of suppression or clashing.


    It didn''t matter whether it was his Fire Dragon Bloodline or his Phoenix Bloodline; they were all like clay putty in his palms, being molded, shaped, and warped to his views.


    The second thing he noticed was that he not only had access to these Talents... but they were also made far more powerful by his Dao Bones.


    He didn''t even cast it, but when he moved just his thoughts alone to his Rage Flame, he could feel the Dao Runes of the Ashen Flameheart Lotus Bone Structure flaring up. The Heavens responded, and the Talent was amplified twice over.


    When the Lightning Seed in his third eye shifted, the Dao Runes of his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure rumbled, lightning sparking around him.


    That was when Ryu realized something profound. It wasn''t that he had just gained access to his full array of Bloodlines after so long. It was like he had become an entirely new species of beast entirely. The world itself was bowing to his will with every action he made.


    But these were only the changes made to his Bloodlines. Honestly speaking, they were the simplest and most straightforward of the changes. The most complicated of the changes would actually be the synergy and relationship between the Bone Structures. And namely, that of the Empyrean Warframe and Boundless Cosmos Bone Structures


    paired with everything else.


    Ryu''s Bone Structures now fell into two categories, the elemental Bone Structures and the non-elemental Bone Structures. His Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure was sort of in an in-between state, but Ryu still chose to firmly place it in the non-elemental. That was because its abilities were related to matters that were far more than just space and time.


    That said... the third thing Ryu noticed was precisely related to that. Each and every one of his elements seemed to have gained a spacetime nature to them.

 Chapter 2065 Synergy

    ?Chapter 2065 Synergy


    Maybe saying that it was spacetime didn''t really do it justice. Instead, it was more accurate to say that they had all been influenced by his Cosmos Fog, giving them just that added bit of power and Control.


    With his Cosmos Fog attached to the foundation of these abilities, Ryu got the best of both worlds. On the one hand, his Dao Bones allowed him to communicate with the Heavens in a way a Human shouldn''t be able to, but on the other, it also allowed him to exhibit Control that a beast wouldn''t.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    It could be said that though the Dragon Emperor was the first existence to show Ryu the sort of power that Control could exhibit, Control was actually a weakness of the beasts. That was because Control relied on influencing the world around you with your own will rather than allowing the Heavens to carry you instead.


    The fact that the Dragon Emperor could exhibit that sort of control at all was a testament to his talent. But he definitely didn''t have the innate capacity for it.


    That was what attached Cosmos Fog to all of his elemental Bone Structures did for Ryu. It was like an innate boost to his Control, giving him a sort of power the likes of which an existence of his caliber shouldn''t have.


    Ryu already had Lord Control despite being a mere Omniscient Sky God. But with this Cosmos Fog, his Control could dwarf most Sovereign Control.


    This sort of thing was mind-numbing.


    If Ryu had had Sovereign Control alone, ignoring all of the other improvements to his strength, that last clash with Sarriel wouldn''t have harmed him in the slightest. In fact, there likely wouldn''t have been an explosion to begin with. The world would have been forced to hold.


    This was just the most important of the synergies, but there were other much more "trivial," but shocking in their own way changes as well.


    For example, when Cosmos Fog was fused with his Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure''s ability to freeze time itself, there was a mutation.


    But what about when your bodily strength included Dao Runes?


    Ryu''s Empyrean Warframe didn''t just exploit his body alone; it touched upon concepts of his elements. The reason Ryu was so confident in thinking of new synergies on the spot and using them mid-battle was precisely because of his Empyrean Warframe.


    There was just a natural fluidity to his body that came with it, one that made him feel like he didn''t need to practice at all because everything would come naturally to him.


    He wasn''t even that adept at using Light and Darkness, or Earth especially for that matter, but his Empyrean Warframe made him feel as though he had been using them for a lifetime.


    Everything just felt...


    Natural.


    Ilis control extended out of his body and his elements became like an extension of himself. But that was the key reason why this was just the simplest change. That was because his Empyrean Warframe now allowed him to use the world as an extension of his senses for precisely that reason. If the original Empyrean Warframe allowed perfect reactions with the body itself, this mutated version allowed Ryu to read and react to things even not happening directly to him. So long as they were in a world filled with some sort of elements, he would be able to...


    And in Ryu''s case, he could even create a world himself by projecting his inner world, essentially taking his elements along with him wherever he went.


    And once again, on top of this, there were countless little synergetic effects he couldn''t be bothered to go through entirely...


    And that left the synergy between his Boundless Cosmos and Empyrean Warframe...

 Chapter 2066 Surge

    ?Chapter 2066 Surge


    Ryu had already seen that the path to strengthening his Spacetime Soul Nature, or rather, maximizing it to the greatest degree, was taking the approach of extreme complexity.


    Until now, Ryu had done a very good job at this, but it was still limited in its effectiveness when he was facing off against the strongest enemies. Well, at least not the ones that were wholly incompetent.


    But now, he felt that he was on another level. And the shocking part about it was that it had found its roots in simplicity, not complexity.


    Usually, as one strengthened, your movements would become so controlled and perfect that even the simplest of actions could carry a great deal of power.


    Often, reaching the peak of complexity was often only seen as the beginning, before one should continue and refine it until a technique, comprehension, or Dao became an extension of one''s breath.


    This was how things were meant to be.


    But for the first time, Ryu had been faced with a situation where he had to do the opposite.


    Everyone gained access to a degree of control over time and space once their comprehensions reached a certain level. Even Transcendeds could already break into the void, a high level of space control.


    Because of that, Ryu felt that the only way to maximize his Spacetime Soul Nature was to layer it in so much complexity that only someone with a deep affinity could possibly parse apart everything that was happening.


    However, in his battle with Sarriel, that had become a detriment. She had eyes capable of seeing through too much, and despite not having a Spacetime affinity herself, she was able to counter him well.


    The worst part was that because he was layering in complexity to try and fool her eyes, he was using up too much time to move the way he wanted to. And that was the other issue with complexity.


    This so-called scent was actually just a product of the oneness with the Ileavens his Ice Jade Crystal Body had. That was to say that among all the Bone Structures... the Ice Jade Crystal Body was among the closest the Human Race had to becoming Beasts themselves!


    That was when it all came together for Ryu. His Ice Jade Crystal Body had such a calming effect on beasts because they saw him as one of their own. In fact, it might even be said that the real reason Little Gem was so attached to him was that he was the first of her "kin" that actually showed her true affection.


    But that still left three other factors. There was the flexibility... the balance.... and finally...


    SHUUUUUU!


    A surge of qi surrounded Ryu. Large amounts of Chaos Qi poured in from all directions.


    This feeling... he had missed it.


    Ever since he lost his Ice Jade Crystal Body, he had been forced to cultivate just like everyone else, breathing in qi through the mouth and nose.


    But now, he had returned to his most natural state.


    Chaos Qi poured into his pores, cleansing him from head to toe and making him feel full and revitalized.


    His connection with the Chaos Plane deepened and swirls of dark gold flooded the scene around him, piling up and growing to the point that Ryu himself seemed to have grown in size.


    Ryu was already at the Peak of the Omniscient Realm, but he still felt like he was a bottomless well. The shimmering cadence of his two Spiritual Foundations proved it so.

 Chapter 2067 A New Nature

    ?Chapter 2067 A New Nature


    Ryu''s Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation required so much qi that he rarely ever saw the needle move when he cultivated. It required decades of passive cultivation before he could make it to the Omniscient Sky God Realm, not to mention several substantive breakthroughs on top of that.


    But all of a sudden, Ryu felt like he was cultivating in the Mortal Realms again. It was a shocking change that made him realize that if before it was just his Dao holding him back from breaking through, now there was no doubt that this was the case.


    It was the only thing he was missing here.


    Ryu opened his eyes and exhaled a breath.


    The power of Dao Bones was surely shocking, but...


    He raised a hand and touched his forehead. The hidden line that was his third eye rested in silence.


    ... This was what he was the most excited about.


    Unfortunately, it would take him time before it truly began to show its power.


    This eye wasn''t exactly a new eye. It was still his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. Instead, it could be said to just be an evolution that would take them to an entirely different level.


    Ryu had felt that his Spacetime Soul Nature was actually constraining rather than helping his Heavenly Pupils. He was proven correct after he diverted his Spacetime Soul Nature to this eye instead. Even without doing anything else, he could feel that his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were far more in tune with Karma and Fate as a result, and their strength had easily doubled when equalizing for all other factors.


    That only left one question... if the eye was the same, then what could it actually do?


    Well, to say it was the same wasn''t entirely accurate. What Ryu wanted to do was reconstruct the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils such that instead of working with Fate and Karma, they instead worked with Space and Time.


    This was far easier said than done. After all, all of the prediction abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils functioned so perfectly only because it could read Fate and manipulate Karma.


    Plus... even if he succeeded, he would just end up with inferior versions of all of his already powerful Heavenly Pupil techniques. What was the point?


    However, this also wasn''t exactly what Ryu wanted to do. He wanted a new, second form of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils that could bolster, support, and even increase the strength of his normal Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    Take [Rob the World of its Color], for example. Ryu had been able to manipulate it, turning it into a blade that could act directly on the Strings of Karma in [Lines of Fate]. This was how he had managed to kill a Dao Sovereign, albeit with the help of others. He had severed their connection to a fundamental comprehension they relied on, thus rendering them worthless.


    Ryu had done this to the Three-Pupil woman as well. This was why one of her Pupils had gone dim. He had severed the connection from her.


    But what if Ryu could mix time into this ability? Instead of just reading the current [Line of Fate], he could layer them with Strings of Karma from the past, creating even better predictive models that would make the percentages he was working with near or at 100%. Or he could take a peek into the future directly through [Lines of Fate], forgoing the need for the effort at all.


    Or what if he fused space elements into [Rob the World of its Color], allowing him to strip a person of even their coordination with space, and rendering most of the laws of the world worthless around them? How disoriented would a cultivator be if they couldn''t control Atmospheric Qi properly because they had no concept of what qi was right near them, or millions of miles away?


    And those were just the worst examples Ryu could think of.

 Chapter 2068 Silver Star

    ?Chapter 2068 Silver Star


    Ryu exhaled a breath and opened his eyes.


    The power of his eyes when they were completed would be truly profound. But actually completing them would take a great deal of work.


    First, he would have to turn what was originally potential back into raw power and understanding.


    It had to be remembered that when he originally got the Silver Star, he had used it to study it from the outside, trying to grasp the Visualization that was attached to it. But when he got his Perfect. Blackbody Soul, he swallowed it up and turned all of that comprehension into raw potential instead.


    This was a perfect choice in the immediate situation, but now what he would need to do was reach a point where he could rebuild and form that Visualization on his own.


    Remembering the complexities of that Star, Ryu still felt a bit overwhelmed, but it wasn''t nearly as terrible as it was in the past.


    Ryu remembered a time when he couldn''t even look at the Silver Star directly, but now he was capable of using his Origin Flame to remember at least its first few layers.


    Now, he had enough insight to realize that his Silver Star was separated into ten layers, each one progressing toward the core where the most complex layer was. Right now, Ryu was fairly confident in forming the first layer, but he only had 50% confidence in forming the second.


    This went to show just how shocking the difficulty of it all was. It was hard to imagine the level his future self had reached.


    Right now, he already felt that he was peaking toward the best experts in the world. Soon, he would be able to step into the Lord Realm and display even greater might. But he was still so far away.


    He couldn''t even pinch his own wife''s ass without losing an arm. Where was the justice and humanity in that? He needed to get stronger.


    The second thing he would need were resources, of course. He had made use of his Tribulation Lightning this time around to gather a lot of the strength that he would need, but this was still just a foundation. He would need much more.


    Whether that came from more Tribulations or other Natural Treasures didn''t matter. One way or another, he would need it.


    And finally, ironically enough, he would need more Fate.


    Although these eyes were breaking free of the Fate and Karmic Soul Natures that were much better suited to his original pair, that didn''t mean they didn''t need Fate of their


    short order.


    If he couldn''t...


    He would likely die.


    Even so, there was a calm expression on his face.


    He pulled Little Gem down from his head and stroked her soft fur. The little griffin smiled happily, twisted around in his embrace before yawning and settling down into a nap.


    She had been doing a lot of sleeping these days, and Ryu found it to be somewhat amusing. That was because, like he had said before, he could tell that the little one wasn''t nearly as weak as she seemed to be.


    In fact, her cultivation had already soared in just these first few hours.


    Just as she was sleeping, she had already returned to the stage of a Fourth Order Beast, the equivalent of the Spiritual Severing Realm.


    Of course, this wasn''t much for a beast that had just been a God Beast. But even recultivating shouldn''t be so fast. It hadn''t even been a day yet, and she wasn''t even actively cultivating.


    It was like the world was cultivating for her.


    This was the shocking strength of the griffins. From what Ryu knew, the World Pupils, the Pupils that he had always known to be number two to his own, came from this


    §Ô§Ñ§ã§Ö.


    He was truly interested in seeing how strong it was.


    He rose to his feet, still stroking the little griffin.


    Since his return would take some time, he would see what he could do with the stragglers in his Inner World first.

 Chapter 2069 One-Man

    ?Chapter 2069 One-Man


    Ryu found the situation in his Inner World to be pretty much as he expected.


    Kira and the Three-Pupiled woman were listless. He didn''t even bother to chain them down. In his world, they couldn''t do anything that he wouldn''t allow them to. So they could only sit in place.


    Though, even if he allowed them to roam freely, it was up in the air if they would even deign to do so. That was because Kira''s Dao of Heart was crushed, and the Three-Pupiled woman wasn''t far from it.


    Then there was, of course, Aria Moon.


    She was still absolutely furious, and unlike the others, she hadn''t seemed to have run to the end of her rope just yet. She was still scratching and clawing, trying to find a way out.


    It was just unfortunately useless.


    Finally, there was Hrakka, and as a bonus, there was Little Silk.


    After seeing his wife''s combat style, if you could even call it that, Ryu was truly speechless.


    With their connection, Ryu could share memories and thoughts with Ailsa as he pleased, so he understood much of what she had gone through already, and he likewise understood her combat style and how it worked.


    Ailsa was practically Ryu''s mirror. Much like him, she had been born with what seemed like one set of Meridians, but it had ended up being suppressed until they both found methods of awakening their second set.


    In Ailsa''s case, she was both a Quibus and Cultus Faerie. On the one hand, she was the absolute best companion that a Necromancer could ever want, and on the other, she was able to nurture the most powerful existences in the world.


    When such a person appeared in a single body, and they were given trillions of years to be idle...


    They were essentially a one-woman army.


    When all things were factored in, when it came to nurturing, both Ailsa and he were practically a wash. They were neck and neck. And honestly speaking, Ryu should be ahead with the weight of Embryonic Qi doing a lot of heavy lifting.


    There was no reason why he shouldn''t be able to create an army just as strong as she had, and do it even faster at that.


    This Three-Pupiled woman and Kira were also decent starting talents. At the very least, they were far beyond Empana in this regard.


    Kira and his Ancient Sinew Bone Structure had a lot of potential that he was simply too cowardly to use, while the Three-Pupiled woman''s desire to steal Ryu''s Heavenly Pupils had given him several ideas on how to best make use of her.


    The trouble was that not only did he not know where he would suddenly find a bunch of Heavenly Pupils to try out on her, but both of them had weak Dao Hearts that made him hesitate about whether it was worth nurturing them at all.


    However, in the end, Ryu made a different decision.


    Wasn''t the solution easy? If they had a weakness... get rid of it.


    How could you remove the need for a Dao Heart''s influence? That was obviously by turning them into corpse puppets?


    Why should he keep them alive if their Dao Hearts were worthless?


    Instead, he would refine their corpses using a new method. Then, he would make use of their talents from the afterlife.


    If their Dao Hearts were weak, he would eliminate the need for them entirely. Ryu flipped over a palm, and a book bound in human skin appeared in his hands. By now, he had already read through this book from front to back, and the shocking amount of information in it awed him even in his current state.


    Now, it was about time he put those actions into practice.


    His one-man army would start now.

 Chapter 2070 Three Methods

    ?Chapter 2070 Three Methods


    Ryu took a step forward and picked up Kira. The man showed only a slight bit of fight


    in his eyes before he went slack. It seemed that even his fear of dying wasn''t enough to snap him out of it entirely.


    And that made him worthless to Ryu.


    Kira had no idea that this was the last chance that Ryu was giving him. And


    unfortunately, neither did the three-pupiled woman he had never bothered to learn the name of.


    It wouldn''t matter. In the end, they would be completely different people after this. He could keep their names or name them whatever he wanted.


    Little Gem yawned and opened her large eyes. Their whites seemed to be able to see through the world, and they were filled with an innocence that belied her indifference toward Ryu''s actions.


    How she managed to maintain an innocent facade while also being so indifferent to death and struggle was a true marvel.


    Ryu picked up the three-pupiled woman, and though she struggled a little bit more, her despair was all too clear. At the very least, unlike Kira, she actually tried to threaten him.


    "Didn''t you hear what I said to him?" Ryu asked, shaking Kira around. "If I had his Bone Structure, the entire Ancient Beast Race would be my enemy. Do you think I care about your Three-Pupil Clan?"


    The woman froze, the words on the tip of her tongue becoming akin to burning acid in her mouth. She wanted to spit it out, and yet it had already penetrated too deeply, retreating to her throat. No matter what she said now... would it matter to such a madman?


    "Now, I do wonder why someone like lam would keep such useless geniuses around him. You all aren''t even very good pawns.


    "I have a feeling that it''s because he saw something in your talents that he could make use of. So why don''t we find out together?"


    As for the matter of cultivation, that would only work in Sacrum where there was no emphasis on the Dao at all.


    It had to be remembered that a secondary benefit of using this method was that the corpse puppets would be able to continue cultivating on their own rather than having to be continuously refined with stronger and stronger resources and materials. However, here, where the Dao was so important, even if they could gather Qi, it would be worthless.


    In that case, Ryu decided that he would divide his puppets into two categories.


    The first he would keep alive and control through Summoning methods. These would be his Summons.


    The second would be puppets he killed and refined the bodies of. These would be his Corpse Puppets.


    But that still didn''t explain very much. Sure, he wouldn''t use the live refinement method of that Path Extinction Realm expert. That still, however, left countless other methods he could use.


    The three he focused on, though, were three shocking methods described in the human skin tome.


    The Spiritual Foundation Method. The Bloodline Method. And... the Fate Star Method. When Ryu was reading these methods, he found it hard to believe that this was a tome that he had ignored for so long... but it was also the case that much of it couldn''t be read by him in the first place. It was only after he grew so strong that he could even begin to digest what was before him, and most importantly...


    That the tome allowed him to read it.


    Each method was more shocking than the next.


    The first required using the Spiritual Foundation of the person to consume them and their lives, replacing their egos with the Dao Heart. This wouldn''t give them intelligence but instead make them instinctual machines not much unlike Ryu''s own Dao Heart that only sought to improve as quickly as possible.


    The second method only worked on corpse puppets with special Bloodlines. It used the Ancestors of their Bloodline to refine their lives away...


    And the last...

 Chapter 2071 I See...

    ?Chapter 2071 I See...


    The Fate Star Method was the most shocking of them all. It was using a person''s very Fate to refine them into a corpse puppet, allowing one to commandeer the luck of their corpse puppet, incorporate it into themselves, and distribute it as you pleased. Ryu only described these methods at a surface level, but each one was truly shocking. Ryu had to create the [One Above All] Dao Method before he could use his Dao Heart the way described in this refinement method. And the fact he wasn''t struck down choosing such a name went to show just how powerful his self-created method was, and yet here was a refinement method that used the same concept.


    The Bloodline Method seemed to be the most lackluster of them all... until one realized that the bare minimum requirement for its use was a Lord Grade Bloodline; otherwise, it would lead to a worthless refinement.


    Lord Grade Bloodlines didn''t sound impressive. But first, one had to consider that this was the minimum requirement to just get started with the technique. In addition, Clans with Lord Grade Bloodlines were all exceptionally rare.


    If one took the True Martial World as an example, one wouldn''t even start seeing such Clans until the Seventh Heaven... but the problem was that the Seventh Heaven was ruled by Sects, not Clans.


    As a result, even there, one wouldn''t see their first Lord Grade Bloodline lineages until one entered the Eighth Heaven, and even then they were sparse and far between.


    In addition, this Lord Grade Bloodline requirement wasn''t just a casual one. It required a long line, a lineage that spanned ages.


    That meant that just being born with a Lord Grade Bloodline wasn''t enough; one had to have been born into the family for it to work.


    There were two types of Bloodline Inheritors: those that inherited what they got from their parents, and those that spontaneously gained their Bloodlines, much like one might be born with a random Bone Structure or Spiritual Foundation.


    This technique only allowed the former to function, and that''s what made it so shocking...


    Because once again, much like the most shocking of the three, it relied heavily on


    Fate.


    And finally, there was the one that Ryu couldn''t take his eyes off of, the Fate Star Refinement.


    But there was also a reason he was hesitant about it.


    For one, everyone''s Fate was different. Even if their Fates would be decent because


    they were born with good talent, that didn''t mean that it was best to use them like this.


    This book was created by someone who had reached such a high level of cultivation that they began to faintly tap onto the edges of Fate and how to manipulate it. Thus, they created these three methods.


    However... Ryu wasn''t just tapping into the edges of Fate... he had a Soul Nature of Fate and Karma, and the strongest Pupils in Existence.


    These methods that took his individual reach to the pinnacle of cultivation to form...


    Were practically forged for Ryu himself.


    His gaze flashed as he formed the final seals, and there was a burst of light from the depths of his pupils. Images flickered across his irises until he laid eyes on Kira''s Fate


    Star.


    It was a blazing ball of bronze. Rings of eastern flood dragons circulated it and roared out at Ryu the moment they sensed him.


    The creatures seemed to be licking their wounds, feeling the despair of their owner, but it was far too late for such regret now.


    "You had such potential, and you squandered it by being a coward." Ryu had never seen a Fate Star with such phenomena rolling around it before; even his own didn''t have such things.


    It was clear that Kira''s Fate Star expected him to become a King of Beasts, and yet he decided to go after small fry constantly, too cowardly to target anything that would


    give him real strength.


    "I''ll show you what real strength is."


    Ryu''s gaze flashed once more, and a roar came from the depths of his soul.


    The flood dragons were shaken, only for their sudden movement to catch Ryu''s eye.


    "I see... so that''s what your master wanted."

 Chapter 2072 Fate Stars

    ?Chapter 2072 Fate Stars


    Kira''s Fate Star quite shocked Ryu.No?v(el)B\\jnn


    In truth, Ryu didn''t spend a lot of time looking at Fate Stars. However, compared to practically anyone else in the world, he had the absolute easiest time.


    Even back when he didn''t have a single drop of cultivation, he could use his eyes to peer into Fate, let alone now that he had a Fate and Karma Soul Nature to match it.


    However, back during his first life, he had had no interest because his own Fate was so bad. He was always destined to shine brightly for a short span and then fall to his death.


    As for the Fates of other people, he never cared to look. Had he... maybe he would have been able to see the plans of the Martial Gods ahead of time and planned accordingly.


    In that regard, Ryu''s arrogance was his own downfall, and that was something that he had yet to truly grapple with.


    Now that he was finally using this naturalized ability of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he was finally getting a real look at what other Fate Stars had to offer. But rather than being like a headless chicken, this came with a natural sort of understanding that only someone with a Soul Nature like his could possibly understand. And all of that could be summarized in a single line.


    Kira''s Fate Star was truly shocking.


    In fact, it was brighter than Ryu''s Fate Star had ever been at any single point. Even before he lost his Fate entirely thanks to the Martial Gods.


    Though, to be fair to Ryu, he had always been under the thumb of the Martial Gods. It was hard to tell what his Fate Star had been like before it was restricted by Divine Chains.


    But for Kira to have such a Fate, one could imagine what he would be like in the future...


    If not for the fact his Fate had been forcefully deviated.


    It seemed that Ryu had wrongfully blamed Kira. From what he could see here, the odds that it was Kira''s choice to take the path he had was unlikely.


    He could sense some unhappiness on Kira''s Fate Star, and also a hand in the shadows moving everything along to work for him.


    Judging by the Fate Star itself, it seemed that Kira had originally been Fated to exactly what Ryu wanted him to do most: to drink the blood of Dragons and use their skulls as cups.


    However, someone guided him to do something else...


    Eventually, he veered off the path so far that he was showing signs of blinking out.


    That was the thing with Fate Stars. They weren''t guaranteed outcomes. Much like everything else, they were just opportunities that the person in question still had to be the one to grasp.


    A True Dragon Emperor had been born.


    ROAR!


    The sound drowned out everything. Veins popped along Ryu''s neck as he felt the


    majesty of countless Dragons before him supporting his Dragon''s Roar.


    The Flood Dragons were immediately shaken and nearly blown to pieces.


    Ryu''s handseals suddenly accelerated.


    In his line of sight, as though it had been right next to the Fate Star, Ryu could see Kira''s Spiritual Foundation just as easily.


    His [Third Perspective] locked it down, the simple lake of endless Bronze.


    In its center, a Godhood that took the shape of a lion beast roared to the skies, but it


    only made Ryu feel disgusted.


    He would refine all of that out.


    All of it.


    If Kira was going to be his corpse puppet, he was going to have to be one of the strongest corpse puppets in existence.


    In the future, when he needed to teach his wife a lesson, he couldn''t have any weakness on his team.


    In which case, he wouldn''t accept anything but the absolute, very best.


    "Refine."


    BANG!


    In Ryu''s Inner World, a great change was taking place.

 Chapter 2073 Revert

    Chapter 2073  Revert


    Ryu''s attention was split between the Abyssal Plane and his Inner World. The more he took from the former, the more the latter seemed to be overturned.


    Kira was writhing in pain, but he was hardly able to move as bronze energies drilled into his body. The three-pupiled woman was shaking as well, but she was far more so in fear.


    She knew that whatever was happening to Kira now, she would be next.


    Kira might not care about his life anymore, but she didn''t care about her own. Unfortunately, nothing she did would change things.


    Ryu managed several things at once, the bronze energies sinking deep into Kira''s body and looping around his Meridians. Every time they completed a loop, another Rune would form. Sometimes on his dantian, sometimes on his soul, sometimes in his flesh and blood.


    The technique of refining a Corpse Puppet in this case required using their body as a conduit for refinement. From an outsider''s perspective, it almost looked like Kira was refining himself into a Lich rather than it being Ryu who was controlling everything.


    And that was part of what made the technique so absolutely shocking, and so difficult to use at that.


    Other Necromancy Corpse Refinement Techniques were external. They used external items to refine down corpses, and often required a person to actually be dead first lest they reject the situation they were in and ruin everything.


    However, this process required the person to be alive and the Necromancer to be strong enough to ignore their fight.


    Even now, despite what the woman thought, Kira was putting up a little bit of a fight... It just wasn''t nearly enough.


    And as more and more of his Fate Star and Spiritual Foundation were refined down into Runes, he struggled less and less until the Runes finally began to appear on his skin.


    When this happened, Kira stopped shuddering entirely.


    He hung there in the air, in silence, his body dangling by some mysterious force.


    The runes became so densely packed that they eventually layered over one another, and then, all of a sudden...


    They fused into one.


    Kira''s body shuddered one last time as a faint cry echoed through the air before he settled back down to true silence once more.


    The world fell into silence around them as Ryu snapped awake, gasping for breath.


    He didn''t expect his first challenge after growing so powerful would come so soon, but maybe that was just the way the cultivation was... and maybe even the way he preferred things to be.


    The fact that what was essentially just a Mental Realm method had tired him out so thoroughly went to show how difficult everything was. Though, to be fair to Ryu, he had yet to allow his Mental Realm and Perfect Blackbody Soul to swell up to accommodate the space his new and improved body would allow it.


    ''I''ll do that now.''


    Ryu ignored the Three-Pupiled woman and actually began to refine pills instead.


    He stepped out of his world, carelessly stole more resources from his wife''s Sect, and then returned to begin his refinement process.


    The world, that had only just settled down, had a new Tribulation descend the moment after.


    ''It seems... I''ve improved again.''


    It couldn''t even be said to be an improvement.


    Ryu could have asked Hope to refine the pill for him, but he had chosen to do so himself this time on purpose, just to feel out the new differences in his brain.


    And he was so much sharper, so much stronger, so much more shocking in his methods.


    It felt like night and day refining pills now, almost like it was refining them for the very first time.


    To say he had formed a pill worthy of Heaven''s Blessing was an understatement.


    He had only used materials at the Omniscient Grade at best, and yet looking at the pill, he was certain that even Sovereigns would drool over it.


    Of course, the only reason this was possible was because he had spent all those months reading all the records his wife had left behind. He also may have shamelessly shared in her alchemy experience over these years as well.


    But even for him, digesting trillions of years'' worth of experience was too difficult to do in such a short time, sharper brain or not.


    It could be said, then, that the latter played a minimal role in everything, and he did most of the heavy lifting.


    Ryu shook his head, smiling a cheeky grin and popping the pill into his mouth.


    His body shuddered and then a smooth aura began to pour out from him.


    What was most shocking was... he ate the pill before it had a chance to undergo its Tribulation.


    As Ryu was eating it, the bolts of lightning fell from the skies and Ryu absorbed them all, using them to make the pill''s effects more potent.


    Several hours later, Ryu exhaled and his aura shocked the world.


    The air around him trembled and his Mental Realm seemed to have expanded to the point it became a fathomless world of its own.


    ''This is a threshold... the Soul as World threshold...''


    There was a separation between those who were true Mental Realm Masters and those that were just allowing their souls to naturally progress along with their cultivations.


    This difference, though, was only seen the most prominently after the Lord Realm.


    But what was most shocking here was that Ryu''s soul had yet to break into the Lord Realm, he was only allowing it to expand to the greatest extent it could within the Omniscient Realm, and yet he was absolutely certain... That he had hit that legendary threshold already.


    Soul as World was a shocking phenomenon where one''s Spiritual Sea and Spiritual Quintessence grew to the point where it could truly rival a world in size and scope.


    But this wasn''t just some arbitrary measurement...


    That was because when one''s Spiritual Sea reached this point, it could revert...

 Chapter 2074 Arent You?

    Chapter 2074  Aren''t You?


    Ryu pressed his palms together and his aura surged. The endless black ocean that was his Spiritual Sea began to churn.


    Out from the center of it, a kernel of Spiritual Quintessence solidified, becoming a smooth black marble.


    Then, with a rush, his Spiritual Sea began to churn toward it.


    Large amounts of Spiritual Quintessence began to convert, pooling into this polished black marble and allowing it to grow larger and larger.


    Soul as World was the threshold one could reach, allowing their Spiritual Quintessence to reach a solid state.


    At this level, the worries about injuries to the soul became near non-existent.


    It had to be remembered that whether it was in Sacrum or elsewhere, the soul was very fragile. The reason Visualizations were used in place of normal Soul Techniques in Sacrum was because it was the only way they knew of to protect the soul from direct harm.


    This was why the crystal-edged weapons were so shocking. They allowed one to attack with their soul directly, something that wasn''t otherwise possible.


    However, when one reached the Soul as World Realm, the Spiritual Sea became almost akin to a Spiritual Foundation itself, a solid mass that energy could be extricated from.


    This mass provided an extra layer of protection that the soul wouldn''t usually have on its own, allowing for more targeted attacks.


    When Ryu first got to the True Martial World, he was shocked to find that they had Soul Techniques that didn''t rely on Visualizations at all. He had wondered how they managed it.


    But the truth was that those Soul Techniques were much weaker than they could be precisely because they had methods baked into them that protected the soul.


    Beyond those Mental Realm techniques were Soul Techniques known as World Soul Techniques. These truly unleashed the power of the soul to the greatest extent.


    For Ryu, who already had a soul that could pretty much tank most damage and recover easily, this was only bringing him to a whole other level.


    ''World Soul Techniques, is it... it seems that maybe I can start using those as well...''


    There were dozens of techniques his Dao Heart and Soul had created together that he just couldn''t use, and World Soul Techniques were among them. Three, to be exact.


    They were shockingly simple and direct in their efficacy, and all three relied on his eyes.


    The first was a mesmerizing technique, the second was an interruption technique, and the last was a direct attack.


    The mesmerizing technique confused the mind. It was known as [Illusory Instant]. He could pull the wool over the eyes of an enemy.


    Of course, he described it simply, but this sort of illusion ability was only a few steps shy of Sarriel''s abilities to truly put this matter into perspective. Against an opponent with a soul that was too weak, he could kill them before they even knew what was happening.


    The disruption technique was known as [Sudden Flare]. It did exactly as its description entailed, sending a flare of disruption into the mind of an enemy to interrupt a technique they were preparing.


    Finally, the attack technique...


    It combined concepts of Visualization, his God Aura, and his Soul, to pierce into the mind of an enemy, wiping out a weak soul in an instant.


    It was known as [God''s Eye].


    But to call it an attacking technique wasn''t quite accurate. Because it would have been just as accurate to call it a defensive technique at the same time. And that was because...


    Ryu''s eyes flashed and an illusory shield suddenly reflected in his eyes.


    Mage Lock. It was an ability he had picked up from the Incomplete Heavenly Battlefield, an inheritance from the Magus Sky God.


    Ryu had never forgotten about the methods of protection this Sky God taught him, but it just wasn''t good enough for him to use these days, especially now that his cultivation had long surpassed this individual.


    But the concepts worked fine enough.


    [God''s Eye] took advantage of Ryu''s eyes, or more accurately, their durability. Flooding God Aura that came from weapons into one''s eyes was a good recipe for blinding yourself forever.


    But Ryu''s eyes had survived a Tribulation more shocking than what most Dao Gods would face... it would be just fine.


    And because of that...


    Ryu''s gaze flashed again and a sword formed within them before cutting out.


    The world only seemed to ripple slightly, but Ryu''s eyes couldn''t help but narrow nonetheless.


    The laws of the world themselves had been cut apart, and there was absolutely no qi in the regions the invisible sword had passed through.


    ''Fascinating...''


    He was surprised by the strength of his own technique, something that he never thought he would say.


    This would certainly be a powerful trump card. He would be able to kill most Dao Lords with a single look now. It wouldn''t even take much effort or even lifting a finger.


    The technique would be even more powerful if not for the fact his God Aura was holding it back.


    The reason he could comprehend so many Weapon God Auras was because of his eyes and his Dao. But right now, he almost felt like his Dao was holding him back.


    It was an amusing thought if you really looked into it. Ryu''s Dao had already transcended the Level of this world several times over. It was a Founding Dao most could only dream of. But he just felt...


    Unsatisfied.


    This was part of the reason he didn''t allow his Soul to break into the Lord Realm just yet along with his body. He felt like he might end up needing it.


    Regardless, Ryu stood, feeling that he was ready to continue.


    He approached the three-pupiled woman who was already pleading, tears flooding out of her eyes.


    "Aren''t you the one who tried to take my eyes?" Ryu asked calmly. "I hate cowardly people like you the most. Even when they come packaged up with a pretty face."


    Ryu''s words fell the instant his hands blurred into action.No?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 2075 No Longer

    ?Chapter 2075 No Longer


    When Ryu saw the woman''s Fate Star, it was like he was staring at an eyeball looking right back at him. It carried a cold, heart-shuddering sort of blueness to it that felt both royal and lofty at the same time.


    It was clear at a glance that the woman''s Fate had been toyed with as well, but that would only benefit him.


    Much the same way Flood Dragons couldn''t compare to a True Dragon...


    Imperfect Pupils could never compare to the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    The process was even smoother this time. Ryu''s soul was too powerful now, and he almost felt silly taking the risk before. But you live and you learn.


    The true problems came when he came face to face with her Ancestors.


    They were, rightfully, infuriated. Using Bloodline Refinement on their descendant was a huge no.


    Quite quickly, Ryu realized why it was that this woman was so special. Her


    Three-Pupiled Clan had a very unique Bloodline... in that it was hard to say that they had a Bloodline at all.


    Their Bloodline was practically a blank slate, only capable of doing two things: increasing the folds of their brain so that they could take in information from six pupils at once, and strengthening their eyes akin to how you might strengthen a muscle, and even bone depending on how far you went, using their unique Meridian tracts.


    The unique Meridian system of the Three-Pupiled Clan was a large part of the reason their Bloodline worked the way it did.


    The network of Meridians in their eyes was even more complicated than the one in their bodies, and it seemed prepped and primed for any one of the directions they might try to take their eyes in.


    This was why Ryu called it a blank slate.


    However, there were still some foundational abilities, mostly techniques and talents that could be passed down.


    For example, their eye-stealing Talent, the [Severing Heaven''s Eye] method,


    This was probably the most shocking of their methods and the one the woman had likely wanted to use on him.


    Using this, they could snatch the ocular abilities of others without changing the foundation of what they were.


    Usually, if one wanted to steal Heavenly Pupils, it was necessary to transplant the entire eye. But if a Three-Pupil Clan member unlocked this Talent, they could snatch an ability and incorporate it into just one of their Pupils.


    Ryu could feel exactly how strong they were, and though he felt it wasn''t bad, it wasn''t enough. Not nearly enough.


    Bringing them out wasn''t even worth his time right now even with the current sturdiness of their bodies.


    He would need to find some more resources for them. Namely, blood for Kira, and presumably strong Pupils for the woman.


    "I should probably name you. We''ll just call you Blue from now on."


    Ryu controlled them and had them jump into the river of Embryonic Qi. This would refine out any impurities that remained from their last lives, and it would also set the perfect foundation for their improvement into the future.


    Pop.


    The sound caught Ryu''s attention and he looked above his head to find Little Gem waving her little paw around.


    Ryu caught something out of the corner of his eye and was speechless to find that it was a jar with a pair of eyeballs inside of it.


    "This can''t be?"


    On Sacrum, they were the 13th Ranked Heavenly Pupils, also known as the Heavenly Reflection Pupils and probably one of if not the strongest defensive Heavenly Pupils in


    existence.


    Its foundational ability was [Reflect]. 20% of an enemy''s attack strength, no matter what, would be reflected so long as the user had eyes on it.


    However, it also had far more powerful abilities, such as [Absolute Reflect], which allowed the full reflection of an attack that was completely understood by the user, or [Reflective State] which allowed the user to enter a battle form that allowed the power of the enemy''s attack to be gathered and used in their own attack, or [Mind of Aegis] which summoned a shield for the mind and made a user of these pupils immune to all mental attacks and assaults on the soul.


    And these were just the directly defensive abilities. It still also had some auxiliary and attacking abilities.


    Ryu was stunned that Little Gem would just directly give him such a thing...


    Before, that is, a large amount of Ancient Beast Corpses began to appear... including


    Griffins.


    Looking at the sight that was before him, Ryu suddenly realized he wouldn''t need long to upgrade them at all.

 Chapter 2076 Willing

    ?Chapter 2076 Willing


    Ryu settled down.


    The more he thought about it, the more it made sense for an expert of Little Gem''s caliber to have these sorts of treasures on her person. She had probably thrown away more wealth than Ryu had gathered in his life.


    To be a Dao God who had lived for so long just came with that sort of territory. In fact, that was the case even if you were just a normal Dao God, let alone if you were an existence that stood above even more Dao Gods.


    Still... this left Ryu a bit confused.


    If Little Gem had such free reign, then what had stopped her from coming to Ailsa''s side all this time?


    Was there some disagreement between Ailsa and Little Gem?


    Ryu didn''t believe so. He would have seen it in Ailsa''s memories. And from what he could tell, their relationship was just fine albeit a little stiff after not seeing one


    another in so long.


    That meant that there was likely something else stopping Little Gem, and it was most definitely related to someone even more powerful than her.


    The Griffin World of this quadrant of Greater Existence was most definitely among the most powerful worlds regardless of location and Dao Ceiling.


    Whoever could rule such a world would definitely be an existence that was comparable to Ailsa at the very least.


    But therein lied something of interest.


    Little Gem was a cursed being. The fact she had managed to break that curse should make her unfathomably powerful.


    So... was it that Ailsa''s potential was still able to suppress and surpass Little Gem''s? Or was it that someone had suppressed Little Gem?


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    He was certain that Little Gem was able to talk by now, but the little one hadn''t said a single word since returning to his side. There was definitely more to this that she just hadn''t gotten to.


    And clearly, the reason for that was because Ryu was still too weak.


    "Alright." Ryu chuckled, reaching up and stroking Little Gem''s fur.


    In that case, he would focus on other things first. He still had two men to make suffer particularly horrid deaths.


    Ryu lost himself in his work.


    The more he practiced Necromancy, the more he realized just how much he liked it. In his first life, the Secondary Professions he picked up were just a means to an end. He wanted to make himself useful and the idea of rotting away on the Shrine Plane every day for the rest of his life was suffocating.


    Ryu stood, feeling that he had spent almost too much time on these two Corpse Puppets, and he had neglected his Summons too much.


    Between building their armors, and allowing Kira to absorb a great deal of Ancient Beast Blood, and Blue to consume the 13th Ranked Heavenly Pupils, it was about time his Summons got some attention too.


    Not long later, Ryu stood before Aria, Hrakka, and Empana.


    Aria was still writhing around like an infuriated wild animal. It could only be said that her energy was truly great.


    Unfortunately, it wouldn''t make much of a difference.


    Of them all, Empana was lagging behind the most. He had reverted back to his World Serpent Bloodline, but compared to Hrakka who had been soaking in Embryonic Qi for decades, and Aria who was already a world-shocking talent from the start, it was


    clear that he had lagged considerably.


    However, comparatively speaking... Empana was also the one among them with the fiercest Dao Heart. And Ryu had an idea for that.


    "Empana, it will take you time to catch up to them, normally speaking, that is... but I have an idea for a new cultivation system and you are perfect for it." Empana was taken aback, not quite knowing what to say. If it was anyone else who


    was speaking about a new cultivation system, he might look at them as though they


    were a fool.


    How long had the current system existed for? Who was arrogant enough to say that they had a new method?


    "... I am willing." Empana said.


    Ryu''s gaze sparkled. "Little Gem."


    Little Gem lazily yawned and then waved a palm. A strong world energy descended


    and Empana found his cultivation being stripped from him layer by layer, piece by piece.


    He was stunned.


    The amount of people who wanted a chance to recultivate amounted to probably


    100% of the population. Who could say that they had taken every step perfectly?


    "Stay sharp. Ryu said coldly. "I will now transfer the method to you. Whether you can make it to the very end will be dependent on yourself. You have all the resources in the world here.


    "If your Dao Heart is strong, you will thrive. If not, you will fall here!"

 Chapter 2077 Clumsy

    ?Chapter 2077 Clumsy


    Ryu squatted on the balls of his feet, pulling Aria up by her collar. She spat at his face, but it was blocked by a barrier before it could even exit her mouth a few inches, before being incinerated to ash.


    Ryu didn''t say much, only pressing a palm to her forehead.


    "Get out of my head!" Aria roared, her one bronze eye and the other icy blue one flashing wildly.


    Unfortunately, it was useless. Her soul was far too weak in comparison to his own, and she was ruthlessly suppressed in a single bound.


    Soon, she found a Magus Maze in her mind, one that forced her to listen to all of Ryu''s orders and also revealed all of her thoughts to him.


    Before, Ryu hadn''t had a proper Summoning Heritage, so he didn''t actually end up formally making Hrakka and Empana his Summons just yet. It was just that he was fairly confident that they would always listen to his orders.


    However, after studying the human skin Tome, he had come up with his own Summoning method. He had never tested it before, but he had decided to use it against the most unruly of his Summons.


    In the end, he turned out to be correct and everything went smoothly... not that it was much of a surprise for him.


    He let go of Aria''s collar and stood up.


    "Get up." He said calmly.


    Gritting her teeth, Aria complied.


    Ryu began to control her to take various actions, and eventually, the two began to spar.


    Wounds began quickly accumulating across the petite Fiend''s body. She suffered again and again, and the rage in her eyes was quickly becoming helplessness.


    Ryu had allowed her to attack at her full power for a while, and she had thrown everything she had at him, but it was still worthless. It was like they weren''t even in the same league anymore. The separation between the two was so enormous that she couldn''t even see the peak he stood on.


    She had once been a great genius that many drooled over. Her own Clan was willing to give her any and everything she wanted just to make sure she remained happy. And yet now...


    "You only control Sovereign Earth and Sovereign Ice Qi, not even Ancient Earth and Ice, let alone Primordial Chaotic Earth or Primordial Chaotic Ice," Ryu observed after Aria collapsed with exhaustion.


    Aria grit her teeth. That was actually a great pride. Why did it sound like an insult coming out of Ryu''s mouth? She had never felt so humiliated in her entire life.


    "Your Sovereign Earth and Sovereign Ice are also both quite weak. They seem to be restricted by this world rather than being the best representations of themselves."


    Ryu had already noticed that his Chaos Qi varied in strength depending on the world he was in. Clearly, this was the same for Aria.


    It sounded quite shocking that Aria would have Qi that was so weak. It had to be remembered that Qi in this world was separated from Fragmented up to God, and then beyond God there was still Ancient Qi and Primordial Qi beyond. Then, sitting beyond that was Chaos Qi or Essence.


    Aria didn''t even have God Qi, she had Sovereign Qi. And that was a Qi Level you would start finding on the Eighth Heaven, and see most often on the Ninth Heaven.


    For a genius of her caliber, this seemed out of place.


    In many tales, Giants represented the beginning, not of the universe, but of life itself. It was rare to find a story of the telling of the start of a humanoid race without giants being part of it in some way, shape, or form.


    They were often painted as a naive Race, one without much intelligence, and one with an almost careless clumsiness that might either bring hope or destruction to a world.


    The Fire Giants embodied precisely all of that. The clumsiness of the beginning, a budding chance for a future... they were the true Prometheus.


    For a Race like this one, it could be said that this white flame was exactly what Hrakka needed. This white flame that Ailsa had only described in a single line...


    A flame that had existed since the beginning of time itself.


    "Kneel for me." Ryu said lightly.


    Hrakka nodded and kneeled. Even now, she was still about a head taller than Ryu, even


    after sitting on her heels, but it was enough.


    Ryu pressed a palm forward and touched the center of her chest.


    With a flare, a white phoenix appeared behind him.


    Irakka''s body was practically an open chasm, ready to be molded to Ryu''s image. Her


    Meridians were as wide as oceans and her Blood Vessels were as open as skies.


    She was ready.


    Ryu came out of his Inner World, slowly opening his eyes while still within the


    Rebirthing Cultus Sect.


    He stood and strolled out, ignoring most of the people he came across until he found himself in front of Wobbling Fairy''s Courtyard again.


    After some thought, he just directly barged in and closed the doors after him.


    He found the little Faerie woman rocking in a chair, back to her usual innocent, drunk


    self.


    She looked up to see Ryu and gave him a big smile, but it felt fake. Not because there was a hidden darkness behind it, but rather because this was the smile she would likely give anyone who had just barged into her courtyard like that.


    It was like she had completely lost any semblance of a backbone she had, turning into


    a puppet of a woman only there to smile and act the part of a fool.


    Ryu found himself standing before her in silence, his mind seemingly trying to work


    something out.

 Chapter 2078 Who?

    ?Chapter 2078 Who?Ryu didn''t say anything for a long while until he pulled up a chair and sat across from her in silence. Looking into the eyes of this woman, he could feel that she had a story. It was just that he didn''t care to find out what it was before.


    The reality of the matter was that he didn''t particularly care about Wobbling Fairy. He couldn''t drum up sympathy for a woman he had no affection for. It also didn''t help that he seemed to have decided that he was a hypocrite now.


    But what was a hypocrite if not self-contradicting? He did things according to how he felt.


    If he had forgotten about her, he wouldn''t have even minded leaving this world without saying goodbye. He wouldn''t have felt the need to come here at all.


    But since he had remembered how, why wouldn''t he?


    Wobbling Fairy looked at him with a somewhat silly smile that hid everything about her true self deep within her body. She didn''t seem to be a woman he had slept with before at all, but maybe that only made sense.


    By now, it had already been decades since the last time he saw her. Time flew by at a blazing pace, and yet here she was, still sipping her wine and staring out into the world without much focus at all.


    There was silence between the two of them for an entire three days. Neither one said a word, though Wobbling Fairy offered Ryu wine several times as though she had forgotten that he had rejected before, or because she thought he might have changed his mind.


    There was something particularly innocent about her current appearance, an appearance that made her the darling of the Rebirthing Cultus Sect, one that made everyone want to protect her with their lives.


    She looked like a woman who still carried a bit of baby fat on her cheeks, but she had an undisguised beauty nonetheless. It was likely she was being pulled in two different directions at once, one side toward an elegant maturity, while the other was holding onto a childhood that Ryu knew nothing about.


    Maybe Ryu could have looked through Ailsa''s memories to find out Wobbling Fairy''s past, but his Dao Heart seemed to have kicked in again. The idea of relying on a wife he had yet to capture back to snag another one didn''t taste right in his mouth.


    So, in the end, after accompanying Wobbling Fairy, he stood and extended a hand. Wobbling Fairy looked at the hand a bit confused, almost like a curious child. She had such a pure innocence in her gaze that Ryu felt even his own heart soften.


    A part of him was telling him that this wasn''t the real woman beneath it all. But after


    01:31


    observing her for so long... he realized that while it was true that there was a very real piece of her that was buried, this piece was no more real than what he was seeing right now.


    Both women were Wobbling Fairy. It was just that she wanted to forget another half of her.


    That innocence, that purity, not of body, but rather of mind... it reminded him a lot of Yaana.


    Wobbling Fairy was still blinking in confusion, but she took Ryu''s hand nonetheless, blushing slightly when she felt his warmth.


    That was when Ryu realized... this version of Wobbling Fairy truly had no idea what happened between them.


    When he understood that she had accommodated him all these days, while he just sat there staring at her in silence, without saying a single word or complaining a single time...


    Ryu sighed and pulled Wobbling Fairy into his embrace.


    The Faerie was taken aback, not expecting such a thing. The blush on her cheek became even more furious and for the first time, she struggled a little.


    Ryu could remember the words Wobbling Fairy had first spoken to them when they met. Well, her projection, anyway.


    -I don''t like you. You''re too arrogant.-


    Ryu could imagine that her current self probably felt much the same way. Or maybe she felt that his current self was different from the one she had met all those decades


    ago.


    Wobbling Fairy might not have memories of what happened between them, but she could more than likely feel the closeness that came from facing a man who had her Primordial Yin in her.


    "I... I..." Wobbling Fairy was completely flustered, not knowing how to deal with this situation.


    For as long as he could remember, she had been under the protection of her sisters of the Sect. Whatever had happened in her past, at the very least, couldn''t be remembered in this state.


    As such, she had two personalities... one that grew up with those memories and one that didn''t.


    The current her was practically a blank slate.


    Although she had felt that it was weird a man would come to her courtyard, all but barge in, and then accompany her for so long, the only thing she was actually sad about was the fact that he didn''t want to accompany her for a drink.


    However, after a slight struggle, tears began to pour out from Wobbling Fairy''s eyes for reasons she didn''t understand. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She was now just as stunned by the hug as she was her tears. But soon, her lips were quivering and her throat was hiccuping, her sobs choking out as she began to cry harder.


    Ryu didn''t say anything, not even bothering to catch the wine she had accidentally tipped over and spilled all over the ground.


    He didn''t know what this woman''s story was, but what he did know was that he hadn''t


    felt right just leaving her here, so he had come.


    And now that he was seeing such an innocent soul in this state, he found himself


    feeling angry.


    A flash of fury lit in his eyes before he reeled it in.


    Who was making his woman cry like this?

 Chapter 2079 Stop?

    ?Chapter 2079 Stop?Wobbling Fairy''s sniffles only came to a slow stop hours later.


    "I... I''m sorry... I don''t know..."


    Wobbling Fairy seemed taken aback by her own words, and soon enough, when Ryu looked down, he found that a lot of the pure innocence in her eyes was gone.


    But he had already expected this.


    The reason Wobbling Fairy always had wine on hand was because her body was too special. Even wine that could knock a Dao God out could be purged as impurities from her.


    If she wanted to stay drunk, not only did she need especially strong wine, she needed to be sipping at it constantly. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After spending hours on nothing more than crying, it wasn''t a surprise that she had slipped out of her drunk state.


    But what was surprising to her was that she had spent so long focused on crying that she didn''t even realize when she slipped back into her "real" self. Usually, the


    demarcating line was clear as day to her. But this time, it wasn''t until she spoke that she realized the change.


    Ryu loosened his grip on her and looked down at her tear-stricken face. There was a calmness in his eyes that made her even more confused.


    Should she be offended by how casually he was taking her grief? Or should she feel safe leaning against such a pillar of support?


    She didn''t know... and she also didn''t know how much these thoughts were being colored by her dislike of Ryu either.


    That was until Ryu cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.


    For some reason, Wobbling Fairy found herself not resisting, and the confusion in her eyes only deepened.


    What if this wasn''t related to Ryu at all and she was really just so fragile that any hint of kindness had left her in a middling mess?


    Of course, she had received her fair share of kindness in her life... but was it the right kind? Was it kindness directed at her "real" self? Or was it the innocent version of her everyone seemed to like being around?


    Even for Ryu, it seemed that the only reason he was giving her a chance now was because of that innocent side of herself.


    "Sometimes living creatures are contradictory." Ryu suddenly said softly. "It''s perfectly fine to clash with even yourself. There is no one person in the world that has a perfectly linear train of thought. Don''t think that you either have to be one thing or the other."


    Wobbling Fairy''s eyes widened. Suddenly, her eyes were brimming with tears again, but she quickly wiped them away herself, feeling that it would be too embarrassing if she started crying again.


    "You''re coming with me." Ryu said.


    "Huh?"


    Wobbling Fairy was so numb to all the surprises that she didn''t even quite know how to react to this one.


    "You''re coming with me." Ryu said. He didn''t usually like to repeat himself, but for his women he seemed to bend his own rules all the time.


    "What? Why?" Wobbling Fairy didn''t know how to react.


    "Why wouldn''t a wife travel with her husband?"


    Wobbling Fairy didn''t even know what to say. Hadn''t she already told Ryu that she wouldn''t be his wife? How could one man be so shameless?


    "Let''s go."


    Wobbling Fairy found herself being tugged along.


    "What is your name?" Ryu asked. "Your real name."


    Wobbling Fairy opened her mouth to respond, and then froze as though she had forgotten the answer. Her brows furrowed.


    "You know your last name, at least. Right?" Ryu said with a grin.


    Wobbling Fairy was rendered speechless again. But before she could react, her waist was swept into Ryu''s arm and he appeared high above the Rebirthing Cultus Sect. Almost instantly, several gazes landed on the scene of the blushing Wobbling Fairy and Ryu whose face seemed to be almost a little too proud right now.


    "Today, I''ll be announcing a union between your Sect''s Wobbling Fairy and I, Ryu Tatsuya."


    With Faeries and Fey of the Sect were taken aback again, but recalling the time Ryu spent years in Wobbling Fairy''s courtyard, they turned downcast soon after. Wobbling Fairy didn''t even know how to call out and refute, and she didn''t seem to have the strength to say the words at all.


    Star River appeared in the skies with a frown on her face, staring daggers at Ryu. Wobbling Fairy was practically everyone''s little sister. How could she just be swept up into marriage like this without anyone knowing?


    And by the likes of this shameless bastard at that? That was just unacceptable.


    "Objections?" Ryu asked innocently.


    Star River looked toward Wobbling Fairy, only to find that she wanted to find almost anywhere to hide, even if that place was Ryu''s chest.


    Seeing her little sister in such a state, Star River already realized that Ryu was at the very least not lying entirely.


    Star River also mistook the changes to Wobbling Fairy''s temperament as the difference between a young maiden and a mature woman.


    Though she had guessed wrongly, the conclusion was much the same nonetheless.


    Star River scowled, remembering the first words that Wobbling Fairy had spoken to Ryu and feeling even more aggrieved.


    Little sister? Didn''t you say you didn''t like this man? How did you let him trick you anyway?


    Star River''s little nose wrinkled up and even as a Dao God she didn''t seem mature


    enough to hide it properly.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Stop!"


    At that moment, Ryu heard a voice he hadn''t heard in a while.


    His wife''s disciple... Rinushka.


    He had no idea where she had gone, but her temper seemed to be just as great.


    "Stop what?" Ryu asked almost disinterestedly. He had suddenly gone from a man who looked to be joking around to one whose patience was wearing thin.


    "I don''t know what you''ve done to my little sister, but I''m going to make you pay for


    it."


    Ryu shook his head. "As my wife''s disciple, you are technically my daughter in martial law now. I would advise you step down, lest. I be forced to embarrass you."

 Chapter 2080 Please

    ?Chapter 2080 Please"You... WHAT?!"


    Rinushka didn''t even quite register what Ryu had just said at first. Her tongue was running faster than her mind, and she felt like she just had to give a generic witty reply back to make Ryu accept the battle.


    She was still a Dao Lord, but from what she could tell, Ryu''s body had at least broken into the Dao Lord Realm as well. Although they were still mismatched, she had been wanting to teach this arrogant bastard a lesson for a long while.


    Back then, she was the one who had gone to save him from the entrapment of the Luminara Clan before dropping him off at the Beast Domain with the ten-year limit that Ailsa had given him.


    Of course, Ryu had ended up doing things in a much shorter time frame, but Rinushka hadn''t been there for that, having entered seclusion to complete another task her master had given her.


    She had only just exited, only to find that the arrogant bastard she too hated was actually taking advantage of their Sect''s little pearl? That was absolutely unacceptable. She had to at least teach Ryu a lesson before things got out of hand.


    But now...


    She was absolutely infuriated.


    A sword appeared in her hand, and she pointed the tip right at Ryu''s chin.


    "Take those words back right now or I will have your head."


    Rinushka was so infuriated she saw red. She didn''t care if Wobbling Fairy had even the slightest bit of feeling for Ryu. Even if they were real, for the words that Ryu had just spoken, she would have his head no matter what.


    "I will give you three seconds to lower your sword," Ryu said.


    A chilly wind suddenly passed through, and even Star River felt a tingle crawl up her spine.


    The atmosphere had completely shifted, and suddenly Star River remembered the time Ryu started crippling and ejecting their disciples from the Sect one after another.


    Rinushka didn''t know it, but Ryu was someone with a hair-like trigger. It was hard to tell what would set him off under normal circumstances, let alone when it was a situation that anyone would be infuriated by.


    No cultivator with the slightest backbone would be okay with someone pointing a weapon at them, let alone Ryu.


    The only reason he hadn''t already attacked to kill was because of exactly what he had already said...


    This was Ailsa''s disciple.


    A master for a day, a parent for life. If she was Ailsa''s disciple, then for all intents and purposes, she was by extension as important to Ailsa as a daughter would be. Ryu very much doubted that Ailsa would take in any disciple casually.


    By the same token, Rinushka was also almost certainly a powerhouse amongst Lords. As for how good she was? Ryu never bothered to find out. He didn''t care.


    But if she made him find out, things wouldn''t necessarily end well for her. Not at all.


    Rinushka was only more infuriated by Ryu''s words, and she suddenly pierced forward before anyone could say anything.


    Her fury seemed to have risen to her head.


    Not only was Wobbling Fairy important to her, but Ailsa was no different from her own mother.


    Ailsa had once spoken about the kind of man her husband was. In fact, Rinushka might be the only one who knew that Ailsa was truly married at all, while everyone else could only speculate and draw baseless conclusions from rumors.


    The man she envisioned was nothing like Ryu at all, and he certainly wouldn''t be picking up women in the Sect of his own wife while he had several more women at his beck and call on top of that.


    Rinushka only realized that she might have gone too far halfway through, but even so, her fury wouldn''t be abated. Rather than slowing down, she accelerated.


    There was only a small gap between her sword and Ryu to begin with. And yet...


    Her sword passed through nothing but air.


    Ryu didn''t even look like he moved, but the distance between the sword and his neck remained the exact same. He still held Wobbling Fairy''s waist in one arm, while his other didn''t even budge in the slightest.


    He looked as calm as could be, indifferent to the world. And yet, there was a chilling


    cold that pervaded the air.


    "Die." He said indifferently. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    BANG!


    The air exploded and then...


    PUCHI!


    Rinushka''s eyes widened as she grabbed at her throat. At some unknown time, a sword had torn through her throat, blasting out a hole through the back of her skull.


    "Rinushka!" Star River screeched.


    "Rinushka!" Wobbling Fairy''s eyes widened, but the grip Ryu''s hand had on her waist was so tight that she found herself frozen in place.


    Star River caught Rinushka, her eyes filled with a light of panic. Blood covered her hands immediately, and she seemed to have forgotten everything she knew at that


    moment.


    It was only after panicking for several seconds that she seemed to recall something and hurriedly pulled out several pills, stuffing them into Rinushka''s mouth. But the blood continued to pool.


    "Please!" Wobbling Fairy tugged on Ryu. For some reason, she felt that she could stop this.


    However, when Ryu looked over to her, she felt like she had descended into an ice cellar.


    She had seen it clearly just now as well. Rinushka had definitely tried to kill him. With her cultivation, she had more than enough time to react, but she had still chosen to


    double down.


    Maybe that was because she realized that she had already offended Ryu beyond the point of return, but did the reasons matter when she had already acted with such


    impunity?


    There was simply no going back.


    Wobbling Fairy''s eyes began to brim with tears again.


    "Please... Please..."


    To Wobbling Fairy''s surprise, Ryu''s expression suddenly softened.


    "Alright."


    With a flicker of his eyes, the pills Star River was using suddenly began to work


    properly.

 Chapter 2081 An Angels Descent

    ?Chapter 2081 An Angel''s Descent


    As Ryu had expected, Rinushka was quite powerful. But there were several things working against her that Ryu had seen through.


    For one, she was too arrogant, and that was coming from Ryu. She really thought that just because she had her blade out like that, and that she was close, that his head was actually just on a platter for her taking.


    Second, there was a Dao God right there. By default of Star River''s presence, Lords and Sovereigns couldn''t even begin to use their Control, leaving her unable to use her full strength.


    Third, Star River couldn''t affect Ryu''s Control at all. That was because when it came down to it, if he was truly desperate... Ryu could always use his Childe of Order Constitution which would allow the laws of the world to work for him. As though that wasn''t enough, he still had his own Inner World.


    Rinushka had all of these disadvantages active before she even attacked.


    By then, it was easy for Ryu to use a one-inch, one-mile principle to make her feel like she had stabbed at air. His control over Spacetime was leaps and bounds beyond anything it had been able to do in the past.


    And then there was the final attack...


    That was nothing more than [Fate Reversal] on a much higher level than anything he had ever displayed before. And the reason he could do it was precisely because Rinushka couldn''t use her Control.


    Usually, Ryu had to get injured first before he could use Fate Reversal. But this time, he used his Fate and Karma Soul Nature to pick out a different timeline, one where


    Rinushka''s blade had succeeded in killing him.


    Then he reversed that one.


    This was one of the more powerful abilities that his new Spacetime Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils could allow him to access.


    Unfortunately, this time it only worked because Rinushka couldn''t use her Control. But when his eye was complete, it wouldn''t matter what Control his opponent had.


    The world would be his oyster to do with it what he pleased.


    "This time, your life was saved because my wife pleaded for you. Nothing more, nothing less. The next time you piss me off, I won''t be nearly so kind."


    Star River sighed a breath of relief when Rinushka finally showed signs of healing. She couldn''t help but feel rage when she heard Ryu''s words, but she really didn''t know what to do.


    Of course she was biased toward Rinushka, but this time... she had truly gone too far. She didn''t even know if she could even blame Ryu had he killed her outright.


    "It''s time. I''ll return with you to my home," Ryu said with a smile toward a somewhat dazed Wobbling Fairy. It was clear that she was shocked that Ryu had actually listened to her words. She could tell that just moments ago, Ryu truly had every intention of killing Rinushka, even if it infuriated Star River. "You''ll get to meet my parents. Who knows, maybe my father will scold me again for bringing too many women home. But I know my mother will be happy."


    Wobbling Fairy blushed. What was this man talking about? Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rest of the Sect could only watch as Ryu vanished with Wobbling Fairy by his side.


    "R... Ryu...?" Wobbling Fairy asked softly, the confusion in her eyes still very much there as they strolled through the skies toward their final destination.


    "Yes?"


    "Why?"


    Ryu blinked. "Why what?"


    "You..." Wobbling Fairy was speechless. Did she really have to say it out loud?


    Ryu laughed. "I''m waiting. What do you want to ask?"


    Wobbling Fairy grit her teeth. "Why did you spare Rinushka?"


    "Hm? Isn''t that what you wanted me to do? We can go back and kill her now. To be honest, she really did piss me off back there."


    "That''s not what I meant!"


    Ryu laughed again. Of course he understood what she meant.


    "I already gave you the answer. Isn''t that what you wanted me to do? What other reason do I need?"


    Wobbling Fairy didn''t even know what to say and almost started crying again.


    "What are you talking about... why are you such a fool..." she wiped the unshed tears from her eyes, cursing herself for crying again.


    She couldn''t even remember the last time she had cried, but now it felt like an every moment occurrence.


    "Me? A fool? Never me. How could you say such a thing?"


    Wobbling Fairy found herself laughing.


    "And what would you do if I told you to leave all your other women and only be with me?"


    "Okay, anything but that." Ryu nodded without missing a beat.


    Wobbling Fairy was rendered speechless again. This man truly had a face as thick as a


    Sect''s wall. He didn''t even miss the smallest beat.


    "Anything? But that?" Wobbling Fairy asked with emphasis.


    "Of course."


    "And if I told you to castrate yourself!"


    "Okay, anything but that." Ryu nodded again.


    "To disrespect your mother?"


    "Okay, anything but that."


    "Fight your father."


    "Okay, anything but that."


    Wobbling Fairy went from being speechless to just laughing. This man was a hypocrite through and through, and he was facing against his own hypocrisy with such a bold face that he didn''t even seem to recognize his own flaws...


    Either that or he was aware and simply didn''t care. "What if I don''t want to be your wife?" She finally asked.


    "You have no choice, unfortunately." Ryu nodded again.


    "And why''s that?"


    "Think of how sad you''ll be if you leave me and then realize there''s no man that could ever compare. How depressed would you be? If you think about it, I''m really just. saving you from yourself. No need to thank me. Such things are trivial between husband and wife."


    Wobbling Fairy was rendered speechless once more before she started laughing so hard that a different sort of tear streak began to accumulate on her soft, rosy cheeks. Her laughter filled the skies and sounded like the bells of an angel''s descent.

 Chapter 2082 The Seventh Heaven.

    ?Chapter 2082 The Seventh Heaven.The Seventh Heaven.


    The world had been in an odd, perpetual state of war for a long while. With the ascension of the Radiant Star Sect, the Fading Star and their allies had done their best. to suppress and repress them.


    This situation only became worse after the shift in Fate.


    However...


    Almost 100 years later and the Radiant Star Sect still stood strong.


    One would say that a large part of that was because of Aika, their Dao Sovereign. Fueled by fury and sadness, one would think that she was the sole reason for the change...


    But this wasn''t the case.


    In truth, Aika had been far more distraught than anything else. It was difficult even for her cultivation to improve these days. Although she was filled with her own fury, it didn''t supersede how downtrodden she was.


    The real reason the Radiant Star Sect was able to make it this far was because of the rise of two people, one far more expected than the other.


    The first was none other than Old Wan. After he, too, broke into the Dao Sovereign Realm, it gave the Sect a stabilizing force that was able to go against all of their enemies while only being slightly at a loss.


    He seemed to carry a great deal of power with him, but his advancement only made Aika more distraught. That was because she knew that Old Wan wasn''t yet ready to break into the Dao Sovereign Realm. He didn''t have a sudden and perfect


    enlightenment that she had. Rather, he had pushed himself to do so because she was unable to hold up the sky on her own.


    This only made her feel an even deeper guilt.


    She knew that Old Wan was no less talented than she was. The reason he hadn''t broken through yet was because he was looking for the perfect path... a path that would lead him to Godhood. True Godhood.


    And yet now, because of her once again, yet another had lost their light for the future.


    It was tearing Aika up on the inside to suffer through these matters. She felt like it was all her fault. All of her fault.


    If she hadn''t been so eager to return to the Seventh Heaven with her little bit of power, Ryu would have never died... his wives would have never been taken away beneath her own watch... Old Wan wouldn''t have been forced to give up his future for the sake of immediate survival.


    If only she had listened. If only she had followed Old Wan''s carefully laid out plans instead of going off on her own to do as she pleased.


    These sort of thoughts... broke Aika.


    It didn''t matter what anyone else said, she knew that she was at fault and she couldn''t think any way else.


    The fact her Dao Heart hadn''t already collapsed was just a miracle in and of itself. But maybe the only reason it hadn''t was because after being so useless, she couldn''t bring herself to become a worthless bag of flesh.


    If nothing else... her cultivation was all she had left to atone for everything she had done. This one thought was the only thing keeping her small frame from collapsing in on itself...


    Well, that and the fact their Sect gained a new beacon of the younger generation to help them hold up the skies... S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jojo.


    Watching Jojo grow, diligently guiding her in all the ways she could, was about the only thing that could make Aika smile these days. And it could be said that Jojo was the true reason they had yet to collapse.


    For a Sect, what they needed wasn''t just immediate strength, but they also needed a light of hope for the future. With Ryu dead, and Selheira stolen away, they hadn''t had a backbone left on the latter front...


    Until Jojo began to shine through with her talent, her sword and her armor leading her way.


    In just over 70 years, Jojo had managed to cross several thresholds of cultivation, reaching the Omniscient Realm.


    She had a half foot into the Lord Realm already, and it seemed like she could break through at any time. But she was still unsatisfied with her Dao of the Sword.


    It had to be remembered that anyone following a pure Weapon Path would always have a harder time than their predecessors. That was because in order to forge their own path, they had to shed away the tugging Fate of all those that followed before them.


    It could be said, then, that those following Weapon Paths had the slowest cultivation of all of their companions. This was why Jojo had been the last among Ryu, Selheira and herself to break into the True Sky God Realm.


    But between Ryu''s death and the current time period, it seemed as though she had grasped something.


    Fleeting though it might be, she was the sole reason the younger generation of the Radiant Star Sect wasn''t overrun by the powers that surrounded them.


    A pillar of the older generation and a pillar of the younger generation was all that separated the Radiant Star Sect from true destruction.


    And as the battle was strung out, the ferocity of things began to lull into a low simmer.


    The Fading Star Sect and their allies changed their methods and began to apply a slow, consistent pressure against the Radiant Star Sect instead of looking for a sudden blow, and this change had led up all the way until today...


    A day when explosive news reached their ears from the Eighth Heaven. Starlight, chosen of the Fading Star Sect, had returned from his master''s tutelage.


    This was already explosive news in and of itself, because many were aware that Starlight''s master was a powerful existence of the Dao Sovereign Realm.


    But what was more important than that was the fact that Starlight himself...


    Had managed to become a Lord.


    Suddenly, the situation of the Seventh Heaven was embroiled in yet more chaos.

 Chapter 2083 Rage of the Heavens

    2083  Rage of the Heavens


    Maybe a Lord didn''t sound very impressive. If two Sovereigns in Aika and Old Wan couldn''t change and stabilize the situation, then how could a mere Lord do so? But there were two main issues to account for here. First¡­ the Seventh Heaven didn''t have many Lords to begin with. Jojo was able to have a huge impact despite still being in the Omniscient Realm. It wasn''t until the Eighth Heaven where Lords became a bit more commonplace, but even then, there might only be one in several trillion cultivators. These weren''t existences that just popped up everywhere even if Ryu''s life now made it feel like it was so. And second¡­ Starlight was far from a normal Lord. Starlight was under the tutelage of a hegemon of the Eighth Heaven. It was also said that he was granted the Chaotic Silk Meridians from this master of his, and as a result, his power had grown at an exponential rate the more perfectly he assimilated with it. But these were just external matters. Sure, a powerful master would likely not raise a useless disciple, and powerful talent likely wouldn''t forge a mediocre genius. But these weren''t the matters that should be considered the most¡­ Instead, what had caught the attention of the world was Starlight''s Tribulation. In the cultivation world, Tribulations could be triggered by a great number of things. Sometimes they were artificial, like what Ryu had experienced when his Dao first broke through on the First Heaven, or sometimes they were natural, like all the times Ryu had caused Tribulation Pill Clouds to descend. However, there was a third category of Tribulations, one that was unavoidable and the very reason why the crossing over from Omniscient to Lord was such an enormous hurdle. Cultivation Tribulation. Also known as the Rage of the Heavens Tribulation. The control a Lord had over the world was so far beyond what lower Sky Gods could match that this seemed to be the only appropriate response by the Heavens. The Lord Realm was a tipping point, a point where cultivators began to take more than the Heavens could easily return. As such, the Rage of the Heavens was called down, causing an exceptionally high death rate. It could be said that for every thousand Omniscients that even reached the threshold to trigger a Lord Rage Tribulation, a thousand would die. It wasn''t until you began to get into the six and seven figures that you might get one or two survivors. And this was often regardless of talent and background. That was because the Rage of the Heavens couldn''t be fooled. Everyone had the same odds of survival¡­ These matters, though, could be skewed. If everyone had the same odds of survival, why did it seem that so many geniuses could weather the storm? And that was precisely where the danger Ryu felt lying on the horizon came from. These geniuses could survive the Tribulation because they had the Fate to do so. They were granted Blessings by the Heavens that gave them slightly higher odds of survival than all others, and this was precisely what they relied upon to reach the realms they did. But Ryu¡­ he had no such Fate. That said, this matter wasn''t about Ryu. In the documented history of Rage of the Heavens Tribulations, there were many separating tiers, and usually, this decided just what kind of shocking existence would be birthed on the other side¡­ should this existence survive, that is. The first Tier was known as the Foundations Rage Tribulation. This Tribulation was the most normal of them all and only required one to survive a normal barrage of lightning. Whether it was a First Revolutions Foundations Rage Tribulation, or a Ninth Revolutions Foundations Rage Tribulation, would decide whether one had to only survive a single volley of lightning, or nine of them. It could be said that in the history of the True Martial World, basically no one got First or Second Revolution Tribulations. That was because of the unique geography of the landscape. Lords almost never appeared beneath the Seventh Heaven. And those above this threshold all met certain standards of cultivation and talent that weren''t easily falsified. As such, the Third Revolution was considered the standard of a "normal" Lord. If one was a Sixth Revolution Lord, you were leagues beyond a Third Revolution one. It could be said that a Lord of the latter caliber could one-shot one of the previous caliber. However, this gap wasn''t large enough for a Sixth Revolution Lord to defeat a Third Revolution Sovereign. That said¡­ a Ninth Revolution Lord might be able to fight a very close battle and just barely lose to a Third Revolution Sovereign, assuming that they were already at the Peak of the Lord Realm and the Sovereign wasn''t very far into the Sovereign Realm. However¡­ it was said that Starlight wasn''t a Ninth Revolution Lord. He was an Elemental Rage Lord. Above the Revolutions Rage Lords were the Elemental Rage Lords, existences that didn''t just face Lightning Tribulations, but Elemental Tribulations. In fact, not only was Starlight an Elemental Rage Lord¡­ he was a Seven Revolution Elemental Rage Lord. With a normal Seven Revolution Rage Lord, they would face seven volleys of lightning, each one growing progressively more powerful. This would amount to a total of 63 lightning bolts with nine for each Revolution. However¡­ Elemental Rage Lords faced off against Wind Tribulation, Fire Tribulations, Water Tribulations, and finally, Earth Tribulations. They didn''t have seven volleys. They faced off against seven times four volleys, for a total of 252 different assaults on their life, each from a different walk of life. The Elemental Tribulations weren''t just difficult because of the number, but rather also the variety. What cultivator could boast perfect immunity to all of the Elements? Eventually, whether it was Wind, Fire, Water, or Earth, you would run into a combination or a variation of these Elements that you couldn''t defend against¡­ And this was the Tribulation that Starlight had made it through.  S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Author''s Note Below!] Heyo everyone! If you''re a fan of me, please help out my other novel, Genetic Ascension!! Please go to your profile>inbox>events>and then click on "Vote for your favorite WSA candidate author!" to help GA out :) The more you guys vote, the higher likelihood there''ll be of GA getting an adaptation in the future <3 Happy reading :)


    Awespec

 Chapter 2084 End of the Road

    Chapter 2084  End of the RoadAccording to the record of the True Martial World, an Eighth Revolution Elemental Rage Tribulation was the highest to ever appear in recorded history. There were speculations that a Ninth Revolution existed, but none were certain about this.


    It could be said that because of his existence alone, Starlight had swayed the Fate of the Seventh Heaven practically single-handedly.


    Although it was very difficult to survive such a Tribulation, when one was successful, they became wrapped up in the favor of the Heavens.


    The amount of investment the Heavens needed to give to an existence that entered the Lord Realm was so great that the Heavens obviously wouldn''t like such a person to die. As such, such geniuses were incredibly difficult to kill for reasons that extended beyond just their trump cards¡­


    The Heavens themselves didn''t necessarily want them to die.


    And for Starlight, who had now become the backbone of the Fading Star Sect, it seemed inevitable that they would come to rise as well.


    It was under this situation that the pressure on the Radiant Star Sect reached a completely new level.


    Armies set out and marched toward their borders. Near their helm, a young Starlight sat with twinkling blue eyes and skin as dark as night. His handsome countenance didn''t seem to have much of an expression on it as he looked forward in silence, his thoughts only known to himself.


    He hardly reacted even when the tall walls of the Radiant Star Sect appeared before him. All he did was calmly stand to his feet.


    The man he wanted to face off against wasn''t here. It made it all feel pointless.


    ¡­


    The Radiant Star Sect''s situation might be bad, but their growth wasn''t too poor either. The geniuses they had brought up from the lower Heavens had finally managed to reaffirm their foundations and strengthen themselves.


    They had been mostly chosen for their character, and with the resources of the Radiant Star Sect constantly being poured into them in these hard times, they had done well enough to overturn their situations.


    In addition, some of these disciples had even been granted the opportunity that Ryu was once given to take on the Radiant Bloodline. Thanks to this, their talent had undergone a fundamental change as well.


    While it was true that Old Wan and Jojo were the ones upholding the skies, they played a strong part in it all as well.


    These disciples gripped their weapons, looking out into the distance. Unlike the past, they didn''t have a hint of fear on their faces. They were battle-hardened, and the number of them that were left were all the ones that had already been through more life and death situations than they could count.


    While it was true that many had died¡­ it had shed much of the weakness of the Sect.


    Even so, when they laid eyes on the calm Starlight in the distance, some of them couldn''t help but pale. Though their faces were still filled with determination, they couldn''t control the impulse of their bodies. This was simply the natural reaction of their hearts.


    This man was powerful¡­


    More powerful than any one of them.


    They had a feeling that even if they were in the Lord Realm as well, it wouldn''t make the slightest bit of difference.  sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just what did it feel like to face off against an Elemental Tribulation? To feel as though the skies were falling down on you and Mother Nature herself wanted your head on a pike?


    To face off against such danger and yet come out on top in the end¡­


    Wasn''t that what Starlight had done? Against such an enemy, could you even raise your head up properly? He had seen to the ends of the Heavens and come out alive¡­


    How could they match up against his momentum?


    Jojo stood on the wall silently, her great sword on her shoulder and her armor reflecting in the dreary sunlight above. The rays barely peeked through the crowd, cascading down with a gloominess that fit the atmosphere.


    The forests around their Sect had been leveled once again, leaving nothing more than a clear lane for their enemies to make their way forward.


    She could feel the pressure from Starlight as well. It was why her brows were furrowed.


    The gap between Omniscient and Lord was far too large for anyone to bridge in her estimation. But against an opponent like this one, it was even more impossible.


    The only person who could match up against Starlight was Samson¡­ but Jojo''s senses now were completely unlike what they had been in the past.


    She knew for a fact that Samson stood not the single, slightest bit of a chance against Starlight. He would be lucky to last a few exchanges.


    As for Samson himself¡­


    High in the skies above, Aika stood with a pale face. It didn''t look like fear, but rather fatigue. By her side, there was Old Wan, and across from them¡­ there were two Sovereigns.


    One of them was the Ancestor of the Fading Star Sect¡­ Sovereign Black Worm.


    But the other, he was a man who Ryu had never seen personally, but he would surely recognize nonetheless. He was none other than the Chaotic Space Sky God.


    Starlight''s master and the very man whose Inheritance Ryu had turned down with disgust.


    The Chaos Space Sky God looked like a man with a single foot in the grave already. His wrinkles drooped down his face and his eyes were a murky white. With how hunched his back was, one would think he was bending over to smell the roses.


    And yet, there was a chaotic fluctuation of space rippling around him that filled one with a sense of imminent danger.


    He might have a foot in the grave, but he was still a Peak Dao Sovereign while Aika and Old Wan both were just Lower Dao Sovereigns. They were already struggling with dealing with Black Worm alone, but now¡­


    It felt like the end of the road.

 Chapter 2085 Indeed

    2085  Indeed


    Standing in silence, the four Sovereigns faced off against one another, but Chaotic Space didn''t seem to care enough to look them in the eye. Instead, he was staring down through the clouds before, a light smile on his face as though a grandfather watching his grandson soar through the skies. Of course, the person he was watching was none other than Starlight, his disciple. The old man seemed to have completely forgotten about Ryu''s existence, but how could he not? With a disciple who had cleared the Seventh Revolution of the Elemental Rage Tribulation, he would be able to gather up quite a large amount of Fate as his master. This way, the door to Dao Godhood had creaked open just the slightest bit. All he needed to do now was wait for an opportunity to walk right through it. As for this, he saw it as nothing more than a farce. Soon enough, he would be able to get what he wanted. He was here as nothing more than a formality. Aika grit her teeth, the last flickering embers of the fiery temper she once had trying to stoke themselves again only to be doused by the cold, harsh reality of what they were facing here. Her inability to control herself had gotten them here¡­ at the very least, she could control her temper now and give them the smallest bit of a chance¡­ Hopefully. She gripped her fists tightly, a tear rolling down her pale cheek. ¡­ Down below, Samson gripped a heavy glaive in his hand and took a step forward. Much like Jojo had said, there was only one path to take right now, and that was the path of battle. This was a fight he had to win no matter what. Even if he didn''t know how he would do it, he would have to find a way. He landed on the ground and faced off against the army, trying to build up momentum for himself. But even while just sitting there silently, Starlight felt crushing. Samson felt his knees almost go weak as cold sweat poured down his back. While to another, he looked as though he was standing ramrod straight, those that knew him well knew that he was approaching the very edge of his limits¡­ And Starlight hadn''t even moved yet. "If this is all you can bring forward, what is the point?" Starlight said indifferently. "Where is Ryu Tatsuya?"


    The echoes of something rumbled through the skies. Samson gritted his teeth. Remembering when he had butted heads with Old Wan over Ryu''s death. Even now, he hadn''t broken the news to Aika that Old Wan was the one who was responsible for Ryu''s death. She was already so broken, he had no idea how he could even begin to do such a thing. Seeing that Samson didn''t answer, Starlight shook his head. "I will ask you one more time. Know that I don''t have the patience for your nonsense. If you cannot answer, then say you do not know. If you lie to me, I will only make your death more painful."


    Samson clenched his teeth, expecting to hold his ground, but the creaking of his knees and the cold sweat that permeated his back overwhelmed him. His Dao Heart shook and he suddenly found himself speaking before he could even control himself. "He is dead! He''s dead, dammit!"


    Samson gasped for breath and the momentum, what little of it there was, completely deflated from the Radiant Star Sect. Jojo''s eyes dimmed and she exhaled a soft sigh. It was hard to tell if that sigh was for Samson''s lack of a backbone, or if it was for Ryu''s death¡­ However, what Samson didn''t expect was for Starlight to frown in confusion. "When did he die?"


    Samson gritted his teeth, but he felt that not speaking now would only be more embarrassing. He tried to force himself to relax and react as though he had wanted to start the conversation in the first place. So¡­ he answered. "That''s impossible." Starlight said coldly. "My master sensed him on the Eighth Heaven after the date you claim."


    Samson froze, not knowing how to react to this information. "What did you say?" Aika asked from above, her voice sounding almost frantic. However, a snort echoed before she could even speak more. Aika found a force ripping into her body. She barely managed to protect herself from all of her clothing being shredded to pieces and her body being exposed to the air, but that didn''t stop her from coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. "This isn''t your place to intervene. Know when to be silent." Chaotic Space said coldly. Old Wan''s eyes narrowed, but he didn''t say anything. He had already speculated that Ryu was alive. He had even guessed that the man sent to take Selheira and Eska away was related to him as well. He had only confirmed that when a mysterious energy took away the best trump card he had against Ryu¡­ That being Hope''s fragmented soul. But now, hearing this, he was even more certain. It was a good thing that he had made plenty of preparations for this outcome. ¡­


    On the ground below, Samson was taken aback by this outcome as well and wasn''t sure what to say. He stood in stunned silence, and looked up into the air as though he wanted to see how Old Wan was reacting¡­ unfortunately, he didn''t have the right to see any of what was going on up there. "So you don''t know about where he is, then¡­ You likely also don''t know that he''s very much wanted by a great number of powers on the Eighth Heaven. But maybe that''s why your little Sect has managed to survive so long. If you did know anything, they would have long come after you.


    "That man would never die so easily."


    "Indeed. I wouldn''t die so easily. What would the world even do without me?"


    The sudden voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Starlight''s eyes narrowed into slits.


    S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2086 Five Seconds

    Chapter 2086  Five SecondsRyu walked across the skies as though it was solid ground. But more shocking than that, no one could seem to tell how he had appeared, and that included the three Sovereigns in the skies.


    It was like in one moment, he hadn''t even had a tangible existence, and in the next¡­ like he had always been there from the very start.


    The pressure of the battlefield didn''t seem to bother him in the slightest, his white robes only slightly waving in the wind no more than it should for a person on a leisurely stroll.


    He looked at ease, completely in his own element, and unbothered by everything around him. One would have thought that he had come to the Radiant Star Sect by coincidence.


    "Well, don''t let my presence bother you. Weren''t you going to kill him? Go ahead."


    Ryu''s words seemed to shock everyone awake again, and Samson''s expression couldn''t help but change before it became somewhat sullen.


    If nothing else, Ryu''s words made something quite clear. If others thought that he was here to save the Radiant Star Sect, they were sorely mistaken. At best, he was here to pick up a few more worthy Summons.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Ryu looked up and found that Aika was no longer as bright of heart and sharp of focus as she was in the past. But where there were losses, there were gains¡­


    His gaze shifted and landed on Jojo. She was only in the Omniscient Realm right now, but her Dao Heart¡­


    He couldn''t help but smile to himself as he remembered their last interaction. He still found it amusing even to now.


    Jojo would have probably blushed with some shame if Ryu''s last words hadn''t pissed her off so much. She had no idea what happened between Ryu and Old Wan, but even if she had, she wouldn''t have any idea why he would transfer that hatred to Samson.  sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However¡­ Ryu had a very clear line for how he did things.


    Even if he couldn''t see it by Samson''s mannerisms, the changes to his breath and heartbeat, or the fluctuations to his Fate itself, Ryu was smart enough to deduce many things.


    Even if Aika didn''t know, he was sure that she wasn''t stupid enough to have no suspicions at all.


    And if he was correct, Samson was probably the first to figure out what happened back then.


    Ryu didn''t care if they were directly involved or not¡­ Samson wouldn''t be on the list of people he would be stepping in to save the life of.


    As for Aika¡­ her naivete was mind numbing. He could practically see through her like he was reading an open book.


    When he looked up into the skies and met her gaze, it was as though he was the Sovereign and she was the Omniscient.


    In these years he had been away, she had certainly found clues that had left her raising her eyebrows. But she hadn''t been willing to take the final step to acknowledge what might have happened because Old Wan and Samson were practically her two blood brothers.


    They had grown up together, faced the destruction of their Clans and Sect together, weathered the storms of survival in this harsh world of cultivation together¡­


    It wasn''t easy for her to peel away that final veil even if she found many things confusing.


    That wasn''t enough for Ryu to have a distaste for her the same way he did for Samson, but what it was enough to do was for him to draw a clear line between the two of them.


    If she was worthy, he would have taken her on as a Summon. But since her Dao Heart was in shambles and he still owed her, he wouldn''t turn her into a Corpse Puppet.


    After these matters today were finished, he would write off whatever debts they had left and leave with Jojo¡­


    Of course, only after he had Old Wan''s head on a pike.


    Ryu looked down from his gaze above. From start to finish, he didn''t even give Old Wan, Black Worm, or the Chaotic Space Sky God a glance as though they weren''t worth his time.


    "What''s this? Still not attacking? I don''t have the patience to wait here all day. If you''re worried about me taking advantage of your fatigue, I''ll gladly give you some rest. Or say the word and I''ll just kill him for you so we can get this over with."


    "RYU!"


    Jojo''s explosive temper finally couldn''t take it anymore. She looked as though she wanted to cut Ryu down herself. In fact, her enormous sword had already appeared in her palms, her aura blazing like a sword piercing the clouds.


    "Hm?" Ryu looked over to Jojo.


    She was just as fiery as usual, her violet-red hair flickering like dancing flames. Her eyebrows actually seemed even more fierce than he remembered them, like two strikes of a match across her otherwise delicate features.


    Ryu had a preference for arrogant women who were very much in touch with their feminine side. All things considered, Jojo had the arrogance, but she was a tomboy through and through.


    Still, that didn''t stop her from being nice to look at and tease.


    But right now¡­ the single hum that had come from Ryu''s lips practically made the atmosphere freeze over. The only one who didn''t seem to notice was Jojo who had let her temper get to her head already. It could be said that in this respect, she and Aika were two peas in a pod.


    "You ungrateful bastard! Did you forget everything Sovereign Aika did for you?! And who the hell do you think you are?! Do you think I can''t see through the fact you''re just an Omniscient?! Do you think I won''t cut you down where you stand?!"


    Ryu gazed at her indifferently. The longer Jojo''s rage-fueled words echoed through the skies, the more she seemed to realize that Ryu¡­ was practically a brick wall.


    "Is that so?" Ryu finally asked lightly. A chilling breeze passed by, and for some reason, Jojo felt the fire in her heart dissipating somewhat. "Attack, then."


    Jojo froze.


    Goosebumps raced across her skin as a reaper''s death grip wrapped around her throat. But it was then a blazing intent rumbled through her soul as her Dao Heart shattered her fear apart.


    She couldn''t take a step back now. Not when the Sect''s morale was already teetering on the edge of destruction.


    She slashed out with all of her might, a blade of fiery light crossing through the air and appearing in front of Ryu in what looked like an instant.


    Ryu didn''t even move.


    He just stood there, his hands almost carelessly clasped behind his back.


    The fiery scythe clashed with an invisible wall¡­ or maybe the word clashed was too bold for what truly happened.


    It was almost like a punch landing on air, so silent and unbothered that it was hard to tell if Jojo''s attack was an illusion or not.


    Slowly, the attack blinked out of existence and Ryu appeared in their sights clearly once more, not an ounce of fatigue on his face.


    Ryu was far too lazy to explain himself. He wouldn''t even do so to Aika herself. If she tried to stand in his way, he would kill her just the same as he would anyone else who pissed him off.


    The only reason Jojo wasn''t lying dead in a pile of her own flesh and blood right now was because he had plans for her as a Summon. Nothing more, nothing less.


    In fact, the fact she dared to attack him after his aura descended only moved her up his list further.


    "You and I haven''t been on the same level for a long while. Did you think those I''ve already surpassed could possibly catch up to me?" Ryu asked lightly.


    The words drummed against Jojo''s soul, but Starlight''s as well, just the same.


    "Now I will give you one more chance." Ryu shifted his gaze from Jojo to Starlight who was down beneath him. "Finish your battle quickly or I will finish it for you. I will give you five seconds."


    Ryu stood there silently as Starlight didn''t reply.


    Time slowly ticked by, from one second to two¡­ and then from two to three¡­


    No one knew what would happen after the fifth second passed, but time, for reasons none could understand, seemed to have slowed to an absolute crawl.


    And then the fifth second ticked by.


    Ryu didn''t say a word. He simply brought out a palm clasped behind his back and lightly patted at the air.


    Samson couldn''t even react before his chest seemed to implode from the inside out.


    Jojo''s eyes opened wide and all the air seemed to be sucked out of the battlefield.


    BANG!


    Samson crashed against the Sect walls so heavily that they cracked and then collapsed, the formation that had once been protecting it seemingly being useless.

 Chapter 2087 Let Me Borrow...

    ?Chapter 2087 Let Me Borrow...A Lord was put on his last breath by an Omniscient... in what could hardly even count as a single strike.


    It was as though Ryu had only lightly patted at the air, like he didn''t even use much of his effort at all.


    The understanding that most had of the gap between Omniscient and Lord was overturned right before their eyes.


    They had seen Ryu fight above his cultivation realm before, but those were still somewhat acceptable. But there had never been a documented genius in the True Martial World that was capable of bridging such a gap.


    And if there was... they certainly shouldn''t have been able to do it so easily.


    The person that was the most shell-shocked, though, was Aika herself. She stood in the skies in a daze, her face growing paler and paler as tear streaks fell from her once delicate, now shallow cheeks. She looked as though she had lost her soul.


    But it was hard to tell if that was because Samson was on his last breath, or if it was because she had seemingly realized something else.


    Ryu descended from the skies and landed in front of Starlight, his gaze indifferent. Anyone who knew Ryu, though, felt that his actions were odd. Of course, that wasn''t because of Samson. That was well in line with something Ryu would do. He had no intention of sparing or forgiving Samson just because he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.


    Ryu''s hypocrisy seemed to be based on nothing more than selfishness, but as he had thought many times before... comprehension placed far more emphasis on how you came to know something rather than that you knew it.


    Ryu had always known that he was a hypocrite, but he embraced it now. And the reason for that was far more important than the fact he was.


    The world was filled with moral grey zones. No matter what philosophers tried to tell you, there was no objective morality.


    Was Samson wrong? From his perspective, certainly not.


    Samson believed that Ryu was already dead, and Old Wan''s words back then were very reasonable. Ryu''s Fate was too volatile and he could too easily bring destruction to a Sect trying to rise again like theirs.


    In fact, it was Ryu''s presence in the first place that had given Sovereign Black Worm a chance to enter Dao Godhood.


    However... Ryu just didn''t care.


    07-25


    If you didn''t stand with him, then you stood opposed to him. When Samson chose to hide Old Wan''s deeds and live side by side with him for all these years, he had already slotted himself in as an enemy of Ryu''s... and nothing at all would change that.


    Ryu didn''t have the heart of a saint. Often, the worst people in a disaster situation were the fence-sitters who didn''t want to choose a side, or the moderates who felt that both sides had their merits.


    To Ryu... there was no other side but his own.


    "Bring out your weapon. This will be your last chance to do so before your pathetic master has to save you." Ryu said lightly.


    High in the skies above, the Chaotic Space Sky God''s eyes narrowed. He couldn''t remember clearly the last time he had been disrespected by anyone, let alone a junior. And yet, now that he recalled... the last two that had dared to do this were both Ryu. He had pretty much expunged Ryu from his memory. If not because he had a small shadow over the heart of his disciple, he wouldn''t have bothered to recall.


    In fact, the only reason he had sensed Ryu so clearly when he entered the Eighth Heaven was because he had a small bit of Fate with Ryu. For someone at his cultivation level, he was very sensitive to such things.


    But it was clear and obvious now that Ryu didn''t take him or his prestige very seriously at all.


    "You will regret speaking those words." Starlight said coldly.


    Ryu didn''t respond as he stood in silence, waiting for Starlight to do as he said.


    Star Qi began to descend from the skies and illusory bronze arms took shape. The world shuddered and an ancient sword took shape in one of the many arms of dense fog.


    A powerful momentum shook the space and the blade suddenly slashed out.


    Ryu didn''t move in the slightest bit. He stood there in a lazy silence, only for a scene they had already seen once before to play itself out once again without the slightest shift.


    The blade light seemed to freeze in front of Ryu before it slowly faded away.


    Starlight''s pupils trembled, not quite believing what he had just seen.


    He hadn''t allowed Ryu''s goading to stop him from pulling out his weapon. No amount


    of words would stop him from taking Ryu as seriously as he could.


    But what he didn''t expect was that it wouldn''t matter in the slightest.


    "Is this all you have?" Ryu asked lightly. "I would say I''m disappointed, but I expected as much already. You were never going to be a match for me."


    (0)


    Starlight took a breath, forcefully stabilizing himself and not allowing Ryu''s words to impact him.


    He didn''t believe there could be a Lord that could make him look so ridiculous, let alone an Omniscient.


    Starlight unleashed a roar and his Constellation solidified. The hands of Buddha descended from above in solid, aged gold.


    Starlight tried to warp causality, only for his expression to finally change violently.


    Whether it was Time, Space, Fate, or Karma... it was all so solid around Ryu that it felt like he was trying to pull a thin strand out from a solid block of steel.


    Ryu shook his head as though he was feeling bored.


    Indeed... now that he thought about it, Starlight did like playing around with that sort of stuff... it was unfortunate that it was absolutely useless against. Ryu.


    Ryu took a step forward and the ground trembled. The world warped around Starlight and his vision blurred. When his sight cleared, Ryu was standing so close to him that they could easily reach out and touch one another.


    "Do you know why your master is pathetic?" Ryu asked with a smile.


    A cold sweat permeated Starlight''s back, but his throat was ironically dry. "It''s because he overestimates himself. He thinks that stealing the talent of others to bolster himself and his sycophants makes him great, almighty, and powerful. He''s a coward who can only rely on others to bolster his chances at breaking through. He''s the most spineless Sovereign I''ve ever met in my life. Well, other than a certain snake." There was a reason the Chaotic Space Sky God''s Inheritance appeared in both the Incomplete and Complete Heavenly Paths.


    Both times, the coward had been at the end of his life and he hoped to rely on others to help him break through.


    First, he had faced the bottleneck of the Lord Realm and managed to succeed in


    breaking through.


    Now he was facing the bottleneck of the Sovereign Realm and was trying to use Starlight to do the same. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In truth, he was already close. The amount of Fate that Starlight had gathered just based on his Tribulation alone was massive. In all likelihood, it wouldn''t take more than a few months before the Chaotic Space Sky God began to feel his bottleneck


    loosening once more.


    But it would be a real shame... if Ryu ruined that.


    Ryu raised a hand up slowly and Starlight explosively retreated... only to find that he


    was still standing in the same place.


    "STOP!" The Chaotic Space Sky God''s voice clapped like thunder, but Ryu had completely ignored him, grabbing only Starlight''s neck and holding him up like a


    gutted animal.


    Ryu shook his head as though he hadn''t heard Starlight''s master at all.


    "A shame. Your Dao Heart was decent, but you listened to that fool and accepted a


    talent that wasn''t your own."


    Ryu suddenly smiled. "That''s fine, though. After I finish with you, you''ll be like a brand


    new person."


    PUCHI!


    Ryu''s arm ripped through Starlight''s dantian.


    Under the stunned gazes of those present, a genius of an era was ruined right before


    their eyes. Even the Chaotic Space Sky God had simply never expected that Ryu would dare to do this in his presence.


    At that moment, it felt like Ryu''s smile was nothing more than the image of a devil.


    Ryu slowly pulled his hand out of the convulsing Starlight''s body.


    There was a sudden twist of space and Starlight vanished.


    Heavenly Pupils. These were the first thoughts that everyone had, but they didn''t even have much time


    to remain shocked about this before Ryu''s aura bloomed.


    Chaos Qi flooded the air and a dark gold ripple spread out from Ryu.


    In the instant this ripple touched the invading army, they burst into rains of blood. But


    Ryu didn''t seem to care very much about them at all as he stepped out into the air.


    For the first time, his eyes landed on Old Wan.


    "Hey. How about you let me borrow your head for a little while? I''ll return it to your tombstone later."

 Chapter 2088 My Turn

    ?Chapter 2088 My TurnOld Wan was staring at Ryu calmly. He could feel that something about this young man had changed, and many of the plans he had made seemed not to apply properly anymore.


    For a moment, it felt like there was a game of Domain between the two and the world shuddered. But the facade... was broken by a voice that was barely as strong as a whisper, so low that it felt like a butterfly was flapping its wings. If not for their cultivations, they might not have heard her at all.


    "Ryu... what... what happened?" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aika looked up with a pale face, her eyes almost pleading. She couldn''t seem to bring herself to look at Old Wan as she begged Ryu for an explanation that could wish what she was feeling away.


    Ryu hadn''t particularly planned on bothering with Aika much at all. As he had said, her Dao Heart was in shambles, so she wouldn''t make a good Summon. And he owed her too much to turn her into a Corpse Puppet. He did things by his own letter of the law, and that was simply how his own moral compass weighed things out.


    However, when he looked over at her, he couldn''t help but pause.


    He remembered the first time he met. Aika. She was a valiant old lady at the head of the Sect''s library, eager to force her little kiddos to read as many books as they could.


    Later, Ryu came to know how powerful she was, even having a hand at helping her break into the Sovereign Realm.


    In that time, she had poured her heart and soul into helping him as best she could, even going out to personally hunt for beasts for him to eat. There was not another Sovereign in the world that would take out so much time for him, maybe other than his mother herself.


    She seemed to be arrogant to the outside world, but she probably had one of the largest hearts that Ryu had ever seen in a person. It was unfortunate that people like her tended to be the most fragile in worlds like this one.


    Ryu could still remember helping her get out of her marriage proposal to the disciples of the Sect back then by defeating them. It was precisely because he respected what she had done so much that he never had thoughts of forcing her to acknowledge that proposal, even if under any other circumstances he would.


    If Aika chose to marry someone else in the future, and the world learned that she had once been promised to him, then the results of such a thing could truly harm his Fate... especially if such information was left in the hands of someone with truly sinister intentions.


    But in a rare showing, Ryu chose not to care.


    Before this moment, he hadn''t really considered why it was. But it seemed to be a difference between an underlying respect and the lack of such a thing.


    Wasn''t there another person he had felt this way toward?


    In his first life, he had been perfectly alright with Elena marrying another person. He felt that his life was too fragile to be worthy of her.


    He didn''t feel rage or discontent at the idea, he just wanted what was best for her, the first woman he had ever truly loved.


    Could he say that he loved Aika?


    No.


    He had never really looked at her that way. Maybe that was because he had first seen her as an old woman, or maybe it was something less superficial than that...


    Respect.


    Ryu gazed at Aika for a long while. He stood there among four Sovereigns as though he belonged, almost carelessly giving his back to two of them as though any attacks they might make were entirely inconsequential to him.


    He took a step forward and his shadow loomed over Aika.


    When she didn''t have a cultivation realm that made him feel suffocated, it felt a lot more like he was just looking at a frail woman. She was barely over five feet tall and her frame was slight. Her personality had once made her feel much larger than she was, but in the end... right now she looked like nothing more than a petite young


    woman.


    Ryu smiled and actually reached out, ruffling her hair.


    Aika was stunned, not quite knowing what this meant. But it seemed that her heart decided for her.


    She burst into tears, choking sobs she had been holding back on for a long while coming out in waves as she found herself tightly holding onto Ryu.


    Ryu''s brows raised but he ended up shaking his head. He rubbed Aika''s back lightly.


    "I like the way you do things." Ryu said suddenly.


    Aika''s shoulders trembled, but her tears were still coming out in too large a torrent for her to respond. Anything she tried to say would just be choked down by more sobs. "I''ve never blamed you for your recklessness. In fact, I quite like it. I''m not a fan of sitting around in the shadows, plotting and scheming. Though I would surely be able to do so better than anyone else, I''m quite stubborn.


    "I knew for a long while that there was an issue with Old Wan..."


    Aika''s trembling became fiercer, but once more, she didn''t respond.


    "... However, I ignored it. I thought that defeating him in Domain would have taught him the lesson he needed to know. But in the end, I overestimated myself it seems. At least in this tiny, insignificant frame of time.


    "I didn''t want to face the reality of having to plot and scheme my way through the next hundred years to deal with a snake in the grass because my ego didn''t want to allow


    it.


    "And in the end, I suffered for it. And it seems like you have as well."


    Ryu gripped Aika''s shoulders and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. He smiled broadly, one that seemed capable of replacing the sun in the skies.


    "You''ve protected me for many years. Now, it''s my turn."

 Chapter 2089 Same Level

    ?Chapter 2089 Same LevelAika shuddered once and her body vanished, appearing beside Jojo down below. Her figure swayed, but her disciple was able to quickly catch her.


    Jojo looked up into the skies with complicated feelings swirling in her eyes. She still didn''t know exactly what had happened, but there were more than enough clues in Ryu''s words. Was there something wrong with Old Wan?


    Judging by Aika''s reaction and the fact she didn''t even try to refute, it could only mean that there was at least some truth to it.


    In that case, could it be that Samson was also a problem?


    Her heart shook as she looked down toward Samson. The man was all but dead now. The only reason he wasn''t already was because his Lord Realm Cultivation was barely keeping him alive. And yet, it was precisely because of this cultivation that it was so shocking that he seemed to be on his last legs.


    Samson, somehow... couldn''t seem to heal from Ryu''s attack.


    High in the skies, Ryu turned to face Old Wan with his hands clasped behind his back and his intentions still firmly placed to ignore the two Sovereigns behind him.


    Old Wan still looked calm. He had the very same face that Ryu could recall. That amiable old man who was willing to be the butt of the joke so long as everyone else was happy...


    He played the role well.


    It was just that he had never fooled Ryu.


    If before their game of Domain it was nothing more than speculation for Ryu, after forcing Old Wan to play a simplified version of the game, there was nowhere for him to hide.


    Ryu had felt the truth of his incisiveness, that hidden snaking tail that Old Wan had always been carrying with him. And now, he finally faced off against the man.


    "I never expected that you would actually have such powerful backing." Old Wan said slowly, obviously referring to Ryu''s father.


    "I''m more surprised that you dared to stay here despite knowing that. A cowardly rat like you should have scurried away by now, don''t you think?"


    "I think we both know this was the best choice. With your arrogance, you wouldn''t allow anyone other than yourself to kill me. And if your father listens to your words enough to allow you such willfulness, then he very clearly loves you very much. What will he do once your soul is in my possession?"


    Ryu burst out into laughter, the booming cadence of his emotion peeling across the skies and darkening the clouds.


    Rumbling shook the very earth and sparks of blue lightning danced across the darkening clouds.


    Ryu''s Storm Talent seemed to activate on its own and the entirety of the Seventh Heaven responded to his call.


    He laughed so heartily that it seemed like he had truly heard the greatest joke in the world just now.


    Chaos Qi continued to spill out of himself in waves, powerful, surging qi rampaging about and shredding the laws of the Real Plane apart before replacing them with Ryu''s own thoughts and feelings.


    Such Ryu''s presence alone seemed to tug the world in ways that couldn''t be imagined.


    "I don''t think you understand what I came here to do, old bastard. This isn''t a bid for revenge. I came here to slaughter pigs. I''ll have you on my chopping board soon. I''ll make you experience every inch, every shuddering horror, of your body being refined into a puppet. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You tell me... after your soul is dead and gone, and your eyes are a lifeless husk of what they once used to be...


    "Will your clever, witty retorts still be there? I''m eager to see."


    There was a flash in Ryu''s eyes before his aura exploded.


    "[Heaven''s Gate]. Open."


    Rumble.


    The Seventh Heaven began to break apart at its seams. An all-encompassing formation that suffocated the worlds below suddenly appeared as though trying to constrain and control something, but Ryu''s momentum was so great that it had only appeared for a few seconds before it suddenly shattered apart.


    Those across the Seventh Heaven looked up in horror. It felt as though they were watching the dome of Heaven collapse. Beautiful arrays of shattering glass falling from the skies in rains of energy and qi.


    The moment the Seventh Heaven''s Dome of Heaven collapsed, it was as though a chain reaction had been triggered.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    The Sixth Heaven, the Fifth, the Fourth... Down all the way to the First.


    In that moment, artificial suppressions on the Daos were torn apart as though they


    had never existed before and a rain of energy fell onto all the worlds.


    What no one seemed to have realized before was that these Domes of Heaven didn''t just manifest from nothing. They needed energy to run. And where else could that energy come from... if not the worlds they were attached to?


    It wasn''t just the lower Heavens that were suppressed either.


    In order to keep such a large array that covered an entire world active... even the


    Ninth Heaven took a large hit to their qi and law quality.


    But now, the entire operation came crashing down because of a single man.


    The moment the Seven lower Domes of Heaven collapsed, the Eighth Heaven''s shuddered before it shattered to pieces as well, falling in a rain that collapsed to the ground below.


    And then, the Ninth Heaven began to shudder as well, shaking and quaking at its very


    seams.


    Ryu took a deep breath, bringing his arms from behind his back and raising them wide as he basked in the changes to the world.


    A smirk curled his lip as he felt a shudder behind him.


    The True Martial World''s Heaven unleashed a torrent of energy and soon, it had taken


    a step forward, reaching the same level as the Fiend World... and then it took another step forward, surpassing the Fiend World by a step... and then it took another step forward, surpassing the Fiend World by two...


    And then it took yet another step forward...


    Reaching the same level as the Griffin World.

 Chapter 2090 Dont You Love?

    ?Chapter 2090 Don''t You Love?


    Ryu''s laughter echoed through the skies as though he relished in the chaos he was bringing down onto the world.


    He had thought that something like this would happen. In fact, the very first time he saw the formations that artificially suppressed the Dao, he realized that something like this must be going on. The only reason he hadn''t acted on it was one, because he didn''t have the capability to, and two, because he didn''t have a full scope of understanding of exactly what was happening.


    It wasn''t until Ryu learned that there were higher level worlds that things finally began to piece themselves together for him.


    He had gotten a lot of clues about just how dangerous the Martial Gods were, but he couldn''t understand why the Martial Gods would settle down in such a weak world if there were much stronger ones around them.


    Logically, it was probably to hide away. But if that was the case, why not choose weaker worlds than this one? All things considered, the True Martial World wasn''t so bad.


    Plus, there was Sacrum, which they seemed to have great interest in. But despite having such interest, they only sent Elena''s mother to handle things and never really put much effort into taking Sacrum over.


    If the Martial Gods had really wanted to go all out with their efforts, Ryu would have truly never had a chance. It wouldn''t have even been close.


    But the Martial Gods always seemed to do contradictory things.


    They sent people to Sacrum, but not their best or their greatest. But then they targeted Ryu to stop him from tapping into his full potential at the same time. Why go so far for one thing, but not the other?


    That was when Ryu finally got the final piece of the puzzle.


    The Heavenly Court.


    The moment Ryu felt them, and they spoke about him returning to the Heavenly Court, he understood. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Martial Gods never targeted him because they feared his potential so much. He bet that they were so arrogant in their own abilities that they couldn''t even be bothered under normal circumstances.


    Ryu''s talents were exceptional, but was a combination of the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation and the Chaotic Silk Meridians really enough for them to take action?


    The answer was no.


    The more Ryu learned about the world, the more he realized that there were many talents out there with abilities comparable to and even beyond him.


    Well... maybe not anymore. Right now, there were likely only a handful of true chosen of his generation that could stand toe to toe with him.


    That said, it could even be said that the only reason Ryu had reached his current level was because of the attempts at suppression of the Martial Gods...


    But unfortunately for the Martial Gods, the only reason they had even attempted to suppress Ryu in the first place was in order to stop the Heavenly Courts from finding Ryu''s whereabouts... because finding Ryu would also mean finding them!


    The Martial Gods and the Heavenly Courts... truly a match made in Heaven, and somehow Ryu was trapped in between.


    The Martial Gods had sensed before the Heavenly Courts that Ryu was a chosen, so they chose to suppress him to stop the Heavenly Courts from sensing Ryu before they were prepared to face off against them once more.


    In the end, they had managed to delay these matters for hundreds of millions of years. And now, with the Title Stele coming, Ryu had a feeling that the Martial Gods were more than prepared now.


    Maybe that was even the real reason they had let it go so easily when Primus unchained his Fate Star. Not only was Ryu''s Fate already ruined by years of being Sealed and suppressed, but they had already long since bought themselves enough time.


    Ryu could feel that the Fate of this Title Stele appearance was pulling the currents of the world hard. Whatever the Martial Gods were planning, the other foot would certainly drop when this Title Stele appeared...


    But that was just fine by Ryu.


    He grinned so fiercely that his rage shone through.


    To think that all this time, he was nothing more than a pawn to these people, nothing more than an inconvenient chess piece they had to move to the side just for the sake of buying themselves a few thousand years, a time that was nothing more than a blink of an eye to these experts.


    In Sacrum, a few hundred million years wasn''t even enough to make it to the mere Cosmic Seed Realm for even the best of geniuses. But they had ruined his life, destroyed his Clan, killed his grandparents...


    All for such a small time frame?


    Ryu''s laughter, filled with fury, only continued to billow through the skies.


    Raging lightning peeled across the darkness, the violent upswings of the wind knocking down trees and nearly blowing even Lords off of their feet.


    At that moment, the shuddering auras that Ryu felt behind him shifted again. But he didn''t even bother to look.


    He already knew what was happening. In fact, he had planned for exactly this.


    All across the True Martial World now, there were many who were facing bottlenecks now that would be shedding past them.


    All their lives, they had been suppressed beneath the boot of the Martial Gods, and


    now they had suddenly burst through like a crack in the dam.


    Their suppressed cultivations would all suddenly skyrocket.


    World Sea Realm experts would trigger their Tribulations to enter the Sky God Realm


    one after another.


    False Sky Gods would become True Sky Gods.


    Omniscients would become Lords.


    And...


    Sovereigns would become Gods.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    The auras of Sovereign Black Worm and Sovereign Chaotic Space shuddered and they looked down at their dantian in shock as they broke through the thin paper veil that kept them separated from the Dao God Realm.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The skies shuddered and quaked as not one, but two Tribulations descended from


    above at the same time.


    Ryu stood in the middle of it all, his arms spread out wide as he faced off against Old Wan, whose pupils had constricted into pinholes.


    "What is it, Old Wan? Are you very surprised?"


    The darkness of Ryu''s voice hung high above, seemingly suppressing the world around


    him.


    "I''m sure you had many plans, many contingencies. Maybe you even hid certain failsafes in my body when you saved me the first time. I must say, your abilities are quite exceptional to be able to hide something from me for so long."


    Old Wan''s eyes narrowed.


    Back then, Ryu had accidentally broken into Hegemony with his Dao and a Tribulation sparked from the Dome of Heaven. He hadn''t been ready for it and he nearly died. It was Old Wan that had saved him.


    In the time that Ryu had been out, there was no telling what Old Wan could have done


    to him.


    Ryu had taken his time to go through his body carefully, but he had found absolutely nothing at all. But he simply didn''t believe that someone like Old Wan could possibly have given up such an opportunity.


    That could only mean that Old Wan had used a method that Ryu simply didn''t


    understand.


    Ryu thought that after completely reconstructing his body, he would get rid of whatever lingering danger there was. But it was still there.


    He had to hand it to Old Wan. Whatever method it was he relied upon, it was truly


    shocking to an extreme.


    Ryu could have let his father kill Old Wan, but somehow he felt that even this wouldn''t guarantee the man''s death.


    Plus... Ryu was nothing if not stubborn to a fault.


    He liked to do things his way and only his way. He had promised to himself that he


    would be the one to personally kill Old Wan, and his thoughts and feelings were the


    only ones that mattered in the slightest.


    Since he had said that he would kill Old Wan, he would do it personally.


    And as he had said, he would do it like he was slaughtering a pig. He would make him regret every bit of the last moments of his life.


    For a long while now, Ryu had been unsatisfied with his Dao. But now, he would take matters into his own hands.


    According to both etiquette and just in order to preserve one''s own life, standing within the Tribulation of another was little more than a death sentence. There was a


    reason why Ryu hadn''t been targeted by others when he was undergoing his. But now, Ryu planned to stand beneath not just one, but two of them. And, he didn''t plan on allowing Old Wan the chance to escape such a Fate with.


    "Why are you backing away?" Ryu asked, looking down to Old Wan again with a menacing light in his eyes. "Don''t you love taking advantage of Tribulations? Here... let


    me give you another chance."


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu triggered his own Lord Tribulation.

 Chapter 2091 Slumber

    ?Chapter 2091 SlumberRyu looked like an absolute madman. But when your goal was to stand across from your own terrible Fate and flip the table, there was only one way to do that...


    And that was precisely to be a madman.


    Ryu wasn''t just doing this for the sake of revenge. He was confident in his abilities to deal with Old Wan. Even if the man had a trump card hidden away in his body somewhere, it wouldn''t make a difference to Ryu.


    The fact of the matter was that no matter how well hidden the trump card, the moment it was activated, it would have to reveal itself. The moment that happened, Ryu would have the chance to overturn everything. He simply didn''t believe that there was anything Old Wan could do to him that he would be unable to counter.


    Ryu simply had too many trump cards and too much flexibility. He had seen so much of the world, and even until this day, his strongest abilities were probably that of being a Ruin Master.


    Although it sounded crazy to be unbothered by something he knew existed but


    couldn''t find, this wasn''t just unbridled arrogance on Ryu''s part. The fact of the matter was, if Old Wan could have used it to kill Ryu directly, or take control of him, he would have done it already.


    In addition, anything that could hide from Ryu''s senses had to be particularly special. But, what "special" meant in this context was actually quite constrained.


    This was almost certainly a case where Old Wan was forgoing power and potency in exchange for secrecy. However, because Ryu knew that there was something lingering in him, one of the biggest reliances of this hidden method was already destroyed before it could even take action.


    The only thing he could praise Old Wan for was the latter''s insight. Back then, Ryu hadn''t even been a match for the weakest disciple of their Sect, and yet Old Wan, despite having him unconscious right in front of him, still decided to use such a rare, unheard of method.


    However, that was the only praise he would receive from Ryu.


    From here on out...


    Ryu would simply do everything in his power to make this man''s life a living hell.


    And he didn''t mind relying on three Tribulations at once to do it.


    Old Wan froze as he found himself locked onto. It wasn''t from Ryu, but it might as well


    be.


    Somehow, Ryu had redirected the Fate of the Tribulations in the surroundings to lock onto Old Wan as well.


    At that moment, a fourth Tribulation triggered.


    "Do you think I cannot tell that you are still a Lord? You''re too selfish to take such drastic measures that would ruin your own future. So how about I ruin it for you?"


    For the first time, a trace of emotion sparked in the depths of Old Wan''s gaze. Rage.


    Ryu could feel it form a piercing tide that nearly thrust through his heart. Anyone else would have been taken aback.


    Old Wan''s killing intent was so dense that it was practically an attack on the psyche, so savage and unforgiving that even the Dragon Emperor felt wholly inferior.


    And yet, all Ryu did was laugh even harder. It was as though he relished in the chaos of the world. The more ruined and chaotic things were, the more satisfied he felt with the situation.


    Old Wan''s fury was like a tonic that pumped through his veins, peeling through his body and making him feel as though he was standing atop the world.


    A Fourth Tribulation blended into the others and suddenly there were four men locked in the skies, imprisoned under the auras of their own Tribulations.


    The Tribulation Clouds expanded to the point they covered the entire skies of the Seventh Heaven. The weak and commoners looked up in horror, fear painting their eyes as they faced off against what they thought just might be the end of the world. As for those in the skies, the only one laughing seemed to be Ryu.


    At first, Black Worm and Chaotic Space felt excited. They had been pining after the Dao God Realm all their lives. But they never expected that they would be used like this.


    They didn''t know what Ryu''s purpose was, but they were experienced enough to know when they were being used.


    Worst of all, Ryu didn''t even look toward them a single time as though they were nothing more than pawns to be used at his own leisure. He didn''t have the posture of someone in the Omniscient Realm at all.


    Down below, Jojo and Aika found themselves gripping one another''s hands, while the two armies that had once been facing off had no choice but to forget any plans they might have had.


    The world fell into a silence for a moment, one where the only sound that could be heard was Ryu''s still echoing laughter as though he was the only one that didn''t understand the gravity of the situation.


    That was when the four Tribulations began to shift and change. From four separate Tribulations, there was a pulse that rippled through them all.


    Two God Tribulations, a Sovereign Tribulation, and a Lord Tribulation shuddered as they were suddenly sucked into one.


    In that moment, the black cumulonimbus clouds of the Tribulation clouds changed


    color.


    They only flashed a rainbow of light for a short while before they became a dense mass of dark gold.


    As though ancient bronze, the Tribulation Clouds shimmered with this dark gold color, bearing down with a weight and heft to them that reminded Ryu of the Infinity Mist of the Ninth Heaven.


    However... this Dark Gold Particle Cloud felt even heavier than that by not just a single order of magnitude, but several.


    And yet, it moved with the fluidity of a cloud. Staring at it from down below, it was like watching a creature the size of a world slowly awaken from its slumber. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter ?2092 Vanguard

    Chapter ?2092 VanguardJust because the highest level Tribulation of the True Martial World until now had been an Eighth Revolution Elemental Rage of the Heavens Tribulation didn''t mean that this was the highest form of Tribulation there was...


    In fact, Ryu had already faced higher. In the Fiend World, he had faced off against his own Elemental Tribulation before, fighting against tides of fire, winds, and others.


    But the truth of the matter was that the Elemental Tribulations that those of the True Martial World knew of weren''t even the strongest in existence.


    In stronger worlds, these Elemental Tribulations were known as Lower Elemental Tribulations, Tribulations that only encompassed Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. There were also Incomplete Elemental Tribulations beneath that that could only have one or a few of the four, but not all of them.


    However, due to whatever reason-likely the unique quirks of the True Martial World''s laws after they were suppressed by the Martial Gods-these Incomplete Elemental Tribulations never appeared.


    However, above Lower Elemental Tribulations there were still Middle Elemental Tribulations, these ones encompassing variants of Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth...


    Middle Elemental Tribulations would force cultivators to face off against Ice, Crystals of Earth, or even Heavenly Winds twisted by nature...


    And then there were Higher Elemental Tribulations.


    These Tribulations would incorporate the elements of Light and Darkness, as well as Lightning. This Lightning, however, would be far different from normal Rage of the Heavens Tribulations. This lightning was known as True Tribulation Lightning, carrying various colors and changes that would exhibit differing abilities.


    Even more rare elements like Wood would appear here...


    And then, there was the Perfected Elemental Tribulation... Aspects of space and time would descend, and the world would be overturned by the menace of the Heaven''s Rage.


    This perfected Elemental Tribulation was so impossibly rare that those that managed to survive it almost always became figures of a generation, hegemons of their own Clans and powerhouses that stood above the masses...


    And yet this was far from the last tier of Tribulation.


    Ryu had yet to face a Perfect Elemental Tribulation... And yet, he had already faced Tribulations beyond this.


    Wrath Tribulations.


    These were Tribulations where the Heavenly Skies opened up and sent down its THPLHISMLASMAIMTTERSE-TRASLASSTARAFHESER MPAL MF HRE DS.BTT SEPTTER ASE


    warriors.


    The Wrath Tribulations... were also separated into Ninc.


    There were Nine Revolutions of normal Tribulations, Nine Revolutions of Elemental Tribulations, and Nine Revolutions of Wrath Tribulations...


    The first stage was the Aspirant Wrath Tribulation.


    What Ryu hadn''t known until recently, and mostly thanks to Ailsa''s memories, was that Heaven''s Knights weren''t all of one rank. That much was obvious enough to him as their strengths were certainly not created equal.


    The lowest class of Heavenly Warrior was known as Heaven''s Aspirant. And until now... these were all Ryu had yet to face even a single one of them. A true named Heavenly Warrior was something that Ryu had never faced. Instead, he had only faced Unranked Heavenly Warriors...


    The number who had faced off against a Ranked Heavenly Warrior and lived to tell the tale were simply too few and far between. Such existences had likely long been taken into Heaven''s Court, brought into the fold to become one of their lackeys. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The gap between the Heavenly Warriors that Ryu had faced off against and Aspirants was a fathomless chasm...


    But the rank above them was the reason he no longer called them Heaven''s Knights. That was because above Aspirants were Knights, existences that were even stronger. It was hard to wrap your head around what it truly meant to be an Aspirant, let alone a Knight. But according to Ailsa''s memories, an Aspirant was already comparable to a genius with a Perfect God Talent.


    A Perfect God Talent was to the wider world what a Grand Ancestral Circle had once been to Sacrum... and Existence with a perfect slot of talent in all Six Pillars to Sacrum''s Four.


    That meant that an Aspirant was like a genius with a God Grade Bloodline, God Grade Meridians, a God Grade Bone Structure, a God Grade Soul Talent, a God Grade Spiritual Foundation, and...


    A Founding Dao.


    This was the standard of the lowest tier of Ranked Heavenly Warrior. They already represented a level of perfection, tailored to the standards of your world, that was simply impossible to match under normal circumstances.


    And then there was a Ranked Knight.


    Already, at this point, Ailsa''s understanding was somewhat murky. But it was still far clearer than the rank that stood above Knight.


    A Ranked Knight was a genius that not only had the talent of an Aspirant, but took it a


    step beyond. They likely had something to bolster their abilities, maybe a rare Soul Nature, maybe a pair of Heavenly Pupils, maybe they had not just one set of Meridians,


    but two of them...


    This was a Knight.


    However, the more Ryu observed the largest swath of Dark Gold Clouds above him, and the more his eyes danced past the laws etching themselves into the skies, the more certain he was that this was a Third Revolution Wrath of the Heavens Tribulation.


    A Ranked Vanguard.


    The only explanation Ailsa had in her memories about this rank of Heavenly Warrior was wariness. It was an insecurity that her own power likely wouldn''t be enough to face off against one of them despite her capabilities.


    A Heavenly Vanguard, an existence that stood above an Aspirant and a Knight...


    It was a talent that broke logic and understanding, one that crushed a Knight with the flip of a palm and forced an Aspirant to non-existence with a single gaze.


    It made the geniuses of the world look small and insignificant.


    A pressure the likes of which the three around Ryu couldn''t even fathom descended.


    But Ryu, who had long begun to get serious, was focused on something else.


    "The aura of this Tribulation... isn''t God-like as I expected. It''s Lord... My Tribulation swallowed theirs, not vice versa.


    A wild grin spread across Ryu''s face as his forearms pulsed with the raging intent of


    his great swordstaffs.


    This... was going to be fun.

 Chapter 2093 Good Luck

    ?Chapter 2093 Good LuckRyu''s grin plastered across his handsome veins, the Runes of his Bone Structure glowing as he unleashed his momentum.


    BOOM!


    His cultivation broke through the veil of the Lord Realm finally, not due to his Tribulation, but due to his Heavenly Pupils.


    Before, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t seem to use [Heaven''s Gate] to break


    past the Omniscient Realm. But now, with his Tribulation here, a tiny sliver of a chance had opened up.


    His white hair danced in the wind, a stale sort of Fate hovering around him as though it might want to suffocate his very breath to death.


    "Good luck."


    Ryu''s voice echoed, but it was hard to tell if he was speaking to anyone.


    Was he wishing the three Sovereigns he had dragged into this mess good luck? Was he really just taunting them...?


    But then why did it look like his eyes had never left the Dark Gold Tribulation Clouds? Only Ryu knew.


    BANG!


    Ryu shot into the skies, his blade leading his motion forward in a sweeping arc.


    A normal Heaven''s Warrior had barely formed when Ryu had already shredded him apart.


    His blades moved like streaks through the skies, splintering space and severing the life of anyone he could find before him.


    He took on a Tribulation four times the strength it should have been without a care for whether the Sovereigns behind him would act. It was as though he had already forgotten about their existence.


    His blood boiled and his heart thumped with the might of thunder, its reverberating echo only being drowned out by the rumbling of the Dark Gold Tribulation Clouds above themselves.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    A forming army of Heavenly Warriors found themselves minced to pieces, the very laws used to construct them being shattered beneath Ryu''s might.


    However, there was only so much room for this to continue. Tremble.


    The skies shook as a legion of Heavenly Warriors took shape.


    The Heavenly Warriors that Ryu was used to were wreathed in black, but these all wore bronzed, dark gold armor. Their momentum, despite not being Aspirants, was also clearly stronger than any Ryu had ever faced off against before.


    And when they finally solidified, Ryu found himself entirely surrounded. SHIIIIIIING!


    The Heavenly Warriors all unsheathed their blades and pointed their spears at the same time. In the back rows, even their archers pulled back their bowstrings taut, and the TWANG of a heart-shuddering echo peeled around the skies.


    In an instant, the entire situation had flipped. From being an unstoppable wrecking ball, Ryu found himself smashing into an immovable wall.


    His power was reflected back at him, and blades and arrows pierced toward him at the very same time.


    It felt like everything before had been nothing more than a joke, and the weight of such a Tribulation set in for them all.


    Four legions appeared, each one with 9999 warriors in them. Not only had Ryu only managed to kill a few hundred from a single Heavenly Legion before they solidified, but their momentum seemed to combine into one when they had...


    An Army Formation.


    They might not have been Aspirants, but any single one of these Heavenly Warriors made a genius, even of Jojo''s caliber, feel insignificant.


    And now, these geniuses were all pooling their strength into one...


    How could it not be suffocating?


    Ryu''s eyes blazed with battle intent as his [Heavenly Dao Tree] bloomed into existence.


    His Chaos Qi danced in the skies, clashing with the dark gold of the army around him with his own.


    Standing there in the midst of an army of thousands, each one carrying the weight of the moniker of genius on their backs, Ryu should have been small and insignificant.


    And yet...


    It felt like he was something more than belonging. He stood above.


    His white hair danced in the air, and his Lord Realm cultivation bloomed like a lotus slowly peeling apart in the skies.


    A suffocating might erupted from the depths of his bones as he slashed out.


    His Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure bloomed, and his one strike became


    .1


    three.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The cascade of thunderous echoes matched his blade. Every time one shook the skies, the scythe of energy would double in size until it went from just three meters from tip to curved tip, to 24.


    Ryu, who should have collapsed beneath the pressure of so many attacking at once, instead shredded apart the scene before him.


    The Heavenly Warriors felt their combined formation collapse under the sheer power


    of Ryu''s strike.


    SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! PUCHI! PUCHI!


    Ryu slowly lowered his raised great swordstaff, raising the other and resting it on his shoulder.


    The blazing intent in his eyes and the grin on his face told the entire story.


    One strike.


    Thousands dead.


    An entire legion wiped out in a single sweep. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The beat of his heartbeat thrummed as he tilted his head back toward the other three.


    "I hope you''re not expecting me to wipe your own Legions."


    Suddenly, the meaning of Ryu''s phrase "good luck" became clear.


    It was neither one nor the other...


    It was both.


    Ryu had such power in the palm of his hands as an Omniscient.


    How much power did he have now as a Lord?


    The world trembled around Ryu, but he looked back calmly as though he had already


    expected this.


    He knew exactly what was coming as soon as he saw the first wave.


    9999 Heavenly Warriors to kill... but once they fell, their bodies would reform, forging


    the body of a single Heavenly Warrior. Or, most accurately...


    An Aspirant.


    The winds kicked up and a swirl of dark gold energies formed into the body of a single,


    three-meter tall entity.


    The Aspirant''s body stood tall and straight, a pair of Sabers with large cut-outs in


    their blades solidifying in his palms.


    The world shuddered as the Aspirant took a step forward.


    A Peak Lord with Perfect Realm Talent.


    The Aspirant vanished.

 Chapter 2094 Dim

    ?Chapter 2094 DimRyu chuckled lightly. "... Too arrogant."


    BOOM!


    A pair of twin crossed blades met in the air, one side a pair of sabers, and the other a pair of great swordstaffs.


    The arms of the Aspirant shook as a thunderous echo suddenly boomed through the skies.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    A layer of three Skybreaker Revolutions shook the Aspirant and sent it taking a heavy step backward.


    Ryu lowered his blades, facing off against the Aspirant calmly. He didn''t seem to be in much of a rush to finish off the battle at all. That was because he knew what was coming next. And because...


    He took his eyes off of the Aspirant again, looking toward the three remaining Legions. As expected, they had charged the three Sovereigns.


    On one side, Old Wan was pretending to struggle. Ryu couldn''t really understand why he was still bothering to act at this juncture, but it seemed that scheming was in the very depths of this man''s bones.


    Then there was Black Worm and Chaotic Space.


    Ryu could see instantly that they would struggle.


    Of course, Ryu''s definition of struggle was pretty cutthroat. They were still weaving through the army with decent efficiency, but there were still clearly some times where they didn''t deal with a situation cleanly, or they were forced to expend excess energy in order to maintain a facade of calmness.


    They didn''t want others to see through their weakness and take advantage. A part of them probably even felt that Ryu had just expended way too much energy just now...


    Well, only the fools would assume such a thing. After all, why would someone with Chaotic Silk Meridians need to worry about energy expenditure? Did they think that this Chaos Qi was just for show?


    CHI! CHI! CHI!


    Ryu casually raised his blade to block a strike from the Aspirant, and an echo of three defensive maneuvers shot out once more.


    He used his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure almost carelessly, and it made this Aspirant look like nothing more than a fool.


    The Aspirant stumbled back, its body shuddering. After just two exchanges of strikes,


    its blade was already chipped in several locations.


    ''I guess that maybe... I should focus.


    Ryu hadn''t become arrogant after this battle. In fact, while it looked like he was just joking around, he had a very specific purpose for all of this.


    First, he was gathering Fate. Such an unprecedented Tribulation was bound to shake the world. He was sure that there were already several figures tuning in. The strongest of the Ninth Heaven undoubtedly were.


    But compared to his other goals... this was tiny and insignificant.


    Ryu took a step forward and pressed down on the Aspirant, sending it flying away.


    His eyes flashed as he tried to focus.


    He needed a path to victory, and he knew that this wouldn''t be enough. At this rate, he likely wouldn''t even survive the Second Revolution.


    A Third Revolution Wrath Tribulation would obviously have Three Revolutions to it. The fact that Ryu wouldn''t even survive the second despite the first being so easy to him went to show just what the jump of difficulty would be.


    And that was because Ryu had already seen through everything.


    Once he cleared this Legion... 9999 more Heavenly Warriors would appear. But this time...


    They would all be Aspirants.


    Every single one of them.


    Ryu could easily defeat one, but how could he defeat thousands? It would be impossible, especially when they combined their strengths through their formation. And then, as though that wasn''t bad enough, a Knight would appear afterward... S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If he managed to make it through this, the pattern then became obvious. He would then need to defeat 9999 Knights, all before he even laid eyes on a Vanguard, an existence with a strength that even Ailsa couldn''t properly define. Oh... and he would need to somehow do this four times over. There was no way these. fools would survive that long. He doubted even Old Wan would be able to.


    That left. Ryu in an awkward position where he blitzed through the first Revolution but knew that surviving the next was basically impossible.


    There was only one path to survival for Ryu... and that was raising his Dao to the level he desired it to be at.


    However, doing that was much easier said than done. If he could have done it already, he would have.


    But he felt like he was missing something.


    His great swordstaff clashed against the Aspirant''s saber and reflected it again, and then again.


    His eyes focused on every shift, every moment, every flow of energy.


    At the same time, his [Third Perspective] was honing in on the other battles around him.


    Those down below couldn''t understand what Ryu was doing. It was clear that he was crushing the Aspirant, so why hadn''t he killed it already? It seemed like he was wasting energy for no reason at all.


    ''Chosen... why can''t I see through what that means... even now?"


    Ryu''s eyes glazed over as he began to restrain his power. From using three echoes, he reduced it to two, and then just one.


    The moment Ryu stopped using his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure, he and the Aspirant seemed to have become evenly matched. But there was a sharpness and case to Ryu''s movement that still made it obvious he had the upper hand. He seemed two or even three steps ahead of the Aspirant at all times.


    And then Ryu just began to use a single great swordstaff.


    And then he put his blades away entirely and just fought against the Aspirant with his


    fists alone.


    However, he was still shaking his head inwardly as wounds began to appear across his fists and forearms,


    The Heavenly Court Ancestor said that he was a Chosen, and such a thing should have


    a strong attachment of Fate to it. It was something that Ryu should be able to sense


    even without the input of this Ancestor, but he couldn''t for whatever reason.


    So what was it that separated a normal genius from a Chosen? Where was the blessing


    coming from?


    The glow seemed to dim from Ryu''s eyes entirely.

 Chapter 2095 Humiliation

    ?Chapter 2095 HumiliationThere was something different at play here, something hidden in the shadows that couldn''t be explained in just a few words. But even after thinking about it for a long while, Ryu couldn''t quite grasp what it was.


    Why was it that the Ancestor of the Heavenly Court could see through his status as a Chosen, but Ryu himself, despite having eyes tailor-made to pierce through Fate and Kharma, could not?


    Could it be that it was akin to observing someone''s cultivation, something that was less of an exact science and more based on feel and experience?


    Ryu didn''t believe that. Not because it wasn''t possible that it could be true, but rather because it didn''t matter even if it was. If that was the case, he would have certainly figured it out by now.


    The reality of the matter was that even the inexact science that was cultivation was completely grasped by Ryu. Even when he came to a new world, it didn''t take him more than a few interactions to figure out what he was dealing with. It didn''t make any sense for him to have not grasped something like this, especially after specifically looking for it.


    That could only mean one thing...


    It was related to something beyond him or something that he had never thought of. "When you die... what happens to you?" Ryu suddenly asked. His eyes still seemed unfocused, like he was looking through the Aspirant rather than at him.


    His movements remained fluid, his fists countering the sabers of the Heavenly Warrior as though they too were formed of precious metals.


    With every reverberating beat of his heart, his Jadebound Clearheart Bone Structure sent a ripple through his body, making his skin look almost like reflecting ice as it countered the sharpness of the sabers.


    However, Ryu truly only seemed to be playing around. It was fine enough to use his Jadebound Clearheart to defend, but then he would shift and change it for seemingly no particular reason at all.


    An iciness suddenly appeared in the air as his Ninefold Frostbane Bone Structure heaved a heavy frost Domain into the surroundings. Crackling ice appeared around the Aspirant''s body as it slowed considerably, weakening the swings of its blades. Then, as though he was bored of doing this as well, Ryu swapped to his Eternal Dawn Bone Structure, radiant golden lights coming from his bone as he shifted with a blinding speed and sent out piercing beams of light that reflected off the sabers'' surfaces and sent them reeling backward.


    He danced and swapped between his Bone Structures like he was doing carnival tricks more than battling. Anyone who was systematically observing the battle to try and understand Ryu''s battle tactics would quickly find themselves confused.


    It didn''t even make sense for Ryu to swap from using his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure, but if he wanted to, fine...


    Under normal circumstances, that is.


    The main issue right now was that the Heavenly Knights were able to learn from one another. They already understood all of Ryu''s talents, but not how he might use them. Right now, every time he displayed a new skill, the Aspirant grasped it and began to learn to counter it.


    The experiences of this Aspirant would then be passed onto the others.


    To make matters worse, even if the Heavenly Warriors weren''t capable of doing this, the fact that Ryu was allowing Old Wan and the others to see all his trump cards didn''t make any sense either. And yet, he continued to do so.


    His question lingered in the air, but the Heavenly Warrior didn''t respond.


    Ryu was certain that it could talk. If those unranked Heavenly Warriors could, then this Aspirant most certainly could as well.


    He really wanted to understand more about these warriors. Who or what were they? Did it make sense that he was continuously referring to them as "Its", or were they actual people like those of the Heavenly Courts?


    Ryu was leaning toward the latter being false, which was why he had a hard time looking at this man like he would a "he", but he was very much open to being wrong.


    This question he asked though... what happened to them when it died... that felt like the end of a string in a tangled mess that he could tug on. It was the only stone that Ryu had left unturned.


    If nothing normal could explain it... then it could only be related to Reincarnation, maybe the most mysterious thing in the world.


    Maybe others didn''t think much about it, but after experiencing what he had related to Reincarnation, Ryu had spent a lot of time thinking about it.


    It seemed that every world had their own individual Paths of Reincarnation. But they also seemed to be connected, in a way.


    Ryu had seen all of his past lives, and they certainly hadn''t all been lived in Sacrum. But oddly enough, Hope''s Path of Reincarnation, and that of those of her world, were cut off because of the destruction of their Path of Reincarnation and Nether Plane. How could both of those things be true? Why could Ryu be born in so many worlds, and yet Hope lose the ability to do the same?


    The answer could only be that the Paths of Reincarnation were connected, but were also only one-way paths.


    But that still left the question of... were there really just a set number of souls throughout. Existence? Had the world just been spawned with trillions upon trillions of sparks of life and they all separated themselves honestly through the worlds of


    Existence?


    That made no sense.


    Existence sparked from nothing. And if that was the case, then there couldn''t have been anything that came before it, and naturally that would mean that life existed the


    way it did now only because something had created it.


    And that process... that process of creation was likely precisely what Ryu didn''t understand...


    "You see... I''ve been patient..." Ryu said slowly. "But I''m really going to need you to


    answer"


    The dullness in Ryu''s eyes suddenly sharpened and his Dao bloomed across the world.


    The Daos of those in the True Martial World had yet to even catch up. However, Ryu''s


    own Dao had long since reached the ceiling here. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The aura of a Peak Founding Dao bloomed, but it was still very much in the Omniscient Realm. It seemed that even his Heavenly Pupils weren''t able to push him


    past that level. But in reality...


    Ryu hadn''t allowed it to.


    Right now, the paths he could see through Fate didn''t carry what he wanted.


    He wanted something beyond Fate.


    Something beyond Reincarnation.


    If he wanted to stand at the peak of the world, he couldn''t just rely on his own talent, he had to do exactly what he had done with his Bone Structures, superseding logic and conventional understanding.


    Ryu was more confident in himself than anyone could ever claim to be. He was certain that he was on the right path, that the secret he was looking for was down this road.


    Now... he just needed to grasp it.


    Ryu''s figure suddenly exploded in speed, clouds pulsing with gorgeous blue-green veins appearing beneath his feet as he soared like a dragon.


    His Azure Cloud Vein Bone Structure pulsed with life as he appeared behind the Aspirant, grabbing onto a piece of its armor and viciously ripping down.


    CRACK.


    The armor tore off, the aura of Dragon''s Claw coming from Ryu''s hands as he formed a


    vice grip on another and ripped down as well.


    CRACK.


    The Aspirant spun around, swinging its sabers at Ryu''s head, but Darkmoon Veil manifested and the weapons seemed to pass right through Ryu''s shadowy figure as


    though he wasn''t there at all.


    CRACK.


    All of a sudden, the Aspirant found its chest bared to the world.


    Of course, this was hardly an issue, it was a man, after all. What was more interesting


    was that its skin was an unnatural bronze color as though it was forged from the


    metal, or was maybe circulating an odd technique.


    Ryu attacked with a figure, piercing a hole through the Aspirant''s clavicle as though to


    test something.


    However, it seemed perfectly normal. Skin was pierced, bone was broken, blood


    flowed naturally, but there didn''t seem anything else to observe.


    ''It''s deeper. I need to find a way to...''


    Ryu was lost in his thoughts as he flickered around the Aspirant, and soon the man


    found himself completely naked, being dissected before the eyes of all those watching


    the Tribulation.


    Horror didn''t seem to be enough to describe the emotions of those watching, it was like they were watching the Heavens themselves being humiliated.


    The rumble of the Dark Gold Clouds above seemed to grow fiercer, but Ryu directly


    turned a blind eye to it all, not paying much attention in the slightest as he continued to litter the body of the Aspirant with holes.


    The more he did this, the brighter his gaze seemed to become.

 Chapter 2096 Fathom

    ?Chapter 2096 FathomThe blood of the Heavenly Warrior flowed like a river. As it did so, it grew weaker and unable to fight back against Ryu''s attacks. The process made the battle even more lopsided, and most would have forgotten that this was supposed to be one of the strongest Tribulations in all of existence... if not for the fact that there were still three other large-scale battles ongoing.


    Old Wan, Black Worm, and Chaotic Space were all still fighting and had only destroyed about half of their legions until now.


    Unfortunately for them, they weren''t able to destroy the formation immediately like Ryu had. As such, they had no choice but to take a slower approach to deal with these large swaths of enemies.


    But that was precisely what made things so shocking.


    Could Ryu really be so much stronger than three existences on the verge of entering the Dao God Realm?


    Of course, what they didn''t know was that Old Wan was only breaking into Sovereignty. But it could be said that the man was quite obsessed with putting off a facade, a far cry from Ryu who seemed to be displaying all of his trump cards one after another and allowing Old Wan to build a comprehensive understanding of his abilities.


    Suddenly, Ryu came to a stop. The Aspirant thrust a saber at his chest, only for it to barely pierce his skin before coming out to a stop.


    Ryu, who was still lost in thought, subconsciously felt his muscles tense in defense and the cracking saber finally couldn''t seem to hold up anymore, causing it to shatter to pieces.


    It was another shocking sight, but it seemed like Ryu wasn''t paying attention at all as he raised a hand like he was pulling on the strings of a puppet.


    CHI.


    The Aspirant froze, the blood in its body freezing taut.


    Ryu shifted his fingers and the Aspirant moved, beginning to do all sorts of ridiculous things.


    It reached down to touch its toes. Then it turned around and shook its hips to the skies. It only made things ten times worse that the Aspirant was butt-naked.


    At this point, this was something worse than humiliation. Most couldn''t even bear to watch anymore, some even believing that Ryu was just doing this to squeeze as much Fate as he could from this event.


    If he was alone, people might think that the Tribulation was just a joke... but how could they when there were three others there for comparison''s sake?


    ''It worked! Ryu nodded to himself.


    Right now, he was using Bloodmancy.


    The branch of Bloodmancy Ryu originally picked was all about himself and control over his Bloodlines. It was what had opened the path of control he had now, and also what allowed his Bloodlines to bloom into their more powerful state.


    was


    In fact, without Bloodmancy, Ryu wouldn''t have been able to reforge his Bone Structures the way he had. The fact he had a Living Spiritual Foundation only played a part in that. A large part, but still only just a part.


    However, Bloodmancy had many paths that were much more like Necromancy. And this was one that Ryu had casually chosen.


    The bundle of Fate his master had left for him in order to guide him in the principles of Bloodmancy was already entirely analyzed by Ryu. Even if he had never practiced this path before, he was still able to grasp it.


    Now, this Aspirant was entirely under his control.


    "Will it work?" Ryu mumbled to himself.


    With his free hand, he pointed out a finger to the side and a Heavenly Warrior that Black Worm was swinging a blackened glaive at vanished.


    Black Worm swung at nothing but air and almost stumbled forward. Though he caught himself in time, he found himself assaulted from three sides instantly.


    He was forced to use up a large amount of his qi to escape the situation unharmed. He looked over toward Ryu with a blazing fury in his eyes, but Ryu still hadn''t looked over to him a single time.


    Wrapped in a bundle of solid space, the Heavenly Warrior was completely restrained. It was far weaker than the Aspirant, so what chance did it stand?


    Ryu extended his finger and poked at the Heavenly Warrior. Almost instantly, all of its armor shattered and Ryu''s finger went right through its body. He didn''t even seem to put in much effort at all, and yet it was as though his claw was formed from the sharpest blade.


    Pulling his finger back, Ryu looked at the blood and then flicked it away from himself.


    The Heavenly Warrior''s body convulsed, struggling for a moment before Ryu adjusted something and it found itself being completely under his control.


    Still, Ryu shook his head in disappointment. ''It seems that there''s no easy linkage between them all. Each one is slightly different. If it took this much effort for a normal Heavenly Warrior, this won''t be enough to help me through the next phases... That


    said...''


    Ryu''s flexed fingers clenched. The Heavenly Warrior shattered into pieces, leaving behind nothing but a concentrated ball of flesh and blood.


    Ryu observed it for a moment before his eyes narrowed.


    "They don''t have Corporeal Souls...''


    He had been looking for what felt off to him all this time, but he didn''t expect that it


    would actually be this.


    Were these Heavenly Warriors not living existences?


    ''Wait, no...''


    Ryu''s heart skipped a beat as his head snapped back toward the Aspirant.


    Technically speaking, the only thing you needed to be Reincarnation were the Three Incorporeal Souls. In fact, you only needed one of them, whether it was your Ego or Dao Heart, both of them were things that only formed after you Reincarnated.


    In much the same way, one''s Corporeal Souls were literally only grown when they gained a body of flesh and blood.


    Everything else was only extra, but they were also part of what made a person a person. That was why despite so many reincarnations, Ryu only truly acknowledged this life as himself, because this was the only life he had this unique combination of Corporeal and Incorporeal Souls...


    In the others, there was the shell of what made Ryu, but there was none of the inner substance.


    But these Heavenly Warriors seemed to lack any substance at all, whether good or


    bad.


    ''No substance... oh...''


    Ryu''s eyes glazed over, a subtle hint of something brewing in his mind. Deep within


    him, there was a stirring.


    And then he sensed it.


    In the distance, Old Wan''s head turned over and his body suddenly became nothing more than a streaking shadow.


    In a silent bid for Ryu''s life, he struck at the very moment. Ryu seemed to have lost his


    mind, a crystalline dagger coming out from the shadows he was wreathed in.


    He didn''t seem to cut through space at all, and yet he moved with no less speed.


    The dagger ripped into Ryu''s back, severing his spine and piercing right through his


    heart.


    Ryu hacked up a mouthful of blood, his body shuddering.


    ????[?? ?


    Old Wan knew that he had succeeded. He didn''t know when the opportunity would come, but he knew that he would take advantage when it did so.


    And when he moved, he didn''t hesitate to go all out.


    His dagger exploded with power, ripping a hole all the way out of Ryu''s chest and


    sending rains of blood in all directions. But at the same time, the hidden danger Ryu knew was within himself activated at the same time.


    Tendrils of darkness peeled across his body like spiderwebs of lightning, corroding his inner organs and atrophying them.


    In an instant, Ryu seemed to have gone from a young male in the prime of his youth to


    a young man who was on his last legs.


    He aged, his white hair dulling into greys and unhealthy, straw-like whites.


    It seemed that the battle was already over in an instant, and the tense concentration in Old Wan''s heart seemed to finally relax somewhat. As for the Tribulation, he didn''t even seem to mind it very much at all, almost as though so long as Ryu was gone, everything else would be much easier.


    Ryu didn''t move, standing there with the dull, glass look of death in his eyes.


    A silence took over... other than the rumbling clouds high above, most couldn''t believe


    what they were seeing. It didn''t seem to make sense that a young man who just had the world in the palm of his hands would fall like this.


    But... this was the way of the cultivation world. One mistake, in a single moment of carelessness, was enough to draw the dividing line between winners and losers.


    And indeed it was.


    It just wasn''t certain who the winner and loser was just yet.


    "Indeed. A scurrying little rat like you really wouldn''t miss an opportunity like this one. Unfortunately for you, I''ve reached a level you can''t possibly fathom." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2097: Choice (1)

    Chapter 2097: Choice (1)Ryu''s voice was frighteningly calm as his glazed-over vision seemed to slowly sharpen. As though a man waking up from a dream, his eyes seemed to be both open and brighten. And yet, they continued to carry an eerie calmness with them.


    As expected, what he was chasing with his Dao was the very same roadblock that stopped him from finding what hidden, lingering danger there was in his body.


    However, what he was more surprised about was that Old Wan was actually capable of such a thing. It was too bad that it simply didn''t matter.


    The reason he couldn''t find the root of the danger was because it was hidden in a part of him that didn''t even functionally exist anymore.


    His Path of Reincarnation.


    Long ago, after deciding the path for his Inner World and his future, Ryu had long severed his own Path of Reincarnation. But the danger that Old Wan had left behind was hidden away within it. Ironically enough, Ryu''s own actions were the very reason Old Wan was able to hide from him for so long.


    Somehow, though... despite severing that Path of Reincarnation and accepting that this would be his final life, Ryu was still being influenced by something he thought he had long separated from himself.


    This didn''t mean what it seemed to. This would still very much be Ryu''s final life.


    The Path of Reincarnation was a two-way street and Ryu had severed the path that he would need to return to it. But the path moving in the opposite direction was still there. It was just that this path should have been under the complete and undisputed control of the Heavens themselves.


    This was something that stood above Fate and Karma... because Fate and Karma couldn''t even exist unless it was triggered first.


    But it wasn''t Reincarnation either. At the very least, that wasn''t what you should call it. Trying to call it Reincarnation was like trying to call a vehicle by the action one could execute while using it: "driving." It simply didn''t work, and it missed the big picture.


    The Path of Reincarnation was important, but only insofar as it was the ultimate result of this special layer of hidden laws.


    Ryu wanted to call it something like creation, but that didn''t work either. Once again, that was more like describing the action than what the thing was itself.


    It was such a fleeting and hard to grasp. And yet, the moment Ryu felt the slightest edge of it, he knew what it was.


    Once again, everything had brought him back to square one.


    In his vision, a delicate white flame that almost looked like a deformed cotton ball swaying in the air danced in front of his eyes.


    For the longest while, Ryu couldn''t even pronounce the name of this flame. But looking at it right now, he felt that he had the perfect summary of what it was.


    Spark.


    A Spark of Life, an impetus of creation, the starting fuse of reality and the dividing line between a world cascaded by an endless darkness and nothingness... and one filled with thoughts, hopes, souls, and aspirations like this one.


    Without an understanding of this Spark of Life flame, Ryu''s Dao would always be missing something; it would always be somewhat distorted from the strongest path, from the greatest route that he could take.


    Trying to understand everything through Fate and Karma alone was like trying to understand a painting just by its grayscale and shades, ignoring the color or even more fundamentally, the shapes that decided its form.


    The moment Ryu saw the state of the bodies of the Heavenly Warriors, he had grasped this... he came to understand the dividing line between a living thing and a walking corpse.


    Sometimes, that line was often blurred. As early as Sacrum, he had run into individuals capable of breaking what he saw as fundamental laws, like the Path Extinction Realm expert that was able to make corpse puppets think and act for themselves.


    Logically speaking, this should be impossible...


    But now... it all made sense to him.


    This white flame was the magic touch that separated the power of the Heavens from that of mere mortals.


    There wasn''t anything wrong with Ryu''s Dao. It was fundamentally sound and built upon a strong foundation. But it was just lacking one very thing.


    The issue was that... Ryu didn''t have any method of incorporating this into his Dao.


    This white flame was an external item, and if he could have comprehended this Spark of Life, The would have already done so.


    Ironically, for the first time in his life, Ryu had received enlightenment on the fact that it was impossible for him to reach enlightenment.


    Well... there was one way... and that was probably to take a step that no one wanted to see more than the Phoenix Sky God themselves.


    If Ryu took this flame into his Perfect Blackbody Soul, his main pair of Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils would gain this ability. By then, the things that were impossible to see through for him would become as clear as day.


    But... doing so would completely eliminate his last path of retreat.


    He had already relied on the Phoenix Sky God to rebuild his Bone Structure and rise to a whole new level.


    But ultimately, his Bone Structure was just a piece of his body. It wasn''t as integral to him as his soul was, and in the worst-case scenario, it could be abandoned. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His soul, however...


    There would be no going back.


    The real reason Ryu was standing in such a daze was because he seemed to stand at a


    crossroad of two paths.


    Down one direction, there was this white flame, incorporating it into his body and reaching the level of Dao that he had always been striving for.


    Down the other direction... was to rebuild a completely new Dao from scratch down an entirely different path.

 Chapter 2098: Choice (2)

    Chapter 2098: Choice (2)For Ryu to be stuck in a daze for so long, one could imagine that he had yet to make a decision. With his speed of thought, the pause that had given Old Wan the chance to attack him might as well have been years.


    Ryu had always loved his Dao. The choice to give it up for a new one wasn''t easy. But at the same time, while the gamble to use his Living Spiritual Foundation to trigger his Bone Structure reformation was one he felt that he could still win, this path was like giving over his life to the Phoenix Sky God on a silver platter.


    It might even be the case that all along... this was precisely what the Phoenix Sky God wanted him to do.


    But, there was another thing to consider as well. Ryu now knew that at some point in the distant future, his future self returned to play the role of Ancestor to the Zu.


    Right now, he still didn''t know exactly why that was, but the odds that his future self had played a role in the reason his Perfect Blackbody Soul was stored away in the Death Shrine were incredibly high.


    The question was... why?


    Unfortunately, Ryu felt that he could make a solid argument for both sides.


    Maybe his future self had wanted to protect his Perfect Blackbody Soul so that he could use it right here and now to absorb this Spark of Life.


    But then on the other hand...


    Maybe his future self hadn''t wanted him to have his Perfect Blackbody Soul until after he realized that the Phoenix Sky God was a danger to him. After all, Ryu hadn''t found his Perfect Blackbody Soul until after the backlash the Phoenix Sky God gave him for trying to communicate with his old Spiritual Foundation.


    It was only after that event that Ryu became clear of the fact that the Phoenix Sky God was likely not his friend and just might still be alive to this day.


    If this latter case was true, then his future self probably only wanted him to use his Perfect Blackbody Soul to absorb the Spacetime Silver Star and build a different Dao based on it, avoiding the path the Phoenix Sky God wanted him to take.


    Both sides could be easily argued, and they both had incredibly strong points.


    Ryu took a deep breath as though his body wasn''t rotting from the inside out.


    At this point, he had still yet to speak those words to Old Wan, weighing the decision in his head time and time again.


    But then he thought of a profound question.


    If he rebuilt his Dao, what path would he even take?


    There was no path of comprehension that could even remotely match the path that he was on now. So building a new Dao based on bolstering his comprehension abilities like he had this time would be foolish of him. He would just be creating an inferior product.


    So whatever Dao he forged would have to take a completely different direction.


    There were many paths to take, ones of Attack, of Defense, of Control...


    Maybe this might not be so bad. After all, even without his Dao, the natural ability of his eyes to comprehend things would still be quite potent. At that point, maybe he could have the best of both worlds, a powerful comprehension ability and a powerful "insert Dao here."


    But...


    Ryu had built too many things on his Dao. He had so many Dao Methods already, many of which he had spent years refining for them to reach their current strength.


    And how long would it take to rebuild his Dao? What would even happen with this Tribulation if he chose to take such a path? Would he have to try and squeeze through a victory first, and then rebuild his Dao after the fact? But would he even be able to survive?


    Ryu dismissed the thought. He wouldn''t make his decision based on that.


    This would be his final life. If he made a decision about the future of his cultivation based on immediate life and danger, maybe it would be smart, but it would be completely unsatisfactory to him.


    His path to the peak of the world wouldn''t be decided by a moment of weakness. He refused. And it seemed with that thought alone, Ryu had already made his decision.


    If the Phoenix Sky God wanted to dance, then they would dance.


    Ryu''s comprehension was too important to him. In fact, it was the only reason he could even stand here and think of all these things. Without it, he probably still wouldn''t know or understand the true reality of the white flame and what it represented. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without his comprehension, he wouldn''t be able to have ten Bone Structures. Without his comprehension, he wouldn''t be able to make such perfect use of his Soul Natures. Without his comprehension, he wouldn''t have formed so many Dao Methods so quickly.


    He had managed to do all of this with what he considered to be an incomplete Dao...


    So what would he be able to accomplish once it was?


    At that moment, the flame deep within Ryu''s eyes flickered, and from the depths of his Spiritual Sea, he allowed his Perfect Blackbody to swallow it whole.


    From the moment he had been forced to accept the Phoenix Sky God Spiritual Foundation due to the interference of the Martial Gods, he had been set on this path. It was inevitable that he would walk down this path and reach this stage.


    He had already known it before. That was the real reason he hadn''t allowed his soul to break into the Lord Realm ahead of time. He had known that this moment was coming all along.


    And now that his Soul Natures were all cemented before the formation of his Lordship, he could feel the world so much more clearly.


    Control.


    He could finally see it now. The path to recultivation.

 Chapter 2099 Go On

    ?Chapter 2099 Go On


    Ryu''s aura only seemed to change slightly. It was so subtle that maybe only he seemed to understand the difference. But that was nothing more than the start.


    There was a slight rumble that came from Ryu''s body and his Dao broke through, piercing the veil of the peak of the world and then transcending to Lordship.


    The feeling wasn''t as resounding a difference as one might expect. At the very least, for a Dao that broke through the glass ceiling of a world this powerful and progressed to the Lord Grade at the same time, it shouldn''t have been so hard to grasp and


    sense...


    But it was precisely because it was so difficult to grasp that it was so powerful. Right now, Ryu''s Dao seemed to have hardly increased in strength at all. And yet, by extension, it had become entirely unfathomable.


    The only one who seemed to sense the change was Old Wan himself. Realizing that something had gone wrong, he exploded into a retreat, shooting back with so much speed that the two Heavenly Warriors in the vicinity shattered to pieces.


    The sudden change in Old Wan''s display of strength caused Aika''s heart to break all the more. She had already realized that there was already no going back... even when Ryu was attacked, there was still some justification for it. After all, if Ryu was truly lying all the while, then why wouldn''t Old Wan attack him?


    But now, there was no doubt at all...


    There was no reason for Old Wan to be hiding so much of his power unless everything Ryu had said was true. Or more accurately... if everything she had been speculating was true.


    From start to finish, Ryu had never truly explained himself, he couldn''t be bothered to. Now, though... that meant that Aika had come to all the proper conclusions herself.


    The last vestiges of the man she had once known shattered in her mind.


    The three of them had all grown up together. They had watched their Sect be destroyed together. They had all gone through pain and strife for a hope at one day reversing things...


    Aika had truly hoped against hope that she was still seeing things wrongly, that there was some explanation she hadn''t thought of that would vindicate both Ryu and Old Wan, some misunderstanding...


    But now she knew that there was none.


    ...


    Ryu''s gaze slowly gained a sharpness to them that seemed to pierce through the veil of all that was.


    Sweeping changes were occurring inside of his body, but mainly to his Inner World. It seemed to have truly become a world of its own where the Heavens were none other than Ryu himself.


    A single droplet of Embryonic Qi rippled through Ryu''s body and all of a sudden, his heavy injuries were vanishing in the blink of an eye. But it wasn''t just that they were vanishing...


    But that Ryu was actually somehow growing back even stronger.


    The process of improvement through the use of Embryonic Qi had always been slow going for Ryu for the same reasons it was a struggle for him to heal properly from time to time.


    For one, the Fate his Embryonic Qi was tied to, and his own Fate by comparison of it, created this push and pull effect where Ryu wasn''t in perfect control of all the happenings.


    There was a long time where Ryu''s Embryonic Qi took years before Ryu could experience its real healing effects, and the same was true for his wives that practiced Taboo Arts.


    This trouble was mitigated after Ryu gained the ability to connect to the Fates of different worlds, pulling Embryonic Qi from stronger worlds with strong qi, or worlds that had Fates that were more aligned with his path, thus smoothing over the process.


    But now...


    Ryu''s second pair of Meridians rumbled, a large gushing of Embryonic Qi coming out from him in a wellspring that replaced his previous Embryonic Qi. And this time, with just a single drop, it was as though Ryu had been completely reborn.


    The hole in Ryu''s chest closed in the blink of an eye, the black veins crawling across his body receding as golden veins seemed to race to eat them up.


    When the last of the black veins vanished, the golden veins slowly receded, leaving behind skin so soft and supple it practically reminded one of a cloud of cotton.


    The ragged remnants of Ryu''s robes flapped in the wind as his hair danced along with


    it.


    Despite the power rippling from Old Wan''s explosive retreat, Ryu''s body reacted as though it had just been buffeted by a normal gust of wind. Even as the blood from the Heavenly Warriors splattered around, Ryu himself was entirely untouched.


    Ryu took a breath and the world around him seemed to breathe as well. High above, the Heavenly Wrath Tribulation wavered as though it was about to be forcefully suppressed before it came back with an even more violet vengeance.


    Flashes of lightning arched through the skies, looking like chained dragons that


    G


    0


    0


    wanted to unleash their fury onto the world before. But they were being restrained by something that most couldn''t understand.


    It didn''t look like external forces were restraining it, but rather that the Heavens


    themselves were.


    Rules. Fairness. Law.


    Staring up at the skies, Ryu''s lip couldn''t help but curl. There was a time in his life when he thought that the Heavens were truly unfair. As he grew, he realized that they had the same rules for everyone.


    Maybe from certain perspectives they could be unfair. But no one could accuse the Heavens of not equally screwing everybody at some point or another in their lives. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the Heavens restraining themselves now from unleashing what would certainly be an even stronger Tribulation, Ryu could only find it amusing.


    A blade suddenly tried to attack Ryu from the back, but before it could even get very close, the blade wielder was shredded to pieces.


    After abandoning his legion, it was only natural that they follow up by coming to this region. Now, they were trying to surround both Old Wan and Ryu. Although Old Wan could have easily dealt with them, he was hoping to use them to slow down Ryu to at least a small extent. However, the Heavenly Warriors couldn''t even touch Ryu before they were shredded apart by Ryu''s Cosmos Fog.


    The grey fog carried a Primordial character, so heavy and dense that it almost reminded one of Infinity Mist. And in truth, when rays of light hit it just the right way, there were odd hints of blue to it that didn''t seem natural.


    The moment the Heavenly Warriors touched this fog, the droplets tore through them as though each individual particle carried the weight of a world concentrated into a


    tiny dot.


    Ryu didn''t even move, his expression calm as ever as his head turned toward Old Wan''s retreating figure.


    "Your chance to run was long before I returned. But you chose to stay here, hoping to use me to deal with my father. You think yourself to be so clever... how about you use


    that mind of yours to realize that you''re trapped?"


    Ryu took a step forward and the Cosmos Fog around him spun. Just hovering there silently, it already shredded through the Heavenly Warriors foolish enough to run into it, even attacks from afar were torn to pieces.


    All the while, Ryu remained unhindered.


    The color of his Cosmos Fog suddenly changed and from a subtle blue, a subtle


    green-gold took


    form.


    With another step, Ryu''s body truly became akin to a wind. Wrapped in his Cosmos


    Fog, he appeared before Old Wan in an instant, almost carelessly patting at the air


    with a palm.


    BANG!


    Old Wan was sent flying, his chest collapsing in a cave of bone and gore.


    He fell from the skies like a meteor, and to add insult to injury, the waves of Heavenly Warriors rushed after him, raining down attacks.


    The color of Ryu''s Cosmos Fog changed again. He aimed a palm downward, his expression indifferent.


    A pulse of golden light gathered on his hand before it suddenly erupted, tearing through the skies in a laser beam of gold.


    Old Wan was pierced right through so fast that his downward speed didn''t even increase. It was as though his body was as thin and sparse as the wind around it.


    BOOM!


    Old Wan crashed into the ground with such force that the wave of earth took out several Heavenly Warriors, crushing them in exchange for the shattering of every bone in his body.


    The world trembled every time Ryu took a step as though it could no longer withstand


    his presence.


    Old Wan coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body shuddering as he tried to push


    himself up. Even now, his eyes were cold and emotionless.


    Ryu smiled. "Go on. Show me why you still think you have a chance to survive."


    Old Wan didn''t say a word, but he obliged.


    The world rippled around him as starlight began to collect.


    WHOOSH!


    An enormous Domain Board covered the Seventh Heaven.

 Chapter 2100 Try Again

    ?Chapter 2100 Try AgainRyu stood high in the skies with his hands clasped behind his back and his aura surging. His Cosmos Fog billowed around him, for from time to time, it would grow so thick that nothing more than a pair of hovering silver eyes could be seen, shining so brightly that it cut even through this Primordial Fog.


    The Domain Board encapsulated the world and Ryu could feel the laws of reality bending, being forced to adhere to a new set of rules set by Old Wan himself.


    The Dao surged and fused with this Dao Method, combining into one to a heart-shuddering momentum...


    That immediately shattered.


    Old Wan''s pupils shook as his Dao tried to influence jurisdiction over Ryu and the area around him. They had only slightly come into contact with the Cosmos Fog before they collapsed, shredding themselves to pieces.


    Old Wan stumbled back, coughing up a mouthful of blood. The blood came out foul and black, and his body seemed to have lost tens of pounds in the blink of an eye.


    "This?" Ryu looked around him, feeling partly amused.


    Trying to set new rules of reality while his Cosmos Fog was active was like smashing an egg onto a rock.


    What Old Wan had built his entire Dao on was just a small branch of Ryu''s own. Maybe if his Dao had been more powerful in this focused niche, it would have had a great effect.


    But right now?


    There was only really one outcome to be seen from all of this.


    Ryu reached out a palm again before slowly condensing a fist. His Cosmos Fog tinged blue and concentrated into a point, forming a lance so large it looked like it was


    meant to drill through a city rather than a single man.


    The drill of Cosmos Fog rotated once and space shook before was forcefully condensed by Ryu''s might.


    BANG!


    The lance shot forward, appearing before Old Wan in the blink of an eye. Everywhere it passed, the remnants of Old Wan''s Dao Method were shredded to pieces.


    The tip of the lance cut into Old Wan''s body, the weight of a world falling down on him from above in a suffocating momentum.


    Sparks flew as Old Wan seemed to put up some token resistance.


    For the first time, there seemed to be some true panic in Old Wan''s eyes. But all of this was relative. At most, his pupils were trembling, but the expression he carried still seemed to be one of silence and stoicism.


    However, even after the third attempt he made at dealing with the drill failed, he seemed to realize something...


    Ryu could have killed him already.


    "Did you only just now realize?" Ryu asked calmly. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    CHI! CHI! CHI!


    The drill rotated again and Old Wan''s hands shattered into a bloody mist. And yet, somehow, the region around his chest was hardly touched other than a single line of blood coming from the shallow, skin-deep wound.


    It was a shocking amount of Control, one that Old Wan had no way of explaining at all. It was just what Ryu had said....


    He had reached a level that Old Wan couldn''t even begin to fathom.


    The lance shuddered and then rose up. Old Wan found himself forcefully attached to


    it, unable to extricate himself. His body hung dangling, armless and listless.


    A Heavenly Warrior "suddenly" made it through and pierced their weapon through Old Wan''s body before they shattered.


    Then came another, stabbing once again before the pressure in the region crushed them.


    As the lance shrunk down from its enormous size, Old Wan''s body was stabbed through again and again, blackened blood rolling down his body.


    Soon, the lance was no different from the size of a normal one and Ryu carelessly held onto its handle as though it didn''t carry a shocking amount of density to it.


    "I see. You''re like that one..." Ryu said slowly.


    He still hadn''t forgotten about the man who stole Nemesis away. There would certainly be hell to pay for that as well. What pains he had suffered was just the beginning.


    But Ryu didn''t expect that Old Wan would be hiding away Corpse Poison in his body as well. It seemed that even when he overestimated what sort of vile existence Old Wan was, he had still undershot it.


    The sort of things someone would have to do to unlock Corpse Poison was akin to making it certain that you could no longer be counted among humans.


    You were nothing more than a vile creature, a spawn of hatred forged from your own sick, twisted desire for power and control.


    You were a cancer, a blight on the wall.


    "Oh... so you know what this is..." Old Wan said slowly.


    It was the first time he had spoken in this battle, and it was immediately obvious why the moment he did. There was a gravelly texture to his voice that was no longer


    normal.


    A power energy erupted from Old Wan...


    Only to be ruthlessly suppressed in the next instant.


    Old Wan coughed out a mouthful of blood, a terrible backlash rattling his brain.


    "So this is what you wanted to rely on?" Ryu asked. "Truthfully, it might actually be a little bit interesting to try and refine a corpse with so much Corpse Poison in it. I can''t. be bothered to form Corpse Poison myself, but this might be a little interesting, no?"


    "You... how..."


    "How? Well, you don''t really need to know more than I''ve already told you. Usually, I really don''t like repeating myself, but I''m also a hypocrite who loves that look on your


    face.


    "Like I said already..." Ryu''s gaze sharpened. "I''m on a level right now that the likes of


    you cannot


    fathom."


    The lance rotated once again and blood flew out from the many wounds on Old Wan''s


    body.


    "You... have... no idea... what... you''re doing..." Old Wan wheezed out.


    "I don''t? I''m pretty sure I''m in the process of torturing you. Isn''t that obvious enough?"


    A flash of rage sparked in Old Wan''s eyes. He knew that Ryu understood exactly what he meant, but he was being purposely obtuse because he didn''t care about Old Wan''s thoughts and emotions on the matter. He just wanted to watch the man suffer.


    The fact that Ryu had run into more than one Corpse Poison wielder in his lifetime was enough to point out that there was certainly an issue here.


    Though two was only enough for a coincidence, Ryu was also someone who could see through Fate and Karma...


    So he could feel the link between Silent Quibus and Old Wan quite clearly.


    Well, he had only been able to feel it after he fused with the Spark of Life Flame, but


    the when no longer mattered.


    Whatever connected Old Wan and Silent Quibus was definitely not normal. There was surely something nefarious playing behind the scenes. It was just that...


    Ryu didn''t give a damn.


    How large was Existence? There were probably dozens of hidden organizations like


    this one. What was he supposed to do? Care about each one of them? He didn''t care enough about the common people to step out of his way to do that.


    Unless they ended up being affiliated with enemies he had already sworn to wipe out, or they touched his bottom line, he would be fine to leave them to their own devices...


    After he ruthlessly tortured Silent Quibus, that is.


    Of course, as with all things in the world, matters would rarely be so simple. Even if he didn''t care enough to go after them, that didn''t mean that they wouldn''t deem to do


    the exact opposite.


    But whether that mattered to him or not was another matter entirely.


    Ryu held up Old Wan whose body was covered in black veins by now. "If things continue like this, you''re going to die before I finish having my fun." Ryu


    shook his head. "Can''t you hold up for a little while longer? How am I going to refine


    you into a living Corpse Puppet if you die now?"


    Old Wan grit his teeth, trying to struggle free, but it was entirely to no avail. His


    struggles only seemed to make Ryu feel more amused.


    "You have no idea what you''ve done!" Old Wan roared.


    "You already said that." Ryu replied.


    "I swear I''ll rip you to pieces!"


    "And... hear me out for a second because I have a feeling that you''re a little slow in the


    head... but how are you going to do that?"


    Old Wan roared in fury to the skies, billowing black fog coming out of him as


    numerous summoning gates formed...


    Only to be ruthlessly suppressed.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry," Ryu said with a shake of his head. "Here, how about you try


    again. I won''t stop you this time. Promise."


    Tears of blood ran down Old Wan''s face. He had never felt so aggrieved in his lifetime.


    CRACK.


    His soul suddenly shattered.

 Chapter 2101 I Swear - I Swear - I Swear

    ?Chapter 2101 I Swear - I Swear - I SwearRyu shook his head. "It''s not going to be that easy."


    He reached out with a free hand and grasped at the air. A strong constraining force formed in the region as the Cosmos Fog flared out, solidifying into Divine Chains.


    At that moment, invisible sparks of Spiritual Quintessence were forcefully condensed and the countless pieces of Old Wan''s soul were pulled together until they were trapped into a small, vaguely humanoid form.


    As early as the pre-Sky God Realms, a soul should have already gained its final form. But the fact that Old Wan''s was only vaguely humanoid and not entirely so painted a different sort of picture.


    The man had several heads coming out of his soul, grotesque, cancerous growths pulsing like flesh inflamed flesh across it. One''s soul was meant to be the truest reflection of one''s self, and it was often the purest part of the body.


    But for a wielder of Corpse Poison, it would be the reflection of all their wrongs. Just the appearance of the soul itself was enough to make people keel over and gag. Even Ryu''s own disgust was on full display.


    Not wanting to look at it anymore, the chains rippled and Old Wan''s body was wrapped by them, forcing his soul back into his body. And now, with the Divine Chains present, there was no chance at all to escape with his soul once more.


    Old Wan tried to break free of the chains several times, even self-destructing his own soul again in a bid to escape, but everything failed.


    With every new idea that was ruthlessly shot down, it felt like he was watching all his ambitions light up in flames.


    To make matters worse, everyone had seen his true face now.


    There was no denying the form his soul had taken. No amount of in-built trust or years of manipulation could hide what he had become. Even those that didn''t know of what Corpse Poison was would likely never trust Old Wan in their lives again.


    There was an ingrained disgust for such an aura that couldn''t be explained in just a few words. This was instinct....


    Beneath the chaos, there was a single hollow echo of laughter that almost no one heard.


    Samson, leaning against the Sect walls on his last breath, was the one who laughed this sad chuckle.


    Although he had never truly sided with Old Wan or co-signed his actions, his inaction might as well have been an endorsement.


    Many people heard throughout their lives about matters like this one... how it was never the perpetrators who carried the sole blame, but how those that sat by and watched deserved just as much culpability.


    In truth, Ryu would never cosign such a thing. He didn''t feel a need to beg Samson to stand on his side or not be a fence-sitter. He always planned to get revenge for himself and his wife personally.


    Even so, that didn''t mean that he would accept Samson''s actions either. When he did things, he acted based on his own moral compass. The world was filled with way too many shades of grey. He was too focused on reaching the top of the world and didn''t. have the patience to care or consider the points of views of others.


    As such, though he didn''t bring Samson along to experience the same Fate as Old Wan, he didn''t plan on sparing him either.


    What maybe no one expected, though, was for Samson to raise a palm to his head and shatter his own skull and soul before Ryu''s blow could take his life... the last bitter chuckle hanging in the air for only a moment before the booming cadence of the Tribulations above swallowed them up.


    Ryu''s gaze swept down from Old Wan to the now headless man below. He didn''t react much to this at all, but at the very least, in his heart, he gave Samson a slight tick upward.


    As for how useful that was... it wasn''t at all. The man was already dead and there was no coming back.


    "SAMSON!" Old Wan''s roar layered with the voices of thousands. Some were the voices of women, some of children, and some of men with both high and low pitched cadence. It sounded less like a single man had spoken, and more like an entire stadium of people had roared out.


    The fury and sadness of Old Wan''s voice sounded real. But whether it was or not... Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care very much, even when tears began to stream down Aika''s face.


    Both Aika and Ryu knew quite well that it wasn''t just because he was embarrassed that Samson had done this. Taking his own life also gave Aika her own way out. It was a way to justify it to her in case she really wanted to follow Ryu after all of this.


    It was clear and obvious that whatever chance the Radiance Star Sect had left would be on Ryu''s shoulders. At the end of the day... he was still their Throne.


    It was also precisely that that made Ryu''s victory against Old Wan so shocking. As a Throne, Ryu was able to use his Throne status to suppress those of the Sect. Old Wan was probably prepared for such a thing, but... Ryu had no need of his Throne to deal with the likes of him.


    Rvu turned his attention away from the dead Samson toward the writhing Old Wan. He seemed to have truly lost his mind, even going as far as to try and use his teeth to take a bite out of Ryu''s neck.


    "I almost don''t want to turn you into a Corpse Puppet. Wouldn''t that be a stain on my name? But I''m also a man of my word."


    Ryu smiled as the lance dispersed from his hands.


    He pressed his two palms together before his aura surged.


    The chains around Old Wan constricted and clamped down, suffocating his airways S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    and Meridians. Even his blood didn''t flow as he wanted to.


    "Tell you what. Maybe I won''t ever use you as one of my puppets. What do you think? Would that make you feel better or worse?"


    Old Wan snarled at Ryu, the veins in his eyes having turned entirely black.


    "A damning non-answer if I''ve ever heard one." Ryu clicked his tongue as his vision blurred. Soon, he had sights on Old Wan''s Fate Star and he was planning on using the Bloodline Refinement method as well. After all, Old Wan''s Bloodline should be decent as he had at least half of the Dual Radiance Bloodline, the very Bloodline Aika was born with both halves of


    Old Wan''s Fate Star, though...


    It wasn''t a star at all. It was a dense blackhole that seemed to have lost all life, and yet carried such strong suction forces that Ryu''s consciousness was almost torn out of his


    body.


    ''Interesting... is this because of Corpse Poison? Or is it because of something else...''


    Suddenly, Ryu was a bit eager to try.


    ''No, something feels off. This won''t work properly!''


    The methods documented in the human skin Tome couldn''t seem to properly latch on


    here.


    ''Interesting. This is related to the Chaotic Reincarnation that triggers the appearance of Corpse Poison. So the refinement method isn''t perfect... but...''


    The Nether Spiritual Quintessence in Ryu''s Spiritual Sea churned. He hadn''t used it much since he got it, but now he seemed to have found the perfect opportunity to do


    exactly that.


    The Fate Blackhole pulsed out, nearly blasting Ryu''s soul apart. But Ryu only grinned when the faint cracks appeared across his Perfect Blackbody Soul. These injuries were


    nothing at all.


    BOOM!


    A white flame danced in the depths of Ryu''s eyes as he rapidly changed the foundations of the Refinement technique in real-time. His mind moved far faster than his hands despite the latter leaving nothing but blurs and afterimages in their wake.


    Everything flowed so smoothly that even Ryu himself almost couldn''t believe just how


    easy it all was.


    There was a shudder across time and space before Old Wan''s body began to convulse. Soon, the roars of fury and sadness became ones of pain and rage. "Don''t let me get my hands on you, RYU TATSUYA! I swear, I swear, I swear-!"


    Old Wan''s curses filled the skies, but with every moment, his life only further slipped


    away.

 Chapter 2102: Shadow

    Chapter 2102: ShadowThe screams and roars of Old Wan slowly faded until there was nothing left but a black husk. Ryu was quite surprised by the result as well. He had only tweaked the method so that it would work on Old Wan''s Fate Blackhole. But it had turned him into... something that was once again only vaguely humanoid.


    This time, it wasn''t because there were cancerous growths or anything of the sort, but rather because Old Wan just looked like a three-dimensional shadow. And yet, it ironically felt as though he had no depth to him at all, as though he was just a representation of nothingness pinned directly into the middle of the world.


    Ryu removed his chains from around Old Wan''s body, but the shadowy figure instantly thrust a palm that turned into an ax mid-air right at him.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow before casually flicking the ax away with a finger. There was a clash that resonated through the air as though two blades had collided, and then Old Wan stumbled a step backward.


    ''Oh?''


    Looking down at his finger, Ryu was a bit surprised. There was a nick there. But with Old Wan''s current strength, there was no way that he should be able to injure him at all. This was a bit of a shock for Ryu.


    What was also interesting was that this shadow should be his Corpse Puppet right now. It was refined by Ryu, and it should have his soul imprint on it. In fact, after double-checking, Ryu was certain that his soul imprint was indeed there.


    But his own Corpse Puppet still wanted to attack him?


    ''Fascinating.''


    After failing the first attack, the shadow actually got down to one knee and bowed to Ryu respectfully.


    ''So this is the opposite of Embryonic Qi...''


    Ryu circulated a droplet of Embryonic Qi to his figure to counter the Corpse Poison.


    However, he was far more interested in this Old Wan shadow''s reaction. First it attacks him, then it professes its loyalty?


    Ryu chuckled. "You want to devour me? I guess that makes sense. You''re nothing but a bundle of instinct. I see... I''ve stumbled into a new form of Corpse Refinement..."


    The key to the difference here wasn''t the Fate Blackhole, or at least not directly. Instead, it was the Corpse Poison.


    Old Wan now was a lot like the Heavenly Warriors, a bundle of instincts that had a soul, but only in part. The difference was that Heavenly Warriors were likely refined from Embryonic Qi... while Old Wan was the opposite.


    The question was, was it worth it? Should Ryu try to refine Kira and Blue once again using Embryonic Qi?


    ''Hm...''


    There would definitely be trade-offs. The Corpse Puppet wouldn''t necessarily be stronger, and there would always be a hidden danger when controlling too many of them.


    The main benefit of this refinement method was that the load of computation was taken off of the Necromancer''s hands... But Ryu''s computation was his best ability. The number of Corpse Puppets he would be able to control in the future, coupled with the fine detail he would be able to control them with, would set him far apart even from his own wife.


    Eliminating the chance to use that was more foolish than not for him.


    The only reason he wanted to make Summons at all at this point instead of focusing entirely on Corpse Puppets was because of their strong Dao Hearts. That was the offsetting measure that made them worthwhile.


    But obviously, this method wouldn''t have that.


    ''This method does have potential, though... if I investigate it some more, I might be able to find something interesting that''s worth keeping. I know too little about Corpse Poison to make a proper assessment, while Embryonic Qi is still a mystery I have to delve into.''


    It wasn''t lost on Ryu that he had an entire half of his Meridian System that he didn''t quite understand. Was all his second set of Meridians really capable of just producing Embryonic Qi? Or were there other secrets he didn''t understand?


    The answer was possibly no. But he would have to investigate it first to find out.


    "Alright." Ryu said slowly, exhaling a breath and looking up to the skies. "Go wipe out this wave. I have more dancing clowns to embarrass."


    The shadow flickered, its body concentrating into a beam of black that shot over the horizon. It appeared on the battlefield of the Chaotic Space Sky God, ripping through the Heavenly Warriors as though they were nothing more than plastic dolls.


    This shadow wasn''t much stronger than Old Wan. In fact, because it lacked the man''s Dao and Dao Methods, it was actually weaker.


    But this just went to show just how much strength Old Wan had been hiding...


    And also just how much stronger Ryu himself had become.


    In front of him, even this level of strength was nothing more than a joke. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, all the Heavenly Warriors were wiped out.


    "Let them fight the Aspirants. I want to see how they do." Ryu said with a smile.


    The shadow flickered and vanished, returning to Ryu''s side and then vanishing into Ryu''s own shadow.


    ''Oh?'' Ryu raised an eyebrow but he didn''t say much.


    It hadn''t literally vanished into his shadow, it had instead just made it seem like that. But what it had done was slip between the layers of space and time, nestling itself in there.


    Ryu felt amused by the antics of the shadow. It seemed to have a personality of its own, which


    was...


    Odd.


    The more curious Ryu became, the more he wondered if he should make an enemy out of this organization just so that he could experiment some more with the Corpse Puppets he could form out of them.


    As he was lost in thought, the battle between the Chaotic Space and Black Worm Sky Gods against the Aspirants erupted.


    The third Aspirant, formed from Old Wan''s legion, was easily caught by Ryu so as not to interfere with their battle.


    "Can''t you see they''re doing their best? Don''t interrupt them."


    Though Ryu was joking around, he really was evaluating their performance.


    After all, he had to decide whether they were worthy of being his Corpse Puppets or not.

 Chapter 2103 Odd

    ?Chapter 2103 OddRyu observed the battle in silence for a long while.


    ''Odd...''


    Ryu''s gaze became entirely focused on Chaotic Space after a while. He gazed toward the man, feeling that there was something that was a bit off.


    According to his assumptions, Chaotic Space should have Chaotic Silk Meridians. But Ryu couldn''t sense such a thing.


    To be fair, this was the first time Ryu was actually seeing the man in person. But by extension, it was even weirder that Chaotic Space would be willing to hand out these Meridians to his disciples, but have nothing to do with them himself.


    I''m also fairly certain that he said he had these Meridians himself. So why would he bother to lie about such a thing?"


    Ryu''s gaze shifted away from Chaotic Space and landed on Black Worm.


    If anything, the man truly lived up to his name. His abilities were concentrated in his body, and his recovery abilities were frightening considering its ratio to his power. Of course, nothing would be able to match up to Ryu who literally had Embryonic Qi in his body. But the fact that Black Worm''s recovery abilities could intrigue him spoke for itself.


    However, that was all.


    Whether it was Black Worm or Chaotic Space, neither was really worth Ryu''s time. From what Ryu could tell, Chaotic Space was trying to create a Dao that could replace the function of Chaotic Silk Meridians. Maybe the reason he had never fused was because he was looking for a way to trigger his own, not much unlike how Ryu had triggered the blessing of so many Meridians.


    It was an interesting path, but after not grasping it for so long, he probably never would. Ryu could guess that Chaotic Space was probably hoping that his breakthrough into Dao Godhood would be what he needed to leap over that final hurdle. But Ryu knew that it wouldn''t be enough.


    The man''s comprehension wasn''t nearly deep enough for any of that.


    And honestly speaking, even if Chaotic Space was able to do it...


    So what? S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu didn''t have much interest in having a Corpse Puppet that shared his own Meridians. One access point to two access points to nigh infinite qi didn''t make much of a difference to Ryu at all.


    The qi of a Corpse Puppet would always come from its master. That was one of the key


    differences between Corpse Puppets and Summons. Even if Chaotic Space had control of a gateway, it would be marginally casier.


    Ryu could imagine a situation where turning Chaotic Space into a General of his Corpse Puppet army or something of the sort might allow for easier connectivity between the rest of his Corpse Puppets, especially as their numbers began to reach the astronomical margins of his wife.


    But, in order for that idea to work maximally, there would have to be more than one Chaotic Space. It would have to be organized a lot like a real army, where there would be a General like Chaotic Space to every few thousand Corpse Puppets.


    Ryu could see a world where that would be very useful, using these Chaotic Space puppets as jump points for his Chaos Qi and using them to fuel larger numbers of Corpse Puppets with greater fluidity and efficiency...


    But there was only one Chaotic Space.


    Ryu couldn''t be bothered to care. With a wave of his hand, a bow appeared.


    Chaotic Space didn''t even sense the danger coming. He had been paying attention to his surroundings, but for some reason, Ryu seemed to have disappeared at that moment.


    If one looked in his direction, they would see with their eyes that he was very much still there. However, their other senses would pass right through him as though he didn''t exist at all.


    In a casual display, Ryu had displaced his own Karma, ironically creating what could be the foundation for one of the most powerful assassin inheritances in Existence on a


    whim.


    Ryu calmly pulled his grandfather''s bowstring back, releasing with an equally calm exhale.


    The arrow tore through the skies and Chaotic Space suddenly froze.


    Ryu didn''t bother to speak words of subterfuge, he didn''t feel the need to grind Chaotic Space''s loss in his face or remind him of how arrogant he had been in the past.


    When they first met, Ryu rejected this man''s Inheritance because he couldn''t be bothered to care about him. His own pride had always been more important than this man''s existence.


    And now, Ryu couldn''t be bothered to look him in the eye as he died.


    Without so much as another glance, Ryu turned toward Black Worm, pulling his bowstring back.


    If he could share his qi with his Corpse Puppets... why would he care about one that focused on recovery and being an unkillable cockroach? It was entirely worthless to


    him.


    In that case...


    Black Worm could die too.


    A silent arrow streaked through the skies once more and Black Worm froze much like Chaotic Space had.


    The two men stood in the skies for a brief moment, not even reacting as the Aspirant before them hacked them to pieces.


    There was a moment of shock below as these two oligarchs of a generation fell from the skies in bits of flesh, bone, and blood.


    Even when their deaths echoed through the thumps on the ground, no one seemed to know how to react.


    Ryu loosened up his shoulders and limbs, putting his grandfather''s bow away as he stared up to the skies as though the Aspirants weren''t now charging toward him.


    Down below, Aika''s eyes brimmed with tears. Never did she think that... the man that had haunted her nightmares for so very long would die just like that.


    She had thought that with time, she could eventually be the one to claim victory, to finally get revenge for all her dead family and friends. But seeing things end like this, a bitter sweetness seemed to want to erupt from the depths of her throat.


    RUMBLE.

 Chapter 2104 Copy

    ?Chapter 2104 CopyRyu stared into the skies above, seemingly oblivious to Aika''s thoughts and emotions. Calm, he could feel the Tribulation unleashing its truest wrath as the Aspirants were shredded apart by his Cosmos Fog. It seemed that....


    This was where his true Tribulation would begin.


    "Let me see if you''re still able to push me to my limits."


    The arrogance of Ryu''s words caused the skies to rumble once more.


    Four Legions appeared high in the skies and those that hadn''t already understood what was about to happen felt like their worlds were being overturned.


    One Aspirant was already enough to push Black Worm and Chaotic Silk, two men who had pierced the veil to the Dao God Realm, to the limits. As long as they had passed this Tribulation, they would have been able to be respectfully called God by their peers.


    But now, almost 40,000 of them had appeared, looming in the skies with menace as they faced off against a single Ryu.


    Each and every one of these existences represented the strength of a pinnacle genius of this world. And because Ryu had undone the seal, that meant that the standard they were powerful to had also been adjusted.


    This was precisely why Black Worm and Chaotic Space had struggled so much. If it had been geniuses of the standard they were used to, the old rules of the difficulty of jumping realms would still apply.


    Unfortunately for them... they weren''t so lucky.


    Now, Ryu would have to face off against them all alone...


    But that was precisely what he wanted.


    "Come."


    BOOM!


    The four Legions shot forward as though each one was a single man unto themselves. They moved fluidly, and despite being far stronger than the previous Heavenly


    Warriors, that didn''t seem to make them any more arrogant.


    They were tools, cogs in the Heaven''s wheel, and they acted like it.


    A fiendish grin spread across Ryu''s face. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    JIJI.


    The sound of the very laws of reality being ground to dust suddenly sounded.


    Ryu''s Cosmos Fog shook, locking itself into the hidden runes of the world and savagely


    twisting,


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The first line of the Legions crossed into Ryu''s domain and found themselves ground to ash.


    Ryu''s grin widened as he shot forward, his speed leaving blurring lines in his wake as he slashed outward.


    His arms were moving before the great swordstaffs even fully formed in his palms. But by the time his slash finished, not only had they appeared, but their majesty seemed to have touched on a new tier of existence.


    Everywhere Ryu moved, death followed. His gaze darted back and forth, scanning everything so perfectly that not a single matter escaped his notice. There was a certain fluidity and confidence to his actions that made it feel as though he could peer into the very future itself.


    And that was no doubt true.


    His prediction abilities, especially against Heavenly Warriors, felt too perfect. They were cogs in a wheel, but it was also precisely because of that that Ryu could see through them as though he was just opening the pages of a book.


    Ryu''s wild laughter filled the skies as his Cosmos Fog shifted and changed to his whims, mapping onto his Natural Treasures and tapping into a great deal of their power.


    Ryu''s Cosmos Fog was the secret to being able to separate himself from the Heavens and build his own. By comparison, his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation always had the ability to copy and replicate.


    When Ryu thought about it, he realized that this ability to copy by his Spiritual Foundation wasn''t some random additional effect. The main purpose of his Spiritual Foundation was to take things beyond Perfect Extreme, and how could it do that if it didn''t have a method of copy and replication?


    It was such an obvious thing that Ryu had never really put into words before... but now that he had, he had another equally as simple thought...


    What if he combined the abilities of his two talents?


    Ryu had already been able to multiply how much Cosmos Fog he had with his Spiritual Foundation in the past. Now, he just went one extra step forward.


    Even if his body couldn''t withstand his Natural Treasure just yet, his Cosmos Fog was about to tap into a full percent of their abilities.


    And that was already enough to make Ryu nigh invincible at the same cultivation


    realm.


    Who cared how many of these Heavenly Warriors there were?


    They could die just the same.


    His Infinity Mist grinded them all to ash as though they had all been put into a millstone. They could hardly deal with the mist itself, let alone the blades that followed


    up.


    CHI. CHI. CHI.


    Ryu moved like a blur, slicing and dicing the Aspirants until he suddenly realized...


    There were none left.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled slowly, his great swordstaffs practically steaming in his hands from all the pressure he had placed on them.


    But steaming was one thing... their level of damage was none at all. In fact, they


    seemed hungry.


    They churned, a peculiar aura coming from them as they fed off of Ryu.


    From time to time, they would nip at his Cosmos Fog, absorbing small pieces of them into themselves before they went dormant again, almost like naughty children snickering in the corner while thinking their parents hadn''t already seen them. Ryu gave his blades a glance but didn''t mind... mostly because he didn''t have the time


    to just yet.


    The auras of the dead Legions rumbled before surging forward.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!.


    Armors constructed themselves in the air until four existences who could only be called demi-gods took shape. Each one was either handsome or beautiful beyond compare, and unlike the others, they actually had faces to them instead of hiding behind heavy sentry helmets.


    All of their eyes locked onto Ryu at once, their valiant auras causing the air to solidify.


    Heavenly Knights had appeared.

 Chapter 2105 All Out

    ?Chapter 2105 All OutRyu rested one of his great swordstaffs on his shoulder, his other pointing toward the ground. He stood in the midst of the four Heavenly Knights as though he was just another one of them, not feeling the oppressive pressure coming from them in the slightest.


    The Knights didn''t move immediately, and their gazes seemed to flicker with extra hints of intelligence. However, not one of them spoke. It even looked as though they were slowly trying to find a weakness for Ryu to take advantage of.


    The tension in the skies increased until one of the two female Knights suddenly exploded forth. In her palms, a great sword manifested from the swirling dark golden energies of the world and she slashed down at Ryu''s neck with all of her might.


    The world couldn''t even keep up, not realizing that it too was meant to be sliced in two even after the blade had appeared right at Ryu''s neck.


    PUCHI!


    The blade cut into Ryu''s skin beneath his narrowed eyes. But he managed to stop it from deepening the wound any further with a raise of his great swordstaff.


    Fast.


    This woman was faster than the laws themselves, embodying such raw speed that reality only caught up several seconds later, only now shredding to pieces.


    Trails of cracked space burst from the path she had just taken and through the curved path of her blade.


    BANG!


    The echo of their blades clashing came moments later.


    Ryu''s torn robes billowed beneath the shockwaves of their attack.


    Suddenly, one of the male Heavenly Knights moved. He was far slower, almost painfully slow compared to the woman, but when his attack descended, Ryu''s pupils constricted.


    The strength was out of this world. Ryu felt that even with his current Bone Structure, facing that attack head-on would take everything he had. But he had yet to activate his Bloodlines or enter his battle state, and he definitely didn''t have the time to do it now. "Truly strong...''


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu raised his blade and erupted with Nine Revolution Skybreaker. His one attack became six before he finally managed to make the Heavenly Knight take a step back. But the rattling in his wrist made him feel like it was on the verge of collapsing. Ryu took advantage of the momentum, shooting backward.


    ''I sec... so this is why they''re so powerful...''


    Knights were a step beyond Aspirants who already had a perfect slate of talents. They would usually have a mutation of some sort that made them particularly strong. The best way Ailsa''s memories described them was like giving an Aspirant with perfect talent a variable like Heavenly Pupils or a special Soul Nature to benefit from.


    In this case, the abilities of these four Knights were shockingly simple... but they were also mind-numbingly effective.


    Speed faster than the laws.


    Strength heavier than the laws.


    Senses so piercing that they couldn''t be fooled.


    Qi control so vast that they never seemed to run out of energy.


    It didn''t take long before Ryu understood all four of their abilities, but that didn''t make them any easier to deal with.


    ''It seems that... I really will have to go all out so early on...''


    Ryu knew that there was one final wave after this one, one where instead of just four


    of these existences, he would be facing almost 40,000 of them.


    He had been looking for a weakness... but now he understood that there was no simple solution to find here.


    The only path forward....


    Was absolute strength.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s Bloodlines erupted, his body shaking as scales surged across his skin. Horns grew from his forehead, piercing toward the skies as wings burst from his back.


    Ryu gained a sharpness to his eyes that wasn''t there before.


    He stomped down and the air beneath his feet seemed to explode as he suddenly left a line of afterimages in his wake.


    He appeared before the speedster, his wings flaring out.


    She calmly tried to retreat, her legs carrying a shocking burst of power to them. Even when Ryu tried to use his Spacetime Soul Nature to extend the space behind her, she always seemed capable of stepping beyond it.


    As he had learned from the very start....


    Her speed was beyond laws, including those of his own.


    That said... it wasn''t beyond Karma and Fate. It was just that Ryu had no casy way of targeting her directly normally.


    But that was what his eyes were for.


    [Fate Reversal].


    The woman had just crossed the barrier of Ryu''s spatial distortion when she suddenly found herself standing in the same spot. She didn''t even have the time to react in


    shock before her head was sent flying into the air.


    Ryu''s eyes left silver streaks in the air as he rapidly turned his head to the side, the large hammer of the strength Knight already tearing into the skin of his back despite still being three meters from touching a hair on his head.


    Ryu stabbed out backward toward the already dead speedster as though he had lost his mind, but the flicker in his eyes told a different tale.


    [Fate Reversal].


    The head of the speedster magically reattached, only to find a blade running right through her body. At the same time, the strength Knight found his head flying into the


    skies.


    Ryu kicked out, sensing the strength Knight flying toward the perception Knight.


    His great swordstaff flickered, deflecting an arrow from the qi Knight and slashing out with his other in one fluid motion.


    A shudder came from Ryu''s Meridians and his eyes flashed.


    [Rob the World of its Color].


    The qi Knight tried to gather energy for a defensive maneuver, only to suddenly find


    all the qi in the world stripped away.


    She was sliced in two without Ryu even paying much attention to her at all.


    Ryu''s body vanished from the bounds of Fate once again, suddenly appearing behind the perception Knight whose vision was obscured by the flying strength Knight.


    PUCHI!


    S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2106 Oh

    ?Chapter 2106 OhRyu''s blade ran right through the body of the perception Knight. He didn''t even understand what happened. His senses were supposed to transcend the laws, and yet...


    He had somehow lost track of Ryu entirely.


    CHI.


    Ryu pulled out his blade, the amusement in his eyes having long faded to be replaced by a hollow coldness.


    His silver eyes shimmered with life and vitality.


    Today, he would show people the might of the number one ranked Heavenly Pupils in existence.


    He, Ryu Tatsuya, could only ever be ranked first. All those that thought he deserved anything less would only face his wrath.


    Rumble.


    The dark gold clouds above shook as Ryu exhaled a steamy breath. Sparks of flames lit in the smoldering heat, dancing like dying embers before vanishing into the howling winds.


    Grey, heavy fog rotated around Ryu in a grinding formation that seemed capable of compressing even a Star into a Blackhole.


    The echoes of Ryu''s raging heartbeat thrummed across the skies as his Blood surged like tsunamis in his veins.


    He held out his great swordstaff, feeling the weight of the world''s expectations.


    He knew that there were quite a number of people watching now. In fact, that number had only, certainly, grown.


    As the commotion grew, and the weight of this Tribulation truly began to set in, this was only the natural course.


    Rumble.


    Then they began to appear.


    The Heavenly Knights took shape one after another, each one carrying auras no less powerful than the four that Ryu had just fought, and their myriad of abilities were even more numerous and unpredictable.


    A solemnness fell over the Radiant Star Sect.


    Ryu''s breathing steadied and his heartbeat seemed to stop for a small moment.


    [Lines of Fate].


    The world turned into bundles of white, grey, and black in his vision.


    The only way he could win this was for every strike to be a death blow. No matter what, he could never use more than a single strike on any one of these 39,996 Heavenly Knights. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In which case...


    [Death Acupoint].


    Ryu''s white hair billowed in the winds as he took a step forward.


    He vanished and he was already at the first line of Knights by the time the location he had just left exploded with a cascading rain of energy and shattered space.


    CHI.


    The head of a Knight flew into the skies.


    "Show me what you have, Heavens. If you let me survive today... I promise you that this will be the last chance you have to kill me."


    Ryu''s arrogant words boomed across the skies.


    The Ninth Heaven was having its own upheaval much like every other Heaven was. However, there was one location that was eerily silent.


    The Martial Gods Domain.


    No one seemed to have reacted to the changes at all, and the heart-shuddering changes to auras and breakthroughs didn''t seem to have begun here at all.


    That said, deep within their territory, hidden away in a location that couldn''t be entered by anyone not of their closest inner circle, there was a gathering.


    Many Martial Gods the True Martial World had simply never seen before or even heard of stood, watching a projection above. As for the person on the other side....


    It was none other than Ryu himself.


    Among this unknown group of Martial Gods, there were a few that were actually the exact opposite... shocking experts whose names resonated so far and wide that their presences alone seemed to cause Fate to churn and spin in their favor.


    In this group, there was Elena''s father... Xalvador.


    Xalvador stood silently with his hands clasped behind his back, several of his wives around him. He stared ahead as though he was looking through the projection rather than at it.


    Even now, his aura was still very much at the Lord Realm. It was odd for a man of his talent, but he hadn''t improved in the slightest in all these years.


    However, judging by the sheer amount of respect he still commanded, this didn''t seem to matter much to those around him at all.


    Not far away, the only one that seemed to have a gaze that flickered with the slightest hint of emotion was Elena herself.


    This matter had triggered entirely unexpectedly. They had been called here to prepare for the Title Stele event when things so suddenly and abruptly changed. And now everyone was silently watching her husband.


    There was a weight on her chest that she couldn''t explain. Too many things had happened in the last several decades that she couldn''t even begin to wrap her head around, and now it just felt like it was much too late to reverse things. However, as she stared at Ryu, her apprehension began to slowly wind down.


    Trust.


    She could still recall Ryu''s smile when she tried to beg him to turn away from the Martial Gods and to just let things go. She had really thought that he would die that day... but he didn''t.


    This time, her apprehension wasn''t because of the Tribulation that Ryu was currently fighting against, but rather what would surely come after the fact.


    Ryu was about to enter a stream of danger that he wasn''t even prepared for.


    But this time... she chose the path opposite the one she had taken last time. This time, she chose to put her faith in her husband.


    If there was anyone who could make it through the world of shadows they were in right now, it was him.


    A young man by Elena''s side looked at her face curiously, then toward the projection


    in the distance, and then back.


    "Is he your husband, big sis?"


    It was the only sound in the otherwise quiet space. It was hard to say if the young man


    was just ignorant, or so confident in himself that he easily flouted the status quo without a care. But regardless, his voice echoed despite his otherwise normal tone.


    "Yes." Elena replied.


    "Oh. The young man replied, as though disappointed. "I don''t like him."


    Elena''s heart skipped a beat.

 Chapter 2107 Clashing Heads

    Chapter 2107  Clashing Heads Elena frowned, looking toward her younger brother.


    "Say something like that again and I won''t forgive you."


    The young man blinked, looking at his elder sister as though he had been wronged.  S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You''d pick him over me?"


    "I wouldn''t need to pick anything if you don''t say such foolish things. You''ve never even met him, and you knew before you said that that he''s my husband. Is it because everyone has spoiled you so much that you think you can say whatever you want?"


    The young man seemed genuinely surprised. This sister of his had always been forgiving and kind to him. This was the first time that he had seen her have such a response.


    But after shock, he couldn''t help but feel somewhat angry.


    Of course he hadn''t really thought about things from Elena''s perspective. But that was already not something he cared about.


    "You¡ª!"


    "Enough."


    Xalvador''s voice cut the conversation off, stifling their voices until there was nothing more than silence. He looked over toward his son and daughter, his expression unreadable.


    Neither Elena nor her brother said a word after this. But it was for very different reasons.


    Her brother seemed to have stopped talking out of respect for their father.


    Elena stopped talking because she had already said everything that needed to be said.


    There was a coolness in Elena''s pink diamond eyes that sparkled as she seemed to look through her father.


    Xalvador gave Elena another look, but ultimately didn''t say anything at all. It had been a very long while since this daughter of his had respected him as a daughter should her father. But that hardly mattered.


    Soon enough, none of it would matter.


    A laughter came from the side, a man dressed in white robes guffawed as though he was watching something interesting.


    "Xalvador, you shouldn''t be so harsh on the kiddos. Aren''t they just having a friendly little sibling rivalry? Why stifle them?"


    The man was known as Balthar. Much like Xalvador, he too was in the Lord Realm. But there was something odd about the both of their auras, something that made it feel like they stood above other Lords by a margin that wasn''t insignificant.


    Balthar''s aura, though similar in breadth to Xalvador''s, was much different in kind.


    The aura of a Divine Hegemon, one of the three supreme Bloodlines of the Martial Gods.


    Xalvador gave Balthar a look, but didn''t seem intent on replying.


    "Hoho, no response? I''m just giving advice. I heard that not long ago someone came looking for your head but you didn''t dare to show up," Balthar chuckled.


    A dangerous light flashed in Xalvador''s eyes, but Balthar continued as though he hadn''t noticed at all.


    "I hear you tried to make the man''s wife one of your concubines, tsk tsk. If I was him, I would also be very angry. You should take this as an opportunity to change your ways, honestly. Treat your family with more care and affection or things like this will just keep happening."


    "Have you spoken enough yet?" Xalvador said coldly.


    Balthar laughed more heartily at Xalvador''s unamused appearance.


    "I haven''t, thank you for asking. I also learned more interesting things. Do you know that man''s last name?"


    Xalvador''s gaze became more dangerous.


    "Tatsuya!"


    BADUM.


    There was a clap of thunder in the skies and Balthar looked upward, seemingly having both expected this and finding it quite funny at the same time.


    "Hohoho. I remember that name quite well. Isn''t that your daughter''s last name as well? Don''t tell me that you tried to steal the woman of your daughter''s father-in-law? So messy, such a lack of propriety."


    Elena''s own gaze became colder, but it was filled with disgust toward her own father and wasn''t aimed toward Balthar at all.


    Although Balthar was only doing this because he had a particularly deep-seeded rivalry with Xalvador, that didn''t change the truth of the matter at all.


    SHIIIIIING!


    Xalvador''s wings suddenly flared out in a majestic, silvery white light. However, to the common man, it sounded as though he had just unsheathed two blades.


    "If you would like to die an early death, please continue speaking."


    Balthar''s own grin became dangerous as well, an illusory crown flickering into existence above his head.


    "You dare to fight me, but a little Tatsuya makes you tremble in fear so much."


    Xalvador didn''t bother to respond.


    Fear? He didn''t fear Titus in the slightest. He had been busy, and it also wasn''t yet time to remove the seals on himself. If not for this, he wouldn''t have suffered that loss at the hands of Himari either.


    But the time was now ripe already. If Balthar wanted to be the first head he took after unsealing himself, he would gladly oblige.


    "Now''s not the time."


    A soft voice echoed from the side.


    A woman¡­ fair and elegant, and so petite one would be hard-pressed to see her as a day over 18 or 19 years old.


    However, there was an ancientness to her that was hard to explain, almost as though the flickering image of an aged, wizened woman was constantly being projected into your mind instead of the fair skin of the woman before them.


    Solara of the Divine Chains.


    The dangerous auras of Balthar and Xalvador slowly edged away, but the clashes of their gazes filled the skies.


    After a moment, Xalvador sneered, his arm reaching out as he snatched the waist of a woman.


    The moment he did so, Balthar''s temper almost exploded from his eyes, but the words of Solara seemed to keep him forcefully rooted in place.


    "It''s been billions of years and you''re still not over it, it seems."


    Xalvador kissed the woman''s head, breathing in the scent of her hair.


    The woman wasn''t very beautiful. Well, by mortal standards, she would be enough to topple nations. But by the standard of cultivators, she was very average.


    She had a cold, indifferent sort of attitude, one that made her particularly difficult to read. Even after her husband showed her such affection in public, she hardly reacted at all.


    This woman wasn''t Elena''s mother, though their temperaments were very similar. Instead, she was one of Xalvador''s three favored wives along with Elena''s mother, Aurelia¡­


    She was Leander, an enigma amongst the Martial Gods and a woman who had birthed two of Xalvador''s most supremely talented children.


    In the past, Xalvador only had four such children. But then Caelum was born to him and Aurelia, and then Elena seemed to have broken free of her cocoon, displaying the talent he had always known she had.


    That now gave him six supremely talented children.


    Of all the elites of the Martial Gods, he had given birth to the most powerhouses of the younger generation¡­ and it was precisely because of his seed that Leander had chosen him in the past.


    Something that Balthar was still very much enraged about.


    However, after a flare-up of fury, Balthar seemed to have remembered something and calmed down into a sneer.


    "One of these days, I''ll castrate that ballsack you and your gang of whores are so proud of. But before that, I''m going to enjoy the show."


    Xalvador''s eyes narrowed, not quite understanding what Balthar was referring to, until Balthar turned toward the screen above where Ryu was facing off against his Tribulation.


    "This is what you''re banking on?" Xalvador said with a sneer.


    "You might not fear him or his father," Balthar said with hearty laughter. "But some of your children will. I wonder if you''ll get unlucky and lose a few?"


    Xalvador''s gaze became dangerous once more.


    "You think my children will lose to this ant?"


    "Don''t speak about my husband that way." Elena said coldly.


    "SILENCE." Xalvador''s booming voice suppressed Elena.


    This was the very first time that he had ever snapped at his daughter like this, but he hardly held back in the slightest, his pressure so powerful that she almost fell to her knees.


    However, there was a stubbornness in her eyes that still continued to look right through Xalvador.


    "The only reason my husband won''t take your head is because he wants his father to do it. Don''t fool yourself into believing that there''s any other reason."


    Xalvador''s gaze turned malevolent as Balthar''s hearty laughter echoed again. If the latter could have brought out popcorn and a chair to enjoy the show, he would have.


    The tumultuous atmosphere only grew more feverish. The internal competition of the Martial Gods was quite fierce, but for some reason, their Ancestors didn''t seem to care at all.


    High above, they continued to sit there as though they hadn''t noticed a single thing. Not even Elena''s words moved them in the slightest.


    They were the truest definition of above worldly affairs.


    They didn''t care who their descendants married, what their affiliations were, and almost hardly cared where their loyalties lay.


    There was only one thing they cared about¡­


    And that was returning to the peak.


    As for their definition of peak¡­ it was the very one Ryu had.


    Their aged faces sat in silence, their eyes closed as they didn''t even bother to watch Ryu''s Tribulation.

 Chapter 2108 GOOD.

    Chapter 2108  GOOD. Ryu''s body was a blur.


    At that moment, he forgot about everything else. All he cared about was the battle before him.


    Every blade was precise to an extreme, reaping a life every time it attacked.


    The problem was that he didn''t always get a chance to attack.


    The feeling of so many powerful geniuses bearing down on you at the same time was hard to explain in just a few words.  S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A single genius was already enough to elevate a Sect or Clan for generations to come. The feeling of so many coming together to form a tidal wave of linked attacks was more than the word "overwhelming" could describe.


    But it was a feeling that made Ryu''s blood boil.


    Moments like this¡­ it was what he had dreamed for all his life. To stand against the world, against opponents that made him feel apprehension and pressure, and still raise his blade proudly.


    And in the end¡­


    To stand above them all nonetheless.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed as Lines of Fate swirled around him.


    He dodged a sword and found an opening, [Death Acupoint] painting a pretty picture of a reaper''s scythe slicing through the air.


    The head of a Heavenly Knight soared into the air.


    Ryu''s body vanished in a swirl of space as a blade passed right through the location he had just been in.


    A great gravitational pressure descended on him the instant he appeared in the real world again.


    There was another flash in Ryu''s eyes as he saw through the method in an instant.


    [Illusory Instant] flickered and Ryu appeared outside of the range of the gravitational push as though he had always been there. The image he left behind bent and twisted, before bursting into a cascade of runes that countered the gravitational force.


    The Heavenly Knight that sent out the attack found themselves flying into the air, their gravitational attack reversing until their body became so light they couldn''t control it properly.


    And they just so happened to fly right into Ryu''s blade.


    PUCHI!


    The Heavenly Knight was split in two as Ryu''s aura blazed.


    Every kill seemed to fuel something else within Ryu''s body, his Dao Heart blooming like a polished mirror, so perfect and resplendent that the white scales around his chest felt too blinding to even look at directly.


    Ryu thought several moves ahead, sometimes seemingly wasting an inordinate amount of energy just to dodge, only to suddenly erupt with a sudden trap that killed a dozen Heavenly Knights at once.


    From above, it almost looked like he was playing on a chess board. His stamina was endless, his body flourishing with more and more strength with every passing second.


    Kill. Kill. Kill.


    [Fate Reversal].


    Ryu''s two great swordstaffs swung out, slicing the heads of two Heavenly Knights preparing a long-distance attack into the air.


    At the same time, he suffered a blow from the two Heavenly Knights he had ignored to his back. They tore through his dantian and his heart at once, their energies exploding within his body.


    But at that moment, [Fate Reversal] activated and the two long-ranged attackers regained their heads while Ryu''s sneak attackers found themselves losing theirs.


    In one move, he killed his sneak attackers and disrupted a powerful attack. Even if the long-ranged attackers regained their heads, the backlash to their disrupted technique wasn''t avoidable.


    Ryu''s qi erupted and the blades in his body were forcefully ejected.


    He didn''t even bother to circulate his Embryonic Qi, using Fate Reversal again, but this time the power seemed to be controlled onto his blades.


    A swirling power of Fate shook the air, the scent of death lingering along with it. There was no doubt that the wounds he had just suffered would have been capable of killing almost anyone else, and this concentration of power wasn''t something that he was in a position to waste.


    So why not share it?


    [Rob the World of its Color].


    [Fate Reversal] and [Rob the World of its Color] combined into a suffocating end. One carried the scent of death, and the other dismissed all the laws of the world to the point even qi could no longer thrive.


    Ryu unleashed a roar, unleashing his slash at seemingly empty air.


    But in his eyes, he was aiming for the very Line of Fate that connected two Legions together as a single unit.


    CHI! CHI! CHI!


    RUMBLE.


    The Heaven''s above were completely infuriated. Unable to hold back any longer, a bolt of dark gold lightning pierced downward, carrying a mesmerizing power that could even kill a Heavenly Knight in an instant.


    Ryu seemed to have already expected this result. His body spun, the torque of his hips sending out an upsurge of power as he pierced out with all his might.


    His Lightning Qilin talents layered onto one another as he used his blade as a lightning rod to inject his body with this Wrath Lightning.


    Ryu''s body continued to spin, the lightning churning through his body and into his Meridians. His Chaos Qi spun and changed, becoming Primordial Lightning Chaos Qi.


    Nine Revolutions Skybreaker thrummed once more as Ryu''s blade went from pointing to the skies to the army below.


    His gaze flashed and a malevolent intent erupted from the depths of his soul.


    Nine booming, thunderous cascades shook his body and his arm almost shattered beneath the impact.


    Ripples of blackened lightning shot through the air, ripping through the Legion that now lacked any sort of communal support. Without the formation backing them, their ability to rely on one another to fight back against Ryu''s strength hit rock bottom.


    Heavenly Knights fell by the dozens after the first boom, then by the hundreds soon after.


    The ripple of lightning grew weaker as it spread outward, but the support of Nine Revolutions Skybreaker made it feel like its power was endless.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood, but he forcefully withheld the lingering lightning in his body, circulating it up all the way to his eyes.


    [God''s Eye].


    At that moment, while he was still high in the skies above the legions, countless weapons formed from above, so powerful that Ryu''s seemingly indestructible eyes began to bleed.


    Die.


    The weapons rotating with the subtle hint of a Weapon God Aura no one had ever sensed before descended, shearing apart the remainder of the two Legions.


    Ryu gasped for breath and he could feel his eyes blurring, but he still vanished, dodging an arrow that had been prepped to tear right through his head.


    Tears of blood ran down Ryu''s cheeks, veins popping in his eyes as they strained themselves to the limits.


    Two Legions down.


    Two more to go.


    Ryu''s momentum was only increasing, his injuries seemingly only fueling his desire for battle.


    Images of roaring Dragons and stomping Qilins appeared to his back, the mighty air of a Phoenix soaring through the skies layering through them all.


    Ryu''s blades shook and he stomped a foot, shooting forward and leaving a blazing arc of black and gold in his wake.


    His wings flapped once and land hundreds of kilometers beneath him shattered to pieces as though a bomb had just gone off.


    SHIIING! SHIIIING! SHIIING!


    PUCHI! PUCHI! PUCHI!


    Ryu''s Dao Heart became as blinding as the sun. The world bent to his whims and the power of his Cosmos Fog only seemed to increase with it.


    Violent. Relentless. Suffocating.


    Like a wild beast prowling, Ryu''s strength continued to increase at an astonishing rate. His cultivation wasn''t changing in the slightest, and he didn''t seem to be comprehending anything new either.


    But for some reason, his blade was becoming sharper, more incisive. Every use of [Death Acupoint] came smoother, more perfect. Every head he shot into the air became another stepping stone on his rise to the top.


    Ryu howled to the air, a maddened swirl of Faith trembling around him.


    At that moment, the slumbering Martial God Ancestors seemed to finally stir, sensing something. They didn''t look at the projection, as though they could see right through the world itself to lay their eyes on Ryu directly.


    The sudden pressure almost caused Ryu to falter in the skies.


    Almost.


    BOOM!


    Fetters wrapped around Ryu''s body crumbled to pieces as his Dao Heart bloomed with an undisguised majesty.


    In this world, there was only room for a single man at the top of it all. And he had sworn long ago¡­


    That that man would be him.


    White flames shuddered in the depths of Ryu''s body and White Heavenly Runes flourished.


    CHI. CHI. CHI.


    Ryu''s blades cut across space, cut across time, cut across Fate and Karma themselves, only to cut down upon the fundamental root of the world itself.


    CRACK.


    His great swordstaffs couldn''t seem to withstand the burden of his Control, fissuring along their blades.


    But the scythes of energy that tore across the world, fusing into a mighty descending blade that swirled with colors of black and gold, shredding everything in its path apart.


    [¡ª Judgment].


    Ryu''s own body seemed to be fissuring at the seams, but he laughed heartily to the skies, tears of blood still running down his face as he laughed at his Tribulation Clouds.


    "GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE."


    The words were met by a cascade of four booms.


    However, the four Heavenly Vanguards that should have appeared didn''t.


    The Runes that were meant to form them shuddered and were suddenly sucked together, forming a single, looming giant.


    Ryu''s laughter didn''t cease as he felt the changes. If anything, it grew more boisterous.


    "GOOD."


    This wasn''t a Heavenly Vanguard.


    It was a step above.


    A Sentinel had appeared.

 Chapter 2109 Ten (1)

    Chapter 2109  Ten (1) Aspirant. Knight. Vanguard¡­


    Sentinel.


    A Vanguard was already beyond what Ailsa''s memories could properly describe, a talent the likes of which might never appear in a world''s entire history.


    If a Knight was already a perfect talent in all aspects, while also having additional bonuses like Heavenly Pupils and such¡­ then what about a Sentinel that was two ranks above?


    The Heavenly Warrior was wreathed in dark gold, an aura so thick hanging around it that it wasn''t easy to tell where it ended and where its armor began.


    There were two horns that extended from its forehead, but much like with its aura, it was hard to tell if it was only there as a cosmetic attachment to its helmet and face guard, or if it was there to make room for real horns that were hidden beneath.


    A pair of long, dark gold, metallic wings extended from its back. The feathers weren''t shaped like feathers at all, but rather looked like long, slightly tapered, straight blades.


    The Sentinel''s armor was finished off with the face of an angel, not in beauty, but rather stoic loftiness. Standing there in silence, with golden orbs for eyes, it felt as though it could stand at the very peak of the world, bearing down its will on all those it felt to be lesser to itself.


    The strength, the power, the valiance. Everything was perfect.


    But Ryu just laughed.


    Holding out his great swordstaffs, a hint of his earlier seriousness faded away as he allowed his mind to relax.


    When the Knight Legion battle began, he had entered a state of utmost seriousness, scratching and clawing for every advantage that he could get.


    However¡­


    Right now he felt that the Heavens had made the most foolish decision possible.


    Others would find it absolutely idiotic for him to say so, but he would feel more apprehensive against four Vanguards than a single Sentinel.


    It had to be remembered that fighting against multiple enemies at once as a Sky God was incredibly difficult. Even when there was a seemingly massive power disparity between two Sky Gods, the matter would be firmly placed into perspective when facing off against two or more of the same.


    The reality was that even if a Sky God felt so far and beyond another, the true difference in strength between them might not be more than 10%. But this 10% difference was enough to be one-shot.


    Why was this?


    On the surface, it sounded ridiculous. But this was the reality of Control and its importance at these higher levels.


    Even if a person was just 1% stronger than another, a gap in Control could mean near-instant death.


    The Heavens couldn''t parse out its Laws so easily. You either gained all of it, or none of it.


    So why was this a problem when facing multiple opponents?


    It was because they could coordinate their Control.


    This was why even if you could one-shot a Sky God, you wouldn''t necessarily want to fight two such Sky Gods of the same strength, let alone more.


    The pressure that had been on Ryu while fighting so many enemies at once could only be said to be tremendous. Balancing between protecting his Control, refining his Dao Heart, and dealing death blows was incredibly difficult. Often, he had to maneuver around the battlefield like he was playing a game of Domain just so that he could pull a target out from a range where they could rely on those around them and finally kill them.


    If Ryu had been facing off against four Vanguards, the difficulty would have been even higher than facing off against the four Legions he just had. Not only because they were more powerful, but also because he was just one person and there was a point of limited return when the numbers grew too large.


    After all, it wasn''t like coordinating Control was easy¡­ especially not when there was an army formation to target and destroy as a result of it.


    But now¡­


    "You have angered the Heavens, Chosen. This jurisdiction¡­ is not your own. Accept your punishment."


    An ambiguous, unisex voice layered with the tones and cadence of many echoed. One could tell that it had spoken softly, and yet it sounded like raging tides and avalanches.


    It was far too loud, booming across the cosmos and nearly shattering Ryu''s eardrums despite his powerful body.


    But Ryu''s laughter didn''t stop.


    "So what?" Ryu said after a while. "What are you going to do about it?"


    "You will die."


    "You talk quite a lot for a Heavenly Warrior."


    "This is a courtesy I am giving to your world. However, you have overstepped and overestimated yourself. You have humiliated my fellow brothers and sisters¡ª."


    "Ten moves." Ryu said lightly, his laughter fading and his placid, cold indifference returning as he cut the Heavenly Warrior off.


    "¡­ What?"


    "Your head. I''ll take it in ten moves."


    BOOM!


    Ryu took a step forward and his aura surged. His Bone Structures activated at once, but none brighter than his Empyrean Warframe.


    His great swordstaffs vanished from his hands and his eyes shone so brightly that they looked like a pair of silver stars.


    All of his Phenomena disappeared into motes of light, and all of a sudden, it looked like he was just one man beneath the roars of a mighty Tribulation.


    Breath of Earth.


    An aura of oneness with the world spread out slowly as the light in Ryu''s eyes only grew brighter, shimmering to the point his own seemed to mirror the golden orbs that formed the Sentinel''s with silver orbs of his own.


    There was a shudder in the air as Ryu''s Childe of Order Constitution bloomed in full force.


    And then he took another step forward, vanishing.


    BANG!  S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When he appeared again, his fist and that of the Sentinel''s met.


    The skies churned and shook, the Tribulation Clouds above nearly collapsing beneath their combined might.


    But not a single one of them took a step back.

 Chapter 2110 Ten (2)

    Chapter 2110  Ten (2) The Sentinel no longer spoke.


    It was clear that it wasn''t lying earlier when it said that it had only done so for Sacrum''s sake. As for Ryu himself, it didn''t seem to care.


    Ten moves?


    What a joke.


    The Sentinel''s aura shook and its fist seemed to blur through Ryu''s.


    BANG!


    The Sentinel was sent flying.


    Just when it thought that it would collapse Ryu''s chest, Ryu''s own fist reached it first somehow.


    It couldn''t even properly orient itself before Ryu was upon it again.


    The Sentinel spun in the air, its heel cutting across the skies like a vicious scythe. But it passed right through the location of Ryu''s body as though it wasn''t there at all.


    An afterimage.


    BANG!


    The Sentinel was hit from below, sending it spiraling into the skies above.


    Ryu took a step, icy flowers blooming beneath his feet. His arms and hands moved as though flowing through forms of Tai Chi, however one hand formed an Eastern Dragon snaking through the skies while the other shifted between the variations of Phoenixes that had existed in this world.


    Ryu''s blood churned in his body as he ran through his Martial Forms and suddenly punched out.


    ROAR!


    His fist seemed to unleash Dragon''s Roar. The billowing might caused tsunami-like ripples through the dense dark clouds above.


    BOOM!


    The open maw of the Dragon bit right through the Sentinel.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The reverberating echoes of nine Revolutions left concentric circles of might pulsing across the clouds above. And every one of those echoes ripped through the Sentinel''s body, causing cracks to appear across its armor.


    Ryu''s body seemed to reach a deeper state of calm as he continued to move through his Martial Forms. His hands flowed like water, his feet as steady as mountains. Every step he took, a new flower appeared beneath his feet, but at the start, it was a path of ice, but now it had become one of fire.


    The world solidified beneath Ryu''s might as the Sentinel hacked up blood. It tried to change positions and move, but something about Ryu''s movements seemed to have checkmated it. All of its routes forward were cut off, leaving nothing more than a single path where Ryu''s fist lay in waiting.


    There was a pulse of clear light that came from Ryu''s Dao Heart and the entire world sparkled in wonder beneath his majesty.


    As though a painting being drawn across the skies, every movement of Ryu''s was in tune with the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavens that were supposedly enraged with him¡­


    Could only prostrate.


    BOOM!


    Ryu appeared high above the Sentinel after knocking it up so high that it almost re-entered the Tribulation Clouds.


    He smashed down a palm that pulsed with the weight of the world. The resplendent light of his Dao Heart resonating with his Jadebound Clearheart Bone Structure and tapping into the strongest of the Earth Qi in the world.


    His palm seemed to suddenly expand just before he hit the Sentinel, a beautiful, reflective jade earth that shimmered like diamond taking shape.


    The Sentinel was sent flying back, moving so fast that flames didn''t even have the chance to form around its body until long after it had hit the Earth.


    In the path it had taken, streaking fires formed as Ryu''s Control forcefully kept the Laws from collapsing.


    These flames convulsed and were suddenly sucked into Ryu''s flowers as he took another step, ascending higher into the skies.


    At that moment, the Tribulation Clouds were still rippling violently. But as Ryu''s Martial Form''s dance began to be executed beneath its waves, it felt as though it was beginning to move to the cadence of Ryu''s own movements.


    Ryu entered an even deeper state of focus.  S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Breath of World.


    The Sentinel burst out from the ground, its body littered with cracks, but its aura no less valiant. In fact, it seemed to have tapped into a long-lost fury, roaring up to the skies above.


    Ripples of dark gold made the formations that Ryu had formed look as though they were about to collapse. But even as they continued to sway beneath the Sentinel''s roars, it was as though they began to move to its rhythm as well.


    Soon, it had matched the Sentinel''s resonance, and it no longer looked erratic or as though it would collapse at any moment. Instead¡­ it felt like the Sentinel was only giving it more power.


    Ryu''s Azure Cloud Vein Bone Structure thrummed with life as the Tribulation Clouds entered a perfect resonance with him as well.


    And then Ryu punched down.


    It was a fist that was hard to describe because it didn''t feel like a fist at all. It instead felt like the world was furious with the Sentinel. It, a Heavenly Warrior, was actually despised by the world it had given everything to protect.


    The first fist drove the Sentinel back into the ground, boring a hole so deep that it couldn''t even be seen to the depths of the Sky Gods themselves.


    However, oddly enough, the earth didn''t overturn, nor did mountains in the distance collapse. Ryu''s Control was so perfect that nothing but what was in the direct line of his fist was damaged.


    And then the second fist descended.


    The Sentinel was driven even further down, its body long collapsed, and its existence no longer detectable by the masses.


    But Ryu''s senses weren''t so easily fooled. In fact, his third fist never stopped at all.


    The flowers of various elements around him finally bloomed, forming a complex formation high in the skies that churned and then fused with the Heavenly Tribulation.


    Ryu''s final fist clenched as he pierced down.


    Rippling waves formed around his knuckles as his Control showed the first signs of wavering, but this didn''t last long before the elements combined into a gauntlet of radiant gold.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s fist tore through the Sentinel and the Seventh Heaven.


    The citizens of the Sixth and Seventh Heaven watched on in horror as a Heavenly Warrior was shredded to ash.

 Chapter 2111 Overestimated

    Chapter 2111  Overestimated The world fell into silence.


    For a moment, it seemed that there could only be one man that stood at the very peak of it all. Even those that would usually be the most resistant to such thoughts found themselves involuntarily accepting it.


    Although it was for just a moment¡­


    This moment was likely one that they wouldn''t be able to forget for a lifetime.


    The bright glow in Ryu''s eyes slowly faded away, and his Meditation state faded along with it.


    "I guess I overestimated you. You only lasted seven moves."


    Ryu''s voice echoed through the silence, riding the last waves of the rumbling Tribulation Clouds.


    His scales faded and he opened his arms wide to the skies.


    A grin spread across his face.


    "Don''t be shy now. If you force me¡­ I''ll just have to take it myself."


    Rumble.


    The moment Ryu''s voice faded, a Blessing descended from the skies.


    The pillar enveloped him completely, so large and all-encompassing that it ran through the hole that Ryu had just formed, piercing into the Sixth Heaven.


    However, Ryu himself didn''t seem to care as a broad smile hung from his handsome features. He hadn''t felt this good in a very long while.


    The ability he had used to finish off the Sentinel was actually one of the few borderline techniques. It still wasn''t quite refined yet, which was why he struggled a bit with it, having to incrementally raise his State of Meditation rather than jumping to the highest state immediately.


    If Ryu wanted, at this point, he could even reach the highest State of Meditation there was. But it had been a very long while since Ryu had even relied on this broken ability of his Heavenly Pupils¡­


    Because he simply didn''t need it.


    Honestly speaking, most of the time, Ryu''s raw comprehension prowess was so excellent that using his State of Meditation was like overfilling a cup. Was that the point?


    The last time he had relied on it heavily was when he was creating his Body Realm Cultivation method, but even then it was hard to do so.


    Ryu realized then that he had reached a bottleneck of diminishing returns.


    His mental capacity was so great on the one hand, but on the other, precisely because of that, the boost that States of Meditation gave were too large for his Focus Qi to handle.


    The benefits one got from States of Meditation weren''t consistent across the board. Different people would gain different levels of insight depending on their abilities and also the world they were in. A State of Meditation usage in Sacrum weighed very differently from one in a powerful world like this one.


    This was all to say that one of Ryu''s best abilities had become worthless because¡­ he was ironically too powerful.


    One might think that Ryu''s new Dao had fixed things, but actually, it only made things worse.


    This was because with his new Dao, Ryu''s mental capacity had reached a completely new tier. Because of that, the boost he got from States of Meditation was even higher than ever before, and his Focus Qi was even less capable of keeping up.


    It was a vicious cycle that Ryu didn''t quite have a solution for. Although improving in cultivation would improve Focus Qi, it was limited. Usually, the only reliable way to increase Focus Qi was¡­


    Time.


    Unfortunately, though Ryu''s cultivation speed was quite slow compared to most, he had still lived too short a time.


    While his cultivation was now only just ascending to the Lord Realm, his mental capacity needs were already well into the Dao God Realm.


    When one looked at things like that, then Ryu really didn''t have enough Focus Qi to go around. It could be said that this was the real bottleneck between himself and his truest, fullest potential.


    So¡­ he had found another way to use it.


    Empyrean Warframe.


    It was the Bone Structure Ancestor Mysteries had used to defeat the War God Heavenly Pupils. Baked into its very foundation was a shocking close combat ability that relied on instincts to read and react to one''s opponent, off-loading the pressure away from one''s mind to one''s body.


    This was the very close combat Bone Structure that Ryu had originally dismissed, but had recently chosen to make a part of his foundation.


    The Empyrean Warframe was already capable of relying on his eyes to boost their strength, so Ryu just took it a step forward.


    If he used [Focus] at the same time, entered a State of Meditation, and his Childe of Order Constitution as a secondary bridge, then he could offload even more of the computation of the battle onto not just his body, but the Heavens themselves.


    In that state, it made one feel as though they weren''t just fighting against Ryu, but against the Heavens themselves. And as of now¡­


    It was Ryu''s strongest state, give or take a few trump cards.  Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And much like Ryu had said it would¡­ it defeated a Sentinel within ten moves.


    Unfortunately, this state was very difficult to use against more than one opponent because the computational rigor needed to calculate for more than one person increased exponentially with every leap forward.


    Ryu even had to dumb down his own abilities while using it, which was why he had put his great swordstaffs away.


    If he increased the difficulty any more, he would have run out of Focus Qi. But by the same token, if he hadn''t defeated the Sentinel within ten moves, then he would have run out of Focus Qi just the same.


    This was why Ryu had laughed when the singular Sentinel appeared. It was like the Heavens were handing him a victory on a silver platter, one that he would gladly take.


    And now, he would claim this opportunity to recultivate from the very start.


    When he had said that this would be the last chance the Heavens had to kill him¡­


    He meant it with every fiber of his being.

 Chapter 2112 Control (1)

    Chapter 2112  Control (1) Ryu crossed his legs and sat in the skies in meditation, his focus deepening as much as it could without touching onto the bounds of a State of Meditation.


    He didn''t have much Focus Qi to work with left after entering his Empyrean State, so he would have to make do with this alone.  S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But¡­ he had endless confidence in himself nonetheless as his aura began to regress step by step.


    Time flowed around him, fusing with his Embryonic Qi.


    ''As expected.''


    The reason why this was the perfect time to do this was because Ryu knew that this Tribulation was precisely what he needed to revert back to his previous state.


    When one completed a Tribulation, the Heavens would undergo a process of undoing your bottleneck for you. After all, the Heavens were the blockade ahead stopping you from stepping into the Royal Realms.


    It was only by breaching this gate yourself and being bestowed the right by the Heavens that things would work out.


    But Ryu was taking advantage of this bridge that the Heavens were building with his own Cultivation Realms to reverse everything. That was because this gateway could be used not just to sense the Lord Realm, but to also sense every Realm that came before.


    As for why that was¡­ it was obvious.


    Every Cultivation Realm was built upon the previous one. While it was the case that cultivators conveniently separated them, the reality was that the Heavens didn''t see such a separation at all.


    The entire path of cultivation was exactly that, a single, long road¡­


    Starting at Awakening.


    Ryu''s body reverted to that of a mortal. It was a familiar feeling of weakness, the kind that he had experienced for several hundreds of years. Even though he had now officially lived longer in his second life than he had his first, that was only if you counted the time he had spent locked in Rebirth.


    Outside of that time, Ryu wasn''t even 150 years old yet. Even with how much time he was spending moving through the cultivation realms, he was probably one of the youngest Lords in existence nonetheless.


    Upon a successful Awakening, one would undergo Rites. These Rites would baptize one in the blessings of the Heavens, and this would ultimately decide the depths to which qi could flow through one''s body.


    This was the fundamental explanation of the Realm, and there were nine basic Rites one could achieve, as well as four more beyond that for a total of 13.


    Ryu had, of course, finished all 13 Rites, including all the Named Rites.


    The Rite of Limitations.


    The Rite of Perseverance.


    The Rite of Death.


    The Rite of Origin.


    The question was, then¡­ what did it really mean to decide the depths to which qi could flow through your body? What were the Rites really?


    Ryu''s body pulsed and he completed all nine of the first unnamed Rites in an instant.


    There was a radiant glow that ran through him as the Blessings continued to pour down on him from above.


    Obviously¡­ the answer to the question was Control.


    What was the Rite of Limitation?


    CRACKLE.


    The barrier shattered and a reddened aura began to circulate around Ryu.


    It was none other than a breaking down of a barrier that existed between a cultivator and the world around them. It extended the limitations of one''s self from the body alone, to the world.


    What was the Rite of Perseverance?


    It took that one-way bridge and made it a two-way bridge, forcefully expanding the capacity of the body so that it could not just communicate with the world around to Control it, but likewise internalize some of that Control.


    CRACKLE.


    What was the Rite of Death?


    It touched upon the truest limits of a person, pressing past just the limits of the body, but extending to the soul itself, touching upon the spark that was the core of one''s Reincarnated Self.


    CRACKLE.


    What was the Rite of Origin?


    It extended deeper yet. The Origin was one''s very own Spiritual Foundation, the root of one''s Awakening and the reason why one could cultivate in the first place. Only by extending one''s Control to that point would one be able to touch upon their greatest strength.


    Ryu''s aura soared.


    With this change alone, he felt like he could slaughter a Spiritual Severing Realm genius born in a world of this caliber with a mere thought. And that was without using his eyes.


    Back in Sacrum, even with all of his talent, even a Qi Refinement Realm ant could crush him while he was in the Awakening Realm, let alone a Spiritual Severing Realm genius.


    But this was the gap between a cultivation system built on control and one that wasn''t.


    Ryu''s aura shifted as he broke through once more.


    Pulse Opening Realm.


    Many in Sacrum believed that this Realm only had four Pulses, but there were actually a total of six of them.


    This Realm opened up the Meridian channel system, allowing one to begin using qi to more than just strengthen the body, but also give a path toward one day using qi-based techniques.


    With this Realm completed, most of one''s Meridian Channels would be opened up.


    However, what was neglected was connection with one''s Spiritual Foundation.


    TA. TA. TA. TA. TA. TA.


    All six of Ryu''s Heavenly Qi Pulses opened in a single go, resonating with one another.


    And then, they began to hum along with his Rite of Origin.


    The Rite of Origin passed on his Control to his Spiritual Foundation¡­


    And now it was time for his Spiritual Foundation to pass on this Control to his Heavenly Qi Pulses.


    Six golden points of light shone resplendently in Ryu''s body as he triggered his advancement to the Qi Refinement Realm at the same time.


    In the past, Ryu had relied heavily on three different cultivation methods at once to complete his Qi Refinement. His Meridians were made from the third strongest material in existence, so it felt like a shame to not push them to their absolute limits.


    But right now¡­ he had no need to rely on any cultivation method, especially not one from Sacrum.


    With his Heavenly Qi Pulses resonating with the Heavens, and his control blooming.


    He would use his Control to infuse the Heavenly Laws into his Mortal Qi itself, refining it to the absolute limit¡­


    And then taking a step beyond.


    By this point, Ryu felt that even an Immortal Ring Realm genius would fall to a single glance from him.

 Chapter 2113 Severing

    Chapter 2113  Severing Ryu felt his Control take hold of his Qi, refining it and saturating it with his Chaotic Silk Meridians with it.


    Last time he went through the Qi Refinement Realm, Ryu hadn''t had Chaos Qi and had instead worked with normal neutral Qi. The difference was clearly akin to night and day, but that also posed a great challenge for his Control.


    Trying to impose his Dao Heart onto normal qi was of course, very easy¡­ but to try and do so with Chaos Qi, one of the strongest qis in Existence? That was a different matter entirely.


    Until now, Ryu''s use of Chaos Qi was always a series of borrowing actions. When he needed Chaos Qi, he communicated with the Chaos Plane and took the Qi in for himself.


    However, doing so was obviously less efficient than having qi directly in his Meridians, and there was also a lag in qi control as well.


    Of course, this was negligible, especially when Ryu''s usual levels of qi control. But it was something that was noticeable to Ryu.


    This would change all of that.


    Chaos Qi would be directly influenced by his Control the moment it was transferred to his Meridians. By extension, this would also mean that Primordial Chaos Qi would be entirely unable to harm him any longer.


    Under the influence of his Control¡­


    What right did it have to do so?


    The Qi Refinement Realm was separated into Revolutions. Completing one to three Revolutions would leave you in the Lower Qi Refinement Realm, four to six would raise you to the Middle, all the way until 10 to 12 for the peak and 13 for a Half-Step to Spiritual Severing.


    These were the 13 Revolutions opened to Ryu thanks to his 13 Rites.


    But therein lied the secret. It was the Rites that allowed one to complete these Revolutions and this communion with qi. By completing the Rite of Origin¡­ Ryu had made his Chaos Qi far more docile than it would have otherwise been.


    When this was matched with how resplendent his Dao Heart was¡­


    There was a shudder as thirteen ripples of dark gold spread out in all directions, blessing the land with Ryu''s might.


    However, it was at this point that things would change.


    That was because Ryu didn''t have just one set of Meridians.  S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had two.


    At that instant, another six Heavenly Qi Pulses radiated with an oppressive might.


    TA. TA. TA. TA. TA. TA.


    This second set of Meridians was a complete mystery to Ryu. According to convention, they should have been the Essence Silk Meridians, but due to the intervention of the Martial Gods, their path had deviated, instead becoming the Embryonic Meridians that he had now.


    Unlike his Chaotic Silk Meridians, Ryu couldn''t seem to use this set of Meridians in battle. All it did was sit there and produce Embryonic Qi.


    If this was all there was, Ryu would, of course, be very much open to it. He was probably the only person in all of Existence that could produce this qi for himself.


    But he knew that this couldn''t be all.


    Meridians were a complex network of what were essentially formation lines, but Ryu had never been able to see through these Meridians of his. Even if they had no other special abilities, the secrets that lay within their configurations should be enough to study for a lifetime. Who knew what shocking Qi Realm Techniques could be created from Meridians that could form Embryonic Qi?


    And the first step to opening up that world to him was opening up their Heavenly Qi Pulses.


    By the time Ryu gained these Meridians, he was already well into the Immortal Realms. He had never experienced what it felt like to be a mortal with them by his side.


    But now¡­


    Thirteen white gold ripples spread out with Ryu as the center, fusing with the dark gold ones and forming a resonance that almost overshadowed the first.


    Ryu''s Control descended onto his Embryonic Qi and he felt like it carried fathomless depths. It was truly a qi no weaker than Essence or Chaos Qi, and though it wasn''t meant for combat¡­


    At that moment Ryu was certain that it could be used for far more than just healing his injuries.


    A cycle formed in his body as his 13 Revolutions compressed his Qi all at once.


    In the end, Ryu finally felt as though his Qi wasn''t just an external item¡­ it was a part of him, another limb.


    And because of this, he gained access to Atmospheric Qi even without forming a single Immortal Ring or relying on a unique ability like he had in the past.


    It just came naturally.


    The qi of the world was influenced by the qi in his Meridians, being reined into his control.


    At that point, Ryu was certain that at the mere peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, even Path Extinction Realm geniuses would be crushed beneath his feet.


    And then he faced off against one of the few failures of his cultivation path, a realm that he had failed to enter the last time, only for it to accidentally benefit him¡­


    The Spiritual Severing Realm.


    Ryu had never really let this failure go. In the past, it was like a mirror put up right to his nose, reminding him of just how lucky he was to be where he was, that not everything he had accomplished was due to his efforts alone.


    It seemed that now he would have to fail again for the sake of allowing his Chaotic Silk Meridians to flourish¡­ but that wasn''t the case.


    The reason the Spiritual Severing Realm had to be skipped in order to properly trigger the Chaotic Silk Meridian''s true abilities was only because everyone''s method of cultivation was incomplete. Without Control, this was the only path.


    But now that Ryu was completing it, it was a different matter entirely.


    The sound of a blade''s howl filled the skies.

 Chapter 2114 Path Extinction

    Chapter 2114  Path Extinction SHIIIIIIIIIING!


    A hiltless blade rose above Ryu, splitting the pillar of blessings falling from above almost in two.


    It was only now that the world seemed to shockingly realize that Ryu was actually re-cultivating.  Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The eyes of several cultivators turned red. Who wouldn''t kill for such an opportunity? Who could say that their path of cultivation was entirely without blemish?


    However, much the same way a Tribulation couldn''t be interfered with, so too could the Blessing process not be interfered with.


    After seeing the strength of Ryu''s Tribulation, who would dare try to oppose it even if this was probably the best chance to kill Ryu that they would ever have again¡­


    SHIIIIIIIING!


    A second blade appeared high in the skies, identical to the first in everything but color.


    One blade of dark gold and another of white gold hovered above Ryu''s head as his head shone more and more resplendently.


    All of the Refined Qi in Ryu''s body began to surge upward, filling the blades with a majestic might.


    This shocked the spectators all the more. The Spiritual Severing Blades were meant to be forged by the qi in your Meridians. Why did it seem like Ryu''s had formed first, and he was only now incorporating his qi? That didn''t make any sense.


    The Spiritual Severing Realm existed for the sake of strengthening one''s connection with one''s Spiritual Foundation. One was meant to make one''s qi as dense and strong as possible to form a blade and sever the connection between one''s Meridians and Spiritual Foundation, and then reforging the connection.


    This would allow one to gather more Qi Fumes from one''s Spiritual Foundation, using it to temper one''s Qi further to strengthen it beyond what Revolutions allowed. Once one reached a certain threshold, this Severing Blade could be formed once again with even stronger qi.


    The more Severings one could complete¡­


    The stronger they would be¡­


    But how did Ryu form his Spiritual Severing Blades without qi?


    Control.


    Chaotic Silk was the third strongest material in existence. By some miracle, Ryu was able to sever his own back then by targeting the closest point of connection between his Spiritual Foundation and Meridians where the Chaotic Silk was thinnest.


    But even then¡­ he had ended up using all of his qi to complete the Severing, leaving him with none left to reform the connection.


    But now, it was different.


    He wouldn''t be targeting the weakest point. He would be targeting the strongest points, and he wouldn''t just be severing a connection with his Meridians, he would be severing even his Meridians from themselves by cutting out his Heavenly Qi Pulses and strengthening them to the point they were no weaker than Divine Vessels.


    At the same time, he would saturate them with his Control even further, and by extension¡­


    Tweak the Spiritual Severing Realm to allow a stronger connection not just between his Meridians and Spiritual Foundation, but also his Meridians and his Realm Heart.


    Both of his Spiritual Foundations would gain a much stronger foothold.


    SHIIIIIIING!


    The blades fell and cut through Ryu''s body.


    He didn''t even flinch in the slightest, his control was simply too perfect.


    At that moment, all of his Severings were completed in a single bound.


    His body felt empty, his twelve Heavenly Qi Pulses having lost their home, and his two Spiritual Foundations falling into an abyss far away from himself.


    However, there was a calmness to Ryu as his body seemed to fall into a dormant state.


    TA. TA. TA. TA. TA. TA.


    TA. TA. TA. TA. TA. TA.


    All at once Ryu''s Divine Vessels opened up like flood gates.


    Ryu''s seemingly ignored Body Realm Pulses and Vessels, as well as his Soul Pulse and Vessel, all resonated at the same time.


    The world shuddered.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s aura exploded forth as qi rolled toward him from all directions.


    One connection after another was made, causing one halo after another to appear to his back.


    Ryu''s Immortal Rings flourished until all 13 were formed.


    At that moment, it felt as though all of the qi on the Seventh Heaven had frozen in place, unable to mobilize because their Emperor had appeared.


    The moment Ryu had opened his Divine Vessels, he was already invincible beneath the Sky God Realm. He felt untouchable, as though the world''s elites didn''t have the right to stand before him.


    Maybe the Heavenly Courts would have someone worthy. But beneath them?


    What right did they have?


    However, after entering the Immortal Ring Realm, he felt that he was already capable of slaughtering Sky Gods. Before his Control, they couldn''t even hope to manifest their own. His abilities were simply beyond their understanding.


    CHI. CHI. CHI.


    One after another, Ryu shattered his Immortal Rings, reforging them, only to shatter them again.


    The Path Extinction Realm had always been the greatest enigma to Ryu. It was the Realm one had to shatter one''s own comprehensions and build them back up again.


    However, back in Sacrum, there was no Dao. So this was done with Inheritances instead, understandings of the elements and things of the like.


    Even after forming a Dao, though¡­ Ryu felt like this was out of place.


    What were we meant to shatter wasn''t your Inheritance or your Dao.


    You were meant to shatter your Dao Heart. The source of your Control.


    CHI. CHI. CHI.


    A deathly aura rose around Ryu, but he didn''t seem to notice it at all.


    He had already experienced the shattering of his Dao Heart once before. If he had been able to maintain his wits then¡­


    Why wouldn''t he be able to do it now?


    This world was entirely unable to stop his steps.


    Maybe in Existence, he was the one person who would dare to take such a step, to dare to shatter their own Dao Heart on purpose.


    But he was Ryu Tatsuya¡­ what did he ever have to fear?


    He stood on a plain all to himself.


    Nothing would stop him.


    Not even his own heart.


    CHI. CHI. CHI.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s 13 Immortal Rings shattered into a rain of light and the world fell into a deep silence.

 Chapter 2115 Extinction

    Chapter 2115  Extinction There was a lull in the world as though time itself had come to a stop. There was nothing and yet everything at the same time, like one was experiencing the birth of the universe itself.


    Somehow, though there was nothing at all to observe, many found tears coming to their eyes.


    They quickly wiped their tears, not understanding where this feeling was coming from. It felt like something hidden deep within their souls was stirred and shaken awake.


    BOOM!


    The explosion carried the same emotional depths, the same kernel of hidden truth.


    White flames surged out in all directions, White Phoenix Heavenly Patterns painting the skies like jagged lines across glass.


    CHING. CHING. CHING.


    They forcefully condensed the Spark of Life Flame until it condensed into a new set of Immortal Rings.


    But¡­


    BANG!


    The Immortal Rings exploded once again, only to slowly reform.


    BANG!


    Once again, shattering into a rain of flames that fell to the ground below, spreading love and affection through the world like a mother embracing their child soon after the ache of birth.


    The First Extinction.


    The Second Extinction.


    The Third Extinction.


    The Fourth¡­


    Ryu continued as though shattering his own Dao Heart was nothing more than a casual affair for him.


    It was only after the Sixth Extinction that the sharp eyes of those who truly understood the secrets of the world were able to grasp what they were seeing.


    Every time Ryu shattered his Dao Heart, a toxic energy would take form, a bundle of Karma that was bad and suffocating, bearing down with the world of a world.


    But every time Ryu burst through that curtain, it was like he was embodying the Artistic Conception of Life itself.


    The Seventh Extinction¡­


    The Eighth Extinction¡­


    The Ninth¡­


    Ryu''s aura continued to climb, so much so that there was no doubt in anyone''s mind that even a genius of the Fragmented Sky Gods would find themselves crushed beneath his momentum alone.


    And yet, despite having reached the final Extinction, his momentum within the Path Extinction Realm only continued to grow continuously and endlessly, relentlessly pushing the pace forward until.


    CRACK.


    BANG!


    The Immortal Rings shattered once again.


    By this point, they were so solid that they couldn''t be looked at like illusory projections of will at all. It looked as though solid wheels of white flames were circulating through the skies.


    Every circulation sent a pulse of power, lines of White Phoenix Heavenly Patterns jetting out in a torrent and solidifying in the world before slowly fading away.


    Every time this happened, there was another upsurge, and yet the calmness that returned soon afterward grew calmer and calmer almost as though Ryu was taming the world itself.


    But it was then that the Tenth Extinction began.


    The path of shattering one''s comprehensions and building them back up wasn''t completely groundless. In fact, Ryu could understand where it came from.


    Inheritances were named as such because they were either shared wills across many people, or passed down directly from one existence.


    You were carrying on the Dao Heart of a Path, so to speak. Which was why it worked as a replacement for the true path of cultivation.


    By using them as a stand-in, you could use it as a proxy to strengthen your Dao Heart because constantly shattering that connection and reforming it placed a great deal of pressure on your spirit as well¡­


    It just wasn''t as good as the real way.


    And this method of Ryu''s obviously came with far more than just power alone, because when it manifested itself¡­


    Ryu''s 13 Immortal Rings quickly reformed, but this time¡­


    The illusion of a mountain had formed in its midst.


    The Shrine Mountain.


    Maybe in the future, if anyone dared to follow Ryu''s Path, they would call this a Martial Soul. However, to the world of now¡­ it was known as a Natural Enlightenment, one of the two types of Inheritances.


    In the past, Ryu was told by a Heavenly Warrior that he wouldn''t be able to complete a perfect breakthrough into the Sky God Realm unless he was about to reach the State of Natural Breath.


    The State of Listening¡­ the State of Feeling¡­ The State of Immersion¡­ The State of Control¡­ The State of Heart¡­ the State of Soul¡­ The State of Natural Breath¡­


    These were the seven tiers of Natural Enlightenments and taking even a single step forward was a nightmare of a lifetime. Ryu had thought that things would change after coming to this world, but the number of people he had seen with a Natural Enlightenment of even the lowest level could be counted on a single hand¡­


    Starlight and Sarriel.


    That was the end of the list.


    It was clear that even in this wider world, the value of a Natural Enlightenment was not only not lesser, it was even larger.  Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now, Ryu was raising it to an entirely different level, a level that most would never fathom in their lifetimes.


    Until now, he had only been able to raise his Shrine Mountain Natural Enlightenment to the State of Immersion. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t raise it to the State of Control.


    But now he understood that what he was missing had been right in him the entire time.


    A Natural Enlightenment was formed by observing the world, forming a connection with it and experiencing its wonders¡­


    The State of Control was taking a step beyond just understanding and observing¡­


    It was about making this Natural Enlightenment your own.


    BANG!


    Ryu broke into the State of Control and his Shrine Mountain and Immortal Rings shattered once again.


    The Eleventh Extinction.


    Ryu''s aura continued to surge as he entered the State of Heart.


    This was the state where one''s Dao Heart and one''s Natural Enlightenment became inseparable, a state where they were one in the same.


    BANG!


    They shattered again and Ryu tore into the State of Soul.


    The Shrine Mountain overlaid with his body, surpassing the external state of the Spiritual Foundation and Dao Heart, to truly become a new Soul Nature.


    And that opened the door for the final stage.


    BANG!

 Chapter 2116 Lord Control

    Chapter 2116  Lord Control Ryu exhaled a breath that spread across the world. When he breathed, the mountain to his back trembled along with him.


    The State of Natural Breath.


    The Shrine Mountain came to life. It was no longer just a projection, but it soared into the world as though the real thing was here.


    A loop formed between Ryu and the world around him and then back again.


    As with all things, there was a balance to be struck. He had learned long ago that being immature to the point that he wanted to abandon the Heavens entirely was the epitome of foolishness.  sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Cultivation was the process of taking from the Heavens¡­ but that didn''t mean that you had to abandon the Heavens entirely.


    At that moment, Ryu felt like he had when he first took a seat on the Prayer Mat.


    The world whispered into his ears and he found that his Focus Qi was being quickly drained¡­


    And then replaced with a far more flourishing energy.


    Ryu had found the Prayer Mat in the heart of the Shrine Mountain to begin with. Until now, he used it to passively recover his Focus Qi, but what he had never considered was why the Prayer Mat was there to begin with or what purpose it served in leaving it there.


    But now he understood¡­


    The Prayer Mat had been in the heart of the Shrine Mountain precisely to comprehend it. And the reason it could replenish Focus Qi, albeit to a very small extent¡­


    Was because it had grasped just the tiniest bit of power from the Shrine Mountain.


    The Prayer Mat itself wasn''t a treasure at all, that was why it never had a name and why Ryu had never heard its whispers in his ears.


    It had been placed there by an Ancestor of Sacrum in hopes that they could grasp the secrets of the Shrine Mountain, but in the end, they failed.


    And now, it was Ryu who succeeded in their path.


    At that moment, pieces of Ryu''s mind that were suppressed by his body to protect him were unlocked one after another.


    For the first time in his life, he could truly access the deepest recesses of his mind, and the truest potential of his intelligence was unleashed just as¡­


    The Thirteenth Extinction completed.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu''s aura rocketed upward, shattering the barrier to the Dao Pedestal Realm.


    The aura of the Shrine Mountain descended and shook, enveloping his two Spiritual Foundations.


    A calm resonance was formed between them all. Ryu''s connection with each one deepened considerably.


    His aura plowed through the Dao Pedestal Realm, through the Cosmic Seed Realm, and all the way up through to the World Sea Realm.


    It almost seemed like he was completing all three realms simultaneously as though there was no distinction between them at all.


    Except for the fact Shrines began to appear in Ryu''s White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation.


    These Shrines trembled and vanished, appearing in Ryu''s Heavenly Qi Pulses and Divine Vessels.


    Like hubs of traffic through his Meridians, they formed a linkage between themselves, and for the first time, Ryu felt as though he couldn''t have been in more control of his body.


    His momentum shook the world as he broke through the Sky God Realm.


    Peels of dark gold lightning fell from the skies, crashing against his body continuously. But if one looked at his face, it was as though he didn''t notice in the slightest.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The Fragmented Sky God Realm and Fragmented Control.


    The False Sky God Realm and False Control.


    The True Sky God Realm and True Control.


    Ryu tore through all of these Realms one after another, feeling that each breach of Control took his body to an entirely different level.


    By the time he cleared the True Sky God Realm, he already felt like genius Lords were ants in front of him¡­


    He had left the standards of this world so far behind that it hardly made computational sense to most.


    And yet he tore through the Perfect Sky God Realm like it was nothing but a thin paper plane.


    The skies rolled and overturned, peels of lightning falling down even faster.


    Unfortunately for the Heavens¡­ it had no choice but to follow its own rules.


    No matter how much lightning it sent down, it couldn''t trigger another Tribulation, not unless Ryu tried to make it to Sovereignty in one go.


    The skies rumbled and shook like a toddler throwing a tantrum, and for a moment, Ryu couldn''t help but grin wildly.


    Was this how he had been back then? Constantly blaming others for his troubles?


    "Hey, you should learn some personal accountability," Ryu said with a laugh. "You''re more than old enough by now."


    BOOM!


    A particularly dense and wide beam of lightning descended from the skies, but Ryu ignored it entirely, breaking into the Transcended Sky God Realm and right into the Omniscient Sky God Realm.


    He was absolutely relentless as his momentum continued to grow.


    At the moment he reached the very peak of the Omniscient Sky God Realm, Ryu slowly opened his eyes and stood to his feet.


    It was finally about time that he truly crossed this Realm.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu basked in the fury of the Heavens, raising his arms far and wide as his Silver Star appeared to his back.


    The Abyssal Plane shook as a particular Fate Star suddenly began to show signs of waking up.


    "I''ll be needing you to finally wake up."


    CHI.


    A massive, gaping cavern was formed in space, so large and filled with endless darkness that Ryu looked only like a tiny dot of silver in the midst of it all¡­


    But then it appeared.


    A resplendent Fate Star, bursting with silvery flames and solar flares. From some angles, it even seemed to carry the slightest hint of a silvery blue.


    "Since you," Ryu looked up toward the Heavens above him, "couldn''t do the bare minimum and protect an infant''s Fate Star¡­


    "I''ll just have to take it upon myself."


    This was the true Path of the Lord.


    It was the Royal Path, a dividing line that separated those that towed the lines of the Heavens and those that drew the line themselves.


    Lord Control.


    The world shook as Ryu''s Fate Star, for the first time in millions of years, began to slowly rotate.

 Chapter 2117 Sway

    Chapter 2117  Sway The aura of a Lord spilled out over the world. But it was unlike anything the world had ever experienced before.


    It didn''t feel like a Lord was being born at all, but rather like a God was descending from above.


    The pressure they felt from Ryu now overshadowed the momentum of Dao Gods they had experienced before. It was like the world''s logic had ceased making any sense whatsoever.


    Whether this meant that Ryu was stronger than the best Dao Gods of the True Martial World was still unknown. But what was certain was that the Dao Gods born under this world''s laws before Ryu freed them¡­


    Could only stand on the same stage as him at best.


    And whether they could protect their lives or not on that stage was another matter entirely.


    If one of them was asked to answer that question, not a single one of them would dare to answer with great confidence.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s hair danced violently in the wind, his robes almost being shredded to ash as his aura alone overwhelmed them.


    ¡­


    In a distant world, Ailsa looked up, feeling something stir within her.


    At that moment, the last shackles on her strength vanished in a puff of smoke. Along with it, the last remnants of her dissatisfaction and grievances likewise vanished.


    She had already felt guilt about her previous actions, but when she felt the changes in herself, she couldn''t help but be even more embarrassed.


    When she and Ryu first met, she had told him that he was too selfish, that he was luckier than anyone she had ever met when it came to talent and a chance to grasp his own fate in his hands¡­


    But the two of them were too similar.


    Ryu had become bitter because of a suppression on his potential and strength, and she followed along right with him.


    Although it took longer because she had experienced so much, eventually¡­ she and her husband were really too similar.


    In a rare showing, Ailsa actually pouted. If those that feared her saw such an adorable expression, it was hard to say how they would react.


    Suddenly, she really wanted to see her husband, but she felt that it would be too embarrassing to go and see him now.


    ''I''ll go find Yaana first¡­''


    The moment she had this thought, a laughter echoed in her ears that made her cheeks redden.


    "Stop reading my mind!"


    "Why?" Ryu''s voice echoed in her head. "Isn''t this what you wanted me to do? We''re Life Partners."  S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m ignoring you."


    "Oh my, when''d my beautiful wife become such a tsundere?"


    "After her husband left her stranded for more trillions of years than she can bother to count."


    "Interesting assessment, I choose to think of it as letting meat marinate. The longer, the better, right?"


    Ailsa''s lip twitched.


    Ryu had always been shameless, but now that he was so much more cheery than she ever remembered him being, his words were at least ten times more annoying than before.


    The world was spared from his sharp tongue back when he couldn''t be bothered to speak, but now he had fully unleashed it and none of them could escape.


    What a nightmare.


    "Are you trying to call me a piece of meat?" Ailsa snorted.


    "This is what I get for trying to be original. Did you want me to say something generic like: absence makes the love grow fonder? What do you take me for?"


    Ailsa was speechless again. "Stop talking! You''re going to irritate me to death!"


    Ryu''s laughter echoed across the dark skies around her. He laughed so heartily that Ailsa couldn''t help but smile herself.


    For some reason, Ryu''s happiness made her happy.


    It was an odd thing to say. Wasn''t this only natural for a wife? To feel happy for her husband was the way of the world.


    But truthfully... She had forgotten how it felt.


    "I''ve said it before, but my women are allowed to be as willful as they please. If I frown a single time, feel free to cut it off."


    "Then hand it to me. I remember you yelling at me more than once."


    "Brazen lies, I''ve never raised my voice. I just told a disobedient woman off."


    A dangerous light flashed in Ailsa''s eyes as her cherry lips quirked into a gorgeous smile. The way her golden hair fell down the small of her back, curving slightly to the gentle roundness of her ass, was truly intoxicating to an extreme.


    "Tread lightly, husband."


    Ailsa could practically see Ryu''s own grin shining through.


    "Next time, it won''t just be a pinch. I''ll have to count how many ripples my palm can make."


    The light in Ailsa''s eyes deepened.


    "Is that so? Well, it''s waiting right here. I can''t wait to see you try."


    "I can''t wait to see a lot of things. And since I can''t be bothered to wait very long, you won''t be waiting very long either."


    "If you were so confident, you''d put a time on it. I can see through you like an open book."


    "If I told you the time frame I''m thinking about, it would scare you. Like I said, my wives are allowed to be as willful as they please, even if that means living in delusion."


    "Hypocritical bastard."


    "Why thank you."


    Ailsa snorted, turning with a pivot of her foot and vanishing into the distance.


    She didn''t plan on saying anything else, but Ryu''s voice echoed in her ears again.


    "Truly a beauty."


    "Why haven''t you gone away yet?"


    "I love to watch you. Is there a problem?"


    Ailsa almost stumbled in the skies. This husband of hers was so unserious.


    "Aren''t you supposed to disappear and go into a training arc?"


    "And miss the sway of your hips? Are you kidding me? I''ll be staying, thank you."


    "Don''t you have things to do?!"


    "Of course I do. Accompanying my wife is at the top of the list."


    That was when it dawned on Ailsa¡­


    The changes to Ryu''s mental capacity were far and beyond her expectations.


    He really was going to just follow her around with [Third Perspective].


    She audibly groaned, but deep inside, she couldn''t help but smile a beautiful smile.

 Chapter 2118 Now

    Chapter 2118  Now Ryu''s laughter echoed in the True Martial World as his aura continued to spread out in continuous ripples.


    He really did have no intention of leaving Ailsa''s side. Why would he? His mental capacity was so great now that using [Third Perspective] to follow his wife across the universe was a mere drop in the bucket.


    She couldn''t get rid of him that easily.


    However, therein lied another problem. Despite the scope of his [Third Perspective] having reached such a shocking range¡­ he still couldn''t find Yaana.


    So, belying his laughter was a cold determination. If not the Lord Realm, then the Sovereign Realm. If not the Sovereign Realm, then the God Realm. And if not the God Realm, he would just have to break the mold and soar beyond it.


    He didn''t believe that he wouldn''t be able to find his wife.


    Once his Spacetime Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils were completed, he would even be able to use [Third Perspective] to search for Yaana through time and space, not just space alone.


    At that point, it didn''t matter which point of history she had vanished into.


    If his future self was able to go back in time, then he would do it as well.


    As for going forward in time, that was as easy as waving a hand. It was going back that was a paradox and had to fight against the flow of the Heavens.


    If Yaana was stranded in the future, Ryu could even go right this moment to find her, taking everyone he cared about with him.


    However¡­ if she was stranded in the past¡­


    He would have to make it to the Dao God Realm before he could even think about forming a method to retrieve her.


    But that was fine. No matter what the requirement, he would do it. He just needed to complete his Spacetime Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils first, then everything would finish.


    Unfortunately, his Lord Realm Tribulation had only helped him to complete about 10% of it. He would either have to find another method to refine them, or he would have to try again at the Sovereign Realm.


    This time, he had used most of the Blessings to complete his re-cultivation, so there wasn''t much left over to complete his breakthrough and refine his third eye.


    But next time, he wouldn''t have to waste so much.


    In truth, because of this, Ryu was more of a Quasi Lord right now than he was a true Lord. Because he had used so much of the Blessing to re-cultivate, he didn''t spend much on his actual breakthrough.


    And yet, he was already so powerful.


    When his Realm stabilized, he would only be more so.


    But only Ryu knew all of this. To everyone else, he was probably the strongest Lord that they had ever laid eyes on, and that reality made their hearts tremble almost entirely out of their chests.


    If they knew that he had only placed a half foot into the Lord Realm, it would be hard to say if the world would even be able to accept this.


    SHU! SHU! SHU!


    Radiant silvery lights spread out from Ryu''s Fate Star until it was eventually swallowed up by his Inner World.


    In that instant, Ryu''s aura vanished entirely. He became no different from a normal man¡­ if a mortal could cross the skies with a single step, that is.


    All of the phenomena, all of the projections and illusions, and even the distortions in space and qi storms disappeared one after another until the world had fallen into complete silence.


    The Tribulation Clouds trembled just a single time before they too vanished, leaving nothing but clear blue no matter where you looked.


    Ryu''s head suddenly turned in a particular direction. He brought his thumb to his throat and made a slicing motion.


    Then, he pointed his thumb down.


    Space shuddered beneath his nail. It was just a small ripple, but it made the air look like a pond of disturbed water.


    ¡­


    The Martial Gods had been watching everything silently all the while. The Ancestors had even opened their eyes, their gazes sharp as they stared at the image before them.


    That was when Ryu suddenly looked right at them through the screen. It felt as though he was staring at each one of them individually.


    Then his thumb moved, slicing across his throat and then pointing down.


    BANG!


    The screen of light shattered into countless pieces.


    It tried to quickly reform itself, establishing a connection with Ryu''s Fate to see the scene once again. But¡­  Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It failed.


    Black fog began to bubble up from the runes swirling in the air and they corroded in on themselves as though they had met something particularly sinister.


    Flames sparked and they then fell from the air in a rain of ash.


    Silence.


    Everyone here knew how that screen of light was formed. It wasn''t just a normal projection. It worked on principles of Fate, and the Runes that made up its body were formed by one of the strongest existences in their entire Clan¡­


    The Divine Chain Ancestor.


    The Divine Chain Bloodline was the strongest of their Martial God Bloodline, and yet its foundation was ripped to shreds right before their eyes because a young man pointed a finger.


    When Ryu defeated the Sentinel in just ten moves, the Ancestors had already opened their eyes. But his re-cultivation¡­


    That truly stirred them.


    The Martial Gods were a Clan that prided themselves on their research. They had countless cultivation methods and they had tried out countless different paths and methods. This was why they encouraged inter-marrying and didn''t particularly care who their descendants married or had children with.


    But right before their eyes, Ryu had gone from someone who had to use their cultivation methods as a reference, to a young man who had created something they had never thought of.


    This cultivation method of Ryu''s¡­ they could tell with their experience that it was the strongest in Existence right this moment.


    And they had to have it.


    A fiery light blazed in the eyes of the Martial God Ancestors.


    "Go. I want that boy here. Now."


    A gruff voice caused several weaker Martial Gods to burst into a rain of blood.

 Chapter 2119 Remember

    Chapter 2119  Remember Ryu sneered, stepping through the skies and descending as though he didn''t feel the danger coming for him at all.


    He landed on the city walls of the Radiant Star Sect, the pressure of his existence causing many to subconsciously take a step backward. This number included Aika who still seemed to be in somewhat of a daze.


    In one go, she had lost two brothers that might as well have been her true blood relatives. It was a difficult blow for anyone to take, let alone Aika who was used to being carefree and acting as she pleased.


    The weight of the destruction of her Dual Radiance Sect was something that had weighed on her soul for a very long while, but she had managed to suppress it after years.


    But there was a difference between suppressing something and truly dealing with it. It was clear that while Aika had moved past it, she hadn''t truly buried it. Or maybe it was the fact that she had buried only for it to resurface that caused her current problems.


    "Alright, let''s go." Ryu spoke, landing right in front of Jojo.


    Jojo was startled. "You¡ªwhat are you talking about?"


    "I''ve decided that you''re my next Summon. Unless you want to wallow in mediocrity for the rest of your days, I''d suggest you follow me."


    Jojo''s reactions practically made it look like she was jumping out of her skin.


    SHIIIIIIING!


    Her sword appeared out of nowhere, slicing down at Ryu''s neck.


    However¡­


    Chi.


    The sound was almost too dull. The blade was blocked by a fingernail.


    "Where''s this animosity coming from? You know, to the world, we''re technically a couple."


    "Who would be in a relationship with you?!"


    "Quite a number of beauties, actually. But don''t be mistaken, I''m not offering you such a position. I need a warrior. You''re a little useless right now, but I think we can fix that in a couple days."


    "Fuck you." Jojo growled. "I''m not going to be your puppet."


    "Mm," Ryu nodded with a smile. "If you didn''t have that sort of response, it would be a waste of my time to bring you into the fold in the first place."


    Jojo was rendered speechless. This man was already annoying before, but now he was several orders of magnitude worse.


    BANG!


    Ryu blinked and suddenly held out a palm, stopping an attack that came from Aika.


    Truthfully, he didn''t expect her to suddenly attack like this. At first, he thought that Samson and Old Wan''s death had only just settled in, but after giving her a glance, he seemed to see through to the depths of her souls.


    She was attacking for Jojo''s sake.


    "Oh. So you do still have some backbone after all."


    Aika didn''t reply. In fact, her gaze was somewhat dull, almost as though she was just clinging onto this one thing to make her feel something.


    Jojo was her disciple. She had spent that last over 50 years giving her everything she could, pouring everything she had into nurturing this one young girl.


    By this point, she and Jojo were practically mother and child. At the same time, Jojo was the very last hope that the Radiant Star Sect had.


    Even now¡­ she was unwilling¡­ too unwilling to give up this chance¡­


    She was moving practically on auto-pilot.


    When Jojo saw this, her expression changed and her eyes began to ripple with tears. Though, these tears were quickly burned away by her flaming eyebrows. Her grip on her great sword tightened and her aura flared.


    Ryu blinked. His palm quickly pushed out against Aika, causing her to stumble back before a finger tapped Jojo''s forehead like lightning.


    In that instant, the surging aura was wrapped in Divine Chains and like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, Jojo was suppressed.


    "Relax. Now isn''t the time for you to break into the Lord Realm. It''s not that I can''t raise you to the level I need you to be at before you break through, but it would cost substantially more resources. It''s a bit embarrassing to say, but I''m just a tiny little bit poor right now."


    Jojo felt as though she had been trying to take a deep breath only to suddenly be punched in the gut.


    Aika grit her teeth. "Just¡­ take me instead¡­"


    She ground out those words, but Ryu only chuckled.


    "Right now¡­ you aren''t very worthy. Your Dao is very interesting and has a lot of potential, but the path I want my Summons to follow requires a strong Dao Heart. If you can''t withstand this little bit, then you''ll die after I pour so many resources into you. Wouldn''t that be wasting my time?"


    "Ryu!" Jojo roared. "Why are you so cruel?"


    "Me?" Ryu looked over. "My cruelty is a matter of perspective. I guess right now you feel that way, but when you stay stuck at the Omniscient Sky God Realm for the rest of your life or die beneath your Lord Tribulation, would you think me cruel then?


    "Or maybe you wouldn''t be thinking about me at that point at all, too fearful for your life, or too busy being enraged with the Heavens. You wouldn''t consider the fact you could have avoided it all just by following me from the very beginning."


    Jojo didn''t even know how to respond to this. Was she supposed to thank Ryu for saving her from a future she hadn''t even experienced yet? Let alone the fact that she didn''t believe that anything would be able to stop her steps.


    "Ryu." Aika breathed out a heavy breath, finally stabilizing the rolling of her inner organs from Ryu''s earlier attack. It was just a light push, but it actually took her so much effort to regain her bearings. "¡­ You are my fianc¨¦. I''ve heard how you treat your women. So¡­"


    Aika grit her teeth.


    Back then, she had already been embarrassed that Ryu had to save her from the Fate of being married off by the Radiant Star Sect Ancestors. She thought it would be nice to just forget that matter had ever happened.


    But she never thought that today she would be using it to pressure Ryu. She couldn''t be more embarrassed about the matter, but you would never guess it by the look on her face.


    Even when Ryu chuckled, her stare at him didn''t waver in the slightest.


    Technically, she was right. But Ryu had never taken it very seriously.


    "Ai¡­" Ryu sighed. "If I do this, that means I also need to go back to Sacrum. Do you know how annoying that''ll be?"


    Aika''s gaze flashed in confusion, but Ryu was only remembering a woman that he had forgotten about long ago. He just hadn''t cared enough to return to see how she was doing.


    But then again, maybe he needed an excuse to also go and see Granny Miriam''s little sister. He wondered how she was doing as well.


    These years, he honestly didn''t plan on cultivating very much at all. At least, he didn''t plan on cultivating personally.


    This wasn''t out of laziness, but rather that he could feel that his body needed this time. He had just put it through a lot of stress, and whether it was his own personal comprehension, or his wife''s Cultus Faerie lineage, both pointed him toward the fact a rest would actually help him to improve even further, while cultivating now would have the opposite effect.


    The main reason for that wasn''t Comprehension this time, or that he needed to accumulate more. Instead, his body was adapting to his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    Until now, the process required failing the Spiritual Severing Realm so that one could progress while focused entirely on the Meridians without the influence of the Spiritual Foundation.


    But this time, Ryu had obviously not done that. That said, he felt that he had found the true path of his Chaotic Silk Meridians.


    The Meridians were meant to be part of the body. Constantly having to communicate with an external land to retrieve your qi was foolish and it shouldn''t be relied upon unless you were truly running out of qi.


    By this point, Ryu had too many methods of increasing his qi output. His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation alone was a thousand times larger than most Spiritual Foundations.


    He had an overabundance of qi to begin with.


    This aside, this time period would allow the Chaos Plane to come to him rather than the reverse¡­


    The process of forming a Chaos Plane within one''s body.


    Like this, Ryu would have one Inner World of the Real Plane and one Inner World of the Chaos Plane, striking a perfect balance.


    And such things took time.


    Lost in his thoughts, Ryu forgot for a moment that he was even speaking to Aika.


    "Interesting." Ryu said with another chuckle.  S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aika was about to sigh a breath of relief before Ryu spoke again.


    "In that case, I''ll take you both as Summons."


    He reached out with both hands at the same time.

 Chapter 2120 Promises

    Chapter 2120  Promises Aika and Jojo both found themselves immobilized. They tried to speak, but it was absolutely worthless. They couldn''t resist the suction force at all as they were pulled into Ryu''s Inner World.


    It wasn''t until that moment that they realized just how weak they were compared to the current Ryu.


    Aika was a true genius, and for all her life, she had existed above others. However, right now, she couldn''t even put up resistance against a Lord that had just broken through despite being an entire cultivation realm above him.


    Ryu clapped lightly as though thanking himself for a job well done.


    He swept a gaze over the Sect, but didn''t see anything else of interest. So, he turned and left.


    The Sect was left in silence, staring at the location Ryu had just been in.


    Three of their most powerful existences had either been killed or kidnapped, and their best genius, the pillar of their future, had been taken as well.


    What hope did their Sect even have any longer?


    The armies that had acted to attack the Radiant Star Sect were stuck in a no man''s land, not knowing what to do. Should they return to their Sects? Would Ryu even let them¡ª


    BOOM!  S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A pillar of flames erupted in the distance and they all froze. None of them needed to look to know that there would be no Sect to return to.


    The entire Fate of the Seventh Heaven had been flipped by a single young man.


    ¡­


    Ryu left the Sect behind, and with a step, he had already crossed the skies, appearing above the Fading Star Sect.


    He moved through their defenses as though they weren''t there at all, and soon, he was in the heart of the Sect.


    Most of the powerhouses weren''t even here any longer. They had all set off to war, but those that remained had already seen his Tribulation. There wasn''t a single person on the Seventh Heaven that hadn''t.


    So when they saw him appear in the depths of their Sect, clearly aiming for their Faith Well, they didn''t even dare to stand in his way.


    They had been fighting with the Radiant Star Sect for so long¡­ but they had never thought that things would end up like this.


    What they didn''t know was that Ryu wasn''t even acting on behalf of the Radiant Star Sect right now. He was acting on behalf of the Frost Clan.


    When he first arrived in the True Martial World, he had gained the favor of Flowing Frost. Back then, he made her two promises.


    The first was a child that carried her Frost Clan''s Bloodline. And the second¡­ was the destruction of the Fading Star Sect.


    Maybe she didn''t expect that Ryu would actually succeed one day and make it this far. Maybe she had just been tired and didn''t want to hold on any longer, living out a lonely existence.


    But regardless, today, Ryu would fulfill that promise.


    He raised a hand and his palm trembled. At that moment, the flowing waters of the Faith Well shook and were about to be completely torn apart and devoured¡­


    When a suffocating presence descended.


    Ryu''s pupils constricted, a feeling of danger welling up in his heart. But he didn''t weaken his grip. If anything, doing so would harm him more than help him out of a situation like this one.


    At that moment, the form of a familiar man appeared.


    Sky God Radiant Star.


    His master''s husband.


    "Who¡ª."


    Radiant Star stopped speaking when he saw Ryu.


    "¡­ What are you doing?"


    "Isn''t it obvious?" Ryu asked.


    Radiant Star''s eyes narrowed. He had never liked this kid, and now, he was even more arrogant than he remembered.


    He hadn''t recognized Ryu at first because he had changed too much. How long had it been? Had it even been a hundred years since he saw him last?


    Making it to the Lord Realm in that time was acceptable. In fact, it was even a bit slow in his eyes. But the main problem wasn''t the cultivation realm, it was Ryu''s aura.


    He was measuring his surprise by the rise in Ryu''s strength, not the change to his cultivation realm.


    "You can leave now. This Faith Well is under my protection."


    Ryu ignored him, his pull on the Well becoming stronger. His Fate Soul Nature thrummed with life and the churning of the waters became all the more obvious.


    "I said stop!" A booming voice came from Radiant Star.


    Ryu ignored him once again, his pull becoming even stronger.


    Radiant Star''s expression became ugly.


    "Don''t make me kill you, boy. Do you not know that this Sect is tied to your master? How ungrateful can you possibly be?"


    "Kill me, then." Ryu said coldly. He might have changed a lot, but his unwillingness to explain himself was just the same.


    If these two had taken their duties as founders more seriously, would the situation of the Sects have ever reached this point?


    Trying to save it all now was too little, too late.


    Radiant Star''s temper flared and he really did move to attack.


    But at that moment, a Throne appeared high above Ryu''s head and the God''s expression became as ugly as ash.


    It had to be remembered that the Throne Ryu had was for the Dual Radiance Sect. The Heavens still recognized this Sect as just one Existence, and as such, as effective as his Throne was on the Radiant Star Sect, it was just as effective on the Fading Star Sect.


    Since this place was important to Radiant Star for whatever reason, then the Throne would obviously be effective against him as well. There was simply no escaping it at all.


    BANG!


    The Faith Well exploded and the waters that ran through it formed a sphere that pulsed in the air.


    "You¡­"


    Radiant Star couldn''t believe that Ryu had actually done it. But worse than just that, he was controlling Fate with a turn of his hand as though it was only natural.


    This was something that even Dao Gods could only faintly touch the edge of. There were only a rare few that could actually begin to manipulate it like Ryu was.


    But Ryu was only in the Lord Realm!


    "Alright, if you''re done, I''ll be going now."


    Radiant Star''s eyes practically billowed with flames, but there was nothing he could do.


    Even if the foundation of the Fading Star Sect was destroyed, the Radiant Star Sect still existed. Because of that, the Throne was still effective.


    Against his real body, it wouldn''t have much of an effect. But this was just a projection linked through Fate. As a result, he was extremely susceptible to it. If Ryu wanted, he could destroy this projection of his and even harm the Fate of his real body.


    That would be the absolute worst outcome and there would be nothing that he could do about it.


    Those outside of Sacrum might feel less hesitation when dealing with Thrones, but that didn''t mean that they didn''t have their apprehensions as well.


    For a Throne like Ryu who not only wielded a great number of Thrones by now, but also faced a greater challenge when claiming the Dual Radiance Throne, the danger he posed was even more potent.


    Because of this, Radiant Star could only watch as Ryu disappeared into the distance.


    A flash of anger sparked in Radiant Star''s eyes, but he no longer had anything he was tethered to, so his projection was forced to slowly fade away.


    ¡­


    Ryu returned to the Radiant Star Sect unexpectedly, but barely anyone noticed him. He was too fast.


    With a flick of his fingers, the Fate of the Fading Star Sect poured into the well sprint of the Radiant Star Sect and a pillar shot into the skies.


    A rain of qi sprinkled down from above, and as though a desert had finally been watered by the life spring of existence, the aura of the Sect began to flourish.


    At the same time, Ryu''s actions as their Throne began to truly take root.


    The things that Ryu had accomplished were beyond the imaginations of those of this Sect. Just how much Fate had he managed to gather in these last several decades? Just his Tribulation alone had shocked the entire world, and now, everyone had to thank him for the fact their bottlenecks were undone.


    It could be said that other than a handful of Dao Gods¡­ Ryu''s presence on the True Martial World was second to none.


    The Radiant Star Sect rumbled and the ground shook.


    Then, under the astonished gazes of those present, it began to rise.


    Since Ryu was in the mood for keeping promises, he might as well do one for Aika as well.


    She had dreamed about returning to the Eighth Heaven all her life, so he might as well give her that very opportunity.


    All the while, Ryu didn''t seem to realize that he was being hunted down.


    Just when these Martial Hunters made it to the Seventh¡­


    Ryu had risen to the Eighth.


    Unable to use Fate to track him down, Ryu was practically rubbing their incompetence in their noses while leisurely acting as he pleased.

 Chapter 2121

    Chapter 2121  "Thank" The commotion of a Sect rising up to a new Heaven should have been great, and it was. However, as focused and shocked as everyone would usually be when such a thing happened, it was hard to be this time around because too much was going on.


    Ryu''s breakthrough wasn''t the only one happening across the world, and for the Eighth Heaven, there was an especially large bottleneck.  S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The highest concentration of talent in the True Martial World was located in the Ninth Heaven, obviously. However, the largest concentration of suppressed talents was most definitely located in the Eighth Heaven.


    The Ninth Heaven was once thought to be the only Heaven without any suppressive formations in the past, and while this was no longer true as proven by Ryu, the Eighth Heaven still housed the most unsung heroes.


    Often, these so-called unsung heroes had even once been geniuses of the Ninth Heaven, but unable to find a place to carve out for themselves amidst the suppression of so many powers and interests, they had no choice but to retreat.


    It could be said then that compared to all other Heavens, the Eighth Heaven had the most competition.


    The Seventh Heaven had the Heavenly Path protecting the road up, while the Ninth Heaven had settled down into a calm balance after so many years. This left the Eighth Heaven as the Heaven that maybe captured the essence of what it meant to be a cultivator to the greatest extent.


    Due to all of these factors, there were a great number of Tribulations triggered in short order on the Eighth Heaven. The skies were particularly volatile and it didn''t feel like there was a single location one could go to without being immediately swallowed up by the aura of death.


    There were probably a great number of people hovering on pins and needles, so when the Radiant Star Sect suddenly pierced through the veil of space separating the two and established itself once more in the ruins of its own Sect, there weren''t very many people who noticed because those that would have the power to do so were occupied by their troubles.


    Every single one of them was now dealing with a Tribulation they hadn''t prepped for in the slightest.


    This should have been a good thing, but there were probably a great number of these former geniuses that could only sigh up at the skies.


    Being unable to control the circumstances of your own breakthrough was a great taboo amongst the best of cultivators.


    But now, their accumulations were too great to stop it even if they wanted to. They had to settle for the Daos being weaker than they hoped and their foundations only being rated to the former world they were used to.


    It was the geniuses who had yet to break into the Sky God Realm that truly benefited the most from this change.


    These juniors began to rise up one after another, experiencing a rainfall of breakthroughs in their Daos.


    Things that they didn''t understand in the past came to them with the ease of a flowing stream¡­


    It was only now they understood just how much the world had hidden from them.


    But it wasn''t just comprehension that changed either.


    The greatest changes were to the Order of talents.


    The weight of a God Grade Talent completely changed as the laws that dictated their strengths were overwritten.


    Slowly but surely, the entire face of the True Martial World was undergoing a great change.


    But Ryu himself didn''t seem to care much at all.


    After raising the Radiant Star Sect to its former position and fulfilling a second one of his promises in short order, he seemed to vanish from the world entirely.


    **


    Sarriel sat in silence, her thighs pressed together as she leaned on a railing.


    The deep look in her violet eyes kept changing as she looked out into the world of Fey and Faeries.


    She, too, could feel the changes in the laws, and she could almost feel how it had come about.


    She really didn''t like that annoying man.


    The look in her eyes continued to change. From indifference to coldness, and from coldness to disdain, and then from disdain to innocence, and then from innocence to insatiable lust.


    ''The changes are coming faster¡­'' she thought to herself in a voice that underwent just as many changes.


    Still, through them all, there was a bittersweetness that shone through.


    She had gone through so much trouble, meticulously laying her foundation step by step, so that she could break through the shackles of this world at some penultimate moment, just in time for the Title Stele.


    But this bastard went ahead and just up and made all of her previous efforts useless.


    Well¡­ that wasn''t exactly the case. Unlike the others already in the Sky God Realm¡ªwell, her along with a select few¡ªshe wouldn''t experience a sudden breakthrough that left her in deep regret.


    She, along with those few, were ready for this change. In fact, they had been waiting for it.


    It was just that none of them could have ever imagined that someone in their generation would be able to undo it all himself.


    Most weren''t aware of this at all, but even though she hadn''t been there, Sarriel was quite confident in her assessment.


    This matter¡­ was definitely related to that man Ryu Tatsuya.


    She wondered just how much more powerful he had gotten in such a short time.


    A sigh left her lips as her personality changed once more, but then it quickly became a snort, and then a slight moan as she squeezed her thighs together a bit too strongly.


    "I don''t plan on thanking you," she said in a demure tone.


    Hearing her true personality shine through even under the influence of this fluctuating soul, she knew that the time had come.


    Her cultivation technique was about to reach Grand Completion. Next time she saw that man, she would have to "thank" him properly.

 Chapter 2122 Repaying

    Chapter 2122  Repaying Ryu walked across the universe, sweeping a gaze over a direction that had a direct line of sight toward Sarriel. But in the end, he didn''t choose to say much of anything.


    He wasn''t at the point yet that he could just read someone''s thoughts from such a large distance away. The main reason he had sensed it was that Sarriel''s pining was particularly tortured and her soul was undergoing a great amount of fluctuations.


    The reason powerful Gods could feel when their name was mentioned was due to an interaction between Fate and a spoken name. Usually, if one was just thinking their thoughts in their head, they wouldn''t influence the world around them, and thus such a thing would never be triggered.


    But by comparison, Sarriel''s soul was undergoing a great upheaval and she seemed to be on the verge of some sort of breakthrough. Because of that, her soul was influencing the world quite greatly.


    For the current Ryu, that sort of focused thought about himself might as well have been someone yelling directly into his ears, especially since they had just been in the same world although separated by planes.


    He snorted in laughter. "I knew she liked me."


    Despite saying this, Ryu felt quite indifferent to it as he didn''t bother to change his route.  S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was going home.


    At this point in time, if Ryu didn''t want to be found, he wouldn''t be found. The Martial Gods probably thought that if they put their minds to it, his capture would come with great ease.


    But that was very far from the case.


    In fact, Ryu wasn''t even running away right now. He was on a completely leisurely stroll through the universe.


    When he first came to the True Martial World, he had to risk his life through several storms before he finally paid an exorbitant price just to ride a shuttle to the world.


    But now, he was not only not in need of such transportation, he was thousands of times faster than it had ever been.


    Using Spacetime in the void was countless times easier than doing so under the suppression of a world.


    It would still take Ryu some time if he wanted to move from one end of a world to another. But out here, he could cross triple that distance in a single step.


    It was both a freeing and disorienting feeling¡­ because Ryu realized that there was quite some chaos attached to this.


    The disorder of the void was precisely what made it lax in its regulations, and this laxness also resulted in danger.


    Out here, it was far more likely for Ryu to accidentally phase his head through something and end up with a meteor in the middle of his skull.


    Without absolute precision and confidence in one''s abilities, even more Spatial affinity geniuses wouldn''t dare to casually travel as far in a single bound as Ryu was.


    But Ryu himself didn''t seem to sense the danger. And as a result, a journey that should have taken years of time was completed by him in just a few minutes.


    One would have thought that the True Martial World was around the corner from Sacrum.


    ¡­


    Ryu took a step into Sacrum''s Chaos Plane and breathed in.


    A single huff from him almost drained the Plane of all of its Chaos Qi. But although it felt like this was about to happen, the amount of Chaos Qi that rushed in to replace it was equally as overwhelming.


    It seemed that there was truly something special about Sacrum after all. From Ryu''s understanding, there was simply no way it should have recovered that fast.


    But even with his current strength, he couldn''t see through exactly what that secret was.


    ''Curious.''


    Ryu stepped through the skies, but after returning to the Real Plane, he was part disappointed and part relieved that he didn''t sense his parents.


    Though he wanted to see his folks, he didn''t want to deal with his father''s side-eye when he inevitably brought back more wives even after their last talk.


    Ryu chuckled to himself, a hint of warmth sparking in his gaze.


    His old man was probably the only one that could make him admit to the fact that he wanted to avoid him at all costs.


    At the very least, he couldn''t meet with his old man without his mother present. She would definitely be the buffer he needed. In fact, in her opinion, he might not have enough wives yet.


    Ryu found himself aimlessly walking across the skies. The laws didn''t reject him and it felt like he was a God in the truest sense here.


    Nothing could stop him.


    Somehow¡­ despite the mysteriousness of Sacrum, he felt like if he wanted to destroy it with a single palm, it wouldn''t even fight back against him all that much at all.


    Like a mother coddling her children, she would smile even as he drove a knife through her chest.


    Ryu couldn''t help but recall the words of the Heavenly Court Ancestor. Was this what it meant to be a "Chosen"? Was this how much Sacrum loved him?


    It was truly ironic that he once used to hate a world that gave him so much and was willing to sacrifice so much for his sake.


    Ryu looked up at the skies, a light smile on his face. It looked like he was truly at peace with something.


    The Shrines in his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation pulsed with light, resonating with the world around him.


    At that moment, he realized that in all likelihood¡­ it didn''t matter which Ancestor of the Martial God came. In fact, they might not dare to come at all any longer.


    If he was willing to go as far as to destroy the life root of Sacrum, he could kill anyone.


    But¡­ in a rare showing, Ryu shook his head.


    "If I''m repaying debts, then I owe you a debt as well. I promise that no one will harm you. Not even myself."

 Chapter 2123 Loom

    Chapter 2123  Loom Ryu spoke these words calmly. There wasn''t much determination or fire in his eyes, but the soothing cadence of his voice was able to express everything it was he was feeling on the inside. There was nothing that would stop him from protecting Sacrum.


    Repaying one''s debts, the Cycle of Karma, the Wheel of Fate, these were all things that Ryu felt that he had the ability to escape already.


    Even if he ignored his promise to Flowing Frost, it would have no possibility of harming his foundation. Even if he didn''t raise the Radiant Star Sect to the Eighth Heaven, it would have had no impact on him. Even if he destroyed Sacrum with a single palm right here and now, it wouldn''t affect him in the slightest.


    This was what it meant to reach the epitome of Control. This was what it meant to have a oneness with Fate and Karma, to have it rooted in one''s very Soul Nature.


    However, Ryu had never been someone that did things for the sake of the gazes of others. He had his own moral compass, and he abided by it even if it meant others saw him as a hypocrite.


    Being a hypocrite didn''t mean that he walked around doing things without rhyme or reason, or ignorant of consequences and care.


    To Ryu, being a hypocrite meant that he was able to live life by his own whims, to his own level of Control, but his own cadence.


    This was why he had chosen this path.


    And for him, repaying debts to those he owed would always be something that he took very seriously. That was something that his pride wouldn''t allow him to neglect.


    What sort of man couldn''t do at least that much?


    With another step, Ryu crossed the skies once more and appeared above a Sect. Although he was in plain sight, no one could seem to spot him at all.


    The Sect of women bustled about. Their innocent laughter and joyful fervor was quite warm to experience. Before that, their beauty just seemed like the cherry on top.


    Despite the harsh cold of the environment, there seemed to be a warm embrace waiting for you nonetheless.


    The Awoken Moon Sect.


    In truth, Ryu hadn''t expected to find it in such good condition. He had neglected it quite a bit, but it seemed that his mother had taken action at some point or another.


    He hadn''t paid attention to these matters in a long while, but someone was certainly keeping Sacrum afloat if it wasn''t him.


    He had never had much interest in leading a Clan or ruling large amounts of people. He was always interested in his own personal strength.


    The only reason he was building up an army of Summons and Corpse Puppets now was because if he had to wait until he was personally strong enough to counter his wife''s own army, the poor woman might not get laid for at least thousands of years, on top of the trillions she had already experienced.


    Truth be told, he really was just doing this for the sake of his wife. As a husband, it was his duty to look out for her best interests.


    Luckily, though, Ryu''s parents were much more responsible.


    Soon, Ryu laid eyes on the person he had come looking for and smiled.


    Melody. Granny Miriam''s younger sister.


    It seemed that she had indeed returned to the Sect. And not just this, but she was already on the verge of the Sky God Realm.


    For Sacrum, this was a mind-numbing pace of cultivation. Most Sky Gods here were on the order of trillions upon trillions of years old. But it had only been a thousand years or so since Ryu saw her last.


    Undoubtedly, this was also thanks to Ryu''s mother Himari.


    Ryu nodded and turned to leave. Since she was doing well, there was no need for him to stay here.


    He owed Granny Miriam a great deal. She hadn''t been able to save his life, even at the cost of her own, but she had shown familial warmth to a version of himself that didn''t even know how to define the word family.


    As far as he was concerned, she was no less a true grandmother to him than any of his flesh and blood relatives had been.


    Making sure that her sister was doing well was the least he could do.


    Ryu waved a casual hand and a droplet of Embryonic Qi shot out.


    Melody didn''t even notice it enter her forehead. But her expression did change as she felt her cultivation stir.


    She hurried to stand, barking out a few orders as she rushed into seclusion.


    Soon, the Awoken Moon Sect would have the first Sky God in its history.  S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Ryu stood high in the skies of the Pedestal Plane, his thoughts and expressions unreadable.


    The Loom Clan was no more. It probably hadn''t been for a long while.


    That location where he had almost been forced to kneel was nothing but a patch of dirt in an endless forest now.


    He stood above that exact location, knowing that his memory wasn''t failing him, but rather that the former structures of power that had once been there were just no longer in existence.


    Ryu had killed Patriarch Ember, the former ruler of the Plane. So the collapse had probably started from the Core Region, and then spread to the Inner Ring here.


    No one would have been able to escape the battle and all the powers that called this place home would be embroiled in the war.


    In the end, what once was Loom City was now destroyed.


    Ryu didn''t need his ability to scry Fate to know this. But when he did use Fate to read what likely happened here, he only confirmed his guesses.


    He took a step and appeared in another location of the forest. There was a small cabin within and the door creaked open as a woman stepped out.

 Chapter 2124 Taedra

    Chapter 2124  Taedra There was an odd pause as the woman frowned.


    She wasn''t quite middle-aged, but there were definitely some faint signs of age on her once delicate face.


    Considering she dared to live out in the middle of the wilderness alone, her strength wasn''t bad. But she was still only in the Divine Vessel Realm. Though, it seemed that it might not be long before she had a chance to break into the Connecting Heaven Realm.


    She wore simple clothing, a pair of loose pants and shirt. Her hair was a bit messy, but the sort of messy that said she had been working all day, not the sort that made one feel like she didn''t care for herself.


    In her palm, though, she held a bloodied rag that smelled of beast. Maybe she had just gone hunting and used it to clean her knives, or maybe something else was going on.


    For a moment, the two just stared at one another for a while before her eyes opened wide.


    "You¡­"


    Her pupils trembled.


    She didn''t know why it took her so long to remember that face. It had hardly changed at all, though it had somehow become more perfect than she remembered.


    No¡­ that wasn''t the case. She knew exactly why.


    In her mind, Ryu wasn''t a man, he was practically mythology. That part of her life was something that she had long forgotten, pushing it down and erasing it.


    There was too much hurt, too much pain. And¡­ truthfully speaking, the two were from completely different worlds.


    Much like Ailsa had said back then, Taedra''s peak in this life would likely be the Path Extinction Realm and no further.


    That said, after what Ryu left, and given Matheus''¡ªher brother''s¡ªtalent, Ryu expected her to have accomplished more by now.


    It had to be remembered that geniuses of Sacrum made it to the Connecting Heaven Realm by age 100. Of course, those were Shrine Plane talents, not Blossom Plane talents like Taedra.


    But¡­ it was still honestly a bit disappointing.


    Not everyone had the passion for cultivating, and it was clear by how long it took her to recognize him that he wasn''t a figure at the forefront of her mind either.


    Of course, Ryu didn''t care very much about this. If not for Aika, he wouldn''t have ever stirred up the intention to go and find this woman. He would have also cleverly avoided the topic with his mother.


    But since it had been brought to the forefront of his thoughts, he couldn''t just ignore it. Otherwise, it would bother him and his qi would no longer flow freely.


    Taedra took a deep breath and exhaled, regaining her bearings.


    She was no longer a little girl. As bad as her experiences with Ryu were, she didn''t have much ill intent toward him either. They were just people from different worlds, and honestly speaking¡­ she should be thanking him for the opportunities he allowed her brother to have.


    She didn''t know where Matheus was right now, but she knew that he was living the life he wanted to live as the genius he was.


    Her brother deserved to become a great Sky God in the future. While she¡­ she had no Fate with such things.


    After collecting herself, Taedra bowed respectfully.


    "Taedra greets Lord Husband."


    Ryu didn''t react to this very much. It could only be said that this woman was quite intelligent. It was obvious that she had basically never thought of him in his absence, at least not after she got over the initial event, but she still used such a greeting.


    She knew that with Ryu''s strength, even though she couldn''t see through it, if he had kept even a fraction of his talent he would be able to kill her with a thought.


    Such men, even for women they had discarded, wouldn''t tolerate even the slightest bit of disrespect in this regard.


    She could only thank herself for being lucky enough that she hadn''t fallen for another man.


    In the past, Ryu had told her that if she ran into someone she fell for, she should feel free to marry. Back then, his heart had been dead set on Elena, to the point he even ignored his own Life Partner, so obviously, Tae wouldn''t receive any special treatment in this regard.


    Taedra had mostly taken those words to heart back then. But now¡­ she had matured considerably, and she had seen too much of the world.


    Only a naive woman would believe in such words so casually. A promise made by a teenager to another teenager could hardly hold up to the test of time.


    Of course, she still didn''t know that Ryu had already been over a thousand years old in lived experience back then.


    Ironically, after his Rebirth stalled his aging, they were about the same age now.


    "Where are Matheus and your father?" Ryu eventually asked.


    Taedra slowly raised her head. "¡­ My father died in the war for the Blossom Plane. As for my brother, I have not seen him in several centuries."


    "I see."


    Ryu nodded. A silence fell between the two of them.


    Taedra shifted somewhat uncomfortably beneath Ryu''s gaze, not quite knowing what to do. But she had a staunchness to her that surprised Ryu nonetheless.


    "Would you like to see your brother?" Ryu asked.


    Taedra blinked in surprise. "I¡­"


    She didn''t know what to say. Was Ryu just asking to be polite? Did he even know where he was? Could he bring her there?


    Ryu suddenly smiled, leaving Taedra in a daze.


    "You can be honest. Since you call me Lord Husband after all of this time, how can I not treat you with some modicum of respect?"


    Taedra found herself truly starstruck. She never thought that words she had spoken for no other reason than to spare her own life would be painted in such a light.


    Inwardly, she couldn''t help but feel slightly embarrassed and she began to fidget about things she hadn''t even considered before.


    Did she smell? How terrible did her hair look right now? Why had she chosen to wear this today, didn''t she have anything better?  Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So?" Ryu asked again, his smile not fading.


    "I¡­ yes. Yes, I do want to see my brother."


    "Alright. Then come." Ryu held out a hand.

 Chapter 2125 Funny

    ?Chapter 2125 FunnyTae hesitated but ultimately took Ryu''s hand. She wasn''t truly sure how to feel about what was going on here, but her will to see Matheus overwhelmed her.


    After being alone for so long, she longed for family. It was hard to reject a change like this... especially since she still didn''t know what Ryu might do if he was rejected. That was a large part of the reason she was acting like this to begin with.


    She was also quite well aware of her current standing.


    Ryu didn''t look like he had aged a single day. In fact, there was even a good argument to make that he looked even healthier and more exuberant than back then, although not necessarily younger.


    His presence seemed to take up more space, and he was even more handsome than she remembered by a margin that wasn''t too insignificant.


    While she... well, while she wasn''t yet in her middle ages, she was already showing signs of aging that were all too obvious to her. For someone who hadn''t seen her in so long, they would be even more obvious to Ryu.


    On top of that, while she had been a beauty, that was by the standards of the Blossom Plane and she wasn''t necessarily city-toppling.


    Originally, she didn''t quite know this. She lost in her own bubble and didn''t have much interaction with the elites of the world to understand the difference.


    But after seeing the woman Matheus loved all those years ago... she realized just what kind of gap it was.


    She didn''t know why the Heavens were so vain, but it was clear and obvious to her that the higher one''s talent and the deeper one''s cultivation, the more attractive they


    were.


    Well, no... she had always known this. It was obvious.


    The universe existed for the sake of progressing to an unknown peak, and every creature under its charge was tasked with improvement and evolution.


    How did the opposite sex know that you were worthy of them? Was it not by how you looked?


    The more attractive you were, the more you would signal to others of your caste just how healthy and strong you were.


    It was the way of the world... the way everything worked.


    In some shape or fashion, Tae had always known this.


    It was just that she was blissfully unaware of just how large the gap was until that day. Seeing Ryu return to her now, she was reminded of that truth all the more clearly. So


    much so that after she took his hand... she somewhat regretted it already.


    Maybe she should just stay in this small little shack, maybe this was just where she belonged.


    She wasn''t beautiful enough to catch Ryu''s attention. Maybe she was better off just staying in this forest.


    Ryu looked toward Tae as he suddenly felt some resistance from her arm.


    With a glance, he could guess many things about her state of mind.


    In truth, she was probably right in many respects. Even back then, she had never really caught his attention. She failed both in temperament and in the looks department, she just wasn''t his type.


    That said... the way she acted today had actually impressed him quite a bit.


    She half expected to come back to find her pining after him. Maybe it was arrogant--no, that was exactly what it was. But he didn''t think he was particularly wrong to feel that way.


    Although it sounded like he had been joking with Wobbling Fairy, the odds of her finding a man better than himself was truly non-existent. And if it was impossible for her, it was magnitudes more difficult for Taedra here.


    The fact that she hadn''t been thinking about him despite the early imprint on her he had had from an early age, it went to show her character.


    Rather than bruising his ego, it made him more interested in her. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Right now, she was showing signs of hesitation. And sure, much of that came from insecurity. But it wasn''t insecurity in the normal sense.


    In fact, Ryu would go as far as to say that it was self-assurance.


    She knew and understood her limits. She didn''t want to be swept up into a storm she knew that she couldn''t manage.


    While it was true she felt that she wasn''t beautiful enough or talented enough to catch Ryu''s attention, this didn''t make her feel embarrassed, it instead made her feel apprehensive, stand-offish... wary.


    This woman, after having lost so much in her life, had her own sense of Dao Heart, and it was quite strong.


    ... Interesting...''


    Ryu had never seen a Dao Heart like this, mostly because he didn''t interact with mortals much at all anymore, and this wasn''t quite a Dao Heart, at least not in the normal sense.


    It was just strength of character.


    11.


    had enraged him, but Ryu actually walked past her and into her small cabin, not saying anything.


    Taedra was taken aback, but she could only bite her lip and follow, not sure of what Ryu wanted to do.


    The cabin was truly quaint. There wasn''t much at all, just a simple bed Tae probably wouldn''t need to use often, many plants, and a single desk by the side that was filled


    with notebooks.


    Ryu walked to the desk and looked down. One of the notebooks was opened to a page of aged leather. There was beautiful calligraphy written across its pages, but Taedra seemed to have stopped in the middle of a sentence.


    ... Poetry...''


    Ryu chuckled to himself, not because the poem was funny, but it was clear that Taedra had filled these dozens of books and probably much more with these poems.


    If this poem was anything to go by, she was highly introspective and yet observant of the world around her at the same time.


    Didn''t that make it even funnier that she rarely thought of him?

 Chapter 2126 Quaint

    ?Chapter 2126 Quaint"Silent and lost, vast but quaint. The quiet of the rustling leaves and springs of water fill my mind, tempting with their guile, but subtle in their influence..."


    Ryu muttered out the words.


    It was just a short few words, but he felt something stir in him.


    There were an endless number of contradictions in these words alone. "Vast but quaint" was just the most obvious of them. But mentioning quiet and then speaking of things that very obviously made noise was yet another.


    The final line, however, seemed to reframe it somewhat.


    Ryu stared at the poem for a long while, and soon, a picture of a woman seemed to form in his mind... a woman who found peace in this endless forest, alone and seemingly abandoned by the world, and yet still felt like she was missing something. The rustling of leaves and the rush of water was her quiet and her silence; she could quite easily lose herself in them, forgetting that they were there in the first place. But if she could so easily ignore the sounds and calls of nature, then wouldn''t it be even easier for the world to forget about her existence?


    If the sway of such gorgeous trees and springs of water that descended from glacial monuments and rained down from the Heavens couldn''t even keep her own attention... then wasn''t she even smaller?


    They came from such vast, grandiose origins. And yet to her, they were just quaint and small, easily ignored, easily forgotten.


    And yet, even in their subtlety, they carried a depth that she cannot match. She chases after them, trying to encapsulate their secrets in a few words, taking their vastness and making them feel as small as she feels...


    But in the end, she''s yet to reach that threshold.


    "Guile... sly or cunning..." Hours later, after reading the same words again and again, Ryu looked toward Taedra. "It seems that your own guts aren''t very small,"


    Taedra had stood silently by the side all the while. At first, she had thought that Ryu would just read for a little while before he did what he actually wanted to do by bringing her here.


    Half of her thought that he was probably just bored of all the women around him and wanted to take her for a "spin" after she angered him. There were plenty of men like that in the world, men who bedded women to try something new or out of sheer boredom. She wouldn''t have been surprised if Ryu was one of them.


    At this point, she was already so old. If it could save her life and allow her to finish what she started. then it would be fine


    After a day or two, Ryu would just get bored of her body and leave. It wasn''t as though she was saving herself for anything important anyway. At this age... she had already stopped caring about such stuff.


    But he didn''t do that. Instead, he read the same two lines over and over again for literal hours. He didn''t even seem to grow bored.


    Although cultivators were known for their patience, it wasn''t to the point they could focus on something so small for such a long period of time... unless their minds were likewise undergoing such a myriad of changes.


    But it was Ryu''s words that shook her to her core.


    Her gaze flashed brightly and a hint of pride Ryu didn''t even know she had until reading this passage sparked.


    All of a sudden, her hand moved and she rushed to her desk with two brisk strides, practically knocking Ryu out of the way.


    She picked up her quill and wrote out some words with vigorous strokes.


    Ryu smiled, only lightly taking a step back, but there was actually a heavy dose of fatigue between his brows.


    Taedra was a very long ways away from this step, so far away that he could see that she would more than likely die before she managed to succeed.


    Because she hadn''t dedicated her life to poetry like a true mortal might, she was unable to give it her all. But ironically, it was because she had lived so long that her poetry managed to reach such depths.


    It was a paradox of sorts.


    The 100-year life of a mortal was probably the best chance one would have of reaching untold levels with an Art.


    But... it was likewise not enough time.


    On the other hand, if you cultivated at the same time in an attempt to extend your life so that you could reach that threshold... reaching that bar would only become harder. There were many stories of mortals who had never cultivated becoming Sky Gods in a single bound, but there were none that Ryu knew of that came from powerful cultivators.


    If you wanted to dedicate your life to such a thing, you had to truly dedicate your life to it. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ironically, Taedra had found this love of poetry too late in life to make maximal use of it. Had Ryu not come... she would have eventually died of old age, not writing out the last line that she sought after so desperately.


    But now...


    Taedra took a step back, staring at the line she wrote in half confusion and half pride. It was an odd mix as she both wondered if she had really finally done it and that she had truly finally done it at the same time.


    "Silent and lost, vast but quaint. The quiet of the rustling leaves and springs of water fill my mind, tempting with their guile, but subtle in their influence.


    "Their veneer lies dominion, a kingdom of roots gripping the core. A whispering unyielding, not swayed but sovereign-not grand but calm.


    "A voice that carves stones and shapes valleys. A pen that paves destiny and lays


    unseen.


    "A force that lays dormant but waiting"


    The words echoed through the air, and yet neither Taedra nor Ryu had spoken even a


    single word.


    The Heavens themselves seemed to have spoken.


    And a light descended from the skies in response.

 Chapter 2127 Congratulations

    ?Chapter 2127 CongratulationsRyu did nothing as Taedra was enveloped by this light. It was only that the fatigue between his brows grew heavier.


    Given the current strength of his mind, one could imagine what he had to go through to decipher the perfect words to speak.


    Handing someone comprehension was impossible. You had to guide them to S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    eventually reach the proper conclusion themselves, even if that conclusion was a little biased toward yourself.


    Taedra''s original path was trying to seek a method of tying the vast origins of the world into the quaintness of a little pen and a few lines.


    But quaint was the operative word. Although it was often used as a replacement for words like "small" and "tiny," the root of the world itself didn''t just refer to size, although it often could. It carried a sort of style with it as well.


    When Ryu read the word, he had felt all sorts of possibilities rolling through his mind. It could refer to an ancient family, the quaintness carrying the confidence of a lineage confident in their wealth and not finding the need to display it so grandly themselves. And yet, every one of their actions exuded that hidden elegance and confidence nonetheless.


    It could refer to a true state of humility and returning to one''s origins, distilling an elegant sense of gentle style into a small region that held a great deal of character. There were many other roads to take this down, but it was precisely because of that that Taedra didn''t know where to go.


    She was pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions, but Ryu was able to find it in the midst of the jargon...


    Guile.


    It was a word that stood out the most prominently, seemingly almost out of place like it didn''t belong at all.


    "Tempting with their guile...''


    It had felt out of place from the start, especially since the poem started off with praising the "quiet" of nature.


    But then Ryu understood.


    Taedra was trapped in her own world, allowing herself to become lost in this stream of nature that she couldn''t break out from.


    She thought that by immersing herself in this world, she would be able to reach the state of enlightenment that she was chasing after all this time, but the ultimate result


    was that she only sank deeper.


    As she had said... silent and lost...


    The world was ultimately too vast for her to capture. At least, it was too vast if she insisted that it was while likewise doing nothing to try and suppress it.


    In the end, Ryu gave her a little nudge.


    Was there a method of solving this without going down the path of domination and arrogance?


    Sure, there probably was.


    But Ryu was a glutton for punishment. He not only took the harder path, but he also had a feeling that he knew how this matter would end as well.


    What was another arrogant wife to add to his rolodex? Maybe if his wives kept causing him problems, his father would be less likely to berate him.


    He could deal with a few "I told you so''s," but if his dad insisted on giving him the side eye instead, he just might die on the inside.


    Taedra''s aura soared, but it was an incredibly gentle process, almost as though the hands of angels had descended to massage her body.


    Ryu watched this rare process from the sidelines, his gaze bright.


    The path of a mortal becoming a Sky God in a single bound was something rare throughout history. If not for the fact Taedra was already somewhat close on her own, and for the vast improvement to his mental capacity and the improvement to his Dao, there was no way he would be able to help her take this step.


    As he watched the process, though, Ryu couldn''t help but chuckle. That was because Taedra''s appearance wasn''t changing very much at all.


    Though she was becoming more perfect, she wasn''t becoming any younger, which made little sense considering her aura had already soared into the Immortal Realms.


    Just a normal breakthrough into the Immortal Ring Realm should have made her look not much different from a 20-year-old. Although she was showing some signs of age, it wasn''t as though she had lost a step or had a foot in the grave.


    But she didn''t.


    And the only reason that that would be the case is if she didn''t want it to be the case. The Heavens sensed her resistance and obliged. The extremely faint wrinkles remained as her cultivation continued to grow.


    The process took months, a gentle flow of qi massaging her body and increasing her strength step by step.


    It was as though the Heavens themselves were cultivating for her, but Taedra herself


    She continued to stare at her own words, the voice of the Heavens still echoing in her


    cars.


    And then, there was a sudden rush as her aura vanished.


    Like a drop of water into an ocean, even Ryu could hardly sense her. It was as though she had truly become as vast as the world, vanishing into it.


    Taedra continued to stand there, her expression blank and the simple clothing she wore only gently swaying in the wind from the door to the cabin the both of them had


    left open.


    After a long while, she turned to face Ryu.


    There, a woman nearing her middle ages stood. She had a delicate, subtle, elegant sort


    of beauty to her. What pride she had was buried deep within her body, as obscure as


    her pen itself.


    Even standing there, it was like she might as well have not been there at all.


    Ryu smiled. Someone else would have felt a great deal of pressure from this woman, but he treated it all like a calming spring breeze.


    "Congratulations."


    "... I didn''t do anything..." Taedra said softly, looking into Ryu''s eyes. ... With how vast the world is, I don''t think this counts for much..."

 Chapter 2128 Shameless

    ?Chapter 2128 ShamelessThe word vast seemed to have a completely different tone when it came from Taedra, carrying a hidden weight to it that only she seemed to fully understand.


    Ryu only chuckled when he heard the words. They were the epitome of a fake humility. But... it was different at the same time.


    Taedra hadn''t changed much. The only difference now was that she no longer feared that Ryu would kill her.


    Much of what she had said earlier to appease him were only for the preservation of her life, and that wasn''t because she feared death, but rather because she had wanted to accomplish the goal of writing those final lines first before she died.


    But now that she had accomplished that goal... she felt like her life was complete. Even if Ryu was strong enough to kill her even now, it was fine. She had done what she set out to do.


    In that case, what need was there for her to continue pretending with him? If she wanted to tell him to fuck off, she would.


    But she also had no desire to do that either.


    After all... with her scope of the world increased, she also knew that it was thanks to Ryu she had managed to accomplish this. Otherwise... she very likely would have died before reaching this step.


    After Ryu''s words, though, she took a simple step forward and everything seemed to be so clear.


    And now, the aura of a Dao God revolved around her.


    The most amusing part was that she didn''t even know what this cultivation state was. She was still under the impression that all Sky Gods were created equal.


    But even if she did know, she would have no confidence in battling Ryu. She had battle experience, but only against small fry of the Blossom Plane. If she was a battle genius, her father would have never died in the first place, and her cousin wouldn''t be seen as the better successor for their family.


    Plus... she had been Blessed by Sacrum''s Heaven. She didn''t know where Ryu had gone, but if he was anything like Matheus, he too had gone off to a much stronger world.


    Of course, what Taedra didn''t know just yet was that Ryu would have never allowed Sacrum to bless her if he felt that it was inferior. But, she was right about one thing... She had not a single chance in a battle against him.


    It wasn''t just the fact that he would run circles around her on a battlefield. With how much experience he had. that would certainly be the case. hut that wasn''t the main


    point.


    In Sacrum...


    No one could defeat him.


    It didn''t matter if even the Martial God Ancestors themselves descended.


    Of course, if they destroyed the world first, that was another matter. But that wouldn''t be so easy, not with Ryu here.


    Ryu took a step forward until he towered over Taedra. His gaze bounced between her brown eyes as though trying to find something.


    She remained quite calm all the while.


    The more time ticked back, the more she seemed to revert back to the Taedra he had met in Looming City, a young woman with pride in her bones and duty in her heart.


    "Do you think you''ve accomplished all there is to accomplish in your field now?" Ryu asked with a smirk.


    Taedra''s gaze flickered before returning to calm. "I don''t think I''ve ever said those words."


    "You implied them quite well. I''m not sure why you would try to lie to me about that." Ryu replied, his smile not fading.


    "If not then I am close."


    "Is that so? Do you know why you were blocked for so long?"


    Taedra frowned.


    "You want to be a wordsmith, but you only speak one language. Doy enough?"


    you


    think that''s


    Taedra''s heart shook.


    "If your goal is just to write some flowery words on a page, fine. That''s enough. But if you want to encapsulate the meaning of nature with just a single language, I can only say you''ve overestimated yourself.


    "The Heavens speak in runes. The language you speak is an imperfect skeleton used to refer to the complex in simple terms. It''s flawed, lacking in depth, biased by culture... the only way to mitigate that is by understanding multiple languages at once, and that''s just one of the methods I can think of."


    Taedra''s breathing became a bit heavy as she seemed to understand something as well.


    Indeed. How could she distill the complexities of nature into a single, inherently flawed language? That would simply never work.


    "Just... one?" Taedra asked slowly.


    Ryu raised a hand, pulling Taedra''s chin upward.


    The bright smile on his face seemed to light up the night. Even in the depths of this darkness, she could see him clearly.


    The waning of day into night had happened many times since Ryu had arrived here. But now, the difference seemed to be particularly stark.


    "Acting like this is the last thing you should do, honestly. But then again, I''m taking you as my woman, not one of my Summons. So I can tell you right here and now that I


    won''t be helping you with your cultivation so directly anymore.


    "If you''re following me just for a bit of power, wouldn''t that be too embarrassing?"


    Taedra didn''t know how to reply to this. Was Ryu trying to make a joke?


    However, the smile in Ryu''s eyes made it clear that he had no intention of clarifying at all. He didn''t think there was a need. He said what he meant and he meant what he


    said.


    There wasn''t a need to overthink it beyond that.


    "Alright, now it''s time to go."


    Taedra once again didn''t know what to say. What happened to giving her a choice? He


    wasn''t even asking now.


    "Oh, one more thing." Ryu said with a wide grin that left Taedra a bit dazed. "If you wanted to push me away, you would have had a better chance if you became young. Mature, arrogant women are the type of women I like the most."


    Taedra''s mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. What could you even say in the face of such a shameless man? S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2129 First Time

    ?Chapter 2129 First TimeRyu crossed the stars with Taedra in tow, the latter''s surprise growing by the minute.


    Although she was only a newly advanced Dao God, she wasn''t exactly ignorant of everything. While she didn''t know what a Dao God was, she did know what a Sky God


    was.


    She couldn''t see through Ryu''s cultivation enough to know that he had long become a Sky God, but she could vaguely sense that her aura was above his, so she thought that he was unlikely to have already entered the Sky God Realm.


    And yet... she couldn''t keep up at all,


    In a bit of an unwilling tantrum, she had no choice but to take hold of Ryu''s hand when he offered it. Otherwise, they would spend years crossing the skies just to make it to their destination.


    The further they went, however, the more Taedra realized what it meant that they had to go so far to begin with.


    Just how far had her cousin gone? How had he managed to travel so far with his strength? Did he rely on himself? An opportunity? Something else?


    A bad feeling welled up in her heart.


    Originally, she hadn''t worried about her cousin not because she didn''t care for Matheus, but rather because she didn''t have the right to. She was too weak. What good would her worry do her?


    But now that she had some strength, there was a constant stirring deep within her. She suddenly hoped that Ryu could move even faster as she gripped onto his palm tighter.


    She just hoped that her only remaining family member was still alright.


    Lost in all of this, she never once considered just how it was that Ryu would be capable of finding Matheus from such a far-off distance in the first place.


    Metareen.


    It was world not known for much at all and seemed quite barren from an outsider''s perspective. But much like it was with all such worlds, this place was all its inhabitants knew. To them, this was the world and everything it encompassed.


    Though things were described in this way, this world was still far greater than anything Sacrum, at least on the surface, could compare to. In fact, this world was only one tier down from the former True Martial World.


    Essentially, before Ryu broke the seal, an existence with Peak Founding Dao here


    would have Higher Founding Dao in the True Martial World.


    All things considered, it was an excellent world, better than most... just not very special.


    But once again, to its inhabitants...


    It was all there was.


    And with that came the very same arrogance, politics, and overall cultivation hell that one might expect.


    In this case, all of it was being experienced by a young man...


    Rather than benefiting from it though, he was suffering greatly.


    ...


    The chatter in the square was deafening. One would have thought that by now, they would have grown bored. After all, Matheus, the former rising star of their world, had been chained here for over 40 years already.


    But not at all.


    Without fail, every day, there would always be a crowd here. Though, it wasn''t lost on the people here why that was.


    Those that were responsible for Matheus being here had a vested interest in ensuring that he was never forgotten.


    It wouldn''t be worth it if there wasn''t this continuous stream of humiliation. If not, how would they get their fill?


    Of course, these perpetrators weren''t present and they rarely were...


    But which of those that were dared to disobey their intentions?


    That said, there was another reason why there was such a frenzy today. Such a thing would occur once a year without fail on the anniversary of Matheus'' humiliation.


    It was on this day that those responsible would appear.


    And it was also on this day that Matheus would suffer the most.


    Not from the chains that adorned his body.


    But the ones that restrained his heart.


    At that moment, a sparkle of light filled the air, streams of gold and bright rainbow lights spilling over as unicorns appeared, pulling open war chariots that housed men and women that looked like Greek gods.


    In the center of them, there was one particular couple that stood out.


    A young man with flowing golden hair crossed the skies with a triumphant smile on his face. A band of violet gold wrapped around his forehead like a subtle, minimalistic


    crown.


    His chest was bare of everything but a white lion pelt that hung from his shoulders, its maw roaring out into the world. Maybe if he was mortal, this would have been nothing more than a dead animal skin. But... this lion was very clearly not so simple.


    Several in the audience below who looked at it for a moment too long found themselves collapsing to the ground. Some lost consciousness, while others directly died, unable to protect their souls.


    What linked them all was what they had heard the moment before their visions went black...


    The roar of a mighty beast.


    The young man''s laughter echoed through the skies, not caring about the casualties in the slightest. Those that were still so foolish after all these years were truly few, while the others were aware but had simply overestimated themselves, not believing the


    rumors.


    And then there was the young woman.


    Petite and gentle, pale-faced and silent, she stood there, her golden hair falling down her forehead and obscuring much of her lovable features.


    She was like this every time this day came. She would lower her head, not speaking a word as the young man arrogantly claimed her waist with a palm.


    It was a silent sort of helplessness that the two faced.


    As though to mimic her perfectly, Matheus, too, hung his head low, his hair having grown so long in these years that it sprawled across the ground in a river and lake of


    its own making.


    Compared to the young woman''s only partially obscured face, his couldn''t be seen at all. The only reason many knew that he was still alive was because from time to time


    the chains that housed him would rattle, drawing more blood.


    If he was dead... he would have long stopped bleeding by now.


    The boisterous laughter of the young man only grew more unbridled. Honestly speaking, he too had long grown bored of this spectacle. As exhilarating as it was in the first few years, after decades, this Matheus was truly no longer worth his


    time.


    The only reason he was still alive was to stop his little lover here from killing herself as well. If she was dead, how would he have all the fun he had had with her body?


    A sick and twisted nature was in the depths of his heart. He had long given up on winning this woman''s heart, but who cared?


    Wasn''t casting a shadow she could never step out of just as good as being the reason


    for her love?


    He would truly love every second of this.


    With Matheus'' woman on his arm, the young man flashed forward, landing on the platform Matheus was chained to.


    Matheus didn''t react in the slightest, but the young man''s wild grin didn''t fade.


    Moving forward, he released the young woman, squatting down, picking up Matheus'' head by his hair, and forcing the young man to look at him.


    "When the White Lion Clan Young Heir is gracing you with his presence, don''t you think that you should be groveling? Not replying at all like this... tsk tsk."


    A resonating slap echoed through the air, but even now, Matheus didn''t respond, his gaze dull as he seemed to look right through this White Lion Clan Heir.


    The young man laughed, not minding it.


    He began to speak again, but this time, the crowd couldn''t hear him.


    "Would you like to hear about all the things I''ve been up to in the last year with your beloved? Honestly speaking, even though this young master is quite experienced, I''ve run out of ideas. There are only so many positions you can put a woman in before you grow bored and have already seen her from all the angles she has to offer. "Honestly speaking, it''s already been three years since the last time I''ve touched her. I''m letting her marinate a little bit more, enjoying the process of torturing her, making her go through humiliating matters she would have never considered in the past. "I can''t possibly say this for the masses to hear. After all, she is at least my wife in name. But I had to alleviate my boredom somehow... so I let a few of my soldiers toy around with her a bit."


    The dullness in Matheus'' eyes shook and it seemed to be slowly regaining some sharpness and clarity, but this only made the young man''s grin deepen all the more. "Honestly, I didn''t think I would like it very much at all. But that thrill was truly different... since her heart doesn''t belong to me anyway, what is the difference between that and her fucking other men? I might as well go all the way." The chains rattled fiercely as Matheus lunged out, biting at the White Lion Heir''s


    neck. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He seemed like a wild beast who had completely lost his mind. The crowd grew agitated once again. How long had it been since Matheus had had such a fierce


    reaction?


    The laughter of the young man peeled through the skies like claps of thunder... until a sudden voice echoed.


    "This is the first time I''ve heard of a man being such a proud cuckold."

 Chapter 2130 Cuckold\

    Chapter 2130  Cuckold Ryu''s voice came from nowhere, like a breeze blazing through the air, it suffocated what was left of the White Lion Young Heir''s momentum. The words themselves, though, were capable of searing his mind shut. It had to be remembered that the White Lion Young Heir had made certain that the only two that could hear his voice were Matheus and his former lover. Ryu descended down from the skies indifferently, a raging tempest coming from his back. But this raging tempest had little to do with Ryu himself. Rather, it was a certain woman that was having a very hard time controlling her temper right now. The volatility of Tae''s aura was enough to cause changes across this entire world. In terms of raw strength, the moment she stepped foot into this place she had become the apex predator. Unfortunately, when it came to situations like this one, just having strength wasn''t enough. The chains that bound Matheus weren''t normal chains. And after having so many decades to seep into his body, things had already reached the point where there was no going back¡­ not with her level of skill. The only way that she could have hoped to change things was by destroying the chains, but as one might imagine, taking that step wasn''t just a matter of whether or not she could succeed, it was also acknowledging the fact that should she take such a route, she would be leaving her cousin''s life behind as well. The only path forward seemed, then, to catch the White Lion Heir and get information about how to undo these chains and change everything. Unfortunately, that wasn''t possible either. Not because she wasn''t strong enough to catch him, but rather because she wasn''t in control of her emotions or strength enough to ensure that he didn''t die during the process. In the end, she ended up standing there in silence, completely useless as she realized that she was someone who had all the power of the world at her fingertips, and yet a complete lack of ability to execute on that power. She could only helplessly stand there in the skies, realizing and understanding her inferiority in just split moments. It was when she was truly at the end of her rope that Ryu had suddenly stepped forward and spoken those words. She wanted to call out, she wanted to tell him to stop, to relax, that his antagonism would only make things worse, not better. And yet, she couldn''t manage to bring herself to say such shameless words. Was she really worthy of telling Ryu how to and not to act when she had only just come into this power of hers? Although her scope of the world had expanded wildly as a result, she was still wholly inferior to the man before her¡­ And somehow, she was able to accept that wholeheartedly. Or maybe¡­ she didn''t have a choice. A man who could bring her to this level of power with just a casual word was an existence that she couldn''t fathom. What right did she have to feel pride in an achievement that she wouldn''t have been able to accomplish in the first place if not for him? Yes, it was true that she had played a great role. But it was also true that this last step that she had already failed to take for so long in her life was a last step she would have probably been stuck on to her final dying breath without Ryu. The more she learned about the world, the wider her scope grew, the more shocking Ryu''s feats became to her. On their way here, she wasn''t just passively watching the scenery go by as she rode on Ryu''s coattails. She had been observing, analyzing, building up a rolodex of thoughts and feelings that she would be able to use in the future. And it was precisely because of this that she realized the gap between herself and Ryu wasn''t shortening at all. If anything¡­ It was widening. "You¡­ who are you?" the White Lion Heir growled. "Matheus. How''d you let such a loser put you in this sort of predicament?" Matheus looked toward Ryu with a ravenous gaze. He looked like the next neck he might want to take a bite out of was Ryu himself. However, Ryu knew that this was because the man had truly reached his breaking point. The fact that he had taken so long already was worthy of respect. Honestly speaking, even Ryu wasn''t quite sure what he would do in this situation. Of course, he felt that it was only natural to avoid these sorts of things because¡­ they would simply never happen because he would never be caught in the first place. Still, if he ignored this matter and just thought about the meat and bones of it all, the answer didn''t come quite so steadily as one would have thought. Normally, Ryu would just outright dismiss the thought, but he was really questioning himself this time. In fact, the truth was that most of this was an act, and he had to admit that Matheus'' woman was quite cunning. Ryu could see through the fact this woman was a virgin. How could she possibly be a virgin, though? The answer seemed to be that the Heir was just lying about everything. But then why the show? Why the pomp and circumstance? And if the woman was untouchable to the point that he couldn''t even bed her after all these years, then why was it that the Heir was allowed to parade her around like this without a care for consequences? The truth of the matter was that it wasn''t a lie. At least to the White Lion Heir, he thought he had truly done all of those things. And judging by Matheus'' reaction, he too seemed to believe them. So how? The answer was obvious. Wasn''t this a world of Necromancers? Not only was the White Lion Heir a cuck, he was a fool that had been fucking a corpse all the while without even knowing it. Then he actually let his trusted confidants go and do the same. It was funny beyond compare and something that Ryu could hardly hold back on laughing about as well. But the reason he didn''t was because¡­ Matheus was broken, and Ryu didn''t want to see this. The ideal situation would be if Matheus could rise out of this shadow all on his own. But that was still much more easily said than done. Obviously, Ryu was quite fond of Matheus'' Dao Heart and was also eyeing him to become a Summon. Was it a bit odd to have his wife''s family member as a Summon? Sure¡­ probably. But he didn''t really care. Plus, to him, a Summon was more akin to a subordinate than a corpse puppet ever would be. He was essentially building up his own Sect now. It was just that those Sect Members didn''t have voluntary submission¡­ there was only one rule of law they abided by, and that was Ryu''s whims. But these whims were more difficult to satiate than one might otherwise hope. And now he was eyeing another project¡­ it was just that this project might be beyond salvaging. Ryu couldn''t just tell Matheus that his wife was untainted. It would obviously be ideal if Matheus thought it was the truth and still managed to push past it. But Matheus had already done exactly that so many times now. Eventually, there would come a point where a man reached his very limits and there just wasn''t a chance to return. And it seemed that Matheus had reached precisely this point. There was simply no going back. However¡­ Ryu believed. So he spoke out these words. He didn''t say anything else. Even when the White Lion Heir leered at Ryu, a smoking tempest hiding in his gaze, Ryu ignored him, just looking at Matheus. The cries of Matheus'' woman began to echo, softly and silently. But Ryu didn''t allow him to hear them either. She softly covered her mouth, her choked sobs pulling at the heartstrings of all those that saw her. Matheus'' mind was nothing more than a storm-fueled mess. None of his thoughts ran smoothly and everything he did seemed to corner him further. He had had enough. He had had enough. ''¡­ Cuckold¡­'' The word echoed in his head again and again, but it was hard to tell if he was saying them toward himself or the Heir. The fact that the word applied to them both struck to the very core of his soul. ''¡­ Us both¡­?'' Finally, of his own volition, Matheus looked toward his fianc¨¦e, his wife, the love of his life, the woman he should have already given everything to, but he had been far too busy chasing the shadow of the man that had suddenly appeared before him now while he was at the lowest of his lows. Her heartbroken expression shook him to his very core. He couldn''t hear her sobs as though they had faded away, erased from his senses. ''I have her heart¡­'' This single line echoed moments afterward, a beautiful cascade of realizations hitting Matheus all at once. Wasn''t the only reason the Heir had to go so far to begin with because he couldn''t win his wife''s heart? Wasn''t that what triggered all of this to begin with? Wasn''t it the dividing line that allowed him to hold on until now? She, too, had held on until now for the sake of a fleeting hope that he might one day be able to live and escape¡­ How could he let her down? Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2131 Path of Necromancy

    Chapter 2131  Path of NecromancyRyu watched the changes in Matheus'' eyes in silence.


    The fact the man had managed to hold on so long was a testament to his heart. Ryu wasn''t someone who was easily impressed, and until now, none of his Summons could be said to have achieved the feat of doing so. But this time, he really was.


    It wasn''t perfect, but with these sorts of things they rarely ever were.


    Ryu originally wanted Matheus to break out of the shadows on his own, which was why he had muted his woman''s voice. But in the end, he ended up looking over on his own.


    There wasn''t much Ryu could do about that, so he decided not to fight it.


    Although Matheus'' Dao Heart would definitely be contingent on the life of his woman now, it would practically be indestructible so long as she was still alive.


    That would be good enough for now.


    Ryu waved a hand, ignoring the infuriated White Lion Young Master.


    CHI. BANG!


    The chains that bound Matheus shattered to pieces, falling in a scattered rain of metallic ash to the ground. A single wrong step and one could find the soles of their feet skewered through.


    The toughness of the metal was surely on a level most of this world couldn''t fathom. Even Ryu found it to be a little bit interesting, especially the way it seemed to form a seamless transition between Matheus'' Bone Structure and itself, making it difficult to tell where Matheus'' body ended and the chains themselves started.


    If one was reckless with destroying these chains, then the subject would die a gruesome death as well.


    ''An interesting material. It''s almost like a Spiritual Herb, but not quite. Almost like an ore, but not quite. It''s somewhere in between, carrying both organic and inorganic characteristics.


    ''Using similar materials in my refinement methods might be interesting¡­''


    Ryu was somewhat intrigued, but not enough for him to be impressed. It had to be remembered that in the past, his Body Realm cultivation method was built on a similar principle, though not quite the same.


    Essentially, back when he was still quite far from the Sky God Realm, he used the [Refinement Sutra] to cultivate. By creating new Ores, he had been able to trigger Heavenly Tribulations to refine his body.


    The more in line with his body and path the ore was, the stronger the effect of the refinement.


    Ryu hadn''t completely abandoned this path as he still had some tidbits of its shadows in his current cultivation method. But these chains reminded him of it.


    Obviously, using an ore to refine the body was bridging the gap between organic and inorganic much like these chains were.


    The reason why this was important now, though, was more than about just the intrigue. There were also changes that had triggered in Matheus'' body as a result of being tied with such a special material for so long.


    Unfortunately, this change wasn''t positive. In fact, it was almost entirely negative.


    Not only had it tainted his original Bone Structure, making it difficult for even Ryu to tell what it had once been, but it changed Matheus'' affinities. As such, much of what Matheus had built his path of cultivation on until now collapsed.


    It was like his previous foundation was entirely useless now.


    But Ryu didn''t mind. As far as he was concerned, his Summons only needed to have powerful Dao Hearts. As for the rest, whether it was their Path of Cultivation, their techniques, or even their Daos themselves, he would carefully guide them, whether overtly or subtly.


    If Ryu could create such powerful techniques for himself, even if they weren''t of the same value¡­ just what could he create for others?


    With the advancement to his Dao, it would almost be a shame if he only used his eyes and comprehension to create techniques for himself.


    He didn''t fancy himself a good leader and he didn''t have the patience to become a Sect or Clan Leader to begin with.


    But¡­ this Path of Necromancy, where everything was under his control and his Summons and Corpse Puppets just became extensions of himself¡­


    The feeling was a bit intoxicating.


    In the past, Ryu was far more fond of the idea of being a one-man army. Although he had been convinced by Ailsa that he could do this through Necromancy, he honestly wasn''t very convinced. That was part of why he had ignored the path for so long even when it would have likely been of great help to him.


    But his new insights allowed him to see another Path.


    Most Necromancers were restricted in their choice of Corpse Puppets and Summons, they followed specific paths like how Matheus had once been a member of the Armored Beast lineage of Necromancers.


    However¡­ Ryu felt that there was another Path for him.


    His Dao and Comprehension were too powerful for him to maximize it for himself alone. His Comprehension was so great that the things he could think of were often too powerful for him to use in the present, forcing him to either store them away for later when his cultivation was deeper, or sometimes not bother finishing them at all.


    This led to him wasting a ton of his potential. He was like an investor with his money sitting, accumulating inflation and slowly devaluing itself.


    It sounded like a good problem to have¡­ but why make it a problem at all?


    What if instead of wasting his time creating a whole host of techniques that he likely wouldn''t be able to use¡­ he instead diverted his attention to refining and perfecting the paths of his Corpse Puppets and Summons?


    Just how powerful would his Path of the Necromancer be if he could pick and choose the paths of his puppets, controlling every aspect of their cultivation?


    He would be able to create an army that was more than just powerful¡­ it would be untouchable.  S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Its name would reverberate no less boldly than his Dao Title.

 Chapter 2132 KILL ME

    Chapter 2132  KILL MEMatheus'' body fell over the moment the chains shattered.


    His body had atrophied too significantly, and he seemed to have forgotten how to coordinate his muscles entirely.


    Ryu, though, didn''t catch him. Instead, it was Taedra that appeared out of nowhere.


    BOOM!


    The platform cracked and shattered. Ryu could only chuckle, seeing just how bad Taedra was at controlling her power.


    Luckily, she managed to save Matheus from the fate of dying from the rubble.


    Tears streaked down her face and there was a strong, vibrating aura coming from her. It looked like even now, she was very close to losing her temper.


    Her hands shook as she propped Matheus up, seemingly too scared to use even a little bit more than the smallest power output she could muster on him.


    Ryu could see that her thoughts were a scrambled mess. Despite having all the power in the world, she just felt¡­


    Helpless.


    Not knowing what to do, she looked back toward Ryu with a pleading look, her lips slightly parting as though she wanted to say something but didn''t know how to put it.


    Instead, though, tears flowed from her eyes, her throat moving as though a sob was about to burst through.


    Ryu smiled lightly. "I understand."  S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He waved a hand again. The White Lion Heir had been sent flying back under the momentum of the shattering platform, but in a blink, he found himself ripped back the way he had come from, soaring past it until his neck was firmly caught by Ryu''s hand.


    Fleeing figures scattered all around, trying to escape the range of the destruction. Those that could stepped into the air, their hearts apprehensive.


    A bit to Ryu''s surprise, the number that stepped into the skies included Matheus'' woman, an interesting change to be sure.


    Suddenly, an idea bloomed in Ryu''s heart, but for the time being, he only gave the lovely blond woman a single glance before looking toward the man in his hand.


    The White Lion Heir scratched and clawed at Ryu''s hand, trying to free himself, but to no avail. Trying to pinch at Ryu''s skin was like clawing at an indestructible leather. It had the softness of skin, but the moment you tried to dig deeper, it became tough to an extreme.


    "You''ve made my woman angry, that comes with consequences." Ryu spoke with a light smile.


    "STOP!"


    "HALT!"


    The chariots in the skies seemed to have finally reacted to what was happening. Everything changed so quickly from the moment Ryu appeared to now. Even now, they had no idea how Ryu had managed to sneak past all of them without a word, and not one of them could see through either Ryu or Taedra.


    However, the consequences of the death of the Heir weren''t something that they could bear.


    Unfortunately for them¡­


    BANG!


    Those that rushed forward blasted apart into a rain of blood and gore.


    The atmosphere froze again as a fury-filled Taedra looked toward the skies.


    Ryu didn''t even spare them a glance. Had they attacked him, the ending would have been much the same.


    The strongest up there were all in the True Sky God Realm at best, while this White Lion Heir seemed to have only recently broken into the Fragmented Sky God Realm.


    For whatever reason, he was hiding his cultivation right now, probably to deal with Matheus with another blow before he left.


    But whatever it was, he couldn''t possibly hide from Ryu''s senses.


    "Let me go! Do you have any idea who I am?!"


    "Nope." Ryu said lightly, but it was hard to tell if he was replying to the first or the second part of White Lion Heir''s words.


    But he also clearly had no intention of clarifying.


    With his free hand, Ryu raised a hand.


    All at once, the shards that remained from the shattered chains rose into the skies. Like tiny pinpoints of metallic sand, they trembled under Ryu''s control.


    "We''ll make this easy on you. A few hundred years of torture should probably be enough. I doubt you''ll last much longer than that anyway. Your Dao Heart is incredibly weak, so I''ll probably have to adjust it to something that you can manage."


    Ryu spoke like he was half thinking to himself, half trying to stir the fear of God in the Heir. But his words didn''t pause the movement of the ashen metal.


    CHI.


    They cut through the air and covered the White Lion Heir''s body from head to toe.


    At first, he was still struggling, not feeling like anything was wrong¡­


    Until a piercing scream came from his lips.


    If Tae just wanted this man dead, she could have easily done it herself. The reason she looked toward him with that pleading look wasn''t because she wanted him dead¡­ but because she wanted him to suffer.


    Ryu himself didn''t care enough to torture this man. But since that was what Taedra wanted, how could he not oblige?


    The metal shavings pierced into the Heir''s body, drilling into his skin and turning him the same shade of bluish black the chains had been.


    But that was only the beginning.


    The small bits and pieces drilled even further down, cutting into his bones and drawing out his bone marrow, only to replace them.


    In the blink of an eye, Ryu had forced the highest state of fusion between the Heir and this special metal. Even Matheus had only been about 20% of the way toward this state after decades.


    Veins popped across the White Lion Heir''s body, his shrill screeches painting the skies like peels of thunder.


    Then¡­ Ryu just let go of his neck.


    He collapsed to the ground, convulsing wildly. He scratched and clawed at his skin, but the changes had made his body no less indestructible than the metal.


    He couldn''t even kill himself if he wanted to.


    Of course, he could ask for outside help, but¡­


    "KILL ME! KILL ME NOW! KILL ME!"


    Ryu smiled a knowing smile. As if it would be that simple.

 Chapter 2133 Familiar

    2133  Familiar


    "Alright, let''s go." Ryu said.


    He didn''t really feel like dealing with the rest of this situation. As for his own methods, he was very much confident in them.


    The White Lion Heir would most definitely spend the next several centuries in great pain.


    Ryu rose into the skies.


    Taedra gave the White Lion Heir a glance, her eyes bloodshot. He was still writhing on the ground, begging to be killed.


    After a breath, she managed to exhale. So long as this man suffered, she could put this behind them.


    Swaddling her cousin''s broken body in a soft fabric, she picked him up as gently as she could manage and rose into the skies after Ryu.


    Caught in a no man''s land, the petite blond stood not knowing what to do. She could feel that Taedra had some hints of coldness toward her, and it left her skin prickling.


    "Venerra¡­" Matheus choked out weakly. "¡­ Where''s¡­ where''s my Venerra¡­?"


    The petite woman trembled from head to toe, tears falling down her cheeks in a rain.


    After the chains were ripped out from his body, the one thing that was keeping Matheus upright collapsed. He had spent so long fighting against it that when there was suddenly nothing to fight anymore, his body finally reached the very ends of its limit.


    Ryu looked back. "Well, don''t just stand there. Let''s go."


    Venerra looked up to Ryu, a slightly pleading look in her eyes. She was extremely hesitant even now.


    This was all caused by her to begin with. She didn''t want to bring the love of her life more trouble.


    "If you''re worried about this woman of mine, don''t mind her. She''s just a bit upset and doesn''t know the real story of what you''ve been through yet."


    Taedra looked up to Ryu as well, frowning. She didn''t like Ryu''s words at all, but Ryu only chuckled.


    Not willing to wait for Venerra to make a decision, Ryu waved a hand. Whether it was for the sake of protecting Matheus'' powerful Dao Heart, or the plan for these two he had in mind, he couldn''t let her stay here even if she had a heart of self-sacrifice.


    Otherwise, he really wouldn''t care much.  sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The group was wrapped up in Ryu''s Spacetime affinity and about to vanish when the skies trembled.


    "WHO KILLED MY SON!?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. He hadn''t killed anyone. The White Lion Heir was still writhing on the ground right this moment.


    This could only mean that whatever soul methods this White Lion Clan used to keep track of lives and deaths had some clear demerits and wasn''t very accurate.


    Though, to be fair to it¡­ the cuckold might as well be dead now.


    ''A Dao God with such a young son? Interesting.''


    Taedra pulled her cousin''s body closer to herself when she sensed the aura. Her apprehension shot through the roof.


    She could feel the oppression on Ryu''s Spacetime Qi quite clearly. It felt like Ryu couldn''t teleport away now even if he really wanted to.


    This was the worst-case scenario.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    A shirtless man with bronzed skin and flowing golden hair appeared high in the skies. He wore a white beast skin skirt and had a roaring lion head draped over his shoulder much like his son. But the difference here was that this lion almost seemed alive, its eyes glowing with a fierce light as its presence trembled the world around it.


    The man must have been at least eight feet tall. This wasn''t shockingly tall by the standard of many Races in the world, but for someone who was very clearly a Human, it went to show that there was a powerful Bloodline churning through his veins.


    Patriarch White Lion.


    Still¡­ despite the imposing air, this time, Taedra was wrong. Ryu could still just as easily use his Spacetime affinity here if he wanted to.


    This man might be a Dao God, but he had accomplished this feat with a Lower Founding Dao set to the standards of this world. Even to the previous True Martial World, this would only count as a Peak Ancient Dao. And compared to the current True Martial World, it was a Lower Ancient Dao.


    For Ryu, whose Dao transcended even the current True Martial World, it was a pitifully weak foundation and wasn''t capable of obscuring his ability to see through Spacetime.


    Plus¡­ his God Control was wholly inferior to Ryu''s Lord Control.


    But just as he was about to directly leave to avoid this annoyance, Ryu paused.


    No matter what, a Dao God was a Dao God. Part of the reason Ryu felt like this was an annoyance was because killing one or battling one right now with his current cultivation would still require a bit of effort.


    He was supposed to be relaxing, and no matter what happened to Matheus, he didn''t have some great grudge against the White Lion Clan. Not to mention the fact the main culprit was writhing on the ground right this moment.


    However, just now¡­ Ryu sensed something that made his lazy gaze slowly begin to sharpen.


    Patriarch White Lion didn''t seem to notice this change. Instead, his gaze had snapped toward his son who was writhing on the ground.


    Confusion colored his face. Wasn''t his son supposed to be dead? What happened here? Why was he in so much pain?


    The Patriarch waved a hand and a flow of time took hold of the world. He seemed about to scry the past and see what happened. But the moment he tried, his body shook and he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    The man took a heavy step back, his body convulsing as he tried to regain his bearings.


    By the time his vision cleared, he found a calm young man dressed in robes of white and sky blue standing before him, his hands clasped behind his back.


    "You have a very familiar scent on you. Silent Quibus¡­ where is he?"

 Chapter 2134 Scrying

    Chapter 2134  ScryingThe Patriarch''s eyes widened when he heard these words. For a moment, he almost forgot that it was a mere Lord standing before him.


    The pain of the previous backlash was still lingering within him, but even that was dulled beneath the weight of the words.


    The skies clapped with thunder, and a bolt of black lightning descended from the skies.


    The singular pulse should have been enough to wipe Ryu from existence, but instead, it almost seemed to fizzle out when it hit him.


    Ryu raised his head to the skies slowly.


    "¡­ Piss off."


    The Tribulation Clouds shuddered and then receded.


    A shocking silence filled the air, and soon all of Ryu''s oppressive might fell on the Dao God before him.


    "I don''t like to repeat myself, and I don''t like to explain myself. If you make me do so, your son won''t be the only one suffering today."


    These words seemed to help the White Lion Patriarch regain some clarity.


    This was the man that did this to his son?


    The anger refocused his attention.


    As much as Ryu''s current presence confused and made him apprehensive, could it possibly match up to the deity that Silent Quibus was in his mind?


    "Oh, I see. You fear that scurrying rat more than me, is it?"


    Ryu''s light voice shook the Patriarch''s heart.


    With a wave of his hand, a golden great swordstaff appeared in Ryu''s palm. He looked forward indifferently, pointing the weapon toward the ground.


    There came a slight nudge of his intention and Taedra, along with Matheus and his woman, were sent a far distance away.


    Ryu took a step forward and the Dao God suddenly struck out.


    Patriarch White Lion didn''t know why, but he panicked beneath Ryu''s presence. He felt like if he didn''t gain an initiative, he would be the one to suffer here.


    BANG!


    A rippling might spread across the skies, several individuals that were far too close losing their lives in an instant.


    The tip of a golden blade and the palm of a Dao God met, but neither one took even a single step back.


    Patriarch White Lion''s eyes opened wide.


    In this world¡­


    How could there possibly be such a powerful Lord?!


    To the Patriarch''s credit, he realized the sort of situation he was in instantly.


    Not caring for his face, he used the momentum granted to him by Ryu''s attack to propel himself backward, slapping his palms together.


    Despite what it looked like¡­ their White Lion Clan wasn''t a family of Body Realm cultivators.


    ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!


    The skies trembled as three lion spirits appeared. Their bodies were somewhat illusory and their manes looked akin to flickering white flames. There was a regal sort of beauty to them that belied their nature as undead spirits.


    PUCHI!


    The head of one went soaring into the skies the instant it appeared.


    Ryu took another step forward and his great swordstaff danced.


    Patriarch White Lion''s heart trembled for what felt like the millionth time since the battle began. Ryu seemed to see through the weakness of his Wraiths instantly.


    With a sway of his body, Ryu''s attacks crisscrossed through the air, each one filled with a hidden soul attack.


    Most had trouble dealing with Wraith Path Necromancers because attacking blows to what were essentially spirit bodies was too difficult. Attacking directly with your soul put your soul itself at risk. So one would either need a Soul Technique, or a Visualization.


    Unless one had one of these two, and was proficient with them, you would often end up in a situation where you had to overcompensate by pouring out more qi than you wanted to in a vain attempt, or you would die without even quite understanding what happened to you.


    But Ryu didn''t have to do this at all. He seemed capable of directly severing their presence in the world with a stroke of his blade.  S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Patriarch White Lion was forced to retreat, the injuries he had just suffered stirring again and again. His qi refused to flow smoothly.


    "You might have had a chance to make this battle interesting¡­" Ryu said lightly, his body flickering and vanishing as a roar of white beaming light came from the maw of a lion. "¡­ But you were actually foolish enough to try and use Fate in my presence."


    There was a flash in Ryu''s eyes as the world became bundles of white, grey, and black lines. The location the Patriarch stood in seemed particularly tangled up, constraining his Fate and the actions he could take.


    Scrying was quite a basic ability of Dao Gods. With enough control, they could reverse the flow of time in a certain location, not to change anything, but instead to see what had happened there in the past. The more skilled the Dao God, the further back they could go and the faster they could reverse this flow.


    Though there was a mention of time, this was actually just a very basic application of Fate.


    As Ryu had learned long ago, the more powerful your cultivation, the more you would begin to interact with the foundational elements of Existence. First one would gain some rudimentary grasp of space at the Transcended Realm, and then time would come shortly after that, usually in the Omniscient Realm.


    Upon becoming a Lord, some inklings of Fate would begin to seep into your understanding until you could eventually control it to a small measure.


    Because of this, it couldn''t be said that the ability to control time, space, and Fate was "rare". Well, it was only about as rare as there were powerful cultivators to make use of them.


    Still¡­ what separated Ryu from these individuals was that he didn''t just have a surface grasp of these elements¡­


    They were him and he was them.


    The moment Patriarch White Lion did something so foolish in his presence, his Fate was sealed.


    "[Fate Reversal]."


    Ryu slashed out and the third White Lion Wraith was severed in two.


    The moment this last layer of protection was gone, Patriarch White Lion felt something within him stir.


    He hardly understood what was happening before his chest exploded into a rain of blood and gore, his face turning as pale as a sheet.

 Chapter 2135 Reversed

    Chapter 2135  ReversedThe White Lion Patriarch''s own Fate reversed and triggered a backlash, almost ripping him to shreds from the inside out.


    The scope of uses for [Fate Reversal] now was far more versatile than it had ever been in the past, and the freedom to which Ryu could use it was truly mind-boggling.


    Not only could he transfer damage between enemies and allies, or vice versa, no longer restricted to using himself as a medium, he could also do things like this.


    In this case, the Patriarch had attempted to scry into Fate and suffered a tainting of his own as a result. Whenever one was dealing with Fate, there was an inherent danger that had to be considered. This so-called tainting was the most common, where threads of Fate not related to your own could mar and mutate one''s own.


    The results of this weren''t always predictable. In fact, it was accurate to go as far as to say that it was the exact opposite.


    All Ryu had done was manipulate this Fate so that the White Lion Patriarch''s attempt to keep it separate from his own failed miserably. The backlash almost killed him in a single blow, and now his chest was bleeding out.


    The only thing that could be heard in what was almost an endless silence was the wails of this very man''s son.


    This was a Dao God. And yet, he stood in the skies, his heavy blood leaving craters in the ground below as the Heavens seemed to weep.


    Ryu took a step forward, and as though pulling a book from a bookshelf, he reached ahead and plucked the Patriarch''s heart out of his chest.


    The White Lion Patriarch coughed, dense blood oozing out from his mouth, drizzling and pooling at his chin.


    Ryu tossed the man''s heart into the air and caught it as though he was playing with a ball.


    "Heavy." He said casually.


    Standing there, Ryu was reminded of a legend¡­


    In this legend, it was said that after one died, one''s heart would be weighed against a feather. If it was lighter, you would ascend. If it was heavier, you would face eternal damnation.


    It was a nice tale, one that introduced children to the concept of karma and the importance of living a good life, because you never knew when you would have to pay for the sins you had committed while among the living.


    Of course¡­ this matter would never have anything to do with Ryu. After all, this was the last life he planned on living. After separating himself from the Heavens to establish the path of his Inner World, he had lost the right to incarnate much like Hope and her people after their world was destroyed.


    Still, he couldn''t help but recall this matter now while holding onto his heart.


    He paused, a small breath of enlightenment massaging his mind as he seemed to grasp something.  sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The entire world waiting on him as though nothing other than his thoughts mattered. But in reality, it was just that Ryu''s perception of time had been sped up considerably.


    Standing there, just a few seconds was already the equivalent of several days.


    After a long while, at least to him, Ryu finally looked up and met the haggard gaze of the White Lion Patriarch.


    This was a Dao God, after all. Even if Ryu plucked his head from his shoulders killing him wouldn''t be so easy, let alone a mere heart.


    As a Necromancer, the White Lion Patriarch had an exceptionally powerful soul, so one would need to destroy that first before even considering anything else.


    ~Miii ~Miii


    A patting came from Ryu''s head as Little Gem appeared from nowhere. With a chuckle, Ryu just tossed the heart to her and she started nibbling away, somehow managing to not get the slightest bit of blood on Ryu''s hair or her pristine white fur.


    The brows of the White Lion Patriarch trembled. What kind of pain was it to watch one''s body being cannibalized right in front of you?


    He coughed, more blood coming from his mouth as he almost fainted from the anger. But every time he tried to move, it was like his body was restricted by something, like Fate itself was rejecting him.


    And that was precisely what was happening.


    If he had Ryu''s eyes, he would be able to see that the Lines of Fate around him had bound him, restraining the actions he could take.


    Foul Karma began to ooze out of him, curse lines appearing across his skin like complex chains that restrained his body even further.


    ''Fate really is quite versatile¡­''


    There were no Fate techniques that Ryu could find for obvious reasons. If such a thing existed, it was almost certainly in the hands of someone exceptionally powerful.


    But Ryu honestly didn''t feel like he needed any references¡­ the techniques he could form on his own would be enough to shock the world.


    This White Lion Patriarch might be useless, but he had given him many great ideas.


    The Phoenix Sky God was so powerful presumably because they controlled Life, Death, and Reincarnation. The number of worlds they had swallowed up was innumerable.


    But when the time came that Ryu could control Space, Time, and Fate with a flip of his palm¡­ he wondered which of them would be more powerful.


    ''Me, of course.''


    Little Gem finished up, licking at her small palms with a half arrogant, half adorable posture. She had a disposition that would make even the more imperial of cats feel inferior, yet she did so without feeling haughty.


    "Now, tell me." Ryu said lightly. "Silent Quibus. Where is he?"


    The White Lion Patriarch quivered, and the more he hesitated, the more dangerous Ryu''s smile became.


    "I wonder¡­ is your pain tolerance any better than your son? What merry sounds would the screams of two kin make?"


    "I think you''ve misunderstood something. Silent Quibus might be a disgusting bastard¡­ but he is unable to make you suffer more than I can."

 Chapter 2136 Something About...

    ?Chapter 2136 Something About...The White Lion Patriarch shivered.


    At the moment, he was in an odd state. Dao God or not, logically speaking, if Ryu could rip his heart out of his chest, finding a method to kill him was easy. In addition, if a long enough period of time passed without a heart, then the Patriarch should also start feeling his life slipping away from him.


    Although it would likely take years at the very least before he breathed his last, if not orders of centuries if Ryu left him in this place, with the sensory perception of Dao Gods, he should still be able to sense how much time he had left.


    But right now...


    It was like he had been frozen in space, forced into a limbo where he had to experience every ounce of pain without the thought of an end in the future.


    Somehow, this was far scarier than feeling his life slowly slip away piece by piece, and the Patriarch knew that Ryu had done it on purpose.


    It was a warning that his life was firmly in his grasp, that there was nothing that he could do to escape even if he wished for it to the deepest depths of his soul.


    He began to shiver.


    How was it that he had come across two such monsters, two such demonic men without the slightest bit of consciousness?


    For some reason, the man didn''t put his own son in the same category. The logic of these cultivators was truly something that left Ryu in awe.... if he cared enough, that is.


    But functionally speaking... there was a difference.


    The White Lion Heir had lashed out because of jealousy and his own twisted form of heartbreak. What he had done was cruel, but it came from a very human side of him.


    As for Ryu and Silent Quibus... there was a dark depth to them that existed outside of their humanity, the latter of which only seemed to be more obvious.


    Well, at least from the perspective of this Patriarch.


    To Ryu, his heart was clear and he never did such things. Something like preying on the weak in order to use their rage and anger to fuel his strength was so far beneath him that his nose twisted in disgust as the mere thought.


    Now... torturing the strong that pissed him off, that was a completely different matter. And with his abilities, he had far more bandwidth to make their lives a living hell than Silent Quibus could even fathom.


    Unfortunately, after the last interaction, Silent Quibus had managed to find a method to hide from his senses.


    Maybe this was only natural. Since Silent Quibus had dared to offend his wife so openly, he had to have some degree of confidence in protecting himself.


    Ryu had thought that whatever methods he would have shouldn''t matter with his current degree of control over Fate and the like, but the Quibus Faerie had proven him wrong.


    Now that Ryu had the shadow of Old Wan as a Corpse Puppet, though, he felt like he could understand why to a small extent.


    Corpse Poison was the antithesis of Embryonic Qi and it had a dense, cursed Karma to it. A person stained with it would be difficult to find, especially if you were trying to use Fate to scry their location.


    Fate and Karma came hand in hand, and if the latter was tainted, then the former would surely be twisted.


    Ryu could think of many methods that someone with far weaker Fate control than himself could use to obscure his vision of things.


    Realizing this, he had begun to study his own Corpse Poison now with more fervor, but it would take time before he could find a method to break it.


    Who knew, though, that he would come across his answer right here? It could only be said that Silent Quibus'' luck had run out.


    As for the fact that the man was a particularly powerful Sovereign...


    Ryu didn''t even think about it.


    Setting aside the fact he had stolen Nemesis, this man dared to allow rumors about his wife and him to spread.


    If there was one thing that could bring a real demon out of Ryu, it was anyone who dared to step on this reverse scale of his.


    "Still not answering?" Ryu asked, his head tilting just the slightest bit.


    The White Lion Patriarch opened his mouth, but his lips trembled, fear seeping out from the very depths of his soul.


    Ryu pressed a finger onto the man''s forehead.


    "No no no." Ryu said calmly. "Not in front of me."


    A surge of Corpse Poison was ruthlessly suppressed by Ryu''s Embryonic Qi.


    No matter how powerful the Corpse Poison Silent Quibus controlled was, it was an external item. Ryu''s Embryonic Qi, however... was an extension of himself.


    They came from his Meridians. And as was common knowledge in the cultivation


    world, Meridians were like a secret map into a world of mysteries normally hidden away by the Heavens.


    There were patterns, circulation methods, and powerful techniques hidden away in his Meridians. He just hadn''t been capable of deciphering them.


    But during his recultivation, he had also laid the foundation for understanding this mysterious second set of Meridians as well.


    Just now, he had used one of the simplest circulation patterns he had divined, one used in the Qi Refinement Realm to complete a Revolution and strengthen qi.


    It made the potency of his Embryonic Qi heavier and denser than any Corpse Poison it came across, blasting it away.


    Feeling the weight of his death vanish for the time being, the Patriarch was so filled with fear that his words practically spilled out.


    "I don''t know-I don''t know. Days ago, he came and took millennia of resources away.


    He seems to be preparing for a cultivation regression back to the Lord Realm in order to fix a deficit in his Foundation. Something... something about a Title Stele..."


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2137 Peak

    ?Chapter 2137 PeakRyu remained silent for a long while. And then... he suddenly laughed.


    Every time he heard about this Title Stele, it only became more and more interesting. Honestly speaking, although he could feel the wheels of Fate turning around this event, he truly hadn''t been very interested. Maybe it was arrogant of him, but Quasi Lord or not, he truly couldn''t see anyone in the Lord Realm defeating him right now. Ever since his breakthrough, even against the Dao God, he hadn''t even remotely pushed himself. The only reason he had left the True Martial World was because he knew that the waters of the Martial Gods were far deeper than he knew. Otherwise, he would have been tempted to see just how far he could go if he went all out in an attempt to destroy them.


    But these matters were making things far more interesting for him.


    He thought that all he would have to do was show up and make his Title known to the world, establishing himself as the number one of this generation, future generations, and generations that had long since come.


    But this...


    Ryu grinned.


    CRACK.


    A pulse came out from Ryu''s Dao Heart, and the change caused several to feel their path of martial arts collapse.


    Just the slightest sliver of intent from his current Dao Heart caused those that were wholly inferior to him to question their reason for existing.


    Ryu didn''t spare these people a glance.


    ''Interesting!


    He thought that he had already left those of his generation far behind, but this feeling couldn''t be denied.


    "Okay."


    Ryu said. It was just a simple word, but their valiant momentum painted the skies with an air superiority, an artistic conception that grasped hearts and buried souls echoing.


    "This will be the last chance I give the world. Block my path to the mountain peak if you can."


    Ryu''s laughter boomed across the clouds, causing them to disperse in a forceful wave. BANG!


    13:55


    The body of the White Lion Patriarch shattered to pieces, falling in a rain of blood. "Let''s go. I''ve grown bored of this world. I have preparations to make."


    With a wave of his hand, Matheus and his woman were sucked into his Inner World. He appeared by Taedra next and took her away without a word.


    Ryu sat in silence, his thoughts spinning. He had so many ideas, and no clear idea of where to start. He almost wished that the Title Stele even would start right this moment. Unfortunately, there were still almost more than two decades remaining. Normally, this would be a blink of an eye for cultivators of his level. But the problem was that he still didn''t have much experience with long term secluded cultivation.


    He had worked on this a bit in the Fiend World. But honestly speaking, he still wasn''t very comfortable with it.


    The bubbling of his blood was too wild to ignore right now, and even he was having a hard time calming himself. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn''t think himself to be a man with such a lack of patience. But this moment... it. felt like what he had built up to all his life.


    That mountain peak, it felt like he was getting closer and closer to it every day. Originally, he started as a young man of Sacrum, believing that the world around him was the limit of all there was. He thought it was inevitable that he would reach that peak one day...


    But then it was stripped from him, and everything he had once built his identity on was taken away.


    He thought that that would be the end of him, but he sought out the peak through different means... means that he could never put his heart and soul into.


    That man had just never been him. It was a part of him, but it wasn''t Ryu Tatsuya, not in the truest sense.


    When he regained his strength, he was consumed by thoughts of revenge and the idea of his own goals, his own aspirations, had been pushed to the wayside.


    The joy of cultivation, just joy itself, felt fleeting, far from attainable, wishful thinking on his part.


    Until he found it again.


    Now, he stood on that road he had last stood on when he was just seven years old, looking toward the world with wide eyes and a full heart filled with yearning and expectation... so eager that he almost missed the forest for the trees.


    The beating of Ryu''s heart became wilder and his Inner World thrummed along with


    it.


    This was what he had wanted all his life. To fight with the best and crush them one after another, to display his might as a legendary being of a world beyond a world, a peak beyond a peak, a mountain beyond a mountain.


    Ryu pressed his hands together and forced them to stop shaking, a haggard breath filled with a savage heat coming from his lips.


    His body was practically overheating beneath the agitation, and for it to be reacting like this, it would be quite fair to say that he was emitting a radiance beyond that of even most stars right now.


    ''Patience...'' he said to himself slowly.


    He needed to find something to do with his time, and that could only be his Corpse Puppets and Summons.


    ''Calm...''


    Ryu used his powerful Dao Heart to rein in his emotions step by step, using it as another tempering opportunity.


    When he finally calmed down properly an entire two weeks later, he stood.


    It was time to begin.


    Ryu lost himself in the world of Summons and Corpse Puppets for an entire 20 years. He didn''t miss a single day, nor a single moment, to aid his Summons and Corpse


    Puppets in improving.


    But the truth of the matter was that he had only done this as a distraction...


    There wasn''t a single part of him that thought to use them for the Title Stele even a


    single time.


    His Dao Title would resonate through the world beneath the might of his own blades.

 Chapter 2138 Late

    Chapter 2138  LateExistence rumbled.


    The Title Stele¡­ not much was known about it, and what was known was obscured in the swaddle of mystery and ancient history, an endless game of telephone echoing the stories of a time long past.


    All those in the present knew was that this Title Stele had existed as long as the Heavens had, an item existing to hold the names of the most powerful beings in existence.


    When it appeared, it carried the hopes of dreams of a generation.


    Make it onto it, and you would be remembered long after you were gone.


    Fail, and you would fall into the turbid waters of a Dream Wraith''s embrace, memory of your existence forgotten to the annals of time and the cruelty of history.


    Those that rose and those that fell would be decided here and now¡­


    At the very least, that was what many thought.


    The existence of the Title Stele was normally meant to target individual worlds, forming a crossroads for its advancement or destruction. The path a world would lead would be decided by what heroes came out on top and which ones failed to rise to the occasion.


    However¡­ this one was different.


    According to the oracles, the Title Stele would target a Lesser Mature World known as the True Martial World.


    A Lesser Mature World fell into three categories: Lord, Sovereign and God. This True Martial World had been a Lord Lesser Mature World, one of decent standing in the wider world, but nothing very shocking.


    The Fiend World had been a Sovereign Lesser Mature World.


    Sacrum was what was known as an Immature World, one where the laws were incomplete and uncharacteristically weak. They were worlds that didn''t even quite deserve a ranking and were often colloquially referred to by whatever was decided upon in their quadrant of the universe.


    But¡­ that was when something unexpected happened.


    This Lord Lesser Mature World had shockingly evolved, skyrocketing upward until it became an Elevated Mature World.


    There were no divisions between Elevated Mature Worlds. They all stood on the same, level playing field, beneath the Heavenly Court.


    Across Existence, there were only nine such known worlds. But now¡­ there was an inexplicable tenth that appeared from nowhere.


    From a perfectly balanced state, Existence shifted, and so too did the alignment of the Title Stele.


    All of a sudden, from its trajectory toward the True Martial World, it shifted.


    However, it wouldn''t have the time to make it to the next world before it erupted again. As such¡­ an unprecedented event took place.


    The Title Stele came to a complete stop in the endless void.


    ¡­


    The Title Stele stood tall and proud, an obelisk with size of such shocking proportion that it rivals tens of worlds. Just its presence alone cast shadows from countless light years, and with a single tremble, it forced the world to bow in obedience.


    The world shook only once before it stabilized, and then tendrils of milky white began to spread out from the obelisk.


    If Ryu had been present, he would have recognized this milky white instantly.


    Embryonic Qi.


    The Title Stele produced it in such large quantities that it made Ryu''s own reserves look like a joke. This wasn''t even the river''s worth he had in his Inner World. It was at the level of beginning to form and create an entire world.


    And that was exactly what it was doing.


    The world began to lose itself in this milky whiteness until it covered a scope larger than even the obelisk.


    Runes filled the skies, a complex intertwining of visualizations that would make even Dao Gods feel small.  S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, it all solidified.


    A pulse of light rippled across Existence as though the Title Stele was letting the world know that it was now here.


    Its presence was heart shuddering, piercing into the soul and sinking into the mind. At that moment, even mortals couldn''t help but look into the skies, feeling like something was calling for them.


    ¡­


    Ryu slowly opened his eyes.


    For a moment, he almost forgot about the large pair of breasts pressed against his body.


    Eska curled herself around him like a koala bear, forgetting her bearing as a Dao Goddess entirely. Right now, she was no different from a young maiden deep in love.


    Every day, she found herself falling for Ryu more and more. The kind of man he was now was precisely the sort she had the greatest fondness for.


    Ryu didn''t move to get up, tracing a finger across the milky skin of her shoulder.


    Eska''s eyes opened and the tender affection in their whiteness faded to a hint of seriousness. She looked up much like everyone else did, feeling the changes quite profoundly.


    But quickly, she was distracted again. Ryu''s hand had found its way to her plump ass, taking a handful with more forcefulness than he would usually use on her.


    Eska looked to her husband, finding that a light he had fiercely suppressed for years was awakening again.


    His body temperature began to skyrocket. A slumbering dragon was stirring.


    Eska flushed, finding herself in a complete daze.


    "I love you, Lord Husband," she said softly.


    Ryu blinked, snapping out of his own trance as he looked toward his wife.


    Their gazes met and Eska found herself blushing profusely. She didn''t know why she had said that. It didn''t feel like something she needed to say out loud.


    Suddenly, she let out a surprised squeal as Ryu flipped her beneath him. He pulled up one of her legs, pinning her thigh to his chest and pressing his cock against her entrance.


    "I think I''m going to be late," Ryu said with a grin.


    Eska blinked, her gaze flickering between confusion, desire, and embarrassment. She could feel herself being slowly stretched. This position was one that she was very much not used to. Just how deep would he reach?


    She quickly got her answer.


    Her cherry lips parted and a gasp left her lips.


    Her legs trembled, almost breaking free of Ryu''s pin as her eyes rolled back.


    "Since you''re going to make your husband late for such an important event, I think it warrants a little bit of punishment."

 Chapter 2139 By the Gods

    ?Chapter 2139 By the GodsThe World of Phoenixes.


    The World of Dragons.


    The World of Qilins.


    The World of Griffins.


    The World of Rocs.


    The World of Fey.


    The World of Devas.


    The World of Demons.


    The World of Fiends.


    The True Martial World.


    All ten worlds had one very clear thing in common: the simplicity of their titles.


    In the world, this denoted power, strength. It wasn''t necessary to stand apart with a name alone when everyone knew one could only be referring to you when the name was said.


    This was the weight that an Elevated World held.


    There was no need to consider what these worlds were good at, what they S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    represented, or the reason for their existence.


    Each one captured a legendary of Existence, a Race of beings that stood above all and looked down upon the others with impunity.


    The only real anomaly amongst them was the True Martial World.


    The mystery of the Martial Gods was still unanswered by many. Those that knew of their existence or the reason for their existence were very few.


    Even Ryu, who had been fighting against them either openly or in the shadows for much of his life, despite his intelligence, knew very little.


    What he did know, though... was that the Martial Gods, despite what they called themselves, were of the Human Race.


    In this tapestry, woven by the strongest Races to ever exist, it seemed that the Human Race did have a seat at the table.


    That said... Ryu Tatsuya had never cared for such things. He never felt more closeness for the Human Race than any other. He never fancied himself a leader so he didn''t feel the sort of desire to please and/or experience loyalty to any one Race of people.


    No matter the Race, Phoenix or Dragon, Demon or Fiend, Deva or Martial God... None of it mattered.


    Before he even stepped foot onto this battlefield, he had certainly already pissed off over half of these individuals.


    Phoenix, Dragon, and Qilin blood ran through his veins. Just by virtue of his existence alone, they would hunt him down for all they were worth.


    He had "stolen" the treasure of the Griffins, ensuring they would be quite furious with his existence as well. How could they possibly take into account that Little Gem had come of her own free will?


    His troubles with the Martial Gods didn''t need to be rehashed. Between them... there could only possibly be one surviving in the end. They could no longer coexist beneath these expansive skies.


    The Fiends sat in the same bubble. Because of Ryu, the rise of a second World of Fiends had been stifled and destroyed, ruining generations of work. It could be said that of all of these, they might want to see Ryu dead the very most.


    And these were just the grievances that Ryu was well aware of... very soon, he would realize that this wouldn''t be the end of it.


    Maybe by the end of it all, Ryu would be an enemy of Existence itself, no longer having a place to rest his head.


    As these groups of worlds all displayed their might, because the only ones that could even begin to cross the expanse of darkness to reach the great obelisk, the wheels of Fate began to churn.


    This Title Stele Gathering would cause a change to the world that even the strongest couldn''t possibly have predicted.


    And yet, the young man it would revolve around was busy.


    Ryu''s hips moved with a rhythmic cadence, just a tick above agonizingly slow, and almost heart-shudderingly consistent.


    Eska felt her heart tremble with every stroke, her lips sinking into her husband''s as though their tongues couldn''t intertwine fiercely enough.


    She was practically gushing, not just in a physical sense as fragrant juices fell from between her smooth legs, but in a spiritual sense as well.


    An outpouring of love pulsed from her soul as she fell harder and harder.


    Maybe she had underestimated the power of the words she had spoken earlier, because all at once, her heart bloomed like a flower at the dawn of spring.


    Her thoughts danced between how good it felt, to wondering how she could get even closer to this man, to even hoping that Ryu would impregnate her right here and


    now.


    She had never desired children before, but now she wanted them more than anything, if for no other reason than to carry the seed of this man she loved so dearly.


    A faint part of her brain laughed in derision, looking down on her for having fallen so far. But that part of her was only growing smaller with time.


    With every bright smile that came from her husband''s lips, every teasing joke, every caring stroke.


    "By the gods..." she said, moaning out the words between bites of Ryu''s lips, holding onto the sides of his face so tightly her arms trembled beneath the strain. "Take me....


    take all of me..."


    Ryu''s hand gripped the underside of her other thigh, pinning it to her body again. Now, both of her legs were pressed beneath his chest, dangling over his shoulders.


    Eska went limp, the pleasure too overwhelming for her to handle. Her consciousness faded in and out, her lips growing too weak to continue holding onto Ryu''s own.


    Ryu, though, didn''t miss a beat, transferring a delicate trail of kisses down her collarbone. Every deep stroke led to another convulsion, building into one another in more and more frequent spikes.


    The grip of her walls around his cock only grew tighter as well, their moist, tender folds enveloping him in a warmth that pulled at the depths of his soul.


    Ryu pulled back from her neck, gazing at her flushed features and her almost glazed-over eyes. Even now, her beauty was almost unmatched, and he felt a tenderness stirring deep within even his own heart.


    He bottomed out, stirring his hips and releasing deep within her.


    Eska''s toes curled, her legs flexing so hard she nearly flung him off of her.

 Chapter 2140 How Could I Possibly Not?

    Chapter 2140  How Could I Possibly Not?The calm rush of water filled the atmosphere. With a light smile on her face, Eska happily washed her husband''s back before reaching around him, her small hands passing soapy water down his chiseled abs and through to his crotch.


    She cleaned every inch of him, not missing a single spot and almost carelessly rubbing her silky body across every inch of him.


    Ryu smiled. The stamina of a Dao Goddess truly couldn''t be underestimated.


    Not long ago, she hadn''t even been able to breathe without a shudder coming from her chest¡ªthe sound of her heartbeat had come like the rapid beating of a snare drum.


    But now, she was already teasing him again as though she needed to be taught another lesson.


    Her actions, though, were fair enough. After all, how could he be clean if that didn''t also include his dick and balls?


    Eska wrapped around from behind him, her large breasts swaying with soapy suds as they pressed against his crotch.


    With an almost innocent smile, she rubbed them against his member as though this was truly the best and most efficient way to clean them.


    Ryu watched her work between his legs with a smile in his eyes. She truly didn''t seem to be trying to arouse him at all. He could tell that she was just helping him clean up in the way that was most pleasurable to him.


    Truly, she had given herself over to the dutiful wife role without the slightest hesitation.


    Indeed, in that way, she was quite a bit different from Ailsa. It wasn''t that Ailsa would never do this, but it would be akin to the difference between desiring to do it and wanting to do it.


    These seemed to be the same thing, but if Ryu had to describe it, Ailsa would do it because she wanted to please him, while Eska was doing it because it pleased the both of them.


    Not only did she know it made him happy, but she gained quite a bit of satisfaction from taking care of her husband in ways she felt no other woman would do nearly as well.


    Ryu cupped her cheek while she was lost in her work, pulling her face to his and giving her a deep kiss.


    The two of them lost themselves in their own world again not long after coming up for air.


    **


    Ryu laughed as he walked through the endless expanse of darkened skies.


    "You''re mad at me?"


    He looked over to Hope who carried an unamused expression.


    "Today is the last day and you actually spent all that time with Eska. What about the rest of us?"  S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You mean what about you?" Ryu asked.


    Hope snorted, crossing her arms and turning away.


    Ryu smiled, looking down at Hope''s belly. It was minor, so unnoticeable that most wouldn''t realize a thing, but he could see it.


    A small bud of life.


    He could tell why she was stressed. She hadn''t even told him that she was officially pregnant yet, and the longer he took to notice, the more peeved she became.


    Ryu didn''t blame her. Not to mention the fact he didn''t have that bone in his body to begin with¡ªnot for his women, that is¡ªhe had sympathy for it.


    It was what his father was speaking of, and likely one of the main reasons he had been given such warnings.


    He was only one person, even if he was a person with seemingly infinite strength and time compared to mortals. There was only so thin he could stretch himself. And if children became involved, it would only become worse.


    That said¡­ that was the mentality of a weak man.


    If he was stretched too thin¡­ didn''t he just have to grow more powerful?


    As for why he had pretended not to notice¡­


    Ryu took Hope''s hand. She put up a mock resistance, but considering she was a Dao God and could have easily ripped her hand out if she truly wanted to, it was clearly just a token effort.


    She harrumphed softly, looking away, but no longer resisted.


    Ryu smiled, taking a step forward.


    Hope felt that something was wrong almost immediately, but she didn''t have the time to react before she found herself standing above a world she could only describe as a beautiful marble of swirling green and blue.


    "¡­ Wow¡­" she said softly.


    The world wasn''t radiating a particularly powerful aura, but somehow, it felt better than a world that was. She didn''t know how to put her finger on why that was, it was contradictory and didn''t make much sense.


    "This world is a mortal world. It doesn''t look very special on the outside, but it makes one feel at peace. That''s because it''s actually not far away from blooming and gaining a Heaven of its own, awakening its people to the existence of qi and allowing them to set off on their own cultivation stories."


    Hope''s eyes widened and her head snapped toward Ryu.


    "This¡­ Ryu¡­"


    The value of such a world couldn''t be explained in a few words. This was even more valuable than finding a Realm Heart, that was because a Realm Heart was in a state where it still needed to be coaxed¡ªit was a bundle of instincts that could easily become hostile and dangerous.


    But this sort of world¡­ its Realm Heart was in an in-between state, one where it was still very vulnerable, but it was also anchored in the world in a way it couldn''t escape.


    Essentially, it had all the upside of a Realm Heart with none of the associated difficulty in reining one in.


    Dao Gods would fight bloody wars over such a world.


    Hope''s lips trembled before she slowly regained her composure.


    "This is great, Ryu. This will be of great help to you!"


    "To me?" Ryu smiled knowingly. "What do you mean to me? This isn''t for me. This is for our child."


    Hope''s eyes opened wide before tears began to spill over.


    "You¡­"


    Ryu beamed. "How could I possibly not know?"


    Hope threw herself into Ryu''s arms, sobbing her heart out.

 Chapter 2141 Why Not Me?

    Chapter 2141  Why Not Me?"Happy now?"


    Hope pouted. "Don''t make fun of the woman carrying your child. You did this on purpose."


    Ryu laughed heartily, not minding it at all. He had done this on purpose, but it wasn''t for the sake of making Hope feel antsy.


    How could he prepare a surprise if she already knew? And how could he allow his first child to come into this world with a great amount of fanfare and grace?


    The Tatsuya Clan needed a rebirth, and though this child wouldn''t have his entire Bloodline due to his promise to the Frost Clan, that didn''t mean that they wouldn''t have the backing of all the power he could muster.


    Plus¡­ having the Frost Clan''s Bloodline wasn''t necessarily a bad thing either. At the very least, even if it was a bad thing, Ryu had the means to make certain of that fact it wouldn''t be in the end.


    Who cared what the Heavens had to say about it when he was here? He had all the Embryonic Qi in the world, all the comprehension in the world, and if he lacked in resources¡­


    He could just find them like he had now. If he could find something as valuable as this world, who dared to say that he was poor? He had methods that most in the world couldn''t hope to fathom, nor did they need to.


    When the time came for his child to make their presence known to the world, they would come to know the sort of weight the Tatsuya name held.


    Hope snuggled up against Ryu''s arm, beaming from ear to ear.


    Her mood swung with the wind, but she didn''t seem to notice at all. As for Ryu, he didn''t mind it in the slightest. Whether it was her hormones or not, also didn''t matter to him.


    As far as he was concerned, as much grace as he extended to his women normally, Hope deserved ten times as much right now.


    Plus¡­ like he had said before, he understood her perspective.


    It was one thing for her to make the conscious choice to be with him knowing that she might personally be neglected from time to time, but the calculation was very much different when children became involved.


    Ryu would never blame her for that. And likewise¡­ he would never neglect his children.


    "Come. Let''s take a stroll."


    Hope blinked. "But¡­"


    "They can wait."


    **


    The situation around the obelisk was beginning to grow more tense and people began to appear. Of course, for the time being, it looked as though there was no one at all.


    An endless black expanse surrounded a soft white glow and the world knew nothing but silence.


    However, from time to time, just the slightest of ripples would go out, so faint and immeasurable that if not for the sensitive senses of the powerful individuals here, no one would notice at all.


    Out of an abundance of caution, no one was eager to show themselves just yet. Who among them didn''t know that what they were facing now was probably the most unprecedented event in history?


    The number of people that would come here, and from the powers that they would, could all only be said to be truly unfathomable.


    But¡­ not everyone had such patience.


    "Since you''re already here Phoenix King, why not make your presence known? It can''t be that you''re afraid?"


    The rumbling voice tore through the void.


    "Don''t try to use me as your stepping stone, Qilin King. Turn your ire where it belongs and we''ll see if your tone remains the same when the Dragon King arrives."


    A snort echoed like a clap of thunder. "That cowardly rat will likely not show up. He lacks any sort of grace or etiquette. Since this isn''t a matter he can participate in, he has no interest in it."  sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Is that so?"


    The voice was even deeper, more rumbling. Even the gentle white glow trembled beneath its might.


    "Why are you asking questions as though I wouldn''t say it to your face, you scaled rat. Come out and fight if you have the balls."


    The Dragon King didn''t bother to respond. Even after he finished speaking, his voice continued to echo through the expanse.


    The Qilin King snorted again. "As expected, you didn''t even show¡ª."


    A claw tore through the void.


    What use did a Dragon have for talking when he could attack?


    Space tore into five, a claw wreathed in golden scales descending from above toward a seemingly inconspicuous location.


    A hoof took shape to meet it, flaming hairs jetting out from its ankles.


    BOOM!


    The skies shuddered and the hoof was almost blasted to pieces.


    "Watch your tone when you speak to me. I am of your father''s generation, not yours. And in case you''ve forgotten¡­ he''s already died beneath my claw."


    The growl echoed through the expanse, carrying the undertones of Dragon''s Roar.


    "Boastful bullshit!" The Qilin King roared, his bursting spatial shards into mirror worlds of fire. "My father didn''t die at the hands of the likes of you. You cowardly, scaled rat!"


    The Dragon King didn''t respond. This time, it was clear that it was because it was beneath him to take such action.


    All those present could tell that the Qilin King was right, the Dragon King hadn''t appeared personally. But that was what made his attack all the more horrifying¡­


    Just how many worlds had that claw crossed?


    The shattered space the claw had formed rippled and then one dragon kin after another began to appear, an array of scaled colors adorning their bodies, but each no less radiant than the last.


    At the forefront, a young dragon with golden scales and one with delicate lavender scales roared into unison, their bodies intertwining in a serpentine dance as they soared out from the spatial tear.


    Even those not of the World of Dragons knew who they were.


    The current Dragon Prince and his Heiress, the Dragon Princess.


    Their bodies wound around one another until their large forms had completely exited the tunnel.


    They had an imposing momentum around them that was undeniable, but more oppressive than that was how their auras seemed to meld into one another. One of gold, the other of lavender, they formed the perfect shades of royalty together¡ªa gorgeous golden violet that exuded a powerful majesty.


    The Dragons that came after them streamed in with an array of colors, their figures dancing through the skies and giving life to an otherwise dull atmosphere.


    For a moment, it seemed that the Dragon Race would snatch up all the momentum¡­


    Until the Qilin King growled.


    "Go."


    A hoof stomped down from above and yet another spatial tunnel was formed. Out from it, a young Qilin took a slow step.


    His scales were a reflective ruby, so bright that they truly seemed carved out from the gem. Each one also seemed coated in a reflective, glass-like texture, opening one up to a mirror world of flames dancing and flickering within.


    His mane was a beautiful white, his horns curling back and then up, piercing toward the dome of the skies. The mane seemed to be mostly hair in some lights, but then they became dancing flames of white. Beneath its reflections, even the young Qilin''s scales seemed to become white from time to time.


    For a long while, the young Qilin seemed to be alone. But soon it, it became clear that this wasn''t the case. Instead, it was because his presence was so overwhelming compared to the others that one couldn''t help but forget them.


    The Qilin Prince had appeared.


    "Well, you had might as well go to."


    "And you as well."


    The Phoenix Princess descended, flames and feathers of bright pink, gentle blues, and ethereal violets coating her from head to toe. But unlike the others, she stepped down in human form, her large body wrapping around itself to reveal a young woman with beauty beyond what a few words could describe.


    Her skin was crystal clear, her hair a bed of feathers and flames. The curves of her body weren''t exaggerated and she seemed quite petite in stature, but she was tall nonetheless, her long, slender legs drawing the sights of all.


    And then came the Griffin Princess. Her coat was a beautiful brown color, her wings carrying the soft tan of a warm, creamy cup of coffee. Faint accents of gold adorned her in just the right places, the tips of her wings, the reflective hues of her eyes, the crown of feathers that adorned her head¡­


    She didn''t take human form, but it was easy to tell that if she cared to do so, her beauty would be no less than that of the Phoenix Princess.


    A snort came from the distance as a silvery streak passed through the skies.


    "Taking the form of a human. This is why you''ll never amount to much."


    Silvery-gold lightning flashed and a Lightning Roc soared through the skies.


    The Roc Prince.


    The Phoenix Princess only smiled lightly. "I have no desire to marry any of you brutes. I would much rather find my prince among the humanoids¡­"


    A fanciful glint lit in her eyes.


    "Haha! Then why not me?"


    An imposing aura flourished.

 Chapter 2142 Silent and Bombastic

    Chapter 2142  Silent and BombasticA young man walked around from the void, followed along by a large cohort. The first thing one would think of when you saw him was¡­


    Bright.


    He was almost hard to look at. In fact, if it wasn''t for how powerful those here were, he would be more than just hard to look at. Just gazing at him a single time would be enough to cause blindness in the best of cases. In the worst of cases, it would be enough to incinerate one''s mind, searing a permanent image into one''s retinas with nothing more than a glance.


    The young man wore robes of white-gold and his golden hair fell like a waterfall down his shoulders and spilling over to the small of his back.


    His hair, though, could hardly hide the large pair of white wings on his back. In fact, there wasn''t just a single pair¡­ but rather two pairs, each one so large they dwarfed the size of his actual body.


    There was a golden slit right down the middle of his forehead that looked almost like a tattoo or a marking, and above his head covered a radiant halo, pulsing with light every time he spoke even the simplest of words.


    This young man was known as Young Master Bright. The young Heir of the Devas.


    He was surrounded by women no less gorgeous than the Phoenix Princess, some with skin like warmed milk and others that were delicate shades of milk and dark chocolate. The covered the entire color array, and each one seemed promised to the young man before them.


    And yet, when he spoke to the Phoenix Princess in this way, they felt that it was only natural, all of them giving her beautiful smiles as though inviting her in.


    The Phoenix Princess gave Young Master Bright a once over and giggled.


    "Not bad. We shall see."


    Near the back of the group of Devas, there was another that stood out.


    She was silent and would have been entirely unassuming if not for the fact she wasn''t among the women flocking Young Master Bright like a pack of birds, and¡­ she was the only one without white wings and golden hair.


    Her hair was a dense black, emitting a powerful fog, and her wings were an agonizingly bright crimson. She wore black robes that seemed fit for a man, and the coldness on her gaze seemed to freeze the space before them solid.


    However, while she stood apart of Young Master Bright, she was surrounded by her own group of figures. It was just that every single one of them was a shadow with a vaguely masculine form and a large pair of wings each. It wasn''t possible to see even their faces.


    Young Mistress Nightly.


    She was the shadow to Young Master Bright''s light, the moon to his sun.


    "I don''t like my women to have such hesitation." Young Master Bright said, his smile still as illuminating.


    "Is that so? Well I like my men to only have eyes for me."


    Young Master Bright laughed to the skies.


    "In that case, young maiden, you have two options. Either you forget your day dreams, or you marry a mediocre man who will chase you around like a lost puppy."


    Phoenix Princess'' smile didn''t fade. In fact, it only became deeper.


    "There is a third option."


    "Oh? Please enlighten me."


    "Crush all the men in the world, and then take my pick of the litter."


    Her words carried just the slightest hint of chill. Another man would have found his balls shriveling into his body, vanishing, never to return again. However, Young Master Bright only laughed harder.


    "If there was such a day you could do such a thing, you would never marry. I know women like you quite well. Would you even bother with a man you could press beneath your thumb? In fact, I think I''ve decided. I''ll show you what a true man is very soon. We''ll see if we can''t thaw that cold smile in the throes of passion."


    "Would your cock even be able to hold up to the heat?"


    "Ah, such crude words for such a fair maiden. I prefer my women gentle and demure. But I think I''ll take you as a concubine nonetheless if for no other reason than to prove a point."


    The two seemed to be smiling at one another, but the biting chill in their words caused those from inferior worlds to not even dare to appear.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk."


    A deep rumbling voice that seemed to almost match the Dragon King''s in rhythm and cadence appeared. With it, a Demon appeared¡­


    A skeleton with bones as black as night as a foggy crown of dark gold billowing above his head. Loose black robes swept down from his body.


    Flashes of eerie silvery-white light coated his body from time to time, revealing the face of a ghostly young man who was handsome beyond what words could describe. In fact, he was even faintly beyond Young Master Bright in looks. If not for the fact he spent half the time as a skeleton, it would likely not be a contest at all.


    Souls howled every time he opened his mouth, making it sound as though thousands were scrambling to talk over one another.


    The aura of this young man continuously shifted and changed, and somehow, he seemed to encompass all the auras of the Demon Kings.


    Young Master Shade.


    Several individuals looked over with a serious expression, even Young Master Bright was no different.


    This was the one young man who appeared alone, and it wasn''t that there were others hiding¡­ he was truly alone. Not a single God of the World of Demons had appeared. It was as though they were signaling the very same thing.


    Their confidence in this young man had no bounds, no limitations. Maybe deep inside, they felt like even if the Dragon King took action to kill him, it wouldn''t make the slightest difference.


    The Fate concentrated on this young man was so great that targeting him was more likely to kill you than it was to kill him.


    "When courting a woman, you need to be much gentler. You show no regard for the fairer sex. Of course a powerful woman will be a little willful. If you cannot handle her, then just say so."


    Young Master Bright smiled. "I think I do well enough with women."


    "Using your status to capture women who would do anything to birth your children for no other reason than your powerful Bloodline is¡­ not something to be proud of." Young Master Shade said slowly.


    Young Master Bright''s expression didn''t change, but his wives were all instantly infuriated. How could they not be insulted by such words? They were all proud daughters of Heaven. They might be inferior to these top geniuses, but it was only by half a step. How could they have been so easy to appease?


    However, before they could say anything, their husband raised a hand so they obediently fell silent, glaring at Young Master Shade.


    "Your tongue is sharp for a man without one. I wonder what other important bits of flesh you''re missing."


    A dangerous light flashed in Young Master Shade''s eyes, his neck tilting to one side. The sound of chains rattling echoed through the air, whipping scythes of energy accumulating.


    "Would you like to find out?" A sneer flashed on the young skeleton''s face as his visage pulsed in and out of existence. "I don''t have a fondness for men and it might hurt me more than you. But I do wonder if you would have the same arrogance if you were pressed down beneath me. Or, would you kill yourself right then and there?"


    A cold shiver ran through their soul.  sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If there was one thing Young Master Shade was known for¡­ it was his lack of a bottom line.


    These words weren''t empty. He never said such things just for the sake of saying them.


    As the tension grew, a young man appeared in complete silence. He was followed by a group of Fiends, but even now, he seemed to be the center of them all.


    He looked petite and almost fragile, his face pale and his eyes swirling with three colors.


    He seemed to have no presence at all, and yet, the longer you looked at him, the larger and looming he seemed to become¡­ as though he had no bottom line at all, at least not one anyone could properly see through¡­


    Ryu had never seen this man before. In fact, even to the Fiends, he was a relatively new character. Yet, despite the dissatisfaction in the eyes of the Fiend that followed behind him, even she did not dare to speak a word about it. But¡­ Ryu would surely recognize him nonetheless.


    That was because this young man was the only Tri-Elemental Fiend Childe in existence, an anomaly amongst anomalies and someone that had survived against all odds.


    Yeger Sun.


    The skies trembled.


    To the dawn there was dusk, to the sun there was the moon, and to the silent entrance of Yeger, there was the bombastic presentation of the Martial Gods.

 Chapter 2143 When?

    ?Chapter 2143 When?One gaze after another landed on the approaching Martial Gods.


    However, unlike the others... it was very difficult to tell just who the top dog was.


    The only other group where this was the case were with the Devas. They had Young Master Bright and Young Mistress Nightly, both of whom seemed the same, but separate, one''s light to the other''s shadow.


    Though the Dragons had the Dragon Prince and the Dragon Princess, the latter was clearly a quarter step beneath that of her husband. The gap between the two wasn''t as enormous as there existed between the others and their subordinates, but they were there.


    However, for the Martial Gods... they had three figures that they couldn''t quite


    decipher between, three powerhouses with a strength that seemed perfectly on par no matter how you looked at it.


    Xalvador of the Divine Wings.


    Balthar of the Divine Hegemony.


    Solara of the Divine Chains.


    And then, behind them, there was another group that felt just a quarter step beneath...


    This group included Aurelia, Elena''s mother and Leander, her stepmother...


    The concentration of geniuses the Martial Gods had brought forward seemed to dwarf all the others, not just because of these five, but because there were very clearly even more budding talents hidden behind them that seemed somewhat overshadowed, and yet seemed to also deserve the right to stand there.


    Among this number, there was Elena, her brother Barren, and their step-siblings. Something was very clearly quite special about Xalvador''s Bloodline, and this also quite clearly underlined the reason both Leander and Aurelia had chosen him as a husband.


    When it came to the lineage with the highest concentration of talents...


    He was second to none in the Martial Gods.


    There was a silence as the Martial Gods descended. The focus of everyone fell on them.


    After so many years of seclusion, not much was known about the Martial Gods. There were some echoes of Fate that only started to make themselves known just 20 years ago, especially as the Martial Gods returned from the special training and converged onto the True Martial World once again. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, even those were just faint inklings.


    It wasn''t until today that the Dao Gods that had scryed Fate could see the manifestation of those eerie shadows they had picked up on.


    This Martial God Race seemed capable of doing something that powerful Races had always failed at...


    Procreating in large numbers.


    Their methods, the freedom they gave their sons and daughters to bed and birth children as they pleased, had very clearly had their positive impacts.


    It was a style of governance rarely if ever seen in the martial world, but it was also only possible because of the specialty of their Bloodlines.


    Elena stood in silence, her pink diamond hair sparkling in the darkness as though it emitted its own radiance.


    Her gaze looked forward, a calmness radiating in the depths of her eyes.


    Maybe in the past, she would have been looking around in worry, hoping and praying that Ryu wouldn''t appear. But right now, she felt a sort of endless confidence in her husband that had been born through years of trials and tribulations,


    Her husband was no longer that fragile young man who she had to coddle and care for. She had loved him then, and she loved him even more now.


    Looking through these geniuses one after another, her gaze wasn''t filled with contempt... but rather complacency, an unfeeling dismissal of what she was seeing.


    Their imposing momentums didn''t matter, their boastful tones or their deep foundations disregarded...


    In the end, the result would be much the same.


    "Interesting." Young Master Shadow said lightly, a chuckle rumbling in the depths of his throat. His wraith-like feature popped up in a ghostly wind before vanishing again.


    A Race no one knew about suddenly appearing in such large numbers with such an imposing aura...


    It was interesting indeed.


    But in the end, there was still one world that wasn''t here.


    As though on cue, a fair maiden descended from the skies. Her hair was a silky black, part fusing into the void and part shimmering within it in streams of subtle silver that vanished in deep darkness.


    Her eyes, though... it was hard to take your eyes off of them.


    Deep, layered lines and folds of violet, streaking from deep hues to light ones, painting


    a scenery of rays of an amethyst sun and an exploding nebula of gorgeous purples.


    They were eyes that carried unfathomable depths.


    Her ears pointed, her body wrapped in a tight armor of pearly white that shifted between smooth leathers and hardened plates of white steel.


    A katana longer than even her body was strapped not to her side, but on her back.


    Unlike the other women here, in their pretty dresses and elegant gaits, she seemed like she had come here to battle, a Warrior Goddess with only thoughts of a single


    thing.


    Victory.


    Her Dao Heart reflected in the darkness and her ethereal aura paved a road for her ahead.


    And then the others appeared. Or rather... much like with Yeger... they had always been there, but this was the first time those around could actually see them. There was a young man with a tail as white as snow. His face was gloomy, his gaze focused. He seemed like a sheathed sword ready to explode at any moment, but this ready-to-erupt volcano was buried deep, suppressed and suffocated.


    "The Fey have become more arrogant than I remember," Balthar said lightly. "Actually daring to arrive after us."


    Sarriel didn''t even look over toward him, her gaze entirely focused on the screen of white ahead. Her sword trembled within its sheath, crisscrossing lines of sharpened qi


    spiraling in all directions.


    As much as Ryu''s blood was boiling, she was no less.


    A violet upsurge was rolling in her heart.


    "Hm?" Young Master Bright''s eyes suddenly snapped in a certain direction, his pupils


    constricting.


    When had this person arrived?

 Chapter 2144 Make Certain

    Chapter 2144  Make CertainMoments after Young Master Bright noticed, so too did a large number of others. Ryu stood beside his wife, happily chatting. Although things were described as though everyone was close, the reality was that they were separated by spans of entire worlds. The only reason they could chat and interact was because of their formidable cultivation bases. Still, it was also because of the endless darkness and unobstructed views from all angles that they were able to do this as well¡­ Which was why the sudden appearance of a man they hadn''t noticed before just¡­ being there didn''t make any sense at all. Ryu didn''t speak to them, he didn''t introduce himself, he didn''t make a large showing or flashy entrance. In fact, the only person who knew he was here before anyone else was another one of his wives, Elena. He gave her a smile that put her heart at ease, then pointed at Hope''s belly. Elena instantly understood and her eyes shone bright with excitement and a hint of jealousy. She had never been obsessed with the idea of having children either, mostly because when she originally decided to marry Ryu, she didn''t think that they would have long together to begin with. It was already hard enough for Ryu to choose to be with her, convincing him to leave a child behind in his death as well would have been even more difficult. So to save him the potential heartache, she chose to never bring it up. But now, she suddenly felt a great urge to have children as well. Elena took a step forward and became a streaking light of pink, sparkling diamond, her wings unfurled in a delicate array. It was only because she did this that people noticed Ryu''s presence at all. In fact, others thought that he had always been here, but in reality, he had only just appeared. He thought that he was going to be late, but who expected these people to care more about vapid displays of superiority than they cared about the actual Title Stele event? Each one was obsessed with appearing later than the last, so by the time he got here, he had only just barely managed to be the last. It seemed intentional, but quite frankly¡­ he didn''t care enough about these people to do such a thing. What did it matter to him? One way or another, he would crush them just the same. When the time came, they would certainly know him. That said, he also couldn''t possibly appear and ignore his wife, right? Elena had already flashed over and the Martial Gods could only frown at the change. This Ryu¡­ they had been looking for him for over two decades now and he had just appeared out of nowhere. And he didn''t care to hide his presence from them at all. They frowned. Their Ancestors weren''t here. They couldn''t leave their location for the moment, not until the time was ripe. Had Ryu done this on purpose? But how could he see through such a thing? After a while, they calmed. It didn''t matter. With Ryu here, was there a need to worry about how things would end? The result would only be one thing. Elena threw herself into Ryu''s arm and gave him an excited kiss on the lips before entirely ignoring his presence. Hope and Elena hardly knew each other, but in barely a few seconds it was as though they had been lifelong friends. Elena held onto her sister wife''s hands, talking excitedly about the baby as though it was her own. And truthfully speaking, it might as well be. This was the sort of thing Elena had always wanted. There was a reason she was so obsessed with getting Ryu to have more wives. This way, in the future¡­ she would have a real family, not one where her parents bedded one another for their Bloodlines or her mother was on her own in an attempt to carve out a path for her and her child¡­ A real family. One no different from the Tatsuyas. Ryu smiled and brought his other wives out. There was an odd sense of satisfaction in his heart as he watched these beauties interact with one another, fluttering around like gorgeous fairies. In the distance, Sarriel rolled her eyes, her focus slipping for just the slightest moment before she went back to staring at the white screen before them like a hound. Even now¡­ she had still only come for one thing. Her final battle with Ryu would come in due time. "Oh?" The Phoenix Princess covered her lips with a hand. Their delicate pink blossomed like petals, a chuckle leaving them. Ryu didn''t seem to have eyes for the world around him at all, his white robes and hair completely still. He seemed unmoved and unbothered by it all, as though he had come here for sightseeing as opposed to anything more substantial. "You¡­" A rumbling echo peeled across the skies. Young Master Bright, who had been smiling all the while, suddenly had a gloomy appearance, sparks of golden lightning shooting out from the sides of his eyes like fine line cracks in space. His wives surrounded him, trying to see what was wrong and soothing his spirit, but though he didn''t push them away, his fury wasn''t abated. He locked eyes with Ryu. Or, rather, on Ryu''s side profile as Ryu still wasn''t bothering to pay much attention to the world around him. "A scum of the Mysteries Lineage. I didn''t think that there was still one that existed after so many were wiped out. It''s good that you''ve appeared, I will make certain that you are the first to die." CLINK. CLINK. CLANG! Pieces of illusory golden armor clasped onto Young Master Bright''s body and then solidified. A howling pressure filled the skies as the call of ancient weapons rang. Several individuals felt the need to restrain their weapons lest they rage out of control. The War God Pupils had appeared.   S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2145 Inappropriate

    Chapter 2145  InappropriateRyu slowly looked over, his head tilting. There was a smoldering silver light in their depths, unfathomable and deep, unreadable, even.


    But as quickly as it was there, it vanished.


    He turned away from Young Master Bright once again, turning back to his wives and his smile returning as though nothing at all had happened.


    He had thought about attacking just now, but in the end he felt that¡­ it wasn''t worth it.


    If he attacked now, wouldn''t he have to leave his wives? He had already been suppressing himself for several decades now. The likes of this Young Master Bright¡­  S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Were entirely unable to shake him now.


    By Sarriel''s side, Falling Snow''s rage also flared, his tail swaying and claws growing from his hands as his canines extended.


    But in the end, he too managed to calm himself. His rage burned in a fiery ember, suppressed and protected from the chilling cold for just the time being.


    Young Master Bright, however, was so infuriated that he laughed to the skies.


    He couldn''t remember ever being ignored in his life. Since the days of his youth, he had always stood atop of the world. Even if he had been telling Ryu to lick his shoes, the latter should have obediently listened to every word even if he erupted in a rage afterward.


    "Mysteries Lineage, huh?" Young Master Shadow''s eyes flashed with interest, a ghostly tongue flicking out from his mouth and licking over his lips before his visage disappeared again. "They are indeed all quite arrogant and aloof. I''ve never heard of one having so many women, though. What a fascinating change, a fascinating change, indeed."


    Although Young Master Bright was the first to sense it due to their connection through Fate, when Ryu brought his wives out to interact with one another, they had all sensed small inklings of what his Heavenly Pupils were.


    No one here was surprised by the appearance of Heavenly Pupils, it wasn''t something that they had to care for in the slightest considering they were all geniuses amongst geniuses. Maybe 90% of them had Heavenly Pupils¡ªit was truly so exaggerated.


    The War Pupils of Young Master Bright were only one of them. In fact, many of those here had established new rankings for their Heavenly Pupils in their own worlds as well.


    However, even amongst Heavenly Pupils, there was something special about the Mysteries of Heaven Earth Heavenly Pupils, an odd tug at their souls that made them feel the desire to suppress it beneath their feet.


    That was because these Heavenly Pupils¡­ were the only ones that fell in rankings not due to being surpassed by subsequent generations, but because they took too long to appear.


    And every time they did¡­


    They would inevitably return back to their position at the very top of that perch.


    Now, unbeknownst to them, another member of the Mysteries Lineage had appeared right before them all.


    Phoenix Princess chuckled, her delicate laughter tickling the heart.


    "Interesting indeed. I am a little bit jealous, though. If I were to choose him, how will I compete with so many Dao Goddesses?"


    Despite her words, she didn''t seem to take the title of Dao Goddess very seriously at all.


    And maybe she was right to be so flippant.


    To geniuses like them, so long as they crossed the Lord threshold, reaching Godhood was an inevitability. If she wanted, she could reach the Dao God Realm with a few years of seclusion at most.


    They all could.


    Of course, that was only a right reserved for the truest pinnacle of geniuses the world had to offer. For them, cultivation was never all that difficult to begin with, not after certain thresholds had been passed.


    In fact, the only reason Hope had failed to break into the Omniscient Sky God Realm back then was because she lacked the Fate. She had the right combination of exceptional talent, and poor support from the Heavens.


    But had her world still existed¡­ she would have long become a God.


    Clearly, though, they felt that these Dao Goddesses willing to become the wife to a Lord couldn''t have been very special to begin with. Any one of them could have a Dao God for a spouse if they so chose.


    This was the peak of the world. The way they saw things was very different from others.


    However¡­


    Eska slowly turned toward the Phoenix Princess. Her movements were just as elegant as always, not flashy in the slightest, and most almost didn''t notice her movement at all.


    However, the moment the Phoenix Princess met her gaze, it was as though she had been thrown into a vat of ice-cold water.


    Cold sweat burst across her skin, the feathers and flames that made up her hair flaring out as she took a violent step backward.


    Her body burst apart and she returned to her true form, a phoenix wreathed in flames of violet, pink, and blue.


    She spread out her wings, and before anyone could react, she had retreated millions of miles.


    By the time she came to a stop, Eska had already turned away, returning to her chat as though nothing at all had happened.


    On Ryu''s head, Little Gem closed her one open eye, yawning. She stretched out her little pink tongue, smacked her lips, then went back to sleep on her comfortable bed of hair as though realizing she didn''t need to do anything now that Eska had.


    A silence fell over the region. The only thing one could hear was the heavy breathing that came from none other than the Phoenix Princess who felt her entire life flashing before her eyes.


    Her Dao Heart fluctuated and pulsed. But just when everyone thought that it would collapse, it suddenly shone as bright as a star.


    The Phoenix Princess'' momentum towered and pierced the skies. Even without a change to her cultivation, her power seemed to have reached a new stage.


    But it wasn''t her who spoke first.


    "That was inappropriate, don''t you think, fellow daoist?"

 Chapter 2146 Crackling

    Chapter 2146  CracklingThe calm, soothing voice of a woman filled the skies. She didn''t appear, but the solidification of the environment told a tale of just what kind of standing she held.


    This wasn''t the Phoenix Queen. It was the Mother of Phoenixes, an Ancestor who stood above even the former.


    The fact that she had to appear spoke all the words that needed to be said.


    Eska didn''t reply, instead looking toward Ryu. But Ryu only smiled as though telling his wife to have her fun if she so pleased. It was only then that she deigned to speak, and the subtlety of their actions couldn''t escape the sights of the sharp.


    "Juniors shouldn''t hide barbs in their words, and they should respect their elders," Eska said lightly.


    The Mother of Phoenixes paused.


    "I think that we can forgive a child for making assumptions considering who your husband is, no?" she finally said with the same gentle tone.


    "I see where your disciple learned her tone from. Unfortunately, one day, this will get her killed. As for those here¡­" Eska swept a glance, her pressure making the juniors feel as though they couldn''t even withstand her gaze. "¡­ Your words seem to imply that they stand on the same level as my husband. Nothing I''ve seen proves that to be the case."


    After speaking these words, Eska turned away, ignoring the happenings and focusing her attention on the family around her.


    The light chuckle of the Mother of Phoenixes echoed and then she too vanished. There was nothing more to be said. Even if Ryu wasn''t already an enemy of those here, those words would have certainly made him one.


    But Ryu himself didn''t seem to have noticed at all.


    The Phoenix Princess slowly regained her calm, her wings wrapping around themselves until she shrank back down to human form, her gaze sharp for a moment before receding in a placid chill.


    She gazed not toward Eska this time, but Ryu. It was hard to tell exactly what she was thinking, but her playfulness had vanished as well.


    Xalvador''s eyes narrowed and the situation seemed to only grow more tense. The only people who seemed to be having any fun at all were those around Ryu, but even Ryu himself seemed to be slowly growing more focused.


    As time ticked by, and more, much less substantial groups finally managed to complete the trek across Existence, Ryu was finding it harder and harder to suppress his urges.


    At that moment, Ryu felt a small hand slip into his. He looked down to find that Elena was smiling up at him, her lips spread into a happy curve.


    "What is it?" Ryu asked.  Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You''re happy," she said, the sweetness practically overflowing from her eyes.


    "Am I?"


    "I can see it. I''ve never seen you so happy."


    Ryu smiled. Yeah, maybe he was.


    It was about time that he displayed his might to the world.


    "Do you want to go?" Ryu asked.


    Elena looked to the Title Stele. "¡­ Not really, you know I don''t like to fight."


    "But you will?"


    "Yes."


    "And why''s that?"


    "Because I don''t want to be useless to you."


    Ryu brushed a thumb across her cheek before he looked up toward her family in the far-off distance. He swept by her mother, then her father, then his eyes locked with her little brother. He had never met the latter of them, or her mother either, but it only took him a glance at Fate to see through them all.


    "You don''t need to," Ryu said softly. "You can if it makes you feel better. But it''s entirely unnecessary."


    Elena smiled. "Okay. Then I won''t."


    Ryu chuckled. As happy as Elena thought he felt, he was far happier to hear her say such words. It meant that she was willing to trust him with her future. And what more could a husband ask than that?


    He could imagine how much blood, sweat, and tears she had put into the last several years¡­ but cultivating was never her ambition. Her love for Ryu and her hope to make something better of herself for his sake was what had kept her going. She also didn''t want to be a burden or a stain on his legacy.


    Would she be the reason her husband was one day looked down upon by others because she was too "weak" for him?


    But since her husband had said such words, there was truly no need.


    His meaning was quite clear¡­ with him here, was there a need to worry about such things?


    "But hubby¡­"


    "Hm?" Ryu looked at her with a questioning gaze.


    "I want a baby too," she said with sparkling eyes.


    Ryu erupted with laughter, his booming cadence trembling the otherwise silent atmosphere.


    "Whatever my wife wants."


    Elena''s eyes glowed and she practically skipped over to Hope, a devious light in her eyes.


    Of course, she would be asking for one of Hope''s pills. But what Ryu didn''t expect was that Elena was the only one. In fact, Eska also politely asked for one.


    Ryu chuckled. It seemed that he would have his hands full very soon.


    Selheira and Mae didn''t ask for one. And technically, neither did Isemeine. She and Eska might share the same body, but they wouldn''t be pregnant at the same time.


    But he didn''t take offense to such a thing. His wives were their own people and they had their own ambitions. Those three¡­ were still quite eager to grow stronger on their own.


    However, this wasn''t the stage for them. They would be returning to his Inner World.


    On this day, he would well and truly be letting loose.


    One after another, his wives kissed him goodbye and returned to his Inner World. Then, standing in the vast expanse, completely alone, his blood erupted.


    Ryu''s gaze swept across the skies until he landed on the World of Rocs, his gaze sharp. A grin spread across his face as memories pulled on his heartstrings.


    Reaching up, he patted Little Gem and then put her away as well even after a little protesting on her part.


    He clenched and unclenched his fists, his bones crackling with the might of thunder.


    WHOOOSH!


    A strong wind buffeted the surroundings as the pulsing lights of the Title Stele spread out in all directions.


    It was well and truly time now.


    Ryu took a step forward and vanished before anyone else could say a word.

 Chapter 2147 Beaming

    Chapter 2147  BeamingRyu tilted his head to the skies, a smile on his face as he felt the beams of the sun''s rays. There was something especially peaceful about the feeling in his heart right now.


    He hadn''t even looked around the world he was in just yet because, honestly speaking¡­ it didn''t matter to him in the slightest what it might look like. It didn''t make a difference.


    He was finally here. He finally got to do the things that he had dreamt of ever since he was nothing more than a child who still had to grab onto his father''s robes to not get lost in a crowd.


    This was it.


    His eyes sharpened as he roared to the skies.


    At that moment, a figure that was across from him shattered into a rain of flesh and blood. They had just been about to launch a sneak attack against him, only to find themselves torn to pieces.


    Ryu wasn''t even targeting them on purpose. But¡­ weren''t they a little too foolish to try and stand across from him right now?


    Part of being a strong cultivator was knowing and understanding your own limits, and who you could or couldn''t provoke.


    Clearly, this man had thought himself better than he was. Even after seeing the situation in the outside world, maybe he thought that he could still deal a swift blow to Ryu, or maybe he thought that this was his best chance to get a leg ahead.


    The Title Stele challenge was open to all cultivators. Technically speaking, no matter what cultivation realm you were in, it was possible to enter, from the depths of mortality to the heights of Godhood.


    The problem was that those who had already Titled themselves could not enter, and one of the main requirements for becoming a powerful God in the first place was to take this exact sort of action.


    In addition, it could be said that in this Title Stele world, cultivation didn''t matter very much at all. That was because the currency in this land wasn''t qi, nor was it the strength of one''s body or soul, but rather Fate.


    Ryu turned his gaze toward a stele floating off in the distance. It was so far away that it was nothing more than a black line in his vision, barely discernible at all, even with his level of eyesight.


    It was even further from them than they had been in the expanse of darkness earlier.


    Obviously¡­ that was their destination.


    The Title Stele world was split into nine perfect regions, and from each region, only nine would gain the chance to move forward.


    Whether one could make it through would depend on this.


    A string of white formed from the dead participant, streaming toward Ryu and entering his body.


    He felt a seal on his cultivation loosen somewhat, rattling about in his body.


    Well, it wasn''t truly a cultivation seal. It oddly felt like he still had access to all of his strength somehow, but that he also couldn''t exhibit.


    ''Control, is it? The world isn''t listening to me. Instead, every time I try to exert influence on it, it fights back. The more Fate I gather, the looser its restrictions become and the more dominating my strength will become. Or rather¡­ the more dominating a form it will return to.''


    The difference didn''t seem important, but it made all the difference in the world. That was because they weren''t necessarily starting from zero. If anything, they had all been nerfed by the exact same amount. However, the levels they had fallen to were anything but equal.


    But this subtlety was also the reason why those above the Lord Realm were at a disadvantage and often didn''t bother to enter.


    Although the amount of control stripped from you was the same if you were of the same cultivation realm, for those at higher realms, the suppression was more devastating.


    For the truly powerful, the Ancestors amongst Ancestors, the Progenitors amongst Progenitors, this suppression was even more exaggerated.


    If you already had a Title, the suppression might even outright kill you before you could do anything.


    This aside, from Ryu''s understanding, the Title Stele should separate them by potential. The odds that the true powerhouses would meet so early on was¡­ unlikely.


    At least for the others.


    Ryu, though, was a special anomaly. That was because although his Fate Star had begun to spin once more, what it hadn''t been able to do was return to its peak potential.


    Because of that, Ryu''s Fate was probably counted among the small fry, so he wouldn''t be granted a region of his own like the others. In all likelihood, there was someone else who was designated as the King of this Hill by the Title Stele.


    Now, it seemed he would have the fun of being able to find this person.


    Ryu grinned. He preferred it this way. If he was stuck battling small fry until the end, where would all his fun come from?


    That said¡­ battle wasn''t the only thing to benefit from here. Still, without an adequate amount of Fate, it would be impossible to make it to the next regions further ahead.


    However, Ryu wasn''t worried about this in the slightest.


    Since he had wrapped himself up for over two decades¡­ it was about time he let loose.


    He finally cared enough to look at the world around him. It was a bland stretch of forest, the splatter of blood and organs coating the otherwise calm atmosphere.


    There was more than just one dead too. It seemed that he had killed as many as three with his roar, and there were no doubt many more coming here for that goal precisely.


    "Well, come on, then."


    Ryu roared to the skies again. Several figures rushing to this location just to check it out found themselves exploding into blood mist.  S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tens of kilometers away, hundreds, even thousands. They didn''t seem capable of protecting themselves despite the distance.


    Ryu rose into the skies, his aura beaming.

 Chapter 2148 Deduce

    Chapter 2148  DeduceRyu''s palm struck out in waves, colliding with the earth and ground in continuous waves as though he had completely lost his mind.


    His laughter became akin to the ravings of a madman. Everywhere he went, he unleashed an onslaught and geniuses that had come here with hopes, dreams, and aspirations found them shredded apart.


    Unwillingness bathed the air and soaked the skies, blood hanging so densely it weaved into the trees and poured through the soil.


    Ryu should have felt bad, he should have been accumulating poor Karma, he should have probably felt something, at the very least. Well, something other than sheer joy and elation.


    But he didn''t.


    He didn''t care about the slightest.


    All of his suppressed emotion, all his repressed rage for the world, boiled out at the same time.


    But this time, it wasn''t because he felt unwilling or weak. Instead, it was because he was taking back what had always rightfully been his.


    The geniuses scattered, fear gripping their hearts.


    Ryu rose so high in the skies that he could probably be seen from every corner of this region, but once again, he didn''t care.


    In fact¡­ he wanted them to come.


    The larger the numbers, the better.


    Today, he would let his Dao Title ring through the skies, shatter stars and sprinkle their mass onto the world below. He would rip out the cores of worlds with his palms and shape them into his very likeness. He would tear out the hearts and destinies of these so-called geniuses, and for the crime of trying to stand in his way, he would make them know despair.


    Whether the smallest, most insignificant character here, to those who deigned to call themselves Princes and Princesses.


    They would suffer beneath his boot.


    ¡­


    "He''s already unlocked the ability to fly."


    "Run! We can''t keep up with this!"


    "Band together! Gather a force! We''ll all die if things continue like this! There''s a Fate Barrier keeping us trapped here!"


    "FUCK YOU! You build a team, then!"


    ¡­


    A young man looked to the skies with a frown on his face. He had black scales running down his cheeks and seemed to have the aura of a Dragon on him, but not quite.


    In fact, he was a Dragonling, a race of creatures born from Demons, not Dragon Kings. But after years of evolution, they ended up converging onto the Path of Dragons, becoming quite similar to them in many respects.


    Dragonlings had not only powerful bodies and the likes, but they carried many of the Fate Talents of Dragons, even capable of using the Path of Reincarnation to tap into them and steal some of the methods of Dragon Ancestors of the past.


    It could be said that this was the true ability of Dragonlings, but they didn''t like to claim it. At the very least, half of their ancestry didn''t.


    The Dragonlings were separated into two factions, one of which wanted to be recognized as a member of the Dragon Race, and another portion that wanted to delve into the true abilities of their Ling Demon Race all the more.


    This young man didn''t care either way, known as the Dragonling Prince, the only thing he cared for was power. Since Dragon Talents came more naturally to him, he used them. But he was eager to see if he could break free of that and forge a new path for himself¡­ one where maybe he would become the Ancestor instead.


    However, the oddities in this region he was trapped in made him frown. There was someone formidable here.


    Just as he was hesitating, though, his gaze flashed.


    He turned his nose up to the skies and sniffed. The trees in the surroundings were almost uprooted with how violently they bent toward him.


    ''This smell¡­ Dragon¡­''


    The Dragonling Prince felt his heart tremble with anticipation. Was that the person causing all this trouble? Dragons had always been so arrogant, this certainly checked out.


    He took a step forward, but then hesitated.


    His eyes narrowed and then he turned, slinking away into the shadows. His body shifted and disappeared as though he had never been there in the first place.


    ¡­


    Ryu appeared above a dilapidated temple. So many people had scattered away from him, running with their tails between their legs. Now, it was more of a hassle than not to go and deal with them.


    Well, he would deal with them in due time, especially as the region began to shrink. But right now, it was far more convenient to him to deal with the other matters.


    Like he had said earlier, there were other methods of taking advantage of this Realm, one of them was precisely right up his alley.


    Ruins.


    Ruins were dotted across the Realm. Other than defeating and killing other participants, this was another way to gather Fate.  S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However¡­ Ryu didn''t think that this matter was so simple.


    The Title Stele felt like a treasure birthed by the Heavens themselves, maybe some overlord force of law that controlled all of Existence itself. He had even heard of some rumblings that the Title Stele had existed since the very beginning of time.


    But¡­


    He had also heard that from several individuals in the True Martial World that the Title Stele was the treasure of the Ruin Master Guild, and that even they couldn''t quite figure it out completely.


    But not figuring it out completely, and not causing any changes to occur in it, were two vastly different concepts.


    Still, Ryu had already promised his wife to wipe out a certain Guild. He was still quite a distance from that now, and was still trying to catch up to his wife first. But that didn''t mean that he couldn''t deal them a devastating blow now.


    The question was¡­ how?


    These Ruins were here by oddity. It didn''t make sense that something like the Title Stele would use such a method, not when Ruins usually represented the Inheritances of others.


    By the time you were ready to accept your Dao Title, how could you still be willing to accept the Inheritances of others? If you were¡­


    You were weak.


    So what did it mean for them to be here?


    A bright glow beamed out from Ryu''s eyes as he began to deduce.

 Chapter 2149 Pluripotent

    Chapter 2149  Pluripotent"¡­ Interesting¡­"


    It took Ryu an entire three hours to deduce the secret. He even had to enter the Ruin itself, checking it out without clearing it¡ªa task that was much more difficult than it sounded.


    He had to avoid the traps, but by virtue of avoiding them he would be in the process of clearing them. In order to not succeed in clearing it before he was ready, he had to dance between life and death for as long as he could. Essentially, until the very end, his life had been on the line.


    That feeling though¡­ left him feeling quite alive. He wouldn''t rather be doing anything else. Well, aside from maybe his wives. But even a man like him needed a break from that from time to time.


    Soon enough, he''d have a farm of kids running around everywhere. Who knew when the next time he would have such freedom would be?


    Ryu found himself smiling. For a moment, he forgot that he was in the middle of something quite important.


    The idea of Elena and Eska being barefoot and big-bellied put a smile on his face. He was especially happy since Elena finally trusted himself enough to stop striving through so much hardship all the time.


    Maybe it didn''t sound like a very endearing quality for his first wife to be so "lazy." But Ryu didn''t see things that way.


    Much like all things in cultivation, the process and details were far more important than the end result. Elena might be lazy, but she was willing to set aside her true nature for his sake when she thought it would be of great help to him.


    That meant more to Ryu than anything else. The fact his wife was capable and simply didn''t like to be was enough.  S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu shook his head and he sneered. ''The Ruin Master Guild sure has a good deal here. They almost fooled me several times.''


    If it was before the advancement to his mind, Ryu knew that he wouldn''t have been able to figure it out without at least several weeks to months of effort. However, this time, three hours to Ryu might as well have been millennia to others. His mental capacity was beyond 99% of Dao Gods, and those that could boast to have such mental acuity were not only a very small percentage, but they were unlikely to be beyond him. At best, they could be on par or faintly better.


    This was all to say that it would have taken the smartest individuals in all of history to figure out the trick here. But the explanation was quite simple.


    The Ruin Master Guild was siphoning away Fate.


    Essentially, they had managed to find a method to harness the Fate one might receive from Ruins, taking most of it for themselves, and only leaving enough behind to fool the participants into thinking they weren''t being screwed.


    Every Ruin, upon being cleared, came with Fate. This was the case for all Ruins, not just the ones in this Title Stele World. It was just that, for the most part, this Fate functioned like all Fate. Meaning, it was vague, hard to grasp, ethereal¡­ It was the kind of Fate even Ryu had a tough time sensing properly.


    This was the usual state of Fate, the sort of Fate one could gather just by accomplishing great feats and spreading your name and legend, or building a powerful Sect or Clan.


    However, the Fate of the Title Stele was much different. It was tangible, transferable. It could be stolen and taken, exchanged, and most importantly, it could be easily sensed and easily manipulated.


    That milky white light Ryu gained every time he killed someone here was precisely that.


    The Ruin Master Guild was taking advantage of the Title Stele to turn the normal Fate gathered from Ruins into this more malleable Fate. They would siphon away most of that energy for themselves, while giving the participants a sliver of what was here.


    Over the years, they would have surely accumulated a mind-numbing amount.


    Objectively, the Ruins here would have far greater concentrations of Fate than the geniuses participating. They were all from figures that had long established themselves as Dao Gods, legends of past eras where Fate was actually even easier to accumulate.


    Clearing their Ruins essentially made you their successors, so how could this not come with a great amount of Fate?


    The question was¡­ why? What about this malleable Fate was so special?


    Ryu flipped over a palm and a familiar milky whiteness appeared.


    Embryonic Qi.


    What was the opposite of Embryonic Qi? It was Corpse Poison, an energy formed from an accumulation of terrible, horrid Karma birthed from the most tragic of circumstances¡ªthe kinds of deeds one shouldn''t even speak of or mention.


    Karma and Fate, they were inextricably linked. And it seemed that the same was true for Embryonic Qi and Fate as well.


    But that was only natural. The only time Embryonic Qi appeared naturally in one''s life was during one''s gestation period. It was what decided one''s potential¡­ one''s Fate.


    This more easily manipulated Fate, wasn''t it just a quasi form of Embryonic Qi? No, it was a form of Embryonic Qi even, one that was slightly less omnipotent and all-encompassing. Or rather, the best word to use was¡­


    Pluripotent.


    The Fate here was still somewhat limited. The Title Stele used real Embryonic Qi, but due to the restrictions of the Heavens, by the time it got to them, it became something very different. But this quasi Embryonic Qi was still valuable enough that the Ruin Master Guild set all of this up to gather as much of it as possible.


    Ryu''s eyes glazed over as he entered the Ruin. This time, he cleared it, a process that took not even a full minute.


    When he came out, his second hand was adorned with a floating blob of quasi Embryonic Qi. It shimmered with a milky whiteness not much unlike true Embryonic Qi.


    "I see¡­"

 Chapter 2150 I Wonder

    Chapter 2150  I WonderRyu''s wrist flexed and the ball of milky light bounced as though it was a ball before landing on his palm again.  Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Fascinating, truly fascinating. Is this why I couldn''t use my second set of Meridians all this time? No wonder, no wonder¡­ I never thought that this would be the reason.''


    Ryu never expected that the answer he was looking for would actually be accidentally given to him by the Ruin Master Guild.


    If they knew the kind of mistake they had made this time, just what kind of reaction would they have?


    Unfortunately for them, very soon, it would be very much too late for them to regret it.


    The ball of white in Ryu''s hand vanished in a swirl of black, being sucked into his Inner World.


    If he absorbed that now¡­ where would there be any fun left to be had?


    The Ruins weren''t here naturally, so they weren''t a part of the Title Stele''s methods. The only reason things still worked probably was because the Ruin Master Guild took a large portion of the Fate for themselves. So though there was a small boost from it, it wasn''t enough to tip the balance.


    If Ryu absorbed this now, he would be able to walk through at least three regions unhindered. But if he did that, there would be no one waiting there for him to fight.


    He had spent all this time building up anticipation. Was he just going to waste it all here?


    Of course not.


    What a waste that would be.


    Ryu grinned. That didn''t mean that he wouldn''t ruin things for the Ruin Master Guild, though.


    A plan was brewing in his mind. If it worked properly, he would be able to destroy what was likely countless generations of effort in a single sweep.


    He''d see if that beautiful wife of his dared to look down on him anymore after that. Though, he had to admit that shamelessly teasing her while she could only helplessly accept it was fun as well.


    Of course, even now, a portion of his mind was with Ailsa.


    Right now, however¡­


    "You''ve been cowering in that little shadowy corner of yours for so long. Haven''t you grown bored yet? Do you really think yourself a dragon acting like that?"


    Ryu''s head tilted to the side, looking at seemingly empty space.


    "You''ve been cowering in that little shadowy corner of yours for so long. Haven''t you grown bored yet? Do you really think yourself a dragon acting like that?"


    Ryu''s head tilted to the side, looking at seemingly empty space.


    Space warped and a young man stumbled out, forced to do so by a constriction in the space.


    The Dragonling Prince.


    "It seems you''ve accumulated the Fate I need for me already. Decent enough."


    The Dragonling Prince stabilized himself, looking toward Ryu with calm, placid eyes. To his credit, he was taking it quite well. Though, Ryu would expect at least this much for geniuses who had made it this far.


    "¡­ Why did you not absorb the Fate?" The Dragonling Prince asked.


    Ryu smiled brightly, but his gaze was frighteningly cold.


    "Is that any of your business?"


    "¡­ It will be my business very soon."


    The Dragonling Prince vanished. Silvery steel claws appeared before Ryu''s throat.


    The Prince was indeed quite fast. In the time Ryu had distracted, he had not only caught up with the number Ryu had killed, but he had surpassed it by far, allowing his control over the world to extend beyond Ryu''s.


    The reason he hadn''t appeared yet was because Ryu was doing something quite odd. Now, he would just have to beat that answer out of him.


    Ryu took a step back, carelessly using [Domain] for the first time in a long while. He didn''t even like to use techniques that weren''t his own anymore, but he rather seemed to be trying something out while Hope''s lineage seemed to be the best to do so.


    He dodged again, side-stepping a tail sweep, and then the sharp edge of a wing, and then the spear of an arm.


    Ryu''s hips pivoted around a stomp of his foot to the ground, the back of his hand gliding down the scaly length of the Dragonling Prince''s forearm. His body spun and his gaze flashed.


    With a sudden explosion of power, his elbow drove right into the Prince''s chest.


    The sound of bone crunching echoed and the Dragonling''s body bent away from Ryu, flying out in a spurt of blood and crashing through a line of trees.


    Ryu must have had barely 10% the power of the Dragonling right now, and yet¡­


    The end result was much the same.


    The gap between his mental capacity and that of others was too large, especially against this sort of existence that built their entire being off of Dragon Blood¡­


    Something Ryu was much too intimately familiar with.


    Ryu took a step forward as the Dragonling Prince tried to pull himself off of the ground. Blood flooded down the latter''s chin, a light of fear sparking in his eyes.


    Suddenly, Ryu looked like that towering mountain once again, the gap so large that he couldn''t even fathom it.


    "I can tell why you came," Ryu said with a smile. "You must have smelled my Dragon Blood. I can tell. Your kind is very sensitive to Fate because you manipulate it all the time. I have to say that your abilities are fascinating.


    "Honestly, I have a fascination for creating Summons. But you''re not to my liking. Your Dao Heart is too weak and you''re a little too weaselly. I think I''ll turn you into a corpse puppet instead.


    "But it''s a bit tricky. Your Fate manipulation abilities would be very difficult to extract perfectly into a corpse puppet. This is why your Demon Race is much better used as Summons, most of your abilities are like that.


    "That sort of problem, though, fascinates me. I wonder if I can do what even the Summoned Ancestors couldn''t."


    The Dragonling Prince grit his teeth and then unleashed a roar as though to give himself courage. He shot forward, unleashing everything he had in a single, violent blow.


    Ryu''s eyes flickered with light.


    [Death Acupoint].


    He struck down with a finger from above, tapping the Dragonling''s wrist.


    The Dragonling''s entire balance was thrown off, his fist driving toward and then into the ground.


    Ryu took the opportunity to drive a knee through his head, bending and snapping his nose, and turning it into shrapnel that shredded his brain to pieces.


    With a light step, Ryu turned around his body, driving a palm into the back of his head before the momentum of his knee could even fully take hold.


    The two forces combined and nearly squashed the Dragonling''s head to minced meat.


    The Dragonling shuddered¡­ and then he fainted, his life barely hanging on by a hair.

 Chapter 2151 Send

    Chapter 2151  SendRyu leaned over, picking the Dragonling up by his neck. He looked at him for a moment.


    This sort of injury would instantly be fatal to any mortal, but a Dao Lord had far more vitality than just this.


    Of course, this wasn''t because Ryu wanted to spare him. Instead, it was because he wanted to complete a live refinement.


    As he had said¡­ was there a better place in the world to build his corpse puppet army?


    He had no intentions of using them for this battle, but very soon, he just might need them.


    He could smell something over the horizon.


    A sneer curled Ryu''s lip and a swirl of dark space swallowed up the near-corpse in his hand, sealing it away in his Inner World. At the same time, he took the opportunity to pull the Fate that the Dragonling had gathered into himself.


    Normally, he would need to kill to do this. But with Ryu''s level of control¡­ he could just take it in the case of the target being too weak or too out of it to fight back.


    A surge of power filled Ryu as the world around him felt less restrictive and more inviting to him.


    He took a breath and realized something else at that moment.


    Part of what had taken him so long to decipher what was happening with the Ruins was because the world wasn''t listening to him. In fact, it was actively fighting back against him.


    Ryu took a step and shot into the skies. With his near Fate, the range of his [Third Perspective] had expanded considerably and in a brief instant, he scanned the entire region.


    "Mm, there are still a few. But none worth turning into corpse puppets."


    Although he wanted to accumulate quite a number, it would be useless if their talents were worthless. They had to at least be of some interest to him, and if they hadn''t lasted even this long with only the Dragonling hunting them down, they weren''t worth much of anything.


    Ryu had only been out of it for three hours, but they were all scurrying around like cowardly rats. It was needless to say that if none of them were worthy of being a corpse puppet, none of them were worthy of being a Summon either.


    With a gentle tap at the air, Ryu attacked across a large distance, space becoming nothing more than a worthless construct to him as he drilled holes through their bodies, snatching away their Fate.


    Eventually, he had accumulated enough and took another step, appearing near a barrier.


    This speed should be about right. There should be new challenges waiting for him on the other side of this barrier.


    ¡­


    "Something has gone wrong."


    A voice echoed through an endless darkness, however silence greeted it. If one person had sensed it, it was needless to say that they had all sensed it. Rather than clarifying what they were talking about, they instead got to the crux of the matter.


    "Our methods have been discovered? Or is it a coincidence?"


    "It''s impossible for it to be a coincidence."


    "Then what should we do?"


    "We are too close. We can''t allow things to continue like this. Too much is riding on the success of this matter."


    "Send Iam?"


    Silence fell once again.


    Sending in a Dao God was¡­ troublesome for several reasons that Ryu had already seen through. While it was possible, you just might be cosigning the death of a talent.


    A weak Dao God would be shredded apart by the geniuses of the Lord Realm just for the foolish attempt of stepping in. So it was impossible for them to send one of those.


    The only way was to send someone powerful enough to actually be capable of playing this game of Fate.


    But in such a case¡­ they would be sacrificing one of their own talents.


    "Iam is very close to reaching that level."


    "Close is relative. It''s a matter of billions of years even now. Although this is a short time to us, our plans will bear fruit long before that. We are working on orders of centuries at most, he will not be useful to us."


    The reasoning was obvious.


    If Iam took so long to complete this objective, then he obviously wouldn''t be useful for the penultimate moment. And by the time he did complete that step, their plan would have either already long succeeded or long failed. At that point, Iam would either be dead, or adding a cherry to a sundae that already had one.


    On the other hand, if he entered that world now, and managed to wade through the tsunamis of suppression he would face as a Dao God of not only that level of power, but also one that had long formed his Dao Title already, then he might be able to move up the timeline by a substantial degree.


    If that gamble paid off, then they would be benefitting in two ways. Not only would they gain an extra bid of power right as the penultimate moment approached, but they would also stave off whatever threat was targeting them from within the Title Stele world.


    "Send him."


    "Send him."


    "Send him."


    They all unanimously agreed, their voices calloused and brewing with an ancient air as though they had already long since lost any semblance of their humanity.


    To them, the life of such an otherwise valuable Dao God was akin to a drop in the bucket.


    When that moment came, such a Dao God would be nothing more than canon fodder.


    It was time for Iam to decide whether he would sink or swim on his own.


    ¡­


    "The Ruin Master Guild has just made an odd move¡­"


    Silent Quibus stood over a pile of corpses. This sort of scene was normal given the situation. But given Silent Quibus'' standing, one could imagine that his pile of corpses was far from the norm.


    And that couldn''t have been more true in this situation.


    A couple curled in a fetal position by a tree to the side, their intestines intertwining around one another in a knot that formed a grotesque heart.


    To another side, a man hanging upside down from a tree had his private parts stuffed into his own mouth. The tip exited out a hole in his throat while its sack hung over his nose and forehead.


    To yet another side, a woman had her breasts cut off, forced to hold up their bleeding lumps of flesh in her palms in death. She sat frozen in shock, her mouth opened in horror, a curved blade mark across her lips and cheeks making it look like she was laughing her way into the afterlife.


    One grotesque scene after another played out, each one like a unique flash into a world of horror. Silent Quibus never repeated the same torture twice as though his mind was like an endless well of darkness and brutality.


    However, right now, he was staring up into the skies as though he was scrying the future¡­ and in truth, it wasn''t too different.


    What was Ryu''s advantage in this world? Was it not the fact he had Embryonic Qi?


    The Fate Qi in this world felt like a quasi version of his Embryonic Qi, allowing him to freely wield and control it.


    But what was the other side of Embryonic Qi¡­ if not Corpse Poison?


    A pulsing blackness rose from the corpses around Silent Quibus, mixing into the milky whiteness before pouring into his body. However, even while this was happening, the Quibus Faerie still seemed to be quite distracted, his thoughts still running through several simulations.


    ''This might be dangerous¡­ The organization gave me a task to kill this Ryu Tatsuya as though I wasn''t already going to. Apparently, a talent they were looking forward to raising was taken away and turned into a corpse puppet¡­ but now there''s this extra variable¡­''


    The organization was not happy about this at all. Normally, they never worried about such a thing because turning their own into Corpse Puppets was like seeking one''s own death. The Corpse Poison would kill even Dao Gods during the refinement process.


    But somehow, Ryu had managed to not only kill him, but also succeed in refining him. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, their methods were in the hands of an outsider, and this was obviously not something that could be allowed.


    Silent Quibus sneered. ''They were willing to ruin my future just for their sake of their little petty revenge. They could have never guessed that I had begun preparing to enter the Title Stele world long ago. When I step out of here, I will be ready to reach that step in a single bound. I''ll see if they still dare to order me around¡­''


    Despite his arrogant thoughts, Silent Quibus became several points more cautious. If the Ruin Master Guild was making a move too, his path ahead might not be so smooth.


    He waved a hand and a crimson steed appeared. Its stomach was cut open, its intestines twisting with blackened chains.


    A fiendish light sparked in its eyes as it immediately bit at Silent Quibus.

 Chapter 2152 Embarrassment of Riches

    Chapter 2152  Embarrassment of RichesRyu walked through the skies, calm and collected.


    Logically speaking, he should have hidden himself in the forest like everyone else. All those that could make it to this region were among one to three that had managed to survive the last. That meant in a quick sweep, they had already become the cream of a new crop.


    According to Ryu''s calculations, if the Fate was evenly divided, there should be just enough for three individuals to make it through the barrier.


    But the odds of that happening were quite low as the leeway was limited.


    More likely than not, it would be divided between two people and then both would make it to the next region, maybe with one carrying more Fate than the other depending on the situation.


    Situations where there would be a sole entry from a region like in Ryu''s case¡­ wouldn''t likely only happen when there were dark horses involved or the Princes and the Princesses of the Elevated Worlds.


    Even so, in the cases where there were two people, these individuals would still be of incredible strength. Flying through the skies like this¡­


    Was far too arrogant.


    SHUUUU!


    Ryu took another step and an arrow whizzed right at him. His head calmly turned in its direction, and yet, his hand flickered toward a completely different one, grabbing an invisible arrow out of the air while the one coming right for him passed through his head as though it was never there to begin with.


    It felt like something beyond an illusion. The arrow had made sounds, it had whistled in the air, cutting through the wind and causing fluctuations in space and qi.


    And yet, it had been completely fake.


    It was truly a marvelous technique¡­


    When facing almost anyone but Ryu.


    A flame sparked in Ryu''s palm and the arrow crumbled to ash. Then, he flicked out a finger.


    ¡­


    Down below, an archer''s eyes opened wide, but it was only a hint of surprise. She was smart enough to know that someone as arrogant as Ryu was bound to have the skills to back it up. Plus, they had all seen him outside.


    A man who could have a Dao Goddess bowing to his every whim, especially one so powerful, couldn''t be incompetent.


    Although the Princes and Princesses were eager to fight Ryu head-on to prove Eska wrong. She wasn''t so foolish.


    There was no genius here that didn''t have their own pride, of course. But they were also aware of their own station in life as well.


    If they wanted to surpass those geniuses, they had to play the long game.


    That was why she had fired that arrow on a delay. She had long since moved from the location where the real, invisible arrow came from. Ryu flicking a finger toward the location she had been but no longer was gave her an accurate gauge of his abilities. Next time, she would be more prepared.


    PUCHI!


    She froze.


    The young woman looked down at her chest. She had never been particularly well endowed, but she was certain that it had never been that bad.


    Her eyes slowly dimmed and she fell over.


    Ryu appeared behind the woman, catching her before she fell and tapping her forehead to stop her soul from dissipating.


    "Decent." He mumbled.


    The young woman barely heard these words before she was sucked away into Ryu''s Inner World.


    BOOM!


    Ryu''s earlier arrow landed.


    Why use an illusion when you could shoot two real arrows? One undetectable one for this woman, and another that happened to wipe out a large segment of cultivators drawn over by her earlier delayed arrow.


    With a step, Ryu rose into the skies once more, clasping his hands behind his back and continuing his stroll.


    His thoughts continued to swirl, his thoughts becoming more and more complex as his experiences from the last few hours began to accumulate.


    ''Is that really the path?'' he thought to himself for maybe the millionth time already. Given his thinking speed, this really might not be an exaggeration.


    After interacting with the milky qi in this world, he realized that the reason he couldn''t seem to figure out the secrets of his second pair of Meridians was because he wasn''t using them properly.


    With his Chaotic Silk Meridians, they produced Chaos Qi, so he used Chaos Qi with them directly and it worked just fine.


    However, what he hadn''t considered was that Embryonic Qi wasn''t such an available form of qi in the real world. It only appeared in a very short span of time while a baby was growing in the womb, and the amount was set.


    In addition, Embryonic Qi didn''t do anything, not directly. Instead, it represented potential incarnate. It wasn''t designed to act on the world in the same way that Chaos Qi or Essence might.


    If one wanted Embryonic Qi to do something, it had to piggyback off of something else. Or¡­ it had to be catalyzed into a usable form, a form that was more accessible.


    To understand this, one had to consider how circulating qi usually worked.


    One''s Meridians were just a complex network of formations birthed by the Heavens. Circulating qi in particular patterns triggered these internal formations, allowing one to communicate with the world around you to trigger responses.


    When this was understood, it was clearly why Ryu couldn''t just circulate Embryonic Qi in his Meridians to trigger a response.


    The Heavens, the laws around him, and the world as it usually was, weren''t designed to work with Embryonic Qi.


    One could imagine an engine that needed oil and gas to function properly. Trying to use Embryonic Qi to trigger changes in the world was like trying to fuel a tank with oil, when in reality it needed gas.


    This came with an oddly crude solution¡­


    Dumb his Embryonic Qi down.


    If Ryu circulated not his Embryonic Qi, but instead this quasi, simplified Embryonic Qi, he could feel the world around him stir and a shocking door began to slowly open up to him.


    But truthfully speaking¡­


    Ryu found it completely ridiculous.


    Was this really how things were supposed to work?


    This was like if his Chaotic Silk Meridians didn''t work with Chaos Qi, but instead only functioned properly with Primordial Chaos Qi.


    It didn''t make any sense.


    But when Ryu thought about it some more, he felt that maybe he was in the wrong this time.


    These pair of Meridians¡­ they should have been Essence Silk Meridians, not these Embryonic Silk Meridians. As far as he knew, this latter set of Meridians shouldn''t exist at all, they had only been forced to appear due to a mutation in the path he had taken, and also a unique change triggered by his Spiritual Foundation.


    All things considered, this was likely the first time in the history of Existence that these Meridians had appeared.


    Who was to say that the Heavens had never made a mistake before?


    He was making the assumption that there had to be some way, some method to get it to work with Embryonic Qi?


    But what if that wasn''t true in the slightest? What if his Meridians, as powerful as they were, were actually defective and this was the only way to make proper use of them?


    The more Ryu thought about it, the more he felt that this was probably the truth.


    Although he was somewhat disappointed¡­ others would probably kill him for his thoughts right now.


    Who cared if he couldn''t circulate techniques? His Meridians produced Embryonic Qi! That allowed him to practically infinitely increase his potential. His stamina was unlimited, the stamina of his allies would be unlimited, his ability to grow, raise, and nurture an army, a Clan, a generation of elites, and generations more after that, would be entirely second to none.


    If Ryu had the ambition to build an empire, it would become the strongest in all of history without the slightest shred of doubt. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now, for him to complain about it after actually finding a method to use them anyway¡­


    It was an embarrassment of riches.


    The truth of the matter was that Ryu was probably the only one in existence with this unique set of circumstances.


    Even if someone else had the very same coincidental encounter and managed to trigger the formation of these Embryonic Silk Meridians, and even if they managed to figure out the method to use them¡­


    It would be impossible for them to do so.


    Not unless they, too, had Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils and a Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    It was only because Ryu had a Fate Soul Nature that he could manipulate his Embryonic Qi to this extent, changing its character to become the quasi Embryonic Qi of this Title Stele and finally¡­


    Ryu''s milky qi churned and a radiant light came from him. At that moment, the land beneath him shone with gold and the trees shot into the skies, instantly growing to over ten times their original height.


    Ryu''s lip twitched. That¡­ was just the simplest circulation pattern he had found and he had only used a single droplet of Embryonic Qi.


    Wasn''t the result a bit too exaggerated?

 Chapter 2153 Ruby Light

    Chapter 2153  Ruby LightRyu was truly shocked by what he was feeling. In that moment, it was as though he had grasped the very essence of life itself, and he breathed it into existence.


    These trees had their growth accelerated by thousands of years in a single breath, the air responded to him with a mother''s warmth and there was a gentle caressing that soothed his soul. But¡­


    Ryu felt that there was something off.


    ''This¡­ is not natural¡­''


    Ryu could feel that he was pulling from something, a potential lingering deep within not himself, but the world itself.


    The more he used this strength, the more the world around him would suffer for it until it reached a point where the world would die.


    There was a reason why this sort of strength wasn''t handed out by the Heavens. If not for the fact Ryu had undergone a shocking mutation, and a series of coincidences allowed him to reach this step, he wouldn''t be able to do much other than just watch his Embryonic Qi sit and rot within his body¡ªoutside of its healing capabilities, of course.


    But now, with the power at Ryu''s fingertips, he felt like he could strip a world of its future potential for the sake of immediate benefits, like he was shifting the Fate it had to play with and taking it for himself.


    This was¡­ a shocking amount of power.


    Ryu could feel this drain so clearly despite the fact it was just the simplest circulation pattern of his Meridians. With it, he could expel a great amount of life and healing injury, not only benefitting allies without having to pass out droplets of Embryonic Qi, but also accelerating the growth of plants and wildlife like he had just now.


    It wasn''t very controlled, and quite frankly, it was a terrible technique¡ªit wouldn''t even count as a Common Technique, quite frankly.


    And yet, the results were so shocking.


    ''How many years of lifespan did I cut off from the world? A few seconds, maybe?''


    This didn''t sound like a lot, but this was an entire world. It was able to birth millions of lives every hour, sustaining them and nurturing them. For such a world to lose seconds off of its lifespan for such a weak technique with middling results by comparison¡­


    Ryu couldn''t help but feel hesitant.


    Was this something that he should be doing? This sort of power was very dangerous. And if others knew he had it¡­ well, if in the past he had once been worried about others coming after his Chaotic Silk Meridians, this situation would make those potential ones feel like a complete and utter joke.


    Ryu didn''t doubt for a second that even the Phoenix Sky God would drop everything to come after him for such an ability. And he didn''t even know if he could blame them for it.


    Looking to the skies, Ryu couldn''t help but let out a chuckle.


    Did he fear these people? No.


    Was he worried about the Fate of the World? Not really.


    But if he used this power with too much impunity, let alone the fact the Heavens would definitely start breaking its rules to come after him, where would he and his family live?


    Would he just destroy the world and then confine them to his Inner World for the rest of their days?


    ''Interesting, interesting.''


    Despite the thoughts he was having, Ryu wasn''t actually worried. This was more power, who would turn their nose up at that?


    In addition, this was also likely a problem of just how unrefined the technique had been. Ryu would certainly be able to button it up more and lower the cost to the world. But there was still no doubt that as he refined more powerful techniques, the price to pay would only grow steeper.


    It was just something he felt that he needed to keep in mind, or else this sort of power¡­ it could truly destroy the fabric of Existence itself.


    Ryu smiled. ''Oh look at that¡­ maybe I won''t have to be so worried about Focus Qi anymore after all¡­''


    As Ryu strolled through the skies, practically beckoning more to come and try and take his life, he began to study these Meridians of his more earnestly. Of course, he had already memorized them long ago, but the formation patterns of one''s Meridians were just one aspect of the calculations.


    Obviously, circulating different qis even through the same pattern would result in different effects. Right now, Ryu was no longer using Embryonic Qi, but rather the Quasi Embryonic Qi he had catalyzed from it.


    The results were tweaking his perception of his Meridians bit by bit, and after so long¡­ he finally found what he was looking for.


    A method to replenish Focus Qi.


    Ryu already had such a method, it was the circulation method he had learned from the Prayer Mat. But it was far too slow and it couldn''t keep up with him.


    It had probably taken its creator a great deal of effort to make it to that point, but in Ryu''s eyes¡­ it was only a crude method.


    Especially after he saw the method that was baked into his Embryonic Qi.


    ''Fascinating¡­''


    Ryu was completely lost in thought as though he had forgotten that he was in the middle of a battle. What he didn''t know¡ªor more accurately, didn''t care to know¡ªwas that he was being watched.


    Projections of the event had already been spread far and wide. Usually, these projections would only occur within a single world, but with the Title Stele event encompassing so many now, it was only natural that this change.


    Ryu''s dominance was clearly displayed, but what caught the attention of most wasn''t this¡­ but rather the oddity of his placement.


    Logically speaking, Ryu shouldn''t have been running into such big shots so quickly, not with his level of talent.


    But first there was the Dragonling, and now¡­


    Young Mistress Nightly walked through the forest slowly, a scythe in hand¡­ her twin pair of wings shone with a ruby light as the sun set. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2154 Shall We?

    Chapter 2154  Shall We?Young Mistress Nightly looked up into the skies. She could see Ryu through the treeline quite easily, her eyes sparkling with hints of surprise even through her usual indifference.


    Her question was much the same as everyone else. Why was he here?


    Despite their rage toward Eska''s words, the fact that Ryu was worthy of standing amongst them wasn''t even a question in their minds. They wanted to knock him down a peg, yes. But they didn''t have the same disdain for him as they did the others.


    With what they knew about the Title Stele, it didn''t make sense for him to be here.


    However, other than a slight hint of surprise, Young Mistress Nightly continued to walk calmly as though she wasn''t in any sort of rush. From time to time, her scythe would sweep out and sever another head, before she continued ahead just as calmly.


    In her mind, she was wondering.


    Should she try to fight Ryu head on now? Or should she try and wait for a better opportunity?


    She didn''t fear Ryu. She didn''t fear anyone in this world. Her Dao Heart was firm and it was worthy of the title of Mistress of the Devas.


    However, she was also a calm and indifferent person. She didn''t care about fame or face, so long as the results justified the means.


    She wanted to come out on top and etch her name into the Title Stele, but fighting someone of Ryu''s caliber so early on would only make that a further impossibility.


    So, she decided to just keep moving at her own pace. If Ryu came, then she would show him the difference between a Deva and a mere human.


    If he didn''t, then she would be fine with continuing on to the next region with just the two of them. It should be easy enough.


    If Ryu decided to cooperate, they would likely have quite an easy time of making it to the final region. After all¡­ who could stop their caliber of genius?


    ¡­


    Ryu continued to walk through the skies, lost in his thoughts.


    ''Ah, there it is¡­''


    He descended and landed before another Ruin, a smile quirking his lip.


    ''¡­ I should be able to find them with much greater ease now.''


    Ryu walked into the Ruin.


    It didn''t take him very long to exit, it must have been 10 minutes at most. But in his hand, there was another large blob of milky Fate.


    He tossed it into his Inner World once more, thinking to himself that by the time he came out of this Title Stele world, he would well and truly become a complete existence.


    Not only would he have the talent he had always deserved¡­


    He would have the Fate to back it up.


    ''This region is larger. There should be a second Ruin around here, but they''ve made it a bit difficult to find.''


    Despite the words, it only took Ryu a few seconds to lock his head in a new direction.


    With a step, he crossed the distance.


    He looked to the side, finding Young Mistress Nightly approaching from the distance.


    "Truly quite the beauty." Ryu said with a chuckle.


    He had sensed the young woman long ago, but he was focused on other things. The reason he walked through the skies was to force others to attack him so that he could conveniently deal with them while he looked for the Ruins.


    These places were well hidden. The only reason he had found the second one so quickly was because of the things the first exposed to him.


    Young Mistress Nightly didn''t respond to Ryu''s gaze and she continued to walk forward quite calmly.


    Ryu brazenly scanned her from top to bottom before entering the Ruin without a word.


    Inwardly, Young Mistress Nightly was a bit speechless. With the way Ryu had been waiting there, it seemed as though he would try to talk to her or strike a deal. But he didn''t even wait for her at all, just entering the Ruin directly.


    Young Mistress Nightly came to a stop, wondering if she should enter as well. It wasn''t as though there was an entry limit.


    After a moment, she chose to do so. Like she had said, she wouldn''t go out of her way to challenge Ryu, but she didn''t fear him either.


    However, what she saw when she entered left her speechless once again. She had entered with the intent to catch up and see if she could take some of the Fate for herself. Even half of the Fate in this Ruin would be enough for her to make it to the next region.


    But¡­


    There was nothing.


    The traps, the challenges, they were cleared? Or maybe they never existed?


    She rushed ahead even faster, but she kept running into nothing at all.


    She frowned, her body leaning forward as she pushed off with a strong flap of her duo pair of wings. Wind sliced against the cave walls as she became a streak of black and red.


    However, she still couldn''t catch up. Unless Ryu had taken a completely different path from her, she had no ability to understand just how he had managed to make it so far.


    Until she saw it.


    There was a burst of light and Ryu appeared before her vision. The region was an expanse of red waters and Ryu''s light steps almost seemed to dance in the center of it.


    Everywhere he landed, a golden ripple spread and until he suddenly landed on a final location.


    The waters rumbled and overturned, an altar slowly making its way out.


    "Alright, that should be it."


    Ryu casually snatched it and put it away. Then, a strong pulse spread in all directions as a glob of milky Fate formed in his palm.


    He turned over to Young Mistress Nightly and gave her a wink before he vanished.


    By the time the young Devas had made it out, all she saw was Ryu''s back, standing there nonchalantly, the blob of Fate gone.


    Ryu turned back, his palms flipping over to reveal two great swordstaffs.


    "Shall we?" Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Young Mistress Nightly''s eyes narrowed. This guy¡­ actually wanted to fight.

 Chapter 2155 All

    Chapter 2155  AllYoung Mistress Nightly''s eyes narrowed.


    Ryu''s posture was clearly a fighting posture, but he didn''t seem very serious at all. It was almost as though he was treating her like any one of the other so-called geniuses that he had already slaughtered.


    He didn''t take her very seriously at all.


    A fury threatened to bubble up from Young Mistress Nightly''s heart, but her forbearance, her calm, and her Dao Heart itself were all exceptionally strong.


    Even though she was experiencing something she never had in her life before, it was like another spring breeze to her, a casual passing memory in her long life.


    And then she erupted.


    Her scythe was at Ryu''s neck in an instant, her placid gaze gaining an intensity that had never been there before. It was as though she had taken all that rage, all that fury, all that shocking audacity she felt and channeled it into the power of her strike.


    It was a simple swing, but it carried a myriad of mysteries, so heavy and numerous that the unadorned arc almost seemed to change countless times in the air, shifting time and time again in Ryu''s eyes.


    Lethal. Powerful. Potent. But more importantly than any of that¡­


    It made Ryu''s blood boil.


    A wide grin spread across his face as he lashed out with a flicker of his wrist, his great swordstaffs curving through the skies. They moved later, but somehow they were upon Young Mistress Nightly first.


    This was what he was looking for. He had already grown tired of fighting those small fry.


    Now¡­ it was time for him to truly erupt.


    One light great swordstaff slid beneath the Devas Princess'' scythe, the other sliding above. With a twist, they deviated its path and struck at Young Mistress Nightly from above and below at the same time.


    The young Devas felt an overwhelming sense of danger grip her, but her face was just as placid. Her wings flickered, two piercing toward Ryu''s neck from above the other two clashing against Ryu''s great swordstaffs.


    The world twisted around them as a reverberating clash resounded.


    Young Mistress Devas had already pulled her blade, coming after Ryu''s retreating form with a vengeful fury.


    There was a blazing intent in Ryu''s eyes that made the calm depths that were her own.


    However, they both had the same thought.


    Come.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The earth was dug up beneath them, the skies overturning as space split and clouds separated.


    They clashed and retreated, then clashed again in a harrowing sort of momentum. Their dance pulled at the laws of the world, bending and twisting them, culling and shedding them.


    Their Control was unlike what one should expect from a Lord. It was violent, relentless, pooling forward in a skyward momentum and carrying an earthbound steadiness.


    And then it suddenly broke.


    Ryu''s blade snaked past, cutting against Young Mistress Nightly''s cheek and forcing her into a retreat.


    She reacted just as calmly as always, side stepping the blow and sweeping her scythe from a downward position up toward Ryu''s neck.


    However, its momentum hadn''t even been able to gather yet when Ryu''s great swordstaff of darkness pierced against a weak point. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Death Acupoint] reflected in the world and Mistress Nightly felt her blade almost fly out of her hand.


    Ryu''s great swordstaff of light followed up, swinging down from above like a falling meteor. Akin to a guillotine of the Heavens, it split the world in two, painting it in rivers of blood long before a wound was levied.


    Young Mistress Nightly made a move with her wings, ready to deflect it again, only for Ryu''s feet to shift, his momentum suddenly swaying. His hips pivoted and his arms bent, driving an elbow right through the Devas Princess'' pretty little face.


    Her nose was crushed and nearly splintered her face in two.


    She reeled back, blood flying from her nose.


    For the first time, her expression changed and she felt a great deal of shock. It wasn''t just because Ryu''s style had barely changed at all¡ªhe didn''t seem to increase in strength, he didn''t even bring out any new abilities, it was almost like he had just grasped her style of combat and countered it like he was playing a game of Domain¡ªbut it was because¡­


    ''How is his body so powerful.''


    She stabilized herself hundreds of kilometers later, trails of screeching space in her wake as she nearly collapsed to the ground right then and there.


    Ryu''s body felt sturdy beyond belief. But¡­ wasn''t he just a human?


    Among the Humanoids, even in comparison to the humanoid Demons and Fiends, there was no doubt that the Devas had the strongest bodies. They were blessed by the Heavens, given special Heavenly Patterns that etched themselves onto their very wings and bones.


    Their bones were actually quite special, being entirely hollow like that of birds. One would think that this would make them fragile, but instead, they were forged of materials that could shock the world. The more talented the Devas, the more shocking this material would be.


    For Young Mistress Nightly, her bones themselves were forged of Chaotic Silk. While she didn''t have Chaotic Silk Meridians, this alone made her bones incredibly difficult to deal with.


    But it wasn''t just this¡­


    Her tendons and sinew were also formed from it.


    However, just now, she had felt her nose break.


    Although it had been quickly snapped back into place under the effects of her powerful healing abilities, the blood that ran down her now more than cherry lips were enough to make anyone apprehensive and feel shaken.


    She reached up a hand, lightly touching her nose as though to make sure that it really was her face that had experienced such a thing. Then¡­ she looked up toward Ryu.


    When was the last time someone had made her bleed?


    She¡­ really couldn''t recall.


    All of a sudden, a grin spread across her face as well and her posture changed, matching the madness in Ryu''s eyes.


    They both shot forward at the same time, their qi blooming.


    Ryu''s Chaos Qi left dark gold streaks in the air and Young Mistress Nightly''s own suddenly bloomed in an unexpected way.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The sound of qi exploding within Young Mistress Nightly''s body reverberated. Her delicate body expanded violently in size for a brief instant before it went back to normal, but a sizzling heat popped out from her pores, pouring out in a torrential storm that sapped the air of all its water vapor.


    She had combusted her qi within her own body, crashing it into his Vital Qi and in a shocking feat¡­


    Fused them together.


    Ryu''s eyes shone as bright as torches. This was a method he had never seen before, one even he hadn''t been mad enough to try.


    And yet, rather than making him feel apprehensive, he could only feel his blood boiling all the more, his body temperature rising until the point it matched Young Mistress Nightly''s own and then surpassed it in a single bound.


    This feeling¡­ was the one he had been searching for all his life.


    Scythe and blades reverberated across the skies, each clash before forcefully suppressed beneath their control, and yet, while the region around them remained intact, near the edges of their Control Domain explosions of space and winding hands of times twisted and bent around one another.


    Young Mistress Nightly suddenly suffered a kick to the abdomen that sent her piercing right through a mountain sturdier than any Ryu had ever laid eyes on. It seemed that in pure hardness, it was beyond even the Shrine Mountain.


    BANG!


    The Devas Princess tore this sturdy mountain apart, carving out a new path out of it before charging Ryu once more.


    Her Dao bloomed across the skies, a Peak Founding Dao of an Elevated World pouring forth before it too¡­ took a step beyond.


    The booming cadence of her qi and Vital Qi within her body came to a sudden stop, calming like a gentle breeze before a coming storm.


    Her power increased several fold, and yet it was far from done.


    A crimson crown of thorns appeared above her and her Dao seemed to elevate to yet another level.


    And then¡­ her Qi, her Vital Qi, and her Spiritual Quintessence pooled into a single vast ocean.


    Her Spiritual Foundation rumbled, her Dao soared, and her four of her six pillars slowly fused into one as a triangle formed on her forehead.


    It was said that the strongest shape in the world was a triangle. Why Six Pillars¡­ when just three was more than enough?


    And that was what Young Mistress Nightly had based her Dao on.


    Her Dao Title would shock the world when she revealed.


    She raised her scythe, her lips parting as she spoke but the words being obscured as though by the Heavens themselves.


    "Today I, Goddess All Pillar, will show you your place beneath me."


    She had completely forgotten about the Title Stele event as the boiling of her blood reached a fever pitch.


    All she wanted was Ryu''s head, not because he infuriated her, but because no one should dare to stand in her way.


    This world was hers to command.


    The winds, the seas, the skies and the earth. The tides of energy and the tsunamis of emotion. The very talent she had been granted by the Heavens, and the Fate that she would rip away for herself.


    She would stand atop of this world.


    BOOM!


    A pillar of bloody light erupted from her, complex Runes swirling about it as it solidified into a pillar that stabilized the Earth and held up the Heavens.


    One Begets Two. Two Begets Three. And Three¡­


    Begets All.


    Two more pillars appeared and Young Mistress Nightly vanished from sight.


    When she could be seen once again, her scythe was already cutting into Ryu''s neck.

 Chapter 2156 True King

    Chapter 2156  True King"GOOD."


    Ryu''s voice boomed and the boiling blood in his body erupted.


    One after another, his Bloodlines roared with life and vitality, pooling into themselves as Birthed Phenomena stacked to the high Heavens.


    ¡­


    "Hm?"


    An ancient, rumbling voice pooled across the dark expanse, carrying with it a heavy sort of distaste.


    The Dragon King sensed the change the moment it happened, but it wasn''t just him. The Phoenix Queen, the Griffin Queen, the Roc King, the Qilin King¡­ all of the beasts felt it at the first instant, but none more than the Phoenix, the Qilin, and the Dragon.


    This boy¡­


    Their fury peeled across the skies like flashes of crimson lightning.


    "How dare he¡­"


    It took all of their disciplined self-control to not rush into the Title Stele world right this moment.


    But what pissed them off more wasn''t the fact that Ryu had so many of their Bloodlines, or even that they were so powerful, and not even that they were mixed--when they felt nothing but endless disdain for their enemies in the Four Ancient Beast Clans¡­


    It was that despite having such Bloodlines, despite the fact he surely knew it would piss them off to no end to reveal them¡­


    Ryu revealed them so openly, so boldly, it was like an extra slap to their faces.


    The words Eska spoke earlier reverberated in their minds.


    For a long while, they had taken the words seriously only because such a powerful woman had spoken them.


    A genius of Ryu''s caliber marrying a Dao Goddess wasn''t rare. Well, it was rare in the sense that geniuses of Ryu''s caliber in the first place were rare, but within said group, it wasn''t uncommon.


    To those like Ryu, reaching the Dao God Realm after crossing the Lord threshold was all but guaranteed. Whether he could step beyond and enter the mysterious realm only the fewest of Dao Gods could, though¡­ That was another matter.


    All of that said, Eska was simply at a caliber all to her own. Because of that, they had paid more attention to the fact that she was speaking at all, and far less to the young man she was actually speaking about.


    But now that they thought about it¡­ not only had Eska looked to Ryu for permission to speak before she did¡­ he was so nonchalant about it.


    Even after she said the words she said, he only smiled¡­ and it couldn''t even be said that he was indifferent to them. It was something beyond that.


    It was like he hadn''t been paying them any heed at all, like it was more important for him to appease his wives and spend those last few precious moments with them than even care about what their reactions might be to these words¡­


    Confidence. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Arrogance.


    A pride buried deep within his bones that exuded out with his every action.


    And now, as his white scales bloomed across his body and his wings, he displayed that pride boldly to the world.


    ¡­


    The scythe cut across Ryu''s neck, swiping through and drawing a line of blood.


    Ryu took a strong step back as his blood was drawn, a single droplet of it spiraling through the skies and crashing to the ground below.


    BOOM!


    The drop was nothing more than a touch of bloody dew, and yet it tore through the thick trunk of an ancient tree, shattering it to its very core akin to an exploding arrow before digging out a deep cavern in the depths of the hardened soil.


    Young Mistress Nightly''s second attack came even more swiftly as though she had already expected Ryu to dodge.


    All of her power was concentrated into a single point, her combat style encompassed by a single word¡­


    Firm.


    There was nothing fancy to her attacks, nothing flashy at all. Her qi hardly leaked and even the space around her only rippled the slightest bit, almost like a whimpering mirage in the depths of a hellish desert.


    But these simple attacks carried a strength that could sever the lives of most Sovereigns.


    Lords, Sovereigns, and Gods were well known for their durability. But beneath Goddess All Pillar''s blade, one was no different from a mortal.


    A pierce through the heart, a decapitation of the head, the severance of a limb¡­


    Any one of these injuries that Ryu might usually otherwise be able to shrug off with a strong pulse of his soul and a sweep of his Embryonic Qi would now be lethal to him.


    And he loved every single second of it.


    He was a man who was rarely impressed, but facing off against his first cream of the crop genius¡­ he could say with a wide grin on his face that he wasn''t disappointed in the slightest bit.


    BANG!


    Their blades crossed and their noses nearly touched beneath their momentum. There wasn''t the slightest romance between the two, the wild murderous intent and elated grins on their faces painting a completely different sort of ambience.


    Their roars filled the skies and they were suddenly blown apart, but they came back together even quicker than before.


    A cascade of blows set off a chain of booming strikes. Often times, a single piece of land would explode twice and even thrice long after they had moved on to another location, purely as a result of their Control deteriorating in their absence.


    CHI! CHI! CHI!


    Their wings clashed and sparked lightning through the air. The clouds shook and rumbled, peels of blue lightning and black battling against one another in a dance of flood dragons.


    Ryu''s won out.


    Storm.


    Thick pillars of royal blue lightning fell and the might of the Lightning Qilin descended.


    For a moment, Qilin King felt a hand grip his throat. Just in that instant¡­ he almost felt like he didn''t have the right to be King of Qilins.


    A Fire Qilin at the helm of this mighty Race?


    Absolutely not.


    Only the King of Judgment could sit on the Throne. The Lightning Qilin!

 Chapter 2157 If You Survive

    Chapter 2157  If You SurviveLightning wreathed Ryu''s blades and he swung them so hard their polearms pulled crescents across the skies. In that slowed motion, space trembled beneath the strain and it felt almost like a God of the Forge had taken a hand to the weapons, bowing their metal frames in his earthly palms and pulsing forearms.


    BANG!


    The two great swordstaffs crashed against Young Mistress Nightly''s scythe and nearly sent it flying out of her hands.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Three echoes rumbled through Ryu''s Bone Structure, Nine Revolution Skybreaker blooming with its magnified presence beneath his Storm Talent.


    The echoes of thunder were matched with pitched lightning. As though the rumbling in Ryu''s bones and the trembling of the skies were matched to a single resonance, a rhythm played across the both of them, making the three pillars Mistress Nightly relied upon shake to their very core for the first time.


    A savage glow shone bright in Young Mistress Nightly''s gaze. This was it, this was what she had been looking for.


    She had felt that her Dao had already reached the peak of all there was. As much as she had searched for a path to improve it, it was simply impossible to find.


    She had already stepped beyond the threshold of an Elevated World, so just how much further could she make it? sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However¡­ she had felt that this Title Stele world would be one of her last chances to find that path. As she continued to grow, it would only become more difficult to take that step in the future.


    But just now, she had felt it.


    Weakness.


    This was the very first time her Three Pillars had shown any sign whatsoever of trembling, and it was because of this man before her.


    Young Mistress Nightly ran a red tongue across her pearly white teeth, a lusty light of desire sparking in her eyes. However, this lust had little to do with Ryu''s looks or her desire to bed him, and everything to do with her lust for improvement, her desire to grow stronger, and her anticipation to do both.


    The soft flesh of her tongue pricked against her cute, low profile canines, drawing a line of blood that dripped down her cherry lips.


    For a moment, she looked no different from a tempting seductress before that aura vanished in favor of a towering might.


    Whether she would be able to step through the Gates of Heaven and reach that ever-illusive threshold would be decided within the next few moves.


    She unleashed a roar that was anything but delicate. Akin to war drums thrashing against Heaven''s limits, her chest expanded beneath the strain, her lungs almost bursting with the amount of air she forced into them.


    Her All Pillar Qi, unique to herself, exploded out from her body.


    A line of meridians was drawn from her body to her wings and then back again, forcefully connecting them all.


    The qi for millions of miles was forced into obedience as the aura of a Deva Goddess descended¡­ or so it seemed.


    In that moment, she might as well have already stepped into that threshold.


    With her Dao Heart blossoming and her momentum climbing, she was a woman truly worthy of stepping to the peak of the world and standing above it all.


    Ryu''s booming laughter met her momentum, his lightning dancing and his great swordstaffs pulsing with light and darkness. The three auras danced around one another, forming an odd resonance that was eerily familiar. But maybe because she was so in tune with herself, so focused on improving on her own and surpassing this opponent before her, Young Mistress Nightly didn''t seem to notice.


    "You are a good woman. If you survive this, I''ll make you my Summon and show you what the true peak of the world looks like."


    Young Mistress Nightly wasn''t enraged by the words. Instead, she spoke out herself, her fiendish grin no less savage than Ryu''s own.


    "You are a good man. If you survive this, I will protect you from the Ancient Beasts and make you my Prince Consort."


    Ryu grinned in return. "I''m a hypocritical man. I can have many women, but my women aren''t allowed to be so frivolous."


    "Those men are not my husbands, they are concubines prepared for me for when I cross the threshold of Dao Goddess. My Devas Race has trouble procreating, so the strong amongst us must do this.


    "I do not mind appeasing you a small bit, though, my future husband. You may be my first, and I will only allow you to lay in my bed. The others will be nothing more than tools."


    Ryu''s laughter peeled across the skies like blooming thunder. He raised his blade to the skies, choosing not to respond for the moment. Very soon, the world itself would hear the words of his heart.


    Maybe they all assumed that this was a clash of equals, a stormy symphony of a two-genius ballad.


    But this was far from the case.


    Young Mistress Nightly was a Peak Lord.


    Ryu was only a Quasi Lord.


    Today, he had come not just to face against the geniuses of the world¡­


    He had come to assert his dominance.


    Suddenly, his Light, Dark, and Lightning Qi solidified. Three Pillars descended from the skies, mirroring Goddess All Pillar''s own.


    Young Mistress Nightly''s eyes widened as for the first time, she sensed Ryu''s Dao.


    A vast chasm opened up between the two of them and her heart shook violently.


    Just¡­ what was this?


    "I hope you survive. It would be a shame for such a beauty to leave this world."


    Ryu''s lips slightly parted once more.


    "[¡ª Judgment]."


    Chi.


    The sound was almost soft, like the world itself didn''t realize it had been broken apart until it was too late.


    Young Mistress Nightly''s momentum reached a peak at the same time as she too slashed out, but somehow, it was hard for anyone to notice this at all.


    A shocking sweep of qi expanded in all directions, swallowing the battlefield whole.

 Chapter 2158 Fun. Fun. Fun.

    Chapter 2158  Fun. Fun. Fun.The world fell into silence. It wasn''t the normal kind of emptiness of sound, the kind still filled with the gentle sweeps of wind and the rustling of trees. This was a true silence, like a vacuum formed in the depths of space, lacking a medium for such a thing to travel in the first place.


    Ryu stood high in the skies, exhaling a slow breath. Through his lips were sealed and his expression was calm, the rapid rise and fall of his chest showed that he wasn''t nearly as calm and nonchalant as he had made it seem.


    And yet, it hardly seemed to matter when a woman dangled from his palm by her hair.


    Young Mistress Nightly hung limply, her robes tattered and torn, her wings drooping downward without nearly the same sharpness and rigidity they had just had moments ago.


    Blood covered her delicate features, her consciousness having faded to black. Her life itself hung on by nothing more than the faintest of strings, but there was a peculiar smile on her face. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu recognized that smile. It was the sort of smile he had had when he spoke to the Phoenix Sky God for the first time, the smile he had when he realized that maybe losing wasn''t what he feared most, but rather the lack of a chance to try.


    If he failed while on his rise to the top¡­ then so be it.


    Did he think he would?


    Not in the slightest bit.


    But he wasn''t naive to the fact that the world was probably vaster than he knew, and the sort of challenges being painted into his future weren''t the sort of things that even his Fate Soul Nature could scry perfectly.


    Young Mistress Nightly''s aura waned like embers in harsh, cold wind.


    Ryu exhaled a final breath, his calm finally returning to him as his heart settled down.


    ''Dangerous indeed¡­''


    Maybe he was too arrogant, but he had insisted on defeating Young Mistress Nightly by copying her Dao. Well, he had copied it in part and then created a new technique based on it.


    This was the result of a perfect fusion of his new Dao, both the Order half and the Chaos half¡ªone aspect analyzing the Heavens and the other analyzing the opponents that stood across from him.


    When they came together, he was able to do even this.


    Young Mistress Nightly''s Dao was truly extraordinary.


    The six pillars of cultivation were obviously Bloodline, Spiritual Foundation, Soul Nature, Bone Structure, Meridians, and finally the Dao.


    Using her Dao, she was able to shrink this to just three. She combined Meridians and Spiritual Foundation, combined Bloodline and Bone Structure, and combined Soul Nature and Dao, forming three pillars from the original six.


    When this was triggered, this allowed her the foundation she needed to combine her Spiritual Quintessence, Qi, and Vital Qi into one, effectively taking the three Realms of Cultivation and forming them into a single ultimate Realm of cultivation.


    When this occurred, the energy she could wield was actually no less potent than Ryu''s Chaos Qi!


    This was the weight of a true genius. To form a Qi capable of standing together with Essence and Chaos through her own path¡­


    It was hard to see how such a person could even be capable of losing in the first place. She was right to be so arrogant to the point of turning her nose up at everything.


    What was truly shocking about this was that she was so very close to Ryu''s [One Above All]. But she had chosen the exact opposite Path, choosing to place the emphasis on Three rather than the One.


    Ultimately, if Ryu was correct, she was probably looking for a Path that would allow her Three Pillars to be further combined into one, but the difficulty in scaling such a thing was so exceptionally high that it was no wonder she felt like she had crashed into a wall.


    Without a mind on the level of Ryu''s, it was impossible for her to take such a step. In fact, even if Ryu dedicated the next decade to solving this problem for her, he likely wouldn''t succeed. He would need much more time and experience for that¡ªmaybe even a sudden bout of inspiration.


    Ryu had said it once before in this battle already¡­ he was rare if ever impressed.


    But in his first battle against a genius of such caliber, he had actually been so thoroughly floored.


    So this¡­ was the ceiling of the world.


    Or was it?


    Ryu looked to the skies, still holding up the delicate beauty by her hair as though he didn''t have the slightest hint of a soft spot for her.


    His gaze seemed to pierce through the veil, but even with the strength of his Heavenly Pupils, he still couldn''t reach that height¡­


    The height of the Heavenly Court.


    Just what was it? What was it worth? Why did it exist? And why was it so eager to make him come to it and obey?


    Ryu''s shoulder moved and he raised the young Devas body by her hair until they were eye level. Her breath hiccuped and a deathly aura exhaled from her cherry lips.


    ''Troublesome indeed¡­''


    He said that if she survived he would make her a Summon, but this would no doubt enrage the Devas.


    Ryu chuckled.


    Since when had he ever cared about such a thing?


    With a swirl of space, she vanished into his Inner World.


    Ryu''s chuckle deepened and he clasped his hands behind his back, continuing his stroll ahead as Fate poured into him.


    "Fun. Fun. Fun."


    He laughed so heartily one would think that he was holding his baby in his arms already. Grinning ear to ear, he could feel his blood cooling to a low simmer. The boiling had calmed somewhat, but he could feel that it was already prepared to pool over any second now.


    Today¡­ was truly the best day of his life.

 Chapter 2159 Obedient

    Chapter 2159  ObedientBANG!


    A male concubine was sent flying, his spine cracking in half as he collided against a pillar so thick with Dao Runes that it didn''t even rattle despite the strength the Dao Goddess had used. He dropped to the ground in a heap, his body convulsing once before he fell over¡ªdead.


    A middle-aged woman with faint lines of age on her face stood from her bed, a line of white liquid running down her legs. But she hardly seemed to notice at all, a cloudiness fogging her vision.


    Despite her age, the woman was truly a beauty few could compare to, carrying a grace and elegance that belied the scent of the room and the aroma between her legs.


    However, just as she was about to storm out of the room, a heavy hand appeared out of nowhere, landing on her shoulder.


    "Enough."


    The man''s voice was commanding and swayed with an imposing air. Swayed seemed like an odd descriptor for a voice, but the way the man''s voice slurred and swung with laziness made it feel like he was constantly trying to seduce those around him with a long, drawn-out drawl.


    "Get off of me!" the woman shrieked, her aura flaring out like a tempest. Her crimson wings flared out in four pairs, eight magnificently carved ornaments hung out from her delicate back, each feather like a beautiful carved ruby.


    But the man was uncaring. Her display of power didn''t move him in the slightest and he continued to clamp her shoulder down.


    "Going now would fix nothing. You cannot enter that world, not unless you don''t want to leave with your life. You know the kind of danger Dao Gods like us face in there. Unless you''re ready to take that step, or willing to risk your life trying, forget it."


    "That is our daughter." The woman growled. "Have you already forgotten?!"


    "She is my favored child as well. The others may as well not exist before her. Why do you think I haven''t agreed to a marriage between herself and Bright? He will dim her into his shadow should he get the chance to. If she wants to crush him, and protect her Primordial Yin as she does so, she will need to take another step forward."


    "Our daughter is no less talented than that scum!"


    "In terms of comprehension abilities and the Pillars, yes¡­ Unfortunately, our daughter lacks the support of a talent at an equivalent level of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. The fact she could stand with such geniuses to begin with is a testament to how strong she is."


    "What good is that?! She''s dead!"


    The woman''s howl shattered the air, and this time, even her husband was forced a single step back.


    But even that was unable to make the man feel very moved.


    "Not necessarily." The man spoke lightly, looking toward the projection.


    The woman wanted to snap once again, but instead, she frowned. "What are you talking about?"


    "I can feel that our daughter''s Fate hasn''t yet been completely severed. But now it is muddied, suffocated likely by the weight of the young man''s."


    "And what does that mean? Is she going to become some cheap whore for the pleasure of this little bastard?!"


    "If that is her Fate, then it may be so."


    "You want us to just sit by and do nothing!?"


    It sounded like her husband was implying that they shouldn''t do anything to Ryu even after he came out, and that was simply unacceptable to her.


    That was his little girl! What was he talking about?!


    The man swept a gaze over his wife and she felt a cold chill. Her body shivered and she looked down to the ground, her head hanging obedient and low.


    Her husband allowed her to be plainly willful a lot of the time, but there were also times when he put her in her place for stepping over a line. This hadn''t happened between them in what must have been billions of years, but it also was the first time she was experiencing the potential loss of a child she loved so dearly.


    It was impossible for those that lived as long as them to love every child equally. The death of most of their children would just be a matter of a loss of face to them, but they wouldn''t truly feel any sadness, regret, or anger as a result of it. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, this daughter¡­ she cherished her the absolute most. She couldn''t control her emotions nearly as well and had gone too far.


    "No matter how talented, talent is just talent¡ªpotential is just potential. There''ve been many in our Devas Clan who''ve been born over the years with a comparable level of talent, but how many reach that level?


    "Our daughter will certainly become a Dao God, but will she reach that stage? That is an entirely different sort of unknown."


    With her head still lowered, the middle-aged woman didn''t dare to reply.


    "Now come." Nightly''s father spoke lightly. "It seems that all this time with these frivolous, effeminate men has made you forget who your husband is."


    The words had hardly come from her mouth when the middle-aged woman fell to her knees obediently, reaching for the straps of his robes.


    However, the man waved a hand, a rope of energy taking form. They wrapped around her wrists, then her arms, twisting them to her back and locking them in place.


    "Don''t use your hands. Work for it."


    The anger from the woman''s eyes had long faded, and instead, it was replaced by a steadily growing light of desire as though she wasn''t being humiliated at all. How long had it been since her husband bedded her?


    Her teeth clapped onto the folds of his robes and she pulled, whipping her head to the side.


    Something slapped down onto her face and the mistiness in her eyes clouded her vision over as she looked past its mass and up at her husband.

 Chapter 2160 Dont Mind

    Chapter 2160  Don''t MindRyu walked through the skies, lost in thought as he entered the next region.


    He shook his head slowly¡­ truly nothing of interest at all.


    Maybe he had peaked a little too early, but there was no Young Mistress Nightly equivalent here. It was such a shame. Though he was still a little fatigued, he was actually already looking forward to the next battle.


    Though there weren''t any geniuses of Young Mistress Nightly caliber, there were many of the Dragonling''s caliber, and even several above.


    It seemed that the talent pool was starting to become sharper and more refined, and yet there was still such a long distance left remaining to go.


    ''Hm, there are some interesting candidates.''


    Ryu smiled lightly and vanished. When he appeared again, he stood before a young man riding a white tiger. He looked like he had just stepped out of some primitive world, and his eyes had a certain level of brightness and curiosity to him that made him feel like a toddler at heart.


    He couldn''t even react before Ryu grasped his throat.


    Technically speaking, because of his battle with Nightly, Ryu was actually quite late to enter this region. As a result, there were a large number who had accumulated a decent amount of Fate already, and he could sense that a nearby Ruin was being quickly cleared by someone.


    Yet¡­ he didn''t seem to be in much of a rush, and neither did the battle take very long at all.


    The young man found himself and his beast half crippled before they were tossed into his Inner World.


    This Title Stele was well and truly like an enormous shopping district to Ryu. There was such a large number of accumulated talents here, and they were all of the perfect level, not so low that they would be useless, and not of such high cultivation that he was unable to mold them to fit his vision.


    This was perfect.


    He had been worried before about how he would accumulate an army as large as his wife''s¡ªa feat that must have taken countless millions of years. But here he was with a fast track.


    Of course, it would be a while until he could stack up to Ailsa. That was especially so if he considered the difficulty of helping those like Young Mistress Nightly to improve.


    If even he had to spend more than a decade on her alone, one could imagine how much trouble he would have as he accumulated more of her caliber¡ªbecause make no mistake about it, he would certainly be doing exactly that.


    However, he didn''t allow this to perturb him.


    As far as Ryu was concerned, when he became true Lord, his mind would take another enormous leap forward. By then, something that took a decade before might not take more than a year.


    Plus, there was one other thing to consider¡­


    Time distortion.


    Ryu''s Spacetime Soul Nature allowed him to do the impossible: comprehend while in a time warp.


    Normally, the laws of the world became too distorted to do this even when the time dilation was especially slow and minimal.


    However, Ryu had gained the ability to see through these distortions long ago. Of course, the more difficult the problem he was facing, the less time dilation he could use. But he could still cut the time he would need for Nightly by half.


    For a simpler path like the tiger-riding youth just now, he could distort time so much that probably just a few seconds would be enough. This was the gap between a genius and a true prodigy.


    However, he needed more. He needed to be stronger.


    As intoxicating as that victory was, he wanted more of it, and he wanted it in larger quantities. Plus¡­ he had promised his wife to wipe out the Ruin Master Guild. That was going to take some doing.


    By the time Ryu cleared out the whole region of those he found interesting¡ªkilling those that weren''t¡ªthe person clearing the Ruin was just about done.


    It was into this situation that Ryu casually strolled in. A young man sat before a matrix of runes, beads of sweat falling down his face.


    It only took a moment for Ryu to realize that this young man''s life was actually on the line right now. One wrong move and his life would be wiped out.


    It was quite the sinister set of runes. Or more accurately, it felt a lot more like a Visualization.


    ''Interesting¡­''


    Ryu hadn''t seen a Visualization appear outside of Sacrum. This could be considered the first time.


    Though, this wasn''t exactly the same. There were some hints and differences here and there, mostly in the method of construction used.


    Visualizations in Sacrum were more of a communication and communion with the Heavens, listening to the laws, pulling them from the surroundings, and then building around them.


    But this Visualization method was far more sinister¡ªthough all of that was relative. It didn''t commune with the Heavens, it commanded the heavens, forcing it into submission and twisting the laws into shapes and sizes it wasn''t meant to have.


    This was the far more unnatural form of Visualization.


    The soul was usually the bridge between the Heavens and a person. It, of course, had to be remembered that the Spiritual Foundation was just one of the Incorporeal Souls. However, it wasn''t the only method through which communication with the Heavens was possible.


    This wasn''t what was important now, though. What was important was the fact that the soul was meant to be in a symbiotic relationship with the Heavens, so it was unnatural for it to use this form of oppressive Visualization.


    Ryu had thought of this method in the past. In fact, one of the many techniques his Dao Heart and Perfect Blackbody Soul managed to think of was related to this method of rune manipulation.


    But in the end, he didn''t pursue it. He wasn''t very interested in it at all.


    The juice wasn''t worth the squeeze.


    His comprehension was so high, so why wouldn''t he just use the laws of the world directly instead of trying to twist them into something they weren''t?


    However, this method had some merits. At the very least, in this application, it could create a great deal of danger for a man who was foolish enough to attach his soul to something that he didn''t quite comprehend.


    But then again¡­ maybe that was the boldness of a genius.


    ''Ruin Master Guild, huh? Is this a genius of yours?''


    Ryu crossed his arms, chuckling lightly.


    ''Pathetic.''


    He wasn''t surprised that members of the Ruin Master Guild had appeared here. But it went to show just how sinister the organization was. Even their own geniuses weren''t aware of the truth of these Ruins and were attempting to clear them much the same.


    ''Oh, would you look at that. He made a breakthrough.'' S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu chuckled again. The young man showed the grit of a true genius and made a sudden breakthrough in his comprehension. Now, his momentum was steamrolling and he was just a few minutes away from breaking the Visualization array before them.


    It was then that Ryu slowly raised a finger.


    CHI.


    The Visualization array shattered and the young man was sent flying backward. Ryu casually caught him out of the air, and with a wave of his hand, the situation in the Ruin reversed, all of the Fate surging toward him once again only to be tossed into his Inner World.


    "WHO!?"


    The young man immediately lashed out with a powerful attack. The momentum was quite imposing, but it was hard for the young man to muster up much energy when he had basically just drained himself so completely and wholly.


    Ryu easily blocked it with a palm, illusory Divine Chains stretching out of him and wrapping the young man up.


    Normally, Ryu would have already tossed him into his Inner World, but he hadn''t been paying enough attention to this young man''s Dao Heart to see if it was worth it just yet, and he also didn''t have much desire for his abilities.


    Ryu wanted fighters, and a Ruin Master by trade didn''t exactly fit that bill.


    So instead, Ryu just pressed a palm to his forehead. The young man felt his soul shudder before it was suddenly ripped out of him.


    Ryu weaved through the Fate in the young man''s mind, piecing together memories.


    It was easy for even low-level Sects and Clans to protect the memories of their descendants, let alone a power on the level of the Ruin Master Guild.


    However, obscuring the Fate adjacently related to memories was a completely different matter. Such a thing might not have a solution at all¡­ unless, of course, one had a Fate Soul Nature master set the seal themselves.


    But how could such a caliber of warrior be so free? And even if they were, what were the odds that their Fate control was also beyond Ryu''s?


    Slim to none.


    ''Interesting, so that''s the situation. Hm¡­ I came here to prove the size of my fist, but I wouldn''t mind showing some Ruin Master who stands at the top amongst them as well¡­''

 Chapter 2161 Swore

    Chapter 2161  SworeRyu found himself being slightly interested by what was happening.


    A large number of Ruin Masters seemed to have entered the Title Stele World in secret, adding to the already brewing chaos.


    If Ryu was correct, this was either as a method of pre-emptive preparation, or it was because the Ruin Master Guild already knew that he knew.


    In fact, it was probably oddly a combination of both.


    Ryu wasn''t a fool. He knew that he wouldn''t be able to hide such a thing, not when this was such an important part of the Ruin Master Guild''s plans. But their preparation was beyond his expectations¡ªor maybe it was that it had been purposely obscured from him.


    ''Interesting indeed. I can''t blindly trust my feel for Fate. Against most people, it will work perfectly. But in the case I run into an opponent that has good control of Fate as well, even if it''s inferior to mine, if they have enough of a systemic advantage, overcoming it would be difficult¡­''


    In this case, the Ruin Master Guild was an entire organization while Ryu was just one person. In addition, setting aside just how much depth and trump cards they had, they had been planning this for much longer than Ryu had even been alive, even if you counted the time it took him to be reborn both times.


    Luckily, Ryu had decided to come here. Not only had he gotten a slight wake-up call, he was also able to find out something quite interesting.


    The smart thing to do was just to start hunting all of these Ruin Masters one after another, crushing them before they could clear any more Ruins.


    But where was the fun in that?


    Ruin Masters weren''t known for their combat prowess. Of course, a few of them surely would be, but Ryu only had to continue forward to meet the truest and most shocking geniuses there were. Why would he waste time on small fry in hopes that one of them might be the man he was looking for?


    Plus, just killing them, while that would deal the Ruin Master Guild a blow, it likely wouldn''t be enough to truly make them suffer.


    He had promised his wife that he would bring them to their knees, and for that, killing a few small fry wasn''t enough¡­ even if Ryu was probably the only Dao Lord in existence that would dare to label such geniuses as such.


    ''What to do¡­ what to do¡­ yes¡­ that could work¡­''


    Ryu flipped a part over and Selheira''s spherical Matrix appeared.


    It had been a long time since Ryu cared to use a Matrix to clear Ruins. What better Matrix could there possibly be than his current eyes? They were even more shocking now than they had ever been in the past.


    Of course, he didn''t bring it out because he actually needed it now. In fact, the only reason this Matrix was still in his possession at all was because of sentimental value.


    This had been given to him by his wife.


    Even back then, Selheira had had some feelings toward Ryu, though only in a budding, fledgling sort of way that wouldn''t grow furiously until many years later.


    And right now¡­ this first gift of his from his wife would actually become a nice honey trap.


    ¡­


    The moment Ryu took out the Matrix, frowns began to mar the faces of those on the outside looking in.


    Some had speculated that Ryu was a Ruin Master of some sort, but there was a vast difference between those that dedicated their lives to the profession and those that didn''t like Ryu.


    Ryu clearing the Ruins was so easy that everyone took the path of least resistance to explaining it. Obviously, he had brute-forced it.


    Not every Ruin had to be cleared with skill. Ultimately, Ruins were crafted by cultivators, Sects, or Clans, and they were fallible.


    If a Path Extinction Realm expert had a Ruin entered by a True Sky God, did it matter what restrictions it had?


    Since the Ruins had appeared so early on, everyone had just assumed that they were the relatively easy ones.


    Of course, there was no such thing as "easy" in the Title Stele World. Instead, this referred to a matter of Ryu''s strength.


    Nightly wasn''t a Dao God either, but she was still confident enough to try and enter the Ruin herself before Ryu actually went in first.


    With the strength Ryu displayed, he had every right to be ahead of the young Devas princess in their hearts.


    But this¡­


    Why was he pulling out a matrix? He couldn''t actually be trying to be a Ruin Master, right?


    ¡­


    Ryu was oblivious to the thoughts of the wider universe. Even if he could read through all of their assumptions, it wouldn''t make much of a difference for him anyway.


    There was no great scheme behind Ryu''s actions¡­ at least not yet.


    But if he was going to play with Fate, he needed an audience. Or else how would it be effective?


    The laws of the projected images were too distorted for even the Dao Gods to do much other than just watch what was happening.


    This was why Ryu had been able to use several interesting trump cards until now, but it wasn''t until he unveiled his armor that they caught on.


    In fact, if it wasn''t for the fact his Bloodline was so pure, they wouldn''t have sensed it so clearly either. But even then, it wasn''t direct, the muddiness of the screen making them frown.


    This was all to say that Ryu could get away with a lot, and all he had to do was set things up properly. And now, the first seed had been planted.


    He stood there for 3 hours, not to help the seed become a large tree with a canopy overhead, but as though he was trying to calculate something.


    Then, he suddenly moved.


    Ryu casually killed those he came across until he crossed over into the next region.


    ''Ah¡­ interesting indeed¡­''


    ¡­


    Ryu suddenly landed by the side of a young woman. She was so taken aback that she nearly jumped out of her skin. Then, she fiercely attacked.


    She didn''t seem moved by anything, a true genius who only cared about dealing with her enemies as efficiently as possible.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Chi.


    The blade qi was flicked away by Ryu and the young woman was suppressed from all sides. Soon, her neck was grasped.


    She thrashed about, trying to free herself. But Ryu didn''t bother to say any words to soothe her. Instead, he just continued to stand there until she finally realized it¡­ S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She was helpless.


    "You''re in luck, I don''t want to kill you just yet. Tell you what¡­ Aimee, is it? If you can beat me in a Ruin run, I''ll let you live. If you can''t, you die."


    Ryu smiled brightly.


    "Good deal, right?"


    The woman''s eyes bulged.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t use a single ounce of strength. I swear it on my Dao Heart."


    Aimee''s pupils trembled violently. Even the reaction of those on the outside were quite violent. Such a genius swearing on their Dao Heart wasn''t a small matter at all.


    But what the hell was Ryu trying to do here?


    The battle with Young Mistress Nightly had already put him behind. He was lagging behind the other top geniuses, but now he was¡­ finding reasons to lag even more?


    Aimee furiously nodded and Ryu let her go.


    "Alright, go on."


    Aimee inched away and then turned tail and rushed into the Ruin. She pulled out her Matrix in one hand, beads of sweat falling down her brow.


    She pierced through one challenge after another, displaying a might worthy of a Ruin Master genius that had made it so far. It could be said that her mind was very agile and nimble, and she had a sort of cleverness to her that wasn''t common amongst even cultivators.


    It wasn''t just a matter of intelligence, but rather the uniqueness of her solutions. To be able to think of things from such angles when she felt like her life was on the line was a true testament to her mental fortitude.


    The shadow looming over her neck grew thicker and thicker, but she didn''t dare to look back or even to the side.


    She was here for one thing. To win.


    She roared as she passed through a final veil, only for¡­


    PUCHI!


    Her body trembled from head to toe.


    "You¡­ You¡­ swore¡­"


    She couldn''t believe what was happening. She couldn''t look back, but she was certain that it was Ryu. It could only be him.


    "Yes, I did. I already cleared this Dungeon three times over while you were still struggling with taking a step forward. I have limited time, so I can''t have you prancing around like that?"


    Aimee didn''t believe him, she really¡­ wanted to hope that it wasn''t real.


    But her life fading away was too real.


    With her last breath, she managed to muster up her courage to look at a certain empty Throne. The end of the Ruin should have had Treasures right here¡­


    But they were nowhere to be seen.


    Aimee chuckled bitterly. He really hadn''t been lying.


    That was her final thought before she was erased from the world.


    Ryu patted his hands, took one more look, then left with a leisurely gait.

 Chapter 2162 Own Crime

    Chapter 2162  Own CrimeThe scene before everyone''s eyes was completely unlike anything they had ever experienced before. Watching Ryu go around was like watching an incarnated God of Ruin Master.


    Every time he came across another Ruin Master, he challenged them to a game of life and death. The task was simple... clear a Ruin before he could.


    None succeeded.


    Elites that they had heard about for countless years, some of the names even reverberated through Elevated Worlds beyond, reaching the ears of long-held experts powerful beyond compare¡­


    Were like children.


    Step by step, and death by death, the world was reminded of the might of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.


    When it came to comprehension, insight, intelligence¡­ there was simply no comparing to a user at all.


    The Mysteries Lineage was in a league of its own, and somehow, within this Lineage, Ryu seemed to be even further beyond.


    Even past Mysteries Lineage powerhouses still relied on Matrices from time to time. But as they observed Ryu, they realized that he didn''t actually need to at all.


    What they had no way of knowing was that Ryu had created his own Mental Realm Cultivation Method. The Soul Matrix he had created back in the Complete Heavenly Path had long since evolved to untold and untouchable levels.


    However, even if they knew that Ryu was actually using a Matrix, whether they would be less shocked or not was unknown.


    To create a Matrix that was capable of not only replacing all others, but elevating one''s Dao and comprehension, off-loading the burden of Focus Qi a great deal, was something that had never been done before.


    Honestly speaking, Ryu had only gone so far because he had little choice in the matter. Before he learned of the secret of his Embryonic Silk Meridians, he had needed this method because it was the only way that he could keep up with the expenditure of his Dao and other comprehension methods.


    Now, that was no longer as necessary. But¡­


    It made the level of Dao that he had displayed until now just the very tip of the iceberg.


    Ever since Ryu had grasped the secrets of the Spark of Life Flame, his Dao had touched a realm rarely seen.


    What would happen to that Realm once he set his evolved Matrix on it, supported by his new cultivation method and Control¡­


    Well, the death of the Sentinel within ten moves could be considered just the faintest edge of what he was capable of.


    He wasn''t able to display that might just yet, not without his Embryonic Silk Meridians. But now that he could replenish his Focus Qi at will¡­


    He was just looking for an opponent worthy of making him go so far.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s fingers dripped with blood. His skill and nails were as slick as slick, the blood drizzling down and leaving him fair and unblemished moments later.


    The eyes of an unwilling genius dimmed, the last look in his eye one of sheer, unbridled hatred.


    He went by Young Master Stareye. He didn''t have a pair of Heavenly Pupils, but it was said that his Clan had once had the Stareye of the past before it was taken off of the list.


    One could imagine how powerful a Clan of this caliber would be. Heavenly Pupils weren''t meant to be hereditary, let alone appear so many times in a single world. This was clearly breaking several rules.


    But this was precisely why they had fallen out of the rankings. How could the Heavens allow such a thing to continue for so long?


    But anyone who knew anything about Fate would be able to tell one very important thing¡­


    The fact such a family was still surviving and even somewhat thriving was a testament to their strength. For their acts against the heavens, they should have been wiped out from existence long ago.


    And then there was Young Master Stareye¡­


    He was their hope of revival, a young genius who was well on his way to accomplishing the impossible and maybe bringing the Stareye back to the ranks of Heavenly Pupils.


    He had made quite a name for himself and he was actually part of a list that Ryu had never heard of before, likely because he had never been a part of a world that interacted with so many other powerful worlds.


    The Ruin Master Elite List.


    There were just two of them, an overall list and the Heavens list that only acknowledged those beneath one million years old.


    On that list of a thousand talents, Young Master Stareye was ranked exactly 1000th, and he was the first of even the slightest bit of interest to Ryu.


    And yet, he lost so handily that it was hardly worth mentioning his background at all¡­ if it wasn''t for the fact that Sylas was somewhat interested in it.


    This was the first of the Ruin Masters he actually cared enough to make a Corpse Puppet.


    Ryu tossed him into his Inner World and then continued forward.


    ¡­


    "Husband, why is he targeting Ruin Masters?" A much more docile matriarch clung to her man, slightly panting. It seemed in that moment that she had completely forgotten about the capture of her daughter and only cared about the man before her.


    What was a daughter? She could have another, right? This man''s seed was strong, they would definitely have several more talented children of Nightly''s caliber before they were past their primes.


    Of course¡­ that Ryu Tatsuya would still need to die in compensation. But everything else could be negotiated.


    "Have you not noticed yet?" he replied lightly.


    "Is it really so simple?"


    "The child takes the Title Stele World as his own backyard, and maybe he has the right and capital to do so. However, whether he can continue to take things so lightly once he reaches near the end is¡­ still unknown." sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The matriarch blinked, seemingly sensing that there was another depth of mystery to her husband''s words.


    Her gaze flashed and the images shifted and changed until she finally landed on a candidate that caught her interest, not because he was the only other one strong enough to do so, but because he was one of the few that managed to obscure himself somewhat from detection.


    Ryu could have easily done the same, but it was clear that he was here to show off.


    As for this person¡­ they were wrapped in an incredibly sinister aura, riding upon what looked like a steed.


    They had proceeded forward quite far, having already crossed five regions to what was Ryu''s three, nearly four.


    However, this was also because Ryu was meandering, moving horizontally often when he knew that he should be headed forward straight.


    The image swapped again, shifting between several figures that had obscured themselves. Amongst them, there were none of the expected characters.


    All of the best geniuses, the Dragon Prince and Princess, Young Master Bright, etc¡­ they were all displaying their might for the world to see.


    And yet, these few had the strength to obscure themselves and chose to maintain a low profile.


    Something about her husband''s words made her feel like these people¡­ were all coming for Ryu.


    "Their numbers are increasing." The patriarch said softly.


    "What?!"


    The disadvantage of entering the Title Stele World late was great. The requirements were much higher, and the death toll was as such much heavier.


    To make it worse, you would be matched up against those that had already gathered a great amount of Fate on their own already, putting you at a severe disadvantage.


    Just¡­ why would they do this?


    Worse than that, why obscure themselves in the first place? In a way, this made them stand out even more than before.


    If they had just entered like normal people and became dark horses who hid their powers, this would fly under the radar for a long while.


    So¡­ just who were they that they needed to go as far as to hide their identities?


    And how did that relate to why Ryu was targeting Ruin Masters in the first place?


    There was only one answer.


    The Ruin Master Guild.


    "This child¡­ truly knows how to overestimate himself," the matriarch said coldly.


    This time, her husband didn''t reply, clearly in a sort of silent acceptance of the words spoken.


    And yet, as though on cue, Ryu killed yet another Ruin Master¡ªRank 981st, Young Master Tidebloom.


    Ryu looked up as though peering toward all those observing him right now, a wide grin spreading across his face.


    "These Ruin Masters¡­ are quite trash. I wonder who made such a ridiculous list. Why bother if there''s no one worthy on it?"


    Ryu''s palm gripped Tidebloom''s face, squeezing down and shattering his skull until it was nothing more than a compressed ball of flesh and blood.


    ¡­


    In the depths of the Ruin Master Guild headquarters, there were quite a number watching the proceedings. Even for them, it was impossible to miss out on such an event.


    And yet¡­ Ryu''s blatant provocations were all they could seem to focus on.


    He was hunting them down, ignoring the Title Stele World competition as though it was nothing more than a leisurely stroll.


    And soon, his target had shifted once again. He directly skipped over 773rd, and his intentions landed on rank 931st, Elena Reverend.


    "Sharing the same name as my wife is its own crime." Ryu said lightly.


    Several coughed up blood in rage.

 Chapter 2163 Rev

    Chapter 2163  RevElena Reverend.


    She was a woman with short-cut, platinum blond hair, wearing an outfit that came straight out from a nunnery.


    One would wonder, then, how it would be possible to tell what her hair color was. If she was wearing a nun''s outfit, her hair would certainly be covered.


    But the thing was that while this was true, her eyebrows shared the same color, the platinum blond quality shining bright rather than fading into obscurity thanks to her milky brown skin.


    A wooden necklace hung from her neck, and she walked around with its pendant in both hands, her steps light and her lips constantly parting to emit a delicate melody.


    She had an intoxicating sort of tone to her voice, one that made even the trees sway in pleasure.


    But then she stopped.


    Right across from her, a handsome young man with flowing silver hair stood. He stared at her with a cocky smile on his face, and this nun was caught between being attracted to this man and wanting to punch that smile off of his face.


    She parted her lips once more, this time to speak, but the man spoke first, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.


    "Tell you what. If you can clear this Ruin before I can, I will spare your life."


    Elena Reverend frowned, a sense of danger overwhelming her heart.


    She took a step back.


    "Oh? You''re smarter than the others. They all became very offended, very quickly. But, being smarter isn''t going to help this time. If you don''t want to take the deal¡­" Ryu''s gaze became malevolent. "I''ll just have to kill you right now."


    Elena Reverend''s vision blurred and Ryu''s outstretched claw was already reaching for her throat.


    She reacted quickly, her lips parting and a strong melody coming out.


    Lines of Fate gathered and wrapped around Ryu''s hand and her legs. The two became linked and Elena Reverend''s body suddenly accelerated backward as though gaining the momentum of Ryu''s strike.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow, suddenly coming to a stop.


    Elena Reverend came to a stop at the same time.


    "Fascinating¡­" he said slowly. "I''ve never thought of using [Fate Reversal] like that. Well, at least not in such a specific sort of application. Truly fascinating¡­"


    It was the first time Ryu was facing off against someone who clearly had some affinity for Fate just like he had. But "some" affinity, and the level of affinity Ryu had were two completely different concepts.


    Ryu vanished again, appearing to the nun''s back and swiping out.


    There was a flicker as the nun sang once more, her body seemingly shifting into another place.


    The claw marks dragged across the air, severing space through the location the nun was in, but it passed right through her as though she had never been there at all.


    Ryu didn''t react much to this, following up with another attack just as swiftly. His fist careened through the air in a simple sort of sharpness. The ripple of his robes sounded like the harsh slapping of thick leather.


    Unadorned and unmarvelous, and yet the danger signs in the nun''s head pinged again and again.


    Her lips parted once more and her notes sang, but she had only gotten part of the way through when her expression changed.


    Rather than burrowing Ryu''s momentum again, she found herself going in the reverse direction she intended¡­


    Right toward Ryu''s fist.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist passed right through her chest, shattering her heart and severing her spine.


    The nun coughed, blood leaking from her lips as she weakly grabbed onto Ryu''s forearm, her small fingers still clinging onto her pendant.


    Ryu looked down at her indifferently, watching the fight vanish from her eyes¡­ and then suddenly come roaring back.


    She coughed again, but her grip on Ryu''s arm tightened, her nails trying but failing to pierce into his skin.


    She didn''t speak, but Ryu could read her intentions well enough. She wanted to live, she wanted to fight, even now.


    "Oh yeah? And what do you fight for?"


    As though his voice held a strong compulsion, Elena Reverend''s lips parted on their own.


    "The Faith¡­ must be¡­ spread¡­ my¡­ mother¡­"


    Ryu grinned. "Is that so? How about you change your God?"


    "I serve¡­ no God¡­ I only¡­ seek¡­ peace¡­"


    "If you want peace, you''ll need to have a fist large enough to manage it. And you¡­ certainly do not have that. I, however¡­ Do."


    BOOM!


    A rippling aura came from Ryu and the nun almost shattered to pieces beneath his momentum alone. There was a shifting to her already damaged inner organs.


    "I¡­ do not¡­ want¡­ to¡­ serve you¡­"


    Ryu raised his head to the skies and laughed uproariously.


    "Your Dao Heart is good. From today on, you will be my Summon: Rev. If you want peace, I''ll show you a world where no one dares to fight because I stand atop the mountain."


    "I¡­" Rev tried to fight again. This man fought her for no reason, killed her, and then wanted to change her name¡­


    This sort of humiliation¡­


    What genius could withstand it?


    Even a woman with such a gentle temperament couldn''t withstand such a thing without feeling completely and utterly furious.


    And yet, it didn''t matter in the slightest. Because she too was tossed into Ryu''s Inner World without much fanfare.


    This endeavor was shaping up pretty well. He had found more Summonings than he expected for so early on, obviously with Young Mistress Nightly as a standout.


    The others weren''t as good as her¡­ just yet. But Ryu had a feeling that it wouldn''t be long before he could manage it.


    A grin spread across his face.


    "My oh my. I didn''t expect you all to get so impatient so quickly. Is there a purpose to trying to hide from my eyes?"


    SHU! SHU! SHU! SHU! SHU!


    A dozen figures appeared all around.


    The weakest of them was none other than 773, the one that Ryu had skipped over.


    And the strongest?


    392nd.


    Ryu looked up with amusement in his eyes.


    "I take it you all don''t want to have a friendly Rune challenge? You''re embarrassing yourselves here."


    392nd was a young man, lanky and almost dry looking. His skin crackled with what looked like a bad case of eczema. Whenever he moved, or he scratched a part of himself, large pieces of dry skin would fall in a disgusting rain, but he didn''t seem aware of his problem at all.


    For a cultivator of the Lord Realm to be in such a state, it couldn''t be due to a normal affair. And judging by the scent of wafting poison coming from him¡ªsomething that anyone could pick up, let alone Ryu the Herbologist¡ªthat answer was all too obvious to the masses.


    773rd was another woman, but contrasting the nun, she might as well have been her direct and opposing opposite.


    Ironically enough, this woman wore a nun outfit too¡­ but a very different sort of time. She wore a single slit leather mini-skirt that rode up her thighs, her breasts were certainly bouncing boobily, and the necklace that hung from her neck had a set of handcuffs on the end of it.


    She was a true degenerate woman through and through, even the way she cocked her hips and licked her violet lipstick smeared lips was provocative.


    Obviously, though¡­ Ryu hadn''t just skipped over 773rd because of Rev. He had done so because he sensed that this was happening and he felt that this outcome would be far more interesting.


    What fun was it in defeating these losers one by one. But he was disappointed by the fact that they didn''t seem to have come for a Ruin Master challenge.


    If it was just a matter of killing them, that would be all too easy.


    His real purpose was to defeat the Ruin Master Guild at what they do best.


    "Do you think you''re worthy?" 439th sneered.


    BANG!


    His exploded in a rain of blood and gore.


    Ryu yawned slightly as the rest of the group froze.


    "If you want to come here to flex some of your muscle, at least make certain that you have the right to do so. The reason I give you all this challenge is to give you a chance to live. Not a single one of you is on my level. Even if there were a million of you here, I could take a leisurely stroll through you all and slaughter with impunity.


    "So I''ll ask again. Do you want a chance to live? Or do you want to die right here and now?"


    392nd''s eyes narrowed. "We¡­ didn''t come here to fight you. We came here to bring you to someone?"


    "And that would be?" Ryu shook his head.


    "Number 72nd, Sakamoto."


    Ryu shook his head again. "Are you under the impression that I was having trouble finding you all?"


    392nd froze again, feeling his heart constrict.


    "I can find you all whenever I want. I started at the bottom of the list on purpose. I''m giving you time to prepare, time to feel fear, time to know that I am coming¡ªbecause I want to alleviate my boredom.


    "Coming here to try and escort me to someone I can defeat just as easily as any one of you¡­ who do you think you are, exactly?"


    A cold, frostiness came from Ryu''s body.


    CHI. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    773rd retreated fast as ice began to coat her exposed skin.


    "I''ll take the challenge! I''ll take the challenge!" she screamed.


    "Oh." Ryu''s frostiness retracted and his smile returned like a spring breeze. "Why didn''t you just say so, then? Let''s go."

 Chapter 2164 Tri

    Chapter 2164  Tri392nd lay gasping in a pool of his own blood. By his sides, his companions lay limply, having already bled out.


    The despair in their eyes was palpable, even in death.


    Never did they think that they, who had futures so bright and aspirations so tall, would fall like this.


    They were Ruin Masters. Even compared to others, they would have a bright future. Women, men¡­ money, endless pools of wealth¡­ prestige, respect¡­


    These were a number of things that they had already had before they were Lords, let alone now that they were Lords set on becoming the best of the best¡ªeven Dao Gods in the future.


    Even if they didn''t make their names ring in this Title Stele event, how many could? There were only 11 such geniuses they knew of that stood at that pinnacle before the appearance of Ryu. How could these 11 divide up the world all to themselves?


    There would obviously be those who remained to pick up what scraps were left.


    And now¡­


    There was no chance left at all.


    They were finished, their worlds dimming around them until they had nothing left to give, until they were worthy of gaining no more at all.


    And then the vision of 392 faded away.


    All the while, Ryu never bothered to learn his real name.


    An interesting ability, though¡­ Ryu thought to himself, looking at the flaking skin of the 392nd ranked Lord Ruin Master.


    In the vast universe, this ranking was obviously shockingly impressive. There were trillions of people to a single star segment, let alone the fact that there were trillions of star segments themselves.


    But what really caught Ryu''s attention wasn''t this. He, quite frankly, didn''t give a damn. This so-called 392nd ranked Ruin Master was such a joke before him that Ryu had a hard time getting up to care.


    If not for the fact that this was all to target the Ruin Master Guild, he wouldn''t have bothered to finish the challenge in the first place, opting to just kill them directly.


    However, this Dao was¡­ unique, albeit flawed.


    The reason 392''s skin was flaking so much was because he had a unique regenerative Dao. This Dao went deep enough to the point that it regenerated even his soul itself¡ªand that''s right, even Focus Qi.


    Ryu definitely didn''t expect that he would see such a thing in the world, not after he had gone through so much trouble to find a method.


    However, after some observation, he realized several problems.


    First, the replenishment to Focus Qi was even weaker than the Prayer Mat''s ability. This had been so useless to Ryu for such a long time that he hadn''t even bothered to rely on it since re-establishing his foundation in the True Martial World, let alone now that he was a Sky God who had surpassed a shocking Heaven''s Wrath Tribulation.


    Second, well¡­ just look at him.


    The price and backlash he faced for maintaining this Dao were as clear as day. It wasn''t just a matter of looking ugly¡ª392 was in constant pain. Even normal movements like walking or talking spiked pain through his body, let alone something like fighting or beyond.


    There was probably a reason that he had chosen to focus his attention on Ruin Mastery when his Dao was so very clearly well-suited to combat.


    Although the Focus Qi replenishment was poor, 392''s normal replenishment in terms of Vital Qi, Soul Quintessence, and normal Qi was actually quite impressive.


    Nothing compared to Ryu, but at least halfway there.


    And that was impressive in its own right.


    Ryu was suddenly¡­ very interested in the man.


    It was a shame that his Dao Heart was weak. If he had a Dao Heart at the level Ryu wanted, he would have never abandoned the path of combat because of the pain.


    Sure, the fact that he didn''t abandon the Dao completely went to show that he actually had quite some backbone. But backbone was something all these geniuses had.


    It wasn''t good enough to catch Ryu''s eye.


    Not entirely.


    And, because of that, he was unworthy to be Ryu''s Summon. But because his point of interest was his Dao, making him a Corpse Puppet wouldn''t be worth it either. Corpse Puppets wouldn''t be able to maintain such a thing.


    What was far more important for a Corpse Puppet was their baseline talent. That was why someone like Kira was so interesting for Ryu.


    But¡­


    Maybe¡­


    Thoughts flickered through Ryu''s head as he tried to figure out a method.


    What was a Dao? What was it really?


    Well, in the physical sense, it was the structure one grew in one''s Spiritual Foundation. In that case, it wasn''t nearly as incorporeal as it seemed or felt.


    Hm, if I can use something like a Fate Star to refine a Corpse Puppet, there''s no reason I can''t do this.


    Ryu waved a hand and chose to put 392 away for the time being.


    His thoughts whirled around in his head as a new path opened up to him.


    What if he, in the future, managed to find a way to replicate Daos and etch them into his Corpse Puppets?


    He was sure that others had similar methods and paths already, but they were often pseudo or quasi versions. Anyone with enough skill would just use Summons¡ªwhy bother to use a Corpse Puppet when you could use a Summon?


    But Ryu had exceptionally high requirements for his Summons. He could fix everything about their talent, but their Hearts¡­ he wanted them to be firm.


    Only that way could they reach the peak he had in mind for them.


    Only that way could he build an army that would surpass his wife''s.


    A wild grin spread across Ryu''s face as his thoughts became more and more real.


    He crossed into the next region, continuing to hunt down Ruin Masters one after another.


    Not a single one managed to survive, and because the news was somehow being spread to them, they began to attack directly a lot of the time, some even setting up ambushes as only Ruin Masters could.


    It was worthless.


    ¡­


    Boring.


    Ryu didn''t want to be wasting his time with this at all. But his promises to his wives came first. Since he had promised Ailsa that he would bring the Ruin Master Guild down to its knees, he would do exactly that.


    He just didn''t know why they insisted on giving such weak Ruin Masters such lofty titles and fanfare.


    102nd fell from Ryu''s hand in a bloody heap, another fool who tried to attack and then apologized profusely to challenge him to a Ruin.


    Ryu could tell at a glance that this "Ruin" was fake, but he still entered.


    102nd could only watch as Ryu carelessly sidestepped every trap she carefully laid out, only to get to the end and grip her throat mercilessly, tearing it out.


    Ryu didn''t react to the corpse dropping to the ground and turned to leave.


    It seems that it''s about time to check out what this top 100 has to offer. I have a feeling it''ll just be more disappointment.


    Ryu''s steps paused as he seemed to sense something. He looked around for a moment, a bland expression on his face before it turned up into a smirk.


    Then he continued walking.


    He crossed region after region, eventually returning to the very same region path that he had been on to begin with.


    Moving lengthwise across the regions was possible. Usually, this was a method used by those who felt like they needed a better chance at accumulating more Faith.


    However, there was a penalty to doing this as well. The requirements for breaking the Faith wall were lesser than if one continued forward, but it was still pretty steep.


    Doing it once was fine, but by the third or fourth time, you would already be paying far more than you would have by just going ahead the normal way.


    It could be said that taking this path was a final resort left to those in a group that was far too powerful.


    But Ryu had used this method like he was on a leisurely stroll and had no doubt pissed off quite a number of people. In fact, he bet that it wasn''t a coincidence that news of him was spreading so fast. It certainly wasn''t only the Ruin Master Guild geniuses getting this information.


    So, then¡­ what was the best way to deal with him? What was the best way to turn his own arrogance against him?


    Well, if Ryu was them, he would just find this "Ryu Tatsuya" and kill him. But he wasn''t them.


    So the real question is, what would Ryu do if he was them and shared their cowardly temperament?


    Well, in that case, he would take advantage of the fact the cost of Fate was only skyrocketing for him and clear out the Regions of Fate ahead of him before he could get to them.


    That way, he would have no choice but to take a different route forward as the lanes closed off, forcing him to expend far more effort.


    Ryu didn''t have to come all the way here to confirm this. He had already sensed it when it happened.


    What he had come here to do was chuckle. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Oh¡­


    And kill, of course.


    Even if he didn''t care about such petty schemes, it couldn''t be that just anyone would be allowed to target him as they pleased, right?


    Out from the shadow of what was without a doubt an already cleared region, an unfamiliar and yet oh-so-familiar face stepped out.


    Yeger Sun.


    The only Tri Fiend Childe of the Fiend Race.

 Chapter 2165 Yeger Sun

    Chapter 2165  Yeger SunYeger Sun wasn''t a man of great stature. Maybe because of the pain he had spent most of the first leg of his life in, his growth was considerably stunted. It was hard to grow properly if your days were spent fighting back against what should ahve been your inevitable death.


    Standing at just 5''7" or so¡ªrelatively below average for even a mortal human man, let alone a Fiend¡ªhe was slight of frame and small in presence. In fact¡­ he looked no different from a lanky human boy.


    Fiends would usually be very obviously Fiendish. They would have their elements weaved into their bodies, arms of fire and hair of flames. But Yeger didn''t look like a Fiend at all.


    It was uncanny how much he looked like the quiet kid at the back of the class, his somewhat pale complexion making people feel both pity and closeness to him.


    However, while that was what most would see, Ryu saw something completely different.


    Yeger''s frame was slight, but his aura¡­ that was a different matter entirely. Steady as a mountain, as looming as the moon.


    This man''s Dao Heart was on a completely different level, and in his life, this was probably the first time Ryu had met someone with a Dao Heart no less potent than his own at the same level.


    And, unlike the others¡­


    Yeger was only a Lower Lord as well.


    "Aria¡­ she is with you?" Yeger asked lightly.


    Ryu smiled. "She is. Do you want to see her?"


    "I do."


    "Interesting."


    After saying this, Ryu didn''t seem to be making any sort of move to bring Aria out. He had no desire to do so, and Yeger''s own desires had little to do with his own. Who cared if he wanted to see Aria?


    Yeger seemed to expect this and didn''t react very much. It didn''t seem like he was embarrassed in the slightest.


    He was a man with a heart as placid as a lake, as unmoved as an ancient tree. There was little that could be done to shake him¡ªcertainly not a little teasing.


    The wind blew silently between them, and their hair kicked up, one of flowing white and the other of black.


    A leaf was plucked from a tree, fluttering down and crossing their sights just perfectly enough that their line to the other was obscured for the briefest instant.


    The moment was less than a breath, but by the time the leaf fluttered by, the two had already vanished.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The two were like mirrors of one another¡ªa fist, a roundhouse, flowing freely into an elbow.


    Their forearms clashed, sparks flying through the weaving lines of fate as they both took a step back.


    The ground beneath them didn''t so much as compress, their control having reached an unconscious level.


    Or so it seemed.


    CRACK.


    Yeger''s gaze flickered as he turned back. His foot snapped a tree branch in two.


    He stared at it for a long while, almost forgetting that he was in the middle of battle.


    He wasn''t injured, his fist was just fine, and his inner organs were all in the right places. But right now, he felt like he had just suffered the worst loss of his life.


    He had actually¡­


    Lost in Control?


    Ryu didn''t follow up, his gaze having become empty and vacant at some unknown time. His previous smiling expression was replaced, a deathly seriousness coming from the depths of his soul.


    He suddenly took a step forward, and Yeger finally looked back.


    However¡­


    Yeger''s body flickered with darkness. He vanished from where he stood and appeared in a tree high a distance away.


    "It seems that¡­ I won''t be able to defeat you so easily. Now is not the time."


    With these words, Yeger flickered off into the distance.


    Suddenly, he crossed his arms before his face.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fist crashed down from above like a falling meteor.


    Yeger''s pupils constricted as a strong pulse came from Ryu''s arm. Claps of thunder echoed, and Yeger felt like his arms were just about to collapse.


    Unfortunately, his body was still quite weak right now, having only just crossed the threshold he needed. At this point, he was rapidly improving every day¡ªbut it wasn''t quite enough¡­


    Not to deal with a monster like Ryu.


    What shocked Yeger the most, though, was that Ryu had seemingly appeared from nowhere. He hadn''t even sensed the fluctuations properly; otherwise, he wouldn''t have been caught so off guard.


    He shot back with such force it was a shock when he landed lightly on the ground. This time, there was no shattering of a branch.


    Yeger looked up, meeting Ryu''s arrogant gaze. Although the latter hadn''t spoken, his meaning was clear.


    You don''t get to decide when you come and go as you please.


    Yeger''s eyes narrowed. Truly a loose cannon.


    As one might expect, Yeger wasn''t the type to care if others thought he was a coward. He had only come to test whether Ryu could be taken down now. In the case he couldn''t be, he would just return and wait for the appropriate moment.


    But now, Ryu seemed to have no intention of letting him leave.


    They were just people with two different approaches and thought processes. Ryu didn''t care where or when; in fact, he hardly cared about the Title Stele itself.


    All he cared about was fighting to his heart''s content, about fulfilling the dream he had had since he was a child¡ªto stand at the top of the world of geniuses.


    He didn''t care to do it for the sight of others; all he cared about was his own personal fulfillment.


    And Yeger wasn''t about to rob him of that.


    Not today.


    A fiendish grin spread across Ryu''s placid features. But somehow, that wildness didn''t reach his eyes this time. They instead remained deathly still.


    He was amped up.


    BANG!


    Ryu kicked at the skies, his body falling so quickly he left streaks in the air.


    Yeger stood there calmly, and after some thought, a pair of scimitars appeared in his fair, pale palms.


    Chi.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs appeared at some unknown time, their blades crossing in a brief spark before they retracted and erupted into a flurry.


    Ryu immediately found that the size of his weapons slowed his speed compared to Yeger considerably. By comparison, though, his reach advantage was suffocating.


    Yeger knew what he had to do, slipping down beneath a swing with a parry and encroaching on Ryu''s space.


    But that was when Ryu''s body suddenly became as light as a feather. His Azure Cloud Vein Bone Structure rumbled to life, and his hair almost floated above his neck in a gentle sway before he accelerated. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs more than doubled in speed, and Yeger leaned back swiftly, barely dodging an arcing blade that nearly severed his head from his shoulders.


    Ta. Ta. Ta.


    The young Fiend completed a rapid series of somersaults backward, but when he had just regained his footing, he found Ryu''s great swordstaff still piercing right for his neck.


    There was a flash in the Fiend''s eyes, and a bit of his coolness gave way. It wasn''t to fear, but rather dissatisfaction and a hint of annoyance.


    Did this Ryu Tatsuya really think that¡­ he was afraid of him?


    SHIIIIII!


    The wind kicked up and then suddenly stilled to a quiet vacancy. Time seemed to still, and a foggy darkness coated the already black scimitars.


    BANG!


    The blades met once again. There were no sparks this time, and both seemed to feed into one another.


    Darkness swallowed darkness as Ryu''s own black great sword met Yeger''s scimitar.


    Somehow, the clash felt hollow, almost as though the sound was reverberating through a completely different dimension.


    Winds kicked up as well, but just as hollow, almost as though the flapping of their robes was triggering on its own, rather than from the harsh howling of air.


    BANG!


    The two suddenly separated as though the space had finally been overwhelmed, their Control unable to keep things steady for long enough to continue.


    "Light. Dark. Space."


    Ryu said these words casually, but they made the more focused Yeger almost collapse.


    The three-elemental Fiend Childe stared at Ryu for a good long while.


    And then¡­


    DUDUM.


    Yeger''s body suddenly expanded, his hair becoming a twisting nest of black, silver, and radiant gold. Like a stream of stars flowing into a river behind him, it continued to grow even as his body did, not stopping until the young Fiend was well over seven feet tall. Still short for a male Fiend, but several inches taller than Ryu.


    He didn''t say a word, not even asking how Ryu had figured out what his three elements were.


    Since he wanted to fight, they could fight.


    DUDUM.


    White scales burst across Ryu''s body, his wings flaring out as claws extended from his hands.


    Their auras soared in unison.


    Chi.


    One of Yeger''s scimitars suddenly became a blinding gold as he swung out in a single, sweeping strike.

 Chapter 2166 Find

    Chapter 2166  FindBANG!


    It felt like a world of gold and black collided. The colors swirled and intertwined around one another, the figures responsible for their sharpness vanishing. Their movements were so fast that the eye could only possibly track the arcs of light and dark they left in the air.


    These sweeping arches filled the skies, leveling trees and splitting the clouds.


    The sound they produced seemed far more muffled than it should have been, as though their control superseded the laws of sound themselves, suppressing them to the level they so chose.


    They blazed trails through the skies, their movements sharp and agile, then becoming languid and exaggerated. They shifted between the two styles of light and dark with practiced ease, competing to see which of them had the edge in comprehension.


    The answer was obvious.  S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu''s golden blades were just a little bit sharper, just a little bit quicker, just a little bit more agile.


    His black blades were just a little bit more imposing, more all-encompassing, more suffocating.


    A dichotomy of light and quick versus dark and heavy weaved between his arms, and the gap between the Ice Jade Crystal Body in dual wielding and anyone else reared its head.


    Ryu could feel it¡­ Yeger''s right arm was his weaker one, just by the tiniest bit, but it was there.


    While he¡­


    Had no such weakness.


    CHI. CHI. CHI.


    BANG!


    Yeger retreated a step and heavily dropped a foot to the ground. His toes sank into the winds as though pressing into soft soil before he accelerated forward once again, appearing to slash at Ryu''s neck in a brief instant of time.


    Ryu flipped his dark great swordstaff in his hand, piercing its blade toward the ground and aiming the large flat of its body at Yeger as though to use it like a shield.


    Yeger''s expression flickered, but it was too late. His blade slipped right into the empty spine of the swordstaff just as Ryu twisted his wrist.


    Yeger''s scimitar was caught in the torsion, his wrist nearly snapping beneath the strain. But worse than that, his blow missed, piercing just under Ryu''s armpit in time for him to press the blade to his body with an elbow.


    Ryu slashed out with his second great swordstaff and kicked in the same motion. His body should have been off balance, especially since he was sending both attacks from the same half of his body, but he did it so fluidly and suddenly that it was hard to pick out the fault until it was too late.


    Yeger was forced to block the blade, only to suffer a foot right in the gut.


    Despite his attempts to summon spatial qi, it was bent and suppressed beneath Ryu''s calculations, canceling them out perfectly.


    The young Fiend Childe was sent flying, crashing into one ancient tree after another and ripping them out from their very roots as he continued to fly.


    Chi.


    One of his scimitars fell to the ground by Ryu''s side, piercing so deeply that even its hilt almost disappeared.


    Ryu carelessly pressed his own great swordstaff into the ground, reaching down and picking the scimitar up. He looked at it as though he was trying to see through something curious.


    "You''re not much of a warrior, losing your weapon like that," Ryu said lightly.


    Ryu pierced his second great swordstaff into the ground and flicked a finger out at the scimitar. A resonant hum filled the air, and leaves in all directions were suddenly sliced in two, then three, then four.


    "Hm¡­"


    Yeger slowly stood in the far-off distance, wiping blood from his lips with a forearm. Looking at Ryu, there was a slight hint of gloominess between his brows¡ªnot out of rage or unwillingness, but dissatisfaction.


    Part of that dissatisfaction was toward his own performance, and the second part was that he didn''t want to be fighting this battle in the first place.


    "I do find it fascinating. I wonder why the Ruin Master Guild and the Fiends are so close."


    Ryu looked up from the blade and toward Yeger. "I''ve been trying to understand your relationship for a long while now, but in a rare showing by me, it still confuses me. Then there''s the relation of all of that to the Fey.


    "Well, I assume that you and the Fey are actually two sides of the same coin. The roots of your two Races are far too similar to be ignored, but therein lies a question¡­ why be separated in the first place?"


    Ryu flicked a finger at the scimitar again, a smile beginning to play on his once dull features.


    "Honestly speaking, right now, you''re too weak to be interesting. I was expecting a great battle, but your comprehension is lacking, your body is weak, and if I wanted to, I could have killed you just now.


    "That said¡­ unlike a certain Young Mistress Nightly, you haven''t reached a bottleneck. You''re rapidly growing every day, and you''re probably only, what¡­ 5% of the way through to your peak potential? Let''s hope it''s more than that."


    Ryu waved an arm, and the scimitar soared through the skies, piercing into a tree right by Yeger''s cheek.


    "You can go. You bore me. Why don''t you go reach that full potential of yours and then come back?"


    Ryu''s smile became a dark grin.


    Yeger could feel his Dao Heart twitching. This sort of open scheme, the kind that targeted his Heart for cultivation, made him feel inferior and insignificant¡­ it was the most effective kind against a genius like him.


    "¡­ You will¡­" Yeger paused and then sealed his mouth shut tightly with a press of his jaw and a purse of his lips.


    He was Yeger Sun. He had no need to leave behind such threatening words. When the time came, he would make Ryu regret today.


    He pulled his scimitar out from the tree, shattering its enormous form to pieces. Then, he turned and left.


    Ryu was true to his word, just standing there as Yeger vanished, his thoughts unknown to all but himself.


    Did he actually just want Yeger to get stronger? Maybe in part, but it was only in part.


    The things he had said about the Ruin Master Guild and the Fiends were what truly interested him the most.


    There was a reason Yeger, of all people, had appeared when Ryu had only been targeting the Ruin Master Guild all this time.


    They were connected in some way, and that much had been obvious ever since he had returned from the Fiend World. It wasn''t a coincidence that the Ruin Master Guild had appeared there as well.


    But why?


    Ryu was actually fairly certain that Sarriel would know more.


    Sarriel only had one goal in life, and that was to rebuild her Fey Clan. Because of this, she wanted to find a powerful husband who she could have equally powerful children with.


    But if one thought about it¡­ why would she then choose to suppress herself?


    She was obviously so much stronger than those Blue Moon and Falling Snow characters¡ªat least back then¡ªso why bother to treat them like real candidates?


    Logically speaking, if she was just going to suppress herself, then she might as well just pluck out any random man with decent looks and have children with him. It would probably be easier too, considering his talent would tip the odds of pregnancy in their favor so long as he was weaker.


    So why not?


    The obvious answer was that she had learned of something that changed her approach. Maybe she hadn''t given up on finding a husband, but she had certainly placed the matter on the back burner for now.


    And the only thing that would make Sarriel do such a thing was if she had found new information about why her Fey Clan was destroyed in the first place.


    As far as Ryu knew, the destruction of the Fey of Sacrum was related to the Ancient Beasts. This was part of the rivalry between the two races, and eventually, in their battle, it was the Ancient Beasts that came out on top to become the dominant and most favored Race of the Heavens.


    This battle played out countless times in countless worlds, and sometimes the Ancient Beasts would win, while sometimes the Fey would win.


    There was obviously something about this battle across worlds, across space, across time, that held a secret to it that shook the foundation of Sarriel''s belief.


    And now, Ryu was suddenly very curious about it all.


    Letting Yeger go now was in part to satisfy his desire to beat him at his very best, and another to figure out what role he had to play in all of this as well. Because something told him, given the Fate swirling around him, this Tri Elemental Fiend Childe was quite the pawn piece.


    Hm¡­


    Ryu''s lip quirked.


    Maybe he should put a little more effort into finding a certain pointy-eared beauty with violent eyes.


    He was sure that she was missing him by now.


    If she couldn''t give him the information he wanted, he would just have to spank it out of her.

 Chapter ?2167 Hunt

    Chapter ?2167 HuntRyu stood before a Faith barrier. Ahead, there was a new region waiting for him. This was the path that he was supposed to take from the very beginning, but now, things had certainly changed quite substantially...


    Not that it mattered.


    He passed through with ease, his thoughts still considering his battle with Yeger. He wasn''t blowing his own trumpet; he really could have defeated him with quite some ease. Maybe even easier than he had defeated Young Mistress Nightly.


    But what fascinated him was the weapon Yeger had been carrying around.


    Until now, maybe what had fascinated him most about the enemies he had come across were their weapons. It wasn''t that they all had the same sort of specialness, but the exact opposite, actually.


    Each new opponent he faced seemed to have a new way to view the world. Their techniques reflected that as well, but none more obviously than their weapons.


    Slight tweaks here and there actually made quite a large difference, funny enough. Ryu crossed the barrier while he was lost in thought, an unexpected wave of heat hitting him in billowing waves.


    He looked ahead, a sea of gold and red before him. The change was quite abrupt and without any sort of rhyme or reason.


    Before, he had been in a normal forest, and now suddenly everything had changed before him.


    Hm...


    Ryu looked off to the side, wondering how he should go about finding Sarriel. It seemed that the change in atmosphere wasn''t enough to make him care for very long.


    But... he felt that it wouldn''t be so easy. If so, he probably would have found her before already.


    He had a feeling that among those hiding themselves from the world right now, Sarriel was certainly among them. She had always been someone who kept her cards close to her chest, and she was very much invested in hiding her potential.


    That was to say that if she hid herself, it would be difficult for even Ryu to find her, and it was obvious enough that that was exactly the sort of situation he was dealing with right now.


    That said... it wasn''t necessarily impossible to find her.


    After all, if Ryu just assumed that she was one of the handful of figures strong enough


    J


    to hide herself from Fate, then he could pick her out just like that.


    She would likely be hiding her combat style and even her gender as well, so he could narrow it down even further.


    It didn''t take Ryu much effort to land on a single one of them and grin,


    It was a woman who was controlling three Corpse Puppets.


    Sarriel was, indeed, a Summoning Necromancer. During their first battle, she had definitely summoned an Ice Queen to do battle. But these Corpse Puppets were a few that Ryu had never seen before.


    That said, Sarriel rarely used her puppets in battle, so this was the perfect method of hiding herself. It hid her aspects as a Fey, and also her two strongest assets...


    Her Heavenly Pupils and her katana.


    Seems I have a date, then.


    Iam stood in silence.


    He was constantly receiving reports about the state of things, but he had his own problems to deal with.


    The suppression of this world around him was suffocating, so much so that he even had to be cautious with how he approached Lords.


    This wouldn''t last for long, but he knew well that he had to take things one step at a time... especially since he had joined late.


    The weight of the matters he was facing now wasn''t lost on him. He knew that he was being used; he knew that he was essentially being sent to die. But...


    His gaze was calm.


    He was a Dao God. Even compared to these little geniuses running around everywhere, he had the Dao Heart to reflect that. And his plans, his goals, his aspirations...


    They wouldn''t end here.


    With a step, lam finally found what he was looking for. It looked like a stairwell, formed from ancient stone and covered in moss that was no less wizened by the annals of history, randomly placed in the ground.


    A Ruin.


    He had carefully chosen this Ruin because the plans he had for this mission were very different from what others might expect.


    What neither the Ruin Master nor Ryu would know was that lam had been studying these sorts of things for a very long time.


    In the past, Ryu had wondered why someone like lam would lug around dead weight like Kira and the others. It was odd.


    A Dao God wouldn''t just casually take disciples like that, and normally, even the weakest Dao Gods would have disciples that were more powerful.


    They were simply too inferior.


    Though their talent couldn''t be looked down upon so easily, and it was certainly up to par, their hearts were lacking. And the heart was far more important in deciding how


    far someone would go.


    For a long while, even Ryu himself didn''t realize just how much of a bridge he covered with his heart alone. Not until he actually gained the talent to match, that is. That was when he truly started imposing his will onto the world.


    However, what was important here was why Iam had cared enough to take these few in... and the answer could be explained quite simply...


    Experimentation.


    It didn''t seem so, especially not considering the fact the three seemed perfectly fine. They didn''t have any marks on them, nor did they seem to have suffered any sort of


    trauma.


    But they didn''t need to have. All the while, lam had been observing them in silence, testing their limits, and seeing what changes they might experience. In fact... the fact their temperaments were so bad was precisely why he was so interested in them in


    the first place.


    Kira had been too cowardly to go after the Bloodlines he should have to make himself


    truly strong...


    Blue was a hypocritical coward who could only take killing others while fearing


    coming to harm herself.


    And then there was a certain young man of the True Martial World, a Martial God descendant who hated Ryu to the bone. He was probably the oddest choice of them all because he showed signs of teetering on the edge of a strong Dao Heart.


    But it was precisely this teetering that was so intriguing to lam... because it allowed him to observe the world from a completely different lens.


    With a step, he entered the Ruin, slowly making his way through with leisure.


    There was one thing about these Ruins that was different from those in the outside


    Realm.


    Usually, Ruins would have some sort of restrictions on them. Though not obvious on the surface, those that left Ruins behind would obviously not want them falling into the hands of those without potential or those far stronger than them. As such, they


    would limit the cultivation.


    However, here... there was no limitation. And yet, the difficulty was set to the Lord


    Realm.


    That meant one very important thing...


    Iam could clear them with absolute ease.


    Soon, lam got to the very end and found himself staring at exactly what he wanted out


    of this place: its Inheritance.


    Using his own power here might be possible, but it would be like climbing uphill, and how much he suffered would be far worse than any damage he dealt.


    But... what if he built a new power?


    Of course, building one from scratch would be almost impossible in such a short time.


    Well, no. It would actually be quite easy. The real difficulty would be in building one


    that could match up to these world-ending geniuses.


    So he wouldn''t.


    Well, he wouldn''t do it himself.


    Instead, he would conveniently use the Ruins that were here to do so, building an


    avatar that could replace the function of his Dao. Or rather, be built from his Dao. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Iam took another step forward, crossing the final barriers with ease and appearing before the Inheritance. With one hand, he waved out a strong pulse of Control, and with the other, he grasped Fate.


    The Inheritance was sucked into the former, while a great surge of Quasi-Embryonic Qi was sucked into the other.


    If Ryu had been there, he would have realized that Iam had actually just done exactly


    what he had. He took all the Fate for himself, cutting off the Ruin Master Guild''s piece. Except, unlike Ryu, rather than storing all that Fate away, he began to form it, mold it. His gaze flickered with dense lightning as an avatar of him formed...


    And then he took out something else.


    A crystalline armor.


    Once again, this was something that Ryu would have recognized immediately... this


    material... wasn''t it the very same one that his daggers were formed from? The very same material he had stolen away that day? The very material that formed the weapons he simply didn''t care to use any longer because they would only hinder his


    progress?


    And now, when lam slipped this armor on... his avatar fused into his body, and the volatile air around him shifted and calmed.


    Now... he could be more relaxed.


    It seemed that he would be able to hunt a certain Ryu Tatsuya very soon.

 Chapter 2168 Ruined

    Chapter 2168  RuinedRyu sat high in a tree with a trunk so thick it rivaled a mountain. Like an ancient mother tree, it covered the skies with its canopy.


    And yet, this tree was in the middle of a world that felt forged of brimstone and fire.


    Despite that, it was extremely cool this high up, as though the tree itself was shading Ryu from even the heat despite being rooted in the endless pools of lava.


    Ryu didn''t seem to be in a rush, just sitting there, swinging his legs. His mind was in an endless state of peace, and he wasn''t nearly as hurried as he had been before.


    And then, he looked over toward a certain location.


    His pupils trembled, and the sights before him seemed to zoom in. Soon, his sight had crossed millions of miles to land on a shadowy figure just crossing a Fate Barrier.


    The moment his eyes landed on them, they looked up as though to meet his gaze from so far away at the very same time.


    Although Ryu couldn''t see their face or expression, he knew at that moment that they frowned. This was a normal enough reaction. After all, Ryu hadn''t used the undetectable [Third Perspective]. Instead, he had used his normal sight, allowing the person to sense him. He had no intention of hiding himself.


    So, it was only natural that someone capable of hiding themselves from the prying eyes of others would be able to sense such a blatant lock-on.


    Then there was a flash of annoyance, and it was all too obvious to Ryu that he had, indeed, found her.


    SHIIIIIING!


    The sound came a fraction late. If Ryu had reacted to it instead of the beam of slicing light that appeared before him in an instant, he would have certainly been split in two.


    But how could he make such a mistake?


    His body flashed, appearing on another branch as the one beneath him was severed in two, lava spilling out from its innards.


    Bark of glowing black pulsed with life as the tree tried to heal itself, but it seemed that Sarriel''s attack wasn''t so easily dealt with, even for this behemoth.


    Ryu raised a finger and tapped at the air. The lava around the region where the shadow stood rippled and suddenly attacked her from all sides.


    It was then Sarriel''s Corpse Puppets moved, acting to deflect the piercing lances of lava.


    They all shattered on impact.


    "RYU!"


    Ryu chuckled. The voice definitely didn''t travel so far, but Ryu could feel the words she was speaking quite well.


    Trying to use those weak Corpse Puppets against him was really nothing more than a joke. Sarriel should know better, but as cautious as she liked to pretend to be, when it came to him, she seemed to forget all of her rules¡­ including that of caution.


    She was more like a wild firecracker in his presence, and doing something like trying to prove to him that her Corpse Puppets alone were enough to deal with him was precisely something that would make her feel much better.  S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unfortunately, this time, it didn''t work out. This wasn''t the same Sarriel by any stretch.


    But so what?


    Ryu pushed himself off the branch, taking a step into the air and crossing thousands of miles with a single bound. With a thought, he took out a bow¡ªnone other than his grandfather''s.


    The spectators were shocked by this change, not only because they didn''t know why Ryu had wasted even more time waiting for what seemed to be an unknown existence, but because this was the first time they had seen him using a bow.


    They were certain that he was the most proficient with those unconventional weapons of his, so why would he bring out a bow?


    Although they assumed that it might be because Sarriel was too weak, why wouldn''t he just use his fists? He seemed quite proficient in close combat as well.


    The oddest part was that they had a small understanding of Sarriel as well. Without her Corpse Puppets, she was nothing.


    Or so they thought.


    Ryu grinned, pulling back his bowstring.


    The aura of a Bow God filled the skies, and countless hearts were shaken.


    What these people didn''t know was that Ryu was quite close to opening up a new path entirely. Just because they didn''t feel a God Aura coming from his great swordstaffs, it was beyond any other God Aura he had.


    But many who were spectating now assumed that all this time, Ryu had never used his true main weapon¡­ until now.


    SHU! SHU! SHU!


    Three arrows cut through the air in quick succession, and Sarriel grit her teeth beneath her mask and cloak. She knew that Ryu was doing this on purpose, but there was little she could do to change things.


    She could only respond with a flip of her palm. A sword that had moved too fast for even the crowd to notice earlier appeared once again, slashing out continuously.


    A tempest of wind kicked up, and three sword strikes met each of the arrows. It was all seamless, and it made use of skill to counter power¡­


    Or so it seemed.


    BOOM!


    An echo of Nine Revolution Skybreaker resonated and¡­


    CHI.


    Sarriel''s arm was blown back beneath the pressure, throwing her timing off. She was forced to take a heavy step back as the last arrow pierced right into her body.


    Dead.


    Her figure froze up, and then she fell over¡ªa corpse.


    Ryu shook his head. She actually managed to trick me. Just what level have her eyes reached?


    ¡­


    In an unknown region, a pair of violet eyes snapped open, seething with rage.


    "Ryu¡­ Tatsuya¡­"


    Sarriel was absolutely livid, but inwardly, she was also somewhat shocked.


    That was a 20% clone, and Ryu still treated it like it was a joke, destroying it in a single volley of attacks.


    Before, she could toy with him with even a 5% True Clone, but now¡­ just what happened to him? What kind of breakthrough had he experienced?


    There was obviously a large gap between 20% and 100%, but it wasn''t large enough that Sarriel felt any sort of ease. If anything, this made her increase the place Ryu held in her heart severalfold.


    This matter was too shocking. How could one person increase in strength so quickly, and in such a short time?


    Although she had had a shocking and vast improvement since the last time she fought Ryu, that was because she had been waiting and biding her time.


    It had to be remembered that Ryu lost 999 years due to his mutated Rebirth Talent. Sarriel had already left for the True Martial World even before he experienced that, so her leg up on him was substantial.


    It wasn''t just a matter of training time, but also accumulation. Sarriel had been suppressing herself for a long time in order to burst forth with everything she had in this moment¡­ only to realize the man that had been by her side for so long just might have left her behind.


    Ryu had not only managed to catch up in a few dozen years, but he was showing signs of firmly suppressing her.


    Sarriel''s expression grew dark.


    He was also causing her problems.


    Creating another True Clone was easy. Creating one in the perfect circumstances where someone wouldn''t be able to link them again would be far more troublesome now, especially since Ryu had already "killed" her.


    Plus, before, she had just been planning on swapping her True Clone with her real body at the last moment. Because of that, her true body was still in one of the very first regions while her True Clone had gone on ahead.


    That meant if she wanted to go again, she would have to restart from the very beginning.


    She was so frustrated that she almost went insane. Luckily, her Dao Heart was incredibly firm.


    She could do it¡ª


    "Oh hey, there you are."


    The familiar voice made Sarriel''s eyes almost pop out of their sockets.


    At some unknown time, a handsome man with flowing white hair and silvery eyes had squatted down in front of her, so close it almost looked like he was trying to touch his nose to hers.


    Sarriel struck out instinctively, only for the man to lean back and dodge with a natural flow to his actions. Her hand swung through nothing but air, missing entirely.


    "That''s not very nice."


    "You insufferable bastard! You''ve ruined everything!"


    Ryu grinned. "Is there a need to hide such a beautiful face? The Heavens would shed real tears if you keep hiding yourself. It''s just unacceptable."


    "I''m going to kill you!"


    "Please do. Do you know how many boring fights I''ve had in here already? What happened to this being a great collection of geniuses?"


    "DIE!"


    A sword swung out in a mighty tempest. This was Sarriel''s true strength, carrying a power with it that could flatten mountains to ash just by carelessly flying overhead.


    The wild grin on Ryu''s face only widened.

 Chapter 2169 Seven

    Chapter 2169  SevenRyu dodged back, the tip of Sarriel''s sword just barely grazing him. However, despite the fact it certainly touched him¡ªalbeit to a small extent¡ªit left nothing but a white mark.


    Sarriel''s pupils constricted. She knew the world of her sword, and she also knew exactly how sharp it was.


    Likewise, she knew that if Ryu wanted to dodge completely, a mere fraction of a millimeter would be what stopped him. That meant he had let it happen on purpose.


    He was showing her that the gap between them¡­


    Was no longer there.


    In fact, he was showing her something even more profound than that. He had grown to the point that if she wanted to mess around with him to test his bottom line¡­ he could mess around with her right back.


    "Fine," she growled.


    Sarriel didn''t wait any longer.


    Her battles with Ryu tended to follow the same script. She wouldn''t only show as much as she had to, pulling him into an ebb and flow until he was forced to respond to her rhythm instead of the other way around.


    But now, it was different.


    Not only had he grown to the point where she couldn''t afford to get away with something like that anymore¡­


    He had also truly pissed her off.


    Looking at that smug smile on his face, she wanted nothing more than to rip his lips off his face.


    She unleashed a shriek of fury, her black hair falling in a rain of black stars, a dark blue frosty dew flowing in the undercurrents beneath it.


    Shingles of black ice coated her body as she took a step forward, accelerating so quickly that Ryu almost couldn''t react.


    Interesting¡­


    Icy Runes bloomed across the surface of Ryu''s body as well, forming nodes that linked the white scales that appeared in succession as though building worlds of snowstorms in each individual shingle.


    Ninefold Frostbane.


    The speed domain around Sarriel found itself countered just in time. The blade had appeared at Ryu''s neck, so sharp and fast that a layer of frost was already appearing down his collarbone.


    There was a flash at Ryu''s forearm, and his great swordstaff appeared.


    DING!


    BANG! S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The echo of metal and then a reverberating explosion of air separated the two.


    Their feet dug into the ground, their bodies sliding back with a sharp speed.


    Sarriel''s eyes practically popped out, red veins pooling around them as blood vessels pumped and writhed.


    That wasn''t just any movement technique. It was a high-level application of her eyes and her Ice Inheritance that could influence even time and one''s perception of it.


    On the one hand, her eyes distorted truth and falsehood, and on the other, her ice took hold of the laws of time, icing them over.


    It was far more complicated than just this, but the important point was that even someone with Time Affinity alone shouldn''t have been able to counter it. That was because it influenced time by proxy and could only be countered through the same proxies.


    Who knew that Ryu would also have an Ice Affinity Bone Structure that was capable of influencing Time?


    Not only did he have one, but he had seen through her ability in an instant, knowing exactly how to counter it even with the distortion of time active.


    Just¡­ what level had he reached?


    Sarriel slowly lowered her sword, her back straightening as her hair danced in the wind. Her cool, violet eyes regained a large majority of their calm, none of the previous anxiety or fury clear for anyone to see.


    She took a breath and exhaled slowly. The descent of her sword split into several afterimages, and for the first time, Ryu sensed something.


    Her Dao.


    There were two things that Ryu had never seen from Sarriel. He had never quite sensed the full extent of her Dao, and beyond that, he was certain she had a Natural Enlightenment likely no less shocking than his Shrine Mountain Natural Enlightenment.


    There were certainly other things she was hiding, but these two required the largest focus, because how powerful they were would truly make or break everything.


    And now, it seemed that she had finally given up on holding back.


    A grin spread across Ryu''s face as his second great swordstaff appeared in his palm.


    "Don''t disappoint me, woman. All that edging for so many years¡­ you''d better make it good."


    Sarriel''s lips parted, and she spoke.


    But just like when Ryu used [¡ª Judgment], and when Nightly had tried to speak out her Title as well, nothing came out as though the Heavens themselves had muted it.


    Her face began to change expressions.


    From anger, to contempt, to disgust, to fear, to happiness, then sadness, and finally surprise.


    She distilled all those countless personalities into seven perfected forms.


    At the same time, the afterimages of her blade seemed to also come to a stop, forming exactly seven as well, fanning downward into a beautiful array that hurt to look at¡ªas though it was becoming more confusing to stare at the more one did.


    Sarriel grew in size, six more heads and six more pairs of arms appearing on her body. But then, with a shudder, it all fused into one.


    Sarriel''s aura skyrocketed.


    From the Lord Realm to the Sovereign Realm.


    From the Sovereign Realm to the God Realm.


    From the God Realm to something that vaguely felt like it was beyond.


    She stood at two and a half meters tall, her bearing just as graceful, her looks even more gorgeous, and yet now she just felt¡­ unapproachable, an entity that stood beyond all things as they saw them.


    "Ha¡­" Ryu chuckled a bit, his pupils trembling. Just what was this, exactly? This Dao¡­ not only could he not see through its depth immediately, it felt that it just might stand on the same level as his own.


    Sarriel opened her eyes, seven pupils swirling within in a gorgeous array, their irises overlapping like lotus petals.

 Chapter 2170 No Intention

    Chapter 2170  No Intention''A flaw¡­''


    Ryu saw it immediately. It was the one imperfection of Sarriel''s Dao.


    If she had managed to fuse those Pupils together, he would have no choice but to admit that she had formed a Dao on the same level as his own.


    But the fact she hadn''t meant that she was just a step below.


    That said¡­ that singular step below was more than made up for by the result.


    Ryu''s Dao was purely auxiliary for the most part and didn''t have such a direct impact on combat prowess. And as far as he could tell, this was just the surface of Sarriel''s Dao.


    There was definitely more.


    And yet, even in this situation, he chuckled.


    "Not bad."


    Sarriel didn''t respond, her sword raising in an illusory mirage. It felt like every one of her actions took place both in reality and a dream world, making it impossible to tell what was true and what was false. Maybe¡­ even her cultivation was that way as well.


    "But I can see three flaws with your Dao already. The first is obvious¡­ your Pupils aren''t fused."


    Sarriel still didn''t reply.


    "The second is that in this state, your eyes are occupied, and you''re unable to use their abilities. In fact, you likely only succeeded in forming this Dao by relying on your eyes as a conduit for your soul and Dao Heart."


    Sarriel still didn''t respond, but her once placid eyes now had a hint of danger in them, as though she was warning Ryu not to piss her off any more than he had already.


    But how could Ryu pay attention to such a threat?


    "The third weakness is that one of its foundational abilities is worthless against me. Trying to fool the eyes of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils is a fool''s errand, don''t you think?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu flickered and vanished, a blade passing through where he had just been standing. But the problem was that Sarriel didn''t seem to have ever moved at all.


    However, Ryu himself wasn''t wasting any more time.


    "Earth''s Gate. Open."


    Ryu''s Quasi Embryonic Qi pulsed in his body. Right now, he needed more than he could easily give on a casual push.


    In that moment, his aura flourished, but to the astonishment of those paying attention to the battle, especially with the shocking changes to Sarriel¡­


    He was still in the Lord Realm?


    "Heaven''s Gate. Open."


    Fate churned and twisted. Relying on his eyes alone, Ryu could no longer leap an entire cultivation realm while relying on his Heaven and Earth Gate.


    But with his Embryonic Silk Meridians¡­


    Ryu''s cultivation shot into the Sovereign Realm.


    He stood like a towering mass, his aura buffeting against Sarriel''s.


    One was a God, and the other¡­ he should have been an insignificant ant, and yet it felt as though they stood on the same playing field.


    And then they moved.


    Of the spectators, there was a sizeable portion of them who thought themselves to be powerful Dao Gods. They had the sight and insight of such characters, and they had worked their entire lives to reach their current levels.


    They had earned every inch they had.


    And yet, watching just the start of this battle¡­ it felt like they were experiencing something beyond themselves, something that stood on a level all to itself.


    It didn''t even feel right to speak of the skies overturning and the lands being blown into an upheaval. That was because not the slightest hint of that was occurring.


    In fact, on the ground, they almost looked like a pair of mortals swinging their blades in a choreographed dance.


    It was just that their rhythm and cadence were infinitely faster.


    Dodging blades by a hairbreadth and missing strikes by measures no less acute. They danced on the edge of life and death, keeping up a furious pace as though they didn''t know fatigue.


    The grass didn''t so much as bend beneath their feet, the wind pressure of their strikes vanishing into the pull of nature as though their attacks had always been one with them. Gliding through the laws of the world, it didn''t feel like they were watching a man and woman battle at all¡­ but rather like watching two forces of nature.


    And that was only further bolstered when it really did begin to feel like that.


    The landscape finally began to change, and yet, rather than just being destroyed like it would be in any other battle, it was almost like the trees, the grass, the clouds themselves began to fight on behalf of these two.


    Ryu stomped forward, and the ground shook, a crack opening up to swallow Sarriel whole.


    Sarriel stepped forward herself as though she didn''t sense the danger. Vines weaved out beneath her feet, catching her plant. Then, with a sweep of her seven-foot-long katana, grass split the blades, forming invisible lines of sword qi that bombarded against Ryu''s side.


    There was a strong wind for just a moment as Ryu''s wings flared outward. His aura radiated out, and a tree swayed by his side, its roots bending and twisting as its trunk blocked the oncoming rain.


    The battle only became more shocking and mysterious, defying common sense and reason in cultivation¡­ not to anyone but Gods.


    This was True God Control, a Control that went beyond just suppressing the world around you and forcing laws to remain intact, but a Control that wielded the laws of nature as though an extension of your own techniques.


    And yet, it was being used in the hands of two Lords at a level most Gods wouldn''t reach in their entire lifetimes.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The two suddenly separated, their relatively quiet battle exploding with a cascade of cacophonous noise.


    Breathing heavily, the two met one another''s gaze, their expressions deathly serious.


    It seemed that their arrogance had been tempered just the slightest bit.


    But then Ryu smiled. "Alright. Tell you what, I''m quite lenient with my women. If you can survive the next onslaught, I''ll apologize and then marry you. If you can''t, then I''ll forgive you and then marry you."


    Sarriel''s serious gaze flashed with rage, but it was only a moment before her eyes widened in shock.


    Ryu''s grin softened into a gentle smile.


    "Sorry, wife. I have no intention of losing."


    Empyrean Warframe.

 Chapter 2171 Lethal

    Chapter 2171  LethalRyu''s aura completely changed, and in that instant, it was like he was the world. Even with all the Heavenly Pupils in existence, Sarriel was having a hard time tracking exactly where Ryu was, almost as though he had vanished despite the fact she was certain that the man stood right in front of her.


    There was a shocking realization in that moment that Ryu hadn''t just managed to catch up to her, but he had actually surpassed her. However, it only flashed for a moment before her Dao Heart became akin to an unbridled wild beast, lashing out against its chains and roaring to the top of its lungs.


    In that moment, Sarriel seemed to have become a completely different person as well.


    Everything she had done until this point had been undone by Ryu. All her effort, all her secrecy, all her tempering. She had suffered so much humiliation in her life, so many times she had been forced to lower her head when she didn''t want to.


    Contrary to what Ryu believed, this didn''t make her heart weaker; it didn''t dull her edge either. Instead, every time, her will became sharper, more unbridled. She remembered every instance of those times, and they became akin to flames flickering within the depths of her soul, shuddering against her Dao Heart and ridding it of its impurities.


    She remembered every step she took to get here, every little bit of effort, every slight she suffered, every quirked eyebrow, and every attempt to humiliate her and shatter her purity.


    All of that was bundled up into her chest.


    And then there was the man before her, this man who went about life as though he had nothing to lose or fear, this man who thought the world owed him everything, so he went about life as though he had a second one to live at any time, this man she would never admit she loved because how could she love such a foolish, idiotic, brick-headed clown?


    He stood for everything she stood against; he was the worst of everything, and she hadn''t gone through so much to be brought down to her knees by a mere fucking man.


    It only took a second for everything in Sarriel''s body to flip on its head, her qi surging and her power shooting to the skies like a towering tempest.


    Her emotions fueled her Dao, and flames of black-blue danced across her body, carrying with them the slightest tinge of violet.


    They overturned the skies, and for a moment, it seemed as though Sarriel had only become more imposing, like she had poked a hole through the skies with one of those slender fingers of hers.


    And then she attacked.


    Ryu''s gaze seemed to have lost all of its playfulness. He stood there, watching the blade cut through the skies as though it was wrapped in the dreams and nightmares of the woman who wielded it.


    Reality bent and warped, the skies shuddering once again. For a long while, the world was at such an unprecedented state of calm when facing them that it was hard to realize that they were even fighting at all.


    But now, it was like even they had broken past the threshold their shocking Control wasn''t able to withstand.


    And then Ryu sidestepped.


    It was the simplest of moves and hardly carried what seemed like effort at all.


    Sarriel''s blade passed just next to his shoulder, the shuddering might surrounding it briskly brushing against the torn robes that adorned his body.


    She reacted quickly, her wrist flexing and piercing toward the side. But there was a calm reflection of her rage in Ryu''s eyes as he took a step forward.


    All of a sudden, a blade that should have passed right through his body became her arm instead. He was so close to her that it was her elbow, instead of her sword, that slammed against his side.


    Ryu calmly caught it with a palm, slamming out with a great deal of force.


    Sarriel winced in pain as her arm was nearly bent in the wrong direction, but this so-called wince was nothing more than a flicker in her eyes. Her expression didn''t change in the slightest, even as she felt the sprain in her tendons and ligaments.


    As powerful as Ryu''s body was, he couldn''t so easily¡ª sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    BOOM!


    Nine Revolution Skybreaker activated, and the strong palm seemed to double in force. Sarriel''s pupils constricted as her arm gave way, her sword nearly flying from her grip.


    But she managed to hold onto it even as her elbow snapped toward the wrong direction.


    She took a step back, retreating with a strong shift in her momentum. But somehow, Ryu seemed to stick with her, the earth shifting beneath their feet as Jadebound Clearheart made its presence known.


    There was a shift in time and reality for a split moment, and Sarriel found an arm around her waist.


    At first, she thought that Ryu was trying to take advantage of her again, until a leg hooked the inside of her ankle.


    In that moment, the hand she thought would land on her waist shifted to her lapel, and she found herself flying over Ryu''s shoulder and heading down to the ground with the speed of a rushing meteor.


    As the world spun around her, she couldn''t help but feel stunned. It wasn''t like there were no grappling experts in cultivation, but they were not only incredibly rare¡­ but Ryu shouldn''t have been one of them.


    She had fought this man so many times and never once had he ever used such a move.


    Sarriel''s mind regained its focus, and she seemed to understand what kind of situation she was in. Ryu was in a state of perfect harmony. His moves were not only unpredictable, but they carried with them a sharpness and simplicity that was almost impossible to deal with.


    Now her leading sword arm was broken, and she was about to slam into the ground with enough force to rock her mind.


    In that split moment where her head was out of it, the number of things that Ryu could accomplish were too many. Dao God or not, the brain still remained important. It was the main bridge between the body and the soul; if it was out of commission even for a moment, consciousness would no doubt suffer.


    There was a reason Ryu''s brain was a huge part of his intelligence.


    In this situation, rather than panicking, Sarriel only grew calmer.


    How many such situations had she been in? How many times had she put her life on the line?


    Ryu thought her to be some cowardly flower clinging to the side of the mountain looking for shelter from the harsh winds. But she¡­ was anything but.


    Her body doubled, and she focused everything on creating a shift in reality that was nothing more than a half centimeter.


    Fooling Ryu''s eyes on a large scale was almost impossible. But she had realized already that for something so insignificant, she would be able to get away with it.


    Ryu would think that she had slammed into the ground a micro split second before she did, and in the window he used to follow up, she would be able to catch him off guard.


    Her shoulder flexed as the bones in her broken arm rattled above. This arm whipped backward, and she readied herself.


    Since her arm was nothing more than a noodle now, she would use it like a noodle.


    She was a genius amongst geniuses. She had seen the Spear-Whip God Aura that Eska and Isemeine had created for themselves. Now, she would just use the same principle.


    Was she a madwoman for trying to use a broken arm like it was some sort of whip?


    Maybe.


    But she didn''t care.


    All the while, her timing was absolutely perfect. She readied her stance, and she lashed out just in time¡­


    For the piece of earth beneath her to suddenly rise up and slam into the small of her back.


    All the air was knocked out of Sarriel at the same moment. She shuddered under the weight of the change, and her body convulsed. At the same time, her spine experienced such shock that her body shut down for a small while.


    Then, because her body bent at an awkward slant, it was the back of her head that whipped against the ground.


    Her whipping arm pierced out toward where she thought Ryu would be nonetheless, but she ended up hitting nothing but air.


    That was because Ryu was actually well above her, slamming down with a heel that crushed her chest.


    His body seemed to carry the heft of a mountain, Darkmoon Veil swallowing up masses far beyond him and settling it down into a single attack.


    Sarriel coughed up mouthfuls of blood, her body nearly going limp as her heart shattered.


    All at once, her spine, her head, and her heart suffered lethal damage.

 Chapter 2172 Right Here and Now

    Chapter 2172  Right Here and NowSarriel couldn''t even think. It felt like she had entered some sort of limbo, her body shutting down in ways that she would have never expected possible for someone as powerful as she was.


    She could barely register the fact that the surrounding land hardly experienced any changes at all outside of the ones Ryu triggered with his Jadebound Clearheart Bone Structure.


    All of the power wasn''t dissipated in the slightest. Those fists that could topple mountains and those legs that could sunder skies all fell onto her body and forced it to soak up every last droplet of strength.


    She couldn''t remember the last time she had suffered this much. Surely, she had in the past. But back then, she still hadn''t allowed herself to complete the last leg of her cultivation journey.


    This time, she thought she had already reached the pinnacle. She believed that there was no one better than herself¡­


    Only to lose in such terrible, heart-rending fashion.


    She collapsed to the ground and expected hard stone. But soon, she was enveloped by a different sort of hardness.


    She hadn''t experienced being in Ryu''s arms many times before, but that scent, that feeling¡ªit was simply undeniable.


    After breaking and ravaging her body, he actually had the audacity to suddenly become so gentle.


    It made her furious, or rather, it should have. But she found herself just¡­ collapsing.


    Her breathing was heavy, but she pressed her forehead into Ryu''s chest. At this point¡­ she was just tired. Tired of it all.


    Ryu cradled her, a light smile on his lips as her aura dimmed.


    "Lesson two wasn''t so bad, no?"


    Sarriel didn''t reply, breathing heavily into Ryu''s chest. Her body began to shrink in size, and her seven pupils vanished back into the form of just a single one.


    She didn''t make much of an effort to escape Ryu at all, leaning on him with all of her weight.


    "¡­ I hate¡­ you¡­" she said softly after several minutes.


    "Do you? You could have fooled me."


    "¡­ If you cannot¡­ get revenge for me¡­ I will cut it off¡­"


    Ryu''s grin became wider. "You''ve become so much more obedient all of a sudden. Don''t tell me my Sarriel is such a masochist."


    "¡­ Kick rocks¡ª."


    Ryu kissed her.


    It wasn''t the first time they kissed. But it could be said that this was the first time Ryu was kissing the true Sarriel and not just one of her split personalities.


    Sarriel froze for a moment, seemingly wanting to struggle. But then she seemed to melt.


    Ryu pulled away, and if it wasn''t for the pain in her body, she would have chased after him.


    Wait¡­ pain? Where was it?


    Sarriel was so distracted by the kiss that she didn''t even notice when her body seemed to have healed completely.


    "You¡­ what?"


    Sarriel didn''t understand. Her injuries weren''t light, and she had been all but a God when she received them, so healing them should have been an extremely tall order.


    So how was it that she was just fine already?


    "If I''m going to snatch a certain someone''s Primordial Yin, it can''t be that I have to do it while you''re heavily injured, right? In that case, what sort of husband would I be?"


    "What¡ª?"


    Sarriel couldn''t react before Ryu waved a hand. In that moment, the entire sky seemed to have blacked out. Let alone seeing what was happening here, they couldn''t even scry Fate to get a small idea.


    Ryu was already laying Sarriel on a soft patch of grass while she was still in a daze.


    "Hey, hey! I don''t remember agreeing to this so soon."


    "No?" Ryu asked, softly kissing her neck.


    Sarriel shuddered, squeezing her legs together tightly.


    "Something tells me you''ve actually been waiting for this for a long while. Am I really wrong?" Ryu asked in a gentle tone, kissing the other side of her collarbone.


    "Don''t¡­ put words¡­ in my¡­ mouth¡­" Sarriel spoke through gasping breaths.


    RIP.


    Her body jolted as her dress was torn in two, revealing beautiful, blue lace undergarments. They cupped her breasts perfectly, their patterns gripping against her round hips and slender waist.


    Sarriel shivered slightly, her skin flushing red.


    Ryu tore off his own robes, looking down at the misty-eyed woman beneath him with a smile.


    "Stop smiling at me¡­" she said, looking away. She pressed her palms against Ryu''s firm chest as though in mock protest to push him away, but there was almost no power in her arms at all, and Ryu was 90% sure she was taking the chance to cop a feel.


    "That''s one command I can''t very well listen to," Ryu replied, his smile becoming brighter.


    Sarriel found her arms being bent beneath Ryu''s pressure, and soon her lips were covered once more. A strong arm wrapped around her tiny waist, and she couldn''t help but wrap her legs around Ryu''s.


    She lost herself in the feeling of his tongue, and all the grievances that had just been boiling inside of her were whisked away with one second after another.


    She hardly reacted when her bra was clipped off, or when a shockingly well-controlled flame burned her underwear to ash. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was only when the soft, pink folds of her most treasured region felt a strong, pulsing heat pressing against it did she awaken just the slightest bit.


    But in that moment of clarity, she realized that she really did want this.


    "Didn''t you say¡­ that I''d jump into your bed¡­ of my own will?" Sarriel whispered into Ryu''s ear, her breasts pressed firmly against his chest.


    Ryu grinned. "Your hips are wiggling enough right now that I could take it as a win."


    "Technical victories? I thought you were a better man than that."


    "You''re right. How about I let my wife have this victory?"


    "Oh?"


    "Of course. I think I''ll eat you¡­ right here and now."


    Sarriel opened her mouth to respond but shuddered instead as she felt Ryu enter her.


    She bowed her head, biting onto the thickness of his traps to keep silent.

 Chapter 2173 It Feels

    Chapter 2173  It FeelsSarriel''s soft, delicate moans filled the forest as Ryu indulged in every inch of her body. He had been wondering just how this woman would taste for the longest time, and in truth, she was quite reserved, with rare hints of a lack of confidence leaking through her movements.


    But just like with all things she did, she also learned fast¡ªmaybe faster than any other woman Ryu had ever been with. Soon, she was winding her hips in ways that made even Ryu want to clench his teeth, snaking her little pink tongue through his mouth with a more and more practiced ease.


    She gripped onto his back, beginning to indulge herself more and more. The longer they spent connected, the more she felt she was in love with this feeling, intoxicated by it.


    Now, she could finally understand why others loved sex so much. It just felt¡­ so very good.


    Her body shuddered, a spring well of gushing waters sprinkling down from her legs. However, she only took a split moment to breathe before her hips began to move again.


    It could be said that she was competitive in all the things she did. She was quite well aware of how many wives Ryu had. So at the very least, in this case, she not only had to quickly catch up to their expertise but had to surpass them all.


    Ryu grunted, and Sarriel smiled, cupping his face with her hands and biting his lower lip with a slight hint of pressure. Both of them were upright, kneeling in the grass, but it wasn''t long before Sarriel had pressed Ryu beneath her. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her hips became wilder as she tasted Ryu''s lips, growing more and more intoxicated with the feeling.


    Until she felt a sudden pulse within her. She subconsciously knew what it was, but she didn''t run from it, pressing her thighs firmly into Ryu''s hips and grinding down.


    The feeling of something gushing within her was enough to make her want to collapse, but her Dao Heart seemed to shimmer no less brightly than it had been in the middle of their battle.


    She was already pulling herself up to go again. She had heard that men weren''t very good at going multiple times in a row, so this was her best chance to claim victory.


    What she didn''t expect was for the world to suddenly spin around her.


    She found a fiendish grin above her as her breasts shook beneath the dim lights.


    "Alright, I think that''s enough letting you win for today, don''t you think?"


    "Hm¡ª?"


    Sarriel hardly got the hum out before her eyes widened. Ryu seemed to grow another size within her as a droplet of Embryonic Qi circulated through him, and then through her.


    All of a sudden, Sarriel felt her sensitivity increase tenfold.


    This time, there was no corralling her moans. At some point, she was pretty sure she started screaming.


    It would have been mortifying had it not been for the fact that her head was in a fog the entire time. She wasn''t even consciously aware of what she was doing, and she allowed Ryu to swing her around like some sort of ragdoll or a small bit in the middle of a tsunami.


    Her small hands could barely hold on, her body shuddering against Ryu''s pressing weight and his every stroke.


    Even when she thought it was finished, it wasn''t. Even when she felt like he might spare her, he didn''t. It was like he was trying to ingrain into her very psyche that her first victory had truly been nothing more than a fluke.


    **


    Sarriel lay sprawled across Ryu''s chest, her naked body clinging to him in what looked like sleep.


    "Will I get pregnant?" Sarriel asked.


    Ryu chuckled. "If it was that easy with our talent, then there''d be geniuses running around everywhere. What? You don''t want to have my baby?"


    "Not yet¡­" Sarriel said softly.


    Ryu didn''t seem offended, though his words were layered with it.


    "What? You don''t trust in me to get the job done on my own?"


    Sarriel pinched his nipple with as much strength as she had left, which wasn''t much at all.


    "I want to be a Dao God first. That will give them the best chance."


    "Is that so?" Ryu smiled. "And how many children do you want?"


    "As many as possible. You''d better not forget me, otherwise I really will cut it off. You might have my Primordial Yin, and my first, but my womb is still mine. If you neglect my wishes, I will ruin your reputation and mine."


    Ryu only laughed.


    If a woman he had yet to make his own had said this, he would have kicked her far away. But his leniency with his own wife could level mountains.


    "From what it looked like today, it seems like the other way around. It''s you who won''t be able to handle me."


    Sarriel blushed, seemingly remembering hints of all the embarrassing things she had done today.


    "Don''t worry. Soon, there''ll be a hundred little Fey running around everywhere."


    Sarriel''s blush deepened, seemingly only now understanding the implications.


    She was quite adorable when she wanted to be.


    Ryu placed a large hand on her head, gently stroking her hair.


    The two lay there in silence for a long while before Ryu finally asked the question that had brought him here in the first place.


    "So, when are you going to tell me the truth of what''s happening here?"


    Sarriel froze for a moment before she relaxed. Indeed¡­ if she couldn''t tell Ryu, then who could she tell?


    There were still too many secrets between them. Like what was the link between the Fey and Fiends? Why was she restricting herself for so long if her original goal was to find a husband worthy of siring children for her? How did all of this relate to the Ruin Master Guild?


    Ryu wasn''t sure if she had the full scope of understanding, but she certainly knew more than he did.


    "Ryu¡­" Sarriel said softly, strengthening her grip on him as though afraid he would vanish. "¡­ It feels like the world could end any moment now."

 Chapter 2174 Fathomless Scope

    Chapter 2174  Fathomless ScopeRyu frowned when he heard this. He didn''t think that Sarriel was the type to fearmonger without reason, and right now, he could hear something very distinctly¡­ not like her in her voice.


    Fear.


    He could feel it almost palpably, as though she was only able to say so much because she was holding him right now.


    Just what could put Sarriel in such a state, and what had she been doing this whole time keeping such a thing bundled up for so long?


    Ryu became several points more serious, even to the point of tripling the defenses in the region. He was pretty confident in his abilities, but this time he threw everything he had at the wall before looking down at Sarriel seriously.


    "What''s going on?"


    Sarriel opened her mouth to reply, but it seemed that even she didn''t know where to start.


    Honestly speaking, none of the things in her mind were concrete, and most of all, the things she knew were drawn from observation and inferences. She had collected many things over the years and had begun to slowly draw her own picture until she reached a final result that she didn''t like in the slightest.


    Not one bit.


    Ryu was patient, but even after a long while stuck in her own thoughts, Sarriel still hadn''t said anything. At that point, Ryu decided that maybe they needed a different approach.


    He knew what Sarriel was experiencing right now. Sometimes, when you had an inference built on "vibes" or vague feelings, they were the most difficult to describe.


    Someone else might think you were crazy or that you were blowing things out of proportion, and they wouldn''t necessarily be wrong to feel that way. After all, it''s impossible for you to pop your own brain out of your skull and swap it with theirs so they could experience every little thing that led you to your conclusion.


    At least¡­ that would normally be impossible. Unless you had a husband like Ryu, that is.


    Using Sarriel''s Primordial Yin as a bridge point to their souls, Ryu decided to open up his own soul completely to Sarriel, and she did the same after a moment.


    Their memories became akin to an intertwined box, and several of the things that weren''t quite clear to Sarriel began building into foggy shapes in Ryu''s mind as well.


    Ryu quickly began to frown as a large tapestry of oddities made themselves known.


    There was the oddity of the rivalry between the Fey and the Ancient Beasts.


    And then there was the peculiarity of the relationship between the Fey and the Fiend Race themselves.


    Then there was the matter of the Fiend Race and its relationship with the Ruin Master Guild.


    And then there was the scope of the Ruin Master Guild''s control and how that might or might not be related to the so-called Heavenly Court.


    There was a huge jumbled mess of nonsense that didn''t even seem related at all. Even Ryu hadn''t bothered to connect all of them. But that was because he lacked one thing that Sarriel had¡­


    Experience.


    Ryu had ultimately not been in the cultivation world for long. And the time he had spent in it was mostly spent alone.


    By comparison, Sarriel had entered the depths of the Cultivation World and spent a lot of time in various Sects and powers, ingratiating herself, learning from them, and picking up on their secrets.


    The way she saw the world was hugely different from the way Ryu saw the world, so she was able to connect things that even he didn''t.


    And because of that, she had been slowly drawing connecting lines between these seemingly unrelated things for years already.


    But even with all of that, there was still one thing that caught Ryu''s attention the most.


    As though all of these matters weren''t pressing enough, they all tied back to the very same thing in the end¡­


    The Phoenix Sky God.


    That was when Ryu felt the very crux of Sarriel''s fear. And that was when he also realized that it wasn''t a normal sort of fear at all.


    What Sarriel feared wasn''t death or dying. She feared that she wouldn''t have the time to grow, the time to establish herself well enough¡­ that she would fail to live up to her promises to herself, to her family, all because she was born too late.


    That was what filled her with the greatest sense of unwillingness. She didn''t want to have to suffer such a Fate at all.


    Feeling through Sarriel''s memories, Ryu finally understood.


    All of these schemes, all of these movements, even the Fiends that seemed to want the destruction of the world itself, were all just acting for the sake of dealing with the Phoenix Sky God.


    In their obsession with finding a path to break beyond the God Realm, the Phoenix Sky God was leaving destruction in their wake¡­ Hope''s World was just one of the many that had suffered such a Fate, but as time went on, and the appetite of the Phoenix Sky God became more insatiable, it became less and less likely that anyone would be able to stop them¡­


    Not the Fey¡­ S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not the Fiends¡­


    Not the Ancient Beasts¡­


    Not the Ruin Master Guild¡­


    Not even the Heavenly Court¡­


    This was the very first time that Ryu had felt the devastation of the Phoenix Sky God in earnest. An existence so powerful, so harrowing, that they had gripped the hearts and souls of every power across all of existence.


    It was hard to even fathom just how powerful such an existence would have to be to reach this level, and yet beyond that, still be so obsessed with improvement that they were willing to sacrifice so much for an attempt at reaching a step that didn''t exist.


    Maybe it was that sort of obsession that was required to create such a powerful existence in the first place. Maybe it was only by being so focused in mind that you could become as powerful as the Phoenix Sky God.


    At the same time, Ryu couldn''t help but wonder about himself. Would he become so insatiable too? He had always said that he just wanted to reach the top of the world¡­ he had also said that so long as he died in that pursuit, he would be fine with it too¡­


    But would he be?


    Would he be fine with dying, truly? Would he be satisfied with just reaching the pinnacle? Or would he become obsessed with chasing after a new high as well, making himself and his Clan out to be the enemy of the world?


    Ryu shook his head. All of this was shocking enough, but there was something missing here for sure.


    It was still all too vague.


    What did the Phoenix Sky God have to do with the Fey and Ancient Beasts being mortal enemies? How were they related to the Fey and Fiends being opposite sides of the same coin?


    But that was when Ryu felt it¡ªthe shuddering realization that had pulled Sarriel down to the depths of hell in the first place.


    Ryu thought back to the tales and legends he had read of the Phoenix Sky God back in Sacrum. Back then, he had been forced to piece together so many tidbits of folklore and various footnotes of history before he could reach one conclusion that inevitably led to him killing himself for a chance at reincarnation.


    But what that experience had also taught him was that there were many iterations of the Phoenix Sky God across history¡­


    Still, no matter which it was, what was clear and obvious was that the Phoenix Sky God was not, in fact, a Phoenix, but rather a member of a humanoid Race.


    Ryu had no way of knowing exactly what that Race was, but¡­ what if it was the Fey Race?


    Ryu felt a shudder of danger and all the blood in his body immediately went cold. Still, his reactions were fast. He clutched Sarriel in his arms and wrapped his robes around her, shooting up with a sharp light in his eyes.


    His breathing was somewhat heavy, and his gaze became bloodshot. His gaze swept around in a suffocating heft, and even long after the feeling had disappeared, he couldn''t help but stay there in a protective stance for several moments longer.


    Suddenly¡­ he understood just the sort of scope he was dealing with, and also why Sarriel had no idea where to start.


    When you were dealing with something like this¡­ how could you possibly know where to start?


    The Phoenix Sky God wasn''t just going around to various worlds, destroying them, and swallowing up their Paths of Reincarnation¡­ the Phoenix Sky God was manipulating the very fabric of the Heavens themselves.


    Even the rivalry of the Fey and Ancient Beasts was constructed by the Phoenix Sky God for no other reason than to allow them to observe and strengthen themselves.


    What better way for a Fey following the Path of a Beast to improve than to watch countless iterations of these two Paths clashing?

 Chapter 2175 Useless

    Chapter 2175  UselessRyu stood in silence for a long time, the weight of it all finally hitting him like it must have hit Sarriel. It was one thing to have a vague comprehension of the sort of pinnacle you were chasing after, but it was another thing entirely to truly see it, to feel it.


    The Phoenix Sky God was no longer just some vague entity to him now. They were very much real. He had spoken to them, and now he had seen just how deep the scope of their plans and machinations went.


    This wasn''t just a normal existence. The Phoenix Sky God was quite literally using the Heavens themselves as their chessboard.


    Sarriel looked up at Ryu''s side profile from her position in his arms, not saying anything to interrupt his thought process.


    She wondered how he would react to this. Would he still be the same Ryu? Or would he come to understand her perspective more?


    If he did the former, how would she react? Such a hard-headed man¡­ She almost laughed inwardly, as though already knowing the result.


    However, for maybe not the first time, this husband of hers actually surprised her a bit.


    Ryu didn''t flash a cheeky smile or a confident grin. Instead, he just looked off into the distance, the uncertainty in his eyes and the hints of confusion fading into a cool sharpness.


    "Alright."


    This was the only word he said even after so long. Then he looked down at Sarriel. Only then did he finally flash a cheeky grin.


    "Why are you still naked, ma''am? It can''t be that you''re already wanting more?"


    Sarriel was speechless. She was naked still only because this man insisted on bundling her up in robes. In fact, because of that, he was still naked too!


    This man was so annoying. Considering her speed and her familiarity with her own body, she could have probably dressed herself far faster than he bundled her up in the first place.


    She was growing more and more annoyed the more she thought about it, but when she saw Ryu''s grin only widening, she snorted and looked away.


    Unfortunately, that choice seemed to have been a mistake, because before she knew it, she wasn''t bundled by anything anymore, and her moans filled the forest floor once more.


    **


    "Did you forget that we are in the middle of a trial?!" Sarriel berated, snatching Ryu''s collar in what looked like an act of anger but was actually quite a covert and successful attempt at straightening it.


    "Of course not, but isn''t pleasing my wife more important?" Ryu blinked innocently.


    "You''re insufferable. Let''s go."


    Sarriel took Ryu''s hand and stomped away.


    The world didn''t understand much about what had happened at all.


    First, Ryu and Sarriel were fighting a battle of life and death. And in the next instant, they were kissing. Then everything went black, only for them to return days later, rushing out hand in hand.


    It was hard not to be speechless toward such a result. This was probably the most sought-after selection in existence. Why were these two treating it like a joke?


    No¡­ from what they could tell, this was mostly Ryu''s fault. All things considered, the young woman had been taking things very seriously until he ruined all of her plans. At that point, it was already too late to take things the way she wanted to.


    Once again, this Ryu Tatsuya¡­


    No one quite knew how to react to him.


    **


    A certain Matriarch was no doubt grinding her teeth. She already knew that Ryu certainly had more than one woman, and it wasn''t like her Devas Race was shy about such things, but it was hard for it not to leave a bad taste in her mouth when her daughter had only just been captured, only for Ryu to flirt and bed another woman right in front of the world.


    What was that supposed to mean? That this woman was worthy of status while her daughter was not? That this woman could be an official wife but her daughter was just fodder?


    The more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became, and the anger she thought she had long since buried came bubbling up once more.


    It was her husband that still remained the picture of calm. But this time, he didn''t say much about his wife''s tirade.


    That said¡­ his feeling was much the same as it had always been.


    Whether his daughter would be able to make anything of herself or of this opportunity¡­ would be up to her.


    **


    There was another group reacting to this situation quite differently from others, though. And that was none other than the Fey.


    The Fey hadn''t had too grand of an entrance, and they seemed to have been led by Sarriel alone. Well, other than a particular young man with a white fox tail and ears.


    However, right this moment, their auras were anything but calm and tranquil.


    Quite honestly speaking, they couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    They had followed Sarriel for a long time¡ªnot as her servants, but rather watching her progress. As someone from the lower worlds, she had always been someone with great potential, but she had to earn her way up because her foundation was too shallow.


    It wasn''t lost on them just how much hardship she had been through, and how well she had to play a game of stick and carrot, not to mention power and politics, to make it to where she was now as such a beautiful woman.


    And yet, for all of that to come crashing down before their eyes after the rogue kiss of a single young man¡­


    It was simply unacceptable.


    In the center of it all, an old woman with two wrinkled hands on a cane stood the stiffest, her murky eyes staring forward as though she was looking through the projection rather than at it.


    It could be said that if 60% of the reason Sarriel had been able to make it through was her own efforts, then maybe another 40% was this old woman.


    She rarely showed her face, and maybe even Sarriel was only vaguely aware of her existence, but it could be said that she had invested a lot in this young woman.


    She didn''t expect that her investment would slip out of her fingers just like this.


    After a long while, the old woman closed her eyes and her cracked lips parted.


    "Your son is useless," she said coldly.


    An older man to the side stiffened, as did a familiar elder brother. None of them needed an explanation. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Falling Snow had been able to do what he was supposed to do, then how could any of this have ever happened?


    Anger spiked in the hearts of the two men, but in the end, they didn''t dare to say anything. They had a belly full of excuses and nowhere to vent them.


    How could they have known just how much of her true prowess Sarriel was hiding? How could they have known that she had treated many of their geniuses like a joke for so long? How could anyone so young be so prudent and patient for so long?


    By the time they realized the truth, not only was she already under this old woman''s umbrella, but she had already grown so powerful that very few could control her in the first place.


    And just now, they realized that even though they had felt they overestimated her, they had still somehow underestimated her in the end.


    But this Ryu Tatsuya¡­ Just how powerful was he now?


    Slowly, the two men regained their calm and their gazes regained their focus as they settled on their "useless" family member.


    Whether or not that was true would be up to him to prove. But what was clear was that the progress he had made until now wasn''t enough to beat Sarriel, let alone Ryu.


    If he was going to redeem himself¡­ it was going to have to be left up to him making another breakthrough.


    Whether he could do that or not¡­ they had no idea. He had the talent, and he could no longer be considered a greenhorn, but it was hard to manufacture true adversity.


    The next few months would decide whether he was a dragon or a fish in a pond.


    **


    Ryu didn''t have the mind to care for the reactions of others, not when he was busy sulking.


    After they quickly caught up with their previous bar, something that might have been difficult for others but was instead incredibly easy for them, Sarriel insisted on going her own way.


    Well, rather than insisted, it was more like she kicked him away and then rushed off in another direction, threatening to cut it off if he followed her.


    Ryu could only chuckle and shake his head, picking another direction.


    Maybe¡­ it was about time he got a little serious.

 Chapter 2176 Interference

    Chapter 2176  InterferenceRyu dropped a corpse from his hands, another worthless genius falling by the wayside, and yet another he didn''t bother to turn into a Corpse Puppet.


    Though the concentration of high-level geniuses was greater here, this wasn''t enough for Ryu to take an interest in a person.


    He either needed a powerful Dao Heart to care to turn them into a Summon, or they had to have an interesting enough path to be worthy of becoming a Corpse Puppet. He wanted something that stimulated both his anticipation for the future and his creative juices.


    Ironically enough, the higher level these geniuses were, the more rigid the paths they followed. They almost felt like cookie-cutter creations spit out by their Ancestors, one after another, with hardly any variation between them.


    In Ryu''s eyes, these were probably the most pathetic sort of geniuses. They had probably received praise all their lives, but they had never done anything worth accomplishing on their own. They just followed the steps of those who came before them.


    Honestly speaking, this was actually an incredibly difficult thing to do. It took an extremely powerful lineage to be capable of doing this in the first place.


    One of the things that should have been impossible to so easily pass along was comprehension, and yet these powers had managed to do it.


    Maybe that also resulted in geniuses that were worthless in Ryu''s eyes, but if you could pump out this sort of "genius" on a large scale, then it could at least build a foundation. Then, so long as you had one or two legitimate powerhouses from every generation¡­


    You would truly be a force to be reckoned with.


    Unfortunately, all this made Ryu''s attempts at building his army slow down considerably as he entered this bloated middle region.


    This place was probably supposed to be filled with the most danger, and Ryu certainly got into the most fights against those who very clearly overestimated themselves. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But, for Ryu¡­


    I guess taking that route might also be possible. But I don''t know how interested I am in it¡­


    Ryu''s thought was simple. Even if these geniuses were worthless in the grand scheme, the methods used to raise them up might not necessarily be.


    If he took one or two in as a Corpse Puppet, then he could reconstruct their foundations based on the methods used to allow them to reach their current heights in the first place.


    Like that, he would actually have a legion for every power in existence, giving him the perfect counter option for them all.


    Though it sounded like a good idea on paper, to Ryu it could pretty much be summarized in a single word¡­


    Mediocrity.


    What was the point? If his army was just stronger than all of those powers, then he wouldn''t need to worry about it at all.


    Ryu flicked his wrists, and the blood slid off his fingers like drizzling crimson slicking off a smooth blade. In an instant, it was as though he hadn''t just had his claws knuckle-deep in a young man''s skull.


    Where are you all¡­ A sinister light flashed in Ryu''s eyes.


    When this trial first began, Ryu had run into Young Mistress Nightly almost immediately. This went to show that his Fate placement was actually quite poor, which made sense. He still needed time to catch up to the amount of Fate these geniuses had been accumulating for a lifetime.


    Funny enough, Ryu was actually much younger than most of them. In addition, there was also the elephant of his restricted Fate Star in the room as well.


    Because of that, Ryu''s seeding wasn''t very good, so he should have run into more challenges than most to successfully become a dark horse.


    He had been looking forward to this, but since Young Mistress Nightly, he hadn''t met another genius of that caliber.


    Well, he had met Yeger Sun, but that didn''t count because Yeger very clearly moved off his normal track as well. And Sarriel''s situation spoke for itself.


    Something weird was definitely going on.


    It made sense for him to miss out on these geniuses while he was messing around and hopping from Fate Barrier to Fate Barrier without thought for progressing forward.


    But now that he was seriously moving forward again, he had yet to come across a comparable challenge.


    Is it the Title Stele that adjusted things in real time?


    Or¡­


    Outside interference, is it? Did I show off a little too much? Now you''re afraid your little princes and princesses will suffer a loss?


    Ryu shook his head.


    Let''s see just how long you can keep that up for.


    Ryu took a step forward, entering another Ruin and clearing it in a matter of minutes. All this time, he still hadn''t forgotten to humiliate the Ruin Master Guild and their so-called rankers all the more.


    It was even more impossible for them to hide from the likes of Ryu, and every terrifying loss they took was just yet another blow to their reputation.


    Ryu continued to move as though he hadn''t sensed something wrong at all. He slaughtered those he came across, cleared Ruins, collected Quasi-Embryonic Qi, and crossed Fate Barriers.


    At the same time, he passively studied his Embryonic Silk Meridians, his thoughts drifting to it from time to time as he deduced new methods of use.


    There was even a moment in there where he was pretty sure he found a method even more potent than Hope''s pregnancy pill.


    Well, it would make his own seed more potent, that is. If this seed in particular was used to fertilize Hope''s pill, then the results would actually be much more potent as well by extension.


    Hm?


    Ryu stepped through yet another Fate Barrier and felt yet another clear shift. The greenery was gone, as were the extreme battlefields of hot and cold or various other elements as well.


    This land was almost entirely flat. There was no escaping in this place.


    And Ryu immediately felt three auras lock onto him the moment he appeared.

 Chapter 2177 World Control

    Chapter 2177  World ControlRyu didn''t bother to move as the auras converged toward him. They blazed across the skies, their speed quite impressive, but the subtle sort of fusion between them, despite the distance that should have separated them, was even more intriguing to Ryu.


    ''Interesting.''


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    All three came to a stop in the skies at the same time, an explosion of forces rippling out in all directions. As though a show of force, the wind pressure from their movement alone shattered the fragile space into shards¡­


    But all Ryu saw was a poor lack of Control.


    Maybe they had done it on purpose, but as far as Ryu could tell, it was pathetic nonetheless.


    "Griffins, huh?"


    Indeed, the three figures standing high in the skies above Ryu were Griffins, their wings proud, their paws standing atop the air as though on solid ground, and the gems at the center of their foreheads shimmering with strong might.


    In response, all three Griffins just growled.


    "No, no, no need for introductions. You three probably haven''t realized that they''ve sent you here to die. So, how about, as a courtesy, I show you that first."


    Before the Griffins could speak, Ryu stepped forward. His body flashed, and his palm was already near the gem of the middle Griffin in the blink of an eye.


    ''Hm?''


    Ryu, rather than finishing his attack, raised an eyebrow instead.


    Something was off.


    With a flash, Ryu vanished again.


    The space he had just been standing in suddenly bent and twisted, folding in on itself as though a spontaneous black hole had just taken shape.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. ''Ah¡­ I see¡­''


    The Griffin Race¡ªwhat were they most known for? Weren''t they the origin of the Number Two Ranked Heavenly Pupils in Sacrum? The World Pupils?


    These three Griffins seemed to be capable of layering their World Gems together, creating a far stronger effect than they could on their own.


    They were still in the same category of pathetic genius to Ryu. But pathetic was just a relative term. It was a different matter entirely if the three were actually working together.


    Because of that, they could actually cause quite some problems for a true genius.


    Logically speaking, these three shouldn''t have been able to find each other and come together so easily in the Title Stele. But as Ryu had already noted¡­


    Outside interference.


    A flash appeared in Ryu''s eyes, and his somewhat chilled blood began to boil a bit. But not out of anger¡ªhe really couldn''t be bothered to care about all that.


    "Arrogant human. DIE!" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The three unfurled their wings, and a Domain of fluttering, rich brown feathers formed. The feathers circulated in a whirlwind, blocking off all escape routes.


    The left Griffin swiped out a paw. A powerful force appeared above Ryu, but as it descended, it doubled in power, then doubled again.


    What made the World Pupils so powerful¡ªwas it not Control? And yet, these three appeared with such a sheer lack of it.


    Now, Ryu finally understood why.


    They destabilized this region first, disrupting the laws governing it so that they could replace it with their own Domain. This made their Control over the region at least twice as effective. When their World Gems were stacked onto one another, this effectiveness hit yet another higher tier.


    Ryu raised a palm above his head as the suffocating might descended. He looked like nothing more than a small, insignificant ant beneath the strength of the illusory paw. The Griffins were already so much larger than him to begin with, but with the multiplying of its power, it looked as though Ryu was trying to catch a mountain with his bare hands.


    A grunt left Ryu''s lips as he was nearly crushed beneath the might of the paw.


    The feathers suddenly surged in from all directions, slicing and dicing at his body. Fabric and blood flew.


    BANG!


    The paw collapsed, seemingly crushing Ryu beneath its mass.


    The three Griffins stood proudly in the air, sneers on their snouts. They had been sent here to die? Was that a joke?


    They were sent here for just one reason, and that was to eliminate the man who disrespected their Goddess.


    "Idiots. I''ll show you what real World Control looks like."


    The Domain of rotating feathers froze. The paw above Ryu''s head suddenly shattered.


    At some unknown point, Ryu, with his torn robes, stood high above the Griffins. By the time they snapped their heads up, it was already too late. In Ryu''s hand, a steely blue Brush was already dancing in the wind, an illusory world taking form around them all.


    Ryu raised the Brush high.


    "[A God''s Brush]¡­ [Earth]."


    Ryu''s arm slowly descended.


    Danger signs filled the hearts of the Griffins, and they wanted to run. But for some reason, they felt completely frozen in place, their bodies suppressed to an extreme.


    It was like they were locked in a vice grip, their bodies being slowly squeezed. Blood began to run out from their eyes and ears, and then¡­


    CRACK.


    A fissure ran right through their World Gems.


    Pain worse than a spear to the soul tore through their bodies. But they hardly had a chance to experience it before Earth descended.


    BANG!


    There were three explosions, but it truly sounded like just a single one.


    Blood, gore, flesh, and sinew were strewn about as the Griffins found themselves shredded to pieces.


    The first stage of [A God''s Brush] had only half descended before they were entirely unable to withstand the impact any longer and were torn to pieces.


    Ryu stood high in the skies, his gaze indifferent.


    He had made it quite clear that they had only been sent here to die. It had little to do with him that they hadn''t believed him.


    But what was this exactly? An attempt to tire him out?


    Ryu would have laughed if it were funny. Instead, the tiny bit of heat in his blood was increasing.


    Finally, some real fun.


    They had better start sending more powerful opponents.

 Chapter 2178 Why?

    Chapter 2178  Why?Ryu waved a hand, and the cracked pieces of the World Gem soared toward him. He pressed the pieces together, and though they didn''t magically fuse once more, he could still get a feel for their strengths when they were whole.


    The World Gem of the Griffin Race was without a doubt their greatest asset and the source of their talent. It was what housed their soul, the core of the Bloodline, the source of the World Pupils¡­


    It was quite a special item, and a rare material to be sure. Though, it could be said that it was a valuable item without any sort of market. After all¡­ who the hell would dare to offend the Griffins by distributing such a thing?


    There were almost certainly black markets out there, but they were under such secrecy that defining them as rare didn''t quite do them justice.


    Of course¡­ Ryu didn''t give a damn about any of this. All he saw were some useful things for Kira to absorb. It was about time that cowardly Corpse Puppet of his started absorbing some real beasts.


    He wondered what kind of monster Kira would become in the future as a result.


    Ryu casually put them away, likely to the fury of the Griffins watching from the outside. But they had likely also known that this possibility had a high chance of occurring.


    It would be all worth it in the end.


    Ryu could easily guess at their thoughts, but not only did he not have any intention of dying in this place, not to mention the fact that trying to tire him out of all people was a joke, but while they sat on the edge of their seats waiting for him to finally collapse, they were going to end up suffering a lot of heartache.


    That was proven true quite quickly because, while they were practically urging Ryu to hurry on to the next region, Ryu took his time scouting the region, found the Ruins he was looking for, and cleared them one after another.


    These Ruins were, without a doubt, even more devastating to the Ruin Master Guild than the other had been.


    It was only natural that the harder-to-clear ones were placed deeper. And by extension, the weight given to them was also much heavier.


    Every blow here was like a gut punch, and Ryu made certain to take every single one of the chances he was given without fail.


    And it was only after Ryu was finished delivering his gut punches that he casually strolled into this next region.


    ''Well¡­ this is certainly different¡­''


    Ryu almost laughed again. Ahead of him, there wasn''t a single person or even a group of individuals. There was an army. An army of Devas.


    Once again, he had no idea how this was even possible. Regions were separated, gathering three was still possible, but over 500 like here?


    Ryu looked around for a bit until he understood.


    ''Well, the Devas are quite cruel, aren''t they?''


    Looking at the dead eyes staring back at him, Ryu realized that these were no longer geniuses at all. They weren''t quite Corpse Puppets as they were still under vague control of themselves, but they might as well have been.


    What was for certain was that they had no chance of returning to what they had once been. They were in a state of half-life right now where they were neither dead nor alive. But that also meant their Fate was in limbo, not allowing the Title Stele to detect them in the normal way.


    Due to that, they had probably swept through the Fate Barriers unhindered.


    ''No, not unhindered. I doubt there would be such a terrible loophole to take advantage of. If that was the case, it would have been taken advantage of more than what I''ve seen. There was probably still a price to pay, but I bet that price was a lot smaller than it should have been¡­''


    Ryu stared forward, scanning each one of their faces one by one. Then, he looked up and shook his head.


    "Nono. If we''re going to do things like this¡­ Don''t think that you''re allowed to obscure what''s happening from the rest of the world."


    Ryu pointed a finger to the sky, and a beam of light ripped through a veil.


    BOOM!


    The army charged at the same time, but the deed was already done. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Suddenly, a scene of one on 500 played out before the eyes of everyone present. Unfortunately¡­ it seemed that these people had no idea what Heavenly Tribulation Ryu had to suffer through just to be able to stand here today.


    Ryu took a step forward, his great swordstaffs flashing into his palms. He flicked one wrist, and as though dotting the skies with the delicate point of stars, a flurry of piercing lines erupted.


    His other arm almost lazily swung.


    The lines of piercing light shot through one forehead after another. The army had barely covered half the distance between them when almost 10% of them had already died.


    Numbers¡­ really weren''t the way to deal with Ryu. Not if they couldn''t at least hold their own just the slightest bit without such advantages.


    Ryu took another step forward, and his lazy swing finished completely.


    A wide arc was drawn across the ground, forcing the army to leap into the air.


    The organization was ruined in an instant, and the Deva Elders responsible for setting this up couldn''t help but curse beneath their breaths. Could it be that Ryu had seen through it all so easily?


    "Might as well be an open book," Ryu said coldly.


    With a flicker, Ryu appeared in the skies as well, his blades dancing like the wind. No one lasted more than even a single exchange against him.


    There were no screams, and the blades were so sharp that they passed right through flesh and bone without even the slightest sound either.


    The only sounds in the region at all were the splattering wet noises as they fell from the skies, their eyes having gone completely dull. There was just the slightest hint of regret in their eyes as they breathed their last. Maybe even until now, they couldn''t believe that their own Clans had done something like this to them.


    Ryu continued to unleash a single-minded slaughter, and in a blink, less than half of the Devas remained.


    It was then he sensed that something else was off.


    ''Mm¡­''


    Ryu''s great swordstaff flipped in his palm, its golden blade pointing downward. With a flex of his arm, he thrust down.


    A powerful momentum enveloped the land, and a beam of sharpened light descended in a torrent.


    BOOM!


    Ryu had only just acted when a black dagger silently appeared at the back of his neck. Its timing was perfect, and not a single problem could be found. It was well and truly the best sort of assassin''s strike.


    CLANG!


    The dagger collided with Ryu''s neck. At some unknown point, Ryu had suddenly been covered from head to toe in pristine, white scales.


    The dagger nicked against him, drawing just the faintest line of crimson, but unable to penetrate any further.


    The assassin''s arm snapped back, a reverberating forward clang against their wrist.


    Ryu was already prepared, his great swordstaff swinging back and down as he pivoted his hips toward the perpetrator.


    The assassin''s reactions weren''t too bad either, managing to just barely slip out of range, burrowing Ryu''s own momentum to retreat.


    Ryu''s blade just barely missed their nose as they arched backward.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Three more Devas shattered into a rain, and Ryu finally saw who his attacker was. It was actually one of Young Mistress Nightly''s little lovers. Or, rather, one of the consorts that were set up for her in the future.


    All things considered, this sort of genius wasn''t on the level of Young Mistress Nightly and the others, but they were only a half-step beneath.


    There were only a dozen or so geniuses at that elite of an elite level. To be just a half-step away really held some weight.


    But what was interesting here was that¡­ this young man was stronger than he should have been for a half-step away nonetheless.


    It seemed that he had managed to make some progress in the Title Stele after.


    Ryu slowly lowered his great swordstaff, exhaling a slow breath as the wound on the back of his neck slowly healed.


    The young man stood there with black wings and crimson eyes, a pair of daggers in his hands as he stared at Ryu.


    "My woman. Give her back."


    Ryu didn''t reply, instead looking down at his great swordstaffs. Then, as though thinking of something amusing, he sneered.


    He flipped his palms, his great swordstaffs vanishing in favor of a pair of crystal-bladed, jagged-edged daggers.


    With a series of subtle flicks and rotations, the daggers danced in Ryu''s hands like he had been juggling them all his life before snapping back into his palm with a satisfying echo.


    "Why would I spit out something I''ve already eaten?" Ryu asked, pointing a dagger right between the young Deva''s brows.

 Chapter 2179 Unfathomable

    Chapter 2179  UnfathomableThe young man''s eyes turned malevolent. The skies seemed to darken further, the endless expanse of barren land rumbling.


    His wings spread out, all of them looking akin to devilish blades streaking through the skies.


    With a single flap, it seemed that space and time themselves were being shredded to pieces.


    And then he moved.


    The two figures cut across one another, and Ryu found himself standing with his back to the young man, looking down at the daggers in his hand.


    His wrist flickered and the blades began to dance, rolling between his fingers and spinning on their tips.


    All the while, he didn''t even bother to look back as the white scales faded from his body. It was hard to tell when he had even summoned them in the first place.


    "Well, I did already say that I was done messing around."


    SHIING! SHIING! SHIING! SHIING!


    PUCHI.


    The blades overlapped and four wings fell to the ground in heavy heaps. Each one weighed as much as a mountain, every crash leaving craters of earth in their wake despite the sturdiness of the realm.


    The young man stumbled in the skies, his body shuddering.


    To the Devas, the wings weren''t just extremities. They were vital organs, they were symbols of pride, they were the very core of their beings.


    "You know, before this little excursion, I had never even heard of Devas before. I can see why. Your birthrates are so low and yet you''re still so foolish with your lives.


    "Go in peace. I''ll be sure to take care of your woman. Though, I don''t know how you have the balls to call her that. Willingly being just one of her many concubines¡­ not sure how you can call yourself a man."


    Ryu looked back, his dagger snapping into his palm. The blue crystal glint danced across his indifferent expression, playing to his silvery eyes and white-as-snow skin.


    The young man shuddered in anger as he felt the last of his life slipping away from him. And yet, as though he didn''t feel like he had humiliated the man enough, Ryu actually spoke again.  S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Maybe I should do you Devas a favor and castrate all the men. Then your women can really go out and find happiness."


    A slight smile played across Ryu''s face.


    ¡­


    In a familiar bedchamber, Nightly''s mother sat up in a rage, but she had barely flexed her toned torso when an oppressive might descended.


    Her throat hiccupped and her heart lurched. Her muscles seemed to lose control of themselves for a moment, but the Patriarch had already stood to his feet at some unknown point.


    Nightly''s mother knew quite well that it wasn''t they who sent the young man. But Ryu''s words didn''t discriminate amongst the Devas at all.


    Someone was going to have to pay for the humiliation, and since it couldn''t be Ryu, it was certainly going to be whoever it was in the background making such foolish decisions.


    But at the same time, there was no doubt that when the time came, Ryu would have to pay for it as well.


    It was just that judging by the cheeky grin and his indifferent demeanor¡­


    The boy didn''t give a single damn about making an enemy of the entire world.


    It didn''t matter how many of them were angry with him, if they continued to target him¡­ he would continue to humiliate them one by one without regard for a single one of their faces.


    These powerful Elevated Worlds were going to learn who Ryu Tatsuya was one way or another.


    ¡­


    Ryu landed on the ground and pulled a wing out from the ground. It was indeed quite heavy, but it was also sharp. It was weirdly soft to the touch, yet if you caught your finger on an edge at the wrong angle, you could find yourself losing a hand.


    With a chuckle, Ryu tossed the wings into his Inner World. Something told him that preserving wings was actually quite useless to Devas, so he might as well send them over to Nightly.


    Whether she used them now or not, he didn''t really care one way or another. If she wanted to be sentimental, he would just force her to do it herself later.


    But if she was smart, she would probably do whatever she could to grow stronger, faster.


    This would give him the chance to observe how it was done as well.


    His Dao had given faint inklings of how this worked, but he obviously wasn''t a Deva expert. Observing this would save him a lot of effort in the future.


    He was also curious about his own wings too, actually.


    He had stacked 10 Bone Structures into one, but the one thing he didn''t account for were his wings.


    Right now, he had wings that were very Dragon-like. They didn''t take good advantage of his Phoenix Bloodlines at all. And without direct support from a Bone Structure, they were quite lackluster.


    His wings, as such, didn''t even provide much of a boost if they provided one at all. Though they weren''t technically a liability, they might as well be. It was like having an extra limb for no reason.


    They were practically only there to look cool.


    It wasn''t exactly a top priority of his to fix this issue, but it was interesting that the Devas seemed to want to present themselves on a silver platter.


    And if he was going to steal a pair of wings, well, he was pretty certain of whose head he wanted. There was a certain annoying War God Pupil wielder that would certainly appear any moment now.


    Ryu dusted himself off, then headed off to clear more Ruins.


    By now, his bundle of Fate was growing extraordinarily large, so much so that he seemed to have formed another miniature sun in his Internal World.


    Minutes later, he walked out of another few Ruins and exhaled a calm breath.


    ''Time to do this all over again.''


    ¡­


    Ryu''s battles were quickly becoming the most entertaining segments to watch. It wasn''t just that he was getting by far the most action now, but he, himself, was too entertaining.


    How often could spectators experience the humiliation of so many powerful Races in real time? It was like some sort of fever dream.


    Devas. Fey. Demons. Fiends. Griffins¡­


    Powerful existences the likes of which many had only ever read of in legends and record books were making their presences known, only to be humiliated and talked-down-to by a young man they had only just learned the existence of.


    Many of the geniuses making their names known now had been known for a long while. Maybe not in all circles because of the sheer size of Existence, but they were at least known to a decent segment of the population.


    This Ryu, though, was a complete anomaly. He just showed up with a Dao Goddess wife with the strength to speak to the Phoenix Ancestor, and then strolled into their lives with an arrogant grin and a razor-sharp tongue.


    It was one crushing victory after another, as though the people before him were nothing more than ants, as though their efforts, their machinations, their greatest hopes and dreams weren''t worth much of anything before him.


    For the great powers, it was easy to see how he might become public enemy number one. But to those that had only planned on fighting for the scraps to begin with, his existence was like a tonic. They were just here for the show, and his presence easily made him a fan favorite.


    The weight of the name Ryu Tatsuya was only increasing, and most shocking of all¡­


    No matter the challenge that was thrown at him, no matter the circumstance, no matter the danger he was supposedly going to be in this time around¡­


    He always won. And he always won easily.


    It wasn''t the display of a valiant hero trudging through hardship and barely scraping by step by step like some would have liked to see.


    It was one crushing victory after another, as though the people before him were nothing more than ants, as though their efforts, their machinations, their greatest hopes and dreams weren''t worth much of anything before him.


    And then the challenges simply stopped.


    ¡­


    Ryu walked out of another Ruin, his breathing even, and his body lacking even the slightest injury. If not for the fact his robes were tattered and littered with holes, one would have thought that he hadn''t been in a single battle since he came here.


    One could imagine just how demoralizing it was to see this. His qi was an unfathomable well, his Spiritual Quintessence was an abyss so deep describing its depths felt like an impossibility, and his raw stamina and healing factor alone¡­


    It was hard to understand just how one young man could be so good at everything. And maybe they finally realized that it was a hopeless task.


    At least it seemed so, until Ryu crossed the next Fate Barrier and found the world around him had changed once again.


    He stood on a pillar of an unknown height in the very depths of space.


    However, he only had eyes for one thing ahead of him.


    The Title Stele.

 Chapter 2180 Only One

    Chapter 2180  Only OneRyu obviously wasn''t the only one there. In fact, considering how he had taken his sweet time, it wouldn''t be a surprise if he was the very last one to get there.


    It was just that he didn''t care.


    Staring at the Title Stele ahead of him, he and it might as well have been the only things present in the world. Until, that is, he sensed his wife, and he looked over toward Sarriel with a grin.


    The Fey beauty rolled her eyes and looked away. It seemed that she had been there for a while as well, and she was quite speechless that it had actually taken Ryu so long to make it. But it was also easy for her to guess exactly why that was.


    Of course that guy was messing around.


    Ryu chuckled. This time he really was innocent. It wasn''t his fault that he was targeted by so many. Who would have thought that so many of the strongest Clans and Sects in existence would be so cowardly?


    ''Not even surprised,'' Ryu thought to himself, stretching out his back. A crackle and pop filled the region as he exhaled a breath.


    He looked high into the skies, a bright smile on his face, his fingers twitching as though they weren''t yet satisfied with how much he had killed.


    Maybe he wouldn''t be satisfied until his name was at the very top of that list.


    He looked up toward the Title Stele, but even now, he couldn''t see the very top.


    "Those arrogant bastards," he said through grinning teeth.


    To not even allow his eyes to see their names. They were going to regret that, very soon.


    Ryu stood there for a while, and then he yawned. He reclined onto his pillar and closed his eyes before directly falling asleep.


    It had been a while since he had had a good sleep. Even during these last several decades, he had to spend so much effort suppressing his excitement that he couldn''t quite rest properly.


    But now that he was beneath the shadow of the Title Stele, he was so relaxed that sleep came with absolute ease.


    Many might have thought he was just showboating, until his rhythmic breathing became light snoring and his chest moved to a smooth cadence. He forgot about the world to the point even Sarriel found herself rolling her eyes again.


    This guy was really too much.


    Slowly, more individuals began to make their presence known.


    The number continued to increase, and from the first few dozen, there came over a hundred more, and then over 500.


    The numbers began to slow considerably when they got to over 900¡­ and then 950¡­ then 970¡­ then 990¡­


    Until the very last 999th pillar was filled months later.


    All the while, there were many focused gazes on Ryu, many filled with murderous intent that would have probably disturbed the sleep of almost anyone else.


    But why would it bother Ryu? As far as he was concerned, the only reason so many "great" geniuses made it so far was because someone tweaked his path. If not, he would have taken out at least half of them already.


    They were lucky they had gotten more time to strut around like they did.


    Ryu''s eyes suddenly opened. He didn''t move from his position, but he seemed to have naturally sensed when the last person had arrived.


    What no one expected was that he would speak first.


    "Silent Quibus," he said slowly. "I know you''re here somewhere. I went out of my way to not look for you, you see. That isn''t because I fear you. It''s more so because since I''ve already come all this way, I might as well do things at everyone else''s pace.


    "I know you have a fondness for gathering Corpse Poison. But you see, when it comes to people I hate¡­ I also don''t have a bottom line. I wonder what kind of expression you''ll make when it''s your turn?"


    There was a chill that pervaded the air when Corpse Poison was mentioned. The words were laced with such a taboo that even the Title Stele rumbled as though in warning.


    But Ryu continued to speak as though he hadn''t felt a single thing was wrong.


    "Ruin Master¡­ I was wondering who it was that they would send. I''m glad that it wasn''t their so-called number one ranked. Overion, I think his name was? It hardly matters. It was smart of you all to send a Dao God after me. Well, foolish for your already damaged Fate. But this is probably your best chance. Maybe you''ll make it entertaining this time. What I didn''t expect was that it would be an old friend, but you''ve already suffered a loss to me twice already¡­ maybe third time''s the charm, hm, Iam?"


    "Also, it''s true. Fire Dragon Blood runs through my veins. So does Lightning Qilin Blood. So does Fire, Ice, Dark, and Emperor Phoenix Blood. Quite frankly, my body is still a bit thirsty for more."  Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was another rumble, this one originating from a completely different space, but Ryu still didn''t seem to be finished.


    "Also, it''s true. Fire Dragon Blood runs through my veins. So does Lightning Qilin Blood. So does Fire, Ice, Dark, and Emperor Phoenix Blood. Quite frankly, my body is still a bit thirsty for more."


    Ryu clasped his fingers behind his head, crossing one leg over another as he looked into the stars. He seemed to still half be in dreamland, his words coming out in a calm, lulling sort of cadence.


    "Ah, Martial Gods¡­ Martial Gods¡­ Martial Gods¡­ There are a few of you I can''t kill. My wife''s snotty-nosed little brother¡­ you see, that wouldn''t be a good look on my part. Her mother, yikes¡ªmaybe a few spanks. Her father¡­ that man''s already dead as far as I''m concerned."


    Ryu suddenly grinned.


    "The rest of you, however¡­ not a single one of you is making it out alive."


    Ryu finished speaking and smiled up to the skies, only for infuriated laughter to echo soon after.


    "A fool who doesn''t even understand how the Title Stele works. The ignorant truly say whatever they please." Young Master Bright''s words cut through Ryu''s momentum, his golden hair flapping wildly beneath his building momentum.


    As though on cue, the Title Stele rumbled.


    The clouds around it shook, and the bottom of the Title Stele trembled awake.


    A pair of characters floated out from the Stele.


    Blade Disciple.


    The Title caught the attention of several people, but the glow of it was dim. It was clear that it wasn''t the best of the best in Titles.


    There were actually three phases of the Title Stele. The first was to make it here, fighting it out from the 999th spot that would allow one to make it to this point.


    But then there was a second phase, a phase where the Title wasn''t yet forged by the user, but instead granted by the Title Stele.


    Not everyone had the right to even attempt to claim their own Title, and it was said that the Title Stele itself had stopped granting unique Titles casually long ago.


    If you wanted such a chance¡­ you would have to earn it.


    However, that didn''t change the fact that these Named Titles were already of great value. Earning one would already make you a pinnacle expert.


    Just being here already made you among the 999 best geniuses in all of existence. To claim such a Title¡­ guaranteed you such a halo even into the Dao God Realm.


    Yet, as though he hadn''t heard Young Master Bright''s words at all, Ryu yawned, and his legs flipped up. He palmed the ground and jumped to his feet in a fluid motion.


    By the time he did this, three existences had already rushed out toward the Title with the fastest speeds they could muster.


    Ryu stretched and then tapped his foot. In an instant, he had shot by them all.


    Several eyes widened all at once as Ryu stepped before the Title, staring it down. There was a strong suction and repulsion force all at once, as though the Title wanted Ryu to take it, but the Title Stele was saying it wasn''t for him.


    "A lot of nerve you have. I take what I please."


    Ryu plucked it out of the air.


    The three figures froze, not a single one of them having expected such a result.


    But then their eyes went red.


    They pulled out their sabers one after another, each one attacking Ryu viciously.


    Ryu overturned a palm, a spark of blue lightning shaping and then solidifying into a curved, steel-blue saber.


    He angled a pierce toward his back, gliding it up the shaft of one and then severing all his tendons and ligaments with a single blow.


    He took a step to the side, dodging the second, and then pivoted in a half turn, half-facing the last and lopping their head into the skies.


    The third and final froze, realizing the trouble that they were in a step too late. But it all happened so fast. In one moment, they were all fighting over the Title, and in the next¡­


    A blue steel saber ran through his chest. He looked down, his eyes colored in despair.


    Even in his final moments, he didn''t understand¡­


    Why was such a monster fighting for such a small Title¡­ didn''t he know¡­ that he could only fight for one¡­?

 Chapter 2181 Nothing

    Chapter 2181  NothingA Blessing fell soundlessly from above, and Ryu took it as though he couldn''t feel the weird gazes around him at all. There was something particularly calm and carefree about him, as though he was forever at peace with his decision.


    Sarriel felt like banging her head against a wall because, unlike everyone else here, she knew that if there was going to be someone who made a mistake like this, Ryu would certainly be the last to do it.


    Ryu''s ability to read a situation, comprehend intentions, decipher the methods of the Heavens, and take advantage of them¡ªat least within their age group¡ªwas certainly second to none.


    So how could he make a mistake like that?


    In which case¡­ that meant he had actually come here for no other purpose than to make an enemy of the world.


    This wasn''t just a case of killing a few geniuses and angering Ancestors with a few words.


    He was quite literally about to make himself public enemy number one, and for no other reason than because he could. She wasn''t even sure if he would get any real benefit out of this.


    Ryu looked over toward her and gave her a wink, to which he received a nice middle finger in return.


    Ryu laughed, his head tilting to the skies.


    At least in this case, his wife was very wrong. This would actually help him quite a bit. But no one needed to know what his plans were just yet. When the time came, the world would know to fear the Tatsuya name the way they were always meant to.


    And this time, it wouldn''t be Primus who carried that weight either. When people said Tatsuya, they would mean him, Ryu.


    Ryu casually landed back on his pillar, a radiant aura emanating from him.


    "Fool."


    Ryu scratched his ear. "I know you''re eager to die, but I would advise you to shut up. The more annoyed I get, the more liable I am to embarrass you."


    Young Master Bright sneered. "The ignorant are truly fearless."


    The Title Stele rumbled again.


    Breaker of Stone.


    Several gazes landed on Ryu, but he just stood there with a bright smile on his face. It was then they seemed to realize that the rules they knew of weren''t nonsense. One really should only be able to fight for a single Title.


    Four individuals bolted out.


    Ryu observed for a bit, rolling his lips over themselves as though smoothing them out. Then, he suddenly took a step.


    Several gazes sharpened as a strong resistance force descended. However, before anyone could breathe out a sigh of relief, Ryu tore through it like a thin piece of tissue paper.


    The halo of Blessings vanished around Ryu as though it was never there, and in a blink, he had appeared before the characters once again, reaching out with a calm smile.


    Sarriel took a breath and exhaled with a sigh. It seemed that this was really the road they were going down. There was no escaping it. This was her Fate now for having such a foolish husband.


    Ryu reached out and claimed the Title once again. His four competitors froze, their anger flaring deep in their hearts.


    They looked toward one another and then charged forward.


    Ultimately, anyone who could make it here didn''t have Dao Hearts that were so easily swayed. Their bodies flared with all sorts of defensive methods, and some of them even grew in size until they towered even over Ryu.


    They converged from all sides, tacitly agreeing to deal a death blow to Ryu first, and only then would they fight over the Title.


    Darkness flared in Ryu''s eyes.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Four attacks that carried the booming cacophony of meteors falling from the skies landed on his body, each one more powerful than the last. However, soon it felt as though they had fallen into an endless abyss, vanishing into the depths of darkness, never to return again.


    Ryu caught a fist out of the air, pushing it to the side and driving his own into the attacker''s gut.


    There was a pause, and then an explosion seemed to sound within their body, a booming burst of air shattering through their back.


    They hacked up mouthfuls of blood and tidbits of organs, only for their body to be spun into the air and used to block a second blow.


    The human shield shattered to pieces on impact, their body''s remnants used like a smoke shield as Ryu passed through as though it wasn''t even there.


    His fingers reached out in a clawing motion, piercing through the eyes of the next attacker.


    Screams filled the skies, but Ryu had already hooked his claws in, yanking down and driving a knee through their head.


    A headless corpse fell to its knees in the skies as Ryu took a step back.


    A fist passed across his chest, and he almost carelessly wrapped an arm around it, pressing it even more firmly against his torso and snapping it at the elbow.


    It was a pure dismantling. It didn''t even look like a battle between cultivators. It looked more like Ryu was strolling through a street fight, his qi not even moving.


    Every Title came with its own merits. If the first tested the mettle of a blade master, then the second was meant to be for those with strong bodies¡ªnamely, powerful defenses.


    These were some of the best geniuses across Existence. Their bodies should have likewise reflected that since they dared to come and fight for this Title.


    And yet, before Ryu, it was like their bodies were made of clay: fragile and soft, flexible and pliable.


    Ryu punched out, his fist ripping through the heart of the last of them. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hm?" Ryu blinked. "Two hearts. Interesting. You can come."


    Ryu shifted his arm, and instead of bursting out with a strong pulse of energy that would shred everything apart, he captured the man instead.


    After studying him for a bit, he nodded and then tossed him into his Inner World.


    Then, without much of a care in the world, he returned to his pillar.


    It rumbled, another Blessing falling from on high, this one slightly more substantial than the last. It was clear that in the opinion of the Title Stele, this Title was worth just a little bit more.


    But now¡­ no one knew how to react.


    This wasn''t supposed to be possible. And what did it mean for this to be possible? How far was Ryu planning on going, exactly?


    The Title Stele rumbled again, and yet another Title took shape.


    This time, instead of stepping forward, Ryu looked toward Young Master Bright.


    "What? You have nothing to say this time? Come on. You seemed to have such a sharp tongue before."


    Darkness pervaded Bright''s gaze, his golden irises swimming with a hidden blackness.


    "Nothing? Did we learn a lesson today, then? About how to shut our mouths when we don''t know what we''re talking about? Hm? A nice lesson, don''t you think?"


    "My words remain the same. You are a fool," Young Master Bright said coldly.


    "Is that so? Just because you''re too afraid to step on toes, too worried about what might happen when your backers can''t protect you, I''ve been walking this road on my own for a very long time. What you see as foolish only exists because you''re too much of a coward to do it.


    "Then again, even if you grew some balls, you don''t have my capabilities, now do you?"


    Young Master Bright''s eyes bulged.


    "Just tuck your tail and wait for your turn. If you dare to step out when the time comes, that is."


    Ryu raised his foot, and his body flickered and vanished. Once again, there was resistance, and then the halo around him vanished. He shot ahead, landing in front of the Title first once again.


    Palm Adept.


    The ending was just the same this time, and the next time, and the time after that.


    Frustration was beginning to grow, but Ryu was simply insatiable.


    There was hardly a single soul here that wasn''t from a power that had pissed Ryu off in some way, shape, or form, and honestly speaking, even if they weren''t¡­ why should he care?


    This was the World of Cultivation; it wasn''t a land of charity. He had come here to win, and he had come here to win in resounding fashion.


    He was also quickly proving to the world that he had no weaknesses. Whether in body or qi, in close combat or weapon, in attack or defense, he was untouchable.


    And then the next Title descended.


    A true, bestial sort of rumble came from the Title Stele, and this time, several perked up.


    Beast Heir.


    This Title shimmered differently from the others. It was the first truly ranked Title, and this time, it was asking something that shouldn''t have been possible for Ryu.


    There was a very big difference between being born a Beast and having Beast Blood.


    And yet, Ryu didn''t seem to register the difference at all.

 Chapter 2182 Isnt For You

    Chapter 2182  Isn''t For You"This isn''t the place for you," a growl came from the side.


    Large numbers of beasts soared into the air.


    With the previous Titles, there seemed to be some jockeying for position, some silent communication made through eye contact and the like.


    But the beasts did no such thing. The moment they saw a Title they liked, they all shot forward at once.


    The only ones that didn''t react were the top-flight Beast Princes and Princesses.


    Why would they need a Title to tell them that they were a Beast Heir? Just the act of being crowned by their Ancestors alone was worth just as much as this Beast Heir Title.


    However, those of them who were their subordinates and the like couldn''t possibly sit idle while things went on. And they certainly wouldn''t be able to survive anyway if they allowed a human, of all things, to gain the Beast Heir Title.


    The one that spoke was a growling dragon, scales of black and brown coating him from head to toe. There was a vicious scar running down the length of his snout that made it look as though he had lost his mouth at some point for not knowing when to shut it.


    Or maybe that was just Ryu making up such a story because he found the dragon''s words annoying.


    "No one knows when to be quiet these days," Ryu sighed.


    Sarriel rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered if this guy knew that he was speaking about himself when he said things like this, or if he just did it on purpose to piss everyone off.


    She had seen battle-hungry people before, but Ryu was the first person she had ever met who actually went out of his way to make an enemy of everyone and everything.


    It was almost impressive.


    Almost.


    The numbers continued to increase, and soon hundreds of wild beasts had filled the skies with their auras.


    This time, Ryu couldn''t just blitz his way to the Title because there were too many creatures that were physically too large to make it through.


    Fairness wasn''t something the Title Stele was known for, so not everyone was equidistant from the Title they wanted. Ultimately, some would end up closer than others.


    The only saving grace was that no one could escape back to their Pillar from the Title¡ªnot until every other fighter for the Title had given up their right to fight for it, or simply died.


    The odds of the former happening were quite low for obvious reasons. Unless you were able to display absolute power and might, most here would just try to use numbers to their advantage and hope to squeak out a victory.


    Quite frankly, Ryu found it a bit pathetic. If you couldn''t fight for the Title under your own merit, then what was the point in having it?


    Of course, that wasn''t to say that he was crying foul. He didn''t care one way or another. In fact, having things like this made them far more interesting.


    It was just that he didn''t understand how someone could have a Dao Heart weak enough to willingly rely on such a thing in the first place. How did they sleep at night? He bet not well.


    "Die."


    Ryu yawned.


    "Hm?"


    His hand was halfway to his mouth when he felt something odd.


    "Oh¡­ Well, that''s a little interesting, I guess."


    Ryu was finding much of his body suppressed, including his Bone Structures.


    He found that particularly odd because he had used concepts of Dao Bones and his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation to complete his Bone Structures.


    Dao Bones were special etchings that only the most talented of beasts would have. So, Ryu half expected that the Title Stele would register almost all of his talent as that of a beast.


    But it hadn''t.


    "You''re angry with me? Who would have thought that such an ancient treasure would know how to throw a tantrum. It''s unbecoming."


    The Title Stele wasn''t a fool. It knew that Ryu was taking advantage of a loophole to gather up all of its talents. It seemed that it had finally decided to retaliate a small bit.


    Sensing Ryu''s aura suddenly begin to plummet, roars filled the skies.


    Subordinates of the Dragon Prince and Princess were the first to react, the most aggressive of them opening their maws and unleashing vicious breath attacks from above.


    Ryu looked up to find a rainbow of qi descending on him from above.


    In his life, Ryu was very used to the Fire Dragons ruling everything. But from what he had seen, this Dragon Prince he had yet to exchange a single word with was actually a Golden Dragon.


    Ryu looked off to the side to find the Dragon Prince curled on his pillar, his enormous body wrapping around it, his chin resting as though in a nap.


    At the very least, there was one other person here who knew how to relax.


    The Dragon Prince never seemed to react to Ryu''s antics, and even now, he didn''t seem to care about the outcome.


    But that didn''t mean Ryu wasn''t fascinated by him.


    Just what was a Golden Dragon? What did they represent?


    He had vaguely heard of legends of Golden Dragons before, but they were all symbolic. They were worn by Emperors, and their strength was usually decided by their five claws.


    Well, this Dragon Prince had six claws, and his wife had lavender scales for some reason.


    This Golden Dragon wasn''t the only oddity here either. Ryu was very used to the Lightning Qilin being rulers of the Qilin, but this time it was actually a Fire Qilin.


    His gaze shifted to the Qilin Prince, and he was wide awake, unlike the lazy Dragon Prince. His fiery ruby scales glistened beneath the rain of attacks, tufts of hair that danced around his hooves and mane billowing in the wind.


    Ryu and the Fire Qilin''s gazes met, the fire in the latter''s light almost making Ryu feel the heat even at this sort of distance.  Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Fascinating¡­ fascinating, indeed¡­''


    This rain of attacks was just as peculiar. There wasn''t a single Fire Dragon here. He sensed an Earth Dragon, a Wind Dragon; he even sensed a Lightning Dragon mixed in there, all of them breathing down their rain of fury.


    But it all almost felt¡­ out of place.


    Ryu was suddenly swallowed up by the breath attacks, or so it seemed.


    He appeared high in the skies, somewhere out of range, only for a Roc to suddenly slice through the air toward him, a wing as sharp as a blade, carrying the speed of the fastest creature of the skies, manifesting at his waist.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. ''Fast¡­''


    He turned to his Spacetime Soul Nature, but he hadn''t even finished the thought when a Phoenix appeared high above him, its cage forming a claw that struck downward.


    If it was just a claw, it would be fine. But it was actually a strong spatial restriction.


    A Spatial Phoenix?


    Looking at the silvery flames that coated the creature''s body, Ryu was a bit speechless again.


    What was the point of all of this?


    Back in his day, Ancient Beasts were given assignments by the Heavens, and they stuck to them. If Ancient Beasts could just represent anything, then what was the point of all the¡ª


    Ryu''s eyes widened. ''It can''t be¡­''


    In his distraction, the Roc wing sliced into his body, nearly splitting him in two. Without the strength of his Bone Structures, blood spurted.


    Sarriel rushed to cover her cherry lips, a string of curses coming only to be muffled by her palm. She didn''t know what Ryu was distracted by, but didn''t this idiot know that there was a time and a place for everything?!


    The Phoenix claw never stopped coming above for even a moment. Space became more and more constrained, and Ryu quickly realized that even his Spacetime Soul Nature was being suppressed.


    This was the Beast Heir Title fight. His eyes, his Bone Structure, his Qi, his Meridians, his Spiritual Foundations¡­ they had no place here.


    It was either he fought like a beast or he died like a human. No¡­ even death like a human wouldn''t be up to him.


    However, Ryu himself was still in a bit of a daze.


    ''Are the plans of the Phoenix Sky God really that deep? There''s just¡­''


    Ryu''s gaze shifted, and his eyes landed on the Phoenix Princess, wrapped in a rainbow of colors. She was absolutely gorgeous, but most importantly¡­


    Absolutely nothing like what a Phoenix should be.


    ''These idiots have forgotten what it means to be Ancient Beasts of their Races¡­ Unbelievable¡­''


    Ryu raised a hand as scales slowly coated his forearm and palm.


    CHI.


    He caught the Phoenix claw out of the air, holding the Roc wing to his gaping wound with the other.


    Sparks flew, and the air whined.


    It seemed he would have to remind them of what the True Ancient Beasts were like¡­

 Chapter 2183 A True Beast

    Chapter 2183  A True BeastDragon''s Roar.


    Ryu''s head tilted up to the skies, and for a moment, it seemed impossible to see a human in his place at all. It felt like a Dragon Emperor had lifted his head to the clouds. A thunderous, booming, throaty sort of roar rose up from the depths of a black abyss, piercing through the veil of the Heavens and shattering the dome above.


    The Beasts froze for just a moment.


    And then Ryu moved.


    Chi.


    In one moment, Ryu was pincered between a claw and a wing. In the next, a Phoenix claw flew, and a Roc wing peeled across the skies, its silvery, metallic wings splaying out, its feathers fluttering down below in a heavy rain of blades.


    Ryu appeared high above the Phoenix, which still had yet to register the loss of its claw, his two fists coming together in a hammer above his head. His silver eyes slit down the middle, separating into a demonic hue as he smashed.


    His fists deformed around the head of the Phoenix, practically tearing through the layers of its flesh and bone at the same time.


    The Roc was falling through the skies by the time the Phoenix''s head shattered into a rain of blood.


    White scales reflected across Ryu''s body, crimson liquid seeping through its crevices as though it was greedily swallowing it all up.


    With a flash, Ryu appeared at the gaping wound of the Roc''s torn wing.


    BANG!


    A violent attack smashed against Ryu''s side, practically turning half of him into a meaty pulp, but it was like he didn''t notice at all.


    With one of his arms out of commission, his teeth bore down instead, his canines glistening through the air as he ripped into the flesh of the Roc with his jaw while his only working arm gripped the other side.


    Like a savage that had lost his mind, he bit and ripped, yanking his jaw to one side and his arm to the other.


    He tore the Roc in two.


    Screams filled the air, and the skeleton of an Ancient Beast was twisted into a mass of gore in the skies.


    Ryu bounded through the rain of blood, all of his actions more savage and erratic than the last. It didn''t feel like they were facing off against a human at all, but rather a Beast even more gutturally primal than any of them.


    He leapt and bound, scratched and clawed, using every bit and piece of his body without regard for what might be hurt or what already was.


    He leapt through the skies like an ape, using the back of a Griffin with a hole right through where its heart had just been as a springboard.


    His body bent in an arch, his arms and legs reaching back as though a powerful coil about to unwind a great amount of strength in a single bound.


    BANG!


    His arms smashed against the head of a Dragon, deforming and melding it into a completely new shape.


    The black-brown dragon from earlier swiped right at Ryu, disregarding the safety of his own kind.


    Blood flew, and the dragon was blinded in an instant, a deep trench being torn out of its skull in an effort to chase after Ryu.


    Ryu bent and twisted out of the way, grabbing onto a long whisker of the now-dead dragon and swinging from it. He curled through the skies, reached back with two claws to his hips, and erupted with both of their strengths at the black-brown dragon''s chest at the very same time.


    BANG! BANG!


    The two layered on top of one another, the chest of the dragon deforming for just the briefest instant before it popped back into place.


    Ryu was sent flying backward, but so too was the dragon.


    In the brief instant Ryu lost control of his body, a savage stomp came from above, the billowing flames of a qilin and their mighty momentum falling like a meteor.


    Ryu''s skin spontaneously combusted before the hoof even landed, and then came the physical form of the hoof itself.


    Fire bent and twisted, and for a moment, it seemed like Ryu was going to be swallowed whole.


    Without his Bone Structures, his Bloodlines alone couldn''t generate enough power. Otherwise, that double claw just now would have shattered the black-brown dragon into a rain of blood and gore.


    Now, he was facing off against a hoof before his body had even fully recovered.


    There were too many of them, and he was far too suppressed. It was the logical conclusion anyone would have come to.


    Except seemingly Ryu himself.


    There came a second roar, this one from the very depths of Ryu''s soul. It carried a heavy defiance and a Dao Heart that overshadowed mountains and blanketed the skies, replacing the dome of the Heavens themselves and shaking the Gates of the Heavenly Courts.


    Red-black Flames erupted across Ryu''s body, peels of radiant blue lightning coming soon afterward.


    He had said that he would show them what it truly meant to be the ruler of an Ancient Beast Race.


    Rage Flames.


    Tribulation Lightning.


    Death Flames.


    Ice Flames.


    Rebirth Flames.


    Emperor Flames.


    To use mere Qilin Flames to try and suppress him¡­


    It was nothing short of foolish.


    The heat that Ryu was experiencing seemed to vanish into thin air. His body burst with its own fires instead.


    The hood descended, and yet it was ash before it even touched Ryu. The qilin didn''t even understand what happened when Heavenly Patterns began to cut across the skies, crawling up the length of where its leg had just been.


    Ryu''s claws lengthened as he flexed his torso. His body, flying downward parallel to the ground, suddenly twisted, his back arching and his arm swiping up with vicious momentum.


    A Dragon''s Claw can split the world in five.


    "¡ªI do it in six."


    Five scythes of black and red tore through the skies.


    Ryu vanished, not even watching as the qilin was split into pieces. It didn''t end up mattering. Why would it when it fell into odd bits only for those very bits to turn to ash moments later?


    Ryu appeared before the black-brown dragon again, his eyes blazing, flames and lightning dancing around him.


    "Storm."


    He grabbed at the skies, a lance falling down from above. It slammed into it rather than falling into his palm, deforming into an armor that coated him from head to toe.


    BANG! BANG!


    He smashed against the chest of the dragon once again, knocking it down below.


    With a flash, he disappeared in a stream of lightning that appeared before the dragon, knocking it upward with the same two blows to its chest.


    BANG! BANG!


    Roars filled the skies, echoes of a relentless barrage leaving the black-brown dragon rebounding every which way like a ping pong ball.


    Streaks of lightning fell from the skies, forming its cage as though the world itself was responding to Ryu''s call.


    BANG! BANG!


    Ryu drove a knee up the black-brown dragon''s snout, appearing above and driving a heel down from the skies.


    Scales and blood flew, the crunching of bones as dense as the cores of worlds echoing time and time again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    "I''ll show you what a true beast looks like."


    The wrathful tempest billowed up from Ryu. He seemed truly infuriated that these people wanted to question him.


    Ryu had never seen himself as a beast, would never see himself as a beast. But who were they to tell him what he could and couldn''t be?


    A spiraling pillar of black and red flames tore into the skies above Ryu, swirling into a mass of raging clouds.


    Heavenly Phoenix Patterns peeled across them, and all of a sudden, the booming cadence of thunder rippled.


    Ryu reached up and grabbed.


    Lightning God.


    "[¡ª Judgment]."


    Ryu''s chest expanded, his head tilting to the skies as he inhaled. His roar continued to echo through the world as Tribulation clouds for hundreds of miles were sucked into his body.


    Silence fell for just the briefest of moments before Ryu looked down at the sparse enemies that remained.


    There wasn''t a single stage in existence that he didn''t have the right to stand on.


    Ryu unleashed a final roar, a Dragon''s Breath of fire and lightning falling in a spiraling mass of death and destruction.


    Black, red, royal blue. Space shattered, the skies overturned, even the pillars themselves swayed wildly back and forth as though they might collapse at any moment.


    At that instant, even the Dragon''s Prince slowly opened his eyes, his swaying pillar too much for even the likes of him to ignore. And for that brief instant when he looked at Ryu, he thought he was seeing his father unleashing an almighty breath that encompassed the world.


    Slowly, the skies fell into silence, and a lull fell over the battle.


    There, Ryu stood alone high in the skies. And the beasts¡­?


    They were nowhere to be seen.


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    15:55

 Chapter 2184 Beast Heir

    Chapter 2184  Beast HeirRyu exhaled a breath. There was a certain glossiness in his eyes that slowly faded away in that moment, almost as though he hadn''t been entirely aware of what he was doing.


    He had let his Bloodlines rampage for the moment, and they did as they pleased. It was a feeling that he didn''t usually allow, even back when it would have suited him the most.


    Well, not that it would have been very possible back then either.


    Back then, his Bloodlines weren''t exactly entirely awake. They were mostly in a deep slumber, because waking up would have meant shredding him to pieces.


    Even now, Ryu was questioning whether he had gotten everything out of his Bloodlines.


    Of course, if others knew his thoughts, their responses wouldn''t be the most¡­ kind.


    He wasn''t even a Beast, but he had just used those very same Bloodlines to destroy some of the greatest geniuses of Beastkind before the world. If his Bloodlines weren''t good enough now, what exactly did that mean for everyone else?


    But in Ryu''s opinion, it wasn''t his Bloodlines individually that were so powerful, but rather the combination of them. And that wasn''t exactly the same thing.


    If he just had to rely on his Dragon Bloodline, or just his Qilin Bloodline, or just one of his Phoenix Bloodlines, how powerful would he be?


    When he thought about it, no matter how he simulated it, he felt that he would have probably died within the first few exchanges.


    He mulled this over in his mind as he stood there, almost as though he wasn''t aware that he was holding up the rest of the Title Stele proceedings.


    His mind swirled with thoughts, and then he felt something.


    The Beast Heir Title.


    ''Hm¡­'' he stared at it. Or, rather, felt it swirling about in his body.


    In truth, Ryu wasn''t gathering these Titles for himself. He didn''t give a damn about any of them.


    These Titles were for his Corpse Puppet and Summon army.


    There were a lot of people who could claim to have powerful Corpse Puppet armies. There were none who could claim to have given their armies Titles from the Title Stele.


    It could clearly be seen that Ryu''s ambition wasn''t on a level most could even begin to fathom. In fact, even now, he wasn''t quite satisfied.


    But now¡­ he was wondering if he should take this Beast Heir Title for himself.


    He couldn''t absorb it now, or else he wouldn''t be able to continue snatching Titles. But he wondered if it would be possible to use it to shore up what weaknesses he perceived to still have.


    The truth was that there was certainly a better Beast Heir Title coming, that much Ryu was certain of. If the very best Beast Title was here, then the likes of the Dragon Prince and others would have long since acted.


    But there was also a possibility that the best of the geniuses here wouldn''t move no matter what for these Titles, obsessed with ensuring that they could get a unique Title of their own.


    It wasn''t impossible to get both. It was just that you could only get one prepared Title before you fought for your own unique Title.


    However, in many circles, fighting for a weaker prepared Title might be seen as self-doubt. Depending on the type of Dao Heart you had, you might choose to put all your eggs in one basket.


    Ryu, obviously, wasn''t such a person. He didn''t care about what others thought, and he could fight for more than one anyway. The whispers of others weren''t going to move him off of his game.


    Either way, this wasn''t what was important. What was important was the fact that this Beast Heir Title wasn''t the best, so it was odd that Ryu would even be thinking about absorbing it.


    The reason he was hesitating was because he was thinking of giving Kira the best Beast Title there was here. That would really shore up that Corpse Puppet''s abilities and bring out the greatest strength of his Ancient Sinew Bone Structure.


    By comparison, Ryu didn''t think he needed much of a push. Plus, he wasn''t going to use the Title in earnest. Rather, he was going to take advantage of its Fate, tear it apart, take what he needed, and discard what he didn''t. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn''t think he needed the absolute strongest Beast Title to do that.


    ''Dilemmas¡­ Dilemmas¡­''


    Ryu spent so long standing there that some probably thought he had truly overexerted himself this time.


    They weren''t foolish enough to think that Ryu was just at the level of the beasts he had just killed. They were all geniuses and much smarter than that. They knew that for Ryu to fight for the Beast Heir Title, he had been suppressed in pretty much all other aspects. He hadn''t even been allowed to use his Heavenly Pupils in earnest.


    But that was precisely what made the fact he might have overexerted himself feel more real.


    Only Sarriel, who knew about Ryu''s Embryonic Qi, was starting to grow impatient.


    This guy was doing things at his own pace again. Hurry up and heal yourself. Get off the stage so I can fight too, my hands are itching.


    Sarriel was only growing more impatient every time Ryu fought. She wanted to fight too. She wanted to show the world who Sarriel Moo¡ªTatsuya was.


    She had barely had the Moon thought when Ryu looked over at her with a glance. A shudder ran through her body, and then she rolled her eyes.


    "Don''t read my mind."


    "I''m not," Ryu said. "I just felt a disturbance in the Fabric of Fate and I had to make sure that a certain someone didn''t forget their loving husband."


    Sarriel shook her head and looked away, a slight blush on her cheeks. She just wasn''t used to using someone else''s last name yet. She hadn''t done it on purpose.


    Ryu smiled, feeling that Sarriel could be quite adorable when she wanted to be.


    In the end, Ryu didn''t make a decision. He just took the Beast Heir Title and walked off to the side.


    He took a seat, bloodied and beaten. There was a huge gash across his side, and one of his arms looked like it was still hanging limply. Ghastly bruises were revealed across his pale skin once his white scales retreated.


    Quite frankly, he looked like he had a foot in the grave already.


    Sarriel only internally rolled her eyes when she saw this as well. She knew that Ryu could easily heal all of this, and yet he chose to stand there in pain instead. For what? To lure in idiots?


    Sometimes the way Ryu''s brain worked made absolutely no sense to her.


    On the one hand, he was sometimes so very arrogant. And at other times, he was so very hypocritical.


    Didn''t he want to beat everyone at their best? So why was he pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger now?


    The worst part was that even if she brought this up, she knew she would just get a cheeky grin and he would find a way to steamroll over her with logic you''d have to squint at to make sense of.


    Ryu closed his eyes in meditation, and the Title Stele finally rumbled again.


    Emperor Sword.


    Sarriel stood so fast her pillar almost shattered.


    Ryu opened a single eye, and then closed it as though he hadn''t seen a single thing.


    The timing truly was impeccable. Now he could use his wife to pretend to be even more of a pig. Wasn''t it amazing how things worked out?


    This was certainly a coincidence and had absolutely nothing to do with him.


    Sarriel was the first to react, but she was far from the only one to do so.


    Ryu had only just closed his eyes when he opened them again. His head shifted, landing on the group of Martial Gods and specifically¡­ his so-called mother-in-law.


    Aurelia calmly stepped into the air, her dress fluttering as her dainty feet walked across the skies. If one looked closely, it was possible to see that her ankles and the soles of her feet were actually wrapped in a silky cloth.


    To her back, a sword seemed to manifest out of a ribbon of silk, the fabric dancing around it with a flare for theatrics.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He wasn''t the type of person who would ever react to such a thing¡­ if he was the one who was personally fighting.


    But he wasn''t the one who was personally fighting.


    If Sarriel was able to use her full host of abilities, he might not care very much. But this was a battle for the Emperor Sword Title¡­


    Nothing but Sword Aura could be used.


    Aurelia''s appearance was far from the only change. That was because, to everyone''s surprise this time¡­


    The Dragon Princess also moved, her large, snaking lavender-scaled body moving through the skies with an elegant grace.

 Chapter 2185 Dragon Princess

    Chapter 2185  Dragon PrincessThe Dragon Princess didn''t seem to have any intention of turning into a human. She didn''t speak a single word, but her actions said all that needed to be said.


    If a human could take a Beast Heir Title by pretending to be a beast, she would naturally be able to take a Human Title while very much being a beast. She was superior in every way, after all.


    Sometimes, in a world like this one, silence and action were all that was required.


    Sarriel looked over to the Dragon Princess, finding herself irrationally angry.


    Maybe it was because she had repressed her feelings for Ryu for so long, but in her mind, it didn''t matter how unruly or unreasonable Ryu was being. Whatever he wanted, the world owed him. Who was this Dragon Princess to appear here and try to make a statement about her husband?


    A sword howl came from Sarriel''s katana, sharp blade winds cutting across the skies with savage momentum. Her sword hardly quivered, and yet the world bowed into obedience.


    Aurelia only elegantly pointed, and her silk-laced sword fluttered down from her back, landing in her palm as though it had always been there.


    The Dragon Princess looked to Sarriel, her lavender slit eyes flickering with blade lights. She raised a claw and pointed toward Sarriel.


    CHI.


    Fast.


    That was the only way it could be described. It was like it ignored time and space, blinking out of existence and then back into it. In one moment, the Dragon Princess had raised her claw, and in the next, the blade light was already at Sarriel''s throat.


    No one even saw Sarriel move, however.


    The blade light shattered, a rain of fragmented glass falling down as her cascade of black, shimmering hair danced amidst the wind. Her long ears trembled only the slightest bit, as though in acknowledgment that she had, indeed, moved.


    Sarriel''s eyes were a much deeper shade of purple, and when she looked at the Dragon Princess, it was as though she was trying to decide exactly how to slice and dice her up.


    Her white gown fluttered in the air, and she took a step forward. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In that moment, the two women seemed to have completely forgotten that they had a third opponent in the first place. But Aurelia didn''t seem to care either. She just stood there, her eyes half-closed, silky ribbons fluttering around her delicate body.


    Sarriel and the Dragon Princess vanished.


    Chi. Chi. Chi. Chi. Chi. Chi.


    It was impossible to see their bodies. Streaks of purple and lavender filled the skies, and in brief instances, it would be possible to see a silvery arc of a katana or a piercing strike of a claw.


    There wasn''t even the slightest hint of qi used, the truest display of swordsmanship dancing across the skies.


    With the backdrop of darkness, it felt like they were watching shooting stars connect star maps¡ªthe start and end of the universe all at once.


    Until¡­


    PUCHI.


    Blood spurted, and a roar filled the skies.


    The spectators watched as a scaled finger fell through the skies.


    The Dragon Prince stirred, a deep, rumbling growl coming from the depths of his soul.


    But as soon as it appeared, so too did a second rumbling.


    Ryu didn''t even open his eyes, but a guttural growl came from the depths of his chest. The vibrations were so violent that his pillar swayed from side to side.


    A clash of two men echoed across the skies, bouncing against the barrier protecting the Title contestants and causing it to quake nonetheless.


    Neither of them opened their eyes, and yet they both knew exactly which of them was acting, and exactly why that was.


    The Dragon Princess appeared in the skies, and the world finally saw the sight they had been hidden from.


    Her gorgeous, lavender-scaled body was covered in streaks of sword marks, and now, one of her claws was missing, dripping with what was probably some of the most precious blood in the world.


    "If you want to show others up, you should probably check to make sure you have the strength to do so," Sarriel said coldly. "A beast will always be a beast. Don''t overestimate yourself."


    The Dragon Princess'' eyes bulged, fury billowing off of her in waves.


    Her aura was slowly growing, and then, before everyone''s eyes, she began to shrink.


    Slowly but surely, a woman with beauty beyond words appeared in a lavender dress. On her head, a pair of horns curled as though she refused to give up the last bit of dragonkin in her.


    Blood dripped from one of her hands, but as the droplets accumulated, something shocking happened. They slowly began to form the edge of a blade, then its body, and then its hilt.


    Soon, the Dragon Princess stood in silence, an enormous, curved greatsword the length of her body resting in her palm.


    It was true, she had been quite stubborn trying to stay in her dragon form to win this battle. If this wasn''t a Title battle, it would have been just fine. That was because she would have access to her full range of abilities.


    But just like Sarriel and Aurelia, she was suppressed. She could use nothing but the sword. Trying to use a human weapon in beast form while her other abilities were suppressed had handicapped her to less than 10% of the strength she should have otherwise been able to display.


    And now her stubbornness had gotten her injured. Whether she could even still participate in this battle as an equal or not was in the air.


    But she would surely try.


    She raised her blade.


    "Do you think this will make a difference?" Sarriel asked.


    The words had hardly left her lips when they both moved.


    The clash of swords filled the skies, but without having to deal with such a large target, Sarriel''s blade became smoother, faster.


    She hadn''t been used to fighting such a large opponent with only her sword available to her. While the Dragon Princess thought the bump in strength would make a large difference, to Sarriel, the shrinking in size was practically like putting her head on a platter for her¡­


    Especially since the Dragon Princess'' raw strength plummeted off a cliff.


    Their blades intersected, reflecting off one another. Both blades were exceptionally long, but one of them was thick and unruly while the other seemed to vanish in certain lights.


    To her credit, the Dragon Princess wielded the heavy greatsword as though it was nothing more than a feather, and her speed was no less dexterous.


    Sarriel''s wrist suddenly twisted during a particularly heavy clash. The Dragon Princess couldn''t react in time to the sudden shift in angle. Or rather, she would have been able to¡­ had she not been missing a finger.


    The Dragon Princess tried to apply pressure on the region to stop Sarriel''s blade from sliding up her own, only to hit nothing but air.


    When she realized that Sarriel was targeting her missing finger, her expression changed, but it was already too late.


    Her arm flew into the air.


    The Dragon Princess'' eyes bulged not with pain, but fury. She had never felt so humiliated in her life. Unfortunately, Sarriel''s blade never stopped and was already coming for her neck.


    Raising her only remaining hand, the Dragon Princess burst back into her draconic form.


    CHI.


    Another arm flew into the skies, but the size change was enough for the Dragon Princess to escape.


    She retreated wildly, the wounds Sarriel left on her body being so clean that it wasn''t until several moments later that blood began to pool at all.


    The Dragon Princess'' hot breath filled the space as her body pressed against the barrier. Another step back and she would be giving up on the Title. But her heart was entirely unwilling.


    It was all her fault. If she had just entered her human form immediately, there was no way this battle would have ended so pitifully. Her pride had gotten the best of her.


    "Return."


    The deep rumbling voice of her husband shook the Dragon Princess awake. She lowered her head in shame and left the barrier before Sarriel could attack again.


    "Come here," the Dragon Prince spoke again.


    The Dragon Princess obediently flew over.


    The two beasts intertwined their bodies, and the Dragon Prince began to lovingly lick at her wounds. The Dragon Princess practically purred, curling into her husband''s body. The deep shame she felt only grew deeper under his care. She felt like she had let down their entire kind because of her pride.


    The Dragon Prince didn''t say anything else, but his fury caused the space to tremble. Cracks began to appear in the pillar they intertwined their bodies on, causing several pupils to constrict into pinholes. Just how much power did it take to do such a thing? Just how dense was a material formed by the Title Stele?


    There was no doubt that the Dragon Prince was truly infuriated this time.

 Chapter 2186 One Outcome

    Chapter 2186  One OutcomeThe moment between the Dragon Prince and Princess had absolutely nothing to do with Sarriel. To her, that battle could have only ended one way.


    And so too would this one.


    Her sword angled downward, pointed forward toward Aurelia. She didn''t seem to care that she had just fought a battle, nor that Aurelia hadn''t used up any of her strength. As far as Sarriel was concerned, the World of Cultivation had never had anything close to that of fairness, and she had already been living in such a world of unfairness for her whole life.


    She had made it this far, and this Martial God wouldn''t change a single thing.


    Sarriel didn''t bother to speak a single word. She only looked at Aurelia for a single instant of time before her blade moved.


    Afterimages filled the air and time seemed to bend and warp, reality forgetting what was true and what was false for a moment as her sword gracefully danced through the air.


    For such a long blade, Sarriel wielded her katana as though it was a true extension of her arm. In just a simple swing, she carried a myriad of variations and changes that left the eyes of many spinning.


    There was no doubt a majority on the sidelines right this moment that felt as though there was simply no way they could block such a strike. And then there were those even weaker than that who couldn''t fathom how anyone could possibly fall into such a trap to begin with.  S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That latter group had no right to be here.


    Aurelia moved.


    Silk fluttered and her blade danced across the skies.


    The two attacks seemed to pass through one another, their illusions missing by a large margin. But then there was the slight sound of blade meeting blade before they separated.


    The echo of the blade seemed to force their real bodies into existence, the afterimages dispersing to reveal two beautiful women crossing blades for the briefest of instances before their swords accelerated beyond what light could keep up with.


    Chi. Chi. Chi.


    Every blow was so light and delicate that it was impossible to tell that they were moving so fast to begin with. It was said that speed could translate directly to power, but something about the control these women were exhibiting made their blade tips as fast as lightning and yet their attacks as light as a feather.


    They fluttered around one another, their hair, their robes, their swords dancing in the wind as though either one could be blown away at any time.


    They were probing, poking at weaknesses, trying to find an opening the other could give. And every exchange only seemed to become faster and faster, more relentless.


    Chi. Chi. Chi.


    The silky ribbons began to multiply around Aurelia''s body. They wrapped around her delicate feet and the length of her arm, sometimes unraveling and spinning out in a drilling mass of destruction.


    Sarriel dealt with them with the same practiced ease. The increase to the number of attacks didn''t change her flow in the slightest, her illusory blades multiplying with the speed of her katana.


    Her stance shifted, and for the first time, she placed two hands on the hilt of her weapon. Her aura completely changed and a heart-shuddering sharpness radiated through the air.


    Logically, her power should have increased while her agility plummeted. And yet, both seemed to increase.


    The skies seemed to be seeing double, then triple. One Sarriel after another manifested, surrounding the Martial Goddess in a holy sort of dance.


    Streaks of violet and blue filled the skies, sword qi howls beginning to grow more menacing and frequent.


    It felt like they were watching two women battle on the edge of an abyss. Each exchange brought them closer and closer to that edge, their toes tiptoeing around the blade''s finer corner, gliding across the muse of death as their speeds accelerated.


    Sarriel''s blade was suddenly intertwined with a spinning mass of silk ribbon. The numbers of the latter were also growing at an astonishing degree, and each slice was no less deadly than a sword.


    The ribbon quickly flew down the length of the blade, unraveling and then tightly winding down on its body.


    Sarriel''s forearm flexed and the sound of metal grating against metal echoed with a savage sort of momentum. It felt as though a gear had gotten caught in a gear, their teeth grinding against one another in a bid to loosen themselves. And then¡­


    CHI. CHI. SHIIIIIIING!


    The silky ribbons sliced apart, fluttering down like the petals of a blossom''s dance. However, in their midst, the point of a sword appeared.


    Aurelia pierced forward, her blade tip, much shorter than Sarriel''s own, having appeared at the young Fey''s throat.


    Sarriel swayed to the side, her afterimages layering onto one another in quick succession.


    Blood spurted, a line following Aurelia''s blade as it curled through the skies.


    A searing pain ripped through Sarriel''s throat, but there was a deathly sort of calmness in her eyes as she faced off against this danger. How many times had she tread on the line of life and death? Too many to count.


    And every time, her reaction would be just the same.


    Focus.


    Her body finally shifted all the way to the side, waterfalling crimson falling down the length of her neck and soaking the collarbone of her dress through.


    Her katana, finally free of the ribbons, sliced right for Aurelia''s sides. But the Martial Goddess was calm beyond compare as well.


    A mass of silky ribbons had already appeared through the one angle that Sarriel could attack from.


    That was why it was such a surprise when Aurelia''s pupils constricted as she felt a searing pain from the complete other side.


    Both women explosively retreated before coming to a halt that somehow felt just as explosive.


    Sarriel reached up to touch her neck as Aurelia looked down to the gash at her side. Both wounds seemed far too ghastly to appear on women so angelic. One had half their throat cut open, while the other had their inner organs struggling to remain within their bodies.


    And yet, the instant they accessed their injuries, they burst forward again.


    The dance of life and death began once more, and this time, they seemed even more vicious than they had been in the past. They didn''t know blood loss or pain, ribbons of silk and blades cutting across the air like a symphony of colors.


    Neither had access to their full range of abilities, and yet their blades painted their own stories. It was the sort of beautiful story that one had to be there to experience, despite the gruesome nature of the exchange.


    The wounds of the women only became worse and worse. Stabs through the chest, the severing of tendons, even slices around the face.


    What once was their beauty was quickly being marred as they raced around the skies. Each one was silent, each one endlessly focused on the task at hand.


    Emperor Sword.


    They forgot everything but the blades in their hands, and to the shock of the crowd, they were quickly finding the weight of a true genius.


    They should have been slowing down with their injuries, but somehow they were only accelerating. Their skills were becoming sharper, more refined. There was less thought before each one of their moves, and every time they acted, the Heavens seemed to radiate a light in praise of their efforts.


    The Title Stele shook and the Emperor Sword Title grew brighter and brighter as it shook violently, eagerly awaiting the one that would take their Title.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    For the first time, the crossing of their blades wasn''t nearly so delicate. They smashed against one another, separating violently only to fly into one another once more.


    Sarriel''s blade cut a wide arc, slicing a chunk out of Aurelia''s belly.


    Aurelia''s silky strands danced, cutting a piece of Sarriel''s scalp away from her skull.


    Flesh and blood oozed and the howls of the Title Stele only became more feverish.


    To the side, Xalvador watched his wife''s battle with an eerie calmness. There was a tone hidden deep within his eyes that painted the picture of why quite well.


    Confidence.


    To him, there was only one way this battle could end, and that was with a Martial God''s victory. It wasn''t just about the type of women Aurelia was¡­


    The Martial Gods didn''t lose.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The clash of the women seemed to reach their peak, space rippling, time warping. It was hard to tell whether their exchanges were happening in real time or if they were witnessing exchanges that happened several hours ago.


    Reality warped and bent around them, the strength of their blades tearing into the void and ripping it open with the momentum of a heart-shuddering battle.


    Ryu suddenly opened his eyes, a deathly sort of sharpness in them as the situation changed.


    Aurelia''s sword pierced forward, silky ribbons winding around it as though to turn it into a lance.


    The ribbons suddenly separated, parrying each one of Sarriel''s illusory blades away¡­ including the very real one.


    PUCHI!


    The sword in the middle stayed true, piercing through Sarriel''s chest.

 Chapter 2187 Taint

    Chapter 2187  TaintSarriel looked down at her chest, her eyes narrowing. There was something odd about her reaction, as though she was more surprised than in pain.


    Just now, there was a definite unnatural shift in the world that she couldn''t quite explain. However, whether she could explain it or not¡­


    A mouthful of blood came from her cherry lips, her body shuddering as it began to shut down.


    She didn''t think that she would experience death so soon. But maybe she never really considered it at all.


    In her mind, no matter how many times she danced on the edge of life and death, she would inevitably come out on time.


    Ironically enough, she was a lot like her husband in that respect. As much as she talked about the danger of the world, and as cautious as she was with her every step, she was still endlessly arrogant.


    Maybe she thought Ryu was stupid for acting like he did, but the irony of it all was that deep inside, she felt that even if she acted exactly like Ryu did, she would make it all the way to that mountain peak too.


    In a lot of ways, she was practically the perfect mirror to this husband of hers. It was just a shame that she wouldn''t be able to stay by his side any longer.


    Sarriel felt her life slipping away.


    In death, she was quite calm. In fact, her hand still raised in a steady motion, her blade perfectly level and not carrying the slightest hint of a tremble as she readied herself to swing down with whatever she had left.


    PUCHI! PUCHI! PUCHI!


    Sarriel felt her body pierced through by countless silk ribbons in the briefest instant of time. She knew then that she wouldn''t be able to complete her swing, but that was only natural.


    With an opponent as skilled as Aurelia, there was really only one way this could end if she was ever on the losing end. They had been so close, a fault like this would definitely be exploited.


    In the end, there was nothing she could do.


    She felt her body about to be shredded to pieces and she relaxed. Facing that calm moment in the end, she knew that she had given it everything she had. It was just a shame that she wouldn''t be able to revive her Clan like she wanted.


    But¡­ that was when she sensed a streaking light.


    ''¡­ You¡­ idiot¡­'' she thought silently.


    She had really been trying not to think about it. There was an elephant in the room that she had completely disregarded because she was hoping that he would make the smart choice for once.


    The Title Stele wasn''t some playground no matter how casual Ryu seemed to be about everything he had done. Every time he flouted the rules of the Title Stele, there was a price to pay. Maybe he could easily take it, or maybe it was small enough for him to disregard in most cases, but there was no doubt that there was a price.


    Most often, Ryu was bending the rules a little. Whenever he came out to fight for another Title, he wasn''t technically breaking the rules because he had already given up on the Title he claimed before, obscuring it from the eyes of the Title Stele so that it registered him as someone without a Title already.


    But this time was different. Very different.


    The warriors fighting for the Emperor Sword Title had already been chosen. You couldn''t just wait on the sidelines and then act when everyone was already heavily injured. At that point, it''d be a battle of who could hold out the longest instead of a true battle for the best swordsman in Existence.


    But obviously¡­


    Ryu didn''t care.


    He had already moved and slammed against the barrier.


    There was an indifferent sort of darkness in Ryu''s eyes as he slammed through. What should have been an impenetrable barrier shook under his might, and then caved.


    The Title Stele trembled in response, a rain of fire and hell coming down from the skies. It didn''t matter how strong Ryu''s Rebirth Flames were, it was like the Heavens were reminding him that there was always a sky beyond the sky, a Heaven beyond the Heaven.


    A furious rain fell on Ryu''s body, and in an instant, it didn''t seem like he was human any longer, but rather a seething ball of hellish flames.


    Hearts shook and souls trembled. Even from a distance, the geniuses of the world felt as though their Dao Hearts might collapse just looking at the flames.


    Looking at the colorless, odorless, auraless manifestation, they felt more fear now than they ever had in their lives.


    These weren''t normal flames. They were Karmic Flames. Ryu''s very destiny was being burned away right before their eyes, in real time, as though his existence itself was being expunged.


    There was a flash in Ryu''s eyes and his Embryonic Qi churned.


    He burned through it all in an instant.


    BANG!


    The barrier shattered and Ryu crossed through the skies, his body a burning mass. He moved so fast that he looked no different from a streaking meteor across the stars.


    There was a shuddering feeling of danger that took hold of Aurelia''s heart. She was just one split moment from taking Sarriel''s life, and logically speaking, Ryu wouldn''t make it in time.


    And yet, she felt like her entire life was flashing before her eyes, as though if she took Sarriel''s life now, she would experience the regret of a lifetime mere moments later.


    There was only a brief moment of hesitation before Aurelia''s heart steeled, her gaze flashing. She was Aurelia, a Martial Goddess, she was meant to stand atop the world, commanding it from the clouds. No one could tell her what she should or shouldn''t do.  Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And yet, that brief instant of time was all Ryu needed.


    A hand descended from the skies, grasping Aurelia''s blade in a flaming palm of colorless flames.


    Ryu''s arm trembled, the pain wrecking his very soul piercing through his being. The rage of the Title Stele made many shrink back, but the hold Ryu had on the sword only tightened with every passing moment.


    In his flaming form, maybe the only part of Ryu''s body that could be recognized at all was his pair of floating silvery eyes. They stood out even amidst the colorless flame, blazing with their own aura.


    He squeezed down as punishment continued to rain. The deathly stillness of his pupils told their own story. Even in the face of the Heavens themselves, if he wanted to save someone, he would do it.


    He squeezed down harder.


    CRACK.


    Aurelia''s eyes opened wide and fear overwhelmed her again. It wasn''t just from the crack in her blade now, but the flames that were eating away at Ryu''s very being. She didn''t want to touch them, she didn''t even want to get close to them.


    Her body was shaking before she explosively retreated, her chest heaving. She had already been heavily injured in her battle against Sarriel, she didn''t have much more to give to begin with.


    Ryu directly ignored her, catching Sarriel before she fell. Without the blade and ribbon supporting her, it was impossible for her to remain in the skies, not given her injuries.


    "¡­ I¡­ hate¡­ you¡­" she said softly.


    The words were barely audible, so long in fact they sounded more like a whispered gurgle than anything else.


    "I was bored." Ryu replied.


    He should have been in heart-shattering pain, and yet there was a steadiness in his voice that turned many serious.


    It was easy to be calm when you had the world in the palm of your hand, when you felt that no one could defeat you. It was another thing entirely when everything was crumbling down around you.


    Many here knew that Ryu was dangerous, even the most arrogant of them all. Whether it was Young Master Bright or the Dragon Prince, they all understood that Ryu was an opponent they had to take seriously.


    But right now, they felt like those thoughts were kicked up several notches. Somehow, Ryu felt more dangerous now while half crippled than ever before.


    Their intuitions were sending them blaring warning signals.


    "What¡­ is that¡­ supposed¡­ to mean¡­" Sarriel coughed out.


    "If I don''t give them a handicap, what chance do they stand?" Ryu replied just as calmly.


    "You¡­ idiot¡­"


    Sarriel didn''t believe Ryu for one instant. Even at full strength, he was facing too many enemies. Now, he had gone and gotten an injury that he couldn''t possibly heal himself from.


    This wasn''t a joke. Ryu could have only been so casual until now because he had yet to battle the true geniuses of Existence, let alone face off against the enemies in the shadows that were very much still targeting him.


    Why couldn''t he see that?


    Ryu reached out and the Emperor Sword Title trembled.


    The flames that coated his body began to tremble, growing stronger and more feverish.


    "STOP!" Aurelia roared.


    "I think we both know¡­ that you don''t deserve this Title. You Martial Gods... are truly the bottom of the barrel... The most disgusting, vile example of human in this world. Every moment you remain breathing in this world is another chance for you to taint it.


    "I''m going to enjoy wiping out every single last one of you."


    Ryu''s hand didn''t drop down, but his head shifted to Aurelia, his cool silver eyes displaying his rage for the first time.


    The world seemed to solidify.

 Chapter 2188 - 2188: Doubts

    Ryu''s Dao Heart almost seemed to become tangible. It was at that moment that many realized that the only reason he was still alive at all right this moment was because of how strong his Dao Heart was.


    Being burned through by Karmic Flames like this¡­ it wasn''t the first time Ryu had experienced such a thing. The very first time was none other than when he met Mae''s family for the first time.


    But this time, his Dao Heart was on a completely different level. It wasn''t the sort of thing that he would allow even the Heavens to shake.


    So when he grabbed at the Title, even if the Title Stele threw a fuss, even if the Heavens themselves opened up and unleashed their full rain of fury, he had every intention of taking it.


    Holding Sarriel in one arm, Ryu''s eyes flashed, and a furious momentum came from him. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    How could he care about the Heavens'' fury when his own was burning so brightly? Here, if he wanted to be the skies, then he would be the skies.


    If he wanted his woman to have this Title, she would have this Title.


    A towering Sword God Aura came from Ryu''s body, so menacing and imposing, so all-encompassing and suffocating that the Emperor Sword Title shivered.


    Several hearts constricted as pupils shrank into pinholes. Right now, fueled by his Dao Heart, Ryu''s Control pierced through a veil. It wasn''t that he had a breakthrough, but rather that no one could force him to have such focused attention until this very point.


    And when he unleashed that fury, focused by his burning Dragon Bloodline¡­


    The world bowed.


    "COME."


    Ryu''s roar shook the Fate Barrier surrounding the battlefield. It bowed and whined, twisting and shuddering under the pressure as the Title was forcefully ripped out of the skies.


    Aurelia overcame her fear, dashing over in an attempt to cross the distance and close the gap. This Title was far too important to her, and she had put too much on the line.


    But it wasn''t enough.


    Ryu snatched the Title out of the air and pressed it into Sarriel''s chest before the Karmic Flames could burn them to ash.


    The world paused.


    Because of Ryu''s actions, no one had ever truly absorbed a Title until now. It was easy to forget, then, what truly happened when someone succeeded in taking a Title.


    Sarriel''s body convulsed, and then a radiant light began to spread out from her. A sword howl that pierced the skies shot to the clouds, soaring beyond even the stars and lighting up the darkness.


    There was a tremble from Sarriel''s fallen katana, and it shot up from the depths of black that it had fallen into.


    The katana shivered with excitement, beams of Sword Qi splintering off in all directions.


    Aurelia covered her eyes with a forearm, her eyes blazing with rage. She wasn''t a woman who showed much emotion to begin with, but seeing the Title she had worked for so unceremoniously taken by another, it was hard for her not to feel frustrated and enraged.


    But there was nothing that she could do.


    A violet-gold symbol was etched into Sarriel''s forehead, her bodily wounds beginning to slowly heal in real-time as though the Sword Qi of the world was blessing her.


    The characters pulsed, and her Sword God Aura took steps forward by leaps and bounds. Straggling insights and loose ends she had never tied up over the course of her life reformed one after another, adding to the foundation of her swordplay and soaring upward with her aura. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was a beautiful sort of change to her countenance, not necessarily in terms of looks, but rather her demeanor.


    Sarriel had many personalities swirling around inside of her. Although she and Ryu were quite confident in which one was the real one, how difficult would it be to feel your personality change so actively within you without the chance to fight back against it?


    It could be said that the power of Sarriel''s cultivation method was precisely this. Having to fight back against changes to your personality to find your true self time and time again¡­


    But inevitably, there would be some imperfection. And maybe that was precisely why she hadn''t managed to truly perfect her Dao just yet.


    There were still some inklings, some deviations within her, where she couldn''t quite find her true self.


    And ironically enough, that was Ryu''s fault.


    When Ryu first met Sarriel, she had been stuck in one of those personalities, having yet to break free. She was shy, demure, reserved¡ªalmost all the things the real Sarriel was very much not. And that version of her fell in love with Ryu.


    When she was exposed and her true self came out, in a coincidence of fate, she found that her real self had feelings for Ryu as well, not as deep or profound as her shy self, but enough that there was a small mark left on her heart.


    Ryu was just the sort of man she took a liking to the most, and it made it even harder to get rid of his shadow when her shy and demure self had gone and given their first kiss to him.


    It could be said that until that point, Sarriel had followed the path perfectly. She had always been able to draw a strict line between the parts that weren''t herself and the parts that were.


    But because of Ryu, that line blurred just the slightest bit, making it hard to find exactly where the edge was.


    For the first time, Sarriel understood why it was the Clans and Sects were so protective of their women. For something like love to ruin her path to perfection was something that both left her resentful and helpless. It simply wasn''t something that she could change.


    However, right this moment, like a shining beacon, her sword lit the path ahead of her. The Emperor Sword cut through all things¡­


    Including her doubts.

 Chapter 2189 - 2189: One

    BOOM!


    The skies overturned, and Sarriel''s body convulsed. Although her eyes were shut firmly right this moment, Ryu could feel the shift and change.


    Seven pupils, once separated and very much distinct, were slowly fusing into one.


    When seven fell to six, there was a shudder through the world, and Ryu found that it was difficult to even hold onto his woman. But he had a stubborn streak¡­ he''d be damned if his woman grew too powerful for him to even hold her.


    He would rather die.


    Six fused to five.


    BOOM!


    Ryu wrapped Sarriel in his arms, the Karmic Flames that still burned through him seemingly not touching her at all. Everyone felt the truest form of fear when they saw these flames, but the reality of it was that Karmic Flames could only burn their target.


    Truthfully, it went to show just how impressive Aurelia''s Dao Heart was that she was able to overcome that fear and rush forward nonetheless. But unfortunately for her, that didn''t make the slightest hint of a difference.


    Five fused into four.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood that surprised even him. Not because he was shocked by the pain or backlash, but rather that he didn''t think he had any more blood left to cough up.


    It seemed that his body was better than even he thought, amusingly enough.


    Four fused into three.


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    CRACK.


    There was a shredding at the core of reality itself.


    All this while, Young Master Shade had been immovable. Even during the Dragon Prince''s fury, and Ryu''s retaliation, he hadn''t said or moved anywhere.


    But right this moment, he too opened his eyes. His face shifting between a man handsome beyond words and a ghostly skeleton, he looked ahead with a frown.


    The power Sarriel was radiating right now¡­ he didn''t believe that it should be possible for a Lord. What was happening?


    Three fused into two.


    Ryu''s chest blasted apart. No, it was even more shocking than that. The Karmic Flames, burning infinitely across his body, themselves were shaken.


    Sarriel shouldn''t even be able to touch them, but right this moment, it was as though that didn''t matter in the slightest. She had transcended the gap between illusory and reality that the Karmic Flames resided in, and with a violent sort of push, she oppressed even the flames that endlessly burned through Ryu.


    Although she was still out of it, Ryu could feel that her own Dao Heart had grown so strong that¡­ it was suffocating the Karmic Flames?


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    He had seen many breakthroughs before. He had witnessed Eska and Isemeine''s. He had replayed Ailsa''s own breakthroughs in his mind. He had seen Hope''s breakthrough even.


    All of them had been impressive for their own reasons. But right now, he felt that what he had seen in the past simply paled in comparison to what he was seeing now. He couldn''t even put into words what sort of power Sarriel was outputting now.


    And the most shocking part about it was that she was still in the Lord Realm!


    This was very much still the aura of the Lord Realm, and yet it felt like there were Dao Gods in existence that she could crush with a single lift of her finger.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he looked into the skies.


    Something was coming.


    He could feel it.


    ''A lot of fucking nerve¡­''


    Ryu already felt fury before it did, but he could feel that his body didn''t have much left to give.


    Just as he was feeling this way, he felt Sarriel''s aura suppress his Karmic Flames even more fiercely, and then again, and then again.


    The skies rumbled.


    "Stop." Ryu said.


    Sarriel completely ignored him. However, he could feel the fluctuations in her Primordial Yin and through their connection.


    She was just as stubborn as he was.


    "I said stop. This sort of thing can''t stop me." Ryu''s voice practically came out in a growl. He was getting angry this time.


    Sarriel faltered slightly, but then she continued as though she hadn''t heard the slightest thing.


    Ryu was growing frustrated, but nothing he was doing was getting through, and it wasn''t as though he could just let Sarriel go. He didn''t want to do that either.


    "Fine." Ryu said after a while, his anger disappearing like the spring breeze. "I already promised to destroy them anyway. Now I just have one more reason to."


    Sarriel shifted slightly, her head falling on his chest.


    Standing there, curled in his arms, one would have thought that the one having such an earth-shattering, heart-pounding breakthrough was Ryu and not Sarriel.


    But right that moment, Sarriel truly felt like a wife for the first time. One thing was for certain¡­ she would never accidentally call herself a Moon again.


    From today onward, she was a Tatsuya.


    There was a blooming sort of feeling in her heart as she seemed to truly give herself to Ryu. Maybe there was always a little part of her that remained fiercely independent even after allowing Ryu to take her Primordial Yin.


    But it was hard to still feel that way when watching the man she loved be burned by Heaven''s fury for no one''s sake but her own.


    That wasn''t something even the mighty Sarriel could ignore.


    Her last two pupils fused into one.


    The world fell into an eerie silence. The force winds, the shuddering qi, the splitting in the skies, the relentless barrage against the fabric of space and time¡­


    It all came to a grinding halt in an instant.


    Including Ryu''s Karmic Flames.


    It was as though they had never been there, so firmly suppressed by Sarriel''s Dao Heart that they were snuffed out from existence.


    Ryu had never felt something like this in his life before, and now he stood there, a charred mess of a human, the only parts of him left untouched being his eyes themselves.


    And then, it happened.


    A familiar golden door appeared high in the skies, and for the first time¡­ Ryu felt like the Title Stele was suppressed.


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 Chapter 2190 - 2190: Unprecedented

    Ryu looked at the skies as the golden door opened.


    He knew that this would happen. After Sarriel crossed over a certain threshold, she wouldn''t be allowed to stay.


    He, himself, had been given a mere hundred years to remain here. Honestly speaking, maybe it was a good thing that he had yet to well and truly break into the Lord Realm. If he had, maybe they would have moved up the timeline once again.


    But there was no doubt that Sarriel had soared by whatever that threshold was.


    Golden light spilled down as the doors began to creak open further and further. Once again, there was just the sliver of a crack before a golden-wreathed young man walked out once more.


    Sarriel''s eyes were still tightly closed, her body curled into Ryu''s arms like some sort of kitten. She was already awake, but she found herself liking the feeling quite a bit.


    The time extended in her mind, and she sank into the feeling, trying to feel it for as long as possible.


    After a while, she finally realized that she had no choice but to open her eyes. She looked up and her heart shuddered when she saw Ryu''s state.


    He didn''t look like a living man at all. His handsome countenance was nowhere to be seen, his face becoming a half-melted, half-peeling mess.


    He stood there as though he didn''t feel any pain whatsoever, but she could feel the shuddering in his very soul. It was the one place he couldn''t hide it at all.


    Sarriel had been alone all her life. She couldn''t remember ever experiencing this sort of protection from someone. It was always she who had to take the extra step, put in the extra effort, for no other reason than to protect herself.


    It was that very thing that caused the rift between her and Ryu in the first place. She had no choice but to be fiercely protective of herself, otherwise how would she fulfill her wish to revive her Clan?


    There were just certain sacrifices that she had to make in order to aim for something much larger than herself.


    And maybe that was precisely why Ryu''s actions hit her so hard.


    Her hand trembled as it moved up to his cheek. She seemed to see right past the ugly state of his face to the very depths of his eyes and the soul beyond.


    Ryu''s head shifted, looking down at her.


    Then he flashed a bright smile.


    Sarriel grimaced. "You look terrible."


    "What? You want to divorce me now? I didn''t expect that you would have married me for my looks alone. That hurts a little bit."


    "I don''t remember ever getting married. I do remember someone pressing me down in the middle of a forest, though. It wasn''t very romantic at all."


    "I didn''t take you for the type."


    "I''m not. But you should at least give me the chance to reject it first."


    Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. As the saying went, women were indeed complicated creatures.


    "Tell you what. I''ll forge your wedding ring out of the Heavenly Court''s Gates."


    The young man in the skies narrowed his eyes.


    "I would advise you to watch your tone. There are certain things¡ª."


    "That''s a promise." Sarriel replied, cutting the young man off. "If you ever lie to me, it''s over. I''ll find someone else to give me a gang of children."


    "I don''t break promises to my women. I''m more than happy to lie to anyone else, though. Like right now¡ª." Ryu looked up to the young man. "¡ªDon''t worry, I really have no intention of sticking my foot up your ass at some point. Rest easy."


    Sarriel giggled beside herself.


    It was the first time Ryu had seen her laugh like this, at least with her true personality. And for some reason, he couldn''t help but feel warm.


    It was the sort of feeling he had with all his women. His words weren''t empty when he said he wanted them to be as willful and carefree as they wanted. He wanted them all to live lives where they could laugh in happiness just like this.


    Their burdens¡­ he wanted to carry them all on his shoulders. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sarriel seemed to feel what was radiating from Ryu''s soul and gently pressed her head against his chest.


    "¡­ I''ll go for a little bit. They won''t be able to hold me for long, anyway," she said softly. "He doesn''t even feel all that strong. I could probably kill him with a finger. But then they''d send more of them."


    The lips of the young man twitched, but this time he didn''t dare to refute. He could feel an oppressive aura coming from Sarriel the likes of which only the fewest handful of geniuses could match in the Lord Realm¡­ even in the whole Heavenly Court.


    "You won''t have to wait for long because after I''m done here, I will come." Ryu said calmly.


    His voice wasn''t somber at all, he was only casually speaking a fact. Standing there, half-dead, with who seemingly made up the entirety of Existence wanting nothing more than to see him dead, he was still so completely and utterly confident in his abilities.


    It wasn''t that he had the strength to accomplish these things right now, but rather that he knew that once he made it through this crucible¡­


    He would fear no man.


    Dao God or not.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, and the confidence he had in himself was unmatched.


    Sarriel felt her heart flutter and she recalled why it was her real self had fallen for this man. She really¡­ really did like arrogant men. But she liked it even more so when they knew how to back up their words.


    And that was all Ryu ever seemed to do.


    She should have known that the moment she saw Ryu again after all those years, seeing how far he came, she definitely couldn''t escape this man for the rest of her life.


    Even if he hadn''t wanted her anymore, she would have probably been completely unable to forget him.


    "¡­ I hate you." She eventually said.


    Ryu''s laughter filled the skies as Sarriel stood from his arms.


    She began to walk away, floating to the heights above. But after a moment, she paused and looked back.


    "Don''t die."


    "For saying that, I guess I''ll have to teach you lesson three when I see you next." Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    Sarriel smiled. "I''m looking forward to it."


    Ryu felt a burning in his chest.


    Maybe this was why he loved arrogant women so much. Just how much sweeter was it when a woman with all the pride in the world looked at you like that?


    The gazes of his wives flashed by in his head, and even as Sarriel disappeared, and Ryu stood in the depths of space, blackness all around him, he felt akin to the last burning light of a flaming star.


    Like he had said¡­ this wouldn''t be the place he fell.


    Not by a long shot.


    Standing there, his silvery eyes as bright as the stars and his white grin the only uncharred part of him remaining, he faced off against the world with a blazing Dao Heart.


    "Maybe you all might stand a chance now. I look forward to it."


    A towering pillar of will came from Ryu, his Dao Heart practically manifesting into a tangible star all on its own.


    His great swordstaffs appeared in his hands, the movement causing flakes of blackened skin to fall off of him in an ashy rain.


    They danced off into the wind, falling as though peeling from the fabric of clothes rather than the flesh and blood of a real, living being.


    But Ryu himself didn''t seem to notice it at all. His eyes were focused on the Heavenly Court''s doors as they slowly closed, his words reverberating through the air.


    As the sliver of the door closed, and the blinding golden light also faded, leaving Ryu alone, there seemed to be another blinding light that replaced it.


    Ryu had already made his decision. Until the very end of the Title Stele, he wouldn''t be returning to his pillar.


    He would either die here in a blaze of glory, or he would stand at the peak.


    And he had no plans on dying in the slightest.


    The Title Stele shook. As though provoked, it released a furious tempest.


    Looking at it, Ryu realized that there was something truly peculiar. It had felt suppressed by the Heavenly Court Doors, but something made Ryu feel as though that had been nothing more than a¡­ facade, as though the Title Stele was playing a game of cat and mouse with the world itself.


    But now, it was displaying just the slightest portion of its truest self.


    The skies churned as a new Title began to appear. But when everyone finally saw what it was, they couldn''t help but tremble.


    Had the Title Stele ever given out a Title of this caliber before? What was it trying to do?


    Godblade.

 Chapter 2188 Doubts

    Chapter 2188  DoubtsRyu''s Dao Heart almost seemed to become tangible. It was at that moment that many realized that the only reason he was still alive at all right this moment was because of how strong his Dao Heart was.


    Being burned through by Karmic Flames like this¡­ it wasn''t the first time Ryu had experienced such a thing. The very first time was none other than when he met Mae''s family for the first time.


    But this time, his Dao Heart was on a completely different level. It wasn''t the sort of thing that he would allow even the Heavens to shake.


    So when he grabbed at the Title, even if the Title Stele threw a fuss, even if the Heavens themselves opened up and unleashed their full rain of fury, he had every intention of taking it.


    Holding Sarriel in one arm, Ryu''s eyes flashed, and a furious momentum came from him.


    How could he care about the Heavens'' fury when his own was burning so brightly? Here, if he wanted to be the skies, then he would be the skies.


    If he wanted his woman to have this Title, she would have this Title.


    A towering Sword God Aura came from Ryu''s body, so menacing and imposing, so all-encompassing and suffocating that the Emperor Sword Title shivered.


    Several hearts constricted as pupils shrank into pinholes. Right now, fueled by his Dao Heart, Ryu''s Control pierced through a veil. It wasn''t that he had a breakthrough, but rather that no one could force him to have such focused attention until this very point.


    And when he unleashed that fury, focused by his burning Dragon Bloodline¡­


    The world bowed.


    "COME."


    Ryu''s roar shook the Fate Barrier surrounding the battlefield. It bowed and whined, twisting and shuddering under the pressure as the Title was forcefully ripped out of the skies.


    Aurelia overcame her fear, dashing over in an attempt to cross the distance and close the gap. This Title was far too important to her, and she had put too much on the line.


    But it wasn''t enough.


    Ryu snatched the Title out of the air and pressed it into Sarriel''s chest before the Karmic Flames could burn them to ash.


    The world paused.  S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because of Ryu''s actions, no one had ever truly absorbed a Title until now. It was easy to forget, then, what truly happened when someone succeeded in taking a Title.


    Sarriel''s body convulsed, and then a radiant light began to spread out from her. A sword howl that pierced the skies shot to the clouds, soaring beyond even the stars and lighting up the darkness.


    There was a tremble from Sarriel''s fallen katana, and it shot up from the depths of black that it had fallen into.


    The katana shivered with excitement, beams of Sword Qi splintering off in all directions.


    Aurelia covered her eyes with a forearm, her eyes blazing with rage. She wasn''t a woman who showed much emotion to begin with, but seeing the Title she had worked for so unceremoniously taken by another, it was hard for her not to feel frustrated and enraged.


    But there was nothing that she could do.


    A violet-gold symbol was etched into Sarriel''s forehead, her bodily wounds beginning to slowly heal in real-time as though the Sword Qi of the world was blessing her.


    The characters pulsed, and her Sword God Aura took steps forward by leaps and bounds. Straggling insights and loose ends she had never tied up over the course of her life reformed one after another, adding to the foundation of her swordplay and soaring upward with her aura.


    There was a beautiful sort of change to her countenance, not necessarily in terms of looks, but rather her demeanor.


    Sarriel had many personalities swirling around inside of her. Although she and Ryu were quite confident in which one was the real one, how difficult would it be to feel your personality change so actively within you without the chance to fight back against it?


    It could be said that the power of Sarriel''s cultivation method was precisely this. Having to fight back against changes to your personality to find your true self time and time again¡­


    But inevitably, there would be some imperfection. And maybe that was precisely why she hadn''t managed to truly perfect her Dao just yet.


    There were still some inklings, some deviations within her, where she couldn''t quite find her true self.


    And ironically enough, that was Ryu''s fault.


    When Ryu first met Sarriel, she had been stuck in one of those personalities, having yet to break free. She was shy, demure, reserved¡ªalmost all the things the real Sarriel was very much not. And that version of her fell in love with Ryu.


    When she was exposed and her true self came out, in a coincidence of fate, she found that her real self had feelings for Ryu as well, not as deep or profound as her shy self, but enough that there was a small mark left on her heart.


    Ryu was just the sort of man she took a liking to the most, and it made it even harder to get rid of his shadow when her shy and demure self had gone and given their first kiss to him.


    It could be said that until that point, Sarriel had followed the path perfectly. She had always been able to draw a strict line between the parts that weren''t herself and the parts that were.


    But because of Ryu, that line blurred just the slightest bit, making it hard to find exactly where the edge was. For the first time, Sarriel understood why it was the Clans and Sects were so protective of their women. For something like love to ruin her path to perfection was something that both left her resentful and helpless. It simply wasn''t something that she could change.


    However, right this moment, like a shining beacon, her sword lit the path ahead of her. The Emperor Sword cut through all things¡­


    Including her doubts.

 Chapter 2189 One.

    Chapter 2189  One.BOOM!


    The skies overturned, and Sarriel''s body convulsed. Although her eyes were shut firmly right this moment, Ryu could feel the shift and change.


    Seven pupils, once separated and very much distinct, were slowly fusing into one.


    When seven fell to six, there was a shudder through the world, and Ryu found that it was difficult to even hold onto his woman. But he had a stubborn streak¡­ he''d be damned if his woman grew too powerful for him to even hold her.


    He would rather die.


    Six fused to five.


    BOOM!


    Ryu wrapped Sarriel in his arms, the Karmic Flames that still burned through him seemingly not touching her at all. Everyone felt the truest form of fear when they saw these flames, but the reality of it was that Karmic Flames could only burn their target.


    Truthfully, it went to show just how impressive Aurelia''s Dao Heart was that she was able to overcome that fear and rush forward nonetheless. But unfortunately for her, that didn''t make the slightest hint of a difference.


    Five fused into four.


    Ryu coughed up a mouthful of blood that surprised even him. Not because he was shocked by the pain or backlash, but rather that he didn''t think he had any more blood left to cough up.


    It seemed that his body was better than even he thought, amusingly enough.


    Four fused into three.


    CRACK.


    There was a shredding at the core of reality itself.


    All this while, Young Master Shade had been immovable. Even during the Dragon Prince''s fury, and Ryu''s retaliation, he hadn''t said or moved anywhere.


    But right this moment, he too opened his eyes. His face shifting between a man handsome beyond words and a ghostly skeleton, he looked ahead with a frown.


    The power Sarriel was radiating right now¡­ he didn''t believe that it should be possible for a Lord. What was happening?


    Three fused into two.


    Ryu''s chest blasted apart. No, it was even more shocking than that. The Karmic Flames, burning infinitely across his body, themselves were shaken.


    Sarriel shouldn''t even be able to touch them, but right this moment, it was as though that didn''t matter in the slightest. She had transcended the gap between illusory and reality that the Karmic Flames resided in, and with a violent sort of push, she oppressed even the flames that endlessly burned through Ryu.


    Although she was still out of it, Ryu could feel that her own Dao Heart had grown so strong that¡­ it was suffocating the Karmic Flames?


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    He had seen many breakthroughs before. He had witnessed Eska and Isemeine''s. He had replayed Ailsa''s own breakthroughs in his mind. He had seen Hope''s breakthrough even.


    All of them had been impressive for their own reasons. But right now, he felt that what he had seen in the past simply paled in comparison to what he was seeing now. He couldn''t even put into words what sort of power Sarriel was outputting now.


    And the most shocking part about it was that she was still in the Lord Realm!


    This was very much still the aura of the Lord Realm, and yet it felt like there were Dao Gods in existence that she could crush with a single lift of her finger.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed as he looked into the skies.


    Something was coming.


    He could feel it.


    ''A lot of fucking nerve¡­''


    Ryu already felt fury before it did, but he could feel that his body didn''t have much left to give.


    Just as he was feeling this way, he felt Sarriel''s aura suppress his Karmic Flames even more fiercely, and then again, and then again.


    The skies rumbled.


    "Stop." Ryu said.


    Sarriel completely ignored him. However, he could feel the fluctuations in her Primordial Yin and through their connection.


    She was just as stubborn as he was.


    "I said stop. This sort of thing can''t stop me." Ryu''s voice practically came out in a growl. He was getting angry this time.


    Sarriel faltered slightly, but then she continued as though she hadn''t heard the slightest thing.


    Ryu was growing frustrated, but nothing he was doing was getting through, and it wasn''t as though he could just let Sarriel go. He didn''t want to do that either.


    "Fine." Ryu said after a while, his anger disappearing like the spring breeze. "I already promised to destroy them anyway. Now I just have one more reason to."


    Sarriel shifted slightly, her head falling on his chest.


    Standing there, curled in his arms, one would have thought that the one having such an earth-shattering, heart-pounding breakthrough was Ryu and not Sarriel.


    But right that moment, Sarriel truly felt like a wife for the first time. One thing was for certain¡­ she would never accidentally call herself a Moon again.


    From today onward, she was a Tatsuya.


    There was a blooming sort of feeling in her heart as she seemed to truly give herself to Ryu. Maybe there was always a little part of her that remained fiercely independent even after allowing Ryu to take her Primordial Yin.


    But it was hard to still feel that way when watching the man she loved be burned by Heaven''s fury for no one''s sake but her own.


    That wasn''t something even the mighty Sarriel could ignore.  S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her last two pupils fused into one.


    The world fell into an eerie silence. The force winds, the shuddering qi, the splitting in the skies, the relentless barrage against the fabric of space and time¡­


    It all came to a grinding halt in an instant.


    Including Ryu''s Karmic Flames.


    It was as though they had never been there, so firmly suppressed by Sarriel''s Dao Heart that they were snuffed out from existence.


    Ryu had never felt something like this in his life before, and now he stood there, a charred mess of a human, the only parts of him left untouched being his eyes themselves.


    And then, it happened.


    A familiar golden door appeared high in the skies, and for the first time¡­ Ryu felt like the Title Stele was suppressed.

 Chapter 2190 Unprecedented.

    Chapter 2190  Unprecedented.Ryu looked at the skies as the golden door opened.


    He knew that this would happen. After Sarriel crossed over a certain threshold, she wouldn''t be allowed to stay.


    He, himself, had been given a mere hundred years to remain here. Honestly speaking, maybe it was a good thing that he had yet to well and truly break into the Lord Realm. If he had, maybe they would have moved up the timeline once again.


    But there was no doubt that Sarriel had soared by whatever that threshold was.


    Golden light spilled down as the doors began to creak open further and further. Once again, there was just the sliver of a crack before a golden-wreathed young man walked out once more.


    Sarriel''s eyes were still tightly closed, her body curled into Ryu''s arms like some sort of kitten. She was already awake, but she found herself liking the feeling quite a bit.


    The time extended in her mind, and she sank into the feeling, trying to feel it for as long as possible.


    After a while, she finally realized that she had no choice but to open her eyes. She looked up and her heart shuddered when she saw Ryu''s state.


    He didn''t look like a living man at all. His handsome countenance was nowhere to be seen, his face becoming a half-melted, half-peeling mess.


    He stood there as though he didn''t feel any pain whatsoever, but she could feel the shuddering in his very soul. It was the one place he couldn''t hide it at all.


    Sarriel had been alone all her life. She couldn''t remember ever experiencing this sort of protection from someone. It was always she who had to take the extra step, put in the extra effort, for no other reason than to protect herself.


    It was that very thing that caused the rift between her and Ryu in the first place. She had no choice but to be fiercely protective of herself, otherwise how would she fulfill her wish to revive her Clan?


    There were just certain sacrifices that she had to make in order to aim for something much larger than herself.


    And maybe that was precisely why Ryu''s actions hit her so hard.


    Her hand trembled as it moved up to his cheek. She seemed to see right past the ugly state of his face to the very depths of his eyes and the soul beyond.


    Ryu''s head shifted, looking down at her.


    Then he flashed a bright smile.


    Sarriel grimaced. "You look terrible."


    "What? You want to divorce me now? I didn''t expect that you would have married me for my looks alone. That hurts a little bit."


    "I don''t remember ever getting married. I do remember someone pressing me down in the middle of a forest, though. It wasn''t very romantic at all."


    "I didn''t take you for the type."


    "I''m not. But you should at least give me the chance to reject it first."


    Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. As the saying went, women were indeed complicated creatures.


    "Tell you what. I''ll forge your wedding ring out of the Heavenly Court''s Gates."


    The young man in the skies narrowed his eyes.


    "I would advise you to watch your tone. There are certain things¡ª."


    "That''s a promise." Sarriel replied, cutting the young man off. "If you ever lie to me, it''s over. I''ll find someone else to give me a gang of children."


    "I don''t break promises to my women. I''m more than happy to lie to anyone else, though. Like right now¡ª." Ryu looked up to the young man. "¡ªDon''t worry, I really have no intention of sticking my foot up your ass at some point. Rest easy."


    Sarriel giggled beside herself.


    It was the first time Ryu had seen her laugh like this, at least with her true personality. And for some reason, he couldn''t help but feel warm.


    It was the sort of feeling he had with all his women. His words weren''t empty when he said he wanted them to be as willful and carefree as they wanted. He wanted them all to live lives where they could laugh in happiness just like this.  S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Their burdens¡­ he wanted to carry them all on his shoulders.


    Sarriel seemed to feel what was radiating from Ryu''s soul and gently pressed her head against his chest.


    "¡­ I''ll go for a little bit. They won''t be able to hold me for long, anyway," she said softly. "He doesn''t even feel all that strong. I could probably kill him with a finger. But then they''d send more of them."


    The lips of the young man twitched, but this time he didn''t dare to refute. He could feel an oppressive aura coming from Sarriel the likes of which only the fewest handful of geniuses could match in the Lord Realm¡­ even in the whole Heavenly Court.


    "You won''t have to wait for long because after I''m done here, I will come." Ryu said calmly.


    His voice wasn''t somber at all, he was only casually speaking a fact. Standing there, half-dead, with who seemingly made up the entirety of Existence wanting nothing more than to see him dead, he was still so completely and utterly confident in his abilities.


    It wasn''t that he had the strength to accomplish these things right now, but rather that he knew that once he made it through this crucible¡­


    He would fear no man.


    Dao God or not.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya, and the confidence he had in himself was unmatched.


    Sarriel felt her heart flutter and she recalled why it was her real self had fallen for this man. She really¡­ really did like arrogant men. But she liked it even more so when they knew how to back up their words.


    And that was all Ryu ever seemed to do.


    She should have known that the moment she saw Ryu again after all those years, seeing how far he came, she definitely couldn''t escape this man for the rest of her life.


    Even if he hadn''t wanted her anymore, she would have probably been completely unable to forget him.


    "¡­ I hate you." She eventually said.


    Ryu''s laughter filled the skies as Sarriel stood from his arms.


    She began to walk away, floating to the heights above. But after a moment, she paused and looked back.


    "Don''t die."


    "For saying that, I guess I''ll have to teach you lesson three when I see you next."


    Sarriel smiled. "I''m looking forward to it."


    Ryu felt a burning in his chest.


    Maybe this was why he loved arrogant women so much. Just how much sweeter was it when a woman with all the pride in the world looked at you like that?


    The gazes of his wives flashed by in his head, and even as Sarriel disappeared, and Ryu stood in the depths of space, blackness all around him, he felt akin to the last burning light of a flaming star.


    Like he had said¡­ this wouldn''t be the place he fell.


    Not by a long shot.


    Standing there, his silvery eyes as bright as the stars and his white grin the only uncharred part of him remaining, he faced off against the world with a blazing Dao Heart.


    "Maybe you all might stand a chance now. I look forward to it."


    A towering pillar of will came from Ryu, his Dao Heart practically manifesting into a tangible star all on its own.


    His great swordstaffs appeared in his hands, the movement causing flakes of blackened skin to fall off of him in an ashy rain.


    They danced off into the wind, falling as though peeling from the fabric of clothes rather than the flesh and blood of a real, living being.


    But Ryu himself didn''t seem to notice it at all. His eyes were focused on the Heavenly Court''s doors as they slowly closed, his words reverberating through the air.


    As the sliver of the door closed, and the blinding golden light also faded, leaving Ryu alone, there seemed to be another blinding light that replaced it.


    Ryu had already made his decision. Until the very end of the Title Stele, he wouldn''t be returning to his pillar.


    He would either die here in a blaze of glory, or he would stand at the peak.


    And he had no plans on dying in the slightest.


    The Title Stele shook. As though provoked, it released a furious tempest.


    Looking at it, Ryu realized that there was something truly peculiar. It had felt suppressed by the Heavenly Court Doors, but something made Ryu feel as though that had been nothing more than a¡­ facade, as though the Title Stele was playing a game of cat and mouse with the world itself.


    But now, it was displaying just the slightest portion of its truest self.


    The skies churned as a new Title began to appear. But when everyone finally saw what it was, they couldn''t help but tremble.


    Had the Title Stele ever given out a Title of this caliber before? What was it trying to do?


    Godblade.

 Chapter 2191 - 2191: One Chance

    Ryu looked at the Title for a long while. He never left the battlefield, but he could feel the oppression that came from it.


    ''This is your method of trying to kill me, huh? Is that it?''


    Ryu looked up at the Title Stele. Even now, the top of the obelisk was obscured by clouds. It was impossible to see the individuals that had left their names beyond. It was almost like it was taunting him, reminding him that he hadn''t reached such a level yet, that he was still inferior, still beneath them.


    Ryu grinned, raising one great swordstaff and resting it on his shoulder, then raising the other one and pointing it up at the Title Stele.


    He had heard that the Title Stele was the one that etched your name into its being once you voiced it. But he had other plans.


    He was going to etch it in himself.


    That was the price this thing was going to have to pay for pissing him off.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Pillars shook and the skies quaked.


    Yeger Sun moved.


    Falling Snow moved.


    The Roc Prince moved.


    The Phoenix Princess moved.


    The Fate Barrier shook beneath their presences. Each one had the destiny of someone that could shake the world. Oddly enough, even the likes of Falling Snow were among this number. But whether he had truly shaken off his greenhouse flower aura, that was something that only time would tell.


    But it wasn''t just them.


    Xalvador moved.


    Balthar moved.


    Aurelia wanted to move again, but was far too injured to do so. She had no choice but to retreat, her heart still seething with fury that her chance to become the Emperor Sword had been so unceremoniously snatched from her.


    Sarriel''s breakthrough¡­ it should have been hers. It was what she deserved. It was what she had fought for.


    Her Dao Heart flickered and roared in her chest, and this usually calm woman looked at Ryu as though her gaze itself could burn him to ash.


    But even so, she turned and left. Her control over herself could only be said to be immaculate. She sat down on her pillar, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. It was like she had forgotten everything in the world around her¡­ like the Title Stele had nothing to do with her.


    She would have her revenge.


    ¡­


    Ryu stood in the midst of all of this, his body hardly having any blood left to boil. Seeing so many move, he knew that they had also seen just how special this Title was. But more importantly than that¡­


    They all seemed to ignore him. Their gazes, sharp, scanned over each one across from them, and whether by coincidence or not, they all skipped over him.


    And maybe that made sense.


    Considering his state, they probably thought that he couldn''t even make it back to his pillar; that was why he was still foolishly standing here, holding onto his weapons as though he were really some sort of threat.


    Ryu''s gaze, though, was still focused on the Title Stele as though he hadn''t seen their appearance at all. As much disregard as they had for him, he seemed to have even more for them.


    He was playing a completely different game. His intent, his focus, his Dao Heart was shining for something very different.


    Maybe these people here knew what the Heavenly Court was, maybe they didn''t. But as far as Ryu was concerned, even the Heavenly Court itself was nothing more than a stepping stone.


    The reason he had yet to go was because he had bigger fish to fry.


    He felt that this Title Stele had something far more important waiting for him. Plus¡­ he didn''t want to leave his wives.


    And yet now, this Heavenly Court he saw as nothing more than a stepping stone actually had the audacity to come down and take one of his women away.


    There might be a grin on his face right now, but he was pissed. The boiling remnants of droplets of blood in his stream right now weren''t there because he was excited to face off against these few. They were there because he was absolute, completely, and utterly furious.


    At that moment, the Phoenix Princess seemed to finally realize that Ryu was ignoring their presences. The tension in the air was practically palpable, and with seven geniuses¡ªsix by their estimation because most ignored Ryu¡ªnot a single one had moved just yet.


    But for obvious reasons, she didn''t like Ryu very much. It wasn''t much of a surprise that she was among the first to notice him.


    She moved.


    The tension rose in an instant. The sudden movement was elegant and graceful, a single step across the void of space. But every one of them watched her intently as though they would all skewer her the instant she showed any intent to deal with them.


    Ryu''s gaze, though, only shifted to her when she was already within five meters of him. Even a distance of a thousand times that was nothing more than a blink of an eye to cultivators at their level, let alone such a fraction of that.


    "Your wife was very arrogant," the Phoenix Princess said in a calm, sultry voice.


    "And she still is," Ryu replied. His blades trembled.


    "How much longer do you think she''ll be able to be when you can''t even keep your ridiculous weapons steady?"


    "I see that you''re not very experienced. Usually, when it starts to pulse, it means that things are close to reaching their climax and someone''s world is about to be painted white."


    The Phoenix Princess frowned, not understanding the innuendo at first before her gaze flashed with rage.


    The feathers that adorned her hair trembled.


    "I''ll give you one chance," Ryu spoke before the Phoenix Princess could speak again. "I would advise every one of you to lay down your pride and attack together. If not, I can tell you what will happen right now. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I will pick you off, one by one, laying your head to rest at my feet, soaking in your blood to soothe my skin, eating your flesh to satiate my thirst.


    "When I''m cutting down the last of you, you''ll feel regret, you''ll feel helplessness, you''ll feel hopelessness¡­ you''ll wonder why it was you who didn''t listen to me in the first place, you''ll feel everything you had accomplished until now crumbling before your eyes."


    Ryu paused, and for the first time, he seemed to look at them. Really look at them. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    It was then they felt just how much Ryu''s Dao Heart was still blazing.


    "Die," the Phoenix Princess said coldly.


    Her palms flipped and the feathers on her hair extended, a group of them forming a peacock tail on her back and one of them landing in her small palm. The aura of a saber and sword filled the skies, the chaotic aura of the two clashing and yet somehow also melding into one so perfectly and seamlessly that it seemed to form an entirely new Weapon Aura.


    She thrust forward, aiming right at Ryu''s chest. It was a direct and pride-filled attack. It wasn''t just complexity boiled down to absolute simplicity. It was truly simplicity itself.


    There were no variations, no changes, just an abrupt and violent point.


    In that moment, it embodied the saber just the slightest bit more than the sword. However, the instant it was about to reach Ryu, it fluttered. Its aura changed again, and the blade seemed to dance, its tip becoming impossible to track.


    Somehow, it kept the same power, but it gained the flexibility of a sword. It seemed to attack Ryu''s chest in countless different locations at once, and it was almost impossible to tell which one was real.


    Ryu crossed his great swordstaffs over his chest.


    BANG!


    He was sent flying, his arms nearly ripping from their sockets. His muscles had atrophied so much that even his bone structures couldn''t help him much. Not that they could, considering this was yet another Weapon Aura Title. They couldn''t use their other abilities here even if they wanted. They had nothing but the blades in their hands.


    The Phoenix Princess took a step forward with an indifferent air. As calm as her sentencing Ryu to death was, her movements were even calm.


    No matter how violent her blade, her expression was unmoved. The cheery, laughing, seductive princess was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating assassin, a Warrior Goddess with every intention of cutting down everything before her.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    She suffocated Ryu, her blade undergoing a myriad of changes with every step. At some point, it became clear she was toying with him, humiliating him, putting him in his place as her blade began to seep through his defenses, slicing into flesh and scraping against his bone.


    This Godblade Title was made for her. Her Sword Saber Soul Aura would rule the¡ª


    SHIIIIIING!


    The Phoenix Princess'' head flew into the skies.


    The arrogant expression was still frozen on her face, her blade still prepped to levy another strike.


    And yet, she would never get the chance.


    Ryu stood in silence, his great swordstaffs pointed toward the ground.


    "Next."

 Chapter 2192 - 2192: Respect

    The Phoenix Princess'' blood didn''t so much as soak Ryu''s blade. He stood there in silence, his body beaten and broken, more shattered than even before. And yet, it wasn''t he who stood there as a headless corpse. It was the once beautiful woman in front of him.


    The Phoenix Princess'' body collapsed and then morphed into her true form. A bird of prey that could only be described as one of the most gorgeous creatures in all of existence lay there, its rainbow flames dimming before their eyes.


    Even after several seconds, no one could seem to understand what happened. It was only Young Master Bright, who sat silently on his pillar, that showed a flicker of rage in his eyes.


    He didn''t enter this competition because he was a close combat expert first and foremost. Also, his pride told him that he didn''t need these Titles; all he needed was his own.


    He was the sun that lit the skies. He didn''t need anyone else to illuminate his path forward.


    But he knew exactly what was happening here. His arch nemesis of this lifetime, the Mystery Lineage.


    In a battle where one could only use their blade skills, where their other talents were suppressed and oppressed, not allowed to be tapped into or used¡­ just who would have the greatest advantage?


    Would it not be the man with the eyes that could see through the Mysteries of everything?


    While the Phoenix Princess was unleashing all of her moves, one after another in a bid to humiliate Ryu, he was simply calmly analyzing.


    Unfortunately for them, the Godblade Title didn''t suppress either Ryu''s eyes or his Dao because both were key parts to the creation of his Blade Aura.


    Normally, the fact Ryu''s Dao didn''t provide raw combat power was a bit of a detriment to him. With all of these geniuses around with shocking abilities, like Sarriel¡ªwho could even break into the Dao God Realm when activating her Dao¡ªhe seemed to be lacking.


    But Ryu never felt that his Dao was lacking compared to anyone. And the world would learn of that right this moment.


    Silence greeted his words.


    "What? No takers?" Ryu asked, taking a step forward.


    He could feel the field tense. Like he was a looming mountain stalking forward, they gripped their weapons, their eyes sharpening.


    "I didn''t know that the best geniuses in Existence were such cowards."


    Ryu stepped onto the Phoenix Princess'' corpse, his blade piercing down and right through her heart. With her size, just the thickness of her walls was taller than he was.


    But there was a pulse that ran through the world, Ryu''s Bloodmancy activating as the Phoenix Princess'' blood rose out in a rainbow mixture that poured into his body. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu raised his head to the sky, releasing a hum. Flakes of rotted, ashen, and burned skin fell off of him.


    It was clear at a glance that Ryu wasn''t even truly healing. He was using the Phoenix Princess'' blood like jet fuel.


    The lingering effects of the Karmic Flame refused to allow him to heal, but that didn''t mean that Ryu couldn''t use the extra energy.


    Flames appeared across Ryu''s body again, the burning fires of an infuriated Phoenix Bloodline. But at that moment, even beneath the suppression of the Godblade Title, the call of another Phoenix suffocated it.


    The Emperor Phoenix.


    Blazing golden flames appeared across Ryu''s body.


    "I already gave you all one chance. You won''t get another."


    Ryu took another step forward.


    "You overestimate yourself," Falling Snow said slowly, stepping out. "I do not care for the others, but I do not fear you. I have long forgotten you. I have stepped beyond those shadows¡ª."


    Ryu''s blade swept out and another head flew into the skies.


    "Idiot. I have already fought you. I don''t need to fight you again."


    Ryu took another step forward.


    The distance that had separated him and Falling Snow had been as much as thousands of miles. Maybe he thought that at that distance, Ryu couldn''t do anything to him. Or maybe he thought that he had improved enough that things would change.


    But to Ryu, he was nothing more than an ant. The only reason he killed the Phoenix Princess first was because she was foolish enough to try and be the first to fight him.


    He didn''t care how much Falling Snow had progressed. With his Dao, he could see not only a person''s current progress, but all the possible steps they might take in the future.


    He existed on a completely different plane from these so-called geniuses. His Dao had yet to be truly sensed by the world because he was only a Quasi Lord. But there was no doubt in his mind that when it was sensed, it would stand alone at a mountain peak.


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    Falling Snow had improved. And he had improved greatly. Unfortunately for him, he hadn''t improved beyond Ryu''s sight.


    This was the gap between his talent and Ryu''s own. What he had taken decades to accomplish, Ryu had seen through on the day they met.


    He had been destined to die beneath Ryu''s blade.


    Falling Snow''s death seemed to awaken everyone else.


    The shrill cries of the Phoenixes filled the skies. This was the first time a genius of the Phoenix Princess'' caliber had died during the Title Stele event, and she had died so terribly, so unceremoniously.


    Roars came from the side of the Feys. A long distance away, Falling Snow''s elder brother felt as though his eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. He gripped his fists so hard that the crackling of space tore into his skin.


    Blood dripped from his palms, but he didn''t seem to notice in the slightest. There was a sort of oppressive air that hung over his head, heavy and burdensome.


    He knew that this might happen. But there was something about the casual air to it, the indifferent swing of Ryu''s sword, the careless disregard for the life of someone he cared so deeply for¡­


    Falling Snow''s elder brother had killed many people in his life, and maybe some of them had experienced these same emotions. But this was the very first time that he had experienced such emotions.


    Something cracked within him, a deathly aura seeping out.


    The elders around him didn''t say a word. This was a crossroads that he would have to pass on his own. If he chose the right path, maybe he would be able to take that mysterious step. If not, maybe they would lose two geniuses today.


    Inwardly, though, they felt regret.


    This¡­ was their fault.


    "You raised them in a greenhouse, and now you know how to feel regret," the old woman who practically raised Sarriel spoke lightly.


    She didn''t seem to care at all about what was happening. Her eyes were still on Ryu.


    It seemed that Sarriel really knew how to pick her men well. She wasn''t sure if she hated this young man anymore.


    It was unfortunate¡­ the tides of Fate would inevitably pit them against one another.


    The old woman looked to the skies. Whether by coincidence or not, she was staring right in the location of where the Heavenly Court was.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s momentum continued to come.


    "Is this all you have?"


    Yeger lightly tapped at the ground, his eyes narrowing as he extended the distance between himself and Ryu.


    It didn''t make any sense. One of them was heavily injured while the others were as fresh as daisies. And yet, it felt like they were the ones trapped here with Ryu.


    Yeger realized what was happening and couldn''t help but increase the distance. Much like Falling Snow, he too had also fought Ryu in the past. He was familiar with his patterns, and unless he changed on the fly, he just might die no less pitifully than Falling Snow.


    After making a decision, Yeger retreated until his back touched the Fate Barrier. Then¡­


    He gave up on the battle, returning to his pillar.


    "Smart choice," Ryu said, his voice growing colder.


    Now, only three remained. The Roc Prince. Xalvador. And Balthar.


    One beast and two Martial Gods.


    Facing off against a single human.


    Until now, both Xalvador and Balthar were eerily calm. By comparison, the Roc Prince was looking at Ryu with an odd light in his eyes¡­ one that was almost¡­


    Worshipful?


    "My father¡­ said that you were the man he respected the most in his life. I thought it was an exaggeration, and it also didn''t make much sense to me at all. But now I think I can understand it."


    Ryu''s gaze shifted and landed on the Roc Prince.


    "Father?" Ryu''s eyes narrowed before a flash rippled through them. "You are Little Rock''s descendant?"


    The Roc Prince grasped at the air, a sparkling light of lightning taking shape into a spear that howled.


    "I would love to fight you! Mr. Tatsuya!"


    The voice of the Roc Prince was almost childish, as though he hadn''t quite gone through puberty yet.


    A bit of Ryu''s aura faded and his gaze softened.


    "¡­ Alright."

 Chapter 2193 - 2193: Roc Prince

    The Roc Prince''s demeanor changed the moment Ryu accepted. There was a sharpness to him that rose to the skies and settled to the earth. It was forward and yet steady, menacing and yet controlled.


    Then he moved.


    In an instant, his lightning spear was at Ryu''s throat.


    Ryu took a half step back, his light great swordstaff raising to block. His arm trembled, his blood jostling through his body.


    In that moment, his blade nearly flew from his palm.


    It felt like little at all had changed. His body was half broken, his strength minimized to an extreme. What the Roc Prince could learn from him seemed to be nothing at all.


    However, the Roc Prince didn''t stop his attack, nor did he seem to change his demeanor. There was one thing he was focused on: victory.


    Ryu didn''t react much to the change either, fielding one attack after another with a focus. Despite this, though, each one sent him back.


    Over time, the Roc Prince seemed to grasp his blocking patterns.


    The light great swordstaff was far better at taking this head-on, its sharpness piercing. By comparison, the dark great swordstaff was far better at parrying, obstructing, and diverting.


    The two played well together, especially when facing off against a single weapon. Depending on the attack it faced, there were an array of changes that it could make.


    But when the Roc Prince began to focus attacks that they weren''t particularly good at dealing with against one another, he began to turn the tides to an even fiercer extent.


    It had always been Ryu figuring out the weakness in others, but now the Roc Prince seemed to be doing what he did best himself.


    There was an air of arrogance in his actions, as though he was trying to prove a point to Ryu, as though he was trying to show him that he wasn''t the only genius here.


    Memories flashed in Ryu''s mind of the first time he met Little Rock. Back then, they had started off with a clash too. The two stubborn men had butted heads, fighting it out on that mountain peak.


    In those days, Little Rock wasn''t even a true Lightning Roc. His Bloodline was too sparse. It likely took a great deal of effort to reach this stage finally, and now he had such a talented descendant, prepped to look out onto the world.


    Even as the Roc Prince oppressed Ryu more and more firmly, beginning to litter wounds across his body, he couldn''t quite seem to deal the death blow.


    Every time he was close, Ryu seemed to just barely shift away at the last moment. There was a calmness in his silver eyes that never vanished.


    After several more exchanges, his lips slowly parted.


    "If you do not display your Path of the Spear, you will never win this."


    The calmness of Ryu''s voice belied the terrible state of his body. It felt as though what he was saying was nothing short of ridiculous.


    However, the Roc Prince''s eyes flashed.


    His spear danced, lightning sparking with a healthy radiance. Thunder clapped, and a single strike rang out like three in quick succession.


    The world seemed to pause for the sake of this strike.


    Ryu watched on calmly, not truly feeling like much had changed at all. That was because the Roc Prince didn''t listen to his advice.


    But maybe he was right to. Right now, all of the Roc Prince''s attacks were the simplest of the simplest. They were practically the foundations of Martial Forms, just the slightest tick up.


    However, because of that, there was no immediate or obvious flaw to pick out. His defense and attack methods were airtight. It almost felt as though Ryu was asking him to change his tactics for no other reason than to hopefully find a chance to win. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu lightly shook his head.


    His blade suddenly moved, the light great swordstaff suddenly swapping hands with his dark great swordstaff.


    In that moment, Ryu began seamlessly swapping his weapons between his palms as though they had always been there.


    The situation on the battlefield changed.


    The light great swordstaff caught at the tip of the spear, both weapons freezing in the air with a tremble. Then with a flicker of Ryu''s wrist, the spear bent and bowed, violently popping upward.


    The Roc Prince couldn''t immediately regain control of the spear as it wobbled above.


    The light and dark great swordstaffs swapped again, and the slash of Ryu''s dark swordstaff became that of the golden blade.


    BANG!


    The air exploded as the blade came to a stop by the Roc Prince''s neck.


    "When I speak, you listen." Ryu said like a strict drill sergeant. "My weaknesses aren''t so easy to exploit. If you can find them, I''ve found them long ago, and delved into how to best make use of them far deeper than you can imagine."


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs were fused into his very body. They might be tattooed onto a particular forearm, but swapping them was as easy as breathing for him. It was just a matter of a nudge from his soul, so trivial it might as well not be an issue.


    He had never even bothered to use this ability before because it was entirely unnecessary.


    Ryu retracted the blade, a cold sweat sheen appearing on the Roc Prince''s brow.


    "Again." Ryu said lightly. "This time, with everything."


    The Roc Prince took a breath and then exhaled. The last bits of doubt in his heart vanished and his stance changed.


    Bracing the body of his spear against his body, he sank into a deep horse stance.


    And then a second lightning spear appeared, bracing against his other hip.


    Ryu blinked as though he couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Then, he began to laugh uproariously.


    In this world, the only one ridiculous enough to dual wield spear had been himself. And yet, even he had ended up abandoning the path, opting for great swordstaffs instead.


    Deep within himself, this was a bit of a regret for Ryu. He had been strongarmed by the heavens into abandoning a path he had designed for no one other than himself.


    There was no doubt that Little Rock had said something to his son about this, and this was the ultimate result of it all.


    It was so crazy that Ryu''s laughter boomed across the skies.


    There was only one reason Ryu had abandoned that path: it was for the sake of his wife and her intentions. It was Ailsa who wanted him to veer onto the path of the great swordstaff, and maybe she hadn''t been entirely incorrect.


    To think, though, that the Heavens would give him a chance to correct this path deviation.


    Ryu no longer had interest in dual wielding spears, but for no other reason than his own satisfaction, just how good would it feel to help another accomplish it by proxy?


    "Come!" Ryu roared.


    The Roc Prince didn''t have to hear this twice; he moved, his elbows almost whipping as he lashed out with both spears at once.


    There was a flicker of understanding in Ryu''s eyes. The Roc Prince might be in human form, but he was still a Roc.


    Such birds, even in Ancient Beasts, had hollow, extremely flexible bones. But more importantly than that, their arms directly translated to their wings in human form.


    Because of that, it felt like Ryu could practically see a majestic creature soaring right toward him.


    Ryu''s grip on his great swordstaffs tightened just the slightest bit.


    BANG!


    The first clash echoed, and time seemed to freeze for just the smallest instant as there was a struggle that Ryu almost immediately lost.


    And then, they erupted.


    Their attacks were relentless, filled with the fiery passion of what felt like their Fates intertwining with one another.


    Ryu''s arms were no less flexible than the Roc Prince''s own, and while his power was lacking, he didn''t seem to fatigue beneath this relentless barrage either.


    The CHI CHI Chi of their blades colliding came to a grinding halt as their four blades crossed.


    BANG!


    They were forced to retreat, the Roc Prince taking a single step back while Ryu took a full three.


    "Your blade is strong, and you''ve already realized that using both weapons for offense is the right way. You are far ahead of me at this age than I was. However, your flaws are also obvious.


    "Your arms are flexible, but not near as much as your wings. You are limiting a great deal of your own potential because you''ve yet to realize this. If you want to be in human form, what you''ve done is enough to crush weaklings, but someone who knows what they are doing will make you suffer."


    Ryu began to list off the main weaknesses of the arm. The details were so fine that the Roc Prince began to wonder if he was hearing directly. He had only observed him for barely ten minutes.


    "¡­ You are especially poor in the clockwise direction¡­ You overuse the flexibility of your arms, your footwork needs to be more active.


    "Come, again."

 Chapter 2194 - 2194: Its Mine

    Ryu clashed with the Roc Prince again and again. Every time, he seemed to be left in a sorry state. As the battle continued, one could clearly see that Ryu''s stamina was plummeting down a cliff, and his ability to rebound was becoming weaker and weaker.


    And yet, he had had six or seven opportunities to kill the Roc Prince already, but every time, he simply rested his blade against his neck and then pushed him back, telling him to come again.


    No matter what sort of person you were, or what sort of feelings you had about Ryu, the sheer arrogance, the bravado to train an enemy at the expense of your own self, right in the middle of a battlefield where countless people wanted your head¡­


    It filled many with doubt.


    Could they do such a thing? Could they be so confidently selfless?


    They didn''t know what sort of relationship Ryu had with the Roc Prince''s father, or how the likes of Ryu could even have such a relationship with a figure on that level to begin with, but it didn''t matter.


    Who would give up their best chances to stand atop Existence for the child of a friend?


    Some felt their respect deepen. Others felt their disdain deepen.


    He truly didn''t take the heroes of the world seriously. For some, that didn''t make them more fearful; it made them feel as though Ryu was truly ridiculous.


    They were ultimately the geniuses of the world. The confidence they had in themselves was endlessly deep and vaster than oceans.


    For them, they didn''t see Ryu''s display as confidence; they saw it as wild arrogance.


    But not once did Ryu spare them a thought.


    Truly, they were overestimating themselves. Ryu wasn''t doing this to prove a point; he had truly forgotten to care about the Title Stele. All he saw was a friend''s child before him in need of guidance.


    It was amusing. The Roc Prince might have the voice of a child, but he was actually far older than Ryu himself was. Even so, they fell into their roles of mentor and mentee with ease.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs had slowed considerably; the blood in his body no longer churned with the same vigor.


    Sweat covered the body of the Roc Prince as he unleashed a relentless barrage. His arms had become more flexible, every swipe of his spears coming from wilder and wilder angles.


    Then Ryu suddenly attacked.


    Every time this happened, the result was obvious.


    Ryu pierced the dark great swordstaff forward, his pincering attack from both spears being parried with a single motion.


    With a slight twist of his wrist, the dark great swordstaff completed a half circle, catching the blades of both spears.


    The Roc Prince didn''t feel as though Ryu used much strength at all, and yet it was almost as if his weapons were flying out of his hands on their own accord.


    They were so easily swiped to the side that he almost completely lost his balance.


    "Flexibility is nothing without strength," Ryu spoke out, a line that seemed to bury itself into the depths of the Roc Prince''s soul.


    Ryu didn''t speak much. But every sentence was like the grace of a grandmaster. With his intelligence and talent, the Roc Prince grasped what Ryu meant in an instant, but that didn''t stop Ryu''s blade from resting against his neck once more.


    "Again," Ryu commanded.


    Heaving out a breath, the Roc Prince slapped away Ryu''s great swordstaff and stabbed out.


    He lunged.


    Flexibility. Power.


    Both as one.


    It was easier said than done. Making the muscles limber weakened them. But making them strong stiffened them.


    Every sentence Ryu spoke was clear, but the difficulty of following through on them was growing. As talented as the Roc Prince was, he was struggling particularly with this one.


    Usually, after Ryu spoke, he had a large leap in strength after a few exchanges. But this time, Ryu''s state didn''t become worse. While he was still being knocked back again and again, the Roc Prince didn''t feel like he was getting closer.


    And then Ryu''s stance suddenly changed once again.


    The Roc Prince thought that he would receive a blade to the neck once again, but no. Instead, he almost heard the howl of a bird in his ears.


    Ryu''s arms spread out, his great swordstaffs almost fluttering.


    There was an elasticity to his movements that belied the rigidity of his weapons. He crossed into another threshold and for the first time, the Roc Prince felt a dense killing intent lock onto him.


    He realized at that moment that Ryu was about to try and truly kill him.


    The Roc Prince''s heart constricted as Ryu''s blade rippled. They fanned out almost like wings.


    This was entirely unlike Ryu''s previous style. In shock and awe, the Roc Prince realized that Ryu had comprehended his path and took it to the extreme limit. At that moment, he didn''t have even the slightest hints of other Weapon Auras. His weapons hadn''t changed, but it was as though he was truly wielding two spears.


    The skies changed and clouds of black churned.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    The Roc Prince''s pupils constricted into pinholes.


    It was either he broke through, or he died. There was no third option.


    Ryu took a step forward and thrust. The first hadn''t even landed when the second came, his body bent and twisted, his arms looking as though they didn''t even have bones in them as they whipped through the air.


    In an instant, the Roc Prince found himself surrounded by blades, bending through time and space alike.


    There were just two blades in Ryu''s hands, but it felt like he was attacking with countless, each one forming the sharpened feather of a wing.


    For a moment, it didn''t look like a human dual-wielding sword blades at all. Instead, it felt like a Roc God descending from the skies, a single flap of his wings leveling mountains and drying seas.


    The Roc Prince''s Dao Heart trembled a single time.


    It was hard to look at this. Hard to accept that a Path he had dedicated his life to was being taken over by someone else so thoroughly and perfectly that the Heavens were on the verge of granting him a new God Aura.


    It should be his¡­ how could the effort Ryu had put in for just the mere last few hours match up the hundreds of years he had given?


    For the first time, hints of something else appeared in the Roc Prince''s heart.


    Unwillingness.


    Rage.


    Fury.


    He couldn''t accept it.


    He wouldn''t accept it.


    His lips opened and a howl left him. The cry of a bird with no less pride than the Phoenix formed. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Beneath the Tribulation Clouds gathering for Ryu, he soared into the skies. His arms spread like Ryu''s had, appearing from above and striking down.


    Ryu''s skill might have far surpassed his own, but Ryu''s body was still heavily limited. In terms of raw speed and leaping ability, the Roc Prince, despite being fatigued, was far beyond him.


    Descending from above, he thrust out hundreds of times in an instant. If he couldn''t match Ryu''s skill, he would just take it by force.


    Using his speed to replace the technique, his blades fanned out, multiplying several times over.


    The two clashed, thousands of blades overlapping one another.


    The Roc Prince''s roar became more prominent.


    Faster. Faster. He had to be faster.


    More. Sharper. More flexible. More power.


    His spear blades were quickly being overwhelmed. Ryu had less, but his efficiency was greater, his accuracy more precise. Every time he struck, he landed on a critical point, wiping out two, three, sometimes even four of the Roc Prince''s attacks.


    Streaks of gold and royal blue clashed in the air, two separate sparks of lightning forming.


    The world watched on in shock, feeling as though they were watching something ridiculous. Weren''t other abilities supposed to be suppressed?


    Maybe it was fine for the Roc Prince to use lightning since his spear was lightning-based, but how was Ryu doing it?


    A blade flew past the Roc Prince''s cheek, and for the first time, Ryu sliced into him.


    The flare of pain was immediate, but it only spurred him on.


    A slice cut across his ribs, sliding through their defenses so deeply it almost cut into his lungs.


    He became more relentless, more fiery, more passionate.


    Streaks of blood appeared across him continuously, his body becoming riddled with injuries. But all he could see ahead of him were Ryu''s cold pair of silver eyes, the rest of him having faded away entirely.


    One of the Roc Prince''s legs flew into the skies.


    He didn''t notice.


    His ear was cut off, taking a slice of his skull with it.


    He didn''t react.


    His other leg was severed at the knee.


    His spears only became faster.


    Whittled away one piece after another, he fought and fought until there was nothing left but the blades in the palm of his hands.


    BOOM!


    A strike of lightning fell from the skies.


    The Roc Prince roared. "IT''S MINE!"


    His Dao Heart bloomed and his Control clicked into place, his intent guiding his blades.


    In an instant, the number of spears in the skies increased by a factor of ten, his arms blurring and streaking through time and space.


    Ryu''s great swordstaffs shattered to pieces, his body instantly becoming littered with so many holes he didn''t even look human anymore.


    Lightning sparked and the Tribulation high above trembled, its target shifting as the Godblade Title shook in place.

 Chapter 2195 - 2195: Together

    Ryu coughed; his body almost entirely shutting down on him. He didn''t even need to look at himself to know that he wasn''t in a good condition. Well, the pain was certainly enough to tell him that.


    And yet, his eyes weren''t focused on himself at all. Instead, he was looking ahead to the Roc Prince that basked in the tribulation lightning above, a wide grin on his face.


    He had been told all his life that dual©\wielding spears was impossible, so much so that he had abandoned the path himself, taking another.


    A part of him had always lusted after that for nothing more than his vanity. But for the sake of his wife, he didn''t bother to return to it.


    He had tried other things, even going toward close combat for a while, but these were all in acknowledgement of Ailsa. It was what she would have wanted him to do.


    This, though¡­ this was for him.


    He might not be the one basking in the glory, but he didn''t seem to care very much at all. As far as he was concerned, Little Rock''s son might as well be his own.


    As for the price he had paid to allow it, he didn''t even think twice about it or even consider it much of an issue.


    There was something about doing things the way you wanted to, when you wanted to, that embodied the Path of Cultivation he loved so much.


    Nothing could make him feel more whole, more complete. Nothing could possibly satisfy him more than this right here.


    The Godblade Title continued to tremble, shivering so fiercely that even with the Tribulation above, it was impossible to miss.


    But by the time everyone noticed, it was already too late.


    It shot into the skies.


    Ryu''s grin became wider.


    Xalvador and Balthar moved at the same time, but Ryu somehow appeared before them, his body littered with wounds.


    "You didn''t imagine¡­ that I would let you do as you pleased, right?" Ryu said lightly.


    His demeanor changed, his smile fading. Standing there, littered with holes, lightning not of his own creation sparking across his body, he looked like he might keel over any moment now.


    Xalvador held a simple sword, and Balthar rested a glaive on his shoulder.


    The two came to a stop at the same time. For a pair of men that were always at loggerheads, they were oddly in sync right now.


    They had seen the number of people that died at Ryu''s hand by now. Right this moment, they didn''t dare to take him as lightly as they had once wanted to.


    They didn''t know who Yeger was, but since he could make it this far, he was certainly a genius amongst geniuses. Yet, he hadn''t hesitated to step away and leave the competition.


    However, this pause of theirs only lasted the briefest instant.


    Xalvador slashed out.


    Right then, he didn''t look like the playboy or the casual fling. His eyes were emotionless as the bottom of the ocean, carrying the same unrelenting pressure. There was a sharpness to him that he always kept sheathed. And in a single instant of time, he released it all at once.


    "Not bad."


    Ryu''s words echoed lightly.


    He had no blades left, his great swordstaffs having been shattered by the Roc Prince.


    It was hard to fathom just how shocking a feat this was. He had forged them with the help of a Dao Goddess, their materials formed of the bodies of False Shrines. And yet, they were now finished.


    But there wasn''t the slightest bit of panic in Ryu''s eyes. In his life¡­ he could remember a few embarrassing moments¡­ but being scared of death¡­ being scared of an enemy¡­


    Those he couldn''t accept.


    He flipped a palm and the blood of the Phoenix Princess surged, forming two rainbow swords of violet, blue, and pink. They took the shape of feathers, the very essence of the Phoenix Princess exuding from them.


    The Saber Sword Soul Aura poured in from the surroundings, and Ryu seemed to have embodied everything about the Phoenix Princess'' path in an instant. But there was a difference.


    This time it was perfect.


    Ryu slashed out, the blade swift and heavy. After the briefest of clashes, it suddenly became flexible, his wrist trembling the slightest bit as it curved an arc through the air.


    Xalvador''s pupils constricted as he felt his sword almost fly out his hand.


    He quickly retreated, accelerating back.


    Balthar''s eyes narrowed, but from start to finish, he didn''t move.


    And neither did Ryu.


    Standing in the same place, Ryu raised the blades as the booming Tribulation Clouds above grew more feverish.


    "You see¡­ I''ve never really had a blade path," Ryu said lightly. "I''ve yet to decide the sort of path I want my weapons to embody. I just casually hop from thing to thing, mostly relying on fundamentals and finding the flaws of my enemies. So my style is bland and it only works well to counter¡­ it''s not as good at taking the initiative."


    Ryu looked at them plainly.


    "You''re probably wondering why I''m explaining this to you. Usually, I wouldn''t bother. I would rather have your heads on platters. But this time, I''m explaining this to you so that you understand how inferior you are."


    Ryu''s rainbow feather blades settled in the air, steady as the earth itself.


    "I don''t even need to use my own path to defeat you. It''s unnecessary."


    Ryu had completely changed. Since the start, he had only waited for others to attack before finding their flaws and countering.


    This time¡­


    He took the initiative.


    The aura of saber and sword, warlord and emperor, mixed across the skies. He attacked both Martial Gods at the same time.


    Body beaten and broken¡­


    He suppressed them with nothing more than skill.


    It was clear to all that he didn''t have much strength in his arms. His every strike was slow, having to react to three sweeps of a blade with just one of his own.


    Direct clashes he hadn''t been able to avoid before, he slipped out of them with ease. When the Martial God duo thought they would face a heavy strike, they experienced a swift change instead.


    Ryu continuously baited them, and in the very moments they thought they could just ignore his heavy attacks and prepare for the swift ones, they suddenly came.


    Balthar''s spear swept out, ready to parry what he thought would be yet another light strike, only to lose a hand.


    As though Ryu could see through the future itself, his heavy chop continued, severing Balthar''s hand at the wrist.


    "Pathetic."


    The word wormed into Balthar''s heart, echoing through his Dao Heart. If it wasn''t for just how firm it was, he would have felt it crushed right that instant.


    He hurriedly retreated, holding out his spear with a single hand. But he was no Roc Prince, and he certainly was no Ryu. He might still have some skill, but it wasn''t nearly enough.


    It truly was pathetic. With Balthar retreating, Xalvador might have held his own for a few moments, but quickly, wounds began to litter his body.


    Ryu''s strength seemed to come from a different depth. He wasn''t just fighting to fight, there was someone in the skies that he was protecting, and these two were overestimating themselves if they thought they could make it by him.


    Blood dripped from his feather blades. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Disappointing."


    Neither Xalvador nor Balthar responded. From the start, the two of them hadn''t spoken a single word.


    Balthar looked down at his lost hand. The bad news was obviously that he had lost it. The good news was that Ryu''s current weakness was very obvious.


    His skill was heart shudderingly high. But his physical presence and prowess was highly limited. Because of that, Balthar was able to quite easily recover his hand before Ryu could destroy it entirely. Reattaching it wouldn''t be a problem.


    However, there was a deep unwillingness within him.


    Just how could a gap in comprehension be this vast? Were they not all geniuses?


    "Together," Xalvador spoke for the first time.


    His voice was a bit stiff, as though he was saying a word that he didn''t want to.


    No one really understood what this meant either. Hadn''t they already been working together? What was the point of saying this now?


    Balthar gave Xalvador a look. But eventually, he nodded once. Putting his severed hand away, he raised his spear with a single arm.


    The two stood shoulder to shoulder before Ryu, but all of a sudden, in his senses, they almost became a single person.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. He had never seen such a thing before, and this shouldn''t be a bloodline ability. If it was, the Title would have suppressed it.


    Plus, he knew what Bloodline abilities the both had. Xalvador was a Divine Wing and Balthar was a Divine Hegemon. Neither had the ability to do this.


    But even in his narrowed eyes, there was a savage grin hidden within.


    They had already tried to cheat his wife, wouldn''t it be natural that they try to cheat him?

 Chapter 2196 - 2196: Smile

    Ryu stood there, his feather blades calm and steady.


    He had thought a lot about what the Martial Gods were doing. Even for him, it wasn''t immediately obvious. Even now, he felt like he only had about 90% of the story.


    Cheating something like the Title Stele wasn''t easy. Ryu felt that doubly so after feeling its interaction with the Heavenly Court Doors.


    While it had felt like the Title Stele had cowered, Ryu felt something peculiar about its actions, as though it wasn''t cowering but sheltering itself for a moment, as if it were actually trying to hide something from the Heavenly Court.


    That much was odd, because there was no doubt the Heavenly Court knew that the Title Stele existed. It wasn''t like the thing vanished off the face of Existence when the Heavenly Court appeared. And given how many tabs the Heavenly Court no doubt kept on this world here, it would make even less sense if they didn''t know what all the strongest powers were chasing after.


    This made the Title Stele even more curious to Ryu, but that wasn''t what he was considering right now.


    How were the Martial Gods tricking it?


    It sounded like a silly question, especially since Ryu had managed to trick it several times now. After all, he should have only been allowed to fight for a single Title outside of trying to stamp his name onto the body of the Title Stele.


    In that case, why could he do it but no one else? Was he just being the typical arrogant Ryu once again?


    This time, the answer was no.


    Ryu didn''t think that he was the only one that could trick the Title Stele in that way. It was just that those with such abilities were either of higher cultivation levels or felt no need to do so.


    After all, Ryu was only fighting for so many Titles because he needed them for his Corpse Puppet army. Not many people followed such a path to begin with, and if you had the skill to trick the Title Stele, you would be entirely uninterested in such low-level Titles.


    So why was he so stunned by the Martial Gods?


    It was because his method of tricking the Title Stele involved using its own rules against it.


    While colloquially the rule was that one could only fight for a single Title, this wasn''t actually the case. The true rule was that one could only claim a single Title.


    This meant that so long as Ryu never integrated with the Title, but instead just took it and passed it off to someone else, it wouldn''t count as claiming, and thus he could fight again.


    The Title Stele could feel what he was doing, and it was angry about it, but ultimately it was an item. Much like the Heavens, it strictly followed its own rules, so it was forced to allow Ryu to participate.


    What the Martial Gods were doing was very different. They weren''t using the Title Stele''s rules against it; they were pulling the wool over its eyes.


    During the battle against Aurelia, Sarriel had kept it close. Honestly speaking, it wasn''t yet obvious who would win. If Ryu was being unbiased, the chances were still practically 50/50 at that point. It was just that Sarriel had maybe a percentage point or two in her favor.


    In a battle of that high level, those one or two points would make all the difference, which was why he was confident in her. But it wasn''t to the point that Aurelia had no chance at all to flip the situation if she had a sudden breakthrough or something of the like.


    But then the situation changed.


    Aurelia suddenly flipped the situation without any sort of breakthrough at all, as though she had been hiding her own power from the very start.


    It didn''t make any sense.


    But Ryu, though he couldn''t understand how at the time, he knew what was happening.


    Aurelia had pulled the wool over the Title Stele''s eyes, tapping into power external to her blade alone. Essentially, she tapped into her Holy Wing Bloodline abilities.


    She had parried Sarriel so easily back then because of the unique Holy Wing ability to control atmospheric qi. She had dispersed Sarriel''s Sword Qi without her noticing. It was only a small tick off, but in a battle that was so close, and with Sarriel having already calibrated her every action to perfectly match the situation, it made all the difference.


    While it had looked like Aurelia used a great skill, parrying Sarriel''s sword several times over with piercing silk ribbons, that had been nothing more than a facade to hide her true actions.


    This situation here, though, was different. The Martial Gods seemed to be pulling the wool over the Title Stele''s eyes in a different way.


    But oddly enough, this was the last piece of the puzzle that Ryu needed.


    The reason they weren''t using the same method as Aurelia was that they were afraid he would see through it. Others might think that he was talking nonsense before, but the Martial Gods knew what Aurelia had done. So when he said that Aurelia was cheating, most might think he was just trying to protect his wife''s dignity, while the Martial Gods had felt their hearts constrict.


    There had to be a reason for that.


    This meant that whatever method they were using now, if Ryu actually saw through its secrets, he would either be able to counter it, or this would expose something that the Martial Gods wanted to hide for much longer.


    Even as Xalvador and Balthar rushed him, Ryu''s eyes almost seemed absent. His gaze shifted, landing on the Title Stele in the distance, and then toward where the Heavenly Court Doors had manifested.


    Why had the Martial Gods hidden all this time? Wasn''t it for the sake of hiding from the Heavenly Court?


    ''They''re tied to the Ruin Master Guild¡­ unexpected, or maybe it''s only natural¡­ and should have been obvious.''


    ''If the Ruin Master Guild was able to manipulate the Title Stele World to have their little Ruins, then maybe it should be obvious that the Title Stele would have been manipulated in other ways as well.''


    ''But the Ruin Master Guild should already know that I''ve seen through them. So why so scared now? Why so intent on making sure I didn''t understand this one particular situation?''


    The Ruin Master Guild had always been the outward facing facade. It was relentless in the pursuit of¡­ something.


    ''Are they really connected?''


    When he thought about it, they were quite similar. The foundation of the Martial Gods was their relentless pursuit of knowledge. They based their entire culture around it, not acting like many other Clans at all.


    They didn''t care who their geniuses married or who they had children with as long as they proliferated, created new Bloodline combinations, and forged new skills and techniques.


    It was what they pursued with every fiber of their being.


    Ryu''s gaze flickered as he thought back to the Phoenix Sky God and the deductions that Sarriel had led him through.


    ''¡­ No¡­ the Martial Gods and Ruin Master Guild probably aren''t connected¡­ their fingerprints on things just feel too different¡­ it''s just that¡­ they and the Phoenix Sky God¡­ they''re all chasing the same thing¡­''


    Was it a new cultivation realm? Were they all pursuing what was beyond the Dao God Realm? Looking to step beyond it?


    Maybe.


    ''Divine Chains, huh¡­''


    Xalvador and Balthar might be absolute powerhouses, but there was one that stood beyond them, and there was only one Bloodline of the Martial Gods that stood as the real hegemon despite the namesake of Balthar''s Bloodline.


    Ryu''s gaze shifted again and landed on a woman who was completely silent. She was the only one that had never moved a single inch since the battle began, when even the arrogant Dragon Prince and Young Master Bright had done so.


    Solara.


    Slowly, her eyes opened, her gaze meeting Ryu''s as though she could feel it.


    There seemed to be a spark between the two of them, and this stoic, unmoving woman, who didn''t seem to have ever had the slightest bit of emotion¡­


    Smiled?


    It was a genuine, sweet smile. It didn''t seem arrogant in the slightest. It was almost like she was having fun looking at Ryu, having fun playing this game of chess, having fun watching him try to figure it all out.


    She knew that he was missing a piece, missing something so functionally important that he would never be able to figure it out, not completely. And for some reason, that pleased her. Once again, not in an arrogant way, but almost a teasing, school playground sort of way.


    Ryu could tell from that look this woman longed for a challenge much like he did. She had been quite bored until he appeared and surprised her again and again.


    Now¡­ she felt like things might be a little bit interesting.


    Ryu was certain of one thing, though.


    She was the most powerful Lord in Existence. Even Sarriel didn''t hold a candle to her, not yet, not while her new strength was still so fresh and new.


    There wasn''t a secret or conspiracy here at all. There was nothing but the brutest of strengths.


    Ryu looked up and for the first time, his eyes saw them, only because Solara allowed him to see them.


    To see the chains that covered the whole of the battlefield.


    Including the Title Stele.


    The Title Stele had cowered because Solara didn''t want the Heavenly Court to sense her and take her away too. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 2197 - 2197: Boiling

    Ryu''s expression remained placid for a moment, looking Solara up and down. He was sure that she was a beautiful woman. But right now, he couldn''t see anything but those eyes and that smile.


    No, there was something else he could feel as well¡­


    That battle intent.


    A wild grin spread across Ryu''s face. His boredom vanished in a flash, and in that instant, it was as though a blazing fire had been lit within him.


    "Is that so?"


    He spoke just as Xalvador and Balthar''s blades had come upon him. He knew why they were able to work so seamlessly together now. There was a Divine Chain linking between the two of them, allowing their actions to flow smoothly between one another.


    It was such a complex application of the Bloodline that Ryu hadn''t even known it was possible until now. This was the first time he had ever experienced such a thing.


    Against others, he could perfect their methods even better than they could. Right now, he wasn''t even using his own Sword Saber Soul method; it was the Phoenix Princesses. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, even more shocking than that, he had the Divine Chains within him. The ability, at least¡ªthough not truly the foundation¡ªhad long been copied by his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation.


    And yet, after it had been with him all this time, he had never once thought of such a method.


    If it was the case that such a thing just wouldn''t be useful to him, maybe he could let it go. But just imagine if he used such a method with his Corpse Puppets?


    Wouldn''t such a thing be far more effective than any Army Formation could ever hope to be?


    It was an enormous game changer, and yet he had never thought of it.


    It made his blood, or what was left of it, boil.


    When Ryu reincarnated the first time, for a long while he ignored secondary professions and the use of his mind. He often got himself into trouble, refused to use his intelligence for anything other than quickly improving his cultivation, and was an all-around dullard.


    He had done that on purpose.


    He didn''t want to skate through life on his mind. Even when he gained his Dao, and he knew just how useful the Chaos half of it was, he rarely even used it because of the implications that came.


    After spending his entire first lifetime hoping and praying for strength and power, and having nothing other than his mind to rely on¡­ he just didn''t want to be that man anymore.


    His truest goal was to reach the top of the cultivation world, and when he envisioned it as a child, he never imagined it would be about outsmarting everyone he came across.


    Unfortunately¡­ people were just too stupid in his views. Their minds weren''t nearly as flexible as his own, their ability to adapt, read, and shift and change in a situation was extremely limited to the point he had a hard time not looking at them like they were children.


    This was supposed to be a battle to decide the pinnacle geniuses of Existence, and yet it was child''s play to him. The only chance they had was when he quite literally couldn''t match up to their talent.


    Now that he could, the amount of added strength his intelligence and Dao Heart gave him made it so that in this sort of situation, they could hardly match up even when he was half dead.


    It was mind-numbing.


    Even though he had grown beyond the person he had been when his second life first began, he still had that yearning inside of him. The most fun he had had here other than his battle with Nightly was his battle for the Beast Title¡­ but even then that was only because he had allowed his mind to be turned off.


    In this situation, though¡­ maybe he wouldn''t have to.


    Seeing Solara, he felt that maybe for the first time, he was staring at someone no less intelligent than he was.


    If you were fighting against such an individual, in the end¡­


    What was left if not raw physical prowess?


    The eagerness in Ryu reached a fever pitch and the canines in his mouth lengthened all on their own. Maybe he would have even released an almost feral growl if not for the fact that Xalvador and Balthar''s blades were now truly upon him.


    He moved.


    There was only one thing on Ryu''s mind.


    Solara wasn''t the only one that could show off.


    Ryu took a step back, his arms dancing.


    CHI. CHI.


    He parried their blades and then took another step back, and then another.


    From an outsider''s perspective, it looked as though he was being entirely overwhelmed. But Xalvador and Balthar felt that something was off.


    This wasn''t the first time Ryu had been beaten and battered. But this time, he was taking one calm step after another rather than being sent flying and spurting up blood.


    The difference was palpable.


    Was it because of the Sword Saber Soul method? Was the difference really that great? Or¡ª


    Their pupils constricted.


    Sword and Saber Qi rolled through the air, forming intricate lines. It was so subtle that it was nigh undetectable. The only reason they sensed it at all was because Xalvador was a master of the sword and Balthar was able to sense it through their connection.


    What was happening?


    The weapon qi didn''t seem like it was very dangerous at all. In fact, they were mostly wrapping around Ryu alone, so what exactly was happening?


    Ryu suddenly became sharp and faster.


    Formations formed of saber and sword qi so thin it was invisible to the naked eye and even Spiritual Quintessence formed in rapid succession. Every time he stabbed out, his blade would pass through one of them, suddenly explosively increasing their power.


    He swept and weaved, his arms moving in an independent and yet interlinked dance. In that moment, he didn''t seem like he was injured in the slightest¡­


    No, it was nothing more than a facade. If one placed the Ryu of hours ago with the Ryu of now, there was an obvious gap in just how fast the two were moving.


    This Ryu was much slower, much more labored in his movement.


    And yet, he was moving so fluidly, so gracefully, with such elegance that it didn''t seem as though he was struggling at all.


    He had completely eliminated the jerkiness of the Phoenix Princess'' weapon style, truly made it his own. There didn''t seem to be any transition between sword and saber at all, and when they swept forward, they almost encompassed the entire world.


    They felt a fire coming from Ryu''s Dao Heart right this moment that made them realize they had never truly felt the depth of it until this moment. No one had been able to stoke that flame. Not even the Dao Gods Ryu knew were hiding in the shadows.


    Not once in his life did Ryu ever feel like he had a true rival.


    His blades clashed against Balthar''s spear blade, an eruption of power descending. The formations slapped into one and Balthar felt as though he was meeting a dozen powerful strikes at once instead of just one.


    He buckled to a single knee, struggling to keep his spear above him and stop Ryu from severing his neck cleanly from his shoulders.


    At the same time, as though he had two brains in his arms, Ryu''s blade flickered against Xalvador''s arm; one blade was heavy and strong, the other soft and gentle.


    He met Xalvador''s speed with three quick strikes of his own, the very tips of their weapons colliding in the air thrice in quick succession.


    Xalvador felt himself neutralized and he needed a moment to gather himself for another attack.


    Ryu needed no such thing.


    The fourth was already coming.


    In truth, Ryu''s own momentum was already dead in the water as well. However, an invisible sword formation took shape, gathering up his dispersed strength and recentering it.


    His wrist twisted in a fourth thrust, this time just barely missing the grazing tip of Xalvador''s sword and skimming against the length of its bottom.


    The curl of his wrist sent it flicking upward.


    Xalvador had no strength in his arm and he almost lost grip of his sword entirely. He couldn''t even react before the blade slipped into his ribcage, sliding in an infinitesimally tiny space between his heart and lungs.


    A searing pain racked him from top to bottom.


    "I really do want to kill you," Ryu said with that wild grin on his face. "But if I do that, who will my father kill? You should know not to overestimate yourself. Who do you think you are?"


    Ryu''s wrist vibrated and Xalvador was sent flying¡­ unfortunately, not before a series of sword and saber qi imprinted themselves into his chest.


    Xalvador''s eyes widened, a fury coursing through his body.


    He felt it immediately.


    He had no ability to control his lower half any longer. Ryu had somehow made him impotent.


    "RYU TATSUYA!"


    "You, however," Ryu continued with the same grin, his blade still firmly pressing down on Balthar''s spear. "What purpose do you serve at all?"


    Ryu''s second sword, now free of Xalvador, pierced forward. But, unexpectedly, not toward Balthar. Instead, it looked like Ryu was aiming right at empty space, and his attack was almost too gentle.


    But that was because he wasn''t thrusting at all. He was picking something up. The undetectable chain between Balthar and Xalvador.


    "I could have severed this the moment you exposed yourself. But where would the fun be in that?"


    Ryu''s grin turned to Solara as he lopped Balthar''s head into the skies.

 Chapter 2198 - 2198: Sword Saber Soul

    Ryu''s sword pierced out, catching Balthar''s head on its tip. Its blade pierced through his skull, skewering him like he was some sort of piece of meat rather than someone''s life.


    Solara hardly reacted to this at all, the smile on her face having long faded and her eyes having long closed. She had returned to a calm state, unbothered and unfettered.


    Ryu, however¡­


    With a tremble of his wrist, Balthar''s head shattered, a rain of flesh and blood falling.


    Ryu looked up to the skies, ignoring Xalvador as though he was nothing more than air. To Ryu¡­ one opponent, especially not one he had exchanged so many blows with already, was worth his time or attention.


    Solara had certainly triggered him a little bit. When his competitive spirit was stoked, his gear changed as well. He had never felt what it felt like to have a true rival before. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He rarely respected anyone, and most of his enemies were people he thought had little more on them than years. When he was facing people like that, it was hard to care.


    They were those he knew he would surpass in due time; how could they make him care?


    What Ryu had also never considered was that always being so confident was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it made him dauntless. But on the other hand, it also meant that he would never truly feel the weight of a challenge.


    Was it still bravery if you didn''t feel fear?


    This was the paradox Ryu had always faced.


    Only against an opponent that could truly make him feel something would there be a difference.


    In the past, that had once been Sarriel, but she had become his wife. He couldn''t possibly use her as a target, now could he?


    There was also the Phoenix Sky God, but whoever they were, they were still much too far away from him.


    Now¡­ there was this Solara. This was far more interesting, and she had also pulled out a great deal from him.


    She had an interesting effect on him.


    Feeling the sword and saber qi rotating around him, Ryu smiled lightly, allowing it to sink into him silently. It was doubtful that most would be able to sense it. Not even Xalvador had noticed this tidbit.


    He had been thinking about how to win this for a while now. After this Godblade challenge was finished, the odds that the real battle for claiming a Title would begin were extremely high.


    In that case, it would be no holds barred, and his chances to rely so heavily on his comprehension would be limited.


    It was no secret why he could kill so easily here. Everyone was limited to their skill alone, and it was impossible to outskill Ryu of all people.


    So how would he survive the next round?


    His body had nothing left other than his Chaos Qi. His Embryonic Qi production had slowed to a crawl, every droplet being diverted in an attempt to undo the damage of the Karmic Flames.


    But Karmic Flames were precisely what burned Corpse Poison into being. It might be a form of energy even higher than Embryonic Qi and its counterpart. It was just that it wasn''t something that could be wielded by cultivators.


    Then again¡­ Embryonic Qi wasn''t meant to be wielded either.


    Regardless, Ryu''s Embryonic Qi was completely occupied with an extremely slow-paced healing.


    The only reason he had his Chaos Qi at all was because it was connected to a separate world. But his Chaotic Silk Meridians¡­ well, they were the third strongest material in the world, not the first. And even if it was the first, it wouldn''t stand a chance against such boiling Karmic Flames.


    While he still had his Chaos Qi, just circulating it made him feel as though thousands of fire ants were rushing through him.


    His actual body and physical strength had even less to be said about them. They were all but destroyed. He was barely standing.


    Right now, he hardly looked like much of a human at all. From a handsome young man, he looked like a walking corpse¡ªand the only reason he didn''t look like a charred corpse instead was because of the Phoenix Princess.


    But he had already used up what he could from that, and at best, the changes were cosmetic.


    This was all to say¡­ how the hell should he win?


    Well, the answer had been obvious to Ryu from the start. If his Body Realm was useless, and his Qi Realm was compromised, the answer would lie within his Mental Realm.


    That was simple enough to Ryu. He would figure the rest out.


    Of course, Karmic Flames wouldn''t have such an obvious weakness to it. It definitely targeted his soul as well.


    The difference was that Ryu had a Perfect Blackbody Soul. Compared to the rest of his body, he could withstand the hit with much greater ease to his Mental Realm¡­


    Especially since he had done something quite crazy that he hadn''t let Sarriel sense. But that was something that he would keep in his back pocket as he continued to suppress the pain that came from this very choice.


    Still, all of this was to say that his Mental Realm was weaker now than it had been in the past, and by a considerable amount at that. Though he could still use it with much greater ease than his other two Realms, it wasn''t ideal¡­


    At least not for now.


    He still needed time. He needed a hold over until he was ready, until he could truly unleash.


    Ryu just thought about using his Summons and Corpse Puppets. That was the obvious answer. It was the smart answer. It was what any sane man would do.


    But he didn''t want to.


    There was no elaborate reason, no great secret, no logical deduction.


    He just wanted to claim this Title with his own hands.


    So he made a different decision.


    Why not just create a new cultivation method? Sounded simple enough.


    The Sword Saber Soul method sounded so unique. What made him especially curious was why the Phoenix Princess added the Soul aspect to the name at all. Why not just Sword Saber?


    After analyzing the method, he understood why. Controlling Sword and Saber qi to cooperate with one another was incredibly difficult. They were incredibly incompatible.


    Though, that could be said for all of the Weapon Auras. They were designed to be themselves, not anything else. But it could be said that the Saber and Sword were special opposites because they took such similar forms, and yet completed such different actions.


    In order to force them to sync, the Phoenix Princess needed the Soul aspect. She was using her heart as a guide to direct her weapon to harmonize. As such, her Weapon Aura was as much her soul as it was her Saber and Sword.


    And that fascinated Ryu. It was a truly unique method. It was just that the Phoenix Princess was too weak, her comprehension too lacking.


    All Ryu needed to do was feel out the rhythm of her soul to sense when she was harmonizing and when she was switching over. During a lull, he lopped her head off, timing it perfectly.


    However, he had ended up keeping her Blood Essence for himself for good reason.


    Barely anything about him had changed after sucking up the Phoenix Princess'' Blood Essence. That was because very few realized that it was all focused in his Mental Realm.


    The winding, invisible filaments of Sword and Saber qi were intertwining with his Soul, pulling at the white flame and forming layers of formations that filled in the gaps.


    These "gaps" were actually just examples of severe damage to his soul.


    But now, these Sword Saber Soul formations were filling in the gaps.


    The question was¡­ what were they doing? What did it even mean to form formations of Sword and Saber qi in the first place?


    Well¡­ the world was just going to have to wait to find that out. That was because this little nephew of his seemed just about done.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The Tribulation above shuddered.


    The first thing anyone noticed were the majestic, metallic silver wings of a Lightning Roc.


    They flapped out from the black clouds, blowing a tempest of wind into the surroundings.


    And then a neck just as majestic, long and mighty, stretched out.


    The savage call of a bird standing on a mountain peak echoed, a screech that stopped time and reversed the flow of space shot into the surroundings.


    The feathers of the Roc Prince''s wings spread out, sharp Spear qi radiating out in all directions.


    And for the second time that day¡­


    The Heavenly Court Doors opened.


    Ryu clicked his tongue. "Maybe I''m a little bit too good at this."


    They were just simple words, and yet they made the hearts of several tremble uncontrollably as they suddenly understood something.


    Several gazes snapped to Ryu with a feverish intent.


    Ryu rested his feather blade on his shoulder, chuckling.


    "Are you under the impression that if you capture me I might help you reach an entirely new level? Why is the world filled with such stupid people? If this is what I''ve done for someone else¡­" Ryu''s momentum began to grow, his soul finally becoming whole again. A savage momentum spread, violent and filled with unbridled killing intent. "¡­ What the hell do you think I''ve done for myself?"


    "I''ve already given enough warnings. Come if you dare. My blade is still thirsty."

 Chapter 2199 - 2199: Something

    Ryu''s grin seemed brighter than even the Heavenly Court doors above. He didn''t even bother to glance at the very same young man that stepped out once again; he didn''t even turn to say goodbye to the Roc Prince at all¡­


    Because he was quite sure that he wouldn''t have to.


    The call of a bird filled the skies.


    It didn''t feel like it appeared. Instead, it felt like the noise had always been there and they were only just made aware of it.


    The skies shuddered and the Title Stele seemed to dim.


    A pair of silver wings that encompassed the skies themselves flew overhead.


    It was the very essence of speed.


    It was said that the Roc was the fastest creature in all of existence. There were probably many who were against such a thing, many who believed that their speed was greater, superior.


    But when laying one''s eyes on a real Roc, it was impossible to feel any other way.


    This wasn''t just speed, it was pace incarnate. There was no spatial manipulation, no warping of time, and yet they naturally melded themselves around a single flap of those mighty wings.


    A head the size of a world peered down, looming larger than even the doors themselves.


    "Who told you that you could come to claim my son?" The voice was quite gentle. It didn''t carry the moment of an Ancestor at all.


    It was composed, calm, unassuming even. But it carried an underlying firmness that laid the foundation of not a beast, but a man supremely confident in his abilities.


    The young man who stepped out from the Heavenly Court Doors trembled violently. There was a faint mark on his cheek, one that was hardly discernible and almost looked like the fading edges of a shallow paper cut.


    However, Ryu sensed the aura of that cut without even turning around.


    His grin widened, but once again, he didn''t say a single word. Even now, he had still yet to look at the Ancestor Roc that had appeared.


    Maybe the only two who understood why were the two of them.


    If Ryu looked now, he would certainly have to go and fight. And if he went to fight that behemoth in the skies, wouldn''t he lose? How embarrassing would that be?


    Absolutely ridiculous. He refused to see Little Rock again until they could stand toe to toe like they had on that mountain of obsidian the first day they met.


    Little Rock understood this more intimately than anyone else. If not for the fact his son was about to be taken away, he would have never come here in the first place.


    If there was someone he respected in this world, it was Ryu¡­ if there was any other choice, he would never put him in such a compromising position.


    But this Heavenly Court¡­ just had to test his bottom line.


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    An old man stepped out from the Heavenly Court Doors.


    "Roc Emperor. You know the rules. Step aside," the old man said coldly.


    Ryu recognized the voice as well. He was the very same man who had appeared back then as well, the man forced to appear by Ailsa, Eska and Isemeine.


    He had never bothered to learn their names; he had no need of it. As for the young man, he cared even less. What need was there of it, he didn''t fear him or respect him.


    The last time a young man stepped out from their gates, Ryu had crushed him just the same.


    Well, that was a projection with limited abilities. But why mind the finer details so much?


    "I didn''t come here to negotiate with you," Little Rock said just as softly.


    At some unknown time, his son was already on his enormous back, having fallen into a deep slumber. The Roc Prince had returned to his true form. Yet, as large as he was, he was barely a dot on his father''s back.


    It was hard to fathom just how Little Rock had grown so large, or even why.


    Ryu couldn''t help but be curious, and the fact he couldn''t figure it out in a short time only made him all the more interested in the answer.


    Nemesis was the perfect example. The Sin Talent Adept Body was the reason why what should have otherwise been a pitiful low-tier beast had earned itself such shocking potential.


    Concentrating its power into a small body had made it shockingly powerful.


    Why Little Rock would choose to grow so large in size to the point that he dwarfed worlds¡­ well, Ryu didn''t know.


    But what was clear was that it didn''t hamper his strength at all. At the very least, it didn''t seem to.


    He had appeared with a single flap of his wings, and something told Ryu that even though Little Rock had been several worlds away¡­ that single flap they had all seen was the very same flap he started in his world.


    In fact, something even more sure told Ryu that Little Rock hadn''t been planning on coming at all until the Heavenly Court appeared¡­ which meant that he hadn''t even been in a position to move initially.


    This was all to say that despite his shocking size, Little Rock had come from worlds away to appear here in an instant and with nothing more than a single flap of his wings¡­


    Just what level of speed was this?


    Even Ryu felt his heart trembling. Now, he knew he definitely couldn''t look back. If he got his ass kicked by his brother, he wouldn''t even be able to raise his head anymore.


    At the very least, when it was Ianjor he could play it off because he was a shameless bastard. But Little Rock was too calm and too controlled. He probably wouldn''t even understand the jokes Ryu made about it.


    No, no. That definitely couldn''t be allowed. He would stick to taunting these so-called geniuses.


    "Are you challenging the Heavenly Court, Roc Emperor¡­?" the old man asked slowly.


    BANG!


    The old man exploded into a rain of blood. The bolt of lightning, if that was what it was at all, was so fast it couldn''t even be registered. The only reason Ryu felt that it was lightning could only be due to the density of Lightning Qi in the air afterward.


    Little Rock didn''t even bother to argue. After the old man spoke again, he simply killed him.


    The Heavenly Court Doors trembled and something seemed to be coming, but Little Rock only calmly looked down toward Ryu''s back.


    Neither said a word as Little Rock turned back. Given his size, it should have been a laborsome issue, something that took maybe years to complete as though the orbit of a planet around a sun.


    And yet, Little Rock''s movement felt both measured and shockingly fast.


    When he faced the direction he wanted, his wings rose. There wasn''t even the slightest wind as he flapped downward.


    There was a shuddering ripple of qi in the air, but it passed through all those present without causing the slightest hint of damage.


    And then, in one instant, Little Rock was there¡­


    And in the next he was gone.


    Ryu finally allowed himself to look back up to the skies. He couldn''t help but wonder what Little Rock had experienced. It seemed odd that he didn''t choose to help Ailsa out of her trouble despite wielding such strength. The only explanation should be that he was occupied by something as well.


    But¡­


    What situation could tie down the fastest cultivator in existence for so long?


    Ryu''s gaze flickered. It seemed that he would have to start getting stronger for reasons other than his own vanity.


    Honestly speaking, even after Sarriel spoke to him about the Phoenix Sky God matters, his thought process hadn''t changed much. He wanted to defeat them for his own ego, to truly stand atop the world.


    Well, there was obviously his promise to his wife as well, destroying the Ruin Master Guild and dealing with the Heavenly Court and all, but those matters were also somewhat routine to him.


    This felt¡­ different, though. But not necessarily disconnected from these matters he was already aware of.


    Ryu watched as the Heavenly Court Doors shuddered. The young man who had come out from it seemed to have lost his soul. But then his head suddenly snapped toward the door.


    Realizing something, the young man shot toward it, barely slipping inside as the shuddering doors slammed close.


    Then, the doors vanished.


    ''¡­ It¡­ ran?''


    Ryu frowned. Was Little Rock truly that powerful? What was he missing here?


    ''Yaana¡­ where are you¡­?''


    Ryu suddenly thought, looking toward the doors.


    There was Little Rock... There was Ailsa¡­ two of maybe the strongest cultivators across Existence, and yet they still couldn''t find her.


    Something was going on here, and Ryu didn''t believe that it was that Yaana had been lost to time. If that was the case, the two would have long figured that out, and he would be able to sense the truth from their minds. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If the Heavenly Courts had not one, but two of his wives, there would be more than just hell to pay.


    A slit on Ryu''s forehead wiggled just the slightest bit before returning to a thin golden line.


    He would go through the stream of time and wipe out their entire lineage, bathing them in blood.


    The Title Stele trembled and the battlefield changed once more as the Godblade Title had finally been claimed.


    Ryu, still feeling the stoking flames of fury, knew it was coming.


    The final run.

 Chapter 2200 - 2200: Almighty

    The pillars began to tremble, the skies overturning, qi rolling in waves. Rainbow-like colors filled the dome of Heaven above, the clouds that obscured the top of the obelisk shimmering.


    It seemed like they would disperse at any moment, and yet they were only growing thicker.


    Then they abruptly separated.


    However, the sight everyone thought they would see wasn''t there. Instead, there were lines of clouds, each one layering over a name that stood tall above the rest.


    Each rainbow cloud, growing ever thicker and brighter in substance and presence, obscured the name of a cultivator that had once placed their Title down.


    The path forward was obvious.


    Climb as high as you could, as high as you dared, and see if you were worthy of being among those few.


    Ryu only gazed at it for a moment before he took a step. In an instant, he had flashed ahead. It seemed that he had completely forgotten about the others around him.


    He never did things based on the opinions of others from the very beginning. The peak of the martial world¡­ that was what he sought after the most.


    In a flash, Solara had vanished from her seat.


    The pillar continued to wave around in the raging winds, the violence of the atmosphere growing to a fever pitch.


    Those that found themselves too weak to withstand it could already feel in their hearts that they didn''t have the right to participate in such a matter. But the unwillingness in their hearts made them continue on.


    Whether this would allow them to break through, or if they would crash and burn like so many before them, only time would tell.


    But the end result for most¡­ had long been decided already.


    Yeger Sun launched himself up with a light step.


    Hand in hand, the Dragon Prince and Princess did the same. The fury that hung around the former was very much still there, but the small hand of his queen seemed to satiate them just the slightest bit.


    As for why they had entered their human forms¡­ maybe only they knew.


    Young Master Shade was the slowest of them all, Young Master Bright having already formed himself into a beam of golden light that tore through the skies, with his aura howling.


    However, this didn''t seem to be because he was actually so slow and incapable of doing more. He just seemed to like his leisurely pace.


    As his face flickered back and forth between a handsome countenance and a skeleton, he strode across the skies.


    His head turned in a certain direction, landing on a few figures¡ªdark horses that had yet to make a single move.


    His lip curled, his skeleton rattling.


    "Amusing."


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Several of them shattered into a rain of blood.


    "Go dream of success in the afterlife," he said calmly.


    He had been getting antsy for a long while, unable to fight a single battle. It was starting to drive him crazy. This damned Title Stele liked to take its sweet time getting to the main event; if he didn''t vent a little bit now, he would end up doing something stupid at the wrong time.


    "If you''re trash, understand your standing in the world," Shade spoke lightly as many froze, looking at him warily. "Now you two, though¡­"


    Shade grinned at a pair of figures that hadn''t even looked at him. They were separated by light years, their bodies shrouded as they shuttled ahead at an unhurried pace.


    "Interesting, interesting, indeed."


    He didn''t even bother to try to fight them. There were enough pigs to slaughter already.


    He pointed out a bony finger that flickered to a fair digit and then back to an outstretched bone.


    Chi. Chi. Chi.


    Death and destruction rained.


    Young Master Shade laughed to the skies, slaughtering one group after another. There weren''t even very many to begin with.


    Of so many, only 999 made it so far. Then Ryu had killed so many of them because he wanted to snatch and monopolize the named Titles.


    By now, there were barely more than 700 left behind, but now Shade was killing them in droves.


    Every time he killed, he sucked up a mouthful of breath, swallowing their souls with a cackling smile.


    When his human form flashed, he looked quite normal. But when it faded and the Skeleton King beneath took shape, it was possible to see a universe pulsing about in his throat. Every time he swallowed another soul, a new star was formed.


    From high above, Ryu noticed this, as did many others¡­


    But those that had reached this stage didn''t waver easily.


    There was no amount of improvement that Shade could make right this moment that would make a large difference to the outcome. In fact, if that was what Shade was trying to do, then he would receive nothing but disdain from the rest of them.


    Trying to improve at the final moment meant that one wasn''t confident in their abilities. If you weren''t confident at this point, then you might as well place your head on a platter to be cut. Who did you think you were to continue participating?


    But what was clear here was that Shade wasn''t doing this to improve¡­ he was just feeding his sadistic nature.


    If there was anything about him that was improving, it was his Dao Heart as he finally managed to calm the restlessness in him.


    Watching Ryu fight again and again had truly started to piss him off. Every arrogant word Ryu spoke just pissed him off further.


    There was only room for one man at the top, and that was him. Just because he hadn''t moved before didn''t mean that he was alright with everything that was happening.


    He was going to crush everyone in his path.


    Shade sucked in a final soul and exhaled a breath.


    "Ah, I feel much better now."


    He returned to his usual calm self, a smile that was far less murderous returning to his face.


    There was a light and airiness about him now that made it hard to fathom that he had just slaughtered hundreds of geniuses.


    Clasping his hands behind his back, he stepped forward and shot up like a rainbow. There was a calm determination in his eyes.


    This victory would be his.


    **


    "It seems that some have grown very arrogant."


    The voice came from the vast nothingness. But rather than black, it was a sea of delicate gold. Somehow, though, this grandeur felt empty, not because it lacked substance, but because it was so large that it felt as though it couldn''t be properly fathomed.


    As such, when most faced it¡­


    They would feel nothing at all.


    "One of our own has died, Almighty. We must do something about this, or else the influence of the Heavenly Court will plummet."


    "And what do you suggest?"


    "Raid the Title Stele. They place so much importance on it. Show them how easy it would be for us to claim it all."


    "¡­ You underestimate the Title Stele far too much. There''s only one man in history that it hasn''t been able to name. And I''m sure you''re aware that the Heavenly Court has no desire to face him."


    "He does not interfere with us and prefers to manage his own corner of Existence. It is so separate from our own it might as well be a separate Existence entirely, Almighty."


    "And do you believe that the Heavenly Court does not want to control all things?"


    The man had no response.


    A silence fell as a result, but the man still didn''t speak, feeling as though the Almighty was lost in his thoughts.


    There were many Titles that didn''t appear from the Title Stele this time, and that was because of one very specific reason¡­


    The Title holders were still alive.


    In fact, some of the strongest Titles in all of existence were still in the hands of existences that seemed undying.


    The Almighty¡­ this was none other than one of them. He had long since forgotten just how long it had been since he claimed his Title, but he knew for a fact that the Title Stele couldn''t be so easily underestimated.


    The only reason it had changed its methods, allowing others to choose their names now, was because of what that man had done to it back then. That, combined with the fact so many Titles had already been claimed by old men and women cheating death¡­


    And this was the only path left to take.


    The Heavenly Court knew that the Title Stele was unhappy about this, but what could it do if those that should have long since died continued to live?


    Now, it was just waiting. Waiting for someone to execute a culling¡­ S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And it seemed that that madman was the Phoenix Sky God.


    It was a secret that most of the world didn''t know, that most of even the Heavenly Court didn''t know¡­


    The Title Stele, the most powerful treasure in all of Existence, stood with the Phoenix Sky God.


    There was a flash of murder in the Almighty''s eyes.


    "I''ve made a decision."

 Chapter 2201 - 2201: Victory

    "What are you looking off into the distance for? Your husband is right here, focus," Ryu''s projection spoke to Ailsa, waving a hand in front of her face.


    "You should learn to be less rude to one of the most powerful warriors in Existence, you know," Ailsa replied after regaining her focus.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. All I see is a disobedient wife." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "In that case, do something about it," Ailsa said with a teasing smile.


    "You won''t be so cocky for much longer," Ryu replied with his own sneer.


    "Do you think trillions of years are so easily overwritten?"


    "I think you''ve forgotten that our minds are connected. You know, as they say, what''s yours is mine."


    "That''s not how it''s supposed to work. What''s yours is mine¡­ and because I''m your wife, what''s mine is also mine. I don''t think you''ve read the husband handbook properly. Also, aren''t you a bit too shameless?"


    "Shameless? I wouldn''t say so at all. Go find me another Lord capable of parsing through trillions of years of a Dao God''s experience and then you''re free to say that to me."


    Ailsa rolled her eyes. She found that she really couldn''t win an argument with this guy anymore.


    Now that she thought about it, maybe it wasn''t that she won in the past but that Ryu was too cold, too distant, too arrogant to continue an argument he already had a path to victory in. It was like he felt it was a waste of time.


    She could still remember their first interaction was an argument, but Ryu hadn''t even bothered to reply to her final statements.


    She had felt quite good after that, but now she was second-guessing it.


    Looking toward her husband, and seeing his smile, Ailsa felt like rolling her eyes again.


    "Insufferably shameless."


    "Winning an argument doesn''t always mean you''re right," Ryu said after a while, his smile softening. "Sometimes it isn''t worth it to argue because even if you win, it''s meaningless."


    "Are you saying I''m too stupid to win even with the facts on my side?" Ailsa raised an eyebrow.


    Ryu laughed, sweeping his wife''s waist into his arm.


    "You''re getting much better at being spoiled. It''s cute."


    Ailsa was stunned for a moment, but this time, her natural response wasn''t to blast Ryu into pieces. As far as Ryu was concerned, this was what they called progress.


    "And you''re getting bolder. I still haven''t decided to forgive you."


    "I''ll have trillions of years more to make up for that."


    "Then you go on and wait those trillions of years. A woman of my caliber isn''t so easy to taste."


    Ryu rested his nose in the crook of her neck, taking a light sniff of her delicate scent, feeling the softness of her skin against the tip of his nose and his lips.


    It didn''t feel as real as he wanted it to because this was nothing more than a projection. In fact, only Ailsa could truly feel his presence while he was relying on his soul to sense these things.


    But it still felt nice to hold his wife nonetheless.


    Ailsa rolled her lip.


    She would be lying if she said having Ryu hounding her all this time wasn''t nice. She had, of course, been pursued by more men than she could count from the time she was a teenager to this moment today. Countless years had passed since then.


    But for one, there was a very good reason Ryu was her Life Partner. When he returned to his truest self, it was as though it was impossible for him to say something she didn''t like no matter what sort of lukewarm reaction she had to it.


    And more importantly than that, she had never really given those men the time of day. If they had hounded her like this, they would have long become a mist of blood.


    Ryu, though¡­ well, even if she was filled with enough hate to do such a thing to her husband¡ªwhich which she certainly wasn''t¡ªhe was just a projection. She knew that he would form again and act even more shamelessly.


    However, that didn''t stop her from being a bit embarrassed. She felt her knees going weak to the touch of a mere projection. It had really been far too long, and this arrogant bastard knew that.


    "Truly insufferably shameless¡­" Ailsa whispered.


    "When you''re with me, I don''t care how powerful you are," Ryu raised his head, softly whispering into her ear. "If you dare to pay attention to other things while we''re on a date again¡­"


    Ryu gave Ailsa''s ass a crisp slap.


    She shuddered and then pushed him away.


    "You''re getting a little too arrogant," she said in a fit of anger.


    Ryu grinned, the softness of his voice vanishing in favor of laughter.


    "Don''t look in that direction again, little lady. We have other things to do. Like finding Yaana! Onward and forwards!"


    Ailsa gave Ryu a look and then slowly shook her head.


    "Fine."


    The direction she was looking in could have been more obvious. Of course it was the Heavenly Court, and most importantly, what she sensed them doing. She didn''t like it one bit, and she knew that very soon, it would almost certainly affect Ryu.


    All this time, Ryu hadn''t talked about what was happening at the Title Stele a single time. A large part of her just wanted to go and observe, but she knew that Ryu wouldn''t allow it.


    This barrier, he would cross on his own. If Ailsa were there, she would almost certainly act. And if she acted at the penultimate moment, he wasn''t sure if he would be able to cross that barrier.


    There was only one thought in his mind right now, and that was victory.


    Victory.


    Victory.


    Victory.


    Victory.


    Ailsa didn''t have to interfere at all. That was because today¡­ he would remind her what it felt like to be his wife... what it felt like to be protected to his back.

 Chapter 2202 - 2202: First Place?

    Ryu landed on the first rainbow cloud, his lips touched by a light smile.


    An attack almost immediately came from his back, but his body shifted, becoming a stream of darkness. The beam of light passed right through him as though he were entirely intangible.


    "If you want to prove your little lineage to be so great, attacking from the back isn''t exactly what you should do, don''t you think?"


    Ryu didn''t even look back at Young Master Bright, his eyes ahead. There was a peculiar feeling about this world of clouds.


    The beam of light shot off into the distance, being swallowed up by the rainbow lights ahead and then vanishing.


    Ryu looked down at his feet, feeling that there was solid ground beneath him, and yet not being able to sense exactly where it started and finished.


    Rainbow colors of violet, blue, and pink rolled over his feet and ankles. If there was a particularly powerful wind, it would even stream over his calves from time to time, displaying an odd fluidity.


    Just staring at it, Ryu didn''t feel like the clouds were following the usual laws of fluid dynamics. There was another force acting on it other than the obvious.


    ''Fate¡­ how fascinating¡­''


    This was Fate in yet another form, and until now, this was the third that Ryu was seeing.


    Or was it?


    Ryu began to second-guess it.


    He had to count Embryonic Qi. Technically speaking, it was probably the purest concentration of it. It was what decided the talent of a youth before they were even born, and there was nothing more important than that at the very beginning.


    But then there was the quasi Embryonic Qi of the Title Stele World. It was the first time he had seen such a thing, and Ryu found that it was the key to starting to use his Embryonic Silk Meridians the way that they were meant to be used.


    Now, however, he felt like he was experiencing yet another.


    ''This energy¡­ it should be what forms the titles. So this¡­ this is a complete and active form of Embryonic Qi¡­ just how powerful is it? And how do I control it?''


    Reaching Quasi Embryonic Qi was actually quite easy. But staring at the complexities of his rainbow energy, Ryu felt like he was looking at something so complex that even his own mind was having trouble wrapping his mind around it.


    It was a feeling that he rarely had at all.


    There was so much calculation involved. The reason he couldn''t follow the fluid dynamics of these clouds was that they were working on a completely different principle.


    ''I see¡­ there''s no way I can control this energy, not right now¡­ maybe not even when I become a Sovereign¡­''


    A sharpness radiated from Ryu''s eyes.


    In truth, he wanted to say not even when he became a Dao God as well, but he suppressed that thought, burying it so deep and violently that it was shattered beneath the might of his Dao Heart.


    There was simply no way that he would ever have such a thought.


    The day he became a Dao God¡­ was the day everything would be in his reach.


    This energy¡­ The Ruin Master Guild¡­ The Heavenly Court¡­


    Yaana.


    If there was anything that he couldn''t accomplish, it would mean that he hadn''t grown as powerful as he was meant to, and that was unacceptable to him.


    He would never fail. He couldn''t allow himself to.


    And it all started right here and right now.


    Even if it meant that he had to climb to that mountain peak on one leg, using a cultivation method that he had only just created with the path of comprehension of another¡­


    He would do it.


    Because he was Ryu Tatsuya.


    The air around Ryu rumbled.


    Young Master Bright had long since shot ahead. The reason Ryu had been able to dodge his attack so easily was because it was nothing more than a probe and a casual stroke.


    Seeing Ryu just standing there, Bright had been unable to contain himself. But he also managed to restrain himself to just a single attack.


    ''I might not be able to create you¡­ or destroy you¡­ but¡­''


    Ryu looked off into the distance.


    By now, his small pause had already left him near the back of the ground. In the distance, Young Master Shade caught up and he grinned at Ryu from a far-off distance, his battle intent radiating like a torch in the darkness.


    Then, he too became nothing more than a dot in the distance. Everyone was already looking for the entrance to the next platform. How could they possibly be satiated with the lowest rung?


    But Ryu, after giving them a glance, ignored them.


    His eyes began to scan.


    If there was one thing that was completely unaffected all this time¡­


    It was his Focus Qi.


    While he had been relying on nothing but his Heavenly Pupils¡ªand such a thing should have drained him¡ªthe truth of the matter was that analyzing the methods of Lords when he was capable of analyzing even Dao Gods was child''s play.


    His Focus Qi was so full to the brim that he could do this for millions more years without even breaking a sweat.


    Right now, though¡­ it was rapidly draining. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He sank into one State of Meditation after another, the swirling feeling around him shifting.


    ''I see, there''s no need to do all of this.''


    Ryu stopped after 20% or so of his Focus Qi vanished in a blink.


    A wild grin spread across his face.


    This battlefield¡­ was truly meant for him. He would like to see who dared to stand in his path now.


    Wind wrapped around him. His Bone Structures were too injured for him to rely on Azure Cloud Vein. Instead, he pulled on the yet other thing that wasn''t damaged¡­


    His Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation. And most importantly, the rainbow Wind Natural Treasure within it.


    How could his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation be so easily affected by Karmic Flames when¡­ it had already survived being burned by them before?


    Ryu became as light as a feather, the effects of the Northern Heavenly Wind sinking its grip into him.


    And then, the cloudy energy beneath him moved.


    Ryu was carried by it for a moment¡­ and then he vanished in the blink of an eye.


    Nothing but a hollow wind remained, leaving one wondering¡­


    Had he ever been there in the first place?

 Chapter 2203 - 2203: Good

    When Ryu appeared again, a bolt was just passing by before it froze.


    Young Master Bright was so fast that even though he reacted instantly, he was already thousands of miles ahead of Ryu by the time he turned around.


    His pupils constricted into pinholes. How¡­ how had Ryu made it here before him?


    Ryu didn''t even look at him. Like he had been from the very beginning, these geniuses were nothing more than stepping stones in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, he would crush them one after another, no matter the challenge they posed, no matter the state of his body, no matter what¡­ outside forces wanted to interfere.


    The result would be just the same in his eyes.


    He would never lose.


    Ryu vanished again.


    Young Master Bright hung in the skies as some began to catch up. The Dragon Prince and Princess soared in after him, their speed slowed down by the fact they insisted on moving together. Then came the large number of figures. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Young Master Bright was still there in a bit of daze, unsure of how to act or react.


    He was a genius; he could vaguely sense what Ryu had done, but this¡­


    ''Was that Breath of Quintessence?''


    Meditation State. Breath of Earth. Breath of Heaven. Breath of World. One with Self. One with Earth. One with Heaven. One with World¡­


    And then there was the absolute highest of them all, a State of Meditation that loomed mighty and should have been untouchable.


    Breath of Quintessence.


    It was said that a single whiff of this so-called breath could bring a mortal to Dao God in an instant of time. It was also said that this was the energy that descended when a mortal reached enlightenment, allowing the gentle progression of their abilities to the very peak.


    How could someone just¡­ casually enter it?


    It wasn''t that Young Master Bright didn''t know of the abilities of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. It might not even be an exaggeration that he was more familiar with their parameters than Ryu himself was.


    This wasn''t to say that Ryu didn''t understand his Heavenly Pupils. But Ryu''s Pupils were very different from those of others because he had unlocked all 999 Seals so early on in his cultivation path, not to mention pushed them so far they went dormant, only to be revived by a mutated Phoenix Rebirth Talent.


    Ryu''s Pupils simply weren''t the same as others of the Mystery Lineage to begin with.


    Plus, there was the fact that Young Master Bright had grown up in a far better environment than Ryu, not to mention had a vested interest in understanding everything about the Mystery Lineage.


    That was all to say that he knew that the Focus skill of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils existed¡­ but maybe even Ryu didn''t know that he wasn''t supposed to be able to use it with such impunity.


    Ryu had never struggled with Focus. As early as he unlocked his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, he had easily been able to sink into the first three states. As his cultivation increased, the others came only just as naturally. It wasn''t even remotely a struggle for him.


    When he could finally touch Breath of Quintessence, he didn''t even second-guess it.


    But aside from shock right now¡­ there was a light of furious greed in Bright''s eyes.


    If he could just have the faintest whiff, just the slightest bit of a touch of Breath of Quintessence¡­ just how powerful would he be?


    He clenched and unclenched his fists as others soared by him. He hardly reacted to them at all, his mind elsewhere.


    He had been studying the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils for too long, and they were simply perfect¡­ to complement his War God Pupils.


    The strongest combat Heavenly Pupils paired with the strongest comprehension Heavenly Pupils¡­


    Just what sort of monster would that create?


    Young Master Bright pivoted in the air and shot off again, this time even faster than before. He zoomed by one participant after another, a fiendish howl coming from his Dao Heart.


    This place¡­ this place would be where he rose to the very top.


    ¡­


    Young Master Shade came to a stop, once again at the end of the group.


    He rose his nose to the skies, sniffing slightly. Then, a peculiar expression crossed his face.


    ''He passed me? When? What scent is that? Why is it so strong? Why does it fill me with such excitement?''


    He didn''t realize it¡­ or maybe he did, but he was standing in the same exact location Ryu had been in when he suddenly appeared on the second platform.


    ''Fascinating¡­ Fascinating¡­ Fascinating¡­ I can even sense Nether Qi coming from him. Is this the power of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils? No¡­ it feels more powerful than any I''ve seen before¡­''


    Shade chuckled.


    It seems that there was a reason why it had taken so long for another pair to appear. The balance of Karma was hard to predict, and if such a valuable talent was born, then it could only be the case that Heaven had given it a lot of tender care and affection before it was successfully formed.


    Shade licked his lips, the excitement in his eyes only growing with every passing moment. His bloodthirst sank into his very being and threatened to overflow once again.


    A tent began to grow on the lower half of his robes, his blood flowing to places it hadn''t in a very, very¡­ very long time.


    His excitement reached a peak and he covered his face with a palm, laughing up to the skies.


    He had really thought that he would be bored coming here. But to think¡­ to think that there was such a man waiting.


    "Good. Good. Good."


    ¡­


    Ryu appeared on the highest of the clouds, his expression calm as he looked ahead to find that someone had arrived first.


    Solara.

 Chapter 2204 - 2204: Rage

    "You are quite fast," Solara said lightly, her back still to him.


    "You are faster."


    "I don''t think you mean that."


    "I don''t," Ryu said, a grin spreading across his face.


    Solara had almost certainly studied the Title Stele ahead of time. There was a vast gap between someone who had comprehended things on the fly and someone who had prepared a comprehension long ago.


    Of course, the jury was still out on which of them was actually faster. The reality of the matter was that unless they started at the same time, it would be impossible to tell.


    But the fact that Solara was able to prepare in advance also told of the gap between them, a chasm that existed between their foundation, their knowledge, their upgrading, maybe even their talent.


    There were certain things that simply weren''t so easy to bridge no matter how talented you were.


    Solara had grown up in a Martial God Clan that was prepping to raid against the Heavenly Court. Just how many resources had she received? How much knowledge had she benefited from?


    To her, it was only natural that she grow so strong. If she couldn''t do this much, then she would simply be too pathetic.


    Standing there, the winds blowing against her dress, hugging her curves, she looked quite at peace. She had calmed from her initial excitement, realizing these matters.


    "I would advise that if you can¡­ you should leave. I would prefer not to kill you now, it wouldn''t be fair. Not only are you not at the Lord Realm yet, but you also don''t have a foundation that matches mine. Go, train, bridge the gap that exists between our backgrounds, and then maybe one day we can fight again.


    "In fact, if you so choose, you can join my Martial God Clan. You already have a wife and your child will be of our blood. We are willing to accept talents of all ilks¡ªthat has always been our creed. When our starting positions are the same, the day we reach Dao Godhood, we can fight again."


    "Usually when women propose this sort of matter to me, they offer their bodies at the very least. Where is the sincerity?" Ryu asked.


    Solara''s head tilted back, looking at Ryu. There was an amusement hidden deep within her eyes.


    "Handsome enough. Unfortunately for you, my body is promised to the Heavens."


    The sentence was light and airy, and almost plain in its simplicity. And yet, the clouds of rainbow beneath her feet rotated wildly.


    Ryu laughed to the skies.


    Handsome enough? Right this moment, he looked like a walking zombie. The pieces of his skin that weren''t a rotting mess were reddened beyond belief as though it were the flesh beneath.


    His head had sparse strands of hair; he was completely naked, and what was left of his lower half was also its own charred mess.


    All things considered, if one were to say he was the ugliest man in the world right now, he would have no way to refute them. He truly did look the part.


    "Tell me, woman. Which of your ancestors chained my Fate Star so I know who I have to kill?"


    "¡­"


    Solara looked back at him, her neck still craned. Her small, slender hands were clasped behind her back as though she were a young maiden waiting for her boyfriend, her fingers just barely intertwining. She didn''t look like she was prepared for combat at all.


    "¡­ My grandfather," she eventually said.


    "And is that the same man Primus faced against? Or was that a different man?"


    "A different man. My grandfather wouldn''t bother to act on such a thing twice."


    "Mm. Is that so? I guess that''s less disappointing. If your grandfather was defeated so easily by a Sovereign, I would have to question if you are as powerful as you say you are. But considering you come from a family of cowards, I guess I should be doing that anyway."


    Solara didn''t react with anger to these words, her expression remaining just the same. But Ryu could tell that she didn''t like them one bit.


    When such a genius was enraged, it wouldn''t be their expression that showed it; the world itself would react. Somehow, even these bright clouds of violet, blue, and pink dimmed.


    She stood there just the same way, her thoughts calm¡­ and then she looked ahead.


    "Do you recognize that name?"


    "Should I care?"


    Ryu hadn''t bothered to look at the obelisk a single time. While they could finally see the names here, he didn''t care in the slightest to do so. What did they have to do with him anyway? He would just overwrite them very soon. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But since Solara did mention it, he looked over.


    It was a name engraved with the sharpest and boldest of lines. When Ryu was ignoring it, he had felt nothing at all. But the moment he looked at it, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body convulsing.


    His soul waned and almost winked out.


    In that moment, his body seemed to remind him what kind of state it was in. He was much too weak right now to be so arrogant.


    But hadn''t he always been too weak to be so arrogant?


    He heaved for breath, but he refused to look away. If he looked away now, then wouldn''t that mean that he had lost?


    Unacceptable. He would rather die right here and right now than lose to a mere name on stone.


    "It''s an interesting name, don''t you think? When I saw it, my reaction was much the same. He is quite overbearing, so much so that the only way to not be crushed like you''re being right now is to look away.


    "I didn''t want to look away either. It was my grandfather that shuttled me away. I do not think I''ve ever been more enraged in my life. Now, when I stand here, it doesn''t react to me at all even when I look straight at it.


    "Now you tell me. After such an experience, do you think that your words can make me feel the same rage?"


    Ryu had completely tuned her out, his gaze on the name.


    Except¡­ it wasn''t a name at all.


    ''You Don''t Qualify to Name Me.''

 Chapter 2205 - 2205: Always

    Ryu''s presence was practically sucked into the Title that wasn''t a Title, the cracks around it akin to fissures in reality themselves¡ªnot descending to the Abyssal Plane or even the void, but rather a true nothingness.


    It was as though the Title erased what was meant to be and what had been, existing as a marker of failure for the strongest Treasure in all of existence and a reminder of a cultivator beyond cultivators that had once been here.


    Ryu couldn''t focus on anything else even if he tried. Right now, this Title was trying to crush him¡­ but it wasn''t just the momentum that was killing him.


    He could feel something familiar coming from it¡­ a cascading sort of variation, erratic and all-encompassing, the sort of twisting, winding change that he had only felt from one other thing before¡­


    Reincarnation.


    There was a strong Reincarnation here, one that told Ryu that somehow this very same Title hadn''t just been stamped by one person, but multiple.


    No, it wasn''t multiple people. It was the same person throughout several lifetimes.


    And that¡­ that was what stabbed at his ego the most, it was what truly had him frozen here.


    If not for this, his Dao Heart would have long shrugged it off. He would have long been able to do what Solara hadn''t been able to¡ªor, rather, hadn''t gotten the chance to even try due to the interference of her elders.


    It was also because of this that Ryu knew that Solara wouldn''t interfere. If she killed him now while he couldn''t move, it would be like she was losing twice over. Once when her grandfather interfered, and right this moment now.


    There was only one way for her to remove the only stain on her Dao Heart, and that was for Ryu to not only succeed¡­ but for her to then kill him with her own hands.


    That was the only way forward.


    For the very first time in his life¡­. Ryu might not be first in wanting to succeed in a cultivation endeavor. Ironically enough, it was the enemy to his side cheering for him the most.


    But right that moment, he felt that emptiness looming, a weight he had pressed down and ignored returning in full force.


    No¡­ he hadn''t pressed it down and ignored it¡­ he well and truly believed that he had long dealt with it, that it would no longer interfere with the man he was now.


    He had said it plainly and clearly, those past lives¡­ they weren''t him¡­ he could get over them because he was a new man now and he would never live another life again.


    But then what was this? Who was this man superior to himself, capable of living out so many lives and ending up with the very same conviction every time?


    Was he actually inferior to someone in Dao Heart? Was he so weak? So pitiful? Had he just grasped at any excuse that he could find to make himself feel better while in reality, there were lofty existences laughing at him from above?


    Ryu stared at the Title, and stared at it, his teeth clenched, veins popping across his body, and fissures¡ª for the first time since it had formed in this iteration¡ªbegan to squeal across his Dao Heart.


    There was no escaping it this time. It was a mirror put up to his face, a strong slap across his very own cheek, a reminder of weakness, of folly.


    The last time he had ended up in such a state¡­


    ¡­


    Ryu walked alongside Ailsa and suddenly became very quiet. This time, it was he who looked off into the distance, his gaze somewhat blank.


    "What happened to paying attention? Who''s looking off for other things now?" Ailsa said. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her voice was somewhat soft as though she had already sensed what had happened.


    She could remember her words back then as well, and honestly speaking, she had felt them to be quite cruel. She was a wife before she was a cultivator¡ªhow could she not allow her husband even a single moment of weakness? Wasn''t it in sickness and in health? It couldn''t be that she was the only one that could feel pain and sorrow, right?


    But back then, Ryu''s weakness had been boiling over into a strong frustration for her. It wasn''t just his limitations, it was the chains his limitations placed on her as his wife and Life Partner. There were things she simply couldn''t do because he was too weak, and it was hard for resentment not to build over so long.


    After seeing him pop up in an even worse state than she remembered, she couldn''t even hold back anymore even if she wanted.


    She might be Ryu''s Life Partner, and their personalities were perfect mirrors of one another, but that didn''t mean that they weren''t different in their own ways¡­


    Or maybe not.


    Ryu also had his own breaking point with her, did he not? Maybe if he was a little more stubborn, and had trillions of years to ruminate on it like she did, he might have truly gone forward with their divorce.


    "It seems¡­" Ryu said lightly. "¡­ That someone has done something that I couldn''t."


    There was a matter-of-factness in Ryu''s voice, one that didn''t seem to carry the real emotions his body was facing. And that was because he had purposely cut that off. He had no desire for Ailsa to see him in that state again.


    "¡­ I''m sorry, Ryu," she said softly, taking his hand. "I was very angry back then."


    Ryu looked down at his covered palm, remembering this as the only time since he met Ailsa again that she had initiated any sort of contact with him.


    He took his hand back.


    "Not like this." he said coldly.


    Ailsa''s pupils trembled, but she soon regained her calm. After a while, she nodded.


    The two fell into silence.


    "I believe in you¡­" she said softly. "¡­ I always have."


    This time, it was Ryu''s pupils that trembled.

 Chapter 2206 - 2206: Or

    Ailsa looked at Ryu''s side profile and fell into silence once again. Looking down at her hand, she felt a hint of pity. That feeling¡­ was nice. Why had it taken her so long to feel it again? And now, she would have to wait for longer.


    She had already guessed what Ryu was facing. Part of her just wanted to tell him, to tell him that that man had already reached the pinnacle of Existence when he reincarnated the first time to bring his family back together once more, that he had his moments of weakness as well.


    But she couldn''t. Because Ryu wouldn''t want to hear it, and because it would make no difference to him.


    That truth¡­ might only make him feel worse.


    A gap in power was one thing to him, a gap in Dao Heart, in will, in determination¡­ that was unacceptable.


    He had always been chasing the pinnacle of the world, but that wasn''t for the sake of forging his heart.


    He had always thought his Dao Heart to be impenetrable. Why would he need to increase his cultivation for the sake of improving it? Why did his Dao Heart need to rely on the Heavens? Why did it need to rely on time? Why wasn''t he already perfect?


    The frustration was boiling his blood on the inside, his thoughts so focused on his weaknesses that he missed the forest for the trees.


    Ailsa slowly put her hand down and the two travelled forward in silence. She didn''t ask any questions, and with Ryu cutting off most of his senses and emotions from this clone, she couldn''t feel what the real Ryu was going through even if she had had the heart to do so.


    But did she have the heart in the first place?


    She really¡­ really didn''t want to see him in that state again.


    Her gaze shifted to the cold side profile of her husband once again. He stared off into the distance, his mind and body so focused he seemed to forget that she was there in the first place.


    Suffocated. That was what she was feeling now.


    The day Ryu first confessed to her, the day he accepted her as his wife¡­ she remembered it so clearly.


    It was out of the blue. She had fallen out of the habit of checking his mind because he never checked hers. With her pride, she just silently stopped doing so at least to a great depth.


    But she could remember the ecstasy she had felt, because it was like he was baring his soul to her of his own accord, gracing her with his thoughts and feelings not because he had to, by mandate of the HEavens and their Life Partner Title, but because he wanted to.


    She had forgotten the value of that feeling; it instead boiled over into frustration as she suffered loss after loss¡ªnot because her own cultivation talent was lacking, or because she hadn''t had enough time, but rather because her husband was too weak.


    A swelling of regret pooled in her chest, her eyes misting over before her qi evaporated it away in an instant.


    Suddenly she stopped.


    Ryu''s clone looked her way.


    "What is it?" he asked.


    Ailsa gave him a look, then suddenly pivoted. She stomped a foot into space and then dashed in another direction.


    Ryu''s clone frowned. That direction, wasn''t that where his true body was?


    Ailsa''s speed was great, far greater than anything he could measure up against¡­ if it wasn''t for the fact that he had tethered this clone to her Fate. It was how he had been able to find her in the vastness of space to begin with.


    As such, despite how fast Ailsa had been moving, he had always been able to keep up. Now was no exception.


    "What are you doing?" he asked, his body floating by her without the slightest hint of strain. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ailsa didn''t respond.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed. "Ailsa¡ª."


    "Reform the connection or I''m not speaking to you anymore!" Ailsa screamed.


    Her voice came out more shrill than she expected, and far more agitated. The echo of her voice peeled across the darkness they were soaring past, world after world, twisting laws and shifting runes flying by them as they stepped from one world order to the next seamlessly and unhurriedly.


    Ailsa might have been moving fast, and Ryu could feel that she was actually pushing to her limits, but her face didn''t look very much strained either.


    Ryu was taken aback by Ailsa''s reaction.


    He paused, not sure of what to say for a long while before he shook his head.


    "No."


    Ailsa''s heart trembled.


    "If you want to go back and see this, you''re free to try. I will defeat this challenge before you arrive."


    Ryu''s clone vanished.


    The suffocating feeling in Ailsa''s chest was only rising. A shadow that had been hanging over her, one that she hadn''t even known was there before, became larger.


    And then she shattered it.


    Tears fell from her eyes in streams.


    A striving for perfection was probably what plagued them both.


    She had failed to protect Nemesis. She had failed to protect Yaana. She had failed to stop the Fiends and the Fey. She had failed to stop the Ruin Master Guild. She had failed to stop the Heavenly Court.


    One after another, she failed, and she failed again, and then she piled it all up on Ryu so that she could escape the fate of blaming herself.


    It was easier that way, just like it was easier for Ryu to pretend as though his former lives weren''t him at all.


    But that weak Ailsa was her. And in that state, she had said things to her husband that had made the state of his own heart far worse instead of better.


    She was his wife¡­ and yet he refused to allow her to see him at his weakest.


    And now, he just might do something reckless to ensure she never did.


    He was determined. She would either arrive to see a man that had risen above it all¡­ Or¡­


    "RYU!" Ailsa''s shrill cry filled the abyss.


    A corpse.

 Chapter 2207 - 2207: Too

    What did it feel like to be frozen in body and in soul? Ryu couldn''t say he knew even though he was experiencing it right this moment. That was because his mind itself was frozen as well, his thoughts falling into an endless lull, his plasticity completely gone.


    He could only think about one thing, focus on a single matter. There wasn''t a second¡­ one would think that the entirety of Existence had vanished, and all that was left was this one Title.


    Memories of what happened with Ailsa flashed into his mind and his eyes became endlessly sharp, veins popping across them. He clenched his teeth so hard that it seemed he might shatter them all on his own.


    The sheer violence in his eyes could have murdered an entire Race of beings.


    His unwillingness and feeling of inferiority was suppressed only just the slightest bit by the fire of his wife being on the way.


    He couldn''t do this again, he couldn''t fail like this again.


    It was the only thing keeping him together.


    Pride.


    It wasn''t the same sort of power as determination alone. For the first time in his life, Ryu''s progress was related to what he felt someone else thought about him.


    He didn''t even realize when he sank into the difference. It was a different type of fuel that he had never experienced before¡­


    But it was tainted. It wasn''t pure¡­


    It wasn''t entirely him.


    He thought it would be fine. He thought that since he loved his wives so dearly, that he had come here with no other intention but to please her, that she was his life Partner, that things would work out the way they should.


    But he quickly ran into a wall.


    It wasn''t enough.


    That weakness was still on his chest, burying him and suffocating him.


    His wife couldn''t follow him through reincarnation, now could she?


    "I WON''T REINCARNATE AGAIN!"


    Ryu roared.


    He wouldn''t have another life after this. Why would this be a problem? He planned to live and die with this life right here, having already cut himself off from all other Cycles.


    He would be his own man. Only this version of himself meant anything, only this version. Only this one.


    The veins popping across his body popped. They didn''t have much blood in them to begin with, his body barely holding itself together at all.


    They oozed out in a slow, sad mess, marring his already crippled body.


    His knees trembled as though he might fall to at least one of them, if not both. But he refused. He wanted to be on his feet.


    He wouldn''t fall to this Title. There was absolutely no way.


    Here he was, coming here to rely on a Title Stele to give himself power, while there were others out there that didn''t even allow it to name them despite having received its acknowledgment.


    The thought came out of nowhere like a flashing bolt of lightning, striking him down in the very middle of his forehead.


    He couldn''t hold it back.


    He coughed up a mouthful of black blood, falling to a single knee. His back arched, his spine creaking and almost shattering.


    Tears of blood ran down his eyes, but they were so dry that it wasn''t even more than a few seconds before they had formed cracked streams of rusted brown-red down his marred cheeks.


    Solara watched on from the sidelines, her expression calm. One would never guess by her expression alone just how much she wanted Ryu to succeed, but seeing the current situation¡­


    She could only shake her head.


    Her gaze shifted, landing on the Title once again.


    Just how powerful was this man?


    And reincarnation? What was Ryu talking about?


    She looked at it, trying to decipher what she was seeing. But unfortunately, the Title no longer radiated any aura for her to sense.


    Would this just be a regret for the rest of her life?


    ''No¡­ I don''t care what grandfather says¡­ I will stay in the Dao Lord Realm for as long as I have to¡­ until someone appears that can face this Title¡­ then, I will kill them.''


    When she had this thought, her somewhat agitated Dao Heart calmed once again. Whatever weakness she had had vanished in a flash, and thoughts and dreams of defeating that person became a relish to her.


    Then she looked back toward Ryu. She thought about raising a hand and just killing him, but in the end, she decided against it. Even if there was a small sliver of chance, she would allow him that chance.


    Why kill him? The Title could do that for her when he failed. If he survived, all the better. Then she wouldn''t have to wait.


    She had been in the Lord Realm for long enough already. She was eager to see¡­ what the pinnacle of power truly felt like.


    Would the Phoenix Sky God truly be a match for her when she stepped into Godhood¡­?


    Honestly, she wasn''t convinced.


    Every step along the way, she had always been the pinnacle of her cultivation realm. Never once had she failed to achieve something that others could only hope and dream about.


    After she cleared this challenge¡­ the Heavenly Court would be next¡­ and once she had whet her blade against them, then¡­ she would face off against that almighty existence.


    There was only room for one cultivator at the top.


    "One woman." Solara said coldly. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She wouldn''t marry in this lifetime. No¡­ she would marry nothing but the Heavens themselves.


    The weakness of women when they gave themselves to a man disgusted her to no end. She had never loved and she never would. Nor did she care how much her Ancestors insisted her Bloodline should be passed on.


    She was a Martial God, but their culture wasn''t her own.


    In this world, she needed to rely on nothing more than the chains in her hands and the fire in her Heart.


    She looked toward the Title once more.


    "I will name you too." She said coldly.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 2208 - 2208: Weak

    The Title Stele shuddered and Solara was forced to take a step back. But the sneer on her face was just the same.


    So what if it was stronger than her now? Wasn''t that just because she had suppressed her cultivation for so long?


    If it wanted to fight, she would gladly return when she had stepped into the Dao God Realm and see if she couldn''t scratch that name that had pissed her off for so long off.


    Staring at it filled her with nothing more than fury.


    Solara took a breath and exhaled. Then, she closed her eyes, ignoring the rest of the world.


    Now wasn''t the time yet. Once Ryu died, she would etch her name above the Heavens themselves.


    ¡­


    Ailsa continued rushing through the darkness, cursing herself for having gone so far. She had already searched everywhere with life in the first place; now she was just aimlessly searching in the vast void in hopes there was some world that she had missed, some Existence that existed beyond Existence.


    Because of that, she was impossibly far away. And unfortunately, she didn''t have Little Rock''s speed.


    It would take her time to get there, and she could only hope that because it would take her that time, that Ryu would take that into account and not push too hard.


    "Please¡­ Please¡­ Please¡­"


    Droplets of tears¡ªwith the faintest hint of golden runes in them¡ªfell from her cheeks, fluttering into the darkness and blooming.


    In a far-off future, these tears would almost certainly form treasures or worlds¡­ and no one would know that they came from a wife''s grief.


    ¡­


    Ryu tried to grip at the ground, but there was nothing at all to grip. He scratched against an impenetrable surface, his nails bending back.


    And yet that pain was far better than the one roaring through his mind right this moment. There was nothing he wanted more than to forget, but he wanted to press forward.


    He couldn''t bury it again.


    It had worked once, but it wouldn''t work again. He could trick everyone in the world but himself. This was the one thing that he could never make up for, the one thing that he could never explain away.


    Someone had done something he couldn''t.


    And that ate at him, again, and again, and again.


    No, it wasn''t just that they had done something he couldn''t, but it was in a path that he took a great amount of pride in.


    He never once felt that he was inferior to any other in Dao Heart. He had even had it shattered before in the past and simply continued as though nothing at all had happened.


    But now¡­


    Now¡­


    ''I''m weak¡­''


    The words were becoming harder and harder to ignore.


    Those lives¡ªevery time he did something foolish, something cowardly, something that would fill him with disdain right this moment¡ªit was like another knife was twisting into his heart.


    "You are kinda weak."


    A voice of a man, gruff and deep, arrogant and aloof, echoed in Ryu''s ears.


    Ryu grinned, blood flowing from his orifices but his pride kicking in again.


    "Go fuck yourself."


    "Hohoho, tough words. What, you want to do what I did? There''s only one me, kid. Oh, and I feel like I should tell you, but the first iteration on that little Stele you''re seeing right now¡­ I was 16 years old."


    Ryu''s pupils trembled.


    He didn''t need to think about it. He knew it wasn''t a lie. A man like this would have too much pride to lie.


    Then came an uproarious laughter.


    "There''s only one me in this world. I guess I could take you as a disciple if you choose to be obedient."


    "Don''t¡­ let me¡­ figure out¡­ where you are¡­"


    Ryu could practically feel the grin falling down on him.


    "You''re lucky I''m in a good mood. I just set my daughter off and I''m having a good time watching her grow right now. Otherwise, I might smite you for saying something like that."


    "I¡ª."


    "Ah, ah, ah. I would be careful making comments about my daughter, if I was you. As much suffering as the Title I left as a teenager can give you, I assure you I can make you suffer far worse."


    Ryu hacked up a mouthful of blood.


    The intentions of the man might have been unclear to anyone but Ryu. He didn''t come here to make sure he didn''t gain any competition, he didn''t come here out of curiosity, he came here out of sheer boredom.


    Maybe he was projecting his mind from a distance that was impossible to find.


    "If you¡­" Ryu continued as though he hadn''t heard the man. "¡­ can find my wife for me¡­ I will¡­"


    "Hm?"


    The man seemed confused for a moment before he understood. Then, he began to laugh uproariously.


    "You want me to use my strength to help you find your wife in exchange for what? For you to become my disciple?"


    He laughed so hard that Ryu could practically hear the tears flowing out of his eyes.


    "¡ªListen, kid." The voice boomed. "You might be very used to using that tactic already, and I admit that it''s kind of cute that you can lay down your pride for your little woman. I can give you a tick up in the win column for that alone.


    "But let me make one thing clear. I''m not like the little so-called Immortals you follow around like a lapdog. I don''t need your Fate, I don''t need your talent, and quite frankly, I don''t care enough about your woman to help you find her.


    "You are weak, a pitiful little ant, you hold no value to me and you never will.


    "In this world, there is only one Nameless Immortal God. I encompass all, so much so that I can''t even be bothered to name myself, let alone let a pitiful little treasure do it."


    The sound of patting echoed. "Alright, I think I''m bored of this right now. Oo, it looks like my little girl is doing something interesting again. Kick his ass, honey!"


    The voice faded away.


    Ryu looked down toward the rainbow swirling clouds in silence. His skin darkened and his body seemed like it might crumble to ash at any moment.


    His cracked lips suddenly parted.


    "¡­ Follow your Path¡­? How arrogant¡­ I have every intention¡­ of writing my Title¡­ on this Stele¡­ I can''t wait¡­ to lop your head¡­ off your shoulders¡­"


    Ryu''s head lowered to the ground, roaring into the nothing as he gave it a last push of everything he had.


    CRACK. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His Dao Heart gave way.


    Crumbling.

 Chapter 2209 - 2209: Weak (2)

    Ryu hacked, but nothing came out.


    His body was empty, his soul was dry, and now even his Spiritual Foundation didn''t seem to have anything left to give, having collapsed and given up.


    Ryu''s head hung low, his body having fallen to its knees and his back rounding. It looked like he might tip over at any moment, but his frame, or what was left of it, had barely reached some sort of balance.


    He knew, honestly¡­ he knew that trying to brute force his way through wouldn''t work¡­


    But he had tried to do it anyway. This was probably what Ailsa feared the most¡­ the combination of him overestimating himself and rushing so that she wouldn''t get here.


    And this time, his Dao Heart had shattered not just because of some poorly calibrated treasure, but well and truly because of himself.


    It was a pain that was entirely different, a far heavier cost that weighed on more than just the soul, but Fate and life itself¡­ if there was any life left to begin with.


    "¡­ Annoying." Solara said coldly.


    A flash of her true feelings, an anger that rested in the depths of her heart, flashed for the briefest instant before she suppressed it. If she had to wait, then she would just wait.


    She raised a finger and a beam of concentrated law came from its tip. It sliced forward, piercing through Ryu''s forehead and sending him sprawling to the ground, unmoving.


    There wasn''t even the slightest hint of blood, and why would there be? Ryu''s body had nothing left, and even if it did, her control was far too high to suffer from such a thing.


    Solara turned to the Title Stele, a frown on her face.


    Whatever, she didn''t have the time for this and she wouldn''t let her ego get in the way of what she had to do. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She was disappointed in the fact that she couldn''t fight someone she thought was worthy of her, but she wouldn''t waste her time on small fry in some vain attempt to make up for that.


    Since she was here, she would just claim her Title and end all of this.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s eyes glazed over, staring into the skies as he felt himself slip away. There was an odd sort of finality to just how silent it all was. There wasn''t the sort of fireworks and fanfare one would expect at all¡­


    Recalling his life, the one life he wanted to be the truest of them all, he wondered if at any point he truly thought that he would ever fail.


    But then there was a split in his memory.


    Was this his truest life?


    Was this the man he was supposed to be?


    Just how easily had he ignored his supposed "first" life. Hadn''t he become another sort of pathetic man by then?


    There was little he had wanted more than to reach the mountain peak of the cultivation world. And yet, he had reached the silliest of conclusions when he faced his truest roadblock.


    This was his only life? The only one that mattered? Well, hadn''t he had pathetic experiences in this one too? Or was he only going to count the moments after the Phoenix Sky God intervened on his behalf?


    When he thought about it in those last fleeting moments, it was hard to feel that it was anything but pathetic.


    He felt a sort of somber sadness to it all.


    It wasn''t rare that he reached conclusions that were incorrect. He had made many mistakes before in the past only to end up pivoting toward new directions when he picked up on them.


    But this still felt different from the others. Because it just felt¡­ pathetic.


    It reminded him that he was only able to make it past the last hurdle, the only true hurdle he had ever faced, by ignoring the obvious conclusion¡­


    That he was never all that special to begin with. Even in this life, he was only one cultivation level away from being the same pitiful worm.


    If not for the fact he had his Heavenly Pupils in his first life, maybe the few accomplishments he did have would have never happened. What if he had to watch his body atrophy away without any unique abilities to rely upon?


    Was he anything at all without his talent?


    It was just a shame¡­ all the people he was letting down¡­


    His wives¡­ he had promised them that they could be as willful as they wanted. If he wasn''t the strongest¡­ if he died¡­ hadn''t he just been lying to them all this while? Blowing out air from his mouth?


    His unborn child¡­ he was ready to promise them to the world, to hopefully be as good a parent to them as his own parents had been to him. And yet, he would never meet them¡­


    His parents¡­ his grandparents¡­ He wanted to see what the former could grow into without the shadow of the Martial Gods looming over them. The latter¡­ he had promised revenge¡­ they had died protecting him, protecting their legacies, their Clans, their Bloodline¡­


    They had such pride in him, such hope¡­ every one of their last moments replayed in his mind. Only his Grandma Tatsuya had said it out so explicitly, but they all wanted him to win, they all wanted him to rise to the potential they knew he had and claim the heads of those that had made their Clan suffer so much.


    He owed them that¡­


    He¡­ had owed them that¡­


    His mind went blank for a moment, and then as though to remind it, it dredged up memories he had long since buried, memories that he separated from himself as though it wasn''t just a lifetime ago, but wasn''t his life at all¡­


    Memories of the Tor Clan¡­ of the humiliation he suffered, the constant defeats, the constant horrors¡­


    Being blinded as a child¡­ never being given the chance to cultivate¡­ being publicly whipped in the arena¡­ being forced to watch Granny Miriam die right in front of him because he was too weak to do anything¡­


    Some of the memories were so shocking that he wondered how he had even made it through them¡­


    But they were also a reminder. A reminder of what could happen when you had no strength, no power, when you had nothing more than a sharp tongue and a will to bloviate.


    In that despair, Ryu had missed the obvious.


    In that life, as little as he had had¡­ he had still very much been Ryu. That little boy¡­ that little boy that he liked to pretend hadn''t been him at all¡­ probably represented what should have been the proudest moments of his life¡­


    It was that little boy alone that represented all the things he hoped he would be even if he had no strength at all.


    But he couldn''t find himself taking pride in it at all. It wasn''t the sort of pride he wanted, it wasn''t the sort of thing that he wanted.


    Looking through the shades of his life throughout time, he had had his moments of that pride, that arrogance¡­ but it didn''t manifest in the way he thought it should mean.


    He didn''t have the talent, he didn''t have the strength, so it only appeared in short spurts before flaming out.


    Who knew, maybe in that life too, as his so-called parents and the Tor Clan wore him down, he would have reverted to the same pathetic state he had in all his other lives.


    What the difference?


    ''I don''t know¡­ what is the difference¡­''


    He had already thought of it. He just didn''t want to admit it. Even now, his mind was too flexible.


    Solara''s blow hadn''t even injured him. It hit him in his incomplete third eye. Being born from his Heavenly Pupils, although it wasn''t yet as powerful as them, its sturdiness was something to behold. For others, their eyes were the most fragile parts of them. For Ryu, it was probably the exact opposite.


    Much like Solara was ignoring everyone else, Ryu had practically ignored her, lost in his thoughts, uncaring of what she might be doing at this very moment.


    His thoughts, his focus, his heart was on that one answer¡­


    Support.


    In that life, he had Granny Miriam¡­ in his life, he had his parents and grandparents¡­


    But it wasn''t the answer he wanted. He wanted to reach the mountain peak on his own. He wanted it to be by his own merit. He wanted to be strong because he said he was strong, not because he had been coddled and received love as a baby.


    He felt that it was just so¡­ so pathetic¡­


    So human.


    He and this Nameless Immortal God were not the same¡­ they had never been the same¡­ they would never be the same¡­


    But Ryu was asking for the impossible¡­ he was essentially enraged with himself for ever having been a child that needed the protection and affection of others to begin with¡­


    That weakness, any sort of that weakness¡­


    Infuriated him like nothing else.


    The same way his wife had to coddle his emotions during his first time infuriated him.


    The same way having to take his own life just to hope the Phoenix Sky God would choose him infuriated him.


    The same way a lifetime that he should have taken pride in because it was filled with far too much weakness infuriated him.


    He hated to be weak. He hated weakness. He would rather die. He would rather sever his own life than be weak.


    ''I will never¡­ never be weak¡­ again¡­ I will¡­ rewrite¡­ rewrite my name...''


    BOOM!


    Solara''s head snapped back toward Ryu.

 Chapter 2210 - 2210: Rewrite

    Ryu unleashed a howl. He didn''t sound human at all, nor did he sound like a beast. It was more like an ancient primordial monster, a lurking fury hidden in the depths of an abyssal darkness.


    It was like something within him was rampaging with all the rage in the world. It rattled against its cage, lashing out, violently pulling against the sides of his soul and the walls of his heart.


    Black flames erupted from him, pouring out in all directions. Not red-black in the slightest, and not carrying the same fogginess of another familiar type of flame.


    It didn''t seem to be either his Rage Flame or his Death Flame. It didn''t really feel like a fusion of the two either¡­ instead, there was a third in there.


    It was as though the Rage Flame, the Death Flame, and the White Flame had all combined to form a completely new sort of Flame, one that was the very antithesis of the White Flame.


    He was a man that had built his Dao Heart on hypocrisy. Who cared if the Heavens said he shouldn''t be able to brute force this sort of mental breakthrough? Who cared if he had said the Heavens weren''t at fault for the hardship he had faced in the past?


    Fuck the Heavens.


    When Ryu realized just how irrational his own fury had been, he doubled down. He would rewrite his name. And he meant it with every fiber of his being.


    As for what that meant, just what that represented, he didn''t give a damn.


    He would do things the way he wanted to do them. He didn''t need anyone else, he didn''t need support, he would do it on his own.


    This time, he swore he would do it on his own.


    This Nameless Immortal God, he could feel it. He was a sentimental man, someone who cared deeply about every little thing. He had reached the pinnacle and then gave it all up to return to the very start, reliving every aspect of his life once again.


    Ryu loved his family with every fiber of his being. But he wasn''t the same man.


    He would never allow his women to die in the first place.


    There was another path to breaking through. He could feel it. It was the path the Heavens wanted him to take, the logical path. To acknowledge that he needed the help of others, that he needed support, that it was okay to have been a child that needed the caring caress of his mother, of his caretaker.


    He didn''t want it. He didn''t care for it. That wasn''t the man he wanted to be.


    He wanted to be that resilient child that was indifferent even to being whipped until he lost three layers of skin off his back whether he had Granny Miriam in his life or not.


    He didn''t want his heart to rely on others. He didn''t want his emotions to be tethered to the love he experienced.


    He wanted to be the pillar that held up the skies. He wanted his wives to live a carefree life, for his children to have everything they could ever want, to repay his parents for what they had done for him, to allow his grandparents their revenge.


    If he was going to be a pillar, he had to be akin to the Heavens. Unfathomable, unflappable, unmovable.


    He couldn''t grow into it. He had to have always been that man.


    Ryu''s shoulder moved, slowly being pulled up as though a string was pulling him along. His qi rippled through the air, his Spiritual Foundation roaring back to life.


    Pools of white flames poured out from his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation, ripping through his body and combining with his Rage Flame and Death Flames.


    He didn''t care about anything else, his thoughts focused, yet wild. He converted whatever strength there was left in the Phoenix Princess'' blood into his own flames.


    His fury fueled his Rage Flames. The Phoenix Princess'' blood poured out and fueled his Death Flames. And his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation churned, pumping out what it could in waves.


    And then came his Cosmos Fog.


    Spark of Life. That was what they called the White Flame.


    It was too optimistic for his taste, too steeped in the normal ways of life, of the ebbs and flows, the ups and downs.


    He wasn''t interested in it.


    Give him something else. Something that was more in line with his personality, something that was more in line with the fury burning in his heart right now.


    He wouldn''t call it Spark of Death, he wouldn''t call it a Spark at all.


    It was a smothering abyss, a dense suffocation of the normal ways of life, an ignorance of the laws not because he was too stupid to understand them, but because he didn''t care to understand them.


    He didn''t care what the normal path was, he never had. He didn''t care about what should have been natural, he would write his own rules.


    Spark of Life would just follow those rules, bending them a little bit here and there, but ultimately the foundation would remain the same.


    He didn''t want that.


    Rewrite it.


    Rewrite it all.


    Including his past lives.


    Ryu''s second shoulder moved, his body lifting itself up.


    The flames were blacker than night, blacker than the void, so dense and heavy they almost lashed out like real whips as they lashed out at the air.


    Like the tendrils of a puppet master''s strings, they attached to his body, forcefully yanking him up from the ground as though they wouldn''t take his state into account.


    Who said he was injured if they said he wasn''t?


    The world bent and twisted, large clouds of complex runes jumping into form and then vanishing, only to appear again with slight tweaks.


    Rewrite it.


    The words seemed to be the only thing driving him. Again and again, he pulled on the core of his being, ripping through the doubt, the shame, the weakness.


    He tore it all to pieces.


    Solara''s eyes had widened more considerably than maybe any other time in her life. She wasn''t even sure what she was looking at.


    Hadn''t Ryu already failed? What¡­ was this? What was she looking at right now?


    What was this feeling? How was he even doing this? What was that flame? Why did it make her feel so¡­ so¡­


    She couldn''t say the word. Her Dao Heart suppressed it so furiously that it was snuffed out along with the feeling before it could even fully form.


    But then there was that howl.


    Ryu''s body was completely obscured by those thick flames. Honestly speaking, they hardly looked like flames at all anymore; they were more like thick shadows, dense obsidian without the slightest hint of the rock''s reflective properties.


    Every single bit of light that fell into it vanished. If not for how bright the rest of the region was, Ryu might have vanished entirely.


    A tendril of line grabbed Ryu''s head and his body was finally pulled up from the ground entirely.


    BOOM! sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rippling waves of a mysterious might spread out in all directions as though a new energy was being formed in real time.


    Ryu''s White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation became a sea of black, his soul appearing at his forehead with the very same dense blackness.


    Perfect Blackbody.


    Maybe there was a very good reason why this was his soul. Endlessly flexible, endlessly hypocritical, able to take in everything and deal with anything. It could rewrite what it was any time as though it had never been anything else in the past.


    It was what embodied who he was the most, the soul meant for a man like him, a man who cared for nothing more than the pinnacle of cultivation.


    When he said that nothing would stand in his way, he meant it with every fiber of his being.


    When he said that he would have his cake and eat it too, he meant that even more.


    He wouldn''t sacrifice a single thing. He would be a hypocrite not just with his own emotions, but the laws of the Heavens themselves.


    And what could it do to stop him once he had the strength to turn his nose up at it?


    Rewrite it.


    Ryu''s body began to rise into the skies. Everything was encased in a deathly black, wings spreading from his back. The only things that carried the slightest hint of light at all were his eyes¡­


    All three of them.


    One foggy, unformed mass at the center of his forehead, and two silver stars shimmering even in the depths of darkness.


    Claws grew from his hands, black tendrils forming his hair.


    His chest beat, the echo of an oppressive Dao Heart spreading out in all directions.


    Some geniuses still working their way up the platform of clouds froze in place, their own Hearts shattering in place. Their eyes dimmed and they fell to their knees, their paths of cultivation coming to an end right then and there.


    Ryu''s howls peeled across the skies like arching strands of lightning.


    And then his gaze locked onto Solara, who still stared at him in abject shock.


    He moved.


    She had a hard time even reacting before a fist drove into the gut.


    Her eyes bulged, her tongue flying out so fast it looked like it might disconnect from the base of her jaw.


    She sputtered and her body shot out in a shockwave, her back slamming into the Title Stele so hard it trembled.

 Chapter 2211 - 2211: Fine (1)

    Ryu landed on the ground, his aura almost demonic. There was a violent swirl of what could almost only be described as madness around him, and yet there was a chilling calm in his eyes that made it feel all the more suffocating.


    It didn''t even feel like one was looking at a human anymore. It was more like they were looking at the embodiment of an ideology, the core of a being, a way of life¡­


    A Dao Heart.


    Ryu had rooted his very life itself in his determination. It was a step maybe even wilder than severing his path to reincarnation.


    He wasn''t just banking his life on this last chance.


    He was banking his life on never failing again, on never again being weak, on never again having to rely on anyone or anything.


    The moment he wavered, the moment he slipped, the instant he could no longer be the Heavenly Pillar that held up the skies above his own head, he would collapse¡ªcrashing and burning in an inferno of his own making.


    But¡­ he had no intention of ever failing in such a way. He didn''t intend to fail, to slip up.


    He intended to blaze through right to the very end, to stand at the pinnacle that others couldn''t reach.


    His maw split apart like sticky cobwebs pulling against one another, a howl akin to that of a monster pouring into the world.


    It was hard to describe in any way but fiendish, relentlessly demonic. Compared to the beauty of the true Fiend Race, this was something else entirely.


    But what was the scariest of it all was that Ryu was perfectly rational. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Solara coughed, trying to force her airways to open up again as she recovered. With her strength, she wasn''t used to crashing into things in the first place. But usually, when she did, it would give way.


    The fact that the Title Stele hardly trembled at all meant all the power was transferred right to her.


    Not only that, but all the pressure of the strongest existences to ever reach this point poured down on her.


    In that very instant alone, just by catching her off guard in this way, Ryu could have certainly killed her. Between the power of his attack and the blankness of her mind, that brief instant would have been enough.


    But he didn''t.


    His howl echoed in her ears, a translation she didn''t need pouring into her psyche.


    Get up.


    Rage flared in Solara''s eyes.


    This was the second humiliation she had experienced in her lifetime. The first was when her grandfather didn''t believe in her, ripping her away from an opportunity of a lifetime. And now, this ant was actually treating her like the whetstone here?


    She stood to her feet. Her hair began to whip about, chains pooling out from what looked like other dimensions.


    They rippled and waved, entering one portal and exiting another until one chain after another formed in the skies in an endless stream. With the number of them that there were, they should have tangled up into a mess, losing their function and form.


    And yet, they seemed to be organized, so purposeful, so oppressive even to the laws they deemed to control themselves.


    "A pathetic existence like you has no right to battle me, but I will have you learn your place. To allow your own Heart Demon to take over your body just for a small chance to survive¡­ I would rather die."


    The words sounded so similar to something Ryu had said before, so close it pinched down on a nerve and ripped it up as though to remind him of the pain.


    And yet, there was the very same chilling light in Ryu''s eyes. His focus belied the rampaging aura billowing out from him.


    BANG!


    He vanished.


    There was a blur before Solara''s face, but she reacted quickly. Her hand elegantly graced the skies and then it suddenly accelerated, pointing down in a violent motion.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The path before Ryu was pierced through with chains, but Ryu''s body had contorted. His legs and arms moved independently of one another, his torso twisting in the air and his flexibility being placed on full display.


    His gaze never left Solara, as though he had no need to pay much attention to the attacks at all.


    And then his head twisted, his neck flexing to one side.


    His entire body flipped upside down and he seemed to slip through all the attacks, his back arching as he somersaulted, landing on his feet facing away from Solara.


    Another attack was coming, but this time it ripped through Ryu as though he wasn''t even there at all.


    BANG!


    A palm slammed against Solara''s back, or rather it almost did so.


    A chain of laws had appeared and calculations sparkled in Solara''s eyes as she understood something.


    One of the chains and sets of portals in the air froze and then broke apart into runes. Those runes vanished into a glass dome that flickered only once before disappearing from sight entirely.


    In that instant, Ryu felt as though a part of him had been ripped away from the world. His warping control of space was stripped.


    Ryu vanished again nonetheless.


    Solara''s eyes narrowed.


    SLAP.


    The echo of a palm streaking across her face rang almost hollow. Her eyes widened, but she hardly had the time to pay attention before a fist drove right into her gut.


    Her body convulsed and a powerful pressure ripped right through her. Concentric circles of exploding air extended out from her back, her spine nearly shattering to pieces.


    For a moment, she couldn''t fathom just how Ryu had so much raw power. Wasn''t his body a mess? Wasn''t he only a Quasi Lord? What was going on?


    "Fine." She growled.


    Her aura and demeanor changed.


    Wings extended from her back and then doubled, only to double once again.


    A crown rose from her head, growing larger and shimmering like the halo of an angel.


    Somehow, she tapped into all three of the Martial God''s most powerful Bloodlines.

 Chapter 2212 - 2212: Fine (2)

    Originally, Solara didn''t want to do this. Ryu was already a cultivation realm beneath her, so she had also suppressed herself to Quasi Lord. But even though she had used her chains to do this, she knew that there were certain advantages that she would always have, so she likewise chose to restrict some of her abilities.


    However, watching Ryu toy with her like this was well and truly pissing her off. Since he seemed to think he somehow had the right to stand on the same stage as her, she would show him just how much she was holding back.


    Or, rather¡­ the tip of the iceberg.


    The qi in the region solidified. Her wings fluctuated just once and it was as though a layer of black had been peeled off of Ryu''s body.


    She appeared before him in an instant.


    "Sever."


    Chi.


    An arm flew from Ryu''s body, only for tendrils of black to snag it out of the air, forcing it to reconnect.


    Ryu side-stepped a slashing chain, grabbing at it with his perfectly healthy arm.


    Fast and sharp, his movement didn''t hold the slightest hesitation, but that didn''t stop Solara from sneering. Trying to grab her chains of all things?


    A dense fog suddenly coated Ryu''s palm. Cosmos Fog.


    Solara''s expression changed as she lost connection to her chains for the briefest of instances. It was only a split moment, but it was enough for Ryu to grab onto it and pull.


    She was launched off her feet, not having expected such a thing.


    An elbow drove into her face.


    Her skull deformed, a chilling pair of silver eyes becoming the fuel of nightmares as Ryu took another step into it.


    BANG! S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She was sent flying even faster than before, but this time she barely flew ten meters before her wings flared out. She purposely took on more damage just to save her own pride, the tendons and ligaments of her wings being pushed to an extreme just to stop her in place.


    Her hands were already moving, one seal after another quickly taking shape. The crown above her head shimmered, making every seal easily ten times more powerful. The Divine Hegemonic Crown communed with the Heavens, making it feel as though an army of Solara''s were forming seals instead of just one woman.


    Claps of thunder rang through the skies, Tribulation Clouds forming. But then runes on her wings lit up, sucking them inside.


    The Divine Wings pooled in its power and controlled qi, rippling with streaks of lightning as they concentrated over their surface.


    To commune with the Heavens. To control its energies. And then¡­


    To write its laws.


    Divine Chains flared to life.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Divine Chains descended from other dimensions, piercing into Solara''s body. Veins popped across her, and then a skintight armor began to take shape. And yet, just looking at it, Ryu knew that this armor weighed as heavy as worlds. It was just that rather than making it bulky, she had somehow twisted them to maintain her endless flexibility at the same time.


    BANG! BANG!


    Solara smashed her fists together, chains extending from her back akin to a peacock''s tail.


    Chi.


    She vanished.


    Ryu took one step back and then erupted with a roundhouse kick, his torso practically tearing into itself with how hard it pulled on his abdomen for more torque.


    BOOM!


    Two shins met in the skies, a reverberating power echoing on in all directions.


    CRACK.


    Ryu''s leg split in two, his bone cracking beneath the pressure entirely unable to withstand it.


    A chain lashed out from Solara''s back, slapping against his face in retaliation.


    His body spun, but as though she didn''t feel like it was enough, a chain descended from the skies, piercing right through his chest and nailing him to the ground.


    Solara appeared above him high in the skies, releasing a relentless barrage of fists. One after another, craters of howling winds extended from her knuckles, the laws of the world forcefully shaping them into a Fist Aura that devoured the might of the world.


    When it first formed, it was nothing but air pressure. But then it communed with the Heavens through her crown. And then it sapped away the Heavens'' energies through her wings. And then it wrote its own laws of power with her chains.


    By the time it collided with Ryu, its power was so great that it was easily hundreds of times what was already a shockingly mighty blow.


    Ryu hacked, but his body had no blood left to give.


    "There is only one, there can only ever be one. And it will be me!" Solara''s voice echoed as though it came from the Dome of the Heavens.


    She raised a palm high into the skies and the Tribulation Clouds that had been sapped into her wings were ripped out, forming an enormous javelin in her hands.


    It tried to resist, pulsing with a dark gold might, but then chains began to sink into its body.


    It doubled in size, and then doubled again.


    But then it began to violently shrink, and every time it did so, it became more and more stable until it looked no different from a silent dark gold spear.


    Solara cocked it backward, her eyes blazing with a deathly might.


    Her shoulder stretched back, her hair fluttering wildly beneath her billowing aura. There was such a fierce light in her eyes that it seemed as though she might be able to pierce through even the hollow emptiness of the void with her gaze alone.


    BANG!


    Her arm suddenly accelerated forward so fast that its movement was impossible to track. It was like in one moment her body had tensed to its limit, and then in the next her hand and finger were pointed ahead, booming, shattering concentric circles of air and space rippling again in larger and larger plumes.


    The javelin tore into Ryu''s body seemingly the very same instant Solara released it, warping spacetime much the same way Ryu had before¡­ as though she had devoured his abilities as well.


    And then it exploded along with Ryu''s body.

 Chapter 2213 - 2213: Pathetic

    Solara exhaled a breath in the skies, exuding a fiery sort of coldness. The dichotomy between the two pulled on the soul and shattered the Dao Heart. If those not confident in themselves stood before her now, their path of cultivation would likely be severed right here.


    Her eyes suddenly sharpened.


    Dense blackness pooled along the ground, a heart thumping with great might, exuding a radiant aura as the bits and pieces of what once was Ryu came together.


    But it wasn''t just those bits and pieces¡­


    It was also the Tribulation Cloud energy. Ryu seamlessly took it, and a foggy construct that had once been at the center of his forehead pulsed with life. It was only just the slightest bit, but the shift and change was enough for it to solidify just the slightest bit more.


    And then time directly reversed.


    [Fate Reversal] mutated under the effects of his third eye, becoming [Time Reversal].


    The world rippled and whined, but Ryu''s Dao Heart and will were like a clamp suffocating its complaints.


    If he wanted the laws to be rewritten, they would be rewritten.


    BANG!


    Spacetime exploded, and, like his Dao Heart had formed a black hole, Ryu was snapped back into place in an instant of time.


    Solara''s eyes narrowed, but then puckered out of her control. It certainly didn''t help that a fist had suddenly appeared at her fist. While she was distracted watching a scene, she didn''t realize that time had already been bent out of place.


    She was watching something that had already happened with rapt attention as though it were in real time. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While her enemy had long appeared before her.


    Her face was already beaten and bloodied from their earlier battle, but it was even more distorted now. It felt as though three Ryu''s were slamming into her face all at once.


    Time reversed and he smashed again, and then again, and then again until her skull fragmented.


    Every time spacetime backtracked, she would feel as though she had been healed just the slightest bit, only to suffer an even worse blow.


    Her mind spun, finding it difficult to solidify itself in time. Confusion painted her features and she felt spells of dizziness.


    Ryu had realized long ago that the advantage of his Spacetime Soul Nature came from how he could take advantage of the complexities of the fabric of reality. By layering on the changes to space and time, making them difficult for others to follow, he could then make himself a true king of this world.


    Space, Time, and Fate were things that all cultivators could gain some degree of control over so long as their realms progressed enough. If that was the case, the only way to gain an advantage¡­ was by being even better.


    Since Solara had so graciously taken such a powerful pool of Tribulation Lightning for him and concentrated it even more with Heavens Laws, how could he not oblige.


    Just now what she had done was actually quite shocking. She had borrowed from her future Sovereign Tribulation to power a technique in the present. It would almost certainly make her Sovereign Tribulation even more difficult to pass¡ªbut at their level, when did they ever worry about such things?


    However, she had no idea that such a thing was exactly what Ryu needed.


    His ability to control Spacetime reached an all-new level and he peeled back more mutations to his Heavenly Pupils, using them with impunity.


    [Ephemeral Tapestry] shifted and changed, showing him not just the shifts to qi, but also to spacetime itself. He grabbed hold of them, manipulating them, twisting them to his favor.


    From an outsider''s perspective, it looked as though he was dozens of people and Solara was nothing more than a punching bag. She was relentlessly pulled in and out of the stream of time, every barrage landing, retracting, and sometimes even layering into one.


    Bruises, cracked bone, shattered limbs, and peeling lumps of flesh began to fall from the skies as she was beat like a drum. Sometimes the pain was delayed so much that she didn''t even register what was happening until there was a sudden spike, and that made a brief moment of clarity she might have had shatter apart under the tides of signals.


    Solara knew that if this continued she would die. Ryu would obviously not slip up and make such a mistake, but the moment he caught onto an advantage, it was like there was no getting out of it.


    She knew she was stronger. But there was something about facing Ryu that made it feel like it didn''t matter. He would always find a way no matter what the situation. Even if there was a gap in power, he would suppress her intelligence and skill.


    She had never experienced such a thing in her life.


    And she had no intentions of allowing it to start today.


    Solara''s body trembled as it began to shut down. Her inner organs gave in, starting with her digestive system and then even working their way to her heart¡­ soon, even her brain itself might give in.


    But right then, just as she bucked up against what could have only been a true death, there was a roar in her mind.


    CRACK.


    A seal within her was undone.


    She knew it would happen. The moment her body began to shut down, it was impossible that her seal on her cultivation would continue to remain.


    From the Quasi Lord Realm, she shot back up to the Lord Realm, her overwhelming aura alone sending Ryu flying off into the distance.


    But she didn''t move at all, even though she could feel that half the bones in Ryu''s body had shattered from that shocking wave alone.


    She hung almost limply in the skies, her body quickly healing itself under the effects of her Divine Wings, and yet blood still pooled and leaked down her fingers and toes, dribbling from her chin.


    "So very pathetic¡­" she said softly. But this time, she wasn''t speaking about Ryu.


    Her head slowly tilted up. This time, there was something very different about her Pupils.

 Chapter 2214 - 2214: Again

    Ryu sensed it maybe even before Solara did. There wasn''t just a single seal on her body that had been undone just now, but two¡­ and the second of them had been placed on her eyes alone.


    Emperor Pupils.


    But they weren''t normal Emperor Pupils, just the same way his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils had long stopped being normal as well. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Fifth Ranked Heavenly Pupils on Sacrum, a pair of eyes known for their lofty might. But honestly speaking¡­ Ryu had always thought them to just be an inferior version of the number Two Rank World Pupils.


    Emperor Pupils were akin to World Pupils, but far more narrowed in scope and focus. World Pupils could manage and control the world, while Emperor Pupils targeted the minds of people, controlled the masses, and wielded puppets.


    If you were clever enough with World Pupils, and talented enough, you could certainly do the same. Though, this was just Ryu being nitpicky, honestly speaking.


    The characteristics of the two were very distinct, and saying that they were the same was akin to saying that the two halves of Ryu''s Dao were the same just because one could see through the world and the other saw through people.


    That said, there was still a reason the Emperor Pupils were ranked beneath the World Pupils.


    All things considered¡ªaside from Ryu''s own bias and pettiness¡ªthe Emperor Pupils had their own merits and carried with them a shocking amount of power.


    Its most fundamental ability was known as [Emperor''s Crown]. It allowed its user to force others into submission.


    Its second most important ability was [Emperor''s Scepter]. It allowed its user to use those that it had forced into submission as Fate farms to strengthen themselves.


    These two abilities alone were enough for a wielder of these Pupils to rule worlds, overturn oceans, and conquer laws.


    The speed of cultivation because of these two alone was mind-boggling. If an Emperor Pupil wielder had the support of powerful cultivators, they could probably reach the Sky God Realm in a single day as an infant without the slightest hint of impurities or lingering dangers remaining.


    And that was because with [Emperor''s Scepter], it wasn''t just the Fate of one''s subjects that they could take advantage of, but their comprehension as well.


    That meant that if you could force a Sky God or multiple Sky Gods into submission before even reaching that realm, then you could use their insights to form your own unique Dao.


    Therein probably lay the real reason Ryu had always been disdainful of these Pupils. It wasn''t that they were truly just inferior forms of the World Pupils; they were truly their own distinct existence¡­


    It was that they couldn''t even be considered true cultivation anymore. Everything could be handed to you on a silver platter if you were lucky enough, and in his first life, Ryu wondered why he had been born with the First Ranked Heavenly Pupils instead of these Fifth ranked ones.


    With them, he could think of a hundred different ways to cultivate even without a Spiritual Foundation.


    And that sort of weakness¡­ he absolutely hated it.


    A growl came from Ryu as he recognized the Pupils.


    There might be some sort of relationship and friction between the War God and Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils, but he could hardly give a damn. He didn''t even spare the likes of Young Master Bright a thought.


    However, these Pupils¡­ he hated them because of no one else but himself.


    And that was enough for him to rampage. He didn''t even care what sort of mutation Solara had successfully formed from them.


    All he wanted was to feel them in his palms as he crushed them.


    He stomped a foot and shot forward.


    Solara still seemed to be in half a daze. But this time, when Ryu''s fist approached her, it stopped a full six inches away.


    She looked up, shaking her head.


    "It seems that¡­ maybe my grandfather was right," Solara said softly.


    Right now, she didn''t even want to be here anymore. As far as she was concerned, she had already lost.


    Thinking about what her goal here was, and what she had to do, her gaze flickered. But then she shook her head again.


    "Maybe another time¡­"


    She didn''t care about what goals the Martial Gods had. They could figure it out on their own.


    She turned and then vanished.


    Ryu''s fist suddenly continued forward, shattering through a rain of space as though it were crumbling glass.


    But Solara was already gone. His knuckles passed through nothing at all.


    Ryu felt confusion for a moment, and then rage.


    He raised his hands.


    ¡­


    Solara crossed through the emptiness of space and then suddenly came to a stop. A figure had appeared before her.


    "Girl, this isn''t the plan."


    "I don''t feel like it anymore, grandpa," Solara said softly.


    The old man opened his mouth and then slowly closed it, shaking his head with a sigh.


    "Fine, fine. Maybe I''ve allowed you to be too willful in the past."


    Solara was still looking forward, but it was almost as though she was looking through her grandfather instead of at him. Her mind wasn''t focused at all.


    "It should still be fine," the old man said after a while. "But whether you can make it through this will be up to you alone. Your heart can only be decided by yourself. If you had chosen to leave out of fear, I would stop you. But you are leaving because you have already accepted your loss and feel that there is no point in fighting in your fully powered state as it will make things meaningless. I can accept this.


    "You were not ready to face the Nameless Immortal God. It was my mistake for allowing it so early. It is impossible to fathom how strong a Dao Heart like his is when you have never faced an opponent that was your equal. Now, however¡­ you have. What you choose to do with that¡ª."


    The old man''s gaze suddenly became malevolent.


    "WHO?!"


    He tried to act but he couldn''t. He could feel that the Title Stele would blast him to pieces if he did.


    Space twisted around Solara and her vision blurred. By the time she reacted to the scene around her again, a fist had already slammed into her nose¡­


    Again.


    BANG!

 Chapter 2215 - 2215: Dome of Heaven

    Ryu''s fury seemed poured into his very fist itself. His emotions were like a firing kennel, concentrated into a ceramic and then exploding forth the instant it reached its limit.


    He had already been swinging his arm before she even appeared, and the moment his knuckles crackled, the world folding away before him, he unleashed it all at the same time.


    Who was she to decide when their battle ended? When he didn''t stand a chance? When he was too weak to continue?


    Who did she think she was?


    BANG!


    Solara''s body practically folded out of the way, the great amount of pressure concentrating onto her face making it bow and whine for the briefest of instances before she was sent flying away.


    She rolled along the rainbow-clouded ground, her body flipping and twisting. The teleportation had left her a great deal disoriented, and she still wasn''t sure which way was up and which was down.


    Forcefully teleporting anyone to begin with was extremely difficult with an enormous gap in power. Shattering it was too easy, especially if it was from a far enough distance like this time.


    But Ryu had not only done it, he had done so in the face of a Dao God, all while his target had cultivation that was far deeper and superior to his own.


    It was something that didn''t make any sense at all¡­ until you saw the confusion in Solara''s face still being there. Even now, it was hard to tell if she was aware that she had been teleported away the first time.


    That was when Ryu appeared above her, his fists coming together in a hammering motion as he flexed his torso as though it were a spring.


    He pooled all the strength he had, the tendrils of blackness that coated him tightening like steel wires as they pulled on his body as well.


    Solara might have been disoriented, but she knew how to sense danger. In the end, that danger became like a beacon in the dense darkness.


    She rolled.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s fists heavily slammed against the ground, a large number of chains rolling toward him.


    The difference was striking, suffocating, even. The chains hadn''t even landed when he felt the laws restrain themselves in their presence. His Dao Heart trembled as though it might collapse, and the qi in the surroundings fell into silence.


    It didn''t even seem like she was actively trying to do this. Instead, the mere presence of the Divine Chains alone was enough to cause this as though it were baked into their very being.


    His body twisted in attempts to dodge, but he couldn''t stop two of them from landing, one right through his shoulder and the other through his leg.


    Solara, still disoriented, used her Divine Chains to sense Ryu''s exact position. In a flash, she was up, her fist driving into his face.


    If Ryu still had blood left to give, maybe this blow would have caused a spurt, a geyser of bloody red. But instead, it just deformed his face to the point that its already unrecognizable mass of black flattened and then nearly continued into a concave curve.


    It was clear that Ryu''s skull had already shattered apart. The only thing that remained was the skin of black that kept him intact, a skin that Solara''s fist couldn''t seem to make it through.


    Even so, with a shattered head, how was survival possible? Such things were rare even at their cultivation level.


    But Solara knew that it was far more over.


    Ryu''s head almost violently snapped back into shape, as though nothing at all had happened.


    A second fist from Solara was already on the way, slamming against his chest. Then a third came. Every blow was like the descent of another meteor, every one cratering holes in Ryu''s body.


    Ryu himself was having trouble moving with the laws of the Divine Chains keeping him in place.


    She unleashed a relentless barrage against him, every one aimed to kill. At the same time, she was slowly becoming less disoriented until she snapped out of it clearly.


    Her eyes revealed a sea of chains, swimming through the air like flood dragons pulsing with silver-blue might. They were so numerous and concentrated that it almost looked as though they had replaced the dome of the Heavens themselves.


    Confusion colored her face once more. When had she summoned so many Divine Chains? She definitely hadn''t.


    Had she grown more powerful? She hardly felt a dent in her Focus Qi and qi.


    Well, she was actually quite sure that she could easily summon this many. It was just that she would have to be against an opponent that was actually worthy¡­


    And Ryu didn''t fall into that category.


    "Die," she said coldly.


    Ryu''s maw snapped open, a howl blowing her hair back in response.


    Solara froze, feeling as though she was staring into the depths of an abyss.


    Somehow, the sound of the howl was still translated to her mind.


    Disappointment.


    He¡­ was disappointed in¡­ her?


    There was a rage that flared in Solara''s eyes. How dare he¡ª?!


    Her thoughts froze.


    Chi.


    BANG! S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The chain in Ryu''s body suddenly shattered, and the chains in the skies vanished.


    In its place, the projection of Ryu''s Inner World remained.


    At that moment, Solara understood Ryu''s disappointment. He had wanted a battle where he could shut his brain off, where he faced off against someone no less powerful than himself so he could see just how far his fists alone could carry him.


    At the start, Solara was able to do that. But in the middle of the battle, Ryu had a breakthrough in his third eye¡­


    And she was entirely unable to keep up after the fact. In fact, she was the one who foolishly gave him the chance to begin with.


    Pathetic.


    [A God''s Brush: Heaven].


    Everything reversed, a color being painted into the world that crashed down onto her body.


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

 Chapter 2216 - 2216: Own Making

    Solara felt as though all her blows against Ryu had suddenly been refocused onto her. She hadn''t even noticed that Ryu was using [Fate Reversal] continuously, using the Space aspects of his incomplete third eye to fuse it into his [A God''s Brush] technique.


    It still didn''t make sense to Solara. Ryu shouldn''t even have the ability to cast such a skill, not when his body was in its current state. Nothing was adding up right, and it made her feel as though she was trapped in a world that didn''t make sense¡­


    A world of Ryu''s own making.


    As her own blows landed on her again and again, shattering her down to her very being, she realized that there was a darkness in the skies that hadn''t been there.


    ''He didn''t use his qi to build this world¡­''


    The realization slowly hit her.


    Just what were those flames? No, were they even flames in the first place? Just what was it? It didn''t make any sense.


    The moment she saw it, she thought that she was certain of what it was.


    The manifestation of a Heart Demon.


    It wasn''t exactly something common. That was because while Heart Demons were fairly common themselves, the manifestation of one required the collapse of a Dao Heart that had already reached a shocking level.


    It was commendable that Ryu had a Dao Heart of that level, but it was far less commendable that he had allowed a Dao Heart to eat him alive.


    He didn''t even seem human, and honestly speaking, a large part of the reason she had no interest in fighting him anymore wasn''t just because he was so much weaker than she was, but because why should she waste her time fighting a Heart Demon?


    Most Heart Demons could never improve after they took over their host body. And even in the case that they could, it would take them a while to get used to their new bodies and find a method of cultivation that worked for them.


    Ryu''s Heart Demon probably could do so. After all, it had the support of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils. This was why she had let it live initially¡ªmaybe in the future it could be a worthy opponent.


    But right this moment? No. It shouldn''t be capable of that just yet.


    So how had it already found a completely new way to cast Qi Realm Techniques? How had it cast a Qi Realm Technique without using qi?!


    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Solara coughed up mouthfuls of blood, feeling her bones shatter and her inner organs rupture one after another. She couldn''t even begin to fight back.


    In that moment, she seemed to realize how others felt when they were fighting her. Controlling the Dome of the Heavens, the qi, the laws, its runes, and their formations. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was like she was watching the birth of a true god.


    She knew that it was just a technique, one that she somewhat even understood the concepts of. If it had been formed of qi, she would have already grasped it entirely.


    Contrary to what was happening right now¡­ she was a genius¡­


    ''Oh¡­''


    That was when the last piece of the puzzle fell into place.


    Her chains¡­ some of them truly had been real. In fact, it was because they were real that she had accidentally allowed such a thing to happen.


    Analyzing the strongest state of her Divine Chains, especially while they ran through his body, constantly pouring their laws into him, was precisely what Ryu needed to complete the last leg of his comprehension.


    It sounded nice to rewrite the laws of the world into your own liking. It was an entirely different matter to actually understand how to do so.


    Someone might want to create a master painting, but did they even know where to start? They saw an array of colors, but how would you layer simpler colors to create it?


    Ryu wanted to be his own Heavens, but after nurturing his own Inner World for so long, he knew just how difficult and nigh impossible it was.


    However¡­


    Sealing had always been the opposite side of the coin to Formations, and Solara''s Divine Chains had grown to the point that her Dao passively suppressed everything it came into contact with.


    If you wanted to Seal something, you had to understand its ins and outs, its strengths, its weaknesses¡­


    All Ryu had to do was allow it to Seal his Inner World¡­


    And then counter it.


    Every time he countered it, the Seal would change, and he would adjust it, making his Inner World stronger, and stronger, and stronger¡­


    Until Solara no longer had the method to suppress it.


    At that moment, he unleashed everything she had levied at him in a torrential rain of blows, shattering her in body and spirit.


    By the time the last blow landed, she was a mess of blood and flesh on the ground, barely breathing out shallow huffs that moved her chest only just the slightest bit.


    Ryu stood, huffing out his own breaths, but they sounded far more akin to the growls of a beast. Layered in menacing battle intent, his every inhale and exhale came with howling winds, the sudden and continuous reversals of the flow of air causing violent vortexes to form continuously.


    Solara coughed. "I admit¡­" she said softly, "¡­ that you are strong¡­ it''s¡­ unfortunate that¡­ you''ve lost¡­ yourself¡­"


    She began to slowly stand, pushing herself up. When her body was too weak to continue, chains manifested, some wrapping around her, and others piercing right into her own body in a ghastly sight.


    She replaced her broken bones with her own chains just so that she could stand.


    There was a pumping determination in the depths of her heart. This battle, she refused to lose.


    How dare he¡­ how dare he look down on her in disappointment? That was something only she could do to others.


    Her eyes sharpened, her Heavenly Pupils sparking with life as her Dao descended from the skies in full force.


    "I won''t lose to someone who succumbed to their own weakness."

 Chapter 2217 - 2217: Tendrils

    Solara became a mass of chains, many coming into and ejecting out of her body. She had almost become a queen of arachnids, her chains lashing just as often as they became her legs.


    She lifted herself up into the air for only a moment before the world changed again.


    Chi.


    She felt as though her connection to her Dao was severed. All Ryu did was lift a finger and a beam of black cut at what looked like empty air.


    And then it was over.


    She had barely just risen again when she came crumbling back to the ground.


    Ryu had already been studying the passive form of her Dao. He had literally used it to rebuild his Inner World and refine [A God''s Brush]. Activating it now only made her even more vulnerable to him.


    The same echoes of disappointment thrummed in her mind, and there was nothing she could do to escape it this time, even if it was exactly what she wanted.


    Never did she think that the first time she unleashed her Dao into the world in so very many years would end like this. It didn''t even fully manifest; its might wasn''t even displayed to the world before its wings were unceremoniously clipped.


    Shattered.


    She collapsed to the ground, the echoes of a beast''s growl resounding in her ears. No, it felt more like a wounded beast backed into a corner. And yet, it was more than willing to fight for life with everything it had.


    And then it was over her.


    Ryu grabbed her throat and lifted her up. His grip was so tight that her already injured body almost shut down.


    His body should have been too weak to even begin to harm someone as powerful as she was. And yet, he had managed to do it without relying on his own fists at all.


    It truly was pathetic.


    Solara coughed, her feet dangling in the air. But she didn''t so much as reach for the hand on her throat.


    Another howl blew her hair back, and once again, she understood the words perfectly.


    I am the Heavens.


    Words that were arrogant beyond belief, and yet she couldn''t gather up the same disdain¡ªjust a laugh.


    "Maybe¡­ I should marry you, then¡­"


    It was nothing more than a joke, a joke at her own expense. When Ryu first appeared, she had said the Heavens was the only thing she would marry. Now, having lost to a man who claimed to be it, and feeling more pathetic than she ever had in her life, she said this.


    In reality¡­ she would rather die.


    As for Ryu, he didn''t even react to it as though he was entirely incapable of comprehending what she had said.


    "No¡­" Solara spoke out weakly once more, but she couldn''t resist.


    She was pulled into Ryu''s Inner World.


    He was entirely uninterested in killing her, not when she would make a Summon that was far better. Or maybe¡­ he would turn her into a Corpse Puppet.


    How good would that feel¡­ to take the granddaughter of the man who had tried to ruin his life and turn her into a slave?


    A savage grin spread across his face.


    He would be the Dome of the Heavens. His presence couldn''t be blasphemed, and all those that did¡­


    Would have to pay a dear price for it.


    His gaze shifted, landing on those familiar words on the obelisk once again. An equally familiar pressure washed over him.


    Ryu howled.


    ¡­


    BANG! BANG!


    The Divine Chain Ancestor was forced to take two heavy steps back, cursing as the barrier stopped him once again.


    He had far more power to use, but the Title Stele barrier was like its own paradox. The last time he broke it, the treasure had been in a state of dormancy, so he had been able to save his granddaughter.


    But this time, it was fully awake.


    If he used too much power, he would be blasted apart. But if he used too little power, he would be blasted back like this.


    There was probably a sweet spot he could find, but by the time he did, his granddaughter would be¡ª.


    The old man''s head snapped back. A zooming power over the distance caught all of his attention. For the moment, he even forgot about his granddaughter, his eyes sharpening.


    A beauty with fluttering golden hair and crimson eyes as dense as rubies coated in blood appeared, small beads of sweat falling from her brow like droplets of diamonds.


    The old man was floored by her beauty first, and then he became confused. Just what was such a powerhouse doing here? And how hard did such an existence have to push for them to look so¡­ tired?


    He was directly ignored. The beauty didn''t even look his way as though he wasn''t there, slamming into the barrier with a palm.


    BANG!


    Her arm exploded into a rain of blood, but she didn''t seem to notice at all as she slammed out with another. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A Fairie appeared above her shoulder, weaving its golden lights into her empty arm socket.


    BANG!


    Her other arm shattered, but her first had already grown back and she slammed out again.


    It was a continuous, vicious cycle, endless and relentless.


    The old man watched from the side, his pupils trembling.


    Injuries created by such a powerful treasure, especially one that controlled Fate, shouldn''t be even remotely so easy to heal. If they were, why would he just be sitting around here?


    "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"


    The beauty roared.


    The old man could feel that she was trying to close in on the sweet spot he had been looking for too. But the problem was¡­


    "¡­ It doesn''t exist," he spoke to himself softly.


    This wasn''t a normal treasure after all. There was no way to make it through.


    Tears flowed from the beauty''s eyes, a dense regret pooling out of her.


    Tendrils of black began to emit from her chest, her tears became howls.

 Chapter 2218 - 2218: Him

    Ryu''s intent gaze on the obelisk paused as he looked off into the distance. He only gave it a brief glance before he snorted, his gaze turning back to the obelisk.


    The density of darkness around him deepened and he released a growl. It couldn''t be seen, but veins popped up across his skin beneath the plumes of blackness. His strain increased considerably in a brief instant, but he stood there unmoved.


    He wouldn''t fall here. No one could stop him.


    He would rewrite everything if he had to.


    ¡­


    Ailsa felt something ripped out of her. The tendrils of darkness quickly accumulating vanished.


    The old man had accelerated into the distance, his eyes on full alert. He had been certain that something he didn''t want to be around for was happening, but then it suddenly vanished.


    Ailsa almost stumbled as though something that had a strong tug on her had let go.


    She stood in a daze, raising a palm to her chest as tears fell from her eyes.


    It was her fault, it was all her fault. What sort of wife was she?


    He was so stubborn, she knew exactly how stubborn he was, and yet she had still pushed him so far.


    Tears fell from her eyes even faster than before, sparking like stars as they fell through the endless darkness.


    ¡­


    Ryu ignored the world, staring at the Title before him. The pressure was only increasing once again, but he continued to force himself to stare.


    Nothing would stop him. Nothing at all.


    BANG!


    A figure burst through.


    Stumbling forward, Young Master Bright stepped onto the cloudy island, his intent burning. When he saw the black figure in the distance, he didn''t even know that it was Ryu. All he knew was that someone had actually gotten here ahead of him.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    One figure after another shot out. Yeger Sun, Young Master Shade, The Dragon Prince and Princess.


    Some looked more leisurely than others, but they all had gazes that landed on the black figure in the distance.


    Ryu didn''t seem to be paying attention to them at all, but they were also in great luck¡­ that was because his body was obscuring the words that might have otherwise crushed a large majority of them.


    And then¡­ his head tilted back.


    They didn''t recognize the face, the twisted maw, or the depths of darkness.


    But those eyes¡­ they were geniuses, they would never forget them.


    Ryu.


    Xalvador and a horde of Martial Gods burst through just as Ryu looked back. They recognized him immediately as well, but when they saw a striking lack of Solara, their hearts shook. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aurelia''s eyes were particularly wide. She probably knew better than them all just how powerful Solara was for reasons she would rather forget. Seeing only Ryu here¡­ she couldn''t understand what was happening either.


    Young Master Bright''s gaze flashed with a malevolent light. He took a step forward, an armor of illusory light, shimmering with the brightest of royal blues clinking and clanking into place on his body.


    Every piece came with the satisfying slap of metal.


    He raised his fists, gauntlets that seemed to descend from the Heavens themselves sliding into place just as a visor covered his eyes.


    He unleashed a roar.


    He didn''t care about anything else. Since Ryu was here, he would crush him.


    The pressure of a Dao Heart towering to the Heavens came from him.


    He stomped a foot and then surged forward. In the blink of an eye, his fist had appeared at Ryu''s twisted head.


    BANG!


    Ryu was sent flying back, his body slamming against the obelisk.


    Young Master Bright had already closed the distance, following so closely it almost looked as though he was flying along with Ryu.


    Ryu tilted his head to the side.


    BOOM!


    A shriek came from Young Master Bright''s lips as every bone in his arm shattered. He hadn''t held back in the slightest, and his knuckles cracked against the Title Stele, a reverberating impact sending him flying back.


    Or rather, it would have had Ryu not grabbed the collar of his armor.


    To his credit, Young Master Bright dismissed it with great speed, causing Ryu to only grab onto it briefly. But it was enough to stifle his momentum, and¡­


    SLAP.


    Ryu''s palm crossed Young Master Bright''s face. His skill was so high that his hand had already been moving after his first action. One would think that he was peering into the future.


    The War God Pupil wielder was sent sprawling into the distance, his body rotating, grinding, and flipping across the ground of rainbow clouds.


    Ryu took a step, space warping as he appeared just where Young Master Bright was about to stop. The young genius had only just been about to stop his momentum, and hadn''t even had a chance to unleash his fury for the slap, when a foot descended from above, slamming into his other cheek and grinding his face into the dirt.


    Ryu tried to crush his head, but Young Master Bright''s body was too powerful and his own had grown too weak by now. He simply couldn''t manage it.


    But the humiliation the War God Pupil wielder was experiencing was unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life.


    A roar came from his lips and a great amount of strength and pulsing qi sent Ryu rebounding into the distance.


    He flipped through the air, landing on his feet.


    There was an indifferent coldness in Ryu''s eyes, but it belied the almost manic howl that came from his maw.


    Tendrils of black split his mouth apart, ripples of darkness extended from his hands to form claws.


    Dragon''s Claw.


    His palm became as large as his body, sweeping out. There didn''t even seem to be a singular target.


    They were all his target.


    Since they had interrupted his meditation session, every single last one of them would have to die.


    Solara was right about one thing. They overestimated themselves too much, there was only room for one at the top.


    And it would be him.

 Chapter 2219 - 2219: Trash

    Ryu seemed to have completely lost his mind. Most were just standing by the sidelines, but he didn''t care for their intentions at all.


    Since they were here, wasting his time, ruining his comprehensions, every single last one of them could die.


    He didn''t care if only the best of the very best could make it up here. He didn''t care what their backgrounds were, or which of their Ancestors were watching right now. He didn''t even care that it might have been smarter to at least kill Young Master Bright first.


    Every single one of them was beneath his notice. Not a single one of them was worthy of standing before him. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Including the man who cared not to be named behind him.


    Frowns came from the various geniuses, clearly not expecting Ryu to take such an action either. But the current Ryu''s raw power was severely lacking, and he was attacking way too many of them at once.


    Under normal circumstances, if he targeted just one, they might have at least needed to put in a token effort. But this time¡­


    Their blades moved, and the Dragon Claw was shattered, dispersing through the air as though a child throwing a tantrum.


    However¡­


    The wave of power might have vanished, but what they didn''t expect was the secondary pulse that came afterward. It carried no power at all, but it sounded as though a Dragon had approached their ear, roaring into them and turning their minds to mush.


    Ryu had watched his father combine two Dragon Talents in the past. So by now¡­


    How couldn''t he have figured it out as well?


    Dragon''s Roar.


    Even the Dragon Prince and Princess were shaken by the change. They had access to the talent as well, but they had never seen it used in this way, and there was something about Ryu''s Dragon''s Roar¡­


    It wasn''t just the Emperor status of the Fire Dragon they seemed to be reminded of, their Dragon Bloodlines almost bowing in obedience¡­ it was the fury of the Rage Flames¡­


    It wasn''t just the might of an Emperor descending; it was his unholy rain of judgment from above.


    It wasn''t normal by any means.


    And that was because Ryu had combined the Fire Dragon''s Fury Against the Heavens with the Lightning Qilin''s Judgment.


    Who cared for the rules of the Heavens? He would rewrite them all.


    The geniuses froze, and Ryu completely ignored Young Master Bright, appearing high above the Dragon Princess and smashing down a fist.


    Tendrils of darkness wrapped around his arm expanded, and his fist became as large as their kilometer-long heads.


    He smashed down with a mighty tempest.


    BANG!


    The Dragon Princess snapped out of it at the last moment, but it was already too late to dodge.


    Her jaw smashed against the rainbow-clouded ground, her jaw shattering to pieces and her own teeth running through one another, piercing delicate flesh and bone.


    Ryu didn''t have the raw power to do this. His body was too weak right now, but he had angled his punch just right, forcing the jaw of the Dragon Princess to shift slightly out of alignment¡­ just enough that her row of sharp teeth punctured through herself.


    She was heavily injured in an instant. Her skull was just fine after the impact of Ryu''s fist, but her maw had become a mangled mess of flesh and blood.


    The Dragon Prince unleashed a howl of fury.


    BANG!


    Ryu was batted out of the air by a tail. It was so large and looming that it felt almost as though a moon had crashed into him. There was simply nowhere to dodge, even the wind pressure almost shattered the bones of his body.


    He was sent flying into the distance, crashing into an invisible barrier.


    It was a barrier that he could have allowed to phase right through him, one that he could have used as a passageway to leave and exit this overwhelming battle.


    And yet, it was one he used all his intention to force to remain intact, withstanding the full force of the blow.


    His body almost completely shattered on impact, but it was the almost sticky, tar-like blackness that coated his body that kept him together.


    His own maw snapped open, and despite the size difference, he roared right back at the Dragon Prince, the echoes and reverberating masses of their formed sound waves crashing in the air.


    Space collapsed and distorted, twisting masses of the fabric of reality bending and deforming beneath the echoes.


    And then Ryu suddenly grabbed at the air. As though his claws sank into space itself, it latched into it and then pulled down.


    The distortions in the air were all calculated by his mind.


    Two peaks could combine and multiply. A peak and a trough canceled each other out. Ryu lined up all the peaks as though the world was nothing but a blank canvas for him to draw on.


    And then he snapped his arms to the side, his torso flexing and his body rotating.


    His and the Dragon Prince''s sound waves fused into one and then compressed into a single large cannon that blasted against the beast Prince''s head.


    BANG!


    It was as though the Dragon Prince was flattened in a single instant of time. The concentrated waves of two Dragon Roars were compressed into a single wave.


    His golden scales were peeled off, the length of his maw compressed against the rest of his skull. The sickening sound of bone being crushed and deformed filled the skies.


    The body of a Dragon was so impossibly powerful that it was difficult to fathom. The sound of them shattering, as such, felt like they were listening to celestial bodies falling from the skies.


    Ryu stomped a foot in the air, surging forward.


    The black tar that coated his body began to redden as though masses of magma were pumping beneath its surface. Veins and pulses of magma rippled across his body.


    And then another Dragon roared. This one sounded like it came from a distance. Not just a distance of space, but also one of time, echoing across the annals of history.


    The reverberating impact made the blood of the two Dragons grow cold, buried secrets they had long forgotten surfacing in their blood.


    The true Emperor of the Dragons, the one that stood above them all.


    Their eyes, blurring, looked into the skies to find a scarred face covered in red scales, carrying a crown of bone and horns extending out from its body. This crown wasn''t an external item but rather a formation of its skeleton, rising out from its skull as though it was born to rule over all.


    The mighty momentum of a Dragon. The Dragon Emperor. The Fire Dragon.


    Its illusion flickered in the skies until it suddenly solidified as though pulled through the stream of time.


    Ryu opened his maw once again, the accumulation of flames and fires within him forming into a mass of raging crimson that flickered like the solar flares of a red star.


    Dragon''s Breath.


    PA.


    The sound was almost out of place, almost as though something that had been in place had suddenly been popped out, forced, pushed out, and replaced by something far mightier.


    There was no choice other than to die.


    The Dragon Prince and Princess pair were enveloped, their bodies unable to move, their heads beaten and mangled, their pride crushed into the very roots of the ground.


    BOOM!


    It was the sort of impact that didn''t seem to have a sound at first¡­ until the world suddenly gave up trying to suppress it. It rippled out in all directions, the suffocating impact of compressed, fiery air causing even many of the geniuses present to retreat.


    Ryu stood in the skies, allowing the pillar of fire that rose out from the ground to envelop him as though it didn''t count for much of anything¡­ as though he feared nothing.


    By the time the flames flickered out and dimmed, there was nothing left of the two Dragons but a pair of Dao Bones and Beast Crystals.


    Ryu waved a hand, and his mass of blackness enveloped them, swallowing them whole. They and their auras vanished from the air.


    BANG!


    Young Master Bright''s face was stomped into the ground once again.


    He didn''t even realize how it happened. Ryu had just been in the skies, and he had been standing in the far-off distance. When had Ryu appeared above him, and when had his cheek been ground into the dirt again?


    His eyes bulged with fury, but Ryu was already gone, appearing before Yeger Sun, a slap resonating across the world.


    Yeger tried to raise his saber to block, but it was meaningless.


    Ryu howled, and the translation was beamed to all of their minds once again.


    Trash.


    The eyes of all the geniuses by Young Master Shade''s bulged with fury.


    He wasn''t taking any one of them seriously.

 Chapter 2220 - 2220: Useless

    Ryu seemed to toy with Yeger Sun. The Fiend tried his best to keep up, using his two sabers to block and attack, looking for openings.


    But it was useless.


    Yeger had already escaped Ryu once before during the Godblade Title Battle, knowing that he would be at a disadvantage because Ryu already understood his battle style.


    He thought that outside of that Title Battle, he would be able to make a great difference, using his other abilities to bridge the gap. At least back then, he hadn''t truly gone all out with things¡ªit hadn''t been time yet.


    But even when he brought out his full host of abilities, it was like it didn''t matter. Ryu saw through them and countered them as though he had already seen it all before.


    Recalling the battle he had just seen against the Dragons, Yeger realized that Ryu had somehow transitioned to an even higher state of comprehension.


    It was then his eyes widened.


    He had been so focused on the things happening around him that he couldn''t see the bigger picture. What was this overwhelming, suffocating aura? Why was it that he felt like there was an enormous umbrella above their heads?


    He couldn''t figure it out, but Ryu could surely tell him.


    That umbrella was his Breath of Quintessence State of Meditation. Since the very start, he had never dismissed it.


    But that was the real reason for his boost in comprehension¡­ the real reason was thanks to Solara. Who asked her to give him pieces of her Sovereign Tribulation so that he could improve his third eye once again?


    He wasn''t just seeing comprehension through the present anymore. He was seeing it through prisms of the past and the future. His mind was on a level they couldn''t even begin to fathom, and against opponents like these¡­


    He could practically see the future. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seven more moves. In seven more moves he would take Yeger Sun''s head.


    The premonition seemed to Yeger as well. It wasn''t that he could see the future; instead, it was the echoes of a warrior''s intuition. He could feel his loss coming, his imminent death.


    He had never felt like this before in his life, even when his three elements were rampaging in his body. Everyone assumed that he would die back then, but he had always survived, had always found a way to make it through, to strive forward in ways others couldn''t fathom and accomplish what they thought he couldn''t.


    But this time¡­ it was like an unsurmountable mountain, a powerful pressure that descended from above like a God rewriting the laws of the world.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Three fists landed on Yeger''s chest in quick succession, slipping through his twin sabers as though they didn''t exist at all.


    The wind pressure of two of them seamlessly combined their own peaks and troughs, parrying one of his blades just enough that its edge only barely nicked the edge of Ryu''s neck.


    It was a level of combat and calculation that Yeger couldn''t even fathom. It didn''t feel like Ryu was battling against opponents of his own level at all. It was more like a martial arts instructor playing around with children.


    How was it even possible to use wind pressure alone to do such a thing unless he knew exactly what trajectory his blade would take?


    But he had attacked first. That was the only reason he could land three blows before his one¡­ and that one missed miserably.


    These thoughts flashed through Yeger''s head, his mind spinning as he realized just how inferior he was. There was no catching up to his sort of monster; there was no way that he could bridge this sort of gap, no way that he could hope to beat him.


    The echoes of a Dragon''s Roar filled his ears again and his Dao Heart almost shattered.


    Almost.


    "No."


    His voice was almost too soft given the occasion. But for Yeger, it might as well have been a roar of his own.


    There was a shuddering, and his voice clapped like his own personal thunder.


    "You''ve all remembered what he said!" Yeger roared. "If you don''t work together now, you can forget about getting your Titles today. We will all die one by one. If you do not overwhelm his ability to calculate with numbers and variations, it doesn''t matter how weak his body becomes!"


    Yeger called out, his senses having already picked up on the enraged Young Master Bright. The young man hadn''t said anything, but Ryu stomping on his face again and again was like a kernel firing in his gut right now.


    He had been chasing after them the whole time, but Ryu kept bending and twisting space, disorienting him and not allowing him to get close.


    So after yelling out to everyone else, pretending as though he wanted to rely on them to save him, Yeger changed his tactics.


    He attacked again. But this time, he aimed for a shift in the spatial nodes.


    Young Master Bright finally broke through with his hold, and things almost flipped on their heads.


    It felt like down was up and up was down for a moment. Yeger was confused, and Young Master Bright, who had only just gotten close, almost went in the completely wrong direction before he stopped and realized that something must be wrong.


    Yeger reacted on instinct, swinging out his blades to his back.


    BANG!


    A fist came from his front. He hadn''t even noticed that he accidentally attacked from the front instead of where he thought he was going.


    Another slap rang across his face and he was stomped down from above. His chest caved in and he coughed up mouthfuls of blood.


    What was happening? Where was Young Master Bright? Wasn''t he supposed to be helping?


    Yeger couldn''t understand.


    BANG! BANG!


    His ears rang as two fists slammed against the sides of his head. The world overturned and the shattering of his inner ear made him feel like he was trapped in a tunnel of howling wind.


    Thunder clapped and a punch ran into his gut. His body curled and he almost let go of his sabers¡ªthe power he was experiencing now was worse than he had in his entire life. It wasn''t the strength that was the problem; it was the gap in understanding.


    But as the seventh and final blow descended from above, he seemed to finally understand.


    ''What a¡­ monster¡­''


    BANG!


    The energies in Yeger''s body reversed and a scene that he had avoided all his life unfolded.


    They said that Fiends were supposed to be free and clear after they reached the Lord Realm, that even if they were born with more than one element, things would be too stable to go wrong after the fact.


    And that was true.


    Unless there was outside interference.


    Much like the Dragons before him, Yeger was too powerful for Ryu to kill with the current state of his body. Instead, he used Yeger''s own body to kill him.


    He died just as pitifully as the Dragon Prince and Princess.


    Ryu landed on the ground, Young Master Bright''s face beneath his feet again. He pushed down, squishing his cheek and grinding his heel in.


    Yeger Sun was right about just how much Ryu understood his techniques, but he had underestimated him by the sheer amount.


    Ryu didn''t just understand his attack patterns; he understood his entire chain and meridian system.


    The spatial nodes that Ryu was creating weren''t just so powerful because of randomness¡ªthey quite literally followed the patterns of Yeger''s Meridians.


    When Yeger attacked to help Young Master Bright make it through to attack Ryu in unison, the result was his qi pouring into what was effectively his own Meridian chain system.


    Normally this would be fine, except for the fact Ryu took control of the qi after the fact, forcing it to flow in reverse.


    What were Meridians if not formations? They contained the secrets of the universe, and it was through Meridians that many techniques, formations, and cultivation methods were birthed.


    This was an inescapable fact.


    Yeger poured his own qi into a Meridian system identical to his own, yet not under his control. And the worst part was that it was Spatial Qi as well, making the process seamless and hard to detect.


    By the time Yeger understood what was happening, it was too late.


    The Meridians in his body had synced with the formation in the outside world. He had spent so long learning how to control his three elements so that they didn''t crash and burn against one another¡­


    Only for Ryu to force exactly that to happen.


    The Fiend could only smile bitterly before his body exploded. He combusted from the inside out, his chest expanding and then imploding.


    Before he could affect Ryu, though, he was sucked away by a mysterious force, vanishing.


    Ryu only observed this for a while before he disappeared.


    BOOM!


    The formation of spatial nodes Young Master Bright was trapped within exploded as well.

 Chapter 2221 - 2221: What it Means

    Ryu''s aura seethed. He was by far the weakest on the battlefield, and yet his stamina felt endless, his bag of tricks even more unfathomable.


    It didn''t seem like he thought of things in advance. His mind was just sharper, his thoughts quicker, his confidence unflappable.


    He didn''t care about charging into battle without a thought or care in the world. He didn''t need a plan before he acted; he was confident to the point of arrogance.


    These so-called geniuses, these pinnacle existences that stood atop the world, that had refined their skills for centuries, pampered by the best teachers, the best techniques, the best resources¡­


    It only took him a glance to see through their weaknesses.


    The explosions to Ryu''s back calmed to reveal the visage of a beaten and bloodied Young Master Bright. His armor was chipped in countless places, his body leaking blood caked in flakes of gold.


    It looked as though they were watching a god bleed ruby and gold, almost as though liquid so precious shouldn''t be shed at all.


    He stumbled but caught himself before he collapsed. Looking at Ryu in the distance, there was a seething rage in his gut, but it had become impossibly calm, the sort of focused will and intention that concentrated his qi until it was as heavy as metal and pure as ice.


    Young Master Bright clenched his fists, his armor slowly reforming as he poured more and more qi into them. With a clink, a new visor slipped over his face.


    Even now, though, Ryu didn''t look back at him.


    They still hadn''t learned their lesson.


    Young Master Shade seemed to show that he still had no intention of interfering. There were a few shadowy figures in the distance that seemed to be black horses most were shocked had even made it up here. And then there were the Martial Gods, or what remained of them.


    Without Solara, they seemed to have huddled around Xalvador. The mere fact so many of them could make it up here painted its own very obvious picture, but what did that have to do with Ryu?


    Steam came from Ryu''s maw. His body had long hit its limits, but he kept pressing past it. There was no one that could decide his limits but himself. Even his own body didn''t have the right to draw that line.


    The steam coming from his maw sparked, flames spontaneously combusted as a silence fell over the battlefield.


    The words he had spoken earlier still reverberated in their minds, pulling on their pride and plucking at their heartstrings.


    If they didn''t work together, he would kill them one by one. As they fought over their pride, they would find those they thought to stand equal to them, or maybe just a mere half-step below, falling one after another¡­ until there were none of them left.


    They all knew what they had to do. But none seemed willing to be the first to make the choice, almost like doing so would be admitting defeat.


    Then Ryu grinned.


    Savage, dismissive, uncaring for his state or theirs. It was a grin that was disdainful of each and every single one of them.


    Then, he looked off into the distance. He seemed to be able to see through the layers of the Heavens, ignoring them all until he landed on a woman with tears streaking down her cheeks.


    Undefeatable, indomitable, a man who stood at the pinnacle of the world.


    That was what he would be.


    His women would be the most carefree people in this world.


    None here truly seemed to understand just how much he stood by these words. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If not for Hope and his child, he would have gained another Realm Heart.


    If not for Ailsa, this Heart Demon wouldn''t be nearly so powerful or suppressive. He wouldn''t have rushed himself and he wouldn''t have to waste so much of his soul strength suppressing what was happening to his Dao Heart.


    If not for Sarriel, he wouldn''t be so heavily injured in the first place. Even if he set that aside, he had thought of seven different ways to use her to complete his third eye, none of which he had even considered using because of their implications.


    He had his own principles, his own way of viewing the world.


    Standing at the top of the world wasn''t just a flex of power to him. It was what it represented that meant the most to him, what had always meant the most.


    To give his parents what they wanted, his grandparents, his wives, himself, his future children.


    When that was taken from him in his first life, he did everything he could to be useful, but was it ever truly for himself? How much effort did he put into mutating and improving his parents'' Spiritual Foundations? How much effort had he put into finding the lost Shrines to revive the Ice Phoenix Clan to its former glory? How much wealth and prosperity had he bought to his four maternal and paternal Clans?


    Even to this day, had there ever been another person to come up with a method to evolve a Spiritual Foundation? But he had done it as a mortal, using the library of an inferior world, with nothing more than the most basic form of his Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to rely on.


    The savage grin on Ryu''s face grew wider.


    From the days he was his weakest, to this very day where he stood at his strongest even while half-crippled, he had always striven for the top.


    He was the umbrella that would cover his family, his wives, his children, from all the storms the Heavens could throw at them. He would be his own Dome of the Heavens.


    CHI.


    Veins of blue began to appear across Ryu''s blackened flames.


    Veins of red-gold followed suit, a growl etched in black appearing above his head.


    Go.


    Sensing Ryu improve again, they couldn''t hold themselves back any longer.


    They surged.

 Chapter 2222 - 2222: Approach

    Ryu raised his head to the skies, unleashing a howl that blanketed everything.


    The air seemed to freeze, black wings of tar extending out from his back. But then they too were encased in beautiful Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns.


    No one seemed to notice that these Heavenly Patterns weren''t coming from Ryu''s Bloodlines. He had none left in his body. For a long while now, he had been completely bone dry. Even his bone marrow itself had turned to nothing more than ash in his body.


    When he said that it was a miracle that he was even standing right this moment, it couldn''t have been more true.


    These Patterns¡­ they came from a very different place.


    Ryu''s Dao Heart pressed onto the world, his Control reaching a state these geniuses couldn''t fathom.


    This world was his to control.


    "Come."


    A gravelly voice filled with the menace of an abyss of killing intent filled the air, blooming forth like waves of black wind.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    Ryu spun, blocking a blow from Bright. His forearm rattled, but a shattering impact that should have ripped him apart formed scales of ice in the air instead.


    He was still sent blowing back, but Bright forcefully shook his gauntlet, wasting a split moment shaking the ice off.


    There was a change in the air, and Ryu felt the blow coming before even his Spiritual Quintessence picked up on it.


    A sword. Sharp, fast, heavy¡ªswirling with a might that gathered all the qi for kilometers and concentrated it into a single edge.


    Elena''s mother.


    If not for Elena, all of the Martial Gods would long be dead.


    The wild grin on Ryu''s face grew wider. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He loved it. Challenge him more. Press him into an even smaller corner. Try to bury him beneath your techniques and your spirit, your Dao Hearts and your qi, your cultivation methods and your confidence.


    He wanted it all.


    Even in the face of it all, he would do things as he pleased.


    The blade passed right through him, cutting into the tar-like flames that covered his body. Or so it seemed.


    The tar deformed, the blade entering so sharply it split Ryu down his collarbone and chest, even aiming toward his hip.


    But then it suddenly bounced back.


    Ryu''s split body rebounded, the tar still covering what should have likely been a gaping wound.


    But he hardly had the chance to recover before Elena''s father and stepmother acted.


    Ryu laughed into the skies. "Who told you that you could live?"


    It felt like a demon was speaking down from the clouds above, a contradictory dichotomy that played with their hearts and psyches alike.


    Ryu''s wings flapped once as though he had only just now remembered he had them.


    He had watched the entire battle between Sarriel and Aurelia. He knew her battle style like the back of his hand. How could she possibly hit him so easily?


    That went doubly so for Xalvador, who he had fought personally.


    So how was it that right after Aurelia''s blow connected, Xalvador''s came next, slicing into him? In fact, it almost looked as though Ryu had thrown himself into the blade.


    Xalvador''s expression changed, feeling that something was definitely wrong. But it was too late to do anything.


    The red-gold Heavenly Patterns on Ryu''s body could have only possibly come from one creature.


    The Emperor Phoenix.


    The sword qis of the husband and wife pair were torn out of Ryu''s body, pulsing through the patterns in the tar-like blackness until they suddenly formed at Ryu''s palm.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s hand landed on Leander''s chest.


    Elena''s stepmother''s eyes only opened wide for a brief moment, her last thoughts of wonder. Just how was it¡­ that she had died so easily? She wasn''t that much weaker than Xalvador and Aurelia¡­


    ''Oh¡­''


    She only finally realized it the instant before she exploded into a rain of blood.


    Ryu hadn''t killed them because he couldn''t. He hadn''t killed Aurelia and Xalvador because he didn''t want to.


    BOOM!


    "LEANDER!" Xalvador roared, his expression cracking to give way to grief and rage.


    SLAP.


    The echo of a palm crossing his face resounded through the world.


    "Losing your cool in the middle of battle. I could have taken your head ten different times. You call yourself a genius? You only live because of your daughter."


    "FATHER!"


    In the far-off distance, the few Martial Gods that hadn''t moved held Elena''s little brother back.


    Ryu only flicked a finger, a solid block of wind hitting the young man in the gut so hard he keeled over.


    Xalvador clenched his fists hard, blood seeping over the hilt of his sword.


    "What? Are you very angry? Do something about it, then."


    A sharp wind came from behind Ryu.


    "Stay down."


    Ryu vanished, appearing behind the soaring Young Master Bright and grabbed a hold of the top of his head.


    All of Young Master Bright''s momentum seemed to be ripped out of his control, his body veering through the air as his head was sent smashing into the ground¡­


    Again.


    By now, he had attacked too many times. Ryu saw through his patterns, and that was that¡ªthis idiot had none at all. He relied so heavily on his Heavenly Pupils that he fought on nothing more than instinct.


    Because of this, Young Master Bright''s Dao wasn''t directly related to combat at all, but was more of an auxiliary ability used to strengthen his body by proxy. It was part of the reason he had survived the explosion in the first place.


    He was a healer. Killing him would be as difficult as killing a cockroach, but it only seemed appropriate.


    In that case, Ryu would take a completely different approach.


    "Do you know why I keep humiliating you like this?" Ryu asked, bending down as he pressed Young Master Bright''s head into the ground. "It''s because you annoyed me. Honestly, I don''t want you to die so soon. So how about you stick around to watch how I achieve what you wanted your entire life?"


    Young Master Bright released a roar of absolute rage, but it was the clapping of someone else that cut the tension one more.


    "Not bad, not bad," Young Master Shade''s voice echoed.

 Chapter 2223 - 2223: Home

    Ryu didn''t even look at him. He wasn''t interested in what Young Master Shade wanted to say. If he wanted to attack, then attack¡­


    As far as Ryu was concerned, everyone here was an annoyance. Other than the ones he consciously chose to spare, the rest would all die.


    Every single last one of them.


    Including Young Master Shade.


    Ryu''s arms flashed and he was already punching forward before there were any changes to the region around him at all.


    A bony arm wrapped in chains appeared from empty space.


    "You really should pay attention while I''m¡ª."


    BANG!


    A fist slammed into Young Master Shade''s back. He was sent flying into the distance, his body rebounding across the ground.


    "You''re the weakest of them all," Ryu said coldly, still not quite looking at Young Master Shade directly. "I''m not sure where your arrogance comes from, but your Dao Heart is volatile and weak, and your body shifts between corporeal and incorporeal not for some cool effect, but because you have no ability to properly control yourself at all.


    "You bit off more than you could chew, stepping onto a path you''re too weak to follow, but somehow you think that gives you the right to be arrogant."


    Young Master Shade''s pupils constricted before the flesh on his face vanished once again, revealing the skeleton beneath.


    Then he grinned, a savage grin lacking even the slightest hint of humanity.


    "But that means that you have the solution."


    "I do," Ryu replied, his hands slowly coming together to form a seal. "I''ll give it to you. Just obediently become a Summon."


    Young Master Shade was stunned for a moment before he laughed uproariously. Why would he take such a path if not for avoiding this precisely? He might look like he was in a ridiculous state, but that was only to Ryu''s eyes.


    The fact that Ryu could see through this didn''t make him more apprehensive. If anything, it made him more excited. That meant if he could capture Ryu, his path to the peak would be completed.


    The Demon slowly stabilized his body, but then he froze.


    Ryu formed a second seal, and then slowly formed a third. There seemed to be a pressure trying to keep his hands from coming together, but he only continued to move.


    By the fourth seal, their combination caused a clap of air to collapse space around his palms and fingers.


    Young Master Shade couldn''t even move anymore, his teeth gritting against one another as he tried to pull himself out.


    But he seemed to have been forcefully snapped into his Skeleton King form and he couldn''t come out of it no matter how he tried.


    "Mixing the path of Demon and Faerie. You tried to become a Quibus Faerie and contract yourself, gaining the ability to perfectly control your Dao Path and lord over Death itself.


    "It''s an interesting path. You''re just not smart enough to use it properly, and you don''t have nearly the talent you need to execute something like that.


    "To others, you''re powerful. To me, you''ve always been an ant never worth my attention."


    The sixth seal formed.


    "ARE YOU ALL JUST GOING TO STAND THERE?!" Young Master Shade roared.


    The seventh seal seemed to rewind time, and the Demon''s voice echoed again, falling into an abyss of nothingness.


    "I already told you what would happen. Why you, as a Demon, think you can stand before a Summoning Necromancer and keep your life is beyond me. Obediently yield."


    The eighth seal formed and Shade fell to the ground, his body convulsing.


    He could feel that it was over. There was nothing that he could do at all.


    It was then, when Ryu was slowly forming the ninth seal, his forearms and wrists trembling in an attempt to keep his fingers straight and true, that a figure moved.


    A black shadow, shrouded in a cloak that seemed deeply entrenched into the very bounds of space themselves, closed the distance in the blink of an eye, slamming out a bony palm toward Ryu''s back.


    Ryu''s maw opened, a sneer painting his face. As savage as Shade''s grin had been earlier, this was even more so. Shade might have been a demon, but at this moment, picking between the two, there was only one devil present.


    And it was Ryu Tatsuya.


    Ryu continued to press his fingers together, and all at once, the pressure on Shade vanished into thin air. Then it formed over the man behind him.


    BANG! sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The pressure descended from the skies.


    BOOM!


    The figure was driven into the ground. It was only a brief instant before they broke free, their shadowy figure vanishing into motes of blackness that reformed in the distance, but that brief instant was enough for Ryu to grab out.


    There was a tearing sound through the air. The pressure had already shattered the cloak of the figure, but that wasn''t Ryu''s real aim.


    A rattling filled the air and a figure was ripped out. Chains of blackness and foggy darkness filled the air, each lashing carrying the howls of souls and the dispirited air of Bad Karma.


    And then came the wall of crimson.


    A hoofed steed with a majestic mane and arrogant disposition manifested.


    The once cloaked figure reached out, trying to grab at one of the chains, but it was too late. The delay in its escape ripped it out of striking distance.


    Ryu grabbed out, grabbing one himself and pulling.


    The crimson steed bucked, rage and fury coming from it as it lashed out against everything and anyone.


    Ryu''s arm was almost ripped from its socket. He didn''t even have much strength left in him.


    The steed''s bucking and whining were enough to destroy worlds, its stomps cratering space itself. Every buck was like another smashing fist against Ryu''s body.


    But Ryu held on.


    At the same time, the dissipating seal energy in the air seemed to converge once again.


    "Come home, Nemesis."


    There was a calm rumble to Ryu''s voice.

 Chapter 2224 - 2224: Make it Harder

    Ryu''s methods weren''t things that others could wrap their heads around. But to him, they came like free-flowing spring water. Calm, unhurried, and exactly when he needed them.


    When he saw Shade in the past, he knew that there was a chance.


    A genius as arrogant as Shade would know of the weakness of his Race and have no desire to fall into it. The reason he was the best, and the reason the Demons only sent a single one of their kind, was because he was not only the best of the very best, but also because he was the only one that couldn''t be so easily captured by Necromancers.


    Shade had given up everything to gain a path of Faeries to add to himself. Because of that, he had been able to resist all attempts to contract him in his lifetime. In fact, he had made all those that attempted to do so suffer fates worse than even death.


    However, his method was imperfect. Much like Sarriel, he hadn''t managed a full merge, and quite a lot like Selheira, he was struggling with combining two such different paths as well.


    But it was precisely because Ryu had seen this so many times in those close to him that he recognized it immediately.


    He knew someone followed an unfocused path when he saw it.


    But he also knew something else.


    What were the odds that his main target was a Quibus controlling his Demon partner as well?


    While it looked like he was using a unique sealing method for a man combined with the Path of a Faerie, instead, he was really planning on countering a Quibus and sealing a very familiar Demon.


    When the seal shattered the first time, all Silent Quibus had done was break the exterior, shattering the pieces meant to counter a Quibus.


    And all that was left in the middle were the runes perfectly designed to pull a demon into submission.


    Would the seal have worked to suppress Shade? Yes, it would have. But that was part of the brilliance of it.


    Ryu had formed a trap that would have worked out in his favor no matter the situation.


    And now.


    Nemesis came to a heeled stop, his head looming large over Ryu.


    The aura of a Sovereign radiated outside, but seemingly suppressed by something, the Title Stele didn''t react to it at all.


    All of a sudden, it seemed that Ryu was in control of the most powerful existence on the battlefield.


    "Go rest," Ryu said softly.


    Nemesis lowered his head, plumes of hatred and other emotions coming out in waves.


    And then, he vanished.


    Ryu stood there in silence for a moment. Was it selfish of him to not allow Nemesis a chance at revenge? Maybe in part.


    But today, he had long made his decision.


    He had countless trump cards he could use. His army of Summons was easily the strongest among Lords now. And yet, he had never had the intention to summon even one of them.


    Today, he would force the world into submission with his own hands. That was his promise to himself.


    Ryu looked toward Silent Quibus, a rage he had buried deep within his heart bubbling forth.


    Standing there, without his cover¡­ the Faerie looked¡­ small.


    Compared to the others on the battlefield, even the women, he had the smallest stature and the slightest frame. But there was a devilishness in those small eyes, that pale skin, that existed on a plane of its own.


    It was evil incarnate, savage and unrelenting, but somehow also emotionless.


    And Ryu didn''t care at all.


    Most who saw this gaze cowered. The weakest suffered severe damage or even collapse of their Dao Heart immediately. Even the strongest would feel discomfort and a willingness to avoid if the opportunity was given.


    He was the sort of man who would clear a table at a restaurant with his presence alone, the sort of scourge that birds fell silent before and the wind chilled against.


    All Ryu saw was a target. A target that would fall very soon.


    A man that had enslaved his companion. A fool who saw it fit to go after his wife. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had thought a lot about exactly how he would kill Silent Quibus. Even standing before him now, Ryu hadn''t quite decided.


    He realized then that when he put his intelligence toward such a thing, the number of twisted things that he could come up with were truly endless.


    But he didn''t move.


    No one moved.


    Shade was still gasping on the ground, his Dao Heart seemingly on the verge of collapse after everything he had built it on was on the verge of crumbling.


    But on a battlefield as cruel as this one, he seemed to be easily forgotten.


    For all intents and purposes, it looked as though Ryu had already claimed his victory. The Martial God''s best had already collapsed while the others didn''t dare to move. The representative of the Fiends had collapsed, the beasts were done, the Demon prince genius was on the verge of collapsing, Bright couldn''t hold a candle to him¡­


    It seemed as though the end result was obvious, now. There was only one man worthy to stand at the top, only one man that ever would.


    Every battle Ryu won was like another weight on their hearts and soul, suffocating them to the greatest extent.


    But then¡­ the aura of a Dao God began to spread.


    Silent Quibus didn''t even look over as though he had already expected this much. There was a calmness in his eyes that had never shifted.


    Ryu only gave the figure a glance, the shift in his eyes hardly registering at all. He could see through their cloaks as though they had never been there in the first place.


    Iam.


    The two figures stood apart, and yet the auras of Silent Quibus and Iam might as well have been linked into one.


    But Ryu''s aura bristled just the same.


    To him, the challenge didn''t matter at all. In fact, make it harder, make it more difficult, give him more.


    It was only in this way that he could establish his True Dao, a Title to reign through the ages.


    His wings spread out, space shattering like glass.


    His hands shot out right afterward, grabbing onto two shards as though they were blades.


    "Come die."

 Chapter 2225 - 2225: Monsters

    Ryu''s Dao Heart seemed to echo through the skies, but the state of his body painted a very different picture. He looked like a flickering candle about to go out at any moment, an ant that could be crushed with the slightest breeze, a cultivator that had long been devoured by his own desires, his very own darkness.


    And yet, those here had long since given up on trying to paint him in that light. They stood in place with hardly any control over themselves.


    Many of them had already let their apprehension and fear eat them alive. In Ryu''s presence, even if they normally wouldn''t have made any mistake at all, they would certainly do so now.


    This was the pressure of facing someone you thought was perfect, someone you thought to have the entire world in the palm of their hands¡­


    Someone willing to face off against the aura of a Dao God and not even question the Title Stele behind about how this could possibly be allowed.


    He didn''t care about fairness or unfairness, he didn''t care about the mountain he had to climb or the sort of corner he was being painted into.


    All he wanted was a battle to prove himself.


    Not to the Heavens.


    Not to his Clan or even his wives.


    But to himself.


    He was the man he had always thought himself to be, the man he had dreams of being, the cultivator that could hold up the skies with a palm and stabilize the earth with a step.


    He was ¡ª.


    A booming roar of thunder echoed in Ryu''s mind, blood spurting out of him from what were seemingly fountains of nothingness. The Heavens seemed to be targeting his very Blood Essence itself, forcing him to leak out whatever semblance of life he even remotely had left.


    And then he moved as though he couldn''t sense it.


    If they didn''t want to come to him, he would come to them.


    Ryu seemed to lose the ability to speak once more, a manic howl coming from his lips.


    Heavenly Patterns, once beautiful and shimmering in delicate hues, became more akin to cancerous growths around him, gripping onto the air and the fabric of reality, pulsing into them, and releasing a shuddering, menacing air.


    They corrupted Life and even Death itself, pulling at their edges and twisting them into something entirely new.


    Ryu completely ignored Iam, appearing before Silent Quibus with a claw that grew to the size of the Faerie''s body.


    BANG!


    Silent Quibus moved, his body becoming illusory as it slipped into the Ethereal Plane. Space folded and his steps accelerated.


    Unlike Iam, Silent Quibus had regressed his cultivation. As such, he was truly at the Lord Realm.


    Of course, compared to other Lords, he had touched the edges of the God Realm, so his strength was still on a completely different level. His body had also been tempered by Sovereign Qi in the past, so he was much more difficult to harm by extension.


    However, he was still susceptible nonetheless. After seeing Ryu''s methods and strength, while he was confident, it wasn''t to the point of taking him lightly.


    There was a calm reassurance to his expression, though, as he slipped away seamlessly. The layers and complexities of his methods would be far beyond these kids. Ryu, even with his eyes, wouldn''t be able to see through him so easily¡ª.


    A slap rang across Silent Quibus'' face, a shin slamming against the block of his elbow in his hip in quick succession, before a claw ripped through the robes and skin of his chest.


    The Faerie managed to arch his back and dodge at the last moment, Ryu''s series of combos so quick that he was sent flying diagonally to the side.


    The chilliness in Silent Quibus'' eyes remained the same as he somersaulted through the air. His calm gaze looked down at his chest and bruised arm when he landed on his feet.


    He really shouldn''t try to get into a close combat battle. He was a Faerie, after all. Unfortunately, the only Corpse Puppets of his main lineup that he could summon were Nemesis. But now the steed had been taken from him and so easily at that.


    That pissed Silent Quibus off a bit, but he could only blame himself for his own failures.


    And¡­ how could he come here so ill-prepared? He would never be.


    Swirls of darkness appeared around Silent Quibus, one portal after another beginning to appear. Monsters that could have only come from the sick, twisted nightmares of a madman began to step out one after another.


    Ogres with their skulls sewn together, a pair of women that had chains bolting their swinging breasts now and their necks twisted to the side, men that had iron balls hanging from their crotches, dragging them along with every step they took¡­


    It was a sight that was hard to describe and accept even for those that weren''t of the faint of heart.


    But if one looked closely, one after another, it would be possible to recognize these monsters.


    These were geniuses¡­ geniuses that the world had lost track of long ago. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Each and every one had once had a bright future, and now they were out for the world to see, out for the world to understand just how tragically each and every one of them had died.


    A female Corpse Puppet with her jaw hanging by a single long ligament reached forward, ripping the spine out of an ogre that was easily three times her height.


    With a screech that could make the strongest of heroes'' hearts itch with goosebumps, she swung the blood mass like a whip right at Ryu''s head.


    There was a shift in the air, space warping and yet obediently remaining intact as it appeared right about Ryu''s head. It was a level of precision and Control that none of the geniuses here seemed even remotely capable of replicating.


    Ryu had no choice but to dodge.

 Chapter 2226 - 2226: Did it Matter?

    Space was entirely locked down. Beneath this control, it was like even Ryu''s third eye was being suffocated.


    Chains rotated through the air and oppressed the wind itself.


    BANG!


    Ryu''s body was smashed into the ground, flattened as though a pancake. Then, like he was some sort of rubber ball, he was bounced out of the air, the elasticity of the black tar-like flames covering his body making it look as though he had no bones at all.


    But he felt every single inch of it all. His body fragmented to pieces once again, his mind blurring.


    The pain was unbearable. Until now, he had been able to ignore it, but there was something about Silent Quibus'' control that seemed to snap him back to reality¡­ as though to remind him that his Control was far from the pinnacle.


    How could he dare to Control the Heavens and become the sky itself if he wasn''t even capable of controlling the space around a Sovereign that had regressed back to Lordhood?


    He was entirely unworthy, too obsessed with his sense of self and carrying a lofty image of what he could be as though he was already it.


    Once again, he was too arrogant for what his strength bore out, too self-interested to realize that there were more geniuses in this world aside from just him alone, too ignorant of just how truly weak he was.


    The one setback was like an avalanche of suffocating thoughts running through his mind. Every victory was another sharpening at the whetstone. Every failure was like a grinding mass that dulled his blade once more.


    And then there was the Corpse Poison itself, the antithesis of Embryonic Qi, the kernel of all that was bad and terrible.


    Facing this sort of energy now while his Dao Heart was teetering and a Heart Demon was threatening to consume him was worse than walking on a razor''s edge.


    And then he laughed.


    Ryu''s laughter peeled across the skies.


    "Is that what you think of me?"


    Ryu seemed to be speaking to no one other than himself¡­ because he was.


    His words weren''t directed at anyone else, and as he was bombarded from all sides by a control he couldn''t fathom as a mere Quasi Lord, he felt every aspect of it.


    From the beginning, he had only judged himself based on his own standards. He wanted to climb to the top of the world, but that wasn''t for the sake of measuring up to others. If that was the case, he would just aim to match the strongest cultivator there was.


    No, his goal was very different. His aim was to crush the world, to grind it into submission.


    He had wanted to do it ever since before his father handed him his first spear.


    And it was that spear that showed him how before it was ripped from him.


    Ryu allowed the Corpse Poison to seep into him. He knew that this was the last piece he needed long ago. He could have turned to Old Wan''s Corpse Puppet anytime he wanted to pull it out.


    But he had promised himself from the start that he would do this by himself.


    No Corpse Puppets, no external items, nothing but himself and his fists.


    He would prove to himself that he was worthy, and that he could stand at the top of the world, that no matter what odds he faced¡­


    He could overcome them.


    As the pain wrecked his body, he remembered those past lives once again. Every humiliating moment, every slash at his morale, every time he lowered his head.


    The swirling emotions filled the Rage Flames that pumped through his body, the black tar only growing darker and darker, more suffocating, more unforgiving.


    At some unknown point, the slashes against his body began to rebound back harsher than they sent him flying. Every whip might have echoed with a louder and louder boom, but it was only Iam whose eyes seemed to sharpen in time to realize what was happening.


    Just as Ryu was about to pierce through that thinnest of thin veils, Iam shifted from his position.


    There was a large gap between every Royal Cultivation Realm. Every one carried a completely different sort of weight.


    Silent Quibus had already made Ryu feel like he couldn''t react well. The gap in power was one thing, the gap in control was another, the sense of timing and ability to grasp opportunities yet another.


    For Iam, it was on an even higher level.


    Ryu had been ready for a counterattack. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had still underestimated the sort he would receive, though.


    Iam seemed to slip through all of his countermeasures, appearing before Ryu in a blink and punching out with a fist that seemed almost¡­ foreign to him.


    Ryu could feel the difference. The difference between a technique that had just been picked up and one that had been honed and mastered over years.


    It wasn''t just a matter of skill gap, but he could quite literally feel the gap in Fate as though it wasn''t truly tied to the man.


    So this was how Iam had hidden himself¡­ he had masked his Dao with others, picking them up and incorporating them into himself until he managed to maintain his God Control while the likes of Silent Quibus had to suppress themselves.


    A claw was ripped through Ryu''s chest.


    For the first time, the tar-like flames couldn''t maintain themselves, and Iam''s qi poured into Ryu''s true body, tearing him to pieces and ripping out everything that it could find.


    It was relentless and didn''t carry the slightest hint of mercy.


    The principle that Ryu had felt so intimately while scanning his lives played out once again. The butterfly effect¡­ just the slightest hint of a change could blow everything off course¡­ it could shatter what it meant to be you¡­


    So the question was, how was it that he had managed to remain himself during the Phoenix Sky God''s trial? How was that one of the only lives which, despite the humiliation, he could be proud to say was him?


    Well, did the answer matter?


    It seemed that today¡­ would be his death date.

 Chapter 2227 - 2227: Who Cared

    Ryu looked down at the arm through his chest, or maybe that was what he tried to do. In the end, the only thing that shifted were his eyes, his body lacking the strength it needed to even move in such a way anymore.


    Feeling its presence, and the way a burning fire ripped through him, he was eerily calm facing the end.


    There didn''t seem to be anything to fuss about.


    Had he wanted victory? Yes, he had. More than maybe anything else in this world. But this was just how the world of cultivation was.


    He had killed more than his fair share of people who had their own dreams and aspirations, their own hopes and goals. He didn''t even think twice when he did it.


    He had said it more than once, even ironically at that¡­


    He didn''t need such hypocritical feelings.


    He laughed to himself. He was such a hypocrite that he was even willing to decide what was okay to be a hypocrite about and what wasn''t.


    That was who he was. His creed came down to his personality and his personality alone. He didn''t allow outside influence, even a so-called moral compass, to decide who he was.


    And that was when the answer finally came to him.


    "I see¡­" Ryu said softly.


    Ryu''s eyes shifted up from the arm in his chest as he met Iam''s gaze. There was a calmness in there that belied the savage nature of the aura he was giving off, nor the dense Corpse Poison and Heart Demon aura.


    He looked like that scholar sitting at the library once again.


    What was the main difference between the Phoenix Sky God''s Trial and these others? It was that compass¡­


    Throughout all these lives of his, he really had been the same person. The difference was in what he decided was important to him and what he decided wasn''t.


    Whether it was as the Heir to the Tatsuya Clan or the Heir to the Tor Clan, he was a noble in both lives.


    In one life he was coddled and caressed, shown love and support. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the other, he suffered untold humiliation even by the hands of his own parents, seen as little more than a tool to be used or executed for the sake of a legend that wasn''t even his own¡­ all because he had been born with a hair and eye color that he shouldn''t have been.


    But in both lives¡­ he had chosen defiance.


    That was the underlying difference.


    Defiance against the Heavens.


    Defiance against the Tor Clan.


    They were two things on completely different scales. To say that he was the same in both almost seemed asinine as a result.


    But to a little boy who knew nothing of the world, who could see nothing of the world, the Tor Clan was his Heaven.


    It was a matter of perspective. Could you truly look a child in the eyes and laugh at them because of this?


    By extension, could you look at any one of his other lives where his choice was something else and look down on them just the same?


    There was a flash in Ryu''s eyes.


    Of course, he could.


    He didn''t like their decision at all. How dare they humiliate him in this way? How dare they stain what it meant to be him?


    But as he slowly shifted his lenses, as he began to see them in a different light, Ryu began to see other things.


    He didn''t just see a man lowering his head to a noble. He saw a man who chose to lower his head so that this noble wouldn''t target his wife and children.


    He didn''t just see a monk following an inglorious, annoying path of gathering Fate and tricking others. He saw a man steeped in discipline, willing to cut from himself the insecurities and temptations of flesh.


    One after another, his lives were recontextualized in his mind.


    Sarriel was a woman he had once adored, but fell out of favor with him because of her choices and decisions. But logically speaking, was she any different from the woman he had taken a liking to back then?


    He had eventually gotten over it and changed, embracing her as his wife. But had he ever really faced exactly what that meant?


    Maybe in part¡­ but it wouldn''t be unless he embraced it for himself that it would make all the difference.


    "And why do I have to do that?" Ryu asked, once again speaking to himself.


    There was a shift in the air as he seemed to be talking to no one at all. Even his sense of self seemed to have vanished, replaced by nothing.


    Most, even Iam, seemed to believe that this could only mean one thing.


    Death.


    What else could it possibly mean?


    Ryu, however, was still lost somewhat, drifting through the empty abyss.


    Even if he understood, it didn''t mean he had to like it.


    He accepted Sarriel as his wife not because he was in favor of her actions, but because it didn''t matter to him.


    Normally, he would be a man disgusted by Elena''s laziness, her distaste for battle¡­ even if she was willing to go all out when the moment called for it, it shouldn''t be enough for him to love her as much as he did.


    He could go down the list of qualities about his wives that he didn''t like one by one with great ease. Even Ailsa, his own life partner, had quirks about her that he didn''t like¡ªand sometimes ironically enough, those quirks were just perfect reflections of himself.


    But he didn''t care¡­ because as he had said, he would hold up the skies for them.


    Who cared if Elena was lazy? Who cared if Sarriel preferred to keep a low profile? Did it matter if they could stand behind their husband''s back? If he could protect them as he had always promised to?


    But his standards for himself¡­ those were very, very different.

 Chapter 2228 - 2228: I Am

    The wind shifted around them as Iam pulled his arm back.


    Ryu''s corpse collapsed to the ground, tar-like flames sticking to the fluttering rainbow clouds.


    A pair of silvery eyes looked up to the skies, but they seemed to be all that was left.


    Iam looked down, and then reached to pluck Ryu''s eyeballs out for himself. He was a member of the Rune Master Guild, how could he not be fascinated by researching such special eyes?


    But he hardly made a movement when everyone acted at once.


    Their greed had already been boiling over, so how could they allow Iam to take hold of it without any pushback?


    Iam''s eyes narrowed, but he suppressed his urges. His aura flared out and he struck out with several palms. However, it was Young Master Bright and Young Master Shade that suddenly appeared before him, a scythe and a fist pincering him from two sides.


    Iam was forced to retreat.


    Suddenly, the confidence everyone was feeling seemed to return. None of them had experienced anything like Ryu before, a man so weak and yet able to pressure so many to such a shocking degree.


    Iam might be powerful, and his control was exceptional, but he was using techniques he wasn''t completely comfortable with, and they had a numbers advantage.


    On top of this, they could all feel the Dao God aura. As such, unlike with Ryu, who was a Lord in most of their eyes and they couldn''t bring themselves to truly fight together against¡ªIam was free game.


    The worst of it for Iam, though, was Silent Quibus, who was the only one that hadn''t moved. It felt like the eyes of a viper were behind him.


    Now that Ryu was dead, there didn''t seem to be a need for their agreement to continue. Ultimately, they were also part of two different organizations with two vastly different plans for the future.


    This restricted what Iam could do even more, and he was forced to slowly back away from Ryu''s corpse. However, he also didn''t allow anyone the chance to take it for themselves either.


    Those eyes could be the breakthrough they all needed¡ªit would certainly help him reach the next level. So how could he so easily let it slip?


    ¡­


    Ailsa stood as though she had completely lost her soul. She stared ahead, not blinking once as though she was waiting for the illusion to fade, but it simply refused to.


    It had looked like he was going to win; she had truly been hoping, even though the pit in her gut was only increasing again and again with every enemy he took down.


    He was too injured, too broken¡­ he had given up too much.


    Maybe if he hadn''t had to save Sarriel, maybe if he wasn''t foolish enough to look at that Title, maybe if he wasn''t foolish enough to strip her of her own Heart Demon¡­


    He could still be standing.


    But right now, he wasn''t. He was like a broken mass in a sea of nothingness, and her heart felt so very empty, so very shattered.


    And yet, as much as she willed it, to end this pain, to escape this misery, it refused.


    And she knew why.


    Ryu had already taken on her entire burden. Unless she self-destructed herself, she would likely never die in such a way.


    He probably knew it. He probably knew that this would happen. He probably knew that because she knew he had sacrificed so much, she wouldn''t dare to do such a thing.


    Wouldn''t that just mean that she had made his sacrifice worthless?


    Ailsa sobbed, her shoulders quaking.


    ¡­


    Ryu''s mind was blank, a canvas of nothingness. But there seemed to be something burning within.


    He heard the sobs as though they were right by his ears, and he finally understood, and yet his life was simply slipping away faster and faster. There wasn''t anything that he could do about it.


    ''Re¡­ write¡­ it¡­''


    The echo of something in the deepest depths of his mind pulsed.


    ''Re¡­ write¡­ it¡­''


    It wasn''t enough.


    All the will in the world wasn''t enough.


    There were limits to what drive could do. It was why he had needed circumstance to push him part of the way to where he stood today.


    He took hold of the reins himself afterward, but there was no denying this fact anymore.


    It was a good thing, then¡­


    That he had a plan.


    He wasn''t the same Ryu of the past. He had once hated the Heavens with his very being for what it had done to him. But then he had grown to accept that the Heavens were just a mass of laws¡­ it didn''t owe him anything. If anything, it had helped him a great deal.


    However, it wasn''t until this moment that he fully embraced it. The butterfly effect, the circumstances of his life, the pieces that had to fall into place to allow him to be here.


    He was always the same man, he would always be the same man.


    He could only ever be one man and would always be one man.


    And then Ryu''s voice echoed as though it descended from the Dome of the Heavens itself, the entire battlefield freezing over.


    "I am¡­" Ryu''s voice rumbled. "The Sky above the Sky¡­ The Dao above the Dao¡­ The Heavens above the Heavens¡­


    "I am¡­ Omniscient¡­ Omnipotent¡­ Omnipresent.


    "All Powerful and Eternal¡­


    "I will have a name that resounds above All, looming like a Dome above Existence¡­"


    The Title Stele rumbled, lines of gold and violet swirling as a name that had birthed its own humiliation was extricated, its power used to write a new name.


    In a far-off place, the Nameless Immortal God sensed something and then scoffed. He didn''t seem to care enough, returning back to his wives.


    The lines continued to morph and change, a new name being written.


    "¡­ I will be the Mountain Peak you all chase for the rest of your lives¡­" sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Title Stele suddenly fell into silence as though to ensure the rest of the world listened carefully.


    "I am¡­"


    The echo of Ryu''s voice peeled across the rumbling clouds like splitting strokes of thunder.


    "Ryu Tatsuya."


    The final strokes of the Title were emboldened and the Dome of the Heavens shattered.

 Chapter 2229 - 2229: Pulse

    The words echoed across the world. As though the fabric of reality itself was reacting, rippling waves shook it all.


    Ryu had thought a lot about what his Title should be, more thought than he had maybe put into anything else.


    As a master of linguistics, he had learned countless languages, and even more methods of conveying thought. As a Rune Master, his views on the world were endless compared to the fellow cultivators of his generation.


    It could be said that if there was anyone in this world that could pick the perfect Title for themselves, that man was Ryu himself.


    But¡­ no matter how he twisted himself and bent himself silly trying to think of the perfect Title to encapsulate all and everything he was, the further he got away from making a decision.


    It didn''t matter how long he made the Title, how many things he tried to encompass within it, nothing seemed to be enough.


    So he went the other way, trying to constrain the Title, shorten it, forcing himself to find words that could mean many things at once¡­


    And that was when it clicked for him.


    A short Title representing everything you were¡­


    What was that if not your name?


    All of these people and geniuses were chasing after Titles that could only be shared once, hoping and praying that the Title they chose for themselves, some variation of a Title that had likely existed at some point in the past, were wasting their time.


    Were there people in the past that had the name Ryu? Almost certainly.


    Were there others with the last name Tatsuya? There definitely were.


    Were there those that had the combination of the two, formed together?


    He could already sense them where he stood.


    He knew other Ryu Tatsuyas existed. The world was simply too large, too vast. There might even be Ryu Tatsuyas out there that had gained their names by the accidental choices of syllables of their own unique language but didn''t have the same meaning to the characters at all.


    But what did that matter to him?


    There wasn''t a single word in the world that couldn''t be found in some other place, representing some other thing. He had already felt that the Title Stele itself was greatly restrained by the sheer number of Titles that it had given out in the past. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But from now on, when the name Ryu Tatsuya was spoken, it would only represent one man, one existence, encompassing the cultivation path of a single powerhouse.


    He would force his name, handed down to him by his parents and his grandparents before them, to embody something on a plane of existence all its own.


    When the name Ryu Tatsuya was echoed, they would understand precisely what that meant and what it represented.


    The Title Stele shook and quaked. Pulling on the Faith that was once left by the Nameless Immortal God, it wrote Ryu''s Title into the annals of history.


    This was clear favoritism and there was no getting around it.


    Ryu''s Title, much like the Nameless Immortal God''s, wasn''t set in stone like another''s Title might be. What it represented depended on what they would accomplish, had accomplished, and would continue to accomplish.


    This wasn''t the Title Stele saying that Ryu''s Title was superior, but rather that it finally had the momentum it needed to express its distaste for the Nameless Immortal God''s methods and praise for Ryu''s path.


    It was the Title Stele. What it wanted to see the most was the birth of new Titles and talents to represent them. That was why it had handed out so many powerful methods.


    If the Nameless Immortal God had simply written "Nameless" on its Title Stele, it would have been accepting of it. But to disrespect it so unnecessarily for doing nothing more than trying to help him¡­


    The Title Stele almost scoffed in displeasure. A treasure that had lived for so long had certainly long birthed its own intelligence.


    Now that it finally had a chance to vent, how could it not?


    It seemed to have completely forgotten that Ryu had only just been trampling all across its rules as well. But as far as it was concerned, Ryu was at least technically following the rules and helping its Titles to spread.


    The Nameless Immortal God, however¡­ not only did he trample on its rules, but he had denied it the chance to birth maybe the strongest Title to ever exist.


    Just how much would the Title "Nameless" be worth, how many things would it embody? If that damned Immortal God hadn''t been so stubborn, would all the things that happened afterward have been triggered?


    Now, he was off on vacation, living up his life, while Existence itself crumbled. Yet he took no responsibility for it at all, as though it had nothing to do with him.


    To make matters worse, the Treasures of the world capable of striking the balance and leveling things out once again were all in his possession.


    He didn''t even need them, but he kept them for no other reason than he didn''t like giving up his things.


    It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.


    He would likely only step in when the world actually showed signs of impacting his own life. But at that point, how many would die?


    The insufferable bastard didn''t give a damn.


    Ryu could practically feel the frustration of the Title Stele boiling over, and he couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    Honestly, he wouldn''t give a damn either. Maybe the Title Stele was being a bit too eager here.


    [Yes, you would].


    The message was clear and obvious. It was in a mixture of emotions and runes that others wouldn''t be able to decipher at all, and yet it only took him a moment to settle into this "language."


    Ryu paused. Why was this Title Stele so confident about that?


    ''Oh, is that why?''


    Ryu nodded. That was possible.


    This Nameless Immortal God seemed to already sit perched at the top of the world. He didn''t care to rush around proving himself against every challenge and found basically everything to be beneath his notice.


    But Ryu¡­ there was still a burning fire in him. He hadn''t even become a Lord yet, let alone an Immortal God¡­ or whatever the hell that was.


    Something told Ryu by the intent behind the language that the cultivation systems were different, and that fascinated him.


    Ryu had been across many worlds, but everyone seemed to follow the same cultivation system. Where had this other one come from? Had he not gone far enough away? Or¡­


    ''I see¡­ is that the case?''


    Measuring cultivation had never been an exact science. What if he had been seeing different cultivation systems all along and just converting them to what he was used to?


    More than that, he often had to translate himself when he entered new worlds. The words they used to label their cultivation methods, when translated by him, could easily be slipped into the system that he was used to as well just by reading their intent.


    ''That''s a possible explanation, but that isn''t everything. Just like¡­''


    Ryu also didn''t feel like the Title Stele''s words were so simple either.


    What reason could he possibly have to care about the collapse of Existence beyond trying to prove himself as the strongest? What was it implying, exactly? What did it know that he didn''t?


    There wasn''t much time to consider it all as his Title solidified.


    Ryu felt a great amount of power flood into him.


    Ryu knew when he chose his Title that it would be up to him to make it powerful. What he maybe hadn''t considered enough¡ªbecause he wasn''t used to it¡ªwas just how powerful he had made it already.


    Just how many powerhouses were watching this battle? How many had witnessed his strength? How many shocking geniuses with Fate that should be much stronger than his own had he crushed already?


    While he was still very much ready to build his Title up to the level he wanted it to be at¡­ he had neglected to understand what sort of level he had already reached.


    Amongst his generation already¡­ Ryu had maybe the greatest Fate there was.


    ¡­


    In the Abyssal Plane, a Fate Star that had once been dull and lifeless, unable to spin on its own, was rotating faster and faster, solar flares of gorgeous silver akin to molten steel forming large arcs across millions of miles.


    Magnetic pulses radiated outward, and a Fate Star in the distance¡ªa distance that had once been far too far for them to even interact¡ªwas suddenly sucked into its orbit.


    A whipping power lashed out, devouring it whole before it could do anything.


    The collision of two Stars should have been enough to erupt with a blast seen across countless light years. And yet, this second star was snuffed out as though it had never existed at all.


    But the Silver Star was still hungry.


    A pulse akin to a roar radiated out.

 Chapter 2230 - 2230: End

    BADUM.


    Ryu''s body convulsed, his eyes snapping open. As though his Dao Heart was only now being awakened, radiant power echoed through the Planes of Existence.


    Akin to a slumbering dragon being poked awake, he stared up at the skies, his body laying there with a gaping hole in his chest. But judging by the placidness in his gaze, one would have never thought that he had experienced such injuries in the first place.


    BADUM.


    ''What a¡­ peculiar feeling¡­''


    The Spiritual Foundation was in the Abyssal Plane¡­ but so too was the Fate Star. Ryu had never truly connected the two because they seemed unconnected.


    He had lost count of the number of ancient texts and annals of history he had pored through. Not a single one of them had any mention of any sort of connection.


    So why was it that he felt so¡­ awake right now?


    ''I see¡­''


    Another radiant pulse came from Ryu''s mind and he was enlightened to something truly shocking. But it had nothing at all to do with his Fate Star, his Dao Heart, or its relation to his Control.


    Well, he guessed it did in part. But regardless of that, it didn''t matter. What truly mattered to him was the conclusion, and it alone had him laughing.


    The laughter filled the air, his eyes brimming with what looked like tears.


    Ryu couldn''t remember the last time he had felt such a way. Maybe on the night he had taken his life, but this time¡­ his reasoning was very different.


    "So unfair, so very unfair. This world is quite cruel."


    The echoes of Ryu''s voice peeled across the skies, clouds dispersing and words collapsing as though feeling his odd happy melancholy.


    "Never again," he said.


    This time, the words carried a conviction with them that radiated like the sun.


    It was beyond just words. It was ingrained into his very Title, a foundation he chose to lay for himself.


    He would never fail them.


    Never.


    If he did, his path of cultivation, everything it had ever meant to him, everything it had ever represented, would collapse.


    And by extension, as this was his last and final life¡­


    He would lose it as well.


    But he had no intention of allowing such a thing to happen.


    He was Ryu Tatsuya and the path in the future, the peaks he would reach, weren''t something that anyone else could hope to fathom.


    BADUM.


    A link between Ryu''s Fate Star, Spiritual Foundation, and Control grew fiercer.


    He had slowly begun to understand that this was a link he was missing for his new cultivation method. In fact, he should probably be thanking himself for being stuck at Quasi Lord for too long. If he hadn''t, he would have left behind a flaw that would have been difficult to fix.


    Of course¡­ it was his cultivation method, so he would have most definitely found a way to turn things around. But why go through the trouble if he didn''t have to? Why fail if he didn''t have to? Why take a step back if he didn''t have to?


    From now on, he would only walk forward.


    What was the greatest Control if not that of Fate?


    He already had such a great affinity for it, but what he had never truly contextualized was how other cultivators gained it.


    He had a strong affinity for it because this was the way he was born. Eventually, he integrated it into a Soul Nature, but he had always had it.


    It was likely that for normal cultivators, as they approached Dao God, and spent long periods of time within it, they too grew closer to their Fate Star. Being able to sense all aspects of themselves and have perfect control of one''s path through all Planes of Existence¡­


    That was what it meant to be a Dao God.


    But Ryu''s cultivation method was a step beyond. He had incorporated control into every aspect of his being, from the earliest cultivation realms to the highest.


    When he stepped into Lord, it wasn''t just a matter of gaining a closeness to his Fate Star.


    He gained real Control.


    Real dominion.


    Real dominance over his own Fate and the ability to swallow, suppress, and crush that of others.


    A formation was triggered in the depths of his dantian and the linkage was completed. A trifecta of Soul, Spiritual Foundation, and Fate Star was created.


    ¡­


    Absolute carnage was being wrought in the Abyssal Plane. A single Fate Star swallowed everything in the vicinity, growing larger and swallowing up more.


    It reached the bounds of Existence itself, growing so enormous that it couldn''t grow any more¡­ not without crushing everything.


    But then it pushed past that boundary.


    Beyond Perfect Extreme.


    BANG!


    The Abyssal Plane fragmented around it.


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    BADUM.


    Ryu''s aura had grown so powerful that none was capable of standing near him, let alone actively trying to get close.


    Like a flickering flame carrying a density of power and might that could burn a world to the ground, he just lay there¡­


    Until reality shattered.


    Ryu found himself falling, or so it felt. Beneath him, an enormous Silver Star had appeared.


    Elena''s little brother stared at it far too intently. While most others smartly looked away, his stubbornness was his undoing.


    He screamed as his eyes were burnt away, his irises becoming nothing more than flashes of white as blood fell like a rain of tears.


    Ryu fell toward this star, his body still limp and unmoving. But soon, it became clear that he was "falling" much too slowly. Rather than falling, it was more like reality had been twisted so much that their usual judgments were impossible to follow.


    And then the Silver Star rotated.


    There was a huge suction of energy, but it didn''t come from the Fate Star¡­ but rather Ryu himself.


    The enormous Star, unfathomable in its scope and even larger in its dominance, was obediently pulled into Ryu''s body.


    But just when it seemed that things were finished, the world shattered once again.


    This time, it was an enormous sea of blue silver, so large and expansive, and filled with such dense qi, that the surroundings felt dull and uninteresting by comparison.


    However, within it, treasures so rare a single world might only be able to produce one of them in a lifetime floated within.


    But their greed couldn''t even grow before it, too, was sucked into Ryu''s body.


    BADUM!


    BADUM!


    BADUM!


    Power radiated out of Ryu in waves, thrumming energies from all places were sucked away. With a crack running through the Planes of Existence, qi of all kinds were pouring in toward the sudden formation of a void.


    With the Fate Star having appeared and then vanished, and the same happening for the Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation, it was like the region around Ryu had become an area of especially low concentration.


    In response, energies naturally flowed to the region¡­ and right into Ryu''s body.


    BADUM.


    The black tar-like flames on Ryu''s body grew thicker and bolder, shrinking into his shriveled-up corpse and then latching onto his Perfect Blackbody Soul.


    At the same time, the Spark of Life Flames of his White Phoenix Spiritual Foundation poured into his body.


    Black flames circulated into Ryu''s Chaotic Silk Meridians, white flames pulsing into his Embryonic Silk Meridians.


    For the first time in a long while¡­


    He felt alive.


    The Karmic Flames that had been burning him alive were swallowed up whole, his Fate Star, lodged in his Inner world, rotating and devouring it all.


    His Fate Star seemed to seamlessly borrow the powers of his Perfect Blackbody Soul, and his Soul and Fate Star alike borrowed strength from his Spiritual Foundation. And by extension, his Spiritual Foundation borrowed abilities from his Fate Star, gaining a sea of Karmic Flames to them that radiated out into the White and Black Flames of Ryu''s body.


    Ryu exhaled a breath.


    ''Finally.''


    Embryonic Qi began to manifest within him faster and faster until it became a sudden flood. Mixing in with his Spark of Life Flames, it was as though he had reignited his own body¡­


    Because that was exactly what happened.


    BADUM.


    Ryu continued to lay there, just staring up at the skies or what was left of them. His thoughts were still on the matter that had just become clear to him, and it was hard to shake himself free of that.


    But as his bones grew back, and his muscles and sinew began to wrap around them, only for his flesh and blood to slowly fill in the gaps, he knew that he couldn''t just continue to lay there.


    The longer he did, the longer it would take to get that moment¡­ the moment that he could set all of this back to the way it was meant to be.


    It seemed that the Title Stele was correct. He would indeed get him involved. In fact, anyone that tried to stop him from doing so would suffer a Fate worse than death.


    Ryu felt his fingers fully form once more.


    He clenched his fists a single time and space shattered around them.


    It was time to end this.

 Chapter 2231 - 2231: Open

    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, his body thrumming with dense might. There was a flash, and in the blink of an eye, he was covered in white scales, a pair of wings unfurling from his back.


    He was small, especially compared to the large and looming expanse of Existence, and yet, for some reason, those wings felt as though they blotted out the skies.


    The world fell into silence for a moment, and then Ryu reached out a clawed hand.


    The skies thrummed and a bolt of royal blue lightning descended as thick as a mountain. But by the time it landed in Ryu''s palm, it had become a needle with two pointed edges, the thickness and length of a spear or javelin.


    Ryu spun it in his hand with a twist of his wrist, sparks of lightning spontaneously cracking along the depths of space and time until it came to a snapping halt.


    It was only a single snatch at the air, and yet¡­


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    The platform of rainbow clouds shattered, the bounds of laws and reality threatening to collapse.


    Ryu pulled his arm back, his face deathly still and entirely expressionless. Until now, not a single soul had moved as though they knew it was futile. Or¡­ maybe they were just waiting for judgment to descend.


    With a flex of his torso, Ryu''s arm suddenly accelerated forward. It left nothing more than a blur in the air, a booming air current exploding out in a ring of destruction as his hand released.


    BOOM!


    Young Master Bright couldn''t even react as his chest was pierced through, his body being pinned into the once impenetrable platform of rainbow clouds.


    He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide.


    "I would turn you into a puppet, but I''d rather transplant your eyes into someone less annoying. Scram."


    BANG!


    The young Deva was shattered to pieces, his wings and eyes fluttering to the ground as though indestructible. And yet, everyone knew that the real reason was that Ryu''s control was simply immaculate. It had reached a level where it seemed to warp Fate itself.


    Ryu snapped a finger and Bright''s eyes were brought to him, the several pairs of golden wings deconstructing into complex runes before fusing into Ryu''s own.


    Exhaling a breath, Ryu only seemed to take a short, few-second break before raising his hand. His actions seemed almost lazy, but in an instant, Young Master Shade was wrapped up by several chains, locked in place and entirely unable to move.


    "You''re interesting enough."


    With a flash, the young Demon lord was stripped of his autonomy, his body warped into Ryu''s Inner World.


    "Now. Which of you is next? Are you going to stand there and decide amongst yourselves? Or are you going to come together?"


    There was a flash of malevolence in Ryu''s eyes as he looked toward Iam and Silent Quibus.


    "Nothing to say? In that case, I''ll come to you."


    BANG!


    The region Ryu stood in exploded, his silver eyes leaving streaks in the air as he suddenly appeared before Iam. There was something particularly devilish about his approach as he clawed an open palm toward the Ruin Master''s face.


    Iam tried to dodge, expertly using his Control to counter Ryu and find a path to slip away.


    It was worthless.


    Ryu''s palm slammed into Iam''s nose, his claws driving into his hair and the top of his scale. Driving down, Ryu slammed the latter''s skull into the ground, feeling the cracking deviations in it as his body exploded.


    Ah¡­ he had missed this feeling. The feeling of a powerful body, of the fluidity of motion¡­ of his Bone Structures.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Three echoes came from his Nine Revolution Skybreaker, a vicious light and desire for combat filling his eyes.


    Suddenly, Ryu vanished, a streak of black passing right through where he had just stood.


    "And you¡­"


    Ryu drove a fist into Silent Quibus'' gut. He had wanted nothing more than to drive through it in a single bound, but he knocked him into the air instead.


    With a flash, he appeared high above the floundering Faerie, driving a heel down in a devastating ax kick to the back of his skull.


    The Faerie didn''t even have a chance to hit the ground before Ryu appeared to his side, kneeing him to the side of the head.


    Each blow seemed more devastating and lethal than the last, but anyone with high enough cultivation would know that Ryu was simply humiliating them on purpose.


    Against opponents of this caliber, even in this state, he couldn''t gather up the amount of energy he would need quickly enough to execute it before they could react.


    But what he could do was attack too fast, too unexpectedly, and too unpredictably for them to save any semblance of face.


    Ryu landed on the ground lightly, his wings unfurled to radiate out sharp streams of air that had them rolling along the ground.


    "If you insist on thinking that you can get out of this without sacrificing a great deal, I can save you some time and help you accelerate to the only logical conclusion.


    "Bring out what you have now, or else you''ll lose your head just like all the others before I''ve had my fun."


    A wild grin spread across Ryu''s face, veins of black running out from the corners of his eyes as a darkness slowly enveloped the white of his pupils.


    He reached out one hand as the black tar flames appeared once more, forming a great swordstaff of dense dark energies.


    Reaching out his other, cotton-like white flames solidified into a blade of pure and delicate white.


    He extended out his hands and pointed the tips of the two blades toward the rolling figures in the distance.


    His momentum began to climb, reaching towering levels.


    "Since you don''t seem to take me seriously, I''ll show you just how big the gap is. There is no one left in this world my blades won''t work against.


    "[Heaven''s Gate]."


    "Open."

 Chapter 2232 - 2232: A Real One

    Ryu''s aura bloomed, his cultivation skyrocketing into True Lordhood.


    For the first time, Ryu''s prowess as a Lord shook the world.


    Most didn''t even have the time to register that they hadn''t been facing the true extent of Ryu as a Lord until this very moment. All they could feel was a towering mountain rising into the skies¡­ both literally and figuratively.


    Ryu''s Shrine Mountain Natural Enlightenment soared.


    "I''ve been waiting to use the full extent of this technique a long time¡­ [Tatsuya Judgment]."


    The full name of the technique finally manifested itself and Ryu swung down.


    All the color was stripped from the world.


    Iam and Silent Quibus scrambled to their feet, their own auras erupting.


    Two enormous figures appeared before Silent Quibus and the rage of two Races fell toward him.


    But before most could register that, Iam had also changed, large amounts of Fate wrapping around him in solid blocks of white until he seemed to have doubled in size.


    Ryu ignored Iam entirely. Though objectively, what he was doing was far more impressive, what Silent Quibus had just brought out¡­ intrigued him.


    The Griffin Prince and the Qilin Prince.


    At some unknown point, Silent Quibus had actually contracted them both as Summons, and they didn''t seem to have the slightest bit of resistance.


    Ryu thought about the actions of Little Gem and wondered if it was at all related. But then he shook his head. That little girl was just being willful.


    Though, he doubted if he could really get away with calling her little anymore even after the regression. After all, she too had experienced trillions of years.


    ''What are trillions of years if not just a few extra thousands of years?''


    "Is this your trump card?" Ryu asked, looking at Silent Quibus as though Iam didn''t even exist. "He''s controlling Fate on a scale most here couldn''t fathom, and you brought out two geniuses of the young generation that I could kill with a snap of my fingers? Honestly, for someone daring enough to try and claim my wife as your own, you lack any redeeming qualities. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You''re a disgusting dreg, you lack strength, you lack power, you hid from a woman for millennia, while building up a false reputation of her actually caring for you.


    "As a man, I have no idea how you live with yourself."


    Silent Quibus didn''t respond, but Ryu only smiled in return.


    "I know. For a person like you to have committed so many vile acts, how could your Dao Heart be so easily shaken?"


    From start to finish, Silent Quibus had never spoken a word. But Ryu continued as though he didn''t realize that he was being tuned out and ignored.


    "You''ve probably also thought that I was speaking nonsense. My wife? To you, it probably does sound ridiculous. How could a pitiful worm like yourself possibly understand how a Lord could gain the love of a Goddess without having to lie about it?


    "You know, not everyone is as shameless as you are. Some of us are born with a great deal of charm and just a little bit of luck."


    Ryu''s aura completely changed and in that moment, he seemed to have vanished, only to be replaced by the perfectly replicated aura of a Cultus Faerie.


    For the first time, there was just the slightest hint of a change in Silent Quibus'' expression, his pupils shrinking by half and trembling.


    "Oh, you seem to have finally registered it." Ryu nodded slowly. "I thought long and hard about why a sick bastard would use such a cheap ploy. Even for you, trying to lay claim to a person''s wife just by way of rumors feels ridiculous. Killing babies is less pathetic in my opinion, at least it might serve a purpose in your own twisted ways.


    "So originally, I thought that maybe you were farming Fate, trying to attach yourself to a Goddess in hopes that would help. At least that might make some logical sense.


    "Of course, I ignored maybe the most obvious reason, that being that you actually wanted a chance with her and somehow you thought that this might be the best way.


    "It would probably be too bold, too bold indeed. Do you have any idea how stubborn my wife is?¡ª" Ryu''s gaze shifted to Iam who had finally dissipated his earlier attack. "¡ªYou just wait there for a second, I''m still talking. Like I said, you had better decide to bring out everything you have sooner rather than later."


    Ryu slashed out again, and this time an echo of Nine Revolution Sky rumbled through his body and veins popped along his arm.


    But he completed the swing nonetheless before turning back to Silent Quibus.


    "It just couldn''t be, right?" Ryu asked, blinking. "The big bad, genocidal maniac¡­ is actually an invalid who can''t talk to women? Is that why you dismember and humiliate them? Is that the best form of communication you have?"


    Silent Quibus'' jaw clenched, his expression still hardly changing. It was an impossibly subtle change, and yet just how sharp were Ryu''s eyes?


    "Oh? Did I strike a nerve? Unfortunate, unfortunate. Why don''t you come and bite me? Having a piece of me is as close as you''re ever going to get to touching her anyway."


    There was another ripple from Ryu''s body and this time, it was the aura of a Primordial Yin that radiated outward. A very specific Primordial Yin.


    Silent Quibus seemed to have turned into an entirely different man. His clenched jaw unhinged, his eyes turned into two dark orbs of abyssal light and a wild, monstrous roar sent out shockwaves as powerful as a Dragon''s Breath in all directions.


    His bones cracked and deformed, and then he lunged forward.


    Ryu looked away from him and into the distance, then spoke as though he was speaking to the audience of the world itself.


    "You see this? This is what a real Heart Demon looks like. As for this?" Ryu raised his hand, his black great swordstaff flashing. "This is what Dominance looks like."


    BANG!


    Ryu swung his sword down, slamming Silent Quibus into the ground.

 Chapter 2233 - 2233: Pride

    Silent Quibus rebounded against the ground, his body practically shutting down on impact. However, Ryu''s sword didn''t manage to cut through him.


    Ryu himself didn''t seem surprised by this, nor did he care very much at all. Controlling a qi on the same level as Embryonic Qi was far from something that would be easily dealt with, especially not when the Faerie had suddenly reached this state.


    By triggering a Heart Demon like this, Silent Quibus had actually become several times more powerful.


    The reason Ryu''s black flame had become tar-like was because of how the rebounding of Karma reacted with the laws of the world. It either swallowed or rejected.


    The end result was an exceptionally bouncy, but also sticky substance that had defenses like no other.


    Of course, if you couldn''t control your mind, it also made you a complete madman as well, something that Silent Quibus was more than displaying now.


    Right now, the backlash that Silent Quibus was experiencing was far beyond anything Ryu had, and it showed.


    Ryu''s sword blade rose into the air.


    CHI.


    All of a sudden, the tough, unbreakable substance was split in two by his white sword. Silent Quibus writhed on the ground, but couldn''t move at all as though an ant pinned to the ground.


    Holding onto the hilt of his great swordstaff, Ryu bent down, tilting his head and looking at the writhing form of the Faerie that had pissed him off so much.


    "I really can''t bear to kill you just yet."


    Ryu seemed to have entirely ignored Iam''s presence, but not only had the Dao God not reacted with any offense to this, he just stood there, seemingly trying to calculate something.


    After suffering Ryu''s last attack, Iam knew that it would be impossible to deal with this situation in his current state. He needed his real power.


    But if he used his real power, then the Title Stele would react and smite him. That wasn''t something that even he could survive. There was no choice but to rely on the hodgepodge of skills, techniques, and otherwise that he had gathered up from Title Stele World.


    It wasn''t enough.


    Iam suddenly met Ryu''s gaze, only to see the latter''s smile. It was the face of a man who had the world in the palm of his hand, of a man who could finally sniff the mountain peak that he had been chasing his entire life¡­


    The smile of a Quasi Dao Lord who could look down on a Dao God as though he were an ant.


    At that moment, Iam felt something trigger in him. A feeling that he hadn''t felt in a very long time, a feeling that he had suppressed for so long he had forgotten that he had suppressed it in the first place¡­


    Pride. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    How long had he felt that distaste on the tip of his tongue? How long had it been since something had triggered his boiling blood? How long had he been beneath the thumb of the Ruin Master Guild, suppressing his truest urges so that he could inch forward in life a little bit more?


    He turned his power onto children he found useful, weaklings he could easily manipulate into doing what he wanted. And then there was Ryu, someone he knew had Summons, someone he was certain had a large and powerful army that he could summon right this moment to put an end to everything.


    And yet he hadn''t, right up until the very end when he reversed everything.


    Now he stood there, his arrogance oozing out of him.


    Before he reached this point, how many people had told him that his inflated sense of ego was too much? How many people had looked down on him, thinking that he thought too much of himself? How many times had he been suppressed again and again, only to rise up once more?


    Not once had he compromised, not once had he lost his edge.


    That was the difference between the two of them.


    The light in Iam''s eyes blazed bright and brighter.


    His arms suddenly flared out, the flapping of his heavy sleeves slapping against the wind. A pair of magic circles appeared around his wrists and the Title Stele rumbled.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The skies split, arcs of Karmic Flames descended and enveloped Iam whole. As though replaying some time lost to the past, only a pair of eyes could be seen.


    It was something that Ryu had personally gone through just days ago in order to save his wife. But now, Iam was pulling out his full strength for no other reason than to save himself.


    His way of cultivation.


    He wasn''t thinking about success or failure. He was thinking about rekindling the flame in the depths of his heart.


    Ryu''s gaze flashed, and then a wild grin spread across his face.


    BANG!


    They both moved at the same time, Ryu''s blades had vanished from his hands. One after another, runes lit across his bones, his white scales reflecting their dancing aura within their crystalline sheen.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Crackles of thunder echoed as Ryu activated his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure to the absolute max, Cosmic Fog billowing around him.


    His fist met Iam''s and his arm almost exploded on impact only for it to be reconstructed.


    The strength Iam was outputting now was a completely different level. On the one hand, the Karmic Flames were stripping him of everything. But on the other, he was using his truest path now, and thus his strength was no longer artificial.


    It was every ounce of real it had once been.


    He was heavily injured, but he was a heavily injured Dao God on the verge of a breakthrough of a lifetime.


    And it was a challenge that Ryu embraced with every fiber of his being.


    Two resounding laughters echoed through the air, the air shattering as they separated only for them to accelerate into a dozen more exchanges in the blink of an eye.


    Eternal Dawn.

 Chapter 2234 - 2234: He Refused.

    Ryu''s body was enveloped by a radiant golden light. Time bent and his speed defied logic. He slipped through the countless runes and formations that had suddenly begun forming around Iam, his elbow connecting with the Dao God''s nose without the slightest hint of fear for the Karmic Flames.


    Karma should fear him.


    BANG!


    Iam was sent flying, colliding on the ground below only to use the rebound to bounce to his feet with a flip. Gliding backward under the momentum, formations appeared beneath his feet to accelerate him back as he slapped his palms together.


    A roar came from his lips, a small formation appearing before his hands before a slightly larger one appeared before it. The third was formed even faster, slightly larger once again.


    They accelerated upward like a ladder of magic circles, the last so large it seemed to swallow up the skies themselves.


    Ryu was so small before it that he was barely half the size of a single rune that made it up. And yet, his grin remained, the calm coolness of his eyes belying how wild his aura was.


    "If you want to battle me, I suggest you change your path. Using formations before me, even if you are a Dao God¡­


    "Only means death."


    BANG!


    [Death Acupoint].


    Ryu pointed out a single finger, his Empyrean Warframe activating for the briefest of instances. And yet, it was enough.


    BANG!


    The entire formation collapsed, but Ryu was far from done.


    [Fate Reversal].


    Grabbing at the air, the formation suddenly reversed, the largest of the magic circles appearing right before Iam while the small one landed in Ryu''s palms.


    The air solidified, the wild grin on Ryu''s face practically dripping with blood.


    BOOM!


    Eternal Dawn bloomed, a beam of concentrated light coming from Ryu''s chest and entering the first.


    Everything else happened so fast that even a half blink would have caused you to miss it. It all rushed through in a single breath, growing large to the point it could have swallowed a moon in a single blast.


    Iam was swallowed whole. There was no place for him to escape, and the power was turned right back onto him.


    Those observing couldn''t believe what they were seeing. The things that Ryu was doing with his eyes weren''t methods that the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils should be able to apply.


    Death Acupoint was meant to sense the death of a living being, not find the weakness in a formation. Fate Reversal was supposed to undo damage suffered by the user from a specific opponent, not steal control of a technique cast by a Dao God of all things.


    Ryu was dancing between the line of animate and inanimate, gliding across the blade of Fate as though he had forged it himself.


    And that he was.


    One half of his Dao dealt with life. The other half dealt with laws and their reality. Karma and Dharma intertwined, and now the line was no longer so clear.


    Who cared if [Death Acupoint] and [Fate Reversal] were only meant to be used on people? With his Dao, the difference no longer mattered.


    This was his strength.


    Iam stumbled back. It was hard to tell how much damage he had suffered, even after the beam of blinding light vanished. The Karmic Flames blazing across his body were far too plentiful.


    He coughed, but what blood might have come out burned away. Even so, he wiped his lip with a sleeve out of habit.


    A chuckle came from his mouth. Strong, indeed.


    Ryu''s Dao could only be said to be the strongest he had ever seen. He never thought that a comprehension Dao could possibly be so powerful. Usually, in battle, their use was decided by what training the cultivator had already done. It didn''t often impact the immediate situation.


    But Ryu''s¡­


    Iam had no idea how much effort it had taken for Ryu to reach this point, though maybe to others it might be a joke. How many years had Ryu truly spent cultivating? Was it even much more than a hundred?


    But it was now that the fruits of his labors were finally manifesting. How long had he spent trying to get his talents to synergize properly?


    And now¡­


    They finally were.


    Ryu vanished, his fist driving into Iam''s gut.


    Before the Dao God could even fly far, Ryu appeared behind him, driving a knee into the small of his back.


    Every time Ryu attacked, booms of thunder would echo. He withstood the shattering of his bone and flesh, using his replenished Embryonic Qi to heal himself and his Cosmos Fog to absorb much of the excess energy.


    This was the first time he had used his Nine Revolution Skybreaker Bone Structure to its fullest extent, and its power was absolutely intoxicating.


    No¡­ power in general was intoxicating.


    He had lost track of how many times he had been forced to suffer at the hands of someone with a stronger cultivation than him.


    Never again.


    He refused.


    Not even a Dao God this powerful.


    Jadebound Clearheart.


    Ryu''s leg kicked up to the skies, his heel driving up Iam''s jaw and sending him flying to the clouds.


    Then he spread out his arms, the platform of rainbow clouds rumbling beneath his might.


    Shock peeled across the faces of those present akin to lightning across dark clouds. This was the platform of the Title Stele, there was no earth affinity strong enough to move it, let alone control it.


    And yet.


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    A javelin formed out of it, wrapped in clouds of rainbow, sparkling with violet, blues, and pinks. Ryu caught it out of the air, stomping a foot that caused the world to tremble.


    His torso flexed, his shoulder rippling with veins and pulsing might.


    BANG!


    He released the javelin, sending it flying into the skies.


    Iam watched it approach, sighing on the inside. Change his entire Dao? He had tried¡­ he had truly done the best he could.


    It just wasn''t enough.


    His Dao was precisely the kind Ryu countered the easiest.


    But at least¡­ he had found a little bit of his pride before he died.


    A rumble came from his back.


    The skies split in two, a golden gate opened wide.


    A blinding light followed it, making it feel almost as though the Title Stele itself was melting away.


    And with it¡­


    The javelin did as well.

 Chapter 2235 - 2235: Dont You Think?

    Ryu looked up to the skies. Or rather, his eyes had always been there.


    He had already felt that this would happen. There was something odd in the air, or rather there had been for a while now. He knew that something else was coming much the same way he might if his Intuition had triggered.


    It just¡­ didn''t matter to him that much.


    Until he felt Ailsa''s rage.


    His gaze shifted from the figure stepping out to his wife in the far-off distance still blocked out by the barrier. But it was clear that this door was spawning within the limits.


    For some reason, the Title Stele was still acting demure and reserved around this golden door. Yet, all Ryu could seem to focus on was the fact his wife was completely and utterly enraged by something.


    "By him?"


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. That seemed unlikely.


    The light was too blinding for others to see through, but it was nothing to him. It might burn the eyes of others, but he could see right through it to the young men within it.


    But there was only really just one of them of any sort of interest. The other two Ryu saw for what they were.


    Weak.


    Well, that was harsh. The two were stronger than any one of the geniuses that Ryu had faced here. They might have been interesting opponents to face before he triggered [Heaven''s Gate]. Unfortunately for them, he already had.


    The one in the middle, though, the stronger of them, had quite the aura despite being a Lord.


    And yet, Ryu''s reaction was just the same.


    Him?


    No, that was unlikely.


    Ryu looked past the young man, but didn''t see anything of interest. And then he sensed it.


    ''I see. So that''s what it is¡­''


    He could already feel the aura fading, but it should be whoever opened the door. There had to be someone with the strength to manifest that door.


    "Him. Okay."


    Ryu said calmly.


    There was a flash in Ryu''s eyes.


    "Ryu! Don''t!"


    The words echoed in his ears, piercing through veils. Ryu could easily tell just how much effort it had taken Ailsa to reach him like that.


    It still didn''t matter.


    [Earth Gate].


    "Open."


    The skies rumbled.


    Ryu had realized something interesting long ago. These golden gates in the skies¡­while they seemed grand and imposing¡­ in his eyes, they looked like a little toy replica of the real thing.


    An Earth Gate manifested before Ryu and he took a step forward. He hadn''t forced it to manifest to this extent in a long while, but this time he had done it for a very clear purpose.


    The golden gate above dimmed almost as though all the Fate swirling around it had dimmed considerably.


    A snort came from the inside, but it was more surprise than fury.


    "I don''t really know who you are, but you have quite some nerve," Ryu said calmly.


    Reaching out a hand, Ryu grasped at the air.


    [Fate Reversal].


    The color drained from Ryu''s face, but he didn''t seem to notice at all.


    The snort stopped echoing as though the figure seemed to have realized something.


    "Stop."


    The voice didn''t seem panicked, but rather firm and completely unyielding, as though he was very much used to everything hanging on his word.


    But Ryu¡­ had never listened to anyone but his own parents. One would think he never heard a single thing.


    All of a sudden, it seemed as though Earth Gate and the golden Gate above had swapped places.


    Ryu stepped through, a pressure from the world trying to hold him back and yet failing completely.


    From Dao Lord, Ryu stepped into Dao Sovereign.


    From Dao Sovereign, Ryu stepped into Dao God.


    From Dao God¡­ he seemed to ram into a glass ceiling, his body''s aura pouring over as though its vessel had reached its brimming point.


    Ryu''s palm, still hanging in the air, suddenly swiped out.


    PA.


    His hand exploded on impact, blood, sinew, ligaments, and flesh splashing out. Yet, all the world could seem to hear was the slap.


    Ryu''s aura deflated almost immediately, the grasp of power brief and only a sudden spark. But it was still enough.


    "You can go back and wash your neck now. While you do that, remember you just let a Quasi Lord slap you. Thanks for delivering these ''geniuses'' to me, though. I''ll be sure to turn them into nice Summons."


    There was no cry of fury, no shuddering aura, there was simply silence, one heavy enough that the entire world fell into it as it faded.


    The aura vanished. It had no choice but to.


    All the Fate of that gate had been stripped away. It would take a great deal before it could be opened again, and that figure had to decide whether it was worth it.


    All of that accumulation, used up in an instant, all so that Ryu could humiliate him.


    "They call him the Almighty, is that so?" Ryu asked.


    He had already stepped beyond the three "geniuses" at some unknown point. But even now, he wasn''t talking to or looking at them, instead meeting his wife''s gaze in the distance.


    "He isn''t so All or so Mighty."


    Ryu''s sensory perception made a clenching motion with a missing hand. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His Embryonic Qi lagged behind, unable to reform it. Yet, this only made him chuckle.


    He had sensed the Title the moment he touched the man. He was surely quite the powerhouse.


    But so what?


    [Fate Reversal].


    The aura of the Almighty vanished and his hand regrew in an instant.


    Space quaked and shook, but Ryu constrained it all into a ball above his newly formed palm.


    Suddenly, Ryu slapped out.


    Solara''s grandfather couldn''t even react, it all happened too quickly.


    The ball collided with his chest and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He looked down at his chest in absolute horror.


    What just happened?


    "It isn''t fair, is it?" Ryu asked. "When someone so powerful comes down with their little petty tricks and ruins your life. I''ll play with your granddaughter and your life the way you played with my Fate Star. It''ll be nice, don''t you think?"


    The old man spit up a mouthful of blood.

 Chapter 2236 - 2236: Not Anymore

    Solara''s grandfather took a heavy step back, and then another, before he slowly stabilized himself.


    "Oh. Not bad."


    Half of Ryu wanted the old man to die right then and there, but another half thought that it would be far too easy for him to fall like this.


    Ryu wasn''t satisfied with just this alone. If he was going to have his revenge, it was going to have to be far worse than this.


    It seemed that humiliating the man''s granddaughter wasn''t nearly enough for Ryu, but why would it be? As far as Ryu was concerned, what was the worth of Solara''s life or that of her grandfather? Why should he bother with measuring his level of satisfaction just based on this alone?


    He wouldn''t be done with them until he said he was done.


    "The woman. Where is she?"


    Ryu blinked.


    He had almost forgotten that there were some people behind him. It seemed that they hadn''t quite understood the situation they were in, and why would they? They didn''t have his eyes; was it even possible for them to understand a confrontation on the level of the one he had just had?


    The Almighty was on a level where he made even more Dao Gods feel like ants. While Solara''s grandfather, though he seemed to have been injured quite severely, had only truly suffered superficial wounds despite also clearly suppressing himself in some way or form.


    In terms of raw strength, at least when there was no suppression to consider, Solara''s grandfather was probably maybe a half-step beneath the Almighty in strength.


    In fact, if Ryu was correct, the only reason for the gap to begin with was the Title. This made Ryu wonder if that was what Solara''s grandfather was truly after, a method to bridge the gap between himself and that behemoth of a man.


    It also made Ryu wonder just what sort of strength the Phoenix Sky God had, because somehow¡­ he still felt like these two were just ants before him, and that was hard to wrap his head around.


    All of these people were Dao Gods, and yet the strength difference was massive. It wasn''t a matter of being lower, middle, higher, or peak. Each one of these individuals had already reached the furthest extent of what the realm had to offer.


    This was a difference in Dao, in Comprehension, in Control.


    A difference that couldn''t be explained in just a few words, because the definitions of those things were far from so clear¡­


    Eventually, Ryu looked back out of curiosity more than anything else.


    "Woman?"


    "The one with the Title of Quiant. Bring her out."


    Ryu froze for a moment.


    The Title of Quiant? Was he talking about Taedra?


    All of a sudden, countless puzzle pieces came together, and the final things that Ryu didn''t quite seem to comprehend were carefully fit into place.


    Ryu''s expression shifted. Any amusement that had been there vanished into the air, and for a moment it seemed as though he had become entirely disconnected from the world.


    Calm, unbothered, and yet frighteningly cold. Like someone separated from energy, he hardly moved at all, and the world down to its very atoms shifted into silence.


    The young man didn''t seem to notice Ryu''s change at all.


    "Originally, we came just to deal with you since you''ve overstepped your bounds. But there is the scent of a Title on you that we have been trying to find for quite a while. Hand her over, and we will give you a swift death."


    BANG!


    A head exploded.


    Ryu didn''t even move, but the young man that had spoken shivered once before his body fell from the air.


    The only one of the three that Ryu cared to even look at looked calmly to his side, the splatter of blood that would have hit his face stopping a full meter away before gliding down a golden barrier.


    "I wonder¡­" Ryu said slowly. "¡­ No, there''s really no need to wonder if I already know the answer. You must be the few that killed my great-grandmother. I wondered why it was that Primus always had a stick up his ass, why his methods never seemed to make much sense and his goals were never all that clear to me¡­"


    A hum came from Ryu''s lips.


    "Now you seem to think you can do the same thing to me? Do you think I''m the same weak excuse of a man?"


    "I believe you''ve already proven yourself to be."


    BANG!


    A second head exploded.


    Now, only the young man in the middle was left.


    "I''m not really sure what he was referring to," Ryu said calmly. "It couldn''t possibly be my wife, because she''s quite cozy and safe at home. You''d be surprised what the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils can do when they have perfect synchronization with mutated Truth Pupils. Right about now, the Truth Clone my wife sent will probably collapse now that the gateway between the two worlds has collapsed.


    "In the meantime, the fool I just slapped can simply calmly wash his neck."


    The only young man that was left continued to look at Ryu as though he was trying to understand something.


    "¡­ You speak too much."


    "Do I?" Ryu asked. "In the past, I didn''t like to speak very much. But that quiet, stoic man was never the real me. I can''t stand to explain myself to ants, but when my blade starts itching¡­ my tongue also gets sharper."


    The two didn''t seem to move, and yet there was a warp in space. Two blades manifested from nothing, clashing against one another before warping around each other''s forms and collapsing.


    BOOM!


    Space crumbled and there was a violent ripple outward.


    "It is a sign of weakness," the young man said as though his words were truly so precious.


    "You don''t see the irony in that, do you?" Ryu asked, taking a step forward. "You come here, speaking of Titles, trying to control the thoughts of people, putting so much stock in words themselves¡­ and then claim that they should not be spoken."


    The young man involuntarily took a step back and then looked down at his feet as though he was shocked by his own actions.


    He looked back up to Ryu, a frown marring his once indifferent expression.


    "It''s precisely because of that that words are so precious."


    "Look at you, speaking in a full sentence finally. Would you like a reward for that?"


    Ryu took another step forward and the young man took yet another step back.


    "You¡­"


    "And now we''re back to saying so little. It''s a shame, you had so much potential. Words only have meaning because they are spoken. You wouldn''t be able to understand a single thing about your path, even to communicate it to yourself, without words and understanding.


    "Theoretically, you could if you built cultivation on your own from the ground up, but I think we both know you aren''t nearly that caliber of genius.


    "You built your foundation on the shoulders of giants, learning from their words, and piecing together information from their languages, only to turn around and pretend as though you''re distilling knowledge by keeping your tongue chained to the roof of your mouth."


    Ryu took another step forward and the young man took another step back. There was a shuddering in the latter''s Dao Heart that he couldn''t understand. His Dao wasn''t even built on words, and his philosophy of speaking so little wasn''t even something that he held dear to his heart.


    It didn''t make sense for Ryu to be able to just latch onto this and give him such hell for it. The worst part was that even if he could feel that something didn''t make sense was happening, he had no ability to articulate it or even pull himself out of it.


    He was stuck and could only watch Ryu ramble nonsense and feel his heart being chipped away, piece by piece.


    "You probably think you''re the strongest Lord in Existence, no?" Ryu suddenly asked.


    The young man froze, not sure how to answer this question. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But then Ryu''s aura plummeted, falling from Lord to Quasi Lord, and for some reason, he found himself taking a breath of relief.


    The moment he did, he knew that it was over.


    "Not anymore," Ryu said calmly.


    He raised a finger and the head of the last young man exploded.

 Chapter 2237 - 2237: Concentration

    The current level of Ryu''s Dao wasn''t something that Lords could fathom. Blurring the line between animate and inanimate was far more powerful than the words to describe it alone suggested.


    When facing an expert like the young man, he could even take a concept that the latter only vaguely held onto and make it as real as life itself in the target''s body.


    The fact that the young man thought it alone was enough. By the time he realized that he should be guarding his mind against Ryu, it was already far too late. The thoughts had weaved their way too far into his brain.


    The irony was that it was precisely because Ryu was using words to do it that made it all the more impossible for the young man to extricate himself. He was stuck in a loop.


    On the one hand, he didn''t believe his position that words were precious all that much. But because Ryu was constantly proving how precious words were with every step, he was actually forced into believing it because the facts were playing out right in front of him.


    But then that forced him to accept his position that words could be scarce all the more, only for Ryu to continue to use a flood of them to continue to attack his Dao Heart.


    The cycle was vicious and endless, so unrelenting in its mind warping that the young man hadn''t known which way was up and which way was down by the end of it.


    He only got to launch a single attack, and the rest of the way, it was as though he was walked down in a game of strategy.


    If this young man wasn''t the most powerful Lord in Existence, he would have at least been top five. And yet, he didn''t even get a chance before his head was shattered to pieces.


    Maybe if they had managed to make it here before he formed his Title¡­ they might have had a small right to make him sweat.


    But now?


    Impossible.


    Ryu was untouchable at even a quasi step beneath Lord, let alone at the same cultivation level. He wasn''t yet at the mountain peak he had been looking toward all his life¡­


    But he could feel that he was close.


    And once he left this battle, he would more than prove that.


    Right now, however, his thoughts were swirling with the words of the now-dead young men.


    Quiant.


    It was the pivotal word in Taedra''s poem, but he hadn''t expected for it to be her Title. More accurately, he hadn''t been paying attention to such a thing because he never linked the two.


    Were Titles the secret to mortals becoming Gods in a single bound? In that case, just how important was a Title on that level if it was paired with someone that had already become a God through normal cultivation?


    What were Titles anyway? Did he really understand them to begin with? Was it really just the ultimate application of Fate?


    That seemed to be the correct answer, and yet still just half of it all at the same time.


    It was making him wonder just what he was missing here.


    Thoughts swirled in his mind until it all eventually drifted to Primus'' late wife.


    He had learned that his great-grandmother was a human who became a God through the Arts long ago. What he hadn''t known was how she had died¡­


    Until this moment.


    It was almost certainly related to the Heavenly Court.


    Ryu had no love for Primus. He didn''t care for the man at all. However, his great-grandmother was the matriarch of the family, the one that had given birth to his grandfather, the man that sired his own father.


    For him to find out that her death was at the hands of these people¡­


    A fire suddenly blazed in Ryu''s eyes as he looked toward where the Heavenly Court doors had vanished.


    For Ailsa, he would already raze them to the ground. For them to ask him to hand over Taedra, if for no other reason than his ego, he would humiliate them down to the last man, woman, and child¡­


    To have killed his grandfather''s mother? To be the reason his Clan had likely suffered so much? To have jaded Primus to the point he forgot what it meant to be a patriarch, a man at the head of a household, a true Tatsuya¡­?


    Ryu would show Primus what the Tatsuya name really should have represented.


    SKREEEEEEEEEE!


    Silent Quibus finally broke free of the sword that pinned him to the ground, launching himself up at Ryu.


    Ryu looked over casually, the auras of the Griffin Prince and Qilin Prince suddenly flaring up as the Faerie passed through them.


    ''Interesting.''


    He finally felt Silent Quibus'' Dao clearly, and he could see now why he had taken such a risk to capture Nemesis of all creatures despite knowing how important he was to Ailsa.


    It seemed that everyone really wanted to piss him off today, but he was long past the point of calm and patience.


    Ryu''s aura returned to the Lord Realm seamlessly as though he had never left it. To him, the battle against an enemy rarely, if ever, got harder after they brought out their Dao¡­


    It only got easier.


    Even so, this time, he brought out far more strength. He could feel the fatigue from what he had done with the Heavenly Court''s Gate earlier and he felt that it was only about time he ended all of this.


    Empyrean Warframe.


    The cultivation of the Griffin Prince and Qilin Prince were stripped from them, pooling into Silent Quibus'' body in a torrent. It was strong, violent, and ruthless in a way.


    It was no surprise, though, that someone like Silent Quibus would have a Dao no less grotesque and twisted. It was clear to Ryu at a glance that he had been after Nemesis'' Adept talent.


    But somehow, even in a state of mental confusion, Nemesis had been able to stall his cultivation to the point that Silent Quibus had never gotten the chance.


    The question, though, was why the Adept Body talent would be of any use for a Faerie. While beasts had bodies that grew exponentially in size with their strength, often making them cumbersome to use and actually dispersed their power more than they should, humanoids obviously didn''t have the same problem.


    But that was when it became clear to Ryu that Silent Quibus wanted it not for his body, but rather his soul.


    Silent Quibus looked small enough, but behind him¡­


    If one had eyes like Ryu, one could see a sea of souls chained to him. Bad Karma swirled like the nightmares of a child, endlessly black and twisted, latching onto his shadow and refusing to let go.


    He wanted to shrink that Karma, not to get rid of it, but rather to concentrate it into a more powerful mass that could summon Corpse Poison with greater ease.


    It was a unique path to be sure, and maybe even one that could be said to be somewhat similar to Ryu''s Perfect Blackbody¡­ if it was the case that they were even remotely on the same path of cultivation.


    SKKKRRREEEEEEE!


    Ryu reached out a hand.


    Silent Quibus'' arm practically screamed through the air, the laws of the world struggling to keep up. But¡­


    Pa.


    Ryu caught his wrist, the world falling into silence for a moment before all of Silent Quibus'' momentum caused a wave of air to rush out in all directions.


    Even now, Ryu really couldn''t decide. How¡­ how could he kill this man? Somehow, even forcing him to undergo all the tortures he had forced on those before him wasn''t enough.


    But now¡­ he felt that he finally knew exactly what to do.


    "You want to concentrate them? How about I help you?" Ryu asked, his voice almost gentle.


    For some reason, even in that state, Silent Quibus'' pupils trembled. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unfortunately for him, Ryu had already acted.


    Reaching up with his other hand, Ryu spoke oh so lightly once again:


    "[Lines of Fate]."


    The world turned into a sea of black, white, and grey lines in his eyes.


    There was a ripple as Ryu moved his wrist in a wave-like motion, his eyes sharpening.


    Making him suffer the same Fate wasn''t enough. He would replace Silent Quibus'' past lives with those of those whose lives he had ruined. Then¡­ he would make him undergo the same test the Dream Wraiths had forced him to withstand.


    That was a form of concentration¡­ wasn''t it?

 Chapter 2238 - 2238: No

    The scream that echoed was unlike anything those present had ever heard. Let alone those present, even those that weren''t even watching the proceedings from a far-off distance felt their blood curdle, their souls feeling as though they were trying to claw out from their very bodies.


    It was pain incarnate, hardship and grotesque discomfort distilled into the purest of liquids and forced down their throats.


    As painful as the sound was to hear itself, one could only imagine what the person in question was suffering through.


    Ryu didn''t just want Silent Quibus to suffer normally. That was too good for him. He didn''t want him to experience the same things as his victims either, at least not in the normal sense.


    A man like this, toeing the line between life and death, had long since come to terms with the fact that he would either reach the pinnacle of the world or one day suffer no less than all those that had died at his hands.


    It was something that all those of his cult had long since become comfortable with. They were ready for this sort of death.


    So how could Ryu give him what he wanted?


    The truth was that Silent Quibus had never loved Ailsa, at least not in the conventional way. What he wanted was the experience, the pleasure, of ripping a woman of her caliber down from her throne. He wanted to see what it would feel like to make her suffer, to make her moan, to make her feel true humiliation.


    He fantasized about it, allowed it to soak his spirit and calm his soul. It was something he thought about every day, and maybe to him, this was the pinnacle he chased.


    To want his wife alone was already more than enough of a sin for Ryu to make a man suffer the worst of fates. But for something like this¡­ he couldn''t forgive it so easily.


    So he erased everything that was Silent Quibus, replacing it with the lives of those he had ruined.


    Did this also shatter the paths of reincarnation of these people?


    Yes.


    But Ryu didn''t give a damn. And, this was a Fate that Silent Quibus had long severed for them. These shadows that followed him were none other than their souls. They would have never had such a chance to begin with unless Ryu released them.


    That said, judging by their reactions¡­ the pain they had suffered, for a chance at revenge like this, they would give up everything they had.


    The level of suffering these people had to endure to produce Corpse Poison was beyond what the concept of humanity itself could withstand. Many of the things that Silent Quibus had done¡­ simply couldn''t be written about at all.


    But now, in their own way, through the use of Ryu''s strength, they were earning their path to their own revenge.


    Every time one of Silent Quibus'' past lives was erased, it was replaced with the life of one he had killed. He wasn''t just suffering the pain of their bodies, he was feeling their humiliation, he was experiencing the breaking of their hearts, the shattering of their souls. But worst of all¡­


    Again and again, he was brought to that very same tipping point he had brought them to. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was no way to shut it out. They had become his own experiences now.


    They were him, and he was them.


    He couldn''t remain indifferent because they hadn''t remained indifferent. He couldn''t close off his emotions because he had made sure to tear theirs open. He couldn''t withstand the torture because he had never failed to bring even the most prideful of people beyond the point of no return.


    "Do you feel that?" Ryu asked as though Silent Quibus could hear him at all. "I wonder what will happen when your Cult sees this method. They''re probably watching right now, don''t you think? Do you think they''re feeling a little bit of fear for the first time in their lives?"


    Ryu crouched to the balls of his feet, pulling the slobbering Silent Quibus up by his hair. Tears, snot, and pain warped his features. It was probably the most pathetic a Sovereign had ever looked in the history of Existence, much less one as talented as Silent Quibus.


    "I''d honestly prefer not to see this face of yours, but I think my wife deserves to, and I think it''s best the world see it too."


    "You see, I''m not a man with a great amount of patience. Today will be the last chance any one of you have to kill me. Because after I leave here today, I''ll be crossing from Quasi Lord to true Lordhood.


    "You sent your best geniuses, they died. You sent a Sovereign, look at him now. You sent a God, he hasn''t even dared to attack despite my back being to him. The Heavenly Court themselves descended, and their little mighty tyke got slapped and sent back to his little corner of the world.


    "Honestly, if I were you all, I''d be doing my very best to rush here with all my might and make certain that I don''t take a single step out of here."


    Ryu grinned a fiendish grin.


    "What do you think, Silent Quibus?"


    "¡­ Kill¡­ Me¡­"


    "Oh, no, no, no. I can''t do that. You still have a few billion more lives to go through. You''re only on what, the dozenth or so? My, my¡­ you really have quite some bad deeds on your hands. You really have no one to blame but yourself for all of this."


    Silent Quibus keeled over, vomiting up mouthfuls of black blood. But because Ryu was still holding up his head, it pooled over his jaw and down his body, the scent of sizzling blood filling the air.


    "You''re a grown man. I know you just experienced being an infant again, but some propriety, please."


    "¡­ Ki..ll¡­ me¡­. Ple¡­ase¡­."


    Ryu smiled a smile that could only be described as devilishly handsome.


    "No. I don''t think I will."

 Chapter 2239 - 2239: Obviously

    Iam stood in silence. He had almost lost his life just now, and yet it felt like just another normal day¡­ or rather, what a normal day had been before he lost himself in the Ruin Master organization.


    He felt quite free. But looking at Ryu''s back, he couldn''t help but shake his head inwardly.


    This world¡­ its waters ran deep.


    Had he lost to Ryu? Of course. And he would accept his loss wholeheartedly. But that didn''t mean that there were certain truths that couldn''t be ignored.


    Not only had he failed to take that step, he was also suppressed by the Title Stele. And now, he was being burned alive by Karmic Flames. Even if Ryu did nothing at all, he would die.


    Maybe he should have been mad that Ryu seemed to have forgotten that in his little soliloquy, but he wasn''t. Right now, despite the pain ravaging his body, he truly felt at peace.


    And then Ryu looked back to him as though he had only just now remembered his existence.


    "For a loser, you sure know how to smile."


    Iam blinked, his eyes flickering down as though he was trying to see if he really was smiling or not. However, the twitch of his lip alone seemed enough to prove the fact to him.


    Eventually, he shook his head.


    "I''m dead. Does it matter?"


    "Says who? I know a useful Summon when I see one. People die when I want them to die. They live when I want them to live. The world is really that simple."


    "You are arrogant."


    "As I''ve always been."


    "It seems to have not gotten you killed yet."


    "Yet?" Ryu let go of Silent Quibus'' head and the latter slumped over, falling in a pool of his own vomit, snot, and tears. The beautiful thing about the body of such a powerful cultivator was that most of that would just keep being produced.


    Ryu raised his head to the skies and laughed as he stood. If they believed him to be arrogant before, he would only be more so. He wouldn''t rest until this world knew what the Title Ryu Tatsuya truly meant.


    Iam watched Ryu laugh calmly. Even now, he wasn''t angry. Maybe after a certain point, it wasn''t arrogance at all¡­ just confidence¡­ just a powerful understanding of self-worth and what he could accomplish.


    Yet, maybe because of his own strong Dao Heart, Iam felt the same way he had before Ryu laughed.


    The world was too big.


    "Do you know who that Nameless Immortal God is?" Iam asked.


    Ryu grinned. "Does it matter?"


    "Only insofar as it makes you realize there are people in this world that you cannot beat."


    "There''ve always been people that I cannot beat. The difference has been the same every time. The only gap between me and them is time."


    "Even if that is technically true, when you face someone truly immortal, and doesn''t know the meaning of a bottleneck or an end to their potential, and they likewise have endless time on you¡­ how could you ever catch up?"


    It was a despairing thought.


    In the history of Existence, just how many geniuses had been born? There were simply bound to be some of them that could stand toe to toe with Ryu. He couldn''t possibly be the one and only, right?


    Well, no¡­ at some point, a talent was truly so broken that it could never be matched. Ryu seemed to fit that criteria to its very ends. However, if time was infinite, and yet there were existences that had experienced significant portions of it, then how could Ryu ever match up to them even if he had all the time in the world?


    If the gap was significant enough, then Ryu could spend trillions of years improving at the same pace and yet still feel like he wasn''t catching up at all.


    However, a question that should have stumped Ryu only made him raise an eyebrow.


    "Is that difficult? I don''t need to be stronger than them to beat them. Are you under the impression that I''m as strong as you are? Was I as strong as any one of the geniuses I just killed? My body had been burned through with Karmic Flames, my talents were suppressed, my body could hardly produce as much power as a Transcended Sky God.


    "Did you think I was as powerful as that ant when I slapped him? He couldn''t dodge even if he wanted to. That''s because if I want something done, even someone arrogant enough to title themselves Almighty has to lower their head."


    Iam silently listened to Ryu, his expression changing only the slightest bit.


    "And if they''re more powerful than even that?"


    "More powerful than someone who titles themselves Almighty? Interesting, interesting." S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Some people don''t care to be labeled at all."


    It was clear that Iam was referring to someone specific. The Nameless Immortal God. There were truly people that didn''t care to be Titled at all, no matter how much the Title Stele wanted it, no matter how much the world begged for it.


    They existed outside the scope of reality and the bounds of the laws. They were the mountain peak beyond the mountain peak, standing so tall and loftily above that even infinite time might never be enough to catch up with them.


    "Does it make a difference?" Ryu looked toward the Title Stele for the first time since his name was etched into it. "He doesn''t seem all that special at all."


    Iam felt his heart tremble as though he would be smited just for hearing those words. But the punishment he was expecting to come didn''t.


    "And what if it did make a difference?"


    Iam kept pressing, as though he was looking for something, something other than blind confidence, something to believe in truly for the first time in his life¡­ another path.


    "We''re in the land of hypotheticals now? Are you trying to interview me for why I should save your life?


    "But this isn''t the sort of game you think it is. I don''t have the same limits as the people you know, so why you keep asking as though you''re looking for a specific answer is beyond me."


    Iam was about to be disappointed until Ryu spoke again.


    "But the hypothetical is interesting enough. What would I do if I came across an opponent so talented that I didn''t have enough time to catch up to them?"


    Ryu grinned.


    "Obviously I would just go back in time."

 Chapter 2240 - 2240: I Stand Alone

    Iam couldn''t remember ever being more stunned in his life. But then his eyes glowed, they glowed so fiercely that he thought they might burn even brighter than the Karmic Flames still licking at his body.


    Going back in time? It was the most ridiculous thing that he had ever heard. It was the one thing no one had ever been capable of¡­ or so it seemed.


    There had been one other person capable of it. But rather than using it to cultivate like Ryu seemed to be suggesting, this person did it for no other reason than to bring his wives and parents back to his side, using up all his attempts on reincarnations until he got the perfect life.


    Even if one could go back in time, it would be impossible to do it more than once, and for that reason, every such person would only have a single chance.


    In the history of Existence¡­ there had only been one man, a man that did it so casually he didn''t even care to describe how amazing his feat, a man who didn''t care very much for explaining himself.


    If not for Iam''s dedication as a Ruin Master, slowly but surely unearthing the details of all 108 lives this man lived through since time immemorial, he wouldn''t know of this feat either. It would have been impossible for him to know.


    It was this very ridiculous thing, this thing that only a single man had ever done before¡­ that was precisely the answer Iam wanted to hear.


    It was such an outlandish answer, a ridiculous stroke of Fate that was nearly impossible to stumble upon by coincidence.


    "Okay." Iam eventually said.


    Ryu''s grin slowly faded, his eyes focusing on the man before him. There was something about Iam that seemed off. He knew more than he probably should about many things a man of his caliber shouldn''t.


    To his very core, Iam was a Ruin Master. Maybe more of a Ruin Master than Ryu ever claimed to be.


    "I hope you survive." Iam eventually said.


    "I already told you, those who I want to live, live. Those that I want to die, die."


    Ryu''s response sounded like he was speaking for himself, but in reality, he was speaking about Iam.


    "I believe you." Iam said with a smile.


    Ryu''s eyes narrowed.


    What was this man trying to get at, exactly? What was he missing here?


    "You are wrong about one thing, though," Iam said with his smile still plastered all over his face. "I didn''t attack you not because I fear you. Much like yourself, I don''t give up until the very end.


    "My Dao is inferior to yours and cannot stand up to you. My Dao Heart is inferior to yours and I''ve let it cloud over under the shadows of others for far too long. My talent is inferior to yours. Though that didn''t seem to be the case initially, the gap between us now has been shrunk and then reversed because of your comprehension abilities.


    "But the truth of the matter is that I''ve never been the most prideful in my Dao, nor my Dao Heart, nor my talent, or my cultivation, nor even my comprehension abilities, per se.


    "I was born to be a Ruin Master. It is my passion, and there''s nothing I love more than it. I allowed my Dao Heart to be clouded because this pursuit has always meant more to me than anything else.


    "But don''t you think¡­ that the world we live in right now is quite sick?"


    Iam spoke in riddles, his eyes looking off into the distance.


    "There''s so much beauty to be found in the past, but the Heavens themselves, even, seem so enamored with what the future might bring, constantly pitting races against one another, forcing evolution and progression, and for what, exactly? Just because that is the natural order of things?


    "Why don''t you think about it and consider it, Ryu Tatsuya¡­ you seek the pinnacle of the world, but aren''t you just another pawn of the Heavens, doing exactly what it is it wants you to do?"


    Ryu didn''t respond, still staring at Iam with a focused gaze as though he was looking for something¡­ searching.


    "No response¡­ odd, you are normally very talkative. I wonder if my words are making you ponder or not, or if you''re just trying to use this opportunity to understand what''s going on.


    "I can only say that even with your intelligence, there are some things you cannot understand without experience. And that experience, unfortunately¡­ takes time.


    "Today, I think I''ve finally come to understand something. Existence is quite sick. Maybe at the start of all things, the constant pursuit of power and a new peak was the right way, but what about now?


    "We''ve already reached the end of cultivation, but powerhouses that don''t know what''s good for themselves keep trying to break a glass ceiling that doesn''t even exist. In the future, you''ll probably be one of them, destroying everything that once was in pursuit of what can''t be.


    "At the very least, that Nameless Immortal God knows what it means to be content. But you¡­ you are insatiable. You have everything, and yet always want for more. You don''t just want for more, you think that you deserve it."


    Ryu continued to not respond as though his mind was still working in overdrive.


    "It''ll probably be any time now," Iam said calmly, still speaking as though nothing at all could faze him. The Karmic Flames continued to burn him through, and yet he hardly reacted to them at all. "If you really did succeed in turning back time like that man did, it will happen soon. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But unfortunately, you won''t realize that killing me will only set into motion things that you cannot fathom. You may have reached the pinnacle of the world along with that Nameless Immortal God, but I will be the pinnacle of Ruin Mastery.


    "I stand alone."


    Iam''s voice trembled with its first signs of pride. A true pride anchored deep into his bones.

 Chapter 2241 - 2241: Confirmation

    Ryu didn''t move. He didn''t rush the man; he didn''t even seem to be doing much other than thinking. The entire world disappeared to him as he thought through something.


    And then it happened.


    Iam grinned as though he felt it before it came. And then, a palm descended from the skies above, smashing him into a bloody pulp.


    Iam was no more. His body, soul, and even the Karmic Flames that had once been burning him to ash from the inside out were all gone.


    Ryu continued to stand there, staring at the palm that ripped through the platform.


    That aura¡­


    Was that him?


    He certainly hadn''t moved just now, but he could feel when something was himself and when it wasn''t.


    Had that palm come from the future? Or the past? And¡­ why?


    Iam''s words all seemed to imply that Ryu would kill him for some reason or another, but Ryu himself had a hard time fathoming why it was that he would just fall into the schemes of someone else just because.


    Logically speaking, Ryu didn''t have the strength to do what was just done now. So it didn''t matter if the palm came from the past or the future. Regardless, to the current him, it was some time in the latter. That was because even if the palm was from the past, it could only mean that some future version of himself had decided that going backward was worth his while.


    Ryu himself already knew that he would go to the past at some point as well. He had already figured out the Zu Clan Ancestor was him. What he didn''t understand just yet was why he had done that or what forced him to.


    Part of him felt that the likely answer was to save his master. He owed that man who helped him so much at the early part of his journey a great deal, and there was his wife as well¡ªEska¡ªwhom he likewise felt that he owed a great deal to. Maybe not in the same way, but he definitely cared for Eska in a way that a husband could only love his wife. He wanted her to be happy.


    After she had given up so much for the sake of the Zu Clan, how could he allow their memory to just fade without a word?


    He definitely needed to do something, and much like he planned to help Sarriel revive her Clan, he planned to do the same for Eska.


    In the future, while the Tatsuya name would be the umbrella that brought them all together, he didn''t mind those Clans flourishing on their own either.


    Ryu had never had the ambition to be some Clan leader or Emperor. He cared little for such things and didn''t feel like he had the temperament to be a good leader at all. He was too willful, too arrogant, and too self-reliant on his own strength. He didn''t care for anything a Clan, Sect, or Empire could give him.


    But if that was what his wives wanted, when he grew powerful enough to stand at the peak of the world, wouldn''t it just be a matter of a wave of the hand for him?


    But it was precisely because of all of that that this made so little sense.


    Like he had said, whether this palm came from the past or the future, it was most definitely some later version of himself regardless. That meant that that version of himself should have some recollection of this conversation.


    All of this meant that he recalled this conversation, knew Iam''s words, and yet still decided to do¡­ exactly what Iam wanted him to do?


    It seemed like something that he was far too arrogant to do. He would probably rather die than do something like that. Unless¡­


    Ryu''s placid expression, steeped in thoughts and heavy contemplation, cracked into a chuckle.


    Knowing him, there was one thing that could lead to such an action. No¡­ there were two.


    The first was that he knew of Iam''s scheme, had figured it out, and couldn''t be bothered to give a damn.


    The second was that Iam had pissed him off so much that he couldn''t be bothered to care. In this latter case, he wouldn''t care about the thoughts of anyone else; he wouldn''t even care that he knew of Iam''s scheme either or that this was precisely what Iam wanted him to do.


    He would just act according to his heart and do things as he pleased.


    That certainly¡­ sounded like something he would do.


    The question was, which one was the truth? And why did Iam want to die in this way?


    Ryu''s gaze slowly shifted until it landed on the Title Stele.


    At that moment, silently, and without even the slightest hint of a fluctuation, a new Title was being etched into being.


    Ryu''s smile slowly faded as he saw it manifest, his eyes blazing with a fiery light.


    It was happening now?


    In that case, that meant that he not only remembered this conversation with Iam, he had seen it happen in the future, and yet he had still ended up making this decision in the end.


    He knew that it would elevate Iam to a whole other level, and yet he had still made the choice.


    "Ha¡­"


    At that moment, Ryu exhaled a breath and then began to laugh so uproariously the skies quaked. It was a laughter that came from the depths of his belly, the sort of vibrant, joyful laughter that belied the curse of death that hung over his head right at this moment.


    That was because right then, he had confirmed something that had been nothing more than speculation to him before. Now he knew that it was certain, now he was confident that his previous deductions had been nothing short of correct.


    It was then that the Title finally finished etching into reality, standing above even Ryu''s own newly formed Title at the very top.


    A Title that was surely Iam''s own, and no less peculiar than his cryptic words. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Grand Ancestral Bloodline.

 Chapter 2242 - 2242: Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

    [AN: Accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter for the last one. If you can''t see the updated chapter and still see a chapter from another novel, then go to your settings in app to clear cache, then try again. That will fix it. Also, important Author''s Note below]


    Ryu turned away from the Title as though he didn''t care for it at all. But the moment he saw it, he understood.


    Grand Ancestral Bloodlines¡­ wasn''t that something he used to hang his hat on? It was the name of the very Bloodlines that coursed within them.


    But this Title¡­ it was both the same and very different.


    Iam had said it himself. His aim was different from Ryu''s own. His goal was to be a Ruin Master of ages, to honor the past in ways that the future didn''t seem capable of doing.


    And wasn''t that exactly what Grand Ancestral Bloodlines were? Homages to a past lineage, a culmination of history, pain, and suffering in the way that few other things could.


    Ryu had experienced it personally. Maybe many of the things that he had suffered through he would have never had to if his Bloodline had been different, had he been too weak for the Martial Gods to target, or even deeper¡­ had his great-grandfather not been Primus but a much more benevolent man.


    A Bloodline represented a lineage. A Grand Ancestral Bloodline represented the pinnacle of that. The word Ancestral was chosen for a very good and important reason. It was, at the core of its being, a call to the ones that came before yourself and all the hardship they had gone through to build up your talent to what it was.


    The Fate that bound it, that moved it, that decided much of the path of its descendants¡­ these were all things that were decided long ago, but they also held within them a story.


    A story that Iam wanted to take and distill, to preserve in his own way.


    Grand Ancestral Bloodline.


    To embody that sort of Title, just what did it mean? To completely and fully understand the history of the most powerful to ever exist, the strongest across time, immortal from the infancy of the world down to its very end.


    From the start, time and time again, the very same Bloodlines rose to the top. They had their hands on everything, and there wasn''t a single point in history that they hadn''t influenced in some shape or fashion.


    It could be said that Iam was using this to tap into what he truly wanted¡­ the secrets of history¡­ the path to fixing the Heavens and creating the world he wanted from the start.


    A world that understood what contentment was.


    Ryu didn''t care.


    Honestly speaking, he couldn''t describe just how little he cared even if he had all the time in the world¡ªeven if he turned back the dial to return to the very birth of the universe itself.


    He didn''t care.


    He was ecstatic.


    It was no wonder he had killed the bastard. He deserved it.


    But that much was fine. He would do it again, and again. And when the time came, he would sever his head and crush him to pulp for the second time.


    Taking on such a Title and then pretending as though it made you mighty.


    Ryu couldn''t help but laugh.


    Complaining about power, and then relying on power to establish your Title. What a pathetic excuse for a man.


    He had thought that Iam might be worth his Summon. But now, even if Iam appeared before him, bowing in deference, even with what was surely a huge upgrade in power, Ryu wouldn''t even give him a second glance.


    That sort of man would be better off losing his head than continuing to stain the Title of cultivator and man itself.


    It was about time he finished all of this.


    Ryu reached out, and the Griffin Prince and Qilin Prince both were restrained. Since he was here, he might as well take them as well. It wasn''t as though Silent Quibus could control them anymore anyway.


    Even before suffering this endless torture, Silent Quibus had been consumed by his own Heart Demon too much to even begin to control them properly.


    Whether it was them or Shade, capturing them was as easy as flipping over a palm.


    All of a sudden, the geniuses of a generation seemed to have all died or been captured by Ryu.


    With slow steps, Ryu approached the Martial Gods that remained. Well¡­ the three of them that did. Elena''s mother, her father, and her little brother.


    All three of them were silent, corpses littered around them all. Blood that was both their own and not coated their bodies, but ultimately, it was clear that whatever arrogance they had once had was no longer there to be seen.


    "What did we all learn today?" Ryu asked as though speaking to school-aged children.


    He got no response. At least not from Xalvador, who looked like he was out for murder, or Aurelia, who had an expression as frosty as snow.


    Instead, it was Barren who couldn''t control himself and lunged.


    "I''ll kill you!"


    Ryu waved a hand, slapping the top of his head. The kid''s face slammed into the ground below, only to feel Ryu''s foot on the back of his head.


    "It seems that we haven''t learned anything at all. You know, when you''re not punished properly, it seems only natural that you''d still be so arrogant. You''re very lucky that my wife has a soft heart. You see, if I killed you, she would never complain because she knows your kind very well. But that wouldn''t stop her from feeling sad.


    "At that point, what kind of husband would that make me?"


    Ryu asked them as though he was really waiting for a response.


    "So, at least for an annoying brat like you¡­"


    Ryu reached a finger forward and the connection between Barren''s dantian and Meridians was severed.


    A shriek came from the young man as he practically deflated like a balloon.


    "Who knows, maybe if you''re on your best behavior, I might reattach it for you. But I wouldn''t hold your breath. I''m quite good at reading people." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu kicked him away and gave his parents-in-law a glance before vanishing.


    When he appeared again, he was just on the other side of a barrier, staring at his wife.


    Ailsa looked as though she had just gone through a rollercoaster of emotions. Tears stained her face, her hair was a mess, and her aura was nothing short of chaotic.


    Ryu smiled. "What are you crying for? Aren''t I here?"

 Chapter 2243 - 2243: Power.

    Ryu took a step forward and grabbed his wife''s waist. Her walls seemed to break down as she started to sob uncomfortably, her tears staining his chest.


    "What''s all the tears for? You really didn''t believe in your husband?"


    "I''m sorry¡­ I''m sorry¡­"


    These seemed to be the only coherent words that Ailsa could get out no matter how hard she tried. It was like the weight of the world was lodged in her throat, and regardless of how she tried, nothing seemed to be working properly.


    The more of Ryu''s gentle touch she felt, the more walls seemed to break down, and one after another, years of repressed tears, sadness, and grievance came pouring out one after another.


    Maybe in the history of Existence, no one had ever seen such a powerful Dao God cry. Even more shocking than that, no one had ever seen one cry in the arms of a Quasi Lord.


    And yet, somehow, they found themselves feeling as though it was right or natural in some odd way that they couldn''t describe even if they wanted to.


    Ryu forgot about the world and the danger around him, gently cupping his wife''s cheek and kissing her pink lips.


    Ailsa melted, her tears falling in a silent rain as she puckered to meet his lips. But the quivering of those two soft budding rose petals was enough to make even the manliest of men''s hearts break.


    She seemed more like a nervous schoolgirl trying to prepare for her first kiss, taken off guard and yet more than willing. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When she finally felt Ryu''s warmth mix with her own, it felt like something she had longed for, for so long had finally returned to her in a way that only felt natural.


    Ryu pulled back almost too soon for her. She chased after his lips again, but the gentle stroke of his thumb across her cheek awakened her to the fact that he wasn''t escaping anywhere.


    He was right here. He had always been right here. He had always been her rock¡­ she had just not been able to see him for a while.


    "Never apologize to me again," Ryu said sternly.


    Ailsa''s eyes trembled, but then she softly nodded, nestling her head into his chest. She had the power to shatter the world with a casual palm, and yet right now she felt safer than she ever had before.


    Ryu swept his wife into his arms and then took a step high into the skies. Her fluttering dress did nothing to cool his momentum.


    With a casual sweep of his gaze, his eyes landed on Solara''s grandfather.


    "I won''t be killing your granddaughter, that would be far too easy. So if you want, you can attack me now. I won''t use her as a hostage."


    The old man''s lips were still drizzling with blood. There was a fierceness in his eyes right now, especially every time he thought of his granddaughter. But no matter how hard that half of him pushed, he continued to stand in place.


    There was too much riding on this, too much at stake, too much they had all given up to be right here.


    Ryu sneered. "I''ve always hated pathetic excuses for men like you the most. Recently, I''ve learned of why Primus acts the way he does, but I think that makes me want to kill him even more now than ever before.


    "A man who''s incapable of protecting all that is his is unworthy to be a man. I''ll tell you all this very clearly¡­ my women aren''t the sort of people you can afford to offend, my Tatsuya Clan isn''t the sort of enemy you want to make, and I, Ryu Tatsuya, will stand at the peak of the martial world.


    "I know that you''re all already scrying the Fates, trying to decide when I''ll be most vulnerable for an attack. You''ve realized that my momentum is too strong right now, so you''ll pivot, probably thinking to target my coming Tribulation instead. Then you''ll realize that won''t be enough because it''ll put you all in too much danger. You wouldn''t want to come to a battlefield under my control again, now would you?


    "So what will you do? Target the birth of my son instead? Yes, that sounds like something cowardly rats will do."


    Ryu''s smile became wider and yet more dangerous. Dripping with a killing intent that made the skies heavy and the earth waver, he looked down from on high.


    "You''re all very welcome to come and try. I, however¡­ am not Primus. I do not forget my blood. I do not have limits. I am Ryu Tatsuya."


    Ryu vanished from the spot, his Title burning so bright on the Stele that many seemed to forget that there was a Title that now sat above it.


    The world fell into silence, but they all knew that there wasn''t a single word that Ryu had said that would prove to be false.


    But they also knew that he had to die.


    What were all of these powers scrambling for? Wasn''t it all the same thing the Phoenix Sky God wanted?


    Power.


    They all wanted to peek beyond that veil, to see what stood beyond Dao God, to strip themselves free of the floundering Heavens that seemed to forsake everything else for the sake of progress¡­ and yet seemingly refused to allow anyone to step beyond Dao God.


    It was what the Corpse Poison Cult wanted¡­ it was what the Ruin Master Guild wanted¡­ it was what the Heavenly Court wanted¡­ it was what the Martial Gods wanted¡­


    And today, Ryu had displayed a talent that broke their minds, a comprehension ability that was beyond the realms of reason, a path that just might carry with it a chance for them to peek beyond what the Heavens had in store for them.


    They had to have it.


    Once again, the world seemed to want the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils to fall to their palms¡­


    Maybe history just might repeat itself and the number one Heavenly Pupils would disappear for yet another era.

 Chapter 2244 - 2244: Oddity

    "You are having a son?" Ailsa asked softly.


    "I am," Ryu smiled, looking down at his wife. "Do you want to have a baby too?"


    "¡­ I wanted to have your first born."


    Ryu bent down and kissed her forehead. Inwardly, he was quite happy. If Ailsa was still holding onto her former arrogance, she would have never said this. Even if he could feel it from her thoughts, she would prefer to reveal it like that than speak it herself.


    "Maybe this is a little punishment for being so disobedient."


    Ailsa pouted. "You said I don''t have to say sorry."


    Ryu laughed, kissing her lips this time. This was the Ailsa he remembered, this was his Life Partner. He much preferred her to be like this.


    "You can still have my first daughter if you are fast enough."


    "Fast enough?!" Ailsa scoffed. "I am a Cultus Faerie, in case you''ve forgotten. How can they outrace me?"


    Ryu grinned and then told Ailsa everything about Hope and the pill she created.


    "Pa. I don''t need such a thing. I can do it on my own. Hurry up, take your clothes off."


    Ryu was speechless. "I am not bedding my wife here. Do you have any idea¡ª?"


    Ailsa shattered Ryu''s robes with a palm.


    "Hey, hey. Let me at least¡ª."


    Ailsa waved a hand and an aura more solid than a world''s boundaries took shape. Then, one army of elite Dao Gods after another filled the skies.


    Each one was a woman at least in spirit, and their backs were turned to them¡­ at least it should have been. But Ryu could only speechlessly watch as several of these Summons peeked over their shoulders to check him out.


    Why did he feel like a bull on the chopping block?


    At some unknown point, Ailsa''s clothes had vanished and he barely had the chance to take it in before all his blood rushed out of his brain.


    At that point, nothing was under his control anymore. Well, the sex itself was. As for the fact he was doing it or the fact he had many important things to consider right now, that was left to a mind he had long forgotten.


    It seemed that maybe he would be having two babies¡­ knowing Ailsa and her power, she just might have a method of accelerating the process enough to come out on top.


    At that point, Ryu could only accept it.


    There was a part of his mind shaking itself about as it tried to figure out something extraordinarily important.


    He had given his son a Realm Heart. Now he would need to give this new child something of at least equivalent value or else his wife might kill him.


    ''Dammit.''


    **


    "Don''t run, Veridia. I know what you''ve done."


    A Fire Dragon with scales so dark they almost looked more black than crimson scaled across the skies. As he moved, the land crashed beneath him, not just due to the strength of his wings and their powerful flaps, but the Crystal Dragon being dragged across the land with him.


    "To touch upon the Taboos¡­ you have quite some nerve."


    The growl filled the skies like fiery ire falling from the heavens. Runes spontaneously formed in a cascade of combustion, a rain falling down and pelting against the earth.


    Many generations from now, this land would still be one of soot and ash.


    Veridia, Selheira''s mother, raced across the earth. One of her wings had long been ripped off and she could only race forward on all fours as though she was some kind of dog.


    The humiliation in her heart made the Fire Dragon in her want to snap and roar. But it was the wife in her that held it back.


    That Crystal Dragon was none other than her husband, a man who had always been the gentle water to her unbridled chaos. And yet, it was her fault for getting him into such a situation.


    Selheira''s father wasn''t nearly so weak. In fact, he should have been equal to Pyrothos. Some even believed that Pyrothos'' Title of Undefeated wouldn''t be nearly so certain if Selheira''s father wasn''t so passive.


    Unfortunately, the Crystal Dragons, after descending to the Eighth Plane, had chosen to remain there and never showed signs of returning until now.


    Veridia was simply too tired of it all. She knew that what she had been doing was foolish, but she also knew that all Pyrothos did was find reasons to target them.


    And recently, things had gotten even worse. For some reason, Pyrothos wanted the Crystal Dragon Clan to descend even further, retreating from the Eighth Plane to the Seventh.


    None of them could explain exactly why that was, but it was the straw that broke the camel''s back for Veridia.


    Who would have known that Pyrothos was waiting for this exact moment? Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not only did he use her to lure her husband in once more, but her husband had also suffered a near lethal blow because of her.


    Half of Veridia was absolutely furious with herself, and the other half was a raging Fire Dragon Bloodline deep within her that wanted to expunge Pyrothos from the world.


    How could this coward be their representative? How could this despicable Dragon be their leader?


    Her scales themselves seemed to spit fire, but she knew that if Pyrothos wasn''t making a show of dragging her husband through mountains and rivers, she would have been caught long ago.


    And then it happened.


    The world warped and a flash of silver appeared in the skies.


    A Spatial Dragon appeared, his wings flaring out wide.


    But when Veridia sensed the aura of a mere Sovereign, all of her hope vanished. For some reason, she had hoped to see Ryu, and yet he wasn''t here either.


    "Hm?" Lu''card looked toward Pyrothos, his words of challenge dying in his throat. What the hell was happening here?


    But then something clicked and he blinked.


    Ever since he entered the True Martial World quadrant of space, he had felt that something was¡­ just a little bit off. He couldn''t quite place why that was until this very moment.

 Chapter 2245 - 2245: Reverse Scale

    Everyone knew that almost a hundred years ago now, there was a change. Because of Ryu, the True Martial World''s seal was undone and everyone suddenly experienced one shocking breakthrough after another.


    The end result of that was many geniuses popping up one after another. But¡­ for those of the highest echelon who had already reached the pinnacle of their cultivation, improvement was hard to come by.


    Just because the world changed, didn''t mean that everything else did too.


    But Lu''card sensed something odd on the way here.


    Honestly speaking, he didn''t care much for Pyrothos anymore. What once had been his lifelong goal was shredded up all thanks to Ryu. Ryu didn''t even say anything, but after seeing a wider world with a taller ceiling, it seemed almost silly to just want to become the Emperor of this one piece of land.


    He would much prefer to become Emperor of all Dragons.


    But then that idiot Ryu went and slaughtered the Dragon Prince. Lu''card couldn''t even go and have his fun there, and the Dragon Emperor was still far too much for him, so he had decided to come here to vent a bit instead when he felt the oddity.


    As for what that oddity was¡­


    ''Taboo? They''re trying to reverse something. Put back the seal maybe? Or they''re trying to¡­ Oh¡­''


    Things clicked into place one after another. It was no wonder why Pyrothos was chasing after Selheira''s father.


    Crystal Dragons were the Ancient Beasts of order and structure, and what Pyrothos and his cronies wanted to do was worse than just disrupting a little bit of that structure. They basically wanted to overturn the state of things, taking the potential that should have been given to the young and handing it over to themselves instead.


    It was a sinister method and honestly¡­


    "Quite pathetic," Lu''card said indifferently.


    He looked toward Pyrothos with disgust. Was this the Dragon he had spent so much of his life chasing after? What good was your Dao Heart?


    Pyrothos looked up, his eyes narrowing. His maw opened, lines of striking red-gold running through the gaps in his scales as fire accumulated.


    Lu''card didn''t even move.


    BANG!


    An explosion sounded as Pyrothos released the ball of fire¡­ only for his head to explode.


    A barely perceptible flicker reflected in the air.


    "Weak," Lu''card scoffed.


    The roar of a dragon echoed.


    "Oh. You''re still alive. Dragon Soul? Interesting."


    Lu''card was about to act when a half-naked Ryu suddenly appeared. His hair was a mess and he smelled of women.


    A look of disdain colored the silver Dragon''s face, but his words were caught in his throat.


    Ryu looked absolutely pissed.


    "Who the fuck do you think you are?"


    A Dragon Soul manifested in the air. It was a natural Talent that Ryu hadn''t considered or seen in much depth. That was because it wasn''t very strong in most Dragons.


    The Dragon Soul was actually connected to the reverse scale of the Dragon and had little to do with their actual soul. After all, beasts didn''t have souls in the natural sense. But it functioned quite similarly to a soul nonetheless, thus the name.


    However, because of this, it was also very vulnerable. Cultivating only made the reverse scale all the more vulnerable to attack. But¡­


    Pyrothos had clearly taken a very unique path¡ªas expected of someone who had grown himself into such a legend.


    The Undefeated looked like a brute whose strength was entirely concentrated into his body, when in reality this was nothing more than a fraction of his strength. He had concentrated over 90% of it into his Reverse Scale, tempering it with his blood and refining his Bloodline.


    Now, he just needed a single push to ascend to a completely new level.


    This power, he was just ready to release it when Ryu appeared, grabbing out at the air with a hand. All of a sudden, all the control over space Lu''card had was overturned.


    Ryu ripped his arm back and Pyrothos was ripped from his Reverse Scale, the illusory body of a beast so large it blotted out the skies appearing.


    And yet, Ryu only raised his arm and then smashed down.


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    Pyrothos'' roars were suffocated into a silence, the remains of his soul being treated like a rag doll.


    Ryu had only been spending time with his wives when he felt that something was wrong. A strand of Selheira''s Karmic Strings had turned black.


    Even without paying much attention, Ryu picked out on it in an instant and crossed an impossible distance to get here as quickly as possible.


    He didn''t even register Lu''card''s appearance, nor did he care that the latter was practically locked in place under his aura.


    The gap between them had opened up so large that Ryu didn''t even care to take him as a mount any longer.


    Despite the situation, Lu''card could feel the disregard. It infuriated him. And yet, he was completely calm, the sneer of disdain on his face vanishing as he watched Ryu turn a Dao God with a legend that towered into the skies into a ragdoll.


    Every smash came without word of profanity, crushing the pride that Pyrothos had once held so dear to pieces.


    Ryu was truly livid. Even the true Dragon Emperor wouldn''t dare casually target his women''s family like this anymore. Who the fuck was Pyrothos to do so? He didn''t even realize he was an ant at the bottom of the True Martial World totem pole, but he wanted to piss him off.


    BOOM!


    Pyrothos'' Dragon Soul teetered on the edge of destruction, filled with so many cracks and crevices that a single strong gust of wind could shatter him to pieces. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ryu raised him up again before stopping. If he smashed down one more time, Pyrothos would certainly die. But that was too easy a death for him.


    With a glance, Ryu''s eyes landed on Veridia and he waved a hand.


    SHUUU!


    The Dragon Soul pierced into his mother-in-law''s Reverse Scale.

 Chapter 2246 - 2246: Livid

    Even after this, Ryu was still livid. Enough people here had watched what happened at the Title Stele to understand not to cross him. Even if they hadn''t, they should have seen what happened before the Title Stele event with his Tribulation for sure.


    It had to be remembered that the Title Stele event was for the True Martial World in the first place. The section of Existence it took place in, as a result, was very much close to them although things were a bit off compared to what they would usually be.


    As such, even if the Dao Gods here were weaker than the Dao Gods across the universe, they should still have been able to watch what happened.


    Others might not know of his relationship with Selheira, but Pyrothos would have most definitely been able to figure it out. And yet, he still acted like this.


    It wasn''t just a slight, it was the ultimate form of disrespect.


    Ryu already realized that they had begun to target him. Did they think that he was someone so easy to deal with?


    What were they going to do next? Go after his parents? His master? Sacrum?


    Ryu''s face suddenly became eerily calm, the fury that had been on it dissipating into the wind.


    "Alright."


    That was the only word he said. He looked down at his mother and father-in-law, both of whom were in states that seemed at the very edge of death''s door.


    Veridia opened her maw to say something, feeling a scorching heat within her, but Ryu shook his head. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Don''t say a single thing. You are my family."


    Veridia''s pupils trembled.


    Quite frankly, she didn''t know how she felt about her daughter marrying a human, much less a human with more than just one wife at that. But the words just now meant a lot.


    She had been about to lay down her pride to ask Ryu to help her husband. She knew about his Embryonic Qi as he had used it to help her. In fact, her strength had soared beyond Pyrothos'' directly as a result of that.


    If it hadn''t been for the fact Pyrothos had attacked her while she was trying to establish her Taboo method, maybe this battle would have gone very differently.


    But she also knew that the Embryonic Qi was incredibly precious. If not for the fact her husband was in such a life and death situation, she would have never shamelessly asked for such a thing.


    Then there was the way Ryu responded.


    The demeanor couldn''t have been clearer. If he had to hold up the skies with a palm, that was exactly what he would do.


    With a wave of his hand, it wasn''t just a droplet of Embryonic Qi that descended, it was two streaming rivers.


    Veridia''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.


    "Take your time and cultivate. Take advantage of the changes to this land and re-establish your foundations. I know that Dragons are prideful, and I can accept that. But no one touches my family. This revenge, I''ll have it myself."


    Ryu was about to take a step to leave when Lu''card finally spoke.


    "What? Are you just going to ignore me?"


    Ryu didn''t look back. "I came across a friend not long ago that I didn''t dare to look at because it would mean we would have to fight. Do you want to fight?"


    "Do you think I fear you?"


    "If I turn back now, you''ll be leaving here a mount."


    "You think I''d lose to a little Lord like you."


    "No. You''d lose to a little Quasi Lord like me."


    Lu''card bared his teeth and unleashed a roar. The skies shook and Ryu vanished.


    Appearing right above Lu''card''s head, Ryu stomped down a foot.


    BANG!


    Somehow it both felt like the world was collapsing, yet being constrained all at once. Solid, unmoving, contained control that transcended the Heavens themselves.


    Lu''card''s head slammed into the ground, his skull almost flattening into a patty.


    However, to Ryu''s surprise, he managed to vanish at the last moment.


    A gaping wound was left behind in the earth as though an abyss had opened up to swallow him whole.


    And then a shadow appeared above.


    Lu''card spread his wings out wide, their span dwarfing hundreds of meters. Mighty and looming, blood trickling down in rivers from his scales, his eyes glowed with a silver menace.


    Ryu looked up in time to see a claw that carried the weight of a black hole slamming down toward him. Space bent, twisted, and warped around it until all light vanished, leaving nothing but dense streaks of blackness cutting across the air.


    He raised a hand.


    BOOM!


    Ryu seemed to be swallowed up, a claw the size of a mountain falling onto him from overhead.


    And yet, the hole beneath him didn''t grow any larger.


    He held up his arm above his head.


    "Not bad," Ryu said lightly.


    With a flex of his arm, Ryu''s torso rippled with strength. He grabbed onto Lu''card''s claw and spun him over his head.


    BOOM!


    As though a ragdoll, he tossed him around again and again. Every boom should have shattered the plane itself, and yet it remained intact. One would have thought that it was a pair of Transcendents fighting instead.


    This was control.


    BOOM!


    Ryu let Lu''card go.


    "Have you had your fun yet?" Ryu asked.


    He received a growl in response as Lu''card tried to stand to his feet.


    "You should have gone to the Title Stele. Maybe you''d have a better chance."


    "I don''t need such a thing."


    "No. I didn''t need such a thing. I only went to prove a point. You, however, are weak. You became a Sovereign and this is all the strength you have?"


    Lu''card roared and lunged, but the result was just the same.


    "Alright, be obedient. Since you wanted this fight, I gave it to you. Now you have to pay the consequences for wasting time I could have spent killing. Come. I have heads to take."


    Ryu knew that Lu''card wouldn''t obey, but he also had no intention of going easy on him. If anything, this would only make Lu''card feel more insulted.


    In that case¡­


    A blooming line of chains took shape, wrapping around Lu''card''s neck.


    Ryu pulled hard, snapping his head up.

 Chapter 2247 - 2247: Taboo

    The ocean stretched out beneath Ryu and Lu''card. The disgruntled spatial Dragon was completely silent, not saying a word.


    None of this was a joke to Lu''card, but he had also not wanted to take a step back. Every fiber of his being wanted to win.


    Was it smart of him to fight Ryu? No. But cultivation wasn''t always about being smart.


    Unfortunately, the result wasn''t what he was expecting. The gap was even larger than what he expected.


    But the worst part wasn''t the gap in strength, it was the fact Ryu had suffocated him in the path that he was the most confident in¡­ S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And did it with ease.


    "Here," Ryu said lightly.


    Lu''card didn''t say a word as he stopped. At this point, acting defiant wouldn''t make him a strong warrior, it would make him a toddler throwing a tantrum.


    In the past when he and Ryu were on relatively equal footing, that was fine. But right now, his pride wouldn''t allow even that.


    He was a better man¡­ a better Dragon than that.


    Ryu didn''t say anything in response to Lu''card''s actions. Instead, he spoke out toward someone else entirely.


    "Are you going to come out? Or am I going to have to force you out?"


    Rolling waves spread as far as the eye could see. There wasn''t a single soul in sight, and except for the sun beaming down from above, there didn''t seem to be the presence of anything else.


    "Okay," Ryu said lightly. "We can do things that way too, I don''t mind."


    Ryu raised a hand, but before it descended, the voice came.


    "If I had known you would grow so far¡­ I would have killed you back then."


    The voice came calm, but gravelly and textured in an uncomfortable sort of way. It was almost sticky at the same time, latching onto the soul and scraping across it with its gruffness.


    "There are a lot of people who had tried to kill me in the past. The only one that ever succeeded was myself. Now, I don''t want to repeat myself. Come out or die."


    The waters slowly parted and an old man that Ryu had actually never personally met appeared. This was the very same old man that was an Ancestor of one of the many Taboo Methods that Ryu had mastered.


    Back when Ryu ended up stuck at the bottom of the ocean and used the opportunity to grasp Infinity Mist¡­ this was precisely the old man that had appeared back then.


    Ryu hadn''t seen him or sensed him back then. But now that he had control over Fate of Time, Ryu could easily go back through points of his life where there were odd influences or twists in his Fate.


    These moments, these so-called forks in the road, were interesting things to study and understand, not just so that he had a perspective on just how lucky he had gotten many times before, but so that he could also better understand his own heart and journey forward.


    To Ryu¡­ reaching Dao God was as easy as a snap of a finger. The moment he crossed Lord, he had known that this would be the case.


    Although there was a Tribulation waiting for him at every turn moving forward, there was nothing the Heavenly Court or the Heavens could send down now to threaten him. If anything, their attempts would just give him more to add to his army.


    His momentum forward was too strong.


    This was why Ryu had also known that the next chance they would have to force him onto another fork in the road moment would be his son''s birth.


    But out of curiosity, he also went through the other forks in his life, slowly teasing them apart.


    This was actually the real reason he had yet to complete his breakthrough into Sovereignty. He felt that there were more interesting things to pick out and he still had time.


    The more deeply he understood his own Dao Heart, the more he could understand what had been triggered under his own power rather than that of others or luck itself, the stronger his Control would become and thus the stronger his cultivation method.


    This man was one of those forks in the world. The Ancestor of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect.


    Before the new changes to his body and the formation of ten Bone Structures, this method was actually something that Ryu heavily relied upon.


    Unfortunately for the old man, after Ryu abandoned this method to create his own, the Fate he had been using Ryu to accumulate crumbled and his chance to take advantage slipped away.


    The Unbalance Art Sect was in an even weaker position than that, because right from the beginning, Ryu stifled their attempt to take control of him.


    But there was something curious about all of this. These Taboo Powers¡­ their origins were truly an oddity.


    If the True Martial World was under the control of the Martial Gods all this time, how did the Taboo Powers fit into it all?


    Ryu had already figured it out when he went through this particularly fork in the road moment¡­ he just hadn''t cared enough to take action until they decided to be stupid enough to target his family.


    The Taboo Powers were obviously not Taboo at all. They were the true powerhouses of this world. Which meant that when the seal was undone and things were reverted, the True Martial World went back to its original state¡­


    A state where the Taboo actually thrived.


    The irony of it all was that the True Martial World wasn''t the true name of this world at all. This was the False Martial World, a World where the laws of cultivation were bent and twisted unnaturally.


    This was the Martial God''s real play at an attempt to break through the glass ceiling they felt the Heavens had artificially placed on them.


    "In the past, you ''spared'' me. I really should just let this lapse in judgment go."


    The eyes of the old man widened. "WAIT¡ª."


    "But I don''t think I will."


    BANG!


    The head of the old man exploded to pieces.


    In his last moments, his eyes had been open in shock. Wasn''t Ryu supposed to spare him now that he had appeared?

 Chapter 2248 - 2248: I See...

    "You aren''t going to question him?" Lu''card asked.


    "What is there to question an ant about?"


    Lu''card snorted. He knew that by that answer Ryu already knew everything he needed to know. The only reason he hadn''t taken action before was because he couldn''t be bothered to.


    He was letting the Martial Gods do as they pleased. But they had certainly crossed his bottom line already.


    Maybe they realized they needed a different sort of edge, but all they had really done was piss him off more.


    That much was fine. He knew that there was no point in going to the Martial God Clan right now. The figures that he wanted to kill had almost certainly already disappeared, while those left behind were just ants not worth his time.


    In that case, he would kill to his heart''s content.


    ¡­


    That was precisely what Ryu did. The hidden Ancestors of the Taboo Sect, so secluded from the world for so long, were found by him one after another.


    Each one was ruthlessly slaughtered, shattered on the very spot.


    **


    Lu''card pinned a pair of twin older women to the ground, his claw enveloping them entirely.


    Ryu looked at them from above. These two should be the Ancestors of the Taboo Path Eska and Isemeine followed. But this didn''t mean that he would spare them. Instead¡­ he found them curious.


    Eska and Isemeine''s path was still unique compared to them as they truly shared one body. By comparison, the original Taboo Method was used best with twins like these two.


    "Okay, you can kill them now," Ryu said after he finished observing something.


    Lu''card''s palm descended and the whimpers of the women were snuffed out.


    "What exactly is going on here?" Lu''card finally couldn''t help himself.


    "I''m being targeted."


    "This is what you being targeted looks like?"


    "Yes. I didn''t say they were doing a very good job."


    "Then why does it feel like a bigger deal than what you''re making of it?"


    "You''re going to have to make up your mind," Ryu said in reply. "Am I being targeted well or not?"


    "Both."


    "This is what a bitter Dragon sounds like, huh?"


    "Just you wait," Lu''card said in a dark voice.


    "Those I surpass never have a chance to catch up again," Ryu said calmly.


    Though Ryu was saying this, his mind was a bit absentminded.


    The Martial Gods were using the Taboo¡­


    The Heavenly Court was relying on Titles¡­


    The Phoenix Sky God was relying on a clash of Fey and Ancient Beast¡­


    The Corpse Poison Cult was relying on exactly that, Corpse Poison¡­


    The Ruin Master Guild was what¡­? Relying on the Fiends?


    Something about that wasn''t adding up either.


    "I see¡­ it seems that Iam''s roots are deeper than I thought."


    When you were dealing with time, nothing moved linearly. Whether it was the Martial Gods, the Heavenly Court, the Phoenix Sky God, or the Corpse Poison Cult, their methods were quite elaborate.


    The Fiends seemed like the odd ones out.


    This sounded like a weird conclusion to come to. After all, wasn''t the Phoenix Sky God also relying on another Race? And what about the Martial Gods? They were relying on an even weaker world? What was weird about the Fiends in this situation?


    For one, the Phoenix Sky God wasn''t relying on other Races. They were quite literally forcing the hands of the Heavens to create continuous clashes between these two Races across time and space.


    The Martial Gods weren''t relying on a weaker world. This world was a pinnacle existence in, well¡­ Existence. It had just been suppressed. And it was also probably the only world in Existence that naturally deviated from the path of the Heavens. It might even represent a new path that the Heavens were setting out, in fact.


    These things were not the same at all.


    The Fiends by comparison were quite sloppy, and their plans had been thwarted by a single Ryu all too easily long before he had the strength or comprehension abilities he did now.


    However, if Ryu was correct, and Iam had also used time to his advantage to establish the Ruin Master Guild and then spread them, then¡­ what reason could he have.


    The Fiend Race did represent a period of chaos, but it was deeper than that.


    ''The Shrines?''


    Ryu recalled the False Shrines that the Fiends were using.


    ''False, huh? So that''s his target.''


    Ryu''s lip curled.


    If Iam''s goal was as he said, then he wanted the world to stop constantly chasing after endless progression, to relax.


    There were few better ways to do this than to place the world into a state of Chaos.


    While this sounded counterproductive, if the world was in a state of Chaos, then there would be no progress to be had in the first place.


    But in Chaos, there was the perfect opportunity for one thing.


    A reset.


    The Fiends just might have been nothing more than a proof of concept. But those False Shrines¡­ they were perfect replicas of the Shrines of Sacrum for a reason.


    It was curious.


    Sacrum and the False Martial World were in the same region of Existence. All things considered, they would be considered one world, one being the main world, and the other being an orbiter.


    It made Ryu curious¡­


    ''I see¡­ So the Martial Gods were misled in this regard¡­ it''s no wonder the Ruin Master Guild had their hands in the Sacrum pie back then as well.''


    Ryu remembered clearly that he had to kill quite a few Ruin Master Guild members back then as well during what he thought would be his final battle against Sacrum. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    How had the False Martial World come to be in the first place? In this world, didn''t it seem only natural that Sacrum would become the main world?


    But what if Sacrum was suppressed on purpose, and then someone with quite deep and extensive knowledge about Fiends manipulated things to allow a world that should have failed at step one to thrive?


    If not for the fact the Phoenix Sky God had also set their eyes on Sacrum, maybe Iam wouldn''t have had to go through any of this trouble at all.


    In the end, everything pointed in one direction.


    Sacrum.


    It seemed his final battle would be in his home world.


    He wouldn''t have it any other way.


    Ryu grinned, murder radiating deep in his eyes.


    He couldn''t wait.

 Chapter 2249 - 2249: Patriarch

    Ryu stood in silence high in the skies. The Ice Shrine was beneath him, its cool winds lapping against his skin.


    On his face, all his rage seemed to have vanished as he smiled lightly.


    ''Soon. If I''m correct¡­ then soon¡­''


    It was rare for Ryu to doubt his own deductions like this, but this time, even he didn''t dare to confirm it with any 100% certainty. The disappointment he would feel if he was incorrect wasn''t something he was sure he could take.


    Not when his momentum was riding so high right now.


    ''So close¡­''


    Ryu reached up to the skies, grabbing at the sun''s rays. He could almost smell that mountain peak.


    Shrine Mountain trembled.


    Ryu finally looked down below him, his gaze returning to its calm.


    "You''ve always been there, trying to tell me something. Do you want to tell me who left that human skin tome at some point?"


    The mountain trembled again and Ryu''s lip curled.


    "Me? That really does sound like something I''d do. I bet I made it with the skin of the Martial Gods, didn''t I?"


    The mountain trembled again.


    Ryu''s laughter filled the skies. Sometimes, he really could be a sadistic bastard. But who asked them to come after his family? They got what they deserved.


    They wanted to treat his Tatsuya Clan like some experimental subject they could suppress and control as they pleased? Well, he would use them in his own research.


    What better template was there outside of the Martial Gods for the growth of corpse puppets? Their Bloodlines were the most pliable, least reliant on Fate that Ryu had ever seen, able to change and warp as they pleased.


    He had quite the good idea if he did say so himself.


    "I guess it''s about time. Break through."


    Ryu said these words as though he was commanding the world to give him power. But more shocking than that was the fact the world actually responded.


    Chi.


    The glass ceiling blocking Ryu shattered to pieces, his cultivation skyrocketing from Quasi Lord to Lord.


    Plumes of energy flooded toward him from all directions, his body greedily swallowing up everything.


    His Dao Heart directed everything, far more powerful than it had been the first time. His control had already dwarfed that of a Dao God, and somehow, it only seemed to be growing stronger.


    When he first began his cultivation journey, he cared for no one. To him, the only difference between himself and them¡­


    Was time.


    Ironically enough, time itself had borne that out. After all these years, these decades, this just over a century, he had reached that step.


    The Shrines of Sacrum trembled and energies flooded into his body even faster. As though he was a bottomless well, he moved from Lower Lord to Middle, and then from Middle to Higher, and then from Higher to Peak.


    While the commotion was raging around him, Ryu couldn''t hear it at all. The only things echoing in his ears were a heartbeat, not one that was his own¡­ but rather one that was of someone else.


    His son.


    The thought brought a smile to Ryu''s face.


    His parents were off having their own adventures, enjoying the time together they hadn''t been able to have before. He was sure that they would be targeted, but after he realized this, how could he allow it to happen so easily?


    He shrouded their Fates, protecting them from detection from others. But this also meant they wouldn''t know their grandchild was being born either.


    Such a thing was enough for a sinister smile to spread across Ryu''s face.


    His fingers itched, his blood rolling through his veins.


    To deny his parents such an opportunity, they surely had quite the boldness.


    Ryu took a deep breath and yet another glass ceiling shattered.


    It was time.


    Reaching Dao God? To deal with these people, he had no need to do such a thing.


    Sovereign¡­ Sovereign was enough.


    BANG!


    The skies swirled, dark gold pooling. But it had hardly formed when an armored arm descended from above.


    Heaven''s Empyrean.


    Ryu shook his head slowly. The strength gap here was truly enormous.


    Back then, a Sentinel was the strongest he faced, and yet that Sentinel was already enough to stand with the geniuses of the Title Stele on its own.


    The only reason Ryu had struggled so much with them was because he had been injured by the Karmic Flames. Otherwise, getting his Title would have been a walk in the park.


    The gap between himself and the geniuses of this world had opened wider than anyone could fathom long ago. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''An Empyrean, huh¡­?''


    Aspirant¡­ Knight¡­ Vanguard¡­ Sentinel¡­


    This was already the limit of what Ryu had faced. But then¡­


    Herald¡­ Warden¡­ Luminary¡­


    And only then would one finally reach Empyrean. And yet, it was the first that appeared for Ryu this time.


    But so what?


    "Scram. I don''t have time for this."


    Veins of black suddenly appeared across the enormous dark gold gauntlet falling from the skies.


    Like a cancer, it spread rapidly until the arm shattered to pieces. But then it continued, the tumor pulsing and crawling across the laws of the Heavens and piercing into the depths.


    Ryu''s black flames commandeered the Tribulation Clouds for themselves, and then¡­


    Ryu opened his mouth wide and inhaled.


    A cyclone formed in the depths of his chest, his Dao Heart pulsing with life and vitality.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Ryu felt some resistance and his sinister grin became wider.


    "I''m winning this time, bastard."


    **


    Little Rock hovered high in the skies, his wings so large it cast shadows over an entire star system. There was a gentle look in his eyes as he looked down toward his son, and then back up to the skies.


    If Ryu had dared to look at Little Rock back then, he would have known what the problem was immediately, and why Little Rock had chosen to grow so large.


    On Little Rock''s once majestic, gorgeous, almost mythical countenance, there was a pulsing cancer of black, one filled with endless pools of corruption.


    Corpse Poison.


    "So tell me, Roc Emperor. I''ll ask you again. Have you agreed to be my mount yet?"


    A figure stood in the depths of the endless shadows of the world, wreathed in black.


    Little Rock recognized the aura all too well, though. It was too similar to his best friend in the world, his brother.


    But this wasn''t his brother. It was a twisted mirror image.


    And yet, just the same, it was him.


    Ryu Tatsuya.


    But that wasn''t all he went by. He had another name.


    Patriarch of the Corpse Poison Cult.

 Chapter 2250 - 2250: Not

    "You are not my brother," Little Rock said calmly.


    "Am I not?" Ryu* laughed. "That''s very hurtful, after all we''ve been through together."


    Little Rock didn''t reply.


    "I would rather you choose of your own volition. Just come here, I can take the corruption away from you so you won''t have to deal with it anymore. Is there a need to be so stubborn even about this?"


    "I do not need your help."


    "Your speed is less than a tenth of what it was at its peak because of your stubbornness."


    If the rest of the world heard this, it was hard to say just how they would react. Little Rock could already cross universes with a single flap of his wings. How was he less than a tenth as fast now?


    It was just functionally true that he had grown too large in an attempt to fight off the Corrupt Poison. The larger he was, the larger his pool of Bloodline strength and the easier he could pull on the power of Fate to fight it off.


    However, this had also caused him to grow past his optimal size. While he was truly impressively enormous now, it was all form over function.


    He knew that, and Ryu* likely understood it even better than he did.


    "You''ve let your desire for power corrupt you. And now, you''re willing to do anything. And now because you refuse to allow your timeline to close, you''re allowing the women you swore to protect with your life suffer.


    "You are not my brother."


    The smile on Ryu*''s face didn''t fade. "Those are not my women. They''ve slept with another man, how could they be mine?"


    "Another man? You mean your younger self?"


    "I thought I wasn''t your brother?" Ryu* blinked innocently. "But now he and I are the same? I was just going with what my brother said. You''re leading me astray, Little Rock."


    Little Rock fell into silence. Winning an argument with Ryu* had never been possible. Even if he realized he was wrong¡ªsomething he would never admit in the first place¡ªhe would still be capable of talking circles around you.


    There was really only one way.


    "You know the answer in your heart. I have nothing to say to you. Either you kill me here, or you can forget about crossing over."


    Ryu*''s smile slowly faded. He stood there in silence, the calmness in his darkened gaze eerie enough to turn a man''s blood cold.


    There was a flicker on his forehead, but then it slowly ebbed into a calm as well.


    "If you mean that my existence is what allows Iam to continue living, you are correct. Indeed, if I just killed myself now, all of that would come to an end. But do you know how frustrating it is, Little Rock¡­ to have all the power in the world and yet be unable to do what you need to do?


    "Because of my own arrogance, I already went back in time once. Unfortunately, I cannot do it a second time, and because of that, my chance to revive my grandparents was thwarted. So if I don''t completely break through the shackles of the world this time, then I will never reach that true pinnacle."


    "If you know that it''s because of your own arrogance, then you shouldn''t make the same mistake twice."


    Ryu*''s lip curled into a smile.


    "You know that I''m a hypocrite."


    Little Rock''s pupils constricted. Before he could react, a fist had blown a hole through his throat.


    The majestic Emperor Roc shook, his blood falling in sparking waves of lightning. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "When they return by my side, so too will you."


    "FATHER!" From down below, the Roc Prince awoke from his meditation, his qi becoming volatile.


    Ryu* calmly raised a finger and pressed down. The wild fluctuations of the Roc Prince''s qi calmed and his near cultivation deviation was undone in a single breath.


    It all flowed easily from one to the next, like every movement was as natural as the Heavens themselves, and yet beyond it.


    It was something that transcended the state of a Childe of Chaos or Order. It was the fusion of the two in a shocking way.


    "She would be¡­ so disappointed in you¡­" Little Rock said softly as the last of his life faded away.


    "And she would be more than allowed," Ryu* replied calmly as he closed his eyes. "My women are allowed to be as willful as they so please."


    With a flash, Ryu* crossed the enormous body of Little Rock and vanished into the distance.


    The cries of the Roc Prince filled the skies, but he turned a blind eye to them all.


    Who would have known that when Iam was asking what Ryu* would do if he didn''t have enough time to catch up to an enemy¡­


    He was actually talking about Ryu* himself.


    How could a younger version of Ryu* ever possibly catch up to an older version of his very own self?


    **


    "It is time."


    It was a scene unlike any one had ever seen. A sea of Dao Gods as far as the eye could see, not a single one of them following the same cultivation system.


    These existences were those of fallen worlds, ones that didn''t have any chance to reincarnate again due to the actions of the Phoenix Sky God.


    The one that had spoken¡­ was none other than Ryu''s master, Fading Star. By her side, her estranged husband stood. But at the moment, they might as well have been the greatest of lovers.


    When they faced off against their own mortality together, how was there anything else that they could be?


    This time, they would be certain to wipe out the Phoenix Sky God for good and make them pay for everything they had done.


    There would be no greater opportunity than this.


    Inwardly, she felt guilty. She knew that this opportunity rode on the head of her disciple being in great danger. Because of Ryu, the Fate of the Heavens would be up for grabs, on a teetering edge.


    It had been a very long time since a battle of this scale took place, and it was only when the Heavens were the most confused and contradicted that an existence on the level of the Phoenix Sky God could be taken down.


    This was their chance.


    "Then I guess I will be joining as well."


    The voice was calm and came from nowhere at all, and yet everywhere at once.


    Had Ryu been there, he would have recognized this man immediately.


    Primus Tatsuya.


    He had become a Dao God.

 Chapter 2251 - 2251: Willful

    Ryu stood in the air in silence. An enormous gauntlet and a dangling severed arm hung from the grips of his fingers.


    The devastation of the Tribulation hung all around him, but Ryu''s robes were unblemished, his countenance unmoved. One would have never thought that he had just faced off against maybe the strongest Tribulation any Sovereign in all of Existence had ever faced off against.


    "I wonder¡­" Ryu said softly, releasing his grip and allowing the gauntlet to fall from the skies.


    BOOM!


    A weight as heavy as a mountain crashed down below, lifting up the earth and causing it to roll out in waves.


    Ryu took a breath and exhaled, his aura settling into the Lower Sovereign Realm.


    A hand slowly raised to his forehead.


    ''Unfortunate¡­''


    It still wasn''t ready. He thought that his Sovereign Tribulation would certainly be enough, but it seemed that this eye had far more potential than he could fathom.


    The echo of a cry resonated in Ryu''s ears and he took another breath.


    The cry was Hope''s.


    He knew that her childbirth this time would be quite difficult. She was a woman who currently wasn''t tied to a Cycle of Reincarnation, while her husband was someone who had come into a great amount of Fate now. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Giving birth to a child that had also been tempered by Embryonic Qi, and was also gifted a Realm Heart before their birth, only made things even more difficult.


    The Heavens had to struggle to birth such a child, let alone Hope herself.


    He really hadn''t made things easy on her, but ever since the matters that happened with Old Wan, they had been set down this path, unable to retreat. In order to save her back then, he had had no choice.


    But by the same token, while he could have made it easier on her by not pouring so many resources into their son, that was unacceptable to both of them.


    Ryu wouldn''t allow his son to be born with anything but the best of the best, and Hope wouldn''t be able to face him if she couldn''t withstand at least this much.


    As husband and wife, they had enough of a mutual understanding to not even have had a conversation about this. But the fact Hope was upset when she thought Ryu was ignoring her and their son said all that needed to be said.


    There was a flash by Ryu''s side and Sarriel appeared.


    "You succeeded," she said lightly.


    "Was there ever a doubt?"


    "A little one," Sarriel said with a sweet smile. Her edge seemed to have been almost completely ebbed away. At least it seemed like that for a moment¡­ until she grabbed Ryu''s arm. "I want to fight too."


    "Do you?" Ryu asked almost absentmindedly, looking off into the distance.


    "It feels like you have a great weight. I can help."


    "It''s my weight to carry," Ryu said lightly.


    Sarriel fell into silence, remembering what happened with Ailsa. She wasn''t sure if that was the healthiest thing¡­ was there really someone that could reach their full potential without any help at all? Not even from their wives?


    She had wanted to step out and help so many times before, but that would have made her and Ryu''s plan to slip past the Heavenly Court all the more difficult.


    One part of her loved being that little princess Ryu came to save as much as she didn''t want to admit it. But there was the other part of her that thirsted after battle and blood as well¡ªto hone her sword against the strongest opponents.


    She knew that if she insisted, Ryu would let her fight. But¡­ his mind state also wouldn''t change.


    He would be the palm that held up the skies no matter what.


    But it was likewise because of this that Ryu''s problem now was the very same problem of back then, the very same problem that Aika had said he had all those years ago¡­


    A Dao Heart that was too rigid was easily broken.


    Unfortunately, you couldn''t even say this to Ryu as true as it was. He was a man who had just used the breaking of his own Dao Heart to make himself stronger. And it wasn''t even the first time in his life that he had done it.


    Was he truly so fragile?


    No¡­ it was more complicated than that.


    "¡­ I think I love you," Sarriel said softly.


    Ryu raised an eyebrow and looked toward his wife. "And you only decided that just now¡ªSTOP!"


    Sarriel ripped one of her eyes out. Ryu was reaching for her wrist to stop her, but there was a slip in his concentration, no doubt triggered by Sarriel taking advantage of his trust in her and his absentmindedness.


    The eye slammed into his forehead.


    Ryu felt a portion of his skull shatter and then a great amount of power flooded through him.


    The sound of a boundary shattering to pieces echoed in Ryu''s ears and he felt his third eye suddenly fully form.


    Sarriel stood by his side with a smile on her face, one of her eyes closed as blood poured down one side of her cheek.


    "Remember what you promised me," she said softly. "If you don''t get me revenge and give me a bunch of babies to raise up my Clan, I will cut it off."


    Ryu stood in silence. There was a great amount of rage pulsing through him right now, but he didn''t even know who to direct it toward.


    His wife? She was just trying to help him to the best of her abilities.


    Himself? But he felt that he was strong enough to do what needed to be done even without this aid.


    The world? The Martial Gods? Why the hell weren''t they here yet, then?


    Sarriel could feel Ryu''s fury, but she only softly rested her cheek against his shoulder. Not once did she think her husband would harm her, and that was because he never would.


    "You said I could be as willful as I wanted. You better listen to your own words," she teased.

 Chapter 2252 - 2252: Name

    Ryu slowly shook his head. There was no way he would do anything to her, but he was feeling frustrated nonetheless.


    "There''s someone else who wants to see you, by the way," Sarriel said.


    "Wobbling Fairy?"


    "You knew already."


    "I did know. She probably knows quite a bit about what''s happening here. But I didn''t ask her on purpose."


    "So stubborn."


    "There''s no need to worry about these things. Just wipe the enemies out and the end result will be what''s expected in the end."


    "I don''t think it''ll be that simple."


    Ryu''s lip curled a bit with his anger. "It seems that lesson two wasn''t enough."


    "Is that so? Well, too bad you don''t have time for lesson three."


    Ryu was about to reply when he looked off into the distance instead. Inwardly, he shook his head. The fact that Sarriel had sensed it before him¡ªeven with her eye missing¡ªwas its own problem.


    It seemed that they were doing everything they could to tie his Fate scrying abilities down. But it wouldn''t be enough.


    "She''s coming now. You''re not allowed to reject her. We''ve built a united front."


    Ryu didn''t even get the chance to respond before Sarriel vanished and Wobbling Fairy took her place.


    In a rare showing, this most peculiar wife of his wasn''t drunk.


    Of all his women, even including Taedra, Wobbling Fairy was the most enigmatic. Even to this point, he didn''t know her name, nor had he ever forced her to tell him either.


    He felt like he would have all the time in the world to allow this wife to truly warm up to him. He didn''t expect her to have already opened up to him no matter how shameless he was.


    So long as she understood what it meant to be his wife, that was more than enough for him.


    But he also knew that she had a story that she hadn''t told him about as well. There was a great amount of pain this little woman had to have undergone for her to choose a path of constant drunkenness to escape it.


    But the words she said surprised him.


    "I hate you a lot, you know," she said softly.


    To go from one wife that confessed her undying love to him, and then hop right to another that said such a thing, gave even Ryu whiplash. He wasn''t sure how to react to it all, and he could only stay silent.


    "You might think it''s because of what you''ve done to me, but it''s what you are going to do to me. Though, I would hope you understand that you haven''t treated me the best until this point as well."


    "What I will do?"


    "You can''t sense it because they''ve targeted everything on you. Plus¡­ the Fate that''s always the hardest to scry is your own, because the mere act of doing it changes it too much."


    Ryu frowned. He had always been able to see his own Fate Star, even back when he couldn''t cultivate.


    "There''s a difference between vaguely glancing at Fate and delving into it in earnest."


    "I¡ª."


    "Don''t talk for a moment. You''re more handsome when you''re silent. I prefer my men stoic and cold, you know. You talk too much nowadays."


    Ryu''s lip curled and he chuckled in response, not minding it.


    "You know that I have control over the energy of the world no one wants. What you probably don''t understand about the way my methods and body works is that the absence of something that should be there is as good as evidence of that something. Do you understand? Just nod. No talking."


    Ryu nodded.


    If you had the cutout of a shape, it was as good as knowing what that shape was.


    Wobbling Fairy had a rare bodily constitution that Ryu had never seen before. She could absorb the impurities of the world to empower herself. The very same impurities that everyone else wanted to get rid of, she relished in, using it to strengthen herself.


    But what wasn''t considered enough was what it meant for that energy to exist in the first place. The impurities of all things¡­ it might even be an energy form that existed beyond Essence, Chaos Qi, Embryonic Qi, and Corpse Poison¡­


    Because it existed in them all, capable of restraining them all.


    An energy like this had no real form. It could be anything it needed to be, take any shape or being. And if you were talented enough, you could use it to comprehend basically anything by process of elimination.


    All you had to do was reverse-engineer things from their impurities. Whatever could impede them and restrain them¡­ just do the opposite.


    As such, it wasn''t a surprise in the slightest that Wobbling Fairy was capable of seeing through Fate. What could have more impurities than the uncertain path of a person?


    Clearly, she had seen something in the future that she very much didn''t like. But that made it more odd that she was still by his side. Why was that?


    "Since you understand, you should know that I''m not just speaking for the sake of speaking. Your road ahead is probably impossible, and your stubbornness will lead to your downfall. Which will be a shame, because you are quite handsome when you''re not yapping."


    Ryu raised an eyebrow. Was Wobbling Fairy always so straightforward? Or was that just what she had become without the heavy depression that hung over her all the time?


    Why did she seem¡­ happier? As much credit as he wanted to take for it, he knew that he couldn''t.


    "You wanted to know my name?" Wobbling Fairy suddenly said, completely changing the subject as though she had no intention of explaining any further.


    Ryu nodded again.


    "My name is Rose B¡ª."


    "Tatsuya." Ryu interjected before he froze, his pupils constricting into pinholes as a realization overcame him. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rose? Why was that name itching at him so much?


    Then it hit him.


    "You¡­ You''re Yaana''s Life Partner."


    The Black Rose.

 Chapter 2253 - 2253: Nicely

    The Black Rose. It was a Spiritual Herb of legend, and yet it was the one Spiritual Herb that could easily be missed. Lurking in nature, it was the most inconspicuous of all natural treasures at this level. Even Ryu''s eyes might not be able to pick one out with ease.


    Ailsa had explained to Ryu long ago just what this Spiritual Herb was capable of.


    The moment you touched a Black Rose, you would die. It was impossible to deny its strength.


    At least this seemed to be the case. In reality, if the Black Rose didn''t acknowledge you, even if you plucked it, it would just simply wilt away and reincarnate elsewhere without a care in the world.


    But should it¡­ you would not only certainly die, but when you reincarnated, you would have all your memories, all your talents, all your abilities, and you would be given a gift of Karmic Luck the likes of which you couldn''t fathom.


    This was the power of the Black Rose, a deathly thorn, and yet all the more strong for it.


    Normally, the Black Rose would use the life it had taken to fuel its next evolution, growing stronger during its next cycle. But with Yaana, something odd had happened.


    Because they were Life Partners, the Black Rose ended up getting attached to Yaana, and rather than using Yaana''s first life as Nuri to fuel its own growth, it acted completely unselfishly, completely fusing with Yaana instead.


    Thanks to this, Yaana was able to reincarnate, and control her reincarnation so that she was as close to Ryu as possible. But that used up all of the Karmic Luck the Black Rose had, and as such it didn''t have enough left over to help Nuri¡ªnow Yaana¡ªto recover her memories.


    In the end, the woman that had once been Nuri faded away, replaced by Yaana and her own memories.


    It was no wonder Rose hated Ryu so much. Her Life Partner had chosen someone else, and on top of that, the woman she had loved was gone to the stream of time¡­


    At least in part.


    But now there was a huge gap in the story. Between Yaana''s reincarnation and her reunion with Ryu, just what had happened that allowed the Black Rose to return?


    What happened to Yaana in the stream of time, and why was Wobbling Fairy, or Rose, alone? Where was Yaana?


    And why did it sound like Ryu did something in the future that infuriated her even more?


    "But, I guess I can''t hate you too much," Rose eventually said, smiling again. "Since I''ve decided to tell you this, I''ll accept whatever comes next."


    "What you mean to say is that you have physical form now thanks to me," Ryu corrected.


    "No one likes a smart ass."


    "You and my Yaana are nothing alike, you know," Ryu said with a grin.


    "You don''t know Yaana. You just think you know her. The girl you know has always been shy and reserved around you because she owed your parents a great debt, and then she fell for you for some ungodly reason. She''s always felt restrained because of that.


    "You do know that it should be impossible for a Life Partner to fall in love with anyone else until they meet their soul mate, right?"


    "I guess I just break the mold, then. I''ve already told you that you''re very lucky to have me as a husband."


    "That''s part of the problem," Rose said softly, looking away. "They''re almost here, you know¡­ shouldn''t you prepare?"


    "I am prepared. And because Sarriel is a little too willful, I''m probably too prepared now. I''m worried it will be boring."


    "Boring is the last thing it will be. You''re underestimating the powers of Existence too much."


    "They haven''t given me much reason to respect them in the first place." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rose snorted, starting to feel annoyed with this supposed husband of hers again.


    She yelped as she felt a pinch at her ass.


    "What are you doing?!"


    "I''m just trying to make sure I remember the feel, don''t mind me too much."


    "Humph." Rose pouted and turned away, shaking her head as she tried to stifle her laugh.


    "Just tell me one thing," Ryu said as the skies began to change color.


    "What''s that?"


    "She''s still alive, right?"


    Rose fell into silence.


    "¡­ I don''t know."


    Ryu gave Rose a glance. That answer seemed to have more layers to it than it seemed. Almost like¡­ the answer would be more dependent on him than anyone else.


    "Is that so? In that case, she''s alive."


    Rose blinked, looking up at Ryu involuntarily. She didn''t know why those words filled her with so much reassurance despite the fact she had seen far more of the future than Ryu had.


    All things considered¡­ there was simply no way it would be possible for Ryu to come out alive. And by that¡­ her hidden meaning was just as complex as her answer to Ryu''s questions.


    There were far more ways for a person to die than just waiting for their heart to stop beating. Maybe it would be precisely because one''s heart was beating for something completely different that one would die.


    Rose knew of this feeling so very intimately. It was how she had lost Nuri, and maybe how she would lose Yaana.


    Rose looked away. "¡­ Maybe a husband isn''t so bad," she mumbled.


    Her waist was swept into Ryu''s arms, and before she could react, a kiss was stolen from her.


    Startled and blushing, the moment Ryu pulled away she wanted to find a place to bury her head.


    Ryu grinned. "Maybe you are my Yaana''s Life Partner after all."


    Rose only buried her head further, still trying to find somewhere to hide.


    "Go now. Help Hope through this, I''m sure that along with Ailsa, she''ll make it."


    "¡­ I will," Rose replied softly.


    "Mm. Just wait patiently. I''ll only return with tidings of victory."


    BANG!


    Ryu looked up with the beauty in his arms as the skies shattered.


    It looked like hell was descending from above, one army of Martial Gods after another manifesting.


    Ryu shook his head, finding it ridiculous.


    "What the hell is this supposed to be? Buzz off."


    He waved a hand and all the armies vanished, being forcefully teleported out of Sacrum.


    "Now, enter again. This time more nicely. You startled my wife."


    Rose snorted with laughter, unable to hold it back.

 Chapter 2254 - 2254: Promise

    The Martial Gods froze, many of them not knowing what just happened.


    They were the best of the best, the strongest of the strongest. Since the start of their cultivation journeys, they couldn''t remember having ever been forcefully teleported anywhere in their entire lifetimes, let alone so many of them at once by one man.


    It was just a casual move, an almost careless flick of his wrist, and yet the dynamic was set in stone.


    They were inferior. So far inferior that they didn''t know how to describe it all in words.


    A cold shiver set into their hearts, all of the momentum their armies had had crumbling to ash right before their eyes.


    "You see that?" Ryu said casually. "Your man isn''t bad, don''t you think?"


    Rose only smiled and looked away. Okay, maybe she liked a man who could speak just a little bit more than she thought. But that didn''t change the worry deep in her heart.


    It wasn''t the numbers she was worried about.


    Ryu had infinite stamina and rejuvenation. So long as he had enough time, he could defeat enemies no matter their number.


    Plus, with the internal structure of his path of cultivation, he could protect those he cared about well.


    The main issue was that his Inner World wasn''t perfect yet. It wasn''t prepared to take on the birth of a talent at the level of his son. Because of that, he had no choice but to allow Hope to give birth under the effects of the Shrines, and this made her more vulnerable than she already was.


    This would be a weakness his enemies could take advantage of.


    But¡­ even that wasn''t what Rose was worried about. As difficult as Hope''s labor would be, it would be a short frame of time considering how long this battle could truly go on for.


    She didn''t believe that Ryu would slip up during that time¡­ not unless something forced him to. Something unexpected, something they couldn''t quite account for.


    But even now, that hadn''t appeared.


    "Return my granddaughter to me."


    A booming voice came down from above, an old man standing among three appearing high in the skies.


    He was wreathed in chains, a heavy mask of them wrapping around his arms and legs. They slithered out of his back like wings and rose from his head like horns.


    "He looks ridiculous, don''t you think?" Ryu asked.


    Rose bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. This was a serious situation! Couldn''t he see that she was worried?


    "Hey," Ryu called out. "Can you tell me how you let this idiot become your leader? You have a crown on your head and you''re not even number one in your own Clan?"


    Ryu''s gaze was on the Hegemonic Bloodline Ancestor, an old woman that looked like she might keel over any moment now. He didn''t know her name, and though he could have scried Fate to find out, he honestly¡­ didn''t really give a damn.


    There was a flare of rage in the old woman''s eyes, but Ryu only shook his head.


    "I really don''t get it. How can you be the Hegemon of anything if you can''t even keep your own house in order? What did you build your Dao on, exactly?"


    "Verrona!" the voice of Solara''s grandfather clapped like thunder.


    The old woman suddenly snapped out of her anger, a cold sweat pouring down her back. She had been that close¡­ that close to her Dao Heart shattering.


    "Guard your Hearts!"


    Ryu''s smile didn''t fade as his gaze landed on the third of them. A Divine Wing, an Ancestor of wife and her father to be sure.


    Once again, it was an old man with a foot in the grave. Their auras seemed so depleted and fleeting that he wouldn''t be surprised if any one of them truly died right this moment.


    And yet, they dared to stand before him here and come to fight. They were obviously relying on something he didn''t quite understand.


    "Since they are useless in this battle, there is no need to keep the majority of them." The Divine Wing Ancestor said calmly.


    "Indeed." Verrona replied.


    The chains of the Divine Chain Ancestor flared, the wings of the Divine Wing Ancestor spread, and the crown of the Divine Hegemon Ancestor glowed.


    Chains of blue steel cut through the air, piercing into the bodies of one Martial God after another as the rest had their very essence pulled out of their orifices.


    Half of the Martial Gods were wiped out in a blink of an eye, their vitality pooling into the bodies of the three Ancestors.


    At that moment, the skies trembled, the doors of the Heavenly Court appearing once again, but struggling against the binds of Fate.


    "Verrona! Zercius! Merculy! You traitorous scum!"


    A familiar voice came from above, booming with a furious might. But not only did Fate hold it back¡­ but so too did the chains that extended from Zercius.


    The doors were sealed in place, locked in a limbo of time and space where it could neither advance nor retreat. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The Title of Almighty should be mine," Zercius said coldly.


    His aging lines faded one after another until he returned to the countenance of a middle-aged man, a streak of white in his hair being the only signs of his former weakness.


    Ryu watched this scene without a word. His smile was still there, but it seemed to only be growing more sinister.


    He pinched Rose''s waist and then let her go with a light pat.


    An anger that had been buried deep in his heart was slowly manifesting itself right this moment.


    "You know, if all you had done was seal me as a mere infant, I would have still killed you all, but I wouldn''t hate you.


    "But not only did you seal me¡­ you actually had the audacity to treat me as a casual bystander in your little war instead of your main target.


    "And then¡­ you went and killed my grandparents in that same little war.


    "I made my grandmother a promise."


    "Little Ryu, I only want you to promise this Empress one thing¡­"


    Ryu looked up to the skies, his third eye opening in a blaze of blinding silver flames as white scales erupted across his body. His robes shattered, a chiseled physique causing the air to collapse and waver.


    "I''ll kill every last one of you."


    Ryu vanished.

 Chapter 2255 - 2255: Die

    BANG!


    Verrona appeared in Ryu''s path, her fist descending like a comet. The energies of the world formed around her naturally, even the Shrines themselves trembling beneath the might as though prepared to be ripped out of the control of Shrine Mountain.


    Ryu almost felt his arm collapse, but then¡ª


    BOOM!


    A thunderous echo came from his Bone Structure, his power doubling and countering Verrona''s might.


    Merculy flapped his wings hard, the energies redoubling around Verrona as Zercius quickly formed one hand sign after another, a dome of chains forming in the skies.


    They weren''t just powerful, but they worked together seamlessly.


    The Laws of the world bent to Verrona. The energies of the world bowed to Merculy. And all of them were sealed under Zercius'' control.


    Fighting just one of them was a nightmare. Fighting three of them at once was like facing off against the Heavens themselves. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a good thing then¡­ that Ryu was quite good at that.


    His eyes flashed. There was a pulse at his third eye, and Zercius suddenly felt as though his chains were splintering off into reality, trying to latch onto the energies and laws of the world only to find that there weren''t enough chains to cover them all.


    Rob the World of its Color.


    There was another flash, and Merculy felt his own control over qis and energies slip away at the same time, as though the world had no energy to speak of at all.


    BOOM!


    A second echoing boom came from Ryu''s arm, and Verrona was forced a step back.


    Ryu took a step forward to meet her, a second fist colliding against a follow-up. She met it with her own attack, only to be forced back by a third echoing boom.


    Taken off guard, she couldn''t react to the kick that landed a heel right at the center of her chest.


    Her ribcage bowed and whined, almost snapping on impact.


    Merculy reacted quickly, a saber appearing in his palms. He swung down, his body teleporting at the same time.


    Ryu saw through the fact it came from Zercius'' help. While the latter was still struggling to seal the region after Ryu had somehow forcefully expanded the space, he hadn''t forgotten to partake in the battle itself.


    He might not be able to get things to work properly on the large scale he was looking to. But on this small scale¡­


    Ryu took a steady step back, his head tilting out of the way and avoiding his nose being severed at the stem.


    His palm slapped out, slamming against the back of Merculy''s elbow.


    The wind crackled, but outside of this, it almost looked like an exchange between normal martial artists.


    Or, it would have, had the residual swing of Merculy''s saber not cut the Chaos Plane in two.


    Verrona recovered at the same instant, her crown glowing with a fiercer light. She slapped her palms together, her eyes opening wide as a pair of eight trigram diagrams took shape.


    Ryu noticed it immediately. He had once used this method; it was a clever method. It was just that¡­


    He had outgrown it.


    A pair of eight trigram diagrams appeared in Ryu''s eyes as Verrona screamed as her own burst into a rain of blood.


    Ryu rounded to Merculy''s back in a seamless motion, the latter still suffering from the blow to his elbow.


    With a stomp, Ryu kicked at the back of his knees and the man''s legs buckled. He fell to a knee in the skies, placing his head right in line with a descending claw from Ryu.


    The cry of a Phoenix filled the skies.


    Ryu should have used Dragon Claw, he could have called down the might of the Dragon Clan and sought the approval of the Heavens themselves.


    But instead, his claws were wrapped in the red-gold Heavenly Patterns of the Emperor Phoenix for no other reason than his grandmother.


    As though it was her hand extending across the bounds of space and time onto Merculy''s head, the pride of a woman who had once been wed to the Tatsuya Clan shone through.


    But that was because that was precisely what was happening.


    Space, time, Fate, it all layered into one, and Ryu embodied everything his Grandma Tatsuya had once been.


    "Die."


    BANG!


    Merculy''s head exploded into a rain of blood, his soul snatched out from the ether and ripped to pieces.


    An Ancestor of a generation, dead. Just like that.


    Verrona shrieked. She might have been blinded, but she could still sense what was happening.


    Just not for long.


    Fate Reversal.


    Verrona almost stumbled as she felt her eyes forcefully heal outside of her control.


    Ryu pulled at the air, drawing a line across it. [Rob the World of its Color] was pulled into a blade and Zercius vanished.


    The Divine Chain Ancestor had been fighting against Ryu''s Domain for so long that the sudden release into freedom caused him to shift out of reality for a moment. As though playing a game of tug of war he unexpectedly won, he was sent flying far away.


    Leaving no one at all to protect his allies.


    One died before he could do much of anything at all.


    This one would die before he could even think to get back.


    The Fate that injured Verrona and [Rob the World of its Color] fused into one.


    "Die." Ryu said calmly.


    He swiped an arm across the air.


    Verrona saw every moment of it. The irony of her eyes being healed was that she witnessed every single bit of it herself.


    There was no escaping this moment.


    Suddenly, Ryu''s words well and truly settled into her. Had they made a mistake by focusing more on the Heavenly Court than him¡­?


    ''My love¡­'' Verrona thought to herself, her mind struggling to reach toward Zercius.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t enough time¡­ because no time passed at all between the swipe of Ryu''s finger and her death.


    He made certain of that.


    Before him, even pining for a loved one wasn''t allowed.


    It would make each one of them suffer as his Tatsuya Clan had.


    "VERRONA!" Zercius'' infuriated roar shook the skies, but he only returned in time to watch her head fall from the skies, her soul snuffed out to ashes.

 Chapter 2256 - 2256: Taboo

    "Are you very angry?" Ryu asked, the same sinister smile still hanging from his face. "I can say that you can''t fathom my own rage."


    The clumps of flesh that had once been Verrona''s head drizzled out from Ryu''s palms, his indifference only fueling Zercius'' fury all the more. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why don''t I make you angrier and do the same thing to your granddaughter? How would that make you feel?"


    Ryu took a step forward, and in the far-off distance, hundreds of Martial Gods were shattered beneath the might of his momentum alone.


    Power oozed out of Ryu in waves. Even after his breakthrough, he seemed to be only growing more powerful, his power stabilizing more as the pillars of his cultivation weaved into one.


    By building his Qi Realm Cultivation on the perfect concept of Control, his Mental and Body Realms came along with it. The more used to it he became, the more they melded into a single path, seamlessly transitioning until there was hardly a difference between them at all.


    Ryu''s fist clenched and he lifted it up. All at once, the blood in Verrona''s body was violently sucked dry, forming a large mass that fused with that of Merculy''s blood.


    "Leave them be!" Zercius roared.


    "You seem to have lost your temper." Ryu said, tilting his head to the side. "Could it be that you forgot the advice you gave to your little Verrona?"


    It would have been fine if Ryu didn''t mention it. But once he had, it was like pouring gas onto a lit flame.


    Zercius was, of course, smart enough to know that Ryu was using his Dao to manipulate him, to make him more angry than he should be, to dredge up emotions he had long since learned to cut away from himself.


    But did it matter?


    If Ryu''s Dao was so easy to handle, then it wouldn''t be maybe the most powerful Dao in Existence currently, long before he even stepped into Dao God.


    Pointing out how much it was affecting Zercius only made him fall deeper.


    Ryu grabbed at the blood, his Bloodmancy pulsating. Crimson runes were drawn across the air, the essence of the Divine Wing Bloodline being extricated.


    Elena''s Primordial Yin thrummed within him, and the Fate of the two resonated.


    "Interesting." Ryu said calmly. "Even now, you still haven''t attacked. Haven''t you controlled this space enough already? What are you waiting for? For me to fully integrate with this? For me to humiliate them more? Or could it be that you''re waiting for backup?"


    Ryu''s head tilted slightly as he observed Zercius. Blood flowed into the Meridians of his wings, his aura continuing to rise.


    Zercius'' veins bulged across his forehead. Looking at the young man across from him, he couldn''t understand just what sort of monster he was facing. Ryu wasn''t just strong, he was improving at a breakneck pace right in front of him.


    Since this battle began, his strength had increased by at least another 10%. If that was adjusted for changes Ryu made to his battle approach to counter them specifically, it was closer to 20%.


    At this cultivation realm, it took thousands of years just to improve a fraction of a percentage. How could anyone improve this fast?


    ''Not 10%¡­ 15%¡­''


    Zercius'' heart trembled as Ryu finished snatching what he wanted to from Merculy''s Bloodline. He seamlessly stripped it of its Fate, scryed its strength, and incorporated it into his own Meridians, shifting the formations within himself.


    This ability was granted to him after he stole the Deva Prince''s wings, and naturally flowed down from the layering of his Bone Structures.


    His Bone Structures were the perfect mirrors of every element, with the balance of his Ice Jade Crystal Body, and the Fate control of his Boundless Cosmos Bone Structure laying the foundation for everything.


    As his three Realms of Cultivation became closer to just one¡­ it was like he could change his body as he pleased on a whim. It was only a matter of whether his comprehension could keep up or not.


    This ability¡­ wasn''t it just a natural reflection of the copying abilities of his Perfect Black Body Soul and his Beyond Perfect Extreme Spiritual Foundation?


    Now, with his Dao Heart and exceptional Control, Ryu''s body was akin to the perfect blank slate for him to do and act with as he pleased.


    Not only did he have the means to comprehend it all, he had the talent to take it, and then the Embryonic Qi he needed to rewrite the very foundations of what made him, him.


    So long as he saw something he liked¡­


    He took it.


    Zercius realized right then that Ryu''s words weren''t arrogant at all. He really didn''t take any of them seriously from the moment he manifested his Title.


    He wasn''t a cultivator. He wasn''t a Sovereign. He wasn''t a genius.


    He was a Tatsuya. The Tatsuya.


    Ryu Tatsuya.


    The power of a Title that was so flexible¡­


    Was a cultivation path that was also endlessly flexible.


    It was an irony of ironies. Everyone thought that he would break because his Dao Heart was too brittle, when in the end he became the most malleable of them all.


    BANG!


    The rain of blood shattered, what remained of Verrona and Merculy falling from the skies. Each droplet was endlessly valuable, worth more than entire worlds.


    And yet, because they didn''t catch Ryu''s attention, he simply shattered it all.


    "Are you fully prepared now?"


    The air had begun to tremble, Sacrum swaying on its fulcrum as though the world itself was about to burst at the seams.


    Ryu only lightly tapped a foot, and harsh swaying stopped, at least in the region around him. His wife was currently giving birth, who said the world was allowed to sway like this?


    The skies split open, and one Heavenly Knight after another fell from above, subtle hints of what were clearly Divine Chains wrapping around them.


    Ryu understood without much more than a glance. This was the true purpose of the Martial Gods'' research into the Taboo.


    The best way to control the Heavens was by using power even it didn''t understand.


    And right now, the Martial Gods were turning the power of Sacrum against Ryu himself.


    No, not just the power of Sacrum¡­ the power of a world that should have taken the True Martial World''s place in his quadrant of Existence.


    "Cute." Ryu said indifferently. "But I asked you to bring out everything you had. This¡­ is still not enough."


    [A God''s Brush].

 Chapter 2257 - 2257: Odd

    Hope did her best to hold back her screams of agony, but at some point, fading in and out of a dark unconsciousness, she had lost the ability to stop.


    She wasn''t even sure if she was speaking coherent words, but there were certainly screams. Hoarse and visceral, they came from the depths of her soul.


    She shook her head and tears fell from her eyes, but she held on nonetheless. She didn''t want her child to die, and she knew that if she couldn''t push through, that was exactly what would happen.


    A birth shouldn''t have been so difficult for a Dao God. The problem she was facing wasn''t the normal pain a mortal woman might go through, but instead the heavy weight of the Fate that came with it.


    It was her Seven Corporeal Souls and Three Incorporeal Spirits that couldn''t withstand the birth of this child, as that of her and Ryu''s son had to pass through her to make it to the world.


    Her Path of Reincarnation had been severed, but now she was trying to give birth to a child with one that was fully intact.


    No matter how you looked at the problem, the Heavens were entirely opposed to such a success¡­ because just the act itself would forcefully pull Hope back onto a new Path of Reincarnation.


    Because of this, she wasn''t just experiencing pain in a normal sense right now. Her soul itself was being torn to shreds and reconstructed.


    Ryu''s wives, including a very pregnant Ailsa, were rushing around following the latter''s orders to the greatest accuracy possible.


    One would think that with a literal river of Embryonic Qi at their disposal, this would be easy, given the strongest Cultus Faerie in Existence being by their side, but only when they were in the thick of things did they realize that the birth of this child was something no less daunting and shocking than any one of Ryu''s other feats¡­


    It should be impossible for Hope to give birth at all.


    And yet, every few moments, something seemed to revive her, causing her to fight harder.


    **


    Ryu moved through the battlefield like a spectator. The aura of a Childe of Order hung around him, and it was as though he and the Heavenly Knights were choreographing a dance of death, one where only they died and Ryu survived.


    Zercius didn''t know how to react to this. The Childe of Order constitution was something that basically never appeared at all. But to use it to such a shocking level that it could read and predict the attacks of Heavenly Knights themselves¡­


    This was well and truly on another level entirely.


    Logically, it made sense. The Childe of Order could sense Order, and their body moved naturally to follow it. Translating that to using it to deal with Heavenly Knights that were formed from Heaven''s might itself only seemed natural.


    But that required a Childe of Order state that was absolutely perfect, one that mirrored the Heavens, the world you were mimicking without the slightest hint of a flaw.


    Even a Dao God shouldn''t be capable of that¡­ how could a Sovereign be?


    Zercius could feel it. Ryu could kill him whenever he wanted. But he wasn''t.


    He was toying with him. And it wasn''t just for revenge either.


    Every moment, he could sense a subtle pulse of something coming from Ryu''s soul. He was communicating with something.


    At first, he didn''t understand¡­ and then it all settled in.


    Ryu was putting on a show. Not for him, nor the Martial Gods, but for his wife. He was showing her that he was sweeping aside his enemies with ease, that he would hold up the skies for her.


    All she had to do was focus on what she could control. He wouldn''t allow anyone to interfere, and he wouldn''t shed a single drop of his own blood doing it.


    Rage settled into Zercius'' heart again. Ryu''s control was at a point that if he didn''t want him to sense this, he could have easily hidden it. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he hadn''t.


    It was once again another taunt.


    Who cared if he was angry? What could he do about it?


    At that moment, though, there was finally a slight change to Ryu''s expression. It wasn''t surprise, or fear, but instead a slight narrowing of his eyes.


    Something in Fate had just shifted a considerable amount, and his Fate Star had also slowed unexpectedly, its rotation taking a hit.


    What happened?


    Ryu looked back, and the Shrines seemed to be just fine. But there was a sigh that echoed through his ears, one filled with reluctance and sadness.


    For some reason, he couldn''t recognize the voice as male or female. It was a vague pulse of something that itched at the back of his soul, reaching deep inside of him.


    The last time he had heard this voice¡­


    The Phoenix Sky God.


    Ryu''s pupils trembled and his head snapped back.


    ''Another army?''


    He hadn''t sensed this at all, but it wasn''t like he wasn''t expecting it. But this army¡­ it wasn''t the one he was waiting for.


    ''This is¡­''


    Ryu understood quickly. The reason he hadn''t been able to sense these people was because they, too, had been severed from the Path of Reincarnation. They were the victims of the Phoenix Sky God¡­


    Hope''s Clan, her Race, and his master.


    Ryu''s pupils concentrated into pinholes, looking into the far-off distance until his eyes landed on the woman that had helped him a great deal.


    He had only acknowledged two masters in this lifetime, both of whom had had a profound impact on him. His first master he had a much closer relationship with, but he had always been grateful to Fading Star for helping him find Ailsa.


    But why were they here? And why¡­?


    This army should have been coming to deal with him? Or was it the Phoenix Sky God? Was the Phoenix Sky God here?


    But that wasn''t the main issue here at all. Why did they look like¡­ slaves?


    Ryu''s head slowly tilted up until he saw the man he probably hated even more than Zercius.


    Primus.

 Chapter 2258 - 2258: Pathetic

    Ryu stopped the fist of a Heavenly Knight with a palm, his gaze still high in the skies. It was rare that he was confused by something, and though Rose had warned him many times that there would be things outside of his control this time around, he still didn''t quite believe it.


    Maybe it was his arrogance. No¡­ it was precisely his arrogance. There was simply no getting around that.


    However, his arrogance came from a place of true confidence. He was a Sovereign, toying with the strongest Gods in all of Existence. If there was anyone who deserved to be arrogant, it was him.


    But right now¡­


    Ryu tilted his head to the side.


    Primus, as far as he understood it¡­ was weak. He certainly didn''t have the power to do this.


    Ryu trusted his eyes, and he had gazed upon this so-called great grandfather of his several times before. There were a lot of things that could be fooled, but his eyes weren''t one of them.


    Even if one wanted to say that he was simply weak back then, too weak to see through the likes of Primus, he would be accepting of it¡­ if it wasn''t for the fact that logic no longer applied to his eyes. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was hard to describe exactly what level Ryu had reached now, but if he wanted to turn back the clock and experience a memory in real time, he could do that. So long as he had experienced something, he could reconstruct it perfectly¡ªFate, Time, Space, and all¡ªwithout missing a single detail.


    That was to say that any and everything Ryu had ever experienced in his life was something that he could go back to with his current prowess and comprehension to see through again.


    It was impossible for anyone to pull the wool over his eyes.


    That was to say that either this Primus and the one he knew weren''t the same person at all, or it was the case that the Primus he had come to know had undergone earth-shattering changes in what was effectively the same amount of time Ryu had.


    But the odd difference here was that Ryu was someone who had only been in the wider worlds of Existence for a fragment of the time Primus had, while Primus himself had left the Tatsuya Clan billions of years ago.


    Granted, maybe he had entered a different flow of time. But one had to remember that one of the reasons Ryu''s Spacetime Soul Nature was so valuable was because he was capable of using time warps without suffering under the effects of distorted laws that resulted from that.


    While it was theoretically possible that Primus could have achieved the same thing at some point, Ryu honestly didn''t believe it¡­ because he was looking at Primus right now.


    He would know Time affinity when he saw one, and Primus didn''t have such a thing. In fact, even the stamp of time, or the imprints that one would undergo as a result of time, weren''t there.


    "Hm. I see. You really are a pathetic excuse of a man."


    Ryu stared at Primus for a full three seconds before he understood what had happened.


    Primus had actually relied on his great grandmother''s Primordial Yin.


    It hadn''t been long since Ryu deduced the secrets of his grandmother. From the actions of the Heavenly Court, he realized that she must have had a Title they wanted, birthed from whatever mortal art she had taken to absolute perfection.


    The reason Ryu knew this was because they had come asking for Taedra, who had only just recently reached such a realm thanks to poetry. Though, granted, Taedra and Ryu''s great grandmother were on two completely different levels.


    On the one hand, Taedra was highly unlikely to have succeeded on her own. While Ryu couldn''t guarantee she would fail, he had certainly sped up the process a great deal.


    On the other hand, as far as Ryu knew, his grandmother had done everything all on her own. This was almost certainly more valuable.


    That said, the tidbits that Taedra lost by having Ryu''s help were greatly minimized just due to how clever Ryu''s own usage of his Dao was. But that was a story for another time.


    What was important here was that the value of a Primordial Yin of a woman with a talent to forge a path to Godhood all on her own was truly shocking.


    What was pathetic was that Primus had practically built his entire path on using it.


    Primus had a proclivity for using various Races as experimental subjects. Ryu had witnessed it personally when he took a Fire Giant and dissected it while he was following him around.


    This never really made much sense to Ryu outside of speculation. He assumed that Primus was just doing his best to improve his Fire affinity.


    But as Ryu grew in strength, he found Primus more and more pathetic. His improvement was slow, his comprehension was lacking, and as prideful as he was as a Dragon, it manifested in the most pathetic of ways.


    Ultimately speaking¡­ Primus was a talent, but he wasn''t a talent on the level of Ryu, not by a long stretch. It was to the point that after all of this, Ryu didn''t even think about it, considering his life and death something that he would decide on when he had some extra time on his hands.


    He wanted Primus to suffer for what he had done, but the man wasn''t worth enough of his time to consume his thoughts.


    But now he knew what was going on.


    His great grandmother had reached Dao God through the Dao of Painting. All this time, Primus had been trying to distill the essence of flames through this very same Dao, but he lacked the talent to do it.


    But then Ryu continued to grow, his power accelerating, and because of this descendant of his actions, all the time Primus thought he had had slipped away in an instant. And his only chance to revive his wife¡ªthe Phoenix Sky God¡ªwas about to be hunted down by the rest of the world while he didn''t even have the strength to participate.


    So he did something truly disgusting.


    He fused with his own wife''s Primordial Yin.

 Chapter 2259 - 2259: Little Boy

    Primus had lost much of the edge he had once had. He still had the same lofty, imposing frame. But it lacked all the substance. It was hard to tell if he was even truly a man anymore.


    He had the wide shoulders, but his aura was delicate. He had the fierce eyes, but his eyes were soft. He had the large hands, but his spear almost seemed to droop in his hands as though alluding to something else entirely.


    After the death of a wife, the Primordial Yin should surely dissipate. This didn''t have to happen immediately, especially if there was a substantial distance¡ªwhether in space or time¡ªbut given how long it had been since Ryu''s great grandmother had fallen, it was only natural that it should have.


    This meant that all this time, Primus was using some sort of special method to keep it alive.


    On the face of it, this was commendable. Maybe he was hoping that there would be some sort of method to revive her through it alone, or maybe it could help someone that could pinpoint the location of her reincarnation, or wherever it was she might be.


    But after seeing this, Ryu was pretty sure that it was another reason entirely.


    He had kept it for no reason other than in case he would need to use it in this way¡ªto fuel his ego and reach the level he thought he deserved to.


    Primus was someone that was endlessly prideful, but not prideful in the way Ryu thought a man should be. It was a disgusting, selfish sort of pride¡ªthe sort of pride that made a man stand by and watch idly as his entire family was massacred.


    When Ryu heard Primus'' reasons for doing so, he had already decided in his heart that he would slaughter this man one day. He remembered it all vividly, and he remembered the helplessness on his grandfather''s face.


    Patriarch Tatsuya was a man who was stoic to a fault. Even during his last moments with Ryu, he had always been like that. So sharp, so focused, so unbothered by the world.


    The cracks to his armor were more subtle than anyone could grasp¡­ unless you have the Number One Ranked Heavenly Pupils in all of Existence.


    When Ryu saw his grandfather, he saw a man who was holding onto his childhood''s vision of his father¡ªthe man he thought Primus had always been¡­ and yet watching the sandcastle sprinkle through his fingers, vanishing never to return.


    A memory lost entirely to time.


    His grandfather hadn''t wanted to believe it. Such a reason for things just felt ridiculous on its face.


    Primus didn''t want to act because he didn''t want to bully the weak? Because he was too prideful to lift his finger against those he could easily kill? That was his reason?


    Ryu didn''t even know how to wrap his head around that even today. Personally, he never really cared whether someone was weak or not. If they pissed him off, he killed them.


    By Primus'' logic, he should be letting the Martial Gods live.


    That twisted pride, that arrogance that bent one''s will beyond reason¡­ it was something that Ryu had always hated¡­ something he hated more than his soul could even put into words.


    And now, seeing Primus like this, tainting the memory of his great grandmother just for the chance to stand on this stage¡­


    Ryu''s expression went completely placid. As though a stone-cold vision of the past and future fused onto the face of a man who could gaze into the birth of the world without the slightest hint of change to his expression, he stood there unmoving.


    The words Ryu had spoken not long ago still hung in the air. As though the words themselves were resonating with the Heavens, they echoed continuously. But maybe that was precisely because they were.


    In a Childe of Order state, even Ryu''s breath synced with the world, let alone his words.


    Primus looked down from the skies above, his expression not changing.


    Ryu didn''t expect it to. A man with that much pride in his bones didn''t really care about the opinions of others, much like Ryu didn''t care.


    Primus didn''t care to explain himself, nor did Ryu care to explain his words either. Both were entirely indifferent to the thoughts running through the other''s head.


    But the main difference was that one stood here under power that wasn''t his own¡ªa power he borrowed from his wife to take a step he simply couldn''t fast enough.


    As for the other¡­ he protected his wife to his back, his gaze unbothered as it faced off against the world.


    "Ryu¡­ you need to move¡­"


    The voice of Fading Star echoed in the distance. Heavy chains painted from a brush of Primus'' spear hung around her much like they did everyone else.


    Ryu''s gaze slowly shifted from Primus to his master. She looked beaten, but there was a light of hope in her eyes. It was the look of a broken woman¡ªone that was willing to give up anything if it meant getting revenge against the Phoenix Sky God.


    The world shook, and the figures that Ryu had actually been waiting for started appearing.


    The World of Phoenixes. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The World of Dragons.


    The World of Qilins.


    The World of Griffins.


    The World of Fey.


    The World of Devas.


    The World of Demons.


    The World of Fiends.


    They hadn''t coordinated at all. It was just that they had all sensed the shift at the very same time.


    They didn''t know why, but Ryu''s Fate was particularly volatile right now, hanging on by a thread. Even Ryu''s enemies were confused, but the more this happened, the more Ryu was certain.


    "This battle is mine. It''s not yet time for a little boy like you to reach the pinnacle."


    That familiar voice echoed, ambiguous as though being stretched across the bounds of time.


    And then a figure appeared, rising up from the depths of Sacrum as though they had always been there.


    The army ahead bristled.


    The Phoenix Sky God had finally appeared.

 Chapter 2260 - 2260: Arrogant

    The figure suddenly flashed in front of Ryu. He could see a sea of red-gold flames forming hair so long it formed its own river, what was left of the figure''s form obscured by majestic wings imprinted with so many Heavenly Phoenix Patterns they didn''t seem like Patterns at all.


    In fact, the only reason Ryu sensed the Patterns at all was because of his eyes. In reality, these weren''t wings at all¡­ they were runes alone.


    The Heavenly Phoenix Patterns were so densely packed that they had manifested into true, tangible form, creating the wings that the Phoenix Sky God used to stand high in the skies.


    Ryu watched the back of this figure calmly. He didn''t seem very surprised about where they had come from, nor did he seem all too eager to block the path of the Phoenix Sky God either.


    He just stood there, observing as though he was thinking through something.


    Finally, though, when the Phoenix Sky God appeared, he understood where the volatility was coming from.


    The Phoenix Sky God was simply too important to his cultivation journey. If one could pinpoint one moment that changed his entire life¡­ it was that night he stabbed himself through the heart. It was what had started all of this.


    It was also the moment his Fate was the most volatile.


    If the Phoenix Sky God chose him, then he would have a chance to cultivate.


    If the Phoenix Sky God didn''t choose him, then he would be dead.


    This pivotal moment, so easily glossed over after everything he had been through, was without a doubt the most important moment of his life.


    It was amusing. Back before he understood Fate and its intricacies, he had thought hard about just how much the Phoenix Sky God was controlling him. He had avoided using their power for as long as possible, trying to carve out a path for himself that was separated just enough that when the day came that he would inevitably have to fight this person¡­


    He would be ready.


    But reality was amusing, and it was capable of making fools even of himself. He had thought too much of himself.


    Why was it that Blacksmiths wanted their weapons in the hands of the strongest warriors? Why was it that Masters wanted to pass down their Legacies onto the best of students? Why did Sects want Disciples? And why did Clans want geniuses?


    Wasn''t it all a way to generate Fate?


    You didn''t just generate Fate by accomplishing feats on your own¡ªyou could wield and control Fate, gaining large sums of it on your own just by supporting the right person.


    It was a concept that Ryu had always known and understood, and yet he amusingly had ignored what was in plain sight.


    The Phoenix Sky God was almost single-handedly the reason he was the man he was today. They had never needed to place any other chains on him because this mere fact alone was enough to control his Fate.


    The reason he was so vulnerable right now, why these people even had a chance to kill him, wasn''t because he, himself, was vulnerable, but rather because they had a proxy through the Phoenix Sky God to deal with him.


    This though¡­ still didn''t quite make much sense.


    The Phoenix Sky God was the strongest being in all of Existence as far as Ryu knew. With them standing there, he could still feel it¡­ a pressure that no one here could give him, not even Primus.


    This was a truly strong person, someone that stood beyond the Almighty, someone who was likely approaching the level of that so-called Nameless Immortal God that stood beyond the bounds of Existence itself, forming their own utopia¡­


    So why would they be able to use them to get to him?


    Ryu''s head tilted to the side.


    "Your father. Is he Iam?"


    The wings of the Phoenix Sky God vibrated, spreading out in a sparkling rain of gold.


    There was no answer, but Ryu didn''t need one. He already knew that he was correct, and yet the leap in logic he had taken to get there was something that only he and the Phoenix Sky God understood.


    "You will come with me," Primus said coldly. "Your life and death will be decided on whether you succeed."


    "¡­ Not all life can be saved," the Phoenix Sky God said lightly.


    "How dare you?" Radiant Star''s chilling tone belied the chains that also looped around his body. "You are not the arbitrator of life and death."


    "Am I not? Then why have you all come to me?" the Phoenix Sky God replied just as gently.


    Veins bulged across the handsome man''s forehead. He had no refute, but how could he accept that the person who had cut off their Cycle of Reincarnation was speaking to them about the morality of controlling life and death?


    "If you are not willing, then we will just capture you," Primus said indifferently, his gaze shifting over to Zercius. "Will you join? Or will I have to force you to?"


    "Do you think that just because your great grandson can suppress me, that you can too? With what? Those fake chains of yours?"


    Primus hardly reacted. "Open the Heavenly Gates. I know that this is the final trump card you have. Pathetic, scheming worms like you all will always choose benefits in the end. No matter how many times you and the so-called ''Almighty'' have butted heads, he will stand on your side now."


    Zercius'' eyes narrowed.


    "The Phoenix Sky God isn''t so easy to deal with."


    These were the final words Primus said before looking away.


    Zercius'' jaw clenched. None of this had gone his way at all. Was there really no other choice but to split these benefits with the man he had run away from all those years ago?


    He squeezed his fists hard and made a decision.


    The Heavenly Gates had only just begun to tremble when Ryu finally moved for the first time since the Phoenix Sky God''s appearance. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His steps were light and unhurried as he rounded their figure, stepping to them so closely their noses would have likely touched had he not been so much taller.


    He reached a palm forward, pressing against their forehead and smoothing the long streak of flaming hair back. Then, he kissed their forehead gently.


    "It seems you came back as arrogant as Ailsa did, hm?"


    Ryu smiled as he looked down into those familiar eyes¡ªthe eyes of his wife, Yaana.

 Chapter 2261 - 2261: What Cost?

    Ryu''s smile was light, his eyes gentle. It didn''t really matter how Yaana''s face was obstructed or how he couldn''t see her usual soft cheeks and delicate button nose.


    He knew his woman when he saw her. Just like he had realized that she and the Phoenix Sky God must be one and the same during the Title Stele event. This was precisely what he had figured out. It was just that he wasn''t sure if he was correct.


    Time was a finicky thing, but the one truth that had seemed to always remain steadfast was that while it was possible to travel forward, going back was impossible.


    This was the understanding Ryu had always had, and it was also this understanding that had made him question the Zu Clan Ancestor''s existence. It didn''t make any sense to him.


    But those details, they didn''t mean much to him right now. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yaana looked up at Ryu, hints of helplessness in her eyes. She had hoped that it wouldn''t end like this, but it always did, didn''t it? Why was he so smart?


    The Ryu she knew would just let his enemy fight. He wouldn''t help just for the sake of helping, he didn''t care about any of that.


    But she knew deep inside that maybe even that was optimistic. Even if he couldn''t figure it out, he would want to defeat the Phoenix Sky God personally. Because of that, he would probably be ahead of her to kill off all these people first.


    In the end, whether he figured it out or not, the end result would be the same. Just like her father planned.


    "I missed you," Ryu said softly. "I looked everywhere for you, but it seems if a woman as powerful as you doesn''t want to be found, she won''t be. Is that so? Did you have fun hiding from your husband?"


    Yaana''s pupils trembled. She hurriedly shook her head, but seemingly realizing that she was supposed to be the Phoenix Sky God right now, she suddenly stopped.


    She had long forgotten what it felt like to have this feeling. For some reason though, despite the power she held in her hands, she had always felt like this in front of Ryu.


    Even during his first life, when he was a frail mortal, when she was his greatest protection in the world, she had still not been able to stop those nervous butterflies.


    She was a prideful woman in her own right, but different women reacted differently to love. And she¡­ well, she couldn''t control her desire to melt to Ryu''s every touch and word.


    The flames faded from her hair, her wings fluttering off into motes of complex Runes. Soon, her long length of black hair had returned, those dark eyes that carried the depths of the universe shimmering with a lustrous light.


    Her lips slightly parted, but Ryu shook his head.


    "There''s no need to explain anything. I understand. Just the same as always, you''ve been my silent guardian angel. Thank you, Yaana."


    Tears brimmed in her eyes.


    Every time, it was just the same. His pride was too great.


    It was the same reason he struck Iam dead every time. The same reason he returned and killed Little Rock every time. The same reason he would stand before the world and say the same words he said every time.


    Ryu smiled. "My wife can be as willful as she wants. So what if she destroyed a few worlds? So what if she cut off your path of cultivation? So what if she doesn''t want to use her strength to help you?"


    With a tilt of his head, Ryu looked back to the sea of experts, feeling his own Fate twisting and turning in his chest. The assuredness that had once been there continuously slipped away.


    He knew that this wasn''t because of Yaana. It was because of Iam. He had already pieced everything together.


    Going back in time was impossible. The only way to overcome the paradox that came with it was a Control that superseded the Laws of the Heavens.


    However¡­ there were ways to do that that came with less repercussions than others.


    The Nameless Immortal God''s method came with the least ripples. He put his life in the hands of luck and the husband, hoping that his natural aptitude would eventually win out.


    It took him 108 tries, but in the end, on his final attempt, he stood at the peak of the world again.


    Despite this being a method that came with the fewest ripples, these ripples came nonetheless. The world was bent and twisted, one direction pulling toward the Nameless Immortal God, and the other pulling toward the Heavens.


    In the end, these bends in the laws were what triggered the creation of the first Taboo World¡ªa world which, for the first time, went against all the rules of the Heavens.


    However, even then, this wasn''t completely natural. There was another man messing with time at the same time. In fact¡­ there were three.


    The first was Yaana herself. Trapped in the stream of time, and wanting nothing more than to see her husband, she did everything she could to get back to his side, but the result was her pissing off all the powerhouses in Existence.


    The second time, it was just Ryu. He faced off against these enemies of Yaana, one powerful existence after another that wanted to take his wife''s life¡­ and he realized that he alone wasn''t enough. So he went back, much like he had told Iam.


    If he faced off against Existences too powerful for him because he didn''t have enough time¡­ then he would just make his own time.


    The third time¡­ it was Iam. Or so it seemed¡­


    It had to be remembered that Ailsa, Yaana, and the others had all fallen victim to a wormhole, an unexplained gap in Existence that caused them all to slip backward in time.


    A wormhole that connected the past and present, all because Ryu couldn''t control his temper and insisted on killing Iam no matter what.


    That very black hole, the one Ailsa and Yaana fell victim to¡­


    Was the result of Ryu attacking through space and time to shatter Iam to pieces.


    As for why Ryu was so completely and utterly infuriated, disregarding everything to do this¡­


    It was precisely because Iam was Yaana''s father. From the very start, to him, his own daughter was nothing more than a pawn to reach this very moment.


    Iam was dead. He wasn''t coming back. He had given up his life for this.


    He lived on as his Title, the name he had chosen to give to Ryu''s story, because in the end, he knew that Ryu wouldn''t be able to escape his own arrogance. So¡­ things would end exactly as he expected.


    Ryu would go on a rampage, killing as he pleased. He would eventually hit a roadblock he was unable to push past, too weak to overcome all the powerhouses of Existence.


    He would go back in time, searching for what he was missing to increase his strength until he completed his magnum opus¡­ the reconstruction of his very own Visualization in the image of his Fate Star, allowing him to control everything with perfection.


    And then the first thing he would do when he gained that power¡­ was kill Iam.


    Lost in this cycle, he would rush back to the future, only to find the present a tangled mess of Fate even he didn''t have the power to undo¡­


    Stuck in a paradox of his own making, and wrapped up too much in his own Control to undo.


    The more powerful he was¡­


    The more impossible it was for him to win.


    He had reached the peak¡­


    But at what cost?